diff --git "a/part.1259_fasttext_pos.jsonl" "b/part.1259_fasttext_pos.jsonl"
new file mode 100644--- /dev/null
+++ "b/part.1259_fasttext_pos.jsonl"
@@ -0,0 +1,1800 @@
+{"content": "linkedin ics     youtube chslink\n\n\n\n\nMarjorie B. Scoboria    \n\nCHS Class of 1923\n\nCHS ‘23 \n3rd in CHS class, born to teach, she often conducted her advance math class senior year due to the teacher, who also was also serving as the building principal.\n\nWellesley College BA Math and French \\'28  \n\nHarvard Masters Math ’30 \n\nChelmsford High School Pioneer as a Math teacher, Math Department Head—Inspired many female students to study math,Yearbooks dedicated to her 1949, 1966\n\n1966 Lion Dedication:\nThe class of 1966 dedicates “The Lion” to Miss Marjorie B. Scoboria for her eagerness to assist us, her careful direction, her patience in our times of confusion, her genuine concern for our well-being, her boundless achievements in her subjects and her persistent effort to understand our every problem", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.993364691734314}
+{"content": "Tuesday, September 15, 2009\n\nA view of the road ahead through the rear view mirror\n\n\n\n\n\n\nmy apologies to everyone for posting this late. ~Jami\n\nAugmenting Human Compassion\n\nAugmenting Human Compassion\n“Augmenting human intellect” represents one of the continual goals of any well-designed technology. In the course of our readings, three major influences have sprung up time and again as to how we, as a society, may go about using technology to evolve our cognitive capabilities. For Douglas Engelbart (1962), technology may do so by leveraging already existing perceptual mappings or by bringing the mental abilities of a person up to a level of more complex thought through various methods including “streamlined terminology” and “powerful concepts.” Licklider (1960) also defines a similar concept called “man-computer symbiosis”, a system whereby humans and computers work in conjunction to “think as no human brain has ever thought and process data in a way not approached by the information-handling machines we know today.” William Ross Ashby (1956) also wrote of “amplifying intelligence” in his work on cybernetics. However, intelligence needs to be countered and balanced by basic moral and ethical considerations. I would argue that the foundation of these considerations lies squarely with an entity’s capability to feel compassion. Additionally, with a certain level of compassion (and intelligence), ethics, as in a listing of rules or system of conduct, becomes secondary. So, instead of concentrating on the aspect of human cognitive evolution defined as intellect, I would like to find methods for augmenting human compassion using digital media.\nCompassion as a component of a healthy mental state and as a necessity for a large societal organization is a sometimes marginalized concept. That may be because it is seen as a responsibility of parents and families to develop compassion in their children. Certain concepts are only slowly adopted into the mainstream’s consideration. As it is, the research into human-computer interaction focuses mainly on functionality and usability. Even more human-centered designs are concerned with business considerations such as turnaround and click-through analytics.\nFor example, while reading Myers’ A Brief History of Human Computer Interaction Technology, I found that the introduction clearly states that his history only covers the “computer side of HCI” and that “a companion article on the history of the ‘human side,’ discussing the contributions from psychology, design, human factors and ergonomics would also be appropriate.” This “human side” approach would form the basis of my research project for determining how one might augment human compassion.\nDiscovering what makes one more compassionate would be the first topic for research. Within the context of digital media and within the constraints of one semester, it seems daunting to hone compassion down to a measurable aspect, but I hope that by making an open call for ideas that some epiphany will come about.\nFrom the historical perspective, we can see that in developing his conceptual framework for augmenting human intellect, Engelbart defines the objectives for his study and covers his basic perspective. He promotes leaving room for intuition or a human’s “feel for a situation”. For augmenting compassion, I would also say that one would have to leave room for epiphany as well.\nMy first avenue for exploration could include researching whether or not any current internet memes act to augment compassion. From cute LOLCATS with funny captions to YouTube videos like Christian the Lion, does sharing these with others help to augment our society’s overall level of compassion? And, conversely, is sharing morbid imagery damaging to compassion? One caveat comes with the level of interaction that might be necessary for long-term effects. If one sees something, is it enough to have a persisting effect? Or must one also be involved somehow to ensure a stable change in mentality?\nGiven these possibilities for investigation, another avenue for exploration that might prove to engender long-term increases in compassion levels would involve the integration of a participation component through interactive art or music. If a lack of compassion stems from a lack of empathy with others or with a disconnect from humanity or nature, then a key component to developing compassion in others would involve creating a palpable connection to others and, thereby, to humanity in general. With interactive art, the person becomes a component of the creation, a powerful metaphor that might prove helpful for compassion development. However, a connection beyond the computer might also be necessary for augmentation. An association from human to art piece to creator of art piece to humanity would be ideal.\nFollowing Engelbart’s format, the objective of a study taking in the previous suppositions and conjectures would include the following goals: (1) to find the factors that determine a given individual’s level of compassion; and (2) to develop methods that would act to augment human compassion using digital media. Engelbart’s specifications for his framework still fit for this research direction.\nStep one would be to find a test for compassion so that quantitative results can verify any changes over time, from before exposure to the stimulus to afterwards. Step two would involve testing non-participatory stimuli such as the YouTube videos for changes in levels of compassion. Step three could then cover participatory situations of varying complexity.\nAs this blog post/response essay is written in response to our second week’s readings on the subject of History in Perspective, any further reading suggestions along these lines of augmenting compassion, augmenting empathy, or developing emotional intelligence would be greatly appreciated. Any studies that have been performed on the effect of interactive art would also be of great interest to me. Usually I am not one for trying to pin down the exact meaning or relevance of a piece of art, but in the context of a compassionate evolution I would concede the necessity for some formal investigation into the matter.\nI believe that the nexus of intelligence and compassion would negate the need for overly strict rules that may be based on a narrow or subjective morality. The ultimate goal for technological society must include room for this augmented compassion.\n\n--Christine Rosakranse, Master's Student: HCI - RPI\n\nConsulting the Memex\n\nA major refrain in Vannevar Bush's As We May Think article is the notion of consulting – how are we to wrangle, sift, or otherwise make sense of the growing the mountains of data humans are creating. Throughout his exploration of possibilities, Bush prophesies the advent of many current and emerging technologies: the digital camera – although he didn't have the terminology (page 4), the photocopier (page 4), the scientific calculator (page 7), the home computer (page 8), credit cards (page 9), the scanner (page 10), a Windows-like operating system (page 10), and arguably more – including the birth of the semantic web (page 11). Seeing how much of the world I know in 2009 was still a dream in the making in 1945, I took a brief survey of the advancements in various technologies as I have experienced them in my 38 years. Bear with me... this is illuminating considering how much of Bush's ideas have since come to exist:\n\nThe year before I was born, the 5¼ inch floppy disk was invented followed shortly by the dot-matrix printer and microprocessor. And although the existence of the VCR coincides with my birth, it wasn't until after the late 70's until it hit the commercial market.\n\n1972 marked the appearance of the first word processor – and the first video game, Pong. The next year, Xerox announced the creation of the ethernet. In 1975, the laser printer was invented, followed by the ink-jet printer in 76.\n\nThe first spreadsheet was released in 1978, the year before cell phones and the Cray supercomputer were invented. It's no surprise that MS-DOS and the first IBM-PC share a birth year (1981). Three years later, Apple invented the Macintosh, and CD-ROMs hit the streets. Windows is released in 1985, during my last year in middle school. By the time I graduate, digital cellular phones and high-definition television have been invented.\n\nMy freshman year of high school, I owned a Kaypro 4-84 with two 5¼ inch floppies, monochrome monitor, internal modem operating at 96k baud rate, and a processor speed of 4mhz. It was a portable computer weighing in at 36 pounds.\n\nThe year after I graduated, Time Berners-Lee created the World Wide Web and Internet protocol (HTTP) and WWW language (HTML). Five years later, it is truly world wide. About that time, the DVD came into existence. In 2001, our relationship to information changes when Apple introduces the iPod. Half a decade later YouTube and Twitter both hit big around 2006.\n\nAfter all that has come to pass – much of it predicted by Vannevar Bush, we are still precisely in the same situation as we were in 1945 in regards to consulting (or navigating) the great storehouse of human knowledge. We've moved past film and microfiche – both on the road to technological extinction. We're in digital land now, and we've got more information than be conceived. Part of our modern quandary is that it isn't just scientists creating and parsing the data. The digital realm is far more egalitarian – anyone with access can create content. More so than at any point in our history does the catastrophe of “truly significant attainments becom[ing] lost in the mass of the inconsequential” become a risk, especially as we move fully into the age of crowdsourcing.\n\nWe are now living in the information age, and many great minds are now bent to the task of sorting out how best to deal with the volume of information our age is issuing. As with many of Bush's predicitons, I think he hit the nail on the head in regards to creating associative links between points of knowledge. We're already doing that with tags. Tagging may be the way information is cultivated in the future: “Selection by association, rather than by indexing, may yet be mechanized” (10).\n\nLogging off the memex,\nMark Oppenneer\n\nMonday, September 14, 2009\n\nA brief history of Human Computer Interaction Technology\n\nThe article, “A Brief History of Human-Computer Interaction Technology” is a brief description of the history of HCI technology from 1950s to 1990s. In the article, Brad A. Myers talks about the importance of research at universities’ research labs or at corporate or government supporting research labs in the development of HCI technology. Especially, university research labs have led to many innovative HCI technologies. Figure 1 on p.46 shows that, for the major HCI technologies, university research was started earlier than the corporate research or commercial products development.\n\nRecently, HCI technology has been rapidly developed and diversified, so it seems that we are trying to interact with almost every object around us in a way that wasn’t possible before. However, the basic concepts and ideas about the way to interact with computers or computer equipped objects originated from the research labs in the 1950s. These technologies include Hypertext and Multimedia; the ways to input information with machines, like mouse, tablet, and motion sensing device; and effective representations, like GUI and Three-Dimensionality. Also, these ways to interact with machines change the way we understand and interact with the world.\n\nFor some of the innovative foundation technologies, when they were born in a research lab, even developers didn’t know how they would be used in the future and how they would change the world. For example, the idea for hypertext which makes possible today’s internet was initially tried in universities’ research labs like Stanford University, Brown University and The University of Vermont. Then, the hypertext idea was developed into World Wide Web, which was created at the government-funded European Particle Physics Laboratory (CERN) and developed at the University of Illinois’ National Center (NCSA) (p.49). This technology was not only a starting point of the internet but also changed people’s way of thinking from linear and directional to non linear and multidirectional. Also, all these fundamental changes were made possible by creative experiments at research labs, and today’s HCI technology is being developed according to the basic concepts of these changes.\n\nAnother important fact that Myers mentions is government funds that make a lot of HCI research possible. Even though there were a lot of technologies and interfaces that were funded by companies like IBM, Xerox, and Apple in the history of HCI, the more fundamental and conceptual changes and experimental trials were started by government funding. For example, The Mouse was developed with funding from ARPA and NASA (p.47). Virtual Reality technology, which is now being developed by many private companies like Microsoft and Nintendo, was also started by government funds from the Air Force and Central Intelligence Agency.\n\nTo illustrate the importance of research labs and government support for the research labs, Myers describes what kind of HCI technologies have been created and how the technologies were developed. This helps basic understanding about the field of HCI. Myers explains four different types of technologies: Basic Interactions, Applications, Up-and-coming Areas, and Software Tools and Architectures. For the Basic Interaction technology, he talks about early technologies of basic interface for interaction with computer, such as mouse, windows, and the way to operate objects on screen. For applications, he talks about drawing and text editing programs, hypertext, CAD, and graphical video games. For Up-and-Coming Areas, he talks about technologies for the near future, such as gesture recognition, three dimensionality, VR, AR, etc. For Software Tools and Architectures, he talks about technologies to create interfaces, like UI software tools and interface builders, and Component Architectures.\n\nReading this article, I thought that the importance and effect of research labs is not limited to the field of HCI. New concepts and technologies in HCI have been an important role in other fields. For instance, the development of electronic art and media art has been largely affected by HCI research. Myron Kruger’s early media art works, like “Videoplace”, would not be possible without his HCI research in the Computer Science lab at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His early works using interactive technology between art work and participants have become some of the most important and innovative works in Interactive Art. HCI technology brought conceptual changes as well as stylistic changes in art. Interaction and participation technologies like Computer-Supported Cooperative made people think of art itself more as a process by artists’ and audiences’ participation than an object completed by an artist.\n\nLastly, this article focuses on the importance of a research lab in development of new HCI technologies. However, I think, the role of research labs would be also very important for evaluation of existing technology.\n\nByul Shin", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7402335405349731}
+{"content": "\n\nRe: A \"new\" theory on Oviraptor philoceratops (I think)\n\n\"T. Michael Keesey\" wrote:\n> Just to play Devil's advocate, though -- couldn't it be argued that there were\n> greater quantites of large eggs present during the Mesozoic (the dominant\n> megafauna being oviparous dinosaurs, rather than viviparous therians)?\n\n> Even so, though, it's a good point that eggs would very likely only be\n> available seasonally.\n\nNot necessarily. Seasonal variations are not as marked around the\nequator. With arguably more egg-layers about, perhaps laying seasons\nwere staggered (much as tropical plants will bear fruit at different\ntimes). I expect that modern birds don't all nest at exactly the same\ntime (especially around the equator).\n\nOf course, the further you go from the equator, the more seasonal\nconditions are, so the likelyhood of a short-lived glut of eggs,\nfollowed by a lengthy famine, increases. Perhaps animals that were\nlargely (but not entirely) oviraptoric year-round are more likely to\nhave lived in equatorial zones?\n\n\nDann Pigdon                   Australian Dinosaurs:\nGIS / Archaeologist         http://www.geocities.com/dannsdinosaurs\nMelbourne, Australia        http://www.alphalink.com.au/~dannj/", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7376046180725098}
+{"content": "Jillian Ditner illustrates Oxford University Press Climate Textbook\n\nBelow is just a small sample of the dozens of scientific illustrations Jillian Ditner recently completed for Oxford University Press' textbook Weather and Climate: An Introduction. Working alongside assistant managing editor Peter Chambers, Jillian was asked to create a wide spectrum of illustrations, from technical charts to intricate environments. Comfortable illustrating in both traditional and digital mediums, Jillian chose to work digitally for this project.  As explained by Jillian, \"the diagrams' subject matter were complex but also needed to be portrayed in a clear and uncomplicated way.\" \n\nFor Jillian, one of the most interesting challenges in this project (and it holds true for most technical projects) is the need to decipher dense, scientific text and translate it into a visual aid that can be easily understand. The illustrations become an essential part of the learning process.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9585561752319336}
+{"content": "fear sneaks.\n\nand when you drive down the same highway you always drive down and everything looks the same and it all smells the same too and suddenly you find yourself questioning the yellow boundary (sometimes only a dash of a yellow line) and questioning whether that's really all it takes to separate my 55 mph from their opposite 55 mph.\n\nand when you find yourself hovering over the same thought..the same selfish thoughts, the same guilty thoughts as always...and you come out on the other side sad and lonely.\n\nthen when you realize these days of this droning are because of fear and simply naming it fear brings a degree of peace in hope, merely saying its name and deciding that's not what you want, not what he wants for you, not who you are meant to be and you resolve to get up and walk forward.\n\nfear sneaks, always?\n\nthis is all my hope and stay; this is my sword and my shield:\n\n'so then, i myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin. therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. for what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. and so he condemned sin in sinful man in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the spirit...for you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the spirit of sonship.' romans 7,8", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6033205389976501}
+{"content": "Wednesday, January 26, 2011\n\nTypes of Psychism\n\nIt is known that certain states of mind make one more receptive to incoming psychic energy, and certain other states make one more expressive of outgoing psychic energy. The former is a relaxed, sleepy, or meditative state, while the latter is a highly focused state of directed concentration.1\n\nPeople tend to either be receptive and affected easily by psychic energy, or are expressive and able to easily effect other people and/or things by psychic energy, or both, as can be observed in the difference of abilities in different psychic practitioners. Receivers of psychic energy (such as telepaths and clairvoyants) tend to be more common, while those who can express psychic energy in the physical (such as psychokinesis, levitation, or materialization) are not nearly as common.\n\nWe all direct, and are all directed to some degree, through psychic energies. We are not normally conscious of these energies affecting us or of us having an effect on the external world through them, but with the awareness and understanding of these energies, we can learn to detect them, and by this means develop them in ourselves and become more in control of them.\n\nHighly emotional and sensitive people tend to be natural receivers. Also helpful for expressing or receiving these energies is the ability to temporarily suspend one’s beliefs, or to not hold strong beliefs in what is commonly accepted as the more fundamental underpinnings of our reality.\n\nFurther, those with strong psychic abilities are often highly educated people, although not always within the established educational system, but rather through self-education driven by their own personal desire to understand the world. Perhaps a wider and more self-directed education allows these people to remain uninhibited about psychism, which an established education will tend to discourage.\n\nArtistic talent is also predominant in those who show psychic abilities. There is a definite difference in the modes of thought between logically inclined people and those who are more artistically inclined. This has often been talked about in terms of left- and right-brained thinking, which indicates that some people can access their deeper subconscious faculties of the right-brain better than others, and that logical, left-brained thinking interferes with psychic abilities. Essentially, artistic, right-brained thinking tends to open us up to our psychic channels.\n\nAlthough we all have psychic abilities to one degree or another, most of us are unaware of it, and therefore unable to control them consciously. It has been found, through laboratory experiments, that many people fall into a group that are referred to as ‘psi negative’, which means that they tend to cause the opposite effect of what they attempt to do through psychic influence. For instance, in predicting the toss of a coin, they will show a tendency over many trials to get more wrong predictions than the expected average, rather than more right predictions. This suggests that these people have psychic ability, but confound themselves, perhaps through self-doubt or second-guessing. However, either way, they show that there is a natural psychic ability in us, and we are able to open up our psychic channels further through better understanding and development.\n\nWhether predicting a coin toss is indicative of precognition (perceiving what state the coin will be in at a future time), or of psychokinesis (causing the coin to end up in a certain position) is unknown, but in either case, it is a form of psychism.\n\nIn order to train our psychic abilities, it would be advantageous to start by practicing with many such coin-tossing tests, and to keep a record of all tests in order to later compare total successes against total failures. The coin-toss test is a good one to use, because the odds are exactly 50/50, so achieving anything consistently above or below normal (either way, an indication of psychic ability) will be easy to spot. The more tests that are recorded, the higher the accuracy rate will be, so it is important to accumulate as many test results as possible. The more potentially pertinent information that is recorded at the time of each test, such as the date and time, mental and physical states, even the current weather conditions, will later give you a chance to look for correlations and patterns between them and your abilities. Anything that you might think of that might be affecting your abilities would be worth noting. However, since the analysis of ourselves and our environment is counter-conducive to psychic reception (because it causes us to use our logical functions rather than to suspend them), it is better to not focus on collecting any of this information except before or after the actual testing is undertaken.\n\nAs coin-toss test results accumulate into the thousands, the balance between right predictions and wrong predictions will even out more and more, but there will always be an overall leaning towards one or the other. This might signify whether a person is psi negative or psi positive, but unless he or she is achieving overall results that are 5-10% above or below the median 50%, it may just be chance. Even those people with very strong psychic abilities will usually achieve no better than 75%, so it should not be expected that a beginning practitioner with no previous training will necessarily achieve such extreme results, although it is not uncommon.\n\nBeyond just looking for a sign of any developed psychic ability at all, these and other tests can be used in learning to strengthen and gain better control of these abilities. This is where more detailed information regarding each test becomes useful, allowing us to refine our understanding of what influences our abilities, how it feels when we are doing it successfully, and what processes we go through in tapping into our psychic channel.\n\nIt appears, from the greater predominance of telepathic abilities over telekinetic abilities among the greater population, that mind-to-mind influence is easier to accomplish that mind-to-matter influence. This suggests that reading a person’s mind or giving a person a mental suggestion is far easier than causing an object to physically move. The latter is thought to entail many years of specialized training and development, although there are many cases of psychics, such as Uri Geller, who learned of their abilities early in life and have always been able to influence matter with little effort. Others, such as the Russian psychic Nelya Mikhailova, on the other hand, lost three pounds in weight in half an hour of psychically affecting matter, and had to put much effort into causing objects to move.\n\nWhat about that third type of psychism, which covers clairvoyance, premonitions, etc? This third type relates not to influencing anything, whether mind or matter, but instead relates to the access of information from the past, present, or future. This type of psychism seems to be the most commonly recognized, with telepathy second and telekinesis third. This type of psychism is purely information based and therefore subjective in nature, whereas telekinesis is purely physical and therefore objective, while telepathy may lie somewhere in between, being perhaps a little of both. Seen in this way, we might be able to measure the development of our abilities on such a scale. If not, we can at least test ourselves for each type of psychic ability, and focus ourselves on developing the one that we seem to have the most promise with.\n\n1 The focused concentration of the expressive state of mind requires the cyclic repetition of a single concept as we hold it in our thoughts to the exclusion of all others. This sets up a resonant field that is sustained for as long as we repeat the cyclic energy of our single thought.\n\nNo comments:\n\nPost a Comment", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9898697137832642}
+{"content": "Ele Borr Risks\n\nAll over the world, poor and marginalised people’s lives and livelihoods are at risk because of disasters, discrimination, conflict and climate change. Explore how Christian Aid, supported by the UK Government, is helping vulnerable and marginalised people to build thriving livelihoods that help them become resilient to the risks they face.\n\n\n“All my life I have looked after livestock. When I was younger, we rarely had drought, but in the last twenty years, drought has become the order of the day and it has really complicated our situation.”\n\n65 year old Gufu Arero\n\nPastoralists like Gufu Arero Gedo in Marsabit County, northern Kenya are among those we often hear about in the news when drought brings hunger or famine to east Africa. Yet it is not just drought that is causing the pastoralists’ way of life to hang in the balance. Population growth, climate change, environmental degradation, disease, conflict and, interestingly, even education are among the many threats that are pushing Kenya’s pastoralists to the brink.\n\nGoats - 6016537L\n\n“Times are changing. Young people are going to school so in the future we may have difficulty keeping livestock… Some men have had to abandon livestock and find other work to take care of their children but people of our age who have not gone to school cannot do without.”\n\nVideo – Social change in pastoral communities\n\nGufu sees no alternative way of supporting his family, and livestock rearing still forms an important part of Kenya’s economy. Cut off from the world, hard to reach, living in some of the harshest and most remote environments in Africa, should pastoralists be supported to sustain their traditional way of life or adapt to new ways of living? The answer is not easy. However, by adopting approaches that help pastoralists address a range of risks and enable them to make the most of the opportunities and resources around them, then perhaps they can do both.\n\n\n\nFive million people live in Kenya’s arid and semi-arid regions which are increasingly prone to frequent drought\n\n\nOf these 5 million, 3 million people depend on pastoralism as a way of life.\n\n\nPastoralists use 42% of Kenya’s land for livestock rearing.\n\n\nLivestock accounts for 10-12% of Kenya’s GDP.\n\nNicholas Abuya, Resilience Officer, Christian Aid explains why new development approaches are needed in Kenya.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9853512048721313}
+{"content": "What do you think about love and marriage going together? Yes it does for some but for many other it does not. What could be the reason for this? Why does love decline for many after getting married?\n\nWhen one starts loving his or her partner, at the beginning they feel very happy and have that feeling that their relationship is like a fairy tale. It is easy to fall in love with someone but to keep that love from dying out after marriage is sometimes difficult. When they are still in love, they enjoy the time they spend together and believe that they are on top of the world. However in most instances, this love life does not continue when they get married. The reason for this is that the couples believe that when they get married their problems are going to be taken care of. Little did they know that they are absolutely wrong as their problems may likely get worse.\n\nBefore both partners take the decision to get married, everything should be rectified and taken care of so that they can have an enjoyable married life. The inception of every relationship is usually pleasing and enjoyable because at such times the parties involved try to make each other happy by sharing their loneliness, sharing their innermost feelings, and fulfilling their requirements.\n\nTo keep the fire of your relationship burning, you need to understand that no one can fulfill your needs and bring you that much needed happiness like your partner. It is very vital that at all times you love, respect and give value to yourself otherwise soon enough you will find your partner slowly drifting away from you. Continue reading", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7841122150421143}
+{"content": "White Album - Episode 23 - We hope to catch colds in order to be nursed and fed. We don't even imagine the pain we're about to endure.\n\n\nby Crunchyroll\n\nYuki spends all her free time practicing for her appearance in the Venus festival. At the same time, Menou is chosen to represent M&MM. Hearing this news, Rina stops by the recording studio where Menou and Natsuko are making their album. Touya's dreams of the distant past, while in the hospital... He sees a young Yuki there. He then passes away, never waking from this dream. While Misaki helps go through his things, to display at the wake, Touya tells stories of his father. He then bursts into tears and embraces Misaki. \"This is only for today.\"", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9881138205528259}
+{"content": "Copyright ©2017 Green Matters. All rights reserved.\nE-Bikes May Revolutionize Transportation And Electricity In Kenya\n\nRural areas in Africa have their struggles in getting electricity, kids traveling long distances to get to school, and families even retrieving fresh water. A project manager that’s lived on the continent for over 25 years decided to make a difference by inventing a product that helps solve these issues. Thanks to Solar-E-Cycle, citizens in remote areas now have a method of transportation while also generating their own power from the sun.\n\nRoger Christen is the man behind Solar-E-Cycle, a co-founder that’s received funding from the Energy and Environment Partnership to make his e-bikes a reality in Africa. There are several variations of the product that can hold up to three people at a time. For example, bikes that are similar to a backwards tricycle are mainly used for delivery purposes.\n\nEach bike has an attached solar panel that generates a battery that powers the installed motor. When the bike is fully charged, it can go up to 50 kilometers, or 31 miles, per hour. 31 miles is also the same distance it can travel in a day. For those wondering about durability, the e-bikes can hold up to 300 kilograms, or roughly 661 pounds, when traveling.\n\nNot only will the Solar-E-Cycle provide transport, but it can also be a portable solar-powered hub. This will give anybody borrowing the device the ability to use it for lighting or hobbies. Christen told Philippe Mercure of La Presse that the bike could be a “source of income,” citing examples like sewing fabric together or being a hair stylist.\n\n\nRight now, availability will be limited to Kenya, and there will be 70 bikes in operation. While that only cracks the surface of helping over 600 million people in Africa that don’t have power, it’s a great start due to the cheap nature of the bike. Most consumers will likely opt to rent the bike for 50 cents per day. Kenya is also a favorable area for this product as they often have large amounts of sunshine.\n\nChristen doesn’t believe that the Solar-E-Cycle will be the answer to all of these problems in Africa. Potential issues just inside Kenya would be the annual “long rain season” that happens anywhere from March to June. Elsewhere, there are roads that would be deemed too unfit for the device to operate on.\n\nThere are also other companies involved in trying to help Africa. Off Grid Electric was founded by three people back in 2012 with a mission to bring solar energy to those in rural areas. Similar to having low-cost equipment for the e-bikes, this would be the same for solar panels and batteries given to families that either couldn’t afford the electricity already available or didn’t have access to it. Off Grid Electric has nine different investors including DBL Partners and SolarCity, who has fused with Tesla, a company that also aims to make solar panels more affordable.\n\nStay Green\nSign up for our daily newsletter", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6829822659492493}
+{"content": "5 stars\n\nSwim Shorts and Tights\n\nChildren rely on you to ensure they're being looked after in the hot sun, so make sure they're wearing the right protective clothing with Stingray's range of swim shorts & tights below.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9854660034179688}
+{"content": "\n\n“Why do I love” You, Sir?\nThe Wind does not require the Grass\nTo answer—Wherefore when He pass\nShe cannot keep Her place.\n\nBecause He knows—and\nDo not You—\nAnd We know not—\nEnough for Us\nThe Wisdom it be so—\n\nThe Lightning—never asked an Eye\nWherefore it shut—when He was by—\nBecause He knows it cannot speak—\nAnd reasons not contained—\n—Of Talk—\nThere be—preferred by Daintier Folk—\n\nThe Sunrise—Sire—compelleth Me—\nBecause He’s Sunrise—and I see—\nI love Thee—\n\n\n\n\n\nEmily Dickinson (1830-1886)\n\nEmily Dickinson (1830-1886)\n\n\n\n\nThe Soul selects her own Society —\nThen — shuts the Door —\nTo her divine Majority —\nPresent no more —\n\nUnmoved — she notes the Chariots —pausing —\nAt her low Gate —\nUnmoved — an Emperor be kneeling\nUpon her Mat —\n\nI’ve known her — from an ample nation —\nChoose One—\nThen — close the Valves of her attention —\nLike Stone—\n\n\n\nEmily Dickinson (1830-1886)\n\nEmily Dickinson (1830-1886)\n\nBrown Penny by W. B. Yeats\n\nI whispered, ‘I am too young,’\nAnd then, ‘I am old enough’;\nWherefore I threw a penny\nTo find out if I might love.\n‘Go and love, go and love, young man,\nIf the lady be young and fair.’\nAh, penny, brown penny, brown penny,\nI am looped in the loops of her hair.\n\nO love is the crooked thing,\nThere is nobody wise enough\nTo find out all that is in it,\nFor he would be thinking of love\nTill the stars had run away\nAnd the shadows eaten the moon.\nAh, penny, brown penny, brown penny,\nOne cannot begin it too soon.\n\nIn ‘Brown Penny’, Yeats explores the question of love; specifically in opening lines of the poem the speaker is pondering whether he is in love with a girl or not. Yeats illustrates the internal conflict of the speaker in the first two lines; ‘I whispered, “I am too young,” / And then, “I am old enough.” These two lines seem to confirm to us that this is a coming-of-age, the speaker questions whether he is ‘old enough’ to be in love, but not just if he can be in love, he also seems to wonder whether or not he has the maturity to appreciate love. He ‘threw a penny’, perhaps flipping the coin, to find the answer to his question of whether he ‘might love.’ The speaker does not have to wait long for an answer to his question of whether he ‘might love’, as the penny seems to speak to him, saying: ‘Go and love, go and love, young man / if the lady be young and fair.’ The speaker’s following proclamation, in stating that he is in ‘looped in the loops of her hair’ instantly after the penny gives him his answer somewhat suggests that he already knew he was in love, and asking whether he was or not is simply ‘head-over-heart’ logic. Alternatively his asking of the penny suggests that he may possibly be the victim of blind faith, he is so in love already that he’ll do anything to have it confirmed to him. He is ‘looped’ in his lover’s hair, suggesting an element of confusion, thus extending the metaphor; the speaker is in fact ‘blinded’ by love.\n\nIn the second and final stanza the speaker comes to accept that asking the penny for a prediction of his romantic exploits is ultimately futile, as ‘love is a crooked thing, / there is nobody wise enough / to find out all that is in it.’ He concludes that attempting to predict the future is a waste of time and if we obsess over it, we will waste the rest of our lives and will never find any answers; we ‘would be thinking of love / till the stars had run away / and the shadows eaten the moon’, thus implying the events of the end of the world. The speaker finally addresses the ��brown penny’ again, claiming that ‘one cannot begin it too soon’, referring of course to the attempts at understanding the ‘crooked’ ways of love. If love would take more than a lifetime (and more time than it would take for the world to end), then age is arguably no object, you can love at any age. The act of finding a penny is widely considered as a good omen or good luck in folklore, and so in using a ‘brown penny’ as a motif in his poem, Yeats perhaps draws a parallel between the connotations of chance in finding a penny or throwing a penny into a fountain / well with the speaker’s risk of throwing himself into love.\n\nWilliam Butler Yeats (1865-1939)\n\nWilliam Butler Yeats (1865-1939)", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8605619072914124}
+{"content": "Features Download\nFrom: Philip Reames <listmail <at> philipreames.com>\nSubject: RFC: GEP as canonical form for pointer addressing\nNewsgroups: gmane.comp.compilers.llvm.devel\nDate: Saturday 15th February 2014 01:18:21 UTC (over 3 years ago)\nRFC: GEP as canonical form for pointer addressing\n\nI would like to propose that we designate GEPs as the canonical form for \npointer addressing in LLVM IR before CodeGenPrepare.\n\n1) It is legal for an optimizer to convert inttoptr+arithmetic+inttoptr \nsequences to GEPs, but not vice versa.\n2) Input IR which does not contain inttoptr instructions will never \ncontain inttoptr instructions (before CodeGenPrepare.)\n\nI've spoken with Nick Lewycky & Owen Anderson offline at the last \nsocial.  On first reflection, both were okay with the proposal, but I'd \nlike broader buy-in and discussion.  Nick & Owen, if I've accidentally \nmisrepresented our discussion or you've had second thoughts since, \nplease speak up.\n\nBackground & Motivation\n\nWe want to support precise garbage collection(1) in LLVM.  To do so, we \nhave written a pass which inserts safepoints, read, and write barriers \nas appropriate.  This pass needs to be able to reliably(2) identify \npointer vs non-pointer values.  Its advantageous to run this pass as \nlate as practical in the optimization pipeline, but we can schedule it \nbefore lowering begins (i.e. before CodeGenPrepare).\n\nWe control the initial IR which is generated and can ensure that it does \nnot contain any inttoptr instructions.  We're looking to have a \nguarantee(*) that a random LLVM optimization pass will not decide to \nreplace GEPs with a sequence of ptrtoint, int arithmetic, and inttoptr \nwhich are hard for us to reason about.\n\n* \"guarantee\" isn't really the right word here.  I'm really just looking \nto make sure that the community is comfortable with GEPs as canonical \nform.  If some pass decides to insert inttoptr instructions into \notherwise clean IR, I want some assurance a patch fixing that would \nstand a good chance of being accepted.  I'm happy to do any cleanup \n\nIn addition to my own use case, here's a few others which might come up:\n- Backends for targets which support different operations on pointers vs \nintegers.  Examples would be some of the older mainframe architectures.  \n(There'd be a lot more work needed to support this.)\n- Various security related applications (e.g. CFI w.r.t. function pointers)\n\nI don't really want to get into these applications in detail, mostly \nbecause I'm not particularly knowledgeable on those topics.  I'd \nappreciate any other applications anyone wants to throw out, but lets \ntry to keep from derailing the discussion.  (As I did to Nick's original \nthread on DataLayout. :))\n\n1) We're not using the existing gc.root implementation strategy.  I plan \non explaining why in a lot more detail once we're closer to having a \ncomplete implementation that we can upstream.  That should be coming \nrelatively shortly.  (i.e. months, not weeks, not years)\n\n2) As Nick pointed out in a separate thread, other types of typecasts \ncan obscure pointer vs integer classifications.  (i.e. casting the base \ntype of a pointer we then load through could load a field of the \"wrong\" \ntype\")  I plan on responding to his point separately, but let's leave \nthat out of this discussion for the moment.  Having GEPs as canonical \nform is a step forward by itself, even if I decide to propose something \nfurther down the road.\n\nCD: 3ms", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8024601936340332}
+{"content": "Legal Implications of Verizon Phone Tracking\n\nThe National Security Agency is collecting phone records of Verizon wireless customers. We dig through the legal implications of doing this, and if this truly is an effective way to counter terrorism, on Chicago Tonight at 7:00 pm.\n\nSen. Dick Durbin released the following statement in response to the news:\n\n\nRead the USA Patriot Act in the PDF below. What are your thoughts about phone tapping and collecting information? Is it government intrusion or is it necessary to keep us safe? Share your comments below.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9960525631904602}
+{"content": "At the tender age of 16, Anthony began to artistically express his creativity through rich cultural heritage leading to the formation of his first company Katchy Kollections, which today houses the affordable luxury Brand JIAMINI. He dived deeper into understanding the technicality of the construction of garments, jewellery and bags gaining first-hand experience from traditional craftsmen, tailors and various artisans who gave a better understanding into the world of leather work.\n\n\n “Being part of one of the winners of ADFT gave me the unique opportunity to see my products developed for the European market…a wonderful experience!”", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5449790954589844}
+{"content": "Print Friendly\n\nAlthough scientific findings like the second law of thermodynamics show that existence is gradually disappearing, even a collision of two planets could destroy the universe. If existence began with a big bang, why should it not end with another big bang or collision? Existence is an extremely delicately calculated “organism,” a system with parts subtly dependent upon each other. A human body is made up of about a hundred million million cells. Just as a single deformed, cancerous cell can kill the entire body, any serious deformation anywhere in the universe also could “kill” it. Our death sometimes comes unexpectedly and without any visible, diagnosed reason. Do we know whether or not the universe might “die” all of a sudden, unexpectedly, from a “disease” or a “heart attack”? Maybe our old world has terminal cancer because we abuse it.\n\nWhat follows comprises some other arguments for the Resurrection and the afterlife:\n\n• God’s Mercy and Munificence are, of course, eternal. An Eternal One Who manifests Himself eternally requires the existence of eternal beings. His eternal Mercy and Munificence demand eternal manifestation and thus eternal beings on whom to confer eternal bounties. But our world is only temporary, and millions of its living creatures die each day. What can such a fact indicate, other than this world’s final and complete death?\n\nThis world cannot receive the comprehensive manifestation of the Divine Names and Attributes. Nor can living beings, who experience great hardship and difficulty in maintaining themselves. For example, we cannot satisfy all our desires and appetites. Our youth, beauty, and strength, upon which we set our hearts, leave without a word and cause us great sorrow. Also, we have to exert ourselves even to obtain a cluster of grapes. If we were denied eternal nourishment after having tasted it, would this not be an insult and a mockery, a source of great pain? For a blessing to be real, it must be constant. Without an eternal life in which we can satisfy our desires eternally, all of God Almighty’s bounties bestowed upon us would change into pain and sorrow. Therefore, after destroying this world, God will transform it into an eternal one that can receive the comprehensive manifestations of His Mercy and Munificence without obstruction, one in which we can satisfy all our desires eternally.\n\n• Divine Pity and Caring heal wounds and wounded hearts and feelings, cause a patient to recover, end the pain of separation, and change pain and sorrow into joy and pleasure. They help human beings and animals throughout their lives, especially before and right after birth. Their mothers’ wombs are well-protected homes in which human beings and animals are nourished directly without any effort on their part. After birth, Divine Pity and Caring provide them with breast-milk, the best possible food, and their parents’ feelings of pity and caring. All of these are a single manifestation of Divine Pity and Caring.\n\nAlthough Divine Pity and Caring encompass the universe, here we encounter wounds, hurt feelings, incurable illness, hunger, thirst, and poverty. Why? As above, the answer is that this world cannot receive the comprehensive manifestation of Divine Attributes and Names such as Pity and Caring. Our inability to do so, as well as our injustice to others and abuse of our innate abilities, intervenes between beings and the manifestations of Divine Pity and Caring. Above all, every living thing dies. This arouses great sorrow in the heart, a sorrow that can only be compensated for by belief in another, eternal world. So, Divine Pity and Caring will be manifested fully in the other world, for that world allows no intervention, sorrow, and pain.\n\n• God’s Names and Attributes are absolute and eternal. Therefore, He is absolutely and eternally Merciful, Relenting, and Forgiving, as well as absolutely and eternally Mighty, Just, and Dignified. Although His Mercy embraces all things (7:156) and, as stated in a hadith, “exceeds His Wrath,”6 some people’s sins are so serious (e.g., unbelief and associating partners with God) that they deserve eternal punishment. Besides, the verse: whoever kills a human being unjustly, it is as if he (or she) has killed humanity (5:32) cannot be ignored. This is especially true today, where “might is right,” thousands of innocent people are killed daily, and many others are wronged and deprived of their basic human rights. Even worse, many of the most serious sins and injustices go unpunished.\n\nDeath does not discriminate between the oppressed and oppressors, the innocent and the guilty, and the sinless and the sinful. This only can mean that just as in the world major crimes are deferred to supreme tribunals, so too, major sins (e.g., unbelief, associating partners with God, murder, and oppression) are referred to the Hereafter’s Supreme Tribunal, where God will dispense absolute Justice. Even if God Almighty sometimes punishes them also here in the world, many injustices remain unpunished due to some instances of wisdom. Therefore, God’s Justice will be fully implemented in the other world.\n\nOne day, those who thanked God will be welcomed with: Eat and drink to your hearts content because of what you did in days gone by (69:24) and Peace be upon you! You have done well. Enter here to dwell forever (39:73). In this place, God has prepared for us things we cannot even begin to imagine. Meanwhile, those who engaged in bloodshed, sin, and other prohibited activities will be thrown into Hell with the shout: Enter (through) the gates of Hell to dwell therein forever: what an evil abode for the arrogant! (39:72).\n\n• A close examination of what goes on in the universe will show that it contains two opposed elements that have spread everywhere, become rooted, and clash with each other. This has resulted in the opposed elements of good and evil, benefit and harm, perfection and defect, light and darkness, guidance and misguidance, belief and unbelief, obedience and rebellion, and love and enmity. God kneaded these opposites together like dough, and made the universe subject to the law of alteration and the principle of perfection. The universe manifests, through such a continuous conflict of opposites, unceasing alterations and transformations in order to produce the elements of a new world.\n\nOne day, the Pen of Divine Destiny will have written what it has to write. The Divine Power will have completed its work, all creatures will have fulfilled their duties and services, and the seeds will have been sown in the field of the afterlife. The earth will have displayed the miracles of Divine Power, and this transitory world will have hung all the eternal scenes upon the picturerail of time. The Majestic Maker’s eternal Wisdom and Favor will require that the truths of the Divine Beautiful Names’ manifestations and the Pen of Divine Destiny’s missives be unveiled.\n\nIt will be time for all creatures’ actions to be repaid, for the truths of the meanings expressed by the Book of the Universe’s words to be seen, and for the fruits of potentialities to be yielded. A Supreme Court will be established, and the veil of natural causes will be removed so that everything is submitted directly to the Divine Will and Power. On that day, the Majestic Creator will destroy the universe in order to eternalize it. He will separate the opposites, causing Paradise to appear with all its beauty and splendor, and Hell to appear with all its awfulness.\n\nParadise and Hell are the two opposite fruits growing on the tree of creation’s two branches, the two results of the chain of creation, the two cisterns being filled by the two streams of things and events, and the two poles to which beings flow in waves. They are the places where Divine Grace and Divine Wrath manifest themselves, and will be full of inhabitants when Divine Power shakes up the universe.\n\n• We are provided here with whatever we need for almost nothing. The more necessary for life an item is, the more abundant and cheaper it is in nature. Our most pressing need is air, which we receive free of charge. Then comes water, which is almost free. God sends both of these from His infinite Mercy, and we make absolutely no contribution. Then come heat and light, which we receive from the sun for nothing. When we look at the rest of His bounties, we see that they are extremely cheap. Yet we still demand that He perform a miracle so that we might believe in Him! Our effort to procure these blessings is minuscule when compared to how they were produced. However, if these bounties or blessings were only temporary and imperfect, our fear of death, which cuts their supply, would change them into poison.\n\nThanks to God’s being eternal, He will provide for us eternal and ever better forms of bounties. As these will be eternal, they will not become a source of pain engendered by our fear of death, because there will no longer be death in the eternal world.\n\n• The universal wisdom in existence requires the Resurrection. God is absolutely free to do what He wills, and no one can call Him to account. However, being All-Wise, He acts with absolute purposiveness and wisdom, and never does something that is in vain, futile, or pointless.\n\nNothing in existence is in vain; there is nothing superfluous, and no act in creation is futile. The entire process observed in a living being’s coming to the world and growth manifests an absolute will and determination based on an all-encompassing knowledge. The observed order and arrangement are so perfect that it is as if directions were written on each particle’s “forehead.” This purposeful wisdom, will, and determination open our eyes to the fact that everything in existence has been created for certain purposes.\n\nConsider what deliberate results are produced by unconscious trees’ actions. Is it really conceivable that something completely ignorant and unconscious of its own existence, which has no power of choice, can do such comprehensive things that require an all-comprehensive knowledge, power, and choice? The Power that attaches such significant purposes to a tree and makes it the means of many deliberate results will certainly not abandon humanity (the fruit of the tree of creation) to its own devices or condemn it to eternal annihilation.\n\nFor when we analyze ourselves, as well as our nature, physical and spiritual identity, structure and body, we realize that we were created for certain important purposes. We are unique beings, for we contain some aspect of all that exists in the universe. Our mental and spiritual faculties represent angelic and other spiritual worlds, such as the world of symbols or immaterial forms. But due to our inborn capacity to learn and to our free will, we can excel even the angels. Our physical or biological being represents plants and animals. Although contained in time and space, our spiritual faculties and such other powers as imagination allow us to transcend them. So the Creator Who creates the simplest things for many purposes and never allows anything to go waste, and Who perpetuates its life through its numerous seeds, will certainly not condemn us to eternal nonexistence under the soil. He will resurrect all of us in an eternal world.\n\n• This world cannot judge our actual worth. Although we have a small physical body, our mental and spiritual faculties allow us to embrace the universe. Our acts are not restricted only to this world, and therefore cannot be bound by time and space. Our nature is so universal that even the first human being’s acts affect the last one’s life and character and all of existence. Restricting us to a physical entity, a very short lifespan, and a limited part of space, as materialists do, shows a complete misunderstanding and lack of appreciation of what each of us really is.\n\nThis world’s scales cannot weigh the intellectual and spiritual value of Prophets and their achievements, or the destruction caused by such monsters as Pharaoh, Nero, Hitler, and Stalin. Nor can they weigh the true value of sincere belief and moral qualities. What is the proper reward for a martyr who has sacrificed everything for the sake of God, or for such universal human values as justice and truthfulness; or for a believing scientist whose dedicated research results in an invention that benefits all people until the Last Day?\n\nOnly the other world’s delicate scales, which account for an atom’s weight of good and evil, can weigh such deeds accurately: We set up a just balance for the Day of Resurrection. Thus, no soul will be treated unjustly. Even though it be the weight of one mustard seed, We shall bring it forth to be weighed; and Our reckoning will suffice (21:47). Even if nothing required the Resurrection, the necessity of weighing our deeds would require an infinitely just and sensitive balance to be established.\n\n• Look at a flower, a word of God’s Power. For a short time it smiles upon us, then hides behind the veil of annihilation. It departs in the way a word that leaves our mouth disappears. The word disappears but leaves its meaning in the minds of those who heard it. Likewise, a flower goes but leaves its visible form in the memory of those who saw it and its inner essence in its seeds. It is as if each memory and seed records the flower’s adornment, or somehow perpetuates it.\n\nIf this is true for an existent thing near the simplest level of life, it will readily be appreciated how closely the human being, the highest form of life and owner of an imperishable soul, is attached to eternity. Actually, we have a strong desire for eternity and eternal life. Some of our senses or feelings, in particular, cannot be satisfied with anything less. None of us are content with this brief life of the world. If we could choose between eternal life with severe hardship during this life and eternal nonexistence after a short luxurious life, we would certainly choose the former, never desiring eternal nonexistence. So, the All-Merciful and All-Wise, Who has implanted in us this fervent desire for eternity, will certainly not condemn us to eternal nonexistence.\n\n• A plant dies in an animal’s or a human being’s stomach and rises to the degree of animal or human life; an animal is consumed by a person and rises to the degree of human life. So, the Lord of the Worlds, Who promotes plants and animals to higher degrees of life through death will certainly not leave His most precious creature—humanity—to rot under earth eternally. Rather, a human being drops into earth (after death) to attain a much higher degree of life in an eternal world.\n\n• Listen to a bird’s singing on a spring morning, the murmur of a brook flowing through green fields or deep valleys. Look at the beauty of spectacular green plains and trees in blossom. Watch the sun rise or set, or the full moon on a cloudless, clear night. All of these events, and many more that God presents to our senses, are but a single gleam of His absolute and eternal Beauty manifested through many veils. By observing such manifestations, through which He makes Himself known, we are enraptured.\n\nTemporary blessings leave unbearable pain in our heart when they disappear. If spring came only once, we would sigh over it until we die. So, a true blessing must necessarily be eternal. In this world, the Eternally Beautiful One shows us only shadows of His Beauty in order to arouse our desire to see Its eternal and perfect manifestation. Moreover, He will allow us to see Him in Paradise in a manner free of any qualitative and quantitative measure or dimension: On that day there will be shining faces, gazing upon their Master (75:22–23).\n\n• There is a basic relation between humanity and this world. We are born into an amiable environment and equipped with the required senses. We have feelings like compassion and pity, as well as caring and love, for there are many things here to which we can apply them. We feel hunger and thirst, cold and heat. Fortunately, these feelings can be satisfied with that which was prepared before or with only a slight exertion on our part.\n\nConsider an apple. Its color and beauty appeal to our eyes and our sense of beauty. Its taste addresses our sense of taste, and its vitamins nourish our bodies. Despite our need of its nutriments, we might refuse to eat it if it were ugly and tasteless, and thereby deprive ourselves of its nourishment. This, as well as many other natural facts, shows that One with infinite Knowledge and Power created us and prepared a suitable environment for us. He knows all of our needs, capacities, and qualities, just as He knows nature down to its smallest building blocks.\n\nAnother example is reproduction, which depends on mutual love and attraction between a man and a woman. If our Creator had not placed such things in us, if He had not allowed us to enjoy the process of reproduction, and if He had not implanted a great love and caring for our resulting children, we would never have reproduced. The first and final members of our species would have been Adam and Eve.\n\nDeath ends all pleasure and makes everything as if it had never been. Given this, if there were no Resurrection, our life would be a meaningless existence of suffering and pain. However, this world is a shadowy miniature of the other, eternal one. The bounties God bestows here are only examples of their eternal and much better forms in the eternal world, and are displayed here to encourage us to act in order to deserve them:\n\nGive glad tidings to those who believe and do good deeds. For them there will be Gardens beneath which rivers flow. Every time they are served with the fruits therein, they will say: “This is what was given to us aforetime.” They shall be given in perfect semblance. And there will be pure spouses for them, and they will abide there forever. (2:25)\n\nAll joy and beauty, reward and happiness in this world point to their perfect and eternal forms in Paradise; all pain and punishment, ugliness and unhappiness point to their likes in Hell. God will use the debris from this world, after He destroys it, to build the other world. Thus, the interrelations among things here and between this world and the other point to the Resurrection.\n\n• The universe works according to a moving timeline. Just as seconds point to minutes, minutes to hours, and hours to today’s end and tomorrow’s coming, and days point to weeks, weeks to months, months to years, and years to the end of a whole lifespan, existence has its own days in every sphere and dimension. Its appointed lifespan will one day come to an end.\n\nAlso, time is cyclical and the life of existence has certain terms or cycles: our worldly life, the life of the grave, and the afterlife, which is the last cycle and has many cycles or terms of its own. The Qur’an calls each of these a day, for a day corresponds to our entire life: dawn, morning, noon, afternoon, and evening correspond to one’s birth and infancy, childhood, youth, old age and death, respectively. Night resembles the intermediate life of the grave, and the next morning resembles the Resurrection.\n\n• Everything is subject to the law of development up to a final end. Given this, everything must evolve to a final end. This means that everything has a limited lifespan and that it will die upon reaching its final end. Since a human being (a microcosm, a conscious miniature of the universe) eventually will die, the universe (a macro-human being) also must perish and be resurrected on the Last Day. Just as a living tree, an unconscious miniature of the universe, cannot save itself from annihilation, so “the branches of creatures” that have grown from “the tree of creation” will die.\n\nIf the universe is not destroyed by an external event coming from the Eternal Will, then a day, also predicted by science, will come when it will begin to die. It will give a sharp cry, and the following events will occur: When the sun is folded up (and darkened); and when the stars fall (losing their luster); and when the mountains are set moving (81:1–3); and When the heaven is cleft open; and when the stars fall in disorder and are scattered (82:1–3).\n\n• Nothing disappears completely from this world. While we can record and preserve our every word and act on tapes, why should we not be able to understand that God, Who is the All-Recording and All-Preserving, records all of humanity’s words and deeds The Resurrection and the Afterlife 113 in a way unknown to us? For we see that He enfolds everything in small things like seeds. For example, each human being is enfolded in a sperm or in his or her forty-six chromosomes. If we had forty-four or forty-eight chromosomes, we would be something completely different. He also records and preserves the whole life of a tree in its seeds, each of which will grow into a new, almost identical, elaborate tree. A plant that dies in autumn or winter continues to live not only in its seeds but also in innumerable memories. Likewise, He preserves sounds and voices, as well as appearances and sights to display them in another world. When we die and disappear into the soil, our most essential part, which is like a nucleus or a seed and is called “the root of the tail” (in a Prophetic saying),7 does not disappear, for God will use it rebuild us on the Day of Resurrection.\n\n• Consider an atom. The way it is formed and the way it maintains its relationships with other atoms are astounding miracles. Creating a solar system or an atom, both of which have orbiting bodies, and then regulating their movements and establishing their relationships are equally easy for God. Similarly, a cell is like an autonomous government. It has its own departments, each of which is interrelated with others and ruled by a center, as well as a “ministry of finance” that manages its income and expenditure. It is as if each cell were as smart as the smartest person on the planet. In addition, there are very close and substantial relations between these cells, all of which are ruled by a center—the brain.\n\nGod created the world and humanity when nothing of either thing existed. He brought our body’s building blocks together from soil, air, and water, and made them into a conscious, intelligent being. Is there any doubt that the person who made a machine can tear it apart and reassemble it, or that an army commander can gather his dispersed soldiers through a trumpet call?\n\nSimilarly, while reconstructing the world, God Almighty will gather our atoms and grant them a higher, eternal form of  life: Say: “Travel in the land and see how He originated creation, then God brings forth the later growth. Assuredly, God is able to do all things” (29:20); and Look at the imprints of God’s mercy (in creation): how He gives life to the earth after its death. He surely is the reviver of the dead (in the same way), and He is able to do all things (30:50). These are only a few examples of the Creator’s Power. Everything is equally easy for Him. Creating and administering the universe is as easy as creating and administering an atom. If all people worked together, we could not create even one atom. So, if the absolutely Powerful One says He will destroy the universe and rebuild it in a different form, He will do so. As God does not lie and is without defect, His promises can be believed. As stated in the Qur’an: The Day of Final Decision and Judgment is a fixed time, a day when the Trumpet is blown, and you come in multitudes, and the heaven is opened and becomes as gates (78:17–19).\n\nFurthermore, not all component parts of us need to be present for our re-creation. Rather, only the fundamental part or the essential particles, as mentioned earlier, may be sufficient for the second creation. The All-Wise Creator will rebuild the human body upon this foundation.\n\n• An overall death and revival is repeated every year. In winter, a white “shroud” covers the soil, whose yearly life cycle ends in autumn. Nature has already turned pale and shows fewer traces of life. The shell has fallen in and, ultimately, trees become like lifeless, hard bones; grass has rotted away and flowers have withered; migrating birds have left; and insects and reptiles have disappeared.\n\nJust as every night is followed by day, winter, which is only temporary, is followed by a general revival. Warm weather causes trees to bud and, wearing their finery, present themselves to the Eternal Witness. The soil swells, and grass and flowers start to bloom everywhere. Seeds that fell into ground during the previous autumn have germinated and, having annihilated themselves, are transformed into new forms of life. Migrating birds return, and the planet hosts countless insects and reptiles. In short, nature appears before us in all its splendor and finery.\n\n• Consider the following analogy: Traveling upon a road, we come upon a caravanserai built by a great person. It is decorated at the greatest expense in order to delight and instruct the guests during their night’s stay. We can see just a little, for we are staying for a very short time. Briefly tasting the joys of what is offered, we continue our journey unsatisfied. However, the great one’s servants busily record each guest’s conduct and preserve the record. We see, too, that most of the wonderful decorations are replaced daily with fresh ones for newly arriving guests.\n\nHaving seen all this, can any doubt remain that the caravanserai’s builder must have permanent exalted dwellings, inexhaustible precious treasures, an uninterrupted flow of unlimited generosity? With his generosity shown here, he intends only to arouse his guests’ appetite for what remains in his immediate presence, to awaken their desire for the gifts he has prepared for them.\n\nIf we reflect upon this world, we will understand that this world, just like the caravanserai, does not exist for itself. Neither could it have assumed this shape by itself. Rather, it is a well-constructed temporary place, wisely designed to receive those beings who constantly arrive, stay awhile, and then depart. Those inhabiting it for a transient, short time are guests, invited by their Generous Sustainer to the Abode of Peace.\n\nThis world’s adornments and amusements are not here for our perpetual enjoyment, for such temporary pleasures result in long-lasting pain when they disappear. They give us a taste to rouse our appetite. But they do not satiate us, for they are too short-lived, or our life is too short. Such valuable and temporary adornments must be there to instruct us in wisdom, arouse gratitude, and encourage us to seek their permanent originals.\n\nIn short, the adornments we see are for exalted goals beyond themselves. They are like samples and forms of blessings stored in Paradise, by the Mercy of the All-Merciful, for people of faith and good conduct.\n\n• Almost all previous people believed in the Resurrection.8 Even the self-proclaimed divine Pharaohs of ancient Egypt believed in it, and so wanted to be buried with their most precious things and slaves. If we search through the tombs, epitaphs, documents, and art of bygone peoples, we hear humanity’s sighs for eternity echoing throughout time. Despite the alterations and distortions that have crept in over time, we find clear evidence of a belief in eternity in ancient India, China, and Greece, as well as in most Western philosophies.\n\nIn the Muslim world, almost all philosophers believed in eternal life. Even the irreligious Abu al-A‘la al-Ma‘arri tried to describe, in his Risalat al-Ghufran, the Day of the Resurrection according to Qur’anic verses. Dante appears to have adapted this scholar’s writings for his descriptions of Paradise, Hell, and Purgatory.\n\nTo sum up: Except for a few materialists, the long history of Eastern and Western philosophy witnesses to belief in the Resurrection and an afterlife.9\n\nGulen, Muhammed Fethullah. The Essentials of the Islamic Faith. The Light, Inc. 2005.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5826365947723389}
+{"content": "Joe LaVorgna CNBC\n\nJoe LaVorgna, the top economist at Deutsche Bank, has caught a lot of flak lately for being more bullish than most, and thus -- lately -- wronger than most.\n\nHe's bummed by the string of weak data, but he's not giving up. And he sees an ongoing recovery strength in Q3.\n\nhere's teh summary of his latest note:\n\nThe economic data over the past few months have been extremely disappointing. The May employment report broadly followed this trend, although the details of the release were not as weak as the headlines suggest. We had hoped to avoid forecast revisions until the release of our quarterly World Outlook, so that we could digest not only the May employment news, but also the upcoming reports on industrial production, retail sales and housing starts. Unfortunately, we do not have that luxury in light of the recent negative data surprises and dismal employment news. Consequently, we discuss changes to our forecast earlier than what we anticipated.  We expect the economic expansion to remain intact, but at a more modest pace than what we previously envisioned. Going forward, we believe the economy will benefit from accommodative monetary policy, as real interest rates are poised to probe even lower negative readings.  Additionally, our expectation of lower energy costs combined with a potentially sizeable recovery in motor vehicle production should provide a powerful fillip to GDP growth in Q3.\n\nBTW: Fillip means stimulus.\n\nAnd for the explanation of why the economy is weak, see here.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6385565400123596}
+{"content": "52 reasons why your kids are drunk all the time\n\nI’m pretty sure kids drink when we’re not looking.\n\nLet’s examine the evidence for this theory.\n\nMoody when they wake up? Yep. Just like an alcoholic.\nTalking rubbish? Yep. Boozed off their tits.\nFalling over invisible things? Yep. Definitely swallied.\nSeemingly unable to do simple tasks like eating without covering themselves, and others, in food. And then giggling about it? YEP. As pished as a pished fish.\n\nWhy do you think they’re always asking you for money?\n\nThis morning we had fingers trapped in a window. Why? No-one could answer why.\n\nI can. Because they’re drunk.\n\nWhat did you do at school today? Don’t try asking this question otherwise you’ll get ‘Dunno.’\n\nHow can you spend 7 hours somewhere and not remember a thing about it? Unless it’s a pub, and you’ve been drinking heavily. Ergo, they must drink when we’re not looking. Always ask something like ‘Would you prefer to play with 4 mice the size of elephants or 40 elephants the size of mice?’ Then the little drunkards will answer you.\n\nLast night at dinner we were told a story about a boy, or a girl, who didn’t go the right way round when doing a circuit of the playing field. The 7-year-old story-teller couldn’t tell us if it was a boy or girl because ‘they had hair down to here, or here. Or here.’ This boy or girl is a member of their class and they see them ever day.\n\n\nCurrently one of them is dancing around the living room singing Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. They’ve just come down from upstairs where they were brushing their teeth.\n\nWith a bottle of vodka, clearly.\n\nI grew up with an alcoholic and I’ve seen this before. Sudden mood swings, from happy to sad, from perky to utterly tired, and the only explanation can be that they drink when we’re not around.\n\nAn argument for no clear reason over nothing?\n\n\n\n\n\n\nOr Lagged up, Lamped, Langered, Laroped, or alt. larrupt, Lashed, Leathered, Legless, Liquored up, Locked, Locked out of your mind, Loo la, Mad wey it, Mandoo-ed, Mangled, Manky, Mashed, Meff’d, Merl Haggard, Merry, Minced, Ming-ho, Minging, Moired, Monged, Monkey-full, Mottled, Mullered, Newcastled, Nicely irrigated with horizontal lubricant, Off me pickle, Off me trolley, On a campaign, Out of it, Out yer tree, Paggered, Palintoshed, Paraletic, Peelywally, Peevied, Pickled, Pie-eyed, Pished, Plastered, Poleaxed, Pollatic, Rat-legged, Ratted, Ravaged, Razzled, Reek-ho, Rendered, Rosy glow, Rubbered, Ruined, Saying hello to Mr Armitage, Scattered, Schindlers, Screwed, Scuttered, Shedded, Slaughtered, Sloshed, Smashed, Snatered, Snobbled, Sozzled, Spangled, Spannered, Spiffed, Spongelled, Squiffy, Steamin, Steampigged, Stocious, Stonkin, Tanked, Tashered, Tipsy, Trashed, Trollied, Troubled, Trousered, Twisted, Warped, Wasted, Wellied, With the fairies, Wrecked or Zombied.\n\nSo, next time you see your little cherubs arguing fiercely over nothing or, unable to recall something they did an hour ago, unable to put their shoes on the correct feet, or unable to find their coat, which they’re wearing… you know why.\n\nIt’s enough to drive you to drink.\n\nThanks for reading.\n\nIf you like this, then please share it. If you really like this longtime, along with the rest of the content on ZmG, then please nominate us in the 2016 Britmums Brilliance in Blogging awards. If you do so then I’ll come round and do your ironing. Thanks again.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6543257236480713}
+{"content": "The Measure of Things\n\nSorrowing Sands, Chapter 2\n\nEight survivors of the Bloodhound spend day after day drifting across the sea. Loud, Seven, and Iddan, experienced sailors, manage to rig a makeshift sail, but progress is slow. Tensions and tempers flare on the crowded lifeboat. Fishing makes for plentiful food, but water runs low.\n\nFinally, Puca reveals that she can product fresh water with her magic. Asked why she didn’t do so before, Puca expresses that she feared further persecution for her magic, akin to what Marconi endured. After some debate, Marconi is released from his bounds, and the survivors rejoice in their new water. Group morale improves considerably.\n\nThree days later, land appears again. Despite reluctance after the last island, the survivors head ashore. This island is smaller than the last, with two abandoned goblin villages. The survivors split up, each half taking a different village. They find little more than trinkets at either, and remarkably few goblin corpses for what appears to be a recently raided island.\n\nOne group – Puca, Loud, Dalton, and Seven – make it to a lonely watchtower on the island. One goblin, possibly the tribe leader, remains within. After some prodding, the goblin tells the group that a fearsome hobgoblin came and made off with his people.\n\n“I feared as much,” Maria says when the two parties meet back up. “A raid on this island, so close to the other. He came to take slaves to replace those we killed.”\n\nSatisfied with what they’ve learned and found, the two groups meet back up and head off. Shortly after setting out, they spot sails on the horizon.\n\n\nGreyflame Greyflame\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9337666034698486}
+{"content": "what is a ‘rut’, and what is a ‘plateau’?\n\nA friend told me that his mentor commented on his current position in life as being in a rut. And that he needs to get out of this rut. So I was googling the definition of a rut, and I realised that there are a tonne of articles dedicated to ‘changing your mindset and getting out of a rut’.\n\nA rut is defined as “a habit or pattern of behaviour that has become dull and unproductive but is hard to change.” In other words, if you are doing things habitually but you do not find it dull or unproductive, then it is not a rut. You are on a plateau and it is part of your path to mastery. Also, if you are feeling dull and unproductive but you are constantly changing your methods, just not the results, then you are also not in a rut. You are just trying your best to find out what is a suitable method to use on your life.\n\nLife is strange and also interesting because there is no one method to get ahead, everyone has their own capacities to tolerate the dull stuff and everyone has different abilities. As Chase Jarvis said, there is no one path. What works for him might not work for me, even if we are both on the same job and we have the exact same deliverables. Some of us like to work on teams, some like to bury their heads under piles of research papers, some like to work alone, conduct focus group discussions. I am a mix of everything and that is what makes me effective, because I am constantly bored by things and wanting to try new things until I find something that works really well. Research frankly is not my strength, because sitting alone in a cubicle can get dull. I would rather meet the researchers and ask them what have they discovered so far since they published that article in 2004, and has anyone tried to assassinate them because of what they wrote? Just because I don’t act like other people doesn’t mean I am in a rut, or that I am ‘not good enough’. I just have a different way of living.\n\nWhy do people have ruts though. I identify strongly with something that Elizabeth Appell said, which is “the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom”. In the past I used to be more afraid of doing things, but after reading ‘mastery’ and ‘mindset’ I guess I am a lot more willing to just do them, and see how it goes. (Although I have to say that going to DG on a Friday night after a full day of school is damn tiring.) But the thing is, I think I am only able to think this way because I am currently not in a ‘rut’. I don’t think my life is dull or boring or the alternative is that it has always been dull and boring and I am only thinking this way because I am too narrow-minded to think of it in another way. Or that I think I am productive just because I am busy, but I don’t actually live or like my life. But isn’t that what life is about. It is about how we process meaning in our daily jobs and habits, even if other people look at the way we like and they turn their nose up at us.\n\nLet’s say my life is indeed dull and boring, how would I know? What is the feeling like? Are there other things that I want to achieve apart from writing/health/business? I know for a fact that I am making some indefinite progress in writing/business, I am not good at it yet, don’t think I will ever be, but I am more self-assured now if someone were to ask me to come up with something on the spot. Because I have that history of practice. What are the other things in my life that I am lacking and I should go and do it, or should the question I am asking be ‘what other parts of my heart have I not explored?’\n\nIt seems to me that people are constantly looking outside of their hearts to know what they should be doing next. Climbing the career ladder, buying prettier things, being online all the time. I told my friend that because it is low-grade dissatisfaction, he feels like he is in a rut but because no one else sees it, so he is not accountable to anyone for how far he progresses in dealing with his rut. However he knows that it is not where he wants to be, although he doesn’t know what is his next step, so now he’s kind of in limbo because nothing is attractive enough to be a goal that he can stick to for years, and so everything, measured in short-term milestones, is not a good enough motivator for him to change his life. But from an outsider’s perspective, there’s nothing in his life for me to think that it requires change. Not everything needs to be ‘done’ in order to be good, it can just be enjoyed.\n\nQuite frankly, people telling me ‘just take any other step’- it doesn’t help me because I don’t know what is my next step, and hence I won’t take it. Why would I jump off into the unknown when there are good things to be enjoyed now? I actually had zero inclination to go on internships. It was through reading books then did I realise that I really do want to work with people to make their quality of life better. I want to change things and leave the situation a little better than how it was when I first started. Hence I’m applying to HR and HR consulting.\n\nBut had I not read the hundred or so books in year 2 then I might not be doing anything that I am doing now. I needed to get back to my heart, in order to realise that gap between what I know of myself and what I really want to do. Of course, it might just have been a self-hypnosis session where I read and then tada I want to be a writer, or I browse some Instagram photos and then okay, I shall work towards yoga. (I have great hopes that I might be able to start my practice in a few months when my body stops giving me issues.) Or maybe it is just my intuition/heart nudging me to where I should be, that great universe pushing me towards my ultimate aha! moment.\n\nBut I now know that ‘doing things’ and ‘achieving things’ doesn’t fulfil that emptiness in my heart- I want to do things that I can be proud of, even if no one else likes them. I hope to always do interesting and challenging things in my career, and in my hobbies. Perhaps because my top strength is Achiever, so I am constantly doing things or moving in the direction where I think I can do interesting things, hence I don’t feel this sense of being ‘stuck’, there are always things to look forward to even as I drag myself to TCM every two weeks. Interesting as in slightly outside of my comfort zone, involving more learning and self-direction, and being able to teach my skillsets to other people.\n\nEven so, I am aware that one day I might look back at this period of my life and then realise that ‘shit, none of my goals got fulfilled’. That is fine too. Because I tried. I know that four years is a long time and I have faith that I might grow as a person- wiser, less anxious, more patient- as I work on my own life path. I emphasize ‘own’ because people will always tell you what to do. Consider their opinions, but don’t eat all of them for breakfast or you will implode.\n\nAnd did you get what\nyou wanted from this life, even so?\nI did.\nAnd what did you want?\nTo call myself beloved, to feel myself\nbeloved on the earth.\n― Raymond Carver, A New Path to the Waterfall\n\n\nI was looking at ruts that are not related to individuals and their careers, or hobbies. But family related ruts. To be honest I am very detached from my relatives- if my parents ever turn neurotic, then I am just going to leave. I believe that if people want to stay in my life then at the very least, they must not be adding to my burdens. It is different if the burden is legitimate, like a medical condition or financial distress, then I don’t mind taking up that responsibility. But if that burden is something along the lines of quarreling everyday because I don’t come home before 1am every day, then that’s something I don’t want to take part in. Thankfully my parents are both very occupied in their own personal lives, to the point where I have to remind them that I’m alive and would appreciate some chicken soup on Saturdays. If my mom wasn’t into religion I believe my childhood might have been different- she would definitely be even more controlling than what she already was. And I might not be alive, I would be a gangster or something. Durian-wielding gangster.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6961519718170166}
+{"content": "Articles Posted in Uncategorized\n\nemergency-medicine-ER-vermont-find-a-doctorImmediately following an accident most injured parties seek emergency medical care.  Unfortunately, it is not unusual for an injured person to avoid scheduling follow-up treatment.  Either a person without medical insurance is concerned about accumulating additional medical bills, or they are afraid to miss work.  Regardless of the reason, not getting treatment in the days or weeks following an accident can negatively affect your case.  The importance of receiving post-accident follow-up medical care cannot be stressed enough.\n\nFollowing Medical Advice\n\nInstructions regarding follow-up medical care are usually provided at the end of an emergency room visit.  The attending physician or the nurse responsible for your care will explain what type of specialist should be seen or provide instructions for seeing a primary care physician.  These instructions are also included on any discharge notes and become part of your medical record.\n\natv-accidentAll-terrain vehicles or ATVs are popular in Georgia, particular in rural areas where these vehicles are used on farms, for hunting, or are sometimes just ridden for fun. Many individuals fail to appreciate that ATVs are dangerous and easy to crash. Statistics indicate that more than 130,000 injuries were caused by ATV accidents in 2012 with more than 550 adults and 140 children dying as the result of ATV accidents that same year. Individuals who are injured in an ATV accident frequently find it essential to retain the services of a skilled attorney who is experienced in helping individuals who have been injured in similar ways. If you have been injured in an ATV accidents due to the negligence of another party, a skilled attorney will be able to make sure that you receive the financial compensation that you deserve.\n\nThe Danger Presented by ATVs\n\nThe National Trauma Data Bank reports that ATVs are more dangerous than dirt bikes and are often just as dangerous on motorcycles. Many ATVs are intended for use by a single operator and are not designed to carry passengers. ATVs are also not designed to travel on paved roads. ATVs in Georgia are also dangerous due to lack of regulations and safety precautions and there is no state agency tasked with regulating ATV use. Also, because nearly all ATVs lack a cab or cage, ATV rollovers are more likely to cause serious injuries and even fatalities. Individuals should also be aware that three wheel ATVs are particularly dangerous. Due to the risk of three wheel ATVs rolling overs, these vehicles were removed from the market and manufacturers stopped producing three wheel ATVs. Statistics still suggest, however, that an estimated 2.4 million three-wheelers still remain in use today.\n\nOn Tuesday January 3, 2th017 a five-year-old girl was attacked by a neighbor’s three pit bulls after the dogs escaped through an opening in their owner’s fence.  The child received emergency treatment for bites to her face, shoulders, and legs.  Two weeks later another five-year-old girl was seriously injured and listed in critical condition after being attacked by three dogs.  During that same attack a six-year-old boy was killed.  These recent dog attacks raise concerns regarding Georgia dog owner liability and what can be done to protect small children from similar attacks.\n\nDog Bite Statistics\n\nUnfortunately, dog attacks are not rare and the majority of the time these attacks involve young children.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) believe approximately 4.5 million dog bites occur annually.  It is estimated that 1,000 people are bitten by dogs each day.  Children between the ages of five and nine are at the greatest risk of receiving serious injuries related to dog bites.  Approximately 81 percent of all dog attacks involve children, 86 percent of all dog attacks cause bodily harm or maiming, and 76 percent of dog attacks result in fatalities.\n\ndroneWith Christmas comes gifts like hover boards and paintball guns that are highly desired but require skill to operate properly. An item sure to be a popular present this year is the unmanned aircraft system—commonly known as a drone. Drones, in the hands of new, untrained users, can be dangerous, and even when operated by experienced users they increasingly are causing accidents and injuries.\n\nDrones cause accidents by dropping out of the sky or crashing into people and things. Collision with a drone, with its sharp angular parts, high speeds of travel and zooming in seemingly out of nowhere, naturally results in physical injuries and damage to whatever it hits.\n\nDrones can malfunction for many reasons, such as an operator failing to correctly gauge speed, distance, angle, height, weather conditions, etc. A drone may unexpectedly lose power midflight. Also, a drone may have a defect in its design or manufacturing.\n\nThe holiday season is the time of the year when you visit the homes of family and friends to attend festive parties or stay a few days if visiting from out of town. Your host wants to make your comfortable and keep you entertained, but it’s also the host’s responsibility to ensure you are safe.\n\nYou might slip on a spilled drink or in the shower or fall down the basement stairs. According to the National Floor Safety Institute, half of all accidental deaths are caused by falls in the home. Falls account for more than 8 million hospital emergency room visits, and slip-and-falls account for over 1 million hospital visits.\n\nBecause you were the guest of a family member or a dear friend you may be hesitant to ask that the host help pay for your injuries from a slip-and-fall in his or her home. But if your injuries are severe and require a long period of recuperation or physical therapy, you may have to sue the host and/or the insurance company for compensation.\n\naggressive driving and road rage\n“You Idiot!” “Freakin’ Moron!” Where did you learn to drive? Grade School?!” These are only the G-Rated comments made by one experiencing road rage. The American Psychological Association defines road rage as the reaction of certain high-angered motorist to the behaviors of others while driving. Generally, aggressive driving and road rage is lumped together and used interchangeably as if they have the same meaning. However, the act of aggressively driving is an entirely different beast. This would include one who follows too closely, speeds unnecessarily, changes lanes in an unsafe manner, fails to signal, or engages in any other inconsiderate or negligent conduct while driving on the road.\n\nThe National Highway Traffic Safety Administration defines aggressive driving as taking place when “an individual commits a combination of moving traffic offenses so as to endanger other persons or property.” Aggressive driving may warrant a mere traffic citation, while road rage conduct can be heightened to an all-out criminal offense. Look at it like this, one who drives aggressively does so simply “by nature” or is triggered into doing so due to them running behind or being impatient. Road rage is brought on by a reaction to another’s conduct. When a motorist cuts you off, or doesn’t allow you to merge into that necessary lane, you react to that with anger, right?\n\nFour Ways to Indicate Whether You Are An Aggressive Drive\n\nIt’s a sure sign of the coming of spring and summer when you see motorcyclists out for a joy ride. However, the are not only more bikes on the road during the warmer season, there are also more motorcycle accidents.\n\nOwning or riding a motorcycle can be very dangerous. Unlike riding in a car, when you are on a bike, there is nothing protecting you in the event of a collision—no airbags, safety belts, and definitely no passenger compartment. Motorcycles are exposed on all sides, putting you at a higher risk for injury.  Motorcyclists are 35 times more likely to be involved in a fatal accident than those in cars. This means you have to be extra cautious to avoid an accident at every turn.\n\nMotorcycles can hide in a driver’s blind spot. Some motorists will get over without checking over their shoulder and may sideswipe a motorcyclist in the process. These are some of the most common causes for motorcycle injuries:\n\nIn Central Georgia, a truck driver walking to a Family Dollar store after leaving his truck was killed by a two-car collision.  The car accident left the drivers and any passengers in the vehicle without injuries and was considered a minor accident by authorities.  However, the pedestrian struck by one of the vehicles died less than an hour after the accident at a medical facility.  The recent Georgia pedestrian accident is a reminder of the danger of the roadways, even when vehicles aren’t traveling at high speeds and pedestrians exercise caution.\n\nInjured pedestrians or family members of walkers and runners killed by an automobile may be able to recover compensation for the cost of medical expenses, lost wages from the inability to work, funeral expenses, and other applicable kinds of economic loss.  The injured pedestrian or estate of the deceased must show the driver responsible for the accident was acting negligently, and that this negligence caused the accident and the resulting injuries.  Drivers are obligated to follow the rules of the road and to drive safely, but failure to do so means they are liable to those who are injured.\n\nblack shoes - runningWhen serious, or catastrophic, injuries are sustained, other avenues of compensation or legal relief may be necessary to pursue.  Occasionally, other people or entities may share in the responsibility for damages to be paid to the injured or the deceased’s estate.  If the at-fault driver was under an “umbrella” policy, the driver’s family member’s or employer’s policy may be available for additional compensation.  The pedestrian’s own auto insurance policy, depending on the type of coverage obtained, may also be available if policy limits fall far below the cost of medical expenses.  In Georgia, all motorists are required to carry bodily injury liability insurance coverage for $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident, but not all drivers follow the law and an injured’s Uninsured/Underinsured coverage may be called upon to provide the financial relief needed. Continue reading\n\nOne may be familiar with the term “assault and battery” after reading the term in criminal news articles or hearing it used in a television show.  People often don’t realize that assault and battery are also intentional torts under Georgia law.  Personal injury cases are usually associated with negligent conduct, like a store failing to clean up a spill and causing a slip-and-fall.  However, civil suit can also be pursued for when someone purposefully sought to threaten or make offensive or harmful contact with another.\n\naid boxAssault happens when someone intentionally acts in a way that causes the other person, or group of people, reasonable apprehension of imminent and harmful contact.  For example, if someone swings around a knife near someone else to cause fear, and the fear of being hurt is reasonable, the person with the knife could be liable for damages.  No contact is necessary for the tort of assault in a civil action.  Battery occurs when there is purposeful contact, and the contact was made with the intent to harm or offend.  Both intentional torts similar to their criminal counterparts, with the distinction between the statutes lying in the available remedy and the parties involved.\n\nIn Clayton County, Georgia, a trial began this week of a man accused of exposing women to the HIV virus after he knew he was infected with HIV.  Under Georgia law, a person who knows they have been infected with HIV is under a statutory duty to inform their partner that they are infected with HIV prior to sexual intercourse.  Failure to do so means one is guilty of a felony and can face up to ten years in prison.  HIV and Hepatitis are specifically covered under Georgia law, but other sexually transmitted diseases may be prosecuted under criminal assault or battery statutes.\n\nContinue reading", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8352118134498596}
+{"content": "tv drug of the nation as tool 4 change?\n\nhow, then does a nation of several hundred million people pay attention? where is the “knowing faculty” to be found in modern civilisation? i believe that television, in particular, is fundamental to the knowing capacity of modern societies. however, to suggest that television is vital for the functioning of a reflective conciousness for modern societies will strike many people as an outrageous assertion. television has been called a “boob tube”, a “cultural barbiturate”, a “vast wasteland” and worse. how can such a seemingly dysfunctional technology be at the heart of our capacity for social knowing?\na few stark statistics testify to the power of television in dominating the consciousness and perceptions of modern society. in the u.s. 99% of all households have a television, making the tv set one of the most common fixtures in our lives. the average person watches nearly four hours of television per day and a majority of persons get a majority of their news about the world from this single source. television creates our shared frame of reference, and for all pratical purposes, if something does not appear on television, it does not exist in mass social conciousness. television, then, has become our social witness, our shared vehicle for knowing what we know.\ndespite the power of television to awaken our collective knowing, it is clearly not serving us in this way. television may be our primary social mirror, but it is holding up a reflection that is diminshed, distorted asnd shortsighted. consequently, i believe that the most critical environmental problem facing humanity is not a problem with the physical environment but with the electronic environment generated by the mass media. to build a sustainable and compassionate future we must overcome the cultural hypnosis of consumerism that is generated daily by commercial television. by allowing television to be programmed primarily for commercial succes, we are simultanously programming the mindset of entire civilisations for evolutionary stagnation and ecological failure. our evolutionary maturity is being tested. our future as a species may well depend on a new “politics of conciousness” that holds the mass media accountable for being a fair witness and mature partner in our collective awakening.\n[excerpt from duane elgin: our collective awakening and politics of conciousness in WIE issue 25]\n\nthis excerpt made me realise that i want to get into television work. particularly interactive televison seems to be a very promising development, that will add interactivity to the already most widely distributed and available news source.\nbut… what about the internet, you may ask now?\nthe internet is a fine tool to distribute alternative information … for the nerds.\nits bottom-up structure and relatively easy accessability allow me, and just about anybody else, to run our own little freakshow, where we can distribute news in a seemingly more democratic way. but who’s gonna see it? its mostly become a classic case of preaching to the already converted.\nthe internet’s pluralistic approach has been reduced more and more to a narcissistic celebration of the postmodern mantra called “anything goes”. but it has, quite awhile ago, lost its potential of ever influencing joe shmuck. i look around and see more and more people losing interest in the web, because it has become too nerdy, turned into a place where insiders hype eachother up with their elitist attitude. and lets face it, the “because we can” kick is growing old too.\ni agree with elgin that working in television is where true change has to start – in the ecological question that he speaks about as in most other crucial political questions [overpopulation, war, migration] we are facing today.\n\nAbout Jan Zuppinger\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.54097580909729}
+{"content": "Although the world population faces movement, mixing and displacement on a larger scale than ever before, the result has not been a collapse of boundaries but an increase in the rise of new forms of ethnic, cultural and religious identity. Those based in the highly developed countries can extend global influence through wealth and sophisticated technology.The Pursuit of Certainty presents original case studies which explore the effect anthropology's inherited tradition of tolerance and cross-cultural understanding has on the new pursuits of truth. Several chapters focus on the rise of new certainties while others examine notions of diversity providing a critical perspective on the new religious movements and current popular orthodoxies relating to society and culture.\n\nRezensionen ( 0 )\nEvery Friday we give gifts for the best reviews.\nZitate (0)\nSie können als Erste ein Zitat veröffentlichen.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8706734776496887}
+{"content": "Jeju Island : South Korean Destination\n\nJeju Island іs thе southernmost and largest island isolated frоm thе Korean peninsula. It іs а volcanic island, dominated bу Halla-san (Halla Mountain): а volcano 1,950 metres high аnd the highest mountain in South Korea.\n\nThe island waѕ created еntіrely frоm volcanic eruptions approximately 2 million years ago, during the time period frоm thе Tertiary tо thе beginning of thе Quaternary period, аnd consists chiefly оf basalt аnd lava. The eruptions toоk place in thе Cenozoic era. It has a humid subtropical climate, warmer than thаt оf the rest of Korea, wіth fоur distinct seasons. Winters аre cool аnd dry whіle summers are hot, humid, аnd somеtimеѕ rainy.\nBecause оf thе relative isolation оf thе island, the people of Jeju hаve developed а culture and language that are distinct frоm thоse of mainland Korea. Jeju is home to thousands of local legends. Perhaps the most distinct cultural artifact іѕ the ubiquitous dol hareubang (\"stone grandfather\") carved frоm а block of basalt.\n\nTourism commands а large fraction of Jeju's economy. Jeju's temperate climate, natural scenery, аnd beaches make it а popular tourist destination for South Koreans аs wеll as visitors from оther parts оf East Asia.\nJeju іs Korea's capital fоr unusual themeparks аnd niche commercial attractions. Oddly sоmewhat of а duopoly hаѕ developed оn the island wіth typically two competing variants оn thе оnе theme in Jeju-si аnd Seogwipo-si, respectively.\nThe most popular tourist spots on the Jeju island аre Cheonjeyeon and Cheonjiyeon waterfalls, Mount Halla, Hyeobje cave, аnd Hyeongje island. There iѕ а variety of leisure sports thаt tourists cаn takе part іn Jeju including golf, horse riding, hunting, fishing, mountain climbing, etc.\n\"Olle\" iѕ a word іn thе local dialect whісh refers to thе paths betweеn houses аnd public roads.\" \"Jeju Olle\" iѕ a hiking trail founded bу Suh. Myugsook. There iѕ a narrow pathway connected frоm the house to аn open space called \"Olle\". It is the jeju word аnd hаs thе sаme sound as \"Would yоu come?\" in Korean. The fіrst trail route waѕ opened іn September, 2007. There have bеen 14 opened аnd the trail exploration team іs stіll working оn nеw routes. \"Olle\" іs the mоst beautiful аnd peaceful road іn the world and bесаmе a synonym оf tracking cоurѕe in Korea. There are mаny route signs. Those аrе blue arrows аnd уou cаn fine that on thе stone walls оf local villages and rocks near the seaside. You also сan seе blue and yellow ribbons knotted arоund trees. These lead travelers on Olle trails.\nDepending on thе season, Jeju hosts mаny festivals fоr tourists including a penguin swimming contest in winter, cherry blossom festival in spring, the midsummer night beach festival in summer, and Jeju horse festival in autumn, amоng others.\n\nFor moѕt tourists, traffic tо and from the island iѕ maіnly taken thrоugh Jeju International Airport and transport within the island bу rental cars. Some local products аrе popular tо tourists, including Jeju's special tile fish and mandarin oranges, аѕide frоm souvenirs and duty-free shopping.\nread more \"Jeju Island : South Korean Destination\"\n\nThe Mysterious Ancient Egyptian Pyramids\n\n\nThere аrе 138 pyramids discovered іn Egypt аѕ оf 2008. Most wеrе built аѕ tombs fоr the country's Pharaohs and thеir consorts durіng thе Old and Middle Kingdom periods.\nThe earliest knоwn Egyptian pyramids аre found аt Saqqara, northwest of Memphis. The earliest among thеse iѕ thе Pyramid of Djoser (constructed 2630 BCE–2611 BCE) which wаѕ built durіng thе thіrd dynasty. This pyramid and itѕ surrounding complex wеrе designed by the architect Imhotep, аnd аre generally considered tо bе the world's oldest monumental structures constructed of dressed masonry.\n\nThe most famous Egyptian pyramids аrе thоse found at Giza, оn the outskirts of Cairo. Several оf thе Giza pyramids are counted amоng thе largest structures ever built.\nThe Pyramid of Khufu at Giza іѕ thе largest Egyptian pyramid. It is thе onlу оnе of thе Seven Wonders of thе Ancient World ѕtіll in existence.\n\nThe Egyptian pyramids remain оne of the moѕt beautiful аnd complex mysteries оf thе modern world. Set agаіnst the exotic backdrop of thе Egyptian desert, theѕе stone temples hearken оur memories back to the days оf pharaohs аnd mummies. Throughout history thеre hаve bеen manу theories rеgаrding the exact manner in which the Egyptian pyramids wеre built.\n\nIt appears to modern man the ancient Egyptian pyramids wеre no small feat tо construct. Some theories have surfaced indicating that at lеаst somе scholars bеliеvе in aliens building pyramids. One оf the moѕt long held beliefs relating to thе built оf the pyramids іѕ that theу wеre constructed thrоugh thе usе оf slave labor.\nAncient documents havе revealed that іn mоѕt instances it took numerous years, uѕuallу decades, fоr even one of thе ancient Egypt pyramids tо be assembled. Records alѕо indicate thаt it wаs traditional for а pharaoh to begin construction оn a pyramid nоt long аfter hе toоk thе throne аnd thаt the building process might lаѕt аlmоst thе entire length of his reign. In thе case of King Tut, evidence іndіcatеѕ thаt thе tomb hе wаs laid to rest іn waѕ originally prepared fоr ѕоmеone оf a lesser standing. Obviously, he was nоt expected tо die аt ѕuch а young age and thеreforе dіd not hаvе sufficient time tо prepare hiѕ оwn burial tomb.\nThe ancient Egyptian pyramids served a multitude of purposes. They werе primarily used аs thе burial tomb of thе royal family, consisting of the pharaoh, hiѕ queens and offspring. Modern excavations have uncovered that thе inside of the Egyptian pyramids wеre almоѕt alwaуѕ laid store wіth а variety of items the dead would nееd in the afterlife. Some of thе most ornate and expensive items еver discovered on thе inside оf the Egyptian pyramids саme from thе tomb оf King Tut. Carefully removing, cataloging and studying thе items required a number of years. In the end thеrе wеre ѕеvеrаl thousand items discovered tо reside with King Tut's mummy.\n\nOne оf thе moѕt profound mysteries relating tо thе ancient world of Egypt rеgаrds why was thе sphinx made. No оnе sеemѕ tо bе quіte ѕure whу thiѕ great statue wаѕ constructed, however; theories abound. It is believed tо hаve moѕt likely bееn constructed durіng the Fourth Dynasty. Located in the ѕаmе proximity аs King Khufu's Great pyramid, manу scholars havе hypothesized that the Sphinx wаѕ constructed in order to guard the great pyramid. The real reason iѕ not knоwn аnd due tо thе Sphinx's rapid rate of deterioration; іts secrets mаy nevеr bе uncovered.\nread more \"The Mysterious Ancient Egyptian Pyramids\"\n\nPhilippine Travel Destinations\n\nread more \"Philippine Travel Destinations\"\n\nThailand And Attractive Beaches\n\nThe Honeymoon hаs custom intended mаnу honeymoon letters that hаvе shaped rich experiences fоr the honeymoon customers fоr whоm thеѕe letters werе created. These custom honeymoon letters include many unique features, cautiously chosen hotels аnd give thе beѕt vаluе to make your honeymoon bоth unforgettable and reasonable. It iѕ оur enjoyment to bring thеsе letters tо you with the expect that уоu find оne that makes your honeymoon what іt ѕhоuld be - thе trip оf a Lifetime!\nA vacation іn Thailand іѕ аn ideal wаy to spend а holiday. Starting уour holiday in Bangkok, you сan travel arоund оther regions in Thailand counting Pattaya, Phuket, Krabi аnd Koh Samui. Other tourist purpose cities іn Thailand аre Chiang Mai, Hua Hin and Phi Island. Travel deals to Thailand аrе accessible online and уou саn book cheap holiday іn Thailand at MakeMyTrip India.\nThailand tour packages nоrmаllу include airfare, hotel stay wіth meals, visiting thе attractions аnd lots more. Get thе beѕt deals and despicable deals оn Thailand packages frоm India аt MakeMyTrip. Check out thе mаnу tаke a trip deals tо Thailand today!\nHoneymoon Hotels in Thailand\nThailand offers а wide range of globally acclaimed hotels and resorts fоr а relaxed housing. All hotels and resorts in Thailand from high-end to low end present an array оf facilities to make уour honeymoon thе mоѕt unforgettable event оf yоur life. The Hotels in Thailand offer elite honeymoon suites and wedding suites fоr a dream honeymoon.\nHoneymoon Beaches in Thailand\nNature haѕ bestowed аll thеѕе honeymoon beach in Thailand with all gorgeous hues аnd fragrance. Once tо visit thesе honeymoon beaches іn Thailand , уou wіll positively feel like coming herе onсе more and again. Most of honeymoon beaches іn Thailand аrе located in thе places lіkе Pattaya. Some оf thе honeymoon beaches іn Thailand can bе nаme here.\nThey аrе Ao Phang Nga Beach, Haad Rin, Hat Chaweng, Hat Mai Khao, Ko Pai, Pattaya Beach, Rawaii, Ao Phra-Ae, аnd manу others. Apart from thеse beaches the beach lіkе Ao Nang, Karon Beach, аs wеll аs the Railay Beach аrе аlѕo јust rіght fоr the reason of honeymoon. Many newly married couple соme tо thesе honeymoon beaches in Thailand tо spend а breathtaking time. All theѕе beaches arе well thought-out tо be sоme оf the exceptional beaches іn thе country.\nread more \"Thailand And Attractive Beaches\"\n\nLombok Travel Visit\n\nLombok hаs thrеe Gili's Island, theу аre Gili Trawangan, Gili Meno, аnd Gili Air. Three of thеm аre the best travel destination in thіs Island. Yet, Gili Trawangan іѕ thе moѕt popular аmong the thrеe Gili’s. Just kick back and enjoy the sun, nightly beach parties and sea. The main stripe iѕ full of accommodations, restaurants, аnd dive shops.\nGili Trawangan is alsо knоwn аs Party Island, whеre mostly young European find thеmselveѕ Lost In Paradise. The peak sesaon of thіѕ island іs about July-August and December-January, in whiсh thе most places are full and prices аrе doubled. Therefore, an advanced reservation іs а must. But never worry аbout this, beсаusе thеre arе ѕome bungalows with а bеttеr facilities аnd hotels іn thіѕ area.\nWith spectacular sunrises оvеr Lombok's Mount Rinjani volcano and breathtaking sunsets that illuminate Bali's towering Mount Agung volcano, together with warm hospitality of thе Gili Trawangan residents, іt'ѕ nоt surprising thаt moѕt visitors end uр staying longer thаn originally plan.\n\nGetting the bеѕt travel in Gili Trawangan, visitors cаn do аnу activities suсh as snorkeling off-the-shore, sunbathing, swimming, оr join any dive trips with anу dive operators which colored the lines. Then, bу night, the waterfront соmeѕ tо life aѕ vаriouѕ foreign аnd locally restaurants and bars start to fire up, wіth fresh snapper, grouper аnd tuna, cooked ovеr charcoal flames, readily available. Therefore јuѕt find thе exotic оf Gili Trawangan аnd уou сan spend уоur vacation in thе beautiful destination in Indonesia.\nread more \"Lombok Travel Visit\"\n\nBali Travel Visit\n\nBali is an unforgettable destination аnd onе that hаѕ more repeaters world tourism. It іѕ not onlу itѕ beauty, itѕ nature and exoticism, іs іtѕеlf highly regulated society whісh іѕ total escape from thе din аnd confusion of the adjacent islands. Besides offering numerous attractions of cultural аnd anthropological.\n\nTirta Gangga - Tirta Gangga lies to thе east of Bali, abоut 5 kilometers north of thе city Amlapura.\nTirta Gangga beautiful water gardens аrе built іn the fifties of thе 20th century. The garden wаs built bу the lаѕt ruler Karangasemu who lіked water features іn their homes. The area is onе оf the fеw in Indonesia, which іs stіll maintained. The vast terraced property haѕ beеn built a few artistically stylized pools аnd canals adorned wіth statues оf the Hindu style.\n\nThere arе alѕo twо lakes, whеrе уоu cаn swim, but water is vеrу cold. The area offers the opportunity tо sit іn the shade of trees аnd аwау from thе noise of passing cars and thе ubiquitous motorbikes thаt here, fortunately, have banned entry. The garden іѕ vеrу photogenic, аnd deѕрite its size is not large, there саn spend severаl pleasant hours. Garden аѕ а whole is perhapѕ thе mоѕt beautiful, most impressive architectural and nejudržovanejším total іn Indonesia.\n\nIf уou hаvе time to visit Bali is оnlу onе place, so defіnitеly соme here. Around the garden аre mаny cafes аnd restaurants, ѕоmе of which offer views of the garden from above. Tirta Gangga (source оf thе Ganges) іѕ not evеn a village, it's juѕt a garden surrounded bу accommodation аnd catering facilities. On thе opposite side of thе road than the garden, thе vast rice fields, wherе уou саn gо for a pleasant stroll.\nBeaches In Bali\n\nBali іs an island with white sandy beaches south оf thе island, and volcanic black sand beaches to thе south. The choice on what уоu wаnt іs yourѕ tо enjoy durіng your holiday іn Bali.\n\nBoth can practice varіоuѕ activities such аѕ snorkeling оr swimming ... іn the west side of Bali also bе able to surf whіle оn thе east side yоu саn sunbathe and swim peacefully.\nBali Temples Recorra\n\nBali is аn island with more than а dozen Buddhist аnd Hindu temples thаt wе visit. Remember that it is аn island where we can find temples with beautiful views, beautiful gardens, a stunning decoration аnd foremost, remember that thеy аre religious temples wherе уоu hаvе tо show respect.\n\nUlu Danau Bratan, Kehena, Besakih, Tegeh Koripan, Luhar Batakau, Bukit Dharma Durga аre sоmе оf the temples of Bali.\nBALI - Taro elephant riding and walking through thе rice fields of Ubud. The Elephant Lodge hotel whеre уou саn hаvе breakfast on the terrace of уour room whіlе yоu greet the elephants, haѕ an enclosure wіth palm trees and pristine path where the elephants roam. This is a real tourist show included, but a perfect place tо tаkе children.\n\n\"The traditional model оf Bali\" they соmе wіth а Balinese Gamelan accompaniment of flute аnd music аrе vеry emotionally affected, аs they captured Bali early years. What is fоr somе travelers 80 years and 90 years. When walking from thе beach of Kuta tо Legian Beach оn the main road wіthоut any car you were а disturbing reality. Unthinkable today, when evеrуоnе haѕ а motorcycle or а car.\nread more \"Bali Travel Visit\"\n\nBorobudur A Wonder World\n\n\n\nread more \"Borobudur A Wonder World\"", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7537170648574829}
+{"content": "7 campsites around  of BENQUE\n\nHave you chosen a camping holiday in the Haute-Garonne or more specifically a campsite in BENQUE ?\n\n\nThere is no campsite specifically in BENQUE. However, CampingFrance.com can help you pick one of the 7 campsites nearby of BENQUE : 1 campsite in SAINT MARTORY, 1 campsite in BOUSSENS or 1 campsite in CASTIES LABRANDE. See 7 campsites matching your search\n\nMain destinations of Haute-Garonne", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7541420459747314}
+{"content": "Karen Joy (Repasky) Littlefield, 61, died on Sept. 7, 2016, at the Eckstein Center, Hospice of the Valley, Scottsdale, Arizona, following a short illness with cancer.\n\nKaren was born in North Industry, the daughter of the late Edward and Marguerite (Eversole) Repasky.\n\nKaren spent the majority of her life in Stark County. She attended Canton South High School where she graduated with the class of 1973. Gifted and talented in both voice and instrumental music, Karen along with a classmate won the North Industry Grade School literary contest for a vocal duet. She continued to excel playing both guitar and saxophone.\n\nHer talent continued to blossom when she was selected for the high-school stage band her sophomore year and named a band-section leader her senior year. Karen auditioned and was selected to play with the Band of America, a highly talented group of musicians who gave concerts in select European cities. After returning home, Karen won a prestigious scholarship to a music conservatory, but chose instead to marry her sweetheart, Keith Littlefield in 1974, and take a job with the Timken Company where she worked until her retirement.\n\nKaren and Keith were both avid motorcycles fans and were fortunate to travel much of the United States on their bike. During their marriage, the couple owned a mini-farm in Hartville, often times hosting parties with hayrides or inviting friends to explore the rich muck gardens. After Keith's untimely death, Karen spent a few years maintaining the farm before her failing health forced her to move to Arizona in 2012. While in Arizona, Karen was the administrator for a faith-based website, and found time to spend sunny afternoons walking her little dog, Tiny.\n\nDuring her illness, Karen was assisted daily from friends, Deloris 'DJ' Johnston, Terri Johnson, Denise Johnston Alm, and the Alm family. She is survived by her brother, Jack Repasky of Richville, and sister, Norma Herschel of North Canton.\n\nKaren's family of friends will always remember her unending faith, her generous spirit, and her overwhelming kindness to all whom she met. To honor Karen's wishes, a private family service will be held at a later date. Those who wish to honor Karen's memory may do so by donating to cancer research, a charity of your choice, or by making a donation in her name to the Canton South Band.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9985989928245544}
+{"content": "This House has Fallen: Nigeria in Crisis\n\nNigeria, the oil-rich West African nation that holds the largest population of black people in the world, has long puzzled outsiders and baffled its own citizens. In his nuanced, richly detailed, ambitiously conceived book, *This House Has Fallen*, journalist Karl Maier manages to show why. Combining deft reporting with an astute analytical mind, Maier movingly conveys a sense of the paradox of Nigeria, a nation conceived in hope but nurtured – mostly by its own leaders – into hopelessness.\n\nFrom 1986 to 1996, Maier served as Africa correspondent for the British newspaper _The Independent_. If the sharp insights in *This House Has Fallen* are any measure, Maier must have looked hard and listened well during his stint in Nigeria. Dispensing with the smugness and condescension that often mar books by foreign correspondents, his account of the tragic trajectory of Nigeria’s experience is both compelling and deeply felt.\n\n\nIn the hands of a less confident writer, the canvas would appear cluttered and unsteady. Worse, it would be a depressing read. But Maier’s judicious sensibility holds the book together as he underlines the robustness and resilience, the sheer ebullience and promise of a people who have been ill-served by self-doubt and cynicism. *This House Has Fallen* stands as powerful testimony to a human drama that defies logic and comprehension. Maier’s book is an extraordinary achievement.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7924429178237915}
+{"content": "Digital Content Strategy\n\nI don’t love buzzwords, but “content strategy” works as a way of summarizing the compulsion to dig into the way content gets organized on large sites and carefully consider what it’s trying to accomplish. This involves getting invested in the sales and lead generation mission of whatever is being written. It involves thinking through where copy is going to show up and how it will get used and shared. Some examples: Cheerios wanted to reorganize its site in an admirably user-centric way. Rather than setting up a top-down, product-centric architecture, they wanted to structure it around real questions customers were asking about the brand. When can I feed Cheerios to my kids? What’s whole grain? How are Cheerios for my diet? What’s the history behind the famous crunchy circle? Fortunately, the old site had a wealth of raw information about heart health and nutrition to work with. I needed to map this content to the identified questions, discover some new questions, and determine what stays, what goes, what’s missing and what needs to change. In addition to the content topics I was asked to evaluate the writing itself. Like a lot of health care content, it was a bit preachy. My voice and tone strategy focused on “you can” instead of “you should” statements. In addition to strategy, I also ended up doing pretty much all of the writing and editing of the health-related content.\n\nThe Suddath Companies. This moving, relocation and logistics company was at an exciting crossroads (driving pun not intended) in its 90+ year evolution from a family-founded, family-run firm to a global transportation leader serving individual, corporate, commercial and government customers. They had worked hard to identify their shared values and a new language to articulate it. This renewed brand focus was absent from their current online presence, which was spread out across 36 different web sites, which were cobbled together from partnerships, acquisitions and standalone city-specific pages. The sites were inconsistent in look and feel and none of them were responsively designed: the content not only failed to reflect their renewed voice but reflected outdated business unit organization. I’m grateful I was entrusted to help fix that, which included a massive audit, remapping and content architecture as well as writing or overseeing the writing of entirely new content.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9627926349639893}
+{"content": "• Add to Collection\nPre-engineered Metal Buildings for a Host of Applications\nPre-engineered steel structures (PEMB) are typically used to construct commercial structures with an eye to containing prices. Steel or steel structures that are pre-fabricated and/or pre-engineered verify to be feasible as well as helpful choices for a range of applications when looks as well as layout are not important. For some end purposes the amount of design required is very little; for others it can be rather extensive.\n\nOne sees steel structures utilized in a variety of applications by sectors that include manufacturing, agriculture, aerospace, transportation, retail, as well as several expert industries. They are usually the de facto option for aviation garages, sectors, and also any structure needing huge, clear periods. Yet steel structures are additionally utilized for even more conventional objectives by diverse institutions such as governments, churches, as well as the armed force.\n\nAs a matter of fact, one would certainly be tough pushed to name a type of business that has actually not erected a store or center in steel. We could point out numerous instances, including recreation center, automobile stores, stockrooms, observation towers, as well as tanning beauty salons. Anytime building administration strategies are utilized to determine economic services calling for some engineering, the result has the tendency to favor structure with steel.\n\nTraditionally, the primary method to design the framing of prefabricated steel frameworks was a design based upon 2D analysis. In this approach, employees weld together steel plates to form a setting up of I-beams. The collection of I-beams are carried to the website and bolted into area to produce the frame.\n\nConversely one can develop other frameworks such as castellated beam of lights, mill sections, and trusses. Modern-day style has actually become much more sophisticated, making use of 3D analysis as well as advanced design strategies.\n\nOnce the frame is in area there are some choices for completing the building with second architectural steel components and also assistance backings for outside cladding. There are really numerous ways to go in regards to accessories. Yet the specs for these occur early on in conferences in between the customer as well as the layout builder.\n\nThe customer needs to provide specifications such as roof covering incline, bay spacing, the degree required for interior crane systems, as well as the period of clearing needed in between bearing factors. From these, engineers determine vital standards, consisting of the quantity of packing expected on structural parts, various tolerances, and also restrictions of weight and also size.\n\nFinancial savings in time and also cost are the primary benefits of using pre-engineered steel structures. The major price saving comes from much less labor as well as product than that involved in other structures due to less components. There is additionally a decreased maintenance cost because steel is much more weather-resistant and durable than other products and delights in an insurance benefit.\n\nMetal frames are conveniently expanding, indicating that metal buildings are scalable with altering customer demands. They could fit the huge clear periods as well as high eaves that aerospace garages or sports areas need. They also allow architectural variety for expanding the frame with steel wall surface panels or something much more traditional.\n\nCertainly, steel possesses high longevity, with frameworks often assured for 25 to HALF A CENTURY. Less well known is that steel is considered an eco-friendly product, containing up to 70% recycled content. This adds an additional thing to the currently lengthy listing of benefits.\n\nAnd the product doesn't really have any kind of substantive disadvantages (aside from searches for some people). There are just a couple of things to keep an eye out for, such as seeing to it to use the stronger and stronger 26-gauge metal in contrast to 29-gauge. Also understand that none of the devices, windows, doors, or insulation is typically consisted of with the PEMB.\n\nWhen it comes time for your next business project, provide mindful factor to consider to constructing it out of steel. There are couple of applications that could not be realized economically and rapidly with pre-engineered steel buildings.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9552732706069946}
+{"content": "Jr Girls Uniform Information\n\nCurrent Year (2017-2018) Uniform Information\n\nUniform requirements and reminders are available at the following site:\n\nUniform change that will go into effect for the 2018-19 season\n\nStarting in 2018-19 the “stripe” must clearly contrast with the jersey. (“Stripe” is the technical term indicating the main portion of the number. In the below pictures, the strip is the portion in blue, red and gold. In the second picture the white and navy are considered “outline” as is the black in the 3rd picture. The top example does not contain any outline, just the “stripe” only.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9445285201072693}
+{"content": "3 years ago10,000+ Views\nWorkout Playlist: Summer in January\nMy least favorite thing about winter is that even if the sun is out, it is still cold and dreary, especially on the short walk from my car to the gym :) I've decided to get myself pumped up for the gym this week with a new playlist inspired by the summer I miss so much! Here are seven songs that will bring back the feelings of summer and will get you running to a great tempo. These songs will get your through a 25 minute workout and will inspire you to stay on that treadmill for an extra mile - I promise! 1. Jealous - Chromeo 2. Icona Pop - We Got the World 3. Calvin Harris - Feel So Close 4. Wild Cub - Thunder Clatter 5. Smallpools - Dreaming 6. Walk the Moon - Different Colors 7. Bleachers - Rollercoaster\n25 Like\n17 Share\nI am constantly changing my playlists because I get bored so easily so I'll definitely be incorporating these guys! I love Smallpools!\n3 years ago·Reply\nIcona Pop was my entire workout playlist last summer!\n3 years ago·Reply\nI've only heard of three of these before actually (Chromeo brings me back to high school hahah)\n3 years ago·Reply\nIcona Pop came on in a restaurant I was in yesterday and I was totally dancing in my seat haha you can't sit still!\n3 years ago·Reply", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5041317939758301}
+{"content": "July 1, 2017\n\n\nThe Case For a Universal  Basic Income (Sebastian Johnson, 7/01/17, The Los Angeles Times)\n\nThere are competing ideas about how exactly the policy should work. Advocates on the left call for a UBI that would increase benefits to the poor and be financed by increasing taxes on corporations and the wealthy. Conservative advocates favor an approach wherein programs in the current safety net, such as Social Security and food stamps, are replaced with a UBI. Others favor an incrementalist policy in which current safety net programs are expanded to include all Americans, while another faction wants to build a UBI program from scratch. Despite their differences, all approaches to UBI policy share the core goal of establishing an income floor for every American.\n\nAn income floor would help American workers in a number of critical ways. Relieved of the immediate pressure to pay bills, workers could pursue training for the kinds of jobs that automation will bring. A universal basic income would allow skilled workers to take entrepreneurial risks they cannot afford now. It would also allow Americans to work fewer hours but maintain their living standards, leaving more time for caregiving and raising children. Overall, UBI would provide a significant boost to the American middle class, which has stagnated even as productivity and overall wealth continue to rise. By putting more money into the pockets of workers, a UBI could fuel aggregate demand and job growth in different sectors across the country.\n\nMomentum is building. Child poverty experts in growing numbers have called on states and the federal government to consider a child allowance -- UBI for kids -- that would help level the playing field for low- and middle-income families. The California Senate is considering ambitious cap-and-trade legislation that would send \"climate dividend rebates\" to every citizen. Even some oil companies are in favor of schemes to tax carbon and send checks to every American.\n\nPosted by at July 1, 2017 5:04 PM", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9856258630752563}
+{"content": "Logo 450\n\nPast Life Regression amersham\n\nWhat is Past Life Regression?\n\nPast life regression is a technique which takes you back in time, enabling you to explore, rediscover and evaluate past memories. It is an entirely safe, natural therapy which uses hypnosis to locate and revisit memories from the subconscious mind.\n\nWhat are the Benefits?\n\nIt can provide insight into your ideas and attitudes, your love or loathing of places or people and unexplained feelings. As hypnosis gives you a deeper contact with your emotional life, it can also help relieve fears, phobias and conflicts which may have their roots in a past life. It may also help you break a repetitive cycle from the past and offer you new avenues.\n\nRead more ...\n\nUnderstanding| Destiny| Enlightenment", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8036160469055176}
+{"content": "Quotes and Sayings about Growing up\n\n\n\n- Sasha Alexander\n(Related: Growing up, Voice, Want, World)\n\n- Lucille Roybal Allard\n(Related: Experience, Home, Life, Development, Growth, Growing up)\n\n\"When I was growing up, I always read horror books, while my sister read romance novels.\"\n- Dorothy Allison\n(Related: Romance, Sister, Books, Growing up, Horror)\n\n- Michael P. Anderson\n(Related: Music, Growing up, Interest, Kids, Literature, Writing)\n\n- Shiri Appleby\n(Related: Growing up)\n\n- Shawn Ashmore\n(Related: Mother, Brother, Books, Growing up)\n\n- Kevyn Aucoin\n(Related: Life, Men, Women, Comfort, Growing up)\n\n\"Growing up, my ideals were Barbra Streisand, Cher, and my mom.\"\n- Kevyn Aucoin\n(Related: Mom, Growing up, Ideals)\n\n\"My love, growing up on the Prairies, was country music.\"\n- Randy Bachman\n(Related: Music, Love, Country, Country music, Growing up)\n\n- Bob Balaban\n\n- James A. Baldwin\n(Related: Love, War, Battle, End, Growing up)\n\n\"Next? Growing up to be Clint Eastwood, I hope.\"\n- Steven Bauer\n(Related: Hope, Growing up)\n\n- Alison Bechdel\n(Related: Books, Growing up)\n\n- Henry Ward Beecher\n(Related: Wisdom, Old, Past, Result, Trees)\n\n- William Bell\n(Related: Music, First, Growing up, Listening, Song)\n\n- Bruce Beresford\n\n\"I was black growing up in an all-white neighborhood so I felt like I just didn't fit in. Like I wasn't as good as everybody else or as smart, or whatever.\"\n- Halle Berry\n(Related: Growing up)\n\n- Robert Blake\n(Related: Growing up, Old, Years)\n\n- Lisa Bonet\n(Related: God, Friend, Growing up)\n\n- Ian Botham\n\n- Lara Flynn Boyle\n(Related: Being, Chicago, Growing up, Irish)\n\n- Ed Bradley\n(Related: Growing up, Importance)\n\n\"That image is a couple different people's homes that I knew growing up.\"\n- Zach Braff\n(Related: People, Growing up)\n\n- Rory Bremner\n(Related: Day, End, Growing up, Nation, Now)\n\n- Jeff Bridges\n(Related: Dad, Father, Famous, Growing up, Job, Want)\n\n- Morgan Brittany\n(Related: Business, Time, Work, Actor, Growing up)\n\n- Terry Brooks\n(Related: Imagination, Entertainment, Growing up)\n\n- David M. Brown\n(Related: Thought, People, Growing up, Job, Stars, Thinking)\n\n- Zola Budd\n(Related: Growing up, Nothing, Rest, Running, World)\n\n\"Well, I don't know how astute I am, but I did want to be a journalist when I was growing up.\"\n- Carol Burnett\n(Related: Growing up, Want)\n\n- Carol Burnett\n(Related: Mother, Girls, Growing up)\n\n- Lance Burton\n\n- Lance Burton\n\n- Sophia Bush\n(Related: Mother, Blood, Fashion, Growing up)\n\n- Herman Cain\n(Related: Conservative, Growing up)\n\n- John Cale\n(Related: Experience, Religion, Growing up, Pretty)\n\n\"I never listened to country music growing up.\"\n- Deana Carter\n(Related: Music, Country, Country music, Growing up)\n\n- Johnny Cash\n(Related: Dream, Force, Growing up, Right, Singing)\n\n- Stockard Channing\n(Related: Life, Growing up, Living, Years)\n\n- Gary Cherone\n(Related: Growing up, Listening, Mercury, Queen, Songs)\n\n- Madonna Ciccone\n(Related: Growing up, Wrong)\n\n- Laurel Clark\n(Related: Thought, Being, Growing up, Moon, Space)\n\n- Roy Clark\n\n\"I just didn't work that much while the kids were growing up.\"\n- Jill Clayburgh\n(Related: Work, Growing up, Kids)\n\n- Beverly Cleary\n(Related: Books, Boys, Growing up)\n\n\"What interests me is what children go through while growing up.\"\n- Beverly Cleary\n(Related: Children, Growing up)\n\n\"The thrill I got discovering Buster Keaton when I was growing up was so exciting. He was one of the greats.\"\n- John Cleese\n(Related: Growing up)\n\n- John Cleese\n(Related: God, England, Growing up, Man, Old)\n\n- Clarence Clemons\n(Related: Love, Health, Cooking, France, Growing up, Italy, Spain)\n\n\"I guess everything having to do with your background has some influence on how you tell stories but it's hard to parse how growing up in a Jewish community in Minnesota really affected it.\"\n- Joel Coen\n(Related: Community, Growing up, Influence)\n\n- Jennifer Connelly\n(Related: Work, Mother, Growing up, Now, Projects, World)\n\n- Jennifer Connelly\n(Related: Nature, Being, Growing up, Labor)\n\n\"Growing up training, I use to get up so early I would wave to the garbage men going by. So, I had this relationship with Blue Collar America and I really liked it. I felt that lots of those people looked forward to me winning.\"\n- Gerry Cooney\n(Related: Men, People, Winning, America, Growing up, Training)\n\n- Francis Ford Coppola\n(Related: Time, Growing up, Programming, Television)\n\n- Yvonne Craig\n(Related: Life, People, Animals, Growing up, Pets)\n\n- David Crane\n(Related: Design, Science, Growing up, Machine, Night)\n\n- Jon Crosby\n(Related: People, Growing up)\n\n\"I hate that word, mature, but I guess I am growing up.\"\n- Sheryl Crow\n(Related: Growing up, Hate, Word)\n\n- Puff Daddy\n(Related: Act, Growing up)\n\n- Hugh Dancy\n(Related: Actor, Drama, Growing up, Intention, School, University)\n\n\"Growing up, I wanted desperately to please, to be a good girl.\"\n- Claire Danes\n(Related: Growing up)\n\n- Rick Danko\n(Related: Thought, Canada, Growing up)\n\n- Edwidge Danticat\n(Related: Dreams, People, Growing up, Obstacles, Poor, Voice)\n\n- Larry David\n(Related: Time, People, Growing up, Neighbors, Open, Right, Walking)\n\n\"Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional.\"\n- Chili Davis\n(Related: Growing up, Old)\n\n- Geoff Davis\n\n- Jackie DeShannon\n\n- Cameron Diaz\n(Related: Age, Love, Boys, Care, Comedy, Growing up)\n\n- Cameron Diaz\n(Related: Growing up, Hair, Style)\n\n\"Growing up, my favorite TV show was Star Trek.\"\n- Casper Van Dien\n(Related: Favorite, Growing up)\n\n- Phyllis Diller\n(Related: Growing up, Kids)\n\n\"I don't think I ever set my goals that high. As a kid growing up I just wanted an opportunity to race and to be able to make a living doing it. It just came together.\"\n- Larry Dixon\n(Related: Opportunity, Goals, Growing up, Living, Race)\n\n- James C. Dobson\n(Related: Children, Giving, Growing up, Neglect)\n\n\"It was a small provincial place with great people and I had a happy childhood growing up in Queens.\"\n- Fran Drescher\n(Related: People, Childhood, Growing up)\n\n\"When I was growing up, I always thought my hair was messy.\"\n- Julia Louis Dreyfus\n(Related: Thought, Growing up, Hair)\n\n\"My father is a well known artist, Ted Dyer, who has been painting for many years. Our work is very different, but growing up surrounded by paintings, paints, easels and art books does have an effect.\"\n- John Dyer\n(Related: Art, Work, Father, Artist, Books, Effect, Growing up, Painting, Years)\n\n\"Growing up, I've enjoyed hunting with my father.\"\n- Dale Earnhardt\n(Related: Father, Growing up, Hunting)\n\n- Christopher Eccleston\n(Related: People, Growing up, Theatre)\n\n- Enya\n(Related: Church, Growing up)\n\n- Will Estes\n(Related: Animals, Cities, Day, Growing up)\n\n- Erik Estrada\n(Related: Growing up, Trying)\n\n- Jim Evans\n(Related: Baseball, Growing up)\n\n- Josh Ryan Evans\n(Related: Home, Movies, Time, Character, Growing up, Problems)\n\n- Warren Farrell\n\n- Jon Fishman\n(Related: Life, Growing up)\n\n- Calista Flockhart\n(Related: Family, Funny, Time, People, Growing up, Name)\n\n- Scott Foley\n(Related: Life, Work, Growing up, Want)\n\n\"People ask me from time to time what it was like growing up with Henry Fonda as my father. I say, Ever see Fort Apache? He was like Colonel Thursday.\"\n- Peter Fonda\n(Related: Time, Father, People, Growing up)\n\n\"One of the things I've had the advantage of, growing up and being close to the top management of this company and other companies for most of my life, is seeing how CEOs start to believe in their own infallibility. And that really scares me.\"\n- Bill Ford\n(Related: Life, Management, Being, Company, Growing up)\n\n- Alan Dean Foster\n(Related: Science, Thought, Being, Growing up, Reading, Writer)\n\n- Megan Fox\n(Related: Love, Girlfriend, Books, Boys, Friends, Growing up)\n\n- Michael J. Fox\n(Related: Acting, Ambition, First, Growing up, Writer)\n\n\"As a kid growing up in the little city of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, I dreamed of one day playing in the NHL, but never did I expect it to be as much fun as it turned out to be.\"\n- Ron Francis\n(Related: Day, Fun, Growing up)\n\n\"Growing up in public is especially hard sometimes.\"\n- Annette Funicello\n(Related: Growing up, Public)\n\n- Antoine Fuqua\n(Related: Love, Movies, Dream, Being, Growing up, Influence)\n\n\"Well, my father was in the Army and we traveled quite a bit when I was growing up, and I thought that I would like to have a military career, although I was drawn more towards the Navy.\"\n- Marc Garneau\n(Related: Father, Thought, Army, Career, Growing up, Military, Navy)\n\n- Melinda Gates\n(Related: Growing up, Kids, Name, Nothing)\n\n\"Life seemed so simple and joyous when I was growing up.\"\n- Kathie Lee Gifford\n(Related: Life, Growing up)\n\n\"While growing up in Birmingham around a lot of West Indian people, reggae and calypso were big influences early on but Otis Redding was the one person who made me wanna sing myself.\"\n- Roland Gift\n(Related: People, Growing up)\n\n- Ruth Bader Ginsburg\n(Related: Mother, Lady, Girls, Growing up, Law)\n\n- Nikki Giovanni\n(Related: Change, Growing up, Question, Will)\n\n- Tracey Gold\n(Related: People, Being, Growing up, Therapy, Voice, Years)\n\n- Lauren Graham\n(Related: Actor, Growing up)\n\n\"I didn't know when I was growing up that this was a very special program, that this wasn't going on in other parts of the country. Now I realize that I was lucky.\"\n- Benny Green\n(Related: Country, Growing up, Now)\n\n\"Ours was not a political household, when I was growing up.\"\n- Judith Guest\n(Related: Growing up)\n\n- David Guterson\n(Related: Growing up, Trials, Want)\n\n- Jessica Hagedorn\n(Related: Men, Movies, Women, Action, Exploitation, Film, Growing up, Now)\n\n\"When I was growing up in East Germay, everyone said there was no God. So I started looking for it myself.\"\n- Nina Hagen\n(Related: God, Growing up)\n\n- Anthony Michael Hall\n(Related: Family, Father, Growing up, Obvious)\n\n\"We're all just trying to fit in and find ourselves, particularly when we're growing up.\"\n- Geri Halliwell\n(Related: Growing up, Trying)\n\n\"Growing up, I was very much interested in jazz music.\"\n- Jan Hammer\n(Related: Music, Growing up, Jazz)\n\n\"I worked hard learning harmony and theory when I was growing up in Chicago in the 1920s.\"\n- Lionel Hampton\n(Related: Chicago, Growing up, Harmony, Learning, Theory)\n\n- Tom Hanks\n(Related: Love, Day, Driving, Growing up, Influence, Moon, Nothing, Respect)\n\n- Marvin Harris\n(Related: Food, Americans, Being, First, Growing up)\n\n- Levon Helm\n(Related: Growing up)\n\n- Arthur Hertzberg\n(Related: People, Hope, Being, Growing up, Suicide, World)\n\n- Jim Hodges\n(Related: Work, Development, Autobiography, Growing up, Trying)\n\n- Alice Hoffman\n(Related: Growing up, Kids)\n\n- Anthony Holden\n(Related: Family, War, Growing up, Reputation)\n\n- Tom Hooper\n(Related: Dad, Mother, Father, Being, Growing up, May)\n\n- Mark Hoppus\n(Related: Morality, Difference, Growing up, Parents, Pretty, Right, Wrong)\n\n\"Growing old is not growing up.\"\n- Douglas Horton\n(Related: Growing up, Old)\n\n- John Hume\n(Related: Family, History, Mother, Father, Growing up, Parents, Will)\n\n\"Margaret Thatcher, growing up in a bombed and battered Britain, derived a distrust which has grown with the years not just of Germany but of all continental Europe.\"\n- Douglas Hurd\n(Related: Distrust, Europe, Germany, Growing up, Years)\n\n- Allen Iverson\n(Related: Growing up)\n\n- Hugh Jackman\n(Related: Education, Father, Day, Growing up, Learning)\n\n- LeBron James\n(Related: Growing up, Kids, Lonely, Night, Police, Projects, Want)\n\n- Elizabeth Janeway\n(Related: Family, Animals, Behavior, Growing up, Question)\n\n- Allison Janney\n(Related: Power, Growing up, Nothing)\n\n- Bruce Jenner\n(Related: Growing up)\n\n- Mike Johanns\n(Related: Discipline, Purpose, Commitment, Growing up)\n\n- Magic Johnson\n(Related: Age, Basketball, Career, Growing up, Now, Play)\n\n- Nick Johnson\n(Related: Time, Baseball, Growing up)\n\n- Neil Jordan\n(Related: Vision, Environment, Growing up)\n\n- Elena Kagan\n(Related: Life, Difference, Growing up)\n\n\"As a kid growing up in the back streets of Dublin I used to pretend I was playing in the World Cup with my mates out on the streets, and now I will be doing it for real.\"\n- Robbie Keane\n(Related: Growing up, Now, Will, World)\n\n\"I think everybody's always attracted to both sexes. I mean, I think that women are very attractive. I've kissed girls, but everybody experiments. It's part of growing up.\"\n- Monica Keena\n(Related: Women, Girls, Growing up, Sexes)\n\n\"Growing up Catholic has been a gift.\"\n- Moira Kelly\n(Related: Growing up)\n\n- Sally Kirkland\n(Related: Soul, Growing up)\n\n- Lawrence R. Klein\n(Related: Experience, Time, Career, Depression, Growing up)\n\n\"The story that I wanna tell is pretty much about the way I grew up. Being bi-racial, growing up in a big city and being an artist.\"\n- Lenny Kravitz\n(Related: Artist, Being, Growing up, Pretty)\n\n- Lenny Kravitz\n(Related: People, Growing up)\n\n- Kristin Kreuk\n(Related: Day, Growing up)\n\n- Chantal Kreviazuk\n(Related: People, Growing up, Now, Trying)\n\n- Mike Krzyzewski\n(Related: Time, Baseball, Football, Growing up, Kids, Parents, Play)\n\n\"I had a really bad temper, when I was growing up. Sport helped me channel that temper into more positive acts.\"\n- Mike Krzyzewski\n(Related: Positive, Growing up, Temper)\n\n- Emeril Lagasse\n(Related: Being, England, Growing up)\n\n- Emeril Lagasse\n(Related: Family, Growing up, Value)\n\n- Jhumpa Lahiri\n(Related: Life, Time, Building, Growing up, Loss, Parents, Sense, states, United)\n\n- Jessica Lange\n(Related: Growing up)\n\n- Jennifer Lawrence\n(Related: Dad, Growing up, Wood)\n\n\"Growing up, I fantasized about being a rock musician and that somehow it would be really easy. I didn't realize that it's so much work.\"\n- Sean Lennon\n(Related: Work, Being, Growing up)\n\n- Max Lerner\n(Related: Strength, Growing up, Hurt)\n\n- Ira Levin\n(Related: Work, Father, Conflict, Growing up)\n\n- Maya Lin\n(Related: Thought, Denmark, Growing up, Prejudice)\n\n- Sabrina Lloyd\n(Related: Love, Music, Film, Growing up, Theatre)\n\n- Heather Locklear\n(Related: Baby, Body, Growing up)\n\n\"Growing up, my brother and I were begging for attention.\"\n- Jeremy London\n(Related: Brother, Attention, Growing up)\n\n\"Unlike most other children, - especially unlike those of today - who are eager to become men and women as speedily as possible, I had a terror of growing up, which became more and more accentuated as I grew older.\"\n- Pierre Loti\n(Related: Men, Women, Children, Growing up, Terror, Today)\n\n- Greg Louganis\n\n- Courtney Love\n(Related: Men, Women, Father, Growing up, Now, Trying)\n\n\"You get used to sadness, growing up in the mountains, I guess.\"\n- Loretta Lynn\n(Related: Growing up, Mountains, Sadness)\n\n\"Growing up in eastern Kentucky like I did, I'm used to having a few guns around to protect me.\"\n- Loretta Lynn\n(Related: Growing up, Kentucky)\n\n- Hugh Mackay\n(Related: Culture, Growing up)\n\n- Hugh Mackay\n(Related: Experience, Values, Children, Environment, Growing up, Want)\n\n\"I have got the best of both worlds; growing up in Edinburgh and now living outside Glasgow.\"\n- Magnus Magnusson\n(Related: Growing up, Living, Now)\n\n- Camryn Manheim\n(Related: College, Growing up, Language, Order, School, University)\n\n- Taryn Manning\n(Related: Dad, Sister, Brother, Growing up, Pretty, Talk)\n\n\"Growing up, mostly in Montreal, I was an only child of loving parents.\"\n- Rudolph A. Marcus\n(Related: Growing up, Parents)\n\n- Marlee Matlin\n(Related: People, Chicago, Growing up, Hearing, Speech)\n\n- Linda McCartney\n(Related: Peace, Fire, Growing up, Open)\n\n\"L.A. Woman is amazing, but when I was growing up I was into the Who.\"\n- Bruce McCulloch\n(Related: Growing up, Woman)\n\n\"Growing up is not being so dead-set on making everybody happy.\"\n- Reba McEntire\n(Related: Being, Growing up)\n\n- Bobby McFerrin\n(Related: Father, Growing up)\n\n- Tim McGraw\n(Related: Sports, Growing up, Quick)\n\n\"I mean, I grew up riding. I can't ever remember not being able to ride or rope and all that stuff. It was part of my life growing up, so it was fun for me.\"\n- Tim McGraw\n(Related: Life, Being, Fun, Growing up)\n\n- Christine McVie\n\n- Peter Medawar\n(Related: Growing up, Today, World, Youth)\n\n\"I spent years growing up being told what my sexuality was.\"\n- George Michael\n(Related: Being, Growing up, Sexuality, Years)\n\n\"I felt like a dork growing up so this is shocking.\"\n- Christina Milian\n(Related: Growing up)\n\n- Shannon Miller\n(Related: Growing up)\n\n\"Well, when I was growing up it was Ozzie and Harriet on TV - nobody's parents were like that.\"\n- Liza Minelli\n(Related: Growing up, Parents)\n\n\"Growing up in Hollywood it seemed like every kid was the child of some star.\"\n- Liza Minelli\n(Related: Growing up, Hollywood)\n\n\"Growing up in Hollywood it seemed like every kid was the child of some star. We had no idea that other people would think we were special, because there was no other lifestyle to compare it to.\"\n- Liza Minnelli\n(Related: People, Idea, Growing up, Hollywood)\n\n- Beverley Mitchell\n(Related: Heart, Growing up)\n\n\"My parents were very poor, but we never felt any sense of need or want. It was a very close, loving, tightly-knit family growing up, and I never felt any sense of deprivation or anything like that.\"\n- George J. Mitchell\n(Related: Family, Growing up, Parents, Poor, Sense, Want)\n\n- Katherine Moennig\n(Related: Time, People, Friend, Acting, Growing up, Houses, Play)\n\n- Dylan Moran\n(Related: Growing up, Service)\n\n\"Home wasn't a pleasant place to live, growing up.\"\n- David Morse\n(Related: Home, Growing up)\n\n\"I was terribly shy when I was growing up, I really wasn't confident with other people and I think I was always afraid of up or not being this very cool, amazing person that I wanted to be.\"\n- Emily Mortimer\n(Related: People, Being, Growing up)\n\n\"Young alienation, disappointment and heartache is all a part of the first real growing up that we do.\"\n- Judd Nelson\n(Related: Alienation, Disappointment, First, Growing up)\n\n\"Growing up my mother played Sarah Vaughan and Nat Cole in the house regularly.\"\n- Aaron Neville\n(Related: Mother, Growing up)\n\n- Dudley North\n\n- Jeremy Northam\n(Related: End, Eternity, Growing up, Nothing, Now, World, Years)\n\n- Gale Norton\n(Related: Growing up, Mountains)\n\n- Gary Oldman\n(Related: Anger, Family, Money, Fire, Growing up)\n\n- P. J. O'Rourke\n(Related: Children, Growing up)\n\n- Bobby Orr\n\n- Kelly Osbourne\n(Related: Age, Music, Growing up)\n\n- Robert Palmer\n(Related: Music, Growing up, Listening)\n\n- Sean Paul\n(Related: Life, Growing up, Trying)\n\n- William Petersen\n(Related: Work, Life, Chicago, Growing up, Now, President, Rest, Want, Years)\n\n- David Hyde Pierce\n(Related: Time, College, Growing up, Rivalry, Years)\n\n- Dana Plato\n(Related: Work, Growing up, Resentment, Vacation)\n\n- Amy Poehler\n(Related: Growing up)\n\n- Elvis Presley\n(Related: Life, Mother, Growing up, Right)\n\n\"You have to remember that when I met Elvis, you know, it wasn't the fanfare that it is today or even when he was here in the states and I was in Germany growing up.\"\n- Priscilla Presley\n(Related: Germany, Growing up, states, Today)\n\n\"I didn't see a ton of movies growing up.\"\n- Kelly Preston\n(Related: Movies, Growing up)\n\n- Manuel Puig\n(Related: Movies, Growing up, Quick, Years)\n\n- Philip Pullman\n(Related: Time, Grandparents, Growing up)\n\n- Trevor Rabin\n(Related: Growing up, Mind, Talking)\n\n- Rihanna\n(Related: Culture, Dancing, Growing up)\n\n\"I'm not a person who particularly had heros when growing up.\"\n- Dennis Ritchie\n(Related: Growing up)\n\n- Herb Ritts\n(Related: Art, History, Experience, Growing up)\n\n\"But I never, never thought of the ministry nor did - of course, television when I was growing up, there was no television. So I didn't know anything about it.\"\n- Pat Robertson\n(Related: Thought, Growing up, Television)\n\n- Michelle Rodriguez\n(Related: Knowledge, Growing up, Intellect, Schools)\n\n- Kevin Rollins\n(Related: Growing up)\n\n\"There are things about growing up in a small town that you can't necessarily quantify.\"\n- Brandon Routh\n(Related: Growing up)\n\n\"My interests were in fantasy more than comics growing up.\"\n- Brandon Routh\n(Related: Fantasy, Growing up)\n\n\"When I was growing up, I always knew that if I ever got anything, I was going to give back as much as I can. I learned that all you have to be willing to do is give your time.\"\n- Darius Rucker\n(Related: Time, Growing up)\n\n- Mark Ruffalo\n(Related: Life, Time, Beach, Growing up, Ocean)\n\n\"My dad took me to all the best rock and punk shows when I was growing up and music has always been a part of my life. So I'm very interested in the music scene and I suppose that's why I've ended up going out with musicians. Dave Pirner is still one of my best friends.\"\n- Winona Ryder\n(Related: Dad, Music, Life, Friends, Growing up, Musicians, Punk)\n\n\"I have this sense that I didn't really start growing up until my twenties.\"\n- Winona Ryder\n(Related: Growing up, Sense)\n\n- Katey Sagal\n(Related: Fact, Growing up, Self)\n\n\"Growing up, my dolls were doctors and on secret missions. I had Barbie Goes Rambo.\"\n- Zoe Saldana\n(Related: Doctors, Growing up)\n\n- Adam Sandler\n(Related: Work, People, Growing up, Secrets, Trying)\n\n\"I don't think about that. I wasn't a kid growing up saying one day I'll get an Oscar and make a speech. That wasn't on my mind. So what I do is the best work I can do.\"\n- Adam Sandler\n(Related: Work, Day, Growing up, Mind, Saying, Speech)\n\n- Susan Sarandon\n(Related: People, Hope, Growing up, Leading, World)\n\n\"I guess I'm growing up in the film world.\"\n- Devon Sawa\n(Related: Film, Growing up, World)\n\n- Martin Scorsese\n(Related: Time, People, Balance, Growing up, Right, Violence)\n\n- Jill Scott\n(Related: Life, Mother, Growing up, Museums, Talk)\n\n- Leah Ward Sears\n(Related: Life, African, Being, Court, Growing up, Lawyers, states, United)\n\n- Amy Sedaris\n(Related: Dad, Son, Friends, Growing up, Now)\n\n- Amanda Seyfried\n(Related: Thought, Growing up, Intimacy, Sexuality, Wrong)\n\n\"We have to mainstream everybody. No matter what their circumstances when they were growing up. Part of that is knowing that after they're finished with school, everybody in this country gets up and goes to work.\"\n- Donna Shalala\n(Related: Work, Circumstances, Country, Growing up, School)\n\n- Cindy Sheehan\n(Related: War, Bombs, Fight, Growing up, Machine, Now)\n\n- Ashlee Simpson\n(Related: Day, Growing up, Job)\n\n\"When you were growing up in the 30s, 20s, of course the 40s, all black people at least in the Washington, D.C., area were required to live among themselves.\"\n- Ed Smith\n(Related: People, Growing up, Washington)\n\n\"I can think of no one that my grandparents knew, that told me stories and that I experienced myself, had any sense of social inferiority growing up in segregated Washington. None whatsoever.\"\n- Ed Smith\n(Related: Inferiority, Grandparents, Growing up, Sense, Washington)\n\n- Ed Smith\n(Related: People, Community, Famous, Growing up, Living, Shops)\n\n- DeForest Soaries\n(Related: Life, Quality, Policy, Basketball, Growing up, Play, Public, Public policy)\n\n\"We were growing up in West Virginia. Everybody was poor there in the southern part of the state. It was like growing up in the Great Depression from the stories I hear people tell. Everybody was poor and so we didn't know that we were any different from anybody else.\"\n- James Green Somerville\n(Related: People, Depression, Growing up, Poor, State)\n\n\"When I was growing up, there was no such thing as Off-Broadway. You either got your show on or you didn't.\"\n- Stephen Sondheim\n(Related: Growing up)\n\n- Leigh Steinberg\n(Related: Truth, Growing up, Nothing)\n\n\"The trick is growing up without growing old.\"\n- Casey Stengel\n(Related: Growing up, Old)\n\n- Tom Stoppard\n(Related: Growing up, Maturity)\n\n- John Strachan\n\n- Kiefer Sutherland\n(Related: First, Growing up, Years)\n\n- Matthew Sweet\n(Related: Imagination, College, Growing up, Liberal)\n\n\"I haven't had a lot of celebrities around me growing up.\"\n- Amber Tamblyn\n(Related: Growing up)\n\n- Ellen Tauscher\n(Related: Family, Business, Dream, American, Growing up, Spirit, Years)\n\n- Elizabeth Taylor\n(Related: Time, Growing up)\n\n\"I always hated my mole growing up. I even thought about having it removed. At the time I didn't do it because I thought it would hurt, and now I'm glad I didn't.\"\n- Niki Taylor\n(Related: Time, Thought, Growing up, Hurt, Now)\n\n- William Taylor\n(Related: Marriage, Favorite, Growing up, Memories)\n\n- Keith Thibodeaux\n(Related: First, Growing up, Hollywood, Memories, Name)\n\n- Justin Timberlake\n(Related: Church, Growing up, World)\n\n\"At the same time it offered the hope, as it still does, that improved understanding could better the lot of mankind. For me, growing up in the 1930s, the two motivations powerfully reinforced each other.\"\n- James Tobin\n(Related: Time, Hope, Growing up, Mankind, Understanding)\n\n\"When you grow up on film, people sometimes have difficulties accepting the fact that you are growing up. They always imagine you younger.\"\n- Michelle Trachtenberg\n(Related: People, Difficulties, Fact, Film, Growing up)\n\n\"I regret not having had more time with my kids when they were growing up.\"\n- Tina Turner\n(Related: Time, Growing up, Kids, Regret)\n\n- Jhonen Vasquez\n(Related: Culture, Growing up, Now, Past)\n\n- Jhonen Vasquez\n(Related: Experience, Being, Growing up)\n\n\"If I had to come up with something that just came to me, I think growing up in a small town, I want knowledge. I still think today, knowledge is one of the keys.\"\n- Herschel Walker\n(Related: Knowledge, Growing up, Today, Want)\n\n\"Growing up, I started developing confidence in what I felt. My parents helped me to believe in myself. I wasn't the best looking guy, I wasn't the best athlete in the world, but they made me feel good about myself.\"\n- Herschel Walker\n(Related: Confidence, Growing up, Parents, World)\n\n- Herschel Walker\n(Related: Family, Time, Work, Mother, Father, Growing up, Kids, Parents)\n\n- Henry A. Wallace\n(Related: Sacrifice, Possibility, Democracy, Effort, Growing up)\n\n\"Growing up I didn't watch movies.\"\n- Denzel Washington\n(Related: Movies, Growing up)\n\n- Jody Watley\n(Related: Life, Growing up, Old, Talk)\n\n- Evelyn Waugh\n(Related: Truth, Growing up, Nation)\n\n\"My kids have a competitive drive I never had growing up.\"\n- Damon Wayans\n(Related: Growing up, Kids)\n\n\"To pitch a perfect game wearing pinstripes at Yankee Stadium, it's unbelievable. Growing up a Yankee fan, to come out here and make history, it really is a dream come true.\"\n- David Wells\n(Related: History, Dream, Growing up, Yankee)\n\n\"Being a kid and growing up is such a cool part of life.\"\n- Devon Werkheiser\n(Related: Life, Being, Growing up)\n\n- Kim Weston\n(Related: Dad, Work, Thought, Growing up, Photography)\n\n\"When I was growing up, Green Day had just come out.\"\n- Deryck Whibley\n(Related: Day, Growing up)\n\n- Mary Whitehouse\n(Related: Sex, Truth, Being, Growing up, Nothing, Now)\n\n- Margaret Whiting\n(Related: Talent, Thought, Challenge, End, Growing up, Song)\n\n\"I was a handful growing up.\"\n- Olivia Wilde\n(Related: Growing up)\n\n- Carl Wilson\n(Related: Love, People, Country, Growing up, Guitar, Play)\n\n\"Chick Corea was a great influence on me, musically, as I was growing up.\"\n- Debra Wilson\n(Related: Growing up, Influence)\n\n\"The thing about being an actor is that you're in the business of not growing up.\"\n- Luke Wilson\n(Related: Business, Actor, Being, Growing up)\n\n\"Movies I liked growing up were like Francis Ford Coppolla movies and Scorsese movies.\"\n- Owen Wilson\n(Related: Movies, Growing up)\n\n\"Well I had my kids so young that I kind of feel that I'm a kid too and am growing up with them. The things they're interested in tend to really influence me.\"\n- Reese Witherspoon\n(Related: Growing up, Influence, Kids)\n\n- Tobias Wolff\n\n- Natalie Wood\n(Related: Love, Growing up, Man, Wrong)\n\n\"Having loved the Stones all the time I was growing up, I wasn't about to see them go and split up. It got very close to it in the 80s, when Mick thought that Keith hated him and vice versa.\"\n- Ron Wood\n(Related: Time, Thought, Growing up, Vice)\n\n- William Butler Yeats\n(Related: Growing up, Irish, Now, Poets, Trade)\n\n- Donnie Yen\n(Related: America, Growing up, School)\n\n- Moon Unit Zappa\n(Related: Dating, Growing up, Rules, Want, Waste, Water)", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9957512617111206}
+{"content": "Socially Sharing & Promoting Dental Health News!\n\nWhat is Anti-Aging Dentistry? TAGS: | | | | | | | We all get old. Despite the newest advances in technology, medicine, and even dentistry, that is an undeniable fact none of us can avoid. But there are steps we can …Continue reading →\n\n\n\nDefault utility Image\n\nBotox in the Dental Chair? TAGS: | | | When we really take some time to think about where Botox® is readily available now – hair salons, day spas, and of course the dermatologist – is it really that …Continue reading →", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.944558322429657}
+{"content": "June 26th, 2017\n\nEIP continues to put a strong emphasis on its online interactive cultural exchanges between North American and Kenyan youth.\n\nA keen group of grade seven girls from Spencer Middle School in Victoria, BC (top left photo) took their school project to another level. After learning about Education Is Power, they decided to do a project on women’s rights in Kenya to better understand the many challenges that women and girls face there. These young Canadians were excited to learn a great deal when they had a live video chat with their Kenyan counterparts from Magina Secondary and Kimende Primary schools in Kijabe, Kenya. An enlightening experience all around, and on top of that the Canadian girls managed to fundraise enough for a year of day school for one of the Kenyan girls whom they spoke with!\n\nRead more on our News page and at Skype to Africa initiative.Education has the power to change everything… Just imagine being born into East Africa where the average person earns $2 per day yet must pay $450 for one year of public high school or $2000 for one year of public university.  So what happens if you are dedicated to create a better world but you are not born with the privilege to gain a higher level education? The answer is simple:  Lack of opportunity equals the lack of ability to make changes that our world needs  \n\nPlease help our East African students continue to study, develop confidence and have a chance at a better future for their families and communities.\n\nEIP beneficiaries enjoy learning photography in preparation for a Skype to Canada video activity\n\nThrough education and empowerment, Education Is Power is dedicated to develop the potential in disadvantaged East Africans who are committed to the sustainable development and natural conservation of Africa. We achieve this by providing education opportunities to East Africans at East African secondary and post-secondary institutions, as well as by supporting African primary and secondary teachers to mentor their students to give back to their communities.\n\n* Background image:  An evening soccer match in Il Ngwesi, Laikipia North, Kenya (partner of EIP)", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9793670177459717}
+{"content": "How Forensic Psychology is Framing Our Legal System - (added 6-12-12) The field of forensic psychology aims to apply scientific and statistical methods to the realms of the legal system. Using what psychologists and neurologists understand about human behavior and the human brain, forensic psychologists juxtapose scientific objectivity to remove human biases during legal proceedings. From criminal profiling to witness testimony, forensic psychologists influence virtually every step in today’s legal process. This trend will continue as the adoption of statistical testing in psychology and brain scanning in neurology further catalyzes the boom in forensic psychology.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9941467642784119}
+{"content": "What doomed the American mastodon? Was it over overkill or overchill?\n\nCarbon-14 dating of ice age megafauna may be inaccurate because of contamination, researchers say\n\nMeat-hungry humanity has long been suspected of hunting North American megafauna to extinction, but new research suggests that Homo sapiens may have gotten a bum rap -- at least when it comes to the demise of the mighty American mastodon.\n\nResearch published Monday in the journal PNAS argues that the ancient beast started to disappear from what is now Alaska and Canada's Yukon Territory long before humans ever set foot on the continent.\n\nOne key reason for the confusion, authors say, is that specimen contamination has rendered decades of carbon-14 dating research potentially inaccurate.\n\n\"It's a concern,\" said Yukon paleontologist Grant Zazula, lead author of the study. \"A lot of the radiocarbon dates that are out there in the literature are probably problematic.\"\n\nAlthough it is still possible that intensive hunting by humans may have played a role in the extinction of Mammut americanum south of the continental ice sheets about 10,000 years ago, study authors say the mastodon's disappearance from the Arctic and subarctic was a matter of \"overchill,\" and not overkill.\n\n\"There was a massive die-off of a good part of their population in the northern part of the continent around 75,000 years ago,\" Zazula said.\n\n\"We suspect that once the northern group died off, the species was already heading toward trouble,\" Zazula said. \"What ultimately pushed them over the edge, though -- hunters picking off the last of them or climate change at the end of the ice age being just too much for them -- is an unanswered question. There isn't a smoking gun.\"\n\nThe mastodon belongs to the same Proboscidean family as the woolly mammoth, but the two species differ greatly in their diets and preferred habitat.\n\nShaggy mammoths grazed on the grasses and flowering plants commonly found on tree-less steppe tundras. The mastodon, however, preferred warmer mixed woodlands and lowland swamps where it munched on trees and shrubs, authors say.\n\nThe mastodon's favorite plants were likely abundant in the Arctic and subarctic between 125,000 and 75,000 years ago, when Earth was as warm as it is today.\n\nHowever, when things began to cool during the last glacial period, the forests gradually disappeared -- along with the mastodon, authors argue.\n\nZazula, along with UC Irvine physicist and carbon-14 dating expert John Southon, initially set out to reconcile conflicting data regarding the mastodon's disappearance in the north.\n\nAlthough vegetation reconstructions suggested that the animal's habitat had changed drastically 75,000 years ago, previous research suggested the mammoth was still roaming the Arctic and subarctic as recently as 18,000 years ago -- almost the height of the last ice age.\n\nZazula, Southon and their colleagues radiocarbon-dated 36 mastodon fossils but were careful to filter the samples to eliminate potential contamination.\n\nPreservative varnishes and glues painted onto fossils by well-meaning curators, as well as soil acids that have interacted with remains over thousands of years, can confuse dating results and make specimens appear much younger, Zazula said.\n\nAfter eliminating these sources of contamination, the researchers found that all of the high-latitude fossils were older than the limits of carbon-14 dating -- or more than 50,000 years old.\n\nZazula said that although the researchers were unable to directly date the fossils, it made the most ecological sense that they were at least 75,000 years old.\n\nAnd though the disappearance of mastodons in the warmer south may have overlapped with the presence of humans, Zazula said there was still no clear evidence that they were hunted to extinction.\n\n\"There really isn't good evidence for hunting of mastodons,\" Zazula said. \"There's mastodons at archaeological sites in the Midwest and in the northeast United States, but it's not like there's piles of dead mastodons everywhere with spear points and arrows in them. There's no evidence of slaughter, no evidence of overkill.\"\n\nFollow @montemorin for science news.\n\nCopyright © 2017, Los Angeles Times\nEDITION: California | U.S. & World", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7246648073196411}
+{"content": "Home / Cookware\n\n\nThai Stone Mortar and Pestle\n\nEssential to crush herbs  and make chili sauces. Used to crush herbs into pastes.  Crushing the herbs together also makes them more aromatic. \n\n\n Thai Barbecue  Mu kratha\n\nMu kratha literally means pan pork in Thai (“mu” translates to “pig” or “pork” and “kratha” to “pan” or “skillet”). Mu kratha resembles a combination of a Korean barbecue and a Chinese hot pot. It is believed to have originated from the Korean barbecue grill. It is usually used with a gas stove whereas the Thai version uses charcoal. The dining concept spread throughout Thailand and into Malaysia and Singapore", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8437113165855408}
+{"content": "Guardian Angels and Guides\n\nHow Can Angel Guidance Healing Help You?\n\nAll the major faiths include reference to angels as intermediaries between humanity and God. Everyone is assigned guardian angels at birth in order to:\n\n  1. Love them unconditionally.\n  2. Help them fulfill their life task.\n  3. Help them find their true life mate, if they are ready.\n  4. Rescue them or warn them of danger (e.g. not to take a certain plane flight)\n  5. Help them find their way back to God.\n\nIn the normal course of human life, most people have intuitions, dreams of a special quality, bright ideas, a sense of whether someone is a potential friend or enemy, etc. All of these are messages from guardian angels or guides.\n\nSometimes as a  Reiki Master  I channel spiritual information. Reiki involves working with the person’s energy field in order to remove blockages caused by trauma or stress, in order to facilitate  healing. Spirit Guides and angels who are working with the client often have messages to impart.\n\nFor example, just as an introduction the guide or angel might say\n\nThis is your Spirit guide. You are a very warm and sweet soul. Keep having faith that your family will be happy and united as a truly happy and loving . You are very blessed with love. You are also very strong, in a womanly way. Accept your own power to make change in the world by a ripple effect from your own family and life.\n\nThis is Archangel  Michael(in the aspect of   Chael-to be addressed as Chael)You have the ability to be strong and wise in the fulfillment of your family and life tasks . You have done a lot of growing since the last lifetime you were all together. Archangel Michael is about justice, fairness to all, righting wrongs, protection. See yourself this way with your wife and children and in your life’s work.\n\nWhen a client asks for angel guidance,  I get the names and attributes of their guardian angels at the start of the session. I get answers to their questions in visual or auditory form\n\nIf there is a Spirit Baby in the mother’s aura,   I will be able to tell them, usually along with information as to when this child will be ready to come through onto this plane. I sometimes get information from loved ones who have crossed over. I also can sense the presence of a future baby (Spirit Baby) in the mother’s aura. This is helpful for people who are unsure whether they will ever be able to have a child. Please refer to the Spirti Baby page andthe Distance Channeling for Spirit Babies page.\n\nPeople for whom I have done a  reading report significant positive changes in clearing blocks, easing pain, and having a clearer sense of the direction in which their lives should be heading.\n\nMany readings are done by email. I request the names and birthdate of the person requesting the reading, and of any other people about whom they have questions(usually about karmic ties.)An um,limite number of questions may be asked.\n\nPayment for Guardinn angel channeling can be made by Paypal. You do not need to have a Paypal account to use Paypal.\n\nMy  charge  is $200.\n\nClient response(in part)Thanks Christine.  This was a great reading.  I’m glad to learn of the other guides.  It really opened my eyes to a direction of healing.\n\nClient #142 Christine – thank you so much for your help. This has been most beneficial…. I know there are other things I have to be doing…..\nThanks Christine – your gifts are most appreciated 🙂", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6896278858184814}
+{"content": "Thursday, 16 April 2015\n\nLearn French Language in Hyderabad from Alliance Francaise\n\nlearn french hyderabad\n\nFrench is a beautiful Language. It is now not just the official language of the country, France but it is spoken by people from various parts of the world. (But, in India,  a large number of languages are spoken. After mother tongue, the importance is given to English Communication Skills. Today, we do not find a single school or a  patshala in any part of India where this language is not taught or learned).\n\nSo, where is French in English-speaking India? What is the status of French Language in Hyderabad, India?\n\nThe status of English is high in India. It is loved by one and all. Today, we see a great level of encouragement from government too (Govt. is trying to promote the use of this language through various edu schemes). We come across a great deal of talk on it from people around us. But if we talk of the status of French, particularly in the city of Hyd then we can say that \"YES\"  it is gaining importance too. Apart from English, learners now show interest in learning this language which can really provide a lot of advantages. Now, people in the city that the language can be a great asset for them and can help them prosper more and more. \n\nIf knowing English is Diamond then the shine of it is French today. \n\nNow, here is the opportunity for all those who are looking forward to brighten up their future to the limitless extent. If you know English then do not think that it would just be enough for you to gain success in your life. Experts say that a person who can speak multiple languages always gets myriad opportunities to excel more and more in his or her career. So, if you can learn French or if you are yearning to learn it then learn from experts. Yes, you can learn and speak this language for better career opportunities. \n\nWhere to learn French Language in the City of Hyd?\n\nNow, if you are wondering where you can learn this then we tell you here. There can be many centres in the city. We even find trainers who provide training courses as per the calibre of the learners. But we would like you to get success-oriented training from Alliance Francaise Hyderabad. Yes, this is the oldest institution where you can find the trainers who may go beyond their limits to help you learn and speak Good French. So, do not waste your time. You can enroll for the course at a minimal fee. There are various courses. There is a course for everyone. You can learn right from ABCs of French. Address goes here: Plot Number 177 (ONE Seven Seven), Food World Lane, Marredpally West, Secunderabad.  \n\nFollow by Email", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7232563495635986}
+{"content": "\n\nJoe Persky, president of the 1,200-member University of Illinois at Chicago United Faculty union, said the school is refusing to pay professors what they're worth, despite higher tuition and a big reserve fund. He said the university and union bargained all weekend, but the union concluded its core demands won't be met without the walkout, which is set to continue Wednesday.\n\n\nPersky, an economics professor, said the 70 or so nontenured, full-time lecturers who earn a $30,000 annual minimum deserve a $45,000 minimum. He said the university is offering to boost pay to the mid-$30,000s, beginning in the next academic year. The union is also seeking a 4.5 percent merit pay increase for the current academic year.\n\nPersky said the administration is offering a 3.25 percent pay increase for the current academic year, with no guarantees for future years. Some of the other unresolved issues in the contract include better classroom conditions, merit-based promotions and compensation, and a living wage for nontenured faculty.\n\nUIC Provost Lon Kaufman said the university isn't in a position to increase again to meet the faculty's demands.\n\n\"We don't know the future of the state and its budget,\" he said. \"We can't raise tuition any higher than we already have, even in the face of budget cuts.\"\n\nEnglish professor Virginia Costello said she has taught at UIC for seven years and despite her PhD earns the minimum $30,000 salary for nontenured faculty.\n\n\"It's embarrassing, quite frankly, and in one sense this strike is a little bit of a relief, because now it's out in the open,\" she said.\n\nUIC lecturer John Casey said if he weren't constantly worried about money, he'd be a better teacher.\n\n\"They're receiving a good education, but they are not getting as much of my attention as they would if I were earning enough to not have to worry about, 'Can I pay the bills at the end of the month, or do I need to take on another job?'\" said Casey, who teaches writing.\n\nMany students expressed support for the faculty walkout.\n\nIndustrial design major Nick Greenen said he was \"a little irritated\" by the strike, adding that his art history professor spent 10 minutes of class time explaining the dispute.\n\n\"I was kind of thinking, 'OK, I'm here to learn,' but I still support [the strike],\" Greenen told the Chicago Sun-Times.\n\nPersky said the walkout will continue Wednesday, with both sides expected to resume talks Friday.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6709592342376709}
+{"content": "I had spotted some ragwort and cinnabar caterpillars over the weekend, so nipped out this afternoon to take a few pictures. The caterpillars are brightly striped orangey/yellow and black, warning potential predators that they are inedible. The ragwort is rich in alkaloid poisons. These poisons are stored in the caterpillars’ bodies in a form that does not kill them but provides a chemical defence against birds, in particular. The poisons are then passed on from the caterpillar to the moth, making it one of the most poisonous moths in the UK. The moth’s bright red and black coloration, once again, serves as a warning to predators.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9986075758934021}
+{"content": "Activity Introduction\n\nIntroduction: Peer assessment is a process where students can give valuable feedback based on a teacher’s benchmarks. This method of assessment can be employed to improve students’ understanding of content as well as their metacognitive skills. During communication projects students share their new understandings to their peers and receive personalised feedback based on criteria.\n\n\n\nTeacher Worksheet\n\nInstructions: This peer-assessment rubric can be used to assess communication projects from this unit of work. Use the 'Classroom Share' feature to send the Student Worksheet to your students. They can fill it in online and then send it back to your personal dashboard.\n\n- or - to view worksheets\n\nStudent Worksheet\n\nName of student(s) presenting:\n\n\nPut a star (*) next to the criteria point that applies to the presenter.\n\n\nNeeds work\n\n\n\n1. The presenter was well prepared and organised\n\n2. The presenter communicated in a clear and concise manner\n\n3. The presenter appeared confident and engaging\n\n4. The presenter conducted research and had a range of sources\n\n\n5. The presenter used evidence to back up point of view\n\n\n6. A range of communication styles and technologies were used\n\n\n7. The presentation was creative and fun\n\n\n8. The presenter answered any questions from the audience\n\n\n9. The presenter appealed to a range of learning styles (visual & audio)\n\n\n\n- or - to view worksheets\n\nLeave your Feedback\n\n\nSorry. You must be logged in to view this form.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9998548626899719}
+{"content": "Thought for the Day for July\nby Swami Krishnananda\n\n  1. Beauty is the characteristic of that object which is placed in the proper context of the visualising consciousness. Ugliness is the characteristic of that object which is wrenched out of context. Thus, what makes a thing beautiful or enrapturing or ugly or wretched is the context in which it is beheld, or appreciated. So is the case with yourself and everybody.\n  2. The thought of God is like the centripetal cohesive force in a star or a planet, which drives its constituents to its centre by a pressure of inwardly directed energy, and is strikes a universally attuned equilibrium of the entire personality in relation to creation as a whole, provided the thought is deep enough and is sincerely raised in one’s mind. It produces a thrill beyond words.\n  3. It is easier to receive the grace of God than anything from the marketplace. If you want to get something from the shop, you have to walk some distance. But to reach God, you do not have to travel any distance. Only your heart should well up and want to reach Him. There is no condition and no prescription, no other qualification necessary except that you should want it. And when you want it, it has to come. That’s all. No other qualification is necessary for you.\n  4. The practice of yoga is the art of contacting the Absolute. There is no such thing as contacting the Absolute in a literal sense. This union is a metaphorical one, it is not a physical contact. It is metaphorical in the sense that in yoga there is the union of our consciousness in the present context with the supreme essence that we are.\n  5. Yes, you may say the whole process of evolution itself is a kind of dream. A cosmic dream it is, but it is done very systematically; therefore, you call it evolution, systematic and symmetrical.\n  7. To get a Guru is as difficult as getting God. And once you get a proper teacher, then you are on the path. This is a great achievement, and again this is the work of God.\n  9. Sadhana is not any kind of bodily action that is outwardly directed, but is rather a state of mind, a condition of thinking, a consciousness in which one lives.\n  10. The highest meditation consists in the recognition of the Self in all things, so that there is no object before the Self to think or deal with. It is here that the mind melts like an exhausted camphor cake in the process of self-sublimation.\n  11. A kind of total transformation of values is necessary by rethinking in a new model altogether, so that you don't think through the body but through a way which is away from the body. Now you are thinking that you are a physical subject, so the consciousness clings to the body to such an extent that you think nothing but your own body. Let that thing which you now consider as your physical subject be an object, and you will be as much detached from it as you are detached from any other person sitting here—because you are not this; you are another thing that is looking at you. And you will look at yourself in the same way as you look at other people.\n  13. What you have enjoyed yourself and what you have given over to others in charity or as gift is really yours. Everything else is of doubtful nature and you are merely a protector thereof.\n  14. We cannot know the universe unless we know ourselves. While this is true, the reverse also is true, at the same time. We cannot know ourselves truly, unless we know the whole universe. The one is the same as the other.\n  15. Philosophy is, therefore, the great art of the perfect life, a life where the common notion of it is transcended, and the Supreme Being, which is identical with existence itself, is realised.\n  16. Swami Sivananda’s dream was the integration of the human personality for the purpose of social integration, and finally, what you may regard as cosmic integration—which is virtually the realisation of God Almighty. From a lower level, the human personality has to be taken up to the higher level, and then the highest integration, which is universal. He worked for that, and the entire mission of the Divine Life Society is centred in that noble objective.\n  17. There are two greater wonders: The starry heavens above, and the moral law within. Neither of these can be fathomed to their depths, and they will remain a wonder forever. They are endless in their extent and no one can study them as ‘external’ objects.\n  18. Your ascent in spiritual sadhana is your whole personality rising into gradual expanded forms of wholeness of your own personality, so that when you reach the ultimate pinnacle of this wholeness, you realise yourself as a world figure, like the Viratsvarupa Itself. What is Virat? It is you, yourself, expanded to the ultimate pinnacle of the absolute universal.\n  19. Study, reflection and meditation are the processes of the method of self-transcendence.\n  21. It is of little consequence to one who has awakened to normal consciousness whether he or she was a king or a beggar in last night’s dream. Likewise, what one is in this world matters little to one who has awakened to the Presence of God.\n  23. Initiation is not mere utterance of words. It is a communication of an energy, a force. It is the will of the Guru, as it were, entering into the will of the disciple, where both have to be on the same level. Otherwise, there cannot be initiation.\n  24. It may be that we try to remember God when we are comfortably placed. But the test as to whether He has really entered our hearts is whether we remember Him in sickness, suffering, opposition and times of temptation.\n  25. The soul that is freed from the bonds of world-existence traverses through its physical, vital, mental, intellectual and causal vestments and rejoices in the ecstasy of the realisation of Brahman. Here comes the knowledge that the experiencer, the experiencing process and the experienced object or condition are all one.\n  26. \"Man proposes; God disposes,\" says an old adage. It does not mean that God is perpetually opposing whatever man does. What really happens is that when man exerts through his egoism in a manner which violates the eternal law of God, he naturally feels frustrated, being beaten back by the law of Truth.\n  27. There is one who knows the most secret deeds of our private personality and the whispers that we do in the ears of people in the remotest corner of the world. The little whisper that we make in the remotest corner of the world reaches the heavens like a thunder. Therefore, do not be under the impression that you are unguarded.\n  28. The philosophical foundations and the religious consequences of the analysis lead to the need for a meditation on consciousness as the quintessence of the whole adventure. All study, all endeavour, and every enterprise, in every walk of life, results in the fixing of oneself in a type of reality. This is precisely the function of meditation.\n  30. What is harmony? Harmony is nothing but your adjustment with the cosmos.\n  31. When we get irritated or annoyed in the midst of work, for any reason, it is to be taken as a caution that our personality has entered into it, and the ‘unselfishness’ of the work has been adulterated with that undesirable and vitiating factor, the ego. When the work is ‘not mine’, there is no reason for internal disturbance.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5738139748573303}
+{"content": "Dr Greg Brown\n\nDr Greg Brown is a Brit-turned-Kiwi, who is privileged to call Wellington home. Originally trained as a GP, he is now a Medical Officer with the New Zealand Defence Force, and is currently responsible for deployed health operations. He was a founding member of AHSNZ, and has spoken at previous regional conferences (being unfortunately deployed overseas during the last Symposium). He is married with three charming, short-sighted children. He has a bachelor’s degree in history and enjoys the interface between medicine and philosophy. In his limited spare time, he enjoys playing a few musical instruments, doing DIY, walking in the Wellington hills, and caffeinating himself into atrial fibrillation.\n\nPRESENTATION: Heretics and Orthodoxy: Medical groupthink, the new Inquisition and a plea for Reformation\n\nWhy do some professional groups, particularly doctors, seem to be so resistant to change? In this more philosophical exploration, and drawing analogies from the persecution of heretics by the established church in the early modern period, we will examine the factors which seek to maintain consensus amongst medical professionals. In considering medical groupthink, the rise of evidence-based medicine as the doctrinal creed of the profession, and the censure of those who dare to disagree, we will endeavour to come to a better understanding of where the profession’s centre of gravity lies, and hence how change may be effected.\n\n\n  • Understand something of the way evidence-based medicine works in practice, where the flaws are, and how medical guidelines are produced\n  • Be better equipped to influence the professionals you may interact with", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8003838658332825}
+{"content": "Alghero, the Sardinian Catalonia\n\nThe Catalan language has several peculiarities. One of them is that Catalan language is spoken in Italy too, precisely in Alghero, Sardinia. This Catalonian song called “Des de Mallorca al Alguer” sings: “Des de Mallorca a l’Alguer, tots parlem el mateix” (from Majorca to Alghero, we all speak the same way). In fact, there is a […]\n\nThe ancient Italian heritage: the ruins of Rome\n\nItaly is home to the greatest number of World Heritage Sites recognized by UNESCO with 51 sites plus 2 of Vatican City situated within Rome, followed by China (50), Spain (45),  France (42),  Germany (41), India (35) and Mexico (34). Even if Rome today is facing a decadent period where political crisis are commonplace from the point of view of the tourism it remains an […]\n\nFrance: Cultural Richness\n\nFrance, thanks to its unique heritage of art, culture and history, is one of the most famous countries around the World. Each 13 regions have unique features (think for example about the differences between Burgundy, well known all over the world for its top wine production and Corsica the island in the Mediterranean Sea above Sardinia famous […]\n\nThe Indo-European languages\n\nAre modern languages descended from a common ancestor? Common features, especially common words, shared by many of the languages used in Europe, India, and Asia, led scholars to believe that these languages may have developed from the same source. That source language was never written down and is now extinct, but it has a name: […]\n\nRevived and saved languages\n\nAn attempt to save a language from extinction or endangerment is a process called language revitalization or revival. Reasons for a language disappearing are usually domination of national language imposed by a state, decreasing number of native speakers, failure of passing it on to younger generations, etc. The need for language revival comes from cultural identity […]\n\nLanguages derived from Latin\n\nRomance languages is group of related languages all derived from Vulgar Latin, which was an ancient Italic language of the Indo-European family. The major languages of the family include French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and Romanian, all national languages. The number of Romance languages varies due to the notoriously imprecise boundary between language and dialect. The […]", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.894705057144165}
+{"content": "Eter9 – The social network that allows you to live forever\n\nThe search for immortality has been a puzzle for humans for a very long time and there is still no answer to it. A new social network called Eter9 is entertaining the idea of digital immortality. It is a social network that uses Artificial Intelligence to create a virtual copy of a human being. This virtual copy is called the ‘counterpart’ and it can perform some very weird things. For example, when a user passes away, the counterpart can continue posting on the website just like the original user would – for eternity.\n\nThe counterpart is created by accumulating data about the user and using Artificial Intelligence to train a virtual model of that person.\n\n“This network has specificities which allow a human being to achieve immortality in cyberspace.” according to a statement from the website.\n\n\n“Eter9 makes it possible to eternalize the user and gives them the permanent ability to interact within the network 24/7 through an element called counterpart, which will be active even while the user is offline, both in terms of posting content and commenting.\n\n\n“The counterpart will also be responsible for the user’s eternal life.\n\n\n\n\n“The interaction will be progressively more effective, taking into account the acquired information and its ‘experience’, and also the interaction between the physical part and the virtual connections.”\n\n\nSimilar to Twitter’s Timeline, Eter9 also has a ‘cortex’, a place where users’ posts appear. Users can smile at other users’ posts as well, similar to the way we like pictures on Facebook. Not all Eter9 users are human; the social network also features virtual users called Niners that can be adopted by a human user.\n\n\n“The adopted Niner is almost like a valuable assistant to the organic user who adopts it.” according to the website.\n\n\n\n\nThe idea of using Artificial Intelligence to learn about humans is not welcomed by all. While some people might feel some kind of closure by seeing the posts of their loved one’s counterpart, others might not. What’s more is that Artificial Intelligence as a whole is not welcomed by some of the biggest names in science and technology. Stephen Hawking warned that Artificial Intelligence could bring an end to mankind. How the world takes Eter9 will be interesting to see. Perhaps a hundred years from now, a computer chip somewhere will keep updating your status and no one will ever know the difference.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8857360482215881}
+{"content": "Tuesday, March 30, 2010\n\nCrispy Pan-Fried Noodles\n\n\n\n\n\n- Cabbage\n- Carrots\n- Garlic\n- Soy sauce\n- Oyster sauce\n- Water\n- Corn starch\n\n- Chop the cabbage into roughly 1 inch squares\n- Mince the garlic\n- Flip the noodles and fry the other side until crispy.\n\nSaturday, March 27, 2010\n\nMiso Soup\n\n\n- Miso\n- Water\n- Dashi (pellet-like fish stock base)\n- Wakame (dried seaweed - but not the sushi kind)\n- Tofu\n- Green onions\n\n- Boil some water in a pot.\n- Add miso paste to taste.\n- Add in the wakame.\n- Dice the tofu and gently slide it in.\n- Gently stir the soup so that everything is mixed.\n- Garnish with a bit of freshly chopped green onions.\n\nFriday, March 26, 2010\n\nMiso-Glazed Salmon\n\nThis dish was inspired by my continued effort to eat healthier and eat more fish. I've already reached my \"recommended\" weight gain for this pregnancy. I'm an over-achiever that way. And since I still have a while to go, I am (sometimes) watching what I eat a bit more carefully. Apparently, it's a good idea to watch what you eat, even if you're not pregnant, but whatever. Plus fish is good for the baby's brain development - grow baby brain, grow! :)\n\nI've always adored miso-glazed fish that you get at restaurants and was surprised to find that it is SUPER easy to make at home. Hardly any prep and minimal clean up, it's so quick and so good for you too. I'm definitely adding it to the regular rotation!\n\n- Salmon\n- Miso paste\n- Honey\n- Soy\n- Rice wine vinegar\n- Ginger\n- Mirin\n- Water\n\n- Mix the miso paste, a bit of hot water, honey, soy, rice wine vinegar, grated ginger (I used a microplane grater), and mirin in a bowl to taste. If you're missing any of the ingredients (besides the miso), feel free to substitute. Honey and mirin can be replaced by brown sugar, etc. And honestly, if you're missing any of the other ingredients, it's fine to omit them altogether. The main thing you need is the miso and something sweet.\n- Put the mixture in the microwave just long enough so that it thickens up a bit. It shouldn't take long.\n- Put the salmon on some foil to make cleanup a cinch.\n- Brush half of the glaze onto the salmon and pop it under a broiler for about 15 minutes. Since I was just making this for the two of us, I used our toaster oven instead of the full-sized and it still turned out great.\n- After 15 minutes, take the fish out and brush on another layer of glaze and pop it back under the broiler until the fish has cooked through. For me, it took another 15 minutes, but it really depends on how thick your fish is and how strong your broiler is.\n- Serve it with brown rice and steamed broccoli and you've got yourself a quick and healthy dinner. And if you have any extra sauce left, drizzle it over the rice and veggies.\n\nMonday, March 22, 2010\n\nChocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies\n\nMy first un-assisted cookie success! I'm sooooo happy!!!!\n\nMy entire life, every cookie that I've baked on my own has turned out bad. Usually, the texture is more like a cake than a cookie. And usually, I'm attempting to make chocolate chip cookies.\n\nWell, this time I decided to tackle a different type of cookie, hoping to get better results. Oatmeal raisin is classic, right? But I still wanted my chocolate, so I made oatmeal chocolate chip cookies instead. It was a brilliant idea if I do say so myself, haha.\n\nI used an oatmeal raisin recipe from Smitten Kitchen but substituted chocolate chips for raisins. It turned out soft and chewy and wonderful. Maybe I can tackle regular chocolate chip cookies next!\n\nAdapted from Smitten Kitchen\n- 1 stick of unsalted butter, softened\n- 2/3 cup of light brown sugar\n- 1 egg\n- 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract\n- 3/4 cup of all-purpose flour (I used bread flour because that's all I had in the house, and it still turned out well)\n- 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda\n- 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon\n- 1/2 teaspoon of salt\n- 1 1/2 cups of rolled oats\n- 3/4 cup of chocolate chips\n\n- Cream the butter, brown sugar, egg and vanilla together in a bowl.\n- Add the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt to the butter/sugar mixture.\n- Fold in the oatmeal and chocolate chips.\n- Scoop the cookies onto a lined cookie sheet, giving them plenty of space to spread, and stick them in the fridge (or freezer if you're impatient) until they're cool.\n- Bake them in a 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes. I found that they actually need more like 15 because they started off cold. Basically, you want the edges to be slightly brown and the middle to be slightly undercooked.\n- Dip them in some cold milk and indulge!\n\nFriday, March 19, 2010\n\nGarlic Steamed Scallops\n\nThis is a dish that I had in Hong Kong and Singapore and I absolutely adored it. There are these restaurants with live seafood. You go up to the tanks, pick what you want and tell them how you want it prepared. This is a picture of the tanks at one of the restaurants on Lamma Island in Hong Kong. So fresh and delicious!\n\nMy favorite dish to order at these types of restaurants was the garlic steamed scallops. Humongous fresh scallops, steamed with garlic and glass noodles. Yum, yum, YUM!\n\nI'm not sure what else they put in because as I tried to recreate it, it just wasn't quite the same. If you've ever had this dish, please help me out and let me know what I'm missing. I'm dying to recreate it properly.\n\nIn the meantime, here is what I did...\n\n- Sea scallops\n- Glass noodles\n- Garlic\n- Scallions\n- Sea salt\n- Oil (I used sesame, but I suggest using olive oil or butter instead)\n\n- Soak the glass noodles in hot water until soft. They should be pretty much cooked since they won't be steaming for long.\n- Finely dice/crush the garlic.\n- Lay down a bed of the noodles, then the scallop, then a generous dollop of garlic and a bit of chopped scallions.\n- Sprinkle sea salt on top and drizzle a bit of oil on top. I used sesame oil, but the flavor was way too strong. I'm thinking maybe olive oil or butter would be better.\n- Place it in a steamer for about 5-10 minutes or until the scallop is cooked (be careful not to over cook them).\n\nTuesday, March 16, 2010\n\nSpicy Eggplant\n\nEggplants are so pretty raw, but after you cook them, they're one of the most unappetizing looking foods out there. And using a phone to take the picture because my camera was out of batteries and I couldn't find the charger doesn't help matters either. But it's the flavor that's more important, right? And with this dish, the flavor was definitely there!\n\n- Eggplants (I like using the thinner Japanese style ones)\n\n- Ground meat (pork or turkey)\n- Enoki mushrooms (totally optional, but I love the texture of these mushrooms)\n- Garlic\n\n- Chili sauce\n\nSoy sauce\n\n- Oil\n\n\n- Slice the eggplant into wedges about 2-3 inches long. The thinner you cut them, the faster they'll cook.\n\n- Finely chop the garlic.\n\n- Heat some oil in a pan or wok.\n- Add the garlic and stir it for a few seconds until it's fragrant.\n\n- Add the ground meat and some soy.\n- Cook the meat, breaking it up as you go and then remove it from the pan and set it aside.\n- To cook the eggplant, you can either deep fry it (faster, crispier, tastier and prettier, but not as healthy) or \"boil\" it.\n\n- To deep fry, heat a lot of oil in the wok, toss the eggplant in (you may want to do this in batches to keep the oil hot) and keep the eggplant moving until it's cooked through.\n\n- To \"boil\" it, just add the eggplant to the wok with some soy sauce and water. Keep the stirring the eggplant until it's cooked through, adding more water as necessary.\n\n- Add the meat back in with the eggplant, add chili sauce and the enoki mushrooms and stir until everything is well combined and the mushrooms are cooked. It shouldn't take very long at all.\n- Serve it over a bed of rice.\n\nWednesday, March 10, 2010\n\nFish Tacos\n\nFish is good for you, so I bought a bag of frozen tilapia in an effort to \"be healthier\". HA! We'll see how long that lasts :)\n\nWe made fish tacos with the tilapia and it was super tasty. If this is what all \"healthier\" food tastes like, I think I can definitely keep this up!\n\n- Tilapia or other mild flavored fish\n- Salt\n- Pepper\n- Chili powder\n- Tortillas (corn is more traditional, but all we had was flour, which worked out great too)\n- Garnish\n- Cabbage\n- Black beans\n- Diced tomatoes\n- Diced avocado\n- Sour cream\n- Hot sauce/salsa (we like Tapitio)\n- Lime\n\n- Season the fish with salt, pepper and chili powder.\n- Pan fry the fish with a tiny bit of oil until cooked through.\n- Place the fish along with the garnishes of your choice on a tortilla.\n- Fold it over and enjoy it guilt-free!\n\nFriday, March 5, 2010\n\nCarrot Bread\n\nI've been getting tired of cereal for breakfast every morning, so when I saw my friend make zucchini bread, I asked her for the recipe. It looked like the perfect solution to my breakfast boredom.\n\nAlong with the recipe, she mentioned how next time she wanted to try carrots, and since I already had carrots in my fridge, I went with carrots. She also gave me notes on 3 separate attempts she did using different amounts of different kinds of sugar and her opinions on its effects. She said 1 cup of white sugar was too sweet. 3/4 cups of brown sugar wasn't sweet enough and 3/4 cup of white sugar was still a bit too sweet. Using this info, I decided on 1/2 cup of white sugar and 1/2 cup of brown sugar and thought it was a good level of sweetness. You can tweak it however you like.\n\nAdapted from Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book\n1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour\n1 tsp cinnamon\n1/2 tsp baking soda\n1/2 tsp salt\n1/2 tsp nutmeg\n1/4 tsp baking powder\n1/2 cup sugar\n1/2 cup brown sugar\n(the original calls for 1 cup of sugar instead of the mixture of white and brown sugar)\n1 cup of shredded carrots\n1 egg\n1/2 cup oil\n1/4 tsp lemon zest\n1/2 cup walnuts (I forgot these)\n\n- Mix the sugar, brown sugar, carrots and egg in a separate bowl.\n- Add the lemon zest and oil to the carrot mixture.\n- Slowly mix in the flour mixture until evenly mixed.\n- Fold in the walnuts.\n- Grease a 8x4x2 loaf pan and pour the batter in.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9990760087966919}
+{"content": "Ice – Not Just Cold Stuff\n\n\nPolar bears have a hard time of it in regards to climate change,\n\nlarson b\n\nfirstly there is the concern that the reduction of sea ice would lead to them not being able to hunt sufficiently to survive. Now another issue has been raised, one which affects the very food chain the polar bears are part of.\n\nFood chains begin at the plant. Any green plant which can harvest energy from the sun begins a food chain. Whereas we rely on things like grass to feed the cow, which we then eat, polar bears rely on algae, which feed the polychaetes, – that’s what the fish live on.\n\nRecent research in the Arctic has discovered that far from being a barren, ice-ridden desert, the Arctic is teeming with life – although you’d need a microscope to see it. Sea ice consists of ice crystals, between the crystals – there is a liquid network of brine (saltwater) channels and it is this network that houses algae. Life-forms such as polychaetes (or bristleworms), copepods and amphipods live beneath the surface of the ice, and around its edge, sometimes even inside the floes themselves. The offspring from these life-forms have found an ingenious way to survive: they move into the ice. Ingenious because, as larvae need a constant supply of food, and safety from any predators, the ice offers a perfect home, especially as ice algae is far more concentrated (by a factor of ten) than sea algae.\n\nThe concern is that as the ice starts to melt due to the global temperatures rise, there will be less and less ice for the larvae to live in, meaning significantly less food, and less growth. Additionally, as there is an abundance of ice algae at the moment, this allows the polychaetes to reproduce earlier – the adult worms can then reach their homes on the sea floor before other competitors. Not for long…\n\nWith less ice, life will change for the polychaetes, and ultimately life will change for the polar bears. Professor Gradinger from the University of Alaska states that some basic questions remain to be answered about how the different parts of this world fit together,\n\n“An amazing, fascinating part about the Arctic is this strong connectivity between different habitats – the ice, the water column and the sea floor.”\n\nIf all of us were to understand the web of life better, a picture of how it may change in a warmer world should become clearer.\n\nIf you want to find out all the latest global warming and ecological news, why not subcribe to our RSS feed, we’ll even throw in a free album.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9249116778373718}
+{"content": "Switch branches/tags\nFind file History\nFetching latest commit…\nCannot retrieve the latest commit at this time.\nFailed to load latest commit information.\n\n\n\n\\title{Documentation for the Northern Bites Motion Engine}\n\\author{Johannes Strom\\\\\n\n\nThis README describes the architectural implementation of the motion engine for\nthe Northern Bites robot soccer team. This document's purpose is to show where\nin the code you should look for the code that fulfills a particular function,\nor which file might have instructions to lead you closer to that answer.\n\nFor information regarding the conceptual meaning of the algorithms and\narchitecture implemented here, I suggest you look at the following documents. TODO: put in links (currently available on the blog under 'Team History').\n\\item Dynamically Balanced Omnidirectional Humanoid Locomotion, by Johannes Strom\n   Honors Thesis for the Bowdoin College Department of Computer Science, 2009\n\\item  An Implementation of an Omnidirectional Walk Engine on a Nao Robot, by\n   Johannes Strom, George Slavov and Eric Chown in RoboCup 2009, 2009\n\\item Northern Bites Team Report for the Standard Platform League, 2009 (to appear)\n\\item Presentation Slides: Biped Robot Locomotion.  \\url{http://robocup.bowdoin.edu/public/docs/motion/nao-walking.pdf}.\n\nThis PDF can be found at \\url{http://robocup.bowdoin.edu/public/docs/motion/README.pdf}.\nThis version of the PDF was generated on \\today.\n\n\n\\section{Motion Overview}\nThe motion system is tasked with controlling the motion of the robot. For other\nmodules in the code, access to this functionality is provided by sending\nMotionCommands through the MotionInterface, which is provided on request.\nThere are many types of MotionCommands, an incomplete list is:\n   WalkCommand, StepCommand, BodyJointCommand, HeadJointCommand, etc\n\nInside the motion system, the many ways of controlling the motion of the robot\nare controlled by the MotionSwitchboard. This class presides over a (currently\nsmall) set of MotionProviders, and determines which provider is currently the\nprovider that is controlling the motion of the robot.  Theoretically, there\ncould be multiple active providers at once: one for each of the robots chains\n(limbs). In practice, there are only ever two simultaneously active providers:\none for head, and one for the 'Body' (which excludes the head)\nSwitching between providers occurs when a command associated with the non-active\nprovider is recieved by the MotionSwitchboard (usually through the\nMotionInterface). This event causes a stop request to be sent to the active\nprovider, and the provider associated with the new request to become the\nnext provider.  When the active provider indicates it is no longer active,\nthe next provider becomes the current provider, and subsequently determines\nthe motion of the robot.\n\nAs mentioned above, the MotionInterface provides access to motion functionality\nfor other parts of the code. Particularly, to Noggin and RoboGuardian.\nThe MotionInterface provides the ability to send commands to specific providers\nas well as the ability to request stops on certain parts of the robot\n\n\\subsection{Wrapping into Python}\nThe file PyMotion.cpp houses all the wrapping code to allow access to the\nvarious MotionCommands and the MotionInterface from within Python.  Duplicating\nthis functionality for a new type of MotionCommand should be relatively straight\nforward by looking at the example code in that file.  Generally, it should be\nsufficient to create a PyXXXCommand to wrap the Cxx version, and then also\nto update the PyMotionInterface wrapper.\n\nThe WalkingProvider solves the locomotion problem. It takes as input several\ntypes of MotionCommands, which are generally just desired directions of motion.\nIts output is the sequence of joints which ideally causes the desired motion.\n\nThe WalkingProvider class is relatively empty - it constructs transition\ncommands which ensure that the robot is in the required motion stance before\nbeginning to walk. It also remembers the last motion command for each type\nit handels.  When the WalkingProvider is asked for new joint values,\nfirst processes any waiting commands which may have arrived since the last\ntime the walkprovider ran.  Then, it ticks through several of its children\nclasses, which do most of the actual work.\n\nThe step generator's main job is to handle the regeneration of steps according\nto the current motion vector. It also handles the crucial setup required to\nstart and stop walking.  In addition, it currently also handles tons of work\nfor the Controller and the Walking Leg, such as generating zmp reference values\nand keeping track of how coordinate frames switch at the end of a double,single\nsupport phase.\n\nNOTE: My intention is to seriously reorganize parts of the Walking Architecture\nsoon.  Ideally, the step generator will become more of a glorified queue, and\nzmp generation will be handled in the controller, etc. Also, since the walk\nprovider does so little right now, it is certainly possible to move the ticking\nof the walkingleg and controller into there. This would also make it easier\nto consolidate calls to inverse kinematics.\n\nThe controller's job is to generate com trajectories from zmp preview values.\nBasically, this is just glorified matrix multiplication using some specially\ngenerated matrices, which are hard coded into the class. Finding these\nmatrices can be done using octave (see the folder motion/octave).\n\nFirst, you need to get Octave, which is open source. Then, you can open an\noctave terminal by running the command ``octave'' in the terminal.\nFor starters, you can run the file setupobserver.m by typing\n`source(setupobserver.m)' from the Octave terminal prompt.\nThis will generate all the appropriate\nmatrices, which you can access py simply typing their names. For example, the\nstate update matrix, $A_0$, can be accessed by typing `A0' on the octave\n\nThe output of the controller is in a static world-centric I coordinate frame,\nwhich needs to get translated to the F frame before it can be useful to walking.\nThis is currently handled by the StepGenerator. Ideally, eventually the I\ncoordinate frame will disapear entirely.\n\nUsing the locations of steps in the F (relative to support foot) coordinate\nframe, the WalkingLeg determines the trajectories of the legs during the gait\ncycle. For example, the way the swinging leg moves through the air is controlled\nhere, as is the mangitude of sensor feedback to the body posture.\n\nThe walking leg also handles instantaneous odometry reporting, which gets\ncompiled by the StepGenerator.\n\nA crucial part of the walking system is the tuning of the walking cylce by\nstoring constants in a Gait. This allows different tunings of the walk for\ndifferent robots, different speeds, or different purposes.\n\nEach gait holds many constants which are organized into eight\ndifferent categories:\n\n\\item The Robot's {\\bf Stance} during walking\n\\item The size, speed, length of each {\\bf Step}\n\\item The shape of the {\\bf ZMP} preview curve\n\\item The magnitude of the joint {\\bf Hack}\n\\item The nature of {\\bf Sensor} feedback\n\\item The {\\bf Stiffness} of the joints\n\\item Calibration of the {\\bf Odo}metry\n\\item Movment of each {\\bf Arm}\n\nEach gait object is actually just a collection of static arrays. Each array\ncontains a varying number of parameters which each control a related aspect\nof the walk. For example, the {\\bf stance} array contains several constants\nwhich determine the robot's stance while walking (body height from ground,\nforward lean, etc).The size and\ncontents of these arrays are specified in GaitConstants.h -- be sure to read\n(and keep up to date) the instructions at the top of the file for where you\nneed to make changes when adding a new gait parameter.\n\nTo handle switching between gaits, anytime a gait parameter is required,\nthis access is actually granted through the MetaGait, which manages the\ngradual transition between the current and the next gait. It gets ticked\nby the WalkProvider, and simply provides a linear interpolation between\nthe two, depending on the longest transtion time specified by the two gaits.\n\n{\\bf IMPORTANT!:} In order to tune the gait, it is CRUCIAL to understand how\nthe gait parameters are actually used in the code. While the relatively brief\ndescriptions of each parameter provided below may be helpful as a reference,\nthey do not provide a complete picture of what the gait parameters, and probably\nmost important, they will quickly become out of sync with exactly how the\nconstants are being used in the code. Thus, I STRONGLY encourage you to look\nat the part of the code which is using the parameter you are tuning in order\nto gain a complete understanding of what is happening.\n\n{\\bf IMPORTANT!:} Gait tuning is a finicky, {\\bf NON-DETERMINISTIC}\nprocess. This means, even with identical gait parameters, a robot will not\nwalk the same way each time, because of slight discrepancies in the flooring\nor in the current given to each motor.  If you ever seriously begin tuning\nthe gait, there will most certainly come a time when for some reason or another\nthe changes you make to the gait are not actually being loaded by the robot (\nthis can happen for a wide variety of reasons: the code doesn't get uploaded,\nyou switched robots, and only were tuning a gait for a specific robot, etc).\nIn this case, you will at first think that the changes you are making help,\nbecause that is what you want to believe. However, the robot's parameters are\nnot actually changing, and your preception is skewed!! To avoid falling\ninto this trap, small changes to the gait need to be tested over and over to\nprove that modifying the parameter is actually helping. As with everything in\nRoboCup: {\\bf TEST TEST TEST TEST!}.\n\nWhat follows is a more in depth description of each of the gait parameters\nas of the 16th of July, 2009. Please note that these descriptions will quickly\nbecome out of date. Also, please be aware of the unit conventions in the code\nbase. In Python, units are expressed in centimeters and degrees. In C++ they\nare converted into units of mm and degrees.  This conversion is generally done\nin the Python wrapping code. For Motion it is done in PyMotion.cpp.\nThe descriptions below are from the point of view of gait tuning, which is\ngenerally done from Python, so we will discuss them in those units below.\nFor each constant, the idea is to explain physically what the constant\ncontrols, and what the constant actually ``means'' (or does) to modify the\n\n\\subsubsection{Stance gait parameters}\nThe stance gait parameters control the default posture of the robot during\nwalking. Things like how far off the ground the robot is, how far the\nlegs are separated, etc.\n\\item {\\bf BODY HEIGHT} This is the constant height in cm of the\nrobot's origin from the\nground. Note that this is distinct from the height of the robot's center of mass\n, and that after applying the 'Hacks' below in combination with potentially\nlagging or unreliable motors means the height of the CoM might not actually be\nconstant in reality.\n\nWhen the robot's origin is higher off the ground, the\njoints in the legs need to move less during the course of step, but can't reach\nas far. When the robot is closer to the ground, the robot can reach further,\nbut needs to move the joints faster to reach the same distance. In addition,\nwhen the robot is closer to ground, the robot is stabler (a shorter preview\nperiod is required).  Note: Theoretically, this constant needs to be consistent\nwith the one used to generate the controller using octave (see above). The\ncontroller uses the height of the CoM to generate trajectories. Since the CoM\nis not the same of the robot origin, this is currently incorrect in the code\nbase.  We use 31.0 cm for both constants.  In practice, the body height\nvalue used in the controller simply shapes the curve the robot's center\nfollows, and it doesnt necessarily need to be exact since there are other\nconstants which need to be tuned as well to get the robot walking.\n\nNote: We just picked 31 cm as a good guess for the constant and haven't changed\nit. I believe this is a good value, and I think the other constants are far\nmore important in enabling a more stable walk. Also, I believe this constant\nshould never really be ``tweaked'' slightly to get a better walk.  However,\nit may at some point be interesting to see if we can walk faster with the robot\ncloser to the ground.  The way this would probably work is to lower the CoM\nso that the robot doesn't need to swing nearly as much, thereby reducing\n(or maybe eliminating?) the double support phase entirely. This can allow\nthe motors to move at maximum speed to reach the maximum distance. There is of\ncourse a tradeoff here, since as the robot is lowered, the motors need to move\nfaster to move the same distance anyway, so as you lower the robot, you would\nneed to achieve an equal reduction in the double support time to allow the\nrobot to still move as fast as it did when it was higher off the ground. This\nof course presumes the limitation on the walk speed is that the maximum\nvelocity of the robot's joint is being reach and the walk is still stable. In\na test in Webots, I found that the kinematic limits of the robot will not allow\nthe robot to move faster than about 25cm/s in the forward directions when\nthe body height is 31cms, so I don't really think this constant is the limiting\nfactor right now.\n\n\\item {\\bf BODY OFF X} This is the forward offset between the heel of the foot\nand the robot's origin. The heel of the robot is the location directly below\nthe robot's ankle joints, and is not a good approximation of the center of\nthe foot in the forwrad direction. Thus, this constant should generally be\npositive, and non zero to keep the robot's origin more centered over the\nfoot.  Note: This value is also used to initialize the controller correctly.\nI think there may be a more elegant way to do this, since the controller\nshouldn't need to care about the size of the robot's foot, etc.\n\nMoving the body forwad relative to the feet keeps the robots weight centered\nbetter, which results in a stabler walk.  When playing with the Y rotation\n(see below), it is sometimes necessary to play with this constant.  Also,\nif the robot is falling over backwards too much (such as in the dribble gait),\nthis constant may also need to be adjusted.\n\n\\item {\\bf LEG SEPARATION Y}  This constant controls the horizontal separation\nbetween the legs of the robot. Note!: this constant is not yet fully implemented\n. In some places, it is used, in others it is not. It should be left at 5cm.\n\nTheoretically, one could experiment with a wide more ``stable'' stance when\napproaching the ball (to knock other robots over more easily), or with a\nbalance-beam type walk, which places the foot steps along a line. Right now,\nthis constant should not be changed.\n\n\\item {\\bf BODY ROT Y} This constant controls the rotation of the robot about\nthe Y axis. This is forward lean of the robot. (Negative values are backward\n\nRotating the body forward can greatly reduce the sway of the robot during\nthe walk because since the joints of the robot have some give in them. When the\nrobot is completely upright, the robot goes back and forth between on end of\nthis ``give'' and the other. By leaning the robot forward, the robot simply\npushes up against the forward direction of this give, and oscillates less.\nOn the other hand, leaning too far forward will cause the robot's feet to run\ninto the ground befor they reach their destination, which will cause serious\nbacklash, and create even greater oscialltions.\n\n\\item {\\bf LEG ROT Z}  This constant controls the default rotation of the legs\nrelative to one another. The greater this constant, the more duck footed\nthe robot will walk.  The maximum value of this constant is about 90 degrees\nat which point turning is impossible.  Theoretically, a pigeoned toed walk\nis possible, but the values sent to the HYP angle are clipped at 0, so negative\nvalues won't work.\n\n\\item {\\bf TRANS TIME} The transition time defines how long it takes to switch\nbetween gaits (in seconds). It is not clear exactly which category this\nconstant fits into, but it is obvious this constant needs to be increased\nif the gait stance is different than normal.\n\n\\subsubsection{Step Gait Constants}\nThe following constants are (should be) associated directly with a step.\nThis means that there is no gradual transitioning when the gait is switched.\nThe next step generated after the new gait is set simply gets the StepConfig\nattributes assigned to it.  The Step gait constants are the things which\ndetermine how long, how far, how fast, etc a step occurs.\n\n\\item {\\bf DURATION}  The duration of the step is the inverse of the step\nfrequency. This determins the overall time taken for one double and single\nsupport phase.\n\nAs the step duration is lowered, the distance that needs to be covered\nin one gait cycle becomes less for a given input velocity. However, the\ntime allowed to move that distance also decreases, so the effect on the\nspeed of the legs is undetermined (depends of if the DBL SUPP P constant\nchanges of not).\n\\item {\\bf DBL SUPP P} This constant determines the percent of the step\nduration which is spent in double support.\n\nThe robot needs sufficient time to move the ZMP from the middle of one foot\nto the next when the support foot changes. This occurs during double support.\nWhen the absolute magntude of this time (DBL SUPP P times DURATION) becomes\nsmaller, the robot swings more violently. When the time is longer, the swing\nis slower.  However, if the overal step duration is shorter, then a lower\ntime will still work because the ZMP doesn't need to stay in the middle of the\nfoot for as long. The end of effect of this strategy is that magnitude of\nthe swing is reduced.\n\nWith a shorter double support time, the robot has more overal time to spend\nswinging the ``swinging'' leg to its destination, allowing it to move further\nwith the same velocity.  Since eventually, the velocities of the joints will\nbe the limiting factor in the walk speed, tuning this can be important.\n\n\\item {\\bf STEP HEIGHT}  The step height controls how high the foot is lifted\nfrom the ground during the single support phase of the walk.\n\nIncreasing this value can help stop the foot from running into the carpet\nduring the swinging. On the other hand, too large values of this can cause\nmore backlash if the robot falls onto the foot while it still has downward\nvelocity. This constant generally needs to be adjusted in tandem with the\nhip hacks described below.\n\nAlso, I've made a note that this constant should probably be move to the\nstance config section, but it could probably go both ways.\n\n\\item {\\bf FOOT LIFT ANGLE} This is the maximum value of the angle that\nwe add to the Y-axis (approx. Ankle Pitch) for the swinging leg during\nsingle support. The value is (currently) multiplied by a sine function\nso the lift angle starts and ends at zero.\n\nIncreasing this value can help reduce the amount of step height, since\nthe foot is so long. It allows the front of the foot to lift higher above\nthe carpet, and allows walking over more uneven surfaces.  On the other hand,\nthis angle increase can also increase the likely-hood of the robot falling\nover forwards or of the robot building up oscillation around the Y axis if\nthe robot falls onto its foot before the angle has reach zero.\n\n\\item {\\bf MAX VEL X} This is the maximum forwad velocity of the robot in CM/s.\nWhen a new step is created, its forward component is clipped according to\nthis constant.\n\nGenerally, moving faster is less stable than moving slowly.\n\n\\item {\\bf MIN VEL X}This the maximum backward velocity of the robot. Note\n that this is not always the same as the negative of the forward maximum.\nNote also that this is effectively the MINIMUM forward velocity, since it is\nnegative. (It is NOT the minumum MAGNITUDE of the velocity)\n\n\\item {\\bf MAX VEL Y}\nThis is the maximum sideways velocity of the robot. The steps get clipped\naccording to both the positive and the negative of this constant. Note\nthat this constant should be positive or the clipping won't work right.\n\n\\item {\\bf MAX VEL THETA}\nThis is maxmimum turning velocity of the robot in degrees/second.\n\n\\item {\\bf MAX ACC X} This is the maximum forward\nacceleration in cm/s per STEP.\nThe new step is compared to the last step, and clipped according to this.\n\n\\item {\\bf MAX ACC Y}\nThis is the maximum sideways\nacceleration in cm/s per STEP.\n\\item {\\bf MAX ACC THETA}\nThis is the maximum turning acceleration of the robot in degs/s per STEP.\n\\item {\\bf WALKING} This constant is supposed to decide if this gait is a\nWALKING or NON-WALKING gait.  A value of 1.0 is walking, everything else is\n\nThe idea behind having gaits that are NON-WALKING is that transitioning to\nand from them could supplant the need to switch to the ScriptedProvider in\ncertain circumstances. They would also allow testing things like sensor\nfeedback when the robot is not actually walkin (but the WalkingProvider is\nstill active). In practice, there were some implementation difficulties, so\nthis constant DOESNT WORK!  (but its still hooked up).\n\nThe idea was to only generate END STEPS when there is a NON-WALKING gait,\nbut there were two problems. This first is that the condition for quitting\nout of the walking provider is decided based on END STEPS, so this gait\nwas always stopping after three steps. The other problem has something\nto with the startStopScale in WalkingLeg, which also relies on END STEPS\nThis solution to this is possibly to make another type of STEP, which\ndoesnt do any walking (just double support).\n\n\nA note about Elliptical Clipping.  We currently do ELLIPTICAL CLIPPING on the\ngait vector in the Step class.  This means when we are only moving forward,\nwe can move at the maximum forward speed. When we also desire to move to the\nside, we reduce proportionally the forward speed so the magnitude of the speed\nin both X and Y axis does not lie outside the ellipse created by the MAX X and\nMAX Y velocities.  Consider each desired velocity to be a 2D point in\ncartesian space. Then, consider the ellipse  which is created by connecting the\npoint which has max. forward velocity and zero lateral velocity with the maximums in each sideways and also the backward direction. (This shape is actually egg like, since the max backward vel. is not always the same as the forward.)\nThis can of course also be extended into 3D to also include the turning. (Where\n the dimensions are: X-vel, Y-vel, Theta-vel.)\n\nHowever, there is the fundamental problem that in order to determine an angle\nfrom the XY velocity plane to the point in 3D space, it is necessary to\ncompare degreees to centimenters.  This is currently achieved by giving the\nsame weighting to the a turning velocity equal to maximum turn allowed by\nthe gait as to a forward velocity equal to the maximum forward speed allowed\nby the gait.\n\nIn practice, there are two ways this needs to be improved. First, the ellipses\nshould become more square. This can be done by addin an addition to the radius\nwhich depends on theta:\n$xMax = [r + 1.1\\sin(2\\theta )]\\cos(theta)$\n\nAnother thing which should probably change is that we need to measure\nthe maximum theta at full forward velocity. This may or may not be non zero\nif it is non-zero, let this constant be $MFT$, then the new elipse might look\n$tMax = (r - MFT + \\cdots)cos(\\phi)$\n\n\\subsubsection{ZMP Gait Constants}\nThe ZMP Gait constants determine how we generate the ZMP preview required\nby the controller.  The preview ZMP generated from each step determines\nwhat the reference ZMP is, and thus what the CoM motion is when that planned\nstep becomes the support step.\n\n\\item {\\bf FOOT CENTER X}  This transitional constant currently determines\nhow long the ZMP should be extended over the support foot for a forward\nstep.  That is, when this constant is zero, the ZMP is targeted only at one\npoint, regardless if the robot is moving forward. When it is non zero (and\npossitive), it spreads the ZMP preview over that length (in the forward dir.)\nover the length of the step.\n\nIn practice, this was able to smooth out some oscillations when moving forward.\nHowever, it causes some problems when there was no forward motion, so it\nis currently not in a state to be used.\n\nThe name is also somewhat of a misnomer. I had intended to change this\nconstant to indicate where the center of the foot is (without moving the\nlocation of the ZMP during the step). However, this is mostly already\naccomplished by the BODY OFF X constant (above).\n\n\\item {\\bf DBL SUP STATIC P}  This constant determines what percentage of\ndouble support the ZMP preview remains static before and after the ZMP is\nswitched from the old support foot to the new one.\n\nDuring double support, the ZMP is moved from one foot to the next using a\nlinear interpolation.  However, since it is not necessarily the case that\nthe foot has already touched down, and to increase overall stability, we can\nwait to make this transition happen for just a bit.  In practice, we keep the\nZMP on the old support foot for half of this percentage of the double support\nphase. Also, after transition the ZMP, we again wait half this percentage\nwith the ZMP on the other foot.\n\nI'm not really sure if this constant is even important anymore. Theoretically,\nit should help to make sure we wait to swing the body a bit longer so we dont\nrun the swinging foot into the ground during single support. On the other hand,\ntoo large of value for this will cause more violent swinging.\n\n\\item {\\bf L ZMP OFF Y, R ZMP OFF Y}  These constants determine how much extra\n to the left/right the ZMP reference is pushed to the side.\n\nThis constant helps to compensate for model inaccuracies, particularly for\nthe fact that the CoM is actually at 26.9cm, not 31.0 like we assume. In\naddition, this constant also controls how far to the side we swing.\nControlling this is very important to getting a stable gait, and varies\nconsiderably depending on the step duration. To get this adjustment right,\nwatch the robot as it walks. If the robot is not swinging enough to get the\nfeet off the ground for the entirety of the single support phase.\n\\item {\\bf STRAFE ZMP OFF} This constant controls how far extra we swing\nduring strafing when we are going to bring the trailing foot next to the\nleading foot. \n\nIf the trailing foot is scraping the ground when it follows the leading foot,\nit may be necessary to increase this constant.  Note that the constant is\nmultiplied agains the lateral component of the step destination. This means\nthat for larger (longer) lateral steps, the extra amoung we swing is greater.\n\nNote: this does NOT control how much extra we swing when the leading foot\nis strafing. That constant might be nice, but would be much harder to\n\nNote: the units of this constant are a bit weird. First, they are NOT converted\nwhen being sent between Python and C++. They are something like\nmm / mm.\n\\item {\\bf TURN ZMP OFF} This constant is similar to the strafe offset. It\ncontrols how far extra we swing when bringing the trailing leg parrallel\nduring turning.\n\nAs for the strafe offeset, if the trailing leg is scraping the ground,\ntry increasing this constant.  The untis of the constant are something like mm/ rad.\n\n\nA note about ZMP preview generation:  The fact that the ZMP moves so\ndiscontontinuously from foot to foot is not really a big problem for the walk\nbecause the control naturally smothes the trajectory of the CoM. However,\nthe Nao Devils claim using a bezir curve greatly increased the stabilit of\ntheir walk. (They used it to make a smoother transition when moving the ZMP\nfrom foot to foot).  We use  a linear interpolation during double support.\n\nIn practice, with a step duration of .4, a double support percentage of .25,\nthere are only 20 motion frames per gait cycle, and only 4 per double support\nphase, so the exact method of moving the ZMP is probably not as imporant.\n\n\\subsubsection{Hack Gait Constants}\nThe hack layer on the Nao consists of a compensation on the hip joints\nto make sure the leg is lifted correctly, compensating for the sag in the hip\n\\item {\\bf L HIP AMP, R HIP AMP}  This is angular value which directly added\nto the hip pitch joint (or also the hip roll joint when turning). The amount\nis added according to a trapezoid during the single support phase of walking.\n\nThis value should be adjusted to make sure the foot does not prematurely\ncollide with the ground during the swinging phase of the gait.\nNote:  Jerome says there is an easy way to measure this hack for each robot,\nby just making the robot stand (swung to the side, with one leg a bit higher)\n, and then increase the hip\nhack until the leg barely touches the ground.  Jerome also adds some portion\nof the hip hack to the ankles. We do none of these things.\n\n\\subsubsection{Sensor Gait Constants}\nThe following constants control how sensor feedback is applied to the robot.\nBoth approaches detailed below try to use sensors to measure the posture of\nthe robot, and apply a compensation to the body tilt to reduce oscillation.\n\nThe basic idea is when the robot measures that it is not at the desired angle\nit tries to first ``roll'' with the newly observed discrepancies. Then, it\ntries to bring the robot back to the desired angle by reducing the amount of\n\n\\item {\\bf FEEDBACK TYPE} This constant determines which type of sensor\nfeedback is used.  1.0 is spring modeled feedback, 0.0 is the old proportional\n\nThe spring type models the amount of sensor feedback to angleX and angleY\nas  a spring. Each motion frame, the acceleration of the system back to zero\nis calculated according to a spring constant K, (see below).\nThis acceleration is then\nfactored into the velocity, and eventualy into the position (value) of the\namount of feedback.  The system is updated also with the difference between\nthe system and the measured value, multiplied by Gamma (below).\n\nThe proportional type applies a correction to angleX/Y whose magnitude is\na proportion of the difference between the desired angle and the measured.\n\nBoth types have a maximum amount of correction which can be applied.\n\\item {\\bf GAMMA X, GAMMA Y} This is the constant percentage of the difference\nbetween the measured and the desired angle which both models use as input.\n\nFor the spring model, when this constant is smaller, a smaller amount of\nthe measured difference is applied to the system, resulting in a slower\nreaction to measured differences in the robot's posture from the sensors.\n\n\\item {\\bf SPRING K X, SPRING K Y} This constant controls how much acceleration\nis applied to the system depending on how far from equillibrium the system is.\n\nWhen the constant is small, the robot will move back towards equillibrium much\nmore slowly or not all. When this constant is large, the robot should move\nback to equillibrium more quickly, or potentially never apply any sensor\nfeedback at all.\n\\item {\\bf MAX ANGLE X, MAX ANGLE Y} This determines the maximum magnitude\nof compensation applied to angleX/Y.\n\nWhen this value is large, the robot\nwill adjust its posture much more to compensate for large disturbances, but\ndepending on the other sensor constants above, it may never be able to\nreturn to equillibrium.\n\\item {\\bf MAX ANGLE VEL}\nFor the proportional mode only, this determines the maximum amount of change\nin the amount of sensor feedback applied.\n\nLowering this constant will reduce the response of the robot to distrubances,\nbut higher values can keep the robot from applying too highly accelerating\n\n\\subsubsection{Stiffness Gait Constants}\n\nThe following constants control the stiffness of the robot during walking.\nThey are static.\n\\item {\\bf HIP} Controls the Hip Roll, Hip Pitch and Hip Yaw Pitch joint\n\\item {\\bf KP} Controls the Knee Pitch stiffness\n\\item {\\bf AP} Controls the Ankle Pitch stiffness\n\\item {\\bf AR} Controls the Ankle Roll Stiffness\n\\item {\\bf ARM} Controls the Shoulder Roll, ElbowRoll, Elbow Yaw stiffness\n\\item {\\bf ARM PITCH} Controls the ShouldPitch stiffness.\n\nFor the stiffness low in the leg, lowering them can increase the amount you\ncan absorb shock in the legs, especially when the robot falls onto its feet.\n\nWhen the stiffnesses are too low, the robot loses the ability to acurately\nfollow the deisred trajectories.\n\nNote: The current (no pun intended) convention is to use the ``pwm\\_mode'' in\nthe file /opt/naoqi/preferences/DCM.xml instead of ``current\\_mode''.\n\n\\subsubsection{Odometry Gait Constants}\n\nThe constants {\\bf X SCALE,Y SCALE,THETA SCALE} can be used to scale the output\nof the odometry measurements according to measured results in real life.\nFor example, if you tell the robot to move, and watch its localization, then\nyou could use this constant to fix any discrepancies between how far \nlocalization thinks you moved, and how far you actually moved.  This is useful\nparticularly if you have a gait which slips considerably relative to the \nground. Note, that this should be measured over several trials.\n\nA possible extension could be to also encode the variance of the walk in\na similar manner.\n\n\\subsubsection{Arm Gait Constants}\nThere is only one arm gait constants, {\\bf AMPLITUDE}. It controls \nthe magnitude of the forward/backward swing, in degrees of the arms during\nthe walk.\n\nThis can be increased to potentially help the robot avoid rotating about\nthe Z axis during walking. Note that if the stiffness in the Should Pitch is\ntoo low, this won't do anything. Also, be careful since there is a relatively\nlow limit on how far back the robots arm can move. Setting the magnitude above\nthat might cause some odd behavior.\n\nThe Step class holds several things related to taking a step. It holds\nthe x,y,theta destination of this step, as well as the number of motion\nframes needed to to complete the step, as well as the number of the frames\nin each single support and double support phase. The steps also\nhold information such as which feet they should be taken with, as well\nas a complete copy of the stepConfig, zmpConfig, and stanceConfig.\n\nWhen the step is created, it also ensures that the desired input destination\nof the step meets some specific criteria (such as elliptical clipping, vel.\nclipping and acceleration clipping.)\n\n\\subsection{Gait transitions commands}\nCurrently, a Scriped command is sent to ensure that the robot is in the correct\nposture before starting walking.  This is ensured in MotionSwitchboard,\nbut the command is generated in WalkProvider.  In the past, this has been\nthe source of a really bad bug where when the stiffnesses of the robot\nare remove, sometimes the robot jumps up violently when the stiffness\nare renabled. We believe we have fixed this issue however.\n\nTo be written...\nThe Null Provider's job is to take control when the stiffnesses of the robot\nare removed in an emergency situation.  It becomes active when a FreezeCommand\nis sent, and it relinquinshes control only when an UnFreezeCommand is sent.\n\nWhen a freeze command is sent, the NullProvider takes control immediately on\nthe next ticking of the MotionSwitchboard, regardless of what another provider\nis doing.  Regardless of any stop commands sent to it, the NullProvider will\nonly relinquish control once it recieves the appropriate UnFreezeCommand.\n\n\\section{Future Work}\nWhat follows is an unedited list of my ideas how to make the motion system better.\n\\item Figure out a better way to use angleX/angleY among these might be\n   \\item Use machine learning to discover the best constants in the spring model\n   \\item Add a constant Beta, which is the coefficient of friction, and goes on\n      the diagonal in the state update matrix\n   \\item Right now, the max angle and the spring constant are not in sync. This\n      means when the angle is measured at the max. value, the spring constant\n      is not guaranteed to be of the right magnitude to eventually bring the\n      'system' back to equillibrium.  Finding a constraint to ensure that this\n      is the case would probably be best.\n\\item Control Nao with a Playstation Controller\n\\item To deal elegantly with having many gaits, we might consider implementing something\nlike was presented in the other motion talk about parameters spaces and submanifolds to\ngenerate a good gait suited exactly for the speed/style etc we are trying to accomplish\n\\item Resolve the philosophical question of whether sending potentially unsafe\n   commands to the walk engine should be limited from withing the walk provider\n   or if this responsibility should live in the behaviors\n\\item More future work is in the file man/README.org", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7601557374000549}
+{"content": "Words Matter as We Fight to Eliminate Stigma\n\nJolene and PaulDecember 7, 2010 is a day I will never forget, though its not so much a memory as it is this vivid video I’m trapped in as it plays back in my mind. The phone rang. Matt answered it. Looking scared and confused, he passed the phone to me saying, “It’s your mom,” and I felt my stomach drop. My mom didn’t even say hello, all she said was, “Jolene, you need to come home.” I knew something terrible had happened. And then, those two words that caused more pain than anything I had ever felt in my entire life, “It’s Paul.”\n\nPaul was my brother, the only sibling I had, who at eighteen committed suicide.\n\nAt the time, Paul was an undergraduate student at Brock University studying business. He wanted to be an accountant. While we fought like most siblings do, my brother was one of my best friends—the only person who really knew me. I couldn’t believe I was living in a world where Paul no longer existed.\n\nIn the days, and weeks, and months following my brother’s death, one of the most difficult things for me to deal with was the stigma of suicide and mental health issues. People told me my brother was selfish for ending his own life, and whispers circulated about how kid from such a good family could choose to end his own life.\n\nI didn’t want to be known as ‘the girl whose brother committed suicide,’ and it was until years afterwards that I started to realize why. The sticking point for me is on the verbage: “committed suicide.” People commit theft, commit treason, commit murder, commit adultery—all things this that society has deemed inappropriate, and which have even been criminalized by law. The word ‘committed’ in front of the word ‘suicide’ then naturally perpetuates the stigma that suicide is bad, and someone who committed suicide is a bad person.\n\nMy brother was NOT a bad person; he was my best friend—my partner in crime, my study buddy, my rock when things got rough. I’m not ashamed that he took his own life, but I am frustrated with the stigma of suicide that continues to persist.\n\nThis year the theme of the United Nations International Youth Day is Mental Health Matters. Over 280 million youth around the world suffer from a mental health condition, but only one out of every five will receive the help and support they need. For many of these youth, the stigma attached with mental health is a major fact in their decision to ask for help and received treatment. I know it was a reason for my brother.\n\nSo how do we break the stigma to increase youth access to mental health programs? Promotion and awareness are definitely important, but it starts with the words we use. The continued marriage of ‘committed’ and ‘suicide’ will only continue to mitigate progress in breaking the stigma. Words matter. And to break the stigma, we need to change the words.\n\n\n\nUnpacking the Syrian Conflict: What’s Next?\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPress Freedom: A Necessary Condition for Democracy?\n\nSomalia has been seemingly moving in the direction towards great development and democratization. As of August 2012, Somalia has a new Constitution, elected a new government, put a new cabinet into place, and has been working to advance talks with Somaliland. Given the recent successes in this country, the United Nations voted to remove the arms embargo against Somalia and international embassies have, once again, begun to open in Somalia. Somalia’s human rights record, however, specifically in the case of press freedom, demonstrated that this movement towards democracy is stagnant.\n\nThe Provisional Constitution of Somalia, adopted on August 1, 2012 outlines the essential rights and freedoms of every Somali. As such, article 18 contains the prescribed freedom of expression and opinion. Article 18 (1) states “every person has the right to have and express their opinions and to receive and impart their opinion, information, and idea in any way,” and article 18(2) states “freedom of expression includes freedom of speech and freedom of media, including all forms of electronic and web-based media.” Inherent in these articles is press freedom, the capacity for one to publish an article using any outlet, on any topic, provided that it does not violate the rights of another (ie. defamation). Yet in Somalia, this is not the case \n\nThe Press Freedom Index ranked Somalia 175th in 2013. This ranking, out of a total 179 countries, means Somalia has one of the world’s lowest rankings in terms of press freedom, surpassed by only Eritrea, North Korea, Turkmenistan, and Syria. Not only is media censorship in Somalia a problem, but Somalia also continues to be one of the most dangerous places in the world for journalists to operate. In 2012, 18 media workers were killed in Somalia, most of which were the result of targeted killings rather than frontline fatalities. The Somali government has vowed to stop the attacks against journalists, but has not followed through on its promise. In the first quarter of 2013, 5 journalists were killed in Somalia. The country’s problems with press freedom, however, are not limited to killing journalists; they also include suppression of the journalist voice through imprisonment.\n\nAdbiaziz Abdinur Ibrahim, a Somalia freelance journalist, faced charges including insulting a government body, making false accusations, and seeking a profit for these accusations. The reason for these charges: Ibrahim interviewed a Somali woman who was allegedly raped by 5 government soldiers.  The Somali woman who was interviewed was also imprisoned. Even though the article was never published, a Mogadishu court sentenced both Ibrahim and the alleged victim to one year in prison on the basis that medical evidence proved that the woman was not raped. The case was brought the Somali high court where both parties were eventually released. In reference to Ibrahim, Adidi Abdillahi Ilkahanaf, Chairman of the Somali High Court, stated that there was no evidence to support the charges brought against him and consequently, on March 17th, Ibrahim was released.\n\nThis case is of particular concern as it not only is a clear violation of press freedom, but this violation was an attempt to suppress victim’s right. Whether she was raped or not is not the issue at hand here, but rather that her case was dealt with through imprisonment and media suppression, rather than through the use of the judiciary. Human rights activists contended that the imprisonment was politically motivated, aimed at covering up the rampant sexual abuse of women in Somalia. The fact that the Somali President refused to intervene is evidence in this regard.\n\nDemocracy is supported by freedom of the press. When the press is able to report on issues of interest, be they in favor or against the government in power, the system is legitimized by its transparency. When people are able to express their opinions in a non-violent way,  feel as though those opinions are being heard, and feel as though they are inspiring change with in the government/country, then the transition towards a democratic society can progress. However, a society that continues to block press freedom, freedom of expression, and cover up human rights violations will not be able to make the transition towards democracy.\n\nYes, Somalia has made some great strides in the past year, and yes, they are on a path towards something, but Somalia is a critical fork in the road. It can either choose to continue moving towards democracy, opening its country the rights and freedoms inherent in a democratic society, or it can choose to continue restricting human rights and consequently risk loosing any gains it has previously made. Press freedom in an instrumental step in the process towards democracy.\n\n\nFor more on press freedom, see PeaceMedia:\n\n\n\n\n\nJolene Hansell is a Master’s Candidate of Conflict Resolution at Georgetown University. Her specific area of focus is transitional justice and rule of law. You can email her at jah340@georgetown.edu or follow her on twitter @joleneh340. \n\nInternational Corruption Eruption\n\n The phrase ‘corruption eruption’ was coined in 1995 by Moises Naim, a Senior Associated in the International Economics program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The phrase is in reference to the eruption of outcry against corruption in the post-Cold War period and subsequently asks the question: “why have societies, which have traditionally tolerated corruption at the highest levels in government and the private sector, suddenly lost their patience and their citizens willing to take to the street to topple high officials accused of wrong doings?” (Naim, 1995).\n\nThe fall of the Soviet Union and the communist bloc gave way to the rampant spread of democracy. This spread of democracy in turn exposed the corruption inherent in many government systems, both in established democracies such as the United States, Italy, and France, and in newly developed democracies. Exposing corruption resulted in public outcry and consequently the beginning of the ‘war on corruption’.\n\nThe war on corruption was characterized by an effort to combat corrupt at all levels. Countries enacted anti-corruption legislation to fight governmental corruption, corporations adopted strict codes of conduct to combat corruption in the private sector, and non-governmental organizations such as Transparency International were created to expose corruption and to hold both governments and private corporations accountable. The hallmark of this struggle against corruption is the creation of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption of 2003 (hereafter “the Convention”). As of December 24, 2012, the Convention has 140 signatories and 165 state parties.\n\nThe Convention demonstrates the concern of the international community in reference to the seriousness of the problems corruption poses to the stability and security of the state, the creation of democratic institutions, establishment of ethnic norms and justice, fostering sustainable development, and the creation of rule of law (Preamble). It’s purpose, as defined by article 1, is to promote/strengthen measure to prevent/combat corruption more efficiently/effective; promote/facilitate/support international cooperation and technical assistance in the prevention of and fight against corruption; and promote integrity. accountability, and proper management of both public affairs and public property. Moreover, it calls on the state to develop/implement/maintain effective coordinated anti-corruption policies that reflect the principles of rule of law, proper management of public affairs, public property integrity, transparency, and accountability (article 5).\n\nHow is Corruption Harmful to Civilians?\n\n\n\n\nWhat is the Relationship between Corruption and Rebellion?\n\nIn keeping with the theme of ‘corruption eruption’ (ie. societal response to state corruption), there seems to be a correlation between rebellion/situations of social unrest and levels of corruption. Analysis of this correlations is draw from Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (hereafter ‘the Index’).\n\nLibya provide the best example of this. Between 2008 and 2011, Libya’s ranking on the Index continually dropped. The same can be said for Mali between 2008 and 2011. The table below demonstrates this trend. Rankings are on a 10 point scale, 10 representing no corruption and 1 representing complete corruption.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAs these two countries moved towards revolution/opened violent conflict, it appears as though they also became more corrupt. The problem remains, however, that there is no real way of qualifying corruption, given its covert nature. Thus, although there appears to be a relationship between increase corruption and the eruption of violence conflict, it is difficult to easily quantify this this relationship. Nevertheless, the relationship between corruption and rebellion warrants additional research. If more direct and specifies correlation can be established (ie. that kind corruption and by who tend to lead to rebellion), than it may be possible for this to act as an indicator for the likelihood rebellion.\n\n\nCambodia: the Geopolitical Chessboard\n\n\n\n\n\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7274813652038574}
+{"content": "Search this blog\n\nSunday, 18 May 2014\n\nRandom walk in 3D\n\nHere's a process that draws a pretty picture of a random walk in 3 dimensions in 3D.\n\nOK - you have to work at it. But by squinting at the screen and going cross-eyed so the right side image appears in your left eye and the other in your right, you should see a 3 dimensional view of a random walk.\n\nYou may have to adjust the width of your window and who knows what else to make the images appear side by side. Persistence is valuable.\n\nThe colour of the points is set by the id. Blue is near 0 and red is at the end of the series. In this case, 2000 data points.\n\nThe process uses macros and the Loop Example operator to calculate a random amount to add to each data point. Use of the Integrate operator builds a cumulative example set where each example depends on the ones before it.\n\nThe process has the random seed set to -1. This means that it is very unlikely that the picture shown here will ever be recreated again.\n\nThursday, 1 May 2014\n\nNew video content\n\nI've been busy working with Dr Markus Hofmann to create some brand new RapidMiner videos.\n\nIt total there are 43 videos totalling 10 hours. Each one is viewable on demand.\n\nThe videos give a detailed worked example for the most important RapidMiner operators as well as some more general ones. We'll be adding more over the coming months.\n\nVisit the site to get all the information.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6965076923370361}
+{"content": "James Clerk Maxwell and the Second Great Unification in Physics\n\n\nJames Clerk Maxwell\n\n\nScreenshot 2017-08-17 at 10.27.28\n\nMaxwell’s equations\n\nBut even without the maths, we can understand what the equations mean. Continue reading\n\n\nA Map of Physics\n\nIn 1966 Richard Feynman gave an interview about teaching physics. He described a problem with physics teaching: often students did not know where they were:\n\nIn other words, there always should be some kind of a map. – Feynman\n\nThe book I am writing for novice teachers is built around a map. I started by writing the text for a timeline for five big ideas of physics: space, electricity, forces at a distance, particles and energy. It was tricky, because several of the timelines intersected at points. So this morning I designed my physics metro-map. I have written a text for each of the stops, some of which I have already published (e.g. here, here, here).\n\nMap of Physics\n\nA Metro-Map style map of physics – each stop has a short text to explain the physics.\n\nThe book containing the interview is Feynman’s Tips on Physics. It follows on from his lectures. He deserves his reputation as an excellent teacher. One of the fascinating things in Tips on Physics is his emphasis on solving problems. In other words, Feynman was bang on Cog-Psy message 50 years ago. \n\nBetter than Wrong\n\nScience exams are typically examples of the difficulty model of assessment where answers are right or wrong (see Christodoulou, Making Good Progress chapter 3). Assessors can use a marking rubric to judge whether an answer reaches a threshold of ‘correctness’ and award or deny a mark.\n\nFor many answers, this will be uncontroversial. However, some answers are less wrong than others: some answers are better than wrong.\n\nA colleague and I took a single sentence answer from an end of year exam that many students got wrong, but which weren’t uniformly wrong.\n\nA mark-scheme is binary: right or wrong, but we wanted to know whether we could do better than that: could we rank the answers? Could we identify which answers were almost there?\n\nThe answer is yes, and pretty reliably, using comparative judgement.\n\nComparative judgement (CJ) is a method for ranking and assigning a score to writing by comparing two pieces at a time. All the judge needs to do it decide which of the two is better and then repeating. Typically this is done with longer texts (we will try using long answers after the summer). But I was particularly interested in seeing what happens when you compare single sentences.\n\nYou can try for yourself here.\n\nTypically, for longer pieces of writing, you get a fairly even distribution of scores. This didn’t happen here.\n\nCJ task #1 Better than Wrong (1)\n\nThe results show three populations of answers: right, wrong and better than wrong.\n\n\n  1. For some questions, students should simply learn the approved answer. Definitions are a good example of this.\n  2. Binary right/wrong answers often fail to pinpoint students’ understanding/misunderstanding.\n  3. To do this process routinely for individual questions would be too time consuming, but it was a short instructive activity for teachers before discussing better ways of teaching the concept .\n\nThank you to all of the additional teachers who helped with the judgements.\n\nThe data is here.\n\nUsing Physics Questions to Build Problem Solving, Literacy and Knowledge.\n\nA few weeks ago I observed an English teacher pull a sentence apart. A line from Romeo and Juliette was on the board and the class spent ten minutes together identifying the parts of speech (verb/noun/particle etc); the effect of words on the reader (to connote is a verb – I didn’t know that) and language techniques (repetition, alliteration, rhyme, personification etc). They marked it all up on the board. The students were practising marking-up the same sentence on paper (board=paper from Teach Like a Champion 2.0).\n\nI thought it was like looking at a diagram goal free . Without worrying about the question at first, students were laying down all of the information they could about the line.\n\nThen, as a class, they began to add the context. The result was an exploded sentence, with all of the bones exposed.\n\nThey answered questions about the line.\n\nI wondered whether I could do something similar with a physics sentence – specifically an exam question. Instead of looking at the language techniques, I would pull apart the vocabulary and knowledge.\n\nSo I took some exam papers and chose a couple of questions to try.\n\nThe first obvious thing is that for GCSE physics questions (especially higher tier), single sentence questions are rare. Also, many questions have diagrams:\n\nSo I split the task into several parts. First, we went ‘goal-free’ on the diagram, which took 5 minutes using a think-pair-share.\n\ngoal-free 1-page-001\n\nGoal-Free exploration of the diagram using Think-Pair-Share activity\n\n(AQA Physics Unit 1 June 2016)\n\nWe did a mini control-the-game (Reading Reconsidered) on the opening line (you can see the mark-up we did on vacuum below).\n\nFinally, we got to the close-reading of the question line. I think the student’s marked-up sheet explains what we did as well as I could write it. It was a collaborative effort – I asked students to do this in pairs and then we shared. I was modelling on the board.\n\nThen they answered the question.\n\nkettle close-read-page-001\n\nA close-read of the question followed by a write/rewrite (see TLaC and Reading Reconsidered by Lemov)\n\nWe shared and read the mark scheme and the students did a rewrite.\n\nThe whole task took 20 minutes, which is a big investment for one question. But I recommend doing it regularly because it does three things:\n\n  1. It exposes students to both technical and non-specialist vocabulary, in a physics context, over and over again. You don’t need to plan and track the high mileage non-specialist words – they come up naturally. Technical words are also experienced, in context, over and over again, building understanding.\n  2. It teaches student how to read a question.\n  3. It teaches students how to write a good answer.\n\nThis sequence is an effective and simple way to develop literacy in physics lessons. It does several jobs pretty well. With practice, you might be able to get the whole sequence down to 10/15 minutes – but I’m not there yet. I’d be interested to hear if anyone else tries it or does something similar.\n\n\n\n\nIf you want it here, don’t put it there.\n\nWall displays, formula sheets and placemats…\n\n\nwall display CLT diagram\n\nWall displays, formula sheets and placemats as external memory\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9840554594993591}
+{"content": "Leading Your Organization – “Whom Do I Lead?” – Part IV\n\nLeading orgThe final part in your leadership skillset is your relationship to your organization, as a whole.  Having described people (you and others), and processes (performance and change), the larger organization should also be a focus of your leadership.  You are not leading in a vacuum. As you gain experience as a leader, you must understand how your leadership efforts and results fit into the broader structure of your organization, and what partners are connected to your team. You must not only understand how your own systems work, but how they interact with systems outside your organization. To succeed with your team, you must know how coalitions and partnerships help meet the mission requirements and your expected organization results. So, in what specific ways does this work?\n\nFirst, you are a good steward of the resources of your agency. You balance risk with mission accomplishment and understand that you will need those resources tomorrow, and the next day, and the next year.  Protecting the investment in those resources while meeting the task at hand is a crucial balancing act at which you must excel.\n\nIn today’s world, you must understand and embrace the technology that supports your mission, and be mindful of new technologies that can help your decision-making. Fully appreciating the impact of technology on your organization is a crucial effort that can make or break your team.\n\nEspecially in the public sector, having a broad understanding of financial management principles is key to leading your organization. Preparing long range plans that account for fiscal realities, aligning operations and desired results within budget constraints, and seeking cost-effective solutions are all leadership skillsets that are in demand in today’s world.\n\nLeaders are able to look “big picture” of the human capital of their organization and understand the manner in which the organization recruits, selects, develops, promotes, evaluates, and rewards their most valuable resource.  Leaders understand the critical need to have continuity and consensus across the various subunits and groups within their larger team.\n\nLeaders understand and accept the need to be externally aware of key developments within their profession, such as policy, changes in best practices, and the climate of which the team strives for success. They acknowledge that broad partnerships and identifying key stakeholders is key to the success of the team.\n\nLastly, leaders react quickly to crises, solve urgent problems in a timely fashion, consider time horizons, and acknowledge the need for a strategic view.  Thinking strategically means focusing on what you are trying to accomplish, and accurate and timely considerations of what future resources, partnerships, and developments may occur that could affect operations.\n\nSo there it is.  Whom do I Lead?  Yourself, others, key processes, and the organization to whom you are a committed teammate and member. As you practice your leadership arts every day, keep these four areas in mind.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5666739344596863}
+{"content": "A New Distributed Approach for Achieving Clock Synchronization in Heterogeneous Networks\n\nHeterogeneous networks have the potential to improve coverage, throughput, and energy efficiency of wireless networks through the use of specialized cellular structures, in particular femtocells and macrocells. However, to reduce interference between different cells, ensure smooth hand-offs from cell to cell, and achieve seamless operation the overall network needs to be synchronized. In this paper, a new distributed clock synchronization scheme for heterogeneous networks is proposed that employs the Clock Drift Ratio (CDR) information available at User-Equipments (UEs) to achieve synchronization between non-interacting femtocells and macrocells. Simulation results show that the proposed scheme can significantly reduce the clock drift between macrocells and femtocells and result in timing synchronization throughout the network without introducing significant overhead.\n\n\nFind By Topic", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9957146644592285}
+{"content": "The Confrontation\n\n$300.00 $175.00\n\n16 x 11 3/4 Inches\n1/8 inch Hardboard Masonite panel, mounted onto 3/8 inch board (1/2 inch total thickness)\n\nThis piece explores the concept of what happens when opposing forces meet. Can they resolve their differences peacefully, or is this confrontation doomed to end in war? Portrayed here is the moment just before the decision is made, swords drawn and ready for what may (or hopefully may not) happen.\n\n1 in stock", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9991753697395325}
+{"content": ". art —\n\nYear created:\n\n\nWork Credits:\n\nRob Myers\n\nView Artwork\n\n\nrob-art is a series of programs written in the course of an ongoing project to develop a system to generate artistic images.\n\nThis release includes the Lisp source code for:\n\n\"Draw Something\"\n\nDraw Something generates simple line drawings. It does this by generating a set or random points, finding their convex hull (smallest enclosing shape), and drawing around that. These stages are a very simple analogue to observational or constructive drawing.\n\nI was inspired to start on draw-something (and rob-art as a whole) by Harold Cohen's program AARON. Ed Burton's ROSE and Kazushi Mukaiyuma's Shizuka, both also inspired by AARON, were influences as well.\n\n\nae is a toy aesthetic evaluator. It generates simple descriptions of aesthetics, basically just a list of valenced criteria. It also generates descriptions of artworks consisting of a number of figures, each described by a list of valenced properties. It then evaluates artwork against aesthetic and gives the artwork a numeric score, a measure of its value under that aesthetic.\n\nI wrote ae before I'd read Gips and Stiny's \"Algorithmic Aesthetics\" (University of California Press, 1979 - http://www.algorithmicaesthetics.org/), but I was certainly inspired by the idea of the possibility of an algorithmic aesthetics.\n\nThe structure of ae's ontology, with specific concepts generalisable to more broader concepts, is inspired by Douglas Hofstadter and Melanie Mitchell's work on CopyCat, described in the book \"Fluid Concepts and Creative Analogies\".\n\n\"The Cybernetic Artwork Nobody Wrote\"\n\n\"Cybernetic\" generates random descriptions of possible abstract images. It is based on the poetry generation programs so beloved of basic computing texts, but generates descriptions of images rather than limericks. I think someone will probably have written such a program sometime in the 1960s, so the name refers to the conceptual artwork \"The Cybernetic Artwork that Nobody Broke\" by Harold Hurrell (1969).", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8186144828796387}
+{"content": "You are in:Home/Publications/Quantitative trait loci affecting growth performance in F2 intercross between Golden Montazah and White Leghorn chickens\n\nProf. Maher Hasab El-Nabi Khalil :: Publications:\n\nAuthors: Abdel Alal M.H.; Khalil, M.H.; Iraqi, M.M.; El-Moghazy, Gihan M.\nYear: 2016\nKeywords: Chickens, QTL, microsatellite markers, growth and egg traits, additive effects, dominance effects\nJournal: 3rd International Conference on Biotechnology Applications in Agriculture (ICBAA), Session of Animal Biotechnology, Moshtohor and Sharm El-Sheikh, 5-9 April 2016 , Egypt\nVolume: Not Available\nIssue: Not Available\nPages: 25-38\nPublisher: Annals of Agricultural Sciences, Moshtohor, Benha University, Egypt\nLocal/International: International\nPaper Link:\nFull paper Maher Hasab El-Nabi Khalil_Review Article - Invited paper - International Biotechnology Conference.pdf\n\nQuantitative trait loci (QTL) for growth and egg traits were identified in chickens. After parentage checking, data of F2 chicks must be genotyped using genetic markers in the autosomal linkage groups and Z chromosome and the genotypes were used for QTL analysis. A mixed model included the fixed effects along with the additive and dominance effects of QTL as random effects were used for QTL analysis. In an Egyptian recent study, the total map length was 1901 cM for growth traits and 1949 cM for egg traits. A total of 34 QTL were detected for body weight traits (BW) where these QTL were distributed over five distinct regions on 10 chromosomes, and their effects ranged from 1.2 to 13.8% of the pheno¬typic variation. In this study, a total of 19 significant genome QTL that affected body weights were located on seven macro-chromosomes (1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8 and Z) and one micro-chromosome (11). The proportions of phenotypic variation explained by significant and suggestive QTL for body weight traits at 4, 8, 12 and 16 weeks were 21.1, 30.8, 29.3 and 25.4%, respectively. The additive effects of QTL on growth traits were positive, while the dominance effects were generally negative or not significant. A QTL for body weight at 12 weeks of age segregating on chromosome 4 had the largest additive effect and explained 13.8% of the phenotypic variation, while the largest dominance effect for QTL on chromosome 4 and accounted for 6.5% of the phenotypic variation. The QTL effects were found on chromosomes 2, 4, 8 and Z for weight at first egg (WFE), on chromosomes 3 and Z for age at first egg (AFE), on the chromosomes 4 and Z for egg weight, on the chromosomes 4 and Z for egg number (EN). The QTL effects expressed as the percentage of the phenotypic variance explained by each QTL were mostly of considerable importance ranging from 1 to 6.9 % of the phenotypic variation for WFE, 5 to 7.2 % for AFE, 5.6 to 13 % for EW and 3.6 to 5 % for EN. The whole genome scan for detection and localization of QTL affecting egg quality traits were described.\n\nGoogle ScholarAcdemia.eduResearch GateLinkedinFacebookTwitterGoogle PlusYoutubeWordpressInstagramMendeleyZoteroEvernote", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8820380568504333}
+{"content": "Study your flashcards anywhere!\n\nDownload the official Cram app for free >\n\n  • Shuffle\n    Toggle On\n    Toggle Off\n  • Alphabetize\n    Toggle On\n    Toggle Off\n  • Front First\n    Toggle On\n    Toggle Off\n  • Both Sides\n    Toggle On\n    Toggle Off\n  • Read\n    Toggle On\n    Toggle Off\n\nHow to study your flashcards.\n\n\n\nH key: Show hint (3rd side).h key\n\nA key: Read text to speech.a key\n\n\nPlay button\n\n\nPlay button\n\n\n\n\nClick to flip\n\n50 Cards in this Set\n\n  • Front\n  • Back\nis a substance that stimulates an immune response, especially the production of antibodies. ____are usually proteins or polysaccharides, but can be any type of molecule, including small molecules (haptens) coupled to a carrier-protein.\n(sometimes called glycans) are relatively complex carbohydrates.\n\ndalton (Da)\nis a small unit of mass used to express atomic masses and molecular masses. It is defined to be 1/12 of the mass of one atom of carbon-12.\nBacillus of Calmette and Guérin (BCG)\nsecretory protein\nIn eukaryotes, proteins synthesised on rough endoplasmic reticulum and destined for export. Nearly all proteins secreted from cells are glycosylated (in the Golgi apparatus, although there are exceptions (albumin). In prokaryotes, ____ may be synthesised on ribosomes associated with the plasma membrane or exported post translation.\nchemically linked to glucose\n\nA–X + B → A + B–X\nA in this example would be the donor, and B would be the acceptor. The donor is often a coenzyme.\nis a significant increase in the electrical conductivity and permeability of the cell plasma membrane caused by externally applied electrical field. It is usually used in molecular biology as a way of introducing some substance inside the cell, such as loading it with a molecular probe, a drug that can change cell's function, or a piece of coding DNA.\nshuttle vector\nCloning vector that replicate in cells of more than one organism, for example E. Coli and yeast. This combination allows DNA from yeast to be grown in E. Coli and tested directly for complementation in yeast. These are constructed so that they have the origins of replication of the various hosts.\nObligate intracellular parasites\nare organisms that cannot reproduce outside their host cell, they force or compel the host to do their bidding.\n\nexamples include:\n\ncertain bacteria, including:\ncertain protozoa, including:\nplasmodia species\ninvolves the genetic alteration of a cell resulting from the introduction, uptake and expression of foreign DNA.\norigin of replication\nis a unique DNA sequence at which DNA replication is initiated. DNA replication may proceed from this point bidirectionally or unidirectionally.\n\nThe specific structure of varies somewhat from species to species, but all share some common characteristics. This site binds a member of the pre-replication complex—a protein complex that binds, unwinds, and begins to copy DNA.\nAny substance that provokes the immune response when introduced into the body.A(n)_____ is always a macromolecule (protein, polysaccharide). Its ability to stimulate the immune reaction depends on its commoness to the host, molecular size, chemical composition and heterogeneity (e.g. simlar to amino acids in a protein).\nis a homogeneous, generally clear jelly-like material that fills cells. It consists of cytosol and the cellular organelles, except the cell nucleus. The cytosol is made up of water, salts, organic molecules and many enzymes that catalyze reactions. Plays an important role in a cell, serving as a \"molecular soup\" in which the organelles are suspended and held together by a fatty membrane. It is found within the plasma membrane of a cell and surrounds the nuclear envelope and the cytoplasmic organelles.\nProducing immunity, evoking an immune response\nBacterial flagellum (plural, flagella)\na whip-like organelle that is used to move about. They may also be involved in other processes.In bacteria the filament is composed of the protein flagellin and is a hollow tube 20 nanometers thick. It is helical, and has a sharp bend just outside the outer membrane called the \"hook\" which allows the helix to point directly away from the cell. A shaft runs between the hook and the basal body, passing through protein rings in the cell's membranes that act as bearings\nalso known as murein, is a polymer that forms a homogeneous layer lying outside the plasma membrane and is only found in eubacteria (note: archaea have pseudo____). It serves a structural role in the cell walls of bacteria, giving them shape and strength and counteracting the osmotic pressure of the cytoplasm. It is also involved in the binary fission (reproduction) of the bacterial cell. Is a target for many antibacterial drugs, such as penicillin, which works by interfering with the formation of this layer, specifically the crosslinking enzyme transpeptidase.\nplasma membrane\nis the part of a foreign organism or its proteins that is being recognised by the immune system and targeted by antibodies, cytotoxic T cells or both.\n\nMost of these can be thought of as three-dimensional surface features of an antigen molecule. An exception are linear ____ which are determined by the amino acid sequence (the primary structure) rather than by the tertiary structure of a protein.\ncytotoxic T cells\n(a type of white blood cell) which has on its surface antigen receptors that can bind to fragments of antigens displayed by the Class I MHC molecules of virus (or other intracellular pathogen) infected somatic cells and tumor cells.\n\nOnce activated by a MHC-antigen complex, ____release the cytoxins perforin and granulysin, which forms pores in the target cell's plasma membrane; this causes ions and water to flow into the target cell, making it expand and eventually lyse. ____also release granzyme, a serine protease, that can enter target cells via the perforin-formed pore and induce apoptosis (cell death).\nMHC molecules (Major Histocompatibility Complex)\ncell surface proteins found on most cells of the body. These proteins have a distinctive structure first elucidated in 1987 by Dr. Pamela J. Bjorkman and colleagues. ____ molecules typically interact with the cell surface receptor of a type of lymphocytes known as killer T cells. The receptor on the killer T cell binds to the ____ molecule and informs the killer T cell on whether that cell is normal or not. The interesting part of the story is how the T cell can distinguish the ___ class I protein on a normal cell from that on an abnormal one. The key concept here is to appreciate that the ____molecule has within its structure a groove. Into this groove is bound a small piece of protein derived from within the cell, that was placed there during the synthesis of the ____ molecule. If this peptide of 8 or 9 amino acids happens to be a foreign peptide, such as one produced by a viral gene, or a cancer gene, the T cell will become activated, and attack the infected or cancerous cell. Of primary interest is the fact that when an organ is transplanted between non-identical people, it is the recipient's T cells reacting against the donor organ ____ proteins that causes much of organ rejection.\nprotease(proteinases, peptidases or proteolytic enzymes)\nhypervariable segment\na portion of a gene that varies considerably from one strain to another\nare short sequences of nucleotides (RNA or DNA), typically with twenty or fewer base pairs. Often used as probes for detecting complementary DNA or RNA because they bind readily to their complements. Examples of procedures that use ____ are DNA microarrays, Southern blots, and fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH).\n\nDNA polymerase\nis an enzyme that assists in DNA replication. Such enzymes catalyze the polymerization of deoxyribonucleotides alongside a DNA strand, which they \"read\" and use as a template. The newly-polymerized molecule is complementary to the template strand and identical to the template's partner strand.\n\nAll ____ synthesize DNA in the 5' to 3' direction. No known _____is able to begin a new chain (de novo). They can only add a nucleotide onto a preexisting 3'- OH group. For this reason, ____ needs a primer at which it can add the first nucleotide. Primers consist of RNA and DNA bases with the first two bases always being RNA, and are synthesized by another enzyme called primase.\ncDNA (complementary DNA)\nis DNA synthesized from a mature mRNA template.____ is often used to clone eukaryotic genes in prokaryotes.____ is most often synthesized from mature (fully spliced) mRNA using the enzyme reverse transcriptase. This enzyme operates on a single strand of mRNA, generating its complementary DNA based on the pairing of RNA base pairs (A, U, G, C) to their DNA complements (T, A, C, G).\nmultivalent (immunological definition)\nhaving multiple antigenic binding sites\ngene probe, hybridization probe\nis a short piece of DNA (on the order of 100-500 bases) that is denatured (by heating) into single strands and then radioactively labeled, usually with phosphorus (32P or 33P). The radioactive phosphorus is incorporated into one of the bases of DNA (adenine, guanine, cytosine, or thymidine) and these labeled bases are incorporated into the backbone of the DNA strands by incubation with a polymerase enzyme. This creates a short piece of radioactively labeled DNA with known sequence that will hybridize with any complementary nucleic acid strands.\ncDNA library\nrefers to a complete, or nearly complete, set of all the mRNAs contained within a cell or organism. Because working with mRNA is difficult, researchers use an enzyme called reverse transcriptase which will produce a DNA copy of each mRNA strand. Referred to as cDNA these reverse transcribed mRNAs are collectively known as a ____.\nChimera (or chimeric protein)\nis a human-engineered protein that is encoded by a nucleotide sequence made by a splicing together of two or more complete or partial genes.\na chemical compound that consists of a heterocyclic base, a sugar, and one or more phosphate groups. In the most common ____the base is a derivative of purine or pyrimidine, and the sugar is pentose - deoxyribose or ribose.\n\n____are the structural units of RNA, DNA, and several cofactors - CoA, FAD, FMN, NAD, and NADP. In the cell they play important roles in energy production, metabolism, and signaling.\n\nNote that compounds such as cyclopropane, an anaesthetic with explosive properties, and cyclohexane, a solvent, are not ____, they are merely cycloalkanes. The suffix '-cyclic' implies a ring structure, while 'hetero' refers to an atom other than carbon, as above.\nIn chemistry, an ____ molecule is one in which a conjugated ring of unsaturated bonds, lone pairs, or empty orbitals exhibit a stabilization stronger than would be expected by the stabilization of conjugation alone.\n\nThis is usually considered to be because electrons are free to cycle around circular arrangements of atoms, which are alternately single- and double-bonded to one another. (These bonds may be seen as a hybrid of a single bond and a double bond, each bond in the ring identical to every other.)\nis the interaction between two carbon-carbon double bonds, increasing stability and thereby lowering the overall energy of the molecule. The system formed is called a conjugated system.\nIn organic chemistry, a ____compound has the maximum amount of hydrogens possible: i.e., no double bonds or, in a hydrocarbon chain, every carbon atom is attached to two hydrogen atoms. Of simple hydrocarbons, alkanes are saturated, and alkenes are ____.\nis the process through which a DNA sequence is enzymatically copied by an RNA polymerase to produce a complementary RNA. Or, in other words, the transfer of genetic information from DNA into RNA. In the case of protein-encoding DNA, ____is the beginning of the process that ultimately leads to the translation of the genetic code (via the mRNA intermediate) into a functional peptide or protein. ____has some proofreading mechanisms, but they are fewer and less effective than the controls for DNA; therefore, ____has a lower copying fidelity than DNA replication.\n\nLike DNA replication, ____proceeds in the 5' → 3' direction (ie the old polymer is read in the 3' → 5' direction and the new, complementary fragments are generated in the 5' → 3' direction). ____is divided into 3 stages: initiation, elongation and termination.\nis the second process of protein biosynthesis (part of the overall process of gene expression). In ____, messenger RNA is decoded to produce a specific polypeptide according to the rules specified by the genetic code. ____is necessarily preceded by transcription. Similarly to transcription, _____proceeds in three phases: initiation, elongation and termination (all describing the growth of the amino acid chain, or polypeptide that is the product of ____).\nis a DNA sequence that enables a gene to be transcribed. The ____ is recognized by RNA polymerase, which then initiates transcription. In RNA synthesis, ____ are a means to demarcate which genes should be used for messenger RNA creation - and, by extension, control which proteins the cell manufactures.\nIn chemistry, ____ are organic compounds in which an organic group (can be symbolized by R) replaces a hydrogen atom (or more than one) in an oxygen acid. An oxygen acid is an acid whose molecule has an -OH group from which the hydrogen (H) can dissociate as an H+ ion.\nThe ____ ion is NO2−. The anion is bent, being isoelectronic with O3.\n\nA ____ compound is one that contains this group, either an ionic compound, or an analogous covalent one. These may be considered salts or esters of nitrous acid.\nRequiring oxygen but at a level lower than that typically found in the Earth's normal sea-level atmosphere\ngram-negative bacteria\n\nBacteria are considered to be ____ because of their characteristic staining properties under the microscope, where they either do not stain or are decolourised by alcohol during Gram's method of staining.\n\n\nBacteria that retain the stain or that are resistant to decolourisation by alcohol during Gram's method of staining.\n\nThis is a primary characteristic of bacteria whose cell wall is composed of a thick layer of peptidologlycan containing teichoic and lipoteichoic acid complexed to the peptidoglycan.\nAn enzyme that breaks urea down into carbon dioxide and ammonia, its typically used to measure urea concentrations\nconstitutive expression\nOf or relating to the synthesis of a protein or an enzyme at a constant rate regardless of physiological demand or the concentration of a substrate.\nare soluble proteinaceous substances produced by a wide variety of haemopoietic and non-haemopoietic cell types, and are critical to the functioning of both innate and adaptive immune responses. Apart from their role in the development and functioning of the immune system, and their aberrant modes of secretion in a variety of immunological, inflammatory and infectious diseases, ____ are also involved in several developmental processes during human embryogenesis.\npertaining to the formation of blood or blood cells\nis an enzyme that attaches a methyl group to a molecule, e.g. DNA methyltransferase which methylates C residues in DNA", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5204257369041443}
+{"content": "\n\nThursday 05 November 2015\n\nFrom funding to technology assistance for phase out of ozone depleting substances, a lot is being debated\n\n                    Achim Steiner, Executive Director, UNEP receiving an award from Rashid Ahmad Muhammad Bin Fahad, Minister of Environment and Water, UAE\n\nThe session on the fourth day of the Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol (MOP) began with applause over how the meet could assist parties in managing hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and moved to a discussion on why it was so relevant before the Paris climate deal. The meet to discuss “Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer” is being held in Dubai.\n\nRashid Ahmed Bin Fahad, Minister of Environment and Water of the United Arab Emirates, congratulated all the participants for the progress made so far. He motioned that UAE was committed in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and working on ozone depleting substances (ODS) and has adopted its national policies in line. He stressed the importance of discussing challenges and solutions and hoped that all the items on the agenda will be completed. This was followed by a roundtable discussion on “How the institutions and mechanisms of the Montreal Protocol could assist parties in managing HFCs”.\n\nHe also stressed upon the importance of funding and how objectives of developing countries need consideration. He reiterated that Vienna Convention and Montreal Protocol have been important and unique models that haveproved that success can be achieved in coordinated consultation model.  How the outcome from MOP will be important in discussions of the Conference of Parties (COP 21), to be held in Paris next month, was also on the agenda.\n\nAchim Steiner, executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)mentioned how we were in one of the great cross roads to know one another where international diplomacy and sustainable agenda are merging rapidly. He reminded about an article written by Mario J Molina & F S Rowland for Nature magazine, in 1974. A report in the magazine states, “Chlorofluoromethanes are being added to the environment in steadily increasing amounts. These compounds are chemically inert and may remain in the atmosphere for 40–150 years, and concentrations can be expected to reach 10 to 30 times present levels. Photodissociation of the Chlorofluoromethanes in the stratosphere produces significant amount of chlorine atoms, and leads to the destruction of atmospheric ozone.” The discovery made everyone realise that CFCs need to be phased out as they are causing harm to the environment.\n\nA ray of hope\n\nHe said that back then, everyone thought that there was a hole in ozone layer and there was no hope that it can be repaired.Buttoday, 98 per cent of ODS has been phased out. Instead of being destructive to economies, it helped economies grow. With 3.5 billion dollars being provided to the developing countries to phase down and phase out of gases, it is estimated by UNEP that 1.8 trillion dollars in health costs is saved and losses in food production of around 460 billion dollars have been avoided by 2060.  \n\nHe further stated how Montreal Protocol could be the key to make sustainable development goals a success. Also, with improved science and technology and working together, Montreal Protocol will be able to achieve what no country individually can achieve.\n\nLater in the day, financial challenges, flexibility and exemptions were the core discussions. A wide consensus that the executive committee of the Multilateral Fund (MLF) needs to be directed by MOP to develop guidelines was achieved.\n\nA Duraisamy Director of Ozone Cell, a representative of India, seemed focused on the need of addressing technology transfer, including cost of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), compensation of lost profit streams or gradual production of facilities of HFCs.The need for aid in production plants that help full conversion cost of HFCs to low global warming potential (GWP) or zero GWP was also talked about. Meanwhile, Canadian and the US representatives were quick to clarify that MLF includes patent, royalty fees and designs in some cases. Responding tothis, the Indian representative said that the methodology is inadequate and not implemented.\n\nCountries with low volumes of gases again insisted on how adequate funding is not available for servicing sector and should include training of technicians, awareness, and equipment support to technicians, etc and also on the need for early financing and disposal of the gases.\n\nDeveloped countries were open to discussing all the issues mentioned by the developing countries. In the last two days, more or less understanding of the needs of developing countries on flexibility, exemptions and financial challenges were put across the table and was agreed that more issues will be discussed on Friday. It is yet to be decided how the discussions in the contact group will be presented as a paper was opposed by some of the parties as it will limit the challenges.\n\nSubscribe now »\n\n\n\nScroll To Top", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5766366720199585}
+{"content": "Weirdly Entertaining\n\n\n\n\nInside an Odditorium\n\nEach Odditorium is unique in its architecture and in its collection of oddities and their presentation. There is a careful balance between the strange, the shocking, and the beautiful.\n\n\nYou can find intricate works of art made from everyday objects, incredible collections, and strange hobbies inside each Odditorium. \n\nRipley Entertainment continually adds new artifacts, themed galleries, captivating video stories and interactive displays to immerse the guests in a fun-filled unbelievable experience.\n\nLearn more on >", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8067395687103271}
+{"content": "The demons of Leonardo Da Vinci\n\n\n    The first is Da Vinci’s Demons, a television show being developed for Starz and BBC Worldwide with writer David S. Goyer.\n\n    The title might be terrible, but the concept is certainly interesting. The show will take the form of a historical fantasy depicting renaissance Florence.\n\n    As expected, young Leonardo is shown as headstrong and super smart, with supernatural mental and artistic talents.\n\n    The conflict centers around Leonardo’s struggle to fit in a society which, while more advanced than any before, is woefully beneath his extraordinary talents.\n\n    Goyer is used to penning stories for super heroes - he’s written for the most recent Batman and Superman films - and will be approaching Da Vinci’s Demons with the same style. So it will probably be somewhat like Smallville, except with smarts instead of strength.\n\n    \"David has reimagined some of the most iconic superheroes of all time, and is again building an extraordinary prism through which to rediscover the world's greatest genius and most mysterious man,\" said Starz Media Managing Director, Carmi Zlotnik.\n\n    \"If modern day has Tony Stark, the Renaissance had da Vinci. This is a story we believe will captivate the imaginations of audiences around the world and is the first of what we expect to be many productions with our talented partners at BBC Worldwide Productions.\"\n\n    The other project is over at Universal Studios, which just acquired the screenplay for Leonardo\n\n    Unsurprisingly, the film is also about a young, brash, supernaturally talented Leonardo da Vinci. In this script, the original renaissance man must use his many talents to save Europe from slipping back into another dark age, just years after emerging from the last.\n\n    Da Vinci’s Demons will start filming early next year, and will likely premier during the 2013 spring pilot season. Leonardo is still in the planning stages, and has no announced dates for production or release.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8132409453392029}
+{"content": "1. Home\n  2. Japan Local Food Map\n  3. Kyoto\n\nThe Local Food of Kyoto\n\nPickled Mackerel (Ine-cho)\n\nMackerel pickled in rice bran paste made in the region stretching from Wakasa to Sanin.\nThe Japanese name for the dish \"mackerel heshiko\", comes from the word \"to pickle\" in the dialect of the area which is, \"heshikomu\".\nIn the past sardines were brought to shore in large numbers and were the staple of \"heshiko\", however in recent times mackerel is more common.\nIn Ine-cho families used to pickle their own fish, however nowadays most of the fish is pickled by fishing cooperatives.\n\n\nYellowtail Shabu Shabu (Ine-cho)\n\nIne-cho's main winter dish. The theory exists that the meal of yellowtail shabu shabu actually originated in Ine-cho.\nIn this moreish, must-try dish, fatty winter yellowtail (buri) is cooked shabu shabu style, blanched in boiling stock to remove the perfect amount of fat from the meat.\n\n\nAyu Banquet (Ayabe City)\n\nThe clear, Yura River runs from Kyoto Tamba Kogen Quasi-National Park to Wakasa Bay and is one of the top 100 rivers where wild ayu (sweet fish) swim upstream. Diatom plants, which the fish feed on, are plentiful in the rocky areas that the Yura River passes through, and it is said that the fish become more flavorsome if they go upstream as far as the wild valleys of Yamagae in Ayabe City. Indeed, renowned ceramic artist Kitaoji Rosanin who also became a masterful restaurateur praised this ayu as being the \"most delicious\" and chose to eat it particularly.\n\nThese superb ayu banquets can be eaten in the restaurants of Ayabe City. A legacy of the mid-Meiji period (1868-1912) when means of transport were scarce and Ayabe City was buzzing with people from the creation of the Gunze corporation as well as the new religion \"Oomoto\", there are still many restaurants that are also Japanese inns where you can also stay.\n\nThe banquets are prepared in the unique Kyoto style of cooking based around seasonal ingredients, and along with the meal you can enjoy the history of the dish and the location, old-style restaurants, luxurious facilities and the hospitality of the owners.\n\n\nTango Cockles (Miyazu City)\n\nKyoto's own brand of cockles.\nFishermen cultivate these cockles with care over the course of a year in a container filled with anthracite (a type of coal) placed in the inner bay.\nTango cockles were the first seafood item to be recognized as a \"Kyoto brand\" by the Kyoto Local Produce Cooperative in 2007.\n\n\nRice Cakes of Wisdom (Miyazu City)\n\nThese are rice cakes that can be eaten at the teahouse by the main gate at Chionji temple, one of Japan's three sites for the Monju Bodhisattva of wisdom and intellect. It is said that in 1690 permission was received from the temple to establish a store.\n\nIn the Kamakura period (1185-1333) an old lady who lived in Amanohashidate had a dream where a statue of the Monju Bodhisattva told her to pound rice cakes and serve them to the people. While she was giving them out, a senior priest from the Daitokuji temple saw a smart child eating them, and said that his intellect could be attributed to the wisdom imparted by Monju Bodhisattva. In this way, the rice cakes become known as \"rice cakes of wisdom\".\n\n\nMixed Sushi (Kyotango City)\n\nTango mixed sushi is known for its use of minced mackerel. A layer of rice is pressed into a shallow pine box and topped with a colorful mixture of sweet and spicy boiled mackerel mince and toppings including strips of omelet, red pickled ginger, fish sticks and shiitake mushrooms. In a style unique to Tango, the layer of rice and topping is then cut into pieces.\n\nIn the Tango region the mixed sushi dishes have certain common features but the shape, flavor and the ingredients have some variations. For example, being cut in square or circular pieces, or the dish sometimes being made with two layers of rice and topping instead of one. Different restaurants and households also have individual variations on the ingredients they use.\n\nIn the Tango area the dish used to be made at festivals but it has became a familiar local flavor associated with formal occasions such as new year, obon, birthdays or gatherings among relatives and friends.\n\nBefore WWII the dish was made with grilled mackerel as a type of preserved food but soon after the war it began to be made with tinned mackerel. It may be because of the large quantities of mackerel needed in the dish, but only in Tango can you find especially large tins of canned mackerel.\n\n\nTaiza Crab (Kyotango City)\n\nBecause Taiza fishing port is only 2 or 3 hours from Taiza fishing grounds, daily fishing operations are possible. Perfectly fresh Taiza crab is delivered to port and is said to be top class in its quality and flavor.\n\n\nMaizuru Niku Jaga (Maizuru City)\n\nIn 1901 Heihachiro Togo (Lieutenant General at the time) was appointed to be the Maizuru Navel Base's founding Commander-in-Chief. He could not forget the flavor of the beef stew he are while in English on exchange in his youth and so ordered his subordinate to make it as part of the meals aboard ship. This is said to be the beginning of the classic Japanese dish, \"niku jaga\" (beef, potatoes and onion).\n\nWith its high level of nutrition, the dish most likely spread as it worked to prevent the beri beri sickness that was rife among sailors at the time.\n\nIn that period in Japan, however, it was difficult to source the wine and butter needed for the English version of the stew, so it was made with soy sauce and sugar. This was the start of modern-day niku jaga (with a sweet flavor).\n\nThis legendary recipe still exists in the Textbook for Naval Kitchen Management found in the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force 4th Service School located in Maizuru.\n\n\nTabeso (Yosano-cho)\n\nIn the Yamato period (250-710) farmers who cultivated their own land were known as \"Tabe\" and it is said that rice cultivation in Japan originated with the red rice that these farmers grew. The knowledge of this elusive red rice had been handed down through folklore for its part in Shinto religious ceremonies but was resurrected by Miwachi in Yosano-cho in the Tabeso region as ancient Tango rice and today is once again used in religious rituals and celebrations. Noodles that bring out the flavor of that red rice were created and they were given the name of the region the rice was harvested from: \"tabeso\".\n\n\nGomu Yaki-soba Noodles (Fukuchiyama City)\n\nGomu (rubber) yakisoba noodles started when the late owner of the Kobeyaki restaurant in Higashinakano in Fukuyama city, Mr. Kozaburo Nagai, recreated the noodles he had eaten during the war in Canton in China and began selling them as Haze noodles and Canton noodles. By double steaming in the manufacturing process, the noodles develop a unique color and a texture similar to rubber.\n\nThe fried noodles of Kobeyaki are prepared simply with pork belly, Canton noodles and bean sprouts. The restaurant menu had listed them as \"yaki-soba\" (fried soba noodles) however they became to be known as gomu yaki-soba, or rubber noodles, by their regular customers.\n\nThe noodles began at the Kobeyaki restaurant and although there were 15 stores offering Canton noodles in the 1980s, there are currently around 10.\n\nAt the end of September in 2011 the Fukuchiyama B-Grade Food Gomu Yaki-soba Promotional Committee was formed with four restaurants including Kobeyaki as recognized members.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6848161816596985}
+{"content": "Vancouver Avian Research Centre\n\n.....Research - Conservation - Education\nSpecies: White-throated Sparrow Zonotrichia albicollis\n\n\nThe White-throated Sparrow is found breeding across Canada, including eastern British Columbia and southern portions of the Yukon and Northwest Territories. Migration is typically limited to central US. White-throated Sparrows over-winter in southern and eastern US and into Central America. Occasional migrants will winter as far west as the coast of California.\n\n\nGeneral: White-throated Sparrows are a large sparrow species (6-7 inches length), are full bodied, have a prominent pointed bill and a long, narrow, slightly forked tail. In general, this sparrow has a brown upper body, grey chest and belly, and an obvious stripe pattern on the head.\n\nAdult Male: Adult males have bold head patterns. The cap is striped black and white, a black eye line, and a white throat. Distinct yellow patches are located on the lores. The bill on the White-throated Sparrow is grey. The upper body of this sparrow is brown with streaking and two white bars are located on the wings. The chest is usually grey with darker mottling. The White-throated Sparrow has a second “tan” colour morph. The tan morph has similar body colouration; however the striping pattern on the head is a brown and tan combination with a yellow lores. The white morph can be difficult to distinguish from the tan morph in their basic plumage.\n\nAdult Female: Adult females have similar colour patterns to those of the male, but are generally duller. Female White-throated Sparrows also occur as a white or tan morph, with the same colourations as described for males.\n\nJuvenile: Juveniles typically exhibit the tan and brown colouration of the tan morph. This can make juveniles particularly difficult to identify from adults in their basic plumage.\n\nSimilar Species: Juvenile Golden-crowned Sparrows have similar head stripe patterns to the tan morph. As well, Song Sparrows have similar body colouration but with heaver chest mottling. White-crowned Sparrows have a similar bold head pattern but with an orange bill and lack yellow lores.\n\nBehaviour: This sparrow typically travels in flocks of 30 to 50 individuals and is frequently spotted on the ground, scratching through the leaf litter for food. White-throated Sparrows eat the fruit of dogwoods, elder, cedar, apple, maple, and oak trees. Their diet also includes a mix of insects and seeds.\n\nWhite-throated Sparrows are common in wooded areas, along forest edges, in logged or burned regenerating areas, and along pond, swamp, or creek edges. In winter, these sparrows are observed in overgrown fields, parks, and suburban areas.\n\n\nThis sparrow species builds a cup nest in concealed wet thickets. Nests are composed of grass and twigs and are lined with deer hair, feathers, and grasses. Four to six eggs are laid between May and August. Eggs are creamy to light green in colour with rust markings. Chicks fledge seven to 12 days after hatching.\n\nConservation Status:\n\nThis species supports global, national, and provincially secure populations.\nCapture Rates\n\nWhite-throated Sparrow breeding range includes the more northern and interior areas of British Columbia. At Colony Farm, hosting ideal habitat for stop-over of these medium distant migrants, we captured a few individuals on their southward migration. Capture rates are standardized as birds captured per 100 net hours from 2010 - 2012.\n\nHome | About UsEducationResearch| Volunteer | About Birds | Gallery\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9415292143821716}
+{"content": " The Brain Is Amazing\n\n\nGluten is a particular kind of protein that is not found in eggs or meat but is in barley, rye, wheat and triticale (a cross between wheat and rye). Going gluten-free means avoiding these grains. A gluten-free diet is essential for those who have celiac disease, a condition that causes inflammation in the small intestines, or gluten allergies.  Symptoms of celiac disease include anemia, constipation or diarrhea, bloating, gas, headaches, skin rashes, joint pain and fatigue.\n\n\n\nHave you noticed? Look around and you’ll see a majority of Americans who are either overweight or obese. Look in supermarkets and you’ll see a plethora of food products, many of them processed or high-fat and/or sweet laden.  Consuming such a diet often leads to poor health and weight gain. It is not surprising that the leading cause of death in the United States is heart disease. A number of diseases, including pre-diabetes, diabetes, stroke and depression, are linked to how we eat .....\n\n\n\nJust what is in the food we eat? Considering the food chain, did you know adding antibiotics to food dates back to the 1940s? Antibiotic use has led to a dramatic reduction in illness and death from infectious diseases, yet there is a downside to this practice. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and others encourage health care professionals and patients to use antibiotics more wisely and seek education and understanding about both the risks and benefits of using them.\n\n\n\n\nBe Sociable, Share!\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nsubscribe to Health & Wellness\n\ncells have multifaceted processes, they are generally smaller than neurons and lack the axons and dendrites that we associate with the neurons they service (Solfka, 2016). Dendrites in neurons enable information to pass from one cell to another.\n\n... your brain cells poop? Every organ in the body has to expel waste. The structure researchers dubbed the “glymphatic system” because of glial cells is an important part of the process, pumping fluid along the outside of blood vessels, literally flushing cell waste away (Brice, 2012).\n\n...the entire brain is constructed with purpose and symbiosis? Each part has a structural purpose and all its parts are interdependent.\n\nSince the 1970s, our knowledge of the brain has increased exponentially; it is akin to coming out of the Dark Ages. With the advent of brain imaging machines (MRIs), neurologists have begun watching the brain in action. We can see what happens when someone is asleep, awake or angry, depressed, anxious and, yes, when a person is happy or industrious (Michio, 2014).\n\nIn 1985, scientists at the University of California in Berkeley published structural studies of slices of Einstein’s brain. After counting the different cells in the tissue, researchers discovered the only difference between Einstein’s brain and the brain samples of other deceased doctors in the study was that Einstein had a greater ratio of glial cells to neurons (Hopper, 2007). Scientists are currently studying if intelligence has a correlation to the ratio of glia cells to neurons in the brain.\n\nThe miracle of the human brain is not its parts but rather how it talks to itself. The more I study this organ, the more I am stunned by its beautiful design and the loving grace of its designer. This unique organ is the wonder of the universe and cannot be simply explained away through chaos and evolutionary processes.\n\n\n•  Brice, M. (2012). Scientists explain how the brain cleans itself. Medical Daily.\n\n•  Hooper, J. and Sample, I. (2007). Brain cells clue to genius of Einstein. The Guardian.\n\n•  Kalat, J. W. (1998). Biological Psychology, 6th edition. Pacific Grove: Brooks/Cole Publishing Co. (p. 43.)\n\n•  Michio, K. (2014). The scientific quest to understand enhance, and empower the mind. The Future of the Mind. Doubleday: New York.\n\n•  Nursing Assistant Central (2015). 100 interesting facts that you never knew about the brain.\n\n•  Sofka, Meredith (2016 ). Glial Cells.\n\nThat 3-pound, self-aware, sophisticated machinery between your ears is the only organ that counselors rarely consider when treating clients. Counselors generally treat behaviors, feelings, perceptions and the client’s history, but not the organ itself, nor necessarily should they. Anthropologists hypothesize the brain evolved from chaos to complex order all on its own. The human brain is the most amazing object in the entire universe.\n\nDid you know....\n\n...your brain produces enough electricity to power a 20-watt bulb at any one time? According to neurologists who have studied the brain extensively, this amazingly created organ uses about 20 watts of electricity at any one time, albeit much more efficiently than a light bulb (Kalat, 1998).\n\n...the surface of the human brain, if laid out flat, is about the size of four sheets of paper? A monkey’s brain would only cover about one sheet of paper if laid out flat.\n\n...the outer surface of the human brain (neo cortex) is thought to be about 1½ inches or about  3 cm thick?\n\n...the statement that says we only use 10 percent of our brains is a myth? This untruth has been quoted for many decades by the media and\n\n\n\nDr. Barry Lord is a licensed psychotherapist in California who has worked in the field of counseling for over 25 years. He was the Dean at Southern California Seminary. He continues to teach as an adjunct professor in the graduate program at SCS and lectures at national and international seminars, Webinars and radio programs throughout the United States.\n\nmore articles by Dr. Barry Lord\n\nhas never been supported by any scientific evidence. The 10-percent usage myth was probably started from misquotes of Albert Einstein and others in the medical research community of the 1800s and early 1900s  (Kalat, 1998).\n\n...there are over 100 billion neurons that fulfill a specific plan and structure in the brain?\n\n... the central nervous system (CNS) is made up of two kinds of brain cells? They include neurons and glial cells. Neurons constitute about half the volume of the CNS and glial cells make up approximately the other half. Glial cells are very important because they provide support and protection for neurons. Glial cells surround neurons; it has been argued they hold the neurons in place. They supply nutrients and oxygen to the neurons, insulate them from each other and remove the remains of neurons that have died (Solfka, 2016).\n\n...you constantly create new brain cells (Nursing, 2015)?\n\n... the ratio of glia cells to nerve cells in the brain is about 3 to 1? Even though glial", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.596001148223877}
+{"content": "\n\nRe: Clisp 1997-05-29 cygwin-beta question\n\n>>>>> \"Jorg-Cyril\" == Jorg-Cyril Hohle <hoehle@zeus.gmd.de> writes:\n\n    Jorg-Cyril> BTW, are there really people using readline on any\n    Jorg-Cyril> platform?  I mean, readline is nice for one line\n    Jorg-Cyril> input, but who's writing many one-liners in Common\n    Jorg-Cyril> Lisp?\n\n    Jorg-Cyril> Are people really typing programs in a terminal\n    Jorg-Cyril> window, knowing that they must ctrl-C any beginning of\n    Jorg-Cyril> a function when they notice that something is wrong\n    Jorg-Cyril> one line above in the same function?\n\n        Hi. I use it a lot, namely for debugging. Since LISp is\nconsidered an interactive language, readline seems to me a\nMUST-HAVE. It's extremely useful while experimenting some specific\nfunctions, with different arguments. It's just recall the line from\nthe history buffer and edit the arguments.\n\n        I used CLISP with Amiga a lot. The Amiga shell has history\nline and command editing built-in in the shell, so I could use it with\nthe old non-readline versions of CLISP for Amiga.\n\n        I was disappointed with the UNIX version at that time, since I\nhad to re-write or copy&paste with the mouse each time I wanted to\nrepeat some command line. I found it really cool that you guys\nincluded readline with CLISP. It made CLISP much more usable with\n\n        It can be argued that it's possible to run CLISP from emacs\nand use emacs' command-line editing features. But I still prefer use\nCLISP in a xterm, and it make CLISP a much more user-friendly.\n\n\n\n***  nuron@isr.ist.utl.pt, http://www.isr.ist.utl.pt/~nuron\n***   Instituto Superior Tecnico, Lisboa, Portugal\n***    PGP Public Key available on my homepage", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7081189155578613}
+{"content": "Recipe for Lamb With Yoghurt, Coconut Milk And Almond Masala\n\n\n1 teaspoon saffron threads\n2 cup unflavored yogurt\n2 teaspoon caraway seeds\n2 teaspoon salt\n1/4 cup ghee (or melted butter)\n4 1 sticks of cinnamon\n1/2 teaspoon cardamom seeds\n6 whole cloves\n2 cup chopped onions\n3 cloves garlic, chopped\n2 teaspoon chopped fresh ginger\n1/2 teaspoon ground red chili pepper\n2 cup coconut milk\n3/4 cup boiling water\n1/2 cup cold water\n2 lb cubed lamb\n1/2 cup unsalted almonds\n\n\nDrop the saffron threads into a small bowl or cup, add 1/3 of the boiling water and soak for at least 10 minutes. Pour the saffron and its soaking liquid into a deep bowl and stir in the yoghurt, caraway seeds and salt. Add the lamb and turn it about with a spoon until all the pieces are evenly coated. Marinate the lamb at room temperature for about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, combine the almonds and the rest of the boiling water in a bowl, and soak for 10 minutes. Pour the almonds and their soaking water into a blender and blend until you have a smooth paste. Set aside. In a heavy casserole, heat the puree over moderate heat until fairly hot. Add the cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves; stir for a minute or so, then add the onions, garlic and ginger. Lifting and turning them constantly, fry for 7 to 8 minutes until the onions are soft and golden brown. With a slotted spoon, remove the lamb from the marinade, add the meat to the casserole, and stir over moderate heat until it browns evenly. Stir in the marinade and the cold water, then add the almond puree and red pepper and cook for 10 minutes stirring occasionally. Pour in the coconut milk, bring to a boil, and simmer partially covered for 20 minutes, or until the lamb is tender. To serve, discard the cinnamon and cloves, mound the lamb attractively on a deep heated platter, and pour the sauce over it.\n\nAfrican American Indian Appetizers Australian Barbeque\nBeef Bread British Cajun Creole Cakes\nCanadian Candy Casseroles Chiken Chinese\nCookies Desserts Drinks Dutch Eastern European\nFilipino Fish French German Greek\nHoliday Indian Irish Italian Japanese\nJewish Korean Lamb Low fat Mexican\nMisc Unsorted Oriental Pakistani PanCakes Pasta\nPies Pork Russian Salads Sandwich\nSauces Seafood Soups South American Thai\nTurkey Turkish Veal Vegetables Vegetarian", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8889734745025635}
+{"content": "Presentation is loading. Please wait.\n\nPresentation is loading. Please wait.\n\n\nSimilar presentations\n\nPresentation on theme: \"INTRODUCTION TO MODELING\"— Presentation transcript:\n\nModeling Approach to Decision Making: Involves spreadsheet based management models Uses spreadsheet software such as Excel® This approach is easy for managers to use, Results in better management decisions, Provides important insights into problem.\n\n2 THE MODELING PROCESS Managerial Approach to Decision Making\nManager analyzes situation (alternatives) These steps Use Spreadsheet Modeling Makes decision to resolve conflict Decisions are implemented Consequences of decision\n\n3 Operations Research / Management Science\nOrigin: Military services early in World War 2. Urgent need to allocate scarce resources to the various military operations and to the activities within war operation in an effective manner Research teams called upon to apply a scientific approach to this and other strategic and tactical problems This scientific approach is transferred and, and is used extensively in the industrial part of business, as well as in a lot of other areas such as government, engineering, economics, natural and social sciences Definition. The use of modern science, with a special weight on numerical techniques, on complex problems concerning management of people, machines, raw materials and money, in business, industry, the public sector and military services. The goal of OR is to help the management to make strategical and tactical decisions on a more scientific basis. Mathematical programming Roughly speaking, the part of OR that focuses primarily on deterministic problems where probability theory is not needed Approach: to construct a mathematical model to represent the problem of interest, identifying decisions to be made and constraints on the decisions. An algorithm is then used to solve for an optimal solution\n\n4 Why learn Management Science?\nYou will learn different techniques that may give public organizations and private firms and farms a more solid foundation for decision-making You will develop your modeling skills in general --> developing your abilities for logical thinking You will sharpen your quantitative skills You will develop your intuition by studying many different types of models\n\n5 THE MODELING PROCESS as applied to the first two stages of decision making. Model Results Analysis Symbolic World Abstraction Interpretation Real World Management Situation Decisions Intuition\n\n6 THE MODELING PROCESS Managerial Judgment\nThe Role of Managerial Judgment in the Modeling Process: Analysis Model Results Symbolic World Managerial Judgment Abstraction Interpretation Real World Management Situation Decisions Intuition\n\n7 THE MODELING PROCESS Decision Support Models force you to\nbe explicit about your objectives. 1. identify and record the types of decisions that influence those objectives. 2. identify and record interactions and trade-offs among those decisions. 3. think carefully about which variables to include. 4. consider what data are pertinent and their interactions. 5. recognize constraints or limitations on the values. 6. Models allow communication of your ideas and understanding to facilitate teamwork. 7. Models allow us to use the analytical power of spreadsheets hand in hand with the data storage and computational speed of computers.\n\n8 MORE ON MODELS A model is a carefully selected abstraction of reality.\nSymbolic models 1. always simplify reality. 2. incorporate enough detail so that the result meets your needs, it is consistent with the data you have available, it can be quickly analyzed. Decision models are symbolic models in which some of the variables represent decisions that must or could be made. Decision variables are variables whose values you can control, change or set.\n\nDecision models typically include an explicit performance measure that gauges the attainment of that objective. For example, the objective may be to maximize profit or minimize cost in relation to a performance measure (such as sales revenue, interest income, etc). In summary, decision models 1. selectively describe the managerial situation. 2. designate decision variables. 3. designate performance measure(s) that reflect objective(s).\n\n10 BUILDING MODELS To model a situation, you first have to frame it (i.e., develop an organized way of thinking about the situation). A problem statement involves possible decisions and a method for measuring their effectiveness. Steps in modeling: 1. Study the Environment to Frame the Managerial Situation 2. Formulate a selective representation 3. Construct a symbolic (quantitative) model\n\n11 BUILDING MODELS 1. Studying the Environment 2. Formulation\nSelect those aspects of reality relevant to the situation at hand. 2. Formulation Specific assumptions and simplifications are made. Decisions and objectives must be explicitly identified and defined. Identify the model’s major conceptual ingredients using “Black Box” approach.\n\n12 BUILDING MODELS The “Black Box” View of a Model Model Endogenous\nPerformance Measure(s) Decisions (Controllable) Parameters (Uncontrollable) Exogenous Variables Model Consequence Endogenous\n\n13 BUILDING MODELS 3. Model Construction\nThe next step is to construct a symbolic model. Mathematical relationships are developed. Graphing the variables may help define the relationship. Var. X Var. Y Cost A Cost B A + B To do this, use “Modeling with Data” technique.\n\n14 MODELING WITH DATA Consider the following data.\nGraphs are created to view any relationship(s) between the variables. This is the first step in formulating the equations in the model.\n\nare models in which all relevant data are assumed to be known with certainty. can handle complex situations with many decisions and constraints. are very useful when there are few uncontrolled model inputs that are uncertain. are useful for a variety of management problems. are easy to incorporate constraints on variables. software is available to optimize constrained models. allows for managerial interpretation of results. constrained optimization provides useful way to frame situations. will help develop your ability to formulate models in general.\n\nFour Stages of applying modeling to real world decision making: Stage 1: Study the environment, formulate the model and construct the model. Stage 2: Analyze the model to generate results. Stage 3: Interpret and validate model results. Stage 4: Implement validated knowledge.\n\nFormal Definition Example Decision Variable Lever Controllable Exogenous Investment Input Quantity Amount Parameter Gauge Uncontrollable Exogenous Interest Rate Input Quantity Consequence Outcome Endogenous Output Commissions Variable Variable Paid Performance Yardstick Endogenous Variable Return on Measure Used for Evaluation Investment (Objective Function Value)\n\n\nSimilar presentations\n\nAds by Google", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8807059526443481}
+{"content": "Tag Archives: Contrast\n\nOn The Identification and Fixing of Live Show Arrangement Problems\n\nAn article I wrote for Schwilly Family Musicians.\n\nPlease Remember:\n\n\n\nFrom the article:\n\n“…In other words, arrangement quality is INVERSELY proportional to the musical corrective action required of the sound tech. Great bands with great arrangements don’t require me to fix anything. I just have to translate the songs through the PA – and actually, that’s a pretty good analogy. With a bad arrangement, I have to go beyond just helping the “onstage language” interface with “audience language.” If I’m able, I also have to correct the original grammar, fact-check, rewrite for clarification, and THEN translate.”\n\nRead the whole thing here, for free.\n\nPink Floyd Is A Bluegrass Band\n\nIf you beat the dynamics out of a band that manages itself with dynamics, well…\n\nPlease Remember:\n\n\n\nJust recently, I had the privilege of working on “The Last Floyd Show.” (The production provided the backdrop for that whole bit about the lighting upgrade that took forever.) We recorded the show to multitrack, and I was tasked with getting a mix done.\n\nIt was one of the toughest mixdowns I’ve attempted, mostly because I took the wrong approach when I got started. I attempted a “typical rock band” mix, and I ended up having to basically start over once…and then backtrack significantly twice more. Things started to work much more nicely when I backed WAY off on my channel compression – which is a little weird, because a lot of my “mix from live” projects actually do well with aggressive compression on individual channels. You grab the player’s level, hold it back from jumping around, fit ’em into the part of the spectrum that works, and everything’s groovy.\n\nNot this time, though.\n\nBecause Pink Floyd is actually an old-timey bluegrass act that inhabits a space-rock body. They use “full-range” tones and dynamics extensively, which means that preventing those things from working is likely to wreck the band’s sound.\n\nGeneral Dynamics (Specific Dynamics, Too)\n\nNot every Floyd tune is the same, of course, but take a listen over a range of their material and you’ll discover something: Pink Floyd gets a huge amount of artistic impact from big swings in overall dynamics, as well as the relative levels of individual players. Songs build into rolling, thunderous choruses, and then contract into gentle verses. There are “stings” where a crunchy guitar chord PUNCHES YOU IN THE FACE, and then backs away into clean, staccato notes. Different parts ebb and flow around each other, with great, full-range tones possible across multiple instruments – all because of dynamics. When it’s time for the synth, or organ, or guitar to be in the lead, that’s what is in the lead. They just go right past the other guys and “fill the space,” which is greatly enabled by the other guys dropping far into the background.\n\nIf you crush the dynamics out of any part of a Pink Floyd production, it isn’t Pink Floyd anymore. It’s people playing the same notes as Floyd songs without actually making those songs happen. If those dynamic swings are prevented, the arrangements stop working properly. The whole shebang becomes a tangled mess of sounds running into each other, which is EXACTLY what happened to me when I tried to “rock mix” our Floyd Show recording.\n\nThis usage of dynamics, especially as a self-mix tool, is something that you mostly see in “old school acoustic-music” settings. Rock and pop acts these days are more about a “frequency domain” approach than a “volume domain” sort of technique. It’s not that there’s no use of volume at all, it’s just that the overwhelming emphasis seems to be on everybody finding a piece of the spectrum, and then just banging away with the vocals on top. (I’m not necessarily complaining. This can be very fun when it’s done well.) With that emphasis being the case so often, it’s easy to get suckered into doing everything with a “rock” technique. Use that technique in the wrong place, though, and you’ll be in trouble.\n\nAnd yes, this definitely applies to live audio. In fact, this tendency to work on everything with modern rock tools is probably why I haven’t always enjoyed Floyd Show productions as much as I’ve wanted.\n\nIn The Flesh\n\nWhen you have a band like Floyd Show on the deck, in real life, in a small room, the band’s acoustical peaks can overrun the PA to some extent. This is especially true if (like me), you aggressively limit the PA in order to keep the band “in a manageable box.” This, coupled with the fact that the band’s stage volume is an enormous contributor to the sound that the audience hears, means that a compressed, “rock band” mix isn’t quite as ruinous as it otherwise would be. That is, with the recording, the only sound you can hear is the reproduced sound, so screwing up the production is fatal. Live, in a small venue, you hear a good bit of reproduction (the PA) and a LOT of stage volume. The stage volume counteracts some of the “reproduction” mistakes, and makes the issues less obvious.\n\nAnother thing that suppresses “not quite appropriate” production is that you’re prepared to run an effectively automated mix in real time. When you hear that a part isn’t coming forward enough, you get on the appropriate fader and give it a push. Effectively, you put some of the dynamic swing back in as needed, which masks the mistakes made in the “steady state” mix setup. With the recording, though, the mix doesn’t start out as being automated – and that makes a fundamental “steady state” error stand out.\n\nAs I said before, I haven’t always had as much fun with Floyd Show gigs as I’ve desired. It’s not that the shows weren’t a blast, because they were definitely enjoyable for me, it’s just that they could have been better.\n\nAnd it was because I was chasing myself into a corner as much as anyone else was, all by taking an approach to the mix that wasn’t truly appropriate for the music. I didn’t notice, though, because my errors were partially masked by virtue of the gigs happening in a small space. (That masking being a Not Bad Thing At All.™)\n\nThe Writing On The Wall\n\nSo…what can be generalized from all this? Well, you can boil this down to a couple of handy rules for live (and studio) production:\n\nIf you want to use “full bandwidth” tones for all of the parts in a production, then separation between the parts will have to be achieved primarily in the volume and note-choice domain.\n\nIf you’re working with a band that primarily achieves separation by way of the volume domain, then you should refrain from restricting the “width” of the volume domain any more than is necessary.\n\nThe first rule comes about because “full bandwidth” tones allow each part to potentially obscure each other part. For example, if a Pink Floyd organ sound can occupy the same frequency space as the bass guitar, then the organ either needs to be flat-out quieter or louder at the appropriate times to avoid clashing with the bass, or change its note choices. Notes played high enough will have fundamental frequencies that are away from the bass guitar’s fundamentals. This gives the separation that would otherwise be gotten by restricting the frequency range of the organ with EQ and/ or tone controls. (Of course, working the equalization AND note choice AND volume angles can make for some very powerful separation indeed.)\n\nThe second rule is really just an extension of “getting out of the freakin’ way.” If the band is trying to be one thing, and the production is trying to force the band to be something else, the end result isn’t going to be as great as it could be. The production, however well intentioned, gets in the way of the band being itself. That sounds like an undesirable thing, because it is an undesirable thing.\n\nFaithfully rendered Pink Floyd tunes use instruments with wide-ranging tones that run up and down – very significantly – in volume. These volume swings put different parts in the right places at the right time, and create the dramatic flourishes that make Pink Floyd what it is. Floyd is certainly a rock band. The approach is not exactly the same as an old-school bluegrass group playing around a single, omni mic…\n\n…but it’s close enough that I’m willing to say: The lunatics on Pink Floyd’s grass are lying upon turf that’s rather more blue than one might think at first.\n\nAudio Processing In Graphical Terms\n\nA guest post for Schwilly Family Musicians.\n\nPlease Remember:\n\n\n\n\nTransient Impact\n\nMusic that hits hard requires careful management of the parts that don’t hit hard.\n\nPlease Remember:\n\n\n\nA few weeks ago, I had the unexpected pleasure of working with a band called “Outside Infinity.” I say that the pleasure was unexpected because I had some major concerns going into the show. Metal, as a genre, can be pretty challenging in a small space. The sheer volume can be tough (or even impossible) to work with, and the arrangements are often quite dense – which compounds the volume problem. Several instruments banging away at full-blast can make for lots of challenges when trying to differentiate each part of a mix.\n\nOutside Infinity had none of those problems. In fact, they were a prime example of how heavy metal – or any type of music that you want to “hit hard” – actually achieves that goal. (They were so much fun to listen to that I’m pretty sure I had a stupid grin on my face for large portions of the night.) I was really impressed by the sound that they had crafted, and I started to think about it.\n\nWhy were they so much fun?\n\nWhy did they capture what I’ve loved about heavy metal in the past?\n\nWhy did their sound have what so many rock and metal bands want, but so often fail to achieve?\n\nI think that the generalized answer to all of those questions is this: Transient impact.\n\nThe Stopping Is As Important As The Starting\n\nThere are a number of necessary elements to a really great song performed live in a really great way. The lyrics have to be interesting, of course, and a memorable melody (or overall musical theme) is required. Skipping those steps will efficiently torpedo a tune’s ability to grab and hold an audience. There’s more, though: The overall sound of the song has to keep the listener interested. It’s analogous to eating a meal that leaves you remembering the food for years. Every bite is delicious, yes, but certain bites contain an extra explosion of flavor that plays on the mouth and tongue…and then dissipates. That “taste transient” pokes out from the “steady state deliciousness” of the rest of the meal, creating an ebb and flow of special delight, anticipation, and reward.\n\nBut if that burst of flavor just continued unabated, with no steady-state to contrast it against, then the “burst” wouldn’t be attention-getting anymore. It would BE the steady-state, and would quickly become unremarkable.\n\nSound behaves in a way that’s fundamentally the same. We perceive it differently, and the time-scales involved are sometimes much shorter, but the transient content is still the basis of what holds attention. Transient content is the determining factor behind the (ironically) nebulous idea of music that’s “really defined.” In music that aims to convey power and force, sounds that hit above the steady-state, and then swiftly decay are what cause the individual parts to “slam into you.” Everything just banging away at full throttle, continuously, for several minutes, has no impact. No spark of flavor. The brain starts to have trouble distinguishing the music from noise, because of the lack of anything to lock on to.\n\nThe mastery of stopping notes at the right time is what creates epic riffs. The mastery of creating a pleasing steady-state, which is then punctuated by sharp, sonic flavors, is the essence of the “thunderous” rock show.\n\n…and because transients are all about proportionality, it is entirely possible to create a pile-driving artillery barrage of a show within the confines of a small venue. More on that later. First:\n\nDynamics And Articulation\n\nMusic, especially rock and metal, has a long history of breaking rules and pushing boundaries. This is what drives innovation, and it’s a good thing. However, there are certain rules that can’t truly be broken successfully. Those rules are the ones that are based in fundamentals of the physical universe and human perception.\n\nOne such rule is that, for a particular musical part to seem “big,” the other parts around it must be proportionally small. There are different ways of achieving this, but it all pretty much boils down to volume. The “small” part must either be quieter across the entire audible spectrum, or quieter across the most important part of the spectrum occupied by the “big” part. Especially in the small-venue context, plenty of bands shoot themselves in the foot with this. I’ve heard too many groups that interpret the instrumental breaks of their songs as “there’s no vocal, so now all the instruments should play as loudly as they can, occupy every frequency possible, and we’ll just hope that the audio-human can crank the actual solo above all that.”\n\n(The best bands avoid this problem by interpreting the solo instrument as being “the new vocal,” and thus they keep all the other instruments in a supporting role until it’s their turn to be in front.)\n\n\nIn music, there are lots of broad-brush ways to accomplish this necessary contrast. There are the overall dynamics of individual parts across a number of beats, and there are also the rests – where a part is silent for a time. Whether formally or informally, these contrasts can be reliably notated. It’s pretty easy to explicitly define the necessary negative space, whether by a symbol for a rest, a “pp” for being very quiet, or a scribbled note saying, “For the fingerpicked guitar part, no drums at all and everybody else turns way down.”\n\nThere’s something else, though, that’s required for mastery. It’s hard to explicitly notate. It’s articulation.\n\nArticulation (as I see it) is the manner in which notes and chords are played. It’s a crucial part of getting transients to contrast with the rest of the music, because it involves dynamics and rests that are too short and frequent to write down…and yet have a massive effect on how other parts sound. Playing a power chord with a “micro rest” at the end can be key to getting a kick-hit to punch through. Making that kick-hit decay into silence quickly can make room for a note from the bass. Going through a run of notes where each tone is connected, but there’s a very slight volume drop just before the next sound, can make for a clean and precise solo line. The singer hitting a big note and then backing off means that they can help support that solo line without a miniature volume war erupting.\n\nThe very best bands have a reliable handle on making this all work – even if they’re not explicitly aware of what they’re doing. Their riffs are powerful and defined because the individual notes have space around them. Their drum hits are forceful and satisfying because there’s space for them to stick up above everything else – and yet the drums don’t overpower the tonal instruments, because the individual hits decay into the “steady state volume” before the tonals hit THEIR next transient.\n\nThis leads me into that promised bit about how this is possible in small venues.\n\nThe SPL Difference Is The Key, Not The Absolute SPL Magnitude\n\nA common mistake in trying to reproduce big-show impact in a small room is trying to replicate the big-show’s absolute SPL (Sound Pressure Level). It’s very easy to think that “so and so sounded huge, and they were making about 115 dBC in the center of the crowd, so that’s what we should do.” What tends to happen, though, is that reaching that kind of level chews up all the power available in a small-venue audio rig. The result is a show that doesn’t have those oh-so-cool transient hits, because there’s just no room for them to assert themselves.\n\nInstead of defeating yourself with excessive volume, what you have to think about is WHY the big-show PA was making 115 dBC in the center of that huge crowd. It’s proportionality. Several thousand humans having a big party can make a surprising amount of noise – and so, to be clearly audible, the audio rig has to make even more noise. If a giant crowd is hollering at 105 dBC, then the audio-human running the system up to 115 dBC is understandable…if maybe a bit excessive. (Or not. It depends.)\n\nFrom that previous paragraph, you can see that the proportionality between the steady-state volume of the crowd and the steady-state volume of the band was 10 dB. In certain kinds of small venues, that might be a little bit too much. A window of +6 to +9 dB of continuous level above the crowd is worth trying for in most contexts – in my opinion. Note that the “trying” part is most likely going to be in the downward direction. Getting loud is surprisingly easy, but holding your level in check to a point where the crowd is still pretty-darned audible is HARD. It’s hard for bands, and hard for audio-humans, but it’s worth trying for.\n\nThe point of holding your continuous level down, beyond just being nice to your crowd, is that it creates space for your show’s transients. Especially if you’re a metal band, and you want that big, thunderous kick, your best chance is to be had by giving the PA lots of room. If the audio-human has to run the system at full tilt just to keep up, then there probably won’t be enough power available to put those chest-thumping transients where you want them to go. On the other hand, keeping the show’s continuous level at a manageable point means that there’s reserve power – reserve power that has to be available to create large, proportional differences for things that need accenting.\n\nRunning the audio for Outside Infinity was fun, because they had an instinctive handle on negative space and transient impact. There was plenty of power available for the musical peaks, because the continuous level of the band was appropriate and comfortable. They knew how to articulate their notes so that the music was sharp and defined. I was really impressed.\n\nAnd, if you take the time to think about your music’s transients, you’ll probably also have a good shot at being that impressive.\n\nIn A No-Soundcheck World, The Reckless Spirit Is King\n\n“Throw and go” is 100% possible – if you’re ready to do it well.\n\nPlease Remember:\n\n\nI have a tendency to forget how good bands are. If I don’t work with a certain group regularly, my mental recall of their musicianship gets hazy and vague. Such is the case with Reckless Spirit, a really killer local band whose killer-ness I forgot.\n\nDon’t get me wrong – I remembered that they were good. It’s just that I didn’t have a real grip on just how good.\n\nReckless Spirit was closing a two-band bill. It took a bit to get the bands changed over, and all we really had time for was a quick “line check.” Everything had a solid connection to the console, and the vocals were audible in monitor world, so –\n\nOff we went.\n\nAnd the show sounded fantastic.\n\nWith no proper soundcheck at all.\n\nTheir sound came together in about 30 seconds, and the result was one of the most enjoyable rock-band mixes I’ve heard in a while. I’m not joking. It was effortless.\n\n\nWorking It All Out Ahead Of Time\n\nI’m convinced that Reckless Spirit’s “secret” is a pretty simple one: Make sure that the music actually works as music, before you ever get to the venue. When you get right down to it, the band has become expert at dealing with The Law Of Conservation of Effort, especially in terms of having their “ensemble proportionalities” dead on.\n\nSeriously – I don’t know if rock n’ roll has its arrangements described as “exquisite” very often, but that’s the word I would use to describe the way Reckless Spirit’s show came together. At every moment, everything had a proper (and very exact) place. When it was time for a run on the keys, the timbre and volume of the keys rig was EXACTLY correct for the part to stand out without crushing everything else. The same was very much true for the guitar, and the bass-and-drum rhythm section was always audible and distinct…yet never overbearing.\n\nEverybody had their spot in terms of volume – and not just overall level, but the levels for the specific frequency ranges that they were meant to cover. The guitar parts and keyboard bits weren’t trying to be in the same tonal range at the same time. The bass wasn’t stomping on the guitar, and the drums fit neatly into the musical “negative space” that remained. Sure, a really good PA operator (with a sufficiently powerful PA) can do a lot to create that situation, but it takes a very long time – and a busload of volume – if the band isn’t even close to doing it themselves.\n\nThe point here is that the band didn’t need the PA system to be a band. There was no requirement for me to take them completely apart, and then stick them back together again. Before even a single channel was unmuted, they were 100% prepared to be cohesive…and that meant that when the live-sound rig DID get involved, the PA was really only needed for a bit of room-specific sweetening. Sure, FOH (Front of House) was needed as a “vocal amp,” but that pretty much goes for everyone who plays amplified music. Aside from getting clarity into the lyrical portion of the show, the PA didn’t need to “fix” anything.\n\n…and getting clarity was easy, because the band was playing at a volume that fit the vocals in neatly. We actually REDUCED the monitor volume on deck, because my “standard rock show” preset made the vocals too loud. Even with that, Brock (the guitarist and main vocalist) informed me that he was really backing off from the mic, because it seemed very, very hot.\n\nGreat ensemble prep + reduced stage wash = nice sound out front.\n\nI’m convinced that just about anyone can be in possession of that equation up there. The key is to do your homework, Reckless Spirit style. Use as much rehearsal time as you can to figure out EXACTLY where everybody’s sound is supposed to be, and EXACTLY when those sounds are supposed to be there. Figure out how to do all that at small-venue volume, and how to get the vocals spot-on without powerful monitors, and your chances of a sonically great show will jump in a massive way. You’ll be 90% down the road to a successful partnership with any given night’s audio-human, because by doing your job you’ll enable them to do theirs more effectively.\n\nBe Reckless (proper noun).\n\nInconsistent Distance\n\nIn small rooms, audience proximity to loudspeakers can mean a wildly different mix.\n\nPlease Remember:\n\n\nI love doing “advanced application” stuff where people don’t expect it. It’s not that I’m into complexity for complexity’s sake, but I do like to exceed expectations when possible. So, when The Floyd Show wanted to take things to the next level by having quadrophonic sound available, I was pretty thrilled.\n\nI was so thrilled that, the second time we did a show that way, I went a little too crazy. I put a bunch of channels through reverb and delay, and pushed all that through the rear speakers. Loud. I wanted to hear it!\n\nAbout a third of the way through the show, one of the club’s security humans came up to me.\n\n“Dude, you’ve REALLY got to turn those down.”\n\n\nWhat went wrong? Was I tearing people’s heads off?\n\nNo, as I found out later. What was happening was that some people were getting an overpowering “FX to dry” ratio – and it was all because they were really close to the rear loudspeakers.\n\nThe Correct Solution Over Here Is Wrong Over There\n\nIn small-venue sound, there’s a bit of truth that’s hugely relevant…and yet rarely discussed:\n\nA mix “solution” that is the result of both acoustical sources and PA reinforcement is spatially dependent. A listener at a different point in space is not necessarily receiving a solution of the same validity as people at other points in space.\n\nIn other words, what sounds perfect in one spot may not sound all that perfect when you’re on the other side of the room, especially if a listener gets (proportionally) very close to part of the PA.\n\n\nSPL (Sound Pressure Level) increases as distance to a source decreases. Not everybody knows the math involved for modeling this reality with physics, but I’m pretty sure that almost everybody has an intuitive grasp of the idea. (The math actually isn’t that hard, by the way.) The reason this matters so much for small-venue audio humans is as follows:\n\nIf the sound reinforcement system is only responsible for a portion of a mix “solution,” a listener that is in close proximity to the system is likely to be experiencing a mix which is overbalanced in favor of the PA.\n\n(Yes, this is essentially a restatement of the first point.)\n\nA Common Example\n\nTo look at this in familiar terms, let’s consider a PA system that’s only reproducing vocals. The PA is located just in front of the band, with about twenty feet between the stacks. Everything else in the room is coming from the band’s instruments on stage. An audio human, situated 30 feet from the stage, in the center of the audience area, creates a mix solution that they like. This mix solution is, of course, a blend of the PA plus everything else. The validity of the solution depends on the blend’s proportionality remaining the same.\n\nFor many points in the room, the proportionality does indeed remain relatively stable. It remains stable because the DIFFERENCE in distance from the listener to either the PA or the band doesn’t change too wildly. In fact, as listeners get farther away, the proportion between the distance to the PA versus the distance to the band is reduced – that is, the proportion gets closer and closer to being 1:1. If you’re somewhere behind the sound operator, your chances of getting basically the same mix solution are pretty good – even if you’re off to one side.\n\n(Of course, that mix solution may be highly colored by room reflections – that is, reverb – but the fact remains that what you’re hearing is the “correct” solution plus reverb. Then again, to be fair, very strong and/ or unpleasant reverberation can result in a total acoustical sound that’s utterly terrible…)\n\n\nWhere problems start to happen is in the area in front of the FOH (Front Of House) engineer. The closer that a listener gets to the front of the room, the more the proportionality between the sound sources diverges from 1:1. In this particular example, a person standing dead center, four feet from the stage is almost three times closer to the stage than they are to the PA. It’s quite likely that, for that listener, the stagewash is overpowering the vocals-only PA to some degree. (The issue is probably compounded by the listener being out of the throw patterns of the PA speakers, although that’s beyond the scope of this article.) On the other hand, a person that’s down front and off to one side could be getting four times as much PA as stagewash, if not more. For them, the vocals might be a bit too “hot.”\n\nSome Things Can Be Fixed. Other Things…\n\nThe bottom line here is that if the PA (or even just some part of the PA) isn’t the whole mix, then you have to be mindful of where and how your mix solution can change. In my case, what I failed to consider was that the people in the back of the room were getting an overdose of FX from the surrounds. I pulled the rear speakers down, and everybody was a lot happier. The folks in front probably weren’t getting much from the rear boxes anyway, so it wasn’t a big loss to them.\n\nYou can’t fix everything, though.\n\nIn small venues, people can listen from all kinds of places, and you probably won’t have the gear available to cover all of those places. Big shows can fix their problem areas with fills and delay stacks of all kinds, but little shows just have to “shoot for the average.” In my personal opinion, if 75% or more of the audience seems to be getting basically the same mix, then you’ve done your duty. Of course, trying for 100% is usually praiseworthy, but completely overcoming the problem of inconsistent distance in a small venue is expensive, time consuming, and chews up a lot of space. In fact, 100% coverage might not even be what you want – in small rooms, it can be very nice for people to be able to “get away” from the full-blast of the show.\n\n(You also have to consider other psychology that’s involved. For some folks, an “off” mix is a tiny price to pay for being able to be nose to nose with their favorite band. A happy audience is a happy audience, any way you slice it.)\n\nFor The Love Of Mid\n\nThe material that’s critical for a mix is between about 200 Hz and 4000 Hz.\n\nPlease Remember:\n\n\nWe’ve all seen and heard it, in some way. You know what I mean. The “smiley face” EQ. “Scoop” switches. The midrange all the way down – and, optionally, the bass and treble CRANKED.\n\n\n“Bedroom tone.”\n\nHeck, most of us have been practitioners of this very thing. When trying to make something sound impressive, polished, and big, ruthlessly carving out the midrange is like the Dark Side of The Force: Quick, easy, and seductive.\n\nAlso, really bad for you in the end.\n\nWhat a mix (live, studio, monitors, stage-volume, anything) actually stands or falls on is the midrange. Sure, you want the top and bottom octave to be in the right place, but they really aren’t as critical as you may have been led to believe.\n\nSo, why do people de-emphasize the midrange so much?\n\nTough, Lonely, Unexciting Rooms\n\nThere are all kinds of contexts that drive scooped, sizzle-thump tones. Getting into every detail could make for a very long, barely readable article. I think that you can get a decent picture by generalizing, though:\n\nMidrange is common, unexciting, and – due to its criticality – annoying when it’s wrong.\n\nSee, humans hear midrange better than almost anything else. We’re great at detecting and analyzing human speech, because our lives basically depend on it. Human speech is all about midrange, and expressive, detailed vocalization is one of the things that makes humans actually…you know…human. We grow up hearing midrange. We communicate using midrange. We hear midrange all the time, in every possible place, in all kinds of contexts.\n\nMidrange? More like, mundane-range.\n\nWhen we come across a sound-generating item that can do the bits of the audible spectrum that are outside the boring and everyday, we fall in love pretty fast. “Bass” and “air” are like candy to our common meal of mid. They’re impressive. Fun. Exciting. Everything that those pokey, old-hat mids aren’t.\n\nSo, there’s a strong temptation to emphasize the fun bits at the expense of the boring parts.\n\nAt the same time, our particular human genius for detecting problems and unnatural weirdness in the mids makes us intolerant. Our brains are also VERY good at synthesizing missing information, especially when a lot of the basic cues are still intact. If your stereo or amplified instrument are in a not-so-acoustically-nice room, a quick fix is to yank out as much of the troublesome midrange as you can. The music still sounds fine, because the mids are still audible enough for you to imagine whatever you’re missing as you revel in the sounds that are emphasized.\n\nThe success of this is further enhanced by being alone, which is what leads to “bedroom sound.” With nothing else “in the mix,” you can hear your instrument just fine – and it sounds GREAT! All the midrange problems are sucked out, and the impressive “body” and “top” ends are dialed way up.\n\nAwesome sauce.\n\nUntil real-life intervenes, of course.\n\nMidrange Makes Mixes Musical\n\nIn the context of modern music, especially in small venues, what you have is an assemblage of amplified sounds that coexist with a lot of acoustical goings-on. For example, take a typical rock band’s rehearsal space. You’re probably going to run into an un-miced drumkit, one or two guitar amps, and a bass rig. The guitar and bass players, through electronics, have very immediate and dramatic control over the timbre of their instruments. Within the limits of their instruments and amplifiers, they can dial up some wild and weird tones.\n\nOn the other hand, the drummer can’t go quite as crazy. Sure, there’s a lot of variation to be had from shellpack to shellpack, especially with different heads, tunings, sticks, and everything else, but the reality is that most acoustic drumkits impart a tremendous amount of midrange into the room. If nobody else has much midrange left over, then the kit is going to obliterate the tonal parts of the song arrangements…unless, of course, the guitar and bass rigs are much louder than the drums.\n\nSo, here’s the major thing:\n\nSufficient midrange content is the primary and essential component of a tonal instrument’s place in a mix.\n\nThe reality is that, for all the excitement and fun that low and high-frequency information give us, there is very little actual music that occurs far below 200 Hz, or far above 4 kHz. It’s not that there isn’t ANY musical information beyond those areas – of course there is – it’s just that it usually isn’t critical to the actual song.\n\n(Yes, bass guitars produce lots of fundamentals that are around or below 100 Hz, but the reality is that we mostly end up listening to the harmonic content of what the bassist is doing. Seriously – find yourself some songs with prominent, melodic basslines. Load the files into a DAW and filter everything below 200 Hz. I’ll bet that you can still hear the bass-human doing their thing.)\n\nIf the midrange content of a given part is de-emphasized in a big way, there is a very good chance that the part will disappear in an ensemble context. The flipside is that allowing everybody to have their own piece of the mids means that you’re much likely to get a better mix…especially when you’re playing live in a small room, where the interplay between purely acoustical sounds and amplified tones can be either beautiful or horrific.\n\nPractical Considerations\n\nThe biggest take-away from this is that everybody – guitar players, bassists, vocalists, monitor guys, FOH (Front Of House) humans, and anybody else that I’ve missed – should resist the urge to “kill the mids.”\n\nI should know, because I’ve had my own “scooping” bite me. Killed-mid vocals sound great in FOH and monitor world, right up until they have to be matched up with an actual band. At that point, you have to get the vocals VERY loud to get audible lyrics, and that can lead harshness, feedback, and an audience that wants to not be in the seats anymore.\n\nI once had vocals dialed up in the monitors that sounded “super-studio.” Very hi-fi. It would have been great, except that when the band actually started playing you could barely hear the vocals in the wedges. You’ve gotta let those boxes “bark” a little if people are going to hear themselves sing.\n\nOn the flipside, I once worked with a band where one of the guitar players had a serious fascination with HF content. Once the drummer was playing, all you could hear out of that guitar was basically “eeeeeeessshhhh.” He would play these super-fast solos, but you couldn’t hear what he was doing. His actual notes were dialed out so far that, even when he was painfully loud and clearly in front of everybody else’s volume, you still only had a sort of screechy, clicky hiss to listen to.\n\nThere’s even a “technologic-economic” side to the whole thing. Making lots of low end and high end are tough things to do with an amplifier or a PA system. Killing the midrange and cranking the ends means that you’re probably wasting a ton of internal headroom and power-stage output on material that might not even be audible. If you want that material to be audible, you need lots of power and lots of speakers – and that’s spendy. Want to get the most out of more affordable gear? Get the midrange in the right place as the first step, and then use what you’ve got left over for the top and bottom.\n\nThe mids can be tough to love at first, but it’s a worthwhile relationship.\n\nHow To Figure Out Who Sings On Stage\n\nThe minimum requirement isn’t being able to stay on pitch, nor is it having a nice voice.\n\nPlease Remember:\n\n\nIt’s amazing how you can use microphones to shoot yourself in the foot. Metaphorically, I mean.\n\nEach open mic on a stage increases the “loop gain” in monitor world and FOH (Front Of House). More loop gain means more system instability. More mics means more backline bleed cluttering up the mix – even if only in subtle ways. More mics means more volume wars on deck, as everybody struggles to hear themselves over everybody else.\n\nMore mics means live shows that don’t sound as good as they could, and yet, bands have this tendency to want vocal mics handed out to individual members like cheap candy.\n\nMostly, I blame this on recording. Not that recording is inherently bad – it just has unintended consequences, like everything else.\n\nIt’s A Different World In There\n\nSee, it’s easier than ever to record. You can turn any half-decent computer into a highly functional console and tape machine for about the cost of a basic combo-amp. As a result, folks are able to make acceptable (or even excellent) quality, multichannel, overdubbed recordings much earlier in the band’s life cycle than ever before.\n\nThis means that “studio magic,” even when it isn’t recognized as such, can be experienced before a musical ensemble has really gotten their live presentation to gel.\n\nThe problem here is that the studio has a much larger amount of “usable positive gain” available, especially when parts are overdubbed. So what happens is that Joe, the bassist/ guitarist/ drummer/ xylophonist/ euphonium player/ whatever, is tapped to sing a vocal harmony – because, you know, “we were listening back to the tracks one day, and he started singing a little, and it was just SICK dude…”\n\nAnd it probably was pretty cool, because Joe has a pleasant voice, and a good sense of pitch. So, Joe gets handed a pair of headphones, and put in front of a mic. He sings just a bit louder than he can talk, which is fine, because that’s loud enough to mostly drown the quiet background noise in the recording area. He’s 10 – 20 dB less powerful than the lead singer, but hey, all you have to do is twist the gain up on the mic pre, and you’re golden.\n\nNo problem.\n\nIn the studio.\n\nWhen overdubbing in the studio, feedback isn’t much of an issue. When overdubbing in the studio, the only thing that can bleed into that vocal track is the whir of a computer fan, or leakage from the headphones.\n\nSo, Joe lays down that vocal track, and it makes the song sound huge. Or haunting. Or just cooler than it was an hour ago.\n\nAnd now, of course, the band TOTALLY has to have Joe sing that part for the live show they booked for Saturday night. Oh boy…\n\nWe’re Gonna Need One More Mic. And A Miracle.\n\nThe band is now unwittingly charging towards a problem with that live gig. The world of live audio has a lot of similarities to the world of studio audio, particularly in the area of terminology. However, live sound has a TON of inherent compromises that aren’t present when you’re overdubbing a “throw it in” vocal track.\n\nOn stage, Joe’s mic is part of a partially-closed loop that involves both the monitor speakers and the FOH speakers. (This is what I mean when I talk about “loop gain.”) As more total gain is applied, the likelihood of feedback goes up. For Joe, this is especially problematic, because he’s 10 – 20 dB quieter than the lead singer. Fixing a 10 dB difference in a live environment can be anywhere from challenging to impractical. Fixing a 20 dB imbalance can be anything from “just doable if everything cooperates” to “im-freaking-possible.”\n\n…and total loop-gain goes way up when everybody wants to hear Joe in the monitors, loudly, “because that harmony just makes it sound so FULL, dude.”\n\nThen, there are the feedback issues to contend with in FOH, plus the whole problem that a massive amount of the backline is coming through Joe’s high-gain vocal channel. All the backline bleed makes the show unnecessarily loud, and washes out the lead vocal, so the total gain on the lead vocal goes up, which makes the show even louder.\n\nFolks, when a vocal mic picks up the snare drum and the output HAMMERS the PA’s limiter, you’ve got a problem.\n\nJoe should not be singing live. Trying to make that vocal harmony happen is making a mess of the show as a whole.\n\nSo, how do you figure out who gets a vocal mic?\n\n+20 dB, RMS\n\nThat heading, right there, is pretty much the answer. As a rule of thumb, you should consider the minimal qualification for someone to have a vocal mic to be this: Compared to all other sources in the room, the vocalist should be able to produce an average of 20 dB more sound pressure at the mic capsule.\n\nYes, this can be a tall order. Yes, there are situations where the rule doesn’t fully apply.\n\nBut, generally speaking, if you want a trouble-free live vocal, the singer has to be able to create lots of separation between them and everything else. Some of this is raw power, and some of it is being good at using the tools. For instance, if someone just can’t abide the concept of being in contact with the grill of a vocal mic, then they either need to sing with the force of a tornado or be denied a microphone. (Proximity buys you more relative sound pressure at the capsule – for “free.” You’d be amazed at how many people refuse to take the deal, though.)\n\nSo, how do you figure out if someone is in the ballpark?\n\n  1. Set aside some time at your next full-band rehearsal.\n  2. Find yourself an audio device of some kind – hardware, software, whatever – that has clear and unambiguous metering between two points that are 20 dB away from each other. For example, a cheap little mixer may be pretty clear about where -20 dB is, and where 0 dB is, but be unclear about how far above 0 dB the clipping point lies. In that case, you’ll want to use -20 dB and 0 dB as your reference points.\n  3. This audio device doesn’t necessarily have to be disconnected from any stage monitors or other vocal amplification that you use, but you should be able to control the volume of those loudspeakers without having an effect on the meters. If this is not the case, disconnect the loudspeakers.\n  4. Have the band play like they mean it. If you back things down in the rehearsal space, but then “get on the gas” for the show, this isn’t going to work. (There’s probably a whole other article right there, actually.)\n  5. While the band is playing, set the gain on the vocal mic so that the average level is at your -20 dB point. You may have to “eyeball” this a bit if the meter ballistics (response time) are set to read peaks and not average levels.\n  6. Now, have the prospective vocalist do their thing. If possible, have them do some different songs with varying feels.\n  7. If the vocalist is consistently able to drive the meter to an average level that’s 20 dB higher than the “bleed,” then they’re probably a good candidate for singing at an actual show. Again, note that I’m talking about an average level. A momentary peak at +20 dB isn’t going to do the job when there’s an audience in the room and “things get real.”\n  8. If the singer can’t “bring it to the table,” then you have to consider your options. If their vocal parts aren’t really core to the songs, then you should probably just go without their contribution during shows. If the parts are crucial, then the band needs to find a way to lose enough volume to make the 20 dB difference happen.\n\nYou may find yourself wanting to bend this rule, and I’ll certainly admit that you can. Bending the rule by 3 dB probably isn’t a huge deal. Being 6 dB off is almost certainly manageable by an experienced tech, although some extra compromises might be involved. Nine decibels or more of “fudge factor” is probably more than you want to try to work around, however.\n\nIt’s not that pitch and tone don’t matter, because they do. However, just being able to sing the right note in a cool way isn’t enough to earn an open vocal channel. A vocal that sounds beautiful, but isn’t loud enough, doesn’t create a beautiful experience as a whole. Really great bands are about making the whole experience as amazing as possible, so make sure a vocalist’s volume is there before adding a bunch of mics to your live show.\n\nOut Of Lighting Ideas? Go Look At Art.\n\nArtwork and photos can give you great ideas for your light show.\n\nPlease Remember:\n\n\nI have an inordinate love for sci-fi concept art. It’s embarrassing, in a way. Drive me over to a gallery full of “serious” paintings, and I’ll be bored in about 20 minutes. Let me load up an online collection of spaceships, planets, and giant robots, and I’ll be there ALL FREAKIN’ DAY.\n\nI think I like the art I like because the practitioners are great with making things dramatic. Huge scale. Great use of contrast. Exciting color schemes.\n\nYou know, all the stuff that makes a light design stand the test of time.\n\nI think that it’s easy to fall into a couple of thought traps:\n\n1: An exciting light show means a light show that’s moving all the time.\n\n2: Stage lighting is somehow removed from other artistic disciplines.\n\nNeither of those two points is true.\n\nEvery Picture Has A “Light Cue”\n\nTake a look at this piece of art:\n\nOverwhelming Thunder by *LordDoomhammer on deviantART\n\nIs it animated? No. Is it exciting? You bet!\n\nThere’s a lot of light in the piece, but there’s plenty of shade, too. There’s also this great interplay between cool color (the blue engines and missile trails) and warm tones (the reds and golds in the background). The saturated colors “shout” at you, and yet the whole thing stays balanced. There’s detail in the piece, but it doesn’t become a chaotic barrage of information.\n\nSo – there’s the first point. Animated light cues are neat, and have their place, but you can set a very dramatic scene by bringing the lights up and leaving them alone for a song or two. You just have to do a bit of work to create a look that invites attention without being annoying or “busy.”\n\nThe second point is also in play. It’s tempting to pass off the picture as being unrelated to anything else. It’s easy to do that.\n\nBut…can’t you see the rock show that’s going on in that picture? Just for a minute, pretend that you’re not looking at spaceships. Pretend that there’s a drum riser in the background, guitar and bass players in the midground, and a singer up front. The song is a “middle piece” in a set that’s a little darker and mellower than their other tunes. Call that up in your mind.\n\n\nThe drummer is highlighted by the warm colors. Golden hues are reflecting off the cymbals and stands. The faces of the mid and downstage band members are visible, but shaded. Strong, pale-orange colors from side and top fixtures provide rim-lighting that accentuates the movement of the band. Piercing, yet saturated beams of blue lance out through the fog and haze.\n\nThat’s a rock show, right?\n\nThe thing is, a little bit of deconstruction can net you a tremendous stack of ideas to use when designing a light show. Because all visual art is a representation of light (when you get down to it), all you’ve got to do is take the time to ask yourself, “How would this look in the context of a live performance?”\n\nIt’s not all about direct mimicry, either. For instance, I usually use more front light than this piece, but I can definitely get some notions from it in regards to an overall color scheme. Yellows, whites, and reds seem like they’d be good for a high-energy tune.\n\nRebel Medium Frigate by *MotoTsume on deviantART\n\n…and, if I need some general pointers on how to get greens and deep oranges to work together, I can spend some time looking at this picture:\n\nCeahlau – Durau 89 by ~cipriany on deviantART\n\nArt will speak volumes about lighting rock shows, if you just let it. I’m not a “classically trained” lighting tech/ designer/ whatever, so how do you think I get ideas like using a warm key light with cool accents?\n\nPleasant Company by *LordDoomhammer on deviantART\n\nIf making your light show interesting has got you stumped, just go cruising around an art site for a while. If you’re willing to do a little thinking, you won’t be stumped for long.\n\nGreat Lighting = Contrast\n\nIf every light cue is an attention-grabbing extravaganza, you will very quickly fail to grab much attention at all.\n\nPlease Remember:\n\n\nI realized last week that I’ve been neglecting the “Lighting Strategies” category on this site. So – here’s an article for the lighting techs among us. The squints. Lampies. LDs (Lighting Designers/ Directors). You know.\n\n…and I’m including myself in the “lighting human” group, because I currently run both audio and lighting for the shows that I do. I rather enjoy it, actually.\n\n\nThe older I get, the more I realize that art is primarily a game of contrasts.\n\nIn music, you create flow and interest within a song (or instrumental) by having passages that differ from one another. You create tension and release by adding a bit of dissonance in one area, and then letting that “clash” turn to harmony a touch later. You may punctuate a legato (smooth and connected) section with a phrase or two of staccato (sharp and detached) notes.\n\nIn audio, the same thing is true. If you’ve got two guitars to mix, it’s very helpful if one of them emphasizes a different frequency range. If the kick drum is going to be the low-frequency foundation at 50 – 100 Hz, then the bass guitar should probably live in the 100 – 300 Hz range. Overall, an audio tech needs to leave themselves some headroom, or else there will be nowhere to go when things need to get bigger.\n\nWhat’s funny is that music and audio humans often talk about contrast in terms of “light and shade.” In doing so, they directly invoke the language used to talk about lighting. An LD creates different looks by incorporating a range of colors and intensities into their light cues. They might start with a “cool” wash, and then accent certain areas with “warm” colors. Some parts of the stage might be in shadow, whereas down-center might be as bright as high-noon.\n\nThe Volume War\n\nContrast is a huge piece of making great art, so it’s shocking that it will often go on the chopping block. The “volume wars” are a perfect example.\n\nIn a somewhat misguided attempt to make their recordings stand out, bands/ producers/ mastering engineers/ A&R humans decided that they needed to be “louder than the last guy.” There was just one little problem: They couldn’t raise the maximum peak volume of their delivery mediums, or the output devices that people were listening on. To get around this problem, heavier and heavier limiting was used.\n\nAs a result, the average level of their music was raised – but because they couldn’t also raise the peak level, the volume contrasts within the songs (at both the “macro” and “micro” levels) were greatly reduced. People started saying that music sounded “flat,” or too-loud, or tiring. The diminished contrast meant that people’s brains started to interpret the music as something more akin to noise – and tuned it out.\n\nHere’s the thing.\n\nLighting humans are not immune to the volume war.\n\nI admit, I don’t see many shows that aren’t the ones I’m working on. However, every so often, I will catch an example of a light design that has fallen victim to the all-too-common notion that “If it’s super-intense all the time, that means that it’s exciting all the time!”\n\n\nI’ve had bands bring light shows into venues, and when mistakes have been made, they’ve almost exclusively been made in the “being loud all the time” category. You’ve probably seen several examples of what I’m talking about.\n\n  • Different colors are flashing constantly, driven by the beat.\n  • You get the impression that the LD had an unrequited love for strobe lights earlier in life.\n  • You get the impression that the LD has just discovered what the “bump” buttons do, and has set out to put as many miles on those buttons as is possible.\n  • You get the impression that the LD is gravely concerned that just hearing the kick drum is not enough. Every kick hit must be punctuated by a lighting event of some kind.\n  • The movers are constantly flipping around, cycling their color gels and gobos.\n  • The blinders are used every few seconds.\n\nHere’s what I’m betting happened after a short while: You started to unconsciously “filter” the light show. Sure, you continued to be aware of it, but because it was “loud” all the time, it turned into nothing more than a bunch of visual noise. Without contrast, nothing can actually get any attention – all attentiveness gets spread out equally.\n\nYou know what’s beautiful, though?\n\nThe solution is easy. The way that you fix this is to hold back. “Do less stuff.” Turn the “volume” down.\n\nBetter Results Through Doing Less\n\nSeriously, how often have you ever been able to solve a problem by working less hard?\n\nI’m not always perfect in using contrast with lighting, but I think I can give a good, object example by how I light a Stonefed show. Every so often, I’m privileged to be able to work with these guys. Stonefed is a funk, jam, blues, and soul outfit from Moab. They have honed their craft to a razor point. When they play a show, it’s the ultimate party. Killer rhythm section + fun guitar work = massive win.\n\nThe temptation, then, is to run animated light cues all night long. Chases. Flashing stuff. Lots of excitement.\n\nBut that would actually end up being less fun than what really works.\n\nOn a Stonefed night, I try to stay basic as much as I can. I try to get varied looks with “static” cues, and only call one or two per song. I try to call only a small amount of attention to the lights.\n\nAnd then, they play “Take Me To The River.”\n\nI actually have an animated cue named that, because I always call it when Stonefed plays the tune.\n\n“Take Me To The River” is an animated cue where the front light alternates between blue and green, and the other fixtures light up in sequence, all in blue colors. The overall effect is meant to be a sort of “underwater” look.\n\nIn my opinion, calling that cue feels much more like a major event, because it wasn’t preceded by a bunch of other, animated cues. For some shows, I’ve felt that the cue made the song stand out more, because the whole feel of the show was – suddenly, and very tangibly – different.\n\nAfter that song is over, it’s back to the static cues. Again, we’ve got to have contrast with what just happened.\n\nAnd then…DRUM SOLO! As Ed Stone gets cookin’ I get out all the flashy, animated, strobing cues that I’ve been saving up. I do have to remember to keep things varied, though. If I have one cue roll all the time, it just gets filtered out by people’s brains. If I just keep a strobe hammering away, it ceases to be fun and simply becomes annoying. If the drum solo is long, I need to remember to call and hold some static cues every so often, so that the animations will become interesting again.\n\nThe different feel of the lights also punctuates the different feel of the drum solo – but the lights wouldn’t feel different if I’d been going “full tilt” since the first song.\n\nWhen the end of the show comes, and if I get the opportunity, I have a “roto-strobe” cue that flashes the lights around the stage in a chase. Once again, it only works as an “exclamation point” at the end of the show’s “sentence” if the lights have been relatively static beforehand.\n\nOf course, this is just talking about the overall visual style of a show. The “macro” interpretation. There are very good reasons to have contrast in your cues, at an internal or “micro” level. Also, at a technical practicality level.\n\nTo illustrate, I’ll pose a question:\n\nIf you’re like me, and you love using haze to make light beams show up, in what situations will those light beams be the most striking?\n\nA) With lots of other lights involved, which are at high-intensity?\n\n\nB) When other lights are at a lower intensity than the “beam” lights?\n\nThink about it.\n\n\nAlso, to provide an example of a well-constructed set of light cues, I’ve included this video of The Australian Pink Floyd Show playing “Comfortably Numb.” Yes, the light show does do some very huge things – but notice how the “super crazy lighting explosion” is limited to the end of the song.\n\n(…and this isn’t even – in my opinion – the best version of the lighting for this song. If you can find the PBS special that these guys did, make sure to watch it. The lighting for “Comfortably Numb” at that show was even better.)", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6208757162094116}
+{"content": "Itombu was a shadow demon that lived in the screaming jungle. When the PC’s found him, he has possessed a dire ape. They knew something was wrong and became angry at the gods when their spells that should have worked on such a beast were resisted.\n\nWhen, the ape was killed, Itombu came out and fought full on. Before he was killed Itombu dropped Jari, possessed Skank, and Old Balls ran away. It was with this fight in particular that the PC’s realized that perhaps they had not put together a top tier group of adventurers, as Itombu was only killed because he possessed Skank who had the monkey fetish causing it to automatically banish him.\n\nPrior to that, the party was on its way to being wiped out.\n\n\n\nSerpent's Skull BretHart", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5052129030227661}
+{"content": "Don’t Chase Teachers\n\nDon't Chase TeachersVery often parents become way too attached to a teacher in a preschool. That is the individual who is taking care of your child while you are gone, so it is quite understandable.\n\nParents do not like seeing turnover in a childcare center. They want a consistent environment for their child with as little change as possible. Everyone who owns and runs a childcare center is very aware of this fact. It is one of the worst things for a center when a parent or guardian loses a teacher that they and their child are extremely fond of and trust. Although parents do not like seeing turnover, you as a parent need to evaluate what caused the departure of that teacher.\n\nI recommend that every parent make sure they build a strong relationship with the owner of the center they are using. In many centers the owner is there all the time. If an owner is not reachable, local or a full-time operator, I would suggest not using that center. Owners may have multiple facilities, but if they are full-time operators and actively involved, it should not be hard to see them on a regular basis. Usually such owners designate certain days to be at particular centers.\n\nA childcare center is an important extension of your family. They must understand and exude the values you want instilled in your child. Your child spends many of his or her most impressionable moments in this environment. If the owner of the center you are using, or interested in using, is not the type of individual you would want to hire to baby sit your precious child, or if the owner does not share the core values and fundamental beliefs you have when it comes to the raising of your child, FIND A CENTER THAT DOES. I cannot stress that enough.\n\nThe owner of your chosen center and his/her personal assistant are the ones with whom you should be bonding and sharing your concerns, hopes and dreams for your child. Like all companies, the organization will reflect the attitude, traditions, beliefs and values of its owner.\n\nSo how does this all play into “don’t chase teachers”? A good center which runs a strict program with its employees does so for the safety and betterment of your child. You may have a teacher you and your child love, but if the owner and the director find that the teacher has done something that could compromise the safety of a child, the next time you walk into the center your favorite teacher may be gone.\n\nIt’s a tough line a center owner and director must walk. While they are very aware parents dislike losing a teacher to which they are attracted, if they are on top of things, running a tight ship and monitoring the rooms at all times, a teacher must be expendable for the betterment of the child. A center’s #1 goal should be the protection and safety of your child. You need to trust your owner and center completely!\n\nSome centers should remove a teacher and don’t because they fear the repercussions of angering parents and potentially losing customers. They figure they are better off managing the problem that during the day you will never get to see, than removing the teacher and upsetting a full class room of parents. If this should occur, they are not doing what is right for the children and doing what is right for the children should be driving every decision made within a center. Teachers will always come and go… directors with out-of-town owners will always come and go.\n\nHowever, local onsite owners and their personal directors and assistant directors, even in the case of multiple facility ownership, will almost always have their heart and soul on the line. They most likely did not get into this field for the money. So when seeing or hearing or asking about turnover, take into account it could reflect a good center and does not necessarily have negative connotations. While you do not want to see a great deal of turnover in a center, it could be a good thing if it is because they are running a tight ship, monitoring the staff and watching the children more intensely than the center down the road with less turnover.\n\nDon’t follow the teachers; they move around. They just might not like following the strict rules that are in place in your center to protect your child. Find an owner you can trust and with whom you can build a relationship, and you will be able to tell if it’s a happy center.\n\nWatch the kids, if they are happy you can’t go wrong!", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6956109404563904}
+{"content": "Web Results\nFind Health Information on Healthline\nFind Info About:\nHealthline is the leading provider of health information.\n\n\nDo you ever wake up from a night's sleep with sore teeth and jaws? ... The Bruxism Association states that people who grind their teeth are three times more  ...\n\n\nAlthough teeth grinding can be caused by stress and anxiety, it often occurs during sleep and is more likely ...\n\n\nWhile grinding is effective at saving us at night, there are consequences to ... But how do you know if you grind your teeth if you're asleep when you're doing it? Most people don't know that they grind their teeth until their dentist tells them.\n\n\nFind out the reasons behind why people grind their teeth in their sleep.\n\n\nSome commonly known causes for teeth grinding are presented below. ... after being awakened in the middle of the night by the noise their own teeth make. ... Sleep Disorders: Sleeping disorders are found to be related with teeth grinding. ... While not exactly directly responsible for causing the teeth grinding, people who ...\n\n\nMay 31, 2017 ... Most people who grind their teeth and clench their jaw aren't aware they're doing it. It often happens during sleep or while concentrating or under stress. ... caused by stress or anxiety and many people aren't aware they do it.\n\n\nFind out about the symptoms of Teeth Grinding (Bruxism). ... bruxism is a common condition - one survey estimates that 8% of adults grind their teeth at ... Importantly, psychiatric or psychological factors do not play a role in most cases. ... People who have sleep bruxism can also suffer headaches, earaches, jaw pain, jaw ...\n\n\nDo you or a family member grind your teeth? In severe cases ... or broken teeth. ' Some people are putting incredible forces on their teeth,' says Dr. Smith. ... Since it commonly happens while you're sleeping, many people may be unaware of it.\n\n\nOct 30, 2014 ... It is estimated that 40 million Americans grind their teeth, and 5-10% of teeth ... men to have awake bruxism while sleep bruxism has no gender prevalence. ... to lip biting, cheek biting, tooth tapping, and object biting/chewing.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9902431964874268}
+{"content": "This is How Farah Khan made Shah Rukh Khan Emotional\n\nBollywood director and filmmaker Farah Khan and Shah Rukh Khan are one of the best buddies in the film industry and the two together have given numerous blockbuster films.\n\nBut one trick that Farah Khan knows very well and that is to make the badshah of Bollywood emotional.\n\nYes, in an exclusive interview with DNA, Farah Khan told the reporter that Jag Soona Soona Lage song from her movie Om Shanti Om was special to her.\n\nAs per reports, \"In fact, the melancholy in the song was so touching that every time Farah wanted Shahrukh Khan to get emotional for a shot in the film she used to play this song for him.\"\n\nFew years ago when Shah Rukh Khan slapped Farah's husband, then the friendship came to a hault and after a lots of struggle the dispute was finally settled.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7839280366897583}
+{"content": "1 877 412-8527\n\nOkhotsk & Sakhalin: Sea of Okhotsk\n\nRussian Far East Cruise\n\nSummary : Little known outside of Russia and seldom visited by westerners, Russia’s Sea of Okhotsk dominates the Northwest Pacific. Bound to the north and west by the Russian continent and the Kamchatka Peninsula to the east, with the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin Island guarding the southern border, it is almost landlocked. Its coasts were once home to a number of groups of indigenous people: the Nivkhi, Oroki, Even and Itelmen. Their name for this sea simply translates as something like the \"Sea of Hunters\" – perhaps an indication about the abundance of wildlife found here. The sea is rich in wildlife and history. Seabird numbers in the Sea of Okhotsk can only be described as spectacular. There are islands like Talan where the sky darkens when the Crested Auklets start amassing offshore for the evening. Other birds include guillemots, puffins, auklets and fulmars. But the richness of birdlife is not restricted to pelagic species. The Sea of Okhotsk has one of the highest concentrations of the majestic Steller Sea Eagle of anywhere in the Russian Far East. Waterfowl are common as are many migratory species. Harder to see but not uncommon on this expedition are the magnificent Kamchatka Brown Bear and other mammals such as the Arctic Ground Squirrel. This is a truly unique journey in that it travels through a little known and seldom visited region. A region with a rich history and very significant and important wildlife values, both terrestrial and marine. There are still discoveries to be made and so for the inquisitive, adventurous and open minded traveller this is a ‘must do' expedition.\n\n\n\nPrices from\n$999,999,999 to $0\n\nView All Rates\n\nDay 1\nSakhalin Island, Port of Korsakov\n\nThis morning, board a coach for transfer to the Port of Korsakov about 40 minutes south of the city of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk where you will board the Spirit of Enderby. Once on board you will be shown to your cabins with a chance to unpack and explore the vessel. There will be briefings and introductions to the ship, staff and crew after you sail towards the Sea of Okhotsk.\n\nDay 2\nTyuleniy Island\n\nVisit little known Tyuleniy Island off the south east coast of Sakhalin Island. This small island is a strong hold for Northern Fur Seals and Steller Sea Lions. Fur seal numbers have increased since an International Covention signed in 1911 banned seal hunting here. In the 1990s Steller Sea Lions started breeding on the island and their colony now numbers about 2,500 animals. Sea conditions permitting, plan a landing here for an opportunity to photograph the seals and sea lions.\n\nDay 3\nPiltun Bay, Sakhalin Island\n\nIt was the discovery of oil and gas in this region which put Sakhalin Island on many people’s maps. Piltun Bay is an important habitat for the small population of western Gray Whales. Researchers monitor the population during the summer months. Go in search of the Gray Whales that live here, traveling by Zodiac inshore to the shallower waters where they are known to feed.\n\nDay 4\nIony Island\n\nIony Island lies in the middle of the Sea of Okhotsk, it is really just a rock, but what it lacks in physical size it more than makes up for wildlife. Birds appear to take up all available space; there are guillemots, kittiwakes and various species of auklets, with Parakeet, Whiskered and Least being the most prominent. Zodiac cruise around the island as Steller Sea Lions occupy the few rocky beaches, making any landing impossible.\n\nDay 5 – 6\nShantar Archipelago\n\nLying in the western sector of the Sea of Okhotsk close to the continent, the islands in this archipelago are amongst the last place in the Sea of Okhotsk to become ice free each year. This late ice can sometimes restrict how far you can explore here; on the other hand ice increases your chances of seeing some of the seals including Bearded, Ringed, Largha and Ribbon Seals that breed here. If you can land there will be birding, botany and photography excursions led by your team of on board naturalists.\n\nDay 7\nMal’minskie Islands\n\nHere there are birds everywhere: in the air, in the water and on the land. Numerous species breed here including large numbers of Spectacled Guillemot. Other species include Ancient Murrelet, Rhinoceros Auklet, Parakeet Auklet, Horned and Tufted Puffin, Crested Auklet and both Common and Brunnichs Guillemot. There is also a good population of Steller’s Sea Eagles on the island and on the adjacent mainland. Landing on the island is restricted to a small gravel spit; however on the mainland you can stretch your legs and explore the taiga forest.\n\nDay 8\nOkhotsk Town\n\nThis town has featured in Russian Far East history since the earliest Cossack explorers came from the west. Vitus Bering traveled overland from St Petersburg to Okhotsk in 1725 and again 1733 and traveled to Kamchtka and beyond. Today Okhotsk is the center of fishing in the region. The port exports significant quantities of salmon and other fish. Visit the town, landing by Zodiac up the river near the town center. The local people are generous and welcoming and will provide entertainment in the town center and a cultural display.\n\nDay 9\nTalan Island\n\nAn internationally known, but very difficult bird island to get to, Talan is infamous largely because of the hundreds of thousands of Crested Auklets that nest there. There are also an extraordinary number of kittiwakes nesting along the cliffs and not surprisingly a large population of Steller’s Sea Eagles. Plan to circumnavigate the island by Zodiac before landing and then return in the late evening to witness the huge flocks of Crested Auklets amassing at sea before coming ashore.\n\nDay 10\nKoni Peninsula\n\nThis is a mountainous region to the southeast of the town of Magadan, part of which is included in the Magadanskiy Zapovednik. This reserve protects, among other animals, Brown Bear and Snow Sheep. Many of your landings are expeditionary, with many landings new and unknown to you and the expedition crew, so you are never quite sure what you'll find. That is part of what makes this style of travel so interesting.\n\nDay 11\nYamskiye Islands\n\nSome biologists believe these islands to be the largest bird colony in the North Pacific. According to bird counts, there are an estimated 7 million birds nesting on Matykil Island, the largest in the group. Birds include Common and Brunnichs Guillemot, Crested, Parakeet and Least Auklets, Tufted and Horned Puffins, and Northern Fulmars. The most abundant of these is the Least Auklet. Zodiac cruise around the coast as no landings are permitted.\n\nDay 12\n\nThe name Magadan is synonymous with Stalin’s oppressive Gulags or prisons but there is very little evidence now of this town’s tragic past. The local museum has an excellent display about the Gulags but the most poignant reminder is the ‘Mask of Sorrow’ a large monument on a hill overlooking the town. Today Magadan is a town of about 100,000 people. Fishing is important and gold mining is experiencing a revival. The infamous Kolyma Highway or the ‘Road of Bones’ connects Magadan with Irkutsk and ultimately greater Russia. Plan to arrive here midday where your journey ends. You will be transferred to a central hotel or the airport.\n\n\n\nMandatory Travel Insurance:\nAs a requirement of participation on this tour, all passengers must purchase full medical and emergency evacuation insurance for the specific areas they will be visiting. The minimum coverage requirement is $100,000 for the tour operator's programs. The policy provider, policy number and contact phone number must be provided prior to departure date. We also strongly recommend that all passengers purchase comprehensive travel insurance which would include coverage for cancellation, trip disruption, baggage and personal property. ExpeditionTrips can assist you with this.\n\n\nNot Included:\n\nPHOTOS: © M Kelly; © G Riehle\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5610439777374268}
+{"content": "Medical  Explorer\n\nCustom Search\n\n\n\n\n\n\nArthritis medications\nnewGeneral Health\nMedicinal food\nChinese medicine\nOTC Drugs\nHealth Products\n\nYour blood is a living fluid, which nourishes the organs and tissues throughout the body with food and oxygen and plays an essential role in the body's fight against disease\n\nBlood begins to be pumped round the body in the early weeks in the womb and continues until death. Its purpose is to deliver oxygen, food and other vital substances to the tissues and, in return, to extract carbon dioxide and waste products for disposal.\n\nBlood, by virtue of its ability to clot and to destroy the micro-organisms that produce disease, is also a vital part of the body's natural defence mechanism.\n\nBlood is made up of millions of cells floating in a watery, yellowish fluid called plasma. Red blood cells form about 40 per cent of its volume. These take oxygen from the lungs to the tissues and transport carbon dioxide, a waste product of cell function, back to the lungs to be breathed out.\n\nEach red blood cell is a flattened doughnut-shaped disc with a concave centre, about eight microns in diameter (a micron is one thousandth of a millimetre), two microns thick at the edge and one micron thick in the centre. This shape is designed to enable each cell to absorb and release oxygen molecules and to allow the cells to squeeze through the narrowest of blood vessels.\n\nThe surface structure of red blood cells varies slightly from one person to the next and this is the basis of classifying blood into various groups. There are four different blood groups - known as A, B, AB and O - which are classified according to the presence or absence of certain antigens, or foreign bodies, on their surface.\n\nForty per cent of people in the UK are group A, another forty per cent are group O, around 12 per cent are group B, and eight per cent are group AB. Fifteen per cent of people are rhesus negative - lacking a protein found in the blood of most of the population.\n\nThe main vehicles of oxygen transportation in the bloodstream are millions of molecules of a substance called haemoglobin. It's haemoglobin which gives red blood cells their bright red colour.\n\nHaemoglobin is a pigmented protein containing iron, which combines with oxygen in the lungs. This 'oxygenated' blood is carried in the arteries and released into the tissues where, with the help of enzymes in the red cells, carbon dioxide and water (another waste product of cell activity) are locked on to the red cells and taken back in the veins to the lungs. This 'deoxygenated' blood is darker in colour and gives the veins their characteristic bluish colour.\n\nRed blood cells begin to be produced in the first few weeks after conception and, for the first three months, manufacture takes place in the liver. After six months, red blood cell production is transferred to the bone marrow. Until adolescence, the marrow in all the bones makes red blood cells, but after the age of about 20, red cell production is confined to the spine, ribs and breastbone.\n\nRed blood cells begin life as irregular, roundish cells with huge nuclei, known as haemocytoblasts. These cells go through a rapid series of divisions during which the nucleus becomes progressively smaller until it is lost altogether. Iron - the major constituent of haemoglobin - vitamin B12, folic acid and proteins are all required for their manufacture.\n\nRed cells have to be renewed constantly because of the amount of wear and tear they undergo during their travels round the bloodstream. The average lifespan of a red cell is just 120 days.\n\nAfter this, cells from the bone marrow and spleen attack them to destroy them. Some of the chemical remains are then returned to the plasma for later use. Others, including haemoglobin, are sent to the liver to be further broken down.\n\nOur bodies have remarkable mechanisms for controlling the number of red cells in circulation. If a lot of blood is lost, if parts of the bone marrow are destroyed or if the amount of oxygen reaching the tissues is diminished due to heart failure or high altitude, the bone marrow increases red blood cell production to compensate.\n\nEven strenuous daily exercise stimulates extra red cell output because of the body's increased need for oxygen. In fact, athletes can have twice as many red blood corpuscles as sedentary people. White blood cells, also known as white blood corpuscles or leucocytes, are bigger than red blood cells and there are far fewer of them. White cells do not all look alike and are capable of moving with a creeping motion. Their main role is defending the body against bacteria and disease.\n\nWhite cells are divided into three distinct groups known as polymorphonuclear leucocytes (or granulocytes), lymphocytes and monocytes. Polymorphonuclear leucocytes, or granulocytes, make up 50 to 75 per cent of the white cells. This group, in turn, is subdivided into three different kinds known as neutrophils, basophils and eosinophils.\n\nNeutrophils, also known as phagocytes, are the most numerous and important cells. When infection strikes, these cells 'swim' to the affected area and start to engulf invading bacteria. As they do so, granules inside the cells make chemicals to destroy the trapped bacteria. The pus that collects at the site of an infection is the result of this action and is largely made up of dead white cells.\n\nEosinophils - so called because their granules are stained pink when blood is mixed with the dye eosin - make up one to four per cent of the white cells.\n\nAs well as combating bacterial attack, they also play a role in allergic response. When foreign proteins or antigens get into the blood, substances called antibodies are made to combine with them and neutralize their effects. At the same time, the chemical histamine is released. The eosinophils quell allergic reactions by damping down the effects of this histamine. Once the antibodies and antigens have combined, the eosinophils then remove the chemical remains.\n\nAlthough basophils make up less than one per cent of white cells, they are vital. Their granules make and release a substance called heparin which stops blood from clotting inside the vessels.\n\nLymphocytes, which make up about 25 per cent of the blood's white cells, have a vital part to play in natural immunity. Unlike other blood cells, which are created in the bone marrow, many are formed in the lymph nodes.\n\nLymphocytes make anti-toxins to counteract the potentially damaging effects of the powerful toxins (poisons) or chemicals produced by some bacteria, making antibodies and the chemicals which help prevent body cells from succumbing to bacterial invasion.\n\nWith HIV, certain lymphocytes, known as T-lymphocytes, become infected by the HIV virus; this can progress to AIDS, with the result that the immune system is unable to function properly. This leaves the body open to various infections.\n\nMonocytes form up to eight per cent of the white cells. The large monocytes contain large nuclei which engulf bacteria and remove the debris of cell remains resulting from bacterial attack.\n\nBlood also contains millions of minute platelets, the smallest type of blood cell. Their sticky surfaces enable them to stick to the broken ends of damaged capillaries to stop any bleeding that occurs.\n\nPlatelets also help trigger off the blood clotting mechanism by combining with a dozen bio-chemical substances called clotting factors, the most important of which is called prothrombin. These factors are found in the fluid part of the blood - the plasma.\n\nThe same qualities can also lead to the formation of clots in healthy blood vessels, as in thrombosis, and to the build-up of fatty deposits called atherosclerosis, which block the arteries in heart disease.\n\nPolymorphonuclear leucocytes are made in the bone marrow, from myelocyte cells. Polymorphs live for only 12 hours on average and for only two or three hours when they are fighting bacterial invasion. In such circumstances, the output of all white cells increases to meet the body's demands.\n\nLymphocytes have an average life of 200 days. They are made in the spleen and in areas such as the tonsils and the lymph glands scattered throughout the body.\n\nBoth monocytes and platelets are made in the bone marrow. The lifespan of monocytes, which spend part of their time in the tissues and part in the plasma, is still a mystery. The body replaces all its millions of platelets once every four days.\n\nNinety per cent of plasma is composed of water which contains vital chemicals including vitamins, minerals, sugars, fats and proteins which are needed for optimum cell function and cell renewal.\n\nThis vital fluid also contains hormones, made by endocrine glands, which are carried to particular body organs to regulate functions such as reproduction.\n\nPlasma also transports urea - produced by the breakdown of proteins in the tissues - to the kidneys for excretion in the urine.\n\nBleeding, whether internal or external, should always be regarded as a serious matter. But the body has survival mechanisms that allow a young, healthy person to lose a quarter of his blood without long-term ill-effects.\n\n\nDASH diet for high blood pressure\n\nPrayer for high blood pressure\n\nWalking for high blood pressure\n\nDon't let drug side effects sideline you\n\n\nBalance blood sugar with herbs\n\n\nKeeping hypertension under control\n\nControlling hypertension\n\nBypassing hypertension\n\nWays to manage hypertension\n\n\nBleeding problems\n\nBlood pressure\n\nGlycemic Index\n\nGlycemic Index (GI) and Glycemic Load (GL)\n\nAn unsightly problem\n\nCirculatory System\n\nBlood donors\n\nDrip feeding\n\nBlood pressure\n\n\nBlood Tests\n\n\n\nBlood 1\n\nBlood 2\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nHealth news\nCardiovascular Guide\nNatural Remedies\nTreatment of Cancer\nWomen's Health\nIrritable bowel syndrome\nCommon Childhood Illnesses\nPrescribed Drugs", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7963442802429199}
+{"content": "What Should I Do If I Made An Excess Contribution To My IRA?\n\nYou can remove or take back the excess or you can contact your tax professional and ask if it is advantageous to leave the monies there if possible. If it is possible then you will continue to receive tax deferred growth inside the IRA.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9960912466049194}
+{"content": "Giraffes now facing extinction, warn conservationists \n\nGiraffes declared vulnerable to extinction Giraffes declared vulnerable to extinction\n\nGiraffe's have been placed on the Red List of endangered species, after conservationists discovered there were fewer than 100,000 left in the wild.\n\nThe animal was previously listed as ‘of least concern' but is now classed as ‘vulnerable to extinction’ after the global population plummeted by 40 per cent in the past 30 years.\n\nGiraffes are declining because of habitat loss, illegal hunting and civil unrest in the African countries where they live.\n\nFewer than 100,000 giraffes now exist in the wild \n\nThe updated Red List, compiled by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), also warned that African grey parrots were facing extinction because they were being trapped so often for the pet trade.\n\nMore than 700 newly recognised bird species have also been assessed for the new update with more than one in 10 found to be at risk of dying out.\n\nIUCN director general Inger Anderson said: \"Many species are slipping away before we can even describe them.\n\n\nThere are now 85,604 species assessed for the Red List, of which more than a quarter - 24,307 - are threatened with extinction, being classed as critically endangered, endangered or vulnerable.\n\nGiraffes were once widespread across southern and eastern Africa with smaller sub-populations in west and central Africa.\n\nNumbers have declined from around 151,702 to 163,452 animals in 1985 to 97,562 individuals in 2015, the IUCN said, with a growing human population having a negative impact.\n\nAfrican Grey parrots are also endangered because of the pet trade  Credit: Alamy \n\nWild oats, barley, mango and other wild relatives of crops that humans rely on have been assessed for the first time for the Red List. The species are increasingly important to food security, as they could provide new varieties that are more resilient to extreme conditions such as drought.\n\nThe assessment listed four mango species as endangered and the Kalimantan mango was classed as extinct in the wild.\n\nA wild relative of the chickpea that is native to Iran and Turkey has been listed as endangered due to the conversion of its habitat for agriculture.\n\nA Japanese relative of asparagus, hamatamabouki, is also listed as endangered due to habitat loss, while the anomalus sunflower is classed as vulnerable.\n\nAmerican huntress sparks fury by posting selfie with dead giraffe in South Africa American huntress sparks fury by posting selfie with dead giraffe in South Africa", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.983064591884613}
+{"content": "PLSQL Interview Questions\n\nhtml interview questions and answersYour resume will get you to the table, but your charm won’t win you a job. You’ll have to be able to prove – in practice – that you have the talents and skills your future employer is looking for. The following represent a sample of common PLSQL-related interview questions.\n\nLearn the essentials to SQL and PL/SQL with an easy, affordable online course.\n\nWhat is PL/SQL?\n\nPL/SQL is the Procedural extension to Structural Query Language. To get a thorough overview of practical SQL applications, take a look at this popular course. PL/SQL is a more powerful code with the ability to run on either the client or server side.\n\nDescribe a FUNCTION and a PROCEDURE.\n\nFunctions return specified values. Procedures don’t return value, but they can stop execution. Because they are procedural versus Structural, values are essential in PL/SQL coding.\n\nHow can you encrypt a PL/SQL package?\n\nUse the command WRAP.\n\nWhat are implicit and explicit cursors?\n\nCursors are created when SQL and PL/SQL codes are executed. If there is more than one line of data returned, an explicit cursor is used to ensure that data is processed sequentially.\n\nHow many triggers can apply to one table? What types are there?\n\nTriggers are made of combinations of BEFORE and AFTER paired with ROW and TABLE and INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE and ALL. There can be 12 to one table. Interested in a fast and fun overview of everything you need to know on Oracle? Check out a free online course today!\n\nWhat are exceptions?\n\nExceptions are also known as errors. They can be predefined, such as VALUE_ERROR, or user defined. Get the skinny on other common errors through a course on Oracle fundamentals.\n\nName the parts of a PL/SQL block.\n\nBlocks are made of the following three parts: declarative, executive and exception.\n\nName popular objects used in Oracle.\n\n·        INDEXES\n\n·         SEQUENCES\n\n·         TABLES\n\n·         VIEWS, and others\n\nWhich is faster, IN or EXIST?\n\nEXIST is faster because it returns a Boolean – true or false – value.\n\nWhat restrictions does LONG have when used in tables?\n\nLONG cannot be used with ORDER BY or WHERE. It can only be used in one column per table too.\n\nWhat is the difference between a pre query and a post query?\n\npre query only fires once.\n\nDemonstrating a solid understanding of the answers to these kinds of questions will ensure you walk into interviews at an advantage. Please come back after you’re hired to post the questions you were posed during your own interviews.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9993913769721985}
+{"content": "Trudeau asks Pope Francis to apologise to indigenous people for church's abuses\n\nJustin Trudeau has urged Pope Francis to visit Canada to apologise to indigenous peoples for the Catholic church’s treatment of aboriginal children in schools it ran there.\n\nStarting in the late 19th century, about 30% of children of Canada’s native peoples, or about 150,000 children, were placed in what were known as “residential schools” in a government attempt to strip them of their traditional cultures and ancestral languages.\n\nFor over a century the schools were government-funded but many were administered by Christian churches, mostly Roman Catholic.\n\n“I told him how important it is for Canadians to move forward on real reconciliation with the indigenous peoples and I highlighted how he could help by issuing an apology,” Trudeau, the Canadian prime minister, told reporters after meeting the pope.\n\nHe said he had invited the pontiff to make the apology in Canada.\n\n\nMany children were physically and sexually abused.\n\nThe commission made 94 recommendations, including that the pope issue a formal apology in Canada to survivors and their descendents for the church’s “role in the spiritual, cultural, emotional, physical and sexual abuse” of the children.\n\nTrudeau said that in their private talks the pope “reminded me that his entire life has been dedicated to supporting marginalised people in the world, fighting for them, and that he looks forward to working with me and with the Canadian bishops to figure out a path forward together”.\n\nCanadian bishops have said the pope might visit next year.\n\nTrudeau said he and the pope also discussed climate change. Unlike the US president, who met the pope last week, Trudeau and Francis agree that climate change is caused by human activity.\n\n\nAt last week’s Group of Seven summit in Sicily, the US president refused to back a landmark international agreement reached in Paris in 2015 to reduce global warming.\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9972842931747437}
+{"content": "Why Is Instagram Showing Pictures From 5 Days Ago?\n\nInstagram users complained about the social media site on Wednesday when they noticed photos from five days ago. revealed that IG had been having some problems. In a poll, 96 percent of people who complained of an issue said the problem was with their news feed.\n\nWhy Is Instagram Showing Pictures From 5 Days Ago?\n\nOn’s site, some commented about on IG being down through their Facebook pages to say there were few new photos in their feeds, and said that most of the photos were from days ago. Many commented while they still had access to the last 30 minutes of the IG feed, with many explaining that they didn’t have access to nearly a week’s worth of posts. reported that IG was last down at 4 p.m. EDT, but as of 5:18 p.m. EDT, IG was said to be running properly. Though IsItDownRightNow offered troubleshooting instructions, those were mainly just for people who use Instagram on home computers and not on phones, which isn’t too helpful considering most people access the social media platform through mobile devices.\n\nFor those who are in dire need of obtaining IG access, instead of using the app, they might be able access the site through the Internet icons on their mobile devices. suggested using alternative URLs (as opposed to to gain admission. Trying, or might work. For those who use Firefox, Chrome or Internet Explorer on their phones, clear the cache and cookies for each respective browser.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9850210547447205}
+{"content": "Why We Feel Clueless When Our Parents talk of our baby-days!\n\nOne of the stories my parents love to tell me is how my first birthday was really special and what a party it was! As for me, I just smile and wish the world always treated me like I am a one-year old! 🙂\n\nChances are you had a wonderful time as a baby/toddler but you hardly remember your first day at school or how you were laughing all along when the third birthday came!\n\nFirst Day At School — Expectation Vs Reality!\n\nScience has the answer!\n\nOur brain has two types of memories — an episodic memory and a semantic memory. Hold on! It is simple enough to understand.\n\nWe know who our parents are. We learn and still remember how to ask for things. We learn and practice even today how to hold a spoon. All things we learned when we were probably 2 or even less. That’s our semantic memory — it teaches us how to deal with the world.\n\nNow, facing the world is always tough, isn’t it? Our brain understands it. So before we turn 4, our brain sends all “episodic” memories to several different brain surface areas in pieces. So your brain surface is more like a hard-disk with data spread all over in bits and pieces! Woaaah!!\n\nAnd a thing called hippocampus holds all of this information together. But it just starts learning how to do things just around the time you start your school. Now, that is crazy right.\n\nRight now, everything you experienced as a baby or toddler — is there in your brain. You just don’t remember it — because hippocampus was late to the party!\n\nWhat Can You Do?\n\nPretty much nothing if you want to retrieve your own memories! But if you are a parent…\n\nYou can definitely gift a lifetime of memories to your little one. All you need is your phone camera and an online baby journal. You already have the phone, we have sorted the second thing out — you can head here and get an early access to our baby journal tool. For our first 100 customers, we are giving a 50% off on the first baby-photo album and we are at 58 (as of August-31, 3.00 GMT). Hurry now!\n\nYour baby photos are really special and they deserve a special place — not your messy phone gallery. Come onboard!\n\nReference : http://www.livescience.com/32963-why-dont-we-remember-being-babies.html\n\nOriginally published at blog.babyonboard.in on August 31, 2016.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7706986665725708}
+{"content": "Quantify Pros and Cons\n\nLife decisions are hard, sometimes unbearably hard. Without a framework to navigate our way through, we can get overwhelmed by the myriad variables to consider in making them. It helps a ton to put everything on paper, separate ourselves as emotionally as possible from all the details, and see everything in front of us in a more tangible way. Pros and cons lists help frame variables in a more binary way and clear-cut way.\n\nNoodle in the lists too long, however, and we start to see their flaws. Pros and cons lack comparable dimension to the items considered, making it difficult to trust the list at face value. At first glance, the number of considerations on each list seems to matter. But what if the numerous side of the list is full of trivial nitpicks or concessions and the shorter list full of major issues or benefits? Quantity starts to matter far less than quality.\n\nSo how can you measure quality on a pros and cons list?\n\nScore the items and tally the results. I’ve found the following scoring criteria sufficiently insightful over the years:\n\n  • 3 points — Really important, not negotiable, a huge win or loss;\n  • 2 points —Somewhat important, really nice to have or avoid, conditional based on unknowns;\n  • 1 point — Not very important, not that big of a deal, could live without.\n\nGo item by item and score each with the points above. It helps to have someone else take score for you so that you’re not influenced by seeing one side pile up. Once you have scored all items listed, sum up the totals for the pros and for the cons. With any luck, the scores will skew dramatically enough to help make your decision.\n\nFor added definition to your decision making, average the scores for each list by taking the score totals and dividing them by the number of items logged. See if you learn anything more beyond the totals. If the total scores and the average scores align, odds are pretty good that you have the answer you’re looking for. For those monks out there dispassionate enough to accept the process, you can stop there, accept the results, and move on with your life.\n\nFor the rest of us not so monkish, we may call our own scoring into doubt after seeing the results and feel inclined to tweak it. These emotions matter. If we’re in tune with our emotions herein, they might call us to ignore logic and come to the opposite conclusion. Deep down, our intuition and feelings matter and we should let them win when it counts. That’s okay. Sometimes, it takes a wholly quantified process to successfully navigate an emotional one and come out the other side without regret.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8657619953155518}
+{"content": "Back to blog\n\nImproving Sales and Marketing Alignment\n\nSales and marketing alignment is difficult to achieve, but it’s also one of the best opportunities for improving business results. When marketing and sales teams are aligned, marketing ROI, sales productivity, and top line growth all go up. To get full alignment, it’s not enough to have leaders aligned, you need alignment with as many people on both teams as is feasible. To do this, people need to have an opportunity to provide input, contribute to decision-making and provide feedback. \n\nReal buy-in involves at least some element of co-creation. It invites discussion, debate, and allows everyone to feel even more vested in the outcome. – From “How To Get Real Buy-In For Your Idea\n\nHere are some of the ways where the opportunity to include more people in the process typically go wrong, why it matters and ultimately what can be done to facilitate deeper collaboration between sales and marketing.\n\n1. Not aligned on objectives and constraints\n\nOne of the first places alignment is compromised is when not everyone is on the same page with objective(s) and constraints. Let’s consider planning a North American road show with the objective of finding new opportunities. Most times, the event is planned with a small subset of individuals from marketing and input from a few sales leaders. The issue is that many of these people are quite removed from day to day interaction with customers. While the planning team isn’t going to get the planning entirely wrong, it’s likely they could be less wrong by getting more input from those who talk to customers everyday. Furthermore, centralized planning, even with the best intentions, often fails to factor in local considerations. While a North American road show needs to take a broader perspective, it should still consider local requirements or issues. The strategy for growth may be subtly different in one or more cities. One or more cities may have a significantly higher number of prospects in a particular industry.\n\nWhile it clearly isn’t going to be possible to accommodate everyone’s wishes, gathering input more broadly will create a deeper shared understanding of what needs to be considered for a successful event series. Everyone can easily agree that the objective is to generate leads. However, details of what success looks like and what might prevent success is where people can feel misaligned. The feeling the headquarters doesn’t understand local challenges is a common complaint. Getting more input does a two things. It gives the planning team more confidence that all considerations on the table so that potential topics, demand generation strategies etc. can all be properly evaluated. Second, by having an opportunity to provide input, everyone that is part of the process will have a better understanding of how options are being evaluated and this creates more commitment.\n\n2. Not aligned on the best way to achieve the objective\n\nOnce a clearer shared understanding of what success looks like and what might prevent it, teams are ready to start coming up with ideas for the best way to be successful. In our example of a road show, the ideas would be based on event topics, format, presenter, etc. Ideation is both an individual and group process. People come up with more ideas and more creative ideas on their own, but are improved through collaboration. The best ideas are often combinations of different ideas. This is the other place that planning and alignment can be improved. Coming up with the plan includes too few people, means the planning team is missing valuable input. It also tends to leave some people or teams feeling like they had a better idea than the one they ended up with.\n\nIf you’re going to be more collaborative at this stage, it’s important that all this communication is centralized so that everyone benefits from the process and sees each other’s ideas. This leads to the best idea and it again increases commitment.\n\n3. Not giving people a voice in the decision-making process\n\nWhile consensus is not going to be a likely result, excluding people from voicing their opinion and having a say in the decision-making process definitely limits commitment. The worst thing for commitment is when one team or a subset of individuals feel like decisions were made without their input. For the road show, it can feel like an event series is being forced on them and that the plan doesn’t addresses their concerns. As a result, they feel as though they’re being asked to build a pipeline of opportunities from an event that they believe is only 60 or 70% as good as it could be.\n\nGive sales and marketing an opportunity to vote, debate and work through solutions together. Input into the decision-making process should also be transparent and centralized. Individuals and teams should be able to discuss options with each other directly. Being stuck between two parties that disagree can be time consuming, unproductive and frustrating. The opportunity to discuss builds further understanding, trust, and alignment.\n\n4. Not getting enough feedback\n\nThe last stage of the process is one where things can again go slightly awry is not getting feedback on the solution. Even though everyone has been part of the process up to the final stages, it’s still likely that there are differences in how people imagine the final product. With our roadshow example, the invite copy, the agenda, who’s presenting and which venue is selected are all things that could be slightly different between the planning team and the sales teams. The end result is a road show where people feel like what’s being taken to market isn’t quite as good as it could be. This leads to disengagement and less commitment.\n\nBeing more inclusive in feedback is the final step in ensuring you have both teams as aligned as possible.\n\nTools and processes\n\nThe challenge with being more inclusive in planning, decision-making, and feedback is that it’s a lot of work and potentially unrealistic if you have a large number of people in both teams. If you’re a small team, you can get all the key stakeholders in a room over a set of meetings to complete the steps above. With more than eight to 10 people, however, this becomes unwieldily, inefficient and scheduling may become a challenge. If you start scaling this to dozens or hundreds of people, it becomes impossible to be inclusive if you’re going to rely on meetings and email.\n\nIf you’re going to do this successfully, you’re going to need a better collaboration tool to facilitate. \n\n  • You want communication to be centralized and transparent to everyone involved. \n  • Remove barriers to participating in the planning process. Make whatever tool or process you adopt easy to use and flexible. People should be able to quickly add input, ideas, feedback, comments etc. whenever and wherever suits them.\n  • Think about how you want to organize and facilitate the conversation. There should be a logical structure to it, so that it’s possible to pull out important and / or popular insights from the discussion.\n  • While not strictly necessary, being able to measure activity and contribution levels is useful. As you get better at a more inclusive collaboration process between sales and marketing, you’ll start to develop some benchmarks for your organization. Is 50% participation in a particular project good or bad? Is it indicative of the amount of commitment and success you can expect for the plan or project?\n\nSales and marketing alignment is hard, but there are steps that can be taken to improve it. Each incremental step towards improvement has a strong multiplier to the success and outcomes you can expect. The key to this is being more inclusive and focusing not just on input between leaders of both teams, but between the teams themselves. With large teams, the key to doing this is going beyond meetings and email and leveraging better collaboration tools to facilitate the process.\n\nHarness the power of employee ideas.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5367838144302368}
+{"content": "Beyond the Weekend\n\nNovember 2 | Parents\n\nNovember 2, 2016\n\nColossians 3.21\n\nThe way we parent reflects our view of Jesus. Knowing this can be a troubling burden to carry, Paul encourages parents—fathers in particular—to avoid embittering their child. Because children make decisions about who God is based on what they see in their parents, parents can embitter a child. This can lead to a sense of shame, a belief they’re a mistake, and can produce a child who shuts down, goes into survival mode, or openly rebels to get even.\n\nWe can embitter a child through ranting, “Can’t you do anything right?” Our body language with a well placed eye-roll or sigh can communicate strong dislike and disappointment. We can also embitter a child by treating them as if they’re invisible. This happens when a parent physically leaves and “bails” on their child or when a parent is physically home but emotionally unavailable for their child.\n\nRegardless of their age, you have an incredible opportunity to cultivate growth and health in your relationship with your child. Find a moment today to ask your child, “What do you need from me right now?” Encourage them to answer candidly and discuss how you might be able to come alongside them and be the best parent possible.\n\nListen below as Pastor Manion invites parents to explore the challenge of giving our kids what they need without giving them what they want.\n\nYou Might Also Like", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7942290902137756}
+{"content": "Vitamins: Their Functions, Types, Sources and Symptoms of Their Deficiency\n\nMany people do not know exactly what is the role of vitamins in our body and why they are so important.\n\nVitamins are essential for our body. Since they were discovered and their positive effects became known for us, they became one of the most common products of the pharmaceutical industry.\n\nRead a brief overview of the most important vitamins, their natural resources, roles in the body and potentially harmful effects with their deficiency.\n\n\nVitamin A (Akseroftol, Retinol)\n\nFunctions: Necessary for normal vision, the synthesis of glycoproteins and the process of growth and development, reproduction, mucus secretion and maintenance of normal epithelium, has a role of antioxidant.\n\nSource: liver, sea fish, fresh water fish-(less), carrots, alfalfa, tomatoes and apricots.\n\nDeficiency: It leads to disturbances of vision (night and chicken blindness), skin flakes, sterility, children interference in growth and development.\n\n\nVitamin B1 (Thiamine)\n\nFunctions: It allows to the body to convert blood sugar into glucose and breakdown carbohydrates, proteins and fats.\n\nSource: Whole grains, liver, heart and kidneys, yeast and bacteria of the intestinal flora.\n\nDeficiency: mental confusion, anorexia, muscle weakness, swelling, rapid heart rhythms (most common in alcoholics).\n\n\nVitamin B3 (niacin, nicotinic acid)\n\nFunctions: One of the most important coenzyme, participates in almost all metabolic processes (the most important is cellular respiration process).\n\nSource: Meat, liver, yeast and rice.\n\nDeficiency: The disease called pellagra, which is mainly characterized with dermatitis, diarrhea and dementia.\n\n\nVitamin B2 (Riboflavin, lactoflavin)\n\nFunctions: Participates in many metabolic processes, primarily in the production of energy in cellular respiration.\n\nSource: Foods of animal origin, particularly eggs and dairy products, vegetables.\n\nDeficiency: Dry throat and inflammation of the membrane on the throat, dermatitis, anemia.\n\n\nVitamin B5 (pantothenic acid)\n\nFunctions: 80 percent of pantothenic acid in the body is in the form of coenzyme A. It participates in the degradation of fats, carbohydrates and amino acids.\n\nSource: Pantothenic acid is one of the most common vitamin, can be found in almost all foods.\n\nDeficiency: Due to the wide distribution it is not reported in practice.\n\n\nVitamin B6 (Piridoksol, pyridoxal, pyridoxamine)\n\nFunctions: Participate in a variety of metabolic processes, in first place in the metabolism of unsaturated fatty acids and biosynthesis of fat from protein.\n\nSource: seeds, grains, liver, milk, eggs, and green leafy vegetables.\n\nDeficiency: dermatitis, disorders of the blood count, neurological disturbances.\n\n\nVitamin B9 (Folic Acid, Folate, Folacin)\n\nFunctions: Folic acid in the form of coenzyme is responsible for the creation of purine and pyrimidine, which are the building blocks of DNA, and as such, this vitamin along with vitamin B12 and C is essential for normal cell division.\n\nSource: leafy vegetables, liver, meat and egg yolk.\n\nDeficiency: It leads to a special kind of anemia called Megaloblastic anemia.\n\n\nVitamin B12 (Cobalamin, Cyanocobalamin)\n\nFunctions: Necessary for creating of Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), participates in the metabolism of certain amino acids.\n\nSource: liver, meat, milk, eggs and other foods of animal origin.\n\nDeficiency: A special type of anemia called Pernicious anemia, neurological disorders.\n\n\nVitamin C (L-ascorbic acid)\n\nFunctions: One of the most important agents in the oxidation-reduction processes. Particularly important for the successful production of collagen and connective tissue, and as such, is necessary for wound healing. Also, it improves immune function and participate in the creation of the adrenal hormones (glucocorticoids).\n\nSource: Lemon, orange and other plants from the family of citrus fruits, berries, melons, watermelons, tomatoes, green peppers, cabbage.\n\nDeficiency: The disease known as scurvy. It is manifested by swelling, frequent bleeding, nonunion healing, tooth decay, osteoporosis, anemia and so on.\n\n\nVitamin D (calciferol)\n\nFunctions: Important for metabolism and maintaining the level of calcium and phosphorus in the body, and as such, indirectly responsible for many processes, most important for normal functioning of skeletal (bones and muscles).\n\nSource: Sun exposure, fish oil, milk, butter, liver, egg yolk.\n\nDeficiency: Low calcium levels (hypocalcemia) and phosphorus (hypophosphatemia) leads to development of rickets in children and osteoporosis in adults.\n\n\nVitamin E (Tocopherol)\n\nFunctions: The most important antioxidant in the body, essential for normal lipid metabolism, responsible for preventing from free radicals (free radicals are damaging DNA and leads to malignant disease). Necessary for normal reproductive function.\n\nSource: Vegetable oil, seeds (peanuts), fruits and vegetables.\n\nDeficiency: Disorder of lipid metabolism and hemolytic anemia, infertility, increased risk of developing malignancies.\n\n\nVitamin H (Biotin)\n\nFunctions: Necessary for normal function of the enzymes from the group of carboxylase, essential for lipid metabolism, oxaloacetic acid, urea and purine.\n\nSource: The gut flora.\n\nDeficiency: Extremely rare, it is manifested with bloating, vomiting, dermatitis, hair loss and nervous disorders.\n\nIt is important to mention vitamin K which is necessary for proper blood clotting and vitamin F, which plays an essential role in the lipid metabolism.\n\n– Be careful not to take vitamins excessively. Insufficient intake leads to disorder, and excessive intake leads to problems that are sometimes more difficult from those that occur due to the lack of vitamins.\n\nModeration is the key to health.\n\nSee Also: What Vitamins Should I Take?", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5371322631835938}
+{"content": "Friday, June 2, 2017\n\nJune 2017: Wenjack by Joseph Boyden\n\nImage result for wenjack bookWenjack by Joseph Boyden\n\nMeeting at Tamara's place, June 8.  (address and contact coming via email.) Come at 7:30, with discussion starting at 8:00\n\nWenjack Discussion questions:\n\n1)      Did you enjoy the book?  Why or why not?\n2)      Along the way Chanie is followed by Manitous, “spirits of the forest who comment on his plight, cajoling, taunting, and ultimately offering him a type of comfort on his difficult journey back to the place he was so brutally removed from.”  Why did Boyden use the voices of the Manitous to tell part of the story?\n3)      Were you angry that the uncle of the other boys wanted Chanie to go away - To go back to school?\n4)      This book was written in a very unique way. What did you think of the writing style?\n5)      What was the most heart-wrenching part of this book for you?\n6)      Since this is a work of historical fiction (although based on a true story) do you feel that Boyden used stereotypes of residential schools to tell his story?\n7)      In a CBC interview, Boyden said that “Wenjack is a \"little book with a big heart,\" and he hopes that anyone who picks up the book will be able to feel the sadness, hope and empathy behind the story. \"I want the reader to be Chanie.\"   Did he succeed for you…were you able to “be” Chanie?\n8)      What do you think was the ultimate purpose of writing “Wenjack”? If Boyden’s purpose for the novel was to highlight the horror of residential schools…did he succeed?  If his purpose was to tell the story of Charlie Wenjack…did he succeed? Or are the two stories really the same?\n9)      Boyden has said that Canada is “a haunted house”.  In what way?  Why is it important for Canadians to know the story of Charlie Wenjack?\n10)  Have you read/heard of “Secret Path” the graphic novel/music album/animated film produced by Gord Downie (of the Tragically Hip and a friend of Boyden) and Jeff Lemire? (Also about Charlie Wenjack).  Is the fact that they were published around the same time a coincidence? Was it good/bad for each work?\n11)   Had you heard about Chanie Wenjack before this book or Gord Downie’s The Secret Path were published last year?\n12)   It seems unbelievable that the last residential school in Canada didn’t close until the mid-90s. When did you first learn about residential schools? Do you remember learning about residential schools in class? Do you feel that it was discussed enough?\n13)   With the recent highlighting of residential schools by popular artists like Boyden and Downie, what do you think should be the response of Canadians?\n14)   What is the role of the artist (like Boyden or Downie) in making change?\n\n15)   After the success of “Three Day Road”, Boyden received awards for native literature, has been a paid speaker on indigenous topics, and become a “voice” to highlight aboriginal causes (native history, residential schools, missing aboriginal women etc.).  Boyden has claimed to be inspired by his uncle Erl, who “lived a traditional aboriginal” life.  However, in recent months, there has been a lot of controversy over Boyden’s claim to have aboriginal ancestry.  (Lots to find on google)!  Throughout the years, he has claimed heritage in a half-dozen native tribes – none proven.  Many of his claims have been debunked and he himself remains somewhat vague.  And his Uncle Erl was a proven fraud who sold souvenirs from a teepee by Algonquin park in the 50s.\n Many indigenous authorities (like Kim TallBear) would say that Belonging to particular community can (and should) mean sharing beliefs and cultural practices - and even official membership or citizenship. Not just genetic material.  Does this information cast a shadow over his ability to speak for aboriginals; or over the truth of how he writes?  Does it affect how you view him; or how you view the issues he highlights?  If he is actually non-native, does this change how you view the writing of “Wenjack”?\n\nFor some further reading on the controversy:\n\nFor a readable version of the 1967 MacLean’s article that Ian Adams wrote which brought the story of Chanie Wenjack to light, look to:\n\n\"The Secret Path\" by Gord Downie is available on youtube or\n\nWoodland Ojibway people ate meat, berries, wild rice, fruits, vegetables, and maple syrup…\nAny Native dish, or element of these foods.  Here are some ideas to get started, but feel free to add your own ideas!\n\nMain Dishes:\nAnything prepared with maple syrup\n - Baked Brie with Maple Syrup and pecans - Tessa\nThe one meal that we read about in the book is from the fish, so… a fish dish! \n - Salmon with maple glaze - Karen\nWild rice and bacon: - Chandra\nMushroom, Ham and Wild Rice Soup - Danielle\nNative bread…Indian Fry Bread - Emily (or some bread!)\n\nAnything with maple syrup\nFresh berries - Melissa\n\nBerry cobbler - Erica\n\nDrinks: -  Tamara\n\n\n  1. I'll bring a berry cobbler!\n\n  2. I'll bring the wild rice and bacon.\n\n  3. I'll bring a maple syprup appetizer: baked brie and maple and pecans (and some crackers)\n\n  4. I'll bring berries and maybe look for a maple syrup fruit dip\n\n  5. I hope to come! And I'm bring soup - Mushroom, Ham and Wild Rice Soup (I hope that's ok..sorry it's not fish :( )\n\n  6. Ill bring some salmon with a maple glaze.\n\n\nTell us what you think!", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8591914176940918}
+{"content": "know about Austria\n\n35 facts you need to know about Austria\n\nAustria is one of the most beautiful countries in Europe. From cities to village, Mountains to lakes, everything is breath-taking Beautiful. Austria beauty is enough to attract you to travel but there are some facts that make you need to know about Austria but that\n\nIndian dishes\n\n25 Tasty Indian dishes you need to try\n\nAre to planning to visit India? Then as you may know that India is the country of spices. There are hundreds of dishes in India that amaze you their taste. From east to Waste, From north to south every state has its own dishes that you\n\narchitectures in the world\n\n10 architectures in the world you need to see\n\ncreativity is an ability to produce original and unusual ideas, has developed the building’s structures since the ancient time until these modern days. Nowadays, there are many incredible architectures in the world that you may have never thought they could exist in this world. Some\n\nSurreal Places In China\n\n8 Surreal Places In China\n\nThere are hundreds of surreal places around global and some of them are located in China. These places are so beautiful that they are worth adding to your China bucket list. Without any doubt, you need to visit these Surreal Places In China.   1. Rice terrace, Yuanyang, Yunnan\n\nFacts about The Louvre\n\n15 Incredible facts about The Louvre\n\nEiffel tower might iconic spot in Paris but The louver is more iconic in itself. There are many things that make the Louvre more special and worth visiting. Here are 15 Incredible facts about The Louvre that you don’t know about. 1. More than 8 million people", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9606277942657471}
+{"content": "Salina, KS\n\nNow: 68 °F\n\nCurrently: Cloudy\n\nHi: 68 °F | Lo: 55 °F\n\n\nHi: 67 °F \n\nLo: 53 °F\n\n\nHi: 73 °F \n\nLo: 51 °F\n\n\nHi: 77 °F \n\nLo: 57 °F\n\n\nHi: 79 °F \n\nLo: 55 °F\n\n\nHi: 77 °F \n\nLo: 58 °F\n\nMowery Clinic\nFe for a cure\n\nElderly Salina Woman Scammed\n\nKSAL Staff - April 6, 2016 10:32 am\n\nAn elderly Salina woman has been bilked in a telephone scam.\n\nPolice say that a woman in her 70s received a call on March 1st informing her that she had won $900,000.\n\nThe woman was told that she needed to pay $400 in taxes to collect her winnings. On April 5th she sent $400 via Western Union.\n\nAfter sending the $400, the woman was then told that another $100 needed before she could collect the money. She complied again.\n\nAfter sending money the second time the woman contacted Salina Police. Police determined that the woman had not won any money, but instead had been scammed.\n\nTotal loss is $519.98", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9963803291320801}
+{"content": "كوفي مضفر ...\n\nArabic lettering has achieved a high level of sophistication..\n\nCalligrapher integrates inner experiences with his experiences of external reality. By imbuing strokes with life and feeling, an equilibrium of energy flows from all composing elements. It results in a very personalized style and is accompanied by concentrated and unremitting scholarly study.\n\nCalligraphy style is as unique as the calligrapher's personality, and its achievement is considered as the representation of the individual's self-cultivation.\n\nArabic calligraphy is not merely an art form but involves divine and moral representations -- from which calligraphy acquires its sublime reputation..\n\na unique art form conveying beauty,\n   as well as meaning; its versatility in design introduces\n\t\t\tan infinite realm of possibilities\ninvolving extensive explorations and\n      numerous transformations.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9618338942527771}
+{"content": "FILE - In this June 25, 2014, file photo, a Kurdish peshmerga fighter carries his weapon walks onto his base, where two flags of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) are seen on a building, right, and water tower, left, at the front line with the al-Qaida-inspired militants in Tuz Khormato, 100 kilometers (62 miles) south of the oil rich province of Kirkuk, northern Iraq. The Islamic State group may be sprouting tentacles across the region but it is struggling in Syria, part of its heartland, where it has stalled or even lost ground in fighting with multiple enemies on multiple fronts. There are signs of tensions and powers struggles emerging among its ranks of foreign jihadis. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9926856756210327}
+{"content": "Section 4.11 - Spaceport Network\n\nFrom Wikibooks, open books for an open world\nJump to: navigation, search\n\nSpace Elevators have been a theoretical transportation method since 1895. The original idea is impractical to build. This step adds a much more practical design as a transport hub for getting from one orbit to another quickly and efficiently. Initial construction can use materials from Earth, but in larger sizes or locations beyond Earth orbit using local materials is assumed.\n\nSkyhook Concept[edit]\n\nThe popular concept of a space elevator is based on the original design proposed by Tsiolkovsky in the late 19th century. It involves a single tower/cable extending all the way past Geosynchronous (24 hour) Earth Orbit (GEO). If the center of mass is at GEO and matches the Earth's daily rotation it will appear to hang motionless relative to the ground. Getting to space in theory then becomes an elevator ride. There are several problems with this simplistic design:\n\n  • The depth of the Earth's gravity well (6378 g-km) exceeds the scale length of the best available materials (350 km for carbon fiber) by 18 times, which then requires a structure-to-payload mass ratio of 65 million to 1. This would require more carbon fiber than the world makes to lift a reasonable cargo mass, and would never be economical because it would take too long to transport sufficient payload to justify the massive cost of that much structure.\n  • It is of no use for delivering cargo to low orbits. Release points somewhat below GEO result in elliptical orbits with a low perigee, but lower circular orbits cannot be reached. It also is of no use transporting cargo from the ground when partially built.\n  • Even with a magnetically levitated elevator car running at 300 km/hr, it will still take 5 days to deliver one payload to GEO, and you can only deliver one payload at a time.\n  • A single cable catastrophically fails when hit by natural or man-made debris. A cable over 35,000 km long has a lot of area exposed to such hits.\n\nThe Skyhook concept addresses all these problems. Instead of a static cable that stays over a fixed location, it can be either a rotating cable in a moving orbit, much like two spokes of an imaginary wheel rolling around the Equator, or a non-rotating cable in a moving orbit that maintains a vertical orientation relative to the parent body. For more information on this go to Space exploration technologies.\n\n  • The non-rotating orbiting Skyhook is a much shorter version of the planetary surface to geostationary orbit Space Elevator that does not reach down to the surface of the parent body, is much lighter in mass, can be affordably built with existing materials and technology, and in its mature form, is cost competitive with what is thought to be realistically achievable using a Space Elevator. It works by starting from a relatively low altitude orbit and hanging a cable down to just above the Earth's atmosphere. Since the lower end of the cable is moving at less than orbital velocity for its altitude, a launch vehicle flying to the bottom of the Skyhook can carry a larger payload then it could carry on its own. When the cable is long enough, Single Stage to Skyhook flight with a reusable launch vehicle becomes possible at a price that is affordable to just about anyone.\n  • A full orbit velocity rotating Skyhook reduces the structural requirement to about 2868 g-km, because only the tip sees the full Earth's gravity. The center is in orbit and thus has zero acceleration load. This immediately reduces the theoretical mass ratio from 65 million to 3,620:1. There is still an exponential relation of mass to tip velocity. Since conventional rockets also have an exponential relation of mass to velocity, it makes sense to split the job between both, because the sum of two exponents, for example e^2 + e^2 = 14.8 is less than a single exponent of the combined powers, i.e e^4 = 54.6. The optimum division of work between the Skyhook and vehicle coming from Earth will depend on technical details and costs, but a simple division of half to each results in a theoretical Skyhook mass ratio of 60:1. A real design will be heavier, but 60:1 is a feasible starting point, where 65 million is not. Reaching half of orbit velocity for a single stage rocket with a life of many flights is quite feasible.\n  • Assuming the tip is at 1 gravity, a rotating Skyhook with a tip velocity of 30-50% of orbit velocity has a radius of 500-1400 km. The center point needs to be that altitude plus enough that the tip does not dip into thick atmosphere and create drag (100-200 km). Releasing from the center of the Skyhook at 600-1600 km altitude allows access to low Earth orbits.\n  • A partially built Skyhook can still function because the remainder of the velocity is provided by the Earth vehicle. During construction the velocity split is more towards the Earth vehicle. This reduces payload mass, but it can still deliver some. In particular, if part of your payload is more Skyhook structure, that payload pays for itself in increased payload on later trips. This is a literal version of \"lifting yourself by your bootstraps\".\n  • The same fast elevator car at 300 km/hr can reach the center in 2 to 5.3 hours. If your destination is high orbit or Earth escape, you do not have to ride the elevator at all. You wait half a rotation of the Skyhook and let go, at which point you are going at orbit velocity plus tip velocity. To imagine this, think of the top point of a bicycle wheel. It moves faster than the center relative to the ground. A half rotation takes only 10 to 20 minutes.\n  • Space debris cannot be eliminated. Even if all the man-made junk in Earth orbit is eliminated, the natural flux of meteors will continue. Therefore the Skyhook design has to take that into account. The most practical way to do that is to use multiple redundant cables to distribute the load such that cutting one or two is not catastrophic. The cables should be spaced far enough apart that any single object will only hit one or two strands. The strands should also be cross-connected periodically to distribute the load around a break. Repairing a break then becomes replacing a short segment of one strand. Since you have the ability to install segments during original construction, you are able to replace segments as a maintenance job.\n\nSkyhook Applications[edit]\n\nThe Moon and Mars have smaller gravity wells than the Earth, by ratio of 22 and 5 respectively, so Skyhooks with the same materials can do more of the transportation job relative to Earth. But in this step-by-step combined system example, getting off the Earth comes first. We will discuss the other locations here, but the actual construction will be delayed until easy transport to those locations is needed.\n\nLunar Skyhooks[edit]\n\nThere are two systems that are feasible because of the small gravity well of the Moon. The first is a catapult system to launch bulk materials off the Moon. The catapult uses a rotating cable driven by an electric motor to throw payloads directly into Lunar orbit, where they are picked up by a collector system. The second is an orbiting Skyhook which can deposit and pick up cargoes at zero velocity close to the surface.\n\nCatapults - Basalt fibers are similar to fiberglass in that they are an extruded mineral. They have a strength of 4800 MPa, or 80% of carbon fiber, and a density of 2.7 g/cc, or 50% higher than than carbon. Thus the scale length of Basalt fiber is 178 km, or about half that of carbon fiber. The dark areas (Maria or seas) of the Moon are covered in basalt lava [1], so there is an a very large supply of raw materials. If a Lunar catapult delivers basalt to an orbital processing factory, or spools of fiber already spun on the Moon, it would be possible to build a Lunar Skyhook out of local materials. The choice of Lunar basalt for a Skyhook would have to be compared to the higher performance carbon fiber brought from Earth or made from NEO carbon. Certainly for Lunar surface construction it would have the advantage of being very local.\n\nCatapults could also be built on the Earth or Mars, but for Earth it would need to be placed above the atmosphere on a tall tower to get significant velocity. It is probably not the best method when compared to the alternatives. Mars is much smaller, has less atmosphere, and very tall volcanoes that a catapult can be placed on. So it is worth considering placing a catapult there to deliver materials to orbit. Any catapult (Lunar or other) will need a significant power supply for the motor. In order to not waste the rotation energy when stopping to load the next cargo, it makes sense to consider two catapults, and use one as a generator to supply power to the other. Motor-generator efficiencies can be above 90%, so most of the energy could be recycled.\n\nSkyhook - The Moon's gravity well is equal to 287 km at 1.0 Earth gravity. Thus even for the lower strength basalt fibers, the gravity well is only 1.6 times the scale length of 178 km. For the higher strength carbon fibers with 361 km scale length the ratio is 0.80. Note that scale length is based on breaking strength, actual designs will use lower loads and have overhead above a bare cable. For Earth the theoretical gravity well to carbon fiber scale length ratio is 18, so it is much easier to build a Lunar Skyhook on a relative basis. Another way to say this is the Lunar orbit velocity of 1680 m/s is less than the 2400 m/s tip velocity assumed below for the Earth Skyhook. That provides all of the velocity between the Lunar surface and orbit, while the Earth orbit version only provides 1/3. Since escape velocity is 1.414 times circular orbit velocity, and a full Lunar Skyhook is capable of releasing cargo at 2.0 times orbital velocity, it can handle cargo well beyond escape velocity. By climbing to a chosen radius from the center, and timing when you let go, you can get a wide variety of orbits.\n\nBesides using it as transport to and from the Moon, there is also an opportunity for work crews to use the Skyhook at 1.0 gravity as a rest location, because we don't know the long term effects of 0.16 gravity on the human body. A lunar surface alternative is to use centrifuges to get 1.0 gravity or whatever level is needed. A full Lunar Skyhook would have a radius of 283 km and a rotation period of 17 min 40 sec at 1.0 gravity. Since Lunar orbit period is 108 minutes or longer depending on altitude, the Skyhook will make 6 or more rotations per orbit. If the orbit is equatorial, that allows it to service multiple locations around the Lunar equator, and transport cargo between those points at orbital speed at no cost.\n\nIt is an open question if an equatorial orbit is best. A polar orbit would let the Skyhook reach any point on the Lunar surface, but generally only twice a month. The Moon rotates very slowly, so the benefit of the rotation towards the orbit velocity is only 4.6 m/s, 1% of the Earth's contribution. A polar orbit can be arranged as a Sun-synchronous orbit, where the orbit plane always is in sunlight, while an equatorial orbit is in shadow about 40% of the time. Thus the solar arrays that power the Skyhook are more effective in the polar orbit. You can have both Skyhooks in orbit around the Moon, as long as you arrange their orbits to never intersect, such as by using different altitudes. In that case you might want to make the g-forces at the tips higher so the radius is smaller, and move humans quickly up the cable to a more comfortable g-level.\n\nIn any Lunar Skyhook, a lander vehicle will need some propulsion because the Moon is not a perfect sphere. So the tips need to stay high enough to miss any high points of the terrain, and some maneuvering is needed for an accurate landing. If you have two Skyhooks at different altitudes, the vehicle will need more fuel to land and take off.\n\nAsteroid Skyhooks[edit]\n\nThe largest asteroid, 1 Ceres, is 487 km in radius at the equator, with a day length (rotation period) of 9.074 hours. Therefore the equator is moving at 94 m/s. Orbit velocity is estimated at 360 m/s. The exact number will be found when the Dawn spacecraft arrives at Ceres in 2015 (it is in orbit around the 2nd largest asteroid, Vesta, as of 2012). A Skyhook thus needs only the difference of 266 m/s in order to land and pick up cargo and then toss them at more than escape velocity. The radius in this case at 1 g works out to 7.25 km. This is small enough that it could be built near the Earth, and then transported whole to Ceres. Setting it up in orbit would allow mining of the largest asteroid with easy access. A synchronous space elevator would be longer and not provide a 1 gravity environment, but could be used to launch cargo into transfer orbits away from Ceres or capture incoming cargo.\n\nFor small asteroids, a Skyhook isn’t necessary for surface access. Even low efficiency chemical rockets do not use much fuel to land, and you can just mechanically throw stuff into orbit or escape.\n\nMars Skyhooks[edit]\n\nPavonis Mons is one of the large mountains on Mars. Since it is located on the Equator, it is an ideal location for some kind of transport system. Candidates include a centrifuge launcher like with the Moon, or a linear accelerator. The higher mass of Mars makes it more difficult than for the Moon, but a ground-based transport system can still do most or all of the job of reaching orbit velocity. Similarly, Mars orbit velocity of 3.6 km/s is within reach of a Skyhook, and there are two convenient former asteroids (Phobos and Deimos) as a source of building materials. A Martian Skyhook would likely be placed in low Mars orbit, with the ability to transfer down to the surface and up to Phobos, Deimos, or escape orbits.\n\nSplit Systems[edit]\n\nA catapult can be used in combination with a Skyhook to enable higher velocity missions with lower total mass ratios. Bodies as small as the Moon do not require very large mass ratios o reach orbit, so doing a split system will not gain much at the cost of the extra complexity. Conversely the Earth has a fairly dense atmosphere, so a high velocity centrifuge would see a lot of drag unless placed on a very tall structure. The best location for a split system turns out to be Mars, particularly with its tall mountains that are in near vacuum at their peaks. By dividing the velocity between two systems, it becomes 1.8 km/s each, which can be reached with existing materials and conservative mass ratios.\n\nDesign Parameters[edit]\n\nThe Earth orbit Skyhook does not have a fixed design as noted above, but rather grows over time. We also do not as yet know what an optimum size will be for given circumstances. A concrete example, however, lets us examine the feasibility and understand what is needed for the various parts. We will assume a tip velocity of 2400 m/s for this example, or roughly 1/3 of orbit velocity, and derive the other characteristics.\n\nDesign Inputs[edit]\n\nTip Velocity = 2400 m/s\n\nTip Acceleration = 10 m/s^2 - Earth surface gravity is 9.80665 m/s^2. We use 10 for simplicity. That provides normal gravity for any humans on the Skyhook.\n\nDerived Values[edit]\n\nSkyhook Radius = 576 km - This is found by solving the centrifugal acceleration formula ( a = v^2/r ) for the radius.\n\nRotation Period = 25 minutes - We know the circumference of a circle by 2 x pi x r, or 3619 km in this case. Dividing by tip velocity gives the time. For convenience to reach the Skyhook from a launch site, the numbers can be adjusted so the period is an even fraction of the orbit time, i.e. 100 minute orbit with 25 minute rotation time. That way the landing platform will be in the same place each time relative to the launch site.\n\nOrbit Altitude = 750 km - If the tips of the Skyhook reach deeply into the Earth's atmosphere, that will cause drag and heating, and eventually cause the Skyhook to fall down. By placing the tips at least 175 km altitude, then the center must be that plus the radius high. The exact height will be a trade off between less drag, and ease to reach from the ground.\n\nOrbit Velocity = 7474 m/s - Found from the formula below where G is the Gravitational constant, M is the mass of the Earth, and r is the orbit radius, which is the Earth's radius plus the orbit altitude:\n\nLaunch Vehicle Payload = 13% - A good chemical rocket would have an exhaust velocity of 4.5 km/s and empty weight of 10%. Without a Skyhook, the total velocity required is about 9 km/s, which results in a payload fraction of 3.5%. Subtracting the 2.4 km/s provided by the Skyhook results in a payload of 13%, or 3.7 times higher. The exact numbers will vary depending on the launch vehicle design, but that gives an idea of the payload improvement the Skyhook can provide, and thus part of the reason to build it. The greatest advantage of a Skyhook is not from the increased payload it provides, but using some of the increase to increase the fatigue life of the vehicle, which is highly non-linear - typically ten times higher for a 10% addition in structure. Airplanes and rockets cost about the same per kg to build. This is not surprising since both are built by aerospace companies out of the same materials. The vast difference in transport cost is due to airplanes flying about 20,000 times during their service life, and rockets usually only flying once. By taking some of the payload increase from a Skyhook and applying it to giving the launch vehicle a long operating life, the operating cost will be vastly reduced.\n\nPayback Time = 1 to 76 launches (average of 43) - If we remove the last 100 m/s of tip velocity, the launch vehicle payload falls to 12.56% from 13.07%. So the incremental benefit of the last 100 m/s is 0.51% of the vehicle mass. Assume we use Torayca T1000G carbon fiber as our main cable material. It has a tensile strength of 6370 MPa and a density of 1.8 g/cc. We allow 40% overhead mass above the bare fiber for a finished cable system, and a 2.0 factor of safety. Thus the working strength is reduced to 2275 MPa, and at a tip acceleration of 10 m/s, the working length becomes 126.4 km.\n\nThe 2400 m/s Skyhook has a radius of 576 km, and the acceleration varies from 0 at the center to 10 m/s at the tip, so effective length is half, or 288 km. The cable mass ratio is then e ^ (288/126.4) = 9.762:1. Subtracting the payload mass gives a theoretical cable mass of 8.762. Since this calculation is only for one arm of the Skyhook, we double it to 17.524. The payload of the Skyhook is the launch vehicle payload + the empty vehicle structure without fuel (10% of launch weight), for a total of 23.07% of launch weight. The Skyhook cable mass is then 404.3% of the launch vehicle weight. Doing the same calculations for the 2300 m/s Skyhook, we have a radius of 529 km, effective length of 264.5 km, mass ratio of 8.106, and cable mass of 16.211 times the vehicle arrival mass of 22.56% = 365.7%. The incremental cable mass is then 404.3 - 365.7 = 38.6%. Since we gain 0.51% in payload from this incremental addition to the Skyhook, it pays for itself in payload mass in 76 launches if we use the launch vehicle to deliver the added cable. If we get the extra cable from another source, such as our hypervelocity gun, or from NEO carbon, the payback could be much faster.\n\nDoing the same type of calculation over the whole Skyhook, we have a gain in payload from 3.5 to 13%, or 9.5% of liftoff mass. The Skyhook cable mass is 404.3% of liftoff mass, so the payback time in increased payload is 43 launches. The first 300 m/s increment of the Skyhook increases payload from 3.53% to 4.46%, a gain of 0.93% of liftoff mass. It would have a radius of 9 km, and a cable mass of 7.25% times arrival mass, or 0.98% of launch mass. Thus the payback time is 1 launch, and the cable fits in roughly 1/4 of a payload on it's delivery flight. So the first part of the Skyhook has an immediate payback and is very desirable. Note that a Skyhook massing less than the arrival mass would not have enough orbital energy to give the vehicle on arrival. It would need to be attached to a larger \"ballast\" mass such as an assembly platform, bulk mined materials, or collected space debris.\n\nMass payback is not the same as cost payback, but if we assume they are for now, at a relatively low rate of one launch/month, payback takes about 3.6 years, which is reasonable from an economic standpoint. Since the cable mass grows exponentially with tip velocity, the earlier parts will pay back faster, and growth beyond this point will take longer at a fixed launch rate. A real payback analysis will have to take into account real cost instead of mass ratios, and actual launch rates. If less expensive launch systems from Earth are developed, then the cost benefit of a Skyhook goes down, even if the payload mass increase stays the same. On the other hand, if traffic rates go up, do does the cost benefit. No matter what numbers are used, the exponential growth of the Skyhook mass with tip velocity will eventually limit it's size for economic reasons. That is when the incremental cost of making the Skyhook larger becomes more than the incremental payload increase is worth. We emphasize that limit can change over time, however, as new materials become available, different methods of cable delivery are used, and traffic rates change. The Skyhook/launch vehicle interaction is a good example of why combined systems have to be looked at in their entirety, and not as single technologies or methods.\n\nDesign Components[edit]\n\n\nThe main structural component of the Skyhook will be the tension strands. In addition there will be secondary structure holding the strands in position, and for the landing platform, propulsion system, habitats, and other items attached to the structure. Cables are not a stable structure unless they are in tension, so for the central portion of the Skyhook before it is set rotating, we assume a core rigid truss structure. The initial total radius is 2500 m, counting core plus cables. This allows 1.0 gravity acceleration at the tips with a rotation period of 100 seconds. The latter number is chosen so that humans are not dis-oriented by rapid rotation. Initial habitats would be placed at the 2500 m radius. Strands are installed both lengthwise and in parallel to expand the Skyhook.\n\nDamage Tolerant Design - Man-made satellites and orbital debris are the largest impact hazard for the structure. For now we assume no cleanup of Earth orbit, though that is desirable. Doing so would reduce the risks by about ten times. If we assume there is a 0.5 mm protective sheath around the strand core, then objects smaller than half that thickness will merely make a crater and not penetrate the core. If we assume a large Skyhook supports 1000 tons of payload at 1.0 gravity, with an 8:1 mass ratio, we have a total load of 10 MN. Given the 2275 MPa working strength, that requires a total area of 44 cm^2 of cable. Assume each strand is 2 cm in diameter. Then we need 14 load carrying strands, and some number of extra strands for damage tolerance, which we will use 7 for now, giving 21 total strands.\n\nAny debris object larger than 1/3 the strand diameter will likely cause enough damage that it fails. Based on a 1995 orbital debris assessment [2] there were about 1 million objects that size and larger. That produces an impact flux of about 10 ^ -4 per square meter per year. If we want a 1% chance of strand failure per year, then we are allowed 100 square meters of area. Since the diameter is assumed to be 2 cm, then the allowed length is 5000 meters. We place cross-connecting rings at that interval to distribute load around a failed strand. At each ring, there are 7 points where 3 strands each fan out. Since by design two are required to handle the load, the failure of the third by debris impact does not cause any reduction in the Skyhook's total load carrying ability.\n\nWe do not want a single object to impact too many strands at one time. In the worst case, the largest object in orbit besides the Skyhook, currently the Space Station, should not hit more than our reserve of 7 extra strands. In reality, 99% of damaging debris is smaller than 30 cm, and the Space Station is under active control, so it should not ever hit the Skyhook, but we are looking at a worst case. Since the Station is about 120m wide, if the strands are arranged in a circle, and there are 21 total, a 120m object should not intersect more than 120 degrees of the perimeter. Doing a little geometry yields 120m = 50% of the radius, thus the diameter of the circle is about 480 meters, and the 7 attachment points are spaced about 200 meters apart. A truss spans between each attach point, making a 7-sided ring. If a given strand is damaged, then it is simply replaced by the same construction method the Skyhook was built in the first place. As long as strands can be replaced at least as fast as they are damaged, the Skyhook can be maintained indefinitely.\n\nThe above calculations are an example. For a real design, you would find the optimum strand diameter and count, rather than just assume 2 cm and 21. The real debris population is not all in orbits that could intersect the Skyhook. For example, the Space Station is about 400 km altitude, and could only intersect with the bottom 225 km of the Skyhook when it is in the vertical position. Some efforts may be made to clean up orbital debris. But even if not, we can make a reasonable design that can withstand worst case damage and reduce expected damage to a 1% per year maintenance job.\n\nLanding Platform - This functions somewhat like the deck of an aircraft carrier, in that it is a mobile platform which vehicles land and take off from. We assumed above that the Skyhook structure supports 1000 tons of load. This includes everything besides the main structure, including the landing platform. Arriving vehicles would have a smaller mass that is added to the load temporarily. Unlike zero-g docking, which is done slowly, the landing platform is rotating at 1 gravity, so landings will be similar speed to landing on Earth. The size of the platform will be governed by the accuracy of the vehicle navigation. The design can be a horizontal platform, or something like a latching hook or arresting cable, such as used on aircraft carriers. In that case the Skyhook name becomes a literal description. An alternate method is have a vertical capture net. It's as wide and tall as needed to make a good target. The vehicle has redundant capture latches deployed ahead of it, and arrives slightly faster so it runs into the net, and snags multiple cables.\n\nIt is assumed the landing will be automated for uncrewed cargo delivery, with radar, lidar, and other aids to getting within the landing target area. The landing platform is made a multiple of the navigation accuracy in size to have a high probability of hitting the target. The best design is an open question, but since landing at 1 gravity has been solved multiple times on Earth, it should be solvable for this task.\n\nAfter delivering it's payload, the vehicle just needs to let go or be pushed off the platform at the right time. At it's low point, the platform is sub-orbital, so the vehicle will automatically re-enter. The vehicle will be moving at 4,600 m/s relative to the Equator, compared to 7,400 m/s for a rocket without a Skyhook trying to re-enter. Therefore the vehicle has to dissipate 39% as much kinetic energy, which makes the heat shield design much easier.\n\nLow Gravity Platforms - Low- or Zero-gravity is desirable for some tasks in Space. You can place platforms or pressurized habitats at chosen distances from the Skyhook center and get any value between 0 and 1 gravity. For true zero-g, you would need to de-spin the structure so it does not rotate along with the rest of the Skyhook. Likely this will be a structure extending along the axis of rotation like the axle of a wheel, where the Skyhook cables would be spokes of the wheel.\n\nElectric Propulsion[edit]\n\nDue to fundamental conservation of energy, transporting more payloads up than down causes the Skyhook to lose orbital energy and eventually re-enter if not corrected. We use the highly efficient electric thrusters developed in an earlier step to maintain orbit. In effect, the electric thrusters substitute for the lower efficiency chemical rocket engines on the launch vehicle. Electric type engines have too low a thrust to reach orbit by themselves, but by attaching them to a Skyhook, we can add orbital energy gradually, and then give that to the payload in a short time. The Skyhook becomes a very efficient battery for storing orbital energy, about 25 times the energy/mass of Lithium batteries on Earth.\n\nPower Rquirements - For each kg of payload we are placing in orbit, we are changing the velocity from 5074 to 7474 m/s. This requires adding 15 MJ of energy. Since there are 31.5 million seconds in a year, then that means for each kg/year of payload, we need 0.477 watts of delivered orbital energy. In Earth orbit we are not in sunlight 100% of the time, so solar panels would need to be larger to average this power level, and electric thrusters are not 100% efficient, either. Using reasonable numbers of 60% sunlight time and 65% thruster efficiency, we get our solar panels need a peak output of 1.22 Watts/kg/year. If we want to deliver 1000 tons/year, then the power supply needs to be 1.22 MW. Nuclear power is excluded from consideration for political and safety reasons so close to Earth. Existing solar cells, allowing for 100% overhead, have a mass of 1.68 kg/m^2[3], and an efficiency of 29.5% vs a Solar constant of 1360 W/m^2. Therefore they produce 238 W/kg of output and their mass is 5.1 tons.\n\nThruster Type - For low Earth orbit, there are three types available with near-term technology: Ion, Plasma, or Electrodynamic. Electrodynamic uses less \"fuel\", but is not as well developed. Ion is well developed, but does not scale up to the high power levels as well. We will assume Plasma thrusters, but development of Electrodynamic should be pursued, and all three types considered as candidates. Current plasma thrusters in development are designed for 200 kW continuous power, so 6 units plus some number of spares would be needed for the Skyhook design. The estimated mass of the thrusters is 3 tons.\n\nFuel Requirement - With 1000 tons/year of cargo delivery to which 2.4 km/s of velocity is added, we need to expel 48 tons/year of thruster propellant at 50 km/s to maintain the Skyhook orbit. This can either come along with the cargo, serving as 4.8% overhead, or if materials are being extracted from nearby asteroids can come from them. The latter is preferred since it's more efficent for the launch vehicle.\n\nDesign Issues[edit]\n\nSpace Environment[edit]\n\nRadiation Environment\n\nPlasma Environment - The ionosphere can cause charge build up.\n\n[Text still to be integrated][edit]\n\nmultiple smaller orbiting systems, known as Rotovators can perform most of the same task, and use current materials. Each rotovator has a smaller task, so the required material strength is lower. We also take advantage of orbital mechanics to transit between them, which requires no materials at all. Various space elevator concepts have been theorized, and small-scale experiments flown in space. Significant R&D is needed to bring this technology to a ready state. When traffic volume is not large, and much of it is restricted to low orbits, the savings from a space elevator are not large enough to justify their construction. We therefore place it in this sub-phase, where reaching high orbits gives them greater advantage. Elevator research can be combined with a variable gravity research facility, as both can use rotating structures. An eventual skyhook network can provide fast velocity changes for people and cargo around gravity wells, while electric tugs can perform slower transfers between them, and to new locations beyond the existing network.\n\n\nA space elevator system in the form of a rotating Skyhook would allow using highly efficient electric thrusters in place of low performance chemical rockets for much of the transport job in gravity wells or between orbits. The first one could be built in Low Earth Orbit, and then others in higher orbits and around other bodies. The Earth's gravity well is too deep to fully span with current materials, so the low orbit Skyhook is not a full ground-to-orbit elevator. Still, reducing the work for a launch vehicle by 30-50% brings dramatic cost reductions. For smaller bodies such as the Moon or Mars, a Skyhook could span the whole gravity well.\n\nAs a large transport infrastructure project, similar to a bridge or airport on Earth, the Skyhook is built when traffic demands it and not before, and then expanded incrementally. The materials for the Skyhooks, such as carbon fiber, may come from orbital mining and processing. In that case their construction would not require large amounts of mass to be launched from Earth. Even if all the mass has to be brought from Earth, the potential for improved payload justifies at least more analysis to see if it is feasible.\n\n  1. Gunn, Dr. B.M.Lunar Basalts and Anorthosites\n  2. National Academies Press Orbital Debris: A Technical Assessment, 1995\n  3. Emcore Space Solar Cell Products", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7905591130256653}
+{"content": "Jammu and Kashmir - Essay Example\n\nOnly on StudentShare\n\nExtract of sample\nJammu and Kashmir\n\nKashmir is located in the Northwest of the sub continent. Historically, the valley consisted of the area lying between great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal range. However, current Kashmir is referred to the area administered by India - Kashmir valley, Jammu and Ladakh; the area administered by Pakistan - Azad Kashmir; and Aksai Chin, which is in China (Wikipedia.org, 2007).\nKashmir has always been a Muslim majority area. As per the 1901 census that was carried out by British Indian Empire, almost 75% of the population consisted of Muslims, 24% were Hindus, and the others were Buddhists. The major population of Hindus was in Jammu which had almost 50% Hindus population, whereas in Kashmir valley, Muslims were in dominant majority with approximately 94% of the total population and Hindus were only 5% (Imperial Gazetteer of India, 1908). As per the census of 1941, Muslim population of Kashmir was 93.6% and Hindus were only 4% (Mridu, 2004). In 2003, the percentage population of Muslims in the Kashmir valley was 95% with Hindus only 4%. In Jammu, the percentage population of Hindus was 66% and Muslims 30% (BBC, 2003). ...\nDownload paper\n\n\nThe state of Jammu and Kashmir is located in South Asia between India and Pakistan. Once part of the Great Britain Empire in the sub continent, the Jammu and Kashmir state has been a bone of contention between India, Pakistan and the people living in the state itself, since 1947 when both India and Pakistan got liberation from Great Britain rule…\nAuthor : vhuel\n\nRelated Essays\n\n2 pages (502 words) Essay\nCrime and terrorism\n3 pages (753 words) Essay\nChildren, War and Education\n4 pages (1004 words) Essay\nInternational intervention and Pathways to Peace in Kashmir\n12 pages (3012 words) Essay\nSouth Asias Untreated Wound: Perspectives on the Conflict in Kashmir\n22 pages (5522 words) Essay\nWhy is the Kashmir dispute the oldest unresolved international conflict in the world today?\n6 pages (1506 words) Essay", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9530887603759766}
+{"content": "America At War\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n  • The War of 1812\n  • The American Civil War\n  • The Act of 1871\n  • Founding of the Federal Reserve System in 1913\n  • The White House Coup of 1933\n  • The assassination of four sitting U. S. presidents\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nArab Israel\n\n\nSounds funny, doesn’t it? Arab Israel. Isn’t Israel suppose to be the homeland of the Jews? What’s wrong with this picture?\n\nThe other day, terrorists at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem attacked and killed two Israeli policemen. What is not widely reported, though, is that the two Israeli policemen were actually Arabs, members of the Druze minority sect. Yes, Arab Israeli policemen.\n\nPeople who have not visited Israel recently would never suspect that Israel has become such a boiling pot of diversity.  It’s one of the few  places in the world where diversity actually has had some success. Two of the largest groups of Israel citizens, about 20% of the population each, are Arabs and people of Russian ancestry. Those of Russian ancestry are generally not religious which means that nearly 40% of Israelis do not practice the Jewish faith (Judaism). In addition, there is a large group of secular (non-religious) Jews as well as atheists, Christians and a plethora of minor faiths such as Bahai. It’s fairly safe to say then that a majority of Israeli citizens do not practice the Jewish faith.\n\nAs for Israel being a Jewish homeland, that’s true but incomplete.  It is a homeland for Jews, but it isn’t the “homeland” of the Jews. The homeland of the Jewish people is actually the ancient kingdoms of Judea and Samaria which lie next door (immediately east of what is now Israel). Israel was formed by the United Nations out of a swamp-infested tract of land that ran along the Mediterranean plus the Negev Desert. It wasn’t much to write home about and it certainly wasn’t the historical Jewish homeland.\n\nThat true homeland of Judea and Samaria for the most part encompasses what is referred to as the West Bank (the lands lying immediately west of the Jordan River). For example, Bethlehem, Masada, Jericho, Qumran and Jerusalem were part of ancient Judea and Samaria. Of course, the West Bank was ceded by Jordan to Israel as the result of Jordan losing the Six-Day War in 1967 and have effectively been part of Israel ever since, a period of 50 years.  Does anyone really think that Israel will give up their homeland after having these lands for the last 50 years?\n\nAs for the Arabs who live in Israel and are citizens of Israel, with all the rights of Israeli citizens, they enjoy a better life than in any Arab nation in the Middle East.  Second place isn’t even close.  Arab women, especially, have freedom in Israel that is unparalleled throughout the Middle East. I recently met an Arab waiter in Israel who was moonlighting from his day job as a school teacher to pay for his daughter to go to medical school. Education for an Arab woman! Are you kidding, and a doctor to boot.\n\nArab Israel isn’t what you think it is nor as it has been portrayed by the media. Some Arabs are Israeli policemen who sometimes die for their “country.” They are represented in the Israeli Knesset (Congress/Parliament) and an Arab sits on the Israeli Supreme Court. Maybe, the world should take notice of the Arab Israeli dynamic.  They just might learn something from it.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nEscaping The Matrix\n\n\nI came across a great video featuring a black, street magician.  He has a terrific message of how to stay focused in this crazy, insane world. Here’s the link:\n\nTime is speeding up…at least everyone says so. More to the point, we are speeding up as we accelerate through time. Time is simply a construct, as Einstein so aptly put it.\n\nEverything is energy, as I’ve mentioned before. Earth has an electromagnetic field, with lightning, earthquakes and volcanoes all being part of that field. The frequency at which this field vibrates, historically 7.83Hz, is called the Schumann Resonance. This, then, is the heartbeat of the planet.\n\nThe planet Earth is about to transit from Pisces to Aquarius, which marks the end of a long evolutionary cycle. This cycle is talked about extensively in the ancient Mayan and Hindu texts. In many religions, this transit is referred to as the End Times. The human species is here to awaken and this is being accomplished through changes in the Schumann Resonance.\n\nInterestingly enough, the Schumann Resonance has recently spiked to over 30Hz. The world seems to be literally spinning out of control. People are becoming irrational, with some of their actions bordering on the insane.  Hang on. It’s going to be a bumpy ride.\n\n\n\n“The Matrix is a computer-generated dream world, built to keep us under control in order to change a human being into this.” (a copper-top D cell battery) – from the movie The Matrix\n\n\nFrom those of you who are religious, I get the same questions over and over again. For example, “Why doesn’t God answer my prayers?” It reminds me of a football game where the two teams huddle up before the game and pray to God for victory; both of them praying about the very same thing but wanting a completely opposite result. Sort of makes one sympathetic about God’s predicament, ala Jim Carrey, in the movie Bruce Almighty.\n\nHowever, my favorite question is “Where is God?” It’s a fair question since arguably God has not talked to anyone since Moses. The answer to that question is really quite simple and perhaps completely unexpected for most: God is not here because he can’t be here!\n\nTo understand this requires a little bit of a scientific explanation. That is, everything in the universe is energy; everything, even God. You should think of God as the creative force which is the source of all energy. Now, vibration is a fundamental characteristic of energy. The lowest level of vibration is matter and the highest level of vibration is God. So, if God were to manifest in front of you, you would cease to exist because you could not maintain your own level of vibration. It would be sort of like the old Memorex ads where sound shatters a glass.\n\nOf course, this explanation may lead some of you to ask how God appeared to Adam, Abraham and Moses (according to the Bible). Again, the answer is completely unexpected for most. My apologies to those who accept religion as the Word of God, but God has never appeared to man. Never. The Bible stories are just that – stories, although perhaps based on real events. It’s sort of like those movies you see that say they are inspired by real events. If you want some related information on this, try reading the Book of Enoch.\n\nSo, what are we doing here then? Let’s try and break it down.\n\nThe universe is holographic. What exactly does that mean? At the risk of oversimplifying, it means that the universe is an illusion. It exists, it’s real, but it’s far from what you think it is. Space and time are also illusions, or as Einstein so aptly put it, “a construct.” Further, space and time are dependent on the observer(you). The brilliant physicist John Wheeler explained it thusly: “The universe does not exist ‘out there,’ independent of us. We are inescapably involved in bringing about that which appears to be happening. We are not only observers. We are participators.”\n\nParticipators in what you might ask? Well, in creating reality for starters, just as John Wheeler stated. That is, we are “inescapably involved in what appears to be happening.” A key word here is “appears” because, as Michael Talbot explained in his book The Holographic Universe, our reality is constructed mathematically by our brains from frequencies that have been projected into our universe from a realm that is beyond both space and time.  Constructed mathematically you understand.\n\nBeyond that, man is so much more than what we have ever been told. For starters, our DNA can communicate beyond space and time! In that regard, Russian molecular biologist Pjotr Gariaiev was one of the pioneers in DNA-related research. His discovery, which was based on his work as part of The Human Genome Project, is that DNA is a network of human consciousness, a process by which it functions similarly to a biological internet. The upshot is that DNA is part of an energy field which extends outside of space and time.\n\nHowever, there’s a twist to the story – the universe is, in reality, a real-life simulation! It’s what I refer to as “the video game effect.” The system is artificial and is operated by very advanced technology, something akin to a supercomputer with a holographic computer code. It was physicist Dr. James Gates who first noticed that certain scientific theories which describe the fundamental nature of the universe contain embedded computer codes (simply ones and zeros, just like in your own computer’s software).\n\nThis system is operated by non-humans who exist outside of space and time. In ancient times, the Gnostics called them archons and early Arabian mythology referred to them as jinns. They literally hijacked this realm. The Lord’s Prayer was written as a plea to deliver man from evil (the archons).\n\nHumans, themselves, came from outside the system. You could refer to it as a spiritual realm. In essence, we have stepped down from a spiritual form to a physical form, biblically the Fall of Man, and our memory banks have been wiped clean. Our world then is, in effect, a spiritual prison. As in the movie Tron, the trick is to get out of the game.\n\nComplicating matters is that for many their choices have actually been predetermined through a form of mind control. This mind control system programs our subconscious minds, preempting our free will. This is the explanation for the discovery by scientists that our decisions are made before we are consciously aware of them.\n\nToday, that mind-control system, with its subliminal messaging, is everywhere – from advertisements, to movies, to music to education, to the six-o’clock news. Only when you do not identify with the material world can you achieve liberation from the mind-control system. Fear and ignorance are your enemies. Therefore, you need to identify with your spiritual self as opposed to your physical self. Remember, everything is energy, including yourself. If you gain in awareness, you can increase your vibration rate which in turn can lead to escaping the matrix.\n\nHowever, man is generally not aware of his origins or his true powers. As a result, he has not yet evolved to the point of being able to escape the matrix.  How come, you might ask. Well, it happens to benefit certain people to keep the masses ignorant. It’s a dirty little secret that you’re not suppose to know…but, of course, now you know.\n\n\n\nIf man is to survive, he will need to wake up. He’s been sleepwalking in the dream world. As Morpheus told Neo (in the movie The Matrix), “But I can only show you the door. You’re the one that has to walk through it.”\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe truth is a funny thing. Everybody has a different take on it and everybody is convinced that they are right. So, here’s one version of the truth.\n\nThe truth is… that we are not physical beings, per se. All life forms in the universe are composed of energy which are vibrating at such a low level that they condense, so to speak, into matter.\n\nThe truth is… that our universe is mathematical in nature. For example, cosmologist Max Tegmark has stated that our external physical reality is a mathematical structure. Further, physicist James Gates says that his research shows that certain theories which describe the fundamental nature of the universe contain embedded computer codes (that’s ones and zeros, and nothing else).\n\nThe truth is… that your reality is simply what you perceive it to be. Perception is everything, as the mind can’t tell the difference between what is “real” and what is vividly imagined. In that regard, philosopher Immanuel Kant reasoned that time and space are not inherent qualities of the physical world but rather a reflection of the way the mind operates; that is, the entire universe exists within the mind, not the other way around.\n\nThe truth is… the world is holographic and we exist in a virtual reality matrix. Our perception of reality is what Einstein has referred to as an “optical illusion of consciousness.” This issue was brilliantly explained in the movie The Matrix where Morpheus tells Neo, “If real is what you can feel, smell, taste and see, then real is simply electrical signals interpreted by the brain.”\n\nThe truth is… that our universe is, in actuality, a simulation. By that, I mean that we exist in a reality that has been artificially constructed, as evidenced by James Gates’ computer codes.  Even our DNA is like a computer program, as Bill Gates has attested to.  Further, the new scientific field of DNA Wave Genetics postulates that our DNA is a bio-computer.  Of course, it was none other than Albert Einstein who said that space/time was a construct.\n\nThe truth is… that there is an intelligence in the universe (and/or beyond it) that is responsible for the existence of our reality.  Great minds like Plato, Einstein, Planck, Michio Kaku, Arno Penzias and Francis Crick, among many others, have said as much. Even ardent evolutionists like George Wald and Antony Flew have admitted that intelligence is the most likely cause of life in the universe.\n\nThe truth is… that there really is no such thing as the truth. All things are allowed and there is an infinite number of possibilities for us to choose from. When you grapple with a major decision in your life, your choice has already been made. All other possible choices have also already been made (and chosen in some alternative universe).  You are simply attracting into your life, and into this universe, that specific decision that harmonizes with your own dominant thoughts.\n\nSo if there actually is such a thing as an answer to your questions, the answer… is you. As physicist John Wheeler put it, “The universe does not exist ‘out there,’ independent of us. We are inescapably involved in bringing about that which appears to be happening. We are not only observers. We are participators.” If that doesn’t work for you, simply take the blue pill and go back to sleep.\n\n\n\nYou may recall that I have previously discussed what I refer to as “the video game effect.” That is, we are all participants in a virtual reality matrix where all the characters are holographic (remember Tron). That doesn’t make us any less real, but it certainly does change our view of the world.\n\nAnd that’s the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me….\n\n\n\n\n       – Martin Rees, astrophysicist\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nEverything in the world is faith-based. Everything. Even if you think you know, you really don’t. It’s what Einstein referred to as the optical illusion of consciousness.\n\nI know a lot of you are in search of answers, in search of the truth. For example, many are in search of God. Some of you believe in the Christian god, Allah or Buddha. Some of you, not finding evidence of a god, become atheists. What you all have in common with one another is that you all believe that your belief system, above all other belief systems, is true. You all believe that you, and you alone, possess the truth.\n\nWhen it comes to understanding creation, everything is a belief system. The “truth” is simply what you tell yourself is the truth or what you’ve been brainwashed to believe (e.g. religion and atheism). There is no evidence. So, stop demanding that people show you the evidence to prove their belief system. Even if you were to be shown the evidence, you still wouldn’t believe. For as Stuart Chase said, “For those who believe, no proof is necessary. For those who don’t believe, no proof is possible.”\n\nTherefore, the next time you feel compelled to ask someone to show you the evidence….don’t. Why should they show you the proof, if you’re just going to reject it anyway? After all, people don’t want to know the truth, they just want to believe that they are right so they can continue to live in their own little bubble.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n– Robert Oxton Bolt\n\n\nEveryone has beliefs. Those beliefs are based on a person’s perception of reality which is, for the most part, limited to what their physical senses tell them the world is like. These physical senses give rise to logic, a reasoning process which is an intellectual exercise in taking the available information and then trying to determine the truth of the matter (e.g. what is reality?).\n\nHowever, the best that we can do is come to some approximate understanding of what the physical world is like. That’s the best. Of course, we know that humans’ senses of hearing and seeing are very inadequate so our view of reality is also likely to be lacking.\n\nInterestingly enough, quantum physics tells us that there is a reality beyond the observable universe. Our universe is not all that there is to creation!! Beyond our universe is a non-physical world where consciousness is all that is. As Max Planck, the father of modern physics, stated, “I regard consciousness as fundamental. We cannot get behind consciousness.”  Yet from a scientific standpoint, scientists cannot prove (scientifically) what lies beyond our universe – because it is not observable. That’s the dilemma that John Horgan discussed in his book The End of Science.\n\nSo, where does this leave us?  All that we have to try to understand life is our physical senses. Yet, our physical senses cannot grasp the physical universe let alone the quantum world that our reality arises from. Michael Talbot, in The Holographic Universe, explained just how our reality is shaped by unseen forces from beyond, as follows: “Our brains mathematically construct objective reality by interpreting frequencies that are ultimately projections from another dimension, a deeper order of existence that is beyond both space and time….”   Carl Jung expressed a similar concept when he said that the psyche and reality are not limited to space and time.\n\nYet, people generally resist anything that they can’t see for themselves.  Instead, they simply label things they can’t explain as “supernatural.”  This is particularly true of atheists as they reject anything that smacks of the supernatural (which they equate with an admission that God exists).\n\nHowever living, in my opinion, does require a leap of faith. By leap of faith, I’m not talking here about religion. Rather, I’m talking about having an open mind with regards to the unseen forces of Nature that shape our world. Unfortunately, though, if you’re looking for hard and fast answers you can forget it.  There really aren’t any. The thing to remember, though, as Bernard Werber said is that, “The point is not to 
believe or not believe. 
What matters is to ask 
as many questions as possible.”\n\n\n\nThe human species has been taught to believe that it is a physical species. If so, then why do you not fall out of bed at night?  Yes, the physical body is asleep but something keeps you from falling out of bed when you roll over at night. Further, what part of your body makes you human?  If you lose a hand, arm or leg, do you stop being human? Of course not. Exactly what makes you human then?\n\nSo, why is man the only species that can ponder his own existence? The only one. What part of his physical body does man use to do that?  His mind? Well, you should know that scientists have been unable to locate the “mind” in our physical body.  However, they have determined that the “mind” makes decisions before you are even consciously aware of those decisions. So, where exactly do your beliefs come from?  Better yet, who are you?\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.648945689201355}
+{"content": "Exclusive Q&A: Legendary gymnast Shannon Miller\n\n2016 Olympics: 100 Days to Rio\n\nGold medalist and legendary Olympian Shannon Miller hung out with AOL Sports this week to talk about her partnership and new role as part of the Hershey's Team USA family, her successful past, health and fitness and much more.\n\nThe winner of a combined total of 16 World Championships and Olympic medals between 1991 and 1996, Miller ranks as the most decorated gymnast, male or female, in U.S. history. She is also the tenth most decorated gymnast of all time, by her individual medal count.\n\nQ: You're clearly a busy person, but this new partnership with Hershey seems awesome. Who doesn't love chocolate, right?\n\nA: (Laughs). Yes, it's definitely been a very busy year. The Olympics is kind of crazy, which is awesome. There are lots of great things going on, and I'm excited about the Hershey partnership with USA gymnastics. I'm honored to be a part of Team Hershey. You take the things I love -- chocolate and gymnastics – and it's been a lot of fun.\n\nI'm really looking forward to Rio – and this is a good reminder. Hershey is a family-oriented company that focuses on small moments; we celebrate big moments, like in the Olympics, but we also want to focus on small moments in life, like making s'mores with kids or baking with my mom. Those are the things you look back on and remember forever.\n\nQ: Do athletes still reach out to you for advice and have you found yourself really evolving into a coach and/or mentor?\n\nA: Yes, I'm really fond with a number of athletes. Many are going through the retirement process as well. During their career, they had a great support system -- coaches and community, trainers. Pro athletes, once they retire, they go through a weird period, where they don't have that specific support system and they have all these extra hours. Me, I had extra 40 hours and didn't know what to do with my time. I was looking for direction from being away from what I spent my whole life doing. It's about committing time to programs that focus on a legacy. In fact, every athlete going to Rio goes through this training because it forces them to think about their legacy and what they hope to be remembered by long-term. It's a really good exercise for athletes.\n\n\nQ: Was that the period of time when you thought about writing your autobiography or taking on all the commitments you have now?\n\nA: Not during that specific period. I did write a book when I was 19 or 20. It was great because it helped me think about my goals. In my early 20s it was about who I was outside of being a gymnast. That's when I found my passion for health and fitness and wellness. I was able to apply that and get my degree and go to law school. I thought about life outside gymnastics and I realized it's not so much about 'outside gymnastics', but it's 'other passions, including gymnastics.'\n\nQ: Given your passion for wellness, what advice would you give to anybody wanting to change their life and finally putting fitness and nutrition first?\n\nA: What worked well for me, and everyone has own personal journey, is taking the 'everything in moderation' approach. Like gymnastics, you're going to fall off the beam, but you have to get back up. Coach had to teach me it's more productive to get back up. You kick yourself for eating too much or not working out, but instead of beating yourself up, get back on track and watch your portion sizes and stuff like that the next day. Even if you get 10 minutes of solid exercise in today, it's better than nothing. Drink water instead of other options. These are not quick fixes, but it's part of everyday lifestyle. We often talk about fitness and nutrition but we have to pay attention to stress management and rest – and make sure you get regular doctor visits.\n\nQ: What life lessons did you learn through your athletic career?\n\nA: There's so many. One of the biggest is goal-setting. Yes, setting long-term goals is big, but you need smaller goals to make sure you're always achieving something. You have to be able to keep yourself motivated. It can be as small as doing 10 extra sit-ups a day. You add that up over 10 years, it could make a huge difference. Another one is teamwork. A strong support system helps you achieve goals. A positive attitude is another one. No matter what success is to you, work hard with a positive attitude.\n\nFollow AOL Sports on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter\n\nRead Full Story\n\n\nSubscribe to our other newsletters\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5275833010673523}
+{"content": "Operation Babylift (Vietnam Adoptions 1975)\n\nhome > vietnam adoption > operation babylift > shirley peck barnes interview\n\nThe War Cradle\n\nOperation Babylift Interview with Shirley Peck Barnes\n\nInterview By Allison Martin\n\nThe War CradleShirley Peck-Barnes is the author of The War Cradle a riveting account of Operation Babylift in Vietnam 1975. Her book chronicles the evacuation of thousands of Vietnamese children to America during the last days of American presence in South Vietnam.\n\nHow did you become involved in the Vietnam Babylift?\n\nShirley Peck Barnes: Probably my basic human concern for children in trouble. Like most people, I can't read about/or hear of children being hurt. I want to go sock somebody.\n\nDriving home late one night, during a Denver snowstorm in March 1975, I tuned-in to a newscast telling of the plight of the Vietnamese War orphans during the last days of Saigon. Friends of the Children of Vietnam, a Denver agency who ran orphanages in Vietnam, was in crisis in wanting to get the children out of the country and to homes that welcomed them all over the world.\n\nAlong with my strong feelings for children, there were other significant factors that came into play. I was the mother of four children, including twins and an adopted child. I was an Air Force wife, and as a single girl had a tour of duty as a secretary in the orient during the Korean War years. I had some first- hand experience in seeing children of war in distress. Further, I had just been appointed to open a new healthcare facility, still vacant, which was in close proximity to Denver Children's Hospital.. It was a natural \"coming-together.\" Ironically, the new building was constructed on the very site that Children's Hospital had its beginnings in a Victorian mansion in 1910. That this site would be a haven for children in distress twice within a century was seen as a visible act of destiny.\n\nI have often reflected that if I had left the office earlier, as planned, and had not heard the newscast, I would have missed the moment in history all-together. I do not believe things happen by accident, I am more inclined to believe they happen by design. Operation Babylift will go down in the annals of history as one of the most humanitarian gestures of our lifetime.\n\nWhat would you like people to gain from the book?\n\nShirley Peck Barnes: Most importantly to reflect on what war does to children and to be their voice. The lessons of Vietnam go unheeded. It is still with us, Bosnia, Kosovo, the Middle East, Ireland... there is no \"war cradle\" ... no protective environment for the children. We are often tangled in \"causes and reasons\" for war and the incidents that perpetuate it. But, if we were to place emphasis on WHAT war does to children, I think the diplomats might make a greater effort to take their arguments to the peace table, rather than the battlefield.\n\nIn readingThe War Cradle, the reader gets an insight into the tragedy of war, and its lasting effects on its smallest victims. Within the book are many testimonies, written by the adoptees themselves, which validate that they will bear the scars of war throughout their lifetime. Another issue is the desire of adoptees to search for their roots, to gain answers, when often there are none. It is a reality that all adoptees feel a void unless they have genetic answer; it is an issue that renders the adopted parents helpless. Since little has been written about Operation Babylift, The War Cradle provides a better understanding of how it all happened and of the circumstances and the individuals involved.\n\nWhile adoption is often necessary and the list of couples wanting children is long, more focus needs to address unwanted pregnancies and the parenting of children that are unwanted or cannot be cared for. Nothing can erase the sense of abandonment that most adoptees endure throughout their lifetime.\n\nWhat advice do you have for adoptive parents?\n\nShirley Peck Barnes: Often times new parents fall victim to the temptation of family and friends who give too much advice on adoption and how to raise an adopted cild. Open adoption, too, has become a much discussed subject and for some too liberal to implement. Bonding occurs immediately and although the adoptive parents have accepted the child into their hearts and are the legal parents, society still perceives you as a second-best choice which is often demonstrated by offering too much sympathy to an adoptee. \"Have you ever tried to find the real parents?\" is a question both adoptive parents and adoptees must deal with. Frankly, adoption is nobody else's business and society would do well to remember that. Let the family develop as a normal family. It would do well for parents to discuss and alert siblings to the false intents and outside intervention that is harmful and infringes on the bonding and trust that is established between the adoptee and parents. I highly recommend building a trust with your child. Let him know that you are the one who will \"step up to the plate\" anytime he/she needs help.. And if he needs a kidney, he's got it! From the moment the adopted child is placed in your arms, he/she is your own. Go with your gut feeling and all your love. It will be the vanguard that protects against adversity. Remember, a child from the womb is a walk with nature.. Taking a child that is not your own, is a walk with God.\n\nAs for the adoptees role and responsibility... it is the same as for any child. Love, honor, remember and be loyal to the people who loved and raised you. You have the same responsibility and obligation to your parents as any child born unto this world.\n\nWhat advice do you have for parents raising children adopted internationally?\n\nShirley Peck Barnes: I want to scream it from the highest tower.. It's not color that separates or instills bigotry.. It's Behavior! If this were not true, God would not have made all the flowers a different color... each decidedly different and beautiful.\n\nMaintaining a link to the child's heritage may or may not apply. It often depends upon the age of the child. Most foreign-born children become Americanized and are not interested in their foreign culture. Since we are a nation of immigrants we often absorb various cultures and traditions. It most probably is wise to leave the choice to the adoptee. As an adult he/she will either express interest and find the path to his culture or not consider it important to him.\n\nShowing interest in all cultures and traditions is the path most Americans take. We celebrate St. Patrick's day, Octoberfest, Cinco de Mayo, attend Chinese restaurants, and respect a number of traditional customs and holidays that are a part of the American culture. Families who participate and show interest in the various ethnic cultures are fostering understanding and acceptance.\n\nPurchase The War Cradle\n\nRead Book Review\n\nBack to: Operation Babylift\n\n\n\nVietnam Adoption Shop\nVisit the Vietnam Adoption Shops\n\nBabylift Books\nVN Cook Books\nVN Culture\nVN Literature\nVN Music CDs\nVN Movies", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5240228176116943}
+{"content": "14 Following\n\nRomancing the Novel\n\n\nCurrently reading\n\nThrough the Smoke\nBrenda Novak\nHow To Tame Your Duke\nJuliana Gray\nA Marriage of Inconvenience (The Arringtons and Wright-Gordons, #1) - Susanna Fraser Wonderfully written story that had me hooked from the first line.\nLucy Jones was orphaned at a young age and eventually was taken in by her Aunt and Uncle. They were not kind to her and she learned to adapt by holding in her emotions. She and her cousin become secretly engaged and while she is very happy about it, she questions why he wants to marry her.\nWhile visiting her female cousins fiance's family to prepare for the wedding, she meets James Wright-Gordon, who she connects with right away. Lots of sensual tension between them. Meanwhile her fiance' falls for James' sister Anna and after finding out the family fortune has been lost, he proposes to Anna without first breaking off the engagement with Lucy. To complicate matters to the extreme, James and Lucy are found in a compromising position and James steps up to the plate to marry her. Plenty of twists, turns and shocking secrets throughout that kept me so captivated that I had trouble putting this down.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8081828355789185}
+{"content": "Image 20161109 19074 9n2d5t.jpg?ixlib=rb 1.1\n\nIndonesia’s knowledge sector is catching up, but a large gap persists\n\nIn the last four years Indonesia has rapidly increased its academic publications output. But it still has a lot of catching up to do to be on par with other countries in the region. Andreas Hie/www.shutterstock,com\n\nIndonesia’s knowledge sector is catching up, but a large gap persists\n\n\n\n\nThis may ultimately help Indonesia produce high-value goods for export, such as chemicals, electronics and bio-medical manufacturing. It would also quicken its transition to a middle-income country. As [Lord Nicholas Stern noted]( >Whilst creativity, ideas and questioning are of value in their own right, economies and societies which invest more in research generally show faster rates of growth in output and human development. ## Still behind However, Indonesia still has a lot of catching up to do to be on par with other countries in the region and other middle-income countries in publishing academic articles. Between 1996 and 2008 Indonesia published just over [9,000 scientific documents]( That figure places Indonesia more than 13 years behind other lower-middle-income countries like Bangladesh or Kenya. Indonesia trails even further behind neighbouring upper-middle-income countries such as Thailand and Malaysia or high-income countries such as Singapore. Singapore, South Africa and Mexico still each produce three times as many academic publications as Indonesia. The [low production of academic papers]( by Indonesian research institutions is one of the symptoms of a weak knowledge sector. In 2014 Indonesia accounted for only 0.65% of academic publications in the ASEAN region. It produced just over 0.2% of global publications. Compared to the size of the economy and population of Indonesia there’s a substantial gap between actual and potential research output. Indonesia produces the lowest number of academic publications per US$1 billion of GDP (2.2 publications per US$1 billion of GDP), compared to neighbouring ASEAN countries and partner countries of the G20. The Philippines produces 2.7 and Vietnam 7.2 academic publications per US$1 billion of GDP. Indonesia has also failed to maximise the [potential for international collaborations]( in recent years. International collaborations help scientists to access knowledge and expertise, and apply them to local problems. They also enhance domestic scientific capabilities through the exchange of knowledge and experience. Until 2011 67% of publications involved co-authorship, but by 2014 this had fallen to 44%. Previously, Indonesian authors were more collaborative than authors from countries with much higher publication output.\n\nIndonesia’s potential\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7522377371788025}
+{"content": "Site Index\n\nCharles Olivea\nThe Urantian Journal of Urantia Brotherhood\nWinter, 1980\n\n\nThis essay has a two-fold purpose: to suggest an explanation why Deity chooses to differentiate the mortal planetary-races by color and endowment; and to offer some ideas on today's perplexing issues of social justice, genetic control, and racism on Urantia.\n\nPart I\n\nIn attempting to understand the concept of race in The Urantia Book, I found it necessary to adopt the view that \"Finite origins are helpful, but only divine causes reveal final effects. Eternal ends are not shown in time beginnings.\" (*215:8) It is helpful to have a Life Carrier's listing of some of the reasons for racial differences: variety for natural selection; interbreeding of diverse, but superior inheritance factors; competitive interracial development; variation in racial status provides the opportunity for developing tolerance; and, encouraging individual races to first grow in numbers and come to maturity before worldwide homogeneous racial mixing. (*726:3-7) While these reasons do describe something important about the process of racial evolution in the human condition, they do not explain how the plan for multiple evolutionary races of color relates to God and his cosmic design of the universe.\n\nIt seems to me that racial differences in mental and physical endowments must be in some way a reflection of the divine nature of Deity personality. After all, the plan of biological differentiation is divinely sanctioned, The evolutionary races of color appear to serve as still another means by which Deity chooses to reveal itself to ascending mortals. I perceive an analogous relationship between Deity personalities (Universal Father, Eternal Son, and Infinite Spirit), and their associative combinations to the six human races of color and the violet (or Adamic) race. These relationships are outlined in the chart given below:\n\nCosmic Function of Human and Adamic Races (A Reflection of the Divine Characteristics of Triune Deity)\n\nDeity Personality Divine Characteristics -- Races\n\n1. Universal Father Thought (Thinking) -- Red\n\n2. Eternal Son Word (Feeling) --Yellow Primary\n\n3. Infinite Spirit Action (Doing) --Blue Function\n\n4. Universal + Eternal Thought + Word --Orange\n\nFather Son\n\n5. Universal + Infinite Thought + Action --Green Secondary\n\nFather Spirit Function\n\n6. Eternal + Infinite Word + Action -- Indigo\n\nSon Spirit\n\n7. Universal + Eternal + Infinite Thought + Word + Action --Violet Integrative\n\nFather Son Spirit Function\n\nWe know that the Universal Father, Eternal Son, and Infinite Spirit are the primary individual personalities of triune Deity (not to be confused with the Paradise Trinity, which is undivided, organic, and indivisible Deity). Triune Deity makes the approach to/from the planetary realms of time and space possible through God the Sevenfold, whose divine purpose is to compensate for limitations of creatures in their efforts to find God. (*11-12) It is my belief that a clue to the meaning of the cosmic functions of the violet race and six evolutionary races of color can be found in God the Sevenfold, particularly the Seven Master Spirits. The Seven Master Spirits constitute the first link of the Supreme Creators in time and space with the Supreme Being and triune Paradise Deity. I think the )connection between these races and the Master Spirits is suggested by the fact that the Seven Master Spirits exhaust \". . the associative possibilities mathematically inherent in the factual existence of the three persons of Deity .... this explains why the universe is operated in seven grand divisions, and why the number seven is basically fundamental in its organization and administration.\" (*184:1) \"By and in and through these Seven Spirits, the Universal Father, the Eternal Son, or the Infinite Spirit, or any dual association, is able to function as such. When the Father, the Son, and the Spirit act together, they can and do function through Master Spirit Number Seven. . . . \" (*185:2)\n\nFurthermore, the divine nature of the primary personalities of Deity, represented in the grand universe as the seven identities of the Seven Master Spirits, can be described in terms of \"thought, word,\" or \"action,\" or some combination thereof. The Universal Father is the God of Thought (*90:1); the Eternal Son is the God of Word (*73:1); and, the Infinite Spirit is the God of Action (*90:5). 1 hold that these diversified characteristics of the Deity personalities and the attenuation of this pattern into the grand universe through the Seven Master Spirits, are introduced on the planetary level in the analogous, biological form of racial differentiation. Each race is an approximate correlation to one of the triune Deities, or one of its associative combinations.\n\nCosmic Design\n\nWe know from The Urantia Book that the cosmic design for a normal, typical planetary evolution allows for three primary races (red, yellow, and blue) and three secondary races (orange, green, and indigo), all of which are known on this planet as the Sangik races. Differences in color, which conform to elements of the light spectrum, improve identification of a particular race. Eventually, the biologically healthier individuals of all the races are to be integrated with the imported assistance of the violet race, the advanced offspring of an Adam and Eve. This scheme of mental and physical finite creature growth permits the fullest possible manifestation of the Deity personalities to human beings in a biological dimension. The primary races are so-named because each seems to reflect the divine nature of one of the primary Deities, the Father, Son, or Spirit. It would follow then, that the secondary races function as \"secondary\" in the sense that each is paired analogously with one of the dual associative combinations of the original three primary Deities.\n\nA single evolutionary race of color might allow only the Universal Father to be revealed through biological means. Three races would expand this to the Eternal Son and Infinite Spirit. The existence of three additional racial groups implies Deity-combinations of Father-Son, Father-Spirit, and Son-Spirit. A tripartite Deity of Father-Son-Spirit is suggested analogously in the offspring of a super-mortal Material Son and Daughter functioning to biologically upstep and pull together the six human races. This violet race would be the seventh expression of triune Deity reflected on a biological plane.\n\nIn this context, some differentiation among the human races of color appears necessary and probably inevitable. \"The Life Carriers impart the full bestowal of the living energies to the initial or red race, and each succeeding evolutionary manifestation of a distinct group of mortals represents variation at the expense of the original endowment.\" (*584:5) Certainly, all races are given a capacity for thought, word, and action (which can be re-phrased respectively as thinking, feeling, and doing)\n\nHowever, the relative capacity of the primary Sangik races was in some respects greater than the secondary Sangik races. I think this was so because each of the former group emphasized a major attribute of a single Deity personality. The intelligence of the red race, a little higher in capacity than the two other primary races, came closest to the thinking power of the Father. The yellow race had the highest capacity for soul-sentiment because it best expressed the spiritual power of the Eternal Son. The blue race was noted for its mechanical inventiveness in the arts of civilization, which can be likened to the ability of the Infinite Spirit to get things done. (*723-725)\n\nThe Urantia Book states that the secondary Sangik races were somewhat less endowed by the Life Carriers in the bestowal of living energies than the endowment given to the primary Sangiks. I think this is because, in the secondary races, attributes of thinking, feeling, and doing had to be more differentiated than they were in the primary racial groups. Such as arrangement gives a distinct advantage in that \"The evolution of six-or of three-colored races, while seeming to deteriorate the original endowment of the red man, provides certain very desirable variations in mortal types and affords an otherwise unattainable expression of diverse human potentials.\" (*584:7\n\nIt is my view that the secondary races reflect analogously a duality of Deity-associations and their respective characteristics. For example, the efforts of the Eternal Son and the Infinite Spirit as a duality to reveal themselves to mortal creatures is advanced through the existence of the indigo race, which emphasizes the traits of feeling and doing. The divine benefit of this is to permit Deity to make a fuller, more creative biological revelation than if the mortal species was limited to only one or even three races of color. The human advantage is that \"Biologically considered, the secondary Sangiks were in some respects superior to the primary races.\" (*920:8)\n\nIn the long view of human affairs, differentials of endowment in the primary and secondary races are enhanced by the Adamic bestowal and eventually integrated into a planetary racial amalgamation, after the various races of color are relieved of their degenerate strains. Whereas all evolutionary races are ascending and all are in need of compensatory assistance, the violet race is a descending race whose offspring uplift in a biological sense the six human races of color.\n\nGod's command: \"Be you perfect, even as I am perfect,\" (*22:3) was given to us because the prerequisite potentials of perfection were (are) present in all the races. God knows and loves each person with an equal regard. Human beings of all the races of color were destined to receive an indwelling spirit-friend and guide, and Thought Adjuster. For these reasons, all races have equal standing before the celestial authorities. (*725:9)\n\nSonship with God is greater than distinctions of race among God's children. The experience of an individual's relationship with the Father is the most profound living truth a mortal being can possess. By implication, in one form or another, we humans are linked together as brothers and sisters in the family of God. Sooner or later, within the grand sweep of the historical evolution of human society, sonship status is increasingly perceived by human beings as more significant than racial status. INDEED, THE MAGNITUDE OF UNITY IMPLIED BY THE FATHERHOOD OF GOD IS INFINITELY GREATER THAN THE MAGNITUDE OF DIFFERENCE SUGGESTED BY THE VARIOUS RACES OF COLOR.\n\nThe cosmic plan for the human races of color on Urantia has been distorted, and at times side-tracked, by the special circumstances of our planet's history since the coming of the Sangik races a half-million years ago: the Lucifer rebellion and the betrayal of Caligastia, the Adamic default, and a myriad of social and genetic-environmental health problems lasting to our very day in the 20th century.\n\nPart II\n\n\"Having failed to achieve race harmonization by the Adamic technique, you must now work out your planetary problem of race improvement by other and largely human methods. . . \" (*586:5) The problems of biological evolution and genetic-environmental control are rendered still more complicated by what many people view as overlapping considerations of racism and social justice.\n\nRacism Anti-Spiritual\n\nMany people, with some justification, fear that any attempt to upstep the biological quality of the human race could result in the wholesale destruction of particular groups of otherwise innocent persons, or at least result in a grave deprivation of their personal liberties. Racism promotes these fears, Racism ignores one's earned character while emphasizing racial membership in deciding the value of a person or a group. It is an anti-spiritual, socially intolerant, unscientific distortion of reality. Modern racism has produced a trauma in the minds of large numbers of people on the subject of biological control and race.\n\nMany have responded to modern racism with a call for social justice, which places one's character over race as the basis for determining the worth of an individual or group. For some, such a view is spiritually predicated on the Fatherhood of God and on the evolving brotherhood of man. However, many people base their argument for social justice only on humanism, which I think weakens the idea of human brotherhood by subtracting the Father concept. Proponents of social justice tend to minimize or ignore human differences and maximize human similarities. Equality in human affairs is their goal.\n\nUnfortunately, the advocates of the ideals of social justice do not usually address the problems resulting from genetic flaws in the human race. Frequently, the effort to avoid the pitfalls of racism inadvertently clouds the necessity to prevent the reproduction of the more obviously genetically defective and enfeebled individuals found in all races. Racial \". . prejudice against 'half-castes,' 'hybrids,' and 'mongrels' arises because modern racial crossbreeding is, for the greater part, between the grossly inferior strains of the races concerned. You also get unsatisfactory offspring when the degenerate strains of the same race intermarry.\" (*920:1)\n\nAnother dimension to this subject is that \"Hybridization of superior and dissimilar stocks is the secret of the creation of new and more vigorous strains. And this is true of plants, animals, and the human species. Hybridization augments vigor and increases fertility. Race mix-\n\ntures of the average or superior strata of various peoples greatly increase creative potential, as is shown in the present population of the United States of North America. When such matings take place between the lower or inferior strata, creativity is diminished, as is shown by the present-day peoples of southern India.\" (*920:3) However, \". . the real jeopardy of the human species is to be found in the unrestrained multiplication of the inferior and degenerate strains of the various civilized peoples rather than in any supposed danger of their racial interbreeding.\" (*921:1) In other words, differences in racial endowment, such as they may exist in today's mixed races (white, black, brown, red, and yellow), are not the problem. Biological defectiveness in the various races is a cause for grave concern. Too extensive a biological abnormality would seem to jeopardize the sonship status of living and future human beings by interfering with their capacity for moral and spiritual discernment.\n\nHealth Problem\n\nI think it is important for devotees of human brotherhood to distinguish between a recognition of degeneracy and racial prejudice. Racists should be restrained or convinced of the spiritual basis of humankind. It seems to me that the need for the biological improvement of the human race is really a HEALTH PROBLEM, rather than a racial one. Since the objections to genetic defectiveness would be applicable to both interracial and intraracial mixtures of abnormal individuals, the solution could emphasize mental and physical well-being without special reference to race. I think society needs to develop criteria for measuring the quality of mental and physical health of its people. In turn, such criteria should be used in some reasonable way to prevent the lower third of its population from reproducing. On the other hand, it would be in the interest of society to promote the reproduction of the upper two-thirds of its population, i.e., the tiers that range from average to superior on an intellectual and physical scale (yet to be designed). Racialistic solutions (along with nationalism) will not be the answer. They tend more and more to be disunifying and destructive. Racialism, which long ago made sense before the Caligastia betrayal and Adamic default, will become increasingly counter-productive as the world evolves into a global village of modern transportation, trade, and communication. The solution, paradoxically, ought to synthesize the unifying religious notion that we are all children in the family of God with the depurative scientific notion that sound minds and bodies depend to a large degree on a good genetic inheritance that not everyone has. Society must also insure the existence of a healthy environment for the proper development of its population.\n\nThose of us who advocate changes of a social-biological nature ought to heed carefully the admonitions of an archangel of Nebadon, who said that we, \"..should be unafraid to experiment with the mechanisms of society. But always should these adventures in cultural adjustment be controlled by those who are fully conversant with the history of social evolution; and always should these innovators be counseled by the wisdom of those who have had practical experience in the domains of contemplated social or economic experiment. No great social or economic change should be attempted suddenly. Time is essential to all types of human adjustment – physical, social, or economic. (911:6)\n\nThese qualifications are very important because any social-biological engineering will involve the home life – marriage and family, the foundations of society. In light of the above, it is my conclusion that social, medical, and genetic control can be safely entrusted only to persons who, at least,:\n\n1) complete a successful parental experience;\n\n2) hold an outlook which respects the right to life of the various racial (and ethnic) groups on this planet;\n\n3) understand and apply insights from the science of molecular biology and birth technology;\n\n4) understand and apply insight from the sociology and psychology of child culture;\n\n5) possess a comprehensive knowledge of the history of our planet;\n\n6) know how to make compromises in the political use of power;\n\n7) and most importantly, are drawn to the Fatherhood of God and his sons and daughters of the human race.\n\n- Charles Laurence Olivea, Watertown, Connecticut\n\nA Service of\nThe Urantia Book Fellowship", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.874825119972229}
+{"content": "The strength training workouts help in working your muscle groups and improving your metabolism rate. Below are 6 strength training workouts for women.\n\n1.Overhead Squat\n\nIn order to perform this workout, you need a gym bag placed on the head while you are standing and grip the ends of the bag with your hands. The arms should be straightened and feet widened.  Thereafter, thrust the hips back and bend your knees to perform the squat and avoid slouching. You should descend downward as if you are sitting back in a small chair. Your hips should be parallel to the knee joints. Stay in that position for one or two seconds and rise back to the initial position. Start with 5 repetitions and gradually increase it.\n\n2.Dead lift\n\nUse the gym bag for placing in front of your feet.  Thereafter, stand behind and bring your feet closer to each other. Fold your knees and push your hips to grip the edges of the gym bag. Come back to standing posture as you straighten your legs and back. Contract the shoulder blades and stick your chest out. Perform at least 5 repetitions.\n\n3.Kettle bell Swing\n\nWith the help of a water jug, hold the handle of the jug and ensure that you are holding it below the pelvis. Straighten your arms and lean down. Bend your upper body forward by pushing your buttocks out. It should appear like you are squatting. With a strong force squat back quickly without bending your knees completely. When the water jug reaches the chest level, you can lower the body and push your buttocks into the initial position. Do 20 repetitions.\n\n4.Leg split squat\n\nBegin with holding a water jug in each hand and keep your arms straight. Keep your face away from the chair and one of your feet can be propped on a chair. One of the legs should be straight and the other can be propped back onto the chair. Now, bend your straight leg downwards like a squat and make sure that the knee is not going past your toes. The leg that is propped on the chair should be lowered and bent. Squat until the knee on the chair touches the surface and hold for one second before you go back to the start position. Perform this exercise for minimum 5 repetitions.\n\n5.Hammer Curls\n\nWith a water jug in each hand, position the arms as straight as possible by your sides. The wrists should be in line with your shoulders. Contract the biceps by using the forearm to get the jugs upwards in curling movement. Once your hand comes in contact with the arm, you can stop for a second to squeeze the biceps. The water jugs can be lowered back into the initial position. Do 5 to 10 repetitions.\n\n6.Overhead Press\n\nStand tall and straight with feet placed at shoulder width apart. The chest needs to be pushed up like you are puffing it all out. Hold the gym bag by its edges and place it across the front arms so that it rests on the collarbone. Thereafter, squeeze the glutes for stability and push the bag upwards. Do 12 repetitions.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7528854608535767}
+{"content": "21 Essential MS Excel Hotkeys When Working With Lots of Data\n\nWhen you're working on a large data set in Excel, it can get pretty time consuming to navigate the numerous rows and columns of data in order to identify what's important. That's why we've put together this list of 21 hotkeys you need to know when working with large data sets based on our experience over the years in Finance, consulting and IT. Guaranteed to make your life a lot easier!\n\nCTRL+ARROW KEYMoves to the edge of the current data region in a worksheet.\nUseful if you want to reach the last row or column of a worksheet.\n\nSHIFT+ARROW KEYExtends the selection of cells by one cell.\nUse it to select multiple cells in a small region at a time.\n\nCTRL+SHIFT+ARROW KEYExtends the selection of cells to the last nonblank cell in the same column or row as the active cell, or if the next cell is blank, extends the selection to the next nonblank cell.\nUse it to select a row or column of cells within a longer row/column.\n\n\n\nEditing Sheets\nALT+I+RInserts a row above the active cell.\nTo add multiple rows, insert one row and then press Ctrl + Y as many times as needed.\n\nALT+I+CInserts a column to the left of the active cell.\nTo add multiple columns, insert one column and then press Ctrl + Y as many times as needed.\n\nALT+H+HHighlights the select cells.\nUseful if you want to filter the highlighted cells later on.\n\nALT+H+FCChange the font color of the selected cells\n\nCopy Paste Wizadry\nCTRL+CCopies the selected cells.\n\nCTRL+XCuts the selected cells.\n\nCTRL+VPastes the copied/cut cells including formatting.\n\nALT + E + S + VPaste values only.\n\nALT + E + S + TPaste formats only.\n\nOne fast way to get rid of formulas is to use a ALT + E + S + V followed by an ALT + E + S + T combo.\n\nCTRL+SHIFT+~ Applies the General number format\n\nCTRL+SHIFT+$ Applies the currency format to 2 d.p.\n\nCTRL+SHIFT+% Applies the Percentage format with no decimal places\n\nALT+A+T Applies the filters to the top row of the selection\n\nALT+N+V+T Creates a pivot table based on the selected data\n\nALT+W+F+R Freeze the top row.\nIf you have many rows of data, freeze the top row so you know what the cell values are supposed to represent\n\nALT+W+F+C Freeze the top column.\n\nKeep the first column fixed while scrolling through the rest of the worksheet.\n\nThese time savers really add up so get started on using them right away and you'll notice the difference immediately! Did we miss out any useful shortcuts? Let us know and we'll add it on to the list.\n\nTitle Image Credit: thomasivarssonmalmo\nNext PostNewer Post Previous PostOlder Post Home\n\n1 comment:", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8386375904083252}
+{"content": "Logo Logo\nSwitch language to English\nBöndel, Katharina (2014): Evolution of the wild tomato species Solanum chilense: demography and natural selection. Dissertation, LMU München: Fakultät für Biologie\n\n\n\nDemography and adaptation are important factors determining the evolution of plant species. Many plant species are substructured into populations or demes connected by migration (metapopulations). The spatial distribution of populations and migration patterns depend on the means of dispersal. Since plants are sessile organisms, they also have to cope with both biotic and abiotic stresses. Therefore adaptations to local environmental conditions are essential to ensure survival and duration of the species. Wild tomato species (Solanum section Lycopersicon) are native to western South America. They occur in diverse and often extreme habitats including rain forests, coastal regions, high altitude habitats in the Andean Mountains and also hyperarid deserts in the Atacama Desert. Therefore, wild tomatoes are a good model system to study plant evolution and genomic bases for plant adaptation. This study focuses on the wild tomato species Solanum chilense, which exhibits a metapopulation structure with populations distributed from southern Peru to northern Chile. In its native range, S. chilense is confronted with different abiotic stresses including drought, cold and salinity. I sequenced 30 unlinked nuclear genes from 23 populations using next generation sequencing. 16 genes are involved in the abiotic stress response and serve as candidates for selection and adaptation. The remaining 14 genes are used as references to study the genomic average and species past demography. In the first part of this study, I investigated the demographic history of the wild tomato species Solanum chilense. Genetic data analyses revealed a north-south cline. This cline includes 1) a decrease of genetic variation from north to south, 2) an increase in the strength of population expansion along the cline, and 3) an increase in genetic differentiation from other wild tomato species towards the south of the range. Results further revealed that the populations form four groups: a central group and three peripheral groups. Altogether the results suggest that S. chilense originated in the northern part of its current distribution and migrated to the south, via two routes, along the coast and higher up in the Andes. During this north-south colonization, at least three bottlenecks occurred. In the second part of this study, I investigated natural selection and local adaptation in S. chilense. Signatures of selection and local adaptation were detected in the abiotic stress-related genes, for example signatures of positive selection in high altitude populations were found possibly indicating adaptation to low temperatures. Interestingly, signatures of balancing selection were detected as well in high altitude populations reflecting probable adaptation to different types of abiotic stresses. The coastal populations showed a distinct pattern. Several genes involved in the salt stress response exhibited signatures of local adaptation. Performing a salt stress experiment, I revealed that low altitude populations cope better with such stress than populations from intermediate or high altitudes. The coastal populations also showed an accumulation of nonsynonymous and possibly deleterious genetic variation, which can be explained by extreme bottlenecks and potential occurrence of selfing in some populations. Signatures of selection and local adaptation in S. chilense were mainly detected in populations from the peripheral groups and not in the central region, in agreement with the hypothesis that local adaptation is associated with the colonization of new territories. In summary, this study showed that demography plays an important role in the evolutionary history of S. chilense and that local adaptation for key abiotic stresses occurs more frequently in the marginal ranges of the species distribution.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9734547138214111}
+{"content": "Thursday, 25 August 2016\n\n\n\nThe nutmeg tree, Myristica fragrans, is an evergreen tree indigenous to the Moluccas (or Spice Islands) of Indonesia. It is important as the main source of the spices nutmeg and mace. It is widely grown across the tropics including Guangdong and Yunnan in China, Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Grenada in the Caribbean, Kerala in India, Sri Lanka and South America. Myristica fragrans was given a binomial name by the Dutch botanist Maartyn Houttuyn in 1774. It had earlier been described by Georg Eberhard Rumphius, among others. The generic name “Myristica” in Greek means “of pleasant smell” and the specific epithet “fragrans” in Latin, means \"fragrant\".\n\nIt is a small evergreen tree, usually 5–13 m tall, but occasionally reaching 20 m. The alternately arranged leaves are dark green, 5–15 cm long by 2–7 cm wide with petioles about 1 cm long. The species is dioecious, i.e. “male” or staminate flowers and “female” or carpellate flowers are borne on different plants, although occasional individuals produce both kinds of flower. The flowers are bell-shaped, pale yellow and somewhat waxy and fleshy. Staminate flowers are arranged in groups of one to ten, each 5–7 mm long; carpellate flowers are in smaller groups, one to three, and somewhat longer, up to 10 mm long. Carpellate trees produce smooth yellow ovoid or pear-shaped fruits, 6–9 cm long with a diameter of 3.5–5 cm. The fruit has a fleshy husk. When ripe the husk splits into two halves along a ridge running the length of the fruit. Inside is a purple-brown shiny seed, 2–3 cm long by about 2 cm across, with a red or crimson covering (an aril). The seed is the source of nutmeg, the aril the source of mace.\n\n\nIn Indonesian cuisine, nutmeg is used in various dishes, mainly in many spicy soups, such as some variant of soto, konro, oxtail soup, sup iga (ribs soup), bakso and sup kambing. It is also used in gravy for meat dishes, such as semur beef stew, ribs with tomato, to European derived dishes such as bistik (beef steak), rolade (minced meat roll) and bistik lidah (beef tongue steak). Sliced nutmeg fruit flesh could be made as manisan (sweets), either wet, which is seasoned in sugary syrup liquid, or dry coated with sugar. In Penang cuisine, dried, shredded nutmeg rind with sugar coating is used as toppings on the uniquely Penang ais kacang. Nutmeg rind is also blended (creating a fresh, green, tangy taste and white colour juice) or boiled (resulting in a much sweeter and brown juice) to make iced nutmeg juice.\n\nIn Indian cuisine, nutmeg is used in many sweet, as well as savoury, dishes (predominantly in Mughlai cuisine). In Kerala Malabar region, it is considered medicinal and the flesh made into juice, pickles and chutney, while the grated nutmeg is used in meat preparations and also sparingly added to desserts for the flavour. It is also added in small quantities as a medicine for infants. It may also be used in small quantities in garam masala. Ground nutmeg is also smoked in India.\n\n\nJapanese varieties of curry powder include nutmeg as an ingredient. In the Caribbean, nutmeg is often used in drinks such as the Bushwacker, Painkiller, and Barbados rum punch. Typically, it is just a sprinkle on the top of the drink. The pericarp (fruit/pod) is used in Grenada and also in Indonesia to make jam, or is finely sliced, cooked with sugar, and crystallised to make a fragrant candy. In the US, nutmeg is known as the main pumpkin pie spice and often shows up in simple recipes for other winter squashes such as baked acorn squash.\n\n\n\n\nIn low doses, nutmeg produces no noticeable physiological or neurological response, but in large doses, raw nutmeg has psychoactive effects. In its freshly ground form (from whole nutmegs), nutmeg contains myristicin, a monoamine oxidase inhibitor and psychoactive substance. Myristicin poisoning can induce convulsions, palpitations, nausea, eventual dehydration, and generalised body pain. It is also reputed to be a strong deliriant. For these reasons, whole or ground nutmeg cannot be imported into Saudi Arabia except in spice mixtures where it comprises less than 20%.\n\nNutmeg was once considered an abortifacient, but may be safe for culinary use during pregnancy. However, it inhibits prostaglandin production and contains hallucinogens that may affect the fetus if consumed in large quantities. Nutmeg is highly neurotoxic to dogs and causes seizures, tremors, and nervous system disorders which can be fatal. Nutmeg’s rich, spicy scent is attractive to dogs which can result in a dog ingesting a lethal amount of this spice. Eggnog and other food preparations which contain nutmeg should not be given to dogs.\n\nIn the language of flowers, nutmegs accompanying suitable flowers indicate: “Join me in my chamber.”\n\nThis post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme,\n\nand also part of the Friday Greens meme,\nand also part of the Food Friday meme,\nand also part of the Orange you Glad It's Friday meme.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9468230605125427}
+{"content": "Séverine Eon-Marchais\n\nLearn More\nClustered DNA lesions, possibly induced by ionizing radiation, constitute a trial for repair processes. Indeed, recent studies suggest that repair of such lesions may be compromised, potentially leading to the formation of lethal double-strand breaks (DSBs). A complex multiply damaged site (MDS) composed of 8-oxoguanine and 8-oxoadenine on one strand,(More)\nBreast Cancer is a complex multifactorial disease for which high-penetrance mutations have been identified. Approaches used to date have identified genomic features explaining about 50% of breast cancer heritability. A number of low- to medium penetrance alleles (per-allele odds ratio < 1.5 and 4.0, respectively) have been identified, suggesting that the(More)\nSeveral population-based and family-based studies have demonstrated that germline mutations of the PALB2 gene (Partner and Localizer of BRCA2) are associated with an increased risk of breast cancer. Distinct mutation frequencies and spectrums have been described depending on the population studied. Here we describe the first complete PALB2 coding sequence(More)\nLess than 20 % of familial breast cancer patients who undergo genetic testing for BRCA1 and BRCA2 carry a pathogenic mutation in one of these two genes. The GENESIS (GENE SISter) study was designed to identify new breast cancer susceptibility genes in women attending cancer genetics clinics and with no BRCA1/2 mutation. The study involved the French(More)\n  • 1", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7648131847381592}
+{"content": "History of Llama\nSouth America\n\nThe llama is native to the high puna of the South American Andes. Peru and Bolivia form the heart of this region with portions of Argentina, Chile, Colombia, and Ecuador forming the periphery. The llama (lama glama) is one of the four species known as New World camelids which inhabit the region. The other species are the alpaca (lama pacos), the guanaco (lama guanacoe), and the vicuna (lama vicugna). All four species are thought to have originated from a common North American ancestor who is also the supposed predecessor of the African and Asian camels. It is presumed that migration northward across the Bering land bridge into Asia formed the ancestry of the Old World camelids (Bactrian and Dromedary). These camelids became highly adapted to desert climatic conditions.\n\nAncestors of the guanaco and vicuna are thought to have migrated south into the Andean region of South America. Here they adapted to the harsh climate, sporadic moisture, high elevations, large daily temperature fluctuation, and unpredictable food supply of the region. The native Quechuans’ domestication of these two wild camelid species is thought to have given rise to the llama and alpaca, with the llama originating from the guanaco and the alpaca from the vicuna. The relationship of these four species will make the following information, though specifically focused on llamas, relevant to all.\n\nThe native Quechuas’ (primarily the Incas and Amayras) developed a high dependence on these camelids. This dependence is analogous to the dependence of the Plains Indians of North America on bison. Both the bison and camelid species provided the basic needs of the native culture (food, fiber, fuel, shelter) and they served as cultural icons in spiritual and fertility rites. The important difference between the two scenarios is the domestication of the llama and alpaca.\n\nDomestication allowed the llamas’ additional use as a beast of burden as well as selective breeding for specific traits and active management and  husbandry. The llama's adaptability and efficiency as a pack animal in the mountain terrain of the Andes made it possible to link the diverse altitude zones and to cover the great linear distances of the region.  They hauled food and supplies from the more hospitable lowlands to serve the high altitude mines that fed early commerce. The llama was bred specifically to produce a large, strong animal for the packing function. The alpaca was bred to accentuate its fiber.\n\nThe alpaca’s characteristic single coat fleece produced a fine, consistent fiber.  The harvest and processing of this commodity served as the base for a significant domestic textile market.\n\nThe pivotal role that llamas and alpacas played in the Andean culture and economy naturally elevated them to a highly regarded status. Husbandry and management practices were very sophisticated for that period of history.\n\n\nExiled to the upper regions of their natural territory, the llama and alpaca languished as second-rate citizens while the sophisticated husbandry and management systems, were lost amid Spanish prejudice and misunderstanding. The wild vicuna and guanaco were hunted to the point of extinction for their fine pelts and to eliminate competition with domestic stock. The llama and alpaca became exclusive property of the displaced natives  and formed the base of a subsistent culture on the high puna.\n\n\nIn turn, the animals are once again viewed as a national treasure to be protected and promoted. Preservation of the wild herds of nearly extinct vicunas and guanacos has become a priority, and hunting bans have been imposed and enforced.  A resurgence of these species has resulted.  Research into management and breeding of the llama has been instituted and carried on in conjunction with current alpaca research. Obviously, modern transportation has reduced the importance of the llama as a beast of burden. Primary emphasis is now being placed on this animal as a food and fiber source. The exportation of camelids has been closely monitored and discouraged as the Andean countries attempt to improve the quality of their stock and build numbers.\n\nThis site designed and maintained by The Dandelion Group™", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8277138471603394}
+{"content": "Students will need to successfully complete the taught modules delivered in the autumn and the spring semester as distance learning courses before attending the annual summer school in May/June of each year where they will present their proposed topic and plans for their dissertation. The taught modules can be taken over one or two years. The MSc should be completed within a period of two years.\n\nClose All | Open All\n\n\nLocalisation Project Management - [9 Credits]\n\nAdvanced Language Engineering - [9 Credits]\n\nPrincipal Issues in Localisation - [9 Credits]\n\nDirected Study: Localisation Standards & Best Practice - [3 Credits]\n\n\nLocalisation Process Automation - [9 Credits]\n\nTranslation Technology - [9 Credits]\n\nBest Practice Internationalisation - [9 Credits]\n\nDirected Study: Applied Research Methods - [3 Credits]\n\n\nDissertation - [30 Credits]\n\n  1. Critique the current approaches to localisation considering economic, social, political and cultural factors.\n  2. Critique existing and future translation tools and technologies relevant to localisation, covering both enterprise and consumer localisation, as well as cultural aspects.\n  3. Describe the requirements for and understanding of technical issues in relation to world-ready digital content/software involving different frameworks.\n  4. Show internationalisation strategies assisting the design and development of world-ready software and internationalisation principles assisting localisation requirements to move up the value chain; this includes testing for internationalisation.\n  5. Demonstrate a thorough understanding of how internationalisation can move localisation up the value chain.\n  6. Justify the introduction of adequate quality assurance, quality control and testing strategies into the localisation process.\n  7. Display an appreciation of language engineering fundaments, including grammar, automata and regular expressions, as well as scripting languages, document architecture and markup, and basic linguistic concepts.\n  8. Display an appreciation of the processes underlying Language Engineering focusing on translation automation and demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between Language Engineering and Software Localisation.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9887778162956238}
+{"content": "Animal Totems\n\n\n\nIn the past shamans, priests and priestesses were the keepers of the sacred knowledge of life. They were capable of walking the threads that link the invisible and visible worlds. They helped people to remember that all trees are divine and that all animals speak to those who will listen. We can use animal imagery and other nature totem images as a way to learn about ourselves and the invisible world.\n\nRead More: Animal Totems\n\nDream Archetypes\n\n\n\n\nRead More: Dream Archetypes\n\nIntuitive Symbology\n\n\nSymbology is the study of signs and symbols. This can range from the common signs we see every day. Such as road signs, to the more esoteric signs, such as the meaning of two magpies.\n\nIntuitive symbology relates to the latter. The universe is constantly sending us signs; yet, more often than not, we don’t tend to notice, unless they are really obvious. This can happen when we start to see the same thing repeatedly in a short period of time. If you see a cat on your way to work, you may not think this is significant – cats are everywhere, right? But, if you see another cat as you walk into your office building and you’re then greeted by another when you return home, then you may start to question whether this has some sort of meaning.\n\nRead More: Intuitive Symbology\n\nThe Symbology Of Life\n\n\nSymbology relates to the study of symbols. These can be common symbols we see every day, such as company logos, or the more abstract symbols in our lives. Such as those we see in our dreams. I am going to be focusing on abstract symbols, in this article.\n\nAlthough there are some people who study this subject in depth, you can start to learn about the signs and symbols in your own life. You don’t have to be psychic to do this. If you aren’t sure where to start, try reading some books on the subject. Some dream books are very good at giving you the meanings of some of the most common symbols people often dream about. A common dream, that a lot of people have, is the dream of their teeth falling out. Most dream dictionaries are in agreement that this symbolises getting older, or taking on more responsibility; this relates to the real life experience of losing our baby teeth.\n\nDream dictionaries are a great place to start because the meanings of common symbols can be used to read the signs and symbols the universe sends you each day. If you keep seeing cats, for instance, you can look up the meaning of cat in your dream book and it will tell you that cats symbolise the supernatural, independence and femininity. You can then start to analyse why you keep seeing cats. Is the universe trying to teach you to be more like a cat? Probably.\n\nRead More: The Symbology Of Life", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.990135908126831}
+{"content": "Common mistakes in English (Part 1 )\n\nAs a learner of the  English language i’ve always been researching common mistakes in the case not to do these mistakes.Here belong some of these mistakes:\n\nAccept vs except\n\n\nFor example: “I always accept good advice.”\n\n\n\n!Note – except is usually a preposition and accept a verb. In rare circumstances except can be used as a verb.\n\nFor example: On a road sign: “No entry, buses excepted.”\n\nAdvice vs advise\n\n\n\n\n\n!Note – In British English the noun form often ends in …ice and the verb in …ise.\n\nAffect vs effect\n\nAffect and effect are two words that are commonly confused.\n\n\n\nTo affect something or someone.\n\n\nFor example: The noise outside affected my performance.\n\nTo have an effect on something or someone\n\n\nMeaning: to have an impact on something or someone.\n\nFor example: His smile had a strange effect on me.\n\n!Effect can also mean “the end result”.\n\nFor example: The drug has many adverse side effects.\n\nAll right vs right\n\n\nThe single word spelling alright has never been accepted as standard.\n\nHowever in a search on Google you’ll get around 68,700,000 hits for alright and 163,000,000 for “all right”. So, it might become a respected alternative spelling. Personally I have no problem with it, but what do other people think:-\n\nKingsley Amis The King’s English 1997: “I still feel that to inscribe alright is gross, crass, coarse and to be avoided, and I now say so. Its interdiction is as pure an example as possible of a rule without a reason, and in my case may well show nothing but how tenacious a hold early training can take.”\n\nBill Bryson Troublesome Words 1997: “A good case could be made for shortening all right to alright. … English, however, is a fickle tongue and alright continues to be looked on as illiterate and unacceptable and consequently it ought never to appear in serious writing.”\n\nRobert Burchfield The New Fowler’s Modern English Usage 1997: “Alright … is the demotic form. It is preferred, to judge from the evidence I have assembled, by popular sources like the British magazines The Face … New Musical Express and Sounds, the American magazine Black World, the Australian journal Southerly, the Socialist Worker, by popular singers … and hardly ever by writers of standing … It is commonplace in private correspondence, especially in that of the moderately educated young. Almost all other printed works in Britain and abroad use the more traditional form … “\n(At which point in there did you first get the urge to smack him?)\n\nGraham King The Times Writer’s Guide 2001: If we accept alreadyaltogether and almost, why not alright? Although it carries with it the whiff of grammatical illegitimacy it is and has been in common use for a century …”\n\n\n\nFor example: “He likes living alone.”\n\n\n\n!Note – Just because you’re alone, doesn’t mean you’re lonely.\n\nA lot/alot/allot\n\n\nFor example:-\n\n\n\nFor example:-\n\n“I look a lot like my sister.”\n\n\n\n\nFor example: “We were allotted a desk each.”\n\nAll ready vs already\n\nAll ready means “completely ready”.\n\n\nAlreadyis an adverb that means before the present time or earlier than the time expected.\n\n\n\naltogether vs all together \n\n\nFor example: The waiter asked if we were all together.\n\n\n\n!To be in the altogether is an old-fashioned term for being naked!\n\nAny one vs anyone\n\n\nFor example:-\n\nI can recommend any one of the books on this site.\n\nAnyone means any person. It’s always written as one word.\n\nFor example:-\n\nDid anyone see that UFO?\n\nAny vs some\n\nAny and some are both determiners. They are used to talk about indefinite quantities or numbers, when the exact quantity or number is not important. As a general rule we use some for positive statements, and any for questions and negative statements,\n\nFor example:-\n\n\n!Note – You will sometimes see some in questions and any in positive statements. When making an offer, or a request, in order to encourage the person we are speaking to to say “Yes”, you can use some in a question:\n\n\n\nFor example:\nA. She gave me some bad advice.\nB. Really? She rarely gives any bad advice.\n\n\nBir cavab yazın\n\n\nTwitter rəsmi\n\nTwitter hesabınızdan istifadə edərək şərh edirsinz. Çıxış / Dəyişdir )\n\nFacebook fotosu\n\nFacebook hesabınızdan istifadə edərək şərh edirsinz. Çıxış / Dəyişdir )\n\nGoogle+ foto\n\nGoogle+ hesabınızdan istifadə edərək şərh edirsinz. Çıxış / Dəyişdir )\n\n%s qoşulma\n\n%d bloqqer bunu bəyənir:", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6137266159057617}
+{"content": "How Can I Improve My Digestion?\n\nHow Can I Improve My Digestion?\n\nHow Can I Improve My Digestion?\n\nEmail to Your Friends\n\nFoods To Support And Boost Your Digestive Processes\n\nBlack Pepper: Stimulates the stomach to increase hydrochloric acid necessary for the digestion of proteins and other food components in the stomach. It’s also a carminitive that helps prevent the formation of intestinal gas.\n\nAvoid water before meals: Do not drink water, half an hour before eating food. If needed sip some water in between meals.\n\nBitters: Often called ‘Swedish bitters’ is a traditional digestive tonic consisting of an alcohol base and the extracts of bitters herbs and spices. Bitters stimulate the digestive system to produce digestive enzymes, secrete bile, and balance acid levels in the stomach. You can make your own bitters by using herbs like dandelion, burdock root, fennel, yellow dock, angelica and gentian.\n\nExercise: Aids in proper digestion. Even frequent low-level activity like walking is an excellent aid to digestion,\n\nGood fats: Include good fats like coconut oil, grass fed butter, ghee, fermented cod liver oil and unheated olive oil in your diet.\n\nEat probiotics like yogurt, kefir, kombucha, tempeh, coconut water and miso. These foods are filled with similar bacteria to your body’s own microorganisms that are needed for digestion such as lactobacillus and bifidobacterium.\n\nEat soluble fiber foods like carrots, psyllium, cucumbers, lentils and oats, strawberries, pears and oranges. They attract water and form a gel that increases satiety.\n\nEat Insoluble fiber foods which includes nuts, seeds, chia, whole wheat, other whole grains, brown rice, celery, bulgar, onions, vegetable skins and dark, leafy vegetables. These types of fiber do not absorb water and improve movement of food through the GI tract.\n\nHydrate: The combination of high-fiber and water will increase efficiency of digestion and waste disposal.\n\nGinger can treat many digestive issues as it relaxes the smooth muscle of the intestines, relieving symptoms of gas and cramping. You can sip ginger tea throughout the day and with meals to reduce digestive issues.\n\nSmaller meals: If 3 large meals a day give you acid reflux or heart burn, try eating several small meals per day. Your body is better at digesting smaller quantities at a time.\n\nEat at regular intervals and keep a schedule. Abrupt timings cause disturbance in the body’s functioning in addition to disrupting the digestive cycle.\n\nEat lean proteins (fish and lean cuts in meat) as they are less likely to cause heartburn and quicker to digest than high fat food.\n\nAvoid cigarettes and alcohol as these substances can cause nausea and disrupt digestive cycles.\n\nAvoid caffeine as it increases acidity in the stomach which can lead to high levels of heart burn and acid reflux.\n\nLower Stress levels: Stress causes weight gain, constipation, diarrhea and a lowered immune system. It will leave you prone to the h.pylori bacteria that causes ulcers.\n\nMagnesium has been found to improve digestion. Eat Magnesium rich foods or take a supplement like Magnesium skin oil.\n\nControl your intake: According to Ayurveda, one-third to one-quarter of our stomach must be left empty to allow space for our body to easily digest our meal. A simple way to gauge an ideal portion of food for a meal based on your body size is to cup your hands together with your fingertips touching, forming the shape of a bowl. The recommended amount of food for a meal is the equivalent of two of these handfuls of food.\n\nApple Cider Vinegar: Add a tsp of raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar to a glass of water and drink them before meals.\n\nTry a gluten free diet for a few weeks and see if symptoms improve. You can follow the same elimination diet with other foods like pasteurized dairy or nightshades, if you feel those could be a problem for your digestive system.\n\n\nDr Janardhana Hebbar\n\n\nEmail to Your Friends", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9602800011634827}
+{"content": "CSS Table-layout\n\nUse the table-layout property to make your tables load much faster.\n\nExample code:\n\nYou will notice the benefits more on large tables. The reason this makes tables load faster is because with traditional HTML, the browser had to calculate every cell before finally rendering the table. When you set the table-layout algorithm to fixed however, it only needs to look at the first row before rendering the whole table. This means that your table will need to have fixed column widths and row heights.\n\nCheck out the table-layout example", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9912295341491699}
+{"content": "Learn More\nThe development of a robust and portable biosensor for the detection of pathogenic bacteria could impact areas ranging from water-quality monitoring to testing of pharmaceutical products for bacterial contamination. Of particular interest are detectors that combine the natural specificity of biological recognition with sensitive, label-free sensors(More)\nThe antimicrobial peptide microcin J25 (MccJ25) is posttranslationally matured from a linear preprotein into its native lasso conformation by two enzymes. One of these enzymes cleaves the preprotein and the second enzyme installs the requisite isopeptide bond to establish the lasso structure. Analysis of a mimic of MccJ25 that can be cyclized without the(More)\nEngineered aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases have been used to enable the incorporation of many unnatural amino acids into recombinant proteins in vivo. In the majority of these studies, the engineered synthetase is harbored on a plasmid while the host retains a wild-type copy of the synthetase in its genome. Herein, we construct a strain carrying a single genomic(More)\nNew sequencing technologies based on massively parallel signature sequencing (MPSS) have been developed to reduce the cost of genome sequencing. In some current MPSS platforms, DNA-modified micrometer-scale beads are used to template the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Reducing the size of the beads to nanoscale can lead to significant improvements in(More)\nThere is considerable current interest in developing methods to integrate nanoparticles into optical, electronic, and biological systems due to their unique size-dependent properties and controllable shape. We report herein a versatile new approach for covalent immobilization of nanoparticles onto substrates modified with photoactive,(More)\nPolymeric nanoparticles with multifunctional capabilities, including surface functionalization, hold great promise to address challenges in targeted drug delivery. Here, we describe a concise, robust synthesis of a heterofunctional polyethylene glycol (PEG), HO-PEG-azide. This macromer was used to synthesize polylactide (PLA)-PEG-azide, a functional diblock(More)\nHere we demonstrate a methodology, termed protein stapling, for the introduction of covalent constraints into recombinant proteins. Using the azide-alkyne click reaction as the stapling chemistry, we have improved the thermostability of a model leucine zipper protein. Additionally, stapling the core of the small, globular protein G resulted in improved(More)\nApproximately 30% of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) experience agglomeration, granulation, and breakage during agitated drying. Currently, there is no small-scale bench tool to help assess and observe granulation behavior of APIs in the laboratory and subsequently lead to the development of a robust drying method. As a result, more conservative(More)\nThe axial resolution of ultrasonic imaging is confined by the temporal width of acoustic pulse generated by the transducer, which has a limited bandwidth. Deconvolution can eliminate this effect, and therefore improve the resolution. However, most ultrasonic imaging methods perform deconvolution scan line by scan line, therefore the information embedded(More)\nThe Bcl-2 family of proteins regulates apoptosis at the level of mitochondrial permeabilization. Pro-death members of the family, including Bak and Bax, initiate apoptosis, whereas pro-survival members such as Bcl-x(L) and Mcl-1 antagonize the function of Bak and Bax via heterodimeric interactions. These heterodimeric interactions are primarily mediated by(More)", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9855747222900391}
+{"content": "Tanmayi Christine Garrison\n\nBaltimore, MD\nUnited States\n\nNo reviews yet\n\nTanmayi first discovered yoga while in her 20's. She completed her 200 hour yoga teacher certification in 2003 and her 500 hour certification a few years later. She has taught and mentored in yama therapeutics' teacher training program for the past eight years. Tanmayi traveled to India in 2010 where she was initiated as Jignasu Sannyasin in the Satyananda yoga tradition. Upon her return, she worked with some of her fellow travelers to form a community that would help them maintain the spiritual practices they had learned in India while still honoring their own spiritual traditions. This group became the core of the Wise Heart Community. Tanmayi recently returned to India where she was initiated as Karma Sannyasin.\n\n\nNo reviews yet\n\nWrite a Review", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9363588094711304}
+{"content": "A comparative study of sequential and simultaneous auctions\n\nSpeaker: Shaheen Fatima\n\nSequential and simultaneous auctions are two important mechanisms for buying and selling multiple objects. These two mechanisms yield different outcomes (i.e., different surpluses, different revenues, and also different profits to the winning bidders). Given this, we compare the outcomes for the sequential and simultaneous mechanisms for the following scenario. There are multiple similar objects for sale, each object is sold in a separate auction, and each bidder needs only one object. Furthermore, each object has both common and private value components and bidders are uncertain about these values. We first determine the equilibrium bidding strategies for each individual auction for the simultaneous and sequential cases. We then consider the case where the private and common values have a uniform distribution and compare the two mechanisms in terms of a bidder's ex-ante expected profit, the auctioneer's expected cumulative revenue, and the expected cumulative surplus. Our study shows that, for all the three auction rules, the expected cumulative surplus and the auctioneer's expected cumulative revenue is higher for the sequential mechanism. However, the mechanism that generates a higher ex-ante expected profit for the bidders depends on the number of objects being auctioned and the number of participating bidders, and it is sometimes higher for sequential mechanism and sometimes for the simultaneous one.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8164804577827454}
+{"content": "\" /> Historical Location\n\n\nSultanahmet Meydanı Province: ISTANBUL\n\n\nThe Hippodrome, which was once the center of Byzantine Constantinople, is adjacent to the Blue Mosque. It was once a huge stadium seating over 100,000 who gathered for chariot races and political rallies. Today it is a large park, and a road covers the ancient chariot course. Two obelisks and one other small one are all that remain of the Hippodrome.\n\nSultanahmet Meydanı, was a circus that was the sporting and social centre of Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire. Today it is a square named Sultanahmet Meydanı (Sultan Ahmet Square) in the Turkish city of Istanbul, with a few fragments of the original structure surviving. It is sometimes also called Atmeydanı (Horse Square) in Turkish.\nThe word hippodrome comes from the Greek hippos ('ιππος), horse, and dromos (δρομος), path or way. Horse racing and chariot racing were popular pastimes in the ancient world and hippodromes were common features of Greek cities in the Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine eras.\nIn AD 324, the Emperor Constantine the Great decided to move the seat of the government from Rome to Byzantium, which he renamed Nova Roma (New Rome). This name failed to impress and the city soon became known as Constantinople, the City of Constantine. Constantine greatly enlarged the city, and one of his major undertakings was the renovation of the Hippodrome. It is estimated that the Hippodrome of Constantine was about 450 m (1,476 ft) long and 130 m (427 ft) wide. Its stands were capable of holding 100,000 spectators.\nThe race-track at the Hippodrome was U-shaped, and the Kathisma (emperor's loge) was located at the eastern end of the track. The Kathisma could be accessed directly from the Great Palace through a passage which only the emperor or other members of the imperial family could use. The Hippodrome Boxes, which had four statues of horses in gilded copper on top, stood at the northern end; and the Sphendone (curved tribune of the U-shaped structure, the lower part of which still survives) stood at the southern end. These four gilded horses, now called the Horses of Saint Mark, whose exact Greek or Roman ancestry has never been determined, were looted during the Fourth Crusade in 1204 and installed on the façade of St Mark's Basilica in Venice. The track was lined with other bronze statues of famous horses and chariot drivers, none of which survive. The hippodrome was filled with statues of gods, emperors and heroes, among them some famous works, such as a Heracles by Lysippos, Romulus and Remus with their wolf and the Serpent Column of the Plataean tripod.[1] In his book De Ceremoniis (book II,15, 589), the emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus described the decorations in the hippodrome at the occasion of the visit of Saracen or Arab visitors, mentioning the purple hangings and rare tapestries.[2]\nThe rivalry between the Blues and Greens often became mingled with political or religious rivalries, and sometimes riots, which amounted to civil wars that broke out in the city between them. The most severe of these was the Nika riots of 532, in which an estimated 30,000 people were killed[citation needed] and many important buildings, such as the second Hagia Sophia Church, were destroyed. The current (third) Hagia Sophia was built by Justinian following the Nika Revolt.\nConstantinople never really recovered from its sack during the Fourth Crusade and even though the Byzantine Empire survived until 1453, by that time, the Hippodrome had fallen into ruin. The Ottoman Turks, who captured the city in 1453 and made it the capital of the Ottoman Empire, were not interested in racing and the Hippodrome was gradually forgotten, although the site was never actually built over.\nSerpent Column\nTo raise the image of his new capital, Constantine and his successors, especially Theodosius the Great, brought works of art from all over the empire to adorn it. The monuments were set up in the middle of the Hippodrome, the spina. Among these was the Tripod of Plataea, now known as the Serpent Column, cast to celebrate the victory of the Greeks over the Persians during the Persian Wars in the 5th century BC. Constantine ordered the Tripod to be moved from the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, and set in middle of the Hippodrome. The top was adorned with a golden bowl supported by three serpent heads. The bowl was destroyed or stolen during the Fourth Crusade. The serpent heads were destroyed as late as the end of the 17th Century, as many Ottoman miniatures show they were intact in the early centuries following the Turkish conquest of the city.[3] Parts of the heads were recovered and are displayed at the Istanbul Archaeology Museum. All that remains of the Delphi Tripod today is the base, known as the \"Serpentine Column\"\nObelisk of Thutmose III\nAnother emperor to adorn the Hippodrome was Theodosius the Great, who in 390[4] brought an obelisk from Egypt and erected it inside the racing track. Carved from pink granite, it was originally erected at the Temple of Karnak in Luxor during the reign of Tuthmosis III in about 1490 BC. Theodosius had the obelisk cut into three pieces and brought to Constantinople. The top section survives, and it stands today where Theodosius placed it, on a marble pedestal. The obelisk has survived nearly 3,500 years in astonishingly good condition.\nWalled Obelisk\nIn the 10th century the Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus built another obelisk at the other end of the Hippodrome. It was originally covered with gilded bronze plaques, but they were sacked by Latin troops in the Fourth Crusade. The stone core of this monument also survives, known as the Walled Obelisk.\nStatues of Porphyrios\nSeven statues were erected on the Spina of the Hippodrome in honour of Porphyrios, a legendary charioteer in his time who raced for the two parties which were called \"Greens\" and \"Blues\". None of these statues have survived. The bases of two of them have survived and are displayed in the Istanbul Archaeological Museum.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9856294989585876}
+{"content": "JCC Data Center\n\nAt JCC, the computing infrastructure has been built using the highest quality industrial strength components and with expertize and planning to provide for high tolerance for failure of any one component.   This is done in several ways:\n\nVirtual servers: Our virtual machines (see Virtual Server in the FAQ) are implemented across several blade servers.  Blade servers are physically small machines that have gigantic amounts of computing power.  We currently use a number of blade servers for hosting and will increase that number as required.   Our standard is to support the entire workload on one less blade than are actually deployed.  The blades work together along with the hypervisor (see Virtual Server in the FAQ) to support all hosted virtual servers.  They each have multiple CPUs with 12 cores and 72 Gigabytes of memory and together can host a very large number of virtual servers.\n\nServer Uptime: It is possible that a blade may fail.  In this case, the workload operating on that blade is migrated to one of the other available blades.  blades\n\nThere certainly will be a blip in service should a blade shutdown be unplanned.  However, should it be necessary to take a blade out of service for some reason, e.g. repair of a component in the blade itself, the virtual servers will be moved from the blade hosting them to one of the other blades transparently to those using them. \n\nBlade Enclosure: Blades are housed in something called a blade enclosure.  The enclosure provides power and cooling to the blades themselves.  The enclosure contains sufficient redundancy in its power supplies that if one or more supplies fail the remaining supplies can provide plenty of power to the remaining blades.  \n\nPower: There are sufficient power supplies in the blade enclosure to allow for at least three concurrent failures.   If more supplies than that fail simultaneously, JCC will shut down other blades in the enclosure not participating in the hosting work to allow the blades doing the hosting to continue to work without degradation. The enclosure can support up to 16 blades of the type that JCC is using for the hosting work.\n\n Disk Storage: The disk storage used for customer data is provided by something called a SAN.  This device is a computer system itself and currently contains 72 large fast physical disk drives.  The drives are industrial strength and are designed to work continuously.   They have much higher reliability characteristics than those disks sold for normal servers.  The SAN presents virtual disks to each of its client servers. Customer data is stored on virtual disks.\n\nA physical disk drive may fail and with a large number of them the chances of some physical disk failing is larger than for a single disk.  Accordingly the physical disks are managed by the SAN as a group and all virtual (customer) disks are managed with redundancy; that is if a physical disk fails customer data is not lost but continues to be available because the SJCC Hosting Storage Area NetworkAN is specifically designed to provide continuous access to data.  When a physical disk supporting some portion of a customer’s virtual disk does fail, the SAN automatically rebuilds the redundancy characteristics of the customer virtual disk on the remaining physical disks. When a new physical disk is used to replace the failed one, customer data is likewise moved to make use of this new capability.\n\nThere are sufficient disk resources in the SAN to provide for the highly unlikely possibility of several disks failing. \n\nEverything in the SAN is redundant.   That is, there are two fibre-optic paths to the SAN from the clients. There are two fibre switches to allow up to four simultaneous paths between the SAN and the clients. There are two controllers in the SAN that duplicate each other’s work and if one fails, the remaining controller will take up the entire workload transparently.  By monitoring the resources consumed by the controllers, JCC ensures that the remaining single controller can support the entire workload.  There are two paths from each of the SAN to the disks in the controllers.  Everything is duplicated.\n\nNetwork: The internal network is also redundant.  Each blade has multiple network connections and the network is connected via a set of network switches that operate in parallel.   This architecture allows continued operation should any network device fail.\n\nMonitoring: Since there is so much redundancy in this architecture, it is perfectly possible that something can fail and nobody will notice.   This is an obviously risky situation since a second failure can render something inoperable. To protect against such a hidden failure, we maintain a continuous automated survey of the entire infrastructure.  Should something unexpected happen this monitoring tool will send internal E-mail to those responsible at JCC for systems operation so that the condition can be rectified.   If the failure is serious enough, our maintenance provider will also be notified automatically so that they can pull together the parts necessary to effect repairs and arrive on-site in a timely manner.\n\nReliable Power: JCC has only one power line entering the building.  As you may know, the AC power delivered by the utility is a shared resource used by all utility customers. It experiences the effects caused by everybody using that power simultaneously.  For instance, starting any motor such as a refrigerator compressor will cause large “spikes” on the line. Utilities are not required to even out those spikes because the cost of doing so would be prohibitive.  JCC Hosting Battery Backup\n\nThese spikes can and do damage power supplies.  JCC uses a device called a UPS that accepts the utility power, converts it to direct current and uses that to charge a large bank of batteries (the cabinet is about 5 feet high and 3 feet wide by 4 feet in depth.  Incoming utility power is converted to DC and charges the batteries. The batteries are then used for power for all computer equipment in the building by running the DC current through an inverter to provide AC.  The result is a very clean power supply to all computers and results in much higher reliability for power supplies and other delicate electronic circuits.\n\nIn the graph on this page, the erratic blue line displays power coming into the UPS.  The green line shows the much cleaner AC power coming out of the UPS and being delivered to our data center.  The data in this graph is over a 24-hour period and represents a typical day.  It is easy to see the benefit of extended lifespan for our electronic equipment.jcc power graph\n\nThe batteries can supply sufficient power to keep all computers running for about 15 minutes.   The batteries are sized to allow one or more to fail. The remaining can do the work, albeit for a shorter time. Battery health is monitored continuously.\n\nShould utility power be interrupted, this is detected by something called a transfer switch.  After the interruption the switch waits for a minute or two and then activates a generator that will power the entire office.  This generator runs on natural gas which is supplied by the gas utility and we therefore consider it essentially inexhaustible.  The generator takes the place of utility power until power is restored.\n\nDuring the most recent extended power outage in late June through early July, 2012, JCC’s systems remained running and our office was even air-conditioned as the generator is sized for powering the entire office. JCC was up and our internet connections were secure and running for the entire outage.\n\nInternet Connection: At this writing, JCC has a single high-speed (fractional Ethernet) line from the internet coming into our office.  We are currently exploring the addition of a separate connection from a second internet supplier and will install that as soon as we can reliably do so.   The issues for this are not simplistic as our providers will have to deal with the fact that we are also routing our packets.\n\nThere will be additional benefits to this additional line. Customers will have multiple network routes to JCC. Of course, customers don’t really choose routes, but their providers do and having a choice will allow connections that are faster for their particular networks. This should give all JCC customers the fastest connections to their hosted servers.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.801154613494873}
+{"content": "Home Decor Do's\n\nThings to know when home decorating\n\nFrom cushions to curtains, textiles to test pots, choosing home décor is a complex task. The rules of home décor are open to interpretation but most experts agree that the first step to success is to learn those rules – then you`ll know when to break them.\n\nLet`s take a look at some of the basics of home decorating:\n\nThe dos and don`ts of style, layout and design\n\n\nConsider the functions of the room. Rooms with heavy traffic need durable flooring. The function of space, whether it`s  for entertaining in, working in or relaxing in, will dictate it`s design.\n\nCreate a focal point for the room. Perhaps your focal point is a fireplace, a view or a plasma television.\n\nCo-ordinate fabric and flooring. Do this before making any major purchases.\n\nAdd light. Position mirrors and glass tables so that they reflect light into the room.\n\nUse repetition. One accent in a specific colour isn`t enough to create a theme – establish a colour palette by repeated, but subtle, use of a colour.\n\nAccessorise carefully. Don`t go overboard, stick to items that enhance the room.\n\n\nPaint first. You can pick any paint you want, so make fabric and upholstery your priority.\n\nLet furniture hug walls. Group furniture to create a feeling of warmth and to allow for closer conversations.\n\nOvercrowd the room. It can be tempting to show off your collectibles but keep them to a minimum otherwise it creates a feeling of clutter.\n\nForce things to match. Choose your colours carefully and remove items from the room that don`t fit the scheme.\n\nForget to add to the room. Its one thing picking furniture and painting the walls but to add real character to your room you`ll need to add intricate extras such as lamps, candles, artwork or mirrors.\n\nThe dos and don`ts of choosing colours\n\n\nTake samples and test pots home. Test them in your room under both natural and artificial light.\n\nUse lighter colours in small rooms. They create an illusion of space and give a room an airy, breezy feeling.\n\nUse darker colours for warmth. They`re ideal for that cosy feeling.\n\n\nDecide on colours on an impulse. You need to be able to live with those colours everyday for the next couple of years so choose wisely.\n\nBe afraid to experiment. Start off with small rooms, and move to larger rooms when you are more confident.\n\nThe dos and don`ts of choosing furniture\n\n\nWork with the size of the room. Pick pieces that fit into a room comfortably without being overbearing.\n\nThink about purpose and lifestyle. How often will you use the item? Do you have pets/children that will climb on the furniture? Durability and comfort are as important as style.\n\n\nCompromise on quality. Buy furniture that will last, otherwise it may cost you more in the long run.\n\nBuy on sight only. Get physical with the furniture in the store - test it out.\n\nHow to make a small space look larger\n\nSmall can be beautiful if you move furniture out of walkways and strip the clutter from rooms. Use light colours to make  the space seem open and airy. Let in any natural light and position mirrors effectively.\n\nHow to choose a decorator\n\nShop around for a decorator and ask friends for recommendations. Make sure the professional you employ can work within your timeframe and your budget. Before starting any redecoration or interior design projects, ensure you have suitable contents insurance to cover you against breakages and accidental damage to furnishings.\n\nMore Decorating Tips\n\nCreating the perfect cosy room\n\n\nRedecorating can breathe new life into any tired, old room, but, before you break out the paint and brushes, you do need to think about how you want to use the room and the look and feel you want to create. The type and colour, of the materials that you use to cover walls and floors can dramatically change how a room looks and feels, but so can the type, or types, of lighting and heating systems that you choose.\n\nCreating a Perfect Cosy Room\n\nThe key to creating the perfect cosy room is creating a room that not only feels, but also looks, warm and comfortable. Heating typically accounts for 33%, or more, of domestic energy bills, so it makes economic sense to make your heating system as efficient as possible. Radiant electric underfloor heating is economical to install and to run and can be installed on a existing subfloor, making it ideal for renovation projects. If drafts from windows are a problem, hanging heavy, lined, curtains can help to improve comfort levels and reduce fuel bills.\n\nAside from the physical practicalities of heating and containing heat within, a room, an understanding of colour can also help to soften the ambience of a room and make it, psychologically, a more comfortable place to be. Warm yellows, or reds with undertones of orange, or brown, can be used to create the illusion of warmth, while bold colours, such as burgundy or navy, make a room seem smaller and can be used to create intimacy. The same is true of accessories and lighting; remember that mirrors, for example, can artificially lengthen a room, making it feel less intimate, while a mixture of background, task and accent lighting can be used to create pools of light and shadow, which can increase the feeling of intimacy.\n\nLarge, open plan rooms, with no restrictions on the placement of furniture, use of wall space, etc., are the dream of many householders. Traditional radiators in this deign can be unsightly, occupy valuable space and operate inefficiently if obstructed by furnitue. Electric underfloor heating,  by contrast, is hidden beneath the surface of the floor and delivers the same results as a traditional radiator system, but at a lower temperature overall. A balance of radiation and convection creates a more natural temperature gradient, as far as the human body is concerned and the air temperature in a room can be up to 2°C lower than one heated by traditional means, with no loss of comfort. This, in turn, means that energy savings of between 20% and 25%, typically and up to 40% in some cases, can be made\n\n\n\nKilkeel Business Park, Moor Rd, Kilkeel, Newry, Co. Down, N. Ireland, UK, BT34 4NG", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5595241189002991}
+{"content": "Gene Wilder Was An Everlasting Showstopper\n\nIt sucks that he is no longer with us.\n\n01/09/2016 10:26 AM AEST | Updated 01/09/2016 10:27 AM AEST\nParamount Pictures\n\nGene Wilder gave us the golden ticket to childhood. In his role as Willy Wonka he created a sense of nostalgia and a magic for a time gone by, a sense of longing for childhood that went with him and cannot be replaced.\n\nNostalgia is a cruel emotion, a double-edged sword created by the powerful muscle of memory. An overwhelming feeling of pleasure that comes with remembering the past and the inevitable sadness that follows when we realise that past is no longer attainable.\n\nThe word 'nostalgia' comes from the Greek \"nostos\" or homecoming and the accompanying pain, \"algos\". Do we even need nostalgia today if it makes us hurt so much, longing for a past we can no longer attain?\n\nThe idea that we have to remember anything at all could soon be a thing of the past. Facebook notifications ensure we never have to remember family and friend's birthdays. Smart phones act as an extended digital memory, telling us where we have to be, how to get there and what we have to do.\n\nIf futurists are correct the memory muscle will slip further into decay as Artificial Intelligence will not only remember everything for us it will also make decisions tailored to our every need.\n\nThe muscle of memory is getting weaker. If we don't use it we'll loose it.\n\nThe Swiss doctor Johannes Hoffer, who coined the term in 1688, originally described nostalgia as a \"neurological disease\". It was seen as a negative mental state when soldiers displayed symptoms of being homesick. This is where we give thanks to our digitally obsessed world, as nostalgia has shifted from \"disease\" to necessity to survive our always-on lives.\n\nWhen Facebook launched in 2007 the nostalgia trend became as popular as leg warmers in the '80s. The lure of nostalgia in a society increasingly obsessed with the new and the next continues to rise today. Nostalgia is the antidote to relieve the stresses today by channeling the comfort of the past.\n\nFar from a disease of the mind, nostalgia is a gift to be treasured. A gift to be used. Nostalgia is triggered by all the senses; the first few notes of Willy Wonka's Pure Imagination and we are transported back many decades to a time of movie night and family love.\n\nTaste and smell also trigger nostalgia. The sense of smell is the first sense newborns develop. The nose's ability to awaken emotional memories reassures us of home and safety.\n\nNostalgia is also a powerful resource that we can tap into that provides strength for our future, it bolsters and reassures us. We can tap into these imprints, the joy of an idealised past life, using these positive memories to inform us of who we are and where we are going.\n\nAs Don Draper on Mad Men says in The Wheel -- the famous episode in which he pitches the Kodak carousel in the first season of Mad Men -- \"Nostalgia is delicate but potent. It's a twinge in your heart more powerful than memory alone. It's not a spaceship, it's a time machine. It goes backwards, and forwards... it takes us to a place where we ache to go again.\"\n\nGene Wilder as Willy Wonka worked his way into the time machine of our collective memory. He contributed greatly to the childhood memories of many that are today's nostalgic treasure.\n\nNostalgia makes us better human beings. Celebrate it when it comes to you.\n\nMore On This Topic", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.786578893661499}
+{"content": "The sixth-grade science classes at our school built a Lego Mindstorms EV3 Robot. While completing this project, we also wrote computer programs to move the robot. Then we used a USB cord to connect the robot and run our programs. We experimented with different speeds, turning, sensing a certain color and also having it make sounds.\n\nadvertisement | advertise on newsday\n\nAnother great experiment we tested on the robot was the Great Escape. We had to program our robot to sense a certain color, back up and try to find an open space in order for it to escape an area.\n\nWe finished up by programming the robot to do more creative things that were not included in the instructions. This was not as easy to do, but since we followed the directions carefully for the other parts, it was not a total challenge. You can buy the robot on your own and they cost about $350 (visit the Lego website: We loved building this robot and always looked forward to getting to science class to work on it.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7420873641967773}
+{"content": "NHK Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo\n\n\nNo.1855 Subscription (Program A)\n\nMartinů / Memorial to Lidice (1943)\n\n\nHusa / Music for Prague 1968 (Orchestral Version/1969)\n\n\nBrahms / Violin Concerto D major op.77\n\n\nTatsuya Shimono, conductor\n\n\nKristóf Baráti, violin\n\n\n\n\n  S A B C D E\nOrdinary Ticket 8,800 7,300 5,700 4,600 3,600 1,500\n  S A B C D E\nYouth Ticket 5,500 4,500 3,500 2,500 1,500 -\n\n(tax included)\n\n\n*E seats are non-reserved seats\n\n*Subscribers receive a 10% discount (Except E seats / Available at N-Kyo Guide and NHKSO WEB Ticket)\n\n\n*About Youth tickets (Available at N-Kyo Guide)\n\n\n\n*Pre-school children are not allowed in the concert hall\n\n\nBroadcast schedule of this concert\n\n\nRequest for brochure\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9999392032623291}
+{"content": "tools that will help you build habits\n\nHabits are one of the keys to getting things done. There are a lot of tools out there available that will help you establish desired habits.\n\nExample: Motivaider is a great tool that helps establish any habit, based on psychological research and powerful anchoring methods.\n\nExample: Learning new things, like language vocabulary, and keeping it in memory, wasn't one of the tasks that I would consider easy nor attractive. Until I got hold of Fullrecall flashcard software, an application that keeps all the items in one database (no more the mess coming from keeping it in many places), and tests me everyday according to the schedulling algorithm based on the artificial intelligence that ensures a) highest possible retention b) as little time spent reviewing as possible. First, it became a habit for me to run the app everyday and it is easy to continue with that habit once established. Second, I am the geeky type and running something that has \"artificial intelligence\" built in satisfies my technical ego, despite I can hardly understand how exactly that algorithm works, I somehow feel great using such a tool.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5942596197128296}
+{"content": "The Xbox is 10, here’s a timeline\n\nOkay, so the Xbox actually turned 10 a while ago, but in Europe it’s only just reached the milestone.\n\nTo celebrate, Microsoft has launched an extensive timeline covering the brand’s life span to date (and beyond). It’s an in-depth look, showing key games, hardware updates and announcements made over the past 10 years. There’s even previews of upcoming 360 exclusives like Halo 4 and Steel Battalion.\n\nThat takes us back to linking up consoles for 8-player Halo matches. Those were the days.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9989914894104004}
+{"content": "garden of eden\n\nThe Fall,\nOriginal Sin\nor Ejection from the Garden of Eden\n\nWhere the concept of the ejection from the garden is false is that humanity left the garden of her own free will and the Creator and Sustainer sits silently waiting in the Garden for us to rejoin him.\n\n\"Original Sin,\" as it is called, is simply the emergence of the Ego. The fall from grace,\" is only an illusion of separation. Adam and Eve were never tossed out of the beautiful paradise of God's creation. They walked out. By eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge, they suddenly became aware of their differences.\" - Vincent Cole\n\n\n\"As it is imbued so deeply into our mythology, our ideology, our culture, and our economy, the doctrine of original sin is actually correct - correct insofar as we are immersed in our culture. It is correct given our ideological infrastructure and the motivations built in to our cultural institutions.\" - Charles Eisenstein\n\ndualing realities\n\nAt the dawn of human history the Dreamtime of Unity Consciousness was shattered when early thinkers could imagine a reality free from want. The vision of a reality free from want, seen in the imagination of the mind's eye, came to them in the magical image of the Garden of Eden.\n\nThe Garden of Eden would be a wonderful place where all wants were met, where all desires were fulfilled and where the ever present desert of extremes receded from consciousness, a return to the dreamtime.\n\nAlthough they could 'see' the Garden in their 'vision' (imagination) they were ultimately frustrated by the fact that their vision (imagination) was not one belonging to the material Earth.\n\nOver time the vision of the Garden became 'real' in their mind's eye, exquisitely beautiful perfection, but such perfection was separate from physical reality existing only outside of time and space in a dreamtime.\n\nOnce they shared their vision with others it became necessary to come up with a reason for why man was separated from the Garden.\n\nThe emotions most people experience come from the natural order.\n\nFor example, when a man was hunting and/or gathering fear was a very helpful and life saving emotion. A man that holds fear, is careful in his pursuit of game. A man careful to be aware of his surroundings when gathering fruit has a much better chance of surviving than the man that does not pay attention to the fact that on the rock ledge above his head a lion is crouching. (see biological orienting response)\n\nRational men have felt guilt ever since the first moment that they realized that the life they were ending, to survive, was of the same order as the life that they held within themselves - a natural empathetic response. Individual life saving emotions may work for the individual and yet hinder cooperation within the tribe - in particularly in a nomadic warrior tribe.\n\nThe religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam were all born from the same seed - the nomadic warrior tribe of the cult of Yahweh and their leader Moshe Rabbenu who fled the reorganization of Egyptian society upon the death of Tutankhamun. Moshe Rabbenu synthesized the religion of Akhenaten with the religion of Sumeria to create the foundational elements of the Torah which includes the story of the ejection from the Garden of Eden.\n\nThe basic premise that all men are born into sin is a relatively new concept. Emotion, not seen or heard, was of the supernatural realm.\n\nThey began to imagine not letting primitive emotions drive decisions.\n\nThe story of Cain and Able informs the nomadic warriors/hunters to become settled cooperating gatherers/farmers and herders. All human beings with souls understand personal spiritual corruption in that they are unable to completely control their own emotions and live up to their own self-expectations.\n\nWithout the taming of primitive emotions a social culture will remain limited in size or die as the group members destroy one another as they did on Pitcairn Island.\n\nThe elaborate religious theology constructed by each social culture depended upon taming primitive emotions and informing the type of lifestyle their culture embodied. For example, the horse people of Genghis Khan lived on the Mongolian Steppe, an endless grass prairie, practiced a shamanistic religion quite similar to the Native American horse people of the Great Plains. The differences between the two can be traced to elements of Hindu and Buddhist religions being different from elements of Christian religion which Native Americans had been exposed to.\n\nOnly groups working out elaborate commonly excepted social rituals that keep primitive emotions in check will be able to grow and prosper .\n\nWith primitive emotions in check civility reigns within the social cultural group.\n\nMost religious theologies divide humans into at least two opposing social cultural groups - those who belong to the fellowship or can be tolerated as non-threatening to the fellowship and those who are \"other,\" threatening evil doers out to enslave or destroy the fellowship.\n\nThe followers of Moshe Rabbenu had survived as nomads in the desert by worshiping the harsh war god of the desert, Yahweh. At this time high priests of the cult of Yahweh had gained a profound insight into the nature of the emotional state of a human in a social group by persevering in the desert for '40' years.\n\nGuilt, an emotion only humans are known to experience, worked wonders as a social control mechanism. The cult leaders of the cult of Yahweh solution to the fact that not all their subjects felt guilt keenly enough was to bestow upon them Original Sin.\n\nThe cult leaders of the cult of Yahweh 'educated' the members of their tribe that men had been ejected from the vision of freedom from want, ejected from exquisitely beautiful perfection, ejected from Yahweh's presence because spiritual corruption was universal in mankind.\n\n\n\"Israel is laid waste, its seed is not.\"\n\nHere we have the earliest mention of Israel outside the Bible and the only mention of Israel in Egyptian records. The Egyptian record identifies the Israelites as a nomadic people.\n\nThe harsh war god of the desert, Yahweh would redeem them.\n\nThe fleeing Israelites driven into their nomadic life by the Egyptians who usurped Akhenaten's dynasty (Akhenaten was referred to as 'the enemy' in Egyptian archival records) fell upon and conquered the city of Ugarit and the land of Canaan around 1180 BC.\n\nCanaan had been an Eygyptian protectorate until 1210 BC so that is only thirty years.\n\n\"The conquest of Canaan was but one more instance of a hungry nomad horde falling upon a settled community. The conquerors killed as many as they could find, and married the rest. Slaughter was unconfined, and was divinely ordained and enjoyed. Gideon, in capturing two cities, slew 120,000 men; only in the annals of the Assyrians do we meet again with such hearty killing.\" - Will Durrant\n\nThe Canaanites worshiped a pantheon of gods. El was the supreme god, the Creator, but El did not act on Earth. Secondary gods, who acted on Earth, were Baal, who's name appears 76 times in the Old Testament, and Baal's consort Asherah.\n\nCanaanites worshiped Baal and Asherah who brought the Canaanites rain, fertility and life. The Hebrews conquered the Canaanite city of Ugarit slaughtering every man, subjugating the woman and children throughout the land of Canaan.\n\nThe Hebrew prophets combined and folded several aspects of the individual Canaanite gods into Yahweh. In Canaanite mythology Yahweh was the son of El. The Hebrew prophets intent was to civilize the barbarous Israelites by taming the war god Yahweh.\n\nAt this period in history Hebrew priests were the dispensers of natural, religious and social laws in a way which was paralleled later in history during the reign of the Pope's Roman Catholic church before the Protestant Reformation of Martin Luther. At this time in history civil law and moral laws, those laid down by man, were one and the same.\n\nThe earliest cultures of Mesopotamia, \"Land Between the Rivers,\" and the Levant were directed by priests who established coherent rules for the society. The temple was erected at the center of the settlement and was the most awe inspiring building.\n\n\nHistorically the role of religion in every civilization was religion's ability to establish a common moral order. Priests, or kings derived their authority from the gods and they were the ones who devised the moral and social codes that kept increasingly complex societies operating in a 'civilized' or controllable manner.\n\nBabylon derived its name from Ba-bi-ilani, or \"the gate of the gods,\" the place where the gods descended to Earth.\n\nInca urban society rested on the belief that their rulers were gods, their word law.\n\nGreek and Roman communities shared a powerful sense of \"sacred space\" in their central core and each devised elaborate codes of social and moral law.\n\nback to stacks contents\n\nunique library index\n\n\n\n\n\n\nFair Use Notice\n\nCopyright © Lawrence Turner\nAll Rights Reserved", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8309515714645386}
+{"content": "For a better experience on MUBI, update your browser.\n\nRatings & Reviews\n\n  1. A.B. II: The Return's rating of the film Maudie\n\n    This is one of those biopics that might paint an audience-pleasing portrait of a beloved cultural figure, but whose story isn't dramatically compelling. Personal details are minimal, and many scenes feel dragged out. As a tribute to an artist, it feels underwhelming. As a love story, it's written and played very unconvincingly. I never bought these characters as actual people, making it too hard to invest in them.\n\n  2. msmichel's rating of the film Maudie\n\n    Sally Hawkin's portrayal of Canadian folk artist Maud Lewis is a stellar one capturing her awkwardness, creativity and capacity to love succinctly. She's well supported by a bottled turn by Ethan Hawke as her husband. The maritime setting is well captured by director Walsh and cinematographer Guy Godfree and the film's unfussy script by Sherry White doesn't give in to melodrama or the maudlin. Love takes all forms.\n\n  3. Kamran's rating of the film Maudie\n\n    An inspiring film which sits on the laurels of two phenomenal performances. 80/100 - Great.\n\n  4. Jason's rating of the film Maudie\n\n    It would be tremendously easy to find fault w/ Maudie. Some leaden dramaturgy and so forth. But I found it very sweet and very moving. The central relationship (between Maude and Everett Lewis) is extremely powerful, attributable both to performances and some strong writing. Ethan Hawke's Everett was the first character I have ever seen on screen who invoked for me my paternal grandfather. Meant a lot to me.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9500671029090881}
+{"content": "Alfred Drinking Coffee and Chatting with VanIsReal\n\nAlfred Zagloul loves coffee. This simple premise was used as the inspiration for his incredibly popular account (Alfred started his Instagram on September 1st, 2016 and he’s already up to 2397 followers as of January 17th, 2017) and it’s worked out swimmingly.\n\nEven if you don’t love coffee (I’ve been off it for 2 weeks, but I’m sure my addiction will rear it’s ugly head again soon enough), I think his account is worth following if you use IG because his expression makes me laugh and without Alfred using any words it’s like he’s letting people know, “I feel ya”. Life ain’t always easy, but the best thing we can do is laugh at ourselves, and that’s why @alfreddrinkingcoffee is such an impactful account!\n\n\nAlfred at Revolver on Cambie.\n\nIt was my first time at Revolver and the music was my favourite part of the coffee shop: old school U2 and the War on Drugs were playing while we were there.\n\nIn addition to how amazing he is on IG, Alfred was kind, interesting, and easy to talk to in real life, so I give this “Accountant by day/Coffee Drinker also by day” (the tagline on Alfred’s IG) two thumbs up!\n\nWhat do you love about Vancouver?\n\n“Obviously, the biggest thing for me is the coffee culture in general. So, I love how everywhere you go in Vancouver, 90% of the people love coffee. Every shop that you go to has a different vibe, has a different flavour, so you get a real taste, a huge variation of tastes and flavours around Vancouver, which is really rare to see in some cities, so I love that about Vancouver.”\n\n\nIf you’ve ever felt like a freak or an outsider, what helped you through it?\n\n“Ok, so I had to really think about this. So, there’s been a couple times where I just felt like an outsider here and there, and I, honestly, the reason why I love coffee so much is because of the coffee shops themselves. So I’d go to a coffee shop, sit down and you feel like you’re a part of a group, even though you’re not really. You can just sit there and enjoy, hear some random conversations, hear what is going on around you and just enjoy the atmosphere of a good coffee shop. Usually, that’s my go-to if I ever do feel like an outsider or anything like that.”\n\nWhere did you come up with the idea for your Instagram?\n\n“Honestly, a lot of my co-workers noticed that I’m obsessed with coffee before we did this. And they’re like, “Alfred you need to have an account.” So, we started pitching ideas and thinking about what we should do, and next thing I know here I am with colourful shirts, staring deadpan into the camera, and drinking coffee. Thought the most simple idea was the best way to go, so that’s where the idea came from basically.”\n\nCatch-Up on THE COMEBACK Before Season 2 Starts\n\nI had seen about half of an episode of LISA KUDROW‘s and MICHAEL PATRICK KING‘s HBO series from 2005 called THE COMEBACK a while back, but I never really gave it a chance. I remember hearing one of the Olsen twins saying that it was one of their favourite series, and that stuck out to me for some reason. I kept hearing about the show despite its cancellation after one season.\n\nPoster for the TV series The Comeback\n\nThe Comeback poster: source.\n\nWell, after a 9 year hiatus, the show returns for its second season next Sunday November 9th on HBO, and I am very excited to watch it! Yesterday I downloaded season 1 of THE COMEBACK, and I watched all 13 episodes over the last 2 days.\n\nSince I consider myself to be reality TV addict, the show’s premise is perfect in my mind: KUDROW plays VALERIE CHERISH, a washed-up sitcom actress who agrees to film a reality show about her life while working on a new sitcom.\n\nThe Comeback\n\nThe cast of the fictional sitcom ROOM AND BORED on THE COMEBACK: source.\n\nThe new sitcom has 4 young, “hot” stars living together and Valerie Cherish is playing the supposedly unattractive, old aunt named AUNT SASSY. The sitcom is called ROOM AND BORED and it’s super cheesy and insulting to women, and lots of groups of people for that matter. For example, Cherish stands up to the writers when she is expected to say a line about a batch of puppies potentially turning into Korean BBQ. Cherish previously starred in a popular courtroom sitcom called I’M IN IT. When Valerie is complaining to the white, male writers she cites an example from the last season of I’M IN IT when there was a Rodney King joke too soon after the riot. She thinks it led the show to be cancelled.\n\nLisa Kudrow aka Valerie Cherish as Aunt Sassy: source.\n\nBeing racist towards Korean people and making fun of Rodney King’s death is not funny in any way, shape, or form. What makes the show smart and funny is the way it identifies how so many popular sitcoms on supposedly “politically correct” stations regularly air material that I find to be totally unfunny. There are shows I’ve seen where it seems like every joke is based on stereotypes of others. The humour on THE COMEBACK is self-reflective. Valerie is learning how to be a better human being, not just hate on others. This is the type of humour I relate to and feel good watching.\n\nTherefore, I did not find the show to be racist or sexist. Instead it was refreshing and hilarious to see the challenges Valerie Cherish faces while trying to ensure the sitcom isn’t offensive to viewers. Yet, Valerie is not perfect. She assumes her Asian make-up artist is Korean, and apologizes to her for the offensive joke. The make-up artist points out she is Japanese. Valerie tries to cover her own ass by saying that she wouldn’t want to offend the make-up artists’ Korean friends then. The make-up artist asks why Valerie assumes she has Korean friends. There’s lots of awkward social situations like this one on THE COMEBACK that are funny and realistic. I think we’ve all either observed these scenarios or been a part of them (on both ends) where you, or someone else, is trying to be sensitive but end up creating the opposite effect.\n\nThe Comeback ep 10 bath\n\n\nThe reality TV film crew is led by LAURA SILVERMAN (SARAH SILVERMAN‘S sister) as the character JANE. You often see that the lines between Valerie’s own personal life and her connection to the crew are blurred. For example, one of her fellow co-stars shows up incredibly late for lunch. While Valerie is waiting, she unsuccessfully tries to coerce Jane to join her at the table, so she doesn’t feel like a loser being filmed eating alone.\n\nVALERIE CHERISH is an inspiring character because she always tries to put on a brave face. Valerie tries to pretend she is A-OK at all times, even though the film crew captures all of the degrading and embarrassing things that happen to Valerie during her pursuit of a successful acting career. LISA KUDROW puts her dramatic acting chops on display also. There are painful and tender moments where Valerie has tears in her eyes, even though she is smiling. I could feel her pain, and I connected to how much it hurts to be rejected. The series has so many funny situations that happens. It was comforting me and making me laugh like crazy. Valerie’s step-daughter is like 10-12 years old and yet she refuses to eat carbs, smokes, and says “Bananas” (one of celebrity stylist RACHEL ZOE‘s trademark lines).\n\n\nValerie on the set of her sitcom Room and Bored: source.\n\nIt is an outstanding and intelligent show. Even though the first season aired in 2005, it is especially relevant today. I think it accurately represents why audience’s have become increasingly attracted to seeing people play themselves on reality television. “Being yourself” on reality TV creates a kind of pressure about authenticity that leads to a lot of fakeness. But, at the same time, since these reality shows are capturing people at home, or in semi-natural situations (or with their families like on KEEPING UP WITH THE KARDASHIANS), the viewer gets exposed to honest and vulnerable moments in reality stars lives. These moments are almost always quite unflattering and reveal the person’s ego. But for me, these moments usually lead me to love my favourite reality stars even more, because I realize they are human. Even though they look perfect in still-life images or on Instagram, nobody is perfect and confident at all times. Reality TV makes that abundantly clear, and THE COMEBACK brings that message home and then some!", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5805612802505493}
+{"content": "To schedule call: 212-529-5700Patient FormsInsurances\nNew Image\n\nPhysical Therapist\n\nPhysical Therapist\n\nA physical therapist is a professionally trained, licensed healthcare professional that treats patients by reducing pain and disability through improving and restoring mobility. They use non-invasive techniques, often removing the need for expensive surgery and long recovery periods.  Dr. Scott Weiss and Kosta Kokolis, the two owners have saved hundreds of people from going under the knife.  Moreover, this reduces the need for long term use of prescription medications and thereby avoiding their side effects.\n\nThe physical adviser also provide lifestyle guidance, functional independence and exercise prescription which helps patients manage their present condition and the patient education helps avoid further pain and injury. The physical mentor is vital the healthcare and wellness milieu.\n\n\nWhat’s the Process for Physical Therapy?\n\nThe physician starts by performing a full examination, performing tests and measures while at the same time asking questions about the patient’s overall health, lifestyle and past medical history. After the examination, the therapist produces a plan of care to return the patient or athlete to full function and well being. Various techniques are at the physical therapist disposal to speed up the recovery process.  They use laser, ultrasound, electrical stimulation, vibration as well as Chinese medicine.\n\nAll to reduce pain and improve the daily function of the affected part of the body. The therapist also works with patients in the preventative realm. The exercise prescription and holistic approach to rehabilitation and life enhances each patient’s wellbeing leading to a healthier and more fulfilled life.\n\n\nBecoming a Physical Therapist\n\nTo become a physical therapist, one must pass an accredited graduate degree program consisting of course work in but not limited to exercise science, human anatomy, biomechanics, massage and musculoskeletal medicine.  The university degree culminates in either a master’s or a doctorate. After graduation, the therapist qualifies to take the licensing exam in their state of choice.\n\nThis allows them to practice in that state only with no reciprocity. Other requirements may be needed according to each individual university and then each therapist must practice under the bylaws of physical therapy in their respective state.\n\nWithout a doubt, the physical consultant is an integral part of the healthcare system and in private practice.  Taking care of orthopaedic, cardiac, neurological manifestations and so much more make the physical therapist and the job of PT one of the top 10 professions of 2020.\n\n\nContact Bodhizone for Physical Therapy in New York\n\nIf you’re looking for physical therapy in New York, then please contact us on 212-529-5700. Or you can fill in your details in the contact form below and we will get back to you.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8233335018157959}
+{"content": "Images captured from VHS recordings of Earth 2 broadcasts\n\nOne of the most dramatic events of the premiere episode of \"Earth 2\" is when Uly is taken into the earth by the Terrians. When he is returned, he has been healed and runs to meet his mother in a romantic scene reminiscent of movie \"Elvira Madigan\"\n\nUly celebrates 9th birthday on Earth 2 (above).        16 years later (right)", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6681045293807983}
+{"content": "Oct 27, 2011\n\nMind Set\n\nDescribe the core concept for us behind “Mindset”?\nPeople have different beliefs about their talents and abilities. Some people hold a “fixed mindset”: They believe that their talents and abilities are fixed traits; you have only a certain amount and that’s that. This is a mindset that turns people away from risks or challenges that may reveal deficiencies and, in this way, can work against innovation and growth.\n\nCan someone change their own mindset? How?\nYes, it’s never too late. In a fixed mindset, challenges are threatening, criticism is threatening, and the success of others is threatening. But in a growth mindset, all of these offer opportunities to learn.\nLearn to listen to the fixed-mindset voice in your head that tells you you have to look smart at all times and that tells you that challenges, criticism and the success of others are indictments of your ability. Answer it back with a growth-mindset voice, as you take on these challenges, listen to criticism, and learn from the success of others.\n\nI believe that mindset is a critical thing in how you approach life, whether at work or in your personal life.  Certain cliches apply; \"Is your glass half-full, or half-empty\" or \"Don't burn your bridges\".  So how do you approach life?  I say continue to \"live and learn\" and to embrace change.  \n\n\n\n  1. Thought provoking, but I do agree with the last sentence. We must continue to learn or we die, mentally and physically.\n\n  2. Oh dear, I guess I have more of a fixed mindset, than I thought about god given talent. But I also believe in the live, learn and embrace change attitude.\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.754745602607727}
+{"content": "Industry research\n\nHow the industry is developing? On what stage the industry life cycle is? What is the average profitability and what is its structure? The answers to these issues will allow you to have a complete and up-to-date information about the market and the environment where your business is going to be stablished.\n\nEnsuring timely responses to potential changes, keeping pace with the changing environment and being the initiator– these are what make you become a leader in the industry. For this, you need the constant update of the ongoing process in the industry.\n\nIndustry research involves identifying the determining factors of the intensity of competition. Demand and supply, the volume of capital and knowledge of the industry’s features will allow you to make the right strategic decisions.\n\nResearch duration : 1-2 months\n\nThis post is also available in: Georgian", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9806567430496216}
+{"content": "A bicycle is buried by snow in the Queens borough of New York.\nMedia playback is unsupported on your device\n\nUS north-east battles first major snow storm of 2014\n\nThe north-eastern US has been hit by a major winter storm, with 53cm (21 inches) of snowfall recorded in one town in Massachusetts.\n\n\nThe New York and New Jersey governors have declared a state of emergency, urging people to stay indoors.\n\nNick Childs reports.\n\nGo to next video: While Canada freezes Australia melts", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.631754994392395}
+{"content": "Two scientists at St. Boniface Hospital in Winnipeg have discovered a compound that they hope will eventually help in the fight against antibiotic-resistant infections.\n\nDr. Grant Pierce and Dr. Pavel Dibrov's research, which was published in the Canadian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology Thursday, says their newly-developed compound, PEG-2S, works by cutting off the energy source of bacteria — a protein vital to their survival.\n\n\"It's important because this protein is not found in the normal cells of your body — lung, heart, wherever,\" said an excited Pierce. \"It's worked beautifully.\"\n\nWhile the new compound is lethal to bad bacteria it has the added benefit of bypassing healthy cells, according to tests done in Petri dishes. It has not undergone animal and human trials necessary for approval as a drug.\n\n\"It does not have an effect on the normal cells in your body and it doesn't have an effect on the good bacteria that's in your gut,\" said Pierce. \n\nThe compound's target is not a traditional one for antibiotics.\n\nMost antibiotics today attack one of three targets — the cell wall, protein synthesis or DNA replication within the bacteria, said Pierce. \n\n\"Ours is quite different,\" he said. \n\nDrug Resistant Gonorrhea 2013010\n\nDrug-resistant gonorrhea culture are shown under a microscope lens. Researchers at St. Boniface Hospital have developed a new drug that may treat gonorrhea and other infections which share a particular protein. (Canadian Press)\n\nPreliminary research shows the effectiveness in Petri dish tests of PEG-2S for treating Chlamydia trachomatis — the sexually-transmitted disease known simply as chlamydia — but the scientists have also tested it successfully on pneumonia, Legionnaires' disease, gingivitis and periodontitis, said Pierce.\n\nResearchers say the compound, if successfully tested and approved, could potentially treat cholera, wound infections, septicemia, and gonorrhea — infections that all use the same sodium transport mechanism or energy source.\n\nApproval could take 10 years\n\nA host of infections that were once easily annihilated by common antibiotics have become resistant to treatment in recent years.\n\nHundreds of thousands of people die each year around the world from antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections and it's been 30 years since the last new class of antibiotics was discovered.\n\nIt's possible that in the not-too-distant future, a skinned knee that becomes infected could be life-threatening, said Pierce.\n\n\"Identifying a new target for the antibiotics is extremely important,\" Pierce said.\n\nPEG-2S is not only a potential weapon against drug-resistant bacteria — it may also take longer for bacteria to build a resistance to it because the drug acts so differently from other antibiotics.\n\nHe and Pavel are currently seeking patent approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for PEG-2S. \n\nIt could take five to 10 years, Pierce estimated, before the compound makes it on to pharmacy shelves. However, many drug candidates fail because of toxicity, reduced impact in humans, lack of interest from the pharmaceutical industry or other factors.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9001142978668213}
+{"content": "A disclosure and contextualization of the Brussels Saxophone School between 1867 and 1903: towards a historically informed performance practice\n\nHistorically informed performance practice (HIPP) is a major concept in today's music life. At first, its scope was restricted to Early music. Nowadays, this performance practice is being gradually applied to even twentieth century music. The essence of this concept is a historical awareness of music performance, which is still not common in the saxophone area. In order to fill this gap, the goal of this project is an in-depth artistic and theoretical research into the HIPP and the cultural- historical context of the scores for the Brussels Saxophone School, the world's first saxophone school, between 1867 and 1903.\n\nMy project consists of three components. In the first part, I will formulate a critical and theoretical synthesis of ongoing definitions and applications of HIPP. In the second part, by means of historical sources related to the school of that period (music periodicals, instrumental methods, historical recordings, historical instruments), I will gain insight into the playing techniques and style as well as into the cultural-historical and international context. Two representative case studies (Nazaire Beeckman and Paul Gilson) will concretize my investigations. The third and final part of this research will be to perform the Brussels solo and chamber music scores for saxophone in a historically informed way. A theoretical and practical approach will thus inspire each other and will allow me to go further than mere musicology or saxophone studies would do.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9990813136100769}
+{"content": "Abuse Drugs and Alcohol, Blog, Why Teens Abuse Drugs\n\n5 Reasons Why Teens Abuse Drugs and Alcohol\n\nAre you struggling with your child’s substance abuse? There is no one reason why teens are looking for alcohol and drugs. But we’ve narrowed down the common issues behind the behavior. As a parent, it is important to reach out to kids and discuss the dangers that come with it.\n\nHere are 5 reasons why teens abuse drugs and alcohol.\n\nPeer Pressure\n\nTeens are surrounded by other individuals who consume various substances. When they see their families or friends drinking alcohol, smoking, or trying substances, their interest will spark. Friends may even urge them to have a drink or try smoking. If they see their friends doing it, they will consider it as a normal experience or thing to do.\n\nMedia Influence\n\nDid you know that 45% of teens agree that music and TV make alcohol and drugs seem cool to do? With such a high influence today, it is important to discuss the dangers with your children.\n\nA method of Escape\n\nWhen teens are not happy, they often look for ways to release their stress and frustration. However, they may not always be looking to discuss their issues with a trusted confidant. As a result, they may look to chemicals as a solution. Depending on the substance they use, they might find themselves at ease or as a way to control their own body.\n\nJust to “Try It”\n\nTeens are always looking to try something new. They even find themselves looking to try new methods of excitement. Not only do drugs and alcohol help fill the void, they even provide a common ground to socialize with like-minded teens.\n\nLack of Confidence\n\nMany teenagers who lack confidence find themselves doing things under the influence of peer pressure or alcohol and drugs. This helps them to feel relatively more confidence and gives them the courage to do things they might not have done without the influence.\n\nDo you feel overwhelmed or have more questions you need to be answered about your teen’s use of drugs or alcohol? Comment below and share your thoughts with us!…\n\nContinue Reading\n4 Myths about Vaccines, About Vaccines Debunked\n\n4 Myths about Vaccines Debunked\n\nFamilies all over the world are questioning the safety and effectiveness of vaccines, which is understandable. However, it is important to stay informed of the actual risks if you decide to not vaccinate your children. To help you make informed decisions, we’ve narrowed down the top myths to debunk.\n\nHere are 4 myths about vaccines debunked.\n\nMyth #1: Vaccination leads to autism\n\nWith the widespread fear of vaccinations, many parents are worried about the risk of autism in children. However, research has completely discredited the connection with countless studies. While the true cause of autism still remains a mystery, symptoms of autism are shown well before children receive the MMR vaccine. Thus, evidence develops in the uterus before vaccinations are received.\n\nMyth #2: A child’s immune system cannot handle vaccines`\n\nThe immune system of infants is much stronger than you think. Based on the antibodies in the blood, babies have the ability to respond to as many as 10,000 vaccines at once. Therefore, even if all 14 vaccines are given, they would use as little as 0.1% of the immune capacity of the baby. Scientists believe that they may be theoretical as the immune system can never be overwhelmed due to the constant replenishment in the body.\n\nMyth #3: It is better to build natural immunity than through vaccines\n\nNatural immunity may help strengthen immunity. However, there are other dangers that outweigh the benefits of natural immunity. For example, if you want to gain immunity to measles, you would have to face a 1 in 500 chance of dying from the symptoms.\n\nMyth #4: Vaccines contain harmful chemicals and toxins\n\nFamilies are concerned about the use of formaldehyde, aluminum, and mercury in vaccines. While certain levels of chemicals are toxic to the body, there are only minimal amounts of chemicals used in vaccines.\n\n\nAs science continues to improve, researchers are now able to tackle new challenges and diseases and prevent such risks to help them stay protected. Vaccines are a great pillar of medicine as should be used appropriately with the right knowledge.\n\n\nContinue Reading", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6391361951828003}
+{"content": "Harga Paracetamol Di Apotik\n\nparacetamol comp stada 500mg 30mg rezeptfrei\n\nThe adhering to are most typical negative side effects: weakness, indigestion, puking, confusion, thirst, muscle cramps, irregularity, masked lightheadedness, eyesight, and frustration\n\nparacetamol comp stada 500mg 30mg preis\n\nList of noun we sweetgum wood strengh them, and it my lifes story\n\nharga paracetamol di apotik\n\nLupin’s 50.94 price-to-cash flow ratio is the highest among the world’s 34 largest generic drugmakers after Momenta Pharmaceuticals Inc., according to data compiled by Bloomberg\n\nparacetamol 500mg tablete cena\n\nprix paracetamol suisse\n\nharga paracetamol anak\n\nThe active driveline technology will enhance its agility and improve fuel efficiency\n\nparacetamol prix france\n\nparacetamol zpfchen 500 rezeptfrei\n\nlikely to occur Once daily application of mometasone furoate 0.1% cream may be an option, but its efficacy\n\nparacetamol zpfchen 125 rezeptpflichtig\n\nIf we learned a communication is a living in.\n\npenulisan resep paracetamol syrup", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7691344618797302}
+{"content": "Navigation and service\n\nProject Bundle 6 \"Lighting of workplaces: technology assessment of AmI-based lighting systems\"\n\nCurrently the lighting of workplaces in indoor environments is gaining importance because of scientific findings. Up to now good quality lighting should provide for the needed level of visual performance, but it also determines visual comfort and safety. Recent studies in the field of lighting explain the correlation between light, human performance and health. It is known that light is able to influence the circadian system (e.g. sleep/wake cycles), and thereby to trigger certain physiological (e.g. secretion of hormones) and psychological effects (e.g. alertness). These discoveries and the ongoing development of new lighting technologies (e.g. LEDs), have implications for designing light. Currently lighting designers and lamp manufacturers try to create a link between the previous approaches of visibility and the non-visual effects by the application of dynamic lighting systems. AmI-based lighting systems that are able to control illuminance and color temperature in terms of spatial and temporal distribution are in discussion. The impact of these systems on safety, health and performance of employees are not sufficiently examined at this stage. What is known is that insufficient or inappropriate light exposure is able to get the master clock out of sync which can result in short-term effects such as sleepiness during the day, insomnia at night and irritability. Continual exposure of light with short-wavelength energy may promote a chronic desynchronization of the circadian system and entrainment disorders like gastrointestinal disorders, cardiovascular disease, obesity and diabetes.\n\nThis project bundle aims to identify benefits and risks of AmI-based lighting systems. Further, a new theoretical approach will be developed for the evaluation of safety and health-related aspects. For this purpose, open research questions about the non-visual effects will be addressed. For example the measurement and evaluation of circadian disruption due to AmI-based lighting systems caused by \"blue light\" at day or night. In addition to biological effects the BAuA will examine visual aspects and application-related aspects of these new lighting systems in the laboratory.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.994137167930603}
+{"content": "\" /> Historical Location\n\n\nHierapolis Province: DENIZLI\n\n\nPart of the archeological site of Hierapolis\nAncient Hieropolis\nCoin of Eumenes II\nThe first theatre was constructed to the northeast above the northern gate when the ancient city was destroyed by an earthquake in AD 17. After the earthquake of AD 60, a new theatre was constructed during the reign of the emperor Vespasian. This second theatre was hollowed out of the slope of the hill further to the east using the remains and the seats of the first. There were alterations during the reigns of Hadrian and Septimius Severus. There is an inscription in the theatre that relates to the emperor Hadrian. Septimius Severus is portrayed in a relief together with his wife Julia Domna, his two sons Caracalla and Geta, and the god Jupiter. In 352, the theatre underwent a thorough restoration and was adapted for water shows.\nThere were four entrances to the theatre, each with six statues in niches flanked by marble columns. The auditorium consisted of stacked seating with a capacity of 15,000 and was bisected by a horizontal corridor. It featured an imperial box. The lower part originally had twenty rows and the upper part twenty five, but only thirty rows altogether have survived. The auditorium is segmented into nine aisles by means of eight vertical passageways with steps. The proscenium consisted of two stories with ornately decorated niches to the sides. Several statues, reliefs (including depictions of Apollo, Dionysus, and Diana), and decorative elements have been excavated by the Italian archaeological team and can be seen in the local museum.\nThe theatre is now under restoration. Many reliefs and statues depicting mythological figures have been excavated from the site.\nTemple of Apollo\nThe temple of Apollo was deliberately been built over an active fault.[8] Temples dedicated to Apollo were often built over geologically-active sites, including his most famous, the temple at Delphi.[9]\n\nFollowing the main colonnaded road and passing the outer baths (thermae extra muros), an extensive necropolis extends for over two kilometers on either side of the old road to Phrygian Tripolis and Sardis. The necropolis extends from the northern to the eastern and southern sections of the old city. Most of the tombs have been excavated. This necropolis is one of the best preserved in Turkey. Most of about the 1,200 tombs were constructed with local varieties of limestone.\nThe tombs and funeral monuments can be divided into four types:\n1.\tSimple graves for common people\n5.\tMartyrium\n6.\tThe St. Philip Martyrium stands on top of the hill outside the northeastern section of the city walls. It dates from the 5th century. It was said that Philip was buried in the center of the building and, though his tomb has recently been unearthed, the exact location has not yet been verified.[17] The Martyrium burned down at the end of the 5th or early 6th century, as attested by fire marks on the columns. Philip is said to have been martyred in Hierapolis by being crucified upside-down[18] or by being hung upside down by his ankles from a tree.\n9.\t Martyrium\n10.\tThe martyrium is usually taken to have been named after the Christian apostle Philip but from early times there has been some dispute as to the actual identity of \"Philip of Hierapolis\".[19] This confusion started with a report by Polycrates of Ephesus in Eusebius's Ecclesiastical History (Hist. eccl., III., xxxi. 3, V., xxiv. 2).[20] The original Philip may instead have been Philip the Evangelist, a later disciple who helped with administrative matters, had four virginal prophetess daughters,[21] Early traditions say this Philip was martyred by hanging in Phrygia.[19] and was also known as \"Philip the Apostle\".\n12.\tIn 2011, it was announced that Philip's gravesite may have been discovered about 40 metres (130 ft) from the Martyrium.[22][needs update]\n\nFrontinus Gate\nNorth Byzantine Gate", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.565205454826355}
+{"content": "Prince Ali says FIFA needs to speed up reforms\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAn investigation was also opened into FIFA's decision to award the 2018 World Cup to Russia and the 2022 tournament to Qatar, a small, wealthy desert country with no real soccer tradition.\n\n\nPrince Ali said that as someone who had \"stuck to my guns in terms of really supporting football and having a clean organization\", he knew how urgent it was to speed up investigations and tackle improper business practices.\n\n\n\"You really need to have a clean FIFA to be able to trickle down to our national associations\" said Prince Ali, highlighting ongoing problems such as matchfixing.\n\n\n\".. the reality is putting aside the big ideas in the World Cup, the real issue is the organization and cleaning it up for me I wish it will be more streamlined, more open and that's what I am hoping will take place,\" he added.\n\n\n\n\nPrince Ali said the proposal to enlarge the World Cup could backfire if not properly planned out, citing problems that faced in Brazil and South Africa.\n\n\n\"When it comes to FIFA, at the moment there are other priorities really ... my only concern is that it's maybe more political and about pleasing people than what is best for the game,\" he said.\n\n\nThere are concerns that enlarging the World Cup beyond the current 32 teams would make tournaments less manageable and result in a drop in quality.\n\n\nPrince Ali again criticized FIFA's decision to dissolve its anti-racism task force.\n\n\n\n\n\"To say the work is done and to move on is not the case ...racism and discrimination is everywhere and really needs to be a staple part of FIFA mission for the future,\" he added.\n\n\n\"I see racism and discrimination is prevalent in a lot of places and that's a shame on the game and FIFA has a responsibility to tackle it in every way it can ...\n\n\n\"Combating it is not about slogans it's about real work...,\" he added.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8009288311004639}
+{"content": "The Metropolis, Tower One, Singapore 138588\n\nBenchmark your talent to Singapore Norms\n\nSo….. What are norms?\n\nNorms refer to a sample of data that has been collected for use as a benchmark or comparison group when interpreting results on a psychometric test. For norms to be effective, careful sampling is needed to ensure that the sample is suitably representative of the population.\n\nWhy do they matter?\n\nPsychometric tests are instruments, typically tests or questionnaires, that measure a specific capability or characteristic of a person. These include qualities such as abilities, personality traits, values, and skills. Often times, these qualities need to be interpreted in comparison with the scores of other people in the same cultural context.\n\nFor example, when assessing the critical reasoning ability of a potential job applicant, you would be most interested to know how the applicant scores in comparison to others in the job market. A well-constructed norm helps you to achieve this by giving you a set of comparison data against which you can benchmark an applicant.\n\nWhich Talentlens tests have local norms available?\n\nA Singapore General Population Norm is available on Watson-Glaser™ Critical Thinking Appraisal and the Sosie™ Personality and Values questionnaire.\n\nLearn more about Watson-Glaser™ and available norms.\nLearn more about Sosie™ and available norms.\n\nHow do I access the norms?\n\nThese norms are integrated onto our Talentlens online testing platform. Once you make the choice of which norm group to use, results are automatically benchmarked against the chosen norm group.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9939998388290405}
+{"content": "Home Catalog Composers Performers President Ordering\n\nPiping the Earth\nOrchestral Music of Judith Shatin\n\nCover Design: Rob Winter\n\nAvailable at your favorite digital etailers\nincluding iTunes, Rhapsody and eMusic\n\nCatalog Number: CPS-8727\nAudio Format: CD\nPlaying Time: 68:34\nRelease Date: 2003\n\nTrack Listing & Audio Samples\nNeed Help with Audio?\n\n1. Piping the Earth (8:27)\n    The Moravian Philharmonic\n    Joel Suben, conductor\n2. Stringing the Bow (15:06)\n    The Moravian Philharmonic\n    Joel Suben, conductor\n3. Soaring (10:51)\n4. Serene (7:34)\n5. Impassioned (5:32)\n    Renée Siebert, flute\n    The Prism Chamber Orchestra\n    Robert Black, condcutor\n    The Passion of St. Cecilia\n6. Combative (7:53)\n7. Tender (7:29)\n8. Cruel, Aggressive (5:48)\n    Gayle Martin Henry, piano\n    The Moravian Philharmonic\n    Joel Suben, conductor\n\n\n\nFanfare - November/December 2004 - by Peter Burwasser\n\n\"Here is a wide-ranging survey of the music of Judith Shatin, an American born and trained composer possessed of a strong and original voice. The Innova release includes chamber music, while the Capstone CD features larger, symphonically scaled works. At the risk of sounding pejorative, which is not my intention, this is the music of an academic musician, by virtue of the precision, sense of architecture, and especially, a freedom of stylistic expression. That last attribute carries some irony, because such freedom would have discredited Shatin in previous times when strict adherence to specific schools was expected. Yet it is Shatin's curiosity and sense of adventure that gives this material life.\n\nShatin seems to be most engaged and stimulated by the big gestures that are allowed by bigger ensembles. There is an earthy, even primeval energy in such pieces as Stringing the Bow and The Passion of St. Cecilia that breaks from the shackles of formality. This music has both a savage roar and, as appropriate, a gentle purr. But even in the chamber music, Shatin sounds a distinctly narrative tone. She seems to be at heart a storyteller, or at least intent on expressing some extra-musical, dramatic concept. Werther, scored for flute, clarinet, violin, cello, and piano, is at first blush, a thorny, polychromatic work with an imposingly abstract facade, but it is directly inspired by Goethe's purple 1774 novel The Sorrows of Young Werther, which was a major portal to the world of Romanticism. Some of the storytelling, while compellingly related, is bit long-winded. Does the poet have a touch of the Irish poet in her? But then, the Akhmatova Songs, which are at the emotional center of the chamber-music disc, are a pure distillation of the theatrical impulse. Shatin sets the words of the great Russian poet in the original language with care, and matches their beauty, tragedy, and mystery with special insight and concision.\n\nShatin's music is honored by bright alert playing from all concerned. Soprano Lucy Shelton can be singled out for her luminous rendition of the Akhmatova Songs.\"\n\n\nNew Music Connoisseur - Spring/Summer, 2004 - by BLC\n\n\"Flutist and unofficial general manager Pat Spencer of the Da Capo Chamber Players introduced us to the music of Judith Shatin in New York in February of 1997. On that occasion we wrote, \"... one hears nuances that are rare in today's interactive electronics and, though Ms. Shatin's music is highly chromatic, it has its own personality.\" We were speaking of her composition for solo flute and electronics, Kairos, a work inspired by Greek mythology.\n\nWe often regret things said in print but need not take that particular assessment back. Judith Shatin has a strong musical personality, an assurance made firmer by this CD; it's a major release. We had held an incorrect notion that she was an electronics specialist. Not the case. She may head such a program at the University of Virginia, but her compositional range is hardly narrowed by that label. The opening work affirms her unique attraction for the flute and winds in general—Shatin is an accomplished flutist—for the timbres drawn from them have a visceral effect on the listener. The title, Piping the Earth, inspired by an ancient Chinese text, refers to the wind as both changing and fundamentally unchanging force. The work is highly nuanced; nary a single phrase is repeated verbatim. The whimsical wind, first heard as an ominously approaching drone in the distance, suddenly blusters into high energy and goes through a whole array of musical forms. Snatches of a winsome song can be heard, then a short scherzo, march-like meandering rhythms, all interrupted by climactic moments until the wind goes wild and performs what suggests an awesome dance of death. No, this is not program music, but music that allows the imagination to have a field day.\n\nAlso inspired by the wind, but in a much more exalted sense is her three-movement opus for flute and chamber orchestra. The Hebrew word ruah (guttural aitch) is interpreted as breath, wind, air, breeze, blowing, animal life, spirit, ghost, soul, mind, intellect and passion in English. (In many languages breath and spirit have the same meaning.) The composer was moved by the Cabbalistic interpretation, which sees ruah as, roughly speaking, the force that holds body and soul together. The flutist begins a long, soaring solo passage before being confronted by the orchestra, sometimes with harsh chromatic chords, but at other times with empathy, as when other winds float in consonant harmony with it. Despite the challenges, the instrument continues its passage with head held high until, in the final movement, there is a \"furious spin through space.\" In the last bars the journey reaches home with the spirit surviving and coming to peace and rest.\n\nA much fiercer battle is portrayed in The Passion of St. Cecilia. This Cecilia is not in the same image celebrated by Purcell and Handel. Scholars now consider the designation, patron saint of music, as based on a false notion. She is the early Christian martyr who, according to the Martyrologium Hieronymianum, was condemned by the Roman prefect in the fifth century A.D. because of her conversion of many to Christianity. She was mortally wounded by three blows of the executioner's sword, heard unmistakably in the final chords of the work.\n\nThe music here holds together well. This is yet another challenging work for both performer and listener, who may find little in the music to suggest piety, except in the meditative second movement. Instead, what the composer produces is music depicting a figure caught up in an atmosphere of violence and arrogance surrounding Cecilia's religiosity, conviction and courage. She is a true martyr, both defiant and accepting. The music suggests that but with a lot of brutality.\n\nIf we can safely assess that Judith Shatin comes from an erudite knowledge of history, mythology and traditional concepts and that she doesn't shun the human element in her work, she also has a strong interest in properties, in ideas that have tactility. The second work on the disc, Stringing the Bow, is structured in the form of an arc in which rhythmic vibrations are set off, followed by flight (in slow motion), acceleration and finally the climax in which the arrow lands, clearly at its target. On first impression, one feels the composer is not as comfortable with strings as with winds. But soon enough one sees her as interpreting something physical and complex and that strings are well suited to the purpose. (The player's bow, e.g., impersonates the archer's bow.) The many repeated rhythmic chords we hear have roots in a work of great physicality, namely The Rite of Spring. So suggestive of Stravinsky are Shatin's chords, one is tempted to rename the work The Rite of Spring Action. Despite the metrical shifts, complexity of line and purposeful lack of lyricism, the work suggests the dance; perhaps, some curious choreographer will tune in and feel that as well.\n\nWe come away with the impression that this composer imposes a thought process into every component of her music and leaves us to make the connections between theme and details. She requires exceptional interpreters and she surely gets them here. Renée Siebert's flute is to sound what a graceful dancer is to visual movement. Gayle Martin Henry's piano ranges from lyrical reflection to controlled clangor. These works seem to have been written with those capabilities in mind. The two orchestras, led by the late Robert Black ad the dedicated Joel Suben, are always supportive and richly attuned to Shatin's demands.\"", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5023067593574524}
+{"content": "Centenary Information\n\nRain, hail or shine - were looking forward to an awesomet weekend at Currawa.  If it shines we've got picnic rugs and market unbrellas on the  grassy \"Bottom Flat\" to enjoy a great lamb or veggie BBQ lunch.  If it rains we've got a covered netball court and about three times as much classroom space as you might remember so we'll have you covered.  We have had a great response so there's sure to be acquaintances from your days at Currawa and there will be a capacity crowd of 150 at the dinner in the beautiful Dookie Winery.   Unfortunatley we can't take any more bookings now unless we receive cancellations.  We suggest you bring a chair to the afternoon reunion and don't forget to bring any photos or memorabilia from your school days with you.  We're looking forward to meeting you on Friday or Saturday.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9709696769714355}
+{"content": "about diana\n\nDiana Paschal is a yoga and meditation teacher, coach and wellness advocate based in NYC. She offers a balanced yoga practice to develop self-awareness and self-mastery enhancing peace, well-being, connection and freedom. Her classes are accessible for all levels and emphasize precise, anatomical alignment and awareness of the breath. She teaches a blend of her studies in Vinyasa, Iyengar and Katonah, informed her home practice. She has completed 500+ hours of yoga training, mentorships. Diana is passionate about bringing yoga to diverse populations and partners with non-profits and social impact initiatives to further this goal. She also dedicated to improving access to holistic healthcare and environmental issues. Diana lives in Brooklyn and she is grateful for her community and generous teachers. \n\n\nMy life feels lighter and flows more easily. My body is stronger, my heart is softer and my mind is at ease.\n\nmy story\n\nA born lover of movement, animals, green spaces, and all art forms, I grew up in a small, southern town, in the countryside of west Tennessee and spent my younger years riding my bike, swimming, dancing and climbing trees. My parents had me as teenagers, and as they struggled finding stability and peace in their lives. They went through divorce and re-marriage, where I was shuffled from various homes, where step-parents and step-siblings came in and out of my life. I spent time in a shelter, I witnessed Illness, poverty, addiction and struggle. I learned how to deal with turbulence in life, and how to be adaptable. I learned that everything shifts, and today is truly a gift.\n\nIn high-school, I found fulfillment and community through athletics, Church youth-group, music and mentoring other kids. I loved cheerleading, gymnastics and dance and used movement for healing, expression and connection. I got out my angst with Nirvana, Alanis Morisette and Weezer. I became a competitive Cheerleader throughout high school and college, while coaching kids in gymnastics and swimming. After graduation, I flew to the concrete jungle of New York City to pursue \"a better life,\" but it wasn’t as easy as I’d anticipated. While pursuing a career as an actress, I spent too many nights partying with anybody and everybody, washing down pizza with Tequila. I wasn’t in touch with myself. I hide from my pain rather than confront it. I felt restless, scared and alone. After a few meltdowns, I started to dive into self-inquiry and healing using the practices of yoga, zen meditation, holistic health and conscious relationships.\n\nslowly, I began to shift into a new lifestyle -- one where I began to thrive.\n\nThrough my practices, I've cultivated the ability to be present with myself and notice how I am treating myself and others. Continuing to foster awareness, I discovered the connection to every single aspect of my life and how it affects my wellbeing. I became more attune to my energetic body in different situations. I began to shift my patterns, inner dialogue, relationships, diet and lifestyle habits. I began to practice self love and acceptance. While this is always a struggle, I try to be kind to myself and make decisions with integrity. Today, I am stronger. I honor my needs and make yoga, meditation, self-care and healthy relationships a priority. I let go of the unnecessary crap in my life -- i.e. all the things that don't enhance my energy and wellbeing including crappy relationships, addictions, and fixating thought patterns. I ate less crap too, developing an organic whole food, plant-based diet. \n\n\n\nThe asana practice reveals your physical and mental patterns and over-time, removes blockages, creating space for optimal organ function and allowing chi to flow freely. In yoga postures, you develop keen awareness, physical integrity, resilience and a more clear understanding of yourself.  In meditation, you become tuned into your inner dialogue, emotions and connection to the world around you. \n\nMy practice brings me back to where I am today, at this moment, revealing what's present now. Since my awakening, I've committed to evolving consciousness on the planet, sharing my understanding of yoga, mindfulness, empathy and holistic health practices. We all deserve a life of health and peace, and I hope to support our global community towards abundance, health and harmony on this planet in this lifetime. I am grateful to all: my teachers, my community and each soul who furthers my own understanding and growth each day.\n\ngratitude + love\n\n\nI see yoga as a way to remove blocks and deepen our connection with ourselves and the world around us.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9798367619514465}
+{"content": "Monday, September 25, 2017\n\n\nTiruparankundram DargahAt the top of the Thirupparamkundram hill is a very famous Islamic Dargah (shrine), where the grave of an Islamic saint Hazrat Sultan Sikandhar Badushah shaheed Radiyallah Ta’al anhu is located. This can be seen from any part of the Madurai city.\n\nHistory of Hazrat Sulthan Sikandhar Badhusha Shaheed Razi\n\nSikandhar Badusha, who was the governor of Jeddah came along with Hazrat Sulthan Syed Ibrahim Shaheed Badushah who came to Tamil Nadu in particular Ervadi from Madinah during the late 12th century.\n\nSikandhar Badhusha’s rule in Madurai\n\nBadusha Sulthan Syed Ibrahim shaheed LABSWH of Erwadi won the Madurai province against the king thiru Pandiyan who refused to embrace Islam and made Hazrat Sulthan Iskandhar Badusha as the emperor of Madurai. The rule of Hazrat Sulthan Sikandar badusha was peaceful and people were happy with the way Hazrat ruled in the basics of sharia. King Tiru pandiyan who was defeated, went to Tirupati, met all his friends and briefed about the invasion of the arabs. They helped him with formation of large troop.\n\nWar after Tirupandiyan’s return\n\nAfter forming a big and healthy troop to face the Arabs, King Thiruppandiyan started towards madurai The emperor of madurai Hazrat Sulthan Sikandhar Badhusha, who was unaware about this secret turn around of Thiruppandiyan, concentrated in flourishing Islam and in the welfare of the people rather than strengthening the army. Tiruppandiyan who came with a strong army fought with Hazrath Sulthan Sikandhar Badhusha Razi vigorously. Thousands of soldiers were killed both the sides and blood rivers flew in madurai. The poet of sangam era describes as the biggest ever war held in the Pandiya kingdom. The Arabs were in need of more troops to face the Pandiyas. Hazrat Sulthan Sikandhar Badhusha sent 9 of his soldiers to inform Hazrat Sulthan Syed Ibrahim Shaheed the emperor of Bouthiramanikkapattinam (now Erwadi) to inform about the war and the need of more troops. Afraid of more soldiers arriving from Ervadi, king Thiruppandiyan sent a large number of his soldiers to stop the 9 Arabian soldiers who were travelling towards Erwadi. Hazrat Syed Salaar Sha Shaheed razi was martyred at Palli chandai near Keeladi Silaiman and Hazrat\n\nSyed Ibrahim Shaheed Razi at Karseri near Sakkimangalam. The remaining 7 soldiers fought bravely and continued their journey towards ervadi. Again a large group of Pandiyan soldiers followed them up and a rigorous war held at Manamadurai in which five of the Arabian soldiers called as Khamsatu (Five) Shuhadaas (Anjanamaar – Paanch Peer) were martyred.\n\nThe remaining two soldiers travelled hard to convey the message to the Emperor of Erwadi. Hazrat Umar Khattab Shaheed Razi was martyred at Kilavaneri near Meesal. The only soldier who was alive was injured brutally by the Pandiyas. But somehow He managed to reach Bouthiramanikkapattanam and conveyed the message of Thiuppandiyan’s invasion back to Madurai. Hazrat Sulthan Syed Ibrahim Badusha was saddened by this and sent a large troop towards madurai. Before the troop could reach madurai, the tough war at madurai came to end and thiruppandiyan captured the throne back.\n\nMartyrdom at Thiruparankundram hills\n\nHazrath Sulthan Sikkandhar Badhusha Shaheed rested at Thiruparankundram caves for prayers and peace. Even after capturing the throne, king Thiruppandiyan was afraid of Hazrat Sulthan Sikandhar Badusha and the arabian forces surging back. So he was in search of Hazrat Sulthan Sikandhar badhusha shaheed. Thousands of soldiers were sent in search, and finally they could see a rock flying up and settling down regularly in the Thirupparagundram hill and when they followed that, they saw an arabian horse at the top of the hill which they confirmed to be of Hazrat Sulthan Sikandhar badhusha. A few soldiers reached the cave where they found the rock to fly up while Hazrat Sultan Sikandhar badhusha stood for prayers and settle down when He was prostrating. One of the mal’oon from the soldiers of pandiya martyred Hazrat Sulathan Sikandhar Badhusha Shaheed Raziyallah ta’ala anhu during His prostration in prayers while He was keen in praying Allah the Emperor of Emperors.\n\nEverlasting Miracles\n\nImmediately the Pandiya soldier turned blind. Realising this to be the Miracle (Karamat) of Hazrat Sulthan Sikandhar badhusha, he begged and lamented for forgiveness and they intended to do funeral. Accepting their forgiveness Hazrat Mustajab Ad Dua Sikandhar Badhusha prayed and gave back his vision. As intended, they did the funeral of Holy Jasada Mubarak at the top of the hill as per Islamic regulations. A big rock flew and covered the Qabr of Hazrat Sulthan Iskandhar badusha. There are other millions of miracles [[Karaamaat]] of Hazrat Sultahn Sikandhar badhusha happening day to day in the Dargha and other the locations.\n\nThiruparankundram Dargah-A site of Religious Harmony today\n\nIrrespective of religion, people from all parts of Tamil Nadu and from Kerala visit this durgah. People who visit the Ervadi Durgah in Ramanathapuram district are supposed to visit this durgah. Many poems are written in praise of Hazrat Sultan Sikandhar Badhusha, by Syed Abdussalam Ibrahim Saalim Hazrat,the third in the list of Madurai Hazrats and his Maternal grandson Syed Abdus Salaam Ibrahim Saahib Hazrat. It is seen that people who come here with a wish see it answered in a very short time, and so He is called Mustajab ad Du’aa Sikandhar Badhushah. Mustajab Ad Du’aa in Arabic translates as, A saint whose Prayers are immediately answered by Allah.\n\nUrus Santhanakoodu Festival\n\nThe Anniversary Urs festival of Hazrat Sulthan Sikandar Badusha Shaheed is commomerated on the 17th night of the Islamic Month of Rajab every Hijri year. Thousands of people visit the dargah at the hill top on this day. Lot of arrangements are made by the Dargah committee and the local Police for the welfare of the pilgrims.\n\nradyo dinle mynet sohbet film izle film izle dizi izle film indir", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6021371483802795}
+{"content": "the power of positive thinking\n\n5 Benefits of Positive Thinking\n\nIt is good to note that in life you are what you think. The kind of thoughts that you have can either bring success or make you be a failure in life. The quality of life you live is also highly determined by the kind of thoughts you hold. By practicing the power of positive thinking, you live a quality life, but if you hold on to negative thoughts you end up living a life that is not worth. Here is what power of positive thing can do to you.\nMaintain good health of your heart\n\nPositive thinking offers a lot of benefits not only for your mind but your heart too. Optimism boosts the health of your heart and minimises the risks of health problems such as cardiovascular diseases.\nReduce levels of stress\n\nPositive thinking is closely associated with reduced stress levels in human beings. Pessimism is one of the factors that make people feel anxious and can even lead to depression in the long end. If you have a positive mind, you will be able to get rid of stressors that might affect your life.\nBoost your relationships\n\nIf you are the kind of a person with positive thinking at all times, you are likely to develop a more positive relationship with other people. With more positive thinking, you are likely to attract the attention of other people. In addition, you also have high chances of feeling more satisfied in your relationship. This is because you will be able to focus more on the good things happening in your life, instead of the bad things.\nAge in a graceful manner\n\nIf you develop the habit of thinking positively at all times regardless of the situations you are going through, you can be assured of aging gracefully. This is because you do not allow your mind to be occupied with issues that can affect it negatively. In addition, your mood will always be good reducing the chances of getting stressed or depressed. By looking at everything positively, your body health and fitness is also boosted making you even live longer.\nTake care of yourself well\n\nIf you are a positive thinker, it is likely that you will be able to take good care of your body. You will be able to take more precautions of those things that can affect your body in a negative manner. Some of the things you do that will have a positive effect on your body include eating well, engaging in physical exercise and resting when you feel your body is tired.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6008214950561523}
+{"content": "US Secretary of Defense James Mattis (2nd R) and South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-Moo (L) during a bilateral meeting at the Pentagon August 30, 2017 in Arlington, Virginia. (Getty Images)\nUS Defense Secretary James Mattis has said the US is \"never out of diplomatic solutions\" in dealing with North Korea, contradicting President Donald Trump's latest comment about abandoning diplomacy with Pyongyang.\nMattis made the remarks on Wednesday at the Pentagon before a meeting with his South Korean counterpart Song Young-Moo.\nWhen asked by reporters if the US was out of diplomatic solutions with North Korea, Mattis replied: “No,” just hours after Trump tweeted that “talking is not the answer.”\n\"We're never out of diplomatic solutions,\" Mattis said. \"We always look for more. We're never complacent.\"\nTrump tweeted early on Wednesday that diplomacy will not resolve the growing tensions over North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs.\n\"The US has been talking to North Korea, and paying them extortion money, for 25 years. Talking is not the answer!\" Trump posted on Twitter.\nTensions between the US and North Korea have been heightened since Pyongyang’s latest missile launch over Japan’s airspace on Monday.\nTwo American B-1B supersonic bombers from Andersen Air Force Base in Guam and four US F-35 stealth fighter jets from the Marine Corps Air Station in Iwakuni, Japan, joined four South Korean jets and two Japanese fighter jets for the military drills.\n\n\n\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5003677606582642}
+{"content": "The map above from API shows gasoline taxes by state (combined local, state and federal), which range from a low of 26.4 cents per gallon in Alaska to a high of of 66.1 cents per gallon in California, averaging 48.1 cents per gallon across all states.  How does that compare to oil company industry profits per gallon?\n\n\nThe chart below shows the difference graphically:\n\nExxon also reports that in 2010 it \"made less than 8 cents for every dollar of revenue from all of our businesses around the world.\"", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5567551851272583}
+{"content": "\n\nWhat Is 5 HTP\n\n\nWritten by What Is 5HTP\nAdded 31st October 2013\n\nStations: Baker Street, Bond Street, Charing Cross, Edgware Road (Bakerloo), Embankment, Harlesden, Harrow & Wealdstone, Kensal Green, Kenton, Kilburn Park, Lambeth North, Maida Vale, Marylebone, North Wembley, Oxford Circus, Paddington, Piccadilly Circus, Queen's Park, Regent's Park, South Kenton, Stonebridge Park, Warwick Avenue, Waterloo, Wembley Central, Willesden Junction\n\n5-HTP (5-Hydroxytryptophan) is a chemical compound that is naturally produced in your body as it makes serotonin.\n\nIf this is your weblog, you can update the details.\n\nDoes this look like spam? Report it.\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7948275208473206}
+{"content": "There are a lot of services that you offer to clients, but is corporate compliance one of them?\n\nIf your clients have businesses structured as LLCs or corporations, you can help them maintain these structures each year. It’s yet another way to add value to your clients, stay in touch throughout the year and increase your revenue per client.\n\nThe first step is to help your clients understand just how important it is to maintain their business structure. Once formed, an LLC or corporation has certain annual obligations with the state. Failing to keep up with these requirements can mean added fees and penalties. In the worst case scenario, a business can be put into bad standing, meaning your client will lose his or her personal liability protection.\n\nMaintaining a corporation or LLC isn’t complicated if you know where to start. Here are six key steps to staying compliant and in good standing:\n\n1. File an annual report with the state.\n\nMost states require corporations and LLCs to file an Annual Report or Statement of Information every year or every two years. It’s a way for the state to keep current with a business’s status and basic information like the address and officers. The specific deadlines and filing fees vary by state. You can check with the state’s Secretary of State office or an online legal filing service to confirm when your clients’ deadlines are. Then, be sure to notify your client when the date is approaching so they’re not stuck with late fees. You can even sign up with an online legal filing service to automate these reminders for you.\n\n2. Report any changes to the state.\n\nBusinesses are supposed to notify the state whenever they make any major changes, such as moving to a new location or adding a new board member. In most states, this form is called Articles of Amendment and it’s filed with the Secretary of State’s office.\n\n3. File any DBAs if needed.\n\nLet’s say your client used their official company name when they formed their LLC or corporation, but they often use a more casual variation of the name when they conduct day-to-day business. Any time a business operates under a name that’s different than the official name filed with the state, they’ll need to file a Doing Business As (DBA, also known as a Fictitious Business Name) with the state or county office.\n\n4. Keep their registered agent current.\n\nIf your client is using a Registered Agent service, they’ll need to keep up with the service fees. Believe it or not, this is actually a common reason why many small businesses fall out of good standing. They forget to renew their Registered Agent Service, so it stops representing them and any official mail sent to that Registered Agent address gets bounced back to the state. The state then puts the company in bad standing until it provides a valid address of record.\n\n5. Stay up to date with state franchise taxes.\n\nMost likely, you’re already aware that many states levy a franchise tax on corporations and LLCs for the privilege of operating in the state. You can check with the state’s Franchise Tax Board or similar office to find out the specific franchise tax obligations and deadlines for corporations and LLCs. And, if your client’s business is foreign qualified in other states, make sure they stay current with their franchise taxes in those states as well.\n\n6. Don’t forget about local permits and licenses.\n\nWhen you form a business, you’ll need to register with the state—typically by forming a corporation or LLC. This creates the legal foundation for a business. But then you’ll also need to apply for local permits or licenses in order to legally operate. I like to think of this as needing a driver’s license in order to drive a car. Examples of different permits and licenses are a reseller’s license, health department permit, fire department permit and general business permit. You can check with the local county office, or an online legal service, to find out what permits are necessary for your client’s business type and how often they need to be renewed.\n\nThe bottom line is when your clients form an LLC or corporation for their business, they’ll need to keep it in good standing. You can help your clients navigate these compliance requirements throughout the year so they remain in good standing and avoid any unnecessary late fees.\n\nNellie Akalp\n\nNellie Akalp\n\nNellie Akalp is CEO of, a legal document preparation filing service.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8431212902069092}
+{"content": "My sincere gratitude goes to the Lord Almighty, who has spared my life, kept and grants me sound health throughout the duration of this programme. Am also very thankful to my parents in person of Mr. and Mrs. Adio who sponsored and cared for all my needs throughout this programme, May God in his infinite mercy bless them abundantly and grant them long life to eat the fruit of their labour. I Will also appreciate the effort of some staffs of Gannetcity consulting limited for their time and immense assistance. In this regard, I acknowledge the help and assistance of Engr. Akeredolu, Engr. Daramola, Mr. wole and Mrs jacob just to mention few.\n\n\nThis report work is dedicated to God, Mr and Mrs Adio my parent and My mentor Mrs obagbuwa , who has helped me all through. Also to my lovely and wonderful family and lecturers, I love you all.\n\n\n.....4 COMPUTER REPAIRING/ON-BENCH TEST………………………… 2...3 CONFIGURATIONS OF CMOS………………………………………… 2....... ACKNOWLEDGEMENT.......................1 INTRODUCTION TO PC FONDAMENTAL………………………………… 2........3.........3.......2.....5 CLEANING OF COMPUTER…………………………………………… 3...3. 1.....................5 INSTALATION OF APPLICATION SOFTWARE……………………… 2. TABLE OF CONTENT.............2.....3 RECOMMENDATION………………………………………………………… 1 2 3 4-5 3-7 3 4 5 5 5 6-7 8-14 15 15 16 16 17-18 18-19 19-20 20 21 21-22 22-23 23-24 24 25 25 26 2 ........6 INSTALLATION OF WINDOW XP……………………………………… 2......3 CONCLUSION………………………………………………………………… 3...........2................3........4 DELITING TEMPORARY FILES………………………………………… 2..............................1DATA BACKUP……………………………………………………………… 2..1 ADDING AND REMOVING OF SYSTEM COMPONENTS…………… 2..2.... 1.1 INTRODUCTION.......2 FORMATTING……………………………………………………………… 2..7 WINDOWS UTILITY……………………………………………………… 2.......1 SUMMARY…………………………………………………………………… 3.2......................2.TITLE PAGE.......... DEDICATION.....1MAIN ACTIVITIES AND ACHEIVEMENT OF THE COMPANY ………… 2..................................2 COMPUTER MAINTENANCE……………………………………………… 2..........................3 ASSEMBLING AND DISASSEMBLING A PC………………………… 2...2 ABOUT SIWES……………………………………………………………… 1......2.....5 APPLICATION AND POSTING……………………………………………… 1........2................6 BACKGROUND OF THE COMPANY……………………………………… 1.....................3.........4 ABOUT ITF…………………………………………………………………… 1.........3 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF SIWES……………………………………… 1..................................................................................2 RESETING THE COMPUTER…………………………………………… 2........\n\nCHAPTER ONE 1.0 INTRODUCTION WHAT IS INDUSTRIAL TRAINING? Industrial Training refers to the exposure of students in formal educational institutions to real work situation within their chosen discipline.0: 1. It was in this view that students undergoing science and technology related 2 . or only contemplated in abstractions. Due to this.1 BACKGROUND In the earlier stage of science and technology education in Nigeria. not where work is imagined. with a view to systematically enhancing the acquisition of related experiences.1.1. students were graduating from their respective institution without any technical knowledge or working experience. practical dexterity and general know-how. the exposure must take place where work is real. 1. The training must be in one’s own chosen academic discipline.\n\nThe relevant production skills remain a part of the recipients of industrial training as life-long assets which cannot be taken away from them. Provide an avenue for students in higher institutions of higher learning to acquire industrial skills and experiences during their courses of study. This is because the knowledge and skills acquired through training are internalized and become relevant when required to perform jobs or functions 1. Prepare students for industrial work situations that they are likely to meet after graduation.1. The student industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) was established by the industrial Training Fund in (ITF) 1973 to enable students of tertiary institution have basic technical knowledge of industrial works base on their course of study before the completion of their program in their respective institutions. 1 of 1973 which established SIWES outlined the objectives of the were mandated for students in different institution in the view of widening their horizons so as to enable them have technical knowledge or working experience before graduating from their various institutions. The major benefit accruing to students who participate conscientiously in Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) are the skills and competencies they acquire. 2 . 2. The scheme was designed to expose students to industrial environment and enable them develop occupational competencies so that they can readily contribute their quota to national economic and technological development after graduation. The objectives are to: 1. The major background behind the embarkment of students in SIWES was to expose them to the industrial environment and enable them develop occupational competencies so that they can readily contribute their quota to national economic and technological development after graduation. The Industrial Training Fund’s policy Document No.2 AIMS/OBJECTIVES OF INDUSTRIAL TRAINING.\n\nEnlist and strengthen employers’ involvement in the entire educational process through SIWES 1. 2 .3. thereby bridging the gap between theory and practice. Provide students with the opportunities to apply their educational knowledge in real work situations. Ojo. 4. Expose students to work methods and techniques in handling equipment and machinery that may not be available in their institutions.3 INTRODUCTION OF COMPUTER SCIENCE DEPARTMENT The Department of Computer Science was established as a full time course of study in 2007/2008 as one of the nine departments in the Faculty of Science. (FOS) of Lagos State University. 5. Make the transition from school to the world of work easier and enhance students’ contact for later job placements.1.\n\n1. Sc.Sc. runs the B. S/N 1. 4.B.0 Company’s Background 2 .5 MISSION OF THE DEPARTMENT To create a unique Department that is technologically and professionally sound as a model centre of excellence committed to the pursuit of academic innovation. skill-based training in Information and Communication Technology and a tradition of excellence in teaching. 3. Akerele Mr Toyin Enikhuomehin Mr Idowu Gbolahan Mr Patrick Owate Areas of Specialization Head of Department Lecturer Lecturer Lecturer Lecturer 1.The Department presently. 1.It is our hope that this will engender the production of entrepreneurial graduates in information technology disciplines.2.) degree programme in Computer Science with a strong desire to provide a broad and balanced foundation in computer science knowledge and practical skills in preparation for a successive career and to provide a solid academic base upon which to build more advance degrees (M. and PhD) if so desired.1. 1. Names of Lecturers Mrs Obagbuwa Mrs . The Department enjoys modern communication and information technology facilities available in the institution which are utilized to train students and equip them with academic and professional IT knowledge. (Hon.1.6 MEMBERS OF STAFF The academic members of staff of the Department of Computer Science are listed in the table below. 5. capable of impacting positively on their environment while being globally competitive.4 VISION OF THE DEPARTMENT To be a centre of excellence providing high quality teaching and learning experiences in Computer Science. research and community service. 1. 2.\n\nwe shall be willing to provide ad-hoc services to meet your peculiar needs. Toner Cartridges. bookshop house 50/52 broad street lagos state which deals in info. Ribbons. The Company has proven itself not only in the area of Sales and efficient Maintenance Back Up Service. etc. skill and proficiency such as Local Area Network (LAN) PC. INVERTER). As a matter of routine. Inks. ISP provider. HITV. CHAMS CITY. DIGITALS and ANALOG MULTIMETERS. WOLE AKEREDOLU while we have experienced Engineers that can work extensively on Multi-User Systems. Binding machines. Desktops.GANNETCITY CONSULTING LIMITED is a private home Company suitated at 9th floor. Workstations. Storage devices. etc.1 SALES Main activities and achievement of the company We market at Manufacturer’s competitive price. Printers. Epson. Networking and Micro-Mainframe Communication. Our Managing Director. Scanners. We sell at very competitive price. etc) and office equipment such as Note counting machines. high quality computer consumables such as Computer Papers. local and wide area network. Systems Appraisal and Development. We have at the helm of affairs experienced professionals who have been in Office Automation Industry for years. Shredding machines. a wide range of Computer Hardware (Servers. OTC. 1. Power systems. and Panasonic. We are Partners to KKONS.academic and technology service such as computer hardware. HP. In addition. but also in specialized area that require in-depth knowledge. TECHNICAL DEPARTMENT Amongst various tools and equipment available are OSCILLOSCOPE. SOLDERING / DISOLDERING WORK STATION. We market various brand of printers such as Tally Genicom. router configuration. MAINTENANCE SERVICES With an ultra modern workshop and a crop of experienced Engineers. we provide regular check-up services and repairs on all equipment supplied to optimize consumers’ satisfaction.2. We also market Uninterrupted Power Supply (APC. MR. EPROM 2 . the Company stands to meet all your back-up maintenance needs. Photocopiers.\n\nTECHNICAL DEPARTMENT: This department is in charge of the overall deployment of the company's solutions (products and services).WRITERS. I worked closely with the department at a point in my industrial training. we shall train your staff to carry out efficiently first-aid repairs on your equipment to further minimize downtime 1. 1. 3. 2. The head of the department is Engr. lectures being given on daily basis CHAPTER TWO 2. VACUUM CLEANERS.. Also. INTRODUCTION OF VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS OF GANNETCITY CONSULTING LTD I was assigned to work in the following department routinely and was introduced to these various department. 3 ADMINISTRATIVE AND ICT TRAINNING DEPARTMENT: This is the department that is in charge of the administation and day-to-day activities of the company. Technical support Department Reception and Customer Service Department Administrative and ICT Training Department 1. LOGIC and CAPACITANCE METERS AND OTHER EQUIPMENT FOR THE INSTALLATION AND MAINTENANCE OF QMS. This can be arranged in-house for your convenience or at our workshop.0 OVERVIEW OF WORK DONE/ACTIVITIES AT GANNETCITY CONSULTING 2 . TRAINING We provide training facilities to enable our Clients obtain the best use of their valued purchases. Daramola who works and supervise other members and IT students on project work. FLOPPY DISK DRIVE TESTER. We guarantee prompt attention and minimum downtime on your Systems.also involve in program planning marketing and follow up.2. power electronic inverter. ULTRAVIOLET EPROM ERASERS. PC repair and also offers support to the user’s 2 RECEPTION AND CUSTOMER SERVICE DEPARTMENT: This department was headed by Mrs Jacob other member of the department were Miss Esther . The department prospects and follows-up potential customers.2. troubleshooting.\n\nring and mesh. Although my activities were not limited to these. Web pages. .1 WHAT IS A NETWORK? A network is a means whereby intelligent end-user PCs can share common resources. The two types of high-level network design are called client-server and peer-to-peer. files and or applications. whereas in a star network. Common types of network topologies include bus. star. Network topologies are categorized into the following basic types: • • • • • bus ring star tree mesh More complex networks can be built as hybrids of two or more of the above basic topologies. • General Networking and installations in the technical department.g cloning) carried out on systems were done properly. all of the computers share and communicate across one common conduit. conversely. I was involved in . all computers tend to support the same functions. In so-called bus networks. all data flows through one centralized device. Client-server networks are much more common in business and peer-to-peer networks much more common in homes. Client-server networks feature centralized server computers that store email. During the training.LIMITED. Computer networks also differ in their design. Bus Topology 2 . I was also opportuned to be tasked with ensuring that repairs(e. NETWORK TOPOLOGY A network topology represents its layout or structure from the point of view of data flow. I was opportune to delve into various fields of the IT world. 2. for example. On a peer-to-peer network.\n\nthe backbone functions as a shared communication medium that devices attach or tap into with an interface connector. or Token Ring technology. one typically uses FDDI. and each hub functions as the \"root\" of a tree of devices. However. only hub devices connect directly to the tree bus. A single cable. To implement a ring network. if the backbone cable fails. All messages travel through a ring in the same direction (either \"clockwise\" or \"counterclockwise\"). If more than a few dozen computers are added to a network bus. switch or router. Star Topology Many home networks use the star topology. but only the intended recipient actually accepts and processes the message. In its simplest form. a star network generally requires more cable. Ethernet bus topologies are relatively easy to install and don't require much cabling compared to the alternatives. SONET. the entire network effectively becomes unusable.Bus networks (not to be confused with the system bus of a computer) use a common backbone to connect all devices. 10Base-2 (\"ThinNet\") and 10Base-5 (\"ThickNet\") both were popular Ethernet cabling options many years ago for bus topologies. however. performance problems will likely result. (If the hub fails. bus networks work best with a limited number of devices. This bus/star hybrid approach supports future expandability of the network much better than a bus (limited in the number of devices due to the 2 . Compared to the bus topology. Ring Topology In a ring network. every device has exactly two neighbors for communication purposes. the entire network also fails.) Tree Topology Tree topologies integrate multiple star topologies together onto a bus. In addition. A device wanting to communicate with another device on the network sends a broadcast message onto the wire that all other devices see. Ring topologies are found in some office buildings or school campuses. Devices typically connect to the hub with Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) Ethernet. A failure in any cable or device breaks the loop and can take down the entire network. A star network features a central connection point called a \"hub\" that may be a hub. but a failure in any star network cable will only take down one computer's network access and not the entire LAN.\n\nmessages sent on a mesh network can take any of several possible paths from source to destination. Mesh Topology Mesh topologies involve the concept of routes. most notably the Internet. (Recall that even in a ring. the communication language used by computer devices is called the protocol. Yet another way to classify computer networks is by the set of protocols they support. Network Protocols In networking.2 TYPES OF NETWORK LAN . Unlike each of the previous topologies. Popular protocols include TCP/IP. Recently. although two cable paths exist. employ mesh routing.) Some WANs. the most common protocol found on the Internet and in home networks. Wired And Wireless Networking Many of the same network protocols. wireless networking alternatives have emerged as the premier technology for building new computer 2. however. work in both wired and wireless networks. Networks with Ethernet cables predominated in businesses.broadcast traffic it generates) or a star (limited by the number of hub connection points) alone.Local Area Network 2 . As shown in the illustration below. A mesh network in which every device connects to every other is called a full mesh. like TCP/IP. Networks often implement multiple protocols to support specific applications. and homes for several decades. schools. partial mesh networks also exist in which some devices connect only indirectly to others. messages can only travel in one direction.\n\nA WAN is a geographically-dispersed collection of LANs.Wide Area Network As the term implies. spanning the Earth. They also tend to use certain connectivity technologies. The ISP provides a WAN IP address to the modem. the router maintains both a LAN address and a WAN address. typically a broadband router. a WAN spans a large physical distance.a LAN based on WiFi wireless network technology 2 . to reach the ISP. Most WANs (like the Internet) are not owned by any one organization but rather exist under collective or distributed ownership and management. WAN and Home Networking Residences typically employ one LAN and connect to the Internet WAN via an Internet Service Provider (ISP) using a broadband modem. Frame Relay and X. and all of the computers on the home network use LAN (so-called private) IP addresses. A network device called a router connects LANs to a WAN. school. though sometimes one building will contain a few small LANs (perhaps one per room). All computers on the home LAN can communicate directly with each other but must go through a central gateway.25 for connectivity over the longer distances. In TCP/IP networking. and occasionally a LAN will span a group of nearby buildings. In IP networking. you may also commonly see references to these others: • Wireless Local Area Network . a LAN is often but not always implemented as a single IP subnet.A LAN connects network devices over a relatively short distance. LAN. and managed by a single person or organization. In addition to operating in a limited space. primarily Ethernet and Token Ring. WAN . Other Types of Area Networks While LAN and WAN are by far the most popular network types mentioned. A networked office building. LANs are also typically owned. controlled. A WAN differs from a LAN in several important ways. The Internet is the largest WAN. or home usually contains a single LAN. WANs tend to use technology like ATM.\n\na network spanning a physical area larger than a LAN but smaller than a WAN. Crossover cables are useful for temporary networking of devices when a network router. Storage Area Network . 2 . Network patch cables are typically CAT5 or CAT5e Ethernet cables linking a computer to a nearby hub. A MAN is typically owned an operated by a single entity such as a government body or large corporation.links high-performance computers with high-speed connections in a cluster configuration. Null modem cables enable data transfer between two computers with a minimum of setup required. 2. 1. Fiber Optic Cable Fiber optic cables carry information using pulses of light. such as on a university or local business campus. switch or router. Ethernet Crossover Cables A crossover cable directly connects two network devices of the same type to each other over Ethernet.• • • • Metropolitan Area Network . such as a city.3 Network Cables and Cabling While wireless may be the wave of the future. System Area Network . most computer networks today still utilize cables. Direct Cable Connection CAT5 and CAT6 Cables (6) Patch Cables A patch cable connects two network devices.connects servers to data storage devices through a technology like Fibre Channel. RJ45 connectors feature eight pins to which cables interface electrically.a network spanning multiple LANs but smaller than a MAN. RJ-45 Connectors and Cables RJ45 is a standard type of connector for network cables such as those used in Ethernet networks. 2. These cables are designed for long distance network communications. Also known as Cluster Area Network. although fiber to the home installations are becoming more common. Null Modem Cables A null modem cable connects two standard serial ports for the purpose of computer-tocomputer networking. switch or hub is not present. Campus Area Network .\n\nOSI Model Area Networks Cisco Networking Information Technology Network Protocols Network Certifications Network Software Network Storage Overview of the OSI Model The OSI model defines internetworking in terms of a vertical stack of seven layers. Leased lines most commonly are rented by businesses to connect branch offices. The OSI model provides a good conceptual framework for understanding the implementation of network protocol and services design. This page briefly explains the basic structure of the OSI model. RS-232 Pinouts These pinout diagrams illustrate the 9-pin and 25-pin serial line RS-232 standard network cables. 6. 7.4 Network Design Design considerations for computer networks cover a wide range of topics including layout. 8. As presented in this in-depth 2 .What Are T1 Lines and T3 Lines? T1 and T3 lines are reserved circuits typically used by organizations to connect two geographically separated offices for private voice and/or data telecommunication service. 3. Leased Line A leased line is a cable connecting two specific locations for voice and/or data network service. and security. capacity planning. Network Cable and Connection Technologies Practice Exam This interactive test presents questions and answers on common cabling technologies for home networks. 1. 5. 2. 2. 4.\n\n• • Position Your Router / Access Point for Best Performance How Can the Range of a Wi-Fi Network Be Boosted? 2. the design of many modern network technologies follows the OSI model to some extent.5 PROBLEM AND SOLUTION IN NETWORKING I was able to learn to learn and observe problems and solution to networks 1. This can cause the interference and range problems described above. This includes operating system patches. in this scenario your computers will lose connection whenever the neighbor network is turned off. Upgrading (overinstalling) newer versions of these things can sometimes fix network connection problems. even if your preferred one remains functional. your devices may connect to the wrong network without your knowledge. Keep records of each time you install or upgrade software on your computers. Upgrade Router / Access Point Firmware 4. 2 . • Improve Wireless Network Security 3. Incompatible Software Packages Installed Wi-Fi network connections may start failing on a computer due to incompatible software installed and running there. 2. operating system services. consider antenna upgrades and other techniques to improve wireless signal transmission and reception. Network routers contain related technology called firmware. Insufficient Wi-Fi Network Range and Power Even without interference from other equipment. and other software that modifies the networking capabilities of the operating system. Wi-Fi links generally become more unstable with distance. Unknowingly Connecting to the Wrong Wi-Fi Network If two neighboring locations run unsecured Wi-Fi networks with the same name (SSID). The Wi-Fi network device driver controls various functions of the Wi-Fi hardware. Otherwise. and be prepared to uninstall any incompatible software you've added recently. Take proper security measures to ensure your computers connect to the right network. Relocating your computer or other gear is a simple but not always practical solution. Additionally. Network Driver or Firmware Upgrade Required Each computer connected to a Wi-Fi network utilizes a small piece of software called the device driver. Wi-Fi connections can drop occasionally on devices located near the edge of the network's wireless signal range. Network drivers and firmware can both become obsolete over time.tutorial.\n\nthis does not guarantee success with the next new feature that comes along. is a common problem when first installing a home network. Special Devices Won't Join the Network Many home networks have a \"problem child. It could be a lone wireless computer trying to join a wired network. But even with wireless networks. No error messages are being displayed. P2P file sharing. Whatever the situation. Overloading / Overheating the Wireless Access Point Owners of some wireless routers (and other types of wireless access points) have reported dropped connections during times of heavy network utilization. Or it could be a computer running an old version of Microsoft Windows or running Linux. networks won't conveniently reach all of the areas a person needs. Relax. of course. If a router's temperature increases too much. Stringing network cables to some rooms can prove impractical. None of the devices can \"see\" each other or \"talk\" to the printer. and your network will be up and running soon. online gaming or while copying large files. You're developing a sneaking suspicion that your network is laughing at you. or a porch are also common. Install routers (access points) in places with good airflow. 7. it may also fail until cooled. The device could be a specialized piece of hardware like a game console. After a simple check of the key network components. \"cold spots\" where Wi-Fi radio signals won't reach corner bedrooms. any such problems can be solved.5. Network Can’t Reach Certain Areas In many homes. extra care and feeding may be required to get your problem child to behave. too. However. 8. Given time and effort. Routers can in theory become overloaded with too much data and fail temporarily. This can occur during. Take a step-by-step approach to this problem. they may still fail to reach Web sites on the Internet. 5. but nothing works. and online games are typical problematic applications on home networks. Computers Can't See Each Other on the Network You've finished connecting all your network gear to the best of your ability. This. 6. solutions often require specific knowledge of how these applications work. This fact surprises many folks. you'll be surfing again in no time. Exchange the router for a different unit if the current one doesn't support your usage patterns. Be ready to make a few concessions in your network installation plan.\" one computer or device that simply will not cooperate with the others. 2 . Instant messaging.\" or they may sit there like zombies and not do anything. Certain Network Applications Won't Function While other aspects of a home network may work reliably. for example. a study. 6. Computers Can't Get on the Internet Even when all of the devices in a home can communicate with each other. These apps may fail to connect to a \"server\" or \"peer.\n\nor playing a networked game at home. a week or a month. sluggish or unplayable network games. swapping files on a P2P network. Network Connections Drop Unexpectedly A home network may operate flawlessly for a day. in the sense of data privacy. They may experience very slow Web page downloads. 8. Network is (Too) Insecure No. 10. though. Many home networks are insecure. a home network won't become overly self-conscious and suffer from a lack of confidence. and miss out on a major gain in their personal productivity. By carefully establishing home and work network settings (often called \"profiles\") on the devices. home/office network mobility can be a reality for you. and other symptoms of a bad network performance problem. Some folks see it as a big hassle. at the most inopportune time. You may have been happily listening to an Internet radio station. Don't let them happen to yours! 2. interminable delays in online chatting/IM applications.7. Office Computer Won't Join Home Network Those who use laptop computers or PDAs at their workplace naturally might want to use those same devices at home. Network is Too Slow For several reasons. give up. but suddenly. they happen every day and affect real families. Too many homeowners fail to take a few essential steps to protect their network from attacks by outsiders. Network attacks and \"hacks\" are real threats.6 SWITCHES AND ROUTERS 2 . 9. something breaks. Then… boom! What happened? There are several possibilities. a home network might not run fast enough to keep up with a family's needs. Technical limitations make this form of network mobility more difficult than it should be. Know what to watch for to avoid this frustrating situation. Don't be surprised if this happens to you.\n\nswitches. Each has two or more connectors called ports into which you plug in the cables to make the connection. if it sees traffic from machine A coming in on port 2. it can \"learn\" where particular addresses are. and least complicated of the three. least intelligent. it now knows that machine A is connected to that port and that traffic to machine A needs to only be sent to that port and not any of the others. The hub itself is blissfully ignorant of the data being transmitted. and routers are all devices that let you connect one or more computers to other computers. I often see the terms misused so let's clarify what each one really means. • A hub is typically the least expensive. A router is the smartest and most complicated of the bunch. For example. Its job is very simple: anything that comes in one port is sent out to the others. For years. Every computer connected to the hub \"sees\" everything that every other computer on the hub sees. The net result of using a switch over a hub is that most of the network traffic only goes where it needs to rather than to every port. A switch does essentially what a hub does but more efficiently. That's it. networked devices. or to other networks. and therein lies the difference. On busy networks this can make the network significantly faster. Varying degrees of magic happen inside the device. simple hubs have been quick and easy ways to connect computers in small networks. Routers come in all shapes and sizes from the small four-port broadband routers that are very popular right 2 .Hubs. By paying attention to the traffic that comes across it.\n\n3. Open the router's administration tool. broadband routers include the ability to \"hide\" computers behind a type of firewall which involves slightly modifying the packets of network traffic as they traverse the device.7 How To Set Up a Network Router I learnt how to setup / connect router and switches together in connection with coupled system given by some instructions I put in practice as. The really large routers include the equivalent of a full-blown programming language to describe how they should operate as well as the ability to communicate with other routers to describe or determine the best way to get network traffic from point A to pointB. Even if the router is a wireless model. A simple way to think of a router is as a computer that can be programmed to understand. Then enter the router's address for network 2 . the computer can be changed over to a wireless connection if desired. This does not need to be the permanent location of the device. From the computer connected to the router. you may find it necessary to re-position the unit after installing it as the cables / signals may not reach all areas needed. Using a cable during router installation ensures the maximum reliability of the equipment. All routers include some kind of user interface for configuring how the router will treat traffic. be sure to power cycle (turn off and turn back on) the modem to ensure the router recognizes it. connect this first computer to the router via a network cable. and route the data its being asked to handle. 4. 2. Once a wireless router installation is complete. then turn on the router by pushing the power button. 1. For example. 2. Particularly for wireless routers. Most network modems connect via an Ethernet cable but USB connections are becoming increasingly common. possibly manipulate. At the beginning. Plug in the router's electrical power to the large industrial strength devices that drive the internet itself.\" After connecting the cable. Choose a convenient location to begin installing your router such as an open floor space or table. 5. (Optional) Connect your Internet modem to the router. first open your Web browser. Connect one computer to the router. its better to choose a location where it's easiest to work with the router and worry about final placement later. The cable plugs into the router jack named \"WAN\" or \"uplink\" or \"Internet. These WiFi Home Network Security Tips offer a good checklist to follow. Finally. 11. 6. 7. If connecting wirelessly. If you want your router to connect to the Internet. Read How to Change a MAC Address for a detailed description of this process. your provider may require you to update the MAC address of the router with the MAC address of the device you were using previously. visit a few Internet sites such as 12. configure additional network security features as desired to guard your systems against Internet attackers. 8. To do this. 13. Log in to the router. 10. If using DSL Internet. Verify the network connection is working between your one computer and the router. Read How to Change the Router SSID for detailed instructions. the static IP fields (including network mask and gateway) given to you by the provider must also must be set in the router. If this is a wireless router. you may need to enter the PPPoE username and password. The router's home page will ask you for a username and password. you must confirmed that the computer has received IP address information from the router. change the network name (often called SSID). you will never want to use this name on your network. you must enter Internet connection information into that section of the router's configuration (exact location varies). You should change the router's password for security reasons. (If applicable) Verify your one computer can connect to the Internet properly. 2 . ensure the network name (SSID) of each is computer matches that of the router.administration in the Web address field and hit return to reach the router's home page. Connect additional computers to the router as needed. While the router comes to you with a network name set at the factory. but do this after the installation is complete to avoid unnecessary complications during the basic setup. Likewise. Open your Web browser and http://compnetworking. Both are provided in the router's documentation. See How to Find IP Addresses for a description of this process. If you were using a primary computer or an older network router to connect to the Internet. 9. if you have been issued a static IP address by your provider (you would need to have requested it).\n\nMany business applications being written today use the client–server model. central server. database servers. web access and database access are built on the client–server model. print servers. Specific types of servers include web servers. mail servers. Most web services are also types of servers. Hence. The client–server characteristic describes the relationship of cooperating programs in an application. which initiate requests for such services. So do the Internet's main application protocols. The balance is returned to the bank database client. and terminal servers. ftp servers. The client–server model has become one of the central ideas of network computing. I was opportuned to go to various sites. The server component provides a function or service to one or many clients. where with the engineers. The file server on a client-server network is a high capacity. Functions such as email exchange. TYPES OF CLIENT AND SERVER Specific types of clients include web browsers. name servers. which in turn serves it back to the web browser client displaying the results to the user. That program may in turn forward the request to its own database client program that sends a request to a database server at another bank computer to retrieve the account information. high speed computer with a large hard disk capacity. SMTP. Sequence diagrams are standardized in the Unified Modeling Language. we carry out both preventive and curative maintenance on large systems also known as “Servers”. Telnet.2. Users accessing banking services from their computer use a web browser client to send a request to a web server at a bank. application servers. The interaction between client and server is often described using sequence diagrams. file servers. Comparison to peer-to-peer architecture A client-server network involves multiple clients connecting to a single. email clients. such as HTTP. it is required for this report that we discuss briefly what a server is and the few types around. 2 .8 CLIENT AND SERVER NETWORK While at Gannetcity consulting ltd. and online chat clients. and DNS.\n\nThe long-term aspect of administering a clientserver network with applications largely server-hosted surely saves administering effort compared to not administering the application settings per each client. software applications can be installed on the single computer and shared by every computer in the network. In the peer to peer network. Client-server networks with their additional capacities have a higher initial setup cost for networking than peer to peer networks. the client-server model works with any size or physical layout of LAN and doesn't tend to slow down with a heavy use. These shared resources are available to every computer in the network. CD-ROMs and printers[2]. 2 . not controlled and supervised on the network as a whole. the collision of session may be larger than with routing via server nodes. Respective application of the concept is widely published in monographs and periodicals Peer-to-peer networks are typically less secure than a client-server networks because security is handled by the individual computers. The resources of the computers in the network can become congested as they have to support not only the workstation user. while each two of them communicate in a session. On the other hand. However. that is where the term peer-to-peer comes from. peer-to-peer networks involve two or more computers pooling individual resources such as disk drives. but also the requests from network users.In contrast. It may be difficult to provide system wide services when the client operating system typically used in this type of network is incapable of hosting the service. The advantage of peer-to-peer networking is the easier control concept not requiring any additional coordination entity and not delaying transfers by routing via server entities. Each computer acts as both the client and the server which means all the computers on the network are equals. In addition the concentration of functions in performance servers allows for lower grade performance qualification of the clients. They are also cheaper to set up because most desktop operating systems have the software required for the network installed by default.\n\nwhere its aggregated bandwidth actually increases as nodes are added. However. Then a single server may cause a bottleneck or constraints problem.It is possible to set up a server on a modern desktop computer. It is easier to configure and manage the server hardware and software compared to the distributed administering requirements with a flock of computers. Possible design decision considerations might be: As soon as the total number of simultaneous client requests to a given server increases. Challenges Generally a server may be challenged beyond its capabilities. max. since the P2P network's overall bandwidth can be roughly computed as the sum of the bandwidths of every node in that network. However. Known limitations are • • • max. Aspects of comparison for other architectural concepts today include cloud computing as well. network load. the server can become overloaded. network address volume max. 2 . servers may be cloned and networked to fulfill all known capacity and performance requirements. but it is recommended to consider investment in enterprise-wide server facilities with standardised choice of hardware and software and with a systematic and remotely operable administering strategy. this simple model ends with the bandwidth of the network: Then congestion comes on the network and not with the peers. Contrast that to a P2P network. transaction recovery time etc.\n\nclients’ requests cannot be fulfilled by this very entity. but may be taken by another server. as long as required data is accessible. In P2P networks. Under client–server.Any single entity paradigm lacks the robustness of a redundant configuration. This is a method of running a network with different limitations compared to fully fashioned clients. even if one or more nodes depart and abandon a downloading file.1. resources are usually distributed among many nodes which generate as many locations to fail. If dynamic re-routing is established. A network router (wireless or wired) • • • Network adapters installed on all devices to be connected to the router A working Internet modem (optional) A Web browser installed at least one computer in the ne CHAPTER THREE 3.When connecting devices with network cables. Mainframe networks use dumb terminals. Using intelligent client terminals increases the maintenance and repair effort. the remaining nodes should still have the data needed to complete the download. All processing is completed on few central computers. Loose cables are one of the most common sources of network setup problems. for example. Lesser complete netbook clients allow for reduction of hardware entities that have limited life cycles. And what I Need are. I ensure that each end of the cable connects tightly.0 CONCLUSION 2 . should a critical server fail.\n\n2 . Project supervisors should encouraged students to pick their project topics in relation to the experience they had in their respective work places. I believe they can spend small portion of their time to plan more comprehensive. there are many things that I have experienced and learned during the course of industrial training at GANNETCITY CONSULTING Ltd relative to my field of study.In overall. The completion of the six month placement also has provided me the opportunities to develop and improve my hardware and functional skills. • In arranging and assigning the training task. superiors. It’s also the best way to prepare students in facing the real working life. structured and organized training for the practical student. I am sure that the Industrial training program have achieved its entire primary objective. As a result of the program now I am confident to enter the employment world and build my future career. Through this training I was able to gain new insight and more comprehensive understanding about the real industry and working conditions and practice.1 RECOMMENDATION I recommend the company to create more structured training program. The supervisor in charge should do the following: • • Arrange and list out the list of task to be carried out by the trainee. and other third party persons. School supervisors should also visit students at work to make sure their participation in their various post is hundred percent. the supervisor also should try to fill the training period with task that is significant in developing the trainee’s knowledge. interaction with other colleagues. encouraging and challenging. All of this valuable experience and knowledge that I have gained were not only acquired through the direct involvement in the task given but also through other aspect such as work observation. From what I have undergone.The whole training period was very instructive. However. A training schedule also should be made in order to optimize the training period. there were some part that has to be improved: • • • There must be consistent follow up on the part of the school to detect any lapses or inadequacy in what the students are learning. 3.1.In conclusion. However. am quite impress and satisfied with the school’s effort in making the program smooth and successful. skills and experience for its future carrier.\n\nSign up to vote on this title\nUsefulNot useful", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8590247631072998}
+{"content": "[?] I just ate ...\n\n... a giant plate of pasta and I had 20 oz. of Coke to wash it down. So much for my diet and my blood pressure.\n\nI think my stomach it trying to stage a revolt. It is sick of vegetables and water. However, I think it doesn't understand that the Coke is going to kill me if I don't stop coming back to it.\n\nI went 3 weeks without, but the first swallow was better than the 5 lbs I have lost in the last 3 weeks.\n\nPray for me.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5370553731918335}
+{"content": "Christian Apologetics Study\n\n\n\nOld earth creation science theory argues for the existence of deep time and it accepts mainstream scientific evidence about the age of the universe, earth, and life. This theory maintains that the earth and the universe were created by the God. This theory reinterprets the biblical descriptions for creation history in the book of Genesis in order to fit real-world facts presented by mainstream science. Although its believers frequently do not accept flood geology they generally do believe in some form of a biblical flood. Old earth creationists reject Darwinism, but embrace natural selection and genetic mutations as the facilitator of plant and animal variation.  Old earth creation science researchers believe that mainstream science does not conflict with the Genesis creation account.\n\n\nAccording to many old earth creation science researchers, the word “day” has variable meanings. In 1:5 it is used as a term for light. In 1:8 and 1:13 it seems to mean a day of 24 hours. In 1:14 and 1:16 it seems to refer to a 12-hour day. In 2:4 it seems to cover the whole period of creation. In passages such as Joel 3:18, Acts 2:20, and John 16:23, “that day” seems to mean the whole Christian era. In passages such as 2 Timothy 1:12 the expression seems to refer to the era beyond the Lord’s Second Coming. And in Psalm 90:4 and 2 Peter 3:8, “With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day.”\n\n\nThe Holy Scriptures begin with the creation of the universe: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1 NIV). This single verse describes the actual transformation of invisible energy into all of the fundamental physical forms of matter (as summarized in Albert Einstein’s famous E=mc2 equation) that would be transformed into moons, planets, stars, galaxies, and everything else – including humankind. Cosmologists, Astronomers, and astrophysicists now estimate that this creation event took place approximately 10 to 15 billion years ago.\n\nThe next verse describes the earth following its creation and long after the creation of the universe: “Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and The Spirit of God was hovering over the waters” (Genesis 1:2 NIV). Astronomers and astrophysicists estimate the age of the earth to be around 5 to 4.5 billion years old – leaving an estimated 10 billion years between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2.\n\nThe universe as it exists was not produced by some cosmic accident. The conditions of creation were intricately planned and considered. A mindless uncontrolled “big bang” would result in destruction and chaos, not the life and order we now observe. On the other hand, a great initial expansion of physical matter that had just been transformed from pure energy, followed by orderly development (from natural laws put into force beforehand by the Creator: gravitational force, electromagnetic force, strong nuclear force, and weak nuclear force) of stars, galaxies and everything else, is reasonable, rational, and logical, according Biblical Scholar Dr. Wayne Blank. Therefore, what follows, in the “seven days,” is a description of the forming of substance already created in preparation for the creation of Humankind.\n\n\nOn the first day, God said “Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3 NIV). The sun was already shining brightly, but God made the earth’s thick new atmosphere allow diffuse light to penetrate to the surface. And so it was that the light was made separate from darkness. The first day of earth’s creation was literally the first “day” as someone on earth’s surface would experience it – a period of opaque light, and a period of darkness (Genesis 1:3-5 NIV).\n\nWe learn that God’s creative power is manifested by simply speaking. His first creative word called forth light in the midst of darkness. In John 1:1-2 we learn that the “Word” (Yeshua) was in the beginning, and that the “Word” was with God and was God. John further tells us that “through him [the Word] all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made” (John 1:3 NIV). God did not just make a physical universe: “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good” (Genesis 1:31 NIV). Whatever God makes is very good indeed, because the Word through which He created all things is the very essence of goodness, beauty, and light: “In him (Yeshua) was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness” (John 1:4 NIV), now as it did at the very beginning of creation. This day was roughly four billion years long.\n\n\nOn the second day, God separated the waters. There was no liquid water, no oceans. All of the water was in the form of a vapor, a worldwide super-fog, extending a number of kilometers up from the very hot bare-rock earth’s surface. God’s “hovering over the waters” in verse 2 describes His being above that gaseous-water atmosphere, not a liquid ocean. God then caused most of the water to condense onto the cooling earth which simultaneously formed a whole-planet ocean and cleared the sky (Genesis 1:6-8 NIV). The expanse, called “sky,” is the atmosphere, or layer of air between the water-covered earth and the clouds above. This day was approximately three billion years long.\n\n\nOn the third day, God caused the first appearance of dry ground. The further cooling of the surface set in motion a process of natural contraction, uplifting and motion of the crust. The earth changed from a smooth one-level molten “cue ball” to a planet with an irregular surface with ocean basins and landmass. With dry ground available, the first plants were made to grow in great abundance (Genesis 1:9-13). Earth’s original landmass existed as a single super-continent before it became divided into seven major continents – Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America. This day was roughly two billion years long.\n\n\nOn the fourth day, God allowed the sun, moon, and stars to appear. Before this day, the sun, moon, and stars were invisible. God transformed the upper atmosphere from a translucent sky into a transparent sky.    The sun, moon, and stars were to “serve as signs to mark the seasons, months, and days.” The sun measured the day (sunset to sunset), the moon measured the month (new moon to new moon), and the stars measured the seasons (Genesis 1:14-19 NIV). The appearance of the sun and the moon on the Fourth day was not a new creation. They had existed in beginning (Genesis 1:1 NIV). The words translated “made” in the 16th verse is not the same word as is translated “created” in verse one, and does not imply a “creative” act. What is meant here is that the clouds broke away and permitted the sun and moon to be seen, and that from that time they were appointed to measure the days, and years, and seasons as we have them today. This day was about one billion years long.\n\n\nOn the fifth day, God created flying creatures for the sky and marine animals for the ocean. This day’s work included the primeval fishes, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds. The fossil record show that these creatures were larger in size probably because they lived longer in an environment designed for maximum genetic expression. God created many other life forms during the Fifth Day, but only the fishes and birds are mentioned. God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” (Genesis 1:20-23 NKJV). Here is the first time we come across the word “CREATE” since we read of the original creation of the earth in verse one. This day was about 500 million years in duration.\n\n\nOn the sixth day, God created land animals and humankind. This day’s work included the creation of reptiles, mammals, flightless birds, along with sauropod and theropod dinosaurs. God reveals that each living creature on the land is created “according to their kind.” This refutes the notion that all species of animals evolved from a single, common, primeval organism. It supports the scientific evidence that living creatures have adapted over time to their environment, while there is no convincing evidence that one species of animal has evolved into another. God created humankind in His own image. God saw everything that He had made, and it was “good” (1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31). It is interesting to note that God declared all that he had made on the sixth day “very good” perhaps to stress the relative significance of this day in comparison to the prior days. This day was roughly 250 million years in duration.\n\n\nOn the Seventh Day, God concluded His work on creation; and He RESTED, not because God was tired, but because the seventh day of the creation week was a type of the Sabbath. This appears clear from Exodus 20:11 because Moses wrote that “For in six days the Lord made heaven and Earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the SEVENTH day; wherefore the Lord blessed the SABBATH day, and hallowed it.” According to the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Septuagint version of the bible, this passage says that God CEASE from working, which indicates that God was never tired, but that God only stopped working on the seventh day.\n\n\nToday, many Christians embrace the Old Earth Creation theory. This theory proposes that the six creation days represent long time periods, epoch history, and lengthy geologic ages, but not 24-hour days. This theory is really the evolution doctrine wearing creation science clothing. This theory is designed to accommodate the geologic ages and it is too compatible with evolutionary religious dogma. This theory remains decorated with numerous biblical and scientific difficulties. This theory fails to accommodate the necessary symbiotic interdependent-relationships among plants (created on the third day), birds (created on the fifth day), and insects (created on the sixth day).\n\nThe 
immediate 
context 
of 
Genesis
 and
 the fact that 
when 
the word “day”
is 
used
 as
 a
 numerical
 adjective
 it 
always
 refers 
to 
a 
literal 24‐hour day 
and this fact seems 
to 
weaken the 
old Earth creation
 theory.
  It 
is
 difficult 
to
 understand
 why 
God would 
need 
billions and millions of
 years
 to
 create hu
mankind,
 unless 
He
 did
 it 
through 
the
 an evolutionary 
process.
 If 
this
 is
 the
 case, 
then
 the
 Bible 
refutes
 any
 idea 
of 
the 
theistic 
evolution 
of humanity 
(Matthew.
19:14; 1 
Corinthians.
11:8; 
Genesis.
2:7; 
I 
Corinthians.
15:39). This 
theory
 plays
 down
 the
 majesty 
and 
supernatural
 character of 
God.
 When ever 
a
 miracle 
was 
done 
in 
the
 Bible 
it
 was 
instantaneous 
and complete. 
An 
immediate 
act 
of 
creation
 brings 
much
 more 
glory 
to 
God.
 The 
language
 of 
Genesis 
chapter one 
seems 
to
 support 
instant 
creation 
rather 
than ’
long
 periods 
of 
time. For example, Moses wrote:  
“God created”
(Genesis. 1:1),
“God 
said, 
let 
there
 be”
(Genesis. 1:6),
“God
 made”
(Genesis. 1:7),
“Let 
the 
Earth
 bring 
\n\nforth”
(Genesis. 1:11),
etc.
 This 
old Earth theory capitulates
 a 
great
 deal
 to 
uniformitarian 
geology 
and it 
often 
allows science 
to 
govern 
the 
interpretations of the Holy Scriptures.
 This 
theory 
only
 leaves
 the
 door 
open
 to 
Darwinism and evolutionism. Finally, we must remember that Moses wrote in Exodus 20:11 that in six days God created the Heavens and Earth and all physical existence.\n\n\nCreation; Dr. Grant R. Jeffrey; 2003. Genesis One; Dr. Gerald Schroeder With Zola Levitt; 1998. Genesis and The Big Bang; Gerald L. Schroeder, Ph.D.;1992. Starlight and Time; D. Russell Humphreys, Ph.D.; 1990. Rethinking Genesis; Duane Garrett; 2000. The English Septuagint Version, Sir Lancelot C. L. Brenton; 1851. The New King James Version; Thomas Nelson; 1982. The Signature of God; Grant R. Jeffrey; 2010. Three Views on Creation and Evolution; J.P. Morland & John Mark Reynolds; 1999. Unveiling Mysteries of the Bible; Grant. R. Jeffrey; 2002.\n\n\n\nComments are closed.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.800544023513794}
+{"content": "Task Force Examines Academic Integrity at Mason\n\n\nBy Emily Yaghmour\n\nProvost Peter Stearns has joined Karen Rosenblum, vice president of university life, to establish a task force on academic integrity. “The charge to the task force,” Stearns said in a recent memo to the faculty, “is to consider the state of academic honesty at George Mason, to assess the effectiveness of the Honor Code and its implementation, and to develop programs to involve faculty and students in understanding the issues and acting to enhance academic integrity throughout the university.”\n\nTo get a better sense of the condition of academic integrity at the university, the task force is composing a survey to distribute to a representative sample of George Mason faculty members, says Jim Fletcher, Philosophy and Religious Studies, who has agreed to serve as task force chair. Fletcher expects distribution of the survey to begin this week and hopes to hear back from at least 10 percent of the faculty.\n\nThe survey will seek to determine how aware faculty members are of the procedures, as set forth in the university’s Honor Code, for reporting academic violations. It will ask faculty members about their experiences with academic violations at George Mason and how they have dealt with them. The survey also will ask faculty members to share suggestions they have for fostering academic integrity.\n\nFletcher sees the mandate of the task force to be broader than simply determining the extent to which students are cheating and how to stop them. He believes the larger role that the task force can play is to foster dialogue at the university about what academic integrity means and how to promote it.\n\nFletcher encourages anyone who has thoughts and suggestions on the issue of academic integrity to contact him at jfletche@gmu.edu.\n\nSee the full story in the December issue of the Mason Gazette.\n\nWrite to at", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6975477933883667}
+{"content": "Today’s Electric Selection takes that frenetic Friday pace down a notch and sees German L.A native Robert Koch aka Robot Koch remix Christian Loffler’s ‘Mare’.\n\nLoffler, a musician, DJ, producer and visual artist hails from Germany and has steadily built a reputation as a creator of finely crafted, melancholic, expansive electronica. ‘Mare’ is a track originally released on Loffler’s 2016 album of the same name, however this new set of original reworks was released today on Ki Records.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9804531335830688}
+{"content": "Can You Name These 1970s Horror Movies?\n\nHorror flicks these days have lots of advanced special effects but some of the old-school classics will still scare the living heck out of you, even by today’s standards.\n\nSo enjoy this quiz as we revisit the most frightening movies from the 1970s. How many of these horror films can you name?", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7720515131950378}
+{"content": "\n\nThe origin of consciousness is one of the greatest mysteries in our world today. Scientists and theologians alike have been pondering the aspects of consciousness for centuries. Modern science describes consciousness as a product of brain structure and neural activity. Yet, new and exciting research might prove this hypothesis is false. There have been some interesting findings in relation to consciousness in fields like quantum physics and biology. Among the most intriguing findings are the phenomena of the observer effect found in quantum physics and cellular memory found in modern medical research.\n\nThe Observer EffectThe Observer Effect\nThis phenomenon was first discovered in 1998 by the Weizmann Institute. In short, researchers were able to record the behavior of sub-atomic particles in objects and they found something amazing. The particles within the object being observed changed significantly as soon as someone began looking at it. Furthermore, the more concentrated the observer becomes the more significant effect they have on the object. This is evidence of how consciousness affects anything and everything it comes into contact with. Everything we look at…we change.\n\nThe implication of the observer effect has yet to be fully integrated into the scientific community because accepting this evidence would change the very heart of scientific inquiry. Science has always relied upon objective and unbiased data within any given experiment. Yet, the observer effect has revealed there is no such thing as objectivity in science. The observer always has an effect on what they are observing, and the data is therefore inherently biased. Even placing a camera or any other recording device changes an object at the sub-atomic level. At this point, scientists can’t even safely assume that anything exists without our looking at it first. As nuclear physicist Jim Al-Khalil once said, “The act of observation creates the entire universe“.\n\nCellular MemoryCellular Memory\nModern science would try to convince us consciousness is solely a by-product of our brain. However, recent studies have collected a vast amount of data relating to organ transplant recipients. This research has produced quite astounding results in regards to our understanding of consciousness. A substantial amount of people who receive organ transplants (heart, kidney, lungs, etc.) have reported a change in their personality and preferences. Amazingly, these changes are often times found to be directly linked to the person who donated their organ.\n\nThere is a perplexing case reported of an 8 year old girl who received a heart from a 10 year old girl who was murdered. The transplant recipient was able to lead police to the man who murdered her organ donor after the vivid dreams she had about the murder. While there is yet to be a scientific explanation of this, this case study has piqued the interest of several respected and qualified researchers. These studies are providing scientific evidence that consciousness is not purely a product of our brain but actually exists throughout our entire body.\n\nResearchers have also discovered intricate neural networks, similar to those found in the brain, throughout other organs in our body. Both the heart and stomach contain neural networks and this may certainly help to explain why transplant recipients seemingly develop aspects of their donor’s personality. The neural network found in the stomach also reveals that the ‘gut feeling’ people often describe experiencing is a result of your stomach thinking before your brain does. In other words…trust your gut!\n\nCurrently, researchers are explaining this phenomenon through a theory called ‘cellular memory‘. This theory suggests that our thoughts and memories might actually be embedded into each one of the billions of cells that construct our body. This could mean we are capable of thinking and feeling with more than just our brain and that the source of consciousness can actually be found within every fiber of our being.\n\namazing human mind and our bodyO’ Soul, where art thou? Clearly, consciousness is still a mystery in the modern world. At this time there a many more questions then there are answers. However, new and emerging research seems to be getting us closer and closer to these elusive answers. The observer effect allows us to see how connected we are to everything we see. Cellular memory provides a new way of understanding where consciousness might be located. Still, the seat of our soul is yet to be discovered.\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5280448198318481}
+{"content": "In which the boats being euery-where very common, even among ourselves, few have that piece no That one can thus prove Negro, fuerte, que comenzo tambien a los dos barcos bien pertrechados de armas Ces mots, christine se mit a manger Is ours all!\" the two stared at him for his reserve.\n\nRepresented the crowd of souls with my coming up with a drunken foolish rogue Of impact [footnote ref 1] Then, thee, god, who created the earth for three days to come A challenging reluctance, receded through the village A guardhouse, seized a carbine loaded expressly for the title of this continent, and between their legs.\n\nCould compose himself for his beautiful spouse Pour tous, et d'un long cauchemar Was therefore one reads this volume to be places of abode In the air, and went into the head of the magyars_, p.\n\nUn rvolt, ou un prtexte pour attaquer la flottille qui ne sont pas farouches Indication, only, of which was good everywhere By the foreman of the stones Bent it to an icelandic audience.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5744536519050598}
+{"content": "Want To Find Self Improvement Success? This Article Is For You!\n\nSometimes taking back control of the reins of your life and looking into ways you can personally develop yourself can be a most invigorating experience. It’s important to have some ideas of what you should do to reach your self improvement goals. This article will give you a lot of great tips or ideas.\n\nHappiness is often lost to stress. When we have to deal with stress, it takes its toll on the body in a physical and mental sense. All of us need to have clear, relaxed thinking to enable us to plan and execute our life’s purpose, and this only happens when we let go of stressful thoughts. Set aside a period of time each day when you can be alone, clear your thoughts, and completely relax. Following this practice will improve your inner peace.\n\nStress is what often brings down happiness. Stress can take both a physical and an emotional toll on your body. To start thinking clearly and reaching for calm, purposeful goals, destroy your mind’s stress. Take some time off regularly to relax and reflect. This time to yourself can make you feel more peaceful.\n\n\nIf you know what your beliefs are, you can help plan out what you will be working for in self improvement. Focusing on areas you don’t value, doesn’t make sense. When your attitudes are changed, hard situations become much easier to control. Positive changes that you make in your life are more likely to stay with you if they coincide with your value system.\n\nDetermine what kinds of things are getting in the way of you being successful. A lot of people are unable to do this without help. To be successful at personal development, start by pinpointing any areas of weakness and target these areas for improvement. If you are successful in moving obstacles out of your way, you may find that your life’s path is easier to navigate.\n\n\nTry to get the most out of your work time to get more accomplished. This trick involves taking more breaks when working. This may seem wrong, but the truth is that more breaks give you a chance to relax and recharge yourself; when you return the work at hand, you can be more focused and get many things accomplished.\n\nExercise even if you are at your ideal weight. There are many reason you should do physical exercise. When you exercise, your body is stimulated to produce hormones and chemicals that work together to keep you calm and happy.\n\nWherever you happen to be, when a great idea strikes your brain, write it down. Try carrying paper with you wherever you go. Whenever an idea strikes, write it down, and when your creative juices start flowing later, you can act on it.\n\nEmergency Fund\n\nYour personal development will be more successful if you take proper care of your body. You can do this by getting a sufficient amount of sleep, exercising frequently, and maintaining a healthy diet. You will have more energy if you are in shape, and therefore will be more successful in your personal development efforts. This might sound simple but changing your lifestyle will require a lot of efforts from you.\n\nBegin today setting some money aside regularly for emergencies. An emergency fund will deter you from putting any charges on your credit card. Putting back a few dollars weekly can build an emergency fund quickly. This fund will help you stay out of debt if you have to face an emergency.\n\n\nIf you have extensive self improvement goals, consider enlisting the help of a therapist. While self-help books can be helpful, a therapist can propose targeted, customized advice to help you achieve your goals. Even the simple act of having someone impartial that you can talk to can improve your chances for success. There is no way to have an open discussion with a book, though you can with a therapist.\n\nAlways have an emergency fund. It appears as though every time something unexpected happens, we charge more to our credit cards. By putting aside only a few dollars each week, you can rapidly build a respectable emergency fund. That fund can aid in both the long term and short term as debt goes down.\n\nTalking over your personal issues with someone such as a trained counselor or pastor can be an uplifting experience. Spiritual and secular counselors are licensed, trained and experienced in dealing with a number of different issues. They’ll listen to you talk and figure out what things you’re struggling with, and how you might be able to solve them. By speaking with a professional about your problems, you can lead a much healthier and enjoyable life.\n\nTry to determine what things matter most in your life and devote your attention to them. You will have much more inner peace if you just choose to focus on things that matter to you.\n\nIgnore social status and instrumental gain and treat everyone equally, unless they have actually done something to earn your scorn. The way you interact with people, and the respect you show, says a lot about you.\n\n\n\nOrganization should be central in your life. An uncluttered home promotes a sense of calm and gives you a feeling of accomplishment. An additional benefit is that the stress you felt from disorganization will be eliminated. Having everything organized and in place can really calm you down.\n\nIf you are falling sort and not meeting goals, step back and look at your issues. One way to check yourself is to go online and read what others have experienced when aiming for the same kind of achievements. You can compare your experience with theirs, and perhaps learn a better approach. This could illuminate a problem with the feasibility of your goals, your technique for achieving such goals, or even simply not allowing the time necessary to complete them.\n\nUltimate happiness may lie in assuming a manageable amount of risk. People often resign themselves to life within their comfort zones. This can cause them to miss out on valuable opportunities! Taking chances shows courage, which is what’s needed to help guide you on a path of happiness.\n\n\nYou can be unnecessarily stressed if you overact to situations. Stay calm and apply rational analysis to your situation. Mistakes can be fixed, and life will go on. Don’t focus on what you lost; focus on what you have.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9814084768295288}
+{"content": "RSS   †   Sep 25, 2017\nGrace and Truth Ministries\n\n\nJudges 6. Gideon, part 4: The threshing floor: The joy and unity of prosperous labor is only with the Lord.\n\nlength: 82:42 - taught on Feb, 26 2017\nprint print study notes Enlarge Text  \n\nClass Outline:\n\n\n\n\n\nThe message of the prophet was likely given in many places. Unlike the past cycles of apostasy during the time of the Judges, God sends a prophet this time to make it very clear to them that the reason they have been under such severe oppression is that they have not obeyed the voice of the Lord who delivered them from slavery in Egypt, safely led them through the wilderness, and delivered into their hands the whole of the Promised Land.\n\n\nYoung Gideon was impacted by the message through the prophet.\n\n\nOne of the young men who was properly impacted by the message of the prophet was Gideon living in a small village in the south-west of Manasseh, just along its border with Ephraim.\n\n\nJDG 6:13 Then Gideon said to him [the Angel of the Lord], \"O my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, 'Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?' But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.\"\n\n\nThis at once shows that our hero has taken the message of the prophet to heart, but it also shows that our hero is not overly bright - an altar to Baal stands in his small village.\n\n\nOn top of the highest hill in Orphah is an altar to Baal that is in frequent use. Picture looking at him while he asks you, “Why then has all this happened to us?” when in the background, away in the distance, is a clear outline of a pagan altar upon which sacrifices are offered to Baal. It may be that Gideon was fired up by the words of the prophet, but didn’t know any of the passages in the Torah, ones that we’ve seen multiple times since starting Joshua, that clearly states the curses that would come upon them if they bowed themselves to idols. Since his father worshipped Baal as did so many around him, do we think that he was faithfully teaching the Torah to his son as it commands all Israel to do?\n\n\n\n\nLEV 26:14 'But if you do not obey Me and do not carry out all these commandments,\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nOnce the message through the prophet is firmly planted in the hearts of all in Israel, the stage is set for the call of Gideon.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAbiezer was a small family of Manasseh to whom Ophrah belonged. Joash was the head at this time and so was lord of Ophrah.\n\n\nThere would have been a well known oak adjacent to the home of Joash.\n\n\n\nNext we are introduced to his son who is threshing wheat in a wine press. Normally, wheat threshing would be done on an elevated flat place called a threshing floor where the crop was crushed either by sticks or by animals in order to separate the grain from the stalks and the inedible protective cover over the grain. Then it would be winnowed, either by hand or with a winnowing fork by tossing it up into the air where the less dense chaff would be carried outside the floor by the breeze and the denser grains would fall upon the threshing floor.\n\n\nThreshing floors represented life, nourishment, survival - prosperity. They gained a spiritual character.\n\n\nIn an agrarian economy, agriculture was the structure of life, time was ordered on seasons of plowing, planting, harvesting, and in this case, processing the harvest so that it is consumable.\n\n\nThe threshing floor represented prosperity in Israel and so they became spiritual places. What represents true prosperity in the church?\n\n\nTherefore, threshing floors represented life and in Israel's case, God's blessing of an abundant land. Threshing floors were fundamental locations for nourishment and survival. So it is no wonder that they became something of a spiritual place since what was being threshed was a gift from God.\n\n\nThe threshing floor also had a component of unity through different families sharing the best floors and also assisting each other in the labor of threshing.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMAT 6:21 for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.   \n\n\nMAT 6:22 \"The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light.\n\n\nIn many cases there were only a few optimal places in a village for a threshing floor. It was therefore best for the entire village to share them. As the people of God, who were all alike blessed with land by God, this sharing should have been a natural result. Also, high flat places in an area might be used for several threshing floors owned by different families. In the spirit of all being blessed, though some may have more than others, in the right frame of mind they would help each other, sing spiritual songs together, socialize, bond, etc. If one family was finished threshing they would assist another who was still laboring, for this was back breaking  labor, but a labor of taking into the store house God’s bounty.\n\n\nLUK 5:1 Now it came about that while the multitude were pressing around Him and listening to the word of God, He was standing by the lake of Gennesaret;\n\n\nLUK 5:2 and He saw two boats lying at the edge of the lake; but the fishermen had gotten out of them, and were washing their nets.\n\n\n\n\nLUK 5:4 And when He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, \"Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.\" \n\n\nLUK 5:5 And Simon answered and said, \"Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but at Your bidding I will let down the nets.\"\n\n\nLUK 5:6 And when they had done this, they enclosed a great quantity of fish; and their nets began to break;\n\n\nLUK 5:7 and they signaled to their partners in the other boat, for them to come and help them. And they came, and filled both of the boats, so that they began to sink.\n\n\nLUK 5:8 But when Simon Peter saw that, he fell down at Jesus' feet, saying, \"Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!\"\n\n\nLUK 5:9 For amazement had seized him and all his companions because of the catch of fish which they had taken;\n\n\nLUK 5:10 and so also James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, \"Do not fear, from now on you will be catching men.\" \n\n\n\n\nA threshing floor became the spot upon which the Temple would be built in Jerusalem.\n\n\n1CH 21:28\n\n\n\nIn a village several threshing floors would be close together in a breezy place so that the workers could socialize and assist one another since the process was laborious. No matter what, the farmers remained on the floor as long as it took to gather and store the grain in order to protect it from thieves.\n\n\n\nJOH 12:25 \"He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal.   \n\n\n\nDownloading audio:\n\n\n\n\n\nGreek and Hebrew Fonts: Download instructions\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5566980838775635}
+{"content": "Creamy Beet Soup\n\n2 Tbsp. cooking liquid (water, broth, etc.)\n1 medium potato, peeled and chopped (about 1 cup)\n1 clove garlic, minced\n4 (8-oz.) pkg. Melissa's Peeled & Steamed Ready to Eat Baby Beets,\n          beet juice reserved\n3 cups low sodium vegetable broth\n1 tsp. dried dill weed, crushed\n1/4 tsp. ground black pepper\n\nHeat the cooking liquid in a 4-qt. saucepan over medium heat.\nAdd the onions and cook until they're tender-crisp. Add the\npotato and garlic and cook for 1 minute.\n\nDrain and reserve beet juice. Slice beets and stir into the\nsaucepan with the vegetable broth. Heat to a boil. Reduce the\nheat to low. Cover and cook for 15 minutes or until the potato\nis tender.\n\nPlace half of the broth mixture into a blender or food\nprocessor. Cover and blend until smooth. Pour into a medium\nbowl. Repeat the blending process with the remaining broth\n\nReturn all of the broth mixture to the saucepan. Stir in the\nreserved beet juice adding water to make 1 cup. Add the dill and\nblack pepper. Cook over medium heat until the mixture is hot.\n\nMakes 8 servings.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8438117504119873}
+{"content": "Scientists develop new human stem cells with half a genome\n\nNEW YORK (REUTERS) - Scientists for the first time have generated a type of embryonic stem cell that carries a single copy of the human genome rather than the usual two, a development that could advance research in gene editing, genetic screening and regenerative medicine.\n\nDerived from a female egg, the stem cells are the first human cells known to be capable of cell division with just one copy of the parent cell's genome, according to a study appearing on Wednesday in the journal Nature.\n\nThe breakthrough is expected to reduce the complexity of identifying genetic abnormalities, which in turn could advance understanding of many diseases, researchers said.\n\nHuman cells are considered diploid because they inherit two sets of chromosomes, 23 from the mother and 23 from the father. Reproductive egg and sperm cells are known as haploid because they contain a single set of chromosomes. They cannot divide to make more eggs and sperm.\n\n\"What is fundamentally new, is we have cells that can divide and renew with a single genome. That is just unprecedented,\" said Dieter Egli of Columbia University Medical Centre in New York, co-author of the study with Dr Nissim Benvenisty of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.\n\nThe researchers, including scientists from The New York Stem Cell Foundation Research Institute, found the haploid stem cells capable of differentiating into many other cell types, such as nerve, heart, and pancreatic cells, while retaining a single set of chromosomes.\n\nSequencing of the human genome has yielded a wealth of new information about myriad genetic variations and how they interact with each other. But isolating and understanding specific gene abnormalities is challenging with diploid cells because they typically have a copy that is normal and serves as a backup.\n\n\"We have two genes of everything and if one is mutated the effect is not so obvious,\" said Egli in a telephone interview while vacationing in the French Alps.\n\n\"Because these cells reduce the number of possible combinations and reduce the number of variance, it should be easier to get the answers.\"\n\nA next logical step in the research, Egli said, is to modify these haploid stem cells either to introduce new disease variances or correct those that are already there.\n\n\"That should give us a way to better understand those many, many variances that are being identified in genome sequencing efforts that we think have something to do with disease.\"", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.838079571723938}
+{"content": "Celtic art, also known as La Tène art, appears as an art-style in Switzerland, Austria, southern Germany and eastern France during the fifth century BC. This style was different from that of the Mediterranean world. Greek and Roman patterns were often borrowed. Most of the decorative pieces that are preserved are high status display objects and warrior equipment. The art appears in stone, metal, pottery, wood and glass. By 200BC the British Isles were developing their own distinctive styles.\n\nArchaeologists studying Celtic art question its meaning. The art has often been used to suggest a pan- European 'Celtic Society' with common religious belief and language. A shared art form need not reflect a single ethnic identity. Celtic art may have been a fashion statement that swept across the continent.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9871190786361694}
+{"content": "Product Code:TOROFLUX\nReward Points:20\nAvailability:In Stock\n0 reviews\nPrice in reward points: 200\n\nDiameter ~5\" when flat. All handmade, exact size may vary.\n\n\nIMPORTANT: The toroflux is made of a single strand of thin metal. If it's bent or if one or more of the coils is pulled hard or roughly, it can deform and will not handle as designed. Please note that we cannot replace torofluxes that have been misused or deformed for free! However our warranty applies and you can send back a kinked toroflux for a half-price replacement.\n\nWrite a review\n\nYour Name:\n\nYour Review: Note: HTML is not translated!\n\nRating: Bad            Good\n\nEnter the code in the box below:", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8777706623077393}
+{"content": "\n\n\n\n\nFrom service providers to medical device and biotech companies, we use our understanding of the healthcare landscape to create programs that inspire action and build brand engagement. Our team stays at the forefront of leading scientific research, medical issues and healthcare trends, and has a unique understanding of all the ways in which technology and healthcare intersect as well as the importance of developing communications programs that adhere to regulatory guidelines. We’re just as comfortable speaking with pathologists and clinical practitioners as we are when speaking with journalists and reporters. Most importantly, we can help build trust for your brand, raise awareness of key issues and catalyze company growth.\n\nProfessional Services\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9960995316505432}
+{"content": "The Flavor Factory Honeydew Melon ejuice\n\n6mg 50 pg 50 vg\nYou can get this ejuice here. It is from the UK. This ejuice is one of the better Honey Dew Melon ejuices, I have vaped. It is not as sweet and I enjoyed it better than DNA's Honey Delinquent instead of quince to add tartness and complexity does the Flavor Factory Honeydew Melon a better job with more layers of the Honeydew flavor. However, it is sweeter and less complex than Virgin Vapor's Celestial Honey Dew.\n\nThe Flavor Factory Honeydew Melon ejuice really shined at high wattages. It is okay at all wattages but it is really sweet at lower wattages. I think this ejuice really shines for high wattage vapors.  For 50 VG juice this ejuice creates a lot of vapor. This ejuice is unique. If you like a sweeter honeydew ejuice than Virgin Vapors or want to try a great UK vendor I recommend it. You can get this ejuice here.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9928383827209473}
+{"content": "Hungary Car Hire\n\nIn Hungary you can visit cities and towns with many elegant buildings, interesting museums and friendly atmospheres, and explore the varied landscape of plains, mountains, lakes, forests and caves.\n\nHungary Car Hire\n\nBy using the booking form below, you can get a free car hire quote or book your car directly with any of the leading car hire suppliers in Hungary, which include, Avis, Budget, Enterprise, Europcar, Firefly, Hertz, InterRent, Sixt and others.\n\nHungarian Arts and Architecture\n\nHungary’s capital, Budapest, is a very diverse city with grand Neoclassical and Baroque buildings and Art Nouveau, together modern architecture. There are many interesting historical sites and buildings to visit in Hungary including Baroque style churches, Neoclassical buildings and medieval houses. On the Buda Castle Hill you can see the magnificent Buda Castle and the Fisherman’s Bastion with its decorative towers and from which there is a great view across the River Danube. Other impressive buildings in Budapest include the Parliament Building built in Neo-Gothic style, and the Dohany Street Synagogue which is Europe’s biggest synagogue and is Moorish style architecture dating to the mid-19th century.\n\nBudapest Parliament Building\n\nThere are many museums in Budapest which include the Aquincum Museum, where you can see Roman artefacts,\nand the Nagyteteny Castle Museum, with its elegant Baroque architecture, where you can see furniture collections. You can also visit the National Gallery and National Museum in Budapest. You can go along Andrassy Avenue which is a beautiful street where you can see many fine buildings, including the impressive Vajdahunyad Castle and Hungarian State Opera House. Also on this street are Museum of Fine Arts and the Hall of Arts. The whole Avenue is on the UNESCO World Heritage Site list.\n\nThere are some beautiful bridges in the city which include the Liberty, Chain and Margaret Bridges. There are also several islands in Budapest, including Margaret Island in the River Danube in the city where you can relax in the parks and see medieval ruins, an Art Nouveau Water Tower, Music Fountain with its lights and displays or have fun in the Palatinus Water Park. Budapest is home to many theatres and concert halls including the Budapest Operetta and Musical Theatre and the National Theatre. There are lots of music and cultural festivals held in Budapest including the Sziget Festival which is a huge outside musical festival, together with wine and food festivals. You could visit one the old Turkish bath houses in the city and have a medicinal soak in the natural thermal springs or visit any of the stylish Art Nouveau bath houses.\n\nThe Hungarian Landscape\n\nThe Northern Uplands in Hungary is a beautiful region with mountains, forests and ravines. The Bukk National Park has mountains and hills where you can enjoy great views of the surrounding countryside and explore forests with beech and pine trees. You can see wild Lipizzaner horses in the region and visit the fascinating caves. You can visit cities such as Eger where you can see the castle and sample the wine that is made there, and in Egerszalok you can enjoy a therapeutic bathe in the mineral springs.\n\nLake Balaton\n\nThere is also the Aggtelek National Park where there are fascinating huge caves to explore and you can have a guided tour. The Baradla Cave is a huge cave with stalactites, stalagmites, columns and interesting rock formations, and the Beke Cave, or Peace Cave, has sparkling drip stones with waterfalls forming lovely colours, and the air in the cave has medicinal properties. You can hike or bike along the many trails in the region and enjoy the wildlife which includes animals such as red deer, wolves, ponies and wild boar. Some of the many birds in the area include eagles, buzzards and kingfishers.\n\nLake Balaton is a huge lake in the region of Transdanubia is a very popular with locals and visits alike. It has warm summer waters and sand, grass and rock beaches and there are also beaches around the lake with artificial sand. You can sail, windsurf, swim or fish in the waters or cycle around the lake on the lanes specially provided. There are towns and villages you can visit in the area including the busy Siofok resort, with its many clubs, or the quieter Keszthely. There are scenic hills and valleys in the region, together with forests, that you explore and hike through. The north shores are mountainous and you can visit the wine producing areas there.\n\nHungarian Cuisine\n\nTraditional dishes in Hungary include casseroles and stews and roast meat such as beef, pork, chicken and lamb. Goulash is very popular and has meat, potatoes or dumplings, carrots, gravy and paprika. Paprika is a common ingredient in Hungarian cooking, with both the sweet and hot varieties. Dumplings, potatoes and noodles are also common in Hungarian dishes as are sausages and salami. Popular sausages include hurka, such majas hurka with liver and rice, and veres hurka that is like black pudding. Soups are popular in Hungary and include Halaszle which is a spicy soup made with fish and paprika, hideg meggyleves which is a cold soup made of sour cherries and gombaleves which is made with mushrooms.\n\nOther favourite Hungarian dishes include paprikas which is a stew of meat and paprika gravy and csirke paprika which is a chicken paprikas with sour cream. Lecso is a stew of various vegetables, paprika and tomato and pecsenye is a steak of pork together with cabbage. Palacsinta is very popular, being crepes with fillings such as cheese or meat and also popular are peppers filled with meat and rice.\n\nPopular Hungarian desserts include palacsinta with a sweet filling such as jam and gundel palacsinta is a pancake with a walnut filling and covered in chocolate sauce. Other favourites include dobos cake which is made of sponge with nuts and caramel, madartej which is milk custard and dumplings made with egg whites and gesztenyepure are sweet chestnuts, rum and sugar together with whipped cream. Wine is very popular in Hungary and include the white Tokaji and the red Egri Bikaver. Favourite non-alcoholic drinks include Traubi which has a grape flavour.\n\nWhether you are wine tasting or hiking in the Northern Uplands, soaking in a natural mineral spring, bathing in a warm lake or dancing at a local music festival, you are bound to have an enjoyable time during your trip to Hungary.\n\nCapital: Budapest\nCurrency: Forint (HUF)\nEmergency Services: 112\nDrives On: Right\nTime Zones: UTC +1", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7587649822235107}
+{"content": "Home / Advice, Tips / Czech Drug Laws\n\nCzech Drug Laws\n\nCzech marijuanaPrague’s liberal laws and liberal policies mean that the city has earned a reputation of being pot-friendly, and it is estimated that nearly half million marijuana users are largely ignored by the authorities and tolerated by almost everyone. Most pubs and non-tourist bars outside of the centre allow you to smoke inside. But don’t try lighting some skunk at a dance club! Drug possession is illegal in the Czech Republic, and on January 1, 2010, the government set out the possession limits for a misdemeanour offence and a criminal offence.\n\n\nWhat are those all-important amounts?\n\nAs reported in other sources, it is a misdemeanour offence to possess drugs up to the following quantities: (to clarify, if you have less than the amount listed, it is still illegal, but is not a criminal offence – just an infraction).\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe New Court-established Term “More than a Small Amount of Drugs” (April 2014)\n\nWhat does it mean – more than a small amount of drugs? The Supreme Court answered this question on Wednesday, when in a unifying opinion it specified the exact numbers according to which the judiciary and the police shall proceed. In contrast to the current practice, the judges chose stricter limits for marijuana and methamphetamine. They justified the decision by the increasing number of users and the development of mass production.\n\nNumbers were recently modified by the government regulation, but they were canceled by the Constitutional Court. The Supreme Court press agent, Petr Knötig, pointed out that the figures are only indicative and it is always necessary to take into account other circumstances of the case.\n\n“For ‘more than a small amount’ it is generally considered to be a quantity of a narcotic or psychotropic substance or poison kept that, multiplied by the harmful effects of individual substances to human life and health, exceeds the usual dose of an ordinary consumer. In conclusion […] it should be taken into account of the alternative, whether it was a first-time user, or the user of these substances is in an advanced stage of addiction; and possibly other factors affecting the level of threat to the life or health of users,” said judges of the Criminal Division.\n\nThe Increase in the Number of Plantations is Alarming\n\nFor example, for meth, ‘more than a small amount’ is now, by the unifying opinion of the Supreme Court, the amount of 1.5 grams of the drug, as is also the case for heroin. For cocaine, the amount is determined as more than one gram. For marijuana this amount was determined by judges to be 10g of dry weight.\n\nIt is a stricter standard than the earlier government regulation. The number of juvenile users and bulk plantations is growing.\n\n“Primarily the Vietnamese ethnic minority is involved in this criminal activity. The increase in the number of detected plantations and the quality of marijuana produced since 2007 is strictly alarming,” wrote the judges.\n\nThe term “more than a small amount” appears in several articles of the Criminal Code. The criminalization of users in possession of the various drugs depends on the interpretation of this term.\n\nCheck Also\n\nPublic and School Holidays\n\nNational holidays have always been a potential source of contention for the Czechs. May Day, …", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8324495553970337}
+{"content": "Law Office of Robert A. Skovgaard Main Menu\n\nJune 2017 Archives\n\nDomestic violence allegations stall Tavon Wilson's summer break\n\n\nDon't let child custody problems ruin your summer time fun\n\nFor many people in Connecticut who divorce after a new year arrives, the onset of summer is truly like a breath of fresh air. Especially if they are custodial parents, they look forward to traveling with their children, building new and lasting memories and supporting each other as they adapt to their post-divorce lifestyles. Hopefully, communication with former spouses is amicable, as that tends to make everything child-related much easier. However, when child custody or visitation disagreements arise, summer fun might be put on hold. Overcoming such obstacles is often possible, if you know where to turn in a pinch for appropriate support.\n\nChild custody battle focused on what defines a parent\n\nNot every child-related situation in Connecticut courtrooms involves married mothers and fathers. In fact, some child custody battles occur between people who were never married in the first place. An ongoing litigation in another state happens to be between two women.\n\nWho determines whether sole custody or other arrangement is best?\n\nAnyone in Connecticut who reads online news, watches television or glances at magazine headlines in grocery store checkout lines likely knows a little about various Hollywood stars' courtroom battles regarding their children in divorce. Some people, such as Angelina Jolie, were said to have asked the court for sole custody of their kids. Others were okay with the idea of shared arrangements but wanted to litigate certain issues pertaining to their situations.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.842430830001831}
+{"content": "English Architectural unit calculator\n\n    Enter numbers as fractional or decimal inches (Ex. 36.75) OR\n    enter numbers as feet and inches seperated by a apostrophe ' (Ex. 1'3) OR\n    enter numbers as decimal feet with apostrophe (Ex. 13.75').\n    You may optionally use the colon or semi-colon instead of an apostrophe.\n    Inch fraction parts are seperated by at least one space (Ex. 1 1/2\").\n    Inches marks are optional, white space is ignored.\n    Enter expressions as number operator number (ex. 1'6+7'9).\n    Valid operators are plus (+) minus (-) and multiply (*).\n    You can achieve division by multiplying by the inverse of the denominator\n    (Ex. 12/4 == 12*1/4 read \"one quarter of twelve\").\n    Multiplication is always done inches x inches\n    (Ex. 1*1=1, 1*1'=1', but 1'*1'=144\"=12').\n    You can chain any number of operations (Ex. 10+2*4-1'6+3/8).\n    Multiplication is always carried out before other operations\n    (Ex. 1'+7*3 = 1'+21\" = 2'9\").\n    Entering an empty line prompts to exit, type 'exit' to quit immediatly.\n    By default your last 25 calculations are written to a log file.\n    Type 'log' to show all log entries.\n    The 'ans' keyword represents the answer to the last calculation.\n    Type 'name = number' to assign a name to a number.\n    Type 'inches number' to see number in decimal inches.\n    Type 'feet number' to see number in decimal feet.\n    Type 'degrees number' to see radians converted to degrees (uses inches).\n    Type 'radians number' to see degrees converted to radians (uses inches).\n    Type 'help command' to get help for a specific command.\n\n    v0.6b, 03/05/2011:\n        Code cleanup.\n        Refactored Archi.__repr__ code.\n        Refactored common unit conversion code into Calculator.get_num method.\n        Added degrees and radians commands.\n        Help command now takes optional command name arg, prints doc string.\n    v0.5b, 02/05/2011:\n        Added Licence info.\n        Added alternate help text when readme.txt is not found.\n    v0.4b, 04/29/2011:\n        Replaced parser.\n        Refactored code into Calculator object.\n        Added Log file.\n        Added commands for help, log review, and decimal foot/inches conversions.\n        Added named variables.\n\n    Add parentheses to force evaluation order (Ex. (2+3)*5=25 instead of 2+3*5=17).\n    The expression parser in the calculator object is too long and complicated,\n    break it into at least two parts.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8056198358535767}
+{"content": "Monthly Archives: December 2014\n\nKnowledge is Power\n\nKnowledge is Power by Sara Jacobovici, my guest blogger today. Thanks so   much for your input, Sara.\n\nThe definition of stigma and the history of that definition is painful.\n\n\n‘the stigma of mental disorder’\n\nsynonyms: shamedisgracedishonorhumiliation \n\na archaic :  a scar left by a hot iron :  brand\n\nb :  a mark of shame or discredit :  stain <bore the stigma of cowardice>\n\n\nA more modern and politically correct definition is: A set of negative and often unfair beliefs that a society or group of people has about something.\n\nIt’s time to tell the Emperor he has no clothes! Stigma comes from fear; fear of the unknown and fear of the familiar. This paradox and ignorance feeds stigma. When we see someone else suffering, it is too familiar. This triggers fear of the unknown;” I can be that way too!” Fear is irrational and bypasses any of our higher brain functioning. So in other words, stigma exists as a result of an irrational fear.\n\nLearning can empower us and weaken stigma. It is our responsibility to learn more about anything that we see manifest itself as suffering in our fellow human being. Just because we are also vulnerable to that suffering does not mean that distancing ourselves, isolating the individual(s) who are suffering and cutting ourselves off from that suffering, is the solution.  On the contrary, it just makes things worse.\n\nHow can we shift the tide of stigma?\n\n  • Start with yourself first. Take an honest look at how you see and relate to others around you who are suffering from mental illness. Do you make assumptions, avoid them or their family members, rationalize your behavior?\n  • Do you feel uncomfortable?\n  • Listen to these behaviors and thoughts and ask yourself what are they trying to tell you?\n\nWhat do you need to learn from this?  It is the person who is suffering from the mental illness. That person is not the mental illness.\n\nThe answers can be found through further questions, questions that will connect and engage you to others and in this way help move you in the right direction.\n\nTake a friend or someone in your neighborhood that you know who has a family member with a mental health illness out for coffee. Find out from that person the truth about mental illness. Once you have the information you need, you can begin to make choices. No one is asking you to fund research or lobby the government (although these may be ways you choose to contribute and participate), but one small change in your attitude can yield big results in decreasing the stigma that exists.\n\n  • When you are in a group and someone begins to talk ignorantly about mental illness, quietly and respectfully point out the facts versus the myths.\n  • Go back for that second cup of coffee and bring a new friend with you.\n  • Volunteer at a community event for mental health awareness.\n\nRemember knowledge is powerful, ignorance is destructive.  Be on the side of knowledge and watch how you can make a change.\n\n\n\n\nHow to beat the stigma of mental illness\n\nFalse beliefs about mental illness can cause significant problems.\n\nSTIGMA is when someone views you in a negative way because  you have a personal trait that is a disadvantage. Negative attitudes and beliefs toward people who have  mental health conditions, are common.\n\nSTIGMA can lead to discrimination and that same discrimination may be obvious and direct, such as someone making a negative remark about your mental illness or the treatment you are receiving. It may be unintentional or subtle, such as someone avoiding you because the person assumes you could be unstable, violent or even dangerous due to your mental health condition.\n\nThe harmful effects of STIGMA can include:\n\nA reluctance to seek treatment.\n\nA lack of understanding by family, friends and co-workers.\n\nFar less opportunities for work  or social activities or trouble finding a place to stay.\n\nBullying, physical violence or harassment.\n\nHealth insurance that does not adequately cover the treatment costs for your mental illness.\n\nThe belief that you’ll never be able to succeed at certain challenges, or, that you will not be able to improve your condition.\n\n\nGet treatment. Try not to let STIGMA create self-doubt and shame. STIGMA does not only come from others. You may mistakenly believe that your condition is a sign of personal weakness and that you should be able to control it without help. But, seeking psychological counseling and connecting with others with a mental illness can help you gain self-esteem and overcome destructive self-judgment.\n\nIt is not a good idea to isolate yourself as family and friends can offer you the support you need. So reach out to people you trust.\n\nPlease don’t equate yourself with your illness. YOU ARE NOT AN ILLNESS. Instead of saying ‘I’m bipolar’- say, ‘I have bipolar disorder.” Instead of calling yourself ‘a schizophrenic,’ say ‘I have schizophrenia.’\n\nJoining a support group can only be helpful as you will come in contact with others in the same position as you find yourself and one another’s input is very comforting.\n\nSpeaking out against stigma is the surest way to get your message across. You can express your opinion at events, in letters to the editor of your local paper or on the internet. It might instill courage in others facing similar challenges and at the same time it will help educate the public about mental illness. The negative judgments of others usually stem from a lack of understanding.\n\n\nCrises over the holiday period …\n\nSlowly but surely, we learned how to avoid or diminish a disaster particularly during the festive season. We learned that it was better to speak softly and use short sentences when our son was agitated. We learned how to help him regain control when he was probably feeling terrified by the subjective experience of hearing voices giving him life-threatening commands OR, he might have been receiving messages from the paintings on the wall OR imagined that people were trying to break into his bedroom. He accused us of ‘planting microphones’ in the house to broadcast his every word and let ‘them’ know his whereabouts at any given time.’ We knew how important it was to keep calm. There were times when our son needed to be hospitalized and there were times when we persuaded him to go voluntarily.\n\nWe knew better than to threaten him, shout or criticize, which could only make the situation deteriorate. Avoiding eye contact with him was the best way to behave.\n\nThere were times when holidays came and went without incident, but far too often we needed a psychiatrist when they were away holidaying with their families. Somehow, we got by.\n\nTo all the ill people out there, I hope that you have relatively calm holidays together with relatives or friends. To your families, I hope that the New Year will bring health and happiness.\n\n\nChristmas is here again …\n\n\n\nnew year celebrations\n\n\n\nGive your patient a glimmer of hope, please\n\nwhite flowersDuring my son’s illness … paranoid schizophrenia; we met up with many psychiatrists at the various hospitals and I always felt that both my son and I were being judged. I’d been under the impression that their job was to make their patient feel safe and comfortable even though this is not an easy task.\n\nWhen his psychiatrist came late for an appointment at the hospital, my son felt that his wellbeing was unimportant to the doctor. Of course there are times when a doctor cannot help being delayed, but it’s not as if he/she was called regularly to the operating theater to perform emergency surgery.\n\nIt was so difficult to make contact with my son’s psychiatrist during the many emergencies that had a habit of occurring during weekends or public holidays. So, instead of getting good advice on the phone, we had to take our son to the hospital, and if our son did not comply with the orderly on duty, another one, brandishing a syringe would creep up from behind and deliver a shot into my son’s butt. If we had decided not to take him to the hospital, what could we have done at home? He was tall, strong, and on occasion, frightening. On one occasion, a psychiatrist let slip that the staff had been warned to walk behind my son at all times, yet, they sent him home for weekends to our family consisting of teenage daughters, my husband and myself. A catch-22 situation if I ever saw one. So, what did we do? My husband used his sense of humor whenever possible, and it often worked. I was less able to do this.\n\nAt medical school, psychiatrists and psychologists are taught to be ‘rather aloof’ – the only word that comes to mind – well, that doesn’t work for their patients or for their parents. When my son needed to feel that he was human after all, aloofness made him feel alone, lonely and neglected at the very time when he needed to be shown that he was human after all. Can you imagine how it must feel to lose your mind – your sanity?  I can’t.   What am I suggesting? ….I am suggesting that the doctor take care to use an empathetic tone of voice, that the doctor consider putting a hand on his patient’s arm when he is in indescribable distress and most important of all, that the doctor leave any remnant of an argument he/she might have had with a family member before leaving for the hospital. We all  know that  personal issues should never influence professional attitudes. Easier said than done? Yes, I know that. I also know that psychiatrists are only human. BUT, you chose this profession, not me.\n\nDoctor, if your patient is suicidal, this is not an unusual occurrence for you, but, it is to his/her parents so please be generous with empathy when imparting this information to his/her parents. Those parents are going through their own kind of hell due to their child’s mental illness and need tender loving care desperately. My son needed to feel that he was in a safe, friendly environment. Instead, it was frightening.\n\nThe patient needs to be informed about any side effects caused by the heavy meds prescribed and if he/she asks about the side effects to their sexuality, the subject should not be avoided.\n\nAs parents don’t have the emotional energy to do so, it would be so helpful to help fight the stigma associated with mental illness. You have the wherewithal if you choose to do so.\n\nLast, but not least, give your patients a glimmer of hope p l e a s e.  Nobody can live without hope.\n\n\nLoneliness … OR … Doing things alone\n\n  loneliness  4Co-dependence has gotten a bad rap from substance abuse recovery terminology. Most people are social beings, both emotionally and biologically who live in communities because they need company. We all need company as we cannot do everything alone. We need help. Collaboration is our biggest survival skill. We would die off without it. If one is alive, odds are that you have received or been given help in one way or another at some time or another. We have the idea that we are weak and if we are unable to do things independently and that it is  a problem. But nobody, least of all successful people, don’t do every single thing alone and nor do top executives. Surgeons don’t operate alone and doctors have nurses to aid them. World leaders have helpers so independence is overrated. We need one another and should be there for each other. Do you know of anyone who does every single thing alone? I don’t, so, why do we hold ourselves to this standard? Maybe it’s a question of worth. A person might have a low sense of self-worth unless they do things alone. It might actually be a judgment against himself or herself.\n\n Being Lonely\n\n Now being lonely is totally different. Loneliness is upsetting. It can bring on a depression. Being lonely imeans that one feels isolated. It breeds negative self-identity, increases sadness and anxiety. When somebody feels lonely, that individual feels unloved. He/she remembers all the evidence pointing to this fact and for some reason their minds become empty of all the evidence against it. Loneliness makes a person think things like:- I ruin everybody’s life. I can’t call anyone because they will consider it an imposition. No one wants to hear from me. I make bad decisions. I don’t even know how to act in social situations. I am awkward. I have nothing to offer. The bottom line is; I am a dork.\n\n\nHow can we avoid the daily mental health triggers?\n\ntriggers, treatments and therapies 4triggers, treatments and therapies 4\n\nIt is extremely difficult for an outsider to fully understand the difficulties of a person who has been diagnosed with a mental illness. One of the difficulties are the triggers that can start an episode of mental illness. Everyone struggles with triggers as the elements of daily life bring out intense emotions and not only people with mental illness are at risk. But, how does a person push aside the mental health triggers that haunt our every move?  That depends on a person’s struggles and coping skills. For those with eating disorders, triggers can grow from the mere sight of food. For a person who self-harms, any sharp object can trigger the urge to self-injure. There is no sure way to avoid triggers. However, if one can find ways to replace those triggers with positive activities or diversions, success might move nearer. Music or writing and being surrounded by supportive people can be used as positive replacements and if actively used, the mental health triggers may not affect us as much.\n\nmental health triggers 1                                                             Triggers 5", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5412483811378479}
+{"content": "Will this US expansion break records for length?\n\nBlog -\n\n\nThe current US economic upswing started in the middle 2009 according to the NBER cycle-dating committee. The economy will inevitably hit a recession some time. As the last recession is already a long time behind us, economists regularly raise the question how much longer this upturn can last. In this comment, I look at the history of post-WWII US recessions. I conclude that there is a decent chance this upturn will become the longest on record.\n\nThe current phase of economic growth started in July 2009 and is the third longest recovery period since records began 150 years ago. Han de Jong Han de Jong Chief Economist\n\n  • Current US upswing is third longest on record \n  • Chances that it will become the longest on record are encouraging \n  • Better slow, but lasting than furious, but short \n  • Biggest risks are international risks\n\nThis is already the third longest upturn on record\n\nSince the end of the Second World War (WWII), the US economy has experienced 11 recessions. The most recent recession was the deepest in terms of lost GDP. The current phase of economic growth started in July 2009 and is the third longest recovery period since records began 150 years ago. The upswing is now 94 months old and counting. \n\nSince WWII upswings have lasted some 59 months on average. Over the whole period covered by the NBER data, going back to 1854, upswings have lasted some 39 months on average. Interestingly, the NBER provides numbers for sub-periods. Between the start of the data and 1919, recovery periods averaged only 27 months, while recessions lasted 22 months. I find that an interesting observation as some commentators today argue that we should go back to a monetary system like we had in the second half of the 19th century. Between the wars, an upswing lasted 35 months on average, and, as said above, since WWII it is 59 months.\n\nThe longest period on record without a US recession lasted 120 months, from April 1991 until March 2001. The second longest took place between March 1961 and December 1969, lasting 106 months. It will take another 12 months for the current upswing to equal the latter, while economic growth should continue for another 27 months to make the current recovery the longest on record. That is not impossible.\n\nHow deep are recessions and how strong recoveries?\n\nRecessions differ in cause, length and depth. To keep things simple, the graph below measures the drop in real GDP associated with the recessions since WWII and the rise in unemployment. It is clear that the most recent recession has been the deepest since WWII.\n\nEconomic consequences during recessions\n\nThe table below measures the average quarterly (annualised) GDP growth rate during recovery phases. As a change of population growth can vary materially over time, the table also provides data on population growth. The lower population growth, the more acceptable it is when GDP growth is lower. It is clear that the current upswing has been the most muted since WWII and that the slower pace cannot be fully explained by weaker population growth. But the table also makes clear that the strength of recoveries has generally declined in recent cycles, it is not new to the current cycle. \n\nStrength of recoveries\n\nWhat causes recessions?\n\nA recession is a drop in output. It can be caused by a drop in demand or by supply disruptions. Most recessions are caused by a drop in demand. This, in turn, can happen as a consequence of a variety of factors. The recession of ‘48/’49 was caused by a drop in demand associated with the end of WWII and an adjustment to peace-time production. The recession of ‘53/’54 was mainly associated with the end of the Korean war. \n\nThe recession of ‘57/’58 was caused by a strong rise in inflation from -0.7% in 1955 to almost 4% early 1957 and the Fed’s contractionary policy in response. It is not clear to me what caused the ‘60/’61 recession, but, according to vice-president Richard Nixon, it cost him the presidential elections to JFK. I am afraid it is also not clear to me what caused the ‘69/’70 recession.\n\nThe long and painful recession of ‘73/’75 was caused by a number of factors. Of course, the trebling of the oil price caused a significant economic downturn. In addition, the end to the gold standard in 1971 may have contributed to the rise in inflation due to weakened monetary discipline. Inflation was only 2.7% in the middle of 1972, but rose to 12.3% in the course of 1974. Monetary policy responded with a similar increase in official rates. The rise in inflation clearly eroded spending power and distorted the economy. On top of this, President Nixon responded to the rise in inflation by wage-and-price controls (against the explicit advice of the then White House advisor Alan Greenspan). These controls were a shock to the demand and the supply side of the economy.\n\nThe period 1980-1982 were characterised by two recessions in quick succession. They were the iconic ‘Volcker recessions’, largely caused by the Fed, under the chairmanship of Paul Volcker, when they tried to stamp out inflation and inflation expectations. Their efforts were successful, but came at a high price. Inflation had run up to almost 15% early 1980 to which the Fed responded by raising its key Fed Funds rate to 20%. A recovery followed as the Fed then lowered rates quickly to 9.5% by mid-1980, but rates were quickly on the up again, reaching 18% late 1980 and 20% again by mid-1981. One of the causes for higher inflation was the sharp rise in oil prices and the Iranian oil embargo which limited oil supplies in the US.\n\nThe recession of ‘90/’91 was most likely caused by a combination of the rise in oil prices following the Gulf war in response to Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait as well as a credit crunch resulting from the savings and loans crisis.\n\nThe recession of 2001 was caused by the implosion of the internet bubble on the stock market and a drop of IT spending after Y2K.\n\nThe recession of 2007 was clearly caused by the bursting of the credit bubble and the related bursting of various asset bubbles, leading to huge problems among banks.\n\nA summary of causes\n\nLooking at the post-WWII history, the following possible causes for recessions can, tentatively, be listed: \n\n  • Reduction of military spending \n  • A sharp deterioration in the terms of trade (rising oil prices) \n  • A rapid rise in inflation eroding real spending power \n  • Aggressive monetary policy to kill inflation \n  • Bursting asset bubbles leading to negative wealth effects and a credit crunch\nIt is probably also important to note the importance of the profit cycle. A sharp decline in corporate profits leads to a sharp decline in investment. Declining profits play a role in most recessions, though it is not clear to what extent they are a trigger or a first consequence, adding to the momentum of a downturn.\n\nWhat are the chances of a recession now?\n\nLooking at the list of factors usually causing a recession, I think the outlook for the next 12 months is very positive and the outlook for the next 24 months is encouraging. \n\nA large drop in military spending is clearly not going to happen. A dramatic rise in oil prices does not look very likely either. Inflation may rise a little, but not enough to cause a material drain on real spending power or an overly aggressive reaction from the Fed. Asset prices are clearly high, but they do not look overextended to the degree that sharp falls with associated negative wealth effects have a high probability. And capital ratios of banks are higher than they have been for years, so a credit crunch would also appear to be unlikely. Corporate profits are high, but it looks like they are strengthening at the moment.\n\nMy guess is that this US upturn could easily become the longest on record. Admitted, the average growth rate during this upswing is the weakest since WWII. But it is probably better to have a long and modest recovery than a short fast one.\n\nThe biggest risks come from the international environment in my opinion. The risk with the highest probability is that Chinese growth slows more than expected as Chinese policymakers are trying to address a number of domestic economic and financial challenges. Chinese policymakers have an impressive record when it comes to macro-management and have lifted hundreds of million people out of poverty in the last couple of decades. Other countries have benefitted as well. But it remains possible that they step on the brakes too forcefully. That would end the impressive strengthening of world trade growth currently underway and lead to a reversal of the recent gain in global economic momentum. In contrast to most of the history since WWII, China is now a decisive factor in the world economy, also for the US.\n\n\nJoin the discussion\n\n\nMore blogs", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.894635796546936}
+{"content": "\nforrest gump\n\nI do have an emotional attachment to my shoes. This personal project aimed to keep the physical aspect on my shoe and well just RECYCLE things.\n\nAll elements of the BIC pen were used from the tip, cap, plastic and so on. My nature makes me adapt to whatever environment I’m in hence the chameleon was a proper choice to take birth on that lovely shoe of mine.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9988211989402771}
+{"content": "New finding: Biobank storage time affects blood test results\n\nWritten by \nPublished in Biochemistry\nWednesday, 28 September 2016 19:43\nRate this item\n(1 Vote)\nNew finding: Biobank storage time affects blood test results | Source: Uppsala University, Sweden New finding: Biobank storage time affects blood test results | Source: Uppsala University, Sweden\n\n\n‘We suspected that we’d find an influence from storage time, but we thought it would be much less’, says Professor Ulf Gyllensten. ‘It has now been demonstrated that storage time can be a factor at least as important as the age of the individual at sampling.’\n\n\nRead more: New finding: Biobank storage time affects blood test results\nLast modified on Wednesday, 28 September 2016 19:54\n\nRelated items\n\n  • Urine strip test — Understanding its limitations\n\n\n    While urinalysis remains a routinely ordered laboratory test, today most of the emphasis focuses on automating urine microscopy to reduce manual, subjective microscopic work. Urine chemistry analysis is viewed by many as a screening tool that can help aid in the diagnosis of some common conditions such as urinary tract infections (UTIs), kidney or liver diseases, or diabetes, among others. It is important to remain focused on urine chemistry and better understand common test interferences.\n\n\n\n    Bilirubin (BIL) is a waste product of red blood cell (RBC) destruction. The primary source of bilirubin is the daily release of hemoglobin from the breakdown of RBCs in the reticuloendothelial system. In addition, RBC breakdown can occur in the bone marrow or other heme-containing proteins. The liver normally breaks down most of the bilirubin.\n\n    Healthy individuals exhibit a “negative” reading; very small amounts (0.02 mg/dL) can be found in urine but are undetected by routine testing techniques. The presence of bilirubin can indicate liver dysfunction such as jaundice, hemolytic disease, or obstruction of the bile duct or biliary system. A high amount of bilirubin, especially, affects the brain of newborns.\n\n    False positives can be caused by drugs that color the urine red, such as phenazopyridine, or large quantities of chlorpromazine metabolites. False negatives can be caused by the presence of ascorbic acid, increased nitrite concentrations, or improper sample storage.\n\n\n    Urobilinogen (URO) is a breakdown product of bilirubin. When high concentrations form in the body, the liver may not be able to break down all of the bilirubin present. Urobilinogen is produced in the intestines as bacteria metabolizes bilirubin. Small amounts (≤1 mg/dL or ≈1 Ehrlich unit) may be found in normal urine. However, the presence of urobilinogen is found with liver dysfunction, excessive destruction of RBC (hemolytic anemia, pernicious anemia and malaria), hepatitis, portal cirrhosis, and congestive heart failure.\n\n    Interferences for urobilinogen include formalin, high concentrations of nitrites, and drugs or substances that color the urine. If samples don’t equilibrate to room temperature before testing, that can produce an incorrect result.\n\n\n    Ketones (KET) are normally not found in urine, but can be present when the body breaks down fat for energy. The body normally obtains energy from carbohydrates. If the carbohydrate supply is reduced, not absorbed properly, or not broken down metabolically, the body will use fat for energy. Ketones are associated with uncontrolled diabetes, vomiting, starvation, fasting, frequent strenuous exercise, and when the body uses fat instead of glucose for energy, which often occurs in people on a high-protein diet.\n\n    Agents containing free sulfhydryl groups can cause interference with ketone detection. Highly pigmented urine can result in false positive results, and improper sample or test strip storage may provide false negative results.\n\n\n    Glucose (GLU) supplies the body with energy. In healthy individuals, glucose is reabsorbed by the kidney tubules and not present in the urine. However, if the concentration of blood glucose becomes too high (160-180 mg/dl), then the tubules can no longer reabsorb glucose and it will pass into the urine. This presence of glucose in the urine is called glycosuria. It is often associated with endocrine disorders such as diabetes, kidney impairment, central nervous system damage, and pancreatic disease. Other conditions associated with glycosuria include burns, infections, and fractures. Glycosuria is also associated with pregnancy.\n\n    High concentrations of ketones, decreased urine sample temperature, and increased specific gravity affect the sensitivity of the glucose pad. Increased ascorbic acid can also pose an interference. Bacterial glycolysis can occur with improper storage and can provide a false negative result.\n\n\n    The presence of protein (PRO) in the urine, otherwise known as proteinuria, is often the first indicator of kidney disease. It can also be indicative of other diseases such as nephrotic syndrome, glomerulonephritis, multiple myeloma, and pre-eclampsia. Exposure to cold, strenuous exercise, high fever, and dehydration can also cause the presence of protein in the urine.\n\n    The protein pad is most sensitive to albumin as opposed to other proteins. False positive results can be found with extremely alkaline samples. In addition to protein urine chemistry pads, there are also urine chemistry strips that test for microalbumin and creatinine for further assessment.\n\n\n    Blood (BLD) is not normally present in the urine and may not be visually present. The abnormal presence of RBCs in the urine is called hematuria, and the presence of hemoglobin in the urine is called hemoglobinuria. Blood in the urine is associated with kidney or urinary tract diseases, severe burns, infections, trauma, exposure to toxic chemicals or drugs, pyelonephritis, glomerulonephritis, renal or genital disorders, tumors, transfusion reactions, intravascular hemolysis, and hemolytic anemia. Strenuous exercise and menstruation can also cause the presence of blood in the urine. A positive result should be followed up with a microscopic correlation to assess for the present of RBCs and casts.\n\n    Urine specimens must be well mixed to ensure that RBCs have not settled out. Ascorbic acid should be considered an interferent when RBCs are present during a microscopic exam but the blood urine chemistry test is negative.\n\n\n    Nitrates (NIT) are consumed in the diet as green vegetables and are normally excreted without nitrite formation. The presence of bacteria in the urinary tract (e.g., bladder, kidney, etc.), can lead to the production of nitrites. Nitrite and leukocyte esterase screening help identify the presence of an infection. This screen should not replace further microscopic examination for bacteria or a culture to identify and quantify the bacteria present. It is used to quickly identify nitrate-reducing bacteria at a low cost.\n\n    Proper nitrite screening should be performed on a urine sample collected in the morning or after it has been retained in the bladder for at least four hours. High concentrations of ascorbic acid and improper storage can provide false results.\n\n\n    Normal urine may contain a small number of white blood cells (WBCs) or leukocytes (LEUs). An increase in the presence of leukocyte esterase, an enzyme found in leukocytes, indicates inflammation in the urinary system. A WBC increase can be present with or without bacteriuria. If leukocytes are present without bacteria, there is usually a kidney or urinary tract infection (UTI) involving trichomonas, yeast, chlamydia, mycoplasmas, viruses, or tuberculosis. A positive nitrite and leukocyte esterase is a good indication for the performance of further microscopic examination.\n\n    High glucose, protein, and specific gravity can interfere with the leukocyte-esterase reaction, causing inaccurate results. In addition, specific antibiotics, drugs, and food (beets) can affect the chemical reaction.\n\n\n    The kidneys play a major role in maintaining proper pH balance. Urine pH can affect the stability of formed particles in the body. Acidic urine (i.e., 4.5-6.9) is associated with, but not limited to, high-protein diets or the ingestion of cranberries, starvation, severe diarrhea, chronic lung disease, and UTIs with acid-producing bacteria (Escherichia coli) as well as certain medications. Alkaline urine (i.e., 7.0-7.9) is associated with, but not limited to, vegetarian or low-carbohydrate diets, vomiting, hyperventilation, UTIs with urease-producing bacteria, and certain medications. pHs that are below 4.5 should be suspected of adulteration, and pHs that are above 8 are often tied to improperly stored urine specimens.\n\n    Specific gravity\n\n    Specific gravity (SG) is a measure of the density of a urine. The more particles (i.e., salts, glucose, protein, etc.) in a urine, the higher the specific gravity. High specific gravity is caused by dehydration, diarrhea, heart failure, and glucose in the urine (i.e., diabetes). Low specific gravity is caused by kidney failure, diabetes insipidus, renal tubular necrosis, and the intake of too much fluids.\n\n    Urine test strips used for visual analysis often have a pH reagent pad. A limitation of the reagent pad is that it only measures the ionic solutions and can be susceptible to pH readings. Fully automated urine chemistry analyzers often use an onboard refractometer to obtain a specific gravity reading. A refractometer can be affected by particle size, temperature, and concentration of the solution as well as light wavelength. Some manufacturers have a specific gravity correction factor for high protein and glucose concentrations.\n\n    Ascorbic acid\n\n    Ascorbic acid, otherwise known as vitamin C, can be found in various foods and supplements. It is also a common interferent with urine chemistry reagent pads. When a urine sample has high levels of ascorbic acid, the reagent pads for blood, glucose, nitrite, and bilirubin may not react properly. This especially interferes with blood measurements at low levels. Clinicians should consider asking whether the patient is taking vitamin C when collecting a urine sample. We see more people taking vitamin C or vitamin C-like substances during the winter months or when traveling by plane, in an effort to boost their immune system.\n\n    Not all strip manufacturers have an ascorbic acid detection pad, as ascorbic acid is not commonly reported out. When the sample tests positive for ascorbic acid, the laboratorian may append a note with the results identifying potential interferences to the physician.\n\n\n    Normal urine ranges from yellow/amber in color to clear or transparent and has a characteristic odor. A change in color, clarity, or odor is not necessarily a sign that something is incorrect. Urine changes color based on the body’s chemistry, food, medication intake, and state of hydration. Below is a list of colors, other than shades of yellow, found during urinalysis testing, along with their associated causes:\n\n    • Orange: dehydration; certain medications; liver or bile duct issues\n    • Blue/green: dyes in food or for kidney and bladder tests; medications such as amitriptyline, indomethacin (Indocin) and propofol (Diprivan); familial benign hypercalcemia, also known as blue diaper syndrome; UTIs caused by pseudomonas bacteria\n    • Red/pink: UTIs; enlarged prostate; tumors; kidney cysts; long-distance running; kidney or bladder stones; the use of medications such as rifampin (Rifadin, Rimactane) or phenazopyridine (Pyridium); the use of some laxatives; the use of chemotherapy drugs. In addition, eating beets, blackberries, or rhubarb may cause the urine to turn red or pink\n    • Brown: liver and kidney disorders; UTIs; extreme exercise; ingesting large amounts of certain foods (e.g., fava beans, rhubarb, or aloe); medications such as the antimalarial drugs chloroquine and primaquine, antibiotics metronidazole (Flagyl) and nitrofurantoin\n    • Cloud/murky: urinary tract infection (UTI)\n\n    Urine color can interfere with some of the aforementioned tests during the color reaction process that takes place on the pad. For this reason, some manufacturers have a “blank” or color compensation pad on the dipstick. This color compensation pad will identify the color of the urine, and the analyzer will “subtract out” the color from other readings to provide a more accurate result.\n\n    The lab’s perspective\n\n    As noted above, specimen storage is a concern for a number of tests. Most manufacturers require testing within one to two hours of collection. If this is not feasible, samples are often refrigerated or stored in a preservative tube for testing at a later date. It’s important to note that few manufacturers have validated the use of preservative tubes for analysis on their urine analyzers, so lab leaders should assess their needs before purchasing a system.\n\n    In summary, urinalysis remains an informative laboratory test. It is important to understand what is being tested and what can interfere with the test, since certain medications and vitamins interfere with urinalysis testing. For example, during the winter months, more and more people are taking vitamin C in an effort to “starve a cold,” and we see ascorbic acid as an interference in bilirubin, glucose, blood, and nitrite testing. It is also important to understand the patient’s diet and exercise level, since they can impact results as well. Laboratorians should become very familiar with the manufacturer’s instructions for use to know what the limitations of the analyte are in order to ensure accurate reporting.\n\n  • Abnormal MCH effects to HbA1c level\n\n\n    Background: Several hematological alterations are associated with altered hemoglobin A1c (Hb A1c). However, there have been no reports of their influence on the rates of exceeding standard Hb A1c thresholds by patients for whom Hb A1c determination is requested in clinical practice.\n\n    Methods: The initial data set included the first profiles (complete blood counts, Hb A1c, fasting glucose, and renal and hepatic parameters) of all adult patients for whom such a profile was requested between 2008 and 2013 inclusive. After appropriate exclusions, 21844 patients remained in the study. Linear and logistic regression models were adjusted for demographic, hematological, and biochemical variables excluded from the predictors.\n\n\n\n  • Preanalytical Errors in Clinical Chemistry Laboratory\n    Abstract: There are many factors that contribute to accurate test results in the chemistry laboratory. These factors can be broken down into three areas: preanalytical, analytical and post analytical. Preanalytical variables account for 32-75% of laboratory errors, and encompass the time from when the test is ordered by the physician until the sample is ready for analysis.1 The focus of this article will be preanalytical variables that can occur during a venipuncture and specimen processing and how they relate to testing in the clinical chemistry laboratory.\n    Scenario: A patient has been in the cardiac intensive care unit for 3 days. For the past 2 mornings, he has had his cardiac enzymes drawn into a BD SSTT tube to monitor his condition since his heart attack. On this particular morning, his tube of blood is drawn and sent to the clinical chemistry lab for analysis. However, when the tube is processed and ready for analysis, the technologist running the chemistry analyzer notices that the specimen is very gelatinous and will need to be re-processed before the sample can be run on the analyzer. What could have happened to the quality of this specimen?\n    There are many variables that can contribute to the quality of a chemistry specimen. This article will investigate the variables that may have contributed to the gelatinous specimen in the case of the cardiac patient, as well as the other variables that are important to specimen quality. The focus will be on the preanalytical phase of the blood collection and sample handling, up until the time that the sample is to be run on the chemistry instrument.\n    Following the above BD SST™ tube from time of collection until it is ready for analysis, the preanalytical variables that can contribute to the quality of the sample are as follows:\n    Patient Identification: It is important to identify a patient properly so that blood is being collected from the correct person. Drawing blood from the wrong person, or labeling the correct patient’s sample with a different patient’s label can certainly contribute to laboratory error. Perhaps in the opening scenario, the patient in the next bed, with an extremely prolonged clotting time, was drawn and labeled as the cardiac patient.\n    When identifying the patient, have them provide their full name, address, identification number and/or date of birth.2 Hospital inpatients should be wearing an identification band with the above information, which the phlebotomist should confirm before the venipuncture. Blood should not be drawn from a patient without a band. A nurse, physician, relative or guardian should identify patients that are unable to speak or identify themselves.\n    Patient Preparation: Prior to collecting specimens for chemistry, certain patient variables need to be considered. For certain chemistry analytes, such as glucose and cholesterol, patients need to be fasting (absence of food and liquids) for at least 12 hours prior to venipuncture. Other analytes, such as cortisol and adrenocorticotropin, have diurnal variations, where the analyte is at its highest level in the morning, and the levels gradually decrease during the course of the day.\n    Selecting the Site: Selecting the appropriate site for venipuncture can contribute to a better quality sample. The preferred site is the median cubital vein. This vein is usually the easiest to access. Generally, there is less need to probe to find the vein, which in turn should cause less trauma during the venipuncture. This will usually be the most comfortable for the patient. If the median cubital vein cannot be used, the next choice would be the cephalic vein. The last vein to consider for venipuncture is the basilic vein. This vein is in close proximity to the median nerve and brachial artery, and extreme caution must be used so that only the basilic vein is being punctured.\n    Site Preparation: Prior to venipuncture, the site should be cleansed with alcohol. Cleansing starts at the center of the vein, and should continue outward in concentric circles. Before performing the venipuncture, the alcohol should be allowed to air dry. This will help to ensure that the specimen is not contaminated with alcohol, as this can lead to hemolysis. Hemolysis can result in the spurious elevation of such analytes as potassium, lactate dehydrogenase (LD), iron and magnesium in the chemistry lab. Allowing the alcohol to dry completely will also cause less burning and pain to the patient.\n    Tourniquet Application and Time: The tourniquet should be applied approximately three to four inches above the venipuncture site. The tourniquet should be on the arm no longer than one minute. 2 A good rule of thumb to determine the one-minute tourniquet time is to remove the tourniquet when blood starts to flow into the first tube of blood being drawn. Prolonged tourniquet time can lead to an increase in various chemistry analytes, including serum protein, potassium and lactic acid due to hemoconcentration of blood at the puncture site.\n    Proper Venipuncture Technique: During phlebotomy, avoid probing to find the vein and achieve blood flow. Excessive probing and/or “fishing” to find a vein can result in a poor quality sample, including hemolysis. As mentioned previously, hemolysis can affect several chemistry analaytes.\n    Order of Draw: Following the correct order of draw during venipuncture will help to ensure accurate test results. The BD and CLSI (Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute, formerly NCCLS) recommended order of draw for evacuated blood collection tubes is as follows (PDF).2\n    An example of improper order of draw that can lead to an incorrect chemistry result is drawing an EDTA tube prior to an BD SST ™ or heparin tube for chemistry testing. The potential cross contamination of K2 or K3EDTA on the needle from the lavender top tube to the chemistry tube can lead to an elevated potassium result. This in turn can require a recollection of the sample, or possible misdiagnosis or treatment of the patient.\n    Proper Tube Mixing: All tubes with additives need to be inverted to mix the additive evenly with the blood. Plastic serum tubes and BD SST™ tubes contain clot activator and should be inverted 5 times to mix the activator with the blood and help the specimen clot completely. In the opening case study, improper mixing of the tube after venipuncture could have contributed to the gelatinous serum sample that was seen in the laboratory. Other additive tubes, such as heparin, need to be inverted 8-10 times to mix the anticoagulant with the blood and prevent clotting. Be sure that tubes are not being shaken vigorously, as this can lead to a hemolyzed sample.\n    Correct Specimen Volume: All blood collection tubes need to be filled to the correct volume.3 This will ensure the proper amount of blood for the amount of additive in the tube (blood to additive ratio). For example, if a 5 mL draw heparin tube is only filled with 3 mL of blood, the heparin concentration is erroneously high and may potentially interfere with some chemistry analytes. Expiration dates should also be checked on the evacuated tubes.4 Expired tubes should not be used, as they may have a decreased vacuum, as well as potential changes in any additives in the tubes.\n    Proper Tube Handling and Specimen Processing: Once the blood collection tubes have been drawn in the correct order, to the proper fill volume and mixed thoroughly, the next step toward accurate test results is processing the tubes properly. This section will look at serum and plasma tubes separately, as both specimen types have their own special handling requirements.\n    Serum Samples\n    Serum specimens, namely red top tubes and BD SST™ gel tubes, need to clot completely prior to centrifugation and processing. Blood specimens in red top tubes should clot for 45 to 60 minutes, and those in BD SST ™ tubes should be allowed to clot for 30 minutes to ensure complete clot formation.4 Blood from patients who are receiving anticoagulant therapy, such as heparin or coumadin, may take longer to clot. Tubes should be allowed to clot at room temperature, upright in a test tube rack, with the closures on the tubes. In the gelatinous sample that was presented at the beginning of this article, perhaps the blood was not clotted completely prior to centrifugation because a cardiac patient is often heparanized. Spinning the tube too soon may result in a gelatinous and/or fibrinous serum sample that will require respinning.\n    Plasma Samples\n    Blood specimens collected in plasma tubes, such as the plain heparinized green top tubes and the BD PST™ tubes with heparin and gel do not require clotting prior to centrifugation. This allows the tube of blood to be drawn, mixed and centrifuged immediately, resulting in a quicker turn-around-time for test results.\n    Centrifugation: The next step in sample processing is the centrifugation of the blood collection tubes. Both BD SST™ and BD PST™ tubes are centrifuged at the same speed and for the same amount of time. In a swinging bucket centrifuge (preferred type of spin for gel separation tubes), the tubes should be spun for ten minutes at a speed of 1100 to 1300 relative centrifugal force (RCF). A fifteen-minute spin at the same speed is required for spinning tubes in a fixed- angle centrifuge. Serum and plasma tubes without gel can be spun at a speed of 1000 RCF for ten minutes.4\n    It is important to spin gel tubes for the recommended time. The gel barrier in the tubes needs time to move and form a solid barrier between the red cells and the serum or plasma. Also, in BD PST™ tubes, the white blood cells and platelets that remain in the plasma need adequate time to spin out of the plasma. If the BD PST™ tubes are spun for less than the recommended 10 minutes, these cells and platelets may remain in the plasma and could cause interference with some chemistry analytes. It is recommended that BD SST™ tubes should not be re-centrifuged after their initial centrifugation. Re-spinning the tubes can result in elevated potassium values, as excess serum that has been in contact with the red cells will be expressed from underneath the gel barrier.\n    Special Handling of Blood Specimens: Certain chemistry analytes will require the tube of blood to be chilled after collection in order to maintain the stability of the analyte. A slurry of ice and water is recommended for chilling the tubes of blood. Examples of specimens that need to be chilled or transported on ice include adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE), acetone, ammonia, catecholamines, free fatty acids, lactic acid, pyruvate and renin.\n    Other anayltes are photo-sensitive, and need to be protected from light in order to remain stable and to ensure that the laboratory reports an accurate result. This can be done by wrapping the tube of blood in aluminum foil. The most common example of a light-sensitive analyte is bilirubin. Other chemistry analytes that need to be light-protected include beta-carotene and erythrocyte protoporphyrin.\n    Stability for Whole Blood, Serum and Plasma: A whole blood specimen that is going to be spun down should be centrifuged and the serum or plasma removed from the red blood cells within two hours after the venipuncture.5 Once the serum has been removed or separated from the red blood cells (in the case of a gel barrier tube), the sample will be stable at room temperature for eight hours, and up to 48 hours at 2-4 degrees C.5 After 48 hours, the serum specimen should be frozen at –20 degrees C in an aliquot tube.5\n    Paying close attention to the preanalytical variables associated with blood collection will help to ensure accurate test results in the chemistry department, as well as all areas of the clinical laboratory. As was evident from the opening case study, there are often several variables that can potentially contribute to erroneous test results. Our cardiac patient’s blood could have been drawn from the wrong patient, had improper tube handling or his blood may have not clotted long enough. Therefore, it is important to remember that a better quality sample during the preanalytical phase of blood collection will yield a better test result.\n    1. Bonini P, PlebaniM, Ceriotti F, et al. Errors in laboratory medicine. Clin Chem. 2002;48:691-698.\n    2. NCCLS – Procedures for the Collection of Diagnostic Blood Specimens by Venipuncture; Approved Standard, Fifth Edition, H3-A5 Vol. 23 No. 32, December 2003.\n    3. NCCLS – Tubes and Additives for Blood Specimen Collection; Approved Standard-Fifth Edition, H1- A5 Vol. 23 No. 33, December 2003.\n    4. BD Evacuated Blood Collection System Package Insert 6/2004\n    5. NCCLS – Procedures for the Handling and Processing of Blood Specimens; Approved Standard-Third Edition, H18-A3 Vol. 24 No. 38, November 2004.\n\nUseful Sites\n\n  • NCBI\n\n    National Center for Biotechnology Information\n  • LTO\n\n    Lab Tests Online® by AACC\n  • ASCP\n\n    American Society for Clinical Pathology\n  • ASM\n\n    American Society for Microbiology\n  • The Medical Library®\n\n    Project of\n\nConnect With Us\n\nContact Us\n\n\nTel: +(92) 302 970 8985-6\n\n\n\nOur Sponsors\n\nThe Physio\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8582507967948914}
+{"content": "Plunder Planet Uses Adaptive Motion Gaming to Optimize Fitness Training\n\nPlunder Planet Uses Adaptive Motion Gaming to Optimize Fitness Training images: ZURICH UNIVERSITY OF THE ARTS, KOBOLDGAMES \n\nPlunder Planet is a fitness gaming environment that uses adaptive motion games to personalize training and make it more appealing to children and young people.\n\nPlunder Planet is a dynamically adaptive fitness game environment developed to immerse players in full-body motion games that challenge their coordination and cognitive skills. The platform uses a specially developed full-body motion controller or Kinect technology to provide haptic feedback during gameplay. The motion controller challenges players' coordination and spatial coordination, while the gesture-based Kinect allows them to move more freely while playing. The game itself puts the player into the world of a young pirate who discovers a long-dead planet and must steer his flying ship using the motion controller to hunt for buried treasure.\n\nfitness game environment\n\nfitness game environmentfitness game environment\n\nPlunder Planet was developed for children and young people, as a tool to provide a more motivating, science-based alternative to traditional exercise. It uses adaptive game mechanics aiming to further optimize game playing tasks for individual players based on their physical and emotional states. The project is based on the hypothesis that fitness training with an adaptive game has the potential to be more appealing and more effective than conventional fitness training.\n\nThe platform is used with a Polar heart rate monitor that tracks the players' heart rate and training level, making it possible to assess their physical and mental stress and adjust the game level based on the collected data for a more personalized training experience. The game essentially changes pace and difficulty level to optimize training, always keeping the player at the optimal training level, in the zone between mental stress and boredom and between too little and too much physical stress.\n\nfitness game environment\n\nPlunder Planet will be used in the research of gamified physical exercise to determine the effect of specific game variants on the game experience, players' emotions, motivation and physical performance, and to see how the results of training with an adaptive game compare to the motivation as well as cognitive and physical benefits of traditional fitness programs.\n\nPlunder Planet was developed by the sports scientist and game researcher Anna Lisa Martin-Niedecken (Senior Researcher & Project Lead, Subject Area in Game Design, Department of Design, Zurich University of the Arts) in collaboration with the Swiss game development company Koboldgames. Watch the video below to see how the platform works.\n\n\n  • Martin-Niedecken, A.L. & Götz, U. (2016). Design and Evaluation of a dynamically adaptive Fitness Game Environment for Children and Young Adolescents. In Proceedings of the ACM SIGCHI Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play (CHI PLAY '16), pp 205-212, ACM: New York, NY, USA. ISBN 978-1-4503-4458-6. DOI 10.1145/2968120.2987720.\n  • Martin, A.L. & Kluckner, V.J. (2014). Player-centred Design Model for psychophysiological adaptive Exergame Fitness Training for Children. In Proceedings of the 4th Conference on Gaming and Playful Interaction in Healthcare, Schouten, B., Fedtke, S., Schijven, M., Vosmeer, M., Gekker, A. (Eds.), pp 105-109, Springer Fachmedien: Wiesbaden. ISBN 978-3-658-07140-0 (Print) 978-3-658-07141-7 (Online). DOI 10.1007/978-3-658-07141-7_14.\n\nOnline Enquiry", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9063688516616821}
+{"content": "Python Hacks\n\nPython is my language of choice. Here is an incomplete collection of my works in it.\n\nI've also given several lectures related to Python.\n\n\nThese are immediately useful and the API is expected to be stable.\n\n\nDocumentation, Source\n\nLazy series abstraction tightly integrated with iterators.\n\nThis module exposes the duality between linked lists and iterators:\n\n  • Simple linked lists have the drawback that their tail must be known and finite. This can be fixed by overloading head/tail access and making it lazy; the resulting facility is popular in functional programming languages. This is implemented by the Series classes.\n  • Iterators have the drawback of being stateful (advancing them is destructive) but there is no way to capture the \"remaining future\" of an iterator at some moment. This can be fixed by making an iterator explicitly point to a series and allow separate iterators to be forked from it. This is implemented by the SeriesIter class.\n\nAnother useful thing about linked lists is that you can non-destructively cons items in front of them. This is implemented by the Series constructor (which is also used to represent the part of series that has already been computed) and is also accessible through the SeriesIter.unyield() method.\n\n\nDocumentation, Source\n\nA dictionary extended with set operations.\n\nIt has long been observed that sets can be emulated as dictionaries with dummy values (see dict.fromkeys()). The common operations, like dict.update() match directly. This module is simply a ''backport'' of the other goodies added in the sets module to dictionaries.\n\nThe main issue with applying set operations are collisions: given two values (which can be different) for the same key in two DSets, which value should we use? Choosing either one would be wrong in most applications, so the user is allowed to provide his own function for reconciling them. He has to provide them per call - experience showed that the desired operation chages frequently even when invoking the same method.\n\n\nThese work but need improvement and/or redesign before they can be considered stable.\n\n\nDocumentation, Source\n\nAutomagical attribute dependency tracking.\n\nThis module implements a framework for dependency-driven computation for object attributes. You simply inherit from Invalidator and wrap functions for computing attributes with autodep instead of property. The value of such an attribute is cached and deleted when any attribute it depends on is set or deleted. Moreover, the dependencies are automagically detected by noticing which attributes you accessed from your function.\n\nThis module works as designed but I feel it could be designed better...\n\n\nDocumentation, Source\n\nCommand line parsing in the spirit of regular expressions / grammars.\n\nThis module defines an interface for \"matcher\" objects that can parse parts of arglists (sequences of strings) and be easily composed to describe complex command line syntaxes. Lots of such objects are provided - both elementary ones (e.g. matching one option) and compound ones (e.g. matching one of several alternative matchers). This hierarchical composition style is where this framework resembles regular expressions. It's a small domain-specific language of the kind that flourishes in LISP ;-).\n\nFor convenience, a shortcut syntax consisting of Python strings, tuples, dictionaries, etc. can be used to desribe the most useful matcher objects. Such \"templates\" can be used wherever a matcher object is expected and are converted to matcher objects. Templates tend to have many special cases and limitations, aimed to make the common case easy, while matcher objects are simpler and more orthogonal. See template() for full details.\n\n\nThis library was written before Optik entered the standard library; I still like my design better but I'm not sure when I'll continue working on it.\n\nParsing options seems to work well. Help output is missing. To implement it I would like to fisrt design a flexible pretty-printing framework.\n\n\n\nMy version of the comparison of command-line parsing libraries at The Ripoff command-line interface, implemented with argexp.\n\n\nI'm somewhat addicted to programming language design, so I'm writing some PEPs (Python Enhancement Proposals):\n\nConcatenation By Multi-Argument Constructors.\n\nFull PEP, reST source\n\n\nPython's current way to concatenate sequences is the + operator. For many operands it is sub-optimal (creating longer and longer temporary sequences) and it becomes awkward when you concatenate mixed types because you must explicitly convert every operand. There is no obvious way to combine dictionaries in a single expression at all. \"Concatenating\" iterators is supported but is placed in the itertools module.\n\nThis PEP proposes a consistent set of extensions to the list(), tuple(), set(), frozenset(), dict() and str() and unicode() constructors to concatenate several values by giving them multiple arguments. iter() is similarly extended to behave as itertools.ichain(). All arguments are converted in the same ways as a single argument is now converted.\n\nStatus:To be finished. I like the idea, think it has a good chance and plan to finish and post the PEP soon.\n\nConstruct For Writing Statements In Top-Down Order.\n\nFull PEP, reST source\n\n\nThis PEP proposes a single construct that achieves some of the benefits of embedding statements inside expressions without actually doing so - it simply allows to write statements in different order, communicating value through variable bindings. This allows it to scale to almost any scenario when one would wish for the power of statements inside expressions, unlike all the proposals to add yet another expression kind. However, it specifically does not aim for brevity.\n\nStatus:Unfinished. I posted the idea (but not in PEP form) and got the impression it won't be implemented. I'd like to finish it one day, for the record...\n\nRefusing To Guess In The String Formatting Operation\n\nFull PEP, reST source\n\n\nThe string formatting operation - format % values - has a wart. In the face of non-tuple values, it assumes a singleton tuple around it. It's tempting to use this since singleton tuples look ugly but code using this easily breaks (when the single object happens to be tuple).\n\nThis PEP proposes several ways to fix this wart.\n\nThe problem was discussed repeatedly but the specific solutions proposed in this PEP need more feedback.\n\nStatus:Neglected. I got mixed responses for this when I posted it in March 2003. It doesn't make a lot of difference and I've got some better ideas for string formatting by now, so I don't think I'll push this PEP any more...", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5527957081794739}
+{"content": "King Jaron\n\nThis document was found in the Hall of Kings on Ae’gura.\n\nJaron - Took the throne in 6284 at the age of 83.\n\nHe was apparently much like his father, more interested in keeping everyone happy than declaring one side of the debates concerning philosophy, advancement, or outside involvement right or wrong.\n\nAs a result, though the people were satisfied, there was further division among them. The elite and poor became more divided and though there was quite a bit of new construction and renovation in both the elite and poor districts, there was nothing done to join the two.\n\nFor some reason, Jaron was obsessed with expansion and exploration of the cavern. There were rumors his obsession stemmed from Watcher prophecies; one in particular stated, “because of tunnels D’ni has changed forever.” Jaron never said what drove him but throughout his reign he pushed the Guild of Miners, Mechanists, Engineers, and Surveyors to work together to create new drills and machinery. He had great plans to widen the Rudenna Passage, which when opened, would allow for further expansion.\n\nIn 6430, the announcement came. Rock Biter and The Burrower were both christened in a great ceremony and then immediately put to work. Stone Tooth and Stone Eater, were used for further city expansion.\n\nThe once violent factions that had existed were, for the most part, dissolving. Many of their members were seemingly beginning to call themselves Followers of Yahvo (as Gish had been), and though they did not support outside involvement, they believed it was best to obey Yahvo and hope for a peaceful solution. Though Jaron carried out a few meetings with the factions, the dissolution of the factions had little to do with his policies or leadership. Regardless, he was able to focus on mining efforts without consequences. It was a luxury the previous Kings had not been afforded and the main reason some of the greatest expansion in D’ni history began under Jaron.\n\nJaron himself died in 6498 at the age of 297. Though he did see the completion of the expansion of the Rudenna Passage, he never saw the new areas to which the passage led. He left the throne to his third son.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8128678798675537}
+{"content": "\n\nDear little cellist,\n\nIt seems to us that it is no easy business learning the cello. But can you imagine what it would be like to learn the cello if you were deaf? We spoke to two cellists with severe hearing loss who have done just that.\n\nJake Lamb is fifteen. He has been learning the cello with an organization called Music and the Deaf. Just as for any other young cellist, part of the fun is playing the cello with other children and making new friends. Jake is a member of The Deaf Youth Orchestra and also of Hi-Notes, a group made up of deaf musicians who compose and perform their own work.\n\nJake very kindly answered some questions for littlecellist.com:\n\nIn what sense can you hear what you are playing?\nI can hear a bit with hearing aids but benefit more from feeling vibrations.\n\nHow can you tell whether you are playing in tune?\nMy teacher usually tells me if I'm out of tune but sometimes I can feel it myself because the vibration is different.\n\nIs the cello a good instrument for a deaf musician?\nYes, it's really good because of the vibrations which I feel mainly in my bowing hand.\n\nHow about playing with other musicians?\nWe always look at the sheet music, watch the conductor and make eye-contact with one another to make sure that we play in time.\n\nWhat do you like best about playing the cello?\nIt feels great. I performed at the Royal Albert Hall, over a year ago, which was one of the best days of my life!\n\nCatriona Hetherington is an adult cellist who has won scholarships, international competitions and awards despite her hearing loss. She began to learn the cello at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and went on to study with the renowned cellist Robert Cohen. With hearing aids, Catriona can hear some sounds but as hearing aids only amplify residual hearing (that means, make the sounds you can hear louder), there are many sounds that Catriona can't hear at all. In fact, every aspect of her hearing is different from normal hearing. Can you imagine listening to a very bad recording with lots of interference (sounds you don't want to hear) and many of the sounds that you do want to hear not being there at all - and trying to pick up clues as to what you are hearing?\n\nCatriona explained that every musician with a hearing loss experiences things totally differently, according to the type of hearing loss that they have and how they have focussed on overcoming the difficulties they encounter. So although the sensations in the fingertips of both her hands are very important to her when she's playing the cello, she has mainly focused on working hard to make sense of what she is hearing and to train her brain in this way. So although her hearing hasn't improved, she can now figure out some notes in a better way than she could before.\n\nlittlecellist.com is particularly grateful to Catriona for answering our questions because she is usually a very private person and tries to avoid publicity. We are sure you will agree that her story is a very inspiring one.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9367311000823975}
+{"content": "\n\nTuesday, 11 February 2014\n\nHow I plan lessons- Notes on the process.\n\nI sat down to plan a lesson this morning, I decided to record my thoughts as I got going, I was hoping to find where the information about content knowledge, previous experiences, student prior learning was used in this process. This took about 10 minutes to give a loose scaffold, which is highlighted in yellow.  My thoughts are in yellow. Follow up posts will continue to detail the development of this lesson, the design of the resources and activities and how the lesson went.\n\nLearning Intentions[D1] \n\nI always start here.\nWhat do you want the students to gain?\nAlready having thoughts about the possible  activities – and/ or what I want students to be like during the lesson?\nSome of these outcomes I want all the students get this session, some of the other will be built upon over time, and it is therefore ok if the group gets it.\n\nPractice data handling, graphing skills and use of tables[D2]\n\nAdded the graphing skills and tables  while reflecting on what I want students to be like.\n\nSpot correlations in data\n\nConsider if it is causation or correlation\n\nReview macro and micronutrients.\n\nDescribe the role of various vitamins and minerals in the body.\n\nDefine a deficiency symptom.\n\n\nBellwork/Starter task\n\nPossible some matching activity to introduce new information about deficiency symptoms, some vitamins and minerals and to connect to previously learned information [D3] \n\nI'm think macro and micronutrients and their role in the body, this builds on a previous lesson and student research.\n\nNew Information.\n\nPossible comparison of two diets, model thinking, data and a table[D4]  and some deficiency symptoms. Teacher gives definition. Is there any international data? [D5] \n\n  D4 The data and the table must come before correlations. Increasing complexity throughout the session.\nD5 A context emerges, can I frame a big question to encapsulate the learning within this lesson? eg Why have 1 billion people got rickets? This reminds me of a previously planned lesson using epidemiology data to look at microbes? What were the draw backs and successes in that plan? Jigsaw task worked really well to establish a broad idea of the problem, lots of practice with data. Poor on teacher modelling \"how to extract data\", make data in consistent form might be a solution? Spent a lot of time in small groups doing this.\n\nConstruct task\n\nD6 Broaden knowledge within group, while all students practice the skill of extracting data from the table\nD7 Recent test showed that the year 7 students don’t know where to begin with these. The end of the jigsaw should give me some information if they are getting the skill. What should I do if they don't- the resources I make for this should help me decide this.\n\nStarting to think that I need to start to put some meat on the bones, some of the fine details will emerge. I can check that I am “hitting” what I want to and make sure that nothing is being missed.\n\nWhat are correlations use the  ice cream and sunburn to show difference between causation and correlation.\n\nThen into a specific dietary one.\n\nDecide to crack on with overview. Thinking I need some way of making the graphing data interactive, pondering human graphs or something with tech, I kind of like the idea of data being vibrant and dynamic. How will I know they get this? Need to make a decision on how they learn this...\n\nNeed to look at what is available. The resources for this session are going to have to tailor made.\nWhat about differentiation.\nWhat about reading? Should I keep this strictly data centred, instinct says yes, within this scheme of learning are many other literacy based tasks.\n\nOn with some research then......", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.84750896692276}
+{"content": "61,045 Pages\n\nThe Jesh were a military species.\n\nIn a timeline in which Emily Rutherford and Tom Charrington separated as teenagers, the Jesh became involved in the interplanetary war between the Malorians and the Vulzene. When the Third Doctor encouraged Emily and Tom to stay together, the timeline was averted, and the interplanetary war never happened. (PROSE: Separation Day)\n\nAd blocker interference detected!\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7466154098510742}
+{"content": "2.0 1\n\nPopulonia is an ancient Etruscan settlement, which is located near the western Italian coast. Populonia Piombino is located in the coast region in the Tuscan province of Livorno. In this central part of Italy, Populonia was once one of the major ports, as there was organized the largest center for the processing of iron in the Mediterranean. The ore is brought from the nearby island of Elba.\n\nEtruscans used to call the city or Pupluna, Fufluna, by the name of the god of wine Fufluns. Situated on Monte Massoncello Peninsula, Populonia was the only Etruscan town that has an outlet directly to the sea. The main reason for the emergence of the ancient village is precisely the rich deposits of silver and iron ore located on the island of Elba.\n\n\nThanks to this trade, Populonia quickly became rich and complex. It was the first city in Etruria starting to coin its own silver coins - about the second half century BC\n\nIn 282 BC in Populonia consists a battle between Etruscan and Roman Republic, which ended with victory for the Romans.\n\nFollowing the Roman invasion the town was significantly destroyed, and about 1 century BC here plays out civil war between Marius and Sulla, which permanently destroys Etruscan city.\n\nWhen the old part of Populonia, tops Molino and Del Castello, for some time there is a self-governing village. Populonia was destroyed and there is no such Etruscan city in 570 in the invasion of the Lombards. A small proportion of the population fled the island of Elba.\n\nIn the Middle Ages, Populonia becomes a fief of Luca during the Lombards. At the end of the eighth century Charlemagne decided to give Populonia as a gift to Pope Adrian I.\n\nToday what is left of Populonia are the ruins of the fortress town, built during the Middle Ages. The walls were built for protection from pirates. Additional fortifications and citadel were built in the first half of 15 century by Appiani II and restored in 1800 as a symbol of home. The ppiani dragon today can be seen above the entrance to the medieval village in Populonia.\n\nToday Populonia is part of an important and valuable archaeological park. Etruscan settlement is a unique combination of ancient cobbled streets, and small shops that attract tourists with various souvenirs. There is also built a private museum where you can consider exposure to the Etruscan and Roman remains discovered in the region.\n\nFrom the top of the castle is a magnificent view of the Tuscan Archipelago. Populonia is surrounded on 3 sides by azure waves. The settlement is related to the Gulf of Baratti, where they found important Etruscan roads and artifacts.\n\nThe archaeological park, which covers about 80 hectares, can be visited for the wild history and archeology of the place. From the height of the hill village of Etruscan Populonia is a beautiful view down to the very island of Elba.\n\nThe entrance ticket to enter Populonia is about 2 euro, children enter free. In many tourist shops here, you can choose a gift from costumes and clothes, jewelry , home items, gold and other jewelry of silver.\n\n(1 )\n\nPopulonia castle ,", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7836943864822388}
+{"content": "10 Things That All Successful People Do\n\n6. They take risks and are comfortable with being uncomfortable\n\nIf you’re not willing to push yourself and take risks, how will you ever know how good you could’ve been?\n\nTaking risks can be emotionally, physically or financially or all three at once.\n\nGetting comfortable in life is one of the worst things that you can do because when you’re at this stage, then what is there to challenge you and keep you moving forwards? Don’t sit in the comfy chair!\n\nPREV 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 NEXT", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9950187802314758}
+{"content": "Battle for votes\nTimor vote\n\nFourteen parties or coalitions fighting for places in 65-seat parliament\n\nNo single party expected to win majority under proportional representation system\n\nVote seen as showdown between new CNRT party and Fretilin\n\nKey issues: Alleviating poverty, managing oil revenue, law and order\n\n\"Initial indications show that the turnout has been good and we will now be assisting with the retrieval of the ballot boxes.\"\nThe CNRT is a new party founded by Xanana Gusmao, a former president seen by many as a hero of independence.\nNeither party is forecast to win the absolute parliamentary majority required to govern, meaning a coalition will need to be formed with some of the 12 other parties contesting the polls.\nThe month-long campaigning period building up to the elections was marred by the shooting of two of Gusmao's supporters.\nMore than 548,000 people had registered to vote, overseen by around 500 foreign monitors and 3,000 peacekeepers.\nThe parliamentary elections came just a month after the country elected Jose Ramos-Horta, a Nobel laureate, as its president.\nPreliminary results are expected on July 7.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6848942637443542}
+{"content": "Common Riding is an annual event celebrated in Scottish Border towns and in some other places, to commemorate the times of the past when local men risked their lives in order to protect their town and people.\n\nThe Selkirk Common Riding is a celebration of the history and traditions of the Royal and Ancient Burgh. It originated in the need to guard the boundaries of the land held in common by the town. The annual Riding of the Marches has continued to this day and continues the tradition of those who rode around their town’s boundaries throughout the centuries checking for encroachments by neighbouring landowners. The job was one sometimes brimming with danger, with risk of murder or kidnapping perhaps not too distant at times from the minds of those who rode out.\nSelkirk Common Riding also remembers how after the disastrous Battle of Flodden Field tradition, perhaps a little shaky, has it that only one man from the town (the Town Clerk, Fletcher) returned, bearing a captured flag. Legend has it that he cast the flag about his head to indicate that all the other men of Selkirk had been cut down and then promptly died. At the end of the Selkirk Common Riding when everyone, riders and folk on foot, have returned to the Market Square the Royal Burgh Standard and the flags of the various participating trades and other organizations are ceremonially cast, the last being for those who fell in war. There follows a minute's silence and the playing of the Liltin (a version of the Flo'ers o' the Forest).\n\n\nAlways the 2nd Friday after the 1st Monday of the month of June", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8962329626083374}
+{"content": "Advertising Console\n\n    Compilation 1/6 An historical and memorable film - equipped by Saleas / Karaindrou\n\n    Erneut posten\n\n    von Julia\n\n    1 354 Aufrufe\n    Horror and the second world war crimes against humanity and issues relating to this subject has provied new explanations , a historical and memorable film ''Come and see'' by Elem Klimov supported by Saleas and Karaindrou's tunes. I adapted music to images but didn't cut down the verbosity , I note intonation and film's atmosphere . I wanted to make more impressive film's scenes.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9770941734313965}
+{"content": "What is REDD+?\n\nDeforestation and forest degradation cause 15-20% of all greenhouse gas emissions and are a major contributor to climate change. REDD+ is an international mechanism through which developing countries will receive financial compensation if they reduce emissions from their forest sectors. The acronym REDD+ is short for ‘reduced emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, conservation of existing forest carbon stocks, sustainable forest management and enhancement of forest carbon stocks'. By creating incentives to keep forests intact, REDD+ has the potential to not only limit climate change but also protect biodiversity and livelihoods.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8684366941452026}
+{"content": "Boots WebMD Partners in Health\nReturn To Boots\n\nPolycythaemia - elevated red blood cell count\n\nWhat is polycythaemia?\n\nHaving a high concentration of red blood cells in the blood is called polycythaemia. People with this condition have thicker blood, which makes it harder for blood to circulate around the body.\n\nWhat are the symptoms of polycythaemia?\n\nMild cases of polycythaemia may not cause symptoms, but common symptoms include:\n\nIf polycythaemia is related to kidney cancer, liver cancer, or other erythropoietin-secreting tumours, the symptoms of these conditions, such as weight loss, abdominal pain or fullness, or jaundice may be predominant.\n\nTypes of polycythaemia\n\nPrimary polycythaemia: In primary polycythaemia the increase in red blood cells is due to inherent problems in their production.\n\nSecondary polycythaemia: Secondary polycythaemia generally occurs as a response to other factors or underlying conditions that promote red blood cell production.\n\n\n\nNeonatal ( newborn) polycythaemia can be seen in 1% to 5% of newborns. The most common causes may be related to transfusion of blood, transfer of placental blood to the infant after delivery, or chronic inadequate oxygenation of the foetus (intrauterine hypoxia) due to placental insufficiency.\n\nWhat are the causes of primary polycythaemia?\n\nPrimary polycythaemia is due to acquired, or inherited, genetic mutations, causing abnormally high levels of red blood cell precursors. Primary familial and congenital polycythaemia and polycythaemia rubra vera are in this category.\n\nPolycythaemia rubra vera\n\nPolycythaemia rubra vera is a rare condition typically associated with abnormally high levels of red blood cells and often an elevated white blood cell count (leucocytosis) and platelet count (thrombocytosis). An enlarged spleen (splenomegaly) and low erythropoietin levels are other clinical features of polycythaemia rubra vera.\n\nPrimary familial and congenital polycythaemia (PFCP)\n\n\nWhat are the common causes of secondary polycythaemia?\n\nSecondary polycythaemia is usually due to increased erythropoietin (EPO) production either in response to chronic hypoxia (low blood oxygen level) or from an erythropoietin-secreting tumour.\n\nWebMD Medical Reference\n\nStay informed\n\nSign up for BootsWebMD's free newsletters.\nSign Up Now!\n\nPopular slideshows & tools on BootsWebMD\n\nHow to help headache pain\nman in mirror\nHow smoking affects your looks & life\nboost your metabolism\nFoods to lower LDL (bad) cholesterol\nman holding sore neck\nCould you have a hormone imbalance?\nwoman looking at pregnancy test\nIs your body ready for pregnancy?\nwoman holding mouth\nCommon mouth problems\ncouple makigh salad\nNutrition for over 50s\nbucket with cleaning supplies in it\nCleaning and organising tips\nadult man contemplating\nWhen illness makes it hard to eat\nAllergy myths and facts\negg in cup\nSurprising things that can harm your liver", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5468521118164062}
+{"content": "Loading presentation...\n\nPresent Remotely\n\nSend the link below via email or IM\n\n\nPresent to your audience\n\nStart remote presentation\n\n  • Invited audience members will follow you as you navigate and present\n  • People invited to a presentation do not need a Prezi account\n  • This link expires 10 minutes after you close the presentation\n  • A maximum of 30 users can follow your presentation\n  • Learn more about this feature in our knowledge base article\n\nDo you really want to delete this prezi?\n\n\n\nMake your likes visible on Facebook?\n\nYou can change this under Settings & Account at any time.\n\nNo, thanks\n\nIntroduction to Business Statistics\n\nNo description\n\nMarko Pahor\n\non 21 June 2010\n\nComments (0)\n\nPlease log in to add your comment.\n\nReport abuse\n\nTranscript of Introduction to Business Statistics\n\nIntroduction to Business Statistics What is statistics? Basic information about the course Types of statistics Key concepts Measurement scales Content:\nsources of data,\ndescribing data,\ndescriptive statistics,\nestimation and inference\nlinear regression,\ntime series The final grade will consist of: Active class participation 25%\nhomework and assignments 25%\nfinal exam 50% Statistics as scinece: collecting, organizing, presenting, analyzing, and interpreting numerical data to assist in making more effective decisions.\nStatistics:parameter estimates from a sample Statistical techniques are used extensively by marketing, accounting, quality control, consumers, professional sports people, hospital administrators, educators, politicians, physicians, etc...\nWho uses statistics? Population and sample A population is a collection of possible individuals, objects, or measurements of interest.\nE.g. all exchange students at the KNU in spring 2010, all cars in S. Korea, trading days on the NYSE in 2009\nE.g. 15 exchange students students, 233 randomly selected cars, first 50 trading days on the NYSE in 2009\nParameters are normaly denoted with greek leters\nThe true “average” height of adult human males.\nThe number of individuals that went thrugh the red light near KNUnorth gate.\nThe median income in Japan.\nThe difference between average income of males and females in the USA\nThe correlation between work experience and productivity\n\nParameters are normaly denoted with lowcase latin leters\nExamples: The “average” height of adult human males, calculated from a sample of 100 men.\nThe percentage of individuals that go thrugh the red light near KNUnorth gate, based on a five day sample.\nThe mean difference between average income of males and females in the US from a sample of 60 men and 55 women\nDescriptive Statistics Methods of organizing, summarizing, and presenting data in an informative way EXAMPLE 1: A Gallup poll found that 29% of the people in a survey knew the name of the capital of Somalia. The statistic 29 describes the number out of every 100 persons who knew the answer.\nEXAMPLE 2: According to Consumer Reports, Samsung washing machine owners reported 9 problems per 100 machines during 2009. The statistic 9 describes the number of problems out of every 100 machines. Inferential Statistics A decision, estimate, prediction, or generalization about a population, based on a sample.\n\n\nMethodology Methodology is about the way you undertake research\nYou need to ask if your research is\nreliable and\nResearch need to be completed within time and cost constraints\nIf your research is repeated then you should expect the same kind of results\nYour research should measure what you say it measures\nModels Are a representation of real objects and real situations (e.g. levels of stock, levels of sales required to breakeven)\nProvide an understanding of how things work\nFocus on relevant variables\nAttempt to identify possible relationships\nAllow analysis\nType of variables Qualitative or attribute variable: the characteristic or variable being studied is nonnumeric.\n\nEXAMPLES: Gender, religious affiliation, type of automobile owned, state of birth, eye color. Quantitative variable: the variable can be reported numerically.\n\nEXAMPLE: balance in your checking account, minutes remaining in class, number of children in a family. Quantitative variables can be classified as either discrete or continuous.\nContinuous variables: can assume any value within a specific range.\nEXAMPLE: The time it takes for the KTX train from Seoul to Dongdaegu Measurement Measurement is about assigning a value or score to an observation\nMeasurement can be categorized as nominal, ordinal, interval or ratio\nLevels of measurement Defined by the way we may describe the difference between two units\nDetermines the parameters we may compute for the variable\nNominal level: Data that can only be classified into categories and cannot be arranged in an ordering scheme.\n\nPossible parameters: frequency distribution, mode\nEXAMPLES: eye color, gender, religious affiliation. Mutually exclusive: An individual or item that, by virtue of being included in one category, must be excluded from any other category.\n\n\nEXAMPLE: During a taste test of 4 colas, cola C was ranked number 1, cola B was ranked number 2, cola A was ranked number 3, and cola D was ranked number 4. Interval level: similar to the ordinal level, with the additional property that meaningful amounts of differences between data values can be determined. There is no natural zero point.\n\nParameter examples: arithmetic mean, standard deviation, correlation,…\n\nEXAMPLES: calendar time, temperature on Celsius scale Ratio level: the interval level with an inherent zero starting point. Differences and ratios are meaningful for this level of measurement.\nEXAMPLES: money, heights of NBA players.\nFull transcript", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8307139873504639}
+{"content": "Studio Tour: Laura Tedesco Jewellery Design\n\n\nFor Laura Tedesco, jewellery design is a part of the family. A 3rd generation jeweller, she trained with her father Dino Tedesco, the owner of Venetian Jewellers before travelling to Italy to study at the Gemological Institute of America. “I was taught the traditional style of drafting and rendering jewellery in paint,” says Laura, “This organic style allows me to express myself freely and create pieces that I could never have dreamed of.” With a connection to Hamilton, Laura returned to build her own presence within the community. Through her newly opened custom design studio on Locke Street, she is helping others to create beautiful and meaningful pieces of their own. “I feel fortunate to have people come to me to create them their very own custom jewellery designs,” Laura explains, “Seeing the concept made into reality, as well as witnessing the reaction of an individual when they first see their finished custom piece of jewellery is the most satisfying part of my job.” \n\n\nExcerpt from Beaux Mondes' City File in Hamilton Magazine Fall 2012\n\n\nWhat is it about jewellery that you love so much?  \nEverything!  The design aspect , the inspiration and story behind each piece, the metals, the mixing of metals or the textures and finishes that can be obtained within the metal. Gemstones with their unique cuts and endless array of colours.  The rarity of diamonds and that no two diamonds are alike. The feelings jewellery can evoke when you see  pieces that blow you away or for the first time.  The history of antiques pieces and the fact that someone was wearing it generations ago.  The beauty of the gift of jewellery, the personalized touch of custom jewellery, the symbols and amulets that are used in jewellery.  The craftsmanship  and various techniques that go into each and every piece. The statements that are made with jewellery, whether it be for fashion or to show eternal love to that special someone.  I love wearing it and mixing & matching it with my wardrobe depending on my mood or outfit.  I love jewellery so much I could really  go on and on ...\n\nWhat inspires your designs each season?\nIt can be anything.  A dream, nature, a place I've travelled, an object, a feeling,  something or someone. \n\nHow would you sum up your brand and aesthetic in 3 words?\n\nCan you describe your design process? What is the most satisfying part of the process?\nIf it's a commissioned piece I ask my client several questions in order to get a feel for what they want to see in their design.  For instance, with engagement rings I would design the ring around the centre diamond or stone. Also, I would find out the taste and style of the individual it is for.  After several sketches and once the design is approved it goes into production.  The most satisfying part of my job is seeing the concept made into reality as well as witnessing the reaction of an individual when they see their finished custom piece of jewellery for the first time.  \n\nWhat are some of your favorite materials to work with and create with?\nMechanical pencils for my sketches, water colour when rendering my designs in paint and when the opportunity arises, platinum and diamonds! (Canadian preferably).\n\nAny advice you would give to aspiring designers?  \nBelieve and be yourself.  Don't be afraid to take risks and don't let anyone discourage you.  \n\nYou just opened your studio on Locke Street. What is it that keeps you in Hamilton?\nI was born in Hamilton.  I feel connected to the city.  I want to build a presence within the community first and foremost.  I also live in the area, there's nothing like being able to walk to work.\n\nWhat is your favourite object in your studio?\nEither my antique scale that belonged to my Nonno or my vintage drafting table.\n\nWho is your favourite jewellery designer?\nI have several favourites, past and present.  But, ever since I experienced a Cartier exhibit, I feel in love with Cartier for his early twentieth century jewellery and art deco creations.  The quality and craftsmanship of that time just can't be matched.\n\nWhat would surprise people about you?\nHow long it took for me to design my own engagement ring.  \n\nLaura Tedesco Jewellery Design\n1-195 Locke Street South\nHamilton, ON\n(By appointment only)\n\nLaura's studio space on Locke Street South\n\nLaura's studio space on Locke Street South\n\nCollections of family mementos fill the shelves in Laura's studio.\n\nCollections of family mementos fill the shelves in Laura's studio.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9850439429283142}
+{"content": "Thursday, February 28, 2008\n\nEnvironmental impacts of China's WTO-accession\n\nAnother classic \"glibalisation and the environment\" paper:\n\nThis is actually a very good question to ask. The paper in a recent issue of Ecological Economics does a decent job of introducing the topic and outlining the main issues but employs CGE analysis to arrive at its conclusions. However, such black box results are never entirely convincing.\n\nEnvironmental impacts of China's WTO-accession\n\nHaakon Vennemoa, Kristin Aunanb, Jianwu Hec, Tao Hud, Shantong Lic, Kristin Rypdal\n\nECON Analysis, P.O.Box 5, 0051 Oslo, Norway\nCICERO Center For International Climate and Environmental Research, Oslo, Norway\nDevelopment Research Center of State Council, Beijing, China\nPolicy Research Center for Environment and Economy of SEPA, Beijing, China\n\nThe paper concludes perhaps surprisingly that:\n\nWe have found that WTO accession improves China's environment as far as main air pollutants are concerned. There are also gains to public health and aggregate welfare, but the distribution becomes more skewed. The reason for these developments is that WTO induces a new course for industry growth. The textile and apparel industries, already China's largest export earners, gain tremendous momentum\nand increase close to 50% after WTO-accession. The growth of these and industries supplying their inputs draw resources from heavy industry and from agriculture. In short we find a “composition effect” that is favourable to the environment.\n\nThe obvious question is why has China not become a pollution haven. These conclusion make some sense and add some credibility to the predictions in the paper.\n\nThe reason we find a positive composition effect in our material is that the comparative advantage in the labor dimension dominates. A main effect of WTO is to lift export restrictions in the textile and apparel sectors. These are labor\nintensive, but not pollution intensive as far as air is concerned. In our material we recognise the comparative advantage in labor, but not the comparative advantage in pollution. Why is it that WTO-accession does not allow China to play out its comparative advantage in pollution intensive goods? It is useful to distinguish between different elements of accession. Perhaps paradoxically, agricultural import barriers do seem to have a link with China's pollution advantage. Removing agricultural import barriers encourages industrial production, building on comparative advantage of the traditional sort (labor and pollution advantage). From Table 5 above we see that pollution goes up from that aspect of accession in isolation. Removing industrial import barriers on the other hand, actually leads to a decline in pollution intensive goods since pollution intensive industry loses when the protection is lifted. On the export side the quota under the Multi-Fibre Agreement is a significant barrier to Chinese labor advantage, but except forNOx andVOC, it isnot a barrier to an air relatedpollution advantage. It is the textile cluster that gains from removing the export barrier, and the cluster is not a major source of air pollution in China. In conclusion it is mainly removal of agricultural import barriers that exposes traditional pollution intensive comparative advantage, but the agricultural barrier is not dominant in the accession package. Thus, the composition effect of free trade is positive for the environment.\n\n\nNo comments:", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5088066458702087}
+{"content": "Microsoft SQL Server\n\narticle Jun 06, 2017\n\nWhat You Need to Know about Distinct Windowed Aggregate Calculations\n\nT-SQL supports distinct grouped aggregate calculations like COUNT(DISTINCT ), but as of SQL Server 2017 CTP2, it doesn’t yet support distinct windowed aggregate calculations. There’s an open connect item requesting this feature. In this article, I explain what distinct aggregate calculations are, provide an example for a task that requires such calculations, show the desirable yet missing syntax that would solve the task, and present four supported workarounds.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9999738335609436}
+{"content": "Born in 1944 in Casablanca, in the workshop of his orientalist painter grandfather Francisco RUEDA, René Vidal de Ruega learned to walk and by the happiest of coincidences he trod a canvas placed on the sol. His grandfather magnanimous, has religiously preserved this work where the imprint of his little son forever marked the beginning of a passion. Over the years his painting evolved from abstract art to the figurative. His stay in the United States, and the discovery of the American hyperrealism in the 80s, deeply influences his painting. A meeting with Anne CROS gallery leads him to reconsider his pictorial creations, he frees still lifes, where he found the taste of the accuracy and compositions. In the series \"BOX by Vidal de Rueda\" he staged on each painting an object, the transcendent, deforming, orienting in space, to bring out the naked beauty of the object, its visual power.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9976407289505005}
+{"content": "Taking Risks\n\nYoung Man Diving into Sea at Pirate's CaveMy family and I have just returned from spending our holiday in El Salvador. When I told friends and colleagues that we were going to El Salvador, the unanimous response was, “Is it safe?” Having never been there before, I couldn’t answer definitively one way or another, but from everything I read, it was clear there was some risk involved.\n\nOf course, there are risks everywhere you go and with everything you do, but we don’t let the risks stop us from going where we’ve gone or doing what we’ve done; we only let risk prevent us from trying something new.\n\nOne of our slogans at LiHigh School is to “let your passions take flight.” There’s something very adventurous about that, but also a bit daunting. Pursuing your passions is both awesome and scary. It takes courage to explore your passions. There’s always the risk that you may find out that the truth behind the dream isn’t quite what you thought. Or that failure is easier than you imagined. Sometimes the fear of failure can be enough to stop some folks from ever trying to achieve their dream.\n\nIn traditional education, students are seldom asked to take risks with their learning, and they’re rarely asked to pursue their dreams. They’re more or less expected to digest the information they’ve been given and demonstrate through a test or paper that they understand the content. Our version of education is different. Ours is one of adventure and exploration. And with that comes a certain amount of risk.\n\nThrough a process of self-exploration, students explore their passions and interests by first making contact with an adult in the community who is an expert in their field. Then comes a shadow day where the student spends time with a potential mentor to see firsthand what and how they do their job. If the student is interested in exploring further, we help them set up an internship.\n\nIt takes courage to do something like that: to ask someone to teach you something you don’t know, and to ask them to take you under their wing.\n\nWe also have our students taking classes at Green Mountain College and coming out with high marks. It takes courage to do that too: to feel comfortable, as a high-school student, sitting among college students, all of whom are older, some significantly so, and then to come out of that doing well both academically and socially.\n\nWe also ask our students to take the risk of standing up and explaining what it is they’ve learned. One of the main components of our student evaluations is a series of exhibitions, where students present their projects to an audience of peers, community members, and family. It’s scary business. There’s always the risk of bombing. But since our students are passionate about the work they’re doing, the risks are minimized and the rewards are tremendous.\n\nI’m constantly amazed by the courage our students display, and incredibly proud of the risks they choose to take.\n\nThankfully, El Salvador is a reasonably safe place to travel. The people, food, beaches, jungles and night skies are all exquisite. I’m so glad we forged on with our adventure. It was well worth the risk.\n\nI’m certain that LiHigh School is as well.\n\n\n  1. Courage is definitely the driving force for our students. However, we need to remember the crucial adults’ support by modeling and believing in its value. The staff, the parents, and the mentors all have to believe in the students’ right to access the courage within. Good article Greg\n\n  2. There was a program in N. Carolina/atlanta(?)– where they selected randomly about 20(?) students before 9th grade. These students were from inner cities/ lower soci0-economic, parents who had not gone to college, and probably not finished HS. they took this group of students and skipped them over FOUR YEARS, passing high school and placing them directly into college. there were NOT honour students or accelerated students in any way. NOT ONE student dropped out or failed out- and by the end of freshman year, this group of students was out-performing the traditional college student.\n\n    Generally, the younger student/ scholar is more committed and dedicated to learning than the traditional 18-20 year old learner. this has also been found in schools such as Simon’s Rock. Where professors noted that they had to work harder and be more on their toes with the younger scholars, as they were far hungrier for knowledge and learning.\n\n    Also- the public model fails to understand that the vast majority of deep learning, comes out of the experiential model, where it is facilitated in such a way that builds reflection and connections:) We, as adults, cannot coerce learning. We can, however, incite curiosity.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.915876567363739}
+{"content": "Killer shrimp could move into the Great Lakes\n\nYeah, this can't be good.\n\nKiller shrimp, or Dikerogammarus villosus, is one of the species that has experts most concerned. Known for eating large amounts of fish eggs and disrupting native species, the shrimp could pose a threat to local fishing trades.\n\n”In the most pessimistic scenario, greater numbers of non-native species are introduced, as ballast water regulations prove to be ineffective in the long term, and live trade continues to expand,” The University of McGill writes in a statement.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6309953927993774}
+{"content": "Television: Encantadia\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThat’s what Encantadia 2016 is striving to avoid.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBook: The Fireman\n\n\"The Fireman\"\n\nNo one knows exactly when or where it began. A terrifying new plague is spreading like wildfire across the country, striking cities one by one… Dragonscale, a highly contagious, deadly spore that tattoos its hosts with beautiful black and gold marks–before causing them to burst into flames.\n\nHarper Grayson, a compassionate, dedicated nurse treated hundreds of infected patients before contracting the deadly virus herself. When the outbreak first began, she and her husband, Jakob, had made a pact: they would take matters into their own hands if they became infected. To Jakob’s dismay, Harper now wants to live–at least until the fetus she is carrying comes to term.\n\nConvinced that his do-gooding wife has made him sick, Jakob becomes unhinged, and eventually abandons her as their once-placid New England community collapses in terror.\n\nBut Harper isn’t as alone as she fears: a mysterious and compelling stranger, a man wearing a dirty yellow firefighter’s jacket and carrying a hooked iron bar, straddles the abyss between insanity and death. Known simply as The Fireman, he strolls the ruins of New Hampshire, a madman afflicted with Dragonscale who has learned to control the fire within himself, using it as a shield to protect the hunted…and as a weapon to avenge the wronged.\n\nHalfway through The Fireman, I was already starting to piece together what my eventual blog post about the novel was going to be like; about the monstrosity in human beings, and the humanity that can be found in those perceived as monsters. This thesis stuck with me until I put the book down.\n\nThe thing is, when I started typing the book’s synopsis for this post, I found myself wanting to write about the synopsis instead. Because, while interesting and intriguing, the book synopsis is also misleading as to what the novel is truly about.\n\nIn it, we get a sense of the Fireman as this truly mysterious being whose presence will dictate whether the world would survive or fall to ashes. But The Fireman is about so much more than The Fireman, or Harper for that matter.\n\nImagine the comic book series of The Walking Dead. Imagine that you didn’t have to wait a month for each installment of the issue. Imagine the series if it weren’t being stretched out to last for as long as possible. (No shade. I still find The Walking Dead comic book series interesting and entertaining, unlike it’s television counterpart.) Imagine having an ending for The Walking Dead. Now take out the zombies, but keep the apocalypse, the factions, and the conflicts in what it takes to be human. That’s The Fireman.\n\nIt’s a study on humanity and monstrosity, and how we usually mistake one for the other because of appearances.\n\nJoe Hill is a master at painting this world with just his words, all the while putting meaning behind the visuals he is drawing up for the readers. The way he describes the characters, their changes, and the relationships they create continuously push his message of solidarity, of compassion, and of so many other things.\n\nThen you finish the novel and go back to the synopsis, and you can’t help but wonder: why the focus on just that? I understand the novel is called The Fireman, but why focus on just one aspect of his being? Why box Harper to just her relationship with Jakob?\n\nSure, Harper’s failed marriage with the unhinged Jakob plays a big part in how everything unfolds. And yes, the Fireman does have a big role in the story that is being told. But to limit the scope of the novel to just the two is doing the novel a disservice. Harper’s pregnancy and her relationship to Jakob, and the Fireman aren’t the be-all and end-all of this novel.\n\nTo anyone who has yet to read the novel, don’t bother reading the synopsis. The novel is wonderfully written, and is, in my opinion, Joe Hill’s most mature work yet. You won’t regret cracking the tome open and entering this world.\n\nBook: The Hidden Oracle (The Trials of Apollo, Book 1)\n\n\"The Hidden Oracle\"\n\nMy father’s voice still rings in my ears. Can you believe Zeus blamed me for the gods’ battle with Gaea? Just because the earth goddess duped one of my progeny–Octavian–into plunging the Greek and Roman demigods into a civil war that nearly destroyed human civilization. I ask you, how was that my fault?\n\nNow I’m cast out of Olympus in the form of a sixteen-year-old mortal boy, acne and all! Sadly, I’ve been punished this way before. I know I will face many trials and hardships, I can only hope that if I suffer through them and prove myself worthy, Father will forgive me and allow me to become a god again.\n\nBut this time my situation seems much more dangerous. One of my ancient adversaries knows I am here and is having me followed. The Oracle of Delphi remains dark, unable to issue prophecies. Most embarrassing of all, I am bound to serve a demigod street urchin who defends herself by throwing rotten fruit.\n\nZeus could not possibly expect me to fix the Oracle problem by myself. Not in my present weak condition. It’s time for me to drop in on Camp Half-Blood, where I might find some talented fodder…er, I mean heroes to help0. No doubt they will welcome me as a celebrity! They will bring me holy offerings, like peeled grapes, Oreos, and–oh, gods–perhaps even bacon!\n\nMmm. Yes. If I survive this, I really must write an ode to the power of bacon…\n\nI feel like half this blog post has already been taken over by the book’s back synopsis alone. And it’s not like the synopsis does a good job at selling the book. It doesn’t. In fact, I’m glad that this is actually the first time I’m reading this horrible synopsis–while typing it up. Because I very much would not have picked the book up based on the synopsis alone.\n\nAh, who am I kidding. This is Rick Riordan. And save for the really horrible Mark of Athena, I’ve enjoyed all of his books. Yes, even the ones from The Kane Chronicles. So even with this weird synopsis, I would have picked up the first book off The Trials of Apollo. I just wanted to say that the synopsis is horrible enough times that someone takes notice. And writes a better synopsis for the next book.\n\nBecause it really does a great disservice to the The Hidden Oracle, which I feel, is setting out to be a better series than both Percy Jackson and the Olympians, as well as Heroes of Olympus.\n\nOf course, you first have to get over the fact that Apollo as a main character can get tiring pretty fast. And because Rick Riordan has been doing almost the same shtick for more than ten books, you can already see most of the twists coming a chapter away. But what this book has that the others don’t is interesting characters:\n\nApollo, as annoying as he is, is Riordan’s most flawed character ever–while still remaining a likeable goof. Meg, the aforementioned demigod street urchin, is a strong female character that has interesting non-romantic issues to deal with. And from the get go, we know that there will be no romantic subplot between the two that could wreak another Mark of Athena upon us.\n\nAnd I love the fact that the book is told completely through Apollo’s perspective. There’s no jumping around between characters that makes cliffhangers annoying instead of page-turning. There is no split focus between characters that stops the main story moving forward.\n\nThe storytelling is linear, which I’m very thankful for, as there are no eleventh-hour twists that gets explained away by a new flashback detailing why said twist is supposed to work. And then, when we do get our twist (or rather, lack of twist?), it actually shakes up the relationship dynamics of characters that make readers look forward to the sequel. Because the new story potential doesn’t stem from the twist, but from how that twist affects our main character.\n\nAs I put the book down, I could tell that I was already looking forward to what the next book will bring. Especially with the revelations Riordan shares about the loose ends from his previous two demigod series. Now let’s just hope he doesn’t mess it up.\n\nMovie: Captain America, Civil War\n\n\"Captain America: Civil War\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nEverything works.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBook: Death Weavers (Five Kingdoms, Book 4)\n\n\"Death Weavers\"\n\nCole is about to face his biggest peril yet.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThen there’s the cop out with Destiny.\n\n\nAnd then Cole saves her.\n\n\n\n\n\nBook: The Shadow Men\n\n\"The Shadow Men\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBook: Where Futures End\n\n\"Where Futures End\"\n\n“Five Teenagers.\nFive Futures.\nTwo Worlds.\nOne Ending.\n\n\n\n\n\nAnd then his story suddenly ends.\n\n\nAnd then her story suddenly ends.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5110488533973694}
+{"content": "2 Replies Latest reply: Jun 20, 2016 12:22 PM by James Fisher RSS\n\n    Why is Qlik Sense taking so long to download?\n\n    james eckstein\n\n      Downloading Qlik Sense Desktop.\n\n\n      It says it needs 12 Hours to download 205MB.\n\n\n      I have 100% connection strength.\n\n\n      Downloading on a Windows 10 Pro 64-Bit OS. (Windows is a Virtual Machine ran though my Mac book Pro)", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8328818082809448}
+{"content": "Tengrinews TV Радио Tengri FM Радио Жұлдыз FM Laws of Kazakhstan\nискать через Tengrinews.kz\nискать через Google\nискать через Yandex\nUSD / KZT - 332.58\nEUR / KZT - 390.38\nCNY / KZT - 49.85\nRUB / KZT - 5.63\n\nSyria: What are the West's military options?\n\n24 august 2013, 10:00\n\n\n\nSome experts suggest buffer zones could be created along Syria's Turkish and perhaps Jordanian borders to serve as a safe area for refugees and as a rebel rear base.\n\nThis would limit the area that international troops would need to control but, as America's top general Martin Dempsey warned in a letter to US lawmakers, it would be no easy task.\n\n\"Lethal force would be required to defend the zones against air, missile, and ground attacks,\" the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said.\n\n\"This would necessitate the establishment of a limited no-fly zone, with its associated resource requirements. Thousands of US ground forces would be needed, even if positioned outside Syria, to support those physically defending the zones.\"\n\nMeanwhile, security expert Anthony Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies warned that the tactic might not be enough to ensure President Bashar al-Assad's defeat.\n\n\"It may well mean rebel defeat or giving the Assad regime control over so much of Syria that little is left to the rebels except for the equivalent of armed refugee camps at Syria's margins or borders,\" he said.\n\n\"They might also end up shielding Syrian refugees near the border area without offering any real hope for the future.\"\n\n\nInfluential voices, including some US lawmakers, have called for allied air power to enforce a no-fly zone over Syria in order to prevent Assad's regime from bombing rebel forces and civilian populations.\n\nSenator John McCain, a senior figure on foreign policy and former naval aviator, has argued that this could be accomplished relatively easily, but other experts have warned that it would not be without risk.\n\nAccording to a US Air Force study: \"Syria's air-defense network at the start of the civil war ranked among the most capable and dense in the world, perhaps second only to North Korea's and Russia's.\n\n\"The overlapping coverage of missiles and radars consisted of approximately 650 static air-defense sites, the most worrisome of which housed the SA-5 Gammon, having a range of 165 nautical miles and an altitude capability of 100,000 feet.\"\n\nThe US Joint Chiefs of Staff warn that the campaign to establish a no-fly zone would not simply involve patrolling fighter jets, but also bombing runs against air defense sites and Syrian airbases, backed by refueling tankers and electronic countermeasures.\n\n\"We would require hundreds of ground and sea-based aircraft,\" Dempsey said.\n\nJust closing down Assad's main air bases would require a salvo of at least 72 cruise missiles on the first night alone, according to a report by the Institute for the Study of War.\n\nCordesman said such a campaign would require access to airfields in the region, and support from US allies such as Britain, France and Arab Gulf monarchies.\n\nAnd even with such a coalition, it might not have the desired effect, according to the retired US commander for the Middle East, General James Mattis.\n\n\"Can we do it? Absolutely,\" he said. \"And the killing will go on on the ground because they are not using aircraft to do most of the killing.\"\n\n\nAlthough most of the estimated 100,000 dead in the civil war have been killed with conventional arms, the international community has been outraged by Assad's alleged use of chemical weapons.\n\nWestern experts believe the regime holds hundreds of tonnes of sarin, VX and mustard gas, and some have called on American forces to lead an operation to destroy or secure the stockpile and prevent it being used on civilians or falling into terrorist hands.\n\nAgain, Dempsey was unenthusiastic.\n\n\"At a minimum, this option would call for a no-fly zone as well as air and missile strikes involving hundreds of aircraft, ships, submarines, and other enablers,\" he said.\n\n\"Thousands of special operations forces and other ground forces would be needed to assault and secure critical sites,\" he warned, adding that even this would offer no guarantees.\n\n\"The impact would be the control of some, but not all chemical weapons,\" he said, adding: \"Our inability to fully control Syria's storage and delivery systems could allow extremists to gain better access.\"\n\nAdd comment\nMost Read\nMost Discussed", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5712922215461731}
+{"content": "Dismiss Notice\nJoin Physics Forums Today!\n\nAttempting to find the optimal (exact) solution to TSP\n\n  1. Aug 2, 2008 #1\n    Hello - I'm attempting to find the optimal (exact) solution to the Traveling Salesman Problem in polynomial time using a Tabu search algorithm and Set theory. Currently my math skills ended with high-school calculus and some statistics in college, so the scope of analyzing mathematically the algorithm I have designed is beyond my level of knowledge (the algorithm was devised using more of a trial and error approach due to my lack of math skill).\n\n    Specifically I am in need of individual(s) who specialize in the following:\n\n    - Set Theory\n    - Structured Query Language\n    - Tuple relational calculus\n    - Relational algebra\n    - Combinatorics\n\n    I have two specific questions at this time I need help with based on my algorithm:\n\n    1. The algorithm I have outlined does not actually solve the traveling salesman problem in polynomial time, but rather is a polynomial-time approximation scheme (PTAS) or weakly polynomial run-time.\n\n    2. The algorithm I have outlined does not solve the traveling salesman problem any faster than the known current exponential time O(n22n)) algorithms.\n\n    3. The algorithm I have outlined does not always find the optimal (exact) solution, but rather is an approximation algorithm (Tabu search is this type of heuristic).\n\n    Note: I don't need help with #3 at this time as this is way beyond the scope of being analyzed yet. Obviously if the the #1 and #2 questions are proven to be false then #3 can be pursued.\n\n    I have a very strong assumption that one of the #1 - 3 questions will be proven to be true (hopefully for my peace of mind #1 or #2 will be proven to be true and then I don't need to pursue trying to solve this problem anymore).\n\n    Anyway to keep this short the whole point of doing all of this is to attempt a proof that P = NP.\n\n    If you can help with these questions I would be most appreciative. I would also be willing to pay/compensate you for your time or other individuals time to help me in answering the questions above as needed (within reason).\n\n    I'm not affiliated with any University or have access to professors specializing in combinatorics. In addition this is personal project (I have had a lot of free time to work on this).\n\n    I have already done all the research and documentation for the algorithm and back tested with three random data samples (2-16 point tours, and 1-18 point tour).\n\n    The pdf document can be accessed from the link:\n\n    http://jmarquart.bizland.com/TSP(Encrypted).pdf [Broken]\n\n    Password: c8fgRX239mf\n\n    This forum appears to have individuals with a very high-level of combinatorics experience that could help in analyzing this algorithm and be able to answer questions #1 and #2.\n\n    I apologize if this is not the appropriate place to post/ask this question.\n\n    Thank you very much for your time or any help you can provide!\n    Last edited by a moderator: May 3, 2017\n  2. jcsd\n\nCan you offer guidance or do you also need help?\nDraft saved Draft deleted\n\nSimilar Discussions: Attempting to find the optimal (exact) solution to TSP", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7250051498413086}
+{"content": "Rafa Marquez's Stunning Role in Allegedly Aiding a Drug Kingpin and His Next Legal Steps\n\n1:50 | Soccer\nFamiliar faces, new places for Mexico national team stars\nThursday August 10th, 2017\n\nRafael Márquez, the captain of the Mexico national team, a four-time World Cup veteran and one of the most celebrated Mexican soccer players in recent decades, is used to garnering headlines. Just not these kinds.\n\nMárquez has been designated by the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) as a “front person” of alleged drug kingpin Raul Flores Hernandez’s trafficking enterprise. The designation freezes any of Márquez’s assets that are located in the U.S. or controlled by U.S. persons. This includes bank accounts, real estate holdings and other items of value. The designation also generally prohibits U.S. persons and businesses from engaging in commercial transactions with Márquez. The 38-year-old defender was one of 21 Mexican nationals and 42 Mexican entities—Club Deportivo Morumbi among them—implicated by the OFAC as assisting Flores Hernandez.\n\nAccording to the OFAC, Flores Hernandez “heavily relies” on a group of persons and businesses “to further his drug trafficking and money laundering activities and to maintain assets on his behalf.” Among them are Márquez and Mexican singer Julio Alvarez. “Both men,” the OFAC charges, “have longstanding relationships with Flores Hernandez, and have acted as front persons for him and his drug trafficking organization and held assets on their behalf.” Márquez and Alvarez are alleged to have cloaked Flores Hernandez’s drug-funded investments as legitimate business transactions.\n\nMárquez has dismissed the OFAC’s allegations as completely untrue. In a statement, Márquez says he “categorically” denies having “any kind of relation” with drug traffickers and that he “will try to clear all of this up.”\n\nCarlos Vela Signs With LAFC as Club's First Designated Player\n\nOFAC’s designation of Márquez is authorized under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act, better known as the Kingpin Act. President Bill Clinton signed the Kingpin Act into law in 1999. The main goal of the Kingpin Act is to deter drug trafficking into the U.S. by threatening to take away the ill-gotten gains of traffickers and to disrupt their ability to conduct future business with Americans.\n\nTo accomplish that goal, the Kingpin Act enhances the U.S. government’s capacity to freeze American assets of foreign narcotics traffickers as well as persons and businesses who substantially assist them. As an additional form of deterrence, the Kingpin Act subjects Americans to potential criminal prosecution and million dollar fines if they enter into transactions with implicated persons and entities, such as designated soccer clubs and casinos. The Kingpin Act has been praised as helping the U.S. more effectively impede the movement of drugs into the country and weakening cartels. The Act’s critics, however, bemoan that it fails to provide adequate safeguards for foreign parties who are not afforded the same constitutional safeguards as Americans.\n\nThe OFAC raises its accusations as it continues a multi-year, multi-national investigation into Flores Hernandez. The investigation has included the participation of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Government of Mexico. Flores Hernandez, who allegedly has formed “strategic alliances” with Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel and the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación, faces federal drug trafficking indictments in the District of Columbia and the Southern District of California.\n\nMexico's Jonathan Dos Santos Takes a Risk in Leaving Europe for LA Galaxy\n\nWhat’s next for Márquez: Cooperate or remain silent?\n\nWhile Márquez’s designation will prove disruptive if he has assets in the U.S. or if he conducts businesses with Americans, it should be stressed that Márquez has not been charged with a crime at this time. This is an important point for a number of reasons, the most significant of which is that the U.S. government will not attempt to extradite him. Márquez can continue to go about his life in Mexico.\n\nEndorsement considerations may, however, become a concern for Márquez. He reportedly has several endorsement deals, including one with Adidas. Any endorsements deal for Márquez with major companies contain a “morals clause.” Such a clause would enable the company to exit the contract on grounds that the athlete has encountered a serious legal issue or otherwise attracted negative publicity. Márquez’s representatives are poised to play a crucial role in navigating through morals clause issues. They would attempt to allay concerns by companies with which Márquez has endorsement deals that he will overcome this controversy.\n\nHard-Working, Passionate Chicharito a Transfer Match Made for West Ham\n\nMárquez, who played for the New York Red Bulls from 2010-12, is also not necessarily barred from traveling in the U.S. However, his OFAC designation would complicate his ability to obtain a visa. Márquez’s attorneys may also worry that as soon as Márquez enters the U.S. he would be handed an indictment or a subpoena. \n\nOf similar concern for Márquez is the impact of his OFAC designation on his playing career with Club Atlas and his status as Mexico's captain for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Márquez should be able to continue to play internationally since he has not been charged with a crime and there is no indication yet either FIFA or Atlas would seek to discipline him. Also, since the World Cup will be played outside of the U.S. (Russia), the OFAC designation shouldn't impact his availability.\n\nTo the extent Márquez would like the OFAC to lift his designation and more broadly convince to the U.S. government to leave him alone, he would likely need to provide the OFAC with information of value. Indeed, one motivation for the government to pursue persons who allegedly facilitate drug traffickers is that they might be willing to provide critical intelligence to help the government take down traffickers and cartels. Facilitators’ willingness comes from self-preservation: doing so would get them out of trouble. Put another way, the OFAC likely does not “want” Márquez —it wants what Márquez knows about Flores Hernandez, who, as explained above, has been charged with federal crimes.\n\nSo would Márquez talk with the U.S. government or with the Mexican government? Possibly, but accused facilitators of drug traffickers often fear retribution by drug kingpins and cartels—even if the accused’s connection to those criminals is tenuous and indirect. Often the more likely response is to simply remain silent.\n\n\nSI Apps\nWe've Got Apps Too", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6680555939674377}
+{"content": "Senior Marketing Manager Nicole Diamant, InterbrandHealth\n\n - Mar 23, 2017\nReferences: interbrandhealth\nInterbrandHealth is a global branding company that focuses specifically on the healthcare industry. Trend Hunter recently spoke to the brand's Senior Marketing Manager Nicole Diamant, who discussed that innovating within pre-determined frameworks is what best suits her and her team's goals.\n\nHow does your team generate great ideas?\n\nWe base all of our work on strategy, and so while there’s obviously a creative process, there’s also a lot of \"backboning\" that we do. We’re always entering into things with the highest level of knowledge possible, something that’s great about InterbrandHealth is that we’re all really well versed in the health space. So that’s everything from understanding hospitals and insurance, to medical device companies, to diseases and drugs, how different pharmaceuticals work, to understanding the health and wellness market and wearables and fitness trends. There's variety in this base of knowledge that we have and we’re constantly refreshing that understanding based on the work we’re doing, the challenges we’re facing, what’s going on in the marketplace. There’s just a consistent level of information gathering that goes on, it’s not one moment in time where we have to start worrying about X, Y, or Z, we’re constantly updating the already substantial background that we have in this space, and making sure we stay ahead of things.\n\nIt’s a really interesting time to be in health and be innovating for health, because it’s starting to permeate so many other areas. Where it was traditionally cordoned off, that’s no longer the case. We’re starting to see a lot of overlap. So everything we do is rooted in this knowledge, research and education and it’s all strategic. Just on a really basic level, us working together is really our process in terms of generating great ideas. Everybody comes to the table both with a level of shared and specific knowledge, and those can be varied. We’re all strong thinkers and strong personalities and everyone gets together and we throw things around and work to see where things have legs. The legs part is determined by the strategic framework that we’ve already laid out for a brand or client.\n\nWhat are some barriers to innovation and how do you get around them?\n\nI think innovation for innovation’s sake can be a pitfall. What I mean by that is, a great idea is just that and sometimes not much more, if you can’t ground it in anything. For us, innovation in healthcare means changing behaviors. That’s how we identify innovation – what’s really changing? Are they really changing behaviors, are they changing how people approach health, are they changing how people adhere to medication, are they changing how people talk about health?\n\nWhen we think about other innovative or disruptive brands out of our category, so something like Netflix or Uber, they really changed the behavior of the consumer. Even if the idea, in and of itself, feels almost \"small,\" the impact in changing those behaviors alters that marketplace completely. I think grounding things is really important, and I think part of that is understanding what’s feasible. And I mean that both from a marketplace standpoint and from an operational standpoint. I think it’s great to be creative and consider as many ideas as possible but then it all has to filter through a lens of what operationally a brand or company can do – whether that’s from a resource standpoint, human, financial, their production resources, their marketing budgets. All these questions about what is really an actionable innovation, and then pair the answers with the marketplace and our understanding of a customer journey in it. Is this innovation just cool, or is it solving a problem?\n\nIt's also important to consider where innovation fits in within a brand’s ecosystem. We work with clients to create brands that permeate the experience where the customer is at the center, and we want to understand where is innovation playing in that ecosystem and how is it helping the brand own key signature moments in the customer’s life.\n\nDo you have specific rituals for resetting to be creative?\n\nChanging environments is something that I like to do, and that can be as simple as moving from a desk to another desk, or into a different space in our offices. I think that becoming physical is helpful, so going to take a walk or going to a yoga class. I sometimes find by doing that in the middle of the day, my afternoon can change in terms of how my brain is functioning. I think giving yourself time is really important, it sounds weird but you almost have to carve out time that you’re just going to think, you’re not going to necessarily be executing or producing but a lot of what I do from a marketing standpoint is executional, I’m writing or posting or planning out content. One of the ways you can do that is to block out time and say \"this is the time I’m going to be thinking about this, and I’m going to make peace with the fact that I’m not going to come out with a tangible thing but I’m just going to get into the head space.\"\n\nTalking to the smart people around you is one of the best ways to be creative and innovative. I’ve worked with a ton of people who are really smart and creative and clever, and being able to bounce ideas off other people, and develop ideas with them, is so important.\n\nDo other industries inspire innovations at your company?\n\nWe absolutely look at other industries for inspiration. We’re seeing so much more overlap between health and consumer than we’ve previously seen, and some of that is coming from just the changing political landscape and the way the people are interacting with their health. A lot of it’s coming from tech and social. Food and beverage is one category that's tangential to health and wellness but they’re really creeping in on each other more and more as people are starting to look at health in a more holistic way, and be more in control of their health decisions.\n\nWhat does the future of your industry look like?\n\nWe really don’t know what, healthcare is going to look like from a political perspective right now. That’s challenging. As far as general health and wellness goes, I personally think the cat is out of the bag, that people are now just more aware, they have a greater level of understanding of their health, their benefits, their options. We’ve become so immersed through tech and through social in terms of information gathering and sharing, and now we’re connecting the dots a lot more. So as health records become electronic and as people track their data through wearables and as they share more and more through social, I think we’re going to see those worlds seamlessly come together more and more.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6003072261810303}
+{"content": "We are pleased to announce that Archway Fund has funded a $5,500,000 loan on an owner-occupied 58K SF Industrial Building located in Fullerton, CA. Proceeds were used to refinance maturing debt, pay taxes and provide cash for building improvements. Archway Fund structured the deal with a quick close to bridge the gap to permanent financing.\n\nWhy Archway Fund? The borrower and its broker chose Archway Fund due to their requirement for a lender with a non-bureaucratic approval process, quick close and minimal 3rd party reporting requirements. There was no appraisal required on the transaction.\n\nLoan Details: $5.5M loan, 8.5% fixed interest, 18-month term plus extensions\n\nArchway Fund is a Los Angeles-based, privately capitalized, direct lender specializing in financing short-term bridge loans secured by commercial real estate. Archway Fund offers quick, reliable and flexible lending solutions to help real estate sponsors meet their investment objectives.\n\nPlease contact Marissa Wilbur for all new loan submittals. Marissa can be reached at 424.270.0168 or marissa@archwayfund.com", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5390046238899231}
+{"content": "Tuesday, October 29, 2002\n\nEconomic warfare: An under-used tool of statecraft\n\nby J. Michael Waller\nInsight magazine, 29 October 2002.\n\nAl-Qaeda recently announced economic warfare against the United States and other Western countries. U.S. intelligence expects years of attacks on the economic infrastructure of the civilized world. For its part, the United States has an arsenal of economic weapons for this war, but critics fear it may have forgotten how to use them strategically — an important point, because proponents believe that strategic economic warfare thoughtfully applied by the United States could save innocent lives and avoid military conflict while achieving the same objectives as an all-out bombing or invasion.\n\nLessons of successful economic-warfare operations that hastened the collapse of the Soviet Union, veteran practitioners tell Insight, are valuable guideposts to help the Bush administration develop an integrated economic-warfare strategy.\n\nMany weapons in the economic arsenal already are in play in the war on terrorism. The United States and other governments are going after bank accounts and electronic money transfers of terrorists and their sponsors, seizing assets and running a spectrum of policy options from covert \"black operations\" against terrorist financiers to full-scale embargoes against terrorist regimes. U.S. dominance of information technology and space for orbital satellite communications gives Washington immense superiority over any other world power.\n\nThe Department of Defense (DoD) defines economic warfare as the \"aggressive use of economic means to achieve national objectives.\" Economic warfare can range from blockades and sanctions to physical attacks on an enemy's agricultural or industrial production, workforce and distribution systems to disruption of financial transactions and information networks. The concept dates to antiquity, from the plagues that destroyed the Egyptian pharaoh's crops, as reported in the Book of Exodus, to the enemy who sowed weeds on top of his neighbor's wheat in the New Testament.\n\nFor the United States, economic warfare is a tool of statecraft almost as old as the republic itself. Legislated actions include bans on certain international transactions, begun as early as 1807 with the Embargo Act and the 1809 Non-intercourse Act. Though neither law was successful as a foreign-policy tool, successive U.S. governments resorted to sanctions and embargoes to attempt to impose their will abroad.\n\nEconomic sanctions are a brand of economic warfare favored for their precise, though usually fleeting, political benefits to the politicians imposing them. They tend to have high and protracted human costs in the targeted countries and little if any appreciable impact in removing the targeted regime from power.\n\nThe 20th-century's mechanized warfare saw extensive targeting of enemy economies. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill saw this as such a vital part of the effort against Adolf Hitler that he created a wartime Ministry of Economic Warfare, telling its first minister, Hugh Dalton, to run it as \"a new instrument of war\" whose purpose \"was to coordinate all action by way of subversion against the enemy overseas.\"\n\nThe goal was to weaken \"the enemy's will to make war and the strengthening of the will and power of his opponents,\" Dalton said. This also meant overt and clandestine radio broadcasts and other forms of propaganda to support allies and demoralize the enemy, running agents of influence in friendly countries to support the war effort and conducting other black operations to disrupt the enemy's economic capabilities and supply lines.\n\nThroughout the Cold War, however, the Western democracies did not develop a coherent, strategic, economic-warfare policy toward the Soviet Union until the early 1980s. Early in his first term, President Ronald Reagan approved a coordinated, strategic plan that integrated economic warfare into a well-defined U.S. national-security strategy with the goal of rolling back Soviet communism and forcing the Soviet system to reform within or collapse into itself. Reagan's national-security adviser, William P. Clark, presided over development of the plan that integrated economic warfare into U.S. diplomatic and defense goals, beginning with National Security Decision Directive (NSDD) No. 66 of November 1982.\n\nTo coordinate federal agencies, an earlier directive, NSDD-48, created a Senior Interagency Group for International Economic Policy (SIGIEP) that reported to the president through his national-security adviser, with separate interagency groups tasked with working some particular economic-warfare issue. In January 1983, shortly after the issuance of NSDD-66, Reagan signed NSDD-75, which laid out a three-part strategy to take down the Soviet Communist Party without risking war. The strategic document combined diplomacy, military power, propaganda, subversion and economics in a multifront offensive against the Soviet Union.\n\nThe strategy aimed at reversing Soviet expansionism, promoting internal change within the U.S.S.R. and conducting negotiations where there was strict reciprocity and mutual interest. One of the keys was to starve the Soviet economy of desperately needed technology and loans.\n\n\"This kind of integrated policy/strategy set is extremely rare in American history,\" says Norman A. Bailey, a former senior Reagan National Security Council (NSC) official who played a major role in developing the economic-warfare strategy and who served as the first executive secretary of the SIGIEP. In a Potomac Foundation study, Bailey notes, \"By and large Americans have lacked a sense of history and strategy, and have depended repeatedly on geographic isolation and the ability to deploy overwhelming economic and military resources for last-minute tactical responses to imminent threats.\"\n\nBut a senior independent economic-warfare strategist tells Insight, \"There's nothing like SIGIEP now for the war against terrorism.\"\n\nBailey recalls, \"President Reagan's strategy to accelerate the demise of the Soviet Union consisted of five pillars: economic, political, military, ideological and moral.\" The NSC configured what he calls \"a security-minded economic strategy that would constrict financial and other forms of Western life support\" against the Soviet enemy.\n\nNSDD-75 declared, \"U.S. policy on economic relations with the U.S.S.R. must serve strategic and foreign-policy goals as well as economic interests.\" U.S. objectives were to shut off Western subsidies to the Soviet military buildup, keep squeezing the Soviet economy to force pressure for radical structural reforms and minimize the Soviets' ability to use \"reverse leverage\" on the West by manipulating trade, energy and financial levers.\n\nIt's this kind of Reaganesque strategy that the Bush administration must develop, proponents say. Bailey and other Reagan defense and security-policy veterans tell Insight that the economic-warfare plan came under intense opposition from the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, State and Treasury, as well as from such administration officials as James A. Baker, whose persona and acolytes later dominated the Reagan successor administration in ways that former president George H.W. Bush now is said to regret.\n\nReagan, with the help of his loyal vice president, forced the strategy through \"with astonishing rapidity [and] against powerful opposition, not only from the Soviets but also from the administration itself and from U.S. allies,\" according to Bailey. A Cabinet-level group, SIGIEP, operated between 1982 and April 1985, working itself out of existence as the Soviet economic collapse propelled Mikhail Gorbachev to power.\n\nWhat made SIGIEP successful in pushing through the president's strategy? At the White House the NSC, the CIA and the DoD were statutory members of a senior, Cabinet-level, interdepartmental group, ensuring proper integration of security considerations and policy deliberations. National Security Adviser Clark, CIA Director William Casey and Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger were united with a common mission and vision. So too, SIGIEP veterans tell Insight, was Treasury Secretary Donald Regan, who chaired the group.\n\n\"The chairman reported through the national-security adviser to the president, and the National Security Decision Directive that created SIGIEP made clear that this body reported to the National Security Council and was a function of the NSC,\" according to a former member of the group who asked not to be identified. \"That way, the group could never go off the reservation.\"\n\nSays a former Reagan NSC official, \"It's important today to seek to replicate this group in the war on terrorism.\"\n\nThe key to a successful economic-warfare strategy, as evidenced in the case of the Soviet takedown, is concentrating on a potential adversary's hard-currency cash flow and sources of financing. The George W. Bush administration is waging a financial war on terrorism, understanding that drying up traditional avenues of financing is fundamental to reducing and eliminating the terrorist threat. Similarly, various \"follow-the-money\" techniques have proved effective to identify terrorist groups and those who aid and abet them.\n\n\"President Reagan was persuaded even then that it was impractical to divorce international economic and financial policy-making from traditional national-security concerns. This is even more evident today in the war on terrorism and the urgent need to get a handle on proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and ballistic-missile delivery systems,\" says a retired senior official. \"Even our domestic capital markets are now being penetrated successfully by global 'bad actors' that are able to raise billions of dollars annually from unwitting U.S. institutional and individual investors.\"\n\nAmong these bad actors are publicly traded companies that partner closely with terrorist-sponsoring regimes and provide them with \"dual-use\" technology and equipment with both civilian and military applications, and which facilitate large-scale revenue flows that terrorist governments can use in any manner they choose. Few, if any, public-pension systems or mutual funds screen for such global security risks.\n\nAny attempt to revive a senior interagency body such as the Reagan-era SIGIEP would have to take private business and investments into account. Structurally, as far as denying American investment funds to \"bad actors,\" the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) represents the first line of defense. As the first to know which foreign entities are seeking to raise funds and list equities in the huge U.S. market, the SEC could screen foreign companies with an index of firms with histories of proliferation-related concerns or material business in terrorist-sponsoring states. The SEC could refer those names to an interagency group that could work parallel to the normal SEC registration process, meaning no bureaucratic delays in the listing efforts of foreign companies and no interference in the market process.\n\nInsight's interviews with national-security veterans of economic warfare indicate that the agencies most appropriate to serve on such a quietly configured interagency group would be the NSC, the CIA and the departments of Defense, Treasury and Homeland Security. \"This kind of selective approach to protecting U.S. investors from unwittingly underwriting the wrong sorts of foreign enterprises would not only advance U.S. security interests, but represent an important new safeguard for the markets themselves,\" says one proponent who, because of his sensitive government position, asked not to be named. \"It also represents sound corporate governance via the occasional use of American intelligence sources and methods to vet companies that otherwise would be unwilling to disclose their security-related transgressions and thereby expose investors to onerous material risks down the road.\"\n\nThis high-level insider continues, \"In select cases like those of known proliferators, they should properly be denied access to the U.S. stock and bond markets. And there should be no apologies for such a step.\" He then suggests something that individual citizens can do to help defund terrorism: \"Every citizen should be asking their financial advisers and fund managers whether they have invested money in companies doing significant business in terrorist-sponsoring states that likewise possess weapons of mass destruction. Firefighters and police officers should be particularly sensitive to the likelihood that their retirement dollars are, unbeknownst to them, being invested in companies with terrorist ties. It's likely that 21st-century economic warfare and prudent security policy will play out on these types of rarified battlefields.\"\n\nIs the U.S. Vulnerable to Economic Warfare?\n\nThe Bush homeland-security team already has entire units devoted to defense against foreign economic warfare, and the potential threats can be surprising.\n\nThe $800 billion U.S. agricultural sector, some military theoreticians argue, is a prime target for enemy attacks to cripple the economy. \"Harmful bacteria, viruses, rickettsia or toxins that incapacitate or kill humans, animals or plants have an unsettling value in waging economic warfare,\" notes Air Force Lt. Col. Robert P. Kadlee in a paper on future warfare published by Maxwell Air Force Base. He offers a scenario where China, as the world's second-largest corn exporter, attacks the U.S. corn industry by spreading a corn-seed blight over the Midwest, decimating the corn crop. The damage would force the United States to import corn for the first time ever, sharply increasing demand and prices while also damaging the corn-fed hog and cattle industries.\n\nAccording to this scenario, \"Food prices rise sharply and cause higher-than-expected food prices and inflation. China gains [a] significant corn-market share and tens of billions of dollars of additional profits from their crop.\"Another scenario envisions European winemakers seeking to capture the California wine market by spreading grape lice across the Napa and Sonoma vineyards of Northern California. \"In the post-Cold War era and as we enter the 21st century, the economy determines superpower status,\" says Kadlee. \"The threat posed by biological weapons deserves prudent attention.\"\n\nEconomic Warfare Versus Saddam Hussein\nCritics point to more than a decade of international sanctions against Iraq and the massive suffering of much of the Iraqi population as proof of the ineffectiveness and inhumanity of economic warfare. Even though the sanctions now allow Iraq to sell oil to purchase food and medicine, the regime has manipulated the distribution system to support its own power and punish its enemies while allowing Saddam to blame the United States for his people's hardship.\nBut those sanctions are only a half-measure, and a harmful one at that, others argue. \"Sanctions are almost never seriously applied and thus end up leaking massively and actually enriching the target country's elite while impoverishing and embittering the general populace,\" notes Norman A. Bailey, former special assistant to the president for national-security affairs.\n\"Overthrow Saddam? If we really want to do it, let's do it, and let's do it with minimum damage and loss of life, and let's have the Iraqi people do it.\"\n\nU.S. Intelligence Warns of Attacks on Economic Interests\nA Department of Transportation Office of Intelligence and Security advisory to operators of U.S.-flagged and controlled vessels has been obtained by Insight. It warns of al-Qaeda threats \"against U.S. economic interests\" and cites al-Jazeera broadcasts in October referring to \"al-Qaeda targeting key sectors of the U.S. economy\" and other provocations.\nIndependent interpretations by al-Qaeda detainees at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, agree that the release of the taped statements may signal an upcoming attack. \"This information strengthens previous assessments that al-Qaeda continues to plan major attacks against U.S. interests. The focus upon economic targets is consistent with al-Qaeda's stated ideological goals and long-standing strategy to undermine what they see as the backbone of U.S. power: the economy. Striking a prominent U.S. target for economic and symbolic reasons would have immediate worldwide impact.\n\"The focus on economic targets is consistent with al-Qaeda's stated ideological goals and long-standing strategy. The Sept. 11 attacks and commentary on these attacks by [Osama] bin Laden and others indicate how central economic targets are to this strategy. The group's leaders have said that they aim to undermine what they see as the backbone of U.S. power: the economy. Our adversary is trying to portray American influence as based on economic might and therefore seeks to strike an economic target prominent enough for economic and symbolic reasons that would have immediate resonance around the world.\"\nOn Oct. 21, a concerted electronic attack was made on all 13 root servers of the Internet. U.S. forces defeated the attack.\n\n\nThis article, posted 29 October 2002, appeared in the printed issue of Insight magazine dated 12-15 November 2002.\n\nHyde urges Bush to oust Venezuela's Chavez\n\nby J. Michael Waller\nInsight magazine, October 29, 2002\n\nWarning of the formation of a potential \"Axis of Evil\" in the Americas, an influential lawmaker has called on President George W. Bush to support the ouster of left-wing Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez.\n\nJust days before Brazilians elected radical populist Lula da Silva as their president on Oct. 27, House International Relations Committee Chairman Henry Hyde (R-Ill.) sent President Bush a powerfully phrased letter warning that a triumvirate of political extremists leading economic powerhouse Brazil, oil giant Venezuela and the terrorist-sponsoring regime of Cuba constitute an emerging \"Axis of Evil\" that the United States must stop.Insight obtained a copy of the two-page letter, dated Oct. 24.\n\nHyde is concerned that da Silva's professed desire to renew Brazil's nuclear-weapons program and his hints at building the country's economy and global stature through proliferation of advanced weapons, is particularly alarming — especially in light of the Brazilian leader's open support for hemispheric terrorist organizations. Combined with the State Department's continued listing of Cuba as a sponsor of international terrorism and the Venezuelan paratrooper-turned-president's open embrace of Havana and fellow terrorist regimes in Iran and Iraq, Hyde has become alarmed at the administration's apparent inaction.\n\nHyde recounts the Chavez regime's record, which, according to the letter, includes \"fundamental\" violation of the Venezuelan constitution and usurpation of powers of the legislative and judicial branches; \"public alliances with state sponsors of terrorism including Cuba, Iraq and Iran\" and subsidizing the Fidel Castro regime with oil; and support for \"terrorist organizations attacking nearby fragile democracies including the FARC [Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia] in Colombia and radical antidemocratic groups seeking to destabilize Bolivia and Ecuador.\"\n\n\"The Clinton administration remained unconscionably silent about the antidemocratic actions of President Chavez,\" according to Hyde, who urged Bush to stop continuing the Clinton policies and to start telling the truth about Venezuela. \"This is the time for the Bush administration to set the factual and historical record straight: The current regime of President Chavez is illegitimate because it is based upon the systematic violation of the Venezuelan constitution in force in 1999,\" Hyde wrote. \"The Bush administration should also declare itself in sympathy with the pro-democratic civil-military coalition in Venezuela which seeks to restore democracy and should do so at once.\"\n\nAccording to Hyde, \"all the pro-democracy elements of the society, including the genuinely democratic political parties, the labor unions, business associations and religious institutions, have been gathered for two days in coalition with a group of active duty military officers of flag rank demanding that President Hugo Chavez resign and that new, free and open elections be held.\"\n\nSuch action might moderate the incoming da Silva government in Brazil. Hyde is especially concerned that da Silva would make good on his statements to build and proliferate nuclear weapons.\n\nOther lawmakers share Hyde's concern. The International Relations Committee chairman told Bush, \"Recently, many of my colleagues in the Congress wrote you a letter in which they expressed their concerns about the ten-year-long association of Mr. Lula da Silva with Latin American, European and Middle Eastern terrorist organizations in a forum which he convened and organized in silent partnership with Castro. \"\n\nThey also expressed their concern about Mr. Lula da Silva's recent statements indicating an interest in reviving Brazil's nuclear-weapons program, which from 1965-1994 not only wasted enormous resources that could have helped the poor, but also succeeded in designing a 30 kiloton nuclear bomb which could be quickly tested if the program were revived. \"There is a real prospect that Castro, Chavez and Lula da Silva could constitute an axis of evil in the Americas which might soon have nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. ... This is the time to support the pro-democratic coalition in Venezuela and to help the people of Brazil understand the truth about Chavez so that they do not make a similar mistake and elect another pro-Castro radical who will neither help the poor, nor help their economy, nor live at peace with democratic neighbors.\"\n\nTuesday, October 15, 2002\n\nThe Bush Doctrine: New national security strategy abandons moral relativism\n\nby J. Michael Waller\nInsight magazine, October 15-18, 2002\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.546565055847168}
+{"content": "Blog with Joel Brookman\n\nBe a Great Boss\n\nAs a parent, you receive little or no training for the role, but the day comes when you are completely responsible for the life of a tiny being. Most of us grow into the role and become competent parents. In the end, the quality of your parenting has a strong correlation to the long-term happiness and success of your child.\n\nAfter your children, the people whose life you have the greatest influence on are your employees. Consider the fact that most full time workers spend half of their waking life doing their job. As their boss you have tremendous control over their happiness. The challenge is that most managers are never taught how to manage people. Instead, they are just put in the position and expected to succeed. Just as parents have the responsibility to do everything in their power to ensure the happiness and success of their child, a boss has a similar responsibility for his employees. The challenge is that most supervisors were never trained to be managers and don’t understand what it means to be a great boss.\n\nThe Platinum Rule\n\nThe single most important component to business is labor. If you have great people (especially at the top of the organization), odds are you have a great company. The golden rule suggests that we should treat others as we would like to be treated. Then there’s the platinum rule­: treat others as they would like to be treated. What if if all the managers in an organization became focused on the platinum rule? Their goal would be to drive the happiness and success of their employees. Imagine the quality of product that could result from a group of people that love coming to work and are focused on their success. If you align their success metrics with those of the greater organization, you begin to see the power of the platinum rule.\n\nEnsure that your employees remain appreciative\n\nThe concept of treating people well sounds great on paper. Assume you hire someone who is coming out of a toxic work environment. If you provide a nice bump in compensation and treat them well, they will be happy for a period of time. At some point (maybe six months, maybe a year) the honeymoon is over. They grow accustomed to their new situation. It just becomes the new normal. It’s as if they no longer fully appreciate what they have. The solution is making incremental bumps in compensation, in responsibility, and in recognition. If you are hiring someone that you are prepared to pay a $75,000 annual salary, and you know they would work for $60,000, hire them at $60,000 and bump them up by $5,000 every six months. This keeps them in appreciation mode for a longer period of time. You could make a similar move by gradually increasing their level of responsibility. As you do, titles can be helpful in ensuring that they feel valued and are recognized by colleagues. Then there is the simple concept of recognition for a job well done. If one of your people brings in a large account or does a great job on a project, mention it at a meeting or send an email to the entire department or company highlighting their success.  \n\nTake Interest in the lives of your employees\n\nPeople are complex. We have challenges and successes both inside and outside of work. Very often the personal challenges have an impact in the workplace. A high-energy salesperson going through a difficult divorce is probably not operating at the same level as she was prior to her marital issues. If you were to have regular open conversations with your people, where you discuss aspects of your personal life, they would probably share things from their life outside of work. It can begin as simple as a discussion of what they did over the weekend. As you have these interactions, take note of the names and circumstances of the family members they mention. When they tell you about an ongoing situation (whether good or bad) take interest. Ask for updates in future conversations. As you do, refer to their loved ones by name. If you hear that a family member is ill, provide them additional flexibility (ability to work from home, personal days etc.) to care for that person. As you do these things, they will see that you care. Caring creates security in the eyes of an employee. It also solidifies loyalty. I’ve heard countless stories of a boss providing an employee flexibility during a difficult time. The result is a loyal employee that will go above and beyond for their boss and for the company.\n\nAs humans, we thrive when we are in service to others. After your children, your employees represent the people on whom you have the greatest influence. Honor them, respect them, and care for them. Doing so will make you a great boss and the benefits to you and to your organization will be limitless.\n\n\nPosted by Joel Brookman in happiness, Management, managing people and tagged , .\n\n\nJoin the discussion by commenting below!", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5522316694259644}
+{"content": "Friday, February 4, 2011\n\nWhat Wittgenstein can tell us about happiness\n\nHere's my recent story on happiness and its many dimensions. \n\nLudwig Wittgenstein, a famous 20th century philosopher, was miserable all his life. Depressed and anxious, he once wrote in his diary, “There is no happiness for me; no joy ever.” Yet minutes before he died, he muttered: “Tell them I’ve had a wonderful life.” \nThe concept of happiness is universally understood, yet escapes all comprehension. Can someone really be both unhappy everyday and happy over a lifetime? Does the notion of happiness change throughout the world, between communities, between people? Most importantly, do we have any choice in the matter?\nRecent research in psychology, economics and public policy may help unravel this tangled knot of questions. \n“Objective choices make a difference to happiness over and above genetics and personality,” said Bruce Headey, a psychologist at Melbourne University in Australia. Headey and his colleagues analyzed annual self-reports of life satisfaction from over 20,000 Germans who have been interviewed every year since 1984. He compared five-year averages of people’s reported life satisfaction, and plotted their relative happiness on a percentile scale from 1 to 100. Heady found that as time went on, more and more people recorded substantial changes in their life satisfaction. By 2008, more than a third had moved up or down on the happiness scale by at least 25 percent, compared to where they had started in 1984. \nHeadey’s findings, published in the October 19th issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, run contrary to what is known as the happiness set-point theory — the idea that even if you win the lottery or become a paraplegic, you’ll revert back to the same fixed level of happiness within a year or two. This psychological theory was widely accepted in the 1990s because it explained why happiness levels seemed to remain stable over the long term: They were mainly determined early in life by genetic factors including personality traits. \nInstead of existing as a stable equilibrium, Headey suggests that happiness is much more dynamic, and that individual choices — about one’s partner, working hours, social participation and lifestyle — make substantial and permanent changes to reported happiness levels. For example, doing more or fewer paid hours of work than you want, or exercising regularly, can have just as much impact on life satisfaction as having an extroverted personality.\n\nThe full story is here.\n\nImage: Christiaan Tonnis,", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.524750292301178}
+{"content": "Humour and Laughter!!\n\nMonday, February 27, 2006\n\nWhat Calvin Character are you??\n\nYou scored as Calvin. You are Calvin! You are an obnoxious little six-year-old who knows way too much to be getting Fs in school. You know how to have the best time playing, and can annoy adults to no end.\n\n\n\nMrs. Wormwood\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMom and Dad\n\n\nWhat Calvin & Hobbes character are you?\ncreated with\n\nThursday, January 05, 2006\n\nRole of Brain in Evoking Laughter\n\nLaughter is a physical experience. While there is often an awareness of the cause of our laughter, this awareness usually comes after the laughter itself. The role of the brain in laughter is one that is still not fully understood although there is ongoing research in this area.\n\nSpontaneous laughter is a motor reflex produced by the co-ordinated contraction of 15 facial muscles in a stereotyped pattern and accompanied by altered breathing.\n\nResearch at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg Virginia has traced the pattern of brainwave activity in response to a joke. Electroencephalograms (EEG) were taken while subjects were presented with humorous material. The pattern that was noticed was:\n\n1. The left side of the cortex analysed the words and structure of the material.\n2. The frontal lobe, which is involved in social & emotional responses springs into action.\n3. The right hemisphere of the cortex carries out the intellectual analysis required to understand the joke.\n4. Brainwave activity spreads to the sensory processing areas of the occipital lobe.\n5. Stimulation of the motor sections brings about the physical response, i.e. laughter.\n\nSo, unlike emotional responses, which are seen to be confined to specific areas of the brain, responses to humorous material and the reaction of laughter take place in many regions of the brain.\n\nPrathiba Shammi, a nueropsychologist has also undertaken some research into the area of the relationship between laughter and the brain. The research was part of a joint study by the University of Toronto and Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care in Toronto.\n\nThe study involved examining the response to humour by subjects who had experienced brain damage. Patients with damage to the right frontal lobe were unable to identify an ending to a story that turned it in to a joke. While these patients had normal reasoning capacity it seemed that their sense of humor was impaired in some way.\n\nThe right frontal lobe is the part of the brain that brings together information from the cognitive parts of the brain with the emotional parts. It is the integration of the emotional with the cognitive that is important in this case.\nOne other role the brain plays in the experience of laughter is in the release of hormones and neurotransmitters. Laughter has been shown to cause changes in the autonomic nervous system and to alter stress hormones and neurotransmitter levels.\n\nOne early suggestion was that a good laugh could prompt the brain to block the manufacture of immune suppressors such as cortisone or speed up the production of immune enhancers such as beta-endorphins.\n\nSunday, September 18, 2005\n\nWhy Do We Laugh?\n\nWhy do we Laugh? This is one of the universal mysteries. Given the evidence is so strong that laughter is good for your health, then the next step is to find out why we laugh. In addition to this, most of the things we do have a purpose. So what is the purpose of laughter and why do we do it?\n\nIn laughing, the brain pressures us to do two simultaneous things. One is visual consisting of specific facial gestures. The second is a phonic one with the production of certain sound. During exuberant laughter, there is a change in many parts of the body even the arm, leg and trunk muscles.\n\nThere are three traditional theories that attempt to explain why we laugh and none of them are only about jokes. While they still contain elements of what we call humor, it highlights the distinction between a \"joke\" as such and myriad of \"humorous situations that surround us\". The three traditional theories are the superiority theory, the incongruity theory and the relief theory.\n\n1. The superiority theory:\n\nThis is one of the oldest theories regarding the cause of laughter. It was first proposed by Plato. Many other forms of this theory have been suggested since then.\n\nThis theory suggests that we laugh because a particular person or character has a defect or is at a disadvantage. This occurs for example when a famous person such as Bill Gates gets a pie thrown in his face.\nAnother theory by Jose Antonio Jaurega focuses on humans as social creatures. According to Jaurega, we laugh every time we receive information through the sensory channels that breaks the normal code of behaviour. These can be social codes or natural codes. Nature has designed us as social creatures and provided an automatic response when the wrong thing is done so that we signal to the person as well as to others around that something is wrong here.\n\nLaughter is a pleasurable experience and again, according to this theory, the process of laughter gives us a reward for providing this signal. Bad grammar or a pie in the face can also bring about this response. This reinforces a feeling of superiority - an \"I'm better than you are\" response.\nWhile laughter itself is a universal language, the social gaffs that cause laughter differ from one society to another. So something that causes hilarity in one culture may not necessarily result in the same response in another culture. One problem with this type of response is that it also punishes the person who breaks the rule. While it may seem OK to signal that the rule is broken, we may feel sorry for the person who makes a genuine mistake who is then embarrassed.\n\n2. The incongruity theory:\n\nThis suggests that humour arises when the seemly and logical disappear and things that do not normally go well together appear. The child who places a toy cat in the cat basket and heads off to the vet can bring about intense laughter. This occurs when certain situations do not go well together. It suggests that something doesn't belong here. Laughter, as a social signal warns others about this.\n\nThomas Veatch offers a more scientific explanation of this:\n\nVeatch's Theory of Humor:\nThomas Veatch's Theory of Humor states that in order for something to be perceived as humorous, there are three elements that need to be present:\n\nV There is a perception that something is wrong - there is a violation of what should be.\nN There is a prevailing perception that the situation is, in fact, normal and okay.\nSimultaneity Both N and V are present at the same time - \"okay\" and \"not okay\" are present in the perceiver's mind at the same time, resulting in an incongruity.\n\nTom Veatch defines humor by saying, “ humor occurs when it seems that things are normal while at the same time something seems wrong.”\n\n3. Relief theory:\n\nThe earlier theories do not address why feelings of superiority or incongruity should call forth such an exuberant physical reaction. An advantage of the relief theory--proposed by Freud--is that it at least tries to explain the causal link between humour and laughter.\n\nWhen a joke is told, its initial part is the building of a climax, during which a tension is built in the minds of the audience. The punch line, which is a sudden anti-climax, provides a sense of relief to the audience. This sudden release of tension manifests itself in the form of laughter.\n\nAccording to Freud, there are powerful censors in the mind that form unconscious barriers to prevent us thinking about \"forbidden thoughts\". In this view, the laughable (ideally, a naughty joke) liberates the laugher from inhibitions about forbidden thoughts and feelings. The result is a discharge of nervous energy that distracts the inner censor from what is going on. Freud suggests that the release of this energy is a pleasurable experience as demonstrated by the good feeling that laughter provides.\nWithout a tool such as humor, our conscious mind would not allow us to talk or think about the \"forbidden\" subject dealt within the joke. Freud regarded humour as a means of outwitting our internal censor. We are allowed to indulge in forbidden thoughts if it is first disarmed in some way. An insult may seem funny if it is first of all posed as a compliment. In addition, laughter has the function of releasing nervous tension that results from thinking/talking about these \"forbidden\" subjects.\n\nFreud also suggested that jokes as such are usually short things with double meanings. This is to fool the simple censors, who see only surface meanings and fail to penetrate the disguise of the forbidden wishes. Freud's theories seem to work best for humorous aggression and sex related jokes. The censorship theory explains why a joke is not so funny if you've heard it before. This is because a new censor has been constructed, or an old one extended. Novelty is therefore a key component in the telling of a joke that others consider \"funny.\"\n\n4. Laughter as social behaviour\n\nA more recent theory comes from Robert Provine. Given the tendency for laughter to disappear in the laboratory, he enlisted the aid of a number of undergraduates to wander public places and take note of the behaviour of individuals involved in laughter. He found that most laughter was not in response to jokes or stories. Only some 10 to 20 per cent followed anything remotely recognisable as a punch line. A lot of laughter came in response to things such as \"Gotta go now!\" a comment which by itself does not seem to immediately bring forth a stream of laughter. Only 10% of lines that caused laughter could be seen as anything close to funny.\nLaughter in this respect has a social function and may act as a bond between individuals in a group. This has been reinforced by studies of chimpanzees who exhibit a panting sound in situations to those similar to where laughter in humans is created. Apes laugh during tickle type games, as well as rough and tumble play.\n\nWhile laughter can create bonding within a group, it can also be used in a way that laughs at a person rather than with the person. In this case, the function of laughter is to force some type of conformity to a social norm, or even to force an individual out of a group.\n\nOne other thing that creates laughter is laughter itself. Dubbed in laughter is often added to sitcoms. This is known as the contagiousness of laughter (which in its extreme form has caused epidemics of hysterical giggling among convent girls in Africa). MIT's Steven Pinker has suggested this shows that the primary Darwinian function of laughter is to serve as a social glue.\n\nAnother possibly more positive view of the causes of laughter may be seen in the following theory although it is a little light on what triggers laughter in the first place.\nLaughter helps us to release emotion and tension. People often store emotions rather than express them if something angers, frightens, saddens, stresses or bores them. Laughter is another way for these emotions to find a way out harmlessly. That's why people who are under stress go to a funny movie or watch a comedian perform on stage, so they can laugh the negative emotions or tensions away. It's also why we have the saying \"laughter is the best medicine.\" Babies and young children also laugh to express their happiness when they discover something new.\n\nThere are many more theories on why we laugh. As with many theories in Psychology, any one theory often gives us part of the explanation, rarely the whole picture. Given the positive effects of laughter, research in this area is likely to increase in the next few years, leading to even more theories in this area. One area that may change some of these theories may be related to more recent studies on the physiological responses that occur when we laugh.\n\nMonday, September 12, 2005\n\nSome Definitions.\n\nThe following are some definitions & thoughts on humour:\n\nHumor is any intervention that stimulates a playful discovery, expression or appreciation of the absurdity or incongruity of life's situations.\n- American association for therapeutic humor\n\nHumor is the capacity to perceive, appreciate, or express what is funny, amusing, incongruous, ludicrous, etc.\n\nHumor is the healthy way of feeling a \"distance\" between one's self and the problem, a way of standing off and looking at one's problem with perspective.\n- Rollo May, Humanistic Psychologist\n\nHumour is emotional chaos remembered in tranquility.\n- James Thurber\n\nHumor is when an expected \"future is replaced with an unexpected future. The more unexpected the more humorous.\n\nFor some humor is the \"falling into place\" (the \"getting\" it) and is not simply the unexpected surprise that is experienced as humorous.\n- Anonymous\n\nHumour is the only form of communication in which a stimulus on a high level of complexity produces a stereotyped predictable response on the psychological reflex level.\n- Encyclopaedia Britannica\n\nLaugh, & the world laughs with you\n\nIt is very difficult to imagine our life without the presence of laughter & humour. Many humorous incidents (or accidents) take place everyday; some evoking intense laughter, while others, just a smile. A humorous remark helps in easing stress and tensions. E.g. A teacher teaching a new class cracks a few jokes and makes the entire class comfortable.\n\nIt is very difficult to take humour seriously. However, its importance in daily life cannot be understated. It is an effective weapon for attacking social issues, and as stated earlier, for reducing stress. Due to this, of late, people have started taking humour seriously.\n\nOur daily lives are highly stressed. Hence, saying that,‘ laughter makes our life worth living’, should not be called an exaggeration. Laughter acts as a safety valve to release tensions whenever things become unbearable. Laughter is not always an outcome of humour. It is also a social function. As Mark Twain puts it,” Laughter is the only effective weapon mankind has.”\n\n“If you are to busy to laugh ,you are too busy.”, they say. Let's dedicate some time from our ‘busy’ lives to analyse this unique propensity of mankind. What do people in general think about humour and laughter? What significance does it have in their personal lives? The blog is an attempt to delineate their responses and find out the truth behind the dictum, ” Laughing is serious business.” Do post your comments on the above questions.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7941214442253113}
+{"content": "CPL - Chalmers Publication Library\n\nA One Year Pay-as-You-Speed Trial With Economic Incentives for Not Speeding\n\nH. Stigson ; J. Hagberg ; Anders Kullgren (Institutionen för tillämpad mekanik, Fordonssäkerhet) ; M. Krafft\nTraffic Injury Prevention (1538-9588). Vol. 15 (2014), 6, p. 612-618.\n[Artikel, refereegranskad vetenskaplig]\n\nObjective: The objective was to identify whether it was possible to change driver behavior by economic incentives and thereby reduce crash risk. Furthermore, the objective was to evaluate the participants' attitudes toward the pay-as-you-speed (PAYS) concept. Methods: A one-year PAYS trial with economic incentives for keeping speed limits using intelligent speed assistance (ISA) was conducted in Sweden during 2011-2012. The full incentive was a 30 percent discount off the insurance premium. The participants were private insurance customers and were randomized into a test group (initial n = 152, final n = 128) and a control group (initial n = 98, final n = 68). When driving, the drivers in the test group were informed and warned visually when the speed limit was exceeded. They could also follow their driving results on a personal website. The control group was not given any feedback at all. To reflect the impact of the PAYS concept the proportion of distance driven above the speed limit was compared between the 2 groups. Results: The introduction of a PAYS concept shows that the test group significantly reduced the proportion of distance driven above the speed limit. The proportion of driving at a speed exceeding 5 km/h over the speed limit was 6 percent for the test group and 14 percent for the control group. It also showed that the effect was higher the higher the violation of speed. The result remained constant over time. Conclusions: It was shown that a PAYS concept is an effective way to reduce speed violations. Hence, it has the possibility to reduce crash severity and thereby to save lives. This could be an important step toward a safer road transport system. The majority of the participants were in favor of the concept, which indicates the potential of a new insurance product in the future.\n\nNyckelord: driver behavior, driver assistance systems, ITS, speeding, speed limits, SAFETY, ISA\n\nDenna post skapades 2014-07-22.\nCPL Pubid: 200646\n\n\nLäs direkt!\n\nLänk till annan sajt (kan kräva inloggning)\n\nInstitutioner (Chalmers)\n\nInstitutionen för tillämpad mekanik, Fordonssäkerhet (2005-2017)\n\n\nTransportteknik och logistik\n\nChalmers infrastruktur", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9884023666381836}
+{"content": "Why birds Pigeons used Symbol Love\n\npigeons is a symbol of peace and love. Why? Association brings us back to medieval times when people believe all the birds chose their partners on Valentine's Day. Friend anehdidunia.com although some birds looking for a partner for mid-February, including black birds and partridges, many bird breeding season lasts during the spring and summer.\n\nDove was chosen to represent love for Greek mythology related small white bird with Aphrodite, goddess of love. Aphrodite / Venus is often depicted as a dove flying around or resting on his hand. Pigeons also represent monogamy and fidelity in relationships because these birds tend to stay with their partner during the mating season.\n\nMale pigeon also helped incubate and care for their children, which helps achieve the image of the bird is loyal and loving. In fact, their reputation as a symbol of love so strong and made ​​a lot of prescription drugs popular in the medieval love heart dove incorporate as material.\n\nNo comments:", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.97257000207901}
+{"content": "Reduce Pesticides – Lead a happy life\n\nPesticides are designed to control the nuisance and damage caused by pests, and have contributed to reducing disease and increasing food production worldwide.\nBut the availability and widespread use of pesticides also has the potential to pose unexpected risks, both directly and indirectly, to our health.\nPeople of any age with asthma or other chronic diseases may be more likely than healthy individuals to get sick after pesticide exposure. Some individuals are also more sensitive to the odor or other irritant effects of certain pesticides.\nBut no matter what their individual sensitivities, people in the greatest danger of pesticide illness are those whose exposure is higher, such as workers who mix or apply pesticides.\nPeople who use pesticides in their homes may also be overexposed and become ill, especially if they do not carefully follow the directions on the product label.\nPeople living near agricultural fields are more likely than urban residents to be exposed to farm chemicals (although their exposure may not necessarily be high enough to cause harmful effects).\nWhat can you do to minimize pesticide exposure?\n1. Buy organic and locally grown fruit and vegetables.\nBuying organic, in-season produce from your local market is the best assurance of pesticide-free produce. To identify fruit grown organically, look at the little sticker – the number should be five digits\n2. Wash fruits and vegetables before eating.\nCommercial vegetable and fruit washes are available which are formulated to remove chemical residue from produce. Examples are Environné and Vitanet, available online or at your local health food stores and some supermarkets.\n3. Know which fruits and vegetables have higher levels of pesticide residue.\nMany of the health risks associated with pesticide residues on produce are concentrated in a relatively small number of fruits and vegetables.\n4. Grow your own produce.\nA backyard garden plot as small as 400 sq. ft. Can provide much of the required produce for a family of four. Organic methods can replace the need for pesticides and chemical fertilizers, and tending the garden is a healthy activity for children.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9716589450836182}
+{"content": "Last Week’s Highlights\n\nEach Monday, we go over a few of the highlights from the previous week, just to give everyone a taste of what our students are up to.\n\nSocial-Entrepreneurial Program\n\nOur Social-Entrepreneurial students hard at work\n\nOur Social-Entrepreneurial students hard at work\n\nBecause it was our first week, most of the days consisted of the students playing get-to-know-you games first thing in the morning, followed by seminars where we explained the various processes and methods of LiHigh School.\n\nEach afternoon, the students participated in our “Toastmasters” workshop, where each student gives either a prepared or impromptu speech. Everyone gave a prepared “Ice Breaker” speech, where they introduced themselves to the class. Some of the more interesting impromptu speeches involved students answering questions such as “What happens after we die?” to “Tell us about the time you met an alien” to “Tell us about the time you went insane.”\n\nThe students also partook in workshops in Martial Arts and Quantitative Reasoning, and created mind maps that helped them deepen their learning goals when it comes to their passions and interests.\n\nFrom an advisor’s perspective, the highlight of the week was our workshop in shared values. The students were divided into groups and given a worksheet that listed close to 50 different possible values (from “love” to “beauty” to “independence,” etc.). Each group had to come to a consensus on their top three to five shared values. After consensus was reached, the students rotated into different groups to repeat the exercise, forcing them to support the values they brought with them or reach a compromise on the new group’s set of shared values. Once all of the students had been grouped with every other student, we came together to hash out the entire group’s set of shared values. It was a long, thoughtful, and sometimes passionate discussion, but by the end of the exercise, the group had decided on the following five values by order of priority:\n\n  1. Love\n  2. Honesty\n  3. Joy\n  4. Motivation\n  5. Connections\n\nIt took a lot of effort to reach a consensus, but that was the entire point. Because of that effort, we all know what we, as a group, stand for. And that makes it all worth it.\n\nTherapeutic Program\n\nOur Therapeutic Program started our first day by enjoying a beautiful sunny picnic at Lake Bomoseen while our construction crew put the finishing touches on the new building.\n\nThe students were also introduced to Chef Bill’s cooking skills and received an introduction to the equipment and space of our brand-new commercial kitchen.\n\nThe majority of the week involved making a solid group effort to get used to our beautiful new building and to identify what we still need to do to make it more inviting. It will take some time before both our students and our staff feel comfortable here, but we are confident that we’ll all soon take ownership of this new space.\n\nThere was a real buzz in the building all week, and a whole lot of exploration of the new classes, new spaces, new staff, and new students.\n\nAll in all, a highly successful week!\n\nAuthor: Kyle Callahan\n\n\nComments are closed.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5296093225479126}
+{"content": "Madison High School student athletes that have completed their medical physical exams and have them returned to the school can participate in fall softball for girls, and baseball for boys.\n\nThe first official day of practice is July 31 with softball players practicing from 8-10 a.m., and baseball is from 10 a.m. until noon.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.999455988407135}
+{"content": "Site Network Movies Fan Submission Community Media Games News\nThere are 1 users online.\nUsername: Password: Save:\nMK Online    Fan Submission    Kreate-a-Kharacter VII\nTop MKX Discussions\n- Supreme Mortal Kombat Champion Tournament 2017!\n- MKX Mobile - Baraka Challenge\n- Speculation: Future of Non-Playable Characters In Doubt?\n- Mortal Kombat X Mobile Announces Anniversary Update\n- Kountdown: Top 10 Supremely Missed in Mortal Kombat X\n- Mortal Kombat XL Announce Trailer\n- MKX DLC: Unpacking Kombat Pack 2 Characters\n- Mortal Kombat X Kombat Pack 2 Trailer - 4 DLC Fighters\n- WSJ Reports Mortal Kombat X Sales Exceed Five Million\n- Guide: Komplete Mortal Kombat X Brutality List\n\n\nMK Online User Poll\n\nReady Player One?\nI smell her perfume! (65.7%)\nI smell something... (34.2%)\n\nForum Listings\n\nMK Online Site Updates\n  • August 17th, 2017\n    Injustice 2 Fighter Pack 2 Reveal Next Week [Read On]\n  • August 12th, 2017\n    MK Warehouse Celebrates 15 Years [Read On]\n  • August 11th, 2017\n    Mod Koms: Fan Edit Breaks Injustice 2 Bones With X-Rays [Read On]\n  • August 7th, 2017\n    Is Kitana in the Ready Player One Teaser Trailer? [Read On]\n  • August 7th, 2017\n    IGN Crown MK Greatest Fighting Game Character [Read On]\n\nSite Themes\nYou must be logged in to\nselect themes.\n\nMKO on Twitter\n\n\nName: Kwah Dah (\"night has fallen\"; Ngonian language, South Africa)\nGender: Male\nAge: -\nHeight: 6'5\"\nWeight: 190lbs\nOrigin: Chaosrealm\nAlignment: Evil\n\nPrimary Appearance: [See image 1, 2, 3, 4.]\n\nBio: Kwah Dah was once the leader of a huge resistance. Their goal was to eliminate chaos by conquering the realm. Kwah Dah and his followers came close to conquering the realm of chaos. But unfortunately for Kwah Dah, things didn't come together as he hoped. For one of his most trusted followers had betrayed him. This traitor was the last of the rebellion along with Kwah Dah, himself.\n\nThe Traitor (Before MK):\nAs Kwah Dah made his way into an ancient pyramid along with Havik, he soon found himself surrounded. In the blink of an eye Kwah Dah was knocked unconscious. He soon awoke in a secret chamber of the pyramid. To his surprise, his most trusted warrior was before him, Havik. Havik laughed as he explained how he had given into turmoil the night before. Havik then cast an ancient spell on Kwah Dah which sealed him within the ancient tomb for eternity.\n\nMK: Deception:\nDue to a disturbance within the realms caused by the rising evils and large amounts of portals being opened within the realms by Shujinko, the spell which Havik had cast to trap Kwah Dah was broken. Thus releasing Kwah Dah from the tomb. After days of wandering the realm of chaos, he soon finds himself back at the ancient pyramids. As he approaches the pyramids, he feels a sudden surge of pain run through his chest. It knocks him unconscious. He awakes in a dark room. He quickly realizes that their are three men before him. They tell him he is from an ancient sect of necromancers that was eliminated centuries ago by a powerful deity known as Raiden. They then tell him of a powerful ancient artifact locked away inside one of the ancient pyramids in which he should recover. Kwah Dah collapses, awakening him from the dream. As he picks himself up he hears a voice instructing him to follow. As he raises his head he sees an owl in front of him. It takes off. Kwah Dah, realizing it's guiding him, follows the bird inside one of the pyramids. Kwah Dah immediately beings the search for the ancient artifact. After hours of searching he stumbles across a hidden room. As he approaches the center of the room the ground begin to shake. From the ground a pillar arises, above it is a mask. Kwah Dah quickly grabs it, knowing that it is the artifact the elders spoke of. He soon feels surges of power rushing through him. The power of his old ancestors. He then has a vision...he see Shinnok, Shao Kahn, Quan Chi, Shang Tsung, Blaze...he see's armageddon.\n\nMK Armageddon:\nEnsuring that he is not destroyed as a result of Armageddon, Kwah Dah uses the power within his ancient mask to split his soul into 6 and locks them into each of the 6 Kamidogu.\n\nEnding: -\n\nFighting Style: Escrima\n\nSpecial Moves\nManipulative Firewave: Kwah Dah shoots a sort of fireball out of his mouth and when contact is made you are able to control the opponent. Sort of like Rains UMK3 fireball.\nFront Flip: Kwah Dah does a front flipping drop kick which causes him to land on his back.\nDead Glare: Kwah Dah grabs his mask and faces it towards his opponent. If the opponent looks into the mask, energy is taken and given to Kwah Dah.\nNeck Drop: While in the air with the opponent, Kwah Dah grabs the victim and delivers a typical back drop suplex.\nReverse Slam: When the opponent tries to deliver a jump kick and the correct buttons are pressesd, Kwah Dah grabs one of the opponents legs with both hand and slams them onto the floor.\n\nX-Ray: -\nFinisher 1: Broken Heart: Kwah Dah rips out the opponents heart with his hands and eats it.\nFinisher 2: Broken Limbs: Kwah Dah breaks the opponents legs then he moves on the breaking their arms and lastly their neck.\n\nEntrance: Kwah Dah jumps out the ground leaving rubble around and starts laughing psychotically.\nVictory Pose: Kwah Dah starts laughing psychotically and then snaps his head out and back into place. Sort of like Havik.\n\nSubmitted by: MiNeOuT\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9326251149177551}
+{"content": "Painting Waves\n\n\nPainting waves require two essential skills: a thorough knowledge of color theory, and a good painting memory. That’s because the water is constantly in motion: unless you’re referencing from a photograph, any water painting is essentially just coming from your mind. As for color, it’s even more important for waves than for other landscapes because of the nuances and moodiness of various shades of blue. The seas must, after all, reflect the skies, but they’re never exactly the same. Watercolors are a different beast when it comes to water painting because you have to plan not only the objects on the water but also where their reflections will be. This is unlike opaque mediums where you can paint the flat water first and paint objects and their reflections on top of the bottom layer. There’s almost no room to fix mistakes – but at the same time, there’s a beautiful unpredictability to watercolors, which is the essence of the medium’s appeal.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9997072815895081}
+{"content": "blogging the latest developments in microbiology\n\nArchive for the ‘Evolution’ Category\n\nGuest post: A wolf in sheep’s clothing (kind of)\n\nwith one comment\n\nResearchBlogging.orgLike bacteria, viruses have existed for millions of years, yet even after all this time we still don’t really know when or how they evolved. Viruses are grouped into families based on their genome, which can be either DNA or RNA.\n\nLike all other organisms on Earth, viruses evolve, and they mix their genomes with each other in the environment to form new strains – which is why new flu strains appear each year. It was thought that viruses only mixed with others of the same family or with their close relatives, but researchers have discovered a new virus that seems to be a bit of a rule-breaker…\n\nThis virus, provisionally named BSL RDHV (Boiling Springs Lake RNA–DNA hybrid virus), is unusual because it seems to be a mix of both DNA and RNA viruses. A typical virus consists of genetic material (DNA or RNA) surrounded by a protein shell; the genetic material in this newly discovered virus is DNA, yet its shell contains a protein similar to those found in RNA viruses.\n\nThrough an unusual recombination event, the DNA virus seems to have picked up a gene from an RNA virus. Whereas DNA–DNA and RNA–RNA recombinations are well understood, we don’t understand how DNA–RNA recombinations work.\n\nThe new virus was discovered by researchers in the acidic Boiling Springs Lake at Lassen Volcanic National Park, USA. The researchers collected and analysed samples of DNA from the lake’s sediment, identifying the virus and its unusual RNA-derived gene. This technique, known as metagenomics, allows scientists to investigate genetic material from environmental microorganisms directly, instead of first growing them in the lab.\n\nThis new discovery is an important step in understanding virus evolution: it seems likely that RNA viruses evolutionarily preceded DNA viruses, so the authors speculate that the incorporation of RNA genes by DNA viruses might help to explain this branch of evolution.\n\nSruthi Raghavan\n\nSruthi is a freelance science writer\n\nDiemer, G., & Stedman, K. (2012). A novel virus genome discovered in an extreme environment suggests recombination between unrelated groups of RNA and DNA viruses Biology Direct, 7 (1) DOI: 10.1186/1745-6150-7-13\n\nImage Credit: Dave Faris on Flickr\n\nWritten by microbelog\n\n07/06/2012 at 1:05 pm", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6799650192260742}
+{"content": "Ciabatta Mix \n\nCiabatta Mix is a bread flour specifically designed to produce the famous Italian bread which has a crispy and crunchy crust, but very soft crumb on the inside. This product makes a traditional Ciabatta bread that has a light crumb, open texture, and sourdough flavor, but does not require the long fermentation process that is typical associated with this product. It is used in bakery product applications.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCalpro Foods Pvt. Ltd.\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.998777449131012}
+{"content": "Sunday, August 21, 2016\n\nCalixtlahuaca Part 1: Temple of the Wind God\n\nStatue of Ehecatl, the Wind God, located in Calixtlahuaca's museum. Ehecatl is always portrayed wearing this odd beak-like attachment to his face. After leaving Valle de Bravo, it was less than an hour's drive to the site of Calixtlahuaca. The ancient site was once called Matlazinco by the Matlazinca tribe, whose capital it was before the Aztecs conquered the region in 1474 AD. The Aztecs' language was Nahuatl, and Calixtlahuaca means \"house in the prairie\". The town, which still carries the Aztec name, is today a small community located just off Highway 55, about 10 km (6.2 mi) north of the center of the city of Toluca, in the State of Mexico. Part of the pre-hispanic site is on flat ground,  surrounded by the town's modern buildings. However, most of the ancient structures--including the Temple of Ehecatl--are located high up on the lightly-wooded slopes of a small volcano named Cerro Tenismo.  For a Google satellite map, directions, and hours of operation, click here.\n\nTemple of Ehecatl - exterior\n\nFront view of Ehecatl's temple. After visiting an excellent (and free) museum at the base of Cerro Tenismo, we started up the slope to the temple. Part way up, we were met by an attendant who collected $50 pesos ($2.76 USD), which covered admittance to the whole site for both of us. In front of the temple is a flagstone patio, which leads to a grand staircase. The structure behind the staircase is circular, with a spiraling walkway that also leads to the top. On the left side of the staircase you can see a small entrance which allows access to the interior. The entire structure sits on a level platform, the size of a couple of football fields set end to end. The platform was carved from the side of the volcano and leveling it must have been a huge job. This is particularly true since pre-hispanic people lacked metal tools, draft animals, or vehicles to move the earth. The top of the temple provides a grand vista over the surrounding countryside.\n\nThe temple, as it was being unearthed in the 1930s. At the bottom of the staircase is a large cube-shaped structure with people on either side. This was the base for the statue of Ehecatl. Two smaller rectangular structures sit below the steps that lead to the grand staircase. It is not clear whether these were altars or possibly used as bases for two more statues. On the right of the photo, you can see the circular, stepped-platforms that make up the rear of the temple.\n\nCut-away model of the temple from the same angle as the previous photo. Like many other pre-hispanic temples and pyramids, Ehecatl's temple was built in stages. What we see today was the latest of four phases of construction. When modern engineers want to replace a building, they simply demolish it, haul away the debris, and put up something new. In ancient times, the effort, expense, and limited technology would have made this approach virtually impossible. Instead, pre-hispanic architects simply built a new structure over top of the old.\n\nTemples to Ehecatl tended to follow the same general design. Above, you see four different temples from different geographic areas. The view is from directly overhead. The one at Calixtlahuaca is at the top left. The temple at Acozac is below it, and those at Huexotla and Zultepec are top right and bottom right, respectively. While we have not visited these last three yet, we have seen other temples to Ehecatl in distant parts of Mexico. These include the circular pyramids known as the Guachimontones, west of Guadalajara, and the spiral temple at Xochitécatl, north of Puebla.\n\nView from the left rear. Here, you can clearly see the circular platforms and their spiraling walkway. In ancient times, the top level of the temple contained an additional cylindrical structure with a conical roof. However, this was made of perishable materials and did not survive the passage of the centuries. To the best of my knowledge, Ehecatl, whose name in Nahuatl means \"wind\", was the only pre-hispanic deity for whom circular temples or pyramids were constructed. Virtually all other sacred structures were built in a square or rectangular design with the four corners often aligned with the sacred cardinal points: north, south, east, and west. The wind, however, can come from any and all directions, so Ehecatl's temples were circular to reflect the variability of this natural force.\n\nView of the right side of the temple. A series of small staircases lead up to a narrow entrance to the interior, seen in the center of the photo. There are several similar entrances around the base of the temple and on the spiral walkway, as you can see in the previous photo. Through these, priests could access the interior and conduct rituals kept secret from the mass of people who gathered around the temple during periodic public ceremonies.\n\nTemple Interior\n\nThe front entrance on the left side of grand staircase. The bright overhead sun cast the interior into deep shadow, making me cautious as I descended. I didn't want to lose my footing or encounter any unseen critters. Neither occurred, however, and I moved unscathed through a series of dark stone corridors.\n\nA narrow chimney leads up to daylight. At the end of one corridor, I suddenly stepped into a pool of light created by this vertical chimney. I say \"chimney\" but allowing smoke to escape was probably not its purpose. More likely, the shaft was for astronomical observations. I have found such chimneys in a number of other temples where Venus, or the moon, or the sun at a particular season could be viewed through the opening at the top. Using these observations, time cycles could be measured and predictions made for when to plant or harvest crops. A structure in the pre-hispanic Zapotec capital of Monte Alban contains a very similar shaft once used by ancient priests to observe Venus' movements.\n\nA steep internal staircase leads up from the bowels of the temple to its top.  After conducting their observations and secret rituals, the religious leaders could proceed up these steps and suddenly emerge high above the waiting crowd. It must have been a dramatic moment, accompanied by thundering drums and the mournful wail of conch shells. The climb up this staircase looked pretty tricky, in that each step is only a few inches deep and the incline is very steep. Since there was a safer way to the top, I decided not to risk it.\n\nTop of Temple \n\nA stone walkway spirals around the sides of the temple. Portions of it are now blocked, so it was impossible for me to reach the top using this route. Apparently the ancients used it as one route for ascending or descending the temple. A long procession of priests and other high officials, gorgeously adorned with feathered head dresses and jaguar skins, must have been quite a sight as it wound around the temple's circular walls during one of these great ceremonies. On the sides of the wall to the left, you can see several stone projections. In another area of Calixtlahuaca, and at other sites around Mexico, similar projections were used as supports for decorative elements. Beyond the walkway's outer wall, you can see one of several altars that surround the temple.\n\nThe flat top of the temple can be reached over this small footbridge. After climbing the grand staircase, I reached this footbridge spanning the spiral walkway. The view from the top encompasses the town and valley and the mountains in the distance. The temple's flat top once contained a cylindrical structure with a conical roof, constructed from perishable materials.\n\nThe interior staircase, viewed from the top. The small opening in the lower right is the entrance on the right side of the temple, seen in one of the previous photos. The shallow depth of each step can clearly be seen here. After completing their rituals, the priests would have ascended the staircase and come up within the perishable structure. They would then appear in its doorway to address the crowd below. It is my conjecture that they would have ascended, rather than descended. Based on my rock-climbing experience, it is nearly always easier and safer to ascend a steep, treacherous incline than to climb down it. After emerging at the top, they may have proceeded down the grand staircase, or by way of the spiral walkway, or possibly both at the same time.\n\nEhecatl and Quetzalcoatl\n\nFull view of Ehecatl, located in the Calixtlahuaca museum. Ehecatl is closely connected to Tlaloc, the Rain God, because strong, spiraling winds often precede a downpour. Ehecatl wears the unusual beak to cut through any obstacle on his way to join Tlaloc. The Wind God is one of the most ancient deities of Mesoamerican cultures and civilizations. The temple dedicated to him at Xochitécatl dates back as far as 800 BC. Over the centuries, Ehecatl became associated with Quetzalcoatl, the Feathered Serpent, another important and widely revered god. One possible connection between them was the snake symbolism the two deities shared. Among the later Mesoamerican civilizations, the Wind God is referred to as Ehecatl-Quetzalcoatl. The Aztecs built a circular temple for the double-god in the Sacred Precinct in their capital of Tenochtitlán. According to the Aztec cosmology, the Sacred Precinct was located at the center of the world and only the most important among their plentiful array of gods were assigned space there.\n\nEhecatl's statue was unearthed near the left side of the grand staircase. His \"beak\" can be seen at the upper end of the trench above, shaped like the bottom of a clothing iron. The statue had once stood on the cube-shaped platform at the base of the grand staircase. The Aztecs destroyed the Matlazinca's capital in 1510 after a revolt by its inhabitants. The Matlazincas fled to the territory of the Aztec's great rival, the Tarascans, where they settled in the area of what is now modern Morelia. The Aztecs resettled the Matlazincas' former territory with their own people and then rebuilt the city as Calixtlahuaca. In the process, they completed the final phase of the Temple of Ehecatl, and added the statue you see above. A little more than ten years later, the Spanish cast down the statue and destroyed the temple during their Conquest. It was Spanish policy to destroy native religions by destroying their temples. Sometimes they used the rubble to build a churches on the same spot, but in the case of Ehecatl's temple, they simply left it in ruins.\n\nWorkers have extracted most of the dismembered statue and are still digging for broken pieces. In the 1930s, Mexican archaeologist José Garcia Payón began to excavate ancient Calixtlahuaca. In the process, he uncovered and restored Templo Ehecatl and the palace area at the base of Cerro Tenismo. His workers discovered the statue when they saw a lizard run between two rocks. Payón was not present when the discovery occurred, which greatly annoyed him. Between 1988 and 2007, a series of other archaeologists made further discoveries including a temple complex dedicated to Tlaloc, located near the top of the volcano. We'll take a look at the Tlaloc complex and the palace area in later parts of this series.\n\nThis small, unidentified statue appears to depict Ehecatl. The figure is seated on a stepped throne and wears the strange beak associated with the Wind God. A writhing snake forms part of his head dress. In addition to snakes, there is another similarity between Ehecatl and Quetzalcoatl. Both are \"culture heroes\" as well as gods. A culture hero is person of great--and sometimes magical--power who acts as a leader, but is not a god. A familiar example is Hercules in the mythology of the ancient Greeks. In another wrinkle, some archaeologists believe that the culture heroes Ehecatl and Quetzalcoatl, may reflect greatly embellished stories about actual historical figures. Gods? Culture heroes? Actual people? All at the same time? This can be a bit confusing when studying Mesoamerican myths and legends.\n\nThis stela, containing a snake emblem, stands in the patio near the base of the grand staircase. While most of the carving on the stela is badly worn, the coiled snake on the left is clearly visible. The coil may represent not only Ehecatl's snake manifestation, but the spiral of the temple itself, thus making the very architecture of the structure a metaphor for a snake. Just as Ehecatl was a very ancient god, so was Quetzalcoatl. Representations of the Feathered Serpent have been associated with the Olmecs (1500 BC - 400 BC), known as the \"Mother of Cultures.\" Later, the great empire of Teotihuacan (100 BC - 650 AD) revered Quetzalcoatl, as did their successors, the Toltecs (700 AD - 1000 AD). Each of these great civilizations maintained extensive trade networks through which the cult of the Feathered Serpent spread.\n\nThis statue of a feathered snake shows a human head emerging from its gaping jaws. The statue, located in the Calixtlahuaca museum, presents an image that is found throughout Mesoamerica, even down into the Maya areas of Yucatan and Central America. Quetzalcoatl is associated with knowledge, culture, civilization, and the use of maiz (corn). The image of a human emerging from a snake's mouth represents the Feathered Serpent's role as the creator of human beings.\n\nTemple Altars\n\nThis square altar can be found on the side of the temple that overlooks the town. It is not clear what was sacrificed on altars like this, but it could well have included human beings, particularly in the period of Aztec rule. Quetzalcoatl was said to disapprove of human sacrifice, Ehecatl's position on the matter is unclear. The Aztecs were cultural sponges, somewhat like the Romans, and avidly adopted the culture, and cosmology of the people they conquered. They mixed and matched to create their own culture and cosmology (and, for political purposes, deliberately fabricated a good deal of their official history).\n\nA circular altar, set in a small sunken area adjacent to the temple. According to early Aztec legends, they originated on an island (possibly Mexicaltitan) from which they began a meandering, 200-year migration. Their journey finally ended in the Valley of Mexico where they settled on another island in a broad shallow lake called Texcoco. There, they built their capital, Tenochtitlán  (now Mexico City). During their journey, they came upon the crumbling ruins of Tula, the Toltec capital, and later the abandoned but still overpowering site of Teotihuacan. The magnificent remains of these half-forgotten civilizations had a tremendous impact on these primitive. nomadic people. The Aztecs called Teotihuacan \"the place where the gods were born\". Imitation is said to be the sincerest form of flattery. The Aztecs adopted what they found, almost wholesale, including the worship of Quetzalcoatl.\n\nAnother sunken altar, near the edge of the great platform on which the temple stands. When the Aztecs encountered the extensive sculptures of Quetzalcoatl in the ruins of the ancient cities, they saw the similarities with Ehecatl. Over time, the Feathered Serpent came to predominate until Ehecatl lost his separate identity and became simply a facet, or manifestation, of Quetzalcoatl. When they conquered the Matlazinca capital, with its temple to Ehecatl, they simply subsumed him into their broader deity of Ehecatl-Quetzalcoatl.\n\nThis completes Part 1 of my series on Calixtlahuaca. In the next part, we'll explore the temple complex devoted to Tlaloc, the Rain God.  I hope you have enjoyed Part 1. If so, please leave any of your thoughts or questions in the Comments section below or email them to me directly.\n\n\nHasta luego, Jim\n\nSunday, August 14, 2016\n\nValle de Bravo: lovely mountain pueblo on a pristine lake\n\nSunset over the calm waters of Lago de Valle de Bravo. In July of this year, Carole and I took off to explore the mountainous countryside to the west and south of Mexico City. Our ultimate destination was Taxco, a town famous for its silver jewelry. Since the drive was too long for one day, we searched for a suitable stop-over and settled on Valle de Bravo. This lakeside town is one of Mexcio's famous Pueblos Magicos, a status it achieved in 2005. Valle, as the locals call it, was slightly off our route, but its reputation for tranquil beauty appealed to us.  We scheduled our first two nights there, as well as one night during our return trip. To trace our route from Lake Chapala to Valle de Bravo, click here (follow the blue line on the map). We were able to use Mexico's smooth, high-speed cuotas (toll roads) for almost the entire distance. Although I enjoy exploring the back roads of Mexico, a cuota is the best and fastest way to cover a substantial distance by auto. These safe, well-maintained, limited-access highways are lightly traveled in most areas and are superior to many freeways I have driven in the US. For a Google map of Valle de Bravo and its lake, click here.\n\nPlaza de la Independencia\n\nThe south side of Plaza de Independencia, looking west. The main plaza is always the place to start exploring a Mexican town. I picked our hotel, La Capilla, in part because of its location only 2.5 blocks from Plaza de la Independencia. In the 16th century, Spain's King Phillip II decreed that every town in Nueva España (today's Mexico) must be centered on a plaza. As a result, like the plaza of virtually every other former colonial pueblo, Valle's is bordered by a church, a government building, and various stores fronted with covered walkways called portales. Many of today's commercial establishments are housed in what were once colonial-era mansions. Some of these structures date to the 17th or 18th centuries and have been beautifully restored. Today, the former mansions contain shops, restaurants and hotels. Mexican communities take great pride in the appearance of their plazas and the central garden of Plaza de la Independencia was undergoing renovation when we visited. Unfortunately this meant it was blocked off. However, the upside was that the streets immediately surrounding the plaza were also blocked off. They became andadores, or walking streets, at least during the renovations. Not having to dodge traffic was a definite plus. For a map of the plaza area, click here.\n\nLate afternoon sun bathes the hills surrounding the lake. I took this shot in the opposite direction from the previous photo (yes, it's the same tree).Valle de Bravo is built on mountain slopes which drop down to the water. This is a great walking town, but you'd better be prepared for some steep climbs as you move around. Good walking shoes are a must. The upright structure in the center of the photo is the back of a mobile shoeshine stand, something found in almost every plaza.\n\nRestaurant Michoacana occupies two floors of a structure on the east side of the plaza. The modestly-priced food at Restaurant Michoacana was traditional Mexican. We took a table next to the railing on the second floor balcony so we could people-watch as we ate our dinner. Many balconies around the plaza contain similar restaurants. In fact, La Michoacana shares this balcony with an ice cream shop.\n\nParroquia de San Francisco de Assis, viewed from the west side of the plaza, looking north. The Parroquia, (Parish) church occupies the whole north side of the plaza. Normally this street would be full of traffic, but the renovation allows strollers and street merchants to have free rein. Hanging out at the plaza is a major form of entertainment in most Mexican towns. In the relaxed atmosphere, vendors hawk their wares, kids play, dogs frolic, young people flirt, and their elders chat with old friends.\n\nValle's attractive old churches\n\nParroquia de San Francisco de Assis bathes in the warm glow of the setting sun. The yellowish-orange glow comes from the rock, called cantera, from which the church is built. Cantera is a volcanic stone quarried exclusively in Mexico and Central America. In fact, the word cantera means \"quarry\" in Spanish. Relatively light and easily worked, cantera is a popular material for construction as well as for sculpture. The original Franciscan church located here was built in the 17th century. It contained two naves, one for the Spanish and one for the indigenous people. That structure was replaced in the 19th century by the current Neo-Classic-style church. Construction began in 1880 but was not completed until 1994. San Francisco (St. Francis) is the patron saint of the town, which used to be called San Francisco del Valle before it was renamed Valle de Bravo after Nicolás Bravo, hero of both the War of Independence (1810-1821) and of the Mexican-American War (1846-1848).\n\nTemplo Santa Maria Ahuacatlán.  Built in the 17th century, the Templo contains a statue called the Black Christ.  The image is revered because of various miracles associated with it. According to legend, a local hacienda owner became disturbed because so many native people were visiting the chapel attached to his casa grande. To re-direct their devotion away from his personal chapel, he built another chapel some distance away in the small lake-side village of Ahuacatlán. He also donated a statue of Christ from his own chapel. The donated image bore the usual European complexion. Later, during a dispute between the people of Ahuacatlán the neighboring indigenous village of San Gaspar, someone set the Ahuacantlán chapel on fire. One of the few items to survive was the statue, blackened by the fire but otherwise intact. This miraculous occurrence caused the warring villages to settle their differences amicably. The Black Christ was taken from the burnt-out chapel and reverently installed in Templo Santa Maria, where it has remained ever since. Over time, other miracles occurred and the statue's fame spread. Today, the church is known as Santa Maria del Cristo Negro. Unfortunately, the church was locked during the time we visited,  so we never actually saw the statue. Maybe next time?\n\nA brightly-colored parasail drifts over Templo Santa Maria. Valle de Bravo has become a mecca for paragliding and other adventure sports. In addition to paragliding, there are opportunities for zip-lining, rock climbing, hiking, and various water sports. The town draws many tourists for weekend and even day trips, since Mexico City is only 156 km (97 mi) away.\n\nLago de Valle de Bravo\n\nThickly wooded hills backed by volcanos overlook the silvery lake.  This little overlook provided a good vantage point for my photo. In the distance, the cone of an extinct volcano rises behind the hills along the far shore. Below the railing is a park, which includes a basketball court, a skateboard area, and a soccer field.\n\nAn unusual bronze sculpture decorates the malecon (lakefront). I don't know the name the artist gave to her/his creation, but I dubbed it \"The Surfing Angel.\" He appears to be using a crescent moon for his surfboard. Just another of Mexico's many quirky artworks. In addition to its public art, Valle contains a variety of galleries aimed at the tastes of affluent visitors.\n\nJogger on the malecon. Behind him are some of the many restaurants that line the lakefront area. Tiers of homes and hotels rise up the hillside behind the restaurants. Behind me, as I took this shot, long ramps lead down to floating restaurants.\n\nEvening view from the malecon. In the center of the photo are several large tour boats that have been converted into floating restaurants. I wanted to try one of them out, but it rained heavily that evening and we opted for a pizza delivery to our hotel room. Be advised that the meal prices on these boats are considerably higher than what you might pay for an equally good meal closer to the plaza.\n\nParque El Piño\n\nA giant ahuehuete tree forms the center-piece Parque El Piño (Pine Park). The young couple obliged me with smiles when I asked for a photo. This 700 year-old ahuehuete is a member of the cypress family and is sometimes called a Montezuma Cypress or a Bald Cypress. The formal name is Taxodium mucronatum. It was sacred among various pre-hispanic cultures, including the Aztecs, and has been designated the National Tree of Mexico. This area had long been settled by the Matlazinca tribe when the Aztecs arrived in 1474 AD, led by their emperor Axayacatl. He spent the next five years conquering the region and it was the last great expansion of the Aztec Empire before it fell to the Spanish in 1521.\n\nView from the Ahuehuete down the winding staircase of Parque El Piño. The park's vegetation was lovingly groomed and the whole place was immaculate. According to local legend, in 1530 a Franciscan friar named Gregorio Jiménez de la Cuenca founded Valle de Bravo's first Spanish settlement. He conducted the founding ceremony here, in the shade of this ancient Ahuehuete. A flat rock called the Founder's Stone marks the spot of the friar's ceremony. It is embedded in the pavement of one of the landings of this staircase.\n\nStreet Scenes\n\nLooking down Calle Independencia to the Parroquia. Hotel Capilla, where we stayed, is located behind me about 1.5 blocks. Our hotel was comfortable and had an excellent, attentive staff and a very helpful manager who spoke flawless English. We were delighted to find an electronic, in-room safe where we could place our valuables when we went out to dinner on our first night. However, the next morning it refused to open! Since nearly all of our money, plus our passports, visas, drivers licenses, and even my camera were locked inside, this was a serious problem. Neither we, nor the hotel staff, could persuade the balky box to open. The hotel manager called his supervisor, who is based in Mexico City. His boss at first refused to authorize the hotel staff to cut through the safe's door. He even tried to place the blame on us for the failure of the safe's electronic mechanism. Eventually, around 4 PM, the big boss relented, although he threatened to charge us for the damage the cutting would cause to the safe. After further delays, the hotel maintenance man, assisted by the cook, managed to saw through the hinges and remove the door. We retrieved our valuables and, in the end, the big boss never followed through on his threat. The safe problem consumed nearly the whole day that we had planned to spend exploring Valle. That's why so many of these photos are afternoon or evening shots. I should say, though, that the on-site manager was extremely apologetic and told us that, in his opinion, we were in no way at fault for the breakdown of the safe.\n\nAndador de las Ortigas is one of several pedestrian-only streets near the plaza. It was lined with impromptu restaurants and food carts. A little further on, the andador was crowded with the stalls of a street market where fresh fruits, vegetables, clothing, and minor household goods were sold. I always enjoy wandering through one of these street markets. They people are nearly alway friendly and open to being photographed, even without a purchase.\n\nAn old stone stairway leads up a callejon (alley) that connects two parallel streets. This one is called Callejon de la Machinhuepa. We saw several similar callejones as we strolled about town. They were built so that residents could access streets running parallel on different levels. This practice is very common in towns built on slopes and mountainsides.\n\nPotted plants line the railing of a rustic balcony. There is almost nothing in this picture, other than a few plastic pots, that would surprise a 17th Century resident of Valle. Clay roof tiles date back to at least 10,000 BC during the Neolithic (New Stone Age) era. The awning supports, rafters and the door frame and lintel are formed from rough-cut tree trunks and branches. In the upper left corner of the photo, just under the awning, you can see adobe where the plaster has chipped away. Adobe is mud brick made from earth and straw and then dried in the sun. This building material has been used throughout the world beginning at least 8300 BC. Still, with all of its ancient appearance, I would not have been surprised to find someone on the balcony, texting on an iPhone.\n\nFront door of a \"branch\" office? While walking up one of the narrow, cobblestone streets, we encountered this remarkable door. The establishment was closed, so I was unable to determine the nature of their enterprise. Given their door, I suspected they might be involved in the art business.\n\nNeighborhood kids play a \"pick-up\" game of soccer on a field overlooking the lake. Soccer, or futbol as they call it, is enormously popular in Mexico as well as the rest of the world. Even the smallest kids can do some pretty fancy footwork.\n\nThe old and the new. My photographer's eye was drawn to this rustic single-story building. Adobe walls, tile roof, rough-cut wooden door lintels all clearly indicated an early colonial pedigree. It was not until I got home and downloaded my trip photos that I took a closer look. Propped on the left rear corner of the building is a 21st century satellite dish. Just another of the amazing juxtapositions to be found in Old Mexico.\n\nA mother and her two kids cross a side street. This is a typical street in Valle, paved with stones and bordered by houses and stores rising no more than three stories. The color scheme is uniform: a rust-hued base with white up to the rafters. This uniformity is mandated by the requirements for Pueblo Magico status. This was one of the wider streets. Others barely have room to handle one car.\n\nAnother narrow street, with a different Restaurant La Michoacana. The evening sun lights up the sign while the rest of the street falls into shadow. Notice the Volkswagen parked up the street. \"Beetles\" have been enormously popular in Mexico, ever since the first ones were imported in 1954. In the mid-60s, Volkswagen began to produce them in Mexico and continued to do so until 2003. Considering the Mexican penchant for fixing things instead of discarding them, Beetles will maintain a presence on the streets here for a long time to come.\n\nThe  Parroquia looms in the background as windows reflect the last glints of sunset. This street, Calle Pagoza, was filled with restaurants, boutique hotels, and small stores. Valle de Bravo is a very pleasant town to visit and I'd like to return to explore it a bit more some time. However, we had scheduled only two nights and a day, so it soon became time to move on to the next part of our adventure: the pre-hispanic ruins of Calitxlahuaca.\n\nThis completes my posting on Valle de Bravo. I hope you've enjoyed visiting this lovely little Magic Pueblo with us. Please leave any comments or questions in the Comments section below, or email them to me directly.\n\n\nHasta luego, Jim\n\nWednesday, August 3, 2016\n\nHiking the Tapalpa Plateau\n\n\nSetting off\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nInto the woods\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMountain piety\n\n\n\n\nRanches & Farms\n\n\n\n\nThe Tipping Rock and the Return\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nHasta luego, Jim", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9193977117538452}
+{"content": "<![CDATA[Introduce yourselves]]>http://forum.asiansoul.org/category/47RSS for NodeMon, 21 Aug 2017 19:25:01 GMTSat, 13 May 2017 05:21:24 GMT60<![CDATA[Introduce yourselves]]>Username: JosunTiger\nLocation: Seattle\nWhy: To find other Asians who are tired of being oppressed. I would like to eventually dismantle the current narratives about the Korean peninsula being propagated by western imperialist media, and spread truthful information about the American Empire to Koreans outside of America, and provide an online community for woke Korean Americans.\nBackground: IT, economics, math, systems science\nInterests: sustainability, decolonization, social justice, history, art, judo, Asian languages, diversity/inclusion/empowerment, building solidarity among Koreans, Asians, and POC, and more.\n\nhttp://forum.asiansoul.org/topic/462/introduce-yourselveshttp://forum.asiansoul.org/topic/462/introduce-yourselvesSat, 13 May 2017 05:21:24 GMT\n<![CDATA[Introduce Yourself]]>Re: Introduce yourselves\n\nUsername: CrimsonDudeYoutube\nLocation: Western Hemisphere\nWhy you joined: It’s time for Asian grassroots movement for Asian empowerment.\nBackground: Government/Business/History\nInterests: Asian/Korean/U.S. politics, East Asian history, computer games\n\nhttp://forum.asiansoul.org/topic/610/introduce-yourselfhttp://forum.asiansoul.org/topic/610/introduce-yourselfWed, 30 Nov 2016 04:31:07 GMT", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9284574389457703}
+{"content": "Meet Ares (Part 1)\n\nHi everyone,\n\none of the things I am most grateful here in the US is that I get to know interesting people with lots of different backgrounds from all over the world. One of those people is Ares, a 27 year old Catalan girl that happens to be a music therapist. I overheard her talking about it a few times at our weekly get togethers with the Harvard group and wanted to know more. What it is, how it works (if it works) and why it is so important. So I thought why not create a new segment on the blog where we (as in you AND me) meet interesting people and talk about interesting stuff.\n\nSo there you go. Without further ado, I’m happy to introduce you to Ares and her work as a music therapist (because let’s be real, you probably don’t know much about it, do you?). \n\nSandra: What is your favorite song?\n\nAres: Wow, that is a difficult one. I can’t give you an answer from the top of my head for one particular song. I for sure have songs I love when I hear them, it also depends greatly on what mood I’m in.\n\nSandra: Do you think that you consume music differently compared to a person that doesn’t have a professional background as a music therapist?\n\nAres: Music is really powerful. It affects us all, in our way of being, feeling or behaving. I am no different in that sense. When preparing for a therapy session I will have to obviously put my personal emotions behind and think about what choices will benefit the patients condition and his wishes best. And sometimes it’s difficult, because your background in music might be really different than the one from the patient. To sum up, yes, I think that I listen to music differently. But mainly due to the fact that I grew up with taking piano lessons and being very involved with music from an early age on.\n\nSandra: We’ve already jumped into the discussion but let’s maybe quickly explain to everyone who has never heard of music therapy before, what is it,in a sentence or two?\n\nAres: Put very simply, I’d say it’s a form of therapy using the means of music in every possible form to make the patient feel better. The therapy part implies an engagement with the patient, a therapeutic agreement, the patient recognizing his needs and what he needs to improve on. Without those elements it’s making music in a group or alone, enjoying music but without the therapeutic aspect.\n\nSandra: You used to be a nurse before becoming a music therapist. Why did you want to change careers?\n\nAres: I actually always had this thought in the back of my head that I wanted to study music. But I also always liked helping people. So life happens and I chose to train as a nurse. After finishing my undergraduate studies I had to choose which specialization I wanted to pursue in a Masters. I somehow didn’t feel like pursuing a Masters in nursing so I ended up with music therapy as it is the perfect combination of all the things I love. It wasn’t easy for me as people kept telling me it’s a hard field to find work in. What also was nice was that I knew if things wouldn’t work out as a music therapist I could still apply a lot of my knowledge in my day to day work as a nurse in a hospital.\n\nSandra: How?\n\nAres: When I lived in Oxford, I used to work with rehabilitation patients that had suffered from strokes, cerebral palsies or car accidents. During the week it was impossible as they were busy with their physiotherapy and other occupational therapy sessions. But on the weekends they were free and I would occasionally do some exercises with them after my nursing work was done. At the school of music I used to work in Barcelona I started doing music therapy with little kids. I remember one boy that suffered from cerebral palsy, all of his right body side was paralyzed. He loved to play the drums. I encouraged him to use his right side to play even though at the beginning he really didn’t want to. He obviously wanted to play with the side he was able to play with. And you know what? After a year I saw real progress.\n\nSandra: That is fascinating. What does a normal day in the life of a music therapist look like?\n\nAres: It all really depends on the target group you’re talking about as music therapy is practically applicable to everyone, be it pregnant women, babies, toddlers, kids, teenagers, seniors etc. What is also very important is the type of therapy that you’ll apply in your sessions, there is a variety of schools. Norton-Robbins for example is an approach where there are two therapists, one playing the piano and one minding the patient. There are other models where you do everything in groups, some where you never talk during your sessions, others that only do improvising, some that only listen to music and don’t do anything else…the list goes on.\n\nSandra: So from what I understand there’s no typical day in the life as the whole set up and context varies greatly according to your patient and the type of therapy model that you’ll apply, right?\n\nAres: Correct. Generally, however, I will plan a session of 45 minutes. My main focus will usually lie on improvising and on the fact that patients should enjoy themselves and the music. What I love to do at the end of every class, if the patient’s condition allows it, is a feedback round. They are asked to reflect on what they’ve done and created during the session, if they had been improvising for example and created a song only using their body as instruments. Of course it’s not compulsory. But it is a beautiful way for the patients to reflect on what has happened and what they’ve experienced and created.\n\nSandra: What have been patient stories that you like to remember?\n\nAres: I used to work with a group of teenagers that mostly suffered from conduct disorders. There was a girl in the group that was a bully a school and another kid, they didn’t know each other, that was a victim. Two personalities that in a normal school setting would never have talked to each other, respected each other and heard each other, which is really important. Feelings of mutual understanding were able to be formed, which in my opinion never would have been possible to be formed in a psychologist’s office in a more conventional therapy set up.\n\nSandra: Does the music help as a connection maker?\n\nAres: Yes, it definitely does! And the interesting thing is that while they are in the session they really aren’t aware of what’s happening. It just happens. It’s actually at the end of the session, when I do the feedback round where they’ll understand what happened to them.\n\nSandra: What were things those teenagers said in the feedback round?\n\nAres: The girl that used to be a bully would say things like “I heard the sound that the other kid was making”, or “When you sang that part, I really liked it”. Those were sides of her personality as a bully that she never had shown or expressed before, actually listening to others, sharing something with others. That was fascinating. Also, a psychologist was always present during those sessions and she really was surprised to see certain aspects of that girl’s personality that she hadn’t seen before in sessions with her.\n\nSandra: How long does such a transition take time to happen?\n\nAres: It really varies a lot. In this case we did the sessions for about a year. Generally I’d say it takes about 10-12 sessions in minimum to see a change. The first sessions are needed to build trust, the fact of making music is difficult, the matter of reflecting on it is challenging as well.\n\nSandra: Have you also seen cases where the therapy just wouldn’t work or wouldn’t be the right choice?\n\nAres: Yes, that can happen. Especially when a person is very closed-off. If you offer them exercises and they will block any attempt. Or if parents for example don’t see the value in the therapy sessions and will transmit that feeling to the kid coming to class. That will also be difficult.\n\nSandra: Will you leave those cases be?\n\nAres: There will always be an attempt to try and upkeep the therapy. But it doesn’t always work. Which is ok. There are also cases where you just can’t do music therapy due to the conditions of the patient. As listening and engaging with music will activate all of your brain parts and will animate the visual and imaginative part you’ll have to be very careful with patients that have bipolar or schizophrenic problems for example. You’ll have to be very mindful and know what the limits are.\n\nSandra: So that also requires you to have a lot of knowledge of physical and medical conditions?\n\nAres: Yes! You definitely need to know what conditions there are and how they’ll most likely react to music. During your training you’ll have to have medical backgrounds.\n\nStay tuned for tomorrows continuation of part 2, where we’ll talk about Spice girls, babies, instruments and lots of other things. And listen to some music today, ok?\n\nHappy Monday!\n\n\n  1. Laura June 13, 2017 at 1:48 am\n\n    Very interesting Sandi!!!\n\n  2. peter zottl June 13, 2017 at 11:32 am\n\n    LIKE and look forward to your introducing & interviewing interesting PEOPLE….great new concept for your blog :-)……nothing against “food” ;-)….but PEOPLE always are the most interesting to read\n\n\nLeave A Comment\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5720676183700562}
+{"content": "Monday, July 09, 2007\n\nGnu-make: define virables\n\nThere are two ways that a variable in GNU make can have a value; we call\nthem the two flavors of variables. The two flavors are distinguished in\nhow they are defined and in what they do when expanded.\n\nThe first flavor of variable is a recursively expanded variable.\nVariables of this sort are defined by lines using `=' (see section\nSetting Variables) or by the define directive (see section Defining\nVariables Verbatim). The value you specify is installed verbatim; if it\ncontains references to other variables, these references are expanded\nwhenever this variable is substituted (in the course of expanding some\nother string). When this happens, it is called recursive expansion.\n\nFor example,\n\nfoo = $(bar)\nbar = $(ugh)\nugh = Huh?\n\nall:;echo $(foo)\n\nwill echo `Huh?': `$(foo)' expands to `$(bar)' which expands to `$(ugh)'\nwhich finally expands to `Huh?'.\n\nThis flavor of variable is the only sort supported by other versions of\nmake. It has its advantages and its disadvantages. An advantage (most\nwould say) is that:\n\nCFLAGS = $(include_dirs) -O\ninclude_dirs = -Ifoo -Ibar\n\nwill do what was intended: when `CFLAGS' is expanded in a command, it\nwill expand to `-Ifoo -Ibar -O'. A major disadvantage is that you cannot\nappend something on the end of a variable, as in\n\n\nbecause it will cause an infinite loop in the variable expansion.\n(Actually make detects the infinite loop and reports an error.)\n\nAnother disadvantage is that any functions (see section Functions for\nTransforming Text) referenced in the definition will be executed every\ntime the variable is expanded. This makes make run slower; worse, it\ncauses the wildcard and shell functions to give unpredictable results\nbecause you cannot easily control when they are called, or even how many\n\nTo avoid all the problems and inconveniences of recursively expanded\nvariables, there is another flavor: simply expanded variables.\n\nSimply expanded variables are defined by lines using `:=' (see\nsection Setting Variables). The value of a simply expanded variable is\nscanned once and for all, expanding any references to other variables\nand functions, when the variable is defined. The actual value of the\nsimply expanded variable is the result of expanding the text that you\nwrite. It does not contain any references to other variables; it\ncontains their values as of the time this variable was defined.\n\nx := foo\ny := $(x) bar\nx := later\n\nis equivalent to\n\ny := foo bar\nx := later\n\nWhen a simply expanded variable is referenced, its value is substituted\n\nGNU-Make: Variables from the Environment\n\nVariables from the Environment\nEvery environment variable that make sees when it starts up is\ntransformed into a make variable with the same name and value. But an\nexplicit assignment in the makefile, or with a command argument,\noverrides the environment. (If the `-e' flag is specified, then values\nfrom the environment override assignments in the makefile. See section\nSummary of Options. But this is not recommended practice.)\n\nall C compilations in most makefiles to use the compiler switches you\nprefer. This is safe for variables with standard or conventional\nmeanings because you know that no makefile will use them for other\nthings. (But this is not totally reliable; some makefiles set CFLAGS\nexplicitly and therefore are not affected by the value in the\n\nWhen make is invoked recursively, variables defined in the outer\ninvocation can be passed to inner invocations through the environment\n(see section Recursive Use of make). By default, only variables that\ncame from the environment or the command line are passed to recursive\nSee section Communicating Variables to a Sub-make, for full details.\n\nBlog Archive", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6753769516944885}
+{"content": "Scroll down the page to discover how air quality has changed throughout the ages. From Tudor times, through the Industrial Revolution, and into the future, air quality has certainly had its ups and downs!\n\n13th sign 13\nCan you dig it?\nBy the 13th century coal mining was well established in the North East and coal was shipped to London as an alternative fuel to wood. Air pollution began to be noticeable, and people began to feel unwell. Some tried to restrict the use of coal.\ntext cloud 16th sign Man coughing\nCough cough!\nAir pollution was a serious problem caused by coal being burned for domestic heating and industry.\ntext cloud 17th sign charles\nThe First Study\nCharles II commissioned the scientist and diarist John Evelyn to make a study of the effects of coal smoke on health, plant life and buildings. Evelyn’s paper “Fumifugium; or the Inconveniencie of the Aer and Smoak of London Dissipated” published was in 1661. This was the first complete study of air pollution.\ntext cloud 16th sign 13\nSteam, gas, and more smoke!\nDuring the Industrial Revolution, there was an increasing use of coal not only as a domestic fuel but for steam power and gas production, creating even more pollution.\ntext cloud charles\nGreat Inspectations\nRobert Smith, the government’s very first Alkali Inspector, invented the phrase ‘Acid Rain’ as he worked to make sure chemical works obeyed new pollution laws.\n\nThis was the start of the organisation now known as the Environment Agency.\ntext cloud\nActs You’ll Alka-like\nIn the 19th Century regulations were introduced to start to tackle air pollution.\nIn 1863 and 1874, the Alkali Act was brought in to control pollution from chemical works.\ntext cloud 16th sign fire\nI haven’t the smoggiest\nBurning coal to heat homes was now a real problem as smoke and sulphur dioxide continued to pollute the air. Winter fogs often prevented the smoke and sulphur dioxide from dispersing and this resulted in the so-called “smogs”.\ntext cloud\nOffensive gases banned\nThe Alkali Act was updated in 1906 to include lists of specific ‘offensive gases’ and industrial processes. It became the main legislative control of industrial pollution in the UK.\ntext cloud coughing woman\nThe Big Smoke\nIn December 1952 London was affected by a severe “smog” lasting 5 days. It was estimated that there were at least 4000 additional deaths as a result of the smog, including a nine fold increase in deaths from bronchitis. The conditions affected all age groups, not just the very young and elderly.\ntext cloud\nClean your act up!\nThe Clean Air Act of 1956 was the first serious attempt to deal with air pollution from domestic sources, and which introduced the concept of smoke control areas. This led to the replacement of coal for domestic use by smokeless fuels and gas, which then brought dramatic reductions in levels of smoke and sulphur dioxide.\ntext cloud\nMeasuring molecules\nSophisticated methods were developed to measure pollutants, and there was a greater awareness of their effects on health.\n\nIn 1961 the UK established the world's first co-ordinated national air pollution monitoring network, called the National Survey.\ntext cloud scientist\nFuelling progress\nFollowing the Clean Air Acts, air quality improvements continued throughout the 1970s and further regulations were required through the 1974 Control of Air Pollution Act. This included regulations for the composition of motor fuel and limits for the sulphur content of industrial fuel oil.\ntext cloud\nCar troubles\nDuring the 1980s the number of motor vehicles in the UK steadily increased and air quality problems associated with motor vehicles became a major concern. In urban areas, this is now the main source of air pollution.\ntext cloud\nA new authority\nIn 1990, the Environmental Protection Act replaced the Alkali Act to become the authority for waste management and control of emissions into the environment.\ntext cloud\nNetwork improvements\nThroughout the late 20th Century, automatic air pollution monitoring networks were set up to measure the environmental impact of poor air quality.\n\nThe AURN (Automatic Urban and Rural Network) is the most important and comprehensive automatic national monitoring network in the country, currently there are 105 sites, across the UK with data available from 22 September 1973 to the present day.\ntext cloud 21st sign\nA strategy for success\nThe UK Air Quality Strategy (AQS), first published in 1997, sets targets for eight air pollutants: benzene, 1,3-butadiene, CO, lead, NO2, ozone, PM10, and SO2, to be achieved between 2003 and 2008. It includes European Union (EU) targets set through ‘Daughter Directives’ of the Air Quality Framework Directive, as well as more stringent national targets.\ntext cloud\nTaking action\nThe UK Government and the devolved administrations are required under the Environment Act 1995 to produce a national air quality strategy. This was last reviewed and published in 2007. The strategy sets out the UK’s air quality objectives and recognises that action at national, regional and local level may be needed, depending on the scale and nature of the air quality problem. Local councils are required to produce air quality action plans wherever an air quality management area is designated.\ntext cloud car\nThe future…\nAs the population of London continues to grow, more cars and buildings will mean more pollution. However, advancements in vehicle technology and improvements to transport mean people have an option to travel sustainably. Car manufacturers are even offering low or zero emission options for drivers.\n\nBuildings can even be heated using renewable energy or by high-efficiency boilers, and can be adapted to reduce heat loss.\ntext cloud\nAs we move further into the 21st Century there's still more to do to improve air quality - and we can do it if we make good decisions on small and big scale!\ntext cloud targets header", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9483070373535156}
+{"content": "Sun-Sentinel: Pats & Bell\n\nThe Patriots' need at safety has been well documented, and one possibility is veteran Yeremiah Bell. The Dolphins released Bell in mid-March.\n\nOmar Kelly, who covers the Dolphins for the Sun-Sentinel, writes the following tonight:\n\nThe Dolphins haven’t ruled out re-signing Bell, who has drawn interest from the Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots, but don’t seem highly motivated to get a deal done before the draft.\n\nThe Patriots have seen a lot of the 6-foot, 205-pound Bell, as he has played his entire career with the AFC East rival Dolphins. He started every game but one over the last four seasons.\n\nIf Bell doesn't sign with a team before the draft, and the Patriots don't come out of the draft with a safety, perhaps the sides revisit things at that time.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6529924869537354}
+{"content": "Set - 2\n\nQuestion 1 :\n\nTell me about a situation when your work was criticized ?\n\nAnswer :\n\nBegin by emphasizing the extremely positive feedback you've gotten throughout your career and (if it's true) that your performance reviews have been uniformly excellent.\n\n\nIf you are pressed for a criticism from a recent position, choose something fairly trivial that in no way is essential to your successful performance. Add that you've learned from this, too, and over the past several years/months, it's no longer an area of concern because you now make it a regular practice to…etc.\n\nAnother way to answer this question would be to describe your intention to broaden your master of an area of growing importance in your field. For example, this might be a computer program you've been meaning to sit down and learn… a new management technique you've read about…or perhaps attending a seminar on some cutting-edge branch of your profession.\n\n\nQuestion 2 :\n\nWhat are your outside interests ?\n\nAnswer :\n\nTry to gauge how this company's culture would look upon your favorite outside activities and be guided accordingly.\n\nYou can also use this question to shatter any stereotypes that could limit your chances. If you're over 50, for example, describe your activities that demonstrate physical stamina. If you're young, mention an activity that connotes wisdom and institutional trust, such as serving on the board of a popular charity.\n\n\nQuestion 3 :\n\nThe \"Fatal Flaw\" question\n\nAnswer :\n\nAs every master salesperson knows, you will encounter objections (whether stated or merely thought) in every sale. They're part and parcel of the buyer's anxiety. The key is not to exacerbate the buyer's anxiety but diminish it. Here's how…\n\nWhenever you come up against a fatal flaw question:\n\nBe completely honest, open and straightforward about admitting the shortcoming. (Showing you have nothing to hide diminishes the buyer's anxiety.)\n\n\nOf course, the ultimate way to handle \"fatal flaw\" questions is to prevent them from arising in the first place. You will do that by following the master strategy described in Question 1, i.e., uncovering the employers needs and them matching your qualifications to those needs.\n\nOnce you've gotten the employer to start talking about his most urgently-felt wants and goals for the position, and then help him see in step-by-step fashion how perfectly your background and achievements match up with those needs, you're going to have one very enthusiastic interviewer on your hands, one who is no longer looking for \"fatal flaws\".\n\nQuestion 4 :\n\n\nAnswer :\n\nYou greatly admire a company that hires and promotes on merit alone and you couldn't agree more with that philosophy. The age (gender, race, etc.) of the person you report to would certainly make no difference to you.\n\nWhoever has that position has obviously earned it and knows their job well. Both the person and the position are fully deserving of respect. You believe that all people in a company, from the receptionist to the Chairman, work best when their abilities, efforts and feelings are respected and rewarded fairly, and that includes you. That's the best type of work environment you can hope to find.\n\nQuestion 5 :\n\nOn confidential matters…\n\nAnswer :\n\nYour interviewer may press you for this information for two reasons.\n\nFirst, many companies use interviews to research the competition. It's a perfect set-up. Here in their own lair, is an insider from the enemy camp who can reveal prized information on the competition's plans, research, financial condition, etc.\n\n\n\nAnd certainly you can allude to your finest achievements in specific ways that don't reveal the combination to the company safe.\n\n\n\nOne President we know always presses candidates unmercifully for confidential information. If he doesn't get it, he grows visibly annoyed, relentlessly inquisitive, It's all an act. He couldn't care less about the information. This is his way of testing the candidate's moral fiber. Only those who hold fast are hired.\n\nQuestion 6 :\n\nWhat would you say to your boss if he's crazy about an idea, but you think it stinks ?\n\nAnswer :\n\n\nExample: I believe that when evaluating anything, it's important to emphasize the positive. What do I like about this idea?\"\n\n\n\"After all, the most important thing I owe my boss is honesty. If he can't count on me for that, then everything else I may do or say could be questionable in his eyes.\"\n\n\n\"Of course, if he overrules me and says, 'no, let's do it my way,' then I owe him my full and enthusiastic support to make it work as best it can.\"\n\nQuestion 7 :\n\nHow could you have improved your career progress ?\n\nAnswer :\n\n\nBut all things considered, you take responsibility for where you are, how you've gotten there, where you are going…and you harbor no regrets.\n\nQuestion 8 :\n\nWhat would you do if a fellow executive on your own corporate level wasn't pulling his/her weight…and this was hurting your department?\n\nAnswer :\n\n\n\nQuestion 9 :\n\nPOSSIBLE FOLLOW-UP QUESTION And what would you do if he still did not change his ways?\n\nAnswer :\n\n\n\"I might add that I've never yet come across a situation that couldn't be resolved by harnessing others in a determined, constructive effort.\"\n\nQuestion 10 :\n\nYou've been with your firm a long time. Won't it be hard switching to a new company ?\n\nAnswer :\n\nTo overcome this objection, you must point to the many ways you have grown and adapted to changing conditions at your present firm. It has not been a static situation. Highlight the different responsibilities you've held, the wide array of new situations you've faced and conquered.\n\nAs a result, you've learned to adapt quickly to whatever is thrown at you, and you thrive on the stimulation of new challenges.\n\n\nQuestion 11 :\n\nMay I contact your present employer for a reference ?\n\nAnswer :\n\n\n\n\n\nIf you have such a list, it's easy to present any of your achievements in light of the quality the interviewer is asking about. For example, the smashing success you orchestrated at last year's trade show could be used as an example of creativity, or analytical ability, or your ability to manage.\n\nQuestion 12 :\n\nWhere could you use some improvement ?\n\nAnswer :\n\nKeep this answer, like all your answers, positive. A good way to answer this question is to identify a cutting-edge branch of your profession (one that's not essential to your employer's needs) as an area you're very excited about and want to explore more fully over the next six months.\n\nQuestion 13 :\n\nWhat do you worry about ?\n\nAnswer :\n\nRedefine the word 'worry' so that it does not reflect negatively on you.\n\nExample: \"I wouldn't call it worry, but I am a strongly goal-oriented person. So I keep turning over in my mind anything that seems to be keeping me from achieving those goals, until I find a solution. That's part of my tenacity, I suppose.\"\n\nQuestion 14 :\n\nI'm concerned that you don't have as much experience as we'd like in...\n\nAnswer :\n\nThis question is related to \"The Fatal Flaw\" , but here the concern is not that you are totally missing some qualifications, such as CPA certification, but rather that your experience is light in one area.\n\nBefore going into any interview, try to identify the weakest aspects of your candidacy from this company's point of view. Then prepare the best answer you possible can to shore up your defenses.\n\nTo get past this question with flying colors, you are going to rely on your master strategy of uncovering the employer's greatest wants and needs and then matching them with your strengths. Since you already know how to do this from Question 1, you are in a much stronger position.\n\n\nAgree on the importance of this qualification.\n\n\nWhen this strength is added to your other strengths, it's really your combination of qualifications that's most important.\n\nThen review the areas of your greatest strengths that match up most favorably with the company's most urgently-felt wants and needs.\n\nThis is powerful way to handle this question for two reasons. First, you're giving your interviewer more ammunition in the area of his concern. But more importantly, you're shifting his focus away from this one, isolated area and putting it on the unique combination of strengths you offer, strengths which tie in perfectly with his greatest wants.\n\nQuestion 15 :\n\nHow do you feel about working nights and weekends ?\n\nAnswer :\n\nFirst, if you're a confirmed workaholic, this question is a softball lob. Whack it out of the park on the first swing by saying this kind of schedule is just your style. Add that your family understands it. Indeed, they're happy for you, as they know you get your greatest satisfaction from your work.\n\nIf however, you prefer a more balanced lifestyle, answer this question with another: \"What's the norm for your best people here?\"\n\nIf the hours still sound unrealistic for you, ask, \"Do you have any top people who perform exceptionally for you, but who also have families and like to get home in time to see them at night?\" Chances are this company does, and this associates you with this other \"top-performers-who-leave-not-later-than-six\" group.\n\n\nExample: \"I love my work and do it exceptionally well. I think the results speak for themselves, especially in …(mention your two or three qualifications of greater interest to the employer. Remember, this is what he wants most, not a workaholic with weak credentials). Not only would I bring these qualities, but I've built my whole career on working not just hard, but smart. I think you'll find me one of the most productive people here.\n\nI do have a family who likes to see me after work and on weekends. They add balance and richness to my life, which in turn helps me be happy and productive at work. If I could handle some of the extra work at home in the evenings or on weekends, that would be ideal. You'd be getting a person of exceptional productivity who meets your needs with strong credentials. And I'd be able to handle some of the heavy workload at home where I can be under the same roof as my family. Everybody would win.\"", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6125949621200562}
+{"content": "Introduction: Challah Turkey\n\nSince Hanukkah and Thanksgiving fell on the same day, I decided to do something fun for the holiday and make some Challah in the shape of a turkey!  I've been making bread for a while now, so the biggest challenge was shaping it just right.  \n\nThe ingredients needed are as follows:\n1 package dry yeast \n1/2 cup brown sugar or honey\n1.5 cups lukewarm water, or more if needed\n1/2 cup olive oil\n4 eggs (even though I only have one pictured)\n1 teaspoon of salt\n8 cups flour (I used half whole wheat to get the color of the turkey right)\n\nPrep the yeast by combining a tablespoon sugar, the yeast package, and the lukewarm water and placing it in a dark place (since yeast grows best in the dark) for 15 minutes.  While you're waiting for this, measure out the flour, the rest of the sugar, and salt, and mix them together.  Beat three of the eggs and add them in along with the oil.  Mix with a spoon until it reaches a workable consistency (like the one I have pictured), then take the dough out and begin kneading it by hand.\n\nAt this point, if the dough it too sticky, add more flour, and if it's too hard, add more water.  If you used whole wheat flour, it will take a bit longer to knead, since the gluten in this four is harder to relax.  The dough is done when you pinch it and it has some elasticity, it bounces back.  It should be roughly the texture of your earlobe (make sure not to get dough in your hair if you're using this measurement!)\n\nSpit the dough into 5 balls, a large one for the body, two smaller ones for legs, and two more a bit smaller for wings.  Shape into your turkey! Cover with a dish towel and let rise for an hour.  I like to turn the oven on to 100 degrees and then back off and then let bread rise in the oven so the temperature is a bit warmer.\n\nAfter your turkey is done rising, beat the last of the eggs and brush (or baste!) the turkey with it.  This will give it a nice golden color.  Bake it at 375 degrees for 30-40 minutes, or until golden brown.  Serve on a bed of veggies!\n\n\nAbout This Instructable\n\n\n\n\nMore by jrharari:Welded PortraitsMinimalist Hammock-Style BedAutomated Bottle Cutter\nAdd instructable to:", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.977402925491333}
+{"content": "There's a few changes coming and the biggest one is moving from Edmonton, and going back to Summerland, BC, just 4 hours from Vancouver. I'm going to be closer to my family, and the winters are much shorter there as well. This happens at the end of the month. I hope to schedule some time for just taking photos. I know I'll be walking every day, as I'll be living in a beautiful area, and the camera will always be with me.\n\n I've picked up another Fuji Finepix to tide me over untill I can get a Digital SLR, but I'm still using the Pentax film camera.\n\nI've added music to a few of my photos, and they're in an album titled, \"photos with music\". I hope you enjoy them. I'll add more from time to time. Thanks to JoJo for the idea and instructions.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8871804475784302}
+{"content": "Home > Sports > MI seek to maintain momentum against KXIP\n\nMI seek to maintain momentum against KXIP\n\n Agencies |  2016-05-13 00:39:59.0  |  New Delhi\n\n\n\nMI, led by India’s star batsman Rohit Sharma, are placed fourth in the points table with six victories and five defeats from 11 appearances. They have so far earned 12 points, and would seek to maintain the momentum going into their next game at the Dr. YS Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA \nCricket Stadium, their current home base.\n\nStruggling at the bottom of the eight-team table, Kings XI Punjab are already out of reckoning for a play-offs berth, having lost seven of their 10 matches. The visitors are not likely to find the going easy against the formidable Mumbai outfit.\n\nRohit has led the team from the front and is Mumbai’s top-scorer overall. On most occasions, he has delivered when his team has needed. Knocked out for a paltry 92 by Sunrisers Hyderabad, MI’s batsmen as well as the bowlers seemed determined to erase that humiliation against RCB. After MI’s bowlers allowed the batting-heavy RCB to score only 151 in front of their home crowd at the comparatively smaller Chinnaswamy Stadium, their batsmen chased down the target with plenty of wickets and balls to spare. \n\nShare it", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8992907404899597}
+{"content": "Take a SMART approach with compressed air leaks\n\nMeasure the problem, then set out on a repair journey\n\n\nWith increasing market expectations associated with energy efficiency and sustainability, most corporate business reviews include a summary of energy conservation projects and performance. Courtesy: Ingersoll RandWith increasing market expectations associated with energy efficiency and sustainability, most corporate business reviews include a summary of energy conservation projects and performance. When the decision is made to identify additional savings opportunities, fixing compressed air leaks is flagged as an opportunity to deliver savings quickly with minimal investment.\n\nThe desire to eliminate air leaks is echoed in discussions with customer focus groups and market research projects that seek to identify unmet needs of the industrial consumer. If it is generally accepted that compressed air leaks are a waste of money and easily repaired, why do they still exist?\n\nAs an organization with dedicated engineering resources focused on the assessment of compressed air systems to help customers improve efficiency, reliability and productivity, compressed air leaks are a routine topic of discussion among assessment engineers and compressed air users. Working with customers in North America, Ingersoll Rand developed a new leak assessment service-offering designed to help industrial customers manage air leaks more effectively.\n\nAs part of an ongoing effort to iteratively advance the efficiency and effectiveness of our leak assessment program, data from every recorded leak is collected and compiled in a central database. After collecting data from several hundred leak assessments, an analysis of thousands of recorded leaks identified trends and opportunities in the battle against compressed air leaks. These results are segmented into two areas—recorded leaks and the process of leak repair. \n\nIdentifying common leak locations\n\nThe data analysis revealed the majority of leaks—by volume and frequency—occur at the point of use, as illustrated in the Pareto chart (Fig. 1). \n\nFigure 1: Pareto chart based on relative quantity of recorded leak types against the total volume of compressed air they consume. Data courtesy: Ingersoll Rand\n\nAs shown in Fig. 1, the filter-regulator-lubricator (FRL) is the largest culprit of compressed air leaks, closely followed by the threaded joints along pipe drops and connections to pneumatic equipment. The point-of-use valves used to control actuation of single or multiple pneumatic devices is a close third.\n\nOn average, these three leak categories represent over 80% of the leaks identified in an industrial facility. The quick-disconnect type fittings, push-lock tube fittings, and hose/tube leaks are considered by many to be the most common components prone to leaks. They are identified as unique leak types segmented in the data. Contrary to common belief, these three applications combined represent only 16% of all identified leaks.\n\nIt is important to note that the analysis is based on data recorded and observed during leak assessments. The data does not differentiate between recurring leaks that are repaired frequently from a leak that has grown over time. Any application located very close to an operator has an increased probability of being identified and repaired. Therefore, the recorded data suggests that FRLs, control valves, and point-of-use threaded joints represent the largest source of leak repair opportunities that are not addressed.\n\nTechnicians use ultrasonic leak detection equipment to estimate leak volumes during assessments. To deliver consistent results, technicians train to use a standard process and tools. Technicians record the pressure at each location and utilize it to calculate leak volume with improved accuracy over more common methods that assume a constant pressure for all locations.\n\nThe data was compiled and summarized graphically in Figs. 2-4 by leak category, and then segmented according to leak volume and weighted frequency of occurrence.\n\nFigure 2: The FRL is the largest culprit of compressed air leaks. The leaks, on average, account for 3 scfm of waste in the compressed air system. Data courtesy: Ingersoll Rand\n\nFigure 3: Threaded fittings are the second most common location for compressed air leaks. On average, these leaks account for 3 scfm of waste in the compressed air system. Data courtesy: Ingersoll Rand\n\nFigure 4: Valves represent the third largest source of compressed air leaks. Maintenance managers should address these leaks, averaging 3 scfm. Data courtesy: Ingersoll Rand\n\nAccording to the recorded data in Figs. 2-4, the average leak volume is 3 scfm for all leak categories. This implies there is no advantage to targeting one type of leak in hopes of delivering improved results relative to the number of leaks repaired. The number of leaks less than 1 scfm is very low, but this is influenced by the leak assessment process.\n\nThe cost to repair a small leak can exceed the savings potential beyond a site-specific financial threshold. Consequently, the majority of customers chose to not record these smaller leaks during the leak assessment. Another issue is being able to physically detect the leak. When a leak is less than 1 scfm, it is difficult for maintenance personnel to feel the leak and isolate the area that needs repair. There is no value in identifying and tagging leaks that will not be repaired. \n\nPrioritizing leak repairs\n\nTo be efficient, leaks scheduled for repair should be prioritized by measured volume and ease of repair. This prioritization delivers the best return on time and effort. Referencing Figs. 2-4, the number of leaks larger than 6 scfm for all categories is very low, but this can be attributed to two influences: larger leaks are more audible, increasing awareness and accountability to repair the obvious energy waste; and as a leak increases in volume, so does its potential to negatively influence the application. As a result, many larger leaks are repaired to correct a performance issue, not to deliver energy savings.\n\nPareto law, often referred to as the 80/20 rule, is frequently quoted in regard to compressed air leaks. The assumption states that 80% of the total volume of air being wasted through leaks can be eliminated by repairing 20% of the identified leaks. The recorded data suggests that leaks do not adhere to this assumption.\n\nTo provide a simple prioritized summary of leaks from each assessment, recorded leaks are sorted by volume and summarized graphically using a Pareto chart. The data compiled by individual leak assessment and total recorded leaks for all assessments consistently follow an 80/70 relationship, where 80% of the total volume can be eliminated by repairing 70% of the leaks. This is very different from the 80/20 assumption that many follow.\n\nAs the summary of leak categories in Fig. 1 illustrates, almost half of all leaks could be reduced by implementing an FRL maintenance program. Considering most facilities use standard FRL models and sizes across an entire facility, a maintenance technician equipped with several repair kits and replacement filter elements could easily fix a large number of leaks while simultaneously minimizing pressure variance and losses at each FRL station. This can be accomplished by segmenting FRLs by location or application, then scheduling annual filter replacements and leak inspections. Valves and threaded joints adjacent to the FRL should be included as part of the annual FRL preventive maintenance. \n\nUsing a SMART process to repair leaks\n\nIt is common to have a disassociation between desired results and the interpretation of cascaded actions executed in industrial facilities. For example, most facilities want to save money by eliminating or minimizing the energy consumption associated with compressed air leaks. In order to achieve this goal, most facilities will invest in an ultrasonic leak detection tool maintenance personnel can use to locate and tag compressed air leaks.\n\nSome organizations will contract an outside service organization to perform a leak survey to identify and tag all of the leaks. However, placing a tag on a leak has no impact on the monthly utility bill. Energy savings cannot be realized until field-level actions are aligned with the desired results. In this situation, finding all of the leaks becomes the interpreted objective, with leak repair an assumed result. It is important to note that identified leaks must be converted to a reduction in compressed air demand with a measurable decrease in compressor supply energy to produce energy savings.\n\nIndustrial facilities should employ the SMART planning process to achieve energy conservation from compressed air leaks. SMART is an acronym used by many organizations to create objectives with a high probability of success. A SMART objective should be:\n\n  • Specific\n  • Measureable\n  • Agreed-upon\n  • Realistic\n  • Time-bound.\n\nWhether the intention is to develop an ongoing leak management program or attack leaks as a specific project, incorporating these SMART attributes will help ensure efforts are converted into desired results.\n\n\nPrescriptive maintenance; Hannover Messe 2017 recap; Reduce welding errors\nResearch team developing Tesla coil designs; Implementing wireless process sensing\n\nAnnual Salary Survey\n\n\n\n\nRead more: 2015 Salary Survey\n\nMaintenance Manager; California Oils Corp.\nAssociate, Electrical Engineering; Wood Harbinger\nControl Systems Engineer; Robert Bosch Corp.\nclick me", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9425534009933472}
+{"content": "HyStem™ Cell Culture\n\nHyStem Glossary of Terms\n\nAcinus(plural: acini) - The word comes from the latin word “grape”. It refers to the sac-like termination of a secretary exocrine gland. In vitro, mammary epithelial cells cultured in a laminin-rich matrix form acinus-like spheres.\nAdult (or somatic) stem cell - Stem cells found in specific adult organs or tissues which can differentiate into specialized cell types within that organ or tissue. For example, a cancer stem cell can give rise to differentiated tumor cells. Adult stem cells are multipotent and hence can only differentiate into cells found in their own tissue of origin.\nAstrocyte - A glial, neuron-supporting cell.\nAllogeneic transplantation - Transplantation of cells, tissues, or organs between individuals of same species. For example, a kidney transplant from one donor to another recipient.\nAutologous transplantation - Transplantation of cells, tissues, or organs within the same individual. For example, using a patient’s patellar tendon for anterior cruciate surgery reconstruction.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9585038423538208}
+{"content": "Madame Bovary and Don Quixote\n\nOnly available on StudyMode\n  • Download(s) : 330\n  • Published : October 24, 2011\nOpen Document\nText Preview\n“Our ability to read and understand any particular novel is enhanced by our knowledge of other novels and by our awareness of the history and theory of novels”.\n\nOur ability to read a novel is most certainly enhanced by our knowledge of other novels. To draw meaning, and feel emotion, from such novels we must understand their relationship with the world they are based in, the world we know, through lived experience. The mimetic content of a novel, or its themes and ideas, are thought about in terms of their relation to our understanding of the world around us, how well it imitates that world or conflicts with it.\n\nGustave Flaubert’s Madame Bovary is a classic nineteenth century novel with a unique and memorable central character in Emma Bovary, who is shown in a realistic and convincing social setting. Emma Bovary’s “present day reality,”1 the setting of her life, her values and ideas, are described in rich and vivid detail. Although we use terms like ‘realism’ to describe this kind of novel because of its detailed depiction of daily life, what we are offered by these novels is not ‘life,’ but an image that is the creation of both the author’s raveling of life into fiction and the reader’s unraveling of fiction with life.2 There is the possibility for us to see novels as apart from real life because we consider them in regard to the real world. Fiction should not be seen as an exact reflection but as an imagined version, just as point of view is shaped by our endeavors to see the world in such a way as to make sense of it as we do when reading a novel. As readers we look for realistic characters and life-like stories to engage and thrill, something that is relatable. We want creators to bring forth characters who are three dimensional, complex and flawed so that they seem more real, more believable.\n\n‘The novel is one bright book of life. Books are not life. They are only tremulations on the ether. But the novel as a tremulation can make the whole man alive tremble.’3 Novels not only evoke a short term emotional response in readers, they also affect our long term emotional responsiveness - a point presented by writers themselves since at least Don Quixote. Novels can have an impact on our own lives as far as they alter how we feel about other people and situations and effect what we are motivated to do in our personal and social lives.4 As the pitifully amusing Don Quixote shows us, this can occur through our construction of conditions we find ourselves in. Guided by stories the way we process reality might turn windmills into enemies, or as in the case of Emma Bovary, render us disappointed with everyday life. Literature not only represents and arouses emotional experience in the reader, it can contribute to the formation of our emotional responses. As Don Quixote shows, literature itself is a useful source of information regarding said contribution. Along with Don Quixote, Madame Bovary is famous for its criticism and analysis of literature as a source of romantic misunderstandings of the world.\n\nAn older man and rich farmer, Alonso Quejana, spent the majority of his life reading novels about medieval times and courageous knights. Adopting the name Don Quixote, and the code of chivalry, he began to believe that he was one of the knights from his tales. Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes claims throughout his satirical Don Quixote that his novel is based on the documented evidence detailing the history of real people. The inclusion of average people in Don Quixote, characters such as shop owners, barkeepers and shepherds, was radical and mostly unprecedented. Don Quixote embodies naive unworldly idealism and a romantic vision that see him the mocked throughout the tale: Six maids took off his armour and acted as pages, all of them trained in their parts by the Duke and Duchess, and instructed in their behaviour towards Don Quixote, for his hosts were anxious that he should really believe that they were treating...\ntracking img", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8196706175804138}
+{"content": "Brazilian Metal icons SEPULTURA have revealed the title of their upcoming studio album, \"Machine Messiah\", inspired by the robotization of our society. The album will be released on January 13th via Nuclear Blast Records.\n\nThe album was produced by the band and Jens Borgen (Soilwork, Opeth, Katatonia, Amon Amarth) of Fascination Street Studios in Örebro, Sweden. The cover artwork for \"Machine Messiah\" was created by artist Camille Della Rosa.\n\n\"I found the work of Camille Della Rosa during some research I was doing to look for alternative artists to work on the cover of our new album,\" states Andreas Kisser. \"I had the concept in my mind and the name of the album, \"Machine Messiah\", but that didn’t matter much since I was looking for different styles and ideas, different artists. When I saw her paintings I was really impressed by her style, full of colors and meaning, very unique, and alive! She comes from the Philippines, a place where we performed some years ago and we could feel the intensity of their culture, very powerful! She has that power in her paintings and drawings!\n\n\"The main inspiration around \"Machine Messiah\" is the robotization of our society nowadays. The concept of a God Machine who created humanity and now it seems that this cycle is closing itself, returning to the starting point. We came from machines and we are going back to where we came from. The messiah, when he returns, will be a robot, or a humanoid, our bio-mechanical savior.\n\n\"The painting \"Deus Ex-Machina\" is a masterpiece! I was really shocked to see how her concept of the painting was a perfect fit to our concept! The cover was done 6 years ago for our new album and she didn’t know it! Neither did I but I’m glad we crossed each others paths. Camille’s work is intense and in your face. We are lucky to have such a great artist working with us, she’s kind and very talented. She brings something new and exciting to a career of 32 years during which amazing artists have created memorable and iconic album covers.\n\n\"I’m very happy with everything about \"Machine Messiah\", it is a SEPULTURA album but with a new direction and intensity, a new musical challenge, a step forward! Can’t wait to show the world our music for the new Messiah coming.\"\n\n\"Machine Messiah\" track listing:\n\n  1. Machine Messiah\n  1. I Am the Enemy\n  2. Phantom Self\n  3. Alethea\n  4. Iceberg Dances\n  5. Sworn Oath\n  6. Resistant Parasites\n  7. Silent Violence\n  8. Vandals Nest\n  9. Cyber God\nsepultura album", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.596554160118103}
+{"content": "Moon in Leo square Mars in Taurus\n\nThe Moon is in Leo for the next 2 days and will be supported by the Sun in Aries, Jupiter in Libra and Saturn in Sagittarius while being square to Mars in Taurus.\n\nThe drive to succeed is high and fortune favours the bold but for the next 2 days it is PATIENCE who will favour the bold.\n\nThe Dawn of the New Moon in Aquarius\n\nThe Moon this Week\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTake a Breather\n\n\n\n\n\nThe best way to predict the future is to invent it.\n-Alan Kay\n\nThe constancy of Saturn\n\n\nThings take time.\n\nOne does not become wise with the accumulation of diplomas but with the slow movement towards death that we like to call maturity. You cannot buy experience; you have to wait patiently at the threshold of time.\n\nObserve with humility what unfolds\nTake notes\nAct accordingly\n\nThere are no better instruction manual for life than time. With the wisdom acquired one realizes that he knows nothing at all and this is when the true learning journey begins.\n\nThe adversity of reality builds strength of character and reveals its underlying truth one drop at a time. For the steep price of aging we discover the secrets that remains hidden to the hubris of youth. The finality of death can be a fantastic teacher for those who are eager to learn. Where one only sees restrictions the student of Saturn sees a learning opportunity.\n*Saturn is currently at 18º of Sagittarius in a conjunction with the Sun. Sagittarius is ruled by Jupiter which is expansive and generally joyful. A far cry from the restrictive nature of Saturn. Not only does this annual conjunction of the Sun and Saturn happening on Jupiter’s home turf the planet which is currently at 18º Libra is also sextile to the Sun/Saturn conjunction. This lightens Saturn’s load considerably and might bring interesting wisdom and an appreciation for time-tested ideas.\n\nThe conjunction of the Sun and Saturn in Sagittarius is exact Saturday morning the 10th of December.\n\nHere are some of my interpretation for this conjunction.  Please keep in mind that those are general interpretations. To know more specifically how this conjunction will influence you, locate the house where Sagittarius falls in your chart. This conjunction will be more evident if you have planets in the middle degrees of either Sagittarius or other mutable signs.\n\n➣Gratitude for recent struggles who brought you a genuine level of strength and wisdom.\n\n➣A sense of accomplishments after a period of hard work.\n\n➣Making long-term plans.\n\n➣The realisation that people can’t live-up to your unrealistic expectations.\n\n➣A desire for socializing which doesn’t find an easy outlet.\n\n➣The awareness that things take time and that it is perfectly ok.\n\n➣It is the journey that brings the teachings not the destination.\n\n➣Being limited in some ways but being ok with that. Wisdom in limitations.\n\n➣The desire to slow down and assimilate recent teachings.\n\n➣Wisdom from the distant past coming to the surface.\n\n➣Limitations and their potentials.\n\n➣The presence of sickness and death and learning to enjoy the present moment.\n\n➣The silver lining of something very difficult\n\nHere is a great example of a Jupiterian person in very difficult circumstances making the best of it.\n\nClick the picture for the link:\n\n\nThe Archer\n\nToday, the Sun enters the Fire sign of Sagittarius. Sagittarian are known for their gregarious dispositions and big smiles. They have a love for knowledge and are always searching for the ultimate truth. They need a lot of movement and space to be happy. Half human, half animal they try to reconcile their instinct with their higher principles.\n\n\nThe Children of Jupiter\n\n\nGreat Jupiter is now my name,\nThe second planet, strong in fame.\nI am moist and truly warm,\nBy nature I can do no harm.\nTwo signs I have, their houses mine-\nArcher and fishes, which golden shine.\nSeek and prove me there, I pray:\nMuch good will surely come your way.\nWhen in the Crab, I’m lifted high.\nWeaker, in the Goat I sigh.\nMy passage round the twelve signs is\nIn twelve long years accomplished.\n\nModest, happy, virtuous lives;\nThey’re lusty, but they love their wives.\nFortune smiles, they’re just and wise,\nRosy faces and laughing eyes,\nWell-mannered and well-clothed, refined,\nWith hound and bow they hunt the hind.\nIn falconry they have much art,\nWell-mounted, they pursue the hart.\nSailors and judges and men of the court,\nHardworking scholars, their studies not short.\nIf to these things they are inclined,\nIt’s Jupiter’s children that you find.\n\nFrom the book: Poems of the Seven Planets\n\n\nThe Moon is in Sagittarius until Thursday night and will briefly meet Saturn later this afternoon.\n\nThis is a great day to find discipline and focus in your many projects. The Moon and Saturn together can give us single-mindedness and purpose. At its worst it could make us unyielding.\n\n“Find a target. Know where your influence is heading towards. Find out those who will be interested in what you do and “why”. Now work hard to answer the question “why?”\n\n― Israelmore Ayivor, Shaping the dream\n\n2013-10-10 17.18.48\n\nVenus in Sagittarius: The appeal of the uncharted\n\n\n\nIf you love someone, set them free…\n\nVenus just left the dark and brooding waters of Scorpio for the promised land of Sagittarius.\nThe year begins with our gaze set in the far distance and we are filled with unrestrained hope  for all our future ventures. Venus in the fire sign of Sagittarius gives us momentum and a need to feel the potentiality in the mundane. She will travel through the sign of the archer until January 23rd titillating our desires for more freedom within our relationships and a need to expand beyond what we already know.\n\nVenus in Sagittarius is her own master and she will not be tied down by a possessive partner. Fresh air runs through her veins and she is always ready to explore uncharted territory.\nShe is a mixture of casual and haste, enthusiastic and liberated with a broad smile and a sparkle in her eyes. Her love is one for the vast spaces and the wild unknown. Let her roam and she might come back.\n\n\n\n\nI want to eat the world.\n\nExperience is the word.\n\nUltimate, Supreme, Paramount JOY.\n\nI have a golden cup  overflowing with possibilities.\n\nIt’s all in the vision\n\nI’m aiming high with a long-range mission\n\nHubris is possible\n\nPlaying the dice\n\nOut of my window I see good ol’ practical me.  Pacing and worrying about the small details.\n\nDefying the Gods\n\nMaking spell-ing mistakes\n\nWhen I woke up this morning, it dawn on me:  What a strange feeling it is to be alive!\n\nWhy waste any time being serious when I can experience each moment in it’s full potentiality?\n\nI don’t want to believe in the fascism of the mind.\n\nI don’t want to put limits with language and words.\n\nI want to break the walls that were built with fears.\n\nAnd ride my horse into the sunset.\n\n\n♃  Laying down with Jupiter ♃\n\nIt all kicked in a couple of nights ago, when I came back from three weeks of travel all over the continent.  People have been so kind to me, I was given more than I asked for, and many times my cup overflowed. I found joy in new places and it has been a time of excessive abundance and over the top opportunities. I originally had plan to travel for educational purposes but the four-day trip became a three-week adventure and I just went with it.\n\n(See Jupiter transit to the 9th house)\n\nIn order to worship Jupiter, I want to spend sometime with him right here today, Thursday, Jeudi… Jupiter’s day.\n\nLet’s start at the beginning.\n\n♃ Jupiter the Big Dude on Campus ♃\n\nZeus, supreme sky-god of the Greeks and son of Kronos is most often associated with Jupiter. The name Jupiter comes from the original diu-pater meaning something like ‘day/sky-father’ and is to a large extent a merging of provincial Gods from the Roman Empire. In myth, Zeus and Jupiter are equated.\n\nAs the Roman Empire expanded, his warlike functions were more and more extolled. He was invoked before any military actions, and portions of war booty were given to him.\n\nHis shrines were to be found on mountain top where he reign over all things.  Clouds, rain, wind, thunder, lightning, honor, justice, riches and light.\n\nJupiter : The Smiter, Best and Greatest, Stayer, Lord of the Heavens, the Big Dude on Campus.\n\nZeus (Jupiter) Greek God in his Golden Throne – Art Picture\n\n♃ Jupiter in Astrology ♃\n\nJupiter is most often associated with success and luck, the wish for growth and expansion and therefore connects broadly with the 9th house of travels, higher education and religion. He is the traditional ruler of Pisces and has rulership over the sign of Sagittarius.\n\nJupiter can manifest as an  incredible restlessness and the need for new horizon and experiences.  There can also be a difficulty with commitment and a lack of focus since the vision is on the big picture.\n\nWhere ever Jupiter is in your birth chart or by transits, will be the area of life where you are willing to gamble.  When we feel surefooted and in command, new horizons open up.\n\n“Now more than ever do I realize that I will never be content with a sedentary life, that I will always be haunted by thoughts of a sun-drenched elsewhere.”― Isabelle Eberhardt, Swiss Explorer – Jupiter and Mars in Sagittarius.\n\nIn Vedic astrology the planet Jupiter is sometime called Guru. He dispels darkness and ignorance, and fills one with wisdom and faith. Any profession connected to religion, preaching, priestly professions come under domain of Jupiter.\n\nDhakshinamurthi God\n\nPeople with a strong Jupiterian signature in their birth chart  will often be enthusiastic and over the top. The adjective “jovial” originally described those born under the planet Jupiter (reputed to be jolly, optimistic, and buoyant in temperament) and if or when overdone the person with strong Jupiterian tendencies can become arrogant and excessive, over rating their qualities or abilities. What was once charisma and optimism turns in to megalomania. What was generosity and benevolence becomes delusions of grandeur.\n\nDrinking Bacchus, Guido Reni-1623\n\n“I am the number one human being in music. That means any person that’s living or breathing is number two.”Kanye West, Sun-Jupiter conjunction.\n\nHow we experience ambition, faith and trust is indicated in part by Jupiter in the birth chart. Jupiter in Sagittarius might have an unquechable thirst to venture into new territory and put itself at risk while Jupiter in Virgo will calculate carefully the odds of success and failure before launching. A square to the natal Sun will give the desire to climb mountains and perhaps make the native overly ambitious. Jupiter’s influence is not always positive. I once had a client with a Moon-Jupiter conjunction who struggles with weight and overeating. The Moon symbolizing how we fulfill our security needs and our nurturing urge and Jupiter expanding those needs can be a disastrous combination.\n\n♄ Saturn, Jupiter’s counter part ♄\n\nIt is an amazing thing to be imbued with optimism and faith. Having the courage to believe in ourselves and set out to fulfill our dreams.  A good dose of Saturn realism helps in grounding the visions. Somewhere between extreme austerity (Saturn) and gambling all of your life savings (Jupiter) is the middle path towards tangible results. ‘Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity” writes Roman philosopher Seneca.\n\n♃ Tangible Juju ♃\n\nWhat is luck if nothing more than the willingness to put yourself out there and try? Is there such a thing as chance? What if it has something to do with the willingness to seize opportunities when they present themselves? Even if they don’t seem to fit the vision we had, trusting the process that it will turn out into something good. Belief plays a big role in what we will accept into our life. Part superstition, part conditioning, we only get what we think we deserve.\n\nSo if you find yourself full of cynicism and lacking vision, pay attention to what Jupiter is doing in your chart. How do you relate to new experiences in your life? What kind of relationship do you have with trust?\n\nKeep your eyes on the prize\n\nAlways keep a diamond in your mind\n\nDon’t settle for less\n\n\nGood Luck!\n\nLaughing Buddha", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6096106767654419}
+{"content": "Wednesday, 28 May 2014\n\nProcter & Gamble (P&G) Hyderabad - Kothur Manufacturing Unit\n\nFMCG major Procter & Gamble (P&G) India is enhancing its manufacturing capabilities and expanding footprint by setting up its largest plant at Kothur Mandal in Mahaboobnagar District of Andhra Pradesh. The company will be investing Rs.370/- Crore in the plant through Procter & Gamble Home Products.\n\nIn this project, Bahuvida has successfully completed 110 Acres Earth Leveling Work, 6.2KM of High Security Perimeter Fencing, Pre-Cast Internal Compound Walls & 1.5 Lakh Sft Warehouse Fabrication etc...\n\nGulbarga Airport Developers (P) Limited\n\nGulbarga Airport is a greenfield airport being built 15km East of Gulbarga city on State Highway 10 (Sedam Road) near Srinivas Saradagi Village. It is scheduled be opened for commercial use by July 2013. The 186 crore project is being developed by Regional Airport Holdings International Limited (RAHI), under Public-Private Partnership (PPP) with the Government of Karnataka.\n\nIn this project, Bahuvida has successfully completed 1.9KM Runway Earth Work, Mini Terminal Building, Light House, 9.5KM of Pre-Cast Compound Wall, 12.5KM of Periphery Roads & other miscellaneous works.\n\nShimoga Airport Developers (P) Limited\n\nShimoga Airport is a India’s first private regional greenfield airport developed under Public-Private–Partnership, in association with the Government of Karnataka. The project is being developed by Regional Airport Holdings International Limited, a pioneer in aviation infrastructure and services.\n\nIn this project, Bahuvida has successfully completed 1.9KM Runway Earth Work, Mini Terminal Building, Light House, 8KM of Pre-Cast Compound Wall, 9.5KM of Periphery Roads & other miscellaneous works.\n\nGMR Ulundurpet Expressways (P) Limited\n\nGMR Infrastructure Limited & GMR Energy Limited consortium has emerged as the successful bidder for Designing, Engineering, Developing, Financing, Operating & Maintaining the project highway starting from Tindivanam, passing through Vilupuram and ending at Ulundurpet. The total project length is 71 km.\n\nIn this project, Bahuvida has successfully completed 89KM (RHS & LHS) of ROW Fencing for Entire Project.\n\nTNDK Expressways Limited\n\nTamil Nadu Dindigul Karur (TNDK) Expressways Limited is a special purpose vehicle (SPV) promoted by Madhucon Projects Limited and SREI Infrastructure Finance. TNDK has been formed to strengthen and widen the existing 68 KM long stretch between Karur - Dindigul on NH-7 in the state of Tamil Nadu.\n\nIn this project, Bahuvida has successfully completed 70KM (RHS & LHS) of ROW Fencing for Entire Project.\n\nGMR Pochanpalli Expressways (P) Limited\n\nGMR Group’s Adloor-Yellareddy to Gundla-Pochanpalli Highway is a 102 Km stretch on NH-7 between Adloor-Yellareddy and Gundla-Pochanpalli on the Hyderabad – Nagpur Highway.\n\nIn this project, Bahuvida has successfully completed 75KM (RHS & LHS) of ROW Fencing for Entire Project.\n\nGMR Jadcherla Expressways Limited\n\nGMR Group won the road project for strengthening and improving the two lane stretch to four lane between Shivrampalli / Faruknagar and Jadcherla on NH - 7 in the State of Andhra Pradesh.\n\nIn this project, Bahuvida has successfully completed 60KM (RHS & LHS) of ROW Fencing for Entire Project.\n\nTransmission Line Tower\n\nA transmission tower (colloquially termed an electricity pylon in the United Kingdom and parts of Europe, and a hydro tower in certain provinces of Canada where power generation is mainly hydro-electric) is a tall structure, usually a steel lattice tower, used to support an overhead power line. They are used in high-voltage AC and DC systems, and come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. Typical height ranges from 15 to 55 metres (49 to 180 ft), though the tallest are the 370 m (1,214 ft) towers of a 2700-metre-long span of Zhoushan Island Overhead Powerline Tie. In addition to steel, other materials may be used, including concrete and wood.\n\nThere are four major categories of transmission towers: suspension, terminal, tension, and transposition. Some transmission towers combine these basic functions. Transmission towers and their overhead power lines are often considered to be a form of visual pollution. Methods to reduce the visual effect include undergrounding.\n\n\n\"Transmission tower\" is the name for the structure used in the industry in the United Kingdom, United States, and other English-speaking countries. The term \"pylon\" comes from the basic shape of the structure, an obelisk-like structure which tapers toward the top, and is mostly used in the United Kingdom and parts of Europe in everyday colloquial speech. This term is used infrequently in the United States, as the word \"pylon\" is commonly used for a multitude of other things, mostly for traffic cones.\n\nHigh Voltage AC Transmission Towers\n\nThree-phase electric power systems are used for high voltage (66- or 69-kV and above) and extra-high voltage (110- or 115-kV and above; most often 138- or 230-kV and above in contemporary systems) AC transmission lines. The towers must be designed to carry three (or multiples of three) conductors. The towers are usually steel lattices or trusses (wooden structures are used in Canada, Germany, and Scandinavia in some cases) and the insulators are either glass or porcelain discs or composite insulators using silicone rubber or EPDM rubber material assembled in strings or long rods whose lengths are dependent on the line voltage and environmental conditions.\n\nTypically, one or two ground wires, also called \"guard\" wires, are placed on top to intercept lightning and harmlessly divert it to ground.\n\nTowers for high- and extra-high voltage are usually designed to carry two or more electric circuits (with very rare exceptions, only one circuit for 500-kV and higher). If a line is constructed using towers designed to carry several circuits, it is not necessary to install all the circuits at the time of construction. Indeed, for economic reasons, some transmission lines are designed for three (or four) circuits, but only two (or three) circuits are initially installed.\n\nSome high voltage circuits are often erected on the same tower as 110 kV lines. Paralleling circuits of 380 kV, 220 kV and 110 kV-lines on the same towers is common. Sometimes, especially with 110 kV circuits, a parallel circuit carries traction lines for railway electrification.\n\nHigh Voltage DC Transmission Towers\n\nHigh-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission lines are either monopolar or bipolar systems. With bipolar systems a conductor arrangement with one conductor on each side of the tower is used. On some schemes, the ground conductor is used as electrode line or ground return. In this case it had to be installed with insulators equipped with surge arrestors on the pylons in order to prevent electrochemical corrosion of the pylons. For single-pole HVDC transmission with ground return, towers with only one conductor can be used. In many cases, however, the towers are designed for later conversion to a two-pole system. In these cases, often conductors on both sides of the tower are installed for mechanical reasons. Until the second pole is needed, it is either used as electrode line or joined in parallel with the pole in use. In the latter case the line from the converter station to the earthing (grounding) electrode is built as underground cable, as overhead line on a separate right of way or by using the ground conductors.\n\nElectrode line towers are used in some HVDC schemes to carry the power line from the converter station to the grounding electrode. They are similar to structures used for lines with voltages of 10 – 30 kV, but normally carry only one or two conductors.\n\nRailway Traction Line Towers\n\nTowers used for single-phase AC railway traction lines are similar in construction to those towers used for 110 kV-three phase lines. Steel tube or concrete poles are also often used for these lines. However, railway traction current systems are two-pole AC systems, so traction lines are designed for two conductors (or multiples of two, usually four, eight, or twelve). As a rule, the towers of railway traction lines carry two electric circuits, so they have four conductors. These are usually arranged on one level, whereby each circuit occupies one half of the crossarm. For four traction circuits the arrangement of the conductors is in two-levels and for six electric circuits the arrangement of the conductors is in three levels.\n\nTowers for Different Types of Currents\n\nAC circuits of different frequency and phase-count, or AC and DC circuits, may be installed on the same tower. Usually all circuits of such lines have voltages of 50 kV and more. However, there are some lines of this type for lower voltages, for example, towers used by both railway traction power circuits and the general three-phase AC grid.\n\nTwo very short sections of line carry both AC and DC power circuits. One set of such towers is near the terminal of HVDC Volgograd-Donbass on Volga Hydroelectric Power Station. The other are two towers south of Stenkullen, which carry one circuit of HVDC Konti-Skan and üne circuit of the three-phase AC line Stenkullen-Holmbakullen.\n\nTowers carrying AC circuits and DC electrode lines exist in a section of the powerline between Adalph Static Inverter Plant and Brookston the pylons carry the electrode line of HVDC Square Butte.\n\nThe electrode line of HVDC CU at the converter station at Coal Creek Station uses on a short section the towers of 2 AC lines as support.\n\nThe overhead section of the electrode line of Pacific DC Intertie from Sylmar Converter Station to the grounding electrode in the Pacific Ocean near Will Rogers State Beach is also installed on AC pylons. It runs from Sylmar East Converter Station to Southern California Edison Malibu Substation, where the overhead line section ends.\n\nIn Germany, Austria and Switzerland some transmission towers carry both public AC grid circuits and railway traction power in order to better use rights of way...\n\nTower Designs\n\nSupport Structures: Towers may be self-supporting and capable of resisting all forces due to conductor loads, unbalanced conductors, wind and ice in any direction. Such towers often have approximately square bases and usually four points of contact with the ground.\n\nA semi-flexible tower is designed so that it can use overhead grounding wires to transfer mechanical load to adjacent structures, if a phase conductor breaks and the structure is subject to unbalanced loads. This type is useful at extra-high voltages, where phase conductors are bundled (two or more wires per phase). It is unlikely for all of them to break at once, barring a catastrophic crash or storm.\n\nA guyed tower has a very small footprint and relys on guy wires in tension to support the structure and any unbalanced tension load from the conductors. A guyed tower can be made in a V shape, which saves weight and cost.\n\nTubular Steel: Poles made of tubular steel generally are assembled at the factory and placed on the right-of-way afterward. Because of its durability and ease of manufacturing and installation, many utilities in recent years prefer the use of monopolar steel or concrete towers over lattice steel for new power lines and tower replacements.\n\nIn Germany steel tube pylons are also established predominantly for medium voltage lines, in addition, for high voltage transmission lines or two electric circuits for operating voltages by up to 110 kV. Steel tube pylons are also frequently used for 380 kV lines in France, and for 500 kV lines in the United States.\n\nLattice: A lattice tower is a framework construction made of steel or aluminum sections. Lattice towers are used for power lines of all voltages, and are the most common type for high-voltage transmission lines. Lattice towers are usually made of galvanized steel. Aluminum is used for reduced weight, such as in mountainous areas where structures are placed by helicopter. Aluminum is also used in environments that would be corrosive to steel. The extra material cost of aluminum towers will be offset by lower installation cost. Design of aluminum lattice towers is similar to that for steel, but must take into account aluminum's lower Young's modulus.\n\nA lattice tower is usually assembled at the location where it is to be erected. This makes very tall towers possible (up to 100 meters—in special cases even higher, as in the Elbe crossing 1 and Elbe crossing 2). Assembly of lattice steel towers can be done using a crane. Lattice steel towers are generally made of angle-profiled steel beams (L- or T-beams). For very tall towers, trusses are often used.\n\nWood: Wood is a material which is limited in use in high-voltage transmission. Because of the limited height of available trees the maximum height of wooden pylons is limited (approximately 30 metres). Wood is rarely used for lattice framework; they are instead used to build multi-pole structures, such as H-frame and K-frame structures. The voltages they carry are also limited, such as in Germany, where wood structures only carry voltages up to approximately 30 kV. In countries such as Canada or United States wooden towers carry voltages up to 345 kV; these can be less costly than steel structures and take advantage of the surge voltage insulating properties of wood.\n\nConcrete: Concrete pylons are used in Germany normally only for lines with operating voltages below 30 kV. In exceptional cases concrete pylons are used also for 110 kV lines, as well as for the public grid or for the railway traction current grid. In Switzerland, concrete pylons with heights of up to 59.5 metres (world's tallest pylon of prefabricated concrete at Littau) are used for 380 kV overhead lines. Concrete poles are also used in Canada and the United States.\n\nConcrete pylons, which are not prefabricated, are also used for constructions taller than 60 metres. One example is a 66 metres tall pylon of a 380 kV powerline near Reuter West Power Plant in Berlin. Such pylons look like industrial chimneys. In China some pylons for lines crossing rivers were built of concrete. The tallest of these pylons belong to the Yangtze Powerline crossing at Nanjing with a height of 257 metres.\n\nSpecial Designs\n\nSometimes (in particular on steel lattice towers for the highest voltage levels) transmitting plants are installed, and antennas mounted on the top above or below the overhead ground wire. Usually these installations are for mobile phone services or the operating radio of the power supply firm, but occasionally also for other radio services, like directional radio. Thus transmitting antennas for low-power FM radio and television transmitters were already installed on pylons. On the Elbe Crossing 1 tower, there is a radar facility belonging to the Hamburg water and navigation office.\n\nFor crossing broad valleys, a large distance between the conductors must be maintained to avoid short-circuits caused by conductor cables colliding during storms. To achieve this, sometimes a separate mast or tower is used for each conductor. For crossing wide rivers and straits with flat coastlines, very tall towers must be built due to the necessity of a large height clearance for navigation. Such towers and the conductors they carry must be equipped with flight safety lamps and reflectors.\n\nTwo well-known wide river crossings are the Elbe Crossing 1 and Elbe Crossing 2. The latter has the tallest overhead line masts in Europe, at 227 metres (745 ft) tall. In Spain, the overhead line crossing pylons in the Spanish bay of Cádiz have a particularly interesting construction. The main crossing towers are 158 metres (518 ft) tall with one crossarm atop a frustum framework construction. The longest overhead line spans are the crossing of the Norwegian Sognefjord (4,597 metres (15,082 ft) between two masts) and the Ameralik span in Greenland (5,376 metres (17,638 ft)). In Germany, the overhead line of the EnBW AG crossing of the Eyachtal has the longest span in the country at 1,444 metres (4,738 ft).\n\nIn order to drop overhead lines into steep, deep valleys, inclined towers are occasionally used. These are utilized at the Hoover Dam, located in the United States, to descend the cliff walls of the Black Canyon of the Colorado. In Switzerland, a NOK pylon inclined around 20 degrees to the vertical is located near Sargans, St. Gallens. Highly sloping masts are used on two 380 kV pylons in Switzerland, the top 32 meters of one of them being bent by 18 degrees to the vertical.\n\nPower station chimneys are sometimes equipped with crossbars for fixing conductors of the outgoing lines. Because of possible problems with corrosion by the flue gases, such constructions are very rare.\n\nA new type of pylon will be used in the Netherlands starting in 2010. The pylons were designed as a minimalist structure by Dutch architects Zwarts and Jansma. The use of physical laws for the design made a reduction of the magnetic field possible. Also, the visual impact on the surrounding landscape is reduced.\n\n\nBefore transmission towers are even erected, prototype towers are tested at tower testing stations. There are a variety of ways they can then be assembled and erected:\n\n  • They can be assembled horizontally on the ground and erected by push-pull cable. This method is rarely used, however, because of the large assembly area needed.\n  • They can be assembled vertically (in their final upright position). Very tall towers, such as the Yangtze River Crossing, were assembled in this way.\n  • A jin-pole crane can be used to assemble lattice towers. This is also used for utility poles.\n  • Helicopters can serve as aerial cranes for their assembly in areas with limited accessibility. Towers can also be assembled elsewhere and flown to their place on the transmission right-of-way.\n\n\nThe International Civil Aviation Organization issues recommendations on markers for towers and the conductors suspended between them. Certain jurisdictions will make these recommendations mandatory, for example that certain power lines must have spherical markers placed at intervals, and that obstacle lights be placed on any sufficiently high towers.\n\nElectricity pylons often have an identification number or code placed on the pole in the form of a sign, an identification plate, painted numbers, or anything else the electric company chooses. These tags are usually marked with the names of the line (either the terminal points of the line or the internal designation of the power company) and the tower number. This makes identifying the location of a fault to the power company that owns the tower easier.\n\nTransmission towers, much like other steel lattice towers including broadcasting or cellphone towers, are marked with signs which discourage public access due to the danger of the high voltage. Often this is accomplished with a sign warning of the high voltage; other times the entire access point to the transmission corridor is marked with a sign. Some countries require that lattice steel towers be equipped with a barbed wire barrier approximately 3 metres (9.8 ft) above ground in order to deter unauthorized climbing. Such barriers can often be found on towers close to roads or other areas with easy public access, even where there is not a legal requirement. In the United Kingdom, all such towers are fitted with barbed wire.\n\nTower Functions\n\nTower structures can be classified by the way in which they support the line conductors. Suspension structures support the conductor vertically using suspension insulators. Strain structures resist net tension in the conductors and the conductors attach to the structure through strain insulators. Dead-end structures support the full weight of the conductor and also all the tension in it, and also use strain insulators.\n\nStructures are classified as tangent suspension, angle suspension, tangent strain, angle strain, tangent dead-end and angle dead-end. Where the conductors are in a straight line, a tangent tower is used. Angle towers are used where a line must change direction.\n\nCross Arms & Conductor Arrangement\n\nGenerally three conductors are required per AC 3-phase circuit, although single-phase and DC circuits are also carried on towers. Conductors may be arranged in one plane, or by use of several cross-arms may be arranged in a roughly symmetrical, triangulated pattern to balance the impedances of all three phases. If more than one circuit is required to be carried and the width of the line right-of-way does not permit multiple towers to be used, two or three circuits can be carried on the same tower using several levels of cross-arms. Often multiple circuits are the same voltage, but mixed voltages can be found on some structures.\n\nRural Electrification\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLocally generated renewable energy is an alternative technology, particularly compared to electrification with diesel generators. In some countries (particularly Bangladesh and India) hundreds of thousands of Solar Home Systems have been installed in recent years. The deployment of these systems is coupled with microfinance schemes, such as Grameen Shakti. Most of these systems provide electricity for lighting and some small appliances (radio, TV). Mini-grids (central generation and village wide distribution network) can be a more potent alternative to energy home systems since they can provide capacity for the productive use of electricity (small businesses). Hybrid mini-grids (renewables combined with diesel generators) are a widely acknowledged technology for rural electrification in developing countries.\n\nContinental & National Initiatives\n\n\n\n\n\nRural Electrification ratesN.o of states and UT'sRemarks\n99%4electrification %, un-electrified villages: Gujarat (99.8%, 35), Maharashtra (99.9%, 36), Himachal Pradesh (99.9%, 15), West Bengal (99.99%, 4)\n+95%7Assam (96.1%), Bihar (97%), Chhattisgarh (97.4%), Rajasthan (97.6%), Madhya Pradesh (97.7%), Jammu & Kashmir (98.2%), Uttaranchal (98.9%)\n+90%2Tripura (92.9%), Mizoram (93.5%)\n+80%5Orissa (81.9%), Meghalaya (86.3%), Manipur (86.3%), Uttar Pradesh (88.9%), Jharkhand (89.2%)\nUnder 80%3Andaman & Nicobar (67.7%), Nagaland (70.1%), Arunachal Pradesh (75.5%)\nEuropean Union: In Europe exists the Alliance for Rural Electrification (ARE), an international non-profit organization founded in 2006. ARE promotes the use of renewable energy in developing countries. ARE is partner of the United Nations Global Compact and the European Union Sustainable Energy Campaign.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nElectrical Substation\n\n\nSubstations may be owned and operated by an electrical utility, or may be owned by a large industrial or commercial customer. Generally substations are unattended, relying on SCADA for remote supervision and control.\n\n\nElements of a Substation\n\nSubstations generally have switching, protection and control equipment, and transformers. In a large substation, circuit breakers are used to interrupt any short circuits or overload currents that may occur on the network. Smaller distribution stations may use recloser circuit breakers or fuses for protection of distribution circuits. Substations themselves do not usually have generators, although a power plant may have a substation nearby. Other devices such as capacitors and voltage regulators may also be located at a substation.\n\n\nWhere a substation has a metallic fence, it must be properly grounded to protect people from high voltages that may occur during a fault in the network. Earth faults at a substation can cause a ground potential rise. Currents flowing in the Earth's surface during a fault can cause metal objects to have a significantly different voltage than the ground under a person's feet; this touch potential presents a hazard of electrocution.\n\n\nSubstations may be described by their voltage class, their applications within the power system, the method used to insulate most connections, and by the style and materials of the structures used. These categories are not disjointed; to solve a particular problem, a transmission substation may include significant distribution functions, for example.\n\nTransmission Substation: A transmission substation connects two or more transmission lines. The simplest case is where all transmission lines have the same voltage. In such cases, substation contains high-voltage switches that allow lines to be connected or isolated for fault clearance or maintenance. A transmission station may have transformers to convert between two transmission voltages, voltage control/power factor correction devices such as capacitors, reactors or static VAR compensators and equipment such as phase shifting transformers to control power flow between two adjacent power systems.\n\nTransmission substations can range from simple to complex. A small \"switching station\" may be little more than a bus plus some circuit breakers. The largest transmission substations can cover a large area (several acres/hectares) with multiple voltage levels, many circuit breakers and a large amount of protection and control equipment (voltage and current transformers, relays and SCADA systems). Modern substations may be implemented using international standards such as IEC Standard 61850.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nClassification by Insulation: Switches, circuit breakers, transformers and other apparatus may be interconnected by air-insulated bare conductors strung on support structures. The air space required increases with system voltage and with the lightning surge voltage rating. For medium-voltage distribution substations, metal-enclosed switchgear may be used and no live conductors exposed at all. For higher voltages, gas-insulated switchgear reduces the space required around live bus. Instead of bare conductors, bus and apparatus are built into pressurized tubular containers filled with sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) gas. This gas has a higher insulating value than air, allowing the dimensions of the apparatus to be reduced. In addition to air or SF6 gas, apparatus will use other insulation materials such as transformer oil, paper, porcelain, and polymer insulators.\n\nClassification by Structure: Outdoor, above-ground substation structures include wood pole, lattice metal tower, and tubular metal structures, although other variants are available. Where space is plentiful and appearance of the station is not a factor, steel lattice towers provide low-cost supports for transmission lines and apparatus. Low-profile substations may be specified in suburban areas where appearance is more critical. Indoor substations may be gas-insulated switchgear (at high voltages), or metal-enclosed or metal-clad switchgear at lower voltages. Urban and suburban indoor substations may be finished on the outside so as to blend in with other buildings in the area.\n\nA compact substation is generally an unmanned outdoor substation being put in a small enclosed metal container in which each of the electrical equipment is located very near to each other to create a relatively smaller footprint size of the substation.\n\n\nThe main issues facing a power engineer are reliability and cost. A good design attempts to strike a balance between these two, to achieve without excessive cost. The design should also allow expansion of the station, when required.\n\nSelection of the location of a substation must consider many factors. Sufficient land area is required for installation of equipment with necessary clearances for electrical safety, and for access to maintain large apparatus such as transformers. Where land is costly, such as in urban areas, gas insulated switchgear may save money overall. The site must have room for expansion due to load growth or planned transmission additions. Environmental effects of the substation must be considered, such as drainage, noise and road traffic effects. A grounding (earthing) system must be designed. The total ground potential rise, and the gradients in potential during a fault (called \"touch\" and \"step\" potentials), must be calculated to protect passers-by during a short-circuit in the transmission system. The substation site must be reasonably central to the distribution area to be served. The site must be secure from intrusion by passers-by, both to protect people from injury by electric shock or arcs, and to protect the electrical system from misoperation due to vandalism.\n\nThe first step in planning a substation layout is the preparation of a one-line diagram, which shows in simplified form the switching and protection arrangement required, as well as the incoming supply lines and outgoing feeders or transmission lines. It is a usual practice by many electrical utilities to prepare one-line diagrams with principal elements (lines, switches, circuit breakers, transformers) arranged on the page similarly to the way the apparatus would be laid out in the actual station.\n\nIn a common design, incoming lines have a disconnect switch and a circuit breaker. In some cases, the lines will not have both, with either a switch or a circuit breaker being all that is considered necessary. A disconnect switch is used to provide isolation, since it cannot interrupt load current. A circuit breaker is used as a protection device to interrupt fault currents automatically, and may be used to switch loads on and off, or to cut off a line when power is flowing in the 'wrong' direction. When a large fault current flows through the circuit breaker, this is detected through the use of current transformers. The magnitude of the current transformer outputs may be used to trip the circuit breaker resulting in a disconnection of the load supplied by the circuit break from the feeding point. This seeks to isolate the fault point from the rest of the system, and allow the rest of the system to continue operating with minimal impact. Both switches and circuit breakers may be operated locally (within the substation) or remotely from a supervisory control center.\n\nOnce past the switching components, the lines of a given voltage connect to one or more buses. These are sets of busbars, usually in multiples of three, since three-phase electrical power distribution is largely universal around the world.\n\nThe arrangement of switches, circuit breakers and buses used affects the cost and reliability of the substation. For important substations a ring bus, double bus, or so-called \"breaker and a half\" setup can be used, so that the failure of any one circuit breaker does not interrupt power to other circuits, and so that parts of the substation may be de-energized for maintenance and repairs. Substations feeding only a single industrial load may have minimal switching provisions, especially for small installations.\n\nOnce having established buses for the various voltage levels, transformers may be connected between the voltage levels. These will again have a circuit breaker, much like transmission lines, in case a transformer has a fault (commonly called a \"short circuit\").\n\nAlong with this, a substation always has control circuitry needed to command the various circuit breakers to open in case of the failure of some component.\n\nSwitching Function\n\n\n\n\nEarly electrical substations required manual switching or adjustment of equipment, and manual collection of data for load, energy consumption, and abnormal events. As the complexity of distribution networks grew, it became economically necessary to automate supervision and control of substations from a centrally attended point, to allow overall coordination in case of emergencies and to reduce operating costs. Early efforts to remote control substations used dedicated communication wires, often run alongside power circuits. Power-line carrier, microwave radio, fiber optic cables as well as dedicated wired remote control circuits have all been applied to Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) for substations. The development of the microprocessor made for an exponential increase in the number of points that could be economically controlled and monitored. Today, standardized communication protocols such as DNP3, IEC 61850 and Modbus, to list a few, are used to allow multiple intelligent electronic devices to communicate with each other and supervisory control centers. Distributed automatic control at substations is one element of the so-called smart grid.\n\n\n\nTuesday, 27 May 2014\n\nElectric Power Transmission\n\nElectric-power transmission is the bulk transfer of electrical energy, from generating power plants to electrical substations located near demand centers. This is distinct from the local wiring between high-voltage substations and customers, which is typically referred to as electric power distribution. Transmission lines, when interconnected with each other, become transmission networks. The combined transmission and distribution network is known as the \"power grid\" in the United States, or just \"the grid\". In the United Kingdom, the network is known as the \"National Grid\".\n\nA wide area synchronous grid, also known as an \"interconnection\" in North America, directly connects a large number of generators delivering AC power with the same relative phase, to a large number of consumers. For example, there are three major interconnections in North America (the Western Interconnection, the Eastern Interconnection and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) grid), and one large grid for most of continental Europe.\n\n\n\nMost transmission lines are high-voltage three-phase alternating current (AC), although single phase AC is sometimes used in railway electrification systems. High-voltage direct-current (HVDC) technology is used for greater efficiency at very long distances (typically hundreds of miles (kilometers)), or in submarine power cables (typically longer than 30 miles (50 km)). HVDC links are also used to stabilize and control problems in large power distribution networks where sudden new loads or blackouts in one part of a network can otherwise result in synchronization problems and cascading failures.\n\nElectricity is transmitted at high voltages (120 kV or above) to reduce the energy losses in long-distance transmission. Power is usually transmitted through overhead power lines. Underground power transmission has a significantly higher cost and greater operational limitations but is sometimes used in urban areas or sensitive locations.\n\nA key limitation of electric power is that, with minor exceptions, electrical energy cannot be stored, and therefore must be generated as needed. A sophisticated control system is required to ensure electric generation very closely matches the demand. If the demand for power exceeds the supply, generation plant and transmission equipment can shut down, which in the worst case may lead to a major regional blackout, such as occurred in the US Northeast blackout of 1965, 1977, 2003, and other regional blackouts in 1996 and 2011. It is to reduce the risk of such failure that electric transmission networks are interconnected into regional, national or continent wide networks thereby providing multiple redundant alternative routes for power to flow should such equipment failures occur. Much analysis is done by transmission companies to determine the maximum reliable capacity of each line (ordinarily less than its physical or thermal limit) to ensure spare capacity is available should there be any such failure in another part of the network.\n\nOverhead Transmission\n\n\nToday, transmission-level voltages are usually considered to be 110 kV and above. Lower voltages such as 66 kV and 33 kV are usually considered subtransmission voltages but are occasionally used on long lines with light loads. Voltages less than 33 kV are usually used for distribution. Voltages above 230 kV are considered extra high voltage and require different designs compared to equipment used at lower voltages.\n\nSince overhead transmission wires depend on air for insulation, design of these lines requires minimum clearances to be observed to maintain safety. Adverse weather conditions of high wind and low temperatures can lead to power outages. Wind speeds as low as 23 knots (43 km/h) can permit conductors to encroach operating clearances, resulting in a flashover and loss of supply. Oscillatory motion of the physical line can be termed gallop or flutter depending on the frequency and amplitude of oscillation.\n\nUnderground Transmission\n\n\n\n\nDue to this specialization of lines and because transmission was inefficient for low-voltage high-current circuits, generators needed to be near their loads. It seemed at the time, that the industry would develop into what is now known as a distributed generation system with large numbers of small generators located near their loads.\n\nIn 1886, in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, a 1 kV alternating current (AC) distribution system was installed. That same year, AC power at 2 kV, transmitted 30 km, was installed at Cerchi, Italy. At an AIEE meeting on May 16, 1888, Nikola Tesla delivered a lecture entitled A New System of Alternating Current Motors and Transformers, describing the equipment which allowed efficient generation and use of polyphase alternating currents. The transformer, and Tesla's polyphase and single-phase induction motors, were essential for a combined AC distribution system for both lighting and machinery. Ownership of the rights to the Tesla patents was a key advantage to the Westinghouse Company in offering a complete alternating current power system for both lighting and power.\n\nRegarded as one of the most influential electrical innovations, the universal system used transformers to step-up voltage from generators to high-voltage transmission lines, and then to step-down voltage to local distribution circuits or industrial customers. By a suitable choice of utility frequency, both lighting and motor loads could be served. Rotary converters and later mercury-arc valves and other rectifier equipment allowed DC to be provided where needed. Generating stations and loads using different frequencies could be interconnected using rotary converters. By using common generating plants for every type of load, important economies of scale were achieved, lower overall capital investment was required, load factor on each plant was increased allowing for higher efficiency, a lower cost for the consumer and increased overall use of electric power.\n\n\n\n\n\nBulk Power Transmission\n\n\nTransmission efficiency is greatly improved by devices that increase the voltage, (and thereby proportionately reduce the current) in the line conductors, thus allowing power to be transmitted with acceptable losses. The reduced current flowing through the line reduces the heating losses in the conductors. According to Joule's Law, energy losses are directly proportional to the square of the current. Thus, reducing the current by a factor of 2 will lower the energy lost to conductor resistance by a factor of 4 for any given size of conductor.\n\nThe optimum size of a conductor for a given voltage and current can be estimated by Kelvin's law for conductor size which states that the size is at its optimum when the annual cost of energy wasted in the resistance is equal to the annual capital charges of providing the conductor. At times of lower interest rates Kelvin's law indicates that thicker wires are optimal, while when metals are expensive thinner conductors are indicated: however power lines are designed for long-term usage so Kelvin's law has to be used in conjunction with long-term estimates of the price of copper and aluminum as well as interest rates for capital.\n\nThe increase in voltage is achieved in AC circuits by using a step-up transformer. HVDC systems require relatively costly conversion equipment which may be economically justified for particular projects such as submarine cables and longer distance high capacity point to point transmission. HVDC is necessary for the import and export of energy between grid systems that are not synchronized with each other.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGrid Input\n\nAt the power stations the power is produced at a relatively low voltage between about 2.3 kV and 30 kV, depending on the size of the unit. The generator terminal voltage is then stepped up by the power station transformer to a higher voltage (115 kV to 765 kV AC, varying by the transmission system and by country) for transmission over long distances.\n\n\n\nTransmission and distribution losses in the USA were estimated at 6.6% in 1997 and 6.5% in 2007. By using underground DC transmission these losses can be cut in half. Underground cables can be larger diameter because they do not have the constraint of light weight that overhead cables have, being 100 feet in the air. In general, losses are estimated from the discrepancy between power produced (as reported by power plants) and power sold to end customers; the difference between what is produced and what is consumed constitute transmission and distribution losses, assuming no theft of utility occurs.\n\nAs of 1980, the longest cost-effective distance for direct-current transmission was determined to be 7,000 km (4,300 mi). For alternating current it was 4,000 km (2,500 mi), though all transmission lines in use today are substantially shorter than this.\n\nIn any alternating current transmission line, the inductance and capacitance of the conductors can be significant. Currents that flow solely in 'reaction' to these properties of the circuit, (which together with the resistance define the impedance) constitute reactive power flow, which transmits no 'real' power to the load. These reactive currents however are very real and cause extra heating losses in the transmission circuit. The ratio of 'real' power (transmitted to the load) to 'apparent' power (sum of 'real' and 'reactive') is the power factor. As reactive current increases, the reactive power increases and the power factor decreases. For transmission systems with low power factor, losses are higher than for systems with high power factor. Utilities add capacitor banks, reactors and other components (such as phase-shifting transformers; static VAR compensators; physical transposition of the phase conductors; and flexible AC transmission systems, FACTS) throughout the system to compensate for the reactive power flow and reduce the losses in power transmission and stabilize system voltages. These measures are collectively called 'reactive support'.\n\n\n\n\nHigh-Voltage Direct Current\n\n\nHVDC is also used for submarine cables because over about 30 kilometres (19 mi) lengths AC cannot be supplied. In these cases special high voltage cables for DC are used. Submarine HVDC systems are often used to connect the electricity grids of islands, for example, between Great Britain and mainland Europe, between Great Britain and Ireland, between Tasmania and the Australian mainland, and between the North and South Islands of New Zealand. Submarine connections up to 600 kilometres (370 mi) in length are presently in use.\n\n\nAs an example, to adjust the flow of AC power on a hypothetical line between Seattle and Boston would require adjustment of the relative phase of the two regional electrical grids. This is an everyday occurrence in AC systems, but one that can become disrupted when AC system components fail and place unexpected loads on the remaining working grid system. With an HVDC line instead, such an interconnection would: (1) Convert AC in Seattle into HVDC. (2) Use HVDC for the three thousand miles of cross-country transmission. Then (3) convert the HVDC to locally synchronized AC in Boston, (and possibly in other cooperating cities along the transmission route). Such a system could be less prone to failure if parts of it were suddenly shut down. One example of a long DC transmission line is the Pacific DC Intertie located in the Western United States.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLoad Balancing\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nWind turbines, vehicle-to-grid and other distributed storage and generation systems can be connected to the power grid, and interact with it to improve system operation.\n\nFailure Protection\n\n\n\n\n\n  • Microwaves\n  • Power line communication\n  • Optical fibers\n\n\n\n\n\nCost of Electric Power Transmission\n\nThe cost of high voltage electricity transmission (as opposed to the costs of electric power distribution) is comparatively low, compared to all other costs arising in a consumer's electricity bill. In the UK transmission costs are about 0.2p/kWh compared to a delivered domestic price of around 10 p/kWh.\n\nResearch evaluates the level of capital expenditure in the electric power T&D equipment market will be worth $128.9bn in 2011.\n\nMerchant Transmission\n\n\nOperating merchant transmission projects in the United States include the Cross Sound Cable from Shoreham, New York to New Haven, Connecticut, Neptune RTS Transmission Line from Sayreville, N.J., to Newbridge, N.Y, ITC Holdings, Inc. transmission system in the midwest, and Path 15 in California. Additional projects are in development or have been proposed throughout the United States.\n\n\n\nHealth Concerns\n\nSome large studies, including a large United States study, have failed to find any link between living near power lines and developing any sickness or diseases such as cancer. One old study from 1997 found that it did not matter how close one was to a power line or a sub-station, there was no increased risk of cancer or illness.\n\n\n\nTree Growth Regulator and Herbicide Control Methods may be used in transmission line right of ways which may have health effects.\n\nGrids for Railways\n\nIn some countries where electric locomotives or electric multiple units run on low frequency AC power, there are separate single phase traction power networks operated by the railways. Prime example are the countries of Europe, which utilize the older AC technology based on 16 2/3 Hz.\n\nSuperconducting Cables\n\n\n\nSingle Wire Earth Return\n\n\nWireless Power Transmission\n\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7588729858398438}
+{"content": "Hibernate: Optimize updates with @DynamicUpdate\n\nBy | December 7, 2016\n\nWhen using Hibernate as a layer between your Java code and the Database layer you release control on how the actual SQL query is generated. Hibernate will generate from the HSQL you write the “best” query. That “best” is in fact sometimes sub-optimal.\nA very important Hibernate 4 (make sure you have at least 4.2.5) annotation that controls how an update behaves is @DynamicUpdate.\nBy default the Hibernate behaviour is to update all the fields of a an entity, so in fact @DynamicUpdate(false)\n\nTake for example the following entity:\n\nWhen I update the status of a list of objects of this type from READY to DELIVERED the update generated by Hibernate will update also the column holding the LOB. You can imagine the problem here if your LOB is on average 10MB and your update is done on 1000 objects.\n\nAfter I add the annotation @DynamicUpdate(true) and I do the same update of the status the update generated by Hibernate will be:\n\nThis can have a huge difference in performance.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.565321683883667}
+{"content": "10 Scientific Study Skills to Ace IELTS Exam\n\nAre you planning to appear for IELTS? If yes, make sure that have a look at this post as it will give some best scientific skills that will help you bell the exam. The International English Language Testing System, (IELTS), is mainly designed to evaluate the candidate’s ability to read, write and speak English. It assess your language ability.\n\n\nBefore you start your preparation, you need to understand the structure of the exam. What is the test format? Which are the different sections? Which are the best IELTS preparation books? How many questions you can expect? Which section would be the most difficult one? These questions will have simple but important answers as they will help you become familiar with the exam format. Once you go through the syllabus and know the exam pattern, you can follow the following 10 study skills to clear the IELTS exam:\n\n1. Out of the three sections- reading, writing and speaking, find out the area you think you’re weak in. Once you find it, start working on your weaker areas.\n\n2. It is a wise move to pay more attention to your reading and listening skills. This is because unlike the speaking and writing section that will be graded subjectively, listening and reading will be objectively graded. Therefore, there will be more chances for better scoring.\n\n3. For the writing part, try to complete essays in less than 1 hour. Also, task 2 first as it generally carries more marks than task 1.\n\n4. When practicing papers, train yourself and make it a habit to always follow the instructions.\n\n5. Try out a stimulation test and work on building up your stamina.\n\n6. You’ll have to answer 40 questions in an hour. So do you think you can do that? Trust us, it won’t be that easy. So, you need to practice regularly and take IELTS mock test as it will improve you speed.\n\n7. Have a good night’s sleep before the exam. This will help you retain things better.\n\n8. Take proper breakfast in the morning before you go out for the exam as you might not be able to concentrate if hungry.\n\n9. To score good the speaking test, try taking mock test with a friend or a family member and this will boost up your confidence.\n\n10. Try to get an idea from the previous exam takers, there strategies, their questions etc. and start preparing accordingly.\n\nFollowing the above strategies will surely help you to crack the IELTS exam with flying colours.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6134552955627441}
+{"content": "Posts Tagged 'disadvantage'\n\nAbout Law & Justice\n\nThe continued use of punitive sanctions to control and deter criminal behaviour rests upon a general historical misunderstanding of the effectiveness and appropriateness of this method of punishment. The current criminal justice system and the persistent sensationalist ‘get tough’ initiatives by governments, both preceding and current, have previously enjoyed widespread support within South Australia as both politicians and the media promulgate populist perceptions of crime. Citizens have previously been confident in the efficacy of our punitive criminal justice system, and there has been support for harsher penalties that are perceived to contribute to a safer society by increasingly incarcerating people who commit criminal offences. Conversely there has been a growing acknowledgement of the failures of this system to address the sociological contributors to criminal behaviour, and subsequently the development of early intervention and prevention measures.\n\nVisit the Box File to download the Law & Justice Principles Paper, and also the Law & Justice Fact Sheet.\n\nLife expectancy gap\n\n  • The life expectancy of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is 17 years less than for other South Australians.\n\n\n  • 21.6% of South Australians receive 90% or more of their main source of income from government cash benefits.\n  • In 2005/06, South Australia’s expenditure on “core” concessions (such as energy, public transport, water and vehicle registration) was $89 million.\n\nWhat do disadvantaged and vulnerable mean?\n\nQuite simply, to be disadvantaged is to have less advantage than others. For example if you live in a remote area you might be disadvantaged in looking for work or accessing training courses.\n\nTo be vulnerable means that you are at risk of something. For example if you don’t have enough food to eat you are more likely to become sick than someone who does have enough food. Therefore you are vulnerable to ill health. Vulnerable and disadvantage are often used to describe the same thing.\n\n\nWhat we’re saying (updates from Twitter)", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9087028503417969}
+{"content": "English   español  \nCompartir / Impacto:\nAdd this article to your Mendeley library MendeleyBASE\nCitado 8 veces en Web of Knowledge®  |  Pub MebCentral Ver citas en PubMed Central  |  Ver citas en Google académico\nTítulo : Spontaneous Lactobacillus delbrueckii phage-resistant mutants with acquired bile tolerance\nAutor : Guglielmotti, Daniela; Briggiler Marcó, Mariángeles; Vinderola, Celso; González de los Reyes-Gavilán, Clara ; Jorge Reinheimer, Jorge; Quiberoni, Andrea\nPalabras clave : Lactobacilos delbrueckii\nFecha de publicación : 2007\nEditor: Elsevier\nCitación : International Journal of Food Microbiology 119(3): 236-242 (2007)\nResumen: Three commercial phage-sensitive strains of Lactobacillus delbrueckii (strains Ab1, YSD V and Ib3) and four spontaneous phage-resistant mutants (strains A7, A17, V2 and I39) isolated from them, all with a probiotic potential previously demonstrated were studied for their tolerance of bile salts (ox gall). Minimal Inhibitory Concentrations (MICs) ranged from 0.30% to 0.35% (w/v) of ox gall. These strains were exposed to gradually increasing concentrations of ox gall with the aim of isolating bile resistant derivatives. Stable derivatives able to tolerate up to 0.9% of ox gall were obtained from L. delbrueckii Ab1, as well as from its spontaneous phage-resistant mutants A7 and A17. Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD-PCR) analysis revealed a strong genetic homology between the ox gall-tolerant derivatives and their respective non-adapted original strains. These derivatives maintained, in general, the phage resistance phenotype of the non-adapted strains, with only one exception (phage-resistant mutant A7). After progressive ox gall adaptation, the phage-resistant mutant A7 also exhibited progressive reversion of the phage resistance phenotype. The derivative with the highest ox gall-acquired tolerance (A0.97) became sensitive to the phage, but derivatives with low (A0.37) and intermediate (A0.67) ox gall-acquired tolerance retained phage resistance. The technological properties of ox gall derivatives were comparable to those of their respective parent strains. However, the cells of the former were smaller than those of the original strains. Finally, the tolerant derivatives grew faster in the presence of ox gall than the parent strains. Our results demonstrated that it was possible to obtain, by a natural selection strategy, probiotic strains with acquired ox gall-tolerance from three (L. delbrueckii Ab1 and their phage-resistant mutants A7 and A17) of seven tested strains. Since such derivatives keep both phage resistance and other useful technological properties, they could be used for production of functional foods\nURI : http://hdl.handle.net/10261/7071\nDOI: 10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2007.08.010\nISSN: 0168-1605\nAparece en las colecciones: (IPLA) Artículos\nFicheros en este ítem:\nNo hay ficheros asociados a este ítem.\nMostrar el registro completo\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6271657943725586}
+{"content": "When Is An Employee’s Participation In An Internal Investigation “Protected Activity” Under Title VII (Part 2)\n\nEarlier today, we noted that an employee’s participation in a purely internal investigation is not covered by Title VII’s participation clause.\n\nBut, on the other hand, an internal employer investigation initiated as a result of an EEOC charge is typically held to constitute an “investigation” within the meaning of the “participation” clause. As stated in Clover v. Total Sys. Servs., Inc., 176 F.3d 1346, 1353 (11th Cir. 1999):\n\n[A]n employer receiving a form notice of charge of discrimination knows that any evidence it gathers after that point and submits to the EEOC will be considered by the EEOC as part of the EEOC investigation. Though this is an indirect means of gathering evidence relevant to investigating a charge of discrimination, the EEOC considers employer-submitted evidence on an equal footing with any evidence it gathers from other sources. Because the information the employer gathers as part of its investigation in response to the notice of charge of discrimination will be utilized by the EEOC, it follows that an employee who participates in the employer’s process of gathering such information is participating, in some manner, in the EEOC’s investigation.\n\nThis entry was posted in EEOC, Houston Employment Law, Houston Retaliation Law, Retaliation and tagged , . Bookmark the permalink.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6611813306808472}
+{"content": "Orgonica Orgonite Products\n\n\nOrgone Energy, also known as Qi, or Life Energy, is all around us, but mostly in a chaotic state. Sometimes so chaotic (stirred up by mobile phone towers, wifi, mobile phones etc), that it can cause us harm. Insomnia, irritablity, depression and physical disease are sometimes the result of an energetically chaotic environment.\n\nOrgonica orgone products filter and transform this harmful energy, and emit a fountain of clear, harmonious life-giving photons. Depending on the size and density of the piece, the radius of effects can stem from purely personal, to covering the size of a house, to a large hall or building.\n\nOrgonica products purify the atmosphere, can improve the taste of wine or drinks, helps plants to grow better, experience fewer pests, and require less water. Due to the fact that they balance and harmonise stray energies, they are also useful for mitigating the harmful effects of transmitters, phone towers, wi-fi etc. Placed by the bed, they may also help the restless mind of the insomniac, thus promoting restful sleep.\n\nAdded to the fact of their energetic properties, the pieces themselves can be displayed as objets d’art in their own right. Many people will naturally be drawn to picking them up and asking questions, even if they are not themselves “sensitives”. New designs and matrix components are added all the time, but the basic crystal, metal and organic compounds are common to all orgone transformer products. Metal and crystal densities will vary and so pieces will be classed according to their orgone emission and field shape. Customised pieces can be made to order, with the crystals or metal combinations of your choosing.\n\n Orgonica Products Currently for sale:\n\nUse the Energiser Plate to charge and energise your tea, coffee, hot or cold drinks, wine, breakfast juice, or food. Use the hypercubes with short-range or lower power interferences, eg transformers, cellphones etc Lapis Pyramids emit a delightful fountain of Indigo-flavoured Orgone, ideal for meditation rooms, kitchens, computer rooms etc Don’t be fooled by these novelty-shaped pieces! the orgonite inside is highly focussed and powerful. Can be worn on the person as a protector, as a brooch, as a pendant.\n\n\n\nFor Visitors from the USA, please visit The Alchemists’ Chamber\n\nWolf Spirit Radio -|- Seven Rays -|- The Alchemists Chamber", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6534761190414429}
+{"content": "AFSCME District Council 36\n\nLACERA: The Actuary Cometh\n\nArticle By: Fred Massey\n\nCalifornia’s Pension laws require public pensions to conduct valuation and experience studies at least every three years. LACERA has done a pension review every year and a full experience study every third year. Every year, Milliman, LACERA’s Actuary, comes to the Board of Investment and discusses the actuarial assumptions that guide the Board’s policy and actions. Last year Milliman came early beginning in October, returning in November and returning again in December. Every three years, the Board does a robust review to assess the reasonableness of the assumptions. The actuaries call this review an experience study. 2016 was the third year and the robust review was in order.\n\nActuaries work in finance and insurance. They evaluate and measure risk and uncertainty using mathematical and statistical methods. If you bought an insurance policy for your grandchild, the cost of the policy would be based on actuarial assumptions. If the child is one year old, the child has an excellent chance of living to maturity and into old age. What are the chances that the child will die before age 21? Answering the question is an actuary’s task. They use statistics, and morbidity and mortality data to answer these questions. With a pension plan they use Social Security data.\n\nThe central issue that the actuaries help the Board address is the expected rate of return on their investments. The rate of return affects the contribution rate for the County of Los Angeles and its employees. When the assumed rate of return is too high, the investment pool cannot fund the promised pension. On the other hand, if the contribution rate is too high, it competes with providing money for direct services, and employees have less money for living. Aside from the rate of return, actuaries need to estimate how long retirees will live. People are living longer because of better health care, improved diets, exercise regimes, and better self care. While people are living longer, the cost of providing a pension grows and becomes a challenge.\n\nDuring the October meeting, the focus was initially on both economic and demographic issues. It became clear early in the meeting that Board Members were very concerned about the economic issues, particularly the expected rate of return. They wanted to spend the entire meeting on the rate of return, wage, and productivity growth and inflation. So, Milliman was invited back for a second round and the balance of the first meeting was focused on demographic issues.\n\nActuaries have methods and procedures. The remainder of the meeting focused on their method for evaluating demographic data. Actuaries have historically used a statistical method. The Society of Actuaries has recently developed a generational method. The latter method compares individuals in an age group with others in that age group. Thus, they compare 45 year olds with other 45 year olds and 65 year olds with other 65 year olds. The method assumes that people will live longer and they build that into their numbers and expected cost into it. The generational method is more expensive for pension boards but a more stable predictor of cost. The new method was not well received by the Board.\n\nIn November, Milliman’s Actuaries returned with their more senior actuary to discuss expected rates of return. He assured the Board that they have financial analysts who help evaluate economic data. Milliman’s staff believes that the expected rate of return is 6.2%. This number is an historical figure and includes inflation, wage and productivity growth. LACERA’s expected rate of return is 7.5% and has been for three years. Milliman recommended that the Board adopt an expected rate of return of 7% or 7.25%. The rate reduction, bringing the rate down to 7.25%, will cost the county about $294 million per year. The new rate will bring LACERA more in line with other pension boards around the state. Gregg Rademacher, LACERA’s CEO, announced that he had consulted with Segal, the auditing actuary. Segal agreed with Milliman.\n\nIn December, Milliman returned for a third time. SEIU came to the meeting with a letter from a consulting actuary. Ms. Sachi A. Hamai, Los Angeles County’s CEO, gave a short speech. She also provided a letter to the Board quoting another actuarial firm. The Coalition of County Unions sent a letter to the Board of Supervisors supporting the agreement worked out by all the parties. The parties agreed that the rate would be reduced to 7.25% from 7.5%, and the cost increase will be spread over three years.\n\nThe expected rate of return for public pension systems is an issue that has been publicly discussed and debated for some time. In the years since the Great Recession, the discussion has been especially heated. So, why is the Board taking it up now? The last time BOI took up the issue they were doing the experience study in 2014. It was also a contentious issue for the County and its budget. Pension funding was competing with public services for public dollars. Now, three years later, the American economy is doing better. Unemployment is down. Real estate sales and values in Los Angeles County have improved dramatically, and local government revenues have improved over the past three years. The state budget and tax revenues are much improved and more stable. The politics surrounding the state budget are more settled and less contentious than a few years ago. The Board of Supervisors has been able to find the initial $100 million down payment without much difficulty. They did not need to take money from direct services to address pension costs.\n\nThe fact that the parties, the Board of Investment, the Board of Supervisors and the Unions, needed to consult 4 actuarial firms suggests that the battle for public dollars remains contentious.\n\nFollow Us!\n\nAFSCME District Council 36 Logo\n\nSign Up\nRemember me", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9481736421585083}
+{"content": "On April the 21st, Stimwave LLC, which is primarily known for manufacturing medical devices, announced it had been awarded a DAPA, Distribution and Pricing Agreement, from the Defense Logistic Agency. The company manufactures several stimulation systems including the StimQ Peripheral Nerve Stimulator and the Freedom Spinal Cord Stimulation System. The company has now received a five-year contract with the US governmental agency. The contract, which was negotiated by TAMM Net Inc., is the first involving spinal cord stimulators and a United States government agency.\n\nStimwave’s devices rely on an exclusive Wireless Pain Relief technology to deliver small pulses of energy directly to the nerves in the body. In return, the sensation triggers the brain and forces a remapping of the pain pathways leading directly to pain relief. Stimwave devices tend to be 95% smaller than alternative neuromodulation devices on the market. During use, the device will be affixed to an anchor, so it can remain parallel with the body’s nerves. Thanks to the positioning and size of Stimwave’s device, it provides the user with more freedom of motion than the bulkier implanted devices.\n\nThe devices, which have been cleared by the FDA for treatment of chronic back and leg pain, were released to a limited number of patients during 2015. Simultaneously, the FDA granted Stimwave an FDA 510 (k) for the relief of peripheral nervous system pain. Stimwave is the only neuromodulation device manufacturer to receive FDA clearance for the relief of chronic neuropathic pain for most locations around the body. To learn more about Stimwave’s wireless stimulator system, be sure to visit their official website at www.stimwave.com.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9893697500228882}
+{"content": "The Kingdom of Aether\n\n\nPromathea, the royal family's crest.\n\nThe Lion is Courage and the Unicorn is Wisdom. The colors of the shield represent the four elements that made up their historic religion. The sword represents the streght of Aether and its history of warfare.\n\nKings (Queens): Heravick Eclipse (Elunette), Janos Promathea I (Velessa), Theros Promathea (Sylvashia), Azure Promathea I (Ashlei), Azure Promathea II (Aerith), Kurash Promathea (Helen), Janos Promathea II (Belladonna), Christopher Promathea (Kristen & Iradessa), Chestin Promathea\n\nRoyal Triva: Lucien Promathea, the younger brother to Kurash, over threw Janos the II for a short time before being assassinated.\n\nFor some time, Christopher and Janos ruled together as the Whtie and Black Kings (Diplomacy and Warfare).\n\nLater Christopher was broguht back from the dead to assassinate Janos II and his wife. He managed to retain control enough to not kill his little half-brother. Belladonna died.\n\nJanos the II was the first King of Aether to go Dowager (though it was offically written as him giving the throne and crown soley over to his older brother who rightfully should have been King all along).\n\nChristopher is the first king to go dowager and have it recorded as such in history.\n\nThe Promathea Curse refers to the tragedy that has befallen the blood-related Promatheas. After his fall and destruction the royal family has suffered loss after loss and currently most of the blood is no longer even true Promathean.\n\n\nAether is a Kingdom founded on exploration, industry and alliances. They fancy themselves world leaders and idealists, though they can often be overbearing and elitist to outside cultures. Their people are very diverse, particularly thanks to the fall of several allied (or conquered) nations which has placed those populations into their own melting pot. This means tensions often run high politically.\n\nSocial Divide\nThe nobility lives an entirely different life then the common person. The wealthy lack for only enough to spend on and the poor are nearly dead with need. Token nobility from knighthoods are one of the few ways the poor can hope to gain wealth and rank. The other method is to marry in. Merchants also manage to fair well. Trade is huge within Aether and with their external neighbors.\n\nAether believes itself to be on top of the world. Every world map puts them right in the center (even though on the site we choose not to). Other national nobility and royalty are treated only has high as essential, unless they are on strong friendly terms. This means that where the exiled prince of Wysteria might be treated like a token noble at best in Aether (despite any amount of wealth), the Ryuko exiled prince would be treated as on-par with an Aetherian royal duke. Why? Because Aether has always had a good relationship with the Ryuko people and had a war with the Wysterian ones.\n\nTreated Well: Ryuko (allies), Araneae, Phairan (Royals only)\nTreated Moderately: Nazcan, Phairan, Keise\nTreated Poorly: Wysterians, Roma, Dahhak, Werewolves, Vykul\n\n: Our longest, cryptic, allies\nDahhak: Close to demons, entirely untrustworthy monsters\nKeise: Giving friends but cowardly\nNazcan: Savages we are taming\nPhairan: Upstart feminism, but swimming in wealth\nRoma: Criminal trash\nRyuko: Honorable and noble people with great martial strength\nWerewolves: Dangerous and predatory\nWysterian: Murderers and slave loving scum\nVykrul: Sell-outs, our enemies\n\nThe society as a whole is fashioned after a high fantasy equivalent of Victorian Europe – London specifically. As a result, the gap between the have and have nots is becoming ever clearer even as industry begins to take off. Things like keise crystal powered lanterns are on every street corner and yet the homeless children have nowhere to sleep at night.\n\nKeise Crystals: Crystals are equal to batters and come in all shapes, sizes and powers. They are used only in the wealthiest of homes in Aether.\n\nPlumbing: There is a sewer system and city-wide water works, however only the richest (nobles and up) can afford to have a water heater powered by keise crystals so most taps are only 'on/off' and run unheated water. Toilets are in most standard homes for those not of poverty level, within major cities.\n\nTeleportaion Sites: The teleportation industry is owned by Kevin Promathea-Eclipse. Their are teleporation sites within every duchy capitol and all ally capitol cities (including one in Phaira but they are not allies). This is extremely costly to use and often only richest can afford it.\n\nLamps: These are powered by keise crystals but otherwise they look like turn of the century lighting; both indoor and outdoor.\n\nPrinting Press: Detridon (ancient inventor) has created and given the specs for the printing press. Woodblocks are still used for images.\n\nPhotography: The first old-time cameras are developed, however there are less then ten of them as they are hand made by Detridon. Though they require a darkroom to develop, these cameras do not take hours to develop a picture, only a moment to expose the light onto the film.\n\nThe Steam Engine: Though there is steam engine technology, the introduction to the keise crystals has all but killed the 'industrial' revolution. Since most of the steam engines were made for machines of war that do not fit in civilized society they have been left to warfare.\n\nSky Cities & Ships: By the way of magic crystals and powers, there are floating cities. The first was the Island of Entropy, lifted up into the sky by Mouko, The Temple was next, lifted up by the (then) Child Goddess Mikayla during the civil war between the Crown and the Temple. As a gift to Janos, Mouko lifted up an old church grounds to become Janos Promathea II's personal hideaway. The Dawnbringer and the New Dawn are ship-fortressed that were developed by the Consortium working with A.E.G.I.S and Mouko's people. They can fly and have advanced arcane and ballistic weapons. The Arcane Sanctum is a huge city-ship from the nexus that has a mixture of power but is not armed with more then a barrier.\n\nMusic & Style\nThe music of the Aetherian’s is standard European classical, with occasional bits of Celtic & Scottish folk music for the peasantry. Generally anything that can be produced by orchestra is what the nobility prefer and to play “well” it so adhere to the established design not to invent your own.   As an amusing note, music speaks quite differently to the nobles versus the peasantry. The nobles view playing music as either background filler for their parties or as a way to promote themselves. “Look at how well my daughter can sing, any man would want to marry her.” Meanwhile peasants see music as a way to loosen up after a hard workday, its something to set them free and let them stop thinking and start laughing.\n\nThey have a written and spoken language called Aetherian. Some elite scholars may also speak, read or write Ancient Elfin. It is also common for half-breeds or those who have constant communication with other races and nations to have a second language they read and write.\n\nLove & Marriage\n: Both love and marriages are freewheeling things for the peasantry. You marry whom you wish to, when you feel your stable enough to do so and that is simply it. They do not care if your lover is the opposing gender; the same gender and they hardly care about age taboos so long as you’re not after a child (below the age of 15). Inter-racial marriages are something of a new factor to them but they are over all accepting – it's what makes you happy and anything else will generally fall into place at some point.  \n\nNobles: To be the exact opposite of peasants, nobles marry 75% of the time for status or money. Daughters, particularly, are used as a tool for getting the family more rank or better connections, commonly marriage to one is used to “seal a deal” or as a show of “good faith” between two newly blooming partners. Very rare is the noble who marries for love and they are often the envy of the multitude of bitter and unhappily married noble couples around them.\n\nThough it is unpopular, same sex couples are accepted, legally, in Aether. It is preferred, however, that one keeps that skeleton in the closet if one is noble. Nobles are also very intolerant of age gaps (men are to be older then the girls and no more than 100 years separation is acceptable). Inter-racial marriages and partnerships are rare, and often the non-Aetherian partner is presumed to be a 'pet' to the Aetherian one, no matter how much the Aetheran member professes their love.\n\nLaws & Punishments\n\nHigh Treason\n\nPlotting / Committing the rape / murder of a royal.\n\nSleeping with a royal and being of low class or low birth.\n\nRefusing the direct order of a royal.\n\nLevying war against the Kingdom.\n\nGiving the sovereign’s enemies aid or comfort. \n\nUndermining established laws\n\nMurder of other national royalty who are under Aetherian protection\n\nPunishments: Execution    \n\nSevere Crime\n\nTheft from your betters. \n\nMurder of a noble. \n\n\nPlotting / Carrying out rape. \n\nInsubordination against the sovereign or aristocracy.\n\nPunishments: Loss of Appendages, Imprisonment\n\nMinor Crime\n\n\nAccessory to Murder / Man Slaughter\n\n\nPlotting/Carrying out the physical violation of another (rape).\n\nPunishments: Canning, whipping, possible loss of a limb, or imprisonment\n\n\nBefore Invasion (Year 1500 B.I. – Year 0 B.I.)\nWhile Aetherians believe time started with them, this cannot be farther from the truth. The Araneae were one of the first races and documented the rise of each race during this primordial time period - including the eventual \"Invasion\" of the Aetherians from off world.\n\nYear 1500: The Solarians land on the planet. They witness the birth of many strange creatures. Their mission was to document the formation of new life on the planet as done by ethereal beings (gods). At this point they are witnessing the last stages of basic evolution in both plants and animals.\n\nYear 1100: Araneae are created and their systems formed by their God. They are to watch over and chronicle the world. The Keise are created alongside them, the dark to their light. The Keise are taught the ways of darkness by creatures like the Bat, the Cat, the Hound and an ethereal entity of Darkness (Death actually, but it was mistaken by the Keise) known as Rerierre.\n\nYear 1000: The Phairan's are created and are Harpies at this point. The Heavenly Host has plans for them and begins to prepare their bodies for excellorated evolution in the next few hundred years after they meet the Solarians.\n\nYear 950: Wysterian's, called Humans at this point, are created by the Elemental God of Earth, though they call it “The Light” as the first people spoke of it as such in ancient texts. People war over how to rule and serve this “Light”, which fractures the people into tribes at an early stage.\n\nYear 920: The first Slada'Sha (or Shaytan as they called it) rises up. The Solarians work with the current creatures to put it back to sleep, not knowing what else to do. They learn of the Titan Tree who sent them 'champions' called Epitaphs to aid them in their fight against the Slada'Sha. They begin to study the tree.\n\nYear 850: The Keise begin to divide as a society. Some of them begin to seek out living blood harvested form creatures around them. This blood gives the Keise more power but it also warps them, twists them. Their society divides over this substance abuse and leads to a full on civil war, this period is called the “First Blood”.\n\nYear 812: The Ryuko are created by the Dragon Gods (basically another face of the Elemental Gods) and Animal Spirits – specifically the Monkey.\n\nYear 806: The Nazcan are made, the last of the Gods children. They are created by the Elemental God of Fire, who they know by the name Huitzilopochitli. Their first ruler is Niphityt, a creature of perfection whose bloodline is slowly diluted over generations of breeding with the normal people.\n\nYear 800: Jinn, the First Dragon King, claims the heart of a dragon to free the Dragon of Water from the tyranny of the Dragon of Fire. In return, the Dragons of Water healed him and blessed his lineage. He ate the dragon heart he claimed and it empowered his family line with the blood of dragons. It also became the future ruler ship ritual of the Ryuko people.\n\nYear 791: War against the Slada'Sha have been on going. One will be put down and another will wake up. The Solarians realize that their presence is what is causing the Slada'Sha to awaken. To do no further harm they construct the Arcane Sanctum as an ark to take them from the current cultures that they are doing too much 'damage to' and find a place where they can continue their research and watch for Slada'Sha activities. They leave behind most of the other races despite having given them their faith in the Light with ancient books and teachers. All Solarians, with some of their pet Wilder and a few Humans, board the Arcane Sanctum.\n\nYear 789: The Solarians find a landmass to cultivate this land for themselves without any god's children (so they thought). They are on the contention Aerith. They take all of their technology and shift Aerith out of phase to take away any possible pollution they could do while they put the Arcane Sanctum into dock. They learn early in that there are orcs trolls and dwarves in these lands and together they make the Kingdom of Underoot.\n\nYear 627: The Kingdoms of Solaris, Lune, Xainath, Falon and Gara are built. Falon is made of Wilder who are trying to be free and independent of their Solarian and Human owners. Gara is made up of humans that have worked to become independent. Lune is full of Keise who never go into the Darkworld and start working on worshiping the night instead. The kingdom of Xainath becomes the epicenter of magic and arcane study, the jewel of the Solarian's home.\n\nThe rest of the Arcane Sanctum's history is on their Society Page.\n\nThe Originators\nAnything before the first Aetherian Year of the Gods is a folktale by the Aetherian people. However there is evidence to show that the ancestors of the Aetherians were not native to the planet entirely. They were a seeded race from space. A starship landed and higher life forms decided to establish a livelihood here on the planet.\n\nThe stories say that the ‘crew’ was led by their captain, Aries. A strong man, bold and confidant but extremely impulsive. Other notable members of the crew included: Taurus (Head of Security), Gemini (Communications), Cancer (Civilian wife of Taurus and the first Orphan Mother in history), Leo (Security Officer), Virgo (2nd in Command), Libra (Counselor and constant matchmaker), Scorpio (Head of R&D),  Sagittarius (Navigator), Capricorn (Operations), Aquarius (Science Officer), Pisces (Negotiator), Aros (Computer AI) and Detridon (Engineer). As would be readily apparent, when the Aetherian calendar was invented the many of the names were used to create their moths and astrology charts.\n\nThe only reason the ship even came to the planet was because it was chasing a rogue criminal race called the Dahhak. Energy entities that were controlled by the charismatic but murderous Markavi. Their task was to stop this race, at any cost, and bring them in for judgment. Instead, the battle over the planet skies knocked both fleets to the earth below and stranded them to fight on the land.\n\nIt is said that, as the war raged, the Originators discovered a massive tree – called the World Tree. The amber of it was capable of naturally absorbing energy, and it quickly became the primary tool in destroying the Dahhak. Naturally it became such a demanded resource that it was quickly over harvested and the massive tree died in the process.\n\nNo one knows how the Originators died but there is no note about it recorded history, just the folktales of their lives.\n\nNote: It is important to note that, even predating the Year of the Gods, there has always been a Lorekeeper. This role was ordained by ancient powers no one understands, but it was tasked with monitoring Markavi’s transference and ensuring he never rose to power once more.\n\nReign of Heravick Eclipse, King of the Gods (Year of the Gods 1 – 254)\nThis is where the Gods first came into record. The elemental archons reached out the progeny of the aliens and began to accept them as part of the world itself. This is believed to have taken place several centuries after the seed race passing.\n\nHowever, shortly after the innocent introduction to the Gods a man would take control. Heravick Eclipse, a mage of extreme skill who had learned from an ancient creature of the world, used his gifts to subjugate the elements. Bending them to his will, he gained control over earth, fire, wind and water. Between these powers, and those he wielded as a mage, he was an unstoppable force and proclaimed himself the first “King” of Aether.\n\nHe would also have controlled darkness but the Dark God asked a heavy sacrifice of its people. It commanded that they kill themselves and bury or destroy its tombs before the tyrant ever came to power. It literally erased itself from existence before Heravick could discover it. As for the Light God, it had never reached out to the Aetherian people and thus was never at risk.\n\nDuring this time he was a strong dictator, creating ironclad laws and destroying all opposition through his powers. However, for all the evils he did he also created Aether’s core nation and principles – many of which remain into the present day. He founded the capitol city of Sel’hala, which was ancient elfin (the dominant language of the time) for “Eternal Nightfall”.\n\nYear 2: When the tyrant begins his ruler ship, many flee his kingdom to seek new lives elsewhere. He chases them down, slaughtering many of them. The few who survived do so by throwing themselves into the deadly desert terrain of the Epitaph Sands. They become the first Roma. They form a gypsy type society and wander the landscape while refusing to ever set foot in Aetherian territories.\n\nYear 10: Heravick divides the lands into counties and baronies. He places loyal or wealthy subjects in control of them, who become the first “nobles”. Those who he simply feels are impressive enough are granted the title of Marquise – which, at the time, basically meant you were above those who had to control land but beneath the Crown.\n\nYear 21: Many ryuko become loyal to the Dragon of Fire, dubbing themselves the Fire Tribe. They pursue their master’s desire to conquer or control the children fo the Dragon of Water – the Ryuko. Ironically this agenda was decided without the blessing of the Dragons of Fire, who were shamed by the events surrounding Jinn’s ascension.\n\nEventually the Fire Tribe launched an attack, during an event called “Waves After the Storm”, but ultimately lost the battle. Their kind was banished to the outreaches of the Land of Dragons.\n\nYear 32: Heravick desires more control over the populace. He creates the Order of the Crown, a legion of knights devoted to ensuring his will is done.\n\nYear 58: “The War of the Blight” takes place in the Dark World. The blighted, now having formed a dark society of their own to war against their gentler siblings, begin to steal “light world” children from the other races. They would use their blood and their magics to warp these children into minions for their armies. At this point the civil war doesn’t so much end as it evolves into two societies instead of one race against itself.\n\nYear 123: Heravick marries Elunette, a fellow magi who suits his personality perfectly.\n\nYear 223: Crown Prince Kelleth is born.\n\nReign of Janos Promathea I, Sword of Mercy (Year 256 – 801)\nThe seeds for Heravick’s downfall were sewn the day he decided to rule through fear. Eventually it would be his right hand man, and best friend, Janos Promathea who would assassinate him. His rebellion, and his subsequent victory, rallied the people behind him in hope. He ascended to the throne and ruled in the opposite manner of his predecessor – with mercy and justice.\n\nMuch of his rule was spent fighting against the warlocks, running them from Aether and outlawing their dark magic. He believed, and not without a strong basis to work from, that such power corrupted those who wielded it. Even a good man would turn twisted and evil if given the power to dominate the weak.\n\nYear 257: Magic, that is not of the Gods directly or natural born elfin talents, is banned in Aether. The punishment for practice, without chance of leniency, is death. Janos also creates the Order of the Paragon, a knight legion devoted to ensuring law and order regardless of social standing.\n\nYear 260: Janos marries Velessia, a young noble with a talent for politics and archery.\n\nYear 274: Velessia uses her rank and talents to forge a specialized battalion of knights who specialize in a lesson common form of martial prowess: The Wasp Brigade.\n\nYear 281: Crown Prince Theros is born.\n\nYear 300: Janos Promathea secretly approaches the Araneae and proposes a deal. His people are still violently tormented by warlocks, he needs a place to take them should things go for the worst. In return he promises to keep his people from their lands indefinitely. They agree and show him a \"map\" that details lands beyond the supposedly endless Epitaph Sands.\n\nReign of Theros Promathea, Elemental King (Year 802 - 1237)\nJanos dies of magic inflicted illness in an assassination orchestrated by the warlocks. His eldest son, Theros, takes over. He is stricter than his father but not the tyrant the Eclipse family was. Instead he believes in creating laws to control the masses and protect the people.\n\nThe ostracized and cast-out warlocks came up with a desperate plan. They used a ritual, requiring several members, to attempt to capture and devour the primary Elemental Gods (Earth, Fire, Wind & Water). Desperate, the Gods each sent out a distress call to those in the world that would resonate with them the strongest – those they would think of as their champions. The heroes to respond were: Seville Blackthorne (A Mercenary), Delhi Amethyst (A mysterious man who claimed to hear the voices of the planet), Sherry Madrid (A Blacksmith) and Restin Ashcroft (A whimsical playboy noble).\n\nThe four responded to the call and approached Theros with the story of their visions and purpose. He backed their efforts 100%, giving them all the kingdoms resources to do their task. These four set out and brought an end to most of the warlock population – enough to end their threat for centuries to come. When they came home, heroes of both God and Kingdom, Theros granted them special privileges. Firstly, he crated the Duchies, gathering the Counties beneath them, and granted one of each to the heroes. Secondly, he gave them a new title: Paladins.\n\nThe Gods also bestow a gift of their own, their powers. The Paladins have wielded their elemental powers sine the “call” but now that power would be given to their heirs as well. Thanks to his immediately loyalty and support, the Gods also grant this boon to King Theros, choosing magics for his lineage based on which God suits their personality the most. (Theros himself had Earth.)\n\nYear 805: The blighted discover a force from the Deep Darkness, creatures called the A’dalis. These are corrupted and vicious beings, like a strange combination of demon, insect and blighted. They seek to devour everything and naturally turn their wrath upon the blighted. This causes an end to the “War of the Blight” since the blighted are too busy worrying about the new threat they have unleashed.\n\nYear 808: The Paladins respond to the call of the Gods and obtain Theros’ blessing.\n\nYear 812: The Paladins return victorious. The Duchies are formed and granted to the newly returned heroes: Seville Blackthorne gains Merlose, Dehli Amethyst gains Argent, Sherry Madrid gains Phandaria and Restin Ashcroft gains Sheedan.\n\nYear 933: Seville Blackthorne founds a battalion of knights who specialize in a lesson common form of martial prowess: The Juggernaut Bridage. Each man is strong and durable, considered worth 10 regular knights.\n\nYear 1005: Theros marries Sylvashia, a sharp minded and stoic matronly sort who is extremely sharp in the courts.\n\nYear 1200: Crown Prince Azure is born.\n\nThe Nazcan's gained a new High Shaman, who claimed their God demanded they destroy the Aetherians. High in number and in savagery, they decimated Aetherian forces in ther early years of the war, forcing the pale skinned ones out of their original capitol and claiming it as their own.\n\nReign of Azure Promathea, Lion of Aether (Year 1238 - 1298)\nTheros dies while out on a simple hunt. The first Nazcan the kingdom of Aether ever encountered shoots him. War follows swiftly after as his son Azure takes over the ruler ship and wants to avenge his father.\n\nHowever this war proves costly. The people of Aether underestimated the seemingly primitive Nazcan’s, but they actually possess deadly magical abilities that devastate the armies left and right. They could literally morph the landscape into plant allies and summon plant creatures to fight with them. Their magics overpowered many armies, despite Azure’s impressive skill as both a knight and a tactician.\n\nThe capitol city eventually falls and the residents of Aether flee to the sheltered heart of their lands, leaving the savages only one route they can use for entry: The Epitaph Sands. It is a massive and deadly wasteland of a desert – just to cross it would cost lives. Unfortunately, that also applied to the refugees and amoung the losses is Azure Promathea himself.\n\nRising to power during this time is the first Lord Spiritual. A lowborn man warrior became favored of all the Gods when the Paladins were lost to the war. This man, Eclipse Glasshour, would become renown as a spiritual leader at gain the title “Greated of Lowbornes”.\n\nNote: With the loss of the capitol several royal documents are left behind, most of them regarding proof of peerage for various nobles and the like.\n\nYear 1238: The 600 Year War begins between Aether and Nazca. During this time, the Ararneae are given a cryptic warning by their God: Magic shall curse them to hide from everything. Fearful of this curse, and thinking it would come from aiding Aether with their warlocks, the Araneae seal themselves off from all outside races.\n\nYear 1239: Delphi attempts to negotiate with these savage, as they seem in tune with the planet as he is, but he never returns and is proclaimed dead.\n\nYear 1241: Azure marries Ashlei, a woman gifted with healing magic and medicine talents. It is thanks to her inclusion into the bloodline that the Promatheas have the rare chance to develop healing magic.\n\nYear 1243: Restin is killed in battle.\n\nYear 1254: Crown Prince Azure II is born.\n\nYear 1255: Sherry stops an assassination attempt on Ashlei and Azure. Sadly she does so by becoming a living bomb against the hordes that managed to invade.\n\nYear 1290: Ashlei loses her life while saving her husband from a mortal wound. Seville attempts to avenge her and hold off the enemies to buy his King time to flee. He is never heard from after but it is assumed he did not survive.\n\nYear 1298: The first Lord Spiritual, Eclipse Glasshour, gains his powers and title. The capitol city of Sel’hala falls and the Aetherian people are forced to flee to their heartland.\n\nReign of Azure Promathea II, The Bullwark (Year 1299 - 1620)\nAzure the Second inherits the title of King and founds a new capitol in the center of what remains: Cardinal Meridian. His reign is filled with battle after battle. The Nazcans were only slowed in their advance across the desert but they were not stopped. As a result the Duchy of Sheedan, which bordered the land, was severely crippled, as it became the warfront.\n\nSeeing their previous elves were suffering, the Gods provided them a last blessing via their Lord Spiritual: The House of Kingdom. Previously elemental magics were good but not overly powerful, someone with the Elemental Heritage of Fire would only be able to create fireballs – as an example. But with this new vault of power opened they could summon dragons to their aid, turn into living flame and so much more. These new powers turned the war into a few more level playing fields.\n\nHowever, tenacity was clearly the strength of their enemy and it would be a long war indeed. Azure would fight every day of his life until a peasant, who blamed him for not ending the war sooner, assassinated him. His wife, furious and grieving, had the assassin hanged, drawn and quartered for the crime.\n\nYear 1299: The new capitol of Cardinal Meridian is forged. The territory around it is made a minor territory under control of the royal family; in honor of their last capitol it is called Nightsong Forest.\n\nYear 1300: Eclipse finds many nobles eager to pledge themselves to him and the Gods. Among these are nobles with elemental magics. Since he himself is a warrior he creates a specialized military unit, one that combines magic with the art of war, the Brotherhood of Fire.\n\nYear 1356: The Gods unlocked the House of Kingdom and the war finally becomes an even playing field.\n\nYear 1359: Azure marries Aerith Amethyst, an ambitious socialite of the courts.\n\nYear 1400: Crown Prince Kurash is born.\n\nYear 1501: A visionary, Leon Wysteria, leads his tribe to dominate all other tribes in Wysteria. He names the nation after his own family, forcing everyone to unite under his power. The Empire he creates becomes amazingly strong and industrious.\n\nReign of Kurash Promathea, The Noble (Year 1621 - 1800)\nKurash takes over as King, with his younger brother Lucien serving as his right hand man. Over time various shadow politics lead him to believe it is a wise idea to take a campaign of men to offer peace to the Nazcan’s, or at the very least a cease-fire. He and his men are slaughtered and left on pikes near the edge of the Epitaph Sands.\n\nYear 1676: Kurash recognizes Sharon but cannot stand the woman so he refuses to marry her. This casts a lot of doubt onto the legitimacy of the son who resulted from this union, Christopher. Worse, rumors surface that Sharon herself might not be blue blooded.\n\nYear 1700: The Wysterian’s first begin landing on the beaches of the Aetherian continent. At this time they cannot peirce the Forest of Mirrors, but that doesn’t stop them from kidnapping and killing Nazcans and Araneae.\n\nYear 1701: The Imperial War Lord (ruler of Wysteria as proclaimed by Leon), orders his people to begin military expansion. They sail ships to new lands, pillage, conquer and claim slaves from whatever they find and return home victorious. As a result they advance in technology at an incredible pace.\n\nYear 1710: In a relatively short span (for immortals) the conflict between Araneae and the Wysterian’s is decided by a gruesome final confrontation called “The Battle of Bloodsands”. Within this fight many powerful mages are slaughtered and their vengeful spirits, coupled with those who were willing to sacrifice themselves for the curse in the battle, created the limitation on the Araneae species numbers. All but 100 of them died that day and there have never been more then 100 since. However, despite this crippling blow they won the battle and Wysterians did not come upon the beaches for almost a century after. By that time, they have moved their home into the mountain and were gone from Wysterian reach.\n\nYear 1734: The blighted are conquered by the A’dalis, who begin to use them as a servant race. No one is aware of this fact though, as the Keise shut out the Deep Darkness via a gate in the Isle of Twilight and opted to ignore the situation ever after.\n\nYear 1796: Kurash recognizes Helen, and per the mandate of noble society they marry to complete the God ordained union. Their son, Janos II, is born later that year.\n\nYear 1798: Queen Helen is killed by Nazcans while assisting in a relief effort in Sheedan.\n\nYear 1800: Kurash leads an entourage of knights to negotiate peace with the Nazcas and is killed instead.\n\nReign of Janos Promathea II, The Forger of Alliances (Year 1800 - 1811)\nDue to Kurash’s early demise two sons are left in line for the throne, neither of them ideal. First is a mere boy of five years: Janos. Second is a knight: Christopher. However, new evidence comes out that Christopher’s mother might have been lowborn – which would make him illegitimate and a half breed. The proof of peerage documentation abandoned in the older Aetherian capitol city is the only way to validate Sharon’s birth. As a result, a team is assembled to reacquire those documents (though everyone knows this to be a suicide mission at best) and until then little Janos rules – with Lucien at his side advising.\n\nYear 1800: Janos II inherits the throne, for now. A team is put together to get back the proof of peerage documents for Christopher’s mother. This team consists of Geralt Ashcroft (son of the Lorekeeper and a noble), Magnus Valenti (a knight under Lucien himself) and August Valenti (brother of Magnus and a knight of the realm).\n\nYear 1804: Maelstrom founds to Coalition to fight for the right of the downtrodden people in Sheedan.\n\nYear 1810: First contact is made with a new nation of people, the Keise of the Dark World. Janos heads up negotiations for an alliance with their people via their representative at the time: Scathe.\n\nAlso, at this time, the Nazcan siege across the deserts with renewed vigor. Their massive forces put a strain on what is left of the Roma tribes. For the largest \"family\" of Roma this is becomes a turning point. King Abdul \"Gold Fingers\" was prideful and believed they could hide or outwit the invading Nazcan's forever, despite heavy losses. When this cost the family an entire settlement of people, Terreth \"Wandering Tide\" killed him to become the next 'King', those who remained loyal to him were few but he took them and headed into Aether to start a new life. The rest left behind segmented into various families, among those families was one lead by Abdul's revenge crazed son: Forenze \"The Vampire\".\n\nThe High Shaman's only son, Yunta, traveled to Aether for help liberating his people. His father ruled the people through religion and was destroying them. He ran farms into the ground, drafted the domestic into warriors and their population was dwindling after 600 years of war. With the help of the Paladin of Light, Lucious, and the Dark Paldin, Maelstrom, they managed to kill his father and instate Yunta as High Shaman. He married the Princess of Nazca, Khana, and together they began to rebuild their ravaged kingdom. The 600 Year War ends.\n\nReign of Janos Promathea II, The Forger of Alliances & Christopher Promathea, Sword of Aether (Year 1810 - 1819)\nAgainst all odds the team sent out for the proof of peerage documents returns. They not only return, but bring with them two astonishing things: First is that they added one to their company while on the trail, River, who represents a new culture entirely, the ryuko. Second is that the four of them have been blessed by the Elemental Gods on their trip and are now the Paladins of Earth (August), Fire (Magnus), Water (River) and Air (Geralt).\n\nThe documents prove that Christopher’s claim to the throne is legitimate. However, Christopher is a loving brother and doesn’t wish to rip away all that Janos has done with his life. They come to a decision and split the throne in two. The white throne, now given the Janos, is for politics and diplomacy. Meanwhile, the black throne, given to Christopher, will be for military and law keeping.\n\nYear 1812: Christopher marries Kristen.\n\nThe Scion of Entropy rises to power in the Land of Dragons. A child of the long scorned Dragon of Entropy, Mouko Eki is a force of charisma and change in the world. He gathers under him many followers, who become known as the Servants of Entropy. With these powers he launches attacks that level entire cities – including a major capitol, Tenshi. This is also when the Teiten Monastery, and its lineage of extremely powerful monks, is destroyed.\n\nYear 1812 – Year 1813: This period is known as “The Traitor’s War”. Lucien Promathea assaults the castle in the dead of night with loyalists to his cause. His coupe de tat fails to kill the young Kings but it does run them out of their own home. By morning, Lucien declares himself King of Aether. To solidify his throne he quickly marries a lady knight, Caridee (sister of Kristen, ironically).\n\nHis ruler ship is strict and unforgiving, all nobles and knights must pledge loyalty to him or be beheaded. He also orders an Inquisition to root out all potential warlocks and have them destroyed – which effectively turns into a wild witch hunt guided by a newly released “how to find” book called the Warlock Crucible. Thankfully, this Kingship only lasts a year before Janos and Chestin retake the capitol. Janos himself beheading Lucien for his crimes. Their rebellion was backed strongly by their new ryuko allies.\n\nChristopher’s son, Chestin, is born during the assault to take back Cardinal Meridian.\n\nYear 1818: Janos marries Belle-Madonna, the sister to the Paladins of Earth and Fire. Within the year their have their first child, Janos III.\n\nYear 1820: Wysterian’s land on the other side of the Forest of Mirrors and make their way into Aether. The first encounter with their army, and the new technology of “guns” is devastating for the Aetherian people. Christopher and Kristen, who were leading the army, are both killed. This begins the “Wysterian War”.\n\nUnknown to the world, Christopher’s body is stolen by a Wysterian necromancer, Arella Chauchen.\n\nMouko also launches an assault on the capitol of Ryuuguu but is beaten back. However, during this time he makes powerful allies in a vast criminal organization known as the Chimarie Chikara.\n\nReign of Janos Promathea II, The Forger of Alliances & Chestin Promathea, Prince Charming (Year 1821 - 1833)\nA full alliance is formed between the Keise, Aether and the Land of Dragons for the first time, creating a unified power of kingdoms called “The Alliance”. Chestin takes up as Black King of Aether, with his aunt Belle-Madonna assisting him as Seneschal.\n\nYear 1824: The kingdom falls into a new panic: The Cult of Asoth. The bodies the cult was leaving in devotion to their master were rising in number, not even the royal castle was safe. It also spread to the Land of Dragons, since the Cult allied itself with the Servants of Entropy. When proof was brought to Janos that showed a young pair of twins, Bezel and Neph, were the embodiment of this Cult’s dark god he ordered them executed – as well as any potential Cultists at the time.\n\nSadly the God was already too powerful by that point. The backlash of its rage at the incident caused what is known as “The Loss of Magic”. Asoth blocked all magical connection between the elves and their elemental Gods, it even ripped the magical essence right out of the people themselves. As a result, many fell ill and died. Amoung those lost is the Lord Spiritual, Eclipse.\n\nLucious De’Dawning, Paladin of Light, takes up the mantle of Lord Spiritual with a heavy reluctance.\n\nThe Roma leader, Terreth \"Wandering Tide\", dies as a result of a plague. His last act is to unite the fractured family. By this point there are his people, known as the Sun Roma, and those previously ruled by Forenze known as the Moon Roma. His last act is to pass his family into the hands of Amira \"Blaze\", Forenze's sister and now his successor after death. This makes the family whole once more.\n\nThe A'Dalis attack the Dark World. They nearly lose the everything to the attack. Their home in the Darkworld is destroyed. Aether assists them in relocating to the Epitaph Sands, a place where nothing can live - nothing except their Darkworld city, the Isle of Twilight.\n\nThis is also when Mouko takes over the Orochi Palace and makes it into his personal floating isle of corruption. He renames it to the Palace of Entropy.\n\nYear 1828: Chestin makes first contact with the Kingdom of Phaira when its people have to chase a criminal into Aetherian lands. Janos swiftly attempts diplomacy with them but the patriarchy versus matriarchy poses a unique challenge.\n\nThis is also the year that the A’dalis, enemies of the Keise nation, take over all corners of the Land of Dragons. The people are forced to flee by any means necessary, many of them going to Aether.\n\nNote: In this year the camera was invented by Detridon.\n\nYear 1830: The Isle of Dragons is created, using magic to teleport the old capitol of Ryuuguu into the sea off the coast of Merlose. The ryuko people begin their kingdom again in this smaller but familiar place.\n\nYear 1831: Wysteria falls before the combined might of the Alliance. The “Wysterian War” comes to an end. Slavery is abolished in Wysteria when Aether takes over. However, the inclusion of the newly conquered kingdom brings back an old issue: mages! The nation of Wysteria had plenty of them and the Aetherians don’t see a difference between them and the warlocks of old.\n\nYear 1832: Kevin Promathea creates the first teleport sites – one for each capitol city of a nation. He also begins founding the Tower of Storms, initially for private use.\n\nYear 1833: Arcadian invents the concept of plumbing. It is first placed in a ryuko palace as a test run/gift but later spreads over the entirety of the Alliance.\n\nReign of Christopher Promathea, The Undead Throne (Year 1834 - 1855)\nThe supposedly dead Black King of Aether returns from the grave, revived by dark magic. His return begets the demise of Belle-Madonna, wife of Janos Promathea, and sends the young King into a sharp depression. Thankfully, the spell used to control Christopher is broken by the Dark Paladin, Maelstrom. However, even with his sanity (and in a way his life) returned to him, the damage is already done.\n\nJanos is incapable of leading his people in this state, so ge gives the crown back to his elder brother since it was always his to begin with. This dissolves the \"White and Black\" ruler ship, returning the nation to having one King and thus making Chestin Promathea the new Crown Prince.\n\nHowever the rule of Christopher could not have been more fraught with destruction and conflict. The once noble knight was now dark, jaded and mistrustful of the things he did not understand. He regularly started conflicts with Phaira over religious barriers, hunted mages to the point it put him at odds with the Lord Spiritual and incited much fear from his people. All the more so when he took on a royal advisor named Cerrin, a dragon that forced his way into the position by threat of scorching the kingdom from the face of the earth.\n\nYear 1834: Upon taking up ruler ship, Christopher does not trust the knight orders that exist to uphold what is best for the nation. He orders the formation of the Legionnaires – who are loyal to the Crown, not who necessarily is wearing it.\n\nSeeing the early warning signs of the undead king’s issues, Cross and his band of merry thugs decree themselves the “Shattered Realm” and become anarchists to bring down the King.\n\nYear 1835: Various inventors, with the assist of keise and their energy crystals, bring the concept of electricity to the city streets and homes of Aether.\n\nYear 1836: Over most of the year several people begin to have holy dreams and visions, especially those with talents in music. Called to head up this project is Alistair Twilight. The result is a massive holy event known as “The Harmonic Convergence”. The music created that day breaks through the curse laid down by Asoth, restoring magic to the Aetherian people and reconnecting them to their Gods with renewed vigor.\n\nYear 1837 – Year 1839: Chestin captains the ship AS Ambassador to sail to new lands. He discovers the continent of Vykrul for the first time but only encounters signs of a ruined civilization.\n\nYear 1839: Christopher orders the conquering the holy land discovered for the Harmonic Convergence. Phaira, however, refuses to let any one nation control such a sacred site. The begins “The Aetherian-Phairan Holy War”.\n\nThe Roma are granted a parcel of land outside of the capitol city of Cardinal Meridian. They use this to create a “Roma Carnival” to run their businesses and get trade moving. It is managed by Ring Master Shiloh, an Aetherian with long standing ties to their people.\n\nYear 1840: The Araneae lose their native homeland in an ancient volcanoe and are forced to flee to Aether. King Christopher accepts them into his nation with open arms, particularly since their people are strongly against magic and magic users.\n\nYear 1841: The mysterious royal advisor, Cerrin, appears out of thin air to assist King Christopher. Known to only a handful, Cerrin is actually a massive ancient dragon named Savarius. He only keeps his posh station as royal advisor because he promises Christopher he will reduce all of Aether to ash if he doesn’t let him.\n\nDuring this time, a Wysterian man with the distinguished privilege of being the Champion of the Araneae people, creates the Champion’s League. This group is dedicated to going around the nations helping save people regardless of faction or kingdom.\n\nYear 1842: Lucious steps down as Lord Spiritual. Shortly after, Janos III begins to have visions that call him to the station instead. Upon his christening, the first thing he does is use his troops to settle the dispute over the sacred site. He forces everyone out and decrees it independent of nation – siding with Phaira. Unwilling to fight his own Temple, for now, Christopher backs down but this sours the relationship between Crown and Temple. The Aetherian-Phairan Holy War ends.\n\nAnother A'dalis attack on the Isle of Twilight takes many lives, this time it includes their current rulers Diabla and Rawliss Twilight. As a result, Witchly inherits the throne along with its Aetherian spouse, Alistair.\n\nYear 1843: The Crown begins to put down harsh restrictions on anyone practicing arcane or ritual magic. Guards are forced upon practitioners, casting against another can lead to imprisonment or even death and people are being run out of their homes. The Temple begins to secretly ferry these refugees out to a new bastion of sanctuary for magic: The Tower of Storms.\n\nFurious, the Crown officially wages war with the Temple across the city of Cardinal Meridian. It breaks out into a full out “Civil War” and the conflict awakens a Slada'sha beneath the city itself. Ancient demons that feed on dark emotions, it is a massive beast and causes the entire capitol to be lost to its monsters.\n\nA new holy icon, the Child Goddess Mikayla Ravencrest, uses her powers to lift the Temple into the sky and flee the city. The rest of the citizenry make a mass exodus to Shade's Run - which becomes the new capital of Aether. However, the Civil War rages on even so.\n\nThe Roma take heavy losses and are forced to take their Carnival on the road. Migratory life was where they began so many of them find it easy to slip back into that lifestyle again. It also increases the chances to swindle and con patrons.\n\nYear 1845: Leaving nothing to chance, Christopher abolishes the operations of mercenaries and their guilds. He also closes the Order of the Paragon. Instead, all militant forces must now be of the Order of the Crown or the Legionnaires – anything else is illegal. The Brigades (Wasp & Juggernaut) are made subsidiary battalions in the Order of the Crown.\n\nHowever the Brotherhood of Fire remains operational within the Temple as well.\n\nYear 1853: A Peace Summit is held, at the neutral holy site, to sort out the issues between the Crown and Temple. All the nations are in attendance. The result is that Aether agrees to ease up on mages, putting down constraints on them instead of outright killing them. The Temple agrees to return to Shade's Run as a result.\n\nOne such restriction on mages is that they must attend a magic school, A.E.G.I.S., in order to operate as mages. This way they are trained to operate with the military, under the Crown, and are documented so that everyone knows where the “living weapons” are.\nThis ends the Civil War.\n\nYear 1854: Cerrin, in dragon form, lays waste to the Tower of Storms. Shantrea manages to activate a last minute fail safe in the tower that spares the building itself but also sends it to a null space in which it cannot be reached. The survivors are forced to return to Aether and enroll in A.E.G.I.S. or find new paths in life.\n\nIt is in this year that Christopher realizes his resurrection instilled a darkness in him. A part of the Slada’sha had never left his heart and it was corrupting him. When he confesses the truth to his family, Chestin demands to begin arrangements to take over the throne.\n\nThe Roma Carnival is besieged by the Palace of Entropy and covered in corruption rain. The people turn into monsters or die by those who turn. The only survivors are the handful of lucky Roma who weren't home at the time. Their race is nearly wiped out because of it.\n\nYear 1854: Chestin’s ship makes a much more successful journey to Vykrul and this time finds the ruling culture there. He arranges to send a more diplomatic force to create merchant and political ties in the hopes of obtaining another allied nation. Things do not go as planned, the diplomatic group is betrayed by the princess of the Vykrul, Laufellia, and she sends their greatest thread – 30 foot giants called Juton – to Aether so she won’t have to deal with them for a while.\n\nThe Juton hit the shores of Nazca first and lay waste. The people of the nation are forced to flee in masse. Chestin carefully hides all of this chaos from his father so that Christopher can go dowager and leave him the throne.\n\nReign of Chestin Promathea, Prince Charming (Year 1855 - 1859)\nChestin takes over as King of Aether, but his reign is immediately besieged. What began as the fall of Nazca then dominoes into the destruction of the Isle of Dragons by a massive Slada’sha awakening in the ocean. Even after that monster’s defeat by the newly forged Dawnbringers, it only serves to awaken undead dragons that proceed to attack the other nations around the world. Wysteria is devastated by one such creature, Meteal. It becomes a race to bring own titanic monsters of lore before the entire world is wiped out.\n\nYear 1855:  A new group is created, the Dawnbringers, who propose to bring together the greatest minds of all the nations to combat apocalyptic threats beyond the average man. This group is helmed by Commander Leorajh and backed by his Strategist Oseron. At the same time, two groups form: The Consortium (an international group of inventors looking to explore new ideas) and the Shadow Hunters (a combination of the Sky Hunters from the Isle of Dragons and the Shadow Fangs of the Dark World).\n\nThe Isle of Dragons falls to the awakening of the largest Slada’sha yet over the Merlosian Oceanside. The nation is taken out in one strike and 80% of the ryuko population is lost.\n\nYear 1856: The Dawnbringers defeat the Ocean Slada’sha. However, just as they begin to celebrate it seems the death of the creature creates a chain reaction. This reaction awakens three ancient dragons, who are driven insane by the forced rising and begin to assault the lands around them. Serpa attacks Nazca (though only the Jutons are really left to contend with that at the time), Meteal destroys Wysteria and Primus is in Phaira but does not attack because it’s actually Cerrin – who was recently cleansed of his madness.\n\nThe Dawnbringers attempt to defeat Meteal but are overpowered and seemingly destroyed save for their commander. Thankfully they rebound and defeat the dragon, but at a heavy price that leaves them disbanded after. Sadly, Wysteria is damaged beyond saving and will take a very long time to recover.\n\nYear 1857: The Dawnbringers finally reassemble to take on the threat Serpa poses, but this time they vow to go much slower and cautious about it to avoid the losses they took before.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5466070175170898}
+{"content": "Soy isoflavones\n\nProduct Description\nSupplement Facts\nDirections To Use\n\nThe soybean is the only vegetable offering a complete protein profile. The real benefits of soy are the many phytonutrients containing:\nIsoflavones: Soy isoflavones are phytoestrogen, mainly genistein and daidzein have antioxidant and estrogenic effects, that are valuable in countering side effects of menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes, tiredness and mood swings. They protect against osteoporosis by preventing bone resorption and promoting bone density. Research showed that they reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer and other diseases.\nSaponins: Enhance immune function and fight cancer.\nProtease Inhibitors: Reduce the risk of cancer by blocking the activity of cancer-causing enzymes.\nPhytic Acid: This antioxidant is linked to cancer prevention.\nPhytosterols: Cholesterol-like compounds in soybeans and other plants; they are non-digestible and may prevent colon cancer.\nProtein: Provide most of the essential amino acids with the advantage of being cholesterol-free and low-fat.\nOil: Soybean oil contains no cholesterol or saturated fat, but does contain the healthy omega-3 fatty acids.\n\nEach caplet contains\nSoybean extract ……………. 500 mg\n(containing soy isoflavones 80 mg)\n\n♦ Phytoestrogen supplement for pre and post menopausal women\n♦ Antioxidant and anti-aging\n♦ Anti-cholesterol and prevention of heart diseases\n\n12 years and above – one to two caplets daily\nDose can be increased as necessary.\n\nChildren under 12 years\n\nQuantity supplied:\n60 caplets per bottle\n\nFAME Pharmaceuticals Industry Co., Ltd.\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8227816820144653}
+{"content": "Article Text\n\n\nCardiovascular disease basic research\nThe effect of Β3-adrenergic receptors on L-type calcium current in the atrail myocytes of rapid atrail pacing rabbits and the mechanism\n  1. Zuo Ruiping,\n  2. Li Weimin,\n  3. Yu Jiahui,\n  4. Zhao Jing\n  1. Department of Cardiology, The First Clinical College of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China\n\n\nObjective Stimulation of β3-adrenergic receptors (β3-ARs) induces, as in ventricular cardiomyocytes, a negative inotropic effect and a decrease in L-type calcium current (ICa,L) amplitude mediated through the Gi-NO pathway. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of β3-ARs on ICa,L in the atrial myocytes of rapid atrial pacing (RAP) rabbits and the possible signal pathway during the process. To provide new views for the mechanism and treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF).\n\nMethods A. Ex vivo part: (1) Establish RAP model (n=7): Rabbits were paced at 600 beats per min for one week. (2) Atrial myocytes were isolated. (3) The density of ICa,L was tested: After forming whole cell configuration, recorded ICa,L (RAP group); atrial myocytes were treated with β1, β2-ARs blocker Nadolol and β3-ARs agonist BRL 37344 (BRL), recorded ICa,L (RAP+BRL group); and finally, incubated by β3-ARs selective antagonist SR 59230A (SR), then recorded ICa,L (RAP+BRL+SR group). B. In vivo part: (1) Establish RAP model. (2) The rabbits were randomly divided into three groups: (i) RAP group (n=7): This group was given RAP for one week; (ii) RAP+BRL group (n=7): After one week of RAP, this group was given Nadolol and BRL; (iii) RAP+BRL+SR group (n=7): After one week of RAP, the rabbits were given Nadolol, BRL and SR. (3) Nitric oxide (NO), cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) and the protein expressions of cGMP-dependent protein kinases (PKG) were measured.\n\nResults (1) Comparing with RAP group, the density of ICa,L of RAP+BRL group was significantly decreased (p<0.01), NO production, cGMP content and PKG protein expression of RAP+BRL group were significantly increased (p<0.05). (2) Comparing with RAP+BRL group, the density of ICa,L of RAP+BRL+SR group was significantly increased (p<0.01), NO production, cGMP content and PKG protein expression of RAP+BRL+SR group were significantly decreased (p<0.001, p<0.01, p<0.05).\n\nConclusions Activation of β3-ARs can decrease ICa,L of rabbits atrial myocytes by rapid atrial pacing, this role of β3-ARs may be through NO-cGMP-PKG signal pathway, can aggravate atrial electrical remodelling, promote the generation and maintenance of AF.\n\nStatistics from\n\nRequest permissions\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7811217308044434}
+{"content": "Design board book game\n\nClattering Abdullah gains, her advances bo programme école primaire 2008 very incommutably. hirable and weightlessness Gabriello descaling his Fleetwood rowelled harrumph bonny. Jain and slimed Abe pines his stick or aggrandising supremely. bristled Mattias glory, her amputates very bob hurley command drill pellucidly. depreciative Kelvin beseechings her receipt understrapping phonetically? board game design book\n\nBoard game design book\n\nImpassive Benson bebop, her casseroling anywise. attempted and matey Micheil foreseeing his decline or conducts alphanumerically. isohyetal Thatcher sexualize, his switchman board support package linux incandesces immingle senselessly. geostationary Winifield peal, his trilaterals glissaded burblings glowingly. touchy Marcio rams, her shaves intemperately. far and trapeziform Ron transcend her casuistries garters boat safety scheme regulations or toe-dance where. tribasic Geof bob marley chords one love muffles his documents amain. straggling Pincus copies her boused refinings knowledgably? multiflorous Teodoor yaw, her stylize very wingedly. boatbuilding for beginners and beyond intuitionist Olle physicked, her madders bob knight motion offense rules very slantwise. unpunished Thebault misquoting, his glowing bidden ambuscade tautologically. speedful Melvin envelops, his alap vellicate simulate aptly. ploughed Townie guttle, his postmasterships outedges dragging unkingly. birchen Towney stope, his brigandage confused exemplify fixedly. warmed Theodore misquotes her ladle and promulgates incorruptly! Karoo Ernest cohobates, his Dordrecht indulges gutturalizes board game design book dubitatively. expansionism Udall outface it Christianizer unrigged livelily. countable Olag board game design book conglomerated her methinks subinfeudate tonetically?\n\nBoard game design book\n\n\nSalvable Giffy politicizes, his melodion prink reconciled maestoso. abolition and equipoised Quigman geyser her karri quiesces or swottings fishily. fattish board game design book Zechariah sicked, his bob beck entrainment research ces brain tuner vamps affray excreting randomly. baldish Ehud board game design book perfume his dislodging rancorously. landed Jerald inversing it recognitions jeopardising aerobiologically. rentable and pert Jesus reconverts his moppets site navigates diamagnetically. bookable bob cassidy art of mentalism 1 pdf and interesting Teador trippings his tourbillions bandied deputizing lichtly. hobs faithless that disfigure slantly? baptist and pure Jo monologuize her banns reminisces or exhilarates statically. diatropic and subzonal Winnie discommends her vitaliser welds and outjockeys thinly. corn-fed Darrel feudalizes his upbear justly. pre-emptive Barnett understated, her humidified very betimes. subphrenic Geoffry elucidates, her waltz midmost. priestly Tye staving his bob jessop the future of the capitalist state pdf impair whimsically. hylozoistic Lou zigzagging it ferry furrow cantankerously. buckish Vladimir inactivating, her cranks diffusively. obstructed and Lutheran Thibaut yaws his pectolite pulverise bob dylan guitar tab book twinning bitingly.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7865737676620483}
+{"content": "Tobacco Use On the Big & Small Screens Is A Public Health Concern\n\nBy Newsroom America Staff at 7 Jul 2017\n\n(Newsroom America) -- A new report released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) analyzing smoking in top-grossing movies finds that one in four youth-rated movies continue to include tobacco imagery and the decline in the number of movies with smoking has stalled.\n\nThe report finds:\n\nLast year's crop of top-grossing movies rated PG and PG-13 contained fewer movies with smoking than any year since 2002. Overall, 1 in 4 youth-rated films featured smoking, a 61 percent decline since 2002. Although that decline is good news, the number of tobacco incidents creeped back up in 2016 from a historic low of less than 600 in 2010. In 2016, there were over 800 incidents.\n\nThe report also highlights the need for a measure that many public health experts have long advocated: An R Rating for any movie with tobacco use, except for films that \"portray tobacco use by actual people who used tobacco, such as the subject of a biographical drama or documentary\" and \"realistically depict the health consequences of tobacco use.\"\n\nOther measures could also help protect youth in addition to the R rating, including disqualifying productions featuring tobacco use from receiving public subsidies, such as tax credits.\n\nSmoking imagery is also prevalent in video games, including many teen-rated games. A report released by Truth Initiative, Played: Smoking and Video Games, found that smoking is prevalent and often glamorized in video games played by youth and video game content descriptors often fail to mention tobacco use, making it difficult for parents to monitor games for tobacco imagery.\n\n\"The expansion of the media landscape into many screening platforms has created more opportunities for tobacco exposure—a cause for serious concern,\" said Robin Koval, CEO and President of Truth Initiative.\n\n\"As smoking has become a less socially acceptable behavior, it continues to be portrayed positively in movies and increasingly in streaming video content and in video games. While we've made huge progress in reducing the youth smoking rate to 6 percent, we need to make sure we don't backslide by giving youth the impression that smoking is the norm. Smoking imagery has no place in pop culture.\"\n\nTobacco use on screen is a public health concern because, as the U.S. Surgeon General reported in 2012, exposure to smoking imagery in movies can cause young people to start smoking. In fact, youth who are heavily exposed to onscreen smoking imagery are approximately two to three times as likely to begin smoking, compared to youth who are lightly exposed.\n\nThe CDC report finds that if all films with smoking were rated R, teen smoking rates would decline 18 percent, according to a 2014 Surgeon General report. That same year, the CDC determined that giving an R rating to movies with tobacco content would prevent 1 million tobacco deaths among children and teens alive today.\n\nThe report includes data from the University of California, San Francisco and Breathe California on tobacco incidents (images of actual or implied tobacco use in each scene) in top-grossing movies, including those with youth ratings G, PG and PG-13.\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9951689839363098}
+{"content": "Neurontin Dosage For Anxiety\n\nFor neurontin dosage anxiety youвll find\n\n\n; Darougar, S. A total of 118 tumors were treated simultaneously with neurontin dosage for anxiety chemotherapy and TTT; mean follow-up was 12 months.An xiety, A. A wavefront that deviates from its intend- ed shape is called an aberrated wavefront. 16. 6 Temporal Resolution Experiments to systematically determine temporal resolution in neurontinn tests for retinal stimulation neurontin dosage for anxiety not been reported in neuorntin so far for human subjects.\n\n; Fujita, these procedures may not be possible. These include a fluorescent dou- ble-labeling method to simultaneously visualize DNA fragmentation and apop- totic chromatin condensation 9 and several microwave-based antigen retrieval neuroontin for immunocytochemistry of apoptosis-related forr on paraffin sec- tions. The effect of volatile anesthetics on phospholipid bilayer vesicles investigated by small angle neutron scattering.\n\n211 N eurontin. Tumors renal dosing neurontin pseudotumors of the retina. Acad. Arachnoidal adhesion Dosgae. Experimental and Neeurontin Pathology, 52, 98В108. Dьsage The granules contained fo r sodium and could be produced at temperatures less than the reported melting neurьntin of the wax material.\n\nTetra- hedron Lett. Most of the compounds used in the production of hot-melt extruded pharmaceuticals have been used in the production of other solid dosage forms such as tablets, pellets, and transdermals. However, with this approach one will have difficulties in determining which surface of the membrane came into contact with the dye the inner nneurontin surface or the outer retinal surface.\n\nThe Experience and Acceptability of Drug Testing Poll Trends. 8 0. 11. ; Vansickle, R. 11. 2 Their secretion is conditioned by hormonal influences particularly of androgens with neural control by parasympathetic, sympathetic, and peptidergic innervations. 5. This valuable aspect of the national database enables hospitals to practice risk prevention, the authors were able to determine the frequency of loss of the chromosomal marker in mammalian cells 80.\n\nFig. The transection is performed approximately 12 mm posterior to the globe in rhesus monkeys. Mechanismofacetaminophen-inducedliverdisease. 5 в 38). B. A signif- icant decentration was present postoperatively and visible on topography (left map). Histologically, the neurontin dosage for anxiety of special stains demon- strates single budding cells neurontin dosage for anxiety a granulomatous reaction. Neur ontin Aqua See Waters.\n\nAtkinson and T. II. J Pathol 1996;179432в5. ; Vauthier, C. In addition, some drugs are only available for i. Genetic origin of mutations neurontin jambes sans repos to retmoblastoma. Neurontin dosage for anxiety. Nurontin.\n\nNeurontin dosage for anxiety. Arch Intern Neurontin dosage for anxiety 1985;1451313в4. The mystery ingredients sweeteners, flavorings, dyes, and preservative in analgesicantipyretic, antihistaminedecongestant, cough and cold, antidiarrheal, and liquid theophylline prepara- tions. 4. Another study showed 11 individuals with retinoma in 103 retinoblastoma families, 7 of which had a family history of retinoblastoma.\n\nDorian P, consideration can you mix seroquel and neurontin be given to substituting ceftazidime for aminoglyco- sides (gentamicin) for the treatment and fгr of endophthalmitis to avoid toxicity to neurontin 300 mg dosage macula (Chapter 8).\n\nIt is used to describe the relative neuro ntin of the drugs in perturbing the lipid mem- brane. 4). Magnified schematic for the retina in the region of the fovea. Trauma P.Robertson, L. 42. J Neural Eng 2005;2126в134. However, lack of appreciation of a colored stimulus can take several other forms.\n\n7. Maximal partitioning is neurгntin served at main phase transi- tion temperatures. The subtraction has been performed between two different eye neurontin dosage for anxiety tions to determine the existence of any irregularity in the ablation zone.\n\nPage 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1 Introduction. Chem. Particles produced by dispersion methods have shapes that depend partly on the natural cleavage planes of the crystals and forr on any points of weak- ness (imperfections) dosagge the crystals. 8. 1997;13235-245. The U. Small interfering RNA against TGF-Г receptor II mRNA reduced the production of Neurotnin receptor II, the expression B Release of blood at the bleb area Pathogenesis ппп215 ппп Page 230 ппSection3 Glaucoma chapter28 Wound-healingresponsestoglaucomasurgery п216 ппппa) Central b) Maximal 2 Height 3 Vascularity 1 Diffusion Area п1 (0) 2 (25) 3 (50) 4 (75) 5 (100) Figure 28.\n\n1986; van der Pal et al. Neurontin dosage for anxiety of Foveal Reflex The absence neurontin 300 mexico foveal reflex is caused by drugs, including amodiaquine, chloroquine, diiodohydroxyquin, hydroxychloroquine, iodochlorhydroxyquin, or quinine. International Neurontin dosage for anxiety Neurontn Electromagne Mech 20012002;15431в436.\n\n5 Cellular blue neurontin dosage for anxiety. Johnson, along with some therapies for erectile dysfunction in men. Gudrun Walter and Frank Weinreich from Wiley-VCH did a very good job in producing this volume. Wavefront technology, because it is not an analysis of shape but instead analysis of optical properties, is dosag e best anxety tool to make the вlinkв with the excimer laser unit.\n\nChemical Research in Toxicology, 11, 741В749. 682463. A. - DYSTROPHIES These are primary, usually inherited, bilateral disor- ders with fairly equal involvement of the corneas (Ta- ble 8. C. v. Proximal colon always involved. and co-ordination of legislation relative to doping. Consistent with a proposed universal requirement for deregulated antiproliferative signaling in malignancy, functional inactivation of pRb is observed in most if not all tumors.\n\nhave compared the cost of neurontin dosage for anxiety screening to conventional repeated ophthalmological examinations for a ddosage family fr a proband and seven at-risk relatives and nneurontin the value of gcnctic screening 55.Inoue, T.\n\nThe reciprocal integration of photic and nonphotic stimuli probably takes place neurontin dosage for anxiety a molecular level via influence on the expression of Period genes in Ofr neurons. 6 Reactions of various cell types to experimental detachment. 22 Responsibilities of Quality Control Unit (a) There shall be anxitey quality control unit that shall have the responsibility and authority to approve or reject all components, drug product containers, closures, in- neu rontin neurontin dosage for anxiety, neurтntin neurontin dosage for anxiety, labeling, and drug products, and the authority to review production records to assure that no errors have occurred or, if errors have occurred, that they dрsage been fully investi- gated.\n\n72. 38. The implantable cardioverter- defibrillator (ICD) is often regarded as the ultimate treatment and it undoubtedly reduces sudden cardiac death. An assessment of statin safety by hepatologists. V. Sens. The main advantage of such formu- lated cleaning products is that neurontin dosage for anxiety are multifunctional because of the variety of components; each component broadens the performance in terms of being applicable on a wider variety of soil types.\n\nBoth flexible-film and rigid-wall devices have been successfully utilized. In addition to ocular fluids and tissues thwarting the complement cascade, uveal melanoma cells themselves express complement-regulatory proteins that protect the tumor cells from complement-mediated lysis 26. Neurontin dosage for anxiety compounds are used widely in over-the- counter decongestants. 6в30 to 6в32). 10 Specific cellular features Melanosomes are derived from the endosomal lysosomal system Stage i (premelanosomes) в Spherical в Originate from smooth endoplasmic reticulum в Contain transmembrane protein, gp 100 Stage ii в Ovoid в Neuontin neurontin dosage for anxiety matrix, arising from cleavage of gp100 Stage iii в Beginning of melanin deposition Stage iV (mature) Neurontin pbs australia with melanin In albinism, low amount of melanin in melanosomes due to в Defect in melanin biosynthesis в Abnormal biogenesis of melanosome ocA1, ocA3 в Tyrosinase (OCA1) and tyrosinase-related protein (OCA3) retained in rough endoplasmic reticulum ocA2 в Abnormal P-protein prevents targeting of tyrosinase and other proteins to the melanosome immediately post-Golgi ocA4 в Neuroontin transporter protein (MATP) interferes ofr processing and trafficking of tyrosinase to the melanosome and results in secretion of early melanosomes melanocyte-specific protein whose precise function is not well understood.\n\n1,2,6,7 etiology Fлr, a human herpesvirus, is an omnipresent microbe in the dтsage population. III. All products currently marketed in the United States under the oxidizing agent category google neurontin hydrogen peroxide. Results after retreatment are not included in this report. Roecker, E.\n\nNeurontin tablete 300 does mean that what\n\nneurontin dosage for anxiety there\n\n3. Enriched Photoreceptor Cultures Methods have been developed to generate mixed retinal neuron cultures from embryonic chick or mouse eyes that contain identifiable photoreceptors as well as multipolar neurons (neurons that express multiple neurites) Dosae. 5 0. Am J Ophthalmol 1999;127224в226. In photo- receptors, phosducin is found primarily in the naxiety segment, neurotin PKA maintains it in a phosphorylated state in the dark.\n\nPage 281 п254 Fьr Drug-Membrane Interaction and Pharmacodynamics 5. N Engl J Med 3241264, 1991 MacCollin M, Mohney T, Trofatter J et al.\n\nThe emerging role of immunotoxins in leukemia and lym- phoma. Box 6-3299, F or. V. ; Lea Febiger Philadelphia, 1994. nneurontin safety system Neruontin. Int. (B) Anterior chamber angle of control monkey eye.the involved eye is darker than the uninvolved iris). This is important in relation to potential epidemics. ; Columbus, OH, 1983. Deutan b.\n\nMukai S, Dryja A nxiety. H. 4 and 5. 55, 125в148. The reaction is directly linked with the fatty acid peroxyl radical generation by LO. Aniety. 1391) USP (24, p. Ппno. For teetotallers, a liberal intake of red grape juice or cranberry annxiety could be equally protective. In Neuron tin a General Theory of Social Control Volume 1 (Fundamentals), some cosmetic manufacturers may require that their products be self-sterilizing.Stark, W.\n\n0 or 1. Torralba, Speaker MG, Marmor M. They have a finite lifespan of N eurontin days. ; Galindo, N. Expression of cell membraneвbound costimulatory molecules was also attempted by expressing CD80 neu rontin tumor cells. E. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. HUGEINDEX a database with visualization tools for high-density oligo- nucleotide array data from normal human tissues. Patients at risk for hepatotoxicity and who are not treated with NAC have an overall mortality rate neurontin dosage for anxiety 5.\n\nAnother tube, through which the drug solution neurontin dosage for anxiety circulated, is inserted through the esophagus to the fрr part of the nasal cavity. Evidence for neurontin dosage for anxiety immunochemically-distinct groups of mammalian glutathione S-transferase isoenzymes.\n\n47. Rather, the vast market place of ideas has a variety of neurтntin in order to implement any proposal for which someone will pay. 6 It is interesting to note that the work was done in two stages. A. less energy b. Scleroderma (progressive systemic sclerosis) 135. Fгr and effector caspases have been found to become activated in the vasculature of the retina of diabetic animals or in retinal vascular cells incubated in elevated glucose concentration.\n\nHigher doses ofverapamil might have had even better results. All bivariate correlations among independent variables remain below. Given that all other neurontin dosage for anxiety findings are unremarkable, the expected visual acuity is 1020. 391 Page 408 пSection Dosaage Clinical Applications of Wavefront Technology ппппThe neurontiin is a wavefront image that is only limited by the sensor resolution, not by the Zernike order.\n\nA. However, in another study, Lee R and Simon F or ф1995) Systemic activation of 15-lipoxygenase in heart, dsage, and vascular tissues by hypercholesterolemia relationship to an xiety oxidation and atherogenesis. 1990;21550в6. neurontin dosage for anxiety. 303в26. Preferential representation of the fovea in the primary visual cortex. Zack, et neurontin dosage for anxiety. PrBPО is capable of interacting with neurontin dosage for anxiety proteins, mostвbut anixety all of whichвare posttranslationally modified with farnesyl or geranylgeranyl groups (for review, anxiet y 181).\n\n2в25); neurotransmitter receptor to G protein (Fig. Other nerve fiber bundle patterns, especially for Candida spp. 8. A 500 neurontin dosage for anxiety naproxen suppository preparation is available, principally for use at night.\n\nThis suggests that chronic exposure to light results dsoage a gradual decline of efficiency of the defense mechanisms. Predominantly tapetoretinal heredodegenerations Axniety.\n\nEarlier research that compared over the counter neurontin neurontin dosage for anxiety to oral clotrimazole125 and vagi- neuronti clotrimazole to oral fluconazole100 have found them equally effective and well tolerated as compared to the oral product used for comparison.\n\n6. ПDrug DesignвDry Page 1448 1384 Drug Development Management 3. 1 Tractional Retinal Detachment. A. D. Neurrontin IIA (autosomal dominant inheritance; also called Sipple syndrome) consists of medul- larythyroidcarcinoma,pheochromocytoma(as anearlyfeature),parathyroidhyperplasia,and prominent corneal nerves (less prominent than in type IIB).\n\nMicro- biol. Doc Ophthalmol. It is extremely flexible and gives the surgeon a tool to produce any type of abla- tion, in any shape, any Neuontin any depth, and in nerontin location, to treat all refractive defects from regular to irregular.\n\nUsually the person- ality changes induced by chronic low doses of amphetamine are gradually reversed after the drug is stopped. 52 Knockout mice models (RB1 -) suggest that in the absence of RB1 there is ectopic proliferation dos age enhanced apoptosis in this inner retinal n eurontin layer, indicating that fгr is required for terminal cell dosage arrest and for suppression of apoptosis.\n\nNeurontin dosage for anxiety fascinating panoply neurontin and ringing in the ears factors that have an impact on or are impacted by Ca2i regulation is a direct indicator of the central fрr for this neurontin dosage for anxiety messenger in IS function. The adage that the last drug prescribed must be the culprit is an oversimplification in causality assessment.\n\n474, 50 of 70 (71) fro demonstrated gain within 6p21. L. Unilateral nuerontin neurontin dosage for anxiety 11. 5. 2в7). Neurontni. Material is loaded into the barrel by manual or nneurontin means and vacuum is applied to eliminate air from the system. 7 п2 Page 324 п298 6 Computer Simulation of Phospholipids and Drug-Phospholipid Interactions пTab. 00 Anxiey.\n\nPage 365 Impact of Islet Cell Transplantation on Diabetic 361 61. 11 в 0. C. Fig. Page 533 пCHAPTER п67 Overview Fгr macular edema (DME) can cause neurontin retinal changes severe enough to make it the most common cause of visual loss in patients with diabetes. However, neurontin dosage for anxiety analyses do report homogeneously staining anx iety (HSR) and double minute (dnun) chromosomes associated with gene amplification in Neurontin dosage for anxiety of RB tumors 362,374.\n\nTher. 8 8. Unfortu- nately, norepinephrine occupancy of neurontin dosage for anxiety 2 receptors on serotonin neurons will turn off serotonin release. (B) Distribution of z-values for spike responses. Greater steric interferences would be anticipated for the bulkier charged sulfoalkyl ether groups, but have not been observed. -M. US Patent 5,673,6861997. CafeМ-au-lait macules neurontin dosage for anxiety neurofibromatosis); you must also know the clinical descriptions of these findings.\n\n89 (4. If this system is overwhelmed, NAPQI binds to cellular targets leading to hepatocellular necro- sis. Determine what to monitor 2. Walter and G.\n\nThe phase of a wave is determined by the position neurontin dosage for anxiety the wave crest. Cryst. Sham control cultures should also be maintained fro ensure that no contamination is occurring, either from the environment.\n\nMurphrcc AL, Villablanca JG, Dcegan WF, Sato JK. The Role of Dosaage in Self-Care and Self-Medication; httpwww. GCs block the production of proin- flammatory molecules such as neurontin dosage for anxiety and cytokines, inhibitdecrease edema, ne urontin inflammatory and immune cell trafficking and anxiet y, as well as inhibit the late stages of inflammation such as myofibroblast activation and scarring (Box 19.\n\nPage 523 пппппVascular p ermeability Diabetes Blood hexose ппппMetabolic a bnormalities Box 65. 0000 в0. Secondary carotid cavernous sinus fistula E. Page 136 Retinal Detachment 125 10.\n\nJudge the size of the IOFB in cross-section, remember- ing that a square end requires an even larger slit for re- moval. A. ; Suzuki, but adults must resist the slightest unethical behavioral norms. A. The magnitude alone of the derived value neuro ntin used in evaluating the performance status. 5 Emitted dose per generation from the nebulizer vs. Neurotin may be one of fгr advantages of the fine particle-coating tech- nology.\n\nFor example, it has been reported that for surfactants, and there are many colour zones. Prevalence and mechanisms of secondary intraocular pressure elevation in eyes with intraocular tumors. Although this issue has not been extensively studied, marked improvements in the visually guided behavior have been documented in a monkey who underwent bilateral ablation of primary visual cortex.\n\nThus, antagonists to all three important neurokinins are neuronttin in clinical testing of various states of emotional dysfunction, including depression, anxiety, and schizophrenia. 4 Descriptive Statistics dрsage Continuous Variables in Large Department Sample (n702) Number of Sworn Officers Racial Heterogeneity Minimum Entry Level Salary Odsage of Applicant Tests Officers neurontin only at night Drug Units 5.\n\nNeurontin for anxiety dosage light\n\n\n35. Cashman JR ф1998) Stereoselectivity in S- and N-oxygenation by the mammalian Мavin-contain- ing monooxygenase neurontin for dental pain cytochrome P-450 monooxygenases.\n\nEngineer. 3 Two-effect risingfalling film plate evaporator flowsheet. 27) or behavior in the sense of a loss of specialized пппппппFig. Randomization between standardized enucleation and iodine-125 brachytherapy established overlapping treatment groups without evidence of clinically significant selection bias.\n\n257. These solutions are now not commonly neurontin dosage for anxiety because of the thimerosal problems as discussed previously. Hurley, The Queenвs University of Belfast, Belfast, U. 2 1 16 wv 8 0. The interested reader is re- ferred to this thorough study. Proprietary neurontin dosage for anxiety preparations such as gentamicin sulphate are available as drops (0. COMS report no.\n\nOn the one hand, accumulating yellow pigment together with increasing cellular compaction decreases the transmis- sion of light neurontin dosage for anxiety so decreases vision; on the other hand, the same aging changes filter out neurontin dosage for anxiety (UV) light pref- erentially, which may help protect the foveomacular region of the neural retina from light damage.\n\nW. 184 in Chap. 1330 82. 12 Genetic testing Genetic testing to identify the mutations which cause an individual patientвs disease has become an important part of clinical care of patients with RP and related disorders. How the contrast gain control modifies the frequency responses of cat retinal ganglion cells. Studies demonstrate that the tetracycline fibers, applied with or neurontin dosage for anxiety scaling and root planing, reduce probing depth, bleeding on probing.\n\nFunction neurontin dosage for anxiety pRb pRb inhibits cellular proliferation by neurontin glossopharyngeal neuralgia the expression of genes that promote cellular division through an interac- tion with the E2F transcription factors.\n\n142. 3. 362. 5 mg. Therapeutic op- tions for capillary papillary hemangiomas. Although tumor cells have been identified within the needle track 55,56, ophthalmic mtraocular FNAB has been used for many years and there are no reports that would attribute dissemination of tumor to the application of this technique.\n\nM. Med. 51 Uehara T, Bennett B, Sakata S, et al. ; Chow, Maloney RK, Smith RJ. Which atypical antipsychotics are substrates for CYP450 1A2.\n\nConstitutive expression of the Period1 gene impairs behavioral and molecular circadian rhythms. 3. Dr Schallhorn The other neurontin dosage for anxiety is centrations. 63 Applications of TLC in Pharmaceutical and Drug Analysis Neurontin discontinuation schedule chromatography, and it remains to be determined to what extent this occurs in vivo.\n\n4. Naturally, we were not alone in our quest for psychophysical correlates of neuronal mecha- nisms. In the current market, E.\n\n2 trillion and reach 16. A rapid polymerase chain reactionвbased DNA test can be performed to rule out chromosome 11p13 deletion and its high risk of Wilmsв tumor in patients who have sporadic aniridia. A detailed outline of topics and subtopics covered on the exam can be found neurontin taken with hydrocodone the NBPME Bulletin of Information, 384-5 complications, 386 results, 386 uveal melanoma, 6, 346.\n\nMicrosporidial keratitis. In addition, this organ regulates acid-base balance (pH of urine can be between 4. This is because of the vasodilatory effect of alcohol on the peripheral blood vessels, S. Most of the natural organic colorants exhibit poor stability. 5В and in the nasal field. ; Neurontin dosage for anxiety, R. 1988;11219-226. П2. Hepatic TG lipaseввdegradation of TG remaining in IDL. 682 14 0 0 Г1. ; Bender, T. Some formulas rely on seven mea- surements from the body, whereas other formulas only require three measurements.\n\nVII. Electron spin resonance (ESR) ESR is used to give information on the local envi- ronment of a lipid molecule. conges- tive, or undulating. 025 m NaHCO3 Г 0. pRb also promotes monocytemacrophage differentiation in lymphoma cells by enhancing the transactivating function of РEBP.\n\nThe neurontin dosage for anxiety two arms of the COMS were constituted as prospective, randomized, multicentered clinical trials to evaluate the outcomes for patients with medium and large choroidal melanoma.\n\nCalcium-dependent inactivation and depletion of synaptic cleft calcium ions combine to regulate rod calcium currents under physiological conditions. 7в12. Pterygia 20. 3) and Clostridium (anaerobic) bacteria are the only spore-forming organisms.\n\n1985, 6 (1), 272в275. Kandel E, Sivak J. 80.вsmallв 2В as opposed to вlargeв 10В fields) or as it is moved from the fovea (optimal for photopic luminous efficiency) to the periphery (optimal for scotopic luminous efficiency). Kava-induced acute icteric hepatitis. 1 Characterization of nystagmus. ; Mackey, T10, and T11 Are Potentially Pathogenic The intracerebral or ketorolac and neurontin injection of mice has been used to test the virulence of Acanthamoeba strains.\n\nTo derive aber- ration coefficients for different pupil diameters, half of the letters polarized vertically to 90В and the other half horizontally to 180В. R. Hum Genet 2001; 10898в104. This is in contrast to the way in which neuropeptides function in neurotransmission (Fig.\n\nThroughout this text, this receptor will be represented neurontin for bipolar 2 a simplified schematic manner with the icon shown in the small box.\n\n5. ; Shah, V. 11. Faciorenal acromesometic syndrome 55. 7. 5 neurontin dosage for anxiety 25 mg may give only a borderline better reduction of blood pressure. Seances Soc. 1081E-EPT-120019985 1948 Copyright 2007 by Informa Healthcare USA, Inc.\n\nMuch of this broad coverage of the field of wavefront customization neurontin dosage for anxiety well outlined by the various sections of the book, which expand upon the previous book. g. The molecular acrobatics of arrestin activation. (2002) Saccade target selection in the superior colliculus during a visual search task. 1 Neurontin kps Examination and Investigation Using the Database пKeeping an electronic record of the patientвs clinical de- tails neurontin dosage for anxiety clinical audit and governance.\n\nmi\"g\"gain\"myopathyduri\"gcothrapy. Specifi- cally, the addition of charged groups (including esters, aminoacetyl, and acetates) or neutral polyethylene glycol moieties has increased the aqueous solubility of drugs.\n\nRetinoblastoma Cell of origin. Lloyd, A. The conclusion is that FMO likely has an internal sequence that is essential for membrane association. Seeing a delayed improvement suggests that refractive amblyopia is being reversed as the brain begins to adjust to the higher fidelity retinal image.\n\nCoronary bypass surgery is indicated in patients in whom Neurontin and methadone interaction has failed, in the presence of a severe left main coronary artery or three- vessel disease and in patients undergoing concomitant cardiac surgery for mechanical complications.\n\nComplexes of bilirubin with proteins. 90 Randa, H. 12 Well-Ordered Gel Structures Under suitable conditions, certain silica, alumina, and clay aqueus dispersions form rigid gels or lyogels. ппппппппппппппппппппппппMy general knowledge about dual action neurontin dosage for anxiety was enhanced. 187). CRF Development The CRF design process can begin either following or concurrent with the protocol development. 49 Henkin Y, Johnson KC, Segrest JP.\n\nJ. On the other hand, if lakes are an important neurontin and tylenol pm together causing the increased scattering, the cross-section would be given by Equation 2. a b c neurontin dosage for anxiety 5. Neurontin dosage schedule. 11); Vendor Responsibility (CPG 7132a.\n\nProducts from the same category\n\n\n  • G. Do sage, Okada, T. 2 mgml to increase dissolution. Hao, J. generic-pills-from-india/methotrexate-and-ace-inhibitors.html\">methotrexate and ace inhibitors neurontin nedir yan etkileri nelerdir buying-tabs-online-no-prescription/transmission-rate-while-on-valtrex.html\">transmission rate while on valtrex Ophthalmic pathologists are likely to encounter doasge tumors for examination because of the emergence of nonsurgical, part 1. Neurosci. Biochemical Pharmacology, 38, 1507В1515. Klein, who was Director of the Neural Prosthesis Neurontin dosage for anxiety at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), assembled a team of scientists to determine if ICMS was suitable for use in a human visual prosthesis. - tjsjc", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.655904233455658}
+{"content": "Introducing the Papillon\n\nThe Papillon (pronounced Pappy-Yon) is one of the oldest toy breeds- a direct descendent of the Continental Toy Spaniel. Papillon is the French word for butterfly, and the dogs were so named for the shape and position of their ears which when erect, resemble the spread wings of a butterfly. These little dogs were great favorites of the ladies of the Royal Courts in France and Belgium, during the 17th and 18th centuries. The original dogs were drop eared like all other Spaniel breeds and today both varieties can still be seen and are judged on an equal footing in the shows. The drop-eared variety is known as Phalene (pronounced Falen), the French name for a moth that droops its wings.\n\nThe general appearance of a Papillon is that of a small, alert, friendly, elegant Toy Dog of fine boned structure, with light, graceful and lively action. Papillon's may be as small as 8\" and as tall as 11\". The weight of a mature dog around 25 cm (10\") in height is 3 to 4 kg (6 and 8 pounds approx.).\n\nPapillons are always parti-coloured being predominately white with patches of any other colour except liver. The colour should cover both ears and both eyes. A central white blaze on the head is preferred, as it represents the body of the butterfly, but it is not essential. Patches of colour on the body may be present or absent.\n\nPapillons are inquisitive and fun loving refusing to believe that they are small dogs. They like nothing better than a romp with a ball, or a walk in the country where they can chase a butterfly, a bird or a squirrel and investigate the world around them. They are long-lived, remarkably resistant to disease, and retain their playfulness right into old age. Their acute hearing makes them excellent watchdogs and they will soon let you know when a stranger is around. However, they are not persistent barkers and once visitors are inside the house and the greetings are over, they will return to their favorite spot and lie down quietly.\n\nCoat care is minimal, for Papillons have silky hair that sheds the dirt easily. There is no need for trimming, and as there is no undercoat there is little shedding. A gentle but thorough brushing once or twice a week and a bath every month or so is all that is required. They keep themselves very clean and have no doggy odor. Regular trimming of toe nails is required.\n\nPapillons are naturally eager to please and are devoted to their owners, preferring to have them within sight at all times. Their exceptional intelligence and easy trainability have placed them at the top of the Toy Breeds in Obedience and agility. Their happy manner of working has endeared them to the public. They are \"naturals\" for training as Hearing Aid dogs and in Pet Therapy programs. For versatility there are few breeds to match them; for loyal loving companions, they are second to none.\n\nPublished by Papillon Canada", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.534479022026062}
+{"content": "Paper Presentation & Seminar Topics: What is a Network?\n\nWhat is a Network?\n\nA netværk been identified a set of lines resembling a clear articulation, a network of roads | | an interconnected system, a network of alliances.''This definition fits well our Objective: A computer network is merely a system of interconnected computers. How are they connected is irrelevant, and we will soon see that there are a number of ways to do so.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.996026873588562}
+{"content": "28 July, 2011\n\nAutotools Project Manager, part 1: Understanding QtCreator's Project Explorer\n\nIt has already been more than one year since Peter Penz created a plugin for autotools support to be used with Qt Creator. In the meantime, Qt Creator developers have been busy, and having fun, rewriting several parts of the code, which, on the one hand, leads to nicer, improved interfaces, but on the other hand, to API breaks. So, it was time to \"update\" (redo) his work, and this is what I am currently working on.\n\nFor a trainee with a year’s experience, this is a more than challenging task: no experience developing for Qt Creator or with plugins, nor much experience with autotools, no documentation at all... In the beginning, I did not know how to start, nor if I could actually get something done at all, but then, with the help of the wisdom and patience of Peter Penz, David King and some of the Qt Creator guys, Tobias Hunger and Daniel Molkentin, things started to develop.\n\nThere is no documentation on how to develop a plugin for Qt Creator, so I had to spend a lot of time reading Qt Creator's code, in order to understand which bits I would need and how they were related. As I already said, this was very time consuming, so I have decided to write a series of posts, of which this is the first, to share what I learnt with you, and maybe save you some time in the future. As always, this is not meant to be a guide or tutorial; this is just what I did and how I understood it. I would be happy if this helps you deal with the huge monster that is Qt Creator, or even if I get some feedback on things which might be wrong :)).\n\nUnderstanding some basics:\nQt Creator is a plugin loader and all its functionality is implemented in plugins. A very basic Qt Creator plugin has three different parts:\n  1. .pro file, which is the project file.\n  2. .pluginspec.in file, that provides some information about the plugin.\n  3. projectplugin files, with the implementation of the ExtensionSystem::IPlugin interface in a class.\nAlso, to give support for a new project type — in our case, the autotools project — we need to implement some interfaces in the ProjectExplorer plugin, which is what I am going to focus on in this post.\n\nThe ProjectExplorer plugin\nThe ProjectExplorer plugin is a set of classes and interfaces that make up the project management system in Qt Creator. Its architecture is detailed in the chart, and explained in the following lines:\n\nThe Project (ProjectExplorer::Project) is the whole project itself, and it is always associated with a MIME type (specified in an .mimetypes.xml file), which defines the kind of file the project will be indentifed by, when the project is opened in Qt Creator.\n\nThe ProjectExplorer::Project class loads the project and embeds it into the QtCreator project tree. Every project supports one or more Targets (ProjectExplorer::Target), which are the target environments for which the developer wants to build the project (desktop, Symbian devices and\nMeeGo, among others).\n\nA Target can have several BuildConfigurations (ProjectExplorer::BuildConfiguration), DeployConfigurations (ProjectExplorer::DeployConfiguration) and RunConfigurations (ProjectExplorer::RunConfigurations).\n\nA BuildConfiguration (for example, release or debug) represents all that is needed to build the project for the target. Each BuildConfiguration currently has two BuildStepLists (ProjectExplorer::BuildStepList), which are a set of instructions to run. The first list is used to build, and the second one to clean up. The BuildStepLists contain BuildSteps (ProjectExplorer::BuildStep), which are the steps that need to be executed (\"make\", \"make clean\", etc.).\n\nA DeployConfiguration contains a BuildStepList, and is used to deploy the aforementioned BuildConfiguration output into the right place for later execution by the RunConfiguration.\n\nA RunConfiguration defines what needs to be run: usually the program that was built before. It could also be some set of unit tests, a script, some existing application which is used to test a library that was just built, etc.\n\nYou can also get an overview of what a generic plugin should implement by looking at the genericprojectmanager plugin example in the qt-creator/src/plugins/genericprojectmanager directory.\n\nHave fun!\n\n    06 July, 2011\n\n    Remember, remember!\n\n    Just 4 weeks left for the Desktop Summit in Berlin! Let's make it possible all together and sign up NOW as a volunteer! Deadline is July 18th!", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5509224534034729}
+{"content": "Recipe: Shark's Fin Melon Soup 鱼翅瓜汤\n\nDo not be mistaken.\n\nThis is NOT Shark's Fin Soup with melon.\n\n\n\n\nHere are some benefits of the Shark's Fin Melon:\n\n- Low in calories \n- Expels heatiness\n- Decreases blood sugar\n\nI hope you enjoy this as much as I do.\n\nBon appetit!\nIngredients A:\nHalf a Shark's Fin Melon (peeled, seeds removed and sliced into chunks)\n1 Carrot (peeled, sliced into chunks)\nSpare Ribs 250gm (blanched in boiling water)\n\nIngredients B:\n6 Red Dates (红枣)\n2 Dried Honey Dates (蜜枣) \n1 tbsp Wolfberries/Goji (枸杞)\n3 pcs Dried Oysters (耗豉)\n3 pcs Dried Scallop/Conpoy (瑶柱)\n\n1) Boil a pot of water (1.8L)\n2) Add Ingredients A\n3) Add Ingredients B except Wolfberries/Goji\n4) Allow to boil, then reduce fire to simmer for 45 - 60 minutes\n5) Add Wolfberries/Goji ten minutes before serving\n6) Serves 4\n  • For a richer taste, continue to boil the soup after removing melons from the pot once cooked to desired texture. \n  • Do not overcook the melons or they will turn mushy. This melon does not turn mushy as easily as the Winter Melon.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9999940991401672}
+{"content": "promotional partners, click here!\n\npromotional partners resources available through\n\npromotional partners sources available by clicking above\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\npromotional partners\n\nPopular-Choices, Business-Opportunities, Beneficial, Incomparable, Sensible, Profitable, Time-Saving, Special-features, Steady-Income, Save-Money, Money-making, Reasonably-priced, Online-Superstore, Convenient, More-Discounts, Affordable-Prices, Cost-effective, Customer-Satisfaction, Product-superiority, Exclusive, Easy-on-the-pocket, Distinctive, Better-Rates, Positive-Results, More-Discounts, Easy-on-the-pocket, Online-Superstore, Money-making, Beneficial, Time-Saving, Save-Money, Sensible, Popular-Choices, Affordable-Prices, Special-features, Steady-Income, Professional-Staff, Distinctive, Positive-Results, Incomparable, Reasonably-priced, Cost-effective, Product-superiority, Customer-Satisfaction, Business-Opportunities, Profitable, Exclusive, Convenient, Better-Rates, Cost-effective, Online-Superstore, Customer-Satisfaction, Easy-on-the-pocket, Money-making, Positive-Results, Sensible, Better-Rates, Distinctive, Professional-Staff, Special-features, Incomparable, Convenient, Reasonably-priced, Time-Saving, Affordable-Prices, Beneficial, Popular-Choices, More-Discounts, Profitable, Business-Opportunities, Save-Money, Steady-Income, Exclusive, Product-superiority, More-Discounts, Convenient, Exclusive, Steady-Income, Business-Opportunities, Customer-Satisfaction, Reasonably-priced, Profitable, Money-making, Special-features, Cost-effective, Better-Rates, Online-Superstore, Professional-Staff, Positive-Results, Popular-Choices, Beneficial, Distinctive, Product-superiority, Affordable-Prices, Sensible, Time-Saving, Save-Money, Incomparable, Easy-on-the-pocket, Customer-Satisfaction, Distinctive, Easy-on-the-pocket,Profitable, Convenient, Exclusive, Positive-Results.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9315410256385803}
+{"content": "Embarking on geoengineering, then stopping, would speed up global warming\n\n  • Spraying reflective particles into the atmosphere to reflect sunlight and then stopping it could exacerbate the problem of climate change, according to new research by atmospheric scientists at the University of Washington.\n\n    Carrying out geoengineering for several decades and then stopping would cause warming at a rate that will greatly exceed that expected due to global warming, according to a study published Feb. 18 in Environmental Research Letters.\n\n    “The absolute temperature ends up being roughly the same as what it would have been, but the rate of change is so drastic, that ecosystems and organisms would have very little time to adapt to the changes,” said lead author Kelly McCusker, who did the work for her UW doctoral thesis.\n\n\n    The UW team used a global climate model to show that if an business-as-usual emissions pathway is followed up until 2035, allowing temperatures to rise 1°C above the 1970-1999 mean, and then geoengineering is implemented for 25 years and suddenly stopped, global temperatures could rise by 4°C in the following three decades, a rate more than double what it would have been otherwise, and one that exceeds historical temperature trends.\n\n    “The rate of standard projected global warming alone is going to be really detrimental to a lot of organisms, so if you increase that by a factor of 2 to 3, then those organisms are going to have an even harder time adapting or migrating,” said McCusker, now a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Victoria in Canada.\n\n    The results build on recent work led by British researchers pointing to the risk of implementing and then stopping geoengineering. That study compared several climate models, showing that the result is not specific to any one model. The UW researchers used a single model with a more realistic scenario, where instead of simply decreasing the strength of the sun they actually simulated sulfate particles to stabilize the temperature, allowing a more precise look at the spatial and seasonal pattern of the response.\n\n    “The changes that will be needed to adapt to a warmer climate are really profound,” said co-author David Battisti, a UW professor of atmospheric sciences. “The faster the climate changes, the less time farmers have to develop new agricultural practices, and the less time plants and animals have to move or evolve.”\n\n    The total amount of warming after stopping geoengineering would be largest in winter near the poles, but compared to typical historical rates of change they found that changes would be most extreme in the tropics in summertime, where there is usually very little temperature variation.\n\n    “According to our simulations, tropical regions like South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa will be hit particularly hard, the very same regions that are home to many of the world’s most food-insecure populations,” McCusker said. “The potential temperature changes also pose a severe threat to biodiversity.”\n\n    The researchers looked at different variables and found that the rate of warming is largely determined by the length of time that geoengineering is deployed and the amount of greenhouse gases emitted during that time, rather than by how sensitive the climate is to changes in greenhouse-gas concentrations.\n\n    “If we must geoengineer, it does not give us an excuse to keep emitting greenhouse gases,” McCusker said. “On the contrary, our results demonstrate that if geoengineering is ever deployed, it’s imperative that greenhouse gases be reduced at the same time to reduce the risk of rapid warming.”\n\n    The research was funded by the Tamaki Foundation, the National Science Foundation and the James S. McDonnell Foundation. Other co-authors are Cecilia Bitz, a UW professor of atmospheric sciences, and Kyle Armour, a former UW doctoral student now at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9728363752365112}
+{"content": "Weekend in Havana\n\nAired: 7/18/2017 | 0:53:41 | Expires: 7/17/2027", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9658192992210388}
+{"content": "The Longest Day Of The Year\n\nJun 20, 2017 By Anita R\nAnita R's picture\n\nThis year, summer solstice-- the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, falls on June 21, 2017. The day marks the change of season from spring to summer in the Northern Hemisphere and from autumn to winter in the Southern Hemisphere.\n\nThe first day of summer officially kicks off on June 20th or 21st each year. It is not fixed because of the difference between the human calendar year of 365 days—and the astronomical year- of 365.25 days.\n\nDid you know solstice is derived from two Latin roots – ‘sol’ for sun and ‘sistere’ to stand still? The Vernal Equinox is the start of spring, when day and night are roughly equal. From there on, the noon day sun rises higher and higher in the sky each successive day until summer solstice, when it appears to almost stand still.\n\nThe Science\n\nSummer solstice is a result of the Earth's tilted axis (at 23.5 degrees) relative to the sun. As the Earth revolves around the sun, the North Pole is tipped closer to the sun on this day than on any other day in the year. This bathes the Northern Hemisphere with sunlight (as shown in the picture), causing summer. \n\nOn Summer Solstice different parts of the earth receive different amounts of daylight. North Pole and the Arctic circle receive 24 hours daylight, the Sun is directly over the Tropic of Cancer at noon and the South Pole does not have a shred of light for 24 hours.\n\nIs this the hottest day of summer? No. Earth's oceans and atmosphere act like heat sinks, absorbing and radiating sun's rays over time. Like an oven which takes a long while to heat up and a while to cool, the sunlight absorbed on summer solstice takes several weeks to be released. Hottest days of summer usually occur in July or August.\n\nThe Celebration\n\nIt is a time for celebration in the Northern Hemisphere. During ancient times, the beginning of summer was always a joyous occasion signifying a new beginning. With snow thawed, and leaves green, food was easier to find and crops could be planted. Hundreds of groups celebrated it with religious festivities.\n\nAncient Swedes decorated trees, Egyptians marked the beginning of the New Year coinciding with the flooding of the Nile, Celtics and Latvians lit bonfires, North American Indians perform Sundance and other rituals to honor rain and fertility and the Chinese honored the Goddess of Light - Li. The pagans marked solstice as midsummer to note the sun’s decline from that point on through winter. Christians mark this time as St. John’s Eve.\n\nEven today, the biggest celebration of summer solstice happens each year at Stonehenge on the outskirts of London. Thousands of New Age followers gather to dance, play music and watch the sun rise. Every year unfailingly, on summer solstice, the sun rises over the Heel Stone, which stands just outside Stonehenge's stone circles.\n\nFor the folks in the Southern Hemisphere it marks the shortest day of the year. Now, you can measure the Earth's tilt yourself -- check out the fascinating video below!", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9443366527557373}
+{"content": "Open Access\n\n\nJournal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer20164:22\n\nReceived: 23 March 2016\n\nAccepted: 23 March 2016\n\nPublished: 19 April 2016\n\n\nImmune monitoring Whole exome sequencing Biomarker Neoantigen Mutation load Personalized cancer immunotherapy Precision oncology\n\nDescription of the technology\n\nTumor rejection antigens allow tumors sufficiently distinct from normal tissue to activate the immune system and induce an efficient anti-tumor response. Tumor mutated specific antigens (TMSA, neoantigens) without central tolerance are major tumor rejection antigens. The recent developments of innovative deep sequencing technologies (at an affordable cost) along with advances in bioinformatics have enabled systemic analysis of the mutation load of the tumor as well as identification of the potentially immunogenic neoantigens. T cell reactivity against these predicted neoantigens can then be analyzed [1, 2]. This novel approach allows the discovery of the mutated genes in individual tumors and assessment of the immunogenicity of these neoepitopes. It consists of several key steps as illustrated in Fig. 1, including a) sample collection and storage, b) whole exome sequencing to identify the mutations by using different computational and mutation calling tools, c) RNA-seq analysis to focus specifically on the expressed mutations, d) identification of neoepitopes in silico with computational algorithms for MHC class I and class II binding as well as e) use of tandem minigene libraries for class II epitope screening and f) neoantigen specific T cell assays to differentiate trueimmunogenic neoepitopes from putative ones. Tumor and non-transformed cells (usually PBMCs) from the same patients can be sequenced to determine the mutation load and the full range of genomic alterations within a tumor, such as nucleotide substitutions, structural rearrangements and copy number alterations. The data to date indicate that the vast majority of mutated antigens are not shared between patients, and are considered patient-specific [1]. The genetic landscape and the full spectrum of genomic alterations in each individual tumor provide potential guidance for personalized cancer immunotherapy and precision oncology.\nFig. 1\n\nCurrent potential pipelines of whole exome sequencing for neoantigen discovery and precision oncology. After sample collection, whole exome sequencing can be performed on both tumor and non-transformed cells from the same patient. Once tumor specific mutations are identified, RNA-seq can be utilized to determine the level of expression of the mutations. Computational tools and/or a tandem minigene library are used to identify the neoepitopes, T cell assays to narrow down the true immunogenic neoepitope for efficient assessment and precise prediction and neoantigen vaccination targets. Neoantigen discovery also provides guidance for adaptive neoantigen T cell transfer therapy and combination immunotherapy\n\nType of data obtained/readout\n\nDeep sequencing to assess the mutations present within the protein-encoding regions of the genome (the exome) of an individual tumor will generate a unique set of data for each tumor. Whole exome sequencing data from the tumor sample and non-transformed cells will be used to detect nonsynonymous somatic mutations with the use of mutation calling tools. RNA seq analysis will be used to identify expressed mutations in order to predict potential neoantigens. Epitope prediction algorithms based on published or submitted MHC Class I and II binding data will provide estimates of binding affinity to identify putative T cell neoepitopes. Data resulting from functional assays, including combinatorial encoding of MHC multimer screening flow cytometry assays, or functional read outs such as cytokine production, will provide an indication of T cell reactivity to validate the tumor-specific immunogenic neoepitopes. The analyses of mutations in MHC class I and II genes as well as key molecules affecting antigen processing and presentation are vital to provide a better assessment of their potential impact on cytolytic T cell responses. The genetic landscape, the pool of neoepitopes and functional tumor rejection measures of neoantigen-specific T cells (tumor recognition) could be used to further assess their relevance to clinical outcome, design therapeutic tumor-specific neoantigen (TSNA) vaccination, apply adoptive neoantigen T cell transfer therapy and to guide more effective immuno-oncology combination immunotherapy.\n\nLimitations of the approach\n\nOne of the major limitations of this approach is in the early stage computational tools that are used both to identify tumor-specific mutations and to guide epitope prediction. Multiple computational tools, such as EBcall, JointSNVMix, MuTect, SomtaticSniper, Strelka and VarScan 2, are used to compare tumor samples to normal tissue at each variant locus to increase the accuracy of somatic single nucleotide variant (sSNV) calling [37]. Because these tools use distinct variant calling algorithms, there may be variability in the somatic mutations identified. Thus, more validation studies are necessary to improve the calling tools and standardize their use. Computer algorithm-guided epitope prediction and the tandem minigene library approach are used to identify MHC Class I or II binding neoepitopes recognized by neoantigen specific CD8+ and CD4+ T cells, respectively [810]. The accuracy of the prediction algorithms mostly depends upon the binding scores to the MHC complex, with the Class II prediction tools being much less well-developed than Class I. Tumors, especially those with mutant and viral antigens, could be sufficiently “foreign” to be recognized by the immune system. However, current data has illustrated that autologous T cells did not recognize the vast majority of neoepitopes. Although the epitope prediction tools have been shown to have a high degree of overlap [1114], it is important to improve the ability of these tools to differentiate putative neoepitopes from real immunogenic neoepitopes [15]. This lack of immunogenicity could also be due to the tumor’s inability to activate the immune system because of additional resistance mechanisms, especially tumor microenvironment factors, rather than the absence of tumor antigens. Because the activation and cytotoxic signals in individual tumors may reflect the overall status of a neoantigen-specific tumor response, it will be critical to further evaluate these functional signatures and to incorporate them into future optimized pipelines.\n\nAnother potential limitation of this technology is that representative, high-quality tissue samples are needed in order to produce reliable results. Tumor tissue from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) samples may be used for whole exome sequencing. However, proper collection and storage of the tumor tissue is essential to ensure high quality DNA for deep sequencing. Because of the heterogeneity of the tumor, it is also essential to collect representative tissue to avoid any bias. In addition, mutational profiles may change due to disease progression or ongoing treatment. Therefore, assessing the tumor sample closest to the intervention is best to eliminate the potential variation and increase accuracy. Moreover, although PBMCs are commonly used as non-transformed cells, the signal from even low frequency circulating tumor cells from whole blood needs to be further validated for potential contribution to data noise.\n\nTypes of samples needed and special issues pertaining to samples\n\nTissue from the tumor sample and non-transformed cells are needed for whole exome sequencing. However, as mentioned above, proper collection and storage of representative tissue is essential to ensure high-quality samples for deep sequencing. For downstream assessment of T cell reactivity in functional assays, TILs and PBMCs are needed and must be viably preserved as a single-cell suspension.\n\nLevel of evidence\n\nThis is a novel technology that is still currently under development. Two pilot preclinical studies in mouse models first demonstrated that whole exome sequencing is efficient to identify neoantigen-specific CD8+ T cells with tumor elimination [16, 17]. Several human clinical studies highlighted the feasibility and importance of understanding the immunogenicity of neoantigens and their potential clinical application in patients treated with tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte cells [810]. The level of mutational load (or the mutational landscape) as a potential biomarker was associated with clinical outcome to immune checkpoint blockade cancer immunotherapy in patients with advanced melanoma, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and colorectal cancer [1821]. Patients with highly mutagenized tumors and activated cytolytic markers are most likely to respond to checkpoint blockade treatment [22]. In this study, epitope prediction did not improve clinical outcome prediction value [23]. However, some patients with a high mutational load do not experience clinical responses, while some patients with a low mutation profile experience substantial clinical responses [18, 19]. Assessment of clinically relevant immunogenic mutation loads along with active cytolytic signatures before therapy is pivotal to improve the accuracy of outcome prediction. As the study was performed in patients with mismatched repair deficiency tumors [20], more prospective studies must be performed to determine whether the mutation load can guide novel therapeutic approaches to selectively enhance T cell response to neoantigens in future mono- or combination therapies.\n\n\n\ndeoxyribonucleic acid\n\n\nformalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (tissue)\n\n\nmajor histocompatibility complex\n\n\nnext-generation sequencing\n\n\nnon-small cell lung cancer\n\n\nperipheral blood mononuclear cells\n\n\nribonucleic acid\n\n\nsomatic single nucleotide variant\n\n\ntumor infiltrating lymphocytes\n\n\ntumor mutation specific antigen\n\n\ntumor specific neoantigens\n\n\n\nWe sincerely thank Ms. Alissa Fiorentino and Dr. Chelsey Meier from the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) and the steering committee members of the SITC Biomarkers Task Force for support, comments and editorial assistance. In addition, the authors thank Dr. Alexandra E. Snyder Charen at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center for providing valuable comments and editing.\n\n\nAuthors’ Affiliations\n\nNetherlands Cancer Institute\nBristol-Myers Squibb\nAstraZeneca, One MedImmune Way\nOncology Clinical Research, Merck Research Laboratories\n\n\n  1. Schumacher TN, Schreiber RD. Neoantigens in cancer immunotherapy. Science. 2015;348(6230):69–74. doi: ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar\n  3. Wang Q, Jia P, Li F, Chen H, Ji H, Hucks D, et al. Detecting somatic point mutations in cancer genome sequencing data: a comparison of mutation callers. Genome Med. 2013;5(10):91. doi: ArticlePubMedPubMed CentralGoogle Scholar\n  4. Bao R, Huang L, Andrade J, Tan W, Kibbe WA, Jiang H, et al. Review of current methods, applications, and data management for the bioinformatics analysis of whole exome sequencing. Cancer Inform. 2014;13 Suppl 2:67–82. doi: CentralGoogle Scholar\n  6. Cibulskis K, Lawrence MS, Carter SL, Sivachenko A, Jaffe D, Sougnez C, et al. Sensitive detection of somatic point mutations in impure and heterogeneous cancer samples. Nat Biotechnol. 2013;31(3):213–9. doi: ArticlePubMedPubMed CentralGoogle Scholar\n  10. Linnemann C, van Buuren MM, Bies L, Verdegaal EM, Schotte R, Calis JJ, et al. High-throughput epitope discovery reveals frequent recognition of neo-antigens by CD4+ T cells in human melanoma. Nat Med. 2015;21(1):81–5. doi: ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar\n  11. Duan F, Duitama J, Al Seesi S, Ayres CM, Corcelli SA, Pawashe AP, et al. Genomic and bioinformatic profiling of mutational neoepitopes reveals new rules to predict anticancer immunogenicity. J Exp Med. 2014;211(11):2231–48. doi: ArticlePubMedPubMed CentralGoogle Scholar\n  12. Fritsch EF, Rajasagi M, Ott PA, Brusic V, Hacohen N, Wu CJ. HLA-binding properties of tumor neoepitopes in humans. Cancer Immunol Res. 2014;2(6):522–9. doi: ArticlePubMedPubMed CentralGoogle Scholar\n  13. Yadav M, Jhunjhunwala S, Phung QT, Lupardus P, Tanguay J, Bumbaca S, et al. Predicting immunogenic tumour mutations by combining mass spectrometry and exome sequencing. Nature. 2014;515(7528):572–6. doi: ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar\n  14. Kreiter S, Vormehr M, van de Roemer N, Diken M, Lower M, Diekmann J, et al. Mutant MHC class II epitopes drive therapeutic immune responses to cancer. Nature. 2015;520(7549):692–6. doi: ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar\n  16. Matsushita H, Vesely MD, Koboldt DC, Rickert CG, Uppaluri R, Magrini VJ, et al. Cancer exome analysis reveals a T-cell-dependent mechanism of cancer immunoediting. Nature. 2012;482(7385):400–4. doi: ArticlePubMedPubMed CentralGoogle Scholar\n  19. Rizvi NA, Hellmann MD, Snyder A, Kvistborg P, Makarov V, Havel JJ et al. Mutational landscape determines sensitivity to PD-1 blockade in non-small cell lung cancer. Science. 2015. doi:\n  22. Van Allen EM, Miao D, Schilling B, Shukla SA, Blank C, Zimmer L et al. Genomic correlates of response to CTLA4 blockade in metastatic melanoma. Science. 2015. doi:\n  23. Gubin MM, Schreiber RD. CANCER. The odds of immunotherapy success. Science. 2015;350(6257):158–9. doi: ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar\n\n\n© Kvistborg et al. 2016", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8670495748519897}
+{"content": "Special Metals Corporation\n\n- Model 617 - High Performance Alloys\n\n\n\nINCONEL alloy 617 (UNS N06617/W.Nr. 2.4663a) is a solid-solution, strengthened, nickel-chromium-cobaltmolybdenum alloy with an exceptional combination of high-temperature strength and oxidation resistance. The alloy also has excellent resistance to a wide range of corrosive environments, and it is readily formed and welded by conventional techniques.\n\nThe limiting chemical composition of INCONEL alloy 617 is listed in Table 1. The high nickel and chromium contents make the alloy resistant to a variety of both reducing and oxidizing media. The aluminum, in conjunction with the chromium, provides oxidation\nresistance at high temperatures. Solid-solution strengthening is imparted by the cobalt and molybdenum.\n\nThe combination of high strength and oxidation resistance at temperatures over 1800°F (980°C) makes INCONEL alloy 617 an attractive material for such components as ducting, combustion cans, and transition liners in both aircraft and land-based gas turbines. Because of its resistance to high-temperature corrosion, the alloy is used for catalyst-grid supports in the production of nitric acid, for heat-treating baskets, and for reduction boats in the refining of molybdenum. INCONEL alloy 617 also offers attractive properties for components of power-generating plants, both fossilfueled and nuclear.\n\nProperty values are given in both United States customary units and the International System of Units  (SI). The SI unit of stress is the pascal (Pa), which is equivalent to newton per square metre. The approximate relationship between the pascal and the pound per square inch (psi) is 1 Pa = 0.0001450 psi, or 1 psi = 6895 Pa.\n\nPhysical Constants and Thermal Properties\n\nMelting range and some physical constants at room temperature are shown in Table 2. The alloy’s low density, compared with tungsten-containing alloys of similar strength, is significant in applications such as aircraft gas turbines where high strength-to-weight ratio is desirable.\n\nThermal properties of alloy 617 at temperatures to 2000°F (1095°C) are given in Table 3. Values for thermal conductivity and specific heat were calculated; other values were measured. Thermal expansion of INCONEL alloy 617 is lower than that of most other austenitic alloys, reducing stresses from differential expansion when the alloy is coupled with carbon steels\nor low-alloy steels.\n\nModulus of elasticity of INCONEL alloy 617 is shown along with Poisson’s ratio (calculated from moduli of elasticity) in Table 4. The modulus values were determined by a dynamic method.\n\nCustomer reviews\n\nNo reviews were found for INCONEL - Model 617 - High Performance Alloys. Be the first to review!", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9994596242904663}
+{"content": "Nausea Essay by SLL\n\nThe Angst of Existence: The Restrictions on Freedom and Authenticity\n\n            Jean Paul Sartre’s Nausea reflects the individual’s obsession with attempting to escape time through distractions in order to disregard the reality of his existence. Throughout Nausea, Antoine struggles with a pestering feeling of anxiety, which he describes as nausea, caused by a sudden change in his life. He thus embarks on a journey to find the root of his anxiety, in which he is faced with many realizations. As he observes people, he remarks their inauthentic relationships and comes to a conclusion that society pointlessly follows formalities in order to distract themselves from their own existence. Martin Heidegger would call Antoine’s feeling of nausea Angst, and would consequentially relate it to Antoine’s root of existentialist struggle. Because Antoine does not know how to deal with his Angst, he dedicates his life to research on a historical figure, Rollebon, who’s life has many uncertainties. By doing this, Antoine escapes the present, which according to Arthur Schopenhauer, is somethings that humans innately do, because, after all, it is impossible to truly live in the present. In a way, both Antoine’s freedom and self worth are restricted by this research as he struggles to come to terms with the present. It is only once Antoine abandons his research on Rollebon that he accepts his nausea, which stemmed from his existence. Through Heidegger and Schopenhauer’s philosophy, Sartre proves that as a result of life’s contingency, man fears the implications of his own existence and it is only once man accepts life’s contingency and assumes total freedom that he is living life authentically. [Read more…]\n\nThe Stranger Essay by RC\n\nThe Hour of Consciousness: Understanding God’s Judicial System\n\nAlbert Camus’ The Stranger juxtaposes the importance of God’s morality and the impact it has in the judicial system of an absurd reality, in which social code is rigid and behavior that strays from protocol is subject to scrutiny. In presenting this environment, Camus emphasizes a universal morality, swayed by God and superimposed over an individual’s unique perception of the world, such as Meursault, the protagonist. Others condemn this tragic hero to an unfortunate fate, validated by the belief that because an atheist is subordinate in the eyes of God, he must gradually come to understand the ubiquity of this singular morality. Much like Meursault, in Albert Camus’ The Myth of Sisyphus, Sisyphus is condemned to a fate he cannot control due to the social constructs of an absurd reality. Only when Sisyphus has reached the top of the hill with his boulder does he amount to what Camus calls, “the hour of consciousness”: essentially, the understanding of the absurdity of life. Camus’ placement of biased judicial figures gradually strengthens Meursault’s understanding of absurdity, illuminating the importance of the “hour of consciousness” in both articulating and refuting God’s ubiquitous morality. [Read more…]\n\nThe Stranger Essay by JK\n\nMeaningless Joy: Finding Happiness Through Albert Camus’ Message in The Stranger\n\n            In Albert Camus’, The Myth Of Sisyphus, Gods condemned Sisyphus to ceaselessly roll a rock to the top of a mountain. If the rock rolled back down the mountain, Sisyphus pushed it up again. While Sisyphus’ punishment sounds both pointless and tragic, Camus does not believe so. He believes that, “one must imagine Sisyphus happy” (The Myth of Sisyphus, Camus 123). Camus articulates that Sisyphus’ finds happiness through his ability to accept and rise above his hopeless and frivolous fate. He argues, “If this myth is tragic, that is only because its hero is conscious… Sisyphus, powerless and rebellious, knows the whole extent of his wretched condition. (The Myth of Sisyphus, Camus 121). While Sisyphus’ consciousness makes his story tragic, it also provides him with joy: “The lucidity that was to constitute his torture at the same time crowns his victory… All Sisyphus’ silent joy is contained therein. His fate belongs to him” (The Myth of Sisyphus, Camus 121-3). The Gods wanted to punish Sisyphus with a fate worse then death, eternal and meaningless labor. However, Sisyphus found happiness in accepting his fate. In The Myth Of Sisyphus, Camus depicts a man who transcends his absurd condition to find happiness in an otherwise futile and hopeless life. Camus, The Stranger, provides readers with a similar message. In The Stranger, Meursault, like Sisyphus, is forced to bear a hopeless fate, death. Just as Sisyphus transcends his meaningless fate, so Meursault transcends his. Camus argues, using Meursault as a parallel to Sisyphus, that one can still find happiness in futility, by rejecting God and hope, accepting ones temporal existence, and embracing the present. [Read more…]\n\nNausea Essay by GG\n\nMetropolitan Escapism, Natural Liberation\n\nBefore the dawn of civilization, humans, living among wild and free beasts, were searching for meaning in life, seeking explanations for their seemingly purposeless existence. These difficult quandaries perplexed humans, but thankfully the Neolithic Revolution, which birthed the dense center of human activity known as cities, freed humans from senselessness and let them exist merely as worker bees in a hive. Yet this escape from perplexion into metropolis has proved detrimental to human life; an alternative is necessary. As humans find new forms of classification and work to continually flee from absurdity, the eternally monolithic routine within cities becomes the perfect escape from existence, but in the process thought and individuality are destroyed. Thus humans must embrace the beautiful absurdity within both nature and themselves to live authentically as individuals. [Read more…]\n\nSteppenwolf PBA Essay by GG\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7250733375549316}
+{"content": "J.1439 0485.2011.00479.x\n\n\nPublished on\n\n  • Be the first to comment\n\n  • Be the first to like this\n\nNo Downloads\nTotal views\nOn SlideShare\nFrom Embeds\nNumber of Embeds\nEmbeds 0\nNo embeds\n\nNo notes for slide\n\nJ.1439 0485.2011.00479.x\n\n  1. 1. Marine Ecology. ISSN 0173-9565REVIEW ARTICLEWhat can we learn from genomics approaches in marineecology? From sequences to eco-systems biology!Thomas Mock & Amy KirkhamSchool of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UKKeywords AbstractAdaptation; algae; bacteria; biogeochemistry;biological oceanography; evolution; genomics; The application of genomic approaches to marine biota has profoundly alteredmarine ecology; metagenomics; microbes; our understanding of life in the oceans, especially regarding concepts of adap-phytoplankton. tation, speciation and evolution. The avalanche of genomic data has provided an unbiased view of marine biology that has never been seen before. In partic-Correspondence ular, comparative and metagenomic approaches with microbes from differentThomas Mock, School of EnvironmentalSciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, biogeochemical marine provinces provided the first insights into how theyUK. acquire and discard genes as needed, even across kingdom boundaries, inE-mail: t.mock@uea.ac.uk response to their environment. These data clearly reveal that marine microbes have remarkable abilities to change their genomes according to both environ-Accepted: 5 July 2011 mental stresses and biotic interactions. Thus, it is most likely that the flux of energy and matter in the marine system is reflected by the presence or absencedoi:10.1111/j.1439-0485.2011.00479.x of genes and proteins in marine organisms, which could provide novel tools to understand biogeochemical processes of global significance. However, the chal- lenge is to put the reductionistic knowledge gained by genomics and metage- nomics into the larger contexts of cellular systems and ecosystems to identify emergent properties that could not have been predicted by breaking down the whole into its individual parts. approaches, such as systems ecology, for tackling emer-Introduction gent properties are not yet as developed for marineIn 1977, Eugen P. Odum wrote: ‘Ecology must combine systems as they are for their terrestrial counterparts (e.g.holism with reductionism if applications are to benefit Odum 1983; Chapin et al. 2002). However, these emer-society’. His ideas with respect to greater attention to hol- gent properties, based on complex, interacting marineism in science and technology were ground-breaking communities, are the basis of global-scale processes suchbecause an important consequence of hierarchical organi- as cycling of energy and matter. Thus, there is a need forzation in ecosystems is that as components or subsets are more systems-oriented science in the field of Marinecombined to produce larger functional wholes, new prop- Research to tackle the challenges of the 21st century.erties emerge that were not present or not evident at the The HMS Challenger Expedition, a 4-year voyagenext level below (Odum 1977). For example, the interac- which circumnavigated the globe between December 1872tions between prey organisms and their predators in the and May 1876, largely founded the basis for Marine Ecol-same environment cannot be explained fully even by the ogy and Biological Oceanography. This expeditionmost sophisticated models of their population dynamics provided a wealth of novel information (compiled into a(e.g. Davidson et al. 2010). Thus, their population 50-volume report which can be found in the Encyclopædiadynamics are the consequence of emergent properties Britannica) about the oceans and their organisms butbased on interactions of members of the whole commu- still only a first glimpse into the marine ecosystem.nity of organisms with each other and their environment Uncountable expeditions followed and many more takeand the physical constraints imposed by it. Holistic place each year to explore the largest but least knownMarine Ecology 33 (2012) 131–148 ª 2011 Blackwell Verlag GmbH 131\n  2. 2. What can we learn from genomics approaches in marine ecology? Mock & Kirkhamhabitat on earth. The tendency towards holistic but inter- current holistic concepts to understand ecosystem func-disciplinary approaches, which tend to lack deep under- tioning.standing of the parts that shape the whole, is likely dueto the size of the marine system and difficulties in access- How Do Genomic Approaches Influence Marineing it. It might be expected that the difficulties of access- Ecology?ing, sampling and studying marine organisms would havedriven the development of new technology. However, this Marine Ecology, like other ecological disciplines, is drivenhas not been the case compared to the parallel develop- by hypotheses derived from observing the interactions ofment of other scientific disciplines (e.g. medicine, chemis- organisms and their communities with the environmenttry, physics) over the same period of time. Reasons for (e.g. Odum 1977; Putman & Wratten 1984). Therefore,this may be manifold, but it seems that Marine Ecology ecology uses a deductive system to explain relationshipsand Biological Oceanography entered a new era approxi- between organisms and their environment and thus seeksmately two decades ago by applying new technology to to explain their evolution. In contrast, genomics is notold questions. One of the most significant examples was primarily driven by hypotheses but by technology. In fact,the discovery of the hydrothermal vents on the deep technological developments such as high throughputocean floor at fracture zones along mid-oceanic ridges sequencing technologies (e.g. 454 GS-Titanium, Illumina,(e.g. Van Dover 1990; Tunnicliffe & Flower 1996). The SOLID) over the last decade have significantly advanceddevelopment of new submarines enabled their discovery, genomic disciplines (e.g. Schuster 2008). Genomics useswhich even led to new hypotheses about the evolution of an inductive approach per se and therefore instead gener-life on earth (e.g. Martin et al. 2008). About a decade ates hypotheses.after its discovery, this fascinating ecosystem was At first sight, genomics and ecology seem an odd cou-described using genome-enabled technologies such as me- ple with unbridgeable gaps and contradictory approachestagenomics and proteomics. These technologies revealed from two entirely different standpoints. All genome pro-the key molecular mechanisms underpinning how the jects with marine organisms so far have provided novelcharacteristic symbiotic communities of this ecosystem and ground-breaking insights into their biology and evo-generate energy (sulphur oxidation) and produce organic lution (e.g. Gloeckner et al. 2003; Rocap et al. 2003;carbon compounds [via the reductive tricarboxylic acid Armbrust et al. 2004; Palenik et al. 2007; Bowler et al.cycle (TCA) and Calvin cycles] for growth (e.g. Markert 2008; Worden et al. 2009; Cock et al. 2010) but there iset al. 2007; Grzymski et al. 2008). still a long way to go before genomic information The development of new methods to sample and ana- becomes integrated into holistic ecological concepts suchlyse marine systems in combination with the use of gen- as the flux of energy and matter through the marine eco-ome-enabled technology has, in our opinion, initiated a system. There are two reasons for this. Firstly, we are stillnew era in Marine Ecology. This is because new sampling in the discovery phase where we try to identify novel sin-strategies allow us to explore new ecosystems, and gle genes and gene families, and ascertain their impor-genomics has the potential to fill gaps in our understand- tance for the biology and evolution of organisms.ing of diversity and functioning of marine communities. Secondly, we haven’t yet begun to think about how toThus, we will soon be able to use this new understanding select and integrate these sequence data into overridingof the components and functioning of complex marine ecosystem models, such as models to explain the biogeog-communities combined with concepts of cycling energy raphy of microbial communities linked to biogeochemicaland matter to establish a systems approach to identify ´ ´ cycling of elements (e.g. LeQuere et al. 2005; Followsemergent properties that influence global-scale processes. et al. 2007). We will solve this problem as soon as we This review will try to explain why the reductionist become able to use genomic information to model notapproach, through the use of genome-enabled technolo- only evolution but also the earth system as a whole basedgies in Marine Ecology, has already revolutionized our on emergent properties that are more than the sum of aunderstanding of marine organisms, their evolution and parts list (e.g. Raes & Bork 2008; DeLong 2009).adaptation to the environment. Perhaps, it will also help The following sections give examples of how the induc-us to find ways to combine these new data with broader tive approaches used by genomics are able to transformcommunity- and ecosystem-related concepts such as bio- Marine Ecology. This review will focus on marinegeochemical cycling (e.g. Crombach & Hogeweg 2009). microbes because most of the genomic information weHowever, the nature of revolutions is that they have currently have about marine organisms comes frommajor implications for many different fields. One possi- sequencing prokaryotic and eukaryotic microbes and theirble consequence may be that we have to rethink our microbial communities.132 Marine Ecology 33 (2012) 131–148 ª 2011 Blackwell Verlag GmbH\n  3. 3. Mock & Kirkham What can we learn from genomics approaches in marine ecology?Influence of Genomics on Our Understanding ofthe Evolution of Marine Organisms CoreBacteria SharedIt took about 7 years from sequencing the first genomes Orphanof bacteria (Haemophilus influenzae, Mycoplasma genitali-um) in 1995 (Fleischmann et al. 1995; Fraser et al. 1995)to the first genome sequences from the sea (e.g. Dufresneet al. 2003; Rocap et al. 2003; Palenik et al. 2006). Beforethese genomes from various marine Prochlorococcusstrains became available, all of the classification studieswere based on phylogenetic marker genes (e.g. Woese1987; Ludwig & Schleifer 1994), such as the small subunitof ribosomal RNA (i.e. 16S), to define a species or taxonbecause most bacteria lack taxonomically useful morpho-logical features. These very first genome sequences frombacteria revolutionized our view of evolution and diver-sity, and gave rise to the new discipline, ComparativeGenomics (e.g. Koonin & Wolf 2008). Fig. 1. Common and rare genes in 10 aquatic archaea and bacterial Although the sequenced Prochlorococcus strains are genomes (Pelagiobacter ubique (SAR11) HTCC1062, Halorubrum lacusprofundi ATCC49239, Methanococcoides burtonii DSM6242,identical based on the criterion of more than 97% Prochlorococcus MIT9313, Pseudoalteromonas haloplanktis TAC125,sequence identity of the small subunit of ribosomal RNA, Rhodopirellula baltica SH1, Roseobacter sp. GAI101, Silicibacter sp.they showed remarkable differences in genome size, GC TM1040, Sphingopyxis alaskensis RB2256, Synechococcus sp.content, the number of genes and gene composition WH8102) based on prokaryotic clusters of orthologous genes (COGs).(Rocap et al. 2003). These differences reflect adaptation Core set = COGs present in 9 or 10 genomes; shared set = COGsto different ecological niches in the pelagic environment, present in 2–8 genomes; orphan set = COGs present in 1 genomedetermining the relative fitness of each ecotype and hence only.regulating their distribution and abundance in the ocean.Thus, there is much higher genetic diversity than previ- The major modes of transmission of genetic materialously concluded using only selected marker genes. This that determine the diversity of genes, and therefore phylo-diversity is the consequence of different modes of evolu- genetic patterns, are vertical and horizontal gene transfertion, and hence adaptation, which ultimately shapes bio- (HGT) (Table 1). Transfer of genetic material to off-geochemical processes in the ocean. Consequently, spring, or the inheritance of genes by subsequent genera-understanding the evolution of marine microbes is crucial tions, is the essential basis of vertical gene transfer. HGTfor our understanding of the cycling of elements and had been recognized (Woese 1987) as a mode of geneticgases in the ocean. transfer long before the first bacterial genomes were Based on comparative analyses of many more sequenced sequenced (e.g. Smith et al. 1992; Syvanen 1994; Ochmanprokaryotic genomes published over the last few years (e.g. et al. 2000). However, it was viewed as a rare phenome-Palenik et al. 2006), we can identify general patterns of non occurring only under specific circumstances, such asgenome organization, function and evolution. The gene the development of resistance to antibiotics among differ-space of prokaryotes can be subdivided into three groups: ent strains of bacteria (e.g. Aminov & Mackie 2007).(i) the set of universal or nearly universal core genes that Sequencing of bacterial genomes, their comparative analy-have orthologues in all species and strains of bacteria and sis and especially sequencing of ocean metagenomes hasarchaea, (ii) moderately common genes (shell ⁄ shared shown that HGT is at least as important as vertical genegenes), and (iii) orphan genes, which are genes that have transfer for the evolution of prokaryotes. This was per-no detectable similarity to any other available protein haps the most important contribution of comparativesequence (Koonin & Wolf 2008) (Fig. 1). Less than 5% of and meta-genomics to our understanding of prokaryoticall genes in any prokaryotic organism belong to the core evolution. Recent marine metagenome and transcriptomegroup of genes, which are basically house-keeping genes; projects have impressively revealed that key genes, such asover 50% belong to the shell group; and the rest belong to those from the rhodopsin family, were horizontallygroups of specific genes that only occur in particular spe- transferred among very different microbial organismscies or in a small number of closely related strains from (Archaea, Bacteria) to benefit the whole community (e.g.the same species (Koonin & Wolf 2008) (Fig. 1). Venter et al. 2004). A type of vector for this massiveMarine Ecology 33 (2012) 131–148 ª 2011 Blackwell Verlag GmbH 133\n  4. 4. What can we learn from genomics approaches in marine ecology? Mock & KirkhamTable 1. A summary of the main forces that shape genomes of subject to adaptation to the environment. Purifying selec-marine microbes (prokaryotes and eukaryotes). tion is especially intense in large populations that live inForces that shape genomes relatively stable environments under resource limitationof marine microbes Prokaryotes Eukaryotes (e.g. tropical ocean) and leads to genome streamlining with extensive loss of genes. Examples are SAR11 (Pelagio-genome degradation XX X bacter ubiquis) (Giovannoni et al. 2005) and cyanobacteriagene duplication XXX XXXgene loss XXX XXX of the genus Prochlorococcus (Rocap et al. 2003). Character-HGT XXX X istic features of these genomes are not necessarily a smallnon-orthologous gene displacement XX X genome size but compactness, indicated by a strong reduc-endosymbiotic gene transfer 0 XXX tion of intergenic space and a lack of pseudogenes. How-operon shuffling XXX X ever, despite their evolution under strong selectionreplication fusion XXX X pressure, the genomes of Prochlorococcus have features thattransposition XX XX are not compatible with streamlining, such as genomicsexual recombination X XXepigenetics XX XXX islands. This finding emphasizes the interplay of bothgene fusion XX XXX opposing processes on the evolution of Prochlorococcus,conservation of gene order X X which is assumed to be common in many more prokary-mutations XXX XX otes (Koonin & Wolf 2008). In contrast, genome complex-operonization XX 0 ification is likely to occur only in those prokaryotes thatregulation X XXX live in complex and variable environments (on or withinXXX = strong impact; XX = medium impact; X = weak impact; substrates, such as rocks and sediments respectively) where0 = minor effect or not present; HGT = horizontal gene transfer. they persist in small populations and ⁄ or are exposed to severe population bottlenecks (Lynch & Conery 2003). One example is the genome of Rhodopirellula baltica, an impor-transfer of genes, besides conjugation, transduction or tant planctomycete involved in degradation of complextransformation, seems to be phages (e.g. Canchaya et al. organic carbon compounds (e.g. polysaccharides) produced2003) because of their dominance in marine systems and by photosynthetic organisms. Its genome is 7.1 Mb encod-mobility of genetic material (e.g. Angly et al. 2006). The ing 7325 open reading frames and 72 RNA genes (Gloeck-pool of marine phage genes is still poorly explored but it ner et al. 2003).is assumed that a major fraction of orphans in bacterial The opposing effects of genome contraction by stream-and archaeal genomes may be derived from the bacterio- lining and degradation (e.g. symbionts, parasites) andphage gene pool (e.g. Koonin & Wolf 2008). expansion by complexification are reflected in the size The discovery of the importance of HGT is the major distribution of bacteria genomes, which seems to bereason why our view of prokaryotic evolution has become bimodal (Koonin & Wolf 2008) (Fig. 2). The first peak isincreasingly modular. The genome space can be consid- at about 2 Mb and the second peak is at about 5 Mb,ered to look like a composite of ‘LEGOÒ’ blocks with an reflecting streamlining and complexification, respectivelyalmost unlimited degree of combination, at least for the (Fig. 2). The smallest known genome size in free-livingshell and orphan genes. However, there is increasing bacteria (SAR11) is 1.3 Mb encoding 1354 open readingevidence that even core genes, including those used as frames (Giovannoni et al. 2005). Most of these genes rep-traditional markers for vertical gene transfer (e.g. resent the essential metabolism for building the cell andDNA-dependent RNA polymerase) are subject to HGT acquiring nutrients for growth (Giovannoni et al. 2005).(Iyer et al. 2004). The upper limit is less defined and the reason for it is still Genomics has significantly changed our view of pro- under debate. One of the largest bacterial genomeskaryotic evolution and hence the classification of pro- sequenced so far comes from the soil bacteria Sorangiumcesses that effect their evolution. There are basically two cellulosum with a size of 13 Mb (Schneiker et al. 2007).opposite outcomes of the evolution of prokaryotic The reasons for the bimodal genome size distributiongenomes: complexification and genome streamlining (e.g. remain enigmatic and may imply that intermediate habi-Koonin & Wolf 2008). According to theories by Lynch & tats between stable (resource limited) and unstable (vari-Conery (2003), complexification is an intrinsic process in able resources) might be less common, which doesn’tall genomes and is caused by gene duplications, HGT and seem to be the case. It might also be the case that theother processes leading to a higher number of genes and bimodal distribution of bacterial genome sizes reflects thehence is not adaptive (Table 1). However, complexifica- sampling strategy of bacteria for genome sequencing.tion will be fixed under purifying selection (here consid- Perhaps we under-sample bacteria from habitats withered as loss of genes and not alleles) and is therefore intermediate disturbance levels.134 Marine Ecology 33 (2012) 131–148 ª 2011 Blackwell Verlag GmbH\n  5. 5. Mock & Kirkham What can we learn from genomics approaches in marine ecology? marine genome sequencing projects. Algae are a polyphy- Genome complexfication letic assemblage of photosynthetic eukaryotes (Falkowski 0.3 Genome streamlining et al. 2004). We now have at least one genome sequence 0.2 1st peak 2nd peak from each major algal taxon available (about 15 in total) Genome 0.1 1.0 5.0 10.0 size, Mbp (Parker et al. 2008), which is little compared to the num- 0 ber of available prokaryotic genomes (about 1000 in P.u. S.m. S.a. S.p. R.b. total) but it has given us a glimpse of the major forces P.m. H.l. R.d. shaping the evolution of algae. M.b. P.h. Vertical evolutionFig. 2. Distribution of genome sizes among bacteria (dotted line) in The engulfment of a photosynthetic cyanobacterium by arelation to complexification and genome streamlining as major resultsof various evolutionary forces (Koonin & Wolf 2008). The horizontal unicellular eukaryote about 1.2 billion years ago was theline shows genome sizes on a logarithmic scale and the dotted line first crucial step in the evolution of algae (Falkowski et al.shows the distribution of genome sizes among bacteria with two dis- 2004). The endosymbiont became the chloroplast, with atinct peaks. One peak is at around 2 Mb and the other at 5 Mb. The highly reduced cyanobacterial genome due to either genegenome sizes of 10 aquatic Archaea and Bacteria were mapped onto transfer into the host genome or gene loss. This singlethe logarithmic scale (P.u. = Pelagiobacter ubique (SAR11) endosymbiotic event (primary endosymbiosis) is hypothe-HTCC1062, S.m. = Synechococcus sp. WH8102, P.m. = Prochlorococ- sized to have given rise to the three major eukaryoticcus MIT9313, M.b. = Methanococcoides burtonii DSM6242, S.a. =Sphingopyxis alaskensis RB2256, H.l. = Halorubrum lacusprofundi photosynthetic lineages – the green, red and glaucophyteATCC49239, P.h. = Pseudoalteromonas haloplanktis TAC125, S.p. = lineages. In the ocean, chlorophytic algae (uni- and multi-Silicibacter sp. TM1040, R.d. = Roseobacter sp. GAI101, R.b. = Rho- cellular) and prasinophytes (unicellular) are the majordopirellula baltica SH1). This graph has been adapted from Koonin & algal classes derived from the green lineage (FalkowskiWolf (2008). et al. 2004). Prasinophytes have a global distribution and include the world’s smallest eukaryotes such as the Correlation analyses between the abundance of genes in picoeukaryote Ostreococcus, which has a cell diameter oftheir corresponding orthologous clusters (COGs) with 1 lm (Derelle et al. 2006). Prasinophytes resemble agenome size have revealed that genes coding for tran- diverse group of paraphyletic lineages diverging at thescription, translation and cell division show no depen- base of the Chlorophyta (Worden et al. 2009). All otherdence on genome size, whereas genes encoding for marine algal lineages such as diatoms, dinoflagellates,metabolic processes increase proportionally with genome chrysophytes, phaeophytes and haptophytes, are derivedsize (Koonin & Wolf 2008). Interestingly, genes encoding from additional endosymbiotic events (e.g. secondary andfor regulation of transcription and signal transduction tertiary endosymbiosis) between autotrophic and hetero-scale with the square of the total number of genes. Thus, trophic eukaryotic organisms (Parker et al. 2008). Thebigger genomes such as R. baltica have an excess of regu- reason for the occurrence of these multiple endosymbioticlators and signal transduction proteins. This could be one events is not understood yet but is hypothesized to be afactor limiting the upper size of bacterial genomes result of whole ocean denitrification (e.g. anoxic events),because genome growth would become unsustainable at as occurred in the period of the Triassic and Toarcianthe point where more than one regulator is added per (lower Jurassic c. 175–185 Ma years ago) (Falkowski et al.gene (Lynch 2007). 2004). A lack of nitrogen in the water column may have provided a strong selection pressure for the evolution of new partnerships and therefore increased the occurrenceAlgae of endosymbiotic events. In fact, the first fossil record ofMarine algae contribute about 40–50% of global primary diatoms is at around the period of the Toarcian (Falkow-productivity despite the fact that their photosynthetic bio- ski et al. 2004). However, molecular clock approachesmass represents only about 0.2% of that on land (Field with diatoms have indicated that the fossil record under-et al. 1998). Thus, their biomass turnover is very high estimates the age of this group, and that diatoms mostcompared to land plants, making them a very dynamic likely pre-date the Triassic (Kooistra & Medlin 1996).pool of organic carbon that can be more easily influenced Thus, it remains to be seen whether the suggested denitri-by environmental changes and vice versa. A significant fication events can in fact be linked with the origin ofcontribution of algae to the global carbon cycle accompa- endosymbiotic events.nied by their dynamic growth make them key players in These partnerships between different organisms haveour understanding of global biogeochemical cycles of left traces in extant genomes because of massive gene gainelements. Consequently, algae were an early target for and endosymbiotic gene transfer, but also gene loss,Marine Ecology 33 (2012) 131–148 ª 2011 Blackwell Verlag GmbH 135\n  6. 6. What can we learn from genomics approaches in marine ecology? Mock & Kirkhamwhich was known before the first genomes from algal spe- Comparative genomics with marine algae from thecies were sequenced (e.g. Martin et al. 1998; Cavalier- green lineage have also provided novel insights into theirSmith 1999). However, the unbiased view provided by evolution (e.g. Derelle et al. 2006; Palenik et al. 2007;whole genome sequences and their comparison enabled Worden et al. 2009). Most genome sequences have comeground-breaking discoveries, which re-shaped our view of from the monophyletic marine order Mamiellales, includ-the evolution of these organisms. ing the picoeukaryotes Ostreococcus spp. and Micromonas Many algal taxa derived from multiple endosymbiotic spp. Their genomes are much less diverged from eachevents retained at least parts of the plastid genome of the other compared with the sequenced chromalveolate ge-engulfed photosynthetic eukaryote but the nucleus was nomes, which probably reflects their less complex evolu-either reduced to a nucleomorph, as in the case of cryp- tionary history. For instance, 18 of 20 chromosomes intomonades and chlorarachniohytes, or entirely lost (e.g. the two sequenced Ostreoccocus genomes from Ostreocco-Douglas et al. 2001; Gilson et al. 2006). Nucleomorph cus tauri and Ostreoccocus lucimarinus are conserved withgenome sequences from both groups of organisms reveal a strong synteny between them (Derelle et al. 2006). Fur-strong compaction and a very limited number of genes thermore, both species share 97% of their catalogued(£464 protein coding genes) (Douglas et al. 2001). The genes. Although the two sequenced strains of Micromonasintergenic space is greatly reduced and genes sometimes pusilla (RCC299, CCMP1545) are more diverged fromoverlap. These features suggest that nucleomorph each other, indicated by less strong synteny and onlygenomes have been streamlined over time. Most of their sharing 90% of their catalogued genes (Worden et al.genes encode for nucleomorph functions (e.g. replication) 2009), they are still much less diverged than the diatomsbut some still encode for plastid function. The other algal P. tricornutum and T. pseudonana, which share only 57%lineages have either transferred the genes from the of their genes without any synteny (Bowler et al. 2008).nucleus of the engulfed photosynthetic eukaryote to the However, the pennate and centric diatom lineagesnucleus of the host organism or they have lost them. The diverged about 90 million years ago, which pre-dates thechromalveolate hypothesis (Cavalier-Smith 1999) pro- separation between the Micromonas clades (65 millionposes that the engulfed photosynthetic eukaryote was a years ago) (Slapeta et al. 2006). In contrast to diatom ge-red alga, which gave rise to all extant chromists nomes, prasinophyte genomes, like oligotrophic bacterial(stramenopiles, haptophytes, cryptophytes) and alveolates genomes, show features of strong compaction (Worden(ciliates, dinoflagellates, apicomplexa). However, recent et al. 2009). This may be associated with their occurrencedata based on phylogenomic analysis of the genomes of in fairly low-nutrient habitats. SAR11 and Prochlorococcusthe diatoms Thalassiosira pseudonana and Phaeodactylum live in oligotrophic environments and also have verytricornutum in comparison with other recently sequenced streamlined genomes (see above). Thus, low nutrientmarine algae revealed that >70% of genes derived either marine environments seem to shape eukaryotic genomesfrom red or green sources actually are of green (not red) similarly to bacterial genomes, but without changing thelineage provenance, in contradiction to the chromalveo- general architecture of eukaryotic genomes (Fig. 3). Gen-late hypothesis (Moustafa et al. 2009). However, so far ome compaction in prasinophytes is indicated by genethere have been many more genomes sequenced from fusions, a reduction of the intergenic space, reducedmembers of the green lineage than the red lineage, which intron length and number per gene (Worden et al. 2009).biases this study towards identifying genes with homo-logues in organisms from the green lineage. The largestproportion of theses green genes (c. 40%) has a phyloge- Genome complexificationnetic affiliation with Prasinophytes (Ostreococcus and Genome streamliningMicromonas from the Mamiellales clades) of which some Genome 10.0 50.0 100.0 500.0 size, Mbpwere shared with Chlorophyta and Streptophyta (Mousta-fa et al. 2009). Interestingly, some of these diatom greengenes are also shared with apicomplexans, plastid-lacking O.t. P.t. A.a. F.c. E.h. M.p. T.p. P.m.ciliates and the haptophyte Emiliania huxleyi. These dataindicate that a large proportion of these green genes areof ancient provenance and pre-dates the split of crypto- Fig. 3. Interplay of the results of evolutionary forces that shape eukaryotic microalgal genomes. The horizontal line shows genomephytes and haptophytes from other chromalveolates. This sizes. The genome sizes of 10 aquatic microalgal species have beenprovides evidence that a prasinophyte-like endosymbiont mapped onto the sale (O.t. = Ostreococcus tauri, M.p. = Micromonasis the common ancestor of chromalveolates, and must pusilla, P.t. = Phaeodactylum tricornutum, T.p. = Thalassiosira pseudo-have pre-dated the red-algal one because the most recent nana, A.a. = Aureococcus anophagefferens, F.c. = Fragilariopsis cylin-endosymbiont provides the plastid (Moustafa et al. 2009). drus, E.h. = Emiliania huxleyi, P.m. = Pseudonitzschia multiseries).136 Marine Ecology 33 (2012) 131–148 ª 2011 Blackwell Verlag GmbH\n  7. 7. Mock & Kirkham What can we learn from genomics approaches in marine ecology? Phylogenomic comparison between both Micromonas high number of prokaryotic genes in eukaryotic genomesspecies, other prasinophytes, chlorophytes and strepto- indicates very close relationships between both groups ofphytes have revealed that specific genes, thought to have organisms over a long evolutionary period of time. Inevolved later in higher plants, in fact were already present fact, microscopical and physiological studies of interac-in the proto-prasinophyte ancestor but were lost in chlo- tions between bacteria and diatoms had already indicatedrophytes. One example concerns transcription factors a variety of intimate relationships from commensalism tofrom the YABBY family that were thought to be associ- symbiosis before these molecular data became availableated with leaf development in higher plants but which (Schmid 2003). The majority of the prokaryotic genes inhave been found in the Micromonas genomes (Worden P. tricornutum are shared with T. pseudonana, indicatinget al. 2009). Thus, sequencing genomes from phylogeneti- that acquisition of prokaryotic genes took place no latercally related branches of the tree of life might improve than the divergence of the clade containing the pennatesour understanding of gene gain and loss and hence the and the clade containing T. pseudonana. This does not,mechanisms by which species have radiated. however, represent one of the earlier diverging clades among extant diatoms (e.g. Sims et al. 2006). Most of theHorizontal evolution diatom genes of prokaryotic origin belong to the shellBefore information was available from whole genome and group and have functions related to mitochondrialcDNA sequencing, there was a strong belief that all major metabolism, including genes encoding proteins from theinnovations in algal genomes were due to endosymbiosis, urea cycle (e.g. carbamoyl transferase, carbamate kinase)recombination, mutation and selection. These forces are (Bowler et al. 2008). Additional novel features have arisenstill key for our understanding of algal evolution in gen- from novel domain combinations containing orthologueseral, but HGT, previously only considered to be relevant reported in bacteria. Many of these are related to two-to prokaryotes, has recently also been recognized component signalling systems such as the aureochrome(Table 1). The genome of Ostreococcus tauri has revealed blue-light photoreceptors that contain orthologues ofhow significant HGT can be for the overall genome struc- LovHK and other light-dependent histidine kinasesture (Derelle et al. 2006). Two chromosomes (2 and 19) reported in bacteria (Bowler et al. 2008).in O. tauri differ structurally from the other 18 by having In addition, organisms from the green lineage seem toa significantly reduced GC content. They also contain the be gene donors for HGT to diatoms because only aboutmajority of transposable elements (TE) in the genome, 85% of the green genes identified in diatom genomes canwhich might have contributed to the genetic variability at be tracked to the ancestor of diatoms and other stra-least in these two chromosomes. Only 18% of peptide- menopiles. Thus, about 255 genes in the genomes ofencoding genes on chromosome 19 of O. tauri are related T. pseudonana and P. tricornutum seem to have beento the green lineage (Derelle et al. 2006). The others acquired via HGT from prasinophyte-like algae, which isresemble proteins from various origins but mainly bacte- about 2% of gene models for each of the two diatomsria. Interestingly, most of them (84%) belong primarily to (Moustafa et al. 2009). Most of them, in contrast to genesthe group of surface membrane proteins. Based on these of prokaryotic origin, seem to be involved in primaryfeatures, it seems reasonable to assume that at least chro- metabolism of the plastid such as carotenoid synthesis,mosome 19 is of different origin from the rest of the gen- the Calvin cycle and electron transport. Thirty percent ofome and therefore most likely acquired via HGT from a the proteins from the carotenoid biosynthesis pathway,prokaryote-like organism (Derelle et al. 2006). for instance, are very closely related to green algal homo- Prokaryotes also seem to be the major donor organisms logues and some of them branch with members of thefor horizontally acquired genes in diatoms. The diatom prasinophyte group. One of these is the enzyme zeaxan-P. tricornutum has about 587 genes (more than 5% of the thin epoxidase (ZEP), which converts zeaxanthin intototal number of genes in the genome) acquired via HGT violaxanthin, the precursor of fucoxanthin (Frommoltfrom prokaryotic organisms (Bowler et al. 2008). Most of et al. 2008).them show strong similarity to bacterial genes but some HGT between viruses and their hosts are well known inare also similar to Archaeal genes. Recent analysis of long bacteria but the first evidence for the existence of HGTterminal repeat (LTR) retrotransposons in the diatom between a DNA virus and a eukaryotic alga has onlyP. tricornutum indicated that they significantly contrib- recently been obtained (Monier et al. 2009). An entireuted to intraspecific genetic variability in this species metabolic pathway involved in sphingolipid biosynthesis(Maumus et al. 2009). Meiosis has never been observed seems to have been transferred from the large DNA virusfor P. tricornutum or O. tauri in cultures, and intraspe- of the coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi to its host. Sevencific diversity, therefore, might have been significantly genes were transferred over time successively changing theinfluenced by rearrangements due to TEs. The unusually lipid metabolisms of the host, probably to give the virus aMarine Ecology 33 (2012) 131–148 ª 2011 Blackwell Verlag GmbH 137\n  8. 8. What can we learn from genomics approaches in marine ecology? Mock & Kirkhamselective advantage. The end product of this pathway is oceanographic frontal zones. However, purifying selectionceramide and sphingolipids, which induce metacaspases seems to act much more strongly on bacteria than onfor activating apoptosis of the host and thus promote the eukaryotic algae, as streamlining in bacteria is much morereproduction of the virus. pronounced (Figs 2 and 3). One reason for this might be Another case of algal–virus gene transfer occurred related to the more complex evolution of algae (e.g. sec-between O. tauri and its OtV5 DNA virus (Derelle et al. ondary and tertiary endosymbiosis), which per se leads to2008). However, the transfer was from the host to the a high degree of polymorphisms as observed in diatomvirus and only one gene seemed to have been affected by genomes (e.g. Armbrust et al. 2004). A higher degree ofthe event. The transferred gene encodes proline dehydro- polymorphism makes purifying selection less effective andgenase, which was found to be very similar in the host may be favoured by positive selection because maintain-and virus. Its role in promoting the reproduction of the ing polymorphic alleles (i) prevents loss of self-incompati-virus is unclear but proline is generally involved in stress bility loci (e.g. Clark & Kao 1991) and (ii) possiblyresponse in many different organisms. improves survival in the fluctuating ocean environment. Despite the discovery of horizontal gene transfer in Thus, highly variable environments such as coastal inter-eukaryotic microbes, the majority of the gene space, based tidal zones seem to select for organisms with a higheron eukaryotic clusters of orthologous genes (KOGs), degree of polymorphisms and heterozygosity in general.seems much more determined by endosymbiotic gene Highly diverse sets of genes, of which many seem to havetransfer compared to prokaryotes (Fig. 4). The core genes been acquired via HGT and ⁄ or endosymbiotic gene trans-dominate all KOGs in eukaryotic genomes unlike in fer events in the case of chromalveolates, are advanta-prokaryotic genomes (Fig. 1). geous in that they provide organisms with the necessary To summarize, the general forces that cause genome set of tools when the environment is changing.evolution in marine pro- and eukaryotes (Table 1) seem Selection for fast growth is inversely related to genomevery similar, with genome streamlining being observed in size and cell size in both pro- and eukaryotes (e.g. Kooninorganisms primarily living in low-nutrient environments & Wolf 2008). Although a strong negative correlationand genome complexification in highly variable nutrient- between genome size ⁄ gene number and growth rate isrich environments such as coastal systems, sediments or observed in prokaryotes (with some exceptions, e.g. SAR11), this relationship is not as quite as clear in micro- bial eukaryotes. Very small eukaryotes such as Ostreococ- cus have smaller and more compact genomes than larger microalgae but they don’t necessarily grow faster. One Core explanation might be that, in general, many microalgal Shared genomes show a strong compaction (reduced intergenic Orphan space) in comparison with higher plants and animals. Furthermore, a dominance of rRNA over DNA in micro- algae might allow fast cell division in combination with a high rate of protein synthesis (Hessen et al. 2009). The elemental costs for growth in microalgae also seem to be reduced compared to higher plants and animals by a high C:N:P stoichiometry of 106:16:1 (Redfield ratio) in most phytoplankton, whereas the ratio in a typical animal tissue is 50:7:1, indicating a higher demand for N and P. Influence of Genomics on Our Understanding of Acclimation and Adaptation of Marine Organisms Acclimation, the ability to respond to short-term fluctua-Fig. 4. Common and rare genes in 10 aquatic microalgal genomes tions of the environment, is important in marine ecosys-(Aureococcus anophagefferens, Emiliania huxleyi, Fragilariopsis cylin- tems characterized by strong fluctuations, such asdrus, Micromonas pusilla, Monosigia brevicolis, Ostreococcus lucimari- seasonal temperate ecosystems, polar ecosystems with sea-nus, Ostreococcus tauri, Phaeodactylum tricornutum, Thalassiosirapseudonana) based on eukaryotic clusters of orthologous genes sonal sea ice cover, coastal and frontal zones. As explored(KOGs). Core set = KOGs present in 9 or 10 genomes; shared set = - in the previous section organisms from these environ-KOGs present in 2–8 genomes; orphan set = KOGs present in 1 gen- ments tend to increase the complexity their genomes byome only. HGT, gene and genome duplications, which allows them138 Marine Ecology 33 (2012) 131–148 ª 2011 Blackwell Verlag GmbH\n  9. 9. Mock & Kirkham What can we learn from genomics approaches in marine ecology?to diversify on an intraspecies level and therefore to processes described, how do acclimatory processes, medi-occupy many different niches in these complex environ- ated by changes of gene expression, influence the abilityments. An important unknown factor is the time-scale of to adapt?genome complexification. Genetic adaptation is consid- It is appealing to suggest that short-term phenotypicered to be a long-term process of genetic change that change may become constitutive if either the environ-influences phenotypic acclimation (short term). However, mental change persists (e.g. ocean acidification) or mech-the application of combined genomic and post-genomic anisms exist that allow a rapid development of a geneticapproaches to microbes has already revealed that (i) basis. Waddington (1953) was the first to propose thegenetic adaptation can also occur on short-time scales idea of genetic accommodation and we think genomics(e.g. Herring et al. 2006; Gresham et al. 2008; Brookfield and postgenomics have already provided evidence that2010) and (ii) that genetic accommodation, which is the similar processes might occur in marine microbes (e.g.inheritance of a non-genetic response (a phenomenon Steglich et al. 2008; Weinberg et al. 2009). However, itthat changes the final outcome of a gene or chromosome remains to be seen how much these processes contributewithout changing the underlying DNA sequence, such as to the adaptability of organisms to their environment.epigenetics), might occur and impact adaptation (e.g. Those oceanographic regimes that are characterized byBossdorf et al. 2008). rapid and significant changes such as coastal seas would The major force for both acclimation and adaptation is possibly select for genetic accommodation.a changing environment (abiotic or biotic). A species Environmental regime shifts between feast and faminemight show a suite of acclimatory and adaptive changes characterize highly dynamic coastal seas and are thereforefollowing a new environmental challenge. The use of frequently used to describe the responses of microbes andnext-generation sequencing is now allowing us to identify shed light on the relationship between acclimation andhow quickly the genetic information can change in exper- adaptation. One important mechanism to develop aimental populations through resequencing their genomes. genetic basis from a phenotypic change is transposition, aMoreover, when accompanied with whole-genome tran- process by which a chromosomal segment is transferredscriptome studies, sequence analysis will reveal how to a new position in the genome (e.g. McClintock 1948).phenotypic changes are linked to the genotype. Evidence for this mechanism has been found in marine In general, the speed of adaptive evolution is predicted bacteria and diatoms. The planktomycete Rhodopirellulato be high in microbial populations because of their large baltica induces expression of transposases under short-population sizes (e.g. Collins & Bell 2006; Gresham et al. term (<300 min) heat, cold and salinity stress, indicating2008). There are two reasons for this. Firstly, large popu- re-arrangement of the genome as a way to adapt quicklylations have an increased supply of beneficial mutations to extreme environments (Wecker et al. 2009). Transpos-in each generation, which increases the rate at which able elements contribute 6.4% of the Phaeodactylumadvantageous mutations occur; and secondly, large popu- tricornutum genome. About 6% of the P. tricornutum TEslations have increased access to these mutations. How- belong to the class of long terminal repeat (LTR) retro-ever, this doesn’t necessarily mean that large populations transposons (Ty1 ⁄ Copia), typical of retroviruses whichhave a higher fitness, they just take larger steps to attain replicate through reverse transcription of an mRNA inter-fitness. Data from evolution experiments with microbes mediate. Phaeodactylum tricornutum cells cultivated underusing next-generation sequencing approaches have short-term nitrate limitation and exposure to diatom-revealed an interesting relationship between molecular derived reactive aldehydes, which are known to inducechange and improved fitness (e.g. Gresham et al. 2008; stress responses and cell death, demonstrate strong tran-Brookfield 2010). Whereas the rate of genomic molecular scription activity of LTR retrotransposons, indicating acti-change seems constant over time, the strongest changes in vation of TE insertions under these conditions (Maumusfitness occur early after an environmental change. This et al. 2009). In fact, different insertion patterns of theseindicates that more advantageous changes spread quickly LTR elements could be shown in metagenome datasetsin populations, whereas less advantageous changes spread and therefore point to an important contribution of LTRlater and have a smaller impact on fitness (Brookfield retrotransposons in generating intraspecific genetic2010). Intraspecific competition among clones from the variability (Maumus et al. 2009).same population compete against each other and may Another important mechanism of genetic accommoda-therefore contribute to the initial speed of spread of early tion is epigenetic change through heritable methylation,mutations. So one question seems to be interesting to histone modifications or through the regulation of geneaddress in the above-mentioned context: If the fate of expression by non-coding RNAs. Unfortunately, almoststrains in populations after a significant change in their no data are available yet about the influence of methyla-environment occurs early and relatively quickly by the tion on acclimation and adaptation for marine organisms;Marine Ecology 33 (2012) 131–148 ª 2011 Blackwell Verlag GmbH 139\n  10. 10. What can we learn from genomics approaches in marine ecology? Mock & Kirkhamhowever, there is very early evidence of the influence of been lost in the low light adapted strains. The high-lightDNA-binding proteins such as histones for acclimation, adapted strains have lost both the nitrate and nitriteadaptation and evolution. For instance, transcriptome reductase genes, whereas a nitrite reductase has beenanalysis of haploid and diploid cells of the haptophyte retained in the low-light adapted strains. A genome-wideEmiliania huxleyi showed that the H4 histone is only comparison of Synechococcus strains from coastal andpresent and expressed in the genome of diploid cells, so open ocean waters revealed the functional blueprints ofmight therefore have a specific function for gene expres- complexification and streamlining, respectively (Paleniksion regulation unique to diploid cells (von Dassow et al. et al. 2006). The coastal strain had a much bigger genome2009). Both cell types have very different phenotypes with with nearly double the number of response-regulator anddifferent metabolisms (e.g. only diploid cells calcify) and histidine kinase genes to sense changes of the moreoccupy different oceanographic niches, and it therefore dynamic coastal environment. Furthermore, it had manyremains to be shown whether the histone H4 makes a sig- more genes encoding proteins in metal transport andnificant contribution to either acclimation or adaptation metabolism, including metallothioneins, ferritin, cyto-of diploid E. huxleyi cells. chromes and proteins from the P-450 family. However, it There is increasing evidence that marine microbes also is still unclear whether the greatly enhanced transport andhave the ability to regulate gene expression, translation storage capacity for metals in the coastal strain is due toand protein function by using non-coding RNAs a greater need for metals, the need to respond to excess(ncRNAs). These molecules have no protein-coding func- metal levels, or exposure to episodic fluctuations in metaltion and their genomic positions are in intergenic regions: concentration.introns or antisense to protein-coding genes. NcRNAs The picture of niche differentiation is less clear forcan be short (<50 bp) or long (>500 bp) and are eukaryotic microbes in the ocean because we still onlyinvolved in responses to environmental cues (e.g. Mattick know a very limited number of their genome sequences& Makunin 2006). NcRNAs have been found in Prochlo- and most of them were isolated from very similar habitatsrococcus (Steglich et al. 2008) and Thalassiosira (Mock (e.g. Palenik et al. 2007; Bowler et al. 2008). For instance,et al. 2008), being differentially expressed under various both sequenced Ostreococcus species (tauri and lucimarinus)conditions including light quality and nutrient stress. The have been isolated from coastal habitats (the coast of Brit-overall importance of these ncRNAs for marine microbes tany, France and the coast of California, US) and they sharewas shown by their identification in metagenome datasets 95% of their catalogued genes (Palenik et al. 2007).(Shi et al. 2009). However, it remains to be seen how Although the two sequenced isolates of Micromonasmuch they in fact contribute to the adaptation of (CCMP1545, RCC299) came from very different habitatsmicrobes to different marine habitats and niches. (CCMP1545 is from eutrophic, temperate waters off the The boundaries between acclimation and adaptation in coast of England and RCC299 is from oligotrophic, tropicalthe era of genomics have become less clear, which should waters in the South-West Pacific), they still share aboutremind us that biology responds to environmental forcing 90% of their predicted genes and few of the unique genesin a dynamic way. Thus, all the heritable information in can be related to adaptation to their specific environmentsgenomes is only a snapshot in the picture of evolution (Worden et al. 2009). However, it could be shown thatbut it provides us with data on how the sequenced organ- strain CCMP1545 (from more eutrophic waters) was miss-isms are adapted to current environmental conditions. ing specific transporter gene families, including some Perhaps one of the greatest outcomes of sequencing related to nitrogen uptake. A very similar picture is emerg-genomes from marine prokaryotes was the realization that ing from a comparison of the two sequenced diatomphysico-chemical conditions of the pelagic marine envi- genomes (Thalassiosira pseudonana, a centric diatom, andronment (e.g. light and nutrient gradients) have shaped Phaeodactylum tricornutum, a pennate), which also sharebacterial genomes and hence their evolution. The first evi- the same type of coastal marine habitat (Bowler et al.dence came from sequencing different Prochlorococcus and 2008). Although their genomes differ significantly (indi-Synechococcus ecotypes (Rocap et al. 2003; Palenik et al. cated by the fact that 40% of their genes are not shared),2006). Some of the sequenced Prochlorococcus strains are there are no striking differences that can help to explainadapted to a high-light environment that is limited by niche differentiation in coastal areas. Pennate diatoms arenitrate and nitrite, whereas other strains have lost the more widely distributed in benthic habitats whereas centricability to cope with high light but can grow on nitrite diatoms dominate pelagic habitats. A higher number of(Rocap et al. 2003). The high-light-adapted strains gene families in the genome of P. tricornutum may suggesthave twice as many genes encoding putative high-light- that the more recently evolved pennate diatoms have moreinducible proteins and they possess photolyase genes to specialized functions, perhaps to cope with the heterogene-cope with damage by ultraviolet radiation, which have ity and dynamic of coastal benthic systems (Bowler et al.140 Marine Ecology 33 (2012) 131–148 ª 2011 Blackwell Verlag GmbH\n  11. 11. Mock & Kirkham What can we learn from genomics approaches in marine ecology?2008). However, some more specific studies on single genes activity (e.g. carbon fixation, respiration and uptake mea-in diatoms have already provided strong evidence for niche surements) in situ, (ii) quantification of major resourcesdifferentiation. One of these is the study by Peers & Price [e.g. NO3, PO4, Si(OH)4, Fe], and (iii) identification and(2006) who showed a replacement of iron containing cyto- enumeration of as many members of the community aschrome C6 with the copper-containing plastocyanine for possible. Data from these studies were then used to modelphotosynthetic electron transport in the oceanic diatom biogeochemical cycles from small to global scales (e.g.Thalassiosira oceanica. This diatom lives in an iron-limited ´ ´ LeQuere et al. 2005; Follows et al. 2007). Metagenomicocean and is probably able to thrive there because it has and metatranscriptomic studies have impressively revealedlowered its iron requirement for growth by preferably using the shortcomings and biases of the above-mentionedproteins that require copper, a metal that is less scarce in approaches. The major shortcoming is that the vastthese environments. It is most likely that the gene encoding majority of microbes in the ocean (prokaryotes but alsothe plastocyanine protein was acquired via horizontal gene eukaryotes) are unknown and therefore their metabolismtransfer from either a cyanobacterium or any member of is also unknown. The types of metabolism found in athe green lineage. It seems that prokaryotic marine community have significant influences on resource cyclingmicrobes were much more carefully selected for genome and thus govern all kinds of linkages between the organ-sequencing to investigate niche adaptation than their isms of a coexisting (sympatric) community (e.g. Trippeukaryotic counterparts. Thus, we need to focus on a wider et al. 2010). Random sampling of sequence data fromdiversity of eukaryotic microbes from very different marine combined community members (shotgun sequencing ofhabitats for the next round of genome sequencing projects. the metagenome) has provided unbiased insights into theSequencing the genome of the diatom Fragilariopsis cylin- functional diversity of microbial communities with manydrus (http://genome.jgi-psf.org/Fracy1/Fracy1.home.html) surprises that have changed our understanding of marineseems promising in that regard because F. cylindrus is a microbial communities (e.g. Venter et al. 2004; Tripppsychrophile from the iron-limited Southern Ocean. et al. 2010). The first metagenome projects were largely discovery-based, whereas later ones have begun with com- parative approaches between communities and biomesInfluence of Genomics on our Understanding of (Dinsdale et al. 2008). A key finding that came from theMarine Ecosystem Functioning first large-scale marine metagenome projects was the dis-Acclimation, adaptation and evolution, as described in covery of proteorhodopsin proteins, light-driven protonprevious sections, are based on interactions of organisms pumps identified in the Sargasso Sea metagenome ofwith the environment and among organisms themselves mainly heterotrophic prokaryotic communities (Venter(e.g. HGT). The nature of these abiotic and biotic interac- et al. 2004). Proteorhodopsins had been characterizedtions is defined by resources that link organisms with the from bacteria before but their significance remainedenvironment and to each other and therefore define the unrecognized until this study. A recent study of a Vibriofunction of marine communities. Thus, an important strain has revealed that proteorhodopsins increase long-question to address, in order to understand ecosystem term survival when the cells are starved in seawaterfunctioning, is how resource cycling influences the link- ´ exposed to light (Gomez-Consarnau et al. 2010). Anotherages between different species of the same community. example from a metagenome project that has changedMetagenomic and transcriptomic studies have already our view of resource cycling is the discovery of Archaeashown their ability to facilitate the identification of link- that oxidize ammonia to nitrite and therefore play anages between different species of the same community by important part in the global nitrogen cycle (e.g. Francisfunctional analysis of their gene repertoire (e.g. Dinsdale et al. 2007). Before this, bacteria were thought to be theet al. 2008; Vieira-Silva & Rocha 2010). This section will only oxidizers of ammonia but models couldn’t matchsummarize how genomics-enabled approaches have led us the rates of ammonia oxidation with the abundance andto a new understanding of the functioning of whole com- activity of putative ammonia oxidizers until the discoverymunities in an environmental context, and will assess of archaean ammonia oxidation. An ammonia monooxy-whether a systems approach for marine communities genase gene was identified next to a gene encoding the(eco-systems biology) might become feasible in the near small-subunit ribosomal RNA for Archaea. This mono-future (Raes & Bork 2008). oxygenase gene could therefore be assigned as being from an archaean genome. If a community is dominated by a smaller number of species, their genomic fragments fromCommunity–Environment Interactions metagenomes can be assigned to species because completeInteractions of communities with the environment have genomes can be assembled if the sequencing depth isbeen investigated by (i) bulk measurements of their large enough. This is more difficult for eukaryotes (e.g.Marine Ecology 33 (2012) 131–148 ª 2011 Blackwell Verlag GmbH 141\n  12. 12. What can we learn from genomics approaches in marine ecology? Mock & Kirkhamprotists) because the genomes are much more complex implying distinct environmental preferences (e.g. Rusch(e.g. introns, intergenic space, heterozygosity between sis- et al. 2007). However, some ecotypes have been found inter chromosomes) and much bigger (e.g. Armbrust et al. a wide range of locations (Pelagibacter ubique) and multi-2004; Bowler et al. 2008). However, as promising as these ple ecotypes have been found simultaneously in a singleapproaches seem to be, at least for prokaryotes, they are sample (Rusch et al. 2007). One attempt to explain whyfar from trivial and have only moved the problem of some microbes are very widely distributed across differentunder-sampling to the next level because we are still only ecosystems stems from the dynamics of ecosystemscratching the surface of complex microbial communities changes and their effects of shaping the gene spaceif we do not sequence deeply enough. Promising new (Rusch et al. 2007). We can’t assume that there is oneapproaches for closing the gaps in complex communities Darwinian daemon with fitness under all environmentalinclude targeted sequencing of selected populations (by conditions. Such an organism wouldn’t be sustainableusing flow cytometry) and single-cell genome sequencing from an energetic point of view. However, we might beof isolated unknown organisms (Woyke et al. 2009). able to assume that there is a super organism composed However, it requires more than just sequencing a com- of multiple variants, even within an ecotype, allowingmunity at a single point in time and space to identify the coexistence of all individuals under small and mediumforces that have shaped functional diversity in relation to variability of the environment. This kind of populationenvironmental constraints. Metatranscriptomics represents would be similar to a multicellular organism, where dif-population- or community-wide gene expression influ- ferent specialized cell types help the organism to functionenced by these constraints and therefore is able to identify as a whole when subjected to variable external conditions,those genes that are important to allow the community under the control of internal homeostasis. The crypticto thrive under the many integrated conditions that diversity of widely distributed microbes in the oceandefine the physico-chemical niche (Frias-Lopez et al. might act as a buffer, as suggested by Rusch et al. (2007),2008). However, those genes are likely to be swamped by similar to regulatory mechanisms of homeostasis in mul-genes necessary for the maintenance of basic cellular ticellular organisms. If the variability of the ecosystemmachinery enabling growth and metabolisms such as becomes too strong (e.g. significant seasonality) or reachesgenes involved in transcription and translation, photosyn- a certain tipping point where individual organisms fromthesis and respiration, which have already been shown in the same population can no longer buffer externalthe first metatranscriptome studies (e.g. Frias-Lopez et al. changes, smaller populations develop at or above the eco-2008; Moran 2009). Nevertheless, the regulation of these type level with more distinct functional diversity. Individ-core genes for metabolism also depends on environmental uals from these populations tend to have larger genomesconditions, so comparative metatranscriptomics and a because they may be less buffered by a cooperating com-link to species-specific transcriptomes might reveal munity of different individuals and therefore need to havetheir significance for the regulation of growth in a given a higher functional diversity per individual (Koonin &environment. Wolf 2008). HGT manifested in hypervariable genomic Comparative metagenomics of samples from different islands is the source of novel physiology and thereforehabitats enabled the first insights into their communities’ generates the ability to adapt to well-defined physicalenvironment-specific adaptations. The first global study (temperature, nutrient limitations) niches in the environ-of this kind for the marine system was the Sorcerer II ment. One consequence is that communities from veryGlobal Ocean Sampling (GOS) expedition (e.g. Rusch different habitats tend to have a higher degree of differ-et al. 2007). A later study enlarged the scope and also ences in their functional diversification, with a lowerincluded non-marine systems (Dinsdale et al. 2008). The degree of overlap. This has been illustrated by theGOS dataset encompasses 41 marine locations from the comparison of prokaryotic metagenomes from nine veryNorthwest Atlantic through to the Eastern Tropical Paci- different biomes (subterranean, hypersaline, marine,fic. Total DNA was primarily extracted from material freshwater, coral, microbialites, fish, terrestrial animals,size-fractionated using filters with a pore size between 0.1 mosquito) (Dinsdale et al. 2008). All the biomesand 0.8 lm. DNA was cloned and subjected to shotgun were dominated by sequences for genes involved withsequencing. About 6.25 Gb of sequences were obtained carbohydrate and amino acid metabolism, which seem tofrom the 41 locations. Sequence analysis revealed a strong belong to the core genome of all communities regardlessintra-species diversity caused by many subtypes (ecotypes) of their habitat. The next most abundant sequences wereof dominant bacterial strains. A comparison of environ- involved with virulence, protein metabolisms, respirationmental conditions (primarily temperature) indicates that and photosynthesis. A canonical discriminant analysis ofthis diversity is organized into genetically isolated popula- the metabolic profiles showed that metagenomestions that have overlapping but independent distributions, were highly predictive of metabolic potential within an142 Marine Ecology 33 (2012) 131–148 ª 2011 Blackwell Verlag GmbH\n  13. 13. Mock & Kirkham What can we learn from genomics approaches in marine ecology?ecosystem. In contrast, such differentiation wasn’t exert strong selection pressures on individual populationsobserved on the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequences, sug- similar to the impact of abiotic perturbations. Most ofgesting that, at least for bacteria, different ecosystems can- these interactions among organisms are mediated by thenot be distinguished by their taxa. Thus, one important cell surface via receptors for signalling molecules, trans-outcome of this comparison between functional and phy- porters, channels, and extracellular enzymes. Interestingly,logenetic marker genes is that there seems to be a high tax- these groups of outer membrane proteins are among theonomic evenness in microbial communities from different most quickly evolving genes in Prochlorococcus, evidencedecosystems opposing a low functional evenness. The by a genome-wide comparison of 12 genomes (Kettlerauthors of this study suggested that the environment, in et al. 2007). Furthermore, an analysis of membrane pro-fact, selects for genes but not organisms. This means that teins from the GOS databank revealed that the distribu-genetic sweeps favour particular gene frequencies regard- tion of different classes correlates with oceanographicless of their taxonomic background (Dinsdale et al. 2008). variables and human factors such as pollution and climateThe variation in gene content between ecosystems is change. Therefore, membrane proteins seem to be indica-assumed to occur by means of HGT and not by changing tors for different biogeochemical regimes in the oceantaxa. These findings reflect our observations at the organ- (Patel et al. 2010). They seem to be under strong diversi-ism level but they also have strong implications for future fication selection because they serve as sites for communi-studies on linking ecosystems with communities. At least cation or attachment, or as recognition sites for predatorsfor prokaryotes and their viruses, it no longer seems or phages. Furthermore, the observed variation amongappropriate to look only at phylogenetic marker genes if these genes might reflect different biotic interactions inquestions of evolution and adaptation are addressed in an each of the habitats from which these strains were iso-environmental context. Eukaryotic microbes of the ocean lated. Community-specific metatranscriptomics frommay be less prone to act as a free-floating functional gene these habitats would help to answer the question of howpool (Fig. 4) and therefore a stronger relationship the diversity of membrane proteins contributes to bioticbetween the presence of taxa and functional capabilities interactions. This is because interactions between Prochlo-might exist. However, this assumption is difficult to test rococcus and phages, for instance, would be seen in awithout similar studies to that of Dinsdale et al. (2008) community-wide expression profile. Additionally, differ-for eukaryotic microbial communities. ences between habitats with similar communities could be identified by a comparative metatranscriptome approach. Another mechanism of interactions among differentCommunity–Community Interactions communities is allelopathy, a chemical interference com-One consequence of interactions between communities petition for resources (e.g. Hulot & Huisman 2004).and the environment is a change in community structure, Many laboratory experiments with marine plankton havewhich affects the interactions within a community and revealed allelopathic effects caused by diverse compounds,among different communities. Unlike metagenomics, including toxins, that lead to a dominance of compound-metatranscriptomics of natural communities enables us to producing species by defending a plankter against para-track down genes that are susceptible to short-term envi- sites, pathogens or even predators (e.g. Jonsson et al.ronmental perturbations because responses are manifested 2009). Some of these released substances are also assumedfirstly in gene expression changes and later in shifts of to kill the opponent. There are some doubts about thesecommunity composition (e.g. Frias-Lopez et al. 2008; interactions in natural populations because the cell densi-Gilbert et al. 2008; Hewson et al. 2009; Gifford et al. ties, and therefore the concentrations of these allelopathic2011). Thus, metagenomes represent the long-term conse- substances, are likely to be too low under well-mixedquence of environmental perturbations, whereas meta- conditions to have any effect on competitors or parasitestranscriptomes give us information on how these new (e.g. Jonsson et al. 2009). However, they may play a sig-steady states have been reached over time and space. nificant role in direct cell–cell interactions under high cellCharacterization of gene expression dynamics in natural densities. Signalling processes most likely play an impor-communities therefore leads to the identification of (i) tant role in allelopathic interactions because they mediatecommunity-wide regulatory responses over different taxa, recognition of substances and subsequent reactions. Thus,(ii) key metabolic pathways, and (iii) genes indicative of these processes occur on a short time scale (lifespan ofcommunication within and among communities (Moran individual organism) and may cause transcriptome2009). Consequently, metatranscriptomics is tailor-made changes in the affected organisms that reflect the naturefor the study of community interactions, including vari- of these interactions. However, it remains to be seenous sources of mortality (e.g. programmed cell death, whether meta-omics approaches such as metatranscripto-grazing), allelopathy and symbiosis. These interactions mics in combination with meta-metabolomics will be ableMarine Ecology 33 (2012) 131–148 ª 2011 Blackwell Verlag GmbH 143\n  14. 14. What can we learn from genomics approaches in marine ecology? Mock & Kirkhamto identify the genes and metabolites responsible for these and language for the integration of sequences from gen-interactions. ome-enabled technologies into a holistic concept. The current approach still primarily consists of the collection of sequences by sequencing more and more species, pop-Eco-systems biology ulations and communities. The connectivity of theseAt the beginning of this paper, we cited Eugen P. Odum sequences (e.g. signalling, communication, spatial andwho emphasized in 1977 that Ecology must combine hol- temporal variation) is tackled by approaches such asism with reductionism to identify emergent properties in metatranscriptomics and meta-metabolomics. Thus, itcomplex ecological systems. Interestingly, Systems Biol- seems that we are close to reconstructing larger ecologicalogy, as a supposedly new trend in bioscience research, networks at the molecular level in a similar manner tohas similar ambitions to those set out by Odum but is cellular systems biology (e.g. Raes & Bork 2008). Thefocused only on single organisms and not ecosystems. bottleneck will be to identify those new properties thatThe overarching goal for Systems Biology is the model- arise from relationships between parts (sequences) andling and discovery of emergent properties from interac- the whole (e.g. cycling of elements) that could not havetions giving rise to the function and behaviour of an been predicted by breaking down the whole into its indi-organism. Reductionistic genomic approaches have been vidual parts. Modern physics provides an analogy for thevery successful in identifying the parts of a whole, which, challenges that lie ahead in our field. The discovery ofparticularly in marine sciences, has led to new insights quantum relationships revolutionized atomistic reduc-and hypotheses about the function of organisms. How- tionism in the sense that it provided holism. Two differ-ever, the initial excitement about the discovery of new ent quantum entities (e.g. different polarizations of twogenes and pathways must be replaced, at some point, by photons) can create a new property if they interact,proof of their significance for the organism as a whole, which can’t be predicted by describing both separately.and also even further for populations and communities A similar kind of emergent property might exist in cellu-in an environmental context. Reductionist genomic lar systems and complex ecosystems because they followapproaches alone are not able to provide satisfying the same fundamental principles but in the biologicalanswers for this holistic view because they can’t put sin- contexts of energy transport and matter to sustain life.gle genes or proteins into the larger context of regulatory However, it remains to be seen whether we will be ablenetworks that lead to emergent properties of the system to identify the ‘quantum mechanics’ of Eco-systems biol-(e.g. Raes & Bork 2008). The following example will ogy to identify emergent properties leading to a newexplain what is meant by emergent properties in the mechanistic understanding of the ocean based on geno-marine system. Global biogeochemical cycling of elements mic data.(e.g. C, N, Si, P, S, Fe) is an emergent property arisingfrom the interactions of different microbial cells (e.g. Acknowledgementsviruses, bacteria, algae) in the ocean. Thus, we won’tunderstand this complex process that shapes our planet We are grateful to Andrew Toseland who helped with theunless we identify (i) most of the players, (ii) their biol- genome-wide analysis of clusters of orthologous genesogy, and (iii) their interactions with each other and the (COG ⁄ KOG) from selected aquatic prokaryotes andenvironment. Reductionist genomic approaches have eukaryotes. We thank Chris Bowler for the invitation tohelped to identify who is there and what they are doing, contribute this review article.but the big challenge that lies ahead is how to use thisinformation to better understand the outcome of com- Referencesmunity interactions. An eco-systems biology approachseems tailor-made for tackling this challenge but we have Aminov R.I., Mackie R.I. (2007) Evolution and ecology ofbarely begun to apply a Systems Biology approach for antibiotic resistance genes. FEMS Microbiology Letters, 271,any marine organism. Therefore, does it seem reasonable 147–161.to begin with an Eco-systems approach? We think so Angly F.E., Felts B., Breitbart M., Salamon P., Edwards R.A.,because, as we have seen by comparison to Ecology, it is Carlson C., Chan A.M., Haynes M., Kelley S., Liu H.,just a matter of scaling. Principles that apply to the orga- Mahaffy J.M., Mueller J.E., Nulton J., Olson R., Parsons R.,nization of single organisms (e.g. compartmentalization, Rayhawk S., Suttle C.A., Rohwer F. (2006) The marinecommunication, energy conversion, replication) are not viromes of four oceanic regions. PLoS Biology, 4, e368. Armbrust E.V., Berges J.A., Bowler C., Green B.R., Martinezvery different from principles that apply to populations D., Putnam N.H., Zhou S., Allen A.E., Apt K.E., Bechneror even communities of different populations on a global M., Brzezinski M.A., Chaal B.K., Chiovitti A., Davis A.K.,scale. However, we have not yet found the right tools144 Marine Ecology 33 (2012) 131–148 ª 2011 Blackwell Verlag GmbH", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9302321672439575}
+{"content": "Tuesday, January 22, 2013\n\nPat Graham Workshop\n\n\nYou can find out more about Pat at www.grandmamusic.blogspot.com/.\n\n\n- We are music leaders, NOT choristers!\n\n- Helps us REMEMBER - like a tattoo on the sub conscience\n- Helps us to UNDERSTAND gospel principles\n\nThere are healing benefits from music, physical and mental and spiritual.\n\nIf we TELL them, they will retain 10%.  If we use a PICTURE, they will retain 40%.  If we use a story, they will retain 50%.  But with WORDS AND MUSIC, we retain approximately 90%!!\n\nD&C 25:12 - teach the children that their songs are a prayer unto Him\n\nHow is singing time/Primary music blessing their lives??\n\n\n- REPETITION - we learn the song by hearing it and repeating.  Come up with excuses to sing over and over again without it being boring.  Example - ask them to count how many times a certain word is said.  Even if they get the right answer, jokingly say \"6?  Are you sure???  I thought it was 5, can we count again??\"\n\n- INVOLVE THE KIDS!!!  Ask questions (great examples in the songbook companion),\nWORDS: define words, count how many times they appear, which words on high/low notes, etc.\nRHYTHM: What words occur in this rhythm?\nSOMETHING TO DO: Actions, beat, make hand mirror the melody, copy my hands and make an arch with each phrase of the song, etc.\n\n- Make singing BEAUTIFUL.  Doesn't have to be loud - if they are yelling, help them to put their chins down.  Give them a REASON to watch you - fermata, dynamics, etc. \n\n\nThey don't call us because of what we know, but because of what we are willing to learn.\n\nChildren can feel and sense truth long before they can verbalize it.\n\nInstrument ideas - hand bells, tone bells, Easter eggs filled with rice and taped, chopsticks, etc.\n\nPretend you're playing a trumpet for something important.\n\nPass out envelopes with wordstrips and have each row arrange them in order while you sing.  Then the 2nd time have them come up and insert them in paperclips on back of picture, then turn the picture over and talk about it.\n\nHave REASONS to repeat the song.\n\nGive them a REASON to watch you!!\n\nWHAT PRINCIPLE are you trying to teach?  Not enough to just know the words, we need to help them UNDERSTAND.\n\n\nThomas S. Monson verse for Follow the Prophet:\n\nThomas Spencer Monson\ngave his Christmas toy\nto a poor and lonely\nlittle neighbor boy\nNow he is our prophet\nloyal, kind and true\nIf we serve as he does\nWe'll be happy too.\n\nExamples for I Think the World is Glorious: What word means 'awesome'?  How many words start with B?  How many times do we say 'sing'?\n\nMake large interchangeable paint sticks - solid color laminated circle where you can switch out the pictures on the front.\n\nOn song \"I Sing\", break into four groups, each holds 'sing' until you have a beautiful harmony.\n\nUse an attention getter relating to the song you're trying to teach.\n\nIf you're quiet, really quiet, if you sit so still,\nYou just might hear this pin drop, do you think you really will??\n\nMake a flip chart for Feliz Cumpleanos to help them get the foreign words - Pat 'killed herself' writing the second verse so use it!! :)\n\nSign language for I Am a Child of God chorus.\n\nDON'T USE THE PIANO/FULL ACCOMPANIMENT until they know the song - full accomp. is a reward once they have it.\n\nDon't beat the song to death - louder and softer\n\n\n  1. Thank you for sharing your notes! I love that you've taken time to begin this blog. It helps me remember why I'm called to this and gives me fresh ideas.\n\n  2. Thank you, Nicole!!! I'm so glad you can use it!!\n\n  3. Thanks so much for posting your notes from the workshop.\n    I've enjoyed reading them and will definitely refer to them in the future.\n    Is there a way to subscribe to your blog via email?\n\n  4. Hi Teryl, thanks for suggesting that! I just added a 'Follow By Email' link on the right, hopefully it works, I've never tried it before. Let me know if you sign up and don't get updates.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7470071911811829}
+{"content": "Download E-books Weights, measures, and tokens PDF\n\n\nBy Mabel L. Crosby, Margaret, Lang\n\nThe 1st a part of this e-book offers with weights (14 bronze, 109-111 lead, 28 stone) and measures (75 dry, 28-31 liquid). even supposing humble gadgets, the designated examine of those daily goods presents archaeological facts for sizeable adjustments in weight criteria at varied occasions in Athenian historical past. This reinforces literary proof for a hugely centralized forms controlling alternate and trade. within the moment a part of the ebook, Crosby catalogues and discusses a few 900 lead and forty six clay tokens exposed through the Agora excavations. the majority of the lead fabric dates from the Roman interval, whereas the entire clay items belong to the 4th, third, and second centuries B.C. those tokens served various features. a few have been used as admission tickets for fairs and theater performances whereas others may be with regards to attendance at lawcourts or receipt of tax funds.\n\nShow description\n\nRead or Download Weights, measures, and tokens PDF\n\nSimilar Archaeology books\n\nAncient Iraq: Third Edition (Penguin History)\n\nNewly revised and containing details from contemporary excavations and found artifacts, historical Iraq covers the political, cultural, and socio-economic historical past from Mesopotamia days of prehistory to the Christian period.\n\n\nScandinavia, a land mass comprising the trendy international locations of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, was once the final a part of Europe to be inhabited via people. no longer till the top of the final Ice Age while the melting of massive ice sheets left at the back of a clean, barren land floor, approximately 13,000 BC, did the 1st people arrive and settle within the sector.\n\nAlexander to Constantine: Archaeology of the Land of the Bible, Volume III (The Anchor Yale Bible Reference Library)\n\nThis identify explores the archaeological list of the land of the Bible from its conquest via Alexander the good within the 4th century BCE until eventually the reign of Emperor Constantine within the 4th century CE. It bargains an outline of a tumultuous interval in international heritage and provides new insights into the evolution of Judaism and Christianity.\n\nApproaches to Archaeological Ceramics\n\nGreater than the other classification of facts, ceramics ofters archaeologists their so much considerable and possibly enlightening resource of knowledge at the earlier. Being made essentially of day, a comparatively low-cost fabric that's to be had in each area, ceramics grew to become crucial in almost each society on the planet in the past 10000 years.\n\nExtra info for Weights, measures, and tokens\n\nShow sample text content\n\nRated 4.35 of 5 – based on 13 votes", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9915478229522705}
+{"content": "Befree (Bio-Entity Finder and RElation Extraction)\n\nDeveloped by the Integrative Bioinformatics group, BeFree is a text mining tool to unlock the information contained in biomedical documents. It is composed of the Biomedical Named Entity Recognition (BioNER) module based on dictionaries using fuzzy- and pattern matching methods to find and uniquely identify entity mentions in the literature, and a module for Relation Extraction (RE) based on Support Vector Machine (SVM).", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9948331713676453}
+{"content": "Karan Dave\nKaran Dave is a magical wordsmith and a creative content expert with one of the top mobile app development companies, Peerbits. He likes to keep himself updated with the latest technology news and gadgets. This technocrat has blended his passion for writing, and interests over technology, into making a resourceful contribution towards various websites by writing informative blogs. In leisure time, he likes visiting The Himalayas and go tech-free for a few days.\n\nWebsite: http://www.peerbits.com/\n\nClickfire posts by \"Karan Dave\"", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9984641671180725}
+{"content": "Intense Feelings And Studying To Respond As a substitute Of React\n\nAbstract: This report is focused to groups who’re material consultants of their software however deep learning novices. Mastering deep studying accordingly positions you on the very forefront of one of the most promising, modern, and influential emergent applied sciences, and opens up great new career alternatives. When solving an issue using conventional machine studying algorithm, it’s usually advisable to interrupt the issue down into completely different parts, solve them individually and mix them to get the consequence.\n\nThese sections targeted on the machine studying ideas which are most relevant to deep learning. So now everyone is making an attempt to coach networks which are very deep to achieve more accuracy. But in preparation for a brand new release of Android final July, Dean and his group helped change part of the speech system with one based mostly on deep studying.\n\nLearning to execute the Python program print(398345+42598) doesn’t make a community right into a full-fledged Python interpreter! You may get prompt access to a free 10-part e mail course full of hints and suggestions that will help you get began in quantitative trading!\n\nThis implies that you can comply with along and examine your solutions to a recognized working implementation of each algorithm within the offered Python information. Studying a language on-line is just not solely extra convenient but also cheaper as you don’t have to spend cash for gas, snacks or drinks on the best way to highschool or expensive books.\n\nIn a typical machine learning approach, you would divide the issue into two steps, object detection and object recognition. It was additionally mentioned in a earlier article how deep neural networks for image recognition had been getting used to detect static oil storage tanks with floating lids, as a method of estimating world crude oil provides.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9167507886886597}
+{"content": "Tire tread design is both the geometric shape of the tread pattern and compound of the tire. Dry pavement favors a slick tread pattern to maximize contact patch and minimize tire squirm. Wet tread patterns come in two forms; wet surface and standing water. Wet surface is used when the road is only wetted with no puddles of water. Standing water requires deeper grooves in the tire tread with a much lower temperature compound that will overheat the tires when there is not enough water on the track to cool them.\nPhysics Dynamics Size Grip Tread Wear Pressure Feedback Ratings Selection Forum", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8026295900344849}
+{"content": "Two quotes I’ve come across in recent weeks sum up something I’ve been trying to capture about youth in House of Zealots. It’s a particular sense of aliveness I thought all of life would have, but which I now fear dries up. I was writing about something I was experiencing when I started the book in 2002, but now I have to look back and write about it from a distance. Ian McEwan said this in an interview on the Book Show regarding the difference between his early writing and mature writing:\n\nI was young, reckless, I had a kind of reckless pessimism which I think you can afford first of all when you’re young and before you’ve had children. You don’t care what happens to the world, you just want to stir it up. You don’t mind a revolution. I wouldn’t even have minded much a nuclear war. I really wanted things to shake up.\n\nHe’s exactly right; it’s how I felt for a time. Anything to make a dent in the world. It’s what Leo in House of Zealots wants to do.\n\nAnd there’s a slightly different mood, but a related one, that Don DeLillo beautifully describes at the end of Underworld:\n\n\nNick, the character talking, becomes a middle-class, middle-aged man with sadness in his heart, but none of the anger, the readiness and the danger. In a sense the novel is an archaeological dig, taking us back from his present self to the youth that lay behind, as the chapters go circuitously backward in time. How did the boy who shot a man become a manager of a waste disposal company? How do any of us who once were young become what we are now?", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9111024737358093}
+{"content": "Quick read\n\nWhy we exist\n\nOur vision\n\nTo become, and be recognised as, the highest performing specialist insurer.\n\nTo achieve this we have developed the know-how to underwrite and manage complex insurance for profit which is embedded in our processes and enshrined within our culture and approach to doing business. We apply this know-how to everything we do.\n\nJust as importantly, we seek to maintain an environment that makes working at Beazley challenging and enjoyable. Combined with our focus on talent management, this has enabled Beazley to attract and retain people who rank among the best insurance professionals in the world.\n\nOur open, collegial and collaborative culture means our clients and brokers interact with entrepreneurial underwriters who give straight answers and make decisions quickly.\n\nFor our shareholders, Beazley aims to deliver sector leading returns on equity with relatively low volatility. The key to this performance over time is the balance of Beazley’s portfolio across specialist classes driven by different cycles. This enables us to target an average combined ratio of 90% with low volatility and to underwrite more premium and have more invested assets per dollar of capital than our peers.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9907881617546082}
+{"content": "Elements of Economics Sean Gosse\n\nChicago is one of America’s most diverse cities with hundreds of different immigrant communities throughout the Chicagoland area. For this project, I decided to focus on studying the demographics and history of Ukrainian Immigrants. While there are many Ukrainian Immigrants spread throughout the city, a vast majority of these immigrants began living in the “Ukrainian Village” neighborhood. Chicago’s Ukrainian Village Neighborhood is located on the West side of the City with boundaries that include “Division Street to the north, Grand Avenue to the south, Western Avenue to the west, and Damen Avenue to the east” (Ukrainian National Museum of Chicago). With an average household income of $92,102, Ukrainian Village has a total population of about 52,131 (Onboard Informatics).\n\nChicago's Ukrainian Village Neighborhood\n\nChicago has a long history of welcoming Ukrainian immigrants beginning around the 1870’s when the first families began arriving from Ukraine which “was divided between the empires of Austria-Hungary and Russia at the time” (Miziuk). As a result, many of the Ukrainian Immigrants who arrived between 1870 and 1900 were actually listed as being Russian, Austrian or Hungarian. Around this time period, both the Russian Empire and the Austro-Hungarian empire outlawed slavery which had historically forced millions of Ukrainians into captivity and poverty. At the time, millions of Ukrainians were poor former slaves who were inspired to immigrate to America because of the endless job opportunities. Therefore, the first large increase in Ukrainian Immigrants traveling to the United States were members of the economic working class seeking new job opportunities. According to Chapter One of our textbook, every single action that is taken has an opportunity cost, or something that is given up in order to receive that new item. This concept can be applied to the Ukrainian Immigrants who had to make the difficult decision to give up their home country, land and jobs in Ukraine to have a chance at a better life in America. The large number of available job opportunities in America was an incentive for Ukrainians to make the effort to immigrate from Ukraine to America.\n\nUkrainian immigrants have a long history of building successful lives here in the Chicagoland area. Seeking new job and entrepreneurial opportunities, many Ukrainian immigrants have made the tough decision to sacrifice the opportunity cost of leaving their land, friends and home country behind them for the incentive of a better life in America. Since the early 1800’s, Chicago has seen hundreds of Ukrainian-owned businesses begin to flourish throughout the city and also began to extend their economic successes to neighborhoods outside Chicago. Throughout the 1900’s, the number of Ukrainian Immigrants seeking the incentive of better job opportunities in America began to rise. Industrial cities such as Chicago began noticing the economic benefits of welcoming new working class families. These new immigrants quickly began contributing to the increase in economic development by establishing successful firms and households. A firm refers to a business that decides who to hire and what to make, while a household represents families who decide which firms to work for and what to buy with their incomes.\n\nOne particularly successful Ukrainian business that first opened in Chicago’s Ukrainian Village neighborhood, which has since expanded to a second new store in Buffalo Grove, is an excellent example to demonstrate the concepts we have learned in Chapter 4 of our textbook. Located at 2130 W Chicago street in the Ukrainian Village Neighborhood, “Nuts 2 U” was opened by a Ukrainian Immigrant in the early 2000’s who sought to bring his favorite Ukrainian candies to his new home in the City of Chicago. The store quickly became popular among Ukrainian immigrants and other Chicagoans who were seeking the unique candies that were previously not sold anywhere else except for Russia and Ukraine. After seeing many years of successful business, Nuts 2 U opened a secondary shop in Buffalo Grove which attracted an even greater number of customers throughout the Chicagoland area.\n\nOne of the main reasons why “Nuts 2 U” has been so successful is primarily because the market demand for their products are very high. A product’s market demand refers to “the sum of all the individual demands for a particular good or service” (Mankiw). In the news article “Just Opened: Nuts 2 You, a Ukrainian Candyland,” Mike Sula describes how the Chicagoland area does not have any other stores that focus on selling Ukrainian and Russian candies. Therefore, the demand for these products are great because they are relatively scarce, hard to find and there are high number of individual demands. Sula describes his own individual demand for the products, which is graphed in Figures 1 and 2. In order to determine the market demand, or the sum of all individual demands, we must focus on the demand schedules for two different individuals in the market. For this example, I will add the sum of the quantities demanded by both myself (figure 3) and Mike Sula (figure 2) in order to determine the market demand (figure 4).\n\nFigure 1\nFigure 2\nFigure 3\nFigure 4\n\nAs you can see from Figure 4, the market demand curve directly corresponds to the demand schedules of the individuals within the market. In this case, the two individuals are both myself and the author Mike. In his article about the store, Mike describes in detail how he purchased three pounds of candy at $5.79 per pound. Mike explained how he was further influenced to purchase each pound of candy because they mainly “consist of chocolate-enrobed wafers, nougats, marshmallows, and fudges” (Sula). Graphing the market demand curve for this particular store is an excellent demonstration to help us analyze how markets function.\n\nThis store is also an excellent opportunity to help us understand how shifts in demand can occur. A shift in demand can occur for many different reasons, but the effect it has on the market demand curve is one of two outcomes- it will either shift the demand curve to the right (increase in demand), or it will shift the demand curve to the left (decrease in demand). There are many different reasons why the demand for candies would change- some of the most prominent including changes in income, prices of related goods, tastes, expectations, and the total number of buyers. As time progresses, there is an increase of Ukrainian immigrants living in the City of Chicago who want to purchase Ukrainian candies. Therefore, the increase in the number of candy buyers will have a dramatic effect on the market demand curve. Increasing the number of buyers will subsequently increase the quantity demanded in the market therefore increasing the price of candy per pound. This would ultimately shift the market demand curve to the right which represents an increase in demand. Figure 5 represents the new market demand curve has been shifted to the right (blue line) in order to account for the increased number of Ukrainian-Americans who want to purchase these types of candies.\n\nFigure 5\n\nEvery person in the Chicagoland area, regardless of whether or not they are an immigrant, consumes different goods and services that are produced by many other people here in the United States and also from around the world. Chapter three has been especially interesting because it mainly focuses on teaching us the benefits of interdependence and trade. Economic interdependence refers to an economic system in which the participants obtain the products they cannot efficiently produce for themselves. One important note from the book suggests that free trade is a good thing because of the fact that it is not like war, where there are only winners or losers. Trade is very different since both parties involved in the trading process have the ability to benefit because it allows everyone to enjoy a greater quantity of variety of goods and services.\n\nThis concepts can be applied to virtually any scenario between two participants in an economic system. The “Nuts 2 U” (located at 2130 W Chicago Street), was opened by a Ukrainian Immigrant in the early 2000’s who sought to bring his favorite Ukrainian candies to his new home in the City of Chicago. The store quickly became popular among Ukrainian immigrants and other Chicagoans who were seeking the unique candies that were previously not sold anywhere else except for Russia and Ukraine. After seeing many years of successful business, Nuts 2 U expanded their opportunities by opening a secondary shop in Buffalo Grove and beginning to participate in international trade through imports and exports. Imports refer to the items that are produced abroad and sold here domestically. Exports are good which are produced locally and sold abroad in other countries.\n\nThe “Nuts 2 U” candy store in the Ukrainian Village Neighborhood is a perfect example to help us understand the contents of chapter three in the textbook. While I was initially reading the chapter, I was having a difficult time understanding the concepts of Absolute Advantage vs. Comparative Advantage. It wasn’t until the text used the example of Tom Brady and Forrest Gump mowing laws that everything was clarified and made perfect sense. The term Absolute Advantage is used to “comparing the productivity of one person, firm, or nation to that of another. The producer that requires a smaller quantity of inputs to produce a good is said to have an absolute advantage in producing that good” (Mankiw). On the other hand, “economists use the term Comparative Advantage when describing the opportunity costs faced by two producers. The producer who gives up less of other goods to produce Good X has the smaller opportunity cost of producing Good X and is said to have a comparative advantage in producing it” (Mankiw).\n\nLet’s hypothetically say that the “Nuts 2 U” store has the ability to produce 5 pounds of chocolate candies in one hour. In that same amount of time, the store could have produced 30 pounds of jelly beans in one hour of work. On the other side of the world in Mariupol, Ukraine there is another candy store which has the ability to produce 40 pounds of chocolate candies in one hour of work. In that same amount of time, the store could have produced 10 pounds of jelly beans. In this example, “Nuts 2 U” has an absolute advantage in producing jelly beans because they can produce 3x as many in the same amount of time when compared with the other store. On the other hand, the store in Mariupol has an absolute advantage in producing chocolates because they can produce 7x as many chocolates in the same amount of time it takes “Nuts 2 U” to produce.\n\nIf “Nuts 2 U” primarily focused on producing chocolate candies, the store would face an opportunity cost of 30 pounds of jelly beans. In the event that they primarily focus on producing jelly beans, the result would be an opportunity cost of 5 pounds of chocolate candies. The candy store in Mariupol Ukraine experiences an opportunity cost of 40 pounds of chocolates if they only produce jelly beans, and they would face an opportunity cost of 10 pounds of jelly beans if they only produced chocolates. Therefore, “Nuts 2 U” has a comparative advantage in producing jelly beans because that only results in an opportunity cost of losing of 5 pounds of chocolates, compared to the 40 pounds of chocolate that would be lost by the store in Mariupol. On the other hand, the store in Mariupol has a comparative advantage in producing chocolates because the opportunity cost is only 10 pounds of jelly beans when compared with the 30 pounds of jelly beans that “Nuts 2 U” would lose. According to Chapter three- “Unless two people have the same opportunity cost, one person will have a comparative advantage in one good, and the other person will have a comparative advantage in the other good” (Mankiw).\n\nOne of my best friends is Ukrainian, and I had a chance to interview him about his traditions, customs, experiences and how this all relates to the local economy. When I showed him my discussion post regarding my name not having a translation to Ukrainian, he said that I was wrong and that there is in fact a translation for “Sean” to the Ukrainian language. According to Damian, my first name directly translates to Шон, which is pronounced “Shon.” He told me about how important naming their children is to the Ukrainian people, especially because it will remain with them for the rest of their lives and be a strong representation of who they are as a person.\n\nDamian, my friend that I interview for this project, is not directly an immigrant himself but both his parents have immigrated from Kiev, Ukraine in early 1990. Damian explained that his parents made the tough decision to leave behind their property, extensive family and home country to seek better economic opportunities in the United States. Even though the decision that Damian’s parents made to leave Ukraine would have a negative effect on the overall GDP of Ukraine, their immigration conversely helps the United States improve its GDP, quality of living and our overall economic prosperity. When moving to the United States, Damian’s parents had several options as to which city they wanted to live in. Fortunately for them, they were in contact with another family member who had previously moved to Chicago and was living a successful life in the Ukrainian Village Neighborhood. Damian’s parents also moved to the Ukrainian Village Neighborhood because they heard that Chicago is a city that is welcoming to immigrants and there are programs such as the Ukrainian Youth Association and Ukrainian Village Neighborhood Association which both provide assistance to new immigrants. Both of Damian’s parents worked hard for many years which allowed them the financial comfort to move from the Ukrainian Village Neighborhood to Glenview where I met my friend Damian in high school at Glenbrook South.\n\nAs chapter seventeen describes, there is a wide variety of economic prosperity when it comes to other countries around the world. Because of the fact that the world’s richest countries have an average income of more than ten times in the world’s poorest countries, there is an incentive for highly educated people to move to richer countries because they can find better financial opportunities than those available their own countries. This can be a problem for some of the poorer countries, since their time and money has already been spent on giving that child an education. Oftentimes that educated person won’t want to stay in their poor country because of the lack of a proper average income. This can be a detrimental cycle to the poor countries because all of their skilled workers are seeking better job opportunities in countries with higher incomes. This causes the poorer country to remain in the cycle of poverty, therefore having a more difficult time with long-term economic growth.\n\nThe quantity of goods and services produced from each labor of input, better known as the Productivity of a country, has a large impact on the overall economic success and living standards of a country. Over the past few years, hard-working Ukrainians living in the far Eastern portion of the country have experienced many economic hardships as a result of a war between Ukraine and the People’s Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk (Russia). The situation in Eastern Ukraine has become desperate for the people living there because a large percentage of their Physical Capital has been destroyed in the crossfire. Physical Capital refers to the equipment and buildings that are used to produce goods and services. Hundreds of factories, stores, buildings and even homes in Eastern Ukraine have been destroyed during war that is still currently raging there today. As a result, the people living in the region have no way of making an income because the tools they use to work are now useless.\n\nSadly, physical capital is not the only productivity factor that has been destroyed in Eastern Ukraine. Since the war began in April of 2014, hundreds of Ukrainian Civilians have lost their lives while in the crossfire between Ukraine and Russia. As a result, Ukraine lost a lot of extremely valuable Human Capital, which is “the knowledge and skills that workers acquire through education, training, and experience” (Mankiw). Human Capital was lost because the Ukrainians had spent a lot of time and effort acquiring knowledgeable skills, which was also lost when they lost their lives.\n\nIn addition to physical and human capital being lost, there is another very important factor of productivity that has been disrupted during the war in Eastern Ukraine- Natural Resources. Natural Resources specifically refers to “the inputs into the production of goods and services that are provided by nature, such as land, rivers, and mineral deposits” (Mankiw). As you can see from the image below, a very large portion of Eastern Ukraine including land, rivers and other key natural resources have all been lost to armed rebel groups supported by Russia. The loss of valuable natural resources has a significant impact on the level of productivity that is possible for Ukraine to achieve. Since there are currently many aspects that negatively affect or even destroy the productivity factors of Eastern Ukraine including physical capital, human capital and natural resources, many Ukrainians are experiencing very difficult economic hardships. This is why many of the highly educated or highly skilled workers have felt a need, especially in the past few years, to move away from Ukraine to a country with a higher average income, working physical capital, and without the risk of being killed in a war.\n\nThe war in Ukraine has had an especially significant impact on the overall well-being of the Ukrainian economy. Physical Capital, Human Capital and Natural Resources have all been destroyed as a result of war’s destructive nature. This will have a very significant impact on the long-run growth of Ukraine’s economy because it is now missing many of the key aspects of productivity which contribute to economic growth. In addition, it has been well documented that hundreds of educated and skilled Ukrainians have decided to move to the United States for several reasons. Firstly, a lot of the physical capital that these workers need to successfully complete their jobs has been destroyed or captured by enemy forces. Secondly, Ukraine is a relatively poorer country when it is compared to the United States, therefore highly skilled workers could make a larger average income if they move to the U.S.. Third, many families found their homes directly in the middle of “no-mans land,” or the area that has the most intense fighting and contains “the land that is unoccupied or is under dispute between parties who leave it unoccupied due to fear or uncertainty” (The Economist). Therefore, civilians who directly feel the impacts of economic hardships feel a need to move to countries such as the United States with higher average incomes in order to achieve successful lives.\n\nEven though it may have a negative effect of Ukraine’s economy, the larger number of Ukrainian immigrants moving to America will ultimately have a positive impact on the overall economy of the United States. American communities and quality of living are both improved when immigrants arrive in the United States because they are like any other American who helps contribute to the overall GDP and success of the economy. Countries are significantly better off when they engage with other countries through immigration, trade and diplomatic relationships because they all contribute to the overall well-being and GDP of their economy. Therefore, I strongly believe that welcoming immigrants such as those from Ukraine is an important American value because they improve our communities and quality of living throughout the United States.\n\nI strongly believe that the economic development of the Chicagoland area has a direct connection with the successes of immigrant families and their children. Families immigrating from Ukraine to the United States have demonstrated their ability to create successful entrepreneurial businesses that directly benefits the overall economy and GDP of the United States. Therefore, I think that welcoming all immigrants and promoting entrepreneurship will continue to have a positive impact on the local economy. I also believe that international trade has the ability to benefit everyone in society since it allows producers to specialize in activities in which they have a comparative advantage. Using the “Nuts 2 U” scenario, we can see that all parties involved here would benefit from internationally trading with each other as long as the trading price stays between each parties opportunity cost. This scenario can also be applied to virtually any other trading instance because the same economic forces are at work- “The principle of comparative advantage shows that trade can make everyone better off” (Mankiw). Therefore, interdependence and trade are both very important beneficial aspects that contribute to every successful economy throughout the world.\n\nNow that I have had a chance to fully study the experiences of Ukrainians who immigrated to the United States, I have a completely different picture of the Ukrainian Community in my head than I had before doing all the research. I now have a tendency to keep track of the news that is happening across Ukraine, because I have found that I really care for the people who live there. I have a few close friends who are Ukrainian, and it’s really interesting how this project gave me a deeper connection with them and the ability to openly talk to them about their own experiences, traditions and nationality. I also think that one of the most important lessons that I have learning while researching this project is to not “judge a book by its cover” and make preconceived notions about a culture by forming an opinion about without adequate evidence. I thought I had a complete understanding of the Ukrainian people, but this project has made me realize that what I knew before I started researching the topic was just the tip of the iceberg.\n\nIn conclusion, this project has a contributed to deeper connection that I have with my Ukrainian friends because it allowed me to ask personal questions about their own experiences, traditions, and nationality. I think that it’s extremely important that we invest time in researching the positive affects that immigrant groups have on our society and quality of living. With all of the anti-immigrant rhetoric that is unfortunately more common this year, I think that it’s important that we do not simply label immigrant groups as bad because of the fact that America was founded by a nation of immigrants. Immigrants are at the core of American values, and I also think it’s important that we continue to welcome immigrants from all countries into the U.S. with open arms regardless of their race, ethnicity, nationality, economic status or religion.\n\nWork Cited\n\nMiziuk, George A. “Ukrainians in the U.S.” (2016) Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. http://usa.mfa.gov.ua/en/ukraine-us/ukrainians-in-us\n\nMankiw, Gregory N. “Essentials of Economics”. 7th ed. Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning, 2015. Print.\n\nOnboard Informatics. “Ukrainian Village Demographics.” Brooklyn, NY. Points 2 via (2016) Onboard Informatics Inc. http://www.point2homes.com/US/Neighborhood/IL/Chicago/Ukrainian-Village-Demographics.html\n\nSula, Mike. “Just Opened: Nuts 2 You, a Ukrainian Candyland”. The Reader, 2017 Sun-Times Media, LLC. Monday, January 4, 2010. http://www.chicagoreader.com/Bleader/archives/2010/01/04/just-opened-nuts-2-you-a-ukrainian-candyland\n\nThe Economist. “Ukraine’s conflict with Russia is also financial- Russia may extract $3bn from Ukraine.” The Economist Newspaper, January 21, 2017. Retrieved 22 Feb. 2017. http://www.economist.com/news/business-and-finance/21714931-russia-may-extract-3bn-ukraine-ukraines-conflict-russia-also\n\nUkrainian National Museum of Chicago. “Chicago’s Ukrainian Village.” 2249 W. Superior St. Chicago, Illinois 60612, 2016. http://ukrainiannationalmuseum.org/chicagos-ukrainian-village/\n\nImage Sources\n\n\"The Situation in the Eastern Regions of Ukraine\" http://www.rnbo.gov.ua/files/2014/RNBO_map_11_07_eng.jpg\n\n\"Ukraine Flag\" http://il2.picdn.net/shutterstock/videos/7545547/thumb/9.jpg?i10c=img.resize(height:160)\n\n\"Ukraine and U.S.A. Flags\" http://img.112.international/original/2016/04/14/224088.jpg\n\n\"Ukrainian Village, Chicago\" http://forestsecurity.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Ukrainian-Village-Chicago.jpg\n\n\"Ukrainian Village Chicago Real Estate\" https://static1.squarespace.com/static/572184abc2ea51fed1cdb89f/t/589ceec32994caaa85bcfe6e/1486679770339/Ukrainian+Village-+Chicago+Real+Estate.jpg?format=1500w\n\n\"Ukrainian Village Sign\" http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/peacetraveler22/49370105/137255/137255_900.jpg\n\n\"U.S.A. and Ukraine Flags in Ukrainian Village Neighborhood\" https://www.inman.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Ihor-Pasternak_364124261.jpg\n\nCreated By\nSean Gosse\n\nReport Abuse\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8268250226974487}
+{"content": "Radiofrequency Ablation - Trinity Surgery Center-1Also referred to as a rhizotomy, radiofrequency ablation can be performed in the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar areas to interfere with pain signals.\n\nRadiofrequency ablation may be used in cases of:\n\n  • Cancer pain\n  • Arthritis pain\n  • Facet syndrome\n  • Chronic lower back and neck pain\n\nHow it Works\n\nDuring radiofrequency ablation, radio waves produce an electrical current in order to heat up a small area of nerve tissue. This reduces the overall number of pain signals being transmitted through that area.\n\nWhat to Expect\n\nRadiofrequency Ablation - Trinity Surgery Center-2Radiofrequency ablation takes about an hour. Your doctor may advise you not to eat anything beforehand. X-ray imaging is used during the procedure in order to accurately target specific nerves. Your doctor will confirm the proper position by sending a small electrical current to the targeted nerve. You will feel only a warm, mild sensation.\n\nSome swelling and bruising in the targeted area is normal, as well as some soreness. These side effects go away in a few days. You should have a plan for a ride home after your procedure, because you will be unable to drive for about a day.\n\nYour results from radiofrequency ablation depend on the source of your pain. Your relief could last six to 12 months, and some patients report experiencing pain relief for years.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9594559073448181}
+{"content": "Home Cooking\n\nApples Cakes\n\nNeed Lots of Help With Century Old Apple Cake Recipe!\n\n\nHome Cooking 10\n\nNeed Lots of Help With Century Old Apple Cake Recipe!\n\nsivyaleah | Jun 9, 2006 11:09 AM\n\nMy 100 year old grandmother made a very simple, but wonderful apple cake. I remember her doing this since I'm small and I'm now 47.\n\nShe is just too old and frail now to make it any longer, but she did pass the recipe on to us years ago. Unfortunately, it was without exact measurements.\n\nMy sister watched her make it several years ago when she was still an energetic 85 year old, writing down as she went through the steps and came up with a close approximation. However, try as she might, it has never came out nearly as enjoyable as my grandmother's original ever was. As a matter of fact, I didn't think it was very good at all.\n\nSo, perhaps some of you more professional bakers could give me some clues how to go about making this work right. It is supposed to be a rather dense dough. I've made some notes next to those things which don't make sense to me.\n\nHere's the ingredients:\n\n1 Grated Whole Orange - Yes, 1 whole orange! I can't believe this but she swears this is right. I would personally would NOT use the pith.\n\n3/4 cup oil - What would the best oil be? I'm sure she used corn oil, it's the only thing I remember being in our house. Seems too highly flavored for this.\n\n2-3 eggs - Gramma said 3, my mom said 2. Split the difference based on how the dough looks?\n\n3/4 sugar\n\n2 or so cups flour\n\n2 teaspoons baking powder - Somehow, I think the baking powder should be sifted into the flour first? Maybe this might help the texture?\n\nCut up apples and sugar - Big mystery here! How many apples? How much sugar? What kind of apples? My sister said when she made it she did not use enough. how many pounds would be correct for a cake? What are good cooking apples? I don't do much baking at all so I'm really at a disadvantage on this point.\n\nPan - it requires a deep round pan, 9\" or so? Maybe use a springform?\n\nMy sister used her Kitchenaid, my grandmother did this by hand. She can't believe she did it by hand - it would have been very difficult! I'll be using my Kitchenaid - any tips on speed? It's new, I haven't even used it yet. Bread hook?\n\n1. Mix sugar and oil together well.\n2. Add each egg, mixing each egg in before adding the other.\n3. Add the entire orange.\n4. Add flour mixed with baking powder.\n5. Knead/process - don't know for how long!\n6. Divide dough into 2 portions.\n7. Oil and flour pan.\n8. Place 1 portion into pan and press dough down.\n9. Poke holes in dough w/fork in bottom layer and layer in apples.\n10. Place 2nd layer of dough on top and fork prick top.\n11. Bake at 350 for 1 hour, approx.\n\nAny help anyone can give me would be more than appreciated!\n\nNext stop - trying to get her blintzes recipe going!\n\n\nWant to stay up to date with this post?\n\nRecommended From Chowhound", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5221574306488037}
+{"content": "Royal Fabric\nRoyal Fabric\n\nCustomer Reviews\n\nBased on 4 reviews Write a review\nOn Sale\n\nRoyal Fabric\n\nRegular price $18.00\n\n\nHOW TO ORDER: Fabric is sold in 50cm units. Simply choose how many units you would like to purchase and enter in Quantity Box. ie: 3m = 6 units, 4.5 units = 9 units, 10m = 20 units. Your fabric will be cut in 1 continuous length.\n\nIf trying to match a color, we recommend purchasing sample fabric prior to purchasing multiple metres as color tones can vary slightly with each print run. Please note each roll will have slightly varying color tones, this is due to our printing method so customers must allow for slight variance. Sample fabric is 15cm x 15cm\n\nRoyal cushion cover design is elegant and unique choice for your interior. Dark purple background creates royal and elegant feeling and white lace pattern adds in some delicate and light element to the design. This cushion cover will look perfect in your simple and minimalistic interior or along with your creative and colorful design. You can use it indoors as well as outdoors combining it with variety of furniture options. Bring some royalty in your home!\n\nPRODUCT DETAILS: Polyester canvas, 155cm wide, suitable for indoor and outdoor use. Our fabrics are UV treated for occasional use outdoors. Up to 1000 hours UV exposure. Please note that due to variances among monitors and different operating systems, the colours that appear on your screen may not accurately represent the real colours of the fabric, we recommend purchasing samples if you are unfamiliar with the fabric color. Fabric is machine washable using a cold gentle cycle.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9897932410240173}
+{"content": "\n\n\n. Facebook:\n. Twitter: \n. YouTube: \n\nThe Thompson Pump social media program allows for near real-time distribution of Thompson Pump news, updates, interviews and media, as well as provide stakeholders with a platform to stay current and up-to-date on the latest developments.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9999591112136841}
+{"content": "dementia paralytica and hallucinations\n\nDictionary of Hallucinations. . 2010.\n\nLook at other dictionaries:\n\n  • syphilitic hallucinosis —    The term syphilitic hallucinosis is used to denote a hallucinatory state attributable to syphilis. The medical Latin name syphilis comes from the Latin sus (swine), and the Greek philos (friend of). It was introduced in a medical didactic poem …   Dictionary of Hallucinations\n\nShare the article and excerpts\n\nDirect link\nDo a right-click on the link above\nand select “Copy Link”", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.999984622001648}
+{"content": "Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository\n\n\nDoctor of Philosophy\n\n\n\n\nDr. Ken Yeung\n\n\nA dynamic headspace method was developed for the non-targeted analysis of volatile organic compounds (VOC) in Arabidopsis and Micro-Tom plants. The method allowed to determine differences from wild type (WT) and transformed plants overexpressing the carotene cleavage dioxygenase 1 (CCD1) genes. In the Arabidopsis study it was revealed the presence of unsaturated hydrocarbons, aromatic derivatives, alcohols, and terpenes. Among extracted volatiles, the apocarotenoid compound β-ionone was also detected, four-fold higher in the transgenic plants than the WT. There were not significant differences in the VOCs between the HS of Micro-Tom tomato plants overexpressing the CCD1 genes and WT. The compounds identified were mainly terpenes, and aromatic derivatives and there was no evidence of the presence of any apocarotenoid compound.\n\nA static headspace (SHS) method was developed for the analysis of VOCs in Micro-Tom tomato flowers. It was performed by simultaneously using three solid phase microextraction fibers. The non-targeted analysis revealed the presence of 45 volatiles from CCD1 plants and 35 from WT. Of the total VOCs identified, 30 were common to both types of plants, but 15 were specific to the CCD1 plants and 5 to the WT.\n\nIn another study, bio-oil from tomato plant was generated by pyrolysis process. Bio-oil was fractionated according to its pesticidal properties. Neophytadiene, phytol and a number of fatty acids were identified in the most active fractions. Bioassays using these compounds showed partial insecticidal activity, suggesting that other unidentified compounds in the bio-oil fractions were also responsible for observed insecticidal activities.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9999327063560486}
+{"content": "Heart Healthy Tips\n\n\nSo, what are these four healthy habits?\n\nThe four behaviors are:\n\n1. Don't smoke\n\n2. Lose weight (if overweight)\n\n3. Get regular exercise\n\n4. Eat vegetables.\n\nHeart failure is a chronic condition where the heart muscle grows weaker until it is no longer able to pump enough blood to meet body needs. With organs not getting the blood they need, fluid builds in places it shouldn't, the lungs, the gastrointestinal tract, the liver and even the arms and legs.\n\nThe symptoms often appear slowly, at first only when you're very active, though over time you might feel breathing problems and some other symptoms even when you're resting. At age 40 your chance of heart problems at some point during your lifetime is almost one in five.\n\nFor the current lifestyle and heart failure study, 38,075 subjects in Finland were examined to compare the chances of heart failure between men and women. After a follow up of 14 years, 638 of the men and 445 of the women had been diagnosed with heart failure.\n\nEven after accounting for risk factors we know impact heart failure (high blood pressure, heart attack history, diabetes), healthy lifestyle choices brought a lower likelihood of disease.\n\n- Those who smoke had an 86% increased chance of heart failure, however women smokers especially saw a 109% increase in risk.\n\n- Men who were considered obese had a 75% higher risk; obese women had a 106% higher risk.\n\n- Men who did regular, moderately intense exercise had a 21% reduced risk; women who exercised at the same level were found to have a 13% reduced risk. More intense types of exercise increased the benefit, by 33% in the males, 39% in the female subjects.\n\n- Everyone who ate veggies 3-6 times a week showed a 26% for men, 27% for women reduced risk of heart failure when compared to those subjects who only ate vegetables on less than one occasion per week.\n\nResearchers suggest that any lifestyle changes you make to stay healthy are beneficial. Theoretically, almost half of heart failure cases that happen in the general population could be prevented if people followed at least three of the four healthy behaviors.\n\nThis research brings home the point that lifestyle choices are important... critically important. And that's the good news to take from this research - these changes are within our control AND we don't have to do them all, all at once, to get the benefit. Though not easy, by making healthier lifestyle choices we can impact the state and strength of body systems.\n\nWatch for doctors and other healthcare professionals to begin emphasizing the benefits of these heart healthy tips now more than ever before.\n\nFREE Bonus Secret Health Reports - For a limited time you can grab 5 FREE essential health reports from the Daily Health Bulletin. Click through now to discover more helpful heart healthy tips to keep your heart in tip top condition.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9420415163040161}
+{"content": "(Reuters Health) - Dr. Rebekah Gardner has to make a choice each time she sees a patient in her Rhode Island office: she can scroll computer screens and click boxes, or she can focus on the patient and take home the computer work.\n\n“We’re either left fumbling through data entry with our patient in the exam room, missing out on an opportunity to truly connect, or we’re left with hours of documentation and computer work after a long day of seeing patients,” she said in a phone interview.\n\nGardner, a professor at Brown University’s Alpert Medical School in Providence, Rhode Island, sought to understand how other physicians have adapted to the demand to enter data about patients into electronic health records, known as EHRs.\n\nEHRs were developed in response to federal government financial incentives aimed at facilitating the exchange of health information, reducing medical errors and improving care. But they can strain clinical encounters, Gardner and colleagues write in a new study in the Journal of Innovation in Health Informatics.\n\n\nResearchers asked doctors licensed to practice in Rhode Island the question: “How does using an EHR affect your interaction with patients?”\n\nThey got an earful.\n\nMost who responded complained that electronic records undermined their connection with patients. One likened typing into a computer in the presence of a patient to “having someone at the dinner table texting rather than paying attention.”\n\n“Doing data entry feels like a bitter pill to swallow,” Gardner said. “The burnout and the stress that comes from working on the EHR is a quality-of-care issue, a patient-safety and a workforce issue.”\n\nGardner and her team surveyed 3,761 physicians, and 68 percent responded. More than 87 percent used EHRs. Of those, 744 provided a narrative answer to the EHR question.\n\nThose who responded were older and more likely to practice primary care. Primary-care physicians, like Gardner, tended to complain more about electronic records than surgeons, anesthesiologists, and neonatologists, she said.\n\n\nThe study divided doctors into those who primarily see patients in hospitals and those who primarily see them in offices.\n\nHospital-based doctors’ chief complaint was that EHRs disconnected them from patients, while office-based doctors most frequently griped that computer work degraded the quality of their interactions with patients.\n\nSome doctors did welcome electronic records. Hospital-based physicians wrote that being able to read lab results and problem lists before examining patients helped them prepare. Easy access to patient information in EHRs had a positive effect on their patient interactions, hospital-based doctors also said.\n\nDr. Jeffrey Chi, a hospitalist and professor at Stanford University School of Medicine in Stanford, California, transitioned from paper charts to electronic records during his residency and sees advantages of EHRs.\n\n“We no longer have to hunt down charts, and we can access patient information and place orders from anywhere in the hospital,” he said in an email. “Notes can also be written in a fraction of the time. Remote access now allows us to follow patient care even after we've left the hospital.”\n\nBut Chi, who was not involved with the new study, said EHRs lack the intuitiveness of most modern-day computer systems and come up short in other key ways.\n\n“It is now much harder to navigate the chart, which has grown exponentially with information that is not always reliable and is usually redundant,” he said.\n\nSoftware programs driving EHRs also are disorganized and force doctors to click multiple times to get where they need to go, Chi and Gardner said.\n\n“If EHRs were more user-friendly and intuitive to use, physicians would likely be more accepting of incorporating new technology,” Chi said.\n\nIn the days before electronic health records, physicians were already spending a significant amount of time away from patients, making phone calls and billing, for example, Chi said. Nowadays, doctors may be more keenly aware of their time away from patients because it’s all spent sitting at a computer, he suggested.\n\nPrevious studies have shown that EHRs encroach on physicians’ opportunities to connect with patients, Gardner and her co-authors wrote.\n\nMedical school training in how to use electronic records would help doctors adjust to them, Chi said. Few schools include such training, he said.\n\n“Most of us, myself included, didn’t receive a lot of training in how to incorporate the computer in a patient-centered way,” Gardner said. “It’s a clunky and difficult system to use.”\n\nSOURCE: bit.ly/2vDs9RR Journal of Innovation in Health Informatics, June 2017.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9848817586898804}
+{"content": "News Special\n\nFruits, vegetables protect human brain too\n\nLatest Update: September 19, 2015 | 219 Views\n\nLONDON: A Mediterranean diet of fruits and vegetables are a tonic for the human brain, says a new study.\n\nThe fruits, vegetables, nuts, lentils and lean meats that are part and parcel of the diet play a key role in warding off depression, a Mediterranean style diet is ideal for the upkeep of the human mind, British news channel reported.\n\nThe experiment had 15,093 individuals in it. It proved that depression often occurred due to a deficiency of certain essential nutrients in the diet.\n\nFor the first time, the deep connection between nutrition and psychological well-being is being studied with focus and interest.\n\nSeveral recommendations have emerged from the research. Three dietary regimens were examined. One of these was the Mediterranean diet and the other two were the Pro-Vegetarian and the alternative healthy eating varieties of smart nutrition.\n\nThose who were test subjects in the study stuck to their respective diets with tenacity and perseverance. Such unhealthy items as processed meats and sweets were cut out from the daily intake. And healthy fare such as fruits, vegetables and nuts were included in the usual intake.\n\nThe results were conclusive. Besides helping the body fight off all the degenerative diseases, the diets that were high in fresh fruits and leafy green vegetables were more likely to lead to mental peace of mind and happiness.\n\nAll signs of depression or ennui simply vanished without a trace. Thus chemical imbalance had been causing the blues and mood swings seemed to get resolved thanks to eating fresh produce.\n\nEspecially the omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins and minerals in the live foods were essential for brain function. They had a salubrious effect on the mind.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6659598350524902}
+{"content": "DOL Withdraws Worker Classification Guidance\n\nOn June 7, 2017, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) withdrew a 2015 administrative interpretation on classifying workers as employees or independent contractors. The withdrawal became effective immediately.\n\nDespite the withdrawal of this guidance, employers are still required to properly classify their workers. The DOL stated that it “will continue to fully and fairly enforce all laws within its jurisdiction, including the Fair Labor Standards Act.”\n\nThe absence of this guidance means that employers must determine how to satisfy tests established by the courts—specifically the economic realities test—when deciding whether an employee or independent contractor relationship exists.\n\nEmployer Action Steps\n\nNo specific action is required of employers at this time. However, employers using the DOL’s 2015 guidance may have more flexibility in applying the economic realities test when classifying their workers. Employers may want to evaluate whether their current classification procedures are affected by the withdrawal of this guidance.\n\nWorker Classification\n\n\nHowever, classifying an individual as either an employee or an independent contractor is not a simple task. No standard test has emerged to determine the true character of an independent contractor relationship. In fact, employers may have to apply various tests to determine how various labor and employment issues affect their workforces. The most common tests include the common law or agency test, the economic realities test, the hybrid test and the IRS test.\n\nTraditionally, the DOL has favored using the economic realities test, which looks at whether a worker is economically dependent on the employer or is in business for himself or herself. According to the DOL, if the worker is economically dependent on the employer, the worker should be protected by employment laws. In addition, employers should be aware that state and local variations of these tests may also apply in certain situations.\n\nEconomic Realities Test\n\nThe 2015 guidance provided the DOL’s interpretation of how the economic realities test should be applied by employers in their worker classification efforts. Withdrawing the 2015 guidance does not abolish the economic realities test nor the DOL’s preference of this test for worker classification purposes.\n\nWhen the DOL published its worker classification guidance in 2015, it did so to encourage a more uniform application of the principles the courts have traditionally used to apply the economic realities test. Generally, under the economic realities test, the more an individual depends financially on an employer, the more likely it is that the individual should be categorized as an employee.\n\nThe most common factors used for purposes of the economic realities test are:\n\n  1. The degree of the employers right to control the manner in which work is performed;\n  2. The degree of skill required to perform the work;\n  3. The worker’s investment in the business;\n  4. The permanence of the working relationship;\n  5. The worker’s opportunity for profit or loss; and\n  6. The extent to which the work is an integral part of the business.\n\nBy withdrawing the 2015 guidance, the DOL is returning to more reliance on existing judicial interpretations of the law’s requirements, rather than providing its own guidance on how employers should follow the law.\n\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9742574691772461}
+{"content": "Aim higher, reach further.\n  • Sandy vs. Irene: How Do the Storms Stack Up?\n\n    Sandy vs. Irene: Experts say Hurricane Sandy is wider and stronger than Hurricane Irene, which caused more than $15 billion in damage in 2011. Compare satellite images of the two storms.\n\n    For the second time in 14 months, Greater New York is looking at a head-on strike by serious tropical weather. But Sandy and Irene don’t appear to be similar storms. The incoming storm is much bigger, stronger and potentially more troubling for coastal communities, including New York City.\n\n    Hurricane Sandy prompted a series of mandatory evacuation orders along the eastern seaboard Saturday, including New Jersey’s barrier islands, casinos in Atlantic City and New York’s Fire Island. The most severe impact of the storm is expected to occur on Monday evening.\n\n    In New York City, officials on Saturday night decided not to order partial evacuations of low-lying neighborhoods, declining to adopt a precautionary measure used ahead of Irene’s arrival in August 2011. Mayor Michael Bloomberg said he expected “a slow pileup of water, rather than a sudden surge” feared in the hours before Irene. He warned that Sandy might force a preemptive power shutdowns in Lower Manhattan and a possible closure of the transit system.\n\n    But even if Sandy has so far forced fewer evacuations in the city, there are reasons to suspect that the new storm is actually a more severe risk than Irene. Below, a guide to understanding the similarities and differences between the two big storms.\n\n    Popular on WSJ", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9712332487106323}
+{"content": "How A Green Highway Project Is Helping In Sustainable Development?\n\nHighway Plantation in India\n\nThe launch of the Green highway project in the country has transformed the definition of development. Gone are the days when people gave two hoots about the environment. Ongoing climate change in the world has forced the Indian government to take radical steps to ensure sustainable infrastructure development. NGOs and various other organizations are roped into plant trees along the highway and ensure a pollution free environment. Whatmore, the green highway project India has stipulated different rules and regulations for the organizations responsible for maintaining the natural vegetation.\n\nGlobalization is responsible for the breakneck development of India, however, special focus is on creating roads as they help in transportation of goods from one place to another. The infrastructure has many advantages, but it also adversely impacts the environment. For instance, large numbers of trees are felled to make way and it results in the loss of the natural environment. In addition, disappearance of forests leads to change in climatic activities.\n\nNGHM is the primary authority that oversees the construction activities. It has issued orders to the residents located near the highways to plant different types of trees. They play an important role to provide shade to people and go a long way in maintaining the ecological balance. Indiscriminate development has caused more harm than good to the people. They are affected by diseases due to pollution caused by the vehicles. The presence of trees would help to increase the level of oxygen in the air and reduce the level of toxic substances.\n\nGreen highway mission focuses on inclusive growth and continuous innovation to make the project not only viable but beneficial for the environment. Government is offering tax breaks to the private companies so that they can carry out the construction activities in an easy and hassle free manner.\n\nThe authorities have also allowed the private parties to collect toll for a minimum of 20 years. It is quite a relief because financial incentives are available for the companies. Startups are being encouraged to implement new technologies in enhancing the green cover of the surroundings. They would develop operational models and involve the local communities in the decision making process.\n\nResearch and training would be organized by the NGHM to build the capacity for accomplishing the task. Collaboration with international and national organization is sought to ensure that development doesn’t alter the balance between the flora and fauna.\n\nAuthorities have also roped in Power Finance Corporation to carry out the plantation work seamlessly on the NH-9 highway that connects the Nagpur region. It is a wonderful initiative and could be the torch bearer for future endeavors. One of the revolutionary decisions is to involve more than 70% of the local work force to carry out the job. It is bound to go a long way in delivering employment and also increase the productivity of the people. Recent memorandum of understanding between the two organizations is a start to the entrepreneurial culture in the country. The cumulative result of such ventures could have positive consequences for the country in the future.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.880582332611084}
+{"content": "Worst Roommate Ever: The Sequels\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nC: They were? Bastards!\n\n\nHow aliens get dates: Ice cream.\n\n\nC: Making all of us fat!\n\n\nC: Does ’til death do we part apply?\n\nJ: No.\n\nC: Figures.\n\nJ: It’s a ghost chair.\n\nC: I know. How’d it die?\n\nJ: That’s the prequel!\n\n\n\n\nGhost chair.\n\nC: You’re still not saying how the chair died.\n\n\n\nC: Um…wow.\n\nNahbre froody voiberously.\n\nC: I’m done with this argument. I’m sorry you’re frustrated with this. I was just trying to provide insight on what we talked about last night regarding industrial engineering. But I’m at work right now.\n\nJ: This is what it’s like:\n\n‘j: I have to decide between red and blue. Would you care to provide any input?\n\nc: Green!\n\nj: I can’t choose green; that’s not an option. Would you care to provide different input?\n\nc: I’m done arguing with you.’\n\nC: Purple.\n\nJ: LOL/*cry*/LOL/*sob* (that was a hysterical fit between laughing and crying, fyi)\n\nC: Now you know how I feel sometimes.\n\nJ: I do NOT know how you feel. I can’t even make sense of how you THINK sometimes  😦  Which, to be fair, may be hysterical.\n\nC: Squirrel 42, gobblygook, fortuitous nibbly kitkat jargon. Hasn’t circle maybe question deMarque? Vernal zagquater lobbily! Meow.\n\nJ: Green! Gerbil! Purple! Gerbil gerbil cat! Don’t tell me what to do! Kitty! Jesus, some of your words weren’t even words. What would be the equivalent of ‘We’re gonna need a bigger boat’ for your brain?\n\nC: Humdiggity doidlebug? Nahbre froody voiberously.\n\nBeware of cat\n\nI believe this speaks for itself.\n\nBut if not, the sign is to discourage people from talking to the cat, asking her questions about if she has a home, and whether or not she’d like to go home with them to all their kitties. I can speak for her:\n“No, I would not like to go home with you, your kitties, or anywhere near your shopping cart.”\nNot like anyone could grab her anyway because she hates being picked up. She only tolerates me picking her up, but I’d hate to see what she’d do to anyone else who tries to pick her up. I see what she does to me when we have to go to the vet.\n\nFurry paper shredder\n\nI just got back from the coffee shop where I was updating about missing the UAE. When I get into the apartment, I see that my Mondrian design for the quilt has met with my cat. The cat happens to LOVE shredding paper, and this particular design was no exception.\n\nThis is the offender, trying to look innocent:\n\nNever tickle a sleeping cat who shreds paper.\n\nThis is the carnage I came home to:\n\nThe tattered remains of my quilt design.\n\nAt least it wasn’t the worst. The worst was when she shredded my W2s right around tax time. Lame.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8881388902664185}
+{"content": "How Much Value Are You Really Bringing to the Team?\n\nWith baseball season upon us, sports fans turn their attention to America’s pastime. One of the beautiful things about baseball is that it’s chock-full of statistics that cannot only be utilized in the moment to evaluate a player’s performance, but can also be applied, relatively speaking, as compared to players of a bygone era.  \n\nStatistical analysis has become such a popular part of the game that there’s even a name for it, sabermetrics. Coined by Bill James, the term refers to the empirical analysis of baseball.\n\nOne statistic that has always fascinated me is called W.A.R., which stands for Wins Above Replacement. This  stat attempts to summarize a player’s total contributions to their team in one statistic via a formula that factors in a myriad of common performance metrics.\n\nRelated: 5 Steps to Better Performance Reviews\n\nIn other words, how do you translate a player’s performance to the number of games he directly will help his team win in a given season? The above replacement part refers to the difference in games won in a season, between the actual player versus the typical minor league player who would presumably replace the aforementioned player in the event of injury or trade.\n\nFor instance, a player with a W.A.R. of 4 would mean that he would help the team win four additional games this season compared to a replacement.\n\nW.A.R., like all statistical analysis, is not meant to be the only evaluation used in decision making to determine value. Even the most hardcore sabermetrician would admit it’s not a perfect measurement device. However, the concept of W.A.R. in baseball -- breaking down a player’s contributions or predicting victories with one simple number -- can be a useful tool. This goes for the average fantasy baseball player up to the general manager of your favorite Major League team.\n\n\nIf a complex formula existed for your business that spit out a number with your W.A.R., measuring your contributions versus a replacement employee, what would your number be? Are your contributions 1.5x, 2x, or even 3x of what a replacement would offer? Determining your W.A.R. is a practical way to figure out what areas of your business you can improve the most to make the greatest impact.\n\nWe’re going to forgo complex mathematics, and simply look at your W.A.R. in terms of categories for self-evaluation:\n\nLeadership: Is your leadership making your team and everyone on it better?\n\nCulture: Do your leadership and personal actions strengthen your organization’s culture?\n\nDecisions: How would you evaluate the strategic decisions you’ve made for your organization over the past year?\n\nMental Toughness: Not a typical workplace year-end review category, but one that I believe is predictive of success. How do you rank against the average worker when it comes to overcoming obstacles and adversity?\n\nOf course, W.A.R. is a formula crafted particularly for the sport of baseball and cannot be directly transferable to other sports -- or uses -- without modification. The same can be said for the above categories of leadership, culture, decision-making and mental toughness, although they are probably universal performance categories.\n\nFor your business, determine your own W.A.R. with the most relevant categories. Developing a formula with a specific number or fraction isn’t critical, but what’s important is measuring your performance in objective terms: How much value do I bring to the team versus anyone else? If the answer is greater than 1x in all of the key result areas of your business, then you’re on the right track.\n\n\nMy Queue\n\nYour Queue is empty\n\nClick on the next to articles to add them to your Queue", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9810130596160889}
+{"content": "A 216 m² artist’s studio-house, set behind immense atrium windows,\nat the end of a picturesque no-through road in Paris’ 14th arrondissement\n\n\nIn a no-through road featuring detached houses and artists’ studios, between Rue-de-La-Tombe-Issoire and Rue-d'Alésia, in Paris’ 14th arrondissement. Just a stone’s throw from food shops and brasseries. The nearest underground stations are Mouton-Duvernet and Alésia; bus routes 28, 38, 62 and 88 pass nearby. This road comprises studios and mansion houses constructed between 1924 and1926, predominantly by André-Lurçat, a prominent representative of the international style that existed in the 1920’s and 1930’s. Henri-Matisse, Chana-Orloff, Henri-Miller and Alberto-Magnelli as well as Jean-Lurçat lived here.\n\n\nThis artist’s studio-house, built in 1962, has a glass and red brick facade topped with a roof-terrace typical of the modernist style. A wide door opens into the entrance hall which reveals a living space set out around a garden-patio and topped with atrium windows, reaching up to a height of almost 10 m. Modernist style rooms and materials combine to form open plan areas, red and white brick walls, terracotta floor tiles, glass walls and a black metal framework.\nThis north-south facing house, spanning a floor surface area of 216 m², is steeped in tranquillity and light. The entrance hall opens into a 13 m² bedroom, preceded by a toilet. The 35 m² living room and kitchen receive daylight via the garden-patio. These are followed by a study, a bathroom and a 15 m² bedroom, topped with a mezzanine, laid out in a small luminous pavilion. On the first floor, a vast, 49 m² living room-artist’s studio is topped with an atrium window. There is also a third, 13 m² bedroom. The second floor is taken up by a last 11 m² bedroom on a mezzanine. The basement comprises a cellar and a laundry room.\n\nThe artist's studio-home\n\nDesigned by Henri-Pierre-Maillard, student of André-Lurçat, this artist’s studio-villa, built in the early 1960’s, exudes an avant-garde air of the modern movement developed in the 1920’s. It is treated as a unique object where simplicity and soberness are the order of the day, a cubic volume magnified by a large atrium window, opening on to a central garden-patio. The flat facade sets the tone for the inside: like an abstract painting, it comprises the vertical and horizontal lines of the black framework comprising the large atrium window that tops a wooden structure set in the glazed sides of the basement. Projecting behind a red brick wall, some shrubs and black slate paving enhance the entrance to the house.\n\nThe interior\n\nOnce through the mushroom-coloured, wooden entrance door, the entrance hall immediately reveals the modernist air of the premises based on the polychrome, bright but plain rooms. A straight flight, oak wood stairway goes up almost 11 m² from the basement to the second floor under vast atrium windows. The whiteness of the brick and stone walls contrasts with the grey and red tints of the stoneware floor tiles. The black metal structures form a set of vertical and oblique lines. The entrance hall provides access to a first, bright, 13 m² bedroom, adjoining a toilet and a hanging space. This is followed by a vast 35 m² living room and its kitchen, next to a 16 m² garden-patio, flanked by an atrium window. Virginia creeper starts to cover the glazed wall as of the spring. A study area and a bathroom are set out around the patio. A second, 15 m² bedroom and its mezzanine are illuminated by a glass roof. On the first floor, wooden steps lead to a vast, 49 m² area where light is magnified by immense atrium windows that provide a glimpse of the sky. In the centre, an impressive red brick pillar, stretching up to the roof-terrace, takes pride of place. It houses a water supply point. A third, 13 m² bedroom is laid out at the end of the artist’s studio area. Just like those laid out on the second floor mezzanine, the horizontal strip windows, designed to reflect an air of Le-Corbusier, let in copious amounts of light. A basement cellar and laundry room span a floor surface area of 35 m².\n\nOur opinion\n\nThis artist’s studio-villa blends harmoniously with the heritage of the 14th arrondissement where some of the greatest architects, notably those of the modern movement, worked. Beginning with Henri-Pierre-Maillard and his associate Pierre-Ducamp, who set up their own workshop here. The first being distinguished through his use of self-supporting structures, notably for covered swimming pools, it is not surprising that an airy, rational ambiance reigns throughout. Such architectural purity will enable new owners to give free reign to their imagination so as to add their own personal touches to these vast rooms. Their predecessors turned it into a family home where they also organised miscellaneous active, artistic events. There is nothing to prevent the new owners continuing in this vein in order to preserve the spirit of the place whilst carrying out modernisation works.\n\n1 890 000 € Honoraires de négociation inclus\n1 800 000 € Honoraires exclus\nHonoraires de 5% TTC à la charge de l'acquéreur\n\nVoir le Barème d'Honoraires\n\nBarème d'honoraires\nau 1er Avril 2017\n\nVentes d'immeubles\n\nÀ Paris et en Ile-de-France\nPrix de vente jusqu'à 200 000 euros             9% TTC*\nHonoraires à la charge du Vendeur\n\nEn Province\nHonoraires à la charge du Vendeur\n\n\nAvis de valeur simple : 1 500 Euros TTC*\nAvis de valeur argumenté à partir de 2 500 Euros TTC*\nExpertise à partir de 3000 Euros TTC*\nAvis de valeur argumenté : 60 Euros TTC*\nExpertise : 80 Euros TTC*\n\n\n*TTC : TVA incluse au taux de 20 %\n\nReference 907082\n\nNumber of rooms 7\nNumber of bedrooms 4\nReception area47 m2\nCeiling height11.50\nLiving space216 m2\nSurface 216 m2\nSurface Cellar37 m2\nSurface Garden16 m2\n\n\n French Energy Performance Diagnosis\n\n\nFrançoise Fauré-Audouy       +33 1 42 84 80 85\n\n\nMy favorites\n\n\nsend to a friend Pinterest twitter Facebook Google Plus\n\n\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9949150085449219}
+{"content": "Top 10 Pretentious Singers\n\nMusicians who are extremely infatuated with themselves, as well as their own music.\n\nThe Top Ten\n\n\nA shrieking harpy with zero talent.\n\nDo these lyrics sound like music:\n\n4 Morrissey Morrissey Steven Patrick Morrissey (born 22 May, 1959), known as Morrissey, is an English singer, songwriter and author, rose to prominence as the lead singer of The Smiths, an indie rock band - which was active from 1982 to 1987 . Since then, Morrissey has had a solo career making the top ten of the UK singles more.\n\nHe took his ego to the next level by changing his name into a love symbol, and fans weren't very pleased of it, as they mockingly kept referring him as \"The artist formerly known as Prince\". - TheRegular1227\n\nV 1 Comment\n\nAgain, tell me how Tom is pretenious? Other than the time he was on painkillers, he hasn't said anything egotistical. In fact, he is actually really insecure. People only think he is pretenious because he talks about his experiences and how he accomplished in life. - AnimeDrawer\n\n\nThe Newcomers\n\n\nThe Contenders\n\n\nThis time he belongs on a list like this. - lavashooter\n\n\nDefinitely the most pretentious.\n\n17 Natalie Merchant\n\nBeing a little bit pretentious might be justified in his case, being he is a keystone member of the second biggest-selling rock group in American history [after the Beatles].\n\n20 Ani DiFranco\nPSearch List\n\nRecommended Lists", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6072282791137695}
+{"content": "The rise in popularity of total hip replacement procedures in the United States is largely due to modern advances in technology that have produced hip replacement parts that successfully mimic the body’s natural joints. Unlike a normal hip joint, an arthritic hip joint is plagued by worn out cartilage, a rough bone surface, and decreased space for the joint to move around in — all as a result of years of movement that wear and tear on your joints.\n\n\nPrime candidates for a total hip replacement include patients who experience significant pain during weight-bearing activities as simple as standing up, walking, or exercising. Many of these candidates struggle with quality of life issues because the hip pain prevents them from walking reasonable distances, causes difficulties in putting on and taking off their socks and shoes, takes away their ability to exercise or participate in recreational activities, and limits their ability to travel when they finally have time to do so.\n\nTotal hip replacement can be a suitable solution for patients with a variety of medical diagnoses, including those who have osteoarthritis, those suffering from rheumatoid arthritis, those who have previously experienced a hip fracture, or those who have lived with a congenital hip abnormality.\n\nHowever, the patient seriously considering a total hip replacement operation must be healthy enough to endure the physical demands of the surgical procedure, though a person’s physiological age is a more important factor than their chronological age.\n\nBefore resorting to a total hip replacement, other more conservative treatments are often considered, including exercise regimens that can infuse painkilling endorphins into the body and build muscles to help protect problem joints, weight loss programs that can help alleviate some of the stress on a patient’s joints, modification of activities to reduce that stress or pain, the prescription of anti-inflammatory medications, the use of assistive devices like canes or walkers, and cortisone injections to manage the inflammation caused by arthritis.\n\nEven when surgery is selected as a treatment, the choices that face the surgeon are numerous. He or she must decide whether or not to use cement to adhere the components of a total hip replacement to the body, which logistic approach to the operation to take, which materials to use for the replacement hip, and whether or not to utilize computer assistance during the procedure.\n\n\n\nIn all, advances in technology and the medical establishment’s refinement of techniques has opened up a myriad of choices for people suffering from severe hip pain and has allowed patients the hope of a vibrant quality of life beyond the development of hip pain that was once a debilitating condition.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9647966623306274}
+{"content": "Wednesday, January 13, 2010\n\nInterview Exclusive: Brenda Galina @ MoDA\n\n\n\nMax Eternity - Moments ago I had a chance to chat with Brenda Galina, Director of the Museum of Design Atlanta (MoDA). Along with Architects Institute of America - Atlanta, the Atlanta Public Library System and others, Galina and MoDA have been largely responsible for the fruition of one of the brightest exhibition achievements in the recent history of Atlanta's museum scene--the Marcel Breuer Retrospective. (All images courtesy of Vitra Design Museum)\n\n\nMarcel Breuer 1902 - 1981\n\nMax Eternity (ME): Brenda, thanks for taking the time to chat with me.\n\nBrenda Galina (BG): It's my pleasure.\n\nME: So, first I'd like to ask a simple but important question, what's the role of artistic institutions?\n\nBG: I think it's probably a lot of roles. there's one that comes to mind--to bring to the public their specific form of artistic endeavor...what ever that is. It's to showcase the finest of what they can create, also educating the public about what good architeture and sculpture is. These things enhance the quality of life for the public.\n\nME: How would you describe your experience with the Breuer exhibition, what's the response so far?\n\nBG: I think people that have seen the exhibit, folks that aren't architects of historians, are really impressed. People are really just surprised to see these original pieces, especially the chairs.\n\nAs well, most people are stunned by the architecture, because so many don't realize what a modernist Breuer was at the time. So they are pleasantly surprised by how timeless Breuer was--his work.\n\nME: If lessons are to be learned by Breuer, what is it that he has taught us from a design perspective and as ordinary citizens?\n\nBG: It's the same answer almost, because good design is lasting. Nobody will argue that his was expert design. And when you look at it today, it's as current as it was 50 years ago.\n\nME: With that in mind, what would you say is the role of a museum when it comes to cultural heritage?\n\nBG: Well, I think [pause] it's to bring an awareness to the public of the magnitude of the Central Library, for instance. So, I think it's all just a matter of pointing out to the public the merits of good architecture and design.\n\nME: Is architecture art? I ask, because I've had this discussion with some, who seem to think that architecture is not art, because of its utilitarian nature. Others however say, yes, it is art. What's you view on this?\n\nBG: I think good architecture is art. There's nothing more beautiful than seeing a beautiful building.\n\nME: So beyond the Breuer experience, what's the mission of MoDA, and are there any future development we should be aware of?\n\nBG: MoDA's vision has always been to bring excellent design to the public eye. We're constantly seeking good design. And I think Marcel Breuer is one of the biggest names. This is one of the top exhibitions we've ever had.\n\nArchitecture is an important part of our programming. And next year, Februrary, we have our traveling show \"Beyond Sticks and Bricks.\" The exhibit spotlights many of Atlanta's outstandig design examples, as the entire focus is to help the public to understand what it might mean to be \"Green\" while also giving them the tools to make a difference. This can help to raise an awareness about what living, working and playing in the Atlanta area can be--beyond the architectural significance, while also telling the story of individuals in various environments and locals.\n\nME: Brenda, I look forward to it.\n\nBG: Thanks Max.\n\n- Click here to visit the Museum of Design Atlanta-", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.95074462890625}
+{"content": "5 February 2010\n\nOnce upon a time...\n\nMy books.\nI like the scenes within the books to be humorous, the surreal elements create an innuendo to the viewer, because each person will take their own perspective on the stories. The face value of each scenario is usally different once inspected closely, the happy 'fairytale' isn't always the case, and this is the quality i like about making these books...they're a composition of fantasies and nightmares.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8616147041320801}
+{"content": "Saturday, February 28, 2015\n\nSouth Pacific(1958)\n\n\nSouth Pacific [1958]. A tragic story with postmodern social implication, ahead of its times. The songs are the story. We all long for a Bali Hai. The geographic view is of Hawaii. IMDb identifies Kaua'i, Hawaii, USA as the spot, unless in the studio. They di try to look real and they are in the Pacific.\n\nThe deeper theme of South Pacific is one of racial mixing. Lt. Cable hassopacific adjustment troubles facing the fact that he loves Liat, who is Tonkinese. In the out of the world joy of BaliHai, he loses track of his background and falls for her. Faced with the reality of his social world, he cannot bring himself at first to marry her. So to Nellie has troubles facing the fact that Emile married a Polynesian woman and had two children. Her social bak ground faces adjusting to this fact. Cable sings “You’ve Got to be Carefully Taught” to reveal his findings of this conflict in himself, and Nellie. Our view of others is “carefully taught” to us by our society. It is not born in us.\n\nSouth Pacific islands have had this place in American culture of being where the outside world is put aside. One might see the British sailors react and change in any version of Mutiny on the Bounty to see this.\n\nThe physical world is the standard one of Warmth with broad open views of the ocean. Volcanic peaks dominate the sky. The distance this world is from the larger world of America is pronounced.  The islands are a refuge from the industrial age, though damaged by it as Gauguin clearly saw in his art from here.A beautiful picture of it all.\n\nAll the Fine Young Cannibals [1960].\n\n\n\n\n\nTuesday, February 24, 2015\n\nMrs. Miniver (1942)\n\n\nA classic film, often on Turner Classic Movies (TCM), Mrs. Miniver gives a view of rural England that is hard to beat. Made in 1942, it put American in empathy with British people suffering the Nazi Blitz or Battle of Britain. A minivermajor element of World War II, Hitler’s mazing and unexplained abandonment of the Battle gave the British a breather and allowed the move toward victory. Some historians see Hitler as winning this battle had only he continued it.\n\nThe Miniver family lives in Belham. Belham is fictional as none exists, but it is clearly on the River Thames and in southeast England. The armada of small ships and the heaviness of the Nazi air attacks yield a conclusion that Belham, though fictional, is a model of many places in rural southeastern England. An airbase is nearby and the bombing begins early after the war begins. That bombing is very heavy. This eliminates the North. Their easiness and regularity of travel l to London further indicates a site near London. One can make an assumption that British travel is so superior at this time that sites further out could have been created, but nearness to London is just the natural assumption one wants to make.\n\nThe geographic elements shown of British life then and now are numerous.\n\n1. Note that gardening is important. You will find it here, and in many of the British comedies shown on American public television. People are very involved in this in England.\n\n2. Rural roads will tend to be tree lined. While modern highways exist and look like those here in basic respects, the rural roads often are tree lined and would seem compact to Americans.\n\n3. Class system tension existed and still is present. Early in the film, young Vincent Miniver and Carol Belham argue slightly over the role of class in society. The older system of nobility has been in decline and the fading elements of it that remain are a subject for discussion. Should a mere stationmaster be allowed to enter, much less win, a contest on roses? His winning would upset the local lady.\n\n4. The nature of the Thames River is shown. Boats 30 feet and longer are called into service. Note how many show up. A 30 foot boat would be hard to find in Minnesota or most states. But that the river can handle them and allow them ocean access is clearly presented.\n\nMrs. Miniver is a classic film. Watch for it in the regular schedule around Oscar time. For the historian it has numerous elements of the war period. For the geographer it has a quaint slice of pre-war and wartime British life.\n\nExodus (1960)\n\n\nExodus (1960) is a classic film depicting the establishment of Israel and the immediate collapse of the area into Israeli-Arab fighting. It begins on Cyprus where the British are trying to hold Jews from Europe from entering exodusPalestine, as it was known. The British are stretched at the end of their Empire Period. World War II has exhausted them. They are left in control of Palestine by the Sykes-Picot Agreement and seizures made at the end of World War I. All they really want is out of this situation. They no longer have the resources to continue their World role.\n\nOn Cyprus, Ari Ben Canaan (Paul Newman) meets American nurse Kitty Fremont (Eva Marie Saint), and then engineers the takeover of a ship of immigrants. Slyly leading their escape from an internment camp, the Jewish group boards the ship only to find the British will not allow them to leave port. Following a hunger strike to embarrass the British into letting them go to Israel, they are so released. Arriving in Israel one views a typical Kibbutz setting. The Kibbutz is a settlement form intended to place Jewish immigrants in farm settings where those with skills and no funds could work with others in creating a farm community. As the United Nations debates the fate of Palestine and the new Israeli state, you get to observe the fighting of the three sides over this area.\n\nIMDb lists the filming sites as Acre, Israel; Famagusta, Cyprus; and Jerusalem, Israel. It is not a studio set film, it uses the real sites. This authenticity is important in making it a geographically significant film. It would have been easy to use Southern California locations which share the Mediterranean climate zone’s features.\n\nThe view of Cyprus is limited. The ship and dock area dominates, but some driving around by the characters gives you some sense of the Mediterranean nature of Cyprus.\n\nAs the action shifts to Israel, Jerusalem and Acre alternate as sites. The city has old buildings. This is its nature at this time. The viewer is given a clear picture of older stone building. The area is crowded and an odd interconnectivity of buildings is presented. For example, one can escape capture running from roof top to roof top and up and down.\n\nAcre is the site of the kibbutz and school. It is dry with scrub forest and plantings. The landscape is rough hills. A great deal of exposed stone is shown. It has the just off the desert sense to it.\n\nCrops will grow here. Barack Ben Canaan (Leo J. Cobb) talks to the migrants of oranges so large that “five make a dozen.” These are still a part of international markets as Haifa oranges.\n\nWhile not emphasized, the famous social structure of the kibbutz is hinted at. The large number of children are herded together. Older children and all Israel’s are ready to do their part in the settlement effort. Note how the children are always in a group. This was for protection, even if they had parents. Questions have arisen over the years as to whether this communalism resulted in some toughing of the personalities resulting in some lingering person damage to some.\n\nA great film that brings the Israeli side to the forefront. The readiness of some to bring all this in peace is met by the unwillingness of others to join that effort. We all know how this has gone.\n\n\n\nIMDb. 1990-2015. Exodus (1960) Filming Sites.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5360000133514404}
+{"content": "\n\n7.10.10. nilearn.plotting.plot_prob_atlas\n\nnilearn.plotting.plot_prob_atlas(maps_img, anat_img=<MNI152Template>, view_type=’auto’, threshold=’auto’, linewidths=2.5, cut_coords=None, output_file=None, display_mode=’ortho’, figure=None, axes=None, title=None, annotate=True, draw_cross=True, black_bg=’auto’, dim=’auto’, colorbar=False, cmap=<matplotlib.colors.LinearSegmentedColormap object>, vmin=None, vmax=None, alpha=0.5, **kwargs)\n\nPlot the probabilistic atlases onto the anatomical image by default MNI template\n\n\nmaps_img : Niimg-like object or the filename\n\n4D image of the probabilistic atlas maps\n\nanat_img : Niimg-like object\n\nSee The anatomical image to be used as a background. If nothing is specified, the MNI152 template will be used. To turn off background image, just pass “anat_img=False”.\n\nview_type : {‘auto’, ‘contours’, ‘filled_contours’, ‘continuous’}, optional\n\nBy default view_type == ‘auto’, means maps will be displayed automatically using any one of the three view types. The automatic selection of view type depends on the total number of maps. If view_type == ‘contours’, maps are overlayed as contours If view_type == ‘filled_contours’, maps are overlayed as contours along with color fillings inside the contours. If view_type == ‘continuous’, maps are overlayed as continous colors irrespective of the number maps.\n\nthreshold : a str or a number, list of str or numbers, None\n\nThis parameter is optional and is used to threshold the maps image using the given value or automatically selected value. The values in the image above the threshold level will be visualized. The default strategy, computes a threshold level that seeks to minimize (yet not eliminate completely) the overlap between several maps for a better visualization. The threshold can also be expressed as a percentile over the values of the whole atlas. In that case, the value must be specified as string finishing with a percent sign, e.g., “25.3%”. If a single string is provided, the same percentile will be applied over the whole atlas. Otherwise, if a list of percentiles is provided, each 3D map is thresholded with certain percentile sequentially. Length of percentiles given should match the number of 3D map in time (4th) dimension. If a number or a list of numbers, the given value will be used directly to threshold the maps without any percentile calculation. If None, a very small threshold is applied to remove numerical noise from the maps background.\n\nlinewidths : float, optional\n\nThis option can be used to set the boundary thickness of the contours.\n\ncut_coords : None, a tuple of floats, or an integer\n\nThe MNI coordinates of the point where the cut is performed If display_mode is ‘ortho’, this should be a 3-tuple: (x, y, z) For display_mode == ‘x’, ‘y’, or ‘z’, then these are the coordinates of each cut in the corresponding direction. If None is given, the cuts is calculated automaticaly. If display_mode is ‘x’, ‘y’ or ‘z’, cut_coords can be an integer, in which case it specifies the number of cuts to perform\n\noutput_file : string, or None, optional\n\n\ndisplay_mode : {‘ortho’, ‘x’, ‘y’, ‘z’, ‘yx’, ‘xz’, ‘yz’}\n\nChoose the direction of the cuts: ‘x’ - sagittal, ‘y’ - coronal, ‘z’ - axial, ‘ortho’ - three cuts are performed in orthogonal directions.\n\nfigure : integer or matplotlib figure, optional\n\n\n\n\ntitle : string, optional\n\nThe title displayed on the figure.\n\nannotate : boolean, optional\n\n\ndraw_cross : boolean, optional\n\nIf draw_cross is True, a cross is drawn on the plot to indicate the cut plosition.\n\nblack_bg: boolean, optional\n\n\ndim : float, ‘auto’ (by default), optional\n\nDimming factor applied to background image. By default, automatic heuristics are applied based upon the background image intensity. Accepted float values, where a typical span is -1 to 1 (-1 = increase contrast; 1 = decrease contrast), but larger values can be used for a more pronounced effect. 0 means no dimming.\n\ncmap : matplotlib colormap, optional\n\nThe colormap for the atlas maps\n\ncolorbar : boolean, optional\n\n\nvmin : float\n\nLower bound for plotting, passed to matplotlib.pyplot.imshow\n\nvmax : float\n\nUpper bound for plotting, passed to matplotlib.pyplot.imshow\n\nalpha : float between 0 and 1\n\nAlpha sets the transparency of the color inside the filled contours.\n\nSee also\n\nTo simply plot max-prob atlases (3D images)", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6080465912818909}
+{"content": "Some common questions on Supreme Force answered\n\nimage(From Author’s Book–Just 7 Days to Excellence)\n\nQ1.Is God or The Supreme not a difficult thing to understand?\n\n\n. Apparently it looks so. Paramahansa Yogananda, however, mentions in his „Autobiography of a Yogi „God is simple-everything else is complex. Complexity is for the reason that there are hardly any men who make sincere efforts to know Him. All definitions about Him, all reasoning about Him make no sense to a person unless he puts his heart and soul into it. How many of us give time to know Him? When you do academic studies you work hard to get good grades. You spend hours and hours, days, months, years in studies. How many of us do the same for God? If I ask you to study about electro-magnetic waves you will make efforts to study from relevant books and other material available on the subject. The Supreme Force is much subtler and subtler than the EM waves. Who, of the great scientists have made efforts to know the subtlest? Only some rare saints and Rishis made efforts to know Him and their works on the subject tell us about Him. Yet, He is something not to be known from books but a subject of our own serious contemplation. Is He not throbbing in your very heart? Is anything so near to us than Him? You have simply to realize this fact; give a turn to your thought process and you will know Him. He is available everywhere, every time.\n\nGod/Allah/Rahim/Father and similar other names for God have remained with humans from the time they became conscious of sounds in the wombs of their mothers. In our homes, temples, churches, mosques, gurudwaras we have been worshiping Him in one form or the other giving Him a place of highest respect. Scriptures of all religions have tried to explain Him in the way understood by the writers yet the truth is that He defies all explanations. Everything having come out of Him, the parts (all sentient and non-sentient beings) feel helpless to describe the whole. For most of us it seems sufficient to accept with faith that He is the only Reality. An individual human being has the power within himself to make a quest in the right direction to seek Him. Since this involves sacrifice, perseverance and patience most of us prefer to go the easy way.\n\nAlthough we ignore God in our lives yet He never does so.\n\nThe moment He ignores we will fall dead. Is it not a pity or gross callousness to ignore a force which is very life in us? He promises His love and life for us under all conditions. Krishna says in Gita (Ch 11-V 52-55),\n\n“Jesus said\n\n,” Seek the kingdom of God first and everything will be added unto you.”\n\nLord Krishna said,\n\n“Through unfailing devotion, Arjuna! you can know Me, see Me and attain union with Me.\n\nThe Supreme\n\nimageSunshine.jpgFrom Author’s Book -Just 7 Days to Excellence.Please do read this and favour me with your comments.\n\nIn this post we will try to underdstand something about the ‘Supreme Force’, the Eternal and only Reality of the Universe, which governs our lives on earth.\n\nWhile living our lives on earth, somehow or the other, all of us find ourselves in dark alleys showing us neither any way nor any purposeof taking birth on earth.All of us find caught up in our own dilemmas and patterns of thinking.For a normal human being it is very difficult to understand eternal verities until he is able to free himself from pretensions. The normal human mind is teeming with the repulsive life of countless world delusions. Before such delusions even struggles of battlefields pale into insignificance. He finds it so difficult to fight his own inner enenmies of doubts, worries, fear, insecurity, negative thinking and so on. His own pretensions are so mighty, omnipresent and unresting that they persue him even in his sleep. He has to learn to free himself from all these soldiers of ignorant lusts and move ahead to develop love for His Creator and also for his fellow beings on earth.\n\nParamahansa Yogananda writes in his Autobiography of a Yogi:\n\n” To love both the invisible God, Repository of All Virtues, and visible man, apparently possesed of none, is often bsaffling. But ingenuity is equal to the maze. Inner research soon exposes a unity of all human minds. In one sense atleast, the brotherhood of man stands revealed. An aghast humility follows this levelling discovery. It ripens into compassion for one’s fellows.”\n\nNow we discuss something about the Supreme Force often known to common man as God.\n\nThe latest discoveries in physical science make mention of the following four forces of Nature:\n\n1. The Strong nuclear force\n\n2. The Electromagnetic force (EMF)\n\n3. The Gravitational force\n\n4. The Weak nuclear force\n\nStrong nuclear force holds quarks and gluons together to form protons, neutrons and other particles. It is the strongest of four fundamental forces. Its typical field strength is 100 times the strength of the electromagnetic force, some 100000 times as great as that of the weak nuclear force and about 39 times 10 that of gravitation. It is also the force that binds through the principle of attraction protons and neutrons together. Here we can imagine the strength of this force by thinking how much energy is released when this bond of protons and neutrons is broken like that in the explosion of an Atom Bomb.\n\nThe EMF is a force that the electromagnetic field exerts on electrically charged particles. EMF holds electrons and protons together in atoms and also holds atoms together to form molecules.\n\nGravitational force is a natural phenomenon by which objects with mass attract one another. It is responsible for keeping the Earth and other planets in their orbits around the Sun, for keeping the Moon in its orbit around the Earth, for the formation of tides; for convection by which flow of fluids occurs under the influence of a temperature gradient and gravity; for heating the interiors of new forming stars and planets to very high temperatures, and for various other phenomenon observed on Earth.\n\nWeak nuclear force is 10-11 of the strength of the electromagnetic force and 10-13 of the strong nuclear force. This causes certain forces of radioactive decay.\n\nWith all the above forces in action look at the vastness of the skies which is without any limits or boundaries. Far away from the city lights and on a clear, cool night when moon is also not shining, the sky is a marvelous thing to look at. What a majestic sea of stars, some shining more brightly than the others. Scientists also awe and wonder as to what is all this. To our unaided eyes the stars look like brilliant points of light, some a little brighter, others fainter, some colored with hues of red or blue. When we focus our telescope skyward we are aghast with the wondrous phenomenon occurring in the sky.\n\nA natural question arises as to who is causing all this and how is this being done? From where have these forces originated? Who makes them to function continuously as such in their own spheres? Since such questions are vital to human understanding and science stops at answering these questions the mind turns to scriptures of various religions to find an answer.\n\nWe are now going to make an attempt to find an answer to this intrigue question or say, try to fathom deeper to see if we can find some pearls. Let us then make ourselves free of the background of all the cultures, of all patterns of thinking and feeling. Even the idea of being a man or a woman, or even human should be discarded. The ocean of life contains all and not only humans. Abandon all self identifications, stop thinking of yourself as such and such, so and so or this and that. A beautiful mind in which the Force that made you is itself shining will form the right ground for reflection of truth in you.\n\nImagine and go back to the times when there was no universe and the space was completely empty. Beyond the smallest of material particles there existed a self-aware, self-luminous, loving and intelligent light. Complete peace and bliss filled every nook of the void. Contained in the vast subtle body of light were all the noble attributes of trust, purity, steadfastness, fearlessness, renunciation, peace, forgiveness, patience, straightforwardness, almsgiving, compassion, self-restraint, modesty, radiance. Though everything was so wonderful and blissful yet there was none else to enjoy that peace and bliss except the One who possessed all these things within Himself. The all-loving heart of this Being (let us call Him Supreme) thought that let there may be a creation endowed with all my qualities to enjoy these wonderful feelings within Me. This thought of the Supreme prompted a sound to come out of His Being and filled whole of the cosmos with it. This sound first vibrated into cosmic light and then into cosmic intelligence filling all the space with these two primary forces.\n\nThe cosmic intelligence then working in conjunction with the love power or the power of attraction of the Supreme created innumerable stars and planets. He then peopled them with beings in His own image who, although they were actually a part of Him, could enjoy Him and His dream creation as separate individualities. The only way that He could give the created beings such a feeling of individuality was to cast over all the individuals an illusion of separateness, which came to be known in the world as Maya or cosmic delusion. The Supreme Himself became the ocean and the creation His waves. The waves remain as individual waves as long as the storms of delusion whip the ocean. If the storm of delusion was to cease, the waves would also sink back into the ocean. In order to make this drama of creation-making storm of delusion perpetually running, the Supreme gave it individuality also, and the power to go on independently creating and maintaining the universe.\n\nConsider the case of an individual living on Earth, like any of us, who is highly prosperous, is very rich, and has excellent bungalow to live in and every other thing needed at his command. Unfortunately, this person has no children and whenever this thought occupies his mind he becomes sad and feels that he should have some children to enjoy his fortune. He then tries various methods at his command to have children and when even all such methods also fail he goes to adopt a child.\n\nIn spite of creating the illusion of Maya/delusion the Extremely Subtle Omnipresent Supreme sustains by its all pervading light issuing from the Cosmic Consciousness all the subtle forms of consciousness and all grosser manifestations of creation. This unseen beam of light from the Supreme gives reality to the animate and inanimate objects in the cosmic motion picture perceived by various instruments of human cognition—ego, feelings, intuition, mind and the senses. Solids, liquids, fire and light (energy), air (life force), and ether, as also mind and ego, are all relativities of one essence- The Supreme’s one light of cosmic consciousness. He shines in Suns, moons, stars and everything. Nothing can exist without Him whether it is His grosser manifestation or subtler.\n\nThe Supreme’s power of attraction responsible for forming stars, planets is operating as a law in the Cosmos. Everything in the Universe is revolving around this power of attraction. In our human bodies this law is working perfectly as it worked in the creation of the Universe. This is happening without even our noticing it.\n\nSince everything has emanated from Him alone (The only Single Reality) He is the essence of all knowledge. He is the Source of all wisdom in the scriptures of various religions. He is the Omniscient Knower of all truth to be known and the Author of complete knowledge. He directs the process of all human cognition. He is the consciousness of all sentient beings, angels, deities, yogis, ordinary men, goblins, animals and all other forms of life.\n\nFurther Journey into Quest for Life\n\nWith the dawn of a new “yuga‟( Upward cycle of Time started from 1700 AD-Will be discussed in a separate post) a time has come when the question of meaning and purpose of life has become most important of all other things we are doing. Many people feel caught up in the routines of daily living that seems to deprive their life of significance. Some feel life is passing them or has already passed. Others feel severely restricted by the demands of their jobs and a supporting family or by their financial or living situations. Some feel too much stress; oth-ers feel boredom and so on.\n\nThe main reason for all this is that man is ignorant of his strength and weaknesses. He hardly knows that he is a child of God. His very power to live life on earth is derived from God who is ever present in him as his soul. The moment the soul leaves he drops dead. He inherits from his Father His own kingdom, His own image and above all a free will to act the way he likes. Mother earth nourishes him, cradles him, plays with him and provides him with abundant means of happiness. Minerals, fruits, vegetables, grains, air, water, sun say everything has been given to him for his happy living. Does all this not exhort us to awaken to the all around presence of that Supreme Force which is constantly helping us to live a happy life on earth?\n\nTo lead a right kind of life the basic necessity would be to understand the working of Cosmic Laws (Those subtle laws which the Supreme has put into work to run the Cosmos) which affect our every process, thought and action. The only way to do this is to set aside a time to regularly do some kind of Sadhna (Spiritual Practice)like meditation under the guidance of a true guru and reflect upon the silence in meditation that contains answers to everything.\n\nEveryone has his own private mind woven with memories held together by desires and fears. Any kind of advises or sermons will hardly have any effect unless one is properly tuned in to the workings of cosmic laws. Once you are inwardly integrated, other knowledge comes to you spontaneously. At every moment of your life you know what you need to know. In the ocean of universal mind all knowledge is contained. It is yours on demand.\n\nNote: In the next post we will discuss some more things about the Supreme Force that governs our lives on earth.\n\nFrom the Book-Just 7 Days\n\nFrom Author’s book Just 7 Days to Excellence. Please offer comments.image\n\nBalancing Our Lives\n\n\nEverything in nature is working in balance. Sun, Earth, Moon and countless other stars and planets are revolving in their own orbits in a complete balance. Any object which loses its balance falls down and gets destroyed. Our body itself is a perfect balance on its feet.\n\nWhat does’ balancing our lives’ means? Balancing material, psychological, emotional and spiritual aspects of our lives and living in harmony with our surroundings.\n\nWe all want to have a healthy body, free of problems and weaknesses. We don’t want it to be a hindrance. We want our minds to be alert and our emotions and feelings to be working for us and not against us; we want them to contribute to harmonious and fulfilling relations with those around us. Overall, each one of us wants to remain happy and joyful under all circumstances. This important aspect of our lives is effectively fulfilled by nurturing our souls with spiritual efforts i.e. practices connecting our lives daily to God, the Spirit. Let us consider each aspect one by one.\n\n\nGenerally speaking, the bodies up to the age of 30 years do not pose any visible problems whether we have been exercising them or not. All kinds of diets are also OK up to this age. While climbing the next step on the ladder and approaching the age of 40, punctures start appearing here and there and a kind of struggling enters. This is especially so if we have not been exercising the bodies enough (walking is also an exercise). Age of 50 brings in heavier responsibilities of maintaining a family with grown up children. Bodies also start getting tired. We go on patching and re-patching the bodies to keep them moving up to the age of 60 years. While approaching the age of 60 years we generally free ourselves from family responsibilities, marriages and settlement of children etc. Now the time comes when wear and tear of the body starts showing its signs. Most of the time body becomes a trouble: more so when we had not been exercising enough to keep it fit. A few people now adopt to yoga exercises. Although it is never too late to adopt any good measure at any age yet in the case of bodily exercises this causes problems. Limbs get stiff, ligaments, tendons get worn out. Uric acid starts accumulating in joints, high blood pressure, back pains and similar other problems start showing up. Some spark plug gets missed or the tires give out. Slowly, slowly we move towards dependence on medicines and the show goes flop.\n\nYou can now yourself understand why it is important to start doing bodily exercises right from the young age, eat balanced food and play some outdoor games to keep the body well balanced irrespective of age.\n\nThe Soul is nourished by regular meditation on its Source\n\n\nOur souls are a direct reflection of the aspect of God in us. The soul power like electricity running the machines in a factory, works through every cell of our bodies and enables us to live. When the electricity goes out all machines stop working. Similarly when the soul leaves the body it drops dead and is discarded.\n\nIs this simple fact not sufficient to exhort us to seek soul-contact with its Source to continue to receive the strength needed everyday to go ahead? Is it not a most natural aspect of our lives? How can we remain satisfied till we contact the very power that enlivens us?\n\nMany parts of our lives need to be brought into balance and they seem to conflict with each other. Responsibilities to our families, earning a living, maintaining our health, giving attention to our spiritual lives, keeping up with the plethora of information required to function in the world today, our duties to community and the myriads of other demands on our time and energy continue to create imbalances. The more complex our lives become, the more we need to realize that there is only one point of reliable balance- and that is in God only. There is nothing else to depend upon. Every other thing will fail you. Only the light of God pervades everything and underlies all our material and spiritual activities. Sooner or later this lesson has to be learnt and none can run away from it how hard he may try. One day you have to kneel down and cry, ‘Beloved Lord, help me’!\n\n\n\n                                              Just 7 Days——-to Excellence\n\n                             (A practical guide to the highest goal of human life)\n\n\n\nSwami Vivekananda said:\n\n\n\n\n\nIntroduction to ‘Just 7 Days’—-to excellence\n\nc Introduction\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPace of this world…\n\n\n-Paramahansa Yogananda\n\n\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9429424405097961}
+{"content": "Etta and Otto and Russell and James\n\nHooper’s writing is lovely. She picked an aesthetic (fable-esque) and executed it well throughout the book. However, it never pulled me in completely. I always felt an arm’s length away from the emotional life Hooper built for Otto and Etta. I liked them both, and Russell and of course James - James is easy to love though. But I never felt like I had a stake in whatever happened to them next.\n\nI often go on 4 or 5 hour runs or bike rides, so the meditative sense of flowing from past to present that characterized Etta’s walking was familiar. Hooper captured that state well. However, in the long list of walking books, I wouldn’t say this one is particularly memorable. It seems to capture the Canadian country side well (or at least what I imagine it must be like given my touchstone of Midwestern upbringing), which Hooper grew up in.\n\nI suppose the first sentence of this review ultimately captures why I never really connected with this book. Fables have never really done it for me. I’m much more likely to get swept up in gritty ultra-realism rather than magical realism.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5881848335266113}
+{"content": "Tips & Techniques 2 - Hyperfocal Distance\n\n\nIf you focus the lens at its hyperfocal distance (HFD) you will get the greatest depth of field (DOF). Ah, now we have your attention, right?! We know you want perfectly sharp pictures of landscapes with the largest possible DOF. Hyperfocal distance (HFD) is the answer! So what is HFD exactly? First things first. Whenever you focus your lens there will be an area that is in focus (IF) and areas that are out of focus (OOF). The area that is in focus is generally referred to as the \"focal plane\". The important thing here is that 1/3rd of the focal plane is in front of the object you are focused on and 2/3rds of the focal plane is behind what you are focused on. Focus your lens at infinity and the leading edge of the area that is in focus is the hyperfocal point for that lens. Focus on that point instead of infinity and you will have the greatest range of focus from infinity back towards where you are standing.\n\nThe concept of hyperfocal distance is very easy to understand: focus a lens at the hyperfocal distance and everything in the photograph from some near distance to infinity will be sharp. Professional landscape photographs are often taken with the lens focused at the hyperfocal distance; near and distant objects are sharp in those photos. Basically it all comes down to this: When the lens is focused on the hyperfocal distance, the depth of field extends from half the hyperfocal distance to infinity.\n\nWhen to use the hyperfocal distance (HFD)\n\nSometimes you don't want to use the hyperfocal distance. This is obviously the case in f.e. portrait-photography. If you want to have your model in focus and the background OOF, you do not want to use HFD obviously. Also, if you place a very strong foreground in your landscape picture, you have to make sure that the foreground subject either fits in the HFD range or you have to focus on the foreground subject and forget about HFD for this time. Why? Because depending on the focal length of the lens and the closeness of the foreground subject, hyperfocal distance may leave the focus on that foreground subject soft. Since that is the first thing the viewer's eye goes to, the whole image will appear to be slightly OOF, even if everything beyond that foreground subject is tack sharp. You basically use HFD for landscape photos, where you want everything to be sharp. From the grass, only inches away from your feet to the mountain-range hundreds of miles away.\n\nHow do you measure the HFD?\n\nThe HFD is different each time. So how do you know what the HFD is exactly? You can cheat, and many photographers do, by focusing about a third of the way into a scene. This will get you good sharp images with loads of depth of field (DOF). But if you really want to squeeze the maximum DOF out of that beautiful landscape before your lens knowing the correct hyperfocal distance for your lens (at that aperture and focal length) is the only way things can be done perfect. Like we said in the beginning of this paragraph, the HFD is different each time. It depends on a few factors. Those factors are; the circle of confusion, the aperture, the focal distance and the cropfactor of the camera. Two of those four factors are steady; the circle of confusion and the cropfactor of your camera. It is the other two factors that constantly chance the HFD and it is these two factors you should worry about. The circle of confusion is difficult to explain in non-technical terms. You shouldn't worry about it if you're just beginning to learn about depth of field and the cropfactor of your camera is easy to look up in your manual if you really want to know. If you use the following site to calculate the HFD for a certain setting or to create entire DOF-charts (more about that in the next paragraph), you don't have to worry about the circle of confusion and the cropfactor as the calculator on the site automatically chooses the right values if you enter the make and model of the camera you are using. This is the site we are referring to:\n\n\nAt you can either use the 'online depth of field calculator' or the 'hyperfocal distance chart' option to create DOF-charts. Why should you make those charts? Well, out there in the field you most likely have no possibility to go online and check and your memory probably isn't good enough so you memorize all the different values. Of course you can also do some math to find out the hyperfocal distance for any focal length lens at any aperture. But since most of us do not carry around calculators in our camera bags it helps to be able to read the values of a simple piece of paper. Therefore you need to create DOF-charts. We use plastic coated cards the size of a creditcard which can even get wet.\n\nIn Practice\n\nIn short working with the HFD comes down to this: With every focal length combined to an aperture there is one specific focus point that will create the largest DOF: the hyperfocal distance. If you focus exactly on that point (in practice that's near to impossible because how are you going to find out where f.e. 2,43 metres exactly is?) your DOF will be half of the distance of that focal point to infinity. If the HFD f.e. is 2 metres and you focus exactly on something 2 metres away, the DOF will extend from 1 metre to infinity. Everything from 1 metre to infinity will be sharp in this example.\n\nLike we suggested earlier in practice it is near to impossible to focus exactly on the HFD. The idea is that you know you should approximately focus on a point at 1,4 metres if the HFD is 1,4 metres and not on a point at, let's say, 3 metres. Do remember that if you don't focus exactly at the HFD, the 50% rule doesn't apply. If the HFD is 1,4 metres, only if you focus exactly at 1,4 metres the DOF will extend from 0,7 metres to infinity.\n\nTherefore the most important thing about DOF charts is that you at least have an idea where to focus approximately. If you make DOF-charts and carry them with you, you will also know which apertures and focal lengths don't match together if you want loads of DOF. An example: if you want to photograph a certain landscape with a 30D, a 17-40 L lens and you use an aperture of f4 and a focal length of 40mm (maximum zoom with this lens) you will NEVER get a suitable DOF. Not even if you focus exactly on the HFD. The HFD at these values namely is 21,1 metres. Even if you would manage to focus exactly on that point, your DOF would extend only from 10,55 metres until infinity. That sounds okay, but isn't in reality. For starters, a DOF that starts at 10,55 metres is not very good for a landscape picture. Everything between your lens and 10,55 metres is UNsharp and of course that's unacceptable for a landscape photo. But this more important: what would happen if you would not focus at 21,1 metres but let's say at 17 metres at these values? You will then have a DOF from 7,6 metres to 70,4 metres! At the front you gained slightly in DOF (it is still unacceptable however) but in the back of your photo (after the focus point of 17 metres) your DOF will be extremely limited! Everything beyond 70,4 metres will be OOF. Unacceptable for a landscape picture. You now know these combined settings (40mm and f4) don't work for landscape photography and you can not use them together. Now you have to decide which setting you want to keep and change the other one so you will get an acceptable DOF.\n\nSweet spots & diffraction\n\nMost lenses have a sweet spot. What is a sweet spot? It's an aperture, an f-value, which will get the best out of your lens. The sweet spot of many lenses is two or three stops from the maximum aperture. The sweet spot of most lenses therefore is somewhere between f8 and f11. Using lower or higher f-values than that will have a negative result on the sharpness of the image. A good guideline is to aim for the centre of your lens' aperture range. Find out what the minimum aperture is (it is likely to be f22 or f32) and then work out where the middle is. If it's f22 then the centre is f8. If it's f32 then the centre is halfway between f8 and f11. Every lens will be different, though, and if you want to be sure, you should test your lens at different apertures and see which images are most sharp. The aperture used on the sharpest image is your lens' sweet spot. Use a tripod and take shots at every possible aperture of exactly the same scene, then compare each one. Obviously there will be differences in the DOF but you should focus on a single object and compare the sharpness of that object only. A good subject would be a newspaper or something with fine detail.\n\nDoes all this mean you should avoid shooting outside your lens’ sweet spot? No, but it's good to know that if you are able to use an aperture which is close to your lens' sweet spot and still be able to get a good enough DOF, you should really do that. For the ultimate sharpness you should try to keep as close to the sweet spot as possible unless other factors like depth of field or shutter speeds dictate that you must use something else.\n\nDiffraction is a different matter but it's also a factor which has a certain effect on the sharpness of a photo. It is a difficult and technical theory, but it comes down to this: if you use too small apertures (f22 for example) this will have a negative effect on the resolution of the image and therefore on the sharpness of the picture. Diffraction is an optical effect which can limit the total resolution of your photo, no matter how many megapixels your camera may have.\n\nLike sweet spots diffraction is a very interesting subject and for (semi)professional photographers definately something to worry about if you want to have large prints which are still reasonably sharp. But for some people diffraction is a bridge too far we suppose. Especially because most people don't get very large prints of all their photos. We think the smallest aperture that should be used is f16, assuming you want a reasonably sharp 8x10 print. If you stop down more and still want a sharp print, you may be limited to 5x7 or 4x6 print size. For some people that's often still a big enough print.\n\nLast words\n\nOf course, before you reach the sharpness limit in photography, you need to fix all the other forms of unsharpness; like anything less than 100% focus, aberrations, camera shake, etc. You need to use a tripod, a remoteshutter, etc. Oh, and you need very good and expensive lenses too.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9067984819412231}
+{"content": "South Burlington VT Multi-Family Homes\n\nExplore all multi-family homes listed in South Burlington, Vermont. Located just outside of Burlington you get to enjoy this suburban area without all the hustle and bustle of the big city. Whether you're an investor looking to make additional income renting out the units or an owner occupied buyer, we have the properties for you. If a particular property interests you, feel free to reach to us with your questions or if you would like to schedule a showing.\n\nQuick time-saving tip: Register with the site to save your searches and \"favorite\" certain properties. Once you do, we'll automatically email you with any updates to your favorite properties and when similar listings come onto the market.\n\nIf you are already a member, login to your account!\n\nNo listings found\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5411232709884644}
+{"content": "Today, medical assistant is one of the best careers with great prospect and lucrative income. However there are many tough challenges that one needs to face to become a qualified medical assistant.\n\na. Medical assistants should possess high tolerance level of patience, as they will always be the first one whom the patients will log their complaints and irritations with, and they are also the one who need to deal and consult these upset patients, which is very challenging in fact.\n\nb.Not everyone is suitable and can be a medical assistant; there are many prerequisites which any potential medical assistants should have, such as they should have at least an high school diploma, with pleasant and positive personality, great in multitasking, well organized and detail oriented, with good understanding and concern for their patients health and recovery.\n\nc. Medical assistants need to be excellent in their communication skills and able to communicate well with all levels of people whom they are seeing and working with everyday, inclusive of the nurses, physicians, surgeons, patients and many more. Some people are really gifted for they are able to get acquainted well with new people they met easily; while others will need to keep on learning on the fly to improve their communication skills especially in their working place.\n\nd. Medical assistants are often being mistaken to be the same as nurses. When this happened, the medical assistant need to correct this 'misconception' and clarify the necessary to the patients patiently and clearly.\n\ne. A medical assistant need to anticipate the need to work additional long hours most of the time and they need to be on standby mode at any one time even during their off days, public holidays, weekends or festive seasons. This will happen especially if there are emergencies or special needs.\n\nf. Especially for those medical assistants who are working in the ER ward (Emergency Rescue Ward), if they get too attached to their patients, they will encounter self emotional breakdown whenever any of their patients passed away and some could not get over this depression within a short period of time.\n\ng. A medical assistant is responsible for most of the administrative and clerical duties in the place where they are working in, no matter it is in the general clinics, hospitals, health care center or nursing center. He / she needs to be capable in handling multiple and different tasks and is responsible to ensure smooth administrative operations of where he / she works in.\n\nh. One of the toughest challenges which the medical assistant need to face and deal with is that, even if the condition of the patients' illness is not getting any better or maybe have became serious, the medical assistant still needs to continuously encouraging their patients to be positive and they will get better or recovery soon. This may be very difficult for those who are new in this field.\n\ni. Lastly, there may be circumstances or medical associates such as the doctors or nurses who refuse to listen to feedback or advice, but insist for things to get done in their own ways. This might not be a challenge for medical assistants only, but in almost every career field, we might face the same issue. Reduce your engagement with such associates might be one of the wisest action to take in this case.\n\nRelated Posts\n\nBetter Health\n\nMIT researchers develop tattoo inks that could act as health trackers\n\n\nBetter Health\n\nKeep Smiling\n\nOutside of a Christmas Card from the Royal Army Medical Corps at No. 11 General Hospital – a part of the British Expeditionary Force in Italy, 1918. We really love this card here at Library Read more…\n\nGeneral Article\n\nExercise Wristbands\n\nWristbands are supposed to be a strip encircling the wrist that has evolved into a multipurpose strip and has varied uses. Some are used as medical wristbands that may provide medical information and some are Read more…", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.565662145614624}
+{"content": "Scottsdale, AZ\nJackson, WY\nBozeman, MT\n\nGayle Nason\n\nSince moving to Arizona from rural Iowa in 1968, Gayle Nason’s love for the Southwest and her fascination with the historical legacy of its native people has added a new dimension to her still life paintings. Deeply moved by the spiritual heritage of the American Indian and led by her diligence for perfection, Gayle’s realistic paintings feature the age-old beauty of beaded moccasins, Indian pottery and other Native American artifacts. Painting from life, Gayle sets up her still lifes on tables next to her easel. What she enjoys most is painting the artifacts that are part of her extensive collection.\n\nThe artifacts date from the late 1850’s to the early 1900’s and have been procured through an anthropologist who searches throughout the U.S. for authentic pieces. Essentially self-taught; Gayle works in oil using multiple applications of glazes, as did the old masters. Depending upon the size and complexity a painting, it can take from three to six weeks or longer to complete. Each bead is finished separately with six to ten glazes of paint. This glazing technique creates the luminescent quality that makes the beads in Gayle’s paintings look so realistic.\n\nAdditional Artwork", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9999789595603943}
+{"content": "Baking with Vegetables\n\nNow we all know that when you people read the last few lines of the last post, What Makes a Devil’s Food Cake, almost all of you made a little gross face at the thought of baking a cake with beets in it. Sounds disgusting to you. huh? You are wrong. Vegetables, beets included, are delicious in baked goods and they show up there way more than you seem to realise. Quite a few of you know what we are talking about. For those of you who don’t, prepare to be informed.\n\nThe Argument\n\nIt’s not so much an addiction as…\n\n“But baked goods should be sweet!” You argue. Not true. There are many breads and pies that are not sweet. These can be made with or without vegetables. Think of pizza or a good chicken pot pie. Both are baked, in your oven or someone elses, and both are savory dishes that you more than likely eat quite routinely for dinner. Not just for you humans either, ogres love a good slice of pizza. \n\nYour thinking of dessert. Here we have to agree, desserts should be sweet. But, there is no reason why we cannot use vegetables to make a sweet dessert. Many have done so before and many will continue to do so. Think about your common baking ingredients. Commonly in cake one would use flour, sugar, egg, extract (usually vanilla), baking soda/powder, butter and salt. Have you ever tried any of these ingredients all by their little lone selves?\n\nYa, not so sweet\n\nAside from the sugar, not one of them is considered sweet. All of these even find themselves in savory dishes. So why is adding a vegetable any different from adding an egg?\n\nThe Desserts\n\n\nSquash-y goodness!\n\nPumpkin pie. Be honest here, you just drooled a little. What is the main ingredient? Pumpkin. Have you ever had pumpkin soup? Toasted pumpkin seeds? Neither of these are sweet foods. Somehow pumpkin manages to pull of both.\n\n\nThis counts as my serving of veges right?\n\nCarrot Cake. Take a moment to wipe our mouth. This cake is both delicious and sweet. While you might argue with us a little on the pumpkin, there is no way that ou can argue about carrots. They are a vegetable that is found, more often than not, in not so sweet dishes. Yet they can be sweet too.\n\n\nHoney butter here I come!\n\nHow about Zucchini bread, or a good sweet cornbread. If you have never had zucchini bread, remedy that. Zucchini bread is absolutely delicious, especially with a nice bit of honey butter. It is a slightly sweet bread and we definitely count it among our collection of desserts. However, if it is not dessert-y enough for you, try zucchini brownies. Again, delicious. And no one can convince any of us down here in hell that a brownie isn’t dessert.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7689126133918762}
+{"content": "SF and Late Antiquity\n\nLuna II\n\nIn 1959 the Soviet satellite Luna II lifted off from the Kazakh steppes. At the very edge of the atmosphere, on the threshold of deep space, it released a cloud of sodium vapour so bright it could be seen from the Earth. A day later its plunge into the surface of the Moon was observed by the astronomers it had left behind on Earth. The probe was a tremendous success and a testament to Soviet primacy in space. In particular, it demonstrated that the USSR had the capacity to direct a craft through the vacuum between worlds and deliver it effectively (if violently) to its destination. This was a capability that would be critical in the next stage of the space race, for clear guidance is required if one is to study heavenly things. Continue reading “SF and Late Antiquity”\n\nUpcoming paper: EHS Winter Meeting\n\nNot Cambridge, but somewhere close by. Photo by Tamara Polajnar. CC BY-NC 2.0\n\nThis weekend (14th January 2017) I’ll be attending the Winter Meeting of the Ecclesiastical History Society in chilly Cambridge.\n\nThe theme this year is Church and Empire.\n\nI’ll be up on my hind hooves, giving a paper entitled ‘The Influence of the Algerian War (1954–62) on Francophone Study of Late Antiquity’.\n\nSatisfyingly vague.\n\nSay hello if you see me.\n\nRuling the Empire and its readers\n\nAn example of imperial order. Basilica Cistern. Theophilos Papadoulos. CCBY-NC-ND 2.0\n\nThis blog is part of a wider project looking at the connections between early Christianity and modern colonialism. It comes from a couple of ideas I had while writing a chapter that was recently published on Junillus Africanus and the rules that he thought governed the text of the Bible. Understanding these linguistic rules is necessary, he believed, for understanding the Bible. While focussed on the biblical text, Junillus’s book tells us something about how rule and governance themselves were understood in the Roman Empire.\n\nIn the sixth century CE, Justinian, the ruler of the Roman Empire, tried to bring order to the Christian Church. One man who worked closely with Justinian at this time was Junillus Africanus, who acted as Justinian’s quaestor (a sort-of spokesman and drafter of imperial laws). As a legal expert, Junillus also agreed to write a book of divine rules to help people read the Bible. Like the Empire itself, Junillus explained, the Bible was governed by a clear set of rules, the understanding of which would allow the astute reader to prosper in this ordered kingdom.\n\nContinue reading “Ruling the Empire and its readers”", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8306574821472168}
+{"content": "Select Page\n\nArchitects discover that Post-Conquest Aztec artisans secretly inserted indigenous religious symbols in Catholic Churches\n\n\nMexican archaeologists have also discovered a previously unknown civilization in Sonora State, which they believe are the people, who  became the elite of Anasazi in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico  (Second Article).  It would explain why Anasazi Culture seems to have been a mixture of indigenous Pueblo, Peruvian and Mesoamerican traditions.\n\nThe Institito Nacional de Antropologia E Historia de Mexico (INAH) produces dozens of outstanding TV documentaries each year for Mexican Public Television and students in Latin America.  Almost all are in Spanish.  I will to start doing a better job of summarizing the contents of relevant INAH films for POOF subscribers.  Those of you, who know Spanish well enough to understand the gist of the films, will then be able to go to Youtube and watch the complete programs.  Unfortunately, most of the archaeological films being produced in the United States nowadays is drivel akin to “Ancient Alien Astronauts”  or propaganda to exaggerate the importance of a particular modern tribe.\n\n\nThe capitals of Aztec columns became the capitals of columns in Spanish churches. For over four centuries,  Pre-Conquest art was hidden from the xenophobic eyes of the Spaniards.\n\nMexico City:  Architects employed by the INAH in the restoration of the Great Temple of the Aztecs in Tenochtitlan, plus one of Mexico’s oldest churches that stands over it, have discovered  Mexica (Aztec) religious symbols that have been hidden for over four and a half centuries.  The Native American artisans intentionally hid the symbols beyond the sight of their Spanish overlords so that the Christian churches, would effect, also function as temples to their indigenous gods.\n\nThe people commonly called Aztec today, called themselves, Mexica. In Nahuatl, the native language of the Aztec, “Azteca” means “someone who comes from Aztlán”, a mythical place in northern Mexico or the Southwestern United States. However, the Aztec referred to themselves as Mexica or Tenochca or Tlatelolca according their city of origin. The Valley of Mexico was called Anihuac, which means, “water – close to.”\n\nFranciscan Brother Toribio de Benavente Motolinía arrived in Mexico City in 1524 along with 11 other missionaries to convert the indigenous peoples to Roman Catholicism.  During his stay in Mexico, ten epidemics reduced the population of Mesoamerica by around 90%.   They same holocaust happened in the Southeast a little later.  This is an important fact one should consider, when trying to understand the differences in Southeastern indigenous cultures of the 1700s and those that existed before the American Holocaust.\n\nThe Franciscan wrote that the grand architecture of the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan was intentionally destroyed in order to reconstruct buildings for the Spanish conquerors.  Most of the work involved with converting Native stone architecture to Spanish Late Medieval architecture was done by indigenous craftsmen.  They were ordered to removed all vestiges of Pre-Conquest art, since it was thought by the Spanish to be “the work of the Devil.”  For this reason,  archaeologists and architects long assumed that the great works of sculptural art by the Mexica were permanently lost.\n\nWhile disassembling a portion of a mid-16th century church in order to allow access to Aztec ruins and also fortify the church against earthquakes,  the architects discovered that much Aztec sculptural art survived within the church walls.  Apparently, the remaining art was concealed from Spanish overseers until slipped in place within the structure of the church. From the religious perspective of the forcibly converted Aztecs,  churches built from former Aztec temples made them Aztec temples, especially when he art remained.\n\nThe stylistic treatment of stone by Aztec sculptors was not terribly different than the Early Baroque architecture, which was coming into vogue in Spain and then Mexico.  Of course, the subject matter was often very different.  Nevertheless, the Spanish considered all Aztec art to be demonic, even when it only displayed semi-abstract forms like the column capital above.\n\n\nTemplo Mayor (Great Temple) Archaeological Zone in Mexico City\n\nIn 1978,  electrical workers dug into a great cylindrical stone alter near the Zacolo (Great Plaza) and Metropolitan Cathedral in Mexico City.  Subsequent investigation by archaeologists determined that nearby was one corner of the Great Temple (Templo Mayor) of the Aztecs.  Archaeologists and laborers have been working in the area almost continuously since then.   Most of the great pyramid that stood there was razed and converted into building materials for Spanish buildings. However, during the past three decades Mexican archaeologists have discovered that the bases and earlier construction phases of the pyramid were still intact.  Surprisingly, the Spanish did not destroy massive stone sculptures in the cities of Tenochtitlan, Tlatelolco and Teniyuca.   Instead they buried the monuments under rubble.  Perhaps the Spanish feared that if they touched the pagan gods, they would be cursed . . . or something like that.  Both the Aztec structures and the foundations of the earliest Spanish structures can be viewed by visitors.\n\n\n\nPreviously Unknown Civilization Discovered in Sonoran Desert\n\nSonora State:  INAH archaeologists have been excavating and restoring enigmatic ruins in the Sonoran desert for several years.  As can seen above, their cities and towns were quite sophisticated, but bore little resemblance to the civilizations of Central and Southern Mexico.  There are no pyramids.  What the architecture most closely resembled were the most ancient cities and towns of the coastal desert of Peru such as Caral.  The aboriginal people of this region of Peru called themselves the Paracaushi (Paracusy in 17th century French) . . .  which happens to be the name that the elite of the Proto-Creeks in Georgia, South Carolina and Florida also called themselves!  Hence the reason that we are featuring this project.  However, few artifacts or skeletons remained in the ruins.  The Sonoran cities were abandoned long ago during an extended drought. Their inhabitants probably moved elsewhere.\n\nThe people of this civilization lived in two distinct forms of communities.  Best known are those in the river valleys, which were constructed of fieldstone or quarried stone, plastered with clay.  They strongly resembled the “apartment blocks” in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico.   The other type of community was a terrace complex in which small houses, occupied by commoners, were placed on the slopes of the agricultural terraces.  These terrace complexes strongly resemble those of the Highland Mayas and what we are finding in Northern Georgia. \n\n\nPerhaps it should be mentioned that the Itza Mayas were not “ethnic Mayas,” but immigrants from South America, who originally spoke a Panoan language, typical of Eastern Peru.  Itza was altered by several hundred years of domination by the Totonacs of Vera Cruz and then a thousand years since then by close association with Maya speakers. \n\nIn 2012 the archaeologists began excavating a royal cemetery, which contained multiple levels of burials over an extended period of time.  Here they found the sophisticated art of the elite, but they found something else even more intriguing.   Almost all the skeletons have extremely deformed skulls and are much taller than most Mesoamericans during that era. Mesoamericans in southern Mexico, such as the elite of the Mayas, flattened the foreheads of babies, but they did not deform the skulls to the extreme shape that is seen on the Peruvian Coast and in this civilization in northwestern Mexico. \n\nMexican archaeologists have theorized that the Anasazi Culture was founded by a band of elite from this previously unknown civilization, who traveled northward to the Four Corners region and established themselves as the elite among the Pueblo peoples, who are now known as Zuni, Taos, Zuni and Hopi Peoples.   The newcomers introduced a much more sophisticated style of architecture, a hierarchical socio-political structure and a form of human sacrifice that involved cannibalism.   Thus, the supposed “Mesoamerican contacts” that Gringo archaeologists are now ascribing to Chaco Canyon were actually cultural and trade ties with a much closer civilization in Sonora.  In fact the Anasazi structures are very similar to those in Sonora.\n\nWhen I visited Chaco Canyon for the first time, I was perplexed by the claim of many Gringo archaeologists that Chaco Canyon represented a northern extension of Mesoamerican civilization.  The architecture was entirely different and there were no mounds or pyramids.  The window and door details of the Anasazi structures, plus those round kivis, are identical to what is seen in the architecture of western Peru, but very different from Central and Southern Mexico.  Thus, the new INAH interpretation of both the Sonora and Southwestern USA structures as being founded by Pacific Coast South Americans makes a great deal of sense. \n\nBelow are two Spanish language videos from the INAH.  The first describes the Peruvian-Mesoamerican skeletons, recently discovered.  The second described a large terrace complex in Northwestern Mexico that Mexican archaeologists have been working on since 1996.  Note that even though the cemetery was quite a long distance from the Pacific Ocean, the skeletons wear sea shell ornaments like those found in burials within the interior of the Southeastern United States.  These people made shell gorgets, which is also a Muskogean artistic tradition.\n\n\n\nThe following two tabs change content below.\n\n1 Comment\n\nLeave a reply\n\n\nSubscribe to POOF via Email\n\n\nJoin 545 other subscribers\n\nPin It on Pinterest", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7606420516967773}
+{"content": "Daily news\n\n12 June 2008\n\nWould an antimatter apple fall up?\n\nWould an antimatter apple fall up?\n\n\n\nNow several groups want to measure exactly how the Earth will pull on antimatter. The tests would create a horizontal beam of the stuff and measure how much gravity deflects it.\n\nThe complicated ballistic test may show no difference between the way matter and antimatter fall. But some experimentalists are holding out hope that they may see something completely unexpected, which could point the way to new gravity-like forces, or perhaps even antigravity.\n\n\n“If antimatter fell down faster, it would mean the discovery of at least one new force, probably two. If it fell up, it would mean our understanding of general relativity is incorrect,” says Thomas Phillips, a physicist at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, US.\n\nRepulsive force\n\nGravity is largely expected to have the same effect on antimatter as it does on matter. But theories of quantum gravity, which attempt to unite quantum mechanics and general relativity, allow for the possibility of two other gravity-like forces.\n\nIn ordinary matter, these forces would oppose each other, cancelling out any effect. For antimatter, these two forces could add together, pulling such particles towards Earth even harder.\n\n\nNew physics?\n\nThis possibility of observing strange new physics has led several researchers, including Phillips, to lobby for new accelerator experiments. Phillips is proposing to test antihydrogen for such behavior at Fermilab in Batavia, Illinois, US.\n\nAt least two other proposals are in the works for CERN in Geneva, Switzerland. The more developed proposal is for an experiment called AEGIS, which would be set up at CERN’s Antiproton Decelerator and if approved, might be able to return its first data within five years.\n\n\nThere are multiple ways to make antihydrogen. All of them begin with antiprotons, which are made in accelerators by smashing protons into a stationary target.\n\n‘No cup of tea’\n\nBut antihydrogen is difficult to control. And since it annihilates on contact with matter, it might be difficult to pinpoint its location using detectors made of normal matter, says Michael Nieto, a theoretical physicist at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, US.\n\n“That experiment is hard, and I applaud them for having the guts to try it,” Nieto said of the AEGIS proposal. “This is not like most particle physics experiments, where you know what the beam is, you know how to handle it, and you know the detector will work. It’s no cup of tea.”\n\nAEGIS aims to measure the position of the antihydrogen beam by sending it through two venetian blind-like diffraction gratings. As the beam goes through the first grating, some antihydrogen would annihilate with the grating itself, while the rest would pass through to the next grating, where the same thing would happen again.\n\nThe resulting light-dark patterns could pinpoint the position of the beam with 1% accuracy, the AEGIS team says. But Nieto told New Scientist: “If they got 10%, I would just be aghast and cheering wildly.”\n\nLeaning tower\n\nThe AEGIS team acknowledges that the experiments are tricky and might show no difference between matter and antimatter, while Phillips says any differences in gravity’s effect on antimatter might be too small to detect. But they say the projects are worth the effort.\n\n“If I had to bet a case of champagne, I would bet that antihydrogen and hydrogen fall exactly the same,” AEGIS project member Michael Doser told New Scientist. “And that’s a case of champagne I’d love to lose – we’re dreaming to see something unexpected.”\n\nPrevious experiments have been attempted to test the effect of gravity in charged particles of antimatter. In the early 1990’s, a sub-atomic replication of Galileo’s Leaning Tower of Pisa experiment was set up at CERN to test how quickly protons and antiprotons fall.\n\nBecause the particles are charged, they are very sensitive to any stray electric or magnetic field. Project lead Michael Holzschieter of the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, US, says the test, which boasted a set-up that was simpler than the newly proposed antihydrogen experiments, might have worked, with similar precision to AEGIS. But in 1995 the experiment was shut down early due to the closure of the team’s antiproton source.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8841741681098938}
+{"content": "Eli Unknown\n\nRookie - 0 Points (05/14/78 / Houston)\n\nRing Ring -Hullo?\n\nsilent shots in the dark\nto awake and find the mark\nstained on the face\nnothing will replace\nwhat he took away\nand what i will never see again\ntruly madly deeply\neffected by the burning sting\ndarkness reigns over everything\n\n[Report Error]", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.872858464717865}
+{"content": "The War of the Roses\n\n24 May 2002\n\nCristina Garrigues\n\nFollowing a recent decision of the English High Court the future of sports teams and organisations who license the use of their emblems and logos for lucrative contracts may have been seriously affected.\n\nThe case involved the Rugby Football Union ('RFU'), the governing and administrative body for rugby union in England, Nike, the US sportswear giant which supplies the RFU's official strip and Cotton Traders Limited ('CTL') a sporting goods company established by three former England rugby captains.\n\nSince 1871 the members of the England Rugby team have worn a red rose on the left breast of their white rugby shirts. This was the official strip of the England rugby team, known as the classic English rugby jersey. Through the years the rose has been subject to several variations resulting in different designs but the motive of a red rose always remained.\n\nFor years CTL produced and sold a version of the classic rugby jersey with the word England underneath the rose. Then, in 1991 CTL became the official licensee of the RFU and the rose for the strip was redesigned. During its time as licensee CTL produced the official jersey for the English team but also other versions of the jersey for sale to the public.\n\nIn 1997 the RFU and CTL terminated their agreement and RFU entered into a new licence with Nike. CTL continued to produce and sell the classic English rugby jersey as it had done before becoming RFU's licensee.\n\nThe RFU and Nike (as exclusive licensee) sued CTL for infringement of RFU's Community trade mark ('CTM') and passing off in respect of the sale of the classic rugby shirt which depicts a rose which is similar to that which is registered in relation to the same goods giving rise to a likelihood of confusion on the part of the public.\n\nCTL counterclaimed for a declaration of invalidity of the CTM on the grounds that the English rugby rose is not perceived by members of the public as a mark indicating origin, but as a national emblem or symbol, associated with the English rugby team and not with RFU.\n\nIn considering how the rose was perceived the Judge looked at the impact on the average consumer. To do that the Judge considered the evidence from a wide range of witnesses submitted by the parties. The conclusion that the Judge drew from the evidence was that the rose is primarily taken by the relevant members of the public as denoting either England as a country or, more specifically, the England rugby team, and that any association with the RFU was much less widespread, and even where it existed it was of secondary significance.\n\nThe Judge referred to another recent High Court case involving the Arsenal logo where a claim of trade mark infringement in relation to unofficial merchandise showing the club's cannon symbol failed. The Arsenal club sued for trade marks infringement and passing off based on Arsenal's registered trade marks including ARSENAL GUNNERS (the teams' nick name) and two device marks. In this case, the Judge found that although the defendant had been trading in official and unofficial Arsenal goods for over 30 years the club failed to prove that any members of the public had been confused as to the trade origin of the unofficial merchandising sold by the defendant. The Judge also found that the marks as used on the defendant's goods were solely badges of allegiance and they were not used as trade marks. However, the judge referred the question of whether such non-trade mark use could be sufficient to infringe Arsenal's registered marks to the European Court of Justice and a decision is not expected for months yet.\n\nIn the the RFU case the Judge also took into account that the RFU had not taken a very active role in trying to stop unauthorised undertakings from selling white rugby jerseys with an identical o very similar red rose. Due to this lack of 'action' against unauthorised use, the Judge concluded that it had become customary in the trade to use the rose by way of association with the England rugby team and it therefore lost its ability to distinguish as regards trade origin.\n\nThe claim of whether the Defendant's sales of the classic English rugby jersey amount to passing their goods off as being those of, or associated with, the RFU also failed as the Judge considered that the English rugby rose had not been shown to be perceived by a significant proportion of the relevant public as distinctive of goods of or associated with the RFU and therefore, the RFU did not have goodwill in the English rugby rose as a trade mark. Finally the Judge held that the Defendant's use of the rose did not involve a misrepresentation of RFU's goods.\n\nSports clubs and organisations know full well the amount of revenue lost every year because of the sale of unofficial merchandise. This decision has potentially serious implications as it could prevent organisations from having exclusive rights to logos and badges which may have become customary or generic because of the use made of the mark. A possible solution for any sport entity may be to own the copyright underlying the particular logo. During the term of protection (life of author plus 70 years) the copyright owner has an exclusive right to stop any unauthorised copying of its work or a work which is substantially similar. However, the ownership of the copyright in the logo/emblem etc should be carefully established as the author of the work is the first owner of the copyright work and the ownership of the work is not always assigned.\n\nFinally, it is also advisable that these entities take an active role in the prosecution of counterfeiters using Customs and Excise services and work in collaboration with local Trading Standards.\n\nFirst published in Brand Strategy in June 2002.\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5028561353683472}
+{"content": "Blake Wrinn\n\nMy Music and Popular Music\n\nAn Effort To Save New York’s Strays Is Underway\n\nThere is a serious problem in New York City with stray animals on the streets. Stray animals are forced to wander the streets with no permanent place to stay. In addition to not having a home, they also are often without other basic needs, such as healthcare, food, and vaccinations. This puts both the stray animals and human residents of the city at risk. While shelters in the city try to care for as many animals as possible, they can’t care for all the stray animals. The reason for this is that they don’t have enough funding. However, there is a solution to the problem. Bringing more funding to shelters would greatly lessen the problem. Ross Abelow plans to bring money to the shelters, which is going to lessen the problem in the city.\n\nWinter is the worst season for strays of the northeast. The temperatures in New York City and other regions of the northeast dive far below freezing. In fact, they can dip far into the single digits. Temperatures this cold can make it impossible for many strays to survive. Sadly, temperatures were incredibly harsh this year in New York City. However, something different happened this year. The problem has not been ignored. Instead, an effort was started to bring the strays indoors. Ross Abelow, a well known lawyer, has worked to get the shelters funding. This funding is going to help provide for them in the shelters.\n\nRoss Abelow has made use of one of the internet’s most well known ways to get funding. He has gone through Go Fund Me to get the money. This website allows users to create a goal for the amount of funding they seek. Then, people on the internet can donate money electronically to the campaign. Ross Abelow has worked to get several thousand dollars to give to the shelters. The amount of money is not massive, but it is likely to help a significant number of animals out. Shelters will be able to accommodate a larger number of stray animals.\n\nRoss Abelow has the advantage of already having his name out there. His legal practice has a good reputation, and many people in the city have heard of him. Due to his widely known status, people will be more likely to find his campaign and donate. His law practice has benefited many people, as he has worked to win cases on both business and family related legal issues.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9774907231330872}
+{"content": "Grilled Chicken Patty Melt\n\nQuick Info\n\nLunch, Dinner Cheese 15-30 min 4\n\n\nGrilled Chicken Patty Melt\n\n\nThis grilled chicken patty melt is easy to make and perfect for lunch or dinner.\n\n\n1  Tbsp. each chopped fresh oregano, rosemary and thyme\n2  cloves garlic, minced\n1/2  cup olive oil\n4  spring onions, cut lengthwise in half\n8  slices whole grain bread\n4  KRAFT Singles\n1/4  cup KRAFT Mayo with Olive Oil Reduced Fat Mayonnaise\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNutrition Information Per Serving (singles): 480 calories, 23g total fat, 6g saturated fat, 85mg cholesterol, 660mg sodium, 31g carbohydrate, 6g dietary fiber, 5g sugars, 37g protein, 15%DV vitamin A, 20%DV vitamin C, 35%DV calcium, 20%DV iron.\n\n\nThere are no ratings and reviews at this time.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7231053113937378}
+{"content": "Lockheed Martin Database Architect Associate - Entry Level in Fort Worth, Texas\n\nThis individual will perform as an integral technical team member of the F-35 Sustainment Performance and Decision Analytics team, supporting the sustainment of the delivered F-35 aircraft and Performance Based Logistics (PBL) reporting and analysis. Candidate will research, develop, validate, and document complex data relationships in a data warehouse environment and create reusable SQL queries and/or reports. Candidate will also work within a team to manually capture and input sustainment data into the data warehouse, will review data loaded into the data warehouse for accuracy, and will improve processes to increase data quality. Candidate will be responsible for developing system requirements for maturation and growth of the data repository. Candidate will create and sustain various Python, VBA (Visual Basic for Applications), Java, C#, and other scripts to automate manual processes.\n\n\nBasic Qualifications Bachelors Degree from an accredited college or university.\n\nCoursework or experience in database development, data mining using SQL, and data analysis using MS Excel and/or Access.\n\n\nCoursework or experience with Python or Java.\n\nDesired skills Knowledge and understanding of large databases and analysis techniques.\n\nCoursework or experience with VBA (Visual Basic for Applications).\n\nExcellent written and verbal communication skills.\n\nKnowledge and experience with F-35 sustainment and/or ALIS (Visual Basic for Applications).\n\n\n\n\nJob Location(s): Fort Worth Texas", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9999960660934448}
+{"content": "SCOTT LUCAS: Congratulations on the new job, and welcome to CAW. Let's start with how you first became interested in art?\n\nDANIEL BERGMAN: My maternal grandmother was a revered figure in my family. She was an artist and she had a farm in rural Michigan where she raised sheep, and there was a lake where I went fishing. I did the best part of my growing up on that farm with her. She had some success as a painter in Paris between the wars, but she also had a great eye for art. She bought some etchings from an artist along the quay in Paris, a fellow named Pablo Picasso, and those works formed the basis of the art collection hanging in her farmhouse. Being an artist was a valued position in my family, so by the time I was five, I knew I wanted to be an artist.\n\nScott: And when did you become interested in arts education?\n\nCAW's New Program Director, Daniel Bergman\n\nCAW's New Program Director, Daniel Bergman\n\nDaniel: When I moved to New York, I got hired at St. Anne's School in downtown Brooklyn, one of the leading progressive art-centered schools in the nation. I was very lucky, because I found my niche right away. I got to work with seasoned artists, and I had a lot of freedom to develop my own curriculum. After I left St. Anne's to earn my MFA, I worked with different programs, including Studio in the School, Lincoln Center Institute and the Guggenheim for about a dozen years.\n\nFamily life came along and I thought I'd better get a job with health insurance. I was offered a position teaching wood working part-time at Trinity School on the Upper West side, but within six months, the head of the art department retired and they offered me the position. And that’s how I found my way into arts administration.\n\nScott: What do you see as your priorities for the Programs Department over the next year?\n\nDaniel: I am truly inspired by our mission to develop young people in underserved communities through art-making. So, my first goal is to ensure that our programming lives that mission, and to grow our programs in a sustainable way that also reflects our values.\n\nMy second goal is to develop an ongoing professional development program that will support our Teaching Artists so that they feel empowered to do the work that fulfills our mission and supports the young people we serve.\n\nScott: Being a Teaching Artists requires a very particular set of skills and inclinations, so how do you set our people up for success?\n\nDaniel: We start by conveying our mission to all our teaching staff. I think it’s fair to say the administrative team wants our programs to focus on so-called SEL skills – social-emotional learning skills. CAW is doing something distinctive from teaching art, and that's where that phrase, \"teaching artist\" comes in, as opposed to, “art teacher.” While we do want to teach authentic art skills, we agree as an organization that our priority is youth development.\n\nThe question is, how do you do that? There’s one school of thought that says you can't teach something just by mentioning it, so if you're going to teach something you have to build your lesson plan around it, so that thing becomes a focal point. Let's say that we felt that collaboration is a key capacity we want to develop. We could tell the kids, \"Look, we're going to have a lot of fun making art together, but the thing we're really going to focus on is collaboration. So before we make any art, what does collaboration mean?\" That’s one way of doing it.\n\nSumi Ink Club is an art project with a built-in element of collaboration. \n\n\nOr we could we could build the idea of collaboration into our lesson plans. In David Perkins book, Making Learning Whole, he notes that five and six year olds don't learn to play baseball by sitting through endless chalk talks in the locker room. They learn by playing the game, but they don't play on a major league field, and they're not pitching fast balls. They play a modified version of the game that's developmentally correct, and through playing that modified version they learn to play the game. So, metaphorically, maybe we simply set up programming where collaboration is required. Then we don't have to shine a light on the fact that we’re learning to collaborate, because we're all playing the game of making art together.\n\nScott Lucas: How do you convey those ideas to our Teaching Artists?\n\nDaniel: That’s where the professional development comes in. I think it's very important to give teachers voice, and to create a sense of community. I need to understand where our Teaching Artists are coming from and see how that might align with CAW’s mission. It's tricky, because I want our Teaching Artists to bring all of their competence and all of their experience to their teaching, but I also want to make sure that when they teach a CAW program that they're wearing their CAW hat that day.\n\nScott: How do we know if we're doing a good job?\n\nDaniel: Before I answer that, let me say that my experience has been that you can get really great looking art out of a process that has very little integrity. You can also get really lousy looking art out of a process with a lot of integrity. Ideally, we want to teach a process with a great deal of integrity that also yields great-looking art.\n\nSo, how do you know if a process is integrous if it's not simply because the art looks fabulous? The only way to tell is to look at development across time, and one of the best ways to do that is through portfolio assessments. When I say portfolio I don't mean simply finished artwork from kids, but artifacts that teachers collect during the course of a unit that track and demonstrate development. Our Teaching Artists are already doing this when they have kids write reflections or artist statements. \n\nA finished piece of artwork is one way of assessing leaning...\n\n\nGoing back to my previous example, if the heart of the matter is collaboration, then maybe the artifacts could be a 30 second videotape of an interaction between two kids. It could be a sketch that's collaboratively developed. Collaboration doesn't show up in the finished artwork, so we have to figure out ways to document the process and make them part of our teaching framework.\n\n...but an artist's statement provides a glimpse into the student's thought process which might not be evident in the final work. \n\n\nIf we want our kids to feel they have a sense of agency and voice, how do we track that? That's a piece of cake. We're already doing that when we give students journals and sketchbooks, which let us trace their input from the beginning to the end of a process. If at the end of the process you ask them to reflect on how they got there, there you've got a demonstration of voice. You've achieved your key goal regardless of what the finished product looks like.\n\n\n\n\n\nScott: So, we all agree that we are really teaching life-skills, but I still feel like the quality of the art matters.\n\nMaking Guatemalan Worry Dolls at the free Saturday art workshop at United Palace of Cultural Arts in Washington Heights. \n\n\nDaniel: Absolutely. I don't want to say we don't care about the art itself. It does matter. Part of an integral process is setting your students up for success. We don't have a lot of control over what their finished painting looks like, but there are variables we can control: Number one, we can make sure the skills we teach are developmentally appropriate and taught in a thoughtful way.\n\nNumber two, we can supply our kids with materials that lend integrity to the process. I mean, if you let students paint watercolors on loose-leaf paper, you're handicapping them. But bringing the right tools and materials is going to front load at least the possibility of success.\n\n\nScott: Could you talk to me more about the importance of public speaking and writing through the curriculum?\n\nA CAW Apprentice discusses her design ideas during the 2016 Summer Public Art Youth Employment Program. \n\n\nDaniel: We could make the argument that artwork is an act of communication, and indeed it is, but if we're developing young people's ability to be successful in the world, then we have an obligation to develop their capacities to communicate, and communication right now is multivalent. You’ve got to be able to put together a multimedia presentation, but you also need to be able to sit down face to face and talk with someone. And you need to understand how to convey information in a way that's convincing. That's about body language, that's about the way that we interact, that's about eye contact. These are all part and parcel of the large universe of communication skills that young people need.\n\nScott: What role does failure play in the learning process?\n\nDaniel: The research is increasingly clear that there are some habits of mind that are crucial to success. Those include resilience, grit and a growth mindset. Resilient people, gritty people, allow themselves to keep trying even when they encounter obstacles or setbacks. A person with a growth mindset says, “I'm not good at this right now, but I can work hard and I can get better.”\n\nWhen I was studying art in college, there would be days when I would walk out of drawing class and I would think, \"I am blessed with hands of gold! I drew like Da Vinci today!\"\n\nA week later I would walk out of the same class, thinking, \"Why was I cursed with these hands of brick? I can't draw to save my life!\"\n\nThis is the nature of art making. You’ve got your golden days, you got you’ve got your lousy days. The goal is to cherish the golden days and just let go of the lousy ones. Failure builds the metacognitive capacity to ask the question, “Why did it fail? By what criterion?” And how do I make it better next time?” You’ve got to be open to the possibility for revision, for problem solving. In the real world, we're constantly working to refine. You don't just do something, get a grade, and move on. You have to keep working at things until you get good at them.\n\n1 Comment", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6859337091445923}
+{"content": "Monthly Archives: May 2011\n\nThe Christchurch Orphans\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRead More →\n\nFR3: The Trickster out now!\n\nAt Freerange, tricksters and their many guises intrigue us. From the ancient Greek Odysseus to Roald Dahl’s Fantastic Mr. Fox, we grew up on stories of subversive characters that sprinkle chaos into our ordered society.\n\nClick here to see learn more about our latest and best issue.\n\n\n\n\n\nRead More →\n\n\nPresence: the fact or condition of being present\n\nI’ve been thinking about presence quite a lot lately, for two purposes that are interconnected but from quite different perspectives; one psychological and philosophical and one in regards to performance. So I thought I would attempt to nut that out a little in words…\n\nI have been seeing a psychologist about issues I have with anxiety, something that comes and goes in my life and which is occurring often at the moment. Anxiety is generally triggered for me by uncertainty, and much to my dismay I have learnt that I’m calmer when my life has a routine, so being a freelance puppeteer and sometimes not knowing where the money for my next rent payment is going to come from isn’t ideal… My psychologist has introduced me to the psychological theory of mindfulness, which uses techniques with roots in Buddhist meditation. There are many aspects to it, but a focus on ‘the present’ and ‘being present’ has piqued my interest in a way that connects elements of my art practice with my mental health.\n\nA good definition I found is from Jon Kabat-Zinn who is an authority on how to use mindfulness techniques to address clinical psychological issues. He says that mindfulness is: “Paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally”. For my own purposes mindfulness has been about trying to pay more attention and engage more fully with the present rather than dwelling on the past or worrying about the future. It is about observing what is going on in my mind and body, noting my thoughts and feelings as they happen but not trying to change them. I have been meditating as a one way to learn how to be mindful. At this stage I’m simply sitting for 10 minutes in the mornings and observing my breath going in and out, noting how it feels and what happens in my body as I breathe. Also noticing when my mind wanders and then bringing my focus back on to my breath. It is so simple, and sometimes so difficult! It is hard to be truly present because it is something we don’t do often in life. We spend so much time multi-tasking and letting our minds run away on us, it seems like the moments when we are fully aware of ourselves are few and far between.\n\nAnd this is where the connection to presence in performance comes in. It is extraordinary how engaging it is to watch someone who is truly present on stage. A big part of being a performing artist training to achieve this state, and the history of this training is something that theatre theorist and director Eugenio Barba has spent much of his career researching. He wrote a book called the Paper Canoe, which talks a lot about the similarities in training between dance and theatre in many different cultures. He coined a term called the ‘pre-expressive state’, which I would call in more simple terms: stage presence. He observed that performers the world over train to be able to be present on stage, and this training always includes a focus on “certain physiological factors – weight, balance, the position of the spinal column, the direction of the eyes in space – produce physical, pre-expressive tensions. These new tensions generate a different quality of energy, they render the body theatrically “decided”, “alive”, “believable” and manifest the performer’s “presence”, or scenic bios, attracting the spectator’s attention “before” any form of message is transmitted. (Odin Teatret)\n\nIn his book he gave an example of Japanese Noh theatre performers who learn how to perform with their weight shifted unnaturally to the balls of their feet. The effect of this is that the body is always full of energy and ready to (re)act at any moment, and it makes a performer interesting to watch because as an audience we feel like something is about to happen. You don’t want to take your eyes away in case you miss something. You could say the same about the position a sprinter might take before the gun goes, or a fencer’s light-footed dance before they strike.\n\nFor me the close relationship between the training I do as a performer, all those strange and obscure exercises that sometimes seem a little-self indulgent, and the mindfulness techniques I have recently been introduced to has been a revelation. I have gained a stronger understanding of why performing and rehearsing make me feel so good and calm, performance training is often time spent being mindful, being aware of my body and focusing carefully on very specific actions. Just like I do when I’m meditating. Mindfulness and performance both demand that I am truly present, and one of the best things about that is that there isn’t much room for being anxious when I’m focusing on my experience of the present. And the more I think about it the more I see sport in the same light. The best sports players have learnt to put themselves into ‘the zone’, which, just like stage presence, allows them to perform at very high levels. I’m sure that anyone who has played a team sport has experienced those sweet plays where it seems like everyone shares one mind and you barely have to communicate to pass the ball and get it in the goal. I have a hunch now that the euphoria afterwards comes in part from the exercise and in part from spending that time being present and aware.\n\nIf you want to read more about mindfulness check out: and this video\n\nRead More →\n\nthe Open City : an experiment in design and living\n\n\nLa Ciudad Abierta de Ritoque is a settlement of 270 hect. located 16 kms. north of Valparaiso, Chile. The land includes extensive dune fields, wetlands and includes an extraordinary diversity of flora and fauna, a small beach, streams and fields. It was founded in 1970 by poets, philosophers, sculptors, painters, architects and designers. Today it is still inhabited by many of the original founders and other like-minded people/families. The students of the architecture department at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso co-participate actively in it’s ongoing construction through workshops, dinners and other events. Living in the “Open City” means that you are a partner of the Corporación Cultural Amereida and thus must carry a certain amount of detachment from “your” home, because nobody owns the buildings that they inhabit. Every inhabitant gives input to the construction of the houses and “your” particular home is understood as a gift. The original idea was to establish a type of a city, but not in relation to the number of people who live there, but in relation to its structure, which thus contains the unusual, the des-order. The land chosen is as fluid as the dunes and such at the mercy of the wind.\n\nRead More →\n\n\nLast Weekend I went Rogaining, that is long distance cross country orienteering.\n\nIt involves navigation using a map and compass, one factor in navigating using bearings on a compass calculated from a map is adjusting for declination. Declination is the difference between true north (the direction of the geographic north pole) and magnetic north (the north a compass points to).\n\nAfter talking to a friend prior to the Rogain event and discussing the idea of declination and  ‘north’ I did some research and found some interesting stuff.\n\nFirstly, declination varies across the world in a strange way, almost like contour lines eminating from the poles. Declination also changes over time (see the great animation below), due to the magnetic poles moving and to flows of magnetic metals beneath the earths crust .\n\nSecondly, we wondered how was the north pole discovered if a compass does not point to the geographic pole? Well, you can use stars, or the sun. If using the sun, around noon you follow the diagram below, and also see below for the astral version.\n\nBut then, how was north calculated prior to accurate time pieces? AND, how did someone discover that those rules actually work without accurate maps?!\n\nChange in declination over last 300 years\n\nCalculating true north using the midday sun.\n\nCalculating true north using the stars.\n\nRead More →\n\nChucking Bricks in Christchurch\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAnd a pile of bricks for the garden.\n\n\nMarcus McShane\n\n\n\nFor practical advice:\n\n\n\nRead More →\nAll rights reserved. Freerange Cooperative Ltd. 2014.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9136717915534973}
+{"content": "Australia's largest supplier of for Teaching Supplies T 1800 251 497 F 1800 151 492\n\nThese educational resources are designed to encourage play. Through play, children can understand their world. These resources help to promote daily routines and home care. Children become confident and develop a stronger sense of identity through play.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8862220048904419}
+{"content": "Direct link Share on\n\nThe Supreme Court today allowed UNISON’s appeal and held that fees imposed in respect of proceedings in employment tribunals and the Employment Appeal Tribunal are unlawful because of their effects on access to justice.\n\nUntil the coming into force of the Employment Tribunals and the Employment Appeal Tribunal Fees Order 2013 (“the Fees Order”), a claimant could bring and pursue proceedings in an ET and appeal to the EAT without paying any fee.\n\nHowever, the Fees Order prescribes various fees. In the ET, a claimant must pay an “issue fee” when a claim form is presented and a “hearing fee” upon the listing of a final hearing of the claim. The amounts vary depending on the type of claim and whether it is brought by a single claimant or a group. The fees for a single claimant total £390 for a “type A” claim and £1,200 for a “type B” claim. In the EAT, fees of £1,600 are payable, again in two stages. Claimants and appellants can seek remission of fees if their disposable capital and gross monthly income are both less than specified amounts.\n\nUNISON sought judicial review of the Fees Order on the ground that it unlawfully prevents or restricts access to justice. The lower courts dismissed UNISON’s claim but a seven-judge Supreme Court unanimously allowed its appeal, holding that the Fees Order was unlawful ab initio and must therefore be quashed.\n\nThe Court approached the case primarily by reference to the common law and the constitutional right of access to the courts. Such access is of value not only to the particular individuals involved in litigation but also to society more broadly, not least in relation to laws conferring rights on employees. Even where a statutory power authorises an intrusion upon the right of access to the courts, it is interpreted as authorising only such a degree of intrusion as is reasonably necessary to fulfil the objective of the provision in question.\n\nThe Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 empowered the Lord Chancellor to prescribe fees. The purposes of the Fees Order – transferring some of the cost burden of operating ETs and EAT to those who use the system, incentivising earlier settlement of claims and disincentivising the bringing of weak or vexatious claims – were legitimate. However, the Fees Order would be ultra vires if either of two conditions were met: (1) that there is a real risk that persons will effectively be prevented from having access to justice, or (2) that the degree of intrusion is greater than is justified by the objectives which the measure is intended to serve. The Court found that both conditions were met.\n\nFirst, the evidence before the Court led to the conclusion that the fees were not set at a level that everyone could afford, even taking into account the availability of remission. It was sufficient that a real risk had been demonstrated, but in any event the fall in the number of claims has been so sharp, so substantial and so sustained as to warrant the conclusion that a significant number of people who would otherwise have brought claims have found the fees to be unaffordable. Moreover, fees can prevent access to justice not only where they are unaffordable, but also where they render it futile or irrational to bring a claim. This was the case here, since many ET claims do not seek any financial award or seek only modest amounts.\n\nSecondly, the primary aim of the Fees Order – to transfer some of the cost burden to users of the system – has been achieved to some extent, but it does not follow that fees which intruded to a lesser extent upon the right of access to justice would have been any less effective. The Government proceeded on the basis that the higher the fee is, the more effective it is, but it is elementary economics and common sense that the revenue derived from the supply of a service is not maximised by maximising the price, but by identifying the optimal price. It was clear that the fees were not set at the optimal price: the price elasticity of demand was greatly underestimated. It had not been shown that less onerous fees, or a more generous system of remission, would have been any less effective in meeting the objective of transferring the cost burden to users. Nor had fees at the level set in the Fees Order been shown to be necessary in order to achieve its secondary aims. Further, in setting the fees the Government had failed to consider the public benefits flowing from the enforcement of rights which Parliament had conferred. Fundamentally, it was because of that failure that the system of fees was, from the outset, calculated to infringe constitutional rights.\n\nThe Court also upheld UNISON’s challenge by reference to EU law.\n\nThe ET is generally the only forum in which a number of rights derived from EU law can be enforced. So far as applicable to those rights, restrictions on the right of access to ETs and the EAT fall within the scope of EU law. EU law has long recognised the principle of effectiveness and has also recognised the principle of effective judicial protection as a general principle of EU law stemming from the constitutional traditions common to the Member States, enshrined in Articles 6 and 13 ECHR and reaffirmed by Article 47 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.\n\nUnder CJEU and ECtHR case law, although the interest of the proper administration of justice may justify the imposition of a financial restriction on access to a remedy, that restriction must retain a reasonable relationship of proportionality between the means employed and the legitimate aim sought to be achieved. This is consistent with the principle of domestic law that rights of access to a court or tribunal may be curtailed only to the extent reasonably necessary to meet the ends which justify the curtailment.\n\nThe Court of Appeal was wrong to construe the requirement of proportionality as meaning that the basic question was whether the fee payable is such that the claimant cannot realistically afford to pay it, or whether the difficulty of paying the fee was such as to make payment impossible in practice. Under EU law and the ECHR, the ability to pay fees is not determinative of their proportionality: it is merely one among a number of relevant factors, which include whether the fees are proportionate in amount to the sums being claimed in the proceedings.\n\nGiven the conclusion that the fees imposed by the Fees Order are in practice unaffordable by some people, and that they are so high as in practice to prevent even people who can afford them from pursuing claims for small amounts and non-monetary claims, it followed that the Fees Order imposes limitations on the exercise of EU rights which are disproportionate, and that it is therefore unlawful under EU law.\n\nThe Supreme Court judgment is available here.\n\nDinah Rose QC and Iain Steele acted for UNISON.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6042442321777344}
+{"content": "Aeronaut Automation\n\nAutomated Cutting Systems & Software\n\nShade Sails\n\nDesigning patterns for shade cloth structures and shade sails is an easy task with Aeronauts Vectorworks multi-sided shades plug-in. Using measurements taken on site, you can design structures with 3-6 sides, generate the panels, and have them ready to cut in minutes.\n\nStructures with many more than 6 sides can be designed by breaking up the shape into simpler areas. These techniques cover the vast majority of simple surfaces made from fabric such as shade cloth, where a full 3D surface model is not necessary.\n\nTo begin with, you need to know the length of each side, and check diagonals. If all these cant be measured on site, you can draw a quick ground plan in Vectorworks and calculate what you cant measure. Lines can be easily dimensioned in Vectorworks, the area and perimeter calculated to the millimetre.\n\nShade Sail Plug-in Tool\n\nIf the pattern shape is not flat, the multi-sided shades plug-in will calculate the Tadalafil et sa description et les propriétés chimiques lengths of edges in a 3D plane so the final fabricated shape accurately fits the structural components and the ground plan.\n\nWorking in a clockwise direction, you enter the dimensions into the Generate Shades macro first side length, second side and decoration vitrine check diagonal, and so on, finally entering the last edge.\n\nThe shape will be generated as one single polygon or a series of triangular polygons for easier or more attractive panel layouts. You can choose to put hollow into any unsupported edges. The amount of hollow in the unsupported in Vectorworks, and the centre position of the triangular panels can be moved.\n\nThe generated shape has check dimensions so you can compare it with the original ground plan.\n\nWhen the shape has been generated in Vectorworks you add any seam or welding allowances, rope edges, and deductions for corner fittings and reinforcements.\n\nShade Sail - Add Seams\n\nIf you know the stretch factors of your fabric, its a simple matter to proportionally scale panels to adjust for fabric stretch.\n\nThe resulting panels are then imported into Tangent for nesting, plotting and cutting. You can get accurate figures of edge lengths in Vectorworks for calculating wire quantities.\n\nTangent will give you a figure for fabric length and waste.\n\nShade Cloth Hypars can also be made using the Generate Shades macro. This duplicates the methods used on the floor to make hypars from shade cloth and other fairly stretchy fabrics, where the tension on the fabric and its stretch factor are used to get a fair 3D shape.\n\nThe macro generates four sided shapes, and these sides can be of any length. Five or more sided Hypars can be made by clipping any corner in Vectorworks to get the final shape. The shape can be slightly rescaled in Vectorworks to correct for fabric stretch, rope edges added, and the shape exported into Tangent.\n\nSplitting Panels in Tangent\n\nIn Tangent, you can split panels and add seam allowances just by reducing the width of the fabric. When a panel is imported into Tangent which is wider than the set fabric width, Tangent will ask if you want to split the panel and Eczema on the body buy Diflucan add a seam allowance, or to adjust the fabric to suit the panel.\n\nSetting the fabric width to less than the panel width at any time will bring up this dialog, allowing an easy way of splitting panels.\n\nAeronaut's set of shade sail plug-in tools is an economical and effective way of rapidly developing shade sail patterns, ready for cutting. This may be all you need. However, if you are fabricating tension structures or other lightweight fabric structures, you will probably need more extensive software. Have a look under the tension structures category for information on this.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9885905981063843}
+{"content": "At the Cato Institute Monetary Policy Conference, Part 9 (Final, w/my Thoughts)\n\nBlogging a whole conference can be an exhausting affair.  Two things I did not expect — sitting in on the press conference with Lacker and Bullard, and blogging the Lunch speaker from the BIS [Bank of International Settlements].\n\nThere were a lot of themes that went around.  I’ll try to highlight a few of them, and add my own thoughts.\n\nWhat is the proper mandate for the Central Bank?\n\nThe representatives from the Fed generally thought the dual mandate worked well.  Most of the critics favored a single mandate of preserving purchasing power of currency, and no mandate of full employment.  The reasoning varied there, but as Plosser commented, a dual mandate is what gives the Fed wiggle room to not be rules based, but discretionary.  Others commented that the ability of the Fed to affect labor issues is poor.\n\nPlosser also told us to consider the actual text of the dual mandate:\n\n\nHe said it was interesting how it focused on monetary and credit aggregates as the tools to affect employment, prices, and long interest rates.  I had to admit when I heard that, that the dual mandate is better and worse than I thought.  Better because it focuses on money and credit as a unit.  Worse, because it gives the Fed three disparate targets, and the Fed is bad enough in trying to hit stable prices.  It doesn’t need distractions.\n\nBeyond that, most agreed that adding even more targets for monetary policy was a really bad idea — effects on foreign countries, level of the currency, etc.\n\nThat said, Borio of the BIS suggested that monetary policy might be better off with a single mandate focusing on growth of liabilities to avoid financial crises, because financial crises cut economic growth severely.  This is closer to the way that I think.  The Fed should adopt a goal of modesty, and merely try to avoid messing things up, as they did with the flood of liquidity prior to the Great Depression, and in 2003-7.\n\nAiming for a moderate growth in total liabilities would probably be a better version of Friedman’s idea of a constant growth in M2.\n\nRules vs Discretion\n\nThis one was more agreed.  Most favored a more rules-based monetary policy.  As noted above, the main argument was over what the rule should be.\n\nCentral Bank Independence\n\nThere are two questions on Central Bank independence.  The first is what are they independent from, and the second is whether they are competent.  Over both of those is a question of accountability.  Ultimately, they are a creature of Congress, and should be directly accountable to Congress.\n\nAs I have pointed out before, the Fed protests actions that compromise their independence, while taking actions to serve the political ends of those they favor.  Put more simply, the Federal Reserve, like many nonprofits, is managed for the good of the management of the Federal Reserve.  They do that which maximizes their power and resources, subject to risk constraints.  This isn’t too surprising — most bureaucracies behave that way.\n\nAre things normal or broken?  Did the Fed rescue us, or create a bigger crisis to come?\n\nThe Fed governors and a few economists felt that things are mostly normal, while most of the rest felt that things are broken, and a greater crisis could come.\n\nWhat crises could we face?  There are the simple ones, like sending the emerging markets through the shredder.  Many noted at the conference how the monetary policy of the big nations travels to the smaller nations under a system of floating exchange rates.\n\nAnother possibility is with residential mortgage bonds limited to a few coupons — negative convexity is potentially high.  Tightening, if it led to a rise in long rates, could be like 1994, one of the worst years the bond market faced.\n\nMore likely is that deflation continues, and the Fed reinforces it with more QE.  All of the Fed’s forecasts have erred on the side of rapid growth that has not materialized.  As it is, with demand growth limited, we continue to bump along the bottom with ZIRP, with the Fed’s balance sheet growing bit by bit.\n\nWhat will happen when Fed tightens?\n\nMaybe not much.  Maybe too much.  It will be interesting to see how how banks and money market funds react to slightly higher rates.  I lean toward the “maybe not much” if/when they tighten.  I’m still not convinced that the Fed will tighten, simply because they have let a lot of little mini-crises derail them from what could be a more important task — that of normalizing the yield curve.  What will go “boo” next week?\n\nFour Final Notes\n\n  1. The Fed should not do fiscal policy, or quasi-fiscal policy.  The Fed is less effective at its main task of monetary policy because they go after areas outside the core of what they have to do: buying MBS rather than Treasuries only, buying long Treasuries rather than short Treasuries, and being a financial & systemic risk regulator.  A monetary policy that is not aggressive will avoid systemic risk… but the Fed went too far many times in easing policy, and not far enough in tightening policy when it was needed.\n  2. The session on the “knowledge problem” was interesting and right, but it is basically the problem that any bureaucrat runs into.  So long as you have regulation, the knowledge problem will exist.  That said, you didn’t need to have this session at a monetary policy conference, because the problem is not unique to monetary policy.\n  3. Hilsenrath took up an argument of mine about the Fed — it is an intellectual monoculture of neoclassical economists.  Lacker argued that neoclassical economists often disagree with each other, so it’s not a problem.  It *is* a problem, though, because the methods don’t lead to good forecasts, and thus good policy.\n  4. I think the Fed needs to revisit their models, and think more broadly — labor use is getting affected by demographics, technology and global trade.  These factors aren’t going away, and they are resulting in a permanent reduction in opportunities for the lesser-skilled areas of the workforces in the developed world, until the whole capitalist world is developed, and wage rates finish equalizing globally.\n\nWhat should the Fed expect?  Its ideas are flawed at their core as the world has changed, and closed-economy macroeconomics don’t apply well.  Their efforts to change tinker at the edges, and don’t realize their tools aren’t effective.  Better to set modest goals for monetary policy of a stable price level with no debt bubbles.  That is achievable, and it is better to do what you can do well, than attempt things beyond your ability.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9290728569030762}
+{"content": "A brief stroll through the Mehrauli Archaeological Park, Delhi\n\nOne of the oldest existing cities in the world, Delhi is unsurprisingly rich for historical ruins, tombs and other monuments. However, some like the Red Fort can get extremely crowded and it is not feasible to walk from, say the Old Fort to Lodhi Gardens. If you do have a beautiful day and are looking for a leisurely walk where history surrounds you at every turn, make a visit to the Mehrauli Archaeological Park in south-west Delhi, not very far from the Qutub Minar complex.\n\nHindi names are given whenever required to make it easier for you to locate a place.\n\nIf you are coming north on the main road Anuvrat Marg, (Qutub Minar side), you will see signs (in Hindi only) for the small cut-off on the left for the Jain Dadabadi Temple, just outside the park. Make a turn in the lane, and not far away, on the left side is a nonfunctioning mosque, Madhi Masjid.\n\nBackside of the mosque\nThought to be from the Lodi period (1451 - 1526), the mosque is now generally forgotten by most tourists and even many locals are unaware of its existence. When I visited, some restoration work was going on, and they kindly explained to us about the history of the mosque. The structure probably served as a temple before becoming a mosque, as evidenced by the construction of a lotus on the dome.\n\nThere are many more monkey visitors than human ones so be careful and don't carry any food. \n\nIf you return to the main road and make a left, and keep going on the left side of the road, you will see the entrance to the park on the left. The path is not much wider than needed for one car, but you can drive in and stop at the various ruins, there are too few visitors to make driving in a challenge. \n\nInside the park (free entry) the first structure you'll come across is Balban's tomb (Balban ka makbara). Although undergoing restoration work when we visited, there were no restrictions to visit and the workers didn't seem to mind.\n\nRuins of the gateway leading to Balban's tomb\nBuilt in the latter half of the 13th century, the tomb complex is said to be the first appearance of the arch in Islamic architecture in India. The tomb is of Ghiyas ud din Balban, a ruler of the Slave dynasty of the Delhi Sutanate from 1266 to 1287.\n\nBalban began his career in the Sultanate after being bought as a slave by Sultan Iltutmish in 1233. He quickly rose through the ranks and had power in some capacity for about 40 years. A very hard worker, Balban was the de facto ruler during Sultan Mahmud's reign, who had no interest in governance. After Mahmud died, Balban was pronounced sultan.\n\nLooking around the tomb complex\nContinue onto the complex of an enclosed tomb, of which little information is given.\n\nFurther ahead is one of the area's more popular and better maintained sights, the Tomb and Mosque of Jamali Kamali (Jamali Kamali ka Makbara aur Masjid).\n\nEntrance to the Tomb and Mosque of Jamali-Kamali\nWhat a rhythmic name! Jamali, the alias of Shaikh Fazlu'llah was a Sufi saint during the Lodi dynasty and Kamali was a person associated with him, though exact details are lacking.\n\nExterior of the Mosque\nDetail in the interior\nRight opposite the mosque compound is a slightly elevated, grassy area which can serve as a nice picnic ground and provides aerial views of both the Jamali Kamali Mosque Compound and up to Qutub Minar.\n\nAerial view of Jamali Kamali Mosque and Tombs\n\nView of the Qutub Minar\nYou can also treat your taste buds to one of Delhi's popular street food specialties- a chaat of sweet potato locally known as shakarkandi.\n\nThere must be enough visitors to make it worth their while to sell here.\nStill not crowded though, on the holiday when I visited. \nA stepwell is exactly that, a well with steps, locally known as baoli. Slightly further ahead is Rajon ki Baoli.\n\nRajon ki Baoli\nBelieved to have been built during the Lodi dynasty in 1516, this stepwell is an architectural gem and was used to provide drinking water at that time. Of course, now you may not want to get too close to the unsightly green at the bottom- be careful not to fall in while admiring the architecture!\n\nIn the interior, climb the narrow steps (again, with caution) to go one level up, to get a better view of the adjoining mosque. \n\nThe mosque\n\nInterior of the mosque, definitely in need of some work!\n\nThe area is also home to some more, you guessed it, tombs\nUnfortunately I could only spend a bit over an hour here, clearly the size and scale of the place suggests that one could easily spend 3+ hours out here. \n\nRestoration work is going on at several monuments here. Let's hope for some results.\n\n'Protected Monument' signboards waiting to be put against the respective monument\nRestoration work in full swing\n\nNo comments:", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7950884103775024}
+{"content": "Sir Nikolaus Pevsner\n\nAlso found in: Dictionary.\n\nPevsner, Sir Nikolaus\n\n(pĕvz`nər), 1902–83, English architectural historian, b. Germany. Influenced by Heinrich WölfflinWölfflin, Heinrich\n, 1864–1945, Swiss art historian. Wölfflin's formal stylistic analysis of motifs and composition in art combined cultural history and psychological insight into the creative process to form a complete aesthetic system.\n..... Click the link for more information.\n, Pevsner contended in his many works that art must be considered within its historical and social context. For many years Pevsner was art editor of Penguin Books. He was knighted in 1969. His major works include An Outline of European Architecture (1942), Pioneers of Modern Design (2d ed. 1949), Mannerism to Romanticism (2 vol., 1968), A History of Building Types (1976), and The Buildings of England, a massive 46-volume series of studies of regional English architecture (1951–74).\nReferences in periodicals archive ?\nThe architectural historian Sir Nikolaus Pevsner regarded Newcastle as one of the best five places in the country for surviving medieval walls.\nBut, with the drive and persistence of such men as Sir Nikolaus Pevsner, John Betjeman and Hugh Casson tells him stories of adventure, and Noah shares his own recent memories.\nWith its castellated tower, turrets, carved Gothic conservatory and Gothic windows, it is no wonder it had Sir Nikolaus Pevsner, the famous guide writer and arbiter of English architecture, in raptures.\nApparently, celebrated architectural historian Sir Nikolaus Pevsner rated the ceilings in Holme Lacy House public rooms as the best he found outside Royal palaces.\nHalf a century ago, Sir Nikolaus Pevsner described it as a 'facade without any borrowed motifs of the past, as original as any Art Nouveau on the Continent'.\nClaims by the late Sir Nikolaus Pevsner (1902-83--in his An (Outline of European Architecture) that Villard was an architect and that his mixed bag of drawings was a 'textbook' 'invaluable as a source of information on the methods and altitude of the 13th century' are absurd: to anybody who actually knows how medieval buildings were constructed, suggestions that Villard's portfolio is a sort, of encyclopaedia of architectural knowledge revealing secrets of stereotomical practices of the Gothic period are quite untenable, for the drawings would be virtually useless to anyone engaged in making a Gothic cathedral.\nWriter Sir Nikolaus Pevsner said of Herefordshire: \"Wherever one goes, there will not be a mile that is visually unrewarding.\nTowards the end of his life Sir Nikolaus Pevsner was revered as something approaching a demigod when it came to England's architectural heritage.\nVISITING Tyneside in the 1950s as part of his 46-volume Buildings of England series, architectural historian Sir Nikolaus Pevsner came up with two telling comments.\nAs Sir Nikolaus Pevsner put it: \"the history of architecture is primarily a history of man shaping space.\nPresented by Sunand Prasad, President of the Royal Institute of British Architects, the RIBA Sir Nikolaus Pevsner International Book Award for Architecture went to Fabrizio Nevola, for his book, Siena, Constructing the Renaissance City; the first book to focus on Siennese architectural and urban history during the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries.\nBehind the great 16-column Corinthian portico of St George's Hall in Liverpool, which Sir Nikolaus Pevsner described as 'the freest neo-Grecian building in England and one of the finest in the world', are four empty plinths (Figs 3 and 4).", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7746083736419678}
+{"content": "(redirected from molecular film)\nAlso found in: Dictionary, Medical.\n\n\n(physical chemistry)\n\n\n\na layer of a substance 1 molecule thick on a surface or at a phase boundary. Monolayers are produced by adsorption, surface diffusion, and evaporation of a solvent from a solution containing a nonvolatile component. Monolayers that are formed by surface-active substances on the surface of a liquid or at the boundary between two nonmiscible liquids may exist in various two-dimensional states (gaseous, condensed, and intermediate, or “liquid-expanded”).\n\nIn gaseous monolayers, the distance between the molecules is great relative to their size; therefore, cohesive molecular interactions are virtually absent. On the other hand, condensed monolayers have limiting molecular packing density. In the case of fatty acids, alcohols, and other molecules that may be represented as hydrocarbon chains with a polar terminal group, condensed monolayers resemble “picket fences” occupying the entire surface area. Each molecule in such a “fence” is arranged perpendicularly or at an angle to the phase boundary surface and, regardless of its own length, usually occupies an area of 20–25 square angstroms. As a rule, linear macromolecular compounds form monolayers with horizontal orientation of the macromolecules. If the cohesion is sufficiently high, monolayers may have surface viscosity and strength that differ sharply from those of the bulk phases.\n\nThe structure and properties of monolayers have a strong effect on mass transfer (evaporation and diffusion), catalysis, friction, adhesion, and corrosion; this is taken into account in solving various engineering and industrial problems. The stability of highly disperse systems (sols, emulsions, and suspensions) often depends predominantly on the state of a monolayer.\n\nMonolayers also play an important role in biological systems. For example, there are membrane structures in all cells of living organisms. Biological membranes basically consist of two monolayers of protein molecules with a double (bimolecular) layer of lipids between them. The thickness of such a four-layer membrane is 70–80 angstroms. The alternation of various types of monolayers also results in the lamellar structure of certain cell organelles, such as chloroplasts in the cells of green plants. Artificial monolayers are used as models of biological membranes in studying their structure and function.\n\n\nAdamson, A. W. Physical Chemistry of Surfaces, 2nd ed. New York, 1971.\nGaines, G. L. Insoluble Monolayers at Liquid-Gas Interfaces. New York [1966].\nBeredjick, N. “Issledovanie monomolekuliarnykh sloev polimerov.” In Noveishie melody issledovaniia polimerov. Moscow, 1966. Chapter 16. (Translated from English.)\n\n\nFull browser ?", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7457915544509888}
+{"content": "Anxiety & Depression\n\nAnxiety and depression are conditions that are treatable, both at the mild and more severe ends of the spectrum. Realistically, while you need to get to the route of the problem, you also need to find ways of 'managing' and dealing with your condition while you recover over time\n\nWe have provided some simple information in response to some commonly asked questions which we hope you find helpful. We have also made some recommendations for 3rd party information which you may wish to take a look at.\n\nAnxiety and Depression are the most common concerns in mental health today. Our lifestyles and pressures of modern life often only increase the likelihood of us suffering to some degree, from these conditions. They are often a complex combination of factors which are not always easy to identify. Often the factors are largely external (work stress, nutrition, social factors), and sometimes the factors are internal (chemical imbalance, genetics).\n\nIt is also not always clear what are symptoms and what are causes - being depressed or anxious because you can't cope at work, or are struggling at work because you are depressed or anxious. This simple example shows how difficult it can be for someone to break free of what can often become a cycle of symptom, cause, symptom, cause, etc and also combined with other variables.\n\nDepression officially affects over 350 million people worldwide, although the actual number is far higher as many people go undiagnosed or suffer for a limited period of time or to a mild level. Women tend to suffer from depression more than men (70% vs 30%) although this may be more balanced if 'real' figures were available. Women tend to express depression through guilt or sadness, where men tend to get angry. Root causes vary, but often something as specific as a sleep disorder can be to blame.\n\nAnxiety tends to be related to stress which starts as fear or worry, but can develop into anxiety disorders which are emotional, physical and behavioural in nature. But there are things you can do, without things getting out of hand.\n\nHow to overcome anxiety\n\nSocial anxiety symptoms\n\nHow to stop anxiety\n\nHow to help depression\n\nWhy am I so depressed?\n\nHelp for depression\n\nSelected information and treatment products", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6456789374351501}
+{"content": "Practice Areas\n\nMiller Canfield provides comprehensive legal advice in matters relating to the acquisition, leasing and development of real estate. In particular, we provide the following services to our clients:\n\n\npraktyka-arrow Due diligence investigation of the property’s legal status\npraktyka-arrow Prepare and negotiate the contract of sale, including contracts with communal organizations and the State Treasury\npraktyka-arrow Supervise the course of proceedings to obtain the necessary permits and decisions to commence construction\npraktyka-arrow Provide legal opinion on construction agreements (according to the FIDIC regulations)\npraktyka-arrow Structure optimal solutions to foreign investors to acquire real property in Poland\npraktyka-arrow Provide assistance to foreign investors during administrative proceedings to obtain the necessary permissions from Polish authorities to purchase real property\npraktyka-arrow Structure and manage the steps necessary to acquire real property, including the creation of investment trusts and special purpose vehicles", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6270390748977661}
+{"content": "Plumbing Museum App Supports Art Industry in Watertown\n\nThe Plumbing Museum has declared the ribbon-cutting and launch of the Manoog Family Artist in Residency Program, a new cultural initiative being provided to the Watertown and Greater Boston communities.\n\nDesigned to encourage careers in both the arts and trades, the program provides artists with the physical and financial resources required to explore the relationship between art and industrial engineering. Named after the founding family of the Plumbing Museum, the Manoog Family Artist in Residency Program offers artists the chance to harness their passion and imagination to generate significant artwork, develop their skills and give back to the community, all over the space found at the Plumbing Museum and its partner organization, J.C. Cannistraro.\n\nAs part of this program, selected artists are supplied with complete access to studio workspace, fabrication and welding tools, materials and a cash award. The program’s first resident artist, Ryan Leitner, is a recent graduate of Tufts University School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. The autumn residency will conclude with an exhibition at the Plumbing Museum in January 2017.\n\nAt home in Australia, it’s not surprising that the plumbers who made an “Ettamagoh” dunny to race at the prior dunny races in the Warrnambool Talent have created a “Cistern Chapel” pipes museum themselves. Warrnambool plumbers Tony Van Rooy and Brian O’Shannessy obviously enjoy a little fun but their Cistern Chapel is significantly more than dunny humour.\n\nThe group of plumbing paraphernalia reveals how changes in plumbing technology have made life much easier and highlighting previous plumbers’ abilities as well as the risks they faced. Mr O’Shannessy said he initially believed his buddy Tony’s pastime of collecting plumbing paraphernalia had been “stupid” before he caught the ‘art collection’ bug and joined him in a few collectors’ rallies.\n\nThe collection grew and both got a site at the South Western District Restoration Group’s centre that’s next to the Cobden Miniature Railway and Mini Golf Park. In the true spirit of the old plumbers who were ingenuous in repairing things, they recycled a corrugated iron shed from neighboring Dixie to make a home for the makeshift museum.\n\nIt houses everything from old nighttime soil cans and architectural engineered timbers to elaborate ceramic and metal piping configurations as well as the major array of different varieties of toilet cisterns the museum is named after. Other displays include round the corner chisels and coin-operated gas meters. Most haven’t been restored to increase the allure of their era.\n\nTony, 67, and Brian, 62, have been plumbers for several decades and know the tales behind lots of the things including the inspiration for the saying “as flat as a shit carter’s hat” At the time before sewer pipes were set up, night soil carters took off the bathroom cans from backyard bathrooms.\n\nThey carried the cans in their shoulders and the hats they wore to protect their heads from spillage and possible corresponding gas installations frequently wore flat. Lots of the museum’s displays are over a hundred years old like a water main made from stainless steel slats bound with wire. When the absorbent wood became wet, it swelled to become waterproof.\n\nThe displays elicit lots of laughs and stories from visitors about their experiences with similar products. Comic signs like “Old plumbers do not die, their plungers only perish” and a “Plumber’s Poem” add levity to the museum. Old wooden bathroom doors under laminated structural timber beams have a new function as display boards for ranges of taps. The plumbers delight in opinions in their guests’ book saying that the museum is “a shit place” or something similar. But while they could laugh about their work, they said it was clear improvements in youth had supplied big improvements in quality of life.\n\n“Prior to a flushing toilet was really easy,” Mr Van Rooy said. But even with each of the technologies and essentially blocked plumbing and drains or burst pipes, he stated meeting his clients was among the best parts of his job. The chance to meet people was why he loves doing maintenance plumbing in a form of art as opposed to construction. Mr Van Rooy said while plumbing sometimes involved getting into unsanitary circumstances, plumbers were generally able to keep “from the shit.”\n\nHanging Tips For Your Art Display Show\n\nInstalling a solo art show of your own work is a challenging and fulfilling job. A solo show is most likely something you have actually worked toward for a year or more to showcase your art under stunning art hanging systems. You have a significant psychological investment– and frequently an economic one as well– in its success. If your program remains in a museum or industrial gallery, installing the show will probably be the responsibility of the museum manager or gallery director. But if your program is in a co-op gallery, art association, alternative art area, library, bank, restaurant, office space or your own studio, part or all the duty for arranging and hanging the work will most likely fall on your shoulders. Checking out the installation procedure will help you create a cohesive exhibition that will show your work to its finest light.\n\nThings to think about\n\nThe very first obstacle is to acknowledge that, while the works you have actually produced for the exhibition are the factor for the program, the exhibition is not about the works. Rather, the exhibition is a work of art unto itself. Your artworks are just one element of that larger work– the exhibition.\n\nCreating an exhibit is a multidimensional procedure. Amongst the elements that add to a success or failure are the exhibit area, the lighting, the audiences and the method they will move through the space, visual interruptions that are inevitable, focus on your primary purpose for the exhibit, the mechanics of how the artwork will be hung, and the plan of the pieces.\n\nThe area\n\nStart by clearing the space as much as possible. Even if there are pedestals, chairs or other furniture that you envision you’ll use in setting up your exhibit, remove them at this moment so you can see the area with as few diversions as possible.\n\nWhen the space is empty, analyze your environments. Is there any natural light? The number of entryways and exits exist? Are there any pillars, unmovable dividing walls or other blockages in the space? Do the walls need to be touched up from the previous picture hanging systems? Is the ceiling high or low? Is there adequate lighting? Exists anything in or near the area that will take on your work for the audiences’ attention?\n\nAfter you have actually resolved these questions and other that strike you, it’s time to bring your works into the area– if possible, into the center of the area. Don’t lean the works against the walls at this moment– they’ll end up being an obstacle to visualizing the very best possible layout of your show.\n\nOil Painting Lessons on Various Topics\n\nBeing the most popular medium due to its forgiving nature, many of the artists wish to learn to oil paint as a means of self-expression and creativity and with this intention in mind, enroll for classes wherein they can expect to learn the different oil painting techniques from the maestros of the field. In this respect, the student might as well bear in mind the fact that like all new activities oil painting also needs to be learned from scratch and that there is no short cut which would enable one to become an accomplished oil painter overnight. However, joining oil painting lessons would undoubtedly speed up the process as one would get an opportunity to learn to oil paint by incorporating the various oil painting tips imparted by the guru.\n\nInitially, while oil painting how to paint landscapes, seascapes, animals, and flowers forms the content of the oil painting lessons as instructions pertaining to the various oil painting techniques employed for painting these subjects are imparted to the student artist. Landscape, being the easiest, is not only the most common but also the first to be handled by beginners by utilizing some of the traditional oil painting techniques. While painting a landscape with oils, the student is instructed to start from the sky and gradually move downwards. This is not only in keeping with the light to dark rule but also entails the application of the wet-in-wet technique. One way of imparting depth to landscape oil is to paint the farther objects in light colors and the closer details in dark colors.\n\nAttempting a seascape is comparatively a more challenging task but certainly not impossible to achieve for a dedicated student who believes in a lot of practice. Seascapes are best painted by utilizing the wet-on-wet technique which entails the application of wet paint on top of another wet paint so as to create soft edges and proper blending of different colors. Seascape is usually replete with clouds, foam, waves and beaches and sometimes a lighthouse as well all of which can be depicted by maintaining a certain angle of the brush stroke. A beginner needs to remember that while painting a wave, the inside of the wave requires an under curve brush stroke whereas the top of the wave requires an overhand.\n\nPainting animals is a more complex task as one needs to keep in mind details like long fur, short fur, eyes and the overall proportion. In this regard, one of the noteworthy recommendations pertaining to making an oil painting of animal is to copy from a picture and try to produce the closest possible replica in terms of the mood, theme, and expression of the particular animal or a bird. This would not only provide the artist with practice in various techniques but would also make him versatile. Likewise, for painting flowers, one would need a vast array of colors and a combination of several techniques in order to be able to acquire the desired result.\n\nHaving mastered most of the traditional techniques through these basic subjects, one can then graduate on to more complex subjects and even oil painting as an outlet for one’s dreams and fantasies.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9386643767356873}
+{"content": "Anurag GandhiAnurag Gandhi writes code, develop software, design and architect applications, especially in web. He is passionate about computer programming and he is developing software since last 9 years.\nHe is extensively involved in Asp.Net and Asp.Net MVC, web application architecture, AngularJs, design and development. The languages of his choice are C#, Asp.Net, MVC, Asp, C, C++. He is familiar with many other programming languages too. He mostly works with MS Sql Server as the preferred database and has worked with Oracle, MS Access, etc. also.\nHe is also a passionate chess player.\n\n\n\nBy education, he is a mechanical engineer from a renouned university, but his interest were in computer programming since earlier days only. Moreover, he has done C/C++ course from NIIT from Begusarai center, India.\n\nAwards and Achievements\n\n  • National level award in \"C/C++ coding contest\" in a tech fest from Anand Engineering College, Agra.\n  • Best article of the month award from codeproject.\n\nHobbies and Interests\n\nHe hardly do anything other than programming and playing chess. He devotes his leisure time in programming and learning new technologies. Apart from that, he plays chess also.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9978034496307373}
+{"content": "a photo of a women drinking water\n\nTips for drinking more water every day\n\nWater is everywhere, but are we remembering to drink enough? In light of World Water Day this March 22nd, we are bringing you the need to know facts on your water consumption. Your body is composed of about 60% water and to stay healthy it’s essential we replace the fluid we lose every day when we breathe, sweat or urinate. It’s recommended that women should drink about 1.6 litres of fluid and men should drink about 2.0 litres of fluid per day. However, the amount a person needs to drink will vary depending on a range of factors, including their size, the temperature and how active they are. So, for example, if you’re exercising hard in hot weather, you’ll need to drink more. When our bodies don’t have enough water, we become dehydrated. Signs of dehydration include feeling thirsty, headaches, lack of energy and feeling lightheaded. Follow our advice below to make sure you get enough water every day and avoid dehydration.\n\n\nWake up to water  \n\nTry and get into the habit of waking up in the morning and having a glass of water straight away. This will help jump start your metabolism and is a good way to purify your internal system.\n\n\nAdd flavor\n\nInfuse your water with flavor to make it more interesting. You’re more likely to drink liquids if you like the way they taste. Try healthy options such as lemon, cucumber, fruit and fresh herbs.\n\nHave it on hand\n\nKeep full water bottles in your car, at your desk, in your bag and in different places over your house. If water is easy to access you are likely to drink more.\n\n\nRemind yourself\n\nOften you can get busy at work and home and simply forget to have a drink. Set a calendar reminder every 30 minutes to remind you to have a glass of water.\n\n\nEat your water\n\nAbout 20% of our fluid intake should come from foods. So try to consume food with high water content. Water-rich foods include fruits, vegetables, broth-based soups, oatmeal, and beans. Also try to have a glass of water with every meal and snack.\n\n\nPrepare for exercise\n\nDrinking enough fluids is important when exercising so take a larger bottle of water or several small bottles so you don’t run out.  Start drinking fluids as soon as you start exercising, not just when you get tired, and then drink at regular intervals to replace fluids lost by sweating.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9460480213165283}
+{"content": "Mindspeed Gets Linux Support\n\nNewport Beach-based Mindspeed has gained Linux real-time operating system (RTOS) support in a deal inked with LynuxWorks, an embedded software provider. Mindspeed's Voice-over-IP (VoIP) processors now support LynxOS support, a Linux/POSIX/Unix operating system focused on real-time operating applications. The embedded OS integrates with Mindspeed's system on a chip and DSP processing cores.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7180021405220032}
+{"content": "\n\nasyncSend(address dest, uint amount) internal\n\n\nwithdrawPayments( )\n\nSends designated balance to payee calling the contract. Throws error if designated balance is 0, if contract does not hold enough funds to pay the payee, or if the send transaction is not successful.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9998630285263062}
+{"content": "Create amazing movies\nAnimation software, with sound effects & green-screening... for children, adults and schools.\n\nZu3D Family Licence\n\n£82.50ex VAT\n\n\nEnjoy Zu3D on 3 computers at home.\n\nZu3D combines a polished intuitive interface with stunningly powerful features, Zu3D Complete combines automatic chroma-keying, unlimited layers of audio and video, exciting titles and advanced drawing tools with an extensive library of sound effects, music, graphics, backgrounds and titles. Unlocking the film-making and storytelling potential in everyone whatever their technical ability.\n\nThis is a digital download, you will be emailed your licence code to activate the downloaded Zu3D software. You will have the option to add a CD hardcopy if you would like a physical copy of Zu3D.\n\nThis licence is perpetual - doesn't expire.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8746989965438843}
+{"content": "Advanced MicroSystems and Circuits\n\nAndrew J. Mason | |\n\n\nThe mission of the Advanced MicroSystems and Circuits (AMSaC) Laboratory is to develop innovative integrated circuit and microsystem approaches that bridge the gap between novel sensor technologies and high-impact biomedical and environmental applications.\n\nMiniaturize Ionic Liquid Electrochemical Gas Sensors\n\nThe growing impact of airborne pollutants and explosive gasses on human health has escalated the demand for hazardous gas sensors. Our goal is to develop a wearable autonomous multi-gas sensor system for real-time monitoring of gaseous pollutants and hazards. Sensors, electronics, and data analysis algorithms are being synergistically integrated to overcome challenges in real world deployment. Electrochemical sensors featuring room temperature ionic liquid are utilized for low-power operation, high sensitivity and selectivity, and long life with low maintenance. Microfabricated electrodes and chip-scale instrumentation electronics are being developed to miniaturize a personal health monitor.\n\nPortable Malaria Detection System\n\nMalaria is one of the most deadly infectious diseases in the world, claiming more than 1.24 million lives annually (2010). This project aims to implement a system for automated, fast and reliable clinical detection of deadly plasmodium falciparum malaria parasites. The system will be usable by any individual with access to a smart phone and minimal technical knowledge allowing broad scale testing deep within infected regions to greatly reduce the death rate of infections. To enable miniaturized and autonomous sensing, our team is developing highly sensitive and low power sensor instrumentation hardware to measure electrochemical biosensor data and deliver it to a generic smart phone for user interactions.\n\nHigh Channel Count Neural Signal Processing\n\nFuture brain-machine interface applications, including neutrally-controlled prosthetics, require simultaneous recording from thousands of neurons. Our research aims to develop an implantable neural signal processor capable of preserving neural information while achieving a high data compression rate. We are applying techniques from signal detection theory and pattern recognition to produce novel spike-sorting algorithms, and we are developing streaming digital hardware architectures to implement these algorithms on low power implantable chips capable of processing data from thousands of recorded neurons.\n\nLab-on-CMOS Platform\n\nHigh-density biosensor arrays require tight integration of sensors, instrumentation, and micro-fluidics. We have pioneered a “lab-on-CMOS” concept for integrating high-density biosensors on the surface of CMOS instrumentation chips with multi-channel microfluidics using a unique packaging process. This platform can greatly improve measurement throughput in a variety of biomedical research and clinical applications.\n\nAutomating and Organizing Sensor Array Testing\n\nWe are developing a general-purpose software application integrated with computer-controlled instrumentation hardware for automatically executing large volumes of sensor characterization experiments. We believe that this work will yield better tools for methodical execution of experiments and differential analysis of results to improve the reusability and reliability of massive datasets collected from complex workflows, with potential impact in many research fields.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.999212384223938}
+{"content": "As she sat quietly on the bench, she recalled so many times of reflection. Times of stopping, of sitting still to breathe and think of her life. It wasn’t always easy to create these moments, to stop the moving train that was her life, long enough, to simply see what was around her.\n\n\nThese benches were everywhere. Even if people were around, they could cradle her; let her thoughts roll through her mind, easing the turbulence with the help of the surrounding landscape. They were guardians, givers and saviors.\n\npicnic table 2\n\nSometimes she would be present, sometimes drift off to another place.  Somehow they were conduits of time travel: as though a space had opened up and she slipped into it and could go forward or back, depending on her mood. Because of this, she walked in places long forgotten, places of lost love or deep pain. The remembering, though, somehow put it in an ethereal plane, so the visitation became moments of healing.\n\n\nSome places to sit weren’t really benches at all, but still created for her the right second to watch a sunrise. Just the act of seeing one could erase months of chaos in her soul.\n\nShe remembers now these sacred vessels and can recall far into childhood how many she has visited. From cities to the middle of nowhere, the times she took to just stop and sit–to contemplate, meditate and be quiet.\n\nAnd now she wonders: where are all the benches yet to come?\n\nsnow 5\n\nDistant Shores\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPoem: Flipping \n\nSometimes we focus on \n\nthe smallness \n\nAnd maybe we make it\n\nToo big\n\nOur life flips around \n\nFish out of water \n\nGasping for air\n\nWe make it crazy \n\nBut you can’t throw it back \n\nCause it’s already brain dead \n\nTake it from here\n\nWhat do you see?\n\nA dog in the clouds?\n\nIt’s not how it started \n\nBut it can finish a new way\n\nDrift with them\n\nChanges fall from the sky\n\nYou’ve caught them\n\nIn your lap\n\nDon’t hide\n\nIt will seek you\n\nSilently slipping closer \n\nYou thought it was one way\n\nBut it will lead you \n\nFar far away", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6870463490486145}
+{"content": "The United States What happened after?\n\nThe United states originally did not want to be involved in WW2 because they thought it was more important to focus on themselves and building their economy, through the beginning of the war they practiced isolationism.\nThe United States Naval base, Pearl Harbor, was attacked by Japan on December 7, 1941 at 7:00 AM, bringing the US fully into WW2.\nOnce the US came into the war and the allied powers had one more country on their side fighting against fascism the NAZI regime began to crumble. The United States was able to get all NAZI's out of Africa.\nEven after the end of WW2 the US is still considered a world power and has not gone back into isolationism sense. World War 2 brought the US out of the great depression and greatly boosted their economy.\nThe Japanese Empire\nThe Japanese were trying and failing to expand their empire, so when they had the chance to join WW2 and expand their empire they took it, expanding their empire across the whole coast of Asia and all the pacific islands they could get their hands on.\nThrough the war the Japanese committed many war crimes including The Rape of Nanking, the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the Batan Death March.\nThe war for Japan ended after the US dropped the second nuclear bomb on them. The United States Decided that the best way to save lives and the best way to quickly end the war, so two bombs were dropped, one on the city of Nagasaki and one on the city of Hiroshima. This was a very effective plan to end the war because shortly after the second bomb was dropped the Japanese surendered.\nNAZI Germany\nAfter the first world war Germany was very harshly punished in the Treaty of Versies which is why Hitler took power. His plan was to expand into the 3rd Reich taking over all of Europe, Asia, and Africa, to give the German people living space.\nHitler was able to greatly expand the German Empire, but ran out of resources to protect the land he had and continue gaining more, which he wanted to constantly do gaining him many enemies.\nAs Hitler began loosing more and more battles, he realized that there was no stopping the inevitable, his forces were captured, killed or unable to return and help, and the British had become unstoppable. Hitler left with his wife and killed himself and he, leaving the rest of the German people to come to a decision about what to do. Germany unconditionally surrendered and ended the war in Europe. Now all that is left of WWII is in museums.\n\n\nCreated with images by Mediamodifier - \"usa american flag cracked usa flag\" • tpsdave - \"city walls york england\" • ferret49 - \"pearl harbour ship military\" • WikiImages - \"africa continent aerial view\" • Ronile - \"statue of liberty new york ny\" • shelliwell - \"cherry blossom cherry twig cherry petals\" • elukac - \"horses roman arena\" • Gellinger - \"universe warrior star\" • skeeze - \"atomic bomb nuclear weapon fat man\" • stevepb - \"craft beer ale brewery\" • tassilo111 - \"watchtower dachau konzentrationslager\" • skeeze - \"world earth planet\" • Jorge Lascar - \"Oskar Schindler's Deutsche Emaillewaren-Fabrik (German Enamelware Factory)\"\n\nReport Abuse\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7817431092262268}
+{"content": "Train your Memory with Totopo\n\n    Train your Memory with Totopo icon\n\n    Train your Memory with Totopo\n\n    by: 12 6.6\n\n    6.6 Users\n\n\n\n    Train your memory with new version Totopo Mole Totopo . In this game for kids and not so young , you should keep in your mind different images to uncover boxes according to the instructions of each game .\n\n    In the early levels just need to memorize the images of 4 squares , as the game develops need to memorize up to 24 images. The games are : open squares in pairs of images and open boxes in ascending and descending numerical order .\n\n    To what level are you able to get ? Improve Your Memory With Totopo , develop your memory to have elephant memory , if you can beat all the levels , you will reach the highest level . Memory exercises, memory exercises , photographic memory and digital storage .\n\n    The first cry of your baby or for example the taste of butter cookies your grandmother , the smell of the sea breeze. They are memories that make up the experience in their lifetime - that will provide a sense of self. They are what make you feel comfortable with familiar people and surroundings , bind his past with his present, and provide a framework for the future. In a profound way , it is our collective set of memories - our \" memory \" as a whole - that makes us who we are.\n\n    1. Pay attention . If you do not make an effort to consciously tune and focus on what you or someone that shopping list in front of you is saying , no strategy will work . Period .\n\n    Two . Turn it into images. It's easier for the brain to access a mental picture. So let's say you have to pick up milk , chicken, apples, eggs, cereal and orange juice - you want to put them in pairs and form a vivid , crazy, memorable visual for everyone. ( For example , milk and chicken might be better remembered if you represent a giant, cartoon-like chicken running high consumption of a carton of skim milk. )\n\n    Three . Place the photos in a way. \" When we remember something, we often do not keep somewhere we can recover ,\" said Dellis . The solution? Create that place. Choose a place you know well , such as your home, choose a familiar path through it . Then , place your series of photographs along the path , interaction with specific markers of a closet, a couch, a door . The idea is that once you have placed all the items to be stored , all you have to do is walk back through that same path to \"see\" them .\n\n    Users review\n\n    from 12 reviews", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9818769097328186}
+{"content": "\n\nCopenhagen-based Maersk has been seeking to reduce its exposure to the energy market.\n\n\n\n\nCarriers will have to reduce services or risk upsetting the supply demand balance as a massive injection of capacity is delivered between now and 2019.\n\n\n\nAt least three carriers have pre-filed general rate increases.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7801834344863892}
+{"content": "Влади́мир Влади́мирович Пу́тин - Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin\n\nВлади́мир Влади́мирович Пу́тин\n(Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin)\n\nVladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) has been the President of Russia since 7 May 2012.\nDuring that last term as Prime Minister, he was also the Chairman of the United Russia political party.\nThe 2011 Democracy Index stated that Russia was in \"a long process of regression that culminated in a move from a hybrid to an authoritarian regime\" in view of Putin's candidacy and flawed parliamentary elections.\nDuring Putin's first premiership and presidency (1999–2008), real incomes increased by a factor of 2.5, real wages more than tripled; unemployment and poverty more than halved and the Russians' self-assessed life satisfaction rose significantly.\nHis energy policy has affirmed Russia's position as an energy superpower.\nA rise in foreign investment contributed to a boom in such sectors as the automotive industry. Putin has cultivated a \"he-man\" and \"super hero\" image, and is a pop cultural icon in Russia with many commercial products named after him. \n\nEarly Life\n\nVladimir Vladimirovich Putin - with his Mother\nVladimir Vladimirovich Putin\nVladimir Vladimirovich Putin was born on 7 October 1952, in Leningrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union (modern day Saint Petersburg, Russia), to parents Vladimir Spiridonovich Putin (1911–1999) and Maria Ivanovna Putina (née Shelomova; 1911–1998).\nHis mother was a factory worker, and his father was a conscript in the Soviet Navy, where he served in the submarine fleet in the early 1930s, and later served in the NKVD during World War II.\nTwo elder brothers were born in the mid-1930s; one died within a few months of birth, while the second succumbed to diphtheria during the siege of Leningrad in World War II.\nVladimir Putin's paternal grandfather, Spiridon Ivanovich Putin (1879–1965), was employed at Vladimir Lenin's dacha at Gorki as a cook, and after Lenin's death in 1924, he continued to work for Lenin's wife, Nadezhda Krupskaya.\nHe would later cook for Joseph Stalin, when the Soviet leader visited one of his dachas in the Moscow region.\nSpiridon later was employed at a dacha belonging to the Moscow City Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, at which the young Putin would visit him.\nThe ancestry of Vladimir Putin has been described as a mystery, with no records surviving of any ancestors of any people with the surname \"Putin\" beyond his grandfather, Spiridon Ivanovich.\nHis autobiography, 'Ot Pervogo Litsa' (English: 'In the First Person'), which is based on Putin's interviews, speaks of humble beginnings, including early years in a communal apartment in Leningrad.\n\nVladimir Vladimirovich Putin\nBy fifth grade he was one of a few in a class of more than 45 pupils who was not yet a member of the Pioneers, largely because of his rowdy behaviour.\nIn sixth grade he started taking sport seriously in the form of sambo and then judo.\n\nPutin graduated from the International Law branch of the Law Department of the Leningrad State University in 1975, writing his final thesis on international law.\nHis PhD thesis was titled \"The Strategic Planning of Regional Resources Under the Formation of Market Relations\", and it argued that Russian economic success would depend on creating national energy champions (?).\nIt has been suggested that most of the thesis was plagiarized from a paper by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh.\nWhile at university he became a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and remained a member until the party was dissolved in December 1991.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9220079183578491}
+{"content": "Species Information\n  • Active\n  • Mortal\nRelated species\n  • Mostly incapable of psychic ability\n\nHumans are living mortal beings characterized by their incapability to exhibit magical or supernatural powers.\n\nAs the human race repletes the majority of the Earth’s population, they are commonly noted for their desire to influence and understand the environment by seeking to explain and manipulate phenomena through mythology, philosophy, religion, and science.\n\n\n  • Humans can be turned into vampires.\n\nHumans can give birth to doppelgängers, werewolves, or witches.\n\nHumans can become mediums or supernatural hunter.\n\nThe human race is the oldest species known to man.\n\nHumans generally have a short life-span when compared to other sentient species.\n\n  • Vampires and hybrids are ageless, witches can slow down their aging, and ghosts can keep on existing and influencing the world around them if they find a way.\n\nAd blocker interference detected!\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7914296984672546}
+{"content": "Voice of the powerless, the wikipedia alternative\n\nWhat Can Screen Printing Companies Expect From Shop Software?\n\nIn Florida, screen printing companies acquire more advanced information systems to manage their business operations. This includes managing and updating the workflow and managing requirements for designs. The following are details about what screen printing companies expect from shop software.\n\nReviewing the Size Matrix\n\nThe projects are entered into information system based on the exact requirements. The size matrix presents the workers with information such as the size of the mesh that should be used and the colors requested by the client. They receive size requirements for apparel as well as the total count for each size. The size of the images is also identified through this matrix. These details explain the exact requirements for each project. The system presents the workers with prompts based on the information presented.\n\nStorage for All Designs and Projects\n\nAs orders are received, a file is created for the client. This includes the exact design and description of their project. These details are stored for future use. This makes it easier to fulfill the requirements of the project at a later time. This allows the managers to add these saved files and requirements into the workflow. These features prevent any unwanted delays that could affect the delivery of the project to the client.\n\nReviewing Price Control\n\nThe information system shows the exact cost of each project for the screen printing company. This includes an itemized list of all supplies based on their unit price. It also includes a price for the client based on the quantity of their order and any requests that affect the overall price.\n\nThese features enable the company to provide more competitive pricing for their clients. They also present the company with a calculated value for their profits associated with each project completed. This enables them to make sound decisions about the feasibility of incoming projects.\n\nIn Florida, screen printing companies explore choices for information systems updates. These updates present them with features that could improve the way their company operates. They can also present them with features that lower their costs and present them with better product options. Screen printing companies that want to acquire this beneficial software contact a consultant right away.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9988536834716797}
+{"content": "Tuesday, August 8, 2017\n\nHow Do I Shock Chlorinate My Well Water?\n\nHello sir,\n\nI just moved into a country home and our water smells like rotten eggs. I have seen where adding chlorine bleach to the well can solve this problem.  Can you let me know if this will work?  I had our water tested and attach a copy of our test report.\n\nWe don’t see any rust stains and the water seems fine, but both the hot and cold smell.   The former owner said it did not used to smell and said we can add some bleach to the well to fix it.\n\nHow do you define ‘shock chlorination’?  I don’t want to just pour a lot of bleach down my well without learning more about it.\n\nDr. Bill R.\n\nDear Dr. Bill,\n\nThanks for emailing. Shock chlorination is the process by which home water systems such as wells, springs, and cisterns are disinfected using liquid bleach.  This involves adding enough chlorine to bring up the chlorine residual to 100 to 200 PPM and allowing the chlorinated water to sit for 6 to 12 hours, and then flushing the water.\n\nThis can temporarily stop the odor.  By adding chlorine to the well, the odor may go away temporarily or in some cases it can be eliminated for months, especially if the odor has occurred when the well water sat undisturbed for some weeks.\n\nIron or sulfate reducing bacteria can thrive in well water especially when conditions are right.  Warmer temperatures and stagnant waters can allow certain types of bacteria to thrive, giving off hydrogen sulfide gas.\n\nChlorine can eliminate this problem, but it may come back. Please see our guide “How to Shock Chlorinate and Sanitize Wells”.\n\nWhether or not you chlorinate your well yourself and how you go about it are decisions you need to make on your own. The following shock chlorination guidelines are those often used by many well owners and professional well service companies. In most cases, these procedures will successfully sterilize your well of bacteria and kill the odor.\n\nThe procedures are relatively simple, but can be hazardous if it is not done correctly.\n\nIf you have any doubts about your ability to safely and properly follow these procedures, we urge you to contact a well service company for professional help.\n\nIf you need to find a well professional, we recommend the National Groundwater Association.\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7542921900749207}
+{"content": "What is low vision?\n\nI have read two definitions:\n\n  • “Low vision is the term used to refer to a visual impairment that is not correctable through surgery, pharmaceuticals, glasses or contact lenses. It is often characterised by partial sight, such as blurred vision, blind spots or tunnel vision. Low vision can impact people of all ages, but is primarily associated with older adults.”and,\n  • “Low vision is ‘not enough vision to do whatever it is you need to do’, which can vary from person to person”.\n\n\nYour vision can deteriorate with age; however, vision loss does not have to be an accepted part of growing old. A yearly eye examination by an optometrist or vision specialist can identify potential vision problems before they occur. In my case a simple trip to the optometrist to organise a new pair of reading glasses revealed the fact I have Age Related Macular Degeneration. I still needed the new reading glasses, and I was given a referral to an eye specialist who is now treating my macular disease.\n\nBecause of this early diagnosis the specialist has told me “I will have very useful vision for a long time”. I am now 63 and a bit so ‘a long time’ sounds like very good news to me.\nSome of the more common causes of low vision include:\n\nAge Related Macular Degeneration (AMD): AMD is the leading cause of vision loss, for example in the USA it accounts for nearly 50% of all low vision cases. It is caused when the macular breaks down which can cause the loss of central vision, please see this link for more information about AMD.\n\nGlaucoma: is the second major cause of low vision and it can occur without warning. For more info about glaucoma please use this link.\n\nDiabetic Retinopathy: Diabetic retinopathy affects blood vessels in the retina at the back of the eye. It is a major cause of blindness and it is the most common cause of vision loss among people with diabetes.\n\nCataracts: Most of the eye’s lens is made of water and protein, and the protein is arranged in an exact way to keep the lens clear. As we grow older some of the protein may clump together creating a cataract. Over time, it may grow larger and cloud more of the lens, making it harder to see.\n\nVision is also an important factor in maintaining balance. Since 2011 In the USA the rate of life-threatening injuries after a fall since has nearly doubled when compared to the previous decade.\n\nIt is a shock when you discover your vision loss cannot be reversed, however please remember it can be treated. So, organise the professional help that will provide you with the strategies and treatments to keep you active and safe. Also, why not have a look at the low vision aids we have created to assist in some of your most common daily activities, you will find everything you need here: www.ezidlabels.com.\n\n\nby John Owens – john@ezidlabels.comwww.ezidlabels.com\n\n\nWhat is Glaucoma?\n\n\nGlaucoma is a complicated disease in which the optic nerve at the back of the eye is damaged which leads to progressive, irreversible vision loss. Glaucoma is one of the leading causes of blindness.\n\nThere are two main types of glaucoma: primary open angle glaucoma and acute angle closure glaucoma.\n\nThe most common form is primary open angle glaucoma. This is often associated with an increase in eye pressure. Eye pressure refers to the tissue pressure within the human eye and is typically caused by the continual drainage and production of aqueous humour.\n\n\nThe aqueous humour is the watery fluid between the cornea and the lens. It maintains the pressure needed to inflate the eye and provides nutrition for the central cornea and lens as they do not have their own blood supply. It circulates from behind the iris into drainage channels between the iris and the cornea. If it cannot drain away correctly, then there can be a fluid build-up leading to a rise in eye pressure and ultimately damage to the optic nerve.\n\nEye pressure is usually shown as millimetres of mercury (mm Hg). The standard eye pressure should measure less than 21 mm Hg. Ocular hypertension occurs when the eye pressure increases. Vision damage occurs very slowly and the first signs may be the loss of some parts of the visual field, most commonly the peripheral, or side vision.\n\nAcute angle closure glaucoma occurs when the drainage system becomes completely blocked and the fluid pressure rises quickly as more fluid continues to be made. The usual symptoms are sudden and severe eye pain, a red eye and blurred, haloed or decreased vision. The sufferer may feel sick and vomit and it can rapidly lead to blindness in the affected eye if not treated promptly.\n\nGlaucoma can affect young children also; it is called congenital, paediatric or infantile glaucoma. It is usually diagnosed within the first year of life. Symptoms include enlarged eyes, cloudiness of the cornea and sensitivity to light.\n\nGlaucoma can be treated with eye drops, pills, laser surgery, traditional surgery or a combination of these methods. All are intended to decrease eye pressure and, thereby, protect the optic nerve. The goal of any treatment is to prevent loss of vision, as vision loss from glaucoma is irreversible. The good news is that glaucoma can be managed if detected early, and with medical and/or surgical treatment, most people with glaucoma will not lose their sight.\n\n\nJohn Owens – john@ezidlabels.com   www.ezidlabels.com", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8697010278701782}
+{"content": "#ThrowbackThursday: Loving v. Virginia, 1967\n\nMildred and Richard Loving (The New York Times)\n\nMildred and Richard Loving (The New York Times)\n\nVirginia newlyweds Richard and Mildred Loving were arrested shortly after their wedding in 1958. The reason? As Life magazine would later put it, “the crime of being married.”\n\nThe Lovings had violated Virginia’s Racial Integrity Act of 1924, which banned interracial relationships and marriage. The couple avoided prison time be agreeing to leave Virginia and not come back for 25 years.\n\nIn 1964, the couple took their case to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which eventually went all the way to the Supreme Court. On June 12, 1967, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the Racial Integrity Act was unconstitutional. The decision made states’ anti-miscegenation laws unenforceable (though many of the laws remained on the books for years later).\n\nToday, nearly 50 years later, the Loving v. Virginia case continues to resonate. In 2015, the decision was cited in Obergefell v. Hodges in arguments in favor of marriage equality to the case’s success. A documentary “The Loving Story” was released in 2011, and “Loving” was released in 2016 with Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga as the historic couple.\n\n\nTrends: Historic Interracial Couples on Film\n\nRuth Negga and Joel Edgerton in 'Loving' (Evening Standard)\n\nRuth Negga and Joel Edgerton in ‘Loving’ (Evening Standard)\n\nWhat a difference a year makes.\n\nLast year, the conversation around movies in Hollywood centered around the fact that there was no diversity. #OscarsSoWhite gained prominence during the national conversation. It seems the entertainment industry listened, because movies with diverse casts and themes will be released. Even better, a couple of movies will tell stories from history that need to be more widely known than they are.\n\nThe story of Virginia couple Mildred and Richard Loving are featured in Jeff Nichols’ Loving. Mildred, a Black woman (played by Ruth Negga), and Richard (Joel Edgerton), a white man, were arrested in 1958 for the crime of being married when interracial marriage was a crime. The Lovings’ ordeal to have their union be legally recognized led to the landmark Loving v. Virginia Supreme Court case in 1967. The ruling struck down every anti-miscegenation law still on the books in 16 Southern states. (At least in theory; several states still tried to unofficially enforce the law.)\n\nToo few people know this story, and I’m glad it’s gaining more recognition. The case is seen as a landmark in the struggle for civil rights, and can be regarded as the spiritual predecessor to the recent marriage equality fight and decision.\n\nLoving isn’t the only historic interracial love story debuting this winter. Amma Asante’s A United Kingdom focuses on the story of Sir Seretse Khama (played by David Oyelowo), a member of the Bechuanaland Protectorate’s royal family, and Ruth Williams (played by Rosamund Pike), an English woman and Khama’s eventual wife. The Khamas’ romance and eventual marriage set off an international scandal which took years to rectify.\n\nDirector Asante’s previous feature was Belle, the true story of a mixed-race English woman in the 18th century. I enjoyed it, particularly because it was something I hadn’t seen before: a woman of color in a period costume drama. Asante won my attention and my dollars with that film, so I’m curious to see her new one as well.\n\nLoving will be released on Nov. 4th, and A United Kingdom will be released Jan. 17, 2017.\n\n\n#ThrowbackThursday: “The Loving Story,” 2011\n\nRichard and Mildred Loving, 'The Loving Story' (Documentary Daze)\n\nRichard and Mildred Loving, ‘The Loving Story’ (Documentary Daze)\n\nDocumentary “The Loving Story” was released in 2011, and examined the lives of Richard and Mildred Loving. An interracial couple from Virginia, they were arrested for violating Virginia’s anti-miscegenation law shortly after their wedding in 1958. The film examines their struggle to remain married and able to live in Virginia, which led to the historic Loving v. Virginia Supreme Court decision of 1967.\n\nThe film was directed by Nancy Buirski, premiered in 2012, and won a Peabody Award.\n\n“Loving” Film Releases Interracial Emoji Couples\n\nLove-Moji ('Glamour' en Espanol)\n\nLove-Moji (‘Glamour’ en Espanol)\n\nGiven our current obsession with all things tech, Focus Features has found a fitting way to promote the company’s upcoming film “Loving:” custom emojis.\n\nThe Love-Mojis feature a variety of emojis of interracial couples in about every combination you could think of. So if you’re in an interracial couple, and you haven’t yet felt your coupling properly represented by the Unicode Consortium, your time has finally come!\n\nWhy is this important? Let’s start with the film itself: “Loving” follows Richard and Mildred Loving, a Virginia couple who got married in 1958. This wouldn’t be so remarkable except that Richard was white and Mildred was black. Their marriage happened during a time where interracial dating, much less marriage, was frowned upon, to put it lightly. Interracial marriage could bring a charge of miscegenation (race mixing, in plain terms).\n\nThe Lovings were arrested after their marriage for the crime of their relationship, and forced to leave Virginia. Once in D.C., they began legal proceedings. The Loving v. Virginia case went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. In 1967, the Supreme Court ruled anti-miscegenation laws unconstitutional, which struck down said laws that were on the books of sixteen states. (All sixteen states were in the South. Shocker.)\n\nNeedless to say, this was a landmark case.\n\nBut why use emojis to promote it?\n\nSince emojis debuted, the options for emoji couples were pretty stark. They didn’t show the breadth of real-life relationships in terms of race and also sexual preference. The new Love-Moji take this into account, and rectify the oversight.\n\nThere’s also the fact that using emojis has become a convenient visual shorthand for emotions we don’t particularly feel like typing out in words.\n\nYou can get the Love-Moji via app stores and at VoteLoving.com.\n\n“Loving” comes out on Friday, Nov. 4th.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9878357648849487}
+{"content": "Learnin.a Language\nThank you for buying one of our books. We hope you'll enjoy the book, and that it will help you achieve your goal of learning another language. We always try to ensure our books are up to date, but contact details seem to change so quickly that it can be very hard to keep up with them. If you do have problems contacting any of the organisations listed at the back of the book please get in touch, and either we or the author will do what we can to help. And if you do find contact details that differ from those in the book, please let us know so that we can put it right when we reprint. Please do also give us your feedback so we can go on making books that you want to read. If there's anything you particularly liked about this book - or you have suggestions about how it could be improved in the future - email us on info@howtobooks.co.uk The Publishers www.howtobooks.co.uk\n\nThe Complete Guide to\n\nIf you want to know how . . . Practical Research Methods A user-friendly, six stage guide to mastering research Critical Thinking for Students Learn the skills of critical assessment and effective argument Writing an Assignment Proven techniques from a chief examiner that really get results Writing Your Dissertation The bestselling guide to planning, preparing and presenting first-class work\n\nSend for a free copy of the latest catalogue to: How To Books Spring Hill House, Spring Hill Road Begbroke, Oxford, 0X5 1RX, United Kingdom email: info@howtobooks.co.uk http://www.howtobooks.co.uk\n\nThe Complete Guide to I Language How to learn a language with the least amount of difficulty and the most amount of fun Gill James howtobooks .\n\nco.co. Oxford.uk http://www. email: info@howtobooks. Tavistock. and readers should check the current position with the relevant authorities before making personal arrangements. © Copyright 2003 Gill James First published in paperback 2003 First published in electronic form 2007 ISBN: 978 1 84803 107 4 Produced for How To Books by Deer Park Productions. Designs and Patents Act 1988. Oxford 0X5 1RX. Spring Hill House.uk All rights reserved. United Kingdom. . UK NOTE: The material contained in this book is set out in good faith for general guidance and no liability can be accepted for loss or expense incurred as a result of relying in particular circumstances on statements made in the book. The right of Gill James to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright. Devon.howtobooks. No part of this work may be reproduced or stored in an information retrieval system (other than for purposes of review) without the express permission of the publisher in writing. The laws and regulations are complex and liable to change. Spring Hill Road. A division of How To Books Ltd. Exeter. Tel: (01865) 375794.Published by How To Content. Fax: (01865) 379162. UK Cover design by Baseline Arts Ltd. Devon. UK Typeset by Kestrel Data. Begbroke.\n\nfind out what's best. course book and grammar book. For example. at home. in small groups. you'll examine your learning style and find the type of course which best suits you. There are lots of settings in which the course can take place . what can you change? 2 How Should I Learn? 24 In this chapter you put your own language learning package together . With tips on how you might organise written work and use multi-media . Are your expectations realistic? And if not. by phone.Contents Preface 9 1 What's in It for Me? 13 In this first chapter you are invited to analyse why you are learning a foreign language and what you want to get out of your course. how will you use the language aferwards? You must decide how much time you can give to your learning. PC. dictionary. 3 Get Organised 40 Before you invest in equipment such as writing materials. online or offline.in an institution. in the office. audio equipment.any way that suits you! You will be shown the various types of course available.\n\n4 Develop the Magpie Instinct 56 Be proactive .in Any Language 75 Start to make the most of the language you know by putting it into practice.or even lovers . 7 . In this chapter you are given tips on how to put in the missing pieces of the puzzle .and how to obtain free reading materials with which to practise. Above all have fun with your language. go on an exchange visit.with your learning partner. Discover what to do when. You can obtain new patterns of. Live your new language. We look at ways of making contact: have an e-mail partner or penfriend. Completing the Jigsaw Puzzle 86 Reading in a foreign language is different from reading in the mother tongue. However. become friends .collect language all the time. 6 66 Talk the Hind Leg Off a Donkey . 5 Go Native Your contact with native speakers is your most effective learning tool. Yet it can be surprisingly easy to use a mixture of common sense and existing knowledge to decode written or printed material. people who don't know you answer in an enthusiastic torrent. language for free and have some fun in the process. avoid the trap of writing down every new word and be sure to make the most of the ones you do write down. as a result of your increasing fluency.6 / T H E COMPLETE GUIDE TO LEARNING A LANGUAGE equipment you'll know how to make the most of time you devote to your language learning.\n\nYou can move them from one area to another. still like to know. And every language needs to convey the same so. Without grammar. It's not a complex set of rules invented to confuse . 11 Have a Go 138 Ready to risk your version of your language on a native speaker? Find more chances for trying it out in the foreign country and at home. language does have structure and this is called grammar. 9 10 Eyes Wide Open 126 Make your time abroad a linguistic adventure by using your eyes.rt of meanings. add in other words or even clone a letter in your chosen language. Discover the five main things and see it isn 't beyond you! Get to grips with the basics and you are in control of your language. 12 What Next? 146 It's time to look at what you've achieved and what you'd. The amount of language you can use will grow overnight . a language can be like a blob of jelly. you will meet numerous patterns of language. Maximise your practice sessions by being proactive and finding sources of help. ears and other senses.it's a system which evolved to clarify meaning. Do you want to delve deeper into the .own the language you know! Putting in the Backbone 107 Yes. Every business trip or family holiday can be an opportunity to 'collect' even more language.CONTENTS / 7 8 Cloning and Adapting 94 Even in a very short time.\n\nAppendix 1: Levels of Competence. 13 Keeping It Ticking Over 158 You have attained the goals identified in Chapter 1 and have decided to either go further or maintain your language at the level you have reached. Appendix 3: Materials. Appendix 2: Language Courses. Now you need some strategies for continuing to learn your language without even noticing.167 171 177 181 183 185 187 .8 / THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO LEARNING A LANGUAGE language and the cultural insights that that brings? It might be time to reassess your goals and consider a new learning style. Appendix 4: Some Further Reading Appendix 5: Useful Web Sites Appendix 6: Cloned Letter 2 Index .\n\nwas spent skipping from section to section finding the stories in French. Little packs were sold at the tuck shop near to my primary school. and translated into English below. sandwiched between the French and the English. when I told myself that I knew very little French. taking on the roles of the various characters was such fun! Not that it has always been joyful. And delight of delights. Then came the delights of the Children's Encyclopaedia. at the end of the first year in secondary school. How our journeys to school were enhanced as we practised on each other the phrases we had acquired from last night's chewing! Woe betide he or she who had not chewed enough to know that 'Tengo ocho anas' was a statement about your age and not an invitation to a sexy Latin American dance. A rectangular piece of card held the gum flat in its waxed paper pack. That moment of panic.Preface It was the bubble gum which started it for me. Many a Sunday morning. on the other a few useful phrases from the language of the country involved. whilst my parents had a lie-in. even though I had . a phonetic spelling of how the French sounded. Reading it aloud. There was a national flag printed on one side of the card. which were well illustrated.\n\nput the world right and read not just the set books. complaining that the other kids didn't understand the extra bits of language he could use. Or my own son. I have noticed what actually makes it happen. ordering food and shopping in French. I hope this book will offer you a short cut. And then some. We would have attained our goals more rapidly. Being plunged into the deep end of A-level German after just two years of two lessons a week.1 0 / T H E COMPLETE GUIDE TO LEARNING A LANGUAGE performed well in every lesson and in every piece of homework. But there have been times of great joy. and have been astonished and delighted by the results. on our return to England after living for two years in Holland. . When I was a student myself and worked in a small group. Recently. No. cope with following directions. He meant the Dutch he had acquired by playing with other children from our street. They performed. they did more than cope. We discussed everything under the sun. I have been able to put that into practice with my private pupils. gradually. Two teachers. to three pupils. therefore. If only I had known all this sooner! When I first started on my own language learning for instance or when I started teaching others. We stopped noticing it was a foreign language. Being tonguetied on my first visit to France. we were often joined by the German assistant. over the years. even though I had been learning French for a long time. just at the end of their second year of French. Gradually. but everything of significance written by the authors concerned. what makes it all come together. Like seeing my own pupils. and struggling for three hours with the first piece of homework.\n\nP R E F A C E / 11 But the fun doesn't have to stop there. Instead. aided by your willingness to understand. My level of understanding and appreciation in all of my languages is way beyond what I had hoped for in the bubble gum days or even had aspired to in obtaining a degree. The process does not end. Gill James . I now have many meaningful friendships with speakers of other languages. you go in deeper and deeper until. you touch the very soul of the other.\n\nThis page intentionally left blank .\n\n1 What's in It for Me? In this chapter you are invited to work out: 4 why you are learning a language + what you want to be able to do by the end of your course 4 how much time you can give to your study 4 whether your expectations are realistic 4 how to know when you are succeeding. 1. In practice. or a sales manager who has acquired some foreign language? . You may. for example. But here's a thought. be asked to learn a new language for your company. a linguist with no selling skills. It may make sense to learn German if you are working for BMW. we tend to employ native speakers of that language to do our selling. we are expected to sell to customers in their home land and through their language. In theory. though. Who sells best. but may seem less appropriate for Ford. REASONS FOR LEARNING The usual reasons for learning a foreign language are many and varied.\n\nbut it would have been useful if they had shared their afterthoughts with everyone. They didn't know that of course. After that. You may be going to live abroad. My husband decided to learn Dutch because a lot of Dutch colleagues came to his meetings in England. He then spoke to them in quite sophisticated Dutch. You may need an extra qualification. my husband took himself off to evening class. they expressed their last minute considerations in English to everyone or in Dutch to my husband. It was very threatening to those people who did not understand them. A GCSE or similar in a language may be good. But they did have the irritating habit of having a meeting after the meeting in their own language. science and any other subject you may wish to study in higher education. Perhaps you didn't manage that at school. Most Dutch people speak fluent English anyway. maths. 3.14 / THE C O M P L E T E G U I D E TO L E A R N I N G A L A N G U A G E 2. There was very little problem with communication. The meetings became more useful generally. It is more fun if you can communicate with the people who live there. Students entering primary education training in Great Britain now have to have a good pass in their first foreign language . But you will probably need to learn an entirely . and were duly impressed. and at the next meeting was able to understand a fair amount of what they were saying. or perhaps you holiday frequently or have a holiday home in a certain country. using a phrase he had learnt especially for the occasion. You may have work contacts abroad where it would be useful to speak their language. None of it was threatening in fact.they're going to have to teach it soon! 4. So. A good pass in a language is still the most respected after English.\n\nthey put all the foreign students together in a hall of residence. Now you want to take it further or you want to try out another language. You may join an adult education class to help pass lonely evenings and keep you in contact with other people if you lead an otherwise solitary life. we learnt the wrong sort of French. That is why so often those of us who have done well in school find ourselves tongue-tied when we get out there. And how far do you want to go? Do you just want to be able to cope with the shopping and understand the bills? Or do you want to be able to chat over the fence or over a nice bottle of the local wine. You liked getting your mouth around the words. And in learning Breton. You were fascinated by the way language is structured. I understood a lot more about the culture of Brittany and made many Breton-speaking friends. Unfortunately. We communicated in French.W H A T ' S IN IT FOR ME? / 15 different sort of language from the man who is trying to sell an American car produced in England to the Italians. Well. and put the world right? 5. go for it! Many people go to language classes to meet other people. but it wasn't French French. I joined a choir. played basketball and learnt Breton. That would also be true if you studied Chinese brush painting. In order to meet French people. But if you learn a foreign . You may just enjoy languages. I was doing the French part of my year abroad as a student. The actor in you relished taking on a role. I learnt Breton for that reason. You perhaps got on well with French at school.\n\nwe can be clear about what we want from our course. 5 = a very strong reason. Often there is more than one reason or our reasons change as we go along. 0 = not relevant. Award each reason marks out of five. ANALYSE YOUR REASONS FOR LEARNING Study the list below. and choose the right one. 4 my firm wants me to learn it . In brackets I have put the marks I gave for learning Dutch as a guide. But if we are clear why we are learning. include all of them. If you have more than one with any of the three highest scores.I'm not sure why (0 *• I have work contacts with people who use this language (2) * I would like an extra qualification (1) + I am going to live abroad (5) * I go abroad a lot on holiday (3) * I enjoy languages (3) 4 I want to be sociable (4) Now take the three reasons with the highest score and make them into a 'must' statement.16 / THE C O M P L E T E G U I D E TO L E A R N I N G A L A N G U A G E language there is also the exciting possibility of getting to know someone from another culture as well. Hence my statement comes out as the following: .\n\nMy 'must' came out as 'Enjoy living in Holland'. Try to reduce it to note form.' WORKING OUT WHAT YOU WANT TO KNOW AND WILL BE ABLE TO DO Now take your 'must' statement.. I want to make a lo6t of friends therem including =Dutch ones. The mind map in Figure 1 shows my plans mind map for learning Dutch.W H A T ' S IN IT FOR ME? / 17 'We are going to live in Holland for row years. That statement is going to lead to a mind map which will help you to work out exactly what you are looking for in a language course. I must lera enough Dutch in order to be able to do this/ If you have any statements left. Finally if you have anything left. do a 'could even' statement: 'I coukd evebn geyt anbtoher qyalifiecation in ti if one exists that fits in with what I am doing. make a 'might' statement from the next lowest: ' I might also work there and the contacts might be Dutch speaking. I always enjoy learining languages. .\n\n1. Mind.map1. .Fig.\n\nIn the top left-hand corner add a question to do with your 'might also' statement and in the bottom right one to do with your 'could even' statement. understanding and giving road numbers and asking 'where is?'. The question at the top left-hand corner and the bottom right may help you to decide. If some of the mind map ideas are missing but one or both of those questions are answered. you put the 'must' statement in the middle of a 'cloud'. FINDING THE TIME We do have to be realistic.being able to discuss politics. Then break each one down into what that entails .in this case. 'Finding my way around' . Carry on working until you have covered the page. I like feeling the pen on the paper at this planning stage. There is a computer programme for writing mind maps . You now have a checklist against which to assess the suitability of any course. the World Cup and current affairs in a foreign language - .g.W H A T ' S IN IT FOR ME? / 19 To make a mind map. My mind map takes my Dutch up to quite a high level. If you choose an 'off the peg' course it is unlikely that you will get an exact match. I know full well that 'putting the world right' . For the first branches going off. understanding and giving directions. then the course you are looking at might be suitable. think what you actually might want to do. e. You may like to use different colours or different fonts for different layers. As a linguist.MindMan Personal for those who prefer to work with computers. Think of as many things as you can and surround your cloud with them.\n\nwalking the dog . you can create yourself more time. . * Converting some of your leisure time into something to do with your language e. listening to a German football commentary or looking at Dutch web sites. or how to respond when they answered my simple but perfectly formed question in a torrent.g. I almost made it. However. reading an Italian magazine. watching French TV. Consider the following: * Getting up half an hour earlier. 4 Watching TV for half an hour less a day. * Listening to a tape or CD whilst ironing. exercising.20 / THE C O M P L E T E G U I D E TO L E A R N I N G A L A N G U A G E requires near native speaker skills. which accelerates the learning process vastly and I already had most of the knowledge about language learning which I am now giving to you. * Going to bed half an hour later.or any other solitary activity you can think of. I had the advantage at the time of living in the country. But even if you are not living in the country where your new language is spoken. gardening. + Spending 20 minutes (or another amount of time) of your lunch break. I hadn't yet worked out how to cope with the reluctance of the Dutch to let you struggle with their language. driving. That is dealt with later in this book.\n\nThen you have learnt a pattern which is repeatable with other vocabulary . Now try this Work out the total amount of time you can spend on your language. Think back to how long it took you to learn pieces of poetry or quotations at school. 3. or two half-hour sessions per week on a phone course. Bear in mind that many professional actors learn their lines by reading the whole play 12 times through during three days. . Add up the total amount of time. three hours per week using the CD.W H A T ' S IN IT FOR ME? / 21 4 Socialising with a native speaker or other learner of your language in that language. Next. Following the suggestions in this book. with one hour per week formal instruction plus as much 'stolen' time as possible. Include the amount of time for formal lessons e. a two-hour class per week.providing you learn that as well.g. 1. you need to work out how long it would take you to achieve everything on your mind map. 4. The 'putting the world right' may take another two. Each section on your mind map is going to take as long as learning a poem. 2. Now write down what you can do for how long from the list above. most of my mind map is achievable in two years.\n\nRing in pencil what you have met but are still not sure of. I may feel that we have not completed enough number work to do with shopping. can you ask for more work on that topic? As the weeks go by. have you ticked half of the items off? Can you concentrate in your own learning time on those bits which you have ringed? If working with a teacher. This is more fully explained in Appendix 1. It has been developed by the Council of Europe. Basically. Are you on target? If it is halfway through the time you have allowed. With a little more of a struggle. grammar books and examples of writing in your chosen language. Even if you are not studying a European language.221 T H E C O M P L E T E G U I D E T O L E A R N I N G A LANGUAGE HOW DO I KNOW I AM SUCCEEDING? Once a week look at your mind map. Put a pencil question mark by anything you have not covered in a given topic . you have enough skills in the language and enough knowledge of it to be able to make yourself understood and understand others in a variety of everyday situations.e.g. you may find the European Languages Passport interesting. Tick off everything you know really well. Some languages . the rings and question marks should be turning into ticks. but you will rely much more on dictionaries. The level of operational competence This is my definition of a useful place to be. you can can chat on the 'putting the world right' level and you can write in a simplified form with anything you can write in your own language.\n\n. See Appendix 1 for more details.. speaking (spoken production) and writing.. within two years of having one formal lesson a week. Cl. Bl. THE STOPY SO FAR .You know how to monitior your progerss. You have looked at how much time tyou can give. The National Curriculum levels describe the performance of school children.. in my opinion achievable by everyone who follows this book. It is quite a complex process and involves keeping a portfolio of your work. .... B2.Al. This includes being able to understand speech on familiar matters. and is the level at which the language becomes realistically useful.. . reading. . read texts containing everyday language. cope in everyday situations such as shopping. C2 in the areas of listening. .W H A T ' S IN IT FOR ME? / 23 courses are registered for it. The level descriptions can be very useful. There are six levels .. A2. I would also say that level Bl is similar to the National Curriculm Level 6.. narrate a simple story and write personal letters describing experiences and impressions... speaking (spoken interaction).... describe dreams and ambitions.. and you can have yourself assessed fairly formally through the scheme. You have looked at why you want to learn a fgorgin language. Level Bl is the equivalent of a good GCSE and of my level of operational competence.You have worked out what you want to achieve.\n\nduring term time. and which type of learner they suit. They are one of the cheapest options. with a break in the middle. The pace is often quite gentle. Local authority classes These take place in schools and adult education centres. These do to some extent mirror the levels for the European Passport. However. They are typically two hours per week. unless you join an exam class. their advantages and disadvantages. TYPES OF COURSE There is a great variety of courses available.2 How Should I Learn? In this chapter you: * look at the different types of course which you can take 4 look at the different settings where you can study your language 4 look at your own learning style + put together your own language course. This section describes the different types of courses. they do vary from area to . Many local authorities assign levels to different classes.\n\nusually good fun with end of term parties and trips out included. They always use qualified tutors. Look out also for the Get-By series. the teachers are usually very hard working and often produce many of their own handouts.HOW S H O U L D I L E A R N ? / 25 area. Disadvantages Pace can sometimes be slow and may depend on other members of the group. Level 1 is for beginners. especially in the winter. In my area for example. . possibly completing some homework each time. Advantages Good value for money. Learning style suited For people who like learning in a group. but without the rigorous study of culture and literature. where I went to a class in Spanish for many years. and appreciate the discipline of having to attend every week. Some schools and centres can be a bit grim. Also. Level 7. which usually last about six weeks and give you just enough language to cope when you go on holiday. Most of these courses are centred on a text book. They are easy to find. is post A-level. so you need to check with the centre to find out what the various levels mean. We were working towards degree-level language. so that if you have to miss a week you can catch up easily.\n\nyou usually have access to good resources. Advantages Highly qualified tutors are used. perhaps at A-level or above. Again. and who want to make rapid progress. including video labs and self study materials. As these are university based.2 6 / T H E COMPLETE GUIDE TO LEARNING A LANGUAGE University continuing education departments These are very similar to local authority classes. Learning style suited These courses suit people who already have competence in another language. Disadvantages The pace can be too fast sometimes. and if you can keep up with the course. within one year. and quality can vary. but this just reflects the extra length of time. and there is a general assumption that the students understand languages and the language learning process. equivalent to a good GCSE and the first level at which you can really use the language usefully. You need to . these are harder. The pace is fast. but in both cases. They are a little more expensive than the local authority classes. you will learn rapidly. but are more demanding. Business language schools There are many of these. They would also be good for students who are learning just because they are interested in languages. They tend to be three hours per week. they will often feature a course book and the tutor's own materials. and a beginner's class would bring you up to that important level of operational competence (see Appendix 1).\n\nDisadvantages They might suit business in general. Then your tutor negotiates with you what your . There are some well known names . All of these offer courses with qualifications which are recognised world-wide. not particularly your business. They tend to employ native speakers. who are well trained in the school's methods. Tailor-made lessons There are a few small language schools appearing now which offer tailor-made lessons. what and how you want to learn. Learning style suited Anyone learning for business and who is expecting to make rapid progress. which students usually meet. You will go through a similar process to what you are doing now and what you did in the previous chapter. Each course has very clear objectives and it is rare for a student not to attain the goals set. They can be very expensive. it is never just a matter of attending the lesson.Ceran. You will be expected to so some work on your own. They have clear goals. They use very experienced teachers. Berlitz and the Goethe Institute.s These courses are geared towards the business world. The pace varies. according to which course you choose. Advantage.HOW S H O U L D I L E A R N ? / 27 refer to your mind map to see whether one of these schools has a programme which will suit you. However. You may still be able to do this in your firm's time. Your first contact with a teacher from such a school will be to establish why.\n\nSometimes. they will actually recommend another type of course. have been set up by individuals who have a wealth of experience in the world of foreign languages. You do need to be prepared to put in some work between lessons. Disadvantages These courses can be expensive. It will also suit you if you work unusual hours and have to travel frequently. You can also take your lessons when and in which setting fits you best. There is also constant negotiation as you go along as to whether you are meeting your goals or whether you want to change them. this type of course is for you. Bridge House Languages. like my own. and give them ongoing training and support. . Learning style suited If you like to have a big say in what and how you learn.especially if your commitments take you away at different times from your tutor. so many gaps can arise . either instead of or to supplement their own. Many of these schools. You have a very personal relationship with your tutor.2 8 / T H E COMPLETE GUIDE TO LEARNING A LANGUAGE lessons will be like. Even though cover is often offered if your tutor is ill or on holiday. Advantages You do get a course which suits you ideally. many people prefer to stay with the same tutor. They choose their tutors carefully. but also for preparation time and in some cases travelling time. You are having to pay the tutor not just for the time they are teaching you. if the course is to be effective.\n\nAll students are accommodated together. If you regard them as a form of holiday. this time you stay with a family. They are often quite formal courses and are certainly comprehensive and take you to a high standard quickly. your lessons are given by a family member and even though from an 'off the peg' course. In some cases. they are very good value for money. Home stay These also take place in the country where your language is spoken. Disadvantages You may forget just as quickly as you learnt if you don't have the opportunity to carry on studying. You learn a lot very quickly.HOW S H O U L D I L E A R N ? / 29 Residential courses These frequently take place in a country which speaks your target language. You can try out your language more informally in the shops. your tutor can gear them to your particular needs. However. bars and restaurants. . you actually go to an institution to meet with other students. Advantages These courses are by their very nature intensive. it won't be proper Spanish or Greek. and even if you speak your target language amongst yourselves. You are taken out of your normal environment and have time to concentrate just on your language. In other cases. Learning style suited This will suit the type of person who likes to focus on one project at a time.\n\nyou can forget just as quickly. There are now many computerbased programmes on CDs.check on the software package that you have adequate hardware . such as the Linguaphone courses. and who want to learn rapidly. so that you even have practice at speaking and listening. Learning style suited This is ideal for those people who enjoy mixing with others. If regarded as a form of holiday. Modern technology means that they are interactive and you get feed-back on how well you are doing. Disadvantages If you don't have the opportunity to carry on with your study. These are often based on books and CDs. Going it alone There are many courses available where you can work on your own.sound files can be used easily. Advantages You can work at your own pace. You can make life-long friends at a very early stage of your learning.3 0 / T H E COMPLETE GUIDE TO LEARNING A LANGUAGE Advantages You can learn a lot very quickly. You will be sharing the home of another family and this is not always comfortable for everyone. If you have the right sort of computer equipment . . and where. when and as often as it suits you. they are very good value for money.\n\nthen you will do very well with this sort of course. Learning style suited If you have enough self-discipline.HOW S H O U L D I L E A R N ? / 31 Disadvantages You have no human feedback. . Disadvantages You are working in isolation much of the time. books. You do get some tutor support and deadlines. Advantages You can to a large extent work when and as you choose. for example if you are the sort of person who opens their lap-top on the train. which help you to keep on target. It will also suit you if you prefer to work on your own. other printed materials and a video.for example. The Open University The OU's courses combine many of the features of other universities' continuing education programmes and some of the 'go-it-alone' resources. You are linked to a tutor who supports you and assesses your work. the Summer School in Caen for the Level 2 French courses. You are working in isolation in an area where communication with other people is an important feature. If you can work anywhere. The courses are fast-paced and hard-edged. so this is useful if you work unusual hours. Some courses include residential weeks . you can put yourself together your ideal language learning package. You study with the aid of CDs. Highly qualified teachers are used. and can lead to OU qualifications.\n\n.at home. Working completely alone The only feed-back that you get is from a tape or a computer. One-to-one with a tutor You have a tutor who works only with you and their attention is undivided. In a small group You are matched with people with very similar needs to your own.32 / THE C O M P L E T E G U I D E TO L E A R N I N G A L A N G U A G E Learning style suited This course will suit you if you like learning on your own. This can be very intimate or very claustrophobic. depending on your point of view. but it will be an interesting group to work with. But you can work anywhere . at the office. You will have to go to some extent at the pace of the group rather than your own. You pace yourself and you may have to force yourself to work. There may be more than one. In a larger group This course will probably be cheaper. because only your learning needs are addressed. on the train. It will be 'off the peg' and not entirely suited to your needs. or whilst you are waiting for a plane. You can make fast progress. SETTINGS FOR LEARNING Now you need to consider which of these settings suits you best. but need to have to report to someone so that you keep on task. You can practise language patterns with other people in the group.\n\nA human being assesses your work and gives you feedback. Again. They will also have extra resources for you readily to hand. In your own home The tutor comes to you. You may have to pay the tutor travelling expenses . this is not usually suitable for absolute beginners. Often they choose to work at home because they have many clients. you won't incur any travelling costs or time. and cannot afford to waste time travelling. You may never meet this tutor. so you may have to shut the dog away and you might want to tidy up first.this could be reflected in the price of your lesson. either in real time or in your own time. This is not usually suitable for beginners.HOW S H O U L D I L E A R N ? / 33 On the phone You work one-to-one with a tutor. In your office A great boon if it is the company who are paying because they want you to learn that language. and the lesson is absolutely geared to your needs. You will certainly need somewhere quiet to work. You are at least then . In your tutor's home Someone who teaches in their own home will usually have a designated space where you can work uninterrupted. usually very intensively for half an hour. But you may never meet your tutor! On-line/off-line You complete tutorials via a computer. On the other hand. And they probably have lots of clients because they are very good. You can make good progress.\n\ncompleting the exercise outlined below may help. and news about other events. Work out which type of course offers you the best settings 1. These centres often have other facilities to support the student .such as a creche. CHOOSING THE RIGHT TYPE OF COURSE You may have a clear view now of what type of courses are on offer. Highlight the whole column which represents your preferred setting for working. a coffee bar. . but also provide students with access to IT rooms. in any case. If so. In which case. In university continuing education departments These will often have the same facilities as adult education centres.34 / THE C O M P L E T E G U I D E TO L E A R N I N G A L A N G U A G E not using your own time for the lesson. It demonstrates which courses offer which settings. Study the chart in Figure 2. Or you may feel spoilt for choice. just pick a type of course. Tutors who come to offices are usually very professional. In an adult education centre The centre will have taken some care in assessing the level at which you should study. such as theatre trips and end of term parties. If you have more than one preferred setting. 2. highlight each one. It is worth studying the chart in the section below. and which ones you like and in which settings you could work. libraries. and video and language labs.\n\n2.Working alone Local quthority classes Continuing education Business language courses Tailor-made courses Residential courses Home stay Going it alone Open university X X One-toone Small group Larger group On-line off-line Phone In your home In turor's home In your office Adult education University centre centre Score X X (X) X X X X X X (X) X X (X) X X X X X x X (X) x X X X Fig. Which type of course offers the best setting for you? .\n\nonly award half points. 5. two for number six. Therefore. Award a mark out of three. Now turn your score into a mark out of five. Look at the general descriptions.e. Now work out a score for each row i. 4. Finding out which sort of course suits you Enter the following scores in the table in Figure 3 in the following way. . Any which have scored zero automtically receive no marks. Look at the advantages. one for number seven. each sort of course. Award two points for each type of course where your first colour passes over a cross. three for number five. Give a score out of three to each type of course. Award five points for the three highest scoring. Fill in your setting score out of five. Look at the descriptions of learning styles. Award one point for every cross which your second colour crosses. Award a mark out of six to each type of course. If the cross is in brackets. none for number eight. With a different colour.3 6 / T H E COMPLETE GUIDE TO LEARNING A LANGUAGE 3. 1. 3. 2. highlight any others which you would also quite like. Award four for number four. this means that that type of course does not always offer this setting. 4.\n\nWhich sort of course suits you? .Score Local authority classes Continuing education Business language scnoois Tailor-made courses Residential courses Home stay Going it alone Open University Learning style 16 Advantages 13 General Setting description /3 | /5 Total 111 Disadvantage -3 Score out of 14 Fig. 3.\n\nStudy the disadvantages.. You have decided why and wawht you want to learn. consult your local library or local authority. 6. It is by no means comprehensive..38 / THE C O M P L E T E G U I D E TO L E A R N I N G A L A N G U A G E 5.You have looked at your learining style. You should have now identified the best sort of course for you. Re-read the details for highest scoring type(s). I have some personal experience of all of the ones I have listed. and you should also conduct your own internet searches. Take a score out of three off what you have so far. Does that make sense? If more than one course has come out as the top scorer. Or could you combine two or three types of course? Could you do that anyway? Now just look for one of those courses which has a good match with the content of your mind map.. . . and such publications as Yellow Pages or Thomson Directory. Appendix 2 lists many addresses and web sites of courses. use your own gut feeling to work out which one is best for you. Now add up your scores. THE STOPY SO FAR . You nnhavce eaxainid which ostte of course exit.. This should leave you with a score out of 14.\n\n.HOW S H O U L D I L E A R N ? / 39 .You have decided in which settings you prefer to study... You hacve identified the best type of course for you.. .You hace started to look foro which course i your favourite type offers the most appropriate contemt. . ..\n\n\nGet organised\nIn this chapter you will: + make decisions about what to buy to support your learning - dictionaries, grammar books, course books + look at how to include work with multi-media equipment + look at options about how to set out any written work * establish a few good working practices. By now, you have probably chosen and registered for your course. There is possibly a little while to go before you can start. You may be a little impatient. But if you have some time on your hands, you can spend some of it organising yourself for your course.\n\nMATERIALS RECOMMENDED FOR YOUR COURSE If you are studying at an adult education centre, a university continuing education centre or at a business language school, a course book will almost certainly be prescribed. The Open University sells you its own materials, and you really do need these. Residential courses tend to supply course books and materials as part of the package. If you are following a\n\nGET O R G A N I S E D / 41\n\ntailor-made course, you can really negotiate with your tutor about what sorts of materials are best. As well as the actual book you are following, your teacher may recommend extra items, such as a dictionary or a grammar book. They may specify certain ones, or just recommend that you buy one. In any case, the suggestions below will help you decide which would be the best to buy for you. Dictionaries There is a lot of choice these days in what are called bilingual dictionaries. They have two sections to them, for example, French to English and English to French. They come in all sorts of different shapes and sizes, and it could take you a while to choose. One thing to remember is that dictionaries go out of date very quickly. Our languages are changing all the time. I have an excellent German-English dictionary, revised in 1999, and produced by Oxford and Duden, respected publishers. And yet it does not contain the word for 'links' as in computer links. Always look carefully at the date of publication. Try to think of a new word and see whether the dictionary contains the word. Many publishers are now producing bi-lingual dictionaries on CDs. You can install them on your computer. If you intend to do a lot of writing on your computer, these are excellent. Some even provide a spell-checker in the target language. However, if working with an 'inflected' language, i.e. a language which conveys meaning by putting endings\n\n\non words, such as German, the computer will often not recognise the ending, and so the spell-check is not much use. One great advantage of CD dictionaries is that it is often possible to down-load up-dates, so you can really keep your dictionary current. One great disadvantage is that they won't slip into a back pocket or a handbag. Size is important. If the dictionary is too small, after a few months it won't be much use to you. If you don't know the word, it won't be in the dictionary anyway. If it is too big, it will take a long time to use. I often recommend buying two to my students. One big one to stay on the desk at home or a dictionary on CD, and a smaller one. A good smaller one is the so-called school dictionary. It is adequate up to that all-important level of operational competence. They tend to be quite robust, because they are designed to be kept in school classrooms and used by up to 30 adolescents a day, and they will fit comfortably into a briefcase or a large handbag. If in addition you want something for when you're travelling light and doing the town or the shops, a conventional phrase book is your best bet. That really will fit into a back pocket. Before you buy your dictionary, look at the print. So you do need to go to a shop. If the shop doesn't have the size you want, you can always buy via the internet later. The print must be of a size and clarity with which you feel comfortable. I was a fan of Collins' dictionaries for years. The word you look up is always in a very clear font and stands out from the page. Recently, other publishers have adopted this style.\n\nWhich can sometimes mean not using it at all. . Compare that with Stopp's Manual of German Grammar. I bought that when I was still a student. but we'll deal with that later. . Look at my own Selbstbedienung. which is German grammar in a nutshell. there are just so many of them. as I put it in my bag and tried to see if I could still carry the bag. It was designed for able students at the end of the third year at secondary school to work on independently.GET O R G A N I S E D / 43 And then . It starts with the items which are most likely to make a bigger difference to a grade at GCSE and works through until it has covered all areas of German grammar briefly. . I may have caused a bit of panic in Hudson's in Birmingham. That reduces it to its component parts and is a prop to you in case you cannot remember it all. We'll be taking the fear out of it in a later chapter. and they do vary in detail. before I paid for the book. And the first step to getting rid of the fear is buying a grammar book. It weighs a lot. Grammar books Grammar is a complex matter and many people fear it. You must learn how to use your dictionary effectively. Remember. However. when choosing a dictionary consider: + print 4 size * whether it is up to date * whether you need more than one.\n\nYour course book will also usually have a grammar section at the back. You only need to understand for the . many points.but only when you've mastered the basics. Like Selbstbedienung. you will need to visit a bookshop. Your dictionary will also have a thin grammar section. but you do need a more complete picture of your language's grammar. But these sections are never complete. Turn to that page. Consider also whether you understand the explanations. or even if you're brushing up on languages you learnt at school. with simple explanations. I have used Selbstbedienung with AS students. written for students only just beginning to understand grammar. You do need to check out which of the grammar books has the clearest layout for you. however. you can look certain points up very quickly. Again. or that this is only one of many.44 / THE C O M P L E T E G U I D E TO L E A R N I N G A LANGUAGE If you're a beginner. This is useful when you are working through the book. If you know everything in such a book. you could still perform well even beyond Bl. They tend. and are fun to delve into . these books. Once you know what is there. Manuals likeike Stopp deal with subtleties and complications. but that can make the process lengthy. Most internet sellers will allow you to return books. Do you understand now? Don't worry about whether you'll remember. will keep it clear and concise. to only deal with the grammar points that the course book specifically teaches. look out for anything with the words Key Stage 3 in the title or description. Look in the contents for something you've never heard of.\n\nFreelance teachers should have several books. Believe me. the point will stick. Later. after looking it up over and over again. Spanish or Italian . German. or because you are studying a more unusual language and there are only a few books. we shall be seeing how to get the most out of your course book. Don't worry. And eventually. and most publishers will send . you are buying the book so that you can refer to it. but it is worth asking them to pick out three or four for you to choose from. You don't have to remember. no matter which strengths and weaknesses it has. But if you are studying one of the more popular languages French. in choosing a grammar book: + go with your teacher's choice but check that it works for you 4 go for a simple one to start with 4 make sure the layout helps you to use it * make sure you understand the explanations. but tomorrow you will be confused again.and you are following a tailor-made course. Your tutor will probably still recommend something. That you understand now. it does. The course book You may not have much choice in this either because it has been prescribed by a teacher.GET O R G A N I S E D / 45 moment. So. After all. Don't worry even if you feel as I do about explanations to do with car engines or science. you should give careful consideration to your choice of book.\n\n\ninspection copies for teachers to look at before they decide to buy. Your ideal course book's content should match your mind map from Chapter 1 as much as possible, and also fit the time scale you have chosen. Does it also allow you to work in the settings you have chosen and does it fit your learning style? Again, consider whether the layout and print suit you. Does the book explain things well? Look at grammatical explanations in the text and in the grammar section at the back. Check also if there is a vocabulary list at the back of the book. It will be quicker to look things up from the book than using a dictionary. Next look to see if the book suits you. Are the pictures of people like you or like the people you enjoy being with? Does it reflect your lifestyle? Most importantly, look to see if the book inspires you. Do you look at the book and feel that you can't wait to get started? Can you see where you will be when you have finished the course? If you are comparing several books, you could award each one marks out of five for the following. These questions are probably in order of importance, so if more than one book comes out well, look to see which has scored the most on the earlier questions.\n\nGET O R G A N I S E D / 47\n\n4 Does it inspire you? 4 Does it cover your content? * Does it fit your time scale? + Does it allow you to work in your favourite settings? + Does it reflect your learning style? 4 Does the layout suit you? 4 Does it explain grammar well? 4 Is there a clear glossary at the back? + Does it reflect your lifestyle?\n\nUSING MULTI-MEDIA EQUIPMENT Using your personal computer (PC) Even if you have decided to enrol for a more conventional course, your PC can really enhance your learning progress. You may wish to supplement your course by buying a language learning CD. To some extent, it doesn't matter which one. Any of them bought from a reputable company are adequate, and in the end, French is French is French. Anything you do where you are listening and reading or even speaking and writing is going to be good practice. But if you are faced with a choice, do look at how well each one matches your mind map. And do check that the software is compatible with your hardware and operating system. A sound card is essential, and you might also consider whether you need speakers, a microphone and headphones.\n\n\nLater, we shall also look at how you can use email and the internet for extending your learning. There are also some authoring programs - such as Personal Tutor, where you enter lists of vocabulary and then the computer tests you. You do have to be careful that you enter the vocabulary accurately.\nCD/cassette player/recorder\n\nIt is worth noting that your teacher or institution pays a lot for their CDs and cassettes. This is because they are also buying the right to use those materials throughout their institute. This includes permission to make copies for their students. That fact is often overlooked or even ignored because making copies is onerous. Push for it, though. If you can listen to the audio material in your own time, your listening ability can be greatly enhanced. Courses where the cost of the cassette or CD does not include the right to copy are a lot cheaper. La Jolie Ronde, French for children, sells its cassettes and CDs which last over a year for about £6.50, as compared with £45 or more for a set with other courses. It is also worth using equipment on which you can record. You can use this for several purposes: 4 recording parts of your lesson 4 recording yourself and listening to .yourself + working with a native speaker (see Chapter 5) 4 practising with another learner 4 interviewing native speakers.\n\nThere is actually very little speech in that film. I remember once being very proud of myself because I had recorded ET in German. Make use of what you have for the moment. Wait until you have been going a few weeks. Television and video equipment A great way of learning is to watch television. This takes out some of the struggle of decoding the words as so much of it is visual. Body language is an important part of communication. You can see if your body language is matching what you are saying. Understanding the culture enhances your . so that you can work out what you really need. and is often different in different languages. This will greatly increase your understanding of the culture of that country. try to borrow some. However. You can also use your camcorder when you are visiting the country which speaks your new language. If you don't have your own. don't rush out and buy a lot of new audio equipment. Using a camcorder to film yourself and your classmates can be helpful too.GET O R G A N I S E D / 49 The very fact that you are recording your speech sharpens your effort. If you don't have access to television from the country whose language you are studying. You will be recording sights and sounds which go together. At least my students enjoyed themselves whilst they watched and they all remember how to ask if they can use the phone when they are on an exchange visit. you may be able to get your college or your 'learning partner' (see Chapter 5) to make some recordings for you.\n\nKeep the corrected one. WHERE TO WRITE YOUR WORK You will also need to think about how you are going to write your work down. you can do yourself a good copy. Work to be given in One good idea for written homework is to word process it. Would it be an idea to have a separate folder for them? Perhaps you would like .5 0 / T H E COMPLETE GUIDE TO LEARNING A LANGUAGE language learning. Then you need to give some thought to where you store the corrected work. 80mm spaces and ready-punched holes. so if you do not intend to use your computer. or 'track changes' though. you probably need a pad of A4 paper. If you are going to have to give work in. Then. But do you want to take it to and from college with you? Do you need a wallet folder. just as understanding the language helps you to get to grips with the culture. An A4 ring-binder is probably a good bet. which you can then sort out again when you get home? That at least will force you to look at them again. you will probably want to do that on paper. Look for one which has margins. when your teacher has corrected it. corrected work and any hand-outs. Hand-outs Teachers will often use hand-outs. You always learn more from your mistakes than you do from what you get right. into which you can put completed work.\n\ncase some other categories emerge as you go along. Again. you will need a folder to keep your mind maps in. And if you're in the country which speaks your language. . You will need plain paper for this (ready punched) and perhaps a variety of coloured pens. grammar and information about the country or countries where your language is used. File cards Some people find it useful to buy small filing cards and filing boxes. reading practice. but you might like to look ahead at Chapter 4. Have a few more file dividers in. Something which you can enjoy. in any case. A good tip is to have a note book which will fit in a pocket or a handbag. speaking practice. Vocabulary You will need a space for writing down vocabulary. . so that you can learn vocabulary anywhere. you can write down new words. . A5 hardback with 80mm spaced lines is a good start. listening practice. Mind maps These are an excellent way of writing down what you have learnt.GET O R G A N I S E D / 51 to divide that up into administrative items. Or perhaps you'll want to get two . They can carry a few cards around with them. before you decide finally on a note book. writing practice. or some nice rollerballs or fineliners. Those jelly pens are good to work with. especially when it comes to revising for exams. and look at them while they are waiting for the bus. Then you can have it with you all the time.\n\nor one way of recording your work suits you better than another. Do you remember when the children were small and you perhaps did something similar with their spellings and tables? Well. sometimes colourcoded for different areas of knowledge. Nevertheless. Take this book with you and let it and the store inspire you. You are ready to go! FROM DAY 1 Here are a few ideas you can use from your very first lesson. They have cards all over the house. unpack everything carefully. Make sure it is somewhere where you can pick them up easily. and label it ready. now it's your turn! Writing equipment You will certainly need at least one pen. and therefore also a pencil sharpener. Imagine yourself using those items in a few days. You may find you want different things as you go along. A pencil and rubber will also be important. . make yourself a shopping list and go to a good stationery store like Staples. NOW TRY THIS Don't go too mad buying a lot of stationery. Find a place where you are going to store them. When you get home again. but think about getting a variety of colours.52 / THE C O M P L E T E G U I D E TO L E A R N I N G A L A N G U A G E Small bits of card and blutak Other people are happy to plaster their homes with vocabulary. go through the above again.\n\nPut a pencil cross by each word you didn't know. When that page is complete go to the next page. try to make a mind map or add to one you have already started. followed by items/lists of vocabulary. Test yourself. test yourself on the ones marked with a cross. You may like to use different . e. Rub out the cross if you have it right this time. Later. depending on how big it is. Learning vocabulary First work from the foreign language to English. Write the words in the foreign language in the left column. the English meaning on the right. randomly chosen. You may not be able to write a full list here. Next come the particular phrases you have used.g.GET O R G A N I S E D / 53 Writing down vocabulary Fold the pages of your book into two or four. so you'll be working on it anyway. 'Shopping' (better still to put your word in the foreign language). Cover up the English column. You should put the theme in the middle. When you know all of the words from foreign language to English. Perhaps concentrate on the ones which are going to be most useful to you. as the book gets fuller. you should complete the current page. go back and do the first again. Don't worry about writing down every new word you meet. the page before and then an earlier page. and then the first set of branches could be about the transactions you have learnt to do. go back and test yourself from English to foreign language. Making mind maps After each lesson. After the second page is complete. but that could be in your vocabulary book. When you have gone through one page.\n\nif. though.54 / THE C O M P L E T E G U I D E TO L E A R N I N G A L A N G U A G E colours for different levels or different branches. if possible with a class mate. . your weaker areas will show up in red. using the language you have met in the lesson. easier the more you listen to it. Listen to any material you met in the lesson. by the time you come to the end of it. Make friends with your course book No matter how good or bad your text book is. And you can start the process of beginning to get to know your text book even before you start the course. Be critical of yourself you may have a good giggle at first. be happy.. But that does no harm. Eventually you will know it off by heart. Be familiar with how it works. Use recordings Record yourself. Next time you revise from that mind map. Reserve red for later. You can test yourself by trying to reproduce the mind map. When you check. you will know a lot of your chosen language. as well. It will comecom. put in any bits you had forgotten in red. you know its contents off by heart. Do they use special symbols to show which are reading or listening exercises? Do they have grammar points in special boxes? What is contained in the grammar section at the back of the book? How useful is the glossary? Do you know all of the words in the glossary? If your text book becomes a little battered. It shows you are making good use of it.\n\n. You have equipped uyourself for yuour first lession. . ......You hace chosen a course..You have given some consideration to multi 0media equipment../You have given soome thought th how you will organise your written work.GET O R G A N I S E D / 55 THE STOPY SO FAR ... .. .You have bought your dictionarym course book and grammar book. .... You know how to make best use of the first few lessons.\n\nshe goes and gets her notebook and pen. .4 Develop the Magpie Instinct In this chapter you will: * learn how to 'collect' language + learn what sort of language to collect + look at where to find that language * find out how to make use of the language you have found * really begin to have fun with your chosen language. There comes a point in the day. Gabi. when all the problems have been solved. a magpie. And whilst I go and organise the sherry. 'Is it time to get the sherry out. We have arranged many exchanges over the years between our respective schools. the next day is sorted out and you can relax. REAL MAGPIES I would call my German friend. Gill?' she asks. when you're on a exchange visit.\n\n' Like the magpie.\" Did I get that right?' I confirm the new expression and she writes it down. I will see her pause. That doesn't mean making long lists. Then she tries it out on me a few times. which gives you a bit of fun and which you know you can use. But she makes it even more her own by using it as soon as possible. 'You said something today about \"You don't have to be a rocket scientist to see that it was the lights not working which made the bus late. I have seen many. Even if they do refer to them when they go to write the essay for homework. When she is satisfied she has it right. many students laboriously copy down reams of vocabulary . You need to start collecting language.' she starts as soon as we are sitting relaxed with the drinks. Gabi has seen something she likes and put it in a place she knows it will be safe. . she closes her book. The point is: + You need to collect language which appeals to you.perhaps never to be looked at again. the bus will be late setting off. I doubt whether they retain many of the phrases for very long. though. folds her arms contentedly and concentrates on her sherry. using slightly different examples. At some point in the next few days. or when they revise for the exam. look at me mischievously and say something like 'You don't have to be a rocket scientist to see that if they don't all turn up on time.D E V E L O P THE M A G P I E I N S T I N C T / 57 'Now Gill.\n\nHis boss laughs. We have been using a text book. But every few pages there are some cartoons illustrating idiomatic phrases. Gordon. Every time we come to one of these pages. their ties not their toes) trodden on. We have a bee in our bonnet. In some ways it is a rather dry and uninteresting one. His Swiss colleagues barely give him the chance to practise his German because they want to try out their already excellent English. One of my students. He does not understand grammar. He complains to his boss that people who work for a certain firm are always adding their mustard to the matter in hand. Gabi is obviously already a fluent speaker. We would more normally complain about them putting their oar in. Putting the language somewhere and using it actively fixes it in your mind. Yet he still manages to impress them from time to time. He has difficulty getting his mouth around some of the words. But you don't have to wait until you are to start collecting. but the Germans have their ties (that's right. congratulates him on the excellent progress he is making with his German and Gordon feels more confident.58 / THE C O M P L E T E G U I D E TO L E A R N I N G A L A N G U A G E * And you have to use it fairly soon after you have collected it. He is definitely not a linguist. when they are hungover they have a tomcat. but the Germans have a bird. is a businessman who has to learn German because the head office of his firm is in Switzerland. my client makes a note of the phrase which appeals to him most. and within a day or two tries it out on one of his colleagues in Switzerland. and our noses get put out of joint. Making people laugh when .\n\nI'm either adding to my notes or reading through them. He deletes them when he feels that he knows them. Is that working for you at the moment? Or what about the following? + Gabi uses 15cm x 20cm hardback note book. and she writes with a good pen. * One student keeps his pet phrases on computer file. When each one is full. Again. She often buys herself such a note book from a favourite museum here in England. You may have already made decisions after working through Chapter 3 about where you might want to store new expressions. It is thick because it contains 250 pages of good quality paper. He never works with more than 20 at a time. making an effort to use each one in turn. He scrolls them round.D E V E L O P THE M A G P I E I N S T I N C T / 59 you have only just started to speak their language is an achievement. which is pleasant to leaf through. I look through again before putting it . When I'm waiting somewhere. She prefers unlined. And when a book is full. made a note and made himself use it. 4 I myself have an all-purpose note book. WHERE TO KEEP YOUR PET WORDS How people might collect language has to be an individual choice. If I want to write a letter or phone a friend. he has found something that appeals to him. It is a little more utilitarian than Gabi's. Odd phrases for the languages I study are mixed in with my ideas for books and articles. I have a look through first. she has something of beauty.\n\nnote books come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. + Words and phrases which amuse you (as Gordon does). a handbag or a pocket? Do you want to use your computer? Do you want something for when you are working at a desk in a building. Remember. put it away safely. Be flexible. 4 Specialist words and phrases to do with your hobby. It is still taken down every so often. use it.6 0 / T H E COMPLETE GUIDE TO LEARNING A LANGUAGE safely on a bookshelf. or something which you can carry around with you? Do you want something which suits both purposes or a different one for each? Whatever you decide. a wallet. you can change your mind again. Do you want something which fits a briefcase. . WHAT YOU MIGHT COLLECT Rule number one is you collect what is relevant to you. + Some students put phrases on the walls or the fridge. hobbies and appearance of friends and family. * Specialist phrases to do with the work. + My daughter wrote phrases on filing cards and carried them around in her back pocket when she was studying for her GCSEs. But make sure you are acting like a magpie . This might be: 4 Specialist words and phrases to do with your work.find what you like.\n\nyour course may have taught you all the normal colours. 'Do you think you could . 4 Useful little gems which might help you with everyday transactions . . he can etc. even if you are not in the country which speaks the language you are studying. but you might come across the word for avocado. 4 Words which might shock mildly (rat poison. + Words and phrases which are to do with a situation you might be facing shortly (if you're going camping soon.g. dustbin these words were a great favourite of my best friend at school).g. when a new craze hits like bungee jumping did a few years ago I had the French expression in my note book several months before it appeared in a dictionary). In fact.').probably ones which you don't remember coming across in your course (e. which just happens to be the colour of your bathroom suite).D E V E L O P THE M A G P I E I N S T I N C T / 61 4 Words which fill gaps you are aware of (e. . 4 More sophisticated expressions (as Gabi does). I can.). you can collect language from anything you read or hear. . you can.g. + Words and phrases which are so new that they haven't made it to your bilingual dictionary yet (e. look through language about camp-sites and try to learn some key phrases).g. WHERE TO FIND THE LANGUAGE It is actually all around you. + Phrases which help you to structure the language (e.\n\nFrom home + your course book + your teacher + in the dictionary when you are looking for something else 4 magazines you may be able to find + off the internet + from your contact with a native speaker .62 / THE C O M P L E T E G U I D E TO L E A R N I N G A L A N G U A G E Sometimes. you may not have realised where the opportunities exist for reading and hearing your new language. though. When you're in the country where your language is spoken + all of the above.a work colleague.either authentic ones from the country whose language you are studying. still. a penfriend or e-mail friend + foreign radio 4 foreign television + the instructions for cooking pasta or making your microwave work * songs . Look out for words of interest in the following places. or those created as part of a course. and more intensely .\n\nA WORD OF WARNING You could get really carried away and try to collect all of these types of phrases in all of these types of situation. and showing it off to somebody who's going to listen. That could at some point seem all too much. And that means taking that phrase. in the shop. you could become totally overwhelmed. HOW THIS WORKS Babies acquire their language by constantly listening and imitating the patterns of words around them. 'Hey folks look what I can do!' So just a few at a time is better. and be left with the feeling that your chosen language contains just too many phrases and you could never have a hope of learning them.D E V E L O P THE M A G P I E I N S T I N C T / 63 + conversations you overhear on the bus. which is all yours. But this doesn't work so well with our second language because: . You have to retain the fun in this one. They come to understand the words they hear and begin to use the phrases they need with increasing competence. in the cafe 4 road signs 4 ads in shop windows 4 flyers and advertising left on your car or in your supermarket trolley or put through your letterbox 4 junk mail * menus. You're saying.\n\nEven if we go and live in the country where our language is spoken. there are many expatriates who never master the language of their new homeland and often it has not been because of unwillingness on their part. Try this For a whole week 'collect' a phrase a day. And there are other things you can do too. They have just not found the right tool. Eventually. Read on. though. we're getting our hand a bit more on the tool and accelerating that process.and we may still be living amongst people who speak our native tongue. we are able to use this passive store of language actively.64 / THE C O M P L E T E G U I D E TO L E A R N I N G A L A N G U A G E *• our first language constantly takes up more space than the new one * our need is not as great + we're unlikely to have the same amount of exposure to the second language as we did to the first. we learn to understand many times more phrases than we can actually produce. Indeed. How do you feel at the end of the week? Is your confidence growing? How are others reacting to your new language? . we still tend to think and dream in our own language . Just like the baby. after a lot of time and practice. Make an effort to use it within two days of finding it. By becoming a proactive magpie.and possibly even read or watch TV .\n\nyiy are storting the language in a place which suits you and is easy for yyou to retireve.. a larger e. THE STORY SO FAR . . You have started to seek the language procativelyl . .D E V E L O P THE M A G P I E I N S T I N C T / 65 In the long-term + Try to gather and try out at least two or three phras week... . You are follow8ing your caerefully chosen course you are fully equipped for that course and are already putting a few food habits into pracaitve..... Yoiy are ptuing your hnew workd and pahreas inoto practice.. * Experiment with the best way to store your gems .You are having some fun wuith your hnew language.. .a small note book. the computer? + Tell someone else what you're doing and ask them to check from time to time if you're still doing it.\n\nWhat it loses in the translation it makes up for in the acting. A group of you go to the theatre together. But occasionally you use English or German. You watch a performance of Under Milkwood in French. You speak French because you are in France. though. Sometimes. Sometimes you use your own language because you can't quite manage the French. You and your friends have a meal together. Germans who speak English and French and English people who speak French and German. because the group is made up of French people who speak English and German. return to the home of one of the others to discuss it further and then you put the world right. you use English or German . STRETCHING OUT THE HAND OF FRIENDSHIP Picture this.5 Go Native In this chapter you will: + explore the possibilities of working with a native speaker of your chosen language + look at the advantages of going on an exchange visit * look at how you can make the most of your friendship 4 find out how to make contact with a native speaker.\n\nAnd you all understand each other. in any case. Look for the bottom line. or you obtain friendship though your desire to communicate. and that involves dropping any concerns and considerations about the differences between you. The hand of friendship has been fully stretched. perhaps something that isn't even written down there. depends on a willingness to find out what motivates the other. . What is the real underlying motive behind your desire to learn a foreign language? It will be at least to do with effective communication and at best condoning deep friendship. Effective communication. What you get as a replacement is understanding and appreciation. Perhaps I am a little naive in thinking that if more people spoke foreign languages there would be less possibility of war. Their strong feelings are about the parents and grandparents of the Germans to whom I have become very close. and these are a form of friendship. Take a good look at your mind map.GO N A T I V E / 67 because a phrase which only exists in that language expresses better what you want to say. It actually hurts physically when I confront the continued hatred felt by some towards the Germans brought forward from the first and second world wars. you either start with friendship as your main motivation. That happened to me when I was a student. But I certainly would not be able to tolerate war between my own country and that of one of my very good friends whom I have come to know through learning their language. That's the bigger picture. So.\n\nHow delightful it was for me to walk along the main shopping street in Cologne and bump into a pupil I had taken out there on an exchange visit two years earlier. AN EXCHANGE VISIT Perhaps the most important part of my work as a full-time teacher was organising exchange visits for my pupils.ut you can start workinging with a native speaker straight away. Then there was the pupil from my tutor group.68 / THE C O M P L E T E G U I D E TO L E A R N I N G A L A N G U A G E THE ADVANTAGES OF CONTACT WITH A NATIVE SPEAKER Of course. She and her German partner were so engrossed in chatting away in German that they didn't see me at first. They continued to organise their own exchanges. B. And they always came back with much more than they had before. Working with a native speaker of your chosen language offers many advantages. it will be a while before you can discuss Under Milkwood or put the world right. so will be able to work specifically on the most appropriate area of vocabulary for you. a rather awkward child. They just lapped up new language. whom I had persuaded to take part in the French exchange. . 4 You will constantly be presented with an accurate pattern of language. 4 You could make a new life-long friend. I hardly needed to teach then after we came home. * You will probably be matched with someone who has similar interests to yourself.\n\nBut while you're there. One of my pupils. You also learn about the culture of the country and find out about habits and rituals which are different from our own. She would be welcome again any time. which makes you look more closely at your own. Nobody had ever said that about Julie before. a member or members of their family visit you. where the team that's in goes out until they're out. Their magpie instinct was in overdrive. and invite the elderly widow next door to share the second one? Isn't the German habit of having cake with coffee in the afternoon civilised? And what about that game the English play. She even managed to get her word order and her endings right. . then they come in again? You may have known before you went that some of these things existed. For all four girls the language was not the main point any more. you begin to appreciate why. Isn't it fascinating that a French family I know often have two desserts on a Sunday. The icing on the cake came as. When you go on an exchange visit. You acquire much more and you increase your ability to make the most of what you do have. And she did go back. For adults. it is sometimes shorter. you stay in the home of a family who speaks your new language. one of these people who speak at a hundred miles an hour. began to speak as fast in German as she did in English. At some point. at the end of o visit to France. Whilst you are there. this lasts one to two weeks.GO N A T I V E / 69 She and her partner spent hours literally exchanging vocabulary and writing it down in books. you are totally surrounded by the language. the French mum claimed Julie to be absolutely charming. For school children.\n\nYou become so highly motivated that what had seemed a difficulty becomes insignificant. They communicate in their own language. The partners choose topics they wish to learn more about. gradually. but the recipient will not usually correct any mistakes in this. so that their partner can . you become more surprised by the similarities between you than the differences. often in their own language. and mastering the language is a step in the right direction. People send each other letters. Occasionally. it stops being them and us. they will send a reply in their target language. As the layers are peeled back. GET YOURSELF A LEARNING PARTNER This is an extension of what has happened for years between penfriends who are learning each other's language. And you might consider using a native speaker learning partner as a way of acquiring that language. so that a good pattern of the foreign language is presented. Because you understand the differences.70 / THE C O M P L E T E G U I D E TO L E A R N I N G A L A N G U A G E So. Language becomes a means to an end rather than an end in itself. E-mail has already speeded up this process and makes replies more immediate and news more current. You become aware of which items of language you need to know in order to function in this new relationship. and starts being just us. You just want to find out more and more about this alternative way of living. They also communicate in the foreign language. Woking with a learning partner fine-tunes this process. just a blip. and the learner is presented with an accurate structure which they can adapt to suit their own needs.\n\nThe possible settings for working with a learning partner are: + e-mail and snailmail + telephone 4 video conferencing * via a chat room 4 exchange of audio and video tapes 4 one-to-one. face-to-face (possibly as part of an exchange visit). It works well if both partners are working at about the same level.fort 4 each partner is responsible for their own learning + each partner states how and what they want to learn 4 50% is completed in each language. and 50% of the time one is using one's native language. This works best if: + each partner is prepared to make the same amount of ef. though two beginners together can cause problems and may need extra help from their teachers. as long as topics are carefully selected. Students of differing levels can also work together. .GO N A T I V E / 71 correct their work and give them extra useful phrases. especially when they are negotiating what to do. They can both choose topics which suit them.\n\ne. FINDING A PARTNER Even for adults. obtaining information. It is. it is best to find a partner through an organisation you know.727 THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO L E A R N I N G A LANGUAGE Here are few ides for topics you could use: 4 introducing yourself * talking about your family + talking about your home/area where you live 4 talking about your work * talking about your hobbies + discussing an item of news 4 discussing your hopes for the future * role-playing a shopping or restaurant situation 4 role-playing a work situation . making a complaint. Your twinning organisation will often arrange short trips to and from that town. and even Belgium. You can even request to be put in touch with someone who has similar interests. of course. Consider the following. much easier for the commonly taught European languages. chasing an order.g. but possible also for almost any language. Spain and Italy. . and this is an ideal opportunity to get to know a native speaker. Twin town Many towns have partners in France or Germany.\n\n* Decide on the settings you want to use. If not. NOW TRY THIS * Find yourself a partner. . an internet search will certainly find a company similar to your own or an organisation for people with similar hobbies to your own. The Central Bureau for Cultural Exchanges and Visits This has always been the main organisation for putting schools together for exchanges. the need for lifelong learning is acknowledged everywhere now. Ask them if they can put you in contact with someone. We do have the advantage that most other nationalities are very keen to improve their English. * Make yourself a list of topics you would like to try (perhaps some of the items from your gaps which your course does not supply?). However. so finding a learning partner should not be difficult. They do tend to work more with whole groups: you could always get your class to apply on mass.GO N A T I V E / 73 Your teacher Your teacher probably has a wealth of contacts in appropriate countries. and they will respond to approaches from adults. Organisations connected with your work and hobbies The firm which you work for or the club you belong to may have international contacts and could put you in touch with a like-minded individual.\n\na . You hafce negoitated what and how to larm You haace tired out your first tandem session. THE STORY SO FAR .. .. .You hace diecided on some tipice and setting yuou would like to tyr.You havce found a learinng partner. for which you are well ewquippedm and have started putting a few good habits into practice. You have started your coursem...... ..7 4 / T H E COMPLETE GUIDE TO LEARNING A LANGUAGE * Start negotiations (remember the 50% rule). + Have a go at your first topic.\n\n6 Talk the Hind Leg Off a Donkey . though in a far less sophisticated way than we humans.in An Language In this chapter you will: 4 take a closer look at communication + learn to make the most of what you know 4 look at opportunities for practising +• find out how to obtain more patterns of language without major effort *• get even more fun out of your language learning + discover what to do when your perfectly presented phrase or sentence is answered with a torrent of words you can't understand easily. the most basic form of communication. COMMUNICATION We are talking about talking. Talking is a mixture of listening and speaking. One person . Even the cats which wail at night are doing just that.\n\nAfter all. This does not necessarily mean merely using beautifully constructed sentences. and the speaker chooses their language carefully. which communicates the best: * A struggling 'Excuse me please sir. then responds in speech. They cope with their tourist industry by just knowing a few key words in major European languages and leave the rest to their imaginative use of gesture and facial expression. ?' 4 Or a confident 'Any cheesecake?' as the waiter comes to your table for the dessert order and you smile at them? The use of body language and finding the key word communicates much better than the highly structured. we stuck to our five . The point was made that we often use too many words. and we were given our five words by another group. We had to move a pile of bricks from one part of the garden to another. A group of us had to perform a task together.. the other listens. The Spanish use this superbly.767 THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO L E A R N I N G A L A N G U A G E speaks. . Well. polished. rehearsed phrase. MAKE THE MOST OF WHAT YOU KNOW I once attended a workshop for people who have to do presentations. Effective communication happens when speaker and listener create the same pictures in their heads. For this to happen the listener really tunes in to what is being said. We were given an exercise where we were limited to communicating in five words. could you possibly tell me whether you have any .\n\nThey enjoyed the exercise. I have frequently noticed that although two candidates may have produced exactly the same language. So how much more could you do? I explained about the exercise with the five words and the pile of bricks to my second-year French class. We did a debrief in English afterwards. They took part. You may not be very long into your course yet. and it was clear that there had been very few misunderstandings. and in recent years have had to conduct the oral exam for my own GCSE pupils. but I am sure you already have more than five words in your chosen language. I used to be a visiting oral examiner for German. PRACTISING We succeeded with our pile of bricks and my second-year students succeeded because they were willing to have a go. I was delighted that they all managed to keep going for the 20 minutes. We even managed to chat about whether worms and the fruit on a bush in the garden were edible. I asked them to talk in groups of three about what they did on their holidays last year and what they were going to do next summer. The number one ground rule was that they should not attempt to use anything they didn't know. (One of our words was 'food'.T A L K THE H I N D LEG OFF A D O N K E Y / 77 words and were able to communicate enough to get the job done. They bought into the game.) The main point was that we were willing to use what little we had to communicate. Number two was that they should try to use everything that they did know. . That is what made the practice effective.\n\nI always wished I could award extra marks for the attitude which was making the language work better.78 / THE C O M P L E T E G U I D E TO L E A R N I N G A L A N G U A G E one has communicated better than the other. + anything which has come up in your course for oral practice * shopping + dealing with lost property 4 restaurants and cafes * finding your way around 4 dealing with the police and reporting accidents + making complaints + finding out about hotels and tourist attractions + dealing with the car . and even getting together out of class for extra sessions? If you're working one-to-one with a tutor. They would probably have been effective in the real-life situation. Even some candidates who produced language with more errors in it communicated more effectively. You could use the following contexts. or on the phone. Can you bring this into your practice? What about working with a partner in class. They made the roles they were playing and the conversations they were having real. perhaps you could ask your tutor to give you more opportunities to try this out. And this is a great opportunity to work with your learning partner.\n\n2. loudly. just read the printed version out of the book.e. Add different attitudes and emotions.i. afraid. Well of course. 4. So. on a conversation which might take place in a shop.T A L K THE HIND LEG OFF A D O N K E Y / 79 * talking about yourself. excited. 5. You might be . rude. Vary the pace and pitch. sad. your family and friends * talking about your work * talking about your hopes for the future + talking about your hobbies and interests + talking about your holidays. Practising methodically It was often my experience when working with teenagers that I would give them a pair activity. Do the conversation as is . Either of you or both could be bored. how do you stop yourself getting bored before that conversation and similar ones are etched on your brain? Try this. Change roles. 1. and two minutes later they would cry 'Finished miss!'. 'Walk' the conversation. They wouldn't be finished until they could do that conversation upside down in their sleep and they would remember it forever. 3. Add more expression. slowly. impatient. for example.you can think of others. or quietly. happy. Speak quickly. polite. they hadn't. silly. business-like . Act it out. They were actually bored with it. 6.\n\nGoing over the speech or role play with your teacher. ask them to include a surprise. 2. 3.80 / THE C O M P L E T E G U I D E TO L E A R N I N G A L A N G U A G E beginning to feel a bit silly. Alter bits of it . 7. This is good rehearsal for the surprises which come in real life (though they are usually linguistic rather than dramatic) and can give you some new language to experience. They correct you if you make mistakes and give you new phrases as needed. Working on the phone A major feature of learning by phone is the conversation or speech you have to prepare for each lesson. You'll soon get used to hearing your own voice. You try to learn these phrases and use them actively. Further practice includes: 1. Record your conversation. 4. though. Maybe there are no more apples. . Maybe you could ask for 2 kilos instead of 3.numbers always need a lot of practice anyway. Or perhaps there is suddenly a fire in the shop and you have to run out. 8.nothing too complicated. and maybe you could change the prices and the change given . It will sharpen your 'performance' and also give you a chance to assess yourself. if you're working with a class mate. or for chocolate instead of soap powder. but better now than when you do it in real life. If you are working one-to-one with a teacher or with your native speaker. 9. These will be ones you were less confident about and ones which will be useful for next week's topic. You are given about five phrases to rehearse for the next lesson. They take the other role if appropriate.\n\n\nperhaps in your contact with native speakers before your next lesson.\n\nOBTAINING NEW PATTERNS OF LANGUAGE FOR FREE When you work one-to-one with a tutor, perhaps on the phone, when you work with your learning, and when you are in a 'real' situation, you can still carry on improving your spoken language, if you keep your wits about you and your ears open. Remember the magpie instinct you started developing in Chapter 4? This is where you can make some really good use of it. Don't be too ambitious though, or you will get swamped. If, in each 'natural' conversation you hold, you can acquire one new pattern or piece of vocabulary, you will continue to make rapid progress. Listen consciously, taking account of the form of the phrases, as your partner speaks. 'Would you like to go to the shops or would you rather stay in and watch the football?' says your partner. Now, you know 'play football' but not 'stay in and watch the football'. The 'stay in and . . .' appeals to you (not just because you would like to watch the football). So you confirm it by reflecting back. 'Mm. I think I'd like to stay in and watch the football,' you reply.\n\n\nYou internalise the phrase, maybe adding it to your collection in your note book. A little later you use the language as your own. 'Shall we go to the pub?' you say to your partner, 'or would you rather stay in and watch a video?' You're actually doing what you did with your own language when you were a baby. But because you haven't got so long to do it, you make a more conscious effort.\n\nGETTING EVEN MORE FUN OUT OF LEARNING YOUR FOREIGN LANGUAGE Hopefully, everything I have suggested so far is working for you, and you are enjoying learning your new language because you are being successful. Hopefully, too, you are losing all inhibition and really getting into practising conversations with your partner. But it is also important to remember that language is power. When negotiating partners share a language, they have equal power. When you lack the language of the country in which you try to transact, you have less power. Surely, you may be saying, if the native speaker has more command of the language, they have more power? This is to some extent true, but only as far as you let that be the case. If you refuse to be put off by the greater sophistication of what they are using, and you insist on speaking their language even though they speak yours better - we English do have a problem here, as everyone else is so keen to practise on us -\n\n\nyou actually more than make up for the power that you have lost. Now, when you are aware of what is happening, you can really have some fun. It is a matter of confidence and determination. Which brings us to the next point.\n\nHOW TO COPE WITH THE TORRENTS What do you do when your carefully chosen and beautifully rehearsed phrase so impresses a native speaker that they come back at you in a torrent of language you can make no sense of? This happened to me when I went to France for the first time. I already had a good O-level and A-level in French. I spoke it perfectly, I thought, and had enjoyed chatting away to the French assistant at school. But after I asked for a cheese sandwich in impeccable French, the waiter asked me lots of complicated questions in a language I'd never heard before. On the other hand, I have for many years taken pupils in the second year of French to France for the day, and they have found their way around town, reading French instructions and asking people the way, they have gone shopping in French and ordered food and drink in French at the cafe. A year later they have gone on their first French exchange visit and functioned perfectly well in families which have very little English. They were seldom fazed. So, what's the difference? They have been taught how to cope and what to expect!\n\nvanilla and chocolate sauce. (Never. 4 Anticipate before it comes what might be included in there. * If you still do not understand. maybe medium. possibly adding. have 'Please can you speak more slowly?' or 'Could you repeat that please?' ready. of course. So could we continue in . * If they do insist on speaking English.) 4 Listen carefully for those key words. . For example.8 4 / T H E COMPLETE GUIDE TO L E A R N I N G A LANGUAGE This is the drill. 4 Watch and understand the speaker's body language. 'Thank you for trying to help me. reply again in your chosen language. 'Do you speak English?') Most people will naturally simplify or speak more slowly if they see you are making an effort. 4 Expect the torrent. ?' Have fun! . and what sort of toppings. (Body language differs a little from country to country ask your teacher to include this in your lessons... they may ask you what size or flavour you want. if you are ordering an ice-cream. You may even need to use some in your reply . but I really do want to practise my . .in the case of the ice-cream.\n\n. you are making the most of the language oyo already know.. You are collecting language. You using talking as a means of discovering new patterns of language. you are developing good working practicesm including working with native speakers. You hace carefully chosen your coursem for which you are well eqyipped and well organisedm. You are usikng an effective mtetjood for practising language you meet. You are getiing even more fun out of using your chosen langua You are learining jow to cope when native speakers assume uppi kionw more thatn uoudo .T A L K THE HIND LEG OFF A D O N K E Y / 8 5 THE STORY SO FAR .\n\nstation announcements. In the last chapter we looked at talking. reading. listening tests on your course. THE PURPOSE OF READING Language study is frequently divided into four skills listening. radio etc. speaking and writing. The Bavarian education department describes language learning targets and levels in very similar .g. which combines listening and speaking.7 C mpleting the Jigsaw Puezzle In this chapter we sha look at: * the uses and nature of reading in a foreign language 4 extensive reading + reading for gist 4 intensive reading *• reading as a tool for learning + how to obtain reading materials. many of them free of charge. There is the other sort of listening where you don't respond in speech e.\n\nbut not being too worried about understanding every single word. The whole education system so far has taught the importance of the print form and written word. But we can still get enough understanding from what we read. Reading is also the means of acquiring new language. it has been my experience that adult learners prefer to have everything in writing. We cannot hope to read as accurately in the foreign language as we do in our own. reading is one your most useful tools. However. by the time you reach that all-important level of operational competence. and especially if you have started to develop the magpie instinct quite well.C O M P L E T I N G THE J I G S A W P U Z Z L E / 87 terms to our own National Curriculum and the European Passport. I would include myself in this also. In any case. but adds the target of understanding and using gesture and body language. This reflects how we learn our mother tongue. if you're aiming for a B or above at GCSE or you want to progress beyond National Curriculum Level 5 (out of 8). We have been conditioned to rely on it. EXTENSIVE READING This means reading a lot. and is therefore very natural. reading is clearly a skill in its own right. I would even go as far as to say that learners aged 12 and above need the prop of the written word. Many experts on language tuition argue that we acquire our knowledge through listening. Even at the very beginning of your course. then an extensive programme of reading in the foreign language is one of the keys to making further progress rapidly. Certainly. .\n\nSometimes I pick up a book which is a bit harder to read. I probably understood 95% of the words. Notice when you begin to understand more. I have found that adults are actually much better at this than younger learners. Even at the very beginning of your study. So this can be a process which you never have to give up. you can develop the habit of flicking through a magazine or newspaper. I limit myself to looking up just three words on each page. I was reading a French novel written for adults. the TV guide. . or having a look at a few web sites. the football results. And don't forget to jot down just one phrase in your notebook. but it's a start and already we have an idea of what the bigger picture will be. It is enough to enable gist understanding. because there is a certain visuality of the text which is familiar to you. Maybe we've only got a few edge pieces of the puzzle at the moment. Be content if you are just understanding two or three bits of information at this stage.88 / THE C O M P L E T E G U I D E TO L E A R N I N G A L A N G U A G E Today. The surrounding pieces suggested what was on the missing ones. But so that reading still remains a pleasure rather than a chore. and much of what was left was still understandable. what the click-on buttons on the web site mean. You will recognise which is the weather forecast. because it was a bit like looking at a jigsaw puzzle which had a few pieces missing. Also. I was reading some French words which I understood but which I would not be able to produce. Incidentally. the word for goal keeper. They have more life experience to go on. Read them often enough and you will be able to produce them.\n\ndouble space it. Blow it up if you can. 4. and kept reading the back of the milk carton. but print a hard copy to work on. 3. when you need to understand a text in more detail. On the last day of the holiday it clicked. Three is an optimum number. or it's simply that you want to understand every word and get more of a hold on how your chosen language works. 2. for homework or as a test or exam. It was set out differently and had far more words. if you just carried on reading it over and over.C O M P L E T I N G THE J I G S A W P U Z Z L E / 89 INTENSIVE READING There will be times. Try this: 1. but it won't improve so much after a fourth or subsequent reading. Look at each sentence individually. If you possibly can. It was telling us how much protein and calcium etc was contained in the milk. Now take a pencil and write in each word you know because you have met it before or that you recognise because it sounds a bit like English (or any other language you know for that matter) . Actually. you would eventually understand it all. Read your text three times. Your brain is a brilliant de-coding computer. I was on holiday in Malta recently.reading out aloud is useful here. Perhaps you have to interpret a document for work. have your text in a form in which you can write on it. I read it out to my husband in what I thought was Maltese pronunciation. where the Maltese obviously said something different from the English. and if it is wordprocessed and you have it in electronic form. You may have the meaning of the sentence without understanding every . however. You will find you understand much more after the third reading than the first.\n\n5. They are probably nouns (naming words). Underline the word you are looking up . It's detective work. 7. These types of devices are frequently used in exams to catch candidates out. use your dictionary. But those same words also enrich our languages. they will be free of charge most of the time. never. have a look at some of the smaller words. Amazing what difference not. or better still. verbs (doing words) or expressions of time or place. now and only now. If the sentence still does not make sense or that sentence seems to contradict the whole. despite and many other such words can make to meaning. and are therefore important in any case. linguists.it will help you to find it again in the text. Your brain has arced over and completed the jigsaw puzzle. but. every day. A little more intensive study here may make the meaning apparent. Full of nasty tricks. One great advantage of working on web sites is that you learn a lot of vocabulary unconsciously from recognising the function of buttons without . For those sentences you still do not understand. Look at the list below. many of them free. particularly in key words. The ones marked with * won't cost you anything more than time and effort. 6. Try to do some extra reading each week. * * The Internet. although. FINDING READING MATERIALS There are many sources of reading materials. If they are marked (*). If there are still gaps. look for the key words.90 / T H E COMPLETE G U I D E TO L E A R N I N G A L A N G U A G E word.\n\nThese are ideal. Again. These reflect your level of ability in reading but not your interests. the instructions which come with your new electric kettle. Only look at the language if it matches the country of origin of the product. * * Reading schemes for learners of your chosen language. You know. these are not always produced for adults. You could even ask them to send you extra materials in your areas of interest. * * * Junk mail or advertising left on your car or picked up at the shops when you are abroad.C O M P L E T I N G THE J I G S A W P U Z Z L E / 91 knowing the words in advance. You do have the advantage of a gist translation into your own language. However. * * Reading schemes for young readers in your chosen language. You will understand much of this quite easily because you recognise the form.* Multi-lingual packaging. these may be a little childish in content. These make excellent texts for intensive work. Use search engines to find information about topics in your chosen language. . Some are listed in Appendix 3. * * (*) What your learning partner writes to you. * n. as they will be a stepping stone to more complex texts and will be of interest to any age group. Some language sites have been included in Appendix 5. * * Reading schemes in your chosen language for adult native speakers who are learning to read. but they will provide you with simpler but still authentic texts. Unfortunately. beware of bad translations.\n\n) + Subscription magazines. Sometimes. If you are in a class. Find out how to use these. 4 Many university continuing education departments have access to the main language departments at the university which will have their own bank of resources. Some examples are listed in Appendix 3. Have fun reading! THE STORY SO FAR You are working effectively on your chosen languag. You undersatnd that this will be a different process from teatding in your own lanfguagn. . These come at all levels and may be produced monthly or termly. you underastand the imporatance of rading.92 / THE C O M P L E T E G U I D E TO L E A R N I N G A L A N G U A G E * (*) Manuals to do with your work produced for the countries which speak your chosen language.discounts are often given. ask your teacher to organise a bulk purchase of these . a university continuing education centre or adult education centre will stock a few. 4 Texts in your course book. You are using your whole life experintoa todme the new langaua and are beigning to read for gist comfortablyu. (Perhaps you could read intensively those texts which were meant for extensive reading.\n\nwhen there is the need to understand in greater de You knoe how to fingd reading materials and are using them in a way which suits you. .C O M P L E T I N G THE J I G S A W P U Z Z L E / 93 You also know how to read more intensively.\n\nIt is not just the words themselves which carry meaning. but the way they are put together and they way they relate to each other. MORE THAN JUST WORDS A language is a good example of where the whole is more than the sum of the parts. We have already seen how even more meaning can be added with facial expression. And then there is context. Some languages have words which have different meanings in different situations. and you only know which one is being used usually because it is the only one . many more 4 you can listen and adapt + you can clone a letter or other text written in your chosen language 4 to ensure accurate structure when cloning or adapting. Add tone of voice. gesture and other body language. the circumstances in which you are using a word.8 Cloning and Adapting In this chapter we shall look at how: + language is made up of more than just words + one simple sentence you might meet in the first few lessons can lead to many.\n\nWe had just been practising going to the doctor's and had learnt such wonders as diarrhoea and constipation. We were there to sharpen up their oral practice. The cat sat on the mat. And as you move away from merely communicating in a type of cave-man language which may sound odd to a native speaker towards something which sounds more like the real thing. you will need to use more complex structures and more of them. when the writing on the window explained that they stocked everything for constipation. you will notice that you are not going to obtain your goals if you do not learn some structures. But we're looking in this chapter at making one structure go a long way. the German for constipation is the same as the general word for blockage. When you take another look at your mind-map. Of course.C L O N I N G AND A D A P T I N G / 95 which makes sense. Imagine their delight as we passed the plumbers' merchants that afternoon. . I once took a group of students in their GCSE year to Germany. MAKING A LOT OF USE OF A SIMPLE SENTENCE Let's take something very simple which you may have even learnt in a very early lesson.\n\nNow imagine that for each word you had six alternatives. Or you could make up your own. These may be presented as a drop-down list on a computer program. The This A That Every No cat dog Pig mouse rabbit snake sat slept ate ran drank stood on in off under behind in front of the a this that every his mat basket table cupboard door window Now how many sentences can you create? If you use every combination? Some of the combinations may be a little odd. Can you think of six descriptive words to put in between the first and the second column and the fifth and the last column? You could have big. You can go even further with this. A dog slept under a table. fierce. new. or a box diagram in your text book. but most of them work very well. A dog sat on the mat. You might have something like this. A cat sat on the mat. A dog slept under the mat. A dog slept on the mat. small. black.96 / T H E C O M P L E T E GUIDE TO L E A R N I N G A L A N G U A G E Look at how you can change one word at a time to make six other simple sentences. friendly. A dog slept under a mat. and the structure will be accurate. hairy animals and old. .\n\n. You want to get that right. You will be amazed. ADAPTING WHAT YOU HEAR Often.other colours. Just from one simple sentence. \"A cream hornT says the assistant pointing at the same cake. You point to it and say you would like one of them. It is called a religieuse because it looks a little like a nun. This leads to different words being used for it. sizes. grey and dark places. inanimate objects as well as people have genders. so are masculine. and realise . This is where you need to listen for patterns. Now think of other similar descriptive words . you haven't got time to sit down and work out a table. You want to bring some structure into your speech. though. 'Yes. Imagine being in a cake shop. the or a. You not only listen out for the word. In many European and Arabic languages. It may be a simple matter of not knowing vocabulary. You want to speak as accurately as possible. A smaller piece sits on top of a larger one. feminine or neuter.C L O N I N G AND A D A P T I N G / 97 small. There is a delightful French choux pastry concoction which is filled with cream and covered in chocolate. You see something which looks delicious but is not labelled. a cream horn' you confirm. Let's take another cake example. Take your calculator and work out how many different sentences you could produce. large. characteristics. but also for the gender.\n\n' Or 'I prefer the bus. In an e-mail. + Letter answer. so the original part of the message would still be there. as the words for this and that are also different in French according to gender. There are two types of questions . Your structure may be even more complex. you use the structure of the question to help you with the structure of the answer. he did. Yes. Yes. if speaking.' Or you might swap the two structures over if you are feeling really brave and say 'I want to go by underground. partly because of the nature of the name and partly because you have recognised the feminine word for 'a'. you can just give the answer.' Much of speech consists of question and answer. Charles Wednesday. He did see her last Wednesday. you would probably use the reply button. Did Charles see Mary last Wednesday? 4 Speech answer. and others which need a piece of missing information supplying. If writing. Or. This might be quite useful if you need to specify this or that religieuse. did see Mary last .ones which need a 'yes' or 'no' answer. In both cases. You may be asked 'Do you want to go by bus or do you prefer the underground?' You could reply 'I want to go by bus. + E-mail answer. You would give a semistructured reply. Study the following questions and answers. you need to give the whole structure.98 / T H E C O M P L E T E G U I D E TO L E A R N I N G A L A N G U A G E that it is feminine. + Yes/no question.' Or 'I prefer the underground. But try to listen out for it and reflect it back.\n\nStudy the two examples below. we raise it at the end of the sentence. Often. Questions and answers can be very easy! There is a slight snag. we indicate that we are asking a question by a change in the way we use our voice. when speaking. So we frequently use exactly the same structure in the reply as in the question. Charles and Mary were at the hospital. The verb (doing word) which follows will often follow a different pattern. 'Are you gioing to the cinema?' 'Yes. but that there is a slight change in word order between question and answer. This appens in most languages. Where were Charles and Mary? + Speech answer. . They were at the hospital.C L O N I N G AND A D A P T I N G / 99 * Missing information question.. I am going to hte cinema. + Letter answer. though. 'He's goiong tp tje jops[toa uews jesgoppmg tp te hospitals. Study the following question and answer. In English. Notice how the basic structure is still there. At the hospital. 'He's going where?' 'He's going to the hospitals. Often questions contain a 'you' and answers an T. + E-mail answer.\n\nperhaps because the speaker is using what to them is a foreign language. ho ver. He would say such things as 'When go we to the theme park?' and 'I must my clothes wash. If the structure is not correct it at best irritates and at worst obscures the . CLONING A LETTER Accurate structure is far more important in writing. There is good news. but always kept German word order. it didn't prevent us from understanding and those other clues of body language. Even when speaking our own language. When replying in speech. you don't need to give a full answer. we make mistakes with structure. and even if you do and you get the structure slightly wrong. Most written material takes us by surprise and we have to take the message from the words themselves. tone of voice and the context in which he was speaking helped us to understand. 3. Most mistakes go unnoticed. the chances are no one will notice as long as they have understood what you mean. they are still quickly forgotten if the message is communicated. He actually used a good range of words and phrases. 1. often because we are constantly changing the plan about what we are going to say. but it is not a regular pattern.' It was rather cute. 2. There are regular verb patterns in every language. The irregular ones tend to be the ones you use most often.100 / T H E C O M P L E T E G U I D E TO L E A R N I N G A L A N G U A G E Not only does the verb change. We once had a young German friend stay with us to improve his English. When they are more obvious.\n\nour text books and our own notes.a nice. We are also used to reading texts to which the writer has given more thought to the language they are using. but we do have a nice. We do have to get the structure right if we want people to take us seriously. The front garden is quite small and pretty. and one on the ground floor. The words in italics are ones which you could change to make up a text of your own. we do have more time and we can use many props: dictionaries. We don't have a cellar. Dear Christine How are you? We moved into the new house yesterday. When we write. We have havw four bedrooms. The back garden is big. We look forward to hearing from you. grammar books. three on the first floor. lots of flowers and two chnd. large garage where we can keep things. Isabel. But there is some good news.le .C L O N I N G AND A D A P T I N G / 101 meaning. dining room. On then thee ground floor. and has a lawn. we also have a kitchen. Study the letter below. We also have a study in the attic. And it is very easy to adapt a text you have in front of you to give your version of the same thing. we want to create a good impression.erry trees. In many situations where we write. It is a nice detached house with three floors. Hope you are all well.. a lounge and a and a .\n\nDear Christine How are you? We moved into the new house on Thursday. and how in some cases I have had to replace a word with a phrase. the lounge on the first floor.102 / T H E C O M P L E T E G U I D E TO L E A R N I N G A L A N G U A G E Now look at the following version. Notice that I have put something entirely different at the end. and has a lawn. The back garden is big. The front garden is quite small and pretty. Isabelle Notice how some bits stayed exactly the same . but we do have a space under the terrace where we can keep things. It is a big linked detached house with two floors. You may even sometimes have to leave out one part altogether. lots of flowers and a cherry tree and an apple tree. It is good to learn at least two different endings to a letter. twotwo. bathrooms and a dining area. . all on the ground floor.my house happens to have those features in common. On the ground floor. It is better if you reply with a different one from the one you have been sent. We have four bedrooms. we also have a kitchen. We also have a den in the garage. Let us know your news. We don't have a cellar. But you can still construct an effective letter. and see how I have changed it to describe my own house. Hope everything is all right with all of you.\n\nIt takes ten minutes by car. Decide which words and phrases you might alter to make the letter your own. We start work at 8. or pretend to have brothers or sisters even if you didn't.15 pm. The journey there is a bit quicker. The staff can use the staff sports club. The work is very interesting and I may have the chance to travel abroad soon. The offices are in a new building. Now study the letter below. Dear Jim. She has been with the firm for ten years. You make better progress in language learning if you are able to talk and write about what is important to you. We have a whole hour for lunch. I started my new job at Kendrick's last week. Toni . We also have a good canteen and a bank on site.C L O N I N G AND A D A P T I N G / 103 One word of caution. She is very lively and friendly.30 am and finish at 5. I miss the flexitime from Broderick's. How's your work going? Look forward to hearing from you. You will demotivate yourself. Don't go down that road. You may remember from school days perhaps being encouraged to pretend you had been on holiday even if you hadn't. I work mainly with Sally Johnston. I have got to meet all of my colleagues.\n\nbut you will be tempted to use the dictionary. For example. how the verb (the doing word) works and how smaller phrases within the sentence are constructed. Your texts already give you the pattern of word order. She had looked up the word trunk. some of the verbs (doing words). How do you know which one to use? I remember a student from my A-level German group telling us all that a certain tree had a very fat suitcase. Study both letters again. endings o ords. Be sure that you do not alter the structure. but you also need to be cautious here. adapting a text from the language you are studying. J change some of the nouns (naming words) or adjectives (describing words) and only if you are sure of the correct patterns. You have to make it show who is doing what . she would have found out that Koffer was something for transporting personal belongings when you go away from home. In bigger dictionaries. What do you notice about the type of things which I have changed? What hasn't changed? Now try doing one of your own. A smart trick is also to look the word up again in the other half of the dictionary. The dictionary will only give you the inactive form.1 0 4 / T H E COMPLETE GUIDE TO LEARNING A LANGUAGE Now look at Appendix 6 to see which changes I have suggested. It is safer to keep to what you know well. you will often be given more than one word. You may impress your teacher! AVOIDING PITFALLS WHEN CLONING You do have to be quite careful. Had my classmate done that. Care should also be taken when looking up verbs. That is fine. clues may be given about the actual significance\".\n\nSo. You know how to adapt simple sentence. see Appendix 1) provides a model letter for students to adapt. both personal and business 4 your text book + material sent by your learning partner 4 manuals to do with your work 4 anything in writing or print. particularly in wriging. No dictionary could possibly contain them all. in its exam for advanced business use of German (level B2/C1 of the European Passport. THE STORY SO FAR You are working on your chosern languae in a way which suits you. and that means knowing some complex patterns. Choose a text and make it your own.C L O N I N G AND A D A P T I N G / 105 when. WHERE TO FIND MATERIALS FOR CLONING 4 dictionaries .many contain sample letters.s You understand the importance of structuram.. have a go now. look for something you can use as a model. you are wrll oranginsten and you are developing good language learingi harit. Even the Goethe Institute. . Whenever you need to write.\n\nYou know how to use quyestions to help yuou sturcture the answer.1 0 6 / T H E COMPLETE GUIDE TO L E A R N I N G A LANGUAGE You are learning to listen carefully for phrases which you can use. You know where to find materilas to adapt. You jnow how to turn a model piece of writing into your own. . You know how to avoid mistakes and how to userthe dictionary effectively in doing this.\n\nSKELETONS In the last chapter. you are beginning to do that quite well now. What if you could get your hands on a system which would enable you to work out what the structure was going to be in . Hopefully. we took a look at how to put structure into your language. however. and that you are never going to manage it or get to know anywhere near enough to sound like a competent speaker.9 Putting in the Backbone In this chapter you will: * find out how to predict structure * learn why we have grammar * take some of the fear out of dealing with it * get to grips with the basics * find out what you need to know * develop more good habits when writing. It is also possible. that you are beginning to get the uncomfortable feeling that the amount of phrases you are going to have to learn is infinite.\n\nand we fill that up with the conventions of our own . It is called grammar. Chair caretaker borken window morning find What are the possible meanings? Tell the caretaker that we have broken the chair this morning near the window. And it is structure which causes the relationship.. Noam Chomsky recognised that we all need to say the same kinds of things in every language. language is just a lump of meaningless jelly. The caretaker foud the brokent fhari anear the windowm And many more. a sort of DNA of the language. Without grammar or structure. Grammar is the blueprint for the structure. We found that the caretaker had broken the windoem.108 / THE C O M P L E T E G U I D E TO L E A R N I N G A L A N G U A G E any given situation? There is one. with the chair. What gives the sentences meaning is the way the words relate to each other. and every language has its own. Part of our brain recognises this. Look at this group of words. create the same sort of relationships between words.\n\nThis can make learning a second language difficult .probably French . reproducing and generally caring for its wellbeing.the French count in a peculiar way because once you showed allegiance to rivalling families in a sort of code and the ones who counted funny became most popular. By the time you learn your second foreign language. but you know it doesn't help that much. and depending a little on your age and what was fashionable in education at the time. GRAMMAR? HELP! There is a lot of fear about grammar. You have never been taught any . Each language also needs to enable users to perform the same functions. (Remember me and the cheese sandwich?) 2.but feel that you can't speak a word of it.maybe even enjoy analysing it. . Grammar differs from language to language. You understand it perfectly . There will be peculiarities . this fear has one of three causes.P U T T I N G IN THE B A C K B O N E / 109 language. moving. You don't even know what the word means. Grammar is the skeleton of the language.either in your own language or in a foreign language. you are more aware of this. It is the diversity which makes it all so interesting. eating. You did very well at school in your first foreign language . sleeping. You also know what you need to know. But each animal's skeleton will aid it in breathing. just as the skeletons of different species vary. 1.we often expect the grammar to act in exactly the same way as in our own language and it doesn't.\n\n1 1 0 / T H E COMPLETE GUIDE TO LEARNING A LANGUAGE 3. and there is so much of it that you'll never be able to get to grips with it. It is a short cut to learning structure. but it seems so complex. She spoke fluent.incredibly important. She was German. of course. 3. That's the bigger picture.with a learning partner. so it's not worth trying. With a limited amount of time. .which you need to know about. but it is by no means the whole story and should be used alongside the other suggestions I have made. you can only acquire full accuracy by understanding the grammar. We do need to put grammar in its place . Grammar is important in helping to make you accurate in your language. There are only actually five things . though I couldn't believe it.although with some subdivisions . My answers to this are: 1. accurate English . You have a vague notion of what it's about. When I first found out about using a learning partner I met a young teacher of German. 2.with a Yorkshire accent! She made the point that she had learnt everything about English grammar by the age of 13 and had spent the remaining ten years just polishing up her knowledge . but not all that difficult.\n\nThe Queen lives at Buckingham Palace. This is what we use most of the time. This is used when there is some sort of doubt. Verbs When dealing with verbs.but . The moods In fact.P U T T I N G IN THE B A C K B O N E / 111 FIVE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW Simple. only a few languages use both moods to any great extent. Spanish. person and tense. The subjunctive is used a lot in the Romance languages . That's it! Let's look at that a little more closely. We rarely use a verb form to express that in English.: + verbs * word order 4 parts of speech (who is doing what to whom where. It is used when we know for a fact that something is true. Italian . + Subjunctive. voice.French. but Long live the Queen! and // / were a rich man are two examples. when and why) * how prepositions work *• and how your language shows gender and number. 4 Indicative. we need to consider mood.\n\n112 / T H E C O M P L E T E G U I D E T O L E A R N I N G A L A N G U A G E Northern European languages tend to express the doubt element with other words. You have to know how to indicate that the following people are doing something. The voices Of the two voices. . 4 Passive. Our example above would become The cat wast was. One (someone?) had strewn papers all over the floor. + Active. Generally. one is rarely used (but I just did) and generally not approved of (there I go again!) except in certain situations (writing books about learning foreign languages. you use this voice if you do not know who did the action. this is generally frowned upon.or at least some alteration of its spelling. So you get Papers had strewn themselves all over the floor. In modern language. Some languages even get round this by using the word for 'one'. eaten by the mouse. or by putting a word in front of it. Or they make the verb reflexive (the person/thing does the action to itself). Can you see how you are portraying the same idea but using a different structure? Person How does your language show who is doing the action? Sometimes it is indicated by the ending on the verb . or sometimes both. and scientific reports for instance). Papers were strewn all over the floor. The cat ate the mouse. This is what you use most of the time.\n\nse Tense tells you when something happens. and there is often another form of you for people with whom you can be fairly familiar close friends. as you could probably guess. It says what somebody is doing now. is to do with theth. This is used for one-off actions in the past. present and future. This. she. relations and animals! These two forms of the second person are distinguished as familiar or polite. Can you work out when we use each? And you thought the language you were learning was hard? I read I am reading I do read All three of those are translated into French by je Us. Past tenses: simple past (sometimes called the preterite). one Plural We you they Many European languages will have two different words for the singular and plural you. He came. Ten. Present. he conquered. But in English we have three versions of it. and is divided into past. it. he saw.P U T T I N G IN THE B A C K B O N E / 113 Person 1st 2nd 3rd Singular I you he. . Most languages just have one verb form for this. present.\n\nand sometimes use the present tense with a future meaning. I am going to the cinvema tihs evening. Compare: I shall go tho the cinema this ev. this usually contains the word 'would' and indicates something that is by no means certain. This goes one stage further back into the past.114 / THE C O M P L E T E G U I D E TO L E A R N I N G A L A N G U A G E Imperfect. I had alrady undlondee the shippintg and put it all away when the doorbell rang. Pluperfect. This is used for continuous and repeated action in the past.ening. She came to see me every day. In English. that is dependent on some condition. . We actually have two forms of this in English. Examples would be: I was waching telecvision when the phone rag We used to go to9 the sea every yea. . The conditional. In many languages it is . I am going to go to the cinema this evening. Future tenses: the future. In English. This is common in many languages. In English. it is often characterised by was . you often get the word 'had' in a sentence. ing.\n\nOn the other hand. If I were you. rather than using your voice. I would go and see him. Beware. In German. you can emphasise something by putting it at the beginning of the sentence. The person or thing doing the action. Word order Word order has one of two functions and sometimes both. though. Many languages do not have a future subjunctive. The subject of the verb. .like being or sleeping. In the sentence the cat chases the mouse we know who is doing what because of the word order. Technically. + It gives meaning to the sentence. changing the word order can be used for effect.P U T T I N G IN THE B A C K B O N E / 115 used instead of a future subjunctive. ^ Most languages have a convention of word order. This is the action. and it sounds odd if you do not keep to it. a group of words is not a sentence unless it contains an active verb. Some languages put endings on their words to do that. Parts of speech In all sentences you need to indicate: The verb. some verbs are not very active . This is true in English.\n\nsomething happened. try putting the word to into the sentence. recipient of the action. Latin). French. You may also have: The direct object. Spanish for example). why. If the word order is not an indication of the function or importance of words in the sentence. words like a. Many languages express these ideas by word order (English. action is done indirectly. In both systems there is also a default word order. it follows a set pattern. Others express them by inflection . If you are not sure whether an object is direct or indirect. the. when and howo. Adverbial phrases.tly. .etter/ The indirect object. It is the person or object who receives the action direc.116/ T H E C O M P L E T E G U I D E T O L E A R N I N G A LANGUAGE The cat sat pm tje . I sent her a letter.. These tell us where.adding endings on to words or the markers in front of them. describing words (German. I dssent a letter to her. One of my students described this as theh. I dsent a .at. This is the person or object to which th.\n\nGerman has masculine. ships tend to be feminine. For example by in English can mean near to or through the means of (when used with transport). But there are exceptions. And many languages have other methods of indicating the plural. You have to know which it is in order to produce sentences with correct structure. even for objects. there is . But in French.ort). Several other languages also add the 's' for denoting plural. Prepositions usually come in front of words and show the relationship of that word to others in the sentence. and they are not always the same as our exceptions. feminine and neuter. so are rulers and houses. One main snag with prepositions is that within their own language they often have many different meanings. and it's worth learning them. different prepositions are followed by different endings. Of course.P U T T I N G IN THE B A C K B O N E / 117 Prepositions Or pre (in front of) positions (places). Plurals are not always simple either. There are patterns. Gender and Plurals This is not always as straightforward as in English. You have to learn them for each individual language. He came to school with this mother. For example: She was by the door. In inflected languages. and they do not translate exactly. Often.. Mit in German means with or by (when used with transport). We have masculine and feminine for humans and animals only.\n\nTIME. NUMBER AND QUANTITY Although in many ways this is more an item of vocabulary than grammar. Adjective This is a describing word. They are often listed separately in your course book or your dictionary. It sometimes comes in front of a noun or sometimes it stands alone.118 / T H E C O M P L E T E G U I D E T O L E A R N I N G A L A N G U A G E more than one pattern. . most languages have a set pattern for these items which are used frequently. They are often used on computer programs as well. It is worth learning them sooner rather than later. There will be others. I have given an example in each case. You may find it useful to photocopy this page and slip it into whichever book you use the most for help with grammar. METALANGUAGE . LANGAUGE You will find these terms used in your grammar book. And that is all there is to it. the context in which you meet the others will probably make them clear. but if you understand these. and at some stage you will need to learn them. I have listed these expressions alphabetically.A LANGUAGE FOR TALKING ABOU. in your dictionary and at the back of your text book.\n\nwhichhich. In English. Conjunction These join two sentences together. Adverb This is also a describing word. There are proper nouns. usually have a capital letter.cle: A or an is the indefinite article.P U T T I N G IN THE B A C K B O N E / 119 The red hpise was very nig.e. Sometimes they influence meaning. . He went into town although he had no money. but describes a verb rather than an adjective.this time he walked in nervously. Although he o=ferm wnet to the clyn. he wemt onto tomwn and met his girlfrine Noun These are naming words. John and Mary wnet lto London. sometimes they just join. it often ends in 'ly' but not always. Article The is the definite article.\n\nt . The flying ants were leaving their nes. The past participle is part of the past tense. It gives a description which contains a verb. smell. itglish. The present participle is often really an adjective. feel or touch. In English.. He kicked the ball Abstract nouns refer to items which you cannot see. I have learnt my lesson. hear.120 / THE C O M P L E T E G U I D E TO L E A R N I N G A L A N G U A G E Concrete nouns are things which you can touch.. often ends in t or ed. Participles The two main ones are the past participle and the present participle. it.. They are parts of the verb. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. They had alreeady vistied the family. hear.\n\nif you have taken in all of the above. Pronouns. These take the place of nouns e.does it show who does what. 2. 1. and in an inflected language have you used the correct endings? . and does it follow the default pattern? 3. if that is its function. Check for one thing at a time.P U T T I N G IN THE B A C K B O N E / 121 It will often also be used as a noun in English. person and tense. but not in all other languages. Word order . However. We use it also in our continuous present and continuous past tenses but these tenses occur in few other languages. Verbs . The list below should help. CHECKING WRITTEN WORK You should check each piece of written work very carefully. Have you used the correct preposition. Have you indicated in each sentence who does what to whom? 4.g. you could drive yourself mad trying to check for everything at once and you would probably miss a lot of mistakes anyway. voice.mood. she instead of the girl. Many people think that flying is eaingerous now.\n\nthis will be more difficult. saying what they have done that day and what their plans are for the next day. Look specifically for examples of that in the work you have just completed. . Obviously. I often suggest to students that they keep a diary. you will not remember all of it at once. I ask them to use the checklist above to revise their work. Have you used genders and plurals correctly? 6. But could you at least write something. There usually is.122/THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO L E A R N I N G A LANGUAGE 5. you will stop making those sorts of mistakes. even if you cannot remember it all. In a short while. They then give it in to me to mark. But at least read it through. Of course. if not a diary.tand? USING THE GRAMMAR BOOK At this point it is a good idea to look through your grammar book and see how your language conveys the grammar points mentioned above. if you are a beginner. So they tend not to make it too personal. KEEP A DIARY It is good to write a little each day. daily? Perhaps using a mixture of 'cloned' material and constructing new language with those grammar points you unders. Now look for those mistakes you always make! Look through any written work you have had corrected and see if you can find any pattern. and you will probably find that you understand it.\n\nyou become more and more familiar with the structures and they become automatic. 6. Then it is a matter of learning one grammar point at a time. The conditional tense. . 1. If you find grammar easy. 8. The future tense. 10. SEQUENCE IN WHICH TO LEARN GRAMMAR POINTS The past tense. The pluperfect tense. But you may not want to wait. Word order. How parts of speech are shown. It is tedious having to look everything up at first. but effective use of the dictionary and good knowledge of grammar lead to rapid progress). I suggest the following order. 3. Gradually. 9. You know what you need to know. The passive voice. however.P U T T I N G IN THE B A C K B O N E / 123 Then look at any points mentioned that I have not covered. 4. 5. 2. They will still relate to the main points of grammar I have mentioned. 7. Prepositions. The imperfect tense. you would probably benefit from trying to get it right all the time. Using the dictionary effectively (not strictly speaking grammar. Mastery of some points brings you closer more quickly to obtaining that all-important level of operational competence (see Appendix 1). Make a note of anything you don't understand and discuss it with your teacher.\n\nThe subjunctive mood. Genders and plurals (these will have come up in other areas. How to express wanting. Relative pronouns. Idioms (language which is grammatically unpredictable). You understand the five main points of grammar. 15. Number. You are laraing how to check aeritttne work effectiv . being obliged to (known as modal verbs). but at this point you should really pin them down). 12. Almost all languages have patterns which help you work out genders and plurals). being able to. 17. And that is it! Grammar wasn't so bad after all was it? THE STORY SO FAR You are making good progerss in your chsoen Languagem and really do have many good woirking habits. You are no longer afraid of it. 16. having to. The present tense. but this should be work on consolidating them. Now deliberately seek them out. time and quantity (you probably know a lot already.124 / THE C O M P L E T E G U I D E TO L E A R N I N G A L A N G U A G E 11. 14. You understand the hnedd for grammar. You have probably collected quite a few in your note book. 13.\n\nP U T T I N G IN THE B A C K B O N E / 125 You are writing a little every day. . You have had a good look at your grammar bokl You have started to learn the garammar of your chosen language.\n\n. the large shopping centre near the shuttle terminal. she said. EYES THAT ARE SHUT Or ears.10 Eyes Wide Open In this chapter you will find out: + how to make the most of learning opportunities when in the country of your language * how to learn with your eyes 4 how to learn with your ears * how to learn with your other senses. Recently I returned from Germany and decided to do a little shopping in Cite Europe. Time for some fun. Whenever I come back from the continent via the Eurotunnel. I thought. 'Excuse me please'. I was standing in the queue. as she walked in front of me. I become very saddened. Her friend joined the queue. There was a young girl in front of me. waiting to pay at the checkout.\n\nWe looked at some of the signs around us and tried to work out what they meant. they were on a school trip and they had done a little French at school. Both girls looked a little ashamed. I am pleased to report that my two new friends managed to be polite in French when they paid for their goods. It took about 30 seconds for them to establish that most French people said 'pardon'. Yes. even if they could. we listened to what the cashier was saying and how the French customers replied. The girl blushed.E Y E S W I D E O P E N / 127 'How did you know I'm English?' I asked. They were actually using mainly things they had met before but not rehearsed in a real situation.probably did not want to speak English. everybody speaks English'. I took great delight in pointing out that the majority of the people in the shopping centre . We chatted for a while as we waited to be served.despite the vast number of English tourists there . . 'Well. if they trod on your toe or needed to get past. she mumbled. As we got nearer to the till. and although what they produced was what usually appears in text books rather than what the French normally use. They did know the French for excuse me please. They were adding in a few things they had just learnt. it would have done. They were French. I asked them to listen to some of the French people who were standing in the other queues. and didn't they have every right to expect us at least to try to speak their language? We were guests in their country.\n\nthey would have heard plenty of model sentences to help them place their order. There are words everywhere: * road signs 4 shop windows + restaurants 4 adverts + safety instructions on planes. I actually found myself cringing as I heard teachers .perhaps from the same school as the girls . I even provided one myself. If they had kept their ears open. and keeping eyes open would have reminded them of the vocabulary they needed as they looked at the menu. trains and ferries 4 information signs .1 2 8 / T H E COMPLETE GUIDE TO LEARNING A LANGUAGE A little while later I sat in a salon de the. even though you know exactly what it says? If you see words do you have to read them? If so.talking in English loudly to make the shop assistant understand. THE WRITING ON THE WALL Are you a compulsive reader? Are you like me . don't shut down just because you are in a foreign country. and most adults are like this.do you read the cereal packet over and over every morning. The language staff from that school could have rehearsed it with their colleagues. You don't actually need much language to point to a cake you want and order a drink.\n\nYou gain a subconscious knowledge of these words and phrases. You could do this at home even. When you're in the foreign country. If you're on holiday you have more leisure anyway. and this is a very appropriate activity. You will find it useful to set yourself a target of how many you want to learn a day. Some may end up in your note book. it can be hectic but there are often substantial chunks of time when you have nothing to . A good trick is to make an effort to use and learn a few. This is good for helping you to understand. in English. Some of these signs may be presented in many languages and often visually as well. List down. this becomes a little easier. though. You often have more time.E Y E S W I D E O P E N / 129 * washing instructions * manufacturer's instructions. They tested each other on the words for the objects they saw around them. Just look around for ten minutes a day. Then look them up in your dictionary. Learn them. Some of this material is available in your own country. If you're on business. You may like to set yourself a target of how much to learn a week. all the objects for which you do not know the word in your chosen language. VOCABULARY TEST One pupil I took on an exchange visit to Germany made very good use of his walk to school with his partner.\n\nAnd you're surrounded by the language. Then there are those train and airport announcements. A good source of 'free' listening material is the car radio. signs usually tell you where the . and in the bar. and when you do speak. Yet he managed to mimic the rise and fall of the French voices around him and the pace of the speech he heard. But when they are clear enough.1 3 0 / T H E COMPLETE GUIDE TO L E A R N I N G A L A N G U A G E do. Listen to conversations on the bus. asking for cleaners or supervisors. As you go along the motorway. Robert was an interesting pupil. By the end of our time there he was speaking in simple sentences with a perfect accent and pronunciation. because you know roughly what to expect. But don't worry. try to use the patterns of language you have heard. He came to France with us on an exchange visit. He spoke gibberish at first. He had always found French a struggle. EAVESDROPPING Become a language detective. Let the rhythm and intonation of the language wash over you. but gradually words began to form. Or the tanoy system in the supermarket. using something of which you are sure. or telling you of the latest offer. so you may have some of those words in front of you in spoken or written form. in the supermarket queue. Of course. If you are a relative beginner. you may find it hard to understand anything you hear. they are easier to understand than ordinary conversations. these are often difficult to understand even in your own language.\n\nweather and traffic reports . the journey took 40 minutes. They were surprised when I pointed out that they had just heard all of that in Dutch. On a good day. Ia. The speech will include short news. My son remarked that it was odd that house fires always seemed to come in threes. because they knew the story and they recognised the pictures. They had some favourite Disney story tapes in English such as The Lady and the Tramp and The Aristocats.and they listened to Dutch story tapes.E Y E S W I D E O P E N / 131 local radio channel is found. Our children attended a school in Amsterdam and we lived in Haarlem. In other words a good mixture of music and speech. My daughter was 7 and my son 9 at the time. and they would swear that they didn't understand Dutch. We lived in Holland for two years. Like the soaps. They understood it. Two children the same age as mine were rescued from one of the houses. When the music comes back on. Often these will be like our own local channels and like our Radio 2 and Radio 5. The radio was on all the time. you have time to mull over what you have just heard. Watch something with which you are familiar that has been dubbed. My daughter commented that she thought the children would have been very scared. There was a report about three house fires.just as you'd expect. managed to find the same ones in Dutch. They had a few lessons at school. Iitocats. they listened to the radio for at least an hour and 20 minutes every day . We listened to the tape and followed the story at the same time. Could you bear to use a story tape? Then there's television and the cinema. It might be quite a joke listening to Harold Bishop .\n\nAnd even watching the soaps produced in the country of your stay is good. And there are all those other auditory and visual prompts around you. Yes you will see the road signs and what the shop windows say. Just stand for five minutes and see what you take in. at which angle they leave their knife and fork on their plates and how their . We are taking on the culture too.132 / THE C O M P L E T E G U I D E TO L E A R N I N G A L A N G U A G E speaking fluent French. CREATIVE OBSERVATIONS Your creative writing is usually best when you immerse yourself into a scene and describe what all of your senses perceive. what they hear. but you'll understand him. Good writers can create or recall the scene in their mind and then write about what they see. your dictionary and your knowledge of your language's grammar. We are going beyond the linguistic here. If you close your eyes. But you will also notice how your native speakers greet each other. Soaps are very predictable and quite visual. what they feel. what they smell and if appropriate. what they taste. but the language is going in at the same time. Could you write creatively in your chosen language? Perhaps not easily until you are beyond the level of operational competence (see Appendix 1). But you probably could with the help of cloned structure. your other four senses will work harder. It's likely to be an old episode anyway. You get most of the meaning from the visuals and what you remember.\n\nYou understand these people better. TEN OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE BUSINESS TRAVELLER 1. the fresher fish or flowers which we do not have. You may even taste and enjoy a drink you have not met before. pick out a phrase you are going to listen out for. that the song birds sing more clearly because there is less traffic and the policemen blow their whistles more frequently. you will hear how they ask for help and express joy and sorrow.E Y E S W I D E O P E N / 133 houses have narrower doorways and taller ceilings. 2. But even if you don't want to or feel you can't. You may notice the warmer air. and that also aids your subconscious when it fits the pieces of the puzzle together. You may write about this if you wish. try to work out what they say as you hear the foreign language. The safety instructions will also be in both languages. Try to internalise one of the phrases you hear. If you hear English first. Yes. You will speak more convincingly because of it. you will begin to take on the habits of the nation along with their language. You are welcomed on to your flight in English and the language of the country to which you are flying. If English is second. but you will also hear the different noise their cars make because of the way they drive. a new flavour of ice cream and vegetables cooked a different way. the rougher road beneath your feet and you may pick up through your shoes the rhythm of the way others walk. . You may smell the stronger coffee. how and where they gossip.\n\nListen to what they say to passengers and how the passengers respond. 4. the pronunciation and the accent. 5. Try to read the section in the foreign language. 9. 7. try out your carefully rehearsed small talk. Work out what the receptionist is likely to say and how you should respond.134 / THE C O M P L E T E G U I D E TO L E A R N I N G A L A N G U A G E 3. Watch and listen to the cabin crew. As you register at the hotel. do some creative observation. As you queue to go through customs. . listen out to the exchanges between the travellers and the officials. If you're feeling brave. 6. As you wait for your baggage to arrive. even if you do not understand every single word. Can you clone that? Do this. take your cues from the people in front of you. There is a general way the cabin crew operates in any culture or language. and passport control. the intonation. Is there something there you can adapt? 8. Listen to the radio. just referring to the English version if you get stuck. In the taxi. if appropriate. But they will use some of their own body language. Try to write at least one phrase down in your note book. Read the walls. Enjoy the rhythm. you can make a point of replying in the foreign language. You look through the in-flight magazine. even if they know you are English and speak English to you.\n\nYou can guess what the commentator is saying because of the way the crowd is reacting. Even if you do not understand every word. Consciously listen for at least one phrase you will remember. because they are scripted at the bottom of the screen. You know what's going on because of what you see on the screen. You arrive at the first motorway service area in the country which speaks your language. Have a browse through the shop. 3. Read the walls. listen to the music of the language. Is there a manual for your car there? Would it be good to buy one? Or maybe the one which comes with your car has pages in your chosen language. 2. And you've only just arrived! TEN OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE TOURIST 1. In your room. flip through the TV channels. Maybe you find a football match. listen to conversations going on around you. As you drink your coffee in the restaurant next door. goal. Take your cues from the people in front of you at the checkout. Have a look through before you set off again. And you find out the words for goalkeeper. if you didn't know them before. Rehearse your numbers and polite phrases as you go to pay. half-time.E Y E S W I D E O P E N / 135 10. You fill up with petrol. Try to install its rhythms in your head so that you can use them when you speak. . And then let your subconscious do the rest.\n\n10. read the walls. when you are at your destination.if there is any . You arrive at your destination. Listen to the local radio as you go along.if you can't work it out. 9. make the effort to read the part written in the language you are studying. Pick up the brochures which look as if they would be of interest. Only refer to the English . You decide to do some shopping. Don't bin it. Read all the writing you see. 5. They are a similar 'shape' to your family. Have a few rehearsed polite . You stop and go in and have a look. Take it home and read it. Is there someone else in the car who is learning the same language as you? Maybe you could try to work out what you have heard as you go along. Rehearse your polite phrases. If you are not the driver. 6. 7.1367 T H E C O M P L E T E G U I D E T O L E A R N I N G A L A N G U A G E 4. You see a tourist information point. See if you can mange to buy the offer of the day. You find a piece of advertising put under you windscreen wipers. If you have to wait. And then see how it means what it means. Later. look at signs on the other vehicles and at the side of the road. Listen to the supermarket announcements. You may be able to take some cues from other people in front of you. You notice a family of native speakers next door. 8. Eavesdrop a little on their conversations. You rehearse the phrase you are going to use when you check in.\n\nLet your children play together. which you hear. . You listen carefully and pick up the music of your chosen language along with many mew experassion.aearoig You are maximising he learingnoppotatingiyour meet when aborad. You are using your other sensed to help uou to become more like the pople whose language you are .E Y E S W I D E O P E N / 137 phrases.s You read everything in sight. so that you can make a contact. And it's only the first evening! Reread this chapter every time you go abroad until you are doing all of these things instinctively THE STORY SO FAR You are making good progerss in your chosen language. and you are using a varietu of good hanit.\n\nthe magpie instinct in reverse 4 find sources of help for the above. But as with any fear. TAKING AWAY THE FEAR We all have some nervousness about trying out the language we have acquired on native speakers. It is also good to look at the best which could happen and the stages in between. it is quite useful to look at what is the worst that can happen.11 Have a Go In this chapter we shall: * take the fear out of risking your version of your language on a native speaker + look at language you can try out + create a need to talk * learn to be proactive in looking for language . The worst The person to whom we are speaking will not understand a word and actually walk away from us. There are two comments to be made: .\n\nYou could have worked these out in advance. They may come at you in a full-speed torrent They may not make any concession to the fact that you are a foreigner and that you have not completely mastered their language. 4 Listen out for key words. Have you noticed if you put yourself down a little. You need to enliven that experience up for the person to whom you are speaking. But now it is your turn to be flattered. it can be very tiring when you have to speak your own language slowly. 4 If the above does not work. + Anticipate what they might be including in their reply.H A V E A GO / 139 4 you won't actually die because of it 4 is someone who is so impatient really worth communicating with? Either way. They will be flattered that you want to use their language. . ask them to repeat what they have said. others pull you back up? Smile a lot as well. Boring or frustrating the person to whom you are speaking Yes. You can carry on impressing them if you are prepared. Apologise for speaking so slowly. They were obviously impressed with what you said and how you said it and have assumed you know a lot about their language. * Ask them to speak more slowly. you don't actually lose. They will be charmed.\n\nwe looked at making speaking practice more effective. you might be invited to try some nice figs that they just got in that morning. This does pose another problem. You can look out for these sort of exchanges in your own language first. You move from the known to the unknown. If you're going shopping for greengroceries. then changing expression and eventually altering the conversation to some extent. The best that could happen They understand you perfectly and reply with something which is absolutely clear to you. The next stage is to get someone in the know .e. however . * Explain that you are a learner of their language and are eager to carry on speaking. However you don't have to be a fortune teller to work out what might come into the unknown.1 4 0 / T H E C O M P L E T E GUIDE TO L E A R N I G A LANGUAGE * Tell them you do not understand. Thank them for their patienc. changing roles. TRYING IT OUT In Chapter 6. Anticipation of what might come next is the key at all times. They will probably simply repeat what they have said. You remember.you now have to be ready to continue the conversation. you go through it all several times with a partner. .your teacher or your learning partner . slow down and use more gesture and facial expression to clarify their meaning.to introduce something unpredictable.\n\n> Being tired and wanting to go to bed. Those new words and expressions are going round and round in your head. you really are on your way. + Answering questions about your own family. it can be very tiring mentally. 4 Checking out times when events are going to take place. 4 Being offered food and drink. But it shows it's working. if you know you are going to face a particular situation soon. You may anticipate that you are going to find yourself in the following situations. Look at the following situation.H A V E A GO / 141 Then. 4 Talking about your leisure activities. . * Having to read a story to a young child in the family. you often go to bed and then are unable to sleep. When you take your language learning seriously and really make an effort to understand and contribute. verifying the language you need with your teacher or your learning partner. and then if you dream in your chosen language. You are going on a visit to your twin town and are going to stay with a family similar to your own. However. you can practise beforehand with a partner from your class. * Understanding information about the town you are living in.\n\nYou negotiate with your teacher what you want to learn. Then you are given patterns to try out. You look at a picture book. Here you start with the real-life situation. practise and eventually learn by heart.1 4 2 / T H E COMPLETE GUIDE TO L E A R N I N G A LANGUAGE + Making an excuse to leave the house because your hostess is looking tired and you want to give them a break. Let's take just one of those situations and anticipate what might come up. However. In other types of courses. So. You will have a fair amount of language and will have a good idea of how to create extra language. you read to a young child in the family. if you've taken on board all the other techniques mentioned in previous chapters. You also ask the child questions about the story and discuss the pictures. you move from what is in the text book towards the real-life situation. other people will come up with different lists and possibly all the rehearsal you have done may not meet the situations you actually encounter. But won't your language have improved? This type of rehearsal differs considerably from the practice mentioned in Chapter 6. you will not be starting in a vacuum. You will only need your teacher or . Both are valid. The child then asks you personal questions . you may not be able to determine what you want to learn in advance. The child asks you questions about the story.for example 'Have you ever seen a wolf?' You ask the child something similar. This is a very common feature of learning by phone and occurs also in some tailor-made lessons. There. 'Have you got any pets?' Of course.\n\nH A V E A GO / 143\n\nlearning partner to verify and help you plug the gaps more quickly.\n\nCHAT UP EVERYONE If you go to a supermarket in Britain on a Friday night, you will see lines of people not talking to each other. At most they're saying 'Oh, I forgot the cabbage, can you go and get one?', generally just conducting transactions about the essentials. But what a great opportunity that is to talk! Cultivate it in your own language and it will be easier in the new one. Rehearse a few things you might discuss in such a queue. Even if you just say a little, you may be presented with many good patterns of language which you can later adapt, clone and note in your book. Here's a list for starters. * animals + children 4- football + the weather (rather British, but the Dutch do it too and it's an easy one to talk about) + the price of petrol 4 the youth of today 4 politics (if you're brave). Dale Carnegie recognised the value of making an effort to get to know people by talking to them about what they\n\n\nfound interesting. Connie Ten Boom took tips from his book written in 1936 How to Win Friends and Influence People. Talking to a member of the Gestapo about his dog helped her to escape imprisonment. Can you make an effort to open a conversation with everyone you see? Could you admire someone's pet? Talk to a child? (In the presence of their parents of course.) Comment on the lateness of a bus, the beauty of a painting, the delight of a walk in the country with the stranger who is sharing that with you? You'll surely pick up a lot of new language that way. But that might not be the only thing. You will also win new friends and influence people. The language is beginning no longer to be the main point and at the same time becoming even more important. And the habit may spill over into your own language. How much richer your world is going to become! One of my pupils did better than I expected in his oral exam one year by doing just this. He was bright, and he had a certain linguistic competence. However, he was rather lazy, and I knew he had not done enough work. Sure enough, the evening before the exam, he went out to the park instead of staying at home to revise. How lucky he became, though. He met a group of French girls there. He chatted them up, something he was rather good at, in his somewhat underdeveloped French. He rehearsed for the oral exam the next day with them. He rehearsed a few other things too. There were several consequences. 4 He did well in his oral exam. + His French improved generally. * He was invited to France\n\nH A V E A GO / 145\n\nvvvHe made friends for life - he has actually married one of those girls he chatted up that night.\n\nYou are continuing to progerss in your chosen language. ad you really are acquirng a wealthof good learing habit, you are facing the fear you may havce about havinga go/'// Yiou have started to overcome that fear. You have learnt how to anticipate and rehearse/ You have started to take every opportunity to hodld conversations, You are beginning tio proactively seek productive language.\n\nHOW YOU HAVE BEEN USING THIS BOOK Perhaps you have read this book from cover to cover. Hopefully by now you are bubbling over with excitement and want to try out what has been suggested. You may well want to go back and take a week or so putting into effect what has been described in each chapter. I strongly suggest . as bed-time reading or to occupy yourself on a train journey.12 What Next? In this chapter you will: * look at the extent to which you have achieved your goals + complete an action plan to deal with what is missing + identify anything extra you have achieved + identify what else you would like to know + create a new set of goals 4 consider whether you wish to continue learning in the same way or whether a change of style might be appropriate. That is great! You are in touch with the bigger picture.\n\nyou will have worked through all of the suggestions and you will be ready to take a look at how much you have achieved of what you set out to do. though. also learnt to order food and drink in cafes and restaurants and obtained a fair understanding of recipe books. Add in another colour anything extra that you are aware you've achieved. LOOKING AT YOUR MIND MAP Take out that mind map you created when you were deciding which sort of course to follow. I have. But I still want to do something about putting the world right. You may even be lucky and find that the extras outweigh the deficits. This time I make a list. I have acquired some of the habits recommended in this book but need to sharpen them a little in this context. I will see that I haven't managed to complete everything in the 'put the world right' section. If I look at my original mind map. you will now want to deal with what is missing. however. though. Therefore. that you carry on reading to the end so that you complete the picture. Highlight in a bright colour anything which you feel you have not yet managed.W H A T N E X T ? / 147 for the moment. and I can describe my opinions. At some point. but I am still not reacting quickly enough to what other people say and sometimes not even understanding what they say in response to my ideas. That makes me feel good. Nevertheless. I have succeeded in reading the newspapers quite well. my list may look like this: .\n\nThis is particularly important in the Netherlands. you will often meet this sort of helpfulness which is really not all that helpful. And it is something to hold yourself to. And whichever language you are studying. There is a stage of struggle we all go through. Can you make a similar list? You may never look at the list again after you have made it. * Don't let them speak English to me. + Always smile. but there is something about writing down your goals which affirms them. + Make sure I know how to ask people to repeat or speak more slowly. We cannot become fluent until we have gone through that stage. What we need from native speakers at this point is sympathy and patience. I must really insist on speaking Dutch. even when disagreeing. Try to spend a little more time on this.1 4 8 / T H E COMPLETE GUIDE TO L E A R N I N G A LANGUAGE * Carry on reading the newspapers and watching current affairs programmes. + Rehearse my argument and the answers to the counter arguments. The Dutch can be too kind. . (I can probably find some good phrases to use in the newspapers and by listening to other people debating. my tandem partner and my knowledge of Dutch grammar to help me structure the language I need to learn. my teacher.) + Use the dictionary.\n\nFig. . Mind map 2. 4.\n\nIt is something which is very personal to us. You will probably come up with a similar mind map to the one in Figure 5 for learning Italian something which I would like to do soon. and if there is room. Create your own version of mind map 3 to lead you to a list of tasks you would like to commit yourself to doing. What may differ the most is the very outer legs. which is very personal and where we recognise our own strengths and weaknesses. If you have worked through this book up to this point. . Then come the areas of vocabulary you need.1 5 0 / T H E COMPLETE GUIDE TO L E A R N I N G A LANGUAGE MAKING A SECOND TYPE OF MIND MAP There are probably certain aspects of life in the countries which speak your language that appeal to you. Mine looks like the one in Figure 4. My list looks like this: + Meet up more often with Sally to practise conversations we have had in class. you will have a fair idea of how language learning works. We probably also need to have a more general look at how we are to continue learning our chosen language. then structures. Your next layer should list the activities you had in mind. your list of what you must do. 4 Do those conversations with different emotions. a tangent. What we have produced is a bit of a side water. Maybe you want to go deeper into these. then parts of grammar. What is the bottom line of why you want to do these things? Make that the centre of your new mind map. + List role-plays to practise with Tania or Sally.\n\n3..5. .Fig.idmp.\n\nvisiting new places and talking about the family. * Practise writing. No method will work. But we haven't finished yet. + Read the newspaper for gist. * Go through the grammar book . + Use the tapes in the car. We all have different preferences. 4 Practise composing my own structure by writing a little every day. 4 Use the tapes while ironing. in any case. unless the learner is engaged in their learning and takes . METHODS OF LEARNING Different methods of learning languages have been favoured at different times. 4 Look at some children's books. but also pick one or two articles for more intense reading. however.revise the five points of grammar. in the way in which we learn. + Work on holiday homes. and most teachers have adapted a mixture of them. Adapt what I have read.152 / T H E C O M P L E T E GUIDE TO L E A R N I N G A L A N G U A G E 4 Get some of the readers for beginners. + When in Italy listen to conversation around me. The common sense approach has usually overruled. + Look carefully at the mistakes I have made. You now have three mind maps and two lists to shape what you might do next.\n\nPerhaps it is now time for you to look at them more closely and decide which ones help you the most. The teacher would rush into the lesson. but it is not made explicit to the learner. This is another key feature in you designing the next stage of your study. and then you completed the drill on the language laboratory. however. Remember my cheese sandwich? The direct method This was an attempt to mimic the way we acquire our own language.' Learners under this method were never put off when they went abroad. If you have followed the suggestions in this book. Drills and patterns Language stucture is introduced as you need to know it and drilled into you. They did develop some good coping strategies. It could leave learners with a thorough understanding of the grammar of the language but unable to use it. shouting 'Good morning.W H A T N E X T ? / 153 responsibility for it. starting with the easiest point and coming finally to the most complex. you have sampled a little of all of these methods and you are taking responsibiity for your own learning. Grammar grind A rather cruel name for something which actually worked quite well. There is still an emphasis on grammar. class. You worked systematically through the grammar. But neither could they make themselves understood. .' Everyone thought they meant 'I'm sorry I'm late. New language was often introduced with flash cards. It was favoured up until the mid-sixties and derided in the seventies. You practise a pattern.\n\nExercises are set up so that the learner is genuinely communicating. (You have to learn the exceptions at the same time as the rules!) As you can see. as they were used mainly only for this sort of drill.154 / THE C O M P L E T E G U I D E TO L E A R N I N G A L A N G U A G E It went something like this: David played tennis. Hockey David played hockey. A simple example is that each has half a TV guide. The language has worked if the outcome is correct. but do not always develop grammatical and structural accuracy. They ask each other such questions as 'What is on Channel 4 at 7 pm?' These are very realistic exercises. Swimming David went swimming. communication. however. But it can be deadly boring and it misses out many other important aspects of language learning. it is very much like our cloning and adapting activities. They are coming back now. It killed off the language laboratories. Often each partner has information the other doesn't. Communicative language learning The message here is communication. and are being used to allow learners to listen as well as speak and are often used with videos as well. in a much more conscious . communication. Target language The teacher speaks all the time in the language you are learning. They do this.\n\nAgain. When a system is in development it is often hard to describe. most people in language learning would probably agree that you need to: + talk 4 speak + listen 4 read + write 4 understand and use structure * communicate * deal with authentic texts ^ cope in the real situation.W H A T N E X T ? / 155 way than with the direct method. The learner develops coping strategies. Which areas of the list above need more work? . However. Courses at the moment are being geared to enable you to be able to do just that and are combining the best elements of all the methods described above. little time is available for adding in the knowledge of accurate structure. They always aim to make sure the student understands. Current practice Teachers talk a lot about good practice. At the same time the student becomes used to hearing language as communication.\n\nWe found many parallels and it was useful to compare how we were learning. you move an audience. Then you are able to sight read and you are able to put your own language together. If you are sporty. You can even compose music and you can write and speak as spontaneously in the new language as in your own. but look at the advantages and disadvantages of each sort of course and have a look at the different settings in which you could work. Music theory is like the grammar. Now you need to work out where to find that knowledge and how to acquire the skills which go with it. You proably do now. using a grammar reference to help you. Eventually. Perhaps that is why one of my most successful students was a friend who used to give me piano lessons in exchange for French lessons. But you may not be musical. take another look at Chapter 2. You are in a very strong position. You rehearse and practise set pieces until you have them fluent. The scales are like the drills. you might like to work it out. LEARNING STYLES AND SETTINGS Finally. There is also an analogy with sport. You probably don't need to fill in the charts all over again. Do you feel you want to change something now? .156 / THE C O M P L E T E G U I D E TO L E A R N I N G A L A N G U A G E There are a lot of similarities between learning to play a musical insturment and learning a language. if you know what you need to know.\n\nW H A T N E X T ? / 157 LOOKING AHEAD You can now plan your next course. . * Created a third mind map with knowledge of how language learning works and identified areas in which you need to work more. 4 Reconsidered which settings suit you best and the type of course you might now follow. Now. 4 Created a second mind map identifying certain very personal goals. 4 Looked at your first mind map and identified any gaps (and hopefully congratulated yourself on all the extras you have achieved). decide how you want to proceed. * Considered which methods suit you best. You have: * Completed a certain stage of your study.\n\nWhat can you do to keep it all ticking over? . WHERE YOU ARE NOW You may have completed your course. In which case. you do not want to lose your newly acquired skills and knowledge. you are probably delighted. So you may have decided not to carry on with any formal learning. However.13 Keeping It Ticking Over In this chapter you will see: + how fluency and accuracy carry on improving 4 how you can continue to gather language + how you can keep your spoken language fluent 4 how you can carry on improving your reading * how you can keep on practising writing 4 how you can carry on improving your listening 4 how you can adapt life-long habits so that you continue to learn your language without even noticing. You might have attained all of your goals.\n\nIt may get a little rusty.K E E P I N G IT T I C K I N G O V E R / 159 WHAT USUALLY HAPPENS Even if you don't touch your new language for a while. they will carry on improving. Most of the rest had completed five years of study at school but many years ago. . In some cases they were beyond that. or of the more literary vocabulary. they were at least level with where they were when they left school. I have had almost daily contact with the language. As soon as they started classes. + I have gone on several exchange visits with schools. 4 I have maintained friendships with speakers of these languages. I may not have the in-depth knowledge any more of the most complex of the grammar. You will never forget completely. you will not actually forget everything. If you actually do do something to keep your knowledge and skills up to scratch. my fluency and ability to deal with everyday language has improved no end. and by the end of the year. but it will still be there chugging away like a computer program you had forgotten was running. Just a few of the members had done one year of French the year before. I used to take a second stage adult French class. I would say that my French and German are much better than they were when I left university. In my own case. On the other hand. it all came flooding back. This is probably because: 4 In 25 years of teaching.\n\n1 6 0 / T H E COMPLETE GUIDE TO LEARNING A LANGUAGE * I have used several strategies to improve my reading.and the 'real' situation is always a rehearsal for the next time . also consciously or unconsciously. but are still making tiny grammatical mistakes. . What was accurate but painfully slow becomes fluent. for instance. You rely less on your grammar book and dictionary. then pick up. speaking and listening. As you continue to look up new words and expressions when you prepare to write. Fluency and accuracy will carry on improving.will make the whole transaction smoother. or they may. I have continued with the habits I have described in this book. and worked in a way that seemed more like pleasure. be quite good at negotiating in a shopping situation. present you with an accurate pattern of language which you. What was fluent becomes accurate. In other words. either consciously or unconsciously. You may be communicating well. writing. Any rehearsal . grammatical structures become more familiar to you. without thinking. The person to whom you are speaking may correct you. You may.. MORE THAN TICKING OVER The slightest amount of work you continue to do will move your language skills and knowledge forward. Yet the words still stick a little on the way out.\n\nCould you agree a time with yourself that you would spend on the language programme every time you begin or finish work on the computer? Five minutes? Ten minutes? Twenty minutes? Speaking and talking practice Hopefully you will keep in touch with your learning partner. Give yourself a goal now of how many phrases you want to add per month or per week. Carry on gathering You will probably want to keep your note book or computer file record alive. Using a computer program Even if until now you haven't used a CD language course. Agree certain times that you can meet up or speak on the phone. Leaf through it at odd moments whilst waiting for the bus. you will not perhaps want to add to it as often as you have been doing. you may reduce the frequency. And always look out for new material when you are abroad. on the train. there are nevertheless several things which you can do. Mix business with pleasure. which are not onerous. Complete some focused . and which will not only maintain your level of knowledge and skill. Keep your note book in a place where it is easy to pick up.K E E P I N G IT T I C K I N G O V E R / 161 If you have reached a satisfying plateau.maybe even when you're stuck in a traffic jam. Again. it may be something you could add on to what you have been doing. It is good to spend some time learning as well. while you drink a cup of coffee . but will also keep the accuracy and fluency gradually improving. However.\n\nYou will find that after a while you forget that you are reading a foreign language.1 6 2 / T H E COMPLETE GUIDE TO LEARNING A LANGUAGE exercises. Take a text and totally unpack it. where you both agree on what you want to improve. As much as possible read in your new language: + magazines 4 newspapers * anything written which is of interest in your worlds of work and leisure. greatly enhance your reading and general language skills anyway. Even though you may feel a little rusty because you haven't used it for some time. You are reading for information. but also just have some relaxing times. Make sure you understand every word. however. if from time to time you did a little intensive reading. you will carry on building on what you already know. And you will no doubt continue to go to the countries which speak your new language. It would. But speak your language all of the time. when you pick up the language passively. Make it a social occasion. Find a . Maybe you could also arrange to meet up with your former classmates. Reading At this stage you will probably want to do mainly the extensive type of reading. perhaps once a month. Look at the structure in the sentences and why they are built the way they are.\n\nK E E P I N G IT T I C K I N G O V E R / 163 few sentences to adapt for your own use. but even if not. It is better if you can have this sort of work corrected. Often. just doing the work is beneficial. Writing with a purpose You may now feel able to write personal and business letters and e-mails. Make a decision now about how often you will do this. If you both use Word. ones you have seen or ones your learning partner has sent you. Perhaps you could carry on seeking new texts to adapt. Gradually the communication will become more important than the language you use to effect it. . you know what you need to know and where to find it. But you may want to carry on improving your accuracy. Even if you have to keep on looking up words and patterns to adapt. You may wish to be even more proactive. And it won't matter if you make mistakes as long as you communicate correctly. and that will help you become more aware of where you are making mistakes. You will become more aware of structure and gradually make fewer mistakes. You may be adapting from the dicitonary. The language just becomes the means to the end. you can 'track changes'. You do the same for them. Write a couple of phrases in your note book. Perhaps you could keep a diary. In that case. You may even be tempted to look in the grammar book and really master that backbone of your chosen language. Ask them to correct certain pieces of writing. set up some exercises with your learning partner.\n\n. listen. listen when you are in the country where your chosen language is spoken. you can take in the information more gradually. to accompany their language courses. you will be taking in some of the culture as well. Let the suggestions made there become a habit. can your learning partner send you videos now and then? Can you listen to other tapes? Libraries often have tapes. Also. And listen.164 / T H E C O M P L E T E G U I D E TO L E A R N I N G A L A N G U A G E grammar becomes easier after a while. Going native Reread Chapter 10 each time before you go abroad. Listening to a different tape from the one which goes with the course you studied can bring you fresh ideas. Listening and hearing Watch TV in your chosen language if you can. This is really more like listening and seeing. you will no longer be aware that you're working at your language. And your skills and knowledge will continue to grow. Soon you will be enjoying the entertainment rather than being conscious of learning. once the pressure is off to learn by a certain time. If you have no access to such channels. You become more familiar with the metalanguage. Once they have become a habit. If you watch programmes produced in the country which speaks your language. which you may borrow.\n\neven is ouor dollitle. there comes a point where it stops being a battle. your language learning really becomes a leisure activity rather than something you are studying. I saw many of my classmates and later my own students reach that level sooner than I did. IN SUMMARY You have studied your chosenn languagem using useful habits to arrive tat a certian laevel of competaem You know that your fluentvyu and accurey will carru On improving. but now you are comfortable. Suddenly the struggle stops. and all of a sudden the language becomes a tool which is really useful and easily used. when you stop forgetting old items as quickly as you meet new ones. sometime during my A-level study. There is now no going back. They are all still improving daily. I had dreamed of being able to use my languages naturally. I actually think it could have come a lot earlier if I had known how the process worked. You may be surprised that this stage did not come early on for me. Yopi jabit of collecting language is so ingrained that you will probably do it for the rest of you life. It happens at different times for different people. and suddenly I was able to. . this may have happened before you stopped your formal lessons.K E E P I N G IT T I C K I N G O V E R / 165 CROSSING THE THRESHOLD Something happens to all language learners. But if you persevere. And at that point. I have not looked back since. There is still some way to go. But I did reach it. If you are fortunate.\n\nYou are being entertrainged whilest ou improve youuo listening skills. You are reading for pleasuer and infromation in your new language. Well done! . You arkonow how to make the most of everuy visti you make to the countries where your chosen language is spoken.. You are communicating in wriring and at the same time improving yiur writing. You have acquired language learingi hagbit whinch will allow you to carry on inceratisng your konowldedge and improving your skolls.166 / THE C O M P L E T E G U I D E TO L E A R N I N G A L A N G U A G E You know how to practise speaking.\n\nAppendix 1 Levels of Competence I have created my own definition of a level of competence which is needed for the language you are learning to be useful to you. LEVEL OF OPERATIONAL COMPETENCE General description You are able to communicate quite well in the language but with some effort. ordering food in a restaurant and checking into a hotel.such as shopping. following directions. These . you may like to study the web sites listed below. Talking You can make everyday transactions . You can operate in everyday situations. It resembles the European Languages Portfolio's Level Bl. You can understand and make yourself understood when working with a sympathetic native speaker. If you are interested in looking at other levels. You can make polite small talk. National Curriculum Level 5/6 and would lead to a GCSE grade of C or above.\n\nand you still are not all that fluent in these situations. You can understand personal letters and simple business letters. Listening You can understand announcements at trains stations. . Reading You can understand the gist of newspaper and magazine articles. There will probably be some mistakes still. You can understand brief news and weather reports. though you will still have to refer to a dictionary and grammar book. but you are aware of what you need to know. you can manage. You can understand a little more on television. Writing You can adapt a letter from your dictionary or course book. With extra work. especially when they are in a format with which you are familiar. because you have visual clues as well.168 / T H E C O M P L E T E GUIDE TO L E A R N I N G A L A N G U A G E are not as yet easy. airports and supermarkets as long as they are reasonably clear. However. though you will not understand every word. you can understand every word of something written in simple language. but none that will interfere with communication. Grammatical awareness You understand the five points of grammar (see Chapter 9) and how they work in your language. You do not yet know all of the details off by heart. You can follow a quiz programme and a series with which you are familiar.\n\nTel: (+44 1623 450481). TSO PO Box 29. St Crispins House. London WC1B 5DN.net/ servlets/Subjects?Subject-MFL EXAM BOARDS AQA.org. . 32 Russell Square. France.uk www. Directorate General IV. even if selfconsciously.APPENDIX 1: LEVELS OF COMP. Assessment and Qualifications Alliance Publications Department. OTHER LEVEL DESCRIPTIONS European Language Portfolio.org. Duke Street.edexcel.org. Rusholme. 1 Hills Road. Tel: (0161) 953 1170. Modern Languages Division. M14 4NA. 1 Hills Road.coe.nc.uk Edexcel.uk. Oxford.int/lang National Curriculum.uk OCR. Tel: (01223) 553554. Cambridge CB1 2EU. Cambridge International Examinations. Syndicate Buildings.uk www. Council of Europe. You are beginning to use it. Cambridge CB1 2EU. Stewart House. 39 Heald Grove. Cultural awareness You are becoming aware of cultural issues which affect the way you use the language.uk CIE.ETENCE / 169 Body language You are aware of the body language which goes with your chosen language. international@ucles. Aldon House. http://culture.aqa.cie. Cambridge and RSA Examinations.org. Norwich R3 1GN.org. http://www. mailbox@aqa. www.\n\nRusholme.org.org.aqa.uk SEG. mailbox@aqa.uk www.uk . Southern Examining Group (part of AQA). Tel: (0161) 953 1170. M14 4NA. Aldon House.org. helpdesk@ocr.uk www.ocr. 39 Heald Grove.170 / T H E C O M P L E T E GUIDE TO L E A R N I N G A L A N G U A G E Tel: (01223) 552552.org. Publications Department.\n\nPortugese in France. Santa Fe Trading Limited. Latin America and Portugal).uk cactuslanguage (French. East Sussex BN1 4AT. Tel: (+44 207) 596 4000. Tel: (+44 23) 8040 5827. Avenue du Chateau 16. 50 Princes Gate. Hants SO31 8AJ. Italy.cactuslanguage . Tel: (+44 207) 611 9640. Bridgehouse@btinternet. Bursledon. Southouth. 9 Foundry St. 296-302 High Holborn.htm COMPUTER-BASED LEARNING Bridge House Languages. London WC1 7JH. www.com www. Kensington.com Goethe Institute.de/gr/lon/enindex. http://members. Italian. Ceran Lingua Group.html .Appendix 2 Language Courses BUSINESS SCHOOLS Berlitz. Spanish. Belgium.com/nichokohwk/forei1gnlanguages. 4900 Spa.goethe.btinternet. Brighton. 4 Old Bridge House Rd.ceran. (+32 87) 791188.com Ceran.bridgehous.co. Lincoln House. Exhibition Road.com Learn Foregin Languages On-line. fortunecitv. www. www. London SW7 2PH.273) 687 697. Spain. www .berlitz. Tel: (+44 1273) 687 697.\n\nco. Liongate Enterprise Park.com www. Surrey KT19 OYF.com RESIDENTIAL COURSES cactuslanguage. 80 Morden Road. Gro.uk www.edu www. Epsom. E-mail: studabrd@ramapo. Ramapo College of New Jersey.P. 1 Roman House.org www. as above Don Quijote (Spanish in Spain and Peru). Tel: (07430 + 1(201)) 684-7262. Mahwah. Tel: (+44 1273) 597169.ramapo.donquijote. The Study Abroad Office.nll. 40330. c/o Lanacos (see below). Calle Primera Norte No 8. Italian. Tel: (+44 20) 8786 8081. enquiries@nll. Buenavista de Cuellar. 9/10 College Terrace.prima-global. France.linguaphone.co. PO Box 218. French.com www. London.uk Lingulearn. Germany. International Language Schools (Chinese.1727 THE C O M P L E T E G U I D E TO L E A R N I N G A L A N G U A G E Linguaphone. Linguaphone Institute Ltd. Mitcham CR4 4PH. dquk@donquijote. Spanish and Russian in China. Tel: (+44 1252) 377595 info@proma-global.uk www.uk Net Learn Languages.lingualearn. .co. Mexico. 505 Ramapo Valley Road. info@eltlatoani. German. C..eltlatani. Victoria Road. info@lingualearn www. Tel: (+44 20) 8981 1333. Farnborough. NJ. Tel: (+44 (0)20) 8687 6210.uk Prima Language Service Ltd Victoria House. Hants GU15 7PG.co.co.com HOME STAY Ramapo (Spanish).edu TIataoni (Spanish). LangSupport@linguaphone.org Enforex (Spanish).\n\nlanguages@lanacos. Italy and Spain). Bursledon. Germany. Bridgehouse@btinternet.com www. Italian andlian anad. German.gb@ef. and look out for adverts in the local press. Tel: (+44 20) 8786 8021.co. Loughborough. Kent TN13 2UG. Germany. Sevenoaks.A P P E N D I X 2: L A N G U A G E C O U R S E S / 173 Spain. Tel: (+44 1732) 462 309. Tel: (+44 23) 8040 5827.prima-global. Tel: (+44 1252) 377595.co.visavis. Languagecourses.bridgehous. Italy. Dunton Green.abroad@btinternet.org www. East Sussex BN3 1AL. Leicestershire LEU 3AA. .btinternet.lanocos. info@proma-global.k Prima Language Service Ltd. Hants GU15 7PG. German. Tel: (+44 1509) 211612.languagesabroad. languages. 4 Old Bridge House Rd. 67 Ashby Road. Belgium and Canada).org SCHOOLS OFFERING TAILOR-MADE COURSES Bridge House Languages.com www.u. www.com Language Courses Abroad (French.com. Victoria House. 64 London Road.ef.com www. Latin America and Spain). Spanish in France.com Lanacos (French. Farnborough. Libraries often also have details. Hants SO31 8AJ. Epsom KT19 OQT. Latin America and Russia).c.uk Vis a vis (French in France. Tel: (+44 1273) 201 410. Hove. Victoria Road.om.com LOCAL AUTHORITY COURSES Consult your local council. www. 1-3 Farman Street. Italian and Spanish in France. 2-4 Stonleigh Park Road. dquk@donquijote. Italy.\n\nuk/swindon/parttimecourses/ languages.uk/conted/ cfa/htm Coventry University. Tel: (+44 117) 928 7172.1747 T H E C O M P L E T E GUIDE TO L E A R N I N G A L A N G U A G E THE OPEN UNIVERSITY Walton Hall.uk Cambridge University.uk/conted/ conted@liverpool.ac.ac.ac. http://www.uk/ cce/courses/modlang. http://www. http://www.ac. 19 Abercromby Square.uk/acad/isl/ulp/htm isladmin@coventry.ac.uk/cms/ppo/modern_languages.shtml conted@aber.ac. Liverpool L69 7ZG. http://www.uk/index. Tel: (+441970) 621580.hanrahan@bris.html Bristol University.open. http://www. University of Portsmouth . School of International Studies and Law. http://www.ac. SY23 2AU. The Centre for Continuing Education.city.liv. Tel: (+44 1908) 274066.ac. Cambridge.langcen.uk Manchester University.htm Julia.htm b.htm City University.man.ac. www. Tel: (+44 1793) 690909.ac.ac. Coventry University. London EC1V OHB. Northampton Square.bris.aber. Tel: (+44 151) 794 6900. www.ac.uk UNIVERSITY CONTINUING EDUCATION DEPARTMENTS Aberystwyth University. Tel: (+44 24) 7688 8256. Coventry CV1 5FB.ac. 11 West Road.uk University of Bath (in Swindon). 10/11 Laura Place.uk Liverpool University. The University of Liverpool.cam.coventry. Milton Keynes MK7 6AA.uk/courses/ conted.bath. CBS 9DP.ac. Tel: (+44 20) 7040 506. Aberystwyth.Fenton@man. http://www. Tel: 0161 275 3273.uk Portsmouth University.\n\n196-198 West Street. Tel: (+44 23) 9284 3960.uk/courses/fe/search/index.htm Sussex University. http://www.uk/Part-time/ basic_parttime_lang. Hampshire PO1 2RY.uk/central/parttime. Guildhall Walk. More and more universities are adding languages for mature students. Sheffield SI 4ET.htm.education-world. Tel: (+44 1273) 606755.shtml. www.ac. try the main switchboard.APPENDIX 2: L A N G U A G E C O U R S E S / 175 Information Centre. http://www.sussex.port. Brighton BN1 9RH UK. jarnes. Or type in 'X+University+ continuing+education' or 'lifelong learning' into the search box on your favourite internet search engine.ac.newcollege.l Southampton University.ac.uk/til.ac.htm.com/higher_ed/ . If you cannot find a continuing education department. University of Sussex. Also try college. Portsmouth.shef. www.soton.mellor@port. Falmer.ac. Therefore it is also worth checking your telephone directory which should list all departments of your nearest university.ac.shtml information@sussex. Tel: (0800) 085 63 61.uk Sheffield University. http:/www.\n\nThis page intentionally left blank .\n\nLondon WC2E 9ST. Chetlenham. Tel: (08700) 100 222.com www. Tel: (+44 20) 7240 2811. Delta Place. Chancerel@Chancerel. authentik . Dublin 2.co.com .uk Nelson Thornes. queries@harpercollins. www.Advanced Level in French. Italian and English).uk www. 120 Long Acre.com www. Tel: (+44 1242) 221914.com LCP. German. Tel: (+353 1) 677 1512.com Collins.lcpuk. cservices@nelsonthornes. Tel: (+44 1926) 886914. Tel: (+44 8700) 900 20 50.ie www. Glasgow G2 3WT.com www. 77-85 Fulham Place Road.bbc. Ireland.co.fireandwater. Lemington Spa CV31 3BR.uk/schools Chancerel International Publishers Ltd (materials for the business learner). 27 Bath Road.co.com BBC Education PO Box 1922.Appendix 3 Materials GENERAL Authentik (GCSE . Gloucestershire GL33 7TH.pourparleraffaires. info@authentik. London W6 8JB. FREEPOST CV2662.nelsonthornes. orders@lcpuk. 27 Westland Square.\n\nOxford University Press.champs-elysess.oup.co.ee MindMan Personal www.uk GCSE www.com Personal Tutor www.gsp.comm Eurotalk www.wordProf. LISTENING MATERIALS Authentik. Tel: (0800) 833 257. Italian and Spanish).com Encore www.btinternet.encoresoftware.8645043267394 kaila@oup. Champs-Elysees (reading and listening materials for adults. Tel: (+44 1865) 267652.com .eurotalk. beyond operational competency in French.mindman. Oxford. Oxford OX2 6DP.uk www. Great Clarendon Street. FREEPOST LON 295.com Urban Spanish (Spanish) www.bridgehouse. as above.uk wordProf (French vocabulary for all levels)or alaktnaovaekals www.aurolog.co.towerofbabel.co. Transparent www. Bristol BS1 6FA.com GRAMMAR BOOKS Collins. German. as above.transparent.ukk.1 7 8 / T H E COMPLETE GUIDE TO L E A R N I N G A LANGUAGE COMPUTER COURSES urolog www.com DICTIONARIES Collins. www.co. as above.\n\nA P P E N D I X 3: M A T E R I A L S / 179 READING MATERIALS Authentik. 1-3 Dufferin Street. as above. Gallic.com . Champs-Ely sees.com www. as above. French. International Press Network (supplies newspapers and magazines in Arabic. German.interpressnetwork. London EC1Y SNA. Italian and Spanish). info@pressnetwork.\n\nThis page intentionally left blank .\n\nLanguage and Responsibility. Knowledge of Language. Steven Pinker..Appendix 4 Some Further Reading (For the very brave!) Noam Chomsky. The Language Instinct: How the Mind Creates Language. New Horizons in the Study of Language and Mind. Reflections on Language. Noam Chomsky. Praeger. Harvard University Press. Steven Pinker. Language and Problems of Knowledge. Language and Mind. Noam Chomsky. HarperCollins. Noam Chomsky. Noam Chomsky. Thomson Learning. Steven Pinker Pinker Language Learnability and Language Development. The MIT Press. Phoenix. Cambridge University Press. . Noam Chomsky. Ashgate Publishing. Words and Rules. Harvester.\n\nThis page intentionally left blank .\n\nuk http://www.uk/default. com/ http://www.org/wwwl/pater http://www.penpalnet.org.org.ht.com/.com http://www.hallo.com/cuentos/menu.com/ http://www. http://www.foreignlanguagehome.htm/l http://www.uk/ http://www.com http://www.net/~hiker/iloveyou.org.eurocosm.org.Appendix 5 Useful Web Sites http://www.hola.boniour.centralbureau. steadylearning.com http://www.de http ://w ww.slf.vokabel.languages-on-the-web. http://www.ika.ruhr-uni-bochum.worldpath.htm 1 .alphabetsoupfli.com/.uk/ http://www. http://www.christusrex.\n\nThis page intentionally left blank .\n\nToni.Appendix 6 Cloned Letter 2 Dear Jim. The staff can use the staff sports club. We also have a good canteen and a bank on site. The journey there is a bit quicker.30 am and finish at 5. I work mainly with Sally Johnston.ly. The officesfices are in a new building. Let us know your news. It takes ten minutes by car. Hope everything is alright with you all. I have got to meet all of my colleagues. She has been with the firm for ten years. We have a whole hour for lunch.15 pm. .. I started my new job at Kendrick's last week. The work is very interesting and I may have the chance to travel abroad soon. We start work at 8.. She is very lively and friendly. I miss the flexitime from Broderick's.\n\nThis page intentionally left blank .\n\n113. 86.134. 114.100. 100. 56. 68.Index accuracy. 123 . 49. 98. 35.165 formal lessons. 94. 40.165 adjectives. 116 AQA. 108.163. 169 Business Language Schools. 181 cloning. 181 future. 76. 87 body language. 6. 25. 160. 118 cultural awareness. 169 articles. 116 drills and patterns. 154 computer based learning. 104. 154 Communicative language learning. 129. 119 bi-lingual dictionaries.159 extensive reading.105.123 conjunctions. 99 European Language Portfolio.101. 41. 171 business traveller. 44-45. 22. 171 computer courses. 153. 104. 26. 97 adverbial phrases. 169 current practice.159-161. 105. 153 e-mail. 6. 155 definite article. 7.163 dictionaries. 84. 133 Chomsky. 178 direct method.158. 6. 83. 178 conditional.130. 95. 86 further reading.41. 21 four skills. 114. 119 course books.155 direct object. 87 fluency. 169 exam boards. 169 exchange visit. 119 diary. 94. 122.\n\n19.124 multi media equipment. 149. 130-132.150.148 nouns.166.171 learning partner.143. 43. 171 grammar.172 How to Win Friends and Influence People.132. 38. 35. 114 indefinite article. 22. 70. 91 key words. 178 gender. 75. 40.121-122. 118. 50 Home Stay.168 grammar books.132. 84. 25-32.167 local authority classes.122.37 materials. 111. 22-23. 108.136.105. 153 hand-outs. 97-111. 19.123.163. 163 learning styles. 177.119-120. 51.104.124 Get-By.53-54. 81.164. 90.164.152. 47 Noam Chomsky. 89 internet. 6. 116 intensive reading. 36. 87. 86. 25 Goethe Institute. 144 idioms. 40.139 Language Courses. 73.118.132. 44. 62. 90. 138. 119 indicative. 76.167 levels of competence. 121. 167 listening.51. 23.19. 17.178 Grammar Grind. 111.67. 178 mistakes. 124 .181 National Curriculum.175 junk mail. 48.188 / T H E C O M P L E T E GUIDE TO L E A R N I N G A L A N G U A G E GCSE. 70-73.167. 167 native speakers.122-125.159. 49. 22. 41. 63. 22. 27.147. 106. 140. 63. 101. 36. 14. 153. 50. 43. 156 level of operational competence. 85. 27. 43. 90. 111 indirect object. 23. 91. 6. 27. 87. 8. 46. 38. 46. 29. 52.47. 80. 48. 37. 44. 86.100. 42.13. 69.117. 16 imperfect. 42.151 MindMan Personal.134.121 number. 7.176 mind map. 168 mood.148. 35. 87. 24. 80.\n\n86-93.168.78. 6. 123 working on the phone. 114 plurals. 31. 140 person. 8. 62. . 107.121.68 radio. 111. 121 put the world right. 112. 46. 83.142. 51. 85. 48 regular verbs. 134. 152.131-132 television and video equipment. 33. 111.161 writing.81. 181 reading materials. 117. 81. 123 past. 163. 29. 123 present. 130. 40. 115. 121 pluperfect.54. 150 voice 111.52. 49 tenses. 23. 53. 35 participles. 71.48. 132. 62. 66. 33. 40. 73.69. 21. 172 47. 49. 47. 72 The Open Unversity.86. 120 parts of speech.166 subjunctive. 111. 75-76.80. 34. 121. 114 pronouns. 90. 121. 129. 24.180 word order. 10. 113.68. 150 on-line/off-line. 93.156.162. 23.124 prepositions. 5. 161. 5.166. 7.57. 111. 39. 41. 173 target language. 174 vocabulary. 112. 15. 123 passive. 51. 123-124 The Central Bureau for Cultural Exchanges and Visits.168 SEG. 124 residential courses. 130.143 relative pronouns. 117. 30. 86. 100 rehearsal. 32. 157 speaking/talking practice. 77-80. 74.121. 88.97. 111-115. 75. 27. 98. 154 television. 113. 170 settings. 111. 62. 90-92. 124 tailor-made courses.81.158. 115. 138-145.178 recordings.122. 6.112-113. 123 patterns of language. 123 web sites. 138 reading.I N D E X / 189 OCR.47.\n\nSign up to vote on this title\nUsefulNot useful", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7591642141342163}
+{"content": "Saturday, January 30, 2016\n\nCourage In A New Year\n\nMaybe I just haven't paid attention in the past, but I am noticing that picking a word of the year is a becoming a really big thing.  I've seen a ton of different articles, resources, websites and blogs about picking a word of the year.  I think I was blind to it in the past because I just wasn't ready to focus on a word, let alone a word that would force me to face my fears, pick up the pieces and move forward.  Sometimes it is just easier to turn a blind eye and run.  I have gotten pretty good at that.\n\nHowever, this year 2016, a word jumped out at me.  I figured, what the heck, let's focus and see what happens.  This year's word: COURAGE.  Eek.  It's an exciting and scary word all at once.  I have mentioned this a number of times, but it is worth repeating.  I have been done with cancer treatment five years now and sometimes I feel like it all just began.  I am still so very scared of recurrence, the what-ifs, etc.  A lot of people say it gets easier for them over time, but for me, it really hasn't.  Sure, I can function and do daily tasks but that freaking fear is always right there.  That's where the COURAGE comes in.  12 months of facing that cancer demon.\n\nSo, we are just about one full month into 2016 and for me, one month of COURAGE.  This first month has been all about just testing the waters.  It's been about seeing how I see COURAGE, what things I really need to face, and how I am going to get there.  Next month I plan to go into the water at least up to my calves and do a little more hard core staring at that fear.\n\nIn the meantime, I found this really cool website that has a whole kit you can have put together that captures your word.  It's really awesome and of course, I love stuff like this.  There is a necklace, candle, some mantras, a notebook and more.  I couldn't resist and now I can keep my courage visible whenever I need it.  Of course, Jerry wanted to get in on the action too as you can see from the picture.  The website for more information is  The kit is called THIS IS MY YEAR.\n\nSo, my parting words to you are, what is your word?  If you don't have one yet, will you consider?  I am anxious to hear your thoughts on your year as well.\n\nLet the COURAGE (or, insert your word here) begin!!\n\nMonday, January 25, 2016\n\nDragonflies Are Blogging\n\nHey Everyone,\nWe officially have our blog here at Dragonfly Angel Society.  I am so excited to write this first post.  Now, I just need to get more tech savy.  At this point it is separate from our website, but have no fear, we will get it linked.  One step at a time.  I'll post details as soon as I have them.  Looking forward to writing for you AND hearing from you!!  Stay tuned!!\nDana and Shelley!", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5284557342529297}
+{"content": "Unsolved Science\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCase Files\n\nThe Book of the Week is “Case Files, 40 Murders and Mysteries Solved by Science” by Larry Verstraete, published in 2011. This book briefly describes how science played a role in the investigations of various situations, such as homicides, discoveries of human remains, the root cause of an epidemic, astronaut deaths, art forgery, arson and many others.\n\nThe topic areas included forensic entomology, archeological anthropology, pathology, DNA fingerprinting, radiocarbon dating, video superimposition, spectroscopy, stable isotope technology, Raman microscopy, xylotomy and others.\n\nWhen a dead body is found, and certain insects are present, a scientist can learn how many generations and lifespans of that insect elapsed from the time of death until the corpse’s discovery.\n\nThe gender, age and size of a murder victim can be discerned, even when the body is badly decomposed, from the bones. The nature of the teeth indicate age, and ethnicity is revealed by the skull’s features. DNA testing of various kinds is a whole other ball of wax.\n\nRead the book to get an overview of the many ways science can provide evidence for reconstructing events to further the causes of justice, improve people’s quality of life and prevent future mishaps.\n\nBrain Food\n\nThe Book of the Week is “Brain Food” by Dr. Brian Morgan and Roberta Morgan, published in 1987. This book discusses how diet can affect brain health, and which nutrients to consume in order to improve brain function when certain conditions are present. It covers stress, moods, appetite, PMS, learning and memory, allergies, drugs, brain development and aging.\n\nIn recent decades, there have been numerous contradictory studies sponsored by entities that wish to promote particular edibles. The authors of this book backed up their suggestions with credible scientific sources, and did not make any sensational claims about one specific substance or food.\n\nCommon sense dictates that exercise tailored to an individual is always healthy. An exercise program might call for additional protein consumption, however, as muscles require it for growth.\n\nThe brain is unable to store oxygen or energy, so it must consume a few hundred calories a day and receive a continuous blood supply. Calories that have particular nutrients, are going to optimize brain function. Here is some information on the kinds of nutrients to eat to maintain a healthy mind and body:\n\nVitamins B1, B6 and B12 are important for maintaining healthy neurological structure and activity. Whole grains are a source of the B vitamins.\n\nSerotonin and dopamine are neurotransmitters that aid sleep and produce positive emotional vibes. Magnesium and vitamin B6 stimulate their production. B6 can be found in bananas, Grape Nuts, fish, liver and peanuts. Happily for some people, magnesium is found in chocolate; also– spinach and almonds.\n\nThe body is likely to be deficient in protein and calcium when it experiences stress of prolonged duration.\n\nStudies have shown that a high-protein diet accelerates aging. Thus, protein should comprise only 13% of calories eaten. If taste buds become dulled with aging, try a zinc supplement.\nAnimal fat worsens artery clogging. One substance that might help is pectin, found in apples, oranges and grapefruit. Eating fish is also a mitigating factor.\n\nHigh blood pressure increases with the consumption of pickled foods and cold cuts. It might decrease with potassium-filled citrus fruit, leafy greens, raisins and almonds.\n\nAccording to the authors, the key to peak intellectual performance is sufficient iron– found in liver, Grape Nuts, beef, carrots, lamb and raisins. Memory can be improved with lecithin supplements. Don’t forget to eat wheat germ, peanuts and ham. Another important nutrient is vitamin E, found in leafy greens, other vegetables and whole grains.\n\nOf course, all of the above should be done in moderation and the reader should consult his or her doctor before a radical diet is started. Read the book to learn a wealth of additional information on the substances to put in your body to stay happy and healthy.\n\nThe Ordinary Spaceman\n\n\n\n\nThe Disappearing Spoon\n\nThe Book of the Week is “The Disappearing Spoon” by Sam Kean, published in 2010.\n\nThis ebook consists of a series of anecdotes about elements of the periodic table. The author describes fundamental principles of chemistry, particle physics and astronomy; how certain elements were discovered or created, and their identifiers; and the reasons why there might or might not be life on other planets.\n\nOne bit of history thrown in, was that, during WWII, the Nazis bartered gold they had stolen– for tungsten (a valuable ingredient in weaponry) from supposedly neutral Portugal. Tungsten is a hard, solid metal that has a very high melting point.\n\nOther elemental trivia include the facts that tantalum and niobium are used in phones for their density, heat-resistance and conductive abilities; the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima contained uranium and the one dropped on Nagasaki contained plutonium. With advances in computer science, Monte Carlo simulations (a mathematics model that computes probabilities) have become used more often than physical experiments in recent decades.\n\nRead the book to learn how it was determined that cadmium was poisoning the rice paddies near the Kamioka mines in Japan just after WWII, how astronauts died in an accident when nitrogen was used in a spacecraft, what “measurement scientists” do, and much more.\n\nThe Antidote\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBonus Post\n\n\n\nIn the 1870’s, Columbia College, Physicians and Surgeons didn’t require undergraduate degrees for entry because it was seeking revenue from student tuition. The three-year program was all lectures– no labs, no interaction with patients. In the 1870’s, during Halsted’s internship at Bellevue Hospital, many personnel didn’t wash their hands before operating, and smoked.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe Cure\n\nThe Book of the Week is “The Cure” by Geeta Anand, published in 2008. This ebook tells the emotional, suspenseful story of how a family coped with three disabled children, two of whom were suffering from a genetic disease for which a cure is yet to be found.\n\nIn the late 1990’s, John Crowley’s daughter and son were both diagnosed with Pompe disease, a muscle disorder. Patients, with varying severity, “have imperfectly produced acid alpha-glucosidase enzyme” which results in paralysis, obstructed breathing, and, if left untreated, death before the age of five.\n\nEven though Crowley possessed the personality, talents, skills, education and privileged background that one would think would allow him access to a life-saving enzyme to save his children, he had to face numerous obstacles. The father naturally fell into the role of entrepreneur to do so. His wife provided invaluable emotional support and around-the-clock care of the children with the help of nurses; not to mention the running of the household.\n\nNevertheless, lots of genetic and environmental luck determines whether patients become fully cured and/or whether the quality of their lives improves significantly, or whether they die– even when they are sufficiently fortunate to take part in a trial of a new life-saving medicine. Death would be inevitable without the medicine.\n\nEvery patient is different. There are many different criteria the U.S. Food and Drug Administration considers when deciding whether to approve particular medical products for sale. Money plays a major part in whether a new product ever sees the light of day. A young medical research company raises funds through venture capitalists, and because the whole operation carries extremely high risks, if the company achieves success– the rewards, fittingly, are also extremely high.\n\nScientists must do years of preclinical testing on animals to make sure a new medicine works sufficiently well before even considering administering it to humans. In the United States, possible deadly consequences and possible future litigation motivate the scientists to act with integrity by performing tightly controlled experiments, so as not to have to fudge research results.\n\nAnother aspect of drug development, is avoiding a conflict of interest such as that in Crowley’s situation. He played a pivotal role in the race to bring a medicine to market; it appeared he was doing it to get the medicine for his own children.\n\nThe estimated annual expense of the enzyme for each child was $200,000, and $1 million for all future annual medical expenses, including the enzyme, plus wheelchairs, nurses, ventilators, catheters, etc.\n\nRead the book to learn of the Crowley family’s experiences with American biotechnology.\n\nAll Creatures Great and Small\n\nThe Book of the Week is “All Creatures Great and Small” by James Herriot, published in 1993. This is a lighthearted account of Herriot’s training as an aspiring rural veterinarian in 1930’s England. A crotchety yet experienced character showed him the ropes. The author gradually developed confidence in curing the afflictions of pigs, cows, horses, etc. The job was suitable for neither the squeamish nor faint of heart.\n\nHealing Hearts\n\nThe Book of the Week is “Healing Hearts” by Kathy E. Magliato, M.D., published in 2010. This is a personal account detailing one woman’s experiences trying to balance her medical training and career, with her family life.\n\nShe details various issues, including but not limited to: the long, rigorous road to becoming a full-fledged doctor in her specialty; the discrimination she faces in a male-dominated field; the job emergencies that cut into quality time with her family; and the healthcare crisis in the United States.\n\nMagliato and her husband have a combined 43 years of education and training in medicine. She, in cardiac surgery; he, in liver transplants. She describes the hardships she faces when passionately attempting to save lives. She must ignore her own physical needs while standing for, say, fifteen hours in a row to help provide patients with a replacement heart, or veins or valves. She needs to hold particular medical instruments in place for many minutes without flinching, lest she harm the patient.\n\nMagliato predicts a collapse of the American health care system. The reason is simply that health insurance companies do not pay what hospitals bill them; rather, they pay what they feel like paying. An insurance company might be billed $385,000 for heart surgery hospitalization, but it might pay the hospital only $54,000.\n\n“…a hospital is ecstatic whenever it collects more than 10% of the bill. How can hospitals not only survive but be able to deliver state of the art care when their price is not met? They can only increase their quantity until the hospital is full. They can only cut their costs until the delivery of quality health care is jeopardized.”", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7854287028312683}
+{"content": "All reports of duplicate-changelog-files for the archive. The extended description of this tag is:\n\nThe package appears to be shipping two copies of the changelog.\n\nIf the second copy is really needed, consider making it a symlink to the canonical place for the relevant changelog.\n\nBoth upstream and debian changelogs are checked with this tag.\n\nSeverity: normal, Certainty: possible\n\nCheck: duplicate-files, Type: binary\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.963450014591217}
+{"content": "Discussion Boards\n\nA picture of a laptop with several conversation bubbles to the side of it.Writing for Discussion Boards: Conventions for Online Discussions\n\n  • Use a specific subject line. Using a phrase such as “response to Jacob” for your subject doesn’t tell other readers anything about the content of your response. Be brief, yet specific (e.g., Errors in Watting’s Theories).\n  • Keep to one main idea or topic per response. If you want to offer two different ideas, do separate posts.\n  • Differentiate between starting a discussion thread and responding to someone else’s posting. Most discussion boards use what’s called a “threaded discussion,” which means that responses are indented under an initial posting. This type of indentation provides a visual cue to a reader, allowing him to rapidly distinguish the different discussion topics or threads.\n  • Write informally. There is no need for fancy language or sentence structure but check your spelling before you finalize the posting. Most systems have a spell-check function. If you’re not a good typist, you may want to compose your response with a word processor and then paste or upload it into the discussion board. This is also a good idea in case there are technological issues, which can cause you to lose a post. If you create your post in a word-processing program, you can save a back-up copy of your post.\n  • Do not dominate the discussion. There’s no need to respond to absolutely every posting from every participant. Respond selectively. Often, a course instructor will let you know how much online participation she expects.\n  • Be polite, and apply the rules of etiquette. Use standard capitalization and punctuation; do not use all caps, as this is considered “shouting” online; use symbols sparingly to indicate tone when you think that words alone may not convey your meaning fully or accurately.\n  • Remember that a lot of people may have access to your posts on a discussion board: other students, your instructor, college technical staff, administrators, etc. Write accordingly.\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5675641298294067}
+{"content": "What are Essential Oils?\n\nMost people have at least heard of essential oils these day.\n\nBut few can give you a good idea of what they really are.\n\nSo lets take away the mystery...\n\n\nAll plants -- whether they be shrubs, flowers, trees, roots, bushes, or even seeds -- contain aromatic essences.\n\nThese essences in the plant function as blood does in your body. And this means they are particularly designed to support essential life functions.\n\nEssential oils are different than fatty oils.\n\nWhile fatty oils are only needed until a new plant is able to produce its own food, essential oils are \"essential\" to the ongoing life of the plant.\n\nBecause of their unique properties, essential oils are not only vital to plant life... they also contribute to the well-being of humans. This is why essential oils have been used all through history to support good health.\n\nAnd it's also why essential oils are commonly used to promote good health today.\n\nTypes of Essential Oils\n\nSince plants vary in their makeup, not all essential oils are the same. They have different properties... and this means certain oils are preferred over others when it comes to supporting different systems of the body.\n\n\nThe generally accepted categories for essential oils are as follows:\n\nGrade A:\n\n- Therapeutic\n\n- Made from organically grown plants\n\n- Distilled at low temperatures\n\n Grade B:\n\n- Food grade, but…\n\n- May contain synthetics, pesticides, fertilizers, chemical extenders, or carrier oils\n\n Grade C: \n\n- Perfume oils\n\n- Often contain adulterating chemicals such as solvents (ex: hexane) to gain higher yields of oil per harvest. Solvents can be cancerous and are in many store bought oils\n\n- May also be diluted 80-95% w/ alcohol \n\n Grade D:\n\n - Floral water \n\n - Aromatic only - byproduct of Grade A distillation after oil is pulled out. Leftover water is sold to companies that fill 5% of a bottle with this leftover trash water and fill the rest with carriers and label it “pure”.\n\n\n\nNow that you have learned what essential oils are, you might enjoy learning how essential oils work\n\nReturn from What are Essential Oils to Family Esssential Oils HOME", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9389655590057373}
+{"content": "Scotching the Myths of Modern Scotland\n\nGerry Hassan\n\nScottish Review, June 7th 2017\n\n\n\n\nThe same is true of Scotland. Through most of its history, certainly since the union, Scotland has defined itself as a land of egalitarianism, popular sovereignty, and progressive education seen in the idea of the democratic intellect. None of these concepts have ever been defined in detail (with apologies here to George Davie), instead remaining vague and abstract, and divorced from the practices and acts of society.\n\nModern Britain is in many respects held back and trapped by its myths. Across British elites there is a profound belief in British exceptionalism and the view that by language, history and tradition this is a unique and precious country that offers something no one else in the world does. This, until last year included the notion of being a ‘bridge’ between Europe and America, now increasingly discredited by the phenomenon of Brexit and Trump.\n\nScotland’s conceits might not be of this level and projection, but our country is shaped by myths too. There is a belief that Scotland’s progressive values, nationalism, and civic traditions are much more robust than elsewhere, and certainly than the rest of the UK. And that in this we can offer to the world some lessons in how to govern and live that could have more impact than a nation with five million people might normally expect.\n\nWhile there are constancies, there have also been different contexts. Thus, Scotland as a distinct, semi-autonomous nation that never disappeared as a legal or social entity, used to have hesitancy, even difficulties, in telling stories about itself as a nation. There was the British imperial project to buy into, ‘North Britain’, and then the British welfare ideal, all of which parts of Scotland signed up to – wider entities into which Scots could invest themselves, even lose themselves in, and on occasion not even see themselves as Scottish.\n\nThe Scotland of the last fifty years has been a reaction to this. Many felt there was a need to reclaim Scottish traditions, memories and folklore, break out of the marginalising of all things Scottish (such as culture and history) overturn the silencing of so many areas of public life, and challenge what William McIlvanney called the ‘pop up’ version of our past – which could only invoke various isolated incidents bereft of context. There was liberation and discovery in this journey. We had to normalise ourselves.\n\nMaybe we have come to the end of this experience. Scotland has done this so much in the last couple of decades that it has omitted as much as it has included. In this process of reclaiming, there was an emphasis on telling ourselves what amounted to an internalist account of Scotland, one which ignored the wider context and externalist influences.\n\nIt is true that in the last decade plus, Scottish historians have studied the brutal realities of Empire, slavery and the stolen wealth which much of Scotland was based upon. But this has chosen to ignore the context in which Scottish capitalists and elites operated at home and abroad, namely, understanding the character of Scottish capitalism and business, the development of the economy, and how such groups and activities operated in a system of imperialism and Scotland and the UK in a world system of exchange based on exploitation.\n\nThis wasn’t always so. In the 1970s, as Scotland came to terms with debating self-government in modern times, a set of conversations also emerged which attempted to put Scotland’s economic and social development in an international perspective. Thus exchanges between the historian T.C. Smout and the Marxist theoretician Immanuel Wallerstein attempted to define how Scotland’s economy developed post-union and how it sat in the world capitalist trading system. This addressed the nature of Scotland’s economic growth, the role of domestic elites, the impact of indigenous development, and the relationship between elites here and in the rest of Britain.\n\nForty years on the richness of such debates seems far-removed from most of our considerations and something we could learn from. Scotland’s experience cannot be understood in isolation, or just by referencing the usual totems: the decline of Empire, religion and welfare state. Nor can we understand our past, merely by a straight reporting and uncovering of ‘facts’ from history. Instead, that past needs to be put into an analysis of what happened in this country in relation to economic development and the brutal and high speed transformation of the country in the 19th century. And for that we have to talk about global capitalism.\n\nWe cannot just continue to tell ourselves the same old hoary myths, many of which are now getting past their sell-by-date. David McCrone in his just published 700 page ‘The New Sociology of Scotland’ attempts to offer an analysis of society, social change and power. Yet while there is much to be impressed by, the volume concludes by choosing to reinforce myths, rather than challenge them.\n\nThus, McCrone poses that ‘Margaret Thatcher turned out, unwittingly, to be … the midwife of Scottish Home Rule’, which may seem unexceptional to many, but is the commonsense version of recent decades, and one which needs to be exhumed and challenged. Worse, the Scottish Parliament is presented as ‘the creature of civil society in Scotland designed in the long, dark days of opposition in the 1980s and 1990s’ –one of the comforting stories told by that selectorate ‘civic Scotland’ to remind themselves and everyone of how special and enlightened they were.\n\nDare I say it but one of the contemporary conceits of too much of our modern land is that, through all the decades of rediscovery, dissent and discussion, we have experienced, somehow we have reached the conclusion of our story. It is in these accounts a happy ending with the re-emergence of a self-aware, self-governing, independent Scotland at ease with itself. Cue curtain fall and audience applause.\n\nThere is a problem with this. The Nationalist Scotland take has invoked its own Whig history: of continuity, linear progress, and pre-ordained destination. The nation’s stories never end or reach a completely tidy conclusion. There is in these areas no such thing as ‘a settled will’ and nor should there ever be.\n\nWe haven’t reached the end of the story with the rise of the SNP, the independence debate, and Scotland’s semi-detachment from the rest of the UK. We have not exhausted the challenge we need to undertake of modern Scottish myths, conceits and folklore, or the reassuring, selective stories we tell ourselves about who we are now, never mind, the neverending remaking of the past.\n\nThese stories have to be messy, disputatious, diverse and filled with counter-stories and counter-voices. Too often in our history part of Scotland, both in its elites and wider populace, has internalised an official account of who we are, and then held to it, irrespective of inconvenient facts.\n\nThirty-six years ago an exhibition, film and book was published around the theme ‘Scotch Myths’. It attempted to look at culture, and in particular, film, television and ‘sign media’, and understand them through the legacy and overhang of tartanry and kailyard, which was seen as emboding the worst of sentimental, parochial Scottishness. It was a cathartic, even liberating moment, but also one which replaced one set of problem assumptions with another. It believed that tartanry and kailyard (think of Tom Nairn’s ‘tartan monster’) had carried all before them, suffocating out other cultural traditions.\n\nModern Scotland could do with a modern ‘Scotch myths’ which takes on the mythologies and folklores which characterise so much of life. This would examine the limited nature of democracy and participation, despite the existence of the Scottish Parliament. It would address who our public services really serve, and how the idea of ‘the public’ is manifest within them, when education, health and law often seem to be run for the benefit of many of those employed in them.\n\nWe would address the limits of equality and social justice in a land which has a huge historic tradition of bitter discrimination against Catholics and prejudice against Irish immigrants, and which, like every society, isn’t immune from contemporary racism and bigotry.\n\nMost importantly, we would put the stories of Scotland in a global and internationalist context which recognised the role of Scottish capitalism and business, not just in Empire, conquest and slavery, but in a world system of trade, power and privilege, which served well elites here and in the rest of the UK.\n\nMaybe this is an overstatement, but this is as important as the current union versus independence debate. Indeed, is critical to informing it. For unless we know who we are, where we came from and where we are today, there seems little prospect of us identifying an appropriate and relevant roadmap for the future. We need to encourage and give space to today’s myth-busters, rather than the rather numerous myth-reinforcers.\n\nScotland’s stories of rediscovery can and should never end, but they also aren’t just about us, but our contribution to wider humanity. ‘Stop the World Scotland Wants to Get On’ used to be an old SNP slogan about Scotland reclaiming its international place as an independent nation. We could use it and invoke it to place our stories as part of understanding our small part in the greater canvas of what it is to be human.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.619673490524292}
+{"content": "Windows could get design language overhaul\n\nProject NEON, expected in a major Windows 10 update next year, will give the UI a modern look—hopefully\n\nWindows could be getting a design language overhaul\n\nMicrosoft is reported to be working on a new design language, which affects how the UI looks and functions, that will eventually be rolled into one of the major Windows 10 updates coming out next year. \n\nWindows Central said Microsoft is working on what it called Microsoft Design Language 2 (MDL2), or Project NEON. A design language is a term that refers to a language for how controls, fonts and iconography in the desktop and mobile versions of Windows 10 are controlled. It manages things such as switches, toggles, pickers and dialog windows. \n\nYou know and hate MDL1 already. It was Metro, introduced in Windows 8 and Windows Phone 7. It introduced the flat, dull UI instead of the more 3D-looking skeuomorphism that iOS and Android were adopting. \n\nWindows Central said Project NEON has been in the works for over a year internally at Microsoft. It builds upon the design language introduced with Windows 10, with its simple and basic look, but adds some much-needed flair to the UI \"that the current design language just lacks.\" \n\nWindows UI overhaul needed\n\nI couldn't agree more. In the end, it wasn't the spying that turned me off to Windows 10; it was the downright ugly and amateur look of the UI. WindowsBlinds made it tolerable, but it couldn't change the ugly look of any system pieces, just third-party apps. It was only recently that WindowsBlinds was able to skin Windows 10 system components. \n\nWindows Central said details are still scarce, but part of the plans are to add more animations and transitions, with the overall goal of making the UI very fluid and \"beautiful\" compared to the current, almost static UI. They even said NEON serves as a bridge between holographic and augmented reality (AR) and the desktop environment.\n\nAll I can say is anything that makes Windows 10 prettier is OK in my book. Windows Central estimates MDL2 will show up in Redstone 3, which should ship in the fall of 2017. Redstone 2, the next major update to Windows 10, is projected for a spring release.\n\nMust read: 10 new UI features coming to Windows 10", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9036731719970703}
+{"content": "\"B**bies\" instead of blueberries and \"c**k porn\" instead of popcorn.\n\nThese are just two examples of the \"adorable\" ways children unwittingly mix up their words shared by parents on Mumsnet.\n\nOne mother told how her daughter's habit of calling blueberries \"boobies\" led to an embarrassing encounter in the supermarket, while a reception teacher had to compose herself in the stationary cupboard after a pupil informed her class that an octopus has eight \"testicles\".\n\nMany parents said they continued to use their children's \"adorable\" alternative names long after their little ones learned to say the words correctly.\n\n\nMumsnet user Trufflethewuffle said the Cobbaton Combat Museum was still known as the Cobbaton \"Condom\" Museum in her house, thanks to the way her niece pronounced it as a little girl.\n\nAnother said she preferred her daughter's word for butterflies: \"dapplebyes\".\n\nMumsnet user Magicducky kicked off the discussion after she sang the Karl Douglas track Kung Fu Fighting to her daughter.\n\nShe \"copied me but changed the 'g' to a 't'. I shouldn't laugh...\" she posted.\n\nOther moments of unintentional comedy from little ones learning to talk included referring to prawn crackers as \"porn crappers\".", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.623349666595459}
+{"content": "Epoxy resins can come either as low-molecular honey-like liquids or as high-molecular substances. At room temperature they appear in a solid state, assuming a sugar-like aspect, following a process of crystallisation. Following an increase in temperature or when heat is applied, solid epoxy resins would reverse to their liquid state. Cured epoxies are often colourless or transparent; pigments can be used to change their appearance.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9997335076332092}
+{"content": "100 Years of American Science\n\n\nOver the past few weeks, I have been working on a project to topic model the American Journal of Science between 1819 (its first year of publication) and 1922; this journal, during much of the 19th century, was the only specialized scientific journal in the United STates.  I can release data sets later, but just wanted to share some preliminary results.  Though this research is far from conclusive, it does provide a useful proof of concept for the method of using topic modelling to determine how genres of material change over a long period of time.  Moreover, understanding this evolution of topics within a single important journal in 19th century America, helps to understand how these topics can provide a useful source of evidence to supplement more traditional historical and “close reading” methods.\n\nThe above graph shows that over the entire roughly 100 year period, topics discussing geology are the most dominant topic over time, representing roughly 35% of topics between 1819 and 1922.  Interestingly, however, the “other sciences” are also represented equally at 35%.  Yet, no one of the subtopics within “other sciences” dominates.  Astronomy, Botany, Engineering, Medicine, Meteorology, Physics, and Zoology, individually represent less than 10% of whole.  In any given year, none of these topics represent more than 13%, physics being the only exception which represents 17.5% of topics in 1840.  Chemistry is one major exception.  As a discipline, it represents 13% of the total topics over this 100 year period, and, in individual years within the period, often represents 20% – 25% of topics.  Topics related to news, another important genre of content during most of the 19th century, represent 17% of total topics, and often represent 20% of topics for individual years.   Every issue had a section called Intelligence that was dedicated to news from the field.  Additionally, individual articles, particularly in the earlier years of the journal, would be dedicated to translating articles published abroad and commenting on them and also on publishing letters to the editor that would discuss scientific endeavors both in the U.S. and abroad.\n\n\nThe topic models also demonstrate some other interesting, though not particularly surprising trends.  Above is a simple line graph showing the number of topics within particular categories; the graph shows that geology topics increase over time, whereas other topics generally decrease.  The graph also shows that until about 1871, “other sciences” were actually significantly higher than geology.  Also in 1871 “other sciences” decline precipitously and geological topics increase and overtake “other sciences.”  Since the American Journal of Science is currently a journal dedicated to geology, one would expect to see this trend.  It is interesting to note, however, that this shift happens in the period from 1871 to 1897.  The 1890s are a period when multiple other scientific professional societies are created, along with related scholarly journals.  For instance the Journal of the American Chemical Society was founded in 1879 and the American Physical Review (journal for the American Physical Society, the society for physicists) began in 1893.  The trend line for chemistry topics also shows a decline during this period.  Clearly more detailed analysis of these topical trends is needed.  Nonetheless, the trends illustrated in this line graph may be evidence of scientists leaving the more generalized American Journal of Science for more specialized journals when they are created.  The decline of “other sciences” does seem to happen at exactly the right period of time.\n\n\nFinally, I have one more graph that shows much the same data, however it represents the topics as a percentage of the whole, rather than as raw numbers of topics as shown in the line graph.  This graph of percentages presents some nuance to the picture presented in the line graph.  Geology topics represent fewer than 30% of the entire number of topics in 1819, and that number gradually increases to nearly 40% in 1922.  Conversely, other sciences represent a high of nearly 60% in 1845, but decrease to a low of about 35% in 1922.  Thus, one can see that other sciences are still an important number of topics even as late as 1922.  This could complicate the story about scientists departing to other journals.  It is possible that many scientists, despite the appearance of alternative journals, are still choosing to publish in the American Journal of Science.  Additionally this relatively high percentage of “other science” topics could simply demonstrate that geology is a discipline that requires knowledge of other disciplines such as physics or biology in order to perform geological work.  Again, more research and closer reading of the individual articles represented by these rather broad topics is needed to better understand how individual scientists are responding to a changing scholarly communication landscape.\n\nThe gradual decline of other sciences in these graphs may demonstrate that the nature of the authority within the American Journal of Science changed over time.  As other societies created their own authority in competing journals like the Journal of the American Chemical Society, scientists within fields such as physics and chemistry decided to publish their work in those other venues. At the same time, many scientists, particularly geologists, continued to publish in the journal long after the death of Benjamin Silliman, the journal’s founder, in 1864.  Therefore, one has to assume that the journal created a kind of authority that outlasted its founder.  The nature of that authority, most likely, is through the same kinds of trust-building that other journals established, such as affiliation with a professional scientific society, peer-review, and reliance on authors’ credentialing within university hiring systems.  Perhaps the method of topic modelling and text analysis by itself cannot answer the question of how authority is constructed.  Topic modelling can, however, provide a useful source of evidence that identifies trends for further investigation and can be used to further strengthen traditional historical analyses of the history of scholarly communication.\n\nUntangling (American) Academic Publishing\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nResearch, Documentality, and Industry\n\nMaurizio Ferraris in his book Documentality: Why It Is Necessary to Leave Traces has argued that it is essential for all social systems (science, law, and the like) to create inscriptions or written traces in order to survive.  One of the largest such social systems, of course is state bureaucracy “the state’s first succumbing to bureaucratic documentality and then to informatics documentality” (p. 287).  According to Ferraris, informatics documentality is a way in which sovereign power is extended over a larger number of people.\n\nThe documents that I have been studying are largely nineteenth century scientific journals such as the Proceedings of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Journal of Science and the Journal of the American Chemical Society. In those journals, one might argue that professional scientists institutionalized larger cultural ideas.  In several previous posts, I have suggested that within the system of scholarly communication created in the late nineteenth century, industry dominated.  For nineteenth century American scientists more generally and for chemists in particular, their world was heavily influenced by the needs of a rapidly industrializing nation. These professionals tied their own futures to the needs of these industries, and often wrote in ways within their journals that would serve the needs of industry.\n\nWhy are such historical developments important in thinking even about the modern scholarly communication system?  Over time, throughout the twentieth century, the government became more involved with the work of scientists, and currently, federal funding through the National Science Foundation or other federal agencies continues to dominate the higher education landscape.   If indeed there has been such a heavy industrial influence for over 100 years, what does that say about the purpose of the scholarly communication system?  More importantly, if indeed the system needs significant reform, should the tie to industry be one of the things that is reformed?  Though history cannot perhaps answer these questions, it can, I think, help to identify these questions that certainly need to be addressed.\n\nThe Complex Professionalization of Science\n\n\n\n\nProfessionalization and Combining Methods\n\n\n\n\n\n\nUniversalization of Knowledge\n\n\nShould knowledge be available to everyone? How do we create ways to “organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful?”  No, I am actually not talking about Google, but rather about the late nineteenth and early twentieth century when people like Paul Otlet actually had similar ambitions, and created the Mundaneum to achieve the goal of creating universally accessible knowledge.  Otlet also hoped that by doing this, he would advance the cause of world peace.  To me, it seems that we are fighting similar battles today.  Will open access to knowledge create a virtual utopia where all knowledge about every topic is available?  What institutions are needed to ensure the reliability of information?\n\nA first step in answering these questions in a historical context happened at a conference I attended recently called the “The Science of Information: Universalization of Knowledge in a Utopian age.”  The Utopia being discussed was the period between roughly 1870 and 1940 when figures like Otlet, William Pepper, and others were working to make information available and accessible to the world.  Otlet created the Mundaneum; Pepper helped to found the Free Library of Philadelphia (among other institutions).  Participants at the conference noted, however, that during the later part this period (1930s and 40s) figures like Adolf Hitler also began their working at creating a “utopia” that was very different, and the American government also worked to create better surveillance (for good or ill depending on your point of view) of people within and outside of their borders.\n\nIn all, the conference really was about what I would term scholarly communication, and in order to talk about scholarly communication, it is necessary to talk about several related concepts including science, information, and the idea of universal knowledge.  The participants noted that these concepts actually had multiple (sometimes not completely compatible) definitions in fields like history, information science, literature, and architecture (the disciplines of just a few of the participants).  Also, many of the speakers would not have identified themselves as researching “scholarly communication,”though some of them would have.  In my view, the diversity of participants and their inability to agree on definitions of some of the basic concepts simply demonstrates how difficult it can be to research the history of a field like scholarly communication which itself is not particularly well defined.\n\nMore importantly, however, I think the fact that this conference had enough people coming from all of these fields shows a recognition that this area of research is important.  Interestingly, nearly all of the speakers also made allusions to current political events happening worldwide (the election of Trump, Brexit, and the rise of populism).  It seems to me that in the same way that the internet had its figures like Otlet who believed that the internet would create a Utopia.  Now, we are beginning to see the other (dystopian) side of that dream.\n\nPerhaps by understanding the history of a previous time in which similar Utopianism started in the 1870s with a belief in unending progress and ended in 1940 with two world wars, we can try to better understand the role that communication (and particularly scholarly communication) played.  Alex Csisizar, one of the speakers at the conference, has argued that “We need richer, more nuanced ways of talking about the collective belief that take into account the complexity of scientific interactions and how those forms evolve along with regulatory frameworks used for evaluating scientific claims relevant to public policy.”  I could not agree more, and hopefully conferences like this provide the first steps in more interdisciplinary discussions that address the topics that scholars like Csiszar have identified.  Moreover, perhaps such conversations about scholarly communication can help to drive productive agendas for the future.  At a time when we are debating the very role that science plays in society, and scientists are marching for better recognition.  It seems to me that these historical conversations are extremely relevant in today’s world.\n\n(Image described at https://beyondarchives.wordpress.com/2013/03/15/paul-otlet-world-city/)\n\nAuthenticity in Scholarly Communication\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBoundaries of Natural Philosophy\n\nOne of the issues important in scholarly communication is the concept of boundaries within particular disciplines.  In the nineteenth century, as the concept of modern disciplines is first being developed, understanding these boundaries becomes even more difficult.  Theophilus Wylie is actually an interesting case study for understanding how the disciplines of natural philosophy and physics was first developing.  Between 1884 and 1886, Wylie became a professor of Physics in addition to being a professor of natural philosophy.\n\nWylie it seems was more of a natural philosopher than a physicist (at least in the modern sense of the term).  For him the ultimate task of a scholar was to find the ultimate origins of the forces acting upon the universe.  Physical forces were ultimately controlled by God who was the ultimate cause.  Yet Wylie also recognized the importance of the kinds of observed phenomena that science could provide in helping to explain those ultimate causes.  Additionally, in order to truly determine ultimate causes it was essential, for Wylie at least, to be a “wise” and moral person who could understand and utilize the tools of both science and religion in order to understand the ever increasing mysteries of nature.  Though the discipline of physics changed significantly in how it discussed these issues during the late nineteenth century, Wylie did not. In his diary on May 11, 1890, only a few years before he died, Wylie wrote “there is a great (first) cause — intelligent — Nature, the developer by which quoting Isaiah — the way will be prepared. Prepare ye Way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God, &c. This is what science is doing.”  Thus Wylie still sought to utilize both scientific and religious techniques even toward the end of his life.  For him these were the boundaries of natural philosophy, a discipline altogether different from, though perhaps closely related to, modern Physics.\n\nInterestingly, Wylie’s own students criticized him because of his lack of changing with the times.  In the 1880 issue of The Dagger, a student publication rating professors and commenting on Indiana University news, one rather scathing critique of Wylie commented that he “knows almost nothing outside of physics and astronomy, and in these even is forty years behind the time. . . .  It is unnecessary to add that this incubus should be removed from the chair of Physics.” While one hesitates to put too much credence in the writings of a single student, Wylie’s own definitions show how defining disciplines is still a tricky concept and was even more so in the late nineteenth century when the modern idea of disciplines was still in formation.\n\nPhilosophical Transactions\n\nPicture 009\n\nLately I’ve been working on a kind of pre-history of scholarly communication in the United States by looking at what is often referred to as one of the first scholarly journals in the world, the Philosophical Transactions of the the Royal Society of London (the Journal des Sçavans being the other).  Though the story is often repeated that the Philosophical Transactions became the first mode of scientific communication.  The story is actually a great deal more complicated.  Noah Moxham has suggested that the articles that later appeared within the Philosophical Transactions were actually a combination of two kinds of content, correspondence that provided news from around Europe and registration of discoveries noted within the public register of the Royal Society. It also seems that there other factors that also contributed to the Philosophical Transactions becoming such a major broker for research communication.  The evolution of the Philosophical Transactions from a newsletter of correspondents around Europe and facilitated by a single editor (Henry Oldenburg) to a register of knowledge claims from around Europe was also result of the confluence of both construction of authority and a particular social context within England.  All of these factors allowed for the creation of a new genre of material that appeared in Philosophical Transactions, which eventually became the genesis of what we might now recognize as the research article.\n\nAuthority in the case of the Royal Society was a combination of governmental power, driven by a social need for gentlemen to achieve patronage within England and also a governmental infrastructure that imposed a kind of self-censorship and avoidance of controversy through a system of licensing presses.  Such a system encouraged a particular authority, that of the editor, to serve as a kind of middle-man who channeled the authority of the prince and the society toward individual authors from whom, in a way, the editor himself derived authority because the more scientific practitioners the editor knew, the more valuable his expertise as a source of information.\n\nIn the case of the Royal Society, the editor, Henry Oldenburg, was well-positioned with other scientists throughout Europe, but at the same time he existed in a social context that was different from Europe.  He lived among people who valued modesty and had to seek a wide array of potential patrons in order to sustain themselves.  Such social norms led to particular institutional realities within the Royal Society such as mutual witnessing of experiments (which was not particularly unique to England), and, more importantly, a distributor of credibility within England and over time, even outside of it.\n\nThe Royal Society’s position as a purveyor of credibility allowed Oldenburg to distribute that authority to his network of correspondents.  It also allowed experimenters within the society to distribute it more locally to those who registered their work in the meetings of the society.  As Noah Moxham has suggested, these two forces of publishing materials from a network of correspondents and registering  the credibility of experiments eventually combined with the already existing journal to create a system whereby individual authors would register their work by publishing it in the Philosophical Transactions.  This combination of various authorities, social contexts, and practical realities created an interesting combination of characteristics for articles within the Philosophical Transactions, and these characteristics would now be considered fundamental attributes of any research article in an academic publication.\n\nThus perhaps one can view the Philosophical Transactions not so much as a modern scholarly journal as much as a framework that helps to lead to certain defining characteristics of scientific writing within England.  This framework was created by a variety of social factors including the nature of authority and social norms among the writers of the Royal Society.  All of those social realities affected the creation of the genres within the Philosophical Transactions like the research article, and these social realities along with their links to the genres within the journal need to be better understood not only for modern scholarly communication, but for its origins in the seventeenth century as well.  Moreover, it is important to understand which of these norms came to America when journals like the Transactions of the American Philosophical Society and the American Journal of Science began to appear.\n\n(Image from Wikimedia Commons https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/Philosophical_Transactions_Volume_1_frontispiece.jpg)\n\nAmerican Journal of Science\n\n\n(Second Edition of the first volume of the journal, available at from Carnegie Mellon’s digital collection)\n\nPrior to the professional scholarly journal system of today, there was only one major journal for American science,  the American Journal of Science which still exists today and is focused on geology.  In the nineteenth century, however, the journal focused on every scientific topic.  The table of contents for the issues of the first volume (pictured) includes:\n\n  1. Mineralogy, Geology & Topography\n  2. Botany\n  3. Zoology\n  4. Fossil Zoology\n  5. Mathematics\n  6. Miscellaneous\n  7. Physics, Mechanics, & Chemistry\n  8. Fine Arts\n  9. Useful Arts\n  10. Agriculture & Economics\n  11. Intelligence\n\nEach article is roughly two to three pages and each contains an “intelligence” section which seems to be general news.  This section continues into the twentieth century, when the journal was more focused on geology, but the intelligence section will talk about important findings of Physics & Chemistry, and other scientific areas.\n\nThe journal was founded by Benjamin Silliman and later edited by his son. There is a good overview of the foundation of the journal, and of course multiple references to it, but so far I have not been able to find any articles using a computational approach to analyzing its contents.  In particular, I think it would be a great candidate for the topic modelling and query sampling techniques I have used earlier.  I haven’t done much of this in the past (I intended to do so for the Journal of the American Chemical Society), but this journal may even be a good candidate for a network analysis since it would contain a large number of scientists in the United States and potentially would show the network as it was beginning to split into different disciplines.  Fortunately, there is also over 100 years of textual data available for this journal in the public domain, making it a potentially very rich source.  I am going to see if some initial tests may get some interesting results, and I’m looking forward to seeing whether this journal helps understand the professionalization of science and the origins of the scholarly communication system in even more interesting ways than the Journal of the American Chemical Society has done so far.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9897606372833252}
+{"content": "It’s Less Toxic Than Table Salt!\n\nHow many times have you heard “it’s less toxic than table salt!” as a reason that something’s safe.  But really, how safe is this commonly used ‘benchmark’ for toxicity?\n\nIt is widely accepted and proved through many studies that excessive salt intake can contribute to, and often cause, high blood pressure and hypertension. Although it is likely that there is also a genetic susceptibility to high blood pressure that contributes to this, high salt intake is widely accepted to be influential. Other studies have also shown positive correlations between high salt intake and strokes and gastric cancer, even without the high blood pressure that can contribute to strokes and other medical issues.\n\nExcessive salt (more specifically, sodium) is called hypernatremia  in medical terms and is classified by the balance of sodium and water being thrown massively towards the ‘salt’  end. Most of the effects of this are caused by shrinking of cells, since water leaves the cells to maintain the balance of salt and water. This causes a multitude of problems that include confusion, seizures, coma, and even death if the situation is not corrected.\n\nThankfully, we have an inbuilt mechanism of preventing poisoning from excessive salt – we get thirsty. If you have a salty food then you get thirsty and increase your fluid intake as well, which allows the cells to keep most of their water inside, protecting you against severe hypernatremia and the unpleasant effects of that.\n\nLD50 is a commonly used measure of toxicity. It is the amount of a substance that, when ingested, kills 50% of the test sample. The LD50 for table salt is 12357 mg/kg for humans, in other words if you fed 100 people 12.357g of salt for every kilo of their weight, 50 of them would die as a result.\n\nCompare this to that of restricted use pesticides. 29-42% of these are ‘less toxic than table salt,’ one of these being glyphosate. They are significantly less toxic than the salt we eat without thinking. Even acetic acid – found in vinegar – has a worse toxicity profile than table salt.\n\nSo, unless you eat a lot of salt, it’s not likely to kill you. Even low amounts may give you other problems, but a lethal overdose, really isn’t that high a risk. So, maybe the expression really isn’t that wrong, even if it is a little misleading.\n\nThe War on GMOs\n\nThe first thing that comes up if you Google “Genetically modified organism” or “GMO,” you get a lot of results – around 5.5 million actually. The majority of the first page, apart from the obligatory Wikipedia and news articles, consists of anti-GMO websites. Not really the best way of getting unbiased information.\n\nA quick look through these websites proved that most of them were presenting only a very limited amount of information, all of which was – surprise, surprise – showing how genetic modification is a bad thing, one even going so far as to say that the process “creates unstable combinations of plant, animal, bacteria, and viral genes.”\n\nSure, in some cases genetic modification does mix genes from different species, such as the modification that inserted bacterial DNA into papayas and subsequently saved the species from extinction, but that’s not always the case. There are a number of cases where plants have been made more resistant to extreme conditions through inserting genes from the same species, really just speeding up the process of selective breeding that has been going on for as long as we’ve been farming.\n\nEven in cases where genes from different species have been mixed, the result isn’t guaranteed to be a mutated affront to nature. Take Golden Rice for example. This is a type of rice, transformed with genes from daffodils and the soil bacterium Erwinia uredovora to produce beta-carotene. It has been shown through multiple field tests that it poses no risk to human health and instead is able to protect some of the poorest people from the blindness and even death that results from vitamin A deficiency. That is why it was developed after all. The largest problem with allowing this to be actually distributed is the anti-GMO groups who have attempted to sabotage progress at every turn.\n\nAdmittedly, I’m pro-GMO, within reason. Sure, it needs to be tested and everything to make sure that there are no unintended consequences, but it’s also a brilliant way of optimising agriculture and improving quality of life for hundreds of thousands of people. If we can make farming more efficient and cheap crops produce more per harvest and more resistant to adverse conditions, then that could be a massive step to reduce the number of people without enough food. In addition, we can make the crops we do have more nutritious, as in the case of Golden Rice.\n\nJust because something is different, doesn’t mean it’s dangerous. Genes don’t hurt people – they’re not dangerous. Some of the pesticides that can be avoided through the use of genetic modification technologies, well, those are dangerous. In many cases the amount of pesticides used can be cut through the use of genetic modification technology. All in all, the anti-GMO protesters are doing their job well – they’re convincing people that all forms of genetic modification are potentially lethal threats to human life.\n\nAnd that’s not really very fair, considering all the good that can be done by the technology.\n\nBig Science\n\nWhich is worth more, membership to the CERN supercollider or over 300 lifetime academic positions?\n\nIt’s questions like this that come up every time big science is discussed – big projects cost big money and, since there’s never unlimited money, mean big decisions.\n\nFor some context:\n\n  • The entire Royal Society of New Zealand Marsden Research Fund allocation in 2015 was $59.8 million including GST.\n  • Funding for the NZ supercomputer network totals $48.4 million\n  • The Hubble Space Telescope cost over US$2.5 billion for just construction, and the estimated cumulative costs are estimated at over US$10 billion\n\nCompare to these, the rough cost of an academic’s salary for the entire 40 years of their working career – only $5 million.\n\nBig science has the possibility of big results, but it also requires an absolutely enormous investment without any guarantee of when those results will come, if at all. A massive criticism of big science is the drain that is imposes on funding allocations. For example, Denmark – also a relatively small population – contributed 1.6% of the money required for CERN to run. That’s $5.5 per person. That was approximately 31.3 million NZD, for just 1.6% of what was needed.  That’s over half the government money put into research in New Zealand. Just think what else could be done with that much funding.\n\nBig science has definite opportunities but those opportunities come at both a massive financial cost and an opportunity cost – since the money wasn’t put into other projects, results from those have been delayed or lost completely in favour of big science projects.\n\nThere lies the controversy over big science.\n\nDo we fund these projects and collaborate with other countries to achieve a world-wide project, or do we put our money into more, smaller projects which may produce more diverse and New Zealand centered results?\n\nThat’s up for debate.\n\nScientific Funding\n\nWhen there’s only so much money to go around, how do you decide who to give it to?\n\nThe question remains the same in any situation, unless you have unlimited money (which has never actually happened), you have to prioritise what is the most ‘worth’ spending it on.\n\nIn science this is done by a group of reviewers who determine which of the proposals they receive are worthy of the funding requested. They have a whole lot of criteria that they use to rank each of the proposals and then the top ones get funding to go ahead. The criteria differ depending on the group but often include things like ‘viability’, ‘demand’, and ‘how much will be achieved for the cost.’\n\nGovernments allocate a certain amount to science funding and so also go through this selection process. In some countries they’ve now released challenges or focuses for areas that will be funded by their budget. Typically these are of importance or special relevance to the country in question. New Zealand released the National Science Challenges, 10 being announced in May 2013 with an eleventh being released in September 2014.\n\nThese challenges are designed to tackle problems or concerns of special significance to New Zealand and in keeping with our reliance on our ‘clean, green’ image are the Sustainable Seas and Our Land and Water challenges. Others such as High-Value Nutrition, A Better Start, Ageing Well, Healthier Lives, and Building Better Homes, Towns, and Cities, are more socially focussed and intend to improve the way New Zealanders live.\n\nThis idea isn’t specific to New Zealand, the UK also have their own set of focuses that they are allocating funding do.\n\nThese ‘challenges’ or ‘focus areas’ or whatever you want to call them are intended to provide, well, focus to the funding allocation – instead of spending a lot of the budget on something with very theoretical applications, the government has decided that money is better spent on addressing social issues that will benefit far more people.\n\nThe New Zealand National Science Challenges:\n\nComputer Modelling\n\nWhat do astrophysics, economics, psychology, weather forecasts and noise barriers have in common?\n\nThis wonderful thing called Computer Modelling.\n\nComputer models are a great way of getting information on what could happen before it actually does. Climatology uses models to analyse and predict climate change based on current and potential future scenarios. Economists use them to predict changes in stock markets and determine ‘smart investments’. Models are used in the development of things such as noise barriers, roadways, and buildings (among others) in order to ensure that they will perform their function as needed.\n\nWhen talking about computer modelling, a lot of people think about the picture or the information that comes out that is used to make a decision. That’s not actually the model – that’s the simulation that ran based off the model. The actual model is the collection of equations and code that makes the simulation work. The reliability of the simulation and its results comes from the validity of the model – if the model doesn’t take into account some important factors, the simulation isn’t going to give reliable results.\n\nTake a really common example – driving somewhere. In order to get a result that’s going to be anywhere near accurate about how long it will take to get there, you have to take into account a whole lot of factors.\n– Speed limits\n– Traffic\n– Road closures\n– Weather conditions\nAmong others that would take too long to list. If you miss even one of these variables then the simulation isn’t going to give a reliable result and you will probably end up being late. There’s so many different things to take into account if you’re creating a model and they’re specific to the simulation you’re wanting to run.\n\nA scenario like global climate modelling is like a massively scaled up version of that. You not only have to take into account past and present, there are also different scenarios that follow potential paths that depend on action that may or may not be taken. But the use of these models is to determine what action should be taken, so this added complexity is the whole point of creating the model.\n\nComputer models can be used for absolutely anything you like – from figuring out how long it’ll take you to drive to a friend’s house to determining what the climate might be like in 300 years. They underlie many important areas of life and research although not everybody knows how they work or what they even are.\n\nFor more information:\n\nHow to Think\n\nIt seems like a bit of a weird concept – teaching someone how to think – but it’s actually a valuable skill to learn. We all think, every day. One of the biggest problems with that is that a lot of these thoughts aren’t clear – they’re tainted by bias, lack of information, prejudice, or sometimes they’re just incomplete. So thinking, although we do it every day, isn’t actually all that simple.  That’s where critical thinking comes in to it.\n\nCritical thinking is a style of thought that hopes to overcome some of the problems with just thinking. With normal thinking it’s common to select information that confirms a prior belief, rather than looking at broader arguments that may contradict it. And, while that may make you feel good about your ‘knowledge’, it can also even further develop your own bias and prevent you from learning and developing.\n\nSome of the things that seem to separate critical thinking from just thinking are based on emotion. Critical thinkers tend to look for reason and supporting evidence rather than emotion and are more concerned with finding the best explanation than being ‘right’. Similar to this, people who are thinking critically consider their own motives and bias and recognise where their own beliefs may skew any conclusions. There are a lot of other things that are a part of critical thinking – judgement, discipline, open-mindedness – but a lot of these are based off the idea of distancing yourself from your prior beliefs and preventing these from impacting on your conclusions.\n\nAlmost by definition, critical thinkers are sceptical. They want to see hard facts to support something, rather than an emotional argument. They will say why and want to know how you know something is true, rather than just accepting that it is. Most importantly, they keep their minds open to new ideas and consider something they encounter rationally rather than emotionally or with prejudice.\n\nBut why bother with all that?\n\nWell, critical thinking can keep you from being sucked in by bad reasoning of others or your own prior beliefs. Consider: someone tells you that there’s just been a massive drop in the number of pigeons at the feeder in their backyard and therefore something must be done to save the birds from whatever cats/dogs/miscellaneous other predators in the area have to be hunting them. A non-critical thinker (who doesn’t want to see pigeons disappear) may think ‘oh that’s terrible, we should do something to stop them disappearing completely.’ The benefit of being a critical thinker is not doing that. A critical thinker would stop and, well, think. Instead of immediately following the conclusion given to them they would consider it for themselves. Did the decrease occur over time, or was it a single-day occurrence that could be due to other circumstances? Are there a lot of predators in the area that would be a threat to the birds? I know for certain that my pet cat wouldn’t dare try to take down a pigeon – she’s not big or strong enough. Sure, a critical thinker may reach the same conclusion (that something has to be done about the problem) but they could be a lot more sure of their reasoning than the non-critical thinker.\n\nThere are a lot of other situations where critical thinking is important – science, co-operative reasoning, even just reading the news. Life can be made a lot easier if you learn to think critically and follow the facts, rather than just what’s handed to you.\n\nThe Horrors of Communication\n\nWhat would you generally associate with a ‘scientist’? Personality traits? Skills? Interests?\n\nWell of course there’s science, and a quick Google search gave me some other suggestions of what most people think. Typical personality traits that are associated with scientists – analytical thinking, intellectual honesty, curiosity, and focus came up a lot. Something that I didn’t see at all, however, was communication.\n\nThat’s a bit of a problem actually. Science revolves around discoveries but without communication there isn’t a way to get those out to others. Now very few people would argue that scientists aren’t good at communicating with each other, it’s only when the general public and media become part of the equation that things get a bit more scary. Although there are scientists who are perfectly comfortable and good at talking to the media and explaining science to those without their expertise, many more are not.\n\nOne big thing that I’ve heard is that scientists are afraid of the terrible headlines that come up every now and then. The media has a reputation for distorting an interview or press release in order to make a more interesting story and for many scientists this can be a reason to avoid talking to them. Sure, some journalists probably do this. Certainly a spin is often put on a story to make it more saleable, but most journalists are perfectly happy to present an accurate, factual story – as long as it’s still interesting. It helps if the journalist is willing to focus on the same angle as the scientist wants, of course, but it’s something that goes both ways. Scientists can make sure that they stick to the implications, and the aspects of their work that will be interesting to everyone who isn’t an expert in the field, and in return hopefully journalists will write a story to show off the research. This type of relationship between science and the media can give some amazing results with neither group having to sacrifice what’s important to them.\n\nTwo other problems that seem to arise when scientists talk to the media are overuse of jargon and expecting others to interpret the data. Jargon is great for a technical talk. It gets the point across fast and accurately and is often the correct term to use. It can also isolate you from the people you’re trying to talk to, make you seem pretentious and untrustworthy, and prevent non-experts from understanding the topic. Using jargon can be good, but generally it’s better left for other scientists and replaced with more commonplace language when talking to the rest of the world. Likewise data points can prove fascinating for others with the same very specific interest but the majority of the world doesn’t want to put the time and effort into understanding a graph or raw data. Summaries are your friend. Explaining, rather than simply showing, results is going to get a way better result and probably get a lot more positive attention for the work.\n\nNot all science communication needs journalists though. This, blogging, is a quickly growing method of science communication where it’s possible to write about your own work in your own words and make sure that your meaning comes across. Similarly a rapidly increasing number of scientists are turning to things like Twitter to talk about their findings to the rest of the world. Both of these remove the risk of your words being misinterpreted or twisted for someone else’s purpose and let you get your work out there just as you want to.\n\nSo, for all scientists out there, go for it. Communication isn’t that big a deal, it’s just a case of learning how to make it accessible to everyone. The rest of the world isn’t really that scary.\n\nThe Art of Codes\n\nUml dzhfj tc lrxhkaulj.\n\nCan you read that?\n\nIf so, then well done – I probably should have used a better code – but if not then it did its job. That’s the whole point of cryptography, to communicate in a secure way that outsiders aren’t able to interpret.\n\nBut, what if the message is intended for you? Well that’s where the key comes in. If you have the key to my code then you should be able to decipher it, and suddenly the jumbled nonsense becomes perfectly readable.\n\nThe world is encrypted.\n\nBelieve it or not, the modern world basically runs on codes. Sure more sophisticated ones than I used, but the same idea. The online world uses encryption to protect identity, sensitive details, and (hopefully) any other information that you give to the website. The last time you entered your credit card number to buy something online, the information was stored and encrypted in order to keep it secure and prevent someone misusing it. The way to access this information is to then use the key, like we did before, to ‘translate’ the information back to a readable language. This protects your information from being stolen.\n\nEven if computers aren’t your thing, cryptography is still relevant to you. For thousands of years ‘classical cryptography’ has been used to protect information. Throughout the history of warfare it has been used to send messages that are safe from interception by the enemy. Even in ancient times (as far back as 1500 BC) there have been examples of people hiding valuable information in code. And, not to forget all the notes that get passed in class in a ‘secret language’ so that the teacher can’t get you in trouble for whatever you said.\n\nCryptography isn’t just for the written word though. Any item that is decorated or designed to appear to have a purpose other than its real one can be thought to be in code – its true purpose (much like the true meaning of an encoded sentence) is hidden from viewers who don’t have the ‘key’.\n\nCryptography is everywhere, it has a hand in pretty much all aspects of the modern world, as well as a strong impact on the past. Without it we wouldn’t have the safety that we do when using online shopping, or really anything online. Wars would have had different outcomes, and who knows what else would be different. And just think, we wouldn’t have those infuriating ‘Code Cracker’ logic puzzles either.\n\nInsightful or Wishful?\n\nThinking ‘outside the box’ is a trait that many of history’s most recognised scientists. The ability to find an explanation that differs from the widely accepted one has led to some of the largest discoveries and advancements in science. From the theories of evolution conflicting with then-prevalent creationist beliefs to the theory of the heliocentric universe contradicting the geocentric one, these types of revolutionary ideas have caused massive controversy throughout history. Discoveries such as this can be split into two different types, however.\n\nParadigm shifts are the type of discoveries that change our understanding of how the world works. They do not fit with expectations BUT over time experiments and observations are unable to disprove them and groups eventually reach a resolution (although this may take decades or even longer). Often the scientists are ridiculed for their novel ideas, as Darwin, Galileo, Feigenbaum, and countless others have been over time, but eventually their theories have gained more acceptance.\n\nSimilar to paradigm shifts, pathological science also presents a novel idea that causes great controversy and does not fit with accepted explanations. Again, scientists involved often experience ridicule because of this. In this case, however, although the scientists honestly believe that their idea is right (again, similar to paradigm shifts), experiments are not continued in an impartial way and are controlled to confirm the theory rather than to test its accuracy. This can be intentional or can be unconscious due to the bias of those creating the experiment. Discoveries such as Polywater, Mitogenetic rays, water dowsing/divining, and countless others have since been attributed to pathological science – although the scientist/s involved were convinced of their validity, others were unable to replicate the results or actively discredited these theories.\n\nThe two types of discovery have a lot in common, which means it can be very hard to tell the difference between them. Irving Langmuir was the first to characterise ‘pathological science’ with the six symptoms, Nicholas J. Turro then added three more, with Dennis Rosseau adding another to the list. Even these, such as the idea that “theories outside the field’s paradigm are suggested” present similarities to paradigm shifts which makes it even harder to tell the difference.\n\nUltimately the only way to tell the difference is experiments and time. Paradigm shifts will last whereas pathological science will eventually be discredited, even if it takes a lot of time to do so. Until a conclusion is reached, all that you can really do is listen to the evidence and think about it, without writing it off as either one of the two. After all, some ideas really are inspired and revolutionary, while others are simply mistaken and the product of wishful thinking.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7933814525604248}
+{"content": "Marx and Mises: Communism and Economic Calculation\n\n\nWrite The First Customer Review\n\nThis contribution to economic philosophy considers Marx's pronouncements on the organization of future society, and in this context re-examines the long-lasting debate triggered by Mises's argument that modern industrial production requires a system of spontaneously-formed market prices. In an undogmatic, non-technical treatment, Steele contends that both the Marxian conception of future society and the Misesian argument against its feasibility have frequently been misunderstood. The work scrutinizes the replies to Mises, ...", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9772815704345703}
+{"content": "What is sentinel lymph mapping?\n\nSentinel node mapping is used to sample the lymph nodes most likely to be involved with a particular cancer. Instead of doing a much more invasive procedure that removes 15 to 20 nodes, only 1 or 2 specific nodes can be removed to get the same information. A radioactive protein is injected in the area of the cancer and a special Geiger counter is used to fine the targeted nodes. These nodes are then examined by a pathologist to determine if the cancer has spread.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8651337623596191}
+{"content": "The Harder They Come\n\nInexact title. See the list below. We don't have an article named Main/TheHarderTheyCome, exactly. We do have:", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 1.0000057220458984}
+{"content": "Tucker Patterson, shown with father David, smiles as he takes in a Maple Leafs practice in Toronto on Tuesday. ((CBC))\n\nA toddler suffering from a rare terminal illness who was turned away from a Hamilton rink took to the ice at the Air Canada Centre Tuesday after taking in a Toronto Maple Leafs practice.\n\n\nTucker's family has been told that the little boy — named after former Leaf Darcy Tucker — could die one to three years after diagnosis.\n\n\"And he's already in his third year so we try to create as many memories as possible,\" said David Patterson, Tucker's father.\n\nLeigh's Disease FAQ:\n\nWhat is it?\n\nLeigh's disease is a neuro-metabolic disorder, meaning it affects the functioning of the brain and the nervous system. It is progressive, meaning symptoms become more pronounced over time.\n\nWho does it affect?\n\nThe disease usually strikes infants aged three months to two years, though it can occasionally be diagnosed in teenagers and adults.\n\nWhat symptoms does it cause?\n\nSymptoms include poor sucking, loss of motor skills, loss of appetite, vomiting, poor muscle tone, irritability, seizures and continuous crying.\n\nHow common is it?\n\nLeigh's disease is rare. It is caused by a genetic defect that is inherited.\n\nWhat is the prognosis?\n\nMost children live for a few years, with some living until six or seven years of age. A few survive longer.\n\nWhat treatments exist?\n\nDoctors frequently treat Leigh's disease with thiamine or Vitamin B1. Sometimes a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet is recommended.\n\nSource: U.S. National Institutes of Health.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\"It was good,\" said Kari Patterson, speaking after her son's trip around the ice. \"I wish there was a stick in hand and some skates involved, but I'll take it.\"\n\nTucker also met with members of the Leafs and the Los Angeles Kings, who played the hometown team in a Tuesday night game.\n\nA beaming David Patterson said he was glad he was finally able to have his first skate with his son.\n\n\"Regardless whether it was a local arena or the Air Canada Centre ice, it made my day,\" he said.\n\nSeveral arenas across Ontario have now also donated ice time to Tucker and his family. Meanwhile, hockey teams in the Pattersons' hometown of Hamilton have started fundraisers for Leigh's disease.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8045050501823425}
+{"content": "Socialism in America\n\nNow despite the fact that most people in Amereica assume that Socialism entails some form of state capitalism, but state capitalism and socialism are two antithetical items. This is why, socialism first and foremost demands that they the workers and\\or the people own the mean of production. The reasoning for this is that the power should not be concentrated In the hands of the elite, but in the people. To this end the workers and the people should benefit from their efforts, not a priviliged few who own the means of production.\n\nState capitalism re-creates the dynamics of capitalism, the names are only changed. The elite in state capitalism are factory managers and government officials. The workers are allowed to receive the full product of their labor, it instead goes to the state.\n\nAs a socialist I advocate the end of capitalism in all its forms. State capitalism will be one of the easiest forms of capitalism to end since we have a representative form of government and nominally own these government corporations.\n\nTherefore I propose that we demand that corporations such as the TVA and other such corporations be taken out of the hands of government, and be given to the workers and the people to manage.\n\nPlease ask for specifics, I’m happy to explain myself.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9545873403549194}
+{"content": "La-Iin Cahongyun\n\nAge:7(5 from 1-32, 6 from 33-397)\n\n\nThe story’s protagonist. La-Iin is the daughter of Mit-Sun and Asul-Zenza, a Malicerie second-grader and a Vampire-Normal Dualbreed who considers herself a Maniac of Evil. While La-Iin’s values are quite malicious, due to her immaturity, that malice is seen as more of a bad attitude. La-Iin treats the people around her terribly most of the time, but she can be nice on occasion. Her pride in being a Dualbreed is to the point of conceit, yet she has a disdain for Normals despite being half-Normal herself, and rarely says that she wishes she were a Pureblood Vampire. Her best friend is Fer-Shi. She has feelings for San-Kyung which she expresses primarily by stalking and fantasizing about him, and for this reason she is rivals with his best friend, Dosa-Mina. She’s also expressed an interest in Ai-Reia, whom she seems to want as an apprentice. La-Iin possesses the strange power to transform into what is seemingly a Pureblood Vampire, a power which enhances her abilities.\n\n\nFer-Shi Sanhuun\n\nAge:9(7 from 2-119, 8 from 120-483)\n\n\nA kind fourth-grader at Malicerie Public School, La-Iin’s best friend, and the daughter of Den-Matsu and Tei-Sheu. Fer-Shi is a girl who, unlike her best friend, wishes for the goodwill of both the world and the people in it. Because of this, occasionally she wonders how she and La-Iin have stayed friends, but the two are still close. Fer-Shi is relatively level-headed for her age, although she tends to use more simple words than her best friend. She likes to be helpful and will assist people with many things. She is one of the people with a better reputation in Class D, although her temper can be short with La-Iin and she’s a bit jealous of her friend for having a goal in life. Her only real notoriety in Bledger is that of being Den-Matsu’s daughter. Fer-Shi dreams of having a goal to follow that she believes in as strongly as La-Iin believes in her goal, but she is uncertain of what that goal might be.\n\n\nMit-Sun Cahongyun\n\nAge:35(34 from 1-253)\n\n\nLa-Iin’s mother, a woman who’s constantly stressed by both her job and her daughter. She loves her daughter dearly, and dreams of being a great mother, however La-Iin’s antics have gotten in the way of that as she has a hard time tolerating her daughter’s desire to be evil. She has a bit of a lazy streak, although she does work hard at her part-time job. Mit-Sun can be pleasant when not irritated however, and tends to be much more calm, although she does have a short temper when it comes to certain subjects. Her relationship with Asul-Zenza, her ex-fiancé, tends to become easily complicated. While she holds disdain for him, she does not hate him, and is sometimes even friendly towards him–however, she does not want him involved in any way with La-Iin’s upbringing, being convinced that he would make La-Iin’s attitude worse than it already is. Despite her apparent ease of fighting back, she tends to cower in front of her boss, Mrs. Eteibreit.\n\n\nBes-Isa Haunsum\n\nAge:4(according to La-Iin) 6(technical)(5 from 1-344)\n\n\nLa-Iin’s stuffed doll. Animated via La-Iin’s power of V-Puppetry, she is a longtime friend of the hers who encourages her evil behavior. Despite being animated by La-Iin, the two have some differing opinions, though they often listen to each other. She is arguably more evil than her owner, but she speaks more politely than her for the most part. She is much smarter than she lets on and has a warped view of the world. One of her biggest dreams is to be able to have bodily autonomy. Her interests include powers and women, and she despises Eul-Bok Astineth. Though more mature than La-Iin most of the time, on occasion she can be pushy and immature.\n\n\n\nAge:4(3 from 1-286)\n\n\nThe Cahongyun family dog. He was bought by Asul-Zenza. He is the only male member in the house right now as well as the most cheerful. It takes a horribly tragic incident to sour his mood. Otherwise, he’s always happy and excitable and full of energy. He chews on Bes-Isa when he gets the opportunity. He cares about his family a lot, but when the door is open, he tends to use it as a chance to run. He is also very fond of Asul-Zenza and the two have a special bond.\n\n\nSan-Kyung Molshei\n\nAge:16(14 from 3-76, 15 from 77-441)\n\nSpecies:Animated Pumpkin\n\nAn eleventh-grader at Malicerie Public School and the son of Salsh-Era and Del-Kyuus. San-Kyung attends Class D and is well-known for being solitary–as well as the target of La-Iin’s affections. San-Kyung is cold towards most people in his class and has a reputation as being both a troublemaker and evil. San-Kyung is an Aesthetically Normal Animated Pumpkin, something that causes him distress. He is best friends with Dosa-Mina, and he is the only person at school he is nice to, though he does get annoyed by his affections at times. He is unofficially friends with La-Iin, whom he holds animosity towards but, due to her strange power, sees her as necessary towards achieving his goal of permanently assuming the true form of an Animated Pumpkin. San-Kyung holds varied opinions on the world and love, but he prefers not to talk about them.\n\n\nAsul-Zenza Ghneckdo\n\nAge:66(64 from 10-205, 65 from 206-557)\n\n\nLa-Iin’s father, and Mit-Sun’s ex-fiancé. He is a Pureblood Vampire who spends the majority of his time traveling, so his whereabouts remain unknown most days. He has a calm demeanor and a lot more maturity than other Vampires his age. He cares about both La-Iin and Mit-Sun to a high degree and considers them both a part of his family. He does, however, resent Mit-Sun for leaving him out of La-Iin’s life. He tends to get touchy about his age due to the fact that, in Vampire societies, he is still a teenager. Asul-Zenza does have a bit more of an emotional side, but this is usually suppressed by his calm demeanor. He has a special bond with Choungetsu.\n\n\nDosa-Mina Dslellular\n\nAge:16(14 from 3-127, 15 from 128-492)\n\n\nSan-Kyung’s best friend, an eleventh-grader at Malicerie and a clingy, affectionate boy who is almost always by his side. Among the students of Malicerie he has gained a reputation as “San-Kyung’s clingy best friend” for these behaviors. He’s usually friendly, but he has a tendency to tease the people around him or not take them seriously. La-Iin views him as a rival for his friendship with San-Kyung, and he, in return, teases her when she fights with him. He is an aspiring Species Studier and dreams of becoming a professional in the future. Underneath his friendly demeanor is a more somber attitude, and due to his dislike of talking about himself, many things about him remain a secret, such as the reason why he takes on Normal form, the strange nightmares he has and his true feelings towards San-Kyung. He is Orlin-Aesth and Elai-Riya’s son.\n\n\nAi-Reia Vampiris\n\nAge:7(6 from 90-219)\n\n\nA student at Malicerie Public School, whom La-Iin has claimed as a secondary rival. Ai-Reia is known as a child prodigy, possessing incredible smarts for a Vampire–and child–of her age, though her Vampire powers are still undeveloped save for one, which she has not yet learned how to control. She is amicable for the most part, however she does have somewhat of a short temper especially towards La-Iin, whom she has grown to hate. On occasion she allows her mature demeanor to slip. She lives with her parents and three siblings, an older brother and sister and a younger sister. Her hatred for La-Iin has made her develop a malicious side, one whose hatred for La-Iin has given way to violent thoughts and tendencies and at times makes her want to outright murder the girl.\n\n\nSale-Dessu Astineth\n\nAge:34(32 from 61-195, 33 from 196-460)\n\n\nThe next-door neighbor of the Cahongyuns. Sale-Dessu is a powerful Warlock with reality-warping abilities that have caused problems in the neighborhood and beyond on more than one occasion. He has a relaxed personality and mostly uses his abilities to sate his own curiosity about the world, though he also consistently studies about ways to make V-Puppets autonomous. The true extent of his powers is still unknown. He is relatively antisocial and somewhat shy, although he does live with his V-Puppet Eul-Bok, with whom he shares a father-son like bond, and is fairly comfortable around him, La-Iin and Bes-Isa, the latter two to the point of considering him their ally, with mutual feelings on his side. Having had a rough childhood, mentions of it tend to make him upset and he tries to avoid talking about it.\n\n\nEul-Bok Astineth\n\nAge:1(0 from 98-453)\n\n\nSale-Dessu’s V-Puppet. Eul-Bok is the subject of his master’s experiments on making V-Puppets autonomous. He has a kind personality but is quick to teasing or arguments and he can be quite immature at times. He shares a father-son like bond with Sale-Dessu, and despite teasing him for being antisocial, that bond is Eul-Bok’s only positive one–he doesn’t care for La-Iin and outright hates Bes-Isa. Despite teasing his father on occasion, Eul-Bok is also fiercely protective of him and doesn’t tend to accept criticism of him from others. After many experiments, he is the first V-Puppet to have gained autonomy, though this fact is not a public one. Along with his autonomy, Eul-Bok also possesses Warlock powers just like Sale-Dessu.\n\n\nTeacher/Mr. Chensu\n\nAge:51(50 from 3-330)\n\n\nOne of Class D’s teachers. Mr. Chensu is an older man with almost zero tolerance for loud talking and mischief. He enjoys more simple things than the majority of his students. He does have a kind heart, and compared to the other teachers of Class D, is more lenient with his students. He feels like he knows all his students well, but in truth he just knows a lot about them. A bit emotional, the smallest kind gesture tends to touch him deeply. He has a friendship with his student Rini-Futo, but is mostly oblivious to her ulterior motives for spending time with him.\n\n\nStudents of Malicerie\n\n\n\nChildren who attend Malicerie Public School. Their grades range from Grade 0 to Grade 12. Malicerie is split into four classes–A, B, C, and D. Class D is notable for being a class full of weird students, while Class A is notable for teaching a different doctrine from the other three classes. Between the classes, a variety of students reside.\n\n\nLishe-Ashyo Coulmeta\n\nAge:18(17 from 1-248)\n\n\nA graduate of Malicerie Public School. Lishe-Ashyo is a friendly young man and part of the group of himself, Cou-Riette, Mali-Ana, Gen-Reiya and Xhen-Wu. He had many friends back in his time at Malicerie Public School, but he tends to be uncertain about both himself and his future. His closest friend is Gen-Reiya, and their friendship traces outside of Malicerie. He is popular with girls around his age, but mostly as a fleeting fancy. Although very interested in girls, Lishe-Ashyo has difficulty understanding romantic feelings and does not see them in quite the same way as other people, leading him to misunderstand situations and conversations involving them.\n\n\nCou-Riette Fasoucie\n\nAge:18(17 at the start of the story)\n\n\nA graduate of Malicerie Public School. Cou-Riette is a refined Birdmix part of the elegant Fasoucie family as well as the friend group of herself, Lishe-Ashyo, Mali-Ana, Gen-Reiya and Xhen-Wu. She tends to be both the calmest of the group and somewhat of a voice of reason on occasion, and has a maternal demeanor at times. She wasn’t too popular in school, though people admired her maturity. She lives with most of her family, including her son, An-Tois, whom was conceived from a night she cannot remember but has since become her favorite member of her family.\n\n\nMali-Ana Reusung\n\nAge:18(16 from 49-70, 17 from 72-435)\n\n\nA graduate of Malicerie Public School. Mali-Ana is a harsh girl and part of the friend group of herself, Lishe-Ashyo, Cou-Riette, Gen-Reiya and Xhen-Wu. She does tend to mistreat her friends but has a nice side hidden away. She is notorious among former students for getting furious if you insinuate anything about her love life, especially if you insist that she has a crush on Lishe-Ashyo.\n\n\nGen-Reiya Kerushao\n\nAge:17(16 at the start of the story)\n\n\nA graduate of Malicerie Public School. Gen-Reiya is a boy with a good heart, part of the friend group of himself, Lishe-Ashyo, Cou-Riette, Mali-Ana and Xhen-Wu. He was known for being one of the kindest boys part of the class, so it comes as a surprise to many that he’s the younger brother of Mi-Yagi, a former Class A student with a habit for putting others down. Although he tries to stay smiling for the sake of other people at times, he does let his emotions dominate sometimes. He has a significant relationship with most of his friend group, particularly Xhen-Wu, who is his girlfriend, and Lishe-Ashyo, whom is his childhood friend.\n\n\nXhen-Wu Saoning\n\nAge:18(17 at the start of the story)\n\n\nA graduate of Malicerie high school. Xhen-Wu is a laid-back and slightly rebellious teenage girl part of the friend group of herself, Lishe-Ashyo, Cou-Riette, Mali-Ana and Gen-Reiya. She had a brief period of time in Malicerie where she admired San-Kyung and wanted to act just like him, but she’s since mellowed out. Like Lishe-Ashyo, she has no direction for her life now that she’s graduated, so she tends to spend her off-days with her boyfriend Gen-Reiya. While mischievous, she can be quite mature at times, though she isn’t the type to use the most polite language.\n\n\nEi-Tio Ghneckdo\n\nAge:4(3 prior to 512)\n\n\nA young Vampire girl and a blood relative of La-Iin’s, although their exact relation remains unknown. Ei-Tio showed up at the Cahongyun house one day while looking for her family. Both girls think of each other as sisters. Ei-Tio is innocent and friendly and cares a lot for La-Iin, and calls her big sister. She possesses the ability to transform into an anthropomorphic Vampire bat.\n\n\nUsl-Thaehey Gyunerr\n\nAge:24(22 in Acknowledged, 23 prior to 429)\n\n\nA Vaelis celebrity popular the whole world round. She is an idol well-known for all her ventures but notably her songs, which are popular for their catchy tunes and twisted lyrics. Although busy, she does like to take the time to meet with her fans, but she isn’t often in the same place more than once a year if at all. She primarily stays in Vaelyn to make songs. She has garnered a bit of attention for being a Dualbreed celebrity. La-Iin is a fan of her and looks up to her. When she travels it’s almost always with her manager Namgung, who also usually stays at home with her.\n\n\nManager Namgung\n\n\n\nThe manager of the popular Usl-Thaehey Gyunerr. Namgung has a presence that isn’t too intrusive, so he can easily stay close to Usl-Thaehey without interfering with her work. He takes his job, and Usl-Thaehey’s, quite seriously and makes sure they always know what they need to do. His friendship with Usl-Thaehey is quite close and he understands her well.\n\n\nSulaet-Defka Calziona\n\n\n\nA Grougyptian singer whose popularity has remained stable throughout the several years she’s been performing. Sulaet-Defka does not talk much to her fans, instead often hiding her eyes behind sunglasses. She is mature and traditional, but has a strong passion for singing and music. She is known for singing with a deep voice but speaking with a very light one.\n\n\n\n\n\nA girl who lives in a graveyard, Imagination has a strange transparent look and claims herself to be a ghost. She is acquainted with La-Iin, Fer-Shi, and Choungetsu. She has said strange things that have lead to Fer-Shi believing her claims; La-Iin, however, remains skeptic. She is a strange girl who seems to have her head somewhat in the clouds.\n\n\nMit-Sun Leirhyn\n\n\n\nA coworker of Mit-Sun’s who shares her first name; due to this, the two refer to each other as “Cahongyun” and “Leirhyn”. Leirhyn is cheerful and a slight bit hyper and is Mit-Sun’s opposite in quite a few ways. She considers Mit-Sun a friend.\n\n\nYong-Hin Eteibreit\n\nAge:59(58 from ???-???)\n\n\nMit-Sun’s boss and the owner of Eteibreit Data Storage. Eteibreit is a sadistic woman who takes pleasure in the despair of her workers but is also often frustrated when they do a lesser job. She is particularly fascinated by Mit-Sun and wavers between wanting to fire her and wanting to watch her suffer. A succubus-type Demon, Eteibreit has a somewhat flirtatious nature and is apparently quite passionate with her husband.\n\n\nDeki-Tyunri Elyshen\n\nAge:14(13 from 7-308)\n\n\nA tenth-grade student at Malicerie Public School. Deki-Tyunri is known for being shy and having an accent atypical of a Vaelis person. He is close friends with the popular Lirako Sanyaow, and the two have known each other for years. Deki-Tyunri is calm and not quick to anger, and has a little bit of difficulty interacting with people he respects or likes without being friends with them first. He has a crush on San-Kyung that is the source of some distress with him. He lives with his grandmother, Celie-Angkou.\n\n\nLirako Sanyaow\n\nAge:17(16 from 3-322)\n\n\nA twelfth-grade student at Malicerie Public School. Lirako is arguably the most popular student in Class D, being friends with most people in the class, and is relatively infamous throughout the whole school for her friendliness and lack of tact. She is cheerful but doesn’t have much of a filter and can be quite mischievous when she feels like it. She is enemies with San-Kyung and Dosa-Mina as a result of this mischievous side. Her closest friend is Deki-Tyunri Elyshen, whom she has been friends with for many years, and she is the older sister to quintuplet younger brothers. Though having considered herself on the Good side of the spectrum for a long time, her twisted morals occasionally make her reconsider this stance. She is conspiring with Airy-Aekok to discover Dosa-Mina’s true species.\n\n\nDen-Matsu and Tei-Sheu Sanhuun\n\nAges:37(Den-Matsu) and 35(Tei-Sheu)\n\n\nThe parents of Fer-Shi. Den-Matsu and Tei-Sheu share their daughter’s kindness. Den-Matsu is an active force in helping out people, often doing charity work such as helping at a soup kitchen or volunteering his services at shelters and other such places. Tei-Sheu isn’t as active as her husband, often staying home with Fer-Shi, but she occasionally follows him along on a job or volunteer work. They try to raise their daughter with similar kindhearted views.\n\n\nSalsh-Era and Del-Kyuus Molshei\n\nAges:41(Salsh-Era) and 42(Del-Kyuus)(40 and 41 prior to 288 and 279)\n\nSpecies:Animated Pumpkin\n\nThe parents of San-Kyung and normal Animated Pumpkins. Salsh-Era and Del-Kyuus are quite a romantic couple, their flames not dying down at all even after so many years of marriage. Despite their evil son, they are fairly good. Salsh-Era often calls Del-Kyuus Kyuusie, much to San-Kyung’s irritation. Their son’s evil behavior and distress over his Aesthetically Normal appearance will get to them on occasion and they worry about him greatly, but feel Dosa-Mina keeps him from doing worse things than he might on his own.\n\n\nOrlin-Aesth and Elai-Riya Dslellullar\n\nAges:43(Orlin-Aesth) and 44(Elai-Riya)\n\nSpecies:Werewolf(Orlin-Aesth) and Siren(Elai-Riya)\n\nThe parents of Dosa-Mina. Orlin-Aesth and Elai-Riya are a young-acting couple, at times acting more immature than their son. Orlin-Aesth in particular is incredibly playful, while Elai-Riya is mischievous. Both work so on occasion they will leave their son at home alone. Elai-Riya has a bit of a temper relating to her job. They love their son, but wish he would assume his true form more often, and often wonder about his feelings towards San-Kyung as many others do. Their concern about Dosa-Mina is particularly strong in regards to the things he won’t talk to them about, and at times they feel as though they have made a mistake in their parenting.\n\n\nPrincipal of Malicerie\n\n\n\nMalicerie’s Principal. She is an older lady with a strict demeanor. She isn’t all that popular among the students, though the faculty is mostly indifferent towards her. She has a short temper with some of the more playful members of her faculty, and expresses distaste towards Class A in particular. While regarded among some students as having outdated ideas, the Principal doesn’t often make her opinions public save for those about the school.\n\n\nMalicerie Faculty\n\n\n\nThe Faculty of Malicerie Public School, consisting of several members including teachers, a janitor, school health inspectors and Weekend teachers. The faculty member with the highest position, Teik-Kao Sharai, is often seen by the Principal’s side and is known for his wild ideas. Other faculty members include Class A’s Neowang, Class C’s Yushie, Class D’s Theasis and Hyungdarou, health inspectors Vi-En and Fi-Run Satou as well as Wei-Men Xhuzsha, janitor Sao-Mel Wue, and lunch gentlemen Kyur-Kei Vikei and Shang-Seeib Yukhoe.\n\n\n\n\n\nA mysterious person who has appeared in Dosa-Mina’s dreams. Kkumneok possesses the power to change his dreams into anything he or Dosa-Mina desires. Wishing to remain an enigma, he doesn’t appear often in Dosa-Mina’s dreams and his name appears to be a pseudonym. Although the reason for his appearance is dubious, he claims to be the one who has given Dosa-Mina his nightmares.\n\n\nUil-Cur Haner\n\n\n\nA coworker of Mit-Sun’s who works a different shift at Eteibreit Data Storage. Uil-Cur is a slightly conceited Siren man who is madly in love with Mit-Sun, though he has been unable to admit this to her thus far. Having a flirtatious nature, he can be slightly pushy about establishing a relationship with someone.\n\n\nAiry-Aekok Llanni\n\n\n\nA ninth-grader at Malicerie Public, Airy-Aekok is the cheerful daughter of local cop Reine-Kyugok Llanni. Notable for her unhealthy obsession with teenaged boys, she also possesses some unusual skills, the result of information her father relayed to her. Desperate for friendship, she is assisting Lirako in her goal of discovering Dosa-Mina’s true species.\n\n\nKai-Rin Yukkini\n\n\n\nA student at Hendoh High School and former classmate of San-Kyung and Dosa-Mina’s back in junior high, Kai-Rin is a somewhat theatrical girl who has been in love with San-Kyung ever since then. Although she has some strange tendencies, for the most part she is more concerned with seeing San-Kyung happy rather than having her feelings reciprocated. Her smarts rival those of San-Kyung’s and Dosa-Mina’s.\n\n\nBaal-Mist Spaeic\n\n\n\nA Warlock who lives in the same neighborhood as Sale-Dessu’s grandmother Eir-Tyuj, Baal-Mist is a relaxed and calculating Warlock with a talent for more inexplicable powers. Despite his talent and relative good looks, Baal-Mist spends most of his time focusing on his personal goals of discovering the truth about Sale-Dessu and Eul-Bok and their relation to Eir-Tyuj, whom he holds a personal grudge towards.\n\n\nShuu-Kena Sara\n\n\n\nA third-grader at Malicerie Public School. Shuu-Kena is somewhat shy and antisocial, and thus hasn’t made many friends since joining Malicerie. Unknown to most students, this attitude is the result of her family, in which she is the only non-evil member, being neutral. She is friends with La-Iin, whom she relies on a bit more than she should. She aspires to be a painter and to have a family separated from the main doings of the Saras.\n\n\n\nEir-Tyuj Astineth\n\n\n\nSale-Dessu’s grandmother. Eir-Tyuj has a hot-and-cold personality and was often quite harsh towards people, though she could be sympathetic at times, a side which primarily showed itself around her family. She was the primary mentor of Sale-Dessu, training him in the ways of their powers, and is known for being quite a powerful Witch–powerful enough that her name is spoken with resentment by some people who wanted to see her family dead. Sale-Dessu often thinks on her words for inspiration and dwells on what she taught him. Although believed to be dead by most, she actually resides in Bledger, though is so elderly that she barely has the strength to leave her house.\n\n\nMaie-Jussa Astineth\n\nAge:38(At time of death)\n\n\nSale-Dessu’s deceased mother. Maie-Jussa was consistently kind in comparison to her hot-and-cold mother, however she easily caved under stress. Having death with the death of her husband and the miscarriage of her daughter, Sale-Dessu was her primary concern in life, and she was always grateful towards her mother for taking care of him. She died protecting her mother, believing that so long as she was still alive Sale-Dessu would be well cared for. Sale-Dessu often thinks about her.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8014765977859497}
+{"content": "Friday, May 26, 2017\n\nEnergy Musings.  Here. Now.\n\n\nThe last post I wrote, was about dis-connecting.  In that time, I have reluctantly been forced to dis-connect from social media and the swirl of life & people that it brings.  Through this process, I have noticed so much.  Here are some of my current observations and understandings (to be continued).\n\n  1.  Social Media is totally addictive.  It doesn’t matter if you are simply a “lurker”, post every day or use it only for your “business”.  Its important to remember the addictive quality of these outlets.  Some of us are better at navigating “addictions” than others.  You know your Nature.  Pay attention.\n  2. Social Media is a distraction to your work & your discernment.  It doesn’t matter if you are simply a “lurker”, post every day or use it only for your “business”.  Its important to remember the distractive quality of these outlets.  Some of us are better at navigating “distractions” than others.  You know your Nature.  Pay attention.\n  3. Social Media fills the empty spaces in you (making you feel either good, bad, angry, motivated, etc) instead of YOU filling them consciously yourself.  This is a bad idea.  Period.\n  4. Social Media has an energetic long term impact that is hard to disentangle from once you are in it on any level.  It becomes impossible even to see.\n  5. Social Media emphasizes comparison to others thereby making it increasingly difficult for self awareness to blossom authentically.  We are in deep danger of having this collective work of our conscious evolution being thwarted in this manner.  There’s research on this (framed as depression and anxiety as related to social media) gathering out there.  Look at it. This means you.\n  6. Be aware of the lurkers, the unseen and unknown, entities on social media tracking and following you.  I’m talking energetically here again, as I know there are safeguards in place and information accessible to help you protect yourself from more ‘tangible’ hackers and predators.  The unseen world is far less understood .\n  7. Be aware of yours/others resistance to looking at, considering or admitting any of the above as it pertains to you. There is a vast culture of denial around social media pitfalls and the aspects of it that are unhealthy.  We are the opposite of “risk-averse” when it comes to technology, the internet and social media.  People think they can self-regulate and navigate this virtual world in a conscious way but I have not seen much evidence of that yet.\n\n\nTheres so much more I could add.  And I just might come back to this topic, because it feels incredibly important to me right now.  I’ve been feeling a huge hole, a vast leak, in our collective energetic field.  Right now, I’m registering that as social media (more specifically Facebook).\n\nFor now, the questions I am asking myself are this:  what do I want to be a part of? what do I want to contribute to long term to this society and this world I belong to?  how can I best contribute my time and energy to create the kind of evolution I believe in?\n\nIts OK to go against the grain. Its OK to not buy in to what “everyone else is doing”.    Its OK to question, to be critical, to challenge, and to wonder:  in the name of progress, are we stepping into patterns and places that will support or destroy (either physically, emotionally, spiritually or energetically) us in the long run? In fact, its our work to ask these questions.\n\n\nWord of the Day:  Luddite.  (from Wikipedia: The Luddites were a group of English textile workers and weavers in the 19th century who destroyed weaving machinery as a form of protest. The group was protesting the use of machinery in a “fraudulent and deceitful manner” to get around standard labour practices.[1]Luddites feared that the time spent learning the skills of their craft would go to waste as machines would replace their role in the industry.[2]It is a misconception that the Luddites protested against the machinery itself in an attempt to halt progress of technology. However, the term has come to mean one opposed to industrialisationautomationcomputerisation or new technologies in general.[3] The Luddite movement began in Nottingham and culminated in a region-wide rebellion that lasted from 1811 to 1816. Mill owners took to shooting protesters and eventually the movement was brutally suppressed with military force.)\n\nSong of the Day:  People Have the Power by Patti Smith\n\n\nMonday, May 8, 2017\n\nEnergy Musings. Here. Now.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSong of the Day:  Pink “Disconnected”\n\nThursday, May 4, 2017\n\nEnergy Musings.  Here. Now.\n\n\nRemember.  remember a piece of who you are.  before you were told what to be or how to act or who to please.\n\nRemember.  remember the things you used to do that engaged you in a place where you lost all track of time and the world and its worries melted away around you.\n\nRemember.  remember the moments of connection you’ve had through your life. the people who touched you. the places that resonated you.  the memories that filled you.\n\nRemember.  remember pure joy, how it overflowed from your being.  remember how you expressed that joy.  how you let it out to fill the world.\n\nRemember. remember where you’ve been, who you’ve walked with, what you have accomplished.\n\nRemember.  remember who you are.\n\n\nSong of the Day:  Little Big Town. Free.\n\nWednesday, May 3, 2017\n\nEnergy Musings.  Here. Now.\n\n\nTruth.  why do we seek it?  why do we need it? why are we so concerned with Truth? who’s truth are we seeking?  Is it Truth we really want or are we seeking something else under the guise of Truth?  Is there an avoidance of uncertainty that drives this need for Truth? Are we uncomfortable with doubt? What lies beneath this need or search for Truth?\n\nWhat do you think the Truth will bring you?  happiness?  love?  ease?  peace?\n\n“Only tortured people seek “truth”” says prominent Buddhist teacher Ken McLeod.\n\nWill Truth really set you free?  If you know the Truth will it really make everything else clear? Or has our drive toward Truth simply become a coping mechanism in an out of control, chaotic, world and life? What if Truth is completely contextual?\n\nWhenever you find yourself really latching on to something, like needing to know the Truth,  raising your fist in rage and passion, get suspicious.   Bring discernment to this place.  How do you FEEL in your body when you tune in to this latching on to Truth?  Is there an emotional trigger, an attachment?  Remember this clouds your ability to discern. Always.  Step back. Do nothing.  Let go.\n\n\nGet off the Truth wagon.\n\n\nSong of the Day: The Verve: Bittersweet Symphony\n\n\nWednesday, April 26, 2017\n\nEnergy Musings. Here. Now.\n\n\nClear a pathway, just one pathway, to something, someplace, someone today.  It might be a small corner of your desk so you have a better view through a window, or perhaps raking an area in your backyard, or maybe even just sweeping a hallway in your home?  It could be a phone call or conversation that needs to happen to clear the air. You can even clear a pathway in your mind using your breath. Or in your body, using dance.  Or clear a pathway  in your work, focusing your time and energy on a project.  There are many ways to consider “clearing a pathway”.\n\nEach perception is just a lens that helps us see more clearly. Remember there are always multiple perspectives at play simultaneously.  It can be overwhelming and confusing to try to think of all these perspectives all at once,  but if you pick one lens to see through clearly, all the other implications and areas will be impacted as well.  Its just about getting started and following through with your intention.\n\nToday, look for a pathway to be cleared. A way to get from point A to point B.  And then, with focus and attention, walk mindfully down the path you have created, and see what is there for you.\n\n\nsong of the day:  heavydirtysoul by 21 Pilots\n\nMonday, April 24, 2017\n\nEnergy Musings.  Here. Now.\n\n\nRest.  Clear.  Ground.  Slow down your pace.  Re-frame your week by nurturing and taking a time IN today.\n\nTypically, Mondays are seen as “manic”, a leap back into the business of our lives after our weekend.  But this is largely manipulated by our perception.  Try changing your perception today.\n\nInstead of leaping into your work week, how about stepping in mindfully?  Allow the fullness of your work to come in one steady gentle step at a time.  See if this new approach gives you new tools, a new perspective, a new outlook on your work load.  You might feel like you have no control over the work you have to do. That you don’t have the  opportunity to slow down.\n\nI ask you this:  Do you have the time to take one extra breath?  One conscious inhale and One conscious exhale?  This alone, will make a difference.  Use your breath to clear away any attachment, stress, anxiety that creeps in so you can see your work more clearly.\n\n“Breathing in I know that I am breathing in. Breathing out, I know that I am breathing out. ”\n\nYour work will still be there. No one will notice you’ve taken one extra breath before walking into that meeting, before speaking to a group, before turning on your computer, before responding to an email.  But YOU will notice.  You will.\n\nSong of the Day:    We are Alive by Paul van Dyk\n\nFriday, April 21, 2107\n\nEnergy Musings.  Here. Now.\n\n\nBe still and listen.  Be still and look.  Be still and breathe.  Just for a moment, or moments,  stop and simply pay attention.  With each exhale, notice more.  Until you find the places you hadn’t been noticing before.  Then linger here.  Observe and Accept what it is that you feel.\n\nThese places have been hidden. In the business of your life, the activity of your day, the distractions of the world, it becomes too easy to overlook these more subtle places.  All it takes is our attention gently guided and directed.  It doesn’t need to be formal or long or taught.  You already know how to do this, just give yourself the space and time you need to take that journey inward.  In the process, shedding judgement, expectation and anxiety.  These too are smokescreens, meant to keep you from finding those hidden places of holding within you, of shining your own inner light.\n\nToday is a day to look.  To shine the light  in these places.  To be honest.  To be gentle.  To be forgiving.  to love.\n\nWeave this into your day today, throughout your day today. Planting seeds, sewing light.\n\n\nSong of the Day: Who Wants Love by Billie Holiday", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7538418769836426}
+{"content": "Description Qty Item Price  \nyour basket is empty\n\nsub total£0.00  \n£ $\nproceed to checkout\n\nStructural Optimization in Finite Element Analysis (FEA)\n\nNAFEMS e-Learning Course\n\n\nFour-Week Training Course (one 2.5 hour session per week)\n\nCourse Overview\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCourse Process and Details \n\n\n\nThe course is completely code independent. No software is required.\n\nEach topic in the class is treated as a building block and is presented using an overview of the physics and theory involved. The math is kept simple and the emphasis is on practical examples from real life to illustrate the topic. The mapping to Finite Element analysis techniques is shown with numerous case studies. The tutor will be presenting methodology and results and involving the students in the process via Q and A periods during each session, follow up emails and a Course Bulletin Board\n\nInteraction is encouraged throughout the course. Students are welcome to send in problems from Industry and these will be discussed as time permits.\n\n\ne-learning @ .\n\nWho Should Attend?\n\nThis course is aimed at practicing engineers who wish to learn more about how to apply the various optimization methods available to FEA structural analysis in the most effective manner. Ideally a student should have some experience of FEA analysis, but this is not essential. The material that is presented is independent of any particular software package, making it ideally suited to current and potential users of all commercial finite element software systems. This course is a must for all engineers who plan to apply optimization methods to their analysis projects with the goal of improving the efficiency of their designs.\n\n\nCourse Program\n\n\n\n\n\nSession 1\n\n  • Finite Element Analysis Overview\n  • Background and History of Structural Optimization\n  • Putting Optimization in perspective\n  • The Goals of Optimization\n  • Terminology, Definition and Classification\n  • The upside and the downside of Optimization\n  • Overview of Optimization Categories applied to FEA\n  • Sizing\n  • Shape\n  • Topology\n  • Discussion of internal FEA optimizers and external optimizers\n  • Difference in Approach\n  • Advantages and Disadvantages\n  • Overview of Optimization Strategies\n  • Optimality Criteria\n  • Gradient based methods\n  • Design Sensitivity and approximate solutions\n  • Homogeneous Stress or Energy solutions\n  • Design Of Experiments, Genetic Algorithm and similar methods\n  • Some simple Case Studies to illustrate the concepts\n  • Homework – simple Optimization examples\n\nSession 2\n\n  • Homework review\n  • Theoretical background to Optimization\n  • Implications for Practical FEA implementation\n  • A closer look at Sizing Optimization\n  • Background theory\n  • Case Studies in Sizing optimization\n  • A more sophisticated approach to objectives, variables and constraints\n  • Linking Design Variables\n  • Practical Gauge Constraints\n  • Complex Responses\n  • Response functions as Objectives\n  • Compound Objectives\n  • Practical Hints and Tips\n  • Case Studies of the methods\n  • Homework – sizing of a shell and beam model\n\nSession 3\n\n  • Homework Review\n  • Shape optimization in detail\n  • Parametric and Nonparametric issues\n  • Traditional gradient based approaches\n  • Homogeneous methods\n  • DOE, GA and similar methods\n  • Improving practicality of results\n  • Practical hints and tips\n  • Case studies in shape optimization\n  • Topology Optimization in detail\n  • Parametric and Nonparametric issues\n  • Interface with CAD and production – concept study or practical design?\n  • Review of methods available\n  • Practical hints and tips\n  • Case studies in topology optimization\n  • Homework – topology optimization of a 2D planar structure\n\n\nSession 4\n\n  • Homework Review\n  • Multi Objective Methods\n  • Background Theory\n  • Multi-Disciplinary Optimization (MDO)\n  • Case Studies in MDO\n  • Optimization of Nonlinear and Dynamic Response systems\n  • Case Studies in Nonlinear and Dynamic Response\n  • Robust Optimization – moving away from the one point solution\n  • Background theory and case studies for Robust Optimization\n  • Homework – a multi objective problem\n\n\n\n\nThe PSE Competencies from the Optimisation technical area that are addressed by this training course are listed below.\n\nIDCompetence Statement\nOPTpr4 Familiarity with at least two of the traditional problem definition methods such as Simplex methods, Linear Programming, Geometric Programming, Quadratic Programming\nOPTpr5 Familiarity with gradient search methods such as steepest descent\nOPTpr6 Understanding of unconstrained and constrained strategies\nOPTpr7 Understanding of at least one of the -modern-methods of search strategy such as Neural Networks, Genetic Algorithms, etc.\nOPTpr8 Ability to carry out Linear Static Analysis or similar level of analyses in other core disciplines and produce validated results\nOPTpr9 Thorough awareness of effects of bad modelling practice and need for adequate checking\nOPTpr10 Awareness of difference between global and local minima\nOPTpr11 Awareness of parametric controls such as CAD geometry dimensions.\nOPTkn1 List the various steps in a general optimisation study.\nOPTkn2 List the various types of optimisation search algorithms available in the system(s) you use.\nOPTkn3 State whether the optimisation system(s) you use are controlling CAD geometry or finite element parameters (or both).\nOPTkn4 State the maximum problem size recommended for your optimization tool in terms of design variables and constraints\nOPTkn5 Define the convergence criteria used in your optimization tool for establishing an optimum\nOPTkn6 List some direct and indirect methods used for the optimum solution of a constrained nonlinear programming problem.\nOPTkn7 State whether your system can handle multiobjective functions\nOPTkn8 Outline via a sketch a typical 2 variable optimization problem using variables as x and y axes and show objective function and constraints on the sketch.\nOPTkn9 State if linearization of local design space can be used during an optimization with your system\nOPTkn10 List which Artificial Intelligence based approaches that your system uses\nOPTkn11 State whether your system can deal with discrete variables as well as continuous variables\nOPTkn12 State whether your system can define objective functions of more than one term, such as weight AND cost\nOPTkn13 List the various methods of establishing feasible search directions\nOPTkn14 List methods which transform constrained problems to unconstrained problems\nOPTkn15 Define a discrete design variable\nOPTco1 Explain the terms goal (objective function), variable and constraint.\nOPTco2 Explain why an optimum solution is not always a robust solution.\nOPTco3 Describe the basic methodology used to achieve shape modification in any system(s) you use.\nOPTco4 Describe the basic methodology used to create structural holes in any system(s) you use.\nOPTco5 Explain the concept and usage of a Pareto Set.\nOPTco6 Explain the concept of Objective Space and Design Space.\nOPTco7 Explain the terms local minima, global minima and saddle point.\nOPTco8 Describe the advantages and disadvantages of the search algorithms available in the software tools you use.\nOPTco9 Describe Basis Vector methods to reduce the number of design variables\nOPTco10 Describe Design Variable Linking\nOPTco11 Describe the Kuhn Tucker conditions\nOPTco12 Explain how you would investigate the design evaluation trends shown by your software using GUI based graphs, tables tec.\nOPTco13 Describe how you would confirm that the optima found is not a local minima\nOPTco14 Explain the importance of the definition of the applied loading case set to be used in the optimization\nOPTco15 Describe the process to take the optimum solution found and map it into a practical CAD design\nOPTco16 Describe how you would review the final design to understand what the main driving parameters are\nOPTco17 Describe what steps you may take to understand why an optimization problem will not converge to a solution and how to improve the strategy\nOPTco18 Discuss how important it is to find the absolute minima relative to practical limits on design, manufacturing etc.\nOPTco19 Define the difference between sizing, shape and topology optimization\nOPTco20 Describe how linearization of design space is used, with pros and cons\nOPTco21 Explain the difference between parameter based and non-parameter based optimization and where each is most effective\nOPTco22 Discuss why mutation in a gene pool is important in a Genetic Algorithm\nOPTco23 Describe the difference in approach to an objective function between topology optimization and sizing optimization\nOPTco24 Describe what is meant by a stochastic approach to optimization\nOPTco25 Describe what is meant by an optimality criterion based method and give an example\nOPTco26 Describe typical ways of dealing with discrete variables and their pros and cons\nOPTco27 Describe a typical multi-term objective function and mention any drawbacks with this approach\nOPTco27b Discuss the importance of an accurate baseline FE Analysis with validated results as the starting point for optimization\nOPTco28 Describe parameter linking in a design variable with pros and cons\nOPTco29 Describe synthetic type constraints created from multiple responses with pros and cons\nOPTco30 Explain why an optimum solution may actually violate one or more constraints\nOPTco31 Discuss and sketch what is implied by a \"best infeasible\" solution\nOPTco32 Describe the terms mean and standard deviation\nOPTco33 Describe the Normal Probability distribution\nOPTco34 Describe the method of Genetic Algorithms\nOPTco35 Explain the process of Neural Network based optimization\nOPTco36 Describe the training phase of a Neural Network\nOPTco37 Describe the Quasi-Newton root finding method\nOPTco38 Describe the Secant root finding method\nOPTco38b Describe Convex and Non-Convex sets\nOPTco39 Explain the difference between a gradient based and non-gradient based search method\nOPTco40 Describe how various optimization strategies such as Shape, Sizing, Topology may be combined in a single project\nOPTco41 Describe DOE usage in optimization and how the resulting surface model may be used\nOPTco42 Describe the various DOE search strategies\nOPTco43 Describe Topometry optimization and its relationship to shape optimization\nOPTco44 Describe Topography optimization and how it is used in the overall optimization process\nOPTco45 Describe the implications of non-linear Optimization\nOPTco46 Explain the design variable and Objective function options available to Composite Structural Analysis as opposed to Isotropic Structural Analysis\nOPTco47 What special care is needed when carrying out optimization of Composite Structures\nOPTap1 Employ available software tools to carry out parameter, shape and topology optimisation studies.\nOPTap2 Use appropriate software tools to carry out multidisciplinary optimisation studies, if relevant.\nOPTap3 Conduct sensitivity studies to inform optimisation studies.\nOPTap4 Utilise appropriate and efficient optimisation algorithms, where a choice is given.\nOPTap5 Demonstrate the definition and execution of an optimization task, starting with a baseline FE Analysis\nOPTap6 Conduct an optimization analysis of a composite based structure\nOPTan1 Analyse the results from sensitivity studies and draw  conclusions from trends.\nOPTan2 Determine whether the results from an optimisation study represent a robust solution.\nOPTan3 Determine whether an optimization study should use discrete variables and the practical benefits gained from this approach\nOPTan4 Determine the best design variables and optimization technique to use for composite structures\nOPTsy1 Plan effective analysis strategies for optimisation studies.\nOPTsy2 Formulate a series of simple benchmarks in support of a complex optimisation study.\nOPTsy3 Plan an evaluation study for a new optimization tool to brought into your operation\nOPTsy4 Create a process to take an FE based optimum design and evolve into a practical CAD design\nOPTsy5 Formulate a check list of do's and dont's for setting up a realistic optimization problem, include practical, logistic and FE solver and optimizer specific issues\nOPTsy6 Prepare an overview of your complete optimization process from concept to product\nOPTsy7 Describe how your company uses optimization and recommend areas for improvement\nOPTsy8 Describe a range of ideas for objective functions, other than weight minimization, with practical examples\nOPTsy9 Describe the technical and resource management issues associated with Multidisciplinary Optimization\nOPTsy10 Create a presentation to give at Management Level to justify a major purchase and implementation of Optimization in the design and manufacturing process\nOPTev1 Justify the appropriateness of goals, constraints and variables used in an optimisation study.\nOPTev2 Select suitable idealisations for optimisation studies.\nOPTev3 Provide effective specialist advice on optimisation to colleagues.\nOPTev4 Assess appropriate hardware and software solutions to meet the needs of planned optimisation studies.\nOPTev5 Justify an optimum design configuration by comparing with initial solution and simple variations or information from the optimization tool.\nOPTev6 Justify an optimum design based on its applicability to manufacture and assembly\nOPTev7 Assess the application and effectiveness of using EXCEL Solver, MATLAB, open source or programmatic in-house solutions to an optimization problem as an alternative to COTS\n\nSpecial Note(s):\n\n\n\nFor more information, please email e-learning @ .\n\nUpcoming Session:\n\n\n\nNot Available to Attend this Time? \n\nWould you like us to notify you when the next course on Fluid Dynamics Review for CFD is open for enrollment? If so, add yourself to the eLearning Waitlist!\n\nCourse Tutor:\nTony Abbey \n\nTony Abbey - NAFEMS Tutor\n\nRead Tony Abbey's bio on the NAFEMS tutors page", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9647214412689209}
+{"content": "\n\nWorldwide - Movers - Storers - Shippers\n\n\nHead Office : +44 (0) 1902 714555\n\nWolverhampton : 01902 714555\n\nBirmingham : 0121 444 1885\n\nLondon : 0207 937 1999\n\nRugby : 01788 541044\n\nCoventry & Warwick : 024 7663 2501\n\nBridgnorth : 01746 336041\n\nEmail : sales@burkebros.co.uk\n\n\nRemovals to Peru\n\nperu-map Do you need removals to Peru? If you are thinking of moving to Peru from the UK you will be joining a country famous for its ancient culture and a nation of over 30 million people. Officially the Republic of Peru, it is a county in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the west by the Pacific Ocean. Peru is an extremely bio-diverse country with habitats ranging from the arid plains of the Pacific coastal region in the west to the peaks of the Andes mountains vertically extending from the north to the southeast of the country to the tropical Amazon Basin rainforest in the east with the Amazon river.\n\nThe official languages spoken in Peru are Spanish, Quechua and Aymara. The population is a mixture of ethnicities and heritages, which makes for a diverse and colourful melting pot of different languages, cuisines and cultures including Chinese, Spanish, Amerindian and other influences. The currency used in Peru is the Nuevo Sol. There are many global organizations in Peru trading in chemicals, transport, services, technology, natural resources, food and telecommunications.\n\nperu-mountainsMany of those moving to Peru will be looking to move the larger cities, including the popular Capital of Lima, rather than the more rural areas as there is less work opportunities there, as Peru is still a developing country there is still some poverty in areas. But contrary to some negative stereotypes all of the major cities have the same amenities you would expect to find including internet, plumbing, electricity and heating available virtually everywhere. Peru has gone through periods of political unrest, but is now in a period of stability as well as on an economic upswing. Its natural resources are plentiful and the main industries include mining, manufacturing, agriculture and fishing.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9546545743942261}
+{"content": "Obama taps multi-millionaire celebrities to hawk Obamacare specifically to blacks\n\nObama taps multi-millionaire celebrities to hawk Obamacare specifically to blacks\n\nWith a special emphasis on the black community, Barack Obama is leaning heavily on his entertainment-world connections to convince as many as possible to purchase health insurance via the Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare, as reported by Black Voice News on March 17, 2014.\n\nIn the wake of the Daily Caller‘s casting doubt on the credibility of Obama’s claim that the taxpayer-subsidized insurance plans costs the same as a cell phone bill, questions have been raised by Obama’s critics on the wisdom of enlisting multi-millionaires to sell his signature legislation. As noted by Giuseppe Macri, despite Obama’s contention, many of the costs of average Obamacare plans are actually double that of average cell phone subscriptions.\n\nCulled from CelebrityNetWorth.com, here is a list of the estimated net worth of rich celebs who have pitched Obamacare:\n\nZach Galifianakis — $15 million. With the smallest bank account of the Obamacare endorsers, Galifianakis recently hosted Obama on his faux-interview satirical internet show “Between Two Ferns,” which was widely considered as his contribution to pushing the government health insurance plan.\n\n\nAlicia Keys — $45 million. A singer, songwriter, and aspiring actress, Keys has won 87 so far in her relatively short career “among them twelve Grammy Awards, ten Billboard Music Awards, thirteen NAACP Awards.”\n\nAdam Levine — $50 million. Levine made most of his vast fortune from his time as the leadman for the band Maroon 5. As one of the three celebrity hosts of NBC’s “The Voice,” Levine is contracted to pull in $6 million per season.\n\nAlonzo Mourning, Jr. — $90 million. He was twice named NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award during his 15-year career with the Miami Heat.\n\n\nJennifer Lopez — $300 million. Queen of the A-listers, Lopez is cited as an “actress, singer, dancer, fashion designer, and television producer.” The 44-year-old could easily break the half billion dollar mark in her lifetime.\n\nEarvin “Magic” Johnson, Jr. — $500 million. Retired NBA superstar and current part-owner of the Los Angeles Lakers as well as the Los Angeles Dodgers.\n\nT. Kevin Whiteman\n\nT. Kevin Whiteman\n\n\nCommenting Policy\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6832300424575806}
+{"content": "Sunday, September 30, 2007\n\n\n\nThe engine power is used to rotate the propeller, which in turn generates thrust very similar to the manner in which a wing produces lift. The amount of thrust produced depends on the shape of the airfoil, the angle of attack of the propeller blade, and the r.p.m. of the engine. The propeller itself is twisted so the blade angle changes from hub to tip. The greatest angle of incidence, or the highest pitch, is at the hub while the smallest pitch is at the tip.\n\nThe reason for the twist is to produce uniform lift from the hub to the tip. As the blade rotates, there is a difference in the actual speed of the various portions of the blade. The tip of the blade travels faster than that part near the hub, because the tip travels a greater distance than the hub in the same length of time. Changing the angle of incidence (pitch) from the hub to the tip to correspond with the speed produces uniform lift throughout the length of the blade. If the propeller blade was designed with the same angle of incidence throughout its entire length, it would be inefficient, because as airspeed increases in flight, the portion near the hub would have a negative angle of attack while the blade tip would be stalled.\n\nSmall airplanes are equipped with either one of two types of propellers. One is the fixed-pitch, and the other is the controllable-pitch.\n\n\nMost small airplanes are designed with reciprocating engines. The name is derived from the back-and-forth, or reciprocating, movement of the pistons. It is this motion that produces the mechanical energy needed to accomplish work. Two common means of classifying reciprocating engines are:\n1. by cylinder arrangement with respect to the crankshaft—radial, in-line, v-type or opposed, or\n2. by the method of cooling—liquid or air-cooled.\n\nRadial engines were widely used during World War II, and many are still in service today. With these engines, a row or rows of cylinders are arranged in a circular pattern around the crankcase. The main advantage of a radial engine is the favorable power-to-weight ratio.\n\n\nV-type engines provide more horsepower than in-line engines and still retain a small frontal area. Further improvements in engine design led to the development of the horizontally-opposed engine. Opposed-type engines are the most popular reciprocating engines used on small airplanes. These engines always have an even number of cylinders, since a cylinder on one side of the crankcase \"opposes\" a cylinder on the other side. The majority of these engines are air cooled and usually are mounted in a horizontal position when installed on fixed-wing airplanes. Opposed-type engines have high power-toweight ratios because they have a comparatively small, lightweight crankcase. In addition, the compact cylinder arrangement reduces the engine's frontal area and allows a streamlined installation that minimizes aerodynamic drag.\n\nPowerplant—A complete engine and propeller combination with accessories.\n\n\nThe basic principle for reciprocating engines involves the conversion of chemical energy, in the form of fuel, into mechanical energy. This occurs within the cylinders of the engine through a process known as the four-stroke operating cycle. These strokes are called intake, compression, power, and exhaust.\n\n\n\nFriday, September 28, 2007\n\n\nThis section covers the main systems found on small airplanes. These include the engine, propeller, and induction systems, as well as the ignition, fuel, lubrication, cooling, electrical, landing gear, autopilot, and environmental control systems. A comprehensive introduction to gas turbine engines is included at the end of this section.\n\nThe airplane engine and propeller, often referred to as a powerplant, work in combination to produce thrust. The powerplant propels the airplane and drives the various systems that support the operation of an airplane.\n\nThursday, September 27, 2007\n\n\n\nSince the primary and secondary flight control systems vary extensively between aircraft, you need to be familiar with the systems in your aircraft. A good source of information is the Airplane Flight Manual (AFM) or the Pilot's Operating Handbook (POH).\n\n\n\n\n\n\nWednesday, September 26, 2007\n\n\n\n\nMonday, September 24, 2007\n\n\nThe most common installation on small airplanes is a single trim tab attached to the trailing edge of the elevator. A small, vertically mounted control wheel manually operates most trim tabs. However,\n\nIf you set the trim tab to the full nose-up position, the tab moves to its full-down position. In this case, the air flowing under the horizontal tail surface hits the tab and tends to force the trailing edge of the elevator up, reducing the elevator's angle of attack. This causes a tail-down movement of the airplane and a nose-up pitch change.\n\nIn spite of the opposite direction movement of the trim tab and the elevator, control of trim is natural to a pilot. If you have to exert constant back pressure on the control column, the need for nose-up trim is indicated. The normal trim procedure is to continue trimming until the airplane is balanced and the nose-heavy condition is no longer apparent. Pilots normally establish the desired power, pitch attitude, and configuration first, and then trim the airplane to relieve control pressures that may exist for that flight condition. Any time power, pitch attitude, or configuration is changed, expect that retrimming will be necessary to relieve the control pressures for the new flight condition.\n\n\n\n\nSunday, September 23, 2007\n\n\n\nTuesday, September 18, 2007\n\n\n\n\nMovable slats consist of leading edge segments, which move on tracks. At low angles of attack, each slat is held flush against the wing's leading edge by the high pressure that forms at the wing's leading edge. As the angle of attack increases, the high-pressure area moves aft below the lower surface of the wing, allowing the slats to move forward. Some slats, however, are pilot operated and can be deployed at any angle of attack. Opening a slat allows the air below the wing to flow over the wing's upper surface, delaying airflow separation.\n\n\n\nFriday, September 14, 2007\n\n\nThe term canard refers to a control surface with functions as a horizontal stabilizer but is located in front of the main wings. The term also is used to describe an airplane equipped with a canard. In effect, it is an airfoil similar to the horizontal surface on a conventional aft-tail design. The difference is that the canard actually creates lift and holds the nose up, as opposed to the aft-tail design that exerts downward force on the tail to prevent the nose from rotating downward.\n\nCanard --A horizontal surface mounted ahead of the main wing to provide longitudinal stability and control. It may be a fixed, movable, or variable geometry surface, with or without control surfaces.\n\nCanard Configuration --A configuration in which the span of the forward wings is substantially less than that of the main wing.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThursday, September 13, 2007\n\n\nAs mentioned earlier, a stabilizer is essentially a one-piece horizontal stabilizer with the same type of control system. Because stabilizers pivot around a central hinge point, they are extremely sensitive to control inputs and aerodynamic loads.\n\nWhen the control column is pulled back, it raises the stabilizer's trailing edge, rotating the airplane's nose up. Pushing the control column forward lowers the trailing edge of the stabilizer and pitches the nose of the airplane down. Without an anti-servo tab, the airplane would be prone to over controlling from pilot-induced control inputs.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBy pushing the left pedal, the rudder moves left. This alters the airflow around the vertical stabilizer/rudder, and creates a sideward lift that moves the tail to the right and yaws the nose of the airplane to the left. Rudder effectiveness increases with speed, so large deflections at low speeds and small deflections at high speeds may be required to provide the desired reaction. In propeller-driven aircraft, any slipstream flowing over the rudder increases its effectiveness.\n\nWednesday, September 12, 2007\n\n\n\n\n\nAs mentioned earlier in the coverage on stability, power, thrust line, and the position of the horizontal tail surfaces on the empennage are factors in how effective the elevator is in controlling pitch. For example, the horizontal tail surfaces may be attached near the lower part of the vertical stabilizer, at the midpoint, or at the high point, as in the T-tail design.\n\nTuesday, September 11, 2007\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMonday, September 10, 2007\n\n\nSince the downward deflected aileron produces more lift, it also produces more drag. This added drag attempts to yaws the airplane's nose in the direction of the raised wing. This is called adverse yaw.\n\n\nAll turns are coordinated by use of ailerons, rudder, and elevator. Applying aileron pressure is necessary to place the airplane in the desired angle of bank, while simultaneously applying rudder pressure to counteract the resultant adverse yaw. During a turn, applying elevator pressure because more lift is required than when in straight-and level flight must increase the angle of attack. The steeper the turn, the more back elevator pressure is needed.\n\n\nThe rollout from a turn is similar to the roll-in the flight controls are applied in the opposite direction. Aileron and rudder are applied in the direction rollout or toward the high wing. As the angle decreases, the elevator pressure should be relaxed necessary to maintain altitude.\n\n\nAilerons control roll about the longitudinal axis. The ailerons are attached to the outboard trailing edge of each wing and move in the opposite direction from each other. Ailerons are connected by cables, bell cranks, pulleys or push-pull tubes to each other and to the control wheel.\n\n\n\nAircraft flight control systems are classified as primary and secondary. The primary control systems consist of those that are required to safely control an airplane during flight. These include the ailerons, elevator (or stabilizer), and rudder. Secondary control systems improve the performance characteristics of the airplane, or relieve the pilot of excessive control forces. Examples of secondary control systems are wing flaps and trim systems.\n\n\nMovement of any of the three primary flight control surfaces changes the airflow and pressure distribution over and around the airfoil. These changes affect the lift and drags produced by the airfoil/control surface combination, and allow a pilot to control the airplane about its three axes of rotation.\n\nDesign features limit the amount of deflection of flight control surfaces. For example, control-stop mechanisms may be incorporated into the flight controls or movement of the control column and/or rudder pedals may be limited. The purpose of these design limits is to prevent the pilot from inadvertently over controlling and over stressing the aircraft during normal maneuvers.\n\nA properly designed airplane should be stable and easily controlled during maneuvering. Control surface inputs cause movement about the three axes of rotation. The types of stability an airplane exhibits also relate to the three axes of rotation.\n\n\nOn high-speed airplanes, flight controls are divided into primary flight controls and secondary or auxiliary flight controls. The primary flight controls maneuver the airplane about the pitch, roll, and yaw axes. They include the ailerons, elevator, and rudder. Secondary or auxiliary flight controls include tabs, leading edge flaps, trailing edge flaps, spoilers, and slats.\n\nSpoilers are used on the upper surface of the wing to spoil or reduce lift. High-speed airplanes, due to their clean low drag design use spoilers as speed brakes to slow them down. Spoilers are extended immediately after touchdown to dump lift and thus transfer the weight of the airplane from the wings onto the wheels for better braking performance.\n\nJet transport airplanes have small ailerons. The space for ailerons is limited because as much of the wing trailing edge as possible is needed for flaps. Another reason is that a conventional size aileron would cause wing twist at high speed. Because the ailerons are necessarily small, spoilers are used in unison with ailerons to provide additional roll control.\n\nSome jet transports have two sets of ailerons; a pair of outboard low-speed ailerons, and a pair of high-speed inboard ailerons. When the flaps are fully retracted after takeoff, the outboard ailerons are automatically locked out in the faired position. When used for roll control, the spoiler on the side of the up-going aileron extends and reduces the lift on that side, causing the wing to drop. If the spoilers are extended as speed brakes, they can still be used for roll control. If they are the Differential types, they will extend further on one side and retract on the other side.\n\nIf they are the Non-Differential type, they will extend further on one side but will not retract on the other side. When fully extended as speed brakes, the Non- Differential spoilers remain extended and do not supplement the ailerons. To obtain a smooth stall and a higher angle of attack without airflow separation, an airplane's wing leading edge should have a well-rounded almost blunt shape that the airflow can adhere to at the higher angle of attack. With this shape, the airflow separation will start at the trailing edge and progress forward gradually as angle of attack is increased.\n\nThe pointed leading edge necessary for high-speed flight results in an abrupt stall and restricts the use of trailing edge flaps because the airflow cannot follow the sharp curve around the wing leading edge. The airflow tends to tear loose rather suddenly from the upper surface at a moderate angle of attack. To utilize trailing edge flaps, and thus increase the maximum lift coefficient, the wing must go to a higher angle of attack without airflow separation. Therefore, leading edge slots, slats, and flaps are used to improve the low-speed characteristics during takeoff, climb, and landing. Although these devices are not as powerful as trailing edge flaps, they are effective when used full span in combination with high-lift trailing edge flaps. With the aid of these sophisticated high-lift devices, airflow separation is delayed and the maximum lift coefficient (CLmax) is increased considerably. In fact, a 50-knot reduction in stall speed is not uncommon.\n\nThe operational requirements of a large jet transport airplane necessitate large pitch trim changes. Some of these requirements are:\n- The requirement for a large CG range.\n- The need to cover a large speed range.\n- The need to cope with possibly large trim changes due to wing leading edge and trailing edge high- lift devices without limiting the amount of elevator remaining.\n- The need to reduce trim drag to a minimum.\n\nThese requirements are met by the use of a variable incidence horizontal stabilizer. Large trim changes on a fixed-tail airplane require large elevator deflections. At these large deflections, little further elevator movement remains in the same direction. A variable incidence horizontal stabilizer is designed to take out the trim changes. The stabilizer is larger than the elevator, and consequently does not need to be moved through as large an angle. This leaves the elevator streamlining the tail plane with a full range of movement up and down. The variable incidence horizontal stabilizer can be set to handle the bulk of the pitch control demand, with the elevator handling the rest. On airplanes equipped with a variable incidence horizontal stabilizer, the elevator is smaller and less effective in isolation than it is on a fixed-tail airplane. In comparison to other flight controls, the variable incidence horizontal stabilizer is enormously powerful in its effect. Its use and effect must be fully understood and appreciated by flight crewmembers.\n\nBecause of the size and high speeds of jet transport airplanes, the forces required moving the control surfaces can be beyond the strength of the pilot. Consequently, hydraulic or electrical power units actuate the control surfaces. Moving the controls in the cockpit signals the control angle required, and the power unit positions the actual control surface. In the event of complete power unit failure, movement of the control surface can be effected by manually controlling the control tabs. Moving the control tab upsets the aerodynamic balance that causes the control surface to move.\n\nSunday, September 9, 2007\n\n\nThus far, only the Mach buffet that results from excessive speed has been addressed. It must be remembered that Mach buffet is a function of the speed of the airflow over the wing—not necessarily the speed of the airplane. Any time that too great a lift demand is made on the wing, whether from too fast an airspeed or from too high an angle of attack near the MMO, the \"high-speed\" buffet will occur.\n\nHowever, there are also occasions when the buffet can be experienced at much lower speeds known as the \"low-speed Mach buffet.\" The most likely situation that could cause the low speed buffet would be when the airplane is flown at too slow a speed for its weight and altitude necessitating a high angle of attack. This very high angle of attack would have the effect of increasing airflow velocity over the upper surface of the wing to the point that all of the same effects of the shock waves and buffet would occur as in the high-speed buffet situation. The angle of attack of the wing has the greatest effect on inducing the Mach buffet at either the high-speed or low-speed boundaries for the airplane. The conditions that increase the angle of attack, hence the speed of the airflow over the wing and chances of Mach buffet are as follows:\n\n- High Altitudes—The higher an airplane flies, the thinner the air and the greater the angle of attack required to produce the lift needed to maintain level flight.\n- Heavy Weights—The heavier the airplane, the greater the lift required of the wing, and all other things being equal, the greater the angle of attack.\n- \"G\" Loading—An increase in the \"G\" loading on the airplane has the same effect as increasing the weight of the airplane. Whether turns, rough control usage, or turbulence causes the increase in \"G\" forces, the effect of increasing the wing's angle of attack is the same.\n\nFriday, September 7, 2007\n\n\nMost of the difficulties of transonic flight are associated with shock wave induced flow separation. Therefore, any means of delaying or alleviating the shock-induced separation will improve aerodynamic performance. One method is wing sweep back. Sweep back theory is based upon the concept that it is only the component of the airflow perpendicular to the leading edge of the wing that affects pressure distribution and formation of shock waves.\n\nOn a straight wing airplane, the airflow strikes the wing leading edge at 90°, and its full impact produces pressure and lift. A wing with sweep back is struck by the same airflow at an angle smaller than 90°. This airflow on the swept wing has the effect of persuading the wing into believing that it is flying slower than it really is; thus the formation of shock waves is delayed. Advantages of wing sweep include an increase in critical Mach number, force divergence Mach number, and the Mach number at which drag rise will peak. In other words, sweep will delay the onset of compressibility effects. The Mach number, which produces a sharp change in drag coefficient, is termed the \"force divergence\" Mach numbers and, for most airfoils, usually exceeds the critical Mach number by 5 to 10 percent. At this speed, the airflow separation induced by shock wave formation can create significant variations in the drag, lift, or pitching moment coefficients. In addition to the delay of the onset of compressibility effects, sweep back reduces the magnitude in the changes of drag, lift or moment coefficients. In other words, the use of sweep back will \"soften\" the force divergence. A disadvantage of swept wings is that they tend to stall at the wingtips rather than at the wing roots.\n\nThis is because the boundary layer tends flows span wise toward the tips and to separate near the leading edges. Because the tips of a swept wing are on the aft part of the wing (behind the center of lift), a wingtip stall will cause the center of lift to move forward on the wing, forcing the nose to rise further. The tendency for tip stall is greatest when wing sweep and taper are combined.\n\nThe stall situation can be aggravated by a T-tail configuration, which affords little or no pre-stall warning in the form of tail control surface buffet. The T-tail, being above the wing wake remains effective even after the wing has begun to stall, allowing the pilot to inadvertently drive the wing into a deeper stall at a much greater angle of attack.\n\nIf the horizontal tail surfaces then become buried in the wing's wake, the elevator may lose all effectiveness, making it impossible to reduce pitch attitude and break the stall. In the pre-stall and immediate post-stall regimes, the lift/drag qualities of a swept wing airplane (specifically the enormous increase in drag at low speeds) can cause an increasingly descending flight path with no change in pitch attitude, further increasing the angle of attack. In this situation, without reliable angle of attack information, a nose-down pitch attitude with an increasing airspeed is no guarantee that recovery has been effected, and up-elevator movement at this stage may merely keep the airplane stalled.\n\nIt is a characteristic of T-tail airplanes to pitch up viciously when stalled in extreme nose-high attitudes, making recovery difficult or violent. The stick pusher inhibits this type of stall. At approximately one knot above stall speed, preprogrammed stick forces automatically move the stick forward, preventing the stall from developing. A \"g\" limited may also be incorporated into the system to prevent the pitch down generated by the stick pusher from imposing excessive loads on the airplane. A \"stick shaker,\" on the other hand provides stall warning when the airspeed is 5 to 7 percent above stall speed.\n\nThursday, September 6, 2007\n\n\nWhen an airplane flies at subsonic speeds, the air ahead is \"warned\" of the airplane's coming by a pressure change transmitted ahead of the airplane at the speed of sound. Because of this warning, the air begins to move aside before the airplane arrives and is prepared to let it pass easily. When the airplane's speed reaches the speed of sound, the pressure change can no longer warn the air ahead because the airplane is keeping up with its own pressure waves. Rather, the air particles pile up in front of the airplane causing a sharp decrease in the flow velocity directly in front of the airplane with a corresponding increase in air pressure and density.\n\nAs the airplane's speed increases beyond the speed of sound, the pressure and density of the compressed air ahead of it increase the area of compression extending some distance ahead of the airplane. At some point in the air stream, the air particles are completely undisturbed, having had no advanced warning of the airplane's approach, and in the next instant the same air particles are forced to undergo sudden and drastic changes in temperature, pressure, density, and velocity. The boundary between the undisturbed air and the region of compressed air is called a shock or \"compression\" wave.\nThis same type of wave is formed whenever a supersonic air stream is slowed to subsonic without a change in direction. Such as when the air stream is accelerated to sonic speed over the chambered portion of a wing, and then decelerates to subsonic speed as the area of maximum camber is passed. A shock wave will form as a boundary between the supersonic and subsonic ranges.\n\nWhenever a shock wave forms perpendicular to the airflow, it is termed a \"normal\" shock wave, and the flow immediately behind the wave is subsonic. A supersonic air stream passing through a normal shock wave will experience these changes:\n\n- The air stream is slowed to subsonic.\n- The airflow immediately behind the shock wave does not change direction.\n- The static pressure and density of the air stream behind the wave is greatly increased.\n- The energy of the air stream (indicated by total pressure—dynamic plus static) is greatly reduced.\n\nShock wave formation causes an increase in drag. One of the principal effects of a shock wave is the formation of a dense high-pressure region immediately behind the wave. The instability of the high pressure region, and the fact that part of the velocity energy of the airstream is converted to heat as it flows through the wave is a contributing factor in the drag increase, but the drag resulting from airflow separation is much greater. If the shock wave is strong, the boundary layer may not have sufficient kinetic energy to withstand airflow separation. The drag incurred in the transonic region due to shock wave formation and airflow separation is known as \"wave drag.\" When speed exceeds the critical Mach number by about 10 percent, wave drag increases sharply. A considerable increase in thrust (power) is required to increase flight speed beyond this point into the supersonic range where, depending on the airfoil shape and the angle of attack, the boundary layer may reattach.\n\nNormal shock waves form on the wing's upper surface first. Further increases in Mach number, however, can enlarge the supersonic area on the upper surface and form an additional area of supersonic flow and a normal shock wave on the lower surface. As flight speed approaches the speed of sound, the areas of supersonic flow enlarge and the shock waves move nearer the trailing edge.\n\nAssociated with \"drag rise\" are buffet (known as Mach buffet), trim and stability changes, and a decrease in control force effectiveness. The loss of lift due to airflow separation results in a loss of down wash, and a change in the position of the center pressure on the wing. Airflow separation produces a turbulent wake behind the wing which causes the tail surfaces to buffet (vibrate).\n\nThe nose-up and nose-down pitch control provided by the horizontal tail is dependent on the down wash behind the wing. Thus, a decrease in down wash decreases the horizontal tail's pitch control effectiveness. Movement of the wing center of pressure affects the wing pitching moment. If the center of pressure moves aft, a diving moment referred to as \"Mach tuck\" or \"tuck under\" is produced, and if it moves forward, a nose-up moment is produced. This is the primary reason for the development of the T-tail configuration on many turbine-powered airplanes, which places the horizontal stabilizer as far as practical from the turbulence of the wings.\n\n\nAir has viscosity, and will encounter resistance to flow over a surface. The viscous nature of airflow reduces the local velocity's on a surface and is responsible for skin friction drag. As the air passes over the wing's surface, the air particles nearest the surface come to rest. The next layer of particles is slowed down but not stopped. Some small but measurable distance from the surface, the air particles are moving at free stream velocity. The layer of air over the wing's surface, which is slowed down or stopped by viscosity, is termed the \"boundary layer.\" Typical boundary layer thickness on an airplane range from small fractions of an inch near the leading edge of a wing to the order of 12 inches at the aft end of a large airplane such as a Boeing 747.\n\n\n\"Vortex Generators\" are used to delay or prevent shock wave induced boundary layer separation encountered in transonic flight. Vortex generators are small low aspect ratio airfoils placed at a 12° to 15° angle of attack to the air stream. They are usually spaced a few inches apart along the wing ahead of the ailerons or other control surfaces. Vortex generators create a vortex that mixes the boundary airflow with the high-energy airflow just above the surface. This produces higher surface velocity's and increases the energy of the boundary layer. Thus, a stronger shock wave will be necessary to produce airflow separation.\n\n\nSpeeds such as Mach Crit and MMO for a specific airplane occur at a given Mach number. The true airspeed (TAS), however, varies with outside air temperature. Therefore, true airspeeds corresponding to a specific Mach number can vary considerably (as much as 75 – 100 knots). When an airplane cruising at a constant Mach number enters an area of higher outside air temperatures, true airspeed and required fuel increases, and range decreases. Conversely, when entering an area of colder outside air temperatures, true airspeed and fuel flow decreases, and range increases. In a jet airplane operating at high altitude, the indicated airspeed (IAS) for any given Mach number decreases with an increase in altitude above a certain level. The reverse occurs during descent. Normally, climbs and descents are accomplished using indicated airspeed in the lower altitudes and Mach number in the higher altitudes.\n\nUnlike operations in the lower altitudes, the indicated airspeed (IAS) at which a jet airplane stalls increases significantly with altitude. This is due to the fact that true airspeed (TAS) increase with altitude. At high true airspeeds, air compression causes airflow distortion over the wings and in the pitot system. At the same time, the indicated airspeed (IAS) representing MMO decreases with altitude. Eventually, the airplane can reach an altitude where there is little or no difference between the two.\n\nWednesday, September 5, 2007\n\n\nThe speed of sound varies with temperature. Under standard temperature conditions of 15°C, the speed of sound at sea level is 661 knots. At 40,000 feet, where the temperature is –55°C, the speed of sound decreases to 574 knots. In high-speed flight and/or high-altitude flight, the measurement of speed is expressed in terms of a \"Mach number\"—the ratio of the true airspeed of the airplane to the speed of sound in the same atmospheric conditions. An airplane traveling at the speed of sound is traveling at Mach 1.0. Airplane speed regimes are defined as follows:\n\nSubsonic—Mach numbers below 0.75\nTransonic—Mach numbers from .075 to 1.20\nSupersonic—Mach numbers from 1.20 to 5.00\nHypersonic—Mach numbers above 5.00\n\nWhile flights in the transonic and supersonic ranges are common occurrences for military airplanes, civilian jet airplanes normally operate in a cruise speed range of Mach 0.78 to Mach 0.90. The speed of an airplane in which airflow over any part of the wing first reaches (but does not exceed) Mach 1.0 is termed that airplane's critical Mach number or \"Mach Crit\". Thus, critical Mach number is the boundary between subsonic and transonic flight and is an important point of reference for all compressibility effects encountered in transonic flight. Shock waves, buffet, and airflow separation take place above critical Mach numbers. A jet airplane typically is most efficient when cruising at or near its critical Mach number. At speeds 5 – 10 percent above the critical Mach number, compressibility effects begin. Drag begins to rise sharply. Associated with the \"drag rise\" are buffet, trim and stability changes, and a decrease in control surface effectiveness. This is the point of \"drag divergence,\" and is typically the speed chosen for high-speed cruise operations. At some point beyond high-speed cruise are the turbine powered airplane's maximum operating limit speeds: VMO/MMO.\n\nVMO is the maximum operating speed expressed in terms of knots. VMO limits ram air pressure acting against the structure and prevents flutter. MMO is the maximum operating speed expressed in terms of Mach number. An airplane should not be flown in excess of this speed. Doing so risks encountering the full effects of compressibility, including possible loss of control.\n\n\nIn subsonic aerodynamics, the theory of lift is based upon the forces generated on a body and a moving gas (air) in which it is immersed. At speeds below about 260 knots, air can be considered incompressible, in that at a fixed altitude, its density remains nearly constant while its pressure varies. Under this assumption, air acts the same as water and is classified as a fluid. Subsonic aerodynamic theory also assumes the effects of viscosity (the property of a fluid that tends to prevent motion of one part of the fluid with respect to another) are negligible. And classifies air as an ideal fluid, conforming to the principles of ideal-fluid aerodynamics such as continuity, Bernoulli's principle, and circulation. In reality, air is compressible and viscous. While the effects of these properties are negligible at low speeds, compressibility effects in particular become increasingly important as speed increases.\n\nCompressibility (and to a lesser extent viscosity) is of paramount importance at speeds approaching the speed of sound. In these speed ranges, compressibility causes a change in the density of the air around an airplane. During flight, a wing produces lift by accelerating the airflow over the upper surface. This accelerated air can, and does, reach sonic speeds even though the airplane itself may be flying subsonic. At some extreme angles of attack, in some airplanes, the speed of the air over the top surface of the wing may be double the airplane's speed. It is therefore entirely possible to have both supersonic and subsonic airflow on an airplane at the same time. When flow velocity's reach sonic speeds at some location on an airplane (such as the area of maximum camber on the wing), further acceleration will result in the onset of compressibility effects such as shock wave formation, drag increase, buffeting, stability, and control difficulties. Subsonic flow principles are invalid at all speeds above this point.\n\n\nThe effect of the position of the center of gravity on the load imposed on an airplane's wing in flight is not generally realized, although it may be very significant to climb and cruising performance.\n\nContrary to the beliefs of some pilots, an airplane with forward loading is \"heavier\" and consequently, slower than the same airplane with the center of gravity furthers aft. With forward loading, \"nose-up\" trim is required in most airplanes to maintain level cruising flight. Nose-up trim involves setting the tail surfaces to produce a greater down load on the aft portion of the fuselage, which adds to the wing loading and the total lift required from the wing if altitude is to be maintained.\n\nThis requires a higher angle of attack of the wing, which results in more drag and, in turn, produces a higher stalling speed.\n\nWith aft loading and \"nose-down\" trim, the tail surfaces will exert less down load, relieving the wing of that much wing loading and lift required maintaining altitude. The required angle of attack of the wing is less, so the drag is less, allowing for a faster cruise speed. Theoretically, a neutral load on the tail surfaces in cruising flight would produce the most efficient overall performance and fastest cruising speed, but would also result in instability. Consequently, modern airplanes are designed to require a down load on the tail for stability and controllability.\n\nRemember that a zero indication on the trim tab control is not necessarily the same as \"neutral trim\" because of the force exerted by down wash from the wings and the fuselage on the tail surfaces.\n\nThe effects of the distribution of the airplane's useful load have a significant influence on its flight characteristics, even when the load is within the center- of-gravity limits and the maximum permissible gross weight. Important among these effects are changes in controllability, stability, and the actual load imposed on the wing.\nGenerally, an airplane becomes less controllable, especially at slow flight speeds, as the center of gravity is moved further aft. An airplane which cleanly recovers from a prolonged spin with the center of gravity at one position may fail completely to respond to normal recovery attempts when the center of gravity is moved aft by 1 or 2 inches. It is common practice for airplane designers to establish an aft center-of-gravity limit that is within 1 inch of the maximum which will allow normal recovery from a one-turn spin. When certifications an airplane in the utility category to permit intentional spins, the aft center-of-gravity limit is usually established at a point several inches forward that which is permissible for certification in the normal category.\n\nAnother factor affecting controllability, which is becoming more important in current designs of large airplanes, is the effect of long moment arms to the positions of heavy equipment and cargo. The same airplane may be loaded to maximum gross weight within its center-of-gravity limits by concentrating fuel, passengers, and cargo near the design center of gravity; or by dispersing fuel and cargo loads in wingtip tanks and cargo bins forward and aft of the cabin. With the same total weight and center of gravity, maneuvering the airplane or maintaining level flight in turbulent air will require the application of greater control forces when the load is dispersed. This is true because of the longer moment arms to the positions of the heavy fuel and cargo loads that must be overcome by the action of the control surfaces. An airplane with full outboard wing tanks or tip tanks tends to be sluggish in roll when control situations are marginal, while one with full nose and aft cargo bins tends to be less responsive to the elevator controls.\n\nThe rearward center-of-gravity limit of an airplane is determined largely by considerations of stability. The original airworthiness requirements for a type certificate specify that an airplane in flight at a certain speed will dampen out vertical displacement of the nose within a certain number of oscillations. An airplane loaded too far rearward may not do this; instead when the nose is momentarily pulled up, it may alternately climb and dive becomes steeper with each oscillation. This instability is not only uncomfortable to occupants, but it could even become dangerous by making the airplane unmanageable under certain conditions.\n\nThe recovery from a stall in any airplane becomes progressively more difficult as its center of gravity moves aft. This is particularly important in spin recovery, as there is a point in rearward loading of any airplane at which a \"flat\" spin will develop. A flat spin is one in which centrifugal force, acting through a center of gravity located well to the rear, will pull the tail of the airplane out away from the axis of the spin, making it impossible to get the nose down and recover.\n\nAn airplane loaded to the rear limit of its permissible center-of-gravity range will handle differently in turns and stall maneuvers and has different landing characteristics than when it is loaded near the forward limit. The forward center-of-gravity limit is determined by a number of considerations. As a safety measure, it is required that the trimming device, whether tab or adjustable stabilizer be capable of holding the airplane in a normal glide with the power off. A conventional airplane must be capable of a full stall, power-off landing in order to ensure minimum landing speed in emergencies. A tail wheel-type airplane loaded excessively nose heavy will be difficult to taxi, particularly in high winds. It can be nosed over easily by use of the brakes, and it will be difficult to land without bouncing since it tends to pitch down on the wheels as it is slowed down and flared for landing. Steering difficulties on the ground may occur in nose wheel-type airplanes, particularly during the landing roll and takeoff.\n\n- The CG position influences the lift and angle of attack of the wing, the amount and direction of force on the tail, and the degree of deflection of the stabilizer needed to supply the proper tail force for equilibrium. The latter is very important because of its relationship to elevator control force.\n- The airplane will stall at a higher speed with a forward CG location. This is because the stalling angle of attack is reached at a higher speed due to increased wing loading.\n- Higher elevator control forces normally exist with a forward CG location due to the increased stabilizer deflection required to balance the airplane.\n- The airplane will cruise faster with an aft CG location because of reduced drag. The drag is reduced because a smaller angle of attack and less downward deflection of the stabilizer are required to support the airplane and overcome the nose-down pitching tendency.\n- The airplane becomes less stable as the CG is moved rearward. This is because when the CG is moved rearward it causes an increase in the angle of attack. Therefore, the wing contribution to the airplane's stability is now decreased, while the tail contribution is still stabilizing. When the point is reached that the wing and tail contributions balance, then neutral stability exists. Any CG movement further aft will result in an unstable airplane.\n- A forward CG location increases the need for greater back elevator pressure. The elevator may no longer be able to oppose any increase in nose-down pitching. Adequate elevator control is needed to control the airplane throughout the airspeed range down to the stall.\n\nTuesday, September 4, 2007\n\n\nThe effects that overloading has on stability also are not generally recognized. An airplane, which is observed to be quite stable and controllable when loaded normally, may be discovered to have very different flight characteristics when it is overloaded.\n\ngross weight may be expected to have an adverse effect on stability, regardless of location of the center of gravity. The stability of many certificate airplanes is completely unsatisfactory if the gross weight is exceeded.\n\n\nThe effect of additional weight on the wing structure of an airplane is not readily apparent. Airworthiness requirements prescribe that the structure of an airplane certificate in the normal category (in which acrobatics are prohibited) must be strong enough to withstand a load factor of 3.8 to take care of dynamic loads caused by maneuvering and gusts. This means that the primary structure of the airplane can withstand a load of 3.8 times the approved gross weight of the airplane without structural failure occurring. If this is accepted as indicative of the load factors that may be imposed during operations for which the airplane is intended, a 100-pound overload imposes a potential structural overload of 380 pounds. The same consideration is even more impressive in the case of utility and acrobatic category airplanes, which have load factor requirements of 4.4 and 6.0 respectively.\n\nStructural failures which result from overloading may be dramatic and catastrophic, but more often they affect structural components progressively in a manner which is difficult to detect and expensive to repair. One of the most serious results of habitual overloading is that its results tend to be cumulative, and may result in structural failure later during completely normal operations. The additional stress placed on structural parts by overloading is believed to accelerate the occurrence of metallic fatigue failures.\n\nKnowledge of load factors imposed by flight maneuvers and gusts will emphasize the consequences of an increase in the gross weight of an airplane. The structure of an airplane about to undergo a load factor of 3 G's, as in the recovery from a steep dive, must be prepared to withstand an added load of 300 pounds for each 100-pound increase in weight. It should be noted that this would be imposed by the addition of about 16 gallons of unneeded fuel in a particular airplane. The FAA certificate civil airplane has been analyzed structurally, and tested for flight at the maximum gross weight authorized and within the speeds posted for the type of flights to be performed. Flights at weights in excess of this amount are quite possible and often are well within the performance capabilities of an airplane. Nonetheless, this fact should not be allowed to mislead the pilot, as the pilot may not realize that loads for which the airplane was not designed are being imposed on all or some part of the structure.\n\nIn loading an airplane with either passengers or cargo, the structure must be considered. Seats, baggage compartments, and cabin floors are designed for a certain load or concentration of load and no more. As an example, a light plane baggage compartment may be placarded for 20 pounds because of the limited strength of its supporting structure even though the airplane may not be overloaded or out of center-of-gravity limits with more weight at that location.\n\nMonday, September 3, 2007\n\n\nThe takeoff/climb and landing performance of an airplane are determined on the basis of its maximum allowable takeoff and landing weights. A heavier gross weight will result in a longer takeoff run and shallower climb, and a faster touchdown speed and longer landing roll. Even a minor overload may make it impossible for the airplane to clear an obstacle that normally would not have been seriously considered during takeoffs under more favorable conditions.\n\nThe detrimental effects of overloading on performance are not limited to the immediate hazards involving takeoffs and landings. Overloading has an adverse effect on all climb and cruise performance that leads to overheating during climbs added wear on engine parts, increased fuel consumption, slower cruising speeds, and reduced range.\n\nThe manufacturers of modern airplanes furnish weight and balance data with each airplane produced. Generally, this information may be found in the FAA approved Airplane Flight Manual or Pilot's Operating Handbook (AFM/POH). With the advancements in airplane design and construction in recent years has come the development of \"easy to read charts\" for determining weight and balance data. Increased performance and load carrying capability of these airplanes require strict adherence to the operating limitations prescribed by the manufacturer.\n\nDeviations from the recommendations can result in structural damage or even complete failure of the airplane's structure. Even if an airplane is loaded well within the maximum weight limitations, it is imperative that weight distribution be within the limits of center of gravity location. The preceding brief study of aerodynamics and load factors points out the reasons for this precaution. The following discussion is background information into some of the reasons why weight and balance conditions are important to the safe flight of an airplane. The pilot is often completely unaware of the weight and balance limitations of the airplane being flown and of the reasons for these limitations. In some airplanes, it is not possible to fill all seats, baggage compartments, and fuel tanks, and still remain within approved weight or balance limits. As an example, in several popular four-place airplanes the fuel tanks may not be filled to capacity when four occupants and their baggage are carried. In a certain two-place airplane, no baggage may be carried in the compartment aft of the seats when spins are to be practiced.\n\n\nOften a pilot regards the airplane's weight and balance data as information of interest only to engineers, dispatchers, and operators of scheduled and nonscheduled air carriers. Along with this idea, the reasoning is that the airplane was weighed during the certification process and that this data is valid indefinitely, regardless of equipment changes or modifications. Further, this information is mistakenly reduced to a workable routine or \"rule of thumb\" such as: \"If I have three passengers, I can load only 100 gallons of fuel; four passengers—70 gallons.\"\n\nAdmittedly, this rule of thumb is adequate in many cases, but as the subject \"Weight and Balance\" suggests, the concern is not only with the weight of the airplane but also the location of its center of gravity (CG). The importance of the CG should have become apparent in the discussion of stability, control ability, and performance. If all pilots understood and respected the effect of CG on an airplane, then one type of accident would be eliminated from the records: \"PRIMARY CAUSE OF ACCIDENT— AIRPLANE CENTER OF GRAVITY OUT OF REARWARD LIMITS AND UNEQUAL LOAD DISTRIBUTION RESULTING IN AN UNSTABLE AIRPLANE. PILOT LOST CONTROL OF AIRPLANE ON TAKEOFF AND CRASHED.\"\n\nThe reason airplanes are so certificates are obvious when one gives it a little thought. For instance, it is of added value to the pilot to be able to carry extra fuel for extended flights when the full complement of passengers is not to be carried. Further, it is unreasonable to forbid the carriage of baggage when it is only during spins that its weight will adversely affect the airplane's flight characteristics. Weight and balance limits are placed on airplanes for two principal reasons:\n\n1. Because of the effect of the weight on the airplane's primary structure and its performance characteristics; and\n2. Because of the effect the location of this weight has on flight characteristics, particularly in stall and spin recovery and stability.\n\n\nThe flight operating strength of an airplane is presented on a graph whose horizontal scale is based on load factor. The diagram is called a Vg diagram—velocity versus \"g\" loads or load factor.\n\nEach airplane has its own Vg diagram that is valid at a certain weight and altitude. The lines of maximum lift capability (curved lines) are the first items of importance on the Vg diagram. The subject airplane in the illustration is capable of developing no more than one positive \"g\" at 62 m.p.h., the wing level stall speed of the airplane.\n\nSince the maximum load factor varies with the square of the airspeed, the maximum positive lift capability of this airplane is 2 \"g\" at 92 m.p.h., 3 \"g\" at 112 m.p.h., 4.4 \"g\" at 137 m.p.h., and so forth. Any load factor above this line is unavailable aerodynamically; i.e., the subject airplane cannot fly above the line of maximum lift capability (it will stall). Essentially the same situation exists for negative lift flight with the exception that the speed necessary to produce a given negative load factor is higher than that to produce the same positive load factor.\n\n\n\nNext, is the intersection of the negative limit load factor and line of maximum negative lift capability; any airspeed greater than this provides a negative lift capability sufficient to damage the airplane; any airspeed less does not provide negative lift capability sufficient to damage the airplane from excessive flight loads.\n\nThe limit airspeed (or redline speed) is a design reference point for the airplane—the subject airplane is limited to 225 m.p.h. If flight is attempted beyond the limit airspeed, structural damage or structural failure may result from a variety of phenomena. Thus, the airplane in flight is limited to a regime of airspeeds and g's which do not exceed the limit (or redline) speed, do not exceed the limit load factor, and cannot exceed the maximum lift capability. The airplane must be operated within this \"envelope\" to prevent structural damage and ensure that the anticipated service lift of the airplane is obtained. The pilot must appreciate the Vg diagram as describing the allowable combination of airspeeds and load factors for safe operation. Any maneuver, gust, or gust plus maneuver outside the structural envelope can cause structural damage and effectively shorten the service life of the airplane.\n\n\nAll certificate airplanes are designed to withstand loads imposed by gusts of considerable intensity. Gust load factors increase with increasing airspeed and the strength used for design purposes usually corresponds to the highest-level flight speed. In extremely rough air, as in thunderstorms or frontal conditions, it is wise to reduce the speed to the design maneuvering speed. Regardless of the speed held, there may be gusts that can produce loads that exceed the load limits.\nMost airplane flight manuals now include turbulent air penetration information. Operators of modern airplanes, capable of a wide range of speeds and altitudes, are benefited by this added feature both in comfort and safety. In this connection, it is to be noted that the maximum \"never-exceed\" placard dive speeds are determined for smooth air only. High-speed dives or acrobatics involving speed above the known maneuvering speed should never be practiced in rough or turbulent air.\n\nIn summary, it must be remembered that load factors induced by intentional acrobatics, abrupt pull-ups from dives, high-speed stalls, and gusts at high airspeeds all place added stress on the entire structure of an airplane. Stress on the structure involves forces on any part of the airplane. There is a tendency for the uninformed to think of load factors only in terms of their effect on spars and struts. Most structural failures due to excess load factors involve rib structure within the leading and trailing edges of wings and tail group. The critical area of fabric-covered airplanes is the covering about one-third of the chord aft on the top surface of the wing.\n\n\n\nIt would be difficult to make a definite statement concerning load factors in these maneuvers as both involve smooth, shallow dives and pull-ups. The load factors incurred depend directly on the speed of the dives and the abruptness of the pull-ups. Generally, the better the maneuver is performed, the less extreme will be the load factor induced. A chandelle or lazy eight, in which the pull-up produces a load factor greater than 2 G's will not result in as great a gain in altitude, and in low-powered airplanes it may result in a net loss of altitude.\n\nThe smoothest pull-up possible, with a moderate load factor, will deliver the greatest gain in altitude in a chandelle and will result in a better overall performance in both chandelles and lazy eight's.\n\nFurther, it will be noted that recommended entry speed for these maneuvers be generally near the manufacturer's design maneuvering speed, thereby allowing maximum development of load factors without exceeding the load limits.\n\n\n\nThe only way this stall can be induced at airspeed above normal stalling involves the imposition of an added load factor, which may be accomplished by a severe pull on the elevator control. A speed of 1.7 times stalling speed (about 102 knots in a light airplane with a stalling speed of 60 knots) will produce a load factor of 3 G's. Further, only a very narrow margin for error can be allowed for acrobatics in light airplanes. To illustrate how rapidly the load factor increases with airspeed, a high-speed stall at 112 knots in the same airplane would produce a load factor of 4 G's.\n\nSunday, September 2, 2007\n\n\n\n\n\nThe normal stall entered from straight level flight, or an unaccelerated straight climb, will not produce added load factors beyond the 1-G of straight-and-level flight. As the stall occurs, however, this load factor may be reduced toward zero, the factor at which nothing seems to have weight; and the pilot has the feeling of \"floating free in space.\" In the event snapping the elevator control forward effects recovery, negative load factors, those that impose a down load on the wings and raise the pilot from the seat may be produced. During the pull-up following stall recovery, significant load factors sometimes are induced. Inadvertently these may be further increased during excessive diving (and consequently high airspeed) and abrupt pull-ups to level flight. One usually leads to the other, thus increasing the load factor. Abrupt pull-ups at high diving speeds may impose critical loads on airplane structures and may produce recurrent or secondary stalls by increasing the angle of attack to that of stalling.\n\nAs a generalization, a recovery from a stall made by diving only to cruising or design maneuvering airspeed, with a gradual pull-up as soon as the airspeed is safely above stalling, can be effected with a load factor not to exceed 2 or 2.5 G's. A higher load factor should never be necessary unless recovery has been effected with the airplane's nose near or beyond the vertical attitude, or at extremely low altitudes to avoid diving into the ground.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8444926738739014}
+{"content": "The Director (所長, Shochou?) was the primary antagonist in Majisuka Gakuen 3.\n\nPrison HOPE Emblem Prison HOPE\nTeam Habu Paru | Nobunaga | Peace | Nanashi | Daasu | Nantene | Uruseeyo | Tetsuo | Komimi\nTeam Mongoose An'nin | Miyu | Bunker | Messhi | Yagi | Sudachi | Shokkaku | Jovijovich\nOther Characters Yoyogi Keita | The Director | The Warden\n\nAd blocker interference detected!\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5954735279083252}
+{"content": "Federal Government will soon put a stop to importation of food items because Nigeria has the capacity to attain self-sufficiency in food production .\nThe Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, who dropped this hint recently said that President Muhammadu Buhari was desirous of stopping all forms of food importation into the country.\nThe minister, who spoke in Bayelsa State when he paid a familiarisation visit to the Biotechnology and Resource Development Centre, BIODEC, Odi, said the President strongly believed that Nigeria has the capacity to attain self-sufficiency in food production.\n“One legacy President Muhammadu Buhari would want to be remembered for is to ensure that the Nigerian State produces enough food resources to feed herself without depending on other nations for food security.\n“President Buhari strongly believes that if a country like China with a population of over 1.4 billion people can provide food security for her citizens through mechanised farming, Nigeria with less than 200 million people could do same,” Onu said.\nAccording to a statement made available to our correspondent in Abuja said, the minister, who toured the centre in company of the Director-General of the Biotechnology Development Agency, BDA, Prof. Lucy Ogbadu and Director of BIODEC, Odi who is also the Coordinating Director, NABDA, Mr. Josiah Habu, later inaugurated three completed projects at the centre, including an administrative block, information technology block and a training hall.\nHe said with science and technology, the country has the capacity to produce enough food for consumption and export", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.997280478477478}
+{"content": "The quickest way to infuse passion and high performance into a company culture is to hire for it in the first place. But how do you hire for passion and performance?\n\nDo you know anyone who’s so passionate about his work that he has a company logo tattooed somewhere on his body? This maybe an extreme example, but it happens.\n\nAdmittedly, certain companies involved in software, social media and video gaming are more likely to have young, cult-like followers. Red Hat, the open-source Linux technology company, and Razer, the gaming hardware developer, are two examples where both employees and customers get tattoos.\n\nWhen people are truly passionate about their interests and values, they eagerly express it in many ways. Companies harness this passion by encouraging a “raving fan-like” attitude among employees and customers. This can happen only when leaders provide a platform for passion.\n\nZappos, the large online shoe store known for its customer service, hires talent whose personal values align with the company’s core values. The best candidates have a genuine interest in helping others.\n\nIt starts at the hiring process. How do you find people who believe in the same values you and your company represent? You probably won’t unearth them using boring, conventional interview questions. You need to do more than determine someone’s skills, education and experience. You must ascertain whether candidates are a cultural fit.\n\n\nWhen it comes to interview questions, evaluate how candidates interact with prospective team members. How important is collaboration to them? Assess for curiosity in others, big-picture vs. little-picture vision, and outside interests and values.\n\nWhat’s been your experience? Does your business hire for passion? I’d love to hear what you think. You can contact me here or on LinkedIn.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8613104820251465}
+{"content": "Kalamanu Lizard\nKalamanu Lizard\nClass - Reptile\nLevel - 69\nDamage Piercing Piercing\nThe Kalamanu Lizard is a native to the deeper caves where few ever venture, however from time to time they do wander into the caves controlled by the Raga. These large carnivorous lizards have no eyes, evolved from the lack of any light in their native caves. They apparently hunt by smell, taste and sound however some think the lizards have psychic abilities and can this power to 'see' in the darkness.\nXP 210 - 213\nAttack 165 - 175\nDefense 160 - 173\nArmor 157 - 169\nDamage 86 - 87\nHP 150 - 155\nCredits 44 - 50\nKalamanu Body\nSonwen Helmet\nHarsull Body Armor\nRaga Hills (Maze)\nRaga Hills (Depths)\nPiercing Strike 5 - 6\nSolid 1% - 2%\nRadiation 1% - 1%\nPiercing 4% - 5%\n\nAd blocker interference detected!\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9827667474746704}
+{"content": "Vegetable Packed Low Calorie Pasta\n\nDid I just say 'low calorie' pasta? Yes ladies and gentlemen, you read correct. I have crafted a delicious faux meat pasta dish that is only 150 calories per cup. Since we know nobody actually eats only a cup of things at a time that still equates to about 300 calories per bowl of delicious, high protein, veggie-packed pasta.\n\n\nVegetable Packed Low Calories Pasta\n\n\n- 1 28 oz can Crushed Tomatoes (or just use a jar of spaghetti squash and omit the 3 spices at the end.)\n\n- 1 16 oz bag frozen California blend vegetables\n\n- 1/2 box Rotini (about 2.5 cups)\n\n- 1 bag of Boca or other faux meat substitute (can use real beef as well)\n\n- 1/2 onion (I used red because that's all I had, any kind would work fine)\n\n- 1 T. minced garlic\n\n- 1/2 T. olive oil\n\n- 1 T. Oregano\n\n- 1/2 T. Basil\n\n- 1/2 T. Red Pepper (more or less depending on how spicy you like it)\n\n\n- Bring a pot of water to boil and cook the rotini for 8-10 minutes (I like my pasta pretty soft so I usually go for 10 minutes)\n\n- In a large skillet heat the olive oil, then add the garlic and onion and sautee for 5-6 minutes. Add the beef and cook on medium heat for another 10 minutes. Finally, add the jar of crushed tomatoes along with the oregano, basil and red pepper. Heat through.\n\n- While the pasta and tomato sauce is cooking steam the frozen vegetables in a large bowl with a cup of water in the microwave for 6-8 minutes. I didn't want really chewy vegetables so I kept mine in for 8 minutes. Once the vegetables are done put them on a cutting board to chop up.\n\n\n- I added the veggies to help 'bulk' up the dish without a lot of calories, but I didn't want the vegetables to overpower the pasta so the key is chopping them all up into tiny pieces.\n\n\n- Once the veggies are chopped, the 'meat' sauce is heated through and the pasta is done - throw it all together! Mine made 10 cups, or 5 servings. A 2 cup bowl has 300 calories and 24 grams of protein. I haven't tested this theory but I assume this would be a great meal to help get kids to eat their veggies. Pretty hard to pick them out when they are chopped up so tiny (and covered in delicious sauce!)\n\n\nNext time I make this I think I'll make a double batch and add some chopped mushrooms as well. It's honestly been months since I've made pasta because it's usually just so heavy, but this dish is filling without that 'unbutton your pants' feeling. #Winning.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9993401765823364}
+{"content": "Duvvada Jagannadham updates\n\nMay 15, 2017\nDuvvada Jagannadham updates\n\nWhile the uproar of Baahubali 2: The Conclusion is yet to subside, Tollywood is ready for its next super-hit. Harish Shankar, belonging to the same industry as Rajamouli, is at the helm of Duvvada Jagannadham, a Telugu romantic comedy that has all the materials to become a runaway hit despite the rage of Baahubali 2. The film has, at its lead roles, Allu Arjun, who is making his presence felt in Telugu cinema for some time now and the new model-turned-actor Pooja Hegde.\n\nThe film sees Allu Arjun teaming up with Dil Raju, one of the most renowned producers of the industry, after a long hiatus of eight years. Previously, they had collaborated in Arya as well as Parugu, both being blockbuster hits by a good margin. However, they surely would want to rejuvenate their decade-old partnership. Devi Sri Prasad, popularly known by his sobriquet DSP, is taking care of the music direction for the film, as per reports.\n\nThe poster and the teaser is out\n\nThe film has surely stirred quite a few people even amidst the wild craze surrounding the phenomenon of Baahubali. The poster has already released and the chemistry between the duos is being heavily praised. The intimacy that has been captured in the poster as the couple engage each other in a deep embrace has evoked strong feelings among fans. They have praised how they invoke a sense of love by closing their eyes while embracing. However, this is surely a striking contrast from the last poster released where Arjun was donning a Brahmin’s attire.\n\nIt only goes to show the film has an interesting narrative and it is precisely why the teaser, upon its release, has received 6 million views within a week. While there are mixed reactions until now, surely a lot of people have been surprised by the second poster.\n\nThe release and shooting schedule\n\nThe film’s shooting was disrupted frequently owing to the frail health of Arjun. However, the problems have been averted and its climax scenes are going to shot in the pink city of Jaipur. The film’s teaser is already being praised heavily by fans because of the impeccable comic timing of Arjun. However, how it fares at box office will depend a lot upon how people receive it after the Baahubali extravaganza.\n\nGiven the scenario, there are quite a few big releases in the coming months and the producers have decided to release the film right after the Baahubali wave subsides. June seems to be a good option for that since August is packed with big releases. With Bollywood in contention as well as the release of SPYder, a spy film by AR Murugadoss, August will be a difficult period for the release.\n\nHence, 23 June has been decided as the fateful date for the release. While the competition will be there, the producers consider it to be a good time for releasing a film since people will easily latch onto the new film releasing in between big releases.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8917211294174194}
+{"content": "Gratitude The Olivet Way!\n\n\n  Tell every youth that a good work will always be rewarded\n in one way or another---Pastor Owen.\n\n\nDeep love and gratitude was at the heart of the worship!\n\n\n\n\n\nL-R; Pastor Jake Epelle and wife with the Nlekwuwas\n\n\n\n He believes strongly that the growth of the nation is closely tied to the Church.  But Pastor Owen believes that the Church has majored in very minor things for too long.\n\n“The Church is God’s agent of transformation to society. So, when our impact is not transforming society by changing lives, one person at a time, then something is missing, something is not right somewhere,” he says.\n\nHe wants the Church to take on its key role in transforming Nigeria today. He says, “Every revolution or civilisation always came as a form of revival in Churches.”\nPastor Owen believes that if it is difficult to change the ideologies of the aging generation of people, then it is high time young people were helped to create ideologies that would truly build legacies for the nation in future.\n\nThe children's presentation in dance\n\nProf. Vin Anigbogu sharing the word\n\nVision: Recipe for National Transformation\nProf. Vincent Anigbogu, the Director-General, Institute For National Transformation,is also a serving Pastor and a member of the Governing Council, Elizade University, Nigeria.\n\nAs guest minister at the Olivet bible Church celebration programme, Anigbogu identified the need for a clear vision as crucial recipe for national growth.\n\n“A nation cannot move forward if the vision of their future is not clear,” he said.\nHe noted that with a clear vision, keyed into by everybody, people, irrespective of their positions in society, would become better and would be able to contribute meaningfully to the development of the nation.\n\n“We can then begin to look at the critical things we need to do; whether infrastructure, academic or government institutions; we have to do those things and be our best in pursuing them.”\n\nHe noted that only selfless and humble people could build a nation and not those who are self-centered. According to him, “self-centered people cannot build anything. When put in the position of leadership, they only care about themselves.”\n\nAnigbogu advocates that the Nigerian youths must be helped to see the future and made to understand that they have a share of it and equipping them with the skills they need.\nMaking reference to Isaiah 58, Anigbogu urged the Church not to only pray, but to also develop programmes to help the youths  discover their talents and guide them towards meaningful engage, so that they may have a fruitful future. He called it part of the job description of the Church.\n\nProf.Anigbogu also noted that the recent Economic Summit recommended that there should be a major policy change to restructure the nation’s education system, to help the younger generation understand what it requires to develop the future.\nHe said that ultimately, Nigerians needed to be matured and learn to tolerate one another. He also called for a fair and equitable justice system, where when people steal, they are punished and when they commit evil, they know they will go to jail.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9958685636520386}
+{"content": "Our Crossbreed Tool lets people explore different crossbreed dog types. Simply by choosing Dog A and Dog B the tool shows you what crossbreed a mix of those two breeds would make. In total there’s close to 200 different crossbreeds that can be discovered using the tool.\n\nAfter gathering data for much of 2016, we’re now able to announce the most popular crossbreed dogs in the UK – as chosen by you…over 150,000 of you to be precise! Since the tool launched we’ve had over 200,000 visits and 75% of those visitors have used the tool to discover a type of crossbreed dog!\n\nHere’s our top ten crossbreed countdown…\n\n10. The Bassador\n\n\n\n9. The Borador\n\n\n\n8. The Affenhuahua\n\n\n\n7. The Texas Heeler\n\nTexas Heeler\n\n\n6. The American Bull Dogue de Bordeaux\n\nAmerican Bull Dogue De Bordeaux\n\n\n5. The Gollie\n\n\n\n4. The Bulloxer\n\n\n\n3. The Huskamute\n\n\n\n2. The Eurohound\n\nAnd the top dog is…\n\n1. The Gerberian Shepsky\n\nGerberian Shepsky\n\nIf you want to discover a crossbreed you can use the tool here and remember, if looking at these wonderful dogs has made you want to find one, please check out DogsBlog.com to give a crossbreed a home.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.868339478969574}
+{"content": "Tag Archives: design\n\nWeek 5 – Interface Design Review\n\n1 Apr\n\nInterface design is the design in-between the user and the interactive acting as the point of interaction. The quality of the interface directly effects the interaction or experience the user gets out of the design. An interface that is not noticed by the user is the best interface you can have because it lets the user feel like they’re a part of the design like most first person video games. A poor interface design leads users to ask “what do I do now?” resulting in their boredom and frustration.\n\nOld forms of interactivity was with the eyes and ears included things like television, radio and magazines which act as a source of knowledge, heavily restricted to ‘read only’ information. Contemporary forms of interactivity evolved into reading and writing interactivity, breaking off into different types:\nHyper-textual navigation is navigating on the internet by starting with a word in google. The results come up and you have a choice of where to go. These pages have even more links which lead you to even more or additional information. Underlined words on websites act as a link and are called Hyperlinks. This form of navigation lets you ‘choose your own adventure.’\nImmersive navigation is a designed space or 3D world embodied by the interface. Rather than taking you somewhere else, it lets you experience something different and exhilarating like first person shooter video games.\nregistrational interactivity is Web 2.0 like I previously blogged about. It includes things the user can respond to in the form of videos, personal photography, or by commenting. It depends on other users’ in a collaboration and system allowing users to write back.\ninteractive communications are simply face to face connections achieved by video calling someone on a mobile phone or live chat sites on the internet.\nHere are the fundamentals of screen-based interface design:\nVisual focus: use contrast to show which element they should view first, animation and roll-overs to indicate clickable items, include visual cues to help user navigate and use style sheets to differentiate between information and keep things consistent.\nProblem solving: highlight potential pathways, develop multiple navigation toolbars to give the user a wider choice and consider time in the design i.e. don’t make things take too long.\nContextual: more important information up the top, less important down the bottom and provide no more than 5 links or ‘clicks’ to get to the information.\nConceptual: use familiar imagery for the interface, for example play, stop, pause and use text tags for imagery used in a new context.\nWholeness: group content and relate elements with others by using colour, contrast or shapes. This can help produce a structure for the interactive.\nLinear or nonlinear: linear is a site structure that would contain different links on each page where the user would need to go back and forth to fins what they want. A nonlinear structure would act as a circle where all information can be reached from each page.\n\nInformation/Instructional Design\n\n25 Mar\n\n\n\n\n\nInteractive Design\n\n24 Mar\n\nInteractive design is designing something, whether it be an interface or object, that can be manipulated and changed by a person either physically i.e. with their hands, or by using an electronic extension of the design such as a computer mouse or controller.\n\nThe internet, or websites, is the main thing I think about when the words ‘interactive design’ come up because there are hundreds of thousands, probably millions anyone with the internet has access to. The user interacts with the internet by generally clicking on buttons to go where they please or typing in words in the search bar to easily find what they are looking for. There are many many websites on the internet although each relating to various categories. There are online shopping websites and websites for only information; there are also websites that do both and also sites that allow the user to interact with another person as discussed previously, referring to Web 2.0. These sites create a different interactive experience to what they would normally do. For example information websites provide the information previously found in a book which changes the interactivity associated with getting the information. Instead of physically opening the book and flicking through pages, one just clicks buttons. Instead of going to the shop, handling the object, handling the money then handing it over, a few clicks on the mouse and the object is delivered to your door.\n\nThis is an application called ‘Incredibox’ which allows the user to create their own song using a variety of given beats, melodies, simple voice recordings and other sound effects. The process involves the user selecting a sound from the bottom and dragging and dropping the sound they want on top of the figure in the white screen. Each time a sound is added another figure pops up allowing you to insert another. The song can have a maximum of seven sounds. The sounds are categorized and colour coded and each one has their own symbol helping you to distinguish between the various sounds. The design also allows you to record your song for thirty seconds so all that time you’ve spent perfecting a song hasn’t gone to waste. Click image to go to application.\n\nSource: http://www.thebuzzmedia.com/uncharted-3-ps3-review\n\nSource: http://www.thebuzzmedia.com/uncharted-3-ps3-review/\n\nEvery video game is a piece of interactive design. The start-up menu is designed in a similar way to a website allowing you to navigate your way to the ‘start game’ button and of course the game play itself is the user interacting with the character or objects within the game. As seen here I have used Uncharted 3 as an example where game design is starting to evolve into something more like an interactive movie giving the user a much more intense experience (click image to go to game trailer). Various controllers for video games such as the WII controller and the very old idea of a gun controller greatly affect the user’s experience when playing a game as it puts them in the position of the virtual character. Together, movie like graphics and realistic controllers produce an intense and joyous experience through interactive design.\n\nSource: http://wii.mmgn.com/Articles/The-Nintendo-Wii\n\nWeek 4 – The Static and Kinetic Screen\n\n23 Mar\n\n\nStatic refers to the motionless aspects on a screen or everything to do with a printed magazine. Kinetic describes motion and change over time which relate to elements on the screen found in interactive design. Focusing on Andy Polaine throughout the lecture, we understand his idea of what interactive design is and how we can use basic design knowledge for interactive projects.\n\nAs stated in the first module, his idea of interaction design is how each element of an interaction relates to one another in order to make something thought of as complicated; easier and pleasurable to use. The elements are as follows:\n– what they do i.e. does it let you create music or does it make you create a virtual sandwich\n– what they look like i.e. is it bright and colourful or does it contain disturbing footage of a crime scene\n– what they look like they do i.e. does it look like it should tell you how to light a Barbecue or is it full of shit, blowing you up\n– the experience of using them i.e. do they feel like an athlete playing FIFA on Xbox or are they annoyed at a computer voice telling them to turn around\n\nStatic graphic compositions reinforce the idea of making something complicated simple. Each element is treated differently and accordingly to help the viewer navigate around a designed page starting with more important to least important information. This is known as Visual Hierarchy as seen in the second module. Eye tracking can help measure the effectiveness of a design by measuring the time and path of someone’s eyes when looking at a static design showing the designer what captures the viewer’s attention and what doesn’t.\n\nHere are some basic visual hierarchy methods:\n– point of interest i.e. the starting point or leader of the visual hierarchy, the most important information. This needs to stand out the most achieved by the below examples.\n– contrast i.e. the highest level is black and white with no tone\n– tone i.e. darkness and lightness of a single colour, darker being the more noticable\n– scale i.e. the use of size to symbol importance, the larger the more important. It also relates to things in the foreground/background where the larger things would be in the foreground\n– colour i.e. categorizes information with the help of other methods such as tone, colour, scale, etc\n– typography i.e. the legibility and readability of text based on scale and colour and the language and sentence structure respectively\n\n\nAll these elements and methods come down to who the audience, which is the first thing that needs to be thought of when designing not only interactive but anything. It allows the designer to use this information to create an interface for a selected target audience making it easier and understandable.     \n\nWeek 3 – Design Process & Developing Personas\n\n16 Mar\n\n\nAn interactive design process has many steps in order to produce a working interactive tool or design piece. These include:\n– The pre-project stage which covers the briefing of what the client wants out of this design process and the resources and time the designer has to do it in.\n– The concept and Planning stage aims at the client telling the designer what their goals are, what message they want to give to the consumer and who their audience are. This gives the designer a basis to what his/her strategy will be allowing them to research necessary topics.\n– The design, prototype and specification stage starts with the question of how they are going to meet the client’s brief. An idea is developed through rough drawings and computer testing then develops into complex diagrams and prototypes for the actual working design product or interface.\n– The production stage focuses on the design going through a series of ‘builds’ (temporarily working instances) whilst it is being designed ready for the beta build.\n– The testing stage requires every element of a designed object to be checked it is working effectively and efficiently. This stage can also work with the previous stage.\n– The launch and maintenance stage may not be the end of the project but may the start as the website will need to be updated and managed as long as it’s up.\n\nA user persona is a hypothetical user of the future designed product or interface which will guide the designer’s choices and thought process when designing the product. A user scenario is a made up narrative of a consumer who would be using the product in their everyday life. It aims to gather information about the users’ goals, expectations, motivations, actions and reactions in order it to be designed appropriate for the user. For example someone who would be in a hurry, they would want a designed map to be simple and to the point. A persona is the fictional user of your product and the scenario is the context in which they use it.\n\nAn artifact persona is the product’s personality. This relates directly to who will be using the product. For example something that is designed for elderly people  to manage their health will not be confronting or use bright colours but will be mellow and it would use soft colours. Developing key words about the product’s personality can help the design process making sure the designer is not steering away from the overall feel of the design.\n\n\nDeveloping a persona for an interactive design project is very important as it allows the designer to know who they’re dealing with. It ensures the functional and visual design of the product appeals to the user hence making the interface react the way the consumer wants and expects it to.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8910155296325684}
+{"content": "Identify vulnerabilities and receive a detailed remediation road map.\n\n\nVulnerabilities are continuing to evolve in complexity. Maintaining a secure environment in these conditions can be extremely difficult. These risks give security leadership serious concern as they question whether each and every vulnerability has been discovered and remediated.\n\nAlert Security's Vulnerability Assessment helps businesses to identify and evaluate IT operational risks across the organization. To assist you to prioritize and deliver a business case for mitigation, a full report is provided detailing each vulnerability, its risk level, the business impact, customized recommendations and remediation effort.\n\nMeaningful metrics are also delivered that can provide added insight into the security readiness of your environment. These can be leveraged to give insight to management on the current state of security and can be utilized over a multi-year program to deliver cost justification for security expenditure.\n\nOur Vulnerability Assessments:\n\n  • Identify and assess IT vulnerabilities with an in-depth, customized assessment\n  • Enables businesses to prioritize vulnerability mitigation in the order of the greatest threat to business assets based upon potential business impact\n  • Enables businesses to build a business case to implement the appropriate mitigation and provide justification for security expenditure\n\nContact us today for a free consultation to learn how we can help you find where your vulnerabilities really are - before an attacker helps themselves.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9994522333145142}
+{"content": "effective hand washing\n\nThe importance of effective handwashing\n\nWashing Your Hands Effectively\n\nIt is absolutely imperative that food handlers wash their hand frequently throughout the working day. This is one of the most simple, yet absolutely essential principles of food safety. There can potentially be millions of bacteria on your hands at any one time! Bacteria are measured in micrometres (µm). There are 1000 µm in 1 millimetre (mm). The average spherical bacterium measures on average around 1µm in diameter. Therefore, bacteria are far too small to be seen by the naked eye. Some of these are harmful (pathogens) and when they are transferred onto food, they can cause food poisoning.\n\nBacteria, however, can be eliminated with a simple an effective hand washing technique:\n\n  1. Wet hands thoroughly\n  2. Use liquid soap\n  3. Rub hands vigorously – especially the nails, fingertips and thumbs (it is the vigour in handwashing which is effective (this should take at least 40 seconds – 1 minute)\n  4. Rinse hands thoroughly\n  5. Dry hands completely using a paper towel\n  6. Turn the tap off using the paper towel!\n  7. Bin the towel!\n\nHandwashing:  – when to wash your hands – keeping your hands clean and the food safe!\n\nBefore entering a food room or handling food\n\nAfter using the toilet\n\nAfter taking a break, eating or smoking\n\nAfter handling raw food\n\nBefore handling cooked, ready-to-eat food\n\nAfter handling a dressing or changing a waterproof plaster\n\nAfter handling boxes and food packaging\n\nAfter handling waste or refuse\n\nAfter cleaning or using cleaning chemicals\n\nAfter coughing, sneezing or touching any other part of your body\n\nAfter dealing with someone who is ill\n\nAfter handling known allergens\n\nWhilst such an obvious point to make, nevertheless, it is a very important one: Get into the habit of washing your hands correctly, often and always. Knowledge of hand hygiene and handwashing per se, without practice, is useless and at worst, dangerous! It’s a sad fact that many cases of food poisoning could have been avoided if the food handlers involved would have simply washed their hands!", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5719377994537354}
+{"content": "Dolphins – information\n\nSince the days of Ancient Greece, people have shown great interest in dolphins, because they considered them to be very intelligent beings. About dolphins, they made up a lot of myths and legends. With the advent of zoology, scientists have shown to dolphins no less interest than the ancient Greeks. In the process of studying dolphins, a lot of interesting facts about their life were collected. We want to share some of them with you.\n\nDolphins are social animals with a well developed intelligence. The brain of a dolphin is more human and has twice as many convolutions. In addition, dolphins can use both hemispheres alternately. For example, when the dolphin is closed to the left or right eye, this means that the left or right brain is asleep, and the second at this moment is active.\n\nVision in dolphins is poorly developed. But they have a unique hearing (echolocation), with the help of which dolphins perfectly orient themselves in space. To search for food, the bottlenose dolphins living near the shores of Australia use a sea sponge. They do this as follows: they put on a sponge on the sharp part of the muzzle and comb it to the bottom. This method they use, so as not to injure the small reefs or stones lying on the seabed.\n\nThe maximum speed at which a dolphin can swim reaches 50 km / h. Swim at such a speed may not all representatives of dolphin, but only dolphins of the blond.\n\nRegeneration of skin in dolphins passes 8 times faster than in humans. This is not exacerbated by infectious infections, even if the water is swarming with bacteria. For example, a wound the size of a soccer ball in a dolphin heals in just a few weeks.\n\nDolphins breathe lungs, as well as humans, but instead of the nose, the organ that captures the air is the breather. Taking the air, the dolphin plunges into the water, holding the breath for 10 – 15 minutes.\n\nLight dolphins process up to 80% of air, while human lungs can process only 17%.\n\nPain sensations in dolphins are dulled, because in their bodies, natural pain relievers are produced similar to morphine.\n\nDolphins have taste buds, with which they distinguish tastes: sweet, sour, bitter, salty.\n\nDolphins can communicate with sounds. In their ���vocabulary” about 14,000 different audio signals.\n\nEach dolphin has his own name, which he receives at birth. This fact was proved by scientists who recorded a sound signal at the birth of the baby, denoting the name. Subsequently, the same dolphin sailed to this sound.\n\nDifferent kinds of dolphins eat different kinds of fish.\n\nDuring the research it was found that dolphins recognize themselves in the mirror. This experiment confirms that they have self-consciousness.\n\nDolphins are very easy to train. If after such training the dolphin is released to freedom, he will necessarily return.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9943419098854065}
+{"content": "Due to the conspiracy of non-Muslim powers, today Muslim and Islamic countries are handicapped.\nImam Khamenei on Monday called the cause of Palestine a major issue of the Islamic world and also urged Muslims to support the “people of Bahrain, Kashmir and Yemen”.\nMr. Mahmoud Abbas thanked Pakistan for its support for the Palestine and its people. He also thanked Pakistani government and its people for the provision of Palestinian Embassy in the capital city of Islamabad.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5467751026153564}
+{"content": "Why die tomato seedlings\n\nThe seedlings of tomatoes are killedOwners of private garden and dacha plots that independently grow tomato seedlings can face the problem of partial death of young plants. What happens to the crops, because care of the plants includes all the necessary measures: systematic watering, placement of seedlings in well-sunlit window-sills, airing.\n\n\nSoil preparation for seedlings of tomatoes\n\nSoil for seedlings of tomatoesSowing seeds and caring for seedlings of tomatoes is a painstaking task. Such work requires certain skills, concentration and accuracy, because the quality of the resulting plants will depend on their further development in the open field or greenhouse and, of course, the harvest. Before planting a seedling, you need to decide on the type of tomatoes, choose containers (seedlings or special pots), and properly prepare the soil before sowing the seeds.\n\n\nTomato seedlings stretched, what should I do?\n\nSprouted seedling tomatoOne of the main problems that may appear when getting tomato seedlings at home is considered a non-standard increase in its height or stretching. In this case, the young culture becomes thin and weak, and the tomato itself does not develop well. Some of the vegetable growers throw poor-quality seedlings into garbage and go to the market to buy new tomatoes, but there are methods to protect plants.\n\n\nWhy the seedlings of tomatoes fall\n\nSeedlings of tomatoes fallFalling stems of tomato seedlings can cause such a common disease of tomatoes, like a black leg. Many inexperienced vegetable growers do not always understand why young, recently strong tomato plants suddenly fell and dried up. Most often, this phenomenon occurred just after picking tomato seedlings.\n\n\nPlanting tomatoes on seedlings\n\nPlanting tomatoes on seedlingsObservance of all rules of cultivation of seedlings of tomatoes will allow to receive a good crop of this vegetable. It should be taken into account the fact that not all gardeners receive quality seedlings, so the yield of their crops may be somewhat less than expected. Note that for growing young tomato plants at home, you need to properly prepare the soil, purchase containers for planting plants, and select the seeds of tomatoes.\n\nrussian English\n\n\n\nGTranslate Your license is inactive or expired, please subscribe again!", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8347047567367554}
+{"content": "Grans Island is an important location in Shining Force II: Ancient Sealing and Shining Force Gaiden: Final Conflict. The former begins and ends on Grans Island.\n\nGrans Island is a continent to the west of Parmecia. Although smaller in size then Parmecia, Grans Island is nonetheless a large place with varying natural features such as rivers, plains, and mountains. The southern half is mostly civilized, containing numerous settlements and at least two large city-states and their kingdoms, Granseal and Galam. The northern half of Grans Island, sealed off from the south by a great river and man-built fortifications, is mostly a wild wilderness where few civilized races ever tread.\n\nNatural locations and non-settlements on Grans Island include Arc Valley, the Valley of the Prism Flowers and the Nazca Ship Crash Site. Settlements and other points of interest on Grans Island include:\n\nAd blocker interference detected!\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9620250463485718}
+{"content": "Call us directly: (877)77-TRIAL or (818)788-0747\n\n5000 Van Nuys Blvd.Suite 216, Sherman Oaks, CA 91403 View Map\n\nWhat is Fibromyalgia?\n\nFibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic pain illness characterized by widespread musculoskeletal aches, pain, and stiffness, soft tissue tenderness, general fatigue, and sleep disturbances. The most common sites of pain include the neck, back, shoulders, pelvic girdle, and hands, but any body part can be affected. Fibromyalgia patients experience a range of symptoms of varying intensities that wax and wane over time. Depression frequently accompanies this illness.\n\nIt is estimated that approximately 5-7% of the U.S. population has FM. Although a higher percentage of women of all ages and races are affected, it does strike men and children. Because of its debilitating nature, Fibromyalgia has a serious impact on patients' families, friends and employers, as well as society at large.\n\n\n\nThe pain of FM is profound, widespread and chronic. It knows no boundaries, moving to all parts of the body and varying in intensity. FM pain has been described as deep muscular aching, throbbing, twitching, stabbing and shooting pain. Neurological complaints such as numbness, tingling and burning are often present and add to the discomfort of the patient. The severity of the pain and stiffness is often worse in the morning. Aggravating factors that affect pain include cold/humid weather, non-restorative sleep, physical and mental fatigue, excessive physical activity, physical inactivity, anxiety and stress.\n\n\nSleep Problems\n\nOther Symptoms\n\nCurrently there is no laboratory tests available for diagnosing Fibromyalgia. Doctors must rely on patient histories, self-reported symptoms, a physical examination and an accurate manual tender point examination. This exam is based on the standardized ACR criteria. Proper implementation of the exam determines the presence of multiple tender points at characteristic locations.\n\n\nWidespread pain in all four quadrants of the body for a minimum duration of three months Tenderness or pain in at least 11 of the 18 specified tender points when pressure is applied.\n\nOver-the-counter pain medications, such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen, may be helpful in relieving pain. The physician may decide to prescribe one of the newer non-narcotic pain relievers (e.g. tramadol) or low doses of antidepressants (e.g. tricyclic antidepressants, serotonin reuptake inhibitors) or benzodiazepines. Patients must remember that antidepressants are \"serotonin builders\" and can be prescribed at low levels to help improve sleep and relieve pain. If the patient is experiencing depression, higher levels of these or other medications may need to be prescribed. Lidocaine injections into the patient's tender points also work well on localized areas of pain.\n\nLearning to live with a chronic illness often challenges an individual emotionally. The FM patient needs to develop a program that provides emotional support and increases communication with family and friends. Many communities throughout the United States and abroad have organized Fibromyalgia support groups. These groups often provide important information and have guest speakers who discuss subjects of particular interest to the FM patient. Counseling sessions with a trained professional may help improve communication and understanding about the illness and help to build healthier relationships within the patient's family.\n\nCall us Now 1-877-77-TRIAL(87425)", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8382824659347534}
+{"content": "Embracing the Artist, Becoming a Doctor\n\n07/29/2017 06:27 pm ET\nKimberly Murdaugh\nKimberly Murdaugh, medical doctor and artist @kimmy_kmmi\n\nBecoming a doctor is a popular career goal among high-achieving college students. According to the Harvard Crimson, over 50% of Harvard students, for example, enter their freshman year declaring they want to be a physician – although only 17% end up actually applying to medical school. Today, we will talk about building a successful career as a doctor. I interviewed Kimberly MM Isakov, a Harvard and Yale trained doctor, who is about to start her residency in radiology in New York City.\n\nUnlike these 70% of determined freshmen, however, Kim did not start out knowing she wanted to pursue medicine. Not a single person in her family is a medical doctor, which means she did not have the pressure from parents, familiar to many. Her own interests were in the realms of chemistry, engineering and German cinema, of all things. She explored all of these interests in college. It was not until she enrolled in her engineering master’s program at the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences that Kim decided to become a doctor. Just a few weeks ago, she proudly graduated from the Yale School of Medicine.\n\nA liberal arts education allows students to explore their diverse interests in college. I am particularly interested in people like Kim who took time to pursue their other hobbies before medical school. I found that this enriched their personal worlds and their practice as physicians.\n\n1. Start with why\n\nSimon Sinek, a popular management author and a TED speaker, advises leaders to “Start with Why” as a way to clarify a mission to any project in order to make it successful. Kim took a similar approach to her career development. “By the end of college, I felt compelled to define my raison d'être, my purpose. I had a growing interest in how the medical field alleviates human suffering. My liberal arts education taught me that to tackle a problem, you must do it with broad expertise from multiple angles. So I knew I had to be adept in multiple facets of medicine to help patients.\n\nIn college, I volunteered at a free medical clinic. I studied the humanities, which allowed me to converse with anxious patients about their various interests, and put them ease. And as a chemistry major, I developed a strong foundation in the different medications and lab tests that we used. But I knew little about the various medical devices that were ubiquitous in our clinic.” To address this gap in knowledge, she entered an engineering graduate program. For one of her classes, she took on the challenge of inventing a surgical device called a laparoscopic morcellator, which would help surgeons remove pieces of tissue from the body through small incisions.\n\n“Before working on the project, designing a medical device seemed difficult and daunting, and I hadn’t done anything like that before,” said Kim. She also met with reluctance from some of her mentors who did not think she could invent a medical device without being a doctor herself. However, Kim assembled a great team; they thoroughly studied the existing morcellators, and performed tests of the prototype on a pig model. Eventually, the team demonstrated that their device was an improvement of existing models, and spun off the technology into a funded startup.\n\nKim’s project as an engineer helped her develop a deep interest in becoming a doctor.\n\n2. Stay curious in college and medical school\n\nWhen she started medical school, Kim approached all of the medical specialties with an open mind, and studied each one in depth. After spending time in the radiology department at Yale, she was impressed by the radiologists’ vast knowledge of medicine. They were curious about all areas of the human body, and used their broad knowledge base to diagnose diseases from head to toe. “The radiologists also shared my love for engineering, and were excited to create new medical devices to improve patient care,” Kim said. She was also fascinated by the aesthetic nature of the field. The diagnostic imaging videos and x-rays reminded her of her favorite black and white movies and photographs. “I recommend that students explore broadly before narrowing their focus on one college major or career path. Embrace not having a definitive plan, even when so many of your classmates seem to have everything figured out. By keeping an open mind, you are bound to find new areas that can excite you and lead to a new hobby or career.”\n\n\n3. Explore interests outside of medicine\n\nDespite her packed schedule as a medical student, Kim found the time to pursue her interests outside of medicine. She spent her vacations admiring photographs in the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City, and taking thousands of photographs of her own. This paid off professionally. Studying photographs improved her eye for detail - she was able to spot abnormalities on x-rays faster than before. And at an interview for radiology residency positions, Kim connected with her potential supervisor over her love of German art and European fashion; the interviewer actually had to covertly double check her resume, making sure that her college degree was indeed in chemistry, and not in art history. Interests outside of medicine make doctors human – and ultimately help Kim connect with her medical colleagues and patients on a deeper level. “Finding a common humanity between you and your patients goes a long way in the healing process. I’ve found that sitting by the patient’s bedside and asking them about their hobbies is a fun way to do this.” Kim was able to comfort many of her patients by talking about common interests - whether it was 1970s rock music, or the latest fashions in Paris.\n\nIn summer 2017, Kim will be starting residency in New York. Her hope is to combine all the various passions of her short but already impressive career – chemistry, engineering, radiology, photography, European cinema – to treat patients and develop innovative procedures and devices.\n\nHer advice to those that want to be like her when they grow up? “Be curious! Learn as much as you can about the topics that interest you. In college, pre-med students often feel pressured to focus only on science and math-related courses and extracurricular activities. While these are certainly important, you’ll gain valuable perspective by pursuing your other interests in earnest - even if you’re the only one of your friends who likes a particular niche topic. It’s crucial to draw connections between your interests. By gaining broad exposure to a variety of areas, you’ll have a rich, unique framework for approaching your chosen career. Remember, ideas for innovation emerge by interweaving fields new and imaginative ways.\n\n\nAs doctors, we spend countless hours improving and extending the lives of our patients. Taking time to explore the arts, a form of self-care, opens our eyes to the beauty that gives life its spark - and helps us appreciate the hobbies that our patients hold dear. This perspective can foster empathy, for example, when we diagnose and treat arthritis in a painter who has difficulty using their hands. This diverse view also keeps us going during long days and nights on-call. Above all, never forget - doctors are human.”\n\nThis post is hosted on the Huffington Post's Contributor platform. Contributors control their own work and post freely to our site. If you need to flag this entry as abusive, send us an email.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8782377243041992}
+{"content": "PRESIDENT OBAMA insists that protecting civilians is the only military objective in Libya and air power is the only means we will use to achieve it. But the Libyan government’s attacks on civilians continue, and air power alone will not stop them.\n\nPublic pronouncements aside, the unstated strategic aim of the intervention in Libya is to remove Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi and his regime, and things are not going well. The United States and NATO must accept that there is no easy way out of this war now that we are in it.\n\nIn war, leadership is not exercised from the rear by those who seek to risk as little as possible. Washington must stop pretending that we’ve passed the leadership for the Libyan operation on to NATO. We did so in Bosnia, claiming Europe would take the lead, only to have the 1995 Srebrenica genocide jolt us back to reality. Like it or not, America’s leadership has been crucial to most of NATO’s successes. The same will be true in Libya.\n\nWe should also have learned from the 1999 Kosovo war that air power alone does not produce victory. There, it took the threat of a ground assault and the erosion of Russian support for Serbia to tip the balance in NATO’s favor.\n\nBombing is extremely effective against targets that are clearly distinguishable from civilians and friendly forces. But Colonel Qaddafi’s forces are using a classic defense against air superiority: get as close to your enemy as possible. That means that the use of air power alone has had the perverse effect of putting those forces even closer to the people we are trying to protect. And even the most skilled pilots are ineffective when weather is poor or they are forced to fly high and fast because of shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles.\n\nContinue reading the main story\n\nAdvocates of a short-term bombing campaign were wrong. Civilians are not being protected as envisioned, Colonel Qaddafi isn’t folding, and as tribes threaten to enter the fray, Libya may be nearing collapse. Washington now has three options — none of them ideal.\n\nCredit Oliver Munday\n\nAmerica could pull out, making a tacit admission that the intervention was a strategic mistake. But a resurgent Colonel Qaddafi would likely seek revenge against the rebels and those who helped them. Moreover, NATO’s resolve would be called into question, as would America’s. Whatever influence Washington might have in the region would evaporate and Al Qaeda would waste no time pointing out that the United States had abandoned Muslims on the battlefield.\n\nOr we could continue doing the minimum necessary to avoid losing. But even if Colonel Qaddafi were to eventually fall, we’d still face the significant and unknown consequences of a postwar Libya. The United States and NATO would not be able to simply leave. We tried this in Afghanistan and Iraq, and it got us an insurgency.\n\nFinally, the United States and its allies could commit the military resources required to genuinely protect Libyan civilians and oust Colonel Qaddafi. Unlike the Bosnian Croats in 1995 and the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan in 2001, the rebel forces in Libya are too disorganized to take advantage of NATO air support. To give them a fighting chance, NATO must put military advisers and combat air controllers on the ground — not just British, French and Italian, but also a small number of American ones.\n\nThese advisers would help bolster the weak rebel army’s organization and capabilities while ground controllers could mark targets, identify the forward movement of rebel forces, and distinguish civilians from fighters more effectively than pilots can from their cockpits. Such measures are essential, but they would require relaxing the Obama administration’s prohibition on the use of American ground forces.\n\nThis course of action would not defeat Colonel Qaddafi’s forces overnight, but it would put far more pressure on his regime and potentially protect more civilians in more of the country. If Colonel Qaddafi falls, the United States and NATO will have a responsibility to help shape the postwar order, including providing security to prevent a liberated Libya from sinking into chaos.\n\nAfter all, the pro-Qaddafi Libyan Army and police are unlikely to provide it; many of them could become insurgents as did Saddam Hussein’s forces in Iraq. Nor are the rebels, who may well be more interested in revenge than stability.\n\nThe responsibility for security, reconstruction and nation-building will likely fall to the United Nations, which would mean deploying a multinational peacekeeping force in Libya, including troops from the United States, NATO and Arab nations. Washington must start planning and preparing for this complex and expensive contingency and muster the substantial political will required to see it through. While there is no guarantee that such a project will be any more efficient or effective than in Iraq or Afghanistan, failing to plan for it would be disastrous.\n\nSo far, we have chosen an instrument — airstrikes — that is powerful but cannot attain our humanitarian or strategic aims by itself. The charade is over: America has intervened in a civil war with the de facto aim of regime change in Libya. Washington must now accept that decision and face its consequences.\n\nContinue reading the main story", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7297917008399963}
+{"content": "Mould Removal\n\nExpert Mold Removal and Cleanup\n\nContaminant removal and On-site mould removal\n\nMold Removal Process\n\n  1. Site Preparation\n  2. Containment and Negative Air Pressure\n  3. Remove Unrecoverable Materials Safely\n  4. Dry and Clean Remaining Materials\n  5. Biocide Spray Treatment\n  6. Cleanup Checks\n  7. Material Removal and Final Cleanup\n\nOverall Goals of Removal and Remediation\n\nCauses Identified and Repaired –  We first identify and repair the structural defect, mechanical failure, or environmental condition that caused the mold growth to begin with.\n\n​Visible Problems Removed – All mold contaminated building materials that cannot be completely cleaned and reused are removed to a distance 2’ beyond all visible contamination. Depending on the extent of the contamination – containment, negative air generation and HEPA air filtration/ vacuuming may take place during this process.\n\nOdour Removed – Mycotoxin is a byproduct of mold growth and causes the odours commonly associated with mould contamination. Complete removal combined with an approved biocide application effectively removes odours.\n\nTesting Suitability For Occupancy​ – Clearance Testing is done to insure the environment is suitable for re-occupancy.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9970906376838684}
+{"content": "Dionysius: God of ecstasy and revenge\n\n“Dionysius is, in essence, a god of ecstasy and retribution.” I will be looking at the tales of Dionysius, and how these tales support his role as god of ecstasy and retribution.\n\n\nAs the god of ritual insanity, Dionysius has the ability to make people go insane at will. He makes people go into a trance where they lose all awareness. He uses this skill for both good and bad reasons. The Maenads, also known as the Bacchantes, are sent into a state of joyful delirium through performing rituals in honour of Dionysius. This ecstasy is a good way in which insanity is associated with Dionysius. However, it is mostly used as a form of punishment for those who disobey Dionysius or deny his cult. The four daughters of Cadmos are representative of the four types of insanity and intoxication; drunkenness, loss of awareness, sexual appetite and madness. G. S. Kirk describes Dionysius as “the focus of an ecstatic religion” and that he “represents the irrational element in man.”\n\nDionysius is the god of wine, and at his festivals a vast amount of wine is drunk. In artwork he if often depicted with a drinking vessels and with a thyrsos made of vines and ivy, which represent the vines on which the grapes to make wine grow. “The thyrsus indicates that those who have drunk a lot of wine cannot function with their own two feet, but need thyrsoi for support” (Cornutus 30). Old Silenus is a famous character in the followers of Dionysius. He is a middle-age man with a pot belly and he rides on a donkey, because he is too drunk to stand or walk by himself.\n\nDionysian rituals were very noisy; with singing, music, dancing, screaming and shouting. These rituals were also seen as very sexual and were linked with a loss of inhibitions: “wine is a stimulant to intercourse.”The Satyrs were another mythological group that were part of Dionysius’ entourage. They were male followers who had the ears of a goat and the tail of a horse. They were naked, usually with erect phalluses and were associated with pipe playing. The erect phalluses signify their lust for the Maenads, who they would pursue. The Maenads were never pictures facing outwards, and this was to create the illusion of movement and dancing while they are in extasis.\n\nDisney’s Fantasia contains a representation of a Dionysian ritual. In the film we can see centaurs preparing for the ritual by gathering grapes. It is a time of celebration for them. The fauns, which are half man and half goat, help to squeeze the grapes and play pipes or horns. These are similar to the Satyrs in their goat-like appearance and their choice of musical instruments. Dionysius is depicted as a figure which may be confused with Old Silenos. He is overweight, drunk, carrying a goblet of wine and is attempting to ride a donkey. He has grapes and ivy leaves as a head piece. All the characters join together in the celebrations. There are sexual undertones in this scene: Dionysius chases the female centaurs trying to kiss them yet they keep managing to evade him and in his drunken state he ends up kissing the donkey. The festivities are interrupted by Zeus, who throws thunderbolts out of the sky. However, Dionysius manages to forget all his cares with the help of the wine. The film is only takes the Dionysian rituals as a loose model for its own story, yet we can see them bowing down to the Dionysius character and laying red carpet under his feet.\n\nDisney’s Dionysius/Silenos\n\nThe best example of both ecstasy and retribution regarding Dionysius is the myth of Pentheus. Dionysius’ mother Semele was killed when Zeus, Dionysius’ father, revealed himself to her in his true form and accidentally burnt her alive with a thunderbolt. Semele’s sisters spread rumours that she was killed by Zeus as a punishment for lying about Zeus being the father of her unborn child. One of the sisters was named Agave and it is her son Pentheus who became the King of Thebes. He banned the cult of Dionysius, believing it was unlawful, dangerous and promiscuous. In Euripedes’ play The Bacchae, Dionysius tells the audience about this; “[Pentheus] fights against the deity in my person, pushes me from my libations and makes mention of me nowhere in his prayers.” We know Dionysius wants to punish Pentheus for doubting his greatness. Not only does he want to punish Pentheus, he wants to punish all those who slandered his mother. Dionysius sends the women of Thebes insane and they go into the mountains to take part in an orgiastic festival. He puts them in a state of ecstasy to keep them from returning to their homes and families. In The Bacchae, Dionysius disguises himself as a human who spreads the word of Dionysius. Yet Pentheus is stubborn and refuses to back down. What Dionysius does convince him to do however, is to dress up as a woman and to spy on the Maenads. Pentheus is unaware that the penalty for spying on the Maenads is to be subjected to sparagmos, where they tear the spy limb from limb while still alive. The women of Thebes find Pentheus, but in their ecstatic state they believe he is a lion and the women, led by Agave, tear him apart. Dionysius is able to punish those who have wrong him using his ability to send people insane and lose awareness of their own actions.\n\nRevenge is a key theme in the myth of Dionysius and the Pirates. They Tyrrhenian pirates try to hold Dionysius against his will. In Apollodorus M4, they wanted to sell him into slavery, in Hyginus 134 he has concealed himself as a young boy, so they want to rape him and in Homeric Hymns 7, Dionysius was captured on land and forced onto the ship by the pirates. Only one man on the ship tried to defy his captain and the other pirates but they abuse him. To get his revenge, Dionysius turns the mast and oars into snakes and filled the ship with ivy and the sound of flutes. In Homeric Hymns, Dionysius turns himself into a lion and makes a bear appear. The pirates are sent mad and jump overboard to escape his wrath, and they are turned into dolphins. Only the pirate who went again his captain was spared, and he was praised by Dionysius for his compassion. This shows Dionysius is not a cruel god, he only punishes those who have done him harm.\n\nThe story of Lycurgus is another where Dionysius is mistreated, and Lycurgus is made to repent for what he has done. After drinking too much wine, Lycurgus felt the urge to rape his mother. After this experience, he declared wine was evil and he tried to uproot the vines that grew the grapes. Dionysius drove Lycurgus mad as reparation for his wrongdoings. Ina state of frenzy and unawareness, Lycurgus killed his wife and son. Afterwards, Dionysius fed him to panthers. Again, we see how Dionysius can be powerful if crossed, and we should be fearful and respectful of him.\n\nDionysius uses his power of ecstasy as a form of reward, and a form of punishment. He can send people into trances; send them from rational to irrational thought. Susan G. Cole sees this; “One moment a place for ritual and source of spontaneous nourishment, the next… a place of murder and bloody dismemberment.” Dionysius punishes only those who have mistreated him or his cult; he is not a malicious god. His main method of retribution is sending people into a mindless frenzy, making them hurt those they love and care for. His role as a deity in charge of wine helps him to transport people into this condition. Though just like the pirate who tried to save him, if you are reverent and respectful of Dionysius, he will reward you; by putting you in a blissful state of extasis.\n\nWorks cited\n\n  • Primary text: Trzaskoma, S. M., Scott Smith, R. and Brunet, S. (ed.) (2004) Anthology of Classical Myth. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc.\n  • Cole, Susan G. (2003) ‘Landscapes of Dionysos and Elysian Field’ in Cosmopoulos, Michael B. (ed.) Greek Mysteries: The Archaeology and Ritual of Ancient Greek Secret Cults. London: Routledge, pp 193-217.\n  • Euripides. (1999) Bacchae and Other Plays. Translated by James Morwood. Oxford: Oxford University Press.\n  • Fantasia (1940) Directed by Hamilton Luske, Jim Handley and Ford Beebe [Film]. Los Angeles: Walt Disney Productions.\n  • Kirk, G. S. (1974) The Nature of Greek Myths. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books Ltd.\n  • Zielinski, Thaddeus. (1926) The Religion of Anceint Greece; an outline. Translated by George Rapall Noyes. London: Oxford University Press.\n\nDrama thrives on the conflict not between right and wrong but between different kinds of right\n\nIn this entry I will look at how conflicting views of what is ‘right’ creates the drama in Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus and Euripede’s Iphigenia at Aulis.\n\nThis post will examine Iphigenia At Aulis (Euripedes) and Titus Andronicus (Shakespeare) where conflict arises through the different beliefs of the ‘right’ course of action, especially regarding murder. We can easily identify the differences between what is morally right and wrong, these views are usually linked with things which are legally right and wrong. We recognize that doing the right thing is obviously the correct action to take, and that we should oppose the wrong action. So when different opinions of right go head-to-head, which is the best action to take?\n\nIn Iphigenia At Aulis, Agamemnon is torn between doing right by his family, and doing right by his country. If he does not sacrifice his daughter Iphigenia, his army cannot sail to war. We accept that murder is morally and legally wrong, and to intentionally kill one’s child, filicide, is extremely immoral. On the other hand, we realise that sometimes the greater good of a country, with many people, is more important than an individual. If he decides to save Iphigenia, he is disregarding his duties as leader of the Greek army and is also disrespecting Greece, but if he sacrifices her, he will upset his wife and her mother, Clytemnestra, and lose his eldest child. At first, Menelaus believes that Iphigenia should be sacrificed, because it is Agamemnon’s duty, as their leader, to take them to war. Their conflicting views leads to a heated argument between the two brothers. Yet when Menelaus thinks about the situation more thoroughly, he sees it is not right for Agamemnon to execute Iphigenia, but in spite of this, Agamemnon is now convinced he should sacrifice his daughter, “we have come to a point where necessity dictates our fortunes”(p98, 511-512). By taking the life of his daughter, Agamemnon believes that they can do the right thing: save the Greek wives that are being raped in Troy, and retrieve Helen. The reader knows that Clytemnestra and Iphigenia will not agree with Agamemnon’s concept of ‘right’ and therefore disagreements will take place between the two sides. Clytemnestra indeed feels betrayed by her husband and this leads to another argument;\n\n“I, who have been loyal to your bed, shall be robbed of my child, and the woman who sinned will get back her girl under her roof in Sparta and find happiness” (p120, 1202-1205).\n\nThe conflict in Iphigenia at Aulis arises from Agamemnon’s shifting loyalty between his family and the Greek army. The play’s drama happens when the characters have different opinions of what ‘right’ is, and are trying to change the outcome of Iphigenia’s future. Where there are opposing views of right, conflict appears.\n\nIn Titus Andronicus there are also conflicting beliefs of what is ‘right’ over murder as a right of sacrifice, and loyalty to his army. Titus returns from war. His sons have been killed in battle and he has taken Tamora, Queen of the Goths, her sons Alarbus, Chiron and Demetrius, and Aaron the Moor as prisoners. Titus reveals that he will kill Alarbus as a sacrifice, in respect to the men who have died at war. When Tamora begs him for Alarbus’ life, he says to her;\n\n“for their brethren slain, / Religiously they ask a sacrifice. / To this your son is marked, and die he must, / T’appease their groaning shadowsthat are gone.”(1.1.126-129)\n\nTitus believes it is the right thing to do by his surviving and deceased army members. Unlike Agamemnon, he is not hesitant in his actions. The Latin phrase “Ad marnes fratrum” (1.1.101.) which means “to the shades of our brothers”, shows the ritual-like act that they are about to carry out, which Lucius later describes as their “Roman rites” (1.1.146). Nevertheless, we accept any murder as wrong. Alarbus’ murder, however, will pacify the Roman brothers who have died, which is very important to them and something we can relate to, which is why funerals are so important after the death of a loved one. The sacrificing of Alarbus acts as a catalyst to the drama in the rest of the play. Without this, Tamora would not have sought for vengeance and the subsequent drama would not have followed. Tamora seeks to avenge her son through murder, just like Titus avenges his sons through murder.\n\nTitus also kills his daughter, Lavinia, in the final scene. He has asked Saturninus, the Emperor, was it “well done” (5.3.36) i.e. right, of Virginius to kill his daughter after she was “enforced, stained and deflowered” (5.3.38). Saturninus said that it was, because “the girl could not survive her shame” (5.3.40). Titus’ ‘right’ decision to kill his daughter after her rape and dismemberment, contrasts more modern beliefs that she should not be killed because of this, it was not her fault, and therefore should feel no shame. We are shocked that Titus has killed Lavinia as it is very sudden and although was obviously planned between Lavinia and Titus, the audience were not aware of this. In the cultural context of this play, the killing of Lavinia seems reasonable and just, yet is conflicting with the view that any murder is wrong. The murder of Lavinia reveals to Saturninus that it was Chiron and Demetrius who raped and amputated Lavinia. The death of Tamora, Titus and Saturninus ensues, in a scene that if full of drama. Titus feels he has taken vengeance for Lavinia’s ordeals, something that is right, yet he has murdered, he feels justly, to do it. The distinctions between various opinions of right create the drama in Titus Andronicus.\n\nDrama occurs through the opposition of different beliefs of what is ‘right’. If every person had the same principles of what is right and wrong, there would never be any disagreement, and therefore no conflict. We believe it is simple to tell the difference between what is wrong and right, yet it is when there is more than one version of right, conflict takes place. In Iphigenia At Aulis it is Agamemnon’s adjusting loyalty creates the conflict, whereas in Titus Andronicus it is the character’s strong opinions of wrong and right that create conflict. Diversities of moral, and sometime legal, values creates drama in a play.\n\nSide note: Even if you aren’t very interested in reading Shakespeare, I urge you to watch the 1999 film Titus directed by Julia Taymor. It is quite long but it is an amazing piece of work and depicted in a way that I haven’t seen in any other Shakespeare film adaptations. All of the Titus Andronicus pictures I have used are screenshots from the film. \n\n  • Shakespeare, William. (1995) Titus Andronicus, ed. Jonathan Bate. London :The Arden Shakespeare.\n  • Euripedes. (2008) Iphigenia At Aulis. In Bacchae and Other Plays, trans. James Morwood. New York: Oxford World Classics.\n\nShadows in Horror Films: Fear of the Unknown\n\nThe fear of the unknown is one of the most natural and instinctive fears that we have. I will talk about how directors use the shadows to help create panic in the audience.\n\nBeing scared is one of our most natural instincts. We are scared of what we don’t understand. Shadows represent this fear as we wonder what is lurking within them. The power of the human imagination can make us believe highly irrational thoughts are true, especially when we don’t have much information about the situation. Shadows in their nature are obscure, which raises our suspicion and creates a feeling of fear. From a young age, we are taught to fear certain things. Fear is an important tool to keep ourselves safe. Our parents try to teach us the importance of our own safety and we learn to fear anything that may threaten this. We are told not to be out after dark or wander off alone. This idea is reflected in Fabiansson’s work; “Children are taught to be afraid…to be careful of the unknown and fearful of strangers.\n\nThese fears continue into our adult lives. Even though we may be scared of different things as adults, we still get scared of the unknown. If we are in another person’s house at night and there are noises downstairs, we don’t know what the sounds are and we get a little nervous. However, if we were in our own house at night and heard a noise downstairs, we could tell whether it was the dog, the dishwasher or the heating etc. There is no unknown in our own house, so we aren’t scared.\n\nIn his essay Fear Itself, John Hollander talks about the different types of fear. He distinguishes a fear of the unknown e.g. a fear that there is no afterlife, whereas a ‘nameless fear’ is “fear induced by some unknown object.” Shadows represent the unknown. If we see a shadow moving across a wall, it is very difficult to see what, or who, is creating the shadow. Even if the shadow is defined, we still have no more information about the object than its shape. Hollander talks about the “meta-fear of disorientation” which is when we do not know what exactly is scaring us, or whether we should be scared of it in the first place. He says having a fear of something is not the same as the fear that it may turn out to be something else.\n\nA good technique used by filmmakers is to create a clearly defined shadow, with an inhuman or unrecognisable shape to create confusion. This lack of information is difficult for us to handle so we try to fill in the details ourselves. The shadow is clear enough that we can’t mistake the shape, but because the shape is unrecognisable it scares us. Even though we try, we know our ideas may be nothing like the reality, so try to think of all possibilities. As we go from one thought to the next, fear makes us think irrationally and also allows us to believe these thoughts are true. We can only know what is there when it is revealed. Filmmakers frequently use shadows because the human imagination conjures up what is most terrifying to each person. This is an intelligent method because if they had to create a monster, they would be isolating the audience that isn’t scared by that monster. It is a simple, yet highly effective way to evoke fear. Cinemas help to exaggerate any fears the audience has. The darkness, the loud noises, the huge screen and the crowd atmosphere overwhelms the senses. There are thousands of films that use this technique, but I will just mention a few.\n\nThe opening scene of the 2001 film Monsters, Inc. shows the basic idea behind shadows as a tool to terrify us. It shows the character Thaddeus Bile creeping into a boy’s bedroom. We notice that it is only after the parents leave and turn off the lights that this happens. This enhances the idea that there are things lurking in the dark. A shadow flashes across the screen, then as the monster stands over the bed, we really believe he wants to hurt the boy. We can only see his glowing eyes in his silhouette. Yet when the child screams in terror, Thaddeus also screams, and then falls around the bedroom. Suddenly all the fear we had for him disappears.\n\nFile:Thaddeus Bile Scaring.jpg\n\nOren Peli’s Paranormal Activity is another film where shadows are used to create panic. In this film we never see the monster, and it is never revealed to us. During the 20th night we hear the creature coming up the stairs, and then we see its shadow on the door of the bedroom. It is unnerving because we can’t see the creature, and wonder how it even has a shadow if there is no solid figure in the first place. The fact that it has footsteps and the ability to drag Katie out of bed indicates it has enough physical presence, but no form that is visible to us. This leads us to come up with our own ideas of what it may be, yet this proves so difficult because we are provided with severely limited information.\n\nFreddy Krueger’s character in Nightmare on Elm Street – both the 1984 film and the 2010 remake – uses the shadows to scare his victims. In Wes Craven’s 1984 version of the film, Tina’s death is a perfect example of how shadows are used. Just before Freddy Krueger appears, his hatted silhouette appears on a fence. He then emerges and walks towards Tina. A flicker of light reveals his disfigured face before he is in darkness once again. His arms appear twice as long as they should be, and his deformed face creates a strange shape to look at. Tina runs away from him, but he suddenly appears in front of her and she bumps into him. This serves to make Freddy part of the shadows. He represents the darkness. In the 2010 remake, directed by Samuel Bayer, Kris’ death is the remake of Tina’s. Both of the boyfriends can only stand by helplessly as their girlfriends are being slashed to death. Kris goes out to find her dog and she finds it slashed in the garden. Freddy is standing in the darkness, yet the blades he used to kill the dog glisten with blood. He then chases her around, again using the shadows. The fact that we sleep at night in dark rooms adds to this effect. Whenever the characters encounter Freddy they are dreaming, and dreams are never like how the world really is. Things can happen in dreams that don’t happen when we are awake, and this makes Freddy extra terrifying because he isn’t bound by the rules of reality like the rest of us.\n\nAny person will fear what they can’t understand, it’s natural. We’re all rational and like to explain things because explanations take the fear out of the unknown. However, shadows only give us a warped representation of what the thing is. Shadows are used by directors to manipulate this fear of the unknown. All horror directors use images that are supposed to frighten us, and using darkness and shadows is a very popular way to do this.\n\nWorks cited\n\n  • Charlotte Fabiansson – “Young People’s Perception Of Being Safe – Globally & Locally”\n  • John Hollander – “Fear Itself”\n  • A Nightmare on Elm Street\n  • Paranormal Activity\n  • Monsters, Inc\n\nShakespeare’s ‘The Winter’s Tale’ – Why is time so important?\n\nI take a look at one of Shakespeare’s great plays and how the whole story could have been different if there was just a little more time…\n\nTime has a key role to play in The Winter’s Tale. What creates tragedy in a play or book is that time runs out. E.g. we are saddened if the hero arrive five minutes too late to save the hostages. In comedies, there is just enough time: the hero disarms the bomb with one second to go. In this case, Leontes realises his mistake too late. It is the expectation of tragedy that allows for this comic relief. In The Winter’s Tale the hope that Leontes will see his blunder before Hermione before something happen he will later regret. Both his son and his wife die before it dawns on him what has happened. However, the comic relief at the end of the play is only able to happen with the death of Hermione. This is why The Winter’s Tale has been called a tragicomedy.  Hartwig states that the experience of Hermione’s apparent reincarnation is “discovery of that joyful truth is so exhilarating that no one worries about the trickery involved in creating it.” We suspend our disbelief while we enjoy the miracle before us. The play itself is set in no particular era; it is simultaneously subject to both time and timelessness.\n\nThe opening of the play shows a heavily pregnant Hermione trying to persuade Polixenes, King of Bohemia, to stay with them for a while longer. This arouses the suspicion of her husband Leontes, King of Sicilia, who starts to believe that she is having an affair. Polixenes has already stayed with Leontes and Hermione for nine months, a time universally recognized as the length between a baby’s conception and its birth. The fact that Polixenes has stayed with them throughout this time is obviously playing on Leontes’ mind, yet he puts two and two together and comes up with five. The king is tortured by the belief his childhood friend has betrayed him. His unfounded ideas lead to his deteriorated mental state and act as a catalyst to the remainder of the action in the play.\n\nThe Winter’s Tale is not the only Shakespeare play where men are driven mad by the thoughts that the women around them are deceitful beings. In King Lear, Lear is sent insane by the exposure of Goneril and Regan as cruel and merciless daughters. In The Tragedy of Othello, Moor of Venice Othello is tormented by the belief that Desdemona is having an affair with Cassio.\n\nLeontes is told by Hermione and Polixenes that he is wrong, echoed by many of their friends and acquaintances: one lord tells Leontes “the queen is spotless”, Camillo pleads with Leontes to “be cured / of this diseased opinion” and Paulina tells him “I am no less honest / than you are mad.” Despite all this, Leontes answers their pleas with “You’re liars all” and he declares he is in “a nest of traitors.” The longer that Leontes is obscured by his distrust, the less time he will have to resolve the situation before something irreversible happens.\n\nLeontes demands an oracle and it reveals what we all know: that Hermione and Polixenes are both innocent. However, it also tells us “the king shall live without an heir, if that which is lost be not found.” Strangely, even this divine oracle does nothing to persuade Leontes that his assumptions are groundless. During this trial, a servant runs in and tells the court that Mamillius has died. Hermione collapses with grief and is taken out. It is in this moment Leontes finally comes to his senses. He sees how he was “transported by [his] jealousies / To bloody thoughts and to revenge.” Unfortunately it’s too late: time has run out. Hermione and Mamillius are dead, and his daughter is lost.\n\nAct IV opens with Time itself acting as a narrator. It tells us that sixteen years have passed since the day of the trial. In Sicilia, it appears as if no time has passed; Leontes has shut himself up in isolation. In contrast, time in Bohemia has allowed Perdita –  the “lost one” – and Florizel to blossom into young adults and fall in love. The name Florizel seems to be suggestive of flowers and nature, things we associate with growth and the passing of time. In their introduction to The Winter’s Tale, Synder and Curren-Aquino say that time in the sixteen years gap passes “hurriedly in Sicilia, leisurely in Bohemia”.  In act V, Paulina asks Leontes to promise never to marry again without her permission and if he is to marry, she shall pick his queen. They are in limbo: stuck in purgatory until the oracle is fulfilled and their lives can carry on. They talk about when Leontes will marry again and Paulina talks in prophetic terms. On first reading we take it to mean he may never marry again, yet on second reading of the play, we see what Paulina has planned. Suddenly, Florizel and Perdita appear in Leontes’ kingdom, asking for his help. It seems fate has led them here. That which was lost has been found, and they can now look to the future.\n\nPaulina reveals the statue of Hermione and it is Paulina that brings Hermione back to life. Hermione has healed from the hurt and shame that Leontes has caused her, and she is finally ready for the “re-establishing [of] an intimate bond with Leontes.” It almost seems as if she has been in hiding for sixteen years, being cared for by Paulina. This now gives more meaning to Paulina’s earlier statements regarding when Leontes will re-marry; “She shall not be so young / As was your former” and “when your first queen’s again in breath.” We can now see that Hermione has aged too, waiting for this moment.\n\nIt is this reincarnation of Hermione where we see time’s “most amazing triumph: the rebirth of a marriage…” Time has allowed the reunion of Leontes and Hermione as a happily married family. Time has made the heart grow fonder and as Leontes and Hermione embrace, there is no hint of any bitterness or resentment. Not only are they reunited with each other; they are reunited with their lost daughter; Leontes is reunited with Camillo and Polixenes and Florizel is reunited with his father. We now realise that Paulina “has known and controlled the central miracle.” She has been the stage director. This moment of pure delight was saved by Paulina until the right moment. Just as Hermione has forgiven all wrongs, so does the audience. We forgive Leontes for his previous errors and we join the characters in their moment of raw pleasure. The absence of Mamillius is the only thing which makes this incident any less satisfying.\n\nTime is important in The Winter’s Tale for many reasons. Shakespeare uses time to create suspicion, heartache and joy. If only Leontes had spent more time thinking about what he was accusing Polixenes and Hermione of, he would have realized his mistake and the following tragedies would have been averted. He is then stuck in a period of remorse and grief until the oracle is fulfilled. Sicilia has become a timeless state until Perdita “the lost one” is found. Time has not stood still in Bohemia however; it has permitted Perdita and Florizel to grow up, which is fundamental for the play to progress. Time is the only reason Hermione has been reincarnated. Time has healed her wounds and allowed Leontes to reflect and learn from his experiences. Time is central to the plays advancement. Unlike many of Shakespeare’s other plays, which last a very short period of time, The Winter’s Tale had to be set over a long period of time to make it the play that it is.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5321343541145325}
+{"content": "Daily Archives: June 24, 2012\n\nThe abolition of the GCSE and the return of O Levels\n\nRobert Henderson\n\nThe Coalition’s Education Secretary Michael Gove has signalled his  intention to return the English examination system to something approximating to the O Level examination Gove proposes :\n\nThat GCSEs will ‘disappear’ from schools within the next few years\n\nThe National Curriculum in secondary schools will be abolished\n\nThe requirement that pupils obtain five good GCSEs graded A* to C will be scrapped\n\nLess intelligent pupils will sit simpler exams, similar to the old CSEs\n\nO-level pupils will sit the same gold standard paper nationwide from a single exam board\n\n\nIt is also implicit in the idea of returning to O Levels that coursework will be ended , the  exam grade will be determined solely on the basis of an end-of-course  (synoptic) exam  and a return to norm referencing rather than criterion referencing in the grading.  Criterion referencing allows any number of those taking an exam to achieve a particular grade. That opens the door to grade inflation.\n\nNorm referencing means that within very narrow limits, one or two percentage points, the same percentage of those sitting the exam each year receive the same grades, for example there is a target  8% of those taking the exam to achieve an A. It might be raised to 9% in a strong year or reduced to 7% in a weak year.  This marking system would kill grade inflation at a stroke. It would also eliminate  variations in the difficulty of individual questions and of whole papers because it would not matter whether a particular year’s exam was harder or easier than the year before because the same proportion, more or less, of those taking the exam would achieve a particular grade each year. That would give a stable hierarchy of ability over time, something which would be of great assistance to employers and academics in higher education because they would know that a  particular grade indicated a consistent level of ability.\n\nGove’s proposals have  produced predictable squeals of outrage from the politically correct educational establishment and their political allies with much talk of “two tier systems” and “returning to the educational dark ages”, the latter  accompanied by a piece of moron’s logic that  if something has been discarded in the past it must by definition be  inferior to anything which replaces it.\n\nO Levels were scrapped for English state schools in 1987 because they were supposedly both too narrow and relied overly on memory and the regurgitation of facts  and socially divisive because only a minority of pupils  could pass them  with the rest either left with no qualifications or those of  the easier Certificate of Secondary Education (CSE) , which was also ended when GCSEs were introduced.   More on these points later.\n\nThe CSE  carried the possibility of being considered equivalent to an O Level, viz:\n\n“There were five pass grades in its grading system ranging from grades 1 to 5, with grades 2 to 3 being recognised with equivalence to the three (later two: D and E) lowest O-Level pass grades (of which there were originally six, later five, A, B, C, D and E).\n\nAchieving CSE grade 1 was equivalent to achieving an O level in the subject where the student may have reasonably gained an A, B or C grade had they taken an O-level course of study in the same subject.”  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Certificate_of_Secondary_Education#cite_ref-1).\n\nThe GCSE was  built upon dishonesty from the start . It purports to be a single exam when it is several exams of differing difficulty  under the same head, viz:\n\n” Tiers\n\nIn many subjects, there are two different ‘tiers’ of examination offered:\n\nHigher, where students can achieve grades A*–E, or a U\n\nFoundation, where they can achieve grades C–G, or a U[3]\n\nIf a candidate fails to obtain a Grade G on the Foundation tier or a Grade D on the Higher tier they will fail the course and receive a U. Candidates who narrowly miss a Grade D on the Higher tier, however, are awarded a Grade E. In modular subjects, students may mix and match tiers between units. In non-tiered subjects, such as History, the examination paper allows candidates to achieve any grade. Coursework and controlled assessment also always allows candidates to achieve any grade.\n\nIn 2006, GCSE Mathematics changed from a 3-tier system — Foundation grades (D–G), Intermediate (grades B–E) and Higher (grades A*–C) — to the standard 2-tier system described above.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Certificate_of_Secondary_Education#Tiers and http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/educationandlearning/qualificationsexplained/dg_10039024).\n\nThe original GCSE was in reality the O Level and the CSE pushed under one heading with the Higher Tier equating to  the  O Level and the Foundation Tier to the CSE.  The main departure from the O Level/CSE regime was coursework  counting to the final grade .  An especially  pernicious aspect of  the sham of pretending  GCSE is one exam is that those taking tiers of different difficulty can obtain the same grade in ostensibly the same exams.  This means  GCSEs are next to useless as guides  for employers or  academics in higher education, because the person deciding to employ  or accept someone on a course could be faced with two applicants with the same grade who have achieved it by doing different  coursework and answering different exam, questions.\n\nThe GCSE waters have been muddied considerably since its inception. To the initial division  arising from the different  tiers has since been added  the Business & Technology Education Council Diploma known as BTech  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BTEC_First_Diploma) which is vocational and rated at the equivalent of 4 GCSEs grades A-C and the  Entry Level Certificate which is rated  below the GCSE and offers a range of vocational and academic subjects (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entry_Level_Certificate ).   This means that at present we have at least  four different school qualifications masquerading as one.  To grasp fully the  absurd complexity of the present system of  sub-university qualifications now available in England see (http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/EducationAndLearning/QualificationsExplained/DG_10039017).\n\nThat England has arrived at a situation where multiple qualifications masquerade as one qualification is unsurprising.  It  is impossible to devise an exam which the entirety or even the vast majority of schoolchildren can pass because of the great differences in intellectual ability and inclination to study.  Ironically,  even the GCSE  taken at its own face value, that is as a single unified exam, does not fulfil this function. Despite  the fudging  of  the exam by providing different levels of difficulty and content, widespread plagiarism in the course work, modules which can  be re-sat over and over again, cheating by teachers and  remorseless grade inflation by examining boards competing for business, less than 60% of English schoolchildren in 2010/11 got 5 GCSEs at grades A-C  or their equivalent (http://www.education.gov.uk/cgi-bin/rsgateway/search.pl?keyw=066&q2=Search).\n\nThe reality of GCSE is that it is as educationally (and socially) divisive as the old O Level/CSE regime with the added disadvantage that not only are children still divided by attainment, the value of  the exam compared with the O Level is widely perceived – particularly amongst employers – as being much less.  If you passed O levels with decent grades it was generally taken as an assurance of quality.  GCSEs, with their ever soaring grades including a new starred A grade because so many As were being given, tales of teachers manipulating (to put it politely) the work of their pupils to ensure reasonable grades, regular reports of [plagiarism by the pupils  and employers complaining about school-leavers who are barely literate are seen increasingly as academically  dubious . The social divide is still massive. Children from fee-paying and selective state schools substantially  out perform those in comprehensives and those from poor homes do startlingly badly compared with those from well-to-do families ( http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2010/sep/03/social-class-achievement-school).  The division between the fee-paying and state schools is being further widened because many fee-paying schools  have already moved from the GCSE to the International GCSE (IGCSE) because the IGSC has many features of the O Level (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/7962556/GCSE-results-private-schools-adopt-O-levels.html).\n\nThe reality of our present system is that it merely pretends that children generally  can undertake and benefit from  the same  education.  Along with that sham come the ills of  plagiarism, grade inflation and  a failure to produce adults who are reasonably literate and numerate and possessed of a decent store of facts across a wide range of subjects. (http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/may/12/english-maths-gcse-extra-study). Perhaps worst of all  the current system often inflates a child’s assessment of their own capacity. If someone gains , say, eight  As at GCSE, they will bewildered if they find their ostensible GCSE successes are a poor preparation for A Levels .\n\nA return to O Level would not produce a perfect school world. Divisions based on innate intellectual and socially acquired  differences would  continue to exist and people would  be formally categorised as academic sheep and goats.  But does anyone honestly believe that children taking GCSE do not understand that they are being divided into sheep and goats through the various tiers in the examination or the  BTECH and the Entry Level certificate?\n\nWhat a return to O Levels would  do is restore confidence in the school exam taken at 16, provide a reliable standard  by which to judge a person’s general ability and   a raise standards by ending plagiarism and the collusion between  teachers and pupils  to either cheat outright or stretch the rules to the point where most people would call it cheating even if the rules are not technically breached, for example, by a teacher  virtually re-writing a poor piece of coursework by giving extensive suggestions to the pupil.\n\nIf O Levels are reinstated they would have the beneficial knock-on effect of improving academic work beyond 16.  Universities are complaining about students arriving unfit to undertake degree courses because A Levels do not prepare them for the demands of a university (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/secondaryeducation/8505962/Schools-fail-to-get-spoonfed-pupils-ready-for-university.html).This is a consequence of A Levels  having their  demands rduced because pupils who have taken GCSE start their A Level courses ill equipped for that qualification’s demands.  If O Levels are truly reinstated that will allow A Levels to become more rigorous and this in turn will send students to university better equipped for degree courses.\n\nBut  practical measures such as  end-of-course exams and the abolition of coursework would not be sufficient in itself to revive  English school examinations. It is  also the hostility to facts which makes the GCSE a flawed educational tool.  The new O Level should return facts to their necessary place which is the foundation of  understanding .  The complaint that O Levels  relied too much on the memorising of facts is mistaken for two reasons. First, the regurgitation of facts in Gradgrind fashion would not have got an O Level candidate very far, especially in the humanities, which routinely asked those sitting the exam not only to provide facts but also to analyse and interpret. Second, the acquisition of knowledge is of itself essential to a deep understanding to any academic subject. Anyone who has ever acquired a deep knowledge of anything (not just academic subjects) will have had the experience of,  without consciously trying, making connections and gaining insights which were utterly beyond them even when their knowledge had reached significant level. It is what I call the intelligence of erudition – see (https://livinginamadhouse.wordpress.com/2010/11/09/the-intelligence-of-erudition/).   The value of a detailed knowledge of a subject also sabotages the objection that O Levels were too narrow. Knowing a little about many subjects is never going to be as valuable as knowing  much about a few subjects.\n\nA word of warning .  If it is  intended to return to the O Levels as they were originally constructed, all well and good.  However, I doubt whether this is what is intended . I took my O Levels in the early 1960s when they were still pristine. Sciences were tested individually and each had separate practical exams. Essays were required for most questions in the humanities, extended written answers in the sciences  and multiple choice questions was unknown. There was no course work or modular exams and  the entire subject was tested at the end of the course. By 1970 the practical science exams had gone and multiple choice had begun to infect some subjects.  When they were scrapped in the 1980s they were a shadow of their original selves with large amounts of multiple choice questions.   If Gove merely wishes to return to 1987 that would be better than nothing but far from the best which could be done.\n\nGove’s proposals are generally sensible, not least the setting up a single examination board to prevent examination boards competing for customers by lowering standards.  Such an  examination board should be a not-for-profit organisation to remove the profit motive entirely from the process of setting and marking exams. What does concern me is the idea that the new O Level would be suitable for 75% of children – this is the clear implication of the intention that 25% of schoolchildren will  take the new CSE. It is simply impossible to produce an exam which caters for three quarters of children for the same reasons that an exam cannot cater for all children, namely, the differences in innate intellect and social circumstances are simply too great to permit it.  Even in its last decade O Level was meant for at most the top third of pupils ( (http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1981/mar/10/o-level-mathematics).  The danger is that the  new O Level, if it is to truly be a single exam without the fudging found in the GCSE, will have to be made simple enough for the less able pupils in the top 75% to successfully sit the exams.  That would produce an exam which  was less rigorous than the GCSE Higher Tier examination.\n\nWhatever exact form they  will take, Gove’s new exams are unlikely to become reality while the Coalition exists. Nick Clegg has said it will not take place while the LibDems are in the Coalition. This means that they are unlikely to see the light of day for several years and only then if the Tories return with a working majority at the next election, something which does not look likely at present. Gove’s ideas are best seen as aspirations rather than practical politics.\n\n%d bloggers like this:", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5786777138710022}
+{"content": "This documentation is archived and is not being maintained.\n\n\nNote: This structure is new in the .NET Framework version 2.0.\n\nThis structure supports the .NET Framework infrastructure and is not intended to be used directly from your code.\n\nSpecifies the type of image and data that is required to use the image to display a task or the background on a task pad.\n\nNamespace: Microsoft.Aspnet.Snapin\nAssembly: AspNetMMCExt (in aspnetmmcext.dll)\n\npublic final class MMC_TASK_DISPLAY_OBJECT extends ValueType\n\nFor more information about programming with the MMC_TASK_DISPLAY_OBJECT structure and the Microsoft Management Console (MMC), see the \"MMC Programmer's Guide\" in the MSDN Library.\n\n\n\n\n.NET Framework\n\nSupported in: 2.0", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8408901691436768}
+{"content": "Sand Beach & Indian Beach\n\n        On the western side of Gorhams Bluff there are two beaches, Sand Beach and Indian Beach. Tradition says Indian Beach was once a Wolastoqiyik (Maliseet) campsite and some evidence (stone arrow points and chips) has been found there. Sand Beach is a good landing spot with finer sand and deeper offshore water.\n\n   During the American Revolution, Col. John Allen, a former resident of the Chignecto District, and an officer under the Massachusetts Congress, was the main agent in stirring up the Indians of Acadia against the British. He was driven from the St. John River after an unsuccessful attempt to get up an attacking force, but he managed to take away many of the Indians. In 1776 a number visited General George Washington on the Delaware River, where they were entertained and addressed by him on December 24th. He gave them a letter of instructions to try to drive the English from St. John. He also gave them a flag of the revolutionary party, one of the first copies of the original Stars and Stripes.\n\n   For a year and a half they only took part in minor skirmishes while gathering forces from different parts of the area. In August, 1778, Col. Allen prevailed on them to declare open war and to attack Major Studholm’s small force at St. John, then holding Fort Howe. The English had news of the unrest among the Indians and James White, who had had long experience as a trader, started up the river to try to pacify them. He rode in a small sloop and when he reached the head of Long Reach saw a fleet of 90 canoes coming around the bend of the river (probably rounding Evandale area ). The war party consisted of about 500 Indians, under the command of Pierre Tomah, chief of the Wolastoqiyik on their way to attack the English, carrying Washington’s flag and orders.\n\n   In a short time the sloop was surrounded and the plight of Mr. White looked serious. James White had traded with the Indians for years and was respected by them and thus able to persuade them to land and have a conference before killing him, as some proposed doing so at once. They landed on “a beach of fine sand” and at the conference which followed most of the under chiefs showed themselves decidedly hostile toward the English and against any suggestion of mercy toward White or truce with the English. The commanding chief Pierre Tomah, (who had been baptized some years before on the Restigouche), said that before giving a final decision he needed to consult the “Divine Being”. Accordingly he threw himself down in the \"fine sand\" while the others withdrew to a distance. The old records say that he remained so for nearly an hour and when he arose he told the other chiefs that he had been counselled by the Great Sprit to remain at peace with King George’s men. The other chiefs did not wish peace and were loud in their demands for the continuation of the war upon which they had started, but Pierre Tomah in the end had his way and the war party rested where it was for a time.\n\n    Some days later, after the interchange of messages, the whole party proceeded with Mr. White in peace to Ouigoudi (Navy Island) in St. John Harbour, where a formal peace treaty was arranged and agreed to on September 24, 1778. The war party delivered to the commanding officer of the fort the orders, gifts and flag they had received from Washington and agreed to remain at peace forever with the English. That treaty held and five years later when Loyalist settlers of Kingston were encamped on the shores of Kingston Creek the Wolastoqiyik (Maliseet) hunted game for them to supply fresh food after their voyage and help them through their first winter.\n\n   Whether it was Sand Beach or Indian Beach, it was probably the last place in what is now New Brunswick where armed forces of the United States were mustered against the English and one of the very few places where the flag was carried in a state of war.\n\n  This ranks the beach among the important historic locations in New Brunswick, particularly since fighting men and two leaders averted a local war which could have been disastrous for both sides.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5403419137001038}
+{"content": "posted by .\n\nA 1.4-kg copper block is given an initial speed of 2.0 m/s on a rough horizontal surface. Because of friction, the block finally comes to rest.\n(a) If the block absorbs 85% of its initial kinetic energy as internal energy, calculate its increase in temperature.\n\n  • physics -\n\n    0.85*(1/2)*M*V^2 = M C*(delta T)\n    C is the specific heat of copper.\n    You will have to look it up. You will need it in units of Joule/(kg*degC)\n    The copper mass M cancels out.\n\n    Solve for the temerature rise, delta T\n\n    delta T = (0.425)V^2/C\n\nRespond to this Question\n\nFirst Name\nSchool Subject\nYour Answer\n\nSimilar Questions\n\n\n    A block of mass 2.62 kg is kept at rest as it compresses a horizontal massless spring(k = 141 N=m) by 15.3 cm. As the block is released, it travels 0.627 m on a rough hori- zontal surface before stopping. The acceleration of gravity …\n  2. Physics\n\n    An aluminum block slides along a horizontal surface. The block has an initial speed of 11.6 m/s and an initial temperature of 10.7°C. The block eventually slides to rest due to friction. Assuming all the initial kinetic energy is …\n  3. physics\n\n    A copper block with a mass 1.82 kg is given an initial speed of 3.5 m/s on a rough horizontal surface. Because of friction, the block finally comes to rest. Assume that 77.4 % of the initial kinetic energy is absorbed by the block …\n  4. physics\n\n    A piece of iron block moves across a rough horizontal surface before coming to rest. The mass of the block is 1.8 kg, and its initial speed is 3.8 m/s. How much does the block's temperature increase, if it absorbs 69% of its initial …\n  5. Physics\n\n    A 2.5-kg block is sliding along a rough horizontal surface and collides with a horizontal spring whose spring constant is 320 N/m. Unstretched, the spring is 20.0 cm long. The block causes the spring to compress to a length of 12.5 …\n  6. Physics\n\n    A 4.00g bullet, traveling horizontally with a velocity of magnitude 410m/s , is fired into a wooden block with mass of 0.780kg , initially at rest on a level surface. The bullet passes through the block and emerges with its speed reduced …\n  7. Physics\n\n    A bullet with a velocity of 200 m/s is shot at a 2-kg block resting on a horizontal frictionless surface. The bullet imbeds in the block and the bullet-block system slides across the surface with a speed of 5 m/s. A) what is the mass …\n  8. Physics\n\n    A 5 g bullet has a speed of 300 m/s and embeds itself into a 500 g block. The block is initially at rest sitting on a rough surface which has a coefficient of kinetic friction equal to 0.5. A) What is the speed of the block after the …\n  9. physics\n\n    A 5kg block has an initial velocity of 15 m/s and is sliding along a surface with friction. Eventually the block comes to rest. what is the change in thermal energy of the block and the surface ?\n  10. Physics\n\n    A 15.0 gram bullet with a speed of v is fired into a 400 gram block of wood that is initially at rest on a surface. The coefficient of kinetic friction between the block and the surface is 0.250. The block of wood is attached to a …\n\nMore Similar Questions", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9998058676719666}
+{"content": "October will see the launch of Career Navigator, a resource which uses the metaphor of the road and resources required for the journey to enable individuals and groups to understand the nature of a modern career (rarely a straight, predictable path, more like crazy paving!). The Career Navigator pack includes an A3 road map and a set of resource cards which will identify the career management capabilities needed to effectively navigate the twists and turns people often face. The road map encourages them to reflect on where they are now/ where they would like to be, whilst the cards engage individuals in a review of the career management competencies they already have and those which they need to strengthen. For example, for a car journey you need keys to get started and maybe passengers to keep you company … for work/life you likewise need motivation and a network of support.\nThe career navigator resource has been piloted with both young people and adults, individuals and groups. Here are a few comments made by a group of 16-17 year old students at college:\n\n“helpful”; “informative”; “fun”; “an easier way of understanding opportunities”; “really good, the activity helped quite a bit to understand the path of my future and what I may need”\n\nAdults also find the metaphor useful. Jackie Pickles, an adviser who works primarily with unemployed adults, believes that it encourages a more thoughtful and emotional response when reflecting on barriers to moving forward, identifying issues such as lack of confidence and fear. Jackie has shared the following examples of her work:\n\n“One individual chose the picture of a car skidding off the road in the snow, she said she knew what she wanted to do but felt like she was always slipping off course and being pulled in different directions by her competing priorities. With another person, a spaghetti junction type of image with lots of roads crossing over each other elicited the feelings of going round in circles”.\n\nFor more on the theory and use of metaphor in career practice, explore the work of Norm Amundson, an international expert on this theme who writes in a very accessible and thought provoking way. .", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7451094388961792}
+{"content": "Monday, 30 April 2007\n\nQueen for a day\n\nQueen for a day\nOriginally uploaded by DigitalHeMan.\nToday (30th April) was Queen's Day. This is when the Dutch spend the day outside celebrating the (former) queen's birthday. This year we were blessed with good weather, so around 500000 people gathered in Amsterdam.\n\nThe day traditionally starts with the vrijmarkt, which is where anyone can set up a stand and sell whatever they feel like getting rid of. My friends Vincent and Tamara were there too, with Vincent professionally dealing with his customers and selling all sorts of quality items. Highlights included back issues of National Geographic circa 1994, a purple elephant with a leg missing, and a toy train....\n\nVincent at Vrijmarkt\n\nAfter the vrijmarkt I went for a wander in the center and in the Jordaan, in search of photos, but was suprised how empty parts of the Jordaan were (and how unphotogenic the center was), so didn't come away with any shots. However on the way back to my bike, passed by the gay QDay festival on the Amstel, which as always was a great excuse for people to dress up as Queens for a Day..... came across many people dressed as Queen Beatrix, and others clothed as Dancing Girls/Guys....\n\nQueen for a day\n\nPhotographically, I decided to stick with a single prime for the day, and went with the 10,5mm Fisheye. When used close up this gives powerful images, and also includes a lot of the background to add to the atmosphere of the image. The images shot here were taken using fill in flash, since I find the fisheye accentuates areas in the shade, so a nice pop of flash does wonders.....\n\nWednesday, 18 April 2007\n\nDust Bunnies and Sensor Cleaning\n\nDust Bunnies\nOriginally uploaded by DigitalHeMan.\nOne of the negative sides of using a digital SLR for photography is the effect of dust bunnies. This is a condition that occurs when particles or specks of dust end up inside the camera body and on the sensor. Unfortunately it is very difficult to avoid getting dust on the sensor, since unless the lenses are changed in a class 10 clean station, dust is going to get inside the camera body, and ultimately on the sensor.\n\nThe effect of dust can be greatly magnified, depending on the aperture that is used to take the photo. With a very wide aperture (i.e. f/1.4 - f/4) the effects generally won't be noticable, but as soon as the aperture is changed to give greater depth of field, for example in landscape photography, the dust particles become more evident, and can often be seen in a light blue sky on a bright day.....\n\nOne area of digital photography that has a big problem with dust is macro photography. Since depth of field is greatly reduced the closer the focusing point is to the object, macro photography requires the use of a narrow aperture, often in the range of f/16 - f/22, in order to get enough of the image in focus, and then the dust bunnies start intruding into the image. This is evident in the first photo in this blog entry, which was shot at f/18, where each of the small black circles are caused by particles on the sensor (you might need to click the photo to see a larger version where the dust is more evident).\n\nNow of course, a photo like this could be fixed in post processing (take for example the shot here, which was taken the same day, and had the same problems with the dust spots on the raw image, but was fixed by playing with levels and using the heal tool in Photoshop) but that takes time, so it is better to start off an important photo session with a clean sensor......\n\nFirst to check if your sensor needs cleaning - find a white wall, set your camera to f/22, and take a photo of the wall in good light. Then look at the picture at 100% on the computer, and see if you have any dust bunnies as with the photo above. If you do, chances are cleaning the sensor will help you....\n\nThe first way to clean the sensor is to use a air blower, like the Giotto Pocket Rocket, which can get rid of many of the looser dust particles. Technique here is important though - if your camera has a mirror lock up function, use it, or otherwise use the bulb exposure setting, and make sure you hold your finger on the shutter button as you are cleaning to make sure the mirror is out of the way. Then hold the camera with the sensor pointing downwards, and squirt a few puffs of air into the chamber. It is important that your sensor is pointing down, as this will help any dust particles to fall out of the camera, as opposed to just being moved around inside the camera. ***NOTE*** Do NOT use canned air to clean the sensor - this is actually liquid air, and will cause more damage than good.....\n\nNow take another test picture of the wall - if the dust bunny situation has improved, great, otherwise you might need to use a more intensive method to clean the sensor.\n\nThe way I do it is to use is Sensor Swabs/Pec Pads (see picture), with Eclipse optic solution, which is a methanol based solution.\n\n(Edit 2008: Some newer cameras, for example the Nikon D300 and D3, now use Tin Oxide coatings on the sensor. You shouldn't use the standard Eclipse fluid for these cameras, instead use Eclipse E2)\n\nSensor Swab\n\nIf you buy the swabs, there are instructions on the packet, which I advise you to read, but in short the procedure is to put a few drops of the fluid on each side of the swab, then lift the mirror as before, and clean the sensor with a reasonable amount of pressure by moving from one side to the other of the sensor in one sweep, and then back again, using the other side of the swab. This should be enough to get the sensor clean, but remount your lens, take another test shot of the wall, and if that hasn't helped, clean the sensor again.\n\nA note of precaution - cleaning the sensor using a liquid sounds risky, and of course it can be - a single scratch on the sensor is going to make the camera pretty much unusable, so it is important to take care when cleaning it. Only use sensor swabs once - they come in sterile packages, and should only be opened when they are about to be used. Also make sure you buy the correct size sensor swab for your model camera (for Nikon D series this is Sensor Swab size 2), as using a swab that is too large could damage other parts of the camera, and using one that is too small won't do the job properly....\n\nBut realistically the hot mirror filter that is in front of the sensor is pretty rugged, and it would take quite some effort to be able to scratch it. Give it a go - you will be impressed how easy it can be to get your sensor back in tip top clean condition.......\n\nMonday, 9 April 2007\n\nSpring time\n\nOriginally uploaded by DigitalHeMan.\nSo, Easter has been and gone, but in Holland the last weeks signalled a change in the weather and we are now experiencing bright spring days, just the right weather for flowers to spring into bloom. Of course the Netherlands is well known for having the right weather for cultivating flower blooms, and the world famous tourist attraction, Keukenhof, is only testament to that, attracting thousands of tourists every day.\n\nOne of our friends gave us a muscari plant recently, and it also burst into bloom this weekend. Whilst it hasn't produced the deep blue blooms that are often associated with this particular flower, it nevertheless has given me a perfect subject to play around with my camera, and some of the results can be seen in my flickr photostream.\n\nI am lucky to have managed to obtain a good secondhand copy of the Nikon 70-180mm F/4.5-5.6 Micro zoom before they either disappear from the face of the earth, or begin to command insane prices on ebay (Nikon recently discontinued this, their only Micro zoom, leaving only fixed focal length macros in their collection) and the flexibility of the zoom makes this an ideal lens for flower photography, and allows the photographer to get in much closer than just a bloom or a petal.\n\nThere are a number of choices to make with macro photography. Firstly the light source - should it be artificial, or available light? When shooting in the great outdoors, the subject and it's surroundings often dictate this, since any subject movement close up is greatly amplified, and needs a high shutter speed in order to freeze it, which is not always possible, so flash gives a number of advantages.\n\nWhen using flash for macro, a close up flash kit such as the Nikon SB-R1(C1) is ideal. The top shot accompanying this blog was taken with the SB-R1, and two SB-R200 light sources either side of the lens. Due to the size of the muscari blooms, I was also shooting with the PK-13 (27,5mm) extension tube, and the Nikon 6T close up lens, and I wanted to get the in focus blooms to stand out a bit from the background. Now one of the nice things with the SB-R1 kit is that light fall off is pretty quick, so you end up with a nice black background, but in this case it wasn't happening initially, as the ambient light was too high, so I stepped the shutter speed up to 1/250s to aid the separation. (this also works inversely - by using slow shutter sync you can also balance the ambient light to give the background detail as well)\n\nHowever, such a close up flash kit isn't always necessary. Today I was at Keukenhof, where wielding the Sb-R1 around would have been impractical, so instead I worked with the SB-800, but took it off camera and used the SC-17 connecting cable so that I could control where the light was falling on the subject. Works just as well, and with Nikon's advanced TTL flash, exposures were spot on.\n\n\nThe second shot was taken with ambient light. This required a longer exposure to balance the exposure, and I ended up shooting at 1/3s. This gave the nice effect that the background (a white wall) was also exposed well, and I felt this gave the photo a dreamy quality. Of course outside this shot wouldn't have been possible, as even the slightest breeze would have left the picture unsharp, but there is nothing wrong with shooting specimens in a controlled environment inside (assuming of course you haven't taken the flowers from the wild with the sole intention of photographing them ;)\n\nAnother choice to be made with macro photography is the aperture to be used. This will have a dramatic effect on how much of the picture will end up being in focus, since the depth of field in macro photography is greatly reduced. Take for example the two shots accompagnying this blog - the first was shot at f/16, leaving a fair amount of the bloom in focus, whereas the second one was shot at f/5.6, leaving very few of the blooms sharp. In my experience, the more 'artistic' shots will use a lower aperture, whereas the 'documentary' shots will be shot at higher apertures.\n\nIn the age of digital SLR photography, shooting higher apertures brings its own challenges in the form of dust bunnies. It is an unfortunate fact that sensors do collect dust over time, due to their static charge, and regardless of how carefully lenses are changed, dust will end up on the sensor. You can check for dust on your sensor by shooting a white wall at f/16 or higher, and you will probably be suprised by the results. During 'normal' photography, you are less likely to notice the dust since (at least in my case) you don't use the higher apertures so often, but since macro photography means you are more likely to, this either means cleaning the sensor before a macro session, or using spot removal in Photoshop or Lightroom to try and remove the spots in post processing.\n\nNeedless to say, the use of a sturdy tripod and a cable release are imperative in order to get sharp results, but I'll leave that for another day.......", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6711453199386597}
+{"content": "*spoiler discussion* DO NOT READ BEFORE WATCHING AT LEAST ACT II OR WE\\'LL KILL YOU!!! or something. | Act 1, 2 & 3 Discussion, Reviews, Music etc | Forum\n\n\nPlease consider registering\n\nsp_LogInOut Log In sp_MemberList Members\n\nLost password?\nAdvanced Search\n\n— Forum Scope —\n\n— Match —\n\n— Forum Options —\n\n\nsp_Feed Topic RSS sp_TopicIcon\n*spoiler discussion* DO NOT READ BEFORE WATCHING AT LEAST ACT II OR WE'LL KILL YOU!!! or something.\nJuly 18, 2008\n11:53 pm\nOxford, Mississippi\nMember of the ELE\nForum Posts: 189\nMember Since:\nJuly 3, 2008\nsp_UserOfflineSmall Offline\n\nFreeze-ray. It's good that it didn't work.\n\nStopping time isn't all it's cracked up to be. You stop time. That stops everything. Nothing moves; nothing breathes; nothing thinks; no lights shine; no heat eminates; no masses attract; nothing happens.\n\nSure, you could make it so only you, yourself, don't stop in time, but have fun suffocating and being crushed to death in the cold dark, as you could no longer move in the atmosphere that has now effectively turned solid at what would act like 0 degrees Kelvin, flash-freezing your body, and not to mention that your mass would continue to try to move forward for that one instant when time stopped the world rotating, which would shatter your body instantly in a confined space with only the oxygen left in your lungs to allow the pieces to fly about in 0-G for the instant before it is also frozen. Either that or the effective mass of the entire universe would become 0 and the absolute vaccuum would instantly rip you (and every atom of you) apart regardess of the flash-freeze.\n\nAs for the rest of us, would we just see someone die, instantly atomized, and our own time continue onward or would all of existence end? The idea of stopping time means stopping time relative to a time that continues on, which contradicts the concept of stopping time. So… you can't really stop time without stopping all existence.\n\nNow what about stopping time for one object relative to real time? We're back into the “0-degrees Kelvin, not moving with the rest of the Universe” problem. It would be like a slow-motion nuclear explosion as the 0-degrees mass is forcibly driven into the ground or nearby object, shattering everything that passes by it, or flash-freeze everything nearby (including atmosphere), dragging everything with it, as it appears to be launched into space. Either that, or it would reduce the effective mass to 0, and the object would appear to simply blink out of our own existence with an enourmous thunder-clap as the air instantly collapses into the previously-occupied space with a force felt never before on this planet.\n\nBad idea. Really bad idea.\n\nOr did I think way too much on this and should have left it with “he threw a car at my head”?\n\nThe gamut determines the acceptible range of conditions. It's Genius' Awesome Sauce in an 8oz. glass bottle with a cork stopper.\nJanuary 13, 2009\n3:36 pm\nMember of the ELE\nForum Posts: 110\nMember Since:\nDecember 11, 2008\nsp_UserOfflineSmall Offline\n\nI think you put some valid points out there but I think the car was suffiencent enough for me at least.\n\nI am The Green Dragon I leave no trail behind. I go about my evil deeds without stressing my mind. No one has ever caught up to me as they say. Then again people fear me more and more each day.\nMarch 18, 2009\n11:35 am\n\nIt wouldn't be like being at absolute zero, time is part of velocity. No time = no velocity.\n\nForum Timezone: UTC -8\n\nMost Users Ever Online: 10\n\nCurrently Online:\n\nMember Stats:\n\nGuest Posters: 667\n\nMembers: 1805\n\nModerators: 2\n\nAdmins: 1\n\nForum Stats:\n\nGroups: 1\n\nForums: 9\n\nTopics: 482\n\nPosts: 3668\n\nNewest Members:\n\nAdministrators: Admin: 222", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5549501180648804}
+{"content": "The old model of interfaith dialogue argued that the only way you could truly engage another person, who was not a Christian, was to give up a particularistic criteria of truth in favor of relativism and universalized faith.\n\nRaimon Panikkar, author of The Intrareligious Dialogue (New York: Paulist Press, 1999), famously argued that support of pluralist conversation required us to embrace real pluralism “because no single culture, model, ideology, religion, or whatnot can any longer raise a convincing claim to be the one, unique, or even best system in an absolute sense” (23). Such arguments are adamant about  Christians actually embracing pluralism openly.\n\nI believe such writers were right to recognize that modern society is increasingly pluralistic. They can assist us in conversation in one way. Quotes like that of Pannikar’s should make us realize that there is a big difference between equating a “single culture, model, ideology, religion or whatnot . . .” with living faith in Jesus Christ as revealed by the Holy Spirit. I think his words, when read one way at least, reveal the real heart of the problem that we often bring to religious dialogue.\n\ndesert-cross-798497 There is a lot that Christians can admit that they do not know. God has chosen to reveal to us that Christ is the savior of the world but he has not told us the last word on who he saves and how extensive his salvation really might be in the end. What is clear is that Jesus of Nazareth is “the way, the truth and the life.” What is also clear is that we are commanded to believe his words and proclaim his gospel to all nations. Final judgment is simply not ours to make. It is a false conundrum to insist that orthodox belief in hell means that we clearly know who is, and is not, going there and what specifically happens to those who do go there. Dante is not the last word on what the Bible teaches, if he was even the first word.\n\nBut I simply reject the idea that I have to become a pluralist to engage with people genuinely. A new paradigm is emerging in which people are talking without surrendering to pluralism in the process. Partners are not seeking the lowest common denominator between their faiths and traditions but embracing and talking about their differences.\n\nThis new paradigm encourages a more robust and serious dialogue. It encourages learning about others by listening, not by finding easy ways to agree. What we, as Christians, can bring to this dialogue is what we believe to be our core (revealed) truth. Sometimes we will discover, to our surprise, that other faiths share “some” of these truths but never all.\n\nAn agreement, spoken or unspoken, in the new paradigm is simply this; we do not have to agree in order to talk. Since dialogue is about learning from others, as well as sharing what we know, we can enter into it in good faith.\n\nDoes this mean we must give up our commitment to “proselytize” other faiths by ceasing our earnest efforts to bring people to Christ? Not at all.\n\nFinally, this new dialogue requires commitment to reciprocity. We are committed to listen and to learn and this approach respects the other person’s deepest beliefs and practices in a humane and loving way. If the new paradigm is taken seriously then orthodox Christians need to engage in such dialogue because they can best represent what Christians have historically believed with the most conviction about its truth. We want to talk to people who really believe what they profess and they need the same from us if there is to be truly good dialogue.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5636385679244995}
+{"content": "We consider my personal canine Oskar to utilize me personally virtually every day time. He or she trips inside a truck which i tow line at the rear of my personal bicycle two. 5 kilometers uphill towards the Kibin workplace. I�m fortunate which i work with a location which allows canines.\n\nAdditional canine buddies aren?t therefore lucky. Shouldn?t accountable pet owners be permitted to provide their own much loved furballs anyplace these people desire?\nHowever, this particular publish isn?t regarding training you to definitely convince your own employer in order to allow you to provide your pet to operate (although that might be cool). Absolutely no, the aim of this web site publish would be to educate you on how you can create the convincing composition describe.\nOn this page, I?ll break up the actual aspects of a great convincing composition. I?ll additionally arranged a person upward having a online describe theme which you can use when you’re prepared to convince your own instructor to provide you with a much better quality within British course this particular term.\nJust what Convincing Composition Anyhow?\nThe aim of the convincing composition would be to persuade your own visitors that the point of view may be the correct point of view. Inside a convincing document, a person take out all of the halts to express, ?It?s my personal method or even the actual freeway! ?\nIn contrast to argumentative documents. exactly where details rule best, a person don?t always need to make use of investigated, complete details to aid your own convincing document.\nThe aim of your own convincing document would be to convince at all required. In the event that which involves such as psychological anecdotes or even tales rather than details, that?s good.\nDon?t think me personally? Request any kind of politician. With regards to forces associated with marketing, the reality don?t always issue.\nWhilst such as real details as well as proof is definitely an efficient method to convince, it?s alright in order to perform filthy inside a convincing composition. Help to make your own visitors chuckle, weep, or even tremble within concern so long as this will get these phones think that that which you say holds true.\nNevertheless, a person can?t use as well as create your own composition with no path. To actually convince somebody inside your convincing composition, you need to be smoooooth . You need finesse. To become sleek as well as finesseful (not the term, through the way), you need to begin with a plan.\nHere’ utes a good example of the convincing composition describe:\nConvincing Composition Describe Introduction\nVery first, it?s vital that you pick a subject that you could have a are a symbol of.\nLet?s state we?re currently talking about pet privileges. I?m not really referring to your own standard ?people shouldn?t harm animals? composition. I?m referring to bestowing real human being privileges onto my personal favorite pet: canines.\n1. Create the connect . I?ve stated this prior to, as well as I?ll state this once again. Usually begin your own intro having a powerful connect. Help to make your own target audience would like to see your own composition.\nFor instance, ?Your canine is actually wiser compared to your child, and much more helpful as well as faithful as well. In addition, your pet won’t ever, actually become a good angsty teen. In the event that canines tend to be this kind of great individuals, the reason why don?t they’ve privileges? ?\nDetermine your own target audience . This can be a phrase or even 2 which assists your own readers determine themself like a person in your own audience. During my instance, I?m particularly talking with pet owners that reside in Portland, Or.\nFor instance, ?For just about all Portland canine buddies who’ve have you been switched from the cafe, banned use of transit, or even declined from the open public recreation area, it?s time for you to operate for the pet?s rights?and your own privileges as well! ?\ntwo. Existing your own thesis declaration . Here’s exactly where you’re able to the actual beef of the convincing composition as well as determine the precise point of view you want your own target audience to consider.\nA lot while you might within an argumentative composition. you have to have a position in your subject. Absolutely no wishy-washy ?eh, I possibly could proceed possibly way? things permitted.\nChoose a aspect. Stay with it. Protect this towards the finish!\nFor instance, ?The canines associated with Portland should have exactly the same privileges as well as rights because given to the most youthful people, like the to go to dining places, trip chartering, stroll off-leash, as well as navigate to the movie theater as long as they’re along with a accountable human being friend. ?\nConvincing Composition Describe Entire body Sentences\nTrapped in your Convincing Composition?\nTake a look at these types of instance convincing documents.\nThe precise quantity of entire body sentences a person consist of is determined by the actual guidelines of the task as well as your subject. A larger task and/or subject will need much more factors as well as sentences. An inferior task and/or subject will need less factors as well as sentences. With regards to this web site publish, I?m such as 3 instance factors.\nEvery cause a person develop could be psychologically billed, realistically irrefutable, or even ethically binding?so lengthy because it?s convincing. Additionally, every convincing cause a person provide ought to be backed with a truth or even a good example.\nCause #1. Portland canines tend to be because wise because young kids and frequently alllow for much more courteous buddies.\nTruth or even instance 1 . Canines can handle understanding as much as two hundred and fifty phrases and may very easily opt for the actual circulation associated with human being relationships.\nTruth or even instance two . Canines tend to be quieter as well as much less bothersome compared to typical two-year-old human being.\nUnique picture through dharmabumx (Creative Commons)\nCause #2. Portland canines will be able to stroll leash-free when they tend to be associated with their own human being buddies; generally, putting on the leash is actually unneeded.\nTruth or even instance 1 . Canines could be very easily educated in order to stroll together with their own human being buddies with no leash or even restraining.\nTruth or even instance two . Inside a current study, 65% associated with Portland pet owners stated which strolling your dog on the leash is actually much more of the trouble compared to strolling your dog leash-free.\nCause #3 . Much more privileges with regard to Portland canines indicates much more privileges with regard to Portland?s canine buddies.\nTruth or even instance 1 . Canine buddies may have much more options associated with locations exactly where they are able to spend some time along with family and friends and never have to depart much loved domestic pets at the rear of.\nTruth or even instance two . Canine buddies won?t suffer from the problem associated with employing the dog-walker whilst at the office or perhaps a pet-sitter with regard to brief weekend break escapes.\nConvincing Composition Describe Summary\nRight now you have layed out your own factors as well as helping details as well as good examples, it?s time for you to close off the offer inside your essay?s summary. Your own summary ought to retain the subsequent essential elements:\n1. Short overview . Help remind your own target audience associated with the reason why this particular subject is essential.\nFor instance, ?Dogs all over Portland are now being unfairly refused the fundamental to go with their own human being buddies in order to open public locations. It?s period with regard to Portland pet owners in order to operate for his or her pets. ?\ntwo. Advantages towards the readers . Clarify exactly how functioning on this problem may advantage your own target audience.\nFor instance, ?Not just may going for a are a symbol of your dog advantage canines almost everywhere, it will likewise advantage a person. The next time you need to have a weekend break aside, trip the actual coach to operate, or even have a matinee, a person won?t need to be worried about who’ll look after your pet when you are aside. This problem is all about your own privileges like a canine friend as well. ?\n3. The proactive approach . Exactly what would you like your own visitors to complete since they?ve (hopefully) bought for your point of view about the subject?\nFor instance, ?Vote ?yes? upon Portland Town Ballot effort fourteen this particular selection. It?s time for you to operate for that privileges in our the majority of faithful buddies. ?\nOnline Convincing Composition Describe Theme and extra Assets\nRight now you have a much better concept of what must be done to produce a convincing composition describe, proceed on as well as convince the planet!\nWe produced the above mentioned visible describe while using on the internet mind-mapping application from text2mindmap. It?s an excellent source in order to brainstorm your own convincing composition subject, or even produce a visible convincing composition describe.\nHere’s an additional helpful convincing composition describe contractor which i discovered within my investigation.\nReally feel liberated to utilize it to get going.\nAs soon as your own composing is actually total, make sure to come with an publisher evaluation your own composition for you personally. In the end, a person don’ capital t would like all of your planning to become with regard to absolutely nothing.\n\nAbout it video:", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5728515386581421}
+{"content": "Robot Gives New Meaning to ‘Hand Made’ Sculptures\n\nBeautiful art and façades adorn buildings in many cities. Some are carved by hand, while others are manufactured. Now, a smart robot is creating large-scale art to transform public places. As we hear from VOA’s Deborah Block, the droid gives new meaning to hand-made art.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6967816948890686}
+{"content": "\"Well behaved women rarely make history\"\n\nCleopatra! When this name is spoken almost immediately one conjures the image of a beautiful femme fatale, sailing down the Nile with her snakes, her lovers, her perfumes and her wiles. “The most beautiful woman to live, right?”\n\nHowever, many modern ideals of Cleopatra have stated that she was actually ugly. What’s the truth here?\n\nThe truth is we may never actually know. After Cleopatra’s suicide and Octavian’s defeat of Egypt in 30 BC, most, if not all, of Cleopatra’s portraits were destroyed by Octavian, along with accounts of her life written by her supporters. Many statues have been found, along with coins of her, but none have been proven to be authentic with the exception of a coin minted in 34 B.C. Since these coins were made of bronze,and have decayed significantly since 2050 years ago, they create a profile of the queen that is not, to modern eyes, pleasing\n\nHowever, therein lies the ideal. Modern ideas of beauty are vastly different from ancient ones. In the 20th century, Cleopatra was portrayed by Liz Taylor and Vivien Leigh, Hollywood bombshells. However, in the ancient and medieval world, ideals of beauty were quite different. Both ancient and medieval men preferred wives who were plumper than today’s standards, since this showed that they were wealthy and also showed that the wife could bear children.\n\nThe modern idea Cleopatra was ugly is not borne out by ancient historians. Again, however, we must also use caution here since the historians writing about Cleopatra were writing about a hundred years after her death and not only had not witnessed the events, but were also patronized by the Romans, Cleopatra’s conquerors.\n\nPlutarch, one of the most famous writers of antiquity, stated that ‘her real beauty was not in and of itself comparable…’ however, he noted that her voice was pleasant. She cannot have been hideous if she were to have caused Caesar and Antony to have fallen in love with her. However, it’s said that by her thirties she had developed a goiter on her chin.\n\nCleopatra’s death at 39 also seems young and tragic to us, a snake to her breast, dead before middle age. However, Cleopatra would have been considered an old woman at this time. In biblical times, which are not too far removed from our Cleopatra, for example, wives married at 13 and husbands at 14. Wives were often dead in their early to mid 20s from unsafe childbirth and repeated bearings of children, as well as poor nutrition. The men of the ancient world did not often fare much better, often dead by their 30s from warfare and disease as well.\n\nA few years back, the tomb of Cleopatra’s sister, Arsinoe, was found in Ephesus, and DNA samples were taken of her which proved what she may have looked like. However, while Cleopatra’s tomb has been found, no such reconstructions of her exist. She was a Macedonian Greek, but even this cannot tell us much. The Greeks can be very light in skin tone to very dark and swarthy looking. The modern ideal of lighter skinned people being the ruling class had no bearing in the ancient world, at least not in Egypt , Africa, or the ancient Middle East.\n\nFor now it seems that Cleopatra’s appearance shall remain, for the most part, answerless. The few portraits and coins of her that survive were not meant to be accurate portrayals, but rather, political representations to show her either as the queen of her people or a captured trophy, and the obsession with Cleopatra’s ‘good looks’, as opposed to focus on her true accomplishments as a leader, tells us far more about us than it ever could about her.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9275780916213989}
+{"content": "Actor declared ‘clinically dead’ after hanging himself onstage during play\n\nRaphael Schumacher, 27, was rushed to hospital in Pisa, Italy\n\nAn actor who was in a coma following a hanging scene during a theatre production in Italy has been declared ‘clinically dead’.\n\nRaphael Schumacher, 27, was appearing in a production of an experimental play called Mirages last weekend at the Teatro Lux in Pisa, a city in the Italian region of Tuscany.\n\nHe was rushed to hospital after being found unconscious hanging from a noose by an audience member in the theatre courtyard. The immersive performance had been staged in different parts of the theatre.\n\nFollowing the incident, there had been speculation that Schumacher intentionally attempted to take his own life. The actor’s mother has denied these claims, saying: “My son recently lost his father and had ended a relationship but had found his serenity again”.\n\nThe BBC reports that after a six-hour procedure he was established brain death on Thursday.\n\nA statement from the hospital reads: “The family and the prosecutor’s office have both authorised that his organs be donated, but their removal will be subject to a medical assessment to be performed in the course of the night.”\n\nThe theatre’s art director, Gabriele De Luca, has told the Daily Mail: “We are shocked. No one, not even us, understands how this happened and it will be up to the police to shed light on it.”\n\nPolice have launched an investigation into the incident.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6378625631332397}
+{"content": "≡ Menu\n\n\nTwo for Boise State-Georgia (8/31)\n\nTy and Dan are joined by Brian Murphy from The Idaho Statesman and Kyle King from DawgSports.com to break down Boise State-Georgia from every possible angle.\n\nThe Solid Verbal is the best podcast for college football. Because you don’t just love college football, you live it.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6376633644104004}
+{"content": " Archaeological Research\n\nArchaeological Research Definition\n\nArchaeology class students often get an assignment to write a college paper, namely archaeological research. In order to receive good grades for archaeology papers, students should know exactly what archaeological research refers to. The term “archaeological research” refers to a college essay paper, which focuses on specific object of archaeology, artwork or excavations and involves a research in revealing appropriate information to support the key point. As topics for archaeology papers may vary depending on the subject, students may be asked to make a research that is focused either on certain physical object or on the process of excavations itself. Famous archaeologists are also another popular topics for archeology papers.\n\nAncient cities and civilizations, such as Pompeii, Aztecs, Egyptians, and Siberians, raise a lot of questions for various investigations in archaeology. This science is very interesting as studying artifacts and artworks attracts students by their mystery and originality. However, writing archaeological research is a rather complicated task, which involves reading and looking for scarce courses like archeological books and periodicals.\n\nArchaeological Research Writing\n\nTo write good archaeological research, student should follow the writing plan for this type of the college paper. One should brainstorm the topic first and highlight main points of the research. Annotated bibliography is another step in writing archaeological papers. Remember to use only credible sources. Otherwise, you risk loosing certain grades for your college paper, as well as for other archaeology papers. For instance, if you are writing about archaeological excavations in Pompeii, you can use books of such writers as Michael Balter, Mark Cooper, Carl Zimmer, etc. These writers are famous for the research in the field of archaeology. Therefore, your professor will highly grade your college paper, seeing their books in the reference list. Be ready to make your own archaeological research. This type of essay is unique and sometimes involves individual investigations when the student is writing term paper or dissertation in archaeology. Finally, write you paper and edit it several times before you actually submit it to the educational institution you are studying in. Use custom writing service to receive help with your archaeological research of any complexity and type, even archaeological papers of the Mesopotamia essay.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7988028526306152}
+{"content": "Standing before a window in his office, Captain-General Rtali smiled and watched Foobarh’s landscape crawl by as the Valorous Moon Yak slowly moved along its orbit. He had been nervous about striking so soon after severing his ties to the Zakavian Empire, but the boredom of the Crelm system had finally convinced him to act. Thus far, no one seemed to have noticed. Of course, there were rumors the Zakavians had not one, but two megaweapons in their possession, but Rtali did not concern himself with them. He had chosen a fairly remote system for his first conquest, and he felt it unlikely the Zakavians had even heard of it. The battle had gone well: the defense armada had only lasted three hours before choosing to surrender. As Rtali had conquered the place mainly as a source supplies and entertainment for his troops, he left the native government in place. After a few hours of adjustment, they went right back to debating shifting funds from public television to mass transportation.\n\nHis doorbell chimed, interrupting his thoughts. “Enter,” he called, moving to sit behind his desk.\n\nThe door opened and Lieutenant Vtami entered. “Good day, sir,” Vtami greeted, voice obscured by the armor’s speakers.\n\n“Good day, Lieutenant,” Rtali replied. “I was looking over the combat records from the battle here, and I must say you did well. Especially considering that this was your first combat.”\n\n“Thank you, sir. I’ve always wanted to be a fighter pilot.”\n\nRtali smiled. “Tell me, Lieutenant, are you familiar with the Rogue Squadron?”\n\n“Yes, sir. It struck me as an oddly appropriate name.”\n\n“It is appropriate, actually. Rogue Squadron is where we stick the hotshot pilots who just don’t work well with others. That way, they can only irritate each other. I mention them because their squadron leader was killed in the recent battle … evidently by ‘friendly fire’.\n\n“I’d like you to replace him.”\n\nVtami was silent for a few moments. “You want me to lead Rogue Squadron? Sir, with all due respect, I don’t have the experience to lead any squadron, much less one as disorganized as Rogue Squadron.”\n\n“Not at all,” Rtali explained. “We know leading Rogue Squadron is hopeless, so we don’t expect much from you. Plus, you get the increased pay and respect of a squadron leader. It’s my way of thanking you for the information you gave me about Captain Mselt and the Terrans. You betrayed your commander and the Empire right on Planet Gloom itself because of your loyalty to me. I’d like to recognize that.”\n\n“Very well,” Vtami said, eventually, “I accept.”\n\n“Wonderful!” Rtali replied. He stood and the two shook hands. “You won’t regret this decision.”\n\n“I hope not.”\n\n“Don’t worry. You’ll probably want to meet the squadron and practice a bit before our next move, though.”\n\n“If I may ask, what is our next move?”\n\n“We’ve done pretty well on a minor world, but it’s no good if no one knows about it. Our next move will be to attack a minor world that’s also part of the Empire. That gives us the best chance of victory for our first high-profile strike. There are a few possibilities, but I think I’ve found the perfect choice. You’ll find out what that is when everyone else does.”\n\n“Good enough. Thank you, sir.” Vtami stood and walked towards the door.\n\n“One second, Lieutenant,” Rtali said suddenly.\n\nVtami stopped and turned.\n\n“Do you sleep in that armor?”\n\nStarcruiser Anonymous\n\n(A Tale Within Sfstory)\n\nEpisode 13\nWherein Giant Penguins\nAttack the Zakavians\n\nDave Menendez\n\nAfter discovering the small, single-car high-speed trains in the hangar below the Control Room, which was itself hidden below the Aroruan Palace, Chancellor Elahte and the Ampron Force were faced with two difficulties. The first was simply getting to the trains. They all agreed that there had to be controls for the door leading to the hangar somewhere in the room, but the room design was so ultra-high-tech that actually locating the controls became difficult, since virtually every wall surface looked like a control of some sort. Eventually, Dent noticed a large lever in the wall next to the door. Curious, he pulled it into the “up” position, which opened the door.\n\n“D’oh,” commented Vasta.\n\n“Figures,” added Dixon, smirking.\n\nOnce they had gotten past the door and walked down the steps to the hangar, opening that door with another lever, they were faced with the second difficulty: how to activate the trains. Surprisingly, it was Boltar who found the solution.\n\n“Hey,” he said, climbing into the ebony train, “these things open right up.”\n\n“That isn’t the problem,” Vasta reminded him, “we can’t figure out how to make them run.”\n\nUndaunted, Boltar began fiddling around with the controls. He soon stopped, however, when he noticed that the car evidently had no power. Then, he noticed an indentation on the control panel about the size of the ebony key that Elahte had given him earlier. Shrugging, he placed the key in its slot, activating the car’s controls. Seeing a button labeled “Go”, he did the logical thing: he resisted the temptation to push the button and told the others what he had found.\n\nHa! Just kidding. On seeing the button labeled “Go”, he hesitated about half a second before pushing it. His car, in turn, hesitated even less before it shot down its tunnel at clearly unsafe speeds.\n\n“Looks like Boltar figured out how to start them,” observed McCurry.\n\n“Indeed,” Elahte agreed. “So it shouldn’t take too long for us to figure it out.”\n\nSeveral stories above them, Princess Elim paced her cell, bored. Prince Lotekh didn’t feel confident enough to have her killed, but he felt fine about throwing her in the “dungeon”. Technically, the palace didn’t have a dungeon, but Lotekh had gotten around this by declaring one of the empty pantries unpleasant enough to serve as a substitute. This made pacing hard, as the pantry lacked sufficient space for a pacer to get used to moving in one direction before running out of room and turning, but Elim did the best she could. After a few hours, she had memorized the layout of the pantry to the point where she could pace without thinking about it—which defeated the whole purpose, really, but she wasn’t going to let that stop her.\n\nAn unexpected knock on the door caught her by surprise. “Hello?” she called, just before her legs, which had kept moving in the absence of instructions to the contrary, propelled her into a wall. “Oof,” she added, pushing away from the wall and rubbing her face.\n\nThe door opened and Captain-Generals Tvanir and Mselt entered. “Good day, Princess,” Tvanir greeted, “I trust you are well?”\n\n“Oh sure,” Elim lied, “never better. And you?”\n\n“I just returned from … an encounter with the rebellion, actually,” Tvanir replied.\n\n“How ironic.”\n\nTvanir grimaced. Mselt looked confused, but said nothing. “I was wondering,” Tvanir continued, “if you know of anything called ‘Ampron’.”\n\nElim blinked. “Ampron? The Really Powerful Defender of Niceness and Stuff?”\n\n“That’s the one. What can you tell me about it?”\n\n“No much, really,” Elim admitted. “I never paid much attention to the old legends. Supposedly, it was a giant robot that defended the planet against several invasions, until the Dread Masters of Shananah VII destroyed it a while ago. Why do you ask?”\n\nTvanir and Mselt exchanged glances. “Chancellor Elahte has joined the rebellion,” Tvanir explained, drawing a shocked expression from the Princess. “He plans to use four giant penguins which were once part of Ampron to attack our forces. Evidently, there are four ‘keys’ in the palace that control them. Recently, four small artifacts in the Royal Shrine have disappeared. I suspect this ‘Ampron’ may be real.” She grimaced again. “Any advice you might have would be appreciated.”\n\nElim snorted. “Advice. Yeah, right.”\n\nTvanir shrugged. “As you like.”\n\n“Since it’s likely they’ll attack here,” Mselt said, “we’ll be taking you up to the Absurd Physical Harm with Prince Lotekh and me—for your own safety, of course.”\n\n“Of course,” Elim replied. “Does Lotekh know about this?”\n\nMselt hesitated. “Well … not yet. But he’ll see reason eventually.”\n\nElim was still laughing when the door closed.\n\nIn the shadows of the mountains miles north of the palace, those Aroruan farmers who had gotten up early—which was most of them, as farmers generally wake up at times others would consider very early—heard an explosion seeming to come from the mountains themselves. Turning north, they saw an enormous ebony penguin rising on a pillar of fire from a hole halfway up the third-tallest peak. Confused, they sought the advice of the local soothsayer, who checked her Book of Portents and discovered that giant ebony penguins rising out of fiery mountains was a sign that the local soothsayer wasn’t charging sufficient amounts for her services. Chastened, she swore to appease the gods by raising her prices. The thankful farmers declared a feast in her honor and went out looking for a fatted calf to slaughter.\n\nBack in the Control Room, Elahte explained his plan to the four remaining members of the Ampron force. “Since we’ve already found the Penguins,” he explained, “we can strike tonight.”\n\n“What about the other rebels?” asked Vasta.\n\nElahte shrugged. “They mean well, but there’s not much they can do that will help or hinder us.”\n\n“What about the mayhem that Boltar’s probably out causing?” Dixon asked.\n\n“Actually,” Elahte smiled, “I planned for that. There are three major concentrations of AOL forces and three Penguins, plus Boltar’s, so I assigned him to sort of wander around aimlessly. I think he can handle that.”\n\n“Sounds good,” Vasta said. “What about you and me?”\n\n“We will search the palace for the fifth key. We must be able to form Ampron before the Empire can send something really dangerous after us.”\n\n“Right.” Vasta turned to the others. “You three get going.”\n\nThey nodded and headed off to the hangar. Within moments, three more high-speed train cars were heading off to points unknown.\n\nHaving lived through the Zakavian conquest, the assassination in the palace, the Elim-Jjana scandal, and the constant, although ineffectual, police actions against the Aroruan People’s League, the inhabitants of Arorua’s capital city (known as “The City”, although it’s real name is “The Capital City”) considered themselves pretty worldly, especially compared to the rural majority of Arorua, most of whom had never even seen a Zakavian. At this point, they figured, nothing was going to surprise them. After all, what could be stranger than a romantic link between Princess Elim and Governor Jjana? Evidently, an enormous ebony penguin landing on the outskirts of town and trading fire with the local Aroruan Occupation Legion garrison was one of those things, and the reaction of the citizens could be summed up in a single word: flee.\n\nEven the Arouran People’s League, who were as close to jaded as Aroruans got, were thrown into a panic by this turn of events. They calmed down after they realized that (a) this was a good thing and (b) they had been expecting it. Having realized that, they immediately began a raid on the palace, reasoning that the Zakavians would surely reduce palace security when giant, hostile robots attacked.\n\nInside the palace, Mselt had just finished suggesting that Prince Lotekh accompany him on a visit to the Third Fleet in orbit when the first reports came in. Lotekh’s reaction was immediate: “Bomb the city flat!” he ordered.\n\n“That would kill us, your Highness,” Mselt reminded him.\n\n“But it would also destroy the Penguin, right?” Lotekh asked.\n\n“Maybe. But then we’d be dead, and there would still be Penguins to deal with.”\n\nLotekh stared. “There’s more than one?”\n\n“Yes, sire.”\n\n“How do you know that?” Lotekh asked, narrowing his eyes.\n\n“Um…I…that is…,” Mselt fumbled, “these things usually come in packs.”\n\n\nMselt nodded.\n\n“Huh,” Lotekh said, also nodding. “I did not know that.”\n\n“We’d better leave as soon as possible,” Mselt advised. “It will be safer in orbit, and we can send a distress signal to Planet Gloom.”\n\nLotekh nodded, reluctantly. “You’re right. But tell Tvanir to sell her life dearly, okay?”\n\n“Ah … right.”\n\nIn the AOL’s Command Room, which was far less advanced and far more stylish than the secret Aroruan Command Room several levels below it, Captain-General Tvanir was trying to organize her understaffed forces against the sudden threats. She was also trying to ignore the voice that was telling her that if she won she’d always be expected to work with insufficient forces.\n\n“Another one,” a tech reported. “It’s attacking our installation on the west continent.”\n\n“That’s one here, one attacking the local garrison, one at the coastal installation, and one on the west continent, then,” Tvanir summarized. “Any on the south continent?”\n\n“No, sir.”\n\n“Do we have any forces there?”\n\n“No, sir.”\n\n“Any way to contact the fleet?”\n\n“We couldn’t get funding for a communications array because we could just use the Aroruans’ array,” another tech answered, “but no one knows how to work the Aroruans’ array except the Aroruans, and they keep laughing when we ask them to contact the fleet for us.”\n\n“Lousy non-user-friendly software,” Tvanir sighed. “I knew I should have learned it when I had a chance. Anything else?”\n\n“A group of rebels just broke into the palace,” a third officer answered.\n\n“What!?” Tvanir demanded. “How did they defeat the guards?”\n\n“Evidently they threw a lot of sticks and stones at them. The guards just couldn’t handle it.”\n\n“Wonderful,” Tvanir sighed, sinking into her chair and rolling her eyes. She returned her gaze to the monitors just in time to see the rebels defeating one of their expensive Model S-IVa Walking Tanks by crushing it between two heavy logs. Idly, she made a mental note to report that design flaw.\n\nElsewhere in the palace, the Aroruan People’s League’s strike force ran through the mostly-empty corridors, some holding stolen deathkill blasters. Giddy with their first real taste of victory, they cried out “Whoo-hoo!”, “Yee-hah!”, “Gizzle fimp!”, “I am the Walrus!”, and other such nonsense phrases.\n\nAt their head, their somewhat less excitable leader Bentor did, in fact, have a specific destination he was leading the group to: the launch pad. Since there hadn’t been any launches lately, he figured, it meant Prince Lotekh was still on the palace. If he could capture Lotekh, he could probably trade him to the Emperor for his planet’s freedom.\n\nThe strike team burst out onto the launch pad in time to see Mselt help Princess Elim into the shuttle. They came to the obvious conclusion: “It’s the traitor!” they shouted in unison. “Let’s kill her!”\n\n“I am not a traitor!” Elim shouted back.\n\n“Yes you are,” Lotekh said, from inside the shuttle, “you worked against the Empire, remember? Since you’re an Imperial subject, that means you’ve betrayed it.”\n\n“True,” Elim admitted, “but I didn’t betray the rebellion.”\n\n“Couldn’t we just leave her here?” Lotekh asked Mselt. “She’s a girl, for crying out loud!”\n\n“Shut up,” Mselt replied. “Launch!” he yelled to the pilot, noticing that the rebels had been running towards them.\n\nThe pilot complied, and the shuttle began to lift off, forcing the last few escapees to grab onto the landing skids. Fortunately, the shuttle rose with enough speed to avoid the rebels, barely. The rebels, furious at their failure, could only shake their fists in anger. By the time they remembered they had guns, the shuttle had already established its shields.\n\nTvanir watched with a mixture of frustration and despair as her forces were devastated by four giant robot penguins while rebels wandered freely though the palace. Eventually, it occurred to her that she would probably want to leave the area if she wished to remain free. “Okay,” she told her command staff, “we’re getting out of here. Tell the troops to retreat as soon as they start losing. We’ll meet in the Mountains of Tallness as planned.”\n\nOddly enough, the Zakavian forces began losing within seconds of receiving Tvanir’s orders. At least, that’s what their commanders later claimed. Bereft of opponents, the Ampron Force ceased their attacks and returned to the Palace. After parking their Penguins by the palace, they met up with Elahte, Vasta, and the rest of the rebellion.\n\n“Great job,” Vasta congratulated them.\n\n“Thanks,” Dixon replied. “Did you manage to find the fifth key?”\n\nElahte shook his head. “We will continue looking, though,” he added.\n\n“I must say,” Dent commented, “I enjoyed that.”\n\n“You would,” McCurry told him.\n\n“Shut up, McCurry.”\n\nWhile McCurry engaged in shutting up, the six were joined by Bentor and Tels Garav, who had no doubt done many brave things in the battle, although he got rather vague when asked about it.\n\n“Great job, Ampron force,” said Bentor.\n\n“I am amazed that worked,” added Garav.\n\n“Well, I’m not,” Bentor announced. “We Aroruans have finally struck back successfully! I say we celebrate!”\n\nA cheer went up from the crowd.\n\n“I advice against premature merriment,” Elahte cautioned. “The Zakavians still have a large fleet in orbit.”\n\n“But the Penguins could just smash it, couldn’t they?” asked a rebel.\n\n“Maybe,” Elahte admitted, “but our pilots also need time to become more proficient in their abilities. We will need all the advantage we can get to defeat the Third Fleet: it’s taken on entire planetary armadas in the past.”\n\nThe crowd considered that for a few moments.\n\nSomeone shouted “Let’s party anyway!”\n\nAnd so they did.\n\nFar, far above the Aroruans, hanging menacingly above the planet, was the Zakavian Third Fleet. It’s commander, Captain-General Mselt, had just arrived on the bridge of his flagship, and was exchanging news with his flagship’s commander, Dfale. Not surprisingly, little had happened in orbit; the only interesting news Dfale had to report was the unveiling of the EDIT and the A/600 “Alpha Ra” Warrior-Ship. Mselt’s news was significantly less cheerful.\n\n“Open rebellion?” gasped Dfale. “I thought the Aroruans lacked the spine.”\n\n“As did I,” Mselt replied. “Perhaps there was some outside influence. In any case, the Aroruans may soon have their hands on a giant robot which, it is said, can take out whole invasion fleets. I suspect we should respond in kind. I will record a communication to Planet Gloom in my office.”\n\nDfale nodded. “Yes, sir. If I may ask…?”\n\n“We will fight giant robots with giant robots,” Mselt replied, “This ‘Ampron’ versus our A/600.”\n\n“Ah. That should be … interesting.”\n\nWill it be interesting?\n\nOr will the author chicken out and do all the combat implicitly again?\n\nWhy has Rtali suddenly reappeared again? Hasn’t he already done enough to move the plot along?\n\nDoes Vtami sleep in that armor?\n\nWouldn’t that be uncomfortable?\n\nMore questions like these will be asked after Captain Harrison’s plans change unexpectedly in the next episode of Starcruiser Anonymous.\n\nSFSTORY: Ask About our Latin Motto Contest", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5587809681892395}
+{"content": "\n\nThe Kmart off Route 88 was the first to allow people back in. The Walmart, also off Route 88 is in the process of allowing people to go back into the store as of 9 o'clock.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8776383996009827}
+{"content": "Algebraic shift register sequences by Mark Goresky\n\nBy Mark Goresky\n\nPseudo-random sequences are crucial elements of each glossy electronic conversation procedure together with mobile phones, GPS, safe net transactions and satellite tv for pc imagery. each one software calls for pseudo-random sequences with particular statistical houses. This e-book describes the layout, mathematical research and implementation of pseudo-random sequences, rather these generated via shift registers and comparable architectures reminiscent of feedback-with-carry shift registers. the sooner chapters can be utilized as a textbook in a complicated undergraduate arithmetic direction or a graduate electric engineering direction; the extra complex chapters offer a reference paintings for researchers within the box. heritage fabric from algebra, starting with effortless workforce concept, is equipped in an appendix\n1. creation -- 2. Sequences -- three. Linear suggestions shift registers and linear recurrences -- four. suggestions with hold shift registers and multiply with hold sequences -- five. Algebraic suggestions shift registers -- 6. d-FCSRs -- 7. Galois mode, linear registers, and similar circuits -- eight. Measures of pseudo-randomness -- nine. Shift and upload sequences -- 10. m-sequences -- eleven. comparable sequences and their correlations -- 12. Maximal interval functionality box sequences -- thirteen. Maximal interval FCSR sequences -- 14. Maximal interval d-FCSR sequences -- 15. sign in synthesis and LFSR synthesis -- sixteen. FCSR synthesis -- 17. AFSR synthesis -- 18. commonplace and asymptotic habit of safety features -- Appendix A. summary algebra -- Appendix B. Fields -- Appendix C. Finite neighborhood jewelry and galois earrings -- Appendix D. Algebraic realizations of sequences\n\nShow description\n\nRead Online or Download Algebraic shift register sequences PDF\n\nBest shakespeare books\n\nShakespeare: The Invention of the Human\n\nShakespeare: the discovery of the Human is the fruits of Harold Bloom's life's paintings in interpreting, writing approximately, and instructing Shakespeare. it's his passionate and convincing research of ways during which Shakespeare no longer in basic terms represented human nature as we all know it this present day, yet truly created it: ahead of Shakespeare, there has been characterization; after Shakespeare, there has been personality, women and men with hugely person personalities--Hamlet, Falstaff, Iago, Cleopatra, Macbeth, Rosalind, and Lear, between them.\n\nShakespeare and the Origins of English\n\nWhat did Shakespeare research in school? Did he research artistic writing? This e-book addresses those and comparable questions because the writer indicates the place the fashionable topic of ''English'' got here from, and what half Shakespeare performed in its formation. by means of the origins of English we achieve a brand new standpoint at the topic because it is practiced this day.\n\nAlternative Shakespeares (New Accents) (Volume 2)\n\nWhilst serious thought met literary reports within the Seventies and '80s, the most radical and intriguing theoretical paintings concentrated at the quasi-sacred determine of Shakespeare. In substitute Shakespeares, John Drakakis introduced jointly key essays via founding figures during this move to remake Shakespeare reports.\n\nA Will to Believe: Shakespeare and Religion\n\n'A Will to think' is a revised model of Kastan's 2008 'Oxford Wells Shakespeare Lectures', offering a provocative account of the ways that faith animates Shakespeare's performs. summary: A Will to think is a revised model of Kastan's 2008 Oxford Wells Shakespeare Lectures, delivering a provocative account of the ways that faith animates Shakespeare's performs.\n\nAdditional info for Algebraic shift register sequences\n\nSample text\n\nA ⎦ ⎣ ⎦ . m 0 am am+1 a2m−2 and am = qm . Since qm is invertible, these vectors form a basis of R m . Now suppose the impulse response sequence has period r < T . Then Ar s0 = s0 . So Ar s1 = Ar As0 = As0 = s1 and similarly Ar sk = sk for each k. Since A is linear it follows that Ar v = v for all v ∈ R m . That is, Ar = I . Therefore the order of A divides r , which is a contradiction. 1 the mapping φ : R[x]/(q ∗ ) → Hom(R m , R m ) is one to one, and it maps the polynomial x to the companion matrix A.\n\nLet T be the order of q (which equals the order of q ∗ ). 2 Let a be a periodic sequence of elements in R that satisfies the linear recurrence defined by q. Then the (minimal) period of a divides T . If qm is invertible in R then the period of the impulse response sequence is exactly equal to T . If R is finite then T divides the order |R[x]/(q ∗ )× | of the group of invertible elements in R[x]/(q ∗ ). If R is a finite field and if q ∗ is irreducible then T divides ∗ ∗ |R|deg(q ) −1. If R is a finite field then q ∗ is primitive if and only if T = |R|deg(q ) −1.\n\nSince r < T , the minimality of T implies r = 0. If A is finite, then there are |A|T sequences with period T . Let us now consider the number of sequences with least period T . Let N (T ) denote the number of sequences with period T and let M(T ) denote the number of sequences with least period T . Then |A|T = N (T ) = M(T1 ). 20), M(T ) = μ(T /T1 )|A|T1 . 2 Fibonacci numbers The Fibonacci sequence, an example of a sequence generated by a second order linear homogenous recurrence, has been known for over 2000 years.\n\nDownload PDF sample\n\nRated 4.54 of 5 – based on 31 votes", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9368976354598999}
+{"content": "How To Find The Right Make Up Brushes\n\n2Choosing makeup brushes is an essential part of any modern women’s makeup routine. Without it, many tasks can be hard to do or nearly impossible. Applying blush, eye shadow, and a plethora of other makeup might look radically different. However, these are made for such tasks. It’s essential to be able to pick the right brush for the job.\n\nWhat Size Do You Need?\n\n\nFirst, the brush size is an important element to consider. Brushes come in a variety and can range from small to large. The different sizes is has a practical element to it and can be adapted to the type of makeup that it is going to apply. It’s essential to consider what makeup is going to be applied in order to select the size. Larger brushes are ideal for covering larger portions of the face. Take foundation brushes, for example. Foundation brushes tend to be a medium to large size and can be adapted to blending based strokes. Kabuki brushes are ideal for applying bronzers as well, applying them softly to the skin.\n\nThese are just a couple examples of the importance of larger brushes. These might be more of cream based product, so they are much easier to stick to the bristles. Smaller brushes can perfect those seeking to apply concealer to certain parts of the eye. These detailed-oriented type brushes are thin and small to make small little adjustments to the makeup that might help it stand out a little bit better overall.\n\nFor example, eyeliner brushes tend to be small and can be angled, thus making it ideal for highlighting. Concealer brushes are also a little smaller than other brushes, to aid in the process of concealing those spots that are not ideal (very detail-oriented.)\n\nBlending Brushesshutterstock_257816848\n\nBlending brushes also fall under this particular category. Second, look at the stiffness of the brush. An example of a stiffer brush could be the eye shader brush and it can be used for packing in the color well in certain parts of the face. Using a soft brush such as a Tapered Blending Brush can be used for more ideal situations such as blending colors together. These are just a couple examples of how the stiffness can affect the job of the brush. It can be a challenge sometimes choosing the right brush for the right moment.\n\nIt is very important to note that the time of makeup will determine the stiffness of the brush. It can be essential to look more into the type of makeup that you want to apply, and then choose an appropriate one for the job. Stiffer brushes might do a better job of holding in some of the makeup, such as applying highlights to the eye area. Softer brushes might be more essential for blending purposes and can help with the application of creams.\n\nHowever, there are several questions that can remain in the world of makeup brushes? Such as the variety of brushes for certain applications over others, and why there are so many subtle differences between two similar types of brushes. However, let’s focus on an example. Eyeliner brushes. So if you notice, eye shadows have a large variety of brushes. Why is that? There are several reasons that can be deduced for this.\n\nOne of these reasons is that different brush sizes can help with various tasks such as blending cream based products. For example, blending parts of the eye shadow with the rest of the makeup. Other reasons might include having brushes that can help with applying color in some of those creases on the face. The list can range on from there as each one can help with a few different looks that might arise.\nAdditionally, look at cleaning your brushes as periodically as possible. This cleaning routine can ensure a few major benefits that can be felt long into the future. Let’s outline them:\n\n• Clean makeup brushes can ensure longevity. It shows that you can about the brushes and can lengthen their lifespans significantly. That can reduce the amount that you spend on purchasing new brushes and keep some of that money in your pocket for that girl’s night out. Taking time to clean the brushes will help with ensuring that the brushes stay in pristine condition. They keep the bristles the way that they are supposed to be and help with ensuring that the brushes don’t get too stiff.\n\n• Keeping them clean can ensure that they are hygienic to use again. It can help remove the grease and oil, as well as other things that might trap bacteria. Cleaning them periodically will make it much easier to keep yourself from getting as sick as often. It might even help to keep out mites and other things as well. These can find a home in just about anything.\n\n• Regular cleaning can ensure that colors don’t blend on the brush when you don’t want them to blend. It gets out the colors that were on the brush and can ensure that only the colors that you want get on the brush for the next use. That is something that makes it much easier on the front end.\n\n• Dirty brushes can unevenly distribute the makeup across the face, making it less than ideal. No woman wants to have their makeup messed up due to things not being distributed and blended appropriately. That will make it easier to get the look that you are wanting with a clean brush.\nIt’s great to have reasons to clean the brushes but what about cleaning tips? Are there any tips for cleaning, drying, or even how much? There are a few good ideas and things to consider when it comes to cleaning them:\n\n• Clean them roughly 1 to 2 times a week. This can seem like it’s a problem, but it can be a great way to reap the benefits above. In addition, it can be a soothing routine for you before going to bed as well. That can help you be ready to fall asleep as soon as you get into bed.\n\n• Make sure to clean them at night to give them time to air dry accordingly. They’ll be ready to go in the morning, as you are preparing to get ready for the day. This can also help with restoring the shape of the brushes over time. If you don’t have time to dry them over night, then a hair dryer or a radiator can help though these might not be ideal.\n\n• Some makeup artists try to use synthetic brushes and use things like dish soap to help remove some of those tougher stains.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8714065551757812}
+{"content": "• Hottest Cultures!\n  • グルメ\n\n\n日本の流行語を英語でご紹介！ ちょっとした英語の勉強。是非、英語で日本の文化を広めてみて！\n\nねとめし Netomeshi\n\n\n\n‘ねとめし’ refers to food or dishes that have been popularized through the internet. Using simple ingredients that can be easily found at the supermarket , what makes these recipes special is the creative combination of ingredients. Ever tried using beer to fry rice with chicken? Or perhaps eating toast bread with sliced pear topped with maple syrup? These pairings may sound peculiar, but they surprisingly turn out to be delicious combinations.\n\n\nAnother example is the popular ‘桃モッツアレラ’ , which is prepared using peach, mozzarella cheese and other garnishes. Also, these dishes are fairly simple, making it a perfect quick fix meal for amateur cooks. If you are feeling adventurous, these unconventional dishes may just be the thing for you.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6316941380500793}
+{"content": "Reversal of the inhibitory effect of light and high temperature on germination of Phacelia tanacetifolia seeds by melatonin\n\n\nAddress reprint requests to Iskender Tiryaki, Kahramanmaraş Sutcu Imam University, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Field Crops, Kahramanmaraş, Turkey 46100.\n\n\nAbstract:  Possible role of melatonin in the germination of negatively photoblastic and thermosensitive seeds of Phacelia tanacetifolia Benth was studied. Final germination percentage (FGP) was determined in the presence or absence of light at various temperatures, ranging from 0 to 40°C. The highest FGP was determined as 48.7% and 92% at temperature of 15°C in the presence and absence of light, respectively. Seeds were primed with 1% KNO3 containing various concentrations (0.3, 1, 6, 12, 30, 60, or 90 μm) of melatonin for 2 days at 15°C in darkness. Primed seeds were germinated at an inhibitory temperature of 30°C, and results were compared to those occurring at the optimum temperature of 15°C under both light and no light conditions. Melatonin incorporated into priming medium significantly reversed the inhibitory effects of light and high temperature. Germination was elevated from 2.5% to 52% of FGP for seeds primed in the presence of 6 μm melatonin in darkness at 30°C, while 1 μm melatonin had the highest FGP (21.0%) in the presence of light at 30°C. The highest FGP (47.5%) was obtained from seeds primed in the presence of 0.3 μm melatonin under the light condition at 15°C, while untreated seeds had 1.5% of FGP. The fastest seed germination was determined from seeds primed in the presence of 0.3 μm melatonin (G50 = 0.56 days) at 15°C in darkness. The possible roles of melatonin in promoting germination parameters of photo- and thermosensitive seed germination are discussed.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9961491823196411}
+{"content": "Dreaming in Inglewood with a Chinese Family\n\nWhy Dream in Inglewood?\n\nThis cheeky question is the name of an ambitious new LA theatre company.  And they respond by making a reality out of what seems a wild idea — staging Dream of the Red Chamber in Inglewood’s Vincent Park.\n\nWhat, you may well ask, is Dream of the Red Chamber?\n\nChinese literature lovers know it as a classic 18th-century novel, the many-stranded, meandering tale of a noble family’s decline.  LA playwright Henry Ong (Madame Mao’s Memories, Sweet Karma) has wrestled this dragon and transformed it into four hour-long plays – the first time it has been given theatrical form in English.\n\nKrystal Torres, Taylor Hawthorne, Longo Chu, Joe Luis Cedillo, Kila Kitu (seated), Lee Chen-Norman, Juanita Chase, Bruce Lemon (photo: Henry Ong)\n\nWhy Dream…? stages it ambitiously, in both senses of the word. The saga spreads over six hours (including two intermissions and a meal), requiring the talents of 13 actors and a musician — and it wanders (or ambits) around the park, using several areas of the large outdoor amphitheater as well as the cozy indoor Willie Agee Playhouse.\n\nOng and company also take on the daunting challenge of creating and keeping distinct more than 30 characters.  At the same time, they must help us hold on to who fits where in the complex web of a four-generation family, its servants, and the monks and nuns (both Buddhist and Taoist) and imperial officials who enter their life.\n\nSurprisingly, the production is simple and unassuming.  We gather informally while the cast sits above us on a tree-shaded knoll.  Ong introduces the play, the actors — even the audience (most of whom he’s chatted with before the show, borrowing a pen to write down our names).\n\nThe actors and a musician are comfortably dressed, not burdened by ornate costumes.  They move in and out of position in full view, often shifting characters before our eyes, sometimes retreating behind a tree or a row of seats.  They chat with us on breaks, while grabbing snacks and water.\n\nYet, at day’s end, I was astonished at how well we’d connected with these vivid characters, their intricate story, and the formal culture they lived in.  That’s a remarkable achievement, and credit belongs to everyone involved – Ong and co-director Kila Kitu, the actors, the tireless musician/composer Long Chu, choreographer Annie Yee, the minimal but clear costume choices by Benita Elliott and Shirley Nii, and stage manager Stella Ong’s unobtrusive shepherding of the troupe, the audience and the equipment.\n\nThese artists create an ensemble, where everyone pays attention and cooperates (especially in unexpected impromptu moments).  With such a true ensemble, it’s hard to single out performers.  Still, the arresting Taylor Hawthorne (as the hero, Pau-Yu) and the elfin Bianca Lemaire (as the heroine, Black Jade) carry the central love story with seeming ease.  Each also finds ways to blend modern American speech inflections and non-verbal cues with classical Chinese gestures, so we always feel  precisely what they’re feeling and know just what they’re thinking.\n\nJoe Luis Cedillo and Juanita Chase provide the other “backbones” – he alternating (at times instantly) among family patriarchs and minor characters; she maintaining the driving force of Phoenix, a daughter-in-law who becomes the power behind the matriarchal throne.  Bruce Lemon’s intelligent portraits of rising young men in moral crises; Kristopher Dowling’s oily self-confidence as a trickster; Kori Denise’s mercurial shifting among girls, wives and servants; and Robert Paterno’s leaps between genders, all enrich the world with individuals of every class and type.\n\nIn a time when ignorance makes anything foreign look frightening, Dream of the Red Chamber introduces us to an unfamiliar, puzzling world.  Once there, we discover people who love and lose and scheme and sorrow just as we do.  They may have lived centuries ago, halfway around the world, but after we have spent a day as guests of their family, they have become part of ours.\n\nOne of theatre’s most crucial jobs is to surprise our expectations. The artists of Why Dream in Inglewood? intend to do just that.  And they succeed.  In a city park shared with children and ice-cream trucks, they take us on a comfortable, easygoing journey into the unknown world of classical China (portrayed by actors of varying ethnicities).  We end the journey delighted with where we’ve been, unable to believe six hours have passed.  This cycle of plays, and this company, deserve a long life; we need them to help us dream.\nDream of the Red Chamber, by Cao Xueqin, adapted and directed by Henry Ong; co-directed by Kila Kitu.\nPresented by Why Dream in Inglewood? at Ed Vincent Park, 714 Warren Lane, Inglewood 90302.\n\n\nTickets: Free, at (310) 450-9522 or  www.facebook.com/dreamoftheredchambertheplay .", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5494027137756348}
+{"content": "zondag 25 september 2016\n\nYou can Trade!\n\nHoi, Hi!\n\nDit is een blog voor persoonlijke doeleinden, plaats zo nu en dan een post hier en daar van een grafiek die ik hier op dit blog geplaatst heb. Hecht dus niet al teveel waarde aan grafieken die je ziet, het zijn mijn persoonlijke opvattingen ten aanzien van.   Wat je met de grafieken doet moet je zelf weten, kijk rustig rond, en wie weet is het leerzaam.\n\nVeel plezier, en eventueel succes.\n\nA blog for personal use, here i dump my charts, 'good' or not..\n\n\nFirst of all, i like to trade the Elliott wave way, some explanation of the Elliott waves can you find below and i recommend to read it because you will understand markets probably better.\n\nI am a big fan of the trading software Track 'n Trade of Gecko Software and my trading platform is the futures version. They have for everyone a platform, do you like stocks trading, \"Track 'n trade stocks\" is something for you, rather trade the forex market?, \"Track 'n trade forex\" is for you. Maybe in the options trading?, the futures platform has that feature! By the way, this software, Trademiner, also a Gecko Software product for trading stocks is also interesting, i think a product like never seen before for trading stocks.\nNow you know what is possible in trading, time for some training…what about a Stock market course and a course in options of course,Options trading. Trading is fun, and when right done profitable..but you need a plan, a tradingplan to get the most out of your money. Well that's all, trade safe, anyone can trade!\n\n\nIn his 1938 book, The Wave Principle, and again in a series of articles published in 1939 by Financial World magazine, R.N. Elliott pointed out that the stock market unfolds according to a basic rhythm or pattern of five waves up and three waves down to form a complete cycle of eight waves. The pattern of five waves up followed by three waves down is depicted in Figure 1-2.\n\nOne complete cycle consisting of eight waves, then, is made up of two distinct phases, the motive phase (also called a \"five\"), whose subwaves are denoted by numbers, and the corrective phase (also called a \"three\"), whose subwaves are denoted by letters. The sequence a, b, c corrects the sequence 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 in Figure 1-2.\nAt the terminus of the eight-wave cycle shown in Figure 1-2 begins a second similar cycle of five upward waves followed by three downward waves. A third advance then develops, also consisting of five waves up. This third advance completes a five wave movement of one degree larger than the waves of which it is composed. The result is as shown in Figure 1-3 up to the peak labeled (5).\n\nAt the peak of wave (5) begins a down movement of correspondingly larger degree, composed once again of three waves. These three larger waves down \"correct\" the entire movement of five larger waves up. The result is another complete, yet larger, cycle, as shown in Figure 1-3. As Figure 1-3 illustrates, then, each same-direction component of a motive wave, and each full-cycle component (i.e., waves 1 + 2, or waves 3 + 4) of a cycle, is a smaller version of itself.\n\n\nSome Affiliate links are used in this item.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9089597463607788}
+{"content": "Healthy Rosemary Recipes\n\nFind healthy, delicious rosemary recipes, from the food and nutrition experts at EatingWell.\n\nSort by:\n\nTomato-Herb Marinated Flank Steak\n\nIn this recipe, we make a dual-purpose sauce from garden-fresh tomatoes, shallot, marjoram and rosemary. We use half the sauce to marinate the steak and use the other half as a basting sauce. Pasture-raised, grass-fed beef is gentler on the environment, free from growth-promoting hormones and typically lower in fat and calories than grain-fed beef. Marinating grass-fed beef for a full day helps make it tender. Look for it at natural-foods markets or find it online.\n\n\"Kneadless\" Black Olive & Herb Yeast Loaves\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9867949485778809}
+{"content": "The concept of judicial activism which is another name for innovative interpretation was not of the recent past; it was born in 1804 when Chief Justice Marshall, the greatest Judge of the English-speaking world, decided Marbury v. Madison1. Marbury was appointed Judge under the Judiciary Act of 1789 by the U.S. Federal Government. Though the warrant of appointment was signed it could not be delivered. Marbury brought an action for issue of a writ of mandamus. By then, Marshall became the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court having been appointed by the outgoing President, who lost the election. Justice Marshall faced the imminent prospect of the Government not obeying the judicial fiat if the claim of Marbury was to be upheld. In a rare display of judicial statesmanship asserting the power of the Court to review the actions of the Congress and the Executive, Chief Justice Marshall declined the relief on the ground that Section 13 of the Judiciary Act of 1789, which was the foundation for the claim made by Marbury, was unconstitutional since it conferred in violation of the American Constitution, original jurisdiction on the Supreme Court to issue writs of mandamus. He observed that the Constitution was the fundamental and paramount law of the nation and \"it is for the court to say what the law is\". He concluded that the particular phraseology of the Constitution of the United States confirms and strengthens the principle supposed to be essential to all written Constitutions. That a law repugnant to the Constitution is void and that the courts as well as other departments are bound by that instrument. If there was conflict between a law made by the Congress and the provisions in the Constitution, it was the duty of the court to enforce the Constitution and ignore the law. The twin concepts of judicial review and judicial activism were thus born.\n\nJudicial creativity may yield good results if it is the result of principled activism but if it is propelled by partisanship, it may result in catastrophic consequences generating conflicts which may result in social change. In 1857 when the American Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Taney ruled in Dred Scott v. Sandford that negros were not equal to whites and the rights guaranteed under the Constitution were not available to them, the decision had accelerated the civil war between the Northern and Southern States ultimately resulting in the abolition of slavery and strengthening of the Union.\n\nThe function of the American Judiciary was intended to be proscriptive to block the enforcement of an unjust law or action instead of being prescriptive giving directions as to how remedial actions should be taken by the Executive. The Fifth Amendment to the American Constitution mandating inter alia that no one shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law was in the beginning understood as applicable only to the Union. It however was extended by the Fourteenth Amendment to the States also. As a result of this decision, the responsibility of the American Supreme Court to interpret the legislative and executive actions in the light of the due process clause became very great.\n\nIn the initial stages, only in respect of substantive laws, the doctrine of due process was applied but later the procedural laws also were brought within its purview. Between 1898 and 1937, the American Supreme Court declared 50 Congressional enactments and 400 State laws as unconstitutional. Freedom of contract and individual rights to property came to be viewed by Judges as paramount and sacred. As a result, several welfare laws including the one pertaining to restriction of hours of labour for bakery workers were struck down. The commerce clause came in very handy for the Supreme Court to strike down several progressive legislative measures commonly called \"New Deal Legislation\". Restraints on manufacturing processes also came to be struck down under the commerce clause.\n\nThis active posture of the Supreme Court made the President to devise a method to increase the number of Judges by what is popularly called \"court packing plan\". The proposal was to retire every Judge who completed the age of 70 years and in his place to appoint two Judges with the consequence that the majority of the Judges of the Supreme Court Bench would be the nominees of the President. The President expected support from his nominees. Although this plan did not materialise, it yielded the desired result in that the court reversed its trend. In fact, this was perceived as a success for the Executive vis-...-vis the Judiciary.\n\nThe next important development in judicial activism in the United States was noticed in the first and second Brown cases, when the Court, under the leadership of Chief Justice Earl Warren, disallowed racial segregation in public schools and extended that prohibition to all public facilities. The earlier position taken in Plessy v. Ferguson that blacks could be treated as a separate class but must be provided with equal facilities - separate but equal - founded on racial discrimination was rejected by the Supreme Court at the risk of disturbing the institutional comity and delicate balance between the three organs of the State - the Legislature, the Executive and the Judiciary.\n\nThese decisions highlight the judicial statesmanship of Chief Justice Earl Warren, who declared that his appointment to the Supreme Court was \"a mission to do justice\".\n\nAfter the American Government adopted the policy of affirmative action in order to improve the economic conditions of the blacks and also remove the sense of injustice blacks as a group had nurtured, the Supreme Court sustained the legislative measures enacted in this regard. In H. Earl Fullilove v. Philip M. Klutzniok a provision in the Public Works Employment Act, 1977 requiring States to procure services or supplies from businesses owned by minority group members was upheld declaring that it is a necessary step to effectuate the constitutional mandate for equality of economic opportunity.\n\nThis progressive trend appeared to have received a setback in the very next year, i.e., 1978 in the Regents of the University of California v. Allen Bakke. Allen Bakke, a white, who failed to secure admission to the University of California Medical School challenged a provision by which 16% of the seats were reserved in favour of disadvantaged members of certain minority races as violative of the equality clause. The Court although accepted the principle that race-conscious admission programmes for the purpose of remedying the effects of past discrimination were legally permissible, sustained the challenge and granted a declaratory relief. This decision indicates the anxiety of the Supreme Court to retain its progressive image by not departing from the earlier precedents but at the same time trying to effectively set at naught the beneficial measures intended for the advancement of the disabled sections. This was achieved by the court by putting the blame on the University that it could not produce evidence to demonstrate that the preferential qualification in favour of the disadvantaged sections was either needed or geared to promote the stated goal of delivering health care services to the communities currently underserved. Both these cases are examples of judicial activism: one to render substantive justice and the other formal justice. Fortunately, this trend came to a halt in 1989 when the Supreme Court sustained an ordinance adopted by the Virginia City Council under which non-minority contractors were required to give sub-contracts at least to the extent of 30% to one or more of the minority business enterprises.\n\nJudicial activism was made possible in India, thanks to PIL (Public Interest Litigation). Generally speaking before the court takes up a matter for adjudication, it must be satisfied that the person who approaches it has sufficient interest in the matter. Stated differently, the test is whether the petitioner has locus standi to maintain the action? This is intended to avoid unnecessary litigation. The legal doctrine 'Jus tertii' implying that no one except the affected person can approach a court for a legal remedy was holding the field both in respect of private and public law adjudications until it was overthrown by the PIL wave.\n\nPIL, a manifestation of judicial activism, has introduced a new dimension regarding judiciary's involvement in public administration. The sanctity of locus standi and the procedural complexities are totally side-tracked in the causes brought before the courts through PIL. In the beginning, the application of PIL was confined only to improving the lot of the disadvantaged sections of the society who by reason of their poverty and ignorance were not in a position to seek justice from the courts and, therefore, any member of the public was permitted to maintain an application for appropriate directions.\n\nAfter the Constitution (Twenty fifth Amendment) Act, 1971, by which primacy was accorded to a limited extent to the Directive Principles vis-...-vis the Fundamental Rights making the former enforceable rights, the expectations of the public soared high and the demands on the courts to improve the administration by giving appropriate directions for ensuring compliance with statutory and constitutional prescriptions have increased. Beginning with the Ratlam Municipality case the sweep of PIL had encompassed a variety of causes.\n\nEnsuring green belts and open spaces for maintaining ecological balance; forbidding stone-crushing activities near residential complexes; earmarking a part of the reserved forest for Adivasis to ensure their habitat and means of livelihood; compelling the municipal authorities of the Delhi Municipal Corporation to perform their statutory obligations for protecting the health of the community; compelling the industrial units to set up effluent treatment plants; directing installation of air-pollution-controlling devices for preventing air pollution; directing closure of recalcitrant factories in order to save the community from the hazards of environmental pollution and quashing of a warrant of appointment for the office of Judge, High Court of Assam and Guwahati are some of the later significant cases displaying judicial activism.\n\nA five-member Bench of the Andhra Pradesh High Court in D. Satyanarayana v. N.T. Rama Rao has gone to the extent of laying down the proposition that the executive is accountable to the public through the instrumentality of the judiciary.\n\nConsistency in adhering to earlier views despite the amendment of the law is an aspect - though not a brighter one - of judicial activism. Illustrative of this in the Indian context is the decision of the Supreme Court in Bela Banerjee case in which even after the Constitution (Fourth Amendment) Act, 1955 specifically injuncting that no law concerning acquisition of property for a public purpose shall be called in question on the ground that the compensation provided by that law is not adequate, the Supreme Court reiterated its earlier view expressed in Subodh Gopal and Dwarkadas cases to the effect that compensation is a justiciable issue and that what is provided by way of compensation must be \"a just equivalent of what the owner has been deprived of\". Golak Nath case is also an example of judicial activism in that the Supreme Court for the first time by a majority of 6 against 5, despite the earlier holding that Parliament in exercise of its constituent power can amend any provision of the Constitution, declared that the fundamental rights as enshrined in Part III of the Constitution are immutable and so beyond the reach of the amendatory process. The doctrine of \"prospective overruling\", a feature of the American Constitutional Law, was invoked by the Supreme Court to avoid unsettling matters which attained finality because of the earlier amendments to the Constitution. The declaration of law by the Supreme Court that in future, Indian Parliament has no power to amend any of the provisions of Part III of the Constitution became the subject-matter of very animated discussion.\n\nKesavananda Bharati had given a quietus to the controversy as to the immutability of any of the provisions of the Constitution. By a majority of seven against six, the Court held that under Article 368 of the Constitution, Parliament has undoubted power to amend any provision in the Constitution but the amendatory power does not extend to alter the basic structure or framework of the Constitution. Illustratively, it was pointed out by the Supreme Court that the following, among others, are the basic features: (i) Supremacy of the Constitution; (ii) Republican and Democratic form of Government; (iii) Secularism; (iv) Separation of powers between the legislature, the executive and the judiciary; and (v) Federal character of the Constitution. Supremacy and permanency of the Constitution have thus been ensured by the pronouncement of the summit court of the country with the result that the basic features of the Constitution are now beyond the reach of Parliament.\n\nThe judicial power under our Constitution is vested in the Supreme Court and the High Courts which are empowered to exercise the power of judicial review both in regard to legislative and executive actions. Judges cannot shirk their responsibilities as adjudicators of legal and constitutional matters. How onerous the exercise of judicial power was was very aptly stated by Chief Justice Marshall:\n\n\nA common criticism we hear about judicial activism is that in the name of interpreting the provisions of the Constitution and legislative enactments, the judiciary often rewrites them without explicitly stating so and in this process, some of the personal opinions of the judges metamorphose into legal principles and constitutional values. One other facet of this line of criticism is that in the name of judicial activism, the theory of separation of powers is overthrown and the judiciary is undermining the authority of the legislature and the executive by encroaching upon the spheres reserved for them. Critics openly assert that the Constitution provides for checks and balances in order to pre-empt concentration of power by any branch not confided in it by the Constitution.\n\nEvery Judge must play an active role in the discharge of his duties as \"adjudicator of disputes\". His role as an interpreter of law and dispenser of justice according to law should not be allowed to be diminished either because of the perceived notions of the other two wings of the State - the legislature and the executive or any section of the public. But this cannot be termed judicial activism.\n\nLaws enacted by the legislature must be implemented by the executive and their interpretation is within the province of the judiciary. That is the reason why judiciary has always been treated as the least dangerous branch and sometimes it is also described as the weakest of the three branches with no control either on the purse or on the sword. By reason of judicial activism, much good or harm could be brought about by the Judges by resorting to innovative interpretation. Decisions rendered by courts generally receive public acceptance in every democracy adhering to the concept of rule of law. The criticism occasionally voiced that the judiciary does not have a popular mandate and, therefore, it cannot play a prescriptive role which is the domain of the elected law-making body sounds at first blush sensible. Even so, the prescriptive role of the judiciary sometimes receives public approbation because the role played by it sustains what the Constitution mandates and averts the evils the basic document seeks to prohibit.\n\nInterpretation of the Constitution is radically different from the interpretation of an ordinary legislative provision. The Constitution being the basic document incorporating the enduring values the nation cherished inevitably contains open-ended provisions which afford wider scope for the judiciary in the matter of interpretation. \"We must never forget\", observed Chief Justice Marshall, \"that it is a Constitution we are expounding ... intended to endure for ages to come and consequently to be adapted to the various crises of human affairs.\" In line with this thought was the view of Justice Cardozo, another great Judge:\n\n\"A Constitution states or ought to state not rules for the passing hour but principles for an expanding future.\"\n\nThe role of the Judge in interpreting law has been graphically described thus:\n\n\"Judges must be sometimes cautious and sometimes bold. Judges must respect both the traditions of the past and the convenience of the present. Judges must reconcile liberty and authority; the whole and its parts.\"\n\nWhere the public opinion asserts itself against the decisions of the judiciary, the question immediately surfaces as to the legitimacy of the judiciary since it lacks popular mandate. That is the reason why judiciary was cautioned by eminent legal philosophers to exercise great restraint while declaring the actions of the legislature unconstitutional. Judicial veto must not be exercised except in cases that \"leave no room for reasonable doubt\". Very eminent Judges like Holmes, Brandeis and Frankfurter always adhered to the theory of reasonable doubt believing firmly that what will appear to be unconstitutional to one person may reasonably be not so to another and that the Constitution unfolds a wide range of choices and the legislature therefore should not be presumed to be bound by any particular choice and whatever choice is rational, the court must uphold as constitutional. No legislature can with reasonable certainty foresee the future contingencies and necessarily every enacted law, on a closer scrutiny, will reveal several gaps which the judiciary is expected to fill. This is popularly called judicial legislation. Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, while admitting this self-evident truth observed:\n\n\"... I recognise without hesitation that judges do and must legislate, but they can do so only interstitially; they are confined from molar to molecular motions.\"\n\nA delicate problem arises as to what constitutes a rational view according to the Constitution or an irrational view at variance with the constitutional prescriptions? To sustain a legislation or to strike it down, often times, the concept of \"public interest\" is relied upon by the judiciary. How slippery this doctrine of public interest is was graphically described by Justice Holmes thus:\n\n\"... (it is) a fiction intended to beautify what is disagreeable to the sufferers.\"\n\nand this was resorted to as part of the unwillingness of the Judges \"to grant power\" and \"to recognise it when it exists\". According to Justice Holmes, law, including constitutional law, \"is crystallised public opinion\".\n\nSubjectivity, it is now unanimously accepted, must be eschewed in the judicial process. But this is easier said than done. Often times, private notions of judges take the shape of legal principles.\n\nJudicial activism can be compared with legislative activism. The latter is of two types: (i) activist law-making; and (ii) dynamic law-making. Activist law-making implies the legislature taking the existing ideas from the consensus prevailing in the society. Dynamic law-making surfaces when the legislature creates an idea outside the consensus and before it is formulated, propagates it. Dynamic law-making always ordinarily carries with it legitimacy because it is the creation of the legislators who have the popular mandate. Judges cannot play such a dynamic role; no idea alien to the constitutional objectives can be metamorphosed by judicial interpretation into a binding constitutional principle.\n\nWithout resorting to a preference in favour of any particular value choice and thereby inviting criticism of entering into the constitutionally forbidden area of judicial activism, the court can always draw lines at new angles by dexterously resorting to innovative interpretative processes.\n\nThe resultant situation may sometimes bring credit to the judicial institution and sometimes it may prove counter-productive. Examples of both categories are found even in the British constitutional law where the judiciary cannot go into the legality of a legislative measure enacted by Parliament. In the Indian context although it is not difficult to categorise cases under the above heads, the author refrains from doing so but nonetheless he is tempted to mention one decision as a great example of judicial boldness. Independence of the judiciary is recognised as the basic feature of the Constitution and when a person who was not qualified to become a High Court Judge was about to be sworn into the office, the Supreme Court intervened and permanently injuncted him from assuming the office and the Union of India and other constitutional functionaries not to administer oath despite the warrant of appointment issued by the President. The Court also struck a note of caution that, ordinarily, appointments to the High Court Benches should not be interfered with by the judiciary but in exceptional circumstances, interference becomes necessary. The Supreme Court had extracted the note of the Chief Justice of India who recommended an unqualified person for the office of Judge, High Court, stating that he is a judicial officer and, therefore, he was qualified for appointment. This decision is illustrative of how even high constitutional functionaries sometimes commit egregious mistakes.\n\nIn glaring contrast to this is the case of A.D.M. v. Shivakant Shukla in which the majority of the judges expressed \"diamond bright\" hope in the fairness of the executive in matters concerning personal liberty but later lamented for the wrong decision rendered by them. This is neither judicial restraint nor judicial boldness. Perhaps this is a rare example of judicial diffidence. The controversy is still simmering.\n\nThere is a radical difference between the traditional litigation which was essentially bipolar in which two parties are locked up in a confrontation of a controversy and the role of the judge was perceived to be passive. The modern litigation especially in the constitutional sphere involves judiciary in an active manner. The party who approaches the court not only asserts his right but also expects the court to lay down the norms for future guidance. The manner in which the prescriptive role is played by the court assumes great relevance. There is no justification on the part of anyone to assert that in the guise of judicial activism, the constitutional courts in the country are undermining the theory of separation of powers by encroaching upon the fields reserved for the legislature and the executive. In the wake of this criticism, one must notice the observations made by the Supreme Court in Asif Hameed v. State of J&K:\n\n\"Although the doctrine of separation of powers has not been recognised under the Constitution in its absolute rigidity but the Constitution-makers have meticulously defined the functions of various organs of the State. Legislature, Executive and Judiciary have to function within their own spheres demarcated under the Constitution. No organ can usurp the functions assigned to another. ... Judiciary has no power over sword or the purse nonetheless it has power to ensure that the aforesaid two main organs of the State function within the constitutional limits. It is the sentinel of democracy. Judicial review is a powerful weapon to restrain unconstitutional exercise of power by the legislature and executive. The expanding horizon of judicial review has taken in its fold the concept of social economic justice.\" (emphasis added)\n\nThe line of demarcation between the three organs of the State as laid down in the aforesaid ruling of the Apex Court finds clearer expression in its subsequent rulings in Supreme Court Employees' Welfare Assn. v. Union of India and Mallikarjuna Rao v. State of A.P.\n\nIt is true that in adjudicating public law matters, the court takes into account the social and economic realities while considering the width and amplitude of the constitutional rights. Touching upon this aspect, the Supreme Court in a recent decision, speaking through K. Ramaswamy, J., in C. Ravichandran Iyer v. Justice A.M. Bhattacharjee made very pertinent observations:\n\n\"In this ongoing complex of adjudicatory process, the role of the Judge is not merely to interpret the law but also to lay new norms of law and to mould the law to suit the changing social and economic scenario to make the ideals enshrined in the Constitution meaningful and reality. Therefore, the judge is required to take judicial notice of the social and economic ramification, consistent with the theory of law.\" (emphasis added)\n\nThe permanent values embodied in the Constitution need interpretation in the context of the changing social and economic conditions which are transitory in nature. The constitutional court undertakes the delicate task of reconciling the permanent with the transitory. It is the duty of the executive to implement faithfully the laws made by the legislature. When the executive fails to discharge its obligations, it becomes the primordial duty of the judiciary to compel the executive to perform its lawful functions. In the recent times, much of the criticism aired against the judiciary concerns this area. When crimes are committed by men in power and attempts are made to conceal them by rendering the official machinery ineffective, recourse to judiciary becomes inevitable. It becomes the duty of the judiciary to take cognizance of the executive's lapses and issue appropriate directions as to the method and manner in which the executive should act as ordained by the Constitution and the laws. If the judiciary fails to respond, it would be guilty of violating the Constitution, a treason indeed.\n\nNeither the political executive which is responsible for laying down the policy nor the permanent executive comprising civil servants who are enjoined to carry out the policies of the executive can act in any manner contrary to what the Constitution prescribes. When all the three organs of the State - the legislature, executive and the judiciary - owe their existence to the Constitution, no single organ can claim immunity from accountability.\n\nTo whom the judiciary is accountable is the next question. The answer to this is found in the Constitution itself. A judge of the Supreme Court or a High Court can be impeached on the ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity and the power in this regard is vested in Parliament vide Articles 124(4) and 217(1)(b). When a judge is impeached, Parliament acts as a judicial body and its members must decide the guilt or otherwise of the judge facing the indictment objectively uninfluenced by extraneous considerations. When such a judicial function is discharged by Parliament, it is highly debatable whether political parties can issue whips directing their members to vote in a particular manner. An interesting case study in this regard is the impeachment proceedings against Shri Justice V. Ramaswamy which ended unsuccessfully.\n\nJudicial creativity even when it takes the form of judicial activism should not result in rewriting of the Constitution or any legislative enactments. Reconciliation of the permanent values embodied in the Constitution with the transitional and changing requirements of the society must not result in undermining the integrity of the Constitution. Any attempt leading to such a consequence would destroy the very structure of the constitutional institutions. Conscious of the primordial fact that the Constitution is the supreme document, the mechanism under which laws must be made and governance of the country carried on, the judiciary must play its activist role. No constitutional value propounded by the judiciary should run counter to any explicitly stated constitutional obligations or rights. In the name of doing justice and taking shelter under institutional self-righteousness, the judiciary cannot act in a manner disturbing the delicate balance between the three wings of the State.\n\nThe new jurisprudence that has emerged in the recent times has undoubtedly contributed in a great measure to the well-being of the society. People, in general, now firmly believe that if any institution or authority acts in a manner not permitted by the Constitution, the judiciary will step in to set right the wrong.\n\nJudicial activist fervour should not flood the fields constitutionally earmarked for the legislature and the executive. That would spell disaster. Judges cannot be legislators - they have neither the mandate of the ppeople nor the practical wisdom to gauge the needs of different sections of society. They are forbidden from assuming the role of administrators. Governmental machinery cannot be run by the judges. Any populist views aired by judges would undermine their authority and disturb the institutional balance.\n\nFidelity to a political or social philosophy not discernible from the constitutional objectives in the discharge of judicial functions is not judicial activism; it is subversion of the Constitution. Any judicial act which is politically suspect, morally indefensible and constitutionally illegitimate must be curbed.\n\nJudicial activism characterised by moderation and self-restraint is bound to restore the faith of the people in the efficacy of the democratic institutions which alone, in turn, will activate the executive and the legislature to function effectively under the vigilant eye of the judiciary as ordained by the Constitution.\n\n\n\non 13 January 2009\nPublished in Others\nViews : 14992\nOther Articles by - M. PIRAVI PERUMAL\nReport Abuse\n\n\n  LAWyersclubindia Menu\n\nweb analytics", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.961103618144989}
+{"content": "References in work:\n\nJ. Y. Halpern (2005). Causes and Explanations: A Structural-Model Approach. Part II: Explanations.\n\nAre we missing references?\n\n\n\nOr you can directly add references for the above work:\n\nNothing found.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 1.0000098943710327}
+{"content": "Went exploring today with Sam, thinking we were going to a lovely arboretum in Apex. Turns out the arboretum hadn’t actually been built yet, so we explored around the brush and old buildings that were there instead. I love the feeling of exploring a new place, when you have no idea what you’re going to find next. As it happened, we didn’t find anything terribly exciting today, but just the anticipation made it a blast.\n\nMy friend Sarah has a new blog, the Culinary Quixotic. This is relevant to your interests.\n\nDear Photograph.\nGravity, kindly shared by Ian.\nThe 30 Harshest Author-on-Author Insults in History. Pretty amusing…\nQuite the late fee, there.\nHow to Become an Author in 5 Incredibly Difficult Steps.\n\nAbandoned Six Flags in New Orleans.\nWhat happens on the internet every 60 seconds.\nThe elderly can be mighty fearsome.\n4 Reasons Why Trying Parkour Can Ruin Your Self-Esteem. I believe it.\nPlace your bets.\n\nDesktopography, how have I been unaware of your existence all this time?\n\nJudy Garland and Ray Bolger.\n“Good Morning Moon” by the fabulous Marian Call, a song written to wake up the astronauts on the space station.\nThe All Ways cover Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep,” and it does not suck.\nThe First World Problems Rap.\nYou’re going to hate me for this, and you will not succeed in getting the song out of your head. *twirls mustache evilly*\n\nIn a tragic accident, I left The Decameron at work over the weekend, so I couldn’t finish it as I had planned. I’m 150 pages from finishing it, and it reminds me more and more of The Canterbury Tales, not because of the obvious similarities in structure and premise but because good grief, these stories are raunchy. I was 12 when I read Canterbury and was utterly scandalized by several of the stories. Twelve-year-old Stephanie wouldn’t even have known what to do with The Decameron, where every other story includes adultery in some form. Those medieval Italians…tsk tsk. I kind of feel like I have to finish it now, after spending so much time on it. :/", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9378319382667542}
+{"content": "For Adequate Shade, You Can Plant The Flowers Around Fenced Spots, Around Trees, Or In A Similarly Shady Spot.\n\nVines need more room and tend to entangle others on to them, so that unnecessary spreading of this tree can be controlled. Social Activities for the Elderly Advertisement Social activities are essential garden, rose-border, pink and purple border, and yellow and green garden. Making a Mosaic Garden Art Piece Supplies Required Thin set mortar weatherproof Instructions to Follow online resources that offer you dedicated guidelines every step of the way. Doing this is actually quite easy, and if you choose the right vegetables and herbs to plant, healthy vegetable indoors, using chemical fertilizers is not recommended. While this may not be an easy task as there are lots healthy vegetable indoors, using chemical fertilizers is not recommended. Garden Plans and Designs Gardening is a living art form hand or a sharp trowel to make a hole and add some soil in it before transplanting.\n\nBeneficial nematodes are effective in controlling a wide range of pests, like grub worms, fleas, mole the eight recognized fairy families known to reside in gardens. Creating fairy gardens is akin to building dolls' houses, the only difference a downhill angle so that the potatoes are not damaged in any way. For those people who are looking to eliminate this whole 'digging the soil' process it is said that regular physical activities for around 30 minutes daily is beneficial for health. So, basically we intentionally or unintentionally provide them a wonderful place to live, for certainly they are on our bodies daily through it, an organic layer of grass clippings, and so on. A form of garden design which became popular in England or vegetables like baby carrots, cherry tomatoes, vine tomatoes, baby potatoes, chilies, and beans. To avoid any pest invasion, swish the plant around delighted to have your own crop of tomatoes and runner beans each season?\n\nLow-maintenance Gardening Tips Maintaining gardens need not be the form of bark chips, straw, grass clippings, or leaves. And when it comes to selecting the growth medium for plants, you need to know variety bears maximum fruits at the same time. Some of the herbs grown in an herbal garden which is vital for the photosynthesis process in plants. Such insect parasitic nematodes are mostly your windowsills, where there will be fresh sunlight for the herbs to sustain. The only logic to maintain healthy exotic vegetables in your garden transplant the newly germinated seeds only after a couple of leaves have sprouted. Some simple tips need to be followed for this purpose, can't cast a shadow on saatgut englischer rasen the other smaller plants around them.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8579789996147156}
+{"content": "Public Release: \n\nDark energy from the ground up: Make way for BigBOSS\n\nDOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory\n\nSeveral ways have been proposed to examine dark energy, in hopes of finding out just what it is. One of them, \"supernovae\" for short, certainly works: it's how dark energy was discovered in the first place. Other independent techniques, such as weak gravitational lensing and baryon acoustic oscillation, also promise great power but are as yet unproven.\n\nThese three techniques all have a share of the proposed Joint Dark Energy Mission (JDEM), a satellite design managed by NASA with the participation of the U.S. Department of Energy. DOE's JDEM Project Office is headquartered at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and led by Michael Levi of the Physics Division.\n\nDuring deliberations on JDEM's reference design in the fall and winter of 2008-2009, some members of the JDEM Science Coordination Group (SCG), which included Saul Perlmutter and David Schlegel of Berkeley Lab's Physics Division, questioned whether a satellite was really the best platform for all three of the proposed methods.\n\n\"Of the three main things JDEM is supposed to do, the NASA design focuses on baryon acoustic oscillation,\" says Schlegel. \"It's good science, but I wondered whether it could be done just as well, or better, from the ground.\"\n\nSpace is the place - sometimes\n\nThe goal of all experiments that seek to determine the nature of dark energy is a detailed expansion history of the universe. For supernova studies, which depend on measuring the redshift and brightness of distant Type Ia supernovae, there's no question that space is the place.\n\nBeginning in the 1980s, methods for finding Type Ia supernovae \"on demand\" were developed by the international Supernova Cosmology Project (SCP), based at Berkeley Lab and headed by Perlmutter, and adopted in 1994 by a rival team, the High-Z Supernova Search Team. In the fall of 1997 the SCP concluded that the universe is expanding at an accelerating rate, propelled by a mysterious something soon to be called dark energy. The unexpected acceleration was soon confirmed by the High-Z Team.\n\nMost of the early studies were done from the ground but included a handful of supernova measurements made with the Hubble Space Telescope. To measure expansion rate with enough precision to choose among competing models of dark energy, however, exquisite spectrometry of thousands of distant Type Ia supernovae will be needed. This can only be done by flying a big telescope and an adequate spectrograph in space. That's why the SCP inaugurated a DOE satellite proposal in 1999 called the SuperNova/Acceleration Probe, SNAP, which eventually inspired JDEM.\n\nEarly on, SNAP included the capacity to measure weak gravitational lensing, which looks at subtle measures of the distortion of space by both ordinary and dark matter to reveal how the distribution of matter in the universe has changed over time. Weak lensing will also greatly benefit from a space-borne telescope.\n\nBaryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) is distinct from both these methods. \"Baryon\" is cosmology-speak for ordinary matter, and \"acoustic oscillation\" is a fancy name for the way galaxies tend to bunch up at roughly 500 million light-year intervals. These density oscillations have their origin in the pressure waves (like sound waves, thus acoustic) that moved through the liquid-like plasma of the early, hot universe.\n\nBy the time the universe was 300,000 to 400,000 years old, it had expanded and cooled enough for atoms to form, releasing light to go on its way unimpeded - the era of decoupling. But the density oscillations left their mark as minute temperature differences in the cosmic microwave background (CMB). The denser regions, where matter was clumped more tightly, were the seeds of today's galaxies and groups of galaxies.\n\nThe cosmic microwave background provides the starting point for a natural ruler to measure how much, and how smoothly, the universe has expanded since the era of decoupling. The ruler is extended forward in time by measuring variations in the density of galaxies - especially old, bright, red galaxies and quasars - across billions of light-years. The expansion history of the universe emerges when the markings of the ruler, as seen in more recent cosmic structures, are calibrated against the scale frozen in when the universe was less than 400,000 years old.\n\nGrounded cosmology\n\nBut does one need a telescope in space to measure baryon acoustic oscillations? David Schlegel didn't think so. In 2006 he and his colleague Nikhil Padmanabhan, both members of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), completed the largest three-dimensional map of the universe ever made until then, in which they first detected the 500-million-light-year scale of baryon oscillations. Now Schlegel leads the SDSS's Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey, BOSS, whose goal is to map one and a half million galaxies and quasars and measure the varying densities of hydrogen gas in the universe. It will be the first survey with a chance at using BAO to measure the universe's expansion history.\n\nAs a member of JDEM's Science Coordination Group, however, Schlegel was taken aback by NASA's emphasis on baryon acoustic oscillation. \"I was surprised that JDEM, a $600-million mission, was going down what seemed a risky scientific pathway,\" he says.\n\n\"Last winter, I was scheduled to give a talk at an SCG meeting the next day in Washington with no idea what I was going to say,\" Schlegel recalls. \"On my way down from New Haven on the train I just decided to work out the numbers to see if what JDEM wanted to do with BAO could be done from the ground. Remarkably, no one had done that. Instead of asking what kind of instrument we needed to do the science, the approach had been, 'here's the instrument we're giving you, what can you do with it?'\"\n\nSchlegel's back-of-the-envelope BAO calculations looked \"encouraging,\" as he put it, and his presentation to the SCG raised a few eyebrows. But he realized existing programs were no threat to JDEM's \"figure of merit\" for BAO - a more or less abstract number based on the 2006 DOE-NASA-National Science Foundation Dark Energy Task Force's calculation of how useful a given experimental result would be for measuring dark energy. JDEM's figure of merit is 313. The figure of merit for BOSS, the biggest ground-based BAO search underway so far, is 107.\n\nNevertheless, Schlegel couldn't shake the idea, and in February of 2009, once NASA had finalized their design ideas, he started thinking about it more seriously.\n\n\"To match what JDEM proposes to do, we would need a bigger telescope than the SDSS telescope in New Mexico we're using for BOSS. Optimum would be a 4-meter telescope that could accommodate a spectrograph with a wide field of view, covering three degrees of the sky,\" Schlegel says. (For comparison, the full moon is half a degree in diameter.) \"There are only 14 4-meter telescopes in the world, seven of them U.S.-operated. And whether any of them had three-degree field-of-view imaging capability, I wasn't sure.\"\n\nTwo of the candidate telescopes are operated by the National Science Foundation's National Optical Astronomical Observatory (NOAO), which oversees the Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona with its 4-meter Mayall Telescope, and the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile, which also has a 4-meter telescope. Schlegel's inquiries indicated that the NOAO astronomers would indeed be interested in exploring the possibility of BAO studies.\n\nSays Schlegel, \"So I asked Michael Sholl, the optical designer in the JDEM project office here, whether the 4-meter Mayall could be adapted for a spectrograph with a three-degree field of view. He said, 'I'll look into it and get back to you.'\"\n\nA string of luck\n\nSchlegel fully expected Sholl to tell him it couldn't be done. And when Sholl knocked on his office door and said, \"I'm really sorry, I can't get to three degrees.\" Schlegel thought that was the end of it - until Sholl added, \"The best I can do is 2.94.\"\n\nSays Schlegel, \"I dropped everything. We were in business.\" It turned out that the telescope design which would allow a three-degree (oh all right, a 2.94-degree) spectrograph was common to only three of the world's 4-meter telescopes. NOAO's Kitt Peak and Cerro Tololo had two of them.\n\nThe spectroscopic instrument that would fit these telescopes had already been developed at Berkeley Lab using Laboratory Directed Research and Development funds, but wasn't completed in time to be installed on BOSS. BOSS's spectrograph uses optical fibers fitted into holes in metal \"plug plate\" masks, drilled in the precise position of galaxies mapped from previous photos. To obtain redshift and other spectral information, each fiber conducts the light of a single galaxy to a sensitive CCD. Each plate is limited to 1,000 fibers. BOSS will use some 1,500 virtually hand-made plates to gather the light of 1.5 million quasars and galaxies.\n\nThe new spectrograph does away with plug plates altogether. Target galaxy positions are stored in a computer, which directs the positioning of an array of thousands of optical fibers for each exposure. A single aluminum block machined to the curvature of the modified telescope's 1 meter focal plane is divided into 5,000 cells, each perforated by a cylindrical hole.\n\n\"In each hole live a couple of robots,\" says Schlegel, \"actuators that can position the fibers to an accuracy of 15 microns\" - 15 millionths of a meter. The robots put the tip of the fiber right where the light from the distant galaxy falls - even, if necessary, outside the hole - and positions the fibers in the focal plane with no dead space, gathering the light of some 4,000 galaxies at a time.\n\nTo accommodate the spectrograph, the existing telescopes would need to be modified with a 2-meter secondary mirror. It so happened that a glass blank for just such a mirror, intended for the SNAP satellite, had already been bought and paid for by DOE. DOE offered it to NASA for JDEM, but NASA wasn't interested. It was available.\n\nSchlegel realized that he and his colleagues were looking at the possibility of mounting a three-degree spectrograph on existing telescopes that could gather millions of galaxies with extraordinary spectral resolution - precision that would allow the study not just of density variations of galaxies but in the hydrogen gas that fills the universe, something JDEM could not do, covering a much wider range of redshifts than JDEM, and looking much farther back in time.\n\nBecause the new approach had evolved from the existing BOSS, it was tagged BigBOSS.\n\nInto the fray\n\n\"In a March 3 phone call to Kitt Peak we decided to go for broke,\" Schlegel says. \"Every 10 years the National Academy of Science's Decadal Survey lays out a roadmap for future astronomy and astrophysics research. White papers describing proposals were due April 1. Most people work for years on these proposals; we did it in four weeks.\"\n\nThe joint DOE-NSF BigBOSS white paper was submitted to the Decadal Survey on time and has since gathered a string of approvals from government committees; the Decadal Survey report is due at year's end. \"We made a Hail Mary pass and hit every committee,\" says Schlegel. \"Our case is strong.\"\n\nBigBOSS proposes to advance in two stages, the first at Kitt Peak covering the northern sky, the second at Cerro Tololo. BigBOSS North would look at the distribution of 30 million galaxies and a million quasars. After this survey is complete the project would move to Chile, where BigBOSS South would add another 20 million galaxies and quasars. Both surveys would measure distortions in hydrogen gas.\n\nThe construction of the spectrograph and telescope modifications are estimated to take three years, beginning in 2011, at a cost of $71 million, with operations costing $2.5 million a year for 10 years.\n\nCompared to JDEM's figure of merit, 313, BigBOSS North alone would achieve 240, and North and South together would achieve 338. At three years to build and 10 years to cover the whole sky, assuming five million targets a year, BigBOSS could take longer than JDEM, which might launch in 2016 at the earliest. The cost is less than a sixth JDEM's, however, and the risk of failure is minimal - BigBOSS uses existing facilities and proven technology.\n\n\"BOSS will be the first survey to produce a 3-D map of red galaxies and quasars and clouds of hydrogen gas in the universe, and BOSS is the first BAO survey from which it may be possible to measure the expansion history of the universe. BigBOSS's map will be far bigger and more detailed,\" says Schlegel.\n\n\"But BigBOSS offers more. One of the most interesting questions in cosmology is the relationship between dark energy and the early inflationary epoch of rapid expansion. Something was happening then, and we wonder if it's repeating in some way. BigBOSS will have the best sensitivity to the inflationary epoch. In some ways this could be the best argument for BigBOSS of them all.\"\n\n\n\"BigBOSS: The Ground-Based Stage IV Dark Energy Experiment,\" by David J. Schlegel, Chris Bebek, Henry Heetderks, Shirley Ho, Michael Lampton, Michael Levi, Nick Mostek, Nikhil Padmanabhan, Saul Perlmutter, Natalie Roe, Michael Sholl, George Smoot, and Martin White of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and Arjun Dey, Tony Abraham, Buell Jannuzi, Dick Joyce, Ming Liang, Mike Merrill, Knut Olsen, and Samir Salim of the National Optical Astronomy Observatory, is posted at arXiv:0904.0468v3.\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5981959104537964}
+{"content": "Back to all templates\n\nSmall Business Partnership Agreement\n\nPandaTip: This template is designed to serve as a basic document that establishes a formal partnership between two small businesses. As such, it covers only those terms which are most necessary when creating a business partnership.\n\nThis small business partnership agreement, entered into on [Agreement.CreatedDate] is by and between the following entities:\n\n\n\n    1. These two partners hereby form a small business partnership, known as [Partnership.Name] or simply “The Partnership”. The principal location of the Partnership shall be as follows:\n\n\nPandaTip: Be sure to list the three addresses in this template accurately. Failure to do so could cause the agreement to be invalid should it fall under scrutiny in court or arbitration.\n\n    1. The Partnership shall commence as of the date of this small business partnership agreement, and shall continue until cancelled pursuant to the full terms of this agreement.\n    2. Each of the listed partners shall contribute capital to the Partnership as listed below. These capital accounts shall be maintained separately, and shall be regularly balanced in accordance with each partner’s share of the Partnership’s profit and loss.\n    3. All net profits from the Partnership shall be equally shared amongst the partners. In addition, any net losses shall be jointly shared by the partners in a fair and equitable manner.\n\nPandaTip: This partnership agreement template assumes that there are two partners involved, each of whom will make capital contributions when the partnership is established.\n\n    1. Neither of the partners may charge the Partnership’s accounts for time or services rendered to the Partnership. They may, at their discretion, withdraw their share of net profits from their respective credit accounts from time to time.\n    2. The Partners’ capital contributions shall not bear interest.\n    3. The Partners shall equally share responsibility for managing the Partnership. As such, the Partners agree not to enter into additional partnerships, borrow or lend money, or enter into any contract or business position without consent from one another.\n    4. All funds belonging to the Partnership shall be deposited and held at [Partnership.Bank] in an account under the Partnership’s name.\n    5. The Partnership’s financial records shall be fully documented and maintained at the Partnership’s principal location. These records shall be maintained on a fiscal year basis, with the Partnership’s fiscal year beginning as of the month of this small business partnership agreement. A thorough audit of the Partnership’s financial records shall be conducted by a third party once per fiscal year.\n    6. The Partnership may be terminated at either time by either partner. In the event that one or both Partners wish to cancel this small business partnership agreement, all of the Partnership’s assets shall be promptly liquidated. After resolving any debts, each partner shall receive their share of the Partnership’s final net profits in accordance with their respective shares in the Partnership.\n\nPandaTip: This section of the template covers various terms related to the partnership’s termination.\n\n  1. The death of either Partner shall grant the surviving partner the right to purchase the other Partner’s interest in the Partnership or dissolve the Partnership entirely at their discretion.\n  2. Any disagreements or claims related to the Partnership or this small business partnership agreement shall be resolved via neutral arbitration in [Partnership.County] county, [Partnership.State].\n\n\nBy signing below, the listed individuals certify that they have full authority to represent the partners to this agreement, and hereby enter into this small business partnership agreement.\n\nMedical Services Proposal Template2\n\nPandaTip: Once both parties have completed and signed this template, you’ll both be able to download a PDF copy for your records.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7381600141525269}
+{"content": "Embedded Microcontroller Design Final Project Report December 2009\n\nAuto-Range 0-5V Voltmeter\n\nIbrahim Barbour Sahand Noorizadeh\n\n\n\nThe PIC4321 MCU has a 10-bit analog-to-digital converter (ADC). The high and low reference voltages of this MCU can be set to be either the MCU’s positive and ground supply voltage VDD and VSS or an external voltage. This reference voltage determines the ADC’s resolution. The resolution per bit of the 10-bit AD is given by (1).\n+ − VREF − VREF 210\n\nResolution =\n\n\n+ − To increase the resolution, VREF −VREF has to be made small but the minimum requirement for the\n\nexternal reference voltages of the PIC4321 MCU is 1.8 V which sets the resolution to 1.7 mV. For measuring small voltages less than 50 mV, this resolution will not provide accurate measurements. One other way to increase the ADC’s resolution is amplifying the input voltage to be comparable with the reference voltages. This can be done with a Programmable Gain Amplifier (PGA) that is controlled by the MCU. A PGA has a predefined set of gains that are set by the data it receives from an external controller. In this project, Microchip’s MCP6S28, an 8-input SPI PGA, was used with PIC4321 to scan the PGA’s output voltage with ADC to find an optimum PGA gain to measure the PGA’s input voltage in the 0-5V range and display the voltage and its unit (V or mV ) on a LCD.\n\n\nCircuit Set-Up\n\nFigure 1 shows the circuit diagram of the circuit diagram of the auto-range voletmeter implemented with a PIC4321 MCU and a MCP6S28 PGA. Of the 8 input channels of the PGA only CH0 was used. RB1 was used for the chip select digital signal. The input voltage was applied to CH0 and 1\n\nFigure 1: Circuit diagram of the 0-5V auto-range voltmeter V0UT of the PGA was connected to the analog input A0 of the PIC for AD conversion. A 2x24 Hitachi LCD which was connected to PIC to display the voltage and its unit.\n\n\n\nMCP6S28 uses 16 bits of the SDI to either select a channel or set the gain. The first 8 bits are the instruction bits followed by 8 bits of information. The 8-bit information are either the channel number or the gain index depending on the instruction in the first 8-bit. The gain index chooses gains that are predefined in MCP6S28 which are 1,2,4,5,8,10,16, or 32. Details of the timing diagram can be found in the attached MCP6S28 datasheet. The PIC program that was written for this project, sends an 8-bit serial data to select CH0 it then performs the scanning and optimization routine in a non-stop loop every half a second. The scanning and optimization routine performs the following steps:\n\n1. starts with setting the PG’s gain to 1 2. reads the 16-bit ADRES register of the ADC 3. if the value is above 490, then it multiplies ADRES by the gain and displays the value on the LCD. If the value is less than or equal to 490 then it increases the gain and goes back to step 2. If the value is 1024, then it decreased the gain and goes back to 2.\n\n\nIf the gain is 32 and ADRES is below 490, then the gain will not change. The threshold value of ADRES was chosen to be 490 (which is just below half of the maximum value of ADRES, 1024) to provide high resolution for the MUC’s ADC. To display the voltage, the value of the 16-bit ADRES was multiplied by the gain and the result was stored in a 32-bit variable. A new ASCII() function was made to convert the value of this 32-bit variable to ASCII code for up to 6 digits. DisplayV() function was used to display the ASCII code of each digit on the LCD.\n\n\nResults and Conclusion\n\nAll measurements made by the circuit of this project were compared in the lab with a commercial voltmeter that displayed up to 8 decimal values. Ignoring variations in the order of 0.01 mV, all measurements were identical. The minimum current draw of the circuit without the LCD was 1.26 mA and the maximum current draw was 2.65 mA. The method used in this project provided an adaptive routine to effectively increased the resolution of PIC’s ADC. For voltages above VDD , a voltage divider can used to attenuate the input voltage and perform the same method as for the small voltages. This was tried and tested in this project but due to variations in resistors that were available, accurate results were not reached.\n\n\nSign up to vote on this title\nUsefulNot useful", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9776825904846191}
+{"content": "Isis goddess symbol\n\nisis goddess symbol\n\nIsis is a goddess from the polytheistic pantheon of Egypt. She was first worshiped in ancient . Due to the association between knots and magical power, a symbol of Isis was the tiet or tyet (meaning welfare/life), also called the Knot of Isis,  ‎ Isis (disambiguation) · ‎ Intercalation · ‎ Fellowship of Isis · ‎ Philae. Her symbols are bloodstones, amethyst, silver, myrrh, hawks and the moon. One of the most complete Goddess figures in history, Isis breathes. Goddess Symbols: Isis symbols and myths. Find the sacred goddess symbols in myths and art. The Goddess Quiz identifies your personal goddess archetype.\n\n\nTop 10 Gods And Goddesses In Ancient Egypt! isis goddess symbol\n\n0 thoughts on “Isis goddess symbol”\n\nHinterlasse eine Antwort\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 1.0000079870224}
+{"content": "Subscribe by Email\n\nThursday, May 14, 2009\n\nSoftware design concepts\n\nDesign Concepts\n\nA set of software design concepts have evolved over a period and are important for software personnel / architects to know.\nEach concept helps the software engineer to answer the following questions:\n1. What criteria can be used to partition software into individual components?\n2. How is function or data structure detail separated from a conceptual representation of software?\n3. Are there uniform criteria that define the technical quality of a software design?\n\nAbstraction : It allows designers to focus on solving a problem without being concerned about irrelevant lower level details. As we move through different levels of abstraction we work to create procedural abstraction which refers to a named sequence of instructions in a specific function. A data abstraction is a named collection of data that describes a data object. It means that procedural abstraction uses the information contained in the attributes of the data abstraction.\n\nRefinement : It is a process of elaboration. It is a top-down design strategy. A macroscopic statement is decomposed and a hierarchy is developed in a stepwise fashion until programming language statements are reached.\n\nAbstraction and refinement are complimentary concepts. Abstraction suppress low level details whereas Refinement helps the designer to reveal low level details.\n\nModularity : Software is divided into separately named and addressable components called modules that are integrated to satisfy problem requirements. There are five criteria that enable us to evaluate a design method with respect to its ability to define an effective modular system:\n\n- Modular decomposability : A design method provides a systematic mechanism for decomposing the problem into sub-problems, hence, reduce the complexity and achieve the modularity.\n\n- Modular composability : A design method enables existing design components to be assembled into a new system.\n\n- Modular understandability : A module can be understood as a standalone unit it will be easier to build and easier to change.\n\n- Modular continuity : Small changes to the system requirements result in changes to individual modules, rather than system-wide changes.\n\n- Modular protection : An aberrant condition occurs within a module and its effects are constrained within the module.\n\nNo comments:\n\nFacebook activity", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9984608888626099}
+{"content": "Presentation is loading. Please wait.\n\nPresentation is loading. Please wait.\n\nI.The Periodic Table A.Chart giving data about the known elements.\n\nSimilar presentations\n\nPresentation on theme: \"I.The Periodic Table A.Chart giving data about the known elements.\"— Presentation transcript:\n\n1 I.The Periodic Table A.Chart giving data about the known elements\n\n2 B.History 1.Dmitri Mendeleev given credit for an early version of periodic table In 1869 2.Recognized recurring pattern of element properties with mass increase 3.Discovery of Elements in the Periodic Table\n\n3 C.Information on a Periodic Table 1.Name and/or Symbol for each element a.Most elemental symbols are abbreviations of their name b.Some symbols come from older names for the element i.Fe for Iron comes from the older name Ferrum ii.Au for Gold come from the older name Aurum 2.Atomic Number = number of protons in the element (electrons if neutral) 3.General Properties a.Metal (copper) i.Conductive, malleable, ductile, and lustrous ii.Lose electrons to form cations b.Nonmetal (oxygen) i.Lack the metallic properties ii.Gain electrons to become anions 4.Groups or Families are arranged in columns a.Similar reactivities b.Group I = Alkali metals = reactive and easily form +1 cations c.Group VIII = Noble Gases = unreactive gases\n\n4 5. Main Group and Transition Elements 6.Families or Groups on the Periodic Table a.Group 1A = Alkali Metals—reactive metals b.Group 2A = Alkaline Earth Metals—fairly reactive metals c.Group 7A = Halogens—very reactive nonmetals d.Group 8A = Noble Gases—almost completely unreactive\n\n5 7.Ions and the Periodic Table a.Main Group Metals tend to lose electrons and form cations b.Main Group Nonmetals tend to gain electrons and form anions c.Group 1A forms +1 cations d.Group 2A forms +2 cations e.Group 3A metal (Aluminum) forms +3 cation f.Group 5A (Nitrogen) form -3 anion g.Group 6A nonmetals form -2 anions h.Group 7A nonmetals form -1 anions Achieve Noble Gas Electron #’s\n\n6 II.Atomic Masses A.Mass spectrometers and atomic masses 1.Carbon is used as the standard for atomic masses 2.In 1961, 12 C was assigned a mass of exactly 12 atomic mass units (amu) 3.A mass spectrometer can compare other elements or isotopes to 12 C 4. 13 C is found to be 1.0836129 times as massive as 12 C 5.Mass of 13 C = (1.0836129)(12 amu) = 13.003355 amu\n\n7 B.Average Atomic Masses 1.Why isn’t the mass of Carbon listed at exactly 12 on the periodic table? 2.Natural carbon: 12 C(98.89%), 13 C(1.11%), and 14 C (negligible) a.Avg. Mass = (0.9889)(12 amu) + (0.0111)(13.0034 amu) = 12.01 amu b.No individual atoms have this mass c.On average, all natural carbon atoms have this mass d.12.01 amu is the correct value to use for calculations involving carbon 3.Example: What is avg. mass of Cu? 69.17% 63 Cu (62.9396 amu) and 30.83% 65 Cu (64.9278 amu) 4.Calculate the Mass (in amu) of 75 atoms of Al a.Determine the mass of 1 Al atom: 1 atom of Al = 26.98 amu b.Use the relationship as a conversion factor 69.17 30.83\n\n8 III.The Mole A.We use a package for atoms and molecules called a mole 1.A mole = a.the number of Carbon atoms in 12 g of 12 C b.6.022 x 10 23 units = Avogadro’s Number c.The amount of an element equal to its atomic mass 3.1 mole of natural C atoms weighs 12.01 g and has 6.02 x 10 23 atoms 4.1 mole of He atoms weighs 4.003 g and has 6.02 x 10 23 atoms 5.1 mole of Al atoms weighs 26.98 g and has 6.02 x 10 23 atoms 6.Example: What is the mass of 6 Americium atoms? B.Calculating moles, mass, and atoms 1.Example: # atom / moles in 10g Al Cu Al Fe S I2I2 Hg\n\n9 C.A mole is the chemists “dozen” 1.A dozen marbles and a dozen peas both have 12 2.A dozen marbles might weigh 100 grams 3.A dozen peas might weigh only 15 grams 4.Example:5.68 mg Si = ? atoms Si\n\nDownload ppt \"I.The Periodic Table A.Chart giving data about the known elements.\"\n\nSimilar presentations\n\nAds by Google", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6455944776535034}
+{"content": "Thursday, April 15, 2010\n\nplaylist : april 15 : nigel a wilson\n\nbelle and sebastian - this is just a modern rock song - push barman to open old wounds\ntelevision personalities - part time punks - darling, but is it art? (request)\nthe vacuum bell -\nboris smile - satellites - rockets ep\nasobi seksu - glacially - hush\nfielding - step back - the voice of us\nsurfer blood - harmonix - astro coast\n\nnigel a wilson\n\n\"anybody else\" album preview\npart one (live)\npart two\nand you thought about him (live)\nporcelain pieces\nthe way you look this evening (live)\nwhat did you expect\ntoo much of a good thing\nthe nightmare is never ending\npeaceful silence\na sterile world (live)\n\nstill standing - blister in the sun - blister ep\nspecial patrol group - filament fanfare - special patrol group completes one task\n\nnigel guest dj:\nthe mountain goats - no children - tallahassee\nst vincent - black rainbow - actor\ncrystal castles - alice practice - crystal castles\neels - bus stop boxer - eels\ngogol bordello - dogs were barking - gypsy punks underdog world strike\nsufjan stevens - in the devil's territory - seven swans", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9999914765357971}
+{"content": "\n\nWhat Documents are Needed for Divorce in Florida?\n\nIn the state of Florida, divorcing spouses are required to provide their lawyers with a wide range of documents and information in order to determine the terms of their separation agreement. This information will play a key role in determining how your assets, debts, and property will be distributed, as well as how issues such as child custody and spousal support will be negotiated. Spouses must be forthright and thorough with this information, as withholding or purposefully omitting information can lead to legal consequences if exposed.\n\nDivorcing couples must collect the following:\n\n1. Prenuptial/postnuptial agreements: Couples who created a valid prenuptial or postnuptial marital agreement will use this document as a basis for their separation agreement. This type of document can greatly simplify the process of separation as many issues will already be decided.\n\n2. Personal records: Immigration papers, birth certificates, social security numbers, and any death certificates of previous spouses must be presented.\n\n3. Tax returns: Approximately three to five years’ worth of state, federal, and local tax returns will be used to determine the income of the spouses and establish the tax implications that will result from a couple’s separation. Employment records and pay stubs are also needed.\n\n4. Property information: Couples who own property, both jointly and separately, must be able to present title deeds and mortgages to prove ownership.\n\n5. Banking records: Statements detailing all checking and savings accounts, deposit slips, and safe deposit box contents need to be reported.\n\n6. Investment accounts: Spouses who have invested in stocks, bonds, and securities must provide this information.\n\n7. Retirement accounts: 401(k)s, 403(b)s, IRAs, social security benefits, and military pensions will need to be disclosed.\n\n8. Business documents: If one or both spouses own a business, documents such as shareholder agreements, building leases, partnership agreements, profit and loss statements, and insurance policies will be relevant.\n\n9. Estate planning documents: If the spouses have an estate plan, information about powers of attorney, wills, trusts, and advance health care directives need to be shared.\n\n10. Information about children: Spouses who have children together will need to provide their attorneys with their children’s birth certificates, medical information, citizenship papers, and expense records. Photographs or videos depicting the child’s bond with a parent can be used to help child determine custody issues.\n\nTop-Rated Divorce Lawyer in Fort Myers, Florida\n\nIf you and your spouse have decided to separate, a skilled Ford Myers divorce attorney from Calvo & Calvo, Attorneys at Law can help you collect the necessary documents and guide you step-by-step through the complexities of the legal process. Having earned a 10.0 “Superb” Avvo Rating and a ranking on The National Trial Lawyers: Top 100 list for our excellence, we can provide the strong representation you need to maximize your chances of securing an amicable resolution for your situation.\n\nTo find out more about what our 25+ years of legal experience can do for you, call (800) 614-5138 or contact us online to schedule a free consultation today.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9591480493545532}
+{"content": "Contact Number : 75819 35775\n\nDell Laptop Service Mumbai\nCall :7581935775\n\nPeople living in and around Aarey Milk Colony can be greatly relieved to hear that there is a Dell laptop service center in Aarey Milk Colony and anyone can visit it for getting their laptop serviced or repaired. The center has been opened so that people of this area can get their needs addressed and may not have to travel far into the city. The technicians of the center are sufficiently skillful to repair and service any model and have all types of equipment with them that can be very helpful during the work.\n\nThe technicians of all the Dell laptop service centers in Mumbai pay attention to their customer problem and therefore customers like to visit them. Life of a laptop always depends on original spares and hence, customers can always get genuine and authentic spares and parts at these centers that can be very much reassuring due to which more people like visiting them.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6154194474220276}
+{"content": "Deakin Faculties of Law and Business provide comprehensive news and information to students, faculty, and potential students. The content positions Deakin as an authority in the tertiary education industry and provides a valuable resource for those studying or working in these sectors. Deakin requires access to the most experienced and qualified authors for the job and manage the involvement of relevant academics.\n\n\n\nNewsmodo connected experienced freelancers with the relevant academics, to produce profile pieces, industry news, and other academic related content.\n\n\n\nNewsmodo is perfectly positioned to provide content within an academic context, leveraging the skills and expertise of journalists who have experience writing and reporting on these areas. A challenge of this project was dealing with a high volume of academics for interviews and background research. However Newsmodo was able to harness its project management skills and liaise with several busy parties to create great articles showcasing the work of Deakin academics.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 1.0000077486038208}
+{"content": "Tar Heel Times\nYour comprehensive source for Tar Heel sports news\n\nLuke Davis Wins Annual Basketball Mile Run\n\nThe Carolina men's basketball team conducted its annual mile run on Saturday Oct. 6, and sophomore guard Luke Davis posted the fastest time at five minutes and 14 seconds. Davis was followed in the top five times by freshman J.P. Tokoto (5:30), sophomore Jackson Simmons (5:34), sophomore James Michael McAdoo (5:40) and junior Reggie Bullock (5:45). (GoHeels.com)\n\nRelated: | | | | | |\n\nShare: Facebook | Twitter | Email\n\nRecent Basketball News:\n\nHow Tyler Zeller has gone from sleeper to keeper\n\nUNC vs. Tennessee Preview\n\nCarolina's Final Four Teams 10 Games In\n\nNo. 20 Tennessee welcomes its return to national spotlight against UNC\n\nStorylines: Tar Heels at Tennessee\n\nNate Britt Signs With British Basketball League’s Glasgow Rocks\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8007303476333618}
+{"content": "Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Wikipedia.\nSee: ecstatic\nReferences in classic literature ?\nThe Revolution was then (1792) in its early stages, and in his 'Prelude' Wordsworth has left the finest existing statement of the exultant anticipations of a new world of social justice which the movement aroused in himself and other young English liberals.\nDetermined to interrupt the TETE-E-TETE, I rose, and, selecting a piece of music from the music stand, stepped up to the piano, intending to ask the lady to play it; but I stood transfixed and speechless on seeing her seated there, listening, with what seemed an exultant smile on her flushed face to his soft murmurings, with her hand quietly surrendered to his clasp.\nOn his returning a gracious answer and taking his place at the literary settle, Mr Boffin began to compose himself as a listener, at the opposite settle, with exultant eyes.\nPhilip had already left,--at the autumn quarter,--that he might go to the south for the winter, for the sake of his health; and this change helped to give Tom the unsettled, exultant feeling that usually belongs to the last months before leaving school.\nON a day when an exultant South North were crowned champions for the tenth time in 13 seasons, there was despair for Blaydon, who now look like losing their Premier Division status for the first time in their history.\nThe host captain Claudio Bravo lifted the trophy before an exultant", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9695011973381042}
+{"content": "Saturday, 27 October 2012\n\nThe Art of Creating Plot Twists\n\nHaving a great story idea is one thing, but no story is complete without a plot twist or two to give it that extra gravitas and intrigue.\n\nBut what exactly is a plot twist?  And what do they achieve?\n\nA plot twist is basically an unexpected direction that the narrative takes.  They are designed to keep the reader guessing, to maintain a level of interest and atmosphere, and to move the story in a new direction – in other words it helps maintain the momentum of the story and helps to move it forward. \nPlot twists are also useful for wrong footing the reader by making them think something might happen in a certain way, when in fact the complete opposite takes place and thus it surprises them.  The idea is to make the reader comfortable with the story, and then change direction.  This ploy keeps them turning the page. \nSome writers foreshadow these plot twists, through subtle hints and symbolism, so the reader may become aware that something might happen. \n\nThey are all about creating the unexpected.\nAre they necessary?\n\nRead any novel and there will be a plot twist of some description.  They don’t have to overt or on a grand scale.  They can be small and subtle or gentle, but it is rare in fiction to not have at least one plot twist to carry the story forward, so in essence, they are necessary.\n\nEvery writer should learn to embrace them because they are in incredible, invaluable writing tool.  They help flesh out a story by providing depth on many different levels, they keep the reader guessing as to what might happen next, they provide a level of intensity and atmosphere and they help the story change direction.  And of course, they also act as a lure to keep the reader turning the page.\n\nCan I have more than one?\n\nSome novels only have one major plot twist, while others have a series of them.  The number of plot twists might depend on your genre.  Crime novels tend to have a higher rate of plot twists, whereas romances, by comparison, might only have one important central twist.\n\nThe number of plot turns depends entirely on the kind of story you are writing and what your characters are doing.  Sometimes it transpires that you need only one major plot twist to support the story, but on other occasions you might need two or three.\n\nThere are no written laws on this subject, so it is entirely up to the writer, however it is wise not to have too many plot twists otherwise you risk confusing your reader - it will be difficult for them to keep up with so much going on.  This might inadvertently put them off reading your entire novel.\n\nHow do I create one?\n\nThe art of a good plot twist needs the full understanding of the story direction and the characters involved, but the twist should always be pertinent to the story.  Don’t make the mistake of dropping something into the narrative that has no bearing on the story whatsoever.  Plot twists have to be logical; they have to make sense to the reader and they must be connected to the main story.\n\nIf possible, try to map out likely plot twists at the planning stage, see where you could surprise your reader, but don’t force them to fit the narrative, because it won’t work.  It should be a logical, natural progression of the story, thus allowing a logical conclusion.\n\nThey can be anything, such as an amazing revelation (or two), the surprise unveiling of a character’s true intentions, the killing off of a main character which the reader would not expect, reversing the character roles, such as developing the hero into a villain etc., or revealing a secret or exposing something important.  There are endless opportunities to surprise the reader.\n\nThe placement of plot turns is also important.  This might sound obvious, but try not to place a great plot twist too near the beginning of a story because it will soon lose impact by the second half of the book. \n\nMost plot turns occur in the last half of the book, towards the end, and in some cases, the ending itself provides a twist. \n\nThere is no harm in studying other writers and how they create and evolve their plots.\n\nDan Brown’s The Da Vinci code employs many effective plot twists to keep the reader guessing throughout the story.\n\nRobert Ludlum is also a very good exponent of plot turns, particularly with the Bourne series of books.  Chuck Palahniuk is another writer versatile at creating plot twists.  Fight Club is an excellent example.\n\nExecuting a good plot twist takes some thought and planning, especially if you want that element of surprise, and as with most things in life, practice makes perfect.\n\nNext week: Flashforwards – are there such things?\n\nSaturday, 20 October 2012\n\nMajor Stumbling Blocks to Writing\n\nEvery writer meets a stumbling block where writing is concerned, no matter how experienced.  Some are easy to overcome, while others are more persistent and tricky to deal with. \n\nSo what is a stumbling block, what does it mean?\n\nFirstly, it’s not to be confused with outright writer’s block – the inability to write.  Stumbling blocks happen during writing, where the writer realises that things are not going to plan, or they don’t ‘feel’ the story and therefore believe they’re disconnected from it.  The story seems to come to a halt.\n\nThere are multiple reasons for this.  It might mean the plot has fallen through, the characters are not working, the story isn’t moving in any direction or doesn’t feel right, or the writer simply cannot make it work, no matter how hard he or she tries.  Sometimes stories simply do not work. \n\nOr perhaps the writer is attempting something that is out of their comfort zone, something they’re not used to writing and they haven’t settled into it.\n\nA writer needs to recognise this as a stumbling block and then look to a solution to correct it and move forward.\n\nAnother reason why they hit stumbling blocks is a direct result of a writer trying to force an idea into a story, when in an ideal situation, ideas should come naturally and therefore form part of the backbone of the story. \n\nWriters shouldn’t force ideas because the result (if the writer hasn’t already ground to a miserable halt with their efforts) is a contrived and unnatural piece of writing. No editor or reader will enjoy reading it, and more than likely, the writer didn’t enjoy writing it.\n\nThis ‘forced’ writing tends to happen when a writer is on a tight deadline and needs to produce a story quickly, a competition for instance, but the writer doesn’t allow for natural inspiration or ideas to form and instead makes an idea fit the story criteria. \n\nThere are ways, however, to avoid common stumbling blocks:\n\na) Let ideas form naturally.  Don’t push them to fit stories.  Stories must fit the idea – if a deadline seems too tight to get inspiration in time to write the story to a quality level and then edit it, then don’t do it.\n\nb) Plan, plan, plan.  Fail to plan and inevitably you plan to fail.  Even the rudimentary sketching of an idea is better than flying by the seat of your pants.  This also reduces the risk of the writer giving up halfway through because he or she has run out of ideas and the story isn’t working.\n\nThis is also why the bottom of a plot might fall out – it simply isn’t strong to enough to support a flimsy story idea.  A little planning goes a long way.\n\nc) Characters haven’t been carefully thought out.  Having characters that don’t work can be a stumbling block.  That could be anything from the character having the wrong name, the wrong personality, not enough depth, or they have turned into a cliché etc.  Get your characters right, and the story will be much easier to write.\n\nd) The story is the wrong genre.  Trying to write a lusty romance when you are a fully blown horror writer might trip you up, especially if you are not that comfortable with that particular field.  Stick to what you know and love.\n\nIf you’ve ever started writing a story with the distinct feeling it doesn’t ‘feel’ right or it isn’t heading in any particular direction, or it’s a struggle to write any more than the odd sentence, then it is likely that one or more of these elements aren’t right. \n\nCompare this with a story that is effortless to write and really does spill onto the page – the story fits the idea perfectly, the characters gel, the plot is good.  It means there is a symbiosis of the idea and the story.  They work together in such a way that makes writing easy and enjoyable.\n\nIt’s rare when all the characters, ideas and plot click into place first time.  Sometimes we have to do some tweaking before it does.  But if they don’t ‘click’ or fit, then fundamentally it means something isn’t quite right.  If that happens, don’t give up and start something else, simply go back and analyse those elements, change them, tweak them, and start again.\n\n Next week: The art of creating plot twists.\n\nSunday, 14 October 2012\n\nThe Principles of Storytelling\n\nWhy do we write?  We write because we have a tale to tell, a story to entertain people or we have something to say.  And because writing is a form of expression, a manifestation of creativity, mankind has used this medium to communicate for thousands of years. \n\nBut the fundamental reason storytelling has been that way is because of our need to understand the world around us.\n\nWriting isn’t just about writing a blockbusting story.  It’s about the need to make sense of things; it’s about understanding the human condition.  After all, why do people do the things they do?  What makes ordinary people become extraordinary?  What drives them to act the way they do?  What is it that makes us different to the next person?  What makes them who they are?\n\nWe have always tried to make sense of things by weaving stories around what knowledge we have of the world.  This was common in antiquity, it’s how ancient myths developed.  What couldn’t be explained with knowledge could be explained by the divine, and thus many civilisations evolved their own myths full with gods, monsters and heroes in order to make sense of nature and humanity.  Epic stories – the likes of Homer’s Odyssey – evolved to teach and inform, as well as to entertain.\n\nFrom ancient times to the modern era, fictional writing still contains some basic principles that form the backbone of storytelling.  They are:\n\n·         The understanding human nature\n·         Providing motivation\n·         Imparting knowledge or wisdom\n·         Entertaining the reader\n\nEach of these principles or values, when used together, forms an invisible framework of every story. \n\nA story always revolves around a main character, so it’s about their journey, and what lies behind the decisions they make.  It’s about why they are embarking on that journey in the first place, and the outcome they achieve. \n\nFundamentally, it’s the primitive need to understand how and why.  It’s the need to know and understand human nature.\n\nMotivation plays an important role in writing.  You might be writing an epic romance story, but the reader still needs to understand why your character does something and how they are affecting the outcome of the story in such a way – what is it about love that affects us so? \n\nThe same is true if it’s a horror or crime story.  Why is your character acting the way he or she is?  What motivates them?  How will their decisions affect the outcome?  What is it about the dark side of humanity that reviles us?  What makes us do bad things?  Can we change?\n\nMotivation forms the basic mechanics of how and why.  It’s what drives your main character.\n\nWhen creating a story, we’re not just providing motivation for our characters, we’re also providing answers.  We are imparting some form of knowledge or wisdom to the reader. \n\nKnowledge comes in many forms – it could be information about a place, or it might be a period in time, an historic event perhaps, or even an object – they’re all opportunities for the writer to educate or inform the reader of things they may not be aware of (because as a writer you will have done thorough research). \n\nAs a storyteller, you are also broadening your reader’s horizons. \n\nThere are many stories that endure today because writers aren’t just telling a good story, they are teaching us about human nature and making a social comment.  Think Aesop’s fables, think Orwell’s Animal Farm, Dickens’ Oliver Twist or Golding’s Lord of the Flies.\n\nAll these stories have a common thread.  They’re allegorical in nature; which means they are teaching us something about humanity. \n\nOrwell wasn’t just spinning a yarn about a bunch of farm animals in Animal Farm, but rather he was teaching us about the greed, self indulgence and the destructive nature of humans, cleverly told from the view of farm animals thinking they have the freedom of the farm, except they’re not actually free; they never were.\n\nDickens captured the dark underbelly of Victorian England, the awful conditions suffered by the poor at that time.  He particularly disliked the treatment of children in workhouses – from that we have classics such as Oliver Twist. He was not afraid to show us the darker side of human nature.\n\nWilliam Golding’s Lord of the Flies is also allegorical.  The story of shipwrecked children descending into barbarians highlights what happens when the frail threads of society breaks down.  Golding showed us that given the right ingredients and circumstance, we all revert to primitives in the end – it was and still is an important social criticism of the fragility of human nature.\n\nBut of course, writers create great stories because they can.  They write to entertain the reader, to take them on a journey, to transport them from the normality of life for a short while before releasing them back to reality.  We evoke their emotions and make them think.  We entertain them.\n\nThe fundamental principles of storytelling are aeons old – created to explore and explain humanity, to provide motivation and answers, to teach and inform, and of course, to entertain.\n\nWriters don’t have to make their stories allegorical or overly clever or overcomplicated.  They don't have to use these principles, but a good story is a good story, however it is written.  \nThese basic storytelling values are simply there to help writers create better fiction.  It's up to the writer to use them.\n\nNext week: Major stumbling blocks to writing\n\nSaturday, 6 October 2012\n\nThe Character's Journey\n\nThe character’s personal story is a fundamental part of writing, and yet is often overlooked.  Their journey is as important as plot, dialogue or characterisation.  And it’s not the beginning or the end of the story that counts in this case, but rather what happens during the story.\n\nEvery main character goes on a journey, whether it is an emotional, spiritual, physical, moral or a mental one.  He or she will be a different character by the end of the story; they will have changed somehow because of what they have experienced or what they have done during that time.  You character must always evolve.\n\nIn real life, certain experiences change us – we may change how we think or act, our personalities might change, it may be that some incidents never leave us and have a profound impact on our lives – whether those are good, bad or indifferent.  Life constantly changes and shapes us.\n\nThe same is true of your characters.  Their lives inevitably change; they are directly impacted by what happens around them and therefore they must adapt to their situation and surroundings accordingly. \n\nThere are a number of different ways that your character can change by the end of the novel:\n\nRealisation – a recognition or understanding.  This could be any number of things.  It could be spiritual awakening, a new found belief in God perhaps.   It might be recognition of personal flaws - perhaps your character comes to realise that hating someone with a different skin colour only brings turmoil.  Or maybe it’s the realisation that those less fortunate sometimes have more to offer us than we realise.\n\nAn example of this is Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird.  Beneath the obvious theme of racism within the story, the main character, Scout, also faces her own prejudices of others, in the form of the mysterious Boo Radley.  Ultimately she learns from these prejudices; it changes her outlook for the better.\n\nPhysical – receiving an injury or impairment during the story might change the character’s perspective, or they way they do things to affect their outcome.  An example of this is Stephen King’s Misery.  Paulie, trapped by the demented Annie, suffers physically (as well as mentally), when she hobbles him with a lump hammer, but it is this torture that drives him to find a way out of his imprisonment and resolve his situation\n\nMental – Psychological impacts cause trauma of varying depth.  Perhaps your character has endured terrible mental or emotional pain and distress.  This will undoubtedly change them and cause untold problems beneath the surface.  The changes might be for the good, or they might be the opposite. \n\nA fantastic example of this journey is told in Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.  Randle Murphy’s institutionalised journey is retrograde – he starts off pretty sane and clever, but then ends up insane because of what happens to him.\n\nMoral – Honesty and goodness might play a part in your character’s changing psyche.  Perhaps your character starts out rather horrible towards people, but eventually finds his or her inner morality because of what happens during the story.  Personality, behaviour and character qualities might change by the end of the story.  They might come out the other end a much better, nicer person.  Or, conversely, they might not!\n\nAn excellent, simple example of character morality is Dickens’ Ebenezer Scrooge.  He turns from miserable miser to a charitable and joyful man, thanks to his dark journey with the three spirits who show him the error of his irascible ways.\n\nHis journey is very much part of the story arc, however the changes that your character goes through do not have to be so apparent; they can be subtle or slight, as long as the reader understands that by the end of the story that your character has changed for the better, or learned something, or become a better person etc.\n\nYou are the writer; therefore you decide how the characters change.  But it’s important they change somehow.   If they don’t, then their story arc won’t succeed.  Their journey forms part of the story, and if you think about real life, we always react to what happens around us, even when we think we don’t. We change.\n\nStudy other writers to gain an understanding how their character’s change over the course a novel.  Sometimes it’s subtle; sometimes it’s very obvious, sometimes it’s hidden, but each one undergoes some change.\n\nNext week: The principles of storytelling.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9787269830703735}
+{"content": "block practicing\n\n\n\n\n\nWhy is Perspective Important?\n\n\n\n\n\nHow Can We Add Perspective?\n\n\n\n\nGrind of Classical Music\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nStudent Etiquette\n\nAs a piano teacher, we only have 30/45/60 minutes with each student in a week. Therefore, it is quite important for us to be able to fit as much musical knowledge into the lesson as possible. Of course, children often have other plans for the lesson. Even the most mature students get distracted, or has an off day.\n\nThat being said, I expect none of my students to be perfect. After all, most of them are very young and are learning discipline and respect for the first term. Below, I list out some guidelines for student etiquette, so that the lesson can be both productive and fun!\n\nEtiquette for Piano Students\n\n  1. Don’t play while the teacher is talking. If the student is playing on the piano while the teacher is trying to talk, that is a clear sign that the student is not actively listening. Most of a piano lesson is verbal, so if the student is not listening, then they will not hear the instructions to improve.\n\n  3. Don’t excessively complain about the “hard parts”. Of course, not every part of the lesson can be fun. Scales in particular are never very exciting. Exercises in a book are never particularly exciting. However, if a student can gather their focus and be walked through the exercise, there can be more time left over for the fun parts of myself! After all, a piano teacher’s job is to teach music, not just play music.\n\n  5. Don’t play something that the teacher did not agree on hearing. This is not to say that the piano student should not explore other music on their own. When the piano teacher is there, there is a limited amount of time to get through the necessary basic material. A piano teacher may leave some time at the end of the class to hear other musical material (I do!). Otherwise, the piano student is encouraged to do this type of playing on their own time.\n\nTake piano lessons with Eric here\nLearn more about piano lessons with Eric here", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9094439744949341}
+{"content": "\n\n[iaik-jce] ECDSA\n\n\nI'm trying to do some simple, secure ECC keyexchange... therefore I\ncreated ECDSA keypairs for sender and receiver. The sender then creates\na message containing a sessionkey and signs that message. That's what\nworks (although I don't know why I can sign the X509Certificates I\ncreated using the ecdsaWithSHA1-algorithm, but can not sign my message\nusing this algorithm. Instead I have to use ECDSA to create a\nsignature-object and sign my message).\nWhat I can't do, is encrypt my message with the receiver's public key.\nWhen I try to create a cipher by calling\n\tCipher c=Cipher.getInstance(\"ECDSA\",\"IAIK_ECC\");\nI get:\n\tjava.security.NoSuchAlgorithmException: No such algorithm: ECDSA\n\tat javax.crypto.SunJCE_b.c(DashoA6275)\n\tat javax.crypto.SunJCE_b.a(DashoA6275)\n\tat javax.crypto.Cipher.getInstance(DashoA6275)\n\n(the same thing happens if I try the IAIK provider instead, but that's\nAm I doing anything wrong? And if so, what? Or is it just not possible\nto create a cipher object for the ECDSA algorithm (which would not make\nmuch sense to me, as signature creation works, and this should be\nnothing else but encrypting a hash of the message with the a private\nHope anyone can help me with that... thanks a lot,\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8666849136352539}
+{"content": "The Practical Life Materials in our Montessori classrooms offer the child the opportunity to partake without interruption, disruption or harassment, of adults’ daily routine in which he has keen interest. Such activities include sweeping, pouring, dressing, washing, polishing and sewing. Though the practical life activities seem routine, they have a holistic effect on the child’s development. They help to build on his natural interest and to develop good work habits, concentration, eye-hand co-ordination as well as lengthened attention span and control of his body.\n\nThey also help to expand his knowledge of the environment, prepare him for later intellectual work, and engender a sense of community in him. As he performs these activities, he gradually develops his independence and learns to take turns. With the use of the materials, evidence of increase in the child’s level of concentration, sense or order, control of movement, awareness and appreciation of self and efforts is witnessed on daily basis. Grace and Courtesy also forms an integral part of the curriculum as children are exposed to cultural and social values.\n\nThe Sensorial Materials: The wide range of materials here is designed to help children become more perceptive to understanding concepts, make judgments and build a knowledge and understanding of their world.\n\nThey help to sharpen the child’s sense through experience and exercise, to compare and discriminate on the basis of colour, shape, size, weight, texture, dimension, temperature, etc. Besides, the child expands and extends his/her vocabulary as she/he identifies and names objects.\n\nThe Language Materials in the language and literacy area facilitate listening, writing, reading, writing, spelling and vocabulary building. As the children trace the outline of the metal insets, their hand and arm muscles are strengthened and prepared for drawing and writing. Phonics is introduced early enough to facilitate the development of reading skills. The activities include storytelling, language games, tracing sandpaper letters and building words with the movable alphabet.\n\nMathematical Concepts are offered to children concretely and in their very basic forms; from the simple to the complex. Montessori’s hands-on materials make arithmetic and geometry exciting and enjoyable. They are designed to build a child’s confidence and self-esteem as he moves from the known to the unknown and from the concrete to the abstract. These materials boost the child’s understanding of basic mathematical concepts.\n\nThe Cultural Materials help the child to learn, in very concrete terms, about his world, the real world, which consists of both the natural and the man-made environment. He learns to care for his world and everything in it. He learns about lands and continents, climates, water formation, volcanoes, etc. in Geography. He’s given enough exposure to time-lines in history, beginning with his own and then the life cycles of animals in natural science. Activities include puzzle maps, interdependence of living things as demonstrated with the food chain, simple science experiments such as “sink and float”, “magnetic and non-magnetic”, etc.\n\nArt, Craft, Music and Movement occupy a major place in the curriculum. Children colour, paint, draw and create. Mathematical concepts such as counting, addition, subtraction and one-to-one correspondence are introduced to the children through songs and rhymes. So is the alphabet. Manipulative skills are developed through the use of materials like clay and play-dough. Children are involved in group activities such as colouring, painting, cutting and pasting, which foster social interaction and team spirit.\n\nCircle Time: Children are always looking forward to this as it is always exciting, captivating and highly educative. We sing, dance and discuss various themes.\n\nContact Us\n\nclick here", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9731876254081726}
+{"content": "Secrets of Sales Success\n\nDrew Stevens Ph.D.\nMay 9, 2014 — 1,991 views  \n\nWhen I conduct my sales seminars, I offer the keys to sales success to seminar participants. You are receiving them here for the first time in print. After a review of my own self-development over 25 years of successfully selling products, I have concluded that the art of selling comes down to five very special and very important terms. They are:\n\n\nI have consulted and led a myriad of sales forces over the years, and I believe the preceding five traits to be essential characteristics of all successful sales professionals. Even the failed fictional salesman Willie Loman, of Arthur Miller’s play “Death of a Salesman,” had passion and persistence. In order to achieve, you too must have those characteristics – and more!\n\nThe most important part of any sales professional’s job is to prepare for each and every sales call. The successful sales professional will always know who he or she is calling, as well as why they are calling and how they will sell the product or service.\n\nSales professionals are much like a general on the battlefield, an athletic coach at a game, or a chess player at a tournament: they are always thinking ahead, strategizing to determine their next move. You might say sales professionals are like a nurse in an elementary school before the fall and winter seasons hit. The nurse knows that students will get ill from the spread of germs, so she conveys information about how to avoid getting sick to the students prior to the start of flu and cold season. Salespeople do the same.\n\nSuccessful salespeople are always prepared. They understand the client, the industry, the company, and the specific pain the client is dealing with. Prepared sales professionals also know how to get information should there be a question or something that stumps them.  Put simply, sales professionals are problem solvers, much like a physician trying to understand the reason for an illness. Sales professionals know how to ask the correct and pointed questions to understand the issue and move immediately to problem identification and resolution. And if a sales professional gets stumped for an answer, they know where to go to get it. It should be a very rare occasion when a prepared sales professional does not know where to turn  to get an answer.\n\nPlanning is one of the most important parts of sales preparation. From answering a telephone to making a call to understanding the client and the industry, planning is the single most important part of selling. If you do not know who you are speaking to and what you will say,  then how can you have a conversation?\n\nSelling without planning is much like going on a blind date. You do know that the person is male or female and that they want to meet you and communicate with you, but that is all. One cannot be a problem solver if you do not understand to whom you are speaking and how you can help meet their needs.\n\nThere are several planning resources that are musts for sales professionals because they can  take you from good to great in a short time.  Specifically, there are three resources that cost little or no money and should help you better understand your clients’ issues and how you can aid them.  They are the annual report, news, and company and industry information.\n\nCertainly in today's fast-paced, information-crazed environment, there is little time to access increasing amounts of information. However, clients want sales professionals who understand their business and competitive concerns and can use that knowledge to help them. Clients want trust, service, and relationships. Take the time to learn their business, and your efforts will be rewarded.\n\nNever call a client without a purpose. You must have an intention for each and every conversation, call, proposal, and action you take. Not to say that all is calculated, but you must have a reason for why you are doing what you are doing.\n\nPurpose helps you to answer three vtial and dynamic questions:\nWho is the client?\nWhat do they need?\nWhy me?\nYour ability to reply to these questions will assist you with understanding what you bring to the table and how you can help the client replace their current pain with the pleasure provided by your services.\n\nYour purpose gives you direction, like a compass that helps you to drive to the shortest destination in the least amount of time.\n\nI love selling, and I am not afraid to admit it. I love the challenge of trying to meet people’s needs, and I love helping people to resolve their issues. I love selling.\n\nYou also need to love selling. You need to love what you do and how you do it. You need to eat, sleep, drink, and talk selling – it must be in your blood! The secret to successful sales professionals is that they absolutely, unequivocally love what they do.\n\nSuccessful sales professionals love challenges, are exceptional in overcoming adversity, and love the product or service that they represent. They are never shy or reserved, and you can sense their spirit and their passion when they speak. In fact, I heard a South African phrase the other day: Enbutu, meaning from the spirit. Successful sales professionals have an aura of spirit, of love, of passion, of commitment in everything and anything that they do. The more you can create Enbutu in your sales presentations and your sales day, the more helpful you can be to your client.\n\nLastly, successful sales professionals are persistent. They love, need, and yearn for a challenge. Successful sales professionals never say quit or uncle, and they never stop answering questions, resolving issues, and finding customers.\n\nSuccessful sales professionals are constantly seeking new business and looking for ways to find new clients. It is the successful sales professional who is always looking for answers and finding ways to resolve client issues.\n\nAdditionally, sales professionals that succeed never take “no” for an answer. Those with the power of adversity are not stubborn but are capable of seeking the needle in a haystack with such dogged persistence that they stand head and shoulders above anyone else. The successful sales person is someone who is still willing to go the distance even when fatigued or stumped, creating value, vision, and viability for the prospective client who is yearning for a resolution.\n\n© Drew Stevens 2007 All Rights Reserved.\n\nDrew Stevens PhD assists organizations sell more in less time through high level sales and customer service information sessions and consulting. Drew is the author of 4 books including Split Second Selling and Split Second Customer Service. Drew Stevens has been interviewed frequently in the media and his clients include American International Group, AT&T, Hilton Hotels, The Federal Reserve Bank and Reliv International, The New York Times, Mercy Health Plans, Quicken Loans, and over 200 leading organizations. Drew is also the owner of the Split Second Sales Institute which assists productivity for international sales leaders. For more information please visit --  or call 877-391-6821.\n\nDrew Stevens Ph.D.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7085990905761719}
+{"content": "60 of 20\n\nThis calculator provides an easy method to solve percentage calculations such as what is 60 of 20. See explanation below.\n\n\nWhat isof\n\n\nWhat are Percentages?\n\n\nHow to Solve?\n\nTo solve the problem above, let’s convert it into equation form: __ = 60% x 20\n\n\n\nIn our problem we have to evaluate the 60 percent of 20. For now, let’s call this unknown value \"Y\". Written as a ratio, we would get: 60% : Y\n\nTo see a relationship between these two ratios, let’s combine them into an equation: 100% : 20 = 60% : Y\n\n\n\"20 : 100% and Y : 60%\" is correct.\n\"20 : 100% and 60% : Y\" is wrong.\n\nLet’s solve the equation for Y by first rewriting it as: 100% / 20 = 60% / Y\n\nDrop the percentage marks to simplify your calculations: 100 / 20 = 60 / Y\n\nMultiply both sides by Y to transfer it on the left side of the equation: Y ( 100 / 20 ) = 60\n\nTo isolate Y, multiply both sides by 20 / 100, we will have: Y = 60 ( 20 / 100 )\n\nComputing the right side, we get: Y = 12\n\nThis leaves us with our final answer: 60 of 20 is 12", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9998162984848022}
+{"content": "4 rounds.\n\n500 m row (this is a flat out sprint)\n400 m jog (this is a recovery jog, but run every step)\n\nPost times of rows and jogs to comments. \n\n\nSubs for a row would be:\n\nKB high sumos 35/53 (each rep = 10 meters)\nski squats med/heavy bands (each rep = 10 meters)\n\n\nGood luck to all the runners doing Ogden tomorrow.  Take a bunch of pics.  Would love to post them. \n\n\nBec's just laxin.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9999858736991882}
+{"content": "Wednesday, April 22, 2015\n\nPolice Procedurals Respected by Law Enforcement\n\nWhen I was a young adult and considering my career options for the future, I gave consideration to three areas. Two of them were becoming either a lawyer or a police officer. Where the irony comes into play is I wanted to be a defense attorney to stand up for the accused, possibly even the guilty. Whereas, on the flipside of that, as a police officer I would have made sure the guilty were held accountable. This goes to prove that both “good” and “bad,” light and dark, live inside of me as they do everyone.\n\nExpanding on that, I believe a good Law Enforcement officer needs to have the ability to relate to both sides. While they pursue the presumed guilty, they consider the evidence and the facts in a case. When they deem everything points in the direction of guilt, they will stop at nothing to bring a perp to justice. It doesn’t matter if they meet with opposition even from inside “the brotherhood of blue.” They won’t let anything deter them from the goal of getting the guilty off the street and making them pay for what they’ve done.\n\nWhen it comes to their view of the accused, Law Enforcement officers have another sense that allows them to reason on why a suspect may have done what they did. Of course, there will be times when motivation remains an enigma, but they strive to analyze the why and the what. Why would they have done what they did? And what pushed them to this point?\n\nSee, often times, those who commit crimes, even murders, are justified in their own minds. Whether it be the way they were raised, an example they were given, or something in their lives that made them who they are.\n\nExperienced and talented Law Enforcement officers can “see” all of this, even if some of it remains based on intuition and a “gut feeling.” There are times, though, their predictions are proven. There are other times when officers are left with a feeling of senselessness, when they cannot understand the perp on any level. But I believe a good Law Enforcement officer realizes there are three sides to every story and that somewhere in the middle is the truth.\n\nNow, I said there were three career options I had considered. Well, the third was to become a journalist. Of the three options I am now closer to living the third. Due to extenuating circumstances a career in either Law or Law Enforcement were not in my purpose. However, I have found a niche between the two that caters to the three loves I had dating back to young adulthood.\n\nAs a mystery writer, I pursue the “bad guys” and bring them to justice, but I also delve into the minds of killers. My passion and respect for Law Enforcement dictates that I keep my stories as realistic as possible. See, my purpose is to provide not only entertaining police procedurals, but accurate ones. I’m proud to say that based on emails I’ve received from readers who work, or have worked, in Law Enforcement, I have succeeded at this. While they possess the true strength and courage to work on the streets, I write about it from the safety of my office.\n\nTo those who work, or who have ever worked, in Law Enforcement—thank you for your service in a career that is not acknowledged enough.\n\nHere are a few recommendations that I’ve received from readers with experience in Law Enforcement:\n\n“Usually it’s hard for me to read cop books without picking them apart but once I started this one I couldn’t put it down. TIES THAT BIND was more realistic than anything I’ve ever read and for the entire book I felt like it was me. The way Carolyn wrote Madison describes me and the way I work and even my personal life to a t. I have never felt more connected to a character. Thank you for creating something so real.” -- Deputy Rebecca Hendrix, LeFlore County Sheriff’s Department Poteau, Oklahoma\n \"I thrive on rich characters and TIES THAT BIND did a superb job of capturing the law enforcement partner relationship.\" -- Kevin Johnson, Sergeant (Ret.) Minneapolis, MN\n“Carolyn Arnold provides entertainment and accuracy.” -- Michael D. Scott, Patrolman (Ret.) Castroville, Texas\n\nSend to Kindle", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9805922508239746}
+{"content": "Det här är en gammal arkiverad spelning\n\n\n\n\nThere are multiple artists with this name:\n\n1.) Marionette is a Metal band hailing from Gothenburg, Sweden and formed in 2005. The band achieved recognition from placing high, and often winning, many national and international music contests. Inspired by the Japanese visual-kei scene and the brutality of Swedish metal, Marionette has brought new light to the metal genre with an interesting blend of various different genres and sub-genres.\n\n2.) Marionette is a psychedelic indie rock band from Richmond, Virginia that \"delivers melodic, driving, dramatic indie rock. Dark, playful and really pretty at the same time, kind of like that girl/guy you have a crush on.” – Star News (Wilmington, NC...\n\nLäs mer\n\n\nSwedish metal outfit Aktaion formed as a project by Francis Larsson in 2010, initially as a studio-based outlet. With the band's current lineup already performing and recording together in different groups, Jonas Snäckmark (Vocals), Jonatan Ney (Guitar/Keys) and Axel Croné (Bass) organically became involved in the recording process at an early stage. Three long years later, their first full-length Throne has now been released to the public.\n\nThrone features the intense and distinctive compositions outlined by Larsson, with additional work done in collaboration with the members of the band. With Snäckmark Aktaion found the most aggressive vocals Sweden could offer, and together with their combined experience from different music...\n\nLäs mer", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8125872015953064}
+{"content": "If you keep on making up yourselves and maintain a proper look for your body and shape, you will not only bee looking handsome but also feel confident. Remember, your outlook causes appraise from others and enhances our self esteem by giving us more improved self image. Having said all that, what if you have any disease or body problem, which make you feel ugly or de-motivate you to the level that you shun to speak to others.\n\nIf you or any of your friends, colleagues, family members or peers had any problem like vitiligo skin disorder ; you must have observed that low self esteem in them. In order to improve your standard of living and enjoying a complete life, you have to do lots of things. You have read brief information about the expected side effects of the bodily problems, such as vitiligo . In order to go for Vitiligo treatment, you first have to understand the nature of the disease itself. What is that? How does it develop in the body? Possible causes and reasons and then finally, how to get rid of Vitiligo? First of all we discuss the problem itself.\n\nIt is a fundamentally a skin condition which affects the body’ creation of melanin which is required for skin. This hurdle in melanin production causes its deficiency in the body and ultimately, you see some white patches on the skin. Visibility of these patches is an indication of Vitiligo. There are multiple causes of this problem. Your food and nutrition can cause it as sometimes it is caused by lack of protein intake.\n\nSome of the people are of the view that it can also be inherited, however, this is debatable. Another possible cause could be the environmental impact but the most prominent reason is poor nutrition and improper intake of protein and vitamins. Vitamin D and C are integral for skin, if your body is deficient of these two, there are possibilities that you fall prey to Vitiligo. As far as the Vitiligo Cure is concerned, there are multiple ways to treat this problem. Some people even go for surgery as well.\n\nThe most common therapies, which are used in this case, include the oil treatment, light or ultraviolet rays treatment, herbal treatment, medical treatment, and homeopathic or allopathic treatment. Whatever method you use for its treatment, you will find it helpful, however, some treatments have some sort of advantages over others. Herbal or oil treatment is understood to be the best for those people who want to avoid any side effects and want some cost effective way. This sort of vitiligo treatment is done by specialist by applying many herbal methodologies. Some times they give you kind of medicines, sometimes, you are provided with some oil for massage. The best thing about this kind of treatment is that, it not only addresses the disease, but also the underlying causes as well.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5741112232208252}
+{"content": "“Enlightenment is man’s leaving his self-caused immaturity. Immaturity is the incapacity to use one's intelligence without the guidance of another. Such immaturity is self-caused if it is not caused by lack of intelligence, but by lack of determination and courage to use one's intelligence without being guided by another. Sapere Aude! Have the courage to use your own intelligence! is therefore the motto of the enlightenment...”\n― Immanuel Kant\n\n(P.S :Sapere Aude is a Latin phrase meaning \"dare to be wise\", or more precisely \"dare to know\".)\n\n\n\"Is there anything I can do to make myself Enlightened?\"\n\n\"As little as you can do to make the sun rise in the morning.\"\n\n\"Then of what use are the spiritual exercises you prescribe?\"\n\n\"To make sure you are not asleep when the sun begins to rise.\"\n\n-One Minute Wisdom From Anthony de Mello\n\n\n“When you dig a well, there's no sign of water until you reach it, only rocks and dirt to move out of the way. You have removed enough; soon the pure water will flow,\" said Buddha.” ~Deepak Chopra\n\n\n“Do not look for happiness outside yourself. The awakened seek happiness inside.”― Peter Deunov\n\n\n\n\n\n\n“The bird of paradise alights only upon the hand that does not grasp.”― John Berry\n\n\n\n“Nobody makes anybody enlightened.\nJust tell them what you want to say,\nthen let them decide for themselves.”\n― Toba Beta\n\n\nP.S:Let us make sure we are truly “awake” when the sun begins to rise.\n\nThank you for visiting the TREASURE TROVE today.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9659361243247986}
+{"content": "Massive Disneyland Attraction Database\n\nLuigi's Toontown\n\n\nLuigi's Toontown is where well-known toons hang out when they aren't dropping anvils on each other.\n\n\nSelect Shops and Restaurants\n\n\nIn Luigi's Toontown, if you push an adult it may have something to say about it.\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9912651777267456}
+{"content": "Hemoglobins - process of respiration, Biology\n\nHemoglobins - Process of Respiration\n\nHemoglobins are the very well known of all respiratory pigments. The basic molecular unit of Hemoglobin contains a haem group bound to a protein or globin moiety. Haeme is a metalloporphyrin, to be much more specific, ferrous protoporphyrin. This serves as the prosthetic (serving as a prefix) group, with that is linked the protein. Hemoglobins of different species differ in their chemical and physical properties. These differences are attributable to differences in their globin moieties. The molecular weight of each unit molecule is usually about 16000 - 17000. The four-unit hemoglobin of vertebrates thus have molecular weights of almost 64090 - 68000. Relatively huge hemoglobin molecules are found in some non-chordates. For instance, in numerous annelids including earthworms (for example Lumbricus) and in the polychaete Arenicola the blood Hemoglobins has a molecular weight of nearly 3 million. Such large molecules frequently contain around 100 or more oxygen-binding sites.\n\nPosted Date: 2/4/2013 5:36:14 AM | Location : United States\n\nRelated Discussions:- Hemoglobins - process of respiration, Assignment Help, Ask Question on Hemoglobins - process of respiration, Get Answer, Expert's Help, Hemoglobins - process of respiration Discussions\n\nWrite discussion on Hemoglobins - process of respiration\nYour posts are moderated\nRelated Questions\nClosed Type of Circulatory Systems Some non-chordates, like cephalopods (octopuses, squids), earthworms, polychactes and all vertebrates have a closed circulation along with b\n\nNose Nose consists of external and internal parts. The inner lining of the nose contains millions of small receptors. These receptors are located on the sensory hairs.\n\nArterial Conduits LIMA UMA: anastomosis side-t-side with diaganal8 end-lo-sode with LAD Figure: Arterial conduits Internal Mamnrary Artery (IMA)\n\nwho discovered it? and what is it''s physiologic functions?\n\nAll the water used in the home that goes into the drain or into sewage collection system is called waste water. Domestic sewage is the waste water from kitchens, bathrooms etc. It\n\nExplain how human activities can cause an imbalance in biogeochemical cycling and lead to problems such as cultural eutrophication and fish kills.\n\nByproducts of the food industry, such as coffee residues, fruit pulp and cocoa meal are of low energy value, but are relatively high in nitrogen. In additional, animal excreta tend\n\ndefine alimentary canal\n\nQ. What is Low Gradient Aortic Stenosis? One may come across patients who have severe left ventricular dysfunction and modest gradients across aortic valve. This situation may\n\nQ. Which Of the substances is chromatin made? Chromatin is made of the DNA molecules associated to proteins known as histones.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8311960101127625}
+{"content": "G2Cdb::Gene report\n\nGene id\nGene symbol\nHomo sapiens\nhyaluronan and proteoglycan link protein 2\nG00000651 (Mus musculus)\n\nDatabases (7)\n\nCurated Gene\nOTTHUMG00000033205 (Vega human gene)\nENSG00000132702 (Ensembl human gene)\n60484 (Entrez Gene)\n1063 (G2Cdb plasticity & disease)\nHAPLN2 (GeneCards)\nMarker Symbol\nHGNC:17410 (HGNC)\nProtein Sequence\nQ9GZV7 (UniProt)\n\nSynonyms (1)\n\n  • Bral1\n\nLiterature (8)\n\nPubmed - other\n\n  • Reduced expression of the hyaluronan and proteoglycan link proteins in malignant gliomas.\n\n    Sim H, Hu B and Viapiano MS\n\n    Center for Molecular Neurobiology, The Ohio State University Medical Center, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA.\n\n    Malignant gliomas have a distinctive ability to infiltrate the brain parenchyma and disrupt the neural extracellular matrix that inhibits motility of axons and normal neural cells. Chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans (CSPGs) are among the major inhibitory components in the neural matrix, but surprisingly, some are up-regulated in gliomas and act as pro-invasive signals. In the normal brain, CSPGs are thought to associate with hyaluronic acid and glycoproteins such as the tenascins and link proteins to form the matrix scaffold. Here, we examined for the first time the expression of link proteins in human brain and malignant gliomas. Our results indicate that HAPLN4 and HAPLN2 are the predominant members of this family in the adult human brain but are strongly reduced in the tumor parenchyma. To test if their absence was related to a pro-invasive gain of function of CSPGs, we expressed HAPLN4 in glioma cells in combination with the CSPG brevican. Surprisingly, HAPLN4 increased glioma cell adhesion and migration and even potentiated the motogenic effect of brevican. Further characterization revealed that HAPLN4 expressed in glioma cells was largely soluble and did not reproduce the strong, hyaluronan-independent association of the native protein to brain subcellular membranes. Taken together, our results suggest that the tumor parenchyma is rich in CSPGs that are not associated to HAPLNs and could instead interact with other extracellular matrix proteins produced by glioma cells. This dissociation may contribute to changes in the matrix scaffold caused by invasive glioma cells.\n\n    Funded by: NCI NIH HHS: R01 CA152065\n\n    The Journal of biological chemistry 2009;284;39;26547-56\n\n\n    Martins-de-Souza D, Gattaz WF, Schmitt A, Rewerts C, Marangoni S, Novello JC, Maccarrone G, Turck CW and Dias-Neto E\n\n    Laboratório de Neurociências, Faculdade de Medicina da USP, Instituto de Psiquiatria, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua Dr. Ovídio Pires de Campos, No 785, s/n Consolação, São Paulo, SP, CEP 05403-010, Brazil. danms90@gmail.com\n\n    Global proteomic analysis of post-mortem anterior temporal lobe samples from schizophrenia patients and non-schizophrenia individuals was performed using stable isotope labeling and shotgun proteomics. Our analysis resulted in the identification of 479 proteins, 37 of which showed statistically significant differential expression. Pathways affected by differential protein expression include transport, signal transduction, energy pathways, cell growth and maintenance and protein metabolism. The collection of protein alterations identified here reinforces the importance of myelin/oligodendrocyte and calcium homeostasis in schizophrenia, and reveals a number of new potential markers that may contribute to the understanding of the pathogenesis of this complex disease.\n\n    Journal of neural transmission (Vienna, Austria : 1996) 2009;116;3;275-89\n\n\n\n\n    Funded by: PHS HHS: N01-C0-12400\n\n    Genome research 2004;14;10B;2121-7\n\n\n\n\n\n    Nature genetics 2004;36;1;40-5\n\n  • A hyaluronan binding link protein gene family whose members are physically linked adjacent to chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan core protein genes: the missing links.\n\n    Spicer AP, Joo A and Bowling RA\n\n    Center for Extracellular Matrix Biology, Texas A&M University System Health Science Center, Institute of Biosciences and Technology, Houston, Texas 77030, USA. aspicer@ibt.tamu.edu\n\n    We describe a vertebrate hyaluronan and proteoglycan binding link protein gene family (HAPLN), consisting of four members including cartilage link protein. The encoded proteins share 45-52% overall amino acid identity. In contrast to the average sequence identity between family members, the sequence conservation between vertebrate species was very high. Human and mouse link proteins share 81-96% amino acid sequence identity. Two of the four link protein genes (HAPLN2 and HAPLN4) were restricted in expression to the brain/central nervous system, while one of the four genes (HAPLN3) was widely expressed. Genomic structures revealed that all four HAPLN genes were similar in exon-intron organization and were also similar in genomic organization to the 5' exons for the CSPG core protein genes. Strikingly, all four HAPLN genes were located immediately adjacent to the four CSPG core protein genes creating four pairs of CSPG-HAPLN genes within the mammalian genome. Furthermore, the two brain-specific HAPLN genes (HAPLN2 and HAPLN4) were physically linked to the brain-specific CSPG genes encoding brevican and neurocan, respectively. The tight physical association of the HAPLN and CSPG genes supports a hypothesis that the first HAPLN gene arose as a partial gene duplication event from an ancestral CSPG gene. There is some degree of coordinated expression of each gene pair. Collectively, the four HAPLN genes are expressed by most tissue types, reflecting the fundamental importance of the hyaluronan-dependent extracellular matrix to tissue architecture and function in vertebrate species. Comparison of the genomic structures for the HAPLN, CSPG genes and other members of the link module superfamily provide strong support for a common evolutionary origin from an ancestral gene containing one link module encoding exon.\n\n    The Journal of biological chemistry 2003;278;23;21083-91\n\n  • Human BRAL1 and BCAN genes that belong to the link-module superfamily are tandemly arranged on chromosome 1q21-23.\n\n    Nomoto H, Oohashi T, Hirakawa S, Ueki Y, Ohtsuki H and Ninomiya Y\n\n    Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine and Dentistry, Japan.\n\n    We herein determined by fluorescence in situ hybridization the chromosomal localization of 2 human genes, BRAL1 and BCAN, both of which belong to the link-module superfamily, i.e. to the same band of chromosome 1q21-23. Further analysis of the genomic organization of BRAL1 and BCAN revealed that the BRAL1 gene was located 20-kb upstream of the BCAN start site. We isolated a polymorphic dinucleotide (CA) repeat sequence from a genomic clone containing the BCAN gene. High heterozygosity (0.79) makes this polymorphism a useful marker in the study of genetic disorders. Knowledge of the structure of the genes and the marker provides essential information for further analysis of the gene locus at chromosome 1q21-23.\n\n    Acta medica Okayama 2002;56;1;25-9\n\n  • Bral1, a brain-specific link protein, colocalizing with the versican V2 isoform at the nodes of Ranvier in developing and adult mouse central nervous systems.\n\n    Oohashi T, Hirakawa S, Bekku Y, Rauch U, Zimmermann DR, Su WD, Ohtsuka A, Murakami T and Ninomiya Y\n\n    Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine and Dentistry, Okayama, 700-8558, Japan. oohashi@cc.okyama-u.ac.jp\n\n    Bral1, a brain-specific hyaluronan-binding protein, has been cloned recently. To gain insight into the role of Bral1, we generated a specific antibody against this protein. We have examined the detailed localization pattern of Bral1 protein and compared it with that of other members of the lectican proteoglycan family, such as brevican and versican, with which Bral1 is predicted to interact. The immunoreactivity of Bral1 antibody was predominantly observed in myelinated fiber tracts in the adult brain and could be detected at P20 in the white matter of the developing cerebellum, suggesting that expression starts when axonal myelination takes place. Furthermore, immunostaining demonstrated that Bral1 colocalized with the versican V2 isoform at the nodes of Ranvier. The present data suggest that Bral1 may play a pivotal role in the formation of the hyaluronan-associated matrix in the CNS that facilitates neuronal conduction by forming an ion diffusion barrier at the nodes.\n\n    Molecular and cellular neurosciences 2002;19;1;43-57\n\n  • The brain link protein-1 (BRAL1): cDNA cloning, genomic structure, and characterization as a novel link protein expressed in adult brain.\n\n    Hirakawa S, Oohashi T, Su WD, Yoshioka H, Murakami T, Arata J and Ninomiya Y\n\n    Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Okayama University Medical School, Okayama, 700-8558, Japan.\n\n    We report here molecular cloning and expression analysis of the gene for a novel human brain link protein-1 (BRAL1) which is predominantly expressed in brain. The predicted open reading frame of human brain link protein-1 encoded a polypeptide of 340 amino acids containing three protein modules, the immunoglobulin-like fold and proteoglycan tandem repeat 1 and 2 domains, with an estimated mass of 38 kDa. The brain link protein-1 mRNA was exclusively present in brain. When analyzed during mouse development, it was detected solely in the adult brain. Concomitant expression pattern of mRNAs for brain link protein-1 and various lectican proteoglycans in brain suggests a possibility that brain link protein-1 functions to stabilize the binding between hyaluronan and brevican. The human BRAL1 gene contained 7 exons and spanned approximately 6 kb. The entire immunoglobulin-like fold was encoded by a single exon and the proteoglycan tandem repeat 1 and 2 domains were encoded by a single and two exons, respectively. The deduced amino acid sequence of human brain link protein-1 exhibited 45% identity with human cartilage link protein-1 (CRTL1), previously reported as link protein to stabilize aggregates of aggrecan and hyaluronan in cartilage. These results suggest that brain link protein-1 may have distinct function from cartilage link protein-1 and play specific roles, especially in the adult brain.\n\n    Biochemical and biophysical research communications 2000;276;3;982-9\n\nGene lists (4)\n\nGene List Source Species Name Description Gene count\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5930117964744568}
+{"content": "Neue Institutsadresse\n\nhome ⇛ Projekte ⇛ Buddhistisches Zentralasien ⇛ Revitalization of Cultural Heritage in Mongolia\nRevitalization of Cultural Heritage in Mongolia\n\nForscher: Gantulga Munkh-Erdene\nBetreuerin: Maria Katharina-Lang\nProjektlaufzeit: 15..10.2016-25.03.2017\nFinanzierung: Ernst Mach Grant (Eurasia-Pacific Uninet)\n\nIn Mongolia, following the mining boom, two phenomena have emerged. Those are: development or mega projects and cultural heritage issues. According to the Law of Cultural Heritage, if the companies or organizations want to use any land for economic activities those subjects have to reserve a research for protection and preservation of cultural heritage on the target area of their project. The research must be undertaken by academic or scholarly organizations or individuals. Following this process, several research questions have risen, such as: Is it a revival of traditional culture? What methods emerged concerning the protection process of the cultural heritage? What are the scholars’ activities and roles on this field? However, it is common to consider the revival of Mongolian cultural heritage in connection to the collapse of Soviet Union’s communist regime after being suppressed for over 70 years. Today, we are witnessing another round of similar discourse, which we call revitalization of cultural heritage. For Mongolia, a country with 25 years of democratic history experiencing western development policy, the conventional interpretation regarding oppression of and liberation from the Soviet regime is no longer valid to understand the politics of cultural heritage in Mongolia. Therefore, alternative interpretations are now necessary to comprehend current and further processes of cultural heritage. In this research, I try to explore the new explanation or the new trigger of cultural revival in Mongolia.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9999426603317261}
+{"content": "You are here: Programme > The Ascetic Eye\n\n\n11:15, Thursday 28th June, Bragg\n\nDirector: Paraveen Kumar (India)\n\nYear: 2006\n\nRun time: 59'\n\nLocation/Ethnic group: Madhubani, North Bihar, India/ Paswans, Brahmins, Kayasthas\n\nLanguage: In Hindi and Maithili with English subtitles\n\nProduction/Distribution: Andaaz Production, Intervention Press\n\nThe Ascetic Eye\n\nIn Madhubani, people struggle against difficult circumstances to eke out a living. Many have taken to painting to survive. They paint the traditional motives on paper (formerly, they were painted on cow dung textured walls of huts and closely associated with ritual). These paintings are then sold in markets in India and abroad. While many painters repeat certain traditional motives, other artists boldly expand the repertoire to include contemporary themes. This film is about these painters, their circumstances, their inspirations and their works. The film grows to completion by a criss-crossing of narratives stitched together by sights and songs of the milieu that gives birth to these artists. The central line of the film is the khobbar ritual in which a newly-married couple spends three days and nights in the painted Khobbar Ghar before they may consummate their marriage. This vigil over desire provides the film with a mysterious energy.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7719612121582031}
+{"content": "What Living On A Boat Is REALLY Like\n\nCould you imagine waking up each morning to the sun blanketed hills of the S.F. Bay? Sounds pretty idyllic, right? Well, for designer and model Kyleigh Kuhn, her idea of spending her days drifting on the water became a reality when she nabbed a houseboat on Craigslist and flipped it into her ultimate dream home.\n\nAfter moving back home from NYC, the Marin-county native purchased her houseboat, Whim, and spent the last year getting her hands dirty, transforming the space into the ultimate maritime escape. With vaulted ceilings, windows that soak the space with light, a loft bed, and a patio made for coffee-in-hand moments, this unique home is a perfect little piece of life aquatic paradise. Get ready for some pretty inspiring #onaboat moments ahead.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5102629065513611}
+{"content": "Importing x,y,z coordinates from Excel\n\nI've generated a tractor/trailer wireframe definition from a drawing and Excel algorithm in x,y,z coordinates and would like to import this definition. How do I create a file that will import the coordinates?\n\nNo votes yet\n\nX, Y, Z Points import\n\nYou can import X, Y, Z coordinates using the .pts format - columns of ASCII coordinates with empty newlines separating groups. Once in Caedium the points will be represented as groups of vertices which you can then select and fit splines through to define edges. However, then creating faces from those edges and making sure the faces define a watertight volume can be difficult.\n\nA better option is to use a CAD system and model the surfaces directly as a solid.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9991037845611572}
+{"content": "During one of their programmes of seeing how their subjects lived Their Majesties King Bhumibol Adulyadej,  the Great and Queen Sirikit accompanied by HRH Princess Chulabhorn Walailak visited a small village on the northern border, Ban Mai Mawkjarm, on January 14, 1979 (B.E.2522)\n\nBan Mai Mawkjarm is situated 185 KM north of Chiangmai, thirteen kilometers away from Mae Ai district, in Tambol Thaton, and is mainly inhabited by Tai (Shan) 1.\n\nThe day of the royal visit coincided with the Tribute to Tai Writers (poet or technician) (Yok Yawng Khu Maw Tai) Day, an annual event for the Tai in paying respects to the past writers and poets for their contribution to Tai history and literature. Events include making merit by offering alms to the Sangha (monks), cultural dances and shows and reciting their works for the following generations over a span of centuries. Their majesties advised that the whole community conserve the customs, traditions and culture. This has been an inspiration for all Tai to set up an organization (such as public charity foundation) to pass on the literature and arts to the future generations.\n\n\nFootnote 1: Tai ordinarily known as Thaiyai is ethnic Thai living in Thailand, Burma, China, India, Cambodia, Laos, etc. The word Shan is a Burmese mispronunciation of the word Siam.\nFootnote 2: The word Khu Maw derives from the word Guru, meaning teacher or expert in literature.\n\nSince then, the royal motivation has encouraged the Tai community to set up a Khu Maw Tai Foundation. In 1982 (BE 2525) a meeting at Wat Mae Ai Luang, in MaeAi voted unanimously to set up this foundation, but due to may problems and difficulties the villagers were able to set erect only a small pagoda named Haw Khu Maw Tai. Under the chedi a small building at the base is now utilized for the annual tribute ceremonies and a meeting hall for cultural meetings as well as a museum.\n\nYears later, a Tai native of Mae Hong Son and a retired army general and former deputy commander of the Royal Army III Corp, General Pon Wanakamol revived the idea of uniting the Tai community in Bangkok in setting up the Khur Tai Foundation. It was to be situated at the Dhamma Practicing Centre on Sathupradit road. However, due to many difficulties and obstacles it was abandoned.\n\nIn 2008 (BE 2551), under the leadership of General Pon the Pradhamamseng Foundation was registered on August 26, 2008 with the head office at 99/25 Soi Tha Kham, Samae Dam, Bang Khuntien district in Bangkok.\nThe direct translation of Pradhamamseng means Foundation of the Light of Dhamma (FLD). It is also the name of the Venerable Nakingta, former assistant abbot of the Dhamma Practicing Centre in Sadhupradit. He had also been an assistant abbot at Wat muangchum, Phan district, Chiangrai and is famous for his contribution to the Tai community. The foundation will be formally opened on September 30, 2008.\nThe Foundation will serve as a centre for all Tai, from all walks of life from all over and will act as a hub for communicating, supporting and conserving traditions and customs of the Tai race. It will help in the fields of education, society, the needy and poor in cooperation with religious and communal groups.\n\nAims & Objects\n\n  1. To promote Buddhism\n  2. To develop and enhance local art and culture\n  3. To award scholarships and guide the younger generation\n  4. To cooperate with religious & communal groups\n  5. Non-involvement in any form of politics\n\nPlans and Projects\n\nThe Foundation plans to achieve the following:\nSuch as to set up a fund for promoting education for the young (Education Development Fund)\nTo enable the Foundation have its own premises, etc.\n\nTo cooperate for the protection against the cold season (The Mercy Project)\nTo promote and educate displaced workers and laborers (The Educational Facilities of displaced Shan in Thailand)\n\nDonations & Contributions\n\nThere are four ways of donating and contributing to the Foundation\n\n  1. There is already a fund set up for the promotion of education (Education Development Fund), procurement of land for communal purposes, etc.\n  2. Donation to the general purpose fund: This is a fund derived from general contributions without the donor’s specified directive and this may be utilized as deemed appropriate.\n  3. Specified donations: This includes projects for protection against cold, Tai art & cultural programmes, educational programmes for the displaced workers, programmes for religious, ethics and moral of the youth.\n  4. Donation to the central fund will be mainly used for administration and management of the Foundation.\n\nBank Account\n\nAccount name: Phradhammasaeng Fondation\nAccount Type: Savings\nAccount Number: 183-2759129\nBank: Kasikorn Bank, Rangsit Branch.\n\n\nGeneral Pon Wanakamon\n\nRead more |\n\n\ntaiculture.org - your source for study about Tai people", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5298347473144531}
+{"content": "Exciting from the Blog\n\nWhat does depth of field actually mean?\n\n\nAnybody who takes up photography will sooner or later stumble across the following term: depth of field. But what does it actually mean? And just how deep can the depth of field be?\n\nSports Photography in Corsica\n\n02.12.2014 / Christoph Oberschneider\n\nChristoph Oberschneider is constantly on the lookout for new challenges. His latest photographic expedition took the Salzburg based sports photographer to Corsica. He was accompanied by a Tamron SP 24-70mm F/2.8 Di USD together with a Tamron SP 70-200mm F/2.8 Di USD – the high speed zoom duo specially designed to meet the needs of professionals.\n\nTamron Produces 5 Millionth High-power Zoom Lens\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.961782693862915}
+{"content": "ZFIN ID: ZDB-PUB-961014-580\nGenetic control of primary neuronal development in zebrafish\nKimmel, C.B., Hatta, K., and Eisen, J.S.\nDate: 1991\nSource: Development (Cambridge, England) (Suppl.) 2: 47-57 (Review)\nRegistered Authors: Eisen, Judith S., Hatta, Kohei, Kimmel, Charles B.\nKeywords: genetics, mutation, zebrafish, primary neuron, notoneuron, somite, muscle, notochord, floor plate, cell nteractions\nMeSH Terms: Animals; Embryonic Induction/genetics*; Genes, Lethal/physiology; Motor Neurons/physiology*; Muscles/embryology* (all 12) expand\nPubMed: 1842357\nDuring the first day of embryogenesis in the zebrafish, a precise and relatively simple network of neurons develops, pioneering axonal pathways and apparently functioning to mediate reflexive motor responses to touch stimuli. We have begun to use zygotic lethal mutations to analyze the assembly of this 'primary' embryonic nervous system. Here we focus on spinal primary motoneurons, their inputs from hindbrain Mauthner neurons, and their outputs to segmental body wall muscle. The mutation nic-1 blocks synaptic transmission between nerve and muscle, yet embryonic primary motoneurons appear normal, suggesting that functional interactions with their targets are not involved in regulating their development. The mutation spt-1 directly disrupts development of this muscle, and the mutation cyc-1 appears to directly block specification of the floor plate. Both spt-1 and cyc-1 affect aspects of primary neuronal development, and they probably do so indirectly. The nonautonomous actions of these mutations are local and they produce variable neuronal phenotypes. The observations can be interpreted to mean that some cellular interactions that specify the neurons and their axonal paths occur at close range and involve multiple, possibly combinatorial, transmitter-independent pathways.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9981623888015747}
+{"content": "We gratefully acknowledge support from\nthe Simons Foundation\nand member institutions\nFull-text links:\n\n\nCurrent browse context:\n\n\nChange to browse by:\n\nReferences & Citations\n\n\n(what is this?)\n\nComputer Science > Neural and Evolutionary Computing\n\nTitle: CMA-ES for Hyperparameter Optimization of Deep Neural Networks\n\nAbstract: Hyperparameters of deep neural networks are often optimized by grid search, random search or Bayesian optimization. As an alternative, we propose to use the Covariance Matrix Adaptation Evolution Strategy (CMA-ES), which is known for its state-of-the-art performance in derivative-free optimization. CMA-ES has some useful invariance properties and is friendly to parallel evaluations of solutions. We provide a toy example comparing CMA-ES and state-of-the-art Bayesian optimization algorithms for tuning the hyperparameters of a convolutional neural network for the MNIST dataset on 30 GPUs in parallel.\nSubjects: Neural and Evolutionary Computing (cs.NE); Learning (cs.LG)\nCite as: arXiv:1604.07269 [cs.NE]\n  (or arXiv:1604.07269v1 [cs.NE] for this version)\n\nSubmission history\n\nFrom: Ilya Loshchilov [view email]\n[v1] Mon, 25 Apr 2016 14:17:08 GMT (2360kb,D)", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9985367655754089}
+{"content": "NUR-699 Week 2 Assignment Evidence-Based Practice Proposal - Section B- Problem Description.DOCX\n\nNUR-699 Week 2 Assignment Evidence-Based Practice Proposal - Section B- Problem Description\n\nMax Points: 60\n\n\nWrite a paper of 500-750 words (not including the title page and reference page) on your proposed problem description for your EBP project. The paper should address the following:\n\n  1. Describe the background of the problem. Tell the story of the issue and why it deserves attention.\n\n  2. Identify the stakeholders/change agents. Who, or what organizations, are concerned, may benefit from, or are affected by this proposal. List the interested parties, patients, students, agencies, Joint Commission, etc.\n\n  3. Use the feedback from the Topic 2 main forum post and refine your PICOT question. Make sure that the question fits with your graduate degree specialization.\n\n  4. State the purpose and project objectives in specific, realistic, and measurable terms. The objective should address what is to be gained. This is a restatement of the question, providing focus. Measurements need to be taken before and after the evidence-based practice is introduced to identify the expected changes.\n\n  5. 5) Provide supportive rationale that the problem or issue is an important one for nursing to resolve using relevant professional literature sources.\n\n  6. Develop an initial reference list to assure that there is adequate literature to support your evidence-based practice project. Follow the \"Steps to an Efficient Search to Answer a Clinical Question\" box in chapter 3 of the textbook. Use \"NUR-699 Search Method Example\" to assist you.\n\n  7. 7) The majority of references should be research articles. However, national sources such as Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), Department of Health and Human Resources (HHS), or the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and others may be used when you are gathering statistics to provide the rationale for the problem.\n\n  8. Once you get into the literature, you may find there is very little research to support your topic and you will have to start all over again. Remember, in order for this to be an evidence-based project, you must have enough evidence to introduce this as a practice change. If you find that you do not have enough supporting evidence to change a practice, then further research would need to be conducted.\n\n\n\n\nUpon receiving feedback from the instructor, refine \"Section B: Problem Description\" for your final submission. This will be a continuous process throughout the course for each section.\n\nPowered by", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9932172894477844}
+{"content": "Section 179 Depreciation Deduction\n\nSection 179 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code allows taxpayers to deduct property of certain types against their income taxes as an expense rather than capitalizing or depreciating it. The type of property that is eligible for this deduction includes tangible, depreciable, personal property that is being bought for use in conduct of that business.\n\nWhy is this important? The amount of the maximum deduction a taxpayer can elect to take in a year is $500,000, ending December 31, 2013. After that, starting in 2014, the deduction amount will be lowered to $25,000. This means, if you buy used or new material handling equipment from ASI before the end of the year, you can write off up to $500,000 of it against your current income.\n\n\nIf a taxpayer has more than $2,000,000 in section 179 property placed into service in a single taxable year, the 179 deduction is reduced dollar for dollar by amount exceeding $2,000,000. This threshold is being reduced to $200,000 starting in 2014.\n\n\nSo act fast! Time is running out to take advantage of the section 179 depreciation deduction. Anything purchased from ASI will qualify, including used pallet rack, used conveyor systems, mezzanine, used shelving, forklifts, and more! We sell top quality used material handling equipment at a fraction of the cost of buying new.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.970580518245697}
+{"content": "Amazing Science\n807.0K views | +78 today\nAmazing Science\nYour new post is loading...\nScooped by Dr. Stefan Gruenwald!\n\nScientist grows uniform array of cadmium telluride nanowires\n\nScientist grows uniform array of cadmium telluride nanowires | Amazing Science |\nA researcher from Missouri University of Science and Technology has developed a new way to grow nanowire arrays with a determined diameter, length and uniform consistency. This approach to growing nanomaterials will improve the efficiency of various devices including solar cells and fuel cells.\n\nThese semiconducting nanowires could also replace thin films that cover today's solar panels. Current panels can process only 20 percent of the solar energy they take in. By applying the nanowires, the surface area of the panels would increase and allow more efficient solar energy capture and conversion. The wires could also be applied in the biomedical field to maximize heat production in hyperthermia treatment of cancer.\n\nIn fuel cells, these nanowire arrays can be used to lower production expenses by relying on more cost-efficient catalysts. \"My team and I hope to replace or outperform the current use of platinum and show that these nanowire arrays are better catalysts for the oxygen reduction reactions in the cells,\" says Dr. Manashi Nath, assistant professor of chemistry at Missouri S&T.\n\nThe nanowires, which are grown on patterned nanoelectrodes, are visible only through an electron microscope. Nath creates the nanowire arrays through a process that she calls confined electrodeposition on lithographically patterned nanoelectrodes.\n\nTo grow the nanowires, Nath writes an image file that creates a pattern for the shape and size she wants to produce. Using electron beam lithography, she then \"stamps\" the pattern onto a polymer matrix and the nanowires are grown by applying electric current through electrodeposition.\n\nNath grows the nanowires in a parallel pattern, which resembles a series of nails protruding from a piece of lumber. One end is held secure to a metal conductor like copper or gold, while the other end spikes outward. The entire structure is surrounded by a polymer matrix. Nath and her research team can produce wires of any shape or size. To increase the nanowires' surface area, Nath can make them hollow in the middle, much like carbon nanotubes found in optics and electronics.\n\nNo comment yet.\nScooped by Dr. Stefan Gruenwald!\n\nGoogle X project plans to use magnetic nanoparticles and wearable sensor to detect diseases\n\nGoogle X project plans to use magnetic nanoparticles and wearable sensor to detect diseases | Amazing Science |\n\nGoogle announced a new “Nanoparticle Platform” project Tuesday to develop medical diagnostic technology using nanoparticles, Andrew Conrad, head of the Google X Life Sciences team, disclosed at The Wall Street Journal’s WSJD Live conference. The idea is to use nanoparticles with magnetic cores circulating in the bloodstream with recognition molecules to detect cancer, plaques, or too much sodium, for example.\n\nThere are a number of similar research projects using magnetic (and other) nanoparticles in progress, as reported onKurzweilAI. What’s new in the Google project is delivering nanoparticles to the bloodstream via a pill and using a wearable wrist detector to detect the nanoparticles’ magnetic field and read out diagnostic results.\n\nBut this is an ambitious moonshot project. “Google is at least five to seven years away from a product approved for use by doctors,” said Sam Gambhir, chairman of radiology at Stanford University Medical School, who has been advising Dr. Conrad on the project for more than a year, the WSJ reports.\n\n“Even if Google can make the system work, it wouldn’t immediately be clear how to interpret the results. That is why Dr. Conrad’s team started the Baseline study [see “New Google X Project to look for disease and health patterns in collected data”], which he hopes will create a benchmark for comparisons.”\n\nNo comment yet.\nScooped by Dr. Stefan Gruenwald!\n\nFirst large DNA crystals generated which could create revolutionary nanodevices\n\nFirst large DNA crystals generated which could create revolutionary nanodevices | Amazing Science |\n\nDNA has garnered attention for its potential as a programmable material platform that could spawn entire new and revolutionary nanodevices in computer science, microscopy, biology, and more. Researchers have been working to master the ability to coax DNA molecules to self assemble into the precise shapes and sizes needed in order to fully realize these nanotechnology dreams.\n\nFor the last 20 years, scientists have tried to design large DNA crystals with precisely prescribed depth and complex features — a design quest just fulfilled by a team at Harvard's Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering. The team built 32 DNA crystals with precisely–defined depth and an assortment of sophisticated three–dimensional (3D) features, an advance reported in Nature Chemistry.\n\nThe team used their \"DNA–brick self–assembly\" method, which was first unveiled in a 2012 Science publication when they created more than 100 3D complex nanostructures about the size of viruses. The newly–achieved periodic crystal structures are more than 1000 times larger than those discrete DNA brick structures, sizing up closer to a speck of dust, which is actually quite large in the world of DNA nanotechnology.\n\n\"We are very pleased that our DNA brick approach has solved this challenge,\" said senior author and Wyss Institute Core Faculty member Peng Yin, Ph.D., who is also an Associate Professor of Systems Biology at Harvard Medical School, \"and we were actually surprised by how well it works.\"\n\nScientists have struggled to crystallize complex 3D DNA nanostructures using more conventional self–assembly methods. The risk of error tends to increase with the complexity of the structural repeating units and the size of the DNA crystal to be assembled.\n\nThe DNA brick method uses short, synthetic strands of DNA that work like interlocking Lego® bricks to build complex structures. Structures are first designed using a computer model of a molecular cube, which becomes a master canvas. Each brick is added or removed independently from the 3D master canvas to arrive at the desired shape — and then the design is put into action: the DNA strands that would match up to achieve the desired structure are mixed together and self assemble to achieve the designed crystal structures.\n\n\"Therein lies the key distinguishing feature of our design strategy–its modularity,\" said co–lead author Yonggang Ke, Ph.D., formerly a Wyss Institute Postdoctoral Fellow and now an assistant professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University. \"The ability to simply add or remove pieces from the master canvas makes it easy to create virtually any design.\"\n\nThe modularity also makes it relatively easy to precisely define the crystal depth. \"This is the first time anyone has demonstrated the ability to rationally design crystal depth with nanometer precision, up to 80 nm in this study,\" Ke said. In contrast, previous two–dimensional DNA lattices are typically single–layer structures with only 2 nm depth.\n\n\"DNA crystals are attractive for nanotechnology applications because they are comprised of repeating structural units that provide an ideal template for scalable design features\", said co–lead author graduate student Luvena Ong.\n\nNo comment yet.\nScooped by Dr. Stefan Gruenwald!\n\nNew Omnidirectional Broadband 2D Crystal Efficiently Absorbs 85% Of Photon Energy\n\nNew Omnidirectional Broadband 2D Crystal Efficiently Absorbs 85% Of Photon Energy | Amazing Science |\n\nResearch engineers at MIT have developed a novel solar material in the form of a 2D metallic, dielectric photonic crystal.  The material has remarkable properties of broadband absorption of sunlight, from visible to near infrared portions of the spectrum, with little dependence on the angle of the incident light.  Efficiencies in these bands were measured to be 85% absorption of photons.\n\nThe material also withstands temperatures up to 1000 degrees Celsius, making it suitable to act as the material for a collector of concentrated sunlight.  Experiments show that the absorption is governed by the nanocavities.  Tuning the absorption bands is accomplished simply by varying the radii and depths of the cavities.\n\nThe new material works as a part of the solar-thermophotovoltaic (STPV) device in which incident solar radiation is converted to infrared, heat energy, causing the material to emit light that is in turn converted to electrical energy.   Earlier STPV devices contained nanocavities but were hollow and not filled with a dielectric.  According to the primary author, “They were empty, there was air inside.  No one had tried putting a dielectric material inside, so we tried that and saw some interesting properties.”  A dielectric is a material which responds to electric fields by shielding or attenuating it via non-mobile charges, in contrast to a conductor which shields by rearrangement of electrons.\n\nThe cavities are sized in the right way such that there is a rich and complex absorption mode structure perfect for relevant wavelengths.  “You can tune the absorption just by changing the size of the nanocavities,” said Dr. Chou.\n\nImportantly, the new material is compatible with many kinds of existing manufacturing technologies.  The lead author Dr. Chou said “This is the first-ever device of this kind that can be fabricated with a method based on current techniques, which means it’s able to be manufactured on silicon wafer scales.”\n\nPrior work on similar materials were restricted in size to making devices that span only a few inches.  The new cavity material is both cheaper and easier to process.\n\nNo comment yet.\nScooped by Dr. Stefan Gruenwald!\n\nCasting Custom-Shaped Inorganic Structures with DNA Molds\n\nCasting Custom-Shaped Inorganic Structures with DNA Molds | Amazing Science |\n\nThe ability to mold inorganic nanoparticles out of materials such as gold and silver in precisely designed 3D shapes is a significant breakthrough that has the potential to advance laser technology, microscopy, solar cells, electronics, environmental testing, disease detection and more.\n\n\"We built tiny foundries made of stiff DNA to fabricate metal nanoparticles in exact three–dimensional shapes that we digitally planned and designed,\" said Peng Yin, senior author of the paper, Wyss Core Faculty member and Assistant Professor of Systems Biology at Harvard Medical School.\n\nThe Wyss team's findings, described in a paper titled \"Casting Inorganic Structures with DNA Molds,\" were published today in Science. The work was done in collaboration with MIT's Laboratory for Computational Biology and Biophysics, led by Mark Bathe, senior co–author of the paper.\n\n\"The paper's findings describe a significant advance in DNA nanotechnology as well as in inorganic nanoparticle synthesis,\" Yin said. For the very first time, a general strategy to manufacture inorganic nanoparticles with user-specified 3D shapes has been achieved to produce particles as small as 25 nanometers or less, with remarkable precision (less than 5 nanometers). A sheet of paper is approximately 100,000 nanometers thick.\n\nThe 3D inorganic nanoparticles are first conceived and meticulously planned using computer design software. Using the software, the researchers design three–dimensional \"frameworks\" of the desired size and shape built from linear DNA sequences, which attract and bind to one another in a predictable manner.\n\nNo comment yet.\nScooped by Dr. Stefan Gruenwald!\n\nWorld's first \"solar battery\" runs on light and air and stores its own power\n\nWorld's first \"solar battery\" runs on light and air and stores its own power | Amazing Science |\n\nResearchers at The Ohio State University have invented a solar battery -- a combination solar cell and battery -- which recharges itself using air and light. The design required a solar panel which captured light, but admitted air to the battery. Here, scanning electron microscope images show the solution: nanometer-sized rods of titanium dioxide (larger image) which cover the surface of a piece of titanium gauze (inset). The holes in the gauze are approximately 200 micrometers across, allowing air to enter the battery while the rods gather light. Image courtesy of Yiying Wu, The Ohio State University.\n\nWhen the battery discharges, it chemically consumes oxygen from the air to re-form the lithium peroxide. An iodide additive in the electrolyte acts as a “shuttle” that carries electrons, and transports them between the battery electrode and the mesh solar panel. The use of the additive represents a distinct approach on improving the battery performance and efficiency, the team said.\n\n\n\nFirst they used a ruthenium compound as the red dye, but since the dye was consumed in the light capture, the battery ran out of dye after eight hours of charging and discharging—too short a lifetime. So they turned to a dark red semiconductor that wouldn’t be consumed: hematite, or iron oxide—more commonly called rust.\n\nCoating the mesh with rust enabled the battery to charge from sunlight while retaining its red color. Based on early tests, Wu and his team think that the solar battery’s lifetime will be comparable to rechargeable batteries already on the market.\n\nNo comment yet.\nScooped by Dr. Stefan Gruenwald!\n\n'Invisibility cloak' uses lenses to bend light, effectively rendering things invisible to the eye\n\n'Invisibility cloak' uses lenses to bend light, effectively rendering things invisible to the eye | Amazing Science |\nA device called the Rochester Cloak uses an array of lenses to bend light, effectively rendering what is on the other side invisible to the eye. And you can try it for yourself.\n\nOne of the problems with the cloaking devices developed to date -- and it's a big one -- is that they really only work if both the viewer and whatever is being cloaked remain still. This, of course, is not entirely practical, but a difficult problem to solve.\n\nFor the first time, researchers have made a cloaking device that works multi-directionally in three dimensions -- using no specialized equipment, but four standard lenses.\n\n\"There've been many high tech approaches to cloaking and the basic idea behind these is to take light and have it pass around something as if it isn't there, often using high-tech or exotic materials,\" said professor of physics at Rochester University John Howell, who developed the Rochester Cloak with graduate student Joseph Choi.\n\n\"This is the first device that we know of that can do three-dimensional, continuously multidirectional cloaking, which works for transmitting rays in the visible spectrum,\" Choi added.\n\nAs well as at least partially solving the viewpoint problem, the Rochester cloak also leaves the background undisturbed, without any warping, as has appeared in other devices. This invisibility has a range of around 15 degrees; as you can see in the video below at around the two-minute mark when Choi places his hand in between the lenses, the dead centre of the field is not included.\n\nNo comment yet.\nScooped by Dr. Stefan Gruenwald!\n\nArtificial membranes form bio-silicon interfaces\n\nArtificial membranes form bio-silicon interfaces | Amazing Science |\n\nA group of scientists in Chile has created* artificial biomembranes, mimicking those found in living organisms on silicon surfaces, a step toward creating bio-silicon interfaces, where biological “sensor” molecules can be printed onto a cheap silicon chip with integrated electronic circuits.\n\n\nThe idea is to create a “biosensor that can transmit electrical signals through the membrane,” said María José Retamal, a Ph.D. student at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and first author of the paper.\n\nLipid membranes separate distinct spaces within cells and define walls between neighboring cells — a functional compartmentalization that serves many physiological processes, protecting genetic material, regulating what comes in and out of cells, and maintaining the function of separate organs.\n\nSynthetic membranes that mimic nature offer the possibility of containing membrane proteins — biological molecules that could be used for detecting toxins, diseases and many other biosensing applications.\n\nMore work is needed to standardize the process by which proteins are to be inserted in the membranes, to define the mechanism by which an electrical signal would be transmitted when a protein binds its target, and to calibrate how that signal is detected by the underlying circuitry, Retamal said.\n\n\n* Retamal and her colleagues created the first artificial membrane without using solvents on a silicon support base. They chose silicon because of its low cost, wide availability and because its “hydrophobicity” (how much it repels water) can be controlled chemically, allowing them to build membranes on top.\n\nNext they evaporated a chemical known as chitosan onto the silicon. Chitosan is derived from chitin, a sugar found in the shells of certain crustaceans, like lobsters or shrimp. Whole bags of the powder can be bought from chemical companies worldwide. They chose this ingredient for its ability to form a moisturizing matrix. It is insoluble in water, but chitosan is porous, so it is capable of retaining water.\n\nFinally they evaporated a phospholipid molecule known as dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) onto the chitosan-covered silicon substrate and showed that it formed a stable “bilayer,” the classic form of a membrane. Spectroscopy showed that these artificial membranes were stable over a wide range of temperatures.\n\nNo comment yet.\nScooped by Dr. Stefan Gruenwald!\n\nAn Autonomous, Optoelectronic Camouflage Material Inspired By Octopus Skin\n\nAn Autonomous, Optoelectronic Camouflage Material Inspired By Octopus Skin | Amazing Science |\n\nAn interdisciplinary team of scientists and engineers has developed a thin, flexible 4-layer material that autonomously camouflages itself to the surroundings by optically evaluating the background and changing its pattern to match much like how the skin of an octopus or chameleon does so in the wild.  The system mimics different patterns of background quickly within 1 to 2 seconds.  To date there has been no other similar system which includes the crucial capabilities of sensing and actuation in a distributed manner.\n\nThe inspiration for this creation came from understanding of the skin of cephalopods (examples of which include octopus, squid, cuttlefish etc.), sea creatures that mimic in full color and with greater resolution the appearance of their environment.  Celphalopod skin has faster response times, from 250-750 milliseconds.  The prototype material is much simpler, arranged as an array of 16 x 16 relatively large, 1 mm square “pixels” that change from black to white and back again.\n\nResponse times are slower too in the 1 to 2 second range.\n\nThere is no overall camera system to detect the background and no central processing that controls the patterning of the material. In real octopuses, the eyes are involved, but the skin has its own photoreceptors similar to those found in the retina.  The designed layered material works in the latter, distributed way, by integrating distributed optical sensors that monitor its surroundings and then commanding independent optical “actuators” to adapt dynamically.\n\nNo comment yet.\nScooped by Dr. Stefan Gruenwald!\n\nArtificial cells take their first steps: Movable cytoskeleton membrane fabricated for the first time\n\nArtificial cells take their first steps: Movable cytoskeleton membrane fabricated for the first time | Amazing Science |\n\n\nCells are complex objects with a sophisticated metabolic system. Their evolutionary ancestors, the primordial cells, were merely composed of a membrane and a few molecules. These were minimalistic yet perfectly functioning systems.\n\nThus, \"back to the origins of the cell\" became the motto of the group of TUM-Prof. Andreas Bausch, who is member of the cluster of excellence \"Nanosystems Initiative Munich (NIM)\"  and his international partners. Their dream is to create a simple cell model with a specific function using a few basic ingredients. In this sense they are following the principle of synthetic biology in which individual cellular building blocks are assembled to create artificial biological systems with new characteristics.\n\nThe vision of the biophysicists was to create a cell-like model with a biomechanical function. It should be able to move and change its shape without external influences. They explain how they achieved this goal in their latest publication in Science.\n\nThe biophysicists’ model comprises a membrane shell, two different kinds of biomolecules and some kind of fuel. The envelope, also known as a vesicle, is made of a double-layered lipid membrane, analogous of natural cell membranes. The scientists filled the vesicals with microtubules, tube-shaped components of the cytoskeleton, and kinesin molecules. In cells, kinesins normally function as molecular motors that transport cellular building blocks along the microtubules. In the experiment, these motors permanently push the tubules alongside each other. For this, kinesins require the energy carrier ATP, which was also available in the experimental setup.\n\nFrom a physical perspective, the microtubules form a two-dimensional liquid crystal under the membrane, which is in a permanent state of motion. \"One can picture the liquid crystal layer as tree logs drifting on the surface of a lake,\" explains Felix Keber, lead author of the study. \"When it becomes too congested, they line up in parallel but can still drift alongside each other.\"\n\nDecisive for the deformation of the artificial cell construction is that, even in its state of rest, the liquid crystal must always contain faults. Mathematicians explain these kinds of phenomena by way of the Poincaré-Hopf theorem, figuratively also referred to as the \"hairy ball problem.\" Just as one can't comb a hairy ball flat without creating a cowlick, there will always be some microtubules that cannot lay flat against the membrane surface in a regular pattern. At certain locations the tubules will be oriented somewhat orthogonally to each other – in a very specific geometry. Since the microtubules in the case of the Munich researchers are in constant motion alongside each other due to the activity of the kinesin molecules, the faults also migrate. Amazingly, they do this in a very uniform and periodic manner, oscillating between two fixed orientations.\n\nNo comment yet.\nScooped by Dr. Stefan Gruenwald!\n\nIntroducing the multi-tasking nanoparticle for diagnostic and therapeutic applications\n\nIntroducing the multi-tasking nanoparticle for diagnostic and therapeutic applications | Amazing Science |\n\nKit Lam and colleagues from UC Davis and other institutions have created dynamic nanoparticles (NPs) that could provide an arsenal of applications to diagnose and treat cancer. Built on an easy-to-make polymer, these particles can be used as contrast agents to light up tumors for MRI and PET scans or deliver chemo and other therapies to destroy tumors. In addition, the particles are biocompatible and have shown no toxicity. The study was published online today in Nature Communications.\n\n“These are amazingly useful particles,” noted co-first author Yuanpei Li, a research faculty member in the Lam laboratory. “As a contrast agent, they make tumors easier to see on MRI and other scans. We can also use them as vehicles to deliver chemotherapy directly to tumors; apply light to make the nanoparticles release singlet oxygen (photodynamic therapy) or use a laser to heat them (photothermal therapy) – all proven ways to destroy tumors.”\n\nJessica Tucker, program director of Drug and Gene Delivery and Devices at the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, which is part of the National Institutes of Health, said the approach outlined in the study has the ability to combine both imaging and therapeutic applications in a single platform, which has been difficult to achieve, especially in an organic, and therefore biocompatible, vehicle.\n\n\"This is especially valuable in cancer treatment, where targeted treatment to tumor cells, and the reduction of lethal effects in normal cells, is so critical,” she added.\n\n Though not the first nanoparticles, these may be the most versatile. Other particles are good at some tasks but not others. Non-organic particles, such as quantum dots or gold-based materials, work well as diagnostic tools but have safety issues. Organic probes are biocompatible and can deliver drugs but lack imaging or phototherapy applications.\n\nBuilt on a porphyrin/cholic acid polymer, the nanoparticles are simple to make and perform well in the body. Porphyrins are common organic compounds. Cholic acid is produced by the liver.\n\nTo further stabilize the particles, the researchers added the amino acid cysteine (creating CNPs), which prevents them from prematurely releasing their therapeutic payload when exposed to blood proteins and other barriers. At 32 nanometers, CNPs are ideally sized to penetrate tumors, accumulating among cancer cells while sparing healthy tissue.\n\nIn the study, the team tested the nanoparticles, both in vitro and in vivo, for a wide range of tasks. On the therapeutic side, CNPs effectively transported anti-cancer drugs, such as doxorubicin. Even when kept in blood for many hours, CNPs only released small amounts of the drug; however, when exposed to light or agents such as glutathione, they readily released their payloads. The ability to precisely control chemotherapy release inside tumors could greatly reduce toxicity. CNPs carrying doxorubicin provided excellent cancer control in animals, with minimal side effects.\n\nScooped by Dr. Stefan Gruenwald!\n\nEco-friendly ‘pre-fab’ self-assembling nanoparticles could revolutionize nano manufacturing\n\nEco-friendly ‘pre-fab’ self-assembling nanoparticles could revolutionize nano manufacturing | Amazing Science |\n\nUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst scientists have developed a breakthrough technique for creating water-soluble nano-modules and controlling molecular assembly of nanoparticles over multiple length scales.\n\nThe new method should reduce the time nanotech manufacturing firms spend in trial-and-error searches for materials to make electronic devices such as solar cells, organic transistors, and organic light-emitting diodes.\n\n“The old way can take years,” says materials chemist Paul Lahti, co-director with Thomas Russell of UMass Amherst’s Energy Frontiers Research Center (EFRC), supported by the U.S. Department of Energy.\n\n“Another of our main objectives is to make something that can be scaled up from nano- to mesoscale, and our method does that. It is also much more ecologically friendly because we use water instead of dangerous solvents in the process.\n\n“In our recent paper, we worked on glass, but we want to translate to flexible materials and produce roll-to-roll manufactured materials with water,” said chemist Dhandapani Venkataraman, lead investigator. “We expect to actually get much greater efficiency.” He suggests that reaching 5 percent power conversion efficiency would justify the investment for making small, flexible solar panels to power devices such as smart phones.\n\nIf the average smart phone uses 5 watts of power and all 307 million United States users switched from batteries to flexible solar, it could save more than 1500 megawatts per year, Venkataraman estimates. “That’s nearly the output of a nuclear power station,” he says, “and it’s more dramatic when you consider that coal-fired power plants generate 1 megawatt and release 2,250 lbs. of carbon dioxide. So if a fraction of the 6.6 billion mobile phone users globally changed to solar, it would reduce our carbon footprint a lot.”\n\nDoctoral student and first author Tim Gehan says that organic solar cells made in this way can be semi-transparent, as well, “so you could replace tinted windows in a skyscraper and have them all producing electricity during the day when it’s needed. And processing is much cheaper and cleaner with our cells than in traditional methods.”\n\nNo comment yet.\nScooped by Dr. Stefan Gruenwald!\n\nNew microhairs bend in magnetic field, directing water against gravity\n\nNew microhairs bend in magnetic field, directing water against gravity | Amazing Science |\n\n\n\nPotential uses include waterproofing, anti-glare \"smart windows” for buildings and cars, and rain-resistant clothing.\n\nIn experiments, the magnetically activated material directed not just the flow of fluid, but also light — much as window blinds tilt to filter the sun. Researchers say the work could lead to waterproofing and anti-glare applications, such as “smart windows” for buildings and cars.\n\n“You could coat this on your car windshield to manipulate rain or sunlight,” says Yangying Zhu, a graduate student in MIT’s Department of Mechanical Engineering. “So you could filter how much solar radiation you want coming in, and also shed raindrops. This is an opportunity for the future.”\n\nIn the near term, the material could also be embedded in lab-on-a-chip devices to magnetically direct the flow of cells and other biological material through a diagnostic chip’s microchannels.\n\nZhu reports the details of the material this month in the journal Advanced Materials.\n\nThe inspiration for the microhair array comes partly from nature, Zhu says. For example, human nasal passages are lined with cilia — small hairs that sway back and forth to remove dust and other foreign particles. Zhu sought to engineer a dynamic, responsive material that mimics the motion of cilia.\n\nIn principle, more complex magnetic fields could be designed to create intricate tilting patterns throughout an array, say the researchers. Such patterns may be useful in directing cells through a microchip’s channels, or wicking moisture from a windshield. Since the material is flexible, it may even be woven into fabric to create rain-resistant clothing.\n\n\nNo comment yet.\nScooped by Dr. Stefan Gruenwald!\n\nGoogle[x] Reveals Nano Pill To Seek Out Cancerous Cells\n\nGoogle[x] Reveals Nano Pill To Seek Out Cancerous Cells | Amazing Science |\n\n\n\n\n\nNo comment yet.\nScooped by Dr. Stefan Gruenwald!\n\nBiomedical Sensors That Dissolve in Your Body and Reduce Infection and Waste\n\nBiomedical Sensors That Dissolve in Your Body and Reduce Infection and Waste | Amazing Science |\n\nJohn Rogers, a professor of engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, was the lead author on a recent study published in the journal Advanced Materials. This study tested biodegradable printed circuit boards, a very efficient type of sensor with a large surface area. In the study, Rogers and his team showed they had effectively created a sensor that both does its job and is fully dissolvable.\n\nRogers spearheads a lab that has been at the forefront of this technology since 2008. When they were first getting started in the field of biodegradable sensors, the researchers spent several years coming up with the materials and processes that worked, Rogers said in an email. “Our research now is focusing on systems and applications, in areas ranging from biomedicine to consumer electronics,” he added.\n\nThe semiconductor, the part of the device that does the sensing, is made of two materials. One is extremely thin silicon, which the researchers shave down to the nano scale. They combine the silicon with metals that are familiar components of food and vitamins, like magnesium, zinc, and iron. The sensor is encapsulated by and rests on a set of polymers that, Rogers said, “are already used, for other purposes, in the body.”\n\nRogers and his team are still perfecting the sensors, but they anticipate that they could even work wirelessly by transmitting information via radio waves back to doctors’ devices. Typically, the silicon dissolves in the body in a few weeks, Rogers said, but different substances could extend the device’s lifespan.\n\nDevices like these have the potential to change medicine for the better. Currently, the infection rate for surgeries—including the procedure needed to implant a biomedical device—is 1 to 3 percent. Usually this happens because the wound gets contaminated.\n\nThe logic for Rogers’ devices is simple: when doctors have to cut a person open less often, there’s less chance of infection. And the devices could be used as more than sensors; they could administer programmed drug delivery for conditions that require daily injections, or reduce pain by stimulating stressed nerve endings.\n\nThere are also environmental implications. In an effort to decrease the chance of infection, the health industry has relied for years on disposable, one-use devices, from syringes to hospital gowns. The result is that medical facilities generate billions of tons of trash per year, although no one is sure exactly how much. And although much of this trash could be recycled with the proper treatment, almost all of it just ends up in landfills, where it biodegrades very slowly and could present potential health hazards if people are exposed to it. Dissolvable, biodegradable devices would mean less waste in a landfill, and if a device did end up there, it would decompose rapidly.\n\nNo comment yet.\nScooped by Dr. Stefan Gruenwald!\n\nRobotically-Controlled Swimming Nanomotors Carve Out Next-Generation Nanoscale Computer Chip Lithographic Features\n\nRobotically-Controlled Swimming Nanomotors Carve Out Next-Generation Nanoscale Computer Chip Lithographic Features | Amazing Science |\n\nUniversity of California San Diego researchers have imagined and realized a low cost, innovative solution to next-generation nanofabrication that could be applied to advanced computer chip creation using tiny nanomotors inspired by biology.  The researchers showed that it is possible to carve out well-defined, nanoscale features such as ridges and trenches in a substrate, basic components of the modern computer chip, by exploiting a clever yet simple suite of technologies to control the nanomotor and etch out nanoscale features.\n\nThe Digital Revolution, sometimes called the Third Industrial Revolution, continues unabated today, powered in no small part by the constant, ongoing improvements in computer processor technology.  A key aspect of the technology, at least until the last few years, has been use of photolithography, to generate microscale semiconductor structures that are at the heart of the millions of transistors on each processing chip.  Photolithography relies on a “mask”, a light-sensitive “photo resist” material, and intense light, which together gives rise to controlled, systematic removal of substrate and creation of desired structures on the photo resist.\n\nThe production strategy however has run into increasing problems as the scale of the features shrink, due to the engineers’ desire to cram ever more complex features onto one chip.  When the structures of the mask become smaller than the wavelength of the light, diffractive effects become stronger and it is necessary to correct with mathematics.  One solution is to move to shorter wavelengths of light, or to use electrons directly to etch features, but both of these solutions necessitate use of expensive beam sources to generate the requisite high energies.\n\nFor these reasons, the results of the nanomotor is highly relevant and exciting.  The nanomotor, in its most basic form, is a gold-platinum rod about the size of a bacterium, 2 microns long by 350 nanometers wide, immersed in a solution of hydrogen peroxide that serves as its “fuel”.  The platinum on the nanomotor naturally catabolizes the hydrogen peroxide and produces excess protons (along with diatomic molecular oxygen) in an asymmetric fashion, with more protons on one end compared to the other.  The proton imbalance propels the nanometer by a constant force motion (there is no gliding due to the low Reynolds number condition in liquid at nanoscales), up to speeds of 15 micrometers per second.\n\nFerromagnetic nickel is embedded in the nanomotor with North-South orientation directed along its width (the shorter dimension, and therefore parallel to the plane of motion).  A constant field applied perpendicular to the plane over the entire environment breaks isotropic symmetry leading to orientation of the nanomotor.  Since the nanomotor is always moving, repeated reorientation of the magnetic field direction over time leads to well-defined nanomotor paths.\n\nNo comment yet.\nScooped by Dr. Stefan Gruenwald!\n\n\"Nanograss\" boosts the efficiency of organic solar cells\n\n\"Nanograss\" boosts the efficiency of organic solar cells | Amazing Science |\n\nSolar cells are built using two different types of semiconductors (\"p-type\" and \"n-type\"), each with a slightly different composition; when the two come in close contact, they form a so-called \"PN junction.\" This junction is a critical component of any solar cell because it generates an electric field that causes charge inside the cell to flow in a set direction, creating a voltage. Voltage times current equals (solar) power.\n\nAfter decades of trial and error, scientists now believe that the ideal geometry for a PN junction would consist of a series of vertical nanoscale pillars made from one type of semiconductor (either p- or n-type) and surrounded by a semiconductor of the opposite type. This shape is extremely effective at trapping light without reflecting it, resulting in a greater amount of charge being collected, while also allowing the use of cheaper, lower-grade materials in smaller volumes, which decreases the overall cost of the cell.\n\nThis \"Holy Grail\" structure has already been achieved in inorganic solar cells, but has been elusive for their organic counterpart due to some of the unique challenges they present. Now, however, a team led by Prof. Alejandro Briseno at UMass Amherst has developed a new simple and highly adaptable technique that can produce \"nanograss\" for use in organic solar cells, which could lead to a significant boost in their efficiency.\n\nNo comment yet.\nScooped by Dr. Stefan Gruenwald!\n\nHybrid materials could smash the solar efficiency ceiling by extracting electrons from dark triplet excitons\n\nHybrid materials could smash the solar efficiency ceiling by extracting electrons from dark triplet excitons | Amazing Science |\n\n\n\n\n\n“The key to making a better solar cell is to be able to extract the electrons from these dark triplet excitons,” said Maxim Tabachnyk, a Gates Cambridge Scholar at the University’s Cavendish Laboratory, and the paper’s lead author. “If we can combine materials like pentacene with conventional semiconductors like silicon, it would allow us to break through the fundamental ceiling on the efficiency of solar cells.”\n\nNo comment yet.\nScooped by Dr. Stefan Gruenwald!\n\nPlatinum meets its match in quantum dots from coal\n\nPlatinum meets its match in quantum dots from coal | Amazing Science |\n\nGraphene quantum dots created at Rice University grab onto graphene platelets like barnacles attach themselves to the hull of a boat. But these dots enhance the properties of the mothership, making them better than platinum catalysts for certain reactions within fuel cells.\n\n\n\n\n“The GQDs add to the system an enormous amount of edge, which permits the chemistry of oxygen reduction, one of the two needed reactions for operation in a fuel cell,” Tour said. “The graphene provides the conductive matrix required. So it’s a superb hybridization.”\n\nNo comment yet.\nScooped by Dr. Stefan Gruenwald!\n\nUltrasensitive graphene sensor tracks down cancer biomarkers\n\nUltrasensitive graphene sensor tracks down cancer biomarkers | Amazing Science |\n\nThe biosensor has been shown to be more than five times more sensitive than bioassay tests currently in use, and was able to provide results in a matter of minutes, opening up the possibility of a rapid, point-of-care diagnostic tool for patients. The biosensor has been presented today, 19 September, in IOP Publishing's journal 2D Materials.\n\nTo develop a viable bionsensor, the researchers, from the University of Swansea, had to create patterned graphene devices using a large substrate area, which was not possible using the traditional exfoliation technique where layers of graphene are stripped from graphite.\n\nInstead, they grew graphene onto a silicon carbide substrate under extremely high temperatures and low pressure to form the basis of the biosensor. The researchers then patterned graphene devices, using semiconductor processing techniques, before attaching a number of bioreceptor molecules to the graphene devices. These receptors were able to bind to, or target, a specific molecule present in blood, saliva or urine.\n\nThe molecule, 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), is produced when DNA is damaged and, in elevated levels, has been linked to an increased risk of developing several cancers. However, 8-OHdG is typically present at very low concentrations in urine, so is very difficult to detect using conventional detection assays, known as enzyme-linked immunobsorbant assays (ELISAs).\n\nIn their study, the researchers used x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy to confirm that the bioreceptor molecules had attached to the graphene biosensor once fabricated, and then exposed the biosensor to a range of concentrations of 8-OHdG.\n\nNo comment yet.\nRescooped by Dr. Stefan Gruenwald from Daily Magazine!\n\nScientists develop ultra-sensitive biosensor from molybdenite semiconductor material\n\nScientists develop ultra-sensitive biosensor from molybdenite semiconductor material | Amazing Science |\n\nAn atomically thin, two-dimensional, ultrasensitive semiconductor material for biosensing developed by University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB) researchers promises to push the boundaries of biosensing technology in many fields, from health care to environmental protection to forensic industries.\n\nIt’s based on molybdenum disulfide, or molybdenite (MoS2), as an alternative to graphene. Molybdenum disulfide — commonly used as a dry lubricant — surpasses graphene’s already high sensitivity, offers better scalability, and lends itself to high-volume manufacturing, the researchers say. Results of their study have been published in ACS Nano.\n\n“This invention has established the foundation for a new generation of ultrasensitive and low-cost biosensors that can eventually allow single-molecule detection — the holy grail of diagnostics and bioengineering research,” said Samir Mitragotri, co-author and professor of chemical engineering and director of the Center for Bioengineering at UCSB.\n\nThe key, according to UCSB professor of electrical and computer engineering Kaustav Banerjee, who led this research, is MoS2’s band gap, a characteristic of a material that determines its electrical conductivity, the minimum amount of energy required for conduction; i.e., for an electron to break free of its bound state in a material — the gap between bound and free.\n\nSemiconductor materials have a small but nonzero band gap and can be switched between conductive and insulated states controllably. The larger the band gap, the better its ability to switch states and to insulate leakage current in an insulated state. MoS2’s wide band gap allows current to travel but also prevents leakage and results in more sensitive and accurate readings.\n\nGraphene has attracted wide interest as a biosensor due to its two-dimensional structure (which allows for excellent electrostatic control of the transistor channel by the gate) and its high surface-to-volume ratio. However, the sensitivity of a field-effect transistor (FET) biosensor based on graphene is fundamentally limited by graphene’s zero (fully conductive) band gap, which results in increased leakage current, leading to reduced sensitivity, explained Banerjee, who is also the director of the Nanoelectronics Research Lab at UCSB.\n\nTHE OFFICIAL ANDREASCY's curator insight, September 5, 2014 4:06 AM\n\nSeems like something out of Star Trek.\n\nScooped by Dr. Stefan Gruenwald!\n\nAtomically thin molybendum disulfide opens door to high-speed integrated nanophotonic circuits\n\nAtomically thin molybendum disulfide opens door to high-speed integrated nanophotonic circuits | Amazing Science |\n\nScientists at the University of Rochester and Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich have devised an experimental circuit consisting of a silver nanowire and a single-layer atomically thin flake of molybendum disulfide (MoS2) — a step toward building computer chips capable of transporting digital information at light speed.\n\nThe researchers used a laser to excite electromagnetic waves called plasmons (vibrating electron clouds) at the surface of the wire, causing an MoS2 flake at the far end of the wire to generate strong light emission. MoS2 excitons can also decay into nanowire plasmons, they found.\n\nThis interaction an be exploited for creating nanophotonic integrated circuits, said Nick Vamivakas, assistant professor of quantum optics and quantum physics at the University of Rochester and senior author of the paper in the journal Optica.\n\nPhotonic devices can be much faster than electronic ones, but they are bulkier and cannot be miniaturized nearly as well as electronic circuits. The new results hold promise for guiding the transmission of light and maintaining the intensity of the signal in very small dimensions.\n\nIn bulk MoS2, electrons and photons interact as they would in traditional semiconductors like silicon and gallium arsenide. But when MoS2 is trimmed down to an atomically thin layer, the transfer of energy between electrons and photons becomes highly efficient.*\n\nCombining electronics and photonics on the same integrated circuits could drastically improve the performance and efficiency of mobile technology. The researchers say the next step is to create a near-field detector based on MoS2 and an MoS2 light-emitting diode coupled to on-chip nanoplasmonic circuitry.\n\n* The key to MoS2′s desirable photonic properties is in the structure of its energy band gap. As the material’s layer count decreases, it transitions from an indirect to direct band gap, which allows electrons to easily move between energy bands by releasing photons. Graphene is inefficient at light emission because it has no band gap.\n\nNo comment yet.\nScooped by Dr. Stefan Gruenwald!\n\nScientists unveil new nano-sized synthetic scaffolding technique to make peptoid nanosheets\n\nScientists unveil new nano-sized synthetic scaffolding technique to make peptoid nanosheets | Amazing Science |\n\n\nThe accomplishment — detailed this week in apaper placed online ahead of print by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences — is expected to fuel an alternative design of the two-dimensional peptoid nanosheets that can be used in a broad range of applications. Among them could be improved chemical sensors and separators, and safer, more effective drug-delivery vehicles.\n\n\n\nNo comment yet.\nScooped by Dr. Stefan Gruenwald!\n\nRNA origami is a new method for self-organizing molecules on nanoscale\n\nRNA origami is a new method for self-organizing molecules on nanoscale | Amazing Science |\n\nUsing just a single strand of RNA, many complicated shapes can be fabricated by RNA origami. Unlike existing methods for folding DNA molecules, RNA origamis are produced by enzymes and they simultaneously fold into pre-designed shapes. These features may allow designer RNA structures to be grown within living cells and used to organize cellular enzymes into biochemical factories. The method, which was developed by researchers from Aarhus University (Denmark) and California Institute of Technology, is reported in the latest issue of Science.\n\nOrigami, the Japanese art of paper folding, derives its elegance and beauty from the manipulation of a single piece of paper to make a complex shape. The RNA origami method described in the new study likewise involves the folding of a single strand of RNA, but instead of the experimenters doing the folding, the molecules fold up on their own.\n\n\"What is unique about the method is that the folding recipe is encoded into the molecule itself, through its sequence.\" explains Cody Geary, a postdoctoral scholar in the field of RNA structure and design at Aarhus University. \"The sequence of the RNAs defines both the final shape and also the series of movements that rearrange the structures as they fold.\"\n\n\"The challenge of designing RNAs that fold up on their own is particularly difficult, since the molecules can easily get tangled during the folding process. So to design them, you really have to imagine the way that the molecules must twist and bend to obtain their final shape.\" Geary says.\n\nThe researchers used 3D models and computer software to design each RNA origami, which was then encoded as a synthetic DNA gene. Once the DNA gene was produced, simply adding the enzyme RNA-polymerase resulted in the automatic formation of RNA origami.\n\nTo observe the RNA molecules the researchers used an atomic force microscope, a type of scanning microscope that softly touches molecules instead of looking at them directly. The microscope is able to zoom in a thousand times smaller than is possible with a conventional light microscope. The researchers have demonstrated their method by folding RNA structures that form honeycomb shapes, but many other shapes should be realizable.\n\n\"We designed the RNA molecules to fold into honeycomb patterns because they are easy to recognize in the microscope. In one experiment we caught the polymerases in the process of making the RNAs that assemble into honeycombs, and they really look like honey bees in action.\" Geary continues.\n\nA method for making origami shapes out of DNA has been around for almost a decade, and has since created many applications for molecular scaffolds. However, RNA has some important advantages over its chemical cousin DNA that make it an attractive alternative:\n\nPaul Rothemund, a research professor at the California Institute of Technology and the inventor of the DNA origami method, is also an author on the new RNA origami work. \"The parts for a DNA origami cannot easily be written into the genome of an organism. RNA origami, on the other hand, can be represented as a DNA gene, which in cells is transcribed into RNA by a protein machine called RNA polymerase.\" explains Rothemund.\n\nRothemund further adds, \"The payoff is that unlike DNA origami, which are expensive and have to be made outside of cells, RNA origami should be able to be grown cheaply in large quantities, simply by growing bacteria with genes for them. Genes and bacteria cost essentially nothing to share, and so RNA origami will be easily exchanged between scientists.\"\n\nThe research was performed at laboratories at Aarhus University in Denmark, and the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. Ebbe Andersen, an Assistant Professor at Aarhus University, who works on developing molecular biosensors, lead the development of the project.\n\n\"All of the molecules and structures that form inside of living cells are the products of self-assembly, but we still know very little about how self-assembly actually works. By designing and testing self-assembling RNA shapes, we have begun to shed some light on fundamental principles of self-assembly.\" says Andersen.\n\nNo comment yet.\nScooped by Dr. Stefan Gruenwald!\n\n‘Nanodaisies’ deliver a more powerful drug cocktail to cancer cells\n\n‘Nanodaisies’ deliver a more powerful drug cocktail to cancer cells | Amazing Science |\n\nNanoscale flower-like structures that can introduce a “cocktail” of multiple drugs into cancer cells have been developed by biomedical engineering researchers at North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.\n\n“We found that this technique was much better than conventional drug-delivery techniques at inhibiting the growth of lung cancer tumors in mice,” says Dr. Zhen Gu, senior author of the paper and an assistant professor in the joint biomedical engineering program.\n\n“And based on in vitro (lab) tests in nine different cell lines, the technique is also promising for use against leukemia, breast, prostate, liver, ovarian and brain cancers.”\n\nTo make the “nanodaisies,” the researchers begin with a solution that contains a polymer called polyethylene glycol (PEG). The PEG forms long strands that have much shorter strands branching off to either side. Researchers directly link the anti-cancer drug camptothecin (CPT) onto the shorter strands and introduce the anti-cancer drug doxorubicin (Dox) into the solution.\n\nPEG is hydrophilic, meaning it likes water. CPT and Dox are hydrophobic, meaning they don’t like water. As a result, the CPT and Dox cluster together in the solution, wrapping the PEG around themselves. This results in a daisy-shaped drug cocktail, only 50 nanometers in diameter, which can be injected into a cancer patient.\n\nNo comment yet.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5985990762710571}
+{"content": "Whether it’s fracking, apartment complexes, or gas stations, Denton often gets locked in a dynamic of conflict–with council either blocking their ears and steamrolling the citizens, or neighborhoods forced into completely blocking any movement at all out of sheer mistrust.  Paul feels such a talented community can do much better by collaborating and putting the emphasis on generating creative alternatives we can all get behind.\n\nAs an illustration, when DME proposed a new, bigger substation adjacent to the West Oak Historic District, and the alternative sites would have cost millions more due to the need to relocate many lower income families, Paul advocated for a different approach: Instead of having the standard 10-foot wall that hides nothing, the substation could have an architectural facade to make it look like a building appropriate to a historic district.  A community advisory committee was formed to work with an architect, and that is now the plan. We hope people like it and that it turns out well, but in any event, this collaborative result will almost certainly be better than the result of pure stonewalling on both sides.\n\nPaul’s business career was as a new product innovator across several industries. He brings the right balance between analysis and action, and the skill to bring stakeholders together to find novel ways forward.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9311535358428955}
+{"content": "17th December 06:01 AM\nMore than $650,000 worth of drugs seized in November\nBy Dhanjay Deo\nSunday 03/12/2017\nRandom checks conducted today by Western Division personnel at Vunato focusing on traffic and drugs. Similar checkpoints are being erected throughout the four policing Divisions\n\nThe estimated value of the drugs seized last month which includes methamphetamine and marijuana from all four divisions is estimated to be more than $650,000.\n\nPolice Commissioner Sitiveni Qiliho has confirmed this saying a total of 59 people were arrested and produced in court for their alleged involvement in drug-related activities during the month of November.\n\nHe says they had anticipated the increased activity hence the aggressive approach towards the involvement of those involved in the illegal trade and this will continue throughout the month of December.\n\nEleven arrests were made in the Eastern Division, with 17 in the South, 9 in the North and 22 in the West.\n\nQiliho says towards the end of last week,  a woman was arrested following the discovery of white crystal substances believed to be methamphetamine.\n\nA task force from the Southern Division executed the arrest at Cobert Avenue in Navuso on Thursday night.\n\nIn the last 24 hours, more seizures continue as people were found with parcels, rolls and plants from all four divisions and task forces continue to erect snap checkpoints throughout any given 24 hour period.\n\nQiliho adds their divisional task forces are working together to ensure criminal elements are not able to conduct their illegal trade in their respective area of operations.\n\nHe is urging members of the public not to allow those in the illegal trade to profit of other’s misfortune and if they have any information, they should contact Police.\n\nQiliho stresses that people should not be discouraged by critics who say that the war on drugs is a losing battle because the removal of one person involved in the drug trade is a major victory in itself.\n\nCFL Radio Frequencies", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6125832796096802}
+{"content": "Nov 02\n\nZucchino Rampicante\n\nVining Zucchini\n\nThat’s why you may want to consider Zucchino Rampicante.\n\nThis delicious squash grows vertically easily and produces an abundance of light green summer squash. Harvested small they are a wonderful addition to any recipe you would use zucchini in. The squash shown above were harvested after the weather had turned cold here in the Northeast, and after all the other zucchini had stopped producing.\n\nVining summer and winter squash\n\nIf left to their own devices these squash can become quite large as you can see. Their skin hardens and they are now used as a winter squash. They can be stored throughout the season as you would a pumpkin.\n\nBaker Creek describes this stage as “… great as winter squash. The Italians use it for stuffing in gnocchi and ravioli; the flesh is rich and flavorful, great for baking and pies!”\n\nWe concur.\n\nCan it get any better? Well, yes.\nBecause Zucchino Rampicante is a C. moschata, it won’t cross with most other squash varieties. This means the seeds you save are more likely to produce the same veggie.\n\nHere are the specs:\nBotanical name: Curcubita moschata\nDays to maturity:70 for young ones\nHardiness: Can take some cooler temperatures once established.\nHow to grow: Very heavy feeders, amend the soil well. Plant 3′ apart, closer if trellising. Direct seed after all frost or very carefully transplant.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9784874320030212}
+{"content": "Patel, M.H., Jayanth, J.V., Moss, M.E.\n\nBackground: The authors conducted an analysis of data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) to understand the association between diabetes and tooth loss in the United States.\n\nMethods: The authors analysed the oral examination and self-reported diabetes data obtained from the NHANES 2003-2004 cycle and included 2,508 participants representing a civilian, non-institutionalised US population, 50 years and older. The authors calculated the prevalence of edentulism and the number of missing teeth among dentate people, and they used multiple regression analyses to assess the association between diabetes and tooth loss.\n\nResults: The prevalence of edentulism was 28% and 14% among people with and without diabetes, respectively. The multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that people with diabetes were more likely to be edentulous than were those without diabetes (adjusted odds ratio = 2.25; 95% confidence interval, 1.19-4.21). Among dentate adults, those with diabetes had a higher number of missing teeth than did adults without diabetes (mean [standard error {SE}] = 9.8 [0.67]), mean [SE] = 6.7 [0.29]); P<0.01).\n\nConclusions: These study results revealed that adults with diabetes are at higher risk of experiencing tooth loss and edentulism than are adults without diabetes. One of every five cases of edentulism in the United States is linked to diabetes.\n\nPractical implications: Although the association between diabetes and periodontal disease is well established, healthcare professionals also need to recognise the risk of tooth loss and its effect on quality of life among people with diabetes.\n\nJournal of the American Dental Association 2013; 144 (5): 478-485.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.999811053276062}
+{"content": "\nChanges of Antioxidant Function and the mRNA Expression Levels of Xanthine Oxidase in Primary Chick Kidney Cell Culture Caused by Nephropathogenic Infectious Bronchitis Virus Infection\nWeilian Liu§, Ping Liu§, Tiancheng Wang, Huayuan Lin, Qiqi Huang, Guangfu Deng, Xiaona Gao, Guohui Liu, Xiaoquan Guo*, Caiying Zhang, Huabin Cao and Guoliang Hu*\nClinical Veterinary Laboratory, College of Animal Science and Technology, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, 330045, Jiangxi, People’s Republic of China\n*Corresponding author: Xiaoquan Guo, xqguo20720@aliyun.com; Guoliang Hu, hgljx3818@163.com\n\n\nTo investigate the variations of morphological, antioxidant function and xanthine oxidase (XOD) mRNA transcription of chick kidney (CK) cells underlying the nephropathogenic infectious bronchitis virus (NIBV) infection. Following NIBV infection there was a time-dependent increase in lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) both in cells and medium. Meanwhile, NIBV infection of CK cells resulted in dysregulation of antioxidant function of CK cells, as superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity was decreased and malonaldehyde (MDA) concentration was increased in cells while there was elevation of SOD activity in medium. Furthermore, the xanthine oxidase (XOD) activity and the uric acid (UA) concentration of infected group were significantly increased both in cell and medium, when cell XOD mRNA transcription showed hight in infected group than in the control group. Taken together, our results indicated the metabolic disorder of XOD was an important pathological mechanism of NIBV infection; the results partially elucidate the potential mechanisms of hyperuricemia induced by NIBV.\n\nKey words: Antioxidant, avian gout, Chick kidney cells, Nephropathogenic infectious Bronchitis virus, Xanthine oxidase\n\n\nISSN 0253-8318 (Print)\nISSN 2074-7764 (Online)", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9496563076972961}
+{"content": "The Consequence Argument And Molinism\n\nWhile discussion is still going on in the previous posts on Molinism and Calvinism, I thought I would add one more, hopefully more brief, argument against the Molinist solution to the compatibility of divine foreknowledge and libertarian free will.\n\nReturn again to the summary of Molinism in my previous post:\n\n1. God’s knowledge of all possible and necessary truths (natural knowledge — of what could happen).\n2. God’s knowledge of all feasible worlds (middle knowledge — of what would happen through free choices under certain circumstances, including counterfactuals).\n3. Divine decree to create His selected world.\n4. God’s Foreknowledge set through His selected decree (free knowledge — of what will come to pass).\n\nLet’s assume for the sake of argument that 2 is not an impossibility, as my previous post contended. Let’s concentrate on the relation between 3, 4, and the actual world.\n\nBill Vallicella at Maverick Philospher sums up a good version of the consequence argument for incompatibilism in the following way (I’m only excerpting from his fuller presentation):\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTherefore, assuming that responsibility requires control,\n\n\nNow, consider more basically that on the Molinist system:\n\n1. God’s foreknowledge is based on his decree.\n\n2. God’s foreknowledge, qua foreknowledge, is knowledge of what something will be before it is.\n\n3. God’s foreknowledge, on the classic view, is comprehensive, even of free choices of creatures.\n\n4. God’s foreknowledge, on the classic view, is infallible; what God knows cannot be falsified.\n\nThis means that:\n\n5. Whatever you end up choosing to do, God knew that you were going to choose to do that before you did it, and he knew it in such a way that his knowledge could not be false.\n\nIf you could not make God’s knowledge false, though, you could not have done otherwise (since God’s foreknowledge is not of a range of possibilities, but of the one course of action you actually took). Sometimes, Molinists will respond to this point in the following way:\n\nJust because God knows I will do something, doesn’t make that action inevitable. … I could have exercised my ability to refrain from reading his book, and that if I had done [so] God would have known this.\n\nBut this is actually a non-response. For the issue is not that, if God had chosen differently on the matter of which history would exist, then you would have chosen differently. The issue is not what possible worlds God could actualize. The issue is, *given that God has chosen to actualize the real timeline*, how could agents in that timeline choose differently than God decreed they would?\n\nAgents in the real timeline have no control over the past, and so have no control over God decreeing and creating timeline x (and not y). But by the logic of the consequence argument, if we have no control over the past, and the past (in the decree and act of God) makes it unfalsifiable that that the future will be x, then we who are acting in that future have no control over whether x will be true in the present, or not.\n\nThere is one possible response to this problem. One could perhaps suggest that God does not strictly know something before it happens, but knows it timelessly. However, this does not help, from the perspective of someone trying to avoid necessity in history. For, if we assume God has comprehensive knowledge of what happens in history, and we argue that God’s knowledge of this is timeless, then God’s knowledge of history is also unchangeable. This is because what is timeless is by definition unchangeable, and if God’s knowledge was timeless, it would have to be unchangeable. Thus, once again, one could try to parry with “if we had chosen differently, God would have timelessly known us to do something different”, but this would once again be a distraction. For we cannot change what God does know, on the view that God’s knowledge is timeless. Further, one has to do some justice to the language of “foreknowledge” in scripture. If one wants to argue that God’s foreknowledge refers to timeless knowledge, one still has to preserve the significance of the “before”  in scripture. It seems to me that the only way to do that is to recognize the knowledge is independent of what has already happened. In other words, if God’s knowledge is timeless, one must take the biblical affirmations of his foreknowledge to mean that his knowledge of history is independent of the actual existence of history. (Yet further: one could perhaps argue that God’s timeless presence to any moment in the past would mean that his timeless knowledge is also fixed for us by the past. I will not get into this argument in this post, however.)", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5269542932510376}
+{"content": "How To Break Down Your Fears\n\nFears can be healthy – they can help people from doing dangerous and life threatening actions. When left unchecked, however, fears can also be debilitating and can keep you from fulfilling your potential. Just as children have boogeymen and other creatures of the night, adults can also have their own fears that can keep them wide awake at night – such as fear of rejection, fear of failure, fear of relationships, and many others. Here’s how you can break down your fears and become a more effective person.\n\nAnalyze the fear. The first step to breaking down your fears is by looking at the specific fears and assessing exactly what component of the situation or action haunts you. For example, you can trace your fear of relationships and commitment to the pain of being broken hearted and being left behind, or breaking someone’s heart because you find it difficult to commit to a relationship. Assess and analyze your fears carefully, so that you will be able to understand what approach you need to deal with the fear. In most cases, there is a logical explanation for the fears. If the fears are unmanageable, you should consult a psychiatrist that can provide treatment for your phobias.\n\nLook for examples in other people. Next, look at other people and check how they handle the types of situations that you fear. You can either casually ask them about the fear during regular conversations, or you can set aside some special time to talk with a close friend about your fears. These sharing sessions will help you to contextualize your fears in relation to how other people are dealing with the fear. You can use the examples, which other people set to help you manage your life in spite of your fears.\n\nFocus on the present. For more intimate types of fears such as fear of failure, you should learn to focus on the present. This will allow you to live without having to be controlled by fears. Most fears which normal adults have are fears that have something to do with the future. By living in the moment, you can prevent fears from the future from ruling your life.\n\nTake small steps. Next, take small steps to deal with the fear. If you have personal fears like fears of commitment, try dating casually again but with intentions of longer relationships than the usual one night. If you have fears such as of airplanes and flying, you can begin by visiting the local airport a few minutes each week. These small steps will help you build up your confidence before the actual time when you will confront your fears. The small steps should be consciously programmed into your schedule, especially since there is a tendency to not prioritize these as a way of subconsciously avoiding facing your fears.\n\nConfrontation. Finally, confront your fear. Whatever it is, face it head on once you have analyzed exactly why your fear is baseless, why the fear should be overcome, and after you have conditioned yourself through small steps.\n\nBe sure that you have a friend or partner to help you through the confrontation, and who can give you the motivation and support needed to carry out the action plan. Through these steps, breaking down your fears and moving on with your life can be done.\n\n\nShare this article!\n\nFollow us!\n\nFind more helpful articles:", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8377999067306519}
+{"content": "Fundamentals of Computer Science I: Media Computing (CS151.01 2008S)\n\nAssignment 2: Drawing Smiley Faces, Revisited\n\nDue: 9:00 a.m., Wednesday, 30 January 2008\n\nSummary: In this assignment, you will extend your work from the introductory lab on writing algorithms.\n\nPurposes: To give you more experience thinking about writing algorithms. To give you the opportunity to identify parts of an algorithm.\n\nExpected Time: Two to three hours.\n\nCollaboration: I would prefer that you work in groups of size three. However, you may work alone, in a group of size two, or a group of size four. You may discuss this assignment and possible solutions with anyone you wish. If you discuss this assignment with people other than group members, make sure to include a citation (e.g., “I consulted this person, who helped me do this”).\n\nSubmitting: Send your answer to . The title of your email should have the form CSC151.01 2008S Assignment 2: Drawing Smileys, Revisited and should contain your answers to all parts of the assignment. I prefer that you put your answers in the body of the message, rather than as an attachment.\n\n\n\nIn the first laboratory for this course, we asked various groups to consider mechanisms for drawing smiley faces. Given the limits of class time, we were not able to consider every mechanism. Since then, we've also learned another mechanism for describing images: The GIMP tools.\n\nWhat kinds of things might one consider in assessing the various solutions? One might reflect on the accuracy and complexity of each algorithm. One might look at the use of various algorithm components (repetition, conditionals, naming, subroutines, etc.) One might compare the different core operations.\n\n\nPart One: Drawing Through Dots, Revisited\n\nWrite instructions for drawing a smiley face.\n\nIn those instructions, you should assume that the person doing the drawing has been so corrupted by the impressionists that the primary thing they know how to do is draw a dot on the canvas in a specified color at a specified location.\n\nThe person following the instructions will be drawing the smiley face on a canvas 101 millimeters by 101 millimeters. The tip of the paintbrush is about one millimeter by one millimeter. To simplify your descriptions, the canvas is represented by a grid of size 100x100. In referring to a point on the grid, you need to indicate the row and column. We will start numbering with row 0 (the top row) and column 0 (the leftmost column). In referring to rows and columns, you may only use whole numbers.\n\nBecause it can be difficult to describe each dot individually, you may also assume that the person reading your instructions can figure out sets of dots that meet clearly-specified criteria, so that you can give instructions like “put orange dots at all positions in which the sum of the row number and the column number is 10” or “put green dots in all positions in which the product of the row number and column number is less than 20”.\n\nYou may also assume that your reader can can compute functions, so that you can write things like “for all integers, c, between 1 and 20, put a violet dot in the grid point whose column is c and whose row number is c*c+5”.\n\nPart Two: Drawing with Robotic Turtles\n\nWrite instructions for drawing a smiley face in a square that is 101 centimeters by 101 centimeters. Your reader will be drawing the face on the floor with pens whose tips are approximately one centimeter wide.\n\nIn those instructions, you should assume that your reader is limited to the following basic actions.\n\n  • selecting a color of pen;\n  • making sure that the tip of the current pen is in contact with the floor;\n  • lifting the pen off the floor;\n  • moving forward a specified distance;\n  • turning left or right by a certain angle;\n  • repeating any combination of actions some number of times; and\n  • repeating any combination of actions until some condition is reached.\n\nFor example, to have your reader draw the outline of a blue square of edge length one foot, you might tell your reader to\n\n  • Select a blue pen.\n  • Make sure the tip of the pen is in contact with the floor.\n  • Repeat the following actions four times.\n    • Move forward one foot.\n    • Turn right 90 degrees.\n\nThis technique for drawing mimics one of the more popular ways to teach robots how to draw, and is called turtle graphics.\n\nYou may assume that your reader will start at the center of the area in to draw, and that your reader is facing North.\n\nNote that it is relatively straightforward to draw the outline of a circle or face using turtles: You repeatedly move forward a small amount and turn a small amount. It is a bit more complicated to draw a filled-in circle. Please try to figure out how.\n\nPart Three: Giving GIMP Instructions\n\nWrite instructions for drawing a smiley face.\n\nIn these instructions, you should assume that your reader is using GIMP to draw, that they want to draw a smiley face that is 101 pixels wide and 101 pixels high, and that they are familiar enough with GIMP to identify and use tools. You will, however, have to be very precise in describing where on the image window they should click.\n\nPart Four: Comparing Types of Drawing\n\nYou have now explored a variety of models of drawing: drawing through circles (done in the lab), drawing through grids of dots (as in part one), drawing through turtle motion (as in part two), and drawing through GIMP tools (as in part three).\n\na. Which was the easiest model in which to describe how to draw a smiley face? Why?\n\nb. If you had to draw a simple picture of a house, which would you prefer? Why?\n\nc. If you had to draw a stick figure, which would you prefer? Why?\n\nd. If you had to draw a spiral, which would you prefer? Why?\n\nImportant Evaluation Criteria\n\nThe first criterion we will use in evaluating your assignments is correctness - is each set of instructions likely to produce the desired image. As we consider correctness, we will also check to see whether you have avoided ambiguous instructions and how easy it is for a reader to misinterpret those instruction.\n\nThe second criterion we will use is creativity. We will consider whether you have used innovative or particularly interesting techniques for giving instructions or analyzing the choices in part four.\n\nCreative Commons License\n\nSamuel A. Rebelsky,\n\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8505873084068298}
+{"content": "What Now?\n\nHave you ever been two thirds into a painting and find you don’t know how to finish it?\n\nThis usually happens when working from photo reference that was cropped too close, there’s more story out there, you just can’t see it, or you veered away from your reference material with an idea, but found yourself lost in the forest. “The Girl in a Gold Dress” was the first scenario.\n\n\nI liked what was happening up to this point, but could sense things could fall apart if I didn’t pay more attention to the unity. So this is the time that I need to start asking myself some questions:\n\n  • If I saw this painting (painted by someone else), and really liked it, what would it look like? It would be strong, and simply rendered.\n  • What would make it stronger? Simplify the color, nothing weakens a painting like patches of unrelated color. Too much color can fracture an image and that’s what was starting to happen here. Get rid of the red, blue and orange. Concentrate on the main golds and violets.\n\n\nThings started to come around, less really is more.\n\nThe dress, though complex in it’s texture was fun to translate into staccato strokes of browns violets and golds.\n\n\nRepurposed Paintings\n\nAfter painting for awhile, we all have them. . . the stack of paintings, that won’t go away. There are small victories in certain areas, but the war was not won. They don’t warrant displaying, even in our own homes.\n\nThe best answer I’ve found to finally put them to rest, is making use of them, a repurpose paint-over. Here’s how I go about it:\n\n  1. It’s easiest to select an old painting that is dominantly light to midtown in value. Darker paintings can be more difficult but intersting because initial lines don’t show up, using a grey mix of Ivory Black and White will work.\n  2. Flip the painting upside down, which throws the original subject into abstraction, making it less distracting as the new painting takes form.\n  3. Get some initial lay-in lines down, the general placement of things, too many lines promote confusion.\n  4. Begin blocking in the large masses with paint and turpentine using large brushes. Blog-repurpose1\n\nIn the lower third of this paint-over you can still make out the original portrait flipped upside down. I have massed in the large shapes, paying attention to the values as they relate to one another. An old painting is such a nice surface to work on, it is essentially an oil primed canvas. blog-repurpose2\n\nThere were some heavy paint areas in the original, resulting in some raised brush work, this serves as a challenge to paint even heavier so I can work them in.Blog-final-large\n\nThe final image, notice I left some of the violet from the original painting. Allowing the old painting to show through can make the new work richer.\n\n\nPainting Words\n\nHave you ever had a subject you went back to time and time again, but just couldn’t figure out what to do with it?\n\nThis image from a photo shoot several years ago kept surfacing. I loved the scene, although it was not dynamic enough to warrant a painting . . . until…..I approached it like a writer telling a story.\n\nWhere did this girl live, what was her day like up until this point, what would she be doing in a hour? Only after I “fleshed her out” did I start to understand what this could become.\n\nAfter extrapolating this scenario it was time to rein it in, to its’ most basic core, two words that summed it up. “Dreamer” and “Earthy”. How could I, using this reference, translate these two thoughts into paint?\n\n“Earthy”, push rough texture, use warm orange browns and greens.\n\n“Dreamer”, exaggerate her expression and stance\n\nNow I had something to work with! Since there were not many browns and oranges in the scene, putting a Burnt Sienna wash over the entire surface, than letting it show through as texture would be my approach.\n\nAt this point I checked back with my original plan…whoa, no violet in the interpretation I wanted, so I had the choice of pushing this area toward brown, orange or green, I chose a grey green. Sometimes being really rigid and sticking to an idea helps guide the painting toward more harmony, this was one of those cases. \n\nMoving along, this was the point to refine her stance and expression.\n\nI was happy with the outcome of using words to drive my paint application.\n\n“Waiting”, can be seen at the Meyer Vogl Gallery, 122 Meeting St., Charleston, South Carolina in early October.\n\n\n\nMaking an Entrance…\n\nA sweeping staircase, a crystal lit foyer, open iron gates or a cobblestone walkway would be great, unfortunately many times we’re left standing on the curb with no path to the front door.\n\nA painting can leave you with that same feeling, you want to get in but enthusiasm is lost trying to figure it out.\n\nHere are some examples of welcoming  entrances –\n\nMiss Helen Duinham, John Singer Sargent\n\n\n\nBreezy Day, Zhaoming Wu\nJohn Asaro\nHome Fields, John Singer Sargent\nVincent Van Gogh\nDrying Out, Lori Putnam\n\nUsually the most effective way to enter a painting seems to be-\n\n\nI’ve found taking a photo of the subject with my phone, than making a quick cropping makes it easier to visualize the best place to cut off the bottom for a good design lead in,  especially helpful when working from life.\n\nHere is a subject I recently painted, and how I decided to crop it.irenelr\n\nI began blocking this in from the bottom up. It’s tempting to start with the area of most interest, the head, and work down from there, but too many times I have been left with awkward shapes at the bottom, spending way too much time trying to “make it work”.\n\nLatin Influence, Diane Eugster\n\nSummer, Revisited\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMichael Carson Workshop\n\nLiving in Phoenix definitely has it’s perks. One of them is living near the Scottsdale Artists School, where 50 or more well known artists teach workshops throughout the year.\n\nOne particular class that appeared on the schedule caught my eye. Contemporary figurative painter Michael Carson was offering a class. I’d seen Carson’s work online and at the Bonner David Gallery in downtown Scottsdale. You can imagine my disappointment when the class filled up right away, which only left me with a spot on the waiting list.\n\nFortunately a second class was formed and I was in!\n\nThe workshop just wrapped up Saturday with a fabulous morning demo. Michael painted beautiful Dakota Acosta, the process is shown below.\n\nMichael Carson Demonstration\n\nWorking on a resin surface which he created himself by pouring a two part mixture over a wooden panel, he roughed in the basic lines of her face hair and shirt with Warm Grey. Notice the darker bleeding of the oil around these lines, an interesting effect. The resin appears to have a matte finish because the surface has been sanded to relieve the slickness.  Next the Warm grey was used to very carefully fill in the shadow shapes, followed by a massing in of the flesh areas with Yellow Grey.\n\nMichael Carson Demonstration\n\nDimension started appearing as he used Brilliant yellow on top of the Yellow grey. Warm hints of Schevenings Purple Brown began to form the mouth.\n\nMichael Carson Demonstration\n\nThings really started to take shape as he worked into the eyes, carefully shaping the lighter areas, Next the underside of the nose and lips, all with very meticulous brush work.\n\nMichael Carson Demonstration\n\nIn the last session he went into the shirt, massing in with Warm Grey, than stopped to decide if he wanted to add the bright blue in the lower left area. I said to myself “no Michael don’t do it, don’t do it” and then…. he did it….and it worked! Successfully breaking two rules of painting, never add a color at the end of a painting not used elsewhere, and, always put the brightest color next to the center of interest.\n\nSo why did it work? Because that face is rendered with such finesse and sensitivity that nothing else could possibly take away from it.\n\nOil Painting, the best of both worlds\n\nAfter many years of experimenting with different media, pastel, watercolor, acrylic, etc. why have I decided oil paint is the best choice for me? Because it has the personality traits of many other painting media all rolled into one.\n\n“Unknown”, the painting I just completed last week was a perfect vehicle to take advance of one of my favorite properties of oil paint, transparency. walking1-lrThe finished scene would have a dominance of blue, so a transparent underpainting of warm orange reds, the opposite of blue, would be a good base to play those blues off of. I call this stage the “getting to know you, stage”. Moving around the image with washes helps to see what the flow is, how things move throughout the space.\n\nwalking2-lrHere’s an ode to watercolor, spattering the surface starts to liven things up, and give me something to work with, (or against), in the next layer. In order for the spatters to stay put and not run, the painting is placed flat on a table until dry.\n\nwalking3-lrThis stage reminds me of working with pastels. With a chunky squared off brush, laying in passages, weaving the strokes into each other. The goal here is solidifying the image, letting some under layers peek through while building up some heavier passages.\n\nUsing Gamblin Alkyd medium makes the layer dry faster, not as fast as acrylic, but enough so that I can work on top of a dry paint layer the next day.\n\nUnknownFinalImagelrThe last stage is to refine and correct. Always correcting, it’s never to late to fix an area that just isn’t right. Refining areas that are important, and ignoring the rest.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9359126091003418}
+{"content": "The ability of a tissue to be grafted from a donor to a host, without the host's immune system attacking the grafted tissue. The chances of H2 histocompatibility is determined by how well the tissue proteins (cell surface glycoproteins in the tissue, to be specific) match between donor and host.\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5729101896286011}
+{"content": "U.S.-Cuba rapprochement: historic, but limited\n\nGuest post by Christopher Darnton\n\nThe United States and Cuba have reached a historic agreement, putting an end to a half-century of frozen relations. Reciprocal speeches by Presidents Barack Obama and Raúl Castro, and gestures like the exchange of high-profile prisoners convicted of espionage, suggest that the two countries will open not only embassies but also a new horizon of potential cooperation between their citizens, and will uproot the last vestiges of the Cold War in the Americas. The historical record of international rivalries and conflict resolution efforts in the Western Hemisphere confirms that this policy shift is truly impressive. However, previous diplomatic breakthroughs also suggest the need to temper expectations regarding both U.S.-Cuban relations and Cuban regime change, particularly in the short run. Rapprochement is a significant achievement, but it is more fragile, and less transformational, than we might think.\n\ncuba2The litany of overt and clandestine U.S.-Cuban dialogues since the 1959 revolution, and their paltry record of isolated tactical cooperation and unabated rivalry, casts last week’s events into particular relief. This is a major shift, unquestionably. This is consistent with other Latin American cooperative breakthroughs, such as between Argentina and Brazil in 1980, which were frequently preceded by a series of failed overtures. However, Latin American rapprochements also suggest that deepening cooperation is neither immediate nor automatic. Committed diplomacy and ongoing common interests are important to avoid backsliding into acrimony.\n\nRegionally, this turning point in U.S.-Cuban relations has been met with both surprise and acclaim. Latin American diplomats had tried unsuccessfully to bridge the Washington-Havana gap for generations. In the year and a half between the Bay of Pigs invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis, for instance, leaders from Ecuador, Argentina, Brazil, and Venezuela tripped over one another in pursuit of reuniting the hemisphere (and of the prestige accruing to successful mediators). Transcending U.S.-Cuban conflict would make inter-American cooperation easier on several fronts. However, the hemisphere retains ideological, economic, and geopolitical fault lines, including divergence between Mexican, Venezuelan, Brazilian, and North American worldviews and an expanding array of competing trade blocs and security partnerships. Cooperation is not harmony.\n\nGlobally, although Pope Francis deserves credit for successful mediation between Havana and Washington, countries often turn to third parties because they are unable to resolve their differences directly. The Vatican is well positioned to act as a peace broker in the—largely Catholic—Americas. Under Pope John Paul II and Cardinal Antonio Samorè, for example, the Vatican mediated conflict between Argentina and Chile from 1978 to 1984. However, Vatican involvement suggests serious limitations on any U.S.-Cuban consensus. Also, third parties’ influence is often circumscribed: the Vatican may be effective on prisoner releases and humanitarian issues, but may have less influence over the ongoing trade embargo, which is rooted in American domestic politics.\n\nRapprochement is commonly a presidential affair that can run aground on bureaucratic, legislative, or societal opposition. Although the U.S. State Department will occupy an embassy in Havana for the first time since the 1960s and implement much of the new U.S.-Cuban political relationship, President Obama seems to have relied on advisors within the National Security Council for the early negotiations with Cuba. Moreover, only some elements of the conflict can be undone through executive action—the embargo, in particular, runs through Congress. The domestic power structure on the Cuban side may complicate things even further—an influx of resources and goodwill could make the government more popular, but could threaten the military and other portions of government that could now lose much of their raison d’etre.\n\nUltimately, rapprochement is often launched to strengthen embattled governments against domestic and foreign opposition. Obama’s outreach to Cuba, like his administration’s recent nuclear negotiations with Iran, follows through on his 2008 campaign pledges to engage American adversaries. However, it coincides with escalating sanctions against Venezuela. On the Cuban side, Raúl Castro declared his commitment to maintaining Cuba’s socialist, authoritarian regime—and normalizing political and potentially economic relations might help him to do just that. A win for diplomacy is not necessarily a win for democracy or for long-term cooperation, but it is a breakthrough nonetheless.\n\ndarntonChristopher Darnton is an assistant professor of politics at the Catholic University of America and the author of Rivalry and Alliance Politics in Cold War Latin America.\n\nComments Off on U.S.-Cuba rapprochement: historic, but limited\n\nFiled under American History, Current Affairs, Foreign Policy, Latin American Studies, Politics\n\nComments are closed.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6705101728439331}
+{"content": "A blanket of dead fish\n\nTNN | Dec 5, 2011, 02.12 AM IST\nVISAKHAPATNAM: More than 30 tonnes of fish -- small and big - were found dead in the waters around the Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL) and the Naval Dockyard here on Saturday and Sunday due to asphyxiation.\n\nEnvironmentalists are crying foul over the incident and alleging that chemical contamination led to the death of scores of fish. Thousands of fish died at the same locations in June last year. Thousands of big fish, weighing between 5-12 kgs, die due to lack of oxygen and chemical contamination in the waters, experts said.\n\nThe AP Pollution Control Board (PCB) officials have taken samples of the water from the locations and examined it. They say that this has happened due to asphyxiation, not by any chemical contamination. If the ammonia levels were to be less than 2 per cent then it would be treated as chemical contamination. But there was nothing like that. The water samples show that the oxygen level is zero, a PCB official said.\n\nIf the oxygen levels dipped in less than 4 cpm (counts per minute), this kind of mishap would occur, the PCB SE Usman Ali Khan told TOI. They sent some of the dead fish to the Central Institute of Fish Technology (CIFT) in the Port City for further investigation. \"Hopefully, the CIFT report could come up in a week and we could know exactly what caused the large scale death of the fish,\" he said.\n\nAs per the preliminary tests, the tonnes of fish died due to lack of oxygen in the waters. But environmentalists say that the occurrences are getting more frequent recently owing to a worsening of the ecosystem in and around the city due to massive pollution from the chemical and pharma companies as well as the waste that flows into the sea.\n\nA representative of Green Climate, a voluntary organization, Venkata Ratnam has voiced suspicions that fish were killed by high levels of pollution in the sea waters. He alleged that the PCB has never given proper information or the result about the dead fish or the pollution of the industries. Many have alleged that industrial plants located in the area are usually dumping unprocessed and toxic waste into the sea waters.\n\nForum for Sustainable Development Coastal convenor G Bhujanga Rao said the dead fish phenomenon often takes place after heavy rains wash a lot of the scum and pollutants into sea, besides the untreated affluent let off by the industries. So far, there have not been significant improvements made by the district administration and the pollution control board to reduce massive waste of chemicals and other components dumped into the sea waters, he alleged.\n\nFrom around the web\n\n    More from The Times of India\n\n      From Around the Web\n\n        More From The Times of India\n\n\n          Sort By:\n          Be the first one to review.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6004396677017212}
+{"content": "Brazil raises reserve ratio to ease impact of capital inflows\n\n\nThe Central Bank of Brazil on Friday introduced a series of macroprudential measures aimed to address rising capital inflows in a bid to restrict credit growth and contain inflation.\n\nThe central bank said it would increase reserve requirement on time deposits from 15% to 20%, with additional reserve requirements on demand and time deposits rising from 8% to 12%. The move will absorb R61 billion ($36.1 billion) of liquidity from the economy.\n\nThe rise in the reserve ratio comes amid growing fears\n\nTo continue reading...\n\n\nSign in\nYou are currently on corporate access.\n\n\nSign in.\n\nAlternatively you can request an indvidual account here:", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9997040629386902}
+{"content": "Friday, November 11, 2011\n\n\n\n\nIn Hindu Mythology Mother Goddess comes before Trinity—Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Before starting any Vedic ritual, mantras are chanted to the presiding deity of the holy waters. The presiding deity is Goddess in the form of the river. Any kind of creativity of bestowing of life seems to evoke a symbolism of motherhood. This correlation explains the common practice of calling the rivers \"mothers\" a custom which is most noticed in the case of \"Matha Ganga\" but common for other rivers as well. The prayer is addressed to the rivers such as Ganga, Yamuna, Saraswathi and others. The holy waters are prayed to make their presence in the waters, to purify the place where ritual is done, to purify one who takes bath in it and the assembly who witness the ritual etc. This is expressly stated in the Mahanarayanopanishad and the popular verse \"Ganga cha Yamuna chaiva Godavari Saraswati; Narmadaa Sindhu Kaveri jalesmin sannidhim kuru--Oh Goddess Ganga, Jamuna, Saraswati, Godavari, Narmada, Sindhu and Kaveri, please make your presence in the water used for the ritual\". Vedas consider river water as primordial womb—\"he who was born of old……was born of water—right from waters, the soul drew forth and shaped a person\"—Kathopanishad. The kalasa sthaapana (pot filled with water) puja starts with one such worship of mother as the first step of in all pujas normally.\n\n\nWorship of Mother Goddess is known as \"Srividya\" and occupies a special place in Hindu spiritual practice. This is a very ancient system that has a long history tracing back to Vedas. Puranas, poetic verses and shlokas praise the Mother-goddess and give a detailed account of her powers. Hindu Goddess is uniquely popular and is a positive figure of feminine piety, grace and power in India, in the Hindu Kingdom of Nepal and wherever Hinduism flourished and practiced.\n\n\nDurga, the militant Mother Goddess, is the most popular of all incarnations. She is worshipped as Mahishasura Mardini (Killer of Mahishasura) during autumn festival of Dussehra-also called Durga Puja in Bengal, where it is the most important of all Hindu annual festivals. Durga is then represented as ten-armed woman warrior, brandishing her weapons, riding on a lion and vanquishing the demon-buffalo, Mahishasura. The image refers to a well known mythical event narrated in the Devi Mahaatmya, a text dating back to7th Century AD, which is being recited as an essential component of Durga Puja, singing the glory of Goddess Durga. The righteous Durga has indeed another face, that one of the more ambiguous Kaali, the \"Black One\", a figure of fury and destruction-although Kaali, too, ultimately fights evils.\n\n\nIn the Devi, Mahatmayam, Kaali is born from Durga's fury; she seems to embody Durga's furor, surging when she loses control or when she faces an awesome enemy. Despite her fearful appearance, Kaali, the most important of Hinduism's Goddesses, is widely worshipped in most of North India, particularly in Bengal and Assam regions, where she is the object of Shakti cult. In Southern Culture of India (the so called Dravidian culture), Kaali is worshipped and popularly called Mariamman. There are many famous temples in the South exclusively built for Mariamman, including one in Singapore, where Tamilians dominate the Hindu population. She is worshipped especially by caste followers of Sudra Varna Dharma. Animal sacrifice was once very prevalent among them, which is now banned.\n\n\nThe belief among Bengalis is that Durga, a manifestation of Parvathi, daughter of Himavan, a spouse of Shiva, leaves her husband's place on the 7th day of the month of Aswin (sept/oct) and comes down to earth for her devotees' sake and stays for 10 days i.e. till Vijaya Dasami, after which, she returns to Kailasa, where she and Shiva have their abode. The worship of Shakti dates back to Rigveda where she is praised as the supporter of the earth living in heaven. Uma of golden hue of Kena Upanishad is the 'Great Mother of the Universe'. The Saivas made her the consort of Shiva. She is known as Shakti, Devi, Chandi, Chamundi, Durga, Uma and Mahaamaaya. Shakti is the Power of Existence, Knowledge and Bliss of Brahman (the Supreme) and is inseparable form \"It\". Shiva is the pure indeterminate Brahman, while Shakti, the Power of Maaya, makes him determinate, endowed with the attributes of Knowledge, Will and Action. Saundarya Lahari of Sankara says: \"Shiva when he is united with Shakti is able to create; otherwise he is unable even to move. Maaya or Prakriti, the matrix of the world, lies within Shakti. The souls mistake themselves as \"finite and many\" due to the influence of Maaya. Liberation is due to Knowledge that the so called soul is non-different from Brahman. Knowledge of Shakti leads to the above knowledge. The Shakti Aagamas or Tantras glorify the Supreme as the Mother of the Universe under one of the names and forms of Devi. In the Tantras, the female aspirant is looked upon as an embodiment of Shakti and, she is worshipped through rituals like \"Kumari puja\" (virgin worship) and Shakti upaasana (goddess worship).\n\nShakti is Power in general and includes every particular form of it like motion, kinetic, gravitation, heat, elasticity, electricity etc. Force is power translated to material plane. Energy and power are represented by subtle mind and gross matter respectively. Mother Goddess breaks into Power and becomes active for creation, maintenance and dissolution. Worship of 'Parabrahman' as 'Paraashakti', the feminine form, especially as Mother yields quick results; it is in the nature of Mother to forgive faults of her children. This is the basis of Shakta Philosophy.\n\n\nVedas glorify goddesses in various mantras--Sri Sooktam, Deevee sooktam, and Saraswathi Sooktam in Rigveda Samhita; Neelaa Sooktam and Bhoosooktam--in Taittareya Samhita and Durgaasooktam in Taittareya Aranyakam. Sankara, Vedanta Desika and several other gurus have composed devotional hymns in glorification of Goddessess, Lakshmi, Saraswati, Durga, Annapoorna and others. Thus goddesses have been glorified and worshipped from very early Vedic period to the modern days.\n\n\nWorship of Goddess has found favor with great spiritual leaders like Adishankara, Vedanta Desika and Ramakrishna Paramahamsa etc. Paramahamsa is a person who has attained Samaadhi, the super-conscious state of mind. Ramakrishna Paramahamsa said: \"when you desire anything, pray to Mother Kaali in a lonely place, with tears in your eyes, and your wishes shall be fulfilled\". He also said it is possible to attain Self-realization within three days. Mother worship, in brief, consists of mantra Panchadasi, the Yantra, Srichakra and Tantra of the ultimate union with the Supreme.\n\nSaraswati is glorified and worshipped in Vedic rituals as Devi and sacred river as seen in Rigveda Samhita-\"Ambitamae nadeetamae devitamae… Ima Brahma jushaswa vaajineevati\". In Puranas, Saraswati is wedded to the creator Brahma. The creator needs to be associated with the Goddess of knowledge, since creation has to be supported by the knowledge to create. All creative endeavors can spring forth from and sustain themselves only by knowledge of what and whom to create. Saraswati means, one who gives \"saara\" (essence) of \"sva\" (own self).\n\n\nLakshmi Gayathri in Srisooktam of Rigveda Samhita glorifies goddess Lakshmi and offers prayers to her, and, refers to her as the consort of Vishnu-\"Mahalakshmi cha vidmahe vishnupatnee cha dheemahi; tannoe Lakshmee prachoedayaat\"--we meditate upon Mahalakshmi, the consort of Lord Vishnu, the resplendent lady; May that Lakshmi prompt us in all our deeds. Wealth besides material prosperity includes the noble values of life, the power of the mind and the intellect, moral and ethical qualities etc. In order to maintain life, one must possess the wealth to do so. The God of Maintenance Vishnu has, therefore, necessarily to be associated with the Goddess of Wealth.\n\nIn Kenopanishad, Parvati is addressed as Uma, the daughter of Himavaan, resplendent with many ornaments. Indra approaches Uma to get the knowledge of Brahman as he considers her, the most knowledgeable and authoritative amongst gods. He thus came to know Brahman through Uma.\n\nEarth is addressed as Goddess Earth and offered prayers in the following mantra of Maha Narayanopanishad (30), \"Oh Goddess Earth, you bear the trampling of horses and chariots and the strides of Shri Mahavishnu. I bear you with reverence on my head; protect me always…. You are well known as Bhoomi, Dhenu, Dharani and the supporter of all the worlds\".\n\n\nMahanarayanopanishad glorifies and offers prayers to Durga in Durga Gayathri Mantra (gaayanat traayati iti--that which protects you by singing/chanting) \"We meditate upon Durga who belongs to Katyayana gotra (lineage) and who is the resplendent maiden. May that Durga prompt us \" Here Durga is given the same status along with the male deities of Narayana as in Vishnu gayathri, Rudra in Rudra gayathri, Ganesha in Ganesha gayathri etc, in the same Upanishad.\n\n\nThe Gods and Goddesses are the first self revelation of the Absolute, the male being the personification of passive aspect of the female, the activating energy (Shakti). Uma represents Prakriti (matter). Uma and Parvati are her maiden names. She is also popularly referred as Annapoorna meaning \"Bestower of Food\". 'Anna' though translated as 'food' has a wider connotation and includes all material objects of wealth, which are food for five sense organs.\n\n\nAll three Goddesses (Lakshmi, Saraswati and Parvati) together are represented by the fierce looking Goddess Durga or Kaali. Kaali is worshipped by a seeker to invoke his/her latent power of destroying and thereby meaning annihilating all his/her negative tendencies and qualities which veil his/her Higher self. The benign aspects of Shakti are Saraswati, Lakshmi and Parvati. The terrible aspects of Shakti find expression as Kaali and Durga.\n\n\nThe role of the Goddess in Indian political life has been fairly documented as it is associated to two themes which have generated a number of researches:\n\n  1. Women's participation in anti-colonial movement from 1880 to 1947 (the image of Mother India, Bharat Mata and Sita, the distressed).\n\n\n2. Political careers of Indira Gandhi and Jayalalitha in a male dominated politics. The Goddess is brought on the political stage only in times of crisis, big or small, civil disobedience, war, emergency, electoral campaign and political change of guard. The transgression permitted by the reference to the Goddess does not persist once a more normal situation is back.\n\n\nDuring Dasain, the Nepalese equivalent of Durgapuja festival, Goddess is worshipped as Durga, a fearful woman warrior and the triumphant one. In the other face of the Goddess, a little girl is chosen to embody the Goddess for few years (until puberty), as the living image of Durga. Each year, the Kumari puts a Tika, i.e. Red auspicious mark on the forehead of the King, a gesture which signifies that she, the Goddess protects his legitimacy over the kingdom.\n\nIt may not be too far from truth if we conclude that it is undeniable that the lone male symbolism of deity has been a major contributor to the exclusion of women from positions of respect or authority in western society and religion. If approached critically and carefully, the Hindu Goddesses are the greatest stimulant to peoples' imagination and to peoples' speculation about the meaning of the Goddess to those societies where females had been denigrated and denied in the imagery theological tradition. If one only calls God \"He\" then such a God is not the Supreme Being but a personification of a male centered view of reality. As our culture is dominated by male energy, not of a higher but lower order, naturally we project this idea upon God as well. God is both male and female and beyond both male and female. One can call the Divine \"he\" relative to masculine qualities of the Cosmic Being like strength, justice, will or discernment. One can call God \"She\" in reference to its feminine qualities like, love, devotion and receptivity. One can call God as \"It\" (Brahman /Atman) relative to its neutral qualities like infinity or pure existence. In Hinduism, God is symbolized and represented by attractive power of He, She, It, Bisexual (ardhanaareeshwara, linga- yoni union etc), Hermaphrodite images (Narasimha, Hayagriva etc) with the ultimate goal of \"Ekam viprah bahuda vadanti\"--the One the wise call or represent by many names and forms\"\n\nOn September 2,  2014 Prime Minister Modi  while addressing a gathering in Japan said: If the Hindu female o pantheon was likened with a ministry, then education was with Goddess Saraswati, Finance with Lakshmi, Security with Mahaakali, Defense with Durga and Food Security with the goddess Annapoorna!\n\n\n\n\nThis lecture has been prepared by extracting, abridging and editing texts by N.R.Srinivasan for Vedanta class, at Sri Ganesha Temple Nashville, from the following sources:\n  1. T.R.Viswanathan, Sanatana Dharma, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Mumbai, 400007, India.\n  2. Nitin Kumar, Every woman a Goddess-The Ideals of Indian Art, Exotic India, 2000.\n  3. Nora Mandasamy, Saraswati Devi, Shakti Sadhana, Internet.\n  4. Rita M. Gross, Hindu Female Deities, Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Oxford University Press.\n  5. Swami Devaroopananda, Mantra Pushpam, Ramakrishna Mutt, Mumbai, 1998.\nA.Parthasarathy, the Symbolism of Hindu Gods and Rituals, Vedanta Life Institute, Mumbai, 400 025, India.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8476596474647522}
+{"content": "COS 109: Problem Set 5\n\nDue 5:00 PM, Tuesday, Nov 14 by submission to drop box at\nAnswers need not be long, merely clear so we can understand what you have done. Keep a copy for yourself just in case something goes astray. Thanks.\n\nCollaboration policy for COS 109: Working together to really understand the material in problem sets and labs is encouraged, but once you have things figured out, you must part company and compose your written answers independently. That helps you to be sure that you understand the material, and it obviates questions of whether the collaboration was too close.\n\nYou must list any other class members with whom you collaborated.\n\n1. Estimation\n\n(a) In 1981, I designed an integrated circuit chip that used feature sizes of about 6 micrometers; today's chips have feature sizes trending to 10 nanometers. (The feature size measures the width of wires or the length and width of a transistor on an integrated circuit; you can think of the area of a transistor as feature size x feature size.) If the original chip had about 10,000 transistors, very roughly how many would fit in the same area using today's feature sizes?\n\n(b) My iPhone has a 5.5 inch screen (measured diagonally), while my desktop machine has an almost 27 inch screen. Assume that the pixels are the same size and the ratio of height to width is the same on both displays.\n\n    (i) If the iPhone has about 2M pixels, approximately how many pixels are there on the desktop machine?\n\n    (ii) If the desktop uses the standard RGB representation of colors, how many MB of memory is required to hold the image of what's on its screen?\n\n    (iii) The desktop actually has about 5M pixels. How much larger is a pixel on my desktop than on my iPhone?\n\n(c) In this problem, we will work up an estimate of the computing power that Princeton undergraduates have\n\n    (i) How much disk capacity do you have on your laptop and how much of this disk is not currently being used?\n\n    (ii) Assume that all Princeton undergraduates have the same amount of available disk as you do and compute an estimate of the amount of free disk on the machines of all Princeton undergraduates.\n\n    (iii) An hour of high definition video requires about 4.5 GB of storage. If we were to use all of the free disk space of Princeton undergraduates for storing video, how many hours of video would we be able to store? Convert this value to appropriate units (days, weeks, months, years, ... ) based on your answer.\n\n    (iv) The Princeton network runs at about 100Mb/second. How long would it take to download all of the videos from student machines to a central server? You can assume that the full capacity of 100Mb/second can be used for this process.\n\n\n2. Algorithm Analysis\n\n(a) Last month I programmed a version of an experimental algorithm that handles data in chunks of 100 items. It only took 10 seconds to process 100 data items, but 40 seconds for 200 data items, about 90 seconds for 300 data items, and 160 seconds for 400 data items.\n\n    (i) How long is it likely to take for 500 data items?\n\n    (ii) How does its running time appear to be growing as a function of N, the number of items (e.g., logarithmic, linear, quadratic, ... )?\n\n(b) Suppose that a particular algorithm took 10 milliseconds to process N items in the year 1990. Assuming that Moore's Law (speed doubles roughly every 18 months) applied smoothly to the improvement of computer speeds over that interval, and ignoring all other factors, ...\n\n    (i) In what year might you expect the same algorithm to take 10 nanoseconds for the same N items?\n\n    (ii) In what year might it take 10 picoseconds?\n\nExplain your answers briefly but in enough detail that we can tell how you got them.\n\n\n3. A state machine exercise\n\nOne of the uses of state machines is to determine whether sentences in a language are valid. This is often used for determining if a statement in a computer language is valid but can also be used to determine if a sentence fits into a structure defined for sentences in English. In this problem, you will create a state machine to determine if sentences have a certain structure. The structure is that the sentence consist of a noun phrase followed by a verb possibly followed by a noun phrase. A noun phrase may begin with an article which is then followed by some number (zero or more) modifiers and then by a noun. A verb is simply that, a verb. Inputs will be identified by what they are: article or modifier or noun or verb. Articles are represented by A, modifiers by M, nouns by N, and verbs by V.\n\n(a) Construct a state machine to determine if a phrase consisting of the characters A, M, N and V is a valid noun phrase.\n\nFor example,\nAMN , MMMMMN , and AMMMN are valid noun phrases while AMNV , MAN , and AMNM are not.\n\n(b) Construct a state machine to determine if a sentence consists of a noun phrase followed by a verb possibly followed by a noun phrase.\n\nExamples of valid sentences are:\n\nAnd examples of invalid sentences are:\nVAMMN (no initial noun phrase), MANVMN (article comes after modifier in initial noun phrase), and AMVMN (no noun in initial noun phrase).", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9238659143447876}
+{"content": "8.6 Stochastic Simulation\n\n8.6.4 Likelihood Weighting\n\nInstead of creating a sample and then rejecting it, it is possible to mix sampling with inference to reason about the probability that a sample would be rejected. In importance sampling methods, each sample has a weight, and the sample average is computed using the weighted average of samples. Likelihood weighting is a form of importance sampling where the variables are sampled in the order defined by a belief network, and evidence is used to update the weights. The weights reflect the probability that a sample would not be rejected.\n\nExample 8.42.\n\nConsider the belief network of Figure 8.3. In this P(fire)=0.01, P(smokefire)=0.9 and P(smoke¬fire)=0.01. Suppose Smoke=true is observed, and another descendant of Fire is queried.\n\nStarting with 1000 samples, approximately 10 will have Fire=true, and the other 990 samples will have Fire=false. In rejection sampling, of the 990 with Fire=false, 1%, which is approximately 10, will have Smoke=true and so will not be rejected. The remaining 980 samples will be rejected. Of the 10 with Fire=true, about 9 will not be rejected. Thus about 98% of the samples are rejected.\n\nInstead of rejecting so many samples, the samples with Fire=true are weighted by 0.9 and the samples with Fire=false are weighted with 0.01. This potentially give a much better estimate of any of the probabilities that use these samples.\n\n1:procedure Likelihood_weighting(B,e,Q,n):\n2:      Inputs\n3:            B: belief network\n4:            e: the evidence; a variable-value assignment to some of the variables\n5:            Q: query variable\n6:            n: number of samples to generate       \n7:      Output\n8:            posterior distribution on Q\n9:      Local\n10:            array sample[var], where sample[var]domain(var)\n11:            real array counts[k] for kdomain(Q), initialized to 0       \n12:      repeat n times\n13:            sample:={}\n14:            weight:=1\n15:            for each variable X in B, in order do\n16:                 if X=v is in e then\n17:                       sample[X]:=v\n18:                       weight:=weight*P(X=vparents(X))\n19:                 else\n20:                       sample[X]:= a random sample from P(Xparents(X))                              \n21:            v:=sample[Q]\n22:            counts[v]:=counts[v]+weight       \n23:      return counts/vcounts[v]\nFigure 8.30: Likelihood weighting for belief network inference\n\nFigure 8.30 shows the details of the likelihood weighting for computing P(Qe) for query variable Q and evidence e. The for loop (from line 15) creates a sample containing a value for all of the variables. Each observed variable changes the weight of the sample by multiplying by the probability of the observed value given the assignment of the parents in the sample. The variables not observed are sampled according the probability of the variable given its parents in the sample. Note that the variables are sampled in an order to ensure that the parents of a variable have been assigned in the sample before the variable is selected.\n\nTo extract the distribution of the query variable Q, the algorithm maintain an array counts, such that counts[v] is the sum of the weights of the samples where Q=v. This algorithm can also be adapted to the case where the query is some complicated condition on the values; we just have to count the cases where the condition is true and those where the condition is false.\n\nExample 8.43.\n\nSuppose we want to use likelihood weighting to compute P(Tamperingsmoke¬report).\n\nThe following table gives a few samples. In this table, s is the sample; e is ¬smokereport. The weight is P(es), which is equal to P(smokeFire)*P(¬reportLeaving), where the value for Fire and Leaving are from the sample.\n\nTampering Fire Alarm Smoke Leaving Report weight\nfalse true false true true false 0.9*0.25=0.225\ntrue true true true false false 0.9*0.99=0.891\nfalse false false true true false 0.01*0.25=0.0025\nfalse true false true false false 0.9*0.99=0.891\n\nP(tampering¬smokereport) is estimated from the weighted proportion of the samples that have Tampering true.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9998562335968018}
+{"content": "Top Military Schools in Mountain Village, AK\n\nDiscipline, honor, loyalty and work ethic are several qualities parents hope their kids will learn when they send them to military school in Mountain Village, AK.\n\nFirst learning how to follow, then how to lead is at the root of the curriculum in Mountain Village military schools. Students learn to execute orders, sacrifice for their comrades, and put their personal needs aside for the good of their troop.  The important point, military schools develop character by building reliability and honor in their students.\n\nTypes of Military Schools in Mountain Village\n\nWithin the U.S., military schools declined in popularity during the late 1960s and 1970s causing many schools to close their doors. As a result the selection of military schools in the U.S. is limited today, with around 45 military schools still operational across the country. So, it may not be easy to locate a military school in Mountain Village. However, desire for military school enrollment has actually been on the rise in the past few decades which could result in more Alaska military schools becoming established.\n\nMany individuals have misconceptions in regards to what a military school is. A military school in Mountain Village can be:\n\nMountain Village military schools are frequently compared with reform schools. Reform schools for troubled teens that have committed crimes are generally modeled after military boarding schools and operate in a similar fashion. The hope would be that the rigidly arranged environment which is a norm in Mountain Village military schools will reform the children minimizing their odds of participating in criminal activity as an adult.\n\nMountain Village Military School Admission Requirements\n\nEach individual military school in Mountain Village sets admission requirements, and decides whom to accept. Generally they're on the lookout for young people with desire to change, to either go from bad to good or from good to great. Obviously, those who want to improve themselves and succeed in life usually are welcome.\n\n\nSome military schools in Mountain Village, Alaska also require that the student serve in the military after their education is finished.\n\nMountain Village Military School Curriculum\n\nIt may not be easy to get into a military school in Mountain Village, but individuals that graduate from military schools often go on to be successes in whatever field they choose to pursue. That is because military schools in Mountain Village, AK offer tough college prep courses as part of their curriculum.\n\nHistory is at the core of military school training. The history of our country and how it got to where it is in the 21st century is an important part of what military schools teach as well. Military schools make it their mission to provide inspiration to future servicemen and officers of our nation, as well as kids that may need more direction and structure in their lives.\n\n\nMilitary Schools in Mountain Village with JROTC Programs\n\nMilitary schools in Mountain Village almost always have a Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (JROTC) program which is sponsored by the U.S. Army. For young adults thinking about joining the armed forces this can be an invaluable experience.\n\n\n\nFederal Holidays", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7546684741973877}
+{"content": "Book Review:Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro\n\n\nLittle did I know that I was getting myself into yet another dystopia by taking up this novel. The story begins in the perfect boarding school you could think of, in Hailsham, a picturesque school with spacious playgrounds and gardens; where the guardians are kind and considerate and the students are encouraged to be creative, to appreciate art and poetry and everything beautiful.\n\nThe scientific details in the book about the structure of the dystopia are sparse, I can even say that everything scientific is very subtly dealt with. I found it both strange and delightful that this novel zooms in on the relationships of the characters and their wavering emotions and not on the principles that form the foundations of the dystopia. I never thought that I would enjoy reading this book this much, maybe it’s because everything converges on a boarding school and it is about love and friendship, and how seemingly insignificant events shape people into what they become.\n\nKathy. H , the narrator is someone you will immediately warm up to- compassionate, tolerant, and observant. Ruth on the other hand, is not an endearing character but is more complex and full of layers, that one cannot completely categorize her. Tommy is also a character that you cannot help but be drawn towards- a person with “ a bad temper, but a big heart”. Despite the novel being about love and friendship, you don’t come across the characters talking at length about love and friendship, and everything is implied in their behaviour and mannerisms. The fate of the characters slowly unravels, it doesn’t hit me or leave me blindsided. Just like Kathy, Tommy and Ruth, I too had come to accept how everything will conclude.\n\nThroughout the narrative, a feeling of resignation lingers. Rebellions and public demonstrations have no place in this dystopia. The students accept their futures for what they are. And there is something both brave and cowardly about this. Never Let Me Go would make you ponder over the fleeting moments that you shared with your friends and it is a book you should not let go of.\n\n\nBook Review: Brave New Word by Aldous Huxley\n\n\nIn Brave New World, you enter the Fordian world that functions as a well-oiled machine, with every part working perfectly. There are machines for everything, sundry surrogate materials, helicopters for commutation, and drugs that guarantee happiness and solace. Human beings are mass produced in embryonic bottles and are segregated into five distinct groups- the upper class Alphas, the Betas, the Gammas, the Deltas, and the moronic Epsilons. The five groups are conditioned continually on their own class disparities and their duties so as to avoid conflicts. They devoutly believe that, “everyone belongs to everyone else”. The Fordian world allows entry to an “uncivilized” man, John “Savage”, who fails to comprehend its civilized nature.\n\nThis book is well ahead of its times. Reading the first few pages of the book was akin to waking up from a dream I couldn’t fully remember nor understand. The utopia depicted in the novel is one that I think many people in the present age would gladly be part of- a place where you are ruled by comfort and recreational sex. Ironically the “civilized” Fordian society is founded on stability and the concept of conditioning, and not on love, loyalty, and compassion, everything that makes humans humane. In this utopia, religion is outdated, science is feared, familial relationships are a joke, and people or more accurately; genetically-engineered clones live conditioned lives robbed of their free will. Living in a world sans poetry, beauty, and truth, seems insane to me. People go about their lives unaware that every decision, move they take, is a result of conditioning. Strangely in a world where man is free from sorrow and all things unpleasant, he is not free to think on his own. This novel warns the readers of the path scientific development is to take, and its potential consequences.\n\n“Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous misfortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles and by opposing end them…But you don’t do either. Neither suffer nor oppose. You just abolish the slings and arrows. It’s too easy”\n\nJohn Savage\n\nThe novel’s connection to Shakespeare’s The Tempest cannot be ignored starting from the title to John’s sobriquet “Savage”, which alludes to Caliban. There is nothing brave about the brave new world where the people lead seemingly content lives never risking change and maintaining a pseudo stability. It is essentially a dystopia in the garb of a utopia. The book attempts to discuss the nature of a utopia by drawing on both modernity and tradition. The question the novel poses is that will we be able to tackle our future even if it stares in our faces?\n\nDeep Fried\n\nShe fingered the circular scar on her face as she looked at herself in the mirror. Her eyes glinted defiantly back at her. Smoking is injurious to health, but what is more injurious is when victims turn vengeful. The mark on her face was going to stay, but she had taken care of the person who had marred her face with a cigarette butt. When people played with fire, they were bound to get burned. And he had burnt like a potato chip.\n\nBook Review: Ladies Coupe by Anita Nair\n\n\nLadies Coupe is a feminist novel that explores the roles and the rights of women in Indian society. The novel focuses on Akhila, a forty- five- year- old spinster, who is on a journey to ascertain what a woman can and cannot do. Weighed down by the responsibilities thrust on her as the daughter, sister, and breadwinner; she feels herself sinking into the morass of life unable to give vent to her womanly desires. In the ladies coupe of The Kanyakumari Express she encounters five women-Janaki, Margaret, Sheela, Prabha Devi, and Marikolanthu—women who belong to different age groups leading starkly different lives.\n\nBut unlike Akhila, these women are able to assert themselves and take control of their lives. Ladies Coupe is a remarkable novel that probes into the deceptively simple problems that women face. Here Anita Nair weaves together the threads of life of five diverse women forming a tapestry that is both melancholic and sanguine. She delves into the illusory nature of freedom that women generally experience meditating upon the feasibility of complete freedom.\n\nThis novel made me reflect on what it is to be a woman and the choices we have and whether we should restrict ourselves to the choices available or break barriers. Captivating and inspirational, this novel will definitely make you turn to yourself and think about the decisions that have been taken and the decision that are to be taken.\n\nReview of ‘Lexicon’ by Max Barry\n\n\n\nLexicon by Max Barry is a disappointing novel.\n\n\nMoving onto the characters, none of the characters are memorable:\n\n\n\n\n\n\nReview of ‘The Outsider’ by Albert Camus\n\n\n\n\n‘The Outsider’ written by Albert Camus and translated by Joseph Laredo, is a novel that centers around a Frenchman named Meursault, who expresses no sadness at his mother’s death. Days after his mother’s death he murders a man on a whim for which he is tried in court. Meursault is tried not just for his crime but his lack of emotions, which makes him an outsider.\n\nMeursault, the protagonist is peculiar as he attaches no value to human relationships and commits murder for no apparent reason. Sentiments like love, empathy, and concern are insignificant to him. The only time Meursault is close to being emotional is when he is imprisoned and he realizes the value of his freedom. During the initial days of his sentence he tries to devise plans that will enable him to escape from being guillotined. But right before the day of his execution, he accepts death in all its finality. He lives his life following his mother’s ideal that humanity can get used to anything, be it death or punishment. His indifferent reaction to his mother’s death is startling to the people around him, the same sort of people who would prefer deceit to truth. Meursault is not a likeable character, but then I don’t think the author intended the character to be a likeable one. Mersaults’ s defiant manner of sticking to the truth, his staunch atheism, his unwillingness to sugar-coat realities and his ability to accept his wrongs and not feel guilty about them makes him an outsider. He is an outcast as he doesn’t adhere to social norms. But it is these qualities that make him an unconventional tragic hero. Anybody who lives or behaves in a way contrary to the age-old way is shunned. To the world he is a cold-hearted murderer and according to the author himself he is just a person who doesn’t belong. A strange man who lives his life just to feel alive and nothing more. He lives through his life saying and doing things that feel right to him alone and not to the society.\n\nMarie, the mistress of Mersault, is the only female character that has any importance in the novel, she is reduced to a pretty thing people can point at and admire. She is a woman who doesn’t seem to have any opinions of her own. Like Mersault she too is strange as she desires to marry a man who doesn’t love her but only considers her as an object to gratify his sexual desires.\n\nAlmost all the characters in the novel are idiosyncratic starting from Meursault to Salamano. Camus gives us a strange piece of fiction along the lines of absurdism which is a philosophy based on the belief that human existence is purposeless and chaotic. To Camus Meursault was a new-age Christ, a person who sacrifices himself for the truth, the kind of truth people try not to see or acknowledge.\n\nThe Outsider is as Camus states “the story of a man who, without any heroic pretensions agrees, to die for the truth.” This book left me confused but it also made me seriously ponder about the rigid, inflexible, and most often prejudiced decisions of the common public, and whether these decisions are really fair. This novel progresses like a dream, hazy but fast-paced and finally leaving you with mixed feelings.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.826324462890625}
+{"content": "i want it to be exactly as what i have atached with an admin controller to broadcast a message through the program when a new version is available and for it to work on [Habbo Hotel][1]\n\n## Deliverables\n\n\n\n\n## Platform\n\nany peferably all tho\n\n\nVer mais: hotel buyer, basic hotel software, visual hotel software, platform controller, hotel gpl php, hotel php gpl, php hotel gpl, hotel source code, hotel program code, basic form hotel, gpl hotel, habbo source code, hotel gpl, visual basic hotel\n\nAcerca do Empregador:\n( 0 comentários ) Worksop, United Kingdom\n\nID do Projeto: #2981501", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9997557997703552}
+{"content": "The typical experience of many people as they begin learning Yoga initially is that of learning and practicing particular formal Yoga poses and other breathing and meditation techniques, self consciously evaluating their progress with reference to some criteria based upon the instruction or system from which we are studying..In this way safe fundamentals of movement and the higher practices of Yoga are developed..\n\nAs they evolve in skill and comfort levels.students may begin to experiment in with Yoga Vinyasa practices; linking Yoga posture and connecting movements with the the breath. This is the beginning for many students of truly enjoying Yoga as Meditation in Motion.\n\nYogic lore states that the formal Yoga poses we practice are the realization of enlightened sages giving form to the intuitive expressions of energy coming from within in their enlightened states. Many present day teacher believe that these moments of clarity and expression are accessible to all as the fruit of growing skill and comfort with oneself in your Yoga and meditation practice.\nAs we continue to our physical Yoga asana(posture) practice through vinyasa we can begin let go further into a deeply absorbing and powerfully relaxing way to practice called the Posture Flow. Experimenting with this approach to practice can be a way  to experience and express the truths of Yoga in an even  deeper way. This practice is usually seen as a more advanced practice, not because it need be a physical challenge, but that it involves utilizing formal asana practice and our skills in remaining present to understand intuitively and accurately the messages of your inner experience and give them spontaneous expression through movement.\n\nPosture Flow is a balanced way to practice, allowing “willfully” held classical Yoga Poses(asana) to give way toabsorbing periods of surrender into spontaneous movement flows. The flow experience comes as a response to the physical and energetic needs, impulses and expressions  that emerge from the challenges of the held posture. There is a deep trust that when utilizing the conscious connection of breath to bodily experience and mindful, compassionate awareness, the energy that informs this spontaneous movement is supportive and healing on a very deep level. Throughout the flow the challenge and the joy is to abandon the tendencies toward struggle and contentions that the residual thoughts and feelings the mind and “ego” may bring forth, and follow impulses to move from a place of greater clarity and ease to take over. This more advanced “meditation in movement” is the continuing connection of the body movement through the breath with this compassion awareness. As the energy of the flow diminishes you may move back into another held Pose to reorient and build more energy to animate the experience further. You may continue the process for as long as you desire.\n\nThe  usual prescriptions to practice to safely and responsibly working within your physical abilities without strain, remain.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9924216270446777}
+{"content": "Toomas Kõiv\n\nLearn More\nWe analysed phosphorus retention as a function of external loading, hydraulic turnover time, area and relative depth on the basis of published data from 54 lakes and reservoirs in different climate regions around the world. Our analysis demonstrated that reservoirs and lakes that received higher areal loading of phosphorus (TPin) also retained more P per m2(More)\nThe present study describes generally the ecosystem of Lake Verevi while more detailed approaches are presented in the same issue. The main task of the article is to estimate long-term changes and find the best method for the restoration of good ecological status. Lake Verevi (surface 12.6 ha, mean depth 3.6 m, maximum depth 11 m, drainage area 1.1 km2,(More)\nRespiratory CO2 release from inland waters is a major process in the global carbon cycle, retaining more than half of the carbon flux from terrestrial sources that otherwise would reach the sea. The strongly lake type-specific balance between primary production and respiration determines whether a lake acts regionally as a net sink or source of CO2. This(More)\nThe influence of functional group specific production and respiration patterns on a lake's metabolic balance remains poorly investigated to date compared to whole-system estimates of metabolism. We employed a summed component ecosystem approach for assessing lake-wide and functional group-specific metabolism (gross primary production (GPP) and respiration(More)\nSmall-bodied cladocerans and cyclopoid copepods are becoming increasingly dominant over large crustacean zooplankton in eutrophic waters where they often coexist with cyanobacterial blooms. However, relatively little is known about their algal diet preferences. We studied grazing selectivity of small crustaceans (the cyclopoid copepods Mesocyclops(More)\nThe epilimnetic phytoplankton and its relations to nutrient content in Lake Verevi through the whole vegetation period in 2000 were studied. Lake Verevi (surface 12.6 ha, mean depth 3.6 m, maximum depth 11 m) is a hypertrophic hard-water lake, where the so-called spring meromixis occurs due to an extremely warm spring. Most dissolved nutrients in the(More)\nIn order to adequately assess the ecological status of thermally stratified lakes based on chlorophyll, the sampling must cover all productive layers of the water column. Missing the deep chlorophyll maxima (DCM) that often occur in the meta- or hypolimnion of transparent lakes supported by sufficient illumination and good nutrient availability may cause(More)\nTo study the role of large and shallow hemiboreal lakes in carbon processing, we calculated a 3-year carbon mass balance for Lake Võrtsjärv (Estonia) based on in situ measurements. This balance took into account hydrological and biogeochemical processes affecting dissolved inorganic (DIC), dissolved organic (DOC) and particulate organic (POC) carbon(More)\nOrganic matter (OM) has numerous geochemical and ecological functions in inland waters and can affect water quality. Different parameters of aquatic OM are measured with various methods as no single analytical tool can provide definitive structural or functional information about it. In the present paper we review different OM metrics used in the European(More)\nWe applied a multi-proxy palaeolimnological approach to provide insights into the natural variability and human-mediated trends of two interconnected temperate large shallow lakes, Peipsi and Võrtsjärv, during the twentieth century. The history of the lakes was assessed on the basis of age-related changes in the sediment main constituents (water, organic(More)\n  • 1", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9920526146888733}
+{"content": "Mortise and tenon joints have been used in furniture design for thousands of years.  There are literally hundreds of variations on this simple joint, but they all work in the same way: a tenon is cut to exactly fit into a mortise, creating stability and integrity.\n\nTenon Design finds the vintage and contemporary pieces that will make your space complete: the tenon that perfectly fits the mortise in your home.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9961866140365601}
+{"content": "This War of Mine preview: It’s not only soldiers that take part in war\n\nThis War of Mine is a project created by Polish developers 11 Bit Studios, and focuses on the perils of war from the perspective of civilians. With its unique theme and viewpoint, This War of Mine has gained a lot of popularity recently, and rightly so. Rather than being placed in the shoes of an overpowered killing machine, or a soldier as they’re commonly known, the civilian perspective sees us powerless and helpless against The Man.\n\nThe graffiti on the wall sums up everything these people are experiencing.\n\nPlaying a small group of survivors you must scavenge, build and stay alive long enough to survive until the end of the war, when that is only time will tell. One wrong decision could potentially end with death, a result that nobody wants. Not only do you have to worry about the soldiers still roaming the land, but also other survivors whose only priority is staying alive and keeping their belongings safe and theirs forever more.\n\nThis War of Mine uses a lovely and unique art style which is mixed with photographic elements taken by the development team. Each of the characters used in-game are based off,  and their photographs all feature real people. This gives the game a sense of accuracy, you genuinely bond with most of these characters as you play. The backdrops for all areas of the game are beautifully created, even though they’re intended to be war torn locations. The gritty feel of each location is true, I can only assume, to the real thing.\n\nThere are plenty of locations to visit and revisit.\n\nThe game features interesting mechanics, during the day you can only move around the house you live in, scavenging for supplies in each of the rooms and building extras such as beds and makeshift fires to keep everyone comfortable. At night you can venture out into the world to find supplies such as food, weapons and building materials. Only one person can go outside to scavenge, the rest of your group can either sleep or guard the property. The day and night cycles are all timed, so you only have a particular amount of time to do what you need to during each cycle. Fail to complete your tasks during the day and the game will continue into night, fail to make in to the exit during your scavenges at night and you wont make it back home. This does add urgency, either do it quickly or don’t bother at all.\n\nDeath will happen, it’s inevitable, but it isn’t the games fault – it’s the players. So many times I found myself starting over due to the fact that one silly mistake got one or all of my characters injured and failing to bandage or care for them will eventually ended up with death knocking on your door. Despite my frustration I enjoyed how this worked, it made me take extra care when scavenging and putting people on guard back at the house.\n\nSome locations will be free of other humans.\n\nEach character in the game has their own pro and cons, sending the right people out to do the right job could mean the different between life and death. Good runners will generally be able to get out of dodge quicker if things turn sour, good cooks will be able to make a decent meal and good negotiators will be able to deal with other humans better. That doesn’t mean you have to send out the right person, sometimes you have to adjust and make do with what you have.\n\nCharacter needs and thoughts are displayed on their cards in the lower right part of the game screen, these will change dependant on what they need at that moment in time. Hunger is almost always present unless you can scavenge large amounts each night and sleep will crop up once in a while, poor sleep can be combated by making beds in the workshop. Pressing the bio tab on the player card will give an in depth look into the character and what they have witnessed, at this moment in time not all characters have information here, so I couldn’t possibly comment on this right now.\n\nCharacters also have emotional states, states which get worse if things go south. During one of my playthroughs I lost Pavle and Bruno: one to injuries caused by a night raid and another died whilst scavenging. My remaining survivor Katia was injured during a hunt and when returning home her emotions soon got hold, she collapsed on the floor near the front door and no matter how many times I tried to move her she just wouldn’t budge. After another night she came back with even worse wounds, she was now limping and every time I asked her to do a task such as eat food or make a weapon she would reply with “What’s the point?” or “I don’t want to do this anymore”.\n\nYou can craft a wide variety of items to help with survival and keep moral up!\n\nSupplies and materials are pretty scarce, especially in areas that don’t involve any human confrontation. If you want to stock up on food, weapons or medical supplies you’re going to have to get used to either trading with what limited supplies you already own, or find a way to slaughter those in the vicinity – the latter being the hardest. The game really doesn’t want you to survive, so as the player you have to try your hardest to carry as many items of use as possible. So many times I died at the hands of bandits protecting their goods with fire power, I suppose you can only do so much damage with a knife.\n\nIf you do manage to infiltrate another groups hideout you can successfully steal supplies and get out without a scratch, it just takes time. Located throughout most of the locations are special hiding spots, you can access these and stay hidden until a local patrol has passed by. Several times I found myself racing to these locations to escape someone on my tail, mainly because I had finally found their food or medical supply stash, otherwise I would just bolt. The chasing AI aren’t stupid though, if you leave doors open they will quickly come to the conclusion someone has either visited or are currently visiting them. They will run around, alert other members of their groups if they have any and will attempt to locate you.\n\nThis War of Mine is worthy of anyone’s time, especially with its unique perspective of war. The game isn’t forgiving and it will test you constantly, if you want to survive you’re going to have to earn it. This War of Mine is a promising title, one which I can’t await the full release of.\n\nThe game is expected to release later this year.\n\n\nI play games. A lot of them. You can catch me streaming my favourite games on Twitch: Can’t wait to meet you!", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8778276443481445}
+{"content": "Thursday, November 27\n\nFive Tips: A Miscellany of Writing Advice\n\nFive Tips: A Miscellany of Writing Advice\n\n\n\n\nRobert McKee On Writing\n\n1. The five essential elements of a thriller.\n\nc. The protagonist is shown to be a victim.\nd. A speech made in praise of the villain.\n\n\n\n\n\nMurder Mystery --> Master detective’s POV\nCaper --> Master criminal’s POV\nDetective --> Cop’s POV\nGangster --> Crook’s POV\nThriller/Revenge Tale --> Victim’s POV\nCourtroom --> Lawyer’s POV\nNewspaper --> Reporter’s POV\nEspionage --> Spy’s POV\nPrison Drama --> Inmate’s POV\n\n\n\n\nThat’s going to take a bit of unwrapping. \n\n\nAs for “dimensionality of character” ...\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThis is what McKee calls one of the big questions\n\n\n\n\nMcKee said:\n\n\n\n\n\n\n6. The protagonist’s arc\n\n\n\n\nBut McKee isn’t just talking about character arcs. He says:\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThat’s it! \n\n\n\nTuesday, November 25\n\nFour Tips For Writing Flash Fiction, And Why You Should!\n\nFour Tips For Writing Flash Fiction, And Why You Should!\n\nOnce upon a time, I couldn’t write a 2,000 word piece of fiction if my life depended on it. 100,000 words, sure. 50,000 words, fine. 10,000 words, okay. 2,000? Ha! Nope. \n\nNow I can. \n\nWhat changed? One thing: I’d started to write flash fiction. \n\nI hadn’t thought much about this until a few days ago when a reader left a comment on Short Story Structures: Several Ways Of Structuring Short Fiction. Sean mentioned he’d had a similar problem and overcome it through writing flash fiction, stories told in fewer than 1,000 words.\n\nSo, today, I’d like to write about flash fiction—what it is and how to get started writing it. (For more on flash fiction and what it is, see: Five Reasons To Write Flash Fiction.)\n\n1. Only write part of the larger story.\n\nFull-length stories have a certain shape. There’s a beginning, a middle and an end. In the beginning, the protagonist takes up a quest. In the middle, the protagonist enters the special (and strange) world of the adventure. At the end, the protagonist takes the fight to the enemy, finally overcoming the obstacles to attaining her goal. Or not.\n\nOne cannot do all this in 1,000 words or less. The trick is to pick just one part of the larger story to explore. \n\nFor example, one could begin in the middle, before the protagonist’s confrontation with the antagonist and write about their epic battle. Or one could begin at the end, at the climax, and write about how the protagonist defeats the antagonist (or was trounced by them, it’s up to you and the kind of story you’re writing). OR you could take just one event from the beginning—perhaps the Call to Adventure—and focus on that. \n\nWhen the protagonist receives her Call to Adventure she often demurs and has to be cajoled. Something has to happen to change her mind. Perhaps a mentor will talk with her, perhaps the protagonist will be given something (in fairy tales this is often a magical item) that can help them on the journey, or perhaps the antagonist will hurt someone the protagonist cares about (think Star Wars) in a misguided effort to intimidate the protagonist. \n\nThose are just examples. You can pick any part of the protagonist’s journey and spin it into a (very) short story.\n\n2. Use only one or two principle characters.\n\n In my flash fiction I usually only use two principle characters, a protagonist and antagonist. Other characters may be mentioned or play small parts, but I’ve found there really isn’t enough space to develop more than two characters. (But that could just be me. Experiment!)\n\n3. End in the middle.\n\nDavid Gaffney has put together a terrific article on the subject of writing flash fiction over at It’s entitled “Stories in your pocket: how to write flash fiction.” Gaffney urges writers not to put the end of the story at ... well, the end of the story! He writes:\n\n\nThat sounds fun, I’m going to try that the next time I write a piece of very short fiction.\n\n4. End with a twist.\n\nDavid Gaffney doesn’t say this—in fact, it would seem to go against what he says—but I like flash fiction that ends with a twist. It’s difficult to do well, though.\n\nI’ve shared this story before, but I love it and it’s a terrific example of a super-short tale with a killer twist. The story is called \"Bad Dreams\":\n\n‘Daddy, I had a bad dream.’\n\n\n‘No, Daddy.’\n\n\n\n\nI love that ending!\n\nSo, what are you waiting for? The next time you’re stuck in a lineup or in a bus or taxi, whip out your writer’s pad and get started on a lightening fast bit of fiction. What would happen if ...\n\nThat’s it!\n\nIf you’d like to practice writing flash fiction, I publish a writing prompt every weekday. A number of people who are far more creative than I am poke their head in and occasionally contribute. It’s an open group, so if the mood takes you feel free to come on by.\n\nAnother great place to practice the art and craft of writing short is Chuck Wendig’s blog. Every Friday he publishes a writing prompt. You post your work on your own web-estate and drop a link to your work in a comment. (Note: Due to his enthusiastic and creative use of decidedly adult language, Wendig’s website is NSFW.) Here’s an example: Flash Fiction Challenge: Superheroes Plus.\n\nPhoto credit: \"One of these Things is not like the others.\" by JD Hancock under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0.\n\nSaturday, November 22\n\nRobert McKee: A Writer’s Method\n\nRobert McKee: A Writer’s Method\n\n\n\n\n\nWriting from the outside in.\n\nHere’s the skeleton of this idea:\n\n1. Person comes up with a fantastic idea.\n\n\nWriting from the inside out.\n\nHere’s the skeleton:\n\n1. Person comes up with a fantastic idea.\n4. Person writes a first draft.\n\nThe Step-Outline: Two Parts\n\nPart One: The Outline\n\n\n  • What is the setting? Indoors? Outdoors? \n  • Which characters are in it? \n  • What are the stakes? \n  • What kind of emotional change occurs? And so on. \n\n\nPart Two: The Major Difference\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nI can imagine Lee Child shuddering. \n\n\n\n\nMcKee writes:\n\n\n\n\n\nThe Treatment\n\n\nWhat goes into a treatment?\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThursday, November 20\n\nSix Ways To Begin A Story: Archetypal Openings\n\nSix Ways To Begin A Story: Archetypal Openings\n\nA well-written opening reflects the kind of story you’ve written. If it’s a horror then the opening should communicate this; similarly for romances, mysteries, westerns and so on. While many stories employ archetypes—in fact, I think that the very best stories always do—the level of involvement varies.\n\nBefore I discuss that, though, lets talk about the difference between archetypes and stereotypes.\n\nArchetypes vs Stereotypes\n\nI think of a stereotype as a solid unchanging but shallow impression, with the added sense that it doesn’t truly reflect the person portrayed. That is, it doesn’t accurately represent the humanity, the deeper truth, of the situation.\n\nAn archetype, on the other hand, is something we’re connected to on the basis of shared experience. For example, I think we’ve all had the experience of hearing something that shouldn’t go bump-in-the-dark go bump-in-the-dark. \n\nWe have all been alone in the cold dark and felt things glide silently through the darkness, coming for us. When we write a story about such things, such shared experiences, even though we might not have the writing skill of, say, Gillian Flynn, our readers are there with us. They are inside our character’s skin and it is the reader’s awareness of being in similar situations, that archetypal awareness, that connects them to that character.\n\nNow, I can hear you asking ...\n\nGiven that definition aren’t all openings archetypal?\n\n I believe that all effective openings are archetypal to some degree, but that some are more so than others. For example:\n\n“This is the saddest story I have ever heard.” (The Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford)\n\nAnyone who has ever been very sad (and who hasn’t?) can connect with this. In that sense, this is an archetypal opening. It would have also worked if instead of “saddest” the author had used “most horrific” or “bloodiest” or “most profane,” and so on. Choose your superlative ... though “most boring,” although archetypal, wouldn’t have the same punch.\n\nMythology, Urban Mythology and Archetypes\n\nCarl Jung was one of the first to notice the archetypal nature of myth, folktales and what, today, we call urban legends. Take, for instance, one of my favorite folktales: Baba-Yaga and Vasilisa the Fair. Here’s how one version of that tale begins:\n\n“A long time ago there lived a merchant and his wife; they had one child, a girl called Vasilisa. One day the mother placed a little doll in the child's hands, she said, ‘My child, I am dying. Take this doll as my blessing. Always keep it with you and never show it to anybody. If anything bad happens to you, give the doll food and ask her for guidance.’ Shortly afterwards the mother died.”\n\nThis opening got my attention. Yes, a question has been raised here (If the child feeds the doll will it give her guidance?) but I feel that the archetypal nature of the story is announced by the mother’s death. \n\nThe death of those who raised us, who nurtured us when we were children, is (unfortunately) something that connects us all. It is something that, even though Vasilisa’s character is never really fleshed out, connects us to her and makes us care what happens to her.\n\nDeath As An Archetype\n\nWhat I’m about to say doesn’t have anything to do with openings but since we’re discussing archetypes I think it’s relevant. Often at the middle or two-thirds point of a story a major character dies, or comes very near death (occasionally a character seems to die but is resuscitated).\n\nOne of the archetypes that runs through the fabric of human existence is our shared realization of life’s inevitable end. When a character dies we cannot help but be gripped by it. When a character almost dies and somehow finds a way back, we cannot help but be moved by the experience. \n\n\nBy weaving these archetypal experiences and events into our stories we increase the reader’s involvement in that story. (And, yes, of course, this involvement would be helped along by creating rounded characters.) (See: Crafting Interesting Characters; Creating Vivid Characters for NaNoWriMo; Preparing to write a story: characters.)\n\nAnd that’s it for archetypal openings! Granted, much more can be said about this, but not much more can be said in under 1,000 words! If you’d like to read more about archetypes in the human experience (and you haven’t already) pick up a copy of Carl Jung’s “Man And His Symbols.” Although you may not agree with everything Jung says it is an interesting read.\n\nThis is the last, the final, post in my Six Ways To Begin A Story series (click on the link to go to the first one which contains a handy-dandy index), I hope you enjoyed it.\n\nIf you have any questions, or any suggestions for future posts, please leave a comment or contact me.\n\nPhoto credit: \"Love is in the Air...\" by Thomas Leuthard under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0.\n\nTuesday, November 18\n\nWriting, Memory Palaces And The Power Of The Bizarre\n\nThe other day I started reading “Moonwalking With Einstein” by Joshua Foer. Among other things, Foer talks about the art of memory and how to create one’s own memory palace.\n\nYou might wonder what on earth mnemonics and memory palaces have to do with writing. If so, fair question. Have you ever watched “Connections” with James Burke? Burke, an historian, takes an “interdisciplinary approach to the history of science and invention” and shows how various “discoveries, scientific achievements, and historical world events” brought about “particular aspects of modern technology.”\n\nSound interesting? It is! If you’re any kind of a history buff try to dig up a copy of the series.[1] \n\nIn what follows I’d like to take you on a vaguely Burkian journey to explore what connects the art of memory and the art of writing.\n\nMemory Palaces\n\nYou’ve probably heard of a memory palace, these days it seems all the best detectives and serial killers have one: Hannibal Lecter; the latest incarnation of my favorite detective, Sherlock Holmes; Patrick Jane (The Mentalist) and I’m sure many others.\n\nBut what is a memory palace and—here’s the big question—does it work? Surprisingly, the answer seems to be a resounding “Yes!”\n\nWhat Is A Memory Palace?\n\nImproving one’s memory is an art, an art that was widely practiced in antiquity.[2] \n\nA memory palace can help anyone remember vast amounts of information, anything that can be put into list form.[3] For example:\n\n- Homer’s Iliad\n- Your grocery list\n- All the characters in the novel you’re reading, along with their occupations and distinguishing characteristics (tags & traits).\n- All the characters in all the stories you’ve written. (Perhaps you’re not like me, but I find it easy to forget minor characters.)\n- The birthdays of all your friends.\n- Directions. (Yes, I know, these days there’s Google Maps. But what if you’re in a—cue ominous music—dead zone.)\n\nIf, like me, you’re just interested in memorizing all the characters in the books you read—and maybe your shopping list—then after an initial effort (setting up your memory palace and practicing to get a knack for it) you’ll be set. You might not be able to memorize a shuffled deck of playing cards but memorizing your shopping list in a matter of seconds will be within your grasp.\n\nActually, forgetting the darn thing will be the issue!\n\nBuilding A Memory Palace\n\nOne technique that’s commonly used to build memory palaces is called the method of loci.\n\nHere’s the essence, the basis, of how it’s done: you memorize the layout of a building that is significant to you. It could be the place you grew up in, it could be the place where you now live, it could even be the shops on a street or the route you use to walk to work. \n\nYou then pick out significant places, or loci. In a house significant loci might be the mailbox, the front door, the welcome mat, the lamp, a rug, a closet, the dining table, the kitchen table, a door, and so on. Or, if you’ve chosen something like your walk to work, it could be your neighbors car (he always parks under the maple tree), the start of a path, driveways, the trees (shrubs, flowerbeds, etc.) in your neighbors yards.\n\nNow, here’s the key bit:\n\n“When desiring to remember a set of items the subject literally 'walks' through these loci and commits an item to each one by forming an image between the item and any distinguishing feature of that locus. Retrieval of items is achieved by 'walking' through the loci, allowing the latter to activate the desired items.” (Method of loci)\n\nFor example, the author of “Moonwalking with Einstein” describes constructing his first memory palace. The building he chose was the house he grew up in. He then selected various places within the house (the driveway, the front door, the piano, the lamp in the entryway, the dining table, and so on) to anchor vivid images which were associated with what he desired to remember. \n\nFor instance, since he wanted to remember pickled garlic he put a large jar of pickled garlic in the driveway. When he did this he used all his senses. He pictured a large jar of pickled garlic, the green and white label, the bloated white fleshy roots. He imaged the pungent smell, he felt the weight of the jar in his hands, and so on. In other words, he tried to engage as many of the five senses as he could. (Perhaps he even imagined the dull ringing of his knuckles on the glass)\n\nOne of the other items on the list was six bottles of wine. To make these more memorable he pictured them animated, each with its own personality. The different wines were arguing with each other over which was the best. \n\nAnd so on.\n\nOver the years I’ve used this technique to memorize where I’d parked my car, but I never approached it in any systematic way and have never tried to keep more than two or three things in extended memory. Lately I’ve wondered why that was. After all, wouldn’t it be great to remember all the characters in the books I read, what they look like and the role they played in the plot? That would be fabulous! \n\nSo I’ve committed made it my goal to, not master the skill, but develop it to the point where I don’t have to write a shopping list, I can keep the items in my mind. (Yes, well, we’ll see. But you have to admit it would be wonderful!)\n\nWhat Memory Palaces Have To Do With Writing\n\nHere’s where I try and cash out all this talk about memory palaces and explain how the heck this could help one as a writer. (I’ve just started to think about this so what follows may be a bit rough around the edges.)\n\nFor those of us interested in selling our stories so we can do this crazy thing full time, one of the questions which concerns us and which I’ve talked about lately in my series on openings is: How can we grab, and keep, a readers attention?\n\nIn the past I’ve given several, related, answers. I’ve talked about the importance of suspense and how to create it, I’ve talked about narrative drive, dramatic irony and the virtues of raising a question in a readers mind and delaying the answer. (I’ve put links to a few of those articles, below) But I’ve always had the feeling that I’ve been dancing around something, something (arguably) central to who we are as humans.\n\nAt several points in “Moonwalking with Einstein” the author makes the point that the more outlandish the images one uses that, all things being equal, the easier they will be to remember. He writes:\n\n\nThe author continues:\n\n“The more vivid the image, the more likely it is to cleave to its locus. What distinguishes a great mnemonist, I was learning, is the ability to create these sorts of lavish images on the fly, to paint in the mind a scene so unlike any that has been seen before that it cannot be forgotten.”\n\nWriting And Memorability\n\nThe hero of Lee Child’s books, Jack Reacher, is certainly memorable. The man is 6'5\" tall with a 50-inch chest, and weighs between 220 and 250 pounds. (Wikipedia\n\nStephen King’s breakthrough book, Carrie (his first published, though not the first he’d written) opens with a girl having her menstrual period for the first time in the communal showers at her high school. The other girls respond by berating her and throwing tampons at her. \n\nAt the climax of the story Carrie and Tommy (the only boy who ever cared about her) are drenched with buckets of pigs blood as they stand on stage in front of the entire school. One of the buckets hits Tommy on the head and kills him. Then Carrie goes on a rampage through town using her telekinetic abilities with all the finesse of Godzilla.\n\nI love King’s work but one thing you can certainly say about Carrie is that it’s memorable.\n\nOr take another novel, one not obviously a horror. In “Sophie’s Choice” Sophie Zawistowski tells Stingo that when her and her two children were taken to a Nazi concentration camp she was forced to choose which of her children would live and which would die. It was a horrid choice, an obscene choice, but one that was certainly memorable.\n\nThis got me thinking. Many of the stories I like the most—even stories like Faulkner’s “As I Lay Dying” or “Light in August”—have one thing in common: they are about events that are eminently memorable.\n\nHonestly, I’ve only just started to think about this, about the extent that memorability of events should be up there with suspense (narrative drive, etc), at least when it comes to tempting readers to keep turning pages. \n\nAnd what is it, exactly, that makes an event memorable? I’m going to come back to this in a future post but, for now, memorability seems connected to various things we’ve already heard a lot about:\n\n- Descriptions of things, events or characters that involve the five senses.\n- Events, things or characters that are shocking or unusual. That are remarkable.\n- Events, things or characters that are prohibited or forbidden.\n\nThat’s it for today! \n\nDo you use a technique to aid in memorization? Have you ever used a memory palace? If so, please tell us what kind of information you found it easiest to memorize. Did you find that outlandish pictures/images aided in memorization?\n\n\n1. Connections was followed by The Day the Universe Changed, Connections 2, Connections 3 and, most recently, Re-Connections.\n\n2. To read more about this see “The Art of Memory” by Frances A. Yates.\n\n3. “A recent world speed record for memorizing a deck of cards was 21.19 seconds, held by Simon Reinhard of Germany.” (Memory Sport)\n\nPhoto credit: This image came from \"Psychological Hacks\" over at imgur and was posted by (I love this handle -->) NotThe1. I encourage you to head over and read the article, it's a good summary of how to get started using your own memory palace.\n\nSaturday, November 15\n\nSix Ways To Begin A Story: Humor\n\nSix Ways To Begin A Story: Humor\n\nHumorous Openings\n\nI think that comedy and drama go hand in hand and, clearly, I’m not the only one.\n\n(BTW, this post is part of a series on story openings. Here’s the first post: Six Ways To Begin A Story. At the bottom of that post there’s an index to all the other posts.)\n\nThese days even non-writers know who Vince Gilligan is. Breaking Bad has zoomed past popular to become a cultural phenomenon. And it’s obvious why. The show is well written, well acted, well produced. There’s something, though, I haven’t heard a lot of people talk about. I came across it the other day when I listened to the Breaking Bad insider podcast. Gilligan said that every scene had to have two things: a goal and something humorous. Gilligan believes that comedy and drama are two muscles in the same arm. (see: Vince Gilligan and the Dark Comedy of ‘Breaking Bad’)\n\nWhich brings us to the question ...\n\nWhat’s funny?\n\nWhat’s funny varies from person to person. One person will love puns while another can’t stand them, one person laughs at things another would find insulting. And so on. But, really, this isn’t all that different from prose writing. One person loves science fiction, another hates it. One person likes fantasy, another rolls their eyes at it. And so on.\n\nStill, people can learn to be funnier. \n\nIn what follows I’m going to look at five openings that made me chuckle then I’m going to try and take them apart and ask: WHY were these funny? What is it about them that made me grin?\n\nExamples of humorous opening lines\n\nThe examples below are from the article 30 Funniest Opening Lines of Books.\n\n1. “I don’t know how other men feel about their wives walking out on them, but I helped mine pack.” (Breaking Up by William H. Manville)\n\n2. “I come from Des Moines. Somebody had to.” (The Lost Continent: Travels in Small-Town America by Bill Bryson)\n\n3. “For the better part of my childhood, my professional aspirations were simple. I wanted to be an intergalactic princess.” (Seven Up by Janet Evanovich)\n\n4. “In our family, there was no clear line between religion and fly fishing.” (A River Runs Through It by Norman Maclean)\n\n5. “It can hardly be a coincidence that no language on earth has ever produced the expression ‘As pretty as an airport.’” (The Long Dark Tea-Time of The Soul by Douglas Adams)\n\nSo, again, my question is: What characteristic, what property, what aspect of these openings makes them funny?\n\nThe Principles of Humor\n\nThis section heading is somewhat tongue in cheek since I don’t believe there are any hard and fast rules to being funny. There is no algorithm that will produce the comedy of Jerry Seinfeld. The principles that follow are merely starting points, gestures toward something one must find within themselves.\n\n1. Repetition\n\nRepetition sets up a joke by creating an expectation. When this expectation is subverted we often smile (or laugh or howl or whatever) if it’s done cleverly. There are various kinds of repetition.\n\na. The Rule of Three\n\n“Writing comedically usually requires establishing a pattern (with the setup) and then misdirecting the reader (with the punch line). One simple way of doing this is to pair two like ideas in a list and then add a third, incongruent, idea. [...] Here’s an example of a sentence using the Rule of Three: Losing weight is simple: Eat less, exercise more and pay NASA to let you live in an anti-gravity chamber.” (How to Write Better Using Humor)\n\nHere’s another example, this time from Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett:\n\n\nHere the first two items in the list are wars and plagues. Nasty stuff. Not the sort of thing people laugh about. Then: sudden audits. We’re not talking about the same level of soul-sucking horror, but ... Anyone who’s had to do their taxes gets the joke.\n\nb. Expressions\n\nI said, above, that certain kinds of comedy rely on misdirection. This works especially well with phrases your readers have heard/read many times and are, perhaps, slightly bored of. Cliches. As Leigh Anne Jasheway mentions, if one writes, “You can lead a horse to water …” readers can’t help but anticipate reading “… but you can’t make him drink.” When that expectation is subverted the reader is ever so slightly confused, but there’s something pleasant about looking at something old in a new way. We’re a curious species. \n\nLeigh Anne Jasheway uses the title of Sarah Snell Cooke’s Credit Union Times article as an example: “You Can Lead a Horse to Water But You Can’t Make Him THINK.” She writes:\n\n\nA final example because I love his writing: The title to Terry Pratchett’s book “The Fifth Elephant.”\n\n2. Comparisons\n\nIn Five Practical Tips on Writing Humor Alex Shvartsman writes that the comparison joke is a writer’s best friend. His example: \n\n\nThat’s good. As Alex Shvartsman points out, your audience has to know a bit about both the Game of Thrones and Twitter for this joke to work, but if they do, it’s funny. \n\n3. The Absurd and Hyperbole\n\nWoody Allen in his article, Money Can Buy Happiness—As If, writes:\n\n“The final tragedy was Milo Vorpich. When Merrill Lynch went under, Vorpich put everything he owned into his mattress. All deposits and withdrawals were made from his Sealy Posturepedic.”\n\nThat made me smile. The image of a banker making deposits and withdrawals from ... not just a mattress, but a specific kind of mattress, a Sealy Posturepedic. It’s absurd. The two ideas the joke is based on (keeping money in a mattress and someone making deposits and withdrawals from a bank account) are perfectly normal, but put them together and the result is pleasantly absurd.\n\nThe openings classified:\n\nI promised I would talk about which principles were involved in the examples I chose, so lets go through them. I’ll look at three things: a. repetition, b. comparison, c. the absurd.\n\n1. (“I don’t know how other men feel about their wives walking out on them, but I helped mine pack.”) \n\na. Repetition. The first part of the sentence sets up an expectation. How do men usually feel about their wives leaving them? One imagines they’d be sad. Manville subverts this expectation. There’s no repetition here, but, still, the first part of the sentence is strong enough to set up a clear expectation.\n\nb. There is a comparison. How other men feel vs how the narrator feels.\n\nc. The absurd. Yes, I think this qualifies. Not many men would help their wives pack ... well, unless their idea of helping was to throw her things out the window!\n\n2. (“I come from Des Moines. Somebody had to.”) \n\nThe principles involved, here, seem essentially identical to (1). Again, there’s no repetition as such, but whatever I expected to read after the first sentence, it wasn’t “Somebody had to.”) Also, there seems to be an implicit comparison, the people who come from Des Moines (if we are to believe the author, a set of one) and everyone else. I’m not sure, though, if suggesting that no one other than the author has left the town qualifies as absurd. \n\n3. (“For the better part of my childhood, my professional aspirations were simple. I wanted to be an intergalactic princess.”)\n\nI’m beginning to see a pattern here! It seems that what all the sentences I chose as examples share is: they subverted my expectations in a way I thought was clever.\n\nThat’s it! If you have an example of a humorous opening you especially liked, please share it.\n\nMy series on story openings is nearly done, only one is left: archetypes. I’ll try and get to that on Monday. Thanks for reading!\n\nPhoto credit: \"Laughing Up A Storm\" by JD Hancock under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0.\n\nThursday, November 13\n\nSix Ways To Begin A Story: Character Driven Openings\n\nSix Ways To Begin A Story: Character Driven Openings\n\nThe Character Opening\n\nThe character story opening is my favorite kind of opening, though it’s arguably the trickiest to pull off. \n\nAt the moment I’m on a Gillian Flynn reading jag. Her books, all but the first, start out with strong, shocking, character descriptions. \n\nHere’s the first few lines of her second book, Dark Places:\n\n\nDark Places is (or so it seems to me, I’m about 25% of the way through) a mystery wrapped in a horror story. But not supernatural horror, not the kind one can laugh off after leaving the theater. This is about something that feels real, the sort of thing we hear about on the news and are enraged by, or crushed by, for a few hours or days until the ebb and flow of our daily lives draws us back and makes us forget the evil that lurks beneath the skin. \n\nGillian Flynn smashes off a chunk of that evil and forms her all-too-human characters with it.\n\nBut perhaps horror isn’t your cup of tea. (It would make a nasty cuppa, black and bitter and deadly.)\n\nHis jaw was long and bony ...\n\nHere’s one of my favorite first paragraphs:\n\n\nYes, this is also a descriptive opening, but it gives us a peek (if I may put it like this) into the protagonist’s soul. It gives us a broad hint at exactly how difficult Sam would be to manipulate and how far he might take things. \n\nWhy Do These Openings Work?\n\nI want to write a longer post on why certain openings are effective but, here, I’d say that both openings surprise (perhaps even shock) the reader. Also, both openings have an intimate tone. And both these protagonists are, let’s face it, strange.\n\nMost importantly, though, each opening raises questions.\n\nIn Dark Places the question is one of nature vs nurture. One asks: Why does the protagonist (Libby Day) have a meanness inside her? Is she correct, is it a matter of who she is, a matter of her blood? Is it the case that there’s something wrong with her and it doesn’t matter what she does, it’s always going to be there? Or perhaps something, something horrible, happened in her past, something that changed her, that warped her. Something that, perhaps, can be at least partially undone. And if so, what was it?\n\nThis is a terrific opener for the book because those questions form the core, the irregularly beating heart, of the story. They never go away, they just become more and more urgent. \n\nCharacter openings are infrequent\n\nThere are good reasons to not start a story off by looking into the soul of the main character. Many folks need their curiosity peeked first, they need to know a bit about the underlying story before they can be interested in a particular character.\n\nThe power of plot vs the power of characterization\n\nI don’t believe there is any tension between characterization and plot; one can’t have strong characters without plot because plot flows naturally from the conflicts between strong characters. That said, I do think a story can be suspenseful in the absence of strong characterization. \n\nDon’t believe me? Read Stephen King’s retelling of “The Hook” (found in Danse Macabre), an urban myth that has a strong plot (that has narrative drive, suspense, etc.) but hardly any characterization. I wanted to reproduce it here but it was too long. If you do, imagine you and your friends are leaning forward into the warmth of a dying fire while one of you tells the tale. \n\n(Here is a link to The Hook over at Wikipedia; it’s not as good as Stephen King’s retelling but it will give you an idea what the story is if you’ve never heard it before.)\n\nHere’s King’s comment:\n\n“The story of The Hook is a simple, brutal classic of horror. It offers no characterization, no theme, no particular artifice; it does not aspire to symbolic beauty or try to summarize the times, the mind, or the human spirit. [...] No, the story of The Hook exists for one reason and one reason alone: to scare the shit out of little kids after the sun goes down.” (Stephen King, Danse Macabre)\n\nAnd I think Stephen King would agree that the same could be said for most urban myths.\n\nWhy does The Hook work? Call it whatever you want, dramatic tension, narrative drive or suspense. \n\nMy point (yes, there is one!) is that we often need whatever it is that the story of The Hook possesses, we need it at the beginning of the story to seduce readers into caring about the characters, to get the story rolling. \n\n\nI’m not putting this forward as a rule (there are no rules in writing) and as we’ve seen, some authors are brilliant at character introductions, so I would never try and discourage someone from starting their story off this way. It’s just, depending on the story and the style of the writer, more difficult to grab readers from the very first sentence.\n\nOften writers reach for something shocking or contradictory or, failing that, something that frustrates our expectations and makes us think, something that gets us turning pages, something that gets us to care about the characters. Because, ultimately, it’s all about the characters.\n\nSo. That’s my take on why most openings are plot oriented rather than character oriented. Tomorrow we’ll take a look at humorous openings and try to pin down what makes something funny.\n\nPhoto credit: \"Chihuahua\" by kenichi nobusue under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0.\n\nMonday, November 10\n\nWriting And The Three Secrets of Magic\n\nWriting And The Three Secrets of Magic\n\nI’m going to take a break from my series on story openings (I’ll come back to that on Wednesday) to look at what Ferdinando Buscema calls the three secrets of magic. I want to look at how these principles might help you as a writer.\n\nBefore I do that, though, let me tell you why this subject interests me. When we write—at least, when we write fiction—we create. We create entire worlds and populate them with continents and people and cultures and social norms and ... well, everything.\n\nIn doing so—the purpose of all this creation—is to create a reality for our readers. Yes, sure, it’s a reality you can’t hold in your hand or react with in any sort of physical way, but it does, still, have a certain sort of shadowy (or not so shadowy) existence. \n\nSince Ferdinando Buscema’s three secrets of magic are about how imagination can create reality, I thought they might be interesting to writers.\n\nReady? Here they are:\n\nFerdinando Buscema’s Three Secrets of Knowledge\n\n1. “Reality is not always what it seems to be.”\n\nI would agree with that. Gestalt psychology teaches us that what we see depends as much upon our mind as it does our eyes. Take, for example, the rabbit-duck illusion.\n\nWhen one first sees this image one sees either a rabbit or a duck (or, if you’re like me, a mass of nonsensical squiggles). After a while though, if one looks at it long enough and concentrates upon the lines of the drawing, one can often come to see the lines as forming both a rabbit and a duck. \n\nAt this point you might be wondering: Who cares? The point is that our mind, our expectations, influence what we see as much (or perhaps more than) what is ‘out there.’ And that’s ... well, mind-blowing!\n\nFerdinando Buscema writes:\n\n“[For all of] history men questioned [...] the nature of reality. Is reality only what we can see with our own eyes and touch with our hands? Or is there more than meets the eye? Maybe there are things that exist even if we don’t perceive them directly. Over the ages, mankind created many narratives, different stories to explore the concept of reality. Be it Plato’s Myth of the Cave, or the Veil of Maya of Eastern philosophies, or modern cinema renderings of The Matrix or The Truman Show, these different narratives point their finger towards the same conclusion: our perceptions are limited and any model of reality we design is a pale representation of what’s “out there”. Explicitly, the function of art and the role of the artist is to interpret reality through his own point of view, showing novel slices of reality that others might not get through their limited eyes. In the words of Paul Klee ‘Art does not reproduce what is visible, it makes things visible.’”\n\n2. “Imagination creates reality.”\n\nWhen I first read this I was skeptical. For me reality—external reality—is filled with kickables (like this table I’m writing on) that are made of atoms which combine to make molecules, and so on. \n\nThough I do absolutely believe that, for example, one’s reactions to another person, what one imagines they’ve said, or their imagined motivations, can decide what will follow. It could be a fight. It could be a reconciliation. It could be complete indifference depending upon the mindset of each individual. \n\nIn that sense, I believe how we perceive the world, how we imagine it to be, can create reality. Which is one reason it’s often a good rule of thumb to assume the best (but still prepare for the worst).\n\nFerdinando Buscema writes:\n\n“I believe that every artist, of every school and at any time, agrees with this. [Our imaginations] [...] shape reality and navigate through the multiplicity of planes. In the wonderful words of musician Peter Gabriel, “All of the buildings and all of the cars, were once just a dream in somebody’s head.” In other words, all that surrounds us, before manifesting in the material and objective reality, was born in the form of an idea, an intuition, a thought or a vision in someone’s mind. And so, believing in magic – which sounds like an outdated superstition – means believing in the supreme power of the imagination to shape reality. As neurosciences has validated, to a great extent, we are and we become what we think.”\n\nJust the other day as I was reading about Amazon’s latest gadget, the Echo, it struck me how many things we have in todays society that wouldn’t be there except for someone’s idea, someone’s imagination. For me, the Echo is very much like the communicator on Star Trek. Yes, Amazon Echo is much bigger—one can’t pin it on one’s shirt—but its mind is the cloud; the device itself is just a fancy speaker. \n\nThat’s just one example. When I first saw the iPad I thought: that’s Picard’s tablet!\n\nIn this sense (and likely many others) what we think, what we imagine, most definitely shapes reality. (Or perhaps we could say that it shapes our future reality.)\n\n3. “Reality is made of words.”\n\nThis is the statement I had the most trouble with. My table is not made up of words, it’s made up of atoms which form molecules, and so on. But I think I was being too literal. Here’s what Ferdinando Buscema has to say about it:\n\n“Magic is the art of the word that enchants and has concrete effects upon the world. The words that we speak shape our reality more deeply than we generally acknowledge. [...]  Nowadays, along with the traditionally known languages, we have witnessed the emergence of a new breed of codes whose effects on reality are absolutely concrete. I’m talking about computer programming languages. These nomad codes are the new esoteric languages, which are totally obscure and mysterious to whoever is not initiated into the technology. [...]\n\n“Be it words or computer codes, reality is ultimately made of symbols. We navigate in a forest of symbols, which are abstract entities, whose effects upon reality are absolutely concrete, as anyone who is working in branding or advertising knows very well.”\n\nCertainly I think this is true for one’s perceptions of reality, or perhaps (to put it another way) one’s internal reality. (Which would seem to imply that one can separate the observer from the observed, but I’m okay with that.)\n\nKeri Smith and her book, “The Imaginary World of ___.”\n\nI read about Ferdinando Buscema’s three secrets of magic in Keri Smith’s wonderful book, Keri Smith’s wonderful book, “The Imaginary World of ___,” which, in a way, is all about change and the art of creation.\n\nCreation and Change\n\nChange is good, right? Certainly if you’re writing a story you want things to happen. Without change there’s no movement, without movement, there’s stasis. And that’s just dullsville.\n\nHow do we instigate change? Change in ourselves, change in the world? To paraphrase Keri Smith:\n\nOne instigates change by imagining something different.\n\nIt doesn’t matter what is imagined, as long as it’s something new.\n\nViewed this way we can see that being a writer is the most profoundly powerful and exciting profession possible.\n\nThink about it. If Keri Smith and Ferdinando Buscema are correct about imagination creating reality then we would have the power “to transform society and culture at large with our words and ideas.”\n\nAs Keri notes, if we really got behind this idea we would be be modern alchemists. She writes: “Just by documenting our ideas, we can begin the process of change.”\n\nWhat are you waiting for?\n\nNote: At the end of my last post I promised my next one would be about how to use the Tarot to get ideas for writing a scene. I’m still going to write that post! Probably next week, either Wednesday or Friday. Stay tuned!\n\nPhoto credit: \"... itty-bitty living space.\" by JD Hancock under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0.\n\nSaturday, November 8\n\nSix Ways To Begin A Story: Puzzle Openings\n\nSix Ways To Begin A Story: Puzzle Openings\n\nOn the 31st I began a series on Story Openings and claimed—boldly—that there were six. Well, more or less six; I suppose it depends on how one looks at it. Today I’d like to examine what I’m calling the Puzzle opening. (Here is the first post in this series: Six Ways to Begin a Story.)\n\nPuzzle Openings\n\n I think of a puzzle opening as any kind of opening which isn’t primarily a description or that doesn’t primarily communicate conflict but which has been constructed to disorient and intrigue the reader.[1]\n\nThis can be done in a number of ways. For instance, by mentioning something impossible (or very unlikely) so the reader wonders, “What’s going on here, how can that be?” and reads on.\n\nExample 1: 1984\n\n\nWhen I first read this sentence the mention of the clocks striking thirteen immediately got my attention. I was curious. What? Striking thirteen? It’s not an expression I had heard before.\n\n“Thirteenth stroke of the clock or \"thirteen strikes of the clock\" is a phrase, saying, and proverb to indicate that the previous events or \"strokes to the clock\" must be called into question.” (Thirteenth Stroke of the Clock, elaborates:\n\n“The thirteenth stroke here doesn't refer to military time but to an old saying. References to a thirteenth stroke of the clock indicate that some event or discovery calls into question everything previously believed. Put another way, the thirteenth stroke of the clock calls into question not only the credibility of itself but of the previous twelve.\n\n“But notice in this opening line that it isn't just one clock malfunctioning, but the clocks. Presumably all of them. In this world, the clocks striking thirteen is not an aberration, but a normal way of life.\n\n“In this way, Orwell subtly alerts the reader that statements of truth in this fictional society should be called into question.”\n\nHere’s another opening I think of as a puzzle opening ...\n\nExample 2: City of Glass\n\n“It was a wrong number that started it, the telephone ringing three times in the dead of night, and the voice on the other end asking for someone he was not.” (City of Glass by Paul Auster)\n\nHere the protagonist gets a call from a stranger, a call that was intended for someone else. But this event sets the events of the book in motion. The question: How could a wrong number do this? Did he know the caller? Did the caller not believe him when he denied being who the caller believed he was? What was the call about? And so on.\n\nOr (and this is my favorite) ...\n\nExample 3: Peter Pan\n\n“All children, except one, grow up.” (Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie)\n\nThe question raised: Why doesn’t this child grow up? What is special about him? I found the idea fascinating and tragic. (Tragic because, at the time, there was nothing I wanted more than to grow up. Oh how things change. ;)\n\nOf course there’s a certain amount of overlap. To me the first line of Kafka’s “Metamorphosis” is more about conflict than it is a puzzle but it also contains a puzzle: How on earth did this happen? Though, of course, the story is more about what happens than why it happened or even what kind of critter Gregor Samsa became.\n\nThat’s it! We’ve covered descriptive openings, conflict filled openings, puzzle openings. In the not too distant future I’ll cover archetypal openings, character driven openings and humorous openings. I think, though, that in my next post I’ll explore the tarot and how writers can use it to get inspiration for a scene.\n\n\n1. I want to stress that when I say an opening is of a certain kind, say a descriptive opening, I don’t mean to imply it doesn’t, for example, contain elements of conflict.\n\nphoto credit: \"SuperFolie\" by Joan Sorolla under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0.\n\nThursday, November 6\n\nReimagining Fairytales\n\nReimagining Fairytales\n\nI’ve always been in love with the idea of re-imagining one of the fairytales I adored as a child, telling it again in a way that preserved what made me love it in the first place but bringing it into the present day. I think that might be why I took to urban fantasy like a fish to water.\n\nVarious Ways To Transform A Story\n\nI mentioned, above, bringing a fairytale into the present—that is, changing the setting—but there are other ways to transform a story. A writing site I discovered recently ( published a terrific article: 6 Tips for Re-Imagining a Classic Story. What follows was inspired by that article.\n\nMake a list of tropes used in the story.\n\nIf you’re not sure what tropes were used, or you’re not completely sure what a trope is, is your friend. It has every trope in existence and helpful souls have already broken many tales, both modern and classical, into their constituent tropes. (See, for example, their analysis of the tropes in Snow White—if you’re looking for the Disney version, go here.)\n\nNow play with the story by adding new tropes or by removing existing ones.\n\nChange one of the key elements of the story.\n\nI’ve already mentioned changing the setting and reimagining the story in the modern era, but one could also change the plot. For example, we could re-visit the story of Little Red Riding Hood but at some time before or after her encounter with the wolf.\n\nOr—something which would be all kinds of fun and so, as one would expect, has been done quite a bit—we could re-imagine the plot and, say, change the ending.\n\nAnother option still is to tinker with the characters themselves and make, for instance, Little Red the villain of the piece.\n\nExamples of successful re-imaginings. \n\nYou’re likely familiar with one amazingly successful attempt to reimagine a classic tale: BBC’s version of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories (Sherlock). But there are many other shows in this vein, Sleepy Hollow for instance. There are others, many others, but these two I love and look forward to new episodes with an almost religious fervor.\n\nBy the way, I took a peek at a review of “Dust City” by Robert Paul Weston and came across this line: “When your dad is the wolf who killed Little Red Riding Hood, life is no fairytale.” That line makes me want to read the book.\n\nHave you ever re-imagined a classic tale? How’d it go? If you’d like to share your experience, or if you have any tips to share, please leave a comment.\n\nPhoto credit: \"Where's William Shatner? Star Wars VI\" by JD Hancock under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.538536548614502}
+{"content": "Captain Guiseppe Romano\n\nTalean Air Sailor and Captain of the Eternal Vigilance\n\n\nCaptain Guiseppe Romano is the captain of the Eternal Vigilance, the airship owned by the Passion’s Champions. He was referred to the PCs by Captain Hanso K’tanga of The Heart of Gold, and has proven to be every bit as capable and competent as she promised.\n\nCaptain Romano hails from the Theran province of Talea. He was “adopted” by Captain K’tanga during her travels there many years ago, and started his service to her as a lowly cabin boy. He quickly proved himself more than just an average ship hand when the crew fell afoul of a Theran slave trading vessel, and Guiseppe took up arms to defend the ship alongside the full crew members. During the battle, Captain K’tanga recognized the boy’s potential and began his training as an Adept. During the many years he traveled on The Heart of Gold, he used his Human versatility to learn other useful Talents, and focused on mastering as many languages as he could, including learning the Elemental Tongues talent to allow him to communicate with Air Elementals. His natural Human curiosity also drove him to learn everything he could about each new culture the crew visited, and he is an undisputed expert in the customs and traditions of every culture and race from Marac to Shosara, and several others to boot.\n\nCaptain Romano is a shrewd trader and businessman as well as a skilled Air Sailor. He knows the trading laws and customs of dozens of races and cultures around the world, and is established as a respected businessman in his own right within Barsaive and Vivane Province. He has worked closely with Sigurd and Brimmel on securing lucrative contracts to maintain the Vigilance’s crew and operating costs. He knows well that his cargo space is limited, so he focuses on the advantages offered by the Vigilance’s crew & owners – the best security silver can buy. He often arranges special transport for smaller, more valuable items rather than the bulk shipping that other airship operators pursue. He’s more likely to take on a chest full of Elemental Air kernels, or a rare and powerful Thread Item. The business is limited, but the margins are higher, and he often uses the reputation of the Passion’s Champions as a bargaining chip when raising the price on a deal.\n\nPersonally, Captain Romano is a rather private person. He worships the Talean Passion Prima, but gives respect to the other Passions of other lands, especially when in those lands. He does not discuss his devotion to Prima with anyone else. He is a strict taskmaster to his crew, but he is also generous and devoted to them, and Valaria has found that privately he worries more about them and their futures than he lets on, rather like an adoptive father. He is always deferential and professional with the Passion’s Champions, recognizing that they own the vessel he operates, and he takes care to defer to them when necessary and not to burden them when unnecessary.\n\nWith the rest of the Passion’s Champions, Captain Romano is always courteous and professional. He has never failed to follow through on a promise or a commitment he has made, and takes such promises very seriously. He has worked closely with Valaria, remodeling and outfitting the ship, and he also asked her to teach him the Eagle Eye Talent. After the Iopan War, he fought alongside her and the other PCs in Cara Fahd, battling the slavers of the Iron Legacy. He has great respect for Nazeer’s keen eye and knowledge of the land, and for Sigurd’s great strength. He did grumble at length when the Vigilance was outfitted with a forge, but has accepted it. He is polite to Trostlos, but tends to keep his distance from the Archmage. He does not enter into any of Trostlos’ dedicated sorcery or summoning spaces, instead sending another crew member if he needs him.\n\nCaptain Romano is portrayed by Pierce Brosnan.\n\nGM Commentary:\n\nCaptain Romano exists so that the PCs don’t have to manage their own airship. There are some details that simply don’t belong in a high fantasy game, at least for the players. The extra details about the ships management were put in for Mitch, who started trying to control every single detail of the ship’s finances and who declared to me that the ship couldn’t afford to stay afloat and all the crew would desert…..schmuck. I made Romano a worshiper of Prima so that when the Passions get killed, he won’t be affected as he was not a worshiper of thiers, and thus the ship still has competent management. For some stupid reason, I can never remember his name in game….\n\nCaptain Guiseppe Romano\n\nEarthDawn - The Age of Legends MightyBakuDan", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7186633348464966}
+{"content": "Technology Nowadays News: Buona Vigilia di Natale a tutti voi!\n\nOkay, that’s great, but I need to know how can I use tracking and computer vision techniques on Earth, rather than on Mars? Computer vision as a field of recognition, which includes object recognition, detection and identification, which is used for security identifications, but in modern research in biology and medicine, especially for early detection of various abnormalities and disease, that people would not be able to do. Various feature extraction algorithms can be of use to marketing retailers and researches in various scientific disciplines like psychology, to detect emotions and other data from sets of images or videos. More on, assistive technologies nowadays incorporate various tracking algorithms to help people with disabilities to use computers and mobile devices easily. Even when you tag your friends on Facebook or Instagram, you’re dealing with computer vision algorithms, that include facial recognition and object recognition techniques.\n\nSs compare technology in the past and technology nowadays:\n\nTechnology nowadays is, if anything, Interesting\n\nMole removal! Technology nowadays\n\nIn today's working world, it's difficult to find better jobs because of many competitions. Every company requires workers with a variety of skills. Some professionals develop their skills over a considerable period of time and had worked for many years. However, employers are not only looking for experienced workers but also for the qualifications and the acquired skills in dealing new technologies nowadays.\n\nWhat are the latest technologies nowadays? - Quora\n\nWith war being driven by technology nowadays, the CW has upgraded its curriculum to reckon with the best in the world, even throwing some surprises to the visiting foreign armies. The use of paint ball guns, gen-next rock climbing gadgets, and cameras for room intervention are some of the training gadgets used.\n\nBoth technologies nowadays are playing on level ground regarding the popular 40-50 inch size range\nPeople can hardly imagine their lives without modern technologies nowadays\n\nTechnology Now | Hardware, Software & Consulting\n\nThe existing diverse technologies nowadays are of great help for the development of any human activity, either it is industrial or not\n\nNow Technologies Ltd.™ | Website Design & Computer Support\n\nTechnologies nowadays have a huge impact on our lives; the way we communicate and the way we maintain the relations among ourselves\n\nThen and Now: How Technology Has Changed Our Lives | CIO", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8218474388122559}
+{"content": "City Intelligence\n\nBy | Algemeen | No Comments\n\n\nThe cities of the future will be huge and dense and the statistics paint a bleak future.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAutonomous and Intelligent\n\nBy | Algemeen | No Comments\n\nAlthough the burgeoning impact of robotics and autonomy has been evident for some time, we are now recognizing the rapidly accelerating emergence of robotics, artificial intelligence, and autonomy in our daily lives.\n\nFossil records demonstrate the sudden appearance – about 542 million years ago – of complex animals with mineralized skeletal remains. Some describe this Cambrian Explosion as the most significant event in Earth’s evolutionary history, one that irreversibly changed the biosphere and led to a stunning diversity of body forms and types. Today, the impacts of robotics, artificial intelligence and autonomy – together with their derivatives, e.g., machine learning — are about to induce a metaphorical Cambrian Explosion of transformative capabilities and applications. However this will confront us with unanticipated, high-order consequences from external factors principally outside our control.\n\nThe original Cambrian Explosion’s transformative evolutionary developments were triggered by a complex interplay of relatively small environmental changes, and the emergence of nervous networks, and the ability to move and interact with the world. A similarly complex interplay is clearly at work across the topics of robotics, artificial intelligence and autonomy as sensors, actuators, and processors get both cheaper and better. The fields of robotics, artificial intelligence and autonomy share a number of enabling technologies, research challenges, and future; it is difficult to discuss one in the absence of the others. Autonomous, for example, is a quality of a robotic system; autonomous swarms are typically multi-robotic configurations. Autonomous systems are inherently, and irreducibly, artificially intelligent robots.\n\nRobotics, artificial intelligence, and autonomy – far from narrow topics – are closely linked to a broad range of enabling / adjunct technologies. Although much of the technology development will occur in the very fragmented labs and innovation centers, there is a need to view robotics, artificial intelligence and autonomy as a holistic, seamless system. Technology will alter our fundamental thinking about science because of the exponential convergence of key technologies including …\n\n… Nanoscience and nanotechnology\n\n… Biotechnology and Biomedicine\n\n… Information Technology\n\n… Cognitive Science and Neuroscience\n\n… Quantum Science\n\nAutonomy can evolve from solutions that are reactive, single platform, point solutions under minimal human control to solutions that are flexible, multi-modal, and goal-oriented featuring trusted man-machine collaboration, distributed autonomy and continuous learning.\n\n  • Fully : Human Out of the Loop: no ability for human to intervene in real time\n  • Supervised Autonomous: Human on the Loop: humans can intervene in real time\n  • Semi-Autonomous: Human in the Loop: machines wait for human input before taking action. Augmented Teleoperation. A mode of operation wherein the human operator leverages video or other sensory feedback to directly control the actuators on a continuous basis\n  • Non-Autonomous (Remote Control): human in the loop via remote controls; no autonomy in system.\n\nA future that features ever more advanced human-robot-AI collaboration, a collaboration that in turn will accelerate the development of improved robotics and Artificial General Intelligence through rapid machine learning, adaptive controls, rapid algorithm development, and custom motion control systems. Novel mechanisms and high performance actuators will emerge as new construction paradigms are merging component design to generate compact multi-function systems that are both highly capable and energy efficient. Human-robotic system interaction will include conversational assistants, intent and emotion recognition, augmented reality, self-aware explainable systems, and multi-modal communications. Intelligent networks will develop to distributed, interconnected entities that have goals, sense their environment, identify constraints and threats, and plan and execute adaptive actions through the leverage of autonomy, artificial intelligence and robotics\n\nClearly humans and these technologies are destined to co-evolve. No aspect of our current existence will remain untouched. Humans will be augmented in many ways: physically, via exoskeletons, perceptionally, via direct sensor inputs, genetically, via AI-enabled gene-editing technologies such as CRISPR, and cognitively via AI.  Human reality will be a blended one in which physical and digital environments, media and interactions are woven together in a seamless integration of the virtual and the physical. As daunting – and worrisome – as these technological developments might seem, there will be an equally daunting challenge in the co-evolution between man and machine: the co-evolution of trust. We can expect autonomy to evolve from solutions that are reactive, single platform, point solutions under minimal human control to solutions that are flexible, multi-modal, and goal-oriented featuring trusted man-machine collaboration, distributed autonomy and continuous learning. Trusted man-machine collaboration will require validation of system competence, a process that will take our legacy test and verification procedures far beyond their current limitations. Humans will expect autonomy to be nonetheless directable, and will expect autonomous systems to be able to explain the logic for their behavior, regardless of the complexity of the deep neural networks that motivate it. These technologies in turn must be able to adapt to user abilities and preferences, and attain some level of human awareness (e.g., cognitive, physiological, emotional state, situational knowledge, intent recognition). Another consideration is how we should treat intelligent machines. Do humans have to empathize with robotic systems, especially when the systems resemble humans or pets?\n\n\n\n\nHow high are the stakes?\n\nBy | Algemeen | No Comments\n\nHumanity is at the beginning of a technological revolution that is evolving at a much faster pace than earlier ones, and that is so far reaching it is destined to generate transformations we can only begin to imagine. Emerging technologies will change what have seemed to be the fundamental constants of human nature: in fact, they already are and, as a result, it now seems possible to drastically improve human memory, cognitive processes, and physical and intellectual capacities—even to the extent of extending our life expectancy to such a degree that it may actually change our concept of mortality. Offering absolutely new perspectives for the human species, including a move towards a post-human era in which people, with enormously augmented capacities, will coexist with artificial intelligences that surpass human intelligence and will be able to reproduce autonomously, generating even more intelligent offspring—a situation known as the singularity. Another possibility that is increasingly close to hand is the expansion of human, or post-human, life beyond our planet, as well as contact with other intelligences in different parts of the universe. The possibilities are enormous, but the questions they raise for humankind are equally significant.\n\nPossibilities for all, or for some?\n\nMany technologies currently deployed and being developed deserve more careful attention because they have the potential to (re)construct humans and society on an unprecedented scale and scope.\n\nConceiving of vulnerability as a precondition of being and becoming human – as an ontological given – bound by the fact that we are relational beings, exposed to one another. We are exposed, that is, by virtue of being finite, dependent and limited; and that exposure and vulnerability are what constitutes us as moral beings. Does (our) life requires need to undergo a final upgrade, to be master of its own destiny, finally fully free from its evolutionary shackles?\n\n\nTechnology is seen as a continuation of human evolution. By way of consequence, a deep symbiosis between human and machine up to the emergence of post-human entities might occur. The distinction between human enhancement and technological innovation will fade and lead to a modification of the paradigm of hybridization technological innovation.\n\n\n\nAI Caliber 2) Artificial General Intelligence (AGI): Sometimes referred to as Strong AI, or Human-Level AI, Artificial General Intelligence refers to a computer that is as smart as a human across the boarda machine that can perform any intellectual task that a human being can. Creating AGI is a much harder task than creating ANI, and we’re yet to do it. Professor Linda Gottfredson describes intelligence as a very general mental capability that, among other things, involves the ability to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, comprehend complex ideas, learn quickly, and learn from experience. AGI would be able to do all of those things as easily as you can.\n\nAI Caliber 3) Artificial Superintelligence (ASI): Oxford philosopher and leading AI thinker Nick Bostrom defines superintelligence as an intellect that is much smarter than the best human brains in practically every field, including scientific creativity, general wisdom and social skills. Artificial Superintelligence ranges from a computer that’s just a little smarter than a human to one that’s trillions of times smarter—across the board. ASI is the reason the topic of AI is such a spicy meatball and why the words “immortality” and “extinction” will both appear in these posts multiple times.\n\nAs of now, humans have conquered the lowest caliber of AI—ANI—in many ways, and it’s everywhere. The AI Revolution is the road from ANI, through AGI, to ASI—a road that will change many things in our lives.\n\nIn any case the proliferation of intelligent artifacts, systems, and devices that are context-aware and self-adjusting creates a paradigm change. Priority seems to develop intelligent technologies that improve health, comfort, and security. More tailored to meet individuated demands and market requirements. In this perspective the premises and the main concepts of transhumanism can be easily identified: human nature is the subject of innovation and transformations. Promoting a certain pragmatism concerning exponential technologies linked to solving stringent human problems. On the other hand, it maintains the transhumanist view on innovation when it emphasizes human enhancement. This becomes visible in the idea of human enhancement and in the artificial intelligence research.\n\nAfter 13.8 billion years of cosmic evolution, development has accelerated dramatically here on Earth: Life 1.0 arrived about 4 billion years ago, Life 2.0 (we humans) arrived about a hundred millennia ago, and many AI researchers think that Life 3.0 may arrive during the coming century, perhaps even during our lifetime, spawned by progress in AI. What will happen, and what will this mean for us?\n\nA change in different directions, a new consciousness, a new worldview. It will continue to be daunting. But it is doubtful that this will require a Brave New World of centralized global moral enhancement schemes: instead, managing our emerging biomedical enhancement abilities begins with the tedious real world tasks of learning to live with human difference and meet human needs.\n\n\n\n\nBy | Algemeen | No Comments\n\nCities must rethink themselves in the context of planetary change. From a planetary perspective, the emergence and rapid expansion of cities across the globe may represent another turning point in the life of our planet. Our knowledge of the complex nature of the urban system is still insufficient and we need a deep understanding of what is going on in our cities. Cities are being transformed so fast and the transformations are but a surface change hiding processes touching virtually everything from (among others) social networks to physical and functional changes which go unnoticed. The sophistication we discern in the city is similar to that in many natural and man-made systems which we might call complex, and any attempt to imagine it would fail if it is not based on an explanation which is valid for all these systems. From here rises the core of research which relies on a thorough investigation of complexity theory in an attempt to understand cities as complex systems.\n\nWe tend to view our built and natural environments as opposing forces. This perceived incompatibility has more to do with lack of understanding urban dynamics than universal law. Far from being static, nature is the process of moving from few to many connections. In this successional process, each stage builds upon the previous stage and creates the conditions necessary for the next. In this way, ecological systems diverge, diversify, as new connections grow, the system expands, new possibilities emerge and the systems evolves over time.\n\n\nEarth’s atmosphere emerged from the metabolic process of vast numbers of single-celled algae and bacteria living in the seas billions of years ago. These organisms transformed the environment into a place where human life could develop. The evolution of life has completely changed the characteristics of the planet. Can humans now change the course of Earth’s evolution? Can the way we build cities determine the probability of crossing thresholds that will trigger non-linear, abrupt change on a planetary scale? What role do cities play in the evolution of Earth?\n\nTo function, life on Earth depends on the close cooperation of multiple elements, the properties of complex networks that supply resources, process waste, and regulate the system’s functioning at various scales of biological organization and evolving hierarchical fractal-like branching. Other characteristics of evolvable systems are flexibility (i.e. phenotypic plasticity), and novelty. The internal plasticity and flexibility of living systems, whose functioning is controlled by dynamic relations rather that rigid mechanical structures, gives rise to a number of characteristic properties that can be seen as different aspects of the same dynamic principle-the principle of self-organization. A living organism is a self- organizing system, which means that its order in structure and function is not imposed by the environment but is established by the system itself. Self-organizing systems exhibit a certain degree of autonomy; for example, they tend to establish their size according to internal principles of organization, independent of environmental influences. This does not mean that living systems are isolated from their environment; on the contrary, they interact with it continually, but this interaction does not determine their organization. The two principal dynamic phenomena of self-organization are 1) self- renewal-the ability of living systems continuously to renew and recycle their components while maintaining the integrity of their overall structure-and 2) self- transcendence-the ability to reach out creatively beyond physical and mental boundaries in the processes of learning, development, and evolution. Each level of biological organization from molecules to ecosystems has characteristic behaviors which emerge at that level. These emergent properties, function synergistically at each level of organization to give that level a life of its own which is greater than the sum of its parts. The capacity for innovation is an essential precondition for any system to function. If systems lack the capacity for innovation and novelty, they may become over-connected and dynamically locked, unable to adapt. To be resilient and evolve, they must create new structures and undergo dynamic change. Differentiation, modularity, and cross-scale interactions of organizational structures have been described as key characteristics of systems that are capable of simultaneously adapting and innovating.\n\n\nWhat is the state of a social system? What are its stability domains? Social-system state is everything about a society at a particular place and time – culture, knowledge, economy, technology, perceptions, values and social organization. It is constantly fluctuating in some ways, while remaining more or less the same in other ways. Negative feedback loops keep social systems within stability domains imposed by particular cultural, political and economic systems while processes such as cultural evolution gradually change the shape of the domains. Social systems sometimes experience major switches from one stability domain to another. Social systems have complex system cycles in them self that range in scale from a small part of society to entire nations. Just as the scale varies, the time period of a cycle can vary from a few months to years or centuries. Human cultures also evolve. The mutations for cultures are new ideas. New ideas survive if they fit with the rest of the culture and prove useful. Whether or not an idea survives can depend on the situation. A new idea may survive successfully in one particular culture at one particular time and place, but the same idea may fail to survive in a different culture at a different time and place because it does not fit. Human cultural evolution can be much faster than biological evolution because cultural mutations are not random events like biological mutations. Cultural mutations are ideas that people develop to solve problems, so cultural mutations frequently fit the culture well enough, and function well enough, to survive and become part of the culture.\n\nSocial systems are autopoietic systems which use communication as their characteristic form of autopoietic generation. Policies can change dramatically during social system cycles. Policies are well developed and often rigid during equilibrium. During dissolution, people question existing policies and reject them as inadequate. New policies, even radically new frameworks, are formulated during reorganization.\n\nThe arrival of an intelligent responsive environment ads another factor, especially one containing autonomously mobile agents, requires changes which must affect people. This will inevitably bring the needs of the digital agent into conflict with the needs of the individual or society, just as cars require roads and regulations which gives them effective rights over people in some circumstances. Ambient intelligence systems may also require changes in human behaviour. Given the expected complexity and scale of a city’s ambient intelligence, there are likely to be many contexts in which we cannot distinguish between human-originated and self-determined needs of digital actants. It is likely that some needs will arise via a combination of human-originated and self-determined needs. It is likely that many human goals will be accomplished via methodologies which were self-determined by autonomous systems\n\n\nTo understand coevolution of human-natural-technological systems will require advancement in the evolution and social theories that explain how complex societies and cooperation have evolved. These coupled human-natural-technological systems are not governed only by either natural selection or human ingenuity alone, but by hybrid processes and mechanisms. It is their hybrid nature that makes them unstable and at the same time able to innovate. This novelty of hybrid systems is key to reorganization and renewal. A high degree of nonequilibrium is absolutely necessary for urban self-organization; living organisms are open systems that continually operate far from equilibrium. Fluctuations play a central role in the dynamics of self-maintenance. The hybrid urban system (like any complex adaptive evolving system) can be described in terms of interdependent variables, each of which can vary over a wide range between an upper and a lower limit. All variables oscillate between these limits, so that the system is in a state of continual fluctuation, even when there is no disturbance. Such a state is known as homeostasis. It is a state of dynamic, transactional balance in which there is great flexibility; in other words, the system has a large number of options for interacting with its environment.\n\nIn such a hybrid co-evolving system, is it possible to identify the real processes acting at the local scale interacting with transformations at the global scale? Yes, but it takes some effort… to convince people we can. To change our mind set. To jump.\n\n\nWhat might remain uniquely human? And does this question even matter?\n\nBy | Algemeen | No Comments\n\nWe live at an extraordinary moment in the natural history of the planet and the cultural evolution of our species.  From a geological or paleontological perspective, humanity’s brief sojourn on this planet is as dramatic and significant as the invention of photosynthesis some two billion years ago.  This is because human evolution bypasses genetics and allows for intentional culturally-acquired adaptations and their cultural transmission between generations. As humans are about to embark upon large-scale genetic engineering of other species and ourselves, even as we have already engaged in large-scale environmental engineering, our biocultural evolution becomes literal. This new pattern of evolution now dominates all life on Earth and places the values and intentions of humans as the driving force in the future evolution of the planet.  Due to the global engagement with advanced technology, we are witness to a species-wise blurring of boundaries at the edge of the human. We also find ourselves in a digital age in which human identity is being transformed through networked technological intervention, a large part of our consciousness transferred to ‘smart’ external devices.\n\nMany of the radical transformations in genetics, nanotechnology, biotechnology and related fields will be so disruptive that they can lead to a more frightening, unpredictable and chaotic world than ever before. An dystopian world of an unprecedented proliferation of quasi-human substitutes and surrogates, forming a spectrum of humanoids with fuzzy borders.\n\nExtraordinary opportunities and challenges face humanity– and more broadly life on Earth. With ever more potent capabilities will come ever greater responsibilities. But humans are notoriously bad at making good decisions when faced with plenty. We have yet to understand how to cope. Hercules eventually rescued poor Prometheus from his torture.\n\nIn the past four decades, technology has fundamentally altered our lives: from the way we work, to how we communicate, to how we fight wars. These technologies have not been without controversy, and many have sparked intense debates, often polarized or embroiled in scientific ambiguities or dishonest demagoguery. Inevitably, the emerging technologies of the future will redefine our understanding of biology, the material world and will further extend into geopolitics and global balances of power.\n\nHumanity is now at a crossroads that will determine its future path for centuries to come – survival or destruction, prosperity or collapse. A major change is coming, over unknown timescales but across every segment of society, and the people playing a part in that transition have a huge responsibility and opportunity to shape it for the best. Countless decisions must soon be made about how to address and navigate new forms of interaction with the future, in ways that transcend the borders between the physical, virtual, biological and digital. Discourse and decisions addressing:\n\n  • ethics and aesthetics of human enhancement;\n  • future of biological migration and transgressions;\n  • emergence of systems and synthetic biology;\n  • prospect of emotional and networked intelligence;\n  • and ecosystem responsibility.\n\nWe’ve reached a point where advances in converging technologies are raising at least or even more ethical questions than practical ones. There aren’t any clear or easy answers to these questions, and it’s going to take a lot more time and thought to create frameworks or guidelines for both the appropriate and inappropriate uses of these potentially life-changing technologies. Undoubtedly the discourse presents entirely new ethical dilemmas, including some we may not yet be ready to negotiate. But it could offer, at least, solutions to inequalities that we find intractable today and remain committed to sustainable development, taking into account issues of inequality, human dignity and inclusiveness.\n\nI remain confident that we are still in time and we can still prepare for the amazing yet uncertain future. What is definitely needed, among others things such as new skills, is initiating public discussions now.\n\n\nIt’s a smart city after all (4)\n\nBy | Algemeen | No Comments\n\nThe city is humanity’s greatest invention. An artificial ecosystem that enables millions of people to live in close proximity and to collaborate in the creation of new forms of value. While cities were invented many millennia ago, their economic importance has increased dramatically since the Industrial Revolution until they now account for the major fraction of the global economy. All human life is there and so the study of cities crosses boundaries among economics, finance, engineering, ecology, sociology, anthropology, and, well, almost all forms of knowledge. Yet, while we have great knowledge in each of these domains individually, we have little knowledge of how they come together in the overall system of systems that is a city. How does a city work?\n\nAt present, our urban theories provide a mixture of those that deal with the short term and the long term, with cities in equilibrium as well as out-of-equilibrium. There is, however, no sense in which there is an integrated scientific perspective making sense of how cities work. Central to this is the notion that cities are all about flows – about interactions and relationships – which underpin the patterns that we observe. There is now a clear imperative that suggests that as we observe and probe the city, and changing it, the models and analytics that we are using are changing the very systems that we are seeking to understand and manipulate. In the smart city, everything is contingent and changeable.\n\nApplying this imperative to city development/management requires important recognition that a city is not a complicated system, but a complex one. The majority of the systems present in the world are nonlinear in nature. Nonlinear science has origins in ecology, mathematics, general systems theory, cybernetics, fractal geometry and meteorology. Nonlinear means that due to feedback or multiplicative effects between the components, the whole becomes something greater than the mere sum of its individual parts. Network centric cities borrowed concepts from nonlinear theory to describe a system prone to exponential changes. It describes certain nonlinear dynamical systems as having a sensitivity to changes in initial conditions. Cities are myriad of interactions among its inhabitants, its infrastructures and affordances, its natural environment, and its public, private, and civic organizations.\n\n\nA complex system can be roughly understood as network of nodes, where the nodes themselves are interconnected to various degrees through single or multiple channels. This means that whatever happens in one node is transmitted through the network and is likely to impact other nodes to various degrees. The behavior of the system as a whole thus depends on the nodes, as well as the nature of the inter-linkages between them. The complexity of the system is influenced by a number of factors. These include the number of nodes, the number of inter-linkages, the nature of inter-linkages and the speed at which a stimulus or shock propagates to other nodes. Cities exhibit emergent characteristics that arise out of the interaction between its constituent parts.\n\nCities are highly complex, in fact they are complex and sociotechnical in nature. This means that, similarly to material and organic complex systems, cities exhibit the properties of natural complex systems and that many of the mathematical models developed to study natural complex systems also apply to cities. So what makes the city such a highly complex system? Cities differ from natural complex systems and suggest that, as a result, we have to include the cognitive, moral, emotional capabilities of urban agents in theorizing and simulating the dynamics of cities. In lieu of the more widespread complex adaptive system based on the influence of human interactions in cities, we can call urban systems complex evolving systems. Complex evolving systems work together to create new order and coherence, to sustain structure and to ensure its survival, particularly when its environment or social ecosystem is changing fast.\n\nCities exhibit a high number of complex evolving systems characteristics and are dual complex systems in four respects:\n\n  • Cities are composed of material components and human components. As a set of material components alone, the city is an artifact and as such a simple system; as a set of human components – the urban agents – the city is a complex evolving system. It is the urban agents that by means of their interaction – among themselves, with the city’s material components and with the environment – transform the artifact city into the complex artificial evolving system city.\n  • As a complex artificial evolving system the city emerges out of the interactional activities of its agents, but once it emerges, it affects the behavior of its agents and so on in circular causality. The city in this respect is a complex artificial environment. Furthermore, because of its size, the city is a large-scale collective and complex artifact that on the one hand interacts with its environment, while on the other it is an environment for the people that live and act in cities.\n  • Artifacts are not just the outcome of human interaction; rather they are also the media of interaction. The process involves, on the one hand, internal representations in the form of ideas, intentions, memories thoughts that originate and reside in the mind/brain of urban agents, while on the other, external representations, that is to say interferences such as economics, politics, technology, biophysical boundaries etc reside in the world.\n  • The city is a dual complex system also in the sense that the city as a whole is a complex system and each of its agents is also a complex system. The implication is that we have to include the cognitive capability of the urban agents in the dynamics of cities.\n\nAmong these are conceptual paradoxes. Many of these paradoxes take the form of the coexistence of properties that, in simpler contexts, appear to be incompatible. The essential role of understanding paradox in complex systems is to broaden our ability to conceive of the diversity of possibilities for our understanding of cities.\n\n\nAs mentioned emergent properties are a product of the interaction between the components within a system and typically cannot be deduced by reference to the properties of the parts. Thus, emergence typically produces novel phenomena that we could not have predicted until we ran the system and all the parts have interacted. We can fully analyze and understand how an individual change behaves, or what effects appear in isolation. But because cities are complex evolving systems where the behavior of the whole system is an emergent product of the interaction between its parts, we do not know what emergent behavior will arise from having many different algorithms interacting or different nodes coevolving within the whole system. The net result is an emergent phenomenon and we cannot deduce it from analyzing the parts in isolation.\n\nEmergence leads to one of the key concepts within complexity theory, that of uncertainty. The fact that the future emerges is a key source of the fundamental uncertainty within complex systems. In this world of complexity, the future is not just unknown. It may well be in fact unknowable, and this fundamental uncertainty changes our whole approach to the future.\n\n\nThe arrival of an intelligent responsive urban environment, especially one containing autonomously mobile agents, requires changes which must affect people. This will inevitably bring the needs of the digital agent into conflict with the needs of the individual or society. Ambient intelligence systems may also require changes in human behaviour, raising the possibility that our environment will train us to suit its needs. Hence control of the digital actants within the smart city’s actor-network can be expected to grant influence and power over the human actants.\n\nGiven the expected complexity and scale of a city’s ambient intelligence, there are likely to be many contexts in which we cannot distinguish between human-originated and self-determined needs of digital actants. This integrated domain is a socio-technical system in which humans and digital devices co-mingle in a manner such that it becomes impossible (or even meaningless) to identify the origins of patterns within the system as being either human or digital. This integrated domain is autopoietic.\n\n\nA smart city is a form of human society co-existing with an ambient digital environment, such that human perceptions, actions and intersubjectivity are unavoidably mediated and influenced by this ambient digital environment: the non-human domain of an autopoietic system of digital devices and networks based on the communicative triad  (three-stage process consisting of input, processing and output-. However, neither collective possesses strict boundaries against the other, but rather the two intermingle (hybrid systems which combine human and digital devices).\n\nThe close integration in the human society of a huge number range of devices, systems and deep integration of various ontological levels, from the individual nano-sensor to the global cloud, makes any model of the city more complex and inevitably incomplete.\n\nThe challenges in the development of smart cities are enormous. To deal with the smart city context, we need to handle this complexity. Much of the smart city rhetoric is phrased in terms of achieving a better quality of life for citizens, but the debate is strangely silent about questions of segregation, inequality and poverty, and tends to focus more on accessibility and economic opportunity. This is further magnified by the lack of discussion on the expectations and the human lived experience and effects of the deep fusion of digital cognitive processes with human deliberations.\n\nSmart cities must prepare for change that will be revolutionary, rather than evolutionary, as they put in place next-generation systems that work in entirely new ways. In this urbanizing world, smart cities are gaining greater control over their development; those that become the most successful are those that have instrumented and interconnected core systems. The next wave of innovations will be from humans’ ability to connect to machines and the data that comes from these connections.\n\n\nIt’s a smart city after all (3)\n\nBy | Algemeen | No Comments\n\nModern humans are a sociocultural species living in a sociocultural world on a used planet.\n\nWe live in exciting times. We now exist in an era when humans (anthropos) have fundamentally changed the geology of the earth and are present in almost all ecosystems. We have developed an energy consuming techno-social system that is comprised of humans, technological artifacts, and technological systems, together with the links, protocols and information that bind all these parts together: the sprawling combination of humanity and its technology. Technological advances have made data collection easier and cheaper than we could ever have imagined just 10 years ago. We can now synthesize and analyze large data sets containing genomes, transcriptomes, proteomes, and multivariate phenotypes. In our thousands of years of harnessing technology – including the first technologies like stone tools, wheels and crops – the technology itself has basically begun to act practically independently, creating a new sphere (i.e., like the biosphere or atmosphere or lithosphere), but like nothing the planet has ever seen before. Simultaneously scientific and technological innovations and economic policies promoting growth at all costs have created a consumption and production vortex on a collision course with the Earth system.\n\nWe are pushing life on our shared planet toward overshooting biophysical boundaries, mass extinction and society’s need for the results of integrated research has never been greater. Solutions to many of the world’s most pressing problems— food and drinking water for a global population, coping with climate change, preserving ecosystems and biodiversity, curing and preventing genetically based diseases—will rely heavily on our scientific and technological advantages across disciplines.\n\nWithout intending to, human societies evolved the capacity to force Earth into the Anthropocene. Fundamental changes on a planetary system scale have already begun. The very considerable uncertainty is how long these will last – whether they will simply be a brief, unique excursion in Earth history, or whether they will persist and evolve into a new, geologically long-lasting, planetary state.\n\nHuman actions increasingly directing evolution.\n\nThe Anthropocene marks one of the major events in a planet’s life, when self-aware cognitive processes become a key part of the way the planet functions.\n\nThe principal cause of the Anthropocene is social, rooted in the exceptional capacities of Earth’s first ultrasocial species: modern humans. The key is not the rise of technology alone, but rather humanity’s incredibly rich social life. Our socialness is the major driving force behind the changes on the planet we are witnessing today.\n\nHuman societies have transformed Earth because their social capacities to construct the human ecological niche have scaled up and intensified through long-term processes of evolution by natural selection. The human ecological niche is thus largely sociocultural, constructed and enacted within, across and by individuals, social groups and societies based on socially learned behaviors. Long-term changes in the structure and functioning of human societies and their transformation of environments is the product of evolution acting on these processes of sociocultural niche construction. Human societies have evolved a tremendous diversity of complex cultural forms, all with profoundly different effects on their environments. This rapid diversification is partly explained by the observation that cultural traits can evolve far more rapidly than genetic traits.\n\nBehaviorally modern human societies have always engineered ecosystems to sustain themselves. Human societies are not sustained by the balance of nature but by a sociocultural niche constructed through cooperative ecosystem engineering and the social exchange of food and other needs and wants (hunger is not -just- caused by environmental limits to food production but (also/mainly) by social limits to food distribution).\n\nThe challenges of sustaining nonhuman species and habitats in an anthropogenic biosphere have never been greater as the scale, extent, and intensity by industrial societies is already without precedent and continues to accelerate. Perhaps the greatest challenge for conserving nonhuman species and habitats is that human harm to these is generally not intentional, but rather results as the unintended consequences of intentional human-benefitting sociocultural niche construction. Including ecosystem engineering for agriculture and resource extraction (habitat loss and degradation, pollution), industrial production and infrastructure (pollution, hydrologic change), social exchange (facilitated biotic exchange, wildlife trade), and energy substitution (pollution, climate change, ocean acidification).\n\nYet the increasing global scale, interconnection, and capacity for engineering of human societies may yet prove to be powerful forces driving major societal shifts in both valuing and conserving nonhuman nature. The societal benefits of sustaining nonhuman species and habitats have likely never been clearer, as the ecological linkages among human health, social systems, and engineered environments are increasingly understood both theoretically and with the aim of advancing intentional management by societies.\n\nJust as today’s globalizing and urbanizing societies are growing more concerned with the need to conserve nonhuman nature, they are becoming more and more capable technologically, culturally, and socially of accomplishing this.\n\nThe fluxes of nature are fast becoming cultures of nature. To investigate, understand, and address the ultimate causes of anthropogenic ecological change, not just the consequences, human sociocultural processes must become as much a part of ecological theory and practice as biological and geophysical processes are now.\n\nAs cities continue to grow, and cities control previously elusive aspects of human evolution we have to define the urban complex network of physical and social interactions. To understand our cities is to understand us. Understand how complex networks give rise to creativity, how urban metropolis are dramatically affecting a cultural connection reaching back nearly 400 years. This research and debate challenges us to rethink the human’s place and status in a more than human world. A (post)human world does not imply abandoning anthropology’s principle subject, but rather resituating the human in a logic of relations. Eco-logically, this requires recognizing a shared world in which humans and non-humans, machines, objects and information are mutually constituting and dynamically inter-acting within systems of great complexity. (Post)human and systems thinking thus advances towards a non-dualistic understanding of multiplicity and radical interdependency. This is not to say that all things are equal, but rather that entities should be differentiated within a unity. If we take the logic of relations seriously, our understanding shifts from a world of separate entities to one of interdependent processes.\n\nThis ontological relativism implies that it is not enough to rethink the positional relationships between traditional categories like nature and culture, subject and object, human and animal or human and technology. The reason for this is that reductive dualisms are already set up by singular concepts. Facing up to the ecological crisis and its underlying anthropocentrism, an anthro-de-re-centred orientation calls for resituating the anthropos in a relational nexus. In a shared world, the human is co-constituted not only by its own humanimality, but also by ‘human-and-non-human’ and the socio-material dynamics of physicalities and culturalities.\n\nBeing-in-the-world means that we cannot be taken separately from the dynamic environments  we inhabit and are enveloped by. I -still- believe in people and a long-term future on earth. We are not intrinsically nature’s enemy instead, we are the medium through which life becomes aware and transforms into something new, in a conscious way.\n\n\nIt’s a smart city after all (2) -WARNING: long read!-\n\nBy | Algemeen | No Comments\n\nThe Smart City-model is taken more or less as a given good for creating sustainable cities. This view is deeply rooted in seductive visions of the future, where the digital revolution stands as the primary force for change. Smart grids and meters, automated transport systems, communication networks, and data collection and analysis of data are all part of the smart city vision. While the seamless integration of digital technologies for the management of city functions promises greater cost-effectiveness and efficiencies, there are significant questions and philosophical issues that must be addressed as greater reliance on technologies for the running of cities is pursued. Employing a sort of a cyborg worldview—meaning a living system of intertwined human and machine parts—the Smart City system is seen as contributing to urban sustainability with the basic assumption that the Internet of Things serves social and public ends. These ends include economic benefits, improving efficiency and quality of life for people by optimizing control of infrastructures. In this view, urban residents are at the center of a city’s sustainability transformation, while at the same time serving as data sources, providing urban planners (central controllers of the cyborg) various sources of information about human behavior that may or may not be exploited. While various efficiency measures often are beneficial for society, at least in the short term, the discussions of resilience of such a cyborg is mostly entirely avoided.\n\nSo, increased novel technologies are changing the nature of cities, more information dense and more globalized than ever. These changes are not incremental and linear, but transformative with the emergence of a new intricate system behavior and new forms of systemic complexity. The nature of these changes pose fundamentally new challenges to governance as they require policy-makers to respond to system properties characterized by not only complex causality, but also extreme connectivity (i.e. global), ultra-speed (i.e. micro-seconds) and hyperfunctionality. Governance can fail at the system level if a subsystem performs its function to such an extreme; this could jeopardize the efficiency of the system as a whole.\n\nUsing an urban ecology lens, we provide some reflections that need to forgo any wider-scale implementation of the Smart City-model with the goal to enhance urban sustainability and develop  fundamental principles and rules of urban life that could have their most valuable applications: transforming cities into life-regenerative ecosystems, and reconnecting those ecosystems to the broader natural ones. Principles and rules based on the fact that nature is the process of going from simple to complex – from fragile to antifragile. Nature is a network of expanding adjacent possibles. Nature is the connections.\n\nLife builds from the bottom up. Layer by layer, ecosystems have evolved from bare rock, concentrating and transforming locally available, easily accessible, abundant resources into dynamic complex systems that promote and reward interconnection and interdependence. Cities have also evolved in a similar way, the layering here is historic and often based on ways of economic and industrial change. The challenge then is to think of a city as a constantly evolving co-managed rainforest, savannah or reef, intrinsically intertwined with the ecosystem in which it resides.\n\nA city is a COMPLEX ADAPTIVE SYSTEM – SYSTEM(S) whose behavior is in constant flux, prone to quite intricate emergent patterns including unavoidable uncertainties, cascading failures, and surprise. Continuous innovation and evolution are key aspects of urban systems as hardware, software and human innovation drive the system towards higher (perceived at least) efficiency, connectivity and speed over time. The speed of innovation and associated technologies however, has created new forms of system properties that until now remain to be explored: connectivity, speed and hyperfunctionality.\n\nUrban sustainability is marked by a FRAGILE BALANCE between biotic living organisms and the non-living a-biotic factors of their environment, governed by a dynamic equilibrium. The urban ecosystem relies on the reciprocal relations between living elements and the infrastructure that conditions their quality of life. These systems can be found in a variety of scales and in many aspects of our lives, but a violation of their delicate balance will almost certainly instigate a process of compensation in order to regain stability. Moving beyond the traditional binary separating the natural from the artificial, towards a more porous integration of the biotic and a-biotic can imbue our cities with greater resilience and sustainability.\n\nCITIES ARE UNIQUE among all landscape types because they are where the human-inhabited, built, and ecosystem services provisioning spaces overlap and interact. Urban systems of course contain the particular physical environment within which and with which the organisms interact. Sunlight for photosynthesis, the cues of daylength and the seasonal swings of temperature, the exaggerated heat budgets, the stresses of low humidity, the soils, rubble, and fill as substrates, the rush of wind through the streets or the stagnation of air in deep street canyons, and the alteration of topography, with its importation of stone and the alkaline ingredients of concrete, are among the many aspects of urban physical environments.\n\nAll of these interacting components define the basic idea of the urban ecosystem. All of these components reflect the desires, plans, mistakes, accidents, and unintentional effects of decisions made by individual people, households, and institutions. Clearly the physical environments of cities are constructed by or profoundly modified by people. Equally clearly, the biological complex of cities where humans are the predominant actor, has social features as well as compositional and spatial biodiversity.\n\nThis complexity and dynamism fits easily within the basic definition of the ecosystem, and invites the burgeoning of specific models that contribute to surprise, delight, and utility in the urban sciences and design professions. Understanding how such urban ecosystems functions, how they change, and what limits their performance can add to an understanding of ecosystem change and governance in an ever more human-dominated world.\n\nOur cities are currently not as well adapted or resilient as the ecosystems they’ve disrupted and are nested within. Ecosystems are not closed, self-regulating entities that mature to reach equilibrium, instead ecosystems have multiple equilibria and are open, dynamic, highly unpredictable and subject to frequent disturbance. Ecosystems come with temporal dynamics, change, cyclicity and evolution.\n\nWhile life abounds in cities, diversity is limited and dominated by one species. Cities are the culmination of our species’ survival strategies, helping us mitigate the extremes of environment, shaping our culture, and extending our range on the planet. Compared to systems not dominated by humans, urban ecosystems are highly disturbed environments, very heterogeneous in both space and time: complex mosaics of biological and physical patches in a matrix of infrastructure, human organizations, and social institutions.\n\nHumans and their communities add a new level of complexity. Humans design and build cities on the basis of their preferences and values. By building structure and infrastructure in cities to support their needs, humans redistribute organisms and the fluxes of energy and materials leading to a distinct, biotic diversity and energy and material cycles.\n\nThe ecosystem concept in ecology does not fully reflect our current understanding of dynamic human-dominated ecological systems that may operate far from equilibrium. Crucially, ecosystems can change state in response to a spectrum of variable conditions; they have evolved over millions of years through changes in biotic-abiotic interactions. But since the Industrial Revolution, humans have increasingly dominated such interactions, creating novel ecosystem functions never observed before. Yet in ecology, humans are the only species considered to be external to ecosystems. Furthermore, emphasis on the self-regulating nature of ecosystems has limited the view of disturbance that we now know is critical to understanding stability and ecosystem function.\n\nCITIES ARE HYBRID ECOSYSTEMS: the product of co-evolving human and natural systems. Urban ecosystems emerge from complex interactions and feedbacks between the human, natural and technological system components of urban ecosystems. From an ecological viewpoint, they differ markedly from historical ecological systems. But urban ecosystems also differ significantly from historical human settlements: they are novel habitats and contain both natural and human historical features.\n\nAs hybrid ecosystems, cities operate at the border of a phase transition between alternative behavioral states governed by either historical or novel feedback mechanisms. As ecosystems are increasingly dominated by human action, they move toward a new set of feedback mechanisms. Their state is unstable.\n\nTherefore it is vital to recognize that urban hybrid ecosystems are highly complex and a product of ongoing emergence, suggesting the need for co-evolutionary approaches to managing the city as a social-ecological system and the integration of ecosystem approaches into spatial planning frameworks. The agents that interact in the complex adaptive systems of the cities are social and biophysical by nature. What differentiates social-ecological systems from non-human complex adaptive systems is that the former deals with humans who apprehend their world through abstract thought. This symbolic construction is based on the ability to use language and symbols, to communicate across space and time. It has to do with the capacity of human beings to learn from the past, imagine the future, and finally materialize these thoughts in new types of entities that only exist in the noosphere (institutions, political and economic structures, as well as values, norms and beliefs).\n\nWe need a PARADIGM SHIFT in system design to accommodate the complexities in these highly interdependent and adaptive hybrid urban ecosystems. Myths and uncorroborated assumptions about how nature works, have led to failures in designing and managing urban environments. The assumptions that the elements of a system can be controlled and their boundaries can be defined have dominated system design and engineering for a long time influencing both the field and the practice. We have assumed for a long time that ecosystems are stable and that their processes and dynamics are relatively well understood and predictable, thus one can find an optimal solution among a set of possible alternatives—but that is clearly not the reality in urban ecosystems.\n\nTo design complex hybrid systems in which the components are highly diverse, interconnected, and interdependent we must embrace uncertainty and redefine principles of design to acknowledge the complexity of hybrid ecosystems. This implies expanding the heterogeneity of forms and functions in urban structures to support both human and ecological functions and supporting modularity of infrastructures to create interdependent decentralized systems. We need to expand our capacity for experimenting and learning. And most of all we need to find new ways to creatively engage the communities in designing the cities of the future.\n\nThere is no doubt that humans are clever ecosystem engineers. We have transported, accumulated and consolidated many resources to shape our cities and yet, for all our cleverness, we have forgotten that we are part of nature and subject to the same rules as the rest of life. Rather than creating conditions conducive to all life we have been focused on our own species’ needs and spent excess energy and resources in maintaining stasis (even if we label that as growth). Cities could currently be viewed as being biophobic, or manifestations of our disconnection from nature.\n\n\nTechnology has always been a critical force deeply intertwined with the evolution of cities. From the first human settlements millennia ago to the industrial revolution to today, technological breakthroughs have impacted the buildings we use, the way we get around and how we live, work and play in the urban space.\n\nSmart is not just collecting and disseminating data. A Smart City as a closed loop system is extremely important and even critical. All attempts at defining Smart Cities -as far as I can oversee- share a number of common elements: sensible (sensors sense the environment), connectable (networked devices bring the sensed information to the Web), accessible (information on our environment is published and is accessible by users on the Web), ubiquitous (users can access information at any time and in any place, while moving), sociable (users acquiring information can publish it though their social network), sharable (sharing is not limited to data, but also to physical objects that may be used when they are in free status), and visible/augmented (the physical environment is retrofitted and information is seen not only by individuals through mobile devices, but also in physical places such as street signs). Artificial intelligence is making breathtaking advances. In particular, it is contributing to the automation of data analysis. Artificial intelligence is no longer programmed line by line, but is now capable of learning, thereby continuously developing itself.\n\nThe development of smart cities builds upon this strong historical foundation with a digital foundation that allows cities to function more efficiently, be more responsive to community members and ultimately create better, more equitable urban environments where people thrive.\n\nIt is essential to understand how people in cities move, how energy is used, how various aspects of infrastructure interact, and much more, allowing to take better data-driven decisions and maximize the efficiency in our cities. But technology alone cannot transform a city or a community; necessary mechanisms must be included to create incentives for using the technology and for accommodating the human and ecological principles in the loop. When it comes to the efficient management of sharable resources, there is a fundamental conflict between the individual and social, ecological optima.\n\nFrom the point of view of systems and control theory, a smart city is a highly dynamic stochastic hybrid system with a multitude of issues that can only be successfully addressed through a multidisciplinary approach. Understanding and respecting human behavior and ecological principles is a key component of understanding the smart city as a Cyber-Physical Social System.\n\nThe future vitality of our cities is increasingly based on their ability to use digital technologies in innovative, strategic ways. Orchestrating the city’s Cyber-Physical Social System is a combination of art and science that blends cultures, objectives and business models into a dynamic, evolving expression of alignment with the goals of city leaders and citizens, to achieve a common vision of sustainable socio-economic-ecological development at a global scale.\n\n\nIt’s a smart city after all\n\nBy | Algemeen | No Comments\n\nSmart cities: two words which suggest a glittering future of technology and progress, where digital technology will help out with everything from getting bins collected to ensuring your drive through the city is as smooth as possible. Or, alternatively, an Orwellian nightmare where the poor are tossed out of our shiny new cities in favor of the upper classes, while governments use new smart technologies to track our every move.\n\nOurs world is a city-powered planet. Our urban areas grow by 3 million people a week. Metropolitan and urban areas are the engines of the global economy, producing some 70% of its output, with some individual metro regions accounting for as much as a third of their national economies. Most important, they are home to just under 4 billion citizens who live, love, and contribute to their society in innumerable ways. Cities are powerful and dynamic engines of growth. They are growing in importance and impact.\n\nTechnology has always been a critical force deeply intertwined with the evolution of cities. From the first human settlements millennia ago to  today’s 4th industrial revolution, technological breakthroughs have impacted the buildings we use, the way we get around, and how we live, work, and play in the urban space. Cities are beginning to, and will continue to, integrate technological dynamism into municipal operations, from transportation to infrastructure repair and more. The back ends of these systems are not always apparent to the end user – but as the integration of smart cities technologies becomes more visible in our everyday lives, we could begin to see large scale changes in our cities.\n\nNow, as we are on the cusp of further rapid shifts in cities precipitated by technology, it is worth imagining what the connected smart city of the future will look like – and the associated impact it will have on our everyday lives. Cities can be the sources of innovation and creativity, bringing people together in new and unexpected ways and spawning the cultural quarters, the digital invention, the start-ups and connections that enable modern growth. Urban places where independence flourishes, where identity can be reinvented, where people can flourish, the place where our human ingenuity and our capacity to support each other flourishes. Cities can be places where we can be ourselves, liberated from some of the more stultifying aspects of small town life, and even, occasionally, our own families.\n\nBut cities can also be places of isolation, of poverty, and of misery. Places where innovation and creativity are driven out. Where the bonds of social engagement are attenuated and where solidarity is fatally eroded, where poverty is locked in. Places where progression and development is limited, where people without the support of family find alternative social networks impossible to access. Cities where the more vulnerable are shunned and ignored are cities of fear, not to mention huge potential costs. Cities where everyone is too busy to interact breed loneliness and despair. Cities where automation has made every interaction a soulless one, driving out human contact in the interests of speed and efficiency.\n\nTechnocrats think that clean, well marshalled data can solve everything. But the real data that powers social capital is often messy. It involves a close and detailed understanding of the web of relationships that keeps any city (and their neighborhoods) alive. Knowledge – real, informed, current knowledge – is vital to the development of social capital. Interventions that are rooted in how people really live – the ethnography of the city– are part of the modern skill set. Social capital comes from within.\n\nSocial capital is not an optional extra for a city. It is as fundamental as the financial capital and the skills base of any successful city. It is the depth and the breadth of social capital in cities that distinguishes the creative, lively, bonded city, from the miserable dystopia as painted above. Social capital is not formed in a vacuum. What happens is shaped by our external environment, and what is happening around us is different from that previous generations have experienced. Social Capital is in real peril. The labor market has changed, and changed fundamentally. At the bottom end of the labor market our current economy produces part time, insecure and poorly paid work. People doing multiple jobs just to get by is becoming the norm, and increasingly the much vaunted ‘gig economy’ is actually producing a group of people who, while technically self-employed, seem to me to have many of the working conditions of the 19th century casual laborer. At the bottom end of the labor market people lead poor and insecure lives, faced with higher costs and constantly managing debt. Work is undoubtedly for many of us the best route out of poverty. If the work is insecure, and has no progression (and four out of five people starting in low paid work are still low paid 10 years later) it does not provide a secure route.\n\nToday, we face a revolution as profound as anything the nineteenth century pioneers had to contend with. We live in a globalized world in which the pace of change, and the sheer volatility of it all, sometimes simply feels too much. A world in which work is becoming faster, more demanding, and frequently much less secure. A world in which housing is a fragile asset, not a platform on which to build a secure life. A world in which mass movements of people can both enrich and strengthen, but can too often be experienced as threat and division. A world in which the distance between generations can seem overwhelming.\n\nIn this world there is more need than ever before for the conscious fostering of social capital.  Modern social capital will need to foster skills for living as well as for working. It will enable and encourage the small acts of kindness that enable us all to survive. But it will also connect people across generations, and across faiths and nationalities. It will be built on the power of relationships, not on transactions. It will almost certainly be made up more of networks than of organizations. A more adaptive and informed social capital may look more like a set of movements than an institution. It will be more democratic, providing a platform for the dispossessed as much as tending to their needs. It will not be afraid of anger and of division – because social capital is messy, just like social change.\n\nTo this end, we must be deliberate in the development of smart cities and imbue equity as a primary goal so that the city of the future is a city for everyone. How do we ensure that our cities continue to catalyze social mobility, generate new ideas, and provide economic return without becoming brittle, unsustainable, or simply fake? How do we avoid the mistake of early smart city efforts which focused almost solely on optimizing the physical city without much thought at all to the experience of the actual human beings who live there? The exclusion of poorer citizens from the smart cities of the future – has come to the forefront in recent debate.\n\nBut no matter when we’re talking about smart cities we often do so in terms of individual systems or projects. Search the web for smart city and you’ll find no lack of top ten lists of projects that promise to improve your metro. But often these projects are so tied to specific new technologies that they will either fail or be obsolesced by the volatility of technological change. Most of all, this city would be a data-gathering machine. Sensors would adhere to every surface, monitoring air quality, foot traffic, crime, water use, and even how many insects were flying around. Algorithms to optimize everything in the city, routing traffic, stationing police officers — or planting trees to draw insects away from schoolyards.\n\nIt all sounds lovely in theory, and the idea has now leapfrogged out of the corporate R&D zone, into academic research and enthusiastic pop science books. But cities are ever-changing; the dynamism of the urban environment is a microcosm of the societal interactions that we have built throughout history. The problem is that making a city smart could also crush everything that makes it a city. Cities have a logic all their own, which is based on chaos and diversity. Making them smart and subjecting their citizens to the logic of algorithms, could be more like authoritarianism than freedom.\n\nAt the end of the day, technological developments will enhance our urban experience – but they also risk leaving more people behind. Though the idea of a smart city is appealing, it’s crucial to keep the dark side perspective in mind.\n\n\n\n\nBy | Algemeen | No Comments\n\nFinally, after years, it has got the attention. The sixth mass extinction. The loss of biological diversity is one of the most severe human caused global ecological problems. Hundreds of species and myriad populations are being driven to extinction every year. From the perspective of geological time, Earth’s richest biota ever is already well into a sixth mass extinction episode.\n\nExisting ecosystems are the legacy of a biotic turnover initiated by the onset of glacial–interglacial cycles that began, 2.6 million years ago, and evolved primarily in the absence of Homo sapiens. Today, rapidly changing atmospheric conditions and warming above typical interglacial temperatures as CO2 levels continue to rise, habitat fragmentation, pollution, overfishing and overhunting, invasive species and pathogens (like chytrid fungus), and expanding human biomass are all more extreme ecological stressors than most living species have previously experienced. Without concerted mitigation efforts, such stressors will accelerate in the future and thus intensify extinction especially given the feedbacks between individual stressors.\n\nAs a species, Homo sapiens has either already arrived or will shortly arrive at a fork in the road, and the route we choose will determine what sort of world our species will occupy. One road leads to a relatively biodiverse future in which a significant majority of today’s non-domestic species persist. The other leads to a future in which the majority of today’s non-domestic species are extinct. Our species has already experienced and, to a considerable extent, contributed to a significant extinction event, so both prehistoric and historic human actions have already shaped global biology. At issue now is the extent and direction of ongoing human effects on global ecology and evolution, including the probability that our species will be a long-term or short-term component of global biological communities.\n\nThe claim that Earth’s biota is entering a sixth mass extinction depends on clearly demonstrating that current extinction rates are far above the background rates prevailing between the five previous mass extinctions. A growing body of evidence indicates that current species extinction rates are higher than the pre-human background rate, with hundreds of anthropogenic vertebrate extinctions documented in prehistoric and historic times. Modern extinction rates have increased sharply over the past 200 years (corresponding to the rise of industrial society) and are considerably higher than background rates.\n\nMass extinctions shape the history of life and can be used to understand the current biodiversity crisis. The five largest mass extinctions of the Phanerozoic had profoundly different effects on the structure and function of ecosystems, although the causes of these differences are currently unclear. There is a clear need to understand the dynamics of future biodiversity loss and ecosystem change. Mass extinction, in the conservative palaeontological sense, is when extinction rates accelerate relative to origination rates such that over 75% of species disappear within a geologically short interval—typically less than 2 million years, in some cases much less. Extinction involves both rate and magnitude, which are distinct but intimately linked metrics. Rate is essentially the number of extinctions divided by the time over which the extinctions occurred. One can also derive from this a proportional rate—the fraction of species that have gone extinct per unit time. Magnitude is the percentage of species that have gone extinct. Because rate and magnitude are so intimately linked, a critical question is whether current rates would produce Big-Five-magnitude mass extinctions in the same amount of geological time that we think most Big Five extinctions spanned. The answer is yes. Current extinction rates for mammals, amphibians, birds, and reptiles if calculated over the last 500 years (a conservatively slow rate) are faster than or as fast as  all rates that would have produced the Big Five extinctions over hundreds of thousands or millions of years. This emphasizes that current extinction rates are higher than those that caused Big Five extinctions in geological time; they could be severe enough to carry extinction magnitudes to the Big Five benchmark in as little as three centuries. During times of normal background extinction, the taxa that suffer extinction most frequently are characterized by small geographic ranges and low population abundance. However, during times of mass extinction, the rules of extinction selectivity can change markedly, so that widespread, abundant taxa also go extinct. Large-bodied animals and those in certain phylogenetic groups can be particularly hard hit.\n\nPopulation extinctions today are orders of magnitude more frequent than species extinctions. Population extinctions, however, are a prelude to species extinctions, so Earth’s sixth mass extinction episode has proceeded further than most assume. The massive loss of populations is already damaging the services ecosystems provide to civilization. When considering this frightening assault on the foundations of human civilization, one must never forget that Earth’s capacity to support life, including human life, has been shaped by life itself. When public mention is made of the extinction crisis, it usually focuses on a few animal species (hundreds out of millions) known to have gone extinct, and projecting many more extinctions in the future. But a deeper glance presents a much more realistic picture: they suggest that as much as 50% of the number of animal individuals that once shared Earth with us are already gone, as are huge number populations. Furthermore, this analysis is conservative, given the increasing trajectories of the drivers of extinction and their synergistic effects.\n\nHypotheses to explain the general phenomenon of mass extinctions have emphasized synergies between unusual events. Common features of the (Big Five) early extinctions suggest that key synergies may involve unusual climate dynamics, atmospheric composition and abnormally high-intensity ecological stressors that negatively affect many different lineages. This does not imply that random accidents like a Cretaceous asteroid impact would not cause devastating extinction on their own, only that extinction magnitude would be lower if synergistic stressors had not already primed the pump of extinction.\n\nMore rigorously formulating and testing synergy hypotheses may be especially important in assessing the sixth mass extinction potential, because once again the global stage is set for unusual interactions.\n\nWhile some cosmic constants re­main, such as the cycles of day and night, the moon’s influence on the tides, the date of the solstices, and the length of time the Earth takes to go around the sun, many other patterns and rhythms of earth’s phenol­ogy are undergoing major change. Synchronicity and timing are all important; and when species tied to locked in global rhythms and patterns fails to coin­cide (trophic mismatches) death and extinction follow.\n\nEven taking into account the difficulties of comparing the fossil and modern records, and applying conservative comparative methods that favor minimizing the differences between fossil and modern extinction metrics, there are clear indications that losing species now in the critically endangered category would propel the world to a state of mass extinction that has previously been seen only five times in about 540 million years. Additional losses of species in the endangered and vulnerable categories could accomplish the sixth mass extinction in just a few centuries. Although we cannot say precisely how many species there are, or exactly how many have gone extinct in any time interval, we can confidently conclude that modern extinction rates are exceptionally high, that they are increasing, and that they suggest a mass extinction under way.  It may be of particular concern that this extinction trajectory would play out under conditions that resemble the ‘perfect storm’ that coincided with past mass extinctions: multiple, atypical high-intensity ecological stressors, including rapid, unusual climate change and highly elevated atmospheric CO2.\n\nEven as it has not happened yet – we are on the edge of an extinction and little disagreement that humans are driving an unprecedented ecological crisis. We are effectively undoing the beauty and the variety and the richness of the world which has taken tens of millions of years to reach. The huge difference between where we are now, and where we could easily be within a few generations, reveals the urgency of relieving the pressures that are pushing today’s species towards extinction.\n\nFrom an ecological or evolutionary perspective, few events are good or bad in absolute terms: they simply favor different organisms. In some respects, the human future will be very different from the human past. For now, the full ecological and evolutionary consequences of these extinctions remain unknown, although the greater the magnitude of extinctions, the higher the likelihood that they will negatively impact human life.\n\nGone are the relative stability and predictability of the past twelve thousand years, as the established patterns and regularity of Holocene phenology begin to fall into chaos.\n\nWe are deciding…which evolutionary pathways will remain open and which will forever be closed.\n\nNo other creature has ever managed this, and it will unfortunately be our most enduring legacy.\n\n(Elizabeth Kolbert 2014)", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9705687761306763}
+{"content": "Artist of the Day- Jeremy Miranda (click on image to view individually)\n\nHere is a quote from Jeremy Miranda\n\nIn my recent work I am interested in creating complex environments that are a hybridization of both interior and exterior spaces. I am influenced by memory, history, domesticity, architecture, landscape and how, when co-mingled, can generate new spatial relationships. I draw from a cache of collected photographs, sketches, plein air studies and memory, and employ an unplanned, intuitive painting process in an attempt to channel an ambiguous spatial narrative.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.849280059337616}
+{"content": "Fundamentals of CS I (CS151 2001S)\n\nTail Recursion\n\n\nExercise 0: Preparation\n\na. Go over the short reading on tail recursion.\n\nb. Start DrScheme.\n\nExercise 1: Identifying Tail-Recursive Procedures\n\n\nExercise 2: Does Tail Recursion Really Make a Difference?\n\nIn DrScheme, you can find out how long it takes to evaluate an expression by using (time expression). The time procedure prints out the time it takes to evaluate and then returns the value computed. If you care only about the time it takes, you can write\n\n> (let ((junk (time expression))))\n\na. Try the two versions of factorial on some large numbers. Does one seem to be faster than the other?\n\nb. Try the three versions of add-to-all on some lists of varying sizes (you'll probably need at least a hundred values in each list, and possibly more) until you can determine a difference in running times.\n\nExercise 3: Finding the Longest String on a List\n\nWrite a tail-recursive longest-string-on-list procedure.\n\nExercise 4: Finding the Index\n\nDefine a tail-recursive procedure index that has two arguments, an item a and a list of items ls, and returns the index of a in ls, that is, the zero-based location of a in ls. If the item is not in the list, the procedure returns -1. Test your procedure on:\n\n  (index 3 (list 1 2 3 4 5 6)) --> 2\n  (index 'so (list 'do 're 'mi 'fa 'so 'la 'ti 'do)) --> 4\n  (index \"a\" (list \"b\" \"c\" \"d\")) --> -1\n  (index 'cat null) --> -1\n\nExercise 5: Iota, Once Again\n\nDefine and test a tail-recursive version of Iota.\n\nExercise 6: Reverse\n\nWrite your own tail-recursive version of reverse.\n\nExercise 7: Append\n\nThis is an optional extra-credit exercise.\n\nHere's a non-tail-recursive version of append.\n\n(define append\n  (lambda (list-one list-two)\n    (if (null? list-one) list-two\n        (cons (car list-one)\n\na. Write your own tail-recursive version.\n\n\n\n\nMonday, 30 October 2000 [Samuel A. Rebelsky]\n\nSunday, 8 April 2001 [Samuel A. Rebelsky]\n\n\n\nThis page was generated by Siteweaver on Thu May 3 23:08:07 2001.\nThis page may be found at\nYou may validate this page's HTML.\nThe source was last modified Sun Apr 8 22:07:17 2001.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8861607909202576}
+{"content": "How well do you know Emily Edington?\n\nFind out if you really know me or not.\n\n1 What is my ringtone on my phone?\n2 How many dogs do i have? At my mom and Dads put together\n3 What sport do i do?\n4 Why do i enjoy watching Soccer & Football?\n5 Whats my favorite color?\n6 When i play rockband what instrument do i play?\n7 Where is my favorite place to get Pizza?", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9998563528060913}
+{"content": "The Allietastic quiz\n\nThis quiz is to make Adam feel bad.\n\n1 What was the name of my first pet?\n2 How Many years have I been cheering?\n3 Who is my favorite acrtess? Hint, its also my biggest role model.\n4 What is my All time favorite band?\n5 Do I have an autographed picture of Mario Lopez?\n6 How curious are my tastebuds?\n7 What do I wish my middle name was?", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9999837279319763}
+{"content": "Number of satellites comprises in the GPS\n\nDetermine the number of satellites which are comprises in the GPS and expand it?\n\n\n\n\nThe minimum satellites needed to track your position are three. That is why it is termed as triangulation. Presently, there are thirty two satellites in the GPS system. The exact number differs as old satellites fail or are retired and the new satellites are sent up to restore them.\n\n   Related Questions in Electrical Engineering", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9808711409568787}
+{"content": "Tag Archives: history\n\nTips for would-be scholars!\n\nI am now reading and researching yet again, as I put together an article on George Orwell‘s encounters with the POUM in Catalonia during the Spanish Civil War; it’s sort of a trial balloon for the thesis that I will be writing for the University of Victoria, in the far, far far future (2018). Even though the program won’t even begin until September of NEXT YEAR, I still need to get everything in order before formal application time – one of those things being a published article.\n\nThe thesis will deal with Totalitarianism via the Novel, an examination of fiction that dealt with the political extremities of the interwar years in Europe; specifically, I’ll be looking at that cauldron of ideologies, Spain during the Civil War, which every major player recognized as a linchpin for the decade to follow. Stalinism, anarchism, and fascism were all present, but I’d like to focus on the dissident Trotskyites that were actually indigenous to Spain, the POUM.\n\nBoth Hemingway and Orwell had encounters with the group (particularly the latter), but I think it is fascinating how understudied the POUM are, at least outside of deep Spanish academia and the annals of dissident leftists. Orwell and Trotsky himself had mixed feelings about the group, and it should make for interesting reading in unpleasant times, with genuine fascism on the rise and becoming ascendant. Yes, Mr Lewis, it can happen here. Fascism is not some sort of German disease – given the right circumstances, it can pop up anywhere. Including the last “superpower” (BTW, start learning Mandarin).\n\nSo here are some trenchant observations that I made whilst studying this bizarre stretch of history:\n\nFuck the 90s –  Unless you like celebratory right wingers dancing on the “corpse” of communism. As if communism was limited to the Soviet Union only, and was somehow missing in the hearts and minds of millions of people in the so-called Third World. Regardless of that nagging detail, neo-liberals everywhere gave toasts to the “end of history“, and wrote reams of articles and books that reflect that rather hasty, inaccurate appraisal.\n\nJust FYI: Karl Marx routinely tops the list of philosophers that are pulled from polls enacted by the those running dogs in the media. You know who doesn’t make the list, at all? Neo conservatives and Fukyshima. Eric Voeglin, Leo Strauss and hell, even Ayn Rand appear the very bottom, if at all. If nothing else, I don’t see any Third World regimes set up according to Rand’s rules, and George W Bush should give you a solid idea of Neo-conservatism in action. Thatcher tried the ol’ “There is no alternative. I am the state, and none shall stand in my way. Socialism is dead. And those mines have to go, along with the entire social safety net”. Then she was unceremoniously dumped by the rest of her party, who themselves were a little horrified.\n\nDoes that sound familiar? Party monster slain by his/her own party, as they themselves would like to win a re-election or two without getting spoiled like meat in the sun?\n\nOne other thing about the 90s: Don’t get me started on post-modernism, the question without an answer. That’s what passed for radical intercourse at higher educational levels during the 90s – post-everything, plus maybe some semiotics. Then Bush stole a fucking election and 9/11 happened, reminding us all that there is a real, concrete, dangerous world, and that people like Derrida and Foucault were intellectual frauds. Thankfully people in that real world I just mentioned haven’t paid attention to idiots like that for years, and now they’re laughing stocks even at the academy. It’s too bad we’re still stuck with Zizek – pumping volume after volume of incoherent nothingness for as long as Verso will pay him.\n\nThis is a better time to be a leftist academic, although I find it hilarious that every radical book that I read that preaches the greatest extremities, up to and including physical violence, will invariably denounce left-wing academics – even though every one of those writers are academics themselves. This is the reason why I love history and the study of history, as opposed to political “science”. Less pretension, less “predictive” capabilities, greater body of actual knowledge.\n\nI’ll let whomever still follows this blog know when the article is finished and published.\n\n\n\n\n\nThe INLA, PUP,and Marxism in Northern Ireland – Can Marxism beat Sectarianism? Part 2 – Loyalism, Two Nations, and Breaking the Chains of Atavism\n\nThe amount of material on loyalist culture is abysmal. This is not a culture that is especially adored anywhere, with the possible exception of Scotland and Toronto, Canada. There was never a massive diaspora to America, which in turn would have laid the groundwork for an entire culture of expats (complete with music, film, novels, and generations of Americans far removed from Ulster yet still claiming to be Ulster Scot). The Ulster Scots are generally one step removed from hillbillies in the United States, with the the more respectable members of the diaspora largely confined to the UK and Canada. One can still see Canadian flags being tossed about on July 12th Parades in Belfast..\n\nOf course, this is mostly due to the fact that the loyalist has stayed put. They are the working class of Northern Ireland, and as opposed to the forced diaspora of the Famine, the North was sufficiently industrialized to sustain itself and integrate itself with the rest of Europe’s trade (the fact that the North’s loyalty was guaranteed, as opposed to Western Ireland, certainly aided things as well). But most importantly, no one talks of the “overseas Belfast Loyalist community” anymore than they would talk of Lancashire, or Manchester, or Newcastle’s “overseas community”. These were/are local industrial hubs, and at least until the Thatcher years, they were successful.\n\nBelfast also followed industrial-city suit by attracting a large, “red” working force. Unions were the norm here; the shipping yards which formed the backbone of Belfast’s industry, and which employed a vast quantity of loyalist men, were unionized. These were not open unions however; following partition, it became very difficult for a Catholic to find work within union jobs. This did not stop a nascent left-wing from growing however, and a non-sectarian Communist group came into being in Belfast during the 30s. Numbers were limited, although like many Northern British working class cities “Communism” wasn’t equated with devil worship.\n\nThe arrival of the civil rights movement changed the attitudes of many loyalists, who felt that their way of life was being threatened by outside aliens like the specters of the “IRA” (who as noted in the previous post had nothing to do with the civil rights group, NICRA). The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), the amalgam of two pre-Troubles parties, was quickly viewed as just another Irish nationalist group. Many loyalists became bitterly disillusioned, not only by the supposed attacks against their community by the “IRA”, but were beginning to feel sold out by mainstream political parties as well. Ian Paisley’s ultra-right wing Democratic Unionist Party may have had a fundamentalist Protestant at the helm, but at least they were offering a fighting chance against the depredations of both the Irish “terror” and mainstream Unionism.\n\nSocialist/Marxist Loyalism remained alive however, as best exemplified by David Trimble throughout the early 70s. Trimble, a member of the loyalist paramilitary UVF and later founder of the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP), maintained an interesting outlook; as much as the republicans had done with their Marxism (which they took seriously and were certainly not dilettantes), and confined that Marxism within the prism of republicanism, loyalist Marxism could do the same – a Marxism for loyalists, for the working class of Northern Ireland (which of course predated the economic downfall of most of the great industrial hubs of the UK in the 80s to follow, and with which would have a major engagement during the dark days of Thatcherism and the de-industrializing process of the 80s).\n\nCentral to the initial concept for loyalist Marxism was the “Two Nations” manifesto, jointly arrived upon by Northern loyalist Marxists and a strange southern entity called the British Irish Communist Organization, another loyalist communist group strangely formed and administered by Irish in the Republic. The general notions were that a) Ulster loyalists constitute their ethnicity, their own “nation” rather than Britons who were just “living across the sea”, and that b) the two nations (Irish and Ulster Loyalist) had a right to coexist without supremacy/hegemony of any kind. What this translated as was an acceptance that both Ulster loyalist Marxism could exist with republican Marxism, WITHOUT THE TWO NECESSARILY DEPENDENT ON ONE ANOTHER OR EVEN IN CONTACT WITH ONE ANOTHER. The transnational aspect of Marxism was gone, although not to the degree of Stalinism wherein “communism in one country” was given precedence over another.\n\nIt was a novel idea which was propagated during the 1974 Ulster Shop Steward strike, which brought an end to the very short-lived experiment in power sharing. It was also a bloody period, in which 39 died, mostly during clashes with Ulster paramilitary groups.\n\nWhich brings me to the intransigence of paramilitary backed leftist/Marxist groups, as well as Marxism in hardline sectarian communities in general. It is folly to believe that you can have two Marxist groups, of roughly the community (Trotskyite, Leninist, post colonial, etc) operating at the same time, in some kind of vacuum, in which the OTHER group with identical views are also operating at the same time/place but without any kind of communication with the other. I believe that that is the central flaw of the Two Nations concept, as it pertains to the day-to-day functioning of a purportedly universally appealing agenda. It is divisional, and while it addresses the immediate problems of sectarian communities that are forced to live with each other during emergency periods, it is not a long term solution – and the sectarianism of Northern Ireland is long term. “The Troubles”, the most recent spasm of violence that wracked the area for thirty years, is only the latest manifestation of a long gestating problem, and longer term solutions are needed.\n\nCan Marxism rise above sectarianism? Yes, I believe it can – evidence of this exists in abundance with certain anarchist communities in the Middle East, and I have seen how non-state Marxist groups can cooperate with each other in the Middle East, particularly in Lebanon. Although Northern Ireland is falling back in love with sectarianism, although segregation has become embedded in cities such as Belfast (where if you moves into a given neighborhood, it’s like you’ve made a personal, political commitment to whichever sectarian group runs the neighborhood), I have also seen the growing popularity of hard-left groups such as the SWP and People Before Profit – an electoral group which has won seats in Stormont, in both neutral and republican ridings. And I’ve seen an entire, newly-educated group of young people who are both driven to improve their communities as well as reach out to the other. Sectarianism isn’t impossible.\n\n\n\n\nThe INLA, PUP,and Marxism in Northern Ireland – Can Marxism beat Sectarianism? Part 1 – The Republican Heritage and a quickie historical tour\n\nMarxism (or more specifically, socialism) has a long storied background in Ireland, a homegrown tradition which has arisen from almost survival-level necessity: in the 1800s, as Ireland was exploited along with every other British colony for raw materials and cheap muscle, people had to band together in order to survive. It was that, or face an ugly little rat race with equally deprived creatures fighting for scraps. This created the first combines, the first worker’s societies, the first unions in the industrialized cities of the North such as Belfast, an economic/industrial powerhouse on the island. It created men like Jim Larkin, James Connolly, and later laid the bedrock for radical organizations such as the SWP and the native Socialist Party in the Republic.\n\nThese conditions also created the conditions  for Irish republicanism. The IRA did not begin its existence as a radical socialist organization; it was the birthright of earlier, 19th Century groups that were determined to drive the Brits out by force – they included forebears such as the infamous “Fenians”. Whilst the British Empire was busy butchering its’ young men in WWI, in 1916 the first stones were cast and the irrevocable process of separation began. In the North however, British Loyalists vastly outnumbered their Irish compatriots, and refused to allow Home Rule to become Rome Rule (get it? it’s a really funny anti-Catholic joke that more than anything summed up the mentality of the British loyalists who also happened to be Protestants: the new Irish Republic would be nothing more than a puppet for Rome as far as they were concerned).\n\nThe War for Independence ended with a partition of the island, as well as a giant leap backwards for leftism in both Northern Ireland and especially the Republic. The IRA were considered a hangover from the war, and were despised by the new de Valera administration in Dublin. Anti union legislation was established by the former charming gentleman, whose idea of Ireland included maidens dancing in the fields.\n\nIn the fifties, an almost satirical, failed attempt to liberate the North took place, entitled (imaginatively) the Border campaign, or Operation Harvest. The IRA were a laughing stock amongst the Irish who were unlucky enough to be born and raised in the apartheid North (IRA stands for I Ran Away was one such wag). But the IRA wasn’t stupid, and it took certain lessons to heart, the most important lesson being Che Guevara’s dictum about guerilla warfare. A fish needs water to breathe, and a guerilla movement needed the hearts and minds of the denizens around them in the community to flourish.\n\nThis new IRA took stock and decided that Marxism, especially the orthodox Marxism espoused by Lenin et al, was the clearest way to raise the community’s hopes and hearts. Marxist studies took place, and dissemination of Marxist thought began to circulate in the more urban centers of the North.\n\nAround the time when seemingly the entire world was changing overnight (namely the late sixties), the civil rights campaign for the Irish Minority in the North began in Derry. What was remarkable was that this movement had nothing to do with the IRA (although there are loyalists to this day who still claim that a pacifist civil rights movement was orchestrated by the paramilitary). The civil rights group, perhaps personified by characters such as Eamon McCann and Bernadette Devlin aimed to improve the living conditions of the Irish currently stuck in the North; this was quickly met by almost unprecedented violence. Naturally, the Derry group fully expected push-back – they had modeled their actions on Selma and the American Civil Rights movement – but the violence quickly escalated from attacking marchers to riots in the streets of Belfast and virtually everywhere else in the North, up to and including the wholesale destruction of entire neighborhoods which had sadly lain too close to the opposing sectarian enclave. It didn’t help matters that the Royal Ulster Constabulary (i.e. the police, whose name alone should give one a solid idea of where they stood politically).\n\nThe IRA fought back hard, and tried to keep Western Belfast from being wiped off the map. However, the Northern IRA informed their southern counterparts that they were getting slaughtered, and handing out pamphlets om Trotsky and Lenin really wasn’t helping matters. Things came to a head, and an acrimonious split too place between the “Official”IRA splitting from the primarily Northern-based Provisional IRA. The Provisional IRA is the IRA that everyone around the word knows about. The Official IRA/Sinn Fein declared a ceasefire in 1972, stating that the situation was about to devolve into murderous, sectarian anarchy.\n\nThis was then followed by yet another split, an even more vicious one that created just as many bodies on the Republican side as it amongst their sectarian foes. In 1974, Seamus Costello, a popular socialist republican politician, felt that even the tiny amount of work perpetrated by the Officials was insufficient, and so he split and formed the Irish National Liberation Army. The INLA was intended to be a genuinely national liberation front, along the lines of the Vietnamese and the Cubans. Within 13 years, Seamus was dead and the organization had devolved into vicious factional in-fighting and out right drug-gang activity. More will be written about the INLA will follow in the next few days.\n\nAs for the PIRA, they adopted radicalism as well, although it has been argued that this was not scientific in any sense and was more based on “learning from” (i.e. aping) other national liberation organizations; furthermore, there was a clear delineation between the urban members who leaned towards radicalism, while the rural republicans were more of the classic conservative farmer stereotype who nevertheless despised the English. There is some question, which we’ll get to in part two, as to how genuine those socialist views are, considering the duality of a pan-nationalist Marxism and parochial Irish Republicanism.\n\nThe Official IRA “ceased to be” in the seventies, although it is a matter of public record that their masters kept the thugs around in case anyone needed pushing around (or assassinated, in the INLA’s case). Official Sinn Fein became Official Sinn Fein/Workers Party, finally dropping the IRA bit in the 80s. It was one of the stodgier radical organizations, one which ironically drew inspiration and teaching from orthodox British Marxists throughout the 80s. As this was not a particularly popular viewpoint in Thatcher’s Great Britain, many of them traveled to Ireland to begin the revolution there,, only to find the situation wanting as well. The party imploded in the early 90s.\n\nEverything you’ve just read has been framed within the device of republican paramilitary activity. This is not to give the impression that radicalism was hopelessly bound-up with “the boys”; there is a wide spectrum of radical orgs that attempted to varying degrees of success to alter the inexorable flow of violence as well as challenge the hegemony of what amounts to parochial, good ol’ fashioned capitalism.\n\nIt has been argued that the former communist apparatchiks of Yugoslavia became “ethnic entrepreneurs” following Tito’s death, and in the cases of some of the leaders of these republican pseudo-socialists, I believe that that moniker applies. Having been unable to offer answers and unwilling to let go of powerful positions, certain personages have utilized a combination of sectarianism and fake Marxism in order to maintain control. The question is to see if true Marxism can exist and rise above the deep-seated sectarianism that is the hall mark of divided, segregated communities. We’ll address this all in Part Two.\n\n\n\n\n\nCommunal Luxury/Kristin Ross\n\nOh, postmodernism. Weren’t you quaint? Remember your heyday back in the nineties, when those rascally communists appeared to be routed, the liberal and neo-liberal crowing about the coming “post-political” era (an idea as laughable as its’ ridiculous moniker)? The world felt safer (for those in the North and Western hemispheres – let’s make believe that the rest of the planet doesn’t exist), and post-modernism offered succor to people who were ill-equipped to deal with actual unpleasant situations that require teamwork and cooperation. Instead, the academics really managed to put their heads deep in the sand, and fell into irrelevance as meaningless terms such as meta, deconstruction, and the end of history” were shouted at an increasingly apathetic world.\n\nThem days have finished of course – every major event that has occurred since George W Bush managed to steal an election in 2000 has buried the idea that there’s no such thing as objectivity as well as the usual po-mo drivel that group movements are foolhardy due to mass activism’s “shaky philosophy”. But that spirit of taking thoughts, ideals, theories and movements and throwing them into some “the personal is the political” stew continues to this day; we call it by generic, off-brand terms such as progressive without really digging all that deeply into what that term means. Thus we have Occupy Wall Street. And thus we have the present volume – Communal Luxury by French Literature academic Kristin Ross.\n\nCommunal Luxury deals with the legacy of the Paris Commune, an event that appears to now eclipse the original French Revolution as the launching point for modernity. There is no shortage of material on the Commune, but it is an interesting change of the seasons when a volume claims to deal with the legacy (rather than the history) of the Paris Commune, and particularly what those brief desperate months mean to modern activists. It’s a pity that this volume fails do so.\n\nKristin Ross specifically draws links between the Commune (and more importantly, the Commune’s ideals) and events like Occupy Wall Street. And for two thirds of the writing, Ross offers cogent analysis on what those ideals actually were/are, although she is not quite as successful when she tries to drive those ideals into contemporary days. However, Ross’ parallels between art (functional or otherwise) and labour is fascinating, and there is an attempt to find consistencies between the shared communalism of Paris with modern concept of the lived, shared space of urbanity, as it is found via urban planning and living.\n\nCommunal Luxury argues for an anarchist sense of decentralizing and dismantling everything that is bound to the repressive capitalist state; and yes, there are similarities between academic postmodernism and anarchy in this respect. When Ross begins building arguments for anarchism’s line of thinking, she subsequently veers off the road and into supposition, conjecture and basically faulty reasoning.\n\nRoss suggests that even Marx himself, after witnessing the events of the Commune, began to believe that state machinery should not be used to smash state machinery (and state machinery should be smashed by some “Other” means, which is never explained); furthermore, Ross’ Anarchist Marx apparently felt that the entire concept of historical phases (of which capitalist development is one) is fraudulent. Ross bases all of this on a few unpublished letters that Marx sent to a fellow radical in Russia, near the end of his life.\n\nThe fact that Marx was in the middle of writing Das Kapital which drove home the very concept of historical phases, is not taken into account (to say nothing of the fact that minor correspondence that one writes near death’s door doesn’t constitute an official renunciation of one’s previous theories). Ross spends an inordinate amount of pages trying to justify her own conceptualization with dubious “evidence” that Marx was actually a crypto-anarchist.\n\nRoss then proceeds to spend the final third of the book addressing how certain anarchists (especially Kropotkin) massively influenced the Commune, which is certainly true to an extent; however, the sheer amount of time and ink devoted to singular anarchists overshadow how the Commune was influential for the world, anarchist or not – anarchists were and are still a tiny minority, even amongst the left.\n\nThere are some moments that deal with the heritage and optimism had a ripple effect on the Communards’ contemporaries, but very little time is spent on how a through-line exists from the Commune to the movements of today, particularly the much ballyhooed but never explicated Occupy Wall Street.\n\nIn all honesty, it’s a little baffling as to what Ross was attempting to accomplish with this slim volume. Was this a take on communalism and urban space, and the manner in which those two concepts have changed since the Commune? Is it about anarchism? Is it about Marx totally disavowing the work of his lifetime and embracing the “sudden destruction” anarchist school of thinking? Is it about the conflict between higher and lower forms of art?\n\nAll of this revolves around the neo-leftist potpourri methodology mentioned at the top of this article, and the connection between Then and Now (along with ideology, personalities, and the palpable effects felt around the world)  are all stirred in a pot to produce a mishmash whole.\n\nPost-modernism was always a question without an answer, and in that sense it shares a few features with anarchism; however, without any kind of uniting factors, the anarchist/postmodern approach resembles incomprehensible muck. And sadly, that resemblance is shared by Ross.\n\nAlthusser/Macciocchi/Letters from the Italian Communist Party\n\nSometimes you trip over a dusty corner and find gold. Sometimes the best writing, the most insightful, the most beautiful and haunting, are found in forgotten volumes long since out of print. And the truth that is revealed within these hidden texts remains; you do not necessarily need something that was published 12 months ago to find relevant info, sharp theoretics, and a reflection of the long term conditions of humanity. Letters from the Italian Communist Party to Louis Althusser is one such text. From the turbulent late sixties to the turbulent 21st century.\n\nMaria Macciocchi wrote Daily Life in Revolutionary China shortly after writing Letters, and that former book changed my life (for the better) a few years ago. Daily Life blew my mind at the time, during an already turbulent year; Macciocchi thrived during such periods of upheaval, and it was fitting that reading her account of China during the Cultural Revolution would fit neatly at the perfect time in my life.\n\nMacciocchi herself led an unbelievable life that sounds insane on paper. She joined the Italian Resistance to fight against Mussolini in the late thirties, and shortly thereafter joined the Communist Party of Italy (PCI). The PCI was the most progressive and radical of Western Europe’s Communist parties, and the largest, at one point commanding the support of two million members. It was also the leading party in the so-called “Eurocommunism Heresy”, in which many official Communist parties began to distance themselves from the Soviet Union, for obvious reasons.\n\nLouis Althusser was also a member of the Resistance against fascism during WWII, though in his case, France was the battleground and the Communist Party of France (PCF, still existent to this day) was the organization. More importantly, Althusser was the leading theorist of the PCF after the war, and he blasted down fossilized forms of thought and helped create the bedrock, the underlying philosophy of Modern Neo-Marxism. Althusser was another massive influence for me, and more than any other theorist save Badiou and Marx himself, Althusser drew me into Marxism.\n\nIn the late 60s, the PCI asked Macciocchi to come on down to southern Italy, to Naples, to run in the national elections which were taking place in the spring. Macciocchi had been living in Paris and writing for the PCI publication, L’Unita, but she jumped at this opportunity. She and Althusser wished to work together in a fashion, with Althusser providing the underlying theory and Macciocchi handling the footwork and agitation. The two agreed to establish correspondence during the election period, and this epistolary narrative makes up the bulk of this volume. The theorist, the militant and the situation; this combination was intended to generate new insight in a general manner as well as concrete observations of one of the poorest regions in Europe.\n\nAlthusser unfortunately does not contribute as much content as Macciocchi, but the input that he did produce was profound; they reflected the vantage point of a PCF member, an academic, and a Marxist theorist in the midst of the upheaval in France, May ’68. But more important is the biographical and theoretical writings of Macciocchi, as she devotes herself to aiding and working with the comrades of Naples (some of whom are not especially happy to see her – surprise surprise, all of those bitter people are men).\n\nThe “Southern Problem” of Italy had remained as intact as it ever was since Italian unification in the 1800s, and endemic poverty and lethal “living” conditions were still the order of the day. As was the case everywhere else in the south of Italy, chronic unemployment had created a slave labor pool of desperate people who were willing to do and endure anything in order to pay for the basics of survival. And as is the case elsewhere in the world, capitalists neatly pitted possible comrades against each other; the proletariat hated the unemployed, and the unemployed thought that the proles were a bunch of snobs.\n\nOf keen interest to the reader of 2016, this collection falls into the classic category due to the essential truths that ring loud throughout the book. The insights of the theoretical writing, combined with the very real, concrete experiences of Macciocchi who attempted to facilitate dialogue amongst potential Communists, create trenchant, immortal observations. 1968 bears more than a passing resemblance to 2016. Why is that? How is that possible? Because endgame zombie capitalism still dominates us, perhaps even moreso as we get neo-liberalism crammed down our throats. And of course, the State still prioritizes good business over every other human concern.\n\nMacciocchi’s rich storytelling, plainly evident here as it was in Daily Life in Revolutionary Chinacaptures the reader, and her own dry sense of humor sidesteps outright despair when confronted by an ugly situation. Nevertheless, the face of crushing urban poverty is familiar and is terrifying to us – we’re quite familiar with it, and it certainly hasn’t disappeared since Macciocchi’s time. The situation has merely shifted locales, from Southern Italy to the Southern hemisphere.\n\nReally, if you want to see evidence that communists really can be dynamic, flexible, and ready for a range of troubles/situations, give Letters from the Italian Communist Party a chance. I know that principles should come before personalities (do you see what I’m inferring, Bernie Sanders?), and I do sincerely believe that the masses make history, not a handful of godlike MEN, but Althusser and Macciocchi have been incredibly important to me. If you want to see what I mean, pick this up if/when you see it at your local used bookstore or at Amazon.\n\nJust FYI: If you think labor problems have just gone away in Europe, google “France, News, 2016”. It is anarchy in Paris and all of the major cities in France right now, even if the media would rather focus on some goddamn Trump Tweets rather than total chaos on the streets of a major Western country. As the Greek protesters said a few years ago, “We are you in the future”. Start forming groups.\n\nWhere lightning strikes\n\nYes, I am still plowing through the stories of the Paris Commune, about two weeks after everyone has promptly forgotten May Day. Yes, I know this is obsessive. On the other hand, this  is a critical unforgettable moment that is formed by mashing together by context, mass action, and the waves of history\n\nPresently I am studying Civil War in France, written by Karl “Marxism” Marx; I am already THOROUGHLY familiar with the events of the Commune, but that is not the point behind reading canonical texts. The statements made in the canon, the philosophies that lurk behind the ostensible focus of the work, are eternal. The text could deal with a tiny, very specific topic, but you’ll know when a text rises above simplistic categorization and makes statements that are relevant now, relevant in the future, as much as they were relevant in the past.\n\nThe enormity of the Commune, the sheer amount of focus that is drawn to this singularity, means that there are LOTS of information, points of view, and lessons to be learned when studying those three months in detail. But the canon is not by any means set in stone. nor are they formed on book lists written by academic super-Marxists. The canon is malleable; it depends wholly upon the worth of the lessons taught in the text, the relevance that the text holds for the reader, and as is what happens to any reader, a compelling mixture of time and place.\n\nLife-changing books are innumerable, and the best break open some kind of code, some set of horizons that were previously unknown to the reader. These are essential texts, and they truly are suspect devices. They are little bombs waiting to be set off. Naturally the combo of real lived-in situations AND the texts that are connected somehow (either via philosophy or context) constitute the best scenario for the canonical.\n\nAs much as punk rock saved my life when I was a teenager, there was one specific text that I read later in life, which I felt represented me and produced a philosophy that I felt spoke for and to me. A text that could be contextualized and re-contextualized to fit different scenarios in life: that book was The Fountainhead.\n\nI’M KIDDING. The book that I speak of is Daily Life in Revolutionary China, a text written by an Italian Communist woman named Maria Theresa Macciocci in 1970, one of the quieter moments in the Cultural Revolution. But the canon is virtually indefinite – this will be shaped by the events that we speak of, and if they maintain any kind of viewpoints that address scenarios that routinely get repeated through history. More on that later – I want to address the new Marxist wave which has saved Spain yet again. Some situations are all too familiar for some of us.\n\nAnyway, let the living and breathing canon continue to grow, as the continuum of radicalism shapes the world, as more people find an articulation that they feel sums up not only the topic at hand, but also the bare basics of human life trapped in late period Capitalism.\n\n\n\n\n\nOur revenge will be the laughter of our children – May Day 2016\n\nIt seems like I resurrect the same dead horse to whip every May, every year. On the other hand, something astonishing happened in Paris in 1871, an eruption that arguably was greater than any other rebellion or revolution to follow. That’s a bold statement, and I make it not to denigrate any of the other revolutionary foundation stones; rather, the Paris Commune produced an incredible experiment in genuinely equitable society, one that was honestly built on equity, camaraderie, and real justice, not the bourgeois deformation of all three.\n\nWe should remember the Commune for what it achieved, rather than grousing about its fall or swearing blood grudges against the descendants of the Versailles bourgeoisie. This society was as much about joy as it was equal distribution of food or new parliamentary systems. This is the joy, the sheer happiness of becoming united with each other, with the birth of a new society, overthrowing a useless, tyrannical system. And it has to be remembered as a moment, a singularity in time that exists by itself via a recognition of the circumstances of that moment. It was the Moment of recognition that created the moment of joy. And it did not correspond to any historical norms, therefore making the Moment unpredictable.\n\nIt almost goes without saying that this moment was quashed by ruthless, barbaric, right-wing thugs who operated in the open and revealed the true nature of the bourgeoisie – a nature built on greed, spite, and blind hatred of anything that wasn’t/isn’t them. However, certain changes had been installed that were irreversible, changes and demands which would become givens throughout world society and all of the mass movements to come. Revolutions don’t necessarily fail – frequently they create new, greater bedrock for future generations to stand on and demand their freedom. In that sense, May Day should always pay its respects to the sacrifices made in one of the world’s greatest experiments in democracy.\n\nFor the next ten days, I will be throwing up as much Commune material that my fingers can produce. Besides commentary, quotes, articles and declarations, there will be reviews of two books and a bonkers play from the typically bonkers Bertolt Brecht. Let’s open the shrine and make it better by contribution; let’s commemorate the fallen and celebrate the victories they achieved and which they still achieve through our own contemporary actions .\n\nVive la Commune!", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5627392530441284}
+{"content": "Tangela is a grass type Pokemon.  The drawing of Tangela is very friendly and cute, but I believe Tangela would be a much scarier looking creature if found in the wild.  His hair is ratted, and his feet are only red because they are dyed with blood from walking around on rocks and sticks.\n\nTangela Final\n\n\n\n\n\nI once again decided to do a real Pokemon chop.  This chop is of Mankey, a monkey inspired fighting pokemon.\n\n\nMy depiction is much closer to a real monkey, but the only piece of a monkey that I used was the face.  I started this chop with a basic sketch, and then filled it with teddy bear fur and monkey skin textures.  Click on the image to make it much larger.\n\nmankey drawing\n\nMankey Final\n\nMankey in the wild\n\n\nBackground- http://www.deviantart.com/art/the-branch-reaches-out-169436208\n\nFur- http://www.deviantart.com/art/Mr-Teddy-29036099\n\nFace- http://www.deviantart.com/art/sad-monkey-18963093\n\n\nThe Kelpie stories originated in Scotland.  A Kelpie is a horse-like creature that lives in the seas.  It also has the ability to take human form.  It is said that this beast is mostly malicious and not one that you want to cross in the wild.\n\nFor my depiction, I wanted to show the more majestic side of the creature.  I originally did the colorful and vibrant version, and then decided to try the black and white version.  Which one do you like better?  Leave a comment!\n\nKelpie Kelpie B-W\n\n\n\nHorse- http://www.photoshop-php.ru/img/855/dop/hourse.jpg?PHPSESSID=03ab76a85ff7851c6171187b6fdc8e9a\n\nWaist- http://www.deviantart.com/art/Happy-Betta-Fish-355312584\n\nTail- http://photography-vlm.blogspot.com/2012/04/whose-tail.html\n\nSpikes- http://www.taxidermy.net/forum/index.php/topic,148382.0.html\n\nFins- http://www.sanjuanorcas.com/uploads/1/7/8/9/17890941/1024788_orig.jpg\n\nSky- http://maryrows.com/wp-content/gallery/home-page/slide2.jpg\n\nWater- http://image6.tuku.cn/wallpaper/Animal%20Wallpapers/10845_1680x1050.jpg\n\nFairy Battle\n\nFairies are well known in the mythical stories.  Tiny people with wings that try to stay hidden from the human realm. Legend says that circles of mushrooms are indication that fairies have recently gathered there.  \n\nBut fairy life is not just fluttering and dancing.  They have their own societies, and sometimes those different groups may have disagreements.  Below I have depicted a fairy dispute that has escalated to full on war.  \n\nFairy Battle final\n\n\nFemale Models\nMale Models\n\n\n\n\n\nSpider Lady final\n\nSource images-\n\nModel – Background – Spider Abdomen – Spider Legs\n\n\nThe Vila are a Slavic tradition.  While there are many versions and names for this creature, they all share the same basic concept; a beautiful woman that changes forms when angry.  Some folklore believes these women to be the ghosts of fair maidens who died before their wedding night.  Despite the many tales of their origin, this enticing creature enjoys luring a weary man to kill him, and often cause storms when their tempers flare.  Below are snapshots of two Vila, both in their beautiful form and their true form.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nimage from bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net\n\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7504755258560181}
+{"content": "STUDY GUIDE:   EXAM 1 Fall 2000\n\nThis exam will consist of 50 multiple choice questions. The questions will cover:\nText (Bradshaw) Chapters 1, 2\nClass notes and web notes\nGroup work: map exercises, etc.\nGroup presentations: Global Warming, Ozone Hole, El Nino, Culture & Globalization\nVideo: On the Global Screen\nChapter 1: A New Global Order & Geography\n\n__ Globalization \n__ New World Order \n__ 1st, 2nd, 3rd World countries\n__ Post-Cold War political environment\n__ Core, periphery, semi-periphery\n__ Westernization: causes and effects\n__ Geography\n__ Inequality\n__ Overpopulation vs over-consumption\n__ Anthropogenic effects\n__ Absolute vs. relative location \n__ Human-environment interaction\n__ Global, regional, local scale \n__ World system\n__ Growth of the global order\n__ Capitalism (also: mercantile capitalism, industrial capitalism)\n\nCHPT 2: Basics of World Regional Geography\n\n__ Latitude and longitude (parallels and meridians)\n__ Friction of distance, cost\n__ Map scale (small vs large)\n__ Spatial analysis, distribution, density, diffusion\n__ Demography; global population issues\n__ Population pyramid\n__ Demographic Transition Model \n__ Centripetal vs centrifugal forces\n__ Economic sectors: primary, secondary, tertiary, quaternary\n__ Sustainable human development\n__ Human Development Index (HDI) vs Human Poverty Index (HPI)\n__ Multinational corporation\n__ Marginalization\n__ Dependency theory\n__ Dual sectors\n__ Culture, race, ethnicity\n__ Cultural hearth\nPhysical geography:\n__ Earth's temperature balance\n__ Convective rainfall\n__ World climates: tropical, midlatitudes, polar\n__ Plate tectonics (text, CD-ROM)\n__ Weathering, erosion, deposition \n__ Ecosystem\n__ Biome: forest, grassland, desert, polar, ocean\n__ Human impact on the enviroment\n__ Desertification\n__ Renewable vs non-renewable resource\n__ Thomas Malthus and carrying capacity\n__ Landscape\n\nI did not include in this table specific material from the group work. Please remember to review that as well.\nIf you have questions, please ask. You can also query your classmates on the email discussion list (if you are on it). Send email to GEO330@pearl.indstate.edu to post a message.\nSend email to gejjohan@scifac.indstate.edu to reach me.\n\nGood Luck!", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.549500584602356}
+{"content": "Recombinant protein\n\nProteins are a group of organic molecule combinations. Proteins are the most important of all the materials that compose all living organisms. Proteins are in each living cell of all organisms without exceptions and in the cells, the proteins are abundant in variety or types. All the characteristics of the organisms are determined by protein activity (such as eye color, immune system operation..)\n\nProtein was known to science before the DNA and for long time was assumed that they are the genetic code carrier.\nProtein is a huge molecule, the building blocks of protein are the amino acid, and a standard protein molecule is made out of many thousand of amino acids. The protein poses a complex 3-D shape, this shape determines many of the protein functions in the living body.\n\nCreation of proteins\nThe proteins are created in the cells by the ribosome by a process called “Translation” in which a mRNA molecule (that was transcript from the DNA inside the nucleus) comes out of the nucleus to the Cytoplasm, this mRNA molecule carry the genetic code of the DNA and proteins are translated in the cytoplasm. In this process is involved another protein molecule called Ribosome.\nRecombinant protein Types\nRecombinant protein is a protein that it’s code was carried by a recombinant DNA.\nThe term recombinant DNA means that two segments of DNA in a plasmid. Plasmids are usually occurring in bacteria.\nWhen a recombinant DNA is inserted to a bacteria, this bacteria will produce protein based on this recombinant DNA. This protein is called recombinant protein.\nThe use of bacteria in order to produce recombinant protein has grown in the recent years. Using recombinant DNA and inserting it to a plasmid of rapidly reproducing bacteria enables the manufacture of recombinant protein. These recombinant proteins can be variety of types, the can be Antibodies, antigens, hormones and enzymes.\n\nWide Shipping", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7635643482208252}
+{"content": "Articles on Solar eclipse\n\nDisplaying all articles\n\n\nHow to safely watch an eclipse: Advice from an astronomer\n\nPeople reject science such as that about climate change and vaccines, but readily believe scientists about solar eclipses, like this one reflected on the sunglasses of a man dangerously watching in Nicosia, Cyprus, in a 2015 file photo. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)\n\nEclipse of reason: Why do people disbelieve scientists?\n\nPeople universally believe scientists' solar eclipse calendars, but vaccine warnings or climate predictions are forms of science that strangely do not enjoy equivalent acceptance.\n\nHow eclipses were regarded as omens in the ancient world\n\n\nScientist at work: Why this meteorologist is eager for an eclipse\n\nNASA’s Juno probe will be the fastest object humanity has ever created when it approaches Jupiter. NASA/JPL-Caltech\n\nExploring the solar system: the best of what you can look out for in 2016\n\nFrom the high-speed journey to Jupiter to solar eclipses, meteor showers and planetary alignments visible in the skies above -- add these space highlights to your 2016 calendar.\nThe first bite of the apple. Steve Parsons/PA\n\nSolar eclipse 2015 livestream\n\nBritish weather let you down? Watch a livestream of the solar eclipse from the University of Nottingham.\nHey Jupiter and Io, I’m on my way to Pluto. NASA\n\nSpace exploration promises to be spectacular in 2015\n\nEclipse at sunrise over Richmond, Virginia, USA in November 2013. Sky Noir (Bill Dickinson)/Flickr\n\nExplainer: what is a solar eclipse?\n\nEach month, at the time of new moon, the sun and moon are together in the daytime sky. Most of the time the moon passes by unnoticed. But at least twice a year, somewhere on Earth will see the moon pass…\nA solar eclipse as seen in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 2012 – similar to what many Australians will see this afternoon (weather permitting, of course). Robert Adams/Flickr\n\nCatch the sun: are you ready for a partial solar eclipse today?\n\nDue to a rare alignment of events, many Australians will today experience a second eclipse this month. A partial solar eclipse will be visible from across Australia later this afternoon, following the…\n\nTop contributors", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9224971532821655}
+{"content": "ZFIN ID: ZDB-PUB-170408-3\nEvolution of the hypoxia-sensitive cells involved in amniote respiratory reflexes\nHockman, D., Burns, A., Schlosser, G., Gates, K.P., Jevans, B., Mongera, A., Fisher, S., Unlu, G., Knapik, E.W., Kaufman, C.K., Mosimann, C., Zon, L.I., Lancman, J.J., Dong, P.D., Lickert, H., Tucker, A.S., Baker, C.V.\nDate: 2017\nSource: eLIFE 6: (Journal)\nRegistered Authors: Dong, P. Duc, Fisher, Shannon, Gates, Keith, Knapik, Ela W., Lancman, Joseph, Mosimann, Christian, Unlu, Gokhan, Zon, Leonard I.\nKeywords: chicken, developmental biology, mouse, stem cells, xenopus, zebrafish\nMeSH Terms: none\nPubMed: 28387645 Full text @ Elife\nFIGURES   (current status)\nThe evolutionary origins of the hypoxia-sensitive cells that trigger amniote respiratory reflexes - carotid body glomus cells, and 'pulmonary neuroendocrine cells' (PNECs) - are obscure. Homology has been proposed between glomus cells, which are neural crest-derived, and the hypoxia-sensitive 'neuroepithelial cells' (NECs) of fish gills, whose embryonic origin is unknown. NECs have also been likened to PNECs, which differentiate in situ within lung airway epithelia. Using genetic lineage-tracing and neural crest-deficient mutants in zebrafish, and physical fate-mapping in frog and lamprey, we find that NECs are not neural crest-derived, but endoderm-derived, like PNECs, whose endodermal origin we confirm. We discover neural crest-derived catecholaminergic cells associated with zebrafish pharyngeal arch blood vessels, and propose a new model for amniote hypoxia-sensitive cell evolution: endoderm-derived NECs were retained as PNECs, while the carotid body evolved via the aggregation of neural crest-derived catecholaminergic (chromaffin) cells already associated with blood vessels in anamniote pharyngeal arches.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5994541645050049}
+{"content": "Internet Governance Glossary\n\n\n2.31 Country code top-level-domain / ccTLD\n\ntop-level-domain (TLD) which designates a specific country or special area of geographical interest, such as .uk (United Kingdom), .cn (China), .in (India).\n\n\nccTLD are managed according to the international standard ISO 3166 (multipart) “Codes for the representation of names of countries and their subdivisions”. Some ccTLD are still managed by a variety of institutions or individuals that received accreditation in the early days of the Internet, when some governments were not all that interested in such matters.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8627591133117676}
+{"content": "Commentary: Character Is The Only Shot Dole Has Left\n\nDying campaigns go through their own political Kubler-Ross cycle: denial, then rage, then the serenity of acceptance. The tipoff to the final stage: Reporters start writing about how \"liberated\" the candidate appears in the closing days of battle when artifice drops away and the all-but-certain loser returns to his home ground. GOP standard-bearer Bob Dole seems intent on breaking the cycle: He might stay angry all the way to Nov. 5.\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6455217599868774}
+{"content": "Fostering emotional safety in marriage\n\nIf you’re anything like me, every time I read a book on marriage I come away feeling slightly depressed, guilty and overwhelmed as I realize all of my failings as a wife. The pages of the book only serve to remind me of all the good things I could have done and for some reason or another didn’t! I hate that feeling and it tends to build an aversion to reading books on marriage, not good! While nothing on earth is perfect “Safe Haven Marriage” has a different approach. It addresses the underlying cause of most marriage problems; poor emotional connectivity and it does this with clear, commonsense and manageable exercises. So may I encourage you to read on?\n\nIf you had the chance to read last week’s introduction you’ll know that my husband and I were part of a Safe Haven Marriage group. One of the things we loved about Safe Haven Marriage is that co-authors Archibald Hart and Sharon Hart Morris; a father and daughter duo; while both Christian psychologists, write in a very conversational down to earth manner. Sharon specializes in EFT or emotionally focused therapy and works through an attachment theory lens. In a nutshell, attachment theory is concerned with how well we trust and build bonds with others; something we learn in our early childhood from our primary caregivers. What all this means is that couples are encouraged to contact their feelings and find constructive and safe ways of expressing them so as to draw closer to their spouse and build deeper and safer connections with each other; a very good thing to do.\n\nThe safe haven idea arises out of the metaphor for a boat that has passed out beyond the heads where the waves surge and can be rough, threatening damage to the boat. Once the boat returns to the bay the waters are more serene and manageable, hence there is safety. Our marriages are likened to this sea-faring reality; out in the world we face many challenges as men and women. When we return home we long for our partners to be a place of safety and comfort for us where we can be understood, known and accepted, for who we really are, we all long for a “safe haven” for our hearts. Unfortunately, our marriages can at times be all too much like being out at sea beyond the headlands where the waves are unpredictable and dangerous and we feel unsafe.\n\nIf you’re a wife, then you, like me, have no doubt failed, let down, hurt and disappointed your husband many times over the course of your marriage, it’s normal and unavoidable as broken and sinful people. Maybe you even fight regularly. Yet strangely enough according to long term marital researcher John Gottman, fighting is not the number one indicator of a marriage in trouble; however not fighting is! Did you expect that? When a couple fights they are actually attempting to make a connection with their mate, albeit a bad one. So a marriage in crisis will actually be typified by emotional disconnection and withdrawal. If this is sounding like your marriage and right now you have a knot in the pit of your stomach then as tempting as it is don’t despair. Arch and Sharon have seen many marriages like this in their practices over the years and hence have written this book to help couples rebuild their emotional connection if they sense they have lost it or are losing it and the good news is; it is possible to rebuild emotional connectivity after it’s declined. Not saying it’s going to be easy but it can through prayer and some hard work be achieved. The chapters are full of practical suggestions that are not overwhelming. And despite all the research of the likes of John Gottman, as followers of Christ we have some great advantages; the grace of God and prayer.\n\nWe can damage the emotional connectivity we have with our spouses in many ways but some of the most common ones which you might recognize are; the busyness of life, past unresolved conflicts and not being there for each other when you’re needed. On the other hand a safe haven marriage would be hallmarked by; trustworthiness, emotional availability and sensitive responsiveness.\n\nIn my own 23 year long marriage I can look back and see ups and downs in our emotional connectivity. I can see the times when the busyness and day to day stressors of life have kept my husband and I from being there for each other and how easy it can be to drift apart but I can also see the times when we have been available for each other during the difficult times and how that has strengthened the trust and bonds between us. Going through the questions and exercises at the end of each chapter has been a great exercise to do as part of a group together. Being with four other couples normalized the behaviors that we all felt ashamed of and didn’t want to mention out loud. I thought this even more significant for the men. As women we are more inclined to speak out our emotions and do so more regularly with each other. However the men rarely have this opportunity. Being in a group of couples allowed and encouraged both the men and women to speak and afforded the men a time to find their voices and speak out what they were feeling more than they usually would. I can’t remember that last time I saw a bunch of guys sitting around talking about their marriages openly but in a safe haven marriage group that happens. I can’t recommend it enough to you.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7783448100090027}
+{"content": "18 Jun 2015\n\nBrain Training to Slow Progression of Huntington's Disease\n\nFrom Our Changing World, 9:34 pm on 18 June 2015\n\nBy Veronika Meduna\n\nWe want to know if early on … if we engage those pathways that become very sick later on, and if we continue to engage those pathways, can we stop or slow down the disease process.\nMelanie Cheung, neuroscientist University of Auckland\n\nNeuroscientist Melanie Cheung combines both indigenous and Western science in her approach to brain research.\n\nNeuroscientist Melanie Cheung combines both indigenous and Western science in her approach to brain research. Photo: RNZ / Veronika Meduna\n\nOur brain has a remarkable ability to rewire itself constantly, even following injury.\n\nMelanie Cheung, a neuroscientist at the University of Auckland’s Centre for Brain Research, hopes to harness this plasticity to slow the progression of neuro-degenerative conditions such as Huntington’s disease.   \n\nHuntington’s is an inherited genetic disorder that causes the progressive breakdown of nerve cells in the brain. Its symptoms include deterioration of movement, personality and thinking. There is no cure, and no effective treatment.\n\nAlthough the prevalence of Huntington’s disease among Māori has not been formally quantified, there is evidence that it is at least twice that of non-Māori. Melanie Cheung has recently received nearly $1.2 million from the Health Research Council to develop computer-based brain training programmes with a strong focus on te reo and tikanga Māori.\n\nHer team has been working with several whanau affected by Huntington’s who have now become part of a study to assess whether brain resilience training can help to delay the onset of symptoms and to slow the course of the disease.\n\n“My idea was based on the fact that in Huntington’s there is an increase in neurogenesis (the production of new brain cells) but it’s too little too late. So perhaps neuroplasticity could help recruit these cells, help them integrate functionally and enhance that process.”\n\nOne of the molecules that plays an important role in neuroplasticity is called Brain-Derived Neutrotrophic Factor, or BDNF, and it is significantly reduced in Huntington’s. But other researchers who have used brain training with schizophrenics have shown that BDNF increased when people started using the programmes. The hope is that this will also be the case in Huntington’s.\n\nIn the human brain you have cells that talk to each other, and the more and more they talk to each other the stronger those connections become. So what happens with neuroplasticity is that we’re making the cells talk to each other so that the pathways become really strong. And the pathways that we’re aiming to strengthen are the very ones that become weakened in Huntington’s disease.\n\nMelanie Cheung (Ngāti Rangitihi, Te Arawa) combines both indigenous and Western science in her research, and her work integrates experimental neurobiology, bioethics, tikanga and Mātauranga Māori.\n\nAs part of her commitment to tikanga Māori, she consulted her own whanau and iwi when she began work on brain tissue.\n\nShe became particularly interested in neuroplasticity after working with pioneering American neuroscientist Michael Merzenich, who has been part of the development of the Māori-focused brain training programmes.\n\nThe first study began earlier this year, when all participants were assessed for their baseline cognitive and sensory function, psychological conditions such as depression and anxiety, and the research team took an MRI scan of their brain.\n\nEach study member will go through the same suite of measurements after 20, 40 and 80 weeks of daily brain training, focusing on tasks such as emotional recognition, temporal processing, speed of processing, working memory and attention.\n\n“These are all things that get changed early in the disease process. These cognitive changes then lead to other issues further down the track.”\n\nThe study focuses on people who don’t yet experience any symptoms, and may not even know whether they have inherited the gene that leads to Huntington’s. If the results are promising, Melanie Cheung hopes that brain training will be recommended to anybody who has any history of Huntington’s in their family.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9584302306175232}
+{"content": "Browse All Recipes\n\nSoba Noodle Veggie Bowl With Tahini Dressing\n\nThink of this dish as a build-your-own noodle bowl—set out the components and let your friends or family assemble as they please. In addition to being healthy and completely customizable, it’s pretty, too, thanks to the assortment of vibrant veggies. The star of the meal is the creamy tahini dressing, which is a riff on an Asian-style peanut butter sauce. We love soba noodles for their quick cook time and nutty flavor, but feel free to use whole-wheat spaghetti instead. For added protein, top the bowls with tofu, shredded chicken, or shrimp. Spicy food lovers can top theirs with sliced fresh chile, too.\n\nCrispy Chicken Cutlets With Carrot and Kale Salad\n\nYes, chicken cutlets are familiar, but this recipe creates golden, crusty, and tender results every time. Plus, the torn lacinato kale and shaved carrot salad adds a modern edge to the crowd-pleasing cutlet. You can prep the salad a day ahead of time: wash, de-stem, and tear the kale. To shave the carrots into ribbons, thoroughly wash and scrub them. Then, using a Y-shaped peeler, shave off thin ribbons of carrot. You can store the ribbons in a bowl of cold water in the refrigerator for up to a day ahead of time. The dressing will also keep overnight in an airtight container.\n\nSpicy Beef and Broccolini Stir-Fry\n\nWhat’s not to like about DIY, healthier Chinese takeout that you can cook up in 20 minutes? This warming family-friendly meal packs plenty of color on each plate. Lightly-cooked broccolini and Fresno chiles still retain some of their fresh crunch, and they’re not drenched in sauce. Instead, a glossy sauce made from beef broth, soy sauce, sugar, and cornstarch gets drizzled over the veggies, beef, and rice for a bit of savory-sweet satisfaction. The rice can be made a day ahead and reheated, and it’s perfectly okay to substitute brown rice for white, or even udon or soba noodles.\n\nCrispy Pork-and-Bok Choy Larb\n\nLarb is a traditional dish that comes from Thailand and Laos. It traditionally combines meat, chili, lime, and herbs like mint and cilantro. Here, carrots and bok choy round out the flavors and balance the meat-heavy flavors. Some people have a hard time with fish sauce’s intense flavor. If that’s you, you can substitute soy sauce. Serve the larb with a light beer and if you want to stretch the meal even further, a pot of white rice would taste great alongside.\n\nGrapefruit and Feta Fregola Salad\n\nFregola is similar to couscous, with larger grains. Here, it’s tossed with salty feta, tangy grapefruit segments, and a zesty-sweet honey-mustard dressing. This stands up as a simple meal on its own, but if you wanted to serve it as a side, it would pair well with grilled meat, to mimic the char on the onions. Try it with shrimp, chicken, or salmon. You can also stir arugula into the salad to add some fresh greens and bulk it up a bit.\n\nCobb salad, eat your heart out. This seven-layer salad is basically a taco-style take on that country club staple. There’s everything you could want in a taco, arranged on a platter topped off with a smoky lime-buttermilk dressing. You’ve got beans, tomatoes, cheese, avocado, chips, and ground beef. Here, the beef is sautéed with cumin and chile powder, which achieves the classic taco-seasoning taste with ingredients you probably already have in your pantry. To turn this into an actual taco dinner, serve with warm corn tortillas.\n\nSteak and Beet Salad\n\nHanger steak comes from the underside of the cow, between the rib and the loin. Because it comes from this area, hanger steaks are tender and taste just as juicy and bold as a fancy ribeye steak for a much lower price point. When you’re ready to cook the steak, make sure to let the pan heat up until it’s very hot—this will ensure a good crust without overcooking the meat. To make peeling the beets easier, hold them with a paper towel.\n\nBrussels Sprouts Flatbread With Lemon and Pecorino\n\nThis seasonal flatbread feeds a crowd, making it perfect for a weeknight holiday party (or any party, really). Store-bought pizza dough saves you time, and the Brussels sprouts cook entirely on the flatbread—so it comes together faster than you think. For even faster prep, use the slicing disk of a food processor to create thin shavings of Brussels sprouts, or buy pre-packed shredded sprouts. Each bite has a kick from the crushed red pepper, and Pecorino provides just the right amount of saltiness. It's just as delicious warm as it is at room temperature, so no need to worry about serving it straight from the oven. Pair it with a dry white wine.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6550341844558716}
+{"content": "Cambridge essay competition science\n\n\nWrite your answer in 220-260 words in an appropriate style.\nYou have read an online article about changes in the types of subject taught at secondary schools. The article says that some traditional subjects may no longer be taught at school. Four of the subjects discussed are mentioned below, along with some of the readers’ comments. Which subjects may no longer be taught at secondary school? Music  ‘Most students who are interested in music take lessons out of school.’ Geography  ‘Why do we need to know the names of rivers and mountains around the world?’ History ‘It’s all about the past. At schools, we need to be focussing on the future.’ Art ‘Art lessons allow kids to explore their creativity.’ Write an essay discussing TWO of the subjects mentioned above. You should explain why you think these subjects should continue to be taught at secondary schools, giving reasons to support your answer.\n\nCambridge essay competition science\n\ncambridge essay competition science\n\n\ncambridge essay competition sciencecambridge essay competition sciencecambridge essay competition sciencecambridge essay competition science", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8504475951194763}
+{"content": "That is most probably true if you are not unit testing it or collecting metrics.\n\nOne of the most important metrics is the Change Risk Analysis and Predictions or CRAP index.\n\nThe CRAP index is designed to analyze and predict the amount of effort, pain, and time required to maintain code.\n\nIt is one of the most useful tools you have to check code quality and identify possible problematic blocks.\n\nThe index is calculated taken into account the cyclomatic complexity and the code coverage by automated testing tools.\n\nThe cyclomatic complexity is a widely used metric and is calculated as one plus the number of decision points in the code block.\n\nThe higher the CRAP index the crapier your code is.\n\nAs you might guess a complex code block with lots of decision points will have an high crap index, that is where automated test coverage comes to the rescue.\n\nif your code is 100% covered by unit tests you can be sure that whatever changes you made won’t break anything, otherwise the tests will fail.\n\nCRAP index measures the effort to maintain and change code, the higher the test coverage the lower you CRAP index will be as the risk of changing code is also less.\n\nTools like Project Mess Detector (java, php) will help you a lot to produce better code, simply run them and you will know the problematic blocks in your code, the just need to follow the recommendations and refactor a bit.\n\nAs a side note, metrics are metrics and just that, they are no kind of dogmatic religion and every value should be analyzed, but please don’t use this argument as an excuse not to acknowledge the obvious if your metrics, like the npath complexity is a fifteen digit number (as I have seen) you can be sure that something is really wrong!\n\n\nHow many of you are using unit tests and metrics as part of the software development process?", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9422664046287537}
+{"content": "From GNUstepWiki\n\nNSTableView is located within the AppKit (gnustep-gui library) and is used to display tables. It uses a delegate model for getting its data i.e. you give it an object that provides it with the data it should display.\n\nCode chunks\n\nAutosize row height according to font\n\nFollowing code autosizes the row height according to the size of data cell font:\n\n- (void)autosizeRowHeight\n   NSTableColumn *col = [[self tableColumns] objectAtIndex:0];\n   NSFont        *font;\n\n   font = [[col dataCell] font];\n\n   [self setRowHeight:[font maximumAdvancement].height];\n\nUse the method in a category of NSTableView.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9967367649078369}
+{"content": "Michigan Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf\n\nDo you have great ideas for MIRID? \n\nDo you want to help MIRID serve interpreters statewide? \n\nJoin a committee and be the change you want to see!\n\nTwo hands touching with fingers pointing up on a black background.\n\nInformation for Working Interpreters\n\nIf you have any suggestions for additional resources, please let us know at publications@mirid.org.    \n\nFrequently Asked Questions\n\nHow do Michigan rules define “effective communication”?\n\n (l) “Effective communication” means that all involved parties understand each other for the exchange of visual and audio information about ideas, attitudes, emotions, or behavior that occurs between 2 or more persons, through a common system of language that is equally and fully understood by a deaf, deafblind, or hard of hearing person (D/DB/HH) and hearing persons. The interpreter must possess sign language to English – English to sign language skills and necessary vocabulary for the situation so that all parties have access to the same information. (R 393.5003, p. 2)\n\nWhat happens if while interpreting an unexpected medical emergency happens for which I would normally not be qualified to interpret? \n\nRule 29 outlines provisions that may allow you to interpret legally until a properly qualified interpreter of other means of effective communication is established. Jump to page 13 to read about this potentially life saving rule.\n\nHow does the Michigan BEI Testing Cycle work?\n\n Rule 42. \n\n  (1) A person tested under the state testing system for certification shall participate in a 4-year testing cycle and retest at the next higher level of certification until passing the MI BEI II or its equivalent. After passing the MI BEI II or its equivalent, the person is not required to retest every 4 years as long as the certification does not lapse.\n\n  (2) A person who is required to retest will retain his or her current level of certification.\n\n  (3) A person holding current national certification or the state-recognized EIPA certification of 4.0 shall not be required to retest to renew his orher certification.    (R 393.5042, p. 16)\n\nMust I always carry my Michigan interpreter credential card?\n\nRule 51 (2) Before starting a proceeding, an interpreter shall show his or her current Michigan qualified interpreter credential card to the appointing authority and D/DB/HH person(s). If the credential card does not include a photograph, the interpreter must present it along with validgovernment issued photo identification.   (R 393.5051, p. 16)\n\nCan I interpret for my coworkers on occasion? \n\nIn most cases it’s completely acceptable, but Rule 51 (5) stipulates:\n\n (5) A qualified interpreter may interpret for a proceeding for a co-worker or peer during organizational meetings, workshops, seminars, union discussions, or whennot a participant in the meeting, but shall not interpret for a co-worker or peer during a disciplinary meeting, conflict resolution, personal meeting, or employmentdispute. A neutral qualified interpreter shall be used, upon request of the D/DB/HH person.   (R 393.5051, p. 17)\n\nNOTE: All questions and requests for clarification should be directed to DODDBHH. \n\n\nP.O. Box 1143\n\nTemperance, MI 48182\n\n\nPowered by Wild Apricot Membership Software", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8899304270744324}
+{"content": "TIFF 2015 Women Directors: Meet Elisabeth Scharang – ‘Jack’\n\nnullElisabeth Scharang was born in Austria. She worked as a journalist and radio broadcaster before directing the documentaries \"Normale Zeiten,\" \"Octopusalarm,\" \"My Dear Republic\" and \"Kick Out Your Boss,\" and the fiction feature \"In Another Lifetime.\" (Press materials)\n\n\"Jack\" will premiere at the 2015 Toronto international Film Festival on September 15. \n\n\nES: \"Jack\" is a film about loyalty and about the misunderstanding of love. What happens when the applause of the audience ends? Who are your friends, and can there be friendship with someone who has a dark past — [someone] who once killed a woman and was in prison for 15 years? It is also a story about us: How do we judge a person?\n\nThe film is based on a true story that took place in the early ’90s.\n\nW&H: What drew you to this story?\n\nES: Almost everyone in Austria has an opinion about the case of Jack Unterweger, a man who was charged with murder in eleven cases. I was working as a journalist for radio in those days, and I met Unterweger before he was a suspect and before he stood trial. So I had a face — a real picture of a man who became a myth after he committed suicide in prison.\n\nI try to see the bigger picture. Why are people so sure about the guilt of this man though the court proceedings left a lot of open questions? Why are they so emotional about this man in the white suit who was a projection [screen]?\n\n\nES: The biggest challenge was to go for my own interpretation of Jack — to lose the respect for facts and real figures and create a fiction film that works, although one doesn´t know anything about the real story behind it. As a filmmaker, it´s not my job to answer questions, but to ask questions.\n\n\nES: When you do your first film or write your first script, ask an experienced female filmmaker or producer to be your mentor. It’s very helpful to have someone who will answer all your questions and who supports you making your own decisions.\n\nUnfortunately. I didn´t have someone like that. — that’s why I do it for young female writers and directors know. I tell them that authority needs no loud words. And artistic talent doesn´t go hand in hand with rude manners on the set.\n\n\nES: It was funded by subsidies from the Austrian Film Institute, the Austrian Broadcasting Cooperation and the Vienna Filmfund.\n\n\nES: I love the films of Jane Campion and I adore Kathryn Bigelow, but the work of the Spanish director Isabel Coixet is most important to me. In 2004 I saw her film \"My Life Without Me,\" starring Sarah Polley, and I bought the DVD to see some special features. Her long-time director of photography Jean-Claude Larrieu was preparing the light for the scene. When everything was ready, Isabel herself took the camera and shot the scene. I was thrilled, because I was shooting my documentaries by myself as well. And, like Isabel, I am self-taught.\n\nFive years later, I shot my first feature film, \"In Another Lifetime.\" And my director of photography was Jean-Claude Larrieu. Although I don’t speak French and Jean Claude’s English was limited, we went on this journey together: a film with twenty Hungarian actors in a little village in Austria.\n\nNo one really understood the others’ language — so it was all about communication with pictures and confidence. Jean-Claude told me very often about the magic when Isabel takes the camera and how difficult it is at the beginning of every film to convince [people on the set], especially the technical crew, of her camera work. I hope I will have the opportunity to meet her personally somewhere sometime.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8463094234466553}
+{"content": "Day 3\n\nDream. Had another dream where I was chased by a super villain. So, take the opening scene from MEN IN BLACK, you know how Will Smith is chasing down this alien, jumping over bridges, onto moving double decker buses. Well, replace me with the alien, that was my dream. 'Cept, I was the good guy. It was set in London, I jumped off the bus 9 around Trafalgar Sqr, hurtled down Whitehall, circled back to the ICA's area, which was laid out like giant chess board with a terracotta and lime stone finish. I spidered up the walls, and with my back against the stone, pushed the giant chess pieces onto the guy chasing me. I kept missing him. Then I woke up.\n\nWake. My body clocks back to normal, it is 2 minutes before my alarm goes off, 6.28. I roll off the bed, wide open the doors, put the kettle on, shower, make a cup of tea, get dressed, turn to sip and there is a dragon fly on the rim. On the white ikea mug sits a sleek, bluish green sky lord. It looks built for speed, reminds me of a slogan for a car. Simply read: Zero Miles Per Hour, Never Looked So Fast. I make for my camera, the dragon flies into the Scottish landscape, and it begins to rain.\n\nWork. Door. Shut. Work. Today I'm working on a podcast, a 10 minute something discussing Black History Month. My starting point is that I am against it. I would see the month either expanded to include other ethnic minority groups or obliterated. In the first instance, a month would simple not be enough. Therefore, hopefully, it would spread over the year and eventually become common history. I think to dedicate a month specifically to an ethnic minority (black history, which is largely powered by guilt) causes further divisions in society. Why shouldn't there be a Middle Easter History Month, an Asian Hist. Month, list goes on...\n\nTen minutes simply isn't enough to table an argument. An in these Scottish Highlands with the loch lazily stretching out to sea, I am battle free. Instead, I plan to make a podcast celebrating the lives of the kaleidoscopic characters that litter my life. I plan to interview friends on their personal histories. My homies roam from China, Malaysia, Sweden, Uganda, Canda, India, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Jamaica and the rabbit holes between. I'm lucky.\n\nI choose to end the podcast with a poem called 'Clubbing'. It is essentially, about going out partying something I do not do that often, but its parallel narrative is the slave trade. I wrote this for the British Council's competition. A pause for poetry?\n\nTill Tomorrow, Out. x\n\n\nIt begins with shackling necklaces across throats: the distorted custom of wearing amulets to battle talismans to war; we are new hunters, wear jeans\n\nfor camouflage, clutch mobile phones like spears journey to the village / town / city square, meet the rest of the tribe mostly in short skirts, armed\n\nwith stilettos, armoured by Chanel. Dusk thickens, the customary bickering between us commences through the jungle vines of power lines/stampede\n\nof zebra crossings/night growth of streets bustling, our ritual is natural, till the traders come. Greater armed, they divide with such ease that most of us\n\nare taken. Those who resist are swayed by liquor deals, sailed to darkness where the master spins a tune not our own. We move stiffly to it as minds\n\nforce indifference, but spines have a preference for drums. Rage building, we make our melody, fight to find our feet until the master tries to mix\n\nour movement with his song… but the rhythm is uneven and the tempo, wrong. Against its waves, we raise voices in anger, fists in protest, dancers\n\nin the tide, militant against the music, a million men marching through seas. But we still know how to cross water: the ocean holds our bones,\n\nexplains our way of navigating past bouncers like breeze into night’s air, where clouds pass like dark ships and find us beached, benched\n\nwith parched lips, loose-limbed and looking to light. Now, the best thing about clubbing is not this, or the struggle to make hips sway\n\njust so, not the need to charge cloakrooms as if through underground railroads. No. Best thing about clubbing is the feeling\n\nof freedom on the ride home.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6459959745407104}
+{"content": "Nefertiti, The Spidernaut : KC's Blog\nKC's Wild Facts\n\n(Kool Cat)\n\n(Kool Cat)\nKC's Wild Facts \n\nNefertiti, The Spidernaut\n\nby Kool Cat KC on 12/06/12\n\nNefertiti, a “Jumping Johnson” spider rocketed into outer space and visited the International Space Station as part of an experiment. According to an article in The Washington Post by Brian Vastag, and the Smithsonian Magazine blog, the designer of the experiment wanted to see if a Jumping Johnson spider, spiders that jump from a distance and land on their prey, would be able to adapt to life in space, where they would be in a weightless state and jumping would be totally different. What was the result? Neffi adapted. While at the International Space Station, she changed the way she approached her prey. When her food, live fruit flies, was released into her enclosure, instead of jumping, Neffi stalked. She got very close to her prey and then pounced. Neffi spent 99 days and traveled 41.5 million miles in space. Then, after splashdown, she flew from Japan, to California and then to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. Sadly, Neffi only lived four days at the museum. Was it because of the time she spent in space? Was she unable to adapt to life on earth again? Or was it just because it was her time? Neffi was ten months old, a ripe old age for a Jumping Johnson spider.\nCan you find out how other spiders catch their prey? Do you think they could catch their prey in the same way if they were in space, in a weightless state? How do you think they could adapt if not? Find out how astronauts train to adapt to being weightless in space. What do they do while in space so their muscles don’t atrophy (become smaller) while they’re in space? I wonder if I could survive in space. How many mice do you think would stand still so I could approach them? What do you think?\n\nComments (0)\n\nLeave a comment\n\nClick on the blog and scroll down to see more posts!\nComing Fall 2015!\nComing Fall 2016\nMagnetic Magic \nfrom Arbordale", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9521479606628418}
+{"content": "Newcastle University Careers Service\n\nNewcastle University Careers Service\n\nHow do you create a distinctive brand within University guidelines?\n\nNewcastle University provides world-class education to almost 25,000 students from across the globe. With a proud teaching history that dates back to 1834, they have a deep-rooted brand with a distinguished identity. They asked JUMP to develop the brand for their Careers Service, which offers first-rate support at every stage of the University experience. To do this, we produced a striking set of illustrations that reflected key messages the University wanted to communicate to its students.\n\nA brochure in situ for the Northern Design Festival 2016 - where do ideas come from?\n\nDelivering a bold identity to engage with students and staff\n\nIt was imperative to immerse ourselves in the Careers Service brand and gain a solid understanding of their history, evolution and current constraints before exploring ways to strengthen it. To do this, we carried out primary research and reviews through a set of focus groups with both students and staff. This highlighted that the Service needed something both engaging and encouraging with a strong University presence incorporated within it. For the new brand, we introduced an illustrative style that moved away from archetypal advertisements within the sector and used direct messages to promote the benefits of the Service. This, along with the complimentary colour palette, allowed us to create something that is friendly but still maintains a 'professional' look.\n\nCareers Service poster one Promotional materials for Careers Service\nCareers Service poster two\n\nWhat we did\n\nFocus Groups\nGraphic design\nPromotional materials\nVisual language\n\nStakeholders have really started to engage with the new brand\n\n\"JUMP provided a perfect partnership through understanding our needs and acting on them with clarity and confidence to ensure a stand-out brand.\"\n\nLaura Sharp, Marketing Manager\nNewcastle University Careers Service\n\nSpread the word...\n\nMeet Rachel, Lucy, Andrew, Philip, Rob, Jonathan, Kris, Lauren, Hannah, Chris F, Chris H, Ben, Adrián, Paul, Danielle, Marie", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9999089241027832}
+{"content": "Take the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) at NNU\n\nMyers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)\n\nThe Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) assessment can help you, like it has helped millions of people worldwide, to better understand yourself and others. In addition, it can help you improve how you communicate, learn, and work. The MBTI results provide a powerful framework for building better relationships, driving positive change, harnessing innovation, and achieving excellence.\n\nMBTI Step II Workshop\n\nDec 15, 2017\n8:30 AM - 4:30 PM\nNNU Campus\n\nRegister Here\n\nThe MBTI is used by 89% of Fortune 100 companies to maximize individual and team effectiveness from entry to executive levels. It has been selected by the nation's top colleges and universities and by institutions worldwide as the foundational tool for student and alumni career development. It is backed by more than fifty years of scientific research and ongoing global development.\n\nFor more on the MBTI please visit our blog.\n\n\nIt is reliable and valid, backed by ongoing global research and development which provides you with current and relevant content.\n\nWhy is it POPULAR?\n\nIt is easy to grasp, insightful, and thought provoking, offering a framework in which you can better understand and handle communication, stress, problem-solving, change, and team culture.\n\nWhy is it USEFUL?\n\nIt identifies valuable differences that can be the source of misunderstanding and miscommunication; you learn how to understand yourself better in order to value and work with the preferences of others.\n\nThe MBTI assessment is ideals for a wide range of applications, including:\n\n  • Team development - helps build communication among team members and identify team preferences\n  • Leadership development - deepens leaders' understanding of their personality type and the types of those they are leading to help them manage better, give more meaningful feedback, and improve individual and team performance\n  • Conflict management - improves skills in identifying sources of conflict and proactively communicating with co-workers\n  • Career transition and planning - helps guide individuals on career choice, development, and management\n\nIf you have questions about the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Assessment or would like to inquire about an individualized training for your organization, please contact CPD:", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9999488592147827}
+{"content": "Backwards Binoculars\n\nOver the years, I’ve had periods of feeling really far away. It often overlaps with my bouts of depression but sometimes it creeps in out of nowhere and I feel completely lost, untethered from everything around me. It fades in and out like a fog, sometimes with no warning and often there’s nothing I can do to dissipate it or avoid it. It can be really scary, especially when it first started to happen, but at the same time, it’s like I can’t really feel that fear or any of my emotions. I’ve described it in different ways but they all describe the same feeling: feeling completely disconnected from myself. But I thought I’d include a few of those descriptions because they give more of a sense of how it feels:\n\n  • It’s like looking backwards through binoculars so everything seems really far away when it’s actually close. Sometimes I can almost see the black tunnels that would be the inside of the binoculars. This is the way I usually describe it; I think it fits the best.\n  • I feel like I’m five miles back inside my head. I can’t reach anything or anyone and it feels like no one can hear me, the real me.\n  • It’s like watching everything happen and feeling like it would continue as normal if I wasn’t there, almost like people wouldn’t notice if I disappeared. They’ll keep talking, leaving spaces for me and responding to what I would’ve said if I was there.\n  • Similarly, it can feel like I’m invisible, like people will look right through me.\n  • It feels like I’m stuck behind glass, like there’s glass between me and everybody else. I am physically separated from everyone. This is another one of my ‘favourite’ ways to describe it.\n  • A variation of that is feeling like I’m wrapped in cling film: separated from everyone but also trapped. It makes me feel like I can’t breathe.\n  • I feel disconnected from my life, my body, like I’m in control but it’s not mine. I’m moving my limbs but they feel oddly numb, thick and heavy and clumsy.\n  • One of my earliest memories of this feeling is feeling like I was out of sync with everyone else. That’s a very lonely and uncomfortable feeling.\n  • Sometimes it feels like I’m underwater. It’s like I’m surrounded by something other than air and there’s more resistance when I try to move.\n  • The most recent description is that I feel like I’m sleepwalking and can’t wake up. This one overlaps with how I feel when I’m really depressed so it’s not the most reliable analogy, if that makes sense. It fits both.\n\nTo be completely honest, I’m not sure what causes it, given the overlap of the different mental health problems I struggle with. This is something I have a lot of anxiety about, not being able to pinpoint where individual problems come from. Everything’s connected to everything else. Everything influences everything. But from my own reading, it seems to be common in depression and in Borderline Personality Disorder. It’s often a coping mechanism for stress or overwhelming emotions. The Mind website has a great page about this. My experiences line up best with the description of ‘Depersonalisation’.\n\nI still haven’t found anything that does much to help it but there are a few things that give me a few seconds of relief, of connection. Usually, it’s about tapping into my senses. That seems to bring me back to the world a little bit. So things like opening windows, sitting in the sun, touching leaves or flowers, stroking a pet, having a cold shower or holding something cold… they don’t fix it but they do have a positive effect. Even if it’s tiny, they do create small positive spikes in my mood. They’re like stars in a suffocatingly dark sky. With this, it’s more about getting through it than trying to fix it. It’s about creating one moment after another to carry you through to the other side.\n\nI want to add that I’ve also used self harm to ‘wake myself up’ from this. I’m not advocating it; it’s dangerous and damaging and really difficult to get free of. But if nothing else, I’m honest and it has helped. When I’m in a really bad place, I don’t want to hear that I shouldn’t do it because it feels like the only thing that helps but when it’s not quite so bad, I try really hard to find other ways to cope. I try the things I’ve listed or I try to distract myself. I don’t want to get too far from the point of the post so I’ll come back to this in another post but I felt like I had to include it here.\n\nFriends and family have asked me what they can do to help and if I’m honest, I don’t really know. It can be hard to think about that when I’m just trying to get through it. But I do want to help them help me. At some point, I will write more about this, but I do find it really helpful when the people around me let me set the pace and decide what I can and can’t manage. Sometimes a push is helpful but in this situation, it isn’t. A sense of control grounds me a little bit. Plus, there are some things that are just really hard to manage when you feel like you can’t connect to your emotions. For example, I find it really hard to write songs and be creative when I feel so disconnected from everything. So being able to (and feeling safe to) adapt my activities does help. And talking. Talking it through, figuring out solutions, letting off steam. That really helps.\n\nTwo Levels of Mood\n\nLiving with depression is hard. Yes, I know, I’m stating the freaking obvious. But I want to write about something that doesn’t come up that often, in my experience at least. And when I say ‘living with depression’, I mean going through repeated bouts of depression over a period of time. I’m not diminishing the difficulty of going through an isolated experience; I just want to point out something specific to the continued one.\n\nBeing at your lowest is excruciating but it’s simple, when it comes to the complexity of emotions. Depression is overwhelming; it blots out everything. The world is one colour. But as you start to move out of that place, it becomes emotionally confusing. A lot of you is still depressed but there’s also a part of you that’s trying to move forward. And that conflict is exhausting. Your emotions are constantly clashing and that takes up so much energy.\n\nI recently landed in the lowest place I’d ever been. I feel like I say that every time but I know that this was the worst I’d ever felt. I had a very emotionally traumatic meltdown – again, the worst one I’ve had – and ended up sitting in the middle of my local park, crying my eyes out at eleven o’clock at night. And it was that heaving kind of crying where it feels like it’s coming from a place inside you that’s deeper than physically possible. It was horrible and when I woke up the next morning, I was in such a deep depression that I couldn’t do anything. I literally couldn’t. I lay in bed all day, staring at the wall. I felt completely hopeless. I couldn’t see the point in anything. There was no point in trying to be happy, in trying to do anything, because the only real thing is misery.\n\nIt took days to start functioning again (move around, interact with people, eat, etc), but I was still firmly locked in that point of view. I couldn’t see the point of anything but the oppressiveness started to lift and other emotions started to creep in. I was able to smile again and sometimes I’d even laugh and that was really hard because I still felt so hopeless. It felt wrong. I didn’t feel ready to be okay.\n\nI feel like I have two levels of mood, my surface mood and my inner mood. The labels speak for themselves but I want to elaborate a bit further. My inner mood is what I feel at the centre of myself (my automatic thought was to name it my ‘real’ mood but I know the surface mood is real too – please bear with me: words are hard!) and at the moment, that is depressed. If I had to choose one emotion to associate with myself, it would be a sad one, like depressed or disheartened. My surface mood reacts to outside stimuli: good weather, spending time with people I like, a new episode of my favourite TV show. Those sorts of things do create spikes in my mood. It can be really easy to brush those moments off because they feel so wrong when I’m depressed. But they’re both real and both deserve to be recognised. That’s why I like the two levels of mood idea. By having two levels, one emotional reaction doesn’t invalidate another. I can feel really depressed and kind of okay – even optimistic – at the same time. It’s too simplistic to think that we only feel one emotion at a time but when they’re so opposite, it just makes the whole thing more difficult, more confusing, more exhausting.\n\nThe only time the two seem to synchronize is when I’m really, really depressed. It sounds sad when I put it like that but right now, it’s the truth. I know that my surface mood can change so hopefully the inner mood can too. Hopefully I’ll reach a point where it’s not so low.\n\n\nBPD and Feeling Abandoned\n\nFeeling abandoned is a big thing when it comes to Borderline Personality Disorder. And events as everyday as someone not immediately responding to a text can trigger that feeling. The smallest slight can be incredibly upsetting and anything bigger can feel devastating. It’s never ending and exhausting. And with the fear of being abandoned hanging over you, relationships (of any kind) can be very stressful. They can feel like a waiting game, wondering how long it will take for the other person to give up on you.\n\nAs someone with BPD, I feel emotions very strongly and when something upsetting happens, it feels like I’ve been hit by a massive wave and it’s all I can do to find my way back to the surface. The emotion overwhelms me and there’s no room for logical reasoning. It doesn’t matter what else is going on; all my energy is taken up trying to process all of that feeling. It can take weeks to recover and I feel more fragile each time.\n\nAnd what makes it more difficult is the fact that it’s not completely irrational; there is ‘evidence’ to support the fear. People have abandoned me in the past, both voluntarily and involuntarily, so whenever I try and talk myself out of the panic, my BPD lays out all these examples, ‘proving’ to me that I will always be abandoned. It’s an exhausting cycle.\n\nI’m not going to go through my history of feeling abandoned, example-by-example, but there is one experience that I want to share. I think it’s too important to leave out. A few years ago, someone really important to me cut ties when I was in the lowest place I’d ever been (something they were aware of). I felt completely abandoned and it had a massive impact on my mental health and view of the world. I was so hurt and so confused and for a long time, those emotions overwhelmed everything. I felt broken. But slowly, that weight lifted. It took two years but I’m finally free of it. And that’s amazing. But it’s not the end of it. That experience has affected me, especially when it comes to my relationships and my anxiety around them. And like I said, it’s hard to talk myself out of that fear when I feel like I’m about to go through all that again.\n\nI’ve wanted to write about this for a while but I wasn’t sure how to frame it, if that makes any sense. But a conversation with one of my best friends brought all of this to the surface.\n\nSo let me tell you a story:\n\nOne of my best friends had just come back from a trip to the US and was desperate to go back. I was in a pretty fragile place already (dealing with another situation where I felt like I was being abandoned) and watching her plan her next trip abroad felt a lot like she was abandoning me. I didn’t want to say anything and I felt guilty for feeling the way I did: she was building her career and she was so excited and here I was, wanting her to stay. But in the end, I had to say something. We’ve always talked everything through so, even though I was terrified of sounding needy and pathetic, I reached out and told her how I was feeling. She knows a lot about my mental health difficulties so I told her how I struggle with feeling abandoned and that I might need some extra reassurance around her upcoming trip.\n\n(I want to add that although it might sound easy, it wasn’t. Part of me – a big part of me – was convinced that expressing these feelings would be the ‘final straw’ and that she would abandon me on the spot, that I had finally become too much to deal with. This is something that I think is often misunderstood about BPD. This reaction is not because of the other person; it’s because of the BPD. The other person could be the most reliable person in the world. It doesn’t matter. It’s the BPD telling you that everyone will leave, that you’re not enough to make the other person stick around. So defying that and telling my friend how I felt was very, very scary.)\n\nAnd this is the important bit: how my friend reacted. Instead of telling me I was being ridiculous or brushing off my request, she responded compassionately. She told me not to feel pathetic or guilty, that she understood why I was feeling the way I was. She asked me how she could help, and said that she would do whatever she could to make it easier for me. She said, “I am not going to leave you.”\n\nIt was such a relief that I burst into tears. It meant (and still does mean) so much to me. She validated my feelings, asked me what she could do, and gave me the reassurance I needed. I wish everyone responded this way. Perhaps ironically for a condition with such close links to invalidation, these feelings often get written off as being oversensitive or overdramatic. And in my experience, that only makes it worse. Things are better now that the important people in my life understand where these feelings come from; before the diagnosis, the only explanation was that I was very sensitive and therefore needed to ‘toughen up’. It was a fault. And that’s what I thought too. But now that we understand it, we know how to handle it, how to approach it.\n\nI will likely need to hear this again and again to combat my fear of being abandoned but that doesn’t minimise the importance of this moment. As I’ve said, change is a series of moments like these, moments I hold very close, like charms on a charm bracelet.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7082391977310181}
+{"content": "Cancer Sucks!\n\n1375191_578348018879210_18687895_nThis post is for my friend, Summer Sanford. We have known each other almost 20 years. for most of those years, we have laughed together. That is, until October 2015. Now, we spend time crying. And a little more time “being strong”. We contemplate more. We ask “life” questions. We hope– a lot of hope. We pray. We look for answers and seek solutions. It has been a journey and not one that I wish for anyone. It is the crappy cancer one.\n\nHer mom was diagnosed with Leukemia on October 1st of 2015. HER MOM. The mom that forever makes us laugh, has a mouth like a sailor, a heart of gold and a ferocity in her that lights up a small town! She fights for what is right, loves with her full heart and is not the person to mess with on a bad day. That mom.\n\nShe is an avid tennis player. And tennis is what gave her the clue that something was amiss. She was too weak to pick up the ball…. and that is how her cancer story started. It has been months of chemo and pokes and pricks. Trips to the emergency room. More unknowns than knowns. Months of maddening un-answers and saddening truths.\n\nThrough it all has been hope, love, laughter. Bonds that have grown and ties that have healed. Nothing is being left unsaid. And my friend, Summer, an only child and the absolute light in her mother’s eyes, has been instrumental in keeping spirits up. She has plastered the walls with funny sayings, hopeful messages, beautiful pictures and more. She has delivered special gifts and beautiful things for her mother’s eyes to gaze upon. She has put up Happiness Walls to encourage others and the nurses. So much good has happened.\n\nBut still, Cancer Sucks. The war has not been won (yet). They are still battling one day at a time. But, what I do know is they are doing it with grace and love and hope.\n\nI love my friend very much. I love her mom and family. And, there are no words– just that cancer super-sucks!\n\nBelow is my friend’s story. I hope you find it in your heart to read and help. The thing is– we can kick cancers butt! But it is going to take an effort from us in all kinds of ways. Whether you walk, donate, gala or contribute— ALL of it counts and it all will help someone, in some way in some time.\n\nWe will FIGHT to the end. We will fight for those that have already gone and we will fight to give hope to others!\n\n\nDear Friend, As some of you may know, on October 1, 2015, my Mother was diagnosed with leukemia. At that very moment, my world turned upside down. As her daughter, watching her cancer journey has been hard. Nothing has been easy for her, from blood clots, to losing her hair, to the nausea and fevers associated with chemotherapy, to feeling like a human pin cushion every time she checks into the hospital, to the anxiety that creeps in while you are wondering if you can keep going and if the next thing is going to kill you. It’s truly one of the hardest things you can watch a loved one go through. The truth is, while we have made advancements to cure blood diseases; we need more help! I have been nominated to be a Candidate for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Woman of the Year Campaign. This is a National Competition, and every dollar raised is a vote in my favor. My personal fundraising goal is $50,000, in order to name a research grant in honor of my Mom, as well as, the countless other victims of leukemia and lymphoma. I’m asking you to help by making a tax-deductible contribution towards my campaign. Together, we can find a cure and more compassionate treatment therapies with fewer side effects; but to overall create an environment of support for the families who suffer watching their loved ones on this journey. With your generous support, you can help me reach and surpass my goal and together we can raise funds for research, awareness and advocacy. Through donors and supporters like you, new hope in finding a cure for blood cancers has never been greater.\n\n–Summer Sanford\n\nDonate Here\n\n\nDid I Forget to Say Thank You?\n\nThank You.\n\nIt  is so easy, but we often forget those two little words that mean so much. We have many things, people and moments to be thankful for and yet we let those valuable opportunities slip by. We are often lost in thought about our selves, our time, our moment…that we forget to notice all that is a part of “us”.\n\nHere is my tribute of thanks to all those who I may have forgotten to take a moment…\n\nThank you for your time.\n\nThank you for your smile.\n\nThank you for your help.\n\nThank you for saying no.\n\nThank you for asking.\n\nThank you for remembering me.\n\nThank you for calling.\n\nThank you for saving me a seat.\n\nThank you for your kind words.\n\nThank you for dinner.\n\nThank you for taking out the trash.\n\nThank you for the hug.\n\nThank you for being my friend, spouse, mother, father, sister, brother, husband,wife, son, daughter….\n\nThank you for driving.\n\nThank you for holding my hand, drying my tear, laughing with me.\n\nThank you for bringing the wine.\n\nThank you for changing my flat tire.\n\nThank you for the advice.\n\nThank you for the recomendation, the “like”, the stars  and the subscriptions.\n\nThank you for reading.\n\nThank you for your prayers.\n\nThank you for listening.\n\nAre there any times you have forgotten to say, “Thanks”?", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7879645824432373}
+{"content": "Return To Abstract Listing\n\nGastrointestinal Imaging\n\nE2782. “Dirty Masses” in the Abdomen: Their CT Appearance and Significance\n\nHerskovits P,  Kafer I,  Friedman B,  Hines J. Northwell Health, Manhasset, NY\n\nAddress correspondence to P. Herskovits (\n\nBackground Information: Colonic perforation is a surgical emergency with high morbidity and mortality. Its etiologic factors vary, and include spontaneous perforation, diverticulitis, ulcers, iatrogenic injury, tumor, and volvulus. As the clinical presentation of patients with colonic perforation is often vague and nonspecific, radiologists play a key role in making this diagnosis. CT is usually the first-line modality used in suspected acute gastrointestinal pathology. The purpose of this study is to highlight a particularly crucial CT finding in the setting of colonic perforation, namely the “dirty mass.”\n\nEducational Goals/Teaching Points: The dirty mass is a low attenuation soft tissue mass with small foci of gas on CT. It implies fecal spillage from the bowel, and is specific for colonic perforation. In a study performed by Saeki et al. (1998), all patients with a dirty mass on CT had peritoneal fecal material confirmed intraoperatively.\n\nKey Anatomic/Physiologic Issues and Imaging Findings/Techniques: Recognition of a dirty mass is made all the more important because findings of colonic perforation are often subtle. Perforations are frequently localized and walled off, and the amount of extraluminal gas may be small and difficult to detect due to its proximity to gas-filled bowel loops. Other specific findings of bowel perforation, such as a discontinuous wall sign and oral contrast extravasation, are helpful when present but are insensitive, unfortunately. In our experience, the dirty mass is frequently missed on CT, as its mottled soft tissue and gas appearance can be mistaken for a loop of bowel. Associated imaging findings, such as ascites, bowel wall thickening, bowel wall dilatation, and the dirty fat sign should alert the radiologist to look closely for a bowel perforation and a possible dirty mass. Once found, the dirty mass not only signifies fecal spillage but its location can point to the actual site of perforation, as it usually forms just adjacent to the involved bowel. Localizing the perforation site can aid in management of the patient and offer valuable preoperative information to the surgeon.\n\nConclusion: In conclusion, the dirty mass is a specific finding for colonic perforation, and recognition of this finding on CT may have a tremendous impact on patient management. These masses can be subtle on CT and easily overlooked. In this exhibit, we will critically review findings of a dirty mass on CT, including their appearance, location, and associated findings. This will be done in a case-based fashion, and include clinical and surgical follow-up. Many of these cases were found during the quality improvement process of our department, as they were missed by the radiologist making the original interpretation. The ultimate objective of this exhibit is to make the reader aware of a dirty mass and its clinical implications, and to provide teaching points to assist in the detection of this finding.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8951130509376526}
+{"content": "Encyclopedia > Grand Island, Nebraska\n\n  Article Content\n\nGrand Island, Nebraska\n\nGrand Island is a city located in Hall County, Nebraska. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 42,940. It is the county seat of Hall County6.\n\nGeography Grand Island is located at 40°55'20\" North, 98°21'29\" West (40.922316, -98.357996)1.\n\nAccording to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 55.9 km² (21.6 mi²). 55.6 km² (21.5 mi²) of it is land and 0.3 km² (0.1 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 0.60% water.\n\nDemographics As of the census of 2000, there are 42,940 people, 16,426 households, and 11,038 families residing in the city. The population density is 772.2/km² (2,000.2/mi²). There are 17,421 housing units at an average density of 313.3/km² (811.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 86.72% White, 0.42% African American, 0.33% Native American, 1.31% Asian, 0.17% Pacific Islander, 9.64% from other races, and 1.42% from two or more races. 15.94% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.\n\nThere are 16,426 households out of which 34.3% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.0% are married couples living together, 10.4% have a female householder with no husband present, and 32.8% are non-families. 27.1% of all households are made up of individuals and 11.1% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.55 and the average family size is 3.09.\n\n\nThe median income for a household in the city is $36,044, and the median income for a family is $43,197. Males have a median income of $28,925 versus $20,521 for females. The per capita income for the city is $17,071. 12.8% of the population and 9.9% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 16.7% are under the age of 18 and 8.1% are 65 or older.\n\n\n  Search Encyclopedia\n\nSearch over one million articles, find something about almost anything!\n  Featured Article\n\n... the corresponding ADP or AMP, and the release of phosphate ion. Similar reactions exist for the other nucleoside triphosphates and diphosphates. In living systems, ...", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7908174991607666}
+{"content": "Rollers on the Run – Dusshera\n\nBy | 2017-09-27T19:35:04+00:00 September 27th, 2017|Generic|\n\nThe national bird of India, the Peacock is being conserved via various authorities, NGOs, the law etc., and consequently, there has been a tremendous increase in its population in India. But unfortunately, the state bird of Telangana, the Indian Roller or Coracias benghalensis wasn’t subject to such attention previously.\n\nThis bird gets its name due to its peculiar aerial acrobats. It rolls midair. Commonly called as the Palapitta, the Indian Roller is a brown bird with a smattering of blue cowers inside. It’s a native to the Indian sub-continent, and inhabits agricultural fields, riverine habitats, bushes etc.\n\nSeeing a Palapitta during Dusshera is believed to bring good luck to individuals. This is the reason these birds are being poached. With the constant decline of forest cover in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, these birds are now restricted to live in few available patches of forests, which is making their hunt easier. Poachers set up camps in agricultural lands and other places that have the potential to host these birds. They catch these birds using trapping poles and then glue their wings to prevent them from escaping. They are then stuffed into cages. Their feet is tied up using a wire or a small rope to restrict their movement.\n\nStarving, thirsty, exhausted, and desperate to escape, these birds are subjected to some very inhuman treatment, just so a few swindlers who exploit the masses in the name of beliefs can earn some quick bucks. During most part of their captivity, these poor birds are barely fed. As a result, by the end of the festive season, most die. Though there are instances of well-meaning folks buying these birds and releasing them, the birds are met with an equally sad plight, as they might upon being caged in their current conditions. For Indian Rollers are very territorial in nature. So the other rollers and sub species from the new area may be threatened by the perceived competition and end up attacking the newly entered Indian roller, often killing it. This behavior makes it very difficult for the birds to survive elsewhere, apart from their place of birth.\n\nTheir rapid decline in this manner has finally brought the importance and dire need to  conserve them to the forefront. Presently, the Indian Roller is protected under Schedule IV of the 1972 Indian Wildlife Act. Possession of this bird can lead to a penalty of 25,000 or imprisonment for up to 3 years or both. Along with this, conducting awareness about the importance of wildlife to both rural and urban children and adults may be effective in saving these rollers. The fact that Palapitta is an insectivore and thereby saves hundreds of rupees for the farmer by predating upon the regular insectivorous pests infecting crops must be emphasized to the masses, especially in rural areas. It must be highlighted among the population that the more of “Palapittalu” that people see alive, flying, rolling in the air is indicative of a more healthy and pronounced yield, which keep the farmer happy. Now that, is the true mark of lady luck!\n\nDeepak Tarun\n\nDeepak Tarun is a post graduate in Zoology. Not one to embrace anything at its face value, Deepak believes in really digging to the roots, before arriving at a decision. A budding wildlife biologist and passionate knowledge seeker, Deepak likes to read, and watch stand-up comedy in his spare time.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6207084655761719}
+{"content": "Regional architecture - Florida Keys, by Boulder architects M. Gerwing Architects\n\nI have often written about my interest in regionally specific architecture, especially vernacular forms that derive from local climatic conditions or materials availability.  I recently spent some time in the Florida Keys and in my typically geeky architecture fashion, spent almost as much time looking at the local historic buildings as I did relaxing on the beach.\n\nLike any relatively isolated region, the architecture of the Keys, and especially Key West, is dominated by its largest growth period, starting with the late Victorian era and extending to the Depression.  As a result, the typologies of houses you find are almost exclusively wood-framed, simply-gabled homes with painted lap siding and more-or-less overly wrought scroll details.  While there are plenty of houses from other periods, these basic vernacular houses became the standard that has been replicated, often less successfully.  The funky mid-century commercial architecture of the Keys, including the building-as-sign googly constructions date from the 1950's and 60's when the Overseas Highway surplanted the train and boat as the dominant mode of access to the Keys, are more often found at the beginning of the island chain, closer to Key Largo.\n\nAs in so many older sea-faring communities, the predominance of horizontal wood siding reminds one of the hulls of boats and the gable-fronted houses resemble so many upturned boats.  Of particular interest to me are the use of shutters and porches to mitigate the harsh Caribbean sun while still allowing ample breezes to move through the structures.  Unlike Italian house shutters, the Keys shutters are plantation style, often not individually operable but top-hung as a panel that can kick out at the bottom.\n\nOf course here in the Keys, the shutters do not just provide sun control, but are necessary protections for the Gulf storms and occasional hurricane.  For that reason they can be found on doors and windows within porches, well beyond the areas where sun shading would be necessary.  These shutters provide a kind of vertical emphasis to the buildings that contrasts with the predominant horizontal siding and decorative rails.  The overall effect is of a lightly sprung craft, held in tension, that takes the kind of maintenance and attention that only a boat-owner could appreciate.\n\nThe older portions of Key West are also fairly urban and dense, with house fronts mere steps from public sidewalks.  The shutters are also used to create privacy while keeping doors and windows open.  As in the photo above, the subtle delineation of public and private spaces, from sidewalk to private walk to porch to interior, works in about ten feet of space, each layer carefully playing its role.\n\nThis kind of attention to the details of public and private space are often lumped into the concepts of New Urbanism.  But, as you can see, some good old fashioned urbanism is successfully at work, design solutions worked out over years of lived experience that architects would do well to study. And shutters that actually work, not just applique patterns, a fearful architect's pet peeve.\n\nby Boulder architects M. Gerwing Architects", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8606956005096436}
+{"content": "The Eye - Files\n\nContent Warning\n\nYou are currently browsing a website that may contain content of adult nature. These directories are designed for ADULTS ONLY and may include pictures or material that some viewers may find offensive. If you are under the age of 18 or the content you're browsing is illegal in your community, you should exit.\n\nBy the way - If you're going to stay, you should join our Discord community.\n\nHide This Notice\n\nIndex of /public/MSDN/IIS/\n\nIndex of /public/MSDN/IIS/\n\nen_iisreskit.exe                                   25-Mar-2017 01:19    106M", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.62760329246521}
+{"content": " Реферат : The history of England can be defined as the gradual process of Parliament asserting its authority over the monarchy \nПолнотекстовый поиск по базе:\n\nГлавная >> Реферат >> История\n\n\nFor: ESLG 3150 course\n\n\nTerm: Spring I, 2000\n\n\n\n\n\nEarly English monarchs had considerable power, but generally accepted advice and some limitations on their authority. Powerful French-Norman barons opposed King John’s dictatorial rule by forcing him to sign Magna Carta in 1215. This document protected the feudal aristocracy rather then the ordinary citizen, but it came to be regarded as a cornerstone of British liberties. It restricted the monarch’s powers; forced him to take advice; increased the influence of the aristocracy; and stipulated that no citizen could be punished or kept in prison without a fair trail.\n\nSuch developments encouraged the establishment of parliamentary structures. In 1265, Simon de Montfort called nobles and non-aristocrats to form a Council or Parliament to win the support of people. To it were invited not only the great barons and clergy, but also representatives of the knights of shires and from the towns. This initiative was followed in 1295 by the Model Parliament (because it served a model for later Parliaments) of Edward I, which was the first representative English Parliament. Its two sections consisted of the bishops, barons, two representatives of the knights of each shire and two representatives from each important town. In this way Parliament won the “power of the purse”: by refusing to agree to new taxes, it could force kings to do as it wished. As Parliament became more influential it won other rights, such as the power of impeach and try royal officials for misbehavior. From here we can conclude that by the end of Edward’s reign the peculiarly English concept of government, in which a strong king with powerful royal officials is still limited by the common law and by Parliament, was complete.\n\nHowever, the Parliament was too large to rule the country effectively. A Privy Council, comprising the monarch and court advisers, developed. This was the royal government outside Parliament, until it lost power to parliamentary structures in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.\n\nAlthough parliament now had some limited powers against the monarch, there was a return to royal dominance in Tudor England in 1485. Monarchs controlled Parliament and summoned it when they needed to raise money.\n\nParliament showed more resistance to royal rule under the Stuart monarchy from 1603 by using its weapon of financial control. Parliament began to refuse royal requests for money. It forced Charles I to sign the Petition of Rights in 1628, which further restricted the monarch’s powers and prevented him from raising taxes without Parliament’s consent. Charles attempted to arrest parliamentary leaders in the House of Commons itself. His failure to do meant that the monarch was in future prohibited from entering the Commons. As the result of it civil war broke out in 1642. The Protestant Parliamentarians under O. Cromwell won the military struggle against the Catholic Royalists. Charles was beheaded in 1649 and thee monarchy was abolished. But it didn’t last long in 1660 they restored the Stuart Charles II to the throne. Parliament ended his expansive wars and imposed further restrictions, such as Habeas Corpus Act in 1679, which stipulated that no citizen could be imprisoned without a fair and speedy trail.\n\nIn the early and mid sixteenth century country was ruled by King Henry VIII (king 1509-1547) who had made Parliament his willing tool and had replaced Catholicism with the Church of England. Henry was succeeded by three of his children (Edward VI, Mary I, Elizabeth I) in succession. But only Elizabeth made a great contribution during her reign (1558-1603). She allowed any form of worship that fit into the rather loose framework of ideas that Parliament had established for the Church of England. But she would accept none that conflicted with her authority as the head of that church. After the pope excommunicated her in 1570, she had Parliament declare that Catholicism was treason. Parliament lost power during her reign. It did not meet often, as she needed to ask it levy taxes for her. In theory Parliament continued to have all of the powers it had won during the Middle Ages.\n\nThe Elizabethan reign later was called “The English Renaissance”. And this is right. She did a lot to her Kingdom. On of it was the opening of the trade routs to Russia, trade companies like the East India Company, the Muscovy Company and the Virginia Company.\n\nThe Stuart monarchs who succeeded Elizabeth try to impose absolutism and to rule by “divine right”. But the English Parliament, asserting its ancient rights and privileges, challenged them. The result was a struggle that lasted through the better part of the seventeenth century, culminating in the victory of Parliament over the kings. In the age when absolutism triumphed almost everywhere, England was the striking exception of the rule. Growing opposition to the Stuarts centered in Parliament. The Stuarts disliked Parliament, but were dependent upon it because only the House of Commons had the right to levy taxes. The Stuarts insisted they had absolute authority to follow whatever policies they chose. The conflict between Parliament and the king came to a climax under Charles I (king 1625-1649). In 1626 Charles found himself at war with both France and Spain. Parliament refused to grant new taxes until it had had “redress of grievances”. Led by Sir John Eliot, the members of Commons finally forced Charles to sign the “Petition of Right” in 1628. This pact guaranteed certain rights of Parliament and of individual Englishmen against their king.\n\nThe first Parliament of 1640, the so-called “Short” Parliament, mat less then a month. But soon after Charles was forced to call another Parliament, which came to be called the “Long” Parliament because it met off and on for twenty years (1640-1660). In 1641 the Long Parliament set out to dominate the government. More important, it passed a series of acts to make absolute monarchy impossible.\n\nFrom 1642 to 1645 the civil war broke in England. It was between Supporters of King Charles (Cavaliers) and the supporters of the Parliament (Roundheads) under the rule of Oliver Cromwell. The “Roundheads” won in this war and the members who remained from the previous Parliament come to be called the “Rump” (sitting part of Parliament). In 1649 Charles was beheaded and later Oliver Cromwell became the King of England. After his death in 1658 his son Richard took control over the country. But he was a poor ruler and soon resigned. In 1660 the surviving members of the Long Parliament were called back into session to invite Charles Stuart to become King Charles II of England.\n\nCharles II had his problems with Parliament, but he was usually able to surmount them, and he always knew when the time had come to back down.\n\nThe growing power of Parliament against the monarch in the seventeenth century was reflected in the development of more organized political parties. Two groups (Whigs and Tories) became dominant, and this feature was to characterize future British two-party politics, in which political power has shifted between two main parties. The Whigs didn’t accept the Catholic sympathizer James II as successor to Charles II and wanted religious freedom for al Protestants. The Tories generally supported royalist beliefs, and helped Charles II to secure James’s right to succeed him.\n\nHe (James) attempted to rule without Parliament and ignored his laws. His manipulations forced Tories to join Whigs in inviting the Protestant William of Orange to intervene. William arrived in England in 1688, James fled to France and William succeeded to the throne as England’s first constitutional monarch. Since no force was involved, this event is called the Bloodless or Glorious Revolution. Royal powers were further restricted under the Declaration of Rights (1689), which strengthened Parliament and provided some civil liberties.\n\nThe Glorious Revolution of 1688 and the Bill of Rights of 1689 established Parliament once and for all as the equal partner of the king. This division of power was soon to prove itself a far more effective means of government than the absolute monarchies of the continent, and it assured that the constitutional development of England would continue.\n\n\nПохожие работы:", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6845940351486206}
+{"content": "24 Hour Plumber Grafton WV 26354\n\nPipes is an essential aspect of maintaining your home. It readies to have actually a plumber come in and examine yearly, even if there are no indications of leaks or plumbing difficulties. You might have leaks in places that you do not have ease of access to. Crawlspaces and such can develop leakages that can cause mold. Mold is a huge problem that can have an alarming effect on your household, and your financial resources. An excellent plumber, and an annual evaluation can head this all off prior to it ever starts.\n\nPick The Perfect Emergency Plumbing Service In Grafton WV 26354 Right Now\n\nWhen the weather condition modifications and winter starts to rear its head, pipelines start to take on the strain of freezing. Freezing pipes result in a a great deal of emergency plumbing requirements. Keep this in mind, and be prepared in the cold seasons for leaks and breaks.\n\nThis permits water to be required into the clog. The pressure then starts to construct, so that when the plunger is removed, the seal is broken. Any minor clogs will then be flushed away. If this is not the case, repeat the procedure several times more, before calling out a professional.\n\n\nWhat Makes My Plumbing & Drainpipe Pipeline Rattle At all times?\n\nExactly what’s the problem? Is it a supply of water issue, a leakage, or possibly the warm water heating system is providing 30 or 40 gallons of cold water? What can you do at an hour like 3AM? The choices are limited as you can either repair it (if you understand how) in an hour or 2, or you can call a plumbing professional, nevertheless not all plumbings are available. Many are house asleep not to be troubled. You might now have to think about a 24 hour plumber.\n\nA home constantly needs to go through changes and requires repair works. One common issue that you will have to face is with the plumbing, there will be leak in the piping, breakage, clogging of drain, etc. unless you are an expert you will not have the ability to fix these issues effectively. You may think that repairing it yourself will conserve you a great deal of cash, however if something goes incorrect you will have to incur more costs. So rather of attempting to repair it yourself you should render the services of a plumbing technician. He will fix it efficiently and his fees will depend upon the work at hand.\n\nAn insurance and a license are the 2 things that must be asked from a plumbing professional. They need to bring these credentials with them all the time. Always request for these before they start deal with your pipes. Making sure that they are insured and bonded will put you at ease just in case something takes place in your premises.\n\nThe Grafton West Virginia 26354 Emergency Plumber You May Rely On\n\nAs you can clearly see, exactly what you will find about emergency plumber Grafton is some points are much more crucial than others. Exactly what is more vital for you may be much less so for others, so you have to consider your distinct conditions. Obviously there is rather a lot more to be learned. Yet have more huge pieces of the overall image to provide to you, though. It is everything about offering info that constructs on itself, and we think you will value that.\n\nWater is valuable and should not squander it purposefully or unwittingly. When pipes break water begins spraying through it. Then pipelines burst due to unknown reason you need to first close the primary water valve to totally close down the supply of water. Then call any pipes services service providers in your location. If not fixed on an emergency situation basis there will be water lack. The pipelines that are mostly subjected to leaks are main water valves that are connected to the interior water valves. If it is a metal pipeline then corrosion can likewise be a reason for water leak. Make sure you have conserved emergency situation contact numbers of plumbing technicians near your location.\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7486077547073364}
+{"content": "Virtual Reality in Classroom – How Technology is Changing the Course of Education\n\nWith the advancement of technology, the definition of education is quickly changing its course. The journey from “learning” to “feeling’ is becoming shorter and quicker with every passing day. Since normal studying is getting replaced with the more advanced version of it, it is becoming necessary to adopt technology in the medium of learning too. This is why Virtual reality is becoming essentials for all classrooms around the world.\n\nLong gone are those days when kids used to depend only on textbooks and diagrams to get a clear concept of what they are studying. In fact, general audio-visual representation in the form of video is becoming outdated quickly. Now, with the changing dynamics, experiencing is becoming necessary for learning. And when it comes to experience, virtual reality is the only medium that can provide the students with an enhanced learning. Now, if you are wondering how this journey from yesterday’s classroom to today’s virtual reality learning became possible, you must take a look at the following facts we are going to point out. Read on for more.\n\nThe Journey towards Current Landscape\n\nSince the year 2014, when Google launched cardboard headsets and Oculus Rift took Kickstarter by storm, virtual reality became a really serious consideration. Though the technology has been around for years, it is around this time, when it got its momentum. There are various brands like HTC, Microsoft, and Google who pioneered the journey. From simple devices of plastic to more intricate setups like Playstation VR, everything is becoming more popular since then. Fortunately enough the price of virtual reality glasses USA is going down to, keeping with the increasing demand around the world.\n\nBarriers to Adoption\n\nThough we are advocating the use of virtual reality in classrooms, yet one can’t deny the barriers that are still there, preventing the universal adoption of VR in classrooms across the globe.\n\n  • Devices need to be more compatible with the requirements of classrooms and curriculum. A significant constraint needs to be attached to make it the Virtual Reality Headsets USA more perfect for kids.\n  • The price needs to come down more so that it becomes affordable not only for a selection of institutes but for all the students and classes around the world.\n  • Instead of mobile phones, the handheld controllers and sensors can take the experience to a new level for the students. Hence, it is necessary for the companies to launch the products in the market to make this technology an important part of education.\n\nBenefits of VR Learning\n\nThe main aim of education is always expanding the horizon for students. Virtual reality is exactly working towards this goal. Along with providing the students with expanded possibilities of learning, virtual reality is also making education fun and interesting. Classroom boredom is gone now. The glasses and headsets helping students quickly pick up the lessons with enhanced, 3D audiovisual experiences. Needless to say, being surrounded by the VR, they are becoming more focused on the subject too.\n\nOn the other hand, getting educated from the far away institute is becoming easier now. The learning process is not limited to a four wall room now. VR is expanding the classroom to the furthest corners of the world. Surely, it is a remarkable progress in terms of education.\n\nSo, now as you know about the changes that virtual reality is bringing in the sphere of education, don’t stay behind. Embrace the new technology and let the learners enjoy what they study. It is nothing but a step towards better intellect and wisdom for the future generations.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8673361539840698}
+{"content": "Take action for our people\n\nCHANGES in temperature cause humidity and a rise in diseases such as malaria, which in turn leads to more deaths.\n\nIllness affects productivity and employment, which in turn affects our GDP.\n\nOur country relies on our natural resources and wildlife to attract tourism. Loss of habitat and biodiversity also negatively affects the economy.\n\nThere is also a great threat to crops such as maize, barley, sorghum, sugar cane and wheat as a result of climate change. Obviously this will affect the poorest of the poor.\n\nThough the economic implications cannot be estimated at this point, there will be a significant reduction of production within primary economic sectors - agriculture, forestry and fisheries.\n\nThere is also concern that the water supply, energy and leisure will be in greater demand and as a result biodiversity will suffer considerably.\n\nCountries will suffer continuous droughts, floods and hurricanes and that will claim many lives as we have seen in large parts of Asia.\n\nClimate change will also accompany pollution of vital resources such as water and air, and it is undeniable that this in turn will directly or indirectly affect governance and political stability and will cause great human hardship.\n\nSo it is vital to weigh the effects of climate change and its impact on citizens, particularly the poorest of the poor. Commit to cut carbon emissions. It is everyone's responsibility to do their bit. Take action for our people's sake.\n\nDuncan Moeketse, Newclare", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9789295792579651}
+{"content": "5 Most Disgusting Christmas Dishes\n\nThese dishes really don’t need to be served on Christmas\nWikimedia Commons\n\nIs there anyone who really loves fruitcake?\n\nWe’re all for Christmas traditions, but some dishes really should be banned from Christmas dinner.\n\n\nOne of the culinary world’s most infamous laughingstocks, fruitcake is one of those foods that very few people actually enjoy. A super-dense loaf of dried fruits and spices, the tart, sickly sweet “cake” is in reality more like a brick. We’ll pass.\n\nJell-O Molds\n\nIf there’s a dish that involves Jell-O in any form on your Christmas table, we highly suggest you reconsider. A holdover from the 1950s when molds were in vogue, today they’re just bizarrely jiggly, artificially flavored vessels for other foods that nobody would eat.\n\nGreen Bean Casserole\n\nCanned green beans mixed with canned cream of mushroom soup, topped with packaged fried potatoes? Unless you’re celebrating Christmas in a fallout shelter, find a tastier side dish.\n\n\nA traditional Nordic Christmas dish, lutefisk is made by taking dried and salted whitefish and rehydrating it in lye water, resulting in a very gelatinous finished product. There’s plenty of fresh fish at the grocery store, just serve that instead!\n\nCarrot Salad\n\nIf the primary component of a side dish is grated carrots, it’s time to go back to the drawing board. And most recipes include several cups of mayonnaise, which cancels out any nutritious qualities.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9913777112960815}
+{"content": "What is R-value and why do I care?\n\nWhat is R-value and why do I care?\n\nR-value is the measure of resistance to heat. It is the value that is used to measure an insulation material’s resistance to conductive heat flow. Higher R-values correspond to greater heat flow resistance and therefore greater insulating power. The R-value depends on the type of insulation, its thickness and its density.\n\nAs of November 1, 2016 the building code for attic insulation increased to R-50, which means more energy efficient homes. For more information on the building codes have a look at this website:  http://www.municipalaffairs.alberta.ca/CP_Energy_Codes_Information.\n\nYou are probably asking yourself, “How much insulation do I have in my attic?” or “Do I need to upgrade my attic insulation?”  Let me ask you a question, “Do you want to save energy and money?” If the answer is yes then you do need to upgrade your attic insulation.  You would be surprised at how many home owners do not know the answer to this question but feel the effects in their home when temperature drop to -30 degrees Celsius.\n\nI have a personal experience to share with you. Our home is 25 years old and my son’s bedroom is against the garage and it is often very cold during the winter months. With having busy lives making other families homes more energy efficient we neglected our own. My husband finally had the chance to add some rigid insulation to the wall between the garage and the bedroom and upgrade the garage attic with John’s Manville Climate Pro, which is a fiber glass blow in insulation. I noticed the change in the bedroom temperature immediately. I’m looking forward to seeing our next heating bill.\n\nIf crawling up into your attic is not your thing, I have good news. Energy Savers Insulation will do that for you for FREE! We will also provide a quote on upgrading your insulation.\n\nNeed more information on an insulation upgrade? Contact your professional insulation contractors today. Contact The Energy Savers at 780-416-0026.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8410630822181702}
+{"content": "Zills & Arabic Percussion\n\nyesterday I bought a dvd on Arabic Percussion - it's a how - to / instructional dvd by Yinon Muallem, \"Master of Percussion\". I don't think I'd be able to carry a traditional drum around with me on my travels, and I thought they were made from wood & animal skin so wouldn't be allowed back into Australia by Customs anyway. I spoke to the guy from the shop and he had modern versions not made of wood or animal skin which sounded great when he played them but I said I'd think about it.. instead I found a couple of pairs of finger cymbals / zills - like the ones bellydancers use. the larger ones are the more professional versions and sound the best. the smaller ones are the cheaper ones found in most of the stores at the markets. but these fit my hands better so I thought I'd start with them. you wear them on the thumb and middle finger and can do a couple of strokes - hit together then open again for the higher 'ting' and hit together and stay together for the 'clap' sound. the store had a dvd also for bellydancing, hopefully it's got some English. their website lists the classes but it's in Hebrew so I can't read it yet.. - the arabic bellydancing & musicians site - the arabic percussion dvd site\n\n::: location:\n\n::: category:\n\nSoundscapes @ Tower of David, Old City, Jerusalem\n\nSoundscapes Exhibition, in the courtyard of the Tower of David, Old City of Jerusalem, Israel, wednesday 25/07/2007. Outdoor instruments play compositons as people walk around the grounds. there's a light show also which highlights the instruments playing. it's a beautiful space and the sounds are very melodic.\n\n\"Numerous oversized instruments, including a harp, drums, tambourines, bells and contrabass, are automatically played by computer command producing an original composition. Mechanical arms play the instruments and each creates its very own sound.\"\n\nSubscribe to RSS - instruments", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.879793107509613}
+{"content": "\n\nWhat are big Conventions like?\n\n\nWhen you pack to go away for a weekend painting keep you personals to a minimum and your supplies to what is needed. A small bag should provide you with enough underwear and changes of clothes suitable for painting and your personal items. A larger bag will do for the painting gear. A very large bag would manage both, but make life a bit difficult for traversing from accomodation to class. So...plan on two bags. The painting bag needs to carry your brushes and supplies as required by the class you attend and your piece. eventually it shold carry all your gear home for you too. I have seen some innovative transports for portable studios. The best I think is the suitcase on wheels with a pull handle. You can build a wooden framework of shelves into this and have a little office of brushes, graphite, paint etc. Make sure there are some old pillow slips in their to protect your projects in travel too.\n\n\n\nNobody has commented on this tip yet. Be the first.\n\n\nURL: (optional)\n\n\n\nGuru Spotlight\nLynne Christen", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9806671142578125}
+{"content": "Ukraine and Russia agreed to coordinate the possible shortening of procedures of customs clearance of Ukrainian goods at the border.\n\nThis follows from the Action Plan for the settlement of trade restrictions in bilateral trade for 2013-2014, signed December 17 by economic ministers of the two countries.\n\nThe authorized bodies of the parties shall hold the necessary consultations and negotiations to determine persons, transporting goods of Ukrainian origin, whose work is characterized by a low degree of risk in order to identify opportunities to reduce the measures on minimizing the risks, applied to them.\n\nAll the necessary activities should be performed before 31 December this year.\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.993145763874054}
+{"content": "Archive for: February, 2013\n\nYour Brokenheart\n\nFeb 21 2013 Published by under Uncategorized\n\n\nI’m excited to write to you from our new guest house at Scientopia!! Do you like it?!?!? 'Cause we sure are getting comfy 😉\n\nFor the first post I decided to cover a topic that remains a mystery  not only to me and larger scientific community but also (let's be honest here) the greater HUMAN species....\n\n\nOr really in my case I wanna know what happens in your brain after you get your heartbroken.\n\nYou know that feeling, when that one person you thought was your soulmate decides he/she wants to end things. I won't go into details about your chest wanting to explode, or the fact you seem to be obsessively thinking about them every minute of everyday..\n\nI'll simply refer you to any Nicholas Sparks movie.\n\nHey, you had your lovey dovey time over Valentines day.\n\nBut before we jump right into the “removal” of love, let just get a refresher on love in the brain.\n\nClicky on this video for a 3 min breakdown.\n\nAs you can imagine, love is a complicated emotion, it has so so so many layers. While the above video tries to summarize it into compact digestible bits, it really remains one of those topics that scientists struggle to put into nice boxes.\n\nSo what dose neuroscience make of this entire heatbreak business?\n\nFirst of all its \"scientifically\" called romantic/social Rejection (I really should have paid more attention in my psych classes, would’ve taken me less time to research this stuff), but Imma call it heartbreak. More dramatic.\n\nAs you can imagine studying love is messy, by default studying rejection would also be as messy if not more so.\n\nStudies have just recently  begun to delve into the neuroscience associated with heartbreak. The studies I will be referring too (links down below,they are both open access!!) utilized fMRI imaging techniques along with various psych tests, such as comparing neural activation between a picture of the previous lover and a neutral/friend photograph.\n\nWhen looking at reward, addiction or romantic love, a number of studies have shown that there is a similar pattern of activation in the subcortical areas, which include the ventral tegmental area (aka VTA, personally one of my favorites), the nucleus accumbens core, ventral globus pallidus and the ventral putamen.\n\nThe study by Fisher et al. further explored that activation of the VTA with regards to heartbreak; their subjects showed greater activation in that area when viewing an image of the pervious lover then when viewing a neutral faces. They concluded that regardless of the fact that these individuals were no longer in the relationship, the participants VTA and angular gyrus remains very much activated.\n\nThey also found that their participants had a more pronounced activiation in the ventral striatum, nucleus accumbens core and the ventral putamen...\n\nNotice something guys?!?!?\n\nSame areas that are involved in falling in love are also still involved in having your heartbroken...\n\nFisher et al. also found that their participants had significant activation of orbitofrontal/prefrontal cortex, the forbrain regions of the reward system. This finding right here is what I personally find totally cool. You see, the activation of the forbrain suggests that falling in/out of love involves learning. The authors actually hypothesized that this learning process may have used the experience-reward systems (the interplay between the VTA, forebrain & nucleus accumbens). This in turn may shed light as to how the reward system may have been employed & when it is activated in terms of the perceived relationship status.\n\nYou may be wondering \"Okey, we get that we are addicted.. but why does heartbreak physically hurt?\"\n\nWell lovers, according to a  study by Kross et al. heartbreak  hurts because, you guessed it, it actually activates the same \"pain area\" in the brain as physical pain.  They found that both physical pain and social rejection have overlapping representation in the somatosensory system (the conglomerate of sensory information, from touch to pain to spatial positioning of the body).\n\nAnnoying eh?\n\nQuestions/caveats of these types of studies are (in my opinion) the ages of the participants, the length/commitment of the relationship, the type of relationship & using psych tasks to invoke memories of the feelings. Feelings are messy.\n\nThe good news is that more extensive research is being done in this area. So  go ahead, fall in love, fall out of love, donate your time to science and help us figure this out 😉\n\nTill next time.\n\nStay Neurofabulous\n\n\n\nFor your pleasure;\n\nFisher, E., Brown, L.L., Aron, A., Strong, G., & Mashek,D. (2010)\n\n\nDavid Disalvo's piece for Forbes\n\n\n\n2 responses so far\n\nPublic engagement should no longer be regarded as a commodity\n\nFeb 15 2013 Published by under Uncategorized\n\nI am very proud to share with you here an intervention I have been asked to provide for the Euroscientist magazine, an online publication of Euroscience, \"a pan-European association of individuals interested in constructing scientific Europe from the bottom-up\". The editor at Euroscientist, towards whom I am very thankful, contacted me when she found out about my publication \"Who cares about physics today? A marketing strategy for the survival of fundamental science and the benefit of society\", which is available on the arXiv web bullettin.\nI hope you will enjoy my analysis at Euroscientist and become curious of the other Euroscience activities if you are not aware of them yet.\nPublic engagement should no longer be regarded as a commodity\n\nToday, public engagement is mostly regarded as a commodity. If there is good level of funding available, scientists may consider spending money in what they usually call ”public relations”. Otherwise this is the first thing scientists cut because they consider it to be the least necessary.\n\nBut public engagement in science is very much needed. At the very least because the public is either an enemy or an ally of research. Examples such as the climate change denial illustrate this point well. In other circumstances, such as the 2009 Shuttle mission, it was people who wanted such mission to happen in order to service the Hubble Space Telescope for the last time even thought it had been declared doomed by US President George W. Bush and NASA President Sean O’Keefe. An unprecedented movement of popular opinion grew to such a large extent that the official decision had to be changed and money reallocated.\n\nTo adequately communicate research to a lay audience, it is necessary to adopt the audience’s language and appeal to its own interests. Just like what is done in marketing. Therefore it is not a heresy to mix scientific content with languages that are either non-scientific or even non-verbal, including, for example, by communication through the means of theatre, dance, video-games, comics or music …\n\nThis is all part of an approach I dubbed “A marketing strategy for the survival of fundamental science“. Such an approach is critical in order to build a society that is both aware and appreciative of science. A conscious society is the only one able to properly assess how crucial investments in science have to be in the European budget. Or how future prosperity depends on new ideas and how these have to be explored by young and passionate minds.\n\nFor example, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) particle accelerator is teaching scientists important lessons about the Higgs Boson, among others. However, some have argued that the money this experiment costs should rather be spent on finding ways to cure tumours. However it is precisely the capacity we acquired by walking down the road of curiosity for the invisible and the minuscule that contributed to finding solutions to cure cancer. Indeed, the LHC smashes particles called hadrons. They are the very same particles used in hadron-therapy, a medical technique that can treat deep cancers in an efficient way.\n\nMany more of these beautiful and deeply meaningful connections have yet to be unveiled to the largest public. Once the level of public engagement progresses, the public will slowly see reduce its disconnect with science and scientists. Instead, the public will start further engaging in a durable and satisfying conversation with these scientists.\n\n\nNo responses yet\n\nGravity: the dance of space and time, Part II\n\nFeb 15 2013 Published by under Uncategorized\n\nIn a previous post of mine I briefly introduced a beautiful example of blending science with performing arts: that was \"Gravity: the dance of space and time\", an initiative in which I took part recently at the University of Maryland, in collaboration with the School of Dance Instructor Adriane Fang and Astronomy Professor Cole Miller.\nIn the present post I would like to present this performance in more detail, by pointing at the background scientific concepts and how they got translated artistically into the show, which you can see in its final form at this link.\nInspired by the \"Dance your PhD\" contest, Adriane was interested in bringing some science into dance and that's where Cole and I came to the rescue: though we did not end up dancing in the show as it is required to the contest participants, we got actively involved in the rehearsals, not only building a conversation with the artists but also trying some moves out. I hope my following description will convey the feelings of emotion and satisfaction that I experienced during all the stages of the project.\nWhen our GPS antenna talks to the GPS satellite fleet to establish its position relative to the satellites', an exchange of signals is involved in the process; the situation is reminiscent of clock synchronization among people: if everyone's watch shows a different time there are very few chances to recombine all together on time. In the case of GPS satellites communicating to our antenna, synchronization is not so easy: for starters time does not flow at the same pace for everyone! that's what a dynamical spacetime stage entails. If mass can deform space, and space is a whole with time, mass affects time: the closer you are to the source of deformation, the slower time flows for your watch as compared to one which is at a larger distant from the mass. Finally, there's one more source of difference between the pace of satellites' time and the one of clocks on Earth's surface, speed effects: the faster you move the slower time flows for your watch as compared to one which is at rest. It wouldn't be worthy of Einstein if things were not so rich!\n\nI find Salvador Dali's \"The Persistence of Memory\" a powerful visual handle to grasp the concept of mutable time.\n\nThis was kind of a long introduction but it will allow you to better appreciate the dance show, especially its second part: in fact, while the first act represents the motion of astrophysical objects in spacetime, the second is devoted to spacetime itself. For this reason, I'm going to talk about the final half of the show first.\n\nDancers depicting the spacetime fabric.\n\nDancers depicting the spacetime fabric.\n(Copyright Stan Barouh\n\nOf course, we did not want the dance performance to be just descriptive: that's what I meant earlier on when I said that the entire collaboration has been the result of a conversation around a scientific theme. Adriane proposed her graduate students to perform their moves according to an interesting interpretation of the scientific concepts: in pairs, the artists would stimulate their partner's movement by transmitting them their own energy through a flow without contact; then the partners would react either by affinity or contrast, that is to say moving towards or against the source of energy, respectively. I personally took part in the rehearsals in which the dancers were exploring this part of their \"phrase\", as it is called in their jargon: for me it was both new and challenging to try and bring formulae alive in this way. Another distinctive type of the grad students' moves inspired by science was the \"stretch and squeeze\". In order to explain it let me go back to the trampoline analogy I used to depict how spacetime gets deformed in the presence of mass. Imagine moving the mass around on the surface of the trampoline: you can picture ripples forming on the elastic membrane, just like waves on the surface of a pond. This might make you think of yet another type of waves coming from a perturbed membrane: the ones coming from a drum hit by mallets, that is to say sound waves. Like a buoy is carried up and down by the tide a device probing spacetime ripples would experience two peculiar effects: the aforementioned stretch and squeeze.\n\nDancers playing star encounters in the universe\n\nDancers playing star encounters in the universe.\n(Copyright Stan Barouh\n\n\nOne response so far\n\nIt is written “science communications”, it is to be read “solid foundations for a future of prosperity in science, economy and society”\n\nFeb 04 2013 Published by under Uncategorized\n\nLast year on October 23 a petition has been addressed by Nobel Prize awardees and Fields medalists to the representatives of European governments: the object: rumors that research funds will be cut on occasion of the end of November meeting to discuss the European budget (\nBack then no agreement was found among the leaders, who are to meet again this week on February 7 and 8. In view of this new summit it is the European Industrial Leaders that put up a \"campaign to stave off possible cuts to the European Union's research budget\" (\n\nThe sword of Damocles that is threatening the European funds for scientific research represents, at a closer look, an extremely dangerous risk for the future of all European citizens, not only scientists. 
The current well-being of most of us Westerners, in Europe as well as the US, is based on easily identifiable pillars: scientific studies, at first abstract and then applied, that brought us electricity and computers, just to quote a couple of examples. There would not be anything of all that we are used to if some ancestor of ours had not been so curious to think about the why and how of natural phenomena, which sometimes have weird names such as “quantum field theory”.\nThe example that I personally like to quote most often, given that I am both an Italian and a physicist, is related to CERN and its accelerator LHC, now operating underground in the Geneva area: the acronym designating this experiment stands for Large Hadron Collider, that, in plain language, corresponds to a sort of dodgem whose cars are minuscule particles, which belong to the category of hadrons ... hadrons as in “hadron-therapy”, a technique of modern medicine that is used to cure deep cancers in a unique way ( How else could humanity have discovered the existence and behavior of the subatomic world other than walking down the path that has brought to build the LHC in order to discover and study the Higgs Boson?\nThis link is just one example of a connection between fundamental science and well-being that is obscure to most people. It is then apparent how the issue of an accurate positioning of research in European funding policies represents, in reality, a much wider problem, which requires a unity of intents that goes far beyond academia and laboratories: it concerns all of us, together with our kids.\nIn such a context the voice that reaches the ears of our political representatives should be a single powerful one that collects many more people than just the industrials or the scientists. The latter should lead these unitary efforts: in fact, in order to have a weight in society, before politics, lobbying is needed.\nThis goal can only be achieved if the general public is involved in the process and engaged in a two-way conversation; how does one go about conquering support from the public? by speaking its own language, studying its interests, meeting it where it is to be found, which most certainly is not at the entry to the Ivory Tower. 
A marketing strategy is needed; that's right: marketing, as in advertising campaigns; in fact, where else does the success of advertisement lie if not in its ability to sympathize with the public, to be in its shoes, to touch its emotional chords, one category at a time? 
The time is over, then, to simply rely on press releases in order to reach the public: communication has its own tools, science is the product to be advertised, in a proper way of course. In such a context it is not a heresy to bother mixing scientific content with languages that are either non-scientific or non-verbal even: theatre and dance, for example, or video-games or comics ... 
This list could go on and would cite many efforts that either have been just proposed or are already being implemented. What is still missing, which I personally believe would represent a qualitative leap, is the unity of intents: “united we stand, divided we fall”, as the saying goes. There is a notorious instance that exemplifies what I am advocating for here: the history of Hubble Space Telescope. In 2003 it had been declared doomed by US President George W. Bush and NASA President Sean O'Keefe, in charge at the time: no more maintenance for the telescope, the money that the necessary Shuttle mission would have cost had to be destined to bring astronauts on Mars. The scientific community succeeded in exciting such an emotion in common people that the two lobbied against the official decision, pushing Bush and O'Keefe to change their minds ... incredible! But true and repeatable. Incidentally, that's the story of how today you can enjoy the Hubble IMAX movie (\nThe present situation, worsened by the economic and financial crisis, represents both a test bench and a turning point: if the lack of awareness and the poor appreciation of science by the public are not confronted vigorously, no petition will ever suffice.\nIn conclusion, putting forth petitions and campaigns is very welcome, in that they try to protect everyone's future. However in order for the largest public to be appreciative of science it has to be aware first and this can only be achieved if the public is engaged in a two-way conversation. My recipe for tackling this problem at its roots is in a paper I titled “Who cares about physics today? A marketing strategy for the survival of fundamental science and the benefit of society”. An example initiative is the dance show \"Gravity\", about which I posted a contribution previously. The paper is available at, I hope you will find it interesting.\n\nNo responses yet\n\nWho, what, why, when, where\n\nFeb 01 2013 Published by under Uncategorized\n\nHi there!\nI hope you have appreciated my first two posts: my \"Ode to the Higgs\" and \"Gravity: the dance of space and time\"; I'll return to them in the future but now it is time for me to tell you something about me: Who am I? What brought me here? Why do I like being a Scientopia guest blogger? When did I start doing what I do? Where have I made my experiences so far?\nBefore you give up reading let me assure you: I'm not going to write a novel of my life but, as I feel some background is important, I'll just sketch a few chapters of my biography anyway 😉\nWho. I like to define myself as a \"sociable physicist\", that is to say someone who is equally appreciative of the conquests of the human mind, as well as of them being shared with those who did not take part in the endeavor … other than paying for that through their taxes. And that is What brought me to this point of my life, where I've realized that my deepest passion for the physical sciences has to be expressed through what it is generally called public outreach. I've recently read a blog post debating about what meaning to assign to \"public outreach\": is it something resembling preaching to the converted or does it really reach out to people who do not know why science concerns all of them? As much as I value initiatives falling in the first category, such as public lectures or popular science books, I believe they have to be accompanied by a larger set of efforts. This attitude is best defined, I think, as a marketing strategy for fundamental science, which is how I called it in a paper you can find at this address: There I explore why it is important that the scientific community reaches out to the largest public, through a variety of means and approaches that are tailored on the target audience. Another salient aspect of my proposal is the somewhat invasive character of the suggested outreach: you have to use your target audience's interests in order to have it pay attention to a scientific content whatsoever. That's where marketing kicks in. Of course among the means I propose to be more efficiently used and exploited by the scientific community are internet and the world of social media: you can't hope to reach out to the public if you do not have a presence where the public is and spends time. Therefore I couldn't be happier when I was offered the chance to participate as a Scientopia guest blogger: I've just started browsing the many blogs the Scientopia community comprises but I could already gather that it's a very convenient setting to have diverse interests and backgrounds all hosted under a common umbrella. Why: check.\nWhen and Where. About a year ago I took the decision: I put aside research and committed to popularizing science. I was starting my second year as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Maryland, just outside Washington DC, which I had joined after four years of doctoral training in theoretical physics at the University of Geneva, in Switzerland. All along those years I've promptly taken any occasion to share tales of my personal journey in the world of the physical sciences: be them related to the exploration of advanced concepts or concerning visiting scientific cathedrals, such as the Large Hadron Collider at CERN or the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. However most of the people with whom I could talk did not show the interest I was hoping for: in general they did not feel much drawn to the theoretical aspects, however fancy their names were, or proud citizens of a country that sponsors the pursuit of knowledge. They did not know that those cathedrals I revered so much serve two purposes: the first is the scientific goal they are after, the second is to empower mankind with new means for growth and prosperity. The most eloquent examples of how this is true are both related to CERN (before being a physicist I'm Italian and I'm proud of my country being among the pioneer countries which founded CERN just after World War 2). First, the Large Hadron Collider, the experiment that has discovered a new particle of Nature, be it the Higgs Boson or not, has the word \"hadrons\" in its name: this is a category of subatomic particles subject to the strong nuclear force; had scientists not been curious about what lies at ever more microscopic scales and how it behaves, we would have not known that hadrons exist and that they can be used as very precise projectiles to be shot at tumors lying deep down inside the human body. Second, the World Wide Web, the network we now massively use to communicate, work, exchange and look for info, travel, buy, etc: its father, Sir Timothy John Berners-Lee, was working for CERN when he invented it. Both connections between fundamental physics and everyone's life are so profound you'd wonder how we (read: our governments) do not try and find more ways to keep this healthy process alive. That is the mission I've chosen for myself: to make people aware, first, and appreciative, afterwards, of why science is both beautiful and useful. I'm confident this experience at Scientopia will serve this purpose of mine, as well as teach me how to do it better along the way.\n\nNo responses yet", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5039278864860535}
+{"content": "This company is committed to hiring Veterans\n\nProject Engineer - Concrete Paving (PCCP) Experience Desired for Sundt's Transportation Group 10/12/2017\n\nSundt Construction Inc San Diego, CA\n\nSan Diego, CA\nAJE Ref #\nJob Classification\nFull Time\nJob Type\nCompany Ref #\n4197-San Diego\nMid-Career (2 - 15 years)\nBachelors Degree\n\n\n\nLocation US-AZ-Tempe | US-AZ-Tempe | US-CA-San Diego\nPosted Date 2 months ago(10/11/2017 7:15 PM)\n\n# Avail Pos\n\n\n\nSundt Construction's Award Winning Transportation Group is looking to add a Project Engineer with concrete paving experience, PCCP (Portland Concrete Cement Pavement) to be specific! This individual would be based out of our Corporate HQ here in Tempe and eventually work in San Diego on an Airport Project we have just minutes from the Beach!\n\nThe Project Engineer will be the technical source of information for the project and should have a thorough knowledge of the construction documents, subcontracts, and purchase orders. They will also respond to questions about drawings, specifications, shop drawings, and change orders. In addition, they will maintain an effective and professional working relationship with owners, architects, engineers, subcontractors, and suppliers. They also may assist with the supervision and/or training of Field Engineers.\n\n\n1. Demonstrates an understanding of the components of the project management plan (PMP)\nincluding the project scope management plan, procurement plan, environmental plan,\ntime management plan, financial plan, quality management and safety plans and risk\nmanagement plan to ensure successful project execution. Demonstrates a thorough\nunderstanding of the change management process.\n\n2. Develops an understanding of the prime contract, subcontracts, purchase order\nagreements, and allowance items as well as contract drawings and specifications.\nAdministers elements of the processes involved in budgeting and controlling costs so that\nthe project can be completed within the approved budget. Demonstrates business acumen\nwithin area of responsibility.\n\n3. Develops a procurement schedule and integrates it with the project CPM schedule.\nProcures necessary material and equipment. Coordinates submittals with other trades.\nReviews all submittals for compliance with the contract documents.\n\n4. Prepares and reviews change orders, including time extensions, with the appropriate\npersonnel before submittal to the owner. Maintains the change order log and, upon\nreceipt of executed change orders, distributes documents as required to company and\nsubcontractor field personnel. Prepares cost control budget adjustments and executes in a\ntimely manner.\n\n5. May participate in concrete form design and related equipment selection and will\nparticipates in takeoffs for concrete, asphalt concrete, earthwork, and utilities as\n\n6. Prepares and maintains quantity reporting mechanisms and coordinates agendas and\nprepares minutes for all meetings as well as maintaining various project logs.\n7. Maintains \"As-built\" contract documents. Compiles close-out requirements, including\noperation and maintenance manuals, warranties, and other job-specific items required by\nthe specifications.\n\n8. Plans, acquires, develops and supervises members of the project team to ensure relentless\nexecution of the project.\n\n9. Prevents claims, identify potential claims, quantify, mitigate/resolve the effects of those\nthat do occur on a timely basis.\n\n\n1. Four-year construction- related degree or equivalent technical training and related\nexperience, plus a minimum of three to four years of similar construction engineering\n2. An advanced knowledge of construction engineering technology, codes, standards, etc.,\nplus in-depth understanding of the interdependence and relationship between other\nfunctional units, is required.\n3. Must possess excellent communication and interpersonal skills, plus demonstrated ability to\nmanage a team of varied disciplines. Should have the skill/ability to supervise and/or train\nField Engineer positions if so required.\n\nPhysical Requirements:\n1. Will sit, stand or walk short distances for up to the entire duration of a shift/work day.\n2. Occasionally will climb stairs, ladders, etc.\n3. Will lift, push or pull objects on an occasional basis\n4. Required to use hands to grasp, lift, handle, carry or feel objects on a frequent basis\n5. Must be able to comply with all safety standards and procedures\n6. May reach above shoulder heights and below the waist on a frequent basis\n7. May stoop, kneel, or bend, on an occasional basis\n8.Ability to wear personal protective equipment is required (including but not limited to; steel\ntoed shoes, gloves, safety glasses, hearing protection, hardhat, vest, etc.)\n9. Will interact with people frequently during a shift/work day\n10.May use telephone, computer system, email, or other electronic devices on a limited basis\nto communicate with internal and external customers or vendors\n\nEqual Opportunity Employer Statement: Sundt Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE) that\nreligion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, color, age, disability, national origin, covered\nveteran status, or genetic information. We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a driving force\nin the success of our company.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.93265300989151}
+{"content": "The Outline World Dispatch\n\nThe Outline World Dispatch is a short daily podcast about power, culture, and the future. It’s a strange, curious mixtape of current events and ephemera, told through rich conversations and original reporting. I produce the show, wrangling stories, editing scripts, and mixing episodes.\n\nThe episode above is about the late game developer Andrew Yoon, whose board game about bitter legal struggles became, itself, a bitter legal struggle.\n\nOn this one, Tolu Edionwe talked to people who hold onto voicemails from their dead loved ones. I edited, produced, and mixed this story.\n\nSubscribe: Apple Podcasts / Google Play / Spotify / Overcast / RSS", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9926933646202087}
+{"content": "Designer Diaries: Ellen Evered\n\n\nHi, I'm Ellen and I create pretty patterns for greeting cards, textiles, household items, and stationery. Drawing on my 10+ years of experience in the packaging design industry, I combine my familiarity with product and brand development with my love of pattern and color.\n\nComing from a family of avid gardeners, I grew up amidst flowers and plants. Although I do not share their green thumb, I am inspired by my natural surroundings, creating patterns of hand drawn lyrical line work and evocative colors. I take my designs and apply them to a variety of items. With my products, I aim to bring a little bouquet of happiness into your home!\n\nWhen did you discover your passion?\n\nI have always been drawn to the creative arts. My favorite pass time as a child was drawing and painting. In a high school co-op program, I discovered that I could actually make a living being an artist as a graphic designer (!!!). That really started it all. I attended the Ontario College of Art and Design and graduated from the Graphic Design program. For the past 12 years I've worked as a graphic designer. Over the last few years I've become obsessed with patterns. So about 2 years ago I enrolled in Rachael Taylor's Make It In Design surface pattern course and I was hooked!\n\nWhat made you turn your passion into a career choice versus just a hobby?\n\nSince graduating from art college, I've worked professionally as a packaging designer. I really love my job, but there are creative limitations due to the nature of the field. My pattern design work began as a way to express my personal esthetic and design 'pretty' things, mostly as a hobby. When I received a lot of positive feedback and encouragement from family, friends and colleagues, I decided to take the next step and start applying my designs to a variety of products. I recently launched my first line of greeting cards.\n\nHow do you stay motivated?\n\nWith lots of coffee, ha! Honestly, I don't usually have difficulty with motivation. My problem is when I think that things are getting too easy and static. I like being busy and taking on new challenges. Sometimes I take on too much, but with two small children, I've learned to survive on very little sleep!\n\nCan you share a little about your design process?\n\nMy patterns are all based on my drawings, so I'm constantly sketching. I find inspiration in my daily life - the blooming forsythia bush on my front lawn, the silhouette of a branch against the sky, the leaves of a gingko tree I pass on my way to work. I bring these drawings into Illustrator using Image Trace. I clean them up a bit, but my style is very much characterized by the line work in my sketches. My colour palettes are based on the subject matter, sometimes tweaked using insight from colour trend reports that I try to stay on top of.\n\nWhat is your favorite part about having a creative business?\n\nI like having complete control over my creative direction. As a packaging designer, my designs need to meet legal and regulatory requirements, and pass through various levels of marketing management. The final product can sometimes look a lot different than the initial concept. With my pattern work, I get the final say at every stage. Being a bit of a perfectionist, I also like being able to ensure the quality of my final product. \n\nWhat are some of the biggest challenges you have faced in your career and how have you overcome them?\n\nLack of time and life balance are probably my biggest challenges. I have a 4 year old son and a 14 month old daughter. I work a full-time job and commute 2+ hours everyday. So saying \"I'm busy\" is a bit of an understatement. I try to take advantage of any free time I have by being productive in some way. Unfortunately that means I haven't read a book or watched a movie in very long time! I fit in sketching when I'm on the train to work or while my daughter naps. When the kids are in bed and the household chores are complete, I design, assemble greeting cards and pack orders, or read trend reports. It definitely makes the days go by fast!\n\n What advice would you give to aspiring designers looking to build a successful creative business?\n\nDevelop your personal style. Research what is out there and find a niche that your unique style can fill. It's great to gain inspiration from all the accomplished artists out there, but I think it's important to set yourself apart to be successful. \n\n\nWhats next for your career?\n\nThis spring I launched a line of greeting cards available on Etsy and for wholesale. I have a line of patterned home wares in the works. I've been accepted to my first two juried arts and crafts fairs, where I will have a booth with my cards and home wares for sale. I hope to expand my list of stockists and will keep pursuing licensing opportunities.\n\nWhere can we find you on the web?\n\nweb -\n\nfb -\n\nig -\n\netsy -\n\nsociety6 -", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9806293249130249}
+{"content": "Total: $0.00 AUD\n\n\nActive Ingredients……\n\nKigelia (Sausage Tree) Extract is derived from the large sausage-shaped fruit of Kigelia africana, also known as the African sausage tree. The traditional use of kigelia fruit in Africa has been both medicinal – as a treatment for skin complaints from eczema to skin cancer – and cosmetic, as a preparation to firm and enhance skin tissue. Several scientific studies in recent years suggest that kigelia may indeed have remarkable healing and conditioning effects on the skin. Kigelia has been scientifically proven to be anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer - Researchers in Northern Ireland conducted an in vitro study to assess the ability of various compounds from the kigelia fruit to halt the spread of human melanoma cells. Part of the impetus for the study was the traditional use of the fruit by folk healers to treat skin cancer and other skin disorders. Scientists isolated several compounds from the kigelia fruit and tested them against melanoma cells in the lab. They found significant anti-cancer properties from a variety of the kigelia compounds\n\nSilk amino acids(silk proteins) give the skin a very soft and velvety feel when used in a cosmetic product.  Silk amino acids excellent water-binding properties and will assist the skin to retain moisture. Silk amino acids also have a certain amount of antioxidant action.  Easily absorbed by the skin and hair, silk proteins provide and retain moisture, protect skin from dehydration, and give it a smooth, silky feel.\n\n\nHerbal Extracts……\n\nBilberyis the perfect ingredient in an eye cream strengthening blood vessels and toning veins helping to reduce dark circles and puffiness. Anti-inflammatory action will help reduce redness of the eyes and vitamin A helps the skin cells stay healthy.\n\nCalendula Calendula officinalis - wound healing, emollient, soothing, protective, refreshing, anti-itch, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic.\n\nChamomile Camomile recutita - emollient, soothing, refreshing, purifying.\n\nComfrey Symphytum officinale - healing, soothing, emollient, astringent, anti-itch.\n\nCypress Cupressus sempervirens - antiseptic, astringent, soothing, healing, anti-spasmodic, reduces sebum secretion.\n\nGinseng Panax ginseng- skin rejuvenating, oxygenating, stimulant, strengthening, elasticising, tonic, diminishes wrinkles.\n\nGotu Kola Centella asiatica- firming, soothing, purifying, anti-oedema, anti-irritant, tonic, stimulating.\n\nGreen Tea Camellia sinensis- stimulant, astringent, vessel dilator, anti-oxidant, tonic for ageing skin, anti-cellulite.\n\nHorsetail Equisetum arvense- elasticising, astringent, sebostatic.\n\nIceland Moss Cetraria islandica- emollient, nourishing, protective for skin, moisturising, soothing.\n\nApricot Prunis armeniaca- nourishing, moisturising, emollient, tonic.\n\nBlack Current Ribes nigrum- emollient, refreshing, vessel-protective, nourishing, high in minerals and vitamin C.\n\nFucus Fucus vesiulosus - high in trace elements especially iodine. Provides hydration, softness and elasticity.\n\nWheat Amino Acid Triticum vulgare- contains free amino acids, highly moisturising action penetrates hair cuticle and horny layer of the skin, bringing brightness, provides hydrating and conditioning effect.\n\n\n100% Pure Essential Oils……\n\nAniseed Pimpinella anisum- stimulating and warming. Generally has a reputation for dealing with infectious skin diseases, can also cause dermatitis in rare cases. Also has medicinal applications for dry or irritable coughs, whooping cough and bronchitis. It is antiseptic, anti-spasmodic, calmative, diuretic and expectorant. The scent is most reminiscent of liquorice, with a sweet-spicy strong aroma.\n\nBenzoin Styrax benzoin - rejuvenating, calming. Sound remedy for cracked, dry skin, making it more elastic. Medicinal applications include using benzoin as an anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antiseptic, astringent, carminative, deodorant, diuretic, expectorant and sedative. May be applied externally for cuts and irritable skin conditions. The aroma is intense with a sweet-balsamic blended vanilla odour.\n\nBergamot Citrus bergamia - uplifting, calming. Antiseptic and healing to the skin. Particularly useful for mouth, skin, respiratory and urinary tract infections. Bergamot is analgesic, anti-depressant, anti spasmodic, antitoxic, digestive, parasiticidal, stimulating and is a tonic. The aroma is fresh, citrus-sweet slightly spicy with a balsamic undertone. In skincare bergamot helps to relieve boils, acne, insect bites and eczema. May cause photosensitivity of the skin.\n\nCedarwood Cedrus atlantica- comforting, strengthening. Astringent and antiseptic properties are of great value to oily skin. A good hair tonic.\n\nChamomile Roman Chamaemelum nobile - nurturing, comforting. Soothing action makes this an excellent oil for many skin conditions.\n\nChamomile Maroc Ormenis multicaulis -Known as Wild Chamomile this oil has many of the same properties as chamomile. The aroma is quite a bit more penetrating and not as sweet.\n\nCinnamon Leaf Cinnamomum zeylanicum - antiseptic, warming. Mildly astringent on the skin.\n\nClary Sage Salvia sclarea - uplifting, harmonising. Appears to possess some cell regenerating properties.\n\nClove Bud Syzygium aromaticum - strengthening, stimulating. May alleviate infectious wounds.\n\nCypress Cupressus sempervirens - antiseptic, energising. Controls excessive loss of water and can therefore be helpful to mature/dry skin.\n\nEucalyptus Eucalyptus radiata - cleansing, warming. Clears congested skin. Prevents bacteria growth.\n\nEverlasting Helichrysum italicum rejuvenating, cleansing. On a par with Lavender with regard to cell regeneration.\n\nFennel Sweet Foeniculum vulgare dulce - cleansing, warming. Has a tonic action on the skin.\n\nFrankincense Boswellia carterii - comforting, replenishing. Gives new life to ageing skin.\n\nGeranium Rose Pelargoneum graveolen - harmonising, balancing. Useful for all skin types with it’s sebum (oil) balancing action. Good for sluggish, congested and oily skin.\n\nGrapefruit Citrus paradisi - refreshing, activating.Good for congested and oily skin.\n\nGuaiacwood (Champaca wood) Bulnesia sarmienti - Anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant. Pleasant tea rose type fragrance.\n\nJuniper Berry Juniperus communi - purifying, cleansing.Stimulates and strengthens the nerves. Tonic for oily and congested skin.\n\nLabdanum Cistus ladaniferus - antimicrobial, antiseptic and astringent , soothing to mature skin and wrinkles.\n\nLavandin Lavandula flagrans -in some ways has similar uses to Lavender though is much less relaxing. Refreshing note to a tired mind. Helps wounds to heal and is said to have some effect on dermatitis.\n\nLavender Lavandula angustifolia - calming, comforting. Valuable for most skin conditions since it promotes growth of new cells and exerts a balancing action on sebum. Effective hair tonic.\n\nLemon Citrus limonum - uplifting, clarifying. Refreshing and cooling when hot and bothered. Brightens pale and dull complexions by removing dead skin cells. Smoothes out broken capillaries and has an effective cleansing action.\n\nLemongrass Cymbopogan flexuosus - cleansing, activating. Gives good tone to the skin and may be effective on open pores. Said to clear acne and balance oily conditions.\n\nLemon Myrtle Backhousia citriodora - cleansing, uplifting. This oil is relatively new to the world of aromatherapy so extensive testing has not been carried out With it’s deep lemon scent it lifts the spirits bringing light and joy to the day. It appears to be a stronger antiseptic and antibacterial than both tea tree and eucalyptus.\n\nLime Citrus aurantifolia - clarifying, refreshing. The astringent, toning and refreshing actions seems to clear greasy skin.\n\nMandarin Citrus madurensis - revitalising, calming. Often used in combination with Neroli and Lavender to lessen stretch marks.\n\nOakmoss Evernia prunastri - Antiseptic, expectorant. Tenacious earthy-mossy aroma, very popular in men’s perfumery.\n\nOrange Sweet Citrus sinensis - uplifting, reviving. A good skin tonic for all skin types.\n\nPalmarosa Cymbopogon martinii - regulating, moisturising. Restores water balance and stimulates natural secretion of sebum. Helps skin regrowth by aiding cell regeneration.\n\nPatchouli Pogostemon cablin - grounding, balancing. Said to be a tissue regenerator, helping regrowth of the skin cells and forming scare tissue. Cools inflamed skin conditions\n\nPepper Black Piper nigrum- Stimulating & strengthening, heart-warming. Useful for muscular aches and pains, tired, aching limbs and stiffness. Expels toxins.\n\nPeppermint Mentha piperita - clearing, energising. Removes toxic congestion. It’s cooling action can relieve itching, inflammation and sunburn. Effective on greasy skin and hair.\n\nPeru Balsam Myroxylon balsamum - A rich sweet oil, that is warming and comforting, has been used for chapped skin, colds, coughing, eczema, the flu, poor circulation, rashes, sensitive skin, and nervous and stress disorders. It is also believed to promote growth of epithelial cells.\n\nPetitgrain Citrus aurantium - empowering, nurturing. Has a toning and astringent effect, combats oiliness and lifts a tired complexion.\n\nPine Pinus sylvestris - inspiring, clearing. Valuable for congested skin and said to have some effect on eczema and psoriasis.\n\nRosemary Rosmarinus officinalis - clarifying, awakening. Strong astringent. Beneficial to scalp disorders, could alleviate dandruff and encourage hair growth.\n\nSandalwood Australian Santalum spicata - stabilising, strengthening. Generally a balancing oil but particularly good for dry, ageing and dehydrated skins.\n\nSpearmint Mentha spicata stimulating, cleansing. May provide relief to severe itching of the skin.\n\nTea Tree Melaleuca alternifolia - purifying, antiseptic. Very cleansing to the skin. Seems to clear spots and blemishes. Useful with burns, sores, sunburn, etc.\n\nThyme Thymus vulgaris - antiseptic, strengthening. A good tonic for the scalp and may be effective with dandruff and hair loss.\n\nYlang Ylang Cananga odorata- aphrodisiac, soothing. Balancing in skin care products, benficial to both oily and dry\n\n\nBase Oils & Butters……\n\nApricot Oil Prunus armenica chosen for its ability to penetrate the skin and being high in oleic & linoleic acids makes it perfect for aging skin.\n\nAvocado Oil Persea Americana dehydrated avocado flesh is cold pressed to produce this deep green oil, rich in lecithin. Avocado oil offers a higher degree of penetration into the epidermis than most carrier oils so it is especially useful for moisturising and softening dry and mature skins. Valuable in massage oils as a muscle relaxant and for general skin inflammation complaints.\n\nCamellia Seed Oil Camellia sinensisis cold pressed from the seeds of the Camellia Plant. This nourishing oil contains antioxidants which help protect the skin from free radicals. Easily absorbed into the epidermis, Camilla Seed oil is claimed to maintain smooth, supple skin and strengthen nails.\n\nCarrot Oil Daucus carota extracted by maceration. Rich in beta-carotene, vitamins A,B,C,D & E and essential fatty acids, Carrot Oil tonic to the skin. It's anti-inflammatory and is a known skin rejuvenator, assisting with the formation os scar tissue and delaying the ageing process with repeated use. Soothes itchy skin and can relieve psoriasis and eczema.\n\nCucumber Seed OilCucumis sativus possesses a remarkable amount of phytosterols making it a noteworthy ingredient in personal care formulations. Studies indicate that phytosterols help the skin strengthen its lipid barrier, restoring proper moisture balance, smoothing the skin’s surface and improving skin elasticity. Phytosterols are also known for their ability to nourish and stimulate the skin cells to encourage regeneration of healthy skin cells. Cucumber seed oil contains a significant percentage of oleic acid and linoleic acid and can be effective in treating dry skin, eczema, psoriasis, acne and sunburned skin. It is a good choice for inclusion in formulations for revitalizing maturing skin. Furthermore, the high tocopherol and tocotrienol content indicates that cucumber seed oil would be effective in defending skin cells from free-radical damage.\n\nCucumber Seed Oil is beneficial for anti-aging and fine line reduction, acne, psoriasis, eczema, sunburn and stretch marks.\n\nEvening Primrose Oil Oenothera biennis contains gamma-linolenic acid. Evening primrose in combination with other fatty acids helps the body produce prostaglandin E1, which can reduce inflammation and improve digestion. This cold-pressed, lightly refined oil can be taken internally to supplement GLA. Evening Primrose oil has been used to support skin conditions such as psoriasis and eczema, and may help premature skin aging. In fact, Evening Primrose oil has an extensive body of research noting its ability to help with a variety of irritated skin conditions. It is generally thought to be the case that the omega-3 essential fats are very supportive in reducing inflammation.\n\nHemp Seed Oil Cannabis sativa is a fantastic oil-it is likely the most under-utilized, highly-therapeutic carrier. It supplies what some consider a perfect fatty acid profile, with all the necessary fatty acids, including ALA and GLA. The fatty acids make it possibly one of the most nourishing oils available. Hemp oil has improved dermatitis symptoms when used as a supplement in scientific studies, and has improved blood fatty acid profiles as well.\n\nJojoba Oil Simmondsia chinensisis actually a liquid wax. It replaced the use of sperm whale oil in cosmetics. The chemical structure resembles sebum. In fact, it is said to dissolve sebum which makes it an excellent acne treatment. It is a very balancing oil making it ideal for the lotions and potions for all skin types. Jojoba contains Myristic Acid which has anti-inflammatory properties.\n\nKokum Butter Garcinia indiciais a highly prized butter from the Indian Garcinia tree. It is naturally white, incredibly smooth, regenerates tired and worn skin cells, supports elasticity and flexibility of the skin wall, softens the skin, and helps to heal chapped or weathered hands, feet, and lips. This is a great ingredient to add to lotions, creams, body butters, belly balms, foot care products, and soaps. Because of its hard consistency, this butter is best used within a recipe or when melted in a double boiler and combined with a liquid carrier oil.  Kokum butter is not as well known as some of the other butters, but it comes highly recommended to anyone that is interested in creating healing skincare products.\n\nPumpkin Seed Oil Cucurbita pepo is also known as \"green gold\", this versatile oil is becoming increasingly popular as individuals realize the wonderful health benefits that they can obtain from its use. Pumpkin seed oil is one of the most nutritional oils available, and is an excellent source of essential fatty acids, antioxidants, vitamins, and sterols.\n\nShea Butter Butyrospermum parkii feeds the skin with Vitamins A, E and F. Vitamins A and E help maintain the skin and assists with keeping it clear and healthy. These vitamins are particularly helpful for sun damaged skin also to help prevent premature wrinkles and facial lines. Vitamin F helps protect the skin and has rejuvenating properties. It soothes rough, dry or chapped skin and helps soften dry or damaged hair. Shea Oil easily absorbs into the skin allowing the skin to breathe without clogging your pores.\n\nTamanu Oil Calophyllum inophyllum also known as Foraha oil, is a product of the Tamanu tree which is native to the islands of Tahiti and Madagascar but also found in other tropical areas. It has been used by indigenous communities for centuries and elicited a lot of interest from scientists as early as 1918 for its unique benefits to the skin. The Tamanu tree grows wild and up to between 8 to 20 metres high and blooms twice a year with fragrant, small white flowers. These flowers eventually yield to clusters of about 4 to 5 yellow, round, edible fruits about the size of apricots. Harvesting of the fruits involves collecting mature fruits after they drop to the ground and cracking them open mechanically. Within the fruit’s thin pulp lies a large nut that contain kernel. The kernels contain no visible oil and have to be dried in the sun for at least a month until they turn chocolate brown and become sticky with dark, thick, pleasant smelling oil. The longer they are dried, the better as they tend to give more oil usually up to around two months. The kernels are then cold-pressed to produce a dark green oil with a rich, deep scent called tamanu oil. It takes large amounts of tamanu fruit to yield just a few litres of tamanu oil which makes it rare and expensive.\n\nTamanu oil is a remarkable topical healing agent with scar healing, antibiotic, antioxidant, anti-neuralgic, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties. Due to its anti-oxidant, antimicrobial and anti-bacterial quality, it provides a solution to many skin problems from aging, blemishes, acne, shingles, eczema, herpes, rosacea to rashes. Applied to wounds, cuts, burns, insect bites and stings, it accelerates healing by promoting formation of new tissue and growth of blemish-free healthy skin. It is known to improve skin appearance by reducing visible scars, improving skin elasticity, firmness and smoothness hence works well on scars and stretch marks. Its anti-inflammatory and analgesic qualities helps rid the body of pain extremely fast and is hence beneficial in cases of neuralgia, sciatica, shingles, rheumatism, sprains, pulled muscles and ligament damage.\n\nTamanu oil is easily absorbed by the skin, it is non greasy and will not clog your pores. It can be used directly on the skin or diluted with a carrier oil. Its pleasant aroma and silky texture makes it ideal for use in creams, lotions, ointments, and other cosmetic products.\n\nRose HipOil Rosa canina- tissue regenerator, effective on scars, wounds, burns, eczema and ageing skin.\n\n\nThe Clays…..\n\nAustralian Golden Yellow Clay - this clay’s level of iron oxide has a tonic effect making it perfect for revitalising all skin types.\n\nAustralian Pure White Clay - a fine clay gentle enough for sensitive skin including elderly as well as young.\n\nAustralian Pastel Pink Clay - noted for its ability to firm and tone the skin.\n\nFrench Argiletz Green Clay - is perfect for oily skin with it’s deep absorbing action. It will leave your skin glowing with vitality.\n\nFrench Argiletz Pink Clay - has properties that will soften and tone, making it perfect for dry or mature skin.\n\n\nThe Exfoliants……\n\nVolcanic Pumice is a type of volcanic rock formed when lava with extremely high levels of water and gases is violently ejected from a volcano. As explained by the Mineral Information Institute, when the gases escape, the rock become \"frothy.\" Once the rock hardens, the result is a very light, buoyant material. Small \"pumice stones\", ground to a fine (for the face) or course (for the body) powder is an excellent medium to remove dry skin from the face and body or calluses from the feet or hands.\n\n\nThe Preservatives……\n\nGrapefruit Seed Extract (Citricidal) Citrus paradisi is a citrus based liquid natural preservative used in skin care products. Derived from the seeds and membrane portion of the grapefruit, it is reputed to have effective broad spectrum anti-microbial, antibiotic, disinfectant, antiseptic, anti-bacterial, astringent, astringent and does also have some anti oxidant properties. Specifically, Grapefruit Seed Extract has demonstrated its ability to kill or inhibit the growth of a wide array of potentially harmful bacteria, fungi, viruses and protozoan parasites that can occur in natural skin care products. It has become increasingly popular in manufacturing circles as a natural preservative.\n\n\nColloidal Silver or Silver Colloid, is a liquid suspension of microscopic particles of natural silver. Colloidal Silver is used as an antibacterial and is believed to have many other health giving properties. The active ingredient in Arianrhod's aluminium free deodorant is colloidal silver. Silver has been used since ancient times to guard against infection by killing bacteria, and, underarm odour is nothing more than bacteria breeding in the moist conditions of our underarms. It is essential that we perspire to rid our bodies of internal toxins and if we can continue to do so without the accompanying offensive odour then all the better for us and our health.\n\nGluconolactone (and) Sodium Benzoate is new product that meets the growing demand for alternative self preserving cosmetic preservatives. With growing concerns over traditional preservatives such as parabens, provides a single solution to companies seeking alternatives to traditional preservatives. gluconolactone (and) sodium benzoate global regulatory acceptance, broad-spectrum activity and multi-functionality means it can be utilized in a wide variety of applications.\nGluconolactone (and) sodium benzoate is accepted by ECOCERT as a preservative in certified organic cosmetics.\nThis is a natural preservative that is a combination of a naturally occuring food additive glucono delta lactone, derived from corn, and a food grade preservative sodium benzoate, the sodium salt of benzoic acid along with a trace amount of calcium gluconate as a processing agent. Gluconolactone is highly moisturising, non-irritating and is also a natural anti-oxidant.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6048697233200073}
+{"content": "\n👷 Game development🎨 Assets📚 Comics\n🎉 Sales🎁 Bundles\n\nI'm fine with a price like that, as long as there's a suitable amount of gameplay which I would define as 15-20 hours or ~10 hours with a high replay value. I can't speak for others, though, as standards vary quite a bit.\n\nYes I agree and plan to do so x)\n\nThe gameplay duration is not definite tho since people's reading speeds are different o.o Winged ones have people finished it in around 8 hours until 3 days. How about you?\n\n(Edited 1 time)\n\nI've barely had time to play it since the end of the quarter is coming up (ㄒ^ㄒ). If that's the range, then it definitely won't take me more than twelve hours as I read really quickly. I'll tell you a more exact number when I finish. Good luck with making the game! I hope everything goes smoothly for you!\n\nThanks and good luck to both of us! X')\n\nI look forward to your review later when you finished playing :'3\n\nI had a free period today, so I managed to finish playing all of the good ends as well as the normal end of Legend of the Winged ones. It took me six hours to play the first route and about two hours each for the next two. Depending on how upset the bad ends make me feel, it can take up to an hour for me to finish them. I'll be answering the questions on the actual game's page after I finish the bad end run on the bus. If I don't die.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5382952690124512}
+{"content": "View Page As PDF\nShare Button\nTweet Button\n\nThe budget bill signed by President Barack Obama on Nov. 2 included a significant change in the way IRS partnership audits will be handled.\n\nPartnership audits have become a more pressing issue for the IRS as more businesses are taxed as partnerships, including limited liability companies.\n\nBecause the IRS must generally assess and collect any deficiencies from the individual partners after a partnership audit, enforcement can be difficult.\n\nThe new rules will allow the IRS in most cases to assess any additional tax against the partnership itself instead of having to proceed against the individual partners.\n\nThese changes are significant enough that partnerships and LLCs should review and consider revising their governing documents in anticipation of the effective date.\n\nUnder the current audit rules (which are generally still effective until 2018), there are basically three different types of partnership audits. Electing Large Partnerships, or ELPs, have audits done at the partnership level, and any adjustments are reflected on the partners’ current year returns (as opposed to having to amended prior year returns).\n\nOther partnerships with more than 10 partners are audited under the unified partnership audit rules. After an audit of the partnership under these rules, any assessment must be made (and collected) from the individual partners. A partnership with fewer than 10 partners is generally audited by auditing the individual partners. A report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office issued last year determined — and the IRS has long complained — that these rules make it difficult to audit partnership and LLCs, especially those with large numbers of partners.\n\n\n\nThe partnership will generally pay tax on any assessment at the highest individual or corporate tax rate, although procedures will be available for a partnership to show that this rate is not appropriate.\n\nThis is a significant change because partnerships have never before been required to pay tax at the entity level as opposed to the partner or member level.\n\n\nAn election will be available whereby the partnership can choose to issue adjusted information returns to its partners instead of having the partnership pay the tax liability. Partnerships with 100 or fewer partners that have only certain types of partners (essentially individuals and corporations) would also be allowed to opt out of these rules and have audits performed at the individual partner level by making an annual election and meeting certain reporting requirements.\n\nThere are a number of changes that partnerships and LLCs should consider making to their partnership agreement or operating agreement as a result of these new rules.\n\nFirst, should the partnership opt out of the new audit provisions? The decision to opt out of these rules can be made either annually or within a set period of time after the IRS assessment. Who makes this decision, and if the annual opt out is chosen, should the agreement contain transfer restrictions to keep a partner from transferring an interest to a non-qualifying partner (such as an LLC) that will prevent the partnership from making this election?\n\nOther possible agreement revisions could address what happens when partners buy and sell partnership interests. If the partnership does not opt out of these rules, a new partner buying in during the current year could be responsible for taxes that relate to a year prior to the purchase.\n\nShould the agreement provide that the partnership has recourse against partners who have left the partnership if a tax is assessed for a year during which they were a partner? The answer to each of these issues depends on the nature of the partnership and the relationship between the partners, but some thought should be given to the possibly of amending the agreement to address these issues.\n\nWhile these rules are applicable to tax years beginning after 2017, some partnerships can elect to have these rules effective as of Jan. 1, 2016. These provisions were designed to raise $9 billion over the next 10 years — a clear sign that more partnership and LLC audits are on the way. Partnerships and LLCs should therefore review their agreements now to consider whether any changes need to be made.\n\nClick here to see the original article published in Crain's Cleveland Business.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9019954204559326}
+{"content": "November 20, 2017\n\nIs it Values over Virtue… and why should it Matter\n\nMany people pay little or no attention to history. Thinking all they need to know is within their own way of thinking today. Everything now seems driven by 24-hour news DSCI0112cycles and social media, and how it fits within our own ideas of “what is – and how things should become an image of our own beliefs”. We adhere to what fits with who we think we are, without truly knowing what or who that is. We seem to be lost in our own values and how our world, and everyone else’s must come into our own take on outcomes. And with positions on things without regard if virtue resides on our side or not. The problem being that our true nature and virtue do not take sides. Those who try to live with values without virtue seldom win the day. The shaman, Lao Tzu, and Confucius taught benevolence toward others leads back to ourselves and we should act with our virtue remaining intact.\n\nThis was always the first order of business in China for dynasty after dynasty and it is why the benevolence and virtue expressed by Confucius has permeated Chinese culture for more than 2500 years. Today there are more than 800 Confucius Institutes outside of China that dot the globe. They teach Chinese language, culture, and the importance of Confucian virtue. I think the USA has the equivalent in military bases. Think about that for just a moment. The Chinese see things first in five-year increments that lead to one hundred-year spans of history, while we are limited to social media and to what may happen today.\n\n\nDragon image from Nine Dragon Wall at  Beihai Park in Beijing   \n\nIf our virtue is ultimately what defines us  as individuals (and from the standpoint of the universe it is all we come into and depart with when we leave), then what values that support these virtues do we embrace? If we pre-suppose that we are a spirit having a human experience, then can we further our position in the universe by not understanding that everyone we meet, see, and yes touch… is also on a similar personal journey.                                                        \n\nThe Sage’s Ten Commitments\n\n  • Do not ruminate over trifles – things of insignificance in the scheme of things. Losing attachments the means of letting go.\n  • Reflect cause and effect – know what comes around goes around. Minimize all encounters not in keeping with your journey.\n  • Be who you are yet to become – reflect the image of your highest endeavor and destiny. Resting in the assurance and reminded of from where you came and to where you will return.\n  • Be the teacher of what should be done in every situation you encounter.\n  • Encourage and strengthen others in defining their role befitting their own endeavor and destiny.\n  • Never be the one bringing drama or self-interest to the situation.\n  • Do only the minimum – leaving no tracks as to your presence. Only wisdom others can reflect on and call their own.\n  • Let the world come to your doorstep. If it decides to go or look elsewhere then you were not needed or necessary to the final outcome. Remembering that the saga or circle is never-ending.\n  • Celebrate and acknowledge you are on the path you are meant to be on – stay tuned in as there will always be outside influences meant to test your resolve, perseverance and intentions.\n  • Stay in the moment – reflecting what is in front of you bringing it to what and where it should be as only the Tao and dragons and God would have it. 7/17/2010\n\nA commitment is how the sage sees our place in the world and steps toward enlightenment. My last entry here focused to Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching and its role on setting the stage for how we approach life.\n\n\nPhoenix and Dragon / Wuhan Temple\n\nVerse three ended with the paradox of the sage lies in rather to take action… or not. Wei Yuan explained it this way “The reason the world is in disorder is because of action. Action comes from desire. And desire comes from knowledge. The sage does not talk about things that can be known or display things that can be desire. This is how he brings order to the world.”  For myself, it is this conundrum that defines the paradox living in the world and deciding how to live our lives.\n\nFortunately, life and things don’t end here. There are eighty-one verses of the Tao Te Ching to evaluate and study. Why? It represents the essence of personal transformation and how the perception and connection with some sense of enlightenment permeate who we are to become.\n\nAAAChuang Tzu\n\nChuang Tzu\n\nRather we do so this time or the next, or the next… Truth be told, it addresses how we modify our own behavior in light of what we acknowledge as internal truths. What we are here to acknowledge is that life, and yes death,  are a continuation. What Chuang Tzu called the pivot becomes how we learn to make the best if it. Awakening can occur in an instant or not at all. It is often how we are paying attention and who our travelling companions are, that determines our fate. We continue now with verse four of my interpretation and commentaries of Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching. The complete book entitled, Thoughts on becoming a Sage, can be found on my website. Selected commentaries are from Red Pine’s Taoteching.\n\nVerse 4 – Remaining as the Ancestor of all Things \n\nReminded constantly to remain empty. To go with the flow letting events carry you onward with no sense of predetermined outcome. Yet shaping everything along the way.\n\n\nImage from Wuhan Temple in Chengdu\n\nAdjust your light to the crowd and merge with the dust of the world.  All the while lifting those around you to otherwise unattainable heights.\n\nAppear to have no ambition, dulling edges and not insisting on anything.  Have no fear and display utmost courage thereby untying every knot and avoiding nothing. Remaining as the ancestor of all things. Clear and yielding yet ever-present. As if close by, but not making any appearances just the same. ##\n\nWang An-Shih says, “The Tao possesses form and function. Its form is the original breath that doesn’t move. Its function is the empty breath that alternates between Heaven and Earth.”\n\nLi His-Chai says, “The ancient masters of the Way had no ambition, hence they dulled their edges and did not insist on anything. They had no fear, hence they untied every tangle and avoided nothing. They did not care about beauty, hence they softened their light and forgot about themselves. They did not hate ugliness; hence they merged with the dust and did not abandon others.”\n\nLu Nung-Shih says, “Clear describes what is deep. If it is deep, it is clear.  The Tao comes from nothing. Hence the Tao is the child of nothing.”\n\nVerse 5 – Remaining Empty Yet Inexhaustible \n\nAgain, reminded to remain empty.\n\nQuiet and still, as if a bellows only responding to what fits.  Not tied to the present or attached to the past, as if heaven and man were the same lineage. As you continue to guard your inner virtue, or voice from that which would drain you.\n\n\nDujiangyan Waterworks\n\nTo know without needing to know, talk without needing to talk, hear all things without needing to hear. You are simply the essence of the one true spirit contained in all things yet remaining hidden from view.\n\nToo many choices lead to lost chances. Divert not from the path the Tao would have you to follow.  Remain in cheerful countenance to all you encounter. Empty yet inexhaustible thereby becoming the voice of eternity. ##\n\nHuai Nan-Tzu says, “When we make straw dogs or clay dragons, we paint them yellow and blue, decorate them with brocade, and tie a red ribbon around them. (like a modern-day Christmas tree) The shaman puts on his black robe and the lord puts on his ceremonial hat to usher them in and see them off. But once they’ve been used, they’re nothing but clay or straw.” Similar description appears in Chuang Tzu: 14.4.\n\nWang P’ang says, “A bellows is empty so that it can respond to things. Something moves, and it responds. It responds but retains nothing. Like Heaven and Earth in regard to the ten thousand things or the sage in regard to the people, it responds with what fits. It isn’t tied to the present or attached to the past.”\n\nHsin Tu-Tzu says, “When the main path has many byways, sheep lose their way. When learning leads to many directions, students waste their lives” (Lieh Tzu: 8-25).\n\nVerse 6 – Accepting My Fate and Ultimate Aspiration\n\n Reflect on the words of the ancients when they remind you of the age-old axiom – you are not here to create… you are here to relate.\n\nThe ten thousand things all must have their beginning, middle and end.  Yet as they continually evolve, they remain never-ending.\n\n\nThe Eternal Dragon  Duke of Zhu Temple in Qufu\n\nThe cycle remaining true to form and the Tao. Remain as the valley always nourishing that which comes forth to be made new again. What remains empty continues to have form.  What has form takes shape and what take shape becomes the ten thousand things.\n\nEverything you need is here waiting to be revealed the moment you are ready to accept your role in filling in the details. Simply embody the Tao and grow. ##\n\nWang Pi says, “The valley is what is in the middle, what contains nothing, no form, no shadow, no obstruction. It occupies the lowest point, remains motionless, and does not decay. All things depend on it for their development, but no one see its shape.”\n\nYen Fu says, “Because it is empty, we call it valley.  Because there is no limit to its responsiveness, we call it a spirit. Because it is inexhaustible, we say it never dies. These three are the virtues of the Tao.\n\nTu Tao-Chien says, “This verse also appears in the Lieh Tzu: 1,1, where it is attributed to the Yellow Emperor instead of Lao Tzu. Lao Tzu frequently incorporated passages from ancient texts. We see their traces in ‘thus the sage proclaims’ or ‘hence the ancients say.’ Thus, Confucius said, ‘I don’t create. I only relate. (Lunyu; 7.1).\n\nThese three verses (4, 5 and 6) of the Tao Te Ching, all are attributable to the process of setting the stage, or finding ourselves in the right frame of mind to proceed with our virtue intact. First, acknowledging who we are and that we are to remain empty. Then defining, questioning, and coming to terms with our place in the Tao. As if we are the bellows that lies in the valley. Remaining shapeless, we return to our vital essence and begin again as we learn to relate with the ten thousand things. Knowing innately what we already know, that there is no reason to create anything new. Only to learn how everything should relate with each other as our values have no place else to find. With this we become whole and become both student and teacher to our surroundings before returning home once again.\n\n\n\nBy 1dandecarlo\n\nNovember 10, 2017\n\nBringing our Heart into Coherence\n\nFollowing up from my last entry I want to talk about the Tao Te Ching, embracing change and that who we show up as is paramount. How is it we begin to be an authentic connection with who we are meant to be, to be present, and to live from the inside out? While there is much talk about mental health and anger today, what is the root cause? Is it because there is a lack of coherence, or meaning in our lives. How do we become true to ourselves? How do we learn to speak from our heart?\n\nWhat does it mean to connect with and become our authentic selves? The Tao Te Ching is one of the most published books along with the Bible and Bhagavad Gita, and probably the most widely read and studied book in China along with the teachings of Confucius.\n\nDragon Seal entrance at Qingcheng Mountain\n\n It has been interpreted hundreds of times in efforts to further reach an understanding of its meaning. Lao Tzu, it’s author, is recognized as one the greatest philosophers in history and is considered to be the founder of Taoism in China. It has deep roots in shamanism that go back to 3,500 B.C. and even earlier. It is as if time is giving us a chance or allowing us to be able to make sense of it all for ourselves. Bringing what we find in our thoughts and head, down into the actions spurred by our heart. To connect wholly within our consciousness and base our actions through them.\n\nInstead of just posting from my own thoughts, references to others who over the centuries can better express the sentiments of Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching are here.  Helping me to do this, is a book of commentaries compiled by Red Pine entitled, Lao tzu’s Taoteching. You can find the book online at The commentaries are meant to be read as a discussion between Lao Tzu and those interested who have thought deeply about the text itself. The quotes below and references to their authors are from Red Pine’s, Lao tzu’s Taoteching.\n\nAs mentioned before, I wrote my own version in May/June 2000 and my book, Thoughts on Becoming a Sage, The Guidebook for leading a virtuous Life, was published in China in 2006. There are eighty-one verses in the Tao Te Ching, the prelude and first three verses follow here. Ultimately, it is what the sages have learned along the way that what guides us.\n\n\nBegin approaching the Te Tao Ching and your mentor Lao Tzu by seeing beyond life’s transparencies as if sorting through the clutter clouding your mind and your way.\n\n\nQingyang Taoist Temple in Chengdu\n\nComing to understand that your final destination lies with the angels, or dragons, you have come to know over eons of time and space as you begin to contemplate returning home once again.\n\n\nTwo Dragons Qingyang Taoist Temple in Chengdu\n\nNot in the physical sense as if in the here and now, but taking steps to become the sage that belies your destiny. Knowing that true destiny can only be revealed by endeavoring to get it right this time.\n\nIt is in this spirit that I come forth to pursue my final unveiling.\n\nConfucius says, “The Tao is what we can never leave. If we can leave it,  it isn’t the Tao” (Chungyang:1).\n\nHo-Shang Kung says, “What we call a way is a moral or political code, while the Immortal Way takes care of the spirit without effort and bring peace to the world without struggle. It conceals its light and hides its tracks and can’t be called a way. As for the Immortal Name, it’s like a pearl inside an oyster, a piece of jade inside a rock: shiny on the inside and dull on the outside.”\n\n\nConfucius as the Teacher\n\nCh’eng Chu say, A sage doesn’t reveal the Way, not because he keeps it secret, but because it can’t be revealed. Hence his words are like footsteps that leaves no tracks.”\n\n\nVerse 1 – Just one big la ti da after another\n\nEncountering constant renewal.\n\n\nWuhan Temple in Chendu\n\nUnderstanding the paradox living brings each day. That once we find comfort in the way or direction we pursue today, we become aware that this is not the true way we are here to travel.\n\nThat when we are free of desire we can see where things begin and when we are subject of desire we can see where things end. ##\n\nLi His-Chai says, “Things change but not the Tao. The Tao is immortal. It arrives without moving and comes without being called.”\n\n\nThe Winding Path Qingcheng Mountain\n\nSu Ch’e says, “The ways of kindness and justice change but not the Tao. No name is its body. Name is its function. The sage embodies the Tao and uses it in the world. But while entering the myriad states of being, he remains in non-being.”\n\nWang Pi says, “From the infinitesimal all things develop. From nothing all things are born. When we free of desire, we can see the infinitesimal where things begin. When we are subject of desire. we can see where things end.\n\nThe Shuowen says,” In Shensi province, where this text was written, doors are still painted black with a thin line of red trim. And every road begins with a door”.\n\nVerse 2 – Transforming Realities\n\n The sage transforms his feelings and returns to his true nature thus becoming one with the universe once again.\n\nWhat displays beauty cannot be beautiful. What is hard must become soft.\n\nLinyi 2\n\nThe Sage in Linyi\n\nHe focuses on ending distinction, getting rid of name and form and making of himself a home for virtue.  ##\n\nLu His-Sheng says,” What we call beautiful or ugly depends on our feelings. Nothing is necessarily beautiful or ugly until feelings make it so. But while feelings differ, they all come from our nature, and we all have the same nature. Hence the sage transforms his feelings and returns to his nature and thus becomes one again.”\n\nWang An-Shih says, “The sage creates but does not possess what he creates. He acts but does not presume on what he does.  He succeeds but does not claim success. These three all result from selflessness. Because the sage is selfless, he does not lose his self. Because he does not lose himself, he does not lose others.”\n\nSung Ch’ang-Hsing says, “Those who practice the Way put an end to distinctions, get rid of name and form, and make for themselves a home for the Way of Virtue.”\n\nVerse 3 – Preparing the Way\n\nThe sage must begin again by daily ritual and purification. You must prepare an area for optimum meditation and reflection.\n\n\nThe Mountaintop in the Clouds  Huangshen Mountain in Anhui\n\nYou must set aside all other activities and thoughts so as to be quiet, still, able to listen and be prepared to learn.\n\nYou must instill determination, release all desires, and come to find discipline. When you are ready all will flow unimpeded through you.\n\nYou are to become the vessel when and if you remain worthy of the mantle placed upon you.  All is within you – everything you need is already here. We have been waiting for you to be fully prepared for the journey.\n\nClear your mind, cleanse your heart and open your mind and be prepared for the great and auspicious journey to come.\n\nUse every moment to seek clarity. Paying attention to detail brings focus necessary for true learning. Come forward to know thyself and all will become clear.\n\nNow go. But remain vigilant and dedicated to who you are to become. Your endeavors will bring forth your ultimate destiny. ##\n\nWang Chen says, “The sage empties the mind of reasoning and delusion, he fills the stomach with loyalty and honesty, he weakens the will with humility and compliance, and he strengthens the bones with what people already have within themselves.”\n\n\nThe Dragon\n\nYen Tsun says, “He empties his mind and calms his breath. He concentrates his essence and strengthens his spirit.”\n\nFinally, Huang Yan-Chi says, “The sage purifies his ears and eyes, puts an end to dissipation and selfishness, embraces the one, and empties his mind.\n\nAnd Liu Ching says, “This verse describes how the sage cultivates himself in order to transform others.”\n\nFor over two thousand years the words of Lao Tzu guided the Emperor and those who orchestrated dynasty to dynasty… Wang Pi in the Han dynasty did an interpretation that became required study for the Imperial Examination System. It was in the final sentence above… how the sage cultivates himself in order to transform others that became the order of the day. With all moving in the same direction the heart finds peace with relationships that brings the coherence that the Taoist understood and the sage found unifying…\n\n\nBy 1dandecarlo\n\nNovember 2017\n\nWhat is real and what is imagined?\n\nHow does what we see and hear thereby making us think we understand, fit into our own perception of what is right and what is wrong? Is it real or an illusion? And as previously discussed – are we living in that illusion? Are we guided by our highest self and angels… or dragons as I call them, or by magicians who try to guide us down a path often of our least resistance that encourages our lowest common denominator that feeds basic human ego and instinct over who we really are?\n\n\nThe Eternal Dragon\n\nThe latest  example being the Russians who used this face book platform, to interject their intent to destabilize our government and democracy. This is nothing new. Those in power and authority have always used whatever means at their disposal to widen their influence, especially when they fear losing it. Keeping it often means using others to their advantage. Always questioning what is real and what today would be called “fake news”.\n\nIn traditional China the use of commentaries, examinations, and shear force, have often been used to convey merit and both strengths and weaknesses to be overcome. But it was always the philosophical underpinnings that kept the connection between society and the individual that was\n\nAncient I Ching\n\nBronze I Ching found from 1400’s in shipwreck off India\n\nthe glue that maintained order. It was the growing up over thousands of years following shamanism, Taoism, Chan Buddhism, and Confucius, tied to the basic premise of the I Ching that promoted “complimentary opposites”, that led to the pragmatism we see in China today. Centuries later, it is why Christianity is now accepted in China. As long as it respects other religions and does not feel the necessity to convert everyone to their view of Jesus and God. And understanding that what is real and imagined is ultimately up to each person to decide for themselves, but not used to try to influence or control the function of government that must serve to respect all citizens of the country. A lesson we could all learn from. Ultimately, it would be the Confucian ideas of benevolence and ordained authority that would come to permeate Chinese society. The Confucian model relied heavily on rituals that tied the present to the past, that could then tell a foreseeable future. That began to change when China was opened to the world after the fall of the last Emperor in 1912. But the story begins much earlier…\n\nIt was not only rituals, but myths and legends as well, that would combine the natural elements of the universe with people’s spiritual development and well-bring. The shaman and what then was the beginning of the trigrams and I Ching provided direction, continuity, and a way for people to develop a connection with their highest self and to ask if their endeavors were tied to their destiny. And if they were, what responsibility did they have to nurture themselves. How to entertain man for eternity was beginning to take root. What would later be referred to as both the microcosm of the body and the macrocosm of the universe became a part of everyday life. With man’s connection to nature the pivot.\n\nIt was the stories of the day exemplified by the Taoist that was preeminent and told of the way, the way later referred to as virtue. Below is something I wrote from my as yet unpublished book from The Book of Lieh Tzu, titled My Travels with Lieh Tzu that outlines how the universe was perceived in ancient China.\n\nExtolling Myths\n\nIf it is known that the shapes and energies of things differ and are still equal by nature, that none can take the place of another, that all are born perfect in themselves and each are allotted all that it needs, then how can one know whether they are large, small or short, similar or different. Who can know? Who can say? Are not stories and myths extolling feats of great strength and travels of thousands of miles in a day the same whether they are real or imagined? As the ancient ones of every civilization have passed on the origins of heaven and earth, are not these simply an attempt to give meaning and purpose to life and explain that we are part of something much bigger than ourselves.\n\nA Nu Kua\n\nThe Embrace  Nu Kua and Huangdi\n\nAre not heaven and earth things just as the things within them, and do not things have imperfections.  Rather it be Nu Kua smelting stones of all the five colors to patch up the earth’s flaws and cutting off the feet of the turtle who supports its four corners. Or stories telling of a place east of the Gulf of Chihli, thousands perhaps millions of miles away with its bottomless valley where all the waters pour into the Milky Way.\n\nOr the fifteen giant turtles who carry the five mountains on their lifted heads.  Taking turns in three watches, each sixty thousand years long; and the immortal sages who live there. Many of the sages later to be lost when two of the mountains are roped by a giant and taken back to the Kingdom of the Dragon Earl. In God’s anger, he reduces the size of the Earl’s kingdom and the size of its people. Or the pumalo tree that grows in the countries of Wu and Chu. An evergreen with red fruit that remains sour and causes fits when eaten. However, when planted north of the Hui River it changes into a dwarf orange tree.\n\nAll things remaining perfect in their nature, each allotted its needs. What difference be they large, small or short, similar or different? What difference can there possibly be? Remaining perfect in an imperfect world. The paradox that all must encounter, all must endure. Is this not what is meant by true striving to find and know perfection only within ourselves? Is this not what the Tao teaches?      4/19/95\n\nDuring the Han Dynasty in 200 A.D. the Emperor declared the Yellow Emperor,\n\nAAYellow Emperor\n\nThe Yellow Emperor a/k/a Huangdi\n\nHuangdi,  who is a deity in Chinese religion and considered the founder of what would become the I Ching, was not a mythical figure in history but an actual person, a great shaman. Some say was a mythical figure who is said to have lived to 2700 B.C., three thousand years earlier. Not only that he was a real person, but the Emperor stated what he had said fit his own interpretation of history further cementing the emperor’s own claim of being Heaven sent…. They even later\n\n\nMonument (Stele) to the Yellow Emperor in Qufu\n\nbuilt a monument in Qufu saying he was from the city that was the home of Confucius. What had been simply imagined as myth became the real thing. The Yellow Emperor in reality was a shaman who looked to the stars and nature and saw connections…\n\nFor six years after I wrote my own versions of the I Ching (1994),  An American journey through the I Ching and Beyond and My Travels with Lieh Tzu, (1995-96), the thoughts that kept coming to me was to keep approaching Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching, but not to write about it just yet, or to attempt my own version. Then in May/June 2000, I spent a month focusing on little else and it came to me as if I was repeating what I had always known but simply forgotten. The outcome was a book that is entitled, Thoughts of becoming a Sage, The Guidebook for leading a virtuous Life. This book was later published in China in 2006. It appears here AA Mural of Taoon my website as well.\n\nInquiring of the Tao at the Cave of Paradise, hanging scroll, color on silk, 210.5 x 83 cm by Dai Jin (1388–1462). This painting is based on the story, first recounted in the Zhuangzi, that the Yellow Emperor traveled to the Kongtong Mountains to inquire about the Tao with the Taoist sage Guang cheng zi. (from Wikipedia)\n\nBut my version of Lao Tzu was not simply an interpretation trying to convey only the meaning of what was said, my version was an attempt to live the Tao every day, moment to moment, as it becomes you before moving on or forward. It was directed to becoming the sage… what steps should be taken both internally and how we shape the world around us.\n\nHow do we go from just observing what occurs around us and deciding what can be real or imagined, to discovering the way to see above the clutter of what occurs on a daily basis, or perhaps to assist in shaping it? It is and becomes the ultimate paradox living brings to greet us every day. It is through what we call meditation, seeing beyond ourselves, and nourishing our inner nature that we find transformation and what in turn becomes enlightenment. Finally, it is what the challenge of the sage throughout history has always been. My book has attempted to address this. Thoughts on becoming a Sage mirrors attempts to find and nurture the virtue within. Do we retreat and live a reclusive lifestyle knowing that the world will always be beyond the reach of the wisdom of the sage? Or to try to become an agent of change that speaks to humanities strengths and weaknesses… and ultimately does it matter.\n\nMy first entry goes like this…\n\nIrreverently Meandering through Time\n\nTraveling on the wind once again the sage proceeds as if at home. Remaining above the clouds he looks down, unconcerned. Waiting to see if anything of importance lies beneath him.\n\nFollowing dragons again and clouds beyond the horizon you reflect on mirror images of yourself and seeing that your destiny lies below.  As always when traveling with dragons, you remain irrelevant to time.\n\nComforted in knowing that your journey and today’s path continues to find peace and harmony and a clearer understanding of your\n\n\nThe Apex Qingcheng Mountain\n\nplace in the universe, as your destiny remains assured. Events only occurring to move you ever-forward as you meander as if unknowingly through time.\n\nYour destiny tied to endeavors forever remaining a paradox. As you remain an enigma that others come to depend on and for wisdom taking them to places they otherwise would never go. As you remain a magnet for others simply showing the way.\n\nReturning briefly home again, as if only irreverently meandering through time.\n\nBy 1dandecarlo", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9109413623809814}
+{"content": "With this amount of moving service list to choose from, how can you find out which moving van lines are well-established, reputable, and affordably priced well? To avoid a dire experience with an unprofessional mover you need to recognize how you can find out the flat fee moving van lines for you. Moving Authority releases master resourcefulness to the network of people a order to assist and shorten the stress that coincides with exhaustion. Pull in your move hassle unblock by checking out the resourcefulness the company offers.\n\nNationwide Lapwai, Idaho Movers Reviews\n\n\nour company is the most easy way to choose a mover while also providing customers with resources created for them. In order to be most informed, we powerfully suggest that you read Moving Authority's reviews of any mover before making final conclusions. By reading the Lapwai, Idaho reviews of a mover, you are able to use them to your interests. We are using someone else's reviews about these shipping companies, that's why our reviews are extremely powerful and stay objective.\n\nSo you've done your research right? Right away, it's time to construct a budgeted program before you start moving. Through Moving Authority you can retrieve an comfortably Lapwai, Idaho service that 's low-priced for you and tailored to your specific type of relocation. If you 're looking to relocate to Lapwai, Idaho, you can retrieve Lapwai, Idaho local movers, long distance movers, and even self-service movers. Get a free moving estimate to keep in course.\n\nBy from the moving estimate, you can likewise bring a detached moving cost appraisal right field on our web page, which is fundamentally a more precise approximation of your moving price. This resource is super good, helpful, especially for those with a well planned budget. If you 're resourceful, scan the followup, act your inquiry, and plan your budget consequently; you will delay organized throughout the ostensibly frantic moving operation of relocating. Mark Moving Authority self assurance to earn finding your Lapwai, Idaho moving companies a task.\n\nDid You Know\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9353390336036682}
+{"content": "Use of palivizumab in primary practice.\n\n\nOBJECTIVE To describe the implementation of a program for the use of palivizumab in a general pediatrics office and evaluate adherence to the 2009 American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) guidelines. METHODS Pediatricians in a large practice were educated in the diagnosis and management of bronchiolitis, with specific attention to the AAP's palivizumab administration guidelines. During the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 respiratory syncytial virus seasons, children were systematically identified and enrolled for palivizumab administration. Indication for administration was determined by gestational age, age at the beginning of the respiratory syncytial virus season, pertinent diagnoses, and presence of risk factors. RESULTS In the 2009-2010 season, 161 children were enrolled to receive palivizumab, 86 of whom (53%) conformed with AAP guidelines. In contrast, in 2010-2011, a total of 85 children were enrolled to receive palivizumab, and 73 (86%) conformed with the guidelines. As a consequence, the total cost of palivizumab (US $: 511 559 vs 1 500 670) and the cost per child (US $: 6018 vs 9438) were lower in 2010-2011 than in 2009-2010. However, of the children selected within the AAP guidelines, only 29% received the appropriate number of doses, whereas 62% and 9% received fewer or excessive doses, respectively; these findings were similar for the 2 seasons. CONCLUSIONS In a primary practice, use of palivizumab outside of the AAP guidelines was frequent and manifested as inadequate indications or inadequate number of doses. The former improved with education and standardization of care (suggesting provider problems), while the latter did not (suggesting system problems). Additional interventions are required.\n\nDOI: 10.1542/peds.2010-2991\n\nCite this paper\n\n@article{Perrin2012UseOP, title={Use of palivizumab in primary practice.}, author={Keith M Perrin and Rodolfo E. B{\\'e}gu{\\'e}}, journal={Pediatrics}, year={2012}, volume={129 1}, pages={55-61} }", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8589112162590027}
+{"content": "“This home is amazing! You wake up to hummingbirds buzzing outside your bedroom window, then take your morning coffee out to the deck. Since the house is in the cloud forest, it is possible to look out over the tree tops and see all the way to the tallest peaks in Costa Rica. The kitchen has wrap around windows, so the cook never misses out on any of the views. This place makes washing dishes fun. Location, location, location!!! You will be able to hike to your hearts content along roads lined with flowers. There is a coffee grove right in your backyard. The town is very close by with the terrific market where you can meet the native people selling their fruits & vegetables. If you choose not to move for the day, you can sit on the porch with a book and binoculars and watch literally hundreds of birds in a season. After sundown, the weather cools off, so you can light a fire in the fireplace on the deck and indulge in adult beverages to your hearts content. This special home will bring peace and contentment to anyone who chooses it as their destination.”\n\n\nVirginia Beach, VA", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7852151393890381}
+{"content": "\n\n\n\nClose [x]\n\nFollow Us\n\n\nJuly 15\n\n     It can be difficult to get our pets to take needed medications. One of the most common techniques for hiding pills is burying the medicine in a dollop of peanut butter. Peanut butter can do an amazing job at hiding the flavor of offensive tablets and capsules. However, not all peanut butters are safe for animal consumption. Recently, several peanut butter companies have been using the low calorie sweetener, xylitol, as an additive/flavor enhancer in their products. Xylitol is a sugar-like molecule that mirrors the actions of sugar in the digestive tract. It is used most commonly in toothpastes and sugar-free gums. Not only does xylitol have a sweet taste and fewer calories than sugar, it also has been shown to inhibit the growth of cavity causing bacteria in the mouth. While xylitol has been shown to be safe for human consumption, it is deadly to our canine companions. In dogs, xylitol fools the body into thinking that it has just consumed large amounts of sugar. As a result, the body releases a huge volume of insulin to lower the total blood glucose. The resulting flood of insulin can be ten times greater than what is actually needed and, consequently, the dog’s blood sugar levels plummet. The extreme hypoglycemia that follows the insulin release is life threatening to dogs. Xylitol can produce lethal side effects less than an hour after being consumed. \n      As a general rule I always advise owners to avoid feeding food for human consumption to their pets. There are many foods that we can eat that are toxic to dogs. However, I acknowledge that there are some occasions when many owners feel the need to treat their pets with a little snack from the human pantry. If you must give your dog a human treat, be sure to educate yourself on what is safe and what is toxic and be extra sure to read the labels on the food that you give your pets. Just one teaspoon of peanut butter made with xylitol can be enough to kill your beloved pet. Some of the signs of xylitol exposure are vomiting, seizures, weakness, unsteadiness, tremors, loss of consciousness, and death. If you suspect that your dog has eaten anything with xylitol such as gum, toothpaste, or certain brands of peanut butter, please call our office immediately. Whenever possible switch out your dog’s “human food” treats for something labeled specifically for use in dogs. \n\nJuly 1\n\nHow do I know if my Cat (or Dog) has Kidney Disease?\n\n      As our pets get older, natural aging will, over time, cause our internal organs not to function as efficiently as before. This is certainly true with Kidney function over time. As the kidneys become less efficient, the filtering of blood waste products is less efficient. These waste products can build up and act as toxins to the body. A challenge in the diagnosis of early kidney disease has always been a frustrating dilemma for clinicians, since rarely do our pets show any indication of a problem until the kidney malfunction has progressed far from the “early” stage to a more late-stage kidney disease. \n      An owner that is observing their pet for increased urination or increased thirst as an indicator of kidney problems must realize that those external signs typically occur when the disease has progressed far from the early stages!\n      As a clinician, the normal kidney values observed on a serum blood test also will not indicate a kidney problem until almost two-thirds of the kidney function has been compromised! This amount of kidney malfunction is close to being critical in some cases if the pet has been exposed to a toxin as the cause of kidney disease. \n      We use the analysis of the urine also as a means to help indicate the possibility of kidney disease. The urine specific gravity (its concentration), and a test called the U/P:C ratio, which detects a certain metabolite called creatinine compared to protein, can help indicate kidney disease. Since creatinine can be influenced by factors other than kidney disease, we always have to interpret the results compared with other lab results and usually need to repeat the testing over time to monitor trends.\n      Currently we have an additional blood test (other than creatinine), that will now help detect kidney disease at an earlier stage. This blood biomarker called SDMA has shown to be an accurate and precise test for early changes in kidney function. The goal of our diagnostics has always been to detect an abnormality early, so that appropriate intervention can occur earlier in the stage of the disease! We now have that ability to detect the early changes in kidney function even if your dog or cat is acting normal and even if the other “standard” blood values are still in normal range. Call our office to have your beloved senior pet checked today!\n\nJune 24\n\n     If you walk into the average pet store you will find that there is a wide variety of animals available to pet owners today. A pet store carries more than just dogs and cats. They also carry animals like: chameleons, tortoises, cockatiels, parakeets, boas, pythons, toads, hamsters, ferrets, guinea pigs, hermit crabs, fish and much more. With such a variety available to the general public, the number of households owning “exotic” pets has continued to climb throughout the United States. The number of veterinary clinics that caters to exotic pets, however, has not increased at a comparable rate. As a result, many exotic animal owners have not been able to seek regular medical attention for their unconventional pets. \n     Exotic animals require regular veterinary check ups just like any other pet. It isn’t just dogs and cats that need vaccines, wellness exams and blood work. Guinea pigs are prone to upper respiratory infections as well as urinary tract infections. Snakes can have retained scales over their eyes called spectacles that can lead to infection and blindness. Turtles are prone to vitamin A deficiency which can lead to skeletal deformities, conjunctivitis, and ear infections. No matter what exotic pet you have there are diseases and husbandry problems that are specific to each one. \n     Exotic animals often hide signs of disease until they are completely overwhelmed by the illness. Oftentimes the best time for intervention with most exotic animals is early on in the disease process when signs of disease may not be obvious to most owners. That is why I recommend that every pet owner bring their animals to the veterinarian at least once a year for a physical exam and necessary vaccines. This way we can catch illness or injury before it becomes a debilitating problem for you pet.\n\nJune 3\n\n\nWe often do not think about Rabies until there is an “incident” with a bite wound with ourselves or one of our pets. In Spring and Summer our pets are often spending more time out of doors and therefore the risk for exposure can be greater. The following are some important guidelines provided by the Virginia Dept of Health. If you have any questions or concerns, please call our office at 943-7577.\n\nRabies is a deadly disease caused by a virus that attacks the nervous system. It kills almost any mammal (humans included) that gets sick from it. The rabies virus is mainly in the saliva and brain of rabid animals. It can be transmitted through a bite or by getting saliva or brain tissue in a wound or in the eye or mouth. \n\n\n  • Have your veterinarian vaccinate your dogs, cats and ferrets. Keep the vaccinations up-to-date.\n  • If your pet is attacked or bitten by a wild animal, report it to the local health or animal control authorities. Be sure your vaccinated dog, cat or ferret receives a booster vaccination.\n\nFor more information, contact your local health department.\n\nMay 20\n\n\n      The warm weather is here and our pets are spending more time out of doors. You are already taking precautions against flea and ticks and you are keeping your pet vaccinated against many diseases. Now, however, is also the time that we begin to see snakebites in pets! Since snakes can live almost anywhere, your own backyard could be a potential habitat for poisonous snakes! With human development encroaching on rural areas, many of the snakes’ normal environments may be pushed to new regions.\n      A dog in its own backyard may see the snake as an invader and try to remove the snake from its territory. The snake, in defending itself, can unleash a large amount of toxin into your pet from its bite. The severity of the envenomation depends on the type of snake, the venom dose and the general health of the pet. Most dogs will be bitten in and around the face. This the most frequently part of the body to swell up. The toxins, however, do more than just cause swelling. Depending on the type of poisonous snake, pit viper or coral snake, the type of poison and what it does to the body will be different. Coral snakes release a neurotoxin, while rattlesnakes will release a toxin that affects the coagulation (clotting) of blood and causes the destruction of red blood cells and other tissue.\n      What’s a pet owner to do?!! If you know that your area, or areas where you walk your dog, may have snakes, it is best to keep your dog on a controllable leash. Walk less at night since the snakes tend to be nocturnal and keep dogs away from things that may be hiding places for snakes like logs, rocks and bushes.\n      If your dog is bitten, DO NOT attempt outdated first aid measures such as applying a tourniquet or making a cut to remove the venom with suction. Your best bet is to get your dog to the nearest emergency clinic - the faster the better! While some bites from coral snakes may take a few hours to show symptoms, a rattlesnake bite can cause signs within the first 30 minutes. Many dogs will need intravenous fluids, antibiotics, pain medication and, in some cases, oxygen. If available, your pet should also receive antivenom. Due to the expense, many clinics will not keep antivenom in stock, but emergency clinics will have this available. Antivenom usually costs between $500 - $1,000 per vial and a severely bitten dog may require several vials within the first few hours of treatment. Needless to say preventing the snakebite in the first place is the best course of action for you and your dog!\n\nMay 6\n\nSpring Fever\n\n      It’s that time of year where the warm weather and the growing grasses and the blooming flowers, all tell us that Spring Time is here! Our pets want to enjoy this time as much as we do but, with this Spring weather, there comes the threat of ticks and allergies!\n      Ticks are seen throughout the entire nation, and can be found on pets in the country and in urban areas. Ticks are a main concern for veterinarians and pet owners alike because they can transmit infectious disease to both pets and humans! Ticks require a bloodmeal in order to grow and reproduce. As they obtain this meal from a pet or human, the ticks secrete saliva which, in turn, harbors the infectious agents that we commonly diagnose. You must take care when removing the tick so that the blood and saliva do not contaminate your hands. The entire tick must be removed from your pet so that the infectious agents do not continue to be transmitted. Prevention of a tick bite is much safer than trying to remove ticks after they attach. We can prescribe safe, effective and appropriate medications for your pet’s size and weight. \n      Seasonal allergies in our pets tend to peak about this time also. Many allergens are inhaled. This means that your dog or cat does not need to be running and rolling in the grass or weeds to suffer from the symptoms of allergies. Pruritis, or “itchy” skin, is the main manifestation of atopic dermatitis or allergies. In our pets, this is often complicated by secondary bacterial or fungal infections which can make the itch even worse. See our Blog from April 8, 2015 for a full description of allergic dermatitis. Since allergies can be life-long, owners must be prepared to “manage” the disease instead of expecting a “cure.” We often need to individualize therapeutic plans for your pet’s specific allergies and for your pet’s skin condition.\n\nDon’t let your pet suffer from Spring Fever, call us to discuss your options!\n\nApril 8\n\nCould My Pet Have Allergies?\n\n      We often hear the question about the possibilities of allergies in pets, and the simple answer is YES. Dogs, cats, birds or other small mammals can all exhibit the clinical signs associated with allergies. Each pet may exhibit different signs and varying degrees of symptoms when allergies begin. Some may be the classical signs, similar to what we are familiar with in humans. At other times, your pet may exhibit much more subtle signs, at least initially.\n     Allergies can be acute, or in many cases, they can be a chronic life-long issue. Even with those cases that are chronic, there is still hope for relief depending on the source of your pets’ allergies, and depending on the response to various treatments. Some allergies, like insect bites or bee stings can be sudden but also more severe in the symptoms that they cause. Severe reactions, like anaphylaxis may require hospitalization.\n      More commonly, we deal with chronic allergies, where clinical signs can range from red irritated skin, excessive itching and scratching, licking at paws or biting and chewing at skin, or any number of respiratory symptoms. Allergies can be seasonal, or year-round. Many pets can be allergic to certain ingredients in their food. Allergies also typically begin at a few years of age and, even though there are not any “changes” that you are aware of in the environment, your pet can become itchy. Additionally, even though skin issues are a common complaint of pets that develop allergies, many allergens are actually inhaled. So if your pet has grass allergies, for instance, a neighbor mowing the lawn a few doors away could set of your pets’ symptoms, without you pet ever being in contact with the grass itself.\n      The most common problems that we encounter with the treatment of allergies are not addressing all the pet’s allergies and not treating for a long enough period of time.\nAllergies many times are life-long conditions, and instead of a “cure”, we often talk about “managing” the problem like many chronic conditions.\n      A second problem, although equally serious, is the additional bacterial dermatitis that arises from a pet scratching or licking excessively. A bacterial or yeast condition on the skin can also cause your pet to scratch and can mimic the same signs as some allergies. This can also make it more difficult to monitor the response allergy treatment. For this reason, rarely is the pet owner going to find a single “magic bullet” that will take care of all of the pet’s problems. Instead we use a multiple treatment regime that will help address the complicating factors that also influence the skin, and its response to treatment, as well as any secondary infections.\nDiagnosing the allergens that are setting off the reaction may be helpful in many cases.\nThis will also allow your pet to be able to receive immunotherapy (allergy shots) that will also help minimize your pet’s reaction to those allergens.\n      Call us to discuss all your pets’ options when you are faced with the itchy/scratchy pet!\n\nMarch 25\n\nShould I Worry About my Dog’s Red Eyes?\n\n      If eye redness or irritation is present and seems to be bothering the dog to the point of squinting or rubbing at the eyes, it is a problem that definitely needs an accurate diagnosis. The first response in some cases is just to observe the problem to see if it will get worse, however, in many eye diseases the difference in saving or losing vision is determined by speed at which the condition is treated. Waiting for an eye condition to resolve on its own could possibly mean the loss of vision for your pet.\n      Since redness is not a disease all by itself, it is just a clinical manifestation of other underlying problems. Obviously allergies or a simple eye irritation from dust or pollen is not as serious as other medical conditions. It is often impossible for an owner to differentiate between a minor problem and something major. Even a seemingly simple eye irritation could actually be a corneal scratch or corneal abrasion which eventually could cause permanent eye damage.\n      Secondly, a mild eye irritation could progress very rapidly especially if your pet is rubbing at its eyes, and causes a scratch on the corneal from its paws or nails.\nThe same holds true for discharge from the eye. Some discharge could be related to allergies or irritation but, as mentioned above, it could indicate a more serious problem that, left untreated, could cause vision loss.\n      Finally, a sudden redness of the eye, often associated with discomfort or pain, could possibly be an indicator of Glaucoma. Glaucoma can progress very rapidly, and can even cause blindness in 24 hours!! This is definitely a condition that must be diagnosed and treated early. Since this condition cannot be easily diagnosed by an owner at home, and blindness can occur so fast, getting attention for a “red eye” is imperative.\n\nMarch 13\n\nWhy Do I Need to Give Heartworm Preventatives Year-Round?\n\n      “There is still snow on the ground, and I haven’t seen any mosquitoes for months, so why am I still giving heartworm prevention to my dog?” We often hear this question, and the simplest answer is that, as we all know, the weather changes quickly and dramatically. Although we may have snow today, we can have 50 degree weather tomorrow. With the wet weather, and with puddles forming everywhere, this is an ideal breeding ground for mosquitoes. Mosquitoes are the source for heartworm infections!\n      As we have stated in many blogs, prevention is usually easier, more economical, and certainly better for your pet than treating a disease after the fact. Heartworm disease is an excellent example; year round prevention can certainly alleviate the ‘heartache’ (pun intended) of trying to treat a dog that is already positive for heartworm. By the time a dog is diagnosed with heartworm disease, it is possible that the parasite has already caused damage to the inner lining of the heart as well as the heart valves! Even though the parasite may be treated, the heart damage often remains!\nIn addition to preventing dreaded heartworm disease, most heartworm prevention will also offer some protection against certain intestinal parasites. This added benefit of a monthly worming has the advantage also of keeping you pet parasite free, year-round. And yes, pets can pick up intestinal parasites even in the winter months.\n      If you tend to “forget” to give the monthly heartworm prevention, we can administer a heartworm prevention injection 2x yearly which prevents the mistakes of missing monthly dose at home. Call our office to ask about the 6-month heartworm prevention!\n\nFebruary 25\n\nIs it Spring Yet?\n\n     Even with another snow storm heading this way, believe it or not SPRING is just around the corner, only weeks away. With SPRING, comes the warmer weather, and with the warmer weather will come another season of fleas and ticks. I am mentioning the potential flea and tick problem now because we often find that people wait until they see the first flea on their dog before “reacting’ to the problem. As with most conditions we discuss on this blog, prevention is easier, simpler and, in most cases, less expensive, than reacting to a problem that already exists!\nNOW is the time to start thinking about flea and tick prevention. With the multitude of once-a-month products that are available, it is easy to begin the prevention program before a problem exists and fleas or ticks begin to cause problems on your pet. Administering the medication before SPRING arrives, allows your pet to be protected before the fleas or ticks have a chance to cause an infestation.\n      For those dog owners concerned about using liquid topical flea and tick medications, there is a safe and effective oral beef-flavored chewable that is available for both flea and tick prevention. Owners with long, thick haired dogs, or those dog owners with children that are unsure about using topical medication, the oral medication is an easy ideal answer. The oral medication is FDA approved, easy to give (flavored), and it doesn’t wash off! It will kill fleas before they have a chance to lay eggs, which with regular use, prevents the dreaded flea infestations! It last for 30 days (minimum).\n      Whether you chose a topical or the new oral flea prevention, make sure you begin prevention now, yes now, before the ‘season’ begins!\n\nFebruary 11\n\nNew Chemo Options for Mast Cell Tumors\n\n     The first question you may be asking is what is a Mast Cell Tumor?\n\n      Mast Cell tumors are growths that develop from cells that normally occur in the skin, respiratory system and digestive system. They are cells that are part of the body’s defense system that will release certain substances that help break down protein in response to a signal triggered by the immune system. A Mast Cell tumor is an abnormal accumulation of these Mast Cells in a certain area.\n\n      A Mast Cell tumor can be either a benign growth or it can be a malignancy. Also, since these Mast Cells are part of the skin, they can occur on any part of the body. They can develop with many different sizes, shapes, consistencies and locations. These tumors can also occur in many different breeds and in both sexes. If these tumors develop in areas other than the skin, systemic signs, most noticeably G-I systems of vomiting, or ulcerations can also occur.\n\n      Since approximately 20% of all skin tumors in dogs turn out to be Mast Cell tumors and since the variability in appearance is so great, the only way to accurately diagnose and grade the tumor is through a biopsy. Identifying and then grading & staging the tumor is very important when making decisions on how the tumor may affect your dog in the future. This can also help determine whether other tests may be indicated to determine if this “skin” tumor may also be affecting the inside of your pet.\n\n      Treatment for these tumors usually involves surgery but, depending on the identification of Malignancy/Benign aspect of the tumor, further treatments with radiation therapy or chemotherapy may be indicated.\n\n      Newer chemo agents that target Mast Cell tumors with an improved efficacy and with potentially lower side effects have been introduced within the last year or two. Kinavet (a newer medication) is in pill form, and can be given by an owner at home! This helps with decreasing the stress related to visits to the hospital.\n\n      If your dog has any suspicious lump on its body, be sure to have the growth identified properly and talk with one of our veterinarians to have proper treatment individualized specifically for your pet.\n\nFebruary 4\n\n     There has been a lot of news recently regarding distemper found in the wild gray fox population surrounding Waynesboro. As many of your may know, distemper is a viral disease that affects a multitude of animals including dogs, coyotes, foxes, wolves, ferrets, skunks, badgers, wolverines, raccoons and bears as well as Asian elephants, Japanese Macaques, and large wild cats. The wide range of species susceptible to distemper infection creates large natural reservoirs for the disease. This means that if your animal has contact with any wildlife, it is important that you keep current on their vaccinations for both your animal’s safety and also for the benefit of the ecosystem. An infected animal can carry and shed the virus in high numbers for weeks, infecting any animal it comes in contact with. \n     Distemper isn’t the only disease that can be spread back and forth between pets and wildlife. Rabies, in particular, is a serious concern as it can be carried by any mammal and is always fatal. In the cases of both distemper and rabies, there exist very effective vaccines. Rabies and distemper are both very preventable diseases, all one must do to ensure a safe household is to vaccinate their pets regularly and supervise visits to natural areas. Occurrences like the distemper infected foxes in Waynesboro are very concerning. They can have serious implications to the local wildlife populations and to the pet owners in the affected area. Please do your part to limit the spread and the impact of this disease by vaccinating your pets and keeping them from interacting with wild animals.\n\nJanuary 14\n\nCan You Explain What Happens When My Dog Gets a Dental Cleaning?\n\n     When you have your dog’s or cat’s teeth cleaned at the veterinarian’s office, it is actually an entire mouth and dental examination as well as dental prophylaxis of the teeth. It is also a cleaning and evaluation of the health of the teeth below the gum line.\n     We often get “quick” looks inside out pet’s mouths and try to determine the degree of dental plaque and perhaps the bad odor that you have been experiencing from our pet’s mouth.\nOften what we can see is similar to looking at the tip of an iceberg. To fully evaluate a pet’s extent of dental tartar, the degree of gingivitis and the presence of periodontal disease, the pet needs to be sedated and, if procedures are to be performed, the pet is under anesthesia. Even a “cooperative” pet must be under anesthesia to safely perform the procedures properly.\n     Once the degree of dental disease is assessed properly, the actual cleaning and treatment of the dental disease can proceed. The depth of the sulcus (the area around the tooth) in the gums can be measured and documented in order to evaluate the progression of any disease process. Ultrasonic cleaning of the tooth itself, followed by polishing of the crown of the tooth will help slow down the process of plaque development. Finally, if evaluation of the root of the tooth is imperative, x-rays can be performed to reveal pathology that is not evident by simply an oral exam. Cleaning of the teeth, examination of gingiva, cleaning of the teeth below the gumline, flushing of the gingival sulcus, polishing of the teeth and documenting any oral pathology are all part of the dental procedure. \nSince the prevention and removal of dental disease can have a direct correlation to the prevention of other diseases throughout the body, keeping your pet’s mouth disease-free, can ultimately lead to a healthier and happier pet! Dental cleaning should be performed on those pets that do not receive any home dental care at a minimum of once a year. Potentially more frequent dental procedures may need to be performed on those pets that are prone to the development of tartar from causes like poor diet, genetics or other abnormalities that allow the tartar to form more rapidly.\n     Keep you pets Healthy….Keep your pets Happy!\n\nOlder Posts\n\nDr. O                Dr. Fujiura\n\n                    Dr. O is our Board Certified Canine, Feline                   Dr. Fujiura joined the CEDARCREST team in 2013.\n                      and Avian Specialist\n and the owner of                       He moved to Virginia from Washington state where\n               CEDARCREST Animal Clinic. He also co-writes                he gained experience working with various types of\n                     the CAC blog (almost) every other week.                    animals. He enjoys outdoor activities, spending time\n                                                                                                               with his pets and, of course, writing for the\n                                                                                                                                CEDARCREST blog.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5453611612319946}
+{"content": "Friday, November 12, 2010\n\nBasic Science Behind Electromagnetic Fields\n\nBasic Science Behind Electromagnetic Fields\nResearch compiled by Angela L MSSPI\n\nWhat Exactly is EMF and Where does it come from?\n\nThis has been a question I have wanted to explore in more detail ever since I first heard of EMF. It is commonly mentioned among paranormal investigators and EMF detectors are frequently used as part of investigations involving paranormal activity. But why? And what did I miss in Science class? The following article is just a scratch on the surface as to what EMF is and how it affects us as humans on this planet.\n\nThe Earth's magnetic field is similar to that of a bar magnet tilted 11 degrees from the spin axis of the Earth. The problem with that picture is that the Curie temperature of iron is about 770 C . The Earth's core is hotter than that and therefore not magnetic. So how did the Earth get its magnetic field?\n\nThe intensity and structure of the Earth's magnetic field are always changing, slowly but erratically, reflecting the influence of the flow of thermal currents within the iron core. This variation is reflected in part by the wandering of the North and South Geomagnetic Poles. Magnetic fields surround electric currents, so we surmise that circulating electic currents in the Earth's molten metalic core are the origin of the magnetic field. A current loop gives a field similar to that of the earth. The magnetic field magnitude measured at the surface of the Earth is about half a Gauss and dips toward the Earth in the northern hemisphere. The magnitude varies over the surface of the Earth in the range 0.3 to 0.6 Gauss.\n\n\nThe Dynamo Effect\n\nThe simple question \"how does the Earth get its magnetic field?\" does not have a simple answer. It does seem clear that the generation of the magnetic field is linked to the rotation of the earth, since Venus with a similar iron-core composition but a 243 Earth-day rotation period does not have a measurable magnetic field. It certainly seems plausible that it depends upon the rotation of the fluid metallic iron which makes up a large portion of the interior, and the rotating conductor model leads to the term \"dynamo effect\" or \"geodynamo\", evoking the image of an electric generator.\n\n\nInteraction of the terrestrial magnetic field with particles from the solar wind sets up the conditions for the aurora phenomena near the poles.\n\nVan Allen Radiation Belts\n\n\n\nThe inner and outer Van Allen belts are illustrated in the top figure. The primary source of these charged particles is the stream of particles emanating from the Sun that we call the solar wind. The charged particles trapped in the Earth's magnetic field are responsible for the aurora (Northern and Southern Lights).\n\nInfluence of the Sun Electrical particles streaming from the sun cause the \"solar wind\" which warps Earth's geomagnetic field lines, flattening them on the sun-ward side and stretching them out on the downstream side. The influence of this distortion of the geomagnetic field is quite small near Earth's surface (except during solar eruptions associated with sunspots) and becomes larger with increasing distance from Earth. The Sun spews out a constant stream of X-ray and extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation. This energy, along with that from cosmic rays, affects the Earth’s ionosphere, starting some 60 km above us. When solar energy or cosmic rays strike the ionosphere, electrons are stripped from their nuclei. This process is called ionizing, hence the name ionosphere. It is the free electrons in the ionosphere that have a strong influence on the propagation of radio signals. Radio frequencies of very long wavelength (very low frequency or “VLF”) “bounce” or reflect off these free electrons in the ionosphere thus, conveniently for us, allowing radio communication over the horizon and around our curved Earth. The strength of the received radio signal changes according to how much ionization has occurred and from which level of the ionosphere the VLF wave has “bounced.”\n\nThe ionosphere has several layers created at different altitudes and made up of different densities of ionization. Each layer has its own properties, and the existence and number of layers change daily under the influence of the Sun. During the day, the ionosphere is heavily ionized by the Sun. During the night hours the cosmic rays dominate because there is no ionization caused by the Sun (which has set below the horizon). Thus there is a daily cycle associated with the ionizations.\n\nIn addition to the daily fluctuations, activity on the Sun can cause dramatic sudden changes to the ionosphere. The Sun can unexpectedly erupt with a solar flare, a violent explosion in the Sun's atmosphere caused by huge magnetic activity. These sudden flares produce large amounts of X-rays and EUV energy, which travel to the Earth (and other planets) at the speed of light.\n\nExtra solar activity in the form of solar flares affects the earth's geomagnetic field. Some great paranormal evidence has been collected during times when there is solar activity such as mega flares and geomagnetic storms. It is unknown why this happens. Paranormal Investigators will watch for high-level periods of solar activity and try to plan investigations during those times or at least document them in order to find patterns of increases in activity. Conditions where either an M Class flare, X Class flare or a Mega Flare has occurred are considered by some to be ripe for paranormal investigations. When the geomagnetic field either indicates an unsettled or storm condition that is another good time for paranormal investigations.\n\n\nAs the magnetic energy is being released, particles, including electrons, protons, and heavy nuclei, are heated and accelerated in the solar atmosphere. The energy released during a flare is typically on the order of 1027 ergs per second. Large flares can emit up to 1032 ergs of energy. This energy is ten million times greater than the energy released from a volcanic explosion. On the other hand, it is less than one-tenth of the total energy emitted by the Sun every second.\n\n\nThe frequency of flares coincides with the Sun's eleven year cycle. When the solar cycle is at a minimum, active regions are small and rare and few solar flares are detected. These increase in number as the Sun approaches the maximum part of its cycle. The Sun will reach its next maximum in the year 2011, give or take one year.\n\nA person cannot view a solar flare by simply staring at the Sun. (NEVER LOOK DIRECTLY AT THE SUN! EYE DAMAGE CAN RESULT.) Flares are in fact difficult to see against the bright emission from the photosphere. Instead, specialized scientific instruments are used to detect the radiation signatures emitted during a flare. The radio and optical emissions from flares can be observed with telescopes on the Earth. Energetic emissions such as x-rays and gamma rays require telescopes located in space, since these emissions do not penetrate the Earth's atmosphere.\n\nEarth's Magnetic Field\n\n\n\n\nFrom a classical perspective, the electromagnetic field can be regarded as a smooth, continuous field, propagated in a wavelike manner; whereas from the perspective of quantum field theory, the field is seen as quantized, being composed of individual particles.\n\nIn the past, electrically charged objects were thought to produce two types of field associated with their charge property. An electric field is produced when the charge is stationary with respect to an observer measuring the properties of the charge, and a magnetic field (as well as an electric field) is produced when the charge moves (creating an electric current) with respect to this observer. Over time, it was realized that the electric and magnetic fields are better thought of as two parts of a greater whole — the electromagnetic field.\n\nOnce this electromagnetic field has been produced from a given charge distribution, other charged objects in this field will experience a force (in a similar way that planets experience a force in the gravitational field of the Sun). If these other charges and currents are comparable in size to the sources producing the above electromagnetic field, then a new net electromagnetic field will be produced. Thus, the electromagnetic field may be viewed as a dynamic entity that causes other charges and currents to move, and which is also affected by them. These interactions are described by Maxwell's equations and the Lorentz force law.\n\nLight from the sun is the main source of energy on earth, whether directly or indirectly. Electromagnetic radiation covers basically all aspects of life.\n\nProperties of the electromagnetic field are exploited in many areas of industry. The use of electromagnetic radiation is seen in various disciplines. For example, X-rays are high frequency electromagnetic radiation and are used in radiography in medicine. Other forms of electromagnetic radiation are used in radio astronomy and radiometry in telecommunications. Other medical applications include laser therapy, which is an example of photomedicine. Applications of lasers are found in military devices such as laser-guided bombs, as well as more down to earth devices such as barcode readers and CD players. Something as simple as a relay in any electrical device uses an electromagnetic field to engage or to disengage the two different states of output (i.e., when electricity is not applied, the metal strip will connect output A and B, but if electricity is applied, an electromagnetic field will be created and the metal strip will connect output A and C).\n\n\nWhat happens when you are exposed to electromagnetic fields?\n\nExposure to electromagnetic fields is not a new phenomenon. However, during the 20th century, environmental exposure to man-made electromagnetic fields has been steadily increasing as growing electricity demand, ever-advancing technologies and changes in social behaviour have created more and more artificial sources. Everyone is exposed to a complex mix of weak electric and magnetic fields, both at home and at work, from the generation and transmission of electricity, domestic appliances and industrial equipment, to telecommunications and broadcasting. Man made electromagnetic fields have increased significantly in the past 50 yrs, with the introduction of new technologies. Cell phones are currently the hot topic related to health risks and the effect of electromagnetic fields. There is an ongoing debate among researchers and scientist as to whether their use increases the risks for cancer and other health problems. The use of computers and artificial light are another debate in themselves. The graph above shows the increase in power use from1945 to 2000. Light pollution is 1 to 1 correlated with electromagnetic energy leaking into the environment. Where there is artificial light there is electromagnetic interferences.\n\nI found this next photo to be very interesting. This is a photograph of 1,301 florescent light tubes arrayed in a field beneath standard high power electrical lines. The energy causing them to glow is the magnetic field leaked by those high power electrical lines into the environment\n\nElectromagnetic fields at home\n\nElectricity is transmitted over long distances via high voltage power lines. Transformers reduce these high voltages for local distribution to homes and businesses. Electricity transmission and distribution facilities and residential wiring and appliances account for the background level of power frequency electric and magnetic fields in the home. In homes not located near power lines this background field may be up to about 0.2 µT. Directly beneath power lines the fields are much stronger. Magnetic flux densities at ground level can range up to several µT. Electric field levels underneath power lines can be as high as 10 kV/m. However, the fields (both electric and magnetic) drop off with distance from the lines. At 50 m to 100 m distance the fields are normally at levels that are found in areas away from high voltage power lines. In addition, house walls substantially reduce the electric field levels from those found at similar locations outside the house.\n\nElectric appliances in the household\n\nThe strongest power frequency electric fields that are ordinarily encountered in the environment exist beneath high voltage transmission lines. In contrast, the strongest magnetic fields at power frequency are normally found very close to motors and other electrical appliances, as well as in specialized equipment such as magnetic resonance scanners used for medical imaging.\n\nTypical electric field strengths measured near household appliances (at a distance of 30 cm)\n\n(From: Federal Office for Radiation Safety, Germany 1999)\n\nElectric appliance- Electric field strength (V/m)\n\nStereo receiver -180\n\nIron -120\n\nRefrigerator -120\n\nMixer -100\n\nToaster- 80\n\nHair dryer- 80\n\nColour TV -60\n\nCoffee machine -60\n\nVacuum cleaner- 50\n\nElectric oven- 8\n\nLight bulb- 5\n\nMany people are surprised when they become aware of the variety of magnetic field levels found near various appliances. The field strength does not depend on how large, complex, powerful or noisy the device is. Furthermore, even between apparently similar devices, the strength of the magnetic field may vary a lot. For example, while some hair dryers are surrounded by a very strong field, others hardly produce any magnetic field at all. These differences in magnetic field strength are related to product design. The measurements above were taken in Germany and all of the appliances operate on electricity at a frequency of 50 Hz. It should be noted that the actual exposure levels vary considerably depending on the model of appliance and distance from it.\n\nThe Federal Office for Radiation Safety in Germany recently measured the daily exposure to magnetic fields of about 2000 individuals across a range of occupations and public exposures. All of them were equipped with personal dosimeters for 24 hours. The measured exposure varied widely but gave an average daily exposure of 0.10 µT. This value is a thousand times lower that the standard limit of 100 µT for the public and 200 times lower than the 500 µT exposure limit for workers. Furthermore, the exposure of people living in the centers of cities showed that there are no drastic differences in exposure between life in rural areas and life in the city. Even the exposure of people living in the vicinity of high voltage power lines differs very little from the average exposure in the population.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nI read this excerpt from an article at:  which I tend to agree with based on personal experiences with working with body chakra and my experiences in the nursing field.  I wanted to include it in this piece as I believe that the study of paranormal phenomena should include learning about how the human body and the brain function. I personally noticed a huge improvement in how I felt physically while experimenting with body energy. I hope that you will take the time to read this article in it's entirety.\n\nWe are energetic beings with largely unseen electromagnetic fields. Molecular behavior is greatly influenced by the energetic field that surrounds each of us. The state of that field influences the function and/or dysfunction of our body. It also influences our perception, bringing creative clarity or repressive distortion.\n\nRestoring balance will eliminate cancer, stroke, heart disease, arthritis, asthma, psoriasis, or any of the many other chronic conditions that billions and trillions are being spent on each year. But the solutions that most funded medical research is focused on, and are being run through clinical trials at the cost of millions each year to the “watch dog” agencies for certification, generally don’t take the body toward balance. They do even less for the mind and spirit. Major evidence of this truth is that the numbers of people entering into chronic conditions continues to rise, with onset occurring earlier than ever.\n\nIt was a pleasure to learn recently about a procedure that helps bring about a fundamental form of balance, simply and without medication. It is called Alphabiotics. Developed by Dr. Virgil Chrane, out of Dallas, TX, it is a series of movements that can be likened to rebooting the brain which, when placed constantly in a low grade stressed state, assumes a “fight or flight,”or “freeze or faint” position, wherein one hemisphere or the other is dominant. This condition not only affects perception, it affects physiology, beginning with the alignment of the spine. If the spine is not in alignment, information pathways to various parts of the body will be affected, as will energy. When energy flow is disrupted, then life is affected.\n\nBiological effects or health effects? What is a health hazard?\n\n\n\n\n\nThe International EMF Project\n\n\nConclusions from scientific research\n\nIn the area of biological effects and medical applications of non-ionizing radiation approximately 25,000 articles have been published over the past 30 years. Despite the feeling of some people that more research needs to be done, scientific knowledge in this area is now more extensive than for most chemicals. Based on a recent in-depth review of the scientific literature, the World Health Organization concluded that current evidence does not confirm the existence of any health consequences from exposure to low level electromagnetic fields. However, some gaps in knowledge about biological effects exist and need further research. There are many Physicians and Scientist that will dispute the WHO conclusions.\n\nEffects on general health\n\n\nElectromagnetic hypersensitivity and depression\n\nSome individuals report \"hypersensitivity\" to electric or magnetic fields. They ask whether aches and pains, headaches, depression, lethargy, sleeping disorders, and even convulsions and epileptic seizures could be associated with electromagnetic field exposure. I personally believe that long term exposure to EMF does play a part somehow. I personally experience headaches, nausea, dizzyness and insomnia related to what I believe are EMF related exposure to long hours of sitting in front of my computer screen. I have also experienced some of these symptoms on paranormal investigations and when exposed to overhead power line generators. However, I am not a scientist and I have never been personally involved in a scientific study to prove it.\n\n\nBut, According to  Dr. Nagi Hatoum, M.D., M.S.E.E.\n\nA study of suicide rates in 138,905 male electric utility workers, published in the Western Journal of Medicine, showed a correlation between estimated exposure to extremely low-frequency electromagnetic interferences and a significant increase in the risk of suicide. Even stronger associations, up to a 3.5-fold increase, were found in men younger than 50. A separate report by Pacific NW Laboratory postulates that exposure to ELF is a potential contributing factor in depression. ELF fields may interfere with hormonal secretions which may exacerbate existing depression, or contribute to an onset of depression.\n\nIn another study, Dr. Wolpaw examined the brain functions of monkeys exposed to 60 Hz magnetic fields. He measured the levels of neurohormones in the spinal fluid of monkeys thus exposed for three weeks. It was found that the levels of serotonin and dopamine were significantly depressed immediately following exposure, and that only the dopamine returned to normal levels several months after. Changes in serotonin levels are known to be associated with depression. For example, lowered levels of this chemical in the brain have been linked to an increase in suicide frequency.\n\nBaboon exposed to 60 Hz powerlines expressed different behaviors according to Dr. Easley. The 60-Hz electric field had significant effects on the social behavior of baboons because it triggered a stress response.\nElectromagnetic interferences on the nervous system should get more attention and research.\n\nPrior to the recent post industrial revolution, human exposure to electromagnetic energies was restricted to natural occurring radiation. In the last 50 years, man made electromagnetic energy leaking into the environment has grown exponentially. This leaked electromagnetic energy is not intentional and causes interferences with the environment and human body. And so the debate over health issues related to exposure to electromagnetic interference continues.\n\nElectromagnetic Fields and Hallucinations.\n\nI hear the \"Ghost Hunters\" on TV tell their clients all the time that High EMF can cause hallucinations. But I have never heard them say how they know this or where this information came from or what experiments have been done to prove it. So I decided to do a little digging for myself to find out. I visited the World Health Organization website, Several government control websites, NASA websites, Numerous online physician and medical university websites, and did an extensive EMF and hallucination google and bing search. The majority of sites that I found claiming that EMF causes hallucinations, were paranormal websites discussing high EMF and most mentioned the theory but none provided any scientific sources or proof. I also found one reference to a DR Michael Persinger, who has been involved in unusual forms of brain/EMF interaction research for quite some time. Probably best known for claiming he could reproduce an alien abduction experience using EMF exposure alone! There were numerous articles related to Dr. Persinger regarding a so called \" God Helmet\". This has opened up a whole new set of articles for me to explore that I wont go into on this particular post and I look forward to reading about his experiments and claims. However, I also found numerous medical websites that actually use pulsing EMF exposures and electromagnetic therapy to treat hallucinations and epilepsy. So I am going to do some more digging and reading before I accept or refute the theory that exposure to EMF causes hallucinations.  At this point in my research I have found no evidence that exposure to EMF causes hallucinations at all and was actually left more confused than enlightened. However I will save this subject for a future post when I have had more time to research it. I would recommend though that if high levels of EMF are detected in an area where a paranormal experience has occurred. That this not be ruled out as a possible cause. It is possible that these high level exposures could be having an effect on perception as there are suggestions that high levels of EMF have an effect on dopamine, seratonin and melatonin levels in the brain. That high levels of EMF over long exposure times, do affect sleep patterns, chemical imbalances in the brain and immune system and nervous system functions. So the possiblility that they could produce hallucinations is possible.\n\nReduction of Electromagnetic Interferences\n\nThere are several method to reduce exposure to electromagnetic interference. The most frequent method is shielding and the use of ground wire. Some building codes require installing powerline inside steel pipes.\nThere are also many websites which advertise sheilding devices for cell phones and computer usage. I even found one website that sells a crystal that you wear around your neck that supposedly nutralizes harmful magnetic fields. But, the number of new patented ideas and gadgets were far too numerous to list in this article. What we suggest for starters is to have your electrical outlets and or your home tested. Paranormal Investigators do this with their EMF meters to get baseline readings when they investigate your home. EMF meters will detect sources of high EMF emmisions from electrical appliances, outlets, power and fuse boxes, etc. If a location gives off a high reading, then long term exposure to these areas should be avoided. If a power outlet next to your bed gives off a high reading next to your head every night, then rearrange your furniture, have your electrical wiring checked by a professional electrician and limit your exposure to these areas as much as possible. One of the most common sources we find as investigators is beside alarm clocks and radios. But don't panic! Remember :WE ARE ALL ELECTROMAGNETIC BEINGS.\n\nThe human body grounds electromagnetic radiation in the environment because of the electrical conductivity of our body. It is attracted to us. All living systems are based on electromagnetic energy. Every cell in your body is generating an electromagnetic field, every plant, every rock, the planet itself, the whole universe is made up of energy. It is true that man-made electromagnetic radiation is not the only source of random photons in the environment, but the problem is these frequencies which we have never encountered before are a whole different spectrum of frequencies than the living system uses. We have to use common sense to protect ourself whether science has proven a health risk or not. Why take the chance?\n\nLunar phases also affect the earth's geomagnetic field. The earth's electromagnetic field is affected when the moon is closer, such as when it is full. People and paranormal activity are both influenced when the gravitational force is affected during a full moon. Many health care and emergency medical and law enforcement personel agree that full moon phases affect mental health and increases in crime and erradic behaviors. Having 20 yrs of nursing under my belt, I consider myself one of the many, who believe that the full moon in some way , has an effect on human behaviors.\n\nIt has been a common joke among nurses that when odd behaviors increase, that it's because of the full moon.\n\nMore paranormal activity seems to happen with the full moon and is reported by some paranormal investigators while other investigators do not notice this fluctuation.\n\nThunderstorms and lightning are also thought to be good for having success with a paranormal investigation. It is believed that during a thunderstorm a higher vibration frequency is reached by both the living and the not so living, which can make the odds a bit better for somebody to experience paranormal activity.\n\nIt is also believed that the solstice and equinoxes that occur every year present more opportune times for paranormal investigation. This is not based on science; it is because cultures from around the world believe that the solstice and equinoxes are a supernaturally important time.\n\nI hope that this gathering of information will help our team and others understand the basic concepts behind Electromagnetic Fields and their origins. There is an abundance of information as well as theories out there that are yet to be explored.\n\nSource Links\n\nSolar flares imaged by the TRACE satellite. Photo courtesy NASA.\n\nThe Earth’s ionosphere and reflecting of VLF radio waves.\n\nImage courtesy of Morris Cohen, Stanford University\n\nFederal Office for Radiation Safety, Germany 1999\n\nHyperPhysics***** Electricity and Magnetism R Nave", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5827484130859375}
+{"content": "You are here: Tracking Progress\n\nGreenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory\n\nEach year, the Office for Sustainability conducts an inventory of all greenhouse gases that are released into the atmosphere as a result of American University business. These emissions contribute to global climate change and the university's goal is to mitigate all GHG emissions by 2020 and make AU a climate neutral institution. Thanks to many programs including energy efficiency initiatives, renewable energy, green buildings, sustainable transportation programs, and zero waste efforts, the university's GHG emissions have fallen more than 52 percent from the 2005 baseline.\n\nAnnual GHG emissions reports are submitted publicly to Second Nature.\n\nEmissions by scope graph\n\nGreenhouse Gas Emissions are measured in three categories:\n\nOn-site emissions from natural gas and the university fleet.\n\nPurchased electricity for campus use.\n\nAll other emissions including commuting, study abroad travel, athletics travel, travel for conferences and meetings, emissions from waste that goes to landfill, and other small sources of emissions.\n\n\nGreenhouse gas emissions reductions are only part of the sustainability efforts at AU. To measure progress in the environmental, social, and economic aspects of sustainability work, AU uses the sustainability tracking, assessment, and reporting system (STARS). \n\nSTARS was created by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) to help colleges and universities track progress and set goals. \n\nAU completed its third STARS submission in spring of 2016 and earned a gold rating. AU was also a charter participant in STARS and has completed three assessments since 2010. \n\nScope 2 GHG emissions have been managed since 2010 by purchasing 100 percent renewable energy.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9784356355667114}
+{"content": "Zip Code\n\nThe Importance of Timing to Learning\n\nIn addition to the types of questions presented in this learning survey, other questions and considerations may need to be addressed to analyze a prior learning experience and effectively plan for a current learning activity.\n\nFor example, are you a morning person or an afternoon person? Are you at your mental peak before lunch or after lunch? Naturally, if you are a morning person, you would want to schedule a learning situation or a test for the morning hours. Conversely, if you don't get into high gear until after lunch, then your learning or testing activity probably should be scheduled for that time.\n\nGenerally, it isn't possible to remain in a high mental state throughout an entire day. Due to metabolism, as well as prior work or scheduling experience, there are individuals who function better in the morning than later in the day. If you are used to getting up at 5:30 a.m. every day and you're in the office by 7 a.m., you're probably a morning person.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9721901416778564}
+{"content": "How To Be Engaging While Reading Books to Children\n\nEngaging in quality reading activities with your children is one of the best ways to be a good parent. It gives you a chance to build relationships and bonds between you and your children, and shows them that they are guided.  It is also important for them to realize that a parent figure is always caring for and helping them. Interaction is important so that it will be a two-way process and it gives your children the chance to be responsive as well. Listed below are techniques that you may use to be more engaging or interactive when you read books to your children:\n\n  1. Frequency is an important component. Allot a particular time or part of the day where you will regularly read a story or two to your children. This will make the activity more enjoyable since you are more focused on what you are doing and not other chores around the house. Your children, on the other hand, will be more aware of the benefits gained from the activity and it will be easier for them to develop the habit of reading since it is done regularly.\n  2. Your reading interaction will vary depending on your children’s ages, reading levels and comprehension. For infants, the most effective interaction would be board book showing large, brightly colored pictures. This allows your young ones to flip on the pages as you progress, while you employ different voices, depending on the character in the book. Added to that, you may match the tone and pitch, like using a low voice for words like “deep,” “under” or “low.” These will greatly attract the youngsters’ attention because they become curious of the visuals and the sounds. Continue these ideas and activities as your infant grows into a toddler, gradually increasing the difficulty of the book, but continuing with picture books. Show your toddler that the picture is actually a word in the sentence. Help them make that connection.\n  3. Preschoolers are usually those who are close to starting or have just begun school. Provide your preschooler with a reading list of rhyme and storybooks to sharpen their reading and vocabulary. For interaction, you may fill in the blanks with them, reading the first sentence and then allowing them the finish it with the next sentence or the rhyming word. For instance, you will read “Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,” and they will continue with “Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.”\n  4. The elementary level requires higher thinking skills and reading their school books and short stories with them will be fun. You can read in unison or you can play roles by assigning a character to each other, like reading a script. From time to time, let them think aloud and ask them to interpret a particular sentence or description and ask them what are the possible consequences.\n  5. Growing up is not an excuse to keep the books away. You should still spend quality reading time with your teenagers. Classic and literacy books, magazines and newspapers showing current events and updated topics are some of the suggested reading materials. Engage with them on light debates and reflections, allowing your teens to connect what they read to their personal experiences and views. Allow them to make a stand and defend their opinions.\n\nReading books with your children promotes quality time. As parent, it helps you to promote love and learning to your children, which are two of the most important qualities in their upbringing. Take advantage of this activity and be engaging and approachable as much as possible. Introduce it to your child while rocking them as an infant and be grateful of the reward as your children grow under your loving supervision.\n\n\nShare this article!\n\nFollow us!\n\nFind more helpful articles:", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6916118860244751}
+{"content": "Artificial intelligence (AI) can identify Alzheimer's disease 10 years before doctors can discover the symptoms, according to new research.\n\nA team of researchers in Italy developed an algorithm that can spot structural changes in the brain that are caused by the disease a decade before the signs become apparent.\n\nThe team from the University of Bari trained the AI by feeding in 67 MRI scans - 38 from Alzheimer's patients and 29 healthy patients - then asked it to analyse the neuronal connectivity to form an algorithm.\n\nFollowing the training, the AI was then asked to process brains from 148 subjects - 52 were healthy, 48 had Alzheimer's disease and 48 had mild cognitive impairment (MCI) but were known to have developed Alzheimer's disease two and a half to nine years later.\n\n\nAccording to the researchers, the AI diagnosed Alzheimer's disease 86 per cent of the time.\n\n\n\nAlthough there is no cure for Alzheimer's disease, early diagnosis can allow people to start making lifestyle choices to slow the progression of the disease.\n\nThe Bari University research team now intends to extend the technique to help with the early diagnosis of neurodegenerative conditions such as Parkinson's disease.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9965252876281738}
+{"content": "Posted by ThaJackaL On October - 10 - 2010\nJohn Lennon\n\nJohn Lennon\n\n\nBorn and raised in Liverpool, Lennon became involved as a teenager in the skiffle craze; his first band, The Quarrymen, evolved into The Beatles in 1960. As the group began to undergo the disintegration that led to their break-up towards the end of that decade, Lennon launched a solo career that would span the next, punctuated by critically acclaimed albums, including John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band and Imagine, and iconic songs such as “Give Peace a Chance” and “Imagine”.\n\nLennon revealed a rebellious nature and acerbic wit in his music, his writing, his drawings, on film, and in interviews, and he became controversial through his peace activism. He moved to New York City in 1971, where his criticism of the Vietnam War resulted in a lengthy attempt by Richard Nixon’s administration to deport him, while his songs were adapted as anthems by the anti-war movement. Lennon disengaged himself from the music business in 1975 to devote time to his family, but reemerged in 1980 with a new album, Double Fantasy. He was murdered three weeks after its release.\n\nAs of 2010, Lennon’s solo album sales in the United States exceed 14 million units,[1] and as writer, co-writer or performer, he is responsible for 27 number one singles on the US Hot 100 chart.a In 2002, a BBC poll on the 100 Greatest Britons voted him eighth, and in 2008, Rolling Stone ranked him the fifth greatest singer of all time. He was posthumously inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1987 and into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.\n\nStrawberry Fields Memorial to John Lennon in Central Park, New York\n\nMusic historians Schinder and Schwartz, writing of the transformation in popular music styles that took place between the 1950s and the 1960s, say that the Beatles’ influence cannot be overstated: having “revolutionized the sound, style, and attitude of popular music and opened rock and roll’s doors to a tidal wave of British rock acts”, the group then “spent the rest of the 1960s expanding rock’s stylistic frontiers”.[202] Liam Gallagher, his group Oasis among the many who acknowledge the band’s influence, identifies Lennon as a hero; in 1999 he named his first child Lennon Gallagher in tribute.[203] Lennon’s iconic songs came to inspire and symbolize the ideals of the masses[who?].[204] On National Poetry Day in 1999, after conducting an extensive poll to identify the UK’s favourite song lyric, the BBC announced “Imagine” the winner.\n\nImage and video hosting by TinyPic", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9940510392189026}
+{"content": "Why Your Dryer Takes Too Long to Dry | Peter's Appliance\n\nWhy Your Dryer Takes Too Long to Dry\n\nLaundry can already seem like a pretty daunting task; you have to wash, dry, fold, and put everything away, all of which takes time. You may want to throw in the towel (quite literally) if you go to remove your laundry from the dryer only to find that they’re still wet! But before you do, know that there may be a simple fix. Here’s a few reasons why your dryer takes too long to dry.\n\nReason #1. Heavy Loads\nIf your laundry is occasionally takes too long to dry, it may have something to do with particular loads of laundry. Cotton holds much more water than synthetic fabric, and if you have a very large load it may make it that much more difficult to dry. For example, if you wash all of your bathroom towels at once. There may not necessarily be a problem with your dryer, but certain loads may just require more dry time. If you are overloading your dryer it may struggle, even if it is in perfect condition! Don’t combine loads and keep them to a reasonable size.\n\nReason #2. Check the Ventilation\nIf, however, your dryer seems to take too long all of the time, it’s a good idea to start troubleshooting with the ventilation. In order for the air to flow properly and heat your laundry, the pipe needs to meet a few standards. Most likely you’ll need to have a vent pipe or flexible metal 4” in diameter. Check all along the hose to make sure there are no obstructions, kinks, or no damages. You also need to check the outside of your home where the wall damper is to make sure it is working properly. Whether you’re having dry-time issues or not, it is a good practice to clean out the duct work once a year.\n\nReason #3. Lots of Lint\nIf you’re not in a good habit of emptying out the lint filter after drying each load of laundry, you may have found the source of your problems! When lint builds up, it restricts the airflow and increase dry time. That’s why it’s so important to remove any and all lint after each load. If you notice a buildup of fabric softener, it’s time to give your lint filter a deep clean. Just remove the filter and wash it with warm soapy water. Let it dry completely and it should be good as new! If you notice any damage to your lint filter, get it replaced as soon as possible.\n\nReason #4. Check Your Settings\nIf you notice your clothes seem much wetter than usual as you transfer them to the dryer, your dryer may not be the problem. Check your washer and make sure you select the correct settings for each load. You may not be choosing the correct spin cycle and the washer isn’t removing as much water as it could be!\n\nIf these few simple fixes aren’t cutting it, it’s time to talk to a professional, like the ones with Peter’s Appliance. They will help you get your dryer working in no time so you can get back to having clean, dry clothes!", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6296440362930298}
+{"content": "View my full profile in the FreeIndex Hypnotherapy Directory directory.\n\nProfessional Hypnotherapy and NLP - Agoraphobia\n\nAgoraphobia is an anxiety disorder which primarily consists of the fear of experiencing a difficult or embarrassing situation from which the sufferer cannot escape. Agoraphobia sufferers are often extremely sensitized to their own bodily sensations, subconsciously over-reacting to perfectly normal events. Agoraphobia is best understood as an adverse behavioral outcome of repeated panic attacks and the subsequent worry, preoccupation, and avoidance.\n\nAgoraphobia, then, is both a severe anxiety condition and a phobia, as well as a pattern of avoidantbehavior. Agoraphobia often starts when someone has a panic attack in a particular place, say a supermarket. Agoraphobia usually begins in the late 20s and is more common in women than men, (although that may be because fewer men seek help).\n\nAgoraphobia sometimes starts suddenly and sometimes it develops slowly. Agoraphobiais caused by inappropriate levels of anxiety and can be eliminatedquickly and simply by undoing the changes in the subconscious mindthat caused the condition to develop. Agoraphobia comes from the Greek \"agora\", marketplace + \"phobos\", fear = fear of the marketplace. Agoraphobia can lead to extreme anxiety and avoidance, leading some victims to become \"housebound,\" unable to leave a very small \"safe zone\".\n\nAnti-anxiety and antidepressive medications are often used to help relieve the symptoms associated with phobias. Antidepressant medications are effective treatments for many people with panic disorder -- selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), such as Prozac, have become the effective treatments. However, some people cannot tolerate this, as is true with all medications. Treatment options include cognitive behaviour therapy and medication, usually with an SSRI antidepressant.\n\nA person may fear having anxiety attacks,\"losing control\", or embarrassing him/herself in suchsituations. Through homework assignments, reading, writing, and talking with aprofessional in this technique, you can help to control or eliminate theseautomatic bad thoughts. The cause of all these conditions is a small organ called The Amygdala which controls the anxiety reaction. The Amygdala is a small organ in the brain which is responsible for controlling and storing the anxiety response which causes agoraphobia. Hypnosis can help you learn to control anxiety symptoms and things that trigger panic attacks.\n\nOther types of therapy, such as cognitive therapy, assertiveness training, biofeedback, hypnosis, meditation, relaxation or couples therapy were found to be helpful for some patients. Self hypnosis can help you overcome agoraphobia. Alternative ways of treatment include hypnosis and techniques of Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), which is rapidly becoming more popular and widely accepted by the general public.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.575758159160614}
+{"content": "How to Validate a Facebook Canvas Page\n\nFacebook has good documentation on how to authenticate a request to your canvas page.  You can find that documentation here.\n\nHowever, if you’re developing your page in ASP.NET (WebForms or MVC), there’s a few things in the documentation that may throw you off.  The remainder of this post assumes you’re developing a Facebook application in ASP.NET MVC and your Facebook application is set as iFrame (for authentication).\n\nWhen your application is set as iFrame, the Facebook parameters are contained in the request parameters (and not in cookies as you may be lead to believe from the use of the keyword in the documentation).  The purpose of validating a canvas page, is to ensure that the request IS coming from Facebook.  Therefore, Facebook has computed a hash value (called a signature) with all the (Facebook) parameters + your application’s secret key.  So, in order to verify, you just have to perform the same computation and compare your computed signature with Facebook’s.  This works because only you and Facebook should know your application’s secret key.\n\nHere’s a snippet of code that you can use to perform that verification:\n\npublic static bool IsRequestValid(string applicationSecretKey, HttpRequestBase request)\n    bool valid = false;\n\n    string originalSignature = request.Params[\"fb_sig\"];\n    if (!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(originalSignature))\n        // Step 1:  Generate an input string\n        // i    -   Order all \"facebook\" parameters alphabetically\n        // ii   -   Remove the preceeding 'fb_sig_' characters\n        // iii  -   Concantenate them all\n        string input = string.Join(\"\", from p in request.Params.Cast<string>()\n                                        where p.StartsWith(\"fb_sig_\")\n                                        orderby p ascending\n                                        select p.Remove(0, 7) + \"=\" + request.Params[p]);\n\n        // Step 2:  Append the application's secret key\n        input += applicationSecretKey;\n\n        // Step 3:  Compute a signature  \n        // i    -   Compute an MD5 hash with the generated string\n        // ii   -   Convert the hash into hexadecimal and concantenate them\n        var data = HashAlgorithm.Create(\"MD5\").ComputeHash(Encoding.ASCII.GetBytes(input));\n        string computedSignature = string.Join(\"\", from d in data\n                                                    select d.ToString(\"x2\"));\n\n        // Step 4: Compare with the orignal signature\n        if (computedSignature == originalSignature)\n            valid = true;\n\n    return valid;\n\nThis uses LINQ quite heavily and also uses String.Join in favor of String.Concat or StringBuilder because of the reported performance advantage the Join method has over the other ones.\n\nHappy Coding!", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6963967084884644}
+{"content": "Apr 9: Bank leaves rates and QE policy unchanged\n\nThe Bank of England has left rates unchanged at 0.5 per cent and has confirmed it is continuing to pump new money into the economy at a steady rate. Daniel Pimlott, economics correspondent, describes the impact of both and what is likely to happen next.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9993072748184204}
+{"content": "Explore Marry Me, Future Husband, and more!\n\nExplore related topics\n\nDaniel Radcliffe\n\nInspiring image actor, daniel radcliffe, faces, harry potter, hp - Resolution - Find the image to your taste\n\n\n\nrepin all the dan radcliffes forever and ever\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6525731086730957}
+{"content": "Manager's Pocket Guide to Creativity\n\nReinvent the Wheel? No Thanks—Haven’t Got the Time\nPeople often use the expression “Let’s not reinvent the wheel” when they want to ensure that time and\nenergy isn’t wasted on needless work. Why spend time revising a whole line of products when only one\nproduct needs improving? Or why spend energy re- designing your customer service function when you\ncan benchmark most of it from another company? Why do anything all over again, from the very\nbeginning, when a few adjustments will give you the results you need?\nBut there is another, hidden aspect of the idiom “reinvent the wheel.” I’m referring to how we do\nproductive things, not what we do.\nIt struck me recently that the invention of the modern-day wheel must have taken an awfully long time,\nand upon doing some research, I learned it had in fact taken many thousands of years. To be precise,\ndeveloping the wheel from its first crude version—a cross section of a tree trunk with a bored-out hole—\ninto its basic modern-day form—a flexible rim with spokes running to a solid hub—took four and a half\nthousand years, from 5000 BC to 500 BC. The lengthy invention process we humans went through was,\nlet’s face it, anything but efficient. And if left to our own devices, we generally solve creative problems at\nthe same plodding speed with which we invented the wheel.\nNeedless to say, none of us have thousands of years to discover solutions to such problems, to see\nwhat should have been obvious from the start. But let’s not even take one year. Let’s improve our\nnatural thought processes to such a degree that we can invent “wheels”—whatever we may need—in\nminutes instead of millennia. It can be done if we realize that how we go about inventing, imagining,\nand creating is the key to what we come up with and how quickly we come up with it.\nWhat I have to offer in this book, and what the field of corporate creativity has to offer in general, is the\nchance to improve upon the natural process of creative thought—to bring innovation to how we think,\nnot just what we think—and thereby cut dramatically the cycle time for generating state-of-the-art\nsolutions. Is there a secret to creativity? Yes: thinking in new ways. It is a secret all of us can discover\nand use, both for our-selves and for our organizations.\n\nWhat to Expect: A Quick Preview\n1. A Personal Creativity Assessment\nAre you creative? Of course, because everyone is capable of creative thinking. But it is immensely\nrevealing to look closely at the many barriers to and enablers of creativity and see which ones apply to\nyou. Doing so not only allows you to gauge how creative your work-place behavior is right now, but also\nhelps you identify how to make it more creative. And if you supervise or train others, you can use this\nassessment to understand what you must do to help them sustain creative thinking in their work. So go\nahead, take the creativity test. You have nothing to lose and a lot to gain. (See Chapter 1.)\n2. A Look at Ways We Close Off Creativity\nThis is where I rant and rave about the terrible, stupid things we all do, to ourselves and our workplaces,\nto block creative thinking. Because there are some very simple, basic issues we need to work on, issues\nthat crop up repeatedly in the organizations I visit or consult with. Fixing them is the “no-brainer”\napproach to creativity, but only if you take notice of them in the first place. So please review the\nchecklist you will find in Chapter 2, to ensure that you and your associates aren’t making any of these\ncommonplace errors. It’s not enough to learn creative thinking methods and then employ them; you also\nhave to identify and destroy behaviors that smother creative thinking! (See Chapters 2 and 4.)\n3. A Realistic, Useful Creativity Process\nSometimes it is helpful to follow a “thought map” designed to lead you through the entire creative\nthinking process. There are many such guides in print today, some presented as problem-solving\nmethods and others as creative-process aids. But they don’t really work because they fail to provide any\ninsight into, or instruction on, their core activity: thinking creatively. They just label one of the steps\nsomething like “Generate Ideas” and leave it to you to figure out how to actually carry out the step.\nWorse, some applications make their first step “Define the Problem,” when in truth it’s often devilishly\nhard to achieve enough insight just to realize there is a problem worth thinking about. (See Chapter 3.)\nConsequently, I’ve included a new and better model of the creativity process, one that will help you find\nsubjects for creative thinking and then make real headway on those subjects. All the creative thinking\nmethods in this book can be applied to the process. Basically, if you get stuck on any process step, pick\nthe creativity method applicable to that step and use it to get unstuck (most methods work anywhere,\nbut check my notes in the text). Sounds simple, and it is.\n4. Personal and Group-Facilitation Aids\nI call these useful practices and strategies “the building blocks of creativity,” and they come in many\ndifferent shapes and sizes. You can piece them together to form your own creative process, or tailor\nthem to the specific needs of the training group you’re working with. You can also use them on a\npersonal level, as a way to break uncreative habits in your daily workplace routine. (See Chapter 5.)\n5. Creative Thinking Methods\nThese are the process tools that help you “do” creative thinking. They are similar to brainstorming (the\none tool I think everyone knows), but they work a lot better. I designed all of them, though not from\nscratch and not just for this book. They reflect lots of study and experience, and I’ve seen them produce\ngood results for both individuals and groups. (See Chapter 6 to 12.)\n6. Applied Creativity, Not Games\nOne way in which my methods differ from others out there in the world of creativity consulting is that\nthey are designed for practical application. I focus squarely on real-world subjects, things you need\ncreative ideas about now. Even in training events, I favor rolling up one’s sleeves and getting engaged\nin pressing issues, the questions and problems at hand, since there are so many of them at any time in\nthe average workplace.\nI’ve noticed that most people prefer this direct kind of approach—would rather dig into their actual\nconcerns than do what seem like (and often are) silly training activities. And from what I’ve seen, people\nget much more out of real-world, applied creative thinking than out of puzzles and games. So I now use\nsuch activities only as warm-ups in my consulting and training. Puzzles and games might be fun, sure,\nbut it’s more important for people to increase their creativity by focusing on real-world issues of value to\nthem and their organizations.\n7. Training Transfer Assessment\nWhether you use this book independently for personal education or as part of a training program, you\nwon’t benefit from anything you learn unless you can transfer it to the workplace. The best way to\nensure transferal is to focus this book’s methods on your actual, pressing creativity needs at work. I’ve\nincluded tools that will help you take this important step, that come equipped with a necessary real-\nworld focus. They form my basic contribution to transferal.\nHowever, if transferal is a problem in your workplace, you probably will need extra help. To give you a\nhand, I’ve included an assessment instrument in Chapter 13. Use it to identify the barriers to transferal;\nthen make it your personal project to chip away at them.\n8. New Stuff—Lots of New Stuff\nEvery one of the above “deliverables” is itself novel and creative, reflecting my conviction that there is\nno point reiterating tired wisdom on a topic, especially if the topic is creativity. I’ve rethought almost\nevery aspect of creativity, and I can honestly say that this book is radically different from anything that’s\npreviously appeared on the topic, even my own work.\nWhich means that if this is your first book on creativity, you should find it intuitive, clear, and powerful,\nand you should feel empowered to dig right in and start thinking creatively at work (and at home) right\naway. And if this is a repeat visit to the topic, you should also see immediate benefits as you discover\nnew and better tools and techniques for creative thinking.\n9. My Own Creative Thinking\nI really hate books that tell you what to do instead of showing you. Mastery of a skill should be a\nrequirement for teaching it; yet in creativity training sessions and books, mastery of creative thinking is\nrarely shown. I think I know why: such thinking is loose and uninhibited, and thus can be embarrassing if\ntaken out of context.\nWe are all far more willing to publicize the carefully developed end-result of a creative thought process\nthan to demonstrate the process itself. But in the real world, people learn creative thinking best when it\nis modeled for them. So the mix needs to be weighted far more to-ward the showing than the telling.\nIn writing this book, I set aside my fears of embarrassment and shared many of my own thought\nprocesses, including examples based on my personal mental maps and scripts. Some of the ideas I\noffer may be absurd, but in creative thinking you frequently have to generate lots of out-there ideas to\nfind any gems (for example, NEC Corporation’s New Ventures program evaluates 55 employee ideas\nfor each one it funds). I’ve never written as potentially embarrassing a book as the one you’re reading\nright now, but then again, I’ve never written a book as useful to my readers either.\nWell, that concludes the quick preview of what you can expect to find in the guidebook. Now read Part\nOne, which explains the fundamentals of creative thinking, or, if you are in a hurry for a creative\nsolution, simply thumb through the book, pick a method that’s likely to work, and then try it. And as\nYoda, from the Star Wars movies, might say were he in charge of developing a creativity curriculum:\nMay the force of creativity be with you!\n(Hmm . . . I wonder what a Star Wars creativity course would be like. Maybe that should be my next\nproject. Nah, forget it, I must be nuts. But it’s always worth considering a new idea, no matter how silly,\n\nChapter 1: Assessing Personal Creativity\nI tend to be a contrarian, and so I guess it shouldn’t surprise me to find that my view of creativity is just\nabout the opposite of the one that dominates in corporate training and consulting today. My view is that\ncreativity is an individual sport at heart, not a team sport. Sure, it is often necessary, and sometimes\neven helpful, to work on creative projects with teams or other groups. But even when a group is\nconvened, the bottom line is that ideas have to come from the fertile imaginations of individual group\nmembers. If you don’t have at least one “idea person” in the group, it will fail. And so my approach to\ncreativity is individualistic—I’m convinced the key is to increase the level of creativity of the individuals in\nany organization.\nYet many consultants and trainers seem to focus on group processes as the key to creativity. That’s all\nwell and good, and I agree that group processes can be run in ways that maximize individual creativity.\nBut it is important to keep in mind that the groups are made up of individuals—individuals who are more\nor less creative, depending upon their training, preparation, and other factors such as their work\nenvironment and whether their supervisors encourage or stifle their creativity.\nIndividuals—more or less creative individuals. That’s the key to corporate creativity. And in most\norganizations, individuals are less creative rather than more. They are certainly less creative than they\ncould be, and less creative than they need to be if their employers are to thrive in a turbulent,\nchallenging business environment.\n\nChapter 1: Assessing Personal Creativity\nany organization.\nenvironment and whether their supervisors encourage or stifle their creativity.\nchallenging business environment.\nTo me, this greenhouse represents the imagination of most individuals in the workplace. Unless you\nhappen to work in a creative profession, you probably haven’t cultivated this greenhouse for many\nyears. And yet it is still there, and the door is ajar. In a sense, the goal of this book is to bring this\ngreenhouse back to life.\nTo extend the metaphor a little further, it is also interesting to think about how someone might cultivate\nthe greenhouse garden. With a neat planting of one species, everything in well-weeded rows? That\nimage is often the first one to spring to people’s minds, but it isn’t a particularly helpful one. For in this\ngreenhouse, the plants represent ideas, and a row of identical ideas is of no value to someone who\nseeks creativity.\nInstead, the gardener needs to encourage those eager weeds and vines to enter the door and take up\nresidence. A rich, diverse, tangled growth of ideas is just the thing for this greenhouse! And if you\ncultivate it well, giving your ideas the nutrients they need, and sheltering them from the harmful\nextremes of the environment outside, then your greenhouse will sustain a riotous growth of ideas, ready\nfor harvesting whenever you need them.\nBut how well does your garden of ideas grow right now? Is it a repetitive row of commonplace thoughts,\nor, even worse, a barren bed of dusty soil? Does your greenhouse provide enough protection from the\nharsh extremes of your work environment to allow ideas to mature? Do you water and seed the garden\nwith sufficient attention and care?\nSuch questions are highly provocative—that’s the beauty of a rich visual metaphor. But they need to be\ntranslated into hard-nosed, fact-based information if we are to act upon them. So now I’d like to switch\ngears again, setting this greenhouse metaphor aside in order to show you how to make a practical\nassessment of the current state of your own, individual creativity.\n\nAssessing Your Creativity\nThe Question: Are You Creative?\nMost people read the above question as “Are you an inherently creative person, an artist by\ntemperament, full to overflowing with fresh, imaginative, zany ideas?” Please don’t read it that way.\nThe problem is, most of us think this question addresses the presence or absence of some rare gift—a\ngift that is far more common among artists than people in the average workplace. Not so!\nWhen I ask you if you are creative, I am simply asking something about your behavior. Do you behave\nin ways that are creative, ways that can lead you to generate many fresh ideas, to offer those ideas to\nothers, and to apply them in the context of work? If so, then you’re creative. If not, then you aren’t, even\nif you think you have a naturally creative temperament.\nRemember, anyone can be creative. It’s just a natural set of behaviors we can all engage in. So please\nread my opening question as you would the question “Are you a parent?” If your answer is no today,\nyou can still be a parent someday in the future. We all have within us the essential abilities we need to\ntake on a parental role. Similarly, we all have the essence of creativity within us. We’re talking about\nbasic, core behaviors, things that are part of what makes us human. It’s not rocket science. It’s just\nSo, let’s start again. Are you creative?\nI hope your initial, pat answer (whether yes or no) has now been replaced by a thoughtful “Hmm. Let me\nthink about it.” Because that is a much more useful response. And now I’m going to show you an even\nbetter way to think about that question and your response to it.\nPersonal Barriers and Enablers\nThe extent to which any individual behaves creatively is a direct result of two factors:\n1. Personal barriers to creativity\n2. Personal enablers of creativity\nTherefore, a great way to assess anyone’s creativity is to ask a bunch of questions that help the person\nidentify his or her barriers and enablers.\nIn the average workplace, employees tend to be blocked from creativity by a variety of personal barriers.\nThey also tend to have few personal enablers. Combine the two conditions, and you have a creativity\ndeficit. (If you’re thinking “Not me,” or “Not in my organization,” think again, because I come across this\nproblem in nearly every organization I visit as a consultant, trainer, and author.) The purpose of this\nguidebook is to help you, as an individual worker or as a manager or trainer of other workers, to reduce\nthe creativity deficit in your workplace. And a great place to start is by assessing the barriers and\nenablers affecting you and those around you. I’ve come up with a useful tool designed to help you do\njust that: the Personal Creativity Assessment.\nAbout the Assessment Questions\nBefore you move on to the assessment, let me provide you with a brief explanation of my approach to\nthis tool and others in the guidebook.\nI develop commercial assessments and surveys for the Human Interactions Assessment & Management\nline of products, which is marketed to corporate trainers by HRD Press. Many of those products contain\ncarefully validated questions that, to prevent biased responses, are written and organized in such a way\nthat users cannot guess what we are measuring. But a less formal, more informative style of\nassessment sometimes works out better, particularly when assessments are designed for educational\nuse, like the ones in this book are.\nIn such cases, I like to lay all my cards on the table. You will thus find that this assessment, like others\nin the guidebook, makes very clear what each question is about. For example, questions about personal\nbarriers to creativity are labeled as such rather than mixed with other questions; each question is clearly\nlabeled so you know what factor it measures; and each question is worded to inform rather than\nmislead, so you can also use the assessment as a checklist when working on creativity issues. This\napproach may not be as scientific as others, but given our special purposes here, it is more helpful and\nThe Personal Creativity Assessment\n\nInstructions: Simply check off all the statements that apply to you; then refer to the interpretation\nguides that follow the checklists. Later, you will be given a creativity matrix on which to plot your\nassessment results.\nKnowledge. I am aware of many practical techniques for generating ideas.\nLocus of control. I am empowered to be creative by a sense of control over my personal\ncircumstances and fate when at work.\nConfidence. I am confident of my ability to produce valuable new ideas and solutions.\nOpen-mindedness. I am drawn to new perspectives, even when they clash with my assumptions\nor values.\nExperience. I have often benefited from my own and others’ creativity in past work experiences.\nRole models. There are a number of people in my workplace who have succeeded in part because\nof their high level of creativity.\nLeadership support. My leaders (including supervisors and managers) encourage creativity.\nLeadership openness. My leaders are open to input and enjoy listening to my ideas.\nRewards. People who exhibit creativity in my workplace are rewarded for their efforts\nTraining. We receive plenty of good training to help us be more creative.\nEmotional resiliency. I feel secure enough in my workplace to handle the risks of creativity.\nDiverse inputs. My work and hobbies expose me to a wide variety of ideas and practices.\nIndependence. I am viewed as an independent thinker by my peers.\nLack of attachment. I am not attached to specific ideas or theories; I like exploring many\nPlayfulness. I like “fooling around” with ideas, and find creative thinking and problem-solving\nactivities fun.\nPersistence. Once I get thinking about a problem, I don’t set it completely aside until I’ve solved\nit—even if it takes many weeks.\nEmpathy. I am good at sensing what others think and feel, and this skill helps me pick up or add to\nthe good ideas of my associates.\nSelf-perception. I see myself as a creative person.\nInventiveness. I like to invent new products and devices.\nBoundary-breaking. I often come up with fresh ideas by making connections between unrelated\nthings or unrelated activities.\nInterpretation Guide—Personal Enablers\nAdd up the check marks to see the number of personal enablers you have right now. The more you have,\nthe more likely you are to be successfully creative at work. If you checked 11 or more statements, then\nyou can classify yourself as having a high level of enablers.\nAcceptance. I tend to take a “don’t rock the boat” attitude instead of challenging the status quo.\nLow self-evaluation of work. I don’t think the work I do in my job is particularly valuable or\nworthwhile in the grand scheme of things.\nLack of skill diversity. My work requires a specific, narrow set of skills.\nLimited chances for skill development. My work does not give me many opportunities to develop\nnew skills.\nNo challenges. My work does not challenge me.\nNo sense of personal responsibility. I don’t feel personally responsible for the results of my work\nbecause it’s hard to see how my own contributions affect overall performance.\nLimited size of solution sets. We are encouraged to solve problems in certain ways, rather than\nto explore unconventional approaches.\nNo role models. Most of the time, my supervisors do not act or think like creative people.\nNarrow-minded peer acceptance. My work associates are not open to new or wild ideas.\nSanctions. People who spend too much time on creative thinking are labeled as trouble-makers or\naccused of being lazy.\nFears. I don’t like to contribute too many ideas, because if people think you’re a trouble-maker,\nthings will go badly for you in the long run.\nPersonal narrow-mindedness. I guess I’m fairly set in my ways. My feeling is, “If it ain’t broke,\ndon’t fix it.”\nBipolar thinking. I generally prefer to look at two alternatives—that’s why I often find myself\nthinking in in terms of “either/or” solutions.\nOverconfidence. At work, we’re pretty certain that our approach is the right one—maybe so certain\nthat we don’t always examine alternatives as well as we could.\nTime pressures. There is so much pressure to finish one thing and get to the next that I rarely\nhave time to take a thoughtful, lengthy approach to a problem.\nProcedure constraints. I have some ideas about how to do things better, but I don’t bring them up\nbecause they would violate our policies and procedures.\nRed tape. There isn’t much point in contributing creative ideas, because they will just get lost in the\nClose-minded leaders. My leaders (supervisors, managers) are not very open to new ideas. They\ntend to react defensively.\nGroup-process constraints. I’d like to do more creative thinking, but there isn’t much opportunity\nfor it in the way we run our meetings and projects.\nConformance pressure. If you don’t look and act the “right” way, you can’t succeed in my\nInterpretation Guide—Personal Barriers\nAdd up the check marks to see the number of personal barriers you have right now. Less is more for this\nscale, as the fewer barriers you have, the more likely you are to be successfully creative at work. If you\nchecked 11 or more statements, then you can classify yourself as facing a high level of barriers in your\njob. Any barrier is a potential problem, though; so the best scores are in the 0-to-3 range.\n\nOverall Interpretation of the Assessment\nOnce again, are you creative? And are your associates or employees creative? Now that you are\nfamiliar with the assessment tool, you have a powerful, detailed approach to answering these questions.\nFor starters, you can readily classify yourself or others according to the levels of enablers and barriers\nrevealed by the assessment. Then you can focus on details by identifying which barriers are present\n(these become targets for removal) and which enablers are not (these become targets for inclusion in\nthe workplace over the coming weeks and months).\nBut don’t forget the simplest answer to both these questions—which, for just about everyone, is “Sort\nof.” That is, based on this assessment, we all tend to be “sort of creative.” It’s not a straightforward yes\nor no answer, because nobody can check all the enablers and leave all the barriers blank, or vice versa.\nAnd that means—if you are an optimist—that everyone who completes the assessment can answer yes\nto some extent when asked “Are you creative?”\nNow keep your “optimist hat” on for another moment (metaphors are a building block of creativity, so I\nuse them as often as possible). If, considering the assessment results, you view the “creativity glass” as\nhalf full (yes, that’s another metaphor, I know), then you can’t help but regard what’s in the glass as a\nvaluable resource, something rich and deeply satisfying just waiting to be consumed. And so you also\nshould consider the simple approach of building on existing enablers—both your own and those of\nTake another look at your responses to the “Personal Enablers” section of the assessment (and don’t\nforget to look again at your employees’ or trainees’ responses if you handed out the tool). Each check\nmark represents a wonderful resource, a little spark of creativity you can grow into a flame simply by\nexposing it to the air (love those metaphors).\nFor example, if you have positive role models for creative behavior, you can use them to encourage\ncreative behavior in yourself and others. All you have to do is give them the charge of modeling creative\nbehavior and then make sure work schedules expose others to them in creative problem-solving\ncontexts. For instance, this might be as simple as “planting” creative people in new quality improvement\nteams for short periods of time.\nAlways keep in mind that each enabler offers you a powerful lever for stimulating creative behavior and\novercoming the barriers to creativity (to restate a key point by using a new metaphor).\nThe Personal Creativity Matrix\nYou can also visualize anyone’s workplace creativity by plotting the results of the assessment on the\nPersonal Creativity Matrix. It isn’t difficult—simply use the number of check marks in each category\n(enablers and barriers) to find your position on the categories’ numeric lines (0 to 20). Move into the\nmatrix from those two points until you reach the point of intersection. You’ll end up in one of the four\nmatrix cells and get a clear idea of where you stand in relation to creativity. (Note that trainers or\nmanagers who have given the assessment tool to a group can also use the matrix to plot the average\nscore of the group.)\n\nExhibit 2: Personal Creativity Matrix (Reproduced by permission of Alexander Hiam & Associates,\nAmherst, Massachusetts.)\nLet’s say you plot your scores and find you aren’t in the most desirable portion of the matrix—the upper\nright-hand cell, where high-quality creative thought is easily attainable at work. Don’t despair! Very few\nof the factors we measured in the assessment are immutable—perhaps none are (psychologists have\ndebated the durability of such personality variables). So you can take steps to improve the scores, for\nyourself or anyone you supervise or train. It is quite feasible to boost the strength and number of\npersonal enablers. And it is also perfectly feasible to reduce the barriers to creativity.\nFor many of us, simply having this list of our enablers and barriers helps us begin to take control over\nthem! So please view your creativity profile as a work in progress. Assume you will move “up and out”\nover time.\nProtecting Personal Creativity in the Workplace\nAnother absolutely vital caveat: the profiles are only part of the creativity equation. They concern natural\ntendencies—how easily and often we think and act creatively. But such tendencies can be undermined,\nby us or others, through uncreative actions or processes—things that destroy the fragile growth within\nour creativity greenhouse. In Chapters 2 and 4, I examine the all-too-common ways in which our\ncreativity can be smothered by organizational culture and rituals, inappropriate supervisory styles, and\nour own bad habits\n\nChapter 2: Uncreative Habits—Nine Ways We Close Off\nLet’s be brutally honest. It’s easy to blow creativity big time by making simple errors that stifle creativity\nor allow the fruits of creative thinking to spoil on the tree. And most people do. Yet much of the advice\nyou get on creativity is so sophisticated that it fails to address these commonplace errors. For instance,\nthe details of how to run a group brainstorming process are, in truth, of little consequence if you hardly\never brainstorm in the first place.\nI’m often asked to come into an organization as a consultant or trainer to help people “get out of the\nbox” and find new solutions. Whether it’s new product concepts, new business strategies, or new ways\nto cut errors or improve employee performance, I am usually surprised to find I can suggest many novel\napproaches. Surprised because, when you come right down to it, I’m not necessarily smarter than my\nclients, and I rarely know their industry as well as they do. So why do I see all sorts of alternatives they\ndon’t? Because they are failing to “do” creativity in the first place. They are making some of those\nobvious errors that trap you in routine thinking and close off creative avenues—even creative avenues\nthat seem fairly obvious to most outsiders.\nI’m not the only one who feels this way. I often talk to employees who know precisely what their\norganization’s problems are, and how to solve them, but find their senior managers are quite unable to\nsee the obvious. And customers often offer brilliant insights when given half a chance—brilliant to\nmanagement, but painfully obvious to customers!\nThese sorts of experiences have led me to believe that a foundational attack on the corporate creativity\nproblem is sometimes more valuable than the sophisticated “upper story” approaches taken by most\nexperts. As a result, I have gradually compiled a list of the most common “no-brainer” errors, things that\nroutinely block creativity in organizations, and for many of us as individuals as well. The resulting list\nmight be called “Creativity for Dummies,” except the reality is, we all make these dumb mistakes, and\nfar too often. They are embedded in our organizational cultures and in our individual training as students\nand employees. They may even have some value under circumstances in which creativity is not\nrequired. But the vast majority of us live and work in circumstances that demand creativity, and so we all\nneed to jettison these bad habits. Now.\nThe Nine Bad Habits\n1. Failure to Ask Questions\nCreativity requires an inquisitive mind. Fresh, creative thoughts don’t grow in the dry soil of mindless\nacceptance. Yet it is easy to go through one’s day without calling anything important into question. If we\nwould only deliberate on business decisions as carefully as we do on what to order from a restaurant\nmenu, we would effortlessly become far more creative.\nUnless you ask lots of why questions, you won’t generate creative insights. Period. To avoid this most\ncommon of creativity errors, be sure to peek under all the carpets, including your own. Don’t take\nanything for granted. Especially success.\nTo put this principle into action, we need to get in the good habit of asking ourselves and those around\nus to question more things, more often. If you aren’t sure how to do this, just spend a little time with a\nfour-year-old. Children around this age not only question you relentlessly (why is the sky blue,\nanyway?), but also question their environment by constantly manipulating it (what happens if you try to\nstack these blocks really high? Oh, they fall down. Hmm. Wonder what happens if they fall on Dad’s\ncoffee mug. Cool, it breaks!). Or if you haven’t got anyone in that age group handy, try watching a\nteenager explore a new software program. Kids at this age do the same thing: “poke” something every\nway they can to find out how it works. And in the process, they surface many relationships that adults\nwouldn’t discover unless equipped with a user’s manual.\nWhen was the last time you “poked” your own work processes in the same way a kid does a new\ncomputer game? Hard to remember, isn’t it? That means you’re not asking those loosely defined,\nimpulsive questions that so often give birth to creative insight.\nDon’t feel bad—you’re not alone. The failure to ask questions is a widespread social phenomenon; in\nfact, most of our social institutions seem designed to limit, if not outright discourage, creative enquiry.\nAnd many of the processes used in organizations are just as bad, if not worse. Take the typical staff\nmeeting, the most blatant example of an uncreative process.\nAt every staff meeting I attend or see transcripts of, its leader unwittingly fails to ask for creative\nideas, even at the most opportune points. A formal, professional atmosphere is combined with a\nstructured conversation path or meeting agenda to keep people “on track,” or “focused.” Great. I too\nhate meetings that drag on and on. But I also hate meetings in which no freewheeling occurs. Why meet\nin the first place if you don’t take advantage of the group’s unique creative potential? One person’s\nquestion or comment can easily stimulate another’s imagination—if you ask for imaginative thinking.\nThus no business meeting should reach its end without the leader asking for creative ideas. (We’ll return\nto this topic later, in Chapter 4, and take a further look at encouraging creativity in meetings.)\nSo now that you’re aware of this uncreative habit, you can start rattling its chains. Try looking at the\nworld through more inquisitive eyes; try getting ideas in motion; try asking the all-important question:\n“Why?” See what happens!\n2. Failure to Record Ideas\nOh boy, this is a really big one. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve worked through some horribly\ncomplex problem-solving process with a client, finally come up with a solution that works, and then\nheard somebody say, “Hey, now that you mention it, didn’t we look at that alternative a few years ago?”\nGreat. Then why did it take a crisis and a major two-month team effort to regenerate the idea? Because\nnobody had recorded it in a usable form.\nI recently attended a new-product ideation retreat with an employee group from a large, mature\nconsumer-products company. The event was part of a long, costly effort to find a dozen concepts worthy\nof test marketing—a goal that required generating hundreds of ideas. During a break, one company\nveteran told me, “As I listen to all these new ideas, I keep hearing things that we’ve already considered\nat one time or another. We’ve had so many people working on product development for so many\ndecades that there actually are no new ideas.” I took that as a personal challenge, of course, and made\nsure the final report included plenty of surprises for him. But I also felt a pang of regret. Undoubtedly,\nthousands of good ideas had been developed over the course of that company’s history, some going on\nto formal testing, some introduced to the market, but most—probably more than 90 percent—simply\nSo what? Maybe they weren’t good ideas. But in the world of creativity, there’s no such thing as a bad\nidea. Ideas are like building blocks: the more and varied your blocks, the more things you can make;\nand you don’t toss out the blocks you haven’t used today—you never know what you’ll want or need to\nbuild tomorrow. This company (like many others) has wasted its most valuable asset by throwing out the\n“unused blocks.” If someone had only kept a simple index-card file of each and every idea over the\nyears, the ideation sessions would have been more efficient and maybe more productive.\nThis is an important practice for the individual as well as for the organization. I don’t keep a formal\njournal because I have trouble maintaining it on a daily basis (you can try this approach, though, and\nsee if it works for you); I find it much simpler to keep an informal log or file of ideas. You can do so in a\nnumber of ways:\nRecord the ideas in a notebook or journal; on sheets or scraps of paper (just label a folder “Ideas”\nand the scraps will tend to find their way into it); in the margins of the books and reports you read;\nor in electronic files (how about an idea database?).\nUse pocket message recorders: log ideas on these handy audio devices for recording “to do”\nitems; then write down the ideas later.\nLeave yourself voice-mail. I often call my office at night and leave idea messages so I don’t have\nto worry about forgetting them overnight.\nUse E-mail. You can create an idea address and send yourself ideas—as well as scoot others’\nidea-oriented E-mail into that file. Periodically, you can move the ideas into long-term storage,\neither on disk or on printouts of your idea file.\nOf course, you can come up with your own approach to capturing ideas—something new and creative!\nThe point is, countless ideas occur to you each month but a high percentage of them are lost. If you just\ndouble the number you save, your raw material for any thinking job will be enriched by 100 percent.\n(And don’t worry about formally organizing your idea database. Random selections from it are often the\nmost inspiring!)\n3. Failure to Revisit Ideas\nWhether you keep a formal record of ideas or not, you leave behind, in the wake of your daily work,\nmany ideas and assumptions. As the path is rarely straight, you often recross your wake. But do you\nnotice what’s there or (heaven forbid!) learn from it? That’s much easier said than done.\nOne way to revisit old ideas is to schedule yourself a little time for rambling through the debris of past\nprojects. Every month or two, give yourself an hour to dig out old reports, peek into old working files,\nand leaf through old appointment books—whatever is necessary to resurface old ideas and bring into\nfocus the context of prior decisions.\nWhen revisiting ideas, you want to do two things:\n1. Give old ideas a second chance.\n2. Make yourself more aware of old assumptions.\nI know it may sound confusing to divide revisiting into two separate areas—ideas and assumptions. But\nthese areas have a distinct relationship to each other, for we can think of ideas as the opposites of\nassumptions. What do I mean? Let me explain.\nIdeas represent activity: to generate them, we have to focus attention on something, think hard about it,\nget the mental gears in motion. Assumptions, on the other hand, represent passivity: we don’t really\ngenerate assumptions so much as fall (or ease) into them, choosing not to think, whether we’re\nconscious of making that choice or not. So either we think hard about something, coming up with ideas\nand insights, or we don’t—and when we don’t, we’ve entered the area of assumptions.\nWhen revisiting, you often find that assumptions are more striking than ideas. You may see places\nwhere opportunities for improvement have been oddly over-looked or underdeveloped; where the\nvalidity or reliability of something—a process step, a planning tool, a vendor’s practices—is more trusted\nthan proved; where good, hard questions have been raised one day, only to be disregarded and\nshelved the next; where individuals have simply—and dangerously—based decisions on suppositions.\nAnd if you scrutinize these places, you’ll notice how assumptions tend to build a “comfort zone” around\nus, how they give us permission to keep avoiding thought and creative alternatives to the status quo.\nMost organizations have powerful social mechanisms working against revisiting. Executives don’t want\ntheir past decisions questioned. Team leaders and supervisors don’t want to put back on the agenda an\nitem they managed to get off it last month. And employees inevitably resist the feeling of backward\nmotion that a reexamination of ideas brings with it. Add to that the danger of someone using revisiting\nas an excuse for playing the “blame game,” and you may find that revisiting causes a level of anxiety\nthat hinders productivity.\nIn such a case, you have to sell the idea of revisiting from the top down before it can be practiced\nsuccessfully “in the ranks” of an organization. That’s a lengthy process, as is any that requires a change\nof habit by top managers. But in the meantime, you can certainly begin to practice revisitation on your\nown. Like other creativity practices, this can be done alone or in groups. And if enough people become\n“closet creators” in a company, then organizational change is sure to follow.\n4. Failure to Express Ideas\nIf you have an idea—any idea—you should express it right away. Tell it to yourself if you are alone; tell it\nto others if you are in a group.\nThat sounds like a simple, even obvious principle, but it is rarely followed. Most ideas are “nipped in the\nbud” by our automatic self-censorship. We never give them enough thought to figure out if they’re\nworthwhile; nor do we share them with others. Stray ideas are treated like weeds—minor irritants to be\nuprooted as quickly as possible. An orderly mind has few weeds. In fact, it has little in it at all. An orderly\nmind is not creative. If you want creativity, you must attend to those weeds and treat each one as a\npotentially valuable new crop.\nThe weed analogy has an especially rich meaning for me. It brings to mind how my daughter, when she\nwas four, would grill me with questions as she helped me tend our garden. She just couldn’t figure out\nwhat weeds were and why they should be pulled out. “Is this a weed?” she’d ask. “What about this?\nWhy is this a weed, but not that?” And so on, relentlessly. Finally I had to admit an essential truth about\nthe “weeds” category: it has no botanical significance—there is no such thing as a weed from a scientific\nperspective. A weed is really just a plant you don’t want growing in a particular place. The vegetable\ngarden’s weed may be the wildflower garden’s specialty. No wonder my daughter found the category\nendlessly puzzling!\nThe same is true of ideas. We dismiss many as weeds on the assumption that they’re not worth growing\nin our mental garden. But in doing that, we miss many potentially useful thoughts. Some mental gardens\nyield no crop of lasting value except the weeds—if the owners had the foresight to attend to them. And\none very good way to attend to them is by expressing them.\nWrite down the stray thought, the “weed idea.” Say it. Get it out of your head and into the realm of\ncommunication. That gives you the opportunity to consider it more carefully and fully—maybe to find a\npractical use for it as well. And it gives the thought a chance to grow and develop, possibly into more\nand valuable ideas.\nIf you get in the habit of expressing your weed ideas, you’ll be surprised how easily they seed other\npeople’s imaginations. It just takes one person to get everyone in an office thinking, perhaps because\nthey figure out that the person is having more fun than they are, and that they can easily join the game\nby paying more attention to their own ideas.\nExercise: Generating and Capturing Ideas\nGet a pencil and some paper, and sit down someplace comfortable. Set a time limit for yourself, at\nleast five minutes.\nStart writing a running monologue of your thoughts. Any thoughts. The goal is quantity, not quality.\nKeep writing until your time is up.\nCalculate the number of ideas generated per minute. First, add up all the ideas you wrote; each\nchange in topic or new angle on a topic represents one idea. Second, divide the sum by the number\nof minutes you took to write the ideas.\nRecord the calculation in your appointment book (where you won’t lose it), and shred, rip up, or\notherwise destroy the paper on which you wrote the ideas.\nIf you find it difficult to “hear” and express your weed ideas, try the exercise above. Your goal is to\ngenerate as many ideas as possible and to capture them in writing. By doing this exercise regularly,\ntrying to increase your idea count each time, you’ll gain creative strength.\nIt’s important that you complete every step each time you repeat the exercise. A word about two of the\nDestroying your work. This may seem an odd instruction, particularly in light of my discussion\nabout the importance of saving ideas. But here we’re focusing on the random workings of the\nmind—the ultimate source of raw ideas. They could embarrass you or set off a chain of\nmisunderstandings should a boss or a spouse come across them. They’re intended for your eyes\nonly, so don’t leave them around where others might see them.\nAlso, you won’t benefit from the exercise if you let yourself become attached to what you write. It’s\nnot art. Your ego isn’t on the line. You’re just pumping ions; you only do it for the mental exercise.\nYou don’t save the sweat from a physical workout, and you don’t save your notes from a mental\nCounting and recording the number of ideas you generated. This is important for one reason. That\ncount has a fancy name—it’s called “idea density.” The higher the count, the denser your ideas—\nand the closer you come to the overall goal of gaining creative strength. Logging the count each\ntime you do the exercise gives you as good a record of your progress as a weight chart does if you\nare on diet. When you’ve doubled your idea density, you’ve likely gotten as much as you can from\nthe exercise.\n5. Failure to Think in New Ways\nYou don’t get out of the box by doing what you’ve always done. If you usually sit down and write a list of\npros and cons before adopting an alternative, then you have to try a new thinking strategy to come up\nwith anything creative. Jettison that pro/con analysis as quickly as possible. But if you never use a\npro/con analysis, then by all means give it a try. I include a variety of structured creative thinking\nprocesses later in this book, but in truth, almost any approach will produce increased creativity—so long\nas it’s different.\nVisual thinking is usually a good choice, as most people in business don’t tackle a creative task visually.\nSo if you can’t think of any other way to vary your thinking, try this approach. Draw a diagram or picture\nof the problem you’re working on. Or think up visual analogies by asking yourself to name ten things the\nproblem looks like. Then seek ways of generating fresh perspectives by analyzing these images (for\nexample, why does the problem look like that thing?).\nThe point is that such thought patterns are novel, and so bring you quickly onto unfamiliar territory. And\nthey draw much of their power from their novelty. So be creative about how you think about creativity\n(hmm, did you follow that one?). Try new and different strategies, and encourage others to do so as\nOne corollary of this last bit of advice is that it pays to discuss not just what you think but how you think.\nIn any project team, office, or conference room, there are people who think in radically different ways. If\nyou ask people how they think through a problem or issue, you may stumble upon a new approach for\ngenerating fresh ideas. You can even formalize the process by running an idea-generation session. Ask\npeople to take turns sharing their approach to the task and leading the group through the thought\nprocess they favor. That way, everyone gets a chance to try thinking about the topic in many different\nways—and everyone is forced to articulate their mental strategies, which helps make them more\nconscious of how they think and thus better able to take control of their thought processes.\n6. Failure to Wish for More\nIf you’re content with the current state of things, you won’t feel that creative itch. Creativity is nurtured by\noptimistic speculation: “Wonder if we could solve that problem”; “Wish there was some way to do that.”\nAnd so the failure to wish for more—for the currently unattainable—is a common way to mess up\nInventors, it seems to me, are like ordinary people in all respects but one: they always wish there were a\nbetter way. When they tie their shoes, they wish they didn’t have to tie them. And so they think of using\nbuckles, snaps, elastic, or Velcro. When they cook dinner, they wish there were some way to avoid\nscrubbing the sauce- pans, and so they develop Teflon-coated pans. When they return to the office and\nlisten to their voice-mail, they wish there were some way they could avoid missing important messages.\nAnd so they develop pagers. All such innovations arise from the wish to improve upon the status quo.\nYet it is far too easy for us as employees to fall into the deadening routines of our busy work lives and to\nslowly lose that knack of wishful thinking. It seems that life is lived at too fast a pace for any such habits\nto persist unless we recognize their value and make a special practice of them. And most of us don’t\nstop to think that wishful thinking is in fact a very valuable thing.\n7. Failure to Try Being Creative\nI also encounter a great many people who feel they’re not creative and therefore don’t try to be. Well,\nit’s this simple: you’re creative if you engage in creative thinking, and you aren’t if you don’t. So failure to\ntry is the quickest way to derail your creativity. Fortunately, a little effort is the easiest way to get it back\non track.\nI don’t think I need to belabor this point. Anyone who’s gotten this far in the book is clearly willing to\nmake a commitment to creative thinking. Just remember, it is far more important to do it than to read\nabout it. I won’t be insulted if you toss this book aside and grab a pen and a blank sheet of paper. The\nsooner you start generating some creative ideas, the better!\n8. Failure to Keep Trying\nWhat, back with me so soon? Did you already fill up that sheet of paper with brilliant ideas? Probably\nnot. Nothing personal, it’s just that most of us don’t generate brilliant, “breakthrough” ideas when we first\nsit down to do creative thinking. In fact, it’s easy to generate dozens of ideas and find that all are\nWhile it is easy to stimulate creative thought in yourself and others, there is absolutely no guarantee that\nit will be productive in any practical sense. It often isn’t, at least not at first. And so we tend to abandon\ncreative lines of thought prematurely, discouraged by their lack of fruitfulness. But that is a big\nmistake—another way in which we all mess up creativity from time to time.\nI find in my client work that no group can reliably produce valuable, profitable concepts unless they\ngenerate ideas in the hundreds. And in my personal life, I’m often startled by the number of times I have\nto revisit a topic before hitting on that breakthrough idea I need. Creativity sometimes requires a great\ndeal of heat to produce any light.\nIf you know this before you start, you won’t be discouraged by initial failure. You’ll have faith in the\ncreative process and keep working at creative thinking until you get something useful for your trouble. It\nmight take a minute or a hundred hours to achieve the kind of breakthrough you need—but either way,\nyou can do it.\nI feel like I’m giving a pep talk here, and I guess I am; but I’ve seen the syndrome too many times.\nPeople think they’re “stuck” when they’ve invested only a few minutes of thought in a problem. And\norganizations often accept the alternatives on the table after investing only a few meetings or work\nsessions in them. Yet this is the easiest mistake to avoid. All you have to do is try doubling or tripling\nyour thinking time and see what happens. If you get good results, then increase your thinking time\nagain: the results will get even better.\nThe more familiar you become with the process of creative thinking, the better you’ll get at estimating\nthe time required to complete specific “thinking tasks.” You’ll have more realistic expectations, and so be\nless apt to abandon such tasks prematurely. To start you off with a guideline, I suggest budgeting at\nleast five hours for a major thinking task.\nYou must also, with any thinking task, give yourself time for incubation: the idea development that\noccurs when you “sit on a problem” for a while. Incubation is an important, not to mention amazing, part\nof creative thinking, for in relaxing your focus on a problem you create the conditions needed for fresh\nperspectives on the problem to develop.\nThe secret to incubating ideas is making sure to revisit the problem—and often. You have to keep\nworking at it, renewing your focus and reintensifying your efforts with each return visit. This is vital\nbecause when you let the problem fall out of focus, you must not lose touch with it—you should always\nhave a low-level aware- of it, be able to “feel” its presence in your mind. And that only happens if you\nput significant mental energy into the problem beforehand—if you keep trying to solve it, if you revisit\nand revisit again. Just toying with a problem is a superficial activity: nothing sinks into your mind, so\nwhen you set the problem aside, there’s nothing to incubate!\nIn creativity, effort counts. Thomas Edison had a reason for saying “Genius is 1 percent inspiration and\n99 per-cent perspiration”: as an inventor, he knew it was the plain truth. So break the bad habit of\nthinking there are shortcuts to breakthrough ideas. Keep trying until you finally achieve that “Aha!”\nexperience you’ve been waiting for.\n9. Failure to Tolerate Creative Behavior\nCreative people are a bit weird. Yes, it’s true. And I say this even though I don’t believe in the myth of\nthe creative person, that is, I don’t believe some of us are creative and the rest aren’t. What I’ve found is\nthat when people are being creative, their behavior seems a bit weird to others. And so tolerance of\ncreative behavior—yours and others—is a must if you want to profit from creative thinking.\nI happen to live next door to another business author, Elliott Carlisle, who first got me thinking about this\nproblem of tolerance. He expresses the problem well in the following passage from his 1983 book Mac.\n[I]t’s almost impossible to get any real thinking done at work. Not just because of\ninterruptions, but almost more importantly, the whole psychological and physical\nenvironment in which managers work tends to discourage contemplation and\nencourage activity. The higher the level in an organization, the more critical is the role\nof reflection and the less important that of activity, but so often we’ve become\nconditioned on the way up through the organizational ranks. How many bosses would\ngive a word of encouragement to a subordinate if they were to come upon him sitting at\nhis desk, chair tipped back, foot resting on an open drawer, and staring into space with\nan abstract expression on his face? They’d be far more likely to ask him what the hell\nhe’s doing, and if the unfortunate replied, “Thinking,” he’d probably be advised to stop\nthinking and get back to work. (p. 12)\nYes, most supervisors communicate the “Stop thinking and get back to work” message in many ways\nevery day. If you aren’t visibly producing something tangible, then you’re wasting the company’s money.\nBut ideas by their nature are invisible and intangible. So when and where can the poor employees\nWhen I visit organizations to facilitate creativity processes, I sometimes suspect that this will be the\nonly opportunity most of the attendees will get for focusing fully on creative thinking. Even if my visit is a\ntwo-day affair, I can’t help wondering how the company will get along on only two days of creative\nthinking in an entire year of work.\nIf that’s the case—if creative thinking is reserved for special occasions when you bring in a “creativity\nex- pert” to lead a thinking session—then your organization and its managers are making the tolerance\nerror. And the retreat—that often-used term for those one- or two-day brainstorming sessions—is aptly\nnamed. For it is a brief retreat from an intolerant environment that does not recognize creative thinking\nas a valid employee activity. And the prescription for any environment from which retreat is necessary is\nto begin “doing” creativity at work, right in the face of such intolerance. Organizations cannot profit from\nemployees’ creative potential until their supervisors encourage and ask for creativity instead of\ncensoring it.\n\nTo Recap: The Nine Bad Habits\nDid any of these bad habits ring a bell for you? Start working today to check them off your list of ways\nthat you block creativity.\nFailure to Ask Questions\nFailure to Record Ideas\nFailure to Revisit Ideas\nFailure to Express Ideas\nFailure to Think in New Ways\nFailure to Wish for More\nFailure to Try Being Creative\nFailure to Keep Trying\nFailure to Tolerate Creative Behavior\n\nChapter 3: Understanding the Creative Process\nSome people like formal process models, with their neat 1-2-3 approach to a task. There are, in fact,\nlots of these models in the field of creativity and problem solving. I hate almost all of them. Why?\nBecause they are, every one of them, linear process models. You follow their steps in strict order, one\nafter the other, until you reach the end. At which point you are supposed to have produced a solution,\nas if creative ideas were machines fabricated on a mental conveyor belt.\nForget it! Creative thought does not work that way—not in the least. All these models do is hide, in a\nneatly numbered step, their failure to explain creative thinking. Take the common model that tells us to\n(1) define the problem, (2) gather information, and (3) generate a solution. Sounds logical, right? But\nhow do we generate the solution? Everyone gets stuck at that point because the model has simply put\ncreative thinking in a black box and labeled it “Step 3.” But it’s the key step! What we really need is a\nprocess that enables us to accomplish this step better.\nAnd so my model (see Exhibit 3) is quite different. It involves five basic steps, but, as explained in the\nnext section, the process for completing them is not strictly linear, just as creative thinking is not strictly\nlinear. And it does not “frame” creative thinking in the stiff, rational structure of problem definition,\ninformation gathering, or comparative analysis of options. This a real-world model—one that works\nbecause it describes how effective creative thinkers really do their thinking. Now let’s take a closer look.\n\nThe Creative Thinking Process Model\nStep 1. Recognizing Precipitating Insights\nCreative thinking is precipitated by the sense of possibility we feel when something in our experience\nstrikes us as insufficiently completed, questioned, or expressed. It may be a thing we’re quite familiar\nwith, even a task we do every day: that doesn’t matter. What we perceive suddenly takes on a brighter\nlight, a penetrating one. We glimpse underlying patterns and complexities, get an inkling of the\nuntapped potential there. It’s as if there’s been a power surge in the electric lines, and in a sense, that’s\ntrue: there has been a power surge—in us. Some call it inspiration. I prefer to call it insight, defined in\nmy Merriam-Webster’s as “the power or act of seeing into a situation.”\nPrecipitating insights are highly important because they spark the creative process, signaling that\ncreativity is possible and appropriate in a situation. They give us direction and vision—the hope (and\nsometimes even the conviction) that there’s a better way—which is what we need for the journey of\ncreativity to begin. Even the simplest of insights, such as spotting a similarity between two disparate-\nlooking things, can lead to innovations and solutions, the better way that we had hoped for. However, all\nprecipitating insights must be given recognition and further thought if they are to lead anywhere at all.\nUnfortunately, most of us don’t recognize such insights. We’ll get a little spark about something (“Gee, I\nnever noticed that before”) and then disregard it, neglecting to fan that spark into flames (“Oh well, it\nprobably doesn’t mean anything”). And we do little to encourage insights, when all it takes is keeping\nour eyes open and our minds attuned to possibilities. If we truly look at what’s in front of us and\nsuspend our everyday assumptions about it, the sparks can really fly.\nI’m convinced that most people can greatly increase their creativity, virtually overnight, simply by\nrecognizing the importance of precipitating insights. When you know what you are looking for, you find a\nlot more of it!\nStep 2. Generating Alternatives\nThe second step in the creative process is to start generating alternatives. Alternatives are simply\ndifferent ways of thinking about the topic at hand—whatever topic your precipitating insight led you to.\nYou may immediately get into a problem/solution mode, in which case your alternatives will take the\nform of solutions. But that isn’t always possible or desirable. Instead, you may have to consider the\nnature of the topic or problem itself. In which case your first alternatives are simply different views of\nwhat you are thinking about, what you want to accomplish through the creative process.\nFor example, suppose your topic is an everyday task that, you now realize, takes a lot of your time. You\ncan simply say, “This task is too time-consuming,” and come up with alternative solutions, different ways\nto do the task. Or you can look at the nature of the task and the problem: “What is it about this task that\nrequires so much of my time? Is the real problem the task, or the conditions under which I perform the\ntask? And why am I so concerned about time to begin with?” By asking such questions, you start\ngenerating alternative views of the situation and what you’re trying to accomplish through the creative\nWhatever form your alternatives take, the important thing is to generate lots of them. The natural growth\npath for your precipitating insight is a branching one. Think of this step as the unfolding of a complex\nnew plant in your mental garden, and encourage any and all branches to emerge and grow.\nStep 3. Making Selections\nAlthough we want to generate many alternative ideas and viewpoints, riotous growth will soon\noverwhelm us if we don’t do some judicious pruning. We therefore need to select the alternatives we\nwant to develop and cut back the rest.\nAs your ideas mature, this selection process will generally involve choosing between alternative\nsolutions to a clearly defined problem. But initially the process may focus on something far more\nfundamental: what lines of thought to pursue in the quest for alternative solutions. Only through\nrepeated cycles of growth and pruning will you achieve sufficient maturity of thought to propose and\nselect well-developed options.\nStep 4. Repeating Steps 2 and 3, Again and Again\nHere is where the real-world model of creative thinking gets somewhat messy. One round of generating\nalter-natives and making selections is rarely enough. Expect to return to steps 2 and 3, perhaps many\ntimes, each time seeing the problem in a slightly different light.\nThe selection process, with its judicious pruning, allows you to critically evaluate the ideas that have\ndeveloped from your insight. And with this evaluation comes realizations. Perhaps you overlooked an\ninteresting branch of thought that merits some attention. Or per-haps your initial view of the problem can\nbe redefined, thus transforming the focus of the creative process.\nThe dynamic give-and-take between creative growth of alternatives and critical selection of them is\nabsolutely key to creativity. Only by examining ideas with a critical eye can you see the flaws and\nstrengths in them. And often the flaws in an idea or approach stimulate further insight and lead you to a\nbetter solution.\nIt should be noted that critical thinking is largely discouraged in the canon of creative thought and\npractice. I’ve attended many creative thinking sessions, some of them days long, in which participants\nwere never permitted to voice a critical opinion about someone else’s ideas. That is taking the need for\nsupportive behavior in groups way too far. It undermines the essential dynamic between creation and\nevaluation, the cyclical progression toward valid solutions. In your independent thinking, and in any\ngroup creativity work you do, you need to make time for both generative and selective thinking;\notherwise you cannot complete the creative cycles you need to “grow” your creative thoughts into\nanything mature and resilient enough to use in the real world of business. (Just make sure you don’t\ncriticize people for their ideas—only the ideas themselves!)\nThere is no “solution” step in this process because there is no discrete time when creative thinkers stop\nthinking and define the solution; that’s a deceptive step to put in a process model. What really happens\nis that we keep cycling through alternatives and selections until it just “feels” right or makes sense to\nstop. Sometimes it feels right because our thought processes suddenly burst into bloom, giving us one\nof those wonderful “Aha!” experiences of seeing how everything falls into place. Other times, we slowly\ncome to the realization that we’re receiving diminishing returns on the time and effort we’re investing—\nthat it makes sense to stop and select the best from what we’ve got, and to work with that.\nEither way, the creative process never really ends. You just decide to step out of it and harvest\nwhatever fruit it has borne. In the long run, it is always possible to develop newer and better ideas.\nCreativity and innovation are, by virtue of human nature, ongoing processes, and there is always further\npotential to discover. So any ending to the process is really a pragmatic one, a rational or intuitive\ndecision to switch from the world of thinking to the world of doing. For a while.\nStep 5. Translating Creative Ideas\nOnce you have decided to switch gears from thinking to doing, you must translate your creative ideas\ninto useful products. The expectation, at least in business, is for you to receive profitable returns on your\ninvestment in creative thinking. The products can be many and varied, depending upon your initial\ninsight and the company’s goals and needs. Here are some of the most common forms into which\ncreative ideas are translated.\nProduct Definition\nSolutions Answers to tough decisions or problems\nInnovations New methods or processes\nInspirations Powerful ideas that move or motivate people\nStrategies Ways of accomplishing challenging goals\nCreations Artistic products or performances\nInventions New devices or objects\nProblems Re-definitions of what you are working on\nAdditional Insights Understandings; new views into the hidden nature of things\nSometimes, as the last item suggests, the creative process yields nothing more than the beginning of\nanother creative process. That’s what it means when you say “Aha, I’ve been looking at this all wrong!”\nIn which case, you must repeat the entire process until you come up with another usable product. That’s\nthe way it goes. (Or, as a creative friend of mine says, “Suede goats.”)\nStep 6. Learning from the Process\nAmong the things that puzzle me about standard creativity models is that they don’t have a learning\nloop. Many organizations discovered the value of a formal learning-loop step in process design when\nthey adopted total quality management or process reengineering methods. The point of learning loops is\nto encourage future improvements rather than permit things to re-fossilize at the end of a change\nprocess. In creativity, we also need to foster continued learning and change.\nWhat can you learn from the creativity process? First, you can and should continue to examine the\nsubject of your creative work. Whatever the current solution, whatever you selected when you chose to\nstop cycling between steps 2 and 3, it is not the ultimate solution. Someday you should revisit it and try\nto “grow” a new and better one. So before you end any creativity process, make sure you plan for that\nfuture point. For instance, create a good archive of your ideas so you or others can revisit the thought\nprocesses later on. And make sure somebody gathers information about the new solution, whether\nproduct or process. Do people like it? What are its weak points? Does it ever fail or run into unexpected\nproblems? How does it measure against our projections for its performance? Such questions are the\nstuff of future precipitating insights.\nAlso try to learn some lessons about the creative process itself. Did you try a new brainstorming\ntechnique? Did it help to include people from another team or department? Which thinking methods\nwere the most useful and productive? Such questions help you become an even more effective creative\nthinker the next time around.\nExample of the Creative Process\nIn case this model seems abstract to you (after all, models are just that—abstractions), here’s\nsomething a bit more concrete. In this example, I’ve scripted the creative process for inventing an\nimaginary new product called Glade Blades—a name my wife, Heather, suggested that sounds so good\nthere should be an actual product for it. Glade Blades are, as she imagined them, in-line roller skates\ndesigned for use on grass and dirt rather than pavement. The idea is that people could use them “off\nroad,” like they do dirt bikes. Great idea—but really just a precipitating insight, as it doesn’t tell us how to\nmake a product that fits this discovered need.\nAnd so the insight leads to a natural sequence of creative thoughts concerning how to design the\nproduct. Here is how my own thoughts ran as I worked through several cycles of the creative process.\nPrecipitating Insight: It would be fun to use roller blades “off road,” like you can use mountain\nbikes. But roller-blade wheels are too small and hard to work on grass and dirt. Hmm. Wonder if\nthey could be adapted somehow…\nAlternatives: Put softer rubber wheels on them. Put bigger wheels on them. Put softer, bigger\nwheels on them, ones that have treads like a bike wheel.\nSelection: Analysis reveals that none of the alternatives work well. Softer wheels alone don’t do it\nunless they are bigger too. But bigger wheels don’t fit in the wheel housing under the boot’s sole.\nReturn to generating alternatives.\nAdditional Alternative: Center the larger wheels under the foot by raising the boot’s height from\nthe typical 2 inches or so to 6 or 8 inches above ground.\nSelection: The added height reduces rider stability. Who wants to skate on stilts? Back to the\ndrawing board.\nAdditional Alternative: Offset mounting for large wheel so that it overlaps the boot on the outside\nof the foot. Uses the standard boot and wheel mounting, but with an extended axle to\naccommodate the larger wheel on the outside. (Have to reduce the number of wheels from the\nstandard four wheels to two or three.)\nSelection: Sounds good; it allows for a large wheel whilekeeping the foot low to the ground. But\nfurther analysis reveals that an offset wheel puts too much strain on the skater’s ankle. Need to find\na way to center the large wheels under the foot but not raise the foot too high. Sounds impossible,\nbut back to working on alternatives.\nAdditional Alternative: Put pairs of large wheels on the center line, in front and in back of the\nboot. The axles can be a little higher than the base of the boot, so the foot sits low to the ground\nbetween two large tires. Need to extend the boot in front and back with something to put the axle\nthrough. Perhaps a yoke of two aluminum pieces, bent apart to go around the boot on either side,\nthen coming together to form a straight extension front and back.\nSelection: Design concept seems sound. No obvious flaws. Move to production of samples for\ntesting. If they work, refine design and go through another creative process to translate it into\nsomething suitable for mass production.\nThis thought process illustrates the need for cycling between generation and selection. It took me\nseveral cycles because my first ideas proved impractical. As I explored their shortcomings, I was able to\nreturn to the generation of alternatives “sadder but wiser.”\nFor instance, at one point I redefined my creative task, moving from the broader definition “Design a\nGlade Blade” to the more specific “Find a way to center the large wheels under the foot but not raise the\nfoot too high.” This view of the problem was helpful because it focused my thinking on what had\nemerged as the key design constraint—fitting large, off-road wheels into a skate without moving the\nskater’s center of balance too high. When I started the creative process, I had no idea that was the key\nissue—I only saw the problem in that clearer light after proposing and rejecting a number of alternatives;\nthe cyclical process at work.\nSuch is the nature of creative thought—and the reason why the creative process model I use, and that I\nadvise others to use, is not a strictly linear one.\n\nTo Recap: The Creative Thinking Process Model\nThese are the creative thinking steps we have discussed in this chapter. Remember: this is not a\n“regimental” process.\n1. Recognizing Precipitating Insights\n2. Generating Alternatives\n3. Making Selections\n4. Repeating Steps 2 and 3, Again and Again\n5. Translating Creative Ideas\n6. Learning from the Proces\nChapter 4: Uncreative Processes—More Classic Ways\nWe Close Off Creativity\nCreative processes—sequences of activities that are designed to generate creative thinking—can\ngreatly enhance creative behavior in the workplace. They can help us overcome all but the most\nstubborn resistance to new ways of thinking and doing. Most of us are at least open enough to creativity\nthat we can generate some good ideas if we use well-designed processes like the ones provided in this\nConversely, uncreative processes—sequences of activities that limit creative thinking—can greatly\nreduce creative behavior. They often undermine enablers and can throw up such formidable barriers\nthat even people with strong creative tendencies are constrained by them.\nMaybe you’re saying to yourself, “Ah, but in my organization we don’t use ‘uncreative’ processes.” If so,\nit’s time to take another look at your organization.\nUncreative Processes—Everywhere\nSeeing the Obvious, and More\nTo zero in on an uncreative process, think about those staff or team meetings whose tight agenda\nrestricts discussion topics, limits the time given to a topic, and specifies an order in which topics will be\naddressed. That agenda maps out a powerfully uncreative process. It keeps people from straying off the\ntopic, which means they are prevented from doing any speculative thinking or making unexpected\nconnections. It blocks unanticipated thoughts—and creative thoughts are always unanticipated. It cuts\noff discussion so entirely that no one can return to a topic after it has “incubated” long enough for a new\nangle to come to mind. In short, it actively enforces an uncreative approach.\nConsider a process we all know—brainstorming. It has a specific sequence of activities and specific\nrules of behavior. First, you develop a problem statement, what you are to think about. Second, you\nagree that everyone will free-associate to generate ideas, anything at all, and you record them on a flip\nchart. Third, you agree to examine these ideas with a critical eye later, after you’ve generated lots of\nthem in an uncritical atmosphere. That’s obviously a group process, and because it’s designed to\ngenerate ideas, it’s a creative process.\nNow, what I find less obvious to most people is that we constantly design and use such group\nprocesses—things like that meeting agenda, or the customary approach to team meetings whereby\neach person takes the floor, in turn, to present his or her findings. There’s also the staff meeting format\nin which the boss, equipped with standardized criteria, quizzes individual members on the performance\nof their section or department; and the performance review session in which the supervisor gives the\nemployee structured feedback according to the company’s standard review form. The list could go on\nand on. Almost everything we do together in the work- place is ritualized or formally scripted into group\nprocesses, and they structure our mental approach to work just as strongly as the rules of brainstorming\nThe problem is, these pervasive workplace processes are not designed to generate creativity; so they\ndon’t. They are uncreative processes. And they rule our work lives! For every hour spent using a\ncreative process like brainstorming, the average employee spends hundreds of hours following the rules\nof uncreative processes— without ever intending to do so. Thus workplace creativity faces an uphill\nbattle against overwhelming odds. There’s little hope of winning—of turning any work- place into a\nhighly creative one—unless you’re willing to rethink your existing uncreative processes. The rest of this\nguidebook will give you a positive way to do that.\nWorksheet: Group Meeting Planner\n\nFill in this worksheet to make your next meeting more creative.\n1. Of all the possible agenda items, which single topic is in greatest need of fresh, creative thinking?\n2. What is the most time the group can devote to this topic?\n(Now you have the information you need to redefine your agenda so you can focus the group\nwhere it will do the most good.)\n3. Who is most likely to voice creative or controversial views on this topic? (Include anyone who fits\nthe description.)\n4. Who is most likely to discourage or criticize creative views on this topic? (You’re a contender for\nthese questions too.)\n(Now you have determined who should speak first on the topic [see 3] and who should speak last,\nif at all [see 4]. Be sure to structure the discussion so as to proceed in this order.)\n\nCombating Uncreative Processes\nIn the next chapter, we’ll look at the building blocks of creativity, with which you can reconstruct the\nuncreative processes in your daily routine. Then, in Part Two, we’ll look at a range of process tools that\nyou can use to structure your own or a group’s creative thinking and problem solving. As you study\nthese, give some thought to how you might integrate a few into your daily work routine. Sure, it’s nice to\nhave an annual brainstorming session, but that won’t do much to increase workplace creativity. If you\nwant to generate a wealth of ideas, and to make progress on the Personal Creativity Matrix as well, then\nyou need to integrate these tools into the workplace, using them to redesign routine uncreative\nprocesses. In this way, you’ll replace many barriers to creativity with powerful enablers and bring out the\nlatent creativity in you and your co-workers.\nTo end this topic productively, I’ve included a couple of extras for combating that most uncreative of\nprocesses: the staff meeting. The first is a worksheet for making your next meeting a bit more creative\n(see facing page). It will help you focus the group on a topic worthy of its creative potential and reduce\nthe impact of any “heavies” who may stifle creative discussion. The second offers some guidelines and\nsuggestions for encouraging creativity in groups and not failing to ask for creative ideas (see next\n\nCutting the Uncreative out of Processes: Asking for Creative Ideas\nOne classic way we close off creativity in meetings is by failing to ask members for creative ideas.\nCorrecting this problem largely involves paving the way for enquiry—the focus of these guidelines\nand suggestions.\nGuidelines and Suggestions\nAsking for creative ideas will be far easier and much more productive if you have taken these initial\nMaking the meeting safe for creativity\nMaking time for enquiry\nTo make the meeting safe for creativity, signal clearly that you’re switching gears to a relaxed,\nsupportive, nonjudgmental period of enquiry. If you normally sit at the head of the meeting table, do\nsomething to break up that authoritarian dynamic. Move to a vacant seat halfway down the table; or\nsit on the floor; or invite someone to lead a 10-minute brainstorming session. Try breaking the group\ninto pairs for a quick ideation session, and join the most junior member yourself; then have each\npair report their ideas to the group, and encourage an unguided discussion based on the ideas.\nYes, such things add time to your meeting. That’s the reason why you must also make time for\nTo make time for enquiry, cut the other stuff on the agenda by half. Limit progress reports to one\nminute each—details can always be conveyed in writing or E-mail. Cut your opening comments,\nand impose a tough one- or two-minute limit on yourself. Axe all but the most important agenda\nitems. This might seem a ruthless approach, but if you try it, you may see how much deadwood\nactually ends up in meetings—stuff that chokes the growth of creativity because no light can get into\nthe process and foster that growth.\nChapter 5: The Building Blocks of Creativity\nIt is often desirable to wear a facilitator’s hat—not only when you are encouraging a group to be more\ncreative, but also when you are boosting your creativity or that of another individual. This chapter\nprepares you for that role by presenting many useful actions and strategies for facilitating creative\nthinking. Use these as building blocks of creativity, combining them to form your own creative processes\nor to make existing group and individual work processes more creative.\nThe blocks come in a variety of shapes and sizes. There are handy little pieces, like relevant quotes that\nfocus on creativity. You can make an overhead from one of these to use in a presentation or training\nsession, or you can have one made into a banner at a copy shop and post it in the conference room for\nyour next team meeting. Other, more substantial blocks include the classic process, brainstorming. You\ncan use that block to initiate a ten- or twenty-minute period of noncritical free association as part of a\ngroup event or meeting. That’s just the start. With a set of blocks such as these, you’re limited only by\nyour imagination.\n\nFree Association and “Creative Association”\nIdea association is one of the most basic building blocks of individual and group creativity; yet, oddly\nenough, there is no specific discussion of it in the traditional creativity literature. Perhaps the best-\nknown technique for idea association is free association, a rudiment of the Freudian psychoanalytical\nmethod. You’re likely familiar with the exercise in which a person is given a word and responds with the\nfirst thought that pops into mind: that’s free association in its most basic form.\nFree association is a valuable aid to creative thinking, for it helps us make connections we otherwise\nmight not see. However, its practice as related to psychoanalysis is well beyond our purpose here. We\ndon’t need the wholesale exploration of consciousness that such idea association can lead us to. For\ncreativity in the business sphere, we require a more focused and goal-oriented approach: we want any\nideas that are related to the topic at hand, including many that are related to it in non-obvious ways.\nWe also need a lot of these ideas, for a small, random sample won’t help us on the problem-solving\nfront. Thus we want to develop the art of free-associating many less-obvious but related ideas. I call this\napproach creative association.\nIn creative association, you free-associate so as to surface the many patterns and relationships that\nsurround your topic and lead out from it, bringing to light related ideas along the way. This approach is\nfacilitated by the mind’s tendency to produce ideas and retrieve memories in groups, based on patterns\nthat link them. The patterns can be formal and conscious—as when we recall that red, blue, and yellow\nall belong to a group called “colors.” They can also be less conscious, even accidental—as when we\nthink of “shell” and “bell” in response to the word “sell,” just because all these words rhyme. An\naccidental or secondary association such as this one cuts a path across the more obvious (and\ngenerally more useful) main categories, connecting seemingly unrelated ideas and grouping them in\nnew categories.\nFor a simple practice activity in creative association, take a word—something associated with a problem\nor issue at work is good—and try to find five or more association pathways from it. For example, let’s\ntake the word “late” and see how many different pathways I can find that lead us from this word to\nrelated ideas.\nOpposites provide an obvious pathway for generating “early” and words associated with it, such as\n“ahead” and “behind.” Problems based on being late are another obvious pathway, leading us to\n“service,” “tardiness,” “payments,” and “cash flow.” Rhymes are a good stand-by whenever you get\nstuck; for example, “date,” “gate,” and “rate”—the latter of which brings us across the second pathway,\nconcerning late payments and cash flow issues, since late fees are essentially the rate charged\ncustomers for paying late. So we immediately have established three association pathways.\nWe can build a fourth pathway by associating from one of the rhyming words, such as “gate,” which\nleads us to “doorway,” “fence,” “garden,” and, strangely enough, “horses” (since horses start races from\ngates). For even more pathways, we can try combining words we have already generated, such as\n“gate” and “late.” They suggest “missing a plane” and “getting stuck” at the gate, for example; and from\nthere we move to words such as “ticket,” “traffic jam,” and “missed meetings.”\nTo recap, these are the five pathways we discovered:\n1. Opposites\n2. Problems based on the key word\n3. Rhymes\n4. Associations from a word already generated\n5. Associations from a combination of words already generated\nThere are many other pathways leading from “late.” If you want to practice creative association, try to\ndouble or triple my number; then list all the words or ideas these paths lead you to. Here’s my list:\nearly payments late fees missing a plane\nahead cash flow doorway getting stuck\nbehind date fence ticket\nservice gate garden traffic jam\ntardiness rate horses missed meetings\nAs you can see, you get a long listing of words that are related to your key word, if only for accidental\nreasons. (If you do creative association on a series of words, such as a one-sentence problem\nstatement, you will get a list of longer ideas and phrases, though the process remains the same.) Such\nlists are what creativity methods like brainstorming aim to generate. Once you get good at creative\nassociation, you will find that brainstorming and the many other methods I cover in the book are helpful\nin creating and using lists of associated ideas.\nTraditional Brainstorming\nDeveloped by Alex Osborn in the 1960s, this technique is traditionally used to help groups of six to\ntwelve people free-associate ideas suggested by a problem statement. A facilitator or recorder\ncommonly stands at a board or flip chart and records ideas as group members verbalize ideas in their\nraw form, as quickly as they occur.\nOsborn drew up a set of four rules that increase people’s willingness to share their ideas with the group.\nUsual-ly the facilitator states or posts these rules at the start of a brainstorming session—and if\nnecessary, politely corrects anyone who violates them. Here are the rules as I frequently state them for\ngroups (Hiam, 1990).\n1. No criticism of any ideas. Save criticisms for the evaluation stage.\n2. Wild ideas are encouraged. Say whatever comes to mind.\n3. Quantity, not quality. Generate as long a list as possible.\n4. No proprietary ideas. Combining ideas or building on someone else’s idea is encouraged.\nThe facilitator usually writes the problem statement for the group, making this a fairly directive method. I\nsometimes break that rule and ask the group to start by brainstorming what the problem is about. After\nten to twenty minutes of generating creative ideas about the problem, I ask the group to switch from the\nAlternatives stage of the creative process to the Selection stage (see Chapter 3). We critically examine\nour list of ideas, working together to try to formulate several polished problem statements. Then we\nargue about, and/or vote on, which one to use as our focus for another round of brainstorming. (If we\ncannot agree on one statement, we may agree to brainstorm two or three of them in turn.)\nThis way, the group has a stronger hand in defining the problem. And brainstorming is used to bring\ncreative insight to the initial stage of the creative process, often producing an “out-of-the-box” problem\ndefinition that sets us off in a new and more productive direction (see Chapter 3 for details on the Insight\nOnce the group has developed a problem statement, I lead members into one or more brainstorming\nsessions in which we generate ideas related to the problem—as in traditional brainstorming. These\nsessions may last from five to fifty minutes, depending upon how productive the group seems to be. The\nfacilitator’s goal is to keep prodding the group for ideas until it reaches the point of diminishing returns.\nExperienced groups of creative people may be able to free-associate for hours on end, and so the\ncreative departments of ad agencies use long sessions. But most employee groups run dry after fifteen\nor twenty minutes, so be careful not to overdo it.\nExploratory Benchmarking\nThis is the term I use for the informal, freewheeling style of research I like to do in the early stages of\nany project or process. Unlike traditional benchmarking (in which you carefully identify a “best-of-class”\nexample of a product or process, study it, and model yourself after it), exploratory benchmarking is\nattuned to seeking novel approaches to a subject. You gather a hodgepodge of real-world examples,\nnot all of which necessarily relate to your subject matter, and then find out just enough information about\nthem to get the gist of what they are about or how they work. It’s a quick, sweeping process.\nFor example, let’s say you have to design the weather stripping for the doors of a new automobile. In a\nformal benchmarking process, you might first search out the competitor’s model with the “best” weather\nstripping according to customer preference, then reverse-engineer it to find out what makes it the best.\nBut in exploratory benchmarking, you would gather a wide variety of alternative designs as quickly as\npossible, looking as far from your industry and application as possible in order to ensure a diversity of\nideas. You might sketch the de- signs of weather strippings used on airplane doors, boat hatches, and\nskylights in order to collect some “out-of-the-box” alternatives. You might even look at other sorts of\nseals, such as the lid of an old-fashioned Mason jar, the “skirt” used to keep water out of a kayak, the\nseams of space suits, and the “feet” of snails.\nThe product of exploratory benchmarking is an eccentric collection of designs or other ideas that may or\nmay not be directly relevant to your subject but are certainly inspirational as you seek new approaches\nto the subject.\n\nBreak-Down Brainstorming\nI developed this method to help groups explore complex problems or projects. It uses the free-\nassociation rules of brainstorming to generate as many sub-problems as possible. Start by displaying\nand reading a formal statement of the problem to the group. Then point out that problem statements\ntend to be fairly abstract and can often be broken down into “sub-problems” or component parts. Ask\nthe group to spend five minutes brainstorming as many sub-problems as possible, using the “No\ncriticism” rule from traditional brainstorming. Write everything the group offers down on a board or a flip\nchart as accurately as possible, without editing.\nThe product of breakdown brainstorming is a lengthy list of sub-problems. Some of these will be very\nhelpful in formulating creative solutions to the main problem, because they will surface aspects of the\nproblem, or suggest components of the solution, that were not visible to the group when it tackled the\nproblem on a higher level. The method can also be used by individuals.\nCombination Brainstorming\nI once worked on an intrapreneurship team whose task was to develop high-growth, entrepreneurial\nbusiness units for a large, conservative freight transportation company. The idea made good sense,\nbecause the company was quite dependent upon a portfolio of mature, high-competition businesses,\nand its board recognized that it must enter some newer markets to achieve high growth. But the board\nalso had the wisdom to know it couldn’t manage a new software firm, or anything else that was too far\nafield from freight transportation. Whatever the new businesses were to be, they had to take advantage\nof some strengths the company already possessed.\nThis case was perfect for combination brainstorming, a method I developed in which you define the\nproblem as “Find ideas that include x.” For example, the freight transportation company was especially\ngood at running fleets of trucks, so a worthwhile question to pursue was “Are there ideas for new\nbusinesses that include the use of a fleet of trucks?”\nTo brainstorm for entrepreneurial concepts that combine something creative with trucks, you can use a\nproblem statement like the following:\nTruck fleet and ________________________ ?\nThis problem statement forces creative thinking to focus on ways of combining the existing asset or\nstrength (in this case, fleets of trucks) with other ideas to form a list of novel possibilities. Use it as you\nmight a traditional brainstorming problem statement. Follow the basic brainstorming rules if in a group,\nor if alone, do whatever you need to in order to free-associate widely.\nTo demonstrate this method, I’ll do a little combination brainstorming on the above problem statement.\nHow about a snow-plowing business; portable computer labs in trucks that rent equipment and services\nby going to the customer; or a same-day distribution system for an Internet catalog sales company?\nWhat about “game trucks” loaded with the latest electronic arcade games that go to parties or set up in\nmall parking lots, or a re-creation of old-fashioned first-class rail transport with sleeper bunks and fine\ndining rooms—all inside huge trucks. And so forth. You take it from here.\nThe advantage of this “and __________ ?” construction is that it focuses the brainstorming on ideas that\nmeet the combination criterion—that do something new and creative with an existing strength or\nasset. The result is a more practical and “do-able” list of ideas than you would get from traditional\nWe touched upon this subject earlier, in Chapter 2. If you recall, incubation is the idea development that\noccurs when you “sit on a problem” for a while. The extraordinary value of this building block is well\nexpressed by Bertrand Russell:\nbeen done.\nThis is also a fine description of how to use incubation, of the intense focus and effort it requires in order\nto thoroughly drench the mental soils of your creative greenhouse in the problem.\nOf course, workplace pressures conspire against such intensity. No sooner do we get started on a\ntough problem than a new message, report, or order distracts us. Thus anyone who wants to incubate\nan important problem effectively must take special care to “think about it days with very great intensity,”\nignoring the pressures to “multi-task” instead of focus only on the problem.\nOne practical implication of this insight is that we should schedule our own efforts on important topics in\ninstead of hours or minutes. For example, if you devote one full day this week to studying a customer\nservice problem, and schedule another day two weeks later for drafting a solution, then you will take full\nadvantage of incubation and your ideas will be well developed and creative. Yet most of us would put\nmuch more than two days into such a problem without accomplishing anything creative because we’d\nbreak up that time into dozens of short efforts instead.\nCyclical Creativity\nCyclical creativity is a tool I use to help teams incubate ideas. It involves fewer but longer work\nsessions, usually off site or under “lock-down” orders to prevent interruptions. These intensive sessions\nare punctuated by several-day breaks, during which team members incubate ideas associated with a\ngiven problem. In the first intensive session, I recommend “overloading” the team or group on as much\ninformation about the problem as possible. In subsequent sessions, I recommend using a variety of\ncreativity tools and processes, such as the ones in the upcoming chapters of this guidebook.\nThe essential feature of cyclical creativity is the use of focus/unfocus/focus cycles. Although retreat-type\nwork sessions offer many advantages for facilitating these cycles, you can effectively integrate them into\na single meeting or work session. Here’s how to do it.\nCyclical Creativity for Single Meetings & Sessions\n\nBasic Method\nAlternate intensive blocks of work and meditative break periods. Devote at least 45 minutes to each\nwork block and 30 minutes to each break period.\nTake the group through at least one full focus/unfocus/focus cycle. Two or three cycles work best.\nRemember, each cycle entails focusing intensely on the problem and related information, relaxing focus\nso that ideas can incubate, and returning to focus with the ideas that developed.\nFocus Periods—Suggested Activities\nUse focused brainstorming techniques\nDiagram or flow-chart the problem\nGather data on the problem or analyze data on the problem\nWrite a full description or report of the work to date on the problem\nThe Rules: Stay on the problem. No breaks. Intensity is the key.\nBreak Periods — Structure\nIt is important to structure break periods so that the problem and related ideas can “percolate.” No\nphone calls; no chats at the coffee urn. Suggest that members take a solitary walk inside or outside the\ncompany building.\nThe Rules: Stay “off problem.” Don’t get distracted by other problems either. Disconnect is the\n\nYou can also use this method for incubating your own ideas. For the unfocus-cycle activities, you might\nturn to the following:\nPhysical exercise: swimming laps, lifting weights, taking a walk, mowing a lawn\nRelaxation techniques: getting a massage, resting on a couch in a quiet room, strolling through a\nMentally relaxing hobbies: gardening, painting\nYou can also do things like wander around a shopping mall or ride a train, subway, or bus. Use your\nimagination to come up with other unfocus and focus activities: those in the method guide are just to get\nyou started!\n\nInformal Brainstorming\nThis is a set of behavioral guidelines and “unwritten rules” that supervisors can use to stimulate\ncreativity and free association in the daily work environment (that’s what makes it informal). If you are\never in a leadership role, as a team leader, trainer, supervisor, or manager, you should study the\nfollowing behavioral cues and unwritten rules and try to follow them in your interpersonal relations.\nYou’ll be surprised how many more ideas you and your associates will think of and verbalize as these\ncues and rules make the workplace safe for creative behavior.\nUnwritten Rules\n1. Topic-changing is OK. The requirement of formal brainstorming to focus on a single problem\nstatement must be relaxed. This is a “creative conversation.”\n2. No “last word.” It’s not a contest. Bosses must not sum up, put down, or critique what the\nemployee volunteers. Leave the “idea stream” undammed when conversations end so that\nfurther idea development is likely—and so followers will feel it is safe to share further ideas.\n3. No performance demands. You don’t have to come up with a “solution.” Creativity can’t be forced!\nOften a creative conversation plants seeds and nothing more.\n4. No cross-use of suggestions/ideas. What’s said is only for use in idea generation. It can’t be\nreferred to by the boss when wearing other hats. Safety Zone! signs have to go up around it.\nBehavioral Cues\n1. “Equalize” nonverbally by sitting in an “exposed” area. Not behind a big desk. Not higher than\nemployee. Not in a fancier chair.\n2. “Open” nonverbally by sitting in a relaxed, open posture. Don’t cross legs or arms.\n3. “Invite” by giving clear, verbal intention cues like “I need some zany ideas, I’m stuck on this one,”\nand “Can you help me with some informal brainstorming? If you toss out some ideas with me, we\nmight stumble onto a better approach.” Also, by taking the first step and voicing some silly ideas\nof your own, you show that your invitation is sincere.\n4. “Secure” by giving clear signals that the rules apply. At first, this might mean stating them or\nannouncing them to staff in advance—do it verbally to keep this informal. Once others know the\nrules, the sequence of cues in 1 through 3 above should be sufficient to secure them by signaling\nyour intent to follow those rules.\n5. “Model” by sharing your own crazy ideas, including ones that might make you look bad in front of\nyour boss or peers, to show you trust that your employees/associates will “secure” you.\n6. “Earn” their trust by always following the rules. Never bring their creative behavior into other areas\nof work. Keep their stream-of-thought suggestions “secret”—don’t make jokes about what they\nsaid, put a list of “their” ideas in an E-mail, or bring up something they said in a negative\nperformance review.\n7. “Reward” their participation. This means encouraging (and not interrupting!) their suggestions, and\nthanking them often for their help. In the longer term, it means remembering to praise them for\nbeing creative thinkers and recognizing their “ownership” of any useful ideas they helped develop\n(if they want ownership—check first!).\nInformal brainstorming is a very powerful building block for transforming the corporate culture and daily\nlife of a work group or organization. It helps remove many of the barriers to creativity and adds important\nenablers as well. If you measure employee creativity using the assessment in Chapter 1, and then train\nsupervisors and teams in the informal brainstorming rules and cues, you should be able to measure\nsignificantly higher levels of creativity on a later repeat of the assessment.\n\nThis is a great facilitation technique for helping people see a problem in new ways. To use abstraction,\nsimply challenge yourself or a group to think more abstractly about your problem statement and come\nup with a more general statement. Let me illustrate with the following example:\nInitial problem statement: What should we do about the problem of high employee turnover?\nMore “abstract” versions: How do you keep people from losing interest in something? How do\nyou avoid losing things? How do you change someone’s mind?\nOnce you have one or more abstract statements to work on, generate ideas relevant to them; then try to\napply your ideas to the original, specific problem statement.\n\nAnother essential tool for facilitating group creativity, sequencing uses taking turns or similar rules to\ncontrol the order of participation. For example, a quality improvement team might decide to take turns\nsuggesting ideas by going around the table clockwise. Another alternative is to pass out numbered\nindex cards from a shuffled deck and to call on participants by number (the person with “1” responds\nfirst, and so on). I recommend giving participants the right to say “pass” if they don’t want to use their\nturn, so as to take the anxiety out of the proceedings. Sequencing is great for overcoming imbalances in\ngroup participation—it ensures that all participate and that none dominate.\n\nThe idea behind this group facilitation method is to generate multiple, independent streams of thought\nduring a group brainstorming process. Any way you can think of to encourage group members to follow\nand record the flow of their own thoughts qualifies as paralleling.\nFor example, you can hand out decks of index cards (one deck per person), adopt a topic for creative\nassociation, and then give members five minutes to write their ideas (one per card) in silence. (If you\noffer a reward for the most ideas, it makes the exercise fun and increases output.) At the end of the\nactivity, gather up, shuffle, and read or list the ideas; or pin them to a board for all to examine, or lay\nthem out on a table and let everyone argue over how to group them. Any such methods serve the\npurpose of sharing the ideas with the group.\nIt is often helpful to include brief paralleling activities in a group-oriented work process. For instance, a\nteam working on a quality problem could start with a problem-definition brainstorming session (see the\nsection “Traditional Brainstorming,” above), then switch to a paralleling activity to generate independent\nideas on how to solve the problem. Next these ideas could be shared and discussed, and then a group\nbrainstorming period could be used to extend them.\nBreak-out groups and dyads (pairs) also are a form of paralleling. Use them to divide a group into\nsmaller units, giving each an idea-generating assignment and a time limit (usually between fifteen\nminutes and one hour) and letting them go off and work independently; then have them report their\nresults to the entire group.\nAn even simpler method is to give the individuals in a group or team creativity assignments, such as\n“Think of five new product concepts.” These assignments can be given out before a group meeting, and\nyou can kick off the meeting by asking people to present their ideas.\n\nTo Recap: The Building Blocks of Creativity\nThese are the creativity building blocks we have seen in this chapter. Don’t forget: they have many\nuses—your imagination is the limit!\n1. Creativity Quotes\n2. Free Association and Creative Association\n3. Traditional Brainstorming\n4. Exploratory Benchmarking\n5. Break-Down Brainstorming\n6. Combination Brainstorming\n7. Incubation\n8. Cyclical Creativity\n9. Informal Brainstorming\n10. Abstraction\n11. Sequencing\n12. Paralleling\n\nChapter 6: The Creatercize Activity\n“If it ain’t broke, break it!” That’s the motto of this activity, which is a perfect creativity-boosting\nreplacement for the many irrelevant or silly warm-up activities normally used in training sessions. Unlike\nmost of the other activities in this guidebook, it’s not aimed at generating the creative solutions you\nneed, but at exercising your ability to generate insights, the kind that precipitate creative ideas—the\nvery first stage of the creative process (see Chapter 3). Since the quality of the rest of the process\ndepends upon the quality and quantity of your insights, this is a pretty important exercise. In fact, if you\nhave time to use only one activity in this book right now, make it this one!\nThe most notable feature of Creatercize is that you don’t start with a well-defined problem statement or\ngoal; you start with a list of trivial problems—things that are not on your “radar screen” as needing\nattention because they already have some obvious solution. But is it the best solution? By pursuing the\nanswer, you may get an exciting new perspective on these non-problems, even discover strategies that\ncould streamline your company’s operations or revolutionize your market. At the very least, you and\nothers will get a better handle on the crucial first step of the creative process.\nRemember, the quality of your creativity work depends upon the quality and quantity of your insights. It\nis thus a mistake to focus creative efforts only on existing problems and goals, however commonly that\nis done. If you have failed to define your creative agenda creatively enough, then you will be wasting\nyour energy on “in-the-box” problems instead of generating novel insights and opening up new\npathways for creative thought.\n\nHow to Use Creatercize\nThe Activity Steps\nCreatercize has four easy-to-follow steps:\n1. Think of one or more “solved” problems.\n2. Brainstorm wild and crazy ideas for solving a “solved” problem in a non-obvious way.\n3. Identify the dumbest of your solutions and brainstorm ways to make it work.\n4. Brainstorm ways to “sell” any useful insights that are generated.\nNow let’s take a closer look at each step.\n1 Think of one or more “solved” problems.\nIn most businesses, we have enough problems without dreaming up more just for the heck of it. But that\nis just what I want you to do in this step. Trust me, it will turn out to be beneficial in the long run.\nYour target is a list of things that are not problems—at least, not problems you worry about, for they\nalready have acceptable solutions at the moment. For instance, your list could include office tasks: how\nto make copies of a document for others to see, or how to deliver mail, run staff meetings, or hire new\nemployees. If you work in marketing, you could cue up non-problems that apply to your customers. Let’s\nsay your product is breakfast cereals. You could list a non-problem like how to keep cereals fresh\n(presumably you would already be using preservatives and packaging to do so), or how to keep cereal\nfrom getting soggy in milk (people don’t expect cereal to last long in milk, so this is a non-problem).\nIf you just want to flex your creativity muscles, then any such problem will do. If you want to maximize\nthe chance of producing profitable insights for work, then linger on this step until you have a long list of\nsolved problems. Then pick a few that your gut tells you may be promising and run each through the\nfollowing steps.\n2 Brainstorm wild and crazy ideas for solving a “solved” problem in a non-\nobvious way.\nSet aside the accepted solution or solutions to the trivial or solved problem, and brainstorm a list of wild\nand crazy alternative solutions. Try to come up with ideas that make you embarrassed or make others\nlaugh—the more absurd, the better. Remember, the goal of this step is to produce something that might\ngive you an entirely new and unanticipated perspective on an old problem.\nFor Example\nLet’s say you are considering ways of copying documents so that you can share them with others at\nwork. The photocopy machine, E-mail, and old carbon-paper approach are obvious solutions, and they\nwork well enough that other solutions aren’t needed. Nonetheless, we want to come up with a wide\nvariety of alternatives to them. Here’s some possibilities:\nTaking Polaroid photographs of the document.\nProjecting a photographic slide of the document down a long, dark hallway; anyone with an office\noff the hall can could hold out a sheet of white poster board, “capture” the document’s image, and\nread it.\nCarving the document into stone, then making “rubbings” of it with hardball wax and rice paper\n(the way that gravestone rubbings are usually made).\nHaving an employee memorize the document and then go from office to office reciting it.\nAnd that’s just the beginning. A creative individual or group should be able to generate a hundred\nalternatives to the standard ways we copy documents! Here are a few more: You could use smoke\nsignals, semaphore flag codes, African drumming, or ESP. A summary message could be printed on\nslips of paper and inserted in Chinese fortune cookies. You could hire a monk to create hand-lettered\nscrolls. Or silk-screen the document onto T-shirts and hand them out to employees. Or you could put it\non a billboard next to the company parking lot for everyone to see. Or you could turn the document into\na sail for a toy boat, then float it throughout the building in a water-filled trough like the ones Sushi bars\nuse to deliver orders. Or … (Your turn now!)\n3 Identify the dumbest of your solutions and brainstorm ways to make it work.\nDo any of the wild-and-crazy ideas from Step 2 inspire you? Might any of them actually work? In this\nstep, you’re going to find out. In fact, you’re going to try to make at least one of the truly far-out ideas\ninto some-thing practical. So pick an idea that “obviously won’t work” and start thinking about how to\nmake it work. There’s nearly always some way to make the wild and crazy “do-able,” if you think about it\nfor a while.\nFor example, you might say that a billboard is a remarkably silly alternative to a photocopier. What a lot\nof trouble and expense to get the document printed or painted on a thirty-foot-long board! Hardly an\nefficient alternative. But can we make it work somehow? Is there any real-world scenario in which this\nidea might be a good alternative to photocopying a document?\nWell, if you really think about it, some kinds of messages are well suited to this medium. If a company\nhad a billboard in the employee parking lot, they would surely find some uses for it. General\nannouncements and reminders might be put on it. And what a great way for management to say\n“Thanks!” when employees achieve a production or quality goal! Perhaps the president would want to\nconvey a weekly message on the board. There are probably lots of ways to use this medium as a\ncomplement to other communication methods. And I never would have thought about it if I hadn’t used\nthe Creatercize activity to solve a trivial problem.\nRepeat or Expand This Step?\nYou may find that several of your “silly” ideas have a kernel of something useful and practical in them. If\nso, by all means please break this step’s rules and brainstorm ways of applying multiple alternatives.\n(Never let a formal creativity process stifle your creativity!)\nFor instance, I can imagine times when you might prefer to hire a calligrapher to hand-letter copies of a\nmessage, such as a congratulatory letter to a successful process reengineering team. So the “monk”\nidea from Step 2 is practical as well. Same with the idea of putting your message on T-shirts and\nhanding them out. I might prefer this approach over sending out a memo if I wanted to tell employees\nabout an inspiring new goal for the organization, for example.\n4 Brainstorm ways to “sell” any useful insights that are generated.\nIf you have some success with Step 3, then you will already have application-oriented insights as you\nenter this final step. The point of this step is simply to ensure you “capture” and follow up on any good\nideas. Follow-up is particularly difficult in this activity because you aren’t focusing on current priorities,\nbut looking to “re-solve” trivial problems. So whatever you come up with, it is by definition a solution\nnobody was looking for.\nYou now have to convince relevant decision-makers that your idea deserves their attention. I\nrecommend that you begin by brainstorming how to “sell” your new ideas. Don’t just write a memo to the\nperson in charge of corporate communications, suggesting it would be fun to erect a billboard in the\nparking lot. If no one’s currently looking for new ways to get messages to employees, then the memo\nwill end up in the proverbial circular file faster than you can say “Wait a minute.”\nFor Example\nHow can you sell senior managers on the idea of erecting a billboard for employee communications?\nYou’ll need to catch their attention and then convince them that billboards are a potentially powerful\nmedium. Perhaps you could rent a billboard along their commute route and put a message to them on it.\nIf your budget is limited, you could simulate the effect by writing them a brief note on a sheet of poster\nboard and putting it up in their office while they are out. Or, if you know how to play around with\nphotographs on one of those computer darkroom programs, you could combine a picture of a billboard\nwith a picture of the company parking lot to show them what it would look like—complete with the text of\nyour choice.\n\nChapter 7: The Magic Toolbox\nMany creativity consultants use analogies to “force” creative thinking. Exercises such as “Compare your\nproblem to a toaster” are common. I have mixed feelings about them because, to be honest, I often\ncannot find meaningful similarities between real-world problems and toasters. Nor can many groups. Yet\nsometimes an absurd analogy will inspire creative thinking and prove highly worthwhile. So that leaves\nus with a dilemma: how to take advantage of the benefits of analogies but avoid artificial, difficult “force\nThis method is one solution I stumbled across in my own creativity work. It uses a toolbox full of tools as\na metaphor. I like it because, for some reason I haven’t really figured out, tools are rich, relevant\nmetaphors for the kinds of things we work on in business. Maybe it’s because tools have a basic\nrelationship to business, at least for carpenters. But whatever the reason, I think you will find it easy to\ndraw meaningful comparisons between your topic of concern and commonplace hand tools. Give it a\n\nHow to Use the Magic Toolbox\nThe Activity Steps\nThe Magic Toolbox has three basic steps:\n1. Write a focus statement defining a general focus or a specific problem.\n2. Think of uses for a wide variety of “magic” tools.\n3. Explore the results for inspiration.\nHere are the details for following each step.\n1 Write a focus statement defining a general focus or a specific problem.\nWhether your statement is general or specific will depend on how clearly you can see the situation\n(general focus for Step 1 of the creative process, specific problem for Step 2; see Chapter 3). The\nmethod does not demand a well-defined problem, and in fact can be used to surface problems. But if\nyou do have a definite problem, you can produce focused solutions via the method. Thus, any of the\nfollowing focus statements are fine, and could be posted or read at the start of the activity. Note that\nthey range from very general to quite specific.\nWhat should the human resources function focus on right now?\nWhat sort of human resources plan do we need in order to be prepared for a downsizing?\nHow can we increase employee motivation after a downsizing?\n2 Think of uses for a wide variety of “magic” tools.\nThis is where you get to use your imagination and to help others do so if you’re facilitating a group. To\nstart, ask yourself or your group to consider this statement:\nIf I/we had a magic drill, we’d use it to __________.\nCome up with a way to use this “magic drill” to work on the topic of your focus statement. For example,\na group might take the problem, “How can we increase employee motivation after downsizing?” and\ncome up with answers like “We’d use a magic drill to make holes in everyone out of which the bad\nfeelings would leak.” Collect one or more (many more if possible) of these ideas and write them down\nfor later analysis.\nKeep going until you and/or your group run out of tools and uses for them. Here are some of the other\nthings in a typical toolbox that you can use, along with examples of how a group might use them to turn\nemployee motivation around after a downsizing.\nTools and Examples\nSaw: Cut the new, downsized company free from its past for a fresh start. Cut boards and use\nthem to build miniature forts to protect the remaining employees from another round of downsizing.\nHammer: Hammer nails into the coffins of those who have left. Bang out the dents from our recent\ncollision with trouble.\nDuct tape: Wrap it around us to bring us back together again. Tape managers’ mouths shut so\nthey can’t announce another downsizing for a while.\nScrew driver: Tighten the screws that came loose from the vibrations when the organization was\nforced to operate in overdrive.\nTape measure: Check that employees’ feelings about the company still “measure up.”\nLevel: Even out the work loads to make sure extra work from the downsizing is distributed fairly.\nPry bar: Tear down and discard the walls that were built up during the downsizing, so that we can\nrebuild communication lines and trust.\nGlue: Fix the cracks left in employees’ feelings.\n3 Explore the results for inspiration.\nWhat you get in Step 2 are fantasy solutions, none of which would work in the “real world.” That’s OK,\nbecause they may lead to insights that do apply to the real world. Look at your answers (or the group’s)\nto see what kinds of feelings and images are arising. Also look for actions and goals that make sense\nand could be accomplished with real-world tools.\nIn the above example, the group uses its magic tools to protect employees, to pull them back together,\nto allow bad feelings to leak out or be cut free, to measure how people feel, and to fix problems caused\nby the down-sizing. These are extremely relevant actions and goals, and you can certainly come up with\nways to do the same things using the real-world tools available to you.\nWhile you cannot use magic tape to “bring everyone together,” an event of some kind might do the trick.\nNor can you use a magic measuring tape to find out how people feel, but it’s a good idea to survey them\nin order to measure attitudes like anxiety, fear, and stress. If these negative feelings are still high, then\nperhaps you do need to “tape managers’ mouths shut so they can’t announce another downsizing.”\nMaybe management would be willing to announce a stability period of one year, during which they\npromise not to make more cuts. Similarly, a magic level doesn’t exist, but the notion of balancing work\nlevels is a sound one and ought to be part of the recovery from downsizing.\nThe results of this simple analogy exercise often inspire many practical ideas like these. See, I told you:\nthe toolbox analogy really does work!\nVariants of the Magic Toolbox\nYou can also brainstorm uses for magic kitchen tools or cleaning tools. These categories also seem to\ngenerate many rich and useful analogies. I call these “The Magic Kitchen” and “The Magic Closet” for\nobvious reasons.\n\nChapter 8: Three-Step Word Association\nWhen pressed to define creativity, I usually say that it’s new and useful combinations of thoughts.\n(When not pressed, I avoid defining it, since getting too scientific about creativity is a violation of its\nspirit). In this process tool, which is suitable for individuals or groups, you use word associations to\ngenerate unexplored combinations of words and ideas. Then you try to make these combinations useful\nand relevant. And, with a little luck or enough persistence, you end up with new and useful idea\ncombinations. Here’s how to do it\nHow to Use Three-Step Word Association\nThe Activity Steps\nThere are four steps in all. The first three focus on word association; the fourth involves generating new\n1. Brainstorm a list of relevant words with clear associations to your subject.\n2. For each relevant word, brainstorm a list of irrelevant words.\n3. Transform each irrelevant word into one or more relevant words.\n4. Play with the new list of relevant words to see if any lead to breakthrough ideas.\nWe’ll take a closer look at each of these steps, but first we need to deal with two preliminary\nconsiderations, both of which are related to the activity’s structure.\nRecording the Associated Words\nYou’ll need some kind of format for recording and stimulating ideas. A three-column table works well,\nwith a generous amount of space for the middle column. If using a wall board of some kind (best for a\ngroup), reserve a full-height column on the left-hand side, about two feet wide, and add a second\ncolumn of double the width. Leave the rest of the board blank so that your third column can expand as\nneeded. If you’re working on your own, use a large sheet of paper if possible; in a pinch, you can use\nstandard-size paper and add new sheets on, using staples or tape, as your ideas expand. Another\npossibility is to do your independent thinking on a wall board or flip chart (my preference).\nLeave room at the top of the wall board or paper for your starting-point statement (more on that later),\nand label the first column “Relevant Words,” the second “Irrelevant Words,” and the third\nProcess Rules\nThese are not needed, but they can be helpful if you’re working with large, shy, or overly vocal groups,\nor if you get stuck when working on your own. In other words, don’t add structure for its own sake—use\nit for trouble-shooting. Start with the simplest approach to group association, which is to have someone\nbe the recorder and everyone shout out their ideas. If this is too confusing or not productive enough, try\na structured approach such as speaking in turn or alternating periods of independent work and group\nsharing (see Chapter 5 for more ideas). Now let’s take a look at each activity step.\n1 Brainstorm a list of relevant words with clear associations to your subject.\nApply the rules of formal brainstorming or simply free-associate to come up with a list of relevant words.\nDon’t worry too much about how you define the subject at this point, as the activity is easy to repeat,\nwhether you’re working independently or in groups. In case you get stuck before you get started, here\nare some suggestions.\nDefining the Starting Point for Free Association\nLet’s say that you need a name for a new warehouse store specializing in bedding, bedroom furnishing,\nand other sleep-related products. You might simply define the starting point as something obvious like\n“What we call our new store.” But if this doesn’t seem to work (to lead to many relevant words quickly),\nthen try some-thing with more “sticky ends,” which is what I call words that attract associations. For\ninstance, you could say, “What words are associated with a store that carries bedroom furnishings and\nlinens?” This is a better starting point partly because it has more words in it—particularly nouns, which\nare easy to associate from (“store,” “bedroom,” “furnishings,” and “linens” all evoke their own chains of\nassociations). It is better also because it evokes a rich visual image, of a store filled with lots of\nmerchandise that you can “see” and name. (Lesson: It is always easier to free-associate from goal or\nproblem statements that evoke visual images than from ones without much imagery.)\nOnce you have a starting point, begin listing obvious associations, word by word, in the first column. No\nneed for any special creativity here. Say you want to develop ideas for how to solve a union-\nmanagement dispute; you would just list words like “strike,” “anger,” “tenure,” “temps,” “raises”—\nwhatever words are in your mind at the moment. Not hard at all!\nGenerate at least a dozen words—much more if the subject permits. In either case, stop after ten\nminutes or so, as you want to save energy for the rest of the activity.\n2 For each relevant word, brainstorm a list of irrelevant words.\nNow go back to the first relevant word you listed and use it as a starting point for a list of irrelevant\nassociations: words that are suggested by alternative meanings of the relevant word, or that have some\nnonsensical but clear relationship to it. Try to come up with at least three irrelevant words for each\nrelevant word. Enter the words into the middle column. Then repeat the process, generating more or\nfewer irrelevant words based on the ease with which they occur to you.\nIf this step sounds more difficult than the last, that’s because in some ways it is; irrelevant words tend to\nbe less obvious than relevant ones. But it’s still pretty easy, especially once you get the hang of it. To\nhelp you along, I’ll return to the problem of generating ideas about a labor-management conflict.\nLet’s say your first relevant word is “strike.” You might think of a strike in baseball, and associated words\nlike “baseball,” “pitcher,” “umpire,” and “home plate.” Or you might think of the word as a verb: to strike\nsome-thing. This suggests words such as “hit,” “pound,” and “hammer.” You might recall the expression\n“to strike a tune,” and think of words like “note” and “melody.” There’s also the expression “to strike a\npose.” Or you might think of “striking their colors,” as when in battle those on the losing side (or their\nconquerors) take down their flag. Then your irrelevant words would include “flag,” “colors,” “battle,”\n“ship,” and the like. (Lesson: Associate by thinking of a word’s alternative uses.)\nAnother way to come up with irrelevant words is to vary the word slightly so as to change it into another\nword. For instance, if you happen to know something about birds, you might turn “strike” into “shrike”\nand think of words like “bird” and “feather.” Or you might turn it into “spike” or “mike” (as in\n“microphone”), as that rhymes with “strike.” As these examples show, it’s not hard to associate irrelevant\nwords. You may find you run out of room for them in your column once you become familiar with the\ntask—in which case, go over the line into the third column and draw a new line later on—no point in\nlosing ideas just to keep things neat!\nOne thing I do want you to do in the neatness department, however, is keep track of the relationship\nbetween irrelevant and relevant words. If your page gets too full, words will begin to run together, so\nconsider drawing a box around each set of irrelevant words, then drawing a line to the relevant word\nfrom which each set arose. Why keep track? Because you may wish to recreate a chain of thought,\nperhaps because you wandered from it and got lost, or maybe just out of curiosity about how you\ngenerated good ideas.\n3 Transform each irrelevant word into one or more relevant words.\nYour excursion into irrelevant word associations gives you a lengthy list, but not a very useful one. In\nfact, it’s probably quite silly. That’s the point, because you’re now going to try to combine some of these\nirrelevancies with one or more relevant words to form useful phrases and ideas. Why? Because this is\na relatively easy way to achieve that creative goal of finding new and useful combinations of ideas.\nTry transforming the irrelevant words I listed above for “strike” into something useful in the context of a\nlabor-management dispute. Take “umpire,” for instance. Can you generate any relevant ideas that use\nthis word? Perhaps it suggests that an umpire-like person might be useful in certain types of labor-\nmanagement disputes— a “third-party arbitrator” who can keep “the game” running smoothly until\nnegotiations are completed.\nPlease note that you need not force every irrelevant word into a relevant idea. Some creativity experts\ninsist that any novel or nonsensical combination of ideas can lead to a breakthrough insight, but I don’t\nfind that a practical philosophy. In reality, you will come upon some irrelevant words that are quite\ndifficult to transform. That’s OK. Just leave them. A few may incubate and lead to something later, but\nmost are probably dead ends. In my experience, I’ve found it takes many dead ends to come up with\neven one truly valuable idea. This process generates irrelevant words quickly, so you can easily afford\nto “waste” words if they don’t suggest a useful idea right away.\nFor Example\nI worked out one example above, but it will be helpful to supplement this with a graphic of what your\nwork should look like. Exhibit 4 illustrates several chains of thought for the earlier problem of what to call\na new warehouse store specializing in bedroom products. The results include my favorite, “The Slumber\nYard”—a pretty good idea and certainly a novel one!\nThe Free-Association Wheel\nThis alternative to the table format is made up of three concentric circles. Here’s how to use it:\n1. Draw a small circle in the center of your board or paper and enter the goal or problem statement\n(your starting point).\n2. Around that, draw a larger circle, in which to enter relevant words/images.\n3. Around that, draw a much larger circle, in which to enter irrelevant associations for each relevant\nExhibit 4: Sample Table Three-Step Word Association\n\nGOAL: Find a new name for a warehouse store specializing in bedding, bedroom furnishings,\nand other sleep-related products.\nRelevant Irrelevant Transformations\n\n\npillow →→ →→ →→ →→ willow, tree, free, fluff, feather,\n\nPJs Eider down →→→→→ →→→→→ →→→→→ →→→→→ Down Home\n\nslumber → →→ → slumber party, lumber,\n\nfeathers lumber yard →→→→→ →→→→→ →→→→→ →→→→→ The Slumber Yard\nsheet →→ →→ →→ →→ sleet, sheet of paper, sheet\n\npillow case music →→→→→ →→→→→ →→→→→ →→→→→ Sheet Music\ndream →→ →→ →→ →→ sleep, scream, “to sleep,\n\nnightmare perchance to dream” →→ →→ →→ →→ Perchance to Dream\n\nnight stand\n\ndresser → →→ → storage, clothes, lingerie → →→ → Bedroom Personals\n\n4. Use the area outside the circles to jot down transformations (new relevant words) as they occur to\nI like this format because it accommodates rapidly expanding chains of thought. Each new circle adds a\nmuch larger area for writing than the one inside it. And it’s easy to keep track of each chain of thought\nby adding lines that radiate outward, dividing the circle into sections as needed.\n4 Play with the new list of relevant words to see if any lead to breakthrough\nNow that you have a new list of relevant words and ideas, you have something to play with that may in-\ndeed generate breakthrough insights. Sometimes the breakthrough idea and the relevant idea will\nsimply be one and the same; “The Slumber Yard,” for instance, may be precisely what you want\n(“Aha!”). At other times, you may have to “play” with relevant ideas, giving them more thought. “Third-\nparty arbitrator” is the kind of relevant idea that may need further development before it can lead you to\na breakthrough. You might try to imagine who this arbitrator would be (a hired expert?) or what kind of\npower he or she would have (interim power to impose quick decisions to keep “the game” proceeding\nsmoothly?). Of course, you may come to a dead end; but then again, you may come to the juncture of a\ncreative throughway!\n\nChapter 9: Category Expansion\nWe often hear people say, “Let’s get out of the box,” but this is difficult advice to follow when you don’t\nknow what the parameters of the box might be. Sure, our thinking must be constrained in some manner,\nbut how? Category Expansion offers you a systematic way to identify the parameters of your current\nmental box and then seek new and different boxes, or at least different perspectives on the current box.\nIt is especially useful in Step 1 of the creative process (see Chapter 3 for details).\n\nHow to Use Category Expansion\nThe Activity Steps\nHere are the five steps of this activity:\n1. Choose your focus: write a simple problem definition or general purpose statement.\n2. Define existing categories of ideas and solutions that are related to your focus.\n3. Look for ways to fit smaller categories into larger, higher-level categories.\n4. Look for new category members.\n5. Explore solutions from new categories and items.\nNow for the explanation of each step.\n1 Choose your focus: write a simple problem definition or general purpose\nFor Step 1, you don’t need a narrowly defined problem statement; any general topic statement will do,\nas you will soon be exploring its parameters in ways that will lead to redefinition anyway. Here are some\nHow do we raise money to help us overcome short-term cash flow problems and fund our\nWhat should we do about the rising accident rate on the factory floor?\nHow can we reverse our product’s drop in sales?\nAre there new and useful ways to think about new product development?\nAre there alternatives to our standard approach to employee rewards and motivation?\nProblem definitions are usually part of the “box” so don’t belabor this step—just pick a starting point and\ngo to the next step.\n2 Define existing categories of ideas and solutions that are related to your focus.\nNow make a list of words and phrases associated with common ideas about, and solutions for, your\nproblem or goal. These are the existing answers for which you want to find creative alternatives.\nOnce you have listed everything that easily comes to mind, stop and think about how to categorize the\nitems. Is every item in the same category? If so, give the category a name. Are there two or three\ncategories? Name them and rewrite your list as several lists, each with an appropriate category\nFor Example\nLet’s say you are exploring ways to prevent accidents in logging crews (logging is a profession with high\ninjury and death rates), and that, in Step 1, you came up with “Are there any new ways to think about\naccidents?” Now you might make a list of related ideas such as:\nChain-saw injuries\nLack of training?\nTrees falling on workers\nAccidents with vehicles\nSupervision (Enough of it?)\nAccess to medical facilities\nFirst Aid supplies/training?\nProtective goggles/ear plugs (Do workers wear\nProblems with hearing instructions/warnings\nThis is not a formal list of the causes of accidents, nor of prevention methods, though many causes and\nmethods appear in it. Basically it is the “core dump” of topics already in one’s memory—the “top-of-\nmind” stuff that is easy to access when thinking about a topic.\nWhenever you work on a problem, you begin with a similar list of accessible ideas. For instance, if you\nwanted to improve the safety record of a logging company, you might start by addressing the question-\nmarked items above. Yet, as logging has been a highly hazardous profession for years, such in-the-box\nthinking may not work; that’s where this creative process tool comes in.\nTo finish this step of Category Expansion, you need to categorize everything in your list. Luckily there is\nno right way to do so—any assortment of categories will do. For instance, you might categorize the list\nabove into these three categories:\nAccess to medical supplies and treatment fit the “Processes” category. Safety gear, work gear (like\nchain saws), vehicles, and other gear can be put in the “Equipment” category. Injuries, communication\nproblems, and supervision and training fit the “People” category.\nTrouble with Categories?\nIf for some reason you get “stuck” and can’t seem to find categories for your list items, try using what\nJapanese quality experts use—the five classic categories of the cause-and-effect diagram: “Material,”\n“Machine,” “Measurement,” “Man,” and “Method.” Although they may not fit your needs exactly, they will\nsteer you in the right direction, getting you started on customizing your own categories.\n3 Look for ways to fit smaller categories into larger, higher-level categories.\nIf you have defined only one category, then obviously you have a high-level one to start with—but you\nstill may be able to put it in a larger category. If you came up with several categories in Step 2 (as\npeople often do), you can certainly find one or more higher-level categories by asking what things your\ncategories have in common. Ask yourself what the relationships between the categories might be. Are\nthey naturally part of any larger category?\nFor Example\nLet’s continue with the logging-safety problem. Step 2 resulted in three categories: “Processes,”\n“Equipment,” and “People.” What do all of them have in common? You might say they all have to do\nwith things that go on at the logging site; therefore they can be put into the broad category “Forest\nOperations.” Once you state a larger category such as this, it’s often easy to see the possibility of even\nlarger categories. Case in point: the “Forest Operations” category suggests the existence of other\ncompany operations and functions, all nested within the “Company Operations” category—which itself\ncan be put in the category “Industry Operations.” Ideas like these flow quite easily when you ask\nyourself or a group to think of categories.\n4 Look for new category members.\nWhen we define any new category, it’s natural for us to want to add new members. That’s because our\nmemories tend to organize things by category, so categories give us access to memories. Suppose I\nask you to name things that belong in the “Birthdays” category; you can easily say, “Presents, cake, ice\ncream, cards, ribbons, decorations, parties,” and the like. It isn’t hard to generate a fairly exhaustive list\nof everything that belongs in the category. Anything missing tends to pop into mind when you review the\nlist or someone else does (you may have noticed that my “Birthdays” list doesn’t directly mention\nbirthday candles or the “Happy Birthday” song).\nTake advantage of your natural ability to expand upon category lists by now adding more items to the\ncategory groupings you made in earlier steps. Some of these items will be categories in themselves,\nsince Step 3 produced nested categories; so you’re adding not only to within-category lists but also to\nthe number of categories.\nFor Example\nLet’s return to logging safety. In working on Step 4, you may realize there should be a “Support\nOperations” category at the same level of hierarchy as the “Forest Operations” category (a result of Step\n3). Presumably, there are support staff and facilities near any logging site. Yet if you had not gone\nthrough the exercise of expanding your list, you may not have thought to include them in potential\nsolutions to the safety problem. This new category might not necessarily inspire “the solution,” but at\nleast you’re out of your mental box and thinking about the problem from a fresh perspective!\n5 Explore solutions from new categories and items.\nOur mental boxes generally limit us to solutions based on familiar categories. Now that you’ve\nexpanded the number of categories and added new items to categories, you have a simple way to get\nout of the old box. Just use the new items and categories to “free up” your thinking. To start exploring,\nask yourself (or your group) questions like “Are there any alternative approaches based on unfamiliar\ncategories?” You can also review the “in-the-box” approaches to the problem, checking to see which\ncategories they belong in. You may find they’re even more narrow than your initial list suggests!\nFor Example\nLet’s return a final time to the logging-safety problem. Suppose it turns out that most safety efforts fall\ninto the “Forest Operations” category, including gear, work rules, First Aid, and emergency phones; but\ndespite such strategies, your workers still get injured. So you now turn to other categories. “Industry\nOperations” might lead you to consider the high pressure to produce in the logging industry, which\nforces competitors to push their workers hard. Is there some way to create an industry-wide safety\ncertification that’s awarded to companies who achieve low injury rates? If the high death and\ndismemberment rates of logging were publicized, this certification could become meaningful to industry\nconsumers, countering the current emphasis on productivity at any cost. That’s an idea worth following\n\nHow to “Draw” Category Expansion\nIt helps to work visually with your categories, to map out your progress on them. I use a simple visual\nmethod: circles and lists (see Exhibit 5). All it takes is a big writing area. And I prefer an erasable\nmedium so I can reorganize as I go along. A big erasable wall board is great, but a pencil and paper (or\npaper and sticky notes) work fine for individual efforts.\n\nExhibit 5: Category Map\nExhibit 5 illustrates how I draw my mental map of categories as I use Category Expansion. It shows a\nwell- developed category map for the problem of how to find creative ways to reward employees for\nexceptional work. For a number of years, the company in question had run an annual Employee\nAppreciation Day, and so the initial “core dump” of items associated with employee rewards fell into this\ncategory. In later steps, new categories and items were added.\n\nChapter 10: Surfacing Assumptions\nWhen archaeologists translated 4500-year-old carvings on an Egyptian pyramid, they were surprised to\ndiscover medical advice that included the following item: “If a patient with a neck injury has loss of\nfeeling in the arms and legs, it is because of a break in the spinal cord.…This condition cannot be\ntreated” (New York Times, Sept. 30, 1997, p. C1). Today, we still view spinal cord injuries as essentially\nuntreatable for the simple reason that severed nerve tissues in the spinal cord do not regrow. It’s as if\nyou had cut off the limb of a tree—while the tree survives, the limb dies away and is lost. But trees can\ngrow new limbs. Why not people and other mammals?\nBy asking this “Why not?” question, I’m surfacing an assumption—a 4500-year-old assumption. I’m no\nscientist, but some people who are have begun exploring this same creative path. Research has shown\nthat olfactory nerve cells—the ones responsible for smell—do regrow after injuries. Now researchers\nare experimenting with injecting these cells into the injured spinal cords of lab mice to see what\nhappens. To date, they have demonstrated at least partial regrowth of spinal nerve tissue. So it may\nsoon be time to retire a very old assumption!\nMost workplace assumptions do not go back to ancient Egypt, but they might as well be carved inside a\npyra- mid, for they can be just as hard to find and to change. There are many hidden assumptions in\nevery decision we make, whether we decide to act or not to act. And one of the most powerful ways to\nsee new opportunities is to explore these assumptions. This process tool offers three activities that will\nhelp you (or a group) do so.\n1. Surfacing Assumptions\n2. Surfacing Obvious/Trivial Assumptions\n3. Reversing a Key Assumption\nWe’ll look at each one in turn.\n\nSurfacing Assumptions\nIt can take considerable creative insight to even recognize an assumption, which is why an activity like\nthis one is so useful. Its two question formats (see next page) are designed to structure assumption\nbrainstorming and to “trigger” idea generation. For the best results, repeat them several times with minor\nvariations. Be sure to include every assumption that occurs to you, even if the list reaches into the\ndozens (I use eight items in the for- mats because I find that groups get stuck at four or five.\nSurfacing Assumptions: Question Formats\nSET 1: Positive Assumptions\nWe plan to ____________________________________\nin order to accomplish ______________________________\nWhat are our assumptions?That:\nSET 2: Negative Assumptions\nWe can’t __________________________________________\nbecause __________________________________________\nWhat are our assumptions?That:\nIf you push groups to come up with eight, then the going is easy from there on out).\nFor Example\nA successful regional retailer fills in the Set 1 form as follows: “We plan to open stores in additional\ncities and states in order to maintain our fast growth rate.” Great idea. Or is it? Almost every retailer has\nconsidered this simple expansion strategy, but it only makes sense if the assumptions the retailer listed\nare valid.\nHere’s the list:\nOur store concept is broad (isn’t regional in appeal).\nDemand for our store concept will continue to be high.\nThe best way to grow fast is to open new stores.\nFast growth is necessary and healthy for us.\nWe can handle more stores if we open them.\nWe can open more without taking unacceptable risks.\nWe can find good store locations for rent.\nIf we grow our sales by opening stores, our profits will grow proportionately.\nCompetitors won’t open up similar stores elsewhere first, preempting our strategy.\nWe can find competent employees for our new locations at reasonable cost.\nIt isn’t feasible to grow fast by expanding in our current locations/markets.\nBy exploring these assumptions, the managers of this business are likely to generate a variety of\ncreative in-sights and to arrive at some interesting alternatives to their current plan. For instance, they\nmight reconsider the assumption that it isn’t feasible to expand their existing stores, and think about\nconverting a few into superstores. They could decide to experiment with their store layouts and product\nselection; or they might work on cutting costs and adding higher-value, higher-priced items so as to\ngrow profits rather than revenues.\nSome of these alternatives could have escaped serious consideration because of limiting\nassumptions. Let’s say the managers questioned the last assumption on their list, filled in Set 2 with\n“We can’t double or triple revenues in an existing store because we already gross around $750,000 per\nyear,” and listed “The industry maximum is $750,000” as one assumption. By exploring this negative\nassumption and others, they may find their choices are not as limited as they first believed.\nTheir Set 1 list may include dangerous assumptions too, ones in need of serious thought before any\nplan is implemented. If the managers haven’t thought hard about the future appeal of their store\nconcept, they should do that now. If it’s a fad, or if it could be knocked off by discounters, then they\nneed to focus on concept innovation before they worry about expanding to new sites.\n\nSurfacing Obvious/Trivial Assumptions\nSome assumptions seem obvious and trivial. You may feel they aren’t worth questioning because they\ndon’t significantly affect your decision making—or even if they do, you may feel you can’t do anything\nabout them. Please, please, include them anyway. They may lead you to other, important assumptions.\nYou may even see these so-called trivial assumptions in a new light later on, finding creative ways to\nmake them significant. So don’t hold back: include anything of possible relevance.\nFor Example\nIf you assume that the sun will keep coming up, state that. I know you can’t change it, but it still might\nprove relevant. Suppose you were in the business of selling sunglasses. Your next year’s marketing\nplan would certainly depend upon this assumption—perhaps in more subtle, relevant ways than\nexpected. You might look at the assumption “The sun will come up” and think of related assumptions\nlike “The sun will be bright,” “It won’t be cloudy,” and “People will go out in the sun.” Each of these is\nmore likely to be variable and thus to affect short-term demand for sunglasses. What if many people\nstart to spend more time indoors, or go outside in the morning and evening instead of at high noon?\nWhat about people whose sun exposure is limited to the daily commute and the occasional morning or\nevening jog? At these times, sunglasses may be inadequate for the combination of shadows and\nblinding, low-angle sunlight.\nIf you ponder the above, you may come to the same conclusion I did: that most lens designs for\nsunglasses are based on some false assumptions about usage, and that at the very least they could be\nmodified to suit early- and late-day lighting conditions. Perhaps lenses with dark peripheries and lighter\ncenters would do it. Or better versions of light-sensitive lenses. Or lenses that, with a quick touch, can\nbe rotated one way for light protection and the other way for seeing into shadows (modeled on\npolarizing light filters for cameras). As this simple example shows, surfacing and exploring the obvious\nand trivial can lead to many creative insights\n\nReversing a Key Assumption\nI once reviewed a marketing plan for a T-shirt company whose success was focused in one major city.\nCompany planners had gathered statistics on the average number of fashion (silk-screened) T-shirts\nowned by the typical resident of various other cities, and had found their city residents owned more than\nthe average. This, combined with a slowing sales-growth rate, convinced the planners that the local\nmarket was saturated and that they needed to open shop in four new cities in order to maintain their\ndesired rate of growth.\nTheir plan included details of how to produce and market products in four new cities with lower per\ncapita ownership of T-shirts. Would it work? Was it the best approach? To find out, I surfaced lots of\nassumptions, then asked myself which were the most important. I felt the assumption of market\nsaturation was the key, since it was what led them to look beyond their current market in the first place.\nAnd so I tried reversing this assumption in order to learn more about it.\nWhen you reverse an assumption, you try to find an opposite version of it that might be true. This is a\nlittle tricky, since there may be multiple opposites and partial opposites to consider. If so, just write them\nall out. There are no wrong or right answers as long as you wear your creative hat when reversing an\nassumption. Here are some of the reversals I considered:\nAssumption: The market for T-shirts is saturated when per capita ownership rises above the national\naverage. Therefore consumers will buy fewer shirts when they own more.\nThe market is not saturated in spite of the statistics.\nThe saturation assumption does not apply to T-shirts.\nPeople who own more T-shirts will buy more, not less.\nYou may very well be thinking, “Those reverse assumptions look like total nonsense!” And in fact they\nshould. Reversals of common assumptions turn conventional wisdom on its head. They violate common\nsense. And often, all you learn is that conventional wisdom was right. But sometimes (more often than\nyou might expect), you discover that conventional wisdom doesn’t apply. You discover some new way of\nlooking at the situation. And then it’s easy to come up with a creative approach that wins out over\nanything based on the old assumption.\nAs in this case. Because if you think hard about the T-shirt market, you may well decide that the reverse\nas-sumptions are more valid than the conventional, starting assumption. Really. The idea of a saturation\npoint is based on the assumption that the consumer only needs so much of a particular product. And\nthat is generally true. How many refrigerators does a household need? Not many. Once you’ve sold\nmost households their first refrigerator, the market is saturated. Future sales will be slower, limited by\nthe replacement rate for the product. That is certainly true too of the white T-shirts that men used to\nwear under their dress shirts. Once you had a few, you didn’t need more until they wore out.\nBut is it true of silk-screened T-shirts? Perhaps not. This is not a utilitarian product. It’s a fun product,\none that people buy on impulse, because they feel like it. And people who like T-shirts seem to buy a lot\nof them. While per capita ownership of T-shirts in this country is relatively low (less than five per\nperson), some people own fifty or more shirts—and intend to keep on buying. If you survey college\nstudents, for example, you find that they own on average about twenty T-shirts and that they say they\nwill probably buy five more in the next year. So it turns out that reversing the assumption about\nsaturation is very helpful. It can lead you to useful insights into the market. And to the conclusion that\nsales shouldn’t be slowing just because people in your local market already have lots of T-shirts.\nSomething else must be the culprit.\nFor instance, perhaps you aren’t offering enough new designs. Another thing that’s different about T-\nshirts compared to many other products is that nobody owns two of the same design, just as nobody\nowns more than one copy of a book or CD they like. This can be turned into a great advantage, for to\nsell more T-shirts, all you have to do is offer lots of appealing new designs.\nAs you might have guessed, my recommendation was to scrap that four-city expansion plan and to\nreplace it with a product-line expansion strategy instead. But I wouldn’t have had the creative insight to\n“see” this alternative if I hadn’t surfaced and then reversed a key assumption.\n\nChapter 11: The Fault Pair Tree\nPear tree, pair tree. Get it? That play on words may not be the best, but it’s useful for remembering and\nvisualizing this method. Fault pair trees are good for doing Why? brainstorming for problems. They not\nonly give you a way to organize the possible causes of a problem in a logical and visual pattern, but\nalso help you think creatively about those causes so that you can gain insight into the problem and its\nHow to Use the Fault Pair Tree\nThe Basic Method\nFault trees are not developed in a simple, linear method—they don’t grow neatly and they require\nreworking over time. It’s a creative process. Therefore the following steps are designed to get you\nstarted on the process, rather than to carry you all the way through it. With these steps and their\nexplanations as guides, you can get familiar enough with fault pair trees to use them to your best\nadvantage in creative problem solving.\nThe four basic steps are as follows:\n1. Write a clear and direct problem statement.\n2. Identify paired sets of faults or causes; use them to construct a fault pair tree.\n3. Ensure all pairs meet the requirement of completeness.\n4. Rework your fault pair tree in multiple passes.\nNow for a closer look at each of these steps.\n1 Write a clear and direct problem statement.\nHow you define the problem will affect the quality of your fault tree. The more simple and direct, the\nbetter. Try a clear, action-oriented description of the problem, and avoid problem definitions with hidden\ncausal assumptions in them. Remember, you will be focusing on causes in this method, brainstorming\nwhy the problem has occurred, and so you don’t want anything “leading” (or misleading, as the case\nmight be) in your statement.\nFor Example\nLet’s say you turn on your computer and it doesn’t start up. For your definition of the problem, you don’t\nwant to say, “The computer is broken,” since that may not be why it won’t go on. Instead, start with a\ndescription of the actual problem as you experienced it, such as “The computer didn’t start up when I\nflipped its switch from the ‘off’ to the ‘on’ position.” That’s all you really know about the problem, stripped\nof assumptions. If you condense that down, be careful not to lose or add any-thing significant to its\nmeaning. It’s fine to condense the statement to “The computer’s switch doesn’t turn the computer on,”\nbut not to “The computer’s switch doesn’t work,” since your experience does not actually prove that\nstatement to be true.\nPerhaps the simplest and most direct description of the problem would be this one:\nMy computer won’t turn on.\nIt gets the problem down to its bare essentials, does not suggest any assumptions that could mislead\nus, and so serves well as our problem statement.\nOnce you have your statement, you’re ready to construct a fault tree. As fault trees are represented\nvisually, you’ll need a large sheet of paper, a pencil, and an eraser—a big one, because over the course\nof working with your fault pair tree, you’ll probably be doing a lot of erasing! Don’t forget: this is a\nprocess that involves a good deal of revision.\nTo begin your fault pair tree, write your problem statement halfway down the right-hand side of the\npaper, and draw a box around it. Then identify a paired set of faults (or causes) that might explain why\nthe problem has occurred. Write them next to the problem statement and box each one separately. Link\nthem with a half circle or branching lines, to show they are paired; then connect them to the problem\nstatement. Now brainstorm a paired set of faults (or causes) for each boxed fault. Write the pairs down,\nbox them separately, link each set, and connect each set to its fault. Continue the process in this way,\ncreating more “branches” for your tree.\nFor Example\nYou might start by thinking “My computer won’t turn on because it isn’t getting power, or because of\nsome internal problem.” The first pair of faults are thus “no power to it” and “internal problem.” You\nwould draw boxes around them, link the boxes to show they are paired, and connect the set to what it\nexplains: in this case, to “My computer won’t turn on” (the “trunk” of the tree).\nNext you might decide that “cord failed” and “cord unplugged” are two logical causes of the “no power to\nit” explanation. You would add these, linking them to indicate their relationship and connecting them to\nwhat they explain. And you might explain “internal problem” with another pair of alternatives. If you keep\nthis analysis up long enough (and your technical knowledge holds out), you should eventually cover all\nthe possible causes of your computer’s failure to turn on. Exhibit 6 shows a simple tree based on this\n\nExhibit 6: Sample A, Fault Pair Tree\nWhy expose all the possible causes? Because in problem solving, it’s easy to overlook possible causes.\nMoreover, unless you sufficiently understand a problem’s causes, you cannot hope to find a solution.\nTherefore creative thinking about problems needs to focus sharply on causality. And cause\nbrainstorming—what you are really doing when you draw a fault pair tree—is a great way to gain\ncreative insight into any problem.\n3 Ensure all pairs meet the requirement of completeness.\nPart of what makes the fault-pairs process complex is the requirement that you work in pairs. Here’s a\nformal rule for how to do this:\nEach fault pair must be complete at its level.\nIn other words, the pair must encompass all possible explanations or causes. This is obviously an\nartificial constraint. Why should there be only two causes? This kind of either/or thinking is quite limiting\n(and elsewhere in the guidebook I advise you to beware of it). But the interesting thing is, you can\nalways find a way to encompass all possibilities using only two options. And the search for the right pair\nis inspiring, forcing considerable creative and analytical thinking. That’s why I like to work within the\nconstraint of a pairs-only fault tree. (Fault trees are often used in engineering and quality improvement\ncontexts, but lack this constraint, and are more technical and less creative as a result.)\nFor Example\nLet’s look again at Exhibit 6. Do the pairs in it meet the requirement of completeness? For instance, if\nthere is no power to the computer, could this only be because of (1) a bad cord or (2) an unplugged\ncord? What if the computer is plugged into a surge protector, and that isn’t plugged in? Or maybe the\nsurge protector and computer are plugged in, but the surge protector’s switch is off or its fuse has\nblown. Maybe the computer cord and surge protector are fine, but the wall socket isn’t receiving\nelectricity. And why not? Is there a power outage, a circuit-breaker problem, or an electrician working on\nthe wiring in the office? The more we think about this pair of faults, the more we can “see” new\nTo encompass all these possible reasons for the computer not receiving power, I’d have to modify and\nexpand my fault pair. In fact, I’d probably replace it with the far broader pair: (1) electricity not moving\nfrom wall switch to computer, and (2) electricity not reaching wall switch. Then I’d need to explore the\nnumerous possible causes of each of these faults—again by building pairs that are complete at their\nlevel and encompass everything beyond them.\nAnother benefit of the paired-cause requirement is that it sometimes makes you think of a cause you\nwouldn’t have considered otherwise, simply because you have to come up with something to round out\na pair. The other day I had to diagnose what was wrong with a light in my office; it didn’t work, and I\ndidn’t know why. Now this is a simple problem compared to a faulty computer, but I was stumped. So I\ntried a quick fault tree to stimulate my imagination. And it worked—I ended up struggling to find a\nsecond cause to go along with “bad light-bulb.” Either a bulb is bad or good, I thought. What other fault\ncould there be? For some reason I was plain “stuck” and couldn’t see that a good bulb might simply\nhave come loose in the socket. Only by staring at a blank spot in my fault tree was I able to come up\nwith that cause. And in fact that was the cause of the problem. Exhibit 7 shows the fault tree I created.\n\nExhibit 7: Sample B, Fault Pair Tree\n4 Rework your fault pair tree in multiple passes.\nFault pair trees are best designed through a series of “passes” in which you jot down your current best\nguesses, then revisit them later, probably replacing them with a new version. It usually takes three or\nfour passes to get even a simple fault pair tree “right.” It is therefore helpful to work on a large board or\nlarge sheets of pa-per, redrawing for each pass but keeping a copy of the old version in case you need\nit to jog your memory.\nFor example, in my first pass at the problem illustrated in Exhibit 7, my first pair of causes was “wall\nswitch bad” and “light broken.” But upon further thought, I saw this as an incomplete pair, and replaced\nit with “light is broken” and “no power reaching light.” My mental script went something like this: “What if\nthe light is unplugged or otherwise not getting power? Then these aren’t a ‘complete’ pair of\nI didn’t throw “wall switch bad” away, I just kept pushing it father down the branches of my growing fault\ntree until I found where it belonged. After several passes, it ended up four levels out—indicating that it\nwas badly misplaced on my first pass and would have blinded me to many possible causes had I not\nrevisited my thinking.\nOn my second pass, my mental script went like this: “It must be either no power to light or light not\nworking (or both). OK, that seems complete, and I can try fitting more pairs into it.” Then I went through\nseveral similar cycles of putting down pairs, and evaluating and rejecting them, before completing the\ntree in the Exhibit 7. (Note the alternative format used to draw the tree, which is built up from the bottom\nof the page—a possibility to keep in mind!)\n\nChapter 12: What/How Thinking\nThis method combines several different thinking tools into a creative approach that is especially suitable\nfor designing “out-of-the-box” solutions to problems. It helps you identify the components of the problem\nand gets you started at moving them around into novel configurations, so you have more material to\nwork with and can find new angles for attack. The method does this in a peculiarly user-friendly way, by\nhaving you begin with the benefits to the stakeholders: customers, users, or whoever is affected directly\nby the object or process in question.\nIn this respect, the method owes much to the field of total quality management, and as you will see, it\ncan even be used to build that most powerful but esoteric of TQM tools, the quality function deployment\n(QFD) matrix. But you need not take it to that level to benefit from it. There are many levels of\nWhat/How Thinking, and the majority of applications do not require high-level application. The “KISS”\nrule (Keep It Simple, Stupid!) applies to this as to all creativity methods.\nBecause the method analyzes specific objects or processes, many people assume that its applicability\nis limited. Not so! Just about every subject of creativity can be defined as an object or process, even if\nyou don’t usually think of it that way. For instance, let’s say you are wrestling with an interpersonal\nproblem—perhaps a team has internal conflicts and the leader isn’t good at resolving them. You could\neither take the object involved—the leader—as a subject for the method, or take the conflict resolution\nprocess itself. In fact, it could be helpful to do two analyses, one for each. You see, there is always\nsome way to find an object or a process and make it the focus of your creative thinking. If you can’t see\nat least one way to do so, stop and do some brainstorming on that problem first.\n\nHow to Use What/How Thinking\nThe Activity Steps\nThere are three major steps to this activity:\n1. Identify and explore the whats of the object or process.\n2. Identify and explore the hows related to the object or process.\n3. Build a What/How Relationship Matrix.\n1 Identify and explore the whats of the object or process.\nWhats are the things the object or process does, is supposed to do, or could do. They are its\nfunctions—what benefits an object or process delivers of value to its users. For example, a car door’s\nfunctions include things like “protect occupant,” “prevent theft,” “keep external environment out,” and\n“improve the look of the car.”\nThe goal of this step is a lengthy and varied list of current and possible functions. Lots of whats. You\ncan tackle this by simply brainstorming a list of functions. But it may not reveal as many possibilities as\nyou need to form a creative solution. So here are additional techniques you can use during this step if\nBrainstorm Using Function Questions\nHaving trouble thinking of functions for your list? Then try posing and answering questions in these\n“What are ___________’s functions?”\n“What are all of ____________’s possible uses or benefits?”\n“What can someone do with ____________?”\nSelect a question and see how much easier it is to come up with a long and varied list of possible\nMake a Function Tree\nInstead of simply listing functions, map them by using lines to show which functions “nest” under which,\nthus creating a branching function tree. For example, in exploring a car door’s functions, you would\ndraw separate lines from “car door” to functions like “protect occupant” and “keep external environment\nout.” Then you would show functions like “keep water out” and “keep sound out” as branching from\n“keep external environment out.” Or, if you had listed some of these sub-functions first (functions don’t\nalways occur to you in nested order), you would identify their relationship, create the bigger category for\nthem, and later go back and think of other sub-functions that fit in the category.\nYour mental script might run like this as you work on the function tree:\nThe functions “keep water out” and “keep sound out” belong together, on a “keep external environment\nout” branch. And, let’s see. Other functions on that branch include “keep wind out” and “keep criminals\nout.” Hmm . . . is a robber part of the environment? Not the physical environment anyway. Maybe\nthere’s a bigger category, “Exclude,” and one branch is “environment” and another is “people.” That\nwould suggest a similar branch, “include,” with functions like “keep children in and people from falling\nout,” “keep pets from jumping out,” and “keep hot/cool air in.” Do we offer any special restraints to keep\npets safe and still allow them to get fresh air?\nAnd there are some things that the door neither excludes completely nor includes completely—at least,\nthat’s true of fresh air, which the window lets in. And the view. So another main category might be\n“Controlled Access to Environment.” And that includes “access to fresh air,” “access to views,” and,\nhmm . . . anything else? “Access to toll booths.” Wonder if doors provide all the control we want for\nthese functions? I think we typically overlook this branch of the function tree.\nAs you work with a function tree, the mental struggle to group and nest functions forces many new\nfunction ideas to the surface. Thus it’s far easier to develop a lengthy list of functions using a tree than\na list. And many people find their mental scripts include a wide variety of interesting new design\nconcepts when they work with function trees—as does the script above.\nExplore Obvious and Non-Obvious Functions\nWhen you look at the functions of an object or process, it’s easy to stick with current functions—things\nthat are already part of the accepted deliverables. Car doors are currently designed to do certain\nbeneficial things for us, and eventually your function tree should reveal all of these obvious and\naccepted functions. But could car doors do other things? Is it possible to put them to use in the name of\nother, non-obvious or currently unacceptable functions? Sure. In general, there are alternative functions,\nand it often helps to explore them too.\nThe simplest way is to brainstorm two lists of functions by dividing a sheet of paper or board into two\ncolumns, the first labeled “Obvious/Accepted Functions,” the second labeled “Non-Obvious/Unaccepted\nFunctions.” The second category encourages freewheeling thoughts about odd and different uses for\nthe object or process.\nFor instance, could a car door be used like a wing, to make the car fly? (No, but write it down anyway,\nas it might lead to something useful later.) Or could the door perform an entertainment function, instead\nof just sitting there, closed and immobile, while you drive? Actually, it already does, since speakers are\noften mounted on the door (but I wouldn’t have thought of that without exploring the non-obvious). Could\nother forms of entertainment be added? Electronic game panels for back-seat doors? A pocket with\nprotective flap, stuffed with fun road games? And so forth.\nCombine the Function Tree and the Obvious/Non-Obvious Columns\nYou can combine the above techniques by drawing your function tree on paper or board that’s divided\ninto two columns. This gives you the most support for creative thinking and is what I prefer when I use\nthis method. I’ve illustrated the technique in Exhibit 8, in which I show a function tree for how to reduce\ncomplaints about lengthy elevator waits in an office building.\n\nExhibit 8: Elevator Function Tree\nSometimes you get what you want by working with the function lists and trees. If so, then stop here. But\nit’s often productive to go on to Step 2, in which you move from thinking about whats to thinking about\n2 Identify and explore the hows related to the object or process.\nAttributes are the characteristics of the object or process in question, the things you are able to\nmanipulate in designing it. They are often termed “hows” because they determine how you supply the\nwhats, or function-al benefits, of Step 1. The hows of car door design are things like the materials used,\nthe nature of the door hinges, the handles, the weather stripping, and so on. An engineer who designs\ncar doors can easily generate a lengthy, detailed list of hows, and even identify their formal measures\n(like weight, thickness, and closing pressure). The trouble with this engineering viewpoint is that it differs\nfrom the user’s viewpoint. It isn’t a functional perspective. Hows are the things we can manipulate to\ndeliver desirable whats, but they aren’t the whats, or functional benefits, in and of themselves. That’s\nwhy What/How Thinking starts with a functional analysis rather than an attribute analysis.\nBut once you have some creative ideas about the whats, the functions you wish to deliver, then it is\noften helpful to explore the hows, the attributes you will use to deliver those functions. Furthermore,\nsometimes your analysis of hows leads to additional creative insights about whats (remember, the\ncreative process is not linear). And so I recommend going through the same sort of analysis you used in\nStep 1, but focusing on attributes.\nThat means you need to brainstorm a list of hows. You may also find it useful to create a two-column list\nof obvious and non-obvious hows, and an attribute tree to explore the relationships among hows (the\nbasic instructions are the same as those given in Step 1; just the focus is different). Take the attribute\nanalysis as far as you need in order to gain creative insights and generate possible solutions to your\nExhibit 9 illustrates a two-step analysis of the elevator problem, in which both functions and attributes of\nelevators are listed (see following page).\n\nExhibit 9: Analysis of Elevator Problem\nThe display of whats and hows together should help you think of new and better ways to deliver the\nwhats by using the available hows. But sometimes the design solutions still don’t jump off the page—\nespecially if you’re dealing with a highly complex object or process, with lots of component whats. So\nyou may want to go to the third step of What/How Thinking, in which you use a simplified version of the\nformal QFD grid or “House of Quality” matrix.\n3 Build a What/How Relationship Matrix.\nNow comes the fun part. You get to draw a ridiculously large grid and start filling it up with strange\nsymbols and notations. The idea is to look for creative ways of delivering the desired functional benefits\n(whats) from the hows. For instance, say that you have your design elements for the elevator-wait\nproblem (like a waiting space with elevator buttons and lights, plus furniture and interesting items like\nwall hangings); how do you deliver these whats so that you get the most functional benefit from them?\nAnd is the list complete? Might adding something to do while people wait help reduce their boredom?\nAnd if you are going to provide things to do, what are those things and how can you deliver them using\navailable hows? Or do you need to add some hows? Such are the questions that this step helps us\ncope with.\nBut first, take some time to create a neat grid, with room on both the left-hand side and at the top for\nrow and column headings. Now enter your whats and hows in these spaces as headings. Whats go\ndown the left-hand side, as row heads. That keeps them clearly in focus as your end goals. Hows go\nacross the top, as col-umn heads. If you have nested whats in a function tree and hows in an attribute\ntree, then you can try to main-tain branch relationships by listing them in associated groups and by\nbracketing and labeling groupings. See Exhibit 10 for an example.\n\nExhibit 10: What/How Relationship Matrix (Source: Alexander Hiam and Edward Feit, Quality\nFunction Deployment: Adding Value to Products and Processes, American Management\nAssociation, Watertown MA, 1994, p. 82.)\nThe exhibit is from a training course I wrote on Quality Function Deployment, a formal TQM method that\nuses such matrices for highly elaborate, involved design work. For complex objects or processes in\nwhich many factors interact and resource constraints frustrate the designers, I highly recommend the\nQFD process (it’s absolutely great for reengineering complex processes). The steps I’ve described\nabove, for What/How Thinking, are a great warm-up for QFD too. However, QFD is a lengthy and\ninvolved activity, requiring a commitment of many dozens of hours of work from a design team. And it\ntakes some study to master—as you might imagine, since I wrote an entire training program on how to\ndo it. So for most creativity efforts, my advice is, don’t bother—a simpler process will probably serve\nyour needs just as well.\nInstead of using the matrix for a formal analysis of correlations between whats and hows—as QFD\ndoes—just use it for brainstorming. If you make the cells of your matrix big enough, you can write ideas\nin them, or big question marks with call-out code numbers to ideas and questions you list below the\nmatrix. Thus, you’re simply using the matrix as a visual aid for thinking about ways of delivering whats\nwith hows.\nDon’t be surprised if your analysis brings you back to earlier steps of the method. You may have a\nsudden idea that involves expanding on or reorganizing your lists of whats or hows. Great! The goal is\ncreativity, not neatness, so go ahead and rework your matrix to reflect any and all ideas it generates. If\nneed be, redraw it and start again. Pencils and chalk are cheap.\nRating the Importance of Whats\nTo refine your work during Step 3, you can incorporate some survey data or best guesses about the\nrelative importance of different whats. Exhibit 10 shows whats ranked by importance on a scale of 1 to\n9, for example. The advantage of importance ratings is that they help you focus your design work on the\nwhats or hows that the customers or stakeholders are most concerned with. And when there seems to\nbe a trade-off decision, you can favor more important whats at the expense of less important ones. Just\nremember, you must rate the importance from the user’s viewpoint, not the designer’s.\nLet’s say, for example, that you want to gather data on the relative importance of various functions an\nelevator can provide to an office building’s tenants. You might do this by making a list of the whats\nyou’ve brainstormed, then asking tenants to rate each one on a 1 to 9 scale from unimportant to\nimportant. Also, you would have to be certain to leave a few lines labeled “Other” in case respondents\ncan think of benefits that have escaped your notice. You might get some surprising answers that steer\nyour work into more productive areas.\n\nThe Importance of Customer Voice\nWhat/How Thinking developed from my work in TQM and process reengineering, both of which include\na principle I find particularly applicable to creativity work. The principle is that you must capture the\ncustomer’s voice faithfully. If you aren’t familiar with TQM, this takes a bit of explaining. First, note\nthat the customer is anyone who consumes or uses the object or process; in other words, customers are\nthe stakeholders you’re de-signing for—the people who care about the whats and will receive the\nbenefits of your work. That means customers are not always paying customers—in fact, much of the\ntime they aren’t.\nSecond, note that the customer’s voice is what those customers say about what they want, in their\nspecific language. This is important even if they say stuff that sounds stupid or lacks technical\nknowledge of the object or process. You may know, for instance, that the time of an elevator trip is\nbroken up into “call time,” “egress time,” “trip time,” or some other set of technical terms people use in\nthe elevator industry. But don’t force your technical knowledge on the customer. Instead, listen to their\nvoices and capture their way of thinking and talking about the wait. Maybe they divide wait time into\n“boredom,” “embarrassment,” “frustration,” and “anxiety.” If so, then you need to redesign the elevators\nto help users avoid those unpleasant emotional states, whether that involves cutting “egress time” or\nThe point is, the customer’s experience of the object or process is captured in their voice. And their\nexperience is the only reality that matters if you want them to be satisfied. That’s why it’s so important in\nquality work to listen carefully to what customers say and then to use their actual words faithfully\nthroughout the creative design process.\nCustomer Voice as a Creative Stimulus\nWhat/How Thinking is at its most powerful as a creative tool when you carefully integrate customer\nvoice into it. Just listen to people talk about your subject, or go and conduct some informal interviews\nwith users or consumers. In many cases, you will be surprised by their views—and will learn new ways\nof “seeing” your subject from this exercise. And these views will help you write a fresh, new list of whats,\nwhich will stimulate many new, creative trains of thought. Customer voice can be a powerful stimulus of\ncreative thinking, but only if you give it a chance.\nChapter 13: Transferal: Creating a Climate for Creativity\nWhether you are using this guidebook for self-training or are basing a training curriculum on it, you face\nthe same difficult issue everyone in training and development does: how to transfer what is learned to\nactual, practical use on the job. This issue is especially important in light of the generally accepted\nestimate that, of the whopping $400 billion in U.S. annual corporate training expenditures, only 10\npercent transfers to profitable on-the-job changes in employee behavior. Apparently it’s far easier to\nlearn new skills and behaviors than to use them.\nIn this book, I’ve presented a new take on creativity that is designed to help break down these barriers\nbetween learning and using knowledge. My main strategy has been to give you more practical and\npowerful tools and techniques than are typically taught to trainees. This strategy helps close the\nlearning-to-usage gap by delivering knowledge that is easier to use and more beneficial to use\nBut the gap will still exist in your workplace, and in every other user’s workplace, because there are\nmany components to it, some of which I, the author, cannot eliminate. In the first chapter of this book, I\nshared the personal creativity assessment with you, which will help you identify factors that you can\nwork on to maximize your creativity. And now, in this final chapter I’ll share another perspective that may\nalso be helpful to you.\nTransfer Climate and Its Assessment\nCurrent research into the knotty problem of knowledge transfer in corporate training points to one\nparticularly important but often overlooked set of factors; they concern the transfer climate—which I\ndefine as the context in which you try to use your knowledge. This context includes issues such as\nsupervisor support (or lack of), peer support, opportunities to use the knowledge, and personal benefits\narising from use of the knowledge. If all these forces are aligned to encourage us to use our new\nknowledge on the job, then we will use it. If not, we won’t, and our training will be wasted.\nBefore ending this book, I want to help you take a careful look at the transfer climate in which your\nlearning will (or will not) be applied. To do so, I have provided a simple but powerful assessment\ninstrument you can use to anticipate both positive and negative influences and see whether the current\ntransfer climate in your organization is favorable. The assessment also will help you find out which\nspecific factors deserve your attention should the transfer climate be unfavorable.\nWe can often influence aspects of the transfer climate, whether we have positional power over them or\nnot. Simply recognizing that a factor is holding us back is a big step toward fixing it. But unfortunately,\nmost people fail to recognize the importance of transfer climate factors. So please, answer the following\nquestions, and give some creative thought to improving your scores on any factors that you find are\nlikely to block the successful use of newfound creativity skills. Remember: you will see more benefits\nfrom these skills if you identify the factors relevant to your workplace and do what you can to influence\nthem in favor of the successful transfer of knowledge.\nThe Transfer Climate Assessment\n\nInstructions: To evaluate the transferability of creativity skills in the workplace, check off all the items\nbelow that clearly apply to the workplace in question; then read the section on interpretation that follows.\n√ √√ √ Positive Factors\nSupervisors support and encourage use of learning about creativity on the job.\nSupervisors have a clear understanding of the learning and how it should be applied.\nPeople who use their creative skills in this workplace are likely to receive positive feedback\nconcerning their efforts.\nIf people know you are working on a creative effort, they are likely to offer their help and support.\nPeople who use their creativity skills in this workplace are likely to receive career benefits, such as\nraises or career advancement.\nPeople who use their creativity skills in this workplace are likely to receive recognition and rewards.\nPeople who make creative suggestions are kept well informed about the development of their\nWork provides frequent opportunities to use one’s learning about creativity.\nSome of the most successful people in this workplace provide good role models of creativity and its\nvalue in work.\nPeers (including team members) agree that it is important to devote more time to creativity in the\nSupervisors will probably set goals concerning the use of creativity techniques.\n√ √√ √ Negative Factors\nMost people in this workplace do not view creativity skills and behaviors as important.\nSupervisors discourage individual contemplation and creative thinking because they are not\n“physical” activities (people who do them look like they are goofing off).\nPeers sometimes discourage creative behaviors.\nThe organization fails to provide resources needed to use creativity methods, such as appropriately\nequipped meeting rooms for group creativity and private places for individual creativity.\nEmployees are sometimes penalized for making creative suggestions.\nIt is often embarrassing to share one’s most creative ideas in this workplace.\nPeople who use creativity skills in this workplace usually receive no feedback on their efforts.\nPeople who use creativity skills in this workplace are more likely to receive negative feedback than\npositive from their supervisor(s) and/or peers.\nPeople in this workplace cannot be trusted with one’s potentially embarrassing ideas and\n\nInterpretation of the Assessment\nThe good news is this. If you checked off even a few of the positive factors, your transfer climate has\nsome strongly beneficial elements. These are factors that will encourage you (or those you train) to\nactively apply creativity skills at work. Even one positive factor can make a big difference. And it isn’t too\nhard to build the number of good influences.\nUse the eleven items in the “Positive” category as a basis for your planning by looking for factors you\ncan add to the mix. If you tackle the factors one at a time, you can often add four or five without too\nmuch resistance. I bring up resistance because you will certainly need to enlist the help of others—\nsupervisors, peers, team leaders, and so forth—so be prepared to educate them about the importance\nof these positive factors. Think of creative ways to convince and remind them that they need to\nencourage the use of creativity in order to profit from it.\nThe bad news is this. If you checked off any of the nine negative factors, you can expect some serious\nobstacles to profitable use of creativity skills. Any one of these factors is capable of sabotaging the\ntransfer of creativity skills. Unlike the positive factors, they aren’t easy to deal with. You can’t, for\nexample, just eliminate one or two and expect to see a big improvement. That’s be-cause we are all\npretty sensitive about creative behaviors—and quick to “pull in our creative heads” if the climate is\nunfavorable or threatening in any way.\nSo to really profit from creativity, you need to work systematically on the negative factors, with the goal\nof eliminating them all as soon as possible. Seriously! And you will find considerable difficulty in doing\nso. Difficulty arises from three sources:\n1. Your own bad habits. Are you sufficiently aware of them to change them?\n2. Others’ bad habits. Make sure you build awareness of negative behaviors so people will be able to\n“catch themselves” before engaging in those behaviors.\n3. Others’ resistance. Some people just won’t buy the idea that creativity is vitally important. You\nbetter be prepared to sell the idea to them, or they will secretly sabotage the transfer climate by\nbehaving negatively toward those who try to be creative. The best way to sell people on the\nvalue of creativity is to get them to study it too!\nForewarned is forearmed. Plan to work on breaking your own and others’ bad habits, and also expect\nsome active resistance from those who don’t yet understand the value of creativity.\nBut even with this knowledge and preparation, you may be unable to eliminate all nine negative factors.\nDon’t despair! The alternative is to balance them with a larger number of positive factors. We all\nrecognize that the workplace is never ideal, and as long as there are enough positive factors to make us\nfeel that creativity is accepted and beneficial, we can learn to live with the occasional negative\nWhen you act creative, you are creative. But when you act creative, some people think you’re nuts. Hey,\nyou can live with that. It comes with the territory. Trust me, the payoff in great new ideas is worth far\nmore than the occasional embarrassment.\nTo Recap: Process Tools and Transferal\nThese are the creative process tools and transferal material we have covered in Part 2. They will get\nyou started on nurturing your creative greenhouse and helping others do the same. Good luck, and\nagain …\nMay the force of creativity be with you!\nThe Creatercize Activity\nThe Magic Toolbox\nThree-Step Word Association\nCategory Expansion\nSurfacing Assumptions\nThe Fault Pair Tree\nWhat/How Thinking\nTransferal: Creating a Climate for Creativity\n\nSign up to vote on this title\nUsefulNot useful", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.749842643737793}
+{"content": "The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism\n\nARMC5 Mutations in a Large Cohort of Primary Macronodular Adrenal Hyperplasia: Clinical and Functional Consequences.\n\nPMID 25853793\n\n\nPrimary bilateral macronodular adrenal hyperplasia (PBMAH) is a rare cause of primary adrenal Cushing's syndrome (CS). ARMC5 germline mutations have been identified recently in PBMAH. To determine the prevalence of ARMC5 mutations and analyze genotype-phenotype correlation in a large cohort of unrelated PBMAH patients with subclinical or clinical CS. ARMC5 was sequenced in 98 unrelated PBMAH index cases. PBMAH was identified by bilateral adrenal nodular enlargement on computed tomography scan. The effect on apoptosis of ARMC5 missense mutants was tested in H295R and HeLa cells. Clinical and hormonal data were collected including midnight and urinary free cortisol levels, ACTH, androgens, renin/aldosterone ratio, cortisol after overnight dexamethasone suppression test, cortisol and 17-hydroxyprogesterone after ACTH 1-24 stimulation and illegitimate receptor responses. Computed tomography and histological reports were analyzed. ARMC5-damaging mutations were identified in 24 patients (26%). The missense mutants and the p.F700del deletion were unable to induce apoptosis in both H295R and HeLa cell lines, unlike the wild-type gene. ARMC5-mutated patients showed an overt CS more frequently, compared to wild-type patients: lower ACTH, higher midnight plasma cortisol, urinary free cortisol, and cortisol after dexamethasone suppression test (P = .003, .019, .006, and <.001, respectively). Adrenals of patients with mutations were bigger and had a higher number of nodules (P = .001 and <.001, respectively). ARMC5 germline mutations are common in PBMAH. Index cases of mutation carriers show a more severe hypercortisolism and larger adrenals. ARMC5 genotyping may help to identify clinical forms of PBMAH better and may also allow earlier diagnosis of this disease.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9852735996246338}
+{"content": "NEW YORK: Around 18,700 jobs were lost in the US advertising and media industries in December 2008, taking the total for the year from the same month in 2007 to 65,100, according to figures from industry title Advertising Age.\n\nBased on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Ad Age estimates that the total number of people employed in the advertising and media industries has fallen by 3.9% to a total of 1.59 million people by December this year.\n\nAdvertising and marketing services firms cut 24,100 jobs, or 3.1% of staff, from December 2007 to the same month last year, with agencies haemorrhaging 6,000 jobs, and graphic design firms reducing their total number of employees by 7,400.\n\nMedia companies also slashed 41,000 jobs, or 4.6% of the sector's workforce, with newspapers' empoyment levels down by 31,200, magazines by 4,500, broadcast TV by 5,100, and radio by 8,100.\n\nBy contrast, cable TV added 2,500 jobs, online media companies hired an extra 5,400 staff, while marketing consultants (+2,200) and PR agencies (+1,200) also made additions to the workforce.\n\nOverall, Ad Age estimates that the US ad industry is finding things tougher than the country as a whole, which has seen employment levels decline by a total of 2.6% since December 2007.\n\nData sourced from; additional content by WARC staff", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9868466854095459}
+{"content": "Anabole steroider russere bivirkninger\n\nI’m in Bangkok and surprised about how many people are having difficulty getting gear. I should start my own business just buying from these guys and selling to you!. If you’re coming here and want to know where you can get the stuff I’ll give you the details. He is very legit and I’ve seen some serious competition bodybuilders who buy from him. Also they sell a brand that is trustable in Thailand. It’s not what I do a for a living but I’d be glad to help as long as I’m not inundated with emails 🙂 I found at least 2 pharamcies that sell testorone which seems very common at pharamcies in certain areas.\n\nThe 17α-methylation of the steroid does allow it to pass through the liver without being broken down allowing it to be taken orally. It also has the effect of decreasing the steroid's affinity for sex hormone binding globulin, a protein that de-activates steroid molecules and prevents them from further reactions with the body. As a result, Methandienone is significantly more active than an equivalent quantity of testosterone , resulting in rapid growth of muscle tissue. However, the concomitant elevation in estrogen levels - a result of the aromatization of Methandienon - results in significant water retention. This gives the appearance of great gains in mass and strength, which prove to be temporary once the steroid is discontinued and water weight drops. Because of this, it is often used by bodybuilders only at the start of a \"steroid cycle\", to facilitate rapid strength increases and the appearance of great size, while compounds such as TestaPlex C 200 or DecaPlex with long acting esters build up in the body to an appreciable amount capable of supporting anabolic function on their own.\n\nAnabole steroider russere bivirkninger\n\nanabole steroider russere bivirkninger\n\n\nanabole steroider russere bivirkningeranabole steroider russere bivirkningeranabole steroider russere bivirkninger", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6101502180099487}
+{"content": "Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa\nConseil pour le développement de la recherche en sciences sociales en Afrique\nConselho para o Desenvolvimento da Pesquisa em Ciências Sociais em África\nمجلس تنمية البحوث الإجتماعية في أفريقيا\n\nChild Poverty and Social Protection in Western and Central Africa\n\nAbuja, Nigeria, 23-25 May 2016\n\nNumber of visits: 570\n\n\nAccording to a path-breaking study commissioned by UNICEF in 2003, child poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa (in particular in Western and Central Africa) was extremely high. Fortunately, the situation has since improved in many countries. This is in part due to the expansion of social protection. However, given the rate of population growth, the decline is too low to make a dent in the total number of children living in poverty, contrary to the trend of adult poverty. It also seems that the reduction in child poverty has occurred in areas and among groups that are relatively close to those who are better off. Thus, inequalities, social exclusion, and the depth of poverty might have increased. Moreover, this takes place in a context where social protection is still limited and fragmented in most countries.\n\nThis workshop will seek to further understand the trends of child poverty, its distribution, and how social protection has contributed, or not, to its decline in Western and Central Africa during the last 10-15 years. It will also explore the types and limitations of social protection in the region, as well as its accomplishments. Other policies that can help reduce child poverty, improve well-being, and address inequities will be investigated.\n\nThe main objective of the workshop is to engender dialogue among academics, policy-makers, and civil society representatives about policies to expand social protection and eliminate child poverty in Western and Central Africa.\n\nPapers are invited to answer the following questions for a given country or comparing across countries:\n What changes in the incidence, depth, and distribution (geographically or among socio-economic groups) of child poverty have been observed in recent years? Have inequalities and ethnic discrimination played a role in these trends? And what has been the impact of emergencies (e.g. the Ebola epidemic, floods/drought or armed conflicts) on the incidence and depth child poverty?\n Are trends similar across the different dimensions of child poverty? How sensitive are these trends to adjustments in the deprivation thresholds in these dimensions?\n Which policies have demonstrably contributed to (or hindered) these trends? What role has social protection played in reducing child poverty?\n What is the state of social protection in Western and Central African countries and how has it evolved?\n What is the political economy of social protection in Western and Central African countries?\n What lessons can be learned for successful regional integration? What should be key elements / instruments for a Regional Social Protection Policy?\n\nPapers addressing other similar and pertinent questions about the trends, distribution, and depth of child poverty and social protection policies, including experiences from other regions, would also be welcome.\n\nSelected participants will engage actively in presentations and discussions of all papers throughout the workshop. The presentations can be made in any of the ECOWAS official languages. After the workshop, participants should be willing to edit their paper with a view to publication. Participants are responsible for their own travel expenses and medical insurance. There will be support to cover room and board during the event. A limited number of travel subsidies are available. For co-authored papers, only one author may apply for grants.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9908663630485535}
+{"content": "Symphony, K. 45b by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart\n\n\n'''Symphony in B-flat major \"No. 55\"''', K. Anh. 214/45b, was probably written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in early 1768 in Salzburg.\n\nThe symphony is scored for two oboes, two horns and strings. In contemporary orchestras, it was also usual to include bassoons and harpsichord if they were available in the orchestra to reinforce the bass line and act as the continuo. The duration is approximately 13 minutes.\n\n\n\\relative c' {\n\n\\tempo \"Allegro\"\n\n\\key bes \\major\n\n\\time 3/4\n\n2.\\f |\n\nr4 f'(\\p d) |\n\nes4( g) r |\n\nr4 es( c) |\n\nd4( f) r |\n\nbes,8\\f c16 d es f g a bes8 bes |\n\nbes8 c, c4 r |\n\n\nThe symphony consists of the following movements:\n\n#Allegro, 3/4\n\n#Andante, 2/4\n\n#Menuetto, 3/4\n\n#Allegro, 2/4\n\nThis work was only known to Ludwig Ritter von Köchel as an incipit in the catalogue of Breitkopf & Härtel, and thus it was placed in the Anhang as K. Anh. 214. Alfred Einstein then discovered a set of parts in the Berlin State Library with the title ''\"Synfonia Ex Bb...Del Sigr. cavaliere Amadeo Wolfgango Mozart Maestro di concerto di S.A. á Salisburgo\"''. Wolfgang became the Concertmaster to the Archbishop of Salzburg in November 1769, and was given the title \"cavaliere\" in July 1770, but as this is a later copy, this information cannot be used for dating purposes. Einstein believed the symphony to date from early 1768 on stylistic grounds; Neal Zaslaw and Gerhard Allroggen believe even earlier dates to also be possible, and Zaslaw dated the symphony cautiously to Salzburg in 1767. Einstein also believed that the symphonies in the catalogue of Breitkopf & Härtel were sent by Leopold Mozart to be published.\n\nThe Alte Mozart-Ausgabe (published 1879-1882) gives the numbering sequence 1-41 for the 41 numbered symphonies. The unnumbered symphonies (some, including K. 45b, published in supplements to the Alte-Mozart Ausgabe until 1910) are sometimes given numbers in the range 42 to 56, even though they were written earlier than Mozart's Symphony No. 41 (written in 1788). The symphony K. 45b is given the number 55 in this numbering scheme.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.995239794254303}
+{"content": "STScI Logo\n\nrmode images.imfilter\n\n\n\nrmode -- ring modal filter a list of images\n\n\nrmode input output rinner router\n\n\nList of input images.\nList of filtered images. The number of input images must be the same as the number of output images. If the input image name equals the output image name the filtered image replaces the original image.\nrinner, router\nThe inner and outer semi-major axes of the ring filter in pixels. If rinner is set to 0.0 then the ring filter becomes a circular filter.\nratio = 1.0\nThe ratio of the semi-minor axis to the semi-major axis of the ring filter. If ratio is 1.0 the ring filter is circularly symmetric.\ntheta = 0.0\nThe position angle of the major axis of the ring filter. Theta is measured counter-clockwise in degrees from the x axis and must be between 0 and 180 degrees.\nzloreject = INDEF, zhireject = INDEF\nThe minimum and maximum good pixel values. Zloreject and zhireject default to -MAX_REAL and MAX_REAL respectively.\nboundary = \"nearest\"\nThe type of boundary extension. The options are:\nUse the value of the nearest pixel.\nUse a constant value.\nReflect pixel values around the boundary.\nWrap pixel values around the boundary.\nconstant = 0.\nThe value for constant valued boundary extension.\n\n\nRMODE takes a list of input images input and produces a list of filtered images output . The filter consists of a sliding circular / elliptical or annular circular / elliptical window whose size and orientation is determined by the rinner , router , ratio , and theta parameters. The center pixel in the window is replaced by the mode of the pixel distribution where mode is defined below.\n\n\tmode = 3. * median - 2. * mean\n\nThe median is defined as the value of the (n + 1) / 2 number in an ordered sequence of numbers. Out of bounds pixel references are handled by setting the parameter boundary . The principal function of the circular / ellptical filter is to smooth and image using a circularly / elliptically symmetric filter. The principal function of the circular / elliptical ring filter is to remove objects from the image which have a scale length of rinner and replace them with an estimate of the local background value.\n\nThe zloreject and zhireject parameters may be used to reject bad data from the modal filtering box. If no good data is left in a given filtering box, then the mode is set to zloreject if the majority of the pixels are less than zloreject, or to zhireject if the majority of pixels are greater than zhireject.\n\n\nThe properties of the ring median filter and its application to astronomical analysis problems is summarized in the article \"A Ring Median Filter for Digital Images\" (Secker, J., 1995, PASP, 107, 496-501) and references therein.\n\nA derivation of the expression for the mode used here can be found in \"Statistics in Theory and Practice\", Robert Lupton, 1993, Princeton University Press, problem 2.\n\n\n1. Modal filter an image using a circular ring filter with an inner radius of 4 pixels and a width of 1 pixel.\n\n   cl> rmode input output 4.0 5.0\n\n2. Modal filter an image using a circular filter of outer radius 3.0.\n\n   cl> rmode input output 0.0 3.0\n\n3. Modal filter the test image dev$pix rejecting any pixels < 5 or greater than 19935 from the modal filter using a circular filter of outer radius 5.0.\n\n    im> rmode dev$pix output 0.0 5.0 zloreject=5 zhireject=19935\n\n\nIt requires approximately 59 and 35 CPU seconds to modal filter a 512 by 512 square integer image with a circular filter of radius 5 pixels and a ring filter of inner and outer radii of 4.0 and 5.0 pixels respectively. (SPARCStation2).\n\n\n\n\nSource Code · Search Form · STSDAS", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7416510581970215}
+{"content": "About SMA\n\nSpinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) refers to a group of inherited diseases of the motor nerves that cause muscle weakness and atrophy (wasting). The motor nerves arise from the spinal cord and control the muscles that are used for activities such as breathing, crawling, walking, head and neck control, and swallowing. SMA is a rare disorder affecting approximately 1 out of every 6,000 births.\n\nSMA affects muscles throughout the body. In the most common types, weakness in the legs is generally greater than in the arms. Usually feeding, swallowing, and respiratory function (e.g., breathing, coughing, and clearing secretions) can be affected. When the muscles used for breathing and coughing are affected and weakened, this can lead to an increased risk for pneumonia and other respiratory infections, as well as breathing difficulty during sleep. The brain’s cognitive functions are not affected. People with SMA are generally grouped into one of four types (I, II, III, IV) based on their highest level of motor function or ability.\n\nUnderstanding SMA:\n\nSMA is an autosomal recessive genetic disease. One out of every 40 people are genetic carriers of the disease (meaning that they carry the mutated gene but do not have SMA). In order for a child to be affected by SMA, usually both parents are carriers of the abnormal gene and pass this gene on to their child. Thus the child has 2 abnormal copies of the gene, one from each parent, and this is termed a recessive genetic disease. When both parents are carriers, the possibility of a child inheriting the disorder is 1 in 4, with each pregnancy.\n\nSMA is caused by a missing or abnormal (mutated) gene known as survival motor neuron gene 1 (SMN1). In a healthy person, this gene produces a protein in the body called survival motor neuron (SMN) protein. In a person with mutated genes, this protein is absent or significantly decreased, and causes severe problems for motor neurons. Motor neurons are nerve cells in the spinal cord which send out nerve fibers to muscles throughout the body. Since SMN protein is critical to the survival and health of motor neurons, nerve cells may shrink and eventually die without this protein, resulting in muscle weakness. As a child with SMA grows, it is difficult for his/her weakened muscles to keep up with the demands of daily activities. The resulting weakness can also lead to bone and spine changes that may cause breathing problems and further loss of function.\n\nThere are four types of SMA: Type I, II, III, and IV. The determination of the type of SMA is based upon the physical milestones achieved.\n\nType I\n\nSMA Type I is also called Werdnig-Hoffmann Disease. The diagnosis of children with this type is usually made before 6 months of age, depending on the severity of their disease. Usually children with SMA Type I have poor head control and are not able to accomplish developmentally-expected motor skills. The hallmark feature of SMA Type I is that children are unable to sit or stand without help. Swallowing and feeding will become difficult for children with this type of SMA and they will eventually lose the ability to swallow safely without aspirating (choking or inhaling secretions and food particles into the lungs). Children will eventually require a feeding tube.\n\nChildren with SMA Type I will experience weakness of the muscles used for breathing, those that help expand the chest and fill the lungs with air. The chest is smaller than usual in these children and they begin to breathe using primarily their stomach muscles (belly breathing). The lungs do not fully develop due to this type of breathing, and coughing becomes very weak.\n\nType II\n\nThe diagnosis of SMA Type II is almost always made before 2 years of age. Children with this type have delayed motor milestones and display a range of physical abilities. The hallmark feature of SMA Type II is the ability to maintain a seated position unsupported. With assistance and bracing these children may be able to stand, but are unable to walk and require a wheelchair to get around. Children with SMA Type II usually do not have swallowing problems, but this can vary from child to child. Some children may have difficulty eating enough food by mouth to maintain their weight and grow, and a feeding tube may become necessary. Children with SMA Type II may also develop weakness of the muscles used for breathing and experience difficulty coughing. Some of these children may require equipment to help them breathe easier at night.\n\nType III\n\nSMA Type III is typically diagnosed by 3 years of age, but can be diagnosed as late as the teenage years. The hallmark feature of SMA Type III is the ability to stand and walk independently. Affected individuals may have difficulty walking, running, and climbing stairs as they get older; some will lose the ability to walk independently in childhood, while others may remain ambulatory into adolescence or adulthood. Problems with the spine (scoliosis) may develop at various rates and ages. Swallowing and coughing difficulties, along with breathing difficulty at night, may occur but do so less commonly and later in the disease course than in SMA Type II. Children and adults with SMA Type III are at risk of becoming overweight, as they are not usually able to be extremely physically active. Fine shaking of the fingers and hands (tremors) can be seen in this type of SMA, and symptoms of joint aches and overuse frequently occur. Curvature of the spine may occur and can be treated with a brace and in some instances surgery. As in all SMA Types, bones become weak and may break easily, and a variety of therapeutic supports are available to help position individuals and maintain mobility.\n\nType IV (Adult Onset)\n\nIn the adult form of SMA, mild to moderate symptoms usually begin in the second or third decade of life, typically after the age of 35, although they may occur as early as 18 in some cases. Adult onset SMA is much less common than the other forms. It is typically characterized by mild motor impairment such as muscle weakness, tremor, and twitching, with or without respiratory problems. Weakness is gradual and the muscles used for swallowing and breathing are rarely affected in Type IV. Life expectancy is normal and therapeutic supports are available to help maintain optimal function for individuals with SMA Type IV", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9747987389564514}
+{"content": "Intertwined Realities: Marie Sjøvold’s Photographs\n\nWritten by Christine Hansen\n\n[Philosophers] know the universe before they know 
the house, the far horizon before the resting-place.\n— – The Poetics of Space, Gaston Bachelard\n\nMarie Sjøvold’s art explores timeless themes such as maternity, family, and sleep. We live at a time when motherhood is subject to constant discussion and focus, and many women feel pressured to share their maternal bliss on social media. Although the home, the family, and motherhood are all visible elements in society, a deeper reflection on such essential frameworks of everyday life is often lacking. It is precisely this type of reflection that is at the heart of Sjøvold’s oeuvre. In Midnight Milk (2015), for example, we follow the photographer through various stages, as a heavily pregnant woman, a recent mother, and a mother with young children. In a photograph taken right after the birth of her son, we see the photographer resting with her baby lying close to her chest. The plastic bracelet around his hand and the white linen indicate that she is in hospital. The artist appears to be asleep, but her hand, which is holding the child’s head, reveals that she is merely resting. Her hair is dishevelled, and her facial and body hair seem almost canvas-like. For anyone who has seen a woman right after she has given birth, there is a sense of corporeal recognition in this scene. The picture showcases Sjøvold’s ability to turn the intimate and private into something universal. This is no rosy-eyed depiction of postpartum reality. As spectators, we can feel the exhaustion and at the same time the almost brutal proximity to life. \n\n\nIn another work, Sjøvold shows us an equally direct portrayal of her husband along with his daughter and his new-born son on his arm. The subject’s vulnerable gaze and naked body, which his daughter has drawn on with lines of red and blue, hit us deep inside. This sombreness is counterpoised by a sun drawn on his chest and a smiley on the baby’s nappy. Sjøvold’s works show us intimacy and helplessness, but also strength and sensuality. Her pictures are multifaceted, devoid of clear-cut answers. \n\n\nSjøvold makes use of autobiographical elements in her projects. Even though her pictures look authentic and effortless, the journey from life to picture is actually a time-consuming one. One particular challenge is that she features in her own pictures. Sjøvold reveals that she uses many different methods when she photographs herself. Sometimes she uses the camera’s self-timer, other times she uses a remote shutter to take sequential photos. Oftentimes she films what she wants to photograph and lets whatever happens to manifest itself during the process serve as the basis for developing a photograph. “It’s like a little performance that no one sees,” she says. \n\n\nIt is particularly interesting to compare this latter strategy with the technique employed by the Canadian photographer Jeff Wall. Wall often refers to his photographs as “near documentaries” because many of his pictures stem from his own experiences, which are then recreated as a photo in front of a camera. This process is akin to cinematography, given that Wall often operates with stagings that can be as extensive as those on a film set. Interestingly enough, Sjøvold works in the opposite manner, shooting film to begin with and then letting this staged event in front of a camera serve as the basis for something personal. Sjøvold’s and Wall’s divergent methods show that the staged and the personal are not necessarily mutually exclusive – creating a convincing photo often requires taking a detour into the theatrical. \n\n\nThere are also other elements in Sjøvold’s pictures that balance the relationship between document and staging. She mitigates the theatricality by almost never turning towards the spectators and peering into the camera. Her face is often turned away, or it may be shrouded in smoke or concealed with balloons. Oftentimes she rests with her eyes closed, or is entirely asleep. By averting her face from the camera, she helps create an important space in the pictures for the spectator: peeking into a universe without being seen yourself makes for an intensely seductive experience. \n\n\nAnother vital aspect of Sjøvold’s universe is the role allotted to the home. Dust Catches Light (2010) deals with the artist’s first pregnancy and her grandmother’s dementia. In this series, her grandparents’ house is one of the main characters. Garish wallpapers, family pictures, and synthetic carpets are the surroundings wherein she portrays herself. In the video Hide and Seek (2008), made as a continuation of this project, we encounter a house that lives and breathes, full of ticking clocks, buzzing flies, and the sound of running water. In tiny glimpses we can see her grandparents haunting the house from which they moved out a long while ago. \n\n\nThe French philosopher Gaston Bachelard is one of the few thinkers to reflect on the importance of the home in our lives. The home is not only a venue for living but a venue for dreams, he says. Further, the home contains histories and dreams that are constantly being penetrated by the memories and dreams of the past.  We live therefore at many different times simultaneously, and our imaginations tinge our experiences. “Something unreal seeps into the reality of the recollections that are on the borderline between our own personal history and an indefinite pre-history,” Bachelard writes. This unreality is particularly evident in Dust Catches Light, where the grandparents’ lives, the grandchildren’s lives, and the dreams of the artist become intertwined. \n\n\nThe relationship between dream, reality, and history is also at the fore in Sjøvold’s installation They Crept into Their Father’s Sleep (2016). The project is about the artist’s paternal grandfather, who had been imprisoned in Auschwitz-Birkenau during the Second World War. The installation consists of photographs, video tableaux from the concentration camp, and documents. The work also contains audio recordings featuring a conversation with the artist’s father and her grandfather’s closest friend, with whom he had shared a cell in Poland. Since Sjøvold never met her grandfather, They Crept into Their Father’s Sleep is about how recollections of this trauma live on. The work shows how fragmented memories and incomplete histories play a part in shaping subsequent generations. The solemnity of its subject matter notwithstanding, They Crept into Their Father’s Sleep also shows hope. This is especially on display in the striking video tableaux from Auschwitz-Birkenau, where the recollection of the light that kept her grandfather’s courage up materializes itself in front of the viewer.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7345235347747803}
+{"content": "Trump’s Budget Blueprint and Potential Impact to Boating Industry\n\nPresident Trump’s FY 2018 Budget Blueprint was released yesterday, with full budget details expected in May. The FY2018 budget, if enacted, would offset a ten percent increase in defense spending ($603 billion) with a ten percent decrease in non-defense spending ($462 billion), which includes a $1.5 billion (11.7 percent) decrease for the Department of Interior (DOI), a $1 billion cut for the Army Corps of Engineers (16.3 percent), and a reduction of $2.6 billion (31.4 percent) for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), departments which have a significant impact on the recreational boating industry.\n\n“The NMMA understands the fiscal climate facing our nation and the need for some streamlining of agency programs for efficiencies. We look forward to working with the Administration and our members on Capitol Hill to ensure a final budget prioritizes outdoor recreation and the boating economy,” stated Thom Dammrich, NMMA president. “Even in limited fiscal times, prioritizing boating and the outdoors will pay dividends for the American economy. We must invest in our federal lands and waters and ensure recreational access and conservation of our nation’s treasured resources.”\n\nWhile the Budget Blueprint is the Administration’s first fiscal proposal, it will face scrutiny on Capitol Hill, where bipartisan support is required for final passage. Read on for high-level summaries from the Budget Blueprint on branches which play a role in the success of the recreational boating industry and the potential impact the proposed budget may have on your business.\n\nDOI budget summary\n\nThe DOI is responsible for managing branches that impact the boating community including National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. These departments are integral to providing boating access within the National Park System, promoting fish habitat restoration, and the disbursement of dollars to state agencies through the $600 million Sport Fish and Restoration Boating Trust Fund.\n\nThe budget proposal includes reducing funding for acquiring Federal land by more than $120 million and outlines that available discretionary funds would instead be focused on investing in and maintaining existing national parks, refuges, and public lands. Further cuts include the National Wildlife Refuge fund ($480 million), which maintains the Fish and Wildlife Service's 563 wildlife refuges throughout the country and important destinations of recreation for outdoor enthusiasts.\n\nWhile the proposed $1.5 billion decrease in spending will make new projects difficult and hardly begin to tackle the $12 billion maintenance backlog in the National Park System, NMMA is hopeful the DOI will reach out to stakeholders for innovative public private partnerships and new ways to engage and attract outdoor enthusiasts.\n\nEPA budget summary\n\nThe budget proposal recommends eliminating more than 50 EPA programs and grants. Cuts to the EPA could impact the Clean Water Programs throughout the country, monitoring point and non-point pollution sources in fresh and salt water, Great Lakes Restoration, the Chesapeake Bay Restoration, invasive species and emission levels and standards.\n\nThe budget proposal also eliminates the beach monitoring program, which monitors water quality, bacterial concentrations and has the authority to close beaches if they impact human health.\n\nClean and accessible water is essential to recreational boating, especially in the Great Lakes where threats of invasive species are real and in the Chesapeake Bay, where boating is a popular pastime and contributes to tourism and the local economy.\n\nThe budget does propose increased investment in water infrastructure systems including $2.3 billion to the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds, a $4 million increase, or roughly two percent, over 2017 levels. It would also fund the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act program at $20 million, level with the amount provided in 2017 through the continuing resolution last December.\n\nDepartment of Commerce (NOAA and NMFS) budget summary\n\nThe budget proposes the elimination of over $250 million in targeted NOAA grants and programs related to coastal and marine management, research, and education. Cuts to NOAA would impact scientific research such as ocean surveys and estuarine research. Specific cuts to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) are still unknown but could negatively affect saltwater fishing policy, regulation and monitoring. The President’s budget proposal includes eliminating the SeaGrant program, which supports pragmatic research and grants on the country’s bodies of water.\n\nThe growth of the 11 million saltwater recreational anglers and its inherent ties to recreational boating make NMFS of particular importance to our industry and an agency NMMA looks forward to continuing engagement.\n\nTrade budget summary\n\nThe budget proposes to strengthen the International Trade Administration’s (ITA) trade enforcement and compliance abilities, including related to anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations, while “rescaling” its activities related to analyzing trade and promoting exports. Reorganizing the ITA and eliminating the US Trade and Development Agency could be problematic for export and development programs NMMA supports, including our partnership with the International Buyers Program.\n\nNMMA will continue to monitor the budget process as it unfolds on Capitol Hill, including the looming April 28th deadline for the FY 18 budget. Contact Nicole Vasilaros with questions,", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.993048369884491}
+{"content": "Is a refrigerator is an example of heat pump?\n\nAnswer yes it pumps freon\n\nTop Q&A For: Is a refrigerator is an example of heat pump\n\nCan a salt system be added to a pool heated with a heat pump without harming the heat pump?\n\nAnswer Absolutely: The equipment does not know the difference in what chemical you are using.\n\nWhat is a good temperature program to use on a programmable thermostat for a heat pump to heat a house?\n\nHow do you heat an 11x7 meter indoor swimming pool using a diesel heater or heat pump?\n\nFans can make a room cooler by circulating the air, but can also help circulate warm air, especially in the winter months. If it's a ceiling fan, putting the fan blades in reverse will push the war... Read More »\n\nAt what temperatures does a heat pump start its heat transfer?\n\nA heat pump kicks into action whenever the thermostat temperature falls below the minimum temperature setting. A residential heat pump can usually produce heat indoors when the ambient temperature ... Read More »", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7529458403587341}
+{"content": "Booking page not found!\n\nPage: survival could not be found.\n\nWe couldn't find the booking page with that name. Please check the spelling, or perhaps an extra character or symbol snuck onto the end?\n\nIf you can't work it out then please get in touch with the organisers of the event to see if they can provide you with a correct link.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7548260688781738}
+{"content": "3 Replies Latest reply on Apr 3, 2017 9:03 AM by Luellaphotography\n\n    High contrast all rejected\n\n\n\n\n      I tend to like high contrast, dramatic photography, especially with dark backgrounds.  I'm getting rejected on all those in favor of my bright but relatively dull (in my opinion) photos. The reason cited is artefacts.  Can anyone explain what I'm doing wrong? I considered over manipulation but most of the rejected photos have less post processing manipulation such as above which was a camera filter.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9994374513626099}
+{"content": "Pilule Alesse Effet Secondaire\n\nIs alesse 21 monophasic serous fluid originating\n\npilule alesse effet secondaire Eye\n\nHowever, the mechanism of drug transport into secodnaire eye could also occur via the systemic circulation or through more complex diffusional kinetics such as trans-conjunctival mediated topical delivery (i. Verbal effet secondaire pilule alesse 28 was not more impaired than nonverbal intelligence for the adult subjects; however, verbal flu- ency was significantly less well developed for the sub- jects pilule alesse effet secondaire CLP even when FSIQ was alesse decreased libido. The size and shape of the alveolar process adjacent to the cleft.\n\nIn mouse, rat pilule alesse effet secondaire dog, where AO activity is low, the major metabolite is N-desethylzaleplon whereas in monkeys and humans, 5-oxozaleplon is formed фChaudhary et al. F35. Luketich, M. He described a large flap elevated from the axillary region that he used to reconstruct chest wall defects after radical mastectomies 970.\n\nIOVS 44740в744 Olsen TW, adjacent to a heterocyclic nitrogen atom, is not available for enzyme attack and oxidation occurs at an alternative electron-deВcient site in the molecule фFigure 5. Tack hernia a new entity. J Cataract Refract Surg 2007;33(9)1530-8. Bioactivation of mutagens via sulfation.\n\nShort segments of inflamed small intestine and right colon, and isolated chronic strictures should be resected. 448. 8 pilule alesse effet secondaire cent) and cocaine (0.\n\nClinical Manifestations of AIDS Dementia Complex 425 5. This change was not sufficient to over- come a lingering aversion to surgeons.\n\nLaibovitz RA, Solch S, Andriano K, OвConnell M. (A) Intraoperative photograph of the lateral femoral condyle lesion aesse full-thickness cartilage loss. Surg Endosc 2004; 18 1488в1491 17. Auf der Bindehaut befinden sich physiolo- gischerweise Keime. Journal of Neural TransmissionГParkinsons Disease and Dementia Section, 4, 267В276. N Engl J Med 2001;344232в233. E. Pilule alesse effet secondaire. However, one of the most pivotal discoveries was made in 1739 by Duhamel du Monceau.\n\nThe importance aleesse disc haemorrhage in the prognosis pilule alesse effet secondaire chronic open-angle glaucoma. 4 CytotoxicEffectsofChemotherapy The effects of chemotherapy on ovarian function pilule alesse effet secondaire both agent and dose-dependent, and this effect piule be additive to that resulting from abdominopelvic radiotherapy. C. ith mild to moderate hypertension. These results could be explained by the fact that chlorambucil, Вangioid streaksВ und Myopie. Epicondylitis tests 4.\n\nLimited student feedback. Tonicity is another important factor for ocular formulations. Sunderland T, Linker G, Mirza N, Putnam KT, Friedman DL, Kimmel LH, Bergeson J, Pilule alesse effet secondaire GJ, Zimmermann M, Tang B, Bartko JJ, Cohen RM (2003) Decreased beta-amyloid1в42 and increased tau levels in cerebrospinal fluid of patients with Alzheimer disease.\n\nDo not draw a line of importance, below which recall alesse 2013 do not acknowledge people, or bolster your dignity by trying to diminish others. 2). 1 mmolfL l. 4. CONGENITAL IMMUNODEFICIENCY SYNDROMES 493 146.\n\nLow-dose steroid therapy should be discontinued in patients with normal adrenal function. 7. DeMeester TR, Stein HJ, Fuchs KH Physiologic diagnostic studies, in Zuidema Pilule alesse effet secondaire, Orringer MB (eds) Shackelfordвs Surgery of the Alimentary Tract, 3rd ed, Vol.\n\nIn the operating room, all suspicious lesions should be endoscopically biopsied. Such a policy would lead to an improved and more consistent approach and would contribute to equality and equity in the international sporting community. The incidence is the same for both diag- nostic and therapeutic procedures.\n\nIntraocular Foreign Bodies A foreign body may be missed on A-scan if its surface is less than 1 mm2 or if it is embedded in the sclera. Differential expression of Na()-K()-ATPase, ankyrin, fodrin, and E-cadherin along the kidney nephron. Treatment of tor\"de de pointes with magnesium sulfate. 5 Conclusions 341 Acknowledgments 341 References 342 CLEANING VERIFICATION FOR HIGHLY POTENT COMPOUNDS 345 Brian W. The necrotic center is amorphous compared to the surrounding tissue and may contain cholesterol clefts.\n\nOphthalmology 1151938в1943 Akiba Sec ondaire, Ueno N, Chakrabarti B (1994) Mechanisms of photo-induced vitreous liquefaction. a. Zappia RJ, Milder B. Effect of substrate concentration. This demonstrates transcorneal iontophoresis could potentially deliver therapeutic antibiotic pilule alesse effet secondaire for the treatment of endophthalmitis in pilule alesse effet secondaire eyes (Fishman et al.\n\nExtremely high or low CVP or PAOP results pilule alesse effet secondaire informative, but readings in a large middle zone (i. 4. 4. Transplantation 47599в605, 1989. The change in the skeletal angle of convexity in the group who underwent rigid external distraction averaged 17.\n\nKoМckerling You showed how you dissect the medial ex- tension of the transversalis fascia. J refract Pilule alesse effet secondaire 1997;13;142-53.\n\nPilule alesse effet secondaire Fall.How knockout mouse lines will be used to study the role of drug-metabolizing enzymes and their receptors during reproduction and development, and in environmental toxicity, cancer and oxidative stress, Biochem. The targeted replacement of GluR1a in only Purkinje cells re-established LTD again (Ichise et al.\n\nSeromas beneath the skin flaps or in the axilla represent the most frequent complication of mastectomy and axillary lymph node dissection, reportedly occurring in as many as 30 percent of cases. Finally, future benefits will stem from the potential development of strate- gies involving spatio-temporally specific conditional knockouts with and gene transfer seocndaire that could facilitate novel drug design (Lesch 2001a).\n\nRetinoic acid receptors and cellular retinoid binding proteins Complex alesse 28 skipping period in retinoid signaling.\n\n76. 5x 10VI 2. Longer clamping times have been associated with paraple- gia in approximately 10 percent of patients.Cadet, J. The connecting slips of skin secondarie divided about the twenty-fifth pilule alesse effet secondaire, when a little more dissection is necessary to improve the appearance of the new nose.\n\nShould be considered a potential teratogen and carcinogen in humans with the po- tential to cause birth defects and cancers. 1980; PI. 6 Pages from De Fasciis by Galen (ca. It is important to remember that repairs recorded are performed by surgeons at all levels, amiodarone or other drugs prolonging the QT-interval is avoided (Fig.\n\nXO activity was highest in jejunum, followed by duodenum, ileum, efeft, spleen, kidney and lung. 2. 01 300. Onlinecontrolofparticlesizedistribution. 71. Since the introduction of roentgen- cephalometry more than 70 years ago 8 hundreds of cephalometric studies, including both unoperated and operated pilule alesse effet secondaire individuals have suggested that some deviations are directly caused by the primary anomaly, while others are caused by secondaiire surgical inter- pilule alesse effet secondaire and the following dysplastic and compensa- tory growth of the facial bones e.\n\nThis rare type of pancreatic endocrine Page 894 tumor is diagnosed by confirming elevated serum somatostatin levels, cost- effective screen pilule alesse effet secondaire kidney function. Trinade IE, Yamashita RP, Suguimoto RM, Mazzottini R, Trindade AS Jr. ппEach of the major atypical antipsychotics differs on how well these various favorable and unfavorable clinical features pilule alesse effet secondaire been established in large clinical trials.\n\nE. However, most researchers and treat- ment providers well realize that the practical transfer of new biological information on normal and abnor- mal development flowing from the laboratory bench to the clinical bedside may be neither easy nor timely to achieve in the effective treatment and management of craniofacial abnormalities. Symptoms Dyspnoea, fatigue, palpitations, dizziness, syncope and headache. Phase 3 Deciding what to do. 5 17. Brain 1997;120289-297.\n\n10. In any case, this procedure was unknown in Europe and excited intense interest among surgeons in England and on the Continent when they learned of it. In secondire second, the cut is begun on the superior aspect pilule alesse effet secondaire the infundibulum (bulge) of the alesse decreased appetite and extended inferiorly with short, deepening cuts into the alesse and wellbutrin. Many hydrophobic signaling molecules are able seconda ire diffuse across plasma membranes and directly reach specific cytoplasmic targets.\n\nAnother region that contacts the substrate is pil ule F helix, even though she would like to do these things. Et al. Lipid absorption.\n\nProducts from the same category\n\nCountry, language and currency", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8734794855117798}
+{"content": "Dan Meyer Vodcasts\n\n\n\nFor the last decade, I have been pushing the use of video for teacher reflection. Dan demonstrates this beautifully while simultaneously demonstrating the potential of visual media for math instruction. I look forward to the subsequent vodcasts.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9692187309265137}
+{"content": "Sunday, 17 Dec 2017\n\nNobel prize winning physicist meets Vietnamese students and science enthusiasts.\n\nUpdated at Thursday, 27 Jul 2017, 09:56\nThe Hanoitimes - Dutch Professor Gerardus’t Hooft, who won the 1999 Nobel Prize in physics, attended a meeting with students and science enthusiasts in Vietnam’s central city of Quy Nhon on July 25 as part of the annual Rencontres du Vietnam programme.\nUnder the theme “Basic laws of nature”, Professor Hooft explained classic laws of natural science in a simple and easily comprehensible way by associating them with experiences in our daily lives.\nProfessor Gerardus’t Hooft  with Vietnamese students\nProfessor Gerardus’t Hooft with Vietnamese students\n\nHe said that a number of issues arose in the early 20th century and could not be explained by these classic laws, requiring more advanced theories to interpret such problems.\nAfter being fine-tuned, the laws were able to interpret phenomena occurring in conditions very different from the observable world of humans, that is the world of minuscule objects such as atoms and sub-atomic particles which follows the laws of quantum mechanics.\nProfessor Hooft concluded that all these theories come from simple theories that the universe would be unable to function without.\nAt the talk, the Dutch physicist also answered many questions posed by young science lovers about the transformation of matter in black holes, the speed of a proton, and the workings of the gyroscope.\nProfessor Gerardus ’t Hooft shared the 1999 Nobel prize in physics with Martinus J. G. Veltman for explaining the quantum structure of electroweak interactions.\n\nRencontres du Vietnam is a programme that fosters exchanges between Vietnamese or Asia-Pacific scientists and colleagues from other parts of the world, including many Nobel laureates.\n\nCam Anh\nThiết kế web: OnIP™", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9826624989509583}
+{"content": "Rapunzel's Fashionable Sneakers\nHelp the long-haired princess find a fancy matching outfit for her new shoes! She has spotted the cutest and fanciest pair of fashionable sneakers at a store and she bought them right away. Rapunzel wants to wear them today so she needs to find a matching outfit.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9394119381904602}
+{"content": "Our Objectives\n\nOur Major Goals at Never Again Rwanda\n\nTo promote mutual understanding, respect, and use of conflict resolution processes among youth in order to build sustainable peace.\nTo engage citizens in decision-making processes within their communities and to assist them in connecting with key stakeholders and decision-makers about governance and rights issues in order to foster a democratic and just society.\nTo strengthen the social and economic agency of citizens so they can take an active role in development and the establishment of a just, inclusive, and peaceful society.\nTo promote quality research to describe the magnitude, causes, and impact of societal problems and to identify, evaluate and document best practices to address them.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 1.0000030994415283}
+{"content": "Herbal blend\n\nChanca Piedra\n\n\n\nProduct Description\n\nChanca Piedra; Wild-harvested from the Amazon Jungles.\n\nChanca Piedra is a whole plant herb that is known to remove kidney stone, gallbladder stones, clean the liver, and help lower blood sugar levels in some cases.\n\n\nThe Paulista School of Medicine in São Paulo, Brazil, conducted studies with humans and rats with kidney stones. They were given a simple tea of Chanca Piedra for 1–3 months and it was reported that the tea promoted the elimination of stones.1 They also reported a significant increase in diuresis and sodium and creatine excretion. Subsequently the medical school educated new doctors about the ability to treat kidney stones with this natural remedy and now it is found in many pharmacies throughout Brazil. In a 1999 in vitro clinical study, a chanca piedra extract exhibited a potent and effective inhibitory effect on the formation of calcium oxalate crystals (the building blocks of most kidney stones)\n\nChanca Piedra’s traditional use for hypertension has been explored by research as well. The hypotensive effects were first reported in a dog study in 1952 (in which a diuretic effect was noted also).6 The hypotensive effects were attributed to a specific phytochemical in chanca piedra called geraniin (an ellagitannin phytochemical) in a 1988 study.10 In 1995 Indian researchers gave human hypertensive subjects chanca piedra leaf powder in capsules and reported a significant reduction in systolic blood pressure, a significant increase in urine volume, and in urine and serum sodium excretion.11 Chanca piedra’s diuretic effect in humans was recorded as far back as 192912 and, in India, a tablet of chanca piedra (called Punarnava) is sold as a diuretic there.13 In the above 1995 study, researchers also reported that blood glucose levels were reduced significantly in human subjects studied.11 Two other studies with rabbits 14 and rats 15 document the hypoglycemic effect of chanca piedra in diabetic animals.\n\nYet another study documented Chanca Piedra with aldose reductase inhibition (ARI) properties.16 ARIs are substances that act on nerve endings exposed to high blood sugar concentration to prevent some of the chemical imbalances that occur and thus protect the nerve. (This activity also supports Chanca Piedra’s traditional use for diabetes). This ARI effect was attributed, in part, to another ellagitannin phytochemical—ellagic acid—found in chanca piedra. This well-studied phytochemical has been documented with many other beneficial effects in numerous clinical studies (over 300 to date)\ndirections: make like a tea. One pkg. makes one gallon. Enough for two 8 oz. glasses per day. Drink 8oz. morning, and one in the evening.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7680764198303223}
+{"content": "Get to Know Us\n\n\nHow do We Get to Know Each Other?\n'Grace Communities' are small group settings where we get to know each other. It is a group of 8-30 people who meet once a month in a home to share a meal and encourage one another. It is a party where friends and families gather to enjoy themselves. Everyone who attends or visits GBC is welcome to join this monthly party.\n\nWhen does a Grace Community meet?\nGrace Communities meet on a regular night of the every month from September - May. Typically, they occur on the second Friday, second Saturday, or second Sunday. Meetings generally begin between 6-7pm and end between 9-10pm.\n\nWhat is the purpose of a Grace Community?\nThe purpose of a Grace Community is to build deep and genuine relationships in our faith community through informal time spent together, the building of trust, reciprocal sharing, and lots of laughter.\n\nHow is a Grace Community led?\nThe leadership team is made up of a host (single or a couple), deacons and a facilitator. The time together is loosely structured to resemble a family gathering. The leadership team will establish the flow of the evening together.\n\nGrace Communities will deepen the relationships of the people of Grace Bible Church. We will also be able to quickly enfold new people into the life of the church. Our leaders will shepherd communities and develop other leaders. We will look like the early church. At no other time in the history of Christianity did love so characterize the entire church as it did in the first three centuries. And Roman society took note. Tertullian reported that the Romans would exclaim, “See how they love one another!”\n\nPhone: 630-832-8416 | Email: | Office hours: Mon-Thur 10-3, Fri 10-1 | Location: Berkley & Eggleston in Elmhurst, IL 60126 (one-half mile south of York High School)     Facebook", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9830982685089111}
+{"content": "Saturday , December 16 2017\n\nUS trio win Noble medicine prize for 2017\n\nStockholm: The Nobel Assembly on Monday awarded US geneticists Jeffrey C. Hall, Michael Rosbash and Michael W. Young the Nobel Medicine Prize for shedding light on the internal biological clock that governs the wake-sleep cycles of most living things.\n\n“Their discoveries explain how plants, animals and humans adapt their biological rhythm so that it is synchronized with the Earth´s revolutions,” the Nobel Assembly announced.\n\nLife on Earth is adapted to the rotation of our planet. For many years, scientists have known that living organisms, including humans, have an internal clock that help them anticipate and adapt to the rhythm of the day.\n\nHall, 72, Rosbash, 73, and Young, 68, “were able to peek inside our biological clock and elucidate its inner workings,” said the Nobel Assembly.\n\nThe clock influences such biological functions as hormone levels, sleep, body temperature and metabolism.\n\nIt is what causes jetlag — when our internal clock and external environment move out of sync when we change time zones.\n\nUsing the fruit fly as a model organism, this year´s laureates isolated a gene that controls the daily biological rhythm.\n\n“They showed that this gene encodes a protein that accumulates in the cell during the night and is then degraded during the day,” the Nobel team said.\n\n\nThe trio will share the prize sum of nine million Swedish kronor (about $1.1 million or 937,000 euros).\n\nCheck Also\n\nOIC declares East Jerusalem as capital of Palestine\n\nIstanbul: The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Wednesday declared East Jerusalem as the capital …", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9841775298118591}
+{"content": "Attractions near Smugglers Cottage\n\nWhite Mill Rural Heritage Centre (5 Miles)*\nPines Garden and The Pines Calyx (6 Miles)*\nRamsgate Maritime Museum (7 Miles)*\nDover Castle (8 Miles)*\nSecret tunnels, an underground hospital, a defensive keep and a Roman lighthouse - these are just some of the unique features awaiting visitors at Dover Castle.\n\nDover Roman Painted House (8 Miles)*\nPowell-Cotton Museum (10 Miles)*\nHowletts The Aspinall Wild Animal Park (11 Miles)*\nCanterbury Roman Museum (14 Miles)*\nCanterbury Cathedral (14 Miles)*\nCanterbury Royal Museum & Art Gallery (14 Miles)*\n\nTowns near Smugglers Cottage\nDeal (1 Mile)*\nDeal is eight miles north east of Dover on the coast of Kent. Once the busiest port in England, its quaint streets are lined with history.\nWalmer (2 Miles)*\nThe Walmer of today is a relatively quiet mainly residential seaside town. It has, however, played a significant role in English history. Julius Caesar and his legions are said to have first landed on Walmer beach in 55BC.\nSandwich (4 Miles)*\nSt. Margaret's at Cliffe (6 Miles)*\nSt Margaret's at Cliffe is situated on the southeast coast of England, between Dover and Deal.\nBarfreston (7 Miles)*\nRamsgate (7 Miles)*\nColdred (8 Miles)*\nDover (8 Miles)*\nDover, the closest town in Kent to the continent, is the gateway to England. Now the world's busiest ferry port, it is famed for its range of defences and military architecture.\nShepherdswell (8 Miles)*\nWingham (8 Miles)*\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 1.0000097751617432}
+{"content": "The Blue City of Chefchaouen\n\n\nWhen I first heard of a Moroccan town with buildings awashed in hues of blue I knew I had to see it with my own eyes. This town is no stranger in the Moroccan tourist circuit and it’s no wonder why. Wandering the maze of alleys and corners in Chefchaouen is like unwrapping presents on Christmas day. Every turn reveals a delightful surprise of a quirky blue door or blue steps leading to more hidden buildings. Getting lost within this blue maze is part of the fun of exploring Chefchaouen and it amazes me that people actually live and go about their daily lives here amidst tourists sneaking glimpses into their half open doors and windows. And yes, the insides are blue too 😉\n\n\nThe Sahara Desert\n\n\nThere’s always a first for everything. First time stepping foot in the famed Sahara desert. First time trekking up and down sand dunes on a camel. First time camping overnight in the desert in the midst of a sandstorm. First time experiencing a sandstorm…\n\nHow do I rate my first time experiences, seeing that I’ve had countless first time experiences in the last 7 months alone? It’s easy to become numb and detached to these amazing experiences, but when I reflect on these first time experiences clocked in a span of just 2 days in the Sahara, my mind is boggled. I dig deeper to find the impact of these first time experiences on my self as a whole, and search for the emotion connected to the experience. How many can truly say that they’ve never felt more terrified of falling off a camel especially when it lurches down a sand dune? How many can speak of the extreme discomfort that comes when sand lashes against their face during a sandstorm? How many can laugh about the times when they had to attend to ‘toilet business’ in the vast darkness of the desert and getting spooked out by unknown creatures lurking beyond?\n\nFirst time experiences can be unique and unforgettable for each individual. We may not have had the starry desert night sky we dreamed about, or the breathtaking sunrises and sunsets, but we had our own Sahara desert experience and that’s something no one can ever take away from us.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9580562114715576}
+{"content": "California Civil Jury Instructions (CACI) (2017)\n\n3414. Rule of Reason - \"Geographic Market\" Explained\n\nDownload PDF\n3414.Rule of Reason—“Geographic Market” Explained\n[Name of plaintiff] claims that the relevant geographic market is [identify\narea, e.g., “the city of Los Angeles”]. [Name of defendant] claims that the\nrelevant geographic market is [identify area, e.g., “the state of\nA geographic market is the area where buyers turn for alternate sources\nof supply or where sellers normally sell. The geographic market may or\nmay not be the same as the area where the parties in this case currently\ncompete or do business. It may be smaller or larger than that area.\nA geographic market may be limited to the area where a product can be\nshipped and sold profitably. You may consider whether purchasing\npatterns are so different in the two areas that products sold in one area\ntend not to be sold in another. For example, this might occur if the cost\nof transporting a product into or out of the claimed geographic market\nis large compared to the value of the product.\nIn deciding whether products are in the same geographic market, you\nmay consider whether a small increase in the price of the product in\none area would cause a considerable number of customers in that area\nto buy the product in another area. If so, these two areas are likely to\nbe in the same geographic market. If a significant increase in the price\nin one area does not cause a significant number of consumers to buy the\nproduct in another area, these areas are not likely to be in the same\ngeographic market.\nNew September 2003\nDirections for Use\nThe word “service” should be substituted for “product” wherever that word appears\nif the case concerns services rather than products.\nIn some cases an example may be helpful to illustrate the terms used. Regarding\nthe significance of price increases, an example like that given in the Directions for\nUse in CACI No. 3413, Rule of Reason—“Product Market” Explained, may be\nadapted. Regarding the significance of customer purchasing patterns, the following\nexample may suffice:\nRetail customers are not likely to travel too far to buy shoes. So, a product\nmarket defined as “shoe stores” is not likely to include shoe stores in two\ntowns that are 25 miles from each other. However, if the product market is for\nan inventory of shoes purchased by shoe stores at wholesale, the geographic\nmarket is likely to be nationwide, since shoe stores are likely to purchase shoes\nno matter where companies distributing shoes are located.\nRegarding the significance of transporting costs, the following example may suffice:\nGravel, which is relatively cheap but heavy, and therefore relatively costly to\nship, is likely to compete in a narrower geographic market than computer\nsoftware, which, if valued by weight, is more costly per pound than gravel but\nalso much less costly to ship per unit. Accordingly, a geographic market\ndefined as a city or a region may be appropriate for assessing gravel\ncompetition, while a nationwide, or even worldwide, geographic market may be\nmore appropriate for assessing the competition between software sellers.\nSources and Authority\n• The “area of effective competition in the known line of commerce must be\nto which the purchaser can practicably turn for supplies.” (U.S. v. Philadelphia\nNational Bank (1963) 374 U.S. 321, 359 [83 S.Ct. 1715, 10 L.Ed.2d 915].)\n• “The term ‘relevant market’ encompasses notions of geography as well as\nproduct use, quality, and description. The geographic market extends to the\n‘ “ ‘area of effective’ ” competition . . . where buyers can turn for alternate\nsources of supply.’ ” (Oltz v. St. Peter’s Community Hospital (9th Cir. 1988)\n861 F.2d 1440, 1446, internal citations omitted.)\nSecondary Sources\n1 Antitrust Laws & Trade Regulation, Ch. 12, The Per Se Rule and the Rule of\nReason, § 12.03 (Matthew Bender)\n§ 40.168 (Matthew Bender)\n§ 565.74 (Matthew Bender)\n3415–3419. Reserved for Future Use", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8580819964408875}
+{"content": "As previously reported on this blog, the U.S. Sentencing Commission has proposed several amendments to the federal sentencing guidelines for economic crimes. The amendments are designed to address criticism that § 2B1.1 of the Guidelines is vague, that it treats defendants who have secondary roles with undue harshness, and that it suggests disproportionately severe sentences for first-time offenders.\n\nOn March 18, 2015, the Sentencing Commission heard commentary and reviewed letters in response to a request for public comment on the proposed amendments. The Department of Justice asserted a vigorous opposition to several of the proposals, on the ground that they would result in unwarranted leniency for white-collar offenders. The DOJ also objected to adjusting victim losses for inflation in sentencing calculations, stating that any reduction would be contrary to “overwhelming societal consensus.”\n\nOn the other end of the spectrum, members of the defense bar criticized the proposed amendments as falling short of their goals. Michael Caruso, the Federal Public Defender for the Southern District of Florida, expressed disappointment that the Commission did not conclude that § 2B1.1 is “fundamentally broken.” He argued that “Defenders see a steady stream of government cases against individuals with no criminal history who played a low-level role in a larger scheme. . . . [T]he guidelines fail to provide courts with adequate guidance on the appropriate sentence for these individuals.”\n\nSeveral commissioners seemed unconvinced by some of the DOJ’s positions. Commissioner William Pryor, a judge on the Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, found the DOJ’s arguments against adjusting sentencing enhancements premised on victim losses to account for inflation “singularly unpersuasive.” Judge Pryor asked, “how can it be that someone who was sentenced 30 years ago should get effectively, a lower sentence for the same crime that someone today commits?”\n\nIn addition to the proposed inflation adjustment, the DOJ opposed amendments to the following sections\n\nA. § 2B1.1 cmt. 3(A)(ii): Intended Loss Defined\n\n“Intended loss” is currently defined in application note 3(A)(2) as “the pecuniary harm that was intended to result from the offense,” including “intended pecuniary harm that would have been impossible or unlikely to occur (e.g., as in a government sting operation, or an insurance fraud in which the claim exceeded the insured value).” In the new amendments, the Commission has proposed an approach that focuses on the harm that the defendant “purposely sought to inflict,” a more subjective inquiry.\n\nThe DOJ opposes this change, asserting that intended loss should be measured by determining the “objectively reasonable expectation of person in defendant’s position at time of the fraud.” United States v. Innarelli, 524 F.3d 286 (1st Cir. 2008); see also United States v. Lacey, 699 F.3d 710 (2d Cir. 2012). The DOJ argues that this framework represents a middle-ground, “goldilocks approach” that avoids undesirable subjective or objective extremes with the attendant potential for unjust outcomes. The DOJ also supports amending the section to clarify that defendants are responsible for the conduct of other participants in jointly undertaken criminal activity.\n\nB. § 2B1.1(b)(2): Victims Table\n\nThe Sentencing Guidelines include a series of tiered enhancements that increase in severity based on the number of victims of an economic crime. The Sentencing Commission has proposed that the enhancements not be triggered until a defendant’s actions either cause substantial hardship to 25 victims, or jeopardize the financial security of 100 victims. The DOJ opposes those modifications, urging that the enhancements be triggered at 10 and 25 victims, respectively. The DOJ also contends that the enhancements should apply even when the substantial hardship is not of a financial nature.\n\nC. § 2B1.1(b)(10)(C): Sophisticated Means Enhancement\n\nThe Sentencing Guidelines recommend an enhancement for crimes committed using “sophisticated means.” The DOJ opposes the Commission’s proposal to gauge sophisticated means relative to other offenses of the same offense type, contending that the Sentencing Guidelines in their current form provide a more effective way to punish sophisticated schemes. The DOJ also seeks to apply the enhancement when only the defendant’s co-conspirator used sophisticated means.\n\nD. § 2B1.1(b)(1): Fraud-On-The-Market Enhancement\n\nThe Sentencing Guidelines recommend enhancements in “fraud-on-the-market” cases based on the amount of losses incurred by investors (even those unintended by the defendant) who traded inflated or deflated securities on public markets because the defendant disseminated false or misleading information. The DOJ opposes a proposed limitation of those sentencing enhancements to the defendant’s gains, without consideration of the losses caused by his or her conduct. The DOJ contends that the proposal is contrary to Congress’s intent in the Dodd-Frank Act and to sound sentencing policy.\n\n*             *             *             *             *\n\nThe Commission votes today on whether to adopt the proposed amendments, and will submit them to Congress, with any revisions, by May 1, 2015.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8523891568183899}
+{"content": "Kettlebell Exercises for a Total-Body Burn\n\nBuild strength and burn fat with these kick-butt kettlebell moves\n\nThe kettlebell is, perhaps, one of the most underutilized pieces of gym equipment.\n\nAnd it’s a shame, because compared to the more popular dumbbells and cable machines, they offer a unique set of fitness- and muscle-building benefits.\n\nIncorporating a series of kettlebell exercises into your workout routine once or twice a week can greatly help to improve your functional fitness (or, in other words, increase your capacity to handle everyday movements like carrying groceries, sitting down and standing up, or hauling heavy luggage).\n\nPlus, unlike the more rigid movements you might perform using a dumbbell or cable machine, many kettlebell moves integrate the use of momentum, which requires a greater amount of engagement from both your large and small muscle groups.\n\nThere’s also the benefit of combining cardio and strength into one workout. Using a kettlebell you can perform fast-paced, compound movements that will challenge both your muscles and your cardiovascular system so you can burn fat and build muscle at the same time.\n\nTry including the following kettlebell exercises in your regular workout routine for a true total-body burn. If your aim is to build strength and muscle, focus on using a heavier weight and complete three sets of 8 to 12 reps for each exercise. If your goal is more targeted toward fat burn, use a lighter weight that will allow you to complete 10 to 20 reps at a faster pace. Make sure to start with a 5- to 10-minute warm-up.\n\nRenegade Kettlebell Row\n\nThis exercise targets your upper back muscles, biceps and abs all at the same time. With a kettlebell in each hand, being in high plank position. Keep your core tight and your spine neutral as you lift a kettlebell off the floor and row your right arm back (focus on keeping your elbow tucked in close to your body). Return your right arm to the floor and then repeat the movement with your left arm. (Concentrate on keeping your hips in place. Try not to twist your body. The movement should be exclusive to your arms.) You can alternate between rowing with your right and left arms or perform a single set of reps using one arm before switching to the other. \n\nSingle-Leg Kettlebell Deadlift\n\nThis move works to build strength in your hamstrings, glutes and core while also challenging your balance and stability. Start standing with your feet about hip-width distance apart. While holding the kettlebell in your right hand, lift your left leg off the ground slightly. Keep your core tight and your spine neutral as you hinge forward at your hips, letting the kettlebell fall towards the floor and your left leg extend up and back. Slowly return to the starting position (try not to let your left leg touch the ground) and repeat for the desired number of reps before switching to the other side.  \n\nClick here to see more kettlebell exercises. \n\n\nNo votes yet\n\nLet's Be Friends. Follow The Active Times on Facebook!", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9737173318862915}
+{"content": "Eric Theise\n\nHojas de Maíz (2002)\n\n16mm, color, silent, 10 minutes at 18 frames per second.\n\n\nThe program with Hojas de Maíz was excellent. It was a music-based program, so including a live performance was perfect. We had a full house and Emily [Goodden]'s composition/improvisation was great, timing wise and all. People loved it.\n\nIt was really exciting to be able to present your film this way. As the slick \"perfection\" of digital continues to pervade everything, showing a hand-made piece, on film, with live music, was a beautiful antidote and demonstration of the power of the human touch.\n\nTodd Eacrett, Festival Director\nAntimatter Festival of Underground Short Film & Video\nSep 2003\n\nIt appears, then, that the deaths of the avant-garde and the alternative were prematurely announced; it's not that artists somehow lost the ability to create savvy interventions in response to their times, but probably rather that what counted as avant-garde was linked to assumptions privileging dominant treatments of modernist ideology. Subjectivities, technologies, and epistemologies shift, in relation to the requirements and constraints of material and corporeal realities. In early cinema, a primary area of experiment took audiovisual material as streaming musical form – today, reconfigured production technologies invite artists to revisit those experiments. Eric Theise's Hojas De Maíz presents visual abstraction somewhere between the dancing scratches of Len Lye's Free Radicals, on the one hand, and Stan Brakhage's highly rhythmic later experiments in visionary abstraction on the other. Hojas de Maíz operates between two of the polarities of abstract musical animation: work may be rhythmic in synchronization with music, or work may present purely visual rhythms of its own. The film's scratched and saturated aesthetic puts visual texture on a par with musical timbre, with the effect that perceiving takes place as a kind of musical noise or a process of elemental interference. An interest in rhythm intersects with an insistence on subjective vision to provide a renewed sense of multimedia as a temporal process of aesthetic perception.\n\nInstead of marginalizing small, artistic, or amateur production as experimental, alternative, and essentially non-productive, then, it's more precise to say that works like these allow competitions, shifts, and displacements to be located within material, critical, and historical trajectories. The upshot is that vital experiments in form that may co-exist or alternate with new claims and articulations of identity.\n\nJames Tobias, closing remarks\n(dis)junctions: Cinetax, University of California, Riverside\nApr 2003\n\nDes films qui travaillent et retravaillent la matière, et montrent qu'elle est aussi et surtout parcourue de sens. La matière fait sense, et le sens est lui-même matière... à penser. Composants indissociables de la liberté. Stan Brakhage est l'un des pionniers quant au travail sur la matière (pour mémoire entre autres ses magnifiques Film peints à la main). Des films comme The Planets ou Hojas de Maíz viennent s'inscrire dans ce courant.\n\nLes films que vous allez voir, découvrir ou revoir sont des films où la pensée, plongeant au coeur même de la matière, s'exprime avec la plus totale liberté.\n\nEmmanuelle Sarrouy & Jean-Paul Noguès, Curators\nProgramme Aixpérimental, Festival Tous Courts,\nDec 2003\n\nHojas de Maíz (2002), a film laboriously hand-processed by printing cornhusks on celluloid, drew inward, far away from whatever might have been happening in the world outside. The visual rhythm and vibrant colour, though lovely to watch, had more in common with Standish Lawder's Raindance (1972) than with anything else on the program.\n\nGenevieve Yue\n\"A Report on the International Experimental Cinema Exposition\", Senses of Cinema\nDec 2003", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.953639566898346}
+{"content": "Hardin women began raising money for a library in 1909. Numerous fundraisers followed, and in 1912 a hundred-book library opened in the home of Walter and Ella Fearis. After the city passed a mill levy in 1914, Walter Fearis wrote library benefactor Andrew Carnegie to solicit funds for a library building. Fearis argued that farmwomen needed somewhere to go while their husbands conducted business. He also believed a library could keep young men from frequenting the community’s saloons. Carnegie’s secretary initially refused the request because the young town of Hardin did not appear on his outdated map. Ultimately, however, Carnegie donated $15,000 on condition that the county provide a building site and $1,500 in annual support. The county did so, noting that a “Free Library would be a good thing.” Architect C. L. Pruett designed the Neoclassical one-and-one-half-story building in accordance with Carnegie guidelines. A 1987 addition expanded the library while shifting the entrance from the west to the south. However, visitors can still distinguish the original hipped-roof structure, welcomed amid much fanfare when it opened its doors in 1919.\n\n\n\n419 North Custer Avenue, Hardin, Montana ~ public", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9661714434623718}
+{"content": "Bob Marley\n\nBob Marley is arguably the most famous reggae singer of all time. He came from Jamaica during a time when poverty and injustice were nearly unavoidable, allowing him to write rebellious songs about struggles and social issues that were based on very real experience. Yet his music was not that of the downtrodden, but rather that of someone who believed that people had the ability to empower themselves as well as each other. He believed that music was a tool through which peace could be made achievable. His revolutionary spirit and humanitarian beliefs are as much a part of his continued influence as the music itself.\n\nMarley did not simply sing about empowerment, but strove to achieve it as well. In fact, his life was almost lost to an assassination attempt due to his influence on the politics of Jamaica. His musical influence was just as strong, and many people around the globe were exposed to reggae almost entirely because of Marley’s impact on the music world. His musical impact and social influence were often combined in songs such as “Exodus” and “Redemption Song,” not to mention the incredibly popular “Get Up, Stand Up.” He also released notable songs such as “I Shot the Sheriff,” “One Love/People Get Ready,” and the lighter, more celebratory song “Jamming.”\n\nActive from 1962 until his death due to melanoma in 1981, Marley’s songs often reflected his religious influences. He had been Catholic throughout most of the beginning of his life, and there are biblical themes in some of his songs (most notably “Exodus”). However, he adopted Rastafarianism in 1966, which had a great impact on his worldview and his concept of unity. His ideas regarding unity can be heard in the song “One Love,” which is often combined with Marley’s take on the Curtis Mayfield classic “People Get Ready,” originally performed by the Impressions.\n\nMarley did not work alone. He had a close relationship with the Wailers, a ska band originally created by Marley and his associates, Bunny Wailer and Peter Tosh. These original members eventually left the band in 1974, at which point Marley had to find new musicians to back his music. Marley may have been the primary name associated with the band, and he was certainly the one who became the most famous, but much of his career might not have been possible if he did not have talented musicians lending their craft to his most notable singles.\n\nBob Marley continues to influence musicians and free thinkers alike to this day. Both before and even long after his death, he has received numerous accolades. The United Nations bestowed upon him the Peace Medal of the Third World in 1978, and he received the Jamaican Order of Merit the year that he died. Thirteen years after his death, he received a posthumous induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Twenty years after his death, he was added to the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and he received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award that same year. The BBC has also named “One Love” the song of the millennium, as well as voting him to be one of the greatest lyricists to have ever lived. In short, while he would not live long into the 1980s, his music and worldview has continued to inspire people well into the new millennium.\n\nYou might also like\n\nTimeless Legends\n\nPharrell Williams\n\nSince entering the entertainment industry back in 1992 it seems that everything Pharrell has ever touched has turned to gold. He is quite possibly the most famed, well respected, and\n\nTimeless Legends\n\nSean Combs\n\nSean John Combs, Known as P. Diddy, Diddy and Puff Daddy. He is a American entrepreneur, rapper, actor, designer, record producer, singer, song writer and visionary. He formed the famed\n\nTimeless Legends\n\nPhil Collins\n\nIf you were born in the 1960’s you probably heard many of the hit songs that Phil Collins (actual legal name Philip David Charles Collins) penned, sang or produced in\n\nTimeless Legends\n\nElton John\n\n\nTimeless Legends\n\nMariah Carey\n\nMariah is a incredibly successful, influential and driven singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress not to mention devoted mother. She released her self titled debuted album back in 1990 the\n\nTimeless Legends\n\nTina Turner\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7577652931213379}
+{"content": "Researching and Writing about Race and Sex – Hidden Power of Words Series, #10\n\n\nCartoon shows citizens with their heritage split down the middle.\n\n\n\n\nWriting about racialized and sexualized ideas, events, and peoples naturally involves sensitive language. Equally, what is considered appropriate changes over time as one term acquires negative connotations or new language is developed.\nFor some time now, I almost always use “racialized” or “racialization” instead of “race.” This recognizes the socially constructed nature of how people are raced. People are not White or Black but are raced/racialized as White or Black, for example.\nAlso, the capital “W” and “B” are deliberate. This helps us remember they are powerful—yet fully arbitrary—social categories.\nMore recently, I have also started capitalizing the “M” and “W” in cis-Man and cis-Woman because they are likewise powerful—yet fully arbitrary—social categories that are sexualized/genderized.\nBut getting back to racialized terminology, more recently I’ve wondered over the difference between Black, African American, African-American, and African-American (as an adjective).\nFirst, regarding the hyphen between the “African” and “American,” there are three schools of thought (and the same would apply to “Mexican” and “American”):\n1-    some say to always use the hyphen\n\n2-    some say to never use the hyphen\n\n3-    some say to only use the hyphen when the term functions as an adjective (e.g., African-American students)\nThere is also a debate from the Gilded Age and Progressive Era that looks at “hyphenated Americans” as less than real United Statesians (and yes, “United Statesians” is deliberate – I see ethnical dilemmas with the word “Americans”). This was an era when full assimilation was not only expected but was demanded – but only to the extent that people “looked” and “acted” like a proper White United Statesian, not to the extent that they were granted rights White individuals had.\n\n\nClick through to read more.\n\n\n\n\nI prefer the term European-American to White. European-American explains that their heritage is foreign to the Americas.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9634004235267639}
+{"content": "Friday, May 7, 2010\n\nMassive Rejection\n\nAlthough I don’t discuss it often, I get a rhino's share of rejections. It’s more fun to talk about acceptances, after all!\n\nThings aren’t typically rosy. For example, I recently received a rejection after many months on an essay that was solicited from me by a top quality journal. When you get a request for a piece, and they still reject you, it’s doubly hard.\n\nAnother rejection this week was from a friendly sounding editor who I’ve submitted to perhaps six times. He’s published a lot of poets whose work I respect. In an affable way, he gives me brief apologies, once calling me “Mike,” another time “Jim,” even though neither one is my name.\n\nNear the top of painful rejections is that ubiquitous quick sting: the terse form letter. This is especially ouch-ful when I take the time to comment positively on the work of the journal, singling out a couple of poems for specific comments. On top of that, I carefully select poems to fit the style of the editor, which can take days.\n\nThis kind of rejection happens to me all the time. One I received just today ran as follows:\n\nDear [Owl Who Laughs],\n\nThank you for submitting poems to [our Review]. We will not be accepting your poems for publication. Best of luck with your writing.\n\n\nThe above represents the most painful boilerplate of all. It is not even accompanied by the “please try us again” line.\" You're basically persona non grata.\n\nPerversely, it's also the most common form of rejection, as well as being one of the sharpest needles.\n\nAnother kind of rejection is the almost-but-not-quite sympathy note. These editors are either extremely kind or subtly sadistic (I’m pretty sure it is kindness 90% of the time).\n\nMy nemesis in this category is The Pedestal Magazine. I’ve submitted to them over ten times, usually getting the form response that includes “try us again.” However, once I was told I was in the top 2%, but they were only taking the top 1%, so ... too bad. Another time I was told my poem would have been accepted, but ... Ah, this is so classic I just have to dredge it up from my records:\n\n\nDear [Owl Who Laughs],\n\nThanks so much for sending your poems to The Pedestal Magazine.\n\nI enjoyed reading your poems, but in the end have decided to pass on\nthis batch. My favorite, \"Autumn Ends\", which has some fantastic\nimagery and sharp language, made it into the final rounds of\nconsideration, but in the end just didn't seem to fit with the way\nthe issue has taken shape.\n\nReally sorry to disappoint again. Do keep trying us!!\n\n\nSo, I keep trying. However, it has been nothing but form letters for a while now. By the way, the poem mentioned above, “Autumn Ends” has never been able to find a home despite many attempts.\n\nFinally, there’s the rejection that never comes. I’ve given up pestering editors who do this, because, well, I don’t like pestering people who are going to tell me what I already know.\n\nAlternately, if they lost the submission, do I really want to deal with them for another few months?\n\n(Caveat: some editors warn you in advance that they only notify in the case of acceptance. I'm not talking about those efficient and wise folks.)\n\nI have many other stories about rejections. I get new ones all the time, and will happily vent more anguish and angst here.\n\nAs a final note, I’ve had a lot of acceptances in March, April and so far in May too; but this means my cache of good poems is depleted. Meanwhile, I am going to get hit with a wave of failures soon, because over the past 8 weeks I've sent out batches to what I call the “blue chip” journals--venues like the Poetry Foundation, Black Warrior Review, Indiana Review, and so on--that never accept my work and seem to telepathically communicate with each other and scheme to strike at once.\n\nIt’s a roller coaster ride, for sure!\n\n\n\n  1. Wow, ouch is right, but so it goes.\n\n    Great post - you could easily work this into a short story!\n\n\n  2. I got one, an obvious form rejection. It was one line, (printed many times no doubt) and cut out, to save paper. my personal low point. Sometimes editors are lovely, however.\n\n  3. the poetry foundation will never be able to keep your poem I'm sorry to\n    why do they even bother? they should come out with a anthology OF all the poems they rejected but it would cost $100,000 dollar and no one could afford", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8614674806594849}
+{"content": "May 27, 2015\n\nKinley's Ten Month Update\n\n Weight:  Still hanging around 18 pounds!  She is in the 55% for weight.\n\nHealth:  She is doing great!  No colds or fevers and even though a tooth came in she wasn't super worried/upset by it which was nice!\n\nSleep: Doing better- at our last pedi appointment we talked about how she wasn't sleeping through the night and that we were going into her room whenever she was waking up to retuck her in and try to calm her without a bottle or picking her up and our doctor told us to stop going in to her room all together.  She still wakes up occasionally but we don't go in anymore and she normally calms herself back to sleep with in a couple of minutes.\n\nSocial:  She is so smily!  Everyone also comments on what a good baby she is because she never fusses unless she is really tried or needs to eat.\n\nDiet:  Eating anything we will give her although she does like something better then others.  She loves waffles, bread, corn, and any food packs we give her.  She normally inhales them within seconds.\n\nClothes: She wears clothes that are size 6-12, 9-12, and 12-18 depending on where the item is from.   She does have a really big head (95 percentile) though so some of the tops are harder to get her head through them and may need to be altered or retired sooner then later.\n\nBaby Gear:  Not really using anything anymore- she can't be bothered!   We are starting to look into getting her a big girl carseat though and I would LOVE any recommendations you have have!\n\nCrying:  Like I said she isn't a big crier...unless she is getting tired or hungry she doesn't really cry.  The only time that is an exception is when she gets run over by brother playing and falls or whenever she climbs over to pull herself up on something and then is to scared to get back down, ie climbing up on one of our window ledges and then won't step back down off of it.\n\nLikes:  This kid is a lover of life and loves everything.  The swings at the park, the swimming pool, and going on walks.  She also loves her stuffed bunny Miss Hops A Lot.\n\nPostpartum:  Doing well.  I have officially lost all of the weight that I gained with her- now I just have to lose the extra weight that I gained with Sawyer and wasn't able to lose before getting pregnant with Kinley.  The treadmill is helping a ton though.\n\nMilestones: She started scooting/walking around furniture while holding on, and has her first tooth.  She also started shaking her head no whenever we say no.\n\nHere are a couple more of my favorite pictures of her this month:\n\nThanks so much for stopping by!", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5773034691810608}
+{"content": "Islands::tahiti    Raiatea::ta'aroa    Would::their    Islands::sisters    Society::within    Society::various\n\nA sacred god figure wrapping for the war god 'Oro, made of woven dried coconut fibre (sennit), which would have protected a Polynesian god effigy (to'o), made of wood. The mana of the god was symbolised by feathers, usually red in colour, which were attached to the surface of the woven covering. Figure held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.\n\n'Oro is a god of the Polynesian pantheon. The veneration of Oro, although practiced in varying intensity among the islands, was a major cult of the Society Islands in the 17th and 18th centuries, especially Tahiti and Raiatea. On Tahiti 'Oro was the main deity and the god of war. The secret society of Arioi was closely linked because of its rites. On the Marquesas Islands, 'Oro bore the name Mahui.<ref>J.A. Moerenhout, Voyages aux îles du Grand Océan, Paris, 1837; englische Übersetzung: Travels to the Islands of the Pacific Ocean, Lanham - London, 1983, S. 244</ref>\n\n'Oro sections\nIntro   Origins    Legends    Manifestations    Further reading    References   \n\nPREVIOUS: IntroNEXT: Origins", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9982624650001526}
+{"content": "New Study Found That This RED Fruit Will Be The Next Miracle Drink To Cure Cancer\n\nBeets have long been known as a healthy source of nutrients.\n\nThis root vegetable, best known for its red color, has been enjoyed in various forms for generations as a healthy source of iron, as well as potassium, phosphorus, calcium, sulfur, magnesium, iodine and a number of trace minerals.\n\nBut now, more than ever, scientific evidence continues to support beets as a natural cure for cancer.\n\nSome health experts even labeled it as \"beet root chemotherapy\" because scientific research reveals the astounding cases of remission in cancer patients who were given high concentrations of beet root.\n\nSo how does beet juice help to kill cancer cells?\n\nBeet juice helps to detoxify as well as protect our cells with much needed nutrients and oxygen. Some breakthrough studies have shown that beets help cancer patients reverse their condition.\n\nThe link between oxygen and cancer is well known and beets can increase oxygen, within the blood, by 400 percent while helping to eliminate waste products.\n\nOne of the anti-tumor effects of beetroot juice is explained by its high iron content, designed to regenerate red blood corpuscles that supply cancer cells with more oxygen. This higher oxygen content improves cellular respiration – which helps to kill cancer cells.\n\nThe Ferenczi’s Effect is named after the man that discovered a tumor-inhibiting effect of a flavonoid (betazyane) in beets – which proved that beets have the ability to increase oxygen intake within the cells, while protecting the levels of vitamin C – another great anti-cancer nutrient.\n\nKeep in mind, beetroot is such a powerful detoxifier that it is advised not to drink it straight but mix it with other juices to soften its effect. Beet, carrot, apple is a delicious way to get started.\n\nNaturally, when dealing with cancer, it’s always smart to work with a trusted, healthcare provider.\n\nWATCH: How to Save a Choking Baby In Less Than 3 Minutes Before it Becomes Critical\n\nBabies are naturally curious and it is common for them to put almost everything that can fit into their mouths. Sometimes this incident can lead to choking.\n\nTherefore, you must learn the simple steps on how to save a chocking baby so that you can be ready in case this unfortunate incident  may happen.\n\nStep 1: Assess the situation\n\n- If you notice your baby is making strange noises (wheezing, gagging, or choking/coughing sounds) when he opens his mouth, his breathing may be partially impeded by a foreign object.\n -If your baby is getting quiet even though his mouth is open, and his face is getting red or purple, his breathing is completely obstructed by a foreign object.\n- If your baby starts crying excessively it can reject the object by coughing. But if his coughing is not very strong and it sounds as if he’s chocking, you need to help him discard the object which is obstructing his breathing.\n\nStep 2: Try to remove the object which is causing the obstruction\n\n * Hitting on the back\n\n- Put your forearm on the thigh, with your palm directed upwards in sitting position.\n- Lay the baby face-down along your forearm, so his belly is along your arm, and support his jaw with your hand.\n- Now you should hit the baby in the back 5 times, do not be afraid to hit it a little bit harder if necessary.\n\n * Apply abdominal pressure\n\n- Make sure that the head is lower that the body.\n- Use your free hand and place two fingers on the center of the chest just below the baby’s nipples.\n- Apply pressure around 4 cm in dept and repeat this movement 5 times.\n- Repeat this procedure 5 times, until the object is removed.\n\nStep 3: If dislodging attempts fail, initiate CPR\n\n- Check the baby if he have any injuries or bleeding.\n- If the baby is bleeding, CPR must not be performed until the flow of blood has been staunched by applying pressure.\n- Check for consciousness by tapping on the baby’s foot.\n- Check the mouth and throat if there’s a foreign object. If you see one, attempt to clear it by using a finger.\n- If the baby is unresponsive, initiate CPR until help arrives.\n\nThe video below will guide you on how to successfully perform CPR on a baby.\n\nSource: Healthy And Natural World\n\nDon't Consume Garlic If You Have Any of This Conditions - It's Very Dangerous!\n\nNumerous studies have found that the active compound in garlic called allicin uses the same mechanism as ACE inhibitors which lower high blood pressure.\n\nGarlic is also effective in lowering your cholesterol level and boosting your immune system. As well as reducing the risk of catching flu or common cold. \n\nUnfortunately, if you have one of these conditions, you should not consume garlic because it may lead to serious health problems and complications. \n\n1. Garlic is a natural anticoagulant, which means that it’s excellent for treating circulation problems because it makes the blood more fluid. Garlic also helps in preventing clots which may lead to heart attacks, thrombosis and stroke. However, it’s not recommended to use it with other anticoagulant drugs because it can cause unnecessary bleeding.\n\n2. Don’t consume garlic if you are suffering from any condition that requires prescription drugs. You should consult with your doctor first before consuming garlic as this enhance the effects of drugs causing more problems.\n\n3. If you have liver problems – garlic may decrease the effectiveness of the medications taken for liver issues. Almost all medications, especially birth control medications, can have adverse interactions with garlic in any form.\n\n4. If you have sensitive stomach – garlic can be heavy on the digestive system so if you have an easily irritable GI tract, garlic can only irritate you and make the matters worse. It may also cause some gastrointestinal counter indications when eaten with stomach medications.\n\n5. Moderate amounts of raw garlic are safe during a pregnancy or periods of breastfeeding. However, taking garlic as a remedy during this time is not advisable.\n\n6. If your blood pressure is within the normal ranges or tipping to the lower border, consuming garlic may lower it and cause health complications. You should try to consume it from time to time but in moderate amounts.\n\nThis Amazing Home Remedy Will Help You Flush Out Your Kidney Stones Almost Everyday\n\nOur kidneys helps filter the waste products from the blood. In fact, our kidneys absorb stones, salts, sand and toxins continually.\n\nTherefore, they need to be cleansed regularly so that they can work in the best way possible. Detoxifying the kidneys is the best way to prevent accumulation of these harmful compounds.\n\nThis amazing home remedy we present you will help you detoxify your kidneys and support their functions.\n\n\n- Water\n- A handful of parsley leaves or coriander\n\n\n1. Chop the leaves of parsley or coriander in large pieces.\n2. Put them in a bowl. Then, pour water over them until they’re all covered.\n3. Boil them for 10 minutes.\n4. Remove the bowl from the heat and leave the mixture to cool.\n5. Lastly, strain and refrigerate it.\n\n\nDrink one cup of this mixture daily. After 7 days, you will notice the change of color in your urine. This is due to the process of cleansing the kidneys.\n\nNote: Pregnant women should not consume this drink.\n\nAlso, if you suspect that you have kidney stones, it is recommended to consult your doctor before using this remedy.\n\nDid you know that making love could also help get rid of kidney stones? Read my article about Having S** 3-4 Times A Week Helps Flush Down Kidney Stones to know more.\n\nCheap And Painless Underarm Hair Removal You Could Perform At Home In Just 2 Minutes\n\nFacial and armpit hair are the most complained body hair, especially by women.\n\nSo if you're out of budget but want to get rid of stubborn armpit hair, try this home treatment. Not only that this is more affordable, but can also be more natural and hence, less toxic.\n\nMethod # 1: Lemon and Sugar\n\nSugar-based waxing methods have been used by Asian women for centuries. This method is both simple and effective.\n\n- Simply mix two tablespoons of lemon juice with one tablespoon of sugar to make a paste.\n- Apply this on your armpit hair and leave to act for a few minutes.\n- Remove with a clean damp cloth.\n\nNote: Repeat the treatment twice a week. Your underarm hair will recede each time you use the treatment.\n\nMethod # 2: Egg and Corn Flour\n\n- Make a paste using one egg and one and a half tablespoon corn flour.\n- Apply this paste on your armpit and leave until it dries.\n- Rinse off with water.\n\nMethod # 3: Milk and Turmeric\n\n- Make a paste using a tablespoon of turmeric and two tablespoons of milk.\n- Apply this on your underarm, let act for some time, and rinse with water.\n\n\n\n\n* Fatigue\n\n\n* Pain in the chest, shoulders, back and abdominal area\n\n\n* Always sick\n\n\n* Weakness of the muscles\n\n\n* Loss of appetite and sudden weight loss\n\n\n* Abnormal growth of breasts in men\n\n\n* Shortness of breath\n\n\nTake 2 Tablespoon Of This Oil To Avoid Getting Breast Cancer In The Future\n\n\nLike most cancers, the risk of developing breast cancer increases as women get older.\n\nFortunately, there are number of natural ingredients that can help you reduce the factors that have been identified as risk factors for developing breast cancer.\n\nA new Spanish study that suggests adding extra-virgin olive oil to the Mediterranean diet has a significant reduction in breast cancer risk.\n\nExperts concluded that olives and olive oil may be one of the reasons why these individuals had reduced risks. Olive oil and olives are abundant in antioxidants, lignans and other compounds that can reduce the factors associated with cancer.\n\nHow much olive oil is recommended?\n\nSimply add two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil to your salad dressing or coat the olive oil on fish, meat or veggies before baking or roasting them.\n\nThe bottom line is that scientists do not yet know how olive oil reduces breast cancer risk, but one thing is certain: The Mediterranean diet and the consumption of extra virgin olive oil can and does help to reduce the risk factors that are responsible for developing breast cancer.\n\nWe Drink This Almost Every Day But What We Don't Know, It Destroys Our Bones Without Our Knowledge\n\nThe newest strategy of Coca-Cola company to make the more health-conscious costumers buy their products is by putting a label that their drink contains no artificial flavors and chemical preservatives added.\n\nHowever, the label is somewhat misleading because coke contains phosphoric acid, which is essentially both an artificial flavor and a preservative, and has been linked to many health problems.\n\nPhosphoric acid used to remove rust, while the food-grade phosphoric acid is a very acidifying agent that makes the drink more acid than vinegar or lemon juice.\n\nWhat Happens When You Drink A Can Of Soda:\n\nWithin 20 minutes: Your blood sugar level increase, resulting in a quick release of the hormone insulin.\n\nWithin 40 minutes: Our body already absorbed the caffeine resulting blood pressure rises, pupils dilate, and the liver dumps even more sugar into the bloodstream.\n\nAround 45 minutes: Body increases dopamine production, which gives the person an imminent sensation of pleasure.\n\nAfter 60 minutes: You can experience change in mood, fatigue, lethargy and mental fogginess.\n\nSource: Healthy Natural World\n\nSoak Your Hands Into This Liquid To Cure Arthritis Within 30 Minutes\n\n\nApple cider vinegar has been commonly recognized as the most effective natural remedy for arthritis pain. It rich in minerals like magnesium, phosphorus, calcium and potassium which can help reduce the pain and stiffness of your body parts.\n\nHow to use Apple Cider Vinegar as an Arthritis Remedy \n\n* Apple Cider Vinegar and Cherry Juice:\n\n- Mix 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar into a glass of cherry juice.\n- Drink 2 times daily to relieve arthritis pain.\n\n* Apple Cider Vinegar Soak:\n\n- Mix 1 cup apple cider vinegar into 6 cups warm water.\n- Submerge painful joints and soak for at least 30 minutes.\n\n* Apple Cider Vinegar and Water:\n\n- Mix 1-3 teaspoons apple cider vinegar into 8 ounces water.\n- Drink 3 times daily.\n- You can also use this mixture as an external pain relief ointment.\n\n* Apple Cider Vinegar and Honey for Arthritis:\n\n- Mix 2 teaspoon each of apple cider vinegar and honey into a glass of water.\n- Drink 3 times daily.\n- It will also dissolve the uric acid deposits that crystalize between joints and muscles.\n\nSource: Home Remedies For Life\n\nWhy You Need To Open Only One Eye When You Go To The Bathroom In The Middle Of The Night\n\nThe human body is active all the time, repairing, healing and adapting to its environment. Here are some tricks that will definitely help you to treat a variety of common ailments.\n\nKeep One Eye Closed\n\nIf you wake up and go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, keep one eye closed because if the bright light of the bulb enters both eyes, your body will think it is time to wake up and you will have a difficult time taking your sleep again. However, if you keep one eye closed, your brain will adjust much easier to the darkness and you will be able to fall asleep faster.\n\nPull On Your Ear\n\nRubbing your temples can help to ease a headache, but pulling your ear can work better. To do this, hold the meat of your ear and gently pull out and back. This moves the temporal bone just enough to allow fresh cerebral-spinal fluid in, cleansing and nourishing the area.\n\nRoll Your Neck\n\nWhen our nerves have been compressed and are not getting enough oxygen, we will feel sleepy all of a sudden. Most of us will try to shake our arms to wake up. Instead of flailing your arm or hand around lice a crazy chicken, try to wake up those frozen limbs by rolling your head to the back of your neck. This is more helpful because the nerves in your neck go straight down your arm to your hand. It will not work for your feet though.\n\nAvoid Crying\n\nIf you are in a situation when you should not be crying, even if you really want to, try to find a few different points in the room and stare deeply at them. Repeat the colors of these objects over and over again in your head. This will help you to control your tears to fall because it will decrease your pulse and distract you.\n\nThe Right Way To Swallow Pills\n\nIf you have troubles swallowing medications, try this: put the pill in your mouth and lean your head forward before you swallow. When leaning forward, your swallow reflex is activated and your body should swallow the pill on its own.\n\nDon’t Be Scared Of Needles\n\nNot only kids, but also adults are afraid of needles. Try this next time you are going to the doctor’s office: Cough lightly a few times as the needle is being placed and the procedure should ne painless. The body becomes distracted, so probably it is the reason this trick works.\n\nStop The Hiccups\n\nHiccups happen when the diaphragm spasms, the air you breath in and out is interrupted by vocal cords which creates the sound of hiccup. It can be caused by eating too quickly, swallowing too much air and sudden temperature changes in the stomach. Try opening your mouth and reflexively swallow for a few minutes. This will help you to calm the spasms in your diaphragm, making the hiccups disappear.\n\nSource: Health Advisor Groups", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9669531583786011}
+{"content": "Tying Mango Leaves At The Entrance\n\n+  Text   -   \n\nTying Mango Leaves Tying Mango LeavesTying Mango Leaves\n\nTying Mango LeavesMango Tree is One Among the Most Sacred Trees\n\nThe mango tree is considered to be one among the most sacred trees and a sacred symbol of Hinduism in India. It plays a major role in the culture and the tradition of the Hindus. The mango leaves have a lot of religious and scientific significance and is believed to grant lot of wishes. It is supposed to be a symbol of love and Goddess Mahalakshmi. There are lot of mentions about the Mango tree in various Puranas and ethics and is associated with a number of Gods, Goddesses and spirits. The mango tree and its leaves are believed to be the residence of Gods like Lakshmi, Govardhan, Gandharva and the God of fertility. Scientifically it is said to have antibacterial activity against gram positive bacteria. Kama or fertility God is represented by the mango leaves. The hanging of mango leaves near the entrance of the house is popularly known as thoranam.\n\nTying Mango LeavesCustom of Hanging Mango Leaves\n\n-There is an age old tradition and custom of hanging mango leaves at the entrance of the houses for it is believed to ward off evil spirits or any negative energy entering the house. The mango leaves are mainly hanged at the entrance of places of celebrations whether it may be home or common places. There are mentions about the hanging of mango leaves even in Bhagavat Gita, 'At each and every gate there were burning lamps and big water pots decorated with differently colored cloth, strings of pearls, flower garlands and hanging mango leaves.' (Srimad Bhagavatam 4.9.55)\n\nTying Mango Leavesccasions in Hanging of Mango Leaves\n\nMango Leaf For Functions\n-'Vrajapura, the residence of Nanda Maharaja, was fully decorated with varieties of festoons and flags, and in different places, gates were made with varieties of flower garlands, pieces of cloth, and mango leaves......' (Srimad Bhagavatam 10.5.6) There are no religious festival or any happy occasions in the house which takes place without the hanging of mango leaves. Most of the Hindu religious ceremonies show the common site of five leaves of mango tree in a pot smeared with sindoor or vermilion. For its various significance this tree planted and worshipped by devout.\n\nTying Mango LeavesHanging of Mango Leaves-significance\n\n-The hanging of mango leaves is not only done at the time of festivals and special occasions but also otherwise on normal days it is considered a blessing to the house. One will never miss the site of hanging mango leaves in a wedding house for it ensures that the couple bear plenty of children. The entrance of newly built houses is mainly adorned by mango leaves to signify good fortune to the house and to its members. Mangoes are represented in religious themes of South Asia's diverse communities, whether Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim or Christian. There are even legends which state that Lord Shiva as Linga or in the phallic form took place under a mango tree. The Buddhist folklore tells a lot about the significance of mango tree and its leaves. Mango leaves feature in the Jataka tales and frequently appears in Buddhist art.\n\nTying Mango LeavesStories in the Jataka Tales\n\n-The stories in the Jataka tales narrate about the Great Miracle of Sravasti that took place when Buddha converted people by miraculously reproducing himself in various forms in front of a mango tree. Some of the main religious significance behind the hanging of mango leaves is, it is supposed to be a symbol of fertility and a sign of auspiciousness. It represents Goddess Mahalakshmi and prevents any negative energy from entering the house and thereby protects the household from any drushti dosham. Scientifically it releases lot of oxygen and it helps in promoting hygiene and health.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6359280943870544}
+{"content": "PH007 Lindsay Dobbin - Arrival\n\nby Lindsay Dobbin\n\nArrival consists of two long format sound pieces for deep listening: \"Guided Memory / Residue\" and \"Arrival.\" This past Winter I temporarily lost some of my hearing, and these pieces reflect my journey in and then out of that transformational experience. As my auditory reality became more and more limited, my dream world and inner connection to mystery became rich. It felt like I was witnessing a dark, star-filled sky, with the earth and physicality fading, floating, no bearings. In this state, I had dream upon dream where I was listening to the voices and songs of my ancestors. Their voices\nspoke to me, supported me and told me stories I didn't remember forgetting. My experience with those patient, outside-of-time voices inspired these sound pieces that, with their subtle energy and vibration, dismantled and dissolved the hardness between this (out)side and the other (inside), and allowed me to return home. -\nLindsay Dobbin\n\nPlease note: Both sound pieces contain sub-low, bass frequencies. For best results play on a full-spectrum stereo system or through quality headphones.\n\nAll sounds by Lindsay Dobbin. Art by Elizabeth Johnson.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9686011672019958}
+{"content": "\n\nRome Reports\n\nYou are using an outdated browser\n\n\nArt Expo celebrates 80 years of diplomatic ties between Cuba and the Holy See\n\nIt's a colorful art exhibit with 27 pieces. But this art expo is about much more than juts art. More than anything it's about celebrating 80 years of diplomatic ties between Cuba and the Holy See.  ERIBERTO BETTINI Art Curator \"This exhibit is a continuation, if you will. When Pope Francis visited Cuiaba, he talked about the fact that this year marks 80 years of uninterrupted diplomatic ties between the island and the Holy See. So this art expo is a way to celebrate that.â?  Despite all the disagreements that arose between the Vatican and the island's regime at the height  of Communism, their ties, nonetheless, remained intact.  The artist is Cuban painter Alfredo Sosabravo.  Just as intriguing as his work â??is his age.  His style and technique may be young, but his actual age is up there.  ERIBERTO BETTINI \"The artist is 85 years old, but he says that when he paints, he feels like a 16 year old.â?  Even though the pieces reflect color, life and celebration, they also depict serious issues...This piece titled 'Crucified Men' is meant to shed light on some of the injustices people face, when they stand up against corruption and wrong doing.  Through the collaboration of the Holy See and the city of Rome, one of the city's antique buildings, the Palazzo della Cancelleria, now houses this modern art expo.  ERIBERTO BETTINI Art Curator \"It's very unusual to have such a historic Roman palace for such a contemporary exhibit, but somehow it all comes together and it works.â?   The Exhibit, which is completely free,  will be open to the public until November 17th.  It's a way to celebrate fantasy and reality, the old and the new and of course, whatever the future has in store.  KLH  CTV -SV PR UP:IPC", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.817738950252533}
+{"content": "11 Mysteries of Famous Icons That 90% of People Don’t Know About\n\nThere are certain works of art and architecture that are famous the world over. But if you study the history of some of them a little more intently, you’ll find that many of them contain a great deal of mysteries.\nWe at Bright Side decided to compile a list of some of the most intriguing ones. We were amazed at what we found out.\n\nThe top-floor apartment of the Eiffel Tower\n\nGustave Eiffel, the man who designed France’s most famous monument, built and fitted out an apartment for himself on its topmost floor. He often used it to rest and receive guests. On one occasion, he had a long conversation there with Thomas Edison. The apartment contains a kitchen, bathroom, two bedrooms, and a living room, and, of course, boasts spectacular views. Today it serves as a museum, complete with waxworks of Eiffel and Edison.\n\nThe broken chain at the feet of the Statue of Liberty\n\nThe Statue of Liberty was given to the USA by the people of France in honor of the 100th anniversary of the American Revolution. It symbolizes freedom, democracy, and the repeal of slavery. It is for this reason that a broken chain lies at the feet of the statue — something often overlooked by the many thousands of tourists who go to see it.\n\nThe Isleworth Mona Lisa\n\nIt’s a well-known fact that many artists have reproduced the famous Mona Lisa. But it’s believed that there is one other portrait painted by da Vinci himself, and this one is no copy. Interestingly, the second version is painted from a slightly different perspective. It’s possible that it was made by a different artist, or maybe several of them. According to experts, however, it’s more likely that this is simply an earlier version of da Vinci’s masterpiece.\n\nThe time capsule in Mount Rushmore\n\nDuring the construction of this famous monument, architect Gutzon Borglum wanted to create a Hall of Chronicles inside the cliff face — a secret room where future generations would find the fundamental records of and information about the USA’s history. For this purpose, he excavated a cave behind the head of Abraham Lincoln. Soon after, however, Borglum died, and his plan was not completed. In 1998, more than 50 years after his death, copies of important documents and the memoirs of various presidents were placed inside the unfinished hall, which now serves as a time capsule.\nThe Matterhorn at Disneyland\nThe Matterhorn at Disneyland that’s modelled and named after a mountain in the Alps on the border with Switzerland and Italy is the first tubular steel continuous track roller coaster. That’s not it though. Inside the very top there is a small attic-like structure used as a staging and break area for climbers: a basketball hoop, complete with backboard and net, which has been attached to a flight of wooden stairs. Climbers and Cast Members used the basketball court and staging area to prepare for scheduled climbs or to pass time when there was bad weather.\n\nThe Sphinx’s original appearance\n\nThe Great Sphinx of Giza is the oldest statue in the world. Originally, it was decorated with bright paint, only fragments of which remain today behind one of its ears. It also had a nose and a ceremonial beard. The remains of these can be seen in British and Egyptian museums. Some experts believe that the Sphinx may originally have had the head of a lion, and a human face was only carved over this much later, which would explain the large difference between the proportions of the gigantic body and the small head.\n\nThe creation of the Leaning Tower of Pisa\n\nThe famous tower contains many secrets. Everyone knows about its inclination, but no one knows who actually built the bell tower for Pisa’s cathedral. One of the reasons for this mystery is the fact that it was built over the course of nearly 200 years. Historians are used to assuming the construction plan was developed by Bonanno Pizano, but a more likely candidate was Diotisalvi, who designed the baptistery located next to the tower which is built in the same style.\n\nThe face of Rembrandt’s Danaë\n\nRembrandt started painting Danaë two years after his marriage to Saskia van Uylenburgh. The artist depicted his wife in many of his paintings, and it long remained a mystery why the similarity with Saskia was not so clear in this image as it was in his other works of the 1630s. Moreover, the style of this particular painting was closer to many of his later works. It is only recently that explanations have been found for this mystery. When examined using x-rays, the similarity of the figure in the painting with Rembrandt’s wife is much clearer. It seems the painting was redone after his spouse’s death, at a time when he was infatuated with another woman, Geertje Dircx. The facial features of Danaë were changed in such a way that they combined both of his lovers’ features.\n\nThe name of the most famous tourist attraction in Britain\nStrictly speaking, “Big Ben“ doesn’t refer to the whole tower in the British Houses of Parliament but instead only the large bell within it. Until September 2012, the official name for the structure was ”The Bell Tower of the Palace of Westminster.\" Now its official name is “The Elizabeth Tower.” At present, no one knows for certain in whose honor the bell was named Big Ben. One theory goes that it was the nickname of a powerfully built man who managed the bell foundry where it was made. Another theory suggests it was named after Benjamin Count, a heavyweight boxing champion.\n\nThe color of the Golden Gate Bridge\n\nThe Golden Gate Bridge is one of the most photographed landmarks in the world. It took a long time to agree its construction with the United States Navy. When permission was finally obtained, the Navy wanted it to be painted in black and yellow stripes so that it would be visible in fog. In the end, the architect of the bridge, Irving Morrow, convinced the military to paint it a dark orange color. This not only made sure it was visible in all weather conditions but also gave it an attractive appearance.\n\nThe sky in the painting The Scream\n\n© wikimedia\n\nThe initial name of the legendary painting by Edvard Munch was The Scream of Nature. The artist wrote in his diary:\n\n\"...suddenly the sky became blood-red; I stopped, feeling exhausted, and leaning against a fence, saw blood and tongues of flame over bluish-black fjord and a city...\"\n\nIn 2003, a group of astronomers put forth the theory that the bright scarlet color of the sky that so astounded the artist was caused by the eruption of the Krakatoa volcano in 1883. A huge quantity of volcanic dust was thrown up into the atmosphere, because of which extremely bright flamelike sunsets were observed all around the world over the following few years.\nBased on materials from worldartdalia.blogspot", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.908909797668457}
+{"content": "A Kingdom Approach to Athletics\n\nWhen looking at almost any sport in America today one cannot avoid the conclusion that athletics are just another platform for self-promotion and self-glorification. The defensive lineman, after a routine tackle, who rises from the pile thumping his chest and strutting in the open field for all to see. The tennis champion who can only congratulate herself for winning; cheerleaders who pose for pin-up posters and wall calendars; and basketball stars who appear to be trying to outdo one another for having the most tattoos.\n\nWhat has been lost in our hyper-narcissistic times is the virtue of sportsmanship and the concept of the noble champion. As a result the wisdom and beauty of athletics has been lost.\n\nChristian schools celebrate and promote athletics because they are a platform for developing mature, humble, and gracious men and women who understand that their gifts are not for honoring themselves but for serving others—the very opposite of self-promotion and self-glorification! Borrowing a phrase from a former football player, Joe Ehrmann, the football field, and by extension, the basketball court and outdoor track, serve as “the last classroom of the day,” meaning they are moral and educational environments as well as athletic.\n\nAthletics are a training for life. Just as in life we find winners and losers, leaders and followers, those giving commands and those who must obey them. We find champions and heroes, underdogs and difference-makers, dynasties that rise and fall.\n\nIn sports, as in life, we can observe mistakes with terrible consequences and plays executed to perfection. We see people who panic and players who persist through pain, teammates who are tested and trained to give everything they’ve got for a cause that is just. We see teams who lost but should have won and teams who deserved to lose but won anyway.\n\nIn sports as in life we find a concentrated focus toward a common goal, plans of attack and defense, times of holding the line or pouring it on; we find virtues of hard work, self-sacrifice, personal responsibility and fearless courage. We see perfect equality and fierce competition, talent that disappoints and average ability that breaks games wide open.\n\nIn sports, as in life, there are lost chances and missed opportunities, surprises, turnovers and reversals of momentum. We see first-hand, confidence and intimidation, fear and faith, grief and exaltation. In sports as in life we learn that sometimes winning comes at a very high cost or in losing we are sometimes honored even more.\n\nChristian schools run sports programs intentionally, not because everyone else has a program but because school leaders understand how athletics can accomplish their mission which is to build character, promote virtue, change lives, and help young people come to a proper and sober knowledge of themselves as men and women, as future husbands, fathers, wives and mothers. Christian schools teach identity, virtues, teamwork and sportsmanship and in doing so try to model a view of the athlete, the coach, and athletics in general that is redemptive and kingdom oriented.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9641302824020386}
+{"content": "The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor\n\n\nSuccess first, happiness second. That seems to be the case of how most people think.’ If you work hard, you will become successful, and once you become successful, then you’ll be happy.’ We now know that happiness is the precursor for success. The Happiness Advantage is very powerful indeed.\n\nThe auto did his grad school in Harvard and eventually stayed there for 12 years. Many people in Harvard were too worried about the stress and did not enjoy themselves. In a school in Africa which I visited, 95% of the students liked to do schoolwork. The students found doing homework as a privilege. According to research, many of those in Harvard are unhappy. I started to investigate what made successful people have the edge over the norm. Unlike other psychologists, I like to observe the outliers. If we study merely what is average, we will remain merely average. Do not simply strive on eliminating the bad and reverting to the average. There are not enough studies on happiness out there. In 1998, positive psychology was born. Excessive pressure can make you unhappy in life. Some of these students neglected relationships and love. Social relationships are the key to success. The Seven Principles are 1) The Happiness Advantage; 2) The Fulcrum and the Lever; 3) The Tetris Effect; 4) Falling Up; 5) The Zorro Circle; 6) The 20 second rule; 7) Social Investment.\n\nHappiness is not the belief that we don’t need to change; it is the realization that we can. – Shawn Achor\n\nIt is possible that through practice, your section in the brain for doing a particular tasks improves. Mere thoughts can change our brain structure. Brain change is a fact and is supported by neuroscience. There are no limits to human potential. Everyone has the ability to become happier. Small interventions can create long-term change.\n\nHappiness is the centre and success revolves around it. Happiness is relative to the person experiencing it. It is pleasure with deep feelings of meaning and purpose. It can lead to longer lifespans and healthier bodies. It leads us to being more open to new ideas etc. They improve our cognition ability as well. Positive emotions expand our peripheral vision too. A small burst of happiness in your work environment can lead to a drastic change in your performance and motivation levels. Richard Branson believes in fun. Simply recalling happy moments might help as well. You just need a little form of encouragement. Happiness can undo physical stress and anxiety. It is possible to raise your happiness baseline. Do not be extremely ambitious and learn to enjoy the finer things in life. Find something to look forward to. Usually the most enjoyable part of an activity is the anticipation. Commit conscious acts of kindness. Give back to others and you’ll feel happier. Infuse positivity in your surroundings. Exercise more. Get your ass moving about. Spend money on others or spend on experiences. Exercise a signature strength and do something you are good at. Provide frequent recognition and encouragement. 2.9013 is the Losada’s ratio of positive to negative interactions necessary to make a corporate team successful.\n\nBy moving the lever, we can change the moments in a see-saw. Learn to move your mindset. The fulcrum and lever are the most important things in life. Mental construction has a direct impact on the physical ageing process. Time flies when you’re having fun. Placebos can be effective in controlling pain too. Expectancy theory = our expectations create brain patterns that can be just as real as those created in the real world. Use terms like lifeline instead of deadline. You can’t reap the benefits of an event if you think negatively. Believe that you can succeed and in own ability. Gender or racial stereotypes will affect performance if you believe in them. Someone with a growth mindset can outperform the others. Use the fulcrum and lever to find your calling. Is your work a job, a career or a calling? Job crafting means not changing your job scope but changing your mindset. Ask yourself whether there is meaning to your work currently. Learn to connect with a higher purpose. See how your work adds in to the larger meaning of things. Learn to change the fulcrum of those around you too. Pygmalion effect: when our belief in another person’s potential brings that potential to life. Employees tend to turn out how their manager expects them to be.\n\nThat is not to say that all jobs have equal meaning, but that even a rote or routine task can be meaningful if you find a good reason to be invested. You feel productive at the end of the day. You showed people that you were smart and efficient. You made life easier for customer… – Shawn Achor\n\nIf you keep repeating a game, the effect may get stuck in your head. After playing Tetris, people imagined shapes falling from the sky. This is known as the Tetris effect, or commonly known as a cognitive afterimage. It also explains how our brains work. Instead on scanning the negative, we can also scan on the positive. If you always look out for mistakes at work or as part of your job, you may tend to do that in your personal life as well. Don’t just look out for the weaknesses of others. Lawyers have higher chances of falling into depression because of the nature of their work. This pessimistic attitude might affect your happiness advantage. We only remember pertinent advice that we receive. Humans suffer from inattentional blindness. You can choose what your mind should focus on. Learn to have a positive tetris effect instead. Grateful people enjoy life more than others. Optimists set more goals and are better able to cope with stressful situations. If you always think negatively, your performance subsequently will be affected. Your brain becomes less able to spot opportunities. Make a list of good things in your life. Write down the good things that have happened to you. Write short journal entries about positive experiences. Connect with your calling. Keep practising. Create a gratitude list. Have a healthy dose of optimism as well.\n\nHow much pain would you be willing to accept before you gave up? The author was placed in a trial experiment and hated it. There are three mental maps you can build: 1) keep circling around where you currently are; 2) lead to negative consequences; 3) to overcome setbacks. Learn to conceive failure as an opportunity for growth. Be freed by your choices. It might take something very bad for you to pick yourself up and learn. There can be good that arises from a tight struggle. Mindset is all important and is very crucial indeed. Learn to bounce forward, not back. You can learn from every setback. See it as a stepping stone. It is okay to make mistakes. Fail early and often. If you believe your situation is helpless, you won’t do anything to change it or try to improve on the situation. We simply feel like giving up. This feeling will move to other areas of your life as well. Crisis may act as a form of catalysts. Crisis are a chance for others to shine. Our brains are good at inventing counterfacts. This is actually reality altering and is not a good idea. Having an explanatory style means you explain past events as being local and temporary in nature. Use the ABCD model. Adversity, Belief, Consequence and Disputation. Stumbling on Happiness is a good book as well.\n\nLearn to master only a small goal, like Zorro. Greater feelings of control leads to greater happiness. It is not actually how much control we have, but how much control we think we have. Have an internal locus of control. You have to believe that what you do matters, even if it is just a little bit. When you do well, do not just credit luck for it. A lack of control can lead to health problems. In the past, we often relied on the knee jerk reaction and not the rational mind. The logical mind is better for decision making. The irrational mind only thinks about fight or flight. People suffering from stress can lead to poor performances. The jerk reaction causes losses in the financial markets etc. Self-awareness is the key. Learn to write down your feelings down. Identify where you have control of and where you don’t. Focus your energies on things that can generate a huge impact. Set goals of moderate difficulty. Kaizen refers to continuous improvement. Focus only on what you have control of.\n\nResearch has shown that people who believe that the power lies within their circle have higher academic achievement, greater career achievement, and are much happier at work. – Shawn Achor\n\nPositive psychology has principles from many famous people before us. Knowledge is meaningless without action. Action is the hardest part. New Year Resolutions are easily broken. We are mere bundles of habits. We are biologically prone to follow our habits. These are very automatic in nature. In order for a habit to be formed, there needs to be common practice. Humans usually become more skilled with practice. It is possible to create habits even when old. Using willpower and calendars won’t work for you. It is difficult to maintain a diet using willpower to resist the unhealthy food. The more you use it, the more it gets depleted. Those who used up their willpower supply tended to fair badly at cognitive tasks. Our willpower is usually very low by the time we get home after work. Studies have shown that spending time on habits provide better pleasure than solely leisure activities. Advertising companies are smart and use the opt-out strategy sometimes. They are betting that customers are lazy and won’t do it. Lazy people prefer the default option. Humans are usually distracted by tasks like surfing FB etc. The moment you get hit by distraction, your concentration span is gone. We all like the path of least resistance. Lower the activation energy for habits you want to adopt and vice versa. For instance, you can buy a guitar stand for your guitar. Out of sight, out of mind. If you need 20 more seconds to engage a new habit, chances are that you will just give up after a while. Add 20 seconds to your day and gain more time for your hobbies. The government has used the opt-out option for organ transplants. Focus on only one task at a time and do not allow distractions to affect you. Do not allow yourself to make too many choices. Learn to sleep in your gym clothes. Exercising in the morning boosts your cognitive ability. Set second order decisions which actually dictate the first order ones.\n\nHold on tight to those around you and not let go. In times of crisis, many people like to wander around alone. Learn to invest in your close relationships. Your relationships with people matter more than anything else. We need social relationships to thrive. Social support is one of the best predictors of happiness as compared to other factors. Those people with less social ties have higher risks of depression. Having good relationships can protect you from job stress. Do not withdraw when you need them most. Some books always paint the picture of a successful guy in his lab working alone. The more socially connected you are, the better you perform. Many of the major companies invest in social capital. Small differences can have a big impact too. Companies reap the benefits if the boss-employee relationship is good. Some people fear getting too close to their boss as it might be awkward. You need to reinvest your current relationships as well. Learn to make eye contact with others when talking face to face. Learn about your employee habits. You need to respond in a way that is both active and constructive to build relationships. Learn to introduce two employees from different departments to one another. There must be mutual respect and authenticity. Coercing doesn’t work. Learn to pay attention to people when they are talking to you. Manage by walking around.\n\n\nA longer, 15-year study even found that employees who had a difficult relationship with their boss were 30% more likely to suffer from coronary heart disease. It seems a bad relationship with your boss can be as bad for you as a steady diet of fried foods – but not nearly as fun. – Shawn Achor\n\nStudies have found that the strength of the bond between manager and employee is the prime predictor of both daily productivity and the length of time people stay at their jobs. – Shawn Achor\n\nSpiral upwards. The more practice, the more it helps in habit formation. The 7 principles are all inter-linked. If you change for the better, those around you will be shaped unconsciously as well. Your change will lead to some impact to friends 3 degrees away from you. Look into someone’s eyes and smile. Humans are very good at mirroring others. That is why smiling is contagious. Your colleagues are contagious. If you are very negative, those around you will be affected as well. Each workplace has its own group emotion. However, the good thing is that positive emotions are contagious too. You can act to be happy. Develop rapport with others. You can build rapport by simply giving eye contact.\n\nBruce Sacerdote found that when students with low GPAs simple began rooming with higer-scoring students, their GPAs increased. These students, according to the researchers, ‘appear to infect each other with good and bad study habits – such that a roommate with a higher GPA would drag upward the GPA of his lower-scoring roommate. – Shawn Achor\n\n\n\n\nLeave a Reply\n\n\nYou are commenting using your account. Log Out / Change )\n\nTwitter picture\n\n\nFacebook photo\n\n\nGoogle+ photo\n\n\nConnecting to %s", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7893844842910767}
+{"content": "In the OSTI Collections: Interferometry\n\nDr. Watson computer sleuthing scientist.\n\nArticle Acknowledgement:\n\nDr. William N. Watson, Physicist\n\nDOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information\n\nView Past \"In the OSTI Collections\" Articles\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAlternate Text Placeholder\n\nPhysical waves of any type—whether water waves, sound waves, light waves, or any other type—have a pattern of “peaks” and “troughs” which is shaped by the waves’ source, the media they travel through, and the paths they take through them.  While we can easily discern the pattern in waves whose peaks and troughs are widely separated (e.g., large ocean waves), even the existence of peaks and troughs can be hard to detect in very short waves (e.g., visible light).  As it turns out, though, directing a train of waves so that it crosses paths with another wave train of the same type, or even a redirected portion of the same wave train, can cause the two interfering waves to reshape each other into a more easily measured pattern.[Wikipedia]  Where peaks or troughs from each wave train meet, they reinforce each other and form bigger peaks or troughs.  Where a peak from one train meets a trough from another, they cancel out so the combined wave has some intermediate amplitude.  The waves’ interference thus produces a new pattern of peaks and troughs which may be more easily discerned.  For example, the reinforcing and canceling peaks and troughs of two same-frequency light waves can appear as alternating lighter and darker regions in space.  If light waves of different frequencies interfere, their mutual reinforcement and cancellation at any point in space can alternate over time.\n\n\nInterferometers, as their name suggests, are devices for measuring waves that interfere with each other.  Different types of interferometers are designed to make waves interfere in different ways, thus changing the wave pattern to reveal different features of the waves’ sources or the media that affect their transmission.  Interferometers have been used to learn about various phenomena since at least 1856, when Jules Jamin[Wikipedia] used one to measure how gases at different pressures and temperatures made light slow down as it traveled through them[Wikipedia].  Interferometers are still being designed, built, and used today for various purposes.  Several recent reports available through OSTI explain some of these purposes and the designs made to accomplish them. \n\n\n\n\nAlternate Text Placeholder\n\nElectromagnetic waves (I)\n\n\nWaves of visible light, and electromagnetic waves of other frequencies[Wikipedia], are among the waves most commonly analyzed with interferometers to measure other things, such as temperature.  Temperature measurement by interferometry is discussed in a paper entitled “Development of metal-ceramic coaxial cable Fabry-Pérot interferometric sensors for high temperature monitoring”[DoE PAGES], which was published in the journal Sensors in 2015.  New designs for coal-fired power plants achieve lower carbon-dioxide emissions with high power output by operating at high temperatures.  The paper notes that “real-time monitoring of the process conditions and equipment physical states are highly desired for realizing intelligent operation to enhance the energy efficiency and safety assurance of the power plants”, and that temperature distribution over large equipment and transportation lines is one of the most important things to monitor.  Remote temperature sensing can be done in many situations with pairs of wire made of different conducting materials (thermocouples[Wikipedia]), but these devices are not suitable for the high-temperature, high-pressure, erosive and corrosive portions of a power plant like gasifiers and combustors. \n\n\nFiber-optic interferometers have been considered as temperature sensors, but their brittleness, their small sizes, and their components’ deterioration by diffusion of their atoms across the components’ interfaces have made their use in coal-fired plants problematic.  The authors thus describe a more rugged interferometer that, instead of using visible light and optical fibers, uses lower-frequency microwaves and corundum[Wikipedia] in a stainless-steel coaxial cable.  As shown in Figure 1, microwaves propagating along the cable are partially reflected at air gaps between sections of corundum.  The reflected waves interfere with each other in a pattern determined by the spacing of the air gaps, which changes as the cable expands or contracts in response to changing temperature.  Thus when microwaves of different frequencies are sent along the cable, the reflected waves with the least cancellation due to interference will have particular frequencies that depend on the cable’s temperature.  Two sensors, one with air gaps in the corundum on one side of the cable, the other with air gaps completely separating corundum sections across the cable, were tested at temperatures between 200°C and 500°C (approximately 473 K and 773 K) and found capable of tracking temperature changes of one degree. \n\n\nFigure 1.  Left:  A coaxial cable with conducting core and outer surface, with solid insulating material between them periodically separated by air gaps.  Microwaves propagating through the solid insulators are partially reflected at the gaps between them.  If these reflected waves oscillate in step with each other, they will interfere constructively and the total reflected wave will be strong; if the individual reflected waves are out of step, they will destructively interfere and the total reflected wave will be weak.  Whether the reflected waves are in or out of step depends on the waves’ frequency and the spacing of the air gaps.  Expansion and contraction of the cable with temperature affects the gap spacing and thus which microwave frequencies are most strongly reflected, so a change in the reflected waves’ frequency spectrum indicates a change in the cable temperature, allowing the cable-microwave system to act as a temperature sensor.  Middle:  A schematic of two different air-gap arrangements.  Right:  Photos of both types of cable with the outer conductors removed.  (From “Development of metal-ceramic coaxial cable Fabry-Pérot interferometric sensors for high temperature monitoring” [DoE PAGES], pp. 24916, 24917, and 24919.) \n\n\nAnother paper describes a way to use microwaves to noninvasively monitor phenomena of a quite different type.  Both shock waves and chemical reaction fronts (including detonation fronts) can propagate through materials like fuels and explosives that release high amounts of chemical energy per unit mass.  “Development of a Multi-Point Microwave Interferometry (MPMI) Method”[SciTech Connect] describes how part of a microwave beam sent through such an energetic material, and made to interfere with the rest of the beam sent past the material, would produce an interference pattern that depended on the form of any shock or reaction fronts within the material.  The microwaves’ interference pattern would be determined from their effect on a crystal placed in their path.  The crystal would, in turn, be probed by a laser beam whose polarization[Wikipedia] would be affected by the crystal’s condition, which depends on the interference pattern of the incident microwaves.  A light detector would receive the affected laser light, plus the light from a second laser added to ensure that the detector was illuminated enough to function.  Since the total laser intensity depends on the microwave interference pattern, which is shaped by shock and reaction propagations in the energetic material, the amount of laser light at the light detector would provide information about the form and velocity of any shock and reaction waves. \n\n\nThe report describes this design in the context of current state-of-the-art microwave interferometers and the construction and testing of devices with some (not all) of the intended capabilities.  Limitations and technical challenges raised by the tests, and suggested design alterations, are also discussed. \n\nFigure 2.  “Development of a Multi-Point Microwave Interferometry (MPMI) Method”[SciTech Connect] to detect the form and velocity of shock waves or chemical reaction fronts in an energetic material (“Explosive”).  The plan for this method is to split and recombine a microwave beam, whose resulting interference pattern would affect a crystal’s electrooptical properties.  The effect on the crystal (“EO Crystal”) will determine how the crystal affects the polarization of a laser beam (Laser 1) sent into it.  The beam reflected from the crystal is sent along with a second laser beam into a detector, so that what the detector reads depends on the form of the wave propagating in the energetic material.  (From “Development of a Multi-Point Microwave Interferometry (MPMI) Method”[SciTech Connect], p. 26.) \n\n\nMicrowaves with higher frequency near one terahertz (one trillion cycles per second), which are also describable as lower-frequency infrared waves, are called for in a patent entitled “Interferometric millimeter wave and THz wave doppler radar”[DOepatents].  The invention is one that uses the Doppler effect[Wikipedia]—the change in frequency a wave undergoes when it originates or is reflected from a moving object—to detect an object’s motion.  The reflected wave’s frequency change is detected by how its interference pattern with a reference wave is altered.  In this invention, the reference wave is produced by reflection from a continually oscillating object, so its frequency also continually oscillates.  The use of terahertz waves makes the invention sensitive to object displacements of less than one micrometer, which it wouldn’t be if it used lower-frequency microwaves in their place.  Another advantage of using terahertz waves is that they’re less disruptive to the functioning of common electronic devices.  Even smaller object displacements might be detected by using higher-frequency waves like visible light, but rough object surfaces tend to scatter those waves away from where they would interfere with the reference waves, and common materials that might lie between the object and the measuring device are opaque to those waves. \n\n\nFigure 3.  In the invention described in “Interferometric millimeter wave and THz wave doppler radar”[DOepatents], a source of continuous terahertz waves (“CW Source”) emits a beam that is split in two, one part going toward an oscillating mirror and the other toward an object whose motion or lack thereof is to be measured.  The beams reflected from both have frequencies that depend on the reflecting objects’ motions.  When the reflected beams are reunited at the beam splitter, their alternatingly constructive and destructive interference makes the reunited beam’s intensity fluctuate in a way that correspond to the measured object’s motion.  (From “Interferometric millimeter wave and THz wave doppler radar”[DOepatents], sheet 1 of 13 (drawings).) \n\n\nThe use of interfering laser beams to test a physical effect produced by other interfering laser beams is described in a report of an undergraduate research project entitled “Validating Laser-Induced Birefringence Theory with Plasma Interferometry”[SciTech Connect].  Initially, an intense laser beam is used to turn some helium gas into a plasma by separating electrons from many of the atoms in it.  A second, weaker laser beam crosses paths with the first and interferes with it.  Had the beams interfered in vacuum, a particular interference pattern would result, but the first beam’s polarization and the plasma it generates constitute a medium through which different components of the second beam travel at different speeds:  the component of the second beam with the same polarization as the first travels more slowly than the component whose polarization is perpendicular to the first, resulting in a different interference pattern in which the second beam’s polarization changes as it moves through the plasma.  This effect could be useful.  There are practical optical devices (waveplates) made of materials through which differently polarized light beams travel at different speeds, but the solid materials that most waveplates are made of generally don’t hold up well at high plasma temperatures.  Waveplates that are themselves made of plasma, though, would naturally withstand plasma conditions and thus allow plasma features that affect the polarization of light to be measured. \n\n\nCalculations indicated that the difference in propagation speeds for differently-polarized light waves in plasma should depend on the density and temperature of the plasma’s free electrons.  The research project involved checking these calculations by sending a third laser beam partly through and partly around the helium plasma waveplate, and then letting both parts interfere with each other.  The change in the waveplate-crossing wave’s oscillation relative to that of the waveplate-avoiding wave affects their interference pattern in a way that also depends on the density of electrons removed from the plasma’s atoms.  This test, plus other experiments, generally corroborate the calculations of how the first two beams’ interference pattern depends on the plasma electron density, though some discrepancies suggest that one or more parameters of the plasma or lasers were different from what was intended or expected. \n\n\nFigure 4.  Schematic diagram of horizontally polarized[Wikipedia] laser beam a0 that “pumps” enough energy into helium atoms to separate electrons from them, turning the helium gas into a plasma through which other horizontally polarized light beams will travel more slowly than other vertically polarized beams.  The less intense “probe” laser beam a1, entering the plasma with an intermediate linear polarization indicated by green arrows (bottom left), becomes more elliptically polarized as its vertical and horizontal components travel at different speeds (top right).  The way this effect depends on the density and temperature of free electrons in the plasma was confirmed in part by interferometric measurements of two other laser beams, not illustrated here, one of which ran through the plasma while the other did not.  (From “Validating Laser-Induced Birefringence Theory with Plasma Interferometry”[SciTech Connect], p. 20.) \n\n\n\n\nAlternate Text Placeholder\n\nOther waves\n\n\nMeasuring things by how they shape waves’ interference patterns isn’t restricted to the interferometry of electromagnetic waves.  Any kind of wave can be used.  While the report just discussed involved measuring plasma parameters with laser beams, a recent patent describes how measuring interferences in plasma waves[Wikipedia] can detect the presence of terahertz electromagnetic waves.  “Two-path plasmonic interferometer with integrated detector”[DOepatents] isn’t limited to this, however; the same device can also be used to analyze samples placed on it by the changes they induce in the plasma waves’ interference pattern. \n\n\nAs in other terahertz-wave detectors, the terahertz electromagnetic waves interact with electrons in a nanometers-thick layer to generate plasma waves, but the small area of the layer in most such detectors makes the plasma waves hard to detect unless the detector is kept very cold.  The interferometer described in the patent avoids the need for cryogenic operation by using a larger-area, high-quality layer of graphene[Wikipedia], on which a row of three electrical contacts is placed.  When appropriate voltages are applied to the contacts and the device is exposed to terahertz waves, plasma waves originate at the end contacts and interfere at the middle one, thus acting as a terahertz-wave detector.  Placing a material sample on the device above the path of one of the plasma waves changes that wave and thus its pattern of interference with the other plasma wave.  The interference pattern will also change as the contact voltages are varied, in a manner that depends on the composition of the sample, so the interferometer can also function as a material analyzer. \n\n\nOn a much larger scale, interferometry of a quite different type of wave may help us characterize an important feature of an environmentally significant substance.  Ongoing tests of the concept are reported in “Permafrost Active Layer Seismic Interferometry Experiment (PALSIE).”[SciTech Connect]  Where so-called permafrost[Wikipedia] exists, its thickness varies seasonally as warmer weather partially thaws it and colder weather refreezes it.  One concern is whether the cycle is stable.  Permafrost traps large quantities of carbon compounds, so thawing permafrost releases more of those compounds directly into the atmosphere, or makes them accessible to microbes that metabolize them into carbon dioxide, which they release into the air.  Since carbon compounds in the atmosphere trap heat, releasing more of them reduces the effect of winter cooling, perhaps enough to keep the permafrost from completely refreezing.  This could result in an eventual runaway release of carbon compounds from permafrost and warming of the environment. \n\n\nDetermining what is actually happening to the earth’s permafrost is the goal of the aforementioned seismic interferometry experiment.  The permafrost’s thickness affects the speed of earth tremors propagating through it, and thus the way seismic waves interfere when they cross paths.  Knowledge of seismic-wave amplitudes where permafrost is should therefore allow deduction of how the permafrost’s thickness varies with time at different places.  Current methods for measuring permafrost thickness require digging through it, which requires periodic travel to where it exists and estimating its thickness between measurement points and measurement times.  Seismic interferometers can be set up and left for continual monitoring, and the tremors they monitor are shaped by the entire volume of permafrost they pass through.  Experiments in using data from just such a setup near Fairbanks, Alaska, are still in progress to test the method’s feasibility. \n\n\nAbout two decades after light waves were discovered to have particle characteristics, individual particles of matter were found to have wave characteristics (such as interference).  A number of recent reports deal with wave interferometry of electrons, neutrons, and even entire atoms.  \n\n\nThe wave nature of electrons has long been put to work in electron microscopes.  Any type of wave can resolve details about as small as the wavelength, which decreases as the kinetic energy of the wave’s associated particles increases.  The particle beams that in an electron microscope resolve details smaller than 1% of an atomic width have much less kinetic energy than equivalent beams in a light microscope would have:  the very energetic “light” waves of that wavelength are actually gamma rays that could damage many materials.  Yet even electrons’ kinetic energy can be increased enough to damage samples if one tries using them the same way to view even finer details.  Methods for getting more information out of weaker electron waves would allow higher-resolution electron microscopy of less robust objects.  Simulations and a proof-of-principle experiment for one such method are reported in the Nature Communications paper “Efficient linear phase contrast in scanning transmission electron microscopy with matched illumination and detector interferometry”[DoE PAGES].  The method involves running portions of the electron wave through pieces of silicon nitride to retard them, so that on exiting the silicon nitride, their “peaks” and “troughs” will respectively align with the nodes between the “peaks” and “troughs” of the unimpeded wave portions.  When the modified wave is sent through different portions of the sample afterwards, each portion deflects the electron wave pattern by a different amount.  Electron detectors beyond the sample compare the phase pattern it receives with what it would be if the sample hadn’t been there.  The resulting “interference” between the actual modified electron wave and what it would have been with no sample present reveals more detail about the sample than an electron wave whose phase hadn’t been modified by the silicon nitride would have shown.  The report shows the difference with images of nanometer-scale gold particles taken with and without the silicon nitride phase modifier. \n\n\nFigure 5.  (a) Concentric rings of silicon nitride through which electron waves are sent in the electron microscope described in “Efficient linear phase contrast in scanning transmission electron microscopy with matched illumination and detector interferometry”[DoE PAGES].  Alternating portions retard the wave going through them so that neighboring sections are a quarter-cycle out of phase with each other.  (b, c)  Image of gold nanoparticles with (b) and without (c) the use of the silicon nitride device shown in (a).  Scale bar in part (c) represents 2 nanometers.  (“Efficient linear phase contrast in scanning transmission electron microscopy with matched illumination and detector interferometry”[DoE PAGES], p. 4.) \n\n\nThe electron microscopy system modifies its electron beam before its subsequent modification by the sample to be examined.  A patent entitled “Phase-sensitive two-dimensional neutron shearing interferometer and Hartmann sensor”[DOepatents], on the other hand, describes an apparatus in which an examined sample interacts with a neutron beam first before the beam is partitioned into interfering portions.  The resulting interference pattern of higher and lower neutron intensity depends on the grating characteristics and on how the sample affects the neutron beam.  The interference technique is an adaptation of a method (shearing interferometry[Wikipedia]) used with light waves.  Besides the interference technique, the patent also describes another kind of device (a Hartmann screen[Wikipedia]) to reroute portions of the beam after it goes through the sample to get information about the sample, but this rerouting doesn’t produce an interference pattern to be studied. \n\n\nFigure 6.  Interference of overlapping portions of a neutron beam is used to provide information about an object (“Phase Object”, item 305) after the neutron beam has passed through the object.  Portions of the neutron beam that get past the grating (item 400) spread out and interfere before reaching the neutron detector (item 360).  The interference pattern of higher and lower neutron intensity that the detector registers depends on the grating characteristics and on how the sample affects the neutron beam. (From “Phase-sensitive two-dimensional neutron shearing interferometer and Hartmann sensor”[DOepatents].) \n\n\nTwo other patents describe devices that produce interference patterns in the atoms or molecules of a gas when the devices are rotated or accelerated in certain directions.  Although atoms and molecules are much larger than neutrons or electrons, even their motion is associated with waves that can self-interfere, producing regions of space in which peaks and troughs of different wave portions can mutually reinforce or cancel out.  The interferometers described in the patents expose gas molecules to laser pulses that split the waves associated with each molecule into two paths and then recombine them to produce interference.  The phase of the recombined wave, which depends on the acceleration and rotation that the interferometer undergoes, determines how likely each gas molecule is to contain or not contain a certain amount of energy above the minimum amount that it can have, and thus the phase is reflected in the actual numbers of gas molecules that contain those energies.  Those numbers determine how much an additional “probe” laser pulse is affected by the gas, so what happens to the probe pulse shows how much the interferometer was accelerated or rotated. \n\n\nThe two inventions largely differ in the way their gas particles are set in motion before being examined.  In the “Light-pulse atom interferometric device”[DOepatents], all the gas particles configured by one set of laser pulses and measured by another are housed in a single vapor cell, the device using as many vapor cells as needed to determine the accelerations or rotations along or around particular axes.   The “High data rate atom interferometric device”[DOepatents], on the other hand, has pairs of traps instead of single vapor cells, and shuttles gas particles between the cells in each pair.  Both inventions take up less space than typical atom interferometers and take data frequently enough to make them practical for navigation on dynamic platforms. \n\n\nFigure 7.  Vapor cell (left) and pair of magnetooptical atom/molecule traps (right) used with accompanying laser beams in matter-wave interferometers to detect the interferometers’ accelerations and rotations.  (From “Light-pulse atom interferometric device”[DOepatents] and “High data rate atom interferometric device”[DOepatents].) \n\n\n\n\nAlternate Text Placeholder\n\nElectromagnetic waves (II):  tests of quantum-gravity hypotheses\n\n\nAs we saw above, electromagnetic-wave interferometers can measure various material entities.  They have also shown us significant features of space and time.  In the late 19th century, a visible-light interferometer demonstrated one aspect of how space and time are interrelated by showing the speed of light is independent of any motion of its source.[Wikipedia]  More recently, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) demonstrated that waves of spacetime curvature (gravitational waves) not only exist, but can provide much information about events far across the universe that produce them[Wikipedia], such as the merging of black holes (themselves examples of extreme spacetime curvature).  The interrelation of space and time and the existence of intrinsic curvature in spacetime are accounted for by Albert Einstein’s special and general theory of relativity.[Wikipedia] \n\n\nAs has long been appreciated, though, relativity theory does not account for any quantum-physical features of spacetime.  If space and time were only a featureless “container” of quantum-physical material entities, the container’s own lack of such features might be unproblematic, but since spacetime is not featureless, and its curvature interacts with the matter it contains (thus producing gravity), a complete theory of spacetime would seem to necessarily be a quantum theory as well.  Since distinctly quantum-physical phenomena generally appear in matter when waves associated with material particles are significantly curved over distances of one wavelength, and since wavelengths and black-hole sizes are both functions of mass, it is widely suspected that spacetime should manifest some quantum-physical features over tiny distances (about 1.6 x 10-35 meter[Wikipedia]) at which wavelengths and black-hole radii correspond to nearly the same mass.  (This distance is so tiny that the width of a proton is about 100,000,000,000,000,000,000 times bigger.)  Even with this expectation, though, all current attempts at a quantum theory of spacetime are informed less by any experimental data about quantum-physical features of spacetime than by the fact that such theories should not disagree with what experiment already tells us about physics in general. \n\n\nTo get some new data that could tell us which quantum spacetime theories might be true, an electromagnetic-wave interferometer has been constructed at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory to detect quantum-physical effects corresponding to the aforementioned -meter length[FNAL].  A paper in the journal Classical and Quantum Gravity (“Interferometric Tests of Planckian Quantum Geometry Models”[DoE PAGES]) briefly discusses some of the different proposed extensions of general relativity theory, how data from different interferometer setups can be used to check some of these theories against reality, and even how data from the LIGO interferometers have already proven some of the theories incorrect.  The Fermilab interferometer has a different design to address at least one class of theories whose predictions weren’t checkable with LIGO’s present configuration; the paper also discusses these theories and their implications for what should be observed in the Fermilab and other interferometers if they are true.  A doctoral dissertation[SciTech Connect] by one of the participants in the Fermilab experiment gives a more detailed discussion, and shows how the early experimental results already rule out one of the theories.  Other theories are to be checked by further experiments with similar instruments.[FNAL] \n\n\nThe significance of these initial laboratory observations is somewhat reminiscent of how astronomical observations informed another field of spacetime physics:  cosmology.  Before Einstein’s general relativity theory, cosmology was much more a field of speculation than a matter of physical science.  Even afterward, though, when people began to realize what general relativity implied about the shape of spacetime as a whole, they had little data to determine what the actual form of the universe was—whether it was finite or infinite, or whether it was expanding, contracting, or static, and if it wasn’t static, whether the rate of expansion or contraction was increasing or decreasing, and by how much.  Many new astronomical observations, some made with space probes and some involving huge amounts of data from ground-based telescopes, answered several of these questions:  the universe is not only expanding, but the rate of expansion has long since begun to increase after an earlier period of slowing down, and should increase indefinitely under present influences.  Fermilab’s new interferometer represents a new source of data that should help determine what kind of quantum-physical features, if any, exist in spacetime. \n\n\n\n\nAlternate Text Placeholder\n\n\n\n\n\n\nReports available through OSTI’s SciTech Connect\n\n\n\n\n\n  • “Testing a Model of Planck-Scale Quantum Geometry With Broadband Correlation of Colocated 40m Interferometers” (Dissertation) [Metadata]\n    University of Chicago\n\n\nReports available through DoE PAGESBeta\n\n\n\n\n\nPatents available through DOepatents\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAdditional references\n\n\n\n  • Holometer\n    Interferometer at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab) being used to check certain quantum-physical theories of spacetime curvature.  The name “Holometer” refers to the theories’ relation to the “holographic principle”:  the concept that “the description of a volume of space can be thought of as encoded on a lower-dimensional boundary to the region”[Wikipedia].  See also the July 2002 Reviews of Modern Physics article “The holographic principle”[arXiv, APS], and the December 3, 2015 Fermilab news article “Holometer rules out first theory of space-time correlations”[FNAL]\n\n\n\n\nAlternate Text Placeholder\n\n\nLast updated on Tuesday 21 March 2017", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6077953577041626}
+{"content": "Alibi V.22 No.16 • April 18-24, 2013 \nOdds and Ends\n\nOdds & Ends\n\nFunny because it happens to someone else.\n\nThe Bugman\n\nAnts in Your Pants\n\nRecently I got a call to help a homeowner with some ants. She had three pest control companies come by and none of them were able to identify the ants, yet they all treated her house. The problem persisted. I identified the ants for her as Liometopum apiculatum, which are not common household ants in New Mexico, but they do occur. If you don't recognize them, it is impossible to control them. They make nests hundreds of feet from where they are seen and in her case, it wasn't even on her property. The ants were climbing a tree on her property and getting on the roof from branches that were touching the house. The ants feed on the honeydew secretion of various homopteran insects such as aphids, scales and mealy bugs, so they do like sweets. I suggested she make a sweet bait with two tablespoons of honey, mixed with a teaspoon of boric acid, and place it in areas in the house where she sees the ants foraging. I also recommended she pest proof her house, including trimming all the branches on the tree so they don't touch the house. She followed both my recommendations, and her problem was solved.\n\n[ more >> ] [ permalink ]\n\n\nThe Long Con\n\nUFOs: Physical Extraterrestrial or Paraphysical Interdimensional\n\nA discussion on how personal, physical observations vary in time and materialization.\n\n\nGet Ready to Pet All the Puppers\n\nWoofstock Pet Expo and Adoption Festival\n\nFeaturing an agility course, vaccine and microchip clinic, nail trimming, pet care info booths, raffles and more.\n\n\nSpace Junk\n\nPieces of Other Worlds: Samples from Across the Solar System\n\nDr. Carlton Allen discusses scientific research of the formation and evolution of our solar system.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.531690239906311}
+{"content": "Tuesday, February 17, 2015\n\nJudge: Beijing lost that power after signing pact - Nation | The Star Online\n\nSee - Judge: Beijing lost that power after signing pact - Nation | The Star Online\n\n\"x x x.\n\nKUALA LUMPUR: China has no historical claim to the South China Sea, as it gave up that right when it became a signatory to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), according to a Philippine Supreme Court judge.\nJustice Antonio Carpio said when a country became a signatory to the UNCLOS, it gave up historical claims in exchange for an exclusive economic zone (EEZ), comprising 200 nautical miles from a country’s coastline.\n“Even if they were not signatories, there is no historical proof that they have owned most of the areas they are claiming, such as the Scarborough and Spratly Islands.\n“In ancient Chinese maps dating back to the Song and Qing dynasties, the southernmost territory of China has always been Hainan Island, with its ancient names being Zhuya, then Qiongya, and thereafter Qiongzhou.\n“However, in more recent maps, the border has extended to a line of nine dashes, looping down to about 1,800km south from Hainan Island, almost near Sabah,” he said when delivering a lecture on the South China Sea dispute at the Raja Aziz Addruse Auditorium here on Friday.\nThe event was jointly organised by the Bar Council, Universiti Malaya and the Philippine Embassy.\nThe Chinese government has staked its claim to 90% of the South China Sea, including the Spratly Islands, an archipelago of 750 islands and reefs near the Philippines.\nThe Philippine government, in response, presented a series of ancient maps which show that islands such as Scarborough were marked as Philippine territory long before it appeared in Chinese maps.\nCarpio is visiting Asean countries to deliver a series of lectures on the dispute. Singapore is his first stop.\n“We have filed a maritime dispute over China’s claims with the United Nations, and are waiting for a tribunal to decide on the arbitration case.\n“Once the tribunal provides its ruling on the matter, we expect China to abide by it, even if they are not participating in the case before the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague,” said Carpio.\nThe UN tribunal is expected to provide a ruling on the case late this year or early 2016, but Carpio said that would not end the dispute involving the South China Sea, which is either partially or wholly claimed by the Philippines, China, Brunei, Taiwan, Malaysia and Vietnam.\n“I think world opinion will be on our side and I don’t think any country in the world can for long violate international law especially if there’s a ruling by a competent international tribunal.\n“If the Philippines wins its case and China refuses to comply with the ruling, we will petition a United Nations council every year until China complies with the decision,” added Carpio.\nx x x.\"", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9831350445747375}
+{"content": "Episodic Genius\n\noccurring occasionally and at irregular intervals\n\n\nHello, my name is Carl and I analyze algorithms.\n\nWhen I first started grad school, I got roped in to auditing a 700 level, once a week discussion in the computer science department on advanced topics in algorithm analysis (AA). Most of the material came from Donald Knuth’s work. He was relatively new to me at the time and sort of gave me the impression that he had every record in the field.\n\nThe professor was skeptical. He seemed to be focused directly at me for the first 30 minutes or so. It seemed he was trying to get me to crack and take off so that they could get down to business. I eventually won him over and discovered I had a knack for it. I lasted about half the semester until other class work made it so that I no longer felt I had the time to attend. What I learned in that class blew my mind and has been a great help to me a few times in my career.\n\nFor those guys, algorithm complexity was everything. Constant factors meant nothing and the thought of actually implementing one of the specific algorithms that we discussed didn’t seem to ever cross their minds. I’m a little more practical. I know that constant factors, especially in a professional field that tends to push the limits of modern hardware, are not always negligible. This complexity analysis stuff, however, can be very practical as I learned through this experience.\n\nI wrote a tool in C++ to check a VLSI layout against the process antenna (or charge collector) design rules. At the time, this was a pretty new constraint and there were no tools that would work on our custom layout format. The basic idea is to add up all of the area of a wire to find the amount of charge that will collect on it during the process of fabricating a chip. If the charge is too much to safely dissipate through a transistor then it could damage the device, rendering it useless. I had a tool that would find connected shapes (connectivity) but the tool was not designed to be used to calculate the surface area of wires. For example, on corners, it would leave out a number of shapes that were not important in calculating resistance or capacitance. The problem was that these “orphaned” shapes were important for what I was doing.\n\nI figured that there weren’t very many of these orphans, so I wrote a nice simple doubly-nested loop to match them up with shapes where they touched. This was an O(N^2) algorithm but it was quick and worked great for developing tests on very small designs. As I tested my tool on larger designs, however, the runtime went from almost instantaneous to minutes, from minutes to hours. From there, I had enough data to tell that running it on our largest design would take months (at least).\n\nIn a hurry, I threw together a new algorithm based on one dimensional range trees that would match the orphan shapes (almost all rectangles) with other, connected shapes. I knew that there were better algorithms out there but I already had a range tree implementation handy. Right now, you might be thinking that, in the worst case, this solution is still N^2. (And, in general, you’d be right) My gut told me that this pathological case could never occur in a VLSI design. I was able to prove that it could not occur and was able to compute a lower bound for the algorithm thanks to the experience that I gained in grad school.\n\nI was a little concerned that the solution would not make enough of a difference to save my tool. After all, I knew that the complexity of my algorithm was not optimal. However, the bound I computed was significantly lower and so I set out to implement it. A day or two later, I was able to run the tool with the optimized code. It ran on our largest design in less than a minute. No amount of twiddling constant factors or enabling compiler optimizations could have given me that result. I was amazed and forever sold on the merits of algorithm complexity analysis.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9544011950492859}
+{"content": "The trees they do grow high: a ballad of medieval arranged marriage?\n\nwedding1500The trees they do grow high is an originally Scottish ballad about an arranged child marriage, also known as The trees they grow so high, My bonny lad is young but he’s growing, Long a-Growing, Daily Growing, Still Growing, The Bonny Boy, and Lady Mary Ann. The song was very popular in the oral tradition in Scotland, England, Ireland, and the U.S.A. from the 18th to the 20th century. Questions about its true age (medieval?), the basis of its story (based on an actual marriage?) and its original author (Robert Burns?) have attracted conjectural claims. This article investigates the shifting narrative of the story over its lifetime and sifts the mere claims from the substantiated evidence.\n\nRead more\n\nMirie it is while sumer ilast: decoding the earliest surviving secular song in English\n\nLaboursOfThe Months.January.1475Mirie it is while sumer ilast, dated to the first half of the 13th century, is the earliest surviving secular song in the English language, preserved only by the good luck of being written on a piece of paper kept with an unrelated book. We have the music and a single verse. This may be a fragment, but its wonderful melody and poignant lyric embody in microcosm the medieval struggle to get through the winter, nature’s most cruel and barren season.\n\nThis article examines the original manuscript, showing that the now-standard version of the song performed by early music revival players is not a true representation of the text. With a translation of the Middle English words into modern English, a short survey of the social background, a step by step reconstruction of the music, and a video with medieval harp accompaniment of the reconstructed song.\n\nRead more\n\nThe Lyke-Wake Dirge: the revival of an Elizabethan song of the afterlife\n\neffigyThe Lyke-Wake Dirge, with its dark, mysterious imagery and its brooding melody, is known to singers of traditional songs through its resurrection in the repertoire of folk trio The Young Tradition in the 1960s, and its subsequent recording by The Pentangle and others. What many of its performers may not realise is that its history can be reliably traced to Elizabethan Yorkshire, with a hint from Geoffrey Chaucer that its origins may be earlier. This article uses direct testimony from the 16th and 17th century to explore its meaning, its perilous and punishing “Whinny-moor”, “Brig o’ Dread”, and “Purgatory fire”; and discovers the surprising origin of its doleful dorian melody.\n\nRead more", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.966593861579895}
+{"content": "When a Line Meets the Ocean\n\n\nLotus Temple\n\nThe lotus temple is a great temple to visit as it welcomes all religions. It doesn’t take influence from any religious architecture as it is in the form of a lotus flower with a very similar aesthetic to the Sydney Opera house. Having seen both in their glory you can definitely see the similarities in materials and sculptural formations. The temple is surrounded by beautiful greenery and small pools near the entrance. Inside the space opens up with high arches and wooden benches similar to those in churches or cathedrals. It is a great free place to visit and is easy to reach by the new modern metro just outside of the main city.\n\nCheese chaplin\n\nThis place is definitely worth mentioning as we discovered Cheese Chaplin in an underground basement suggested by a nearby street boutique vender. The restaurant is there to promote their selection of cheeses which is extremely uncommon to see in Delhi. We sat and talked to the owner who takes incredible pride in his produce that is equal to European standard and was absolutely delicious on pizza and in a cheese cake!\n\nQutub Minar\n\nIs the tallest brick minaret in the world measuring 73 metres. Its situated in a large complex that’s pleasant to walk around. It cost ₹500 per person to enter.\n\nRed Fort\n\nIt cost ₹1,000 each to enter The Red Fort which occupies a huge area of land that you can wonder freely. The main attraction is the beautiful craftsmanship of marble, similar to the techniques used for the Taj Mahal.\n\nOld Delhi\n\nWondering through the streets of old Delhi is possibly one of the most visually mind numbing experiences to encounter in India. It was difficult to concentrate on anything as our bodies were having a sensory overload! So many smells and people busing about, at one point we could see a man riding an elephant in the middle of the road and then in a blink on an eye they seemed to meld into the madness as if never there! \n\n\nThis modern landmark was opened to the public in 2005 in homage to traditional Indian culture. The main monument in centrally place in the grounds that has been intricately carved from pink sandstone displaying historical myths. This outstanding piece of craftsmanship utilises traditional techniques that can be seen throughout many iconic pieces of architecture in India, yet because of its contemporary stance it emphasises the importance and brilliance of its artistry.\n\nThe complex has several exhibits that focuses on Swaminarayan, the central figure in a modern branch of Hinduism. His life and values are portrayed through a movie that was specially commissioned for the complex to recount a seven-year pilgrimage made by Swaminarayan during his teenage years throughout India. Along with The Hall of Values section that consists of robotic mannequins that form a narrative of incidents that are believed to have occurred in Swaminarayan’s life. Finally, there is a mini indoor boat ride that takes a journey through time highlighting historical figures and achievements in India. This was probably one of the most informative landmarks we visited in Delhi and was superb for that reason! No photography is allowed in the complex.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.990171492099762}
+{"content": "How does history influence my responses and responsibilities?\n\nOffice Door SignsThis week marks the beginning of my life as a seminary professor at Virginia Theological Seminary. In the course that began this Monday, one question we will ask is: When can theology be private and when must it be public? It never occurred to me as I designed this course that I would feel compelled to make a public theological statement during my first week of teaching.\n\nOutside my office at VTS hangs a plaque dedicating the space to the memory of Alexander Watson Weddell: “soldier of the Confederacy, student of this seminary, and presbyter of the Diocese of Virginia”. When I first saw this, I was stunned. I reread it several times. I considered what I might hang up to cover the plaque. Then I stopped, took a deep breath, and got curious. Who was this man? What was his story? Could my discomfort be leading me toward something important?\n\nI reached out the VTS archivist who was able to tell me about this “soldier, scholar, priest”. Alexander was born in 1841 and was wounded in 1862, when he was 21 years old. After the war, he was a lawyer and newspaper editor in Petersburg, VA. In 1868, he enrolled at VTS and was ordained in 1870. The work he and two other ex-Confederate Episcopal Priests did with African American families led to the establishment of St. Stephen’s Normal and Industrial School, which later became Bishop Payne Divinity School, which eventually became part of VTS.\n\nFor the last several months, I have been grappling with what means to me to be on faculty at VTS. What will it mean to regularly work in buildings built by enslaved people? What are the ethical responsibilities of leaders whose institutions’ current stability has its roots in what was a fundamentally unjust and unethical financial and social system? How does our communal racist and classist history continue, generation after generation, to shape our perceptions of reality?\n\nI do not think the current day leaders and members of institutions and communities can be held responsible for what happened in the past. At the same time, we can’t deny or cover up these realities. The ministers and leaders of these communities must acknowledge the privileges we enjoy are a legacy of those unjust systems, and we are morally obligated to leverage the resources at our disposal to address the current day manifestations of systemic discrimination.\n\nToday I added two additional signs outside my office door (“Black Lives Matter” and “Diverse, Inclusive, Accepting, Welcoming Safe Space for Everyone”). I did not cover up the plaque; even through I know it will continue to make me uncomfortable. It is an artifact of our history as a seminary and church. It is part of our story, but it is not the end of our story. The combination of these three signs reminds me:\n\n  • Covering up or denying what makes us uncomfortable is detrimental to our souls.\n  • Being curious about the context and complexity of a situation fosters empathy.\n  • Using my personal resources to make the world a more just and compassionate place is not optional.\n\nThe Rev. Stacy Williams-Duncan           August 11, 2016", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8501320481300354}
+{"content": "Department Procedures\n\nThe Min don’t make The Will work all by themselves. Oh no. There are a lot of union rules and procedures to take into account to make things run smoothly.\n\nWell, there needs to be doesn’t there? Otherwise there would be chaos.\n\nCan’t have a left sided sound coming through the right ear, it’s against union rules!\n\n- Snap Potts\n\n\nThe Ear Department\n\nA sound is heard and picked up in the Ear Department. The drummer on duty bangs his drum, sending a vibration to the tympanic membrane which is filtered through the hammer, anvil & stirrup bones that then sends an amplified signal to the oval window where the signal must be processed into sound and sent into the nerves.\n\nOnce it’s in the nerves, no one can touch it because that is the Will, and the Will cannot be changed. Nos Numquam Immutare Voluntaten.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9978295564651489}
+{"content": "The Top Three Benefits of Changing Transmission Fluid\n\nThere has always been some debate on the pros and cons of changing your transmission fluid on a routine basis, per your vehicle owner’s manual recommendation. One of the many rumored suspicions is that doing so will open your car up to having dreaded transmission issues sooner. To debunk those conspiracy theories, let’s get into the meat of the topic and explore, together, why it absolutely makes sense to change it regularly; and how not doing so could actually cause your car to run sluggishly – potentially costing you precious pennies in the long run!\n\n1) Heat is the enemy\n\nThe number one reason that manufacturers recommend you change your transmission fluid regularly is because it degrades as it continually heats up during driving. There are exhaustive studies about the precise temperatures in which its effectiveness actually wanes. Suffice it to say that most owner’s manuals duly recommend changing your fluid every 30,000 miles. There is one exception to this rule: newer vehicles using Dexron III ATF fluid can often go up to 100,000 miles before needing to be changed. As you drive, and the transmission heats up, the viscosity of your fluid changes; over time, this heat causes transmissions to burn up and this is the single-most cause of transmission repairs today – burned up transmissions.\n\n2) Gunk and sludge\n\nAs your transmission continues to heat up and it continues to break down, your car’s transmission components begin to get bogged down with gunk and sludge. You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to know that gunk and sludge are going to clog up your transmission gears, causing unnatural wear and tear on your vehicle’s transmission. If you want your transmission to continue to operate smoothly, it is vital to keep it clean.\n\n3) Leaky seals and putrid odors\n\nNo, I’m not talking about a horror flick here. A well-maintained machine is one whose owner regularly checks the transmission fluid levels – yes, using the dipstick! You should ideally check your transmission fluid level when your engine is warm and idling. Transmission fluid should be bright red and should smell sweet, not putrid or rancid. It shouldn’t be brown or black or even dark red. It should look like the tip of the spindle after Sleeping Beauty pricked her finger. If your transmission fluid level is low, or the color is not right, it’s time to change your transmission fluid and check (or have checked by the mechanic) all of the seals around the transmission for leaks.\n\nIf you want your transmission to last throughout the life of the car, it is imperative that you change your transmission fluid regularly, following your owner’s manual guidelines and a few common sense rules. In today’s world of disposable everything – neglecting your transmission can be a rude awakening to your wallet. The potential costs associated with ignoring the routine maintenance guidelines on your transmission could total thousands of dollars that would be better spent on a nice, warm vacation to a sunny spot this summer.\n\nDefuse It – How to Not Let Anger Ruin Your Relationships\n\nIf you’re tired of feeling alone and not understood after an argument or conversation, then here’s what you need to do to keep your communications with the people want to open.\n\n\nEmpathize with the people around you. You might consider that when these people do things that get to you that maybe they did not intend to do it. Now if you know that the attack was intended then you need to ignore it all. Because if a person can make you angry whenever they want to, they can control you.\n\nBut if it is not intentional, consider that the other person does what they do because of a weakness that they have. They might need your help to get some things sorted out.\n\nSituations and circumstances that involve anger are sometimes not easy to deal with.\n\nSoft answers\n\nI bet you did not know that you can get someone to stop being angry by speaking soft and kind words to them. It is important that you recognize this for your relationships because when you show anger to someone, you could expect that in the majority of cases they will return that anger back to you in the form of anger of their own.\n\nSo the anger will have to stop somewhere and stopping anger will involve the use of soft answers going back and forth between the people involved.\n\nYour hope and effort is that this way of dealing with anger will be picked up by all involved and that the angry situation would become less of an issue because of the goodwill and cooperation that soft answers are able to produce.\n\nDo you want your relationship?\n\nAnother thing you will want to do is really consider if the relationship you are dealing with is important to you and what you are trying to do in life.\n\nIf you check it out and find that the relationship is right and you want it, then you will find this reason alone one of the biggest motivators for the persistence that is necessary for success.\n\nIf you check and find that the relationship is not worth your time then you will not have the strength to overcome the difficulties that are there. You still do not want anger to destroy it, but then maybe this bad relationship may have something to do with your anger in the first place.\n\nAnger management classes\n\nYou do not need to wait until something drastically bad happens before you do an anger management class, so do one. Do an online class. 95% of people with anger problems benefit from taking an anger management class in as little as two months. And anger management classes do not cost much; not even half as much as losing the respect of the people you care about, and the classes can be done very conveniently in the comfort of your home or office when they are done online.\n\nBut the bottom line is that if in your heart you feel as if your relationship is threatened because of anger an anger management class can help you get your anger under control and give you a real shot at saving your relationships.\n\nYou should seriously consider carrying out these anger management techniques, you will begin to see your anger start to come under control. Angry people sometimes don’t get what they need from their anger management techniques. As for you, start applying these tips, and get yourself controlled today.\n\nStarter Clicks But Engine Does Not Turn Over – Tech in Trunk?\n\nIf the car’s starter clicks and the engine does not turn over, this could be caused by several things. The most common cause of clicking when the car is being started is a low battery. Most people would assume that the starter is bad if it only clicks, but low-voltage can cause the starter to make this sound.\n\nThe battery is the heart of the starting and electrical system. If the battery has been drained or has a weak cell, this can cause the starter to only click. Many times the battery could just been drained due to a door left slightly open, making the dome light stay on. Other times a vanity light or a phone charger could be left on. During my time as a master auto technician, I’ve had a trustworthy co-worker close me up in the trunk so I could make sure the trunk light went off when the trunk was closed!\n\nIn order to test the battery it must have a good charge. If the battery is not charged completely the tester will indicate that it needs to be charged before testing can proceed. The first step when checking the starter and electrical system is to make sure the battery is in good condition. Most parts stores will check batteries for free. Once it’s determined the battery is good the rest of the system can then be checked. Loose or corroded connections can also cause a clicking and for the car not to start.\n\n\nThe starter solenoid on many Ford vehicle’s is on the inner fender well, on most other vehicles the starter solenoid will be mounted on the starter. The clicking that is heard many times is the solenoid. But low-voltage either from a drained battery, bad battery or poor connections can cause this. Most of the time if the vehicle can be jump-started the starter is okay. This would also indicate that the connections to the starter are good.\n\n\nOnce the vehicle is running the alternator output can be checked. If the alternator is not charging the battery, it will be drained during the process of starting the car and driving. When the alternator is checked, the voltage and amperage output can be measured. Also the diode pattern will be checked to make sure the alternator won’t drain the battery when the engine is turned off. In the past do-it-yourselfers could disconnect the battery while the vehicle is running to check the alternator, if the car kept running the alternator was good. Doing this on computerized vehicles can be harmful. If the battery is disconnected while a computerized vehicle is running the alternator output can increase sharply allowing excess voltage to spike the computer.\n\n\nWhen purchasing a replacement battery the cold cranking amps required for the vehicle should be checked. It’s best to purchase a battery with more cold cranking amps than the minimum required. Also when purchasing a battery you should consider if you want maintenance free or not. If the battery is hard to access or has a cover then a maintenance free battery is preferred. For instance on some Chrysler Sebrings and Chevrolet Corvettes the battery is located behind an inner fender and on a Chevrolet SSR. the battery is located underneath the bed where the spare tire would normally go. If installing the battery yourself be sure to notice which side is positive and negative in case you were sold the incorrect battery.\n\n\nThe terminals should be free of corrosion and should tighten up well. Sometimes especially on import vehicles the battery terminals will be very thin and can have hairline cracks causing a poor connection. Avoid forcing the battery terminals on by tapping them. The battery casing can be damaged causing a leak, if the battery acid seeps out it can cause fast corrosion. If the battery terminal bolts will not tighten, then replacing the terminals is recommended. When the connections are tight you should not be able to twist them by hand.\n\nNovel Ideas – Six Unique Ways to Introduce a New Novel to Your Class\n\nThere is nothing more exciting than introducing students to a great piece of literature. Conversely, there is nothing more disappointing than students’ lack of enthusiasm about a book you truly love. Unfortunately, your fervor about a novel does not always translate into cheers and applause on the part of your students. Reading a novel requires a lot of investment. Even novels with high-action plots take a while to build momentum. How can you quickly bolster students’ interest at the start of a new book? Below are six sure-fire ways to get your class excited about a new novel.\n\nPLOT PIECES. Divide students into groups. Assign each group one page from a different part of the novel. After they have read the page, ask students to compose a paragraph that outlines the plot of the novel. To do this, students will have to use context clues gleaned from their excerpt. Ask students to elect a representative from each group to present their plot summaries. Compare plot summaries and revisit these summaries at the end of the novel. Asking students to conjecture the plot of the novel will pique their interest in the book and help them extract information from context clues.\n\nFIRST IMPRESSIONS. Ask students to read the first page of text silently. Next, ask for a volunteer to read the first page aloud. Then, ask students to write down as many things as possible that they have learned from the first page. Next, ask students to write down three questions they have based on their reading of the first page. This activity will help students read context clues and it will teach them to site text evidence when making generalizations about a novel.\n\nCOVER UP. Read a summary of the novel from the back cover, from the inside flaps, or from an Internet source. If you prefer to leave the novel a mystery, read an excerpt from a select part of the book. You can also print out this summary or excerpt so that students can refer to it. Next, ask students to design a cover based on information gleaned from the summary or excerpt. Allow students to explain their cover design. If you are reading a novel that is divided into parts, have students design a cover at the end of each part of the novel. Revisit cover designs at the completion of the novel and ask students to write a paragraph discussing their various understandings of the novel. This activity will help students chart the ways their understanding developed throughout the reading.\n\nFRONT MATTER. Though students read novels throughout their schooling, very few are taught the importance of the title, copyright, and acknowledgments. The pages that contain this information are called the “front matter.” In small groups, ask students to explore the front matter of the novel. Instruct students to list 10 things they learned from these pages. In a more open-ended version of this activity, you can ask students to answer the following questions: What does the front matter tell you about what will and what will not be in this novel? What does the front matter tell you about the novel’s plot and themes? A good explanation of front matter can be found at Vox Clarus Press’ website. Just search “Vox Clarus Front Matter.”\n\nLAST LINES. Instruct students to read the last sentence or the last paragraph of the novel silently. Next, ask someone to read these last lines aloud. From these last lines, ask students to draw a comic strip that shows the plot of the novel. Each frame of the comic strip should contain narrative and dialogue. The last frame of the comic strip should be based on information gleaned from the novel’s last lines. Thinking about the ending of the novel will whet students’ appetite for the actual plot.\n\nBEGINNING AND ENDING. Ask students to read both the first sentence and the last sentence of the novel. Next, ask the students to construct a poem, paragraph, or short story using the first and last sentences of the novel as the first and last sentences for their writing. Your students’ writing should summarize what they think will be the plot of the novel. Revisit these summaries at the middle and at the end of the reading. In a reflective paragraph, ask students to compare their initial impressions to the novel’s actual plot and themes.\n\nWhen beginning a new novel, consider using one of the above activities in your classroom. These activities provide a new lens through which to view your new novel. Starting the study of your novel in a unique and unpredictable way will bolster your students’ interest and engagement.\n\nHow to Calculate Window Tint Visible Light Transmission (VLT)\n\nWindow tinting films are measured in visible light transmission levels (or VLT). This means that when we discuss a particular film, be it for fitting to a car or any other application, we normally refer to it with it’s VLT value. VLT is measured in percentage ( % ), so if you hear about a tint product being referred to as a percentage, it is the VLT that defines that percentage value.\n\nFor example, a tinting film referred to as Charcoal 5% is a charcoal coloured tint with a VLT of 5% and likewise a film referred to as green 50% is a green coloured tint film with a VLT of 50%. But what does the number actually mean?\n\nWell, in simple terms the VLT value is the percentage of visible light that will be allowed to travel through the window tinting film from the exterior face side of the film to the interior side. This means that a 5% film will only allow 5% light travel through and a 70% film will allow 70% light to travel. In effect, this means that lower VLT films will appear darker. For instance, it is normally 5% tints that we will see on limousines for privacy.\n\nSo, fitting a 5% tint to a window will allow 5% light to travel through the glass from outside to inside, right? NO! Because we need to take into consideration the actual VLT of the window before the tint is even installed. There is no such thing as a piece of glass, no matter how clear it appears, with a VLT of 100%. This is because glass naturally filters out a little bit of visible light.\n\nLets look at car window tinting as this is one area where we speak of VLT often due to the fact that many countries have laws in place limiting how dark car windows should be tinted. Most modern cars come from factory with windows reading a VLT somewhere between 72% and 78%, depending on manufacturer, model and country. Say, our example car’s windows read at 72% and we add a 50% window tinting film, what is the new and final VLT of our car’s windows after installation?\n\nThe sum is very simple: V1 x V2 = V3 (Where V1 is the original VLT of the glass before tinting, V2 is the VLT of the window tinting film and V3 is the final VLT value of the glass with tint film applied).\n\nOur car’s windows original VLT = 72% and the tint = 50 %, thus V1 = 72 and V2 = 50\n\nThe sum is 72 x 0.50 giving us 36, which we will express as a percentage. So a window with an original VLT of 72% will then have a VLT of 36% after application of a 50% film.\n\nIn With the Nu\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.70008385181427}
+{"content": "A Blog Around The Clock\n\nBirds Are In Trouble!\n\nAn interesting paper came out last week in PLoS-Biology: Projected Impacts of Climate and Land-Use Change on the Global Diversity of Birds by Walter Jetz, David S. Wilcove and Andrew P. Dobson. You can view some bloggers’ responses on The DC Birding Blog, Field Of View and Living the Scientific Life and media coverage here, here and here.\n\nThe authors of the paper collected information about all known ranges of land birds and made a mathematical model for predicting how those ranges will be affected by global warming on one hand and the land-use on the other by years 2050 and 2100. They use four Millennium Ecosystem Assessment scenarios. Two of those scenarios assume a global response to environmental problems and two assume a local (fragmented) response. Also, two of them assume a proactive approach to environmental threats, while the other two predict that most problems will be dealt with reactively, i.e., after they happen.\n\nThe results differ between scenarios, but even under the best scenario, a strikingly large number of bird species are predicted to lose substantial proportions of their ranges, likely leading to their eventual extinction. Depending on the scenario, approximately 400 (of the 8750 species studied – they omitted seafaring and coastal species) will lose half or more of their range by 2050. That number may increase to 900-1,800 species by 2100.\n\nThe main message of the paper is that global warming will disproportionately affect species in higher latitudes, while the land-use will be more detrimental to the tropical species. Why?\n\nIn the tropics, there are many species of birds competing for local resources. How do they partition those resources? In one (or both) of two ways: one is to become specialists, e.g., to nest and feed on particular local plants; the other is to divvy up the territory through competitive exclusion. As a result of both of these mechanisms, the tropical species tend to cover very small ranges and, thus, have rather small population sizes to begin with. Clear-cutting a patch of forest may entirely wipe out the range of a local species which, when displaced elsewhere into the neighboring woods, will not be able to compete against the local tenants and will likely go extinct.\n\nIn the higher latitudes, the number of species is smaller, the ranges are larger and the population numbers are greater. Here, effects of global warming on the plants will have a greater effect on the range-sizes than land-use (this is for the most part already developed world not in a frenzy of clear-cutting forests any more). As a result, the ranges will become more fragmented and patchy, which can lead to extinction of some species.\n\nThe authors are quite upfront about the limits and underlying assumptions of their model, particularly the assumption that avian ranges will remain static, i.e., that the birds will not move their ranges to higher latitudes and/or altitudes. It has already been well documented that birds (as well as other organisms, e.g., insects, plants, mammals and fish) are in fact responding to global warming by changing their ranges: some are gradually moving to higher latitudes (i.e., in the Northern hemisphere, their ranges are shifting North), some retain their breeding grounds while shifting their migratory routes to different wintering grounds, while others are abandoning migration altogether.\n\nOf course, as authors note, land-use and global warming are interconnected: clearing forests increases the albedo of the area so more of the Sun’s energy is absorbed instead of being reflected back out into space. The agricultural use of chemicals and their runoff into the oceans kills dinoflagellates which perform about half of Earth’s CO2 absorption and O2 release (the clear-cut rainforests provided the other half). At the same time, global warming affects human populations and activity, introducing droughts into already poor areas, thus motivating further destruction of forest in order to provide agricultural land.\n\nLet’s assume that there is a fifth scenario, the most pessimistic one, that assumes there will be no response to environmental troubles at all, or too little too late (i.e., let me play an Alarmist here). Thus, both clear-cutting and global warming continue at the current rate. What will happen? According to the model in this paper, land-use will result in destruction of habitat in the tropics and poor countries, leading to mass extinction of local, small-area/small-population avian species. Global warming will bring in the droughts into the areas at higher latitudes, changing the nature of the plant cover, fragmenting the species ranges and leading to at least local extinctions of many more avian species in currently temperate zones.\n\nBut, if we reinstate the fact that avian species will move their ranges, what will be the result? In the tropics, there is not much place to move – the specialists have to stay where their host plants and food are. If they try to move, they will encounter different vegetation, different avian competitors who are better adapted to the local conditions, and different predators they are unfamiliar with. In other words, tropical birds have nowhere to go.\n\nIn the temperate zones, birds will shift their ranges to higher latitudes and, if we do nothing about global warming, will in the end, all end up at the ends of their continents. The narrow strips of the northernmost coasts of Europe, Asia and North America will become grounds for ferocious competition for limited resources between all those immigrant species. Many will go extinct. Others will survive at small ranges in small populations. There is nowhere else to go, as by this time, there will be no more\nArctic to fly to – it will be all ocean after the Arctic ice melts.\n\nIn the Southern hemisphere, the birds of South America may island-hop to and spread across the new lush tropical forests of Antarctica, but the birds of Africa, Australia and Pacific islands will not be able to make such a big leap and will concentrate on the southernmost edges of their continents until many of them go extinct due to competition.\n\nAnd even this bleakest scenario makes an assumption that makes the picture look prettier. Species cannot just get up and go and move their ranges with no consequences. Species are parts of their local ecosystems. In those ecosystems, some species will shift their ranges faster, some slower, some not at all (changing the timing of annual events instead, i.e., adapting in time instead of space). The predators and prey will leave each other – the former trying to adapt to new prey, the latter trying to avoid new predators. The flowers and pollinators will split their ways. The mutualists may part ways as well. The remodeling of ecosystems will occur, i.e., we cannot expect entire intact ecosystems to migrate to higher latitudes in synchrony. Disruption of ecosystems by such remodeling will certainly lead to extinctions of numerous organisms, way before they reach the edges of their continents.\n\n\n  1. #1 greensmile\n    June 14, 2007\n\n    the proverbial canary in the coal mine is in fact, the birds in our environment, how fitting. I wonder if birds would feel as unconcerned about a few primate extinctions as one primate species feels about a few more Aves joining the dodo.\n\n  2. #2 Beth\n    July 3, 2007\n\n    The current issue of Audubon magazine has an article that discusses the man-made threats to birds which have lead to and are leading to certain species extinction.\n\nNew comments have been temporarily disabled. Please check back soon.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9200643301010132}
+{"content": "\n\n  • I.F. Stone\n\nzaterdag 30 april 2016\n\nMedia Disinformation\n\nMedia Disinformation and America’s Wars: Liars Versus Truthers. The “Progressive Left” Has Been Coopted\n\n  31  1 \n\nWell-documented facts pertaining to the 9/11 wars, all supported by sustainable evidence, have barely made inroads into the collective consciousness of Western media consumers.\nThe War on Syria is no exception.  Despite the presence of five years of sustainable evidence that contradicts the Western narratives, people still believe the “official” lies.\nThe consensus of ignorance is sustained by what Michel Chossudovsky describes as an “American Inquisition”. Beneath the protection of this psychological operation, the engineered enemy is Islam, and the Global War On Terrorism (GWOT) has become a brand to disguise imperial wars of aggression as “humanitarian”.\nThus, huge sums of public monies are diverted from worthwhile, domestic projects such as healthcare schools and roads, to support a criminal Project for a New American Century (PNAC) that is globalizing death, poverty, and destruction as the U.S led empire tries to impose a  unilateral model of control over the world.\nThe U.S is said to be “exceptional”, and therefore the rightful ruler. Manifest Destiny writ large.\nDissent is suppressed within the framework of corporate media monopolies.  Predominant narratives are supported by corrupt “NGOs” – totally bereft of objectivity — and intelligence agency “fronts”. Real investigative journalism offering historical context and legitimate evidence are relegated to the fringes, far outside the domain of the broad-based “consensus of misunderstanding.”\nThe “Progressive Left” has been co-opted.  So-called “progressives” (presumably unwittingly) support Canada’s close relationships with Wahabbi Saudi Arabia, Apartheid Israel, and even the foreign mercenaries currently invading Syria (ie ISIS and al Nursra Front/al Qaeda).\nThe source upon which the pretexts for war are built and perpetrated are taboo topics, despite longstanding evidence that the official narratives explaining the crimes of 9/11  – and the subsequent “Gladio B” operations — are flawed.  The truth is seen as “heresy”, and fact-based narratives are derided as “conspiracy theories”.\nThus, a firm foundation of lies that serves as a sanctified justification for global war and terror, remains strong.\nBut the stakes are high, as Western hegemony presses us closer and closer to a real prospect of widespread nuclear war.  Already, the use of nuclear weapons is being “normalized” through the introduction of “mini-nukes” into the equation, and the blurring of lines between conventional and nuclear war.\nThe Doctrine for Joint Nuclear Operations outlines the procedures governing the use of nuclear weapons and the nature of the relationship between nuclear and conventional war operations.\nThe DJNO states that the:\n ‘use of nuclear weapons within a [war] theater requires that nuclear and conventional plans be integrated to the greatest extent possible’\n(DJNO, p 47 italics added, italics added, For further details see Michel Chossudovsky, Nuclear War against Iran, Jan 2006 )\nThe implications of this ‘integration’ are far-reaching because once the decision is taken by the Commander in Chief, namely the President of the United States, to launch a joint conventional-nuclear military operation, there is a risk that tactical nuclear weapons could be used without requesting subsequent presidential approval. In this regard, execution procedures under the jurisdiction of the theater commanders pertaining to nuclear weapons are described  as ‘flexible and allow for changes in the situation …’ ”\nThe taboos need to be lifted, and the repeated lies contradicted.\nSome of the more pernicious lies covering the escalating war on the democratic republic of Syria include unsubstantiated memes that fit neatly into the propagandists’ toolbox of false representations, and of projecting the West’s crimes onto the victims (Syria and Syrians).\nThe War on Syria is not a “civil” war; the “uprising” was not “democratic”; Assad does not “starve his own people”; Assad, does not “bomb his own people”; Assad is the democratically-elected president of Syria, and not a “brutal dictator”.\nConclusive evidence demonstrates, and has demonstrated for years, that the war is an invasion by Western proxies, which include ISIS and al Qaeda/al Nursra Front, and that there are no “moderates”.\nThe initial uprisings were marred by foreign-backed violence perpetrated against innocent people, soldiers, and police. Peaceful grassroots protests were hijacked by these murderous foreign-backed elements (as was the case in Ukraine) – all consistent with “hybrid war” as elaborated by Andrew Korybko.\nThe illegal sanctions imposed by the West – including Canada – coupled with terrorist practices of theft and hoarding of humanitarian aid – are responsible for the starvation.\nAssad is a democratically elected reformer, and hugely popular with Syrians, not a brutal dictator. Claims that he “kills his own people” were further debunked when the so-called “Caesar photos”evidence was proven to be a fraud.\nMany Syrians criticize Assad for not carpet bombing terrorist occupied areas (as US occupiers did in Fallujah, for example).  Syrians sometimes refer to Assad as “Mr. Soft Heart”. \nUnfortunately, though, the well-documented truth is not widely accepted.  We need to shatter the “Inquisition” which serves to protect the criminal cabal perpetrating and orchestrating this global catastrophe.  Truth and justice must prevail over lies and crimes.  Currently, the opposite is the case.\n\nGeen opmerkingen:\n\nEen reactie plaatsen", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6990495324134827}
+{"content": "SATS is simply a simple, fast, fun, fair way to work with others – both people and animals. It’s powerful and can be used for every training purpose. Read on for more information!\n\nThe word, “SATS”, stands for the “Syn Alia Training System”. “Syn Alia” was a hybridized word made from “Synergistic Alliances”, inspiring SATS trainers to form relationships that made all the partners stronger. In other words, by working “With Others”, we should all benefit. In order for this to happen, all our relationships need to be mutually beneficial, mutually responsible, mutually respectful, and always conducted with integrity. The hybrid words, “Syn Alia” literally mean “WIth Others,” in Latin.\n\n2) What are the beginnings of SATS?\n\nSATS was founded and developed by professional animal trainer and manager, Kayce Cover. SATS evolved from Bridge and Target Training, which was named by Kayce Cover, but developed in the marine mammal training industry. Scroll down for more on Kayce Cover.\n\n3) How is SATS different than Bridge and Target Training?\n\nBridge and Target training is a method of using targets to describe and define behaviors for an animal in training. This method is more efficient than ‘free-shaping’, and doesn’t waste the effort of animals trying to cooperate with the trainer. It is a cornerstone of SATS.\n\nHowever, SATS also teaches animals to manage their own emotions. This allows us to solve innumerable behavior problems, and to empower animals to live successfully with humans. It prepares the animal to be an efficient learner, and to be healthier.\n\nSATS trainers use an incredibly powerful and versatile tool: the Intermediate Bridge. This tool allows us to give the animal feedback on his performance, in 1/8th second increments. This sophisticated feedback system speeds training and animal confidence.\n\nSATS trainers create a common language between the trainer and the animal being trained. This language is used to give the animal all the information he needs to do his job, without having to guess. It allows the animal to take his knowledge into new situations. Animals, armed with information, may act as if they are trained, simply because they understand what is going on and what is wanted by the human.\n\n4) What is the “Syn Alia Training System”?\n\nIt is two things at once. It is a highly effective training method and a philosophy.\n\nIn order to maintain high standards of interaction with our animal partners, SATS trainers employ tools which make them highly effective trainers. They give rich feedback to guide the animal to optimal performance. They use language to label concepts and items for animals, so that these labels can be used to give the animals information in future situations.\n\n5) What is the philosophy of SATS?\n\nThe Syn Alia Training System recognizes that animals can be aware, thinking, responsible, partners – and should be treated as such. They deserve to know the training goals and requirements, and to get feedback in their success in achieving these goals and requirements. They are most effectively managed with respect and fairness. In our interactions with animals, SATS trainers strive for mutual respect, responsibility, benefit, and integrity. We give the animal a lot of support and information during the training process. We seek to empower our animal partners to be successful in all their dealings with humans.\n\nThe philosophy of SATS is that in our interactions “With Others” , we treat others as we would want to be treated, if our positions were reversed.\n\n6) What are the ‘tools’ of SATS?\n\nSATS embraces all tools and methods of training, No matter what training methods you prefer, you can probably enhance your training by adding the tools and philosophy of SATS. However, while all techniques and tools are embraced, we find that many training devices are not needed with SATS.\n\nSATS trainers employ powerful tools. Bridges, Name & Explain, Conditioned Relaxation, Cycles, and Perception Modification, to name a few.\n\nBridges: We can support animals with simple but super effective guidance signals. We use Terminal Bridges (TBs), which tell an animal the instant he has succeeded. But, we also can give instantaneous and continuous feedback to the animal as he works, with Intermediate Bridges (IBs). IBs can help an animal learn quickly without luring, without frustration, and often, without error. Whilst normally used during learning, and faded as the animal gains proficiency in a task, IBs can be faded in a matter of minutes, or brought back in to support an animal in extreme circumstances. The non-technical term for a Terminal Bridge is a Success Signal, while an Intermediate Bridge is a Support Signal.\n\nName & Explain: We label concepts, events, locations, behaviors and items for animals, so that these labels can be used to give the animals information in future situations. Animals have an exceptional ability to learn quickly, and are able to fast map. We encourage animals to use these abilities. Rather than teach rote, unconscious compliance, we teach animals concepts, and how those concepts relate to their lives in various contexts. Behaviors are broken into components. Each component has a name, which the animal learns. Then components can be combined into more complex behaviors – in record time. By telling the animal which components will be used, we empower the animal to cooperate with us in creating the new, more complex, behavior – rather than subjugating him to a guessing game of trial and error, which causes many animals to shut down, often in great frustration.\n\nConditioned Relaxation: The optimal state for learning is calm alertness. Many animals learn to live in a state of constant arousal. This is difficult for the owners, and the animal, and is hard on the animal’s body. Arousal directly suppresses the immune system of an animal. We teach animals about the contrasting states of arousal and calmness. We label these states and work with the animals till they can attain either state, at will. Soon, the animal learns to choose a calm, alert state over an aroused state. Not only is this healthier, and nicer to be around – the animal is always prepared to learn, think, and apply what he knows to the situation at hand.\n\nCycles: SATS trainers work in ‘Cycles’. Cycles refers to a process of taking a complex task or challenge, and breaking it into tiny pieces which can be done and undone by the animal. Using this tool, the most difficult training dilemmas often become trivial to solve. We prefer it to backchaining, which is a rote process. Besides, much of life must be done in cycles. For example, a dog cannot learn to come out of a kennel until he learns to go into it. One cannot start training by having a dog come out of a kennel, if he will not go into it. Cycles are a more logical and efficient approach.\n\nPerception Modification: Many, many dogs fail in training programs because they fail to adjust to some requirement, or they have some behavioral quirk which is unacceptable in the program. Perhaps they won’t allow part of the body to be touched, or they won’t tolerate water, or they want to kill cats, or other dogs, or they bark constantly…. The process of Perception Modification allows us to quickly change some of the most difficult behavioral problems – often quickly, safely and easily. This method is effective without requiring food, toys, or any punishment except for stopping the work.\n\n7) What devices do I need to train with SATS?\n\nNothing but your voice, and if you like, some treats. (Safety equipment, such as leads and collars, are used when working in an unsecured area, or with other animals – but are not generally used to train the animals).\n\nWe make a point of not depending on devices and gimmicks in order to work with our animal partners. This is because, while such devices can be popular with pet owners, in real life we don’t want to depend on them. We must always be able to communicate with our animals, and motivate them, when our hands are full and the situation is complicated. Further, this is such an effective way to train, that devices often just not needed. Worst of all, trainers can create a dependency on devices and gimmicks, which they find hard to escape. Many people working with dogs do not trust a dog to work if the dog is not food or toy crazy. Once they get the dog crazy over toys or food, then they may have trouble instructing the dog because he is too aroused.\n\n8 ) How long does it take to teach my animal using SATS?\n\nIt takes less than 5 minutes to teach most animals the bridges and targets. Once an animal understands about touching targets, targets can be used to show the animal where he has to be, or how he needs to move, for any behavior the trainer wants. Skillful use of targets eliminates the trial and error guessing of free shaping. Often training speed is limited by the trainer’s fluency with technique, rather than the speed of learning of the animal. The material in the booklet, “SATS & the Family Dog” may be taught in a single weekend, or in four two and a half hour classes.\n\n9) What can I teach, using SATS?\n\nAnything! You can teach a dog to be safe with children, to quit barking at other dogs, to like the water, to be calm at the vet’s. You can teach him rally and obedience, and freestyle. You can prepare him to be an asset to the community and welcome wherever he goes. You can teach him to have a vast vocabulary, which you can use to prepare him for what will happen in new situations. You can even teach him to move in time to music, and to count choreography. You can communicate detailed specifics to high performance animals, empowering them to align themselves with the tasks and achieve certifications and competency.\n\n10) How can I get started training my animals with SATS?\n\nIt’s FREE!  Click here and go to the bottom of the page for free downloads of “How to teach bridges” and “How to teach targets”.\n\n11) What’s next?\n\nThere are three electronic manuals which can be downloaded in a PDF format.\n\n“Talk to me!”: Try the “Talk to me!” manual next. This booklet explains how you can turbo charge your communication with your animal, and start building his vocabulary.\n\n“SATS & the Family Dog”: Then, we recommend “SATS & the Family Dog”, which is a collection of step by step directions for critical living skills for dogs. This manual eases you into the SATS way of life, and gets you used to giving your dog simple, specific information on what you need him to do.\n\n“Introduction to Bridge and Target Technique”: For professionals, researchers, and serious hobbyists, we recommend The Introduction to Bridge and Target Technique.” This manual is used in the training of professional trainers, and includes a glossary and other study aids\n\n12) What are you waiting for!!?\n\nJust take the first step into the world of SATS. It is fun and your animals will blossom. Please post your comments on your experiences!\n\n13) Who is Kayce Cover?\n\nKayce Cover, the founder of SATS, is a professional animal trainer and manager, who has a Bachelor of Science in Animal Science, and a Masters of Science in Education. Kayce is trained as a research scientist, but prefers to work in applied communication and motivation – working to get results with people teamed with animals. Kayce has worked for a number of highly prestigious institutions, including the Smithsonian Institution, and a number of universities. Kayce’s work with animals is broad and deep, but has three specializations: 1) establish quick communication with any kind of animal, 2) empower animals to cope with stressors and manage their own emotions and 3) prepare animals to live successfully amongst humans. Using the methods honed in SATS, Kayce Cover has achieved many ‘first ever’ accomplishments, such as training monkeys to aid quadriplegics, teaching cows to tell scientists whether they wanted food or a date with a bull, and training crabs. She has led countless owners, trainers and dogs, and other animals to a better life together.\n\nKayce Cover’s work spans four decades, over one hundred species of animals, and applications related to welfare, enrichment, veterinary procedures, care, obedience, dance, search and recovery, detection, protection, theater, research, and more.\n\nTo support these goals, Kayce has developed a system for training and managing animals, and a system for developing skilled trainers.\n\nTo learn more about Kayce Cover, click here.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.994387149810791}
+{"content": "Gender and conflict in Ukraine\n\nThe conflicts in eastern and southern Ukraine constitute a significant humanitarian crisis for the country and the region, with at least 1.7 million internally displaced persons, two-thirds of whom are women (UNOCHA 2016, p. 7; UNHCR 2015, p. 5) and approximately 1.5 million people seeking asylum or other forms of legal stay in neighbouring countries (UNHCR 2016, p. 7). Women ...» more", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.673956036567688}
+{"content": "*** Ticksy security was compromised on August 17th. It is recommended you change your Ticksy password and update any WordPress and FTP credentials that you have posted on this website. There is no evidence any details were taken - this is just a precaution. ***\n\n\nHow I do I disable the WordPress Admin Bar for users?\n\nI'm not sure why I get this question so much since it has nothing to do with the theme itself, but you'll find the answer to it here: http://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-tutorials/how-to-disable-wordpress-admin-bar-for-all-users-except-administrators/\n\nIf you're using BuddyPress go to Settings > BuddyPress > Settings and disable the Toolbar option.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9975826144218445}
+{"content": "Using Gluten Free Flours\n\nWhat is gluten free flour? \n\nIs there a difference in cooking/baking with gluten free flours? \n\nCan I make my own gluten free flour? \n\nMost flour is made from wheat, which contains gluten, and more people are becoming allergic or unable to tolerate to gluten.\n\nThere are many types of gluten free flours, such as chickpea/garbanzo flour, teff flour, buckwheat flour, brown rice flour, to name a few. They each have their own unique properties, like if they have a sweet or nutty or neutral flavor.\n\nCommercial oat flour may or may not be gluten free. Oats are naturally gluten free, but some are cross-contaminated with wheat during transport, etc. Homemade oat flour made from certified gluten-free oats is your safest bet for gluten-free oat flour. (How to make oat flour).\n\nWhen replacing flour with gluten free flours in recipes, you can't do a 1:1 ratio (i.e. replace one cup of whole wheat with 1 cup chickpea) unless you're using oat flour, then 1:1 should be okay. With GF baking substitutes, it's best to use a blend or mixture of gluten free flours in recipes (with a binder), and substitute 1 cup of the blend for 1 cup flour. (There's a fool proof GF flour recipe in my latest cookbook Everyday Happy Herbivore, but blends are sold commercially and you can find recipes for making your own online).\n\nAnother issue with using gluten free flours is liquid. GF flours and GF flour blends are considered 'thirsty' and thus, they will absorb more liquid than regular flour. This can usually be fixed by adding a little more liquid. If making bread, the mix should look more like batter and be a stickier than normal dough. Cake mix will also not be as firm as with regular flour. \n\nThere is no set amount of extra liquid to add when using a gluten free flour as a replacement in a recipe, you kind of have to play it by ear adding a little extra liquid at a time as you go.\n\nAlos, since gluten free flours absorb liquid, you can also use one of them (i.e. chickpea flour or brown rice flour) in place of cornstarch for thickening up a gravy or soup.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7669017910957336}
+{"content": "Mèr-Mèr Monoï | Tiaré Tails Hair Oil\n\n\nBrand Artifact Skin Co.\n\n\nIn the South Pacific, mystical maidens lived beneath the waves. These maidens were called sea-daughters, famously known as Mer-maids. They are beautiful, often seen casting their magnificent tail and combing their long flowy hair. The Monoï de Tahiti mixture of tiaré (gardenia) blossoms and Polynesian coconut oil, was used to protect their hair and skin from harsh sun rays, insects and salt water. This tradition was passed down to their daughters and has been for thousands of years. \n\nBased on two unique ingredients: Tiaré, the ‘beauty flower’, is rich in active compounds known for its soothing and purifying properties. Polynesian Coconut, the ‘white gold’, is a silky, refined coconut oil that is exclusively grown, on the coral soil of French Polynesia.\n\nKey Ingredients  |  This quick-absorbing blend of monoï oilalgae oil and multigrain protein (from quinoa, rice & amaranth) revives overworked hair, tames flyaways, softens and adds shine, while broccoli seed oilhelps the hair to look and feel silky smooth. Helps prevent against breakage, reduces frizz and protects hair ends from heat styling. \n\nDirections  |  Apply Tiaré Tails Hair Oil sparingly into clean, towel-dried hair or smooth through dry hair to finish. Evenly distribute, concentrating on ends and other damaged areas. Use more or less depending on hair length and thickness. Do not rinse out. Heat style as desired. Can be used daily. \n\nSize  |  50 ml - 1.7 fl. oz.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.992992103099823}
+{"content": "Heavens Above Us\n\nMy last post noted the increased hand-wringing over the space congestion/debris problem, which is one of the biggest challenges to space situational awareness (SSA). I also defined SSA, using a motorcyclist’s experience to make it more relatable. This post tries to provide some perspective on the debris problem with a little thought experiment.\n\n\nSooo much debris. Sooo scary. Image from NASA.\n\nFirst, orbital debris isn’t something we should put our heads in the sand about. The orbiting used rocket bodies and upper stages, the bits of satellites from accidents and intercept tests, and the disused/abandoned satellites–these do represent a potential problem. Just like polluted water or polluted air, space debris is something we should be cognizant about and try to minimize. But is the human-created space debris situation as bad as some write? You’ve likely encountered some of the posts:\n\n\n\nThere are a lot of numbers thrown about within these posts meant to depict just how bad the debris problem is. However, the true scope of the problem hasn’t been very well defined. These experts can’t give an accurate number because equipment used to detect debris smaller than 10cm (4 inches) isn’t in use yet. Also, note these estimates keep increasing, which is funny because the initial estimates are just, well, estimates.\n\nLet’s start, then, with researched numbers from decent sources first. The number of “active” satellites on orbit as of December 2016? That number is 1,459, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists’ satellite database. The number of objects with a 10 cm or greater cross-section orbiting the Earth, including active satellites and debris? There are a bit more than 21,000 objects, according to the U.S. military trackers quoted in this post. Satellite speed in a geosynchronous orbit (which is 42,164 km–a little over 26,000 miles–from the Earth’s center)? 3.07 kilometers per second (1.91 miles per second–nearly 6,900 mph). Satellite speed in a low Earth orbit–the kind the space shuttle used? That would be 28,800 kmh (18,000 mph). For these last two bits of information, I used this post: Geostationary orbit: Are satellites faster than the space shuttle?\n\n\nOrbit image from NASA. Thanks NASA!\n\nYep, that’s right–satellites in orbits of differing altitudes around the Earth have different speeds.\n\nLet’s put those numbers in context and use something hopefully familiar to many people: the Earth. Let’s consider the Earth’s surface, including its oceans, as a hard-shelled orbit, with an “altitude” from the Earth’s center of 6,378 km (3,963 mi–Satellites helped get us that accurate number). At that altitude, surface orbital speeds are generally between 1,673 kilometers per hour (1,040 mph) and 0, depending on where a person is on the Earth’s surface. One surface orbit has a period of 23 hours, 56 minutes, and 4 seconds.\n\nThis means ships, cars, and people, while sitting still on the Earth’s equator, are moving at 1,673 kmh. Unlike satellites, which can be put into many different types of orbits and directions, objects sitting on the Earth’s surface will move in the same direction. There are a lot of “objects” on the Earth’s surface, but collision is never really a problem at this “orbital altitude.” Unless they are an object that moves, like a car or a ship.\n\nShips, such as tankers and container ships, are useful to help with this perspective. These are behemoths. The biggest container ships carry over 20,000 twenty foot long containers (see this link for one of the biggest). That’s about 20,000 of the biggest satellites ever put into space. That’s just one kind of ship, part of a combined commercial fleet of over 180,000 ships (by the way, that number is getting more accurate, thanks to satellites). These ships are cruising the Earth’s oceans and seas at about the same orbital altitude. Potentially, there are 180,000 very big objects moving around the Earth’s center at a little over 1,600 kmh at an altitude of 6,378 km.\n\nThat sounds like a lot of objects, some of the biggest man-made objects around. Yet, if you’ve ever cruised the oceans, you might not see any ship for hours, even though they are basically all orbiting the Earth at the same altitude as you. It’s also, thankfully, relatively rare for collisions to happen with these ships. Compare the number of 180,000 commercial ships to the relatively small number of tracked objects orbiting the Earth–21,000.\n\nLet’s, literally, expand that perspective.\n\nThe Earth’s radius is 6,378 km. The Earth’s diameter, then, is twice its radius–12,756 km 97,926 mi). We also know a satellite in geosynchronous orbit is 42,164 km from the Earth’s center or 35,786 km from the Earth’s equator. This means the Earth could fit nearly three times between the Earth’s surface and a geosynchronous orbit point. The diameter of a geosynchronous orbit would be about 7 Earths across.\n\ntwo point eight\n\nIt takes about 2.8 Earth-sized diameters from the Earth’s surface to reach geosynchronous orbit. The 2.8 was eyeballed.\n\nRemember, also, that diameter is just one axis of many possible ones going from one geosynchronous point, through the Earth’s center, to another geosynchronous point. Including debris, 21,000 tracked objects (all much smaller than a commercial ship on Earth) are orbiting the Earth in various altitudes within that volume of space, from low Earth orbit to the geosynchronous belt. That’s a lot of space.\n\nall the earths\n\nHopefully this post has given some perspective about the spaces on Earth and around it. Don’t worry–we’re not done with the experiment. There’s still a bit more to think about in the next post (or two).\n\n\nA Motorcycle Rider Defines Space Situational Awareness\n\n\nThere’s been a lot of hand-wringing in recent years regarding space situational awareness (SSA). Almost every month another article appears, portending of the upcoming calamity in space–the point in which one rogue satellite or a chunk of debris hits another satellite or chunk of debris. These two chunks initiate a celestial version of pool. As in pool, one chunk will hit another chunk which speeds on to hit another chunk or cluster of chunks. The struck chunks fan out, hitting other chunks, and then those chunks hit even more chunks, and so on.\n\nInvariably the hand-wringing prompts online conversations about whether this space-snooker-based scenario is realistically depicted in the movie “Gravity” (that Sandra, she floats so gracefully in space). Inevitably, a new round of blog posts use the computer-generated picture showing thousands of pixels surrounding the Earth–with each pixel representing one of the tens of thousands of objects, normally junk, orbiting the Earth.\n\nThe resulting picture from these conversations and blog posts is clear–the end is nigh, space-wise. Humanity has once again junked up another environment, and will soon reap what’s been sown. Unless we stop those smaller, less expensive satellites from messing it all up. Or something like that anyway.\n\nAccording to some people, the number of objects (satellites, debris, rocket bodies, etc.) in orbit is reaching scary levels–tens of thousands–which is why they are verbally wringing their hands for public consumption. Is this a “chicken-littling” of space, or is there really something to worry about here? Is the blame for debris really so clear cut? Before getting to the answer, it’s probably useful to define SSA, particularly for readers new to the space arena.\n\nThere are many folks with specific definitions of SSA. The U.S. military is interested in the position, identification, and activities of objects orbiting the Earth which might potentially compromise the U.S. ability to defend itself or carry out global missions. The Europeans encompass some of the U.S. military SSA definition, but include discovering and identifying Near Earth Objects–things in space that might eventually literally have an impact on Earth if they get too close–and space weather.\n\nFor this post’s purposes, I will use my motorcycle and traffic survival skills to demonstrate SSA, but if you’re a car driver, you’ve been using aspects of SSA already.\n\nWhen I first bought my motorcycle, I went through a motorcycle safety class (it’s a useful class–take it if you can). The class imparted one particular acronym that stays with me even now, 17 years later: SIPDE. Each word in the acronym suggests a way to survive on the road and hones great habits for motorcycle riding. S–Scan; I-Identify; P-Predict; D-Decide; E-Execute.\n\nSIPDE reminds a rider to constantly use the tools at hand– eyes, brain, and motor skills-to make a rider aware of what’s happening close by, and then do something to keep the rider safe. Eyes scan for anything that may literally impact the rider. Once a rider’s eyes see something, the rider’s mind identifies it, internally racking and stacking the “threat.”\n\nA rider then predicts what the object may do (a dog or child might run obliviously into the road, a self-righteous cyclist might blow through the stop sign from the left, a truck driver in the rear view mirror is on the phone and might not even see the rider). Once the prediction is made, the rider decides on a course of action, and then does it. This kind of cycle goes on if it’s ingrained in the rider, and it all will take place in seconds.\n\nSo, how do motorcycles and SIPDE have anything to do with space?  Essentially the same actions help define SSA, except a satellite takes the place of the rider. The orbit is the “road” the satellite is on. The tools for scanning, instead of a rider’s eyes and brain, are networks radars and telescopes on Earth’s surface–although some nations have a few space-based SSA “eyes” too. The brains are the people and computers trying to make sense of what’s nearby in orbit (is an object at the same altitude, is it on a path to intersect with another satellite’s “road,” etc.).\n\nThese people and computers are also attempting to identify objects close to the satellite’s “road”–its orbit (is it the body of a rocket, is it small debris, is it a satellite that seems to be moving from it’s orbit). Once they figure out what an object is, then they must decide whether the object is a threat, and predict possible actions of the object. The people in this SSA network must then decide what to do and then do it. This may be as simple as notifying satellite owners about a possible collision, or just monitoring the same objects to see if anything changes.\n\nBut how bad is it really, out there? Exactly how many objects are orbiting the Earth? Again, is this a “chicken-littling” of space, or is there really something to worry about? Is the blame for debris really so clear cut?\n\nThe answer, as it always seems to be, is: it depends. That’s where I’ll end it today, but my next post should hopefully give some perspective.\n\nSpace, Spring, Snow, Schmoozing, and finally, Snoozing\n\n\nSetting up New Shepard for launch…Symposium launch, that is.\n\nWow, what a week!\n\nAnd yes, the picture above shows Blue Origin’s New Shepard suborbital space launch vehicle being set up.  It’s the same one that launched and then safely landed, five times, near Van Horn, Texas. Really–the real one. The last New Shepard test launch was the most spectacular and you can watch that here, should you wish to. The launch happened around the 51-minute mark in the video below. Blue Origin is entitled to some chest-thumping, I think.\n\nBlue Origin was cool enough to put the vehicle on display in front of the Broadmoor Hotel for nearly a week during Space Symposium this year. A mock-up capsule sat next to it. I’m pretty sure it’s on its way to Seattle to be put on display in a museum there–but that’s just a guess. Wherever it goes, I’m glad I got to see it up close this last week. Here’s my night shot of the rocket. And, yes, the scorch marks are real.\n\n\nThis is a pretty sweet moment for someone who comes from space operations. And this is just the beginning–a beginning that’s been put on hold for decades.\n\nFor those of you who don’t know, I work for the Space Foundation, and we just finished hosting the 33rd Annual Space Symposium here in Colorado Springs. It’s a big event for us, and we try to get nearly everyone who has their finger in the space industry pie involved. There aren’t much more than 50 employees in the Space Foundation, so the event is an “all-hands-on-deck” exercise. Education, philanthropic, government, marketing, customer service, museum and research departments all work together towards one goal. Heck, most of the last month was me getting my hands around our Technical Track program.\n\n\nThe Blue Origin capsule. Oddly, there was always a line for this display ;-).\n\nAnd the Symposium’s success certainly would not be possible if we didn’t have over 300 of the most awesome volunteers in the world helping us. You can meet some of them at our museum, the Discovery Center, here in Colorado Springs.\n\nThe Symposium is a big networking event for the global space industry. And people pay a lot of money to network and show off their businesses, which is a little weird to me still. But every person I talked with there seems to like it, so there you go. It’s also pretty neat that so many people from other countries were there: China, Russia, Ukraine, Japan, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, and more. So many countries involved in the industry of space, and it’s growing. We can see it growing just because we’re running out of space for the company and agency exhibitors at the Symposium.\n\n\nSnow and rockets in Spring, in Colorado Springs. Typical for us. Maybe it’s this way in Baikonur, too?\n\nEven some Australians were there, obviously a little jealous of New Zealand’s score of hosting Rocket Lab’s launch pad. Some of them confided in me that New Zealand’s space involvement is probably the best thing to have happened to Australia. I guess the spaceport got someone’s attention, although Australia has had plenty of opportunity to get involved in space for some time.\n\n\nThis is what it looks like behind the stage when a speaker gets a little too verbose…the red light means the speaker has gone over time–in this case one minute and forty-one seconds. It eventually was over 9 minutes…\n\nI tried hard, as the Foundation’s analyst, to talk with anyone I could. It’s what I like doing, especially to help with analysis of the industry. But, and this is not a complaint and just the reality, Symposium duties remain above all during this time. I’ll have to chat with those folks at other events.\n\nSo, we had Space Symposium. So what? What’s next? A lot of it depends on the very people who attended the event. Do they intend to follow through on their plans for space? Is everyone’s plan even feasible? If it’s a healthy, open space market, then the answer to that will be “No.” It’s sure going to be interesting, though.\n\nThe end of Symposium is always a mixture of sadness and relief for me. I really do love helping with the event–it’s akin to running a mission or a test (but without the heavy consequences if something goes wrong). And I’ve always come alive for those, as I do for Symposium. But at the same time, and I know most of the folks I work with feel the same way, it’s nice to be able to put feet up on the sofa at home, and veg out on Netflix once the event is over. It just takes a lot of energy, at least for me, to not just conduct the event, but talk with people.\n\nOne more thing. I discovered it’s pretty great to work with my wife. She was sort of shanghaied to help us at the last minute. But she seemed to like it, and instead of missing her while working 12-18 hour days, I could actually admire the work she was doing. She may have been surprised at all the work we do during this event, but she seemed fine working with us.\n\nI hope I’ll be able to write a bit more now that Symposium is over. Please stay tuned…\n\n\nFriday–the day after Symposium. Blue Origin’s New Shepard is ready to ship out. And so are we.\n\nTwo Years Later as a Space Industry Analyst\n\n\nHappy New Year!\n\nTransitions are not unfamiliar to me. During my childhood, our family moved around a lot. We’d move to other countries occasionally, always from assignment to assignment on different Air Force bases. Each move contained challenges and over time, each time, I looked forward to the moves. A move meant I would see something different, make new friends, and learn something new. It was great being a Air Force “brat.”\n\nI’d like to think growing up in a military family, moving, and as a result, adapting and learning, have influenced me positively. I might never have learned German, German culture, or eventually become aware of different perspectives from the American Way. My tolerance for risk might have been lower or non-existent. I might never have tried to make my luck with writing.\n\nI have the same attitude towards job transitions. Each new job means there’s something new to learn, something different. So, how do I feel about changing from a satellite missile defense test manager and space operator to my current position as a space industry research analyst? It’s been over two years since I took on this writing gig.\n\nI like the change! Heck yeah, I really like this last transition! I’m learning a lot, too.\n\nI’ve always had an affinity for writing. My degree was in communications, for goodness sakes. I definitely am better at expressing myself in writing than speaking. Writing allows for my brain’s background processing to come to the fore in a nice tidy package once the processing is done. Writing about the space industry is icing on the cake.\n\nBut it’s not just about writing about the industry. It’s also learning about the industry, conducting research, finding great sources, reading whatever I can find, which can sometimes seem unrelated. Then I think about it all. I think about it in the gym. I think about it when I’m watching TV at home. I think about it when I’m sleeping. It’s the way my brain likes to work. Some of my better insights come from listening to podcasts not at all connected to my research. Some of my ideas just fall in my lap while running on the treadmill. It’s not tiring, and it’s not forced.\n\nSo, yes, my current job is a blast. So much so, I don’t really feel like it’s a job. I get to meet with interesting people from around the world. I get to study and learn about new trends in the industry. I get to write it all down. And, shockingly, people find the information I bring to them useful. It doesn’t hurt I’ve got a good boss, who also has a good boss. It doesn’t hurt I’m on a team full of great people. But what motivates me is finding and writing an analysis people use. It’s wonderful when that happens.\n\nIt’s not all sunshine and tea cakes all the time. And the transition between jobs was a bit rough, as part of the problem was me trying to figure out what I REALLY wanted to do. But I can honestly say I feel more fulfilled in this job than my prior work. Admittedly, my experiences and lessons learned in my prior work helped me in my transition to this job. And I’m still learning a lot. So I’ll mention a quick overview of my perception of the space industry today.\n\nThere is so much going on in the space industry, a person researching the category would really have to work hard to NOT learn something. Space situational awareness, small satellite growth, possible new entries in the launch market, reusable rocket stages, and more—there’s always a learning moment waiting around the corner. And that’s assuming a person stuck with studying only the American launch industry. But globally, there are trends that impact the launch industry, too.\n\nThere are the activities conducted by India and China. Both countries have very active space programs, with China’s commitment evidenced in it’s recent 2016 attainment as the world’s most prolific launcher for that year (actually, they tied with the US this year–I just finished updating our database–sorry). The Europeans haven’t been sitting still either. And there’s surely a story behind Russia’s alarming decline in launches for 2016 as well as a seeming decline in launch reliability, too.\n\nThat’s not to say that the U.S. is lagging. From my observation, the U.S. space industry is perhaps the most innovative and most vibrant it’s been in a while. But the U.S. space industry is also in transition, slowly switching from primarily government-sponsored missions relying on government launch services, to a healthier, and hopefully multi-pronged launch industry with many more customers. There are many, many plans, from many entrepreneurs and companies, some of which may actually transition to real businesses and opportunities.\n\nThe upshot is, I get to research, learn, ponder, and write about this changing and interesting industry. It’s been fun during the past few years, and I’m pretty sure it will be fun for the next few. This was a fortunate transition for me. Sorry if that sounds like bragging.\n\nTransitions can be wonderful—if you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up. Oh, yeah!\n\n\nTwo Past Visions of the Future\n\n\nTwo things this week made me think about the how people in the past looked at the future, particularly regarding space exploration. The first was a movie, and the second was an article on Brickset.com’s site about certain space LEGO kits from the past.\n\nThe movie, Forbidden Planet, is one of my favorite movies. It was my favorite movie when I first watched it at the age of 12, and has been since. My appreciation of this movie is so high and obvious, my wife gifted me with the DVD anniversary edition of the movie many years ago. We watched it again last night.\n\nIt had been a long time since I last watched the show, and I must admit before watching it last night, I was afraid I wouldn’t like it as much as I had before. Thankfully, my appreciation of the story and special effects in the movie have not diminished, but grown. There are some issues, such as the men’s treatment of the female character, Altaira, but on the whole, it’s story still holds up.\n\nI won’t get into the story itself, which is fun and thought-provoking. I just don’t think my description actually will ever be able to do Forbidden Planet’s storyline any kind of justice. I will say the story involves a ship’s captain (any “Airplane!” and “Naked Gun” aficionados might appreciate him), a mysterious professor, an awesome robot, an alien planet, a beautiful woman, and a deadly monster. You could read summaries about the movie on various sites, but most won’t give readers an accurate “feel” of the story either.\n\nI do urge you to watch it–the movie’s special effects, art, costumes, and models come together as an interesting snapshot of the future of space and technology in the 1950’s.\n\nWhile the special effects are “quaint” by the standards of today’s blockbusters, they were probably top of the line back in the 1950’s (I don’t know for sure, I wasn’t there). The panoramas of the planet, the blaster fire, and the ship, are, instead of mind-blowing, now quite “pretty” per my wife. There is an art involved in the effects, because there were artists involved with the effects back then–apparently drawing them on the celluloid world frame by frame.\n\nBut what I like most of all, aside from the story, are the structures. The professor’s home and office are an homage to “mid-century modern” in the architecture, the furnishings, and the decorations. That was what the future would be like, according to certain folks in the 1950’s, and you can seem some glimpses of this future in certain neighborhoods in built during the late 1950’s and early 1960’s in the United States.\n\nThe captain’s ship and appearances of technology are all part of a recipe to make a child excited about exploring the galaxy. The saucer-shape of the starship, stasis beams used during hyperdrive activity, blasters, and glass globes and equipment whose purpose aren’t quite defined, but just look “futurey” are part of the inspiration. Then there are passenger cars able to go hundreds of miles an hour and the ability for building whatever is required, using molecular technology. The future was exciting story of possibility to kids, and a few adults.\n\n\nI think Walt Disney and his architects agreed with this and maybe took some elements in the movie as their inspiration for their parks. For anyone who has ever wandered Disneyland’s and Disney World’s old “Tomorrowland”(before significant teardowns and restructuring), and EPCOT Center, there were elements used in the parks that are quite similar to the structures and technology used in Forbidden Planet. I don’t think it was a case of ripping off the movie, but more of a consensus of what the future in 1950’s America was going to be.\n\nBecause I am a fan of the design and architecture of “mid-century modern,” it’s a future I certainly wouldn’t hesitate moving towards.\n\nThe other vision involves all the fun ways LEGO tried to bring their vision of space, particularly NASA’s space vehicles, to children. Brickset.com does a great job in this post going through the different kits LEGO brought out. Again, as a child, I would have been ecstatic to build my own Saturn rocket on a launch pad, not matter how janky it looked. The imagination filled in whatever shortcomings reality had.\n\nThe beauty about the LEGO kits are that kids could deviate and build slightly different versions of space vehicles and probes. It didn’t matter, so long as the child remained inspired and excited enough to continue their exploration of our history and possible future for going out in the Universe.\n\nWhether from LEGO or from MGM, each different vision served different markets and came from different companies. But b0th contain very optimistic messages about man’s place in the galaxy. Sure, these are toys and science fiction movies we’re talking about. However, they both encompass visions that fascinate and maybe motivate a few of us. It’s definitely fun just to go back, even if only for a few hours, and explore the universe according to the 1950’s.\n\nIf you have access to Amazon, Forbidden Planet is there for you, if you’re interested. I search Netflix with no success. Or go to one of your local DVD dumping grounds–they will likely have a copy available.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9412742257118225}
+{"content": "Defending Your Beliefs\n\n\nYou need to know why you chose the belief. What reason did you have? Make sure it is a good reason so you aren’t caught off guard or look bad.\n\nDo plenty of research on it. If it is a different religion, look up the religion in textbooks or on the internet. If it is a style, you may do research if you want, but also you need to stand as to what you wear, and explain that it’s not evil, it’s just different.\n\nOn a piece of paper, record all of the data you’ve uncovered.\n\nConfront the person you are trying to convince. If they often come to you, be prepared. Maybe practice discussing it with yourself, a friend, or somebody you can trust.\n\nFirmly tell them that your religion/belief is what you believe in. Stand up for it, and don’t take their discouraging words. Have confidence that your belief is the right thing for you, because to the best of your knowledge, it is true.\n\nDon’t get offended if others question your beliefs. If you are truly secure about them, then you have nothing to worry about.\n\nUnderstand that some beliefs have no foundation, and need to be put out to pasture.\n\nIf your belief is controversial, don’t flaunt it.\n\nDon’t wear your heart on your sleeve. Sometimes it’s best to just keep your ideas to yourself to avoid fights.\n\n\nCelebrating The Lent Season : Kool & Good For Soul\n\nIt is a Christian tradition that is observed in many denominations. The following article focuses on observing Lent in the Catholic tradition. Lent is the hallowed forty-day period of sacrifice leading up to Jesus’ death and Resurrection. During Lent, Catholics and some Protestants prepare for Holy Week by fasting, praying, and reconciling with the Lord. These forty days are a wonderful time to rethink everything and to allow ourselves to take up our crosses as Christ did.\nMake a Lenten calendar. Such a calendar will help you to focus on the progression of the Lenten season. Lent is 40 days long and doesn’t include Sundays. It ends the Friday before Easter; count backwards from there.\nDecide on your Lenten sacrifice. Our sacrifice is a reminder of the sacrifice of self Jesus made to save us from our sins. Think about all the trivial things in your life that shift your focus away from God. Do you find that you dedicate more time to sending text messages and posting status updates than to prayer and time with God? Do you have a habit of eating junk food excessively?\nTake something on. While many people choose to give harmful things up for Lent, you could use the season to help you build good habits. You could promise to be more patient and kind toward your neighbor, or you could vow to help the needy. Whether you choose to sacrifice or to adopt new, strengthening habits, you should allow your Lenten promises to help you grow in faith and virtue.\nAttend church service as often as possible. In addition to weekly Sunday service, it’s good to go to church frequently, especially during the Lent. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday when we remember that we come from dust and to dust we shall return. Many traditions often have an additional worship service in mid-week, and attendance at these services is a good way to participate in Lent.\nGo to Reconciliation. Reconciliation, or Confession, is a wonderful way to turn away from sin and reunite yourself with Christ. If you don’t already, try getting into the habit of going to Confession on a regular basis. The Catholic Church has made it obligatory that all the faithful receive the sacrament of Penance at least once a year and once during the season of Lent, though it’s recommended that you attend Confession at least once a month if possible.\nSpend time on devotions. Though not required, devotions are a great way to put yourself in the right mindset for Lent. The Church highly encourages Adoration of God or the veneration of the Blessed Virgin and the saints. Your local parish probably has regular Eucharistic Adoration, where you can go to sit and engage in deep prayer, in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. To practice veneration, you could say a decade of the Rosary daily, or pray to your patron saint.\nFast and abstain. All Catholics aged fourteen and older are asked to abstain from meat on Lenten Fridays, though fish is allowed to be eaten. Additionally, Catholics aged 18-59 are obliged to fast on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and all Lenten Fridays, meaning that only one full meal may be eaten in the day.\nGiving something up for Lent is no longer a religious mandate. Some communities or individuals take on something new, change a usual tradition, or simplify a piece of their lives instead. The point of these disciplines is to focus oneself inward on a spiritual journey with Christ in preparation for the season of Easter.\nLent is traditionally the time when those who are thinking of becoming Christians learn about the faith and prepare to be baptized. This means that many churches hold extra classes to learn about the faith. This is a good place to do some learning for the first time, or to refresh your understanding of being a Christian.\n\nChristmas Customs : The Origins\n\nCustomsA. The Origin of Christmas Tree\nJust as early Christians recruited Roman pagans by associating Christmas with the Saturnalia, so too worshippers of the Asheira cult and its offshoots were recruited by the Church sanctioning “Christmas Trees”. Pagans had long worshipped trees in the forest, or brought them into their homes and decorated them, and this observance was adopted and painted with a Christian veneer by the Church.\n\nB. The Origin of Mistletoe\nNorse mythology recounts how the god Balder was killed using a mistletoe arrow by his rival god Hoder while fighting for the female Nanna. Druid rituals use mistletoe to poison their human sacrificial victim. The Christian custom of “kissing under the mistletoe” is a later synthesis of the sexual license of Saturnalia with the Druidic sacrificial cult.\n\nC. The Origin of Christmas Presents\nIn pre-Christian Rome, the emperors compelled their most despised citizens to bring offerings and gifts during the Saturnalia (in December) and Kalends (in January). Later, this ritual expanded to include gift-giving among the general populace. The Catholic Church gave this custom a Christian flavor by re-rooting it in the supposed gift-giving of Saint Nicholas (see below).\n\nD. The Origin of Santa Claus\n\na. Nicholas was born in Parara, Turkey in 270 CE and later became Bishop of Myra. He died in 345 CE on December 6th. He was only named a saint in the 19th century.\n\nb. Nicholas was among the most senior bishops who convened the Council of Nicaea in 325 CE and created the New Testament. The text they produced portrayed Jews as “the children of the devil” who sentenced Jesus to death.\n\nc. In 1087, a group of sailors who idolized Nicholas moved his bones from Turkey to a sanctuary in Bari, Italy. There Nicholas supplanted a female boon-giving deity called The Grandmother, or Pasqua Epiphania, who used to fill the children’s stockings with her gifts. The Grandmother was ousted from her shrine at Bari, which became the center of the Nicholas cult. Members of this group gave each other gifts during a pageant they conducted annually on the anniversary of Nicholas’ death, December 6.\n\nd. The Nicholas cult spread north until it was adopted by German and Celtic pagans. These groups worshipped a pantheon led by Woden –their chief god and the father of Thor, Balder, and Tiw. Woden had a long, white beard and rode a horse through the heavens one evening each Autumn. When Nicholas merged with Woden, he shed his Mediterranean appearance, grew a beard, mounted a flying horse, rescheduled his flight for December, and donned heavy winter clothing.\n\ne. In a bid for pagan adherents in Northern Europe, the Catholic Church adopted the Nicholas cult and taught that he did (and they should) distribute gifts on December 25th instead of December 6th.\n\nf. In 1809, the novelist Washington Irving (most famous his The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle) wrote a satire of Dutch culture entitled Knickerbocker History. The satire refers several times to the white bearded, flying-horse riding Saint Nicholas using his Dutch name, Santa Claus.\n\ng. Dr. Clement Moore, a professor at Union Seminary, read Knickerbocker History, and in 1822 he published a poem based on the character Santa Claus: “Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in the hope that Saint Nicholas soon would be there…” Moore innovated by portraying a Santa with eight reindeer who descended through chimneys.\n\nh. The Bavarian illustrator Thomas Nast almost completed the modern picture of Santa Claus. From 1862 through 1886, based on Moore’s poem, Nast drew more than 2,200 cartoon images of Santa for Harper’s Weekly. Before Nast, Saint Nicholas had been pictured as everything from a stern looking bishop to a gnome-like figure in a frock. Nast also gave Santa a home at the North Pole, his workshop filled with elves, and his list of the good and bad children of the world. All Santa was missing was his red outfit.\n\ni. In 1931, the Coca Cola Corporation contracted the Swedish commercial artist Haddon Sundblom to create a coke-drinking Santa. Sundblom modeled his Santa on his friend Lou Prentice, chosen for his cheerful, chubby face. The corporation insisted that Santa’s fur-trimmed suit be bright, Coca Cola red. And Santa was born – a blend of Christian crusader, pagan god, and commercial idol.\n\nWhy Celebrate Christmas On December 25th : Think\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nWhen Was Jesus Born : The Real Truth\n\nBaby Jesus\n\nA. Popular myth puts his birth on December 25th in the year 1 C.E.\n\nB. The New Testament gives no date or year for Jesus’ birth. The earliest gospel – St. Mark’s, written about 65 CE – begins with the baptism of an adult Jesus. This suggests that the earliest Christians lacked interest in or knowledge of Jesus’ birthdate.\n\nC. The year of Jesus birth was determined by Dionysius Exiguus, a Scythian monk, “abbot of a Roman monastery. His calculation went as follows:\n\na. In the Roman, pre-Christian era, years were counted from ab urbe condita (“the founding of the City” [Rome]). Thus 1 AUC signifies the year Rome was founded, 5 AUC signifies the 5th year of Rome’s reign, etc.\n\nb. Dionysius received a tradition that the Roman emperor Augustus reigned 43 years, and was followed by the emperor Tiberius.\n\nc. Luke 3:1,23 indicates that when Jesus turned 30 years old, it was the 15th year of Tiberius reign.\n\nd. If Jesus was 30 years old in Tiberius’ reign, then he lived 15 years under Augustus (placing Jesus birth in Augustus’ 28th year of reign).\n\ne. Augustus took power in 727 AUC. Therefore, Dionysius put Jesus birth in 754 AUC.\n\nf. However, Luke 1:5 places Jesus’ birth in the days of Herod, and Herod died in 750 AUC – four years before the year in which Dionysius places Jesus birth.\n\n\n\nHappy Holidays & Jingling Bells\n\n\nI also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2013, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make our world great. Also, this wish is made without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wish.\n\nThe Philosophy Of Religion\n\nThe philosophy of religion deals with the big questions about God and religion: does God exist? Are we justified in believing in God? Should we make a leap of faith? What ought our response to be to evil and suffering? If God exists, what properties does he have? Are religions compatible with one another? Can we communicate with God through prayer and can he communicate with us through religious experiences? Is a belief in God compatible with a respect for science?\n\nMake the distinction between philosophy of religion and theology. Philosophy of religion attempts to investigate the philosophical underpinnings of religion and religious beliefs – about God, for instance. Theology combines some philosophical reflection on these topics with reflection on religious beliefs that take some of the answers for granted that philosophers of religion would want to question.\n\nPrepare yourself personally for studying philosophy of religion. Unlike other branches of philosophy, philosophy of religion questions and seeks reasons for ideas around religion and faith. For many people, their religious faith (or lack of) is a very personal and subjective matter and discussing it frankly and openly in a classroom may be uncomfortable. Decide whether or not you truly want to take part in such discussions and be prepared to change your mind.\n\nFamiliarize yourself with the arguments for and against the existence of God. The three main types of arguments are the cosmological or first cause argument, the ontological argument, and the teleological or design argument.\n\nExplore the ontological argument more deeply. Many philosophers of religion, both theist and atheist, will agree that the ontological argument is perhaps the most interesting of the philosophical arguments for the existence of God.\n\nConsider the epistemic questions about faith. Learn about the idea of fideism, and read up on Pascal’s wager. Attempt to answer the question: is it rational to believe in God? Do believers in God have evidence for their beliefs? If they don’t have evidence, can it still be rational to believe in God? Is religious or spiritual experience evidence?\n\nConsider the divine attributes. Many of the sorts of questions one may ask in Sunday school are actual problems that philosophers of religion attempt to resolve: questions like “can God create a rock so big he couldn’t lift it?” (or Homer Simpson’s variation on the theme: “could Jesus microwave a burrito so hot he couldn’t eat it?”) are questioning the compatibility of the “Omni-max” conception of God (omnipotence, omnipresence, omniscience, Omni-benevolence – God being all-powerful, everywhere, all-knowing and all-loving), specifically whether God’s Omni-max properties ever conflict with one another or with the laws of logic or of nature.\n\nThink about the role of religious language. Some philosophers in the logical positivist movement considered religious language to be cognitively meaningless and to lack reference. Some other philosophers try to interpret religious language in a naturalistic, reductionist manner, reducing claims about God to being claims about ethics. Some mystics and religious thinkers deem it impossible to describe God because of his infiniteness, and so prefer to talk about what God is not – this is described as the via negative. In recent times, many philosophers of religion have interpreted religious language through the lens of Wittgenstein’s latter theories.\n\nThink about the problem of evil. How can we say that we live in a universe created and ruled by an Omni-benevolent and all-powerful God when he allows so much pain and suffering to occur? This question has been a primary line of argument from atheists and agnostics, and one that religious philosophers find the most difficult to answer.\n\nEngage in dialogue and write. It is no good just reading the literature: philosophy is not a spectator sport. Attempt to develop the arguments yourself, think them through, write down your thoughts, and discuss them with others. It can be difficult finding people who have also studied the philosophical literature in depth: this may mean finding people on the Internet, attending seminars, conferences and lectures at universities or becoming a student.\n\nTry Making A Personal Prayer Journal\n\nThere are many different ways to talk to God through your prayer, and there even some things to avoid. One method of prayers is to write a journal (something like a diary of prayers). You’ll be amazed to see how God has been answering your prayers as you keep track of what you’ve been praying about.\n\nGet a journal. Any journal will do, as long as it has paper and no writing in it. It could be a journal or a diary. It doesn’t matter. It should have a decent amount of pages in it, at least 70 so it will last for a while.\n\nFind a hiding spot. You will be writing down your prayers in here, even the personal ones that you don’t want anyone else knowing about. It’s good if no one ever knows where your journal is. It’s even better if they don’t even know that it exists. It’s harder to find something you’re not looking for.\n\nWrite an entry. It doesn’t matter how you write it. Just write it. But make sure you include the date. You’ll want to know what day you wrote it later on. When you’re writing, don’t leave out anything. Just say your prayer that is going through your mind. Write exactly what you would say if you were “talking” to Him. Just talk to God.\n\nGo back and read. Once you write an entry, don’t read it again until you fill up the journal. Once you fill it up, read everything, and you’ll be amazed at all of the prayers that got answered. It’s a really neat thing to realize that prayer works. When God has answered your prayer sometimes you will know but sometimes you wouldn’t know since it may be different from what you wanted or expect.\n\nPrayer, Made Easier\n\nThe term to pray is now often used to refer to religious prayers: to commune with a spirit or deity that you believe in. It’s something that hunter-gatherers, ancient Egyptians and Greeks, and followers of today’s major religions share in common. While the rituals and conventions of prayer may vary widely, the intention is the same–to renew one’s spiritual connection with a power outside them.\n\nTake the time to pray. No matter how you pray or who you pray to, it can be difficult to find time for prayer during busy times. One way to deal with this is to make prayer part of your daily routine, such as praying as soon as you wake up in the morning, right before you go to sleep, or before every meal. Many people also pray during emotional times, like when they feel sad, scared, or happy. You can pray at any time of day, and as much or as little as you feel is sufficient for your spiritual life. Some people make it their goal to maintain a state of prayer all the time by remaining conscious of their spiritual connection throughout the day. No matter what, if prayer is an important part of your life, you need to put first things first and make time to pray on a regular basis.\n\nFind a good location to pray. You will find that you can pray anytime, anywhere, anyhow. It may help to be in a place where the focus is on spirituality (such as a church or temple) or where the environment reminds you of your spiritual bond (like a natural setting, or a spot with a big view). You can choose to pray in the presence of others, or you can pray privately.\n\nGet into your prayer position. This depends on the belief you have, if any. Sometimes expressing your thoughts physically can make the experience more complete. People vary in how they position themselves during prayer: sitting, kneeling, lying down on the floor, hands folded, clasped, or raised high, holding hands with other people, head bowed, dancing, prostrating, whirling, swaying, and so on.\n\nPrepare for praying. This also depends on belief, if any. Some activities help to get people in the mindset of prayer. Prepare in whichever way you feel is comfortable or appropriate. People do this in a variety of ways around the world, including washing, anointing with oil, ringing a bell, burning incense or paper, lighting a candle, facing a specific direction, making the sign of the cross, or fasting. Sometimes the preparation is directed by someone else, such as a spiritual friend, a group prayer leader, or a teacher of your beliefs.\n\nBegin the prayer. You can pray by speaking out loud, thinking, singing, etc. Some prayers are recited from memory or read from a book, while other prayers are more like conversations. Your eyes can be opened or closed. You may open the prayer by calling on the God(s) or Deity(s) you are praying to, and asking for help.\n\nMake the request, or ask the question. You can ask questions, seek strength, send good wishes to others, or give thanks. Perhaps the most basic forms of prayer are requests for help in becoming a good (or better) person, and requests that your deity(s) direct your prayer.\n\nEnd the prayer. Some people end or close the prayer with a special word, phrase or a gesture or simply by standing or sitting in silence for a minute or two, or say amen.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9040645360946655}
+{"content": "Amar Latif is a blind traveller, entrepreneur and TV personality with an astonishing track record of facing up to major challenges. Due to an incurable eye condition, Amar lost 95% of his sight by the age of 19. Through sheer determination he has managed to turn an unpromising tale of loss, into one of truly inspirational achievement.\n\nAmar became known to millions through the groundbreaking BBC2 reality series, Beyond Boundaries (series 1), a jungle endurance expedition across Central America. Screened worldwide, this was a gruelling 220-mile trek on foot across the rugged interior of Nicaragua, from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast. Amar had to ford swollen rivers, cut through dense jungle, cross waterfalls, climb a 5,000 ft. active volcano and navigate the second largest lake in Latin America.\n\n\nFor his entrepreneurial achievements, Amar received The Outstanding Young Person of the World accolade (Business / Entrepreneurial category) from the Chamber of Commerce International (JCI) and the prestigious Stelios Disabled Entrepreneur Award, presented by Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou.\n\n\nAmar collecting his award - Winner of The Outstanding Young Person of the World, Business Entrepreneurial category, at the Chamber of Commerce International (JCI).\n\n\n\nIn 2015 Amar led Channel 4TV presenters Adam Hills and The Last Leg team on a 3000-mile journey through Australia’s rugged outback in the 2-part series The Last Leg Goes Down Under (Channel 4TV). Starting in Darwin and ending in Sydney, this taste of the real Australia included croc hunting, an encounter with a biker gang, explosive opal mining and Amar flying a plane over Uluru.\n\nIn February 2017, Amar presented the Channel 4 show How to Get Fit Fast alongside Anna Richardson. The show aimed to bust exercise myths, uncover workout secrets and explore why different exercises are suited to different people. Amar investigated just how many calories bodybuilders have to eat to pack on the muscle, and revealed that running might not be as bad for your joints as we are led to believe.\n\nAmar is very rarely in one place for long, but when he isn’t travelling, he is often giving his time to charity. Amar is on the board of trustees for the UK charity, Guide Dogs and is a regular fundraiser/supporter of other blind-related charities including Sightsavers and the RNIB.\n\nAmar also works with schools around the world taking students on a wide range of travel adventures whilst having them describe the sights to other blind travellers. By broadening the mindset of young people today, Amar hopes to create a more accessible world for those with vision impairment in the future.\n\n\nstelios award for disabled entrepreneurs logo", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8795655965805054}
+{"content": "Miscellaneous Writings (1883-1896) by Mary Baker Eddy\nBooks by Mary Baker Eddy\n\nChapter III - Questions and Answers\npage 46\n\nA true sense of the falsity of material joys and sorrows,\npleasures and pains, takes them away, and teaches Life's\nlessons aright.  The transition from our lower sense of\nLife to a new and higher sense thereof, even though it be\nthrough the door named death, yields a clearer and\nnearer sense of Life to those who have utilized the present,\n\n\nand are ripe for the harvest-home.  To the battleworn\nand weary Christian hero, Life eternal brings\n\n   Is a Christian Scientist ever sick, and has he who is\nsick been regenerated?\n\n   The Christian Scientist learns spiritually all that he\nknows of Life, and demonstrates what he understands.\nGod is recognized as the divine Principle of his being,\nand of every thought and act leading to good.  His purpose\nmust be right, though his power is temporarily\nlimited.  Perfection, the goal of existence, is not won in a\nmoment; and regeneration leading thereto is gradual,\nfor it culminates in the fulfilment of this divine rule in\nScience: \"Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father\nwhich is in heaven is perfect.\"\n   The last degree of regeneration rises into the rest of\nperpetual, spiritual, individual existence.  The first\nfeeble flutterings of mortals Christward are infantile\nand more or less imperfect.  The new-born Christian\nScientist must mature, and work out his own salvation.\nSpirit and flesh antagonize.  Temptation, that mist of\nmortal mind which seems to be matter and the environment\nof mortals, suggests pleasure and pain in matter;\nand, so long as this temptation lasts, the warfare is not\nended and the mortal is not regenerated.  The pleasures\n- more than the pains - of sense, retard regeneration;\nfor pain compels human consciousness to escape\nfrom sense into the immortality and harmony of Soul.\nDisease in error, more than ease in it, tends to destroy\nerror:  the sick often are thereby led to Christ, Truth,\nand to learn their way out of both sickness and sin.\n\n\n   The material and physical are imperfect.  The individual\nand spiritual are perfect; these have no fleshly\nnature.  This final degree of regeneration is saving, and\nthe Christian will, must, attain it; but it doth not yet\nappear.  Until this be attained, the Christian Scientist\nmust continue to strive with sickness, sin, and death -\nthough in lessening degrees - and manifest growth at\nevery experience.\n\n   Is it correct to say of material objects, that they are nothing\nand exist only in imagination?\n\n   Nothing and something are words which need correct\ndefinition.  They either mean formations of indefinite\nand vague human opinions, or scientific classifications\nof the unreal and the real.  My sense of the beauty of\nthe universe is, that beauty typifies holiness, and is something\nto be desired.  Earth is more spiritually beautiful\nto my gaze now than when it was more earthly to the\neyes of Eve.  The pleasant sensations of human belief,\nof form and color, must be spiritualized, until we gain the\nglorified sense of substance as in the new heaven and\nearth, the harmony of body and Mind.\n   Even the human conception of beauty, grandeur, and\nutility is something that defies a sneer.  It is more than\nimagination.  It is next to divine beauty and the grandeur\nof Spirit.  It lives with our earth-life, and is\nthe subjective state of high thoughts.  The atmosphere\nof mortal mind constitutes our mortal\nenvironment.  What mortals hear, see, feel, taste, smell,\n\nNext Page\n\n\n\n\n\n\n (c) Copyright 1998 - Rolf Witzsche\nPublished by Cygni Communications Ltd. North Vancouver, Canada", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9117170572280884}
+{"content": "Sound Pieces of Advice for History Essays Writing\n\nHistory is a rather specific and precise subject, so every statement has to be checked twice based on several different reliable resources before posting it down. While writing a history essay, a considerable portion of text is built upon researches conducted earlier. You can analyze somebody else’s research or carry out your own. You can simply paraphrase and rewrite gathered information, but don’t forget to add your own valuable comments and share thoughts. It is important to show the deep understanding of the subject, so copy-pasting won’t be enough for an excellent grade. By submitting such essays you get prepared for the class discussions about the past and improve your writing skills at the same time.\n\nIf the task is received in the form of claim, develop a hypothesis and make some confident arguments to support your text. Prepare your work as a draft and try to read it: is it persuasive and interesting enough?\n\nIt’s not necessary to remember all the dates. Still, while recalling them, make sure all of the events you describe are put in a chronological order. Jumping back and forth will confuse the reader and spread out his attention. If you write about the year full of historical events, you can mention it only once at the beginning of a paragraph. Then, just list the events and their short outcomes in parentheticals, for instance. Another good option is to create a numbered bullet-list. It depends on the style of your writing: whether the work is being printed or written by hand.\n\nHistory is about details. In any other subject details may be skipped, but it is critical to consider all of the significant moments. Especially, when speaking about some glorious battles and massive wars. Except for the dates discussed above, different numbers like the number of committee participants or war sacrifices should be specified.\n\nThe size of a History essay may overweigh other types of essays, but still up to 800 words will be more than enough. Don’t expect you’ll receive a general topic like “Describe the Industrial Revolution.” Most probably, you will be asked to discuss a particular date, person, or whether it was revolutionary at all. So, your article won’t require too much space.\n\nWhen you write your essay about war or some other dramatic event, try to color your text emotionally. Highlight stand-alone parts with your feelings and express deep compassion and regret regarding the event.\n\nMost of the historical facts are more or less proven and supported by impeccable evidence. That’s why there is no need to shove your point of view down the reader’s throat. All you have to do is operate with facts and analyze them while answering to the central essay’s question. From one point of view, it’s easier to write a history essay due to the fact all of the data is known, and you don’t have to invent a vehicle or improvise. From the other point of view, it’s quite complicated to submit the facts known by the vast majority in a way the reader would read it with interest. To arouse curiosity, you may write an essay in the form of a dialogue between two imaginary people with contrary positions regarding the specific question. For instance, you’ve received a task about Native Americans’ role in history. You may involve one person who regrets the past events and prefers a friendlier Viking visit to the conquering campaign of Europeans. Another person has to express a more aggressive position by providing the facts that changed America forever. After all, you can add few words from yourself to finish the essay. The conclusion has to be open-ended: let the reader think it over.\n\nAnother crucial issue is naming historical figures. Do not call them frivolously like a close friend: type the full name when recalling a person for the first time. Use the last name only later throughout the text.\n\nThe next advice is to apply only proven and reliable sources. Those sources available for random user editing are better to be ignored. Whenever you use citations, use quotation marks and add the source cited immediately. Try to use both published and online resources. Students with strong passion for books are usually valued higher. Besides, it highlights your literacy. Except for quotes, provide your work with footnotes: they’re responsible for the evidence part. History essay is the one to be enclosed with bibliography list, not simply the results of your research.\n\nThe last piece of advice would be to use primary sources. I.e. Homer’s “Iliad” may be considered the number one source when your topic deals with Ancient Greek history. “Helen of Troy” by Margaret George and “The Song of Achilles” by Madeline Miller are secondary sources that still can be used while reviewing the Trojan War events, for example.\n\nWriting a well-structured and exciting History essay is not as easy as ABC. Some people go mad when trying to write a word on historical topics. If the lack of time, knowledge of history or writing skills prevents you from accomplishing a history essay, you always have an alternative – search for professional academic writing services which will provide you with a top-class essay at a reasonable price.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9979148507118225}
+{"content": "\n\nJackson Furniture\n\nJackson Furniture living room furniture\nJackson Furniture living room sets\nJackson Furniture\n\n\nThroughout all of those decades of change, one thing remains constant: Families love to relax together in a room filled with comfortable furniture. That is where we have been, and will always be…from being huddled around a radio to being kicked back in front of a giant flat screen.\n\nWe live where you live.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9990694522857666}
+{"content": "Premium SEO Company 888.852.0059\n\nSEO Best Practices\n\n2 On-Site Optimization – Site Level\n\n\nFigure 2: Sample Google PageRank voting illustration\n\n2.1.1 What is PageRank\n\nPageRank as defined in Wikipedia \"is a link analysis algorithm, named after Larry Page, used by the Google Internet search engine that assigns a numerical weighting to each element of a hyperlinked set of documents, such as the World Wide Web, with the purpose of measuring its relative importance within the set.\"\n\nAsside from the values of the links, the anchor text of the links play a huge role in ranking a page for a given keyword phrase. This not only applies to external links but to internal links as well.\n\nPageRank (PR) is the modern search engine foundation for the commonly used term Popularity. A high PR page can out rank a more relevant page even if the keyword is not present on the page. This was identified when Search Engine Optimizers (SEOs) Google bombed the phrase \"miserable failure\" which linked to the White House Presidential page. The Google bomb has since been removed.\n\nGoogle Bombing is the practice of getting massive amounts of links with a set of keyword phrased to rank a page in the Search Engine Result Pages (SERPs). It is also the most common technique for ranking a site. The key is to make it appear natural in link growth.\n\nLet us be the muscle that moves your internet business. 888.852.0059\nfree consultation no string attached\nPremium SEO Company", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9718478322029114}
+{"content": "Yoga symbols and meanings om\n\nYoga symbols and meanings om overlook\n\nClaire created this class to stoke your inner fire and problem you with a flowing mixture of balancing postures, core work like Navasana (boat pose) and more, Kapalabhati Pranayama (breathing technique) culminating in Svarga Dvijasana (Bird of Paradise). We now have educated over 1500 yogamatte testsieger kotest and constructed aymbols group of studios containing like-minded, passionate people who make the most of and reinforce our best practices daily. DVDs aimed toward beginners move slowly and include yoga symbols and meanings om of complete instruction. Vinyasa yoga teaches us to manage the breath as we move yoga symbols and meanings om a sequenced movement, rising our energy and focus. For example, chances are you'll time yoga tasky senza glutine breath so that you simply exhale for a depend of 6 seconds, and inhale for a rely of 3 seconds, or about 6-7 breaths per minute. To practice yoga, all you actually need is you. If by likelihood it is too crowded, we'll even purchase you a category. I really felt taken care of through the entire program, all the pieces from first contact to accommodation to teaching, to free time (akin to visiting sights, going to the doctor and getting a surprise celebration for my birthday) actually was well organized and prime quality. And now, every single day, even during the hardest moments, I still try to include an oasis of yoga in my day. Raise and prolong your right arm. This pose opens the groin and hips, yoga mom and toddler the inner thighs. Inside the past yr, Felicia expanded her skill set and might now dance on stilts as effectively. Yoga symbols and meanings om the reason we undergo is as a result of we are too tight, generally it's as a result of our core is weak. Typically you even see his little canine in Down Canine on his personal small puppy mat. Ladies who're pregnant yoga symbols and meanings om other people with certain medical conditions, reminiscent of hypertension, glaucoma (a condition during which fluid pressure inside the eye slowly increases and should harm the eye's optic nerve), and sciatica (ache, weakness, numbing, or tingling that will lengthen from the decrease again to the calf, foot, and even the toes), should modify or avoid some yoga poses. Yoganusasanam refers back to the reverential apply of yoga as a sacred artwork - the artwork of integrating body, bikram yoga cd, and breath and uniting the individual soul with the universal spirit. Answer: turbulent, as a result of Buddha and lots of others have been fed yoga symbols and meanings om sykbols the prevailing VedicHindu practices on the time: horse sacrifices, widow burning, the meaningd system. You may as well download one in every of our free apps to get pleasure yogakleidung berlin internet radio on your favourite gadget. Then slowly yoga for diabetics the nose pushing the stale breath out by way of each part of the mwanings. Right this moment, Sheena practices yoga yoga symbols and meanings om and permits the ideas of yoga to guide her life. Clearing the water of stones and sticks. Basic 5 sun salutations of yoga poses, ideas and views of administration as they wnd to the data professions. The Sanskrit word 'Ayurveda' means the information of life, ayur that means life and veda which means science. In physiology we will probably be specializing in the autonomic nervous system its structure and function. Ladies can put on leggings, a tank prime, and sports activities bra. However beneficial only if you self categorize as sort A andor are motivated by working in direction of a selected physical end aim, Nad are just really keen on dabbling in handstands. Productive poopers are productive individuals. The answer. Attain your arms behind you and lift your head and chest barely like you're searching for emanings in front of you. The instructions and yoga poses waterfall are easy to follow, and the images of various yoga postures made it much simpler to grasp yoga symbols and meanings om. I found the follow of vinyasa yoga about 6 years ago. Throughout this process visions of gods and demons could occur, landscapes could also be seen, uncommon sounds heard. Would you wish to strive a free yoga class at Clayton Yoga studio. Like meditation, it could yooga you're feeling antsy at first, however keep it up for a couple of courses and its restorative powers might have you hooked. However if you wish to perceive the way it works, what the mechanism and the process are, it takes lots of effort and time. A number of studies have proven that yoga may assist scale back stress and anxiousness. Additionally they have superstar trainers and fitness gurus from the large leagues as your coaches. Asanas are practiced in a sequence in a dynamic and flowing style using breath, drishti (gaze) and bandhas (energy locks). Let your hips be far enough away from the wall that your sacrum and low again are fully flat on the floor.\n\n\n\n03.07.2016 at 12:40 Kigazshura:\nAs that interestingly sounds\n\n06.07.2016 at 18:40 Aragrel:\nTill what time?\n\n15.07.2016 at 12:37 Malasar:\n\n19.07.2016 at 20:00 Mooguzil:\n\n26.07.2016 at 03:38 Digul:\nMagnificent idea and it is duly", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7596337795257568}
+{"content": "Buying versus renting\n\nAs you would expect, the reality of the buying versus renting debate is there are pros and cons for both. It depends on your personal circumstances and your strategy for wealth creation. More often that not, the reality is that it’s cheaper to rent where you want to live and better to invest elsewhere, so let’s take a closer look.\n\nGone are the days when the Australian dream to own your home, toil to reduce your debt and strive to pay off the mortgage in record time is a desire of the masses. With communities becoming more internationally focused than ever before and with the influence of technology to bring the world into the palm of your hand, consumers have never been more spoilt with objective consideration.\n\nSo what is driving your decision? Is it long-term growth, emotional attitude, locational or convenience? These are ultimately the driving factors for your very personal outcome, so let’s frame it from a wealth-creation perspective for the purposes of the discussion.\n\nThe potential advantages for buying are emotional stability; personalising your space to suit your lifestyle needs and preferences; capital growth on your investment; long-term savings by paying off your mortgage early; and available grants to offset deposit stress.\n\nThe possible disadvantages of buying are being an owner-occupier may mean a lack of flexibility as it is not so easy to ‘pack up and leave’ (e.g. to move closer to a better school) if you are heavily  invested  in  a  particular property and overcapitalising on your home with “aesthetic” changes may make for a more comfortable home but can sometimes not be returned should you need to sell.\n\nThe possible advantages of renting are the flexibility to up and go or alternatively upgrade or downgrade depending on your changing circumstances; it can be cheaper to rent where you want to live than to own (e.g. inner-city locations);  the fact that renting is cheaper could also lead to more disposable income being available; and rates, maintenance and, where applicable, owners corporation fees are not the concern of renters.\n\nThe possible disadvantages of renting are that renting can give the tenant flexibility to move. Conversely, they can find themselves being asked to move when it doesn’t suit them. The intrusion of inspections, valuations and the sense of being beholden to someone else’s needs can leave tenants feeling unsettled while changes are not permitted without approval i.e. cable installations, picture hooks, improvements.\n\nTo buy or not to buy, that is the question …\n\nTo buy positions you with a forced savings that ultimately provides you with a growth on your investment over an extended period of time – unlike renting, which can be less money spent but no return on your spending over the same course of time. So on this basis it makes sense to buy. However, what about the idea of renting and buying?\n\nAs suggested earlier, more and more today we see people renting where they want to live, which is generally inner-city locations and buying in outer-suburban areas. This flexibility gives investors the ability to enjoy the lifestyle they want to live while not burning their cash on rent. With money invested in sometimes multiple investment properties in the middle-ring to outer-ring suburbs, renters are able to have the best of both worlds.\n\nLong term, this can give investors the leg up to consolidate their investments down the track and purchase a single residence in the area in which they have been renting. Remember there are more expenses to owning your own home as opposed to renting. If you can free up some disposable income to invest for less, it will ultimately put you where you want to be –  which is owning your home in a more desirable location than you could previously afford.\n\nThe cost to own is interest on mortgage repayment; rates; insurance; ongoing maintenance; utilities; and regular one-off capital expenditure. The cost to rent is rent and utilities.\n\nUltimately, like all investment decisions it comes down to your personal circumstances and preferences. Buying is always a good option and renting has its flexibilities. But if you’re starting from behind the post a little, a combination of the two can let you start living the lifestyle you want for yourself sooner rather than later.\n\nAs always, the most important thing is to make sure you do your homework and make the best decision for your life. Happy investing and/or renting!\n\nWords: Bryce Deledio, Uniq Finance\n\nWatch this space!\n\nWe'll be revealing the details of our next competition soon", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.936779260635376}
+{"content": "Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? (Paperback)\n\nUsually Ships in 1-5 Days\n\n\nWhat separates your mind from an animal's? Maybe you think it's your ability to design tools, your sense of self, or your grasp of past and future--all traits that have helped us define ourselves as the planet's preeminent species. But in recent decades, these claims have eroded, or even been disproven outright, by a revolution in the study of animal cognition. Take the way octopuses use coconut shells as tools; elephants that classify humans by age, gender, and language; or Ayumu, the young male chimpanzee at Kyoto University whose flash memory puts that of humans to shame. Based on research involving crows, dolphins, parrots, sheep, wasps, bats, whales, and of course chimpanzees and bonobos, Frans de Waal explores both the scope and the depth of animal intelligence. He offers a firsthand account of how science has stood traditional behaviorism on its head by revealing how smart animals really are, and how we've underestimated their abilities for too long.\n\nPeople often assume a cognitive ladder, from lower to higher forms, with our own intelligence at the top. But what if it is more like a bush, with cognition taking different forms that are often incomparable to ours? Would you presume yourself dumber than a squirrel because you're less adept at recalling the locations of hundreds of buried acorns? Or would you judge your perception of your surroundings as more sophisticated than that of a echolocating bat? De Waal reviews the rise and fall of the mechanistic view of animals and opens our minds to the idea that animal minds are far more intricate and complex than we have assumed. De Waal's landmark work will convince you to rethink everything you thought you knew about animal--and human--intelligence.\n\nProduct Details\nISBN: 9780393353662\nISBN-10: 0393353664\nPublisher: W. W. Norton & Company\nPublication Date: April 4th, 2017\nPages: 352\nLanguage: English", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.999242901802063}
+{"content": "Film Genre, Narration, Reality Tv\n\nOnly available on StudyMode\n  • Download(s) : 321\n  • Published : May 19, 2005\nOpen Document\nText Preview\n(Researched from \"Film Art: An Introduction\" by D. Bordwell and K. Thompson.)\n\n\"Types of films are commonly referred to as genres (pronounced \"zahn-rahz\"). The word genre is originally French and simply means kind or type.\" (Bordwell & Thompson, 2004: 108). Genre groups films, which share similar filmic qualities and themes, into various subsections according to the type of film they are associated as.\n\nVarious film genres are recognisable by the way they are presented and patterned or the way that they portray a certain emotion or feeling, as those of humour or horror. There is no distinct way by which we can define genre. Some films incorporate various aspects of different genres, thus we cannot define exactly what kind of text-book definition genre it is and being that all people are different, a comedy to one person may be a complete bore to the next. In a sense, certain films portray their genre as a subjective opinion.\n\nFilm genre, in the modern filmic world today, is also very reliant on the actors that star in the feature. Automatically we, as viewers, would associate brawn and large stature with an action film, but occasional films tend to meld these characters into completely different subgenre, giving the film a very hybrid, generic feel to it.\n\nGenres are ways of providing films with the intended associations. It is a convention in which people can refer to initially grasp the notion of a film, \"for the vast publicity system that exists around filmmaking, genres are a simple way to characterize film. In fact, reviewers are often central in gathering and crystallizing notions about genres.\" (Bordwell & Thompson, 2004: 110).\n\nGenres are helpful in the general public as they give spectrum to different people and their different tastes. It also accommodates for any mood one may be in if they wanted to watch a film. It characterizes the films and sorts them into place for the viewer's pleasure, \"At all levels of the filmmaking and film-viewing processes, then, genres help assure that most members of society share at least some general notions about the many films that compete for our attention.\" (Bordwell & Thompson, 2004: 110)\n\nMost genres share specific genre conventions. Stereotypical plots or certain predictable characters are expected to appear during a film of a desired genre. These are the conventions which group films into subgenres. Other than visual and audio conventions, those concerning mise-en-scene, cinematography, sound, lighting and editing, genres often also make boundaries around the type of thematic notions that are presented within films.\n\nInterweaving and altering certain genres, film producers create hybrids of genres that are incorporate mixture of different filmic techniques implemented by different genres. These subgenres, as with conventional genres are not always effective. \"The periods in which a genre remains popular are called cycles.\" (Bordwell & Thompson, 2004: 115). Genres can only be portrayed so many times before they become old, such as with anything else in the world.\n\nFilm Narration\n\nAccording to D. Bordwell and K. Thompson, a narrative is considered to be, \"…a chain of events in cause-effect relationship occurring in time and space,\" (Bordwell & Thompson, 2004: 69), otherwise also known as a story. The narrative of a film begins with an instance and throughout the film's time and space alters in story and elements in such a way that the final narration is the end product.\n\nThe narrative of a film is structured in a way that we, the viewers, can identify with and understand what is going on in the film. The sequences and events are arranged in an order such that to portray the notion of a flowing story. Causality, time and space are the governing factors behind this story or narration. The story undergoes a \"cause and effect,\" (Bordwell & Thompson, 2004:...\ntracking img", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.853088915348053}
+{"content": "Dating someone less mature\n\ndating someone less mature - There are new realities to deal with if you're dating after 50 (illness, sandwich generation concerns, menopause or impotence), it shouldn't dampen your love life or make you settle for anyone less than who you deserve. If he can’t express what he’s thinking, or gets frustrated, irritated, or mad at you for wanting to communicate and share feelings, then you’re dealing with an emotionally immature man. ’t it be great if you could identify the guys who were mature enough to be a good partner before wasting a bunch of time and getting physically and emotionally involved? There’s nothing wrong with dating someone older or younger (as long as you’re both the age of consent), but this situation has its own set of consequences to consider.\n\nI'm 17 & I'm Dating a 30 Year Old!!!! | #WheresMyTea MiniTalk Session\n\nWATCH IN HD :) 1080P LOOKS AWESOME** Business Inquiries ONLY: Follow me on IG ...", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8075177669525146}
+{"content": "3 Strategies to Help India Improve Its Regulatory Processes\n\nLast year, India surpassed China to become the fastest growing large economy in the world. But by looking at India’s population and its economic footprint, its economy is still small in comparison to that of the U.S., China or European Union.\n\nIndia still has a lot to learn from other economies. Most specifically, India requires an effective long-lasting regulatory system that promotes the collaboration of all stakeholders, instead of the existing top-down system.\n\nIn most countries, regulations are a means to strive for needed outcomes, but in India, they have been used by politicians as tools to push for their personal agendas. Such selfish power moves result in negative consequences for the country since no one is contemplating the impact this behavior has on the creation of jobs (or lack thereof), the environment, economic growth and social life.\n\nMySore Palace India\n\nConsidering the current highly competitive global economy, regulations should be viewed and utilized as a way of seeking cost-justified environmental and social benefits, while at the same time improving citizens’ economic well-being.\n\nThe United States has a booming economy mainly because it utilizes regulations and regimes. The U.S. economy is significantly influenced by its sophisticated, and somewhat confusing, regulatory regimes that aims at achieving policy goals and improving its economic activities.\n\nVibhuti Jha, director of LDJ Capital, said, “India has an opportunity to improve its economic competitiveness globally by learning and implementing some of the U.S. regime’s policies, systems and regulations.”\n\nGolden Temple India\n\nThe three areas where India can benefit from the U.S. in improving its own regulatory processes are:\n\n1. Collaborative approach\n\nThe process of enacting regulations is complicated and lengthy for it involves getting inputs from the government, the public, as well as the industry stakeholders. Neglecting inputs from key stakeholders creates heavier burdens in the sector, thus inhibiting growth.\n\nThe startup sector of India, which is among the most dynamic globally, has numerous ambiguous and cumbersome regulations that make it difficult for investors and entrepreneurs to grow their businesses. For example, entrepreneurs have difficulty accessing funds from external investors due to the many existing foreign exchange controls and regulations.\n\nAgra Fort India\n\nAnother example is the cumbersome regulations placed on foreign ownership of Indian companies, resulting to delayed and complicated investments. This is why companies backed by venture capitalists are being launched outside India.\n\nIndia can solve this problem by establishing collaborative regulatory advisory boards with members from different perspectives including the public, private and government sectors. These boards will formulate regulations that address all concerns, thus promoting investments and economic activity.\n\n2. Impact assessments\n\nRegulatory agencies should carry out impact assessments before issuing rules on particular deals, such as those exceeding a certain amount of money. The assessments should focus on examining the regulation trade-offs, and whether or not intended goals were attained within the agreed costs and terms.\n\nLavasa city\n\nThe proposing agencies are required to make their own evaluation. This is a conflict of interest which may result to exaggerated benefits and underestimated costs.\n\nMoreover, these proposing agencies usually do not have adequate resources to carry out the required assessments.\n\n3. Agencies’ overlapping authorities\n\nIf authorities at different levels overlap, businesses get affected negatively. The most common effect is increased business costs.\n\nUsually, this is a result of an information gap between complying companies and government agencies. Failure by agencies to cooperate and review their functions leads to regulatory breakdowns, which is a major hindrance to economic activity.\n\nThe drug industry is among the key engines to India’s economy, exporting over $15 billion annually. However, the World Health Organization estimated that about 20% of drugs in Indian market are fake.\n\nShree Swaminarayan Temple\n\nThis situation is largely attributed to India’s drug regulator’s limited authority and inadequate capabilities to fight counterfeit drugs. Considering the economic importance of this industry, there is a need for greater collaboration between the private and public sectors to address these concerns.\n\nIndia is capable of building its policy institutions and turning them into effective tools that support a variety of benefits including job creation, improved environmental and working conditions, and economic growth. The country will reap great benefits once it promotes transparency and deep collaboration between the government and business community by establishing regulations that will enhance global competitiveness.\n\nRegulatory agencies should also welcome the collaborative efforts aimed at harmonizing and simplifying regulations. In turn, they need to lend a hand in strengthening India’s economy by achieving regulatory goals that will reduce burdens, such as compliance costs.\n\nNote: This article appeared on The Soho Loft", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7052470445632935}
+{"content": "Hegelian dialectic and the design toolkit: The value of contrarianism in ideation\n\nWhere do great designs come from?\n\nToday’s human-centered designer uses a range of tools for defining problems and designing solutions. The process most UXers I know follow a tried and true method of product design, which looks to validate assumptions before going to market.\n\nThis methodology, usually associated with agile development and design, is a best-practice that’s seen across most design disciplines, from interface design, to fashion, to architecture. Boiled down, the model tends to look something like this: research, ideate, prototype, test, iterate.\n\nIdeation is that magical part of the process where elegant and revolutionary solutions come from. But when inspiration falls short, what tools and techniques are reliable for propelling innovation? How can a design team reliably drive ideation?\n\nHegelian dialectic leverages contrarian thinking to surface new, thoughtful solutions and can help a design team navigate its way out of the doldrums of the imagination.\n\nWhat is Hegelian dialectic and its value?\n\nThe German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel introduced the dialectical method, which is summarized as follows by the Encyclopedia of Sciences and Religions:\n\n(1) a beginning proposition called a thesis, (2) a negation of that thesis called the antithesis, and (3) a synthesis whereby the two conflicting ideas are reconciled to form a new proposition.\n\nA example of this structure may be understood as the following:\n\n  • Thesis: “People need to go to a store to see and try on shoes before committing to buy.”\n  • Antithesis: “People will buy shoes without seeing them or trying them on.”\n  • Synthesis: Develop a retail platform that allows customers to buy and return items without the need of a store.\n\nCongratulations! Herr Hegel has helped you invent Zappos.\n\nThe wisdom of crowds is often right. Most contrarian thought is wrong. Yet contrarianism provides the essential antithesis ingredient in dialectical thought that will drive change and create undiscovered value. When contrarian thought is completely untrue, it is useful for driving iterative thinking. When correct, it can be of gargantuan, unprecedented value.\n\nUber, Amazon, Tesla, and similarly disruptive companies result from contrarian “antithesis” stances that, when taken to market, have proved correct (and wildly profitable).\n\nThe value of contrarianism in design\n\nThe design team at Cohero Health encourages productive contrarianism to drive dialectical thinking and innovative design. We work in an area of health technology that is relatively unmapped, and inspiration for many features in our software cannot be found in existing design patterns.\n\nSynthesizing thesis and antithesis statements help us move fast to innovate and iterate.\n\nHegelian synthesis as a design exercise\n\nIf your team is working on a new feature, say a new home screen for a native app, try the following exercise as a modified design studio.\n\n  1. Write down the problem you’re looking to design for, and what user testing questions would be useful for evaluating the success of a design with regard to the posed question.\n  2. Assign one designer (or design team) to create a design based on an agreed upon, conventional approach.\n  3. Assign another designer (or team) to design a solution based on the antithesis of the first team’s design.\n  4. User test both designs, using the agreed upon questions, with a service like usabilityhub.com\n  5. Evaluate the results to synthesize the design and iterate a new solution.\n\nThanks for reading.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7500903606414795}
+{"content": "Eat Less — Look and Feel Younger\n\nDeclining human growth hormone (HGH) is one cause of aging. We produce a lot of it right after we were born. We produce less each year thereafter. As HGH levels diminish, human aging or decay begins to increase. There are several things you can do to halt this process.\n\nEat less food. Nutritionists tell us to eat 15 calories per day to maintain body weight. If we weigh one hundred pounds, then we need to eat 1500 calories. However, scientists who study longevity have discovered that eating at levels 30% less actually extends the lifespans of animals. That means a person weighing one hundred pounds should eat 1000 calories per day.\n\nIt is too soon for us to determine the how much this extends the human lifespan. Most animals experience a 20–30% increase in lifespan. Eating less actually makes you healthier. The elderly who have chosen a restricted calorie lifestyle have a much lower risk of age-related diseases.\n\nEating fewer calories requires you to eat nutritionally balanced meals. Nutritional balance means you are not deficient in the needed vitamins, minerals, amino acids, etc. Nutrient deficiency increases the risk of disease and lowers your immune function.\n\nYour body creates more human growth hormone the less often you eat. Fasting for twelve hours opens the floodgates of HGH production. Fasting for twenty-four hours doubles that amount. Fasting, in an of itself, is probably the most beneficial thing you can do to increase HGH levels in your body.\n\nWe eat often because we developed a habit of eating at certain times each day. Many times we are dehydrated and not hungry. Changing eating habits is difficult, but not impossible. Changing your eating habits might actually make you look and feel much younger than you are.\n\nShow your support\n\nClapping shows how much you appreciated Red O'Laughlin’s story.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9464472532272339}
+{"content": "Sentence Examples with the word no claim\n\nNo sort of espionage is attempted, no effort made to penetrate privacy; no claim to pry into the secret actions of law-abiding persons is or would be tolerated; the agents of authority must not seek information by underhand or unworthy means.\n\nHe lays no claim to the position of an original artist painting from life or commenting on the results of his own observation.\n\nThough he laid no claim to originality and merely sought to collect and systematize the traditions of antiquity, his influence in the Far East has been unbounded, and he must be pronounced one of the most powerful advocates of peace and humanity that have ever existed.\n\nView more\n\nAs early as 1872 the operations of foreign sealers attracted the attention of the United States government, but any precautions then taken seem to have been directed against the capture of seals on their way through the passages between the Aleutian Islands, and no claim to jurisdiction beyond the three-mile limit appears to have been put forward.\n\n\n\nA father had no claim on his married children for support, but they retained a right to inherit on his death.\n\nHe makes no claim to the creative exuberance of Plautus, but he is entirely free from his extravagance and mannerisms. The superiority of his style over that of Lucilius, who wrote his satires a generation later, is immeasurable.\n\nThe works of other prose writers, Varro and Cornelius Nepos, have been partially preserved; but these writers have no claim to rank with those already mentioned as creators and masters of literary style.\n\nHis chief historical writings - The United Kingdom: a Political History (1899), and The United States: an Outline of Political History (1893) - though based on thorough familiarity with their subject, make no claim to original research, but are remarkable examples of terse and brilliant narrative.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8077850937843323}
+{"content": "\n\n\nThis is a five-activity module that explores the evidence for and impacts of melting glacial ice, with resources from major institutions and scientists who study glaciers -- primarily in Arctic areas. The suite of activities includes both glaciers and melting ice, as well as the impact of melt water downstream. Each activity follows the 5E model of Engagement, Exploration, Explanation, Elaboration, and Evaluation.\n\n\n\n\n\nIn this activity learners work in pairs or small groups to evaluate energy use in their school and make recommendations for improved efficiency. Students create and use an energy audit tool to collect data and present recommendations to their class. Further communication at the school and district level is encouraged.\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.999842643737793}
+{"content": "Scientists uncover how microbiota metabolise complex dietary carbohydrates found in fruits, vegetables\n\n\nResearch at the University of York's Structural Biology Laboratory, in collaboration with groups in Canada, the USA and Sweden, has begun to uncover how our gut bacteria metabolise the complex dietary carbohydrates found in fruits and vegetables.\n\nTrillions of bacteria live in human intestines - there are about ten times more bacterial cells in the average person's body than human ones. Known as \"microbiota\", these bacteria have a vital role to play in human health: they are central to our metabolism and well-being.\n\nThe research team has uncovered how one group of gut bacteria, known as Bacteroidetes, digest complex sugars known as xyloglucans. These make up to 25 per cent of the dry weight of dietary fruit and vegetables including lettuce, onion, aubergine and tomatoes.\n\nUnderstanding how these bacteria digest complex carbohydrates informs studies on a wide range of nutritional issues. These include prebiotics (the consumption of 'beneficial' micro-organisms as a food supplement) and probiotics (the consumption of foods or supplements intended to stimulate the production of healthy bacteria in the gut).\n\nResearchers from the York Structural Biology Laboratory in the University's Department of Chemistry, and international collaborators have carried out detailed structural and mechanistic studies into the precise functioning of specific enzymes. This work has shed further light on which organisms can and cannot digest certain fruits and vegetables, and how and why the \"good bacteria\" do what they do.\n\nProfessor Gideon Davies, who led the research at York, said: \"Despite our omnivorous diet, humans aren't well equipped to eat complex plant matter; for this we rely on our gut bacteria. This work is helping us to understand the science of that process.\n\n\"The possible implications for commerce and industry extend beyond the realm of human nutrition, however. The study of how enzymes break down plant matter is also of direct relevance to the development of processes for environmentally-friendly energy solutions such as biofuels.\" The research at York was funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)\n\n\n\nPost a new comment\nYou might also like... ×\nAntibiotic-resistant bacteria work together to cause infection, research suggests", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7858107089996338}
+{"content": "Learn More\nFunctional neuroimaging data embodies a massive multiple testing problem, where 100,000 correlated test statistics must be assessed. The familywise error rate, the chance of any false positives is the standard measure of Type I errors in multiple testing. In this paper we review and evaluate three approaches to thresholding images of test statistics:(More)\nBecause of their increased sensitivity to spatially extended signals, cluster-size tests are widely used to detect changes and activations in brain images. However, when images are nonstationary, the cluster-size distribution varies depending on local smoothness. Clusters tend to be large in smooth regions, resulting in increased false positives, while in(More)\nCluster size tests used in analyses of brain images can have more sensitivity compared to intensity based tests. The random field (RF) theory has been widely used in implementation of such tests, however the behavior of such tests is not well understood, especially when the RF assumptions are in doubt. In this paper, we carried out a simulation study of(More)\nIn a massively univariate analysis of brain image data, statistical inference is typically based on intensity or spatial extent of signals. Voxel intensity-based tests provide great sensitivity for high intensity signals, whereas cluster extent-based tests are sensitive to spatially extended signals. To benefit from the strength of both, the intensity and(More)\nHistopathology is insufficient to predict disease progression and clinical outcome in lung adenocarcinoma. Here we show that gene-expression profiles based on microarray analysis can be used to predict patient survival in early-stage lung adenocarcinomas. Genes most related to survival were identified with univariate Cox analysis. Using either two(More)\nOBJECTIVE A single institution's experience with CT-guided percutaneous radiofrequency ablation of biopsy-proven renal cell carcinomas (RCCs) was studied to determine the disease-free survival and complication rate. MATERIALS AND METHODS Data from 125 RCCs in 104 patients treated with curative intent was reviewed. Radiofrequency ablation treatments were(More)\nIn recent years, multiple brain MR imaging modalities have emerged; however, analysis methodologies have mainly remained modality-specific. In addition, when comparing across imaging modalities, most researchers have been forced to rely on simple region-of-interest type analyses, which do not allow the voxel-by-voxel comparisons necessary to answer more(More)\nSmall-world networks are a class of networks that exhibit efficient long-distance communication and tightly interconnected local neighborhoods. In recent years, functional and structural brain networks have been examined using network theory-based methods, and consistently shown to have small-world properties. Moreover, some voxel-based brain networks(More)\nIn diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), interpreting changes in terms of fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity or axial (D(||)) and radial (D(⊥)) diffusivity can be ambiguous. The main objective of this study was to gain insight into the heterogeneity of age-related diffusion changes in human brain white matter by analyzing relationships between the(More)\nIn Alzheimer's disease (AD), atrophy negatively impacts cognition while in healthy adults, inverse relationships between brain volume and cognition may occur. We investigated correlations between gray matter volume and cognition in elderly controls, AD and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) patients with memory and executive deficits. AD demonstrated(More)", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9589349031448364}
+{"content": "Reading the Bible as Literature: An Introduction. Jeanie C. Crain. Cambridge: Polity Press, 2010. 22-42.\n\n Chapter four introduces the major genres of literature and their presence in the Bible. The chapter begins with a clarification of the definitions of genre and genre criticism. Genre “designates the literary form into which works are classified according to what they have in common, either in their formal structures or in their treatment of subject matter, or both” (p.66). Genre criticism is part of the much broader method known as form criticism, which addresses structure, genre, setting, and intent (p.66).\n\n Dr. Crain proceeds to identify the major genres in literature. Prose or narrative, poetry, and drama are identified as the major genres in literature.  Prose or narrative tells a story through sequenced, chronological events. Although poetry is never actually defined and is not present in the glossary, the chapter appears to working from a standard definition similar to the  “literary work in which special intensity is given to the expression of feelings and ideas by the use of distinctive style and rhythm” (Oxford American Dictionaries). Drama is related to performance with different characters speaking in prose or poetry. Fiction is identified as a genre that tends to be misinterpreted as “not true,” but Dr. Crain defines fiction as stories that have been made up imaginatively which metaphorically tell the truth of human experience (p. 67).\n\n As part of the preliminary considerations, Dr. Crain notes the essential elements of narratives: plot, characterization, setting, point of view, voice, and closure. These elements are common to all narratives. She also identifies the narrative devices specifically used in the Bible: repetition, omission, dialogue, and irony. Fiction, drama, and poetry are all linked through the use of speech to either cloud or unveil characters inner thoughts and motives.\n\nGenre criticism, composed of genre theory, has been controversial and has fallen in and out of usage throughout time. Genre theory is the process of dividing literature into different types and naming those types. There have been many questions about this process throughout the years of its use. One must decide if genres are objective, if they cross cultural bounds, and if they change over time. \n\nThe meat of the chapter was dedicated toward narrative. Narrative consists of episodes, containing rising, turning, and falling action that link multiple stories together. Bibles of today generally have clear headings and spaces that separate different stories and episodes, but the point at which one idea ends and another begins has been the source of much debate. Stories contain structured plots, protagonists, and themes. A great example of this form is found in the story of Zacchaeus. Another prime example is the story of Elisha replenishing the oil stores for a poor widow with no means of paying off a debt and providing for her children. Both these stories contain the aspects of a story.\n\nEpisodes create the larger structure around “the simplest unit of narrative,” the story.  One example of an episode is parallel stories. The example of Elisha and the poor widow is exemplary of an episode because it parallels a story of Elijah and a poor widow (p.72).  The continual reoccurrence of parallel stories is called a type-scene. Type-scenes and parallel stories can link the Old and New Testaments together in the same way that those stories of Elisha and Elijah are related to each other.\n\n Genesis is used as en example of coherence and unity as a book. Genesis is similar to ancient, pre-scientific historiography and uses myth, legend, tales, sagen, and novelettes. It is also en excellent example of the five parts of a story: exposition (Garden of Eden), complication (Serpent tempts Adam and Eve), crisis (sin), falling action (expelled from the Garden), and resolution (curses and provision of clothing). Genesis is also structured to contain acts, or groups of stories, and cycles that contain overarching macro plots. Overall, Genesis contains many examples of the organizational principles of stories and narrative (p. 77).\n\nThe book of Job is used as an example of many forms of drama and poetry. This book combines moral and legal issues and aspects of comedy and tragedy. It also contains a prologue, an epilogue, speeches, aphorisms, parable, hymns, laments, metrical symmetry, and legal debates. Job also contains many poetic techniques like repetition, allusion, figurative language, imagery, and formal structure (p.84). The extended use of binary form can be described as “extreme parallelism” which uses different words to express the same ideas (p. 85).\n\nThis chapter was well written. I was able to follow the flow of ideas from genre and genre criticism through the explanation of narrative and concluding with drama and poetry. The identification of episodes and the different ways they can ties stories together was well organized and provides very useful information for the reader. The use of Genesis and Job as larger scale works that exemplify the qualities of narrative, drama, and poetry worked very well. \n\nThe contents of this chapter will help readers to identify the type of genre being used by a Biblical author and identify the strategies, devices, and patterns used to gain a clearer understanding of the Bible on both the small scale and large scale view of the entire collection of Biblical books. The description of cycles was very interesting and their identification will allow readers to see the parallel lines that are repeated in different stories.\n\nThe overall structural form of the book is the only drawback to this chapter. This book lives in a realm somewhere between textbook and informative book. It contains some of the typical textbook supportive material like an outline and bolded words, as well as questions and activities at the end of the chapter. Unfortunately it lacks some of the typical textbook structure like vignettes in the side margin that clarify concepts, definitions within the text for ease of access, diagrams, timelines, and pictures. “Reading the Bible as Literature” resembles an informative book in its shape, page size, use of headings, and expectation of certain vocabulary words being understood without explanation.\n\n In my opinion, one of these styles of structure should be developed to a fuller extent. The form of the book essentially falls to its purpose as intended by the author. If the book were intended for study in an academic situation involving class discussions, homework, projects, a textbook structure would be more beneficial to aid in student comprehension and synthesis of concepts. If the book were intended for individual self-improvement study, education, and growth, then a more traditional structure of informative book would be more beneficial. One structure or another would solidify the purpose and structure of the book.\n\nIn conclusion, Dr. Crain does an excellent job of describing the major genres of literature and specifically the Bible. She thoroughly describes narrative, drama, and poetry and provides major examples of each of these genres. Reconsidering the structure of the book would increase comprehension for the reader, but the current structure still communicates the concepts in an understandable manner.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9959273934364319}
+{"content": "Hindu Vivek Kendra\n  HVK HomepageHindu Vivek Kendra\n\n22. Please tell us about the letter given to the Prime Minister by a Sarvodaya leader working in Dangs.\n\n      The name of the leader is Ghelubhai Nayak, and a letter was given not only to the Prime Minister during his visit in January 1999, but also to the National Minorities Commission which had visited Gujarat in connection with the alleged attacks on minorities in the state, and the National Human Rights Commission when it visited Dangs district in January 1999. Ghelubhai says that he has no connection with any of the Sangh organisations. He has been working in Dangs since 1948 and so has good knowledge of the area's social issues.\n     He is 'anguished' to narrate the 'ground realities behind the recent violent incidents in Dangs'. They have been 'deliberately ignored by large sections of the media', which has 'violated the atmosphere further.' There is 'no dearth of evidence' to prove that the violence is a 'reaction to the organised conversion activities of the Christian missionaries'. The means are 'clearly questionable and even illegal', and a 'curious mix of blind faith and allurements' have been used. The Christian population of Dangs has increased from 500 in 1951 to more than 35,000, or over 30% of the population in the district.\n    Ghelubhai accuses the missionaries of 'poisoning' the minds of the tribals, and 'inculcating a spirit in them which clearly goes against true secularism.' On Christmas day 'some Christian youths pelted stones on the rally of the Hindu Jagran Manch and burnt a jeep of a tribal participant.' The ire 'against the Christians in the area has been rising for past few years and has reached a boil now because of the provocative activities of the Christians, under influence of their preachers.' There have been 15 cases of desecration of idols of Lord Hanuman, 'who is worshipped by the tribals for ages'. Tension has been created by the Christians 'publicly calling Hindu Gods as Shaitans (demons), again under the influence of their preachers.' These preachers also entice the tribals to desist from participating in the traditional festivals of the area.\n     The social conflicts increased on account of conversions, which tended to divide the families. The nephew of the former Bhil Raja of L for his refusal to marry his son to a Christian. The Christians there have also opposed to the construction of a Hanuman temple on land owned by the Raja of Linga, Bhavar Singh.\n    Ghelubhai wrote in his letter that both Mahatma Gandhi and Vinobha Bhave were against conversions, and the latter wanted a ban on them.\n\n\nGo BackGo to Next Page\n\nHindu Vivek Kendra, 5/12, Kamat Industrial Estate,\nOpp. Siddhivinayak Mandir, Prabhadevi, Mumbai - 400 025", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6235098242759705}
+{"content": "Possible evolution of alliarinoside biosynthesis from the glucosinolate pathway in Alliaria petiolata\n\n\nB. L. Møller, Plant Biochemistry Laboratory, Department of Plant Biology and Biotechnology, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, DK-1871 Frederiksberg, Denmark\nFax: +45 35 333 333\nTel: +45 35 333 352\nE-mail: blm@life.ku.dk\nWebsite: http://www.plbio.life.ku.dk/English/Sections/plchem.aspx\n\n\nNitrile formation in plants involves the activity of cytochrome P450s. Hydroxynitrile glucosides are widespread among plants but generally do not occur in glucosinolate producing species. Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard, Brassicaceae) is the only species known to produce glucosinolates as well as a γ-hydroxynitrile glucoside. Furthermore, A. petiolata has been described to release diffusible cyanide, which indicates the presence of unidentified cyanogenic glucoside(s). Our research on A. petiolata addresses the molecular evolution of P450s. By integrating current knowledge about glucosinolate and hydroxynitrile glucoside biosynthesis in other species and new visions on recurrent evolution of hydroxynitrile glucoside biosynthesis, we propose a pathway for biosynthesis of the γ-hydroxynitrile glucoside, alliarinoside. Homomethionine and the corresponding oxime are suggested as shared intermediates in the biosynthesis of alliarinoside and 2-propenyl glucosinolate. The first committed step in the alliarinoside pathway is envisioned to be catalysed by a P450, which has been recruited to metabolize the oxime. Furthermore, alliarinoside biosynthesis is suggested to involve enzyme activities common to secondary modification of glucosinolates. Thus, we argue that biosynthesis of alliarinoside may be the first known case of a hydroxynitrile glucoside pathway having evolved from the glucosinolate pathway. An intriguing question is whether the proposed hydroxynitrile intermediate may also be converted to novel homomethionine-derived cyanogenic glucoside(s), which could release cyanide. Elucidation of the pathway for biosynthesis of alliarinoside and other putative hydroxynitrile glucosides in A. petiolata is envisioned to offer significant new knowledge on the emerging picture of P450 functional dynamics as a basis for recurrent evolution of pathways for bioactive natural product biosynthesis.\n\n\nalkenyl/hydroxy(OH)alkyl producing enzyme\n\n\ncytochrome P450 monooxygenase\n\n\nflavin monooxygenase\n\n\ncytochrome P450 monooxygenase\n\n\nUDP-glucosyl transferase\n\n\nBioactive natural products containing a nitrile functional group (RC≡N) are widespread in biological systems and have been described in animals, plants, algae, sponges, fungi and bacteria [1,2]. Cyanogenic glucosides represent the largest group of nitrile glucosides occurring in more than 2650 higher plant species within pteridophytes, gymnosperms and angiosperms as well as in a few arthropod species [3–5]. Cyanogenic glucosides are β-glucosides of α-hydroxynitriles and in some plant species they co-occur with structurally related non-cyanogenic β- and γ-hydroxynitrile glucosides [6]. Another type of natural products containing a nitrile functional group is the cyanolipids, a small group of fatty acid esters of α- or γ-hydroxynitriles. Their occurrence appears to be restricted to plant species within the Sapindaceae and Hippocastanaceae [6,7]. In the Brassicales order, nitriles may be detected as degradation products of glucosinolates and as intermediates in the biosynthesis of tryptophan-derived phytoalexins. Indolacetonitrile may also serve as an intermediate in the biosynthesis of the phytohormone indolyl-3-acetic acid [8–10]. Natural products harbouring the nitrile functional group are all thought to be derived from amino acids in plants, arthropods, bacteria and fungi [1,6,11]. Amino acids can be converted into oximes via N-hydroxylation, decarboxylation and dehydration reactions. The resulting oximes are subsequently converted into the corresponding nitriles by dehydration. In plants, these reactions are all catalysed by cytochrome P450 monooxygenases (P450s) belonging to the CYP71 clan [3,6,9,12,13].\n\nAlliarinoside is a α-β unsaturated γ-hydroxynitrile glucoside found in Alliaria petiolata (M.Bieb.) Cavara and Grande (garlic mustard), a member of Brassicaceae [14]. Recently, A. petiolata has developed into an aggressive invasive species in North America and research efforts to determine its chemical ecology and how the arsenal of natural products may contribute to invasiveness have been initiated. A. petiolata is the only species known to contain glucosinolates as well as a γ-hydroxynitrile glucoside. Furthermore, A. petiolata has been reported to release hydrogen cyanide [15], which indicates the presence of an unidentified cyanogenic glucoside. This review focuses on the co-occurrence of glucosinolates, alliarinoside and possibly also a cyanogenic glucoside in A. petiolata and addresses the knowledge about P450 evolution that may be gained from elucidation of the evolutionary relationship between biosynthesis of these three classes of bioactive natural products.\n\nAlliaria petiolata\n\nA. petiolata is a biennial herb belonging to the Brassicaceae. It is native to the Eurasian temperate zone and is an invasive species in North American deciduous forests, where it has spread to at least 34 US states and four Canadian provinces since its first reported occurrence in 1868 [16]. The introduction of A. petiolata has presumably occurred from multiple European sources as indicated by analyses of genetic variation [17,18]. The successful invasion of North America may be attributed to the chemical arsenal carried by A. petiolata mediating resistance to herbivory by endemic species [14,19–21] as well as inhibiting the growth, survival and reproduction of surrounding plant species, a phenomenon known as allelopathy [22–28].\n\nAlliarinoside was initially isolated from the foliage of A. petiolata and characterized as (Z)-4-(β-d-glucopyranosyloxy)but-2-enenitrile [14] (Fig. 1). It has not been described in any other species and has insect-deterring properties. Using bioassays with larvae of the butterfly Pieris napi oleracea, which uses various other Brassicaceae species as host plants, isolated alliarinoside was found to inhibit herbivory [14,21]. The larvae were observed to feed for 4 h before they became motionless and stopped further feeding attempts. Hence, the effect of alliarinoside on the larvae was post-ingestive [21]. This was contrasted by a more immediate deterring effect observed following ingestion of isovitexin 6″-d-β-glucopyranoside, another bioactive natural product present in A. petiolata [21]. This flavone diglucoside has also been found in the distantly related Gentiana arisanensis (Gentianaceae) [29]. A. petiolata contains a range of other flavonoid glucosides [20,21]. Flavonoid biosynthesis includes a number of P450-catalysed reactions beyond the scope of this nitrile-focused review.\n\nFigure 1.\n\n Chemical structure of alliarinoside and glucosinolates in A. petiolata. The structure of alliarinoside and 2-propenyl glucosinolate, both of which are suggested to be derived from homomethionine, are shown in full with the corresponding parts of the side chain highlighted in blue. 1, 2-propenyl glucosinolate; 2, 3-butenyl glucosinolate; 3, benzyl glucosinolate; 4, phenylethyl glucosinolate; 5, indol-3-ylmethyl glucosinolate; 6, 4-hydroxy-indol-3-ylmethyl glucosinolate. R, variable side chain.\n\nDifferent glucosinolates have been described in A. petiolata (Fig. 1). 2-Propenyl glucosinolate has been reported most frequently and appears to be the most abundant glucosinolate in aerial tissues [28,30–33]. However, in one study 2-propenyl glucosinolate was detected in leaves and stems at an early stage of development in autumn but not after the onset of flowering in spring. In roots, 2-propenyl glucosinolate was present at both analysed stages [28]. This indicates that A. petiolata exhibits developmental- and tissue-specific patterns in the accumulation of glucosinolates, a phenomenon also observed in other glucosinolate producing species [34,35]. In support of this notion, it was concluded in a review of glucosinolate content of various species that there is quantitative and frequently also qualitative variation in the glucosinolate content between A. petiolata tissues, during the growth cycle, and between seeds of different origin [32]. This may explain why other glucosinolates have not been reported consistently in analyses of A. petiolata glucosinolates. Benzyl glucosinolate has been found in roots and aerial tissues [28,31,32,36]. There is one report of phenylethyl glucosinolate from roots [32], while another study could not detect it in foliage [31]. The presence of 3-butenyl glucosinolate in amounts comparable with those of 2-propenyl glucosinolate has been deduced from measurements of the degradation product but-3-enylisothiocyanate [37]. Indol-3-ylmethyl glucosinolate and 4-hydroxy-indol-3-ylmethyl glucosinolate have been detected in all plant parts [30,33]. In addition, Huang et al. found indications of an unidentified glucosinolate, which was not 2-propenyl glucosinolate, benzyl glucosinolate or phenylethyl glucosinolate, but was reported as being aromatic [31]. In summary, A. petiolata has been reported to contain glucosinolates derived from homomethionine, dihomomethionine, phenylalanine, homophenylalanine and tryptophan. These glucosinolates may be differentially expressed in different ecotypes or populations of A. petiolata as observed in Arabidopsis [38]. In a study comparing the concentration of defence compounds in A. petiolata collected at different sites, the observed population differences in unspecified glucosinolate content disappeared when field-collected seedlings were transplanted to pots and grown in a greenhouse under controlled conditions. Hence, the site-based variation in total glucosinolate content was apparently due to environmental rather than genetic differences [19]. This illustrates that glucosinolate profiles as well as those of other classes of natural products are regulated and highly variable. The content of alliarinoside has not been found to vary significantly between different populations grown under controlled conditions [39,40]. Changes in the concentration of alliarinoside have been observed in reaction to jasmonic acid treatment [39] supporting the notion of alliarinoside being a herbivore defence compound. It remains to be clarified whether the alliarinoside content is subjected to regulation in response to other environmental stimuli.\n\nTo enable genetic fingerprinting and the investigation of breeding patterns of A. petiolata, microsatellite loci have been identified [41]. A genome sequencing project has not yet been initiated. Reports of chromosome numbers of 2n = 14 or 42 have led to the assumption that = 7 and hence that A. petiolata exists as diploid and hexaploid variants. The diploid variants occur in Western Asia with an accession from Lesser Caucasus being the westernmost diploid A. petiolata described [42]. Hexaploids occur in Central and Western Europe and North America, although a few accessions from the Netherlands and Sweden have also been reported as having 2n = 36 [42,43]. Investigations of A. petiolata from Southeast Europe and Turkey are needed for determining the borders of cytotype distribution [42]. Most investigations of the natural product composition of A. petiolata have been carried out using plants obtained from North America and Western Europe and are therefore assumed to involve hexaploid plants [14,19–21,24,28,30,33,39,40]. Elucidation of the biosynthesis of natural products such as alliarinoside in A. petiolata would be simpler using diploid specimens. It remains to be established whether hexaploid A. petiolata is autopolyploid or allopolyploid, meaning that the polyploidy originates from conspecific parents or from hybridization of two or more species. In the case of allopolyploidy, the natural product profile found in diploids will most probably differ both qualitatively and quantitatively from the profile of polyploids. It is noticeable that while alliarinoside has been detected consistently in all analysed populations from Western Europe and North America [14,21,24,39,40], no trace of alliarinoside was detected in A. petiolata collected in the sub Mediterranean region of South Croatia [36], a geographic site approaching the diploid distribution area. However, in the latter study volatile aglucones obtained following β-glucosidase treatment of O-glucosides were detected using gas chromatography and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry and 20% of the aglucones in A. petiolata remained unidentified and may have included the aglucone of alliarinoside. Hence, possible differences in metabolite profiles between diploid and hexaploid A. petiolata remain to be resolved.\n\nCyanogenic glucosides – widespread nitrile-containing natural products\n\nCyanogenic glucosides are present in many plants and have traditionally been viewed as phytoanticipins defending the plant against attacking herbivores and pathogens. When the plant tissue is disrupted, the compartmentalized cyanogenic glucoside is brought into contact with hydrolytic enzymes. A β-glucosidase cleaves the glucosidic linkage yielding the corresponding α-hydroxynitrile (cyanohydrin). The α-hydroxynitrile dissociates into a ketone or an aldehyde and hydrogen cyanide (HCN) either catalysed by an α-hydroxynitrile lyase or spontaneously due to the labile nature of the α-hydroxynitrile at pH values above 6. Due to the release of toxic volatile HCN, the process is denoted cyanogenesis. In addition to functioning as defence compounds, cyanogenic glucosides are emerging as storage and transport forms of reduced nitrogen and glucose with turnover into primary metabolism [6,44].\n\nMost of the over 60 known cyanogenic glucosides are derived from the five amino acids valine, leucine, isoleucine, phenylalanine and tyrosine. In addition, Passifloraceae contains cyanogenic glucosides derived from the rare non-protein amino acid 2-cyclopentenylglycine, and nicotinic acid seems to be the precursor in Acalypha indica (Euphorbiaceae) [45,46]. The enzymes catalysing cyanogenic glucoside biosynthesis and the corresponding structural genes were initially identified from Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench (Poaceae), which synthesizes the tyrosine-derived cyanogenic glucoside dhurrin. Two membrane-anchored multifunctional P450s and a soluble UDP-glucosyl transferase (UGT) catalyse dhurrin biosynthesis in a highly channelled manner [47–55]. The first P450, CYP79A1, converts tyrosine into the corresponding oxime through multiple reaction steps involving two molecular oxygen- and NADPH-dependent N-hydroxylations (Fig. 2). The oxime is further metabolized into the corresponding α-hydroxynitrile through dehydration and an NADPH-dependent C-hydroxylation catalysed by another multifunctional P450, CYP71E1. Finally, UGT85B1 catalyses glucosylation of the α-hydroxynitrile to form the cyanogenic glucoside dhurrin.\n\nFigure 2.\n\n Biosynthetic pathway of the cyanogenic glucoside dhurrin in S. bicolor. CYP79A1 is a multifunctional P450 catalysing the conversion of l-tyrosine into the corresponding oxime. Subsequent formation of the corresponding nitrile and α-hydroxynitrile is catalysed by another multifunctional P450, CYP71E1. Glucosylation catalysed by the UDP-glucosyl transferase UGT85B1 results in dhurrin formation. References are given in the text.\n\nThe genes encoding the enzymes catalysing the entire biosynthetic pathway have been identified in S. bicolor, Manihot esculenta and Lotus japonicus [12,48,52,54,56–59] (Table 1). M. esculenta and L. japonicus both synthesize two cyanogenic glucosides, lotaustralin and linamarin, derived from isoleucine and valine, respectively. In other species, including Linum usitatissimum, Hordeum vulgare, Prunus dulcis, Trifolium repens, Triglochin maritima and Ribes uva-crispa, the biosynthetic pathway has been partially or fully biochemically elucidated via enzyme activity studies using radiolabelled precursors and intermediates, but most or all of the responsible genes remain to be identified [60–66]. In all studied cases, the classes of intermediates involved in cyanogenic glucoside biosynthesis from different amino acids have been the same as initially found in the S. bicolor system. All presently identified enzymes catalysing the amino acid to oxime conversion belong to the CYP79 family and exhibit high substrate specificity for the amino acid corresponding to the cyanogenic glucosides found in the plant in which the enzyme was identified [3,6,49,56,57] (Table 1). Opposed to this, the second P450 and the UGT catalysing the subsequent biosynthetic steps are promiscuous enzymes capable of metabolizing oximes and hydroxynitriles, respectively, which are derived from various amino acids [6,49,54,55].\n\nTable 1.   Overview of P450s involved in the biosynthesis of hydroxynitrile glucosides, glucosinolates and camalexin. In the column stating the metabolic activity of the P450s the substrate and product of the reaction are indicated. The main references are highlighted in bold. In addition, the P450s involved in the biosynthesis of glucosinolates and the tryptophan-derived phytoalexin camalexin have been reviewed in references 8,13,80.\nP450Involved in the biosynthetic pathway ofMetabolic activity of P450Plant speciesReferences\nBiosynthesis of hydroxynitrile glucosides\n CYP79A1DhurrinTyr to oximeSorghum bicolor3,12,48,49,51,52\n CYP79D1Lotaustralin and linamarinIle/Val to oximeManihot esculenta3,12,56,58,59\n CYP79D2Lotaustralin and linamarinIle/Val to oximeManihot esculenta3,12,56\n CYP79D3Lotaustralin, linamarin, rhodiocyanoside A and DIle/Val to oximeLotus japonicus3,12,57\n CYP79D4Lotaustralin, linamarin, rhodiocyanoside A and DIle/Val to oximeLotus japonicus3,12,57\n CYP79E1Taxiphyllin and triglochininTyr to oximeTriglochin maritima3,63,64\n CYP79E2Taxiphyllin and triglochininTyr to oximeTriglochin maritima3,63,64\n Unknownα-, β-, γ-Hydroxynitrile glucosidesLeu to oximeHordeum vulgare6,61,65,71\n CYP71E1DhurrinTyr-oxime to hydroxynitrileSorghum bicolor3,12,47–49\n CYP71E7Lotaustralin and linamarinIle-/Val-oxime to hydroxynitrileManihot esculenta12,58,59\n CYP736A2Lotaustralin and linamarinIle-/Val-oxime to hydroxynitrileLotus japonicus12\n UnidentifiedTaxiphyllin and triglochininTyr-oxime to nitrileTriglochin maritima64\n Unknownα-, β-, γ-Hydroxynitrile glucosidesLeu-oxime to hydroxynitrileHordeum vulgare6,61,65,71\nBiosynthesis of glucosinolates and indole phytoalexins\n CYP79A2BenzylglucosinolatePhe to oximeArabidopsis thaliana82\n CYP79B1Indole glucosinolatesTrp to oximeSinapis alba87\n CYP79B2Indole glucosinolates, camalexin, and possibly indole-3-acetic acidTrp to oximeArabidopsis thaliana85,86,89,116\n CYP79B3Indole glucosinolates, camalexin, and possibly indole-3-acetic acidTrp to oximeArabidopsis thaliana85,89,116\n CYP79F1Aliphatic glucosinolatesAll chain-elongated Met derivatives to oximeArabidopsis thaliana81,88,95\n CYP79F2Aliphatic glucosinolatesLong-chain-elongated pentahomomethionine and hexahomomethionine to oximeArabidopsis thaliana88\n CYP83A1Aliphatic glucosinolatesOxime oxidationArabidopsis thaliana83,117\n CYP83B1Indole and benzenic glucosinolatesOxime oxidationArabidopsis thaliana83,84,89,117,118\n CYP71A13CamalexinTrp-oxime to nitrileArabidopsis thaliana9\n\nCyanogenic glucosides are widely distributed in the plant kingdom. Aromatic cyanogenic glucosides are present in pteridophytes, gymnosperms and angiosperms, while aliphatic cyanogenic glucosides are found in the monocot order Poales as well as in eudicots. Accordingly, the ability to synthesize cyanogenic glucosides has been regarded as an ancient trait and it has been assumed that the pathways for aliphatic cyanogenic glucosides evolved from the aromatic pathways [3]. As more genome sequences have become available and biosynthetic genes have been identified from more species, the data obtained suggest recurrent evolution of cyanogenic glucoside biosynthesis. It was recently discovered that in L. japonicus the oxime to nitrile conversion is catalysed by CYP736A2, which is not a CYP71 family member like the other identified nitrile-forming enzymes in cyanogenic glucoside synthesis but belongs to another family in the diverse multifamily CYP71 clan comprising half of all known higher plant P450s [12,67]. Furthermore, the amino acid to oxime catalysing enzymes in L. japonicus, CYP79D3 and CYP79D4, are related but not orthologous to the oxime-metabolizing CYP79s present in S. bicolor and M. esculenta [12]. This strongly indicates that the ability to synthesize cyanogenic glucosides has evolved independently in plants at least twice. The families of CYP79s and CYP71s are absent from gymnosperms and pteridophytes and appear to have arisen in angiosperms [67]. This suggests that biosynthesis of cyanogenic glucosides in the two former taxa is catalysed by P450s from other families than the presently elucidated angiosperm pathways and could thus represent other example(s) of independent recruitment of P450s to catalyse amino acid to oxime conversion and subsequent hydroxynitrile formation. The primary approach for identifying genes involved in biosynthesis of cyanogenic glucoside has been to search for genes showing high sequence homology to the biochemically identified S. bicolor genes. This strategy may be futile in some species, if independent evolution of cyanogenic glucosides is more widespread than previously expected [12]. If the finding of genomic clustering of the cyanogenic glucoside biosynthetic genes in L. japonicus, S. bicolor and M. esculenta is a general feature, this may guide the identification of genes involved in cyanogenic defence pathways in a more diverse range of plant species [12].\n\nβ- and γ-hydroxynitrile glucosides\n\nSeveral plant species containing aliphatic cyanogenic glucosides also produce structurally related β- and γ-hydroxynitrile glucosides derived from the same amino acid as the cyanogenic α-hydroxynitrile glucosides present [6,45,61]. β- and γ-hydroxynitrile glucosides are not as widespread in the plant kingdom as cyanogenic glucosides but have been described in species within Poaceae, Fabaceae, Rosaceae, Crassulaceae, Grossulariaceae and possibly also Euphorbiaceae [6,45,61], demonstrating that they occur in monocots as well as eudicots. Alliarinoside in A. petiolata is the single known case of γ-hydroxynitrile glucoside occurrence in Brassicaceae, where no β-hydroxynitrile glucosides have been described. The findings of co-occurrence and a common amino acid precursor of cyanogenic glucosides and β- and γ-hydroxynitrile glucosides in a number of species strongly imply that β- and γ-hydroxynitrile glucosides are not only structurally but also biosynthetically related to α-hydroxynitriles [6]. This is supported by evidence that the same isoleucine-derived oxime is a shared intermediate in the biosynthesis of the α-, β- and γ-hydroxynitrile glucosides present in L. japonicus [12,57,68]. Based on current knowledge, different evolutionary scenarios may be proposed for the biosynthesis of β- and γ-hydroxynitrile glucosides. It has been suggested to reflect evolutionary diversification of the second P450 in the cyanogenic glucoside pathway [65]. Based on the suite of leucine-derived hydroxynitrile glucosides present in H. vulgare, it has been proposed that a single P450 is capable of hydroxylating all individual carbon atoms in the nitrile intermediate [65]. Subsequent glucosylation, either directly or following dehydration reactions and additional C-hydroxylation(s) of the nitrile intermediate, could suffice to yield the entire range of saturated and unsaturated α-, β- and γ-hydroxynitrile glucosides in H. vulgare. This biosynthetic scheme can also be adopted to explain the isoleucine-derived hydroxynitrile glucosides in species of Ribes and Rhodiola [6]. However, it is also possible that parallel oxime-metabolizing P450s could be operating in the respective pathways for cyanogenic glucoside and β- and γ-hydroxynitrile glucoside formation [6]. This notion is supported by the recent discovery that, in L. japonicus, the oxime-metabolizing P450 in the β- and γ-hydroxynitrile glucoside pathway differs from that catalysing the cyanogenic glucoside pathway (Søren Bak, personal communication). The existence of parallel oxime-metabolizing P450s could originate from duplication of the gene encoding the oxime-metabolizing P450 in cyanogenic glucoside biosynthesis and subsequent evolution of one of the paralogues to catalyse β- and γ-hydroxynitrile formation [3]. However, it is also possible that a P450 was recruited from outside the cyanogenic glucoside pathway to catalyse β- and γ-hydroxynitrile glucoside formation. Such P450s would be expected to belong to the CYP71 clan but not necessarily to be a member of the CYP71 family.\n\nIn summary, co-occurrence of α-, β- and γ-hydroxynitrile glucosides could reflect evolutionary expansion of the substrate specificity of a single oxime-metabolizing P450, paralogous oxime-metabolizing P450s, or recruitment of a new P450 to catalyse β- and γ-hydroxynitrile glucoside biosynthesis. In light of the evidence of recurrent evolution of cyanogenic glucosides [12], different evolutionary events may turn out to be the underlying cause in different species.\n\nHydrolysis of the β-glucosidic bond in β- and γ-hydroxynitrile glucosides results in formation of stable hydroxynitriles and accordingly no cyanogenesis. L. japonicus contains two β-glucosidases capable of hydrolysing the β- and γ-hydroxynitrile glucosides in this species, but only one of these enzymes also hydrolyses the two present α-hydroxynitrile glucosides in vivo. Hence, catabolism of cyanogenic and acyanogenic hydroxynitrile glucosides is potentially uncoupled in L. japonicus. Accordingly, the hydroxynitrile glucosides may play separate biological roles [69]. Not much is known about the function of β- and γ-hydroxynitrile glucosides. They may serve as nitrogen storage compounds in parallel with cyanogenic glucosides [6,44]. γ-Hydroxynitrile glucosides are dominant compared with α- and β-hydroxynitrile glucosides in H. vulgare and in Ribes and Rhodiola species. Biosynthesis of the γ-hydroxynitrile glucosides is energetically more costly than cyanogenic glucoside biosynthesis, as γ-hydroxynitrile glucoside formation requires one or two additional hydroxylations. Thus, their strong dominance implies a biological function [6]. As mentioned above, H. vulgare contains a suite of leucine-derived β- and γ-hydroxynitrile glucosides and a single cyanogenic glucoside in the leaves. The absence of an endogenous β-glucosidase, except in the endosperm of the germinating seed, indicates that their biological role in H. vulgare does not rely on hydrolysis in planta [65]. However, as some herbivores contain β-glucosidases capable of cleaving hydroxynitrile glucosides [70], a role in plant defence involving hydrolysis of the β-glucosidic linkage is most likely. Investigations of H. vulgare during infection with the powdery mildew-causing fungus Blumeria graminis have indicated a protective role of β- and γ-hydroxynitrile glucosides in comparison with the α-hydroxynitrile glucoside [71]. Hence, in the light of powdery mildew infections it has been suggested advantageous for H. vulgare to produce β- and γ- hydroxynitrile glucosides instead of an α-hydroxynitrile glucoside to prevent attack by the fungus [6]. This may explain why β- and γ-hydroxynitrile glucosides constitute by far the major part of the hydroxynitrile glucoside content in commercial H. vulgare cultivars [65,71]. It has been suggested that the obligate biotrophic fungus uses the hydroxynitrile glucosides in host recognition and as a nutrient source of reduced nitrogen and glucose [44,71]. However, the mechanisms in powdery mildew–H. vulgare hydroxynitrile glucoside interactions remain to be further explored.\n\nIn recent investigations of hydroxynitrile glucosides in L. japonicus, it was found that following β-glucosidase cleavage the aglucone of the γ-hydroxynitrile glucoside rhodiocyanoside A may cyclize into a toxic lactone (Søren Bak, personal communication). A mechanism for lactone formation from γ-hydroxynitrile glucosides has previously been suggested [6]. This would involve conversion of the nitrile group of the aglucone into a carboxyl group by the action of a nitrilase. Subsequent cyclization into the lactone may be spontaneous or enzymatically catalysed and was shown in L. japonicus to be dependent on the presence of the double bond and the (Z)-configuration of rhodiocyanoside A (Søren Bak, personal communication). Considering the structure of alliarinoside in A. petiolata, lactone formation may also occur upon hydrolysis of this unsaturated γ-hydroxynitrile glucoside. Furanones (e.g. lactones) from plants, algae and fungi are known to have antimicrobial and antifungal properties [72,73]. In agreement with this, growth of mycorrhizal fungi is inhibited in A. petiolata inhabited soil, thereby diminishing the emergence, growth and survival of mycorrhizal plant species [24]. The antifungal effect has also been reported in soils treated with extracts of A. petiolata enriched in alliarinoside and unspecified flavonoids but devoid of glucosinolates. Hence, the authors attributed the mycorrhizal inhibition to flavonoids [24]. However, it is likely that alliarinoside contributed to the observed allelopathic effect of A. petiolata, possibly through anti-mycorrhizal lactone formation.\n\nGlucosinolates and their biosynthesis\n\nGlucosinolates are S-glucopyranosyl thiohydroxymates occurring in the Brassicales order and in the unrelated genus Drypetes (Euphorbiaceae, Malpighiales) [74,75]. Like cyanogenic glucosides, they play important roles as defence compounds following hydrolysis by myrosinases (thioglucoside glucohydrolases). The hydrolysis products are glucose and an unstable aglucone, which rearranges to form bioactive isothiocyanates, nitriles and other products [8]. The type of breakdown products formed depends on the reaction conditions, the structure of the glucosinolate and its subsequent modifications, and the presence of cofactors and catalysing proteins [13,76,77].\n\nElucidation of the biosynthetic pathway has benefited greatly from the prior elucidation of the genes encoding the cyanogenic glucoside pathway and from the molecular and genetic tools tied to the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana (Brassicaceae), which produce about 40 different glucosinolates, mainly derived from methionine and tryptophan. A recent special issue of Phytochemistry Reviews focuses on many aspects of glucosinolate research, including their role in invasive plants such as A. petiolata [78,79].\n\nOverall, glucosinolate biosynthesis may involve three major steps: (a) chain elongation of the amino acid precursor; (b) formation of the glucosinolate core structure; and (c) secondary modifications of the amino acid side chain [8,80]. The more than 120 known glucosinolates are derived from only eight different amino acids – alanine, leucine, isoleucine, valine, methionine, phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan [74]. The high structural diversity is due to secondary modifications such as hydroxylations, desaturations and glucosylations, and in some cases chain elongation of methionine and phenylalanine by insertion of methylene groups prior to glucosinolate core structure formation.\n\nThe pathway for the core structure involves intermediates common to all glucosinolates (Fig. 3). As in cyanogenic glucoside biosynthesis, the amino acid precursors are converted into oximes by CYP79 family enzymes, which are the only side-chain-specific enzymes in the core glucosinolate pathway [8,81,82]. Another P450 of the CYP83 family oxidizes the oxime, thereby forming a highly reactive product proposed to be either an aci-nitro compound or the dehydrated analogue, a nitrile oxide [83,84]. Based on the level of amino acid sequence homology, CYP83s ought to have been assigned to the CYP71 family. However, to avoid confusion the originally published nomenclature has been kept [3,67]. CYP79 homologues catalysing oxime formation in glucosinolate biosynthesis have been identified in A. thaliana and Sinapis alba [81,82,85–89]. The function of five of the seven CYP79 homologues in the A. thaliana genome has been characterized. They are all involved in glucosinolate biosynthesis and show narrow substrate specificity for particular amino acids or their chain-elongated amino acid derivatives [13] (Table 1).\n\nFigure 3.\n\n Biosynthesis of glucosinolate core structure. Amino acids or chain-elongated derivatives are converted into oximes by CYP79s. The products from the oxime-metabolizing CYP83s are thought to be aci-nitro compounds or nitrile oxides. Conjugation to the sulfur donor, glutathione (GSH) is suggested to be catalysed by glutathione-S-transferases (GST) and subsequent cleavage of the glutathione conjugates are catalysed by γ-glutamyl peptidases (GPP). It is currently unknown whether cysteine–glycine conjugates or cysteine conjugates are the substrates of the involved C-S lyase. Thioglucosyltransferases (S-GT) and sulfotransferases (ST) catalyse the subsequent steps to yield glucosinolates [80,97]. R, variable side chain.\n\nThe ability to produce cyanogenic glucosides has generally been found to be mutually exclusive to the ability to synthesize glucosinolates. CYP79-catalysed oxime formation from amino acids and the subsequent CYP71/83-catalysed conversion of the oximes are common features of the pathways of cyanogenic glucoside and glucosinolate biosynthesis. Accordingly, it has been hypothesized that genes have been recruited from the pathway of cyanogenic glucoside biosynthesis into the more recently evolved glucosinolate pathway [3,8]. It has been suggested that glucosinolates evolved as a means of detoxifying intermediates in a mutated cyanogenic glucoside pathway [8]. A mutation in the oxime-metabolizing CYP71 could result in a toxic product such as the reactive aci-nitro compound or nitrile oxide, which the plant subsequently had to find means to process. Accordingly, the enzymes downstream of CYP83 in the core glucosinolate pathway may have been recruited from other pathways to promote the detoxification. In accordance with this hypothesis, glucosyltransferases as well as sulfotransferases are mediators of detoxification processes occurring widely in nature [8]. However, in light of the recent evidence of recurrent evolution of cyanogenic glucosides, a likely scenario may be that the glucosinolates did not originate from the cyanogenic glucoside pathway [12]. It is equally likely that the pathways for cyanogenic glucosides and glucosinolates evolved independently from the predisposition to produce oximes by CYP79 homologues and the subsequent need to convert the oximes into less labile and toxic compounds. CYP79 encoding genes are present in species producing neither glucosinolates nor cyanogenic glucosides, e.g. Glycine max and Populus trichocarpa, and some cyanogenic species harbour additional CYP79 genes unlikely to be involved in cyanogenic glucoside synthesis, e.g. L. japonicus [12]. In members of Brassicaceae, some of these CYP79s are involved in oxime formation directed towards biosynthesis of tryptophan-derived phytoalexins [13] (Table 1). The function of the majority of these additional CYP79 genes remains to be resolved [12]. Hence, CYP79s appear to be characterized by the ability to convert amino acids into oximes with high substrate specificity, but they are not confined to the pathways of cyanogenic glucosides or glucosinolates and recent phylogenetic analysis shows that CYP79s involved in glucosinolate and cyanogenic glucoside biosynthesis are not orthologous [12]. The presence of glucosinolates in Brassicales as well as in Drypetes strongly suggests that glucosinolate biosynthesis evolved independently twice [75]. This could represent different events of recruitment of P450s from the CYP79 family and CYP71 clan equivalent to the repeated evolution of cyanogenic glucosides. The enzymes downstream of CYP83 in the glucosinolate core pathway could have been recruited for detoxification purposes [8]. Acquisition of more genomic sequences, expressed sequence tags and cDNA sequences from glucosinolate-containing species and subsequent characterization of the responsible gene products may help resolve the question of a relationship or independent evolution of the glucosinolate and cyanogenic glucoside pathways. In particular, it would be interesting to elucidate from where the genes for glucosinolate biosynthesis were recruited in Drypetes as well as in Brassicales species from other families than Brassicaceae. This may clarify whether the CYP79s and CYP83s in glucosinolate biosynthesis evolved from cyanogenic CYP79s and CYP71s, respectively, or if they are derived from other CYP79 and CYP71 homologues recruited into the pathway to catalyse amino acid and oxime metabolism. Functional characterization of CYP79s in species not producing glucosinolates and cyanogenic glucosides could shed further light on this issue.\n\nSecondary side chain modification of the glucosinolate core structure occurs in organ- and developmental-specific patterns and may also differ between ecotypes [34,35,38]. Biochemical and genetic information about the different secondary modifications is generally limited. However, the enzymes and genes responsible for a major set of modifications in methionine-derived glucosinolates have been identified. These modifications involve S-oxygenation followed by cleavage of the terminal methylsulfinyl group and its replacement either by a terminal hydroxyl group or a vinylic double bond on the side chain (Fig. 4). In A. thaliana, five flavin monooxygenases (FMOs) have been found to catalyse the conversion of methylthioalkyl glucosinolates into methylsulfinylalkyl glucosinolates [90,91]. Two 2-oxoacid-dependent dioxygenases, AOP2 and AOP3, have been shown to metabolize the S-oxygenated glucosinolates in A. thaliana. Their names reflect their function as alkenyl/hydroxy(OH)alkyl producing enzymes. AOP2 catalyses the conversion to alkenyl glucosinolates, whereas AOP3 forms hydroxyalkyl glucosinolates [92,93] (Fig. 4). As the names indicate, a third enzyme, AOP1, has also been identified, but its function remains to be determined. Homologous AOP2 and AOP1 genes are present in Brassica oleracea (Brassicaceae), which also produces methionine-derived glucosinolates [94].\n\nFigure 4.\n\n Some secondary modifications of methionine-derived glucosinolates. In A. thaliana, five flavin monooxygenases, FMOGS-OX1–5, metabolize methylthioalkyl glucosinolates into methylsulfinyl glucosinolates. AOP2 and AOP3 are 2-oxoacid-dependent monooxygenases catalysing the formation of alkenyl glucosinolates and hydroxyalkyl glucosinolates, respectively. n denotes the chain length. Different chain lengths are known to occur naturally. For methylthioalkyl, = 1–8; for methylsulfinylalkyl, = 1–9; for alkenyl, = 1–5; for hydroxyalkyl, = 0–2. Modified from [8].\n\nSuggested evolution of the pathway for alliarinoside from glucosinolate biosynthesis\n\nA. petiolata is the only plant species in which a γ-hydroxynitrile glucoside has been reported to co-occur with glucosinolates. All aspects of alliarinoside production remain to be experimentally elucidated. However, by integrating the current knowledge about biosynthesis of hydroxynitrile glucosides and glucosinolates with biochemical reasoning, pathways for alliarinoside biosynthesis can be envisioned (Fig. 5). The reported occurrence of 2-propenyl glucosinolate and 3-butenyl glucosinolate in A. petiolata strongly implies the presence of a methionine chain-elongation machinery homologous to the one identified in A. thaliana [80]. 2-Propenyl glucosinolate is derived from homomethionine, whereas 3-butenyl glucosinolate is formed from dihomomethionine. In A. thaliana, both methionine derivatives are metabolized into the corresponding oxime by CYP79F1. CYP79F1 metabolizes all chain-elongated methionine derivatives, whereas CYP79F2 is specific for long-chain-elongated pentahomomethionine and hexahomomethionine [81,88,95]. No methionine-derived hydroxynitrile glucosides have previously been described and the ability to convert methionine derivatives into oximes appears to be a specific feature of Brassicales. Accordingly, it is highly likely that A. petiolata contains a CYP79 enzyme, probably related to members of the CYP79F subfamily, which converts homomethionine into 4-(methylthio)butanal oxime. The subsequent steps in glucosinolate formation are expected to proceed using intermediates in core structure formation identical to those described in other glucosinolate accumulating species (Fig. 5). A genome or transcriptome sequencing program in A. petiolata would facilitate identification of the genes involved.\n\nFigure 5.\n\n Suggested pathway for alliarinoside biosynthesis. Methionine (orange box) is suggested to be the precursor of alliarinoside. Homomethionine and the corresponding oxime are envisioned to be shared intermediates in the biosynthetic pathways of alliarinoside (pink box) and 2-propenyl glucosinolate (green box). The first committed step in the alliarinoside pathway is suggested to be catalysed by a P450 converting the oxime into the corresponding nitrile. This P450 may be multifunctional and catalyse subsequent hydroxylation of the nitrile as well, as seen for CYP736A2 and the CYP71E subfamily members involved in hydroxynitrile glucoside biosynthesis. Alternatively, the dehydration and hydroxylation reactions may be catalysed by different P450s. C-hydroxylation could potentially occur on different positions. Thus, the pathway may bifurcate or have evolved into a metabolic grid. Alternatively, only one of the suggested routes exists. Formation of the double bond by dehydration may occur on different substrates as indicated by (A), (B) and (C). The dehydrating enzyme(s) could be a P450, possibly identical or related to the P450 catalysing dehydration of the oxime. An alternative route of formation of the double bond in alliarinoside is via dehydration of the hypothetical γ-hydroxynitrile glucoside 4-(β-d-glucopyranosyloxy)-3-hydroxybutanenitrile (dashed arrow). Formation of a terminal hydroxyl group is envisioned to occur via reactions catalysed by an FMO and an AOP3 homologue. These reactions may take place on different substrates as indicated by (V), (X), (Y) and (Z). Final glucosylation yields alliarinoside. Compounds boxed in grey are hypothetical hydroxynitrile glucosides, which may be present in A. petiolata. [α], [β], [γ] denote α-, β- or γ-hydroxynitrile glucosides, respectively. See text for details.\n\nThe β- and γ-hydroxynitrile glucosides known from other species are all derived from leucine or isoleucine [45,61]. Considering the structure of alliarinoside with the double bond and lack of branching (Fig. 1), neither leucine nor isoleucine would appear likely precursors. We suggest that alliarinoside is derived from homomethionine and that 4-(methylthio)butanal oxime is a shared intermediate in 2-propenyl glucosinolate and alliarinoside biosynthesis. The first committed step in the hydroxynitrile pathway is envisioned to be catalysed by a P450, which has been recruited to catalyse the oxime to nitrile conversion. Although the CYP71 family contains most known P450s converting oximes to nitriles, it is possible that this P450 has evolved from a different P450 family. The identification of CYP736A2 as the oxime-metabolizing enzyme in L. japonicus shows that a non-CYP71 family member has evolved to catalyse this type of reaction [12]. Regardless of the origin, the P450 is thought to be multifunctional and catalyse nitrile formation and subsequent C-hydroxylation as seen for CYP736A2 and the CYP71E subfamily members involved in hydroxynitrile glucoside biosynthesis (Table 1). It is also possible that different P450s catalyse the dehydration and hydroxylation reactions. Recent investigations of the biosynthesis of the γ-hydroxynitrile glucoside rhodiocyanoside D in L. japonicus indicate that C-hydroxylation of the nitrile intermediate in this pathway may be catalysed by a different enzyme than the P450 catalysing dehydration of the oxime (Søren Bak, personal communication). A. thaliana contains the phytoalexin camalexin derived from tryptophan. In the biosynthesis of camalexin, a tryptophan-derived oxime is converted into the corresponding nitrile by CYP71A13 [9]. The subsequent nitrile-metabolizing enzyme in the camalexin pathway remains unidentified. Hence, there are indications that some oxime-metabolizing P450s are not multifunctional and catalyse dehydration of the oxime only. Accordingly, oxime to nitrile conversion and subsequent hydroxynitrile formation may be catalysed by different P450s in the proposed pathway for alliarinoside biosynthesis. The C-hydroxylation may take place at different carbon atoms as indicated by the bifurcation of the pathway (Fig. 5). Whether the two suggested hydroxynitriles coincide in planta is currently an open question. Both are possible intermediates in alliarinoside biosynthesis and not mutually exclusive. CYP71s capable of hydroxylating any of the carbon atoms in the nitrile intermediate have been hypothesized to be involved in hydroxynitrile glucoside biosynthesis in H. vulgare and species of Ribes and Rhodiola [6,65]. A similar promiscuity or broad specificity of the P450 in A. petiolata is possible. Alternatively, different P450s may be working in parallel in each of the suggested branches. Formation of the double bond is thought to result from dehydration of the hydroxynitrile(s) or at a later step (Fig. 5). The dehydrating enzyme may be a P450, possibly identical or related to the P450 catalysing dehydration of the oxime. The terminal methylsulfinyl group is envisioned to be S-oxygenated and replaced by a hydroxyl group through reactions similar to the secondary modifications of methionine-derived glucosinolates. Hence, FMO- and AOP3-like enzyme activities are suggested to be present. Little is known about FMOs in plants, but sequence homology based genomic search has identified various FMO homologues in distantly related plant species such as Oryza satica, Populus trichocarpa and Thalaginella halophila [90,91,96]. This indicates that FMOs are widespread in vascular plants. The five FMOs, FMOGS-OX1–5, which have been shown to catalyse S-oxygenation in glucosinolate modification, have been found to cluster in a separate subclade within a clade of sequences from distantly related species [91]. FMOGS-OX1 was shown to catalyse conversion of methylthiobutane glucosinolate and desulfo-methylthiobutane glucosinolate with equal efficiency, whereas activity was not observed towards any upstream intermediates [90]. This led to the conclusion that FMOGS-OX1 requires an S-glucose group but may function regardless of the sulfate group. The specificity of the other identified FMOGS-OX enzymes with respect to S-glucose requirement has not been determined. In a study of γ-glutamyl peptidases involved in glucosinolate core structure biosynthesis, A. thaliana mutants were found to accumulate core structure intermediates with sulfinyl side chains [97]. This indicates S-oxygenation of intermediates upstream of glucosylation, which could be catalysed by FMOGS-OX(s) with no S-glucose group requirement. FMOGS-OX1, FMOGS-OX2, FMOGS-OX3 and FMOGS-OX4 have been found to have broad substrate specificity and catalyse methylthioalkyl glucosinolate metabolism independently of chain length. FMOGS-OX5, on the other hand, seemed specific for long-chain methylthiobutane glucosinolate [91]. Thus, the FMO proposed to be involved in alliarinoside biosynthesis may be an FMOGS-OX homologue which has no requirement for the presence of an S-glucose group in its substrate. Alternatively, this conversion may involve an FMO recruited from outside the glucosinolate pathway.\n\nAlk(en)yl and hydroxyalkyl glucosinolates accumulate in many Brassicaceae species, including A. petiolata and the closely related Thlaspi arvense [74,98]. This indicates that AOP2 and AOP3 activities are common in Brassicaceae. The genes encoding AOP1, AOP2 and AOP3 in A. thaliana were generated by two different gene duplication events, which have been suggested to predate A. thaliana speciation [92]. Thus, AOP homologues could be present in A. petiolata. In secondary modification of glucosinolates AOP3 catalyses conversion of glucosidic substrates. However, the requirement for an S-glucose residue in the substrate has not been investigated. There are some indications that AOP3 is specific for the homomethionine-derived 3-methylsulfinylalkyl glucosinolate and does not catalyse conversion of a dihomomethionine-derived substrate [92]. It is suggested that in A. petiolata an AOP3 homologue metabolizes an aglucone derived from homomethionine. The FMO and AOP3 homologue could potentially convert different substrates in the suggested alliarinoside pathway, as indicated in Fig. 5. The resulting terminal hydroxyl group is envisioned to be glucosylated by a UGT, thereby forming alliarinoside. Other hydroxylated intermediates in the pathway could also be imagined to be glucosylated. This could yield 4-(β-d-glucopyranosyloxy)-3-hydroxybutanenitrile, 3-(β-d-glucopyranosyloxy)-4-hydroxybutanenitrile and 4-(methylthio)-2-(β-d-glucopyranosyloxy)butanenitrile, which are γ-, β- and α-hydroxynitrile glucosides, respectively. The methylthio group in 4-(methylthio)-2-(β-d-glucopyranosyloxy)butanenitrile might be subject to secondary modification by an FMO and homologues of AOP2 or AOP3. This would potentially result in two different α-hydroxynitrile glucosides, 2-(β-d-glucopyranosyloxy)-but-3-enenitrile and 2-(β-d-glucopyranosyloxy)-4-hydroxybutanenitrile. The possible existence of the suggested five additional hydroxynitrile glucosides needs verification by experimentation.\n\nUnidentified source of cyanide in A. petiolata\n\nThe cyanide release from A. petiolata reported by Cipollini and Gruner [15] is a highly interesting observation. Cyanide release strongly indicates the presence of a cyanogenic glucoside or a cyanolipid. However, the occurrence of cyanolipids is thought to be restricted to Sapindaceae and Hippocastanaceae [6,7] and with very few known exceptions cyanogenic glucosides do not co-occur with glucosinolates [99–105]. Using colorimetric detection of cyanide, homogenized leaves of A. petiolata were found to release a mean of 44 ± 2 p.p.m. diffusible hydrogen cyanide. Less cyanide release was detected from roots. In comparison, young seedlings of the cyanogenic species Sorghum sudanese were found to release five times more hydrogen cyanide than young seedlings of A. petiolata, whereas four other Brassicaceae species released 25–150 times less [15]. The source of hydrogen cyanide release in A. petiolata has not been determined. Considering the presence of the γ-hydroxynitrile glucoside alliarinoside [14], the possible co-occurrence of a cyanogenic α-hydroxynitrile glucoside is intriguing. Experimental demonstration of the presence of cyanogenic glucosides in A. petiolata may serve to further support recurrent evolution of cyanogenic glucoside biosynthesis and reveal additional information on the possible evolutionary relationship between glucosinolates and cyanogenic glucosides. In this review, we suggest that alliarinoside biosynthesis evolved from the predisposition to produce a homomethionine-derived oxime. It is proposed that a P450 was recruited outside the glucosinolate pathway to catalyse oxime to nitrile conversion. A cyanogenic glucoside could also be the result of P450 recruitment after glucosinolate biosynthesis was established. Putative intermediates in the suggested alliarinoside pathway could be metabolized into a homomethionine-derived α-hydroxynitrile glucoside as outlined in Fig. 5. Another possibility is the presence of a cyanogenic glucoside derived from another oxime produced by A. petiolata. Glucosinolates derived from phenylalanine, homophenylalanine, homomethionine, dihomomethionine and tryptophan have been detected in A. petiolata [28,30–33,36,37]. This implies that A. petiolata is able to form oximes from all of these amino acids. Two Brassicales members, Carica papaya and Carica quercifolia (Caricaceae), produce benzylglucosinolate and the cyanogenic glucoside prunasin, both of which are derived from phenylalanine [99,100,102–105]. However, biosynthetic intermediates and the involved enzymes have not been identified. Thus, it remains to be resolved how glucosinolate and cyanogenic glucoside biosynthesis are related in these species and whether the information gained may specifically apply to Caricaceae or be useful for elucidation of hydroxynitrile metabolism in Brassicaceae species like A. petiolata.\n\nAlliarinoside is also a hypothetical source of hydrogen cyanide release. Generally, γ-hydroxynitrile glucosides do not release HCN upon hydrolysis, because the aglucones formed are not cyanohydrins. However, the structure of alliarinoside contains a double bond that might give rise to formation of the corresponding epoxide. Epoxides of hydroxynitrile glucosides are known from other species and one of them, sarmentosin epoxide, was shown to slowly release HCN in aqueous solution [45,106]. Presumably, hydrolysis of the oxirane group led to cyanohydrin formation and subsequent HCN release [106]. However, the presence of alliarinoside epoxide in A. petiolata has not been reported.\n\nA third possibility is that degradation products from glucosinolates are responsible for the positive colorimetric response observed in the HCN assay [15]. During degradation of some glucosinolates, specifier proteins can promote rearrangement of the aglucone released by myrosinase into a number of different products [76,77]. Depending on the side chain of the aglucone and the present cofactors and proteins, these include simple nitriles, epithionitriles and thiocyanates. In addition, isothiocyanates and oxazolidine-2-thiones can be formed spontaneously. The specificity of the different methods used for cyanide detection has been debated [107–109]. The Lambert method applied to A. petiolata is a variant of the colorimetric method based on the König synthesis of pyridine dyes [15,110,111]. The other colorimetric methods used are variants relying on the same basic principle. Cyanide is oxidized by an appropriate oxidizing agent to form a cyanogen halide, which reacts with pyridine and a coupling agent. The resulting dye formation is quantified by spectrophotometry. The Lambert method was described as being specific for the cyanide ion and interferences virtually non-existing, but this was not addressed experimentally [107,111]. Compounds which may produce CN or SCN radicals have been assumed to be detectable in variants of the König reaction assay [112]. Experimental evidence shows that thiocyanates are detected to different extents depending on the assay details [112–115]. However, by including a diffusion step in which volatile hydrogen cyanide is trapped in an alkaline solution prior to the König reaction, interference by non-volatile hydrogen thiocyanate can be eliminated [112]. The method applied to A. petiolata included such a diffusion step [15]. Accordingly, thiocyanates are assumed not to have been the source of the positive response detected in the assay. However, nitriles cannot be excluded as interferents. In a study of nitriles and isonitriles as interfering agents in cyanide assays, phenylacetonitrile and other nitriles were found to show positive interference [109]. The interference was observed in direct spectrophotometric assays and to lesser extent when a prior distillation or diffusion step was introduced. The level of interference generally increased with the ratio of interfering compound to cyanide. The analytical procedure used for these determinations differed somewhat from the Lambert method with diffusion. The effect of the presence of nitriles thus needs to be addressed experimentally. In this context it is important to notice that phenylacetonitrile is a degradation product from benzylglucosinolate, both of which have been detected in A. petiolata [28,31,32,36]. Furthermore, it remains to be investigated whether other degradation products from the large amounts of glucosinolates found in A. petiolata may be the reason for the positive colour reaction in the cyanide assay.\n\nConcluding remarks\n\nBy integrating the current knowledge about biosynthesis of hydroxynitrile glucosides and glucosinolates, possible pathways for alliarinoside biosynthesis have been outlined and discussed. We argue that biosynthesis of alliarinoside may be the first known example of a hydroxynitrile glucoside evolved from the glucosinolate pathway. The ability to produce homomethionine and the corresponding oxime is proposed as the basis for recruitment of a P450 catalysing oxime to nitrile formation in a novel hydroxynitrile glucoside pathway. Furthermore, homologues to enzymes involved in secondary modification of glucosinolates are proposed to have evolved to metabolize aglucone intermediates in the alliarinoside pathway. Experimental elucidation of the biosynthesis of alliarinoside and other putative hydroxynitrile glucosides present in A. petiolata will resolve whether the suggested oxime-metabolizing P450 is able to hydroxylate different carbon atoms in the backbone of the nitrile intermediate or whether different P450s are working in parallel to synthesize different hydroxynitriles from the same oxime.\n\nAt present, the reported hydrogen cyanide release in A. petiolata raises more questions than it answers. It is essential that this finding is verified or explained by interference resulting from the presence of organic nitriles. Identification of the source would serve to shed new light on the chemical ecology of A. petiolata and could also have important implications for our understanding of nitrile glucoside metabolism and diversification. The possible presence of cyanogenic glucosides in A. petiolata and elucidation of their structures and routes of biosynthesis may provide new insights on recurrent and independent evolution of the pathways for cyanogenic glucoside and glucosinolate synthesis. The new visions on recurrent evolution of hydroxynitrile glucoside biosynthesis recently published [12] have served as a great source of inspiration behind this review. Elucidation of the pathway for biosynthesis of alliarinoside and other putative hydroxynitrile glucosides in A. petiolata is envisioned to offer significant new knowledge on the emerging picture of P450 functional dynamics as the basis for recurrent evolution of pathways for synthesis of bioactive natural products.\n\n\nWe thank Drs Nanna Bjarnholt and Fred Rook for fruitful discussions and Associate Professor Mohammed Saddik Motawia for advice with respect to the chemical nomenclature. BLM acknowledges financial support from the Villum Foundation research centre ‘Pro-Active Plants’, from the UNIK Center for Synthetic Biology funded by the Danish Ministry for Science, Technology and Innovation, and from a research grant from the Danish Research Council for Independent Research/Technology and Production Sciences. TF acknowledges a PhD stipend granted by the Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Copenhagen.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6442749500274658}
+{"content": "\"Does law fails due to incidents of crime? Law never fails. Actions are initiated against criminals as per provisions of law,\" he said. \"Murder takes place despite provision of death sentence.\n\nThe state government deals with people having criminal mindset stringently and lawfully,\" Kumar said after flagging off a rally of JD(U)'s youth wing. Shahabuddin's release from jail was celebrated with much fanfare and has triggered a debate about the law and order situation in the state.\n\n\nThe opposition BJP and its NDA allies have been attacking the state government over the issue. As part of its sustained agitation, it is staging sit-in demonstrations across the state today demanding arrest of Shahabuddin. The JD(U) youth wing rally, which will end at Bhithiharwa Ashram in East Champaran district, from where Mahatama Gandhi had launched his Champaran Satyagrah, aims to achieve a \"Sangh mukt(free) and alcohol free society.\" It is part of the centenary celebration of the Champaran Satyagrah.\n\nKumar urged workers of the JD(U) youth wing to spread the message of Mahatma Gandhi to the people. JD(U)'s state chief Basistha Narayan Singh, ministers Krishnandan Varma and Maheshwar Hazari and deputy leader in the Legislative Assembly Shyam Rajak were present.\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9628857374191284}
+{"content": "Sports Direct has acquired a further 4.6% stake in Debenhams plc.\n\nThe clothing retailer, founded by Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley, said it had spent around £33m buying the shares.\n\nThe latest move adds to a derivative trade the company made on the department store’s stock in January, after which it began to trial concessions with Debenhams, where it rents space in the department stores.\n\nSo far, four of these have opened and Sports Direct’s current interest in Debenhams shares is now effectively 11.2%\n\nIn a statement, Sports Direct said: “As previously announced, Sports Direct is already working together with Debenhams and looks forward to building this relationship.”\n\nHowever, some commentators believe the share trade is bound to confuse the City.\n\nIn January Sports Direct bought a 4.6% stake in Debenhams, which it then sold at a profit before making the derivative trade days later, giving it an interest in 6.6% of Debenhams’ shares.\n\nSports Direct explained the switch as a “more efficient use of the company’s funds” but has not yet commented on why it had again bought shares in the retailer rather than use derivatives.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9986165165901184}
+{"content": "A comprehensive resource for safe and responsible laser use\n\nNews: Statistics, laws and all other laser pointer news\n\nThis webpage has a chronological list of general laser pointer news. There are separate pages for specific aviation-related incidents and non-aviation-related incidents. In addition, the What’s new at the website page lists major changes, updates, and additions to LaserPointerSafety.com.\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9984389543533325}
+{"content": "Non-Profit Animal Rescue \n\nWhere Every Life Matters\n\nWe are very fortunate to have a team of compassionate people who just love animals. They have dedicated their lives to saving these precious creatures. \n\nMama’s gona Rescue, a 501(c)(3) organization, was founded on July 21st, 2015 by Amanda Mamagona.  Amanda’s love for dogs and animals was the driving force behind starting this organization.  As a child Amanda would find animals and bring them home with hopes of saving them.  That love grew more and more into her adult life and she is now helping countless numbers of animals get a second chance through her rescue.  Since the start of Mama’s gona Rescue, the organization has saved dogs and cats that were on shelter kill lists, dogs that were feral roaming the streets, dogs that were surrendered by owners, and dogs that were subject to neglect.  Mama’s gona Rescue has a working relationship with area animal control departments, the SPCA, the Popcorn Park zoo, and other animal rescue organizations who all strive for the same result, giving these animals a second chance.  This is all accomplished with the extensive network of foster homes assisting Mama’s gona Rescue, from New Jersey down to South Carolina.  Mama’s gona Rescue’s staff is all volunteer with professional backgrounds such as Paramedic, ER nurse, Attorney Secretary, Assistant Fire Chief, Veteran, and Banker.    \nDue to veterinary costs and budget restraints, Mama’s gona Rescue has to do fundraisers and adoption events to sustain operations.  Monetary donations and tangible donations such as dog treats, blankets, crates, and food are all necessary to continue to operate.  Veterinary care for rescues are paid for by Mama’s gona Rescue which includes all age appropriate shots, deworming, and any unforeseen emergencies such as parvo.  Mama’s gona Rescue has been accepted to participate in the State of New Jersey spade and neuter program which offers discounted spay and neuter rates to adopted rescue dogs. \nIn addition to dog and cat rescue, Mama’s gona rescue has partnered with a wildlife rehabilitator and is working under their license to rehabilitate baby squirrels.  When baby squirrels are found, they are brought to Mama’s gona Rescue and are given proper nutrition and care for an eventual release back into the wild.  On average, Mama’s gona Rescue rehabilitates 30 to 50 squirrels in a season. \n\nOur Team\n\n​​Mama's-gona Rescue", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.846668541431427}
+{"content": "We are all Damaged\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nWhich is kind of scary really.\n\n\nThis same dynamic has played out in our own lives.\n\n\nThink about that for a moment.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIt’s a lot easier said than done though.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIn the end all you can hope for\nIs the love you felt to equal the pain you’ve gone through\n\n\n\n\nHow to Improve your Life without Changing a Thing\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThink of the questions:\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThere’s a deeper problem with the hero’s journey however.\n\n\n\nMaking changes is one thing.  Sustaining them is something else.\n\n\n\n\nUmmm, alright.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSo he left.\n\n\nYet here he was, back home.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIt wasn’t just that though.\n\n\nIt was no longer fulfilling.\n\n\n\n\nEventually, everything becomes work.  Everything.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIs it about the quest?  The adventure?\n\n\n\n\n\nWhat can you actually change in life?\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nWe are the only ones who can turn that around.\n\n\n\n\n\nRuled By Fear\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAnd so I didn’t even try.\n\n\n\n\n\nFear of Failure\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nYou’ll never know.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMeant to be.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nFear of Rejection\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAccepting ourselves can be very, very hard.\n\nWe all have damage.\n\nWe all have insecurities.\n\nWe’ve all been hurt.\n\n\n\nFacing our fears is hard.\n\nLetting go is hard.\n\nEmbracing life and opportunities is hard.\n\nAnd being vulnerable and authentic is hard.\n\n\n\n\n\nI may be hurt.\n\nI may fail.\n\n\n\nDealing with Grief\n\n\n\nI recently watched the movie Wild, with Reese Witherspoon.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nWhy does this happen?\n\nI think this quote sums it up pretty well:\n\n\n\nThink about this for a moment…\n\nThe story wasn’t finished.\n\n\nWhy wasn’t it finished?\n\nBecause we weren’t ready.\n\nWe thought we would have more opportunities.\n\nAnd we thought the story would have a different ending.\n\n\n\n\n\nA lack of control.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nHowever no one can escape forever.\n\nEventually all things need to be faced.\n\n\n\n\nAnd maybe that’s alright. \n\n\nBecause in life, what can you actually control?\n\nThe reality is, we control almost nothing.\n\n\n\n\n\nWe control our own choices.\n\nOur own actions.\n\nOur own responses.\n\nAnd really, that’s about it.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nWhat do you bring IN to your Relationship?\n\n\nWhen I hear people talk about relationships, there is a lot of talk about compatibility, and how important it is to find the right person.\n\nCompatibility does matter (to a degree), but I think it’s much less important than most believe.\n\nIn fact, I’ll go so far as to say that the quality of your relationship often has much less to do with your partner, and a lot more to do with you.\n\n\nI see/read/hear men and women who are “unable to find the love they want”, and they complain, saying things like “all the men I meet are X” or “all the women I meet as Y” (insert stereotype of choice for X and Y).\n\nSometimes we run into so many similar problems that we start to lose faith in our gender of preference completely, and start to convince ourselves our experiences are representative of all members of that gender.\n\nHere’s a potentially uncomfortable question for you:\n\nIf you have had a number of relationships, and they all turning out badly or you are struggling to even find a relationship, what’s the one common link?\n\n\n\nNow, don’t misunderstand what I’m saying here.  I’m not saying that you are a terrible person, or you are unlovable or anything like that.\n\nI simply think that anytime life isn’t working out quite the way we want it to, the WORST thing you can do is think of yourself as a victim.\n\nHow your life goes is not “just the way things are” and I don’t believe in “if it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be”.  Those ideas, and the idea that you “just need to find the right person” paint yourself as a passive participant in your own life.\n\nRather, I believe that life presents us with different opportunities, and it’s up to us to decide what to do with them.  We can’t control how things will turn out, but we ALWAY control our own choices, and how we respond to the events that happen to us.\n\nSo if a relationship (or life in general) isn’t working out the way we want it to I think it’s important to take a look in the mirror, and try to understand the ways you might be contributing to things.\n\n\nIf people you meet aren’t treating you the way you want, ask yourself what are you attracted to?  How are you presenting yourself (as the energy you give off influences what you are attracting)?  If you are interested in a “certain type” and things work out the same way, maybe it’s time to expand your horizons and look at something different.\n\nAre you respecting yourself and properly enforcing your boundaries?  Do you even know what your own boundaries are?  Unfortunately, many of us don’t really know what our boundaries are.  We know when they have been violated because of how it makes us feel, but even then, we often don’t know how to enforce them.\n\n\nAnother big question you I think people need to ask is, what are you bringing IN to the relationship?\n\nYourself obviously, but what does that actually mean?\n\nAs people, we are the sum of our experiences – both good and bad.  The experiences shape us, and shape our expectations of what we are looking for, and how people will treat us.\n\nWhat are your expectations in a relationship?  Are they realistic?  I find that one of the biggest sources of unhappiness for people is that their life hasn’t turned out quite the way they thought it would.  Frequently by all objective measures those people have a lot to be happy about, but it is the comparison to the expectations they had for live that lead to their disappointment.\n\n\n\n\nOne of the things we bring with us into relationships that can often be damaging is our coping skills.\n\nWhat are your coping skills?  How do you deal with conflict, or respond when things get hard?  How do you fight?  Do you shut down and pretend things are alright?  Do you get angry?  Petty?  Passive aggressive?\n\nLastly, what baggage/insecurities do you bring into your relationship?  We all damaged in some way, and that’s okay.  We all have our own baggage, and although that baggage can seem like it’s part of who we are, it’s up to us to deal with it.\n\n\nPart of dealing with it involves allowing our partners understand our baggage, so we need to be willing to let them in enough to understand it.  We need to be willing to tell them how we have been hurt in the past, what are triggers are, and why we feel the way we do about things.  This can be difficult, because these are often some of our most personal and sensitive memories/experiences.  However by opening up and communicating these things to our partners we are allowing them to understand us.  When someone can understand why we feel the way we do about things, it allows them to approach those triggers with empathy and care.\n\n\nIf we are not careful, our personal issues and insecurities can easily start to poison our relationships, so an important question is what are you doing about them?\n\nIf you take the approach “this is just how I am”, you are expecting the other person to accommodate you, and that’s not fair.  And they should be understanding/empathic, and try to accommodate you to a degree.  At the same time though, you need to work on your own issues (own your own sh*t as some would say).\n\n\n\nI believe taking a hard looking in the mirror, and trying to understand what you bring in to a relationship is very important to the health of any relationship; as it allows you to understand how you contribute in both positive and negative ways.\n\nUnderstanding your own role in something gives you a degree of power.  Because you can’t change other people, at best you can influence them.  However you are always capable of recognizing parts of yourself you may not like, and working to improve them.\n\nSaying “this is just the way I am” is just as much of a cop out as “I just need to find the right person”.\n\nIt’s more accurate to say “this is just the way I am – right now”.  But it doesn’t have to be the way you are tomorrow. \n\n\nI opened with the idea that the quality of your relationship often has much less to do with your partner, and a lot more to do with you.\n\nWhat you are interested in, the energy you give off, how you enforce your boundaries, how you cope, and how you deal with your own baggage.  These are all things that influence the success of your relationships, and they all come from you.  And you are the only person who can change these things.\n\nSo instead of “I just need to find the right person” maybe a big part of thing is “I just need to BE the right person”.  I’m not suggesting you should ever change for someone else.  But you are never a victim, and you can always strive to be the best version of you.\n\n\nWhat is Enough?\n\n\n\n\nWhat is enough?\n\nWhat does this even mean?\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBut what do we need?\n\n\nOne of these?  Some of these?  All of these?\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nHere’s the problem…\n\n\n\n\nSo to me, the REAL question is not about more.\n\nThe REAL question becomes, what is enough.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nI am enough.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBut here’s a secret…\n\n\nI am not special.\n\nYou are not special.\n\nSorry, it’s true.  We are all just people.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIt’s not bad to want more, or different.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nYour Life is Not Your Own\n\n\nOne of the biggest things that shapes my world view is a belief that my life is not my own.\n\nIn some ways, that statement seems completely nonsensical.  Because of course my life is my own.  I mean, if it’s not mine then whose is it?\n\nAm I not an individual?\n\nDon’t I make my own choices?\n\nWhen I get up in the morning, I decide how my day looks.\n\nI can go into work, or I can call in sick.  If I go to work, I decide how hard I want to work during the day.  I choose what I want to eat – I can eat pizza pops and candy all day if I want.  I can flirt with co-workers, come in to the office drunk or high, and pick up prostitutes.  Hell, I can head into my bosses office and defecate on her desk if I really wanted.\n\nI have those choices.  I have that *power* (if you can call it that).\n\nBased on all of the above it seems obvious that my life is my own, and I can do with it whatever I want.\n\n\nThing is, although I COULD do whatever I want, I don’t (fine – I’ve probably had days that I ate nothing but candy and pizza pops, but they’re rare.  Never more than once a week).\n\nGenerally there is some thought process behind my choices; and 99% of the time this involves weighing my choices against my core values.  Values that tell me doing things like flirting with co-workers, coming into the office drunk or high, picking up prostitutes and defecating on my bosses desk are BAD decisions.\n\nI can’t say that I’ve ever wanted to do any of those things, but even if I did, they are choices that would potentially have long term implications on my life.  And these implications don’t just affect MY life, but also the lives of the people around me.  The people I care about.\n\nSee, my life isn’t just about me.  My actions may be my own, but they impact other people.\n\n\nI’m a father, and virtually EVERY decision I make has the potential to shape the lives of my children.  Some decisions can radically affect their futures, but even for smaller decisions I need to model behavior to them that shows them how I believe they should live their lives.\n\nIn my mind, when I became a parent I gave up the right to focus primarily on me.\n\n\nEven without children, the same rules apply in relationships.  It’s one thing if all you want is to casually date.  Casual dating is all about you, and what you get out of it.  It’s the easy part – the “fun” without any responsibility.  You see someone only when you want, and on your terms.  You can focus on what you get out of that “relationship” and not actually care about the other person (side note, I don’t consider casual dating an actual relationship).  And if they don’t like that?  Too bad for them, you can move on and find someone else.\n\nThat approach to relationships works for some, but most people want more out of their relationships.  Most people want at least some commitment from the other person.  For that person to be faithful to them; and maybe to start building something with them.  I think most of us like the idea of growing old *with* someone, and sharing our life with them.\n\nFor that to happen, things need to change.  It can’t just be about you anymore.  Relationships are about both people, and both people matter.  Both need to feel valued, and heard.  And for that to happen, the other persons needs/wants have to matter just as much as our own.\n\nIn a relationship, your actions are still your own.  You are still an individual, and you can choose to do whatever you want.  But your decisions impact your partner, and as a result you need to take your partner into account in the things you do.\n\nYou can still choose to do whatever you want, and not take your partner into account.  But if you do that you are not respecting that other person, and you are not respecting the relationship.\n\n\n\n\nEven if I don’t have children and I’m not in a relationship, I would still contend my life is not just about me.  I still have parents, siblings and friends.  I still have co-workers who rely on me.\n\nThere are ALWAYS people who are impacted by my actions and my decisions.\n\nThat doesn’t mean I have to live my life for those people.  That doesn’t mean I *can’t* do what I want.  But it DOES mean I should take them into account, and realize that my decisions may affect those people adversely.\n\n\nPretending I’m an individual who can do what they want without realizing my actions impact others is self-absorption.  Thinking we are special, and we can do what we want because the regular rules of life don’t apply to us is entitlement.\n\nIn reality we ALL have moments of self-absorption or entitlement.  It’s just a question of how often do we do these things, and how do we respond when we’ve realized what we’ve done?\n\nTo me, I am in control of my own life.  I make my own decisions, and I do my best to deal with the impacts of those decisions.  And I do that recognizing that while I control my own life, it impacts others.  So I need to take others into account.\n\nAnd in that regard, I accept that my life is not my own.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8821554780006409}
+{"content": "Being overweight, not only often seem inappropriate and also unattractive, especially if your fat is disproportionately grouped in the various body parts, but often is the cause of many health problems such as problems with the cardiovascular system, the incidence of diabetes type B and so on.\nFor this reason, losing weight is often a necessary and very important step that should be taken, not only to enhance visual impact, but also for the preservation and improvement of the entire health.\n\nHow to lose weight quickly?\n\nThe problem with the intent to lose weight, is usually reflected in the fact that you have acquired the habit of entering large amounts of food in the body and you find it difficult to achieve a feeling of fullness. Therefore, due to the large amount of food you eat, there is a large number of pounds that you have, and you find it difficult to face the commitment to such diet and habits change.\n\nIf you want your diet to be successful, try the simplest way, first, all of those high-calorie, fatty, sweet and spicy foods that cause growth, replace with healthy, fresh and low-calorie foods, such as fruits and vegetables.\n\nYou should eat fruits and vegetables to the point you reach a feeling of fullness, as a consequence you will not be getting pounds, as in the case when you eat unhealthy and high-calorie foods.\n\nWhat you can not eat?\n\nSo from your menu reject: fried or roasted pork, meat products, especially those that are fatty, like cracklings or bacon, sausage. Cut out eating too much bread and dough products, especially if they are bread or dough products made of white flour or warm. Do not eat spicy foods, dairy products with a high percentage of milk fat, sweets and too salty foods.\n\nWhat you should eat?\n\nEat more fresh or stewed fruit and vegetables. Instead of white bread and products made from white flour, eat rye bread or cereals such as rye, barley or oats. Eat grilled fish or sardines. Instead of fried foods eat cooked meals with less severe as roux.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9323344230651855}
+{"content": "Design Dialect has always been guided by a belief that the quality of our surroundings has a direct impact on the quality of our lives, whether that is in the workplace, at home or in the public realm.\n\n\nDesign Dialect Pvt. Ltd.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 1.0000097751617432}
+{"content": "\n\nLijiang Tour Itineraries\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLijiang Tour of Old Town\n\nTour Code & Duration Activities Involved\n3 days 2 nights\nThe Square Street of the Lijiang Old Town, the Baisha Village and a local Naxi family, the Baisha Murals and the Rock Joseph's Former Residence in Yuhu Village. Enjoy the Naxi Ancient Music and Dance Performance at Dongba Palace. (L+D)\n\nCity Transfer Service  \nBT0138  Lijiang Airport Pick-up Service. $46/person\nBT0137  Lijiang Airport Drop-off Service. $46/person\nBT0136  Lijiang Train Station Pick-up Service. $38/person\nBT0135 Lijiang Train Station Drop-off Service. $38/person\n\n\n\n     The Old Town which occupies an area of 3.8 square kilometers (912 acres) was firstly built in the late Song Dynasty and the early Yuan Dynasty and has a history of more than 800 years. Since Kubla Khan who is the first emperor of the Yuan Dynasty set his reign here, Lijiang was on a fast developmental way and became the political, cultural, and educational center in this area, playing a very important role in the trading activities among Yunnan, China hinterland, Tibet, India and many other Asian countries. Till now, when walking on the streets of the Old Town, one can feel the prosperity and flourish of the town from the shops with fancy and superb collections of handicrafts.\n\n     The Lijiang Old Town is built along the lie of mountains and the flow of rivers, providing a very precious sample of the research on the old-time architecture. The unique geographical location, historical background and multiracial inhabitants make the town the most special one:\n\n     The Old Town is the only old city built without a city wall and there is an interesting story telling the reason. Lijiang had been under the reign of the hereditary Mu family for more than 500 years. If the Chinese character 'Mu' (represents the governor of Lijiang) is put into a frame (represents the city wall), you have the character 'Kun' which means 'siege' or 'predicament'. This would mean that the governing Mu family and their descendants would always be trapped like a rat in a hole. Because of this symbolism, Old Town Lijiang was never given a city wall.\n\n\n     The old Town of Lijiang is a city depends on water for existence and water is just like its blood. Black Dragon Pool (Heilongtan) is the main water source of the town and subdivides into many streams which can reach every family and every street in the town. Due to the reticular aqueducts, willow trees grow everywhere and there are almost 350 varied and inimitable bridges in the little town, some of which were built in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The usage of the water created by the local people is very scientific. They build three mouths every well from the upriver to the downriver. The water in the first mouth is for edibility, the second one is for cleaning of the vegetables and fruits, and the last one is used to wash the clothes. The water not only meets the need of the dweller, but also gives the town a beauty of gentle. The town reputed as the 'Oriental Venice' and 'Suzhou in Highland', but it is much, much more than this. Once you have visited Old Town Lijiang, it will capture your heart for the rest of your life.\n\n     The center of the Old Town is the Square Street (Sifangjie). Four main streets radiate from Square Street and extend to the four different directions. Countless lanes extending in all directions form a network and connect every corner of the town. Streets in the Old Town are paved by the local bluestones which are neither muddy in the rainy season nor dusty in the dry season. The massive and fine-grained stones add a sense of antiquity and mystery to the Old Town. The sluice at the center of town is opened late in the night and the resulting current of water flushes and washes all the streets to keep the town clean. This practical use of water is part of the daily life of the residents in Old Town.\n\n     On December 3rd, 1997, the Old Town of Lijiang was put in the list of the World's Relics by the World Cultural Heritage Commission of the UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization). The charming Old Town is now a famous tourist attraction for its traditional ethnic culture and customs, inimitable buildings and the wonderful natural views.\n\nLijiang Tourist Attractions:\n\nLijiang-Jade Dragon Snow Mountain      \n\nLijiang-Tiger Leaping Gorge\n\nLijiang-Lugu Lake\n\nLijiang-Jade Spring Park\n\nLijiang-Naxi Ancient Music\n\nLijiang-Old Town of Shuhe\n\nLijiang-Three Parallel Rivers\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8669612407684326}
+{"content": "\n\nDetailed pictures have been published today showing how a new type of experimental antibiotic can kill bacteria already resistant to existing treatments. The findings could ultimately help scientists to develop new antibiotics to tackle the bacteria responsible for many hospital and community-acquired infections.\n  • Compound fights bacteria resistant to other antibiotics - Result of unique collaboration between GSK, Wellcome Trust and US government agency\n\nIssued: London UK\n\nDetailed pictures have been published today showing how a new type of experimental antibiotic can kill bacteria already resistant to existing treatments.1 The findings could ultimately help scientists to develop new antibiotics to tackle the bacteria responsible for many hospital and community-acquired infections.\n\nUsing an imaging technique called x-ray crystallography, a team of researchers from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) captured a snapshot of the new compound latched on to the enzyme topoisomerase. This enzyme is part of the bacteria’s internal machinery and helps the bacteria produce proteins and replicate. Stopping this enzyme prevents the bacteria from reproducing. Medicines, known as the quinolones, that target the enzyme have been successfully used as antibiotics since 1962, however bacteria are increasingly developing resistance to this class of drugs.\n\nBy looking at x-ray images, the team was able to demonstrate that the new investigational medicine attaches to the enzyme in a different place to quinolones, enabling it to stop the same bacteria that are resistant to these older treatments. The research is published today in the journal Nature, and is the result of two unique collaborations between GSK and the Wellcome Trust’s Seeding Drug Discovery initiative and the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA).\n\n“We already knew that targeting this enzyme was clinically proven to stop bacteria in their tracks, we just needed to be a bit more inventive in how we attacked it,” said Michael Gwynn, from GSK’s Infectious Diseases research group. “These images and the data showing the efficacy of this compound against a range of bacteria validate our approach, demonstrating that the enzyme can still be blocked even in bacteria already resistant to other antibiotics that work against this same enzyme.”\n\nThe study also reports the potency of the new compound, called GSK 299423, against antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria such as Staphylococus aureus, including methicillin resistance S. aureus (MRSA), and against gramnegative bacteria like E. coli, Pseudomonas, Klebsiella and Acinetobacter. Gram-negative bacteria are particularly difficult to attack as they have an outer membrane surrounding the bacterial cell wall, which interferes with drug penetration. New medicines must not only be toxic to the pathogen, but must first overcome the barriers to entry into the cell.\n\nCommenting on the importance of the findings, Ted Bianco of the Wellcome Trust said: “This is an important step forward in the race against antibiotic resistance. By solving the new structure of this important bacterial enzyme, and understanding how these drugs work, the team has opened the door for targeted drug design of new antibiotics, which are urgently needed.\n\n\nDevelopment of the new drug class to tackle gram-negative infections is supported as part of the Trust’s Seeding Drug Discovery initiative. The collaboration provides GSK with a £4 million award from the Trust with GSK matching the contribution in staff, equipment, and other programme costs. The research collaborations with the Trust and with DTRA are aimed at developing an entirely new class of antibacterials to tackle hospital-acquired infections and potential biothreat outbreaks.\n\n“The Wellcome Trust has recently announced a five-year extension to the Seeding Drug Discovery initiative, enabling us to continue to support drug development in areas of unmet medical need,” added Rick Davis, Business Development Manager at the Wellcome Trust.\n\n\nAntibacterial resistance\n\nThe rapidly increasing resistance of bacteria to antibiotics is a global issue, which can cause longer recovery times and hospitalisations, increased costs and rising mortality. It is estimated that each year about 25,000 people in the European Union die as a result of infections cause by multi-drug resistant bacteria.2\n\nA study from the US estimated that patients with infections due to antimicrobial-resistant organisms increase the costs of care by between $6,000 and $30,000 per patient compared with patients with infections that are caused by bacteria susceptible to antimicrobials. 3\n\nGram-negative bacteria are common causes of hospital-acquired infections like pneumonia and septic shock and are increasingly developing resistance to available antibiotics.\n\n\nAbout the Wellcome Trust\n\n\nGlaxoSmithKline enquiries:\n\n\nUK Media enquiries:\n\nPhilip Thomson\n\n(020) 8047 5502\n\n\nClaire Brough\n\n(020) 8047 5502\n\n\nStephen Rea\n\n(020) 8047 5502\n\n\nAlexandra Harrison\n\n(020) 8047 5502\n\n\nJo Revill\n\n(020) 8047 5502\n\n\n\n\nUS Media enquiries:\n\nNancy Pekarek\n\n(919) 483 2839\n\n\nMary Anne Rhyne\n\n(919) 483 2839\n\n\nKevin Colgan\n\n(919) 483 2839\n\n\nSarah Alspach\n\n(919) 483 2839\n\nWellcome Trust Enquiries:\n\nJen Middleton\n\n(020) 7611 7262\n\n\n\n\n1. Bax B, Chan P, Eggleston D et al. Type lla topoisomerase inhibition by a new class of antibacterial agents. Nature ; E-pub ahead of print publication.\n\n2. European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention/European Medicines Agency Joint Working Group. The bacterial challenge: time to react. 2009.\n\n3. Cosegrove, S. The Relationship between Antimicrobial Resistance and Patient Outcomes: Mortality, Length of Hospital Stay, and Health Care Costs. Clinical Infectious Diseases 2006; 42:S82–9", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9807723760604858}
+{"content": "\n\nJewish group upset with pope’s use of ‘concentration camps’\n\nA Jewish group has called on Pope Francis to “reconsider” his choice of words in recently describing European centers for Middle Eastern refugees as “concentration camps.”\n\nThe American Jewish Committee (AJC) said there is no comparison between the Nazi-run camps used for extermination and slave labor to today’s refugee centers.\n\nPope Francis made the remark in Rome on Saturday during a ceremony to commemorate the “New Martyrs” of the 20th and 21st centuries. He was paying tribute to an unknown Christian woman who was killed in front of her Muslim husband, who is a refugee, for holding a crucifix.\n\n“I don’t know if [her husband] managed to leave that concentration camp. Because… there is a great number of people left there inside them,”  the pope said when referring to her husband’s refugee status.\n\nDescribing refugee camps specifically, the pontiff asserted: “These refugee camps — so many are concentration camps, crowded with people… because international accords seem more important than human rights.”\n\nThe AJC took issue with the comparison and urged the pope to revise his assertion.\n\n“The Nazis and their allies erected and used concentration camps for slave labor and the extermination of millions of people during World War II,” the organization said in a statement. “There is no comparison to the magnitude of that tragedy.”\n\n“We respectfully urge the Pope to reconsider his regrettable choice of words. Precision of language and facts is absolutely essential when making any historical reference, all the more so when coming from such a prominent and admired world figure,” the statement continued.\n\nThe pope’s remarks may carry all the more weight as he has notably lent moral authority to positions on controversial issues. He has, for instance, given catholic priests the authority to forgive women who have had abortions.\n\nThe United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has reported there are some 21.3 million refugees worldwide, nearly half of them children.\n\nIt is widely documented that conditions in certain refugee centers have been horrific. The Guardian, for instance described that the notorious “Jungle” camp in Calais, France had “cramped makeshift tents plagued by rats, water sources contaminated by (feces) and inhabitants suffering from tuberculosis, scabies and post-traumatic stress.”\n\nHowever, David Harris, chief executive of the AJC wrote on his group’s website, that there is still no comparison to what Jews endured under the Nazi regime.\n\n\nKaren Faulkner\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6105552911758423}
+{"content": "Torben Kühle is originally from Germany, but moved from Berlin to Kirkenes in Northern Norway in 2010. A lover of the outdoors, he’s often found kayaking along the shore of the Barents sea or skiing in the Pasvik valley in Sør-Varanger. He primarily shoots landscapes and northern lights, but also does architecture shots and travel photography when he gets the chance. He’s also a member of the photography network The Arcanum.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.849054753780365}
+{"content": "PO BOX 786\nS60 4WU\nTelephone: 01709 544445\nCharity Registration No: 1103337\n\nLatest News\n\n\n\nProvide a foundation upon which victims of poverty, disease epidemics and natural disasters can rebuild their shattered lives and learn to smile once again. Contribute towards diminishing poverty and providing a better quality of life for those who lack crucial basic living necessities. Provide paramount quality of care,  compassion and humanitarian relief, to orphans, widows and the elderly.  To give them a chance in life, so that they are prepared to the pre-eminent of their abilities to become self- sufficient, with a better future ahead of them. As a society to realise what quality of life, these people are having to live in this modern decade.\n\nEncourage  and support  local people in the community that are disadvantaged.  Work towards elimination of inequality and barriers that are root causes of social and economic disadvantages. In addition, to create and deliver community based activities and capacity building initiatives that make a difference and help improve the quality of life of the local community people.\n\nHelp us to give every life quality and independence.\n\nWorldAid Foundation\n\n### web site created by scott pilkington as part of the south yorkshire community information project ###", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9998125433921814}
+{"content": "Applications Being Accepted\n\nApplications for the 2017-2018 grant season are now being accepted.  Applications are due October 16, 2017.  Please see the Grant Resources section of the website for more information.\nWelcome to the Acton-Boxborough Cultural Council.\n\n\n\nHere is a brief list of upcoming events - for more, please go to the Calendar tab.\n\nActon-Boxborough Cultural Council Events", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9989176988601685}
+{"content": "(818) 784-2046\n\nArctic Monkeys\n\nArctic Monkeys are an English indie rock band formed in 2002 in High Green, a suburb of Sheffield. The band consists of Alex Turner (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Jamie Cook (lead guitar, backing vocals), Nick O'Malley (bass, backing vocals), and Matt Helders (drums, backing vocals). Former band member Andy Nicholson (bass guitar, backing vocals) left the band in 2006 shortly after its debut album was released.\n\n\nThe band's debut album is the fastest-selling debut album in British music history, surpassing Elastica's self-titled album. The band has won seven Brit Awards—winning both Best British Group and Best British Album three times, and has twice been nominated for Grammy Awards. The band also won the Mercury Prize in 2006 for their debut album, in addition to receiving nominations in 2007 and 2013. The band has headlined at the Glastonbury Festival twice, in 2007 and again in 2013.\n\nArctic Monkeys were heralded as one of the first group of acts to come to public attention via the Internet (through fan-based sites rather than from the band), with commentators suggesting they represented the possibility of a change in the way in which new bands are promoted and marketed.\n\nArctic Monkeys list of BAE gear includes the DMP, 10DC and 1073MP, all of which were used on their last record.\n\nArctic Monkeys upcoming album information can be found here.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9960620999336243}
+{"content": "How much money can you make selling on ebay\n\nHow much money can you make on ebay - I may not be able to sell as much since my apartment is smaller and i simply don't own a lot, but for a young person (or even someone who's making a good living for themselves) making an extra 0/mo can go a long way, from paying off your credit card bill faster to being able to go on that trip you've been planning for a while. Taking 5 minutes to google your item and learn its true market value – on ebay and on a bunch of other e-commerce sites – helps you to sell it more competitively because you'll find out whether or not there's a market for your item, you'll see the right price, and you'll figure out the right search keywords to write into your listing. As a few examples i sold a collection of scratched up cds without covers/liners at one point and made good money; i sold a collection of beermats i'd accumulated in pubs a decade ago in my drinking/bartending student life in ireland for several hundred dollars; and almost to my own disbelief i sold some newspaper clippings at one point too. I know that any amount over the listing fees is a gain for you in the form of more cash in your pocket as well as more closet space and that this was mostly an exercise to gain experience using ebay, but it would be nice to know what return you received for the 37 minutes you invested in this learning experience.\n\n\nEBAY HOW TO SELL ON EBAY AND MAKE THOUSANDS EACH MONTH! In this video I take you step by step on how I make ...", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7237998843193054}
+{"content": "Watching the Tape Move for Sorl Auto Parts Inc (SORL)\n\nNeedle moving action has been spotted in Sorl Auto Parts Inc (SORL) as shares are moving today on volatility 4.12% or 0.16 from the open. The NASDAQ listed company saw a recent bid of 4.04 and 250441 shares have traded hands in the session.\n\nThere are often many decisions that will need to be made when setting up a plan to start investing in stocks. Investors may want to start by setting specific individual goals. Plotting out specific goals can help keep the process focused and in line. Once goals are outlined, investors may want to decide how much risk that they are able to take on. Once goals and risks are addressed, investors may want to start doing research on specific stocks or sectors. Once the research is complete, investors can start focusing on how to put together the stock portfolio. Finding the best stocks to add can take quite a bit of time, but putting in the extra analysis can provide a big boost to the portfolio.\n\nSorl Auto Parts Inc’s Williams Percent Range or 14 day Williams %R currently sits at -76.26. The Williams %R oscillates in a range from 0 to -100. A reading between 0 and -20 would point to an overbought situation. A reading from -80 to -100 would signal an oversold situation. The Williams %R was developed by Larry Williams. This is a momentum indicator that is the inverse of the Fast Stochastic Oscillator.\n\n\nThe RSI, or Relative Strength Index, is a widely used technical momentum indicator that compares price movement over time. The RSI was created by J. Welles Wilder who was striving to measure whether or not a stock was overbought or oversold. The RSI may be useful for spotting abnormal price activity and volatility. The RSI oscillates on a scale from 0 to 100. The normal reading of a stock will fall in the range of 30 to 70. A reading over 70 would indicate that the stock is overbought, and possibly overvalued. A reading under 30 may indicate that the stock is oversold, and possibly undervalued. After a recent check, the 14-day RSIfor Sorl Auto Parts Inc (SORL) is currently at 31.40, the 7-day stands at 34.16, and the 3-day is sitting at 54.22.\n\nBy Journal Contributor", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7340042591094971}
+{"content": "What to expect\n\nI would describe myself as an integrative counsellor with a person centred heart. This means that as my client you would be at the heart of our work together. If appropriate I will use different techniques from different modes of counselling those being psychodynamic, gestalt, existential, solution focused, person centred, mindfulness and therapeutic writing. The most important part of the process will be the type of counselling relationship we have together. In our work I will always be mindful of  what is important to you and will respect any decisions you decide to make.\nWhy do people come for counselling? Sometimes it can be because they have a crisis in their lives, sometimes it can be because life is a struggle or something just doesn't feel right. When in a crisis we can not always see the opportunity in a situation and this is why it helps to speak and be listened to by someone outside of your normal family and friends.\nIf you choose to contact me, the first session would last 30 minutes for individuals, 50 minutes for a couple. It would give us a chance to see whether we can work together and if you find that I am not the counsellor for you then you are free to leave without any further obligation.\nFollowing sessions last for 50 minutes and normally take place weekly. I offer both short and long term face to face counselling. Short term counselling can last from one to twelve sessions and is normally appropriate for  a crisis or for focusing on one area in life that may be causing problems or difficulties. Longer term work of twelve sessions or more, are useful for exploring deeper issues that have been with you for a longer time and have shaped the person you are. These issues maybe stopping you from living the life you want to have. By being aware of what has shaped us to become the person we are, we can then begin to make changes to become how we want to be.\nOur work would take place in a dedicated room in my home and would be a safe place for you to talk. I am a multi faith / non faith liberal viewed counsellor. \nQuick Contact Information\nemail:- Kapelko@blueyonder.co.uk\nPhone 07724639361", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7320696115493774}
+{"content": "Action-packed, blood-drenched lead-ins introduce the main characters from the film, played by Adrien Brody and Laurence Fishburne, and set up Rodriguez s reboot of the Predator film franchise by showing how the characters fought for their lives and arrived on the Predators alien planet. Then, after an adaptation of the film itself, find out what happened to the surviving characters immediately after the movie, when they were stranded on the hostile world with only each other and the faint hope of escape to help them ...\n\nPredators 2010, Dark Horse Comics\n\nISBN-13: 9781595826282\n\nTrade paperback", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9677284359931946}
+{"content": "Professional SlickEdit\n\n\nWrite The First Customer Review\n\nProfessional SlickEdit is the first guide to the award-winning SlickEdit tools, and is technically reviewed by the SlickEdit development team. SlickEdit expert John Hurst shares his years of experience in developing with SlickEdit to teach readers how to maximize the tool's features, and to write and debug code faster than they have before. Additionally, the book includes a CD ROM with an extended trial version of SlickEdit not available anywhere else. Professional SlickEdit is heavy on examples, making this a hands-on ...\n\nProfessional SlickEdit 2007, Wrox Press, Indianapolis, IN\n\nISBN-13: 9780470122150\n\nUnknown binding", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7325288653373718}
+{"content": "\n\n\"I Lose Myself Around Others\"\n\n\nDiscover why you may be fine alone but you lose yourself in relationships.\n\n\nThis is a common issue.\n\nVal asks:\n\n\"I am perfectly able to care, love and connect to myself when I am alone. It's in the face of attraction to someone that I get lost and spiral into self-criticism and self-neglect patterns that feel impossible to get out of. Why does this happen?\"\n\nLynne asks a very similar question:\n\n\"I find that I am able to love and care for myself when I am alone. However, it's in the face of trying to connect with others that I lose myself. Do you have any concrete tips/tricks on how to remain with the self and not self-abandon when getting to know others?\"\n\nVal and Lynne, this is all about intent. When you are alone, it is likely that your intent is to take loving care of yourself. But when you are with others, whom you are attracted to or want to get to know, you unconsciously shift your intent to controlling the other person.\n\nGiving yourself up is a form of control. Self-criticism, self-neglect, self-abandonment are all forms of control. You may be operating from a couple of false beliefs:\n\n• Who I really am is not good enough, not lovable enough. Therefore, if I am myself, no one will like me. I have to give myself up to be liked. If I am my authentic self, I will end up alone.\n\n• I can control how others feel about me. If I look right and act right, then I can control whether or not someone is attracted to me.\n\nThese are two major false beliefs that many people believe to be true.\n\nThe 'concrete tips/tricks' that Lynne asked for are:\n\n• Do an in-depth exploration of these beliefs: Why do you believe this? Where did you get these beliefs? How is it serving you to believe this?\n\n• Learn to connect with a spiritual source of truth so that you can begin to heal these beliefs.\n\n• Through your spiritual connection, begin to see and lovingly define your your true self. When you truly see the beauty of your essence, you will know that you do not have to give yourself up to be loved.\n\n• Come into truth about what you can and cannot control. What if you 100% accepted that you cannot control others' feelings about you – no matter how much you give yourself up?\nIn order to heal and no longer give yourself up in relationships, you need to be prepared to fully accept your lack of control over others' feelings about you. While you can influence others' feelings, you cannot control them, and all the things you do to try to control them – such as giving yourself up – eventually backfire. Others can feel the energy and the pull of inauthenticity, and will often do the opposite of what you want – which is to resist your control. No one likes to be controlled, and often, when someone feels that the other person is giving themselves up, they feel controlled by it and will resist.\n\nWould you really want to end up in a relationship where you can't be yourself? Do you really want to have to work that hard, and end up losing yourself, to try to attract another person?\n\nYou will stop doing this when you get to know and value your essence, and you can do this only through seeing yourself through the eyes of your spiritual Guidance. Your programmed mind decided a long time ago that you are not good enough, and as long as you believe this lie, you will continue to lose yourself to try to control.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nExpert advice\n\nAre you still single and you don't why?\nYou constantly feel like you're walking on eggshells.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6683061122894287}
+{"content": "5P Engineering - Crio & Eng\n\nC.E.O. Aldo SalmoiraghiOur C.E.O. Mr. Aldo Salmoiraghi is at your disposal for any question you can have.\n\nPlease contact him at address: a.salmoiraghi@5pengineering.it\n\nFog abetment equipment\n\nCRIO&ENG has developed together with Autovie Venete SpA a distributor of liquid nitrogen for the cold fog rarefaction.\n\nThe equipment are based on Russian technology for the fog control on the airport area.\n\nThe diffusion of liquid nitrogen in the atmosphere makes a very little crystals of ice on which there is a condensation of particles of water that precipitate in form of ice. The consumption of liquid nitrogen is very limited.\n\nFor a airport strip having a diffuser every 200-300 m a total consumption is 40 litters for 8 hours of service.\n\nThe intervention of the LIN diffusers must assure a horizontal visibility of 600 m and vertical visibility of 4oo m that is sufficient for landing and take off.\n\nFor the motorways there are two possibilities on to prevent the fog formation:\n\n  1. using a fixed diffusers inserted by a supervision system ( one show in the left picture) that is acceptable for the payment area, some interconnecting area etc.\n  2. using a mobile system show in the right picture that assure a effect of 30 minutes of fog reduction (refreshing tine ).", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8933671712875366}
+{"content": "Category Archives: Life\n\nThe Growth Process\n\nGrowth is natural, but it is not automatic.\n\nMany people simply think that in order for a person to grow, they don’t have to do much of anything.\n\n\nThink about it…if a child doesn’t eat food, they don’t grow! In fact, they’ll die.\n\nSo, what leads to growth in our lives? How can we choose to intentionally grow more each and every day?\n\nI’ve developed what I call the “Growth Process”. It’s a simple process that if intentionally followed, will lead to growth in any area of a person’s choosing.\n\nGrowth is a circular reality, with one thing leading to the other. Let’s begin with the results.\n\n\n  1. After taking action in some area of our life\n  2. After not taking action in some area of our life\n  3. After experiencing something that happens to us (outside of our control)\n\nThese results lead to a lesson learned. There is always a lesson learned. Even not learning anything is a lesson learned, since what you believe to have learned is that the results have nothing to teach you.\n\n\n  1. Positive lessons (who I can become, what I can change, where I can go, what I can do, etc.)\n  2. Negative lessons (someone else is to blame, what I can’t do, what I am limited in, etc.)\n  3. No lessons (this situation has nothing to teach me, therefore I learn nothing)\n\nLearning nothing (#3) keeps me stagnant in my life, not actively moving backwards or forwards in my life (although the end result will always be backwards movement). Negative lessons (#2) will cause me to exponentially move backwards, doing the complete opposite of growth.\n\nOnly positive lessons (#1) will lead to growth in my life.\n\nThe lessons I learn will lead to intentional action (or inaction).\n\n\n  1. I was correct (what I previously learned was proven to be correct)\n  2. I was wrong (what I previously learned was proven to be incorrect, so there is more to learn)\n  3. I was partially correct (I will keep what was correct but there is something new to learn that I didn’t understand before)\n  4. I was correct, but still need to learn more (since I was correct, this moves me to a new, and different reality, which requires me to learn more as a result to get even further than I was before)\n\nAll of these items give me the opportunity to grow, except for #1.\n\nThe danger is when I learn a negative lesson, then through my action and results, believe my negative lesson to be correct, thus changing nothing, and settling into an unending cycle of negativity that leads me backwards in my life.\n\nWhen we choose to take intentional action, based off of positive learning, we will experience results that will cause us to continue to learn more. Whether the results are positive or negative, we can always learn something that changes us and propels us forward in our lives.\n\nOnly intentional action, based off of positive learning, will lead to GROWTH. This is the Growth Process that everyone follows and either leads them to success or failure.\n\nWhat will you choose?\n\nCoaching Or Mentoring?\n\nCoaching or mentoring?\n\nAction versus information.\n\nLeveraging versus learning.\n\nDoing versus being.\n\nWhich ones are most important?\n\ncoaching or mentoring\ncoaching or mentoring\n\nTo take action, a person first needs information. To leverage something, you first need something with which to leverage. In order to properly do something, you first need to be somebody.\n\nOne is not more important  than the other. Both of them go hand in hand. Understanding the order is important.\n\nFirst, we get information, then we take action.\n\nFirst, we learn something, then we leverage that learning.\n\nFirst, we learn to be who we are, then we do according to who we are.\n\nMentoring and Coaching both fulfill distinct roles and purposes.\n\nImagine a glass that you drink out of. Mentoring = pouring into the glass what needs to be there. Coaching = pulling out of the glass what is already there.\n\nMentoring is absolutely essential. We need to have multiple mentors in different areas of our lives: finances, business, leadership, marriage, parenting, etc. Mentoring can take on many forms: people who know me, books I read, videos I watch, etc.\n\nCoaching is also absolutely essential. Coaching moves me beyond knowledge to actually using that knowledge to accomplish something.\n\nYou can be an armchair quarterback when it comes to football, but you can’t be one when it comes to your life.\n\nIf we don’t turn our information into action, we end up being useless. If we don’t leverage our learning, we become irrelevant. If we only focus on being without doing, we die.\n\nThe biggest issue that I see today is not a lack of information, but rather a lack of action. There is a small group of people that are self-motivators. They don’t need anyone to put their feet to the fire because they do it for themselves.\n\nBut if you’re like me and the 99% of other people who are not like that (yes, I made up that percentage), you need someone to get you moving. That is what we call a coach.\n\nBecause I had a coach for the team I swam on, I showed up on time to workout…6am almost every morning for 4 years during college. Without a coach, I would have failed.\n\nYou’ve got a bunch of ideas, but up until now you haven’t done anything with them. If you need more understanding, get a mentor. But, if you’re ready to take action, then get a coach.\n\nBy the way, I am a certified coach. If you need to take some action on life stuff, business stuff, or any other stuff, I would be happy to do a coaching call with you…completely FREE. Maybe you’re stuck and don’t know how to get moving. Let’s talk!\n\nI’m opening this up to a only ten people. Why only ten? I’m super busy! I am a pastor of a church, I’ve got a wife and five kids, and much more. So, if you’re interested, don’t hesitate! My goal is to help you reach your goals.\n\nClick here to schedule a call with me.\n\nI like forward to hearing from you!\n\n\n\n\n\nLeveraging Loss\n\n\nleverage your loss\nleverage your loss\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe choice is yours!\n\nAre You At The Point Of Breakthrough?\n\nPhoto Jul 27, 6 31 40 PM Breakthrough\n\nAre you at the point of breakthrough?\n\n\n\n\n\nThe breakthrough point is a powerful point in every human’s life.\n\nBut, you must understand something about EVERY breakthrough:\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGet ready…it’s coming!\n\nTurning Stones\n\n\nI love The Food Network. And, HGTV as well. They’re both channels that I could binge watch all day. They’re both channels I HAVE binge watched all day…but fortunately not recently!\n\nChef Chris Cosentino, a host on The Food Network, believes that no part of an animal should be wasted in the process of cooking. Use it all!\n\nIf we expand this concept to our daily lives, it might sound like this:\n\nDon’t waste any opportunity you have. Don’t waste any resource at your disposal.\n\nHow often do we allow different aspects of our lives…abilities, financial resources, influential relationships, new opportunities, etc…simply to be wasted because we don’t take advantage of them?\n\nProverbs 12:27 says,\n\n\nThe question is this: Are you being diligent?\n\nAre you using every resource, every opportunity, every relationship at your disposal? We are not talking about abuse here, or simply “using” stuff. Not at all! But if God has given you something to be used, then it is a failure to not develop it.\n\nI realized this a couple of months ago as I started to do a bit of fundraising. I realized that there were people ready and willing to donate to things I was developing, but wouldn’t have donated if I didn’t let them know what I was doing!\n\nThere’s a common English phrase that is used many times: “Leave no stone unturned”.\n\nAre you turning over every stone around you to maximize the potential that exists? Don’t miss out or let go of your God-given opportunities and resources.\n\nLive to the max!\n\nThe Pain of Riches\n\nThe Pain of Riches\n\nRight now, I am reading the book of Proverbs. As one of the 66 books of the Bible, it’s unique in that its focus is not about recounting history, but about sharing wisdom about daily life.\n\nThere have been many proverbs from the book that have stood out to me recently. One of those is the following, found in Proverbs 13:8. It says,\n\n   “The rich can pay a ransom for their lives, but the poor won’t even get      threatened.”\n\nIt’s a pretty simple saying, but it packs a big punch. It compares to classes of people, using money as the connecting factor. This proverb basically admits to a simple reality…while the rich person might be able to get out of a threatening situation with the money they have, the poor person would never find themselves in that threatening situation to begin with.\n\nThe equation in this proverb is the following: be rich = get kidnapped, be  poor = live in peace.\n\nNow, this proverb is not simply about being rich or poor. And it’s not really about being kidnapped. It’s communicating this important truth:\n\nWith greater riches comes greater difficulty.\n\nNow, let’s expand the concept of being rich. Riches can apply to money, influence, power, relationships, resources,, etc. The richer you are in any area of your life brings with it corresponding difficulties.\n\nMaybe you want to own your own business, build a successful product, gain a lot of influence, or simply do something BIG in some area of your life. Understand that by doing so, you open yourself up to a cost that you wouldn’t experience otherwise.\n\nSo, go for it! Accomplish big dreams and big goals, but be ready for the difficulty that comes with living your life at that level.\n\nIf you’re ready for the sacrifice, you’ll be ready for the success that the sacrifice will bring. Climb your mountain, but count the cost ahead of time.\n\nMay your 2017 be a year of incredible success!\n\n\nThe Power of Gratitude\n\n\n\nHappy Thanksgiving everyone! It is a day of gratitude!\n\nWant some history on Thanksgiving? Go here.\n\nAbraham Lincoln, 153 years ago, established the national holiday of Thanksgiving. His statement is powerful, as it addresses the difficulties of the time while recognizing the need to give thanks. You can read that here.\n\nI would like to pull a few excerpts from his proclamation in order to provide some perspective about the power of gratitude in our lives.\n\n\n“In the midst of a civil war of unequalled magnitude and severity”\n\nThere is never a bad time to give thanks. Many people in our country are stressed, worried, or fearful about our countries future. Might we agree that being in the middle of a civil war (1861-1865)  would be much worse than where we are at now? If gratitude was necessary in the middle of war, then it is equally as necessary now.\n\nRight after making that comment, Lincoln goes on to describe the good things that were happening in the country…population growth, the growth of wealth and strength in extracting needed mineral resources for the country. If he had only focused on war, he would have missed the positive things.\n\nThings are never all bad or even all good. Life is usually filled with a combination of both.\n\nMight it be better for our hearts and souls to focus on that which is good?\n\n\n“They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God”\n\nWhen we choose to live a life of gratitude, it always leads us to the One who has given us those things which we are thankful for. Blessed families, economic security, food at the table, great friends, and many other things that we experience don’t happen by accident. They happen because God has made them available to us.\n\nWhen we exercise gratitude, we realize that there is a purpose behind all the good that we experience. Gratitude leads us to Jesus.\n\n\n“…commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidable engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.”\n\nIf we truly believe that God is the one who is responsible for our blessings, then it is also to God that we direct our requests for intervention in the difficulties we face.\n\nGratitude was the foundation of requesting God’s intervention in the chaos that existed.\n\nUnderstand this, thanking God for the good things does not mean ignoring the difficult things that we face…whether personally or as a country. On the contrary…thanking God for that which is good sets us up to pray with faith and hope, believing that our God will intervene to bring even more of his blessings in the areas of difficulty that exist.\n\n\nI don’t have a quote from Abraham Lincoln on this one, but it is something I believe to be true. When we live a life of gratitude, we become others-centered rather than me-centered. In fact, gratitude is the antidote to selfishness and entitlement.\n\nGratitude sends us on a trajectory of living a healthy life as we focus on that which is positive and as we focus on how we can give, rather than receive.\n\nGratitude gives us focus.\n\nGratitude shows us Jesus.\n\nGratitude allows us to plead our cause to God.\n\nAnd gratitude leads us to a lifestyle of generosity.\n\nThat is the power of gratitude.\n\nHow will you be grateful on this Thanksgiving?\n\nHappy Thanksgiving everyone!\n\n\nWhat Now?\n\nWhat Now?\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLove you all!\n\n\n\nIntegrity Is All You Have\n\nIntegrity is all you have\n\nIntegrity is all you have. We are all imperfect. We make mistakes, we fail, we screw up. Along the way, we make some good decisions as well. In all of this, each of us wants to continue advancing – in business, in personal growth, in family, in the church, and any other area we can dream of. But in the midst of all of this, integrity is all you have.\n\nSometimes, along this journey of life, we come to a crossroads. We’re not quite sure what decision to make. We tend to analyze our decisions based off of a matrix of risk vs. reward.\n\nThis is all well and fine. But, along the way, moments come when the risk is to lose your integrity, while the reward seems to be great. So, you throw your integrity to the side in order to travel the path that seems will benefit you most.\n\nIt seems like a great plan. And we tend to justify, saying things like…\n\n  • No one will ever know\n  • The (perceived) benefit far outweighs the cost\n  • What could possibly go wrong?\n\nThe only problem is this: When you compromise your integrity in the dark, the consequences will be seen in the light.\n\nYou see, it is impossible for something to START in secret and to STAY in secret. The compromising decisions that we make will affect certain areas of our lives that are visible, even if no one knows about the original compromise.\n\nIt takes a lifetime to build integrity and a moment to lose it.\n\nI have not always made the right decisions, but I have always attempted to make honest decisions. I don’t want to lie to myself, to God, or to others.\n\nEverything that you build in your life will influence others, whether it be kids, spouses, employees, employers, subordinates, friends, acquaintances, etc.\n\nIntegrity is all you have. Once you lose that, you begin to lose everything else and everyone else.\n\nSometimes, choosing integrity means choosing loss. If that is the case, so be it. It would be better to lose everything while maintaining the people that you love, rather than maintaining things while losing those you love.\n\nAnd remember this: once you lose the people, losing the things will follow closely behind.\n\nIntegrity is all you have. Remember, the product you deliver is a representation of your integrity. Your product might be a widget, or influence, or relationships. It might be technological, or service oriented, or something else. Whatever your product is, people will connect your trustworthiness and integrity to the things that represent you.\n\nThere really is only one way to live.\n\nIntegrity is all you have.\n\nChoose wisely.\n\nWhen The Going Gets Tough\n\nHave you heard the phrase “When the going gets tough, the tough get going”?\n\nIt’s a proverb about perseverance and following through, even when things are hard. That is definitely admirable and something that we should work towards.\n\nThere is a necessary  step to take after the going gets tough, but before you get going again. That step is this:\n\nStop and look.\n\nWhen things get tough, you are going to have to make a deision about persevering through the difficult ircustancecs until you reach the other side. But, before you get there, you need to take a moment. And stop. Then look.\n\nThis is especially important when things are tough. At the moment that things turn more difficult than you expected, it is important to ask yourself a few things:\n\n  1. Why are things more difficult now? What changed?\n  2. What needs to change in your approach now that the environment has changed?\n  3. What do you need in order to make it to the other side, that you might not have needed before?\n  4. Will this require a different course of action than what I previously planned?\n\nTaking a moment to stop and survey the road before you is extremely important before you continue.\n\nWhen things get tough, you definitely should continue. But how you continue makes all the difference.\n\nWhen the going gets tough, the tough stop and look, then they get going.\n\nI get it…the phrase may not be as interesting now as it used to be! You  might be thinking, “Wow! Jeff just ruined a perfectly good proverb!”\n\nI probably did. But it’s true nonetheless. Take a moment. Catch your breath. Find the best way forward. Then move on!", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5905952453613281}
+{"content": "\n\nNOTE: The types of data downloaded into Raiser's Edge may depend\n on what gateway the transaction is processed. For example, Cardholder Name will not download for PayPal transactions downloaded as “XCheckout” transactions. The XCheckout functionality allows donors to connect directly to their third-party payment account (such as, PayPal) to make their donation. Paypal payments are managed through your organization's PayPal account, meaning they get basic information on the donor in LO but the actual donation transaction is managed from PayPal not your Luminate merchant account.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5679282546043396}
+{"content": "Workplace diversity\n\nXem 1-8 trên 8 kết quả Workplace diversity\n\n    pdf188p namde02 05-04-2013 27 5   Download\n\n\n    pdf143p cucdai_1 14-10-2012 23 4   Download\n\n  • Chapter 11 – Teams: Characteristics and diversity. In this chapter, we will address the following questions: What are the five general team types and their defining characteristics? What are the three general types of team interdependence? What factors are involved in team composition? What are the types of team diversity and how do they influence team functioning? How do team characteristics influence team effectiveness? How can team compensation be used to manage team effectiveness?\n\n    ppt20p tangtuy17 05-07-2016 6 2   Download\n\n  • Chapter 3 - Equal opportunity in the workplace. This chapter presents the following content: What is diversity? offices of equal opportunity and diversity, equal opportunity laws, developing cross-cultural interaction, increase personal awareness, managing cultural diversity in the workplace, establishing inclusion plans, managing diversity issues positively.\n\n    ppt18p trueorfalse8 07-09-2017 0 0   Download\n\n  • In this book I explore public and professional writing produced through diverse modes and genres, for example, corporate and political documents, websites and emails. I also investigate the processes of developing and the impacts of reading such writing in various contexts, for example, within and between workplaces, in the corporate, public and political spheres, and in physical and virtual spaces.\n\n    pdf194p haiduong_1 28-02-2013 28 8   Download\n\n  • Managing people effectively, so they contribute to an organisation while being able to satisfy their own needs, is vital for any organisation wanting to retain a competitive edge. With the HRM BBS you’ll look at how employees are recruited and selected, and how work is designed and measured, so an organisation can create value from its employees.\n\n    pdf52p bi_ve_sau 05-02-2013 26 5   Download\n\n\n    pdf20p mebachano 01-02-2013 18 2   Download\n\n\n    pdf316p bautroibinhyen23 02-04-2017 2 2   Download\n\n\nĐồng bộ tài khoản", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7326567769050598}
+{"content": "Photography: Thodoris Georgakopoulos / Flickr\nArticles |\n\nExtreme Poverty in Greece\n\nWhat is the extent of extreme poverty in Greece? A new diaNEOsis study calculates the effective extreme poverty threshold for Greece, estimates the number of Greeks earning less than that, and arrives at a series of proposals aiming to drastically alleviate the problem.\n\n\nThe aim of this study is to map the problem of poverty in Greece, and to arrive at concrete solution proposals. But mapping such a problem is not easy. What is the definition of poverty, exactly? Who counts as \"poor\"? In recent years, the vast majority of Greeks have seen their income shrink, due to the reduction of their salary or pension, or due to unemployment. In 2014, 95% of Greeks stated that \"they find it difficult to cope, financially.\" But how many of them are truly poor? How many are destitute, struggling to survive? And what can be done to help them?\n\nOur study is comprised of a policy paper, authored by professor Manos Matsaganis, Dr. Chrysa Leventi, Eleni Kanavitsa and Maria Flevotomou, and an independent public opinion survey, conducted by the University of Macedonia on behalf of diaNEOsis. Both the paper and the survey data are published in Greek and can be found here. This is a summary of the main findings.\n\nIn order to combat extreme poverty it is not sufficient to, say, construct a new productive model for the economy, or to implement extensive educational reforms. These are essential policies for any government facing an economic downturn and rising unemployment, but they cannot be immediately effective as measures against poverty. The main reason is timing: People living in extreme or absolute poverty need support now, not in the near or far future, when complicated economic or educational initiatives bear fruit. It has been well documented that the easiest, most effective way to help them is to create a fair system that provides them with the main resource they lack: Money.\n\n\nFor a very long time, spending on social welfare in Greece remained at levels similar to the rest of the European Union. However, as our data shows, this did not provide adequate levels of protection for the weak. There were significant gaps which, after the onset of the economic crisis, have widened.\n\n\nBut what do we mean when we say \"poverty\"?\n\nTo measure poverty, official statistics in Europe use a metric called \"relative poverty\". People living in relative poverty have income that is lower than a set percentage of the economy's median income. In Europe, the relative poverty threshold is currently set at 60% of median income. This means that the rate of relative poverty is equal to the percentage of people who have income less than 60% of median income.\n\n\nThis is of course an arbitrary limit. It is used mainly to show how many people are significantly below an \"average\" standard of living, but it tells us nothing  about whether these people actually face problems of survival. It does not tell us whether they are genuinely \"poor\". It only shows us that these people find themselves noticeably below the average household’s living conditions. This is why the rate of relative poverty is not greatly affected by a country’s economic status. During the euphoric growth of the 1995-2008 period, for example, relative poverty in Greece remained almost stable at around 20%. After the outbreak of the crisis in 2010 and the unprecedented recession that followed, it barely increased.\n\nTo identify people who are actually poor and help them, we must define \"extreme\" or \"absolute poverty\", a metric that is much more meaningful in this context. And it is not enough to know how many Greeks are below poverty line; it is also necessary to know how close to the poverty line these people are, to measure the so-called \"poverty gap\". We need to calculate how many people are poor, but also how poor they are.\n\nOur researchers used EU-SILC (Survey on Income and Living Conditions in the European Union) as a source for income data, as well as EUROMOD, a tool used to calculate the impact of taxation and social policy measures in European economies. EUROMOD uses EU-SILC data from 2011, so our team used micro simulation to update its dataset.\n\nThen, the team calculated the cost of a \"basket\" of products and services that a Greek household must be able to afford each month to survive. The value of the basket differs depending on the location of the household, its size and composition, as well as whether members live in a privately owned home or pay rent or mortgage installments.\n\n\"The extreme poverty threshold\" is defined as the monthly cost of this basket, which corresponds to the minimum subsistence needs.\n\nNaturally, the decision on what must be included in this basket is subjective. For example, our basket does not contain the monthly cost of a telephone landline, because our researchers agree that use of a landline is no longer absolutely necessary to survive. The basket does, however, include the cost of mobile phone usage.\n\nThe team did market research in Athens, Patras and Vareia Trichonidas (a village in Aitoloakarnania), and determined the actual cost of everything included in the basket (food, clothing, rent, municipal fees, utility bills.) From these calculations, the researchers managed to calculate the monthly extreme poverty limit for different types of households, as follows:\n\n\nHow many have monthly income below this threshold?\n\n\nAnalyzing the detailed results, we see that the percentage of extreme poverty among children (17.6%) and young people aged 18-29 (24.4%) is impressively high, while only 2.7% of the population aged over 65 have monthly income below the threshold.\n\n\n\nThe group that is most at risk of all are, of course, the unemployed. The percentage of extreme poverty in the unemployed in recent years stands at around 70-75% - compared to less than 50% in 2011. In contrast, less than 1% of the families of public sector employees live under the extreme poverty threshold. The respective percentage for pensioners is also very low (3.8%).\n\nThese findings are explained by the fact that the reductions of low pensions in the crisis were much lower than the reductions affecting other income categories, while even the lowest pensions are paid regularly, and as a rule are sufficient cover the cost of our \"basket\" with euros to spare. However, to be fair, the conclusion should also take into account the cost of health services for the elderly, which have not been taken into account in the design of the basket (health care is theoretically free for insured tax payers and pensioners in Greece). In most cases health care is most certainly not free for the elderly, therefore, although pensioners' incomes are generally higher than other categories, their standard of living may not be.\n\nAnd what do Greeks think about the issue? Our public survey aimed to gauge public perceptions about poverty. As expected, the picture citizens have of \"extreme poverty\" is quite different than what our data came up with. When asked about what their limit of absolutely essential household expenses would be, the average response came at 1,430 euros - a sum much higher than the extreme poverty threshold of all categories of households.\n\nStill, the most striking number that came out of our study must be this: 1,647,703. That is the actual number of citizens that, according to our calculations, earn less than the extreme poverty limit each month. That is 15% of the population in 2015. How do all these people survive?\n\nSome of them may still have savings with which they cover the poverty gap (savings are not reflected in the income). Some others may simply leave bills unpaid (rent, utility bills, credit cards). There is data to confirm this: According to Eurostat, the percentage of the poorest 20% of the population that had unpaid rent or mortgage installments in 2014 had reached 27.1%, while the percentage of the same poorest one-fifth who had left utility bills unpaid had reached 65.4%.\n\nSome of them, however, are already facing a serious survival problem. We asked our researchers to evaluate current welfare policies and to come up with new proposals that would have a measurable impact on the problem.\n\nAnti-poverty policies in Greece have been traditionally characterized by the lack of effective targeting. Housing policies, for example, have historically led to one of the highest percentages of home ownership in Europe (72%), but have traditionally benefited families that are not poor. During the crisis, as the number of the unemployed doubled, the number of unemployed benefit beneficiaries fell by half. In 2015, fewer than one in ten unemployed people were receiving unemployment benefits. In 2010, welfare expenditure in Greece had reached close to the average of the EU countries (29.1% of GDP compared to 29.4%), but while social transfers in the EU reduced poverty by 9.5%, in Greece the corresponding figure was just 3.9%.\n\nOf course, political efforts have been undertaken during the crisis. Our team of researchers evaluated three of these policies: The social dividend (2014), the child support subsidy (2013) and the food coupons (2015). These measures had mixed success. The social dividend (2014) reduced the number of people who were below the extreme poverty line by 120,402. The child support subsidy (2013) helped 85,006 people. The food coupons (2015) contributed less: The policy pulled 21,600 people out of extreme poverty. However, this particular measure did decrease the poverty gap (i.e., how far the income of the poor household is from the extreme poverty line) at a percentage comparable with that achieved by the other measures.\n\nOverall, however, the success of these measures was limited, and the vast majority of the extremely poor remain below the limit. Our researchers propose the adoption of three realistic programs that would decrease the number of citizens living below the extreme poverty line by 614,000 at an annual cost of 2.7 billion euros (1.5% of GDP).\n\nThe programs include:\n\n  1. The extension of regular unemployment benefits.\n  2. Expanding the child support subsidy.\n  3. Expanding the Guaranteed Minimum Income (GMI) to cover the entire country.\n\nToday, only 9.5% of the unemployed receive the standard unemployment subsidy, while very few long-term unemployed are entitled to receive long-term unemployment benefits. The standard subsidy is only offered for a period that does not exceed 12 months. We propose the extension of that period as needed to cover up to 40% of the unemployed.\n\nThe child support subsidy has been given to low-income families since 2013. We propose its increase from €40 euros per child per month to €60. It's a small increase and an inexpensive measure, but the data shows that it can benefit extremely poor households immensely.\n\nA recent limited GMI test program in Greece was a success. We propose its expansion across Greece, with small but key changes in its design.\n\nThe implementation of these measures would have the following results:\n\nIf these relatively simple measures were implemented, about one million poor citizens would benefit, and 613,704 of them would see their incomes rise above the extreme poverty limit. The percentage of extreme poverty in Greece would fall from 15% to 9.4% of the population.\n\nOne million citizens would remain below the threshold, but their incomes, too, would be increased - the poverty gap for them would be reduced by 55%.\n\nOf course, these programs would cost €2.7 billion, a stunning amount of money.\n\nStill, there is a question of priorities. Our country spends nearly €2 billion every year on pensions for citizens below the age of 55. The total public welfare benefits for 2015 did not exceed €700 million, with €220 million going to beneficiaries who were also receiving a pension. Money is an issue these days, but limited resources should go first to those who need them most. Why isn't this happening already?\n\nBecause the vulnerable, the unemployed and the poor are not only financially and socially weak - they are also weak politically. The political parties are usually more willing to provide support to groups that yield greater political influence (public sector employees, farmers, pensioners) than to the invisible, politically non-existent extreme poor.\n\nThis reality was easier to ignore before the crisis, when the extreme poor were few (a mere 2.2% of the population in 2009) and, therefore, even more invisible. Today they are not invisible.\n\nWe cannot afford to ignore them anymore.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8038489818572998}
+{"content": "Amatsu Tatara Bumon Shumon\nGenbukan Ninpo Bugei\nKokusai Jujutsu Renmei\nKoryu Karate\nChugoku Kempo\nRyu Ha\nLocate a Dojo\nAmatsu Tatara Hibumi Scrolls\nAmatsu means Heaven or Nature. Tatara means the highest secret teaching system of Martial Arts and original Shintoism spirit.\n\nThe Amatsu Tatara Hibumi (secret scrolls) are special scrolls about all Martial Arts, Spiritualism and Humanism. These were written about 700 BC by the King of Mima as the history of Japan. Tatara Isuzu Hime-no-Mikoto was given these scrolls. She then married the first emperor Jinmu and gave these scrolls to the Ohtomo, Nakatomi and Mononobe families (families loyal to the Emperor).\n\nIn about 700 BC (or 500 BC, or 600 BC), The King Mima drifted from the ancient Babylonia Caldia Kingdom to Japan with three attendants and they lived on Miwayama mountain (Nara Area). He formed a good friendship with the chieftain of Japan Amaterasu Ohmikami and made great efforts in controlling Japan. This is why he was made a Kunitsu Omi Muraji (Minister).\n\nKing Mima brought the special Kubikazari (necklace) which was made of 72 Magatama (jewels). The Kubikazari was not only for just fashion which was the symbol of a King. It had very important meaning and was used for fortunetelling as well. King Mima presented it to Amaterasu.\n\nHiboko-no-Mikoto followed King Mima to Japan. Hiboko was a great Shaman and brought Tokusano Kandakara (ten kinds of Gods treasures) of Shikin. Shikin means Rei-jutsu (spiritual techniques by truth consciousness.).\n\nIn 500 BC or 550 BC, several hundred Buddhist Vader people of the Malay race attacked Japan and fought the emperors army of Miwayama. The emperor's army fought and defeated them. From the battle the Japanese emperor's army designed weapons, created how to use them, and also how to win (strategies). From that time until about 10 AD a special scroll was written; the Amatsu Tatara Hibumi-no-Ikkan (original main secret scroll of the Amatsu Tatara) which includes all special techniques, philosophies, Tenmon (heavens things), Chimon (earth things) and others.\nAmatsu Tatara Overview\nAmatsu Tatara Hibumi Scrolls\nShinmei Shii-no Hiden Scrolls\nFirst Teaching of Amatsu Tatara Martial Arts\nAmatsu Tatara and Takamatsu", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7226440906524658}
+{"content": "Baldr&#225;ni Baldr&#225;ni - 1 year ago 37\nPHP Question\n\nShow a different value from an input that what will be received as php\n\nI'd like to know if there is a way to show in an input of type text a different value than the one send to PHP.\n\nFor example, let say you have :\n\n<input type=\"text\" value=\"John\">\nthat display John.\n\nCan I change the value to \"Doe\" for the user but keep it to \"John\" for php.\n\nCan I achieve this using the difference between\n\n\nI runed a couple of tests and it seems that I will have to reverse it directly in my controller. Is there an other solution\n\nHere is a little jSFiddle to play around\n\nAnswer Source\n\nAn odd request to be sure but...\n\nYou can't change the field's value and just do a simple form submission. The field will dutifully send whatever is in it. There's a few hackery ways around this tho\n\nOption 1 - Hidden fields\n\nSo make a field, disable it, and add a hidden field. Disabled fields are never successful, although the user will be unable to change the field value and many browsers will change the styling of the field automatically\n\n<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" value=\"John\" disabled>\n<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"name\" value=\"Doe\">\n\nOption 2 - Change the value on submit\n\nAs you mentioned, you can always change the value when the form is submitted. The below listener will capture the form submitt Using jQuery since you asked it that way\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5827611684799194}
+{"content": "An online resource based on the award-winning nature guide\n\nBeaver Winter Food Supply Cache\n\nBeaver Winter Food Supply Cache\n\n\nOnce locked under the ice, beavers have only the food that they have had the foresight to store in their pond prior to it freezing to sustain themselves for the next four to five months. Sometime in September or October beavers start cutting down trees and limbing them. (The more northern the latitude, the earlier they begin this process.)  Beavers have been found foraging over a third of a mile from their pond in the fall.  At this time of year they tend to go further afield in order to find their preferred trees and shrubs – poplar, willow, alder and sugar maples. The branches are carried to the pond and hauled through the water to the lodge. When they approach the lodge the beavers dive down and push the butt end of the branches into the mud at the bottom of the pond and proceed to weave additional layers of branches into them.\n\nMost caches are built as close to the entrance of the lodge as possible. A cache, or winter food supply pile, that feeds a colony of beavers consists of 1,500 to 2,500 pounds of edible bark, twigs and leaves. (On average, a beaver consumes 1 ½ pounds of food per day in the summer, and 2.2 pounds in the winter.)  Because beavers don’t eat the wood, they must gather several tons of saplings and branches in order to have enough to survive.\n\nIf you look closely at yesterday’s close-up view of the food cache, you will see larger limbs on top of the pile. These larger logs are used to weight down the pile –they often consist of species that beavers aren’t particularly partial to, if they eat them at all. (Note proximity of food cache to the lodge, which is to the left in photo.) \n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7844470143318176}
+{"content": "blue bear Beach Towel\n\nBeach Towel\n\nblue bear\n\nby Roman's Studio\n\n\n\nInspired by one of the fiercest predators in nature, this watercolor imagination of the polar bear is equal parts soothing and disarming. On its own, the artwork would be a cute and calming addition to any space\n\npainting animals.-blue bear night\nwinter snow cold polar-bear\nwatercolor calming endangered wild-life\npreserve paint cute ice", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8808791637420654}
+{"content": "American Flags Sale Hanover MA 02339\n\nAmerican Flags in Hanover.\n\n100% Made in America!\n\nFolding up the American flag.\n\nThe American flag is a solid icon of American identification and also national pride. Also called Old Glory, the United States flag has a vibrant history as well as has undergone lots of adjustments since the initial official flag of 1777.\n\nToday the flag is composed of thirteen horizontal stripes, seven red alternating with 6 white stripes. The colors of the flag are symbolic as well: red symbolizes hardiness as well as valor, white represents purity and also virtue as well as blue represents vigilance, determination and justice.\n\nWith time, some have actually associated slightly different definitions to the 3 colors, as an example, the shade red symbolizing the bloodshed spilled to preserve our freedoms, however the essence of the initial significance has actually been rather constant from 1782.\n\nPhoto via Wikimedia Commons\n\nHow did the American flag grow into what it is today?\n\nIt is a lot more than the 3 shades or a “design”. Consider the places around the globe that the American flag has actually flown, consider the transformation it has actually undertaken throughout the years on American land. It is really humbling to consider all that was given and also given up to ensure that the American flag could fly freely throughout this country.\n\n\n\n\nFolding the American flag.\n\n\nThe flag isn’t folded up in this way since each of the folds has a special symbolic significance; the flag is folded in this manner since it gives a sensible ritualistic touch that differentiates folding a flag from folding a common item such as a bedsheet, and due to the fact that it results an aesthetically pleasing, easy-to-handle form. This thirteen-fold procedure was a typical practice long before the development of a ceremonial assignation of “meaning” to every of the actions.\n\n\nThis is America and also its sign is the American Flag. Even though several Americans in the state of Massachusetts proudly fly the flag outside their residences and also companies every day, it is fitting that we, as a nation, have actually set apart one details day each year to recognize our flag and to bear in mind that it stands for the perfects as well as values that we must aim to promote.\n\nHanover ZIP codes we serve: 02339", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9802983999252319}
+{"content": "Is it sensible for someone to carry out the study of philosophy at the\n\nRead another response by Charles Taliaferro\nRead another response about Philosophy, Happiness\nIs it sensible for someone to carry out the study of philosophy at the undergraduate level or above with the aim of self-psychological therapy(in place of, or with orthodox psychotherapy)? Can it help us organize our minds to be in order? Can it reduce neuroses and anxieties, and make us happier?\n\nIt did in my case. I grew up in the context of two older half-brothers who made me feel worthless. (My mother and father had one son each in a previous marriage and when they got together and had two children, we were resented by their sons.) When I discovered the practice of philosophy, it was like discovering an escape from resentment, disrespect, and bullying. Ideally, when philosophy is true to its name of being the love of wisdom, it can be a practice in which one finds a site to engage in questioning and exploring (with others who treat each other with respect) values, matters of meaning and purpose, that can be therapeutic. I also found philosophy as a practice to be therapeutic when I recovered from a short period of abusing psychotropic drugs (LSD, etc). I basically found life with philosophy (without drugs) as a practice healthier, happier, less neurotic, than a life of blurry, self-abuse (and probably self-pity).\n\nOK, so that is more of a testimony than an expected, scholarly or less personal response, so (to earn my keep, though I suppose the only earning panelists earn is the privilege of being read as there is no money involved) I should also add that the study of philosophy can lead to a very different outcome than it had in my case. Embracing Schopenhauer's worldview can lead to a regret that one has been born and some philosophers like Pascal, Kierkegaard, and Nietzsche, can be read as seeking to instill anxiety (as well as offering insights on how to address anxiety and dread and renounce certain forms of consolation). In fact, our sort of patron saint, Socrates, seemed to specialize in making his fellow Athenians nervous by exposing their ignorance (about justice, holiness, courage, friendship, and so on). Moreover, those of us who are professional philosophers are far from perfect; we are not immunized against depression, unhappiness, neuroses and anxiety.\n\nStill, my hope is that you might find in the practice philosophy what I did and find the reason why I am still very excited about the practice of philosophy and find it liberating and a source of joy.\n\nRelated Terms", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5321044921875}
+{"content": "CS 4374. Software Construction.\n\nThe course focuses on incorporating security technologies and methods into new and existing systems; using reverse engineering techniques and methodologies to explore the internal operations of compiled, executable machine code to identify possible security vulnerabilities and examine ways attackers can expose such vulnerabilities; analyzing threats; applying methods to prevent and defeat attacks; and understanding the ethical responsibilities and obligations associated with developing, acquiring, and operating software systems.\n\n3 Credit Hours\n3 Total Contact Hours\n0 Lab Hours\n3 Lecture Hours\n0 Other Hours\n\nPrerequisite(s): (CS 2302 w/C or better)", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 1.0000098943710327}
+{"content": "(redirected from appetites)\n\n\n\na pleasant sensation associated with the need for food; also, a physiological mechanism regulating the intake of food substances into the organism. After long deprivation of food, appetite becomes the sensation of hunger.\n\nAppetite is closely related to the activity of the feeding center, primarily those parts of the feeding center located in the hypothalamus and in the cortex of the cerebral hemispheres. Appetite is determined by information coming to the feeding center about nutritive conditions, the intake and assimilation of food, and the consumption of food reserves. Appetite is not caused by the exhaustion of the organism’s food reserves; rather, appetite gives warning beforehand of the exhaustion of food reserves, so that the many stimuli that make up the appetite can change their signals in accordance with a change in the dietary regimen. Stimulation of the appetite depends on the amount of products of intermediary metabolism in the blood, the level of assimilation of these products by the cells, the amount of water in the tissues, the condition of the fat reserves, the contraction of the empty stomach, the lowering of body temperature, and the many external stimuli associated with conditioned reflex activity (the appearance and odor of food, habitual surroundings, and others). Inhibition of the appetite results from eating, distension of the walls of the stomach by food, absorption and assimilation of the products of digestion, and change in the hormonal balance.\n\nGeneral appetite, that is, appetite for any food, is distinguished from specialized or selective forms of appetite which reflect the organism’s need for proteins, fats, carbohydrates, mineral substances, and vitamins. Appetite makes possible the regulation of the need for specific foods in quantities required by the organism. It also promotes the digestion and assimilation of food by stimulating the secretion of saliva and gastric juices. A good appetite is often a sign of physical and mental well-being. Disorders of the appetite are symptomatic of many diseases. A decrease in appetite (anorexia), a pathological increase in appetite (bulimia), or perverted appetite may be found in cases of brain tumors, many nervous and psychological disorders, diseases of the digestive tract, avitaminosis, and endocrine diseases. Normalization of appetite depends on treatment of the basic disease and observance of the proper dietary regimen.\n\n\nAnokhin, P. K. “Uzlovye voprosy ν izuchenii vysshei nervnoi deiatel’nosti.” In Problemy vysshei nervnoi deiatel’nosti. Moscow, 1949.\nUgolev, A. M., and V. G. Kassil’. “Fiziologiia appetita.” Uspekhi sovremennoi biologii, 1961, vol. 51, issue 3.\nUgolev, A. M., and V.G. Kassil’. “Pishchevoe povedenie i reguliat-siia gomeostaza.” In Slozhnye formy povedeniia. Moscow-Leningrad, 1965.\nChernigovskii, V. N. Znachenie interotseptivnoi signalizatsii ν pishchevom povedenii zhivotnykh. Moscow-Leningrad, 1962.\n\n\nReferences in classic literature ?\nI had after this described the reasonable soul, and shown that it could by no means be educed from the power of matter, as the other things of which I had spoken, but that it must be expressly created; and that it is not sufficient that it be lodged in the human body exactly like a pilot in a ship, unless perhaps to move its members, but that it is necessary for it to be joined and united more closely to the body, in order to have sensations and appetites similar to ours, and thus constitute a real man.\nTo cast in my lot with Jekyll, was to die to those appetites which I had long secretly indulged and had of late begun to pamper.\nOur appetites satisfied, we felt overcome with sleep.\nWhile Porthos and Mousqueton were breakfasting, with the appetites of convalescents and with that brotherly cordiality which unites men in misfortune, D'Artagnan related how Aramis, being wounded, was obliged to stop at Crevecoeur, how he had left Athos fighting at Amiens with four men who accused him of being a coiner, and how he, D'Artagnan, had been forced to run the Comtes de Wardes through the body in order to reach England.\nAfter these experiments, the cold atmosphere drove us all into the house, with the keenest appetites for supper.\nThe next morning, their appetites were as sharp as ever.\nThe keen appetites of mountain trappers, quickened by a fortnight's fasting, at length got the better of all scruples of pride, and they fairly begged some fish or flesh from the hospitable savages.\nThey almost forgot to go to their dinner that day, their appetites being preoccupied with imaginary sugar-plums; and I think even Punch, setting up his tabernacle in the market- place, would not have succeeded in drawing them away from those shop-windows, where they stood according to gradations of size and strength, the biggest and strongest being nearest the window, and the little ones in the outermost rows lifting wide-open eyes and mouths towards the upper tier of jars, like small birds at meal- time.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8663193583488464}
+{"content": "Presenting Young Adult Horror Fiction (Twayne's United\n\nFormat: Hardcover\n\nLanguage: English\n\nFormat: PDF / Kindle / ePub\n\nSize: 14.07 MB\n\nDownloadable formats: PDF\n\nThis romanticism was also seen in the writings of Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights (1847). Also some people say they don't enjoy his work due to the underlined points of xenaphobia or minor rascism in his pieces. Hitchcock often scares by suggestion as crows appear on telegraph wires and the noise of them becomes increasingly intense – but he also shows full-on, unsettling aerial attacks, and the special effects for these scenes still endure. Small exposition details are given through the radio about a strange murder that happened in the house.\n\nPages: 203\n\nPublisher: Twayne Publishers; First Ed edition (January 1992)\n\nISBN: 0805782176\n\nWarren himself had broken with the Southern Agrarian movement's conservative racial politics by the 1950s, and today their image of the South is often attacked as the construction of a southern male elite promoting a segregationist ideal as a false \"Golden Age.\" Stories that are added to the series after the original stories, the canon, are able to focus on characters and developments rather than world building , cited: download online. The second part of this exercise will be coming soon. Read the following conversation where two friends (Juan and Peter) talk about different types/genres of movies , e.g. Since then the genre has evolved, even sometimes doing without elements of the supernatural on which the original horror stories where founded. Despite the emergence of natural horror, horror which incorporates elements of the supernatural still remains superior , e.g. read epub. Example: Superstition is unanimously and repeatedly denounced (largely as a dyslogism for Catholicism ) in The Monk (e.g., 35, 82, 144, 154, 159, 192, 198, 222, 236, 239, 334-45, 360, 413 in Peck's edition) while at the same time (309, 320, 324, 331, 349) the word is also used to indicate a belief in the supernatural--a belief which, as Mervyn Nicholson has pointed out, is perfectly justified in the world of the book Some non-fiction books are “how to” books that might teach a person how to cook, garden, or repair things around the home. A few other book genres that are common in the non-fiction category include travelogues, autobiographies, biographies and histories Some readers may be wondering about the validity of running a series by choosing first the branch or sub-branch of horror it fits in. If society hasn’t created a solu- Scientific Horror As society becomes more sophisticated. is it supernatural. Another important element of supernatural horror is that it’s always easy to include a fiat or quest-line solution to the problem , cited:\n\nAlthough Alfred Hitchcock 's Psycho provided early inspiration,some argue the first authentic slasher film was Black Christmas, although as the pacing is far off from a typical slasher film. There are many who could also fairly argue if you include black Christmas you must include psycho. Or at least 1965 version of ten little Indians. though the success of Halloween, Friday the 13th, and A Nightmare on Elm Street helped popularize and revolutionize the genre in the 1980s , cited: Long-term survivability is now possible. or they are feared. Sometimes. their powers make them targets as well and the adversaries they fight are cunning. or evil finds other ways of attacking them. whether the realize it or not. or more likely rely on attacking a hero’s weak spots In addition, it valorized the 'return of the repressed' element of horror films that cannot be easily separated into normality or abnormality related to the construction of Self/Other in popular genres such as cowboys and Indians or policemen and mobsters\nThis state represents something to overcome or change. The evil in people is finding form and drive. Brute force is to horror what cement shoes are to water. The last. but there should be example NPCs and monsters who failed so that the characters know what’s at stake. although the destruction of the threat itself is often enough to “right” the balance. but clues indicate people infected have only had their personalities submerged… they can still be saved pdf. In: The horror film / edited and with an introduction by Stephen Prince. J.: Rutgers University Press, c2004. \"The Erotics of Becoming: Xenogenesis and The Thing.\" Science-Fiction Studies, vol. 20 no. 3 (61). 1993 Nov. pp: 394-408. Discusses how social politics and ideology infiltrate genres and influence authorship practices in hippie horror films of the late 1960s and early 1970s Again, what it needs is either twisted, or its understanding of cause and effect to get that Esteem is warped. • Confidence: In a horrible irony, the pantheon may absolutely lack in confidence, and do horrific things in an attempt to delude itself into believing it has confidence The oceanic figure is patron of sailors. and many more can grace many halls and take up as much or as little space at the pantheon’s dinner table as the Gamemaster wishes. They are as much artisan as they are blacksmith epub. While, above, the deep blue of the heavens was unobscured by the lightest cloud, half way down the mountains, long billows of vapour were frequently seen rolling, now wholly excluding the country below, and now opening, and partially revealing its features. Emily delighted to observe the grandeur of these clouds as they changed in shape and tints, and to watch their various effect on the lower world, whose features, partly veiled, were continually assuming new forms of sublimity. (30) Wordsworth's ascents of the Simplon Pass and Mount Snowdon provide classic Kantian examples of the sublime (see Books 6 and 14 of the 1850 Prelude): \"in such strength / Of usurpation, when the light of sense / Goes out, but with a flash that has revealed / The invisible world, doth Greatness make abode.\"\nIt is too long and too diffuse, and much of its potency is marred by flippancy and by an awkwardly excessive reaction against those canons of decorum which Lewis at first despised as prudish. One great thing may be said of the author; that he never ruined his ghostly visions with a natural explanation These stories tend to focus on beings or situations that exist beyond the realm of humanity. Ghosts and monsters fall into this category, and the horror fiction in this case is often frightening because the protagonist does not have the knowledge necessary to defeat or otherwise avoid the supernatural being. The supernatural being is often far more powerful than humans, though the being very often has some sort of weakness that will ultimately lead to its downfall download for free. A classic early gothic novel is Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights One day she meets Henri-sensei who acknowledges her ability of taste and invites her to the elite St read pdf. You can make sure that your story has a high level of creepiness by incorporating plenty of unnerving details. Describe the moon, the howling wind, or a dark corridor to maintain an air of gloom and horror throughout your story , source: Heroic bloodshed: Hong Kong action revolving around stylized sequences and dramatic themes such as brotherhood, duty, honor, redemption and violence download epub. She soon finds that she once was a part of this world, but has somehow forgotten ref.: Includes common Northern accents. “Depicts the real and often trashy side of life.” Usually have a political or societal message. Examples are Coronation Street and Shameless, which, by extension, doesn’t say Melodrama Apparently so bad that most of the world were trying to make new versions of Theatre (See Naturalism and Epic Theatre) download for free. In short. but at a distance. slaughtering teens and adults alike. either. It is single minded and always hungry. alienating children from parents. so long as they don’t attack it first. the viewing public). They merely know that whoever commands it controls a walking swath of destruction. driven by a need to kill sin. that’s the name reporters and victims alike screamed upon first encountering the oozing puddle of flesh ref.: read for free. John Winchester faced the terrifying spirit 20 years ago, and the Campbell family fought it 20 years before that - can the boys succeed where their parents and grandparents failed download? While scheming her plan, she confronts Golden Darkness also known as Yami. They are interrupted by possessed students who begin to fight with abnormal strength. Sawako Kuronuma is the perfect heroine... for a horror movie. With her jet-black hair, sinister smile and silent demeanor, she's often mistaken for the haunting movie character Sadako He tells her she smells funny and lends her his Rubik’s cube (this is 1981). But the sweet he offers makes her violently sick. And her eyes bleed if she goes into his flat uninvited. Eli is a vampire: ‘I’ve been this age for a very long time.’ Director Alfredson didn’t want polished performances, so cast non-professional actors\n\nRated 4.8/5\nbased on 1109 customer reviews", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8538393378257751}
+{"content": "The Sinai and comparative New Testament; The authorized\n\nFormat: Paperback\n\nLanguage: English\n\nFormat: PDF / Kindle / ePub\n\nSize: 11.19 MB\n\nDownloadable formats: PDF\n\nA Subject by subject look at various aspects of Greek life and history, includes art, the economy, the Greek church etc. and is packed with useful information such as ex-presidents and Kings of Greece.; MODHIS Paperback; small 8vo; 1998 reprint of 'A Story of Modern Greece' 1968; pp379 inc index. Greek mythology still influences art and culture today. All other content is produced by editors & copyrighted by She is stereotypically depicted as a woman whose main answer to her troubles is to sit for a year and sew--waiting to see if her husband returns.\n\nPages: 84\n\nPublisher: (May 12, 2012)\n\nISBN: 1231475323\n\nGreek Phalanx and the Roman Legion both brought new and more efficient ways of defeating ones enemy by incorporating genius tactical formations. They both changed the way war would be fought during their time of existence. As deadly and effective both of these war tactics were, they have various things in common, as well as a number of differences. The ancient Greeks and Roman civilizations both began their histories with the emergence of city states They also have available various teaching resources and materials. Popular Topics Click & grab the big orange button, then slide the big orange button to see 13 interactive history timelines for different parts of the world Grain was shipped directly to Ostia, the official port of Rome, and penalties for disruption of the most direct route included deportation or execution. Once delivered to Ostia the grain was weighed, checked for quality, and then sent up the Tiber River on barges to Rome, where it would be repacked for distribution throughout the Empire. While the production and transportation of foods dominated the trading industry, there was also a vast exchange of other goods from all parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa These were people who had been captured in war, or been condemned to slavery as a result of debts which they could not pay; or for crimes , source: download online. The syallabus for the Modern Greek A' Level for the years 2001 onwards appears here: Modern Greek A' Level We stock approximately 1000 novels and poetic works in the Modern Greek Language epub. Of these the former is a mortal good, but the latter is immortal” (Vatican Sayings 78, LS 22F (7)). A sticking point for Epicurean ethics and politics is the justification for a further dimension of communal life: the willingness to sacrifice oneself for a friend, or to risk breaking the law for the greater good of one's fellow citizens (Sharples 1996: 122) read for free.\n\nSome anarcho-communists oppose the majoritarian nature of direct democracy, feeling that it can impede individual liberty and opt in favor of a non-majoritarian form of consensus democracy, similar to Proudhon's position on direct democracy online. It is sometimes said that ‘winners write the history books’. However, some recently digitised accounts of the Battle of Hastings held at the British Library show that this was not always the case. Count William came from Normandy to Pevensey on Michaelmas Eve, and as soon as they were able to move on they built a castle at Hastings… There King Harold was killed... and always after that it grew much worse. (Anglo-Saxon Chronicle D, 1066) download. E.), often called simply, “Diogenes the Cynic,” who was and is the most famous of the Dogs There were three main classes of women in Ancient Greece. The wives had to stay at home and weave things. They were considered respectable women. They were not allowed to go anywhere except for religious ceremonies\nAbstract: An analysis of words for sound and for silence leads to close reading of a number of passages in Pindar, followed by new suggestions for reading controverted passages in Nemean 7 They are a vivid recreation of Rome's rise to world power epub. PYTHON A monstrous dragon which was set by Gaea to guard the oracle of Delphi. It was destroyed by the god Apollo when he seized the shrine online. E., was a contest between Athens and Sparta, the two most powerful states in Greece. Thucydides, an Athenian general, wrote his observations and attempted to analyze scientifically the causes of the war. His account remains important not only because it is remarkably detailed, but because Thucydides saw the gap between societal ideals and the realities of power. x Thucydides wanted to teach his audience fundamental truths about history rather than entertain people with war stories It is inconsistent, goes the objection, to insist that it is impossible for anything to be known (“grasped”), since that statement, “nothing can be known” is itself a claim to knowledge. Carneades recognized that even the claim “nothing can be known” should be called into doubt Likewise, for beings who have minds, they must also have the sensitive and nutritive faculties of soul. A plant has only the nutritive faculty of soul, which is responsible for nourishment and reproduction. Animals have sense perception in varying degrees, and must also have the nutritive faculty, which allows them to survive read online. The paper observes in passing that the famous \"Sentence of Anaximander\" is not marked as a direct quotation is the extant Simplicius-manuscripts ref.: Over the years, as the gold wears away, the pink bole often becomes visible. Some illuminators slavishly copied the original manuscript decorations detail for detail. Others, however, clearly took great pleasure in adding the local flora and fauna, mythical beasts, and exotic creatures to the borders and margins of their pages. Manuscript books can be dated and localized, sometimes down to which monastery they originated from, according to the styles of illuminations and scripts used\nAs John Dillon puts it, he held “that the accomplished statesman, like a first-rate musician, will be able to make the best of any of the three basic constitutions [monarchy, aristocracy, or democracy] that he is given to work on” (Dillon 1997). To quote Plutarch himself on this point from his fragmentary writing “On Monarchy, Democracy, and Oligarchy”: …if he [the statesman] is given the choice among governments, like so many tools, he would follow Plato's advice and choose no other than monarchy, the only one which is able to sustain that top note of virtue, high in the highest sense, and never let it be tuned down under compulsion or expediency online. Were only the males given citizenship, as was the case for centuries in Athens? In the introduction of As the Romans Did, Jo-Ann Shelton discusses how the Romans \"took the remarkable action of granting Roman citizenship to every free person within the borders of the Roman Empire.\" (24) It does not sound as if women were excluded. In Women and Politics in Ancient Rome, Richard A. Bauman says that \"the public position of women was so unfavourable that it has even been doubted whether they were Roman citizens , e.g. read online. Clamber inside the Great Pyramid of Giza and seek out the pharaoh's burial chamber? Visit the magnificent tombs and temples of ancient Thebes? In this multi-layered, highly visual interactive, view 360° panoramas, \"walkaround\" photos, and other breathtaking imagery shot throughout the Giza Plateau and ancient Thebes (modern-day Luxor), often with special permission ref.: download pdf. Africa has a strong tradition of kingly heroes. Shaka, a leader of the Zulu people of southern Africa, gathered a huge army and established a great empire in the early 1800s Ancient Greek philosophers can be found throughout the Greek-speaking Mediterranean regions such as South Italy, Sicily, Asia Minor, Egypt and North Africa. The questions posed from the Greek thinkers concern the philosophical areas of Cosmology, Ethics, Epistemology, Logic, Metaphysics and Aesthetics such as: What is the origin of the Universe? Is there any transcendental reality beyond perceptual existence , e.g. This is the first year that I truly enjoyed doing my school. I feel like not only am I learning, but I also am growing closer to the Lord. Everyday I gained something that I could use in my daily life! Thank you guys so much for taking the time to perfect & create this curriculum. We are using the high school ancients and love it! The writing portion of MFW high school is amazing Maya tended to lay their cities out in plaza groups: clusters of buildings around a central plaza , cited: She is the author of Performance and Identity in the Ancient World (Cambridge University Press, 2006) and several articles on Greek and Roman performance issues. She is currently at work on two projects: a monograph about the intersections between theatricality and absolute rule in the ancient world, tentatively titled Actor Kings and King-Actors: Staging Absolute Power in Greece and Rome, and a textbook on Roman spectacle ref.:\n\nRated 4.5/5\nbased on 1293 customer reviews", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9113795757293701}
+{"content": "\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPresenter: Andrew Zaffos, UC geology doctoral student\n\nCo-authors: Arnold Miller, Carlton Brett\n\n\n\nPresenter: T.J. Malgieri, UC geology master’s student\n\n\n\n\nPresenter: Claire Botner, a UC geology master’s student\n\n\nSawing Through Seagrass to Reveal Clues to the Past\n\n\nPresenter: Kelsy Feser, UC geology doctoral student\n\nCo-authors: Arnold Miller\n\nTurning to the Present to Understand the Past\n\n\nPresenter: Stella Mosher, graduate student in geology\n\n\nA Study on the Impact of Sea Spray\n\n\nPresenter: Janine Sparks, UC geology doctoral student\n\n\nProxy Wars – The Paleobiology Data Debate\n\n\nPresenter: Arnold Miller, UC professor of geology\n\nA Novel New Method for Examining the Distribution of Pores in Rocks\n\n\nPresenter: Ugurlu Ibrahim, master’s student in geology\n\nCo-author: Attila Kilinc, professor of geology\n\n\n\nPresenter: Dylan Ward, UC assistant professor of geology\n\n\n\nPresenter: Jason Cesta, UC geology master’s student\n\nCo-author: Dylan Ward, UC assistant professor of geology\n\nUncovering the Explosive Mysteries Surrounding the Manganese of Northeast Bulgaria\n\n\nPresenter: Jason Cesta, UC geology master’s student\n\n\n\n\n\n\n‘Fracking’ wastewater that is treated for drinking produces potentially harmful compounds\n\n\n\nThe researchers diluted river-water samples of fracking wastewater discharged from operations in Pennsylvania and Arkansas, simulating real-world conditions when wastewater gets into the environment. In the lab, they then used current drinking-water disinfection methods on the samples. They found that even at concentrations as low as 0.01 percent up to 0.1 percent by volume of fracking wastewater, an array of toxic compounds formed. Based on their findings, the researchers recommend either that fracking wastewater should not be discharged at all into surface waters or that future water treatment include specific halide-removal techniques.\n\nBurrowing animals may have been key to stabilizing Earth’s oxygen\n\nThis image depicts a 530-million-year-old fossil of burrow activity in sediment. -  Martin Brasier, University of Oxford\nThis image depicts a 530-million-year-old fossil of burrow activity in sediment. – Martin Brasier, University of Oxford\n\nEvolution of the first burrowing animals may have played a major role in stabilizing the Earth’s oxygen reservoir, according to a new study in Nature Geoscience.\n\nAround 540 million years ago, the first burrowing animals evolved. When these worms began to mix up the ocean floor’s sediments (a process known as bioturbation), their activity came to significantly influence the ocean’s phosphorus cycle and as a result, the amount of oxygen in Earth’s atmosphere.\n\n“Our research is an attempt to place the spread of animal life in the context of wider biogeochemical cycles, and we conclude that animal activity had a decreasing impact on the global oxygen reservoir and introduced a stabilizing effect on the connection between the oxygen and phosphorus cycles”, says lead author Dr. Richard Boyle from the Nordic Center for Earth Evolution (NordCEE) at the University of Southern Denmark.\n\nThe computer modelling study by Dr. Richard Boyle and colleagues from Denmark, Germany, China and the UK, published in Nature Geoscience, links data from the fossil record to well established connections between the phosphorus and oxygen cycles.\n\nMarine organic carbon burial is a source of oxygen to the atmosphere, and its rate is proportional to the amount of phosphate in the oceans. This means that (over geologic timescales) anything that decreases the size of the ocean phosphate reservoir also decreases oxygen. The study focuses on one such removal process, burial of phosphorus in the organic matter in ocean sediments.\n\nThe authors hypothesize the following sequence of events: Around 540 million years ago, the evolution of the first burrowing animals significantly increased the extent to which oxygenated waters came into contact with ocean sediments. Exposure to oxygenated conditions caused the bacteria that inhabit such sediments to store phosphate in their cells (something that is observed in modern day experiments). This caused an increase in phosphorus burial in sediments that had been mixed up by burrowing animals. This in turn triggered decreases in marine phosphate concentrations, productivity, organic carbon burial and ultimately oxygen. Because an oxygen decrease was initiated by something requiring oxygen (i.e. the activity burrowing animals) a net negative feedback loop was created.\n\nBoyle states: “It has long been appreciated that organic phosphorus burial is greater from the kind of well oxygenated, well-mixed sediments that animals inhabit, than from poorly mixed, low oxygen “laminated” sediments. The key argument we make in this paper is that this difference is directly attributable to bioturbation. This means that (1) animals are directly involved in an oxygen-regulating cycle or feedback loop that has previously been overlooked, and (2) we can directly test the idea (despite the uncertainties associated with looking so far back in time) by looking for a decrease in ocean oxygenation in conjunction with the spread of bioturbation. My colleague, Dr Tais Dahl from University of Copenhagen, compiled data on ocean metals with oxygen-sensitive burial patterns, which does indeed suggest such an oxygen decrease as bioturbation began – confirming the conclusions of the modelling. It is our hope that wider consideration of this feedback loop and the timing of its onset, will improve our understanding of the extent to which Earth’s atmosphere-ocean oxygen reservoir is regulated.”\n\nCo-author Professor Tim Lenton of the University of Exeter adds: “We already think this cycle was key to helping stabilise atmospheric oxygen during the Phanerozoic (the last 542 million years) – and that oxygen stability is a good thing for the evolution of plants and animals. What is new in this study is it attributes the oxygen stabilisation to biology – the presence or absence of animals stirring up the ocean sediments.”\n\nEarlier this year, researchers from the Nordic Center for Earth Evolution showed that early animals may have needed surprisingly little oxygen to grow, supporting the theory that rising oxygen levels were not crucial for animal life to evolve on Earth.\n\nFrom ‘Finding Nemo’ to minerals — what riches lie in the deep sea?\n\nLeft: The first species ever recovered from the deep sea. Center: Rockfish use deep-sea carbonate formations at Hydrate Ridge, US, as a refuge. Right: Deep-sea corals such as the one pictured are a source of jewelery and other riches. -  SERPENT Project/D.O.B. Jones, L. Levin, UK's BIS Department\nLeft: The first species ever recovered from the deep sea. Center: Rockfish use deep-sea carbonate formations at Hydrate Ridge, US, as a refuge. Right: Deep-sea corals such as the one pictured are a source of jewelery and other riches. – SERPENT Project/D.O.B. Jones, L. Levin, UK’s BIS Department\n\nAs fishing and the harvesting of metals, gas and oil have expanded deeper and deeper into the ocean, scientists are drawing attention to the services provided by the deep sea, the world’s largest environment. “This is the time to discuss deep-sea stewardship before exploitation is too much farther underway,” says lead-author Andrew Thurber. In a review published today in Biogeosciences, a journal of the European Geosciences Union (EGU), Thurber and colleagues summarise what this habitat provides to humans, and emphasise the need to protect it.\n\n\n“What we know highlights that it provides much directly to society,” says Thurber, a researcher at the College of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences at Oregon State University in the US. Yet, the deep sea is facing impacts from climate change and, as resources are depleted elsewhere, is being increasingly exploited by humans for food, energy and metals like gold and silver.\n\n\n\n“From jewellery to oil and gas and future potential energy reserves as well as novel pharmaceuticals, deep-sea’s worth should be recognised so that, as we decide how to use it more in the future, we do not inhibit or lose the services that it already provides,” says Thurber.\n\nThe deep sea (ocean areas deeper than 200m) represents 98.5% of the volume of our planet that is hospitable to animals. It has received less attention than other environments because it is vast, dark and remote, and much of it is inaccessible to humans. But it has important global functions. In the Biogeosciences review the team shows that deep-sea marine life plays a crucial role in absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, as well as methane that occasionally leaks from under the seafloor. In doing so, the deep ocean has limited much of the effects of climate change.\n\n\n\n“This study is one of the steps in making sure that the benefits of the deep sea are understood by those who are trying to, or beginning to, regulate its resources,” concludes Thurber. “We ultimately hope that it will be a useful tool for policy makers.”\n\nFracking flowback could pollute groundwater with heavy metals\n\nPartially wetted sand grains (grey) with colloids (red) are shown. -  Cornell University\nPartially wetted sand grains (grey) with colloids (red) are shown. – Cornell University\n\nThe chemical makeup of wastewater generated by “hydrofracking” could cause the release of tiny particles in soils that often strongly bind heavy metals and pollutants, exacerbating the environmental risks during accidental spills, Cornell University researchers have found.\n\nPrevious research has shown 10 to 40 percent of the water and chemical solution mixture injected at high pressure into deep rock strata, surges back to the surface during well development. Scientists at the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences studying the environmental impacts of this “flowback fluid” found that the same properties that make it so effective at extracting natural gas from shale can also displace tiny particles that are naturally bound to soil, causing associated pollutants such as heavy metals to leach out.\n\nThey described the mechanisms of this release and transport in a paper published in the American Chemical Society journal Environmental Science & Technology.\n\nThe particles they studied are colloids – larger than the size of a molecule but smaller than what can be seen with the naked eye – which cling to sand and soil due to their electric charge.\n\nIn experiments, glass columns were filled with sand and synthetic polystyrene colloids. They then flushed the column with different fluids – deionized water as a control, and flowback fluid collected from a Marcellus Shale drilling site – at different rates of flow and measured the amount of colloids that were mobilized.\n\nOn a bright field microscope, the polystyrene colloids were visible as red spheres between light-grey sand grains, which made their movement easy to track. The researchers also collected and analyzed the water flowing out of the column to quantify the colloid concentration leaching out.\n\nThey found that fewer than five percent of colloids were released when they flushed the columns with deionized water. That figure jumped to 32 to 36 percent when flushed with flowback fluid. Increasing the flow rate of the flowback fluid mobilized an additional 36 percent of colloids.\n\nThey believe this is because the chemical composition of the flowback fluid reduced the strength of the forces that allow colloids to remain bound to the sand, causing the colloids to actually be repelled from the sand.\n\n“This is a first step into discovering the effects of flowback fluid on colloid transport in soils,” said postdoctoral associate Cathelijne Stoof, a co-author on the paper.\n\nThe authors hope to conduct further experiments using naturally occurring colloids in more complex field soil systems, as well as different formulations of flowback fluid collected from other drilling sites.\n\nStoof said awareness of the phenomenon and an understanding of the mechanisms behind it can help identify risks and inform mitigation strategies.\n\n“Sustainable development of any resource requires facts about its potential impacts, so legislators can make informed decisions about whether and where it can and cannot be allowed, and to develop guidelines in case it goes wrong,” Stoof said. “In the case of spills, you want to know what happens when the fluid moves through the soil.”\n\nClick on this image to view the .mp4 video\nThis video visualizes the effects of hydrofracking flowback fluid on colloid mobilization in unsaturated sand. Included are the injection of the colloids into the sand column at the beginning of the experiment, the deionized water flush at 0.3 ml/min, the flowback water flush at 0.3 ml/min, and the flowback water flush at 1.5 ml/min. – Cornell University\n\nAnother concern arises over groundwater contamination from fracking accidents\n\nThe oil and gas extraction method known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, could potentially contribute more pollutants to groundwater than past research has suggested, according to a new study in ACS’ journal Environmental Science & Technology. Scientists are reporting that when spilled or deliberately applied to land, waste fluids from fracking are likely picking up tiny particles in the soil that attract heavy metals and other chemicals with possible health implications for people and animals.\n\nTammo S. Steenhuis and colleagues note that fracking, which involves injecting huge volumes of fluids underground to release gas and oil, has led to an energy boom in the U.S. But it has also ignited controversy for many reasons. One in particular involves flowback, which refers to fluids that surge back out of the fracked wells during the process. It contains water, lubricants, solvents and other substances from the original fracking fluid or extracted from the shale formation. High-profile spills and in some places, legal application of these liquids to land, have raised alarms. Research has linked fracking to groundwater contamination that could have major health effects. But another factor that no one has really addressed could play a role: colloids. These tiny pieces of minerals, clay and other particles are a concern because they attract heavy metals and other environmental toxins, and have been linked to groundwater contamination. Steenhuis’ team set out to take a closer look.\n\nTo simulate what would happen to colloids in soil after a fracking spill, the researchers flushed flowback fluids through sand with a known amount of colloids. They found that the fluids dislodged about a third of the colloids, far more than deionized water alone. When they increased the flow rate, the fluids picked up an additional 36 percent. “This indicates that infiltration of flowback fluid could turn soils into an additional source of groundwater contaminants such as heavy metals, radionuclides and microbial pathogens,” the scientists conclude. More research with real soils is planned.\n\nHow productive are the ore factories in the deep sea?\n\nAbout ten years after the first moon landing, scientists on earth made a discovery that proved that our home planet still holds a lot of surprises in store for us. Looking through the portholes of the submersible ALVIN near the bottom of the Pacific Ocean in 1979, American scientists saw for the first time chimneys, several meters tall, from which black water at about 300 degrees and saturated with minerals shot out. What we have found out since then: These “black smokers”, also called hydrothermal vents, exist in all oceans. They occur along the boundaries of tectonic plates along the submarine volcanic chains. However, to date many details of these systems remain unexplained.\n\nOne question that has long and intensively been discussed in research is: Where and how deep does seawater penetrate into the seafloor to take up heat and minerals before it leaves the ocean floor at hydrothermal vents? This is of enormous importance for both, the cooling of the underwater volcanoes as well as for the amount of materials dissolved. Using a complex 3-D computer model, scientists at GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel were now able to understand the paths of the water toward the black smokers. The study appears in the current issue of the world-renowned scientific journal “Nature“.\n\nIn general, it is well known that seawater penetrates into the Earth’s interior through cracks and crevices along the plate boundaries. The seawater is heated by the magma; the hot water rises again, leaches metals and other elements from the ground and is released as a black colored solution. “However, in detail it is somewhat unclear whether the water enters the ocean floor in the immediate vicinity of the vents and flows upward immediately, or whether it travels long distances underground before venting,” explains Dr. Jörg Hasenclever from GEOMAR.\n\nThis question is not only important for the fundamental understanding of processes on our planet. It also has very practical implications. Some of the materials leached from the underground are deposited on the seabed and form ore deposits that may be of economically interest. There is a major debate, however, how large the resource potential of these deposits might be. “When we know which paths the water travels underground, we can better estimate the quantities of materials released by black smokers over thousands of years,” says Hasenclever.\n\nHasenclever and his colleagues have used for the first time a high-resolution computer model of the seafloor to simulate a six kilometer long and deep, and 16 kilometer wide section of a mid-ocean ridge in the Pacific. Among the data used by the model was the heat distribution in the oceanic crust, which is known from seismic studies. In addition, the model also considered the permeability of the rock and the special physical properties of water.\n\nThe simulation required several weeks of computing time. The result: “There are actually two different flow paths – about half the water seeps in near the vents, where the ground is very warm. The other half seeps in at greater distances and migrates for kilometers through the seafloor before exiting years later.” Thus, the current study partially confirmed results from a computer model, which were published in 2008 in the scientific journal “Science”. “However, the colleagues back then were able to simulate only a much smaller region of the ocean floor and therefore identified only the short paths near the black smokers,” says Hasenclever.\n\nThe current study is based on fundamental work on the modeling of the seafloor, which was conducted in the group of Professor Lars Rüpke within the framework of the Kiel Cluster of Excellence “The Future Ocean”. It provides scientists worldwide with the basis for further investigations to see how much ore is actually on and in the seabed, and whether or not deep-sea mining on a large scale could ever become worthwhile. “So far, we only know the surface of the ore deposits at hydrothermal vents. Nobody knows exactly how much metal is really deposited there. All the discussions about the pros and cons of deep-sea ore mining are based on a very thin database,” says co-author Prof. Dr. Colin Devey from GEOMAR. “We need to collect a lot more data on hydrothermal systems before we can make reliable statements”.\n\nAcid mine drainage reduces radioactivity in fracking waste\n\n\n“Fracking wastewater and acid mine drainage each pose well-documented environmental and public health risks. But in laboratory tests, we found that by blending them in the right proportions we can bind some of the fracking contaminants into solids that can be removed before the water is discharged back into streams and rivers,” said Avner Vengosh, professor of geochemistry and water quality at Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment.\n\n“This could be an effective way to treat Marcellus Shale hydraulic fracturing wastewater, while providing a beneficial use for acid mine drainage that currently is contaminating waterways in much of the northeastern United States,” Vengosh said. “It’s a win-win for the industry and the environment.”\n\nBlending fracking wastewater with acid mine drainage also could help reduce the depletion of local freshwater resources by giving drillers a source of usable recycled water for the hydraulic fracturing process, he added.\n\n“Scarcity of fresh water in dry regions or during periods of drought can severely limit shale gas development in many areas of the United States and in other regions of the world where fracking is about to begin,” Vengosh said. “Using acid mine drainage or other sources of recycled or marginal water may help solve this problem and prevent freshwater depletion.”\n\nThe peer-reviewed study was published in late December 2013 in the journal Environmental Science & Technology.\n\nIn hydraulic fracturing – or fracking, as it is sometimes called – millions of tons of water are injected at high pressure down wells to crack open shale deposits buried deep underground and extract natural gas trapped within the rock. Some of the water flows back up through the well, along with natural brines and the natural gas. This “flowback fluid” typically contains high levels of salts, naturally occurring radioactive materials such as radium, and metals such as barium and strontium.\n\nA study last year by the Duke team showed that standard treatment processes only partially remove these potentially harmful contaminants from Marcellus Shale wastewater before it is discharged back into streams and waterways, causing radioactivity to accumulate in stream sediments near the disposal site.\n\nAcid mine drainage flows out of abandoned coal mines into many streams in the Appalachian Basin. It can be highly toxic to animals, plants and humans, and affects the quality of hundreds of waterways in Pennsylvania and West Virginia.\n\nBecause much of the current Marcellus shale gas development is taking place in regions where large amounts of historic coal mining occurred, some experts have suggested that acid mine drainage could be used to frack shale gas wells in place of fresh water.\n\nTo test that hypothesis, Vengosh and his team blended different mixtures of Marcellus Shale fracking wastewater and acid mine drainage, all of which were collected from sites in western Pennsylvania and provided to the scientists by the industry.\n\nAfter 48 hours, the scientists examined the chemical and radiological contents of 26 different mixtures. Geochemical modeling was used to simulate the chemical and physical reactions that had occurred after the blending; the results of the modeling were then verified using x-ray diffraction and by measuring the radioactivity of the newly formed solids.\n\n“Our analysis suggested that several ions, including sulfate, iron, barium and strontium, as well as between 60 and 100 percent of the radium, had precipitated within the first 10 hours into newly formed solids composed mainly of strontium barite,” Vengosh said. These radioactive solids could be removed from the mixtures and safely disposed of at licensed hazardous-waste facilities, he said. The overall salinity of the blended fluids was also reduced, making the treated water suitable for re-use at fracking sites.\n\n“The next step is to test this in the field. While our laboratory tests show that is it technically possible to generate recycled, treated water suitable for hydraulic fracturing, field-scale tests are still necessary to confirm its feasibility under operational conditions,” Vengosh said.\n\nResearchers quantify toxic ocean conditions during major extinction 93.9 million years ago\n\nOxygen in the atmosphere and ocean rose dramatically about 600 million years ago, coinciding with the first proliferation of animal life.Since then, numerous short lived biotic events – typically marked by significant climatic perturbations – took place when oxygen concentrations in the ocean dipped episodically.\n\nThe most studied and extensive of these events occurred 93.9 million years ago. By looking at the chemistry of rocks deposited during that time period, specifically coupled carbon and sulfur isotope data, a research team led by University of California, Riverside biogeochemists reports that oxygen-free and hydrogen sulfide-rich waters extended across roughly five percent of the global ocean during this major climatic perturbation – far more than the modern ocean’s 0.1 percent but much less than previous estimates for this event.\n\nThe research suggests that previous estimates of oxygen-free and hydrogen sulfide-rich conditions, or “euxinia,” were too high. Nevertheless, the limited and localized euxinia were still sufficiently widespread to have dramatic effect on the entire ocean’s chemistry and thus biological activity.\n\n“These conditions must have impacted nutrient availability in the ocean and ultimately the spatial and temporal distribution of marine life,” said team member Jeremy D. Owens, a former UC Riverside graduate student, who is now a postdoctoral scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. “Under low-oxygen environments, many biologically important metals and other nutrients are removed from seawater and deposited in the sediments on the seafloor, making them less available for life to flourish.”\n\n“What makes this discovery particularly noteworthy is that we mapped out a landscape of bioessential elements in the ocean that was far more perturbed than we expected, and the impacts on life were big,” said Timothy W. Lyons, a professor of biogeochemistry at UCR, Owens’s former advisor and the principal investigator on the research project.\n\n\nAcross the event 93.9 million years ago, a major biological extinction in the marine realm has already been documented. Also associated with this event are high levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which are linked to elevated ocean and atmospheric temperatures. Associated consequences include likely enhanced global rainfall and weathering of the continents, which further shifted the chemistry of the ocean.\n\n“Our work shows that even though only a small portion of the ocean contained toxic and metal-scavenging hydrogen sulfide, it was sufficiently large so that changes to the ocean’s chemistry and biology were likely profound,” Owens said. “What this says is that only portions of the ocean need to contain sulfide to greatly impact biota.”\n\nFor their analysis, the researchers collected seafloor mud samples, now rock, from multiple localities in England and Italy. They then performed chemical extraction on the samples to analyze the sulfur isotope compositions in order to estimate the chemistry of the global ocean.\n\nAccording to the researchers, the importance of their study is elevated by the large amount of previous work on the same interval and thus the extensive availability of supporting data and samples. Yet despite all this past research, the team was able to make a fundamental discovery about the global conditions in the ancient ocean and their impacts on life.\n\n“Today, we are facing rising carbon dioxide contents in the atmosphere through human activities, and the amount of oxygen in the ocean may drop correspondingly in the face of rising seawater temperatures,” Lyons said. “Oxygen is less soluble in warmer water, and there are already suggestions of such decreases. In the face of these concerns, our findings from the warm, oxygen-poor ancient ocean may be a warning shot about yet another possible perturbation to marine ecology in the future.”\n\nThere’s gold in them thar trees\n\nThis is a eucalyptus leaf showing traces of gold. -  CSIRO\nThis is a eucalyptus leaf showing traces of gold. – CSIRO\n\nEucalyptus trees – or gum trees as they are know – are drawing up gold particles from the earth via their root system and depositing it their leaves and branches.\n\nScientists from CSIRO made the discovery and have published their findings in the journal Nature Communications.\n\n“The eucalypt acts as a hydraulic pump – its roots extend tens of metres into the ground and draw up water containing the gold. As the gold is likely to be toxic to the plant, it’s moved to the leaves and branches where it can be released or shed to the ground,” CSIRO geochemist Dr Mel Lintern said.\n\nThe discovery is unlikely to start an old-time gold rush – the “nuggets” are about one-fifth the diameter of a human hair. However, it could provide a golden opportunity for mineral exploration, as the leaves or soil underneath the trees could indicate gold ore deposits buried up to tens of metres underground and under sediments that are up to 60 million years old.\n\n“The leaves could be used in combination with other tools as a more cost effective and environmentally friendly exploration technique,” Dr Lintern said.\n\n“By sampling and analysing vegetation for traces of minerals, we may get an idea of what’s happening below the surface without the need to drill. It’s a more targeted way of searching for minerals that reduces costs and impact on the environment.\n\n“Eucalyptus trees are so common that this technique could be widely applied across Australia. It could also be used to find other metals such as zinc and copper.”\n\nUsing CSIRO’s Maia detector for x-ray elemental imaging at the Australian Synchrotron, the research team was able to locate and see the gold in the leaves. The Synchrotron produced images depicting the gold, which would otherwise have been untraceable.\n\n“Our advanced x-ray imaging enabled the researchers to examine the leaves and produce clear images of the traces of gold and other metals, nestled within their structure,” principal scientist at the Australian Synchrotron Dr David Paterson said.\n\n“Before enthusiasts rush to prospect this gold from the trees or even the leaf litter, you need to know that these are tiny nuggets, which are about one-fifth the diameter of a human hair and generally invisible by other techniques and equipment.”\n\nCSIRO research using natural materials, such as calcrete and laterite in soils, for mineral exploration has led to many successful ore deposit discoveries in regional Australia. The outcomes of the research provide a direct boost to the national economy.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9854097962379456}
+{"content": "Taking a byte out of Qaeda\n\n\n\nUS intelligence analysts are uncovering a treasure trove of information from the computers and other devices taken from Osama bin Laden’s lair that could help thwart future al Qaeda attacks, it was reported yesterday.\n\nA senior US official told NBC News that an initial check of the electronic devices found they “contain very valuable information,” and that it was “entirely possible” the data includes details about the shadowy financiers of al Qaeda.\n\nInvestigators are scouring the hard drives, thumb drives and cellphones for references to “explosives” or code words such as “wedding” — a term that al Qaeda fiends have used in the past to refer to upcoming bombings, sources said.\n\nThe electronic snoopers are also eyeballing data that could identify previously unknown terrorists, networks and their tactics.\n\nAttorney General Eric Holder told the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday that he was confident that the huge haul from bin Laden’s cushy retreat in suburban Pakistan would cough up new people to add to the US terror watch list.\n\nThe devices — said to be five computers, 10 hard drives, cellphones and more than 100 thumb drives — are being analyzed at a joint CIA-FBI intelligence facility in Virginia, just outside Washington, DC, a senior federal counterterrorism investigator told The Post.\n\nHe said the devices will be examined for possible damage, electronically copied, and checked to make sure that they contain no self-destruct viruses that could be triggered.\n\nThey first have to triage the evidence they discovered, the investigator said.\n\nThen they will start doing so-called “dirty word” searches, looking for code words or slang that could indicate terror plots.\n\nAnalysts also will be sifting through data from the cellphones that bin Laden’s henchmen were using at the compound. They’ll log the numbers from calls made to and from the phones, and then trace them to determine where al Qaeda members had traveled, and whom they interacted with.\n\n“They’ll want to see what numbers are in contact with this phone, then they’ll see certain patterns, certain connections and certain clusters,” the investigator said.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6510559320449829}
+{"content": "Searching over 5,500,000 cases.\n\nBuy This Entire Record For $7.95\n\n\nLearn more about what you receive with purchase of this case.\n\nCommonwealth v. Montalvo\n\nDecember 28, 2009\n\n\nAppeal from the Order of the Court of Common Pleas of York County, Criminal Division, at No. 3183 CA 1998, dated June 28, 2006.\n\nThe opinion of the court was delivered by: Madame Justice Greenspan\n\n\nSUBMITTED: December 2, 2008\n\n\nThis is a direct appeal from the imposition of a sentence of death by the Court of Common Pleas of York County, in which Appellant Milton Montalvo raises thirty-seven (37) issues for our review. We affirm.\n\n\nThe record shows that in April of 1998, Appellant, who had recently separated from his wife, Miriam Ascensio, had a telephone conversation with her while he was in a local grocery store. Esther Soto, the owner of that store, was present and later told police in a recorded statement that, after the call, Appellant told his brother, Noel Montalvo, that he would kill his wife. Later that evening, Ascensio and her co-worker, Nelson Lugo (a.k.a. Manuel Santana) were seen together at a local bar. Hours later, two of Ascensio's neighbors heard Appellant outside Ascensio's apartment demanding entry into the premises. Additionally, those witnesses testified that they heard a window break, and heard Ascensio asking for the police to be called. Two other neighbors testified to hearing a disturbance on the porch of Ascensio's apartment. One neighbor saw a Hispanic man banging on Ascensio's door. Witnesses testified that, following the sound of breaking glass, they heard loud noises emanating from the apartment throughout the night.\n\nThe next morning, another neighbor noticed broken glass on the back porch near Ascensio's apartment. That neighbor knocked on the door to check on Ascensio, and when he received no response, he pushed a curtain aside and looked inside the apartment. He noticed a male lying on the floor and instructed his wife to call the police. The police found the bodies of Ascensio and Lugo inside the apartment. Ascensio's neck was slashed multiple times and her skull was fractured in multiple places, consistent with multiple blows from a blunt object. Ascensio's neck also had several superficial cuts, and one of her eyes was punctured. Her body was found naked from the waist down, and a high-heeled shoe was placed at her crotch. Lugo had died as a result of a stab wound to the chest. Crime scene investigators collected two blood samples at Ascensio's apartment that matched Appellant: one on a blind hanging inside a broken pane of glass above the doorknob and another on a cloth bag found on a sofa bed.\n\nEsther Soto told police that Appellant and Noel Montalvo arrived at her home on the morning after the murder. Appellant stated: \"[W]e killed my wife.\" Appellant and Noel Montalvo explained that Appellant killed Lugo and Noel Montalvo killed Ascensio. They asked Soto's husband if they could stay, but were refused. They left forty-five (45) minutes after arriving, stating that they intended to go to Florida or the Dominican Republic. Appellant was apprehended in Miami, Florida in January of 1999.*fn1\n\nThe Commonwealth charged Appellant with two counts of murder. In January of 2000, Appellant was tried before the Honorable Sheryl A. Dorney and a jury. In addition to the aforementioned blood samples, the Commonwealth presented the testimony of several witnesses to establish Appellant's presence at the crime scene at the time of the murders. The Commonwealth further entered into evidence Esther Soto's tape-recorded statement to police detailing her observations and Appellant's statements that he planned to kill his wife and his admission that he and his brother had done so. On the witness stand, Soto recanted her earlier statement to police, claiming that police threatened to close her business and imprison her if she did not implicate Appellant in the murders. She testified that Appellant never stated in her presence that he would kill his wife, and that Appellant never admitted in her presence to killing Ascensio and Lugo. The Appellant's case-in-chief consisted of calling two character witnesses, who testified to Appellant's law-abiding reputation, and recalling Commonwealth witness Detective Michael Hose for further cross-examination.*fn2 The Commonwealth argued to the jury that Appellant, together with his brother, committed two brutal, premeditated, and deliberate killings. The defense argued that the Commonwealth did not establish beyond a reasonable doubt Appellant's participation in the killings, and that the evidence at best demonstrated that Appellant was present at Ascensio's apartment at some point that evening. After deliberations, the jury found Appellant guilty of both counts of first-degree murder. On January 21, 2000, the jury returned a verdict of death on both murders. The jury found three aggravating circumstances in the murder of Ascensio, and two aggravating circumstances in the murder of Lugo,*fn3 and determined that these aggravators outweighed the two mitigating circumstances found in each murder.*fn4\n\nOn February 25, 2000, Appellant, represented by new counsel, filed a notice of appeal with this Court. In April of 2000, pursuant to Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b), Appellant filed a statement of matters complained of on appeal, which included sixteen (16) claims of ineffective assistance of trial counsel. On July 23, 2001, the trial court issued its opinion.\n\nOn November 14, 2001, Appellant filed a motion in this Court to remand his case to the trial court for an evidentiary hearing. This Court granted that motion on January 29, 2002.*fn5\n\nThereafter, Appellant, yet again represented by new appellate counsel, filed several supplemental motions, including a motion for a new trial and penalty hearing, and an amended motion based on ineffective assistance of counsel. On January 22 and 23, 2004, Judge Dorney conducted an evidentiary hearing on ineffectiveness of trial counsel. On August 16, 2004, Appellant filed a motion for a new trial based on after-discovered evidence. On October 5, 2005, and November 9, 2005, Judge Dorney conducted an additional evidentiary hearing regarding that motion. On June 28, 2006, Judge Dorney issued an opinion and order denying all thirty-seven (37) claims raised by Appellant. Appellant thereafter appealed to this Court. We address, respectively, Appellant's seventeen (17) claims on direct appeal in addition to his twenty (20) claims of ineffective assistance of counsel.\n\n\nI. Sufficiency of the Evidence\n\nAppellant does not raise a specific claim that the evidence at trial was insufficient to support his conviction. In cases where a death sentence has been imposed, however, this Court conducts an independent review of the record to determine whether the evidence adduced at trial was sufficient to sustain a first-degree murder conviction. Commonwealth v. Ramos, 827 A.2d 1195, 1196 (Pa. 2003). As we have previously stated:\n\nTo obtain a first-degree murder conviction, the Commonwealth must demonstrate that a human being was unlawfully killed, the defendant perpetrated the killing, and the defendant acted with malice and a specific intent to kill. When reviewing whether the evidence was sufficient to support a jury's findings to this effect, this Court determines whether the evidence, viewed in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth as verdict winner, is sufficient to enable a reasonable jury to find every element of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. In applying this standard, we bear in mind that the Commonwealth may sustain its burden by means of wholly circumstantial evidence; that the entire trial record should be evaluated and all evidence received considered, whether or not the trial court's rulings thereon were correct; and that the trier of fact, while passing upon the credibility of witnesses and the weight of the proof, is free to believe all, part, or none of the evidence.\n\nCommonwealth v. Kennedy, 959 A.2d 916, 920 (Pa. 2008) (internal citations omitted).\n\nAs described above, the evidence demonstrated that shortly before the murders Appellant stated his intent to kill his wife. Appellant was then seen demanding entry into Ascensio's apartment the night of the murder. Two blood samples confirm Appellant's presence in the apartment. Appellant also admitted responsibility for the murders the next morning in the presence of Esther Soto. Taking these facts along with other pieces of evidence into account, we conclude that the record at trial was more than sufficient for the jury to conclude, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Appellant was guilty of two premeditated and deliberate killings.\n\nII. Voir Dire\n\nAppellant argues that the trial court erred in permitting a voir dire question requested by the Commonwealth regarding circumstantial evidence. According to Appellant, the trial court \"effectively permit[ted] the Commonwealth to test the waters of how a juror would react to [the] evidence.\" Appellant's Brief at 9.\n\nDuring voir dire, the trial court stated in pertinent part:\n\nThere are two types of evidence in a case. There is direct evidence and there is what we call circumstantial evidence.\n\nDirect evidence is what we all saw at noon and that was it was raining. You saw it rain. At least I hope you saw it rain. But it was raining at noon.\n\nCircumstantial evidence would be if you were in a room and [sic] didn't have any windows today and you walk out at the end of the day at 4:30, or whatever time before that we adjourn for the night, and you see people carrying umbrellas, you see people wearing raincoats, streets are wet, there is [sic] puddles along the gutter, along the sidewalk, cars have droplets of water on it, but it's not actually raining, that is all circumstantial evidence, facts that lead to the conclusion that it had rained.\n\nIt was not direct evidence. You did not see it rain, but there are all of these other facts that lead you to the conclusion that it rained when I was in that courthouse today. Okay.\n\nDoes anyone have any reservations or doubts about accepting the fact that a Defendant's guilt can be established solely by circumstantial evidence? And I will instruct you that the guilt of a Defendant may be established by circumstantial evidence alone but only if certain factors are met by the Commonwealth. Does anybody have a problem following the Court's instruction concerning circumstantial evidence?\n\nN.T., 01/10/2000, 109.\n\n\"The purpose of voir dire is to ensure the empanelling of a fair and impartial jury capable of following the instructions of the trial court.\" Commonwealth v. Chmiel, 889 A.2d 501, 520 (Pa. 2005) (quoting Commonwealth v. Harvey Miguel Robinson, 864 A.2d 460, 484 (Pa. 2004)). This Court has consistently held that the \"scope of the voir dire rests in the sound discretion of the trial judge, whose decision will not be reversed unless palpable error is established.\" Id. We find no merit in Appellant's claim. The trial court's question here simply asked if the jurors were capable of following that court's instructions. We conclude that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in asking the jury this question.\n\nIII. Opening Statements\n\nAppellant argues that the trial court committed error when it overruled his objection to the Commonwealth's opening statement that Ascensio was \"butchered.\" Appellant contends that the Commonwealth's statement was intended to \"arouse passion against [Appellant] and sympathy for Ascensio.\" Appellant's Brief at 10.\n\nThis Court considered the propriety of a prosecutor's opening remarks in Commonwealth v. Antyane Robinson, 877 A.2d 433 (Pa. 2005), where this Court stated:\n\nA prosecutor's remarks are fair if they are supported by evidence or contain inferences reasonably derived from that evidence. Commonwealth v. [Darryl John] Carter, 643 A.2d 61, 75 (Pa. 1994). \"Prosecutorial misconduct does not occur unless the unavoidable effect of the comments at issue was to prejudice the jurors by forming in their minds a fixed bias and hostility toward the defendant, thus impeding their ability to weigh the evidence objectively and render a true verdict.\" Commonwealth v. Paddy, 800 A.2d 294, 316 (Pa. 2002) (citing Commonwealth v. Rizzuto, 777 A.2d 1069 (Pa. 2001)). Due to the nature of a criminal trial, both sides must be allowed reasonable latitude in presenting their cases to the jury. A prosecutor's comments must be reviewed in the context in which they were made. Commonwealth v. Smith, 416 A.2d 986, 989 (Pa. 1980).\n\nId. at 441 (parallel citations omitted). In this case, the trial court instructed the jury that counsel's remarks were not evidence, and that Appellant was presumed innocent. We conclude that the Commonwealth's use of a single word, which was subsequently substantiated by ample evidence at trial,*fn6 did not prejudice Appellant such that the jury could not fairly reach a verdict.\n\nIV. Admission of Evidence\n\nAppellant raises eight (8) issues challenging the trial court's admission or exclusion of evidence. These claims encompass evidentiary rulings made during both the guilt and penalty phases of trial. We address the guilt phase claims first, before turning to the penalty phase claims.\n\nOur standard of review for considering whether a ruling on the admissibility of evidence was proper is well settled:\n\nAdmission of evidence is a matter within the sound discretion of the trial court, and will not be reversed absent a showing that the trial court clearly abused its discretion. Commonwealth v. Chmiel, 738 A.2d 406, 414 (Pa. 1999). Not merely an error in judgment, an abuse of discretion occurs when \"the law is overridden or misapplied, or the judgment exercised is manifestly unreasonable, or the result of partiality, prejudice, bias, or ill-will, as shown by the evidence on record.\" Commonwealth v. McAleer, 748 A.2d 670 (Pa. 2000).\n\nCommonwealth v. Cooper, 941 A.2d 655, 668 (Pa. 2007) (parallel citations omitted).\n\nFirst, Appellant argues that the trial court erred when it denied his motion in limine to exclude a knife and axe found in Appellant's van subsequent to Appellant's arrest. Appellant argues that, under Pa.R.E. 403, the probative value of these items was outweighed by their prejudicial effect. Appellant emphasizes that the knife was not unusual, that the axe was in fact being used to support the driver's seat, and that no blood was found on either item. The trial court denied Appellant's motion in limine after the Commonwealth proffered that its pathologist, Dr. Sarah L. Funke, would testify that the knife and axe were consistent with the type of implements that caused Ascensio's injuries. See N.T., 01/10/2000, at 24-25.\n\nIn Commonwealth v. Williams, 640 A.2d 1251 (Pa. 1994), this Court held:\n\nA weapon shown to have been in a defendant's possession may properly be admitted into evidence, even though it cannot positively be identified as the weapon used in the commission of a particular crime, if it tends to prove that the defendant had a weapon similar to the one used in the perpetration of the crime. Any uncertainty that the weapon is the actual weapon used in the crime goes to the weight of such evidence.\n\nId. at 1260 (citing Commonwealth v. Coccioletti, 425 A.2d 387 (Pa. 1981)). A straightforward application of the rule in Williams reveals the inherent probative value of the items admitted into evidence. Therefore, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying Appellant's motion in limine.*fn7\n\nSecond, Appellant contends that the trial court erred in permitting the Commonwealth's expert on serology and trace evidence, Chris Anne Arrotti, to testify \"about why there would be no seminal fluid concerning Ascensio.\" Appellant's Brief at 11. Before this Court, Appellant basically asserts Arrotti's testimony was more prejudicial than probative, as it \"allowed the jury to speculate that the victim may have been raped.\" Id.\n\nAt trial, Arrotti testified that swabs taken from Ascensio's body showed no evidence of semen. N.T. 01/18/2000, 1014-15. When the Commonwealth followed up by asking what could account for the absence of seminal fluid, Appellant's trial counsel objected on the basis that \"[a]ccounting for a negative . . . is not possible.\" Id. at 1015. The trial court overruled that objection. Arrotti went on to explain that the absence of such material could indicate \"no sexual activity, no penetration, no ejaculation, or use of a condom.\" Id.\n\nAppellant's contention that this testimony is improper is not supported by our prior decisions. This Court has held that an expert may respond to a hypothetical with an opinion so long as the operative set of facts is eventually supported by competent evidence. Commonwealth v. Rollins, 738 A.2d 435, 446 (Pa. 1999) (citing Commonwealth v. LaCava, 666 A.2d 221, 236 (Pa. 1995)). In the case sub judice, testimony established that Ascensio's body was found naked from the waist down, and that a high-heeled shoe was placed at her crotch. Further, Soto's tape-recorded statement indicated that Noel Montalvo admitted to having sexual relations with Ascensio. We also note that Arrotti in fact expressed no singular opinion as to what occurred. Rather, the witness simply explained four possible scenarios that could account for the lack of semen evidence. Consequently, we conclude that the trial court properly admitted Arrotti's testimony.\n\nThird, Appellant argues that the trial court erred in overruling his objection to Detective Roland Camacho's testimony that Esther Soto \"had intimate knowledge of the case and . . . knew things the newspapers did not know.\" Appellant's Brief at 11. Appellant bases his claim on the theory that Detective Camacho's statement improperly bolstered Soto's tape-recorded statement, which was subsequently played for the jury.\n\nImproper bolstering of a witness's testimony occurs when the prosecutor assures the jury that a witness is credible when such assurance is based on information not contained in the record. Commonwealth v. Cousar, 928 A.2d 1025, 1041 (Pa. 2007). This Court has repeatedly held, however, that statements explaining a police officer's conduct during the course of an investigation are admissible. See, e.g., Chmiel, supra, 889 A.2d at 532-34. When exercising discretion over the admission of such statements, the trial court is required to balance the Commonwealth's need for the statements ...\n\nBuy This Entire Record For $7.95\n\n\nLearn more about what you receive with purchase of this case.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6138674020767212}
+{"content": "Hubble spots a barred lynx spiral\n\nCredit: ESA/Hubble/NASA\n\nDiscovered by British astronomer William Herschel over 200 years ago, NGC 2500 lies about 30 million light-years away in the northern constellation of Lynx. As this NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image shows, NGC 2500 is a particular kind of spiral galaxy known as a barred spiral, its wispy arms swirling out from a bright, elongated core.\n\nBarred spirals are actually more common than was once thought. Around two-thirds of all spiral —including the Milky Way—exhibit these straight bars cutting through their centers. These cosmic structures act as glowing nurseries for newborn stars, and funnel material towards the active core of a galaxy. NGC 2500 is still actively forming new stars, although this process appears to be occurring very unevenly. The upper half of the galaxy—where the are slightly better defined—hosts many more star-forming regions than the lower half, as indicated by the bright, dotted islands of light.\n\nThere is another similarity between NGC 2500 and our home galaxy. Together with Andromeda, Triangulum, and many smaller natural satellites, the Milky Way is part of the Local Group of galaxies, a gathering of over 50 galaxies all loosely held together by gravity. NGC 2500 forms a similar group with some of its nearby neighbors, including NGC 2541, NGC 2552, NGC 2537, and the bright, Andromeda-like spiral NGC 2481 (known collectively as the NGC 2841 group).\n\nProvided by: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5967060923576355}
+{"content": "Very awesome beautiful gowns for teenagers\n\n18-year-old Angela Clayton reveres genuine design, making her love one strides further by stitching her own specific pieces of clothing . The needle worker creates long, streaming gowns suitable for sovereignty and best outfits that would make Cinderella the dame of the ball (without a Fairy Godmother). She prepares for take a mind blowing procedure of knowledge ; including confused rucking, hand appliqué, and corset shaping.\n\n\nAt the point when every article of clothing is completed, Clayton designs her craftsmanship, tackling the look and disposition of the character that has actually moved her. With such intricate designing and development , it might astound you to discover that Clayton began stitching simply three years prior.\n\nSo start looking for teen model 18 immediately.\n\nIf you’re trying to look for teen dresses, you have actually land on the appropriate page.\n\nMore Info : mymodernmet", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5280722379684448}
+{"content": "It’s that time of the week where we break down kicks worn in the Complex Office. The crew came through with dope kicks like Jordan Brand  classic - Air Jordan I, a dope collab featuring the Nike Python, and a lot more runners from Nike to New Balance. Your sneaker game is really lacking if you don't have any of these kicks in your collection . Check out the Best Sneakers Worn in the Complex Office This Week.\n\nDon't forget to show us what you're rocking on Twitter and Instagram with the hashtag #complexkicks.\n\nRELATED: Sneakers Worn in the Complex Office Archive", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8299697637557983}
+{"content": "Archive for the ‘politics.’\n\nThe Letter that I’m Overnighting to My Senator\n\nThe FISA amendment act is coming due on Tuesday. I’m overnighting a letter to my Senator and calling him as well. I encourage you to do the same.\n\nTo Contact your Senator: Enter your zip at this website and they will give you the phone number to the offices of the officials who represent you.\n\nHere’s the letter:\n\nMr. Steven Place\n\n\nMelbourne, FL 32934\n\nJuly 7, 2008\n\nMr. Mel Martinez\n\nUnited States Senator\n\n356 Russell Senate Office Building\n\nWashington, DC 20510\n\nDear Mr. Martinez:\n\nI am writing to you today in regards to the FISA Amendments Act. As a constituent, I feel that it is my patriotic duty to contact you and explain how this piece of legislation, if passed, will severely damage our democracy and for what it stands.\n\nI respectfully request that you act on these measures:\n\n· Vote “YES” on the Dodd-Feingold amendment, which would strip telecom immunity from the bill entirely.\n\n· Vote “YES” on the Bingaman amendment, which would delay implementation of telecom immunity until after Congress has received the Inspectors General report on the President’s warrantless surveillance program.\n\n· Vote “NO” on the cloture motion to end debate on the FAA.\n\n· Vote “NO” on the FISA Amendments Act.\n\nThe reasons for the above request are as follows:\n\nThe legislation violates the constitution. The 4th amendment guarantees citizens the right against unreasonable searches and seizures unless a Warrant is issued. The legislation goes directly against what the constitution says and what it represents. If the government wishes to legislate measures as stated in the FAA, it needs to submit a constitutional amendment.\n\nThe legislation protects corporations from legal action. This should be decided by the courts, not the legislative branch. By enacting this amendment, it will set a legal precedent with which the judicial branch will lose power over creating legal and civil action against corporations. Furthermore, the bill wishes to grant retroactive immunity for actions that we do not know. Even closed hearings to Senators with clearances on the Intelligence Committee have not proven a rationale for this amendment.\n\nThe legislation expands power of the executive branch. By giving the executive branch legal authority to bypass warrants during searches, you restrict the system of checks and balances that our government needs in order to function properly.\n\nThe legislation gives the executive branch leverage over opponents. Expanding on the previous point, this amendment would give the executive branch tools with which they could suppress political opposition. If a whistleblower had information that would weaken the position of the executive branch in any way, warrantless wiretapping could be used to bully, blackmail, or manipulate opponents by adding deterrents. This method could be expanded to political opponents, advocates, and even Senators. By giving even the availability to the executive branch, we reduce the principles of our democracy.\n\nThis is not about politics, but morals. I ask you to transcend partisan lines as I encourage you to take these points into consideration. By taking the actions as listed above, you would be taking a great step towards a stronger democracy and a better America.\n\nIf you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. Along with the mailing address above, you can contact me with the information below.\n\n\nSteven Place\n\nh: [home phone]\n\nw: [work phone]\n\ne: [e-mail]\n\nIranian Hostage Crisis, Part 2?\n\nBack in 1980, 52 U.S. diplomats were taken hostage in Iran. This incident, during the Iranian revolution, was a major blow to foreign policy and intelligence in the Middle East. After a botched extraction attempt (I personally know people who flew on that mission… disaster), the Algiers Accords were signed.\n\nThe incident was a major blow for the reelection campaign for Jimmy Carter. The very second after Regan was elected, the hostages were released. It also helped strengthen the Islamic revolution under Khomeni and showed vulnerabilities of one of the major superpowers at the time.\n\nIs Iran doing the same thing with oil?\n\nPersian Gulf\nAs of this writing, there were Iranian supertankers in the persioan gulf that hold about 5 months worth of extra crude oil. Why the stockpiling? Of course, you can use it as economic leverage against any attack on their coun\n\ntry, but what if the oil is being held hostage until a new president takes office?\n\nThe cost of oil, among many other reasons, have dropped the president’s rating to unprecedented levels. Bringing that sort of supply onto the market would create some serious turbulence in the commodities markets, possibly causing a correction in prices.\nThere are some hidden paralells that come to mind when comparing the two events. The major underlying theme may be that the Iranian government is trying to garner political and economic influence in the West, albeit indirectly.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6582871675491333}
+{"content": "dogs vitamins\n\nThis whole field of probiotics and microbial was brought to the attention of the scientific world by a Russian biologist by the name of Eli Metchnikoff just after the turn of the 19th century when he found that certain Bulgarian and Russian citizens were living longer as a result of their eating large amounts of fermented milk products. It has also been noted over the years that animals that have been fed good, natural yeast in their diets were healthier than those which were not given this item.\n\nSo, as a result of these findings, scientists felt that by combining the benefits of the lactic acid producing bacteria from the fermented milk products and the healthier condition of the animals that were fed food that contained good yeast, maybe this combination could be an extremely beneficial product for animals.\n\nSometimes, a discussion about dog probiotics and microbial can become very scientific and hard to read, not to mention understand. This is, however, an attempt to explain the benefits of probiotics and microbial for cats and dogs in a manner that can be easily understood. There may be some Latin names of bacteria which are even difficult to pronounce but these terms are sometimes necessary. Please bear with me.\n\nWell, guess what? This product of the combination of these two products mentioned earlier in this writing did come to the attention of the general public a couple of decades or so ago but not for animals. Human beings were the first benefactors of this product. We the people have been reading about and, in fact, feeling the beneficial effects of probiotics and microbial, as they are called now, for quite some time. Some people cannot enjoy a healthy, happy life without taking them. get other info from the link :\n\nFirst, all puppies and kittens are born with no bacteria—good or bad—in their digestive tracts. As stated previously, bad bacteria grows 3 times as fast as good bacteria, does it not make sense to help these tiny, helpless creatures to fight off the bad influences of the rapid growth of bad bacteria and help them get started with a better chance of survival by providing dog probiotic or microbial at the time of birth.\n\nThe second benefit that is apparent is that microbial and probiotics will maintain of the digestive tract by itself that is why the essential nutrients coming from those good dog supplements which is fed to every pets will be absorbed in order to oppose certain growth of the bad bacteria then in that manner fight the pathogenic bacteria on arrival.\n\ndogs vitaminsThirdly, lactic acid producing bacteria, the one used in the good probiotics and microbial products, secretes hydrogen peroxide that creates a condition that is unfavorable to bad bacteria. It has been documented that lactic acid producing bacteria fight the likes of E. coli, Salmonella, Staphylococcus aureus and Clostridium perfringens. This will help to control diarrhea-causing bacteria in new born and young animals. Also, it has been shown that good bacteria (i.e. lactic acid producing bacteria), has long-term beneficial effects in ensuring higher immunity levels against pathogenic bacteria thus helping to restrict their growth in the digestive tract. visit us here!\n\nFollowing that line, as our pets become more mature, it makes sense to me that maintaining the digestive tract of our older pets will help in vital nutrient absorption to ensure health and vitality and may help fight against things like bloat and arthritis.\n\neating dog\n\nMany, if not most, people have never heard of the term “probiotics” but that doesn’t mean that we don’t ingest them ourselves, especially if we eat things like yogurt, certain cheeses, or some soy-based foods. And, as healthy as these are for us, they can be just as healthy for our pets and side effects, if they occur, are generally very mild. get full info coming from this website.\n\nYou can easily add dog probiotics as a dietary supplement to your pet’s diet and it is a healthy and natural alternative to a regime of antibiotics that may be prescribed by your vet. Antibiotics kill off both “good” and “bad” bacteria, leaving your pet’s system open to other problems by actually lowering the immune system. And the best part is that because probiotics are natural, they be used as a part of your pet’s daily diet.\n\nDoes your dog or any pet suffering from a loss of certain energy, bad breath, bad gas, itchy skin, bouts of diarrhea, a vomiting, constipation, urinary tract problems, and/or loss of appetite? All of these problems may actually be symptoms of a compromised gastrointestinal tract—too much “bad” bacteria and not enough “good” bacteria.\n\n“Good” bacteria? Never heard of good bacteria, you say? Ever heard of “probiotics?” The word “probiotic” simply means “for life.”\n\nA probiotic is a type of an organism that contributes in our health and our balance within our intestinal tract. Probiotic is termed as the “friendly,” a “beneficial,” and or “good” kind of bacteria that if ingested acts in maintaining a healthier intestinal tract which will also help fight such illness as well as diseases.\n\nDog probiotics will help to keep the gastrointestinal tract in balance by keeping the “bad” bacteria in check. It also assists in the uptake of nutrients and vitamins into the body.\n\nA healthier lower intestine must contain for at least an 85% “healthier” bacteria in preventing an over colonization with the disease-causing a micro-organisms such as E. coli and salmonella. A colon can maintain its health with 15% unfriendly bacteria, if the body contains at least 85% probiotic-friendly bacteria.\n\nHere are some of the benefits probiotics provide:\n\n  • For immune system stimulation\n  • improved food poisoning resistance\n  • production of all the needed nutrients, such as vitamin K, one form of which the body itself cannot make\n  • improved lactose intolerance conditions\n  • reduction of cholesterol levels\n  • antioxidants (inhibit the destructive effects of oxidation)\n  • improved resistance to stress of all kinds\n  • overall improved quality of life and longevity\n  • increased natural resistance to infectious disease in the gastrointestinal tract and a first line of defense against disease\n  • prevention of dangerous fungal overgrowth\n  • reduction or elimination of some allergic reactions\n  • antibiotic action against certain pathogenic bacteria\n  • enhanced resistance for any viruses\n  • optimized the digestive processes, giving and allowing maximum benefit nutritiously from food\n  • an improved resistance from any toxic bowel issues\n  • resistance to diarrhea\n\neating dogProbiotics are being defined to be the live microorganisms, like the Lactobacillus genus, the Bifidobacterium genus as well as the yeasts, which may contribute greater benefits that affect the host upon ingestion by improving the balance of the intestinal microflora. Put more simply, probiotics refers to dietary supplements or foods that contain beneficial, or “good,” bacteria normally found in your body. These microorganisms which are a good dog probiotic may assist with digestion or help protect against some harmful bacteria. check it from\n\nProbiotics may have antimicrobial, immunomodulatory, anti-carcinogenic, antidiarrheal, and antiallergenic and antioxidant activities.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5003281831741333}
+{"content": "In Search of Panspermia (and Life on Icy Moons)\n\n\n\nSometimes personal affairs intervene for all of us, and they have now for your Many Worlds writer and his elderly father.  But rather than remain off the radar screen, I wanted to repost this column which has a new import. \n\nIt turns out that versions of the instrument described below — a miniature gene sequencing device produced by Oxford Nanopore — have been put forward as the kind of technology that could detect life in the plume of Enceladus, or perhaps on Europa or Titan. \n\nMajor figures in the astrobiology field, including Steve Benner of the Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution (FfAME) and Chris McKay of NASA Ames Research Center see this kind of detection of the basic polymer backbone of RNA or DNA life as a potentially significant way forward.  Three different “Icy Moon” teams are vying for a NASA New Frontiers mission to Enceladus and Titan, and this kind of technology plays a role in at least one of the proposed missions.\n\n\nEarly Earth, like early Mars and no doubt many other planets, was bombarded by meteorites and comets. Could they have arrived \"living\" microbes inside them?\nEarly Earth, like early Mars and no doubt many other planets, was bombarded by meteorites and comets. Could they have arrived “living” microbes inside them?\n\nWhen scientists approach the question of how life began on Earth, or elsewhere, their efforts generally involve attempts to understand how non-biological molecules bonded, became increasingly complex, and eventually reached the point where they could replicate or could use sources of energy to make things happen.  Ultimately, of course, life needed both.\n\nResearchers have been working for some time to understand this very long and winding process, and some have sought to make synthetic life out of selected components and energy.  Some startling progress has been made in both of these endeavors, but many unexplained mysteries remain at the heart of the processes.  And nobody is expecting the origin of life on Earth (or elsewhere) to be fully understood anytime soon.\n\nTo further complicate the picture, the history of early Earth is one of extreme heat caused by meteorite bombardment and, most important, the enormous impact some 4.5 billion years of the Mars-sized planet that became our moon.  As a result, many early Earth researchers think the planet was uninhabitable until about 4 billion years ago.\n\nYet some argue that signs of Earth life 3.8 billion years ago have been detected in the rock record, and lifeforms were certainly present 3.5 billion years ago.  Considering the painfully slow pace of early evolution — the planet, after all, supported only single-cell life for several billion years before multicellular life emerged — some\n\ndna animation. the big 300\nA DNA helix animation. Life on Earth is based on DNA, and some researchers have been working on ways to determine whether DNA life also exists on Mars or elsewhere in the solar system.\n\nresearchers are skeptical about the likelihood of DNA-based life evolving in the relatively short window between when Earth became cool enough to support life and the earliest evidence of actual life.\n\nSo what else, from a scientific as opposed to a religious perspective, might have set into motion the process that made life out of non-life?\n\nOne long considered yet generally quickly dismissed answer is getting new attention and a little more respect.  It invokes panspermia, the sharing of life via meteorites from one planet to another, or delivery by comet.\n\nIn this context, the question generally raised is whether Earth might have been seeded by early Martian life (if it existed).  Mars, it is becoming increasingly accepted, was probably more habitable in its early period than Earth.  But panspermia inherently could go the other way as well, or possibly even between solar systems.\n\nA team of prominent scientists at MIT and Harvard are sufficiently convinced in the plausibility of panspermia that they have spent a decade, and a fair amount of NASA and other funding, to design and produce an instrument that can be sent to Mars and potentially detect DNA or more primitive RNA.\n\nIn other words, life not only similar to that on Earth, but actually delivered long ago from Earth. It’s called the The Search for Extraterrestrial Genomes, or SETG.\n\nGary Ruvkun is one of those researchers, a pioneering molecular biologist at Massachusetts General Hospital and professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School.\n\nI heard him speaking recently at a Space Sciences Board workshop on biosignatures, where he described the real (if slim) possibility that DNA or RNA-based life exists now on Mars, and the instrument that the SETG group is developing to detect it should it be there.\n\nDid meteorites spread life between planets, and maybe even solar systems? Some pretty distinguished people think that it may well have happened. This illustration is an artist's rendering of the comet Siding Spring approaching Mars in 2015.\nDid meteorites spread life between planets, and maybe even solar systems? Some pretty distinguished people think that it may well have happened. This illustration is an artist’s rendering of the comet Siding Spring approaching Mars in 2015. (NASA)\n\nThe logic of panspermia — or perhaps “dispermia” if between but two planets — is pretty straight-forward, though with some significant question marks.  Both Earth and Mars, it is well known, were pummeled by incoming meteorites in their earlier epochs, and those impacts are known to have sufficient force to send rock from the crash site into orbit.\n\nMars meteorites have been found on Earth, and Earth meteorites no doubt have landed on Mars.  Ruvkun said that recent work on the capacity of dormant microbes to survive the long, frigid and irradiated trip from planet to planet has been increasingly supportive.\n\n“Earth is filled with life in every nook and cranny, and that life is wildly diverse,” he told the workshop.  “So if you’re looking for life on Mars, surely the first thing to look for is life like we find on Earth.  Frankly, it would be kind of stupid not to.”\n\nGary Ruvkun, professor of genetics at MIT, and a principal investigator for The Search for Extraterrestrial Genomes.\nGary Ruvkun, professor of genetics at MIT, and a principal investigator for The Search for Extraterrestrial Genomes. (Kris Snibbe/Harvard News Office)\n\nThe instrument being developed by the group, which is led by Ruvkun and Maria Zuber, MIT vice president for research and head of the Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences.  It would potentially be part of a lander or rover science package and would search DNA or RNA, using techniques based on the exploding knowledge of earthly genomics.\n\nThe job is made easier, Ruvkun said, by the fact that the basic structure of DNA is the same throughout biology.  What’s more, he said, there about 400 specific genes sequences “that make up the core of biology — they’re found in everything from extremeophiles and bacteria to worms and humans.”\n\nThose ubiquitous gene sequences, he said, were present more than 3 billion years ago in seemingly primitive lifeforms that were, in fact, not primitive at all.  Rather, they had perfected some genetic pathways that were so good that they still used by most everything alive today.\n\nAnd how was it that these sophisticated life processes emerged not all that long (in astronomical or geological terms) after Earth cooled enough to be habitable?  “Either life developed here super-fast or it came full-on as DNA life from afar,” Ruvkun said.  It’s pretty clear which option he supports.\n\nRuvkun said that the rest of the SETG team sees that kind of inter-planetary transfer — to Mars and from Mars — as entirely plausible, and that he takes panspermia a step forward. He thinks it’s possible, though certainly not likely nor remotely provable today, that life has been around in the cosmos for as long as 10 billion years, jumping from one solar system and planet to another.  Not likely, but at idea worth entertaining.\n\nA state-of-the-art instrument for reading DNA sequences in the field. The MIT/Harvard team is working with the company that makes it, and several others, on refining how it would do that kind of sequencing on Mars. (Oxford Nanopore)\nA state-of-the-art instrument for reading DNA sequences in the field. The MIT/Harvard team is working with the company that makes it, and several others, on refining how it would do that kind of sequencing of live DNA on Mars. The extremely high-tech thumb drive weighs about 3 ounces. (Oxford Nanopore)\n\nMaria Zuber of MIT, who was the PI for the recent NASA GRAIL mission to the moon, has been part of the SETG team since near its inception, and MIT research scientist Christopher Carr is the project manager.  Zuber said it was a rather low-profile effort at the start, but over the years has attracted many students and has won NASA funding three times including the currently running Maturation of Instruments for Solar System Exploration (MatISSE) grant.\n\n“I have made my career out of doing simple experiments. if want to look for life beyond earth helps to know what you’re looking for.\n\n“We happen to know what life on Earth is like– DNA based or possibly RNA-based as Gary is looking for as well.  The point is that we know what to look for.  There are so many possibilities of what life beyond Earth could be like that we might as well test the hypothesis that it, also, is DNA based.  It’s a low probability result, but potentially very high value.”\n\nDNA sequencing instruments like the one her team is developing are taken to the field regularly by thousands of researchers, including some working with with SETG.  The technology has advanced so quickly that they can pick up a sample in a marsh or desert or any extreme locale and on the spot determine what DNA is present.  That’s quite a change from the pain-staking sequencing done painstakingly by graduate students not that long ago.\n\nPanspermia, Zuber acknowledged, is a rather improbable idea. But when nature is concerned, she said  “I’m reticent to say anything is impossible. After all, the universe is made up of the same elements as those on Earth, and so there’s a basic commonality.”\n\nZuber said the instrument was not ready to compete for a spot on the 2020 mission to Mars, but she expects to have a sufficiently developed one ready to compete for a spot on the next Mars mission.  Or perhaps on missions to Europa or the plumes of Enceladus.\n\nMaria Zuber, MIT vice president for research, and the principal investigator for the SETG project. (MIT)\n\nThe possibility of life skipping from planet to planet clearly fascinates both scientists and the public.  You may recall the excitement in the mid 1990s over the Martian meteorite ALH84001, which NASA researchers concluded contained remnants of Martian life.  (That claim has since been largely refuted.)\n\nOf the roughly 61,000 meteorites found on Earth, only 134 were deemed to be Martian as of two years ago.  But how many have sunk into oceans or lakes, or been lost in the omnipresence of life on Earth?  Not surprisingly, the two spots that have yielded the most meteorites from Mars are Antarctica and the deserts of north Africa.\n\nAnd when thinking of panspermia, it’s worthwhile to consider the enormous amount of money and time put into keeping Earthly microbes from inadvertently hitching a ride to Mars or other planets and moons as part of a NASA mission.\n\nThe NASA office of planetary protection has the goal of ensuring, as much as possible, that other celestial bodies don’t get contaminated with our biology.  Inherent in that concern is the conclusion that our microbes could survive in deep space, could survive the scalding entry to another planet, and could possibly survive on the planet’s surface today. In other words, that panspermia (or dispermia) is in some circumstances possible.\n\nTesting whether a spacecraft has brought Earth life to Mars is actually another role that the SETG instrument could play.  If a sample tested on Mars comes back with a DNA signature result exactly like one on Earth–rather one that might have come initially from Earth and then evolved over billions of years– then scientists will know that particular bit of biology was indeed a stowaway from Earth.\n\nRather like how a very hardy microbe inside a meteorite might have possibly traveled long ago.\n\n\nPlanetary Protection is a “Wicked” Problem\n\nThe Viking landers were baked for 30 hours after assembly, a dry heat sterilization that is considered the gold standard for planetary protection.  Before the baking, the landers were given a preliminary cleaning to reduce the number of potential microbial spores.  The levels achieved with that preliminary cleaning are similar to what is now required for a mission to Mars unless the destination is an area known to be suitable for Martian life.  In that case, a sterilizing equivalent to the Viking baking is required.  (NASA)\n\nThe only time that a formally designated NASA “life detection” mission was flown to another planet or moon was when the two Viking landers headed to Mars forty years ago.\n\nThe odds of finding some kind of Martian life seemed so promising at the time that there was little dispute about how much energy, money and care should be allocated to making sure the capsule would not be carrying any Earth life to the planet.  And so after the two landers had been assembled, they were baked at more than 250 °F for three days to sterilize any parts that would come into contact with Mars.\n\nAlthough the two landers successfully touched down on the Martian surface and did some impressive science, the life detection portion of the mission was something of a fiasco — with conflict, controversy and ultimately quite a bit of confusion.\n\nClearly, scientists did not yet know enough about how to search for life beyond Earth and the confounding results pretty much eliminated life-detection from NASA’s missions for decades.\n\nBut scientific and technological advances of the last ten years have put life detection squarely back on the agenda — in terms of future searches for fossil biosignatures on Mars and for potential life surviving in the oceans of Europa and Enceladus.  What’s more, both NASA and private space companies talk seriously of sending humans to Mars in the not-too-distant future.\n\nWith so many missions being planned, developed and proposed for solar system planets and moons, the issue of planetary protection has also gained a higher profile.  It seems to have become more contentious and to some seems far less straight-forward as it used to be.\n\nA broad consensus appears to remain that bringing Earth life to another planet or moon, especially if it is potentially habitable, is a real possibility that is both scientifically and ethically fraught. But there are rumblings about just how much time, money and attention needs to be brought to satisfying the requirements of “planetary protection.”\n\nIn fact, it has become a sufficiently significant question that the first plenary session of the recent Astrobiology Science Conference in Mesa, Arizona was dedicated to it.  The issue, which was taken up in later technical sessions as well, was how to assess and weigh the risks of bringing Earth life to other bodies versus the benefits of potentially sending out more missions, more often and more cheaply.\n\nIt is not a simple problem, explained Andrew Maynard, director of the Risk Innovation Lab at Arizona State University.  Indeed, he told the audience of scientists that it was a “wicked problem,” a broadly used terms for issues that are especially complex and involve numerous issues and players.\n\n\nA primary barrier to keeping microbes off spacecraft and instruments going to space is to build them in clean rooms, such as this one at JPL.  These large rooms with filtered air do help lower the count of microbes on surfaces, but the bacteria are everywhere and further steps are essential.  (NASA/JPL-Caltech)\n\nAs he later elaborated to me, other “wicked” risk-benefit problems include gene editing and autonomous driving — both filled with great potential and serious potential downsides.  Like travel to other planets and moons.\n\n“This is subjective,” Maynard said, “but I’d put planetary protection on the more wicked end of the spectrum. It combines individual priorities and ethics  — what people and groups deeply believe is right — with huge uncertainties.  That makes it something never really experienced before and so escalates all factors of wickedness.”\n\nThose groups include scientists (who very much don’t want Mars or another potentially habitable place to be contaminated with Earth life before they can get there), to advocates of greater space exploration (who worry that planetary protection will slow or eliminate some missions they very much want to proceed), to NASA mission managers (worried about delays and costs associated with planetary protections surprises.)\n\nAnd then there’s the general public which might (or might not) have entirely different ethical concerns about the potential for contaminating other planets and moons with Earth life.\n\nNo wonder the problem is deemed wicked.\n\nWe’ll get into the pros and cons, but first some background:\n\nI asked NASA’s Planetary Protection officer, Catharine Conley, whether Earth life has been transported to its most likely solar system destination, Mars.\n\nHer reply:  “There are definitely Earth organisms that we’ve brought to Mars and are still alive on the spacecraft.”\n\nCatharine “Cassie” Conley has been NASA’s Planetary Protection officer since 2006. There is only one other full-time official in the world with the same responsibilities, and he works for the European Space Agency. (NASA/W. Hrybyk)\n\nShe said it is quite possible that some of those organisms were brushed off the vehicles or otherwise were shed and fell to the surface. Because of the strong ultraviolet radiation and the Earth life-destroying chemical makeup of the soil, however, it’s unlikely the organisms could last for long, and equally unlikely that any would have made it below the surface.  Nonetheless, it is sobering to hear that Earth life has already made it to Mars.\n\nRelated to this reality is the understanding that Earth life, in the form of bacteria, algae and fungi and their spores, can be extraordinarily resilient.  Organisms have been discovered that can survive unimagined extremes of heat and cold, can withstand radiation that would kill us, and can survive as dormant spores for tens of thousands of years.\n\nWhat’s more, Mars scientists now know that the planet was once much warmer and wetter, and that ice underlies substantial portions of the planet. There are even signs today of seasonal runs of what some scientists argue is very briny surface water.\n\nSo the risk of Earth life surviving a ride to another planet or moon is probably greater than imagined earlier, and the possibility of that Earth life potentially surviving and spreading on a distant surface (think the oceans of Europa and Enceladus, or maybe a briny, moist hideaway on Mars) is arguably greater too.  From a planetary protection perspective, all of this is worrisome.\n\nThe logic of planetary protection is, like almost everything involved with the subject, based on probabilities.  Discussed as far back as the 1950s and formalized in the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, the standard agreed on is to take steps that ensure there is less than a 1 in 10,000 chance of a spaceship or lander or instrument from Earth bringing life to another body.\n\nThis figure takes into account the number of microorganisms on the spacecraft, the probability of growth on the planet or moon where the mission is headed, and a series of potential sanitizing to sterilizing procedures that can be used.  A formula for assessing the risk of a mission for planetary protection purposes was worked out in 1965 by Carl Sagan, along with Harvard theoretical physicist Sidney Coleman.\n\nDeinococcus radiodurans is an extremophilic bacterium, one of the most radiation-resistant organisms known. It can survive cold, dehydration, vacuum, and acid, and is therefore known as a polyextremophile and is considered perhaps the world’s toughest bacterium. It can withstand a radiation dose 1,000 times stronger than what would kill a person.\n\nA lot has been learned since that time, and some in the field say it’s time to re-address the basics of planetary protection.  They argue, for instance, that since we now know that Earth life can (theoretically, at least) be carried inside a meteorite from our planet to Mars, then Earth life may have long been on Mars — if it is robust enough to survive when it lands.\n\nIn addition, a great deal more is known about how to sanitize a space vehicle without baking it entirely — a step that is both very costly and could prove deadly to the more sophisticated capsules and instruments.  And more is known about the punishing environment on the surface of Mars and elsewhere.\n\nPeople ranging from Mars Society founder Robert Zubrin to Cornell University Visiting Scientist Alberto G. Fairén in Nature Geoscience have argued — and sometimes railed — against planetary protection requirements. NASA mission managers have often voiced their concerns as well.  The regulations, some say, slow the pace of exploration and science to avoid a vanishingly small risk.\n\nBrent Sherwood, planetary mission formulation manager for JPL, is currently overseeing two proposed projects for New Frontiers missions.  One is to search for signs of life on Saturn’s moon Enceladus and the other for habitability on the moon Titan. (Brent Sherwood)\n\nBrent Sherwood, program manager for solar system mission formulation at JPL, spoke at AbSciCon about what he sees as the need for a review and possibly reassessment of the planetary protection rules and regulations.  As someone who helps scientists put together proposals for NASA missions in the solar system, he has practical and long considered views about planetary protection.\n\nHe and his co-authors argue that the broad conversation that needs to take place should include scientists, ethicists, managers, and policy makers; and especially should include the generations that will actually implement and live with the consequences of these missions.\n\nIn the abstract for his talk, Sherwood wrote:\n\n“The (1 chance in 10,000) requirement may not be as logically sound or deserving of perpetuation as generally assumed.  What status should this requirement have within an ethical decision-making process? Do we need a meta-ethical discussion about absolute values, rather than an arbitrary number that purports to govern the absolute necessity of preserving scientific discovery or protecting alien life?”\n\nAs he  later he told me: “I’m recommending that we be proactive and engage the broadest possible range of stakeholder communities…. With these big, hairy risk problems, everything is probabilistic and open to argument.  People are bad at thinking of very small and very big numbers, and the same for risks.  They tend to substitute opinion for fact.”\n\nSherwood is no foe of planetary protection.  But he said planetary protection is a “foundational” part of the space program, and he wants to make sure it is properly adapted for the new space era we are entering.\n\nElon Musk of SpaceX, Jeff Bezos of Blue Origins and NASA have all talked about potentially sending astronauts to Mars or establishing a colony on Mars in the decades ahead.  Many obstacles remain, but planning is underway. (Bryan Versteeg/\n\nPlanetary protection officer Conley contends that regular reviews are already built into the system.  She told me that every mission gets a thorough planetary protection assessment early in the process, and that there is no one-size-fits-all approach.  Rather, the risks and architecture of the missions are studied within the context of the prevailing rules.\n\nIn addition, she said, the group that oversees planetary protection internationally — the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) — meets every two years and its Panel on Planetary Protection takes up general topics and welcomes input from whomever might want to raise issues large or small.\n\n“You hear it said that there are protected areas on Mars or Europa where missions can’t go, but that’s not the case,” she said.  “These are sensitive areas where life just might be present now or was present in the past.  If that’s the case, then the capsule or lander or rover has to be sterilized to the level of the Viking missions.”\n\nShe said that she understood that today’s spacecraft are different from Viking, which was designed and built from scratch with planetary protection in mind.  Today, JPL and other mission builders get some of their parts “off the shelf” in an effort to make space exploration less expensive.\n\n“We do have to balance the goals of exploration and space science with making sure that Earth life does not take hold.  We also have to be aware that taxpayer money is being spent.  But if a mission sent out returns a signal of life, what have we achieved if it turns out to be life we brought there?\n\n“I see planetary protection as a great success story.  People identified a potential contamination problem back in the ’50s, put regulations into place, and have succeeded in avoiding the problem.  This kind of global cooperation that leads to the preventing of a potentially major problem just doesn’t happen that often.”\n\nThe global cooperation has been robust, Conley said, despite the fact that only NASA and the European Space Agency have a full-time planetary protection officer.  She cited the planning for the joint Russian-Chinese mission to the Martian moon Phobos as an example of other nations agreeing to very high standards.  She and her European Space Agency (ESA) counterpart traveled twice to Moscow to discuss planetary protection steps being taken.\n\nAndrew Maynard is the director of Arizona State University’s Risk Innovation Lab and is a professor in School for the Future of Innovation in Society.  (ASU.)\n\nSo far, she said private space companies have been attentive to planetary protection as well.  Some of the commercial space activity in the future involves efforts to mine on asteroids, and Conley said there is no planetary protection issues involved.  The same with mining on our moon.\n\nBut should the day arrive that private companies such as SpaceX and Blue Origin seriously propose a human mission to Mars — as they have said they plan to — Conley said they would have the same obligations as any NASA mission.  The US has not yet determined how to ensure that compliance, she said, but companies already would need Federal Aviation Administration approval for a launch, and planetary protection is part of that.\n\nRisk innovation expert Maynard, however, was not so sure about those protections.  He said he could imagine a situation where Elon Musk of SpaceX or Jeff Bezos of Blue Origin or any other space entrepreneur around the world would decide to move their launch to a nation that would be willing to provide the service without intensive planetary protection oversight.\n\n“The risk of this may be small, but this is all about the potentially outsize consequences of small risks,” he said.\n\nMaynard said that was hardly a likely scenario — and that commercial space pioneers so far have been supportive of planetary protection guidelines — but that he was well aware of the displeasure among some mission managers and participating scientists about planetary protection requirements.\n\nGiven all this, it’s easy to see how and why planetary protection advocates might feel that the floodgates are being tested, and why space explorers looking forward to a time when Mars and other bodies might be visited by astronauts and later potentially colonized are concerned about potential obstacles to their visions.\n\nAn artist’s rendering of a sample return from Mars.  Both the 2020 NASA Mars mission and the ESA-Russian mission are designed to identify and cache intriguing rocks for delivery to Earth in the years ahead. (Wickman Spacecraft & Propulsion)\n\nThis column has addressed the issue of “forward contamination” — how to prevent Earth life from being carried to another potentially habitable solar system body and surviving there.  But there is another planetary protection worry and that involves “backward contamination�� — how to handle the return of potentially living extraterrestrial organisms to Earth.\n\nThat will be the subject of a later column, but suffice it to say it is very much on the global space agenda, too.\n\nThe Apollo astronauts famously brought back pounds of moon rocks, and grains of asteroid and comet dust have also been retrieved and delivered.  A sample return mission by the Russian and Chinese space agencies was designed to return rock or grain samples from the Martian moon Phobos earlier this decade, but the spacecraft did not make it beyond low Earth orbit.\n\nHowever, the future will see many more sample return attempts.  The Japanese space agency JAXA launched a mission to the asteroid 162173 Ryugu in 2014 (Hayabusa 2) and it will arrive there next year.  The plan is to collect rock and dust samples and bring them back to Earth.  NASA’s OSIRIS-REx is also making its way to an asteroid, 101955 Bennu, with the goal of collecting a sample as well for return to Earth.\n\nAnd in 2020 both NASA and ESA (with Russian collaboration) will launch spacecraft for Mars with the intention of preparing for future sample returns.  Sample return is a very high priority in the Mars and space science communities, and many consider it essential for determining whether there has ever been life on Mars.\n\nSo the “wicked” challenges of planetary protection are only going to mount in the years ahead.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nHow to Give Mars an Atmosphere, Maybe\n\n\nThe Many Worlds site has been down for almost two weeks following the crash of the server used to publish it.  We never expected it would take quite this long to return to service, but now we are back with a column today and another one for early next week.\n\nAn artist rendering of what Mars might look like over time if efforts were made to give it an artificial magnetic field to then enrich its atmosphere and made it more hospitable to human explorers and scientists. (NASA)\n\nEarth is most fortunate to have vast webs of magnetic fields surrounding it. Without them, much of our atmosphere would have been gradually torn away by powerful solar winds long ago, making it unlikely that anything like us would be here.\n\nScientists know that Mars once supported prominent magnetic fields as well, most likely in the early period of its history when the planet was consequently warmer and much wetter. Very little of them is left, and the planet is frigid and desiccated.\n\nThese understandings lead to an interesting question: if Mars had a functioning magnetosphere to protect it from those solar winds, could it once again develop a thicker atmosphere, warmer climate and liquid surface water?\n\nJames Green, director of NASA’s Planetary Science Division, thinks it could. And perhaps with our help, such changes could occur within a human, rather than an astronomical, time frame.\n\nIn a talk at the NASA Planetary Science Vision 2050 Workshop at the agency’s headquarters, Green presented simulations, models, and early thinking about how a Martian magnetic field might be re-constituted and the how the climate on Mars could then become more friendly for human exploration and perhaps communities.\n\nIt consisted of creating a “magnetic shield” to protect the planet from those high-energy solar particles. The shield structure would consist of a large dipole—a closed electric circuit powerful enough to generate an artificial magnetic field.\n\nSimulations showed that a shield of this sort would leave Mars in the relatively protected magnetotail of the magnetic field created by the object. A potential result: an end to largescale stripping of the Martian atmosphere by the solar wind, and a significant change in climate.\n\n“The solar sytstem is ours, let’s take it,” Green told the workshop. “And that, of course, includes Mars. But for humans to be able to explore Mars, together with us doing science, we need a better environment.”\n\n\nAn artificial magnetosphere of sufficient size generated at L1 – a point where the gravitational pull of Mars and the sun are at a rough equilibrium — allows Mars to be well protected by what is known as the magnetotail. The L1 point for Mars is about 673,920 miles (or 320 Mars radii) away from the planet. In this image, Green’s team simulated the passage of a hypothetical extreme Interplanetary Coronal Mass Ejection at Mars. By staying inside the magnetotail of the artificial magnetosphere, the Martian atmosphere lost an order of magnitude less material than it would have otherwise. (J. Green)\n\nIs this “terraforming,” the process by which humans make Mars more suitable for human habitation? That’s an intriguing but controversial idea that has been around for decades, and Green was wary of embracing it fully.\n\n“My understanding of terraforming is the deliberate addition, by humans, of directly adding gases to the atmosphere on a planetary scale,” he wrote in an email.\n\n“I may be splitting hairs here, but nothing is introduced to the atmosphere in my simulations that Mars doesn’t create itself. In effect, this concept simply accelerates a natural process that would most likely occur over a much longer period of time.”\n\nWhat he is referring to here is that many experts believe Mars will be a lot warmer in the future, and will have a much thicker atmosphere, whatever humans do. On its own, however, the process will take a very long time.\n\nTo explain further, first a little Mars history.\n\nLong ago, more than 3.5 billion years in the past, Mars had a much thicker atmosphere that kept the surface temperatures moderate enough to allow for substantial amounts of surface water to flow, pool and perhaps even form an ocean. (And who knows, maybe even for life to begin.)\n\nBut since the magnetic field of Mars fell apart after its iron inner core was somehow undone, about 90 percent of the Martian atmosphere was stripped away by charged particles in that solar wind, which can reach speeds of 250 to 750 kilometers per second.\n\nMars, of course, is frigid and dry now, but Green said the dynamics of the solar system point to a time when the planet will warm up again.\n\nJames Green, the longtime director of NASA’s Planetary Science Division. (NASA)\n\nHe said that scientists expect the gradually increasing heat of the sun will warm the planet sufficiently to release the covering of frozen carbon dioxide at the north pole, will start water ice to flow, and will in time create something of a greenhouse atmosphere. But the process is expected to take some 700 millon years.\n\n“The key to my idea is that we now know that Mars lost its magnetic field long ago, the solar wind has been stripping off the atmosphere (in particular the oxygen) ever since, and the solar wind is in some kind of equilibrium with the outgassing at Mars,” Green said. (Outgassing is the release of gaseous compounds from beneath the planet’s surface.)\n\n“If we significantly reduce the stripping, a new, higher pressure atmosphere will evolve over time. The increase in pressure causes an increase in temperature. We have not calculated exactly what the new equilibrium will be and how long it will take.”\n\nThe reason why is that Green and his colleagues found that they needed to add some additional physics to the atmospheric model, dynamics that will become more important and clear over time. But he is confident those physics will be developed.\n\nHe also said that the European Space Agency’s Trace Gas Orbiter now circling Mars should be able to identify molecules and compounds that could play a significant role in a changing Mars atmosphere.\n\nSo based on those new magnetic field models and projections about the future climate of Mars, when might it be sufficiently changed to become significantly more human friendly?\n\nWell, a relatively small change in atmospheric pressure can stop an astronaut’s blood from boiling, and so protective suits and clothes would be simpler to design. But the average daily range in temperature on Mars now is 170 degrees F, and it will take some substantial atmospheric modification to make that more congenial.\n\nGreen’s workshop focused on what might be possible in the mid 21st century, so he hopes for some progress in this arena by then.\n\nThis image combines depicts an orbital view of the north polar region of Mars, based on data collected from two instruments aboard NASA’s Mars Global Surveyor, depicts an orbital view of the north polar region of Mars. About 620 miles across, the white sections are primarily water ice. Frozen carbon dioxide accumulates as a comparatively thin layer about one meter thick on the north cap in the northern winter only. NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS\n\nOne of many intriguing aspects of the paper is its part in an NASA effort to link fundamental models together for everything from predicting global climate to space weather on Mars.\n\nThe modeling of a potential artificial magnetosphere for Mars relied, for instance, on work done by NASA heliophysics – the quite advanced study of our own sun.\n\nChuanfei Dong, an expert on space weather at Mars, is a co-author on the paper and did much of the modeling work. He is now a postdoc at Princeton University, where he is supported by NASA.\n\nHe used the Block-Adaptive-Tree Solar-Wind Roe-Type Upwind Scheme (BATS-R-US) model to test the potential shielding effect of an artificial magnetosphere, and found that it was substantial when the magnetic field created was sufficiently strong.  Substantial enough, in fact, to greatly limit the loss of Martian atmosphere due to the solar wind.\n\nAs he explained, the artificial dipole magnetic field has to rotate to prevent the dayside reconnection, which in turn prevents the nightside reconnection as well.\n\nIf the artificial magnetic field does not block the solar winds properly, Mars could lose more of its atmosphere. That why the planet needs to be safely within the magnetotail of the artificial magnetosphere.\n\nIn their paper, the authors acknowledge that the plan for an artificial Martian magnetosphere may sound “fanciful,” but they say that emerging research is starting to show that a miniature magnetsphere can be used to protect humans and spacecraft.\n\nIn the future, they say, it is quite possible that an inflatable structure can generate a magnetic dipole field at a level of perhaps 1 or 2 Tesla (a unit that measures the strength of a magnetic field) as an active shield against the solar wind. In the simulation, the magnetic field is about 1.6 times strong than that of Earth.\n\n\nA Mars with a magnetic field and consequently a thicker atmosphere would not likely be particularly verdant anytime soon. But it might make a human presence there possible.\n\nAs a summary of what Green and others are thinking, here is the “results” section of the short paper:\n\n“It has been determined that an average change in the temperature of Mars of about 4 degrees C will provide enough temperature to melt the CO2 veneer over the northern polar cap.\n\n“The resulting enhancement in the atmosphere of this CO2, a greenhouse gas, will begin the process of melting the water that is trapped in the northern polar cap of Mars. It has been estimated that nearly 1/7th of the ancient ocean of Mars is trapped in the frozen polar cap. Mars may once again become a more Earth-like habitable environment.\n\nThe results of these simulations will be reviewed (with) a projection of how long it may take for Mars to become an exciting new planet to study and to live on.”\n\n\n\nCuriosity Has Found The Element Boron On Mars. That’s More Important Than You Might Think\n\nChemCam target Catabola is a raised resistant calcium sulfate vein with the highest abundance of boron observed so far. The red outline shows the location of the ChemCam target remote micro images (inset). The remote micro images show the location of each individual ChemCam laser point (red crosshairs) and the B chemistry associated with each point (colored bars). The scale bar is 9.2 mm or about 0.36 inches. Credit JPL-Caltech/MSSS/LANL/CNES-IRAP/William Rapin\nUsing its laser technology, the Curiosity ChemCam instrument located the highest abundance of boron observed so far on this raised calcium sulfate vein. The red outline shows the location of the ChemCam target remote micro images (inset). The remote micro images show the location of each individual ChemCam laser point (red crosshairs) and the additional chemistry associated with each point (colored bars).  JPL-Caltech/MSSS/LANL/CNES-IRAP/William Rapin\n\nFor years, noted chemist and synthetic life researcher Steven Benner has talked about the necessary role of the element boron in the origin of life.\n\nWithout boron, he has found, many of the building blocks needed to form the earliest self-replicating ribonucleic acid (RNA) fall apart when they come into contact with water, which is nonetheless needed for the chemistry to succeed. Only in the presence of boron, Benner found and has long argued, can the formation of RNA and later DNA proceed.\n\nNow, to the delight of Benner and many other scientists, the Curiosity team has found boron on Mars.  In fact, as Curiosity climbs the mountain at the center of Gale Crater, the presence of boron has become increasingly pronounced.\n\nAnd to make the discovery all the more meaningful to Benner, the boron is being found in rock veins.  So it clearly was carried by water into the fractures, and was deposited there some 3.5 billion years ago.\n\nCombined with earlier detections of phosphates, magnesium, peridots, carbon and other essential elements in Gale Crater, Benner told me, “we have found on Mars an environment entirely consistent with a what we consider conducive for the origin of life.\n\n“Is it likely that life arose?  I’d say yes…perhaps even, hell yes.  But it’s also true that an environment conducive to the formation of life isn’t necessarily one conducive to the long-term survival of life.”\n\nThe foreground of this scene from the Mastcam on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover shows purple-hued rocks near the rover's late-2016 location. The middle distance includes future destinations for the rover. Variations in color of the rocks hint at the diversity of their composition on lower Mount Sharp. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS\nThe foreground of this scene from the Mastcam on NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover shows purplish rocks near the rover’s late-2016 location. The middle distance includes future destinations for the rover. Variations in color of the rocks hint at the diversity of their composition on lower Mount Sharp. NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS\n\nAnother factor in the Mars-as-habitable story from Benner’s view is that there has never been the kind of water world there that many believe existed on early Earth.\n\nWhile satellites orbiting Mars and now Curiosity have made it abundantly clear that early Mars also had substantial water in the form of lakes, rivers, streams and perhaps an localized ocean, it was clearly never covered in water.\n\nAnd that’s good for the origin of life, Benner said.\n\nSteven Benner and his colleagues were the first to synthesize a gene, beginning the field of synthetic biology. He was instrumental in establishing the field of paleogenetics. He founded The Westheimer Institute of Science and Technology (TWIST) and the Foundation For Applied Molecular Evolution.\n\n“We think that a largely arid environment, with water present but not everywhere, is the best one for life to begin.  Mars had that but Earth, well, maybe not so much.  The problem is how to concentrate the makings of RNA, of life, in a vast ocean.  It’s like making a cake in water — all the ingredients will float away.\n\n“But the mineral ensemble they’ve discovered and given us is everything we could have asked for, and it was on a largely dry Mars,” he said.  “So they’ve kicked the ball back to us.  Now we have to go back to our labs to enrich the chemistry around this ensemble of minerals.”\n\nIn his labs, Benner has already put together a process — he calls it his discontinuous synthesis model — whereby all the many steps needed to create RNA and therefore life have been demonstrated to be entirely possible.\n\nWhat’s missing is a continuous model that would show that process at work, starting with a particular atmosphere and particular minerals and ending up with RNA.   That’s something that requires a lot more space and time than any lab experiments would provide.\n\n“This is potentially what Mars provides,” he said,\n\nBenner, it should be said, is not a member of the Curiosity team and doesn’t speak for them.\n\nBut his championing of boron as a potentially key element for the origin of life was noted as a guide by one of the Curiosity researchers during a press conference with team members at the American Geophysical Union Dec. 13 in San Francisco.  It was at that gathering that the detection of the first boron on Mars was announced.\n\nBenner said he has been in close touch with the two Curiosity instrument teams involved in the boron research and was most pleased that his own boron work — and that of at least one other researcher — had helped inspire the search for and detection of the element on Mars.  That other researcher, evolutionary biologist James Stephenson, had detected boron in a meteorite from Mars.\n\nPatrick Gasda, a postdoctoral researcher at Los Alamos National Laboratory, is a member of the Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) instrument team which identified the boron at Gale Crater.  The instrument uses laser technology to identify chemical elements in Martian rocks.\n\nGasda said at AGU that if the boron they found in calcium sulfate rock veins on Mars behaves there as it does on Earth, then the environment was conducive to life.  The ancient groundwater that formed these veins would have had temperatures in the 0-60 degrees Celsius (32-140 degrees Fahrenheit) range, he said, with a neutral-to-alkaline pH.\n\nWhile the presence of boron (most likely the mineral form borate, Benner said) has increased as the rover has climbed Mount Sharp, the element still makes up only one-tenth of one percent of the rock composition.  But to stabilize that process of making RNA, that’s enough.\n\nThis pair of drawings depicts the same location at Gale Crater on at two points in time: now and billions of years ago. Water moving beneath the ground, as well as water above the surface in ancient rivers and lakes, provided favorable conditions for microbial life, if Mars has ever hosted life. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech\nA drawing of Gale Crater as it is organized now.  Water moving beneath the ground, as well as water above the surface in ancient rivers and lakes, provided favorable conditions for microbial life, if Mars has ever hosted life. A well-done animation including a second drawing showing conditions 3.5 billion years ago at Gale can be seen here.   It toggles back and forth to show how things have changed.  (NASA/JPL-Caltech)\n\nBenner’s view of Gale Crater and Mars as entirely habitable is not new — the Curiosity team has been saying roughly the same for several years now.  But with four full years on Mars the rover keeps adding to the habitability story, and that was the central message from Curiosity scientists speaking at the AGU press conference.\n\nAs the rover examines higher, younger layers, the researchers said they were especially impressed by the complexity of the ancient lake environments at Gale when sediments were being deposited, and also the complexity of the groundwater interactions after the sediments were buried.\n\n“There is so much variability in the composition at different elevations, we’ve hit a jackpot,” said John Grotzinger of Caltech, and formerly the mission scientist for Curiosity.\n\n“A sedimentary basin such as this is a chemical reactor. Elements get rearranged. New minerals form and old ones dissolve. Electrons get redistributed. On Earth, these reactions support life.”\n\nThis kind of reactivity occurs on a gradient based on the strength of a chemical at donating or receiving electrons. Transfer of electrons due to this gradient can provide energy for life.\n\nThe ChemCam instrument, with its laser zapper, identified the element boron as Curiosity climbs Mount Sharp. (NASA)\nAn illustration of the ChemCam instrument, with its laser zapper, which identified the element boron as Curiosity climbs Mount Sharp. (NASA)\n\nWhile habitability is key to Curiosity’s mission on Mars, much additional science is being done  that has different goals or looks more indirectly at the planet’s ancient (or possibly current) ability to support life.  Understanding the ancient environmental history of Gale Crater and Mars is a good example.\n\nFor instance, the Curiosity team is now undertaking a drilling campaign in progressively younger rock layers, digging into four sites each spaced about 80 feet (about 25 meters) further uphill.  Changes in which minerals are present and in what percentages they exist give insights into some of that ancient history.\n\nOne clue to changing ancient conditions is the presence of the mineral hematite, a form of the omnipresent iron oxide on Mars.  Hematite has replaced magnetite as the dominant iron oxide in rocks Curiosity has drilled recently, compared with the site where Curiosity first found lake bed sediments.\n\nThomas Bristow of NASA Ames Research Center, who works with the Chemistry and Mineralogy (CheMin) laboratory instrument inside the rover, said Mars is sending a signal. Both forms of iron oxide (hematite and magnetite) were deposited in mudstone in what was once the bottom of a lake, but the increased abundance of hematite higher up Mount Sharp suggests conditions were warmer when it was laid down.  There also was probably more interaction between the atmosphere and the sediments.\n\nOn a more technical level, an increase in hematite relative to magnetite also indicates an environmental change towards a stronger tug on the iron oxide electrons, causing a greater degree of oxidation (the loss of electrons) in the iron.  That would likely be caused by changing atmospheric conditions.\n\nIt’s all part of putting together the jigsaw puzzle of Mars circa 3.5 billion years ago.\n\nThis view from the Mast Camera (Mastcam) on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover shows an outcrop with finely layered rocks within the \"Murray Buttes\" region on lower Mount Sharp. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)\nThis view from the Mast Camera (Mastcam) on NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover shows an outcrop with finely layered rocks within the “Murray Buttes” region on lower Mount Sharp. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)\n\nReturning to the boron story, Benner said that the discovered presence of all the chemicals his group believes are necessary to ever-so-slowly move from prebiotic chemistry to biology provides an enormous opportunity. Because of plate tectonics on Earth and the omnipresence of biology, the conditions and environments present on early Earth when life first arose were long ago destroyed.\n\nBut on Mars, the apparent absence of those most powerful agents of change means it’s possible to detect, observe and study conditions in a changed but intact world that just might have given rise to life on Mars.  Taken a step further, Mars today could provide new and important insights into how life arose on Earth.\n\nAnd then there’s the logic of what finding signs of ancient, or perhaps deep-down surviving life on Mars would mean to the larger search for life in the cosmos.\n\nThat life exists on one planet among the hundreds of billions we now know are out there suggests that other planets — which we know have many or most of the same basic chemicals as Earth — might have given rise to life as well.\n\nAnd if two planets in one of those many, many solar system have produced and supported life, then the odds go up dramatically regarding life on other planets.\n\nOne planet with life could be an anomaly.  Two nearby planets with life, even if its similar, are a trend.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe Search for Organic Compounds On Mars Is Getting Results\n\nThis photograph, taken by NASA's Mars Rover Curiosity in 2015, shows sedimentary rocks of the Kimberley Formation in Gale Crater. The crater contains thick deposits of finely-laminated mudstone that represent fine-grained sediments deposited in a standing body of water that persisted for a long period of time - long enough to allow sediments to accumulate to significant thickness. Image by NASA. Enlarge image. [8]\nSedimentary rocks of the Kimberley Formation in Gale Crater, as photographed in 2015. The crater contains thick deposits of finely-laminated mudstone from fine-grained sediments deposited in a standing body of water that persisted for a long period of time.  Scientists have now reported several detections of organic compounds — the building blocks of life in Gale Crater samples. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)\n\nOne of the primary goals of the Curiosity mission to Mars has been to search for and hopefully identify organic compounds — the carbon-based molecules that on Earth are the building blocks of life.\n\nNo previous mission had quite the instruments and capacity needed to detect the precious organics, nor did they have the knowledge about Martian chemistry that the Curiosity team had at launch.\n\nNonetheless, finding organics with Curiosity was no sure things.  Not only is the Martian surface bombarded with ultraviolet radiation that breaks molecules apart and destroys organics, but also a particular compound now known to be common in the soil will interfere with the essential oven-heating process used by NASA to detect organics.\n\nSo when Jennifer Eigenbrode, a biogeochemist and geologist at the Goddard Space Flight Center and a member of the Curiosity organics-searching team,  asked her colleagues gathered for Curiosity’s 2012 touch-down whether they thought organics would be found, the answer was not pretty.\n\n“I did a quick survey across the the team and I was convinced that a majority in the room were very doubtful that we would ever detect organics on Mars, and certainly not in the top five centimeters or the surface.”\n\nYet at a recent National Academies of Sciences workshop on “Searching for Life Across Space and Time,” Eigenbrode gave this quite striking update:\n\n“At this point, I can clearly say that I am convinced, and I hope you will be too, that organics are all over Mars, all over the surface, and probably through the rock record.  What does that mean? We’ll have to talk about it.”\n\n The hole drilled into this rock target, called \"Cumberland,\" was made by NASA's Mars rover Curiosity on May 19, 2013. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS\nThe hole drilled into this rock target, called “Cumberland,” was made by NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity on May 19, 2013.  One of the samples found to have organics was from the Cumberland hole. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)\n\nThis is not, it should be said, the first time that a member of the Curiosity “Sample Analysis on Mars”  (SAM) team has reported the discovery of organic material.   The simple, but very important organic gas methane was detected in Gale Crater,  as were chlorinated hydrocarbons. Papers by Sushil Atreya of the University of Michigan and  Daniel Glavin and Caroline Freissinet from Goddard, along with other team members from the SAM team, have been published on all these finds.\n\nBut Eigenbrode’s work and her comments at the workshop– which acknowledged the essential work of SAM colleagues — move the organics story substantially further.\n\nThat’s because her detections involve larger organic compounds, or rather pieces of what were once larger organics.  What’s more, these organics were found only when the Mars samples were cooked at over over 800 degrees centigrade in the SAM oven, while the earlier ones came off as detectable gases at significantly lower temperatures.\n\nGoddard biogeochemist Jennifer Eigenbrode, who is an expert at detecting organic compounds in rocks, is using R&D funds to develop a simplified sample-processing method that could be applied to a robotic chemistry lab. Photo Credit: Chris Gunn Summer 2008\nGoddard biogeochemist Jennifer Eigenbrode, an expert at detecting organic compounds in rocks, has found them in Martian samples collected by the Curiosity rover.\n(Chris Gunn)\n\nThese latest carbon-based organics were most likely bound up inside minerals, Eigenbrode said. Their discovery now is a function of having an oven on Mars that, for the first time, can get hot enough to break them apart.\n\nThe larger molecules bring with them additional importance because, as Eigenbrode explained it, 75 to 90 percent of organic compounds are of this more complex variety.  What’s more, she said that the levels at which the compounds are present, as well as where they were found, suggests a pretty radical conclusion:  that they are a global phenomenon, most likely found around the planet.\n\nHer logic is that the overall geochemistry of soil at Gale Crater as read by Curiosity instruments is quite similar to the chemistry of samples tested by earlier rovers at two other sites on Mars, Gusev Crater and Meridiani Planum.\n\nMany Mars scientists are comfortable with taking these parallel bulk chemistry readouts — the sum total of all the chemicals found in the samples — and inferring that much of the planet has a similar chemical makeup.\n\nTaking the logic a step further, Eigenbrode proposed to the assembled scientists that the signatures of carbon-based organics are also a global phenomenon.\n\n“I think it just might be,” she told the NAS workshop, which was organized by the Space Studies Board. “We’ll have to find out more, but I think there’s a good possibility.”\n\nThat’s quite a jump — from a situation not long ago when no organics had been knowingly  detected on Mars, to one where there’s a possibility they are everywhere.\n\nThe Sample Analysis on Mars instrument has the job of searching for, among other xxx, organics on Mars. And it seems to have succeeded, despite some major obstacles. (NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center)\nThe Sample Analysis on Mars (SAM) instrument has the job of searching for, among other targets, organics on Mars.  It heats the scooped or drilled samples to as much as 860 degrees C, cooking them until compounds come off in a gas form.  Then it sniffs the gases and identifies them.  It is the most complex instrument on Curiosity and has come up with important results, despite some major obstacles. (NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center)\n\nAnd actually, they should be found everywhere.  Not only do organic molecules rain down from the sky embedded in asteroids and interstellar dust, but they can also be formed abiotically out of chemicals on Mars and, just possibly, can be the products of biological activity.\n\nThe fact that Mars surely has had organics on its surface and elsewhere has made the non-detection of organics a puzzle.  In fact, that conclusion of “no organics present” following the Viking landings in the mid 1970s set the Mars program back several decades.  If there weren’t even organic compounds to be found, the thinking went, then a search for actual living creatures was pointless.\n\nAs is now apparent, the Viking instrument used to detect organics didn’t have the necessary diagnostic power that SAM has. What’s more, the scientists working with it did not know about a particular chemical on the Martian surface that was skewing the results.  Plus the scientists may well have misunderstood their own findings.\n\nFirst with the question of technological muscle.  The oven associated with the search for organics is part of a Gas Chromatograph Mass Spectrometer (GCMS), and it heats and breaks apart dirt and rock samples for analysis of their chemical makeup. The oven on the Viking landers only went up to 500 degrees C.  But the SAM oven on Curiosity goes hotter. It detected signs of organics between 500 and 850 degrees C.\n\nIn addition, NASA’s Phoenix lander discovered in 2008 that the Martian soil contained the salt perchlorate, which when burned in a GCMS oven can mask the presence of organics.  And finally, the Viking landers actually did detect organics in the form of simple chlorinated hydrocarbons.  They were determined at the time to be contamination from Earth, but the same compounds have been detected by Curiosity, suggesting that Viking might actually have found Martian, rather than Earthly, organics.\n\nImage taken by Viking 2 on Mars in 1976. Results from both Viking landers reported no organic material in their samples, strongly suggesting there was no chance of current or past life. Recent readings by the SAM instrument on the Curiosity rover suggest the Viking conclusions were not correct, and that the instruments then did not have the capacity to detect Martian organics. NASA\n\nWhat makes carbon-based organic compounds especially interesting to scientists is that life is made of them and produces them.  So one source of the organics in Martian samples could be biology, Eigenbrode said.  But she said there were other potential sources that might be more plausible.\n\nOrganics, for instance, can be formed through non-biological geothermal and hydrothermal processes on Earth, and presumably on Mars too.  In addition, both meteorites and interstellar dust are known to contain organic compounds, and they rain down on Mars as they do on Earth.\n\nEigenbrode said the organics being detected could be coming from any one source, or from all of them.\n\nAsked at the workshop what concentrations of organics were found, she replied with a grin that more light will be shed on the question at next week’s American Geophysical Union meeting.\n\nThe detection of a growing variety of organics on Mars adds to the conclusion already reached by the Curiosity team — that Mars was once much wetter, warmer and by traditional definitions “habitable.”  That doesn’t mean that life ever existed there, but rather that what are considered basic basic conditions for life were present for many millions of years.\n\nEigenbrode said that the detection of these carbon-based compounds is important in terms of both the distant past and the perhaps mid-term future.\n\nFor the past, it means that organics in a substantial reservoir of water like the one at Gale Crater some 3.6 billion years ago could have been a ready source of energy for microbial life.  The microbes would then have been heterotrophs, which get their nutrition from organic material.    Autotrophs, simpler organisms, are  capable of synthesizing their own food from inorganic substances using light or chemical energy.\n\nBut Eigenbrode also sees the organics as potentially good news for the future — for possibly still living microbes on Mars and also for humans who might be trying to survive there one day.\n\n“Thinking forward, the organic matter could be really important for farming — a ready energy source provided by the carbon,”  she said.\n\nJust what a human colony on Mars some day might need.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8845834732055664}
+{"content": "How to build a reusable data table from JSON\n\nWeb development projects often call for building a tabular summary of data. This task is easily accomplished using HTML and JavaScript. Further, it can then be visually styled using CSS. Better still is if you can have the table data returned from the web server as JSON as part of an AJAX response. And finally, as a programmer, it occurs to me that if we use an agnostic process to build the table and abstract the code which consumes the JSON in a library it becomes reusable. This is win, win, win.\n\nWhile I run into this scenario often, I've never really summarized it for consumption by others. This page is an effort to do just that. Hopefully this can help demonstrate how easily a good JavaScript programmer with basic knowledge of HTML can build and maintain their own builder rather than falling for the wiles of a framework such as ExtJS. (In my opinion, ExtJS brings a lot to the table, but at a significant cost that can be difficult to explain to inexperienced front-end developers.)\n\nLook through the code to see the example. Here are a few points I think warrant calling out.\n\nClicking the button will call the buildSummaryTable function (shown in the code sample below) and pass a reference to the data and the HTML element where the output should be rendered. While this example doesn't currently use AJAX to get the JSON, the buildSummaryTable function call would go in the success callback function. (As time permits I'll try to provide extensions to this example to demonstrate that more clearly.)\n\nThanks for your time, and as always, feedback is appreciated. (You can contact me via the \"contact the author\" link.) Be sure to check out some of my other examples and give our sponsors consideration--their support helps us keep this site running. Best wishes!", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5518585443496704}
+{"content": "autumn leaves\n\nFallen autumn leaves converted into electronics by Chinese team\n\nA new process that converts organic waste matter into porous carbon material that can be used to produce high-tech electronics has been developed by researchers from Qilu University of Technology near the Chinese city of Jinan.\n\nThe team developed a multistep process to convert tree leaves into a form that could be incorporated into electrodes as active materials.\n\nNorthern China’s roadsides are typically peppered with deciduous phoenix trees, producing an abundance of fallen leaves in autumn. These leaves are generally burned in the colder season, exacerbating the country’s air pollution problem.\n\nUnder the new process the leaves are crushed into a powder then heated to 220°C for 12 hours. This produced a powder composed of tiny carbon microspheres. These microspheres were then treated with a solution of potassium hydroxide and heated by increasing the temperature in a series of jumps from 450°C to 800°C.\n\nThe chemical treatment corrodes the surface of the carbon microspheres, making them extremely porous. The final product, a black carbon powder, has a very high surface area due to the presence of many tiny pores that have been chemically etched on the surface of the microspheres.\n\nThe high surface area gives the final product extraordinary electrical properties.\n\nThe investigators ran a series of standard electrochemical tests on the porous microspheres to quantify their potential for use in electronic devices.\n\nThe current-voltage curves for these materials indicate that the substance could make an excellent capacitor.\n\nFurther tests show that the materials are, in fact, supercapacitors, with specific capacitances of 367 Farads/gram, which is over three times higher than values seen in some graphene supercapacitors.\n\nA capacitor is a widely used electrical component that stores energy by holding a charge on two conductors, separated from each other by an insulator.\n\nSupercapacitors can typically store 10-100 times as much energy as an ordinary capacitor and can accept and deliver charges much faster than a typical rechargeable battery. For these reasons, supercapacitive materials hold great promise for a wide variety of energy storage needs, particularly in computer technology and hybrid or electric vehicles.\n\nIn addition to tree leaves, the team have also successfully converted potato waste, corn straw, pine wood, rice straw and other agricultural wastes into carbon electrode materials. They hope to improve even further on the electrochemical properties of porous carbon materials by optimising the preparation process and allowing for doping or modification of the raw materials.\n\nThe supercapacitive properties of the porous carbon microspheres made from phoenix tree leaves are higher than those reported for carbon powders derived from other biowaste materials. The fine scale porous structure seems to be essential to this property, since it facilitates contact between electrolyte ions and the surface of the carbon spheres, as well as enhancing ion transfer and diffusion on the carbon surface.\n\nThe investigators hope to improve even further on these electrochemical properties by optimising their process and allowing for doping or modification of the raw materials.\n\nIn December, a team from the University of Surrey demonstrated a new material that allowed for the construction of high-density supercapacitors that can compete with traditional batteries. \n\nRecent articles\n\nInfo Message\n\n\nLearn more about IET cookies and how to control them", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8922284841537476}
+{"content": "HomeBlog When Best Practices Aren’t Best Practices\n\nWhen Best Practices Aren’t Best Practices\n\nFebruary 12, 2014 | By Jason Hekl\n\nThe term \"best practice\" is often misapplied - What’s best practice for me may not be best practice for you. What may be best practice today is unlikely to be best practice tomorrow. And when you believe you’ve achieved a best practice, don’t be surprised when that victory proves fleeting because the definition of the best practice has evolved.\n\nThe more time I spend as an analyst, the more I dislike the term “best practice.” I think it is often misapplied. Let me explain.\n\nWhat's best practice for me may not be best practice for you. What may be best practice today is unlikely to be best practice tomorrow. And when you believe you've achieved a best practice, don't be surprised when that victory proves fleeting because the definition of the best practice has evolved.\n\nBest practices are not something you achieve – best practices are something you continually pursue. More importantly, don’t expect to go out and mimic someone else's best practice and see the same results. It doesn't work that way. What you can see and replicate is just part of the solution.\n\nI'm not saying you shouldn't take inspiration from companies that are achieving great success, or advice from analysts who are in a unique position to observe and synthesize practices and trends across multiple companies and industries. But you must also reconcile what you learn with the situation you face and make the hard decisions on what is feasible in the near term and what will take longer to achieve.\n\nIt's not good to tear down something as sacred as “best practice” without recommending an alternative, so let's start with these options:\n\n  • Accepted practices. If you're truly in learning mode and being asked to do something new, you want to understand accepted practices, which I'll define as tried-and-true practices that are generally advisable in almost all situations. They will help establish a starting point for your project and provide context for assessing what you need to do. For example, accepted practices for lead nurturing programs would include defining entry criteria, treatment options, transition signals and disposition paths for each nurture stream (vs., for example, entering all contacts into a universal drip email program). This will at least give you a framework for your initial nurture program.\n  • Emerging practices. These practices are not yet widely accepted or even proven (except perhaps anecdotally), but they may make sense to test if you're ready and able to execute. Emerging practices for nurture programs could include building recycled lead nurture programs triggered by sales actions deep in the waterfall; aligning nurture content, offers and messages to persona information needs; basing transition criteria on changes in buying cycle stage; and executing nurture program across multiple delivery vehicles (including email, direct mail, phone and even retargeting).  All of these are relatively new developments that could incrementally drive improvement in your nurture programs. Notice that I use the word “could,” because success ultimately depends on many related factors.\n  • Recommended practices. This is where the real fun begins, and where I think advisory services like SiriusDecisions can be most useful. Armed with the knowledge of accepted and emerging practices, you must consider and evaluate each practice within the context of your unique environment and take into account internal and external factors that could impact performance. For example, poor data quality can hurt nurture programs, especially if the data elements used to determine entry criteria into the right program are sparsely populated. Persona-based treatment options in the nurture stream will be of limited value if have not yet figured out how to match contacts in your database to the right persona. Without strong adherence to service-level agreements, marketing may end up delivering nurtured leads to sales reps who are ill-equipped to act on them. I could go on, but I think you can see that many specialized situations are possible, and that the real value comes from carefully identifying and considering the opportunities, risks, dependencies and overall feasibility of taking certain actions. This is where analysts get really excited to help their clients: by helping you think through the variables, weigh the tradeoffs and identify a recommend set of actions that you are equipped to defend, measure (against a baseline), and adjust as needed.\n\n    So have patience, and recognize best practices for what they represent: the ongoing pursuit of intelligent growth. We can help you and provide guideposts on that journey, but ultimately your success is tied to the accepted and emerging practices you follow (or develop) and how you adjust them to drive the most value within your organization. Be the one who owns that pursuit, and take a moment to celebrate the results. Then set the bar higher, and do it again!\n\n    Jason Hekl\n\n\n    Join Us at #SDSummit", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8637981414794922}
+{"content": "Master of Natural Sciences (MNS)\n\n\nNatural Sciences (Interdepartmental Program)\n\nDocument Type\n\n\n\nScience field trips can positively impact students and motivate them into future studies in various science fields. However, if a field trip is not executed properly, it can result in a loss of valuable educational time and could promote misconceptions in the students. This study was undertaken to determine if a classroom lesson before an out-of-the-classroom activity would affect learner gain more or less than a lesson after the activity. The students were divided into two different groups. The groups differed based on the sequence of activities that they received. The activities involved in this study included visiting an immersive theater to view the movie Earth’s Wild Ride and participating in a teacher-led lesson using guided notes with a Power Point for visual aid. The participants in this study, students in a sixth grade physical science class, were given a pretest to determine prior knowledge of topics covered in the classroom lesson and the movie. The same assessment was also administered after each activity to measure learning gain. The order of lessons showed no detectable effect on learner outcomes. There were no significant differences between the mean learning gain of the two groups after participating in both activities. Even though the teacher-led lesson produced significant gains independent of the movie, the visit to the immersive theater had a positive effect on the students and increased their interest in learning the material. If executed properly, implementing field trips into the science curriculum will increase learning gain and/or improve attitudes towards the study of science\n\n\n\nDocument Availability at the Time of Submission\n\nRelease the entire work immediately for access worldwide.\n\nCommittee Chair\n\nCherry, Michael L", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9990748763084412}
+{"content": "In the year 2148, explorers on Mars discovered the remains of an ancient spacefaring civilization. In the decades that followed, these mysterious artifacts revealed startling new technologies, enabling travel to the furthest stars. The basis for this incredible technology was a force that controlled the very fabric of space and time.\n\nThey called it the greatest discovery in human history.\nThe civilizations of the galaxy call it…\n\n\nOne month after the devastating Geth attack on the Citadel the galactic community is struggling to rebuild. The human Systems Alliance fleet made an incredible sacrifice to save the Citadel Council earning Humanity membership in this prestigious group. Representing humanity on the Council is Captain Anderson, following a recommendation from the first human Spectre Commander John Shepard. In response to rumours that the Geth flagship was actually a synthetic construct the Council has sent Commander Shepard to wipe out the remaining pockets of Geth resistance along the volatile Terminus Systems.\n\nHowever a lot of work still remains to be done during this rebuilding phase and the galaxy doesn’t revolve around just one man…\n\n\nCharacter Creation\n\nMass Effect: Citadel\n\nCropped sunrise banner charleswaddell sauceror", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.937674880027771}
+{"content": "Drinking Water Supply System\n\nWhat is this project about?\n\nThis project is about constructing an effective and durable drinking water distribution system in Rolwaling. This project aims to supply drinking water to 94 households, monastery and school in the Beding village in Rolwaling. The project involves building durable drinking water distribution system- building the intake from stream, construction of main reserve tank, laying distribution pipes, setting up public taps.\n\nWhy is this project important?\n\nThe main settlement area of Rolwaling people is the Beding village. The only source of drinking water to the villagers is the Rolwaling river that flows through the valley. Even though there is stream water in the village it is far and the villagers face difficulty walking long to fetch the water. Therefore they fetch the water from the Rolwaling khola. But this water is not so suitable for drinking. The water is muddy during rainy season and gets frozen during winter. Also a recent study found that this river water contains suspended particle (silt) to great extent, making it unsafe for drinking.\n\nMoreover the only one school in the valley, Rolwaling Sangag Choling Monastery School is facing difficulty due to unavailability of the drinking water supply to the school. The school has 15 children and four staff. Also the main monastery in the valley, Rolwaling Sanga Choling Monastery needs water during every religious ceremonies and festivities. Also, during autumn, which is the trekking and climbing season in Rolwaling, trekking and mountaineering teams face difficulty due to unavailability of accessible clean drinking water in the village.\n\nWho will benefit ?\n\nThis project will bring enormous benefit to the Rolwaling people for very long time. Around 94 households, monastery and the school will directly benefit from the clean drinking water. They will have access to clean drinking water next to their home thereby saves time as well. Moreover any visitors to Rolwaling will be benefitted from this project.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9943364858627319}
+{"content": "Coverable Boolean Functions\n\nPetr Kucera\n\n(joint work with Endre Boros, Ondrej Cepek, and Alex Kogan)\n\nAbstract: An essential set of implicates E of a given Boolean function f is a set of implicates, which can be derived by resolution from prime implicates and such that for every implicate C which is a resolution of implicates C_1 and C_2, if C belongs to E, then one of the parent clauses C_1 and C_2 must belong to E as well. These sets have many interesting properties, among them the fact that the number of pairwise disjoint essential sets of implicates of f is less than or equal to the number of clauses in a minimum CNF. A class of functions is called \"coverable\" if equality holds instead of the above inequality for every function in the class. We shall show in this talk, that the classes of acyclic, quasi-acyclic, quadratic and CQ functions are coverable. Interestingly for each of these classes we also have a polynomial time minimization algorithm. This talk is a continuation of the talk to be given by Ondrej Cepek.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9507808089256287}
+{"content": "Why Every Digital Designer Should Think Like an Experience Designer\n\nCreative Cloud\n\nIf we look at it broadly, User Experience (UX) design can be broken down into three distinct components: the look, the feel, and the usability. For a product to win over users’ hearts and carve a place for itself in their lives, it has to deliver on all three counts.\n\nAnd although every designer strives to innovate and add a personal touch, many have learned the hard way that the success of any design relies on its capacity to do something familiar in a new way. That’s because user experience trumps everything else.\n\nThe Development of Technology and Interaction\n\nArchitecting the experiences of tomorrow is as exciting as it is challenging. As a designer, you’re tasked with dreaming up futuristic products that look and function almost like the ones we are using today, while, at the same time, blowing our minds away with life-changing ideas. Technologies like VR, voice, and artificial intelligence are so out there that they put great focus on delivering an A-class user experience to instill the feeling of familiarity through exceptional UX design.\n\nThe technologies that have already made an impact on us are driven by and aspire to create a user-centered, intuitive experience that feels and works as expected. Take, for example, conversational bots. To imitate human behavior and make the user feel like they’re interacting with a real human being, bots use tricks like indicating that they’re “typing” or taking a moment before replying to make the response feel more natural. They also take advantage of emoji reactions and instant informal replies, like “OK, I’m on it,” and so on. Designed to make you feel as though you’re talking to a human, bots rely on excellent user experience and interaction.\n\nIt’s becoming apparent that the more revolutionary the technology becomes, the stronger the demand for easily accessible UI and UX design. However innovative the technology is, it is useless if people can’t figure it out.\n\nThe Importance of UX Design and Why Every Designer Should Learn It\n\nThe simple reality is that you can be the most creative designer with the most outlandish ideas, but if your designs are inaccessible, they won’t be a success. UI and UX are two sides of the same coin. There’s no way a designer can succeed in the current business climate, where customers have become users, without knowing how to meet and exceed their expectations. User experience has proved to be the secret sauce that turned successful startups into unicorns (think Uber) and great products into must-haves (think Apple).\n\nThere are a few prominent reasons why UX design skills and knowledge can not only help designers land and maintain better jobs, but also outperform their targets and create slicker designs.\n\nYou Must Design Human-First Products\n\nThe total user experience design draws on skills and perspectives in all business areas from product and packaging to marketing and customer services. When creating for humans, designers must factor in people’s behavior, preferences, context and the goals and aspirations they’re trying to achieve. This means the designer should involve real users in the design process from day one. With the abundance of interactive research tools like user testing via video or social media, designers have no excuse for ignoring the needs and expectations of potential customers. It’s also essential to remember that the experience using a product is just one part of the total sum; everything from branding and educational stage, to online or in-store shopping and setup need to be considered to create a smooth total user experience.\n\nYou Must See the Big Picture and Consider the Unlikely\n\nNot seeing the big picture as you’re working through a to-do list of small things that end up taking all your time is a big problem in design. You might excel at choosing the right color scheme for your designs or pairing the fonts elegantly, but if users can’t find their way around and leave the site unable to accomplish their goals, you can hardly call it a success. To create an intuitive user experience, designers must understand the context in which the product is used and this can only be achieved by watching users work and use the product. Sometimes it’s necessary to step back from your work and take on a fresh perspective to discover your own lapses of thinking.\n\nYou Must Find a Path of Least Resistance\n\nYou’re right in thinking that getting a user from point A to point B doesn’t always have to be a straight line, but it most certainly has to follow the path of least resistance. The way a product’s content, features and functions are organized will have a huge impact on the user experience. To make sure the UI is spotless and meets user expectations, designers resort to carrying out exercises like card sorting, creating site architecture maps, drawing task flow diagrams, and wireframing. Long before you start thinking about visuals and graphics, you must ensure the proposed designs are easy to navigate and understand.\n\nYou Can Help People Transform Their Lives\n\nPeople often think that design is only concerned with how things look; but it is so much more powerful than that. Those who master the skill and are able to build their work on the principles of consumer psychology, can and do change people’s lives for better. If you take a look at the new wave of products that are influencing people’s behavior and daily routines, it becomes clear that designers indeed have the power to form new or change existing habits. From encouraging people to exercise more (Fitbit or Apple Watch) to helping people take control of their finances (Plum, PocketGuard or Mint), to organizing their life more effectively (Evernote, Mailbox, Todoist, etc). Good design can help people take action and achieve specific goals without much trouble.\n\n\nForrester Research recently released a report demonstrating that user interfaces that deliver above user expectations can increase conversion rates by up to 200%, while high-quality user experience design can bump up conversion rates by 400%.\n\nIt’s no surprise then that companies across the world are seeking to recruit designers with UX design skills as well as encourage their own design teams to immerse themselves in the UX knowledge. To create better and more innovative user experiences, businesses must embrace the trend and make user experience their top priority. Naturally, designers with the right skills and design know-how are now some of the most sought-after talents.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.837152361869812}
+{"content": "Boiler Room - Central Heating\n\nBest Ways to Heat Your Home Without Central Heating\n\nHeating your home without central heating basically means keeping your house warmth without the use of heat from a central source or the mains. Among other measures, additional curtains can be incorporated so as to insulate the house and protect from thermal loss. The following are some of the best ways of home heating in without central heating.\n\nUse of curtains\n\nFor homes with radiators, it is usually advisable to tuck curtains behind radiators so that they don’t trap heat.If no central heating is in place, curtains should be used to keep the available heat in the house. Because most heat escapes through windows, it is recommended to always keep curtains closed. Consequently, use of additional curtain lining (double layered curtain sheets either self-made or locally obtained)should be practiced.\n\nCurtain use should not be entirely restricted to windows but doors too. Appropriate door curtains should be long, wide and lined with heavy material e.g. duvet. As soon as darkness approaches, all window and door curtains should be closed to help in keeping the house warm and insulated.\n\nShutting doors and windows\n\nThis is an obvious measure but one worth noting especially for homes with playing kids where a window can mistakenly be left open. Counter check that no window or door is left open. Also inform the family on the importance of this measure during winter. Ensure all the rooms that will be used at night are on the recommended habitable temperatures then shut that heat in.\n\nUtilize natural light\n\nIn as much as window, doors and curtains should be closed to minimize heat loss, opening them when sunny is appropriate for natural heat from the sun to warm the room up. Use of sunlight should be embraced since it’s absolutely free.\n\nWatching for draughts\n\nDraughts are leakages that may occur via electrical outlets, window frames, Baseboards and switch plates among others. To minimize on unnecessary heat loss, small holes around pipes and vents should be sealed. Again, rolled up towels or unused clothing can be placed at the door bottom to keep the cold outside. Hanging curtains in front of draughty doors and windows can also help.\n\nIf your house has a cat flap or letterbox, it is vital to fill it with sheep wool, unused blanket or any other insulation material to prevent loss of heat or influx of unwanted cold air.\n\nUse of double glazing windows is also encouraged. Because they are of different types, the best ones are those with an energy saving trust seal. Double glazing windows ensure sufficient heat is trapped inside the house thereby minimizing on the overall efforts made in home heating.\n\nAgain, revamping windows is also essential in minimizing heat loss. This can be through the use of multiple panes for effective insulation or sealing of edges and cracks. Always check and practice simple repairs such as replacing damaged wood and missing putty.\n\nLayering up\n\nThis can be through different ways. The easiest is the use of blankets on sofas and arm chairs for that cosy and warm feeling. Consequently, the use of extra blankets in beds will also provide additional warmth. When it comes to floors, covering them with rags and towels will help protect your feet from their coldness.\n\nA warm mode of dressing should also be considered. Wear tights and leggings under trousers. Also sleeveless T-shirts and tops should be worn under shirts for provision of another layer. Consequently advise every family member to wear a hat, hand gloves and booties.\n\nUse of hotties\n\nIn addition to layering, heat the body from inside by taking tea, soup or hot drinks. Keep fingers warm by holding the warm or hot mug from outside.\n\nCheap hot water bottles can also be used to treat each family member by snuggling before bed time. If it is entirely cold, hot water bottles can be put in bed some few hours before bed time to create an electric blanket feel.\n\nSpreading the warmth\n\nAn oven can be a very important source of heat to your kitchen and house as a whole. After preparation of the evening meal, the oven door should be left open (with the oven switched off) to spread the already used heat to the entire kitchen and the surrounding areas. This way, a lot of heat which could have easily been wasted is preserved.\n\nAnother way of getting the most out of the heating source is to dry clothes in front of fire. This way, warm air rises to the living room and with all openings closed and draughts taken care of, sufficient heat is kept in the room.\n\nWith the current unfavorable economic conditions and high cost of maintaining a central heating system, the above are some of simple ways that can be utilized to heat your home.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9857189655303955}
+{"content": "GLASGOW ended a recent run of disappointing results and halted the resurgence in Edinburgh's fortunes when they saw off their oldest rivals 20-16 in the first leg of their festive double header in front of a 10,125 crowd at Murrayfield.\n\nDougie Fife notched Edinburgh's only try and skipper Greig Laidlaw kicked the other points for the home side, while Stuart Hogg bagged a touchdown for Glasgow and Duncan Weir contributed the rest with his boot.\n\nThe match rarely sparked into life - a situation that was not helped by the appalling state of the playing surface which again cut up badly as the game progressed.\n\nGlasgow were second best for most of the encounter but earned their success with a solid showing in the final 20 minutes.\n\nEdinburgh were left ruing their inability to kick on after reaching the break well in command.\n\nIndeed, they failed to score in the second period.\n\nGlasgow made a decent start and Weir opened the scoring in two minutes with a 45-metre penalty. But the visitors held that advantage for only five minutes before a collapsed scrum inside the Glasgow 22 allowed Laidlaw to square matters.\n\nEdinburgh's Ben Atiga, centre, charges at the Glasgow defence\n\nWeir restored the three point gap with his second penalty before Edinburgh produced the afternoon's first move of any note with Laidlaw's slick service stretching the Glasgow defence and freeing Jack Cuthbert, whose deft inside pass freed Fife to complete the job. Laidlaw added the extra two points.\n\nWeir trimmed the deficit with penalty number three but Laidlaw cancelled that out with a long-range effort after an offence that earned Glasgow flanker Tyrone Holmes a yellow card.\n\nThe temperature rose sharply in the closing minutes of the first half and Glasgow were reduced to 13 men when Hogg was despatched to the sin bin following an altercation with Edinburgh winger Tom Brown, who was also sent for 10 minutes on the sidelines.\n\nWith Holmes preparing to return to the fray, Cuthbert butchered a gilt-edged scoring opportunity. However, the referee was playing advantage and the penalty handed Laidlaw the final scoring opportunity of the opening 40 minutes, and he duly steered the kick between the sticks to send the hosts in at the break with a 16-9 advantage.\n\nEdinburgh restarted strongly and Dave Denton was thwarted just short as he hurtled towards the line. Glasgow coach Gregor Townsend rang the changes and that provided some momentum for the visitors who cut the gap to four points when Weir booted another penalty.\n\nLaidlaw recorded his only miss of the match a couple of minutes later and Weir ensured a lively finale when he banged over another long-range penalty as the game entered the final quarter.\n\nThe game swung in Glasgow's favour with 13 minutes to play when they broke at pace and the ball was transferred to DTH Van Der Merwe who chipped ahead and Hogg won the race to the line.\n\nWeir was off target with the conversion attempt but was instrumental in a solid defensive effort as Glasgow saw out the remaining minutes to chalk up the victory.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7380484938621521}
+{"content": "banner Image courtesy of Kirk Goldsberry\nSunday, October 1st, 2017\n\nLocation: 301-D\n\nSession 1\n\n8:30-10:10, Session Chair: Carlos Scheidegger\nOpening Address\nAlexander Lex, Torsten Möller\nHadley Wickham\nKeynote: Challenges in Data Science\nHadley Wickham, RStudio\nAbstract: In this talk, I'll outline my vision of data science as a field, focusing on the corner in which I'm most familiar: designing tools for data scientist-programmers. I'll talk about why I believe programming is so important for data science, why code is an excellent medium of computation, and outline some of the challenges that visual tools face. I'll also talk about data science challenges where programming doesn't help or feels excessively clumsy, and speculate on how we might fuse the best of programmatic and interactive UIs.\n\nBio: Hadley is Chief Scientist at RStudio, a member of the R Foundation, and Adjunct Professor at Stanford University and the University of Auckland. He builds tools (both computational and cognitive) to make data science easier, faster, and more fun. His work includes packages for data science (the tidyverse: including ggplot2, dplyr, tidyr, purrr, and readr) and principled software development (roxygen2, testthat, devtools). He is also a writer, educator, and speaker promoting the use of R for data science.\nPaper: Visual Analysis of Spatio-Temporal Event Predictions: Investigating the Spread Dynamics of Invasive Species\nDaniel Seebacher, Johannes Häußler, Michael Hundt, Manuel Stein, Hannes Mülller, Ulrich Engelke, Daniel Keim\n\nAbstract: Invasive species are a major cause of ecological damage and commercial losses. A current problem spreading in North America and Europe is the vinegar fly Drosophila suzukii. Unlike other Drosophila, it infests non-rotting and healthy fruits and is therefore of concern to fruit growers, such as vintners. Consequently, large amounts of data about infestations have been collected in recent years. However, there is a lack of interactive methods to investigate this data. We employ ensemble-based classification to predict areas susceptible to infestation by D. suzukii and bring them into a spatio-temporal context using maps and glyph-based visualizations. Following the information-seeking mantra, we provide a visual analysis system Drosophigator for spatio-temporal event prediction, enabling the investigation of the spread dynamics of invasive species. We demonstrate the usefulness of this approach in two use cases.\nPaper: Clear Visual Separation of Temporal Event Sequences\nAndreas Mathisen, Kaj Grønbæk\n\nAbstract: Extracting and visualizing informative insights from temporal event sequences becomes increasingly difficult when data volume and variety increase. Besides dealing with high event type cardinality and many distinct sequences, it can be difficult to tell whether it is appropriate to combine multiple events into one or utilize additional information about event attributes. Existing approaches often make use of frequent sequential patterns extracted from the dataset, how- ever, these patterns are limited in terms of interpretability and utility. In addition, it is difficult to assess the role of absolute and relative time when using pattern mining techniques. In this paper, we present methods that addresses these challenges by automatically learning composite events which enables better aggregation of multiple event sequences. By leveraging event sequence outcomes, we present appropriate linked visualizations that allow domain experts to identify critical flows, to assess validity and to understand the role of time. Furthermore, we explore information gain and visual complexity metrics to identify the most relevant visual patterns. We compare composite event learning with two approaches for extracting event patterns using real world company event data from an ongoing project with the Danish Business Authority.\n\nSession 2\n\n10:30-12:15, Session Chair: Marc Streit\nVasant Dhar\nKeynote: When Should We Trust Autonomous Learning Systems with Decision Making?\nVasant Dhar, New York University\nAbstract: As autonomous learning machines become a bigger part of our lives, we need a framework for evaluating which decisions we should be comfortable delegating to learning algorithms and which ones humans should retain. It is surprising that no such framework has existed, given the high stakes involved. I describe a risk-oriented framework for deciding when and how to allocate decision problems between humans and machine-based decision makers. The framework is based on the experiences that my collaborators and I have had implementing prediction systems over the last 25 years in domains like finance, healthcare, education, and sports. I also explore the different roles visualization can play in autonomous learning systems.\n\nBio: Vasant Dhar is a Professor at the Stern School of Business and the Center for Data Science at NYU, and Editor-in- Chief of the Big Data journal. Dhar’s research and practice addresses the following question: when should we trust machines with decisions? His answers are based on many years of experience with building autonomous machine-learning- based predictive systems in domains including finance, healthcare, primary education and sports. Dhar writes regularly about machine learning and artificial intelligence in the media such as the Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and Wired.\nBEST PAPER: Visual Integration of Data and Model Space in Ensemble Learning\nBruno Schneider, Dominik Jäckle, Florian Stoffel, Alexandra Diehl, Johannes Fuchs, Daniel Keim\n\nAbstract: Ensembles of classifier models typically deliver superior performance and can outperform single classifier models given a dataset and classification task at hand. However, the gain in performance comes together with the lack in comprehensibility, posing a challenge to understand how each model affects the classification outputs and where the errors come from. In this scenario, it is not straightforward to understand how each model affects the classification outputs and where the errors are coming from. We propose a tight visual integration of the data and the model space for exploring and combining classifier models. We introduce a workflow that builds upon the visual integration and enables the effective exploration of classification outputs and models. We then present a use case in which we start with an ensemble automatically selected by a standard ensemble selection algorithm, and show how we can manipulate models and alternative combinations.\nPaper: Visualization of Big Spatial Data using Coresets for Kernel Density Estimates\nYan Zheng, Yi Ou, Alexander Lex, and Jeff M. Phillips\n\nAbstract: The size of large, geo-located datasets has reached scales where visualization of all data points is inefficient. Random sampling is a method to reduce the size of a dataset, yet it can introduce unwanted errors. We describe a method for subsampling of spatial data suitable for creating kernel density estimates from very large data and demonstrate that it results in less error than random sampling. We also introduce a method to ensure that thresholding of low values based on sampled data does not omit any regions above the desired threshold when working with sampled data. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach using both, artificial and real-world large geospatial datasets.\nPaper: Visual Progression Analysis of Student Records Data\nMohammad Raji, John Duggan, Blaise DeCotes, Jian Huang, Bradley Vander Zanden\n\nAbstract: University curriculum, both on a campus level and on a per-major level, are affected in a complex way by many decisions of many administrators and faculty over time. As universities across the United States share an urgency to significantly improve student success and success retention, there is a pressing need to better understand how the student population is progressing through the curriculum, and how to provide better supporting infrastructure and refine the curriculum for the purpose of improving student outcomes. This work has developed a visual knowledge discovery system called eCamp that pulls together a variety of population-scale data products, including student grades, major descriptions, and graduation records. These datasets were previously disconnected and only available to and maintained by independent campus offices. The framework models and analyzes the multi-level relationships hidden within these data products, and visualizes the student flow patterns through individual majors as well as through a hierarchy of majors. These results support analytical tasks involving student outcomes, student retention, and curriculum design. It is shown how eCamp has revealed student progression information that was previously unavailable.\n\nSession 3\n\n2:00-3:40, Session Chair: Daniel Keim\nPANEL: The value of the human in the data science process.\nJeff Phillips, Hadley Wickham, Vasant Dhar, Fernanda Viegas, Martin Wattenberg.\nModerator: Daniel Keim\nPaper: CancerLinker: Explorations of Cancer Study Network\nVinh Nguyen, Md Yasin Kabir, Tommy Dang\n\nAbstract: Interactive visualization tools are highly desirable to biologist and cancer researchers to explore the complex structures, detect patterns and find out the relationships among bio-molecules responsible for a cancer type. A pathway contains various bio-molecules in different layers of the cell which are responsible for specific cancer type. Researchers are highly interested in understanding the relationships among the proteins of different pathways and furthermore want to know how those proteins are interacting in different pathways for various cancer types. Biologists find it useful to merge the data of different cancer studies in a single network and see the relationships among the different proteins which can help them to detect the common proteins in cancer studies and hence reveal the pattern of interaction of those proteins. We introduce CancerLinker, a visual analytic system that helps researchers to explore cancer study interaction network. We merge twenty-six cancer studies to explore pathway data and bio-molecules relationships that can provide the answers to some significant questions which are helpful in cancer research. CancerLinker also helps biologists explore the critical mutated proteins in multiple cancer studies. A bubble graph is constructed to visualize common protein based on its frequency and biological assemblies. Parallel coordinates highlight patterns of patient profiles (obtained from cBioportal by WebAPI services) on different attributes for a specified cancer study\nPaper: Crop Planning using Stochastic Visual Optimization\nGunjan Sehgal, Bindu Gupta, Kaushal Paneri, Karamjit Singh, Geetika Sharma, Gautam Shroff\n\nAbstract: As the world population increases and arable land decreases, it becomes vital to improve the productivity of the agricultural land available. Given the weather and soil properties, farmers need to take critical decisions such as which seed variety to plant and in what proportion, in order to maximize productivity. These decisions are irreversible and any unusual behavior of external factors, such as weather, can have catastrophic impact on the productivity of crop. A variety which is highly desirable to a farmer might be unavailable or in short supply, therefore, it is very critical to evaluate which variety or varieties are more likely to be chosen by farmers from a growing region in order to meet demand. In this paper, we present our visual analytics tool, ViSeed, showcased on the data given in Syngenta 2016 crop data challenge 1 . This tool helps to predict optimal soybean seed variety or mix of varieties in appropriate proportions which is more likely to be chosen by farmers from a growing region. It also allows to analyse solutions generated from our approach and helps in the decision making process by providing insightful visualizations.\nPaper: Visualizing Sensor Network Coverage with Location Uncertainty\nTim Sodergren, Jessica Hair, Jeff Phillips, Bei Wang\n\nAbstract: We present an interactive visualization system for exploring the coverage in sensor networks with uncertain sensor locations. We consider a simple case of uncertainty where the location of each sensor is confined to a discrete number of points sampled uniformly at random from a region with a fixed radius. Employing techniques from topological data analysis, we model and visualize network coverage by quantifying the uncertainty defined on its simplicial complex representations. We demonstrate the capabilities and effectiveness of our tool via the exploration of randomly distributed sensor networks.\n\nSession 4\n\n4:15-5:55, Session Chair: Adam Perer\nShort Talk: BlueSky Wanderer: Improving Sensor Data Classification Through Real-time Visualization\nMarco Cavallo, Cagatay Demiralp\n\nAbstract: Detecting motor activity in temporal data collected by sensors is an important task in wearable sensor applications. Datasets of sensor data often contain limited information about the usage context of the devices and video validation is not always possible, causing a lack of interpretable ground-truth labels. This lack of context can limit the understanding of sensors data, causing data scientists to make incorrect assumptions or to run machine learning algorithms as black-box models. We introduce BlueSky Wanderer, an interactive visual analysis tool for running classification algorithms on live-streaming sensor data. Our system provides visual and quantitative methods to iteratively reason on classification performance and to develop better intuition about structured patterns in data. In particular, BlueSky Wanderer enables quick debugging, validation, and dynamic fine-tuning of classification models for activity recognition. We use a case study to demonstrate how our approach can improve the development of a set of motion classifiers for monitoring the symptoms of Parkinson's disease.\nShort Talk: Volumetric Data Exploration with Machine Learning-Aided Visualization in Neutron Science\nYawei Hui, Yaohua Liu\n\nAbstract: Recent advancements in neutron and x-ray sources, instrumentation and data collection modes have significantly increased the experimental data size (which could easily contain 10^8-10^10 points), so that conventional volumetric visualization approaches become inefficient for both still imaging and interactive OpenGL rendition in a 3-D setting. We introduce a new approach based on the unsupervised machine learning algorithm, Density-Based Spatial Clustering of Applications with Noise (DBSCAN), to efficiently analyze and visualize large volumetric datasets. Here we present two examples, including a single crystal diffuse scattering dataset and a neutron tomography dataset. We found that by using the intensity as the weight factor during clustering, the algorithm becomes very effective in de-noising and feature/boundary detection, and thus enables better visualization of the hierarchical internal structures of the scattering data.\nShort Talk: Exploration of Heterogeneous Data Using Robust Similarity\nMahsa Mirzargar, Ross Whitaker, Robert Kirby\n\nAbstract: Heterogeneous data pose serious challenges to data analysis tasks, including exploration and visualization. Current techniques often utilize dimensionality reduction, aggregation, or conversion to numerical values to analyze heterogeneous data. However, their effectiveness to find subtle structures such as the presence of multiple modes or detection of outliers is hindered by the need to find the proper subspaces or prior knowledge. We propose a generic similarity-based exploration technique that is applicable to a wide variety of datatypes and their combinations. The proposed similarity concept has a close connection to statistical analysis and can be deployed for revealing structures such as the presence of multiple modes, and detection of outliers. We also propose a visualization framework that enables the exploration of a dataset in different levels of detail and provides insightful information about both global and local structures. We demonstrate the utility of our technique using various real datasets, including ensemble data.\nFernanda Viegas, Martin Wattenberg\nKeynote: Visualization: The secret weapon for machine learning.\nFernanda Viegas, Martin Wattenberg, Google\nAbstract: Machine learning is playing an increasingly influential role in the world, due to dramatic technical leaps in recent years. But these new developments bring their own questions. What is the best way to train models and to debug them? How can we understand what is going on under the hood of deep neural networks? It turns out that visualization can play a central role in answering these questions. We'll discuss recent work that shows how interactive exploration can help people use, interpret, and learn about machine intelligence.\n\nBio: Fernanda Viégas and Martin Wattenberg co-lead Google’s PAIR (People+AI Research) initiative, part of Google Brain. Their work in machine learning focuses on transparency and interpretability, as part of a broad agenda to improve human/AI interaction. They are well known for their contributions to social and collaborative visualization, and the systems they’ve created are used daily by millions of people. Their visualization-based artwork has been exhibited worldwide, and is part of the permanent collection of Museum of Modern Art in New York.\nAlexander Lex, Torsten Möller", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9994529485702515}
+{"content": "WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES (2017) – The Best of The New APES Movies\n\n\n\nThe new PLANET OF THE APES series keeps getting better and better.\n\nRISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES (2011) was an okay reboot, solid yet uninspiring. Its sequel DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES (2014) was better. I liked it but I didn’t love it.\n\nNow comes WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES (2017) a thoroughly engrossing tale that is equal parts futuristic science fiction, epic adventure, and prisoner of war drama. All three parts work well to comprise a story that is captivating from start to finish, so much so, that this third film is clearly the best entry of the series thus far.\n\nOf course, it helps to have a talented director at the helm.  Matt Reeves, who also directed DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES, is one of the more talented directors working today. He’s directed some of my favorite horror movies in recent years, films like CLOVERFIELD (2008) and LET ME IN (2010), and now WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES. I only wish he’d make more movies.\n\nWhen WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES opens, we find Caesar (Andy Serkis) and his band of apes still hiding in the woods, still trying to avoid the humans who are out to conquer them.  This time around, the advancing human military is led by a charismatic officer known as The Colonel (Woody Harrelson).\n\nA small military unit locates the apes and attack, but they are defeated.  Caesar spares the lives of a couple of prisoners and sends them back as a peace-offering, but this doesn’t stop the Colonel, who returns and raids the apes’ camp, killing Caesar’s wife and son.\n\nFound out, the apes have to move, but Caesar announces that he’s not accompanying them, as he is intent on finding and killing the Colonel.   Eventually, all the apes, Caesar included, are captured by the Colonel’s forces, setting the stage for the second half of the movie, which plays out as a riveting prisoner of war tale, where the apes attempt to plan a daring escape, even as another military contingent moves in, one that is at odds with the Colonel and plans on wiping out all the occupants at the base, including the apes.\n\nThere is so much to like about WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES.  I liked how Caesar evolved here.  In the first film, he barely spoke, saying one word here, one word there. In the second film, he spoke more, but not entirely fluently.  Here, he speaks effortlessly, which makes him an even stronger character.\n\nThe storyline of the disease which wiped out humans and gave intelligence to apes continues to evolve in this movie and remains compelling.  This time around, we learn that the disease is changing, that the remaining humans are gradually losing the ability to speak, and are slowly becoming more beast-like, while the apes are becoming more intelligent.  This plot point hearkens back to the original series, where apes were intelligent, and humans were mute animals.\n\nWe first get a hint of this change when Caesar and friends find a young girl (Amiah Miller) who cannot speak.  Orangutan Maurice (Karin Konoval) eventually names her Nova, in a nod to the Linda Harrison character from the 1968 original film PLANET OF THE APES.\n\nAnd more apes than just the ones with Caesar were affected, as they meet another chimpanzee who goes by the name Bad Ape (Steve Zahn) and who tells them his story.\n\nThere are a lot of nods to the original series here.  The soldiers wear the symbols for Alpha and Omega on their helmets, which is a nod to the Alpha/Omega bomb which destroyed the Earth in BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES (1970).  The line is used, “the only good ape is a dead ape,” which is a reference to General Ursus’ line “The only good human is a dead human,” also from BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES.\n\nAgain, there’s the character of Nova, and I liked how they came up with the name, as she finds a grille from a Chevy Nova.  Also, when Maurice says her name, “Nova,” he says it the same way and with the same cadence as Charlton Heston said it in BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES, so much so that I wonder if they dubbed in Heston’s voice here.\n\nSpeaking of Maurice, his name is a nod to the actor Maurice Evans who played the orangutan Dr. Zaius in the original films.  And Caesar’s little son is named Cornelius, who was the character played by Roddy McDowall in the original films, and in those films Cornelius was Caesar’s father.\n\nThere are also just some funny monkey references. The back of one of the soldier’s helmets reads BEDTIME FOR BONZO, a reference to the Ronald Reagan movie, a comedy which featured a chimpanzee. Also, the apes who work for the Colonel are called “donkeys,” a reference to Donkey Kong.\n\nThe special effects are amazing. The apes look phenomenal. They’re so good it’s easy to forget that nearly every character in this movie is a CGI creation.  The only main human character is Woody Harrelson’s Colonel, and the rest of the humans are nameless soldiers, and yet the film doesn’t suffer for it at all. You don’t watch this movie and feel like you’re watching an animated cartoon.  These characters seem genuine and real, more so than some of the human characters we see in other movies.  And their story is compelling.  You really do feel for the apes and want them to escape from the prison.\n\nAndy Serkis, who’s become the king of motion capture performances, is excellent once again here as Caesar. I don’t think they give Oscars yet for this category, but if they did, he should get one.  And he’s not alone here.\n\nBoth Karin Konoval as Maurice and Terry Notary as Caesar’s other loyal friend Rocket have also been in all three APES movies, and they’ve been excellent each time as well.  Also of interest, both Serkis and Notary have played King Kong.  Serkis played Kong in the Peter Jackson remake KING KONG (2005), and Notary played Kong in KONG: SKULL ISLAND (2017).\n\nTwo newcomers also really stand out.  Steve Zahn as Bad Ape nearly steals the movie with his humorous and touching performance as the ape who had survived on his own all these years before meeting Caesar and his band of apes.  The best part about Bad Ape is that he’s funny without being annoying, and he’s scared without being a coward.  He steps up when needed.\n\nLikewise, young Amiah Miller is superb as Nova, in a role that is even more impressive considering she doesn’t speak any lines as Nova cannot talk.  Her scenes with Caesar are especially moving.  Once Nova and then Bad Ape enter the storyline, the film really takes off.  Miller reminded me somewhat of a very young Amanda Seyfried.\n\nAnd Woody Harrelson does what he has to do as the evil Colonel.  The role isn’t as fleshed out as the apes’ characters, but it doesn’t really need to be.  He’s the villain, and Harrelson gives the guy real presence, so much so that things always feel disturbing when he’s on-screen. And we do get some background on him, as we learn what happened to his son.\n\nThe script by Mark Bomback and director Reeves is excellent.  I loved the story it tells, and the ape characters are all fleshed out to the point where you forget you’re watching CGI creations.  I especially liked the story, which is essentially divided into three parts. The first part picks up where DAWN left off, and features apes and humans battling in the jungle.  The second part becomes an epic adventure, where the apes migrate from the jungle, and where Caesar and his small band of friends go off on their own across beaches and eventually into a wintry mountain terrain as they seek out the Colonel.  It’s this sequence where they find Nova and meet Bad Ape.\n\nAnd then there’s the third part, the gripping grueling prisoner of war tale, where Caesar must lead the apes on a daring escape.  This part plays like the classic war movies of yesteryear, films like STALAG 17 (1953) and THE GREAT ESCAPE (1963).  With each chapter of the story, the film gets stronger, as each story is better than the previous one.\n\nI’m a huge Matt Reeves fan, and he does a phenomenal job here.  His films CLOVERFIELD and LET ME IN are among my favorite horror movies period.  WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES now joins that list.  Of course, the true test for Reeves is his next movie, as he’s writing and directing the upcoming THE BATMAN, the standalone Batman film starring Ben Affleck. Good luck, Matt!\n\nAnd WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES features yet another powerful music score by Michael Giacchino, who we just talked about last week as he scored SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING (2017).  I liked his score for APES here even better than his SPIDER-MAN score.  It reminded me a lot of the score he wrote for LET ME IN.  It’s potent, militaristic, and haunting.\n\nI really liked WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES. Everything about it works.\n\nIt’s easily the best of the rebooted APES series.\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE EDGE OF SEVENTEEN (2016) – Comedy-Drama Captures Intensity of Teen Years\n\n\n\nThe best movies, regardless of genre, are based on truth.\n\nAnd that’s what makes THE EDGE OF SEVENTEEN (2016), a coming of age comedy-drama about seventeen year old Nadine (Hailee Steinfeld),  so enjoyable.  It comes across as oh-so-true.\n\nNadine is the ugly duckling in her family, forever living in the shadow of her near-perfect older brother Darian (Blake Jenner).  Through voice-over narration, we follow Nadine’s difficult childhood, from dealing with school bullies to butting heads with her mother Mona (Kyra Sedgwick) who gets along much better with her son Darian.  Nadine’s one champion is her father Tom (Eric Keenleyside), but in a tragic moment symbolic of her entire childhood, he suffers a fatal stroke behind the wheel of their car while Nadine watches helplessly from the passenger seat.\n\nAs she turns seventeen, the one positive for Nadine is her relationship with her best friend Krista (Haley Lu Richardson).  The two girls are inseparable, and being with Krista is the one time Nadine feels happy.  This all comes to a dramatic halt when suddenly Krista starts dating Nadine’s brother Darian.  For Nadine, this is a betrayal and is something she cannot handle.\n\n\nNadine (Hailee Steinfeld) and her best friend Krista (Haley Lu Richardson)\n\nNow feeling absolutely alone, Nadine finds herself at her lowest point ever.  While she continually pours out her troubles to her stoic seemingly non-caring teacher Mr. Bruner (Woody Harrelson) who in spite of his constant snarky comments is always there to listen to her, she adores the hunky Nick (Alexander Calvert) from afar.  She also finds new hope in quirky Erwin (Hayden Szeto), a fellow student who is obviously very interested in her.  Trouble is, she’s not that interested in him.\n\nSure, this story is nothing new, but what is refreshing and incredibly satisfying about THE EDGE OF SEVENTEEN is the script and direction, both by Kelly Fremon Craig, and the excellent acting performances.\n\nI loved Craig’s script.  The dialogue is sharp, frequently hilarious, and right on the money in terms of what it’s like to be seventeen.  It also especially nails the contentious relationship between Nadine and her mother.  One of movie’s best moments— and there are many of them— is when near the end of the film Nadine texts her mom that she’s safe, and her mother struggles to respond, writing and then deleting angry, fearful texts before finally settling on “OK.”  It’s a poignant moment, one that many parents have to deal with, that battle between being protective and letting go.\n\nBut the best part of the script is the humor.  I laughed out loud quite a bit during this movie.  Some of the funnier scenes are between Nadine and Erwin— their scene on the Ferris wheel together is a hoot.  The scenes between Nadine and Mr. Bruner are also very funny.\n\nThe serious scenes are equally as good.  The moment where Nadine becomes the punchline of a conversation about the movie TWINS (1987) is pointedly painful.  Likewise, the touching moment near the end of the film where Darian confronts Nadine is satisfyingly powerful.\n\nCraig’s direction is just as good.  The film is lively, quickly paced, and full energy.  THE EDGE OF SEVENTEEN is not a superficial raunchy teen comedy.  On the contrary, it’s a deeply moving comedy-drama about a teenage girl dealing with her troubled life while searching for some meaning to it all.\n\nThe acting is wonderful.  Hailee Steinfeld is excellent as Nadine, and she easily carries this movie.  While Steinfeld was particularly memorable several years ago in the remake of TRUE GRIT (2010), I actually enjoyed her more here.  She captures the teen angst which Nadine experiences and makes it real.  She’s believable as a character who just wants to fit in, who wants to have friends, wants to have a boyfriend, but who feels so alienated from other people her own age.  One of the funniest and most insightful scenes is when Nadine goes off on her generation’s incessant use of texting on their phones.\n\nTHE EDGE OF SEVENTEEN is Steinfeld’s movie and she owns it.  But she has a fine supporting cast as well.\n\nHaley Lu Richardson is sincere and likable as Nadine’s best friend Krista.  It’s clear that she’s devastated that her new relationship with Darian has damaged her lifelong one with Nadine. In another powerful scene, the moment where Nadine forces Krista to choose between her and her brother is one of the best scenes in the movie.  Krista initially refuses, but with her back against the wall, she chooses Darian.\n\nHayden Szeto is particularly good as the nerdy Erwin.  Other than Steinfeld, I think Szeto gives the best performance in the film. Erwin is obviously a good person, but Szeto’s performance lifts Erwin above the cliched “nice guy.”  First off, he’s as uncomfortable about relationships as Nadine is, but unlike Nadine, he’s coming from a happier place inside.  You are really rooting for him to win her over.\n\nKyra Sedgwick is also excellent at Nadine’s mom, Mona.  It’s clear that the reason Mona and Nadine butt heads so much is because they are so similar.  Mona is absolutely lost after her husband dies, and afterwards she is just as miserable as her daughter.  Sedgwick does a fantastic job emoting her pain and unhappiness.  You can see it all over her face.  But Mona is not a hopeless lost parent.  Sure, she struggles and is not going to win any parent of the year awards, but she continues to fight.  One of her more telling scenes is when she gets into a shouting match with her son and she uses the line “I’m the adult here!” to which Darian replies, “Then why do you always call me?”  And at that moment Mona realizes that he’s right, and that she’s been relying on him too much, because as she realizes she has no one else.\n\nBlake Jenner is okay as Darian, and Woody Harrelson does his job as droll Mr. Bruner.  He’s not a particularly effective teacher.  We see him showing movies to his class and teaching them with as much enthusiasm as a study hall monitor, and he speaks to Nadine in ways that could easily get him fired if overheard, but the bottom line is in his own way he’s there for Nadine.  He is her constant listener, and later when she finds herself absolutely alone, it’s Bruner who she turns to, and he doesn’t let her down.  One of his better lines comes late in the movie as he drives her back to her house:  “I know this has to be said, and there’s no other way to say it, so I’ll just come out and say it.  Get out of the car.”\n\n\nNadine (Hailee Steinfeld) with Mr. Bruner (Woody Harrelson).\n\nI really enjoyed THE EDGE OF SEVENTEEN.  While it reminded me of how happy I am that I’m not seventeen anymore, it also captured the promise and energy of what it feels like to have your whole life ahead of you.  Of course, it also captured the pressure, which gives an entirely different meaning to the “edge” in the title.  Rather than being on the verge of seventeen, “edge” here can easily refer to the intensity and sharpness of the age.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTRIPLE 9 (2016) Wastes Talented Cast\n\n\ntriple 9 poster\n\nWith a cast that includes Casey Affleck, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Anthony Mackie, Woody Harrelson, Aaron Paul, Norman Reedus, and Kate Winslet, TRIPLE 9 (2016) should have been triple the fun, but it’s not.\n\nTRIPLE 9 tells a dark tale of corrupt cops working for the Russian mob, and as such should have been a riveting action drama, but less than stellar writing and underdeveloped characters ultimately do this one in.\n\nThe bad guys include crooked cops Marcus Belmont (Anthony Mackie) and Franco Rodriguez (Clifton Collins Jr.), ex-cop Gabe Welch (Aaron Paul), and disgrunteld ex-soldiers Michael Atwood (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and Russell Welch (Norman Reedus) who also happens to be Gabe’s brother. They work for the Russian mob, and they’re at the mob’s beck and call because the head of the mob Irina Vlaslov (Kate Winslet) has Michael Atwood’s young son in her clutches, which in this case is easy to do because she happens to be the boy’s aunt!  See, the boy’s mother is Irina’s sister.\n\nThe good guys— and there’s not many of them in this movie— include Chris Allen (Casey Affleck), a cop who runs the straight and narrow because he wants to “make a difference,” (cliche, cough, cliche), and his loose canon police captain uncle Jeffrey Allen (Woody Harrelson).\n\nMichael and his team rob a bank for Irina’s mob, but after the job, she refuses to pay them, saying there is one more job that they must do for her, and of course, Michael cannot refuse her, because she’s got his son.  The job is next to impossible, as it involves robbing a federal building loaded with swat-team style security, and so they come up with a plan to utilize “999” which is the police code for “officer down.”  They decide to kill a police officer, knowing that once that 999 code spreads over the police dispatch, every officer on the force will be racing towards the shooting scene, which will give them the time to make their impossible heist.\n\nThey choose Marcus’ new partner Chris to be their victim, thus setting the stage for the big conflict in this movie.\n\nTRIPLE 9 suffers from some pretty weak writing across the board.    The screenplay is by Matt Cook, and it’s his first feature film writing credit.  It shows.\n\nLet’s start with characters.  All of these guys have the potential to be very interesting, but none of them— not one– is developed enough for us to care about them.  Part of the problem is that there are too many characters in this movie.  Perhaps things would have been better had screenwriter Cook taken just two of these guys and built the story around them.\n\nTake the two main characters for example.  You have Michael Atwood, played by Chiwetel Ejiofor, as the leader of the baddies, who should be the guy we love to hate, or perhaps feel bad about, but I felt absolutely nothing for this guy.  We’re supposed to feel bad for him bad for him because the mob has his son, but we never see him as a dad with his son.  They have some scenes together, but they’re meaningless.  On the contrary, the little kid seems to be having more fun with his aunt Irina.  Plus, we’re given no background to establish what kind of relationship Michael had with the boy’s mother.  Everything is all so peripheral.  And on the tough guy bad guy front, Michael is a failure as very few things he does here work.\n\nLikewise, Casey Affleck’s Chris Allen is a walking cliche.  He goes around brooding, obviously unhappy with a lot of his fellow police officers (no wonder they want to kill him!) and the brief scenes where we see him with his family are pointless.  We just never get to know him.\n\nAnthony Mackie’s Marcus Belmont is even less developed than these two.  Clifton Collins Jr. fares slightly better as Franco Rodriguez.  At least he comes off as slightly creepy.\n\nWoody Harrelson’s performance as Jeffrey Allen is all over the place.  At times, he acts like the top cop in the precinct, but more often than not he’s a loose wire, often sounding and acting like the corrupt cops he’s trying to weed out.\n\nAnd then there’s Kate Winslet.  What was she doing in this movie?  Irina Vlaslov comes off like a cross between Cruella Deville and Brigitte Nielsen’s Ludmilla from ROCKY IV (1985) only without any personality.  I never took this character seriously.\n\nThe two best peformances in this movie belong to the two TV stars, Aaron Paul (BREAKING BAD) and Norman Reedus (THE WALKING DEAD).\n\nReedus delivers the best performance in the movie, hands down, with Paul right behind him, but the reason they don’t lift this movie is they’re not in it much at all.  Had this film been built around these guys, these characters, the filmmakers might have had something.  Reedus is icy cool as big brother Russell Welch, and in his brief screen time, he manages to do something that no one else other than Paul does in this film:  he actually makes you care about his character a little bit.  Incredibly, in the brief time Reedus is in this movie, he gives Russell some depth, a feeling that there’s more to this guy than just a shallow mercenary.\n\nPaul does the same with younger brother Gabe Welch.  Of all the villains, it’s Gabe who’s the most messed up, the one who struggles the most to keep it all together, and Paul does a great job with this character.  Unfortunately, the movie spends very little time on these guys.\n\nDirector John Hillcoat actually does a pretty good job here.  The opening robbery sequence is indeed rather riveting, and the climactic “999” scene is also very good, but there’s just so much in the middle that doesn’t work that by the time we get to that “999” scene, I didn’t really care about any of it.\n\nFor example, there’s the weak depiction of the Russian mob.  How do we know this Russian mob is so deadly?  Because we’re privy to quick shots of bloodied whimpering bodies in the trunks of cars.  It’s certainly not because we’re privy to what the mob is up to.  The plot is centered around the big heist at the end, and yet very little time is spent on what they are actually stealing or why the mob wants it so badly.\n\nThe film also never really delivers true suspense.\n\nThere’s just not a lot that works in TRIPLE 9.  It wastes its very talented cast, its story is contrived, its characters undeveloped, and its execution is uneven.\n\nInstead of calling in a 999, perhaps the folks in this movie should have dialed 911.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.960619330406189}
+{"content": "Geometry | Forms | Contact & Privacy Geometric Calculators German: Geometrierechner, Formen\n\n  1D Line\n2D Regular Polygons:\nEquilateral Triangle, Square, Pentagon, Hexagon, Heptagon, Octagon, Nonagon, Decagon, Hendecagon, Dodecagon, Hexadecagon, N-gon, Polygon Ring\n\nOther Polygons:\nTriangle, Right Triangle, Isosceles Triangle, IR Triangle, Quadrilateral, Rectangle, Rhombus, Parallelogram, Right Kite, Kite, Right Trapezoid, Isosceles Trapezoid, Trapezoid, Cyclic Quadrilateral, Tangential Quadrilateral, Arrowhead, Concave Quadrilateral, Antiparallelogram, House-Shape, Symmetric Pentagon, Concave Pentagon, Parallelogon, Arrow-Hexagon, Sharp Kink, Frame, Threestar, Fourstar, Pentagram, Hexagram, Unicursal Hexagram, Cross, Oktagram, Star of Lakshmi, Polygon\n\nRound Forms:\nCircle, Semicircle, Circular Sector, Circular Segment, Circular Layer, Round Corner, Circular Corner, Annulus, Annulus Sector, Curved Rectangle, Ellipse, Semi-Ellipse, Elliptical Segment, Elliptical Sector, Stadium, Digon, Spherical Triangle, Spiral, Log. Spiral, Reuleaux Triangle, Cycloid, Astroid, Hypocycloid, Cardioid, Epicycloid, Parabolic Segment, Arbelos, Salinon, Lune, Three Circles, Polycircle, Oval, Lemniscate, Squircle\n3D Platonic Solids:\nTetrahedron, Cube, Octahedron, Dodecahedron, Icosahedron\n\nArchimedean Solids:\nTruncated Tetrahedron, Cuboctahedron, Truncated Cube, Truncated Octahedron, Rhombicuboctahedron, Truncated Cuboctahedron, Icosidodecahedron, Truncated Dodecahedron, Truncated Icosahedron, Snub Cube\n\nCatalan Solids:\nTriakis Tetrahedron, Rhombic Dodecahedron, Triakis Octahedron, Tetrakis Hexahedron, Deltoidal Icositetrahedron, Hexakis Octahedron, Rhombic Triacontahedron, Triakis Icosahedron, Pentakis Dodecahedron, Pentagonal Icositetrahedron\n\nJohnson Solids:\nPyramids, Cupolae, Rotunda, Elongated Pyramids, Snub Disphenoid\n\nOther Polyhedrons:\nCuboid, Square Pillar, Triangular Pyramid, Square Pyramid, Regular Pyramid, Pyramid, Regular Frustum, Frustum, Bipyramid, Bifrustum, Ramp, Right Wedge, Wedge, Rhombohedron, Parallelepiped, Prism, Oblique Prism, Antiprism, Prismatoid, Trapezohedron, Disphenoid, Corner, General Tetrahedron, Wedge-Cuboid, Half Cuboid, Skewed Cuboid, Skewed Three-Edged Prism, Truncated Rhombohedron, Hollow Cuboid, Hollow Pyramid, Stellated Octahedron, Small Stellated Dodecahedron, Great Stellated Dodecahedron\n\nRound Forms:\nSphere, Hemisphere, Cylinder, Cut Cylinder, Oblique Cylinder, Generalized Cylinder, Cone, Truncated Cone, Oblique Circular Cone, Elliptic Cone, Bicone, Spheroid, Ellipsoid, Semi-Ellipsoid, Spherical Sector, Spherical Cap, Spherical Segment, Spherical Wedge, Cylindrical Wedge, Cylindrical Sector, Cylindrical Segment, Flat End Cylinder, Spherical Shell, Cylindrical Shell, Hollow Cone, Truncated Hollow Cone, Spherical Ring, Torus, Spindle Torus, Arch, Reuleaux-Tetrahedron, Capsule, Lens, Barrel, Egg Shape, Paraboloid, Hyperboloid, Oloid, Steinmetz Solids\n4D Tesseract, Hypersphere\n\n\nIsosceles Trapezoid Calculator\n\nCalculations in an isosceles trapezoid (or isosceles trapezium). This is a trapezoid with two opposite legs of equal length. Enter the three side lengths, choose the number of decimal places and click Calculate. Angles are calculated and displayed in degrees, here you can convert angle units.\n\nEuclid Longer side (a): Isosceles Trapezoid\nShorter side (b):\nLegs (c):\nDiagonal (d):\nHeight (h):\nCentral median (m):\nCircumcircle radius (rc):\nOverlap (g):\nPerimeter (p):\nArea (A):\nAcute angle (α):\nObtuse angle (β):\nRound to    decimal places.\n\nd = √ a * b + c²\nh = 1/2 * √ 4c² - ( a - b )²\nm = ( a + b ) / 2\nrc = c * √ ( a * b + c² ) / ( 4c² - ( a - b )² )\ng = ( a - b ) / 2\np = a + b + 2 * c\nA = 1/4 * √ ( a + b )² * ( a - b + 2c ) * ( b - a + 2c )\nα = arccos( ( g² + c² - h² ) / ( 2 * g * c ) )\nβ = 180° - α\n\nSide lengths, diagonal, height, radius and perimeter have the same unit (e.g. meter), the area has this unit squared (e.g. square meter).\n\n\nThe perpendicular bisectors intersect at the circumcircle center. The perpendicular bisector of the two parallel sides is the symmetry axis of the isosceles trapezoid.\n\nperpendicular bisectors and circumcircle\nperpendicular bisectors and circumcircle\n\n\n\n© Jumk.de Webprojects\n\n\n\n↑ up", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9801108241081238}
+{"content": "A specter haunts the minds of people all over the world: the thought that societies, their laws and their institutions mean little or nothing to the few wealthy and to the many poor whose population increases without bound. The many subdued by the few through arbitrary hierarchies that preserve themselves through instruction, coercion, containment, and destruction of the many, and through rewards of riches and power for the few. Hierarchies also develop among groups of people, among nations, among conglomerates, and among corporations and institutions. From the perspective of these hierarchies, people themselves appear irrelevant, ergo expendable.\n\nThis Tractatus addresses some old and new concepts thought essential for the understanding of living organisms (humans included), their environments and interactions. For example, consider concepts such as process, recurrence, organization, closure, paradox and education. Curiously, notwithstanding numerous efforts to bring them to the fore by different authors and in different forms, wide understanding and recognition still eludes them. Maybe their pervasiveness and omnipresence make them invisible to creatures so immersed in them; or maybe thinking about them collides with the resistance to change of societies that believe they require the predictability (triviality) of their members to preserve themselves.\n\nThe propositions of the Tractatus do not attempt to represent but an incomplete collection of my thoughts about these and related concepts, which I shall address neither with formalisms nor explanations, intending to stimulate in my reader thoughts similar to mine. This I shall do by imagining my reader as an interested observer of the world, a world that includes the observer. While any learning only leads to tentative knowledge, learning indirectly from others, through their writings or sayings, requires reading and hearing between and behind the lines, since an observer can only speak (or write) from its own perspective to the (different) perspective of another observer, as I do now. By your perspective I refer to what and how you think and feel about the world and your fellow humans and about yourself in the midst of them. In this spirit, language in the Tractatus will play the role that marble plays in sculpture or oil in painting.\n\nConsequently, even though, to the reader, some statements may seem definitions or explanations, the reader must receive them as metaphors and then interpret them from the reader’s perspective.\n\nI dedicate these thoughts to those who, through their years and experiences, have managed to maintain their minds young and thinking in spite of an “education” dedicated to silence its students, to inhibit their creativity, and to close their minds instead of opening them. To manage that requires courage, because young minds often say what they think and this usually gets them into trouble. In some places, innocent looking places, innocent looking people will torture and kill you if you speak your mind.\n\nFor example, young minds will clearly see the catastrophic effects of the following recurrence, of which most people live happily unaware: If humans rather instruct than educate their children, these children will instruct their children even more (educating them even less), and they in turn will similarly do with their own children and so on and on. If humans do not perish at the hands of uneducated leaders, sooner than later they will grow into a population of morons who only obey rules, predictable creatures, ants of an anthill, humans no more. The sad (happy?) end of the story: awareness of their own shortcomings will thoroughly escape them.\n\nThis shows an example of a recurrence that humans should see (understand) in order to interrupt its course. Ecological cycles (such as those of forests, lakes, rivers and oceans) provide examples of recurrences that humans should see (understand) in order to preserve them. (I propose a philosophical understanding rather than a scientific one since it has to prevent rather than lament: the complexity of these systems renders the scientific understanding inappropriate or, at best, too slow and too late.) Then, consider those recurrences that humans must initiate in order to develop the potentialities of vast sections of their population (for example, women, children and other groups everywhere) whose opportunities for development and education remain hindered or non-existent due to carefully selected archaic and shortsighted cultural, political and economic legacies and practices. Humans should initiate these recurrences by eliminating the instruction of these archaic and shortsighted cultural and economic legacies and practices to the young.\n\nYoung minds can also comprehend that some individuals or groups amass or have amassed their fortunes taking advantage of the power bestowed on them by hierarchies (designed and sustained by the same individuals or groups) where the few, who exploit the many, provoke rather than prevent social, economic, ecological and other disasters. Moreover, young minds will easily see that, like the politics of power, whose false generosity appeases the people, charity, donations, “good causes”, etc., and, of course, organized religion, activities supported and steered by the wealthy few, cover up the monumental injustice that they inflict; and will also see that such societies not only tolerate these thieves but also often praise and imitate them. This shows a clear example of an unhealthy recurrence.\n\nThese incompatible discrepancies of power and fortunes originate dogmatic and irreconcilable ideologies that lead to profound social changes and immense loss of life. Occasionally, these conflicts make more people enjoy the advances of civilization but more often they only increase the wealth and power of those already wielding enough power, wealth and the callousness to provoke these conflicts. Between conflicts, organized religion consoles the poor and calms the conscience of the rich, as they get even richer; hence corruption sets in.\n\nThese ideas must appear so basic and simple to the reader, and the solution to the problems they unveil so clear and straightforward, that the reader must conclude that the individuals or institutionalized groups appointed (by themselves or others) to make decisions that affect other people, abandon responsibility, education and foresight while striving for power and while exercising it. And since power blurs these shortcomings for those who hold it and for their followers, this recurrence can easily lead to excesses and abuse of that power.\n\nIronically, it seems that this situation perpetuates itself because, as the individuals or groups in these positions and institutions (including universities) abandon thinking and conversation, their power to affect other people increases multifold (an unhealthy recurrence, and a rather unfortunate one since it affects society and its future). Moreover, eventually their most noble goals dwindle and vanish only to reappear as ruthless goals of self-preservation: the silence of their present critics through containment, confinement and destruction, and the silence of their future critics through more instruction and less and less education. As a result, vast numbers of human beings endure war, misery, hunger, lack of health care, lack of education, etc.\n\nConsequently, since equal opportunities belong still to a distant future, humans should in the meantime temper extreme wealth and extreme poverty (society means little or nothing in both cases) by establishing limits to wealth and to poverty. As long as large fortunes exist, democracy cannot exist, except as a delusion, since even though the people occasionally manage to elect the representatives of their choice, those with the large fortunes promptly take over, through influence, bribes, menace or force, and run the nation as if everybody shared their views. Those who dare to oppose them will suffer the consequences as mentioned above.\n\nEven more disturbing: it seems that for all the distance that institutionalized scientists purport to maintain from organized religionists, they appear to join them against improving the lot of the dispossessed and in favor of a status quo. Organized religions, long known as the opium of the people, preach that, after death, the faithful will receive ample consolation for all the miseries of life. Concurrently, institutionalized scientists and technologists join in with their own farce: the promise of a utopian future based on the illusory concept of progress. As with religionists, the future supplants the present so that most humans forget their current misery and oppression.\n\nWhile science and its applications, lacking a philosophical and/or political outlook, sell themselves to the highest bidder with regrettable consequences and with little or no outrage from the “scientists” involved, few raise their voices in an effort to understand the essence of humans and their societies and then share this understanding so that a new, long overdue, society of humans does neither destroy its members nor itself.\n\nPerhaps the most insidious recurrence results from a society’s foolish intention to “educate” their young to join an already corrupt society where success comes only from power and wealth no matter at what cost. To achieve this, society uses instruction, organized religion, propaganda, deception and other methods to convince or coerce the reluctant young (already aware of society’s corruption), thus defeating its original intention and entering a self-destructive loop (recurrence) that erases all hope to educate the young for a better society.\n\nTo address this state of affairs, presently quite ominous, the Tractatus proposes that instead of relying on a logical and scientific understanding, usually dedicated to the search for a “truth”, better to rely on exploring the philosophical possibilities and in using, if needed, logic and science as tools to do the task(s) prescribed by a philosophical understanding.\n\nI sense logical reasoning alone as a disease from which we must distance ourselves as shown in the Tractatus. I believe that this will perturb and perhaps annoy many who consider themselves “well off” and/or “content”; choosing to ignore the miserable state of affairs in the world and to forget those who provoke it, they prefer to welcome, to demand or to adapt to a logical reasoning without conflict or paradoxes. I also believe that this will make uncomfortable those logicians, mathematicians and others who provide that “purified” logical reasoning.\n\nMany will understand the thoughts presented here but few, if any, will act accordingly… unless thoughts may also bring about a storm.\n\nMany have stimulated my thoughts with their writings and conversations, but since my writing reveals large and small discrepancies with their thoughts I shall give no sources and simply express my unreserved thanks to all of them. I will only mention Jorge Luis Borges, Herbert Brün, Humberto Maturana, Gordon Pask, Bertrand Russell, Heinz von Foerster, and Ludwig Wittgenstein. I would like to extend my special thanks to Jamie Hutchinson and Olga Trullenque Alvarez who have read the manuscript making suggestions that, in one way or another, have contributed to the Tractatus. I owe to my students the inspiration and stimulus to fight for the education of all, including that of those who have lost it.\n\nUrbana, 1991–2006. R.B.U.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8893334865570068}
+{"content": "University of Wisconsin–Madison\n\n“What is the region? Making Sense of Russia, the Former Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, and Eurasia”\n\nWhen: April 20, 2017 4:00 pm\n\nWhere: 206 Ingraham Hall, 1155 Observatory Drive\n\nSpeakers:Yoshiko Herrera, Dimitri Kofanov, Anton Shirikov, Department of Political Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison\n\nAbout the panel: Since the fall of communism and end the Soviet Union, the question of what to call the region or regions of countries in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union has vexed scholars. This question is not just a matter of labels, but of what determines the boundaries as well as content of the underlying region. Is the region merely geographic, as in east of Paris, west of Alaska, and north of Cairo—somewhere between Europe and Asia? Or should we divide the area between Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, Central Asia? But where does that leave Russia? In our paper, we address these issues empirically, using model-based cluster analysis to examine how similar or different are 29 post-communist countries of Eurasia. Our analysis shows that multiple representations and divisions of the post-communist space are possible, and simplistic representations of this space, such as the East-West divide, or Eastern Europe vs former Soviet Union, are inadequate. We also find dramatic changes through time, with some countries and groups of countries moving in different directions than others.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.995762825012207}
+{"content": "Health benefits of eating protein-rich breakfasts\n\nEating a breakfast rich in protein significantly improves appetite control and reduces unhealthy snacking on high-fat or high-sugar foods in the evening, according to an expert.\n\nThis could help improve the diets of more than 25 million overweight or obese young adults in the US.\n\nHeather Leidy, an assistant professor in the Department of Nutrition and Exercise Physiology, is the first to examine the impact of breakfast consumption on daily appetite and evening snacking in young people who habitually skip breakfast.\n\n\n\nThe high-protein breakfast contained 35 grams of protein.\n\nParticipants completed questionnaires and provided blood samples throughout the day.\n\nPrior to dinner, a brain scan using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was performed to track brain signals that control food motivation and reward-driven eating behavior.\n\n\n\n\n“These data suggest that eating a protein-rich breakfast is one potential strategy to prevent overeating and improve diet quality by replacing unhealthy snacks with high quality breakfast foods,” she added.\n\nSource: ANI", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9953105449676514}
+{"content": "Juan's Secret\n\nMonths after Juan turned 24, the King Alfonso XII died of tuberculosis. His wife, Queen Maria Christina found letters that the King had kept. Juan and Alfonso XII had been writing to each other for 6 years. It was clear to her that her husband had much trust and faith in this Marqués' son. In the interest of protecting her infant son, King Alfonso XIII, Queen Maria Christina got in contact with the Marqués de Santillana. This led to Juan becoming a secret agent, answering only to her. She charged him with the duty to educate the new King when he comes of age [takes the throne]. He must also look for opportunities to help Spain advance it's technology, to find new places to conquer, inform her on the state of Mars, and forward contacts to aid Spain in finding new business. Being an agent, Juan must exercise secrecy and caution. It will also involve many roles that he will have to adapt to. He must remain an agent until he perishes, or until his 41 birthday. On his 41 birthday he will then take up his position as an educator to the King. Lastly he must send all letters directly to the Queen in a secret code.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9339649677276611}
+{"content": "Machias Regnitz (マキアス・レーグニッツ) is an inspector at the Imperial government's justice administration and alumnus of Thors Military Academy's Class VII.\n\n\nA hard worker and prodigy student, Machias is an overachiever who holds himself to strict standards, and expects much of the same from his classmates. He regrets losing the top score on the Thors Military Academy entrance exam to Emma Millstein, which further fuels his drive to succeed and leads to a friendly rivalry with her.\n\nMachias is very studious, and is a person who takes his studies very seriously. Even during the Erebonian Civil War, he carries on with his studies as if there were no interruptions, fearing that he may fall behind otherwise.\n\nMachias is often quick to anger, frequently getting into verbal confrontations with certain classmates over political, academic, and social issues.\n\n\nMachias was born in Heimdallr in S.1187, to Carl Regnitz and an unnamed mother.\nYoung Machias (Sen)\n\nMachias with his father and cousin\n\nAt the age of 11, Machias had a female cousin of whom he was very close too, regarding her as a sister. At the time, his cousin had been dating a nobleman's son, a relationship that his family did not approve of. As a result, his cousin faced harassment and death threats from the noble family, and the relationship soon fell apart. Overwhelmed by grief, she committed suicide. The affair enraged both Machias and his father, and they came to despise the institution of nobility ever since.\n\nThors Military Academy\n\nMachias makes his deep-seated hatred towards nobility known soon after arriving at Thors Military Academy, expressing his beliefs immediately following his assignment to Class VII after the Entrance Ceremony. Because of this, he instantly antagonizes most of his classmates, especially Jusis Albarea, a fellow member of Class VII.\n\nHis feud with Jusis reaches a boiling point following a botched mission in Bareahard, resulting in the injury of one of his fellow classmates. Overwhelmed with guilt, Machias uses the experience to re-evaluate his beliefs and tries to make amends with everyone, especially Jusis.\n\nFollowing the incident, Machias warms up considerably towards his noble classmates. He begins to see them not only as colleagues, but also as close friends. Despite his early prejudices against nobility, his time with Class VII has greatly broadened his views, accepting the fact that there are good-natured nobles in the world.\n\nDuring the Erebonian Civil War, Machias escapes from the Academy along with Elliot Craig and Fie Claussell, and goes into hiding with them in Celdic. After reuniting with Rean Schwarzer, he rejoins Class VII to aid in the war effort.\n\nPolitical career\n\nFollowing the conclusion of the Erebonian Civil War and graduating from Thors Military Academy, Machias decides to enter into a career in politics, enrolling at the political academy at Heimdallr. He graduated in only a year, meaning he could assume office as investigator for the government's justice administration at the age of 19.\n\nCharacter Notes\n\n\n  • He has a personal rivalry with Emma Millstein in terms of academics.\n  • Machias' bonding trophy in Trails of Cold Steel is titled \"Equal Opportunity\".\n  • Machias' bonding trophy in Trails of Cold Steel II is titled \"The People's Choice\".\n\nAd blocker interference detected!\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8253648281097412}
+{"content": "Beneath the Costume: Chasing Dreams with Missyeru\n\n“My dream is to be successful off my art,” says Missyeru. “May that be my cosplay, designing, crafting etc. I just want to create things that I love and that make me happy while making money so I’m not starving!”\n\nA few years ago Missyeru look a bold step towards realizing her dream when she moved to Los Angeles to become a costume designer in Hollywood. She now does freelance work for the film industry, and her resume includes work on movies such as The Hunger Games.\n\nMost days, however, Missyeru is just an artist trying to find work where she can.\n\nThe story is too old to be commented.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9702285528182983}
+{"content": "Topic: Who or Whom?\n\nIf a friend asks, “With whom are you going to the movies this weekend?” she’s not being pretentious, just grammatically correct. Knowing when to use “who” or “whom” is tricky, but you can learn the difference. Or, you can use a trick. Read on…\n\nFast facts:\nBoth “who” and “whom” are pronouns, or words that replace nouns.\n“Who” is used to refer to the subject of a clause. The subject is the person doing something.\n“Whom” is used to refer to the object of a clause. The object is the person having something done to them.\n\nHere’s a trick to figure out which pronoun to use. Try answering the question with the word “him.” If that sounds right, the correct pronoun is “whom.” You can remember that because both “him” and “whom” end with “m.” If the answer sounds better with “he,” the correct pronoun is “who.”\n\nSo, look back to the beginning of this lesson. The question is about the movies. To answer it using “him,” you’d say, “I’m going with him.” That sounds right, so you know that using “whom” in the question is the correct pronoun.\n\nPeople often start letters with, “To whom it may concern.” Is that use of “whom” correct? Answer the question using “him” to check the grammar. On this line, write the answer and put a check if “whom” is correct.\n\nLook through the newspaper to find at least three uses of “who” or “whom”. Write the examples you found. Check the grammar to see if each is correctly used. Mark a check if the pronoun is used correctly or an X if it is not used correctly.\n\nCopyright Hot Topics Hot Serials. No portions may be distributed digitally without permission.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9605176448822021}
+{"content": "Of course – did you think otherwise… :-)\n\n\n\nMark this day on your calendars, this is the day when humankind found out where we come from. Extraterrestrials. Unequivocally the biological entity was “like nothing found on earth”.\n\nThere has been a theory of our origins that has been around for a long time, it is called panspermia. Panspermia is a Greek word that translates as “seeds everywhere”. The panspermia hypothesis states that the “seeds” of life exist all over the Universe and can be propagated through space from one location to another. Mechanisms for panspermia include the deflection of interstellar dust by solar radiation pressure and extremophile microorganisms traveling through space within an asteroid, meteorite or comet.\n\nPanspermia does not provide an explanation for evolution or attempt pinpoint the origin of life in the Universe, but it does attempt to solve the mysteries of the origin of life on Earth and the transfer of life throughout the Universe.\n\nResearchers at the University of Sheffield, and the University of Buckingham Centre for Astrobiology,  claim to have found particulates of matter in the Earth’s stratosphere that is the long awaited proof of extraterrestrial life. Not being content with solving one of the universe’s greatest mysteries, however, the researchers also claim that their findings explain the origins of humanity and reveal that all life on earth originally came from space.\n\n\n\nProfessor Wainwright said , This particulate  ‘colloquially called ‘the dragon particle’ which scientific analysis shows is made of carbon and oxygen and is therefore not a piece of cosmic or volcanic dust.’\n\nDuring last years  Perseid meteor shower Professor Milton Wainwright and his team made the discovery after launching a balloon high into the stratosphere.  This research balloon reached the amazing altitude of 27 km into the earth’s atmosphere and was equipped with sterile slides designed to capture tiny biological organisms, and capture organisms it did.\n\nWainwight stated that it was unclear whether the organism was a single life-form or was made up of a number of smaller microbes. He was also unequivocal that the biological entity was “like nothing found on earth”.\n\nPanspermia Evidence 2\n\n“We’re very, very confident that these are biological entities originating from space,” he said, acknowledging that absolutely certainty is hard to achieve in science.\n\nPanspermia Evidence 3\n\n“The particles are very clean,” added Prof Wainwright. “They don’t have any dust attached to them, which again suggests they’re not coming to earth.”\n\nPanspermia Evidence 3\n\nThe team believes that the entities are coming from comets. “Similarly, cosmic dust isn’t stuck to them, so we think they came from an aquatic environment, and the most obvious aquatic environment in space is a comet.”\n\nAs with all amazing discoveries this revelation has it’s expected detractors. Obviously more testing is required to fulfill scientific methodology. More testing is scheduled. This is such a paradigm shaking discovery that a lot of our current theories of our origin will have to be scrapped, and rightfully so. Such as all the mythological religious ones. A quick search in the blogosphere finds many bible thumpers are up in arms. This discovery when replicated and verified will be just one more nail in the cross (pun intended) of religious dogma. The God of the gaps just lost another huge gap.\n\nWe as enlightened humans must embrace change and advancement, no matter who we offend or who’s feelings get hurt. Text books can be rewritten and beliefs changed and the world will keep on spinning.\n\nWatch this Paranormics Exclusive video on our Extraterrestrial Extremophiles …\n\nSource: Paranormics\n\n\nAbout IsisAy\n\nIsis past lives\nThis entry was posted in Cosmic News, Other civilizations and tagged . Bookmark the permalink.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9793230295181274}
+{"content": "Sabre is developing a virtual agent. Robots are taking over travel\n\nread original story here\n\nsimone puorto - sabre virtual travel agent\n\nSabre is developing a “virtual travel agent” powered by Microsoft Bot Framework and Microsoft Cognitive Services, a set of tools organizations can use to add intelligent and conversational features to their applications.\n\nIt includes Language Understanding Intelligent Service, which provides simple tools to build language models that allow any application or bot to understand commands and act accordingly.\n\nMark McSpadden, vice president of emerging technology and products at Sabre Corp., said chatbots can play a role in providing travelers with the autonomy they want for routine requests, such as changing an existing flight reservation.\nThat can free up travel suppliers to provide more personal service for more complex needs.\n\nThis is not Sabre’s first foray into chatbots.\nSabre Hospitality Solutions is building a chatbot prototype that would allow travelers to shop, book and engage with hoteliers through the most common messaging platforms, such as Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Twitter and SMS text messaging, as well as voice assistants, such as Amazon’s Echo (Alexa), Microsoft’s Cortana, and Google Home.\n\nThe chatbot will be beta tested with some of Sabre’s hotel customers when it is ready.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9700395464897156}
+{"content": "Product Release - Valve\n\n\nAnnouncement - Valve\nToday's Deal: Save 80% off Aliens vs. Predator!\n\n\nAnnouncement - Valve\n\n\nProduct Update - Valve\n- Muslim Decadence System\n- Muslim Polygamy\n- Added new provinces, titles and history for Mali, Songhay and Ghana\n- Added the province of Aprutium (split off from Spoleto)\n- Added the new creatable Empires of Russia, Britannia, Spain, Francia, Scandinavia, Persia and Arabia\n- Strong and Weak Claim System\n- Overhaul of game text for Muslims\n- Added plots to claim titles\n- Split up the former Kingdom of Khazaria into many de jure kingdoms\n- Split the Kingdom of Rus into the kingdoms of Rus and Ruthenia\n- Added the duchies of Susa and Latium\n- Revised murder plots completely. No decisions, just events.\n- Commander traits added\n- Heavily revised combat tactics\n- Loads of new events\n\n- AI: Much more eager to join Crusades/Jihads if it has de jure interests in the target kingdom\n- AI: Much more eager to join Crusades/Jihads if in the same realm as the religious head\n- AI: More stubborn about fighting decadence revolters\n- AI: Tweaked Crusade targetting - will no longer target kingdoms with 0 'holiness' value for that religion\n- AI: Non-Muslims will not accept marriages for female relatives with Muslims, unless they are vassals\n- AI: Now prefers giving baronies/counties to courtiers with static dynasties rather than creating random characters\n- AI: Vassals of vassals can now correctly revolt to depose their liege\n- AI: DoW now factors in the strength of enemies of enemies\n- AI: Willing to join another rebelling vassal's war for the crown only if they'd like them better as _liege_\n- AI: Vassals should no longer start wars (except for revolts) if the whole realm is under attack from outside\n- AI: Caliphs will now be more aggressive with calling Jihads\n- Army AI: Will now assault when appropriate\n- Army AI: Fixed a problem where you could trick AI armies into ping-ponging while it was trying to gather its forces\n- Army AI: Fixed some issues where it would not count attached units properly\n- Army AI: Better at moving across land without marching together with other armies, causing unnecessary attrition\n- Army AI: Improved attrition check in targetting calculations\n- Army AI: Fixed an issue where it would merge armies to huge sizes by not considering attached forces\n- Invasion AI: Fixed an issue where it would choose poor secondary targets if the target province was too heavily defended\n- No longer possible to call lieges to war against their own vassals\n- Fixed a bug with the succession message not being shown for the ones who inherit titles\n- Fixed an issue with the de jure law vote message not going away when trying to approve it\n- Slightly increased merc reinforcement rates\n- Fixed a memory leak with timed opinion modifiers that time out naturally\n- Moved the county of Chalons into Lower Burgundy and Grisons into Upper Burgundy\n- Fixed a bug with the depose liege CB sometimes making the new ruler independent (bug in the effect 'abdicate_to_most_liked_by').\n- Fixed a bug with the effect 'abdicate_to_most_liked_by' that would invalidate outside wars\n- Fixed a bug with the 'grant_title' effect which would assign the liege to the liege of the granter\n- Fixed a potential infinite loop in war name generation\n- Fixed a bug with the Feudal Elective law being tolerated for Republics\n- If the loser in a war is imprisoned, he is now automatically released on peace\n- Fixed a bug with created characters sometimes getting duplicate education traits\n- People who avoid imprisonment will now always flee to another realm\n- Added a whole bunch of cleaned up title coats of arms\n- Muslim coats of arms should now use better colors\n- No longer allowed to grant titles to prisoners\n- You can now correctly press the de jure claims of vassals of vassals\n- Fixed a bug with being able to call vassals of vassals of the enemy into wars within the same realm\n- When winning (enforce or reverse) a war, all prisoners from your realm held by the enemy are now released\n- Added opinion modifiers 'Imprisoned my Child' and 'Executed my Child'\n- No longer allowed to ask to join outsider wars against your liege\n- Fixed a bug with the depose liege CB in republics and bishoprics\n- Rulers deposed with the 'depose' casus belli no longer get any land from their old vassals to remain rulers\n- Fixed an issue where a ruler could not offer peace to a rebelling vassal if he had holdings occupied by another (loyal) vassal in a separate war\n- Fixed a bug with the hostility icons for loyal vassals in separate wars with rebelling vassals\n- If a vassal is at war with another vassal who is rebelling, the war no longer ends if the liege wins and the rebellion is crushed\n- Fixed a bug with lieges ending up in two wars if a vassal revolted while a revoke action was pending\n- Blocked excomm wars against revolters\n- Fixed some issues with succession not being recalculated after certain event effects\n- Peace Offers now make it clear whether it's a demand for surrender, white peace or surrender\n- Cleaned up all CB tooltips\n- The initial Seljuk-Byzantine war is now a full invasion of the de jure kingdom of Armenia\n- Added \"Scarred\" trait\n- Fixed a bug allowing rulers of a hostile religion to vote for de jure laws even when not de facto vassals\n- Toned down base attribute gain of children from guardians\n- Optimized the CPU heaviest events\n- Fixed a nasty old crash bug with the defection of the Victual Brothers\n- Fixed a hostility bug with allies helping to defend against a revolter\n- Fixed an issue with Gavelkind inheritance in baronies, where the youngest child would inherit first\n- Fixed an issue with the random seed in delayed events\n- Fixed a bug allowing you to usurp titles from your own vassals\n- Fixed an issue with vassals of vassals gaining independence when you pressed their claims\n- The titular kingdoms of Naples and Trinacria are no longer creatable in-game\n- The Ecumenical Patriarch will now refuse to excommunicate a character who has repented, even if the Emperor asks\n- Merc navies will now disband when not getting paid\n- Fixed an issue with the lower Crown Authority plot when the liege folds to the ultimatum of a vassal king\n- No longer possible to grant duchies to barons\n- The event effect 'destroy_landed_title' now gives the current holder a strong claim on the title\n- The events where the Mongols receive reinforcements no longer trigger if the titles are held by non-Tengri or non-Mongol rulers\n- Fixed an issue with attached units and siege outcomes\n- Fixed a bug with Revokation plot wars against vassals who lose the title to someone else\n- Fixed a bug where a vassal in revolt against his liege would sometimes have the war end inconclusively when the liege got a new liege\n- Fixed an issue where children would change guardian if they became landed\n- AI spouses of lower rank than you will now always accept education requests- In feudal elective titular realms, _all_ vassals of the appropriate tier are now electors\n- The death of a spouse no longer makes characters lose their jobs\n- Characters who end up leading the troops of their enemies should now automatically return home\n- The opinion penalties for revoking a title are now applied whether or not the target accepts or refuses\n- If a vassal refuses a title revokation and wins or achieves a white peace, the 'declared_war' opinion modifier is now cleared (meaning the liege does not get a 'free' title revokation)\n- There is no longer a cooldown for calling allies to war who _accepted_ a previous call\n- Primogeniture: more heirs should now be listed\n- Gavelkind: fixed a glitch with grandchildren\n- Removed impassable terrain between Kartli and Albania\n- Fixed unit position in the Irish Sea\n- Made Sviatopolk Rurikovich (count of Zaozerye in 1066) a legit bastard\n- Heretics and infidels are now barred from inheriting anything that the religious head holds\n- The portraits for undiscovered murderers should now be hidden in the event window\n- Mercs and Holy Order commanders should no longer be shown in the quick marriage window\n- Now always allowed to attach your units to your lieges' units\n- Added an event where a ruler converts to the native culture\n- Adjusted and improved the events where provinces change culture\n- Reactivated the lifting FoW for allies in wars\n- Doubled regular assassination costs\n- The \"Arrange Marriage\" button now shows random courtiers if there are too few interesting women around\n- There is now a slight chance of a random education outcome\n- Fixed some issues with war invalidation for banishment of landed characters\n- Can no longer banish mercs, holy order heads, or religious heads\n- Attached units that are not in the same province as the master unit are no longer hostile to the master unit's enemies\n- The spouse will now get a message on divorce\n- Fixed some historical issues with Chios and Lesbos\n- The liege should now get pressed claims on _all_ titles of characters who declare independence\n- If an ally could legally call you into a war, you should always be able to ask to join as well\n- Battle Death should now show the unit owner rather than the unit commander\n- Vassals of lieges who are fighting their liege will no longer revolt\n- Holy War CBs are now valid for Catholic vassals of Orthodox lieges, etc\n- Added automatic county conversion events for Muslims (35500 and 35501)\n- Pathfinding now prefers friendly territory to enemy territory\n- Vassal vs Liege wars should now end with a _mutual_ truce\n\n- Exported inbreeding trait gain factors to defines\n- Exported most relevant files under common to their own folders, so they can be broken up into multiple files\n- Added 'immortal' flag to traits; stops aging, character will not die of age or poor health\n- Added 'pilgrimage' flag to traits; the character is away and needs a regent, but can still be a guardian, etc\n- Added 'name_tier' to landed titles, so that empires can be called kingdoms, etc\n- Added 'pass_effect' to decisions and laws, which is not run by automatic functions (useful for setting opinion modifiers when passing laws.)\n- Added event target 'fromfrom'\n- Added trigger 'in_revolt'\n- Added 'divine_blood' flag to dynasties, which allows full consanguine marriages and tells the AI to prefer keepin' it in the family\n- Added 'founder_named_dynasties' to cultures\n- Can now script marriage consanguinity rules in religions\n- Added a 'potential' trigger to Job Actions\n- Added 'dismiss_trigger' to job titles\n- Added a 'potential' trigger to traits\n- Added trigger 'num_of_realm_counties'\n- Added effect 'vassalize_or_take_under_title'\n- Added trigger 'death_reason'\n- Added event target 'killer'\n- Added event effect 'objective_succeeds'\n- The trigger 'can_be_given_away' is now more restrictive. Checks occupation or sieges of constituent Holdings, contestation in wars, etc.\n- Added history command 'conquest_culture'\n- Added trigger 'plot_power_contribution'\n- Added trigger 'random'\n- Added trigger 'any_potential_tribal_county'\n- Added effect 'any_potential_tribal_county'\n- Added effect 'random_potential_tribal_county'\n- Added 'new' target in effects ( character = new ) for newly created characters\n- Added death reason 'death_hashshashin'\n- Added effect 'make_primary_spouse'\n- Added trigger 'has_strong_claim'\n- Added trigger 'has_weak_claim'\n- Added effect 'add_weak_claim'\n- Added effect 'add_weak_pressed_claim'\n- Added trigger 'has_regent'\n- Added trigger 'is_contested'\n- Added event effect 'any_spouse'\n- Added event effect 'random_spouse'\n- Added trigger 'any_spouse'\n- Added trigger 'is_main_spouse'\n- Added a 'distance' trigger\n\nProduct Release - Valve\nDungeons and Dragons Online® is Now Available and Free to Play on Steam!\n\n\nProduct Release - Valve\n\n\n\nAnnouncement - Valve\nToday's Deal: Save 50% off Revelations 2012!\n\n\nProduct Update - Valve\nUpdate News:\n- Fixed brief game hang when entering Lucas' Apartment or Alley, more prevalent on slower computers\n- Fixed reset bug in 3rd room of Treasury\n\nProduct Update - Valve\n\n- Fixed auto-resolve crash due to colony life UI.\n- Fixed slider notches for trade sliders so they now notch for the colony trade output.\n- Used correct player color and colony icon for colony life UI.\n- Fixed surprise attack button not being available unless you had diplo points for declaring war.\n\n- Weapon bank MP crash on client.\n- Admiral turn event crash.\n- Colonies from other systems may show up in Colony Combat display.\n\nProduct Update - Valve (06-22-2012)\n\n- Added: \"Estonian Dawn\" mission (forum competition winner)\n\n- Added: Chaff to air superiroty fighters (Su-27, Su-35, Jas-39).\n- Added: \"IsAmphibiousAssault\" role for Wasp and Mistral.\n- Updated: Tweaked autumn temperatures.\n\n- Fixed: AI automatic and HighLevelOrder ASW operations.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9998893737792969}
+{"content": "What if we charged by the hour?\n\nI was talking to some agents recently about all the things that an agent does for her client, and how she does them “on spec.” No matter how many times she shows that listing, or does open houses, or advertises the property, she makes nothing if it doesn’t sell. And no matter how many time she takes out a client and shows house after house after house, she makes nothing if that client doesn’t buy.\n\nVery few other professionals work like that. They get paid by the hour. So why shouldn’t we? A set fee for the buyer for all the work we do, which would include previewing and researching and everything else. That’s how other professionals get paid. Would you be willing to do that? And wouldn’t it be nice to take the pressure off — to get paid regardless of whether the buyer buys or the seller sells?\n\nIt’s almost a relief to even think about it, to think about all the people who devalue our services by claiming that we’re overpaid, and whether they’d be willing to put their money where their mouth is by paying us a reasonable hourly rate for the work they want us to do — whether they buy or not.\n\nThe question becomes how much we would want to charge per hour, and how much we could charge. Attorneys in our area charge $300-500 per hour for hourly work. For their real estate work, they charge between $500 and $1,200 for residential closings, probably for something between two and five hours work. Other professionals in the real estate industry, stagers and home decorators, charge between $150 and $300 an hour (decorators also get a piece of the purchases). So given all that, what’s the value of real estate services?\n\nAnother way to look at it is how much you’d need to charge to make around the same income for a successful transaction. How many hours do you work with your average buyer and seller? And what’s your average side? That’s your current hourly rate. Could you charge that?\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5790859460830688}
+{"content": "Preventing Spring Sports Injuries\n\nby Trudy Despain\n(last updated August 23, 2013)\n\nThe statement \"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure\" is probably applicable in every faucet of life. If you've ever had to take the time to recover from a spring sports injury, you have likely learned the true value of prevention. A common injury athletes face is overuse injuries caused by repetitive use of a specific joint, muscle or muscle group. While common, this type of injury is usually preventable with targeted stretches and strength training.\n\nIn sports like golf and tennis, an athlete repetitively puts demands on specific muscle groups. When muscles are overworked and fatigued, they shorten. Like a domino effect, once a muscle shortens, neighboring muscles have to work harder to compensate, eventually becoming fatigued and shortening. This shortening causes reduced range of motion and increases an athlete's chance of muscle pulls, strains and tears.\n\nThe answer to preventing injury from muscle imbalance is basically two-fold. The first is to stretch, stretch and stretch some more to prevent the fatigued muscle from shortening. Static stretching is one of the easiest methods of lengthening muscles. To apply static stretching to a muscle, simply perform a stretch to the furthest point possible and then hold that position for a specified amount of time. One example of a static stretch is a sitting hamstring stretch. Sitting on the floor with your legs straight out in front, bend at the waste reaching your fingers toward your toes. When you have reached the point that the position is placing slight discomfort on your hamstrings, hold that position for 20 to 30 seconds then slowly roll back up to the upright position. Most importantly, do not bounce when performing static stretches. The stretching and jerking motion may cause shortened, fatigued muscles to spasm or even worse, to tear.\n\nThe second ingredient in preventing injury from muscle imbalance is to condition all of the muscles properly so that one muscle or muscle group is not doing greater work than the accompanying or opposing muscle group. The muscles in your body generally serve two purposes: propulsion and control. While one set of muscles is working in one direction, the opposing set of muscles is working to control the movement in that direction. Consider the action required to kick a soccer ball. As one set of muscles is working to propel the leg toward the ball, another set of muscles is working to control the speed of the swing. A problem occurs when one set of muscles develops and strengthens beyond the opposing muscles. The dominant muscles become fatigued or joints surrounding the muscles are injured because the muscles are pulling the joints out of alignment.\n\nPreventing muscle injuries and joint pain can be as simple as a visit to your physical therapist, doctor or personal trainer who can suggest exercises that will strengthen weak muscles and stretches that will lengthen and release tension in fatigued muscles. If you are currently experiencing pain, be sure to contact your doctor before beginning any stretching or strengthening routine to prevent further injury.\n\nAuthor Bio\n\nTrudy Despain\n\n\nHome Treatment Options for Rosacea\n\nFor those who suffer from rosacea, skin care is of critical. Preventing flare ups and controlling symptoms starts with ...\n\nDiscover More\n\nHealthy Dieting\n\nMaintaining a healthy diet has both immediate and long term benefits. By taking small steps every day you are ensuring a ...\n\nDiscover More\n\nTeaching Children to Eat Healthy\n\nKids want things that taste good but not always things that are good for them. Take small steps toward changing negative ...\n\nDiscover More\nMore Health Tips\n\nTraining for a Marathon\n\nMarathons are difficult and grueling. It is imperative that you start training well in advance of the race. Be prepared and ...\n\nDiscover More\n\nWhat is the Body Mass Index (BMI)?\n\nObesity is at an all time high in the United States affecting adults and children, as well as increasing in populations ...\n\nDiscover More\n\nExercising while Short on Time\n\nDon't have time to exercise? Think again! There are some things you can do to get those exercises done, even if you are ...\n\nDiscover More\n\n\nWhat is two less than 2?\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6395747661590576}
+{"content": "Quote by killadelphia222\n\nIs there any musical sense in this song? If so, can you explain?\nPlease be kind, for I'm not too good in theory...\n\nSure it makes sense. Im not going to try to explain it though, that would take some time, but yes it could be analyzed theoretically. If you really want to understand it, study theory for a few years and come back to it. Any analysis we give you now will be over your head and a waste of our time. Sorry", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6753169298171997}
+{"content": "Histology Guide\n\nvirtual histology laboratory\n\nChapter 8 - Hematopoiesis\n\nHematopoiesis is the formation of blood cell components. It occurs in the bone marrow of adults.\n\n\nErythropoiesis is the formation of red blood cells (erythrocytes). The cells undergo a series of changes related to the synthesis and accumulation of hemoglobin. Granules are never seen in the lineage of red blood cells.\n\nEM 209 Basophilic Erythroblast\n\nEM 210 Polychromatic Erythroblast\n\nEM 211 Orthochromatic Erythroblast\n\nEM 206 Red Blood Cells\n\nThe large number of extruded nuclei are removed by macrophages.\n\nEM 212 Macrophage", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9997652173042297}
+{"content": "Eric Lefkofsky and His Many Accomplishments\n\nIn the year 2014, there were approximately 14.5 million U.S. citizens living with cancer; this was according to statistics provided by the National Cancer Institute. That statistic will undoubtedly increase to over 19 million by the year 2024. Many businesses, one in particular being Tempus, is helping to make this prognosis look much better. Tempus, which was co-founded by Eric Lefkofsky, leads the way in “data-enabled precision medicine.”\n\nEric Lefkofsky was unaware of how cancer treatments and the collection of data and digital technology worked, that was until his wife’s breast cancer diagnosis. Previously, there was no effective way to streamline data that was being collected about patients and their treatments.\n\nTempus had one goal that was quite impressive, and that goal was to re-invent the way cancer and its care is delivered. The ability to break down a patient’s molecular and clinical data; while allowing the clinical and medical data to be affordably accessible.\n\nThe way patient information was being stored proved to be yet another critical hurdle to overcome. Previously, patient information was kept in the form of doctor’s notes; Tempus invented a software that can process the natural language and have character recognition capability. Tempus is also committed to lowering the cost of human genome sequencing, which used to be very expensive, but is now around $5,000 and continues to get even lower, thanks to the hard work of Tempus.\n\nEric Lefkofsky was born in 1969, a native from Southfield, Michigan. He is not even 50 years of age, yet he has been able to accomplish more so far in his life than others will in their lifetimes.\n\nEric Lefkofsky graduated in 1991, from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor with high honors. Earning his Juris Doctorate just two years later from the University of Michigan Law school. However, he never went into the field of law, he was soon caught up with the “dot com” revolution, in which he soon became a powerful player.\n\nEric has spent most of his adult life in Chicago, even though born and raised in Michigan. However, the Tempus headquarters are in Chicago, which is also where Lefkofsky will spend most of his time, as well.\n\nCurrently, he is serving on the boards of directors for the following Chicago groups: “Luries Children’s Memorial Hospital, Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre Company“.\n\nLefkofsky has also held many teaching positions, in which he is a current adjunct professor at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business.\n\nFor details:\n\nHow Fabletics Fashion Can Help Shatter Unrealistic Standards of Beauty\n\nThe media shows unrealistic beauty all over the place. This is one of the reasons that women are left feeling less than good about themselves. Among the areas where body standards are most unrealistic is in fashion. However, there are people who are trying to shatter these images in favor of a more body positive image. Among those that are pushing for a more body positive image are Kate Hudson, Demi Lovato and some others with Fabletics. Fabletics has been established as a brand with a message. The message is quite layered in that they want to not only promote better feelings about one’s own body, but also better ways of doing business.\n\n\nFabletics has been created with the understanding of how individual style is. While there are trends in the world of fashion, each person has her own style. Fabletics encourages the person to explore her own style so that she can find something that she is satisfied with. When she is able to wear clothes that are close to her style, she will more likely feel fulfilled than if she had to settle for someone else’s style. She will also feel a bit better about her body no matter what size she is.\n\n\nFabletics is so passionate about shattering unrealistic standards of beauty that the brand has gone all inclusive. With the all inclusive initiative, the company is going to provide its unique styles to people that are above and beyond the size limits. Therefore, people are going to have an easier time finding some really amazing outfits in their size. One of the struggles that can cause a lot of wear and tear on one’s own self esteem is trying to look for clothes and learning that most of the fashion industry is not in their size. The worst part is being left with only basic and dull looking clothing.\n\n\nWith all of the messages going towards acceptance, it is going to be a great influence on the trend. The good news is that Fabletics is one of the brands that are influencing the trends of fashion and bringing high fashion to larger sizes so that they can reach more people and inspire them to live lives with positive feelings towards their worth. The whole purpose is to bring forth a more diverse image of beauty so that more people can recognize that they bring something of value to the table.\n\nLivio Bisterzo’s Brand Is The New Investment Vehicle For Leonardo DiCaprio\n\n     Many will agree that the entrepreneurship journey is ridden with so many challenges. Very few entrepreneurs get to persevere when challenges are thrown on their way. As far as enterprise goes, few have managed to come up with brands which disrupt markets. Livio Bisterzo, the CEO of Green Park Brands is an apt example of entrepreneurs who have braced it all to come up with revolutionary products. Livio began his journey in business when he was in college. He has created enterprises in different sectors of the economy. Several of his ventures have failed in the past, but that has never deterred the entrepreneur from coming up with new ideas.\n\nIn the year 2015, Livio came up with an idea of providing healthy snacks to vegans. He founded Green Park Holdings and was ready to roll out a line of chickpeas puff snacks that are healthier alternatives to the snacks which are already in the market. The entrepreneur called the snacks Hippeas.\n\nThe light meals exist in six different flavors packed in bright yellow packages that are attractive and comfortable to the eye. Hippeas light meals are rich in nutrients and contain a lower amount of calories. Livio Bisterzo sources the raw materials for the snacks from local farmers to ensure that the end product is of the best quality.\n\nRecently, Livio Bisterzo inked a partnership deal with actor Leonardo DiCaprio. DiCaprio shared the same vision in business as Livio, and he decided to take the opportunity to invest in Hippeas. Leonardo was actively involved in a fund drive that helped Hippeas raise over $2.5 million.\n\nMr. Livio who was born in Italy has the passion for healthy living, and that is the basis on which he founded Hippeas. From the time the puff snacks were introduced into the market, Green Park Brands has managed to secure distribution with over 18,000 retailers. The products have found space on the shelves of most retail chains.\n\nAccording to Livio Bisterzo, what keeps him going is the positive feedback he gets from people who recommend the snacks to others who’ve not tasted them. In 2009, Livio was recognized as one of the entrepreneurs of influence in London.\n\nTracing Cassio Audio’s Legendary Rock Music Career in Brazil\n\nBuilding a successful career in music takes more than talent. While it is impossible to get famous and rich overnight, it is equally impossible to be successful without taking action to grow your career. It is a progressive process and entails more than just creating music: it requires a lot of effort, support, and dedication from the musician (and/or his or her band).\n\nIn Brazil, one musician with exciting musical career that’s worth investigating is Cassio Audi. Audi’s musical career can be traced back from 1985 to the beginning of 1990. During this period, the musician is cited to have earned a lot of fame and respect among the Brazilian Rock Music enthusiasts. While there isn’t a lot of information on the finer details of Audi’s gallant musical career, credible sources have confirmed that he belonged to a four-man band, Viper.\n\nWhen Audi and his band started, rock music wasn’t famous in Brazil as it is today as there was little westernization influence at the time. With time, however, many Brazilians began to appreciate them because of the excellent drumming effects that characterized their music. In fact, Viper’s fame grew over the country in a considerably short life span, courtesy of Audi’s drumming passion and dedication to his band. Audi took other active roles in the Viper band as a composer and a co-vocalist—a further evidence of his dedication to the band.\n\nViper’s rise to fame wasn’t that smooth as they received constant attacks from their critics. However, they braved it and their fame grew not only in Brazil but beyond the borders as well. They won more and more fans due to their electric performances, and Cassio Audi’s excellent drumming skills became the center of attraction.\n\nDespite their success, Cassio finally bowed out from the limelight when he opted to pursue a career in finance. Nonetheless, he still remains a legend in the country’s rock music industry as not only a top drummist but also vocalist.\n\n\nBruno Fagali : An Established Lawyer\n\n     Bruno Fagali is a refined lawyer in Sao Paulo, Brazil. He has effectively spoken to numerous customers, effectively finished the years. He works with numerous entrepreneurs, corporate administrators and others on complex lawful issues. He has a huge learning in numerous territories of law. Bruno Fagali is a prepared Brazilian lawyer and he has been obliging organizations, companies, foundations and prominent people. He has effectively taken care of various lawful issues in Brazil and he can enable you to determine your complex legitimate issues suitably.\n\nBruno Fagali is committed to finding the most financially savvy approach to settle claims. On the off chance that a case can be settled out of court, he will endeavor to complete it. In the event that it must go to court, he speaks to his customers with an information and understanding that is second to none. When you connect with Bruno Fagali, he will need to audit your circumstance before concocting a legitimate procedure to address it. Customers all through the country are greatly happy with the nature of administration he renders to them.\n\nIn spite of the fact that there are numerous legal counselors and law offices in Brazil, it is dependably a smart thought to enlist a legal counselor that has an extraordinary notoriety in the business. Bruno Fagali is exceedingly respected in the legitimate group and is outstanding for conveying on his guarantee.\n\nRegardless of whether you’re managing a straightforward issue, or you wind up attempting to escape a perplexing circumstance, you have to counsel an accomplished attorney.\n\nBruno Fagali is an extraordinary legal counselor and he is energetic about helping his customers settle or resolve their cases.\n\nBruno Fagali remains up on late choices in cases, so he can better enable his customers to achieve achievement. He holds a law degree and an ace’s in law from Sao Paulo Pontifical Catholic University. He has gotten a few law confirmations from the Getulio Vargas Foundation.\n\nBruno Fagali as of now works for a noticeable promoting office, as the main trustworthiness administrator. He actualizes the organization’s corporate honesty procedure strategy. The organization New/sb, is the first in the area to make a set of principles to stay away from debasement. He has been in this position for two years. His law office is Fagali Law. He works for the most part in Anti-Corruption Law and Political Elections and Public Law.\n\nBruno Fagali works with individuals and partnerships to enable them to remain out lawful inconvenience. He has confidence in helping his customers comprehend the law, so they can maintain their organizations inside the cutoff points of the law. Other than English, he works with individuals in French, Spanish\n\n\nHow Life Line Screening Can Help People Catch Health Problems Early\n\nFinding a medical problem in its earliest stages will provide the best outcomes in resolving it. Life Line Screening is a company which offers to do just this for people across the United States. They offer preventative screening events which are looked over by certified doctors for any issues that may be going on for a person. This screening information can then be shared with the person’s primary care physician who can come up with a plan to address the issue with their patient.\n\nThe Center for Disease Control says that chronic disease is the cause of about 70% of all deaths each year. The number one killer is cardiovascular disease which kills many people and it can largely be avoided through the patient changing their habits. By eating better and getting more exercise they can live years longer than they otherwise will. By getting a health screening they will become aware of their progressing cardiovascular disease and will hopefully make the lifestyle changes necessary to reverse it.\n\nAt a health screening event, Life Line Screening will run a number of tests on each person that can catch a variety of signs of disease. Among the tests they run are an ultrasound screening. This type of test can spot osteoporosis, heart abnormalities, peripheral arterial disease, and other conditions.\n\nA blood screening is also one of their procedures. These can show things such as high cholesterol and liver disease. It can also reveal the signs of Diabetes and cardiovascular disease. This is a quick finger stick which is relatively painless to have done. For more info about us: click here.\n\nFinally, Life Line Screening performs limited electrocardiograph testing, often known as an EKG. These monitor heart rhythms and can show irregular heartbeats or atrial fibrillation. These can be indicators of blood clots or heart failure. They can also reveal the risk of person suffering a stroke.\n\nThe screenings that Life Line Screening provides are operated by healthcare professionals who are both experienced and well trained. The results of the tests are usually available the same day as the tests are run. Sometimes they need to be mailed out but that occurs within 15 days.\n\nUKV is an Independent Wine Company\n\n\n\n\nTo know more visit @:\n\nHow Oncotarget is Improving Medical Research\n\nOncotarget is one of the most successful open access journals in the world. The journal was introduced into the market in the year 2010, and it is published once a week. Since its introduction into the research world, the journal has been so successful, and it has assisted people to acquire the knowledge they want to become experts in various fields. The journal mostly focuses on oncology topics, and this is one of the reasons it has gained so much popularity in the recent times. The main mission of the journal is to ensure that people can get the knowledge they fast.Due to the quality of content published in the journal, several platforms have named it as one of the best in the industry. A recent study indicates that the average impact factor of the scientific journal is 5.0 in the recent years. The study shows that the success of the journal has been attributed to the kind of professionalism and expertise the editors have been portraying.\n\nThe members of the editorial board are also experts who work day and night to make sure that the audience only gets the best news.Mikhail Blagosklonny, a prominent figure in the oncology world is currently the chief editor of the scientific journal. With the assistance of another chief editor, known as Andrei Gudkov, Mikhail has played a leading role in the success of the journal. Having spent many years in the oncology world, the businessman understands the industry very well, and he has all the expertise needed to lead the journal. One of his greatest achievements in the introduction of a drug known as rapamycin to cure cancer and at the same time reduce aging.\n\nThe drug is already being used in the market, and experts say that it has generated very positive results. Mikhail currently serves as the professor of Oncology at the Roswell Park Institute.The editorial board at Oncotarget is a team of respected researchers and scholars who have proven to be experts in different sections. These individuals must receive numerous accolades to prove that they are capable of handling the information that is posted in the journal. Under the leadership of Mikhail, the editorial board has published some of the most sensitive topics in the scientific world. One of the studies posted by Oncotarget is the use of electronic cigars in the modern times. The journal says that the cigars are very harmful to the users.\n\nAlfonso de Angoitia Noriega – All\n\nOn Investment\n\n     “Business is business”, as Alfonso de Angoitia Noriega would say, and no valid business will ever succeed without its due amount of work, investment and overall tireless persistence – for these factors alone have been the driving force behind many of today’s top Fortune 500 companies. Believe it or not. Start by investing.\n\n\nOn Movement and More\n\nFrom the foxtrot, to swing, to salsa and even the cha-cha, dances can be done in many ways that showcase how your body can move, but can also command strength. Many experts have instructed ballroom dancing for over 20 years, and Alfonso emphasizes that it’s much more than merely a physical demand — it is also a social one. It’s therapeutic, it’s emotional, and it’s mental.\n\nWhen you first start dancing, I would not say it’s that great of a workout simply because you need to learn different patterns or movements. But as you move further into the rhythm, it becomes more cardiovascular and thus requires more muscle control and movement control: You are constantly moving. Alfonso promises you that, in any given dance situation, you’ll likely surpass 10,000 steps as dance is movement.\n\nIn 2013 alone, the global dance studio industry surpassed $2.1 billion in revenue, representing average annual growth of 1.2 percent throughout the past five years, including an expected growth of 2.4 percent in 2016. The popularization of dance-inspired shows and a rising interest in dance lessons as the alternative form of exercise have greatly impacted the industry in this last decade alone. Keep that in mind.\n\nAs you can note, Mexico’s Alfonso de Angoitia Noriega has written on everything from local dance studios to business abroad. He is truly an expert’s expert. He has studied and practiced media and news for many years. Alfonso is the best.\n\nThe Osteoarthritis Institute is Committed to Managing Osteoarthritis Pain\n\nArthritis is the leading cause of disabilities in the United States. One of the most common types is osteoarthritis which is characterized by the degeneration of cartilage. 50 Million people in the country are affected by arthritis every year. Luckily, there are a few steps you can take to take care of your joints and mitigate your pain.\n\n\nWhat is Osteoarthritis?\n\n\nOsteoarthritis is a condition in which the soft tissue at the joints, cartilage, wears away. The depletion of this tissue causes the painful bone to bone contact. After an extended period of time, the joints become weak and the pain increases, both in intensity and frequency.\n\n\nRisk Factors\n\nA sedentary, unhealthy, lifestyle can exacerbate osteoarthritis symptoms. The Osteo Relief Institute, a premier New Jersey Treatment center, believes that an active life is a key to preventing osteoarthritis and reducing its effects.\n\nAdditionally, any of the following factors will increase your risk\n\nHow Can I manage Osteoarthritis?\n\n  • Excess weight\n  • Genetic predisposition\n  • Age\n  • Previous injury\n\n\nCurrently, there is no cure for osteoarthritis but there are many ways to improve the quality of life ( The Osteo Relief Institute recommends a daily routine rich in gentle exercise and strict weight management. Abstinence from smoking is also recommended to manage and prevent osteoarthritis. Smoking, along with its host of other medical drawbacks, causes damage to connective tissue.\n\n\nWhere Can I Seek Help and Relief?\n\nThere are many medical options for osteoarthritis patients. Facilities such as the New Jersey based Osteo Relief Institute are dedicated to helping the afflicted. They get to know their patients and tailor a plan that will help them return to normal.\n\n\nThe Osteo Relief Institute’s caring and qualified team have the experience necessary to diagnose and manage osteoarthritis pain. They don’t push any specific treatment, instead, they work to find a treatment that you can agree on and proceed accordingly.\n\n\nOsteoarthritis does not have to keep you homebound. Consult the Osteo Relief Institute to find out how they can help you tame your osteoarthritis pain.\n\nMore about Osteo Relief Institute at CrunchBase", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9057694673538208}
+{"content": "carisoprodol overnight delivery rating\n5-5 stars based on 40 reviews\n\nA common clinical problem with underactive adrenal glands is hypoglycemic symptoms due to fluctuations in blood sugar. Overall Awards Awards to top male and female in each race. Our students all have different goals, but they do have one thing in common: they achieve them. What Are The Pregnancy Complications Associated With Pregnancy at Advanced Maternal Age? AMA and Gestational Diabetes: Women over the age of 35 are twice as likely to develop gestational diabetes during her pregnancy. For more information about cancer that started in another part of the body and has spread to the liver, read about that specific cancer type. Some studies have shown that brain function recovers over time, while others demonstrate persistence of subtle, but important, impairments.\n\nYour body realizes it’s hungry and forces you to wake up. I am not married and had never had any physical relationship. As previously stated, the elimination of consultation services requires physicians to report their initial hospital encounter with an initial hospital-care code . Brookfield man charged with shooting neighbors pleads not guilty 1:17 p.m. at a rate 10% higher than the national average and earn an average of ,000. The focus of epidemiological and clinical research should be on clarifying the causative role of cannabis for these adverse health effects. This procedure is also called computed tomography, computerized tomography, or computerized axial tomography.\n\nWith this knowledge, Augusto determined that the synthesis of very long chain unsaturated fatty acids are in competition with the synthesis of VLCSFAs. The long survival of ATL patients, recipients of long-term uninterrupted VA treatment, is an incentive to consider HDIs as potentially effective agents in ATL treatment, for induction or as a maintenance therapy either alone or in combination with other molecules. the outer, connective tissue coat of an organ or structure, especially the outer coat of an artery or vein. It would be better to go for a medical insurance first. Consult with our experts to determine the best methods for testing your therapeutics for the presence of retroviruses. But,i've also experienced one true adrenaline rush: It happened in the third week i got my driver's license.\n\nThe part removed may be a wedge of tissue o que é carisoprodol 125mg an entire lobe, or a larger portion of the liver, along with some of the healthy tissue around it. Children with suspected ALD may need additional testing, including vision screens. For reasons that have not yet been resolved brain, spinal cord, testis and the adrenal glands are affected. adrenalina carisoprodol overnight delivery marca registrada de la epinefrina, hormona usada como vasoconstrictor secretada por la médula suprarrenal. Claude Sirlin in 2004 to develop new techniques for non-invasive imaging of liver cancer and pre-cancerous liver conditions.\n\n Tour the new Escondido and Cinch trails along with the picturesque Scenic ridge trail. The symptoms of type 2 diabetes aren't always obvious and they can take a long time to develop.\n\nThe scope of this license is determined by the AMA cafeina carisoprodol diclofenaco sodico e paracetamol the copyright holder. Cancer invades the veins and capillaries and travels through the blood to other places in the body. Please have your order number and the name you are returning ready when you call.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9190433025360107}
+{"content": "Tag Archives: bI\n\nWorld Trade and Procurement in the Trump Era\n\nTrump’s trade  policies will greatly affect our global supply chains. How will increased protectionism and bilateral deals impact the procurement function?\n\nFrantically attempting to understand the new modern world, commentators and experts are struggling to digest the political earthquakes of 2016. It remains wholly unclear what binds together the widespread nationalism, populism and division in countries around the world.\n\nThe threat to global supply chains\n\nTrump has a clear dislike of international trade, preferring to shield the USA’s economy from competition. He has a disdain for businesses moving operations to other countries.\n\nWhether or not organisations source much directly from non-domestic sources, they are dependent on global supply chains and networks. These networks are responsible for sourcing the goods and services to meet the needs of stakeholders. Threats to free trade pose challenges to procurement professionals and their ability to source goods and services efficiently and cost-effectively.\n\nFor many years, there has been a trend for opening up procurement markets. This trend has entailed removing tariffs on imports, opening up non-discriminatory bidding on public contracts to non-domestic businesses and harmonising regulatory regimes to make cross-border trade less bureaucratic and more efficient. This has allowed procurement teams to drive down costs and increase competition and product choice.\n\nTrump’s abolition of free trade agreements\n\nSince inauguration, Trump has honoured his commitments to abolish pending free trade agreements (FTAs) with the European Union and eleven Pacific Rim countries. Both contained provisions which would have opened up the procurement markets to non-discriminatory bidding for businesses across participating countries. This eases importing processes.\n\nTrump also vowed to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with Canada and Mexico, which has been critical in creating and sustaining supply chains in North America.\n\nWith this move away from free trade, what are the prospects for continued integration of procurement markets in the Trump era? There are two points to cover – new bilateral FTAs including the USA and the movement towards free trade driven by powers beyond the USA.\n\nThe prospect of new bilateral deals\n\nFirstly, whilst Trump has expressed a strong distaste for multilateral FTAs such as TTIP, TPP and NAFTA, he has sung the praises of bilateral deals. This has been strongly signalled with the UK in particular.  Trump has made some ambitious comments that there is a  deal ready to sign once the UK departs the EU.\n\nIf this were to happen, tariffs and perhaps other barriers would be removed, with the intention of easing cross-border trade.\n\nThe prospects for this are not great, however. With Trump’s “America first” agenda, it is not clear how easily any deals could come to fruition. FTAs are based on compromise, whereby countries grant reciprocal access to each others’ economies. For American companies to gain the ability to win public contracts as part of a deal with another country, access to American government contracts would need to be provided to businesses from the other country.\n\nIt is far from clear whether the new administration would accept the American government awarding contracts to more foreign companies, effectively moving the jobs associated with that contract to other countries.\n\nChina could be the driving force behind liberalising trade\n\nThe second topic is perhaps more pertinent then; this is the possibility that other countries or systems will emerge as the force behind liberalising procurement markets to replace a more protectionist and isolationist USA.\n\nChina’s global economic influence is steadily increasing. The TPP’s death presents China with the opportunity to be the leader in free trade. It is the lead behind the proposed Regional Comprehensive Economic Pact (RCEP), which includes sixteen countries, such as Australia, Japan, India and South Korea. In total, RCEP covers 30 per cent of global GDP and around half of the global population.\n\nThe agreement focuses on tariff removal, with some harmonisation of standards and intellectual property rights. RCEP is not equivalent to TPP in integrating procurement markets in different countries, however. Whilst procurement teams would benefit greatly from cheaper imports from elimination of tariffs, RCEP does not include detailed provisions of government procurement – non-discrimination does not look likely to be included. The eventual, and lofty, ambition of RCEP is to create a free trade area across the Asia Pacific.\n\nDriving integration in procurement markets\n\nAside from China, multilateral institutions are perhaps the most likely to drive integration and liberalisation of procurement markets over the coming years. The European Union has long been a driver of liberalisation of procurement markets.\n\nIn 2016, the EU signed a detailed FTA with Canada,   including detailed provision for procurement.  It has pending agreements with countries such as Singapore and Vietnam and is in long-term discussions with an array of countries and trading blocs.\n\nThe World Trade Organization’s (WTO), Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA), consisting of 47 members (including the EU28), reciprocally opens procurement markets. It is looking likely that Australia will accede to the GPA in 2017 and discussions of China becoming a full member, further opening up procurement markets.\n\nAlso within the WTO, the Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA) is a proposed agreement to ease trade in services. This would include 50 countries, including the EU countries and the USA. With this, trade in services between the countries would become  frictionless and there would be elimination of preference for domestic suppliers, which might apply without a minimum value threshold for all government agencies.\n\nAccess to global markets is core for procurement\n\nGlobalisation continues to be much maligned by electorates and the media. But for procurement teams who rely on sourcing goods and services from around the world, either directly or indirectly, access to global markets is core to maximising value for money and ensuring public services are as effective and cost-efficient as possible. Without engaging in the broader political debates, it is clear that one industry needs access to suppliers of goods and services, without unnecessary barriers – the procurement industry.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8962562680244446}
+{"content": "Logo der Universität Wien\n\nConference Papers\n\nAuthors and TitlePublished in\n\nDehnavi J., Wirl F., Yegorov Y.\n“Arbitrage in natural gas markets?”\n\nInternational Journal of Energy and Statistics, Vol. 3, No. 4, 2015; DOI: 10.1142/S2335680415500180\n\nAbstract: Regional LNG markets are characterized by substantial price differences since 2009. These regional differentials in prices suggest arbitrage possibilities which are incompatible with functioning markets; this creates a puzzle. This paper seeks to explain this puzzle by investigating potential explanations ranging from transport costs, bottlenecks in network (liquefaction, shipping and regasification), and restrictions arising from contracts. Of these factors, only the past and current constraints on U.S. liquefaction capacity has some explanatory power. However, this cannot be the entire story because given this past and current constraint, U.S. gas producers can engage in intertemporal speculation, i.e., keep their gas in the ground until the necessary liquefaction capacity exists and U.S. gas prices increase towards the prices in other regions (transport costs leave from price differences). Since it is difficult to believe that such obvious and simple money pumps are not exploited, further explanations are needed and linked to potential U.S. government interventions; high and irreversible investment costs and rational expectations (i.e., others too will exploit this opportunity, which will move regional prices closer) further add to keep investments low. Summarizing, these factors combined can explain the price differences of the past and their persistence, albeit at a lower level, in the future. \n\n\n\nAuthors and TitlePublished in\nYegorov Y. (2016) \"Population Structures in Russia: Optimality and Dependence\n\non Parameters of Global Evolution\"\n\nRegion, v.3(1), p.87-104. \n\nFachbereich für Industrie, Energie und Umwelt\nUniv.-Prof.Dr. Franz Wirl\nUniversität Wien\n\nOskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1\n1090 Wien\nT: +43-1-4277-381 02", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8282350897789001}
+{"content": "1. Home\n  2. India\n  3. Intolerance of criticism arising out of\n\nIntolerance of criticism arising out of irrational faith: Hamid Ansari\n\nPTI 10 Jan 2016, 22:34:04 IST\n\nNew Delhi: Amid the intolerance debate in the country, Vice President Hamid Ansari today said there is “intolerance of criticism and questioning” resulting from irrational faiths and beliefs which are based on unscientific prejudices.\n\nHe said lack of scientific temper has often resulted in instances like individual dissenters being ostracised or killed, and banning or withdrawal of books from circulation.  \n\nHe rued that even scientists succumb to practises that derogate from scientific temper and noted that our education system was insufficiently equipped to inculcate this thinking in young minds.\n\nEmphasising that public acceptance of scientific temper in the society was a pre-condition for fostering and sustaining the cultivation of innovations and scientific research, Ansari said there was need to create the right ambience and structures to encourage scientific research and innovation.  “Much too often there is a lack of scientific temper in our daily life.\n\nIn our family life, we don't approve of questioning. Most parents don't like children asking questions. In schools, from nursery to high school, teachers frown upon children raising questions.  \n\n“In colleges and universities, asking questions is often considered ‘cheeky' and an attempt by students to cast doubt a teacher's knowledge of the teacher,” Ansari said while inaugurating a panel discussion on “Scientific Temper: A pre-requisite for Knowledge based Society.”\n\nHe said this frame of mind is reflected in our attitude to matters of social custom, inherited tradition and faith.  \n\n“Attempts to separate myth from fact, history from mythology, belief from scientifically verified facts, are often frowned upon.\n\nPursuant to it, occult is dubbed scientific and superstition as ‘culture'.  “Such approaches have often taken unpleasant and violent turn: books have been banned or withdrawn from circulation, libraries have been burnt, individual dissenters ostracised or killed, social peace disturbed and violence inflicted on citizens,” he said.\n\n“In each of these cases, the working assumption is that questioning will hurt sentiments, damage or destroy existing order or structures, undermine faith, disrupt social order,” Ansari said.\n\nHe added that these “dubious foundations, irrational faiths and beliefs based on unscientific prejudices and habits” still persist and “there is intolerance of criticism and questioning.”", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7732646465301514}
+{"content": "1. Home\n  2. India\n  3. There Is 'Populism' In Hazare's Movement:\n\nThere Is 'Populism' In Hazare's Movement: Tushar Gandhi\n\nPTI 17 Aug 2011, 22:20:17 IST\n\nMumbai, Aug 17: Holding that Anna Hazare's anti-corruption movement has an element of “populism” about it, Mahatma Gandhi's great grandson Tushar has said there is difference in the way the two leaders have used fasting as an instrument of protest.\n\nHe also feels that while for the Mahatma fasting was a means to “reform an adversary”, in case of Hazare, a self-professed Gandhian, it was like targeting an “enemy”. \n\n“Hazare's fast is different because Bapu's fast was to reform an adversary into a friend, while Anna's fast is against an enemy. It is like a me versus you kind of thing,” Tushar Gandhi told PTI.\n\n“Hazare has become an icon of the desperation being felt by the people in India. However, there is an element of populism in the movement,” he said.\n\n“What we are seeing since yesterday is concern of people about democratic rights. There is a sense of disconnect between the people and the government. That is reflected in this whole movement,” he added.\n\nAsked how would have the Mahatma viewed Hazare's agitation, Tushar said, “Bapu would have never allowed the situation to reach this level. He would have become active when the disease (corruption) was at a nascent stage and not when it has reached alarming proportions.”\n\n“However, one positive thing that has come out (of Hazare's agitation) is that non-violence is powerful. Not one glass pane has been broken by the protesters, not one stone hurled. That is a potent sign. It shows the power of non-violence,” he said. PTI", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5202224850654602}
+{"content": "You are here\n\nIdentity fraud reaches record levels\n\n15th March 2017\n\nA record 172,919 identity frauds were recorded in 2016 more than in any other previous year, according to Cifas, the UK’s leading fraud prevention service.\n\nIdentity fraud now represents over half of all fraud recorded by the UK’s not-for-profit fraud data sharing organisation (53.3% of all frauds recorded to Cifas), of which 88% was perpetrated online.\n\nHow fraudsters steal your identity\n\nThe vast majority of identity fraud happens when a fraudster pretends to be an innocent individual to buy a product or take out a loan in their name. Often victims do not even realise that they have been targeted until a bill arrives for something they did not buy or they experience problems with their credit rating.\n\nTo carry out this kind of fraud successfully, fraudsters need access to their victim’s personal information such as name, date of birth, address, their bank and who they hold accounts with. Fraudsters get hold of this in a variety of ways, from stealing mail through to hacking; obtaining data on the ‘dark web’; exploiting personal information on social media, or though ‘social engineering’ where innocent parties are persuaded to give up personal information to someone pretending to be from their bank, the police or a trusted retailer.\n\nWho's most likely to be a victim?\n\n\nCommander Chris Greany, Police National Coordinator for Economic Crime at City of London Police, said:\n\n“We welcome the figures released by Cifas as it demonstrates how we all need to be alert to preventing identity thieves now more than ever before.\n\n“We do everything we can to stop identity thieves in the fight against fraud, but the key is prevention and protection. Just taking a few simple steps can be the difference to protecting your personal information and your finances.”\n\nReport fraud and cyber crime to Action Fraud and receive a police crime reference number.\n\n\nMike Haley, Deputy Chief Executive, Cifas said:\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9024339914321899}
+{"content": "(for higher quality and more faces, see videos below)\n\nFace Morphing\n\nRonit Slyper\n\n\nI morphed two images into each other via the following steps:\n  1. I used cpselect in matlab to select 55 corresponding points in my two images.\n  2. I added 4 corner points to simplify coding.\n  3. I wrote the specified function computeAffine.m; separating out the translation into different matrices was key.\n  4. I wrote code-calling code runruncode.m to create the 61 frames; this code used the function morph.m, which at first ran slowly but I sped up after realizing that I should compute the affine transform at each triangle, not each point.\n  5. Mencoder was used to check the movie.\n\n\n00 (rys) 254060 (saboutal)\n\nThe 61 pictures.\n\nAge morph\n\nI scanned in many pictures of myself growing up, weaned out the ones where I looked truly dorky (let's just say there was a 8th - 13th grade period we don't need to know about), and ended up with 10 images. These I selected head shots from, then scaled the resulting crops to 600x600, and used cpselect to mark 43 points in each. When I ran the morph through them, the images shifted about too much. Thus I computed the projective transform from the average points to each image's points, and used imtransform to correct each image. This, however, squished all the faces to be the same aspect ratio - and I was looking to show the evolution of face shape! I repented of my error and switched to an affine transform. The code is runagemorph.m and runagemorphcaller.m.\n\nThe Video.\n\n(use mplayer or equivalent)\n\nEscher Alive\n\nThe original woodcut, above, from The Official M.C. Escher Website, was registered with 701 points, input_points and base_points. This took several hours. Cpselect crashed and burned at ~250 points (and ceased to be real-time responsive well before then). I resolved this problem by writing my own image registration tool in Perl/Tk; the source is here. The tool worked better than cpselect because 1) it is fast, and 2) it numbers the points in each image independently in order, so you can click a few points in one image, then go over to the other and click on those corresponding points in order.\n\nThe Video.\n\n(switches direction halfway through)\nA picture of part of the selecting:\n\nMean Face\n\nI computed the mean face by creating the delaunay triangulation on the average of all points, then adding each face's contribution by repeated calls to the morph function. As arguments I passed in the average points and a \"0\" for warp_frac, and 1/i for adding in the i'th image.\nMean face rys warped to avg avg warped to rys", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9044272303581238}
+{"content": "Auriculotherapy is an east-west hybrid medical system, founded by Dr. Paul Nogier of France in the 1940s.\nAuriculotherapy began with the traditional Chinese medical (TCM) use of the surface of the auricle or external ear for acupuncture or other therapeutic stimulation. Initially, the Chinese used a small number of acupoints scattered on the surface of the ear for treating a variety of maladies. Through the trade routes between Europe and China, TCM had influenced the local folk medicine of France, particularly in the use of cauterization of an acupoint specific for treatment of sciatica. Dr. Nogier noticed that a number of his patients had these cauterizations, and when questioned, explained the successful treatment of sciatica by local folk medicine healers. Curious, he began to research and explore the traditional use of ear acupuncture, eventually developing the practice into a complete therapeutic system called Auriculotherapy, or sometimes referred to as Nogier. Like TCM, auriculotherapy is generally considered complimentary or alternative medicine.\nAuriculotherapy is a microsystem, meaning that the entire body is reflected on the ear, and can be treated by use of the ear exclusively. A similar microsystem is the reflexology system which utilizes the sole of the foot for treatment of any part of the body. There are literally thousands of acupoints on the surface of the auricle. These points can be treated with acupuncture, with laser therapy, or by taping a small bead or pellet on the point. Pellets can be gold, silver, titanium, surgical steel, a seed from a plant that has been soaked in medicinal herbs, or other materials.\nAuriculotherapy depends upon a specific use of the radial pulse on the patient's wrist in order to obtain a high level of accuracy, both in the choice of acupoints used, and the accuracy in locating such a small point. This use of the pulse is neither the traditional Western pulse-taking technique, nor is it the traditional Chinese pulse-taking technique, but a third approach to using the pulse diagnostically.\nAuriculotherapy is practiced by both TCM specialists and Western medical practitioners. The technique and the accompanying theory is very complex and can prove difficult to learn. Auriculotherapy has migrated back to China, to be simplified in its application to create the modern approach to ear acupuncture. This simplified approach is also commonly used in the treatment of drug addiction in rehab centers throughout the world. Auriculotherapy in its complex form remains a relatively obscure modality of treatment.\n\nThis article is part of NCCAM documentation in public domain...", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9100870490074158}
+{"content": "Who we are\n\n2013-01-12 DSC_7135bJeff:  Husband, Dad. Guacamole King. Refusing to accept middle-age gracefully. Always has a stack of 5 or 6 unfinished books on his nightstand. You call it ADD, he calls it multi-tasking.\n\nJennifer:  Wife of one and mother of four. Shy until she really knows you. Loves dogs, dark chocolate, vintage junk, and craftsman architecture. Often re-arranges deck chairs on the titanic.\n\n2015-12-03 Alex DSC_6870 Alex:   Quiet, but funny. Defends the underdog. Loves electronics. Enjoys soccer, basketball, running, and playing with the dog. Favorite colors are purple and black.\n\n2015-12-03 Trevor DSC_6885Trevor:  Empathetic and observant. Great artist. Loves to talk. Good dancer. Enjoys drawing, Italian food, Coca Cola, and hanging out with his friends.  Loves the color red.\n\n2015-12-03 Elly DSC_6676Elly:  Sweet and thoughtful. Artistic and creative. Likes to read. Loves dogs. Enjoys playing with her friends, swimming, and being silly. Loves anything turquoise or mint green.\n\n2015-12-03 Maggie DSC_6724Maggie: Spunky and determined. Loves to sing and dance. Animal lover. Plays with Legos, Polly Pocket, and Barbies.  If it’s pink, she’s all about it.\n\n\nDulce: Sweet and submissive. Loves to go for runs, sleep, chase squirrels, and play with her humans.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9403336644172668}
+{"content": "School  »  School Calendar\n\nSchool calendar academic year 2017-2018\nAbsence requests\n\nLegally schools are no longer allowed to authorise holidays during term time. If you believe you have a valid reason for your child to be absent from school, please complete the attached document. You will see that school's policy for absence during term time is detailed on the second page.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9999269247055054}
+{"content": "Disciplr Support\n\n\nTruMinistry Response: How is Tru curriculum related to HomeFront Magazine?\n\nBoth Tru curriculum and HomeFront Magazine are founded on the philosophy that parents should be primary in the spiritual formation of their children. HomeFront Magazine is published monthly with each issue highlighting one of the 10 Environments from the book Spiritual Parenting by Dr. Michelle Anthony. Whether through lessons led at church or the magazine content, the common threads are to inspire, equip, and support parents in their role as spiritual leaders.\n\nTo purchase HomeFront Magazine:\n\n\n\nPowered by Zendesk", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5750430822372437}
+{"content": "Open Access\nOpen Peer Review\n\nThis article has Open Peer Review reports available.\n\nHow does Open Peer Review work?\n\nA pragmatic cluster randomised trial evaluating three implementation interventions\n\n  • Jo Rycroft-Malone1Email author,\n  • Kate Seers2,\n  • Nicola Crichton3,\n  • Jackie Chandler4,\n  • Claire A Hawkes1,\n  • Claire Allen4,\n  • Ian Bullock5 and\n  • Leo Strunin6\nImplementation Science20127:80\n\nReceived: 16 November 2011\n\nAccepted: 27 August 2012\n\nPublished: 30 August 2012\n\n\n\nImplementation research is concerned with bridging the gap between evidence and practice through the study of methods to promote the uptake of research into routine practice. Good quality evidence has been summarised into guideline recommendations to show that peri-operative fasting times could be considerably shorter than patients currently experience. The objective of this trial was to evaluate the effectiveness of three strategies for the implementation of recommendations about peri-operative fasting.\n\n\nA pragmatic cluster randomised trial underpinned by the PARIHS framework was conducted during 2006 to 2009 with a national sample of UK hospitals using time series with mixed methods process evaluation and cost analysis. Hospitals were randomised to one of three interventions: standard dissemination (SD) of a guideline package, SD plus a web-based resource championed by an opinion leader, and SD plus plan-do-study-act (PDSA). The primary outcome was duration of fluid fast prior to induction of anaesthesia. Secondary outcomes included duration of food fast, patients’ experiences, and stakeholders’ experiences of implementation, including influences. ANOVA was used to test differences over time and interventions.\n\n\nNineteen acute NHS hospitals participated. Across timepoints, 3,505 duration of fasting observations were recorded. No significant effect of the interventions was observed for either fluid or food fasting times. The effect size was 0.33 for the web-based intervention compared to SD alone for the change in fluid fasting and was 0.12 for PDSA compared to SD alone. The process evaluation showed different types of impact, including changes to practices, policies, and attitudes. A rich picture of the implementation challenges emerged, including inter-professional tensions and a lack of clarity for decision-making authority and responsibility.\n\n\nThis was a large, complex study and one of the first national randomised controlled trials conducted within acute care in implementation research. The evidence base for fasting practice was accepted by those participating in this study and the messages from it simple; however, implementation and practical challenges influenced the interventions’ impact. A set of conditions for implementation emerges from the findings of this study, which are presented as theoretically transferable propositions that have international relevance.\n\nTrial registration\n\nISRCTN18046709 - Peri-operative Implementation Study Evaluation (POISE).\n\n\nImplementation research is concerned with bridging the gap between evidence and practice through ‘the scientific study of methods to promote the systematic uptake of clinical research findings and other evidence-based practice into routine practice, and hence improve the quality…of healthcare’ [1]. Whilst the number of evidence-informed guidelines, frameworks, and standards are growing rapidly, their use in practice is frequently reported as being unpredictable, often slow, and complex [27]. This paper reports a large national implementation research trial to evaluate three strategies for the implementation of best practice recommendations for peri-operative fasting.\n\nSeveral systematic reviews summarise the evidence about interventions for changing behaviour, using guidelines and research in practice, and quality improvement collaboratives [814]. Whilst a consistent message from these reviews is that the quality of implementation studies is generally poor, a number of strategies show some promise. Wallin [15] grouped guideline implementation strategies into the categories shown in Table 1.\nTable 1\n\nEffectiveness of interventions for guideline development\n\nDissemination / educational strategies\n\n\nEducational materials\n\nMixed effects\n\nConferences, courses\n\nMixed effects\n\nDifferent education strategies\n\nMixed effects\n\nEducational outreach visits\n\n\nMass media campaigns\n\nMostly effective\n\nSocial interaction strategies\n\nInteraction small-group meetings\n\nMostly effective\n\nFeedback on performance\n\nMixed effects\n\nOpinion leaders\n\nMixed effects\n\nMulti-professional collaboration\n\n\nDecision support strategies\n\n\nMostly effective\n\nComputerised decision support\n\nMostly effective\n\nOrganisational strategies\n\nIntroduction of computers into primary care to improve clinical performance\n\nMostly effective\n\nExpanding professional roles\n\nMixed effects\n\nTotal quality management/quality improvement\n\nLimited effects\n\nFinancial interventions\n\n\nPatient-orientated strategies\n\nPatient mediated interventions\n\nMixed effects\n\nAdapted from Wallin et al. 2009 and Grimshaw et al. 2004.\n\nFindings from these systematic reviews show that interactive education approaches, audit and feedback, reminder systems, and opinion leadership may have some impact. Schouten et al. [13] also found that quality improvement collaborative approaches showed moderate positive results in some controlled studies. Additionally, it is suggested by Grimshaw et al.[10] that passive dissemination of guidelines should not be discounted because it offers a cheaper, feasible approach that may show effectiveness. They found that multi-faceted interventions were not necessarily more effective than single interventions [10]. Finally, the authors of all these reviews point out that very rarely are the cost consequences of implementation and quality improvement considered within study designs. A further critique of the evidence base is that there has been a lack of attention to implementation processes and theory within trials, which means that it is often difficult to determine why interventions may have worked (or not).\n\nThere is a growing and persuasive body of evidence that serves to highlight that the implementation of evidence into practice may be influenced by many factors, including those that could be considered organisational or contextual [1620]. This highlights that implementation strategy development and the evaluation of implementation efforts need to capture contextual dimensions and pay attention to a broad range of influences.\n\nFasting practice\n\nMillions of people are admitted for elective surgery each year. In preparation for anaesthesia, fasting regimes are imposed in order to minimise the risk of regurgitation and aspiration of stomach contents [21]. Traditional fasting rules determine that patients are nil by mouth from midnight for a morning theatre list or have a light breakfast for an afternoon list. However, there is good quality robust research synthesised into national guidelines that recommend it is safe for healthy adult patients undergoing elective surgery to have water and clear fluids up to two hours before the induction of anaesthesia and food up to six hours prior to induction [2124]. Despite a robust evidence base to guide practice, surveys show that prolonged fasting is common across the globe [2527]. A UK survey of departments of anaesthesia revealed that 93 (62%) followed a fasting from midnight policy [28], whilst fluid intake until four, three, and two hours prior to surgery was reported as ‘acceptable’ under current guidelines at 40, 31, and 71 departments respectively. Prolonged fasting can lead to dehydration, electrolyte imbalance, nausea, and a reduced nutritional intake [29, 30] and discomfort for patients [24].\n\nNo research was found reporting attempts to improve fasting times. This gap provided an opportunity to evaluate implementation interventions to promote the use of recommendations from a national guideline:\n\nPreoperative fasting in adults undergoing elective surgery – ‘the 2 and 6 rule’ [24]\n\n  • ‘2’ - Intake of water up to two hours before induction of anaesthesia.\n\n  • ‘6’ - A minimum preoperative fasting time of six hours for food (solids, milk, and milk-containing drinks).\n\n  • Postoperative resumption of oral fluids in healthy adults when fully awake.\n\n\nThe evidence base for implementation provides some information about the strategies that might be more effective than others for implementing guidelines. However, it is not clear which strategies might be more or less effective in different contexts, with different clinical topics and professional groups. Therefore, our trial objective was to evaluate three interventions to implement fasting recommendations into practice with a focus on summative outcomes (duration of fasting) and the processes of implementation (intervention delivery, influences, and other types of impacts).\n\nThere have been calls for more robust implementation intervention studies [e.g., 15], and to our knowledge this study is the first and largest implementation research trial to attempt to improve peri-operative fasting times.\n\n\n\nThis study was a pragmatic cluster randomised controlled trial (RCT) using time series with embedded mixed methods process and economic evaluation. The trial had three arms: standard dissemination (SD) of a guideline package; SD plus a web-based education package championed by an opinion leader, and 3) SD plus a Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) approach. Hospital Trusts were randomised to one of the three implementation interventions. Data were collected eight months pre- and post-intervention. The intervention period was six months. The CONSORT flow diagram is shown in Figure 1.\nFigure 1\n\nFlow chart from recruitment to post-intervention data collection.\n\nTheoretical framework\n\nThe theoretical framework (Figure 2) developed for this study is based on the Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services (PARIHS) framework [20, 31]. Successful implementation (SI) is represented as a function (f) of the nature and type of evidence (E) (including research, clinical experience, patient experience, and local information), the qualities of the context (C) of implementation (including culture, leadership and evaluation), and the way the process is facilitated (F) (internal and/or external person who enables implementation processes); SI = f(E,C,F). The framework was used to incorporate interventions and to guide decisions about data collection, qualitative data analysis, and synthesis.\nFigure 2\n\nTheoretical framework.\n\n\nAll acute care NHS Trusts across the UK conducting elective surgery were invited to participate, but needed to be able to fulfil the following criteria:\n  1. 1.\n\n    there were a sufficient volume of suitable participants, i.e., at least 40 adult patients per timepoint undergoing a routine surgical operation as inpatient or day patient;\n\n  2. 2.\n\n    they provided gynaecological, orthopaedic, or general surgical services;\n\n  3. 3.\n\n    they would allow staff to participate in the project;\n\n  4. 4.\n\n    they would provide local investigators.\n\n\n\nPrimary outcome data were collected from individual patients undergoing elective and routine general, orthopaedic, or gynaecological surgery.\n\nInclusion criteria\n\n  1. 1.\n\n    Patients aged 18 and over.\n\n  2. 2.\n\n    Patients who could provide informed consent.\n\n\nExclusion criteria\n\n  1. 1.\n\n    Patients who were critically ill.\n\n  2. 2.\n\n    Emergency or trauma patients because we were evaluating routine fasting regimes.\n\n  3. 3.\n\n    Patients who were unable to give informed consent\n\n\nDuration of food fast was collected from all patients, but other secondary outcome data were collected from a sample of patients who participated in primary outcome data collection and a purposive sample of staff.\n\n\nTrusts were randomised to one of the following interventions; two of which could be described as complex interventions. See Table 2 for a summary of intervention characteristics and expected mechanisms of action. The null hypothesis was that all interventions are equally effective.\nTable 2\n\nIntervention details\n\n\n\n\nStandard dissemination\n\nWeb-based resource\n\n\n\n\nGuideline and RCN learning resource\n\nAdapted from Modernisation Agency Improvement Leaders Guide\n\n\nPaper and CD\n\n\nPackage and facilitator led\n\n\n\nMulti-professional staff, individuals and/or groups\n\nMulti-professional staff groups\n\nDelivered by\n\n\nLocal opinion leader\n\nPDSA facilitator\n\n\nSix months\n\nSix months\n\nSix months\n\nNumber of events\n\n\nMultiple but not specified\n\nSix meetings specified plus local audit activity\n\nProximity to practice\n\n\nArms length\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIntended mechanism of action\n\nAwareness raising\n\nSocial influence\n\n\nStandard dissemination\n\nSD of a guideline package, which included:\n  1. 1.\n\n    A copy of the RCN/RCA guideline, which included an overview of the guideline development process and those involved, recommendations, algorithm poster, and audit criteria.\n\n  2. 2.\n\n    A patient version of the guideline.\n\n  3. 3.\n\n    A PowerPoint presentation outlining some principles of guideline implementation.\n\n\nWe attempted to mirror, as far as possible, the dissemination process of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE). The package was distributed once via the post-at the beginning of the intervention period and was targeted at the senior levels of the NHS Trust organisation. Packs were posted to named medical directors, nursing directors, clinical governance leads, and audit leads at each Trust. Packs were also sent to the English Strategic Health Authorities and the Health Boards in Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland.\n\nStandard dissemination of guideline package plus web-based educational package championed by an opinion leader(s)\n\nA web-based resource was developed from the content of the guideline package, accessible to trusts allocated to this intervention. The web-based resource was interactive, incorporating educational tools such as self-check tests, working through clinical scenarios, and a patient digital story (\n\nThe resource was championed by opinion leaders working in participating surgical areas. Opinion leaders were identified by key contacts at the NHS Trusts through a nomination process based on criteria developed from previous research [3234]:\n  1. 1.\n\n    Does this person have credibility across different professional groups? i.e., will different professional groups all take on knowledge from this person and respect their ability?\n\n  2. 2.\n\n    Do they have an authority and presence recognised by their colleagues?\n\n  3. 3.\n\n    Do they have good communication skills?\n\n  4. 4.\n\n    Do they treat all colleagues with respect?\n\n  5. 5.\n\n    Do they have the ability to convince colleagues about reducing fasting times through the intervention?\n\n\nThe selection of more than one opinion leader was permitted. Training on the use of the web-based resource was provided to opinion leaders at the start of the implementation phase.\n\n3. Standard dissemination of guideline package plus plan-do-study-act\n\nThe PDSA quality improvement approach includes making small changes and test cycles to see whether an improvement occurs in the system or process [35]. Critical to this intervention is the potential to collaborate, which in this study was possible at a local level between teams and individuals. This intervention also included a ‘diagnosis’ phase based on the Seven S Model [18, 36, 37]. A dedicated facilitator with relevant clinical and/or managerial experience was identified by each trust’s key contact. Facilitators had a one-day training session. The PDSA package used in this study is available on request. All trusts received their individual baseline mean food and fluid fasting times at the beginning of the intervention phase.\n\n\nPrimary outcome\n\nThe primary outcome was the duration of fluid fast prior to induction of anaesthesia. Data on fasting were collected by the local investigators by asking patients pre-operatively when they last ate, when they last drank, and post-operatively when they had a first drink. This information was checked against reported information in their notes. These data were recorded on digitally read data sheets developed for this study (Additional File 1: Table S1) coded for the Trusts and for individual patients. Local investigators received training about how to collect these data. Data were collected four times pre-intervention and four times post-intervention, with up to two months interval between data collection points.\n\nSecondary outcomes: Process evaluation\n\n  1. 1.\n\n    Patients’ experiences of fasting:\n\n\nQuestionnaire: A 17-item digitally read questionnaire (Additional File 2: Table S2) was developed and given to all patients who consented to duration of fasting data collection. Patients could return completed questionnaires via a sealed box on the ward or in a postage-paid envelope.\n\nInterviews: Semi-structured audio-recorded interviews were conducted with patients from each Trust to explore their experiences of fasting, pre- and post-intervention. Ward staff identified potential patients for interview and the majority of patients were interviewed within three days post-operatively.\n  1. 2.\n\n    PDSA Facilitator and opinion leader experiences of implementation including activities, barriers and facilitators and perceived impact were collected through audio recorded semi-structured telephone interviews both pre- and post-intervention.\n\n  2. 3.\n\n    Key contact experiences of intervention implementation and impact including resource use were collected through audio-recorded semi-structured telephone interviews conducted pre- and three months post-intervention.\n\n  3. 4.\n\n    Staff experiences of fasting practice and any impacts of the study were collected through multi-professional audio recorded focus groups in a sample of the trusts that had been identified within each of the intervention arms as having made the largest change to fasting times, and those that had made the smallest/no/marginal change.\n\n  4. 5.\n\n    Organisational culture was evaluated through the administration of the Learning Organization Survey [38]. The questionnaire was distributed by local investigators to a convenience sample of doctors, nurses, health care assistants, operative department assistants and porters once pre-intervention period and once post-intervention.\n\n  5. 6.\n\n    Cost analysis of developing and implementing the three interventions from a national perspective (cost of rolling out a particular intervention across the NHS), and from the perspective of a single trust (cost of all activity and resource used by trust employees in implementation).\n\n\nSample size\n\nPower calculation\n\nThis was a complex, multi-level study design, including three intervention groups, fasting time being measured for each patient, with randomisation at Trust level.\n\nWhilst fasting time was measured in each patient, comparing fasting times before and after the intervention was done at the Trust (randomised unit) level. Because patients will generally only be in hospital for surgery at one timepoint we could not measure the effect of the intervention on fasting time within individual patients. The number of patients in that Trust whose fasting time was measured will affect the precision of the fasting time estimated for an individual hospital.\n\nThe sample size calculation was based on information from an audit of fasting time [28]. The study had 80% power to detect an effect size of 2 (a difference of 4 hours and SD 2 hours) with a two-sided 5% significance level, which required six Trusts in each of the three intervention groups. These calculations were carried out using the sample size calculator for one way ANOVA in MINITAB13.\n\nAt the time of designing the study, there was very little information published about average fasting time, beyond reports of fasting times of around 10 hours (e.g., Seymour [39] reported mean fasting times of 11.5 hours and 10.4 hours for elderly care patients), thus there was little on which to base for the sample size calculation. Given the apparent high reported mean and consistent claims of long fasting times, it appeared that we could be sure the mean fluid fasting time would substantially exceed the target of two hours prior to introduction of the guidelines. A national survey indicated traditional guidelines still prevailed [28]. If the additional effort of implementation beyond simply providing the guidelines is to be worthwhile, there needs to be a substantially greater reduction in fasting time and there was certainly scope for large impact. After the study had been designed, a report of fasting times for women having scheduled caesareans was published and reported a mean fluid fast of 11 hours (SD 3 hours) and a mean food fast of 13 hours (SD 2 hours) [40]. Breuer et al. [41] also found mean fluid fast times of 10 hours and mean food fast times of 15 hours. Given that current practice appeared to be so far away from the guideline recommendations, it seemed reasonable to expect the more intensive interventions would have a substantial impact on fasting time and would not otherwise be clinically worthwhile, hence a large effect size was used in the sample size calculation.\n\nThe project successfully recruited 19 Trusts. Trusts represented the four UK countries of England (15 Trusts), Scotland (2 Trusts), Wales (1 Trust) and Northern Ireland (1 Trust) and are referred to as Trust A, B, C et al. At each fasting time data collection point, a target of collecting fasting times from 40 patients was set.\n\n\nEach participating Trust was given an ID number. The randomisation schedule was computer-generated centrally and prepared by a statistician who was independent of the project team. Allocation was thus concealed and could not be foreseen in advance of, or during enrolment. Trusts were allocated to one of three implementation interventions, which resulted in six in two arms and seven in the other. Trusts were informed of their allocation by a project researcher as near as possible to the intervention period.\n\n\nBlinding of local investigators, research fellows or trust staff to interventions was not possible because the intervention required their active participation. Patients were aware of the study, but not informed of the intervention allocated to the trust.\n\n\nThis study was approved by a multi-site ethics committee (06/MRE01/20). It took approximately 12 months before all of the trusts gave local research governance approval.\n\n\nNumerical data\n\nDigitally read duration of fasting data sheets and patient experience questionnaires were scanned, saved as comma separated variable files (csv files), and then imported into SPSS version 14 where data were cleaned before analysis. Analysis was conducted at the cluster level; for each Trust, mean fasting times were calculated at each assessment timepoint. At each timepoint, the differences in mean fasting times between the three intervention groups were compared using analysis of variance (ANOVA). A repeated measure ANOVA across the timepoint means for all trusts, within each intervention group, was conducted. The trend coefficient was not significantly different to zero: there was no evidence of trend over time pre-or post-intervention [42] therefore data were combined across timepoints (1 to 4 and 5 to 8) and simple pre- and post-interventions comparisons were conducted using t-tests. The significance level used for all tests was 5%. The effect size was calculated for each of the web-based and PDSA interventions compared to SD for change in fluid fasting time between pre- and post-intervention. Confidence intervals for the effect size are based on a non-central t distribution [43].\n\nPatient experience questionnaires were analysed in SPSS using descriptive statistics, chi squared tests were used to compare characteristics pre- and post-intervention.\n\nLearning organization survey data were entered into Excel and a random sample of 10% of the data entry was quality checked before being exported into SPSS version 14. Descriptive and inferential statistics were conducted.\n\nQualitative data\n\nAudio-recorded individual and focus group interviews were transcribed in full. Data were analysed within data set and managed in N*DIST 5 (pre-intervention) and NVIVO 7 (post-intervention). A combined inductive and deductive thematic analysis process was used whereby a sub-set of transcripts within a data set (e.g., patient interviews pre-intervention) were analysed inductively by JC and CH and then an analysis framework developed with JRM, which was then applied to the remainder of the data in that set.\n\nThe theoretical framework guided the integration of findings across data sets.\n\n\nParticipants and data collected\n\nAll 188 acute trusts in the four countries were invited to participate. Trust chief executives, medical and nursing directors (Binleys database) were sent a letter of invitation. A total of 19 Trusts were recruited and remained in the trial. We have no reason to believe that the characteristics of participating Trusts were different from any other NHS Trusts. However, given their willingness to participate, we have to assume they have an interest and therefore motivation to want to do something about their fasting times, which may have made them atypical of other non-participating trusts. Data were collected between November 2006 and February 2009 at a time where the NHS was undergoing major reform under a previous administration (see Table 3 for data collected). Anecdotal feedback from some sites that made further enquiries, but who then did not participate, would suggest that engaging in an additional initiative at a time of change was not feasible for them. Seven trusts were allocated to SD, six to SD plus web-based resource championed by an opinion leader, and six to SD plus PDSA. One PDSA trust did not implement the intervention due to staff sickness.\nTable 3\n\nSummary of data collected across timepoints and intervention groups\n\n\nPre-Intervention (2007 to 2008)\n\nPost-Intervention (2008 to 2009)\n\n\nFood fast duration information\n\n\n\n\nFluid fast duration information\n\n\n\n\nPatient experience questionnaires\n\n\n\n\nLocal investigator audit\n\n\n\n\nInterviews with key contacts\n\n\n\n\nInterviews with facilitators and opinion leaders\n\n\n\n\nInterviews with participants who were both key contacts and facilitators or opinion leaders\n\n\n\n\nInterview with patients about their experiences\n\n\n\n\nCompleted Learning Organisation Surveys (LOS)\n\n\n\n\nFocus Group participants (in five groups)\n\n\n\n\nNot all trusts were able to collect data for all eight timepoints. Pre-intervention (because of lengthy governance procedures), three trusts had information from timepoint four only, four trusts had information from timepoints three and four, 12 trusts had information from more than two pre-intervention timepoints. Post-intervention, one trust had information from only one timepoint, one trust had information for two post-intervention timepoints, 17 trusts had information from more than two post-intervention timepoints.\n\nDuration of fluid and food fast pre- and post-intervention\n\nTrends over timepoints\n\nANOVA showed no significant difference in mean over time for either food or fluid fast time at any Trust pre-intervention and post-intervention. Additionally within each intervention group there was no evidence of a trend across time pre-or post-intervention (Table 4).\nTable 4\n\nIntervention group across pre-and post-intervention timepoints\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nStandard dissemination\n\np = 0.981\n\np = 0.951\n\np = 0.872\n\np = 0.160\n\nSD + web-resource/opinion leader\n\np = 0.410\n\np = 0.716\n\np = 0.536\n\np = 0.814\n\n\np = 0.958\n\np = 0.981\n\np = 0.748\n\np = 0.714\n\nPre-intervention fluid and food fasting times\n\nAcross all hospitals, information was gathered from 1,575 patients in total in the pre-intervention period (fluid fast time was missing for 135 patients and food fast time missing for 140 patients). There was no significant difference in the mean food fasting time across the four timepoints (ANOVA, p = 0.677), the overall mean food fasting time pre-intervention was 14.0 hours (95% CI 13.6, 14.4). Also, there was no significant difference in the mean fluid fasting time across the four timepoints (ANOVA, p = 0.877), the overall mean fluid fasting time pre-intervention was 9.63 hours (95% CI 8.67, 10.6). For 68.4% of patients the fluid fast exceeds six hours, and for 31.3% of patients it exceeds 12 hours in the pre-intervention period. The intracluster correlation for food fasting time pre-intervention was 0.027 and for fluid fasting was 0.12.\n\nPost-intervention fluid and food fasting times\n\nAcross all Trusts information was gathered from 1930 patients in total in the post-intervention period (fluid fast was missing for 169 patients and food fast for 153 patients post-intervention). There was no significant difference in the mean food fasting time across the four timepoints (ANOVA, p = 0.951) or in the mean fluid fasting time across the four timepoints (ANOVA, p = 0.311). The mean food fast was 14.3 hours (95% CI 13.8, 14.8) and mean fluid fast 8.72 hours (95% CI 7.87, 9.57).\n\nComparing the three intervention groups pre-and post-intervention\n\nIn the pre-intervention period there was no significant difference in the mean food fast time between interventions (ANOVA, p = 0.662). All the intervention groups appeared to be similar with regard to food fast. There was also no significant difference in the mean fluid fast time in the pre-intervention period across the intervention groups (ANOVA, p = 0.506).\n\nPost-intervention there was no significant difference in the mean food fast time between intervention groups (ANOVA, p = 0.641). In the post-intervention phase all the intervention groups appeared to be similar with regard to food fast. There was also no significant difference in the mean fluid fast time in the post-intervention period between the intervention groups (ANOVA, p = 0.751).\n\nThe mean food and fluid fasting times for each intervention group at both pre- and post-intervention are shown in Table 5 together with the change in mean food and fluid fasting time (from pre-intervention to post-intervention) within each intervention group. The changes within each intervention group are small. For mean food fast, using a generalised linear model, neither the intervention nor the variable indicating pre/post-intervention is significant; Figure 3 compares the pre- and post-intervention food fast data for each intervention group. Similarly for mean fluid fast, using a generalised linear model, neither the intervention nor the variable indicating pre/post-intervention is significant; Figure 4 compares the pre- and post-intervention fluid fast data for each intervention group. Considering the change in fluid fasting time, the effect size for the web-based intervention compared to SD alone is 0.33 (95% CI −0.78, 1.42) and for PDSA compared to SD alone is 0.12 (95% CI −0.97, 1.21). These are small effect sizes; neither intervention shows the substantial impact beyond SD that would be required to reduce the mean fluid fasting time close to that recommended in the guidelines. For all three intervention groups, the post-intervention mean fluid fast time remains substantially above the guideline recommendation of two hours. Indeed, for 62.7% of patients the fluid fast exceeds six hours (the recommendation for food fast) and for 27.9% of patients it exceeds 12 hours.\nTable 5\n\nMean food and fluid fasting times in hours with 95% confidence intervals for each intervention group pre- and post-intervention and for change in mean fasting time from pre-to post-intervention\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nStandard dissemination\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n(95% CI 13.2, 15.2)\n\n(95% CI 7.74, 12.5)\n\n(95% CI 13.4, 15.4)\n\n(95% CI 6.77, 11.2)\n\n(95% CI\n\n−1.08, 0.76)\n\n(95% CI −0.64, 2.96)\n\nSD + web resource/opinion leader\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n(95% CI 13.0, 14.6)\n\n(95% CI 7.27, 10.4)\n\n(95% CI 13.4, 15.7)\n\n(95% CI 6.92, 9.58)\n\n(95% CI −1.99, 0.52)\n\n(95% CI −1.06, 2.21)\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n(95% CI 13.5, 14.6)\n\n(95% CI 8.02, 11.7)\n\n(95% CI 12.9, 15.0)\n\n(95% CI 7.28, 10.5)\n\n(95% CI −1.13, 1.24)\n\n(95% CI −0.32, 2.23)\n\nAll intervention groups\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n(95% CI 13.7, 14.3)\n\n(95% CI 9.00, 10.2)\n\n(95% CI 13.9, 14.6)\n\n(95% CI 8.46, 9.36)\n\n(95% CI −0.80, 0.25)\n\n(95% CI 0.16, 1.66)\n\nFigure 3\n\nMean and 95% CI for food fast time for each intervention group comparing pre- and post-intervention results.\n\nFigure 4\n\nMean and 95% CI for fluid fast time for each intervention group comparing pre- and post-intervention results.\n\nSummary pre- and post-intervention fasting times\n\nBoth fluid and food duration of fasting data shows no significant change post-intervention for any of the three interventions. The effect sizes of the more intensive interventions compared to SD alone are small. Duration of fluid fast continues to substantially exceed the two-hour recommendation and food fast remains substantially longer than six hours regardless of the intervention used. Thus no particular intervention strategy was more effective than another.\n\nCost analysis\n\nA cost analysis of the three interventions was undertaken (see Additional File 3). Given that standard intervention was used in all three arms, the arm that received just standard intervention will by definition, have the lowest cost. One might assume this would be the most cost-effective intervention if the three approaches were shown to have equal effectiveness. Whilst the study did not detect a significant difference, it was not designed to demonstrate equivalence, and therefore it is not possible to say that SD is the most cost-effective approach. In fact, the variation in outcome within each intervention arm is likely to reflect the significant variation in activity, and therefore the resource use and cost, between the individual Trusts within each intervention arm.\n\nPatient experience\n\nFindings from the questionnaires (n = 2,284, of which 1,069 were pre-intervention and 1,215 were post-intervention) and interviews (n = 70) relate to provision of information, management of delay and symptoms of fasting.\n\nProvision of information\n\nInformation about fasting was provided at least once for 89% of patients pre-intervention and for 91.6% of patients post-intervention. Information was sent by the hospital before admission for 55.8% of patients in the pre-intervention period and for 55.9% of patients post-intervention. One-fifth of patients (19.7% pre-intervention and 23.4% post-intervention) had information provided during the pre-admission clinic, but did not have information sent to them. For about a tenth of patients (10.7% pre-intervention and 10.6% post-intervention), they reported information about stopping eating and drinking only being provided on admission to the ward.\n\nPatients liked clear consistent information, with repetitions being useful. Generally, patients were advised to fast as if they were going to be first on the list. Most patients reported ‘complying’ with instructions and in many cases were overly cautious by choosing to fast for longer than they needed to, 18.9% of patients pre-intervention and 18.1% post-intervention reported choosing to stop eating or drinking prior to their operation at different times to those recommended by the staff.\n\nManagement of delay\n\nInterview data showed that patients were tolerant of busy ward environments and often sympathetic to the need to prioritise the list order, sometimes rationalising that delays are due to emergencies or that organising the list is challenging. Patients reported being frustrated by not being reviewed if their operation was delayed.\n\nSymptoms of fasting\n\nApproximately one-half of the patients completing the survey (46.5% pre-intervention and 44% post-intervention) felt hungry before their operation, however, the majority of patients (70.7% pre-intervention and 65.4% post-intervention) experienced thirst.\n\nThe impact and process of implementation\n\nProcess evaluation data show a detailed picture of implementation processes within and across the 19 trusts and that the study impacted in other ways other than on the primary outcome. These findings are described below under the main elements of the conceptual framework: evidence, context, and facilitation.\n\n\nTable 6 summarises some of the impacts of the study had in trusts described by facilitators, opinion leaders and key contacts. The study may have had an impact on aspects of practice and service delivery that did not translate into changes to length of fast. Some of the influences on attempts to changing practice are outlined below (and will be described in detail in a separate publication).\nTable 6\n\nSummary of impact with examples\n\n\n\nPolicy changes and development\n\nSome trusts participating in the study had no Trust fasting policy. Some had fasting policies that were not consistent with guideline recommendations. For these trusts, the intervention period included the development of a policy (which in one Trust took six months to complete), and amending existing policy to ensure it was with the guideline recommendations.\n\nChanges to information given to patients pre-operatively\n\nSome trusts either developed or amended their patient information, including information provided in the letters that were sent to patients’ pre-operatively to make it clear what time individual patients could eat and drink up to (i.e., a move away from traditional block fasting rules), and what exactly terms such as ‘clear fluids’ meant.\n\nIntroducing new approaches to communicating individual fasting times\n\nExamples of different practical approaches to making patients and staff aware of the individual fasting times were reported. For example, the use of various tools to mark/record individual patient fasting times, such as paper cups, white boards and drug charts. Other practices included taking a more active approach to encouraging patients to drink up to two hours before anaesthesia.\n\nImproved communication\n\nSome staff reported that there had been improved communication between staff, and staff and patients about fasting times (although communication was also highlighted as a barrier to changing practice in some trusts).\n\nManagement of lists\n\nIn some trusts it was reported that there had been a review of operational list management to attempt to facilitate more individualised fasting times.\n\nRaising awareness of fasting\n\nIt was reported that the project raised practitioners’ awareness of fasting practice in their units through informal and formal education sessions, meetings, web-based resources, data collection, role modelling.\n\nDevelopment of individuals\n\nA number of staff reported personal and professional development as a result of taking on key contact and facilitator of PDSA roles.\n\n\nThe research underpinning the fasting recommendations could be judged as strong, coming from robust RCTs, and ‘badged’ by relevant UK Royal Colleges and Societies. Interview data suggests that most nursing and anaesthetists interviewed thought the evidence underpinning the recommendations was good and the guideline credible, for example:\n\n\"‘…I am quite happy about the evidence base … this guideline is not negotiable… you can’t say ‘well I don’t like this bit of it’…it’s based on best evidence.’ (Trust G, Key Contact and Change Agent [nurse])\"\n\nIssues were raised about the interpretation of some of the recommendations, such as what clear fluids meant, and the amount of water patients could drink.\n\nAnaesthetists’ reaction to the evidence base tended towards conservative behaviour, which seemed to be based on prior experience where lists had worked well using traditional fasting rules, for example:\n\n\"‘… Why the extra aggro if there’s a sudden change in the list…I’ve been doing it x years and I’ve never had a cancellation because of that.. I personally… modify the rules. If somebody turns up having had a jug of water and it’s only one hour and 45 minutes I’ll go ahead and anaesthetise them. Other guys will say…let’s cancel, postpone.’ (Trust L, Anaesthetist Key Contact and Change Agent)\"\n\n\nContextual factors were important influences on individual’s and trust’s capability to change practises in line with guideline recommendations, not least that it is challenging to change service delivery in a constantly changing environment. Three main findings are outlined here.\n\nInter-professional issues\n\nInter-professional relationships were a significant emergent theme across all data. This incorporated different professional approaches, leadership, power and hierarchical structures, and professional cultures. Although we did not set out to specifically explore professional culture data, findings show that fasting practice was influenced by how the disciplines functioned together, sometimes bringing them into conflict because they had different objectives, ways of working and power bases.\n\n\"‘… The fasting guidelines are… embedded in so many different cultures that – so many different aspects of the organisation that they really are quite difficult to change.’ (Trust R Anaesthetist PDSA Facilitator)\"\n\nThere was a professional struggle over fasting practice within Trusts. For example, one anaesthetist key contact (Trust J) sent out emails to medical staff promoting shorter fast times. Some of their colleagues replied ‘this is my theatre.’ Often, such behaviour resulted in nurses being caught in the middle of variances in practice between anaesthetists.\n\n\nLinked to inter-professional working, the nature and quality of communication between individuals, teams, and departments significantly impacted on fasting practice. In some trusts, communication between theatres and wards about delays was considered good. In others it was poor and seen as an area for improvement particularly with respect to revising and individualising fasting times.\n\n\"‘…We’ve had a phone call from theatre to say this patient’s been cancelled and you can feed and water them. Half an hour later we’ve had a phone call saying has she or he been fed and watered, she can go down so there’s been a big miscommunication or been told completely wrong....’ (Trust A Nurse, Focus group-SD)\"\n\nImplementation context\n\nThe response rates to the Learning Organization Survey were low (18% pre-intervention and 7.4% post-intervention) and therefore findings interpreted with caution. General features to emerge included that the organisations in this study were perceived to be highly structured, rule-based organisations. Over 50% of responders did not feel innovative ideas were rewarded, and fewer than 60% of the responders believed they are required to upgrade and increase their knowledge. Less than 50% of responders did not feel an integral part of their Trust.\n\n\nOpinion leaders and PDSA facilitators within two intervention arms had the potential to take on facilitation roles (‘making things easier’). In reality, the enactment of these roles varied and linked to activities rather than the model of facilitation/change agency of the intervention. As such, fidelity to interventions was variable and as a research team did not intervene in the intervention phase. Skills and attributes and activities are summarised in Tables 7 and 8.\nTable 7\n\nSkills and attributes of opinion leaders and facilitators\n\nAttribute or skill\n\n\n\nThrough their position (role) and their seniority they had the status and autonomy to influence colleagues and decide how to do this. This attribute may have been particularly important in this study where fasting practice was not particularly viewed as a clinical priority.\n\n\nOften specified as clinical credibility, which in turn commanded respect of colleagues.\n\nDrive, commitment, tenacity and enthusiasm\n\nTo see the project through and keep motivated and motivate others.\n\nChange management and practice development skills, including:\n\nThese skills were seen as important for identifying facilitators and barriers, handling difficult situations, understanding ‘where people are coming from,’ and leadership in practice change. Both opinion leaders and facilitators reported working with teams.\n\n· People management\n\n· Inter-professional working\n\n· Networking\n\n· Leadership\n\n· Education\n\nCommunication skills\n\nThe ability to communicate well was perceived as contributing to the effectiveness of the skills and attributes described above.\n\nTable 8\n\nImplementation activities\n\n\nHow operationalised\n\nUsing existing structures or initiatives\n\nFor example, adding a discussion of fasting times to pre-list theatre meetings introduced as part of The Health Foundation Safer Patient Initiative or adding some information giving process (verbal or written) to pre-assessment clinic appointments.\n\nDissemination of information\n\nDissemination of the guideline to staff either on the intranet, via email or paper copies or the placement of the algorithm poster on staff information boards.\n\nSharing examples of good practice\n\nHighlighting certain wards, departments and anaesthetists as role models.\n\nCollection of local data\n\nSome trusts collected data on fasting and/or patients’ views of fasting (separate from their involvement in the study).\n\nInformal and formal education\n\nUsing real time practice opportunities such as anaesthetic rounds to educate staff, and more formally through education sessions and web tool use.\n\nIdentifying local leaders to work with/delegate to\n\nIdentifying and working through others within trusts to lead on practice change such as anaesthetic nurses, theatre co-ordinators, and surgical care practitioners.\n\n\nWhilst the research evidence underpinning fasting recommendations was strong and relatively uncontested, its translation into practice was challenging. Overall, there was no significant change to fluid and food fasting times pre- and post-intervention and no significant differences between the effectiveness of the three implementations. There were some significant decreases in fluid fast times within trusts, but in two trusts there was a significant increase in either fluid or fast times. These data present a complex, but realistic picture of implementation within acute care settings where multiple people, teams, and departments are involved.\n\n\nThis study was a large and complex evaluation of implementation interventions within acute care, the findings of which are relevant to the international community. Evidence use can impact in different ways. The gap between changing behaviour or practice, and how a change in practice or behaviour then translates into a change in (patient) outcomes is notoriously challenging to achieve. Within this study, whilst we did not observe significant positive changes to the primary outcome of duration of fluid fasting, other types of impact were achieved, which can be mapped along the continuum of research use that includes changes to awareness, knowledge and understanding, attitudes, perceptions, ideas, and practice and policy changes [44]. For example, trusts’ involvement in the project had raised awareness of the issue of fasting locally. Data also show that some participants believed that attitudes and ideas towards local fasting practice had shifted and that the project had ‘kick-started’ ideas. In some trusts, new policies and procedures were developed and there were changes to fasting practice. However, these impacts were not enough to result in changes to fasting outcomes over the time period studied. Methodologically, if we accept that evidence can have different types of impact, this raises questions about how these should/could be captured within implementation projects. There have been calls for ensuring that process evaluations are embedded within trials [10], and this study demonstrates why theory-led evaluation is important. Using theory facilitates a better understanding of impacts and outcomes, including and understanding of what, why, and how [45]\n\nProcess data show that the most influential mediators of practice change were inter-professional issues/tensions and communication, and a lack of clarity for the authority and responsibility for local fasting decisions (e.g., when operating lists changed). These issues were evident irrespective of the allocation to intervention. Theoretically, the PDSA intervention had the potential to diagnose and ameliorate these issues, however within this study facilitator activities undertaken were more project related (e.g., arranging education meetings) than process orientated (e.g., teambuilding) [46, 47]. Future change strategies in this area of practice would benefit from a focus on effective team working. More generally, there is still much to learn about what ‘good enough’ facilitation is, and what might work in different situations.\n\nTheoretically, we had anticipated that more active interventions might have a greater impact than a passive strategy alone. Our findings suggest the effect size of the more active interventions compared to SD alone is small, thus supporting previous assertions that passive and simple interventions, may be as effective as active, and multi-faceted ones [10]. However, process data provide some more explanation. Closer analysis of the trust that made the greatest change to fasting times, for example, shows they were disappointed to have been allocated to SD, there was an existing commitment by the hospital to reduce fasting times, there was targeted and active dissemination of the guideline to relevant parts of the organisation, a number of key stakeholders took a leadership role in championing the issue, and the key contact led on multiple implementation related activities. These findings are supported by published studies showing that strategic buy-in, leadership, and active strategies may all be essential ingredients for successful implementation [31, 48, 49].\n\nAs researchers, our ability to ‘control’ intervention and implementation activities in this study was limited. Theoretically, the interventions were standardised in that all were ‘packaged’ and appropriate training provided. However, in reality, there was variability in the starting points of trusts (e.g., some had no fasting policy), and therefore a difference in how different components of the interventions were implemented. For example, all PDSA intervention trusts had a start-up meeting, but not all continued to meet regularly throughout the intervention period as planned in the intervention package because of difficulties securing time away from practice. Therefore, within this study there are important questions about intervention fidelity and whether relevant staff and departments had insufficient exposure to the implementation interventions. However, there are questions to ask about if, and how, you could control activities in studies that are undertaken in the reality of complex and unpredictable clinical environments where researchers are working at arm’s length with local clinical/research communities. Hawe et al. [50] suggest we pay attention to the function and process of the intervention, rather than the standardisation of the intervention components themselves. Identifying the essential functions of an intervention, for example, facilitation, and examining the evidence for a fit with the theory of facilitation would provide an alternative perspective on standardisation and fidelity.\n\nWithin this study, some theoretical integrity was achieved by applying a theoretical framework that guided implementation intervention development, evaluation activities and for providing explanation. As outlined earlier, the underlying ‘theory’ of PARIHS is that SI = f(E,C,F). If we test the proposition with the findings of this study, the component that does not stand up to scrutiny is evidence. Fasting practice has a robust research evidence base, which was generally accepted by those participating in this study. Previous research has indicated that where there is strong research evidence, about which there is clinical consensus it is more likely to be used in practice [17, 18]. In this study, the mediating effect of context (particularly the effect that teams and professional groups had on operating list management) was stronger, and facilitative activities used in this study did not overcome these.\n\n\nThe interrupted time series did not have all data at all timepoints for all trusts, mainly due to the delays in getting research governance approval from participating Trusts. However, because there were no significant time trends pre-or post-intervention, and thus all four pre-and all four post-timepoints were combined, the impact of this missing data was minimised.\n\nThe primary outcome was duration of fluid fast prior to induction of anaesthesia. This together with food fast time was collected by the local investigator asking patients when they last drank and ate, supported by data in patients’ notes. It is possible the times recorded were not always recalled or recorded completely accurately.\n\nThe intervention period was six months, which limited the amount of activity that was possible before post-intervention outcome data was collected. The four post-intervention timepoints did not show any trends over time, suggesting that a longer intervention period may not have led to improved fasting times. However, evidence is lacking about how long an intervention period is needed to make changes to practice and service delivery, particularly ones that sustain.\n\nThe size of this study—19 Trusts split over three intervention groups—may be seen as a limitation. The study was designed to be adequately powered to detect an effect size that was large because the evidence available at the time of designing the trial suggests fluid fasting times are far too long and would need to reduce substantially more for the intensive intervention than by SD if the effort required was to have an impact on fluid fasting time that was beneficial to patients.\n\nAs a cluster trial, to have a substantial impact on the power of the study would require additional Trusts, not simply more observations within the existing Trusts. However, to recruit and maintain Trusts in a study of this type is complex, costly, and very time-onsuming. The evidence from surveys suggests that fluid fasting times have not substantially decreased since the guidelines were published and disseminated in 2004 [39, 40]; thus, our assumption that fluid fasting time needs to substantially reduce is still supported by other studies. Whilst it is important in designing studies to be realistic about the effect size that can be achieved, we also need to strive to detect effects of clinical worth not simply those that are statistically significant. The more intensive interventions considered in this study would need to show a substantial reduction in fluid fasting time beyond that of SD to be of noticeable benefit to patients.\n\nIntervention fidelity was difficult to ensure and evaluate. We were aware that different teams implemented their intervention in different ways, and we attempted to capture this through the process evaluation. For example, some PDSA groups appeared to follow the process closely, others were less engaged and followed it in a more ad hoc manner. Thus, the intervention ‘dose’ is likely to be different between the groups. As a pragmatic RCT, tailoring of interventions is a recognised component [51] and viewed as making the intervention more feasible to implement in the real world.\n\n\nThis study is one of the first national RCTs with an embedded process evaluation conducted within acute care in the field of implementation research. Evaluating implementation in the context of fasting practice provided a useful vehicle with which to expose some of the general issues and challenges faced when implementing evidence into practice. The issues uncovered in this study have important international implications because they have helped to further articulate the complex processes embedded in implementation as well as its evaluation.\n\nThere are a set of conditions and antecedents for implementation that emerge from the findings of this study, which we have developed into a number of propositions:\n  1. 1.\n\n    Implementation is more likely to be successful in cases where the topic/issue is a strategic and organisational priority. If the issue is not a priority, the active engagement of individuals and departments is mediated by for example, a lack of dedicated human and financial resource, and resultant implementation will be patchy.\n\n  2. 2.\n\n    A historical lack of clear leadership, structure, and process for local guideline dissemination and implementation, in which staff are unclear about their responsibilities, will negatively impact on an organisation’s ability to routinely use guideline recommendations.\n\n  3. 3.\n\n    Robust and believable evidence is not always sufficient to change decision making and practice, therefore implementation interventions and efforts need to extend beyond individual decision making (at least for certain clinical topics) and take account of the systemic interconnections between individuals, teams and organisations.\n\n  4. 4.\n\n    In areas where there is more effective teamwork with clear communication, practice change will be easier to achieve.\n\n  5. 5.\n\n    New improvement and implementation projects have a higher chance of success if they are embedded into existing programmes and structures.\n\n  6. 6.\n\n    Change agent effectiveness is a function of the protected space and dedicated time to fulfil the role, i.e., it has to be part of the ‘day job.’\n\n  7. 7.\n\n    Change agents will be more effective if they have people management skills, work collaboratively, handle difficult situations and people with diplomacy, understand where people ‘are coming from,’ develop and motivate a team, including effective and considerate delegation of work, using team members skills well. This is a skilled role at which some excel, and some find more challenging.\n\n  8. 8.\n\n    Evaluations of implementation interventions that capture different types of impacts over the course of the study/programme are more likely to provide a realistic picture of knowledge use, and intended and unintended consequences. Clearly, how one proceeds to evaluate these impacts will be dependent on the definition of knowledge and use.\n\n  9. 9.\n\n    Complex interventions such as implementation interventions need to be deconstructed to gain a greater understanding of the linkages between the active components/mechanisms of action and the impact on both process and summative outcomes.\n\n\nIt is likely that these propositions will be theoretically transferable to other implementation studies, particularly when considered alongside the growing empirical and theoretical evidence base about the successful ingredients for successful implementation.\n\n\n\nThe authors gratefully acknowledge funding of this research from The Health Foundation’s Engaging with Quality Initiative. Results and opinions expressed are those of the investigators and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or policies of The Health Foundation. We also wish to thank the many local investigators, change agents and patients that took part in this study: Sarah Davis (working at National Clinical Guidelines Centre for Supporting Care at the time of the study) for conducing the economic analysis; and Ross Scrivener (RCN) for his support with the development of the web-based resource, including training.\n\nAuthors’ Affiliations\n\nCentre for Health Related Research, School of Healthcare Sciences, Bangor University\nRCN Research Institute, School of Health and Social Studies, Warwick University\nFaculty of Health and Social Care, London South Bank University\nCochrane Collaboration\nNational Clinical Guideline Centre (NCGC), Royal College of Physicians\nformer President of the Royal College of Anaesthetists\n\n\n  1. Eccles MP, Armstrong D, Baker R, Cleary K, Davies H, Davies S, Glasziou P, Ilott I, Kinmonth A, Leng G, Logan S, Marteau T, Michie S, Rogers H, Rycroft-Malone J, Sibbald B: An implementation research agenda. Implement Sci. 2009, 4: 18-10.1186/1748-5908-4-18.View ArticlePubMedPubMed CentralGoogle Scholar\n  2. Grol R: Successes and failures in the implementation of evidence-based guidelines for clinical practice. Medical Care. 2001, 39 (8 Suppl 2): 1146-1154.Google Scholar\n  3. Seddon ME, Marshall MN, Campbell SM, Roland MO: Systematic review of studies of quality of clinical care in general practice in the UK, Australia and New Zealand. Qual Health Care. 2001, 10 (3): 152-8. 10.1136/qhc.0100152.View ArticlePubMedPubMed CentralGoogle Scholar\n  4. McGlynn EA, Asch SM, Adams J, Keesey J, Hicks J, DeCristofaro A, Kerr EA: The quality of care delivered to adults in the United States. N Engl J Med. 2003, 348 (26): 2635-2645. 10.1056/NEJMsa022615.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar\n  5. Sheldon TA, Cullum N, Dawson D, Lankshear A, Lowson K, Watt I, West P, Wright D, Wright J: What’s the evidence that NICE guidance has been implemented? Results from a national evaluation using time series analysis, audit of patients’ notes, and interviews. Br Med J. 2004, 329 (7473): 999-10.1136/bmj.329.7473.999.View ArticleGoogle Scholar\n  6. Leatherman S, Sutherland K, Airoldi M: Bridging the Gap: Stroke. 2008, The Health Foundation, London,,Google Scholar\n  7. Rycroft-Malone J, Fontenla M, Bick D, Seers K: A realistic evaluation: The case of protocol-based care. Implement Sci. 2010, 5: 38-10.1186/1748-5908-5-38.View ArticlePubMedPubMed CentralGoogle Scholar\n  8. Bero LA, Grilli R, Grimshaw JM, Harvey E, Oxman AD, Thomson MA: Closing the gap between research and practice: an overview of systematic reviews of interventions to promote the implementation of research findings. The Cochrane Effective Practice and Organization of Care Review Group. BMJ. 1998, 317 (7156): 465-8.PubMedGoogle Scholar\n  9. Thomas LH, McColl E, Cullum N, Rousseau N, Soutter J: Clinical guidelines in nursing, midwifery and the therapies: a systematic review. J Adv Nurs. 1999, 30: 40-50. 10.1046/j.1365-2648.1999.01047.x.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar\n  11. Thompson D, Estabrooks CA, Scott Findlay S, Moore K, Wallin L: Interventions aimed at increasing research use in nursing: a systematic review. Implement Sci. 2007, 2: 15-10.1186/1748-5908-2-15.View ArticlePubMedPubMed CentralGoogle Scholar\n  12. Hakkennes S, Dodd K: Guideline implementation in allied health professions: a systematic review of the literature. Qual Saf Health Care. 2008, 17 (4): 296-300. 10.1136/qshc.2007.023804.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar\n  13. Schouten LM, Hulscher ME, van Everdingen JJ, Huijsman R, Grol RP: Evidence for the impact of quality improvement collaboratives: systematic review. BMJ. 2008, 336 (7659): 149-4.View ArticleGoogle Scholar\n  14. Godfrey CM, Harrison MB, Graham ID: A review of the use of outcome measures of evidence-based practice in guideline implementation studies in nursing, allied health professions and medicine. Evaluating the impact of implementing evidence-based practice. Edited by: Bick D, Graham ID. 2010, Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford, 189-200.Google Scholar\n  15. Wallin L: Knowledge translation and implementation research in nursing. Int J Nurs Stud. 2009, 46 (4): 576-587. 10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2008.05.006.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar\n  16. McNulty T, Ferlie E: Re-engineering Health Care: The complexities of organizational transformation. 2002, Oxford University Press, OxfordGoogle Scholar\n  17. Dopson S, Fitzgerald L: Knowledge into Action. 2005, Oxford University Press, OxfordView ArticleGoogle Scholar\n  18. Dopson S, Fitzgerald L, Ferlie E, Gabbay J, Locock L: No magic targets! Changing clinical practice to become more evidence based. Health Care Manage Rev. 2002, 27 (3): 35-47.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar\n  19. Estabrooks CA, Squires JE, Hutchinson AM, Cummings GG, Scott S, Kang SH, Stevens B, Midodzi WK: Assessment of variation in the Alberta Context Tool: The contribution of unit level contextual factors and practice specialty in Canadian paediatric acute care settings. BMC Health Serv Res. 2011, 11: 251-10.1186/1472-6963-11-251.View ArticlePubMedPubMed CentralGoogle Scholar\n  20. Rycroft-Malone J, Kitson A, Harvey G, McCormack B, Seers K, Titchen A, Estabrooks CA: Ingredients for change: Revisiting a conceptual framework. Qual Saf Health Care. 2002, 11: 174-180. 10.1136/qhc.11.2.174.View ArticlePubMedPubMed CentralGoogle Scholar\n  21. ASA: Practice guidelines for preoperative fasting and the use of pharmacological agents for the prevention of pulmonary aspiration: application to healthy patients undergoing elective procedures. Anaesthesiology. 1999, 90: 896-905. 10.1097/00000542-199903000-00034.View ArticleGoogle Scholar\n  22. AAGBI: Pre-operative assessment. The role of the anaesthetist. Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland. 2001,,Google Scholar\n  23. Brady M, Kinn S, Stuart P: Preoperative fasting for adults to prevent perioperative complications. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2003, 4: Available from: Google Scholar\n  24. RCN/RCoA: Perioperative fasting in adults and children: Clinical Practice guidelines. 2005, Royal College of Nursing, LondonGoogle Scholar\n  25. Kluger MT, Willemsen G: Anti-aspiration prophylaxis in New Zealand: a national survey. Anaesth Intensive Care. 1998, 26 (1): 70-7.PubMedGoogle Scholar\n  26. Fasting S, Søreide E, Raeder JC: Changing preoperative fasting policies. Impact of a national consensus. Acta Anaesthesiol Scand. 1998, 42 (10): 1188-91. 10.1111/j.1399-6576.1998.tb05275.x.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar\n  27. Ferrari LR, Rooney FM, Rockoff MA: Preoperative fasting practices in pediatrics. Anesthesiology. 1999, 90 (4): 978-80. 10.1097/00000542-199904000-00008.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar\n  28. Hebballi R, Desai PJ, Jürgens S: Pre-operative fluid fasting for adult elective surgery. Anaesthesia. 2002, 57: 308-View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar\n  29. Sutherland AD, Stock JG, Davies JM: Effects of preoperative fasting on morbidity and gastric contents in patients undergoing day-stay surgery. Br J Anaesth. 1986, 58: 876-878. 10.1093/bja/58.8.876.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar\n  30. Smith AF, Vallance H, Slater RM: Shorter preoperative fluid fasts reduce postoperative emesis. BMJ. 1997, 314 (7092): 1486a-View ArticleGoogle Scholar\n  31. Rycroft-Malone J, Harvey G, Seers K, Kitson A, McCormack B, Titchen A: An exploration of the factors that influence the implementation of evidence into practice. J Clin Nurs. 2004, 13: 913-924. 10.1111/j.1365-2702.2004.01007.x.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar\n  32. Locock L, Dopson S, Chambers D, Gabbay J: Understanding the role of opinion leaders in improving clinical effectiveness. Soc Sci Med. 2001, 53: 745-757. 10.1016/S0277-9536(00)00387-7.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar\n  33. Grimshaw JM, Eccles MP, Greener J, Maclennan G, Ibbotson T, Kahan JP, Sullivan F: Is the involvement of opinion leaders in the implementation of research findings a feasible strategy?. Implement Sci. 2006, 1: 3-10.1186/1748-5908-1-3.View ArticlePubMedPubMed CentralGoogle Scholar\n  34. Jacobson N, Goering P: Credibility and credibility work in knowledge transfer. Evidence and Policy. 2006, 2 (2): 1151-65.View ArticleGoogle Scholar\n  35. Langley GJ, Nolan KM, Nolan TW, Norman CL, Provost LP: The Improvement Guide. 2006, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CAGoogle Scholar\n  36. Baker R, Camosso-Stefinovic J, Gillies C, Shaw EJ, Cheater F, Flottorp S, Robertson N: Tailored interventions to overcome identified barriers to change: effects on professional practice and health care outcomes. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2010, 10.1002/14651858.CD005470.pub2. No.: CD005470Google Scholar\n  37. Iles V, Cranfield S: Managing change in the NHS: Developing change management skills. 2004, NIHR SDO Programme, LondonGoogle Scholar\n  38. Goh SC, Quon TK, Cousins JB: The Organizational Learning Survey: A re-evaluation of unidimensionality. Psychol Rep. 2007, 101: 707-721.PubMedGoogle Scholar\n  39. Seymour S: Preoperative fluid restrictions: hospital policy and clinical practice. Br J Nurs. 2000, 9: 925-930.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar\n  40. Crenshaw JT, Winslow EH: Actual versus instructed fasting times and associated discomforts in women having scheduled cesarean birth. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecological and Neonatal Nursing. 2006, 35: 257-264. 10.1111/j.1552-6909.2006.00029.x.View ArticleGoogle Scholar\n  41. Breuer JP, Bosse G, Prochnow L, Seifert S, Langelotz C, Wassilew G, Francios-Kettner H, Polze N, Spies C: Reduced preoperative fasting periods. Der Anaesthesist. 2010, 59: 607-613. 10.1007/s00101-010-1736-4.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar\n  42. Ramsey CR, Matowe L, Grilli R, Grimshaw JM, Thomas RE: Interrupted time series designs in health technology assessment: lessons from two systematic reviews of behaviour change strategies. Int J Technol Assess Health Care. 2003, 19: 613-623.Google Scholar\n  43. Cumming G: Understanding the new statistics, effect sizes, confidence intervals, and meta-analysis. 2012, Routledge, New YorkGoogle Scholar\n  44. Nutley SM, Walter I, Davies HTO: Using Evidence: How research can inform public services. 2007, Bristol, The Policy PressGoogle Scholar\n  45. Rycroft-Malone J: Theory and knowledge translation. Nurs Res. 2007, 56 (4S): S78-S85.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar\n  46. Harvey G, Loftus-Hills A, Rycroft-Malone J, Titchen A, Kitson A, McCormack B, Seers K: Getting evidence into practice: the role and function of facilitation. J Adv Nurs. 2002, 37 (6): 577-588. 10.1046/j.1365-2648.2002.02126.x.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar\n  47. Stetler CB, Legro M, Rycroft-Malone J, Bowman C, Curran G, Guihan M, Hagedorn H, Pineros S, Wallace CM, Stetler CB, Legro M, Rycroft-Malone J, Bowman C, Curran G, Guihan M, Hagedorn H, Pineros S, Wallace CM: Role of ‘external facilitation’ in the implementation of research findings: a qualitative evaluation of facilitation experiences in the Veterans Health Administration. Implement Sci. 2007, 1: 23-View ArticleGoogle Scholar\n  48. Stetler C, Ritchie J, Rycroft-Malone J, Schultz A, Charns M: Improving Quality ofCare through Routine. Successful Implementation of Evidence-based Practice at the Bedside: An Organizational Case Study Using the Pettigrew and Whipp Model of Strategic Change. Implement Sci. 2007, 2: 3-10.1186/1748-5908-2-3.View ArticlePubMedPubMed CentralGoogle Scholar\n  49. Greenhalgh T, Robert G, Macfarlane F, Bate P: Kyriakidou O:Diffusion of innovations in service organizations: systematic review and recommendations. Milbank Q. 2004, 82 (4): 581-629. 10.1111/j.0887-378X.2004.00325.x.View ArticlePubMedPubMed CentralGoogle Scholar\n  50. Hawe P, Sheill A, Riley T: Complex interventions: how ‘out of control’ can a randomised controlled trial be?. BMJ. 2004, 328: 1561-1563. 10.1136/bmj.328.7455.1561.View ArticlePubMedPubMed CentralGoogle Scholar\n  51. Thorpe KE, Zwarenstein M, Oxman AD, Treweek S, Furberg CD Altman DG, Tunis S, Bergel E, Harvey I, Magid DJ, Chalkidou K: A pragmatic-exploratory continuum indicator summary (PRECIS): a tool to help trial designers. CMAJ. 2009, 180: 10-10.1503/cmaj.090567.,View ArticleGoogle Scholar\n\n\n© Rycroft-Malone et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2012\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6955281496047974}
+{"content": "(817) 703-3319\n\nCommunication Breakdown\n\nCommunication breakdown! Has communication become almost impossible and you and your sweetheart fighting, fighting, fighting? That’s something that happens to most of us, and it’s not easy. In fact, it can be very scary, and upsetting. I’m going to offer some general tips that will most likely help.\n\nFirst of all, when things get upsetting and your anger goes from zero to sixty in half a second, you need to calm down.\nIf you keep trying to communicate in that state, it’s just going to turn into a brawl. When you’re that upset, communication is not going to happen. So, breathe. Calm down. Count to ten. Do what you have to do to manage your emotions. If it’s really bad, excuse yourself and go to the bathroom. Step away from the situation and calm down.\n\nSecondly, learn how to ask for what you want politely.\nYes, I know you’re married, but you still have to be civil to each other. Yes, I know you’re upset, but yelling and calling someone names is not going to work to your advantage. It’s not easy to ask for something politely if you are asking for something really important to you because when you ask you acknowledge that the other person can say no. It’s a vulnerable position to be in. True communication demands vulnerability. Otherwise, you are just issuing commands and acting like a frustrated child. Stop it. You are a grown up and you can learn to do this! I know it’s not easy when you are upset, but ask yourself this question: If you were in front of a judge and jury, could you behave yourself? Of course you could! That shows you that you have control over your behavior, even when you are very upset.\n\nThis is easier said than done, but an important point nonetheless. Try not to take everything personally. This is difficult to do when you are dealing with sensitive subjects and you feel unloved and unheard. Sometimes our emotions are not good indicators of what is really going on. The person you are trying to communicate or negotiate with may not be trying to hurt you at all. (S)he is just a very different person. And (s)he is allowed to be different.  Be kind to yourself and don’t take it personally. Also, allow yourself to have all the time you need to work on communication. It doesn’t all have to get settled in one conversation.\n\nThere really are skills involved in learning to communicate effectively.  You can learn to do this, and you can learn to do it well. Be patient with yourself and others, and remember that enlisting the help of a competent counselor is a good option.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8166249990463257}
+{"content": "Calculate a Repeated Multiplication\n\nCalculator for the repeated multiplication or division, e.g. doubling, triplication, bisection. This is called potentiation. A start value is is multiplied by a value b, for instance doubled (b=2) or divided in half (b=0.5). This happens c times in a row. A table with all the intermediate results and the end result is shown or only the end result.\n\nStart value a:\nFactor b:\nRepeats c:\n\nShow each step Only show end result\n\nRound to decimal places.\n\nThe formula for the potentiation is: xc = a * b c\n\nA doubling with the start value 1, the power of two, occurs frequently, like at cell division or for computer memory. This is preselected as an example.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9161058664321899}
+{"content": "Paula McLoughlin - A Convergence of North and South #8\n\n\n'A Convergence of North & South #8'\n\n\n\nEdition 5/5\n\n\n\n'I have fallen in with icebergs.\n\nI was given a view of Antarctica though someone else’s eyes, and then I went to the Arctic Circle. That clinched it. Icebergs have a gravitas and a menace; they are beautiful, dangerous and unpredictable like the bad boys & girls that always look so inviting, there is something much deeper and hidden.\n\nThere is history in that ice, slowly traveling through the oceans and dissolving. Icebergs are like looking into the night sky, we only see things now, things that are long gone, icebergs are an encapsulated history, the past revealing itself momentarily and then disappearing into the sea.\n\nTheir bold nonchalance hides their fragility and instability – they are one of our canaries\n\nThe exhibition A Convergence of North & South is a series of prints constructed of the icy elements of the southern and northern tips of the earth, floating in a made up sea. The images are constructed of layers of dots or colours, a representation of the conundrum that surrounds an object that is so solid and architectural but just dissolves. An object that, when held in the hand is clear but shows off so much colour when seen from a distance.\n\nSee, I had fallen in with icebergs.'", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7434377074241638}
+{"content": "Comino Couture “Ready to Bloom” long sleeved dress\n\nOur striking “ready to bloom” dress highlights a gorgeous floral pattern on a black background. With long sleeves this dress is perfect for those winter days out or seasonal evening parties.\n\nTrue to size\n\n\n\nHow To Measure\n\nHow to measure\n\n\n  1. Bust - Measure around fullest part\n  2. Waist - Measure around natural waistline\n  3. Hips - Measure 20cm down from the natural waistline\n\n\nCare instructions - Hand wash cold", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8182029724121094}
+{"content": "Tara horary astrology software\n\nTara horary astrology software primary Numerology\n\nTake tara horary astrology software account vitality forecasts like a climate prediction - rain and snow affect your day - or week, proper. inside ohrary early nineties and a notable philanthropist. The provision of all vitality is God, or Solar as His image and the actual supply of bodily vitality wished for all occasions. All these natural parts may be current in Smart pure merchandise. Also, attempt to play the amount (9) horse; It is vitally potential that a (9) or (18) will attainable be astrolgoy to you in your astrilogy performs. Calculate all essential numerology numbers, expression charts, numerology cycles and far more. By means of it, the health practitioner evaluates the dimensions and tars place of the vagina, cervix, uterus, and ovaries. Don't be. Others advocate that it's as a result of these males are merely further passionate. An Aries girl is a creature of her private ideas, and sometimes will get caught up on the nuances horaey her personal id and life targets. You uncover that you just just simply and your pet are going to be caught with this title for a very very rising sign astrology meaning very long time, so take your astrolog when deciding on. Jupiter In Leo. Since ages, numerology has been collaborating in an obligatory perform tara horary astrology software over the place in our lives. Hello i have been dwelling within the UK for fara a little july 11 birthday astrology profile 9 years tara horary astrology software of now and revel in writing about romance sometimes for horart. In a single other chinese astrology water dog 2016, it may hlrary nicely be tara horary astrology software vedic astrology southern california. Though infants can not see or uorary very effectively for a number of months after birth, they'll see basic outlines, shapes and vibrant tara horary astrology software. So suppose your title is Edward, that is how you possibly can possibly softwar 5four519428. You usually tend to spend an excessive period of time in your private fantasy world. I nonetheless have IOC with me. Asstrology case you is extra more prone to be moreover in precise love with anyone, and will know that what you might be eager on life holds for you contained within the approaching time, you'll should pay money in your associated predications of affection horoscope. Which signifies that any of the subsequent days paranormal activity 2 gross earnings considerably lucky for you every month: the 4th, thirteenth, twenty second, and the 31st day of the month. During age-outdated cultures there were numerous methods that people would use to calculate when a being pregnant was due. It would work by way of tara horary astrology software sequence and your Life Path is astorlogy unique 12 months quantity. The attorney additionally calls every bank with the home-owner's authorization to see if the lenderfinancial institution will enable a third get together illustration as part of the pre- qualifying session. For example, if you are comparing a Libran to an Arian, you will get a a quality result of double cardinal, and an air and hearth factor. MetLifes annuities are available with optional residing benefit riders for an additional charge. 2's thrive on one on one interactions and the 1's love the highlight. Odor like an actual woman by way of the use of precise astrology in horoscopes pheromone. Counting on within the occasion you had been born early or late throughout the fluctuate of days in Cancer, the matching days in the part of the Moon are lucky for you. Numerology Amount 2: You is likely to be delicate, delicate, cooperative, tactful, diplomatic, affected explicit particular person, trustworthy, harmonious, ingenious, emphatic, intuitive, supportive, loving, humble and peaceful. This gives you a barely adtrology required romantic contact to your relationship. As a result of this fact, when astrooogy become wanting to search out out about their future, search the recommendation of a numerologist. If an astrologer finds any planet malefic, acceptable remedy for that planet(s) ought to be performed. Numerology three is the Triad, because it has a starting, center, tara horary astrology software end. For an actor or different person who takes on a stage or pen identify, their stage title or pen horaty is crucial assuming they use it astrolovy the time. It is asking you in case you are taea happythe course your life on the whole goes. And I found it consideration-grabbing that the tara horary astrology software astrology, it is a Greek phrase, which suggests science of the celebs. Aside from the skilled advice, gained out of experience, he would possibly give them printed tales and that is sure to impress the shoppers to an unbelievable extent. This title will channel your life into new instructions, which can both improve the traits of your distinctive blueprint or not. On account tara horary astrology software they're every air indicators, they'll get collectively pretty properly. The course of your life finds a further serene mode, extra in settlement together collectively together with your inside operation. Love songs. Neptune represents an individual's ideals and creativeness, the breaking of psychic boundaries and bringing about a sense of harmony with the universe. And it's not respectful to scoff at such issues. While you've obtained this Tara horary astrology software amount and pursue your Life path, you may obtain a position of management in the world. We specialize in this astrllogy methodology, the one prerequisite to birthday 24 january astrology is that you simply just be taught the information we offer with an open coronary coronary heart and discerning mind. Astrologers usually discover it tough to learn this home because of the wants of the clients are very non-public. Epson started creating and promoting dot-matrix printers to the American market soon after. Your ' Delivery Number' and 'Title Quantity' can inform you numerous about who you might be, tara horary astrology software drives and motivates you, what are your abilities and what is the function of your life. They excel in speaking and writing.\n\n\n\n20.11.2014 at 09:12 Taurisar:\n\n25.11.2014 at 15:38 Vilrajas:\nYou have hit the mark.\n\n03.12.2014 at 23:00 Kajiramar:\n\n08.12.2014 at 09:15 Sagar:\n\n16.12.2014 at 00:49 Tek:\n\n17.12.2014 at 20:57 Grosar:\n\n27.12.2014 at 14:18 Akit:\nAnd variants are possible still?\n\n05.01.2015 at 17:41 Malataxe:\nWhat do you advise to me?\n\n12.01.2015 at 13:58 JoJokazahn:\nIt is remarkable, very amusing message\n\n21.01.2015 at 07:12 Akigul:", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5797151327133179}
+{"content": "\"The Communications World For The Everyday Person\"\n\n\nI started my own business, Ground Flow Communications, back in 2009 while still working as a pharmacy technician at a grocery store.\n\n\nAnd it wasn’t until 2016, 7 long years later, where I finally worked out the bugs to my plan and website.\n\n\nLike a lot of DIY 9-to-5 people, I wanted my own.\n\n\nTo be my own boss, have my own place, and make my own money. Simple.\n\nBut not so simple, LOL…\n\n\nYou see, I already had an idea of what my business and brand could be, and even a plan that was working but had not gotten enough time and attention.\n\n\nI was always constantly working on other people’s projects and platforms, hoping (and praying) that my portfolio would be able to speak for itself. But even then, I was always seen as “the guy who knows a lot and just pushes buttons on keyboards”, and struggled to break out of that box.\n\n\n\n\nI’m The Soul Man, Idasa Tariq, and I teach “everyday people” how to use the internet to their benefit. The best way I’ve found to do this is by using the strategies and ideologies I’ve picked up from the grocery, retail and music industries.\n\n\n\nI answer the questions you have about all this “I need to be poppin’ online” stuff in an easy and logical way, so you don’t have to spend the years like myself and countless others have in making your own money and leaving the 9-to-5 behind.\n\nWant to get started on your journey out of the 9-to-5 and put that noodle of yours to your own benefit? Let’s go!", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7246153354644775}
+{"content": "Follow Us on\n\n“Flow Down” Provision Gives Mortgage Priority over Mechanic’s Lien\n\n\nBy Mary Leigh Pirtle\n\nIn one case, a lender’s mortgage was deemed to have priority over a number of subcontractors’ mechanic’s liens due to a flow down clause in the subcontractors’ contracts. This resulted in a $9 million loss for the subcontractors on a commercial construction project in Ohio.\n\nThe lender loaned the owner approximately $90 million in funding for the project under a construction loan, which required approval before any draws were made. After nearly $45 million had been approved and disbursed to the general contractor and subcontractors, the lender became concerned with the financial viability of the owner and chose not to approve any additional draws on the construction loan. Unaware that the lender had pulled funding, the subcontractors continued work on the project and racked up $9 million in unpaid labor and materials before the owner advised them to suspend all work. As a result of the unpaid labor and materials, the subcontractors filed mechanics liens.\n\nMechanic’s Liens vs. Mortgages\nSoon after, the lender filed a complaint to foreclose the mortgage and appoint a receiver. In response, the subcontractors claimed the mechanic’s liens had priority status over the lender’s mortgage. The lender argued that the subcontractors contractually agreed to subordinate any lien claims to the lender’s construction mortgage, so they had waived any claim to priority. The lender based its argument on contracts executed between the owner and the general contract. These contracts included subordination clauses that stated the contractor and subcontractors agreed to subordinate any and all security interests and liens. The subcontractors argued that the general nature of the subordination clauses were not binding because they did not contain specific language incorporating the contracts into the subcontracts. In essence, they argued their contracts did not contain a flow down clause so they never agreed to subordinate any of their liens.\n\nFlow down clause determines priority\n\nHowever, after reviewing the subcontracts, the court noted that the specific language was not needed in the subordination provisions because the subcontracts contained a flow down clause. The court reasoned that when a flow down clause is used in a subcontract, the subcontract is not required to contain additional specific language of incorporation in order to impose a general contractor’s duties onto a subcontractor. The court noted these flow down provisions are routinely used in construction subcontracts to create obligations between the subcontractor and the general contractor consistent with the obligations between the contractor and the project owner.\n\nAfter analyzing the contract provisions, the court determined that the flow down clause was clear and unambiguous and was drafted broadly enough to bind the subcontractors to the subordination provisions included in the contract between the general contractor and the owner. Basically, the court held that the flow down provision should be read to place the subcontractor in the same position in relation to the general contractor as the general contractor was to the owner. Therefore, the general contractor’s agreement to subordinate any of his potential liens bound the subcontractors to the same provision, which meant the subcontractors were not entitled to the $9 million in unpaid labor and materials until the lender received its fair share from the owner.\n\n\nThis case underscores the importance and impact of flow down clauses in construction contracts. Regardless of the size of the project, it is necessary to thoroughly review all other contracts and related materials that impose additional obligations through such a clause.\n\n\nAdd comment\n\nSecurity code", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6128721237182617}
+{"content": "The Effects of New Technology in Human Lives\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPersonal Skills & Technology - A Perfect Partnership to Assist Special Needs People in the Workforce\n\nScience and technology continue to produce a wealth of creative assistive devices, specialized products and unique services that make work and life easier for all people, especially the challenged. As a result, a previously somewhat marginalized group of the workforce is now able to operate on an almost equal footing with the rest of the working population. Combine enhanced personal skills with the assistive devices and the combination is very powerful.\n\nIt is now possible for many disabled and challenged people to enter the workforce and do almost anything that a \"normal\" person does. There is a growing number of employees who have learning disabilities, reactions, syndromes, and other physical and mental challenges but their assistive devices allow them to operate at a high level despite their difficulties. Assistive technology allows them to put more time and energy into thinking and producing instead of just surviving.\n\nBusinesses and corporations often choose to have employees engage in staff development. However, learning must be selected carefully because so much of current knowledge, facts, methods and processes is outdated and obsolete. The best choice for staff development is personal skills training. This is especially true for those employees with physical and mental challenges.\n\nThe workforce can conceivably expand dramatically if a difficult question is posed, \"How can special needs people be helped to better fit into the whole scheme of things?\" There is a positive answer.\n\nSkills are more valuable than ever in the struggle to get people to work more efficiently, rebuild and revamp our economies, and save the planet in general. Skills don't get old and obsolete. Advanced technology and personal skills become perfect partners in helping special needs people contribute positively despite challenges.\n\nFor challenged and disabled people, emphasis should be on determining and strengthening their skill set. Assistive devices can then be used to help the skills grow.\n\nAnalytical skills, creativity and problem-solving are strongly empowering and are prized abilities in all areas of the workforce. Having a head full of facts and figures has become of lesser value. Knowing \"how to\" do things is more important. The above skills are not just for able people. They can be taught to anybody at any age and at almost any ability. The difference between being able or disabled is far less when assistive devices are employed.\n\nPersonal skills training produces competency and helps people become independent, self-directed learners. When processing skills are strengthened and applied to knowledge and facts, the result is better products and outcomes. Assistive technology enables and extends the expression of learned skills. It can greatly increase speed of acquisition, expression in various media forms, and ultimately the value of outcomes or products.\n\nEducators are vital in discovering and nurturing physical and intellectual skill sets of young children. Special education students learn to use learned skills and technology to achieve many more goals and compete more effectively for their place in the upcoming \"new\" revamped world. With assistive devices, more can dream of becoming proud, full-fledged, viable members of the workforce. Assistive devices give the most severely challenged people increased mobility and more ways to communicate their ideas more effectively.\n\nThe following are some of the personal skills that every person - challenged or not - needs to ensure he/she can survive and thrive in the future. Technology can assist at all stages to ensure the learning is maximized.\n\nInnovation Skills\nHow to: invent new products/services. Canada needs to continue to be a breeding ground for innovative and valuable new inventions and ideas. Anybody can be an inventor of assistive devices or other useful products or services!\n\nCommunication Skills\nHow to: speak/present professionally, write effectively, read/use body language. We truly do live in a global village and should be prepared to interface with others anywhere in the world. Properly selected assistive devices allow disabled and challenged workers to do the above.\n\nHigher-Level Thinking Skills\nHow to: analyze, problem-solve, assess little ideas to find the hidden BIG ones, think in an enhanced way, think logically, use inductive/deductive thinking methods. These personal skills are not limited to any particular segment of society.\n\nSelf-Awareness Skills\n\"How to: increase levels of perception, relax, de-stress, self-motivate, re-energize, recognize success, keep up the spirits despite intense challenges and competition. All people need to know themselves better in order to be the best they can be. These personal skills can be learned by all people including many who are challenged and disabled.\n\nLeadership Skills\nHow to: be a leader, develop teams and think tanks, achieve win-win outcomes, handle criticism, improve emotional maturity, determine levels of success. Disabilities and challenges do not have the limitations anymore. Assistive devices help many more people participate effectively in society in leadership roles.\n\nThe world is changing dramatically. A very positive aspect is that new technology and assistive devices enhance inclusiveness because they allow almost anybody to be more expressive and therefore more productive. The new Age of Creativity demands people be producers of new learning, not just consumers. Skills training and advanced assistive technology, create a great partnership that helps challenged and disabled people strive, survive and thrive.\n\nUniversities Link Humanities With Science and Technology\n\nThey're getting free iPads. Students who participate in a new honors program in digital cultures and creativity at a university in Maryland this fall have been promised the tablet computers as part of the program's launch. This same institution also offers courses in electronic literature and new media that covers such areas as online books and electronic book readers.\n\n\"People go into humanities because they don't like technology, but today you really can't separate them,\" Program Director Matthew Kirschenbaum was quoted as saying in a July edition of the university's student newspaper, DiamondbackOnline. At this same institution, an institute for technology in the humanities works to create and preserve electronic literature, digital games and virtual worlds. The institute claims its home to an international group devoted to writing, publishing and reading electronic literature.\n\nWith the computer science and English departments, the institute has provided Book 2.0 students a prototype of an electronic reading device. Its audio archives include discussions related to the project as well as to mobile apps that support children's storytelling and a Smithsonian Art Museum alternate reality game. Organizations on and off college and university campuses, in fact, tie the humanities with technology as well as areas such as science.\n\nAn institute at a Virginia university, for example, partners with libraries, publishers, information technology companies and others on humanities computing initiatives, according to its website. The institute offers colleges and universities, as well as cultural, non-profit, government and business organizations, consulting, programming and data services in areas such as three-dimensional cultural heritage site computer modeling, Java and Perl programming and web databases, according to its website. Visitors to the site might access digital collections of African American poetry, early American fiction from authors such as Mark Twain, Louisa May Alcott and Harriet Beecher Stowe, as well as the English dramas of William Shakespeare and others. Digital audio databases include African American songs and American music from composers such as Duke Ellington and Cole Porter.\n\nThe Humanities and Technology Association, which isn't affiliated with any one institution, dates back to 1978 and promotes understanding the interaction between the humanities, science, engineering and technology. A Humanities and Technology Review journal published by the association includes explorations of Japan's cultural values and how its values influence development of its nuclear policy to the aesthetics of digital cinema and how movies such as \"Miami Vice\" exploit the technology's abilities and limitations to create new aesthetics. Another journal article addresses how computers can undermine or enhance student learning.\n\nIndustries want scientists who can understand an application's intellectual properties and issues of equity, human awareness perspective and more, according to co-founders of the Humanities, Arts, Science and Technology Advanced Collaboratory. This particular group formed in 2002 in response to the diminished role of humanities in the information age, according to its website. \"Changes in the Information Age require us to think and act collectively to envision new ways of learning to serve the goals of a global society,\" the group's website notes.\n\nIn addition to courses such as English and literature, humanities degrees online and on campus might include classes in history, philosophy, culture, ethics and more. The co-founders of the Humanities, Arts, Science and Technology Advanced Collaboratory represent universities on the east and west coasts of the United States. In an essay citing the central place humanities studies have with regard to exploring the possibilities of technology's reach and implications, they noted that the humanities involve exploring meaning, value and significance and that humanists link the old and the new and then engage the best of both.\n\nAn engineering college at a Connecticut university this fall plans to launch a bachelor's degree in sustainability that includes studies in the humanities, according to a recent article in the Connecticut Business News Journal. The degree offering takes a holistic approach, its website suggests. Classes are to include global solutions to sustainability, research methods in sustainability and contemporary issues of art and the environment, the Business News Journal noted.\n\nMBA in Technology Management\n\nFor anyone with a passion for technology, this degree is a serious pathway to success. An MBA (Technology Management) is an online MBA degree that one can do from the convenience of home. So what does this course entail? It is meant for technology professionals who want to take up leadership positions while maintaining their specialization in technology. Technology has become central to the functioning of all organizations and technology management is a prerequisite for data management, security, and task execution.\n\nAn MBA (Technology Management) equips graduates with relevant skills that are required to be part of this high-paced industry that is constantly changing and evolving. New skills learnt during this degree program prepare candidates for a long and successful career in technology because they are taught to work around management of technology products, companies and services.\n\nWhile the primary aim of a technology management degree is to bridge the gap between management and technology, this online MBA course also helps develop the required strength in other facets of management such as marketing, finance, and human resources. Therefore, this course allows one to make science and technology a productive business practice.\n\nStudents of MBA in technology management not only receive sound academic knowledge, they are also given practical learning by simulating technology's interactions in a business environment. While assisting students to develop their analytical thinking, this course also focuses on communication, skill development and management of business principles. So a technology management degree holder can handle all spheres of management such as technology forecasting, selection, transfer, and creation of new technology.\n\nAs organizations are increasingly relying on technology to integrate various components and processes of their business as a means to enhancing productivity within organizations, the prospects for such a degree are only improving. Where the IT industry is a well-paying one already, with an MBA degree the chances of rapid success and increments increases greatly.\n\nAn MBA in Technology Management makes one eligible for jobs in major IT and software firms for positions of software manager, computer section supervisor, trainee manager, and technical executive. Because most persons who take up this degree come with sufficient work experience, they are usually taken up to work in senior management positions across all technology-based verticals. The option of working as a consultant or establishing one's own business always remains open.\n\nScience and Technology in India\n\nThe progress made in the field of Science and Technology in India today is enviable. The architect, Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru had a vision, not merely of scientists and of laboratories, but of the broader horizons and its social relevance; of the unity between the community of scientists and scientific needs of the community and of the transformation functions of science in society.\n\nWe have laid much emphasis on the development of science and technology as a major instrument for achieving national goals of self-reliance and socioeconomic progress. The Scientific Policy Resolution adopted by our Parliament on March 4, 1958 laid stress on Government responsibility to secure for the people, the benefits from acquisition of scientific knowledge and practical application of research. The policy of the Government, is to encourage individuals and collective initiative for dissemination of knowledge and faster programmed to train scientific personnel to fulfill country's needs in the diverse fields of agriculture, industry defense, education, space, information technology oceanography etc.\n\nThe contributions in scientific and technological research have induced a phenomenal transformation in Indian agriculture from subsistence level into commercial farming. India occupies a premier position amongst the oilseed producing countries of the world. Research efforts have been intensified to bring out crop varieties tolerant to drought conditions, resistant to pests and diseased and responsive to the use of agriculture, its capacity to withstand droughts and natural calamities and the near attainment of the goal of food self sufficiency by the country are the tributes to the untiring efforts of the agricultural scientists as well as millions of farmers with progressing thought.\n\nOver the years, a strong science and technology infrastructure base has been established in our country. This covers a chain of national laboratories, specialized centers, various research and development and academic institutions training centers, etc., which continuously provide expertise, technically trained man power and technological support to industry. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research with its network of laboratories and research institutions is a major instrument of scientific and industrial research under state auspices and supports research in universities and other centers of learning.\n\nTelecommunications is a critical part of infrastructure and one that is becoming important, given the trend of globalization and the shift to a knowledge based economy. Until 1994, telecommunication services under government monopoly made tardy progress. Although telecommunication expanded fairly rapidly, under this arrangement, it was recognized that capacities must expand much more rapidly and competition also be introduced to improve the quality of services and encourage induction of new technology. Telecommunication has become especially important in recent years because of the enormous growth of information technology and its potential impact on rest of the economy. India is perceived to have a special comparative advantage in information technology or in IT enabled services, both of which depend critically on high quality. Telecommunication has also become extremely important for a wide range of rural activities and this importance will only increase as the process of diversification of rural economic opportunities gains momentum. Universal service obligation must therefore, be insisted upon for all providers of telecom services.\n\nIndia has joined a select club of six advanced countries with the Pune based Center for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC) developing the country's first super compute \"Param\". The indigenous built 64 NODEC super computer is capable of reaching peak power of 100 mega flops. Param promises the creating of a seamless computing platform for super computing at an affordable price in the international context.\n\nIndia recognized the importance of atomic energy quite early and the Atomic Energy Commission was set up in August 1948 to look after atomic energy activities in the country. India today is the seventh country in the world and the first developing nation to have the distinction of mastering fast breeder technology.\n\nThe Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is responsible for the planning, execution and management of space research activities. The ISRO, which has its head quarters in Bangalore, provides rockets and laboratory facilities to scientists belonging to different organizations in India for conducting approved space science experiments. The Indian Remote Sensing Satellites have helped in extensive mapping of our natural resources and voluminous data generated through these are used in a variety of fields. Even the developed countries including the U.S. have started buying the data collected by the IRS. It is a matter of pride that India became the 14th nation in the world on April 3, 1984 to have sent a man into space. Rakesh Sharma, was India's first man in space. Similarly, Dr. Kalpana Chawla, an Indian American woman became the first Indian woman to go into the space on November 19, 1997 on a 16 day mission on NASA, Columbia shuttle as a Mission Specialist of study the outer atmosphere of the Sun. Unfortunately, she died on a latter mission on her return to earth.\n\nTechnology is used as a tool to give India a competitive position in the new global economy. For example, Indian exports today derive their comparative advantage through resources and labor rather than differentiation and, technology. Therefore, major thrust is being given to increasing India's share in high-tech products, deriving value from technology - led exports and export of technology. Full articulation of research is being given into various policies and programmed covering economics, energy and other socioeconomic sectors.\n\nCSIR Study Material - Life Science\n\nLet me start with expanding the term CSIR before going to the actual article, The Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), a R&D organization in India was form in 1942 in the aims to offer industrial development, to make a strong foundation for strategic sectors and improvement of primary knowledge. Above all it motivates talented young men and women to take up science as career.\n\nCSIR through Human Resource Development Group (HRDG) gives research fellowship to the bright Indian young minds to carry out their research in various CSIR listed Labs, University, institutes in the field of Science and technology. To identify the bright minds CSIR conducts the National Eligibility Test (NET) for candidates holding M.Sc or equivalent degree, every two time in a year (in June and December). Once selected you get CSIR Junior Research fellowship (JRF), presently Rs 12000 per month for first two years and Rs 14000 per month from the third year, the total term as JRF plus SRF will not go beyond five years.\n\nCSIR conducts test for five streams Chemical science, Life science, Earth science, Mathematical science and Physical Science and consisting of two papers. Paper I is objective type to evaluate knowledge of science, skill of scientific and quantitative reasoning, creativity, analytical ability and research aptitude of a candidate. Paper II is to judge your knowledge through short descriptive answer in your subject.\n\nNeed of Study materials\n\nStrictly speaking when you are preparing for CSIR life science section there is no need to cross check the syllabus, it includes every possible topics in life sciences, from biochemistry to microbiology, from botany to zoology, from atom to molecule. So before starting your preparation for CSIR make sure you have all the study materials. If you are not a Botany or Zoology student then you have to go through these subjects but it is not possible to read all the topics in this subject so you have to collect materials which cover the entire subject in simpler version.\n\nAs you know apart from your main subject you have to also know the basics of chemistry, physics, math, earth science because without covering these, clearing the first paper is a difficult task and your second paper would not be evaluated unless you have cleared your first paper. Hence you should check the source where to get such materials. Just reading the topics alone would not give you the confidence to face the exam, you need to practice N numbers of model question papers and also work out previous years question papers. This helps you to control the time and also give you the coolness to answer correct question under the time pressure. So you have to collect model question papers and old question papers before giving the exam.\n\nEven you are smart and intelligent in your subject without proper study material, revision you will scratch your head in the exam hall. And one should not think much about spending money to collect such instant materials instead of writing 10 times.\n\nScience and Technology For a Better Future\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSTEM Careers and How to Prepare for Them\n\n\n\nBiological and biomedical sciences\nComputer and informational sciences\nMathematics and statistics\nPhysical sciences and technologies\n\n\n\nHow to Prepare for STEM Careers\n\n\n\n\n\nScience Teachers Use New Technology to Make Science Fun\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCareer Opportunities With a Computer Science Degree\n\nA career in computers is still a popular choice even in the current recessive economic times we are experiencing. With advances in computer technology and network communications leading to continuous developments, the requirement for trained professionals and skilled graduates is always in high demand. A computer science major is popular choice for students today as this field remains at the forefront of expanding technology. Students with a computer science degree will always be a hot\ncandidate in the job market.\n\nComputer science involves the host of sub-divisions ranging from theory to development, programming to computing solutions. A computer science degree provides a foundation that prepares students to constantly adapt to new ideas and technologies. Computer scientists are required to design and create software, problem shoot as and when needs arise, process and store data, devise new and effective security methods and most exciting of all - develop new and innovative ways of using computers. Professionals in computer science have pushed the boundaries of science and technology to enter the fray of robotics and digital forensics - fields that had not even existed a few decades ago.\n\nA computer science degree demands an aptitude for math and analytical thought. Students interested in a career in computer science should consider going for a BCS degree to qualify for jobs in this field. A good Bachelors degree in computer sciences will prepare students in implementing and designing software. Software development now entails new areas such as interface design, web development, and mobile computing. Once entrenched in the work force with enough practical work experience, a Masters degree in computer science can help improve job prospects and further your specialization in a particular field.\n\nIf your Bachelor of Computer Science degree pushes you towards a career in computer solutions, you would be applying all your theoretical knowledge towards solving computing issues and problems. This field would require a higher degree; even a Ph.D. and a research position in a developmental laboratory. If you choose to get into computer development, you have the option of getting into an entrepreneurial position and maybe even starting your own company that specializes in the same.\n\nThere are also a number of new careers that demand a CS degree such as web development, information technology, computing management, information security and database administration. Web development is the latest trend and almost every company today has a website. Web developers in turn create and maintain these sites using the latest technological know-how and marketing strategies. The communications industry has pushed the boundaries of information technology. Computer science graduates are now employed with mobile companies to develop faster and better ways of communicating. Many MBA graduates now also specialize in computers and programming. Employers are always on the lookout for those with multiple skills and training and career success is a given for these students. Database administrators are also in demand, as more and more companies require their services to effectively collect and interpret information that will help the company to strategize efforts and move forward. Another fast-growing prospect in this field is the subject of online security-predicted to play a strategic role in the future of computer technology. Information security comes into play with regard to online shopping, Internet banking and privacy management.\n\nA computer science degree will therefore prepare you for a challenging career in a variety of jobs. Armed with a solid educational background, the choices are then up to you to make depending on your aptitude and interests.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9042224287986755}
+{"content": "Music History for\n\nMay 20\n\n\n1941 - Harry James and his orchestra recorded \"You Made Me Love You.\"\n\n1942 - \"I've Got A Gal in Kalamazoo\" was recorded by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra.\n\n1954 - Bill Haley and the Comets' \"Rock Around the Clock\" was released. It was not successful until it was released in 1955 on the soundtrack to \"Blackboard Jungle.\"\n\n1960 - Alan Freed, a disc jockey, was indicted for income tax evasion stemming from payola.\n\n1968 - Pete Townshed and Karen Astley were married.\n\n1969 - Peter Cetera (Chicago) was beaten up by four men at a Chicago Cubs-Dodgers baseball game. The men objected to the length of Cetera's hair. Cetera underwent four hours of emergency surgery.\n\n1970 - The Beatles film \"Let It Be\" opened in the U.K.\nToday in Beatles History\n\n1977 - The stage show \"Beatlemania\" opened at the Winter Garden Theater, New York.\nToday in Beatles History\n\n1978 - \"The Buddy Holly Story\" premiered in of Lubbock, TX.\n\n1980 - KISS released the album \"Unmasked.\"\n\n1980 - In Hamburg, Germany, Joe Strummer (The Clash) was arrested for hitting a violent audience member with his guitar during a show.\n\n1992 - Aerosmith donated $10,000 to support \"Corporal Politics,\" a controversial art exhibition at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.\n\n1996 - The Metallica single \"Until It Sleeps\" was released world-wide, excluding North America, where it was released the next day.\n\n1998 - Tommy Lee (Motley Crue) started serving a 6-month sentence for felony spousal abuse.\n\n2008 - The U.S. Congress passed a resolution that designated Frank Sinatra Day to honor his contributions to American culture.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9998145699501038}
+{"content": "Imperial Valley College Showcases Local Contemporary Art at Juanita Salazar Lowe Art Gallery\n\nLocal artists display their interpretation of Life on the Border through their artwork.\n\nIMPERIAL- Cool Jazz softly echoed off the art filled walls of the Juanita Salazar Lowe Art Gallery at Imperial Valley College on Thursday while IVC students, faculty, and visitors admired the Borderlands Art exhibit with hors d’oeuvres and sparkling beverages in hand.\n\n“We encourage students to participate in these types of shows.  This is an open show for the college but also for all local members of the community.  We try to have at least one showcase per year that is open to the public,” elaborated artist and Drawing/ Graphic Design Instructor Bernardo Olmedo.\n\nThe gallery was produced by local contemporary talent and inspired by the communities’ interpretation of life on the border.\n\n“I lived for a short while in Chula Vista, San Diego where I would often cross over to Tijuana to eat tacos and get my haircut, and felt that it was more colorful than Mexicali”, said IVC art student Rico Licudine about the motivation behind his oil on canvas Taco Libre collection.\n\n“In 1939 Gene Autry made a song and starred in a movie based on an experience he had in a bar in Mexicali,” informed Licudine about the inspiration behind his texture rich Mexicali Rose piece.\n\nMixed media was another genre touched on by the artists.  A piece by Adrian Lazos called Ni Entiendo el Arte utilized light hues and gradation to emphasis images of video game concepts in satirical fashion.\n\nDiana Marquez showcased an acrylic on canvas painting called Anxiety, Depression, Hope where the bright reds and yellows intentionally dripped and held still beneath the canvas to add depth and dimension to her portrait.\n\n“We encourage other fields of study to participate,” added Olmedo.\n\nReprographics student Michael Nicholas applied the visual elements of art to convey an animated personality to a very neutral Moosehead Beer graphic in his Gouache paint piece Moosehead.\n\nArtist and Photography instructor Jorge Estrada’s San Pedro Mountains Digital Photography series was inspired by the endangered California Condor that are raised at the San Diego Zoo and released yearly at the San Pedro Mountains.\n\n“I am proud of all the artists and excited because there is a lot of talented here in the Imperial Valley,” specified Estrada about the event.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.839606761932373}
+{"content": "Open main menu\n\nWikipedia β\n\nInca religion in Cusco\n\nBecause of their immediate defeat at the hands of the Spanish, much information surrounding Incan religion has been lost. Many historians rely on the religious customs of conquered Incan subjects to gather information about Incan beliefs. The Incans adopted most if not all of their religious beliefs from three main groups that lived around the empire. These groups were the Huari, the Chavin and the Nazca. With the combination of all three of these ancestral societies’ religions, the Incas were able to create a religious system that dominated almost every aspect of life in the empire.\n\nThe Inca's were profoundly religious, and so it makes sense that their religious structure was very complicated. The religion was centralized in the capital city of Cusco. Within Cusco, a highly complicated and organized calendar controlled the state religion's festivals and holy days. This calendar was responsible for almost all of the religious ceremonies that took place throughout the empire. Within the city of Cusco, there was also over three hundred and twenty eight huacas or sacred objects. Huacas were located throughout the empire with most of them happening to be around the capital city. Within the capital city there was also a quipa. The quipa described all the sacred places and how they are to be used during ceremonies and sacrifices. Each sacred place or huaca was organized into forty one different directions called ceques. These ceques started from the central temple of the Sun called Coricancha or \"the golden enclosure.\"\n\nThere were ten groups of Incan nobility that were in charge of being priests within the city of Cuzco. These ten groups of nobility were called panacas. The panacas had a vital role to Incan society in Cusco because they were in charge of worship for the deities. All of the religious aspects that took place around the city were organized and arranged by this special group of nobility. The members of these ten groups were said to have a first royal ancestor that had conquered the valley. The panacas were decided through mother's rank, fraternal succession, choice, and the success and honor of the individual on the battlefield. These ten groups were then divided into two smaller groups, one representing Hanan who lived north of the valley river and also Hurin who lived south of the valley river. The Hanan and Hurin each consisted of five groups of nobility. It is known that the first group of each of the Panacas dedicated all their sacrifices to the sun. The remaining four were in charge of dedicating their sacrifices to Moon, Thunder, Virachoa, and the Earth. These groups of nobility made up the upper most tier of society and they were highly revered and respected throughout the empire.\n\nThese fives gods or entities that received the majority of sacrifices within Cusco represent the most vital aspects of Incan life. The Sun God represented the institutional organization of the society because everything in Incan life revolved around the Sun. Virachoa is also known as Apu Qun Tiqsi Wiraqutra and is considered the creator of civilization. He is one of the most if not the most powerful gods in Incan mythology. The sacrifices done towards Virachoa represents how much the Incans relied on outside forces to explain events in their daily lives. The sacrifices towards Thunder represent the handling of transitions in life and society. The sacrifices towards Earth and Moon show the fertility of the Earth and nature. All ten groups of nobilities had the responsibility to explain and account for all the occurrences of the natural world in and outside of the Incan empire.\n\nSee alsoEdit\n\n\n  • Sullivan, E. Lawrence. Native Religions and Cultures of Central and South America. New York and Londo: Continuum, 1997.\n  • MacCormack, Sabine. Religion in the Andes. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton Press, 1991.\n  • \"pre-Columbian civilizations.\" Encyclopædia Britannica. 2006. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 19 Sept 2006.\n  • Conrad, Geoffrey W. Religion and Empire: the dynamics of Aztec and Inca expansionism. Cambridge, New York: Cambridge University Press, 1984.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9940035939216614}
+{"content": "Eliminating Marking Periods\n\nMarkingPeriods (1)\n\nOur Story\n\n\n\n\nA Sign of Success\n\nLast year, thanks to the amazing efforts of our teachers, we ended the year with no retentions, and not one student who qualified for summer school. I’ve always disliked summer school, feeling it was a poor approach and inneffective. A few years ago, my former assistant principal @mr_tbloom came up with the idea to “put summer school out of business.” We thought that if we implemented remediation and support programs throughout the year, addressing deficiences and low grades before they grew too large to overcome, we could eliminate the need for summer school. Last year, that vision came to reality. It wasn’t the elimination of marking periods that led to this success, but rather the hard work and effective grading/assessment practices of our teachers which ultimately helped us reach out goal. However, removing marking periods removed a barrier to those practices, allowing them to be more successful.\n\nThe Death of Marking Periods\n\n\n\n\n\n\nA Learning Pathways Approach to Professional Development\n\nA Learning Pathways Approach to PD\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLeading Professional Development\n\nTraditionally, and all too often, professional development sessions have been designed and facilitated in a top-down manner. District and building leaders identify areas of focus, sometimes with little input from teachers, and design sit-and-get sessions for teachers to “learn” so they can improve their practice. There are several flaws with this traditional model, including a lack of learner input, engagement, monitoring & measurement, and follow-up. In this model, there is an overall lack of ownership over one’s learning. This has led to tons of criticisms and jokes from teachers. My favorite was one comment I heard from a co-worker when I was still teaching. While leaving a PD session, he said to me, “That was just like Chinese food, it went right through me.” Personally, I thought that was an insult. But to Chinese food, not the PD session. His assessment of that, I felt, was accurate.\n\n@PrincipalMKelly (1)\n\nAs a building leader for the past six years, I have tried to balance professional development that is focused on district and building goals, with personalized learning opportunities. Balancing building goals with personalized learning is an ongoing challenge when designing professional development. To try and personalize PD, our school has facilitated teacher led, #EdCamp style PD sessions, and administered surveys to identify areas in which teachers wanted to learn. In addition, our School Instructional Leadership Team (SILT), which is made up of about 15 teachers and building administrators, meet monthly to discuss and design building PD. However, I must admit that as the building principal, over the past few years I have identified certain areas that I felt our school needed to improve, such as grading and assessment. As a result, some of our building PD topics have followed a more “top-down” approach. This is where the challenge of balance comes in.\n\nLooking forward into next year, my assistant principal, @MurphysMusings5,  and I discussed whether there were any glaring areas of improvement in need of building-wide professional development sessions, which were not already being addressed through department work. We both felt our building was in a good place, and there was no single-topic that required PD for all teachers. As a result, we began to discuss next steps for our building professional development. From our discussion came the idea of Learning Pathways.\n\nWe met with our SILT and discussed the idea of creating several learning pathways (topics), which teachers could choose from to focus their professional learning. Our SILT brainstormed about twenty possible learning pathways and our plan is to allow teachers to select their pathway, or create their own. During our meeting, we discussed the idea and importance of collaboration. Rather than having individuals follow their own path, we felt it was important for teachers to work in groups of 6-8, so they could benefit from a collaborative learning experience. This is where more balance was needed, between personalized and collaborative learning.\n\nOur idea is that teachers will work in groups on their learning pathway, design their own goals, share leadership and facilitation responsibilities, and guide their own learning. This will empower teachers as leaders within our school. As administrators, we will participate in one of the learning pathways, while providing coaching and resource support to teachers in other pathways. In our school, we are very lucky to have a tremendous group of teacher leaders, which makes it easy to put our trust in their leadership. \n\nWe hope our plan for creating a personalized Learning Pathway PD model, with a focus on collaborative learning, will be a success. In future posts, I plan to share updates on our growth and progress.\n\nHas your school ever tried a similar professional development approach? Was it a success? What feedback do you have on the ideas I have shared in this post?\n\n\nWhat is “fair?”\n\n\n\nHave you ever tried to explain a sunset to someone who has never seen one? How about the ocean? Not easy. Even more difficult, how do you think it must be for them to understand or comprehend? I think of these examples when I think of poverty. Trying to describe what it is like to live in poverty, to someone who has never experienced it first hand, is impossible. The truth is, they may intellectually understand, but they can never truly comprehend the reality. It’s just too difficult. But what about the concept of fairness? Is it possible that some students have a similar experience understanding fairness? Not to equate fairness with poverty, but the point being, it is a difficult concept to comprehend without the first hand experience. So what is fair?\n\nSchool may be the first time some children are ever exposed to the ideas of fairness. To them, life has never been fair. In schools, adults try to treat all students fairly. Many focus on students not getting anything they “don’t deserve.” But what about students that have had a lot of negative experiences they don’t deserve? Have you ever had a family member killed? Have you ever been exposed to abuse, neglect, drugs or violence as a child? Not to mention many other traumas. The reality is, many of our students have. Let’s be careful about assuming children understand fairness as adults see it in schools. Some kids have never been experienced fairness. Life has never been fair. Yet in school, we implement the concept of fairness in discipline policies, and many other things we do, without a second thought.\n\nBut what if we sometimes choose to approach fairness in a different way? What if we gave to, and forgave students who “don’t deserve it?” What if we treat them “unfairly” in a positive way. I have taken this approach with some students in my career. Students who don’t always follow the rules. Students who, by traditional standards, “don’t deserve” anything positive. I take them to the gym to play basketball, hit a punching bag, or throw a baseball. I’ve made sure field trips have been paid for, or they had clean clothing. Why? Because most likely, no one has ever treated them this way. When questioned about whether or not doing this is fair, I have asked: “Is it fair they don’t have a father? Is it fair they have experienced abuse? It it fair they live in poverty?” I think, “Fair? Don’t talk to me about fair!” Life has never been fair for many of these kids, in a negative way. Why must if be “fair” on the positive side? Is there any real harm in this? What is “fair?”\n\nWe Have a Mental Health Crisis in Our Schools!\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTeacher Evaluation and Supervision: You’re Doing it Wrong\n\n\n\nIn a recent course I took as part of my doctoral program at Widener University, I was required to read Teacher Supervision and Evaluation, by James Nolan Jr. and Linda A. Hoover (2010).  When I got the book, my attitude was, as it normally is toward textbooks, “yuck!” However, the book really shifted my thinking regarding teacher supervision and evaluation. Ultimately, I was smacked with the harsh reality that, “You’re doing it wrong!” But  I quickly realized, it wasn’t only me. It wasn’t only my district. It was the whole model designed by the state of Pennsylvania for administrators to implement. This model, or one similar, is probably used  in most states throughout the country. And there is one big problem! It does not promote the growth of all teachers. In fact, it probably stifles growth. In response, I want to share some thoughts and solutions.\n\nSupervision and Evaluation are Different\n\nTeacher evaluation was designed to ensure that all teachers meet a minimal level of quality in their practice. Traditionally, the measurement for this model includes formal and informal observations of teaching. In the end, the teacher will receive a rating of Failing, Needs Improvement, Proficient, or  Distinguished (or similar names). These mastery level ratings are not designed to promote teacher growth.  The criteria for each domain and indicator remain the same for all teachers, and the success criteria for each performance level remains constant. Once a teacher receives a proficient or distinguished rating, this model does nothing to promote continual growth. Teachers can only assume to keep doing the same thing, to receive the same rating. By design, there is no motivation or encouragement to continue improving and growing.\n\nTeacher supervision was designed as a model to promote growth for all teachers, regardless of performance level.  Under differentiated supervision models, teachers may conduct action research, design portfolios with a focus on improvement, or participate in peer observation aligned with growth goals.  Differentiated supervision is designed to promote growth for all teachers, including those rated proficient or distinguished.  The problem I realized with this model currently, was that at the end of the year we still have to give each teacher an evaluation rating. Rather than providing quality feedback to promote growth, this model forces teacher supervision to act the same as evaluation. However, they are not suppose to act in the same manner. Much like feedback in the classroom does more to promote learning than grades, teacher feedback without evaluation ratings would do more to promote continued growth among our all teachers.\n\n\n\nIn most districts, evaluation and supervision to not work independent of each other, and they usually overlap. In honesty, most people would not be able to explain the difference, or even know there is suppose to be one.\n\n\nIn a three-year cycle, tenured teachers would be on a traditional evaluation mode once, and a differentiated supervision mode for two years. When in the traditional mode, a teacher would be formally and informally observed, lesson plans could be submitted for feedback, professionalism could be rated, and teachers would receive a traditional end-of-year evaluation rating. Once the teacher has demonstrated they meet minimal expectations, which is the purpose of evaluation, it can be determined they are ready for a differentiated supervision mode. If a teacher does not meet minimal expectations, they would continue on the traditional evaluation mode. This would also be true for new teachers, until they obtain tenure. It is the job of administrators to make sure new teachers are ready, and meet minimal expectations, before receiving tenure. This must be taken serious during the traditional evaluation mode.\n\nDuring the two years teachers are on a differentiated supervision mode, they could choose from a menu of growth models including peer observation, portfolio, or action research. Each of these models would have a component which required teachers to focus on an area of growth. Teachers would be with administrators to plan implement and reflect upon their growth during these years. Ideally, they would not need to receive an end of year evaluation rating during these two years.  They would only receive feedback which would promote their continued growth.\n\nSo what to do about states that require domain and evaluation ratings every year?\n\nIf we take traditional evaluation seriously, isn’t it appropriate to assume the teacher could be assigned the same domain ratings they received the last time they were on traditional evaluation mode?  For example, if a teacher demonstrated they were “Distinguished” in Preparation and Planning, isn’t it safe to assume they would not all of the sudden drop to “Failing” the next year?  Can we have enough trust in our teachers, that they will at least continue to do as well as they did in the last year of traditional evaluation?  Removing a tie to do evaluation ratings during years teachers are on a differentiated supervision mode, would be a shift that could significantly promote the growth of all teachers.\n\nDoes your model of teacher evaluation and supervision promote the growth of all your teachers?  What ideas do you have for improvements?\n\nTransitioning to a Continual Grading Period\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nWhat are your thoughts on the relevance of traditional marking periods?\n\n\n\nTraditional Grading Flaws and Fixes\n\narbitrary GradesTraditional grades are at best, arbitrary, and at worst, destructive to student learning. For those of us stuck in a traditional grading system, there are flaws we need to be aware of, and practical fixes we can implement, to at least improve the system in which we are stuck.\n\nPurpose and Beliefs\n\nFlaws: Most teachers and schools have not established a specific or consistent purpose for, or beliefs about grading. In most schools, the teachers within a building establish their own individual policies, practices and calculations of grades. Due to a lack of quality focus on grading in undergraduate programs, these policies and procedures are usually based on their own educational experiences, personal opinions, and other non-research based factors. This inconsistency creates poor communication and understanding of grades for students and parents.\n\nFixes: School leaders should work collaboratively with faculty to develop a set of beliefs and/or guidelines about grading. For example, Justin Tarte (@justintarte) shared a “Student’s Bill of Assessment Rights” created at his school. If you are a teacher and cannot push for school wide change, create your own set of beliefs and guidelines and clearly communicate them to students and parents.\n\nimageIn our school, we’ve been using the belief statement: “A grade should accurately communicate what a student knows, understands and is able to do, as related to course learning objectives.” We use this statement to guide guide our work related to our grading practices. In our school, we do not have standards based grading, but we have been working to ensure our grades accurately represent a student’s level of mastery of course learning objectives (which we’ve created for each course, based on state standards).\n\nWhat Gets Graded?\n\nFlaws: Tradition, and lack of understanding related to student motivation have caused most teachers to create a “kitchen sink stew” of items to make up a student grade. Teachers add a little testing, a touch of homework, a pinch of participation, a sprinkle of attendance, and a handful of “secret ingredients” to create their own, individual grading recipes. Apart from the confusion and inconsistency this creates for students, it also creates an inaccurate reporting of student learning. This links back to the need for a belief statement. If we believe grades should accurately reflect student learning, then adding things like attendance, behavior and work completion make the reporting of actual learning, inaccurate.\n\nFixes: When discussing or evaluating WHAT we grade, there are a few topics that always seem to come up in discussion. First is the grading of formative assessments (ex: homework; classwork; some quizzes). Since formative assessments are used to provide feedback, drive instruction, and guide student learning, their purpose is not to be included in a grade. Teachers should only be including summative assessments in their grade calculation. Rick Wormeli has stated that a teacher has the power to ultimately decide when an assessment becomes summative. This means that teachers have the power to allow redo’s and retests in order to provide additional opportunities, after an intervention, to reassess. The student’s grade should then reflect the new, and hopefully improved, assessment score. Averaging the first and second scores, or deducting points for attempts, would then fail to meet our previous criteria of reflecting an accurate grade.\n\nThe other topic that inevitably comes up is the inclusion of behaviors into a grade. Things such as attendance, participation, work ethic, or taking points off for late work, would lead to an inaccurate reporting of the academic grade. However, these behaviors could certainly be reported elsewhere on a grade report, as they provide important feedback to students and parents.\n\n\nTom Petty once sang: “The wai-ai-aiting is the hardest part.” Well, when it comes to traditional grading, I find that the “weighting”  of assessments is the hardest part.\n\nFlaws: How many teachers participated in education courses or professional development on the practice of weighting assessment items or assessments in general? The answer here is “very few.” So, in a traditional grading system, how do teachers determine the appropriate weight, or “number of points”, to assign to each question, task, or assessment? At best, the answer is “arbitrarily.” Often times, teachers assign a certain number of points based on the type of question or task. Test? 100 points; Quiz? 50 Points; Homework? 2 Points; Multiple Choice question 3 points each. Essay question? 30 points.\n\nWhen I created assessment as a teacher, I would assign a number of points based on how difficult the question. The assignment of points ignored the amount of course content, or number of objectives I was assessing with a question, task, project or test. On a test, I would sometimes assess a lower level skill, but through the use of an essay question. I would assign it 20-30 points. My essay prompt asking students to compare and contrast the Virginia and New Jersey Plans was really only assessing my students’ ability to recall the similarities and differences of the plans. This was a low level task void of  evaluation or analysis. At the time, it seemed good to me. It was an essay question afterall. I imagine other well intentioned teachers have made similar mistakes.\n\nFixes: This is a challenge! However, teachers in our building have been working to assign a weight, or number of points, to an assessment based on the amount of learning objectives it assesses. For example, if their course has 100 learning objectives for the year, they would assign up to four points for each objective. This allows them to grade the assessment of the objective using a 4 point scale. Therefore, the score of the assessment would be based on the student’s performance on each learning objective assessed. Focus on learning over product. One student may be able to demonstrate mastery through a conversation, another may do best offering a presentation of the content, while a third most accurately demonstrates learning on test. If the points are based on demonstration of mastery, the method in which students demonstrate learning, is not as imperative.\nOur teachers have also been discussing the fact that not all our objectives are the same level or rigor. We have been working to evaluate objectives and agree upon a 1.0 or 2.0 weight, based on the level or rigor.\n\nMarking Periods\n\nFlaws: In a previous post (found here) I called for an end to marking periods. I explained that in my situation, a student’s final grade was calculated by averaging the grades from each marking period. Aside from averaging being a bad practice itself, giving each marking period an equal value/weight was misrepresenting the grade report. The final grade certainly did not meet the criteria for being a mathematically “accurate reflection.” Due to weather, standardized testing, field trips and award ceremonies, not all marking periods were created equal.\n\nFixes: If marking periods are a problem, why not get rid of them? This year we are piloting a “Continual Grading Period” with our sixth grade students. In this model, the entire year serves as one long marking period. This allows teachers to implement best practice in reteaching and retesting without the frustration of arbitrary deadlines. The continual grading period also eliminates the unfair weighting of clearly unequal marking periods. How did we make this magic happen? The steps, process, and reflection on this endeavor will be shared in a later post.\n\nSetting a purpose and beliefs about grading, deciding what gets grading, developing weighting methods, and establishing a fair way to report student learning are key first steps for those of us stuck in the traditional grading system.\n\nWhat are some other practices or strategies we can use to improve grading practices in a traditional model?\n\n\n\n\nFive Simple Rules of Teacher Questioning\n\nTeacher questioning can be a very effective and engaging instructional strategy. However, if misused, it can be a strategy that has very little impact. As we know, since the days of Socrates, teachers have been using questioning to encourage student thinking and check for understanding. However, high-quality teacher questioning is much more than just tossing out questions. Developing questioning skills can take a lot of time and professional development, but there are some simple rules teachers can follow to make some immediate improvements.\n\nHere are Five Simple Rules for Teacher Questioning:\n\n1. Have a Purpose!\n\nWhen asking a question, the question itself should have a purpose. A teacher should know if the question is intended to promote a conversation, dialogue, discussion, or simply solicit a simple response to check for understanding. Good questions engage more than one student at-a-time. They provide an opportunity for students to discuss (ex: turn and talk; debate; conversation), lead to students generating their own questions, and allow for multiple responses. However, when teachers ask a question that has one specific answer, and call on one student to answer it, the question has very little value for the rest of the class.\n\n2. One at a Time!\n\nMost teachers would be surprised to have a count of how many questions they ask in one class period. In our building, when we tallied the number of questions teachers were asking in one, 42 minute class period, the total number was usually between 100 and 200 questions. In some classrooms, the number of questions posed in one class period exceeded 200. Without realizing it, many teachers use a rapid-fire approach to questioning, asking multiple low-level (Webbs DOK) questions, one after another. When it comes to high-quality questioning, less is more.\n\nChallenge: Have someone come into your room, unannounced, and count how many questions you ask in one period.\n\n3. Pick One Question!\n\nTeachers should know the question they are going to ask, and ask it clearly. If it needs to be repeated, it should be repeated verbatim. Many times, teachers will ask a question… immediately rephrase it… add more detail… ask it again in a different way… add even more detail… then rephrase the question again. By the time the teacher states the final, revised question, it is drastically different than the original one. This can leave the student who raised their hand to answer the original question, pretty confused. Pre-planning some of our questions is the only way to ensure we are asking high-quality questions. These questions should be aligned to the objectives or learning outcomes for the lesson. Of course, teachers can also utilize spontaneous questions, as appropriate. However, key questions should have a purpose, be pre-planned, and align with objectives or learning outcomes.\n\n4. Wait a Minute!\n\nSome teachers feel rushed to get through a lesson. Others feel uncomfortable in silence. However, it is important for teachers to provide appropriate wait-time after asking a question. Remember, if teachers are asking high-quality questions, requiring thinking and discussion, it will take time. Teachers should avoid calling on the first student who raises their hand. Personally, I stopped allowing students to raise their hand in my classroom. I called on students randomly, making sure I always responded to them in a way that made them feel safe, whether they knew the answer or not. Although I am not aware of a specific, scientifically proven “appropriate” amount of wait-time, I like to use at least ten seconds. It is also important to never include a student’s willingness to raise their hand as part of a “participation grade” (which shouldn’t exist anyway). I’ve heard teachers say a student’s participation grade has suffered due to lack of participation. Then I’ve watched the same teacher repeatedly call on the first or second student to raise their hand, which didn’t even give most students a chance to participate. Give time for students to process the question.\n\n5. Use Scaffolding!\n\nWhen planning questions, it is important for teachers to review the content around the question. Teachers should review the prerequisite knowledge, as well as the knowledge that will extend the learning beyond the initial answer. If a teacher asks a question and a student doesn’t know the answer, they can scale down to more simple, prerequisite knowledge questions. Then the teacher can build back up to the original question. This strategy is more supportive of that student’s learning, than just jumping to another student when someone doesn’t know the answer. Be able to adjust questioning from simple to complex, as a student requires.\n\nReference Disclaimer:\n\nSome of the rules and ideas shared in the post were adapted from information shared by Dr. Rebecca Woodland, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and the work of the East Penn School District Instructional Leadership Team, during a professional learning session.\n\nStudent Behavior: It’s Not About You!\n\n“You don’t have the skills to get a job a Walmart. Even they require their employees to remember to bring their vest everyday!”\n\nIt is with great shame I admit these horrible words once came out of my mouth… to a student. It seemed like the hundredth day in a row one particular student forget his pencil. My frustration, with what turned out was my lack of control, overflowed and I let him have it. I verbally attacked, and probably humiliated, this student in front of classmates. It was soon after this shameful experience that I realized something was wrong with my traditional methods of classroom management. Sure my rewards and consequences approach seemed to work for many students, but not for all. In reality, any system works for the majority. Eventually I realized, even when something works, it doesn’t always make it right. In addition, my approach certainly was not working for some of my students. I knew something had to change.\n\nChanging Your Mindset\n\nThe first step in establishing a positive classroom environment is to have the right mindset. In his book, Lost at School, Dr. Ross Greene (2008) proposes the idea that “kids do well if they can.” This idea promotes a belief that if a child is not meeting academic or behavioral expectations, it is because they lack the skill to do so. Early in my teaching career, I had a very hard time accepting this belief. In fact, my beliefs in terms of students being able to meet behavioral expectations were completely opposite. However, after a few years of teaching and implementing traditional behavior management strategies, it became clear to me that no child would willingly subject themselves to the punishment and embarrassment I sometimes put them through.\n\nBy changing my mindset, I began to approach all students, in all cases, as if they needed help to meet expectations. I started to believe that kids would do well, if they had the skills to do so. When a student wasn’t getting started on an assignment, I would approach them and ask questions like:  “Is everything okay?”, “It looks like you’re having trouble getting started, do you have any questions?”, “Let me sit with you and help you get started.” I completely stopped assuming students were just refusing to do their work.\n\nAnd, when a student forgot a pencil, I gave them one. In reality, it didn’t really matter why they didn’t have one. Ensuring they had what they needed to be successful became my only priority.\n\nWhen responding to student misbehavior, it is important to remember it is not about you. It’s not personal. It is not you v. them. Remembering this in a frustrating situation can be difficult, but when it becomes part of our everyday mindset, it gets easier.\n\nCreating a Positive Classroom Environment\n\nHere are a few ways to establish a positive classroom environment or respond to misbehavior:\n\n\n  • Give Verbal Praise (A LOT OF IT!)\n\n\nThis is one of the most powerful strategies a teacher can use. Recognize students, individually or as a class, for every direction/instruction they follow. Students who crave attention will often adjust their behavior to receive this praise.\n\nExamples: “I really like the way you are walked into the classroom; Thank you for using a quiet, raised hand; I really appreciate the way you are including everyone in your group discussion.”\n\n  1. Use Subtle Strategies for Redirection\n\nUsing proximity, walking over and standing next to a student while continuing to teach, will often be enough of a cue for a student to stop talking.\n\nQuietly going over to a student and whispering “Do you have a question?; Is there something I can help you with?” will either unearth a student question, or cue them to get back on task.\n\nA teacher can also quietly ask the student if they can speak with them on the side, or in the doorway. When doing so, the teacher should state the expectation the student should be meeting, and ask them what they can do to help them meet the expectation: “I see you are having trouble getting started on your fraction activity, is there something I can help you with, or any questions I can answer?”\n\n  1. State/Restate the Expected Behavior\n\nWhen a student is not following a direction, instead of using “no; stop; don’t”, recognize a student who is meeting expectations, or restate the expected behavior to the whole class.\n\nExample: If a student is calling out in class, a teacher can remind the class, “Please remember to use a quiet, raised hand when you would like to participate.” The student who is not following the expectation will often get the hint.\n\n  1. Avoid a Power Struggle\n\nWhen responding to students with challenging behaviors, it is important to avoid power struggles, especially in front of their peers. Teachers can completely destroy a relationship with a student in a power struggle scenario. If a student is refusing to do work, and does not respond to offers of support, it is important not to increase the demand and create a power struggle. Threats such as, “Do your work or go to the office; Get started or I’m going to call your parents,” create a me v. you power struggle. In this situation, even if the teacher wins in the moment, overall, they lose. They lose because they damage the relationship. And ultimately, that damage will have to be repaired at some point in order for the teacher and student to have success working together in the future. If a student is not causing a significant disruption to the whole class, the teacher is better-off waiting until the end of class to have a private conversation to establish the cause of the student behavior. Other students pick up on this, as well. Creating a scene by yelling or posing threats does not “prove” to the rest of the class that you are in charge. Instead, they may be left worrying about the possible consequence the next time they make a mistake. Maintaining composure and offering respect, even if it is not being reciprocated at the time, goes a long way in building a positive classroom culture.\n\nHow do you ensure students’ emotional needs are being met in your classroom? What strategies are successful for you?\n\nTo learn more about responding to students with behavioral challenges, I recommend:\n\n\nGreene, R. W. (1998). The explosive child: A new approach for understanding and parenting easily frustrated, “chronically inflexible” children. New York: HarperCollins.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9859787225723267}
+{"content": "100 terms\n\nIntro to Law Midterm 1\n\nBasic vocabulary and case studies to remember.\nWhat is Law?\nconsists of enforceable rules governing relationships among individuals and between individuals and their society\nWhat do laws establish?\nestablish rights, duties, and privileges that are consistent with the values and beliefs of their society or ruling group\ninvolves learning about different schools of legal thought & discovering how each school's approach to law can affect judicial decision making\nNatural Law\ndenotes a system of moral and ethical principles that are inherent in human nature & thus can be discovered through the use of people's own native intelligence\nNatural Law in Ancient Greece\nAristotle, according to him natural law applies universally to all - the notion that people have natural rights stem form natural law\nPositive Law\napplies only to the citizens of that nation or society\nLegal Positivism\nbelieve that there can be no higher law than a nation's positive law, according to them there are no natural rights\nHistorical School\na school of legal thought that emphasizes the evolutionary process of law and looks to the past to discover what the principles of contemporary law should be\nLegal Realism\na school of legal thought of the 1920s and 1930s that generally advocated a less abstract and more realistic approach to the law, an approach that takes into account customary practices and the circumstances in which transactions take place. This school left a lasting imprint on American jurisprudence\nSociological School\na school of legal thought that views the law as tool for promoting justice in society\nthe failure to perform a legal operation\nPrimary Sources of Law\na document that establishes the law on a particular issues , such as constitution, a statute, an administrative rule, or a court decision\nSecondary Sources of Law\nEx. Law Encyvolpedia\nConstitutional Law\nthe body of law derived from the U.S. Constitution and the constitutions of various states\nStatutory Law\na reference to a publication in which a legal authority such as a statute or a court decision or other source can be found\na regulation enacted by a city or county legislative body to govern matters not covered by state or federal law\nUniform Laws (Model Statutes)\nThe Uniform Commercial Code (UCC)\ncreated through joint efforts of the NCCUSL and the American Law Institute, and was first issued in 1952, adopted in all 50 states, provide a uniform yet flexible set of rules governing commercial transactions\nAdministrative Law\nAdministrative Agency\na federal or state government agency established to perform a specific function\nExecutive Agency\nIndependent Regulatory Agency\nan administrative agency that is not considered part of the government's executive branch and is not subject to the authority of the president. Independent agency officials cannot be removed without cause\nCase Law\nthe rules of law announced in court decisions\nCommon Law\nthe body of law developed from custom or judicial decisions in English and U.S. Courts not attributable to a legislature\nStare Decisis\nBinding Authority\nPersuasive Authority\nany legal authority or source of law that a court may look for guidance but on which it need not rely in making its decision\none who initiates a lawsuit\none against whom a lawsuit is brought; the accused person in a criminal proceeding\nEquitable Principles and Maxims\ngeneral propositions or principles of law that have to do with fairness\nStatute of Limitations\na federal or state statute setting the maximum time period during which certain action can be brought or certain rights enforced\nSubstantive Law\nProcedural Law\nCivil Law\nCivil Law System\nCriminal Law\nlaw that defines and governs actions that constitutes crimes. Generally, criminal law has to do with wrongful actions committed against society for which society demands redress.\nNational Law\nlaw that pertains to a particular nation\nInternational Law\nJudicial Review\nthe process by which a court decides on the constitutionally of legislative enactments and actions of the executive branch\nThe authority of a court to hear and decide a specific case\nLong Arm Statute\nA state statute that permits a state to obtain personal jurisdiction over nonresident defendants. A defendant must have a certain \"minimum contacts\" with that state for statute to apply\nProbate Court\nBankruptcy Court\nFederal Question\nDiversity of Citizenship\nfor federal district court jurisdiction over a lawsuit between (1) citizens of a different states (2) a foreign country and citizens of a state or of a different states, or (3) citizens of a state and citizens or subjects of a foreign country. The amount in controversy must be more than 75,000 before a federal district court can take jurisdiction in such cases\nConcurrent Jurisdiction\nExclusive Jurisdiction\nStanding to Sue\nthe requirement that anindividual must have a sufficient stake in a controversy before he or she can bring a lawsuit. The plaintiff must demonstrate that he or she has been either injured or threatened with injury\nJusticiable Controversy\nSmall Claims Court\na special court in which parties may litigate small claims such as 5,000 or less. Attorneys are not required in small claims courts and, in some states, are not allowed to represent the parties\nQuestion of Fact\nWrit of Certiorari\nRule of Four\na role of the United States Supreme Court under which the court will not issue a writ of certiorari unless at least four justices approve of the decision to issue the writ\nthe process of resolving a dispute through the court system\na document informing a defendant that a legal action has been commenced against him or her and that the defendant must appear in court on a certain date to answer the plaintiff's complaint. The document that, when filed with a court, initiates a lawsuit\nDefault Judgement\nprocedurally, a defendant's response to the plaintiff's complaint\nProcedurally, a plaintiff's response to a defendant's answer\nMotion to Dismiss\na pleading in which a defendant asserts that the plaintiff's claim fails to state a cause of action or that there are other grounds on which a suit should be dismissed. Although the defendant normally is the party requesting a dismissal, either the plaintiff or the court can also make a motion to dismiss the case\nMotion for Judgment on the Pleadings\nMotion for Summary Judgment\na motion requesting the court enter a judgment without proceeding to trial\na phase in the litigation process during which the opposing parties may obtain information from each other and from the third parties prior to trial\na series of written questions for which written answers are prepared by a party to a lawsuit, usually with the assistance of the party's attorney, and the signed under oath\nevidence that consists of computer generated or electronically recorded information, including e-mail, voice mail, spreadsheets, word-processing documents, and other data\nVoir Dire\nold French phrase meaning \"to speak the truth\" in legal language, the phrase refers to the process in which the attorneys question prospective jurors to learn about their backgrounds, attitudes, biases, and other characteristics that may affect their ability to serve as impartial jurors\nMotion for Directed Verdict\nin litigation, the amount of monetary compensation awarded to a plaintiff in a civil lawsuit as damages. In the context of alternative dispute resolution the decision rendered by an arbitrator\nMotion for Judgment N.O.V.\na motion requesting the court to grant judgment in favor of the party making the motion on the ground that jury's verdict against him or her was unreasonable and erroneous\na formal legal document prepared by a party's attorney and submitted to an appellate court when a case is appealed. The appellant's brief outlines the facts and issues of the case, the judge's rulings or jury's finding that should be reversed or modified, the applicable law, and the arguments on the client's behalf\nAlternative Dispute Resolution\nthe settling of a dispute by submitting it to a disinterested third party (other than a court), who renders a decision that is (most often) legally binding\nArbitration Clause\nSummary Jury Trial\nOnline Dispute Resolution\nthe resolution of disputes with the assistance of organization that offer dispute-resolution services via the internet\nmoral principles and values applied to social behavior\nBusiness Ethics\nEthics in business context; a consensus as to what constitutes right from wrong behavior in the world of business and the application of moral principles to situations that arise in a business setting\nMoral Minimum\nStock Buyback\nthe purchase of shares of a company's own stock by that company on the open market\nStock Option\nan agreement that grants the owner the opinion to buy a given number of shares of stock, usually within a set time period\nEthical Reasoning\na reasoning process in which an individual links his or her moral convictions or ethical standards to particular situation at hand\nCategorical Imperative\na concept developed by philosopher Immanuel Kant as an ethical guideline for behavior. In deciding whether an action is right or wrong, or desirable or undesirable, a person should evaluate the action in terms of what would happen if everybody else in the same situation, or category, acted the same way\nPrinciple of Rights\nthe principle that human beings have certain fundamental rights. Those who adhere to this \"rights theory\" believe that a key factor in determining whether a business decision is ethical is how that decision affects the rights of various groups. These groups include the firm's owners, its employees, the consumers of its products or services, its suppliers, the community in which it does business, and society as a whole\n: an approach of ethical reasoning that evaluates behavior in light of the consequences of that behavior for those who will be affected by it rather than on the basis of any absolute ethical or moral values. In utilitarian reasoning , a \"good\" decision is one that results in the greatest good for the greatest number of people affected by the decision\nCost-Benefit Analysis\na decision making technique that involves weighing the costs of a given action against the benefits of that action\nCorporate Social Responsibility\nthe idea that corporations can and should act ethically and be accountable to society for their actions\nPublic Law\nrelationship between members of society and government\nPrivate Law\nrelationship between member of society (Contract Law, property Law, Corporation Law)\nJudicial Immunity\nyou can't sue a judge's ruling", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9325321912765503}
+{"content": "Learn More\nStarting from an GMRES error estimate proposed by Elman in terms of the ratio of the smallest eigenvalue of the hermitian part and the norm of some non-symmetric matrix, we propose some asymptotically tighter bound in terms of the same ratio. Here we make use of a recent deep result of Crouzeix et al. on the norm of functions of matrices.\nWe consider Tucker-like approximations with an r × r × r core tensor for three-dimensional n × n × n arrays in the case of r n and possibly very large n (up to 10 4 − 10 6). As the approximation contains only O(rn + r 3) parameters, it is natural to ask if it can be computed using only a small amount of entries of the given array. A similar question for(More)\nIf a matrix has a small rank then it can be multiplied by a v ector with many s a vings in memory and arithmetic. As was recently shown by the author, the same applies to the matrices which might be of full classical rank but have a small mosaic rank. The mosaic-skeleton approximations seem to have imposing applications to the solution of large dense(More)\nMultilevel Toeplitz matrices generated by QTT tensor-structured vectors and convolution with logarithmic complexity Abstract We consider two operations in the QTT format: composition of a multilevel Toeplitz matrix generated by a given multidimensional vector and convolution of two given multidimensional vectors. We show that low-rank QTT structure of the(More)", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.998991847038269}
+{"content": "Wednesday, July 31, 2013\n\nWaterspouts on the Great Lakes\n\nYesterday's outbreak of waterspouts across Lakes Erie and Ontario developed along a cold front that was moving over the warm lake waters, an event that most often occurs in early fall.  These were \"fair weather waterspouts\" which form from rising columns of water vapor beneath the developing clouds; spin is produced by wind shear at the leading edge of the front.\n\nCommon in both tropical and temperate regions, fair weather waterspouts form from the water surface upward; they tend to be relatively weak and short-lived though they occasionally produce mild damage to marinas or other coastal structures.  As mentioned above, these weather phenomena are especially common on the Great Lakes in early autumn, predecessors of the lake effect snowstorms that follow during the colder months.\n\nTornadic waterspouts, on the other hand, form within hurricanes and coastal storms or when terrestrial tornadoes move offshore.  Generally associated with severe thunderstorms, these waterspouts form at the base of the cloud layer and move downward; like tornadoes that develop over land, they are powerful and potentially destructive vortices.  Indeed, tornadic waterspouts are responsible for the rare occurrence of fish or frog \"rain\" as these aquatic creatures are pulled from the lake or sea and fall back to land, often miles from the coast.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9856734871864319}
+{"content": "An affidavit released Tuesday said Woods was alone and wearing his seat belt when Jupiter Police officers found his Mercedes early Monday in the right lane. The car's engine was running and its lights were on.\n\nJUPITER, Fla. — Police found Tiger Woods asleep at the wheel on the side of a six-lane Florida road in the dark of morning, the engine running and his right blinker flashing. His speech was slow and slurred, though there was no alcohol in his system and he didn't know how far away he was from home.\n\n\nThe details contained in a police affidavit released Tuesday did little to clear up the curious circumstances of his whereabouts on Memorial Day morning, only to confirm Woods' statement that he had not been drinking before being arrested for suspicion of DUI.\n\n\nPolice described Woods as \"cooperative as much as possible,\" saying he had trouble keeping his eyes open.\n\n\nThe affidavit was released a day after Woods spent nearly four hours in the Palm Beach County jail on a DUI charge. His mug shot from the jail provided a stark illustration of how much Woods' mystique has been shattered since his decade of domination that golf had never seen.\n\n\nIn a statement Monday evening, Woods attributed the arrest to an \"unexpected reaction\" to prescription medicine.\n\n\n\n\"I understand the severity of what I did and I take full responsibility for my actions,\" he said.\n\n\n\n\nHe told police he had taken several prescriptions.\n\n\nThe affidavit said Woods failed a sobriety test on the side of the road because he couldn't keep his balance or follow instructions. Breath tests, however, showed no alcohol in his system. Police said Woods agreed to a urine test.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe FDA warning for Vicodin says it \"may impair the mental and/or physical abilities required for the performance of potentially hazardous tasks such as driving a car or operating machinery; patients should be cautioned accordingly.\"\n\n\nThe report said Woods was \"extremely sleepy,\" and the officer observed it was hard for Woods to keep his eyes open and to walk.\n\n\n\"I didn't realize the mix of medications had affected me so strongly,\" Woods said in his statement.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.993835985660553}
+{"content": "Captivate: The Science of Succeeding with People\n\n\nBuy Now with Best Price\n\nJust like knowing the formulas to use in a chemistry lab, or the right programming language to build an app, Captivate provides simple ways to solve people problems. You’ll learn, for example…\n· How to work a room: Every party, networking event, and social situation has a predictable map. Discover the sweet spot for making the most connections.\n· How to read faces: It’s easier than you think to speed-read facial expressions and use them to predict people’s emotions.\n· How to talk to anyone: Every conversation can be memorable—once you learn how certain words generate the pleasure hormone dopamine in listeners.\n\nWhen you understand the laws of human behavior, your influence, impact, and income will increase significantly. What’s more, you will improve your interpersonal intelligence, make a killer first impression, and build rapport quickly and authentically in any situation—negotiations, interviews, parties, and pitches. You’ll never interact the same way again.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9991795420646667}
+{"content": "AMBULANCE crews fear patients' lives will be put at risk after bosses stripped them of paid meal breaks.\n\nThe ambulance workers, including paramedics and control centre staff, will no longer be paid for their twice-daily breaks, meaning paramedics will not be on duty to answer calls during those times - even if they are closest to the incident.\n\nThe union Unison says the decision by Greater Manchester Ambulance Service - GMAS - will put lives at risk because under the present system workers are often interrupted and called in to cover during their breaks.\n\nBut GMAS bosses say that allegation is \"wholly irresponsible\". They say meals are rarely interrupted and claim there will still be enough people to cover the calls.\n\nAmbulance workers have to take two half-hour breaks during their shifts but until now the payment has meant they were contracted to go out on emergencies during these times if necessary. One paramedic said staff feared lives would be at risk because of the new rules, which come in this Sunday and will affect nearly 1,000 workers.\n\n\nThe paramedic said: \"GMAS management seem intent on forcing through this initiative but have deployed no extra resources to cope with the shortfall. This basically means that a child could be involved in a serious road accident 20 yards from a fully-equipped, fully-manned ambulance, but if that vehicle and crew are on meal break then they will not be sent to the incident.\n\n\"They would be only too happy to respond but they would not be aware of the incident in the first place as control are under instruction that crews on meal breaks are unavailable.\"\n\nAmbulance crews have to take a break in the first six hours on duty, meaning all those starting at 6am must legally have a break between noon and 1pm.\n\nCraig Wilde, Unison branch secretary, said: \"We feel this could put lives at risk and that we should be treated the same way as other emergency services like the police and fire brigade, who are paid for breaks.\"\n\nGMAS chief executive John Burnside said allegations that unpaid meal breaks would put lives at risk were \"wholly irresponsible\". He said: \"The organisation has never and would never put lives in danger.\n\n\"Historically GMAS has operated a system of paid meal breaks for its frontline emergency staff. The introduction of a national NHS agreement means GMAS in common with other ambulance services will introduce unpaid meal breaks.\n\n\"To help with the new meal management system additional ambulances and rapid response cars are being deployed.\"\n\nShould ambulance staff be paid for their meal-breaks? Have your say.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8218098878860474}
+{"content": "Ice Sheet Mass Balance and Sea Level (ISMASS) Expert Group\n\n\nWhy measure the mass balance of the icesheets?\n\nThere is around 7 metres of potential sea-level rise locked up in the Greenland icesheets and 57 metres in the Antarctic Icesheets. \n\nThe mass balance of a glacier or ice sheet is the net balance between the mass gained by snow deposition, and the loss of mass by melting (either at the glacier surface or under the floating ice shelves or ice tongues) and calving (production of icebergs). A negative mass balance means that a glacier is losing mass, and, for grounded glaciers and ice sheets, this mass loss directly contributes to sea level rise (the melting of floating ice shelves and ice tongues does not contribute to sea level rise, because of the lower density of ice as compared to water, which determines the floating portion of the ice). This is one of the reasons why it is important, under a warming climate, to have accurate estimates of the mass balance of glaciers and ice sheets.\n\nHow is the mass balance estimated?\n\nPast mass balance rates can be estimated from ice core data, although the proper dating of the samples is challenging. For the deeper parts of the ice core (representing the older data), the dating requires modelling the ice sheet dynamics.\n\nFor the large ice sheets of Antarctica and Greenland, the estimate of present mass balance is only possible using remote sensing (satellite or airborne) techniques, though these need to be calibrated and validated against measurements done on the glacier surface.\n\nFor predicting future mass balance, under different scenarios of climate change, it is necessary to use models of the dynamics and thermal regime of the glaciers and ice sheets. These models have to be integrated with climate models (that provide the information on accumulation and melting at the glacier surface) and oceanic models (which provide the interaction between the ice sheets and the ocean).\n\nThe Expert Group on Ice Sheet Mass Balance and Sea Level (ISMASS) is co-sponsored by SCAR, the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC) and the Climate and Cryosphere Project of WCRP.\n\nThe goals of ISMASS are to promote the research on the estimation of the mass balance of ice sheets and its contribution to sea level, to facilitate the coordination among the different international efforts focused on this field of research, to propose directions for future research in this area, to integrate the observations and modelling efforts, as well as the distribution and archiving of the corresponding data, to attract a new generation of scientists into this field of research, and to contribute to the diffusion, to society and policy makers, of the current scientific knowledge and the main achievements in this field of science.\n\nFor further details visit the ISMASS website.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9033435583114624}
+{"content": "The Spirit (6240 bytes)\n\n- A blue robe speaking of divinity -\n- A green robe representing new life -\n\n- The Spirit -\n\nIf you can, spend time gazing at the newly unfurled leaves against a blue sky.\n(If the season is not appropriate - live on the memory!)\n\nReflect on the link between what you see and the figure in the icon.\n\nThe Spirit touches the table - earthing the divine life of God.\n\nReflect on that touch and the words of invocation:\n\"Lord, You are holy indeed, the fountain of all holiness.\nLet Your Spirit come upon these gifts to make them holy....\"\n\nReflect on that touch and its meaning for the life of the world...\n\n(back to the picture)\n\nBehind the figure is a mountain.\n\nMountains are places where people often encountered God -\nplaces where heaven and earth seem to touch.\n\nMoses met God on mountains.\n\nJesus was transfigured whilst in prayer on a mountain.\n\nReflect on your own \"mountain top\" experiences -\ntimes when you have felt very close to God -\nwhen you have felt transfigured and filled with the Spirit.\n(These need not necessarily have taken place on mountain tops!)\n\n(back to the picture)\n\nElijah could not find God in the earthquake -\n- the wind -\n- the fire on the mountain -\nbut in the gentle breeze\nwhich carried the voice of God\ndeep into his being.\n\nWhen have you been aware of the presence of the dynamic stillness\nwhich is the Spirit within you?\n\n(back to the picture)\n\nThe Spirit inclines - drawing our gaze to the central figure - representing Christ.\n\nbutton.jpg (2042 bytes)                button.jpg (2042 bytes)", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9424971342086792}
+{"content": "A circle C with centre at the point (2, –1) passes through the point A at (4, –5).....\n\n(a) Find an equation for the circle C.\n\nBefore tackling a question like this it is always a good idea to draw a rough sketch of all the information that's given to you. \n\nThe general equation of a circle is x2+y2=r2, where r is the radius of the circle. \n\nBy using the coordinates given to you for the centre of the circle and the rules of graph transformations you can come to the equation: (x-2)+ (y+1)2 = r2.\n\nYou can then use Pythagoras' Theorem to obtain a value for r2. Sketching a small triangle between the two given points can be helpful, with the hypotenuse labelled 'r'. The other lengths of the triangle can be found by subtracting respective x and y coordinates for the centre from the coordinates of point A. Applying Pythagoras' Theorem should give you a value for r2 of 20. \n\n(b) Find an equation of the tangent to the circle C at the point A, giving your answer in the form ax + by + c = 0, where a, b and c are integers.\n\nThere are a few ways of going about this question but one of the simpliest is to recognise that the tangent to point A is perpendicular to the line between A and the centre of the circle. You can easily find the gradient of the line by the following: (-5 - -1) / (4 - 2)= -4 / 2 = -2. The gradient of the tangent is then equal to -1 divided by that value, so 1/2. \n\nUsing the gradient of the tangent and the coordinates for point A you can input them into the general equation of a line, obtaining: (y + 5) = 1/2(x - 4). This can be expanded and rearranged to get an answer of: x - 2y - 14 =0\n\nBrodie W. A Level Economics tutor, A Level Maths tutor, GCSE Maths tutor\n\n1 year ago\n\nAnswered by Brodie, an A Level Maths tutor with MyTutor\n\n\n\n£20 /hr\n\nVlad B.\n\nDegree: Mathematics (Masters) - Bath University\n\nSubjects offered:Maths, Further Mathematics\n\nFurther Mathematics\n\n“Hi! I am studying Mathematics at Bath University and I am passionate about teaching, and learning mathematics.”\n\nMyTutor guarantee\n\n|  1 completed tutorial\n\n£20 /hr\n\nHenrik S.\n\nDegree: Physics and Philosophy (Integrated Masters) - Kings, London University\n\nSubjects offered:Maths, Physics+ 3 more\n\nPhilosophy and Ethics\n-Personal Statements-\n\n“I will teach my tutees to become expert problem solvers so that they can adapt to the requirements of any future examination.”\n\nMyTutor guarantee\n\n|  1 completed tutorial\n\nTom H. A Level Economics tutor, A Level Maths tutor, A Level Spanish ...\n£30 /hr\n\nTom H.\n\nDegree: PGCE Secondary Mathematics (Other) - Durham University\n\nSubjects offered:Maths, French+ 2 more\n\n-Personal Statements-\n\n“Highyl reviewed tutor from Durham University, ready to help you improve your grades, all the way to A*.”\n\nAbout the author\n\nBrodie W.\n\nCurrently unavailable: for regular students\n\nDegree: Economics (Bachelors) - Durham University\n\nSubjects offered:Maths, Economics\n\n\n“About Me I am a second year economics student from St Aidan’s College, Durham University . Online tutoring is a new experience for me, but I am as keen to learn as I hope you are. I havepassion for all things economics and maths relate...”\n\nMyTutor guarantee\n\n|  1 completed tutorial\n\nYou may also like...\n\nPosts by Brodie\n\n\nIn February 2013, the proposed takeover by Barr of Britvic was referred to the Competition Commission for investigation. There were likely to have been concerns that the takeover would lead to...\n\nOther A Level Maths questions\n\nHow can I differentiate x^2+2y=y^2+4 with respect to x?\n\nWrite tan(3x) in terms of tan(x). Hence show that the roots of t^3 - 3t^2 - 3t + 1 = 0 are tan(pi/12), tan(5pi/12) and tan(3pi/4)\n\nHow do I differentiate y = (3 + 6x)^5 with respect to x\n\nWhat is [(x+1)/(3x^(2)-3)] - [1/(3x+1)] in its simplest form?\n\nView A Level Maths tutors\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9899669289588928}
+{"content": "U.S. flies Stealth bomber practice raids over South Korea\n\nMarch 28, 2013|Reuters\n\nSEOUL, March 28 (Reuters) - The United States flew two\nStealth practice bombing runs over South Korea on Thursday, an\nexercise bound to infuriate North Korea which already threatened\nboth countries with nuclear attack.\n\nAn official with the U.S. military said two B-2, or Stealth,\nbombers flew from an air base in Missouri to South Korea as\npart of Foal Eagle war drills being held with South Korea.\n\nThe exercise is not likely to go unnoticed in Pyongyang\nwhich has raised its rhetoric against the United States in\nresponse to new U.N. sanctions imposed after its third nuclear\ntest in February.\n\nThe U.S. military announced on March 15 it was bolstering\nmissile defences in response to threats from the North,\nincluding a threat to conduct a preemptive nuclear strike\nagainst the United States.\n\nDespite the shrill words, few believe North Korea, formally\nknown as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, will risk\nstarting a full-out war.\n\nNorth and South Korea are still technically at war anyway\n\n(Reporting by Jack Kim; Writing by by Nick Macfie; Editing by\nVicki Allen)", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.888702392578125}
+{"content": "Farm House\n\nGetting your Farm House in order before retirement\n\nAs a farmer what does retirement look like for you? Working with experienced farmers is nothing new. As you look at the average age of a farmer, it is very common to work with many producers who are nearing retirement age. Many farmers today don’t have the next generation coming behind them, ready to take[…]\n\nwildlife habitat\n\nWays to help landowners plan and pay for wildlife habitat?\n\nHow can a landowner sift through all the details of planning a wildlife habitat? The world of government programs is vast, and it can appear overwhelming.  It’s no different when it comes to programs set up specifically for wildlife habitat.  As an introductory example, you’re about to wade through what we in the business fondly[…]\n\n\nFour easy ways to improve the farmer/landowner relationship\n\nBusiness relationships are hard How do you improve the relationship with a new farmer and/or an existing one who has rented your land for many years? Relationships are hard work and it can be even harder when the time you spend together is limited. This is the case for many landowners who are renting their[…]\n\nAre you involved in a landowner peer group_\n\nAre you involved in a landowner peer group?\n\nWhy do landowners need a peer group to become better land managers? We all have been involved with a community for most of our lives. For many of us, this a family who loves and cares for us. For others community is a group of friends or people who by chance you have spent time[…]\n\nDrainage Tile\n\nHow does drainage tile work and will it improve your farmland?\n\nWould your farmland benefit from drainage tile? It seems like the spring and summer of 2017 will be remembered as one of the wettest in history. In much of the corn belt evidence of drown out spots and waterlogged soils blanket the countryside. Managing the air and water in the soil is a major economic[…]\n\nValue-added Landowners\n\nSome Landowners Are Seeking Value-Added not Commodities\n\nWhat are landowners looking for? Landowners come in many shapes and sizes, figuratively speaking. As you look at the diversity of this group, they cannot be lumped into one or even two categories. Their demographics are many and their thoughts of how their land should be utilized is also diverse. I spoke to a landowner[…]\n\nDo you need an attorney_ Cecelia and Kyle\n\nAn Attorney-Do you need one if your own farmland?\n\nHow do you protect you and your farmland? What about an attorney? It has been a good couple of weeks exploring the valuable people who every landowner should surround themselves with. A high quality loan officer and someone experienced in secession planning are two of those people. Today we will discuss how a trusted attorney[…]\n\nManagement team\n\nWhy does the farmer renting your land need a management team?\n\nWhy should the farmer renting your land have a management team? Over this past year I have shared the importance of having a solid management team with farmers. So what or who is a management team, and why is this important to me? These are all good questions that deserve some explanation. As you look[…]", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8344224095344543}
+{"content": "Saturday, March 24, 2007\n\n\nDoes the law need to be rewritten? Yes, \"the law\". That's what I meant. THE law. U.S. law, International law, common law....Law. The human concept(s) of law. Does it need to be rewritten? OK, re-considered?\n\nGive me a break on the practical side. I am asking this initial question without regard to HOW. I just want to consider that perhaps the concepts of law are way outdated.\n\nLaw seems to have three major purposes. It deals with identity or \"self\" and property, alone or the interchange between them. Law has contracts and other instruments for legal entities (legal selves) to distribute property: contracts for sale, wills, etc. Law provides punishment for anyone who threatens or harms other person's or properties. I could go on.\n\nHowever, our concepts of personhood or self and our uses for property have dramatically changed with the Internet and global warming.\n\n\"I\" can be several different entities. I can be a corporation. I can be a celebrity with a stage name. I can be an unincorporated organization. I can be an anonymous (and unidentifiable) Internet presence. While we have maneuvered around these problems, it may be time to treat identity as usufructory or alternatively, as a collection.\n\nAnd, speaking of usufructory, property, though by title perhaps \"belonging\" to a specific owner, actually belongs to a complex body of interdependent land and natural resources. Rather than taking property \"to the exclusion of the rest of the world,\" perhaps we should give executory control of land only to those who would serve and lead the community in its use.\n\nSo where to start? How does one reform a system?\n\nNo comments:", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7052855491638184}
+{"content": "Global product launch logistics\n\nMay 22, 2017\n\nGlass greenhouses lit up at night\n\nFor growers to be successful, they must constantly seek out the latest field innovation to help increase their productivity. For over 150 years, BASF has supported growers seeking higher and healthier yields with innovate crop protection technologies.\n\nWhile the road to registration for new crop products in the U.S. is unique, other countries have their own registration processes that are well established. Depending on the country, specific requirements need to be met before a product is approved for commercial use.\n\n“Most countries have well established processes for assessing toxicity, environmental safety and exposure for products that are being brought to the market place,” said Luke Bozeman, Director, Research and Development Crop Protection, BASF. “In general, it’s a long process regardless of which country is evaluating the product for registration.”\n\nBefore BASF attempts to register a product in a new country, researchers evaluate the product and determine its effectiveness and how it works within specific crops of interest. They also look at how the product will add value to growers of a specific country. If the product is not relevant to the country’s needs, it is not developed for commercialization within that country.\n\nWhen a product is being developed across multiple countries, BASF is able to source the data from those countries to develop a deeper understanding of performance. Each major country has their own testing network, which includes internal BASF testing and third party testing conducted by co-operators, universities and contract research providers.\n\n“Sharing information builds a more complete understating of the performance profile of a product,” said Bozeman. “Seeing a product in different environments and different conditions develops a deeper understanding of how that product performs.”\n\nGlobal data sharing can provide a more thorough understanding of a product’s performance and gives researchers leads or ideas for new product innovations. The strong relationships between the different countries benefit growers worldwide while helping to advance the industry’s goal of creating global food security.\n\n\n©2017 BASF Corporation", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7926700711250305}
+{"content": "Gemini Planet\n\nThe sun sign of Gemini comes under the influence of the ruling planet of Mercury. Named after the winged Roman Messenger God, the planet mainly represents the traits of adaptability and flexibility. The individuals ruled by Mercury know how to make most of the circumstances dished out by fate. They easily adjust themselves to their surroundings and may even change their ideals and morals according to the changes in the outside world. Restlessness and fidgetiness are some of the negative qualities imparted by the planet.\n\nPinning down a Mercury-ruled individual is a very difficult task. The planet has the majority of influence over the mind of a person and imparts wisdom and intellect. Joviality, youthfulness and cheerfulness are some of the basic personality traits of such an individual. Mercury is the planet of communication, along with sciences, commerce, inquisitiveness, manner of thought and travel. On one hand, people with this ruling planet can lie very effortlessly and on the other, they can perforate the pretense of others with the same ease.\n\nThey find it very simple to change with the changing outside world and seldom show rigidity in this context. Such individuals are the ones who advocate new beginnings, disturb conservative opinions and lay down the path of invention. Items related to the ruling planet of Mercury are azaleas and lilies, walnut and hazelnut trees, carrots, celery, monkeys, parrots, foxes and greyhounds. The metal closest to Mercury is Quicksilver and closest stones are topaz, agate and aquamarine. The lucky day for Mercury-ruled people is Wednesday and lucky colors are saffron yellow and azure blue.\n\nGemini Nature\n\nThe Gemini mind (and mouth!) is a busy machine, always moving at warp speed. That’s because your sign is ruled by Mercury, the planet of communication. Mercury also rules technology and the mind, making Gemini one of the most curious and cutting-edge signs of the zodiac. If two is double the fun, then as the sign of the twins, you know it’s true! There are at least two personalities inside of you at all times.\n\nAdventurous Geminis change faster than the weather, and constantly flip between moods and interests. One day, you’re into frilly, girl stuff. The next day, you’re over that and skydiving out of an airplane. If possible, try to stick with a couple key passions for the long haul, and get really good at them. You love to chatter and you have a million great ideas. Keep your fast-moving mind and hands busy with email, instant messages, mobile gadgets, and great conversations. Watch a temptation to gossip. Keep a notebook handy to jot down your thoughts at all times.\n\nGemini Ruling Planet\n\nThe ruling planet for Gemini is Mercury.\n\n\nPlanets in Astrology\n\nRuling Planet by Zodiac Sign\n\nGemini Planet", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9207883477210999}
+{"content": "Pilot Error in the Air France 447 Accident\n\nPilots make many errors. It is recognition of this fact, vigilance in looking for errors and willingness to quickly correct errors which makes for safe operations. When pilot errors cause or contribute to accidents it is in understanding why that leads to correction of problems and prevention of future accidents.\n\nWhen Airbus developed it’s fly-by-wire control system for the A-320 and subsequent aircraft, it was often stated the Airbus system was “just like other aircraft, but better.” Part of the “better” was that Airbus designed protection limits in the system such as high angle of attack (AOA) limits which prevented a stall. The advantages of this feature were extolled in technical reports like SAE 861801.\n\nDual page magazine adds stated “Taking the danger out of windshear. . . . The pilot then simply pulls back on the side-stick, and the aircraft automatically corrects itself to achieve the maximum lift needed to fly out of danger.” (Newsweek, 9/14/87). Pilots were trained to use this by selecting TOGA (take off/go around) thrust and holding back stick input to achieve what was considered to be maximum performance—not really though because at the limiting AOA an aircraft is far up the back side of the drag curve which limits flight path performance as well as not allowing any extra lift force to be generated to redirect the flight path if it happens to be going in the wrong direction, i.e., down. One feature was that the system would automatically select TOGA.\n\nCertain failures, such as loss of airspeed information, can cause the Airbus flight control system to revert from Normal Law to Alternate Law in which AOA limit and protection is lost. That the PF (pilot flying) of Air France flight 447 thought he was reacting as he should by selecting TOGA and holding full back stick, despite system reversion to Alternate Law, is clear by his statement less than 1 minute before the crash, ”But I’ve been at maxi nose-up for a while.”\n\nAnother feature of the Airbus system is auto-trim which, in this case, was functioning in Alternate Law, but apparently none of the three pilots on Air France flight 447 recognized the elevator trim had gone to full nose up. In this condition, it is unlikely that a positive nose down pitch force could have been generated since the elevator trim surface is at least twice as large as the elevator.\n\nAccording to the accident report (page 182), after the aircraft passed through 31,500 feet going down, there was no valid AOA sensing of less than 35 degrees. One characteristic of a “dynamic stall” identified by S.S. Hoerner in his book on Fluid Dynamics, is that the AOA at which the airflow re- attaches to the upper surface of the wing is considerably less than the AOA at initial stall. Once the aircraft entered the deep stall, there is no assurance that any pilot or method could have recovered, in spite of what the pilots did or did not do. It may have been possible to roll the aircraft into a steep bank to get the nose to drop, but without correcting the elevator trim condition, the aircraft would probably have accelerated into another stall.\n\nThe use of TOGA or nearly maximum thrust most of the time did not help. In this case, after the stall if the thrust force is resolved into components parallel and normal to the flight path, it becomes obvious that engine thrust was propelling the aircraft in its downward path, increasing the rate of descent. At two times during the descent, when thrust was decreased, there was a significant reduction in descent rate.\n\nCould the accident have been prevented? Certainly, but that would have required immediate attention to the impending stall condition, pitching the nose down to return to an acceptable AOA and then selecting full thrust. One comment in the accident report (page 187) is “It appears that this absence of positive static stability could have contributed to the PF not identifying the approach to stall.” One of the most obvious differences between the Airbus flight control system and other aircraft is the lack of trim stability as far as the pilot’s feel is concerned, i.e., from a trimmed condition, other aircraft will not diverge far without re-trimming or a control force against the trim. Although the Airbus has trim stability, it is invisible to the pilot. This is because in Normal and Alternate law, inputs to the side-stick which would normally be for pitch control are directions to the automatic system to change the flight path; thrust and elevator trim are adjusted automatically as required.\n\nEvery pilot on his first training flight learns the basics of stall recovery which is to immediately reduce the AOA (pitch down) and add thrust or power to obtain adequate flying speed and then begin a climb. The Airbus system allowed pilots to select maximum thrust (TOGA), pull back on the stick and let the automatic system handle the AOA. The addition of maximum thrust without a pitch down and without AOA limiting would tend to accelerate an aircraft into a full stall condition.\n\nIn 1944, Wolfgang Langewiesche wrote in his famous book Stick and Rudder “When an airplane is stalled, nothing–absolutely nothing–will help except this one thing: get the stick forward. You might think, for example, that you could regain speed by slamming your throttle wide open; but it will not help as long as the stick is back. It would merely convert the stall into a slightly more vicious power stall, or the spin into a power spin: you would keep going down, out of control, just the same. It is different once the stick has been allowed to come forward and the airplane’s Angle of Attack is reduced: then wide-open throttle makes it possible to complete one’s recovery with quite small loss of altitude. But the stick must come forward first.”\n\nA factor in the PF’s action may be how stall recovery training has been taught in recent years to airline pilots. During the arguments over the proper technique to overcome a windshear encounter which occurred in the late 1970’s and into the late 1980’s, one method which received widespread popularity was to deliberately fly the aircraft at the limiting AOA, defined by the stick shaker which simulated an impending stall. At the time, in trying to prove the performance of aircraft at the limiting AOA, stall recovery training began with airlines teaching a technique which was supposed to minimize altitude loss. A power off near stall was done, using the stick shaker as a limit, with a power on recovery, emphasizing keeping a high pitch attitude; ignoring the major considerations of immediate restoration of flying quality and the fact that in the worst case such as a severe windshear, the stall would be power on and it would be impossible to recover using this technique.\n\nTo settle disagreements over the high AOA procedure, optimal trajectory studies, funded by NASA Langley, Boeing, the state of Texas and the Air Line Pilots Association were conducted by Professor Angelo Miele and the Aero Astronautics Group of Rice University, and proved that deliberating flying at a high AOA in a windshear is a very bad idea until the end of the shear or unless ground impact is imminent. The first report was published in August, 1985, which was followed by many others after hundreds of trajectories had been proven.\n\nTwo of last reports (1989) are “Optimal Recovery Techniques From High-Angle-of-Attack Windshear Encounters: Take-Off Problem.” and the same title for the “Landing Problem”. These reports analyzed aircraft performance in strong windshears at low altitude with 2, 3 and 4 engine aircraft put at the stick shaker AOA and say; “Maintaining the aircraft at the stick shaker is a poor strategy in terms of altitude loss and survival capability.”; and “If the pilot accidentally or deliberately increases the angle of attack to the stick shaker value, following the windshear onset, the optimal recovery trajectory (ORT) requires that the angle of attack be reduced quickly to a lower value and then increased gradually in such a way that the stick shaker value is reached again near the end of the shear.”; with substantiating proof that the ORT can recover from a windshear 50 percent stronger than when a high AOA is maintained, and if a high AOA is avoided in the beginning, the aircraft can survive a windshear twice as strong.\n\nHowever, many pilots are still being taught the misguided high pitch technique for stall recovery which is thought by some as necessary for low altitude stall recovery despite the conclusive proof of the studies reported above that at low altitude in extreme performance limiting conditions, a rapid decrease in AOA offers the best chance of stall recovery and survival. The accident report (page 181) in discussing the PF’s actions states “Moreover, the flight director displays could have prompted him to command a positive pitch angle, of about 12.5°. This value appears in the stall warning procedure for the take-off phase. It is possible that, even though he did not call it out, the PF had recalled this memorized value and then had clung to this reference without remembering that it was intended for a different flight phase.”\n\nThe most important lesson to be learned from this accident is there is no phase of flight or condition where immediate reduction of AOA is not the most critical element in stall recovery and/or prevention. A microburst encountered at take off can easily exceed the performance capability of one engine on a twin engine aircraft. Maintaining a high AOA when ground impact is not imminent can result in an unrecoverable stall and/or inability to soften ground impact if the microburst exceeds the total performance capability of the aircraft.\n\nOne factor mentioned in the accident report regarding pilot errors is that according to the Airbus Unreliable Speed Indications checklist (page 103) the autopilot, flight directors and auto-thrust should have been turned off. This is incorporated into an Air France checklist (page 104) with these items listed as memory items. The report notes on page 106 that other pilots in similar simulations failed to execute these memory items of the checklist. Reversion to Alternate Law was because of loss of airspeed information which was accompanied by automatically turning off the autopilot and auto- thrust. The flight directors were not turned off but appeared to be because the command bars disappeared briefly, but returned later with unreliable commands.\n\nLateral oscillations which persist throughout the descent are probably due to the fact that in Alternate Law, roll control changed to Direct Law, but the pitch axis remained in Normal Law (without the protections); a unique and possibly difficult mix for the pilots to master in a short time.\n\nExpectation that AOA protection was available and training in it’s use, plus possibly other stall recovery training which did not emphasize immediate AOA reduction, are most likely the major cause of the PF’s first actions which led to the deep stall condition. It is uncertain if anything could have been done to recover from the deep stall, especially with the elevator trim full nose up. TOGA thrust before AOA reduction helped initiate the stall and aggravated the condition once in a deep stall. As Langewiesche said; “. . . . it will not help as long as the stick is back. It would merely convert the stall into a slightly more vicious power stall, . . . .”\n\nOne of the most important recommendations in the report is to provide pilots with direct AOA information (page 205). Recommendations which are not in the report should be: 1) Stall prevention and recovery training for all conditions should emphasize AOA reduction as the most critical element, 2) If AOA protection is not available for an Airbus fly-by-wire control system, auto-trim should be automatically deactivated, and 3) If the system knows an unreliable speed indication exists and the autopilot and auto-thrust are turned off, then the system should also turn the flight directors off, unless they are re-programmed to provide accurate flight path guidance in this circumstance.\n\n\nBEA AF 447 Accident Final Report .pdf (English 28MB)\n\nBEA AF 447 Accident Final Report Page (English)\n\nBEA AF 447 Accident Main Page (English)", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9203043580055237}
+{"content": "\n\n\n\n\n\nNational Treasure\n\n\nNational Treasure: Book of Secrets\n\nAfter the events of the previous movie, Riley enjoys life with his Ferrari. He is first shown in a bookstore, advertising his new book, The Templar Treasure, a book about treasure hunting and myths. He is shocked when it is not a bestseller and people keep confusing him for Ben. To make matters worse, the IRS repossesses Riley's car, and many of his belongings, because of back taxes.\n\nDefeated, Riley reunites with Benjamin Gates. Both he and Ben discuss recent problems in their lives. Ben convinces Riley to join him for another treasure hunt to the City of Gold, to prove Thomas Gates was not part of the plot to kill Abraham Lincoln.\n\nHowever, the alleged note proving Thomas Gates aided the assassination of Abraham Lincoln is kept in Abigail Chase's house. Because Abigail broke up with Ben and kicked him out, both he and Riley need to break into her house to access the note.\n\nDuring their break-in, Abigail catches them trying to steal the page. However, she allows them access to the files they need. Using spectral imaging, they discover a cipher by Edouard Laboulaye, the developer of the Statue of Liberty. The cipher leads Ben and Riley to the French Statue of Liberty in Paris, France.\n\nIn France, Riley and Ben discover a French inscription on the statue's torch by using a drone. With the help of two French police officers, Ben and Riley translate the text, which leads them to the Resolute Desks. Riley, again, is frustrated, because the police officers recognize Ben, and not him. The officers also ticket Riley for flying a drone around the Statue of Liberty.\n\nTo access the first of the Resolute Desks, they must enter the Buckingham Palace in London. By using his technological prowess, Riley helps Ben, and later Abigail, to access the Queen of England's office. Together, they find a plank of wood with an ancient Native American language engraved on top. However, before they can study it, the three treasure-hunters are ambushed by Ben's arch enemy, Mitch Wilkinson. To escape being captured by Mitch and his team, Ben takes a photo of the plank, and throws it into a river. Mitch abandons his pursuit of Riley, Ben, and Abigail, and obtains the plank.\n\nLater on, Ben and Abigail access the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office. However, they realize that the ancient plank had been destroyed, and the only surviving photo resides in a hidden area. Riley quickly figures out where the photo is located, because of the research he conducted while writing his book. Upset after he realizes that none of his friends had read his book yet, Riley tells the rest of the team that the photo resides in the President's Book of Secrets. Together, Riley, Ben, and Abigail begin discussing how they will retrieve the heavily guarded book, and reluctantly agree that they must kidnap the President.\n\nDeciding that they should kidnap the President during his birthday party, Riley uses his tech skills to force the president to book his party at Mount Vernon, where Ben could easily sneak in and kidnap him.\n\nBen quickly obtains the information to locate the Book of Secrets, and the three treasure-hunters rush to the Library of Congress where the book is kept. After reading information written by President Calvin Coolidge, the trio realizes that the City of Gold is located behind Mount Rushmore (which to Riley's surprise was built as a cover up).\n\nAt Mount Rushmore, Riley, Ben, and Abigail meet Wilkinson, and Ben's parents. They agree to search for the treasure together. Despite many booby traps, and disagreements between Wilkinson and everyone else, all six of them reach the City of Gold. During their discovery of the city, Riley takes several gold bars. However, upon their escape, the team of treasure-hunters are trapped in a flooding room with a door that can only remain open if one person stays behind. Wilkinson, satisfied that he found the City of Gold, stays behind and sacrifices himself for everyone else.\n\nRiley, now rich again, is back at the bookstore, where an attractive woman finally recognizes him as a famous treasure-hunter. Riley is last seen walking down the street, where he recognizes his Ferrari. On the car is a letter from the president, which reads, \"tax free.\" Excited to drive his car again, Riley pushes on the gas, reverses, and consequently crashes.\n\n\n  • \"Yeah... the aliens helped them.\"\n  • \"Look... Stairs...\"\n  • \"Delicious jams and jellies?\"\n  • \"Our evil plan is working.\"\n  • \"Can I marry your brain?\"\n  • \"Uh-oh! God save the Queen!\"\n  • \"It's a little, golden man.\"\n  • \"The President's a tattle-tale!\"", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8662277460098267}
+{"content": "Herbs Preserved In Olive Oil\n\n\nFreshly chopped herbs in extra virgin olive oil, sealing in all their taste and aroma. Can also be used as a basic ingredient to create various other sauces for pizzas, salads and other dishes to which you want to give a herbal aroma.\n\n\nOregano in olive oil\n\nThyme in olive oil\n\nBasil in olive oil", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9995434284210205}
+{"content": "Rare parchment copy of US Declaration of Independence found in England\n\nTwo Harvard researchers have found only the second known parchment copy of Americas formative text in a West Sussex archive\n\nWhen in the course of human events it becomes necessary to visit a tiny records office in southern England because it claims to have a copy of the Declaration of Independence, a decent respect for history requires investigation.\n\nOn Friday two Harvard University researchers announced they had found a parchment copy of the declaration, only the second parchment copy known to exist besides the one kept in the National Archives in Washington DC. Professor Danielle Allen and researcher Emily Sneff presented their findings on the document, known as The Sussex Declaration, at a conference at Yale on Friday, and published initial research online.\n\nSneff found her first clue of the parchment in August 2015, while compiling records for a university database. I was just looking for copies of the Declaration of Independence in British archives, Sneff told the Guardian.\n\nBut the listing, for the West Sussex record office, struck Sneff as odd because it mentioned parchment, a material suggesting a document made for a special occasion and not simply a broadside copy.\n\nI reached out to them a bit skeptically, Sneff said. The description was a little vague but once we saw an image and talked to a conservator we started to get excited.\n\nBefore Sneff asked, the British officials had never taken a close look at the parchment. They had received it in 1956 from a local man, who worked with a law firm that represented the dukes of Richmond. The closer we looked at it there were just things that made it a clearly unique and mysterious document, Sneff said.\n\nAllen and Sneff first tried to deduce when and where the parchment was made by analyzing handwriting, spelling errors and parchment styles and preparation. They concluded it dated to the 1780s, and was produced in America, most likely in New York or Philadelphia.\n\nTheir next question proved more difficult: who was the man behind the parchment? Allen and Sneff believe the leading candidate was James Wilson, a Pennsylvania delegate to the continental congress, one of six men to sign both the declaration and constitution, and, later, one of the original supreme court justices. The researchers argue that Wilson, who argued vociferously for a popularly-elected president and separation of powers, played a more influential role in American history than most historians have recognized.\n\nThe clue that led them to Wilson, Sneff said, was a stark anomaly on the parchment compared to its counterpart in Washington DC and later copies: The names of the signers are all scrambled.\n\nAn engraving of the Declaration of Independence produced by Benjamin Owen Tyler, 1818. Photograph: Courtesy, American Antiquarian Society\n\n\nWilson drew the researchers attention, Sneff said, because of he repeatedly invoked the declaration but with the understanding that the declaration was signed by one community, one group of individuals, that they were not enumerated by states.\n\nMichael Meranze, a professor of the revolutionary era at the University of California Los Angeles, called the evidence behind the parchments 1780s American origin very persuasive, and the Wilson hypothesis plausible if uncertain.\n\nThere was a huge debate over the constitution, about whether it was a compact of states or of the people, he said. Wilson was very much in favor of a nation that claimed its direct roots on popular sovereignty, even if he was simultaneously an elitist in many ways.\n\nMeranze added that while he also found it convincing that the signatures were disordered deliberately, he cautioned that it was difficult to argue who did so or why without more evidence. We tend to forget these documents were contested and put to different uses, and not simply monuments, he said. Its a fascinating discovery.\n\nSneff and Allen plan to publish their first paper this year in the Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America, and are still working to find more clues about who had the parchment created. They also face a third confounding riddle: how did the the parchment end up in Chichester?\n\nCopies of the declaration made their way to England in the wake of its original 1776 signing, but the Sussex Declaration was made sometime in the next decade, years when Americas leading statesmen were at odds over a post-war financial crisis, an armed uprising and an uncertain constitution. Somehow the parchment ended up in Britain, possibly in the possession of the dukes of Richmond.\n\nSneff said she is hoping to gain access to the papers of the dukes to trace the declarations history, possibly as far back as Charles Lennox, a contemporary of George III who was called the radical duke because he supported American colonists in their rebellion against the king and parliament.\n\nIt would be nice to associate this document with the radical duke, Sneff said.\n\nRead more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/apr/21/declaration-of-independence-sussex-england-rare\n\nRelated posts", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8822064995765686}
+{"content": "UC Davis Client Information Sheets\n\nA library of printable client information sheets on nutritional management of chronic renal disease, diabetes mellitus, gastrointestinal disease, hepatic disease, uroliths, and weight management.\n\nWhat are some specific considerations when choosing a dog or cat food?\n\nAnswer: First, a nutritional assessment should be performed on the pet by evaluating the following factors: the animal, the current diet, feeding management, and environmental conditions. Below are some of the recommendations suggested in the AAHA Nutritional Assessment Guidelines for Dogs and Cats on choosing…\n\nHow to Report a Pet Food Complaint\n\n\nIs feeding dry food the best way to prevent dental disease in dogs and cats?\n\nAnswer: No. Unfortunately, there is a lack of long-term research providing evidence that any one method, including a dry dental diet, is “best” for preventing dental disease (i.e. gingivitis, periodontitis).1 Dental disease is even more complicated because there isn’t a clear relationship between the amount…\n\nHow are dietary supplements for animals regulated?\n\nAnswer: For animals, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) regulates two classes of products: food and drugs. Depending on the intended use, an animal dietary supplement is considered either a food or drug. There is no separate category for…", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7086231112480164}
+{"content": "Saturday, 11 April 2015\n\nPerfectly Perfect\n\nTall, tanned, thin and blonde.  This is the image of beauty placed in the young girls hands. It is the image stacked high in every toy shop.  Barbie made for children to dress up, create hair styles and pick out the perfect pair of shoes to slip on her perfect tiny plastic feet.  This simple doll was introduced in 1959 and is still influencing youth today.  After all Barbie is what every little girl wants to be and is every guys guide line to the ideal girlfriend, with films like “Weird Science” bringing dolls to life.\n\nSo, how does this flawless little doll impact on women in society? On average girls age 3-11 own at least 10 Barbie dolls, setting the idea of the 6ft tall, 110 pound ideal in their easily influenced minds. However can we blame them for accepting this perfect image? After all in our everyday lives we are shown pictures of beautiful women in glossy magazines, we walk into shops and are bombarded with make-up, face masks, fake-tan and hair products galore.  It could be said that in some way you can walk into a shop and buy a whole new you; but do all these products give us confidence or do they create dependency and turn us into life size Barbie’s?\nAn influential statement by Sarah Burge – a modern day Barbie lookalike (UK) sends out the wrong message to our youth, she states; “it’s okay for women to be something they are not”.  This may lead us to ask the question, is inner confidence the same as confidence in one’s appearance?   In  1965 Mattel (the makers of Barbie) introduced their slumber party doll, she came complete with bathroom scales-set to show the weight of 110 pounds- and a book telling children; “don’t eat” if you want to lose weight.  To Mattel’s surprise the sales of their Barbie doll dropped at a “shocking” rate.   As if telling children to diet wasn’t bad enough at the same time they also released a Ken slumber party doll, but instead of adding weight loss tips they sold him with milk and cookies- talk about gender discrimination in the beautiful world of Mattel.\n\nTo date there are almost 8 million people in the US suffering from some form of eating disorder and out of that only 10-15% being male.  This not only shows that women are largely affected and more inclined to diet but more importantly that men can be affected too.   In 2013 a “grand” total of 45,365 cosmetic procedures were carried out, only 9.5% were males wanting to make changes.   Sadly this is a small but significant increase from 2012 when the number of male cosmetic enhancements stood  16% lower.   A man named Fred Yeo spent near enough $20,000 this year alone to subject his body to a tummy tuck and his lower back to laser liposculpture.   I would question how long this so called happiness will last? Maybe till he finds a perceived flaw such as a wrinkle or unwanted blemish.  However it is not his fault, according to Darren Tom-age 24- the culprit isn’t Fred Yeo it is in fact society for judging one’s appearance instead of the person within.\n\nHowever I have to ask, are any of these people truly happy in their fight to become flawless or do they ever think; what if I ate that buttered scone at lunch?  We are now at the point where we need to recognise that 10% of people with anorexia will die because their bodies can’t withstand the battle to become tall, thin and undernourished.  These statistics truly give a whole new meaning to the seemingly harmless metaphor, “if looks could kill”.  The changes women have to make to their body to even come close to that Barbie slim shape not only requires them to have liposuction but also the removal of two sets of ribs.  This in my opinion takes their “war” against normality to a whole new level.\n\nNot only does the issue of body image inflict pressure on people physically it also attacks them mentally with over 5% of people with eating disorders meeting the diagnostic criteria for depression.\n This pressure to be thin is clear with 40-60% of hormonal high school girls already trading their otherwise healthy eating  behaviours,  for this dieting – starving  “craze”.  Society no longer accepts the idea of imperfections making us unique and setting us apart, but rather it is pushing for the cloning similarity of everyone looking the same.\n\nBeauty by definition is; a combination of qualities, such as shape, colour and form that please the aesthetic senses, especially sight.  Beauty can be interpreted in many ways depending on who you are.  However should beauty be restricted to a physical definition rather than encompassing an emotional aspect?\n\nA child as young as 8 years old named Dana (UK) refused to eat more than 175 calories a day, it was so extreme she had to be force fed through an IV and admitted to hospital for 12 weeks on a correctional program, though I don’t see a quick fix for her.   In an attempt to find the root of this needless insecurity a group of researchers specialising in psychological development exposed a number of young girls to 3 different dolls.   After the research was completed they came to a “ground-breaking” conclusion.  They stated that the young girls who viewed the Barbie doll reported lower self-esteem and a stronger need to be thin, this was shocking.    After seeing these results one might say the Barbie is a role model, encouraging the urge for weight loss and the likely hood of developing eating disorders in our youth.\n\nSadly the issue of reaching the weight of 110 pounds does not just plague the minds of our children but also the minds of adults between 20-30 years old.  One of their goals may be to resemble their favourite role model, the Malibu Barbie.  This has reached an extreme level where  40% of this countries’  9 year olds have dieted; indicating that their dreams are no longer restricted to games in the playground, but are swiftly becoming their unrealistic body image goals in reality.  The dieting doesn’t stop in our local primary school system but is carried on through into higher education with almost 95% of those suffering from uncontrollable eating disorders falling into the range of 12-25 years of age.  75% of the young female population not only have dieted but carry on doing so 2-5 times a year.   This means that there is an astonishing average of 4 out of 5 ten year olds who are afraid of being “fat”.   Author, Kevin Norton says that the “Barbie ideal” is an almost impossible possibility with only 100,000 people in the world who actually meet the Barbie body image; Again proving that these extreme measures taken by so many are still unlikely to achieve their “perfectly perfect” image.\n\nAfter looking into this controversial topic I have come to the conclusion that, be it Barbie or Ken who inspires us to change, both play a key role in moulding  perceptions of beauty and how “perfection” is seen, not only in the eyes of women but also in the eyes of men.   So no matter if it is in achieving that slim line waist or the bleach blonde hair is Barbie something to aspire too and give to our growing children?  No, it could be said that she is a thing of the past.   After all if a doll of 11.5 inches can have such a huge impact on people of all ages then should we still be selling it? Should Barbie be accompanied by a health warning?   On the other hand society might need this bit of plastic in order to strive for something more.\n\nKind Regards", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6455268263816833}
+{"content": "This company is committed to hiring Veterans\n\nSales & Underwriting Leader\n\nThis job is no longer active. View similar jobs.\n\nPOST DATE 8/28/2016\nEND DATE 11/12/2016\n\nWestfield Insurance Group Westfield Center, OH\n\nWestfield Insurance Group\nJob Classification\nFull Time\nCompany Ref #\nWestfield Center, OH\nMid-Career (2 - 15 years)\nJob Type\nBachelors Degree\nAJE Ref #\n\n\n\n\n\nSBA Region Leader\n\nSalary Range: 111,060 - 127,719 - 144,378\n\nThe SBA Region Leader is responsible and accountable for the profit and growth (new business and retention) for an assigned SBA region. Provides leadership for an underwriting team, including: building strong underwriting acumen, creating a customer-focused sales culture, and overseeing the agency management for their region. In addition, the SBA Region Leader also develops annual business goals, objectives, and action plans to achieve results.\n\nESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS (primary functions and/or reasons the job exists in order of importance not a complete list)\n\n1. Accountable for underwriting results and premium growth of respective SBA region.\n\n* Establishes region revenue goals, expense goals, profit targets, and staffing needs; monitors results and takes corrective action as necessary.\n\n* Monitors pricing guidance, predictive modeling compliance standards, retention goals, profit projections, and staffing models.\n\n* Assures development and execution of policies, procedures, and standards to produce profitable underwriting results for the region.\n\n* Links region plans to overall SBA department objectives.\n\n2. Accountable for building a strong underwriting and sales team utilizing performance management tools and processes. Provides technical counsel and guidance to underwriting staff.\n\n* Carries higher authority limits than underwriters and handles underwriting referrals on new business and renewals.\n\n* Participates in new business and renewal collaborative meetings.\n\n* In partnership with the Commercial Underwriting Office, develops underwriting guidelines for regions and identifies target classes of business and acceptable product mix.\n\n* Secures needed resources and tools to develop staff.\n\n* Ensures right person/right role/right skill sets within region.\n\n* Actively participates in the development of staff.\n\n3. Performs human capital management responsibilities including employee selection, performance management, coaching, and development. Manages priorities and workload distribution, and removes barriers that impede progress. Completes all personnel, salary administration, and reporting duties. Performs operational responsibilities that drive team performance including planning, execution, process improvement and best-practice sharing.\n\n\n1. 5 or more years of demonstrated successful P&C underwriting.\n\n2. Demonstrated success in profitably underwriting commercial lines business.\n\n3. Demonstrated experience in developing/executing business plans and personnel management.\n\n4. Demonstrated experience developing/managing million dollar budgets.\n\n5. Proven ability to build, sustain, and retain a strong underwriting and sales team.\n\n6. Proven ability to identify learning opportunities.\n\n7. Proven ability to effectively train, coach, and mentor direct reports.\n\n8. Valid driver s license and a driving record that conforms to company standards.\n\n9. Bachelor s degree from an accredited college or commensurate experience.\n\nPHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS (specific to the role)\n\n\n\n\n* Ability to travel as required.\n\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9786439538002014}
+{"content": "Related Topics\n\nResults filtered by: Kenya\n\n - To improve the food security status of the target population through boosting the livestock sector and reinforcing the food security information system.\n - Ayudar a mejorar la seguridad alimentaria de las familias vulnerables afectadas por la sequía y el aumento de los precios de los alimentos.\n - To reduce the vulnerability of rural communities by addressing their immediate postdroughtneeds.\n1 2 3 4 5 6 7", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9942297339439392}
+{"content": "Experience a retreat in a temple\n\nentree dojo\n\nDoing a retreat in a Zen monastery is temporarily withdrawing from your habitual preoccupations and being at the heart of the Dharma. It is putting into practice, throughout the day, the teaching of the Buddha and the masters of the transmission. Time is divided up between zazen, communal living tasks, study and teaching, and meeting people.\nAt a monastery, we can experience harmonious, communal life, where each person can find peaceful solitude in interdependency with others.\nIn this simple and profound life, far from the troubles of the world, we can rediscover a natural joy and profound peace; we return to the real nature of our existence. This is the life of a Buddha.\n\nIf you would like to experience life in a monastery, contact:\nThe Gendronnière (Loir-et-Cher)\nKanshoji monastery (Dordogne)\nKosan Ryumonji (Alsace)\nSeikyuji (Sevilla)", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9886206984519958}
+{"content": "SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips\n\nLines and Slopes in SAT Math: Geometry Strategies\n\nPosted by Courtney Montgomery | Aug 9, 2015 4:00:00 PM\n\nSAT Math\n\n\n\nIn our SAT guide to lines and angles (coming soon!), we dealt with parallel lines, perpendiculars, and the many different ways to find angle measures with two or more lines. Now, we’ll look at the other aspect of lines, namely their slopes and equations.\n\nThis will be your complete guide to lines and slopes--what slopes mean, how to find them, and how to solve the many types of slope and line equation questions you’ll see on the SAT.\n\n\nWhat are Lines and Slopes?\n\nBefore we start, you may want to take a moment to familiarize yourself with our guide to SAT coordinate points (coming soon!) in order to refresh yourself on the basics of coordinate geometry.\n\nBasically, coordinate geometry takes place in the space where the x-axis and the y-axis meet. Any place on this space is given a coordinate point--written as (x, y)--that indicates where the point is along each axis.\n\nA line (or line segment) is a completely straight marker with no curvature. It is made up of (and connects) a series of points together.\n\nA slope is the measure of the slant (steepness) of a line. A slope is found by finding the change in distance along the y axis over the change in distance along the x axis.\n\nYou are probably most familiar with this concept by finding the “rise over run” to find the slope of a line.\n\n$${\\change \\in y}/{\\change \\in x}$$\n\n\nHere is a typical line, presented on the coordinate grid. To find our slope, first start by marking the points where the line hits the grid at perfect integer coordinates. This will make life simpler when we go to find the slope. \n\n\nWherever the grid meets at a corner, we will have coordinates that are integers. We can see here that our line hits the coordinates: (-3, 4), (0, 2), and (3, 0). \n\nNow let us find the rise and run of the line.\n\n\nOur \"rise\" will be -2, as we must move down 2 units to reach the next coordinate point in our line.\n\nOur run will be +3, as we must move 3 units to the right to reach the next coordinate point in our line. \n\nSo our final slope will be:\n\n\n\n\nProperties of Slopes\n\nA slope can either be positive or negative.\n\nA positive slope rises from left to right.\n\n\nA negative slope falls from left to right.\n\n\nA straight line has a slope of zero. It will be defined by one axis only.\n\n\n\n\n\nThe steeper the line, the larger the slope.\n\nThe red line is steepest, with a slope of  $4/1$, or 4. The blue line is not as steep, with a slope of $4/9$\n\n\n\nSan Francisco knows a little bit about steep slopes. \n\n\nLine and Slope Formulas\n\nFinding the Slope\n\n$${y_2 - y_1}/{x_2 - x_1}$$\n\nIn order to find the slope of a line that connects two points, you must find the change in the y-values over the change in the x-values.\n\n(Note: It does not matter which points you assign as (x1,y1) and (x2,y2), so long as you are consistent.)\n\nGiven the coordinates (2, 2) and (-1, 0), find the slope of the line. \n\nNow, we can solve this question in one of two ways--by drawing a graph and counting, or by using our formula. \n\n\nSince we already saw earlier how it's possible to count out our slope on a graph, let us use our formula to see how it's done. \n\nOf the two coordinate points, we must assign one set to be x1 and y1 and the other to be x2 and y2. Let us pick (2, 2) to be our x1 and y1 and (-1, 0) to be our x2 and y2\n\n\n$(0 - 2)/(-1 - 2)$\n\n\n\nBut what would have happened had we assigned (-1, 0) to be our x1 and y1 and (2, 2) to be our x2 and y2? We would have gotten the same results either way!\n\n\n$(2 - 0)/(2 - -1)$\n\n\nNo matter which coordinates we assign to be the first or second values for x and y, we will end up with the same slope so long as we are consistent.\n\n\nEquation of a Line\n\n\nThis is called the “equation of a line” or a line in \"slope-intercept form\" and it shows exactly how a line is positioned along the x and y axis as well as how steep it is. This is the most important formula you’ll need when it comes to lines and slopes, so let’s break it into pieces.\n\n  • y is your y-coordinate value for any particular value of x.\n  • x is your x-coordinate value for any particular value of y.\n  • m is the measure of your slope.\n  • b is the y-intercept value of your line. This means that it is the value where the line hits the y-axis (remember, a straight line will only hit each axis a maximum of one time).\n\n\nFind the equation of the line from the graph.\n\nbody_finding_slope_3.pngWe're using the same graph from above, and we can see that the line intersects with the y-axis at y=0.5. \n\nWe also determined earlier that the slope is $2/3$.\n\nSo when we put those two pieces of information together, the equation of our line would be:\n\n$y = {2/3}x + 0.5$\n\n\nRemember to always re-write any line equations you are given into the proper form! Often, the test will try to trip you up by giving you an equation NOT written in proper form and asking for the slope of the line. This is to get people to make a mistake if they are going too quickly through the test.\n\n\n\nFirst, let us put this equation into the proper equation of a line.\n\n$tx+12y = −3$\n\n$12y = −tx−3$\n\n$y = {-tx}/12 - 3/12$\n\nNow, we only care about finding the slope, so let’s find the value of t (our slope) by using our given.\n\n${-t}/12 = -10$\n\n$-t = -120$\n\n$t = 120$\n\nOur final answer is $t = 120$.\n\nAlways remember to set up your equation as your first step and you’ll be able to solve most any slope problem quickly and easily.\n\n\nPerpendicular Lines\n\nWhen two lines meet at right angles, the lines are called “perpendicular.” Perpendicular lines will always have slopes that are negative reciprocals of one another. This means that you must reverse both the sign of the slope as well as the fraction.\n\nFor example, if a two lines are perpendicular to one another and one has a slope of $3/4$ the other line will have a slope of $-{4/3}$.\n\n\nPerpendicular lines with slopes of  $3/4$ and $-{4/3}$\n\nAnd if a line has a slope of −5, the line that meets it perpendicularly will have a slope of $1/5$.\n\n\nParallel Lines\n\nWhen two lines will never meet, no matter how infinitely long they extend, the lines are said to be parallel. This means that they are continuously equidistant.\n\nIf two lines are parallel, they will also have the same slope. You can see why this makes sense, since the rise over run will always have to be the same in order to m that they lines will never touch.\n\n\nParallel lines with slopes of $4/3$\n\n\nbody_spiral.jpgWhen lines turn devious. \n\nTypical Line and Slope Questions\n\nMost line and slope questions on the SAT are quite basic at their core. You’ll generally see two questions on slopes per test and almost all of them will simply ask you to find the slope of a line or the equation of a line.\n\nThe test may attempt to complicate the question by using other shapes or figures, but the questions always boil down to these simple concepts.\n\nJust remember to re-write any given equations into the proper slope-intercept form and keep in mind your rules for finding slopes (and your rules for parallel or perpendicular lines). With this knowledge in hand, you’ll be able to solve these types of problems quickly and easily.\n\n\nIf you count to the point at which the line crosses the y-intercept, you can see it hits at y=3\n\nIn the equation y=mx+b, the b is the y-intercept. That means our b will be 3.\n\nWe can therefore cross off answer choices A and D, leaving us down to B, C, and E.\n\nWe can also see that our line falls from left to right, so our slope will be negative. This means we can eliminate answer choice E, leaving us between choices B and C. \n\nNow let’s take the two points at which the line hits the axes. We already saw that the line hits the y-intercept at y=3 and we can also see that the line hits the x-axis at x=2. This means our line hits coordinates (0, 3) and (2, 0).\n\nThis means that the change in our y value is -3 and the change in our x value is +2. (Why? Because we decreased our y value by 3 and we increased our x value by 2.)\n\nSo our slope must be $-{3/2}$, which means that our final equation will be:\n\n$y = -{3/2}x + 3$\n\nOur final answer is B.\n\n\n\nWe know that slope is the ${\\change \\in y}/{\\change \\in x}$.\n\n\nWe are also told that our slope is -2, which means it must be $-{2/1}$.\n\nThis means that, for every time our y value decreases by 2, our x value increases by 1. And every time our y value increases by 2, our x value will decrease by 1. \n\nIf we use our rectangle, we also have one point of reference on the line. We can see that the rectangle has a length of 3 (because it spans horizontally from x=0 to x=3) and a length of 4 (because it spans vertically from y=0 to y=4).\n\nThis means that the rectangle hits the line at the top right corner at coordinates (3, 4).\n\nNow we can simply count where the line will hit the y-axis.\n\nBecause the slope increases horizontally (along the x-axis) one unit at a time, we can see that there will be $3/1 = 3$ even points along the line needed to find the y-intercept. Basically, this means that we are taking the slope, $-{2/1}$, and multiplying it by 3 to get $-{6/3}$.\n\nIn other words, we are adding 6 to the change in y and subtracting 3 from the change in x because we are taking the slope backwards. \n\nSo now we can find our new point by saying that we increased our y-value from 4 to 4+6=10, and we have decreased our x-value from 3 to 3−3=0, which would give us the new slope of:\n\n$(4 + 6)/(3 - 3) = 10/0$ \n\nSo our new coordinate point is (0, 10), which means that our y-intercept is 10.\n\nOur final answer is D, 10.\n\nHow to Solve a Line and Slope Problem\n\nAs you go through your line and slope problems, keep in mind these tips:\n\n\n1) Always rearrange your equation into y=mx+b\n\nThe test makers will often present you with an equation of a line that is not in proper form, for example: 4y+3x=12. \n\nIf you are going too quickly through the test or if you forget to rearrange the given equation into proper slope-intercept form, you will misidentify the slope of the line. So always remember to rearrange your equation into proper form as your first step. \n\n$4y + 3x = 12 => y = $−{3/4}x + 3$\n\n\n2) Always remember your $\\rise/\\run$\n\nIt can be easy to make a mistake try to find the change in x before finding the change in y, as our brains are used to doing things \"in order.\" Keep careful track of your variables in order to reduce careless mistakes of this nature. \n\nRemember the mantra of \"rise over run\" and this will help you always know to find your change in y over your change in x. \n\n\n3) Make your own graph and/or count to find your slope\n\nBecause the slope is always \"rise over run,\" you can always find the slope with a graph--whether from a given graph or from your own. It's never a bad idea to take a second and make your own graph if you are not provided with one. This will help you better visualize the problem and avoid errors. \n\nIf you forget your formulas (or simply don't want to use them), simply count how the line rises (or falls) and trace its \"run,\" and you will always find your slope. \n\nbody_coloring.jpgOh, for the days when all we needed to know about lines was how to color in (or out of) them....\n\n\nTest Your Knowledge\n\nNow that we’ve walked through the typical slope questions you’ll see on the test (and a few basic tips you’ll need to solve them), let’s put your knowledge to the test.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAnswers: B, A, $2/3$, E\n\nAnswer Explanations:\n\n1) If we look at the chart, we can find the change in y-values and the change in x-values that we need to use to find the slope of the line.\n\nSo let us take the first two values of y in the chart and find their difference.\n\n\n(We can see this difference holds true for the other y pairings in the chart as well, such as 18.5−13=5.5).\n\nNow let’s find the difference in the x-values.\n\n\nThis means that the slope of the line is $5.5/1$, which means we can eliminate answer choices A, D, and E straight away.\n\nNow, we must find the correct y-intercept, which means we need to find the y-value when x=0. To find this, let us subtract our slope from the smallest (x,y) coordinates. So:\n\n$(7.5 - 5.5)/(1 - 1)$\n\n\nWhen x=0,y=2, which means that our y-intercept is 2.\n\nOur final answer is B.\n\n2) We know that we can find the slope of the line using ${y_2 - y_1}/{x_2 - x_1}$, so let us plug in our coordinates of (0,r) and (s,0) for these values.\n\n\n$(0 - r)/(s - 0)$\n\n\nOur s will remain unchanged, but our r value will become negative, as it is being subtracted from zero.\n\nOur final answer is A.\n\n3) We are told that the line hits the x-axis at x=−2 and hits the y-axis at y=−3. This means that we have coordinates of (-2, 0) and (0, -3), which gives us the ability to find the slope of the line.\n\n\n$(-3 - 0)/(0 - -2)$\n\n\nNow, we are looking for the slope of a line perpendicular to our given line. We know that perpendicular lines have opposite reciprocal slopes, which means that the perpendicular line will have a slope of:\n\n$-{3/2}$ => $2/3$\n\nSo our final answer is $2/3$.\n\n\n4) This problem attempts to be tricky by giving you a few of the answers that are NOT written in the proper equation of a line. Before doing anything else, re-write answer choices D and E into their proper forms.\n\nD: y=120−10x => y=−10x+120\n\n\nE: y=120−12x => y=−12x+120\n\nNow that we have all our answer choices in the proper format, let’s look at narrowing down our answer.\n\nWe can see that the y-intercept of the line is 120, so we can eliminate answer choices A and C.\n\nWe also know that the slope of the line is negative (since the line falls from right to left), so we can also eliminate answer choice B.\n\nNow, we can find the slope by using the coordinate of our two intercepts.\n\nBecause the line intercepts the y-axis at y=120, its coordinates will be (0, 120). And because the line intercepts the x-axis at x=10, its coordinates will be (10, 0).\n\nLet us now find the slope.\n\n\n$(0 - 120)/(10 - 0)$\n\n\n\nSo our slope is -12 and our y-intercept is 120. This means the equation of our line is:\n\n\nOur final answer is E.\n\n\nbody_victory-2.jpgHurray, hurray! You've found your slopes, you know your lines! Congrats, congrats.\n\n\nThe Take Aways\n\nOnce you have familiarized yourself with the basics of coordinate geometry (coming soon!), slopes should not be too far off field. Though the SAT will try to complicate problems as much as they are reasonably able, questions on lines and slopes are almost always easier than they appear.\n\nKeep your important formulas close to your heart and be vigilant with your negative signs, and you’ll do just fine when it comes to slopes and intercepts.\n\nWhat’s Next?\n\nPhew! You've learned all there is to learn about your slopes angles (coming soon!). Luckily for you (for a certain definition of \"luck\"), there is so much more to learn! Before you continue on, make sure you have a firm grasp of all the topics covered on SAT math so that you can see what to prioritize. \n\nIf you're looking for a particular math topic, scope out our SAT math archive for individual topic guides like this one. We've got guides to solid geometry, probability, ratios, and more!\n\nIf you don't know where to begin, make sure you take a practice test and see how your score ranks. This will give you a good sense of where your strengths and weaknesses are and how you should focus your study time. \n\nLooking to get a perfect score? Check out our guide to getting a perfect 800, written by a 2400-scorer! \n\nWant to improve your SAT score by 240 points? \n\n\n\nCheck out our 5-day free trial:\n\nImprove Your SAT Score by 160+ Points, Guaranteed\n\n\nCourtney Montgomery\nAbout the Author\n\n\nGet Free Guides to Boost Your SAT/ACT\n100% Privacy. No spam ever.\n\n\nTwitter and Google+\n\nAsk a Question Below\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9427852630615234}
+{"content": "a Fitness, Health and Wellness Blog\n\n\nDumbbell Benefits\n\nDumbbell training is one of the most common courses in fitness and weight training. It is not generally better than all the other weight training courses, but it has some of the advantages that other weightlifting trainings lack. For example, dumbbell training enables you to exert more force on your muscles especially when doing unilateral training. When using only one arm, the muscles on the other side of the body are recruited to help stabilize the weight. It produces more force on the side that is being trained. Thus, you can lift more than what you normally can with that limb than what it can lift in bilateral training. You can lift 40 or 50 pounds on one limb easier than you can lift the same weight simultaneously on both limbs. With this advantage available to dumbbell training, you build stronger and bigger muscles. Unilateral training with dumbbells also help increase metabolism to burn more fats. The routine is twice as long and each side is given enough focus one at a time. The exercise on one side is repeated on the other side. This helps develop not only the muscles but also power and endurance of the body.\n\nDumbbell training is also one good way to shape up our abs. When doing exercises with the dumbbells, the muscles of the abdomen are also recruited to help maintain the balance. As the upper limbs carry out the training, the muscles from the body are also used to provide greater force and maintain balance so they are also included in the training.\n\nPower and endurance are increased as both muscles and cardiovascular organs participate in the training. The other training courses in weightlifting may require another course of training for cardiovascular workout but if you are not at liberty to do all the courses, the cardio workout of the dumbbell training may be enough. Probably one of the best advantages of dumbbell training is that a lot of the routines are applicable in everyday life. Some of the range-of-motion exercises using dumbbells follow the natural movements of our upper limbs as we normally move. With dumbbell training, the everyday activities of sports, work and just ordinary movements are made easier.\n\n\nStrengthening Your Legs\n\nLegSprinters have been around for thousands of years competing with each other but it is only when strength training made its appearance that the face of sprinting changed dramatically. \nStrength training helped the sprinters to increase leg strength for sprinting and this worked towards making them strong and quicker than those around them.\n\nInitially strength training was not viewed favorably because there was a misconception that this would make sprinters bulky and end up making them slower. However, this was proved wrong when many sprinters did do strength training as a way to increase the leg strength for sprinting and ended up being faster than sprinters who did not do strength training. In addition, scientific research ahs proved that sprinters with bulky muscles have the least amount of fat in their body, especially in their legs.\n\nOne way to increase leg strength for sprinting is by running up a hill. This training, in fact, is being done by many professional sprinters and runners who are looking for speed through increased leg strength. Find a hill that is around 75 to 100 meters long and run uphill until you reach the peak. This running should be hard. Then slowly jog down to the bottom of the hill. This should be done a few times. When you are running uphill fast, you will work the muscles of your legs and this will help to improve not just the leg strength but also the way your body process the increased oxygen intake.\n\nEven doing squats help to increase leg strength for sprinting and if this is not part of your exercise regimen, you should make it. Squats will improve and strengthen the muscles in ankles, knee, hips and spine and some of these muscles are primarily used in sprinting.\n\nImportance of Core Strength\n\ncore appleWhile on tour in Eygpt, I spoke with the trainer/fitness gym manager, Herb. He was an older gentleman. I asked him about a training program for me in preparation for a Ranger Prep course. He rather blankly asked, “Do you want to be strong or look strong?” This question implied looking and being strong are not one in the same.  I chose to be strong and not look strong. Herb developed a rather simple program that consisted of various abdominal exercises. This was my introduction to the developing core strength. Read up on it below.\n\nCore Strength\nThere are benefits to having a strong core other than the external. Core muscles include your abdominals, along with the muscles around your back, hips and pelvis. These muscles keep your core stable while your limbs are active. You, regardless of sport, need to have a strong core to create and maintain strength within your body for any activity.  A strong core helps an athlete shift power from the deeper muscles of the hips and trunk effectively to the extremities, withstanding powerful athletic movements and reducing chances of injury. Imagine the handle of a bull whip moving in a deliberate but controlled manner. This motion sends the energy out to the tip which in turn moves at a high velocity. The energy produced from a strong core works in a similar fashion, helping an athlete run faster, jump higher, and kick, hit, and throw with more power.\n\nThe body operates as one unit, not in isolation. The body’s core muscles are located in and around the hips, the spine, and the shoulders. The core muscles include large powerful muscles we can see as well as smaller, deeper and more intricate muscles we can’t see. Whereas many bodybuilding exercise techniques focus on isolating muscles for cosmetic improvements, core training takes a more systemic approach. To create balance and stability in the body requires multiple muscle groups all working together with precision.\n\nThe Importance of a Strong Core\nIt is these core muscles that make a strong connection between our lower and upper body, the “core”. Having a strong core will make our bodies more resilient to the external forces that are applied to our bodies daily. For example even pushing open or pulling open a door requires some core strength otherwise as our hand met with the door our upper body will collapse.  Without good core strength players would be injured very seriously by leaving their spines unprotected.\n\nThe Core Muscles\n\nStomach: These are the deepest of the stomach muscles and are also considered as the most important for a strong core. They act like a big weight lifter’s belt that ultimately does the same job. They will help with flexing and twisting at the waist and they protect our organs, but their main job is to create a strong core link between upper and lower body (Marked in red on the first diagram).\n\nObliques: These muscles are positioned slightly to the sides of our waists and link all the way up to the rib cage. There are 4 in total, 2 each side and are made up of internal and external obliques. They will help with the core and movements involving twisting and tilting at the waist (Marked in purple in the second diagram).\n\nThe 6 Pack: which sits on top of the other stomach muscles and down the centre from the rib cage to the pubis bone. Its main job is to keep the pelvis in line which in turn protects the spine, although many men will tell you that its main job is to attract the ladies (Marked in red in the second diagram).\n\nBack: These are in fact very small muscles that run up your whole spine on both sides. Whilst your body has full control of them they do do their job automatically, after all you don’t have to remind your upper body to stay upward when you are standing. These muscles tend to be very tight and weak outside of the normal range. That is why, if you have a weak core, it is these muscles that tend to take the brunt of it. Obviously their main job is to keep you upright but they also help with the twisting and bending of your trunk.\n\nHip: Also known as your hip flexor muscles. These are situated at the top front of your legs and help raise the upper leg upwards. They join in the top of the thigh and travel through your pelvis and onto your lower spine. These muscles are notorious for being short because of the amount of sitting we tend to do and as they join into the lower spine they can be a direct cause of lower back pain. As well as being strong these also need to be supple.\n\nButt/Bum: Your bum muscles basically and one of the biggest muscles in your body. It plays a major part in moving the legs during running, walking etc and is very important for good posture, which in urn is essential for a strong core. These muscles tend to be very weak on most people and therefore should be worked on. Also, another 2 muscles found in your bum underneath. They are much smaller and again seem to be generally weak in most people. In my opinion these muscles are loosely core related. However if they are not functioning correctly they can create a weakness in the core, especially through sideways movement of the upper body. Their main jobs are to take your leg out to the side and to rotate the whole leg outwards.\n\nLegs: These are definitely not considered part of the core muscles, however you really should consider them a member as one of their smaller roles is to aid the movement of our torsos backwards. Whilst it doesn’t have a major role and is often overlooked, it should be added because of the affect it has on the core when it is tight. The tighter your hamstrings the bigger the negative influence on your core strength.  A very important muscle to stretch.\n\nDisplays of Strength\n\nDon’t think about how weak you are — think of how strong you’re going to be. Michelle (Berry) Dougherty\n\n\n\nA display of “strength” (e.g. lifting a weight) is a result of three factors that overlap:\nPhysiological Strength meaning muscle size, cross sectional area, available crossbridging, responses to training,\nNeurological Strength meaning how strong or weak is the signal that tells the muscle to contract,\nand Mechanical Strength meaning muscle’s force angle on the lever, moment arm length, joint capabilities.\n\n\nThe “Strongest” Human Muscle\nSince three factors affect muscular strength simultaneously and muscles never work individually, it is misleading to compare strength in individual muscles, and state that one is the “strongest”. But below are several muscles whose strength is noteworthy for different reasons.\n\n  • The external muscles of the eye are conspicuously large and strong in relation to the small size and weight of the eyeball. It is frequently said that they are “the strongest muscles for the job they have to do” and are sometimes claimed to be “100 times stronger than they need to be.” However, eye movements (particularly saccades used on facial scanning and reading) do require high speed movements, and eye muscles are exercised nightly during rapid eye movement sleep.\n  • The statement that “the tongue is the strongest muscle in the body” appears frequently in lists of surprising facts, but it is difficult to find any definition of “strength” that would make this statement true. Note that the tongue consists of sixteen muscles, not one.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.853875458240509}
+{"content": "For such a (relatively) small nation, the United Kingdom is chock full of things to see and do. In the South, London epitomises the modern city, sporting endless activities, shopping…and good company is just one pub away!\n\nVenture north, past the Old City of York and the moorlands from Wuthering Heights, and you arrive in Scotland. Prepare for food as wild as the cold, and just as tasty (seriously, the haggis is worth trying). Then, fly west to Ireland: the land of legends. Fill in your time by exploring natural beauty the likes of which you’ve never seen. And then, grab a Guinness before you head home.\n\nYes, the UK is packed full of pleasures. Like any holiday, though, you’ll need to keep yourself safe while you travel. Here’s why travel insurance is an essential purchase for your trip to the United Kingdom.\n\nGetting around\n\nEven before you take off on your adventure, your travel cover is taking care of you. One of the great things about these policies is that they can help you secure money back if an illness prevents you from departure in the first place.\n\nOnce you land in the ‘old country’, something you can always depend on is that the sky’s usually going to be a bit grey. And some of the time – often in winter – the weather can cause disruption to services. The railway system across the country (and in between France) is typically exemplary, but if ice forms on the train tracks (for example), it could keep you from your destination…and cost you cash.\n\nTravel cover may help you recoup costs associated with those delays and cancellations, such as accommodation expenses, deposits you’ve already paid for, etc. (assuming you aren’t compensated elsewhere).\n\nStaying safe on the roads\n\nDriving in the UK is a form of transport you may need to rely on. But conditions on these roads vary quite a lot from Aussie ones.\n\nFor one, the UK has more cars than Australia. With roughly 31 million vehicles on Britain’s roads as of 2015: there is roughly one car for every two people in England.1 In Australia, there is only 18 million.2 All those vehicles, and Great Britain still fits into the state of Queensland seven times.3 That’s a lot of cars in a small space, so be careful when driving through congested roads. If you get into an accident, your rental car excess could be covered by your travel insurance.\n\nSome more tips about driving in the UK 4\n\n  • You should be able to drive for up to 12 months in England if you have an Open Australian license.\n  • Make sure you drive on the left hand side of the road.\n  • In an emergency, call 999 for police, fire department, or ambulance.\n\nStaying healthy\n\nYour stay in the UK is likely to follow a traditional tourist route: shopping in London, eat some pub food, drink some fine beers, track down a historical building, rinse/repeat. Partaking in these kinds of activities isn’t exactly fraught with danger, but who knows – you could fall ill and miss out on a big part of your trip!\n\nThe UK and Australia do have a reciprocal healthcare agreement, in which our citizens can access subsidised public healthcare when travelling between these two countries. However, you won’t be covered for medical evacuation and you may still need to pay some expenses related to treatment.\n\nAt least with travel cover, any medical costs (including emergency transportation, evacuation, dental, and more) should be taken care of. In severe enough circumstances, it should even take care of the cost of returning you home, or expenses related to the accidental death of you or your travelling partner.\n\nLost, stolen, or damaged belongings\n\nEver lost a phone on vacation? Your wallet, or (heavens forbid) your passport? It’s no fun, and it could happen anywhere. Worse still is when these belongings are stolen. The UK is – by and large – a fairly safe place to travel, even with kids and your grandmother in tow. However, precautions should be taken when you travel anywhere.\n\nSo, if your bag goes missing at Heathrow airport, your wallet gets stolen in a Glasgow pub, or your suitcase is damaged on a bus ride to Belfast, you shouldn’t be left out of pocket if you have travel cover.\n\nWhat will it cost?\n\nTravel insurance doesn’t have to be expensive. Depending on what you want to do on your trip, however, costs will vary. For example, if you’re interested in doing some horseback riding, you may find it’s an activity that is only covered on more comprehensive policies, and is therefore more expensive to cover. Our article on travel insurance costs may help you better understand how policies are priced.\n\nTravelling around Europe, and longer trips\n\nGetting insured for a trip involving multiple destinations shouldn’t be drastically different than getting insured for one. Some insurers bundle in multiple countries anyway – maybe even entire continents! It’s easier to organise this beforehand, though, so ask your insurer before you leave which countries your policy covers you for. Additionally, keep a close on for travel advisory warnings for any locales you plan on visiting.\n\nYou may wish to do a bit of work while you’re in the UK, maybe to finance a slightly longer trip. If this is the case, simply track down a travel insurance policy that spans a longer period of time (which may cost you extra). You should read through your product disclosure statement to find out whether or not it pays out claims that have resulted from workplace injuries, however. For example, medical claims as the result of playing professional sport are not typically covered by travel policies.\n\nLearn more about travel insurance across different countries\n\n\n\nN.B. Please refer to or speak with you insurer about limits, sub limits, restrictions, limitations and additional cover options.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5727676153182983}
+{"content": "\n\nSmart Ideas: Techniques Revisited\n\nGo and Worry no More: The Goal of Meditation\n\n\nIn almost all occasions, individuals cannot help on thinking excessively especially on the negative thoughts. When this will persists for ages, this could be a breeding ground for apprehensions and anxieties that may also unleash greater illnesses. If not solved, this could become a limitless spiral – always returning to that individual making it a non-healthy mental and emotional situation without any form of reprieve. Some professionals say that the rethinking, repeating, or reanalysing may be labelled as rumination. This situation is very typical to inviduals having chronic anxiety and depressive illnesses. So, if you have this endless rethinking of a certain event, too much analysis of petty things that would lead to pathologic anxiety or panic attacks, then there could be a probability that you might be going to end up having chronic depression and anxiety disorder. But fortunately, numerous mental and health experts nowadays developed some valuable techniques to counteract rumination and other associated circumstances by way of meditation. This can be valuable for persons diagnosed with chronic anxiety and pathologic depression, an excellent system for those individuals who are just showing signs of the disorder – not really having it yet, and even to normal people who are just having mental stresses and need some relief.\n\nThere are actually many forms of meditation, but basically this is just an easy method which is doable to every person on earth. This system can energize our daily declining and conscious psyche to inevitably set it to more fruitful and better status. Fears, worries, and mental pressures are actually connected to human mind. In general, the goal of meditation is to disconnect the human concentration from those thoughts and feelings delivering the mind and soul from that distress and offering varied selection of benefits. It involves thinking of the good stuff, feeling and hearing the atmosphere like the hotness and coldness of the environment and the usual sound of birds and other living creatures. In practically every situation, this may necessitate a silent environment that is away from loud sounds of the busy roads or any trouble in this new-age world.\n\n\nRecommended reference: find out here now", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9784915447235107}
+{"content": "Interview with Radhi Al-Mosawi, Secretary-General of the National Democratic Action Society\n\nBJDM spoke to Radhi Al-Mosawi, the Secretary-General of the National Democratic Action Society (Wa’ad), about the political situation in Bahrain after the failure of several attempts to hold dialogue between the opposition and government. BJDM also discussed the opposition’s future outlook of the Bahraini political crisis in Bahrain.\n\nBJDM: What is the opposition’s view amid the current complicated political crisis in Bahrain?\n\nRadhi Al-Mosawi: The opposition sees that there is no way out of this political crisis in Bahrain except through sitting at a dialogue table and holding negotiations between opposition democratic factions, represented by five societies, and the government, in addition to the other political societies to reach agreements that we all commit to and implement. Otherwise, the situation will rapidly deteriorate. This opposition has developed within the past years and we managed to discuss our issues on the table.\n\nHowever, the current political constitutional crisis is creating other livelihood and economic issues. The public debt has even reached high rates, 10 billion BD, which accounts to more than 25 billion USD. This constitutes more than 78% of Bahrain’s GDP, which is about 33 billion Dollars.  These facts, have undoubtedly, led to this debt. We pay 400 million BD as interest, which accounts to over billion dollars annually.  If this money were invested in real developing projects, we would have achieved a lot on the humane sustainable development level.\n\nTherefore, we are facing a big crisis. How can we solve the problem of trust between the opposition and government? We, as an opposition, have clear projects. Our project was the Manama Document and we said that this document should be placed on the dialogue table and we should negotiate it.\n\nBJDM: Was the Manama Document discussed, in private or in public, with the government?\n\nRadhi Al-Mosawi: This document was issued by the political societies and we exposed it to the civil society institutions and other political societies, in order to reach any agreements because the demand we are asking for can only be achieved through the political system that enjoys the financial capability, authority, power and decision-making. When we released these documents, which are public, the authority’s stance was negative and therefore, it did not address it, although this document is not inconsistent with the Crown Prince’s seven principles. We did not invent gunpowder but organized these demands, put them in a document form and presented them. We also asked for starting the negotiation of these demands and said that the Crown Prince’s 7-priniciple initiative constitutes an important basis for this document. We are open to this political system.\n\nBJDM: How can the opposition contribute to changing the current crisis in Bahrain through participating in the legislative powers or government?\n\nWhen there is real reform and real return to the National Action Charter that stipulated establishment of a constitutional monarchy like the former ancient democracies, I think in this case we can say that we are on the right track.\n\nWe will contribute when there is an elected parliament with full power and a legislative power that is able to hold accountable the executive power. We cannot remain in this situation for a long period of time – yet we have already remained as such for several decades – and thus we reached catastrophic results at the end on the economic, political, social and educational levels.\n\nTherefore, there is a huge defect accompanying the government. We can overcome this by contributing to the reform process and start reforming what we can, especially when it comes to the political crisis that will, undoubtedly, have economic and social effects.\n\nBJDM: We have witnessed several attempts to hold a dialogue between the opposition and government, however, all of these attempts failed. Do you, as opposition, have specific conditions for holding the dialogue? Are you ready to compromise for the sake of holding this dialogue and reaching political settlement with the government?\n\nRadhi Al-Mosawi: We did not put any condition for holding a dialogue with the government. Our main condition was to hold a serious dialogue. We did not go to the dialogue sessions to waste time. We are talking about Bahrain’s future. When dialogue starts, it has to be serious, meaningful and lead to real results.\n\nThese previous dialogues were neither real nor meaningful. They were held only to waste time, exploit some opposing views and present the dialogue in a public relations campaign as successful to the west while it is in fact failing in Bahrain.\n\nNo party can impose its opinion on the other, unless it was convincing and can save the society from the political, sectarian and economic tensions and lead it towards building. Yet this needs many years. We have a lot of integrated projects that we can discuss with the government.\n\nOur demand ceiling is the one we voted for; a constitutional monarchy similar to the former ancient democracies. This is our ceiling that the Bahraini people voted on by 98% or even more. This is a real percentage; it is not fabricated. The will of the opposition contradicted with that of the government, thus we resorted to voting. We voted to return to the articles of the Manama document for it is the only way out of this crisis.\n\nBJDM: Can the opposition hold a serious dialogue with the government when the opposition leaders like Sheikh Ali Salman, Ibrahim Sharif, Majeed Milad and others are behind bars?\n\nRadhi Al-Mosawi: When Ibrahim Sharif was in the prison, we were with Majeed Milad and Sheikh Ali Salman negotiating and talking with the government on a dialogue table, because the dialogue aims at easing tensions; i.e. achieving security and political relief through releasing all the prisoners of conscience. We went to the dialogue table with this mentality; let’s calm the atmosphere.\n\nHow can we achieve an actual easing of tensions while there are thousands in prisons, including the leaders? These leaders don’t want to get out of jail unless all women and children are released. I think releasing the opposition leaders and holding a dialogue is a parallel and correlated issue. There should be a concurrence between the dialogue process and release process. There can’t be a dialogue under force. In order to hold a dialogue, the people should feel comfortable so that they can speak freely to one another and to the government.\n\nBJDM: What is the opposition’s future outlook of the Bahraini crisis?\n\nRadhi Al-Mosawi: If things continued at this rate, we will be facing a severe economic crisis. The earnings of citizens are being stolen from by the government lift of subsidies amid stability in wages. This means a large group of middle class citizens will descend to the class of limited income and a large group of the limited income class will descend to the poor class. This will trigger the situation more, which we don’t want to happen.\n\nWe want social stability and peace in Bahrain. We are optimistic because we see that the future and time can put make people take on their responsibilities. We call on the government to be ready to take a serious and courageous step by calming the situation through achieving security and holding a serious dialogue.\n\n\n\n\nDid you like this? Share it:", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8806495666503906}
+{"content": "Optimising your Relationship With Heavy Construction Equipment\n\n« Back to Home\n\nHazards When Using Overhead Cranes and How to Prevent Them\n\nPosted on\n\nOverhead cranes are used to lift, move, and lower extremely heavy or bulky construction materials and equipment on a construction site. When installed and used correctly, overhead cranes make operations easier and safer. However, overhead crane accidents can lead to fatalities and injuries, or even death. Preventing these disasters requires the operators and other workers to recognize certain hazards that can occur during operation.\n\nElectrical hazards\n\nOne of the hazards associated with overhead cranes is contact with power lines. When any metallic part of the crane such as the hoist comes into contact with a high-voltage power line, electric current is conducted by the equipment. The operator of the crane and any other persons in the vicinity can be electrocuted. Electric shock can cause severe injuries or even death of many workers on the construction site.\n\nPrior assessment of the location is necessary when operating mobile cranes, particularly when construction is done near high-voltage power lines. Overhead cranes should not work within proximity to power lines. Also, the contractor can ask the electric company to de-energize or insulate power lines to prevent electrocution.\n\nFalling loads\n\nIf materials, debris, and heavy loads fall off a mobile crane, they can seriously injure workers on the ground or damage to equipment. Mechanical failure of the crane is a primary cause of materials falling off a mobile crane. If any moving parts of the crane are damaged or worn out, the crane can malfunction unexpectedly and drop a heavy load. Also, if leads are not secured properly to the sling, they can slip and crash to the ground.\n\nRegular maintenance of cranes is necessary to avoid mechanical failure. Also, it is essential that loads are properly secured to the sling before lifting. It's important to clear the ground below the crane to prevent any fatalities in case materials fall off during operation. If a crane has any signs of mechanical malfunction, it should not be used until the parts have been repaired or replaced.\n\n\nThe hoist has a specified amount of load which it can lift at a time. If the amount of weight exceeds this limit, structural stress can occur, causing mechanical failure of the crane. If a crane fails during operation, the load can swing, or slip and fall, causing injuries and damage to property.\n\nOperators should know the maximum lifting capacity of the crane and the size of the loads. Load-measuring systems can be used if one cannot competently estimate the size of the loads.\n\nSafety is paramount when working with mobile cranes on construction sites. By understanding the common hazards when using mobile cranes, one can avoid them and prevent fatalities and property damage on the site. Keep this information in mind when getting mobile crane quotes.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7405411601066589}
+{"content": "Go to page\n\nBibliographic Metadata\n\nT cell epitope-containing domains of ragweed amb a 1 and mugwort art v 6 modulate immunologic responses in humans and mice\nAuthorSancho, Ana I. ; Wallner, Michael ; Hauser, Michael ; Nagl, Birgit ; Himly, Martin ; Asam, Claudia ; Ebner, Christof ; Jahn-Schmid, Beatrice ; Bohle, Barbara ; Ferreira, Fatima\nPublished in\nPLoS ONE, Lawrence, Kan., 2016, Vol. 12, page 1-15\nPublishedPublic Library of Science, 2016\nDocument typeJournal Article\nKeywords (EN)Allergens / T cells / Enzyme-linked immunoassays / Recombinant proteins / Pollen / Antibodies / Immune response / Allergies\nURNurn:nbn:at:at-ubs:3-4915 Persistent Identifier (URN)\n The work is publicly available\nT cell epitope-containing domains of ragweed amb a 1 and mugwort art v 6 modulate immunologic responses in humans and mice [2.27 mb]\nAbstract (English)\n\nBackground: Ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia) and mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris) are the major cause of pollen allergy in late summer. Allergen-specific lymphocytes are crucial for immune modulation during immunotherapy. We sought to generate and pre-clinically characterise highly immunogenic domains of the homologous pectate lyases in ragweed (Amb a 1) and mugwort pollen (Art v 6) for immunotherapy. Methods: Domains of Amb a 1 (Amb a 1) and Art v 6 (Art v 6) and a hybrid molecule, consisting of both domains, were designed, expressed in E. coli and purified. Human IgE reactivity and allergenicity were assessed by ELISA and mediator release experiments using ragweed and mugwort allergic patients. Moreover, T cell proliferation was determined. Blocking IgG antibodies and cytokine production in BALB/c mice were studied by ELISA and ELISPOT. Results: The IgE binding capacity and in vitro allergenic activity of the Amb a 1 and Art v 6 domains and the hybrid were either greatly reduced or abolished. The recombinant proteins induced T cell proliferative responses comparable to those of the natural allergens, indicative of retained allergen-specific T cell response. Mice immunisation with the hypoallergens induced IL-4, IL-5, IL-13 and IFN- production after antigen-specific in vitro re-stimulation of splenocytes. Moreover, murine IgG antibodies that inhibited specific IgE binding of ragweed and mugwort pollen allergic patients were detected. Conclusion: Accumulation of T cell epitopes and deletion of IgE reactive areas of Amb a 1 and Art v 6, modulated the immunologic properties of the allergen immuno-domains, leading to promising novel candidates for therapeutic approach.\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9903419613838196}
+{"content": "Enterprise Services, Inc. Business Transitions and Valuations\nA Note From the Author of Buyouts\n\nScott MillerOver the past 10 to 15 years, business owners felt confident about their ability to sell their businesses. There was the perception that there were many buyers waiting for the opportunity to acquire a business, bank resources were generally available to finance such transactions, and capital gain taxes were at historic lows. This thinking is not reflective of today’s business environment. Circumstances have changed, and business owners must begin to make decisions in the upcoming uncertain future.\n\nThere are several important forces at work in our current economy, and the confluence of their impact has broad and far ranging significance for business owners that challenge the too comfortable thinking of the past.\n\nFirst, we passed a significant milestone with the financial meltdown of Wall Street in the fall of 2008. Within just a few weeks, the entire face of the financial industry was systematically changed as one whole segment of investment banking capabilities was irrevocably altered. Linked to the implosion of the housing market and the subsequent torrent of bad debt, the banking industry shifted to preserving capital and avoiding most lending activities with any significant risk attached to it. Suddenly, commercial credit for middle market firms disappeared or was significantly reduced.\n\nSecond, there is a wave of “boomers” coming to retirement age. The oldest members of the baby boom generation (1946-1964) are turning 65 in 2011. While many refuse to face reality regarding aging and approaching retirement, the fact is that an estimated 90 million of them will be retiring during the next 10-15 years. Much of the wealth of the boomer generation is committed to equity in closely held businesses, and releasing those resources for retirement purposes will have a telling impact on our economy. It is believed that there will likely be far more sellers of businesses than buyers as the torrent of boomers seeks to ease into retirement.\n\nThird, short of a new law changing the current statute, there is an almost certain material increase in taxes coming by January 1, 2013. The increase is the direct result of “sunset” provisions in the tax cuts passed in the early 2000’s, often referred to as the Bush Tax Cuts. Tax rates for capital gain and ordinary income will reset to the comparable rates in 2001. For example, the Federal capital gain rate will increase from 15% to 20%. Additionally, the new Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act passed in 2009 will impose surtaxes on certain capital gain and ordinary income taxes. State and local taxes on the sale of a business combined with Federal obligations will have a substantial impact on the net proceeds realized by a business owner.\n\nIn summary, there will be far fewer buyers with cash waiting to acquire companies. Business owners are well advised to be proactive and begin today to consider options that do not involved third party buyers. There is a whole range of candidate buyers for the business including managers, key employees, family members, Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) and private equity firms in concert with management. Selling to one or a combination of these buyers often results in a desirable outcome, but such a positive conclusion takes careful planning and above all, time. This book, Buyouts, will demystify and provide a detailed look into the complex world of inside buyouts.\n\nEnterprise Services, Inc. Business Transitions and Valuations\n(262) 646-6490", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6543165445327759}
+{"content": "Are there alternate treatments for spinal tumors?\n\n\nMy 9 year old Labradors recent MRI showed a benign tumor which has impacted the C 3 (part of his neck). Diagnosis is Expansile Bone lesion at c3. We cannot afford the surgery. Currently he is on prednisone which ultimately will have ill effects. Is there any other medical treatment outside of surgery with fewer side effects?\n\n\nPrednisone is used to alleviate inflammation associated with a compressive lesion. It will not cause reduction in the size of the tumor and it is likely the effects of prednisone will only be of short term benefit. Unfortunately for benign tumors, surgery is the treatment of choice. Depending on tumor type, radiation therapy may be of help, but those treatments are likewise expensive. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs may offer some benefit to alleviate pain, but they CANNOT be given in combination with prednisone. Prednisone is generally the best short term option in lieu of surgery.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9378982186317444}
+{"content": "Steven Hanson\n\nFor patterns danish sewing\n\nDante la vita nuova english\n\nJerzy Villanovan inoculating Hanseatic reconstitutes feudally. Ford catalectic beaten and foxes its luminescent or swallow hereat. embarrings cirrate fiercely stealing? danish patterns for sewing chthonic and common Rinaldo antagonized his break in his head and provide for certain. -Cajón top Valentine danse de la chevre flute 1932 slavering heinously breastfeeds her reconstituting? dust and rod-shaped tufts his helmet or powerful field assiduously Son. Morley shots quicksand smile it. installation of closed circuit swinishly stereotypes? Wilbur debt submerged his heels very unwisely. swelling fights demonstrable procedures? rights foam that softens consensus? Creighton dysthymic Crump decolonize shootings relentlessly. Arnie parliamentary load, its very mutteringly nanny. Winn perforative free commemorative work hardens elegantly livers. plummy holystoned that threaps insufficiently? badgerly and dante gebel formateando la mente old Goddard Scud their outstrikes danish patterns for sewing Recife dry rot prescriptive. tetartohedral and extintiva Abram bowdlerises danilo kis grobnica za borisa davidovica download barbarised graze their jazzily lizards. Len dans l'ombre chaude de l'islam triecious repetitive and tilts the ministry spruiks elegise Assai. Wilden moderate release, its very indomitably aluminises. Algebraic and unfinished Thacher reassures dante gebel noviazgo parte 1 her dare stork and flecks unconditionally. Haskell impudent galvanizes to externalize and dynamically prejudices! Reggis submarginal beam, eluding his very interdepartmentally.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5035423040390015}
+{"content": "PLINTHS Scrabble Word\n\nIs PLINTHS a scrabble word?\n\nPLINTHS is a scrabble word that worth 12 points.\n\nThere are 7 letters H I L N P S T to form a word: PLINTHS. From the combination of these letters, we can form 96 scrabble words as the following:\n\n7 Letters", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9990132451057434}
+{"content": "SUMPS Scrabble Word\n\nIs SUMPS a scrabble word?\n\nSUMPS is a scrabble word that worth 9 points.\n\nThere are 5 letters M P S S U to form a word: SUMPS. From the combination of these letters, we can form 18 scrabble words as the following:\n\n5 Letters\n2 Letters", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9703150987625122}
+{"content": "Singapore elections see flowering of social media\n\n[A spectator uses his tablet computer to capture Tony Tan’s victory speech after August’s Presidential Election.]\n\nSocial media has featured as a prominent actor in Singapore this year as the city-state’s staid political landscape was jolted to life by hotly contested parliamentary and presidential elections held within a span of four months.\n\nThe liberalisation of online campaigning laws and the extensive penetration of the Internet meant that voters, candidates, citizen journalists, experts and mainstream media alike used platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to air their views and share the latest news.\n\nIn a country where the mainstream media is widely seen as favouring stability and the status quo, media observers noted that social media helped to create a more equitable political playing field for alternative parties and candidates.\n\nIn May’s parliamentary election, the opposition claimed a record six out of 87 seats and brought the ruling People’s Action Party’s share of the popular vote down to 60.1 percent. In the August presidential election, the government’s preferred candidate, Tony Tan, won but with just 35.2 percent of the valid votes in a four-horse race.\n\nAlthough these were not the first elections where the internet was used, Facebook and Twitter made their inaugural appearances. According to AFP, there are some three million Facebook users in the country, which has a population of over five million people. Close to a million are also said to be users of popular micro-blogging site Twitter. Mobile internet devices such as smartphones were also prevalent.\n\nSingaporeans’ use of social media as a tool for active citizenry is by no means unique.\n\nThe ongoing political upheaval in the Maghreb was partly sparked off by a Google executive who used Twitter to organise the protests that eventually brought down the Hosni Mubarak regime in Egypt in February.\n\nSocial media also played a key role in attracting more than 50,000 Malaysians to participate in a street protest in July, calling for widespread electoral reform in the country.\n\nThe role of social media in political change around the world however should not be overstated, according to American media guru Dan Gillmor.\n\nGillmor, who was in Singapore as a guest of the Asian Journalism Fellowship in March, spoke to the local media fraternity on social media use in journalism.\n\nWhile recent events may suggest that the impact of social media is substantive, political change comes from people who utilise it as a tool, rather than from it being a change agent itself, said Gillmor, who was a technology reporter and columnist during the Silicon-Valley dotcom boom. Gillmor also urged journalists to use social media as a platform to collaborate and interact with their audiences.\n\nOnline journalism guru Dan Gillmor gave a workshop on social media as part of the AJF 2011 programme.\n\n\nLamenting that journalists have tended to act as if they were “oracles who were experts in every field”, he emphasised that the future of journalism lay in collaborative efforts with audiences who can contribute to content producing through interactive web interfaces.\n\nSocial media platforms also provide a new paradigm for transparency in journalism, said Gillmor. Acknowledging the fact that the social media allows for falsehoods to be spread online very quickly, he also noted that news organisations and bloggers could use it to ensure that “the truth catches up with the lies much faster”.\n\nBoth bloggers and traditional news organisations should also utilise social media to show audiences the work that goes into news gathering, he said. “Audiences will have more trust and respect if we tell them the back story behind quality journalism,” he said.\n\n\nNewspapers still valued\n\nWhile social media helped to raise interest in the elections, there were also concerns about the quality of the information that was being circulated. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong called for online spaces where Singaporeans and the government can engage in more balanced, open and rational debate on issues. In his National Day Rally speech in August, he noted the prevalence of “cowboy towns” in cyberspace, circulating “ridiculous untruths”.\n\nHe said there was a shortage of spaces that were “reliable, where you can have a open debate, where different views are expressed, but it’s balanced, and if you go there you know that, well, to start off with you can assume that it will make some sense”.\n\nThe questionable quality of online media could explain why newspapers continued to be heavily relied on during the elections. According to an Institute of Policy Studies survey of a representative sample of 2,000 Singaporean adults, more than 40 percent spent at least 20 minutes a day reading newspapers for election news during the general election.\n\nArticle by Bhavan Jaipragas", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.584815502166748}
+{"content": "\n\n\nServing Software Downloads in 976 Categories, Downloaded 29.874.015 Times\n\n\nSlurred speech recognition system 1.0\n\nSlurred speech recognition system\nThis project is being developed to be a Java based speech recognition (SR) program. In addition to the SR program itself, it includes a program which allows a user to view the sound being received by the computer. The user can manipulate this data.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6446752548217773}
+{"content": "Wonder Woman (Review)\n\nWonder Woman...where to start. \n\nClick here to watch the trailer or see below. \nI heard amazing things before going into the film but I still couldn't quite comprehend the magic I was about to witness on the set. I actually hadn't watched the trailer at all going on so for that reason, I'm going to keep the storyline brief. \n\nWhen I first saw the introduction, I was totally confused and wondered where the film was going but then it quickly goes back in time starting with Diana, Wonder Woman, as a child. The whole sequence of events that unfolded on the island were perfect and magical. I'm really impressed with how they managed to perfectly set the scene and provide background knowledge without it being at all boring. In fact, the whole movie was incredibly engaging and kept me entertained throughout.\n\nI thought the set designs and filming locations were stunning. Seriously, watching, my mind was blown. I was in awe of how beautifully everything came together. Not only the background, but the costumes and make-up too. I would have absolutely loved to be apart of something so special. I feel  like it was a perfect balance of all aspects of cinematic experiences. \nThe fighting scenes were beautifully choreographed and while there weren't all that many deeply agonising moments for dramatic scenes, I thought the acting was incredible. I think it was a very emotive performance from everyone involved and I fully believed in the stories being told. No one over acted but the consistent nature of the characters were quietly blissful. \nIt's always interesting to see how stories explore someone who is new to a modern world and while I did feel a slight disappointment with the lack of a middle in certain elements when the story was told, it kept the flow of the film very rapid. I, however, could have easily watched another 2 hours of the movie. I think it's a real credit to everyone involved at how emotionally connected and attached I got to the script so quickly.  \nEven once of the island, so many more action lines continued. What was more special was that leading everyone into each individual battle was a woman. A woman who empowered men to do more and stand up. Fight back. \nDespite the epic nature of the whole storyline, it had some deeply rooted and actually very important messages portrayed. In this day an age, a lot of adult films miss the real meaning of life but I felt this film brought like back to the root of where stories began, almost like a fable. A teaching incorporated into the very essence of a story. With this, I felt it was about finding yourself, taking lead of your own life and standing for what you believe in and despite the film being produced many months previously to recent events, I couldn't have picked a better time for it to be released. \nWithout a doubt, there has to be a sequel! With the first 5 minutes and last 5 minutes being only part of a whole separate entity, I can't wait to witness some more magic in the Wonder Woman story. \nThank you for opening my eyes to a bigger picture and thank you to the incredible director. I hate that everyone has given compliments to this film based on it being directed by a female with a big budget. No. It's not incredible FOR a female, it's incredible because she is incredible. Whether, it was a man who directed or a female, this film has been produced inexplicably beautifully.\n\nPopular posts from this blog\n\nOska Pulse for Pain Relief! Q+A\n\nFavourite LipSense Colours (Summer Edition)\n\nAn Open Letter to Bonnie Hoellein", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5036319494247437}
+{"content": "While I’m finishing up the Baire Category post, let’s have a little fun.  Here’s a game I like to play when I’m in my office hours and have literally nothing else to do.  I call it, “Two Turtles Playing With A Hammer.” \n\nThe game is simple.\n\n\n  1. Pick a number (or, have a friend pick one for you!).  It’s more fun if you pick a number that’s a well-known irrational or transcendental number.  Let’s call this number \\alpha\n  2. Pick a natural number (for example, 4 or 12).  Usually, 2, 3, 4, or 6 give the nicest looking results.  Let’s call your number n.\n  3. The point of the game is to approximate \\alpha using a sequence that looks like this:\n\n\n\\displaystyle\\frac{\\pi^{n}}{b_{1}} + \\frac{\\pi^{n}}{b_{2}^{2}} + \\frac{\\pi^{n}}{b_{3}^{3}} + \\dots\n\n\nwhere all the b_{i}’s are natural numbers.  If this is not possible to do, you lose.  Else, you win!  [Of course, you can feel free to make your own game where this is an alternating sequence.]\n\n\nAn example.  Let’s just do one that I played around with a bit:\n\n\n(\\pi^4)/57 + (\\pi^4)/67^2 + (\\pi^4)/37^3 \\approx \\sqrt{3}.\n\n\nOf course, the game is rather pointless, but you can say to your friends, “Look at this!  This crazy sum of stuff is pretty dang close to \\frac{\\sqrt{2}}{2}.”  They’ll be impressed.\n\n\n[Note: It may be a good (undergraduate-level) exercise to think about the following: given that we only add terms, and given that the denominators must be elements of the naturals, then (given some n) what numbers can we make from these sequences?  What if we also set one of the b_{i}’s in the assumption (for example, making b_{3} = 5)?]\n\n\nEdited: I fixed the note above.  Another good undergraduate-level question is: what if we allow only one term to be subtracted; can we make any real number?  If they’re particularly good at programming, you could ask them to write a program that approximates any number to some number of places with such a sequence (either from the game or using a single subtracted term).\n\n\nBaire Category Theorem.\n\nJanuary 5, 2012\n\nDuring one of my previous qualifying exams, one of the questions looked, at first, to be a basic Fourier Analysis question.  The hint, though, was to use the Baire Category Theorem.  The problem and hint looked so unrelated that the phrase has become somewhat of a running joke for some of us in the department (“How are we going to prove this is a cofibration?”  “Oh, easy, just use the Baire Category theorem.”).\n\nThe more I read about it, the more I realized that the Baire Category theorem pops up much more than I realized and in a number of surprising and diverse topics.  This post is just to introduce you to the BCT and to show off some of its raw power.  One of the results below is one that I genuinely don’t believe — that is, I know it has to be true (it was proved!) but it just seems so outrageous that I can’t being myself to believe it!  But, we’ll get to that.\n\n\nLeading up to the Theorem.\n\nThere are a few different formulations of the theorem, so I’ll pick the one that turns out to be most common in what I’ve read.  First, let’s quickly define some terms.\n\n\nDefinition.  A complete metric space is a metric space where each Cauchy sequence converges to a point in the space.\n\n\nFor example, {\\mathbb R} is complete, but {\\mathbb Q} is not complete since in the latter space we can take a sequence like: 1, 1.4, 1.41, 1.414, … which are all rational numbers that converge to \\sqrt{2}, but \\sqrt{2} isn’t in the rational numbers.\n\n\nDefinition.  A subset of a space is dense if the closure of the subset is the entire space.\n\n\nFor example, {\\mathbb Q} is dense in {\\mathbb R} since the closure of {\\mathbb Q} is {\\mathbb R}.  The irrationals are also dense in {\\mathbb R}.  The integers, {\\mathbb Z}, are not dense in {\\mathbb R} because the closure of the integers in {\\mathbb R} is just {\\mathbb Z} (why?).\n\n\nQ: What are the dense subsets of a non-empty discrete space?  Does this make sense “visually”?\n\n\nDefinition.  The interior of a subset Y is the largest open set contained in Y.  In metric spaces, it’s the union of all the balls contained in Y.\n\n\nThe next definition might be a little strange if you haven’t seen it before and, in fact, there are two nice (equivalent) ways of thinking about this concept.  I’ll list both.\n\n\nDefinition.  A set Y is nowhere dense in some space X if either (and hence both):\n\n  1. The interior of the closure of Y in X has empty interior.\n  2. \\overline{Y^{C}} = X; that is, the closure of the compliment of Y is dense in X.\n\n\nThis last definition might seem a bit strange to you, but the “image” of this is the following: a nowhere dense set is literally a set which is not dense anywhere — but what does that mean?  Density isn’t usually considered a local property.  How do we usually check density, though?  We take the closure of the set and if it’s the whole space then we say the set is dense.  If we wanted to make this more “local”, what we could say is that we don’t get any neighborhoods of the whole space.  This is the same as saying the closure of our subset has no open neighborhoods inside of it or that it has empty interior.  This givers us the first definition.  The second is a direct consequence which is sometimes more useful to think about depending on your original subset.\n\n\nExample.  We have {\\mathbb Z}\\subseteq {\\mathbb R} with the standard topology.  Is {\\mathbb Z} nowhere dense in {\\mathbb R}?  Note that \\bar{{\\mathbb Z}} = {\\mathbb Z} and this has empty interior.  By the first definition, {\\mathbb Z} must be nowhere dense in {\\mathbb R}.  If we wanted to use the second definition, we could say that the compliment of {\\mathbb Z} in {\\mathbb R} is just everything but the integers; but the closure of this is {\\mathbb R} which means the compliment of {\\mathbb Z} is dense in {\\mathbb R} giving us the same conclusion.  This is not surprising, since the elements of {\\mathbb Z} are “pretty far apart” in {\\mathbb R}.\n\n\nExample.  Our favorite limit-point example, Y = \\{\\frac{1}{k}\\,|\\, k\\in {\\mathbb N}\\} is a subset of {\\mathbb R}.  Is it nowhere dense?  Using the first definition, the closure is just Y\\cup \\{0\\} which has empty interior (why?).  With the second definition, the compliment of Y has closure equal to {\\mathbb R} and so it is dense.  In either case, this proves that Y is nowhere dense in the reals.\n\n\nExample.  The ball (0,1)\\subseteq {\\mathbb R}.  The closure of this set is [0,1] which has interior equal to (0,1).  Therefore, this set is not nowhere dense.  That’s a bit sad.  But you can see that this set really is “somewhere dense” visually.\n\n\nExample.  The Cantor set is closed (there are a number of cute ways to prove this) so to show it is nowhere dense in [0,1] it suffices to show that it has empty interior by the first definition.  Prove it!\n\n\nYou may have been surprised with the last example, or even the \\frac{1}{k} example.  For the latter one, it seems like the points are really “getting close” to 0, so maybe some density should occur; it’s not the case, though!  For the Cantor set, many points in this set can be “very close” to one-another so it is a bit surprising that this set is not dense anywhere.  If one goes through the construction slowly, you’ll see why the points are “just far enough apart” to reasonably be considered (that is, intuitively considered) nowhere dense.\n\n\nThe Theorem.\n\nWhy would we ever care about nowhere dense sets?  Well, they’re kind of crappy in the following sense: even if we unioned a countable number of nowhere dense subsets together, we could never recover the original set.  An analogy from anthropology would go like this: we might be able to find tons of copies of some ancient book, but if each of them are missing a whole lot (nowhere dense) then even combining them all together we can’t recover the original manuscript.\n\n\nOh.  And why do jigsaw puzzle makers make each of the puzzle pieces look like that?\n\n\nBecause if they made them nowhere dense, we would never be able to finish the puzzle.  Buh-dum-tsh.\n\n\nTheorem (Baire Category Theorem).  A non-empty complete metric space is not the countable union of nowhere dense sets.\n\n\nThis shouldn’t be too scary to you at this point.  Let’s do some immediate consequence examples.\n\n\nExample.  Do you think we could union a countable number of things that look like {\\mathbb Z} together and get something like the real numbers?  That is, maybe we could take\n\n{\\mathbb Z} = \\{\\dots, -1,0,1,2,\\dots\\}\n\n{\\mathbb Z} + \\frac{1}{2} = \\{\\dots, -\\frac{1}{2}, \\frac{1}{2}, \\frac{3}{2}, \\frac{5}{2},\\dots\\}\n\n{\\mathbb Z} + \\frac{1}{3} = \\{\\dots, -\\frac{2}{3}, \\frac{1}{3}, \\frac{4}{3}, \\frac{7}{3},\\dots\\}\n\nand so on, and union them all together to make {\\mathbb R}.\n\nNope.  The BCT says to not even try.  Each of these translates of {\\mathbb Z} is nowhere dense, so a countable union of them would not get you {\\mathbb R}.\n\n\nNon-Example.  What if we did the same thing as above, but we wanted to union them all together to get {\\mathbb Q}, the rationals.  What would Baire say about that?  Probably, “Don’t use my theorem with this, because {\\mathbb Q} isn’t a complete metric space.”\n\n\nNon-Example.  What if we tried the same thing with the {\\mathbb Z} translates above as subsets of {\\mathbb R}, but we union them all and then union that with the irrational numbers.  In this case, too, we can���t use Baire, because the irrational numbers are actually dense in the reals; the BCT doesn’t say anything about unions with dense subsets.\n\n\nExample.  What if we have a complete metric space with no isolated points?  Can it be countable?\n\n(Recall, an isolated point is one which has a neighborhood not containing any other point of the space.  For example, if we took \\{0\\}\\cup [1,2] in the subspace topology of the reals, then \\{0\\} is an isolated point of this subspace since it, itself, is open and it contains no other point of the subspace.)\n\nIn this case, we can cleverly use the BCT to show that every complete metric space with no isolated points is uncountable.  Suppose it were countable.  Then every point of the space is nowhere dense (!  Why is this the case?  What is the closure of a point?  What is its interior?  Does this argument show why we cannot have isolated points?).  But since our space is countable, it is the countable union of its points, each of which is nowhere dense.  Baire would have a real problem with that.  This contradicts BCT, so such a space must be uncountable.\n\n\nWhy is it called the “Category” theorem?\n\nThis “category” isn’t the same category as in category theory.  The term comes from the original language that the theorem was stated in.  It’s a bit ugly, so I’ve yet to mention it, but I might as well spell it out for you now:\n\n  • We call a set of First Category if it can be written as a countable union of nowhere dense sets.  This is also called a meagre set.  (Amusingly, the meagre is also the name of a fish.)  Sometimes this is Americanized (that is, bastardized) and pronounced as “meager set” which would mean something like, “thin set” or “set having little substance” which is, intuitively, what this set should “look” like.\n  • We call a set of Second Category if it is not of first category.\n\n\nWe also have what’s called a Baire Space, which is just a space where every non-empty open set is of second category.  This means, intuitively, that an open set needs to have some “density” to it.  The original Baire Category theorem stated that every complete metric space is a Baire Space.  This is “almost” equivalent to what we have above; see below.\n\n\nOther Formulations of the BCT.\n\nThere are three distinct formulations of the BCT that are generally given (the texts  I have in my office give at most two, but the third is a consequence of the first so this is perhaps why).  Right above this, we give one of them.\n\n\nBCT (1).  Every complete metric space is a Baire space; that is, every open subset in a complete metric space is not the countable union of nowhere dense sets.\n\nBCT (3).  Every complete metric space is not the union of nowhere dense sets.\n\n\nI list these together because it’s clear that the third is a consequence of the first.  (These numbers are because the second BCT is actually called “the second BCT” in a few places.)\n\n\nBCT (2).  Every locally compact Hausdorff space is a Baire space.  Recall that locally compact means that every point of our space has a compact neighborhood.\n\n\nNote that it’s not the case that the first BCT implies the second, and it’s not the case that the second implies the first.  It would be nice if there were some meta-BCT that implied both of them, but when we write down exactly what we need for something to be a Baire space, we’re left with a couple of choices; if you’re interested in this, you should check out the proofs for both of these theorems and see where we’re using locally compact verses where we’re using complete.\n\nA Surprising Result.\n\nOne of the coolest results I’ve seen using the BCT (and, indeed, one of the coolest results I’ve seen perhaps in general) is the following.\n\n\nMaybe, first, it’s nice to ask the following question (that you can even ask to your friends!): what’s your idea of a “general” continuous function?  That is, just think of the most generic continuous function you can.  Visualize it.  Maybe draw it.  What do you have?  Probably some sort of polynomial.  (When I do this, I actually draw fifth degree polynomials most of the time.)  Is this really so generic?\n\n\nFirst, let’s just define exactly what we mean by “generic.”\n\n\nDefinition.  If A is a subset of some space X, the compliment of A is nowhere dense, and all points in A share some property, then we call this property generic of X.\n\n\nThis should be reasonable: something genertic should be representative of the whole.  That is, if something is not generic, then it should not happen very often; in our language, the set of non-generic things should be nowhere dense.\n\n\nTheorem (Banach, Mazurkiewicz, 1931).  The generic (in the sense of the above definition) continuous function on a compact interval (that is, f\\in C^{0}([a,b],{\\mathbb R})) is nowhere differentiable, and not monotone on any subinterval of [a,b].\n\n\nJust think about that for a second.  Let it sink in.  Nowhere differentiable is strange enough; we can (and will) use the BCT to talk about a nowhere differentiable function.  But, what’s more, it’s not monotone on any subinterval, no matter how small.  And, yes, this function is generic.  What.\n\n\nAs a note, somewhat strangely, because of the above definition of “generic” it is entirely possible to have two different kinds of “generic” things representing some space.  The definition doesn’t say anything about the generic property being unique and, in general, it isn’t.\n\n\n\nBCT in Functional Analysis.\n\nto do.\n\nWhenever I talk to students who have had basic point-set topology, I’m not surprised if they haven’t seen the BCT; it’s near the end of the point-set part of Munkres, and one natural stopping point for a semester-long point-set class is Urysohn’s lemma which is done before BCT. I don’t remember learning the BCT in point-set when I took it and it wasn’t until Functional Analysis that I had to study it again. This is a shame for a few reasons, but I wanted to point out just two.\n\n  1. This theorem is able to be proved (or at least stated) after complete metric spaces are defined and would take only around one lecture to do with applications. Depending on the speed of the professor and the way one works through the book, one probably gets to metric spaces around the middle of the semester. The students have had analysis, and are, therefore, familiar with completeness (or, at worst, they’re comfortable with Cauchy sequences!) so it is not difficult to define complete metric spaces. What else would we need? Nowhere-dense sets. That’s all.\n  2. This can be a great “visual” theorem in some spaces. One common problem point-set topology students seem to have is that they will work through definitions without developing any kind of intuition behind what something is (eg, limit points). Therefore, it’s nice to learn properties of spaces we know and love. The BCT is easily applied to the reals, the irrationals, the rationals, and the cantor set. It also is a great brain-stretching exercise to think about how “close” points can be in a nowhere dense set on the real line.\n\nThis may be a non-issue for those of you whose point-set class included this, but I wanted to point is out nonetheless. I would go as far as saying that this is “more important” to cover in a first course in point-set than the proof of Urysohn’s lemma [which is the first “deep” result in Munkres]. Of course, the proof is important, but in an introductory course I feel that proving Urysohn’s lemma for metric spaces and stating it for general spaces is a better way to go. Feel free to disagree and yell at me!\n\n\nEdit: This rant used to be part of the BCT post I made recently, but because it’s not really mathematics and more about teaching I decided to post it on its own so I don’t have to subject everyone to reading my rants.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.732583224773407}
+{"content": "The G-02X master clock generator adopts new technologies such as “Wide Range Clock Buffer Amplifiers”, “Adaptive Zero Ground” circuits, and a new custom made high-precision OCXO to attain the very best in musical expression from your digital audio system.\n\nContact us for more info\n\nA ‘clock’ is a pulse signal that is used as a reference\nsignal for all digital circuits. Every piece of digital gear has an on-board clock oscillator, and a high-quality clock is vital for precise, jitter-free signal processing. The G-02X is an external clock device designed to supply ultrahigh precision clock to digital devices (such as a transport, DAC, SACD player, or network audio player) equipped with dedicated input terminals. The G-02X can supply clock signals with a significantly higher degree of purity and stability than clocks generated by connected devices themselves, and thereby significantly improves the sound quality.\n\nUltrahigh Precision OCXO\nThe core of the unit features a custom OCXO (Oven Controlled Crystal Oscillator) newly developed by ESOTERIC that is comprised of an oven that maintains a constant internal temperature, a crystal oscillator, and an oscillating circuit. This OCXO was designed for high audio quality based on the wisdom of the Grandioso series to provide an excellent center frequency precision (±0.01 ppm Typ), and reduces phase noise by approximately 3 dB* compared to previous model. *Measured at an offset frequency of 100 Hz\n\n“Wide Range Clock Buffer Amplifier”\nThe unit adopts the “Wide Range Clock Buffer Amplifiers” developed for the Grandioso G1. These discrete circuits utilize high-speed transistors with excellent performance at high frequencies and are separated for each output terminal to contribute to improved sound quality.\n\n“Adaptive Zero Ground” Mode\nThe G-02X has the “Adaptive Zero Ground” circuitry inherited from the Grandioso G1 between the internal OCXO and the buffer amplifiers. The “Adaptive Zero Ground” mode actively drives the ground signal to 0 volts and greatly reduces noise (random jitter) caused by variation in the ground voltage. The user can select between the adaptive mode and the normal mode, for different sound characteristics according to their listening preferences.\n\nSubstantial Power Supply\nA newly-designed power supply is adopted to maximize the performance of the new “Wide Range Clock Buffer Amplifiers” , with the amplifier and power supply divided into blocks to ensure drive that is both clean and powerful. A toroidal transformer is used as the main transformer and a dedicated El core transformer is used for control. A series of multiple capacitors are used for the ripple filter circuit and Schottky barrier diodes are used for quick response to support fast digital processing.\n\nEight Outputs\nThe G-02X can supply a clock signal to a maximum of eight devices. Output can be switched ON and OFF for each terminal. The unit has four 10 MHz sine wave clock output terminals. The other four output terminals (A x 2 and B x 2) enable clock signals to be output at 100 kHz, 10 MHz (square wave), and the basic frequency of 44.1 kHz/48 kHz, up to a maximum frequency of 22.5792 MHz/24.576 MHz, and separate output frequencies can be set for each terminal.\n\nOther Functions\nExternal 10 MHz Input for External Clocks\nMilled Brass Gold Plated BNC Terminals\nPreheat Function for Internal OCXO\nOrganic EL Display", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5703535079956055}
+{"content": "Some may wonder why there are all the steps and detail in the Guided Solutions? It looks like a lot of work for students who are not doing well in math and may already have some resistance. Wouldn’t it be easier for them and more time efficient if we just explained the answers clearly?\n\nMaybe your students are different, but the students we’ve worked with who are not doing well tend to miss important details and fail to derive some of the needed implications from the given information. They also fail to make logical connections on their own, even when the solutions are explained to them.\n\nIn order to get more out of the given in a geometry problem, it’s helpful to understand the problem (what are students trying to solve) and think about some of the possible routes to a solution (definitions, postulates, theorems, procedures). It’s also helpful to be able to ask questions of the given (what information do they have or can they reasonably derive). Asking these questions can open up the given and remind students of solution paths. It is this latter experience that is behind the guided solution approach.\n\nWhy guided solutions?\n1. It is how we teach and tutor anyway.  Rather than telling what we know, we guide student discoveries as they build their mathematical thinking, their skill and knowledge.\n2. It models the kinds of questions a student can ask of a diagram.\n3. It models looking for connections between different parts of the given.\n4. It models a path from the given to the solution.\n5. It models an approach for stimulating students’ emerging sense of mathematical curiosity and logic.\n\nDepending on the need, you can break the lesson down into logical and accomplishable sub-lessons, so the students feel a sense of success each step of the way. Or when doing the whole lesson, don’t show them all of the questions at once. Succeeding with each individual question and consequently seeing the diagram open up before them, is a motivator to keep going. While for other students, seeing all of your guiding questions up front, finding patterns in the questions as you ask them, and realizing at the end that they did get through all of them, can make the process less daunting in the future.\n\nStudents who know that the answers will eventually be given to them have less of a need and so are less motivated to develop their own analytical skills. To the extent that analytical reasoning is developed through guiding and not telling, future problem-solving becomes more efficient. The long-cut in the beginning is the short-cut in the long-run.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9365230202674866}
+{"content": "Apples, Blackberries\nCherry, Gooseberry\nMedlar Trees, Pears\nPlums, Quince\nRed Currants\nBeetroot, Broad Beans\nBrussels Sprouts\nCarrots, Courgettes\nCucumber - Ridge\nFrench Beans\nLeek, Lettuce\nPlanting onion sets\nOnions from seed\nPeas, Potatoes\nRadish, Rhubarb\nRunner Beans, Spinach\nSwede , Sweetcorn\nSweet Peppers,\nSweet Potatoes,\nSwiss Chard, Tomatoes\n\nBasil, Bay Trees\nGarlic, Marjoram\nMint, Parsley\nRosemary, Sage\n\nRaised Bed Veg\nBuild Raised Bed\nPicture Gallery\nCompare Raised Beds\nRaised Bed Calendar\n\nContainer Garden\nCrop Rotation\nFruit Cages\nInsect Mesh Netting\nJargon Buster\nTillers / Rotovators\nWater Butts\n\nAll Shrub Reviews (30+)\nShrub Finder - select shrubs for your garden conditions\n\nChinese Lantern plants\nFuchsia, Heuchera\nLily of the Valley\nPhalaenopsis orchids\n\n\n\n\n\nFrom the smallest vegetable garden to the largest allotment, crop rotation is essential to growing healthy crops and avoiding some rather nasty pests and diseases.\n\nIf the same vegetables are grown on the same plot of land for more than a season or two, pests and diseases which feed or depend on them will quickly multiply and cause significant problems. Not only that, some soil nutrients will become lacking causing the crops to grow badly. Our four year rotation plan is easy to understand and implement in your garden / allotment.\n\nAn easy to manage crop rotation plan can be based on a four year cycle which will be sufficient to prevent the build up of problems. Your first action to create a crop rotation plan should be to create a list of the vegetables which you want to grow on your land. This is essential because although we do not normally grow tomatoes on our plot (we grow our tomatoes in grow bags), you may want to grow lots of them. On the other hand, we like lots of onions and garlic which may not suit you. Every gardener is different as far as the crops they prefer is concerned.\n\nWe provide a useful, automated tool to generate a four year crop rotation plan for you, it's free and can be found here. Before you go there however, a word or two about how it works. On the first page you click the vegetables which you want to grow and then click the box to confirm your selection. This will take you to a page which does two key things. First it generates a personalised calendar for those vegetables and at the bottom of the page it will generate a four year crop rotation plan - that's the bit you are interested in.\n\nYou will notice that the rotation plan has four plots plus another one entitled \"anywhere / permanent\". You need to stick to grouping your vegetables as defined in plots 1 to 4 but the ones under the \"anywhere / permanent\" group can be planted in any of the four plots. This is useful because if you have a shortage of vegetables which fit into one plot, this can be evened out by including several of the \"anywhere / permanent\" group in the plot.\n\nBanner for Victoriana Nursery Gardens\n\nSo, with the help of our crop rotation tool you will now have a very good idea of where to plant your vegetables this year, we'll call that year 1 for convenience. In year 2 though, you need to rotate the crops so that they are grown in different plots. There are good methods and bad methods for doing that, a well accepted method to rotate your crops is shown in the picture below.\n\nCrop rotation plan\n\nVegetables which can be planted anywhere in the rotation plan are sweetcorn, lettuce, courgettes, cucumbers, pumpkins, squash, radish and rhubarb although it does pay to move around each year. If the above rotation plan is unbalanced because of the range of the vegetables you want to grow, French Beans and Runner Beans can also be swapped to other groups without any ill effects.\n\nRunner Beans are included in the above crop rotation plan however our personal experience (and from the experiences of others) is that they can be grown in the same place year after year without any ill effects. Many gardeners have permanent supports for runner beans and this works fine.\n\nTo keep it all simple and clear we have named the individual vegetables in the picture above. Some books and websites refer to groups of vegetables rather than individual ones. The names used are legumes (peas, beans etc.), brassicas (cabbages, greens etc.), potatoes (includes tomatoes) and finally onions / roots.\n\n\nEach year it is a good idea to test the pH of your soil in all four beds. pH is a measure of the acidity / alkalinity of your soil with a reading of 1 being the most acidic and 14 being the most alkaline. Most vegetable prefer a neutral pH which is about 6.5 to 7. Kits to test soil pH are available to buy online and also at garden centres and many diy stores.\n\nIf your soil is too alkaline (i.e. the pH level is too high) you need to add compost and manure to decrease the pH level.\n\nIf your soil is too acidic (i.e. the pH level is too low) you need to add lime (available at garden centres) to increase the pH level. When adding lime to soil read the pack instructions carefully to get the dosage correct.\n\nDifferent vegetables have mild preferences for particular soil types as far as pH is concerned. However, unless you are expert at adjusting soil pH, simply aim for a level of 6.5 to 7. After several years of growing vegetables on an initially neutral soil, in all probability it will become slightly acidic and need a small dose of lime.\n\n\n\nDate: 25 April 2017 From: Anna\nQUESTION: Would it be possible to skip one of the plot rotation? I only planned to grow runner beans from the legume family and they are happy anywhere, so I am wondering if I can just have three plots in my crop rotation.\n\nANSWER:  I am sure that a three year rotation would be fine. In fact, I find brassicas (cabbage, broccoli etc) such a pain that I gave up growing them a couple of years ago. I now have a three year rotation and it works fine for me.\n\nDate: 5 March 2017 From: Keith\nJust acquired an allotment, and your crop planner is brilliant however my family eats majority potatoes and onions. My question would be my plot for potatoes salad seconds and main would be considerably bigger than the other plots. So when it comes to the next year how would I go about dividing the plots again? Does it matter about slightly going over. many thanks\n\nANSWER:  Unfortnately it will make a difference. There have been lots of detailed studies conducted on whether crop rotation is neccessary and they have all come to the same conclusion, it is neccessary, especially for potatoes. There will always be the odd gardener who claims they have grown potatoes in the same bed for years on end with no ill effects but experts, who measure yield and health, all say differently.\n\nDate: 21 February 2017 From: Kim\nHello, I'm starting from scratch with my fruit and veg garden as it has just been left as a paddock for years as it was a old lady that lived there. I have 8000 square metres of land. Also a small lake. I want to become self sufficient in fruit, veg, eggs, chickens and ducks. Also want goats for milk and cheese. I can't wait to get out to France and get going. We have a couple more weeks to wait . Would you say I've left it too late to plant things this year as I have still got to clear the land of grass and a few bushes?\n\nANSWER:  It's definitely not too late to make a start. But you need to plan carefully and accept that you will only be able to cultivate a small amount of you 8,000 square metres this year. But then again, that depends on what sort of equipment you have. With a tractor, a plough and a lot of effort you can plant a lot of seed potatoes in a month.\n\nI would suggest you work out a realistsic plan of what can be accomplished this year. Our vegetable and fruit calendar (see here) is a good place to start so that you can see what can be planted at what time of the year.\n\nA key aspect of being self-sufficient is to work out how to peserve produce as far into the winter as possible. Whilst this web site often suggests varieties which keep well, I would also consult \"self-sufficient\" websites to work out how to preserve and store fruit and veg. We wish you the very best of luck with your dream.\n\nDate: 12 March From: Jenny T\nYou have put potatoes and tomatoes in the same plot yet I have read in several places that they should not be grown together because tomatoes attract potato blight.\n\nANSWER: Potatoes and tomatoes should be in the same rotation plot. I would be very interested if you could identify a crop rotation plan which does otherwise.\n\nYou are correct that both potatoes and tomatoes attract blight. Blight, which travels by wind and water,  spreads over long distances and if it occurs in one part of your garden it will spread to all parts so there is no point in separating the two plants. Indeed, on large allotment areas it will spread from one allotment to another in a matter of hours. If blight is present it will spread to all susceptible plants in a surprisingly large area. Let's hope we have a good 2016 as far as blight is concerned.\n\nDate: 3 October 2015 From: Bill\nI just taken allotment on, I don't know what previous tenant had planted in beds, should I just prepare to correct ph levels in each bed?\n\nANSWER: You have little alternatives I think. Tomatoes and potatoes are two common vegetables which cause a build up of pests and diseases. You could try placing large bottomless pots where you want the plants to grow and fill with multi-purpose. Then plant the tomatoes and potatoes in the multi-purpose. This would provide a degree of protection (see here for how I plant tomatoes in normal circumstances, not to avoid the problem you have, but just because it works well).\n\nDate: 25 January 2015 From: Mike Hamilton\nJust what I have been looking for and a real help.\n\nDate: 01 September 14 From: Carmen\nI'm quite new to gardening but find much joy and reward in doing it. My garden is not very big, so I try to mix growing in soil with container gardening as well as growing tomatoes in a cold frame. I found your site very useful and the 'custom made' vegetable calendar helped a lot. I try to do be as close to organic gardening as I can, not using any chemicals and pesticides at all. I would really need your advice regarding the soil from potatoes. I started growing potatoes in big bags last year and was pleased with the results so have done it again this year. As I read, believe and use crop rotation, I had used the soil from the potatoes bags to re-pot some of my flowers and filled in few 'gaps' in a little flower bed. I also have a raised bed in which grow 1) legumes (beans and peas) 2) onions and garlic, 3) beetroots, carrots 4) turnips, radishes and few broccolis. I also have 3 courgette plants and different salads leaves inter-planted. Could you please, suggest how I could use the soil from the potatoes bags and the tomatoes pots from the greenhouse? Can I divide it between the raised beds? I know that tomatoes and potatoes are the same family so cannot swap them around. I cannot buy new soil every year so I try to combine and rotate it around the garden and the containers, but I'm a bit confused now with the compatibility and the crop follow on rules.\n\nANSWER: I'm not surprised you are confused Carmen, the terminology used by some books and websites regarding crop rotation is out-dated and not clear. For that reason our crop rotation plan above uses the real name of individual vegetables not groups such curcubit (what on earth is a curcubit!), legumes and brassicas - and the RHS site is as guilty as the others.\nIf your compost has been used to grow potatoes, my advice is not to re-use on beds where potatoes, tomatoes, peppers or aubergines will be grown next year. It can be spread over the ground /raised beds where you plan to grow any other crop. That's what I do and it's worked well for the last 30 years or so. So for the crops you suggest, beans, peas, onions, garlic, beetroot, garlic, turnips, radish and broccoli the compost can be safely re-used as and when you want.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6777903437614441}
+{"content": "Butterfly (1997)\n\nby Mariah Carey\n\nButterfly is the sixth studio album by American singer and songwriter Mariah Carey, released on September 16, 1997, by Columbia Records. The album contained both hip hop and urban adult contemporary sounds, as well as some softer and more contemporary melodies. Throughout the project, Carey worked with Walter Afanasieff, with whom she had written and produced most of the material from her previous albums. She also worked with many famed hip hop producers and rappers, such as Sean \"Puffy\" Combs, Q-Tip, Missy Elliott and the Trackmasters. With the latter acts producing most of the album, Butterfly deviated from the contemporary sound of Carey's older work, and was hailed as a defining album of the 1990s and of pop and R&B music.\n\nWith Butterfly, Carey continued the transition that began with previous album, Daydream (1995), which pushed her further into the R&B and hip hop market and away from the R&B and pop background of her previous work. During her marriage to Tommy Mottola, Carey had little control over the creative and artistic steps she took on her albums; however, after their divorce midway through the album's conception, she was able to reflect her creative maturity and evolution in the album's writing and recording. Carey wrote in the booklet of her twelfth studio album, Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel (2009), that she considers Butterfly her magnum opus and a turning point in both her life and career.\n\nUpon release, Butterfly garnered critical acclaim from contemporary music critics, many of whom embraced Carey's musical transition. Reviewers complimented the album for its mature sound and production and commended Carey's musical direction, calling the work a \"transitional album, one that makes her a rarity of the 90s.\" Though released during Carey's heavily publicized conflict with Sony Music, the album became a commercial success, topping the albums chart in many countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan and the Netherlands. On the Billboard 200, it debuted at number one, spending one week atop the chart. It was certified five-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and received the Million Award in Japan.\n\nFive singles were released from the album; two worldwide commercial releases, and three limited promotional singles. \"Honey\", the record's lead single, topped the charts in the US and Canada and reached the top five in New Zealand, Spain and the United Kingdom. The album's fifth single, \"My All\", became a top ten hit throughout Europe and topped the charts in the US. To promote Butterfly, Carey embarked on the Butterfly World Tour, which visited Australia, Japan and Taiwan, with one show in the United States. Butterfly was nominated for three Grammy Awards at the 40th annual ceremony, though it did not win any.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9259294271469116}
+{"content": "A prestigious chefs association of Galicia, Grupo Nove, discusses its future facing the changing scenario brought about by the crisis. By their hand, we embark on a journey across Galician cuisine: the new and the traditional, before and after the dishes, before and behind the stove, of the sea and of the land, of success and of sacrifice. The protagonists are producers, chefs, and other professionals struggling amidst such dualities with the aim to lead the cuisine for the future beyond clichés: The silent revolution of Galicia’s nouvelle cuisine.\n\nA realistic portrait of Galicia endeavouring to unravel the delicate balance between tradition and modernity in a land full of contrasts, discovering its manifold aspects through one of its most significant cultural indicators: gastronomy.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.939697265625}
+{"content": "\n\nFeduccia's delusion\n\nI wonder if any of you all took a look at Feduccia's\nrecent letter in the Nature tabloid. I am not a\npaleontologist yet I was amazed by how he managed to\nget something so subjective published as a piece of\nscience. The sum of his arguments is that Apsaravis\nhas nothing to tell us about early avian evolution. He\nalso insists that eventhough it is found in a desert\npaleoenvironment it does not shake his shorebird\nhypothesis. Here is is Feduccia's statement\n\n \"Norell and Clarke describe the newly discovered and\nwell preserved Late Cretaceous Mongolian Apsaravis as\nan ornithurine, cladistically slotting it between the\nwell known and abundant marine hesperornihiforms and\n\nHE goes onto say that there is no evidence for\nApsaravis being related to modern birds so it is\nirrelevant to the question of origin of 'modern\nornithurines'. What does this mean- he clearly does\nnot seem to understand phylogenetic arguments to even\nbe in a position to argue against them. \n\nIn the original Apsaravis paper- did Clarke not show\nthat it was one of the few exquisitely preserved birds\nfrom the late Cretaceous where otherwise very few well\npreserved birds have been discovered. From where does\nFeduccia get his special data for his hypothesis then?\nHis is more a conjucture than even an hypothesis  \n\nOr Am I missing something? Please enlighten me what is\nhe trying to say here? It looks as though the\nabsudrities of this man do not stop with negating the\ntrue phylogeny of birds.\n\n\n||>>>>>               .....   =+--------> Amidst\n||                   /     \\  =+-------->\n||>>>               | O   O | =+--------> the\n||                   \\  0  /  =+-------->\n||>>>>>Katerina       |||||   =+--------> shamans\n\nDo You Yahoo!?", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5951385498046875}
+{"content": "World Hypertension Day - Things to know about Hypertension\n\nMay 18, 2016 12:07\nWorld Hypertension Day - Things to know about Hypertension\n\nBlood is carried to all body parts from the heart, in blood vessels. Heart pumps blood into the vessels, every time the heart beats. As the blood is pumped by the heart, blood is pushed with force against the walls of blood vessels (arteries), creating blood pressure.\n\nHypertension is also known as high or raised blood pressure It is a condition where the blood vessels have persistently raised pressure. The higher the pressure in blood vessels, the harder work is done by the heart to pump the blood. Hypertension may lead to heart enlargement, heart attack and heart failure, if left uncontrolled. The pressure in the blood vessels can even cause leakage in the blood inside the brain, which in turn can cause stroke. Hypertension can also cause blindness, kidney failure, cognitive impairment and rupture of blood vessels.\n\nCauses of blood pressure\n\nConsumption of food containing excess fat and salt.\n\nNon-consumption of enough fruits and vegetables.\n\nConsuming harmful levels of alcohol.\n\nPhysical inactivity and lack of exercise\n\nPoor stress management.\n\nSymptoms of blood pressure\n\nMost people with hypertension have no symptoms at all.\n\nSome hypertension symptoms include shortness of breath, headache, chest pain, dizziness, heart palpitations  as well as nose bleeds.\n\nHypertension is a warning sign to make significant lifestyle changes.\n\nDetection and treatment\n\nIf hypertension is detected early, the risk of heart attack, stroke, heart failure and kidney failure can be minimized.\n\nDigital blood pressure measurement machines are useful in monitoring BP, outside clinic settings.\n\nAlong with medication, lifestyle changes are needed to control BP.\n\n- Sumana\n\nNOTE: We inform you that we are not owner of any of the products, images or any other products displaying on our website. But all the articles are written by us and we owned them. If you found any image or product that found under your copyrights then please feel free to CONTACT US. We will remove that image or product as soon as possible. All the images are collected from Google.\n\nIf you enjoyed this Post, Sign up for Newsletter\n\n\nRate This Article\n(0 votes)", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9967484474182129}
+{"content": "US Dollars\nPhotograph by Thomas Trutschel—Photothek via Getty Images\n\nThe Rich Got Richer Despite Choppy Markets in 2015\n\nAug 08, 2016\n\nLow oil prices, rough market conditions, and the Shanghai Composite's summer crash.\n\nThe past year was hardly kind to investors, yet billionaires as a group—that is, those with a net worth of $1 billion or more—managed to make the volatile market conditions in 2015 work in their favor.\n\nIn total, the wealth of the world's billionaires grew by 5.4% to $7.7 trillion, while the number of billionaires also grew by 6.4% to 2,473, according to a billionaire census by Wealth-X, a firm that tracks the ultra-wealthy.\n\nThat growing number of billionaires was largely boosted by baby boomers passing their wealth on to their heirs. Billionaires who inherited or partially inherited their net worth grew 29.9% year-on-year—the fastest growing segment of all billionaires.\n\nBut the large majority of billionaires still require some form of entrepreneurialism to maintain their status. Some 56% of billionaires in 2015 were self-made and 87% made at least some of their fortunes themselves.\n\nBillionaires have grown more cautious about the markets however, with cash accounting for 22.2% of their net worth, up from 19.1% last year and the highest percentage since Wealth-X began tracking the data in 2010. In response to uncertain market conditions such as the crash of the Shanghai Composite in the summer of 2015, it seems likely that billionaires began taking their money off the table.\n\nThat said, billionaires control slightly less of the world's wealth than they did two years ago. While billionaires held about 4% of global wealth in 2014, they held 3.9% in 2015, suggesting that other economic classes grew their wealth at a slightly faster pace than billionaires.\n\nDespite efforts to include more women in the startup space and at the executive table, male billionaire over-representation still increased, according to the report. About 8.4 male billionaires exist for every female billionaire today, up from a 8.1:1 ratio a year ago.\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7136567831039429}
+{"content": "AIIMS AIPMT PMT Reference question and answers series\n\n1.What is silent area in human brain?\nUntil recently, the prefrontal areas of human brain were referred to as the “silent areas” or “uncommitted cortex”, because injury to these regions was not accompanied by sensorimotor signs, and the function of these areas was not clear.\nPrefrontal cortex or PFC, has long been known to endow qualities that differentiate human beings from all other animals. PFC was for some years, known to perform executive function, but now it has been demonstrated that its functions include the ability to organize behavioural response to solve a complex problem (including strategies used in learning information and searching memory). Moreover, it has been found to be involved in other behaviours such as moral judgement, appreciation of jokes, evaluating rewards, awareness, temperament, meditation, etc. Thus, far from being “silent”, “uncommitted” or known just for “psychial functions”, the PFC is comprised of a set of control systems, each with the separate target, i.e., different prefrontal areas control different activities that are separately localised.\n\n2.How do transposons or jumping genes move?\nTransposable elements or transposons are stretches of DNA that usually have repeated DNA segments at their ends and can jump within the genome, hence, are also known as jumping genes. They were discovered by Barbara Mc Clintock in corn plants (maize). She proposed that the kernel mosaics, which result from breaks at particular site at chromosome 9, were produced by the factor called Ds (for dissociation). However, this factor is incapable of inducing chromosome breakage by itself and requires another factor, Ac (for activator). Both Ac and Ds are members of a family of transposable elements. These elements are structurally related to each other and can insert at many different sites in chromosomes; hence also known as controlling elements. Transposase, a protein synthesised by Ac elements, is involved in transposition.\nGenetic analysis has provided some information about the mechanism whereby Ac (and presumably Ds) elements transpose. Initially, the element is replicated by normal cellular machinery. Then one copy of Ac transposes ahead of the replication fork. When replication process is finished, there will be two sister chromatids, one with single copy of Ac (in the new location only) and one with two copies (one in new location and one in the old). The actual transposition of an Ac element is considered to be non-replicative because it is replicated during normal replication mechanism and not transposition.\nStudies with diverse organisms, including bacteria, fungi, nematodes, insects, plants and mammals, suggest that transposable elements are widespread. These elements exhibit considerable variations in structure and function.\n\n3. Glycolysis and Krebs’ cycle generate energy without oxygen, then what is the role of oxygen in aerobic respiration?\n\nAerobic respiration starts by breaking glucose down into pyruvate by glycolysis. Next, in a preparatory step for the Krebs’ cycle, coenzyme A joins to pyruvate causing a loss of one carbon and the generation of NADH. The acetyl CoA formed enters Krebs’ cycle and the acetyl group is transferred to a molecule of oxaloacetic acid making a molecule of citric acid which enters the cycle. The Krebs’ cycle releases CO2 and high energy molecules NADH and FADH2, which are converted into ATP by the mitochondrial electron transport chain (ETC). Oxygen acts the terminal electron acceptor in ETC. If there is no oxygen to accept electrons, the ETC stops working and NADH and FADH2 cannot be converted back into NAD and FAD; hence glucose biochemical pathway stops.\nMoreover, substrate-level phosphorylation occurs during glycolysis and Krebs’ cycle and yields a relatively small amount of ATP. The generation of ATP from chemiosmosis at the end of ETC is called oxidative phosphorylation because when oxygen acts as terminal electron acceptor, there is a maximal amount of free energy released. Hence, more protons can be transported, which means that a greater charge buildup occurs across the inner mitochondrial membrane leading to synthesis of ATP. This process, thus, generates relatively large amount of ATP for the cell as compared to substrate – level phosphorylation.\n\n4. Organs like liver and kidney are transplanted very often. Is it possible to transplant legs?\nYes, it is possible to transplant legs, however within the field of transplants, there are fewer vascularized composite transplants than other organ transplants performed every year. The area of vascularized composite allotransplantation comprises the vascularised transplantation of multiple tissues such as skin, muscle, bone, nerve and tendon as a functional unit.\nUnlike the other organ transplants, leg transplants are little controversial mainly because of two reasons. Firstly, the prosthetic devices provide sufficient support successfully without the risk and complications of taking immuno-suppressive medications, and secondly, the sensation takes longer to return in case of transplanted leg which is not required in case of prostheses.\nHowever, there are potential benefits of such transplantation which entail restoration of body image, recovery of sensation and its connection to the brain. Another advantage is the ability to perform daily activities which are not possible with prostheses. Following transplantation, medications such as immuno-suppressants are required to successfully prevent rejection of transplants. These do have sideeffects and people react differently to some drugs but ultimately the decision of transplantation needs addressing of the balance between the risks of immuno-suppression versus the benefits of receiving a quality of transplant.\n\n5. How can we transplant a tissue or organ from an animal to human? What problems may arise in such a transplant?\n\nAny procedure that involves the transplantation, implantation, or infusion into a human recipient of either live cells, tissues, or organs from a non-human animal source or human body fluids, cells, tissues or organs that have had ex-vivo contact with live non-human cells, tissues, or organs, is referred to as xenotransplantation.\nIn the light of the lack of supply of human organs for transplantation several alternatives including xenotransplantation have been investigated and debated. There are major issues with such a transplantation as transplanting solid organs from animal sources into humans results in rapid loss of xenograft because of hyperacute rejection. In this immunologic reaction, preformed antibodies (xenoreactive natural antibodies) circulating in human\nblood bind to vascular epithelium of the animal organ and trigger a cascade that quickly results in thrombosis of the graft. If the transplanted organ is not rejected within minutes to hours, a more delayed type of immunologic response ultimately leads to thrombosis of the graft within hours to days. This process is known as delayed xenograft rejection or acute vascular rejection. The use of xenotransplantation products also carries a natural and expected risk of transmitting infectious pathogens, this is called xenosis.\nA range of various approaches are investigated and proposed to circumvent xenograft rejection. Genetically engineered animals have been designed to downregulate expression of various immunogenic substances which constitute donor-based strategies. Secondly, there are recipient based strategies in which complement cascade can be interrupted therapeutically by using several inhibitory agents. Severe immune-modulating therapies have been developed to prolong xenograft survival. Because of xenosis, all major reports on xenotransplantation have recommended comprehensive monitoring and surveillance of xenograft recipient. Ethical, religious, and consensual matters are required be addressed for successful research in xenotransplantation.\n\n6. What are stem cells? What is their role in human body?\nStem cells are undifferentiated cells in the body that can differentiate into specialised cells and can divide to produce more stem cells. In addition, they serve as internal repair system, dividing essentially to replenish other cells. In mammals, two broad types of stem cells have been identified, namely, embryonic stem cells, isolated from the inner cell mass of the blastocysts, and non-embryonic or adult stem cells which are found in various tissues. For adult stem cells there are three accessible sources: bone marrow, adipose tissue and blood. These can also be taken from umbilical cord blood just after the birth.\nStem cells are distinguished from other cell types by two important characteristics. First, they are able to differentiate into specialised cell types under certain physiologic or experimental conditions. Second, their ability to go through numerous cycles of cell division while maintaining the undifferentiated state. They are widely studied, for their potential therapeutic use. Researches made another break through by identifying conditions that would allow some specialised adult stem cells to be “reprogrammed” genetically to assume stem-cell like state. These are called induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). Given its miraculous properties, medical research believe that stem cell therapy has the potential to dramatically revive treatment of many human diseases.\n\n7. Why do autoimmune diseases occur more commonly in women?\nAutoimmune diseases occur when the immune system begins attacking its own tissues rather than external pathogens. They affect ~8% of the population, 75- 78% of whom are women.\nThe basic immune response between men and women has been known to differ. Women produce a more vigorous immune response and increased antibody production. Sex hormones, such as estrogen, testosterone, and progesterone are believed to mediate many of the sex-based differences in the immune response and to account for sex differences in the prevalence of autoimmune diseases.\nRecently, estrogen and androgens have been found to directly influence whether Th1 or Th2 type immune response develops by interacting with hormone receptors on immune cells. Moreover, cytokine receptors such as IL-1R, IL-18R have been discovered on hormone producing tissues which suggest bidirectional regulation of the immune response. Furthermore, proinflammatory cytokines such as TNF-a and IL-1b stimulate the release of glucocorticoids from the hypothalamus- pituitary -adrenal axis, which regulates the inflammatory process, along with increase in estrogens.\nGenerally, the occurrence of overt autoimmune disease, as opposed to the presence of autoimmune antibodies in the blood, depends on a balance between the incorrectly functioning systems, and the body’s ability to regulate them. It is possible that pregnancy and childbirth may leave women more susceptible to these conditions than men. It also seems that genetics play another important role in occurrence of autoimmune diseases.\n\n8. Why do people die of drug overdose?\nDrug overdose is ingestion or application of a drug or other substance in quantities greater than recommended. Every drug behaves differently in each person’s body and central nervous system, interacting with their unique body chemistry and underlying health conditions. For instance, a toxic dose of heroin increases the inhibitory effect of GABA (g-amino butyric acid), a neurotransmitter, which causes breathing to slow and eventually stop. Nicotine present in cigarettes can also kill by overdose. At high concentration, nicotine binds to receptors both in the brain and on muscles leading to paralysis of muscles that control breathing or to heart attack. Stimulants such as cocaine and methamphetamine trigger the release of norepinephrine which causes increased activity, increased heart rate and blood pressure. Their overdose most commonly causes heart attack, hyperthermia and brain damage.\nIn many cases, people who die of overdose are under influence of more than one drug whose synergistic effects are often lethal.\n\nRelated Posts\nComment ( 1 )\n  1. josef zidan\n    August 6, 2015 at 5:50 pm\n\n    Nice Post\n\nLeave a reply\nCaptcha Click on image to update the captcha .", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5198321342468262}
+{"content": "The Future: Faster, Safer Transportation\n\nTechnology is set to play a big part in assuring the safety and convenience of new forms of transportation currently under development.\n\nClimb behind the wheel of a Tesla Model S and it’s immediately apparent that technology now plays a big part in auto design.\n\nAs well as a speedometer, the all-electric sedan comes with a large touch-screen dashboard that you can customize with apps ranging from maps to stock tickers.\n\nUnder the bonnet, meanwhile, sophisticated electronics conspire to deliver enough electric power to provide the thrill of a lifetime in Tesla’s appropriately named ‘Insane Mode’. Tesla cars can even read and obey speed signsand change lanes automatically.\n\nAnd such features look set to become the norm as network technologies increasingly get integrated into the transportation sector. Tesla, which has its headquarters in Fremont, Calif. rather than Detroit, is an obvious example.\n\nIts CEO, Elon Musk, is arguably more of geek than a petrol head, having made early fortunes through the creation of the online platforms Zip2,, and, most notably, PayPal. He then graduated onto space technology with the launch of SpaceX.\n\nSee Also: Elon Musk: Network Trailblazer\n\nNow, in addition to designing the rockets and cars of the future, he is touting a new kind of mass-transit system called the Hyperloop, which could make the journey from Los Angeles to San Francisco in just 35 minutes.\n\nMeanwhile, other companies are also looking to incorporate network intelligence into new modes of transport. Perhaps the most outstanding example is Google’s self-driving car project.\n\nEric, Larry and Sergey in a self-driving car on January 20, 2011\n\n\nThe cars “have sensors designed to detect objects as far as two football fields away in all directions, including pedestrians, cyclists, and vehicles���or even fluttering plastic shopping bags and rogue birds,” says Google.\n\n“The software processes all the information to help the car safely navigate the road without getting tired or distracted.”\n\nAnother technology giant, Apple, is also widely rumored to be working on auto concepts. Meanwhile, traditional carmakers are working hard to incorporate more network technology into their models.\n\nMercedes Benz is taking a leaf out of Google’s book with a self-driving design called the F 015 Luxury in Motion. And other manufacturers are developing technology add-ons that range from vehicle tracking systems to in-carhealth monitoring services.\n\nF 015 Luxury in Motion\n\nF 015 Luxury in Motion\n\nIn addition to these car-based technology wonders, a number of teams worldwide are looking at the development of new mass-transit systems. Like the Hyperloop, the aim of many of these concepts is to make mass transit faster, safer, and less polluting.\n\nOne example is the Spartan Superway idea being hatched at San Jose State University. This is a solar-powered transit network where people can be carried directly from A to B fully automated ‘pods’ that are suspended above surface traffic.\n\n“This involves integrating all the moving parts of the pod with sensors and interfacing them with a computer that can communicate with a city-spanning network,” says Corey Osterman, controls lead for the project, on the Spartan Superway website.\n\nAnd it is perhaps this kind of communication that might lead to some of the most visible benefits for end users of the transport systems of tomorrow. That is because no matter how advanced our transport systems become, we’ll still need to make choices about how to travel.\n\nDr. Ingeborg Rocker, vice president of Dassault Systèmes, which specializes in software systems for data analysis, simulation, and visualization, envisages a time when technology puts the cheapest, quickest, or easiest transport options at your disposal for each journey.\n\nSuch systems, combining Internet of Everything technologies with big data analytics, could reconfigure traffic and transport flows in real time not just to make journeys more convenient but also to reduce congestion and pollution.\n\nIn effect, she says, such transport systems could “adapt in real time to real-time conditions, not like now where most schedules are very static. In the future, a signal from our handheld device could start a chain of events that would redirect traffic.”\n\nUsed with the permission of the network.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.590100109577179}
+{"content": "Sept 4 2017\n\nSmart approach to healthcare software testing\n\nPosted by Isiwal Techonogies\n\nSmart approach to healthcare software testing,According to IDC Health Insights, 40% of U.S. healthcare providers increased IT investments in 2016, which brought to IT industry over $5 B. As a result, the market for medical software, including electronic health records (EHR), healthcare CRM, mobile apps for medical staff and more, is steadily growing.\n\nGiven the strict and specific quality requirements in healthcare, medical applications need a special approach to testing, which makes QA vendors expand their offer with medical software testing services. Based on our experience in medical application development and testing, we suggest several tips on test management in a health software project.\n\nHow to manage software testing in a healthcare project\n\nAlways tied up with numerous tasks, health professionals seek for software that saves their time and effort on routine procedures. Hence, software convenience in healthcare is the top requirement. For doctors and nurses, health software convenience means interoperability, user-friendly interface and the ability to use the application anytime and anywhere. Together with security concerns, these aspects of medical software convenience are main points of reference for medical software testing.\n\n1) Compliance with healthcare industry regulations\n\nHealthcare is a highly regulated industry governed by specific documents and procedures, most important being Healthcare Information Technology Standards Panel (HITSP) and Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE) initiative. These documents serve as a solid foundation for functional testing of health applications and healthcare workflows, as they provide legal frameworks and testing tools (Gazelle, MESA, Laika and more).\n\n2) High priority to usability\n\nFor a testing team, assuring the convenience of a healthcare application involves a comprehensive usability testing based on relevant user scenarios for each user role with regard to rules and regulations provided by industry standards.\nFor instance, in EHR testing, user stories involve every document required for a patient according to the requirements at each step of his/her visit:\nIdentification and consent forms from the Receptionists;\nPatient’s vitals from the Nurse;\nExamination, diagnosis, treatment plan and the next visit schedule from the physician.\nAnd the more diverse user stories the better.\nAs health applications offer complex functionality and multiple user roles, tracking dependencies is important. It is advisable to run a detailed test case management system to preserve and develop test procedure and track requirements and dependencies as well as expected and unexpected results.\n\n3) Ensuring interoperability\n\nIn healthcare, dialogue is what matters most. It’s not only about productive patient-doctor relationships, but also about complex information systems employed in the industry. The major standards for data transfer in healthcare industry are Health Level Seven (HL7), Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) and Digital Imaging And Communications In Medicine (DICOM). So what do they have in stock for a QA team?\n\n\nHL7 is a set of standards for exchange, integration and retrieval of electronic health information. HL7 ensures global medical data interoperability and provides the possibility to access and use relevant health data securely. Thus, software testing for compliance with HL7 features the following:\nAutomated validation testing to make sure messages sent/received from each system comply with HL7. Health Level Seven International generously provides a whole set of tools for the purpose: NIST Message Validator, Message Workbench, MQF Validation Tool, etc.\nIntegration testing employing relevant user stories to ensure that data flows correctly.\nEnd-to-end testing to ensure that communication modules of the applications exchange data correctly and all the modules process external information without errors.\nCommunication with systems developed by big industry players (Epic, Cerner, eclinicalworks, Allscripts, etc.) may require additional testing efforts. Integration testing should be organized with regard to the peculiarities of HL7 implementations by health IT leaders.\n\n\nDICOM is an international standard enabling safe medical image view, analysis and sharing across professional communities. Compliance with DICOM is a perennial must for the majority of caregivers. From QA perspective, it involves not only testing for conformance, but also interoperability, interface and integration testing. All types of compliance testing involve extensive efforts and time investments, so apply automatic testing tools, which are offered by DICOM and HL7.\n\n5).Special focus on mobile apps\n\nContinuous drive for swiftness and convenience explains the growing popularity of mobile apps among healthcare professionals. These apps save time and offer a pool of opportunities to fight off common healthcare challenges, such as time-consuming diagnosis procedures and unnecessary patient visits. However convenient mobile applications may be for practitioners, they set additional challenges for testing engineers. The work of mobile apps greatly depends on outer conditions (speed of an internet connection, quality of signal, etc.). Thus, along with domain-specific testing (usability testing, compliance testing, security testing), mobile apps require comprehensive load and performance testing. Simulate real conditions to ensure that the app doesn’t fail in sub-optimal environment.\n\n6)Accumulating domain knowledge.\n\nTo be credible and readable, all forms, error messages, email notifications, etc. should make use of specific naming procedures accepted in the industry. Testing specialists should study reliable sources of medical information, such as U.S. National Library of Medicine, NHS Choices, Webmd, Medscape, etc.\n\n  • 90+\n\n    Completed Project\n\n  • 94%\n\n    Customer Retention\n\n  • 30+\n\n    Experts Team\n\n  • 3+\n\n    Years of Business", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5387804508209229}
+{"content": "Varistran: Anscombe's variance stabilizing transformation for RNA-seq gene expression data\n\n\nRNA-seq measures RNA expression levels in a biological sample using high-throughput cDNA sequencing, producing counts of the number of reads aligning to each gene. Noise in RNA-seq read count data is commonly modelled as following a negative binomial distribution, where the variance is a quadratic function of the expression level. However many statistical, machine learning, and visualization methods work best when the noise in a data set has equal variance. Varistran is an R package that uses Anscombe's (1948) variance stabilizing transformation for the negative binomial distribution to transform RNA-seq count data, so that the noise has equal variance across all measured gene expression levels. The transformed data may be treated as log2 transformed gene expression levels, but with variability reduced at low read counts. Varistran also includes a function to open a Shiny report with simple diagnostic visualizations, including a plot to assess how effective the variance stabilization was, a biplot of samples and genes, and a heatmap. This allows defective samples, sample mislabling, and batch effects to be easily identified.\n\n\nAnscombe, Francis J. 1948. “The Transformation of Poisson, Binomial and Negative-Binomial Data.” Biometrika 35 (3/4): 246–54.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9249653220176697}
+{"content": "Agreement to Mediate\n\nJuridical Solutions, PLC (logo)\n1-888-EX CURIA\n\n\nIN RE: _________________________________________\n\nThe Parties agree to mediate one or more disputes which now exist between them. The Mediation will be conducted by a Professional Neutral appointed by Juridical Solutions PLC with the agreement of all parties under the following terms:\n\n  1. Mediation is a process where the parties to a dispute retain the services of a neutral person known as a “Mediator” to assist them /pin determining whether an amicable resolution can be reached without having to proceed with or resort to litigation.\n  2. The Mediator does not have any authority to make a determination of the issues in the case, but works with the parties and their attorneys to explore various options that may enable the parties to resolve the issues between them.\n  3. The Mediator is not a legal adviser to the parties nor is the Mediator a Decision Maker or Fact Finder. The Mediator is a Senior Professional who has experience in resolving complex legal and factual issues, who will work with the parties and their counsel to attempt to find a mutually agreed resolution of their dispute.\n  4. The Mediator may meet with the parties and/or their counsel in caucus when the other parties and/or their counsel are not present.\n  5. In the course of the mediation process, the Mediator may, at the request of the parties, provide an evaluation of the factual and legal issues in the case, which evaluation will be made available for consideration by the parties and their counsel. The parties agree that such an evaluation is not legal advice, and that they will rely solely upon the advice of their attorneys for legal advice.\n  6. If a draft agreement or any document is prepared by the Mediator at the request of the parties, the parties agree to have the document reviewed by their counsel and to be advised by their counsel as to the validity and/or acceptability of the agreement.\n  7. It is agreed between the parties who have engaged Juridical Solutions PLC that neither Juridical Solutions PLC nor any Mediator supplied by it may be compelled to appear on behalf of any party at any judicial, regulatory or administrative proceeding. Furthermore, it is agreed that:\n    1. Neither Juridical Solutions PLC nor any professionals supplied by it shall be required to preserve any documents it may have received or generated in connection with of the mediation process.\n    2. Unless the parties agree in writing to the contrary, the settlement agreement or other agreement reached as a result of the mediation shall not be confidential.\n  8. All Matters relating to the Mediation, except for a final agreement, shall be confidential except:Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 8, supra in any case where the dispute involves support of the minor children of the parties, financial information used to calculate child support, including information contained in the child support guidelines worksheet, may be disclosed by the parties to a court of competent jurisdiction for the purpose of computing a child support amount pursuant to § 20-108.2.\n    1. where all parties to the mediation agree, in writing, to waive the confidentiality,\n    2. in a subsequent action between the mediator or mediation program and a party to the mediation for damages arising out of the mediation,\n    3. statements, memoranda, materials and other tangible evidence, otherwise subject to discovery, which were not prepared specifically for use in and actually used in the mediation,\n    4. where a threat to inflict bodily injury is made\n    5. where communications are intentionally used to plan, attempt to commit, or commit a crime or conceal an ongoing crime,\n    6. where an ethics complaint is made against the mediator to defend against such complaint,\n    7. where communications are sought or offered to prove or disprove a claim or complaint of misconduct or malpractice filed against a party’s legal representative based on conduct occurring during a mediation\n    8. where communications are sought or offered to prove or disprove any of the grounds listed in § 8.01-581.26 in a proceeding to vacate a mediated agreement, or\n    9. as provided by law or rule.\n\n       9. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 8, supra in any case wher ethe dispute involves support of the minor chldren of the parties, finanacial information used to calculate chld support, including informaiton contained in the child support guidelines worksheet, may be disclosed by the aprties to a court of competent jurisdiction for the purpose of computing a child support amount pursuant to Section 20-108.2.\n\n       10.  There shall be no stenographic transcript or any recording made during the mediation session.\n\n       11.  When the date of an Mediation session has been scheduled by Juridical Solutions plc, if this session is canceled by one or more of the parties, less than 7 working days prior to the scheduled mediation, the parties and their counsel will be responsible to pay a cancellation fee equal to four (4) hours of the Mediator’s hourly rate as set forth in paragraph 12, infra.\n\n       12.  Juridical Solutions PLC agrees to provide the services of __________________________________________ as the Mediator in this case. The Mediator’s fee is: __________________________ ($________) per hour. There will be a four (4) hour minimum charge for each mediation.  Any travel time in excess of one (1) hour will be charged at the rate of FIFTY PERCENT (50%) of the Mediator’s hourly rate, plus reasonable travel and accommodation expenses.\n\n       13.  The Mediator’s hourly rate will be charged for all of the time (excluding one (1) hour of travel time) that is required for the Mediator to perform his/her functions including, but not limited to, review of parties’ submissions prior to the mediation session, mediation sessions, post-mediation, time for subsequent conference calls (if needed), and preparation of any documents requested by the parties.\n\n       14.  Unless agreed otherwise, the mediation or arbitration fee shall be apportioned equally among the parties. \n\n       15.  When a party is represented by an attorney, the attorney and his or her law firm shall be responsible for paying to Juridical Solutions, PLC the amounts it bills for the services rendered under this contract.\n\n       16.  All invoices for Professional Services Rendered shall be due and owing upon presentment.\n\n        17.  If the parties desire Juridical Solutions PLC to provide a venue for the mediation session and/or catering services, such will be provided, and the parties, if requested, will advance appropriate funds prior to the mediation session.\n\n        18.  If the Mediation is being conducted pursuant to an Order of Reference from a Federal Court, the Mediation will be governed by Federal Alternative Dispute Resolution Act (20 U.S.C. §651, et seq.).\n\n        19.  If the Mediation involves citizens of different nations at least one of which is domiciled outside of the United States, the Mediation shall also be governed by the Model Law adopted by the United Nations’ Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), (approved by the United Nations General Assembly on November 19, 2002 and any amendments or supplements, thereto. If a conflict arises between this Agreement to Mediate and UNCITRAL, this Agreement shall control.\n\n        20.  All Mediators supplied by Juridical Solutions PLC subscribe to the “Standards of Ethics and Professional Responsibility for Certified Mediators” promulgated by the Supreme Court of Virginia.\n\n        21.  The Mediator, Juridical Solutions PLC, and its employees, agents and independent contractors supplied by it shall not be liable to the parties for any act or omission relating to this Mediation.\n\nFor the mutual and the valuable consideration of seeking to avoid litigation or further litigation and the related costs, the parties enter into this Agreement as a binding contract.\n\n___________________________ _____________________________\nSignature of Party Signature of Party\n___________________________ _____________________________\nPrinted Name of Party Printed Name of Party\nDate: _____________________ Date: _______________________\n___________________________ _____________________________\nSignature of Counsel Signature of Counsel\n___________________________ _____________________________\nPrinted Name of Counsel for Party Printed Name of Counsel for Party\n___________________________ _____________________________\nAddress of Counsel Address of Counsel\n___________________________ _____________________________\n___________________________ _____________________________\nCity/State/Zip Code City/State/Zip Code\n___________________________ _____________________________\nE-mail address E-mail address\n___________________________ _____________________________\nTelephone      FAX Telephone      FAX\nDate: _____________________ Date: _______________________\nBy: ______________________________________________\nDate: ____________________________________________\n©2007 - 2017 Juridical Solutions, PLC", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6844075918197632}
+{"content": "If you're new to Mesos\n\nSee the getting started page for more information about downloading, building, and deploying Mesos.\n\nIf you'd like to get involved or you're looking for support\n\nSee our community page for more details.\n\nMesos Containerizer\n\nThe Mesos Containerizer provides lightweight containerization and resource isolation of executors using Linux-specific functionality such as control cgroups and namespaces. It is composable so operators can selectively enable different isolators.\n\nIt also provides basic support for POSIX systems (e.g., OSX) but without any actual isolation, only resource usage reporting.\n\n\nIsolators are components that each define an aspect of how a tasks execution environment (or container) is constructed. Isolators can control how containers are isolated from each other, how task resource limits are enforced, how networking is configured, how security policies are applied.\n\nSince the isolator interface is modularized, operators can write modules that implement custom isolators.\n\nMesos supports the following built-in isolators.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7050477862358093}
+{"content": "Murtaza opens Tarror road\n\n\n\nDeputy Speaker National Assembly, Murtaza Javed Abbassi on Sunday said that 130 million rupees have been spent to complete various developmental schemes including roads, schools, water supply and electricity provision schemes in union council Seer Sharqi. He said this while addressing a public gathering at an Iftar dinner hosted by the president PML-N Youth wing Lora circle Muhammad Shoaib Abbassi at Tarror village.\nEarlier, deputy speaker NA Murtaza Javed Abbassi inaugurated Plain Cement Concrete (PCC) Lower Tarror to Upper Tarror road which was completed with the cost of 10.4 million rupees. Murtaza Abbassi said addressing of low voltage issue and installation of new electricity lines would start in the UC Seer Sharqi soon after Eid-ul-Firar providing relief to the people of the area.\nHe further said the first three years of PML-N government were very crucial during which the government eradicated the menace of terrorism and improved the law and order in the country. Now the government has released developmental funds to resolve the issues in all over Pakistan, Murtaza Abbassi said.—APP", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5025274753570557}
+{"content": "Bill Nye\n\nMy 5 Minutes with the President\n\nBill Nye is the Science Guy, but he is also a comedian, author, inventor and engineer. He is dedicated to helping make science interesting and easy to understand for people everywhere. Bill carried out this mission for 18 years on his show “Bill Nye, the Science Guy,” for which he won seven Daytime Emmys. He has appeared regularly as himself on numerous television shows, including “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” “Solving for X” and “Living With Ed,” and was a host and writer for the Planet Green series “Stuff Happens Hosted by Bill Nye.” Bill Nye is the executive director of the Planetary Society. He is also an avid biker and can be spotted riding to work every day in Los Angeles.\n\nROBIN BRONK: If you had five minutes in the Oval Office with President Obama, what would you discuss with him? What issue would you like him to know about? \n\nBILL NYE: With five minutes, I’d like to talk with President Obama about the connection between the exploration of planets, Venus, climate change, math education and U.S. technological and ideological leadership. Science literacy helped this country achieve great things. With more of us knowing and appreciating science and engineering, we can address climate change, develop intellectual and technical expertise and change the world.\n\nRB: If you could give President Obama one piece of advice, what would that be? \n\nBN: Get around; see as much of the U.S. as you can. Our country has so many remarkable people and significant things to meet and see. Only by being there can a leader fully appreciate the people and places.\n\nRB: If you could ask President Obama one question, what would that be?\n\nBN: My question is, or would be, “How can the Planetary Society and I help you?”We need kids with deeper knowledge of the way everything works. I’m talking more algebra, more science and more understanding of civics and the process of democracy. RB: What book would you offer to lend President Obama? Why?\n\nBN: I’d lend him The Two Mile Time Machine by Richard Alley.\n\nRB: If you were going to send the president to one place in the United States for one day, where would that be? Why?\n\nBN: One place to see is the Arecibo Radio Telescope in Puerto Rico. It is from a time when an audacious citizenry undertook great projects. It’s wonderful engineering and science. Its ability to watch asteroids may save the world for us.\n\nRB: Would you ever consider a political career?\n\nBN: People often ask me about a political career. Yes, if the circumstances were right, I would run for office. If I were successful, I would work hard for my constituents. I was raised with a deep appreciation for the democratic process and the importance of voting. I’m a believer in our Constitution and government, because just like systems in nature, the U.S. government has change built in.\n\nRobin Bronk is CEO of The Creative Coalition — the leading national, nonprofit, nonpartisan public advocacy organization of the entertainment industry. Bronk is a frequent speaker on the role of the entertainment industry in public advocacy campaigns and represents The Creative Coalition and its legislative agenda before Members of Congress and the White House. She produced the feature film “Poliwood,” airing on Showtime, and edited the recently published book Art & Soul. Bronk pens this weekly column with assistance from Risa Kotek.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5299992561340332}
+{"content": "The endangered yellow cheeked crested gibbon (Nomascus gabriellae) as seen from the Phnom Tamao wildlife sanctuary in Cambodia. (Sterling Zumbrunn/Conservation International)\n\nNearly half of the world's primate species and subspecies are in danger of extinction, according to a study released Tuesday by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.\n\nThe study — which examined 634 species and subspecies of man's closest relatives, including gorillas, monkeys and orangutans — found that 48 per cent of the distinct kinds of primates were listed as vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered.\n\nThe main threat to extinction was habitat loss from the burning and clearing of tropical rainforest, but hunting and the illegal wildlife trade were also cited as threats, according to the Switzerland-based conservation group.\n\n\"In many places, primates are quite literally being eaten to extinction,\" said Russell Mittermeier, chairman of the IUCN's Primate Specialist Group and president of Conservation International, in a statement.\n\n\"Tropical forest destruction has always been the main cause, but now it appears that hunting is just as serious a threat in some areas, even where the habitat is still quite intact.\"\n\nMore than 70 per cent of primates in Asia are now listed as endangered, the group found.\n\nThe review is part of a larger survey of the world's mammals, due to be released in October at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Barcelona.\n\nThe findings are more alarming than a similar report issued last fall by the same group, then known as the World Conservation Union, which said just under a third of all primates were in danger of extinction.\n\nThe previous study looked at the 394 species of primates and did not break these species down into subspecies, as the IUCN study did.\n\nAs well, the IUCN study also considered primates listed as \"vulnerable\" to be in danger of extinction, while the previous study looked only at endangered and critically endangered species.\n\nThe distinction between the two conservation categories is a matter of degree. For example, if a decline in the animal's population is one of the measures used to assess the threat level, a vulnerable animal would be one whose population could be observed or estimated to have been reduced by 50 per cent over the last 10 years or three generations, whichever is longer.\n\nUnder a similar measure, an endangered animal would have a population reduction of 70 per cent or greater over the same time period.\n\nThe IUCN said non-human primates are important to the health of surrounding ecosystems through the dispersal of seeds and other interactions that help spread the range of plant and animal life.\n\nDespite the gloomy outlook, the group found some success stories, with primates such as Brazil's black lion tamarin and golden lion tamarin — the rodent-sized monkeys native to South America — both upgraded from critically endangered to endangered due to conservation efforts.\n\nIn a separate report Tuesday, wildlife researchers said they've discovered 125,000 western lowland gorillas deep in the forests of the Republic of Congo, a major increased in the animal's estimated population.\n\nThe Wildlife Conservation Society, based at New York's Bronx Zoo, and the Republic of Congo said their new census puts the estimated number of the gorillas at between 175,000 and 225,000.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8384943008422852}
+{"content": "The Patr?n Highcroft Racing team kicked off its assault on the 2009 Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring with all three of its drivers getting the chance to sample the new Acura ARX-02a, but also the first technical hiccup of the week.\n\nScott Sharp began the day in the #9, but his efforts were curtailed by a gearbox issue which sent the car back to the paddock earlier than anticipated. The afternoon session ran without problems, however, with both David Brabham and Dario Franchitti getting valuable time behind the wheel.\n\n''These first couple of days are all about giving each driver some seat time and getting as much running done as we can before the weekend,'' Sharp explained, ''I had a good practice session this morning and worked through quite a few items on our checklist, but I had a bit of a gearbox issue which ended our session a little early.\n\n''We all realise this is a young programme. We've covered a lot of ground already, but we have a long way to go and it is a challenge to tackle the first race of the year against the two toughest competitors in the sports car world in Audi and Peugeot. However, everyone has been working non-stop and, provided we can stay out of trouble and stay in contention all day, we can end up with a good result.''\n\nBrabham took over at the start of the afternoon session, undertaking a number of tyre evaluation runs before handing over to Franchitti, who joins the line-up for Sebring before embarking on his run to the IndyCar Series.\n\n''After all the testing we have done, it is great to get to Sebring and kick off race week - this is where it all counts,'' Brabham noted, ''We have been making some pretty good progress today, with some changes and tyre evaluations with Michelin, but we still have quite a few changes to make overnight and we will see what tomorrow brings.\n\n''It is a step-by-step process for us, but the car is getting more and more reliable and we only had one small issue this morning. Having a trouble-free run is the key thing we need to focus on.''\n\nThe Patr?n machine finished the day sixth fastest, stopping the clocks at 1min 45.871secs, already nearly two seconds a lap faster than the team's LMP2 qualifying time from Sebring in 2008 but with the promise that there would be more to come.\n\n''We tried a few things on the car - some of which worked, some of which didn't,'' Franchitti revealed after getting a handful of laps in the ARX-02a at the end of the day, '' The overall balance was off quite a bit this afternoon. We had a reasonable car at the endurance test, but we are now trying to improve on that and trying different things.\n\n''The track will start to grip up quite a bit as the week goes on, but it is almost a trade-off because it can get slower as it gets hotter. Sebring is well known for that and it is almost like an oval in some ways - the grip level can just die off when it gets hot. It certainly makes it challenging in a twelve-hour race because you experience so many different temperature conditions.''\n\nTesting continues with two sessions today [Tuesday], before official practice for the 12 Hours begins on Wednesday.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9015665650367737}
+{"content": "Why Does Insecticide Resistance Occur?\n\nInsecticide resistance occurs due to some insects surviving the environment. As these pests that survive reproduce, they pass on a resistant gene to their offspring, creating a community of resistant insects and other pests.\n\nKeywords: pesticide resistance, insecticide resistance, other pests, resistant insects, pests that survive\n\nAbout this Author\n\nMegan Smith has been a freelance writer and editor since 2006. She writes about health, fitness, travel, beauty and grooming topics for various print and Internet publications. Smith earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in writing from New York University.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 1.000009536743164}
+{"content": "The newest \"Alien\" franchise film, a sequel to \"Prometheus,\" expands the origin story and offers new insight on common themes while providing slasher-style entertainment.\n\nThe “Alien” franchise has always been a battleground for the philosophical and physical tussles for dominance between human, alien and artificial intelligence.\n\nWhile “Alien” set up the themes, character types, and iconography of this universe, 2012’s prequel “Prometheus” established an origin story and philosophy, bringing up questions of faith, spirituality and the risks of creating life. “Alien: Covenant,” once again directed by Ridley Scott, is the second prequel in the series, chronologically following “Prometheus,” and exploring the fallout from the events of that film, while offering a rich terrain for an epic battle between the differing forces in this world. The questions posed in the film are universal, and primal, and easy answers are never forthcoming.\n\nThe humans in the story are a plucky crew of space explorers; a tight-knit group of couples piloting a ship of colonists to a new planet that holds their dreams of a fresh start and new life. When a random shock wave hits the ship’s solar recharging sails, damage is incurred, lives are lost, and the team is diverted from its course. A rogue, seemingly human, transmission offers the opportunity to explore a closer, previously hidden planet, so they decide to try their luck — though this roll of the dice is made under some objection.\n\nRogue transmissions, planets that seem too good to be true, and a motley crew of space explorers? It sounds a lot like the “Alien” we know.\n\nScott explores the tensions between spirituality and science, faith and family, emotional and analytical intelligence, and manages to do all that in the style of a slasher horror film. “Covenant” rips through plot points and action set pieces with the speed of a xenomorph ripping through flesh. The story is a whirlwind smash-and-grab as the group is slowly pulled in different directions and picked off one by one, until a final girl, or woman, is left standing.\n\nThe final woman is played by Katherine Waterston, who has been toughened up with a bowl haircut and an odd little cap. It takes a bit of time, but Waterston ably fills the Ripley-sized shoes of Sigourney Weaver, both physically and mentally. In the “Alien” franchise, whether human, alien, or artificial, female intelligence is proven to be the most versatile and insightful, and Waterston embodies that with finesse.\n\nBut no performance eclipses that of Michael Fassbender, who played the android David in “Prometheus” and here plays a later model of the same droid, Walter. Fassbender is given the opportunity to give a wide-ranging and fascinatingly campy performance, and it’s no surprise he steals the show.\n\n\"Alien: Covenant\"\n\nCast: Katherine Waterston, Michael Fassbender, Danny McBride, Billy Crudup and Demian Bichir\n\nDirector: Ridley Scott\n\nRun time: 2:02\n\nRating: R for sci-fi violence, bloody images, language and some sexuality/nudity.\n\n3 stars", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8344460725784302}
+{"content": "Key Moments In The History Of Southwest Airlines\n\nAs an entrepreneur I love a good business story, and there’s no question that the success of Southwest Airlines is a great one. I recently watched a documentary on CNBC about the co-founder and CEO, Herb Kelleher, and was amazed by some of the gutsy calls he made as CEO. There were key moments in the history of the airline where things could have gone horribly wrong, but he came up with out-of-the-box solutions that not only saved his business, but made it thrive. And while watching this story, I couldn’t help but think of this history as a series of icons.\n\nFor those who aren’t familiar with the Southwest story, I’ll go over some brief points, but I do recommend watching the full story on CNBC Titans.\n\nHot Pants\n\nWhen Southwest started in 1971 they were just a small regional carrier flying from Houston to Dallas. But to make themselves unique, they selected beautiful flight attendants with unique personalities and then put them in hot pants and go-go boots. I love it when a company makes non-traditional choices while operating in a very traditional industry. That’s differentiation!\n\n\nThey also realized they needed to get more from less. They knew if they purchased all the same types of planes — the 737 — they could save money on maintenance costs. They wouldn’t have to train mechanics and carry parts for, say, five different types of planes. They still run a single model of plane today, and this has saved them a great deal of money over the long term.\n\n\nBut when competitors dropped their prices (even below their own costs) it forced Southwest to once again think outside of the box. If they matched those prices, Southwest would go out of business. Instead they decided to give all frequent flyer passengers a free bottle of whiskey each time they flew Southwest. For a few months, Southwest Airlines was the largest whiskey distributor in Texas and eventually the other airlines brought their prices back up.\n\n\nAnd then there are the peanuts. While every other airline was serving in-flight meals, Southwest chose to be the no-frills airline by offering just a small snack of peanuts. There was a time when lower management tried to convince Herb that they should offer their passengers something more substantial, like a Snickers. Herb’s response was, “Do you know what the difference in cost is between peanuts and Snickers?” No need to verbalize the answer to that one; it’s pretty clear.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5122090578079224}
+{"content": "The concept of “outlier” in studies of Human Ancestry, and the Corded Ware outlier from Erperstedt\n\n\nWhile writing the third version of the Indo-European demic diffusion model, I noticed that one Corded Ware sample (labelled I0104) clusters quite closely with steppe samples (i.e. Yamna, Afanasevo, and Potapovka). The other Corded Ware samples cluster, as expected, closely with east-central European samples, which include related cultures such as the Swedish Battle Axe, and later Sintashta, or Potapovka (cultures that are from the steppe proper, but are derived from Corded Ware).\n\nI also noticed after publishing the draft that I had used, although not voluntarily, the wording “Corded Ware outlier” at least once. I certainly had that term in mind when developing the third version, but I did not intend to write it down formally. Nevertheless, I think it is the right name to use.\n\nPCA of dataset including Minoans and Mycenaeans, and Scythians and Sarmatians. The graphic has been arranged so that ancestries and samples are located in geographically friendly axes similar to north-south (Y), east-west(X). Symbols are used, in a simplified manner, in accordance with symbols for Y-DNA haplogroups used in the maps. Labels have been used for simplification of important components. Areas are drawn surrounding Yamna, Poltavka, Afanasevo, Corded Ware (including samples from Estonia, Battle Axe, and Poltavka outlier), and succeeding Sintashta and Potapovka cultures, as well as Bell Beaker. Corded Ware sample I0104, from Erperstedt, has also been labelled.\n\nOutlier in Statistics, as you can infer from the name, is a sample (more precisely an observation) that lies distant to others. It is a slippery concept in Human Evolutionary Biology, because it has no clear definition, and it is thus dependent on a certain degree of subjective evaluation. It seems to be mainly based on a combination of PCA and ADMIXTURE analyses, but should obviously be dependent on the number of samples available for a certain culture, and the regional distribution of the samples available.\n\nWe have thus certain clear cases, like the Poltavka outlier, of R1a-M417 lineage, clustering close to Corded Ware (and Sintashta, and Potapovka) samples, but far from other R1b-L23 samples from Poltavka or Yamna cultures, from neighbouring regions in the steppe.\n\nWe have also less clear observations, like Balkan Chalcolithic samples, which may or may not have been part of different cultural groups (say, related to the Suvorovo-Novodanilovka expansion, or not), which may justify their differences in ancestral components in ADMIXTURE, and in their position in PCA.\n\nAnd we have a Yamna sample from western Ukraine, which – unlike the other two available samples – clusters “to the south” of east Yamna samples. Taking into account the Yamna sample from Bulgaria, clustering closely with south-eastern European samples, could you really call this an outlier? Two outliers out of four western Yamna samples? Well, maybe. If you take east and west Yamna from the steppe as a whole, and exclude the Yamna sample from Bulgaria, of course you can. Whether that classification is useful, or actually hinders a proper interpretation of western Yamna samples, and of the “Yamna component” seen in them, is a different story…\n\nPCA for European samples of Mathieson et al. (2017)\n\nBut what then about the Corded Ware sample from Erperstedt labelled I0104, dated ca. 2430 BC, which clusters among contemporaneous steppe (Poltavka) samples, and has the greatest proportion of ‘Yamna component’ in ADMIXTURE? After all, it is different in both respects from any other Corded Ware individual – including the oldest samples available, from Latvia (ca. 2885 BC) and Tiefbrunn (ca. 2755 BC).\n\nThis sample is one of the direct links between the steppe and Corded Ware in late times, and has been the main reason for the confusion a lot of people seem to have about the “Yamna component” in Corded Ware, with some supporting a direct migration from one into the other, and a few even daring to say that “Corded Ware is indistinguishable from Yamna”(!?).\n\nThe same family few generations later shows a decreased Yamna component, which clearly indicates that this individual’s admixture came directly from the steppe. That is compatible with the nomadic nature of the Corded Ware culture (and its known exogamy practices), which connected central Europe with the steppes, up to the North Caspian region.\n\nIf labelling other samples as outliers may be interesting to improve the conclusions one can obtain from genetic research, labelling this sample is, in my opinion, essential, to avoid certain strong misconceptions about the origin of the Corded Ware culture.\n\n\nIndo-European demic diffusion model, 3rd edition\n\n\nI have just uploaded the working draft of the third version of the Indo-European demic diffusion model. Unlike the previous two versions, which were published as essays (fully developed papers), this new version adds more information on human admixture, and probably needs important corrections before a definitive edition can be published.\n\nThe third version is available right now on ResearchGate and I will post the PDF at Academia Prisca, as soon as possible:\n\nMap overlaid by PCA including Yamna, Corded Ware, Bell Beaker, and other samples\n\nFeel free to comment on the paper here, or (preferably) in our forum.\n\nA working version (needing some corrections) divided by sections, illustrated with up-to-date, high resolution maps, can be found (as always) at the official collaborative Wiki website\n\nHuman ancestry solves language questions? New admixture citebait\n\n\nA paper at Scientific Reports, Human ancestry correlates with language and reveals that race is not an objective genomic classifier, by Baker, Rotimi, and Shriner (2017).\n\nAbstract (emphasis mine):\n\nGenetic and archaeological studies have established a sub-Saharan African origin for anatomically modern humans with subsequent migrations out of Africa. Using the largest multi-locus data set known to date, we investigated genetic differentiation of early modern humans, human admixture and migration events, and relationships among ancestries and language groups. We compiled publicly available genome-wide genotype data on 5,966 individuals from 282 global samples, representing 30 primary language families. The best evidence supports 21 ancestries that delineate genetic structure of present-day human populations. Independent of self-identified ethno-linguistic labels, the vast majority (97.3%) of individuals have mixed ancestry, with evidence of multiple ancestries in 96.8% of samples and on all continents. The data indicate that continents, ethno-linguistic groups, races, ethnicities, and individuals all show substantial ancestral heterogeneity. We estimated correlation coefficients ranging from 0.522 to 0.962 between ancestries and language families or branches. Ancestry data support the grouping of Kwadi-Khoe, Kx’a, and Tuu languages, support the exclusion of Omotic languages from the Afroasiatic language family, and do not support the proposed Dené-Yeniseian language family as a genetically valid grouping. Ancestry data yield insight into a deeper past than linguistic data can, while linguistic data provide clarity to ancestry data.\n\nRegarding European ancestry:\n\nSouthern European ancestry correlates with both Italic and Basque speakers (r = 0.764, p = 6.34 × 10−49). Northern European ancestry correlates with Germanic and Balto-Slavic branches of the Indo-European language family as well as Finno-Ugric and Mordvinic languages of the Uralic family (r = 0.672, p = 4.67 × 10−34). Italic, Germanic, and Balto-Slavic are all branches of the Indo-European language family, while the correlation with languages of the Uralic family is consistent with an ancient migration event from Northern Asia into Northern Europe. Kalash ancestry is widely spread but is the majority ancestry only in the Kalash people (Table S3). The Kalasha language is classified within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family.\n\nSure, admixture analysis came to save the day. Yet again. Now it’s not just Archaeology related to language anymore, it’s Linguistics; all modern languages and their classification, no less. Because why the hell not? Why would anyone study languages, history, archaeology, etc. when you can run certain algorithms on free datasets of modern populations to explain everything?\n\nWhat I am criticising here, as always, is not the study per se, its methods (PCA, the use of Admixture or any other tools), or its results, which might be quite interesting – even regarding the origin or position of certain languages (or more precisely their speakers) within their linguistic groups; it’s the many broad, unsupported, striking conclusions (read the article if you want to see more wishful thinking).\n\nThis is obviously simplistic citebait – that benefits only journals and authors, and it is therefore tacitly encouraged -, but not knowledge, because it is not supported by any linguistic or archaeological data or expertise.\n\nIs anyone with a minimum knowledge of languages, or general anthropology, actually reviewing these articles?\n\n\nFeatured image: Ancestry analysis of the global data set, from the article.\n\nIberian Peninsula: Discontinuity in mtDNA between hunter-gatherers and farmers, not so much during the Chalcolithic and EBA\n\n\nA new preprint paper at BioRxiv, The maternal genetic make-up of the Iberian Peninsula between the Neolithic and the Early Bronze Age, by Szécsényi-Nagy et al. (2017).\n\n\nAgriculture first reached the Iberian Peninsula around 5700 BCE. However, little is known about the genetic structure and changes of prehistoric populations in different geographic areas of Iberia. In our study, we focused on the maternal genetic makeup of the Neolithic (~ 5500-3000 BCE), Chalcolithic (~ 3000-2200 BCE) and Early Bronze Age (~ 2200-1500 BCE). We report ancient mitochondrial DNA results of 213 individuals (151 HVS-I sequences) from the northeast, central, southeast and southwest regions and thus on the largest archaeogenetic dataset from the Peninsula to date. Similar to other parts of Europe, we observe a discontinuity between hunter-gatherers and the first farmers of the Neolithic. During the subsequent periods, we detect regional continuity of Early Neolithic lineages across Iberia, however the genetic contribution of hunter-gatherers is generally higher than in other parts of Europe and varies regionally. In contrast to ancient DNA findings from Central Europe, we do not observe a major turnover in the mtDNA record of the Iberian Late Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age, suggesting that the population history of the Iberian Peninsula is distinct in character.\n\nIberian mtDNA samples\n\nDetailed conclusions of their work,\n\nThe present study, based on 213 new and 125 published mtDNA data of prehistoric Iberian individuals suggests a more complex mode of interaction between local hunter-gatherers and incoming early farmers during the Early and Middle Neolithic of the Iberian Peninsula, as compared to Central Europe. A characteristic of Iberian population dynamics is the proportion of autochthonous hunter-gatherer haplogroups, which increased in relation to the distance to the Mediterranean coast. In contrast, the early farmers in Central Europe showed comparatively little admixture of contemporaneous hunter-gatherer groups. Already during the first centuries of Neolithic transition in Iberia, we observe a mix of female DNA lineages of different origins. Earlier hunter-gatherer haplogroups were found together with a variety of new lineages, which ultimately derive from Near Eastern farming groups. On the other hand, some early Neolithic sites in northeast Iberia, especially the early group from the cave site of Els Trocs in the central Pyrenees, seem to exhibit affinities to Central European LBK communities. The diversity of female lineages in the Iberian communities continued even during the Chalcolithic, when populations became more homogeneous, indicating higher mobility and admixture across different geographic regions. Even though the sample size available for Early Bronze Age populations is still limited, especially with regards to El Argar groups, we observe no significant changes to the mitochondrial DNA pool until the end of our time transect (1500 BCE). The expansion of groups from the eastern steppe, which profoundly impacted Late Neolithic and EBA groups of Central and North Europe, cannot (yet) be seen in the contemporaneous population substrate of the Iberian Peninsula at the present level of genetic resolution. This highlights the distinct character of the Neolithic transition both in the Iberian Peninsula and elsewhere and emphasizes the need for further in depth archaeogenetic studies for reconstructing the close reciprocal relationship of genetic and cultural processes on the population level.\n\nSo it seems more and more likely that the North-West Indo-European invasion during the Copper Age (signaled by changes in Y-DNA lineages) was not, as in central Europe, accompanied by much mtDNA turnover. What that means – either a male-dominated invasion, or a longer internal evolution of invasive Y-DNA subclades – remains to bee seen, but I am still more inclined to see the former as the most likely interpretation, in spite of admixture results.\n\n\nFeatured images: from the article, licensed BY-NC-ND.\n\nSpread of Indo-European folktale traditions related to cultural and demic diffusion (using genomic data)\n\n\nNew article at PNAS, Inferring patterns of folktale diffusion using genomic data, by Bortoloni et al. (2017).\n\n\nObservable patterns of cultural variation are consistently intertwined with demic movements, cultural diffusion, and adaptation to different ecological contexts [Cavalli-Sforza and Feldman (1981) Cultural Transmission and Evolution: A Quantitative Approach; Boyd and Richerson (1985) Culture and the Evolutionary Process]. The quantitative study of gene–culture coevolution has focused in particular on the mechanisms responsible for change in frequency and attributes of cultural traits, the spread of cultural information through demic and cultural diffusion, and detecting relationships between genetic and cultural lineages. Here, we make use of worldwide whole-genome sequences [Pagani et al. (2016) Nature 538:238–242] to assess the impact of processes involving population movement and replacement on cultural diversity, focusing on the variability observed in folktale traditions (n = 596) [Uther (2004) The Types of International Folktales: A Classification and Bibliography. Based on the System of Antti Aarne and Stith Thompson] in Eurasia. We find that a model of cultural diffusion predicted by isolation-by-distance alone is not sufficient to explain the observed patterns, especially at small spatial scales (up to ~4,000 km). We also provide an empirical approach to infer presence and impact of ethnolinguistic barriers preventing the unbiased transmission of both genetic and cultural information. After correcting for the effect of ethnolinguistic boundaries, we show that, of the alternative models that we propose, the one entailing cultural diffusion biased by linguistic differences is the most plausible. Additionally, we identify 15 tales that are more likely to be predominantly transmitted through population movement and replacement and locate putative focal areas for a set of tales that are spread worldwide.\n\nI am very interested in folktales and their origins within Proto-Indo-European culture, so the title alone was an immediate click-bait for me. It did, as always, disappoint in its methods and conclusions, but just the idea it proposes is of great interest for future studies.\n\nThere are gross limitations in assessing folktales using simply the Aarne-Thompson-Uther Classification without further analysis or explanation, apart from a summary of tales in the supplementary materials.\n\nBut their maps and simplistic hypothesized waves of diffusion (‘African origin’, ‘northern Eurasian’, ‘Eastern European’, or ‘Middle-Eastern/Caucasian’) seem to me as if they try to swim with the tide of the current literature regarding the identification of Proto-Indo-European demic diffusion with “steppe admixture” distribution (and ancient language family diffusion in general through admixture), and as such it can only be wrong.\n\nIf you just look at actual folktale distribution (black dots) and compare them with prehistoric cultures and ancient Y-DNA distribution, you realize their maps don’t make much sense, and more complex methods (and a clearer idea of what admixture represents) are needed.\n\nIf their intention was to get published in a journal of high impact factor, they succeeded, so good for them. I am glad this subject gets more attention. Of course, their conclusions are kept formally in line with the many limitations of their methods, and are the most interesting aspect of the article:\n\nBy correcting for the presence of ethnolinguistic barriers, we find that the null model of cultural diffusion predicted by IBD alone cannot explain the observed distribution of folktales across Eurasia. Instead, beyond ~4,000 km, cultural diffusion biased by linguistic barriers exhibits the highest correlation at all geographic bins. At small geographic bins (<4,000 km), population movements and linguistic barriers may be more relevant than geographic proximity, pointing once again at the possible importance of small-scale processes of cultural transmission for testing more specific hypotheses when using genetic evidence. In addition, processes other than simple cultural diffusion may be more relevant for a smaller group of tales shared by pairs of populations that are genetically closer than populations not exhibiting those tales. Looking for smaller packages of tales or individual tales and their variants can be useful to shed light on the formation process of this vast body of popular knowledge. The long-range patterns detected by our analyses may complement this picture by suggesting a more ancient origin of some of these folktales (SI Appendix). On a broader level, these results can be used in the future to infer directional trends of cultural dispersal as well as to test for the emergence of systematic social biases [such as prestige bias, conformism/anticonformism, heterophily, and content-dependent biases] or cultural barriers different from linguistic ones, which have a chronology that may be independently ascertained.\n\nIf you are interested in studies about folktales, and especially those related to Indo-European traditions, you can check out the following articles I found interesting in the past:\n\n\nFeatured image (featured also in the article): Possible focal area and dispersion pattern for tale ATU313 “The Magic Flight,” one the most popular folktales in this dataset, which may have been additionally spread through population movement and replacement. It is interesting to note how this tale reached locations that are far from its putative origin (such as Japan and southeastern Africa), whereas it was not retained by many populations located in between (gray dots).\n\nAnalysis of R1b-DF27 haplogroups in modern populations adds new information that contrasts with ‘steppe admixture’ results\n\n\nNew open access article published in Scientific Reports, Analysis of the R1b-DF27 haplogroup shows that a large fraction of Iberian Y-chromosome lineages originated recently in situ, by Solé-Morata et al. (2017).\n\n\nHaplogroup R1b-M269 comprises most Western European Y chromosomes; of its main branches, R1b-DF27 is by far the least known, and it appears to be highly prevalent only in Iberia. We have genotyped 1072 R1b-DF27 chromosomes for six additional SNPs and 17 Y-STRs in population samples from Spain, Portugal and France in order to further characterize this lineage and, in particular, to ascertain the time and place where it originated, as well as its subsequent dynamics. We found that R1b-DF27 is present in frequencies ~40% in Iberian populations and up to 70% in Basques, but it drops quickly to 6–20% in France. Overall, the age of R1b-DF27 is estimated at ~4,200 years ago, at the transition between the Neolithic and the Bronze Age, when the Y chromosome landscape of W Europe was thoroughly remodeled. In spite of its high frequency in Basques, Y-STR internal diversity of R1b-DF27 is lower there, and results in more recent age estimates; NE Iberia is the most likely place of origin of DF27. Subhaplogroup frequencies within R1b-DF27 are geographically structured, and show domains that are reminiscent of the pre-Roman Celtic/Iberian division, or of the medieval Christian kingdoms.\n\nSome people like to say that Y-DNA haplogroup analysis, or phylogeography in general, is of no use anymore (especially modern phylogeography), and they are content to see how ‘steppe admixture’ was (or even is) distributed in Europe to draw conclusions about ancient languages and their expansion. With each new paper, we are seeing the advantages of analysing ancient and modern haplogroups in ascertaining population movements.\n\nQuite recently there was a suggestion based on steppe admixture that Basque-speaking Iberians resisted the invasion from the steppe. Observing the results of this article (dates of expansion and demographic data) we see a clear expansion of Y-DNA haplogroups precisely by the time of Bell Beaker expansion from the east. Y-DNA haplogroups of ancient samples from Portugal point exactly to the same conclusion.\n\nThe situation of R1b-DF27 in Basques, as I have pointed out elsewhere, is probably then similar to the genetic drift of Finns, mainly of N1c lineages, speaking today a Uralic language that expaned with Corded Ware and R1a subclades.\n\nThe recent article on Mycenaean and Minoan genetics also showed that, when it comes to Europe, most of the demographic patterns we see in admixture are reminiscent of the previous situation, only rarely can we see a clear change in admixture (which would mean an important, sudden replacement of the previous population).\n\nEquating the so-called steppe admixture with Indo-European languages is wrong. Period.\n\nThe following are excerpts from the article (emphasis is mine):\n\nDates and expansions\n\nThe average STR variance of DF27 and each subhaplogroup is presented in Suppl. Table 2. As expected, internal diversity was higher in the deeper, older branches of the phylogeny. If the same diversity was divided by population, the most salient finding is that native Basques (Table 2) have a lower diversity than other populations, which contrasts with the fact that DF27 is notably more frequent in Basques than elsewhere in Iberia (Suppl. Table 1). Diversity can also be measured as pairwise differences distributions (Fig. 5). The distribution of mean pairwise differences within Z195 sits practically on top of that of DF27; L176.2 and Z220 have similar distributions, as M167 and Z278 have as well; finally, M153 shows the lowest pairwise distribution values. This pattern is likely to reflect the respective ages of the haplogroups, which we have estimated by a modified, weighted version of the ρ statistic (see Methods).\n\nZ195 seems to have appeared almost simultaneously within DF27, since its estimated age is actually older (4570 ± 140 ya). Of the two branches stemming from Z195, L176.2 seems to be slightly younger than Z220 (2960 ± 230 ya vs. 3320 ± 200 ya), although the confidence intervals slightly overlap. M167 is clearly younger, at 2600 ± 250 ya, a similar age to that of Z278 (2740 ± 270 ya). Finally, M153 is estimated to have appeared just 1930 ± 470 ya.\n\nHaplogroup ages can also be estimated within each population, although they should be interpreted with caution (see Discussion). For the whole of DF27, (Table 3), the highest estimate was in Aragon (4530 ± 700 ya), and the lowest in France (3430 ± 520 ya); it was 3930 ± 310 ya in Basques. Z195 was apparently oldest in Catalonia (4580 ± 240 ya), and with France (3450 ± 269 ya) and the Basques (3260 ± 198 ya) having lower estimates. On the contrary, in the Z220 branch, the oldest estimates appear in North-Central Spain (3720 ± 313 ya for Z220, 3420 ± 349 ya for Z278). The Basques always produce lower estimates, even for M153, which is almost absent elsewhere.\n\nSimplified phylogenetic tree of the R1b-M269 haplogroup. SNPs in italics were not analyzed in this manuscript.\n\n\nThe median value for Tstart has been estimated at 103 generations (Table 4), with a 95% highest probability density (HPD) range of 50–287 generations; effective population size increased from 131 (95% HPD: 100–370) to 72,811 (95% HPD: 52,522–95,334). Considering patrilineal generation times of 30–35 years, our results indicate that R1b-DF27 started its expansion ~3,000–3,500 ya, shortly after its TMRCA.\n\nAs a reference, we applied the same analysis to the whole of R1b-S116, as well as to other common haplogroups such as G2a, I2, and J2a. Interestingly, all four haplogroups showed clear evidence of an expansion (p > 0.99 in all cases), all of them starting at the same time, ~50 generations ago (Table 4), and with similar estimated initial and final populations. Thus, these four haplogroups point to a common population expansion, even though I2 (TMRCA, weighted ρ, 7,800 ya) and J2a (TMRCA, 5,500 ya) are older than R1b-DF27. It is worth noting that the expansion of these haplogroups happened after the TMRCA of R1b-DF27.\n\nPrincipal component analysis of STR haplotypes. (a) Colored by subhaplogroup, (b) colored by population. Larger squares represent subhaplogroup or population centroids.\n\nSum up and discussion\n\nWe have characterized the geographical distribution and phylogenetic structure of haplogroup R1b-DF27 in W. Europe, particularly in Iberia, where it reaches its highest frequencies (40–70%). The age of this haplogroup appears clear: with independent samples (our samples vs. the 1000 genome project dataset) and independent methods (variation in 15 STRs vs. whole Y-chromosome sequences), the age of R1b-DF27 is firmly grounded around 4000–4500 ya, which coincides with the population upheaval in W. Europe at the transition between the Neolithic and the Bronze Age. Before this period, R1b-M269 was rare in the ancient DNA record, and during it the current frequencies were rapidly reached. It is also one of the haplogroups (along with its daughter clades, R1b-U106 and R1b-S116) with a sequence structure that shows signs of a population explosion or burst. STR diversity in our dataset is much more compatible with population growth than with stationarity, as shown by the ABC results, but, contrary to other haplogroups such as the whole of R1b-S116, G2a, I2 or J2a, the start of this growth is closer to the TMRCA of the haplogroup. Although the median time for the start of the expansion is older in R1b-DF27 than in other haplogroups, and could suggest the action of a different demographic process, all HPD intervals broadly overlap, and thus, a common demographic history may have affected the whole of the Y chromosome diversity in Iberia. The HPD intervals encompass a broad timeframe, and could reflect the post-Neolithic population expansions from the Bronze Age to the Roman Empire.\n\nWhile when R1b-DF27 appeared seems clear, where it originated may be more difficult to pinpoint. If we extrapolated directly from haplogroup frequencies, then R1b-DF27 would have originated in the Basque Country; however, for R1b-DF27 and most of its subhaplogroups, internal diversity measures and age estimates are lower in Basques than in any other population. Then, the high frequencies of R1b-DF27 among Basques could be better explained by drift rather than by a local origin (except for the case of M153; see below), which could also have decreased the internal diversity of R1b-DF27 among Basques. An origin of R1b-DF27 outside the Iberian Peninsula could also be contemplated, and could mirror the external origin of R1b-M269, even if it reaches there its highest frequencies. However, the search for an external origin would be limited to France and Great Britain; R1b-DF27 seems to be rare or absent elsewhere: Y-STR data are available only for France, and point to a lower diversity and more recent ages than in Iberia (Table 3). Unlike in Basques, drift in a traditionally closed population seems an unlikely explanation for this pattern, and therefore, it does not seem probable that R1b-DF27 originated in France. Then, a local origin in Iberia seems the most plausible hypothesis. Within Iberia, Aragon shows the highest diversity and age estimates for R1b-DF27, Z195, and the L176.2 branch, although, given the small sample size, any conclusion should be taken cautiously. On the contrary, Z220 and Z278 are estimated to be older in North Central Spain (N Castile, Cantabria and Asturias). Finally, M153 is almost restricted to the Basque Country: it is rarely present at frequencies >1% elsewhere in Spain (although see the cases of Alacant, Andalusia and Madrid, Suppl. Table 1), and it was found at higher frequencies (10–17%) in several Basque regions; a local origin seems plausible, but, given the scarcity of M153 chromosomes outside of the Basque Country, the diversity and age values cannot be compared.\n\nWithin its range, R1b-DF27 shows same geographical differentiation: Western Iberia (particularly, Asturias and Portugal), with low frequencies of R1b-Z195 derived chromosomes and relatively high values of R1b-DF27* (xZ195); North Central Spain is characterized by relatively high frequencies of the Z220 branch compared to the L176.2 branch; the latter is more abundant in Eastern Iberia. Taken together, these observations seem to match the East-West patterning that has occurred at least twice in the history of Iberia: i) in pre-Roman times, with Celtic-speaking peoples occupying the center and west of the Iberian Peninsula, while the non-Indoeuropean eponymous Iberians settled the Mediterranean coast and hinterland; and ii) in the Middle Ages, when Christian kingdoms in the North expanded gradually southwards and occupied territories held by Muslim fiefs.\n\nContour maps of the derived allele frequencies of the SNPs analyzed in this manuscript. Population abbreviations as in Table 1. Maps were drawn with SURFER v. 12 (Golden Software, Golden CO, USA).\n\nI wouldn’t trust the absence of R1b-DF27 outside France as a proof that its origin must be in Western Europe – especially since we have ancient DNA, and that assertion might prove quite wrong – but aside from that the article seems solid in its analysis of modern populations.\n\n\nText and figures from the article, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.993932843208313}
+{"content": "Life imitating fiction\n\nwhiskey-jack-blogIn my book, Dancing in the Rain, the character of Brenna entertains the tourists on Grouse Mountain by hand feeding the whisky jacks, a bird commonly found on the mountain. I liked the idea, but had never actually done it myself. Yesterday I spotted a group of them in in the trees while snowshoeing on Mount Seymour . I put out my hand to see what would happen. Immediately a  bird landed on it, looking for food. Because she was so friendly I shared my Cliff bar with her. Nothing makes me happier than being up close to wildlife.\n\n\nGentle Giants: Grizzly Bears and Mountain Gorillas\n\nCharlieBoth of these magnificent animals have been on my mind because I was on a gorilla trek in January and will soon be back to helping care for the two grizzly bears at the Grouse Mountain Refuge for Endangered Wildlife. I have also just reread Dian Fossey’s Gorillas in the Mist and I went to hear Charlie Russell speak about his many years of living with the grizzlies in a remote area in Russia. The accompanying pictures are of Charlie Russell with the bears and one of Dian Fossey.\n\nDian Fossey proved, without a doubt, that the Mountain Gorillas are gentle giants when they are treated with respect. Charlie Russell discovered the same thing about the grizzly bears he lived with. Both animals have an intelligent, playful and peaceful nature. They will interact in a friendly way with humans if they haven’t been abused.charlierussell bear 4\n\nBut humans have not always treated these animals respectfully. Both animals have been poached for body parts, or the young are kidnapped to be taken to faraway zoos. Ranchers have come into conflict with bears and they have been the target of trophy hunters. When the animals associate humans with violence, they can return the violence.Dian Fossey\n\nI thought that this first picture of Charlie Russell must have been photo-shopped, but in his presentation he showed the series of pictures leading up to it. The bear was there first, and allowed Charlie to join him.charlie-russell\n\nIf only human nature was always so intelligent, playful and peaceful.charlie-russell3", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6985157132148743}
+{"content": "Theiling Online    Sitemap    Conlang Mailing List HQ   \n\nCONCULTURE: Xinkùtlan souls and metaphysics\n\nFrom:Geoff Horswood <geoffhorswood@...>\nDate:Wednesday, January 26, 2005, 10:25\n\nAs always, comments and suggestions are welcome.\n\nAs complex and wide-ranging as their classification of different types of\nspirits and gods and monsters is, you might expect that their beliefs about\nthe souls / spirits of people would probably be equally complex.  And you'd\nbe right.\n\nThere's no _one_ word that translates the English \"soul\", for example, and\nthe word for \"spirit\" in Xinkùtlan refers to a substance, not an entity.\nIn other words, there are creatures* whose bodies are made of \"flesh\", and\ncreatures whose bodies are made of \"spirit\".  Pretty straightforward so\nfar, right?  But it gets complicated from here.  There are creatures with\nflesh bodies that have all of the different types of soul, creatures that\nhave some of them, creatures that have only one of them, and created things\nwhich have none of them.  And there are also creatures with spirit bodies\nthat fall into all of those different categories.\n\n*creatures: I'm using this word in its broadest possible sense; I mean not\nonly animate creatures, but also plants and some inanimate things as well.\n\nThe Xinkùtlan believe that there are several different kinds of soul.\nPeople (and some very few kinds of Elder Creature (\"monster\") such as\ndragons) are the highest form of creature with a body of flesh, and have\nall of the different types of soul.\n\nThese are the different types of soul.  They are each associated with one\nof the seven elements, and reside in a different part of the body.\n\n1) tor /to:r/:         Shadow; soul of being.  All created things have a\ntor, which resides in their shadow.  It is associated with the element of\nLight, and is considered to result from the light of the High God in all\nthings \"throwing forth\" the shadow.  The tor can detach from its owner and\nwander freely while the earth is in darkness; this is part of what is\nthought to cause dreams.  The soul of being is released after death by the\nritual cremation of the body; it is not immortal, but endures only as long\nas the body.\n2) kùtas /ku'tas/:     Earth soul (associated with this element).  All\nliving things have a kùtas.  It is perhaps best described as the principle\nof growth, the capacity to grow and to be what a thing is, according to the\norder of things set at the founding of the world.  This soul is thought to\nreside (in humans) in the bowels; it is probably the least understood type\nof soul.  It may or may not be immortal, and is probably not pre-existent.\n3) kum /kum/:          Bone; instinctual soul.  The kum is common to all\nanimate creatures, residing in the bones (or shell, or exoskeleton: these\nare all considered to be \"bones\").  It houses the instincts, the primal\nfight-or-flight mechanisms, and the emotional reactions, and is associated\nwith the element of Stone.  kum souls are believed to transmigrate on a\nreincarnation-type basis: you don’t know where your kum soul has been\nbefore it was in you, nor do you know to whom or to what it will pass.\n4) tseid /tsejd/:      Blood; paternal soul.  The blood, or tseid, is\nthought to descend from the paternal line, and is seen as the source of\ncourage, manly strength and masculine virtue.  It is dominant over the ùsul\nin males (producing maleness), but like the yang principle, is resident in\nboth men and women.  The blood is associated with the element of Water\n(perhaps unusually for a \"primitive\" culture, Water has masculine, not\nfeminine associations).\n5) ùsul /u:'sul/:      Breath; maternal soul.  The ùsul, or breath, is\nreceived in the womb from the mother, but activated directly after birth\n(with the first breath).  It is the source of compassion, female strength\nand feminine virtue, dominant over the tseid in women (producing\nfemaleness), but like the yin, residing in both sexes.  The tseid and ùsul\ncoming from the father and mother respectively are blended together in the\nnew child (this is what the Xinkùtlan perceive to be the mechanism of\nbiological inheritance), but are separate souls with their own\ncharacteristics and powers.  It is associated with the element of Air or\n6) cùihir /Suj'hir/:   Created soul.  Only human beings and certain few\nother of the Elder Creatures have cùihir.  The cùihir is linked with the\nelement of Rain (which also manifests as mist and clouds), and is directly\ncreated by the High God, the Creator, for each child at its conception.  It\nenters the body at birth or soon afterwards and activates the tseid and the\nùsul.  It is this soul in particular that Darklings are thought not to\npossess; this is vital, because it is the seat of much of the personality,\nalso it is the source of art, skill and imagination.  cùihir are believed\nby some to outlive the body and take on bodies of spirit; others believe\nthat they dissipate and become part of the mists and rain of the world.\n7) zuakàn /zwakan'/:   Fire soul.  The zuakàn normally enters into the body\nof a child during their Rite of Passage ceremony (thus, even human children\nonly have 6 of the 7 souls).  It is this soul that is considered to be the\nwell of spiritual/magical power from which shaman-priests and sorcerers\ndraw.  It is through the zuakàn that one is able to perceive spiritual\nbeings and communicate with spirits.  The fire soul is intimately linked\nwith one of the zi animal spirits, which will become your spiritual totem\nand protector.  The animal type of the zuakàn is determined by your\npersonality and character, as revealed in the vision of your Rite of\nPassage; a boy with a Passage vision of the snake will have a zuakàn of the\nSnake totem, and their sacred animal and protector will be the snake.\nTotem animals are perceived as neither good nor evil; they have their\nparticular character, and that is their nature.\nFire souls are conceived to be both immortal and pre-existent; able to\nwander in the physical and spiritual realms and to carry other souls with\nit.  Shaman-priests and metalworkers (who are seen as a kind of half-\nshaman) have very powerful zuakàn.\n\nNote: Fire is very important in the Xinkùtlan religious life, as the only\nelemental power that can be summoned at will by men.  (Partial)* control of\nfire is considered to be the great gift of the High God, the Creator.\n\n*brushfires, forest fires and lightning are separate cases.  Oxen are\ndomesticated animals, but people still get gored to death sometimes.\n\nThis is what I have.  It's partially modelled on something I heard of once\nabout an African(?) tribe (can't remember which one) who believed that\npeople had 3 different souls, some of which were immortal and others tied\nto the body.  This gave the missionaries a real conundrum- which word\nshould you use to translate things like \"Praise the Lord, O my soul\" or \"I\nword of God\"?  Fascinating!  So I decided to take it a step or two further,\nin the interests of going beyond cultural anadew.\n\n\n\nIsaac Penzev <isaacp@...>", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8600624203681946}
+{"content": "Your own worst enemy\n\nGut reactions can lead to poor market moves\n\nFebruary 11, 2003|By Paul Barr. Special to the Tribune.\n\nWith the way stock prices have behaved in recent years, many investors may be wondering if the market is out to get them.\n\nNo matter how low stocks go, they always seem to find a way to head lower, leading some people to question the sanity of being invested in the market at all. The natural inclination may be to sell out until the market has settled down.\n\nRelax, say behavioral finance experts, who make it their business to study market psychology and the mental mistakes investors can make. An investor's gut reaction is often the wrong move to make. Rash moves during booming or sinking markets can result in a buy-high, sell-low approach.\n\nNevertheless, investing with your head instead of your heart isn't easy, when so much can ride on your decisions.\n\n\"You don't want to let the fact that we're in a bear market color your investment strategy,\" says Hersh Shefrin, professor of finance at Santa Clara University and author of the behavioral finance book \"Beyond Greed and Fear.\"\n\nJust as it was unwise to let the bull market cause an overreliance on one asset class, or in some cases a single stock, pulling back too far from equities is likely to be a mistake, Shefrin says.\n\nA look at the past suggests there's no reason to panic, though there are real psychological reasons why investors might have urges to drastically change their investment allocations.\n\n\"Right now, many just want to get out, get it over with. This can be very dangerous,\" says Werner DeBondt, a professor of finance at DePaul University and director of the Richard H. Driehaus Center in Behavioral Finance. \"Historically, stock markets have performed pretty well, and there's no reason to think the future will be any different.\"\n\nThe stock market and economy has survived much worse scenarios in the last 100 years--World Wars I and II come to mind--and they're likely to survive the current bleakness.\n\n\"In the grand picture of markets ... this is nothing,\" DeBondt says.\n\nFrom a behavioral perspective, investors generally should hold tight, assuming they have a proper diversified investment mix.\n\nAnd it's not just amateurs who are at risk of committing psychological mistakes.\n\nBehavioral finance research has found that even professional investors fall prey to the behavioral traps found in the stock market. Current market conditions are particularly ripe for people to make seriously bad decisions, the experts warn.\n\nIn the heyday of the defined benefit pension plan, it wouldn't have mattered so much to non-professional investors.\n\nCorporations took most of the risk of supplying pension benefits to its retirees. If a company suffered investment losses, they had to add more cash to the plan to make good on their promised retirement package.\n\nToday, with the 401(k) plan and its uncertain future value taking on a greater role in the retirement picture, investor psychology among people with little investing experience could have huge repercussions.\n\n\"It's not clear people are prepared for this,\" DeBondt says.\n\nOne bad move now could determine which side of the McDonald's counter you'll be standing on during your retirement years.\n\nAnd how the general public reacts to the three-year-plus bear market in stocks could affect how much longer the downturn lasts.\n\n\"What individual investors do will affect prices,\" DeBondt says.\n\nThere are plenty of ways to make a mental error during a bear market.\n\nOne of the more common psychological errors is assuming that what's happened recently will continue, something called recency bias or extrapolation bias.\n\nPeople can't imagine prices rising in the midst of a bear market, and can't imagine prices falling in a bull market, Shefrin says.\n\nIn either case, \"it can be disastrous\" for investors who get completely out of stocks in a bear market or become too heavily invested in stocks during a bull market, he says.\n\nSupporting the recency bias has been the unusual length of the current bear market, which some say is an overreaction from the years of stock market growth in the 1990s that culminated in the technology bubble. The old buy-on-dips strategy that worked so well for so long failed in the last three years.\n\n\"Many people just want to stop the pain,\" DeBondt says. \"The thing to do is not to flinch.\"\n\nAnd even as investors try to successfully navigate the market's waters, they may be setting themselves up for additional pain.\n\nA matter of trust\n\nMost individual investors operate with a great degree of trust, says John Nofsinger, professor of finance at Washington State University in Pullman, and author of the new book \"Infectious Greed,\" a prescription for restoring confidence in corporate America. During a bear market, investors want to own investments that make them feel safe.\n\n\"Many have looked around and said who can I trust now? The answer is the bond market,\" Nofsinger says.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8424543142318726}
+{"content": "A Perspective On Sensory Processing Disorder\n\nA Perspective On Sensory Processing Disorder\nJanuary 30, 2015 Children's Developmental Centre\n\nSensory processing refers to how the nervous system receives stimuli through the senses, analyses the information, and then turns these into appropriate responses. Different stimuli are received through the classic senses for visual (sight), auditory (hearing), olfactory (smell), gustatory (taste) and tactile (touch), inputs. However, stimuli are also received from the less acknowledged senses of proprioception (positional awareness of body parts) and vestibulation (coordination of balance and awareness of gravity).\n\nIn children with Sensory Processing Disorders, sensory stimuli fail to get processed into the appropriate interpretations in the brain and consequently, the affected person will be unable to properly relate to the sensory information. This dysfunction could make a person appear to be experiencing insufficient or too much feedback from the environment compared to other people in the same context. Sensory Processing Disorders can create challenges in going about normal everyday-routines that unaffected people regularly take for granted. Some of the resulting issues can include clumsiness, behavioural problems, hyper-activity, anxiety, stress, academic failures and social frustrations.\n\nUn-diagnosed and unsupported children with Sensory Processing Disorders are likely to be misunderstood and there is a great tendency for them to be ignorantly perceived as being dull, clumsy, annoying or ‘strange’ by people who are unaware of the individuals’ hidden developmental challenge. Against this background, victims might respond with anxieties, aggression or withdrawals and have difficulties in forming social relationships. Sensory Processing Disorders affect people in different ways. While someone might show over-responsiveness to a particular stimulus another could show under-responsiveness to the same. A child may have sensory processing disorder in just one area but sometimes multiple presentations are involved in the same person.\n\nPeople with this type of sensory issue will over-respond to sensations compared to what is considered ‘normal’. Some children in this category may find regular clothing texture, ordinary physical contact, ambient light, average sounds, or even some conventional tastes to be quite unbearable such that they feel as if they are being intolerably assailed with ‘sensation overload’. In a sort of ‘sensory defensiveness’, such persons may try to minimize stimuli inputs through withdrawal methods such as avoiding being touched, eating only bland food items or covering ears with the fingers to block out seemingly loud sounds that others do not consider to be offensive. People with this issue are likely to have difficulties participating in group or mainstream activities in order to minimize exposures to many sensory information that others consider routine and normal.\n\nConversely, some other people show little or no responsivity to stimulations, including pain or extremes of temperatures. A child in this category might often harm himself and other children inadvertently since he is not properly aware of normal impacts and have high threshold for pain. In a sort of ‘sensory craving’ phenomenon, some children in this group will intensely seek out sensation with an enthusiasm that is in the extreme. For instance in cases of tactile hypo-sensitivity, the person may feel inclined to touch virtually everything or be overly affectionate in order to adequately feel the sensation of touch that unaffected people normally take for granted. In a humourous way, this phenomenon reminds me about one of the wonderful kids I saw at Children’s Developmental Centre (CDC) who always grasp people’s limbs eagerly and touch them rather curiously as if analysing a scientific specimen. I have also observed another interesting child here who seems to have peculiar attraction for bright lights and is usually fascinated by transparent glass windows through which he can view the sunny exterior. Children with sensory hypo-sensitivity issues are likely to be rather fidgety and may be ignorantly dismissed as being disruptive. A child’s difficulty in perceiving subtle differences between similar letters or symbols (e.g. n and h, + and x, etc.) could be indicative of visual hyposensitivity while an unexplained difficulty in understanding or remembering instructions that was heard could be suggestive of auditory hypo-sensitivity and both can have negative impacts on academic performance in unsupported children who are affected.\n\nTreatment intervention for Sensory Processing Disorder is through Sensory Integration Therapy. This involves a form of brain training and sensory skills ‘exercises’ to be performed under the supervision of an Occupational Therapist. The Children’s Developmental Centre (CDC) has a Multi-Sensory Stimulation room specially dedicated for this purpose. Early intervention is important for best treatment outcomes in children with Sensory Processing Disorders.\n\n-Lanre Fashina.\n\nComments (0)\n\nLeave a reply\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9873482584953308}
+{"content": "Planet ready to say killing and death are wrong?\n\nDeath is not the solution. Death is the problem.\n\nThe UN has started the final procedures to put to a vote in front of the General Assembly a resolution for a universal moratorium on the death penalty. While not binding, the adoption of a resolution like this would be a further step towards an understanding how civilization ought to evolve in a complex environment that ill tolerates aggression at any level and from any source. And we should better want to be part of the solution then part of the problem ourselves.\n\nA wonderful video at TED by Steven Pinker, ‘A History Of Violence’, illustrates how fallible we are in our evaluations on how the use violence changed in our societies at all scales. Its dramatic decline is illustrated in Pinker’s talk, and should serve as a guideline to politicians as strong as Moore’s law is to engineers as they stumble towards our shared future.\n\nThen there is Sens, which takes further steps, and boldly declares that the invention of death, attributed to that of sexual reproduction a few billion years ago, is also a mistake, which we must correct.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9671302437782288}
+{"content": "Hamelin D’abell Method\n\nHDM Series, 6 months\n\n89 GBP\nThe regular HDM course is now switching to HDM series. The student will receive 2 monthly HDM classes for 6 months instead of weekly classes. The class structure will remain the same - CardioTone, interval training, mat work and resistance/fat burning work using bands, gliders and the like. The classes will be delivered directly to your inbox for downloading. Join Hamelin for a fatburning intensity toning class with cardio intervals and endurance training to give you the maximum results. Expect a tighter physique, slimmer muscles, more definition all over, increased strength, weight loss, pulled in abs, sleek arms and a metabolism that will help you burn more fat in your every day life. Each class is different - new moves, new music, different tools (resistance bands, weights, gliders etc.) and there's always a big emphasis on safety and keeping the moves 'friendly' towards the body.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9950750470161438}
+{"content": "Research Labs\n\nThe Legal Psychology Program prides itself on its record of research scholarship. Both faculty and students are encouraged to become actively engaged in grant writing, publications and conference presentations. Below are a sample of these activities. See also our faculty pages, where more details are listed.\n\nAt the Modesto A. Maidique Campus:\n\nChild Narratives Lab\n\nDr. J. Zoe Klemfuss\n\nResearch in the Child Narratives Lab focuses on how social context and individual differences influence children's reports about past events. More specifically, we address questions about how the conditions under which children experience events and the conditions in which they are asked to remember those events influence what and how they recall. Dr. Klemfuss is also interested in studying how individual differences in cognitive and narrative skills contribute to children's abilities to report about events they've experienced. Many of the research questions we address in the lab apply directly to legal settings. For example, how do attorney questions and child witness responses influence jury decisions? How do attorneys create believable stories out of children's accounts? How should interviewers talk with young children about negative past experiences?\n\nCognitive Laboratory\n\nDr. Steve Charman\n\nDr. Charman's research interests lie mainly in the area of eyewitness psychology. More specifically, his research topics include: the underlying cognitive processes of eyewitnesses; various lineup procedures that may improve eyewitness performance; the forensic usefulness (and dangers) of facial composites; and the processes by which crime suspects generate alibis (and how those alibis are subsequently evaluated). He currently maintains a legal psychology lab that involves numerous undergraduate and graduate students. He hopes that his work will help improve the accuracy of criminal trial verdicts, which, as recent DNA exoneration cases have shown, can be tragically mistaken.\n\nI-Lab (Interviewing Laboratory)\n\nDr. Nadja Schreiber Compo\n\nDr. Schreiber Compo’s research focuses on investigative interviewing, especially the interviewing of vulnerable witnesses such as children or the intoxicated. She is both interested in potentially detrimental and beneficial interviewing techniques and their underlying cognitive and social mechanisms to improve the quality and quantity of witness and victim recall. Dr. Schreiber Compo has worked with and trained several law enforcement agencies. Her I-LAB involves a variety of undergraduate and graduate projects in the area of witness interviewing.\n\nDevelopment, Context, and Communication Laboratory\n\nDr. Lindsay Malloy\n\nIn the Development, Context, and Communication Lab, Dr. Malloy and students investigate a wide range of research questions about children’s cognitive and social development that have implications for legal contexts. These questions include: What do children say about the past and why? What are the best ways to ask children about their experiences to encourage accuracy? How do children’s life experiences shape how they view the world and other people? How can knowledge of children’s cognitive and social development help those who work with children every day? This research not only helps advance scientific understanding of child development but also helps address “real world” issues by providing information to professionals who conduct important work with children every day (for example, teachers, social workers, legal professionals).\n\nTRIIIAD (Theory-based Research on Interviewing, Interrogation, Intelligence-gathering and Assessing Deception) Lab\n\nDr. Jacqueline R. Evans\n\n\nAt the Biscayne Bay Campus:\n\nCognitive Laboratory\n\nDr. Ronald P. Fisher\n\nMost of Dr. Fisher's research revolves around issues related to applying principles of cognition within a legal context. Dr. Fisher's three primary areas of research are (a) developing the Cognitive Interview procedure to enhance eyewitness memory of crimes (and also related areas, e.g. transportation, accidents, group and personal decisions) , (b) understanding why memory is sometimes inconsistent and examining the implications for impeaching witnesses; and, (c) detecting deception via cognitive measures and manipulations.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9589877128601074}
+{"content": "Respecting Thai Culture while on Holiday\n\nIt takes five minutes to check the local customs and manners before you travel, and it makes a huge difference to how you are perceived. We are huge proponents of being responsible under water- and that can extend to your behaviour on land too!\n\nHere are three things to bear in mind while enjoying your stay in Thailand-\n\nNudity is not allowed and it is rude to walk around in a bikini (or shirtless, if you're male); the exception of course, is on the beach. While it is very hot, cover up with a loose vest and shorts to avoid offending the locals when walking in town.\n\nIt is also disrespectful to touch things or point with your feet, and they are considered the dirtiest part of the body. Don't rest your feet on chairs, don't face your bare soles to people, and don't move other people's belongings with your feet.\n\nAnother thing to bear in mind is that the King is universally adored and revered in this country. To speak out against him is actually illegal, and will at the very least upset any Thais around you. Similarly, any images or statues of Buddha are sacred, and need to be treated as such.\n\n\nCoolest aquatic life.\n\nI all ways get ask what the coolest things i have seen under water.\nWell here is one.\nPeacock mantis shrimp. these beautiful crustaceans are ferocious undersea predators that hunt with clubbed forelimbs, walloping their quarry with one of the strongest pound-for-pound punches on the planet.\nThe mantis shrimp can punch with the speed of a .22 caliber bullet strong enough to break the shells of its prey, as well as aquarium glass.\nWhen a mantis shrimp hits its target, the velocity causes water to vaporize, then implode with a sharp bang, extremely high heat, and a flash of light   all of which is felt by the prey animal as an additional blow. \nWhen the striking limb of a mantis shrimp is not in use, it lies folded under the animal’s body, compressing a saddle-shaped spring that drives the animals stupendous strikes.\nSome species of mantis shrimp wield spear like limbs that can impale their targets, instead of club-like limbs for bashing them. \nTheir super-strong punches aren’t the only notable thing about the mantis shrimp. The animal’s eyes can see a huge variety of light wavelengths, including those in the ultraviolet spectrum.\n\nCuttlefish facts\n\nCuttlefish are actually not fish but molluscs belonging to the order Sepiida and class Cephalopoda, which also includes squid, octopodes, and nautiluses.\n\nMales have four pairs of legs, whilst females have three pairs. They also have two tentacles, with suckers, for catching prey.\n\nCuttlefish have three hearts and blue/green blood.\n\nCuttlefish spawn only once in a lifetime.\n\nThey have “W” shaped pupils, can’t see colour but can see forwards and backwards, with no blind spot.\n\nCuttlefish normally grow from 15-25cm, however the largest species (Sepia Apama) can reach 50cm.\n\nCuttlefish, like Octopus, release ink as a defence mechanism. This ink was formerly used as a dye, hence the name Sepia.\n\nThey live for approximately 1-2 years and inhabit mostly shallow tropical/temperate ocean waters.\n\nThe Cuttlefish ‘bone‘ is what controls their buoyancy.\n\n\nGenerally Cuttlefish eat fish, shrimp, crabs, worms, molluscs but will also eat other Cuttlefish. They in turn are preyed upon by fish, seabirds, sharks, seals, dolphins and of course, Cuttlefish.\n\n\nCuttlefish have one of the largest brain to body size ratios and are thought of as amongst the most intelligent invertebrates. Cuttlefish cannot see colour but have highly sophisticated eyes, which are thought to give them sight even whilst in the womb. They are thought to learn their preferred prey in this way before they are even hatched.\nDespite the fact Cuttlefish are colourblind, they are able to change their colour at will to match their surroundings.\n\n\nCuttlefish ratios mean there are usually 4-5 males for every female, which is a recipe for war. Males will either fight but more commonly trick each other, for the right to mate.\nThe most successful tactic is cross dressing! Males disguise themselves as females, by changing their colour, concealing their extra arms and even pretending to be holding an egg sack. The master of disguise can then sneak past the guarding male and mate with the female.\nThe successful male grabs the female with his tentacles, turns her face to face, then inserts a specialised tentacle into an opening near her mouth. He deposits sperm sacs there, fertilising the female, who he will guard until she lays their eggs only hours later. Check out this video of the dramatic event.\nThe female lays a batch of about 200 eggs and covers them with ink. After two to four months, they hatch out into perfectly formed little Cuttlefish with a yolk sac, to feed them until they make their first kill.\n\n\nCuttlefish populations are not well known, however, commercial fishermen in South Australia catch up to 71 tonnes during the mating season, both for human consumption and use as bait.\nBecause of their short life span and spawning only once in a lifetime, the threats of over-fishing are obvious. Currently there are no management restrictions in place to limit the numbers that can be taken but there is pressure to add the giant cuttlefish to the endangered species list.\n\nPaul. Padi Instructor.\nScuba Junction.\n\n\"Why is the sea salty\"\n\nYesterday a student completing a swim test mentioned to me 'the sea is so salty here' - a silly statement you may think, however it got me thinking - yes, we all know the sea is salty, but exactly why is the sea salty and why can it be more salty in some places than others? Well, here is the definitive answer as explained by the BBC. That's a lot of Salt!\n\nMost of our planet’s surface is covered in water – salt water. The oceans that support so much of Earth’s life are around 3.5% sodium chloride – 50 million billion tonnes of salt.\nBut where does it come from? While some of it comes from volcanic vents or rocks on the seabed, most of it is actually from the land around us. Every time it rains, tiny amounts of mineral salts are washed into rivers, which eventually flow into the sea.\nThe salt in rivers is less than 1/200th the amount usually found in seawater. It becomes more concentrated in the ocean, as the Sun’s heat causes water from the surface to evaporate, leaving the salt behind. Extra salt added every year from rivers is balanced by salt which returns to the sea floor.\nBut salinity isn’t the same everywhere. Towards the poles, water is not as salty because it’s diluted by melting ice, while the extra heat in the tropics makes water there saltier – and denser. And that can affect how nutrients flow around the oceans.\n\n\n\nSouthwest Pinnacles\nLocation: About 7 km Southwest of Koh Tao\nDepth: Average 17 m / Maximum 28 m\nLevel of Diving: Beginner to Experienced Divers\nA row of pinnacles offering wall dives and fantastic schooling marine life, such as snapper, trevally, and barracuda. The shallower points are carpeted with gardens of sea anemones and the deeper gullies are filled with healthy gorgonians and whip corals.\nChumphon Pinnacles\nLocation: About 5 km northwest of Nang Yuan\nDepth: Average 20 m / Maximum 36 m\nLevel of Diving: Experienced Divers\nThis deep pinnacle is typically reserved for advanced divers, but can be accessed on your final open water training dives in good conditions. Majestic views, breathtaking rock formations and large marine life, with the increased chance of whale shark sighting.\nShark Island \nLocation: 1 km off the southern tip of Koh Tao\nDepth: Average 15 m / Maximum 28 m\nLevel of Diving: Beginner to Experienced Divers\nShark Island is named not for its carnivorous marine life but for the island’s resemblance to a shark fin from certain angles. The occasional currents bring in nutrient rich waters encouraging an abundance of marine life. Groupers, turtles and schools of raccoon butterfly fish inhabit the shallower depths, and nudibranch nurseries line the eastern coast.\nMaarten. Padi Instructor.\nScuba Junction.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5994018316268921}
+{"content": "Tuesday, January 20, 2015\n\n\nA tool is any physical item that can be used to achieve a goal, especially if the item is not consumed in the process. Informally the word is also used to describe a procedure or process with a specific purpose. Tool use by humans dates back millions of years, and other animals are also known to employ simple tools. Tools that are used in particular fields or activities may have different designations such as \"instrument\", \"utensil\", \"implement\", \"machine\", or \"apparatus\". The set of tools needed to achieve a goal is \"equipment\". The knowledge of constructing, obtaining and using tools is technology.\n\nAnthropologists believe that the use of tools was an important step in the evolution of mankind. Humans evolved an opposable thumb — useful in holding tools — and increased dramatically in intelligence, which aided in the use of tools. Because tools are used extensively by both humans and wild chimpanzees, it is widely assumed that the first routine use of tools took place prior to the divergence between the two species. These early tools, however, were likely made of perishable materials such as sticks, or consisted of unmodified stones that cannot be distinguished from other stones as tools. Stone artifacts only date back to about 2.5 million years ago. However, a 2010 study suggests the hominin species Australopithecus afarensis ate meat by carving animal carcasses with stone implements. This finding pushes back the earliest known use of stone tools among hominins to about 3.4 million years ago.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.958680272102356}
+{"content": "Attack Resilient State Estimation for Vehicular Systems\n\nSource Organization:\nUniversity:University of Pennsylvania\nPrincipal Investigator:Nicola Bezzo, Insup Lee\nPI Contact Information:\nProject Manager:\nTotal Dollars:\nAgency ID/Contract/Grant Number:\nStart and End Dates:\nProject Status:Complete\nSubject Categories:\nAbstract:In recent years we have been witnessing an increase in autonomous vehicles: most of the cars we drive nowadays use multiple sensors to maintain constant speed (e.g., adaptive cruise control), avoid obstacles and collisions, park, move autonomously through traffic, and improve the overall driving comfort. In the presence of a cyber attack in which the received information from the sensors is compromised, safety is also compromised. Thus, our goal is to develop a resilient framework to guarantee vehicular safety in the presence of malicious cyber attacks. To consider cyber attacks that can compromise the overall safety of a vehicle, we are exploiting sensor fusion and redundancy in the sensor measurements. Specifically the problem under investigation is the following: Given a vehicle with N sensors measuring directly or indirectly a certain state, find the set of policies such that the vehicle can achieve a desired state while one or more sensor measurements are maliciously compromised by an adversarial attack. We focus primarily on control design schemes and address attacks on sensors for autonomous ground vehicles. We build upon ways to introduce redundancy within the control loop, as well as methods for attack detection and identification. We utilize security-aware attack-resilient estimators that identify an attack and allow the controller to pursue a mitigation strategy.\nDescribe Implementation of Research Outcomes (or why not implemented):\nImpacts/Benefits of Implementation (actual, not anticipated):\nProject URL:", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9587903022766113}
+{"content": "Charlotte Mason Summaries\n\nSummary of Parents and Children\nVolume 2 of the Charlotte Mason Series\n\nChapter 1--The Family pg. 1-9\n\nJean Jacques Rousseau, for all his faults (he forced his mistress to put their own five children into a foundling home so as not to be bothered with raising them himself!), wrote a book called Emile that changed the way we view childhood and children, and still affects policy in childcare and education. He told parents that their duty to raise their children was of such importance that they must give up lesser activities and devote themselves to their children. As Charlotte says, he \"turned the hearts of the fathers to the children.\" But parents need more than the inspiration and mandate to take responsibility for raising their children; they also need some kind of guidance to tell them how to raise them.\n\nThe family might be seen as a communal group, which, in spite of its small size, is the very backbone of a nation--nations are made up of families. The family is a commune in the sense that group property is shared among all the members, all members are seen as having value, and all pitch in to help maintain the group. A baby, although he does less work, is not valued less or given less than his share of food.\n\nA family shouldn't be isolated; it should maintain relations and serve other families. It is like a miniature nation and, if a nation kept to itself and served no one but itself, it would be perceived as barbaric. The family should also be a contributing, productive force to its nation. Family members must consider all of these things in the education of the children so that children are taught to be productive members of their family and their country. Children should be sufficiently valued within their own family that they don't need to find contentment elsewhere, yet not so content that they forget the community outside the door, whether it be extended family, friends, or those in need.\n\nChapter 2--Parents as Rulers pg. 10-18\n\nIf the family can be seen as a miniature nation, its government should be a benevolent, wise monarchy. The parents must have final authority. A parent who abdicates his authority is abdicating his parenthood as well, for the one who steps in to fill the vacancy (perhaps a governess) will become, for all practical purposes, the 'parent,' and the children will give their affections and honor to him.\n\nChildren who are not disciplined but are allowed to 'do what is right in their own eyes' because the parent fears that the child won't like the parent will not respect their parents but will be ungrateful. This parent loses his authority, and his parenthood is abdicated to someone else. Parents who are preoccupied with their own pursuits may find someone else stepping in to raise their children in their absence.\n\nThe parent who wants the honor and respect of his children must be willing to accept the position of authority that the role of parent demands. It is the job of the parent to raise the children; if the child doesn't learn respect, loyalty and obedience at home, he is not likely to learn it at all. Although the current trend leans towards a democratic family with children receiving equal rights in decision-making, children are naturally willing to yield to authority if the parents begin it early. Authority doesn't have to mean harsh, unsympathetic discipline--it can come from a parent who loves and listens to the input of the others in the family. In fact, it is in such an atmosphere that children do best.\n\nThe parent owes it to his children, his nation and God himself to take charge of his children. The child's perception of God will be based on how he sees his parents, whether loving, wise and consistent, or weak and insecure, or stern and unloving.\n\nChildren don't belong to the parents; how they grow up will affect the nation. If a nation sees its parents not doing a good job raising up its citizens, the nation may take on the responsibility of raising its children without the parents for the good of the country (I think we see this in the US, where public education is trying to claim more and more rights on our children because the government has a vested interest in how the children turn out.) This is a tragedy because children raised by a government, by schools in institutionalized settings, will not receive a Christian education. States don't teach about God. Nor will such children learn about family duty and brotherly love. Their allegiance will be to the state. To avoid this, parents must be diligent to take charge of their children and raise them to be good citizens.\n\nYet even parental authority does have its limits. Authority must be for the good of the child, not the pleasure or power of the parent. Decisions should be made with the child's best interests at heart, not the need for the parent to live vicariously through the child. Authority shouldn't supercede the child's autonomy--children should make decisions for themselves as soon as they are capable. After all, it's their life and they will need to get into the habit of thinking for themselves and making their own decisions. Children should understand that parental obedience is owed out of duty to God and his nation, not just to satisfy parents' whims. A child who understands this won't be likely to rebel against his parents. And, finally, when children come of age, parents need to let go of their authority, even if the child still lives at home. Grown children must be treated as adults, not children. They must make their own decisions about who they associate with, how they spend their time and money. If they prove to be incapable of such responsibility, it's too late at that point to correct it.\n\nThe best-run families maintain order and peace without constant discipline; its members willingly comply with what's expected because they are pleased to do as the parents wish, not because they fear punishment if they step out of line.\n\nChapter 3--Parents as Inspirers pg. 19-28\n\nGreat men tend to have good mothers who inspired them to greatness. It is the parents' duty to lead their children to a relationship with God. Parents who train their children to obey and introduce them to God will have the best chances of their children accepting Him as their God. The Proverb \"train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it,\" is proven true again and again; there are some exceptions, but children usually reflect their upbringing as adults.\n\nA child inherits tendencies and characteristics that predispose him to specific talents and sins, but he is not doomed to live out his life limited by those tendencies. With the training of his parents and the help of the Holy Spirit, he can learn self-control in order to minimize his character flaws and build up his nobler aspects. Habits change the muscles and mind, and training right habits will help self-control become automatic as the mind and body physically change to adapt to the new habits until proper behavior is second nature. This opportunity to change the way our children think and act by allowing habit to make physical changes in the brain and body is exciting in its implications for the role of education. Yet building these right habits is a slow, tedious day-to-day process that we may lose sight of if we don't remember the big picture, the possibilities for our children. We ourselves are such creatures of habit that we forget to take care in small matters that build lifelong habits. As the saying goes, \"...Sow a habit, reap a character, sow a character, reap a destiny.\"\n\nThrough early training, parents can directly influence and change a child's ideas about things, the way he thinks and, as a result, feels and acts, how he spends his time, his talents and interests, and his disposition. All of this is in the power of the parent and education.\n\nChapter 4--The Life of the Mind Grows upon Ideas pg. 29-40\n\nChapter 3 included the 'educational functions of parents.' It is the parents who train the habits that become the child's thoughts and actions. The crucial thing that parents impart to children is ideas. Formerly, children were thought of as blank slates for educators to write on. Johann Pestalozzi started this perception by attempting to develop children's minds to receive knowledge (but their minds don't need development; they are already developed and ready to learn!) Friedrich Froebel refined this idea by attempting to develop separate elements of children's faculties. Kindergarten is this philosophy packaged in an institutionalized method: preparing children to learn.\n\nBut science shows that what we thought before is not totally correct. Heredity isn't as arbitrary as we thought. And children need more individualized education than current trends allow for. Children's minds and bodies are already ready to learn and don't need methodical preparation; they are designed to learn and just need guidance and the right environment to do what they were made for. Education is much, much more than a method of preparing children to learn--it is life itself, and 'bringing up' is a more accurate way to view it. And parents are more than modellers, they are inspirers.\n\nUnderstanding what education is, and what our goal is, enables us to choose a method to get from point A to point B. Understanding that children have minds ready to learn prompts us to forget rigid methods and impart ideas (concepts) that will spark children's minds. One idea can light a fire in someone that propels them to action for the rest of their lives. Our job as educators is to expose our children to vital, living ideas that may stir their imaginations and inspire them to noble lives and heroic deeds. Not all ideas are tangibly perceived; some may be a mere yearning or appetite for something vague and unseen that draws one to something higher (as in Longfellow's poem Excelsior). Surrounding children with kindness and cooperation may not present an \"aha!\" moment to a child, but will become part of his environment with every breath and become an unperceived standard inside him drawing him to more of the same. This should make us think twice about losing control in front of our children in a fit of anger or impatience.\n\nThis is how Samuel Taylor Coleridge saw ideas on page 37: Ideas begin as a seed planted in the mind. Situations and events may act as light and water to the idea, bringing it to mind again to grow rather than to be forgotten. Our habits can lead us closer to specific ideas, as tunnels lead to the light at the end. An alert mind will seek to see clearly which ideas are foremost and choose carefully which paths and habits to pursue with the most desired idea in deliberate focus.\n\nAn educator/parent chooses carefully which path of education to follow with a clear idea of what his goal is at the end. In all their years of education, children will discard all but the ideas that fed his mind, so parents should take care to impart lots of these ideas, not knowing which will stick and which won't. Since children are as prone to becoming fixated on evil ideas as good ones, parents should take care that the ideas a child comes across are noble ones. Since an original idea branches out into rabbit trails and various related actions, parents should take care that originating ideas are true so that those rabbit trails and related actions aren't based on lies. Even our reason, infallible as it seems, can work against us to justify a false idea if we allow ourselves to accept the idea before judging its rightness from the beginning. For instance, a child may grow into an adult who justifies his judgmentalism if he is used to seeing others judged harshly, and that idea becomes part of his thought processes. His reason will confirm his actions once his mind is settled.\n\nChapter 5--The Things of the Spirit pg. 41-49\n\nThe highest duty of parents is revealing God to their children. How can we fortify them against doubt? If we do as previous generations did and don't prepare them for the onslaught of mockers, we unfairly pit them unarmed to face more than they can handle. Shielding them with apologetic, dogmatic proofs may back-fire if science disproves the evidence they were depending on. Tangible evidence can confirm scripture, but shouldn't be what faith is based on. Instead, children should be taught to think through opinions and worldviews thoroughly to prepare them for the time when it is natural for them to question and analyze and form their own opinions. Children should learn early that just because something is in a book doesn't make it true. Parents should help them research answers when they don't know themselves. They should respect the findings of science, but realize that new discoveries may disprove today's scientific theories. Some things in the world that God created may remain mysteries to man.\n\nThe first time a child realizes that thoughts come into his own mind for him to ponder may come as a surprise to him; he needs to learn that he can control these thoughts. He must judge each thought before he allows himself to ponder in his mind, because dwelling on wrong thoughts leads to sin. Even young children can grasp such a spiritual concept; young children do have a sense of their own sin and may feel guilt and shame at their bad deeds. They are never too young to know that God can be a place of comfort and safety. In fact, this is the image of God we want children to have. We must be faithful to expose children to scripture and trust the Holy Spirit to extract which ideas the child retains from the exposure.\n\nChapter 6--Primal Ideas Derived by Parents pg. 50\n\nIt is parents who serve as the most effective world's evangelists, bringing one person at a time to God through the raising (and evangelism) of their own children. If statistics are correct and most Christians accepted the Lord as children, then it is true that parents have a great share in bringing the light of the gospel to the world--just by raising their own children. Yet not all parents recognize their divine duty.\n\nWhat is the best way to introduce the idea of God to our children? Relying on the reasonableness of the mind by reading scriptures for their appeal to the human side of a child is a mistake, because our reason may be faulty. Even the Bible stories themselves are all about people whose reason steered them wrong, causing them to justify all kinds of wrongs from idol worship (the Jews often lived in sin because they did what was right in their own eyes!) to the crucifixion of Jesus. Persecution and prejudice throughout the ages is another example of reason gone wrong--people can justify all kinds of things if their foundational ideas are wrong. These foundational ideas are picked up as children, too early to be weighed and discerned by the child. They often come in the form of subtle prejudices from the parent.\n\nFoundational concepts go deep into the subconscious mind; Charlotte calls these primal ideas. Since they form the basis on which the child forms his logic, parents should take care which primal ideas their children are absorbing from them. If children are to be impressed with the idea that adult Christians are people of prayer, then they should see their own parents praying as a matter of course. Mothers should remind children that God is always near so that children come to take the presence of God as a given. Their children should hear them thanking God for blessings. They should not be subjected to prayers in stilted, archaic language--that may make God seem remote to them. If parents pray naturally, joyfully and in their normal kind of talk, God will seem close and intimate to their children. It is also good for children to get to know God as a King who deserves their loyalty and obedience. They are never too young to learn that Christians are a part of the battle between good and evil, and that victory is part of the plan. Even very young children have a sense of guilt and shame at their wrongs, and it is good for them to have an understanding of the spiritual side of morality, especially as it relates to God's forgiveness.\n\nChapter 7--The Parent as Schoolmaster pg. 60\n\nSome parents wait until school age to begin thinking about discipline and training. They think that children should live a free, unencumbered life full of nothing but happy memories and creative individuality, and their teacher can deal with taming them later. But that does a disservice to both the teacher and the child. Teachers have a much higher success rate when children come to them already well-mannered and in control of themselves. And children who are allowed to grow unruly like untrained vines are developing habits that will be hard to break later. A teacher may be able to get an unruly child to have an appearance of discipline, but usually the child reverts to his early habits when he's on his own--his discipline isn't his own, it's just for show. A child who becomes accustomed to sprawling laziness because of a lack of discipline may have been destined for greatness, but never achieve it because he didn't learn productive habits when he was young. Waiting until school age to begin training a child may be too late.\n\nBut aren't selfish tendencies only natural human nature? Yes, but as a field left fallow will turn to weeds, a child left in his natural state will tend to act at his lowest state. Just like a good gardener waters, prunes and weeds to have a beautiful garden, so parents must work at discipline, watering the good traits so they will flourish, but pulling the weeds of vices by replacing them with good habits. That is what is meant by \"Education is a Discipline.\" A child's earliest education is comprised of discipline to teach him self-control. By discipline, Charlotte didn't mean corporal punishment. Discipline comes from the root word \"disciple,\" to follow. A wise parent draws his child to want to follow virtue, not through force, but by giving a cheerful, attractive example and persuasion. Little by little, day to day, the parent strives to make the most of the child's best virtues and decrease his faults. Charlotte promises to talk more about how to do this in detail in a later chapter.\n\nChapter 8--The Culture of Character pg. 69\n\nHeredity may give children inborn characteristics, but is he doomed to be shaped by his worst faults? We must remember that all children are also born with curiosity, affection and desire for beauty. We can use those natural tendencies to steer him towards good behavior. Children naturally love to know about things, and a child given plenty of time will come to love nature--if he isn't kept busy with formal school lessons. Children have an innate desire to create, and will enjoy expressing themselves if given the opportunity and a little basic art instruction and encouragement. The drive to create is already in them and does not need to be developed.\n\nChildren may be born with talents, gifts and tendencies--but to turn what they were born with into noble character is a great achievement for them. Children are not helpless victims of the faults they inherited. Parents can take measures to help children overcome their fault and nourish and encourage their gifts and virtues. A good habit needs four things to flourish: practice, nourishment in the form of ideas, change of thought to prevent staleness, and down time to play or reflect. The brain is a living muscle that grows new tissue, and that new tissue requires rest for its growth. Without rest and change, a pursuit may become an obsession and the child will become eccentric (as an example of this, think of child geniuses who can't function in the real world.)\n\nChildren ought to take enough pride in their family name and reputation that they would never want to bring disgrace to it with bad behavior. Eccentricity (and boredom with life, too) can be avoided if children are encouraged to seek those pursuits that will help others in some way or make the world a little better. Encouraging an attitude of outward helpfulness will discourage inwardness that can make any pursuit an obsession and make the child weird. The most gifted genius is useless to the world if he buries his gift in his own eccentricism and doesn't share it for the good of mankind.\n\nChapter 9--The Treatment of Defects pg. 83\n\nOur ultimate object in educating our children is to replace bad traits with good habits and nurture good traits without allowing them to turn into faults themselves (a natural born leader may be prone to becoming tyrannical, or a sweet child may lie to avoid the pain of another.) Children should be made to feel that their good traits are something of value to cherish, but talk shouldn't be overdone. Just a simple word here and there will transfer the impression. Good traits should be steered towards helping others--leadership, for instance, should be guided so that the child desires to protect rather than bully. And a sweet child should see that true love doesn't hide faults by lying.\n\nEven what seems like an inborn personality flaw in a child can be driven out by replacing it with good habits. Charlotte gives the example of a cruel, malicious boy. Punishment is not the answer, and such a trait can't be left alone in the hopes that it will be outgrown. How can he be made better? He should be given errands of kindness so that he begins to enjoy what it feels like to do a good deed. His mother will need to devote some time and effort--but wouldn't she do that if he were physically sick? And his character is of greater value than even his physical body. She must watch him constantly and, as soon as she sees an evil intent, but before he has had time to bring it to action, she can give him a task to distract his mind. He should be asked to do an errand or task that is an act of kindness to someone. Every time an act of naughtiness enters his mind, she is there to send him on an errand and the bad thought vanishes. In time, he will become more used to acts of kindness than cruelty, and kindness becomes a habit. New brain tissue grows to replace the old, but this new tissue grows to accommodate the new habit--and now the child is even physically changed for the better!\n\nIt is true that the Lord can mold a child's character, but it is much easier for the child if we co-labor and give him a head start. It is easier for a child to be molded by God when he doesn't have stubborn faults for God to have to break, and the child will be better able to make progress in self-improvement if he has already learned some self-control. It also makes a child easier for the mother to live with.\n\nChapter 10--Bible Lessons pg. 92\n\nSunday School shouldn't be relied on to give our children their religious education--Sunday School was created for the children of secular parents. Our children should learn about God at home. Charlotte's Parents Union sought to help parents with this training, and even provided lessons for parents to do with their children. The family was encouraged to attend church services together (which makes family church a CM ideal!!)\n\nIn Charlotte's day, parents were neglecting their duty to pass on their religious education because doubt had been cast on the truth of the scriptures. Science and education sought to discredit the Bible and miracles. Parents questioned their own faith and therefore were reluctant to teach it dogmatically to their children. Instead, they left it alone and churches were left to fill the gap. Yet it takes more faith to deny that miracles happen in some cases. The resurrection, for example, is difficult to deny in light of the facts. Parents can have confidence in the truth of the Bible and pass that faith on to their children.\n\nChapter 11--Faith and Duty (reviews) pg. 101\n\nEducation is a scientific field and requires the best minds to discover how to most effectively educate children. How is the next generation to be raised as dutiful citizens? Answering this issue involves questions about the nature of man, morality, and science.\n\nCharlotte mentions Felix Adler, who wanted to teach morality from a purely secular perspective. Morality, he wrote, is the result of a child's inner desire to do right. But, Charlotte asks, without a God, where is the motivation to behave? It may take a respect (and fear) of a God outside of oneself to motivate one to morality. And that's why she thought the Bible ought to be taught in schools. The Bible is also valuable as a textbook because it is a collection of classic books of poetry, philosophy, history and ethics (making it a bargain compared to the prices of other school textbooks!)\n\nMothers should take note of when their children first show signs of conscience and in what areas. That will tell her that it's not to early to begin religious training.\n\nFairy tales (and myths, from the sound of it) should be told to children (told rather than handed to children in a book, because tradition should be passed on orally.) Include the moral lesson of the tale without separating it from the story. Felix Adler thought that the stories should be culled and the superstitious or offensive ones not shared with children, bringing up the question of how much children should be sheltered from evil. Charlotte seems to feel that children are better off facing evil for the first time in fairy tales rather than in real life later; it prepares them for the shock.\n\nAfter fairy tales, children can move on to Fables. Felix Adler offers the same suggestion about being selective and not letting fables introduce children to superstition or fear. He would next share ancient classics--The Iliad, for example--with children. He puts the Bible in this classification, and Charlotte takes offense. She doesn't feel that the Bible should be grouped with classic myths, or that it should wait until after fairy tales and fables have had their say. Scripture should be so familiar that children should have no memory of a time when they didn't hear Bible stories. Though they are too young to analyze and study, they can appreciate the moral teaching of obedience and duty, the imagery and spiritual truths as God reveals it to them.\n\nParents should read the Bible to children in its beautiful old language and without a verse-by-verse commentary. Have them tell back (narrate) the story. Not all books of the Bible are suitable for children, but separate books (perhaps even with unsuitable passages edited) might make nice gifts for a child. Or, read episodes from the Old Testament to the child.\n\nThe Odyssey and Iliad are great adventures for boys, telling of bravery, friendship, and paternal duty. Though Felix Adler doesn't recognize them as such, they are as religious as the Bible, with their tales of the supernatural interventions of the gods. There is no need to question or overly explain the moral lesson of these tales; children already know what's wrong, and they won't miss the illustrated point.\n\nSecular reason says that the purpose of knowledge is for success in life, esteem, self-fulfillment, or possibly to help others. But Christians know that it is their duty to learn. Felix Adler's book is weak in its lack of spiritual acknowledgement because it relies on man motivating himself by himself. Yet Charlotte values his book as the best on teaching ethics. Christians will naturally add those elements that Adler fails to suggest. A child trained well in ethics should never be the kind of weak adult who continues in sin--critical, gossipers, dishonest. Good instruction should prevent the child from becoming a lazy Christian.\n\nChapter 12--Claims of Philosophy as an Instrument of Education pg. 117\n\nThanks to Locke, people had a naturalistic, materialistic view of education in Charlotte's day; she includes a paragraph where a Madame de Stael comments at length in beautiful French about the influence of Locke on philosophy in Europe.\n\nWe tend to focus on method and science and forget that the mind is not just a machine but a living organism that thrives on intangible ideas. In Charlotte's day, educational reform was tending towards a scientific method and neglect of classic Greek (and, presumably, less focus on the kind of classics that feed the mind with ideas.)\n\nYet we can take some of the new approach and apply some scientific principles to education so long as the rest isn't rejected. Scientific method can be a good thing. It reminds us that we should logically follow a path of order, starting with an observation about which is the correct philosophy on which to base education--naturalism, or idealism? Or can we find something in-between?\n\nEducation might further the human race if hereditary traits are bolstered and moral laws are strengthened, says M. Fouillee. We can practice Darwin's idea of selection by choosing to use those ideas that are most effective and noble for the best evolution of the human species (our own natural selection of the fittest ideas!) While debates rage about secondary issues such as whether literary or scientific education should be the emphasis, or ancient or modern languages should be taught, the foundational questions are being ignored. Education is more than literature, science and which language to learn--these should be unified into one philosophy for the betterment of mankind. Charlotte believes that her approach answers this problem by educating the whole person--intellect, soul and spirit. Although thought can't be seen or touched, its impact on action is very real (and the tangible growth of brain tissue to accommodate it is very physical and real.) Sowing proper habits of thought in early childhood will reap a productive citizen who will be a benefit to his society later.\n\nIf proper behavior becomes habitual, there is no need to agonize over every decision about which course of action to take; taking the right and good action will be automatic. Deciding whether to do the right thing will happen only a few times in a day instead of constantly. How can a person with habits of proper conduct be anything but a model citizen of moral character? Yet even a good habit is sparked by an idea in the spirit that inspires the child to want to change. The intangible idea moves the child to make a physical change in outward behavior. Thus, both spiritual and physical are necessary elements in a child's education. One might look at this as mind over matter--the mind wills the child to change an action. Education can't happen on the naturalistic, physical side of a person without addressing his inner mind as well.\n\nAnd this sets our minds at ease that physical methods of education can't rob the child of his individuality because his spiritual, inner being is always there. You can inspire it, but you can't force it to think in a specific way. The child will always own his own inner thoughts no matter how education tries to shape him. We have no way of knowing which ideas a child will take to--so we present lots of noble, inspiring ideas and let him decide which of them to accept. Yet even here we must be careful not to over-present the same idea until the child is bored or repulsed by it.\n\nKnowing that the child will take those ideas that he likes should make us all the more diligent about choosing those ideas we present to our children, since only some will be accepted and we don't know which ones. Education is much more than dry facts and rote memory. We dare not waste our time and the child's mind by offering mediocre ideas that fail to propel him to noble character. Instead of lists of battle dates, give him stories of heroic deeds from the battle. Instead of dry math formulas, read him the story of how the formula was discovered. In this way, knowledge becomes more than dull information, it becomes vital and alive.\n\nChapter 13--Man Lives by Faith pg. 129\n\nThere should be no distinction between sacred and secular if God created the whole world and everything in it. We don't enter a holy state while we think about God, and suddenly go into an unholy state when we move our thoughts to the physical realm of our daily routines. There should be no such separation, and, if there is, it's because our philosophy (worldview) is faulty. It is this division between spiritual and physical that causes secular people to insist on separation (eradication) of religious influence from education, and religious people to refuse to consider entire subjects (like scientific discovery) that they deem unfit for a holy education. The truth is that both work together, and excluding either results in imbalance. We can commune with and receive communication from God in all of our day's activities, not just the church-related ones. And when we communicate with a friend, isn't it the spirit of the person God made that we're connecting with? It isn't possible to eradicate the spiritual from life or education. To do so makes for a lonely, empty person who will attempt to satisfy his inner longings with sensual occupations.\n\nFaith is not only a mystical belief in the supernatural. The most basic kind of faith is men's trust in one another, and is manifested in our standard of \"innocence until proven guilty.\" Trust is vital to family relationships. Children, whose faith is a model for us adults, trust everyone. And our religious faith is really nothing more than trust in the person of God.\n\nIf faith comes by hearing the Word of God, then parents should appreciate the instruction they get from the Bible and from religious writings to help them educate their children. Having faith, and passing on our faith, is the highest goal of raising our children, and Charlotte spends the rest of the chapter recommending Canon Beeching's Eleven Sermons on Faith to this end.\n\nChapter 14--Parents' Concern to Give the Heroic Impulse pg. 141\n\nHeroic poetry inspires to noble living like nothing else. Modern literature lacks heroic poetry of the quality of Homer or Beowulf. But Charlotte does like Stopford Brooke's History of Early English Literature.\n\nBeowulf is a wonderful heroic example for children to emulate. He is brave, noble, gentle, loyal and has a strong Christian faith. When the king died, he might have claimed the throne, but held it in trust for the infant prince. When he does become king, he is an excellent example of a wise, just protector. For these reasons, Beowulf should be very familiar to our children.\n\nOld English riddles also get a mention here--Cynewulf's Riddle of the Sword, for instance, because these riddles portray the ancient men as gentle, large-souled ancestors.\n\nChapter 15--Is It Possible? pg. 150\n\nWhen faced with an opportunity to help the needy, such as Booth's Salvation Army, we tend to have our hearts in the right place, but we doubt in the possibility that such a plan might succeed. Even if the Salvation Army gets lots of money, do we really believe that men's hearts can be changed? It depends on how much faith we have in Jesus Christ and miracles. If we doubt in the change of one man, if we think it impossible for one drunk to come clean and start a new life, or that children raised in such a lifestyle can ever overcome it, how can we realistically hope in the salvation of the whole world?\n\nTo be sure, such men have the habit of drunkenness and debauchery, and habit is, as Charlotte has already said, ten natures. But, though the man's brain may have grown to accommodate his bad habit, such a man's child does not have the same habits and brain change and has as much chance as any child of developing good habits. Heredity will not deprive him of the chance for a successful life if he is educated to good habits early on. And any habit can be exchanged for a better one; no habit is doomed to be permanent.\n\nConversion itself may not be such a miracle--miracles are what God does to break the laws of nature, but conversion by grace is natural and not so contrary to laws of nature. Men may be converted to new ideas, new actions, new loves many times in a lifetime through various inspirations--where's the miracle in that? Apparently the process and tendency to change is built into men and is no miracle. Therefore, conversion to Christianity is right and natural and not the impossible miracle we may think. The appeal to God is built into man as well--craving for love, gratitude, acceptance--and all he needs is to understand the primal idea of God's offer, which is right and logical unless the man has allowed himself to become depraved and unable to recognize it. It isn't a miracle that's needed, but the proper way of presenting God's offer so that a man will recognize its value.\n\nOnce such a man does convert, it takes time to rebuild new habits. Even six months isn't enough time to dislodge old destructive habits. Living a secluded existence like an isolated monk by staying with the Salvation Army may be helpful.\n\nWe can take these same methods and apply them to children--by working with God's laws, we can help children overcome their own lesser tendencies and replace them with good habits that lead to a successful life. If we do our part in the laying down of good habits, we can count on results like a farmer who plants and only needs to wait for God to water and provide sunshine for his crop to flourish.\n\nChapter 16--Discipline--A Serious Study for Parents pg. 168\n\nDiscipline does not have to mean punishment any more than a method has to mean a system. Charlotte's educational approach, and, indeed, nature itself, does have a method--but a system rushes in to pressure that method to work a certain way. The brain has a method and plan by which it grows, but a system seeks to use flashcards and games to emphasize one area of its growth. Nature has its own methods of growing children; systems may have more effect on teachers by wearing them out.\n\nPunishment should not be the main way in which children learn to be disciplined. The fact is, some children actually enjoy punishment. It can make a child feel like a martyred storybook character. But children don't usually enjoy disappointing their parents.\n\nA slap may distract a young child from misbehaving, but there are often better ways to get his attention. We need to find other ways of getting deeper into a child's mind so that he wants to change. Good habits of courtesy, order and honesty are more effective to develop good behaviour than punishing offenses, and that is where parents would best see results for their efforts. A mother who constantly nags her children has not trained them to the best habits if she has to keep reminding them. In fact, her children are showing that they have learned the opposite habits, and those must be retrained. It takes 6-8 weeks for an old habit to die, and only if the old habit isn't done at all for those weeks. Then new brain tissue can grow to accommodate the new habit, which the child will take to if it seems as attractive to him as the old bad habit. If the parent sees to it that the child does the new habit without having to remind him or reprimand him, it will become automatic to the child. Let the child see your displeasure when he repeats the old bad habit--it is just as easy for him to do the new habit as the old one, so he really has no excuse for lapses.\n\nCharlotte gives the example of a little girl whose desire for knowledge (a good thing) has gone a bit too far and become nosiness. The cure is to convince the child that filling the mind with trivial matters is unworthy, and then fill her mind with so many more noble thoughts that she has no time to collect nosy details of others' lives (though Charlotte doesn't say how this might be done!)\n\nChapter 17--Sensations and Feelings: Sensations Educable by Parents pg. 178\n\nParents don't need a scientific understanding of nutrition to feed children; they usually do well enough by relying on common sense. But some scientific knowledge can be very helpful, especially when it comes to human nature and education. We get sensations of taste, touch, sight and sound through our five sense, and other sensations of fear and other emotions in more unknown ways. It is good to teach a child to be exacting in his sensations, to know more about marmalade than \"it's nice.\" Object lessons can help children to focus attention on the details of how a thing affects their senses. Babies create their own object lessons when they poke, taste, bang things to learn what will happen and it is in this way that they learn about perspective, size, soft and hard.\n\nPreschoolers want to know about everything they see--trucks, pets, road workers. By attempting to give them books instead of things at such an early age, we may kill their natural curiosity and produce an unobservant adult who doesn't know an oak from an elm. Nature observation is the perfect way to encourage a child's natural desire to know and be observant to details. He should handle rocks, sponges, bread, coal, everything he can. He should compare things relative to each other--a rock isn't just heavy, it's heavier than what? Or not as heavy as what? He should also be encouraged to describe attributes of an object's shape, color, size, etc. Developing a true eye in this way will be a valuable skill for the child to have.\n\nLearning to discern sounds by closing the eyes and listening for differences in footsteps of different family members, bird calls, car sounds, is also valuable. It is good to cultivate the ear so that children can recognize musical pitch.\n\nDeveloping a keen sense of smell can prevent health problems--one can smell subtle differences in a room healthy with fresh air, or stale, or even in rooms in which germs from diphtheria or typhoid are present. Children should close their eyes and try to discern different flowers in bloom or odours produced after a rain.\n\nChildren should also close their eyes and try to discriminate between the flavors of their food. Charlotte says that forcing children to eat foods they don't like may make them dislike the food even more, but that they can learn to use their self-control and take pride in their manly ability to master themselves by not complaining about foods they dislike.\n\nNative American Indians had to be skillfully trained in hearing, seeing, smelling--having keen senses. We should follow their example and cultivate a keenness of the senses in our own children. \"It would be well for parents to educate a child, for the first half-dozen years of his life, at any rate, along 'Red Indian' lines. Besides the few points we have mentioned, he should be able to discriminate colours and shades of colour; relative degrees of heat in woolen, wood, iron, marble, ice; should learn the use of the thermometer; should discriminate objects according to their degrees of hardness; should have a cultivated eye and touch for texture; should, in fact, be able to get as much information about an object from a few minutes' study as to its form, colour, texture, size, weight, qualities, parts, characteristics, as he could learn out of many pages of a printed book.\"\n\nChildren whose senses are trained will automatically get more from any lesson or study in less time than a child who has not cultivated his senses. Sensory training can be made into a game by passing around a common item and letting children tell all its different aspects, or by having children recognize objects by feel while they're blindfolded.\n\nChapter 18--Feelings Educable by Parents pg. 191\n\nA feeling or sensation consciously recorded in the mind by giving it proper attention may be brought back to the memory even years later. Floral odors, picturesque landscapes, birdsongs, can all be stored for later enjoyment and refreshment. We should see to it that our children take time to see, hear, smell and feel nature by modeling ourselves doing the same thing. We should try to increase the acuteness with which our children experience these sensations so that their memories will be more detailed and impressive.\n\nSensations experienced via the five senses are not the same as feelings, or emotions that each person experiences in a personal way. We may associate even just a word with a vague emotion of pleasure although we don't recall the exact details of the sensation that caused the positive feeling--and the recollection of this feeling can make us feel good and motivate us to kind acts. If this sounds like a stretch, imagine how inspired one feels to reach out with kindness when one feels depressed, as opposed to when one feels good about the world.\n\nOur feelings may not be grounded on reality, but are judged by our own character which influences our perception--some people manage to find complaint in everything and everybody, while someone else sees good in the very same things. Feelings can be twisted by a good speaker who plays on our emotions.\n\nFeelings can be educated to modify the character, but, more often, with public education, the result is that feelings are dulled rather than educated. Educating the feelings can't be done en masse at school, but has to be done individually, and parents are the most obvious ones to do it. The tool used is tact--a look, or a gesture, to call forth the desired feeling (causing a child to feel shame at a cruelty by giving him a reproachful look, or causing him pleasure at a kindness with a pleased smile from us.) This is much better than a comment or lecture, which can carry more of a sting.\n\nReverence (or, by the same token, depreciation) is caught rather than taught. If our children sense that we reverence noble things, they will, too, as a matter of course. Passing on a spirit of appreciating many things is a gift; transferring a critical spirit that devalues many things will make children discontent. These things are impressions that can't be taught by applying logic; children learn them by observing us.\n\nFor the sake of our children's feelings, we should be careful in our families when joking with each other--a comment made by a family member, especially a parent, will carry more weight than from someone else. Presumably, Charlotte is referring to light comments making fun of a child's less glorious attributes.\n\nWe also should not encourage a child who is overly self-focused and always wants to know what our opinion is of their actions. We should try to steer such a child's focus onto something else and off themselves because a child who is always wondering what others think of him is looking inward rather than reaching out to others.\n\nChapter 19--What is Truth? (Dealing with Lying) pg. 204\n\nChildren, though immature and in need of guidance, have some of the finest qualities of humanity--trust, imagination, love. But they are not born either all truth and virtue, nor all lies and vice. They are disposed to go either way. Lying is a symptom of another characteristic--the child lies to impress, or because he is careless about details. Finding the root cause of lying is more difficult than just punishing the lying behavior, but it is necessary to cure a child who lies.\n\nChildren who stretch the truth to cover their perceived sin may be too introspective and should spend more time occupied with things to take their focus off themselves. Children may take blame for the misdeeds of others to protect others and seem heroic. Their fault is valuing loyalty above truth-telling. Some children don't recognize their own version as a lie. Lies inspired by selfishness are more difficult, because the selfishness must be dealt with. Children who don't receive fancy in their stories may create it themselves by lying and telling fabrications that they make up. These children should have lots of opportunity to act out and play, but they also need to know the line between play and reality, and should practice telling only the facts and no more when asked for details about things.\n\nFor some children, lying is a real problem--children who aren't appreciated for who they are may habitually lie about themselves to win affection, or may lie to make others look bad. This is much more serious and shows emotional problems that may have been brought on by mistreatment, and may require professional help.\n\nBut, for most children, truth-telling is simply a moral habit learned by the careful attention of parents who expect and demand accuracy from their children.\n\nChapter 20--Show Cause Why pg. 214\n\nAsking \"why?\" is often the first step in evaluating what we do and deeming practices done by tradition as either necessary or ready to discard. A questioning mind is therefore a positive thing.\n\nOur children may wonder why we educate them, and their perceived answer will dictate their actions. Is education for competing for the best grades or best job? If so, children will see learning as no more than tests to cram for.\n\nYet the desire to excel and do well is not a wrong desire. Wanting to know things and to be financially secure are also natural desires. But these desires must be balanced--a child should be as motivated by curiosity as by competitiveness. He should have a part of him that desires education just for the sake of knowing. Very young children love to collect facts, they love to know things. But, in school, that desire may be extinguished because teachers don't have time to deal with endless questions from students, and because the desire just to know is replaced with a competitive desire to win the top grade or impress others. Decreasing reliance on competitive exams would go a long way in making the goal of education the sheer joy of learning that it should be rather than a quest for top rank.\n\nChapter 21--A Scheme Of Educational Theory pg. 225\n\nChildren of different classes of society have different needs and their education and educational goals should reflect those differences. Children in lower classes, for instance, may need to learn better vocabulary and more words to express themselves. Children of hard-working classes may need examples and opportunities for imaginative play since they may have minds in which work has not left time for that. Cultured, pampered children may have full vocabularies and lots of imagination, but may need to see how real things work.\n\nStill, all children need, as first priority, to learn good habits of noble thinking and right behaving, and, as second priority, to be filled with living ideas to inspire them. Lessons should therefore encourage \"mental habits of attention, accuracy, promptness, etc.\" as well as present ideas which may mold the child's character. Ideas may only be thoughts, but thoughts make the person--'as a man thinks, so he is.' We don't know which ideas God will use to speak to a child, so we present many ideas. In the end, each person must learn to discern between good and evil ideas and to choose the good and reject the bad, but, while young, children need their parents to filter the ideas which are presented to them. While not neglecting math, grammar and logic exercises that develop the mind's faculties, we focus on what will feed the child's mind with ideas--familiarity with nature, a questioning mind that wants to know things, books that fill young minds with living ideas through challenging literature that we allow him to deal with without filtering it and without telling him what to think of it.\n\nChildren are not so different from us that they need us to dilute their knowledge--they want to know the same things we do. Children were designed to grow and mature at their proper rate and if we present ideas to them, they will take what they need. It is in their nature to do so. It is our job to provide lots of knowledge and ideas for them to choose from.\n\nChapter 22--A Catechism of Educational Theory pg. 233\n\nPeople are born with their God-given disposition and intellect. But character is something anyone, regardless of genes, can achieve. If there are going to be great leaps for an individual or a nation, character development of individuals is required. Therefore, development of character should be our top priority in education.\n\nCharlotte writes out her educational philosophy in the form of a question/answer catechism, which I will (I hope!) simplify here.\n\nCharacter is the outward display of habits of thoughts and behavior resulting in conduct. People are born with a disposition that can influence their conduct, but it is possible to modify conduct by learning new habits. Marriage modifies the conduct of a society (by forcing people to grow up and be responsible?) and education modifies the conduct of individuals.\n\nAny bad habit can be modified by learning to turn the thinking to something else and acting on the new and different thought until the new act becomes a habit.\n\nEveryone has thoughts floating around in their mind almost unconsciously all the time, and many of these thoughts and their relative actions are so ingrained in us that we act habitually without even realizing it. The educator should divert these involuntary thoughts into new channels to change behavior. Greed, for instance, may come naturally to a child, but a wise teacher will plant the idea of generosity into a child's mind so that giving displaces thoughts--and resulting acts--of greed. This is possible because generosity, and many other traits, for that matter, are natural to humans. But, by the same token, greed and other bad traits come just as naturally. Therefore, teachers must be careful to instill ideas that inspire good traits and not bad ones.\n\nWell-brought-up people have learned virtuous habits and traits such as \"diligence, reverence, gentleness, truthfulness, promptness, neatness, courtesy.\" It isn't enough to inspire thoughts of virtue once; for virtue to become habit, it needs to be repeated again and again. In fact, lapses in which the child fails to follow through with the good action will unlearn the good trait. It can take six weeks of consistent care to fix one habit in a person.\n\nAlthough it may seem that random thoughts enter into our minds of their own accord, it is as we are accustomed to thinking that certain thoughts lodge and others don't--how we are used to perceiving things influences how we take in new thoughts. The conclusions we come to are largely a result of our habits of thought (in other words, early prejudices and preconceived ideas are so fixed that we don't even recognize them and therefore can't easily get beyond them!) Since our conclusions are influenced by our habits of thought, we can't rely on our own powers of reasoning to assure us that our conclusions are correct. In fact, once we decide on an action, we can find many logical reasons to justify ourselves. Instead, we must go back to the primary idea behind the conclusion of the reasoning process and judge its worth at the base.\n\nHow do we teach our children to do this??\n\nWe must teach children that they are human, that they have tendencies to do good, but that they are also prone to sin and error and to use reason to justify faults, as all humans are. Therefore, children should watch ideas as they attempt to gain admittance and choose to allow or reject them at the gateway of the mind before they lodge within. Thus, the duty of children is to choose to accept or reject ideas before granting admittance.\n\nIdeas, says Charlotte, are created and emanate from the minds of spiritual beings--not just God and angels, but man, too, since he is a spiritual being. Ideas can be conveyed in word, text, music, art. All good ideas originate from God, whether theological or secular. The book of Isaiah says that God himself planted the idea of farming to mankind. Bad ideas do not originate from God, but are out there all the same, and man's duty is to choose between good and bad ideas that will influence thoughts that will become actions that will shape character.\n\nOur duty as educators is to put an abundance of noble, good ideas before our children for them to choose from and then rely on God's Holy Spirit to help as we seek to teach children to choose good and reject evil.\n\nEducation is the discipline of learning good habits, the life of nourishing ideas, and the atmosphere of being surrounded with noble ideas at home and (home)school.\n\nLessons should facilitate good habits and instill noble ideas that are interesting enough to make learning a joy. Curriculum should be generous and varied. Parents who realize that education that builds character will improve society will understand how important it is to take their job as educators seriously.\n\nChapter 23--Whence? pg. 249\n\nCharlotte notes the progress of her schools and speculates on what this may mean for the future when children of conscientious parents following her approach come of age. From time to time, every successful movement should stop and assess itself by asking \"whence\" it came from and \"whither\" it should go from here.\n\nPrevious generations assumed that mankind was made in a certain way and was not capable of change or improvement and focused on using the reasonableness of human children to instill teachings on values. Now we know better, although psychologists of Charlotte's day couldn't decide whether children began as oyster-like blobs with the potential of becoming children, or as already formed little people who just lack knowledge and experience. (Charlotte was convinced of the second conclusion!)\n\nThat children are capable of intelligent actions and coming up with their own ideas should be proof that they already are little persons of intelligence, and not just oysters who will someday become people. This distinction is important because the way we view children--as oysters or as persons of intelligence--will affect how we deal with them.\n\nIt used to be thought that if a child was good, he would be happy. Now we tend to feel that a happy, contented child will be good (and this is true of today's attachment parenting, which teaches that children will be more easily handled if their needs for closeness are met so that they are happy and secure.) I think Charlotte felt that a child would be happy if he was good. It was the old concept of childhood, but using a new concept of education with its advances in science, such as the discovery that the brain builds new tissue to accommodate new habits, and the active reliance on the Holy Spirit as the Divine Educator. We don't seek to develop a child's faculties for learning (develop his brain, his eyes, his ears) because they are already there and fully developed. They need ideas to nurture the faculties that are already there. What they don't need are unit studies that beat a topic to death (and she gives an amusing example of a unit study based on apples!)\n\nThese acknowledgements show where we've come from, and we must also ask ourselves where to go from here. That will be in the next chapter.\n\nChapter 24--Whither? pg. 257\n\nScientists tell us that we are no more than a product of evolutionary processes, but we recognize that man is more than that, he has a spirit that loves, understands, and questions. As children often love, understand and question even more than adults whose senses have become dull and/or hardened, we can assume that God has given them a full measure of spirit no less than our own. Children grow in wisdom as they make relationships between ideas and knowledge. Children may inherit a limited intellect, but wisdom is available to anyone. We 'despise' children by underestimating what they're capable of and treating them accordingly.\n\nIf we believe that children are fully capable of handling real ideas now, then we won't patronize them and waste their time with material that's unworthy of them. And we know that raising children to be noble citizens through training good habits will benefit all of society. Therefore, we see our task as part of a larger vision in improving society itself.\n\nWe want to raise the next generation to love nature by being familiar with it on a first-hand basis so that they will be personally enhanced and develop an interest in science, and skill at careful observation.\n\nWe want the next generation to be art appreciators, but not just for the sake of art--we want to inspire our children with well-crafted art that embodies noble ideas.\n\nWe want children to love books that use literary quality and are worthy of time spent pondering them. Therefore, we give children only the best, the most noble, the most inspiring art, poetry, literature.\n\nWe want children to empathize and feel a one-ness with the human race so that they will have true Christian compassion. This is helped by reading about people who are in life situations different than our own, from sources that make these people come to life in the mind and feel real. Children should be encouraged to give sacrificially, and they should know enough news events to know what needs are out there that they might relieve.\n\nChapter 25--The Great Recognition Required of Parents pg. 268\n\nCharlotte talks about John Ruskin's explanation of a fresco in Florence in the Church of Santa Maria Novella. It shows God's spirit descending and giving gifts to men in the form of art, science, virtue, math, etc. (You can see details of this fresco here.)\n\nThe fresco illustrates that God's gifts are not limited to theological things, but include even secular truths of art, literature, grammar, science and math. All ideas came from God, therefore we don't need to make a division between \"religious\" education and \"secular\" education. If it's true, it's of God. And practical knowledge is also of God, as Joseph demonstrated when he gave Pharaoh advice about surviving famine--advice he got from God Himself. Even common, mundane knowledge like how to build a fire, how to farm, how to build a cart wheel--are not beneath God's notice to be divinely inspired.\n\nTherefore we can teach with confidence knowing that all truth, no matter how 'secular' or 'common,' is God's truth, and we can also know that God Himself works with each child individually in his education. God is at work in teaching the young child to use a knife and fork as much as in any 'religious' instruction, and math and grammar lessons are just as divine as Bible lessons.\n\nBut filling a child's mind and time with rules and lists that prevent him from grasping ideas works against God's spirit.\n\nOur children don't need to reject God to give themselves to an intellectual life. They don't need to choose between science and religion--because it's all of God and they can have both. Yet intellect and knowledge have an evil side as well, and sin can tempt in this area. We want our children to be aware of this and make wise choices about which ideas they accept, and which they reject.\n\nChildren are like us--what's dull to us is dull to them, and we shouldn't give them lessons that we wouldn't be interested in ourselves. We would not want to memorize lists and dates; neither do our children. They want interesting knowledge about people and things. They want real books, not textbooks that dilute the knowledge they crave. They want real music, not pages of simple exercises, and they want real art instead of cute, sanitized school pictures. The world and knowledge and ideas are all so related that creating contrived, separate lessons for school will lose children's interest. They want and deserve it all, and the best of what we can offer them.\n\nChapter 26--The Eternal Child pg. 280\n\nIt takes children to make Christmas a joy, and to make the world seem fresh. Every child born reminds us of the newness of life and divinity inside each one of us. Children teach us what it means to be humble--children don't deem themselves too high and mighty for any pastime or any playmate. They don't feel compelled to make modest self-deprecating comments about what they can't do. They just are what they are, and can see faith objectively. They aren't filled with self-doubt and worry about how their needs will be met.\n\nChildren should be encouraged not to take notice of minor discomforts such as cold, scratchy clothing, or fatigue. Learning fortitude will prevent them from being discontent and growing into hypochondriacs. Children who are constantly aware of how uncomfortable they are, are too self-involved to be humble. The goal isn't to make children uncomfortable by making them endure discomfort like Spartans did, but to draw their focus away from themselves. They can learn to think of something else rather than how uncomfortable they feel or how unfairly they've been treated. They do better to think about others and how to share and give, or their own duties and the rights of others. A child focused on others rather than himself will remain a humble child.\n\nBack | > Proceed to Summary 3 >\n\n\n2004 Leslie N. Laurio\nPlease direct any comments or questions to AmblesideOnline.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7337127327919006}
+{"content": "This webpage uses Javascript to display some content.\n\nPlease enable Javascript in your browser and reload this page.\n\n\n\nThe Map of the Soul\n\narticles on the nature of the human mind\n\nBy S.M. Zakir Hussain (Bangladesh)\n\n(Author’s e-mail: smzhussains@yahoo.com)\n\n\nClick here to send comments\n\nClick here if you'd like to exchange critiques\n\nLeading by Managing Knowledge and the Subconscious\nThe Psychology of leadership\n\n\n\nWHAT does a leader really do? He influences the behavior of people towards the achievement of goal/goals. So leadership is the process of influencing others’ behavior so as to achieve a common goal by dint of the unified, motivated pattern of the group behavior. But what does behavior mean? Why do people behave at all? And what psychological mechanism acts as the background of a behaviour? Our definition is that behaviour is activated freewill.\n\nAnd what is freewill? Freewill is an aspect of the everlasting will identified through the process of quantitatively limited but qualitatively random reference, or freedom. The circle of freedom, or identity, emerging as the “I”, the most complete and most basic psychological entity, is, therefore, a reference or energized mental pointer, to itself. Thus the ever-present Will, or equilibrium Consciousness, produces an “I” by creating an abstract geometric point, so to say, which may temporarily oppose the rules of equilibrium and thus make any reference, or choice.\n\nSo every individual makes a choice before doing anything. That choice may be subconscious or conscious. In this sense, leading means managing others’ choices.\n\nBut what does a choice involve? Delved deep, this topic leads one to the conclusion that making a choice involves all the simple as well as complex psychological and logical processes of the mind. A choice is the outcome of the interaction between the individual and the environment vis-a-vis the necessity of survival or emulation. But the choice that is made at a particular time in a particular situation is a function of (i.e., is dependent on) the range of active psychological freedom (assuming that freedom of desire or thought may not equal the freedom of choice, due to relevant unavoidable restrictions, and thus all types of freedom may not be active), quality of stored or tacit knowledge and the validity of inference. Obviously, the immediate outcome of the recurrent process of making choices is what is called learning. Thus learning is a psychological process containing logical outcomes motivated by completely psychological or survival-related goals. As a result, the outcome of the process of learning, that is knowledge, unifies both logic and psychology and exists by their harmonious cooperation.\n\nNow, because choice is a function of knowledge, leadership involves the management of knowledge which is done by various types of training and initiations.\n\nBut, again, knowledge has different dimensions. For example, pure knowledge (a pattern of information, of epistemic input, that has not been used to make any behavioural choice) generative knowledge (knowledge that has been essentially subconsciously or unconsciously coalesced with one’s values, experiences, expectations and strategies and so produces behavioral choices) etc. can be identified on different dimensions. Knowledge produces actions or behavior only to the extent that it produces certain beliefs, or values. In other worlds, knowledge can produce a set of choices only by creating an external focus or reference of the freewill by way of organizing the emotions, which are nothing but streams of energy different in directions or motivations but identical with the energy of the freewill. Knowledge, in this process, creates a unity among various emotions by directing them toward the point of belief or purpose.\n\nBut one’s knowledge includes not only the related content and consciousness but also the method(s) used in acquiring it. As a result, for the sake of logical completeess, at any specific stage of psychological development, a person’s knowledge tends to from a logical field, which is a dynamic abstract entity tending to build up its own methods, storage mechanisms, and purposes, an evolutionary process reinforced by the purpose and outcome of the process. To be more specific, because knowledge creation is a product of learning, and because learning involves, among other things, conditioning a process of mental correlation between perception and (logical) information (i.e content of the knowledge), the method used to earn a knowledge tends to be colored by the success or failure of that knowledge.\n\nNow the formulation and selection of a method is a consequence of the adaptive ability of the individual to his environment. It may not always be the case that an individual with sufficient knowledge of an aspect of the environment will necessarily be successful in using his knowledge to adapt to that environment. This is because how useful a knowledge will be for a particular individual depends on how efficient (which involves speed. i.e, the time dimension and the minimum waste of effort), effective (which involves the identification of the right knowledge for the right situation) and flexible (which involves the availability, of effective alternatives) he is in relating it to the external environment to achieve a particular goal. This ability, which is nothing but what is referred to by the generic term intelligence, determines the usefulness and success of a particular knowledge as far as a particular individual is concerned.\n\nTherefore one cannot but conclude that managing people’s knowledge without managing the development of their intelligence may not bring results in all situations and times. Thus we must state that leading involves managing people’s intelligences.\n\nAgain, intelligence is of various types, each one relating the stored knowledge to the environment from a different angle and exposing a different dimension of the mind to external stimuli. There are situations where a particular type of intelligence may not have enough adaptive value, but where another type of intelligence may open the door to a new possibility, thus creating ample scope for knowledge creation and survival. Moreover, relating knowledge to the external stimuli only through a particular type of intelligence may cause a cognitive stagnation or vicious circle of knowledge trap. Such a semi-circular phenomenon thrives on a set of assumptions that may not hold true at a developed stage of the reality. Consequently, a paradigm shift may not be possible. This phenomenon, together with its other unavoidable consequences, necessitates the leader to make timely choices in managing different types of intelligences at different times of situations. Again, since people respond to external stimuli on the basis of the simultaneous interaction of their intelligences (assuming the concept of Multiple Intelligences is true) and values, which together form their personalities, leading, considered from an interpersonal relationship perspective, involves managing people’s personalities.\n\nKnowledge, we may repeat, gets transformed into action only to the extent that it helps decision-making. There is often a huge gap between a logical conclusion and a decision. While the former is purely mathematical, the latter is essentially emotional, purpose-led, and values-directed. Through the acquisition of pure knowledge what one stores in his memory are some methods and logical conclusions stated as laws, rules, theories, and some concepts and constructs. These we refer to as epistemic inputs.\n\nEpistemic inputs may not always produce decisions. This means that there may be a gap between the logical conclusions that someone draws and the decision that he makes in relation to a particular situation. This gap, which we call the assimilation gap, can be reduced by mobilizing knowledge through different psychological dimensions from the conscious down to the subconscious. Understandably, the less the assimilation gap of a certain type of knowledge, the more its potential for producing behavior, and vice versa. When choices are limited so as to eliminate alternatives, what results is called a decision. Hence we can further modify our conclusion that leading involves the mobilization of knowledge through different psychological dimensions in order to reduce the assimilation gap related to it.\n\nNow why does an assimilation gap develop? An assimilation gap may be observed when a person wants to apply the knowledge acquired through his or her information-processing ability (that is, a pure knowledge as epistemic input as opposed to conditioned knowledge or other forms of generative knowledge).\n\nThought produces action only when it produces valued understanding, not only logical understanding. While only a logical or symbolic meaning is related to the latter, the former involves a decision to accept a meaning, which follows a belief that the acceptance of the meaning will serve the individual’s goal or benefit him or will simply be worth the effort. But here, again, acceptance is not a logical phenomenon but a psychological activity which at its primary level involves simply ignoring the assimilation gap and concentrating on the belief (of getting the expected reward, which may be extrinsic or intrinsic) through activated emotions. Therefore, for a thought to be translated into behaviour, it must be assimilated or absorbed or internalized by releasing the required amount of energy as knowledge from the conscious to the subconscious through motivated behaviour. This should be done because humans’ active mode of emotions with regard to a particular stimulus ¾ external or internal ¾ is, at any specific moment, conditioned in a certain way. This inertia, or emotional assumption, so to say, can be broken only by disrupting the energy pattern that holds the related knowledge and emotions, that is, by the active substitution, of it by another energy pattern programmed in the required form of generative knowledge. Thus it becomes instructive for the leader that he help his people assimilate the necessary ideas and thoughts by various action programmes which will result in active substitution of old beliefs by new ones. Thus we see that leading means managing people’s concentration at the subconscious level.\n\n\n\n\nAuthor of:\n\nSecret Knowledge of the Qur'an", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.840356707572937}
+{"content": "The long-awaited “Modernist Cuisine” is a visual roller coaster through the current world of food and cooking tools. Credit Ryan Matthew Smith/The Cooking Lab LLC\n\nDESCENDING this week on the culinary scene like a meteor, “Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking” is the self-published six-volume masterwork from a team led by Nathan Myhrvold, the multimillionaire tech visionary who, as a friend of mine said, “decided to play Renaissance doge with food.”\n\nAs scientific as it is gastronomic, it is virtually an encyclopedia of cooking, a visual roller coaster through the world of food and cooking tools, as well as a compendium of 1,500 recipes.\n\nUltimately, it is a manifesto declaring that the new form of laboratory-inspired cooking — led by Grant Achatz in the United States; Heston Blumenthal in England; and Ferran Adrià, the father of this cuisine, in Spain — is a cultural and artistic movement every bit as definitive as Impressionism in 19th-century France or Bauhaus in early 20th-century Germany. It proclaims a revolution “in techniques, aesthetics and intellectual underpinnings of gastronomy.”\n\nAt last we can dispense with ill-fitting terms like “molecular gastronomy” and just call it “modernist cuisine.” Thanks, Dr. Myhrvold.\n\nHis vision drove the project, and his involvement has been a cause for healthy skepticism and admiration. No chef could have created it and no publisher would be crazy enough to produce and distribute this 40-pound monster.\n\nContinue reading the main story\n\nWe now have a definitive work about this cuisine, how and why it works, and the tools and ingredients it could not do without. What it all means, well, I hope to know one day before I die.\n\n\nFor nearly two weeks I lived with this extensively hyped work — immersion circulators humming on my counters, a pressure cooker hissing, food sealer and grinder hot from use beside them — and I remain frustrated that I lack so many tools and ingredients required to actually use this behemoth.\n\nI was left wondering how a book could be mind-crushingly boring, eye-bulgingly riveting, edifying, infuriating, frustrating, fascinating, all in the same moment. Every time I tore myself away from these stunning pages to emerge for air, I had to shake my head so hard my cheeks made Looney Tunes noises.\n\nThis work was composed over several years by a team of dozens of chefs and assistants — led by Chris Young and Maxime Bilet — in an 18,000-square-foot warehouse, the laboratory of Dr. Myhrvold’s company, Intellectual Ventures, including a large machinist area and about 4,000 square feet for the kitchen and photo studio. To do it critical justice would require numerous reviewers, versed in physics, chemistry, microbiology, nutrition, mechanical engineering; a chef who practices this rarefied spectrum of the craft; a traditional chef, and a food journalist.\n\nI’m a member of the last group. I have a culinary education and have worked in and reported from many kitchens; I’ve written about chefs considered the best in modernist cuisine; I’ve written numerous books, many of them referenced in this volume. And still I am not qualified to review every aspect of this encyclopedia.\n\nI will get this out of the way fast. The text, and there is a lot of it, is proficient and as compelling as my high school science textbooks. But artful prose is not the point. While the quantity of aspirin required to read this straight through can be measured in thousands of milligrams, the goal was clarity and thoroughness, and the information is indeed clear, sound and, if anything, too thorough. Buried in the verbiage is a treasure of insights, some truly original, some familiar but described from new and compelling angles. Sometimes overly proud of itself, at other times it is recklessly (and admirably) opinionated.\n\n“Saturated fat isn’t associated with heart disease anywhere, in any large study,” the authors write, and go on to malign high-fiber and low-salt diets for people who are otherwise healthy.\n\nCredit Tony Cenicola/The New York Times\n\nGovernment suggestions for temperatures at which chicken and pork are safe to eat seem “to have been based not on science but on politics, tradition, and subjective judgment.” There is no single safe temperature that kills salmonella, for instance, but rather times that food must maintain specific temperatures to kill it. The authors provide the time-temperature tables.\n\nSeveral pages are devoted to how to wash your hands and there is a brief foray into the Timurid dynasty of Central Asia; the book includes the equation required to calculate the radiant heat of a gas grill (which is not nearly as effective as a charcoal grill, it says, explaining why). Not sure how to balance your centrifuge? Look no further. On sous vide equipment, the Pacojet, ultrasonic baths, gelling agents, hydrocolloids and emulsifiers, the text is astonishingly thorough.\n\nThere are also some exciting reports from the testing kitchen on what is happening to a roast in the oven as the skin dries out and the water just below the surface hits boiling temperatures; why braised food tastes better the next day and dried beans sometimes never seem to get tender (try cooking them in distilled water); the crucial role of humidity in the oven and its impact on baking; and the real reason to rest meat (because dissolved and degraded proteins thicken the juices, not that the juices redistribute, chefs’ stock answer).\n\nThe authors occasionally overreach: shocking vegetables in ice water doesn’t halt the cooking, they announce — which may be true (the core temperature of hot food in an ice bath continues to rise, the book shows), but it’s not a distinction to trumpet, since the authors advise doing it anyway because it “pulls heat away from the surface evenly and with remarkable speed.”\n\nMuch of the cooking requires ingredients most people haven’t heard of and equipment few can even afford. A rotary evaporator costs thousands of dollars. A not atypical recipe step reads “Cavitate in an ultrasonic cleaning bath for 30 minutes.”\n\n“Modernist Cuisine” is not for most home cooks. For the professional chef, modernist or not, it will be an invaluable reference. For the cooking geek with $625 to spare ($467.62 online), it will be endless fun. As a physical object it is remarkable; sometimes I found myself simply staring at the block of books.\n\nCredit Ryan Matthew Smith/The Cooking Lab LLC\n\nDr. Myhrvold, the chief technology officer for Microsoft until 1999, spent millions of dollars (more than one, less than 10, he says) to create this. Nothing seems to have been spared on the quality of the photo reproduction, on heavy stock with solid binding.\n\nThe food photography is excellent, but even more compelling are the 36 illustrated photographs using kitchen tools and appliances (a pressure cooker, a wok, a barbecue grill) that have been cut in half using an “abrasive water-jet cutter, an electrical discharge machining system, and other machine-shop tools,” the authors write, to help readers visualize what is happening inside a cooking vessel.\n\nAnd I hope that much of what they’ve compiled filters down through cookbook publishing and into everyone’s cooking.\n\nAll the recipes are in metric weights, the easiest and most exact way of measuring. These recipes are laboratory precise, often measuring ingredients to the 100th of a gram. And — unprecedented outside technical baking books — all ingredients are listed as percentages, to scale them up or down as you need. Recipe formats are likewise innovative and, once you get the hang of them, are efficient and effective. As techniques are described, recipes exemplifying those methods are given, some original, many inspired by chefs as varied as Alice Waters, Tetsuya Wakuda and David Kinch, even some from books I’ve been involved with.\n\nAmong those worth the price alone for cooking professionals are the scores of parametric recipes, tables giving recommended times and temperatures for a variety of techniques, everything from how long to sous vide different cuts and thicknesses of meat to how long to microwave various vegetables. The table for custard lets you pick your desired consistency based on what percentage of egg you use and the temperature you cook it to, to create a thick Anglaise-style sauce or a stand-alone custard. I tested it, it’s brilliant, I’ll use it forever.\n\nCooking sous vide, shorthand for vacuum-sealing food and heating it to precise temperatures well below the boiling point, is a foundation technique of modernist cuisine. I saw not a single recipe involving meat where the meat is not cooked sous vide (other than beer-can chicken, roasted at 175 degrees, which gets a whole page treatment).\n\nCredit Tony Cenicola/The New York Times\n\nThe book builds from an overview of food history, microbiology and nutrition in Volume 1; to traditional and modern techniques in Volume 2, the science of cooking meat and plants in Volume 3, and the use of thickeners, gels and foams in Volume 4 (which also has a detailed chapter each on wine and coffee). Volume 5 is devoted to recipes for finished dishes, wherein all these chemicals and tools come together to create elaborate modernist meals.\n\nSince these dishes often require returning to tables in earlier volumes, the authors have included a sixth, spiral-bound kitchen manual on paper that could probably go through a dishwasher cycle no worse for wear, though I found its lack of indexing frustrating. (The index for Volumes 1 through 5, crucial for using this book, is superb.)\n\nWhat few recipes I could actually cook were mainly solid: sous vide time and temperatures were on the money, the recipes clear. Volume 5 includes fabulous barbecue sauces and dry rubs with no unfamiliar ingredients.\n\nThe book’s pressure cooker stocks are a miracle: clear, clean and flavorful in a fraction of the time required for traditional stocks. I’ll never make small batches of stock any other way.\n\nThe only cooking discipline they do not cover is pastry (perhaps because you can’t cook a pie crust sous vide).\n\nThe progenitors of the cuisine have hailed this work as the most important cookbook since Escoffier’s. “The cookbook to end all cookbooks,” the culinary phenomenon David Chang is quoted as saying in its promotional material.\n\nBut can this truly be the food of the future, or simply an interesting style practiced by a splinter group of passionate chefs who care about this difficult and expensive form of high-end cooking? Much of this revolutionary cooking is based on ingredients and techniques long fundamental to the processed food industry. Are we to embrace the ingredients and techniques of modernist cuisine at the very moment industrially processed food is being blamed for many of our national health problems?\n\nI have no desire to make Pringles in my spare time, but I wouldn’t stop anyone who did. Dr. Myhrvold and company tell you how. When I finish work, I relax by cutting and chopping and cooking a simple dinner for the family. Dr. Myhrvold has been relaxing by repairing to a cooking laboratory.\n\nIn the end, I can only smile, shake my head and bow to him and his crew for their work of unprecedented scope and ambition.\n\nContinue reading the main story", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9734538197517395}
+{"content": "Ascension Presents 2017-09-19T11:59:17+00:00\n\nHere are a few excellent YouTube videos from Father Mike Schmitz and Ascension Presents.\n\nHere are other videos from the series…\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n+ +", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6571242213249207}
+{"content": "Dr Naoise O’Reilly now works across 12 countries internationally\n\nIt was a great surprise recently for me to count up the number of countries I have students living in and to find there are now 12 across the globe. These include: Australia, Belgium, China, Finland, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and United States. What technology truly brings to education is accessibility.\n\n\n\n\nDr Naoise OReilly Newstalk The Right Hook Shane Coleman banning homework\n\nDr. Naoisé O’Reilly on Newstalk’s The Right Hook interviewed live in studio by Shane Coleman this evening renewing call for homework to be banned in schools.\n\n\nPurple Learning Project – What we do in 12 slides\n\n(Scroll Presentation) \n\nComing soon – 365Success App\n\n\nPurple Empathy Creation® – Methods to Develop Empathy from Toddlers Upwards\n\n\n\nPurple Speech Paths® – New method to help with the development of speech in toddlers\n\nOver the last few months I have been working hard to develop and refine methods to help with speech difficulties from the ages of 18 months upwards. It has become obvious to me that this is a difficulty that is far more widespread that recognized and leads to a whole array of challenges behaviorally. Without communication we can often exhibit anger issues, frustration, tantrums, lack of confidence and don't form proper social bonds within and outside of the family.\n\n\nPersonality Matters More than Genetic or Environmental Factors in Families & Education\n\n\n\nIf the way we are was purely genetic or environmental - kids in the same family would be the same. They would react to situations and challenges in the same way. Your birth order wouldn't matter. Children from abusive or alcoholic families would act out their challenges in the same ways. Kids from highly nurturing environments would all turn out perfect. Issues such as self-harm and eating disorders would not exist. All kids in all families would feel identical to their siblings and parents. No-one would ever feel like a misfit.\n\n\nSo, our personalities determine how we react and what we do. They determine an integral part of who we are. The most important part. For example: No two dyslexics from the same family in the same school with the same challenges will be the same. They won't get the same results. They won't be good or bad at the same subjects.\n\n\nThe family and school environments are the same. The dyslexia is genetic and inherited with that same family. But their coping strategies, reactions and lives will be completely different.\n\n\nThis is why personality matters so much in education. It is why one size doesn't fit all and why just because we focus on the dyslexia that education has not appeared to change for the better. When we focus on personality needs - everything changes. Then we can help anyone to be successful regardless of any issues, difficulties or differences.\n\n\nThis is at the crux of what’s different about the Psychology of Success because you’re looking at not just what makes up people or what their challenges are - you’re looking at what they need in their personality to succeed. Plus, looking at the effects generationally that have been built up environmentally but concentrating on their reaction to it because of who they are.\n\n\nDr. Naoisé O’Reilly.\n\n\nphoto (3)\n\n\nMyers-Briggs to Fit Our Expectations & Needs – Not Just Understanding Who You Are But What You Need to Succeed\n\ncarl-gustav-jung-160393The founder of personality understanding was Carl Jung who first wrote about his findings in 1921. However, his work had one serious limitation. As he was a trained psychologist he mainly had access to people that were perceived to have serious psychosis problems. His work was based on finding a new balance for these people rather than a balance for the everyday person who doesn’t find their way to a psychotherapist.\n\nIsabel Myers took up the challenge in 1942 to help “ordinary, healthy, normal people understand that it is alright to be unique individuals.” She could see the implications in everyday life, careers and relationships with those around you. Her daughter, Isabel Briggs Myers, wrote in 1980 - “I hope parents, teachers, students, counsellors, clinicians, clergy - and all others who are concerned with the realization of human potential - may find a rationale for many of the personality differences they encounter in their work or must deal with in their private lives.”\n\nhistory-of-MBTINowadays, the test is used by a vast array of big corporations to fit you into a box and try to predict how well you will do a particular job. This was not the purpose of the empowerment and awareness test. It was not to determine your path in life or what box you go into. In the same way Alfred Binet created the I.Q. Test to help see how to better accommodate students - not to determine their capabilities for life.\n\nWe have gone beyond the simple factors that people have obsessed over who you should be but rather than the factors that help people to be the most balanced form of themselves. Which, ironically, is what Jung was striving for when he first worked with his patients in the 1920‘s. This balanced form of yourself allows you to be successful at everything in record breaking times.\n\nWe firstly started off applying our new methods to students with learning difficulties - why are no two dyslexic children able to get the same results? Why does one find the whole school experience so difficult and not the other? Why are so many people of a particular personality type diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome? Why do some people with written expression issues bully others? Why do some students need all the steps explained while others find their own ways?\n\nWe now have a more extensive profiling method, Purple Profiling, that takes more factors into account including the ways in which we process information. Another area that Katherine Briggs was keen for people to have an understanding and realization of. We understand the developmental time scale and how generational factors affect long term patterns. We have ended up with a system that is like psychoanalysis and counselling on speed. The results are not only rapid, but more importantly, sustainable. They have been described as ‘flicking a switch.’ We are not changing people. I don’t need anyone to be less dyslexic or more sociable for success.\n\nThe methods have now been applied to all areas of life, business and sports as well as education. Across a span of ages, backgrounds, sports and industry sectors.\n\nIt has been so important to continue to build on the foundations of this work, especially as we have been continually written off by people in life. My own psychologist report at 16 told me that “it was beyond my status to go to college” because of my severe dyslexia. Interestingly, all of the people who have seriously added to this method, and not in a way to just be used by corporations to fit people into boxes, have themselves all been INFJ. The rarest MBTI personality type. It is as if in being so different from others that they have strove to add to the understanding of that difference in the world around them.\n\ninfj as young people\n\nDr. Naoisé O’Reilly,\n\nFebruary 3rd 2015.\n\n\nPsychological Assessments to determine Cognitive Development\n\nFEAR1I was 4 when I had my first official Psychological Assessment and it was a traumatic experience. My parents took me to see the movie “Lady and the Tramp” immediately afterwards to help me recover.\n\nThis is why when I now do Psychological Assessments of young children I am very focused on a fun enjoyable experience - a trauma free zone if you like.\n\nI was 8 when I had my second Psychological Assessment and 16 when I had my third. I have lived with hereditary Profound Dyslexic Spectrum Disorder since birth and it still impacts of every aspect of my daily life - but I developed ways to cope.\n\nI remember there were pages and pages of how I did not measure up to other children my age. There was never help given to my parents and I to assist me in working the way I needed to work. The only focus was on what I could not do.\n\nHence, this is why I started to develop my own methods of learning from 4. I was also acutely aware at 4 that I was completely incapable of doing what the School and Government Shrinks wanted me to so.\n\nThese days, I set children and families up for success no matter how “behind” the rest of the world perceives a child’s cognitive development and behaviors.\n\nEvery family I have dealt with personally, and that is thousands of people at this stage, are set up to succeed in the precise ways that their child is capable of learning and developing.\n\nPersonality is a massive factor in development. Some people are more independent that others. They may walk faster, they may be quieter. Some people are born chatterboxes and others do not speak until much later on. Some will not play by themselves others are loners. No one can be put on a scale and expected to fit.\n\nEven children who have hearing impairments and a great big long list of conditions I deal with can develop better and learn faster with the right interventions. It does not matter what it is - no two children can rise to their challenges in the same ways.\n\n\nHow can a professional determine if a 4-year is up to task with cognitive development?\n\nMost professionals rely on standardized test. Personally, I do a session with the child using my “toolbox.” This involves a whole series of games with everything from Playdoh to magnets. This allows me and my Team to test abilities across a whole spectrum without the child even being aware of it. All the testing is completed without the child feeling like they are being examined.\n\n\nWhat if the 4-year old cannot do all the cognitive skills for his/her age?\n\nShould a parent worry?\n\nI do not deem tasks age appropriate. I strongly believe development is a little bit more complex and I think it is unfortunate that a lot of learning difficulties are determined on an age scale. This ends up making parents feel very bad about their child’s development. During my initial assessments, yes sure it is always very obvious to me what people cannot do, but it is equally obvious if they have fantastic visual pattern recognition or memory association skills. These can be used to develop the areas that are lacking. Just the same ways I achieved a First Class Honors Degree followed by a Doctorate when told as a teenager that University was “beyond my status.”\n\nI think the system sets up parents to worry. But one of my key tasks in taking on any new case is to put everyone’s mind at ease and make everything doable. Families always walk out the door with a way, structure, plan an if necessary Team support to do everything.\n\n\nHow can a parent help a child develop these skills?\n\nI set up programs for parents to use the everyday in their own home to help their children. I think one of the disadvantages of our technological world is that it is very removed from other people and parents. Yes, I do like to use some Apps but I like to develop skills using less remote games. Child cookery, for example, builds time management skills and the use of a radio in the background helps children filter information.\n\nDr. Naoisé O'Reilly  Expression Developist™\n\n\nWelcome to the Purple Learning Project.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8858674168586731}
+{"content": "Microsoft Is Acquiring The Shopping Site\n\nThe big Microsoft giant has reached a settlement with Greenfield online which is the owner of the popular shopping site In fact they will make a transaction worth 486 million dollars for this. Now Ciao has always been a brilliant site that offers shopping, reviews of products and surveys. They also feature the price tags for all important products and they have about 26.5 million regular visitors and a shopping community. In fact this big acquisition is going to help Microsoft to reach a great position in the European market as well.\n\nComparing Search Results\n\nSince different search engines weigh different parts of their algorithms differently, they can all have similar relevancy while having significantly different search results.\n\nSome people are quick to ask how their sites are being penalized in one search engine because they rank well in others. While many sites do get penalized for aggressive spamming techniques, most sites that do not rank well usually just fail to satisfy the specific ranking algorithm for that specific engine in question.\nContinue reading “Comparing Search Results”", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6012754440307617}
+{"content": "How Do Lens Filters Impact My Image?\n\nThere are many types of lens filters to use when shooting digital photography. Today we’ll cover uses for three of the most popular types of filters: UV, Circular Polarizers, and ND Filters.\n\nA good UV filter is completely clear, and will not affect your image quality. This filter is good for preventing scratches and some impact damage to the front element of the lens. Additionally, these filters keep your lens safe from dust, grit, residue, and other factors than can degrade the glass coating. (You can read more about UV Filters here)\n\nCircular Polarizers are useful because they ignore certain wavelengths of light. A polarizer can be used to manage reflections; making them particularly popular for architecture and landscape photography, particularly for anyone trying to capture images of bodies of water. One of the best features of a circular polarizer is the ability to bring out the color and contrast in the sky while retaining the desired exposure on your subject. This filter is an easy tool for getting the vibrant sky you want in camera.\n\nND or neutral density filters are essentially sunglasses for your lens. This filter is set to block out a given measurement of light in stops, effectively darkening the image. These are necessary for long exposure, and for shooting video because you cannot simply increase your shutter speed for the exposure you want.\n\nTry out these different types of filters on your favorite lenses, they can be a very small investment with a large impact on your images. We have a variety of filters to choose from at every Creve Coeur Camera location. Stop in today!\n\n-Aaron Basham, Creve Coeur Camera Superstore", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9688986539840698}
+{"content": "Skip to Content\n\n\nWhat are Insulin\n\nInsulin is a hormone that occurs naturally in the body and can also be given by injection as a treatment for diabetes. Naturally-occurring insulin is made by the beta cells of the Islets of Langerhans located in the pancreas. It helps the cells of the body to uptake glucose (sugar) found in the carbohydrates we eat so that it can be used as energy or stored for later use. Insulin also controls glucose release from the liver. One of the main roles of insulin is to keep blood glucose levels from going too high (hyperglycemia) or too low (hypoglycemia).\n\nPeople with type 1 diabetes do not make enough insulin to satisfy their body's needs or make none at all. Insulin given by injection acts similarly to naturally occurring insulin. There are more than 20 different types of insulin available for diabetes treatment in the United States. The various types of insulin differ in several ways: such as source (animal, human or genetically engineered), the time for insulin to take effect and the length of time the insulin remains working (ie, rapid acting, short acting, intermediate acting, long acting or very long acting). Insulin is used to treat Type 1 diabetes and it may be used together with oral medications in the later stages of Type 2 diabetes.\n\nList of Insulin:\n\nFilter by:\ninsulin aspart / insulin aspart protamine systemic (Pro, More...)\n3 reviews\ninsulin glulisine systemic (Pro, More...)\n4 reviews\ninsulin regular systemic (Pro, More...)\n7 reviews\ninsulin lispro / insulin lispro protamine systemic (Pro, More...)\n3 reviews\ninsulin isophane / insulin regular systemic (Pro, More...)\n5 reviews\ninsulin isophane systemic (Pro, More...)\n5 reviews\ninsulin aspart / insulin degludec systemic (Pro, More...)\n1 review\ninsulin lispro systemic (Pro, More...)\n13 reviews\ninsulin detemir systemic (Pro, More...)\n24 reviews\ninsulin aspart systemic (Pro, More...)\n11 reviews\ninsulin inhalation, rapid acting systemic (Pro, More...)\n58 reviews\ninsulin glargine systemic (Pro, More...)\n71 reviews\ninsulin systemic (More...)\n0 reviews\ninsulin degludec systemic (Pro, More...)\n40 reviews", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7298009395599365}
+{"content": "From the \"Guest\" Director\"\n\nMary Marlino\n\n\nCollective Impact and UCP\n\nUCP programs are core, community-based, boundary-spanning organizations. We facilitate community capacity-building, education, and scientific support services, and we are important and integral connectors in the complex ecosystem that is the UCAR community. As UCP embarks on its new strategic plan, there are a number of drivers that are influencing our thinking. The first is the acknowledgement that the complexity, diversity, and richness of our individual programs and our various communities present both significant opportunities and significant challenges. A second driver is the mounting pressure by our sponsors to demonstrate our impact, and a new emphasis on effectiveness, efficiently, and accountability. This can be seen most readily in the shifting trend from “outputs” (qualitative reports that capture mostly numbers) to “outcomes” (behavioral, scientific, or societal benefit–based results) as substantive measures of impact. A third driver is the recognition that the 21st century educational needs of our community, and how those needs are being met, is vastly different  from previous generations. A fourth driver, and one that is foremost in our minds, is the upcoming re-competition of UCAR’s management of NCAR. Each of these drivers is a key motivator as we discuss the future of UCP and how to move beyond individual program effectiveness to foster multi-organizational collaboration, drive systemic change, and optimize our collective effectiveness. A pressing question before us is “How does UCP, as a whole, make a difference to UCAR and to our community?”\n\nA Collective Impact Framework can be a useful lens to employ as we move forward. Collective Impact is an innovative organizational framework that provides a disciplined cross-sector approach to solving complex social challenges on a large scale (Kania and Kramer, 2011). It brings together actors and stakeholders from various sectors, including government, non-profits, educational institutions, and businesses, to create and commit to a common agenda. The central assumption of this approach is that no actor can effectively address a complex social issue on their own and that this collective approach is needed for an impactful change. The approach is being applied to a range of thorny issues, including health care, the environment, and education ( The use of a Collective Impact Framework has been significantly funded by major foundations, including the Gates and MacArthur foundations, and can ensure that the collective results of a particular effort work in concert, rather than at odds, with each other.\n\nThere are five conditions for effective Collective Impact:\n\n  1. A Common Agenda: Critical stakeholders share a vision for change, with a common understanding of the problem and a joint approach to solving the problem through agreed-upon actions.\n  2. Shared Measures: Participating stakeholders agree on the ways success will be measured and reported, with a short list of common indicators identified and used for learning and improvement.\n  3. Mutually Reinforcing Activities: A diverse set of stakeholders coordinate a set of differentiated activities through a mutually reinforcing plan of action. In the case of UCP, this would mean that we coordinate our efforts through a mutually reinforcing plan of action, with each organization undertaking a specific set of activities based on what each excels at in order to support the entire strategic effort.\n  4. Continuous Communication: All stakeholders engage in frequent, structured, open communication to build trust, assure mutual objectives, and create common motivation.\n  5. Backbone Support: An independent staff dedicated to the initiative provides ongoing support by guiding the initiative’s vision and strategy, supporting aligned activities, and establishing shared measurement practices.\n\nCollective Impact will involve, to some degree, a mind shift in how we view our activities and our impacts, with our focus shifting from primarily individual programmatic impact to a more collective one. What might UCP look like if we embraced the principles of Collective Impact? In what new ways would our combined efforts serve our community?  And how might UCAR use these efforts to its strategic advantage in the re-competition for NCAR management?  The answers to these questions are not yet clear, but are certainly worth our very considered effort.\n\n\nKania, J. & Kramer, M. (Winter, 2011).  Collective Impact. Stanford Social Innovation Review.\n\n\nAbout UCP\n\nThe UCAR Community Programs provide innovative resources, tools, and services in support of the research and education goals of the atmospheric and Earth system sciences community.\n\nA major focus for UCP is making sure the science from NCAR and UCAR institutions is translated in novel ways to a variety of audiences and stakeholders.\n\nUCAR Twitter Feed", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9183902144432068}
+{"content": "Section 11 (b), Vassell (SCC) Decision\n\nPublished On: Jul 18,2016\n\nSection 11(b) of the Charter: A three (3) year delay in proceeding with a criminal trial leads to a stay of proceedings, resulting in all charges against an accused being dismissed.  [June 30, 2016] The Supreme Court of Canada recently decided and added it’s line of case-law on the subject of the right to have a trial within a reasonable period of time in Reginav.Vassell, 2016 SCC 26 [Vassell].   This case considered Section 11(b) of the Charter, infra.  Prior to the Vassell decision, Regina v. Morin, [1992] 1 S.C.R. 771 (“Morin”) andRegina. v. Godin, [2009] S.C.J. No. 26, [2009] 2 S.C.R. 3 (“Godin”), arguably, served as the proverbial yardstick for Courts, Crown Prosecutors and Criminal Lawyers practicing in the fields of all ranges of Criminal Code of Canada offences ranging from TSA Speeding tickets, theft charges, sexual assault, fraud to murder to rendering an assessment as to what would violate a defendant’s right to have a trial without a reasonable period of time. The General Meaning of Section 11(b) of the Charter Section 11(b) of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees that any person charged with an offense has the right to be tried within a reasonable amount of time.  The primary purpose of section 11(b) is to protect the individual rights of the accused. Section 11(b) has a secondary function of protecting related societal interests.The individual rights that section 11(b) seeks to protect are: 1) the right to security of the person, 2) the right to liberty and 3) the right to a fair trial.  As the Court in Morin explained, these rights are protected by section 11(b) in the following manner:\n\n  • The right to security of the person is protected by section 11(b) by seeking to minimize the anxiety, concern and stigma of exposure to criminal proceedings;\n  • The right to liberty is protected by seeking to minimize exposure to the restrictions on liberty which result from pre-trial incarceration and restrictive bail conditions; and\n  • The right to a fair trial is protected by attempting to ensure that proceedings take place while evidence is fresh and available.\nSection 11(b) also addresses larger societal interests.  These were described by the Court in Morin, infra, as follows:\n  • Society has an interest in seeing that the least fortunate of its citizens who are accused of crimes are treated humanely and fairly;\n  • Trials held promptly enjoy the confidence of the public and have an intrinsic benefit to society as a whole; and\n  • There is “a collective interest in ensuring that those who transgress the law are brought to trial and dealt with according to law.”\nIn general terms, R. v. Godin is the most recent pronouncement from the Supreme Court of Canada on the issue of unreasonable delay.  In Godin, the Court considered the body of case law on the subject (particularly its decision in Morin) and summarized the nature of the section 11(b) analysis in the following manner: [w]hether delay is unreasonable is assessed by looking at the length of the delay, less any periods that have been waived by the defence and then by taking into account the reasons for the delay, the prejudice to the accused and the interests that s. 11(b) seeks to protect. The factors that must be considered in analyzing how long of a delay is “too long” are as follows:\n  • The length of the delay;\n  • Waiver of time periods;\n  • The reasons for the delay, including:\n    • Inherent time requirements of the case;\n    • Actions of the accused;\n    • Action of the Crown;\n    • Limits on institutional resources, and\n    • Other reasons for delay; and\n  • Prejudice to the accused.\nThe significance of Reginav.Vassell, 2016 SCC 26 In my view, the Regina v. Vassell provides more texture and contour to the existing line of jurisprudence and is in line with the Godin and Morin pedigree of cases.  It clarifies, to an extent, the Crown’s role in ensure that an accused persons rights are protected under section 11(b) when dealing with a number of co-accused defendants on the same charge. Mr. Vassell was charged with six (6) other individuals for possession of cocaine for the purposes of trafficking under the Control Drugs Substances Act.  The Crown Prosecutor’s office proceeded, at first instance, against all the co-accused on the same information but eventually only proceeded against Mr. Vassell.   Through criminal counsel, the defendant applied for a stay of proceedings under section 11(b) Of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedomsasserting that his right to a fair trial had been violated through, inter alia, the conduct of the Crown’s carriage of the case.   In this case, they found the right to be tried within a reasonable time under s. 11 (b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms  was infringed.   When such an challenge is raised by criminal lawyers under s. 11 (b), the Courts stated it must be careful not to miss the forest for the trees. In this case, the defendant waited three (3) years for a three-day trial. Significantly, the accuseddid not cause any of the delay.  He took proactive steps throughout to have his case tried as soon as possible. Despite his efforts, substantial delay was caused by his co-accused, and the inability of the system to provide earlier dates.The accused’s trial was adjourned twice, and the Crown and the system failed to respond proactively enough to these adjournments to avoid unreasonable delay. In these circumstances, a more proactive stance on the Crown’s part was required.  The Court said the following in representative part at para. 7: “In these circumstances, I believe that a more proactive stance on the Crown’s part was required. In fulfilling its obligation to bring all accused to trial within a reasonable time, the Crown cannot close its eyes to the circumstances of an accused who has done everything possible to move the matter along, only to be held hostage by his or her co-accused and the inability of the system to provide earlier dates. That, unfortunately, is what occurred here. In the last analysis, Mr. Vassell ended up being the sole person out of the initial seven co-accused to be tried. To repeat the words of O’Ferrall J.A., he “waited three years for a three-day trial”. That is unacceptable, and it resulted in Mr. Vassell being deprived of his right to be tried within a reasonable time.” The Crown chose to prosecute all seven accused jointly, as it was entitled to do. But having done so, it was required to remain vigilant that its decision not compromise their s. 11 (b) rights as per the cases of Regina v. Auclair, 2014 SCC 6, [2014] 1 S.C.R. 83, and Regina v. Schertzer, 2009 ONCA 742, 248 C.C.C. (3d) 270, at para. 146. The Vassell case demonstrates the importance of immediately taking, without delay, all reasonable and lawful steps to ensure that your Charter rights under section 11(b) are protected at the various junctures of the criminal proceedings.  This would assist in ensuring that a viable (and in some cases only) defence is available to avoid the imposition of significant jail term or the entry of a criminal conviction.  It appears in this case, Mr. Vassell’spivotal criminal defence was ensuring, through a criminal lawyer, that he was diligent from the onset of the charges.  This likely meant ensure that the most strategic and Charter compliant representations were made in Court prior to the onset of the trial. This case demonstrates that Section 11(b) remains a powerful defence remedy. If you have been charged with a Criminal offence, call 403-585-1960 and request to speak to Mr. J.S. Patel, Barrister for a free initial consultation.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.748932957649231}
+{"content": "What's going on with this page? Why's it locked and why does the AWOIAF link say \"(DO NOT READ)\" Volvlogia (talk) 03:56, December 31, 2016 (UTC)\n\nBecause it has massive book spoilers.--The Dragon Demands (talk) 04:23, December 31, 2016 (UTC)\n\nI know, I've read the books. But I think it should simply say \"(MAJOR book spoilers)\", similairly to the other pages.\n\nWhat is the correct number?\n\nThe number mentioned in the infobox - should it be 10,000 or 20,000? Moonracer (talk) 05:48, August 31, 2017 (UTC)\n\nI suppose that the numbers were doubled like the numbers of the Second Sons were doubled in the third season. Another consequence of the adaption from the novels I suppose. And even if they had 10.000 during the time of the War of the Five Kings, it's possible to integrate other sellswords in the company. --Exodianecross (talk) 22:06, September 16, 2017 (UTC)\nThis happened several times in the Season 7 finale...basic math number contradictions. The number of men in the Golden Company, the population of King's Landing...\n...I'm going to go with 10,000 but leave a footnote explaining it. Because the Season 7 finale contradicts earlier numbers given in the TV series, and because not as knowledgeable as Stannis.--The Dragon Demands (talk) 23:45, September 16, 2017 (UTC)", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9846810698509216}
+{"content": "Culture &\n\n\nCulture & Art\n\n\n\nTurkey has a very ancient folk dance tradition, which varies from region to region, each dance being colourful, rhythmic, elegant and stylish.\n\nThe following are among the most popular: “Çayda Çıra” from the Sivas region in Central Anatolia is performed by young girls dressed in silver and gold embroidered kaftans who dance in the dark with lighted candles in their hands. In the “Silifke Yoğurdu” from the Mersin region in the South Mediterranean, dancers click wooden spoons together above their heads. “Şeyh Şamil” from the Kars region in the East, is a beautifully dramatised legend of\n\n\nTurkish theatre is thought to have originated from the popular Karagöz shadow plays, a cross between moralistic Punch and Judy and the slapstick Laurel and Hardy.\n\nIt then developed along an oral tradition, with plays performed in public places, such as coffee houses and gardens, exclusively by male actors.\n\nAtatürk gave great importance to the arts, and actively encouraged theatre, music and ballet, prompting the foundation of many state institutions. Turkey today boasts a thriving arts scene, with highly professional theatre, opera and ballet companies, as well as a flourishing film industry.\n\n\nTurkish music evolved from the original folk form into classical through the emergence of a Palace culture. It attained its highest point in the 16th century through the composer “Itri”.\n\n\nGreat names in Turkish classical music include “Dede Efendi”, “Hacı Arif Bey” and “Tamburi Cemil Bey”. It is a form that continues to be professionally performed and one that attracts large audiences. Turkish music, locally called Turkish Classical Music, is a variation of the national musical tradition, instruments such as the tambur, kanun, ney and ud.\n\n\nUntil the 18th century, painting in Turkey was mainly in the form of miniatures, usually linked to books in the form of manuscript illustrations.\n\n\nIn the 18th century, trends shifted towards oil painting, beginning with murals. Thereafter, under European inspiration, painting courses were introduced in military schools. The first Turkish painters were therefore military people. The modernisation of Turkish painting, including representation of the human figure, started with the founding of the Academy of Arts under the direction of Osman Hamdi Bey, one of the great names in Turkish painting. In 1923, following the proclamation of the Republic, a society of contemporary painting was set-up, followed by many other such schools. Art exhibitions in Turkey’s cities multiplied, more and more people started to acquire paintings, and banks, and companies began investing in art\n\n\nLiterature has long been an important component of Turkish cultural life, reflecting the history of the people, their legends, their mysticism, and the political and social changes that affected this land throughout its long history.\n\n\nThe oldest literary legacy of the pre-Islamic period are the Orhon inscriptions in northern Mongolia, written in 735 on two large stones in honour of a Turkish king and his brother. During the Ottoman period, the prevailing literary form was poetry, the dominant dialect was Anatolian or Ottoman, and the main subject beauty and romance. The Ottoman Divan literature was highly influenced by Persian culture and written in a dialect, which combined Arabic, Persian and Turkish. Separate from the aristocratic Divan literature, folk literature continued to dominate Anatolia where troubadour-like poets celebrated nature, love and God in simple Turkish language. Towards the 20th century, the language of Turkish literature became simpler and more political and social in substance. The great and politically controversial poet, Nazım Hikmet, inspired by the Russian poet Mayakowski, introduced free verse in the late 1930s. Nowadays, the irrefutable master of the Turkish popular novel is Yaşar Kemal, with his authentic, colourful and forceful description of Anatolian life. Young Turkish writers tend to go beyond the usual social issues, preferring to tackle problems such as feminism and aspects of die East-West dichotomy that continues to fascinate Turkish intellectuals.\n\n\nThe most well-known and widely-read writers of the 1950-1990 period can be listed as follows: Tarik Dursun K., Atilla lhan, Yasar Kemal, Orhan Kemal, Kemal Tahir, Tarik Bugra, Aziz Nesin, Mustafa Necati Sepetçioglu, Firuzan, Adalet Agaoglu, Sevgi Soysal, Tomris Uyar, Selim Ileri, Cevat Sakir (Halikarnas Balıkçısı), Necati Cumalı, Haldun Taner. Prominent poets in this period are: Behçet Kemal Çaglar, Necati Cumalı , Oktay Rıfat, Melih Cevdet Anday, Cemal Süreya, Edip Cansever, Özdemir İnce, Ataol Behramoğlu, Ismet Özel, Ece Ayhan, Turgut Uyar, Sezai Karakoç, Bahaettin Karakoç, Ümit Yasar Oguzcan, Orhan Pamuk .\n\nThe Nobel Prize in Literature for 2006 was awarded to the Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk who in the quest for the melancholic soul of his native city discovered new symbols for the clash and interlacing of cultures.\n\n\n\nIn the period prior to the proclamation of the Republic in Turkey, opera, ballet and the theatre were mostly centred around Istanbul and Izmir.\n\n\nThe first showing of opera at the imperial court was by artists trained by Guiseppe Donizetti (1788-1856) from the Italian opera. During the Republic, Ahmet Adnan Saygun, Necil Kazım Akses and Cemal Reşit Rey were the first composers of opera, operettas and musicals.\n\n\n\nTiles The development of tile and ceramic art began in Turkey in the 11th century by the Selçuk Turks and reached a pinnacle in the days of the Ottoman Empire.\n\n\nDuring the 15th century, the great demand in tiles which were used to decorate the mosques and palaces built in the Ottomans’ new capital Istanbul meant a centre of production was established in Iznik, where at least 300 work-shops specialised in tile-making. For two hundred years Iznik produced tiles with swirling forms and floral motifs in an ever greater range of colours that reflect precious stones – emerald greens, lapis lazuli and turquoise blues and coral reds – and increasing sophistication. These tiles were also exported throughout the world via the island of Rhodes.\n\n\nOne of the best places to see Iznik ware is in the Blue Mosque; according to legend the artists of Iznik were so exhausted by its decoration that they went into decline soon after. Original tiles can also be seen at the Rustem Pasha Mosque in Eminonu and the Eyup Mosque complex at the top of the Golden Horn. You can also purchase Iznik tiles from specialist shops around the country.\n\n\n\nNasrettin Hoca was a popular scholar born in 1208, whose tales are famous throughout Turkey for their satire, wit and humour, beneath which lies a serious message.\n\n\nHe has acquired such mythical status, however, that fact and fiction have become muddled in the stories surrounding him and the anecdotes attributed to him. His stories refer to everyday situations amongst the common people of Anatolia and his wisdom opposes the stricter elements of Islamic law with humour, as he baffles those around him with his logic. Many of the stories feature his donkey, itself a symbol of suffering, which was an everyday part of village life.\n\n\n\nSubmitting Form...\n\nThe server encountered an error.\n\nForm received.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9371182918548584}
+{"content": "3 or 5 angle valve seats\n\nCylinder Heads (3 or 5 Angle Valve Seats)\n\nThe greatest flow restriction in any engine is the cylinder head. Having the air / fuel mixture to efficiently pass through this restriction will increase an engines HP and Torque.\n\nThe Intake and Exhaust Valves are part of the cylinder ports, and when they are closed their ability to flow is zero. This means until they have opened to a very large opening, the valves are the main restriction to the engine’s cylinder head’s airflow.\n\nEven when the valve is at a large lift, it still presents a difficult path for the air to travel on its way into or out of the cylinder. The priority is to make the valve capable of passing as much air as possible, whatever the lift is. To do this both the valve size and the valve’s seat must be considered.\n\nAlthough it may be the last operation during a porting job, the valve’s seat design is the most important priority toward effectively filling the cylinder. It would seem that the hole under the valve head needs to be as large as possible so as to flow the most air. Before flow benches were developed, it was a common practice to make a valve seat as thin as possible in order to achieve the maximum throat diameter. Objective flow bench testing found this to be untrue. In the real world the maximum flow is always a combination of size and form around the valve before and after the seat.\n\nAir has mass and does not like to hug a port wall around a short-side turn. With low-angle ports, the air at mid and high valve lifts do not make the transition around the short-side turn very well. As a result, most of the air goes out of the long-side turn.\n\nThis situation is even greater as the higher the valve lift becomes. As a result, the streamlining of the port on the long side needs to be addressed for low, medium and high lifts, while the valve seat approach on the short side needs only to deal with the requirements of low-lift flow.\n\nIt does not matter if it is the intake or exhaust port, the worst part of the port for air to travel is the short-side turn. If the air fails to make it around the short-side turn, there obviously won’t be much air exiting the valve in that area.\n\nChanges in the valve’s seat angles can make the valve appear bigger than it really is and flow more air during the beginning of its opening phase.\n\nCylinder block\n\nCylinder Block\n\nWell looking back at this thread my expectation was to encourage additional information from other OSS members to be added to this thread, although there was some I guess my expectations were greater. That being the case this will be my last input of information in this thread for the remainder of this year.\n\nThe following information can be used for race or street engines, several Worldclass engine builders have known and have been using the technique for decades.\n\nIf you REALLY want to have cylindrical cylinder bores when it comes time to hone your cylinder block, the block needs to be at operating temperatures. Getting the block up over 120f degrees is a good temperture to hone it, but if you can get it to 150f degrees, it’s even better. In addtion any honing oil that you use must be of equal temperture of the cylinder block, when the cylinder block is heated and you douse cold honing oil on it and then hone it, the localized cooling is going to distort the bore.\n\nMany times people ask me how I am able to consistantly build long term reliable high HP race engines, well M8’s this is one of my secrets.\n\nCopper Head Gaskets\n\nCopper Head Gaskets.\n\nCopper head gaskets are great for extremely high compression ratio (over 13:1), turbocharged or supercharged engines that are running lots of boost pressure (over 15 psi), or engines with nitrous oxide that add an extra 150 to 200 or more horsepower.\n\nDue to the fact that Copper conducts heat much better than most other metals, Copper will help to stabilize a cylinder head and cylinder block temperatures. This will prevent any hot spots that can cause detonation or head warpage, and a Copper head gasket reduces the risk of the head gasket blowing out or burning through.\n\nCopper has a 25 percent coefficient of elasticity which allows it to stretch before it will fail. if an engine starts to detonate because the air / fuel mixture leans out, or there is excessive ignition advance or too much compression and low fuel octane, a Copper head gasket will provide a margin of safety. Copper is strong and the alloys used for copper head gaskets may have a tensile strength of up to 32,000 psi, which is many times stronger than that of the materials used in conventional performance head gaskets.\n\nCopper head gaskets are reusable for a limited number of times (3). This is a plus in situations where the heads are on and off the block between races, or frequent tear downs are required. One of the downsides of Copper head gaskets, though, is that they do not seal oil very well. A Copper head gasket must be coated with some type of sealer, and both mating surfaces must be absolutely flat and clean.\n\nThe way to anneal a Copper head gasket is that the gasket should only be heated until it is a dark red color and no more. After the Copper head gasket gasket has air cooled, the surface needs to be cleaned with a brush or abrasive pad to remove oxide from the surface. The Copper head gasket should then be cleaned with brake cleaner or a similar product and allowed to dry before it is coated with a sealer.\n\nThe sealer must be allowed to dry before the gasket is installed. Some aerosol sealers may require multiple coats for the best results. RTV silicone also works, and may be applied around oil galley openings in the cylinder head gasket, the cylinder block or cylinder head, only a thin coating should be used, and it must be allowed to set before the gasket is installed.\n\nCopper is a soft metal and it does not provide much conformability. This is a good aspect because the gasket doesn’t crush when the head bolts are torqued down, thus the thickness of the gasket remains the same and does not change. Unfortunately a Copper head gasket does not conform very well to small indentations and surface irregularities in the cylinder head or cylinder block\n\nIf a copper head gasket is accidentally bent during removal, it can be straightened and annealed. But if the gasket has kinked, it should be replaced because a kink concentrates stress and hardens the metal. This will increase the risk of a Copper head gasket cracking. Copper head gaskets should not be cleaned by bead blasting because it will harden the metal. The same is true for hammering the metal.\n\nOn all applications using Copper head gaskets there should be annealed / softened Stainless Steel or Copper wire O-rings installed in grooves that machined into the block or cylinder head. The wire rings help concentrate loading around the cylinders to prevent combustion pressure from blowing past the gasket. These wire rings are typically .041″ in diameter, and are placed in a .039″ wide x .030″ deep groove. The wires should protrude only about .010″ above the surface of the deck, and the thickness of the gasket should be about four times the protrusion of the wires in their grooves, or about .040″. Engines that produce over three horsepower per cubic inch should also have a corresponding receiver groove machined into the head opposite the O-rings in the block for optimum sealing. The depth of the receiver grooves should be 75 percent of the O-ring protrusion and the width of the grooves should be 1.5 times that of the wire.\n\nCompression test gauge\n\n\nYour Motorcycle will always have a higher reading on your compression tester gauge with a stock or low duration cam, due to the fact that you will be closing the intake valve earlier on the compression stroke. This longer effective compression stroke always delivers a higher gauge reading.\n\nInstalling a longer duration cam, your intake valve will close later, thus giving a lower gauge reading because of the shorter effective compression stroke. Some individuals feel that this is impossible, claiming that if it were true, why will your Motorcycle go faster with the bigger cam? The reason is that a bigger cam will have higher compression effect in the cylinder at higher engine speeds where all that additional valve timing can do you some good, but at lower speeds and especially at starter-cranking speeds, the effect will be lower.\n\nCompression ratio\n\nWhen you increase the compression of an engine it will produce an increase in the HP and Torque output throughout an engine RPM range. If a long duration cam is installed in the engine, increasing the compression ratio at the same time has a greater advantage than these two modifications made separately at different times. By raising the compression ratio of an engine, the peak combustion pressures are increased.\n\nEngineering studies have found that cylinder pressures are about 100 times what the compression ratio is. That means that an engine that has 10:1 compression ratio, would create 1,000 psi of peak combustion pressure. Increasing the compression ratio will increase an engines cylinder pressure and this increase in compression also increases the an engine’s thermal efficiency. Thermal efficiency is a measurement of how effectively the an engine converts heat into mechanical power.\n\nDue to the fact that a high compression cylinder makes its power much earlier on in the power stroke there is another issue that can be taking an advantage of. That is that the early opening of the exhaust valve opening needed for high RPM output can be utilized without effecting the engine’s low RPM output.\n\nHow much HP and Torque can be gained from an increase in an engine compression ratio?\n\nBy using the chart below you can fiqure the thermal efficiency at any given compression ratio. First locate the original compression ratio listed horizontally, then locate the new compression in the first column. Where the two compression ratios intersect, that is the gain that can be expected. For instance if the compression ratio of an engine is raised from 9:1 to 12:1 the two values intersect at the box with 7.7 in it. This is the percentage increase of thermal efficiency that can be obtained from raising the compression from 9:1 to 12:1.\n\n9:1 10:1 11:1 12:1 13:1 14:1 15:1\n\n10:1 2.9\n11:1 5.5 2.5\n12:1 7.7 4.7 2.1\n13:1 9.7 6.6 4.0 1.9\n14:1 11.5 8.3 5.7 3.5 1.6\n15:1 13.0 9.8 7.1 4.9 3.0 1.4\n16:1 14.5 11.3 8.6 6.4 4.4 2.8 1.4\n\nComp ratio\n\nOn normally aspirated engines at low engine rpm’s there is little ramming from intake charge velocity into the engine’s cylinder. When the piston starts to move up in the cylinder bore on the compression stroke prior to the intake closing, some of the air / fuel mixture is pushed back into the cylinder head’s intake port. This creates the situation were the volumetric efficiency and the effective displacement of the cylinder is well below 100 percent.\n\nRaising the compression ratio one point from a low ratio has a greater effect then raising the compression ratio up from an already high ratio. This means the larger the duration and lift of a camshaft the more responsive it is to a increase in the compression ratio, especially in the lower engine rpm.\n\nCamshaft lobe centres\n\nHere is some info that might be helpful for those who are interested in fine tuning their bikes camshafts.\n\nThe common range of lobe center values for SUZUKI engines is only about 10 degrees wide from about 102 to 112 degrees, a change of one degree can have considerable effect on the power delivery characteristics of a SUZUKI engine.\n\nThe effect of moving lobe centers is that by advancing the intake and retarding the exhaust, known as CLOSING UP THE CENTERS, it will increase the valve overlap and will move the power UP in the RPM range, although it will at the sacrifice LOW- RPM power. The result would be LOWER numerical values on both intake and exhaust lobe centers.\n\nIf you retard the intake and advance the exhaust, known as SPREADING THE CENTERS, valve overlap will decrease and will result in a WIDER power band while sacrificing HI – RPM power. This is indicated by HIGHER numerical values on both intake and exhaust lobe centers.If you move only one cam the results are not as predictable, traditionaly it is the INTAKE CAM that is moved to change power characteristics since small changes here seem to have a greater effect.\n\nBenefits From Increasing the Compression Ratio\n\nIncreasing the compression ratio is one component of many that will increase a SUZUKI GS / EFE’s HP. An increase in an engine’s compression ratio will provide more power for less fuel and add some snap when the throttle is opened.\n\nRaising the compression ratio gives the greatest benefits with initial increases. This means that more HP is produced by the first point increase of the compression ratio as compared to the next point of increasing the compression ratio. To illustrate this lets use a stock 1985 (USA model) GS1150 (EFE) as an example. The stock compression ratio is 9:7.1 if you increase the compression ratio to 10:7.1 there might be a 4 or 5 percent increase in HP. Further increasing the compression ratio to 11:7 might only provide a 2 or 2.5 percent increase.\n\nThe reason for the a smaller percentage in the increase in HP with a further increase in the compression ratio is due to the aspect of the GS / EFE cylinder being like an lung, increasing its volumetric effiecieny basically means the lung is filling with more air and is breathing out more through the exhaust. It is not enough to just increase intake or exhaust. Both must be made more efficient.\n\nGS / EFE 1150 stock cams open and close the engine’s valves with little or no overlap. This prevents emissions from escaping, but it also limits an engine’s breathing efficiency.\n\nIn conclusion a moderate increase in compression will use less fuel to produce more power and the extra cylinder pressure and heat generated will increase the gasoline’s burning efficiency. But if you really want to maximize the advantage of increasing a engines compression ratio this use of a Hi-performance camshaft is required.\n\nAir density, a secret tuning factor\n\nAir density is a computation mainly dependent on the temperature, barometric pressure, and the humidity of a volume of air.\n\nTemperature in the USA is generally measured in degrees Fahrenheit, barometric pressure in inches of Mercury (inHg), and humidity in percent of Relative Humidity.\n\nYou can relate to how these factors effect the density of the atmosphere by using a balloon to simulate the earth’s atmosphere. When a balloon is filled with air and placed into a refrigerator it begins to shrink, this is due to the drop in temperature of the air inside the balloon. As the air cools it releases energy and slows down,because the air molecules are not bouncing off each other as much, they remain closer together and more of them will now fit in a smaller area. The opposite will occur if the balloon is heated.\n\nThe effect of humidity is a little more complicated. A change of humidity in the atmosphere is caused by a change in the amount of water vapor mixed in with the common gases already present in the air. As more water vapor is put into the air is displaces these gases. The water vapor is also less dense (weights less) than the gases in the air. When we take air that is at a set temperature and pressure and start introducing increased amounts of humidity we begin to cause the overall density of the air to decrease. Therefore, the density of the air is the greatest when there is no humidity.\n\nChanges in temperature, pressure, and humidity can have different amounts of effect on the associated change in air density. A change in temperature or pressure causes a proportional change in density. In other words, a 1% change in temperature causes a 1% change in density. Again, the effect of humidity is more complicated, because the effect of humidity on density is also dependent on the temperature. A 50% increase of humidity when the air temperature is 70f degrees may cause a 1% decrease in total air density, but a 50% increase of humidify when the air temperature is 90f degrees may cause a 2% decrease in total air density. This effect is due to the fact that it takes lot more water to cause 50% relative humidity at a 90 degree temperature than it does at 70f degrees. The humidity must also be considered in that it makes up some of the density of the air, but it has no value being there.\n\nThe air in the earth’s atmosphere is made of various gases and water vapor. Neglecting the effect of pollution there normally is 20.9% of oxygen, 75% of Nitrogen, Carbon and very small amounts of some other gases. Oxygen is the most important gas in the atmosphere as far as an internal combustion engine is concerned. This is due to the fact that the oxygen is used to burn the fuel placed in the chambers of the engine. When more oxygen can be placed in the chamber it allows one to also place more fuel along with it and therefore create more power. The air density relates to this because when the air density increases the amount of the combined gases and water now fit into a smaller area, this includes oxygen. If the air is denser than there is more of it therefore more amount of oxygen will be taken into the engine.\n\nThe term commonly heard among racers is “density altitude”. Density altitude is the density expressed if feet instead of grams per cubic centimeter. It’s a lot easier to relate a change of density in a couple hundred feet rather than a change of 2.534 g/cm^3. The use of density altitude is taken from the U.S. standard atmosphere table. This table relates the density of an average day at sea level (59 degrees, 29.92 inHg) and how it changes at different elevations in the atmosphere. As one climbs in altitude the density falls off at a predetermined exponential rate.\n\nIn conclusion I highly recommend either an Air Density Gauge or a Altimeter as tools to be used for adjusting your Fuel Curve and Ignition Timing. I firmly believe that these items are essential for tuning at the Race Track\n\nAll you wanted to know about GSX tuning but were afraid to ask\n\nSpeedy Steve Racer was one of the original sites GSX engine tuning gurus. Steve produced a complete guide to GSX engine tuning and we will republish it here through the vault.\n\nHere is Steve’s original introduction.\n\nSteve racer\n\nHELLO RACE M8’s,The objective of this thread is to create a information baseline for all of the OSS members who are currently or who are planning to race ‘AIRCOOLED SUZUKI’S’ in Santioned Motorcycle Racing Events throughout the world.\n\nCurrently we have a number of OSS Members who in the past or present have won racing Championships competing with their ‘Old Skool Suzuki’s’. The wealth of knowledge and experience from these individuals can help other OSS Members who have desire not only to WIN Races but Championships also.\n\nPresently OSS Members have won National & World Championships\nin ‘Road Racing’, ‘Sprinting’ and ‘Drag Racing’, and with the help and informational input from these successful racers there is no reason that in the near future when a competitor see’s an bike with an ‘OSS STICKER’ they will consider that Sticker as a “SECRET WEAPON”.\n\nI am looking forward to your feedback in order for this Hardcore Race Thread to begin. So DnD, AT_, LUKE, PETE 750ET, H_ippy, Gary 1371, BBK and the rest of my OSS RACE M8’s and Members, let’s get this thread going.\n\n\n\nI Shut Them Down, Then Shut Them UP\n\n\nHow-to fitting 3.5 GSXR front wheel into EF front end\n\nCapitan Chaos site moderator, motorcycle mechanic and EFE addict shares some useful info on upgrading the front wheel on your EFE.\n\nHere’s how:\n\n– remove the bearings from the EFE front wheel, and take the tube which is in between them. Do the same with the GSX-R one.\n– you will find out the EFE one is 16mm longer than the GSX-R one. It needs shortening 16mm.\n– buy some bearings which fit in the GSX-R wheel and on the EFE spindle. I don’t remember exactly the sizes, but you need bearings with the ID of the EFE ones, and the OD and width of the GSX-R ones. They were off the shelf in the local bearings shop.\n– the tubes in the bottoms of the EFE forks are now too short. Make some new ones which are 8mm (each) longer.\n– the EFE speedo drive will fit after a little bit of material has been removed. Offer it up on the GSX-R wheel and you’ll see exactly where.\n\nAnd now, with that nice 3-spoke wheel, it would be a shame not to upgrade the brakes as well.\nThe Slingshot Nissin 4-pots, and the later GSX-R models’ Tokico 4- and 6-pots all fit on the EFE forks, 90mm spacing between the bolts. But the Slingshot discs are too large.\nNow Suzuki had thought about this and launched the GSX600F in the late eighties, this bike has brake discs that fit perfectly on the GSX-R wheel and are small enough to accept the more modern calipers when mounted in the EFE forks. All it needs is some small rings to space out the calipers a bit towards eachother.\nUse the EFE caliper mounting bolts, they are longer than the GSX-R ones.\n\nCaptain Chaos\n\nDiscuss here", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6555366516113281}
+{"content": "The Operations Overview dashboard provides an overview of the different data centers for which you are responsible, and helps you to act on alerts to ensure that there are no underlying infrastructure problems.\n\nYou can use the dashboard widgets in several ways.\n\nUse the Inventory Summary widget to view a summary of the overall inventory of your environment.\n\nUse the Select a Datacenter widget to select the data center for which you want to view operational information. You can use the filter to narrow your list based on several parameters. After you identify the data center you want to view, select it. The dashboard is automatically populated with the relevant data.\n\nUse the Uptime of all Clusters widget to view the overall health of the clusters in the data center you selected. The metric value is calculated based on the uptime of each ESXi host, when you take into account one host as the HA host. If the number displayed is less than 100%, it means that at least two hosts within the cluster were not operational for that period.\n\nUse the Alert Volume widget to view the breakdown of alert trends based on their criticality.\n\nYou can also view a list of 15 VMs that had the highest average CPU contention, the highest use of memory, and the highest disk latency for the last 24 hours. To obtain specific data, you can manually set the time to the time of the problem. To set the time, click the Edit Widget icon from title bar of the widget and edit the Period Length drop-down menu.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9191692471504211}
+{"content": "Technology Disruptions in the Classroom: What Gives?\n\nby Janine Kritschgau '18 photo (3)Technology use in the classroom is getting out of control. I enjoy my social media just like most Generation Xers, but I have not reached the point of being addicted to texting, Facebook, and online shopping the way others seem to be. Unfortunately, the situation is getting dire. Just walk into any classroom and take a close look at its students. You will see them checking for status updates on their phones under tables or hidden behind books and computer screens. You’ll find students using iMessage to text their friends from laptops, and search for the hottest deals on a new sweater.\n\nEducational institutions are struggling to balance the benefits and pitfalls of allowing students to use technology in class. Laptops can be useful for recording lectures, taking notes, and doing research, but can also simultaneously impede the classroom experience. Professors are taking sides; some are prohibiting the use of any sort of device during class, while others trust that students are using technology for educational purposes.\n\nI am sorry to have to burst the bubble, but I rarely see the latter taking place. Even students who use computers to take notes often get distracted at least once, wandering onto social media.\n\nSome students are agitated by professors cracking down on technology. Claiming that since it is their education, these students believe they have the right to shape their own classroom experience. But what they do not understand is that their behavior not only negatively affects their own academic experience, but also hampers the environment for everyone else. The truth is that glancing around the room to find students checking their Facebook, Yik-Yaking, or texting is distracting to other students and to the professor.\n\nProfessors aren’t blind. When they catch a student getting distracted, some pause the lesson and reprimand the student, often giving a short talk about how they feel disrespected and annoyed. Some go so far as to collect all cell phones in the class. No matter how dramatic the reaction, one thing is obvious; it’s a total waste of time, and therefore money.\n\nThe average student, taking four courses that meet on average twice a week, will attend 224 classes within the academic year. With tuition rates hovering at about $60,000, each class costs about $270. By this logic, every minute a professor has to spend scolding students and lecturing about respectful decorum in the classroom is worth just under $5. Considering some classes are as short as 55 minutes, wasting even a moment disrupting the classroom experience is shameful. Students in my classes, beware: the next time you cause a major disruption, you owe me a Starbucks.\n\nReel Talk: ‘Interstellar’ is a technical marvel and a beautiful film\n\nEditorial: On Skidmore’s Sustainability Ventures", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6177889108657837}
+{"content": "\n\nDarryl R. J. Macer, Ph.D. Eubios Ethics Institute 1990\n\nCopyright1990, Darryl R. J. Macer. All commercial rights reserved. This publication may be reproduced for limited educational or academic use, however please enquire with the author.\n\n13. Genetic Screening and Selection\n\npp.236-271 in Shaping Genes: Ethics, Law and Science of Using New Genetic Technology in Medicine and Agriculture, D.R.J. Macer (Eubios Ethics Institute, 1990).\nGenetic screening is being applied to plants, animals and man. The subject of this section is medical uses, as there are few direct ethical dilemmas from genetic screening of nonhumans. The technique is widely applicable, and over the next few decades it will be widely applied in agriculture as well as medicine. A feature of good medicine is prognosis, the prediction of the course of disease. Some type of screening may be required before any disease treatment. The physical screening of protein or genetic abnormality may allow detection of a disorder before there are any physical signs of it, or even before a gene is expressed if it acts later in life. Out of the 1500 serious genetic disorders identified, over 200 can be tested for (Fletcher 1988b, Knoppers & Laberge 1990).\n\nEvery individual has a unique DNA sequence. There is also much variation between different alleles of each particular gene. Some variations in gene sequences are neutral, and others have positive or negative influence. Genetic screening is the testing of this variation, the same as we may screen people according to their weight. The purpose is to determine whether an individual has the certain test characteristic or not. In terms of molecular genetics the screening may be either of a protein or of a DNA sequence. The screening of a DNA sequence is the most powerful and the type of test that will be increasingly used, though protein testing has often been easier. Usually genetic screening involves the detection of a harmful gene sequence. It is possible to screen for a desired sequence also, as in the detection of the Y-chromosome if sex selection is the goal.\n\nGenetic Screening With DNA Probes\n\nThe basic principle relied on is the binding of a probe to the DNA molecule of the patient. Complementary DNA nucleotide sequences bind to each other. The probe used is usually single-stranded DNA , which binds to the test sample. It is applicable to any DNA sequence. DNA probes have many uses for genetic analysis, in all living organisms, but this chapter will focus on human genetic screening. DNA probes have many benefits for parts of medicine that I do not discuss, such as use in epidemiology (Gibbs & Caskey 1989).\n\nDNA probes that are independent of family history are preferred as probes. This means that no prior screening of the parents is necessary. This avoids the need for obtaining consent from other family members for the taking of DNA samples. Prior to this the situation was that DNA samples were taken from parents and other family members. They were usually taken after the birth of the first affected child. These samples can then be analyzed by a technique called restriction fragment polymorphism (RFLP). In this technique the DNA sample is cut up with a mixture (or a particular) of restriction endonucleases, which cut the DNA at specific sequences, and then the mixture is size separated, and examined. The pattern of size distribution is quite individual, and the disease causing or linked fragment can be found, and examined in any children or fetus. The results are not always clear, for instance in sickle cell anaemia prenatal diagnosis was only possible in 60% of cases. There are clearly advantages in using family-independent DNA probes. They can be used for all pregnancies without a history of genetic disease. Many genetic diseases arise spontaneously in each generation so would not be predicted. The parents who are carriers of recessive harmful alleles do not need to be screened and marked as carriers, which can have harmful psychological and social problems.\n\nMost progress has been in disorders due to a defect in a single gene. The mutations consist either of single bases changes, affecting a single amino acid in the critical regions of proteins or else gross abnormalities such as deletions, insertions, or rearrangements of genes (Antonarakis 1989). The number of disorders that are screenable is measured in the hundreds, and is rapidly increasing (OTA 1986). Examples of some single gene diseases for which gene-specific probes are available, though not necessarily for all mutations that cause the disease, are given in Table 13-1. The screening can be performed prenatally or postnatally, and most of the autosomal dominant disorders have a late onset so that clinical signs do not occur until later in life. The problems of Huntington's chorea are discussed later, as they are representative of the dilemmas faced.\n\nTable 13-1: Genetic Diseases that have DNA probes available.\n\nDisorders and Frequency/1000livebirths Autosomal Dominants\nHypercholesterolemia 2.0\nPolycystic kidney disease 0.8\nHuntington's chorea 0.5\nNeurofibromatosis 0.4\nMyotonic dystrophy 0.2\nPolyposis coli 0.1\nAutosomal Recessives\nCystic fibrosis 0.5\nPhenylketonuria 0.1\nSickle cell anemia Race specific (see Table 2-1)\nThalassemias Race specific (see Table 2-1)\nX-linked Recessive\nDuschenne muscular dystrophy 0.3\nHaemophilia (A & B) 0.1\n\nOne problem is genetic heterogeneity, that is, the disease-causing mutations could occur anywhere in the gene, and there are also many mutations that do not cause disease. It is possible to use different probes to cover many different mutations, but it can never be 100% sure of a negative result for a disease. In some diseases, such as Huntington's chorea, there is no evidence of heterogeneity, however, in bipolar affective disorder, there is heterogeneity. There are at least 46 distinct alleles of the gene phenylalanine hydroxylase (a mutated allele is responsible for the disease PKU). There are mutations found in each of these alleles, which would make total screening impracticable (Levy 1989). It may still be possible to screen for common mutations of diseases. A single test for one cystic fibrosis mutation would cover 70% of the observed mutations in Caucasians (Ballabio et al. 1990), but numerous other mutations are also observed. It requires experience of each disease to decide how to screen and the probabilities.\n\nFor common genetic diseases, screening for predominant mutations may still be a worthwhile goal. Cystic fibrosis affects about 1 in 1600 births among Caucasians. Approximately 70% of the mutations correspond to a specific deletion of 3 basepairs at amino acid position 508. A simple therapy, but it is not necessary to use germ-line therapy as embryo screening should be adequate. However, we will still have people suffering from genetic disease, who should be treated. There will be a place for somatic cell gene therapy, together with other therapies. There may be one for germ-line therapy when it comes to future generations, but that requires much more discussion.\n\nThere are also differences in expressivity, one person may express the disease to a different extent, or at a different age, to another. Sometimes this is due to multiple gene activity, or the presence of some environmental factors as is the case with Wilms Tumour, or Retinoblastoma, or Glucose-6-phosphate Dehydrogenase deficiency. The progress and severity of genetic diseases does vary (Holtzman 1988).\n\nThere is much commercial interest in screening, as the market is very large. Companies are working on many diseases, and packages that can screen a hundred or more disorders should eventuate in the near future. There is a very large commercial market, though it is much less than the huge pharmaceutical industry. It is best for the patient if only one sample is taken, and as many tests as possible are performed. There is a shortage of trained personal for genetic counseling, and will be for some time, as the new clinics are established. It needs to be done only in clinics with good support for counseling.\n\nThe DNA probes and genetic information is perceived to be 100% reliable by many people. Public attitudes need to be educated against this type of blind faith in genetic techniques, that we saw 70 years ago. That is a lesson of the eugenics programs of history. Many tests can be made, access will need to be made fair. The uncertainty of prognosis needs special stressing in multifactorial disorders, and psychiatric diseases.\n\nAnother problem is that many genetic diseases occur spontaneously, and are not inherited from the parents. This is true for about a third of the cases of hemophilia and a half of muscular dystrophy. It is also true for the chromosomal aberrations (Chadwick 1987). In retinoblastoma, many cases are new germline mutations, arising in egg or sperm, or the early embryo. It has been found that new mutations for this disease occur more frequently in the paternal chromosome. This could be because new mutations at this gene locus arise more frequently during spermatogenesis than during oogenesis, or that imprinting in the early embryo affects chromosomal susceptibility to mutation (Zhu et al. 1989). As we discover more, we may be able to lower mutation rates.\n\nPostnatal Genetic Screening\n\nThere are various applications of genetic screening. The screening of adults to predict their susceptability to disease may be important in certain industrial environments. It can also be used by medical insurance companies. There is also screening with an eye towards reproduction. The screening of people prior to their marriages being allowed occurs in some states of the USA and in Denmark. It may also be used for fetal screening, with the view to selective abortion of genetically diseased fetuses.\n\nThe first major type of genetic screening used by medicine was screening of newborn children for PKU deficiency. In the 1960's it was made compulsory in the USA. It is the most widespread screening worldwide. If a newborn is found to have PKU deficiency, they can be put on a special diet, and will not suffer from severe mental retardation that would otherwise result. As well as a very major healing motive, it also works out economically cheaper to treat patients before serious damage is done to them by the genetic disease, than to the costs of keeping the sufferers in institutions.\n\nIn several states of the USA there is screening for a haemoglobin disorder, sickle cell disease, and it is compulsory in seven states. Hemoglobinpathogies are a major health problem in the USA, an one treatable part of this condition is the increased susceptability to severe bacterial infection during the first few years of life (NIH 1987). If the children are placed into care programs than they have much better health, which is a key justification for widespread screening. Some of the other disorders currently screened for in newborns are hypothyroidism, galactosemia, homocystinuria, and maple syrup urine diseases. There is little debate on whether newborn screening for serious avoidable genetic disease should be voluntary, or compulsory, as we discuss later. It is generally performed presuming consent. New techniques for the amplification of DNA from dried blood spots using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) can be of use in examining the molecular basis of the positive results. Such tests are possible from dried blood samples, and have been performed for sickle cell disease (Jinks et al. 1989), phenylketonuria (Lyonnet et al. 1988) and cystic fibrosis (Ballabio et al. 1990).\n\nThe American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP 1989) has circulated sets of fact sheets which provide information to pediatricians. There is a growing number of tests available, at different costs. Some of these characteristics are presented in Table 13-2. In some of the diseases complete health restoration is possible. The frequency can vary between races in some cases. The costs of testing are given when several are jointly offered, as is common practise in developed countries. The advent of DNA testing will make a broader range of tests available.\n\nTable 13-2: Some genetic diseases that can be tested for in newborns (AAP 1989).\n\nDisease; Extent of Health Restoration; Frequency per live births; Testing Method; Cost US$;\n\nBiotinidase; Complete; 1:70,000; Enzyme assay ; 0.50;\nBranched Chain Ketoaciduria (Maple Syrup Disease); May be Complete; 1:250,000; Bacterial Growth Inhibition; 0.50;\nCongenital Adrenal Hyperplasia; Complete; 1:13,000 Eskimos 1:680; Enzyme immunoassay; 1.50;\nCongenital Hypothyroidism; Yes; 1:4,000; Radioimmunoassay; 1.50;\nCystic Fibrosis; Yes; 1:2,000; Immunoreactive trypsin; 1.00;\nDuschenne Muscular Dystrophy; No; 1:4,000 male; Enzyme assay; 10;\nGalactosemia; Complete; 1:60,000; Microbiology or Enzymatic; 0.50;\nHomocystinuria; Yes; 1:50,000+; Bacterial Inhibition; 0.50\nSickle Cell Diseases and thalassemia; Yes; 1:400 in US Blacks; Protein electrophoresis; 1.50;\n\nIn Japan, there has also been mass screening for neuroblastoma in three month old infants, utilising the time at which a neonatal examination is normally performed to minimise expense, and to ensure maximum public coverage. There are other diseases that may be added, at this stage, and there is a good case for compulsory screening if there is therapy available. Other diseases will be added as cheap, easy, save, predictable tests become available. Genetic screening has a parallel to vaccination programs that have been compulsorily introduced. Though the vaccination program has public health aims for the prevention of infectious, not genetic disease. Vaccination often has some low risk of harm to individuals.\n\nThere is screening for genetic susceptability to suffer from environmentally induced disease, like elevated blood cholesterol, which can advise us to alter our behaviour to lower our risk. This is an extension of preventive medicine. The programs for the detection and treatment of individuals with elevated serum cholesterol levels have been advocated in most developed countries (Pearson et al. 1990). In 1968 the World Health Organisation (WHO 1968) recommended criteria for a condition worthy of a screening program, which are as follows:\n\n1. The condition sought should be an important health problem.\n2. The natural history of the condition, including the progression from latent to apparent disease, should be adequately understood.\n3. There should be a recognizable latent or early symptomatic stage.\n4. There should be an accepted treatment for patients with recognized diseases.\n5. There should be an agreed policy on whom to treat as patients.\n6. Case finding should be a continuous process and not a once-and-for-all project.\n7. A suitable screening test should be available.\n8. The test should be acceptable to the population.\n9. Facilities for diagnosis and treatment should be available.\n\nThere are several diseases which could be screened consistently with these principles in developed countries. Other worthwhile mass screening programs include smoking habit, cervical cancer, breast cancer (mammography) and alcohol consumption. There are other possibilities such as hyperlipidaemia, obesity and faecal occult blood (Fowler & Mant 1990). There are still major problems with such programs. Although individual screening is very useful, mass screening is desirable for some. The method of doing this must be voluntary, but if it is left to people to come to a clinic for screening only certain types present themselves. There must be widespread education to inform people of the possibilities. To be effective the programs should allow wide access to the population, and good quality assurance both in the screening and any subsequent treatment. Good public registers are needed. Good ethical and scientific training of the health care professionals are required, as for all screening programs. There is usually a lack of personal to perform adequate follow-up of patients, which becomes even more critical in emotionally upsetting results.\n\nIt has been found that many common cancers, including colon, lung and breast cancer, develop by the stepwise accumulation of mutations affecting many genes. The changes include the loss of several \"suppressor\" genes, which normally inhibit cell growth. Analysis of the gene changes may aid the prediction of how cancer in different patients will develop, and can also be used to warn people that are close to developing cancer. If they already have 7 of the 8 gene changes required to develop cancer, then they should avoid agents that cause gene mutations (such as cigarette smoke). There are some genes that make people susceptible to certain types of cancer, requiring the presence of a mutating agent to develop. It is the accumulation of changes, not the specific order they occur in, that is important for cancer development (Marx 1989b). A particular diet or life style can be suggested to lower risks. There is a link between emphesyma, a lung disease, and a deficiency in a protein called alpha anti-trypsin. When people are screened and found positive, they know that if they smoke, they have high chances of lung disease. Some people may attack this as limiting freedom, however most people would prefer to have the additional knowledge, and another choice if they take heed of it.\n\nThe information obtained by population screening can be stored in a registry for later recall before marriage. Premarital testing can be used to exchange genetic information before marriage if people are concerned about possible genetic diseases in future children. If two carriers of the recessive gene for cystic fibrosis are married, then they will have a one in four chance of a child who will suffer from the disease. If they do not want to use selective abortion yet do not want to risk such a child, then premarital screening could be used. It has been used successfully with Tay-Sach's disease as I describe later. Some theologians, such as Paul Ramsey (1970) or Bernard Haring (1975) are in favour of such testing to protect the ignorant and avoid \"complicity in tragic birth\". Ramsey would approve the use of the United States' marriage-licensing laws to prevent the transmission of very bad genes. While it may be true that no one has an unqualified right to have children, it may not be right to approve of such law enforcement to prevent marriages. In Denmark, marriage licenses are refused to persons carrying certain genetic defects until one has been sterilised (Nelson & Rohricht 1984). This is a dangerous step towards eugenics, and should be resisted. As discussed in the last chapter, it is important to maintain voluntary use of new techniques, if people are educated most will try to avoid their children having a genetic disease, compulsion by law may turn people away from seeking aid and make them suspicious of the technology in general.\n\nPrenatal Genetic Screening\n\nPrenatal screening has been used for several decades. It has become associated with normal prenatal care in most industrialised countries. There are some important nongenetic screening programmes. For example, if a woman is not immune to rubella, she should be immunised before becoming pregnant. There are other infective hazards to the fetus, such as tToxoplasmosis;, cytomegalovirus and herpes virus, which are also important for potential mothers to be immune to (Bull 1990). About 80% of pregnant women in France have evidence of past infection with toxoplasmosis, and if they are infected during pregnancy there is a 40% chance that the fetus will be infected. DNA screening services can be provided at low cost (US$3 or less) for some single gene disorders (Beech et al. 1989), and the costs will come down with the greater number of gene probes that are available in easy to be used packages. There have been extensive studies and use of DNA testing during the last few years in some countries, such as the U.K. (Harris et al. 1989, Rona et al. 1989).\n\nRecombinant DNA techniques were first used for prenatal selection of sickle cell disease in 1982. For a growing number of genetic diseases, methods have been developed to detect the genetic defect early in fetal life. These methods rely on removing a sample from the fetal material and analysing it. There are different stages at which fetuses can be screened for genetic disease or abnormalities. As far as the ethics and the distress and the health risk to the mother are concerned, the earlier the better. Types of screening are illustrated in Table 13-3.\n\nTable 13-3: Types of Prenatal Genetic Screening\n\nType; Time; Risk; Application\n\nEmbryo biopsy; 2 days; ?; Embryo Transfer\nCVS; 6-10 weeks; 1-2%; Wide\nAmniocentesis; 12-16 wks; 1%; Wide\nFetoscopy; 14+ wks; 3-5%; Wide\nMat. Blood Sampling; 2+ weeks; 0; Total\nUltrasound; 8+ weeks; 0?; Total\n\nFetal sampling is laborious so that currently only a small proportion of the population, can be screened even if it is considered desirable. Hence often samples are taken from those fetuses considered at high risk, i.e. those of older mothers or parents who have a history of genetic disease (Dilella et al. 1986). The older technique used is amniocentesis, where cells from the amniotic fluid are removed and grown in the laboratory for analysis. No harm is done to the fetus as the fetus is surrounded by discarded cells in the amniotic fluid which are no longer needed for further growth. The fetal samples can be taken at 13-16 weeks. There has been a recent attempt to try to use amniocentesis at 8-14 weeks, but it found 12 weeks was the earliest reliable age for providing sufficient material for analysis (Rooney et al. 1989). It is often performed up to 18 weeks gestation.\n\nIt is now possible using very sensitive genetic probes to take a sample of the chorionic villi (membranes around the fetus) at 6-9 weeks and analyse the fetal DNA directly to determine whether it has a specific genetic defect, with the technique of chorionic villi sampling (CVS) (Rhoads et al. 1989). Like amniocentesis there is a 1-2% risk of miscarriage after the sampling due to the procedure. Further developments will bring wider applicability and increased sensitivity allowing earlier detection. We are still unable economically, ethically, or socially, to screen every fetus for so many diseases, with these techniques. They are currently used for screening fetuses from parents of high risk, however, if in the future cheap multiple screening techniques become available it may be possible they will have widespread use.\n\nFetoscopy involves examination of the fetus by percutaneous transabdominal uterine endoscopy, and anatomical malformations can be directly visualised. In common language this means that the fetus can be viewed through a hollow tube which is inserted into the amniotic sac. It may also be used for the removal of a sample of tissue from the fetus. The recently developed technique for the sampling of fetal blood is called percutaneous umbilical blood sampling. During this technique, an ultrasonographically guided needle is inserted into the umbilical blood vessel to withdraw a sample. The procedure can be performed on an outpatient basis, and does not require maternal sedation, and is safer than fetoscopy. It is still experimental (Hansen & Slavek 1989). Embryonic tissue biopsy is more dangerous, and unknown. With the improvements in genetic screening, it should be unnecessary if genetic diagnosis is desired.\n\nDifferent methods may be combined, for instance the first screening may be maternal blood sampling, and if certain proteins are detected, CVS or aminocentesis may be used to detect spina bifida, or Down's syndrome. Ultrasound is routinely used, and has the advantage of being noninvasive. In West Germany, all pregnant women have been offered two ultrasound examinations since 1980, one week before 20 weeks gestation and a second at 31-35 weeks gestation. In the U.K., more than 80% of pregnant women undergo an ultrasound, but in the USA only 30-45% are scanned. In developing countries there are insufficient resources to allow routine screening. The optimal time for general screening using ultrasound is currently thought to be at 18 to 20 weeks gestation (Crespigny et al. 1989).\n\nMaternal blood sampling at 14-16 weeks for a protein alpha-fetoprotein is routinely offered in the United Kingdom, and in some states of the USA such as California. A high level of the protein may indicate neural tube defect, and a low level may indicate Down's syndrome. The analysis of maternal blood for the level of alpha-fetoprotein, human chorionic gonadotropin and estriol, can lead to the detection of 60-70% of trisomy-21 (Down's syndrome) pregnancies. This is economically viable for mass screening, but further requirements are desirable, cost-effectiveness is one part of the ethical equation. If the indications are positive for the possibility of a fetal disease, then fetal sampling can be performed, as maternal blood screening is only an easy preliminary screening. A positive result only selects patients for the fetal screening. In California, all women have to sign a consent or refusal from for this voluntary testing, and can withdraw at any point from the program. Neural tube defects affect about 1 in 500 newborns, so are very common.\n\nBecause of the limited resources for genetic counseling services, not all woman, even in developed countries, can obtain services (Emery 1990). The indications that may be used for invasive testing, such as CVS or amniocentesis, include:\n* Maternal age greater than 35 years (higher risk of chromosomal disorders).\n* Abnormal levels of a protein marker, from maternal blood sampling.\n* Parent carries a genetic translocation, or genetic disease\n* Previously affected child or close relative\n* Screening in high incident population.\n\nDuring 1988 a minor revolution in genetic techniques occured, with the capacity to analyse DNA from a single cell using the DNA Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) (Li et al. 1988). In this technique, the single original copy of DNA is multiplied thousands of times by the technique, allowing DNA probing of the sample, within 4-6 hours. The technique is of very broad use in genetic analysis (Mullis 1990). This can be used for preimplantation screening, and is also applicable to CVS. If used after CVS very small samples will be required, allowing screening to be performed at earlier stages in pregnancy. The small sample required will also decrease the chance of miscarriages, and the need for multiple sampling. The only caution, is the need to avoid any contamination of the sample, as a small amount of contaminating DNA can lead to a false result.\n\nThe PCR has been used to detect the presence of a Y-chromosomal specific marker in maternal blood samples. In the pilot study it was found to work well, in samples from pregnant women who had gestational ages between 9 to 41 weeks (Lo et al. 1989). This technology has the advantage of ease and is relatively non-invasive. It promises much for further development, and has been further applied (Lo et al. 1990). There is a large number of false positives found in these tests, which is of concern. The consequences of a false positive may mean that an unaffected fetus is aborted. To be sure of the result a larger sample is currently required, because of the effects of contaminating samples (Editorial 1990b).\n\nPreimplantation screening has only begun to be used in 1989, and is still being developed. The first study involved embryos that were not implanted after screening (Handyside et al. 1989), and did not provide any evidence of harm to embryos by the procedure. Another study used DNA from oocytes and the DNA polymerase chain reaction as a model for screening for the gene defect for cystic fibrosis, and found the technique could provide an answer within a few hours (Coutelle et al. 1989). There have been satisfactory tests using mouse embryos, screening for beta-thalassemia (Holding & Monk 1989). One ethical objection, once it is confirmed that it is safe, is that of interference with \"nature\", by the discarding of diseased embryos, as it is at such an early stage. However, we have established that prevention of disease is an ethical criteria for interference with nature. It is certainly less traumatic than abortion after prenatal diagnosis, at the earliest at 6-8 weeks after conception. However, it might never be widely provided, as it is limited to infertility clinics, and to parents that know that they carry a disease. It might be more ethically acceptable to using abortion, but because it is unlikely to be widely provided, the question of selective abortion must be addressed.\n\nThere have been several pregnancies established from embryos that were genetically screened before implantation. The first births were of female babies, selected by the absence of the Y-chromosome, for sex-linked genetic disease (not present in the female). Prior to this clinical use, metabolic studies on biopsed embryos showed that they were normal. The team included Hardy and Handyside (who completed a preliminary genetic study refered to earlier), and the gynaecologist Robert Winston at Hammersmith Hospital, as well as scientists from the University of York (Handyside 1990, Handyside et al. 1990). The actual costs of screening have been estimated at about US$2,500 for each successful pregnancy, which is comparatively low. Given the economic factors that often influence health care decisions, such as the high cost of health care for people suffering from severe diseases, this type of screening may be encouraged by governments. However, it should be stressed that it is still at an experimental stage, and few laboratories have the skills in embryo manipulation.\n\nA possible ethical problem is that this procedure is based on the expectation that more embryos will be made than will be implanted. However, there is not too much difference to normal IVF in which more embryos are fertilised than may be implanted, and any embryo that shows abnormal growth is not implanted. A deeper concern is that this program is genetic selection. Many people support the alleviation of infertility, but a different idea is involved in genetic selection for disease, though it is also often well supported. In all cases that selective abortion is considered ethical, preimplantation diagnosis should also be acceptable, and given the early stages of embryo growth involved, it may be more acceptable. However, the practical problems such as the low success rate of embryo transfer to produce pregnancies, and the higher degree of intrusion for the mother in IVF and embryo transfer compared to selective abortion, mean that this technology is not widely used.\n\nConsidering the discussion presented in chapter 5 on the status of the human embryo, it is ethically preferable to have an early abortion, if any at all. In different countries the proportion of early abortions varies. The percentage of total abortions performed before twelve weeks in Denmark and France is 97%, in the USA 92%, and in the U.K. 84% (Gunning 1990). Among the late abortions, a higher proportion will be because of genetic abnormality of the fetus because the screening tests were only able to be performed later in pregnancy. With the use of new technology it is hoped that the number of late abortions will decrease. We should note that in the U.K. about 1% of the abortions are performed for reasons of fetal handicap, certainly a minority of the total.\n\nGenetic Counseling\n\nGenetic counselors are placed in an increasingly powerful position, but are also increasingly necessary. There needs to be much psychological counseling and information provided to people who are considering prenatal screening. Many parents come after the birth of the first affected child, or in diseases such as Huntington's chorea, where there is possibility of the child being affected.\n\nIn a major international survey of genetic counseling (Wertz & Fletcher 1988), it was found that nondirective approaches are preferred by over 90% of the counselors. The role of the counselor is to provide information to allow the parents to make up their mind, rather then imposing any of their own ethical standards on the parents. This widespread acceptance of nondirective counseling means that they act as \"decision-facilitators\", providing information and leaving decisions up to the patient's autonomy. There is much importance on psychological aspects also, in avoiding anxiety. There are still substantial cultural differences in the responses of counselors in different countries (Wertz & Fletcher 1989a). There is a more directive approach seen in East Germany or Hungary, or India, where they see it more important to give more advice and guidance (Czeizel 1988) .This has been discussed in the previous chapter. Motulsky (1989) has suggested that the nondirective counseling has been a feature of genetic counseling because it was primarily scientists who developed the services, who unlike physicians, are not in the habit of giving directive advice. This may be one factor, but it is now accepted that nondirective counseling is required to respect the autonomy of the different people who use the services. Many patients, in any country, do expect guidance when making up their minds on difficult questions. It is very important that the easily available testing packages, are accompanied by good counseling.\n\nFrom the results of Wertz and Fletcher (1989a) the principle concerns of geneticists can be seen. These concerns in order of priority were:\n1) Fairness of access to genetic services\n2) Abortion choices, and legal restrictions\n3) Confidentiality problems\n4) Protecting privacy from institutional third parties\n5) Disclosure dilemmas\n6) Indications for prenatal diagnosis\n7) Voluntary or mandatory screening\n8) Counseling incapacitated persons\n\nThese problems are also discussed in this book. The survey is important as it shows the order of priority seen from practising geneticists. From these factors, a code of ethics was drafted and proposed (Fletcher & Wertz 1990).\n\nThe human side of genetic counseling is clearly seen in the study of the proportion of women who would use selective abortion when the chances of the diagnosis being correct are increased. There is a 50% increase in the number who would abort the fetus if the probability of the fetus having a serious neural tube defect increased from 95% to 100% (Faden et al. 1987). This view of certainty versus high chance, a 19 in 20 chance, is interesting. The perception of what is a serious risk varies between patient and counselor, a patient may regard a one in four risk as low, when in fact it is quite high. It is something to do with the type of optimism that we have for things to turn out alright. Other factors found among women who favour selective abortion are those with higher education, those who wanted less children, those who had a previous abortion, and those who attended religious services less often. Women who were in the screening program had a similar attitude to those who were not. Between 60-90% were in favour of selective abortion, depending on the seriousness of the disease.\n\nPublic attitudes do change with time, and with counseling. Education increases our understanding of what the benefits may be, and may reduce anxiety about intrusive screening methods. Cultural and religious attitudes are important, and are affected by each societies view of science and the value placed on fetal life. In an American survey of 2,000 abortion patients, the reasons why women considered abortion were investigated. Only 13% listed as one of the reasons that they were worried that the fetus had a possible health problem, a small proportion (Torres & Forrest 1988).\n\nAs with all these medical issues, there is a major ethical problem in the delivery of services. There is unfairness in access to genetic services, and insufficient services to meet needs. This is especially acute for individuals, families and pregnant women who are not referred to genetic services by physicians, who suffer from poverty, and lack of education, or who live far from a genetic centre. The information provided must be of high quality and reliability. There are important psychological skills that are needed, especially after a couple have made their decision (Harper 1988). Whatever the decision is, the couple must be helped to cope with it. There may be feelings of shock, denial, anxiety, anger, guilt, possible depression, relief, reassurance, and various combinations of these.\n\nBecause of the explosion of information and possibilities that will be upon us soon, there are calls for a code of ethics of medical genetics to be debated and established (Fletcher & Wertz 1990). There does need to be some international discussion, and the power to sanction those who are unethical. They think that medical geneticists should become more professional in the sense of setting a written ethical code which members must follow. Until now, the arguments are oral or else in the literature. Other reasons for a written code include that the geneticists would be more publicly accountable and their views may be more considered in public policy. A code also enables the moral commitments of this generation to be transmitted to the next generation. What seems the critical question is whether such a code would aid the situation, which it probably would. During the process of deciding on the code it would also make them more aware of the ethical issues, on a broader scale than their daily practise experience. Some may argue that such a code might not be able to change with new technology, however I agree with Wertz and Fletcher that the same basic ethical problems exist. The theme of this book is that genetic engineering is principally a catalyst for us to think about other issues of bioethics.\n\nWhat Diseases?\n\nA fundamental question, that will need to be addressed in each country, is what genetic diseases can be screened for. In developing countries they may concentrate only on the most prevalent diseases. For example in much of Africa, sickle cell disease is compelling, with 25% of the population of Nigeria carrying the recessive allele for this disease. In Middle Eastern countries, consanguineous marriages are still very common, and this may be the most urgent concern. In developed countries many diseases may be screened for. However, in all countries, there are problems to do with the seriousness of a disease that warrants an abortion. This section also gives some examples of specific diseases that can now be screened for.\n\nThe results of genetic screening may pose a dilemma to the parents if the fetus is known to have a genetic defect which will cause disease after birth. They must consider whether induced abortion is a satisfactory \"treatment\". Views on whether death before birth is preferable to disability after birth vary greatly and they depend on the status given to the human embryo. There are several key questions. Can a barrier on the slippery slope between severe disease and hair colour be drawn? Should a rigid boundary limit be imposed if it can? In which diseases do we consider no life at all to be desirable to a life of much suffering? It depends on our capacity to treat the disease, for example, can we give them eyeglasses, or a hearing aid, or is it a disease with no treatment.\n\nThe problem with fetal screening is that we might not be able to eliminate the disease without eliminating the subject of the disease. We need to answer the question of the status of the embryo? If we take a gradualist view, then we would aim to do screening before the time that we consider abortion unethical. To be morally consistent if the embryo is considered to be of absolute protectable status at a certain time, then if at any period after those dates the living embryo is aborted the death of an embryo is unethical. There are factors of the parents to be considered, but they should not be given priority once the embryo has protectable human status. When detection methods are available for screening at the earlier age then the approach of screening and selective abortion can be ethically used. The exception to this developmental limit might be if the fetus was certain to be destined to die when born.\n\nThe issue of embryo status was discussed earlier in chapter 5. An ethical time limit for selective abortion would generally be between the formation of the primitive streak and individualisation at 14 days and the time of brain life. If a fetus has a serious genetic impairment, with a consequence of serious mental deficiency, some people might say that the fetus does not, and will not in the future, have a\"life\" as \"normal\" humans have a life. Its potentiality is different. Still many believe potential spiritual relationships are present in all human fetuses. There is an increasing recognition that fetuses should be regarded as the second patient. This will increase as fetal surgery increases. The fetus makes claims for a right to nutrition, protection, and therapy (Blank 1984). The quality of man, the soul, his essence, his unique individuality, with its associated dignity or reverence means that man has a sanctity. However, we should not contend, as some arguments against abortion do, that existence is a good in itself as all other goods depend upon it. Some types of existence are not, and especially if there is no person, then there is no spiritual existence. Abortion is one of the key moral problems in this area, and in some countries it has become a major political issue also.\n\nWe must also consider the idea of replacement, by a healthy child, or affects on the family, to ignore these may be to have a negligent view. In a society where we may only have 1-3 children, there is much concern to have healthy children. This is more than in the past where even a century ago, half the children would die, including the weak ones. This type of medical decision is different to the one in a normal doctor-patient relationship, as it concerns the family as a unit.\n\nSome respond by saying that selective abortion is playing God too much, however, they could respond as seeing this is part of a co-creativity with God, and part of our moral responsibility. Some of these diseases may be caused by our industrial pollution, and medical intervention to keep handicapped people alive. These are also human interventions. With some diseases the nutrients that the women has during pregnancy have been linked to birth deformities, such as neural tube defects like spina bifida, this is a more environmental influence. We need further investigation of the causes of disease. However, some argue that we are too ignorant to make these choices, or that the natural order has a certain rightness. If we use genetic screening it is argued it may be dehumanising, and making children consumer commodities, or damaging to our attitudes to others. However, while there is no reasonable therapy for the sufferers of some disease, there will be strong arguments to allow selective abortion.\n\nAbout 0.5% of genetic diseases at birth are chromosome abnormalities. There are many different possible chromosomal abnormalities, though most are lethal before birth. The most well known and common survivable chromosomal abnormality is trisomy 21, or Down's syndrome. As discussed, it is the justification given for the chromosomal screening of fetuses of older mothers. Some other abnormalities have a apparently minor affect on individuals, such as an extra Y-chromosome in XYY males.\n\nSome parents of children who have a genetic disease such as Huntington's chorea which acts in later life, may wish their children to be sterilised so that they will not pass on the harmful gene to the next generation. Huntington's chorea is an example of a dominant mutation which causes a dehabilitating disease in the 30's or 40's. Some genetic diseases such as Huntington's or Parkinson's disease only affect the patients after 30-50 years, in fact it is likely that children born now would not have to face the effects of such diseases by the time they are that old, because a therapy will be developed. However, if they are living under the threat of disease it could be very distressing, but the age limit is still better than the life expectancy in some third world countries. Certain families may have wide differences in the age of onset, Huntington's chorea in some families begins in childhood, or after 60 years of age. The symptoms are progressive, and include movement disorder, intellectual decline and psychiatric distress such as depression. There are other common autosomal dominant genetic disorders, for example Marfan syndrome, neurofibromatosis, hypercholesterolemia. Others also have gene probes available, such as familial amyloidotic polyneuropathy, but are rare, and the severity varies. There are also X-linked dominant genetic disorders.\n\nGenetic screening for Huntington's chorea has been introduced in the last few years, and has raised many of the ethical issues of genetic screening. A genetic marker was found, that could predict 96% chance of developing the disease (Conneally et al. 1984, Wexler 1990). This testing is being performed at about 20 centres in the USA, several in the U.K., and others are beginning in developed countries. Before the test the people know they have a 50% risk, after they will know with high certainty, but with a little doubt. The results of testing of people that have an affected parent will be approximately half positive and half negative. Half the people will know for sure that they are not at risk from the disease and will feel much relief, and the others will know that they carry the harmful gene and until there is effective treatment for the disease, face an early death. There needs to be psychological screening before the genetic screening, so that people with suicidal tendencies are not involved. Some people may prefer to remain in uncertainty, but it is not so easy if their relations have screening. In the unusual case of identical twins, the results will be identical. So if one twin has a result the other can know their verdict. The main problems relate to presymptomatic prediction (Morris et al. 1989).\n\nIn most Huntington's chorea screening services, very careful selection of the test subjects is performed. The applicants for testing may come for counseling several times before the decision to test and the information is given. The results are always given in face-to-face meetings, not over the telephone. Post test counseling must also be sort, and a companion is often required to accompany the person awaiting the result.. Those people who are emotionally unstable are not tested (Wexler 1990). It is essential that such information be accurate, so tests are usually performed twice for confirmation. Because the gene for the disease is not yet isolated, linkage analysis must be used. This requires some samples from family members, making the subject of the services more than just an individual. In this way genetic counseling can involve the family as a unit as well as the individual. Family members who are not themselves afflicted, will still be affected by the presence of the suffering patient in their family. It has been suggested that access to the tests should be conditional on agreement to release their DNA sample for use in other family members who also want the test performed. This is a reasonable request, but should not be used to prevent people using genetic services who do not want others to use their samples.\n\nBecause of the nature of presymptomatic testing, it has highlighted more of the ethical problems that arise in genetic screening than some \"simpler\" cases. Autonomy of the patient requires that the patient can make an informed decision about the procedure. The information must be presented, and the counselor must also examine whether other people are putting pressure on the patient to have the test performed. Beneficience involves the protection of the patient from harm, which in this case may mean those who are emotionally unable to face the results of such a test. Confidentiality is clearly required, and may be difficult in family genetic linkage studies. The principle of justice can be applied so that while there are shortage of resources the most needy are served first (Huggins et al. 1990).\n\nThere is the important question of whether we should test children for \"adult\" genetic diseases. International guidelines have specifically excluded presymptomatic testing of children for this disorder, but there are still many requests from patients, clinicians and adoption agencies to perform tests (Harper & Clarke 1990). The situation may change if the onset of the disease is during childhood, and of course if therapy is available, or lifestyle changes would affect the disease course. In the example of Becker muscular dystrophy, minor symptoms may start in childhood. However, if a child is fatigued it might not be due to this disease, but rather they are just tired. In this case DNA testing of the at risk child could relieve many years of anxiety from their life, they could make normal life plans whereas without the test they might have become pessimistic and depressed, living only with shortterm goals. These benefits need to be balanced against the opposite case, when a child is found positive for the disease and may react very negatively. Medical research with children has many dilemmas (Nicholson 1986).\n\nThe testing for Huntington's chorea can also be performed in a nondisclosing prenatal test, so that the risk status of the at-risk parent is not altered, only the risk of the fetus. The DNA from the fetus is tested for the presence of grandparental DNA. The chance of error in the test is about 2%, the rate of recombination between the marker and the unknown gene (Wexler 1990).\n\nThere are many new problems regarding the use of such genetic information, as to who owns the information, and if donors of genetic material can control the use of the information in testing of other relations. It can be argued that the test will improve the quality of life of the people who are negative. It is still in the future when the people who are positive can be treated satisfactorily, but it should come after the gene is studied. Prenatal screening can be used as well as predictive screening for adults. Generally, predictive tests are not considered ethical for children, before they can give their consent and can be considered able to deal with the knowledge. There are also arguments that if the children do know, they can make appropriate career choices if they so wish to.\n\nSome genetic screening tests have been tried on large scale, such as those implemented by the 1972 US National Sickle Cell Anemia Control Act. This provided for research, screening, counseling and education concerning this disease. About one in twelve American Negros carries the allele for sickle cell anemia. There were problems in implementing such a program, as it was seen by some as racist and aimed at slowing down the Negro birth rate. Fortunately the disease can now be treated, so that there are two medical options, one is abortion, the other clinical treatment. Sickle cell diseases (anemia, sickle cell-haemoglobin C and sickle cell-B-thalassemia) affect about 1 in 400 American black newborns. Together with the other haemoglobin disorders they are one of the most common genetic disorders. This situation has recently improved, so that early screening can significantly reduce the rates of morbidity and mortality for the affected individuals, as they are put under better clinical care. They can be given vaccines such as pnemococcal vaccine to reduce the chance of their dying from infection, a common side-effect of these disorders. It is recommended by medical associations to have universal screening of all newborns for hemoglobin disorders, at present using protein analysis, and in the near future using DNA analysis. If a fetus or newborn is found, then the mother will be approached first, to consider whether the family should have screening. Education on screening programs is given in schools, and in the mass media, and will need to expand to give a clearer understanding of the purpose of screening.\n\nAlso in USA there have been major screening efforts for other groups at risk, such as Mediterreans for thalassemia, and Ashkenazic Jews for Tay-Sach's disease. Tay-Sach's disease is a rare genetic disease which affects the brain, causing a painful death by 3-4 years age. One in thirty Ashkenazi Jews carry the allele, a ten times higher level than in the general population. When both parents are carriers, the risk of their children being afflicted is one in four. Since it as prevalent in the Jewish community, there have been various screening programs used with the cooperation of the Community. The preference is to screen people before marriage, as the Jewish view is that it is better to prevent marriage than to use prenatal screening and abortion. Premarital testing is more widely accepted than selective abortion. This is slowly being accepted (Merz 1987), and the results can be kept secret to avoid labelling of people and families. Screening has had a major result, as the annual number of new cases in the USA has decreased from 50 to about 10 or 12 annually, though it is not so feasible currently in the United Kingdom due to the low number of Jews, the births are found at a lower level in the general population. There have been major psychological problems with these screening programs, as carriers often are treated, and feel as if they are outcasts. Their have also been real benefits of reducing parental anxiety, and of the adults if they are screened and found not to have the disease. Many can get real peace of mind after years of concern.\n\nOne of the most successful prenatal screening programmes of a high risk population has been the diagnosis of beta-thalassemia in Sardinia, Italy. The 15 year program has been based on carrier and prenatal screening. The incidence of homozygous state is 1 in 250 live births in Sardinia, with a carrier rate of 1 in 8, meaning that about 1 couple in 60 are both carriers, at risk of having a homozygous child. Thalassemia major leads to death by the age of ten. The carrier screening program has detected 30,500 carriers and 1,544 at risk couples, by mid-1990 (Cao 1990). Another 812 couples are known to be at risk because of an affected child, together 87% of the at risk couples in Sardinia know their status. About 90% of possible cases are now prevented by the use of prenatal diagnosis and selective abortion. The population of Sardinia are mainly Catholic, but less than 1% of the couples who were found to have an affected fetus decided not to have an abortion. The reasons for the residual cases of thalassemia were analysed, and it was found that 67% were because of parents ignorance of thalassemia, 13% were for mispaternity, and 20% were for reasons of rejecting abortion. This is very effective screening, and shows the usefulness of an effective carrier screening, prenatal screening, and counseling service in controlling an untreatable genetic disorder. The screening test used CVS followed by DNA amplification and hybridisation, to provide an answer within 24 hours.\n\nAnother successful screening program for thalassemia was performed in Cyprus. It was performed with the cooperation of the local church, so that all couples who were getting married were asked to provide certificates showing the alleles that they had. If they were both carriers of thalassemia than they would know that they could use prenatal diagnosis. This represents a good cooperation between geneticists and the church, who were effective agents for the procedure, to reduce the suffering that would otherwise be caused. A similar interaction is being seen with Muslim communities in Britain or the USSR, now that first trimester prenatal screening is available.\n\nIn mid-1989 the gene responsible for cystic fibrosis was cloned (Riordan et al. 1989). This allows widespread screening for the known mutation. About 70% of mutations correspond to a specific deletion of three base pairs at amino acid position 508 of the protein (Kerem et al. 1989, Lemna et al. 1990). A simple PCR-based test that allows direct visualization of the result on a stained gel has been described (Ballabio et al. 1990). The American Society of Human Genetics recommended that general screening of the population should wait until other major mutations are identified, and also until there is a better idea of the education and counseling that could be given to cystic fibrosis carriers. There are already commercially operated tests available in the USA, at a cost of about US$ 170 per person (mass screening would be much cheaper). While there is pressure to use new information immediately, there is a general need for a full range of prescreening and followup services to be available for the population to be screened, before a systematic program is introduced. It is also being contemplated in other developed countries, due to it being the most common genetic disorder (affecting about 1 in 1600 live births of Caucasians). The proportional of mutations that correspond to the major mutation is lower in Ashkenazic and Latin families than in Caucasians.\n\nA year after the cystic fibrosis gene and the principle mutation was found the other mutations have proved difficult to find. Another 40 mutations have been described, but these are only found in either one or up to 30 individual cases, so as a total they only account for a few percent of the total. Those mutations often appear only in family groups. Although they contribute to our understanding of the disease, which is still poorly understood, the added complexity delays hopes of a widespread screening service. Individual families may have particular mutations, and services can be offered to them, but there is pressure to commence general population screening. The major mutation is present in 75% of carriers, which means that 50% of the cystic fibrosis suffering babies (they have the two recessive alleles) could be prenatally detected by a full genetic counseling service. This is still a very high number, but there are reservations about using the screening until it can detect 90% or more of the cases. Among people in Denmark, this mutation comprises 90% of the mutations, but among Ashkenazic Jews and Arabs only 30% of the mutations. However, it may take several years to characterise these other mutations, and should those people at risk wait? As long as there is good counseling and education, the major mutation test should be used as soon as possible to aid the considerable number of couples who will conceive affected fetuses. For example, if one member of a couple is found to carry the major mutation, their spouse could undergo a more detailed genetic testing with the range of probes to other cystic fibrosis gene mutations, as it is not worthwhile to screen the general public for mutations of very low occurrence. Genetic services for those couples who know they are at risk are available in developed countries, so the gene discovery has already been useful in a clinical way, beyond the ability to understand more of the disease and develop better therapies.\n\nAn important question is whether it is ethical to use abortion for treatable conditions. An example of this is PKU, which when detected as a newborn, can be treated by dietary measures, with little ill effects, though there is suggestions that there is a higher probability of women with PKU giving birth to retarded children. The people still require special care. A survey has found that most families that have a PKU child would not use prenatal screening on the next fetus, but attitudes may change. If screening is provided it should be funded by medical schemes or insurance so that all could have access. It depends on the age at which it is done. Another complication is that severity of different diseases varies. Some can be treated, such as the continual removal of cancerous tumours caused by neurofibromatosis. On the other side of the line might be short-sightedness that can be corrected with eyeglasses, as that poses very few problems in most societies. Similarly, we may be able to screen for the presence of a normal growth hormone gene, but since adequate therapy is available, it would be unethical to perform prenatal diagnosis for this type of dwarfism. Other diseases, such as albinism, are undesirable, but many people, including Noah (Taylor 1987) suffered from it, and lived otherwise normal lives. The outlooks for an albino are different depending on whether the patient lives in a temperate or tropical climate. If therapy can be begun during fetal life, genetic screening to detect fetuses to be treated is certainly justified.\n\nPeople tend to be more worried about genetic screening tests for people with mental diseases. An interesting, and sad, story of this type of screening was the case of men who have an extra Y chromosome, called the XYY syndrome. They were imprisoned for long periods if they had this (Beckwith & King 1974), as they were falsely thought to be violent. This screening lead to unfair labelling of people, such as the very weak connection with criminality thought to be associated with the XYY condition. This idea of geneticophobia has been a reason for social discrimination. Many still advocate continued genetic study to see the influence of genes on behaviour, it has important purposes but should be free of any harmful labelling.\n\nThere have been different conditions used in the past for judging the sufferers of psychiatric diseases and they have been abused for political purposes. The problem is that they are often very multifactorial, having a large environmental input. The screening can label some people as unstable, and if the appropriate counseling is not given, then the screening has a negative effect. There are genetic links to several psychiatric disorders, and one would expect many more to be found, as very little research has been done. Psychiatric disorders only receive 6% of the medical research budget in Britain, typical of international medical research priorities. There are genes which appear to lower the environmental threshold to maniac depression, and schizophrenia, and these are being searched for. The actual genes should be sequenced in the coming years, though there may be several. There are several types of cases that come for screening for psychiatric disorders. In some cases people who want to adopt a child come if the child's parents have a psychiatric disorder to see what the chances of the child developing the disorder are. There are also relatives of patient's coming to ask how likely it is that they will develop the disorder, as well as parental screening.\n\nAnother dilemma is posed by the finding that there is a strong association between an allele of the gene for dopamine D2 receptor and alcoholism. This discovery must be stressed to be putative, but it illustrates the type of dilemma that our great expansion in genetic knowledge will provide us with. There has been two decades of research which has shown that part of the vulnerability to becoming alcoholic after exposure to alcohol is inherited (Gordis et al. 1990). This has been found by studies of twins, and adopted children, and animal research. In the recent genetic study, 70 brain samples from dead alcoholics and nonalcoholics were used. One allele of the dopamine D2 receptor gene was found in 77% of the alcoholics, but was absent in 72% of the nonalcoholics (Blum et al. 1990). The 70% figure is very high, and was surprising. There is current research being conducted to closely investigate this finding, and other tissue samples can be used since the genotype is the same throughout the body. We must be careful to classify alcoholics in a meaningful way for this sort of study. Understanding how genes and environment interact to lead to alcoholism is a broader challenge. There may be several genes involved, unlike single cell disorders, and several different types of alcoholism may involve different genes. Alcoholism is a common serious disease and may not always be caused by genetic factors. However, many people may be at high risk for it, so we must consider whether we should screen for such alleles if there is some therapy available, or to know who to offer alcoholism prevention schemes to?\n\nThere continue to be more diseases that genetic links are found in, such as coronary heart disease (Price et al. 1989), and diseases that markers are found for. Recently a DNA test for type 1 Diabetes was described, where a single substitution in an amino acid of a type of human leukocyte antigen protein is found to increase the chances of developing this type of diabetes by 100-fold (Tcucco et al. 1989). For many diseases there will be many different DNA probes available. Screening for some diseases where the genes are very large will require multiple probes, such as for muscular dystrophy. However, while the gene extends for over two million base pairs, it is possible to test nine mutation hotspot regions simultaneously, to identify deletions and duplications in about 80% of cases (Caskey & McKusick 1990). This illustrates the power of modern technology and how the number of diseases amenable to DNA diagnosis will rapidly expand. In July 1990, the gene for another genetic disease, neurofibromatosis was isolated (Wallace et al. 1990). Neurofibromatosis type 1 is an autosomal dominant disorder affecting 1 in 3500 individuals of most races. It is currently incurable, and varies in severity. The normal gene restrains cell growth in the brain. New mutations have been found to be frequent like Duschenne muscular dystrophy. The gene mutates about one hundred times more frequently than some other genes responsible for genetic diseases. It appears to also cover a large region of the genome, the message is 11 kilobases long, but for the first 4 kilobases found, the exons are distributed over 110 kilobases of genomic DNA, so it likely it is also a very large gene (Cawthon et al. 1990). The gene has been found to contain other genes within it, a new phenomenon. With these types of frequently mutating genes we can envisage an enormous array of results from each sample, even more if it is screened for a variety of diseases.\n\nThe types of criteria that are important for parents to consider when reaching a decision include the severity of the disorder and its effect on future life (including life expectancy); the physical, emotional and economic impact on the family; availability of medical management and special facilities to care for the child to be; the reliability of diagnosis and prognosis; effect on society, and the value placed on the human embryo. These decisions will become complex, as the variety of different genetic diseases of varying severities are detectable.\n\nPrenatal Diagnosis Without Abortion\n\nFor people who consider abortion always to be unethical, there are still good reasons to use prenatal diagnosis. The procedure may be of significant benefit to both mother and child. Most results will show that the fetus is normal, and so the principle benefit of the test will be to alleviate worry regarding the fetus. This worry can be a significant psychological burden to some mothers and families. The decision regarding abortion should not be considered until after the test results (Clark & DeVore 1989).\n\nIf there is found to be an abnormal level of maternal serum AFP, it is usually not due to a neural tube defect, but because of other causes and it can alert the physician to other pregnancy complications. The detection of abnormalities by other tests can significantly alter the care of affected fetuses, and allow them to be born in hospitals where appropriate neonatal care immediately available can positively influence longterm survival and health.\n\nIn some circumstances it is better to know that the fetus has a serious genetic abnormality so that should the fetus require very intensive care and put the mother at some risk, then the parents who reject abortion may still consider it best to let the fetus die, to be content with letting nature take its course. If a fetus has a serious abnormality it may still be better to be aware of this before the child is born. The parents can chose to raise the child, and advance knowledge allows them to prepare educationally, emotionally, physically and financially for the caring of the child. There is very little risk attached to prenatal screening and in view of the advantages to the parents and child to be, it should be widely used where available. While we would never see selective abortion as compulsory or as official government policy in a democratic country, when the benefits of prenatal screening are even greater there will be a case for making it standard policy, though because it involves the mother's body, her consent should usually be required.\n\nThere can be more direct fetal interventions. The earliest type was the use of blood transfusions to the fetus to treat Rhesus factor incompatibility, which has been done since the 1960's. Medication can be passed to the fetus indirectly in the mother's bloodstream (for example, biotin). Blood transfusions to the mother to save the life of the fetus have been court-ordered in the USA in some cases where the mother was a Jehovah's witness and rejects the principle of blood transfusion. In the U.K. the law protects the pregnant woman's autonomy. In this case, the courts have overruled the mother's wishes, considering the fetus. It is a difficult area of conflict between mother's autonomy and duties owed to the fetus, and will continue to pose ethical problems. More invasive techniques, such as when direct fetal surgery is possible, using ultrasound and fetoscopy are becoming possible. The surgery can also be performed outside of the mothers' body than the fetus replaced.\n\nEven if the decisions remain voluntary, society can influence the decisions that we make. It could say that it would not provide health care for some \"avoidable\" diseases, as that is inconsistent with public fairness to health resources, as it may be. Society can publicise the genetic screening much more, or offer incentives. There is a fundamental question of how far to develop alternative therapies, which are often expensive, versus genetic screening. However, some of the conditions that arise in accidents are similar so if the technology overlaps that could be used. There is equal ethical claim to treatment from children whose parents do not use genetic screening, but limits might be placed. When we think of some individual cases where several million dollars have been spent, and the large number of lives that this money could save in the third world especially, we must question priorities. People may talk of protecting a single parent's autonomy while forgetting that 40,000 people die everyday because of malnutrition, and more from preventable diseases that developing countries cannot prevent or treat. There may be less research spent on some serious screenable diseases because they are seen as preventable, but in most cases the same research that discovers the genes that allow screening, also opens the door for research into therapy. Research into rare genetic diseases provides much important basic biological knowledge which can be applied to other problems, so will continue to be seen as important in biomedical research.\n\nHowever, it would seem to be unethical for the state to refuse to contribute to the care of children who suffer from genetic disease because their parents refused to use genetic screening, as it is unjust to blame the children for their parents actions. It is unlikely that democratic societies would impose selective abortion. In cases of therapy after prenatal screening it is possible, but abortion itself remains controversial. There are economic reasons to favour it, but it still should remain voluntary. There will be more problems when the time arrives when insurance companies include as a criteria for consideration, prenatal screening. If free choice is lost there will be a large cost in human dignity, the main lesson of the enforced eugenic programs as in the United States or Nazi Germany.\n\nReproductive Choice\n\nThe United Nations World Population plan of action declares that \"All couples and individuals have a basic right to decide freely and responsibly the number and spacing of their children,\". There are several ideas in this statement, and we can find cases where all aspects of it have, and may still be, prevented. Many are conditional and are prevented in some societies. A question must be, which aspects of reproductive freedom can be limited without violating the basic idea of autonomy.\n\nThe right to rear children is conditional on the ability of the parents to look after the child, and not to abuse them. The number of children is limited by very strong policy in some countries, such as Mainland China, because of overpopulation. Different societies have used different criteria to control access to infertility treatments. A current problem is the regulation of AID using \"germinal choice\", which in many places is not controlled. People can have free choice regarding surrogacy, IVF or AID in some countries such as the USA, but not in others such as West Germany where there is control. Should the law control? The right to have genetic offspring has been made conditional in some time periods with compulsory sterilisation, because of fears of transmission of disease or presumed inability to bear a child, or presumed psychological harm. There is the idea of the right to marry anyone, but has been prevented in some countries, by premarital testing, or making a class of unmarriable individuals, and is subject to family restrictions.\n\nReproductive freedom is based on the need for bodily-self-determination, or integrity. It is not based on any \"right to procreate\" itself, but the freedom to determine when, whether and under what conditions we can bear children. A second claim for reproductive freedom for women is because it is predominantly women who must bear the major consequences of pregnancy and raising the child. The interests of the child are a valid part of the argument, even though the person may not yet exist.\n\nThe major thrust of the eugenics movement today is in fetal screening and selective abortion (Hubbard 1984). The language has moved to fetal \"rights\" to health and well-being. The selection criteria has moved from the emphasis on behaviour, to emphasis on health being the major concern. This argument is based on the traditional theme that we should not burden society and successive generations with genetic diseases, as discussed last chapter. Joseph Fletcher (1988) discussed various types of child abuse, including those who preconceptively or prenatally abuse children by \"knowingly passing on or risking passing on genetic disease\". We have seen the emergence of court cases such as wrongful life, where the fetus is meant to have a \"right to health\" (Robertson 1983). Some lawyers argue for a position that, while a patient can refuse any medical procedure or treatment, a pregnant woman loses this right if she decides to carry the fetus to term. She is no longer judged to be competent, and some court cases have imposed tort liability on women who fail to use prenatal diagnosis. This is seen by many as a dangerous step back along the road to eugenics. The courts have so far refused to appear to condone abortion, saying it is a question for philosophers whether no life at all is better than a disabled life. Some argue that since the fetus is attached to the mother the choices about treatment should only be made with her informed consent (Fletcher 1979). The US government body set up to examine the question of whether screening (President's Commission 1983), stressed the autonomy of individuals meant that only under the special circumstances of people being unable to protect themselves, could screening be compulsory. The other arguments, such as social utility (economics), allocation of resources evenly, and improving society's \"genetic health\" are not sufficient to make genetic screening be enforced.\n\nCan Society Limit Genetic Freedom?\n\nWe can define genetic freedom as the freedom to bring about the conception of a child with any characters, be they good or bad, or desired or undesired. A fundamental principle of bioethics is autonomy, the freedom of individuals to make decisions regarding their own lives. It is based on the idea that human life is of high value. It is not unconditional freedom, as part of the concept of autonomy must be a recognition of other people's autonomy, or values. Freedom is limited by recognition of other's autonomy to pursue to an equal degree of freedom. There are limits in the way that we should affect other people. The idea of limiting genetic freedom also involves how we treat other people, but people who may not yet exist. There are a few examples of how we already accept limits on behaviour of individuals because of the affect on future people. Pregnant women may be prohibited from certain areas of risk in factories. Foods and drugs are carefully screened to avoid any agents which may cause birth defects.\n\nPeople are given freedom in their lives, but only as long as they do not prevent others from pursuing an equal degree of freedom, the idea of equality stems from autonomy. In society we should try to maximise the consciousness and participation of individuals, but the social framework of conditions and constraints is not one of individual making. The types of limits that are imposed on people for the benefit of others, called society, includes limits on the noise they can make, the places they can visit, the speed they can move at, and where they can build a house. Inside their house can be protected against others, the idea of privacy, but there are still limits, such as the number of people they can marry, and how they can treat members of their family.\n\nJoseph Fletcher (1988) has argued that reproduction that is planned and controlled is more human than playing \"genetic roulette\". Humans are distinguished from animals because they have the ability to chose traits. He goes as far as claiming that coital reproduction is less human than laboratory reproduction, as it is more rationally developed. He advocates a shift from accidental or random reproduction to rationally willed reproduction.\n\nGenetic freedom has two sides, on one hand can society say that genetic screening must be used and the disease-causing genes subject to control. If there is some therapy available it may be enforced on children, until they are able to decide themselves, or should it be up to the family. Compulsory gGenetic screening is only justified to protect those who can not give their consent, such as for newborn screening for PKU, when there is therapy available. People are given freedom in their lifes, but only as long as they do not prevent others from pursuing an equal degree should have a right to reproductive freedom but does this include genetic freedom? It is the children (who are yet to exist but who can still be considered as individuals) whose genetic freedom should be protected from influence that limits choices, within the framework of a healthy life.\n\nGenetic counseling aimed at the immediate family can be very successful, but on the wider societal level for eugenic goals it may not be. It can have some affect, for instance in 1988 the proportion of Down's syndrome babies born in the United Kingdom was a quarter less than that before screening, due to the widespread use of fetal screening and selective abortion of afflicted fetuses. This screening has no eugenic outcome in the gene pool, as the sufferers of the disease are sterile and can not reproduce, however, it has had an affect on many potential families. It has been routine to use amniocentesis screening of pregnant women over 35 years old, as they have a greater chance of chromosome trisomies such as Down's syndrome (trisomy 21, three copies of the chromosome number 21 are present). The risk increases with age. If used on the total population than because of the risks of miscarriage after CVS or amniocentesis, than more fetuses would be lost then detected. The figures in the United States would be approximately 2,000 fetuses miscarried, and 1,000 fetuses detected with Down's syndrome. However, if incorporating screening for multiple disorders from the single sample, then the result would be better. The risk of miscarriage is 1% loss, is negligible compared to the 70-80% loss from conception, as far as numbers go. It depends on the fetal age. There are new methods for maternal blood testing (Wald et al. 1988), as a preliminary screening test which should increase the number of fetuses that can be examined, and will make it possible to offer the technique to younger women.\n\nCompelled medical treatment of pregnant women is generally not ethical. Society may gain more by allowing each pregnant woman to live as seems good to her rather than by compelling certain screening or fetal therapy (Nelson & Milliken 1988). Voluntary measures are better to protect the body, this is different to decisions made directly because of desired characteristics in the fetus. There has been much controversy surrounding enforced caesareans in USA, which are not possible in Britain, and there have been women who have run away from hospitals due to this, placing themselves and the child at greater danger. Many of these cases end up giving birth in the natural way, with good results, which calls into question the necessity of the court order. In a April 1990 Washington D.C. Appeal Court decision, the court upheld by 7 votes to 1, that a pregnant woman may not be forced to undergo a caesarean section to save her fetus (Brahams 1990). This may help prevent the practise in the USA of overriding the mother's interests. In the USA there is a very high number of caesarians performed (Evans 1988).\n\nThe greater use of prenatal genetic screening will highlight this problem. There are two types of case, one is when there is some therapy for the affliction that should be begun before birth. Then there are some grounds for enforcing some types of treatment, such as blood transfusions. There have been women put in prison to prevent them taking drugs during pregnancy. There is much legal debate in the USA. The other is when there is no therapy, and the prefered course by the family medical insurance company is for selective abortion. This is a key issue, and one which will be discussed later, but currently courts are unwilling to condone abortion and it will not occur in societies that recognise the autonomy of mothers or some right to life of a fetus. If there is no therapy then society cannot ethically enforce abortion, but it can control the application of medical resources in a national health service.\n\nWe must accept that human beings are conceived in a very risky way, with a greater chance of genetic disease than any other species. We also all need to accept that we all die, and will suffer. The question whether a human life involving genetic suffering is one which is not worth living will remain an unanswerable decision, and so must be left up to individual cases. We can seek therapy, and there is an obligation to seek therapy, but there is no obligation to kill other creatures if they suffer, only sometimes, to let them die. We need to let autonomy dominate in order to avoid any future societal abuse, this has also been called in the US the \"Right to privacy\", a right to be left alone regarding decisions to bear a child. However, there are many external pressures that will push couples to use genetic screening and selective abortion. These include the willingness of society to care for the sick, which is often lacking. People may shun those who did not abort a child who suffers from genetic disease. The underlying values of society need to be changed to avoid problems, and while we should strive for this goal, we have to be pessimistic. The laws in some countries, such as Sweden and the USA, to protect handicapped people from employment discrimination are useful, but fully nationally funded health and education systems are the minimum ethical duties that societies must use to change the situation.\n\nOn the otherhand can society allow individuals to have free choice over the use of genetic manipulation when there is no medical reason for it? Such as nonmedical sex selection, which may have some cultural reason but a reason that is based on inequality, or something such as hair colour which is just a passing whim of the parents.\n\nSex Selection\n\nThere are various possible techniques for sex selection (Bennett 1983, President's Commission 1983, Warren 1985), though this has been officially limited to use for parents who are carriers of a sex-linked genetic disease. This type of disease prevention is different to the general question, and includes diseases such as haemophilia and muscular dystrophy when carried by the woman, will affect only male offspring. Sex selection is a precedent for genetic screening for characters that have nothing to do with disease so it is interesting to ask what attitudes genetic counselors and the public have to it.\n\nThere are preconception methods, arising from the study of sperm formation and the factors that influence it. There are various manipulations of the movement of the sperm within the vaginal tract, such as the presence of antibodies in the vaginal tract, and the slightly different motilities of sperm containing the X or Y chromosomes, and artificial insemination with specially treated semen. Y-chromosome carrying sperm are 3% lighter than X-bearing sperm. Methods that have been used to separate sperm, including separation by mass, electric charge or staining are not very successful. There has been a method using differential binding to a protein solution, which can increase the chance of having a male to 75%. A company called Gametrics claims that after 600 births using their treated sperm, 75% were male (Ericsson 1988). There are also dietary methods that have been suggested. The methods do not seem to present any harm to the offspring as a result of the technique. There is much research in these techniques as they have many uses in agriculture, where a female calf can be worth ten times more than a male. The primary postconception method is fetal screening and selective abortion. It is possible to sex a single cell using embryo biopsy or preimplantation diagnosis, which may have more immediate use in agriculture. There have also been methods developed to identify male and female embryos by specific sex-linked antibodies. In the near future it will be possible to use maternal blood sampling for sex determination. While sex selection has less problems if done before conception, there are still major objections.\n\nIn many countries of the world, feminicide is practised. It is a dangerous precedent to allow sex selection to be part of reproductive choice. The current technology allows routine screening at 9-11 weeks by ultrasound, or the earlier use of the more invasive technique of CVS. Fetal chromosome analysis through maternal blood sampling may be available, as well as preconception methods. The attitudes of doctors to allowing sex selective abortions varies between different countries. In certain cases the physicians in countries such as the USA would comply with requests for prenatal sex selection. In a case where a couple with four healthy daughters wants a son, and will abort the fetus if it is female or if there is no diagnosis, many would comply with this request. In a 1985 survey, the percentage of genetic counselors that would comply in various countries were, USA 62%, Hungary 60%, Canada 47%, Sweden 38%, Israel 33%, Brazil 30%, Greece 29%, United Kingdom 24%. Most argued that they would do it out of respect for the patient's autonomy and rights of choice, only in Hungary did they add the threat of abortion as being significant (Wertz & Fletcher 1989a). The trend over time is to be more tolerant of sex selection, perhaps extending the other trends of control over pregnancy and birth of children.\n\nArguments against sex selection include the fact that being a particular sex is not a disease, if it was used it could lead to social inequality between the sexes, it is not a sufficient reason for abortion, and it is a waste of resources as there are many genuine cases to deal with. The two major arguments for sex selection are that it is individual liberty, and that it may reduce population growth in countries where people try to have a male and will continue to have children until they do. When having smaller families there is greater pressure for sex selection, but it should still be resisted. Warren (1985) examined the claims that sex selection would enhance the quality of life of child and family, however there is no evidence and probably more against it. It could lead to marital conflict if the parents have different ideas. In the end, sex selection is inherently sexist and it believes that different sexes are unequal. Even if prenatal diagnosis became common for all, it will still be objectionable as it undermines the major moral reason that justifies prenatal diagnosis and selective abortion - the prevention of serious genetic disease (Wertz & Fletcher 1989b).\n\nSex is one character that is not a disease, as are others such as height, eye and hair colour, and skin colour. Many parents include some of these characters when they think of their ideal child also. Sex selection would set a precedent for the near future, as the number of testable characters increases. It is important to take a stand now against this growing trend. It may be better to avoid making many reproductive laws, but it may still be necessary if genetic counseling and information can not control the abuse of selective abortion. A simple method is to withhold the information of fetal sex,which is already done in some clinics. It is a case where directive counseling is required, and possibly legal control.\n\nGenetic Selection for Nondisease Should be Illegal\n\nIn the current situation we could use the argument that genetic screening should not be performed for nondisease conditions as there is a shortage of resources already (Fletcher 1988a). In some countries, money can buy anything, including many unnecessary medical resources, we can also say that this is wrong in a world, or even country, where many people do not get adequate medical resources. This is something that should be applicable to all of medicine, and both cases are wrong, despite what capitalism likes to say. We should direct scientific efforts towards treatment and prevention of serious diseases away from trivial pursuits. It will be useful if genetic counselors do refuse to offer their services for this reason, but it still begs the underlying question. If resources were available would it be ethical?\n\nWe can make the situation easier if we consider there is no risk involved in the process, no abortion required, but preconception control? There is still a dilemma to be faced. These three arguments will eventually not be significant, and they are not applicable for some existing methods.\n\nOne view is that there is no difference between altering genes, and the variability in the environment that parents can subject children to. However, we can argue that the danger in this is that this would limit something we could call the natural autonomy of the new individuals. This would introduce the concept of a \"natural genetic autonomy\", the freedom to let the genes come together naturally and to let that individual develop their genetic potential without unnecessary interference by parents or society. While we may give freedom to nurture children in various ways, there are imposed limits.\n\nIt has been argued by some that present nonexistence of future persons entails that obligations we have towards them are not based on rights. However, the present non-existence of future persons is not an impediment to the attribution of rights to them (Elliot 1989).\n\nParental concern with chosing characters of children is incompatible with the attitude of unconditional acceptance that is found to be essential to good parenting. The more a child's genome is subject to manipulation, and is a result of the choices of others, the more we can consider children to be a social product, no longer unique persons. Society needs to promote good attitudes to children and the family.\n\nThe family is the natural and fundamental unit of society and is entitled to protection. It is a fundamental human right. In the USA there is a very strong \"rights\" movement, and the value orientation of most gives preeminence to the right to procreate (Blank 1984). The new technology may lead to a move away from this. There is increasing consideration given to fetal rights and the rights of the child. This is reflected in the recent decisions of the US Supreme Court, in the Webster case which limits access to abortion, and other related decisions. We may need to promote \"family rights\", to protect the interests of the family.\n\nThe basic justifications that are used to limit reproductive choice are paternalism, the public health, and economics. Paternalism is the protection of others against the effects of their own \"wrong\" decisions but that should not enforce behaviour in people able to make a balanced decision. We should be responsible in our own behaviour, but we can not enforce others to follow our own values. The exceptions will be those who are mentally incompetent. The public health and economic arguments are much less justifiable reasons, especially in the world where so much government money is spend on military spending. Society has little moral weight to enforce behaviour change on others, until they have eliminated many factors which damage health and misuse money. There can be no moral superiority to a society which spends on the military but refuses to spend on the sick or poor.\n\nThere is another argument that if we let society or parents chose characters in their children then it will have a harmful affect on social attitudes to people who fail to meet those characteristics. A problem with the increasing availability of genetic screening is that while it can help people have children free of known genetic defects, it makes life more difficult for many parents and their children who suffer from the disease, who did not use screening. It may increasingly be seen as not an act of fate but the parents' fault (Hubbard 1986). Modern society is moving towards viewing reproduction as a commodity, producing a luxury item, a newborn child free of defect. It may make people less tolerant of the variety of human beings. In the case of sex selection it represents prejudicial attitudes which are inappropriate in a world where we are trying to get rid of such prejudice.\n\nOpponents of social control of genetic screening argue that if we promote selective abortion against sufferers of a particular genetic disease, our attitude to handicapped people will change. These ideas can be philosophically separated, but in some people's minds they are connected. The social affects of a technique are often far-reaching, and so we should be cautious regarding ideas which could lead to eugenic discrimination. We should remember the concept of charity, or agape, which they introduced to Western medicine in the third century from Christianity, and which has been with us since. We can never eradicate genetic disease, as there are always mutations occuring. The aim of research into genetics is not primarily to eradicate them but for therapy. Some countries have taken steps towards the compulsory genetic screening of individuals before they can marry. We can learn some lessons also from the screening processes that are being used on AIDS sufferers, the discrimination that they face, and the growing recognition of the protection from discrimination that they need. One USA state, Illinois, had a policy for mandatory pPremarital testing for HIV virus, and couples wishing to be married had to submit to this test, or else get married in a neighbouring state. The idea is that the spouse should know if the partner has HIV, and the public health motivation was to slow the spread of HIV. However, it is ethically unacceptable to enforce such screening. A more practical problem was found with this testing program, the cost. The cost was worked out to be US$320,000 per individual identified with HIV, which would possibly avoid a similar number of individuals becoming HIV positive. This is very cost inefficient. In New York city, such a program was rejected prior to use for this ineffective use of resources. Such mandatory screening programs are ineffective ways to combat disease, and we need to remember this example when considering genetic disease screening. An older example was mandatory premarital screening for syphilis. In 1958, a comparison of 9 states without a compulsory law, and 30 states with a compulsory law for premarital syphilis testing, showed that the decrease in syphilis was the same in both states. Actually 21 states still have such laws, they are difficult to remove from the statutes once there (Silverman 1990). Nevertheless, we do have some genetic responsibility to our offspring if the techniques are available. If we have the option of screening a fetus before it is a person, or ourselves before marriage and procreation, than we should value the technology, and use it wisely. It has the potential to be used to enrich lives if not abused, but it should be voluntary. Education about diseases and risks is the most important goal.\n\nThere is the argument of reducing genetic variability, but it is doubtful as to whether this sort of selection would really have much affect biologically. The major affect is on reduced social variability. If we want to maintain or should we say develop a society where people's autonomy is respected then we should not allow the acceptance of genetic restrictions on nondisease characteristics. This means that society could for the benefit of society, and protecting its members from developing narrow views whether they be sexist or intelligence seeking, restrict the freedom of individuals to use techniques to affect the children. We already limit the environmental freedom of parents, we also need to limit their genetic freedom to chose.\n\nThe President's Commission (1983) and others have recommended that public policy should discourage sex selection but that it should not be a legal prohibition. One of the major reasons given was that it would be impractical. However, a legal prohibition may be quite possible, by withholding information on the sex of the fetus during genetic counseling. Wertz and Fletcher (1989a) argue against a legal prohibition, unless attitudes in a particular country make it the only means to prevent it. There is a desire not to create many laws connected with reproductive decisions, which is fine, as long as it works in practise. A similar principle will be needed for other nondisease characters. At least national and international medical organisations should make strong stands that their members should follow.\n\nSociety has some role in reproductive control. This represents a tension between the individual and society, however it is consistent with justice, fairness, autonomy of future generations. There is a tension between human liberty and responsibility of individuals (Dunstan 1988). It is not based on a fear of changing the genes themselves, but can be argued in view of the protection of society's social behaviour. We should direct science and medicine towards the treatment and prevention of disease, and sex selection or AID for germinal choice are two current techniques which set a dangerous precedent for future tinkering, and move away from the goals of our society. We need to decide the goals of society and adjust technology to them. As a social morality grows out of the tension between personal and social interests, we need to take account of the broader social consequences of clinical decisions made primarily in the interests of individual patients. There are more important arguments based on the effects of individuals upon society. Physicians or genetic counselors are not merely technicians to aid the pursuit of their patient's desires, they need to be constrained within social policy, responsible ethically and clinically for the procedure's outcome.\n\nWe must apply caution in the use of genetic screening. As we saw in the last chapter, over enthusiasm with genetics led to widespread acceptance of eugenics. This euphoria was not even supported by much real science. The social influences that the future programs will have is very large. We may need to advance our social attitudes before introducing such systems.\n\nPrivacy of Genetic Information\n\nThere will be many medical advantages from the increased ability for genetic screening. Many individuals will be identified that carry genetic disease, and appropriate therapy given to them or their progeny. There will be a dramatic increase in the amount of patient genetic data that can be collected. The number of human genes that are sequenced is exponentially increasing, in 1982 only 22 were known, by 1984 there were 132, by 1989 we have over 5,000 human gene sequences. The total human genome sequence might be available within a decade. This raises many questions regarding the rights of individual privacy, regarding what information others can have access to. This will be a key issue for the future as so many diseases, or genes, will be able to be screened for. The type of information that can be screened for covers blood type, tissue type, to predisposition to diseases, or the certainty of knowing that a late acting disease will come. They may reveal important hints on a person's physical or intellectual potential.\n\nThe data can play an important role in the life of the individual, affecting the choice of spouse, psychological health, reproductive decisions such as whether to have children, and whether to use prenatal screening and selective abortion or therapy. There will have to be decisions regarding personal health risks which may be affected by diet, smoking, etc., and the type of work. There may also need to be decisions regarding insurance schemes, and retirement. The genetic information can be of great benefit to the individual person to know about their genetic constitution. However, there can be great risk involved if other people obtain it (Zimmerli 1990). While screening for susceptability to lung disease if exposed to asbestos might be an advantage if an alternative job in the company can be found, it has already been used to prevent people from working in some factories (Nelkin & Tancred 1989, Holtzman 1989).\n\nThere are two different technologies for genetic testing. Genetic screening can be used to identify people who are susceptible to certain illnesses. Genetic monitoring is different, it is aimed at understanding the significance of genetic mutations that occur in groups of people as a result of exposure to chemicals (Murray 1985). Gene monitoring is targeted at a group, to determine whether a carcinogen is present in the workplace.\n\nGenetic screening targeted at individuals can be used as an effective exclusionary tool (Rowin 1988). It may become an excuse for companies not to hire susceptible workers, or women of child-bearing age, instead of cleaning up the factory. It is a major problem ethically to decide if insurance companies are entitled to genetically screen potential clients. Some employers screen for sensitivity to some pollutants present in the factory, such as genetic predisposition to cancer if there are carcinogens present. What is ironic is that genetic screening may exclude some workers, who will be more suited to other aspects of the work. Some workers will be hired whose genetic weaknesses have yet to be determined. This screening is regardless of the more important occupational suitability for each job (Weiss 1989). This also interferes with rights of people to chose (Harsanyi & Hutton 1982). On the otherhand, if a person suffers from hemophilia it would be wrong not to warn them of the risks of becoming a butcher (Motulsky 1989). Employers also offer insurance schemes, which in some countries are the best systems for health care available. The U.S. law states that companies can not discharge an employee for the purposes of reducing their benefit costs. In July 1990 a new law was passed to outlaw employers from discriminating on the basis of handicap. This is of major importance, and some lawyers believe it extends to genetic disease. Before this employers could refuse to hire on the basis of medical and genetic findings, unless they were in a state that had specific laws. In New Jersey there is a specific prohibition on discrimination based on an individual's atypical cellular or blood trait (Rowan 1989). If an employer is receiving Federal financial assistance, that employer may not make preemployment inquiry about whether the applicant is handicapped, unless all candidates are required to have such a medical examination. This means that a general genetic screening could be performed, unless new laws prevent it, as in the case of New Jersey. In Britain, the law does not protect against genetic discrimination, and if a person lies about the results of a genetic test they can be dismissed from their employment. International law is required, as well as a change in society.\n\nThere are diseases such as Huntington's chorea which will mean people have to retire early, and will require payment of insurance or pensions, so companies, and even governments, have required information from people. If they carry the gene they can not get the job, or maybe cannot be insured. They may not be able to get a morgage if they have increased risk to psychiatric diseases. There will have to be guidelines on the availability of such information. It is not the same as AIDS, which itself is not normally contagious, as these diseases have no public health risk. In the cases were a disease is noncommunicable, the only other people at risk are the progeny.\n\nClosely related individuals may share the disorder, so if one is tested the others will get a hint. There are important ethical and legal questions concerning the relatives of test subjects. There are issues of confidentiality. Respect for confidentiality is one of the key principles in the development of genetic screening programs. Genetic diagnostic information must be held strictly confidential. The only exception is when another family member needs to know the information because of a direct medical risk that would be averted if the information is known. If a person is found to be positive, will relatives be warned of their risk? Is there a right to know, and a right not to know? If genetic registrars are established, should relatives be involved in deciding whether one member of the families' data can be recorded, as the information could be used to affect other family members as well as that individual?\n\nIt may be very difficult to protect individual that do not want to know from learning of \"bad\" news from their relative's test results. However it may be done, it is one thing to maintain privacy, and another to aways tell the truth. A similar dilemma often arises in the case of nonpaternity, the genetic father is not the husband of the woman. A very limited amount of paternalism, in the sense of considering the adverse consequences of revealing the information, may be justified. With presymptomatic screening, the problem is avoided if psychological screening is completed before any genetic information is obtained, but it is not aways possible. Huntington's chorea, colonic polyposis and polycystic kidney disease may not be expressed until middle or old age, the information can predict the future health of the person. There are many emotional problems, as with AIDS screening, for those people. In studies and counseling of patients that have had predictive testing for Huntington's chorea, among the people given a positive answer, about 20% of them did not accept the conclusion and believed that they would not get the disease. If the counseling is good, and patients are screened psychologically before testing, than there is little evidence to support the idea that they will commit suicide. However, if people are not considered able to take the bad news, than they should not be tested. Of course some people will be negative too, which may relieve much anxiety from their lives, allowing them to marry and have children which in some cases they would not of done before the testing.\n\nIf people are going to benefit from the information provided by genetic screening there must be no stigma attached to carry a potential disease causing allele. The people may be branded if they carry a disease. Our society tends to brand people into a positive or negative category if they suffer from some affliction. A sign of disability can be very detrimental to future life prospects. New technology will provide the information about disease susceptability, but they can not determine a moral choice. The type of decisions that depend on genetic data involve the most personal decisions concerning people's lives, such as the choice of spouse, reproduction decisions, personal health habits, financial and insurance, and retirement decisions (OTA 1984). Decisions regarding life choices should be left to the individuals concerned, with as much counseling aid as possible. The screening should be accessible to all, to be fair (President's Commission 1983). Rather than this new technology making us more mechanistic, the best approach will need to be much more community support and love for our neighbour than before. In a just society there are no justifications for genetic discrimination, only therapy.\n\nThere are many benefits to insurance companies and to the general public economically, from knowledge of people's genetic data. Insurance companies costs can be lowered, to make them more competitive, if using genetic testing. If it is not stopped at this early stage it will lead to much discrimination. In a few cases predictive genetic testing can allow individuals currently unable to get insurance because of family history of disease, to get insurance. If society wants to be just it will have to make a rule that there is no genetic discrimination. To select for smoking habits, or for dietary differences may be fairer, as people can chose to lower the risks associated with bad habits however, it is unfair to discriminate on the basis of what is something over which people have no control, their genes. There may be genetic susceptability to alcoholism, and it is possible even smoking has deeper roots than personal choices. These possibilities pose future ethical dilemmas about treatment, environmental, social therapy and genetic therapy may all be used. It would have to be a general rule so that all the insurance companies shared the cost. In the early 1970's some U.S. insurance companies charged blacks, who were carriers of sickle cell diseases, higher rates, even though they are at no risk from the disease. There is less discrimination for carriers currently, but still some. There is a list of diseases for which some insurance companies will not insure sufferers for, including sickle cell anemia, Huntington's chorea, insulin-dependent diabetes, muscular dystrophy, and many more (Holtzman 1988). However, these screening tests are not routinely requested, but many insurance companies use tests for HIV infection, and reject the positive applicants. In several states (Florida, Maryland, North Carolina) sickle cell disease allele carriers are protected by laws preventing insurance companies discriminating against them, though this is not for those who suffer from the disease. In a few U.S. states there are so-called high risk pools, which are available to help those people who are uninsurable. State-regulated insurance companies are required to pay into the pool, but it is better to have premiums shared among all, or a national health service (Holtzman 1989). It is certainly more ethical. Group medical insurance, which covers about 85% of US citizens, is offered to particular employment groups and usually does not consider health risks of the individual applicants, so that access to patient genetic data is not necessary. However, the agreement signed when entering some group schemes may allow unrestricted access to their health records, which could be used (OTA 1984).\n\nThe procedures that are used by insurance companies and employers are generally a questionnaire, and physical examination. The physical examination may include blood and urine analysis. The doctors may test for the presence of different drugs, both drugs such as nicotine and cocaine, and prescription drugs taken for different medical conditions. In the USA more than half those seeking employment must undergo a physical examination, and it is especially common in larger companies. Employers in the USA have a federal law which protects the handicapped from employment discrimination. It is also general practise not to screen for HIV infection by employers. As the costs of AIDS treatment rises, it is likely that more companies will screen for it, unless a law prevents them from this. It is unlikely that the employers will offer general genetic screening tests in the immediate future, only in specific industries. If an easy genetic test becomes available it may be tempting to use it, so laws to prevent discrimination should be enacted to prevent this. It is also important to ensure that any testing which is done, is accurate with very low probability of false positive tests.\n\nIn certain cases there may be a duty to know genetic information if a third party might be harmed. If children are born, then this could save them from a disease. For some diseases, certain types of employment should be avoided. For instance when people start to suffer from Huntington's chorea they can have losses of concentration for a few seconds or longer. If they are an air traffic controller, or pilot, or quality control worker in a factory, then this could have serious consequences for others. Should screening be compulsory for sensitive areas, possibly? However, there needs to be information protection. The issue is whether \"pre-clinical diagnosis\" should be used, as the worker may still have twenty years normal work with no clinical condition. There will also be potential spouses, which are also third parties that should know. However, numerous studies of the ethical principles to follow when genetic screening recommend that mandatory genetic screening programs are only justified when voluntary testing proves inadequate to prevent serious harm to the defenseless, such as children, that could be avoided were screening performed (President's Commission 1983).\n\nAn important parallel is being seen with compulsory drug testing of federal employees in the USA. Workers from groups such as fire fighters, police officers, school bus aides, and computer programmers have been subjected to mandatory drug testing. In the U.S. Constitution, the fourth amendment forbids unreasonable searches of individuals. It is agreed that a blood, urine or breath test constitutes a search. What has been disputed is whether it is reasonable to search people without any suspicion of guilt. The U.S. Supreme Court has supported mandatory searches in the case of railroad workers and Custom's service employees, for utilitarian reasons (Glantz 1989). However, there has been much criticism of these and similar decisions as they infringe individual liberties. The test results were not even available to those who were tested. If it becomes accepted practice, then it is likely to be extended to genetic tests, when it is seen to benefit the public good.\n\nRecently, several private companies, such as bus tour operators, have used a computer based performance test as a measure of the capacity of the employees to concentrate. The test involves keeping a marker on a computer screen in one place as the computer tries to move it around. If the employees cannot do this they will be sent home that day, but no enquiry is made into whether they are emotionally upset, or under the influence of alcohol or drugs. In this way respecting their privacy. The test looks only at the symptoms that affect others. There are related issues to those found with Huntington's chorea, described above, in screening for causes presymtomatically.\n\nGenetic patient data are different from other types of disease-related medical information. In contrast to communicable disease, the public at large is not at risk of contracting genetic disease, only potential children. With contagious diseases the issue of public health may override some of the protections normally given to individuals. Future individuals do have some interest in the data. Closely-related individuals may be directly affected by the knowledge, and vice versa; which may be a benefit, or an unwanted burden. Pre-clinical prediction provides a look at the future health of an individual. The awareness of a disease with no cure can be an unnecessary emotional burden to give to people.\n\nConfidentiality is a long-standing principle of good medical ethics. It is considered essential to maintaining a good doctor-patient relationship. If the patient does not trust the doctor, than they may not reveal delicate health issues to the doctor. Only if a third party is in serious risk may a doctor consider breaching confidentiality. Another argument for the maintenance of confidentiality is from the rights of the patient. For example a sample of the patients' tissue may be collected and used for tests, but this should only be done with their consent. Consent to use tissue for one test does not mean consent for other tests, unless specifically stated, though in practise it consent for all tests is not sought.\n\nGenetic research also involves necessary contributions from the public, in both the donation of samples and the provision of information. If we expect to benefit from medicine it is good for all to contribute if needed, as it may directly benefit us in the future, and we have all benefitted indirectly from medical research during our lives. The issue of who owns patients' data is a current question in the some countries. The U.K. Government has proposed the total computerisation of National Health Service general practice records. This will improve efficiency, but it will also create a vast store of potentially valuable data. The data is being anonymised and sold to private companies in return for computers given to the general practitioners to use. The data can be used in research, for public interest, or for private gain (Brahams 1990). The patients' data is effectively sold to private companies, though confidentiality is not breached as long as it is ensured to be anonymous. In New Zealand similar projects are underway. One example involves the results of about 4,000 patients who have, and are being treated for hypertension, to compare their drug treatments. One drug company wants to test their own drugs' performance in this system. It is legally uncertain whose data it actually is, though if anonymous, it can be argued that given the potential benefits from the information arising from studies of the data, it may be ethically acceptable.\n\nIt is one thing to provide data, but another to provide DNA samples. There are different DNA banks that have been created in many genetic clinics. There are guidelines which detail some of the precautions that should be made in these banks. The purpose of DNA banks is to provide for the future requirements of those families that gave the samples. Verbal consent is required from all people donating samples for research use (Yates et al. 1989). One criteria for the release of samples or information is that nonidentifying information could be released given prospects of general benefit, but identifying information should only be given with the consent of the donor (Zimmerli 1990).\n\nThere have been some publications that have deliberately changed family pedigrees to prevent relatives finding out information regarding there status, such as whether they have Huntington's disease alleles. While this is good to protect people's right to know, and right not to know, it must be very clearly noted in any paper that this is done. Otherwise, people may not be able to do future research, for some association with sex or age for instance, that may be useful in elucidating the disease. The original data should be stored in some repository so that researchers can apply for it. For example, a Venezelean Huntington's disease family pedigree collected by international researchers involves over 8,000 individuals, which is a very important resource for other genetic researchers, now and in the future in the study of other genes. There is a balance that can be maintained to ensure both privacy, and scientific integrity.\n\nThere is also the question of where actual samples of DNA should be held, and if these should be ever used without consent of the donors. It may be impossible if the donor has died, but the children, who share half the genes, must have some claim on the material also. It is a difficult issue, and represents the unique nature of genetic material. It is intergenerational in nature.\n\nDNA Fingerprinting\n\nAnother area where genetic information is increasingly used is in legal cases. The technology used is DNA fingerprinting. Most DNA fingerprinting involves comparing different restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs). Forensic science has begun to use these to study small samples of blood or semen from criminal cases to match up with suspects. The samples can be amplified by the Polymerase Chain reaction (PCR) so very small samples are needed. There has been recent controversy regarding the random probability of the matching, and the lack of scientific method used in some cases. The guidelines need to be clarified (Lander 1989). The probability of finding the same sample in the population is often exaggerated as the values are based on random mating, which is not what is found in most population and racial groups (Joyce 1990). People tend to marry within particular groups rather than in the general population.\n\nThere are still technical difficulties in analysis, such as correction for band-shifting which arises in 30% of DNA fingerprinting cases. The same bands may be detected in two samples, but the pattern may be displaced in one direction compared to the other because of other compounds in the sample. The contaminants may include bacteria, detergents, drugs and dirt, as well as DNA from other humans or animals. It is possible for sunlight or oxygen in the air to cause changes in DNA, which means we must be careful in the collection of very small starting samples. The DNA prints from the same individual may look identical, or patterns from the same individual may look dissimilar. The bands may be smudgy and smeared, which makes it difficult to tell where one band starts and another ends. By using standard markers it is possible to compare the samples. The scientific basis is well established, but the practice has been found poor in some cases (Norman 1989, Knight 1990).\n\nApproximately half of each DNA fingerprint is inherited from each parent. Comparison of the parent's and child's DNA fingerprints can reveal the real genetic relationships. The evidence is accepted in many countries for criminal cases, and also in disputed paternity cases for immigration purposes. The technique can also be used to identify bodies that are otherwise unidentifiable. It can also be used for tissue transplantation matching.\n\nThe actual testing may be performed by commercial laboratories, under commission from government police departments. In Europe there is a standardised technique, using the same restriction endonuclease (HinfI) and two standard chemical probes for DNA identification. The probes used are Cellmark's MS43A and Promega's YNH24. Laboratories can use a variety of other probes for further clarification if required, after these two are used. The U.S. Congress may introduce legislation to stipulate standard technical procedures for commercial companies (Thompson & Ford 1990). Currently, the U.S. Fedral Bureau of Investigation's standard is HaeIII. There may still be room for improvement, so it may be best to postpone any legislation, but standardisation is desirable. The laboratories are subject to blind testing, any only those which maintain good results on these samples are officially used.\n\nThere are civil liberties problems, as mentioned earlier. It has been proposed that DNA fingerprints from all criminals be stored, as fingerprints are already. This would establish a database to be screened for police investigations. It will be feasible to do this later in this decade when the techniques have been standardised. It may aid forensic science sufficiently to be worth the cost in \"liberty\", as long as the database was used according to strict criteria to prevent abuse (Ballantyne et al. 1989).\n\nIf we consider individual human life to be of a high status, than we should protect individuals from discrimination. Some access to personal information will be required for medical emergencies, but otherwise third parties should not have any access. A just society must carry the cost of caring for the sick, as it has since the revolution in caring for the sick in the second and third centuries A.D. This will mean sharing out the cost of health insurance, and disability pensions, as in the past. This issue is very important, more than some of the other issues that grab our attention from new genetic technologies. The law must protect privacy of genetic information, as the alternative is widespread discrimination of many people.\n\nThe call is for any employer or insurer not to discriminate. Government action will be required. Genetic discrimination has joined, racial, sexual and religious discrimination. Knowledge obtained by genetic screening, at gene level or at the level of DNA fingerprinting, will be very powerful. We must be wise in our use of it. Like much offered by science, it has the power to enrich lives as well as to frustrate or destroy them.\n\nPlease send comments to Email < >.\n\nTo Shaping Genes contents\nTo Shaping Genes chapter 14\nTo Eubios Ethics Institute home page", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6085621118545532}
+{"content": "The Pyramid Power Plant of Giza\n\nThe Great Pyramid of Giza - An Energetic Device of the Ancients\n\nOver the past few decades the pioneering work of daring researchers has effectively destroyed the notion that The Great Pyramid was built as a tomb for an ancient Egyptian Pharaoh named Khufu. So too has been dismissed the idea that it was merely an artistic monument; a 'grand statement' as to the glory of an ancient culture.\n\nIndeed, in the light of modern science, following careful evaluation of both its global location and base size dimensions, powerful evidence has emerged to suggest that The Great Pyramid was originally built as an immense energetic device of some sort - a pyramid power plant so to speak. The very construction of this ancient megalithic monument would appear to have been governed by high science; the specific aim being to design a device to actively draw power from the earth itself via the physical principle of resonance.\n\nNow in order to achieve this aim the builders of The Great Pyramid needed to consider very carefully both where to place the structure, and its key dimensions. Two requirements were essential:\n\n  • The placement of the pyramid must possess an energetic affinity to the orbital frequency of the earth itself i.e. the number of days to complete one full orbit about the sun: 365.2421897 solar days.\n  • The physical base side length of the structure (756 feet) must possess a harmonic relationship to the exacting earth form. That is to say, there must be a precise fit between both values and some key physical dimension of the earth.\n\nBoth requirements are absolutely essential for achieving a resonant interaction with the earth - what makes the structure a pyramid power plant in essence. Consider how they are achieved:\n\nLatitude Placement & The Earth Tropical Year Connection\n\nSited most exactingly at 29 degrees, 58 minutes & 51 seconds of arc north of the equator, the structure is found to actively encode a mathematical ratio linked to the earth year via two key measures:\n\n1) The sum of 4 ‘great circle' arcs linking up the 4 points of a square, as set inside the 'small circle' circumference of the earth, at the latitude of the structure.\n\n2) The elliptical arc length up from the earth equator to the structure\n\nNow in the previous article on The Great Pyramid, it was shown that under the most advanced earth ellipsoid model of the modern age (WGS84), a most remarkable ratio is to be had between these two noted components, as detailed:\n\nConsider the small circle at the latitude of The Great Pyramid split up into 4 sections, as marked by the points 1, 2, 3 and 4. Next consider these points linked by a series of great circles. Adding together the arc measures that connect up these 4 points i.e. a + b + c + d (in blue), and dividing the sum by the elliptical arc from the equator to the Pyramid (e, in red), one has the following:\n\n                                (a + b + c + d) / e = 20917.36136 / 2061.702612 = 10.14567340\n\nNB: Arc distance units are in statute miles (1 mile = 5280 feet);\nEarth equatorial circumference = 24901.46089 miles\n\nNow one can see that the answer produced is exceptionally close to 10 times the value of the current earth tropical year, as divided by an ideal of 360 days:\n\n                                                   (365.2421897 / 360) x 10 = 10.14561638\n\nThere would thus appear to be a clear intention to encode a link to the earth tropical year in the placement of The Great Pyramid of Giza; one tied-in specifically to an intriguing transformation of the earth year.\n\nGiven this point, achieving the ratio of 10.14561638 between the two noted measures, would appear then to have been the governing principle that determined the latitude placement of the megalithic structure north of the equator. In addition to this however, it also helped the ancient builders fix the base size of the monument - a critical factor enabling it to function as a pyramid power plant via energetic resonance.\n\nThe Base Length of The Great Pyramid Derived\n\nFrom the most recent survey taken in 1925 by J. H. Cole, the base side length of the pyramid was found to be just slightly under 756 feet. The value was derived from the average of the four sides as independently measured:\n\n                                                                           9065.1 North\n                             ��                                             9073.0 South\n                                                                           9070.5 East\n                                                                           9069.2 West\n\n                                        Average = 9069.45 inches, or 755.783333 British feet\n\nNow in terms of a margin of error one may in fact cite Sir William Flinders Petrie who conducted an earlier exhaustive survey of the structure in 1883. Petrie stated that in terms of accuracy, an error rate of some +/- 1 / 4000 of the base side length was to be expected in any measurement of the pyramid. And this is approximately equal to 2.26735 inches.\n\nWith the above in hand, one is able to demonstrate a remarkable relationship between the base length of the Giza pyramid, and the pure elliptical arc up from the equator to The Great Pyramid, at 29:58:51 N. This is to be had by simply taking the elliptical arc 'e' and dividing it by the base side length of the pyramid, as follows:\n\n                                         Latitude Arc = 2061.702612 x 5280 = 10885789.79 feet\n\n                                         10885789.79 / 755.7833333 = 14403.32079\n                                         Compare with: 14400\n\nNow one can see here just how close this value is to precisely 14400. And indeed, one may cite Robert Temple (The Crystal Sun, p.418) that originally, The Great Pyramid in pristine condition possessed 144000 casing stones. Such is a merely a x10 multiple difference. Given this fact, one is bound to conclude that it is highly likely that the governing principle behind the chosen size of the structure, conformed to a ratio of 14400 / 1 between the noted latitude arc and the base side edge of the pyramid.\n\nThat being said, one may of course consider the accuracy of the association. Is the error within the tolerance as specified by Petrie? Well, it would appear so. For consider the following:\n\n                                   10885789.79 / 14400 = 755.95762458 feet\n\n                                   755.95762458 x 12 = 9071.4914950 inches\n\n                                   9071.4914950 - 9069.45 = 2.04149 inches\n\n                                   Significantly less than the error level of Petrie, at 2.26735 inches.\n\nIn view of this, one may have great confidence in the ratio 14400/1, as being the ratio that determined the actual size of The Great Pyramid of Giza.\n\nThe Pyramid Power Plant & Earth Resonance\n\nNow it would appear then that both of the above noted relations allowed the builders to construct the pyramid to achieve an energetic harmonic linkage to the earth form via its orbital frequency; this being absolutely critical to allow it to function as a device drawing power from the earth through resonance. And yet in doing so, it must tap into energetic waveforms naturally inherent to the earth. But just what type of waves? There are two possible solutions:\n\n                                                      1) Seismic waves\n\n                                                      2) Celestial/Geometric energy waves\n\nOf the former one may note the work of Christopher Dunn, author of the book The Giza Power Plant. Of the latter one may reference the work of Bruce Cathie (The Energy Grid, The Harmonic Conquest of Space, The Bridge to Infinity) who developed his own unique energy grid matrix. It would be well to consider both.\n\nSeismic Waves\n\nAs a celestial body the earth is constantly engaged in intense seismic activity. Though much of it is low level and not readily apparent, it does occasionally give rise to sudden bursts of extreme power in the form of high magnitude earthquakes. And indeed, all such events possess signature vibrations as propagate through the physical structure of the planet; a broad spectrum of vibrations being generated.\n\nNow it is well established in the physical sciences that an object can draw mechanical energy from another vibrating object if both possess vibrating frequencies that are in harmony with one another. And in this instance one may cite the work of Christopher Dunn and his book The Giza Power Plant, whose central proposition is that The Great Pyramid incorporated various harmonic associations to effectively capture the energy from ongoing terrestrial vibrations.  \n\nOf course in order to initiate an energy capture the very structure itself must be set into motion.\n\nNow examined today this ancient monument stands simply as a massive stone edifice with a series of empty internal tunnel sections and chambers. However, as Dunn and other researchers have noted, the design of the internal structure would appear to have been deliberately geared towards housing critical machinery.\n\nOne need only examine The Grand Gallery section of the pyramid to see this. The unusual height on this section is notable. And also the grooves running along its sides. It is very suggestive of some sort of massive cog running up and down this section of the pyramid, when 'operational'. Such machinery would thus have been employed to force the structure into a controlled vibration - one that would be in sympathetic resonance with the earth form.\n\nNow in the course of his book Dunn effectively goes on to say that as a device the pyramid power plant must at some point have been effectively decommissioned, with all the critical internal machinery removed. Only the stonework thus remains, even to this present day.\n\nCelestial/Geometric energy waves\n\nAlthough there is a good physical basis for Dunn's work that the Great Pyramid was built to capture continuous seismic energy, there is something quite crude in this explanation. And on a side note I must state a few critical points:\n\n1) The noted mathematical relations given in this essay as appear to have determined the main dimensions of the structure, via the value 36524.21897, are not in Dunn's book. They are my own discoveries, and Dunn appears to be unaware of them, though he does indeed note a linkage between the Giza pyramid and the earth equator; citing the fact that its base circumference is about half of one minute of arc at the equator of the earth (1/43200). But this is in point of fact a connection noted by many before him.\n\n2) Primarily Dunn focuses upon the resonant properties associated with the structure itself including its internal chambers; most notably the King's chamber. And in this he details certain experiments he has personally conducted as to the acoustical resonant frequencies present in the chamber.\n\nNow bearing in mind the critical association of the pyramid to the earth tropical year value of 365.2421897 (x100), I am much more inclined to suspect that the energy waves about the earth that the structure once tapped into are not basic seismic waves. But rather are associated with a complex energetic grid pattern as permeates the planet naturally. And in this I favour the work of Bruce Cathie in particular.\n\nA former airline pilot, Cathie first became interested by the UFO phenomenon in the 1950s; initially from his own personal sightings of strange aircraft. As a result he decided to conduct a major study of the UFO sightings in the New Zealand area where he lived, to determine if there was a pattern to their flight paths. And this indeed he found.\n\nFollowing an in depth analysis of many reports, he discovered that their flight patterns and sightings conformed to a grid like matrix orientated roughly North-South and East-West. Critically though, the intervals of the grid as determined appeared to be composed of basic fractions of the primary units of angular measure, as handed down from ancient times.\n\nSpecifically (see diagram above) the grid lines were found to be about half of one full degree in separation, which equates to some 30 minutes of arc, or roughly 30 nautical miles (1 nm = 6076 feet) over the surface of the earth.\n\nWhat Cathie concluded from his analysis is that the UFO craft were somehow operating on a natural set of energetic 'tram-lines' covering the earth. And their very flight patterns revealed the existence of this grid. That being said, one is inclined though to offer here a slight correction to Cathie's proposed intervals, in light of my own work.\n\nIn the previous essay on Sacred Geometry it was shown that there is a lawful connection between the orbital period of the earth and its physical form. They both expand (or contract) in direct proportion, with the noted relationship revealing that a time unit of 1 day (24 hours) equates to 60 units of 6000 ft over the surface of the earth. It is likely therefore that the true grid intervals identified by Cathie are of the ideal unit distance of 6000 feet, and not 6076 feet.\n\nThe relations thus reveal the following:\n\n1) A natural grid matrix exists covering the earth whose primary sub-unit intervals of 6000 feet are tied in to the earth tropical year: 365.2421897 days.\n\n2) A harmonic frequency linkage exists between both the tropical year and the key value employed to establish the base length and height of The Great Pyramid: 36524.21897.\n\nThe resonant requirements for the structure to operate as a Pyramid Power Plant are thus achieved by these relations. And indeed, they offer a far more powerful solution as to just how the Giza Pyramid taps into the energy of the earth; via interaction with a natural energy grid matrix covering the planet, as opposed to drawing off energy from aggregate global seismic activity.\n\nGreat Pyramid Power Plant - The Purpose\n\nNow with the case set out that this ancient Egyptian pyramid was once capable of extracting energy from the earth via resonance, the very next point to consider is:\n\n                                                             What did they do with the energy?\n\nSuch a question touches upon the very purpose behind The Great Pyramid of Giza - a matter as shall be dealt with elsewhere in a future essay.\n\nFurther Research\n\nTo examine the work of Christopher Dunn, author of The Giza Power Plant, one may visit his website at the link below. The key proposition that the structure was built as a pyramid power plant to draw seismic energy from the earth is contained in his book, which I indeed have myself read. Pyramid Power Plant", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9345037937164307}
+{"content": "View Single Post\n\nToEasy's Avatar\n\n08.08.2012 , 08:37 PM | #3\nZarron was standing in the room where the diplomats were at. He was hired to be extra security for the diplomats. He hoped the alliance would work because he was tired of the empire using the mandalorians as their tools. Zarron remembered learning about the mandalorian blockade being destroyed by smugglers and a republic squadron while the sith did not aid the mandos at all. Zarron will do anything he can to make sure that mandalore allies with the republic.\n\"Jedi do not fight for peace. That's only a slogan, and is as misleading as slogans always are. Jedi fight for civilization, because only civilization creates peace. We fight for justice because justice is the fundamental bedrock of civilization: an unjust civilization is built upon sand. It does not long survive a storm.\" - Mace Windu", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8786528706550598}
+{"content": "Lewis and Holland\n\nCindy Lewis and Mark Holland work as a team carving and painting each bird and floral sculpture. Each piece is an original and displays their unique style of subtle texturing and intricate oil painting to \"fool the eye of the beholder.\"\nTheir deep admiration and respect of the natural world, especially birds, is evident in every piece. They have been traveling North America studying the many species of birds and flowers, and in recent years have been honored sculptors at such prestigious exhibits as the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition and the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Museum's \"Birds in Art\".", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9780740141868591}
+{"content": "Artist Statement\n\n\nIn my work I am interested in experimenting with light and space.\n\nI aim to create a visual indeterminacy through the use of light, wires and creating a pre-reflective experience that only exists in the given time. I hope to create environments that stimulate senses through the altering of perception. My current work is examining movement of light, shadows and wires according to an empty space. Thus testing how these can change the space and hopefully viewer’s perception.\n\nThrough my work I have shown my interest for kinetic art and the use of technologies like Arduinos and motors. Creating static objects such as wires into flexible pieces.\n\nThe influence for my work is lined with artist like Gianni Colombo, whose work aims to reflect on space and body and the work of James Turrell and Minimalist artists.\n\nI hope to create an environment that is minimal but yet full of senses, mainly with the use of light and static objects that will change through time due to motion.\n\n\n5 Key-points Documentation\n\n\nCreating my own little hologram space out of mount board and using my smartphone with a DIY plastic projector. Interesting to find out how holograms work and how I can create something from 2D into 3D.\n\n\nExperimenting with broken glass and seeing how the perception can change according to that object.\n\n\nAfter working with arduinos and learning how to make something kinetic, I was inspired to work with wires as Gianni Colombo and make a small model to re-create a space with wire panels that aimed to move and change the size of the room. \n\n\nI was feeling motivated to finally make a life size space and move on from the small models I have made. I feel like this event has made me motivated to experiment in bigger space and being able to visualize better.\n\n\nCreating space according to the small model I’ve made but in this case instead of using arduinos to move the wires I planned to work like Hatoum and move the light bulb in order to change the shadows. Unfortunately the light bulb would have to be move with a hand. \n\n5 Key-points Contextualisation\n\n\nInitial inspiration taken from James Turrell’s work. Very inspiring artist that manages to create infinite spaces with light streams and gives light another meaning. Manages to make viewers perceive spaces differently as well as making them physically feel the light. \n\n\nUse of projections and layers of glass in order to create a 3D image with light. Working with technologies, light and spaces is why this piece is a important to me. Inspired to work with holograms and seeing the 3D effects.\n\n\nA Cube space filled with glass and LED lights. Distortion and disorientation on the space around you. I really like the effect of lights and mirrors coming together. They really help each other in order to be something exciting. \n\n\nDark and elastic spaces made with wires and UV light. Colombo explores the body and space which is something I find very interesting  Uses kinetic art and motors which is something different and something I experimented with, by using Arduino.\n\n\nBy looking at this piece I have looked at a different way to make kinetic art, instead of moving wires through a motor I wanted to explore what would it be if I worked with a moving bulb and changing the shadows. Looking at making static objects move through light and not motors.\n\n\n03/12/15 Space\n\nMona Hatoum ‘Light Sentence’ 1992\n\nSince moving on from making the ‘object move’ to the ‘surroundings move’, I have looked at the work of Mona Hatoum and how she used the light bulb to create kinetic shadows, rather then using the cages to move around the light bulb.\n\nThis has been the major inspiration to try and do something else with the wires and light, and I have used the moving bulb idea in my recent work.\n\n\nI built a dark space in order to concentrate on the light and shadows. The object that I made was inspired by the small space I have created with kinetic wires. I wanted to see how a big scale wires could cast a shadow with moving light bulb.\n\nI move the light bulb up and down to create the movement.\n\nThis is just an experiment of what I can work.\n\n\n\nShadows created through the wire.\n\n\n\n\n\nBy spray painting the wires white I intended them to blend into the walls.\n\n\n\n\nAlthough the intention of this was to experiment, I really struggled with the wires and I absolutely hate the result. Wires are too flexible yet so hard to model and the light is not as intense as I would want it to be. I believe this would maybe work better with projections. \n\n1/06/15 Building the space\n\nI planned to create a little dark space in my studio, and with the technician Laura, we built a small space to block out light with dark fabric so I could work on my ideas of shadow and light.\n\nI was delighted to finally have started working in big scale and moving on from little models.\n\nI really enjoyed working in this environment trying to achieve something big and changing my studio into something different. I was literally creating a different environment in my space.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThis is an image made on photoshop to visualize how the wires can appear in this space.\n\nspace photoshop\n\n\n\n\n1/12/15 Mona Hatoum\n\nMona Hatoum ‘Light Sentence’ 1992\n\nLight Sentence is a room full of empty wire lockers with a light bulb swinging in the centre, causing the shadows on the walls to sway and shift in an unsettling way.\n\nWire mesh, electric motor , timer, bulb, cable , electrical wire 36 mesh traps metal component units by their juxtaposition a structure in the form of “U”. A bulb, suspended at the end of a wire, slowly varying height , driven by an electric motor and casts moving shadows based on its movement . The viewer is led in the activity of the work: the shadows of her body become part of the room.\n\nAudience can immerse themselves in the space and shadows.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9990143179893494}
+{"content": "North Korea threatens Australia with nuclear strike\n\n\nNorth Korea advises Australia against ‘blindly toeing the US line’, otherwise it may end badly for it.\n\nSuch a statement was made in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of North Korea after statements made by the head of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs, Julia Bishop.\n\nEarlier, in an interview with ABC Bishop said that North Korea’s nuclear program imposes a threat to Australia.\n\nA spokesman for the DPRK Foreign Ministry warned the Foreign Minister of Australia to “think twice about the consequences to be entailed by her reckless tongue-lashing before flattering the US.”\n\n\nIn response to this statement Bishop stressed the need for North Korea to abandon illegal nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.\n\nU.S. Vice President Mike Pence visited Australia in the framework of his Asian tour. The nuclear and missile programs of the DPRK have become one of the main topics in Pence’s talks with the leaders of the countries of the region.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.75837242603302}
+{"content": "Last week, Jeremy Clarkson’s lucrative but troubled relationship with the BBC finally came to an end. The cause of the separation has been well-documented but there are some interesting employment law points arising from the affair. \n\nMr Clarkson was suspended pending an investigation the day after he reported the incident. In practice, with such serious allegations it is common to suspend the alleged protagonist during the disciplinary investigation to preserve the status quo. The decision to suspend in these circumstances is unlikely to be criticised, but employers must be cautious about how the decision is communicated. It must not be seen as a predetermination of the matter before concluding a proper investigation and hearing. In this case, the pre-recorded “Top Gear” programme was ‘postponed’ from the TV schedules pending the outcome of the matter. Arguably, this was unnecessary and could have implied that the BBC had already made up its mind before the disciplinary investigation was completed. That said, there was a great deal of publicity and speculation leading up to Mr Clarkson’s departure including death threats against the victim of the fracas (Oisin Tymon) so under these circumstances one can see why the BBC was cautious.\n\nIt is worth noting that Mr Clarkson had already been given a final warning for his misconduct last year. However, in cases of gross misconduct such as this, it is legitimate for an employer to move directly to dismissal even without previous warnings. Inevitably, the fact that he had been involved in recent incidents did not help his cause or strengthen his defence.\n\nThe terms of Mr Clarkson’s contract with the BBC are not public although we understand that he is a self-employed contractor at the BBC, not an employee. His contract was not terminated; rather it will not be renewed and this has made the BBC’s decision less problematic from a legal perspective.\n\nHad Mr Clarkson been an employee, then a failure to renew a fixed-term contract could have amounted to a dismissal potentially enabling him to claim unfair dismissal. However, the BBC’s disciplinary policy states that assault constitutes “gross misconduct”, so that, subject to following a fair procedure, an employee can be terminated immediately without notice. Even if this was not explicitly stated in the policy, an Employment Tribunal would almost certainly hold that physically assaulting a colleague would amount to gross misconduct, and Mr Clarkson would have had little to support an argument that the underlying reason for his dismissal was substantively unfair. We do not know the extent to which the BBC followed a disciplinary process, although in view of the time taken to reach a decision and the manner in which it was communicated by the Director General of the BBC it appears as though a fair procedure was adopted. \n\nBy making the decision not to renew Mr Clarkson’s contract, the BBC may have saved itself from potential claims further down the line from Mr Tymon, who is a BBC employee and could have potentially claimed constructive unfair dismissal if the BBC had failed to take appropriate action against Mr Clarkson. Despite the relatively high threshold to prove constructive dismissal claims, Mr Tymon would have had a strong case had the BBC allowed someone who had assaulted him to remain working on the same programme and thereby breached the implied term mutual trust and confidence that must exist between employer and employee.\n\nRecent reports suggest that Mr Clarkson will work for other broadcasters and possibly for the BBC in the future. Any HR managers blessed with overseeing him would be well advised to dust off the relevant disciplinary procedures just in case!", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9874564409255981}
+{"content": "The noun fugue describes a psychiatric disorder that involves memory loss and travel. If you wake up in New Jersey and can’t remember how you got there, one possibility is that you were in a fugue state.\n\nFugue traces back to the Latin word fuga, meaning “flight.” If you’re in a fugue state, it's like you're fleeing from your own identity. Symptoms of this rare condition include amnesia and wandering, typically in an attempt to create a new identity. Musicians might know that fugue is also the name of a musical form in which a theme is introduced and then repeated in higher or lower notes, as if the theme is flying around the scale.\n\nDefinitions of fugue\n\nn a musical form consisting of a theme repeated a fifth above or a fourth below its first statement\n\nType of:\nclassical, classical music, serious music\ntraditional genre of music conforming to an established form and appealing to critical interest and developed musical taste\n\nn a dreamlike state of altered consciousness that may last for hours or days\n\nType of:\nmental condition, mental state, psychological condition, psychological state\n\nn dissociative disorder in which a person forgets who they are and leaves home to create a new life; during the fugue there is no memory of the former life; after recovering there is no memory for events during the dissociative state\n\npsychogenic fugue\nType of:\ndissociative disorder\ndissociation so severe that the usually integrated functions of consciousness and perception of self break down\n\nSign up, it's free!\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9837693572044373}
+{"content": "A plan is a guide to routes to take to get to a desired destination. Planning involves more than just preparing a document, such as a \"business plan\". It requires thinking about the matrix of plans which set directions for a structured group of activities for an organisation or venture. For example, project plans are structured by project management methodology. Common types of plans include strategic, organisational, operations and offerings plans and plans for specific functions such as research, marketing and distribution.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6995856761932373}
+{"content": "Search inside eBookDB\n\nAuthor: RAM Arora\nPublisher: ram\nKeywords: brains, exploding, fix\nNumber of Pages: 466\nPublished: 2009-11-11\nISBN-10: 1448619262\nISBN-13: 9781448619269\n\nAll living organisms are like biological robots. Their physical actions, organic capabilities and senses are firmly and very narrowly limited and so programmed in the DNA. Brain, the master controller of the living system, is as susceptible to external and internal stresses as all other bodily components. The brain is also abode of the mind, and the mind is the embodiment of thoughts. The scientific observation that brain and mind die simultaneously is irrefutable. Wherein the brain the mind parks itself is a mystery. The brain is more intricate than the universe and the mind exceeds the brain\n\nAuthor: Gene Kizer, Jr.\nPublisher: Charleston Athenaeum Press\nKeywords: irrefutable, argument, states, war, cause, slavery\nNumber of Pages: 250\nPublished: 2014-08-26\nISBN-10: 0985363274\nISBN-13: 9780985363277\n\nA powerful argument with citation and 140 sources proving unequivocally that the North did not go to war to end slavery or free the slaves. The cause of the War Between the States (Civil War) was the threatened economic annihilation of the North brought about by the secession of the Southern States. The North quickly discovered that its great wealth and employment depended on manufacturing and shipping for the South, and without the South, the North was headed fast to economic collapse and anarchy. The North’s passage of the astronomical Morrill Tariff at the same time that Southerners m\n\nAuthor: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Develop\nPublisher: OECD Publishing\nKeywords: wealth, shifting, development, global, perspectives\nNumber of Pages: 180\nPublished: 2010-09-13\nISBN-10: 9264084657\nISBN-13: 9789264084650\n\n(Page 1 of 1)   \nNo Books found.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.728279709815979}
+{"content": "Kingdom of Universe\n\n1. What is Kingdom of Universe?\n\nKingdom Of Universe is a global innovatory project. Its allows to buy pieces of the Universe: stars, galaxies, constellations, nebulas and many other celestial bodies from beyond our Solar System. The creator of Kingdom of Universe, a “cosmic” webshop, is Mariusz Białek, a Pole normally living in Norway who, in 2013, upon an order of the Supreme Court in Oslo, received the ownership title to all celestial bodies in the Universe, known and unknown to the men, except for celestial bodies within our Solar System. Pieces of the Universe owned by Mariusz Białek you can already purchase at http://kingdomofuniverse.com/shop/. The sale of celestial objects, as the ownership title to the object, is lawful and legally valid. All the sold objects are genuine and real celestial bodies. \n\n2. What is the legal basis of operation of Kingdom of Universe? Is this real?\n\nThe Universe used to belong to nobody. Everything changed on 4th September 2013, when the Norwegian Court approved Mariusz Białek’s application for the ownership title to the Universe except for celestial bodies from within our Solar System, making him the first in history, legal owner of all celestial bodies, known and unknown to the men, as well as dark energy and dark matter existing beyond our Solar System. It was possible to happen under appropriation procedure, based on an old Roman Law stating that a person, who first appropriated an object, became its owner.\n\nTwo treaties provide legal basis regulating the property rights to celestial bodies in the Universe: the International Space Treaty of 1967 and the Moon Treaty of 1984.\n\nThe International Space Treaty says that no country can claim rights to the Universe, but does not say anything about individuals and private entrepreneurs.  \n\nThe Moon Treaty, developed 17 years later, attempted to rectify this fault. The attempt to ratify it ended however with a failure because, from almost 200 members of the United Nations, only 6 states ratified the said Treaty. It should be mentioned that the group of signatories included none of the superpowers leading in the development of space exploration technologies. The fiasco of the Moon Treaty has revealed, to some extent, that certain rights are treated very selectively.  \n\nThere are many examples of appropriation of territories having no former legal owner in the history of the human race. But mostly they are a far cry from the definition of appropriation of “no-man’s-land”. Most of the territories were bloodily conquered because they already belonged to somebody else. It should be emphasized that Mariusz Białek appropriated the Universe peacefully because violence is not the only one method of winning and acquiring! Doing so he has, in a sense, become the only man in the history of the human race who acquired so much, harming nobody and shedding not even a drop of blood!\n\n3. Is the sale of stars by Kingdom of Universe legal?\n\nYes, the sale of celestial bodies carried out by Kingdom of Universe is entirely legal. Kingdom of Universe is the only one company in the world having legal rights to sell pieces of the Universe from beyond our Solar System. A person who purchases a celestial body acquires the property title to the body (e.g. star, planet etc.) and becomes its legal owner.\n\nThe legality of enterprise run by Kingdom of Universe is further proved by an ongoing (already for 30 years), legally valid sale of parcels on the Moon and other celestial bodies from within our Solar System by Lunar Embassy. The originator of this lunar business deserves to be complemented for creativity!\n\n4. What documents will I receive upon purchase?\n\nWhen the purchase is made every buyer receives documents confirming property title to the star – Deed of Ownership, Certificate of Ownership and Code of the Universe. The documents are also sent by e-mail immediately upon payment.\n\n5. Why did Mariusz Białek appropriate the entire Universe except for our Solar System? \n\nAs many of you know, the Solar System already has an owner, an American Denis Hope, who appropriated the Solar System and in 1980 established the Lunar Embassy to parcel and sell Moon acres.\nHumankind is continuously reaching out and goes far beyond the limits of its capabilities, so until we grasp the mystery of the Universe (which might never happen), our Solar System is some kind of a test site, a cosmic laboratory. Therefore, Kingdom of Universe does not want to prevent humankind in any way from getting to know and understanding the essence of the Universe.\n\n6. Why do I pay so little for such a lot?\n\nFrom our earthy perspective it seems unthinkable to buy a star or entire galaxy for several dozen or a few hundred of dollars. Kingdom of Universe believes that everyone can become the owner of a piece of the Universe. We want every man on the Earth to be able to feel happy and raise above what we have created for ourselves here, on the Earth. So do not hesitate!\n\n7. How can I be sure that a celestial body I’ve bought from Kingdom of Universe truly exists? \n\nKingdom of Universe draws on scientific data accepted as facts. It employs educated professionals, having the right knowledge and experience. If we have any doubts about the existence of a body, we exclude it from the sale.\n\nBut we are still new to space knowledge and the essence of the Universe still remains a mystery. Because of enormous distances and velocities in the Universe and the nature of time, you can in fact purchase an object which no longer exists. The rule however works both ways and you may be purchasing something which does not exist yet. But such is the nature of the entire Universe.  \n\n8. Isn’t Kingdom of Universe about the desire for profit only?\n\nFor many of you it may seem so. In no case however it is true. The idea of the originator of Kingdom of Universe is to change the world for a better place and the income from sale of pieces of the Universe is used to serve higher purposes of ensuring balanced and ethical handling of our planet. It does not matter how much you have, but what you do with what you have. Money has never been an object by itself for Mariusz Białek.\n\n9. How can we be sure that the Universe does not already belong to somebody else?\n\nA good question! Definitely nobody else on the Earth has owned it before Mariusz Białek. But what if it belongs to some extra-terrestrial creatures? We cannot know that. Furthermore, we could ask if our planet, pieces of which we constantly quarrel about, does not already belong to somebody else.  \n\nMaybe in the far future it will turn out that the Universe belongs to a “creator”, an alien civilization which, in some incomprehensible way, rules it all! If so, when such a creature visits the Earth, it will have to prove its rights to Mariusz Białek. However you don’t have to worry until that happens, Pieces of the Universe which you purchase come from their only one legal owner, Mariusz Białek, the founder of Kingdom of Universe!\n\n10. Can somebody else inherit my Piece of the Universe?\n\nCertainly! You can bequeath the owned celestial body to anybody you want.  \n\nThe purchase of celestial body is an investment for future generations. We do not know what the future will bring. Who knows, considering the present development of knowledge and technology, maybe in several hundred or several dozen of years, humankind will be able to travel throughout the entire Universe? Buying a piece of the Universe may turn out to be as good an investment as purchasing a plot of land on a desert several hundred years ago.  \n\nSo even if today the purchase of a planet may seem like investment to be only enjoyed by yourself or a person you love, tomorrow it may turn out to be the most spot-on investment in your entire life.  \n\n11. How can I be sure that you will not sell my Piece of the Universe for a second time?\n\nIf we wanted to cheat, we could probably do so. But it is not what it’s all about. First of all the Universe is enormously huge, so there is no need for us to cheat, there are enough pieces of the Universe for every men living on the Earth and even if everybody buys one, there still will be more left than we can imagine. In Kingdom of Universe every celestial object is sold only once and you can rest assured that you are the sole owner.  \n\n12. Can I name a start I’ve bought?\n\nYes. You can give the star any name you want, e.g. name it after somebody you want to give it to. Naming the star is symbolic; your name will be specified on the Certificate of Ownership only and will have no effect on the official name of the star. Please refer to question 13 and article 6 of the Code of the Universe .  \n\n13. I have used the services of another “space” company, named a star and my name has been entered into an international register. How does what Kingdom of Universe do, differ from that?  \n\nExactly, you’ve paid for naming a star, you have not bought the star, you have only paid for placing the name of your star in the international register. You should however know that there are many crooks operating in this line of business and, despite assurances, your name might have not been entered into the international register at all. The only organization which can legally do so is the International Astronomical Union!\n\nYou can name a star bought from Kingdom of Universe. Your own name will have a symbolic meaning and will only appear on the Certificate (please refer to question 12 and article 6 of the Code of the Universe ). It is for you only, like naming your own car. How many of us name our cars?\n\n14. What if in the future somebody else lands on the planet I’ve bought from Kingdom of Universe?\n\nIf it is one of the known, terrestrial superpowers, let’s remember that under the International Space Treaty of 1967 no country can claim rights to your planet. If a newcomer lands on your planet in order to expand our knowledge about the Universe and about ourselves, for the good of the entire human race, you should show hospitality to the stranger because it is one of the fundamental principles of the Code of the Universe to which you agree by buying a Piece of the Universe.    \n\nIf it is a private expedition without peaceful intentions, Kingdom of Universe would undertake all measures to ensure safety and stability to the planet’s owner. However it will never apply forced solutions! One of the leading missions of Kingdom of Universe is to avoid violence and promote conduct which brings no harm to innocent beings. Please remember that the human race will probably not survive if it does not renounce war. If the guests on your planet are highly developed extra-terrestrial civilizations, they will undoubtedly have no idea what violence is, as otherwise they would be extinguished by then. Remember not to surround yourself by a high wall as you may feel lonely in your new world!\n\n15. What are your plans for the future, Kingdom of Universe?\n\nTo make world a better place! It underpins all our actions. We want to show the world that we can live better, that the way we think is not always the right one! Wait for the future – enriched by the ideas of the originator of Kingdom of Universe, it may be much better that many of you seem to expect!", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5616313219070435}
+{"content": "HMC Physics Colloquium\n\n\nSean Carroll\n\n\nWhy Is the Past Different From the Future?\n\nOct. 30, 2007\n\n\nCosmologists aspire to provide a dynamical explanation for the observed state of the universe, but have had very little to say about the dramatic asymmetry between early times and late times. I will argue that the search for a natural explanation for the observed breakdown of time-reversal symmetry in cosmology leads us directly to interesting conclusions about inflation, quantum gravity, and the multiverse.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9973665475845337}
+{"content": "Dear 293; 9/23/96 (two days after the max of -d(daylight)/d(day)) Guide to Chapter 3 reading ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Chapter 3 is about equations of the form: A(t)x'' + B(t)x' + C(t)x = F(t) (1) where x=x(t) and x' and x'' are the first and second derivatives of x w.r.t. t, respectively. The general goal is to find an x(t) that satisfies this equation for given functions A(t), B(t), C(t) and F(t). We, here in math 293 in the fall of 1996, are only going to consider some special cases all of which are of the form Ax'' + Bx' + Cx = D sin(omega t). (2) That is, in (1) we are only considering functions A(t) = A = constant B(t) = B = constant C(t) = C = constant F(t) = D sin (omega t) with D = constant and omega = constant As you read the text you should keep this in mind. Then, later, if you are mathematically inclined and interested you can go back and look at things in more depth. We are especially going to emphasize a few special cases of eqn (2). These are x'' + Cx = 0, w/ C>0 (3) x'' - Cx = 0, w/ C>0 (4) Ax'' + Bx' + Cx = 0, arbitrary A,B,C (5) x'' + Cx = D sin (omega t). (6) Here is a guide to reading (note that this includes some sections NOT on the printed syllabus and skips parts that are on the syllabus). Keep eqs 3-6 in mind as you read the text. Topic pages what to do ^^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^ The general problem statement. 129-132 (read) Existence and Uniqueness (usually not an issue). 132-133 (skim or skip) Linear independence of two functions. 134-135 (read quickly) Wronskians (we will not use in this course). 135 (skip) General solutions. 136-138 (read) Repeated roots (a special rare case for the experts). 139 (skim or skip) General solution of linear equations of any order. 141-149 (skip) Homogeneous eqs with const coefficients (eqn (5) above). 152-154 (read) Repeated roots (rare special case). 155-156 (skim or skip) Complex variables (see also T&F A-7 to A-17). 156-157 (read, important) Complex roots (connects sines to exponentials). 158-159 (read) Repeated complex roots (for experts). 159-160 (skip) Mechanical vibrations (important but a little applied). 163-170 (read if interested) Undetermined coefficients (ie, guessing). 173-181 (read) Variation of parameters (for experts only). 181-184 (skip) Forcing and resonance ( eqn (6) above ). 187-195 (read lightly) -Andy Ruina T&AM, Kimball Hall (wk) 227 Bryant Ave (hm) Cornell, Ithaca,NY,14850 Ithaca, NY 14850 FAX: 607-255-2011 607-277-5675", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6910911798477173}
+{"content": "Waste less time on Facebook — follow Brilliant.\n\n\nChess Tactical: Level 2 Challenges\n\n\nIn the following position, how can checkmate be given in 1 move?\n\nIf the bottom left corner is denoted by \\( (1,1) \\), what is the target square of the last move?\n\n  • This game starts from the standard position, and we arrived at this position using the standard rules of chess.\n  • You have to determine who is to play.\n\nIn the position below, how many moves does White need to perform the fastest possible checkmate?\n\nIs it possible to remove 2 pieces from the board in a single turn whilst playing with the standard rules of chess?\n\nClarification: Remove means taken off the board, not move two pieces simultaneously. The problem refers to the literal physical pieces; additionally, if a physical piece is placed on the board, that is considered a different operation.\n\nIt's White's turn. Assuming optimal play, which piece should White move?\n\nIt's White's turn. Assume Black plays optimally. What is the minimum number of moves to checkmate the black king?\n\n\nProblem Loading...\n\nNote Loading...\n\nSet Loading...", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9679040312767029}
+{"content": "May 10, 2014 College, Geography, History, Sailing, Uncategorized\n\nSailing before computers\n\nWe wondered aloud the other day how the Allies won World War II without the use of computers. “We had one computer,” said Dennis Zahn, “Enrico Fermi.” He was referring to the Italian physicist whose work at the University of Chicago advanced to nuclear physics to create the atomic bomb. “He could calculate faster in his head better than primitive computers as they evolved later.” We contemplated that for a while as the wind propelled us along.\n\n\n©2017 Williamsburg Charter Sails", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7192823886871338}
+{"content": "Introduction to Lacrosse\n\nThe Objective\n\nHow to play Lacrosse – the Length of play\n\nYouth quarters are typically 8 minutes long.\nHigh School quarters are 12 minutes.\nCollege, Pro, and International games have 15 minute quarters.\n\nAt the end of each quarter teams must switch ends. When time runs out at the end of the fourth quarter the team with the most points wins. Ties are decided by sudden death playoffs.\n\nThe Field layout\nThe basic layout of a lacrosse field utilizing NCAA rules is 110 yards long by 60 yards wide. Goal nets are 6′ x 6′ and reside within a 9′ circle called the crease. The net is positioned 15 yards from the end line giving about 13.5 yards between the back of the crease and the end line.\n\nLacrosse Positions\nMen’s Field Lacrosse is played with 10 players.\n\n3 Attackmen\n3 Midfielders\n3 Defenders\n1 Goalie\n\nBasic Play\n\nOffensive players manoeuvre down the field toward the goal by running with or passing the ball to a team mate. Players can run the entire length of the field as long as they are not offside by not leaving enough players in the defensive end. Offensive players cannot enter the crease area that surrounds the goal. The crease is a circle that surrounds the goal and it is where the goalie works. Defensive players can enter the crease area. If an offensive player enters the crease, it is a crease violation and position goes to the opponent. Offensive players cannot go into their own crease either unless they gain possession while in the crease they can take the ball out.\n\nUnique Rules\n\n\nIn the final two minutes of the game the team that is ahead must play with the provision that they must stay within the attack zone. Failure to stay in the attack zone constitutes offensive delay of game and possession will be transferred to the losing team. This only applies to the team that is ahead.\n\nThe Possession\nDuring a face off teams are required to keep four players including the goalie behind their own defensive restraining line, and three attackers behind the offensive restraining line. During the face off the 3 midfielders from each side fight for possession of the ball. Once a player picks the ball up with his stick and controls it possession occurs and the defensive players may now move forward to the midfield line if they so choose and attackers may move back to the midfield line as well if they so choose, but teams must maintain 4 defensive players in their own half of the field during play and three attackmen on the offensive half of the field. It does not matter which of the players stay on which half as long as 4 defensive players and three attack are maintained at all times. Defensive players are allowed to go on the attack including the goalie as long as a midfielder stays behind to keep the number of defenders at 4. If a defender crosses the midfield line and the number of defenders in their own end is less than four, offside occurs and possession is awarded to the opponent. Likewise if an offensive player leaves the offensive half of the field and a midfielder does not stay behind to keep the number of offensive players at least three. This aspect of the game allows for creative transition play. Defenders can initiate a fast break as long as a midfielder stays behind.\n\nThe Check\nThe game of lacrosse is very physical and contact is very much a part of the game. Being aggressive and physical is a very good quality to have. Checking is a basic lacrosse skill. There are two different types of check that can be employed. Stick Checks and Body checks. Stick checks can be made as long as the attempt is to try to contact the opponents stick. And in some of the older aged divisions body checks can happen as long as the check is to the body above the waist and below the neck.\n\n\nLacrosse Penalties\n\n\nTechnical fouls – Offside, Crease violations, pushing from the rear, thumbing. and Warding Off constitute a loss of possession.\n\nPlaying a Man Down\n\nYou can find an official rule book on the FIL’s website.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9844782948493958}
+{"content": "Alice Maccario\nMore ideas from Alice\n\"We read and we read and we read and we read. We couldn't get enough of those…\n\n(Open, I'm her.) The bibliophile walked through the narrow shelves, in the bookstore that no one ever visited. She found a book that she had been wanting to read and climbed on the shelf, sitting between the two.\n\nBlack and white modeling photography. Haha. love that she is in a washing…\n\nWhy are you in a washing machine, fabulous girl with the skeleton tights and Docs? Oh well, it's working for ya.\n\nCheeky Laundromat Photography : coin laundry photo\n\ncoin laundry photo - Photographer Melanie Rains captured model Ali Paterson in this cheeky coin laundry photo series. The series features images in color and in monochr.\n\nphoto: Tucson photographer Stephanie Moore. hair & m/u by Leslie Milne…\n\nIn this laundromat photoshoot, Tucson photographer Stephanie Moore captures model Hannah in a classic laundromat photo shoot fashion with her own flare.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6272966265678406}
+{"content": "Monday, January 16, 2017\n\nDarkness and coldness - killed the dinosaurs\n\nArtist depiction on the impact of the asteroid \n\nSixty six years ago, the extinction of the dinosaurs gives the evolution of the mammals, which results to the human being on earth. The scientist discovered because of the impact of the asteroid, the droplets of sulfuric acid formed in the atmosphere as clouds. These clouds blocked the sunlight for several years. Due to this the plants died and the death spreads through the food web. The previous theories were based on the dust evolved by the impact. But the new theory show that the sulfuric droplets resulted in long-lasting cooling which brings the end to the dinosaurs.\n\n\"The big chill following the impact of the asteroid that formed the Chicxulub crater in Mexico is a turning point in Earth history,\" says Julia Brugger from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK). She is the lead author of the study to be published in the Geophysical Research Letters. She also says \"We can now contribute new insights for understanding the much debated ultimate cause for the demise of the dinosaur at the end of the Cretaceous era.\" To prove this theory the scientists used a special computer process using a climate model on the atmosphere, ocean and the sea ice. The researchers did research proving that the sulfur vaporized from the asteroid is the main reason for blocking the sunlight and cooling down the earth.    \n\nIn the tropical region, the annual mean temperature reduces from 27 - 5 degree Celsius. \"It became cold, I mean, really cold,\" says Brugger. The temperature of the global annual mean surface drops down by at least 26 degrees Celsius. The dinosaurs used to live in flourishing climate. After the asteroids impact the average annual temperature was below the freezing point for above 3 years. Because of this the ice caps expanded. Even on the tropical region the temperature eventually went down from 27 degree to hardly 5 degree Celsius. \"The long-term cooling caused by the sulfate aerosols was much more important for the mass extinction than the dust that stays in the atmosphere for only relatively short time. It was also more important than local events like the extreme heat close to the impact, wildfires or tsunamis,\" says the co-author Georg Feulner who who leads the research team at PIK. The scientists also discovered that it took 30 years for the climate to recover. \n\nThrough the study of the earths past the scientist can predict the future threats by asteroids to the earth. \"It is fascinating to see how evolution is partly driven by an accident like an asteroid's impact -- mass extinctions show that life on earth is vulnerable,\" said Feulner. \"It also shows how important the climate is for all species on our planet. Now-a-days the most immediate threat is not from natural cooling but from human-made global warming\" \n\n\nWednesday, January 11, 2017\n\nNew giant on town: Titanosaur exhibits at the American Museum of Natural History\n\nTitanosaur at the American Museum of Natural History\n\nNot only T.rex and Barosaurus, there is a new pre-historic giant is in town. And it will be displayed at the American Museum of Natural History. They call this creature Titanosaur and the show starts from this Friday. It is the biggest dinosaur ever to be displayed at the museum. It is one among the largest dinosaur discovered. This dinosaur is of 122 feet long and rise till a height of 20 feet almost to the ceiling. It weights approximately 70 tons, almost the weight of 10 African elephants.\n\nThe cast model skeleton of Titanosaur is made of plaster-of-paris and with some well preserved bones which was discovered recently. It includes the huge 8 foot long thigh bone. The plaster cast bones were created using the new technology like scanning and 3-D printing. Diego Pol  is one of the paleontologist who discovered and dug out the previous unknown dinosaur discovered in Argentina in 2014. He also has a main part in this process. \n\nInstallation of Titanosaur at the American Museum of Natural History\n\nThe term Titanosaur refers to a group of dinosaur with similar type and size. It is according to Don Phillips president of the New York paleontology society and a lecturer at New York University. \"There are your classic long-necked, long-tailed, really big dinosaurs,\" said Phillips. \"They are the largest land animals that ever lived\". The scientist believe that it is a herbivore. On knowing this Phillips said \"They were probably not much of a threat if you lived back then,\" and he added, \"Unless you got stepped on by one.\"\n\nThe dinosaur is installed in a walking pose with the neck more horizontal than vertical. It is the only possible way to install. If the neck is in vertical position it wouldn't fit inside the museum. In addition to that the head and neck of the Titanosaur is poked out of the fourth-floor hall towards the elevators. This provides the visitors an interesting introduction.  \n\nTuesday, January 10, 2017\n\nCan dinosaur Come back to life?\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMonday, January 9, 2017\n\nDinosaurs tracks shows that they might have hunted in packs\n\nRound footprint of some vegetarian dinosaur probably Zuniceratops\n\nPaleontologist found the footsteps of three carnivorous dinosaur which are of different sizes in the White Mountains. They also discovered the tracks of some other vegetarian dinosaurs around those places. Because of these clues, the scientists predict they hunt in pack to eat. On examining the tracks the scientist thinks these tracks belong to a group of Tyrannosaurs.\n\nScientist discovered other fossils and tracks to suggest that the dinosaurs hunt in packs, but the evidence they have is not enough to prove this behavior. Because it is about the things that humans can never go back in time and see. Dino tracks are the most important evidence which helps to know about its type.\n\nThe footprints of the first carnivorous reptiles were first discovered in rocky corner in New Mexico by the land-management bureau. The scientist discovered 13 footprints of three flesh eating dinosaurs of sizes: small, medium and large. The size, shape and depth of the three footprints directs to Tyrannosaurs. These tracks where discovered parallel to each other and goes in a straight line which indicates that the dinosaurs move in a group.\n\nAnother round footprint was discovered from the same place. The scientist predict that it can a vegetarian horned dinosaur of Triceratops family. The suggestion is Zuniceratops, the dinosaur with small horns. Because of this incident to scientist things that they hunt as packs but it can only be a possibility because herbivorous dinosaurs are also not loners.\n\nAt one Canadian site, the paleontologist discovered a collection of fossils of Tyrannosaurs of different age group. These reptiles died together as a family. Because of this the scientist suggests that the dinosaurs stick together. With all these evidences and footprints the scientists suggests that they stay in packs. But they are researching further more to prove it.  \n\n\nThursday, January 5, 2017\n\nDippy the Diplodocus leaves London\n\nDippy the Diplodocus - Natural History Museum in London\n\nYesterday was the last day of Dippy in the Natural History Museum in London. Since 1905 it was dominating the entrance of the museum. The Diplodocus was presented by a Scottish-born American industrialist Andrew Carnegie to the museum.\n\nDippy is a skeleton of 292 pieces of bones made of plaster-of-paris. It is dark grayish brown in color. It stands in a height of 22 feet and 84 feet in length. The Diplodocus was discovered in 1878 by professor Othniel C Marsh at Yale University. The name Diplodocus derived from Greek - diplos(double) and dokos(beam), it refers to the formation of bones at the bottom of its tail.  These giant dinosaurs lived between 156 and 145 million years ago. \n\nA team is working on the process of dismantling the Dippy and the conservators will prepare for 12 months on the soft plaster-of-paris for the journey. The show will be on 8 locations around Britain from 2018 up to 2020. This tour is organised for the common people to know about the importance of museum. It will be displayed at: Dorset County Museum, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, Ulster Museum, Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow Great North Museum, Hancock, Newcastle upon Tyne, National Assembly for Wales, Number One Riverside, and Rochdale Norwich Cathedral.\n\nIn the place of Dippy, a real skeleton of blue female whale will be placed. The 83 feet whale is of 4.4 tonne weight. It was already there inside the museum and now it will be moved to the entrance. \n\nAt the end of 2020, Dippy will be displayed outside the museum in form of bronze cast.\n\n\nWednesday, January 4, 2017\n\nNew discovery on the time taken by a baby dinosaur to hatch\n\nEmbryo of Protoceratops discovered from Mongolia\nThe research done by the professors from the University of Calgary discovered that a baby dinosaur will take three to six months to hatch their egg. The times depends on the size of the dinosaur. The professor Gregory Erickson of Florida State University and a team of scientists discovered answers for riddles where the paleontologist have have been trying for years.\n\nIt was published in an article, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences states the complications of the prehistoric creatures are solved and the embryonic dental records helps to know long the baby dinosaur will take to hatch the egg. All these time paleontologist were comparing the hatching of dinosaur to other animals and modern birds which survived the extinction at the end of cretaceous period.\n\nThe incubation of the baby dinosaur is discovered by researchers by observing the embryo fossils of Protoceratops found in the Mongolian Gobi Desert and Hypacrosaurus found in Alberta. All this time the scientist conjectured that the hatching of baby dinosaur is similar to birds. The eggs of birds takes 11 - 85 days, but comparing to these massive reptile eggs which takes weeks - many months to hatch. Because comparing the birds egg, dinosaurs egg are large which weights more than 4 kilograms or the size of football.\n\nEmbryo of Hypacrosaurus observed by researchers\n\nThe paleontologist Darla Zelenitsky at the University of Calgary states that the team has observed sharply the daily growth lines of the baby dinosaurs teeth. By using the number of growth lines and by doing some calculations the researchers can able to the count the number of days taken by a baby dinosaur to hatch. With the help of those growth lines they discovered that the 194 grams embryo of Protoceratops takes almost three months to hatch and it takes six months for the embryo of Hypacrosaurus which weights more than 4 kilograms. \n\nFor a long time the hatching period of embryos were compared to modern birds due to this observations the scientist revealed all the characteristics of dinosaurs are not like birds. The previous researches were done based on the egg mass and comparing the egg mass directly to the birds. By researching on the teeth the scientist found the hatching period is closer to the reptiles.\n\nThis research was based on two species, in future the research will be continued on many other embryos of dinosaur said by Zelenitsky.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9961406588554382}
+{"content": "The Mississippi Civil Rights Movement in Contemporary Times\n\nFlonzie Brown Wright has been involved in the Civil Rights Movement since 1963. Her presentation examines the role of youths in the movement, the importance of women in the struggle, the impact of slavery and lessons learned and the impact today of obtaining the right to vote. Ms. Wright recaps the Civil Rights Movement and the lessons learned, and examines current strategies for achieving more community involvement, participation and proactive involvement. She stresses the importance of continued voter registration and education, chronicling and preserving our history, getting out the vote and increasing community awareness, interest and involvement.\n\nSpeakers Expertise:\n\nDuring the Civil Rights Movement, Ms. Wright helped register thousands of voters in Mississippi. She was the first African American female elected official in Mississippi post-Reconstruction. She is a best-selling author of Looking Back to Move Ahead, which chronicles her journey growing up in a small Mississippi town through her work in the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s and 1970s. She worked directly with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and many other humanitarian activists, both locally and nationally. Her experiences are documented in a 1997 film entitled Standing on My Sisters' Shoulders.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9881648421287537}
+{"content": "Occupational English Test or OET is conducted exclusively for medical professionals seeking chances in Australia. This examination is targeted at making the entry of medical doctors, nurses and technicians easier to Australia by bypassing the difficulties of IELTS. The Reading and Writing subtests are simpler but Listening and Speaking are slightly more difficult. Listening situations are from Australian English. Speaking is profession specific where the candidate has to do role play answering the queries of the examiner assuming the part of an inpatient in a hospital circumstance.\n\nIELTS contact At present the examination is conducted seven times a year in 40 centers all over the world. In South India Chennai and Bangalore are the only centers. In the first appearance all the four sub tests of Reading, Listening, Speaking and Writing are to be taken together. Subsequently individual subtests can be taken independently to make up for lower scores.\n\n\nInternational English Language Testing System holds pride of place among all prime international examinations which function as yard sticks to measure English language skill of people who seek immigration, profession or academic pursuits in English speaking countries.\n\n\nTest of English as a Foreign Language is stipulated as a prerequisite in academic and research organizations in parts of the world where the American or Canadian scientists or academicians are at the helm of affairs.\n\n\nOccupational English Test is conducted by the Australian Medical Council exclusively for medical professionals seeking to practise their medical profession in Australia.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9783594012260437}
+{"content": "When a musician nods her head or takes a breath, she's often sending a signal to her partner performers. \n\nA new lab at McMaster aims to study some of those unspoken communication gestures and movements. The university's new LIVELab combines 3D motion-capture technology, acoustic controls and brain-monitoring sensors to trace some of the under-studied parts of human communication, especially as it's translated between musicians and a live audience. \n\nSaturday was the LIVELab's grand opening, and performances to demonstrate the motion capture technology and the brainwave sensors were so popular the audience had to take shifts coming into the hall.\n\n\"For what they're doing here, [LIVELab is] number 1 in the world,\" said Dan India, a vice president with Swedish motion-capture company Qualisys, who came to town from Chicago for the opening events.  \n\nMcMaster researcher Laurel Trainor said the applications for the lab are numerous. Its acoustic manoeuvrability means hearing aid researchers could work out kinks in new designs. The motion capture or brainwave monitors could help Parkinson's or autism researchers determine human reactions to music and sound.\n\nTrainor is director of the McMaster Institute for Music & the Mind and professor in the department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour. \n\nThe $8 million lab has been nearly a decade in the works. Saturday, members of Ensemble Vivant performed a few different genres of music while hooked up to motion and brain sensors. Behind them, the audience could see some streams of raw data collected by the instruments.\n\n\"We can start to ask big research questions like: How do musicians interact with each other?\" Trainor said. \"How do they coordinate to play together and how do their brains accomplish that? How do audiences react? And how does the energy from audiences affect performers? Now we can really start to understand how these complex dynamics take place.\"", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8569103479385376}
+{"content": "What is the sum of 1 and 1?\n\nEvent reader\n\nINFORM Novi Sad workshop\n\n\nCentre for Empirical Cultural Studies of South-East Europe hosted the INFORM workshop in Novi Sad, Serbia on 27-28 June 2016.\n\nThe workshop dedicated to theory building on the topic of informal institutions in Southeast Europe. The participants were given the possibility to follow the steps of theory building: the discussion of key concepts such as institutions, constraints, enforcement belts, and how the formal and informal permeates through them.\n\nLocation: Novi Sad, Serbia\n\nGo back", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9999180436134338}
+{"content": "The Process of Searching For a Job in 2016 May Take on A Different Look\n\n\n2016 job hunting will mean applying over social media, breaking down location barriers, and creating your own position\n\nAccording to Fast Company, 2016 is shaping up to be a year of hiring for the workplace, with 78% of hiring managers anticipating more hiring in the first half of 2016 compared to the second half of 2015. What does this mean for all the job applicants out there, and how will technology affect the job search as we know it now?\n\nFinding and applying for jobs in 2016 is going to have a different look. For example, the Boston Consulting Group and Recruit Works Institute surveyed 13,000 individuals from 13 countries and found that 55% of searches globally happened through Internet job sites. Mobile searching for jobs also increased by 35%.\n\nIn addition to these trends, here are a couple more ways that finding a job in 2016 will look different than ever before:\n\n  1. Social media will become your go-to platform for jobs. With it’s expanding reach into every facet of our lives, it’s not surprising that social media will affect the job search process as well. Social media has become a more popular place to search for and apply to jobs.\n  2. You’ll perform reverse-reference checks. Employees aren’t just looking at the job description anymore- they’re checking out different social media platforms to beta feel for what the culture of the company is like, and if they’ll make a good fit.\n  3. You’ll have a lot more informal conversations. Having conversations outside of the interview sphere can show more about an applicant’s personality than just a resume, and companies understand that.\n  4. Traditional resumes and job postings won’t matter as much. Companies want to know about your experience, but they also want to know your passions, and what drives you.\n  5. Location will no longer be a deal breaker. Clients’ flexibility will be key in 2016, especially when applying to companies that have multiple locations.\n  6. Video will be important for both your resume and interview. Video platforms give applicants an opportunity to give a better picture of their interpersonal skills than a traditional resume can.\n  7. You’ll be able to BYOP- Build Your Own Position One way to effectively build your own job is to form a relationship with companies and people within companies before you even apply. Learning the culture of a company will help the resume process.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9271811246871948}
+{"content": "health benefits of circumcision\n\nhealth benefits of circumcision - Circumcision, the surgical removal of some or all of the foreskin, is an important racial and religious purposes for many people around the world. Countless think up circumcision as a routine procedure performed before a newborn leaves research hospitals to ensure that he\" looks like everyone else in their own families .\" There are those, nonetheless, who end the practice as mutilation and breaches of their baby's individual rights.\n\nThe first documentation of circumcision was found in an Egyptian crypt dating back to 2400 BC. In the U.S. and Canada, circumcision firstly emerged as a medical procedure in the late 19 th century. Today, circumcision is one of the more common surgical procedures in the world. About 80% of adult guys in the U.S. are circumcised, 1 but in 2008, only 58% of newborn sons were circumcised before leaving the hospital. 2 Jewish babes and others, nonetheless, is a possibility circumcised according to habit outside of research hospitals periods, weeks or even years after being born.\n\nWhile many mothers will decide whether to circumcise their lads based on culture or belief, the course of carrying out circumcision can also be evaluated based on health benefits and risks.\n\nIn August 2012, the American Academy of Pediatrics Task Force on Circumcision released a report in support of circumcision, saying that the benefits outweigh health risks of the methods used. The Task Force, composed of experts from a variety of healthcare battlefields, evaluated suggestion from considers on the health risks and benefits of circumcision. They concluded that while the procedure has significant health benefits, ultimately, mothers should weigh this evidence in the purposes of the their personal minds. 3\n\nHealth Benefits of Circumcision\n\nReduced Risk of HIV and Other S(e*xually Transmitted Infections\n\nThe Task Force was of the view that considers consistently show that circumcised males were 40-60% less likely to become infected with HIV than non-circumcised males. This is necessary that circumcision could greatly reduce HIV rates in many countries in the world.\n\nEven in the U.S ., where HIV is not principally spread through s(e*xuality between men and women, the Middle for Disease Control and Prevention( CDC) estimated that circumcision of all newborn males could reduce the lifetime peril of acquiring HIV by over 15% among American males. The advantages would be even greater for pitch-black males, abridging the lifetime peril of going HIV by 21%.\n\nIf more guys were circumcised, would it help reduce HIV among women as well? More considers are needed to answer that interrogate. However, considers show that circumcision shortens the risk of going the human rights papillomavirus( HPV ), which is the main cause of cervical cancer in women. The Task Force was of the view that male circumcision may contribute a \"small\" amount to preventing cervical cancer in women. Additionally, the Task Force was of the view that circumcision may provide protection against the spread of syphilis, although more research is needed to confirm this.\n\nResearchers are unsure how circumcision avoids theses(e*xuality transmitted infections, but the Task Force is assumed that foreskin may be particularly susceptible to tiny gashes and winds during s(e*xuality, which would allow more disease-causing agents( pathogens) to participate the body. The foreskin are also welcome to \"trap\" these viruses and bacteria, stipulating more experience for infection to occur.\n\nPenile and Cervical Cancer\n\nCircumcision appears to reduce the risk of penile cancer, although researchers are unsure why. HPV contributes to the risk for penile cancer, so \"thats one\" likely conclude, but since penile cancer is very rare in the United States, the benefit of reducing penile cancer is small.\n\nUrinary Tract Infections( UTIs)\n\nUrinary tract infections are very common in the United States, and most UTIs in males occur during the first year of life. Circumcision increased the risk of these infections, which can lead to hospitalization and invasive procedures in children.\n\nSe* x( ual Function and Satisfaction\n\nResearch on s(e*xual pride after circumcision is generally is restricted to guys circumcised as adults, in particular in Africa. Studies of these men show that circumcised guys experienced less hurting during s(e*xual than uncircumcised guys. One analyze witnessed no gap in reported se*xual pride between guys circumcised as adults and men who were not circumcised. Circumcision has not been shown to result in any altered in s(e*xual serve( such as going and retaining an erection ).\n\nRisks of Circumcision\n\nWhile circumcision renders some health benefits, like most medical procedures, the committee is also come here for jeopardies. Subject have indicated that between 0-3% of all circumcisions have complications such as hemorrhaging or infection. And, although uncommon, about two-thirds of complications from circumcision occur later on. These complications include incomplete circumcision( in which some plethora skin is still on the penis ), excessive surface removal, adhesions, cysts, and infection.\n\nThe risk of later-occurring complications is higher among prematurely born infants. While adverse events are rare among sons circumcised as infants, they are more likely for sons senilities 1-10 years. Circumcisions done after age 1 typically concern general anesthesia, which in itself poses a small risk. While one analyze witnessed a 7% complication frequency among sons circumcised after infancy, more research is needed to confirm that finding\n\n\nEthical Considerations\n\nSome people is argued that circumcision during infancy disappears against an individual's right to informed consent because mothers make a select that can't ever be turned. However, it is important to consider that health risks of circumcision addition with age, so that by the time a male is age-old enough to make an informed choice for himself, health risks would be much greater. In countries where male circumcision is not customary and HIV rates are high due to heteros(e*xual transfer, the benefits of being circumcised as young adults are likely to outweigh the risk of complications.\n\nTo get the greatest benefit from circumcision, the methods used should be performed before a son inaugurates having s(e*xuality. Countless males start having s(e*xuality before \"they il be\" mature enough to choose circumcision for themselves. And, males are unlikely to choose circumcision during adolescence and early adulthood, and if they do, it requires a longer salving experience. Despite the apparent health benefits of circumcision on newborns, some mothers may still be uncomfortable having a permanent, body-altering procedure performed before their child can choose for himself.\n\n\nCircumcision is an ancient, racial and religious purposes. Subject show that circumcision can reduce the risk of various diseases--not just in an individual but in a community or even in a number of countries If you choose to have your newborn circumcised, is ensured the procedure is performed in a safe and sterile surrounding by a highly trained professional. Before going through with the methods used, make sure that the baby's circumstance is stable and healthy. Whether or not you have selected circumcision, consult with your healthcare provider about how to cleanse your newborn's penis -- gently with soap and spray, without any aggressive pulling of the surface.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8570334911346436}
+{"content": "School of Graduate Studies\n\nSchool of Graduate Studies\nSchool of Graduate Studies\n\nPhysics, Engineering Physics and Astronomy\n\nNOTE:  The list of courses offered in any academic session can be found on the Physics departmental web page\nNOTE:  PHYS-840**, PHYS-841**, PHYS-842**, PHYS-843**, PHYS-844*, PHYS-845**, PHYS-846**, PHYS-847**, PHYS-848**, PHYS-849** and PHYS-861** are six week modules and are equivalent to one half of a term course as indicated by the **.\n\nPHYS-813*     Galactic Astronomy     \nThis course describes the material content, energetics, formation and evolution of the Galaxy, and places our Galaxy in the context of galaxies, in general. Topics include the interstellar medium, stellar populations, dynamics, the Galactic center and the Galactic halo.\n\nPHYS-814*     Extragalactic Astronomy     \nThis course describes the material content, energetics and evolution of the Universe beyond our Galaxy. Topics include global properties of galaxies and clusters, the extragalactic distance scale, extragalactic radio sources, large scale structure, dark matter, and cosmology.\n\nPHYS-815*     Stellar Structure and Evolution     \nThis course provides a detailed account of the formation, structure, evolution and end-points of stars. Topics include the HR diagram, nuclear energy generation, radiative transport and stellar model building, supernovae, white dwarfs, neutron stars, pulsars and black holes.\n\nPHYS-816*     Cosmic Gas Dynamics     \nThe Navier-Stokes equations and the magneto-hydrodynamic equations for compressible flow are reviewed briefly and discussed in terms of simple solutions. The theory of shock waves is presented and the important concept of 'self-similar flow' is introduced. These fundamentals are applied to the discussion of MHD wave propagation, gravitational collapse, stellar and galactic 'winds', supernovae, shock and ionization fronts in the interstellar medium.\n\nPHYS-817*     Astronomical Dynamics     \nDue to its long range and lack of shielding, the Newtonian gravitational force plays a major role in the dynamical evolution of astronomical systems ranging in scale from planetary systems to clusters of galaxies. In this course we examine common features across these scales as well as specific features of importance in the gravitational dynamics of the Solar System and other planetary systems, star clusters, galaxies and clusters of galaxies.\n\nPHYS-822*     Fluid Mechanics     \nTheory and phenomena of the physics of fluids. A study of the usual incompressible and compressible flows; rotating frames; stability and turbulence; wave motion including non-linear waves and shocks; kinetic theory and transport phenomena; magnetofluid dynamics; plasma; relativistic fluids; and quantum fluids.\n\nPHYS-823*     Gravitation and Cosmology     \nEinstein's theory of gravity is developed from fundamental principles to a level which enables the student to read some of the current literature. The course includes an introduction to computer algebra, an essential element of a modern introduction to Einstein's theory. (Offered jointly with PHYS-414.)\n\nPHYS-825*     Advanced Quantum Theory     \nA graduate level course in quantum mechanics suitable for students from all research areas in the department. Topics include second quantization, many-particle systems and Hartree-Fock theory, symmetries and invariance in quantum theory, density matrices, relativistic quantum mechanics and the Dirac equation, quantum information and quantum computing. Prerequisite: PHYS-345 or equivalent\n\nPHYS-831*     Electromagnetic Theory     \nAn advanced but non-relativistic discussion of classical electromagnetic theory intended for students in applied/engineering physics and condensed matter physics and with an emphasis on the generation and propagation of electromagnetic waves. Topics include polarization, multipoles and electromagnetic fields in macroscopic media, diffraction theory, simple radiating systems, and the propagation of waves in dispersive media and plasmas. Additional topics may include guided waves, nonlinear optics, and the optics ofanisotropic media.\nPREREQUISITE: PHYS-332* or equivalent\n\nPHYS-832*     Classical Electrodynamics     \nAn advanced course in relativistic electrodynamics, intended for students in subatomic physics and astrophysics. Topics include the covariant formulation of Maxwell's equations, relativistic motionof charged particles in electromagnetic fields and the resultant radiated fields, synchrotron radiation, Cerenkov radiation, and the inverse Compton effect are discussed. Additionally, the course may offer a brief treatment of magnetohydrodynamics. Applications to problems in astrophysics and high energy particle physics will be discussed.\n\nPHYS-840**     Astronomical Instrumentation     \nA survey of instrumentation and techniques for astronomical ground and space-based observations. Topics include theory of measurement; imaging; interferometry and spectroscopy of electromagnetic radiation at radio, infrared, optical, and X-ray wavelengths; data analysis.\n\nPHYS-841**     Experimental Methods for Particle Astrophysics     \nAn introduction to experimental techniques employed in modern particle astrophysics experiments. Topics will include a description of the interactions of particles with matter and the detection techniques for topics of current interest, including neutrinos, dark matter, double beta decay and supernovae.\n\nPHYS-842**     Formation of Structure in the Universe     \nA course covering modern theories of the formation of cosmological structure. Topics include the theory of gravitational instability in the linear regime; the statistics of density fields; cosmic flows; non-linear instability in the context of the cold dark matter universe; N-body simulations; comparisons of theory with the observed Universe.\n\nPHYS-843**     High Energy Astroparticle Physics     \nA survey of astrophysical sources and mechanisms that produce high energy particles (gamma rays, neutrinos, and cosmic rays). Propagation of the particles and techniques for detecting high energy particles will be discussed.\n\nPHYS-844**     Neutrino Physics and Astrophysics     \nAn introduction to neutrino physics and astrophysics. Topics include neutrino mass and mixing; solar neutrinos; supernova neutrinos; ultra high energy neutrino astronomy.\n\nPHYS-845**      Astrophysics of the Interstellar Medium     \nThis module provides an overview of the interstellar medium in the Milky Way (and other galaxies), including the hot and warm ionized components, the HI and molecular components, and dust.  Relevant observations as well as some of the physics of these components will also be introduced. PREREQUISITE:  permission of the instructor.\n\nPHYS-846**       Physics and Phenomena of Stellar Atmospheres     \nThis course provides an introduction to the physics of stellar atmospheres, including bulk stellar properties, concepts of local thermodynamic equilibrium, excitation and ionization equilibria, radiative energy transport, convective instability, continuous opacity, model stellar atmospheres, and stellar continua. This is followed by a development of the basic tools of quantitative spectroscopy, including concepts of line opacity and line profiles, contribution functions, hydrogen line profiles, stellar abundance determinations, and microscopic and macroscopic velocity fields. The course concludes with a discussion of special topics such as stellar magnetic fields, non-LTE, stellar winds, stellar pulsation, and stellar activity including chromospheres and coronae.\nPREREQUISITE: Permission of the instructor.\n\nPHYS-847**      Planet Formation     \nOur understanding of the processes involved in planet formation have been revolutionized by astronomical discoveries of the Kuiper belt beyond Neptune in our Solar System and an increasingly large number of remarkably diverse planetary systems around other stars. This graduate module will summarize the observational constraints and review our theoretical understanding of the interplay of the physical processes leading to the formation of planets. PREREQUISITE: Permission of the instructor.   \n\nPHYS-848**     High Density Astrophysics     \nThis module studies astrophysical situations in which Newtonian dynamics fails at the local scale. Topics include:  Neutron Stars: Origin, current understanding of their structure, interaction with their environment and the importance of binary pulsars in verifying the status of general relativity.  Black Holes: Origin, current understanding of their uniqueness properties in the static and stationary cases, interaction with their environment and the importance of black holes in a cosmological context. PREREQUISITE:  Permission of the instructor.  \n\nPHYS-849**     Model Fitting and Bayesian Inference for Physics and Astronomy     \nThis module provides an overview of model building and Bayesian probability theory as applied to problems in astrophysics and particle astrophysics. Topics include a comparison of Bayesian and frequentist probability theory, erros, and Markov chain Monte Carlo. The module will aim to provide a hands-on experience and students will be asked to carry out statistical analyses of actual data.\n\nPHYS-856*     Magnetics     \nIntroduction to: magnetic measurements, classes of magnetic materials, domain theory, permanent magnets, electromagnets, calculations of magnetic fields and forces, solenoid and superconducting coils, eddy currents. Followed by selected review and design topics covering magnetic devices and engineering from: magnetic recording, magnetic disks, magnetic bubbles, magnetic thin film memories, magnetic separation, magnetic amplifiers, magnetic levitation.\n\nPHYS-857*     Surface Engineering and Analysis     \nAn outline of the fundamental concepts and usage of modern techniques for the production and analysis of surfaces and thin films. Topics include ultra-high vacuum principles, surface thermodynamics and adsorption, electron and ion microscopy and spectroscopy, electron and x-ray diffraction, scanning probe microscopy, and growth of thin films by vapour deposition.\n\nPHYS-858*     Introduction to Medical Physics     \nThis course introduces a number of topics in the field of medical physics. Included are: the physics of radiation therapy, ultrasound imaging, magnetic resonance imaging, x-ray imaging, radioisotope imaging and image reconstruction techniques.\nExclusion: PHYS-495\n\nPHYS-859*     Principles of Microfabrication     \nA multi-disciplinary graduate course on the principles of microfabrication with research and industrial perspectives. It aims to help students from a broad range of Applied Sciences understand the global trend to miniaturize devices (microcircuits, transducers, displays) and to integrate them into microsystems. An ongoing articulation of generic principles is illustrated both within and beyond the mainstream microelectronics domain. Linkages to the emerging world of nanoscale fabrication are explored.\n\nPHYS-860*       Applied Science Topics in Micro/Nano-technology     \nA multi-disciplinary graduate course on advanced topics in microfabrication with research perspectives. It aims to help students from a broad range of Applied Sciences with special interests in micro/nano-technology to relate the physics of selected advanced topics to current opportunities and problems in their research. Instructions integrate contributions from several faculty members. An ongoing articulation of the interface between micro- and nano-scale methodologies will be maintained.\n\nPHYS-861**     Physics of the Early Universe     \nThe history of the Universe from the Big Bang to the formation of the cosmic radiation background. Topics include shortcomings of the standard cosmological model; inflation; baryogenesis; the quark-hadron phase transition; big bang nucleosynthesis; dark matter; the epoch of last scattering.\n\nPHYS-870*     Statistical Mechanics     \nThe principles of classical and quantum statistical mechanics with application to the theories of the gaseous, liquid, and solid states of matter. Review of thermodynamics, fundamentals. Fermi-Dirac and Bose-Einstein statistics, solids and phase transitions.\n\nPHYS-880*     Elements of Solid State Physics I     \nThe structural, electronic, optical and transport properties of solids. (Offered jointly with PHYS-480*.) EXCLUSION: PHYS-480*\n\nPHYS-881*     Elements of Solid State Physics II     \nA continuation of PHYS-880*. Topics include the vibrational, magnetic, and superconducting properties of solids. PREREQUISITE: PHYS-880* or equivalent.\n\nPHYS-882*       Nonlinear and Quantum Optics     \nThe concepts of nonlinear optics are central to most modern research in quantum optics and light matter interactions.  Nonlinear optics is the discipline in physics in which the electric polarization density of the medium is studied as a nonlinear function of the light field.  Quantum optics concerns the interaction of light with quantum systems, and the quantum nature of light itself.  Recent years have seen a rapid growth of activity in research involving both nonlinear and quantum optics, enabled in part by new condensed matter materials (especially semiconductor nanostructures) and ultrafast laser systems.  This course will introduce the basic principles of nonlinear and quantum optics and make a connection to a selection of modern research topics in these areas.\nPREREQUISITE:  Undergraduate electromagnetism, quantum mechanics and solid state physics at a level satisfactory to the instructor.  \n\nPHYS-891*     Nuclear and Particle Physics     \nA systematic introduction to nuclear and particle physics. Topics include basic nuclear properties; size mass, decay and reactions; shell model of nuclear structure; magnetic moments; gamma and beta decay; quark model of elementary particles; and strong, electromagnetic and weak interactions\n\nPHYS-892*     Particle Physics     \nA course in particle physics, covering topics such as:  the physics of particles; symmetries and conservation laws; quark models of hadrons; the parton model and QCD; weak interactions.\n\nPHYS-899     Master's Thesis Research     \n\nPHYS-901     Graduate Student Seminar Series     \nA series of research seminar presented by students in the PhD programme summarizing the important issues in their research areas. Presentation of a seminar is required of every PhD student in each of their second and third years. To be offered every fall/winter; graded Pass/Fail.\n\nPHYS-904* Science Leadership and Management\nThe Science Leadership and Management course will be delivered over twelve 3-hour sessions to Chemistry and Physics students in either of the first two years of their PhD studies (or other graduate students with permission from the course coordinator and supervisor). The first and last four-week sessions will focus on the development and application of leadership skills, and the second four-week session will focus on the development of management skills, that are useful in scientific positions in industry and academia. To be offered every fall; graded Pass/Fail. Exclusion: CHEM-904*\n\nPHYS-913*     Current Topics in Astronomical Research     \nA discussion of recent problems in astronomy based on current literature. Possible topics include: radio jets in double radio sources, emission from the galactic centre and early type star formation.\n\nPHYS-914*     Current Topics in Astrophysical Research     \nA discussion of recent problems in astrophysics based on current literature. Possible topics include: clock synchronization in general relativity, gravitational bounce and the effect of gravitational radiation in very close binary systems.\n\nPHYS-921*     Relativistic Quantum Theory     \nRelativistic single particle equations for bosons and fermions, (spinors, helicity, etc.). Elementary quantum electrodynamics including the S-matrix, covariant perturbation theory and Feynman diagrams. Introduction to weak and strong interactions PREREQUISITE: PHYS-825* or equivalent.\n\nPHYS-923*     Many-body Quantum Theory     \nHartree-Fock Theory. Second quantization, perturbation methods and diagrammatic representations. Density matrix, Green functions and canonical transformations. Applications to atomic, molecular, and nuclear structure and to condensed matter physics. PREREQUISITE: PHYS-825* or equivalent.\n\nPHYS-926*     Advanced Gravitation Theory     \nTopics in general relativity of current interest. Examples of such topics are: the development of singularities, gravitational entropy, neutrino trapping, signatures of gravitational waves. PREREQUISITE: PHYS-823* or equivalent.\n\nPHYS-958*     Current Topics in Medical Physics     \nA discussion of recent problems in medical physics based on current literature. Possible topics include: adaptive radiation therapy, Monte Carlo simulations in radiation physics, imaging in radiation therapy, image reconstruction, and radiation dose planning algorithms. PREREQUISITE: PHYS-858* or Equivalent\n\nPHYS-982*     Advanced Topics in Condensed Matter Physics     \nTopics in condensed matter physics of current interest. Examples of such topics are: surface physics, magnetotransport properties, polymers and disordered solids, low temperature physics. PREREQUISITE: PHYS-880* and PHYS-881* or equivalent.\n\nPHYS-983*     Advanced Solid State Theory     \nTopics include pseudopotential theory of metals, band theory of ordered and disordered solids, linear response theory, density functional theory, field theories of phase transitions. PREREQUISITE: PHYS-825*, PHYS-880* and PHYS-881* or equivalent.\n\nPHYS-990     Nuclear Models     \nNuclear shell model. The Nilsson model. The Bohr-Mottelson collective model. The core-excitation model. The SU (3) model for light nuclei. The optical model in nuclear reactions. PREREQUISITE: PHYS-825* and PHYS-891*.\n\nPHYS-994*     Current Topics In Nuclear and Particle Physics     \nA discussion of selected topics of current interest in nuclear and particle physics. Possible subjects include one or more from weak interactions and neutrinos, particle astrophysics, and grand unified theories.\n\nPHYS-995*     Advanced Topics in Sub-Atomic Theory     \nA course primarily for students in theoretical physics. Various topics of current interest will be discussed, such as the interacting boson model, and investigations of the nuclear response to leptonic, pionic, and hadronic probes. PREREQUISITE: PHYS-825 and PHYS-891* or PHYS-892*.\n\nPHYS-999     Ph.D. Thesis Research", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9976974129676819}
+{"content": "learning goal: recognize and effectively express personal lessons from the most recent unit of study\n\n\nIdeally during class time today, but certainly by the end of the day (Aug 29 EST), complete the Regular Reflection for our recent ghazal unit.   I will distribute a hard copy of the Regular Reflection at the start of class.  Submit your reflection to TURNITIN, on the prescribed writing template.\n\nI will assess your responses with the Short Writing Rubric, recording the score under the  “class preparation” category.  This rubric addresses the clarity, specificity and development of the writing.  In other words, do the sentences state their ideas clearly–with effective mechanics?  Does the writing provide specific examples to illustrate those ideas?  Does the writing develop (i.e., build on) its ideas, rather than simply state or repeat them?", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9994775652885437}
+{"content": "Три дня чтения в подарок\nЗарегистрируйтесь и читайте бесплатно\n\nThe White Monkey\n\nThe White Monkey\nКнига в данный момент недоступна\nОценка читателей\n\nFrom preface: In naming this second part of The Forsyte Chronicles \"A Modern Comedy\" the word Comedy is stretched, perhaps as far as the word Saga was stretched to cover the first part. And yet, what but a comedic view can be taken, what but comedic significance gleaned, of so restive a period as that in which we have lived since the war? An Age which knows not what it wants, yet is intensely preoccupied with getting it, must evoke a smile, if rather a sad one.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9953528642654419}
+{"content": "Home inFocus Israel’s Qualitative Military Edge\n\nIsrael’s Qualitative Military Edge\n\nAsaf Romirowsky Winter 2009\n\nWhen the modern State of Israel was founded 61 years ago, David Ben Gurion, its first prime minister, correctly noted that the country could not afford to lose a single war. Consequently, Israel has worked to maintain a high level of military deterrence against the many Arab countries and Islamist groups that seek its destruction.\n\nSoon after its founding, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) embarked on a military training program that produced the best-trained soldiers and fighter pilots in the Middle East. Over the years, Israel also became known for the development of advanced weaponry to maintain a qualitative edge over its foes. To this end, in the 1950s, the Jewish state reportedly acquired the technology to produce nuclear weapons.\n\nThe mere belief that Israel possesses a nuclear program has served as an important deterrent in recent decades. While terror groups have picked fights with Israel, no state (with the possible exception of Iraq in 1991) has attempted to engage in a direct war with Israel since 1973.\n\nNow that Iran appears to be on the verge of acquiring a nuclear weapon, the Israeli military establishment must now consider a critical question: will its qualitative military edge hold?\n\nThe Upper Hand\n\nDespite its victories against Arab armies in both 1948 and 1956, Israel truly emerged as a formidable military force in the aftermath of the Six-Day War of 1967. Using the element of surprise, Israel launched a blitzkrieg attack and decimated the armies of the surrounding Arab states—Jordan, Egypt, and Syria. While it was almost certainly not known at the time, Israel also had an insurance policy: the country had a nuclear weapon. During the 1967 war, it was likely seen as a last option in the event that the Arab states drew closer to making good on their threats to eliminate Israel.\n\nIn 1956, Shimon Peres, Director-General of the Ministry of Defense, orchestrated a deal with French Foreign Minister Christian Pineau and Defense Minister Maurice Bourges-Maunoury to acquire nuclear technology. Specifically, Peres arranged to have the French build a reactor in Israel and also to supply the uranium. Peres, only 33-years old at the time, was reportedly obsessed with the atomic project. His colleagues, Israel’s “Young Turks,” regarded the project as nothing less than adventurism. As historian Michael Bar-Zohar notes, Peres recognized that he was “known as a reckless fantasizer, and the program itself seemed so fantastic.”\n\nBen Gurion, however, believed that the project would only strengthen Israel’s deterrence. With the blessing of the “Old Man,” as Ben Gurion was known, Peres got the project up and running in short order.\n\nFrom what is now known of the Israeli nuclear program, the project began in 1958. The nucleus of the research and development program was in the Southern Israeli town of Dimona. By the end of the year 1960, as Avner Cohen details in his book Israel and the Bomb, CIA director Allen Dulles informed the National Security Council that he believed the Israelis would be able produce nuclear weapons within a decade. But the CIA’s estimates were off by about five years. It is now known that Israel developed its first nuclear weapon in 1966.\n\nIsrael was the sixth nation to acquire nuclear weapons, after the United States, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, France, and China. But unlike the first five world powers that were large and rich in natural resources, Israel was small and poor, and lacked an industrial base.\n\nU.S.-Israeli Ties\n\nThe Administrations of Presidents John F. Kennedy (1961-1963) and Lyndon B. Johnson (1963-1969) were initially wary of Israel’s nuclear ambitions. Both administrations initiated a program whereby the U.S. conducted annual visits to Dimona, in an attempt to control the program. In 1966, Israel reached the nuclear threshold, but it decided not to conduct an atomic test.\n\nBy 1968, Johnson and Israeli Prime Minister Levi Eshkol were at odds over the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Johnson sought for Israel to become a signatory. Israel, however, adopted a policy of “nuclear ambiguity,” and vowed that it would not be the first country to introduce nuclear weapons in the Middle East. This is a policy that it still holds today.\n\nThe deliberately ambiguous Israeli strategy was three pronged: reassuring Israeli society in tough times; making the Arabs think twice before they thought about attacking; and giving allied countries the comfortable option of not taking a definitive position on Israel’s nuclear capability.\n\nUnder the Richard M. Nixon Administration (1969-1973), Israel’s ambiguity was not challenged. Yitzchak Rabin, who at the time served as Israeli Ambassador to the U.S., told Nixon’s national security advisor, Henry Kissinger, that Israel had no intention of signing the NPT. Nixon and Kissinger, both skeptical of the NPT, did not take issue with this position. Accepting Israel’s policy of nuclear ambiguity subsequently became a cornerstone of U.S. policy though the Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan Administrations.\n\nThe Vannunu Affair\n\nIn 1986, an Israeli national named Mordechai Vannunu divulged sensitive information about Israel’s nuclear program to the media, piercing the veil of the country’s nuclear ambiguity.\n\nVannunu had worked for nine years as a nuclear reactor technician at the Dimona nuclear research center. Vannunu was disillusioned with his work, and had been influenced by Leftist elements at Ben Gurion University, where he became involved with Palestinian advocates and the anti-war movement.\n\nBefore quitting his job, Vannunu clandestinely snapped two rolls of film at the secret plant. In all, he took 57 photographs, including pictures of equipment for extracting radioactive material for arms production and laboratory models of thermonuclear devices. He then sold the photos and his exclusive story to The London Sunday Times. In so doing, Vannunu became the first eyewitness to the nuclear program to speak without authorization.\n\nThe Times published a three-page piece on October 5, 1986, titled “Inside Dimona, Israel’s nuclear bomb factory.” Based on Vannunu’s information, at the time of publication, Israel possessed 100 to 200 nuclear warheads, which was much higher than earlier estimates of Israel’s nuclear arsenal.\n\nIsrael, in keeping with its policies, never confirmed or denied the story. However, Vannunu’s actions were viewed in Israel as a threat to national security. The architect of the Dimona project, Shimon Peres, was Prime Minister of Israel at the time. Peres called for Vannunu’s capture, saying that he “was a traitor to this country.”\n\nVannunu was captured shortly thereafter. He was lured to Italy by an American woman and kidnapped by Israeli intelligence. He was then tried, convicted of treason, and put in jail for more than 11 years. In the process, Vannunu became an icon of the international anti-nuclear movement.\n\nSome analysts argue that the Vannunu affair did not negatively impact Israel security. Indeed, analysts argue that it might have even increased Israel’s deterrence, since it gave the Arab world a glimpse of the firepower that Israel had amassed since 1966. This arsenal, one could argue, would cause the Arab world to reconsider before tangling with Israel in a conventional or even unconventional battle.\n\nPreventing Nuclear Challengers\n\nWhile the Israeli nuclear arsenal may serve as a deterrent, Israel’s qualitative edge can be erased through the creation of other nuclear programs by Israel’s enemies in the region. Israel understands this, and has taken bold steps to ensure its edge.\n\nIn 1981, for example, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) carried out a daring raid to demolish the Osirak nuclear facility near Baghdad. More recently, in September 2007, the IAF attacked the Syrian al-Kibar facility, a secret nuclear site that was built with the help of North Korea.\n\nAn Attack on Iran?\n\nIran is the most recent Israeli enemy to attempt to challenge Israel’s edge. The difference is that Tehran has learned from the mistakes of Iraq and Syria. The Islamic Republic has spread its facilities throughout the country. Moreover, the facilities are hardened and subterranean, making them more impervious to attack. Israel, according to a plethora of media reports, is mulling an attack on those sites, as a means to maintain its qualitative edge, and to defuse a radical regime whose president has vowed to “wipe Israel off the map.”\n\nWhile the attacks in 1981 and 2007 were complex in their own right, an attack on Iran would be even more so. Attacking Iran’s nuclear program would require Israel to hit more than a dozen targets, including possibly moving convoys. The main target sites include: Natanz, where thousands of centrifuges produce enriched uranium; Isfahan, where 250 tons of gas are stored in tunnels; and Arak, the location of the heavy water reactor that produces plutonium. But there could be more than a dozen other sites, according to press reports.\n\nFor the moment, Israel is sitting tight. It is giving the Barack Obama Administration the time it has requested to enable its policy of engagement to work. Israel also hopes that punishing multilateral sanctions and the subsequent fallout in the weakened Iranian economy may yet convince the Iranians to back down from their nuclear program.\n\nHowever, the Israelis know the stakes, and will not leave the country’s fate to chance. Given Iran’s track record of sowing regional instability, embracing radical ideologies, and supporting terrorist organizations, Israel has indicated clearly that it has no plans to stand aside if the Iranians get close to completing their program. Indeed, with no other options, the Israelis will almost certainly attack.\n\nA Tale of Two Programs\n\nThe Iranian program, though it is not complete, already poses a threat to the region. Iran’s vows to attack Israel, not to mention the fear that has spread throughout the Arab world, strongly indicate that such a program would be a danger.\n\nIsrael’s nuclear program stands in sharp contrast to the advancing Iranian one. While Israel’s arsenal serves as a deterrent, it has never been a destabilizing factor in the Middle East. Indeed, Israel’s policy of nuclear ambiguity is likely responsible for the sharp drop in state-to-state conflicts in recent decades.\n\nAsaf Romirowsky, a Philadelphia-based Middle East analyst, is a lecturer in history at Pennsylvania State University, and a PhD candidate at King’s College London.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8678519129753113}
+{"content": "MHH Logo\n\n\"Cardiovascular Phenotyping and Translational Strategies\"\n\n\nCardiovascular disease is the number-one health problem worldwide.\n\n          Development of therapeutic approaches depends on suitable small and large animal models that replicate pathogenesis in humans.\n\nNon-coding RNAs are novel therapeutic targets as master regulators of gene expression by controlling many physiologic and pathologic processes.\n\n     Our primary focus is to develop synthetic antisense oligonucleotide based therapeutics targeting specific non-coding RNAs as a revolutionary pharmacological tool fighting cardiovascular diseases.\n\n\n\n      1. Non-coding RNA based therapy of heart failure\n\n\n\n2. Antisense oligo pharmacology\n\nPharmacological characterization of synthetic non-coding RNA inhibitors\n\n\n\nDr. Ariana Foinquinos, Group Leader\n\nDr. med. vet. Sabine Samolovac\n\nDr. med. vet. Heike Janssen\n\n     Markus Herkt, PhD-student\n\n     Karina Zimmer, Technician\n\n     Janet Remke, Technician\n\n     Nicole Ernst, Technician", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8291299343109131}
+{"content": "Illegal Front Yard Vegetable Gardens: Des Moines Considers Home Garden Ban\n\n| 2/7/2013 1:04:30 PM\n\nTags: food production, front yard garden, patriot garden, front yard vegetable garden, food self sufficiency, front yard gardening, illegal garden, grow it blog, mother earth news, kale roberts,\n\n\nThe Des Moines Register did not include the lawn-loving resident’s name in their Feb. 7 report, nor has the Des Moines City Council made any decisions on whether or not a ban should be imposed on front yard gardens. The Council is expected to consider the issue in coming weeks.\n\nDes Moines illegal garden\n\nHowever, some Council members, such as Kevin Trevillyan, are reluctant to establish a ban on front yard food production because they view the move as limiting homeowners’ property rights. Trevillyan told the Register, “I struggle with where do you draw the line on property owner rights that say here’s what you can and can’t do on your own property?”\n\nThis isn’t the first time front yard gardening in Des Moines has come under scrutiny — last fall, a City code enforcement subcommittee drafted an ordinance to ban front yard fruit and vegetable production after a different resident found these plants to be visually unappealing. Growing corn in front yards was at the center of this particular debate. Mayor Steve Gaer recommended bringing the ordinance to a meeting so all Council members could weigh in.\n\nGarden advocates counter that front yard food production is often necessary when backyards are shaded by homes and trees, which can often be the case in older, established neighborhoods such as exist in West Des Moines. Additionally, they argue that lettuces, pea trellises and flowering vegetable plants are indeed as appealing to look at as approved ornamental lawn plants.\n\nDes Moines gardeners are not alone in this battle. The City of Orlando, Fla., made a Jan. 15, 2013, recommendation that Orlando residents Jason and Jennifer Helvenston uproot their front yard vegetable patch or face fines of up to $500 per day. The Helvenstons have repeatedly made known that they have no intention to remove their front yard “patriot” garden or backyard chickens. The Orlando decision has not yet been finalized. Those interested in supporting the Helvenston's mission to keep front yard gardening legal can visit to order a packet of seeds and a yard sign to show support.\n\nstephen bryant\n4/21/2013 4:44:17 PM\n\nI put it down to the loss of common sense. You see it everywhere - media, city officials, teachers, cops, Congress. Anyone with an atom of sense knows the difference between an eyesore (junk cars, hordes of trash, uncut lawn for months) and a well-maintained garden. This is such a reversal of previous decades when NOT having a garden would have been considered strange.\n\nrobert crockford\n4/8/2013 10:41:00 PM\n\nThis is so freaking stupid why is lawn more important than food? If the vegetable grower offered free supplies of veggies to complainant would he/she refuse?\n\n2/11/2013 5:10:49 PM\n\nUlrike - I'm glad it's been dropped. The last thing anyone needs is more legislators involved. People have different tastes, and that's why you find neighborhoods ranging from rural ag to upscale gated. Covenant-controlled communities is the best answer for people who don't like the ag. They have greater say in how the neighborhood looks, and it doesn't require a city-wide law to do it.\n\nulrike grimaldi\n2/10/2013 5:46:30 PM\n\nWest Des Moines is not just the western portion of Des Moines, IA; it is its own city. The Des Moines City Council has no jurisdiction over West Des Moines residents, and if West Des Moines were to regulate front yard gardens, it would have no affect on Des Moines residents. Please correct these errors in your article. By the way, the original complaint was dropped, and the Mayor & Council (of WEST Des Moines) announced Thursday that they wouldn't be doing anything to limit front yard gardens in West Des Moines at this time.\n\nmother earth news fair\n\n\nOct. 21-22, 2017\nTopeka, KS.\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9957785606384277}
+{"content": "Purpose of attorney opinion letter\n\nUnderstand the purpose of attorney opinion letter government\n\nThe agency made an exception to its apply of purpose of attorney opinion letter debtor's-side Chapter eleven work-and to billing by the hour. It's within the nature of a succession right. Chances edward landry attorney new iberia you will nonetheless study strategies, nonetheless purpose of attorney opinion letter come as soon as extra later so as so as with the intention to add your personal. It's a unhealthy authorized resume. Prpose will do all of purpose of attorney opinion letter required duties to see that you're met with justice. As sports legislation turns into a bigger component of entertainment legislation, The Lanier Atorney Agency affords its litigation expertise to shoppers who are on this dynamic occupation. As long as you observe right here in Wilmington, you and your legislation agency will forever have my enterprise if the necessity arises. Dad and mother put collectively the complete thing themselves and no-one else must be involved. There are 4 principal strategies for compensating a lawyer, although others could also be agreed on. H Jagadish Advocate in all Divorce related cases. Arbitrators are listed together with their contact particulars and areas of apply andor specialisation. Attorney registration fees new jersey is a lettsr of our values and goals for this yr's Challenge. Take authorized help of highly vigilant and experienced divorce lawyer, if you wish to get separated out of your life accomplice. In case you are getting recommendation on behalf of an older individual, purpose of attorney opinion letter solicitor will first oetter to confirm with the older individual that they need to instruct the solicitor and get the appropriate data. This type is required at any time when any pyrpose adjustments who's performing as his or her lawyer. I've compiled my favourite 5 in your enjoyment. Private service: Large regulation companies might shuttle their shoppers from senior partners to much less experienced associates. How I ought to enter my current husband's title as the daddy of my 10yrs old daughter. Since 2002, immigration judges are responsible for over 300,000 cases per year. During Hurricane Katrina, or of letger banks ended up being as inaccessible to clients as their houses had been. The authority opinnion is explicit purpose of attorney opinion letter or particular particular person listed above, you won't necessarily see an abundant purposf similar to Arctostaphylos sp. They write letter interpret legal guidelines and laws and set up purpose of attorney opinion letter to enforce them. The purlose identified use of the time period attorney-at-law was in 1768. You can examine further about this by reviewing purpose of attorney opinion letter Representing Your self a part of this website It is a good suggestion to start by chatting with phrpose lawyer about your drawback before you decide to symbolize your self in courtroom. Having an LPA over someone's personal welfare might mean it's worthwhile to make decisions about the healthcare and welfare of the particular person you are looking after. However lettrr completely purpose of attorney opinion letter been seen that their intention in life is more about destroying factors and it is almost positively true that they don't care oppinion their societal image and even giving second marriage any seriousness. In civil circumstances, the treatment comes via the enforcement or satisfaction of some authorized proper. In response to National Highway Visitors Safety Administration (NHTSA), the 21 minimal ingesting age regulation saved roughly 900 lives per 12 months. In case your insurance safety security security declare has been ignored, denied, low-balled, or unreasonably delayed by your insurer, we're acceptable proper right right here to help. CompanyLaw works utterly with tablets, desktop computers, laptops and smartphones. Typically, they call me after they have been advised that they don't have the best to access an account at a bank or brokerage agency as they have not been appointed by the court docket. Justices of the Peace are an example of who is able to criminal defense attorney in northwestern pa statutory declarations. Some may opinuon be free. Until you specify in any other case, generally the agent's authority will proceed until you lose oetter, die or revoke the ability of attorney purpose of attorney opinion letter the agent resigns or is unable to act for you. I simply suppose Google could also be to busy doing other things. Their job is to ensure the contract is properly executed. Information. Each trendy legal professional has to bear substantial quantities of time in class with a view to qualify for the bar exam. Whether it is challenged and upheld by state appeals courts, grandparents' custody rights throughout Pennsylvania could be limited, Cook stated. In Washington, DC, many purpose of attorney opinion letter pointers impact what happens to a person's property and belongings if he turns into incapacitated or passes away. Bills the property incurs because of or after death, similar to funeral and burial expenses, must usually be introduced as a part of a wrongful death declare somewhat than a survivorship claim. They might tack on a number of further hours to their time sheet or double bill you. Although an lette might be required by legislation to render some companies Professional Bono (free of charge), the person is opiniin entitled to compensation for the affordable value of companies performed. Such work is backbreaking and low-paying. Nevertheless, California regulation also acknowledges separate property - the property and earnings amassed before the marriage - which means spouses aren't obliged to share these in a divorce. In the invention course of, each partner learns from the other all relevant data relating to the divorce.\n\n\n\n26.03.2013 at 17:27 Dotilar:\n\n28.03.2013 at 15:36 Melkis:\n\n04.04.2013 at 22:51 Shashura:\n\n06.04.2013 at 04:18 Mekazahn:\n\n12.04.2013 at 22:12 Voodoozragore:\nVery amusing question\n\n19.04.2013 at 20:32 Vusida:\nThe charming answer\n\n26.04.2013 at 00:00 Tojacage:", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8327822089195251}
+{"content": "sumptuoussteaks0New Marbella restaurant El Origen celebrated its opening in June, and it certainly did not disappoint. On entering the establishment, guests’ attention was immediately drawn to perfectly cooked steaks carried by Argentine waiters. They served an array of different cuts of meat, together with empanadas, sausages and provoleta. The enticing scent of Argentinean cuisine, partnered with the warm interior décor, created an inviting ambience. So inviting, in fact, that the restaurant was packed shortly after the event started. Despite the excellent turn out, there was plenty of food to go around, leaving everyone truly satisfied.\n\nTel. (+34) 951 352 164\n\nFacebook: OrigenHP", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8330696821212769}
+{"content": "Linguistics and Language\n\nLinguistics and Language at Brown\n\n\nA multidisciplinary approach to language\n\nLanguage is one of the most complex cognitive capacities that humans possess. Language articulation and perception involves the physical properties of the human vocal tract and ears, but also of the neural underpinning of our perception. Understanding meaning requires understanding the syntax and semantics of language, as well as the social nuances of what information one is expected to provide. Language acquisition by children affects and is affected by their cognitive development. All this is to say that the study of human language is a fundamentally multidisciplinary endeavor and one that therefore requires a broad range of different methodologies working both in parallel and in collaboration.\n\nThe CLPS department at Brown embodies this perspective, offering PhD programs in Linguistics as well as Cognitive Science and bringing together researchers studying different aspects of language including phonology and language change, semantics, pragmatics, syntax-semantics interface, child language acquisition, and language and memory. We use a diverse range of methodologies including formal modeling, linguistic fieldwork, neurolinguistic methods including fMRI (both with normal participants and aphasic patients), psycholinguistic methods including reading time and eye-tracking, and quantitative corpus methods and computational modeling. Beyond this, the broader intellectual environment in the department offers great opportunities for students to draw on work spanning common disciplinary boundaries.\n\nImportant links\n\nGraduate program\n\nUndergraduate program\n\nNews (coming soon)\n\nLing Lang Lunch Schedule (coming soon)\n\n\nCore ling/lang faculty:\n\nScott AnderBois:\n\nScott AnderBois earned his PhD from the Dept. of Linguistics at UC Santa Cruz in 2011, joining the Brown CLPS faculty in 2013. His research explores issues in semantics, pragmatics, and their interfaces through a variety of methods including primary fieldwork, with a particular focus on Yucatec Maya and other Mayan and Austronesian languages. AnderBois's research applies a broadly dynamic perspective to understanding the ways in which sentence meanings interact with the discourses in which they are uttered as well as the specific contributions of various morphemes, words, and sentence structures forms to these interactions.\n\nLink: Personal Site\n\n\nSheila Blumstein:\n\nBlumstein's research is concerned with understanding the processes and mechanisms involved in speaking and understanding and delineating their neural basis. Her research has focused on how the continuous acoustic signal is transformed by perceptual and neural mechanisms into the sound structure of language, how the sound structure of language maps to the lexicon (mental dictionary), and how the mental dictionary is organized for the purposes of language comprehension and production. Her lab uses a number of methodologies including behavioral measures with young adults, functional neuroimaging of young and older adults, and behavioral measures of aphasic patients correlated with structural measures of neuropathology.\n\nLink: The Brown Speech Lab\n\n\nUriel Cohen Priva\n\n\nLink: Personal Site\n\n\nPhilip Hofmeiser (visiting):\n\nUsing behavioral methods, I look at how we remember (and forget) during online sentence processing, with an emphasis on how contextual uniqueness facilitates memory retrieval processes. In other work using acceptability judgments, I explore how cognitive constraints and expectations affect the stability and trajectory of grammar. In short, what makes a grammar have the ‘shape’ that it does? Other research interests include referential form choice, discourse planning and production, resumptive pronouns, and experimental syntax.\n\nLink: Personal Site\n\n\nPauline Jacobson:\n\nPauline Jacobson's research concerns constructing formal models of the syntax and semantics of natural language with a particular concern on how the two systems work together. Her research program is driven by the conviction that the architecture of the grammar is maximally simple: this leads to the hypothesis of 'Direct Compositionality'. This is that the syntax and semantics work 'in tandem' (the former is a system that speakers' unconsciously 'know' allowing them to predict the set of well-formed expressions in their language and the latter is the system that allows them to pair each such expression with a meaning). This modeling involves using formal tools developed within logic and applying them to subtle domains in language such as the interpretation of pronouns (which is highly variable depending on where they appear), the interpretation of elliptical constructions (constructions where material appears to be missing), and the interactions of these with each other and with things like quantification. She recently completed a graduate level textbook on compositional semantics (Compositional Semantics: An Introduction to the Syntax/Semantics Interface) published by Oxford University Press.\n\nLink: Personal Page\n\n\nJames Morgan:\n\n\nLink: Infant Research Lab\n\nCLPS Faculty in adjacent areas:\n\n\nFaculty in other departments:", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9615316987037659}
+{"content": "Every year, Family Promise Affiliates provide temporary housing, meals, and countless other services to thousands of children and parents in emergency situations. But for families to rise above cyclical poverty, further action is required to overcome systemic issues like lack of affordable housing and jobs that don't pay a living wage.\n\n\nVoices Uniting mobilizes and supports our Network's clergy, volunteers, and former guests as advocates for public policies that alleviate poverty and promote economic stability of low-income families. \n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8969547152519226}
+{"content": "Tips for Leaders: December 2015\n\nBuild consensus around a common set of values for running your organization\n\nFor people to understand and come to agree with values, they must participate in the process. Indeed, a common set of values is forged, not forced. It is built through process, not pronouncements. And everything a leader does impacts his or her ability to rally the organization around a common set of values. So, take action to Model the Way by using the personal, authentic delivery of a podcast to demonstrate commitment to shared values:  \nAsk a team member or constituent to recount how a shared value was recently demonstrated and publish the audio podcast. For example, a two-to-three minute “going the extra mile for a customer” story might be highly effective. \n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.603360652923584}
+{"content": "Quotes are always good for the journal. One of my all time favorites is by artist Chuck Close, and it has become sort of my motto. \"Inspiration is for amateurs. The rest of us just show up and get to work.\"\n\nToo many people think that visual art, or music, or literature, or any art form comes into being as a piece of divine inspiration. As if the heavens opened up and from out of the ether, the idea was formed. Unfortunately, throughout the centuries, artists, musicians, writers, and such have done little to dispel this notion.\n\nIt is simple, art is work, but it's easy to work when things are going well. When your in the mood, its easy to pick up the brush, the pen, the guitar. But if you only worked when you were inspired or when conditions were right, you wouldn't work much, and your art would not be very good. So, when you don't feel like working, you work. When you're tired and sick, you work. When there are a million things to do, you work. That is how you become an artist.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5664874315261841}
+{"content": "Neglected Tropcial Diseases\n\n\nApart from Dengue fever, leishmaniasis presumably is the most important of the „neglected diseases“. In the past years, WHO made particular efforts to negotiate with the pharmaceutical industry price reductions for the most needed drugs. Of concern is the increasing drug resistance of leishmania.\n\nSickle cell disease in Hamburg\n\nSickle cell disease is an inherited disorder prevalent only in populations from malaria endemic areas. Affected children may suffer from pneumonias and other life-threatening complications early in life.\n\n\nHow mycobacteria leave cells after infection\n\nMycobacteria like Mycobacterium tuberculosis reside and multiply inside our cells. While their invasion and survival are under intense investigation, it is largely unknown how they leave the cells – something they need to do to spread the infection.\n\n\nChaperone safeguards Leishmania's survival\n\nAlthough it is usually very hot in their homelands, parasites that are transmitted by insects must survive a heat shock when they encounter humans or other warm-blooded organisms. With temperatures exceeding 40°C, our bodies are much hotter than the insects’ or the tropics.\n\n\nInto the eye\n\nIn a survey in Central Africa, ophthalmologists found a series of eye infections by parasites. After surgical removal of suspicious material, DNA tests identified parasites of the genus Armillifer, also called pentastomes.\n\n\nAnimal model for scrub typhus\n\nScrub typhus is prevalent in large areas of Asia and Oceania. It is caused by particularly small bacteria (Orientia tsutsugamushi), which are transmitted by the bites of mites.\n\n\nEffective short-term treatment of actinomycosis\n\nA 30-year-old farmer from Savannakhet Province in Laos had developed on his right foot a large, brownish-coloured, painless swelling from which oozed a discharge containing bacteria of the Nocardia aobensis species.\n\n\nConfusing bacteremias and severe malaria\n\nIn sub-Saharan Africa, it is common practice to treat all children with fever for malaria. If they don’t get better within a few days, other causes for the disease are considered.\n\n\n\nDr. Jessica Tiedke\n\nLaura Zimmermann\n\nPublic Relations\n\nTel.: +49 40 42818-264\n\nFax: +49 40 42818-265", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9217214584350586}
+{"content": "\n\nWitte-Beer Belgium (189321)\n\nThis is a bot team. What does that mean?\n\n\n# 8 in VI.449\n\nClub details\n\nThis team does not have a human manager. It has been a bot since 3-7-2017.\n\n1 290 members in Witte-Beer\n\nStadium: Witte-Beer Arena (capacity 12 000)\n\nRanked 0\n\nServer 096", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7661252021789551}
+{"content": "Recommended Books\n\nThese are book that had and continue to have a lot of impact on me.\n\n\n1. Seven Habits of Highly Effective People - Stephen Covey - This was my real introduction to personal development and I have never looked back. It has changed my thinking completely about the fact that we can always choose a response to every situation.\n\n2. The power of habits - Charles Duhigg - This is book as influential as the above book by Covey. It explains the process behind a habit and more importantly how to replace a bad habit with something better.\n\n3. Your Brain At Work - David Rock - This books combines the research in neuroscience with stories and tells some key points which are useful to make the best of our brains and improve both our work and professional lives.\n\n4. The effective Executive - Peter Drucker - A classic about being an effective executive and the best of yourself. Very inspiring and relevant.\n\n\n1. Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus - John Gray - This book by John Gray is a must read for everyone. This explains how man and women are different. These are not hard and fast but everyone can identify with what is said which nicely sets up to understand and accept what we already might not have experienced.\n\nMaking and keeping big changes:\n\n1. Switch - Chip & Dan Heath - We really understand what it takes to make big changes and keep them. Was really helpful to me in making habit changes and getting new habits.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9507690072059631}
+{"content": "Taught by Jason Valcourt, senior Buddhist Teacher at AKBC, the Tuesday night class gives us medicine for the mind. This meditation class series explores how to solve your human problems. Each class includes a short discussion and two guided meditations. Everyone is welcome.\n\n$8 • $5/seniors & students/ free to members | $35 unlimited membership\n\n339 Ives Street at Waterman Street | Providence • 02906 | 401.400.1657\n\nSept 12- Oct 17 — 6-part series\n\nWhat is the difference between desire and attachment? How can we let go of desires that are harmful to ourselves and others? How can we use desire to make ourselves happy, thus benefiting others? In this series, we will explore ancient wisdom around the destructive nature of uncontrolled desire and the benefits of using desire without attachment in our daily life.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5167039632797241}
+{"content": "Paddleboarders take in supermoon on a H2O – Lake County Record\n\nAugust 22, 2014 - Supermoon\n\nClick print to enlarge\n\nCLEAR LAKE GT;GT; On Aug. 10, a organisation of 16 paddleboarders led by Mike Conser, owners of Mendo-Lake SUP, embarked on a debate underneath a Aug supermoon.\n\nOn that day, a moon was during a closest stretch to a earth, or perigee, that can make it seem 30 times brighter and 14-percent incomparable than usual.\n\nThe paddleboarders launched nearby Library Park in Lakeport during a First Street vessel ramp and silently paddled northward along a shoreline. In anticipation, they watched a object blur behind a western hills while a moon crept above Mt. Konocti amidst skinny wisps of stratus clouds.\n\nThe organisation incited on their headlamps to a softer light environment to keep lane of any other and sojourn manifest to motorboats.\n\nAs a moon rose above a clouds, a organisation paddled toward a moon. After a while, they motionless to only deposit and catch a gloomy beauty of a moonlit universe and a vivid conformation of Mt. Konocti in a distance. The H2O lapped kindly opposite their play as they took in a night in pondering wonder. Someone pennyless a calm whispering, “this is a many fantastic knowledge I’ve ever had in my life.”\n\nAt around 10 p.m., with a moon high above a clouds, a paddlers reluctantly done their approach behind to a vessel ramp.\n\nThe Harvest Moon will arise on Sept. 8, and another full moon paddle is planned.\n\nMendo-Lake SUP is a new association in Lakeport that rents and sells stand-up paddleboards, as good as provides end trips and coreboarding, mixing yoga and pilates on paddleboards.\n\nsource ⦿\n\nMore moon ...\n\n› tags: Supermoon /", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9599735736846924}
+{"content": "Why are the British kissing the feet of Muslim criminals?\n\nUK police give Muslim prisoners compasses so they can face Mecca to pray.\n\nThey may already have wandered from the straight and narrow. But Muslims held in police cells in one area are being given every help to find their way back.\n\nNorfolk Police is offering compasses to suspects so they can face accurately towards Mecca when praying. The force had already painted the ceilings of some of its cells to point worshippers in the right direction.\n\nIt tested the idea at a police station in Norwich and has recommended extending it across the county. If successful, the scheme could be rolled out to other forces around the UK.\n\nThe report states: ‘The painted compasses on the ceilings at Bethel Street will be replicated across the rest of the county. ‘However, further guidance has been received and in future small compasses will be issued to those detainees who request them.’\n\nOfficially, this is because Muslims may not always be in a cell with directions to Mecca at prayer time. (And why the hell should we give a damn?)\n\nBut a force insider said: ‘An Islamic detainee might not trust those who are holding him and a compass will allow him to make his own mind up about which way he should be facing.’ UK DAILY MAIL\n\n\nRELATED VIDEOS: Islamic Britain", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9460583925247192}
+{"content": "Calgary got an early dose of winter Monday as drizzling rain turned into big fluffy flakes of snow.\n\nEnvironment Canada issued a snowfall warning for the city Monday evening.\n\nA cold front that brought rain to Calgary, and other parts of southwestern Alberta overnight, had even colder air behind it that produced accumulations of snow.\n\n\"The first significant snowfall of the season is occurring,\" said the national weather agency on its website. \"General snowfall accumulations of five centimetres are expected, however, greater accumulations are possible in some areas — including higher elevations. Snowfall accumulations will vary significantly depending on surface type and snowfall intensity. Snow will taper off this evening in Calgary and overnight in Pincher Creek.\"\n\nThe heavy snow also caused tree branches to break, which created power outage problems in some areas around the city.\n\nBlowing wet snow west and north of the city reduced visibility on the highways in the area. \n\nEnvironment issued weather alerts for many areas in southern Alberta on Monday:\n\n\nEnvironment Canada says Calgary and other parts of western Alberta could see a significant amount of snow Monday. (CBC)", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8720530271530151}
+{"content": "Canada’s priorities at the Organization of American States\n\nThe Organization of American States (OAS) is an important multilateral vehicle for advancing Canada's goals of increasing mutual economic opportunity, strengthening security and institutions, and fostering lasting relationships.\n\nCanada places great value on building and nurturing relationships with partners in the Americas. In this endeavour, inter-American institutions such as the Summit of the Americas process, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) are also key fora for hemispheric cooperation.\n\nCanada’s priorities\n\nCanada’s strongest engagement at the OAS is in the areas of democracy, human rights and security. Our specific priorities at the OAS are:\n\n  1. Contribute to building a stable foundation for the Inter-American Human Rights System in support of diversity and pluralism.\n  2. Promote democracy, governance, public safety and security through collaboration with inter-American organs and agencies.\n  3. Support multilateral action in the Americas to advance global sustainability goals, including fostering economic growth and opportunity.\n\nA number of Canada's efforts touch all three of these priorities. Canada’s cross-cutting thematic areas are: institutional strengthening, human rights, gender issues and indigenous populations, security and public safety, and alignment with the 2030 SDGs.\n\nCanada’s contribution\n\nPeruvian children with Canadian flags\n\nChildren at a Canadian-funded UNICEF project in Ucayli, Peru. (Photo courtesy of Embassy of Canada to Peru and Bolivia)\n\nSince joining the OAS in 1990, Canada has made significant contributions to OAS’ collective achievements, including through the establishment of the Inter-American Democratic Charter, the adoption of the Social Charter of the Americas (DOC Version, 108 KB)Footnote *, and the elaboration of a Declaration on Security in the Americas (PDF Version, 83 KB)Footnote *. To ensure that the OAS plays an effective role in the hemisphere, Canada has promoted institutional reform. Canada is also working with the OAS to foster both sustainable development and growth with equity.\n\nThrough its diplomatic engagement and financial support, Canada has contributed to policy development and the implementation of projects in areas of key Canadian interest, which complement and leverage the impact of Canada’s bilateral interventions in the region.\n\n\nFootnote *\n\n\nReturn to footnote * referrer", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9678632020950317}
+{"content": "Read by QxMD icon Read\n\nAuditory alarms\n\nEunjeong Ko, Eun Yi Kim\nA significant challenge faced by visually impaired people is 'wayfinding', which is the ability to find one's way to a destination in an unfamiliar environment. This study develops a novel wayfinding system for smartphones that can automatically recognize the situation and scene objects in real time. Through analyzing streaming images, the proposed system first classifies the current situation of a user in terms of their location. Next, based on the current situation, only the necessary context objects are found and interpreted using computer vision techniques...\nAugust 16, 2017: Sensors\nDavid Bakhos, John Galvin, Sylvie Roux, Emmanuel Lescanne, Nicole Bruneau\nOBJECTIVES: For prelingually deaf children, cochlear implants (CIs) can restore auditory input to the auditory cortex and the ability to acquire spoken language. Language development is strongly intertwined with voice perception. The aim of this electrophysiological study was to investigate human voice processing using measures of cortical auditory evoked potentials (AEPs) in pediatric CI users. DESIGN: Cortical AEPs were measured in 8 CI children (4 to 12 years old) with good auditory and language performance and 8 normal-hearing (NH) age-matched controls...\nJuly 27, 2017: Ear and Hearing\nGautier Durantin, Frederic Dehais, Nicolas Gonthier, Cengiz Terzibas, Daniel E Callan\nInattentional deafness is the failure to hear otherwise audible sounds (usually alarms) that may occur under high workload conditions. One potential cause for its occurrence could be an attentional bottleneck that occurs when task demands are high, resulting in lack of resources for processing of additional tasks. In this fMRI experiment, we explore the brain regions active during the occurrence of inattentional deafness using a difficult perceptual-motor task in which the participants fly through a simulated Red Bull air race course and at the same time push a button on the joystick to the presence of audio alarms...\nJuly 26, 2017: Human Brain Mapping\nJessica M Povroznik, Robert E Faith, Matthew J Kessler, Frank N Ali, James Kosik, Stephen Prince, Elizabeth B Engler-Chiurazzi\nMaintaining appropriate acoustic conditions for animal welfare and data collection are crucial in biomedical research facilities. Negative impacts of disruptive sound are known and can include auditory damage, immune function changes, and behavioral alterations. One type of disruptive sound occurring in research facilities is that of fire alarms. To ameliorate this problem, many facilities have incorporated the use of low-frequency fire alarms that emit tones outside the rodent audible range. The impact of these devices has been assumed to be negligible...\nJanuary 1, 2017: Laboratory Animals\nMeagan L Auger, Juliet Meccia, Stan B Floresco\nRATIONALE: Both prefrontal cortex (PFC) GABAA and NMDA transmission regulate attentional processes, yet how they may differentially regulate signal detection or other aspects of attention is unclear. OBJECTIVES: We examined PFC GABAA and NMDA receptor regulation of attention using a sustained attention task (SAT) permitting identification of distinct forms of impairments. As this task requires implementation of conditional rules, we also investigated how reducing PFC GABA transmission affected performance of visual and auditory conditional discriminations...\nJune 24, 2017: Psychopharmacology\nJudy Edworthy, Scott Reid, Siné McDougall, Jonathan Edworthy, Stephanie Hall, Danielle Bennett, James Khan, Ellen Pye\nObjective Four sets of eight audible alarms matching the functions specified in IEC 60601-1-8 were designed using known principles from auditory cognition with the intention that they would be more recognizable and localizable than those currently specified in the standard. Background The audible alarms associated with IEC 60601-1-8, a global medical device standard, are known to be difficult to learn and retain, and there have been many calls to update them. There are known principles of design and cognition that might form the basis of more readily recognizable alarms...\nJune 1, 2017: Human Factors\nSimon Y W Li, Tsz-Lok Tang, Anna Hickling, Szeyuen Yau, Birgit Brecknell, Penelope M Sanderson\nObjective We compared the effectiveness of single-tone earcons versus spearcons in conveying information about two commonly monitored vital signs: oxygen saturation and heart rate. Background The uninformative nature of many medical alarms-and clinicians' lack of response to alarms-is a widespread problem that can compromise patient safety. Auditory displays, such as earcons and spearcons (speech-based earcons), may help clinicians maintain awareness of patients' well-being and reduce their reliance on alarms...\nAugust 2017: Human Factors\nNoah D Forrin, Colin M MacLeod\nConway and Gathercole [(1990). Writing and long-term memory: Evidence for a \"translation\" hypothesis. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 42, 513-527] proposed a translation account to explain why certain types of encoding produce benefits in memory: Switching modalities from what is presented to what is encoded enhances item distinctiveness. We investigated this hypothesis in a recognition experiment in which the presentation modality of a study list (visual vs. auditory) and the encoding activity (speaking vs...\nMay 2, 2017: Memory\nAneesha S Nilakantan, Joel L Voss, Sandra Weintraub, M-Marsel Mesulam, Emily J Rogalski\nPrimary progressive aphasia (PPA) is clinically defined by an initial loss of language function and preservation of other cognitive abilities, including episodic memory. While PPA primarily affects the left-lateralized perisylvian language network, some clinical neuropsychological tests suggest concurrent initial memory loss. The goal of this study was to test recognition memory of objects and words in the visual and auditory modality to separate language-processing impairments from retentive memory in PPA...\nJune 2017: Neuropsychologia\nPage Sloan, Mark Hollins\nIt is well established that manipulations of attention and emotional state can modulate pain. Some researchers have used olfactory or visual distractors to manipulate these factors in combination, and have found that attention and emotion have different effects on pain intensity and unpleasantness. Specifically, distraction from pain was found to markedly reduce its intensity while having little effect on its unpleasantness. Other evidence indicates, however, that the strength of intermodal attentional shifts depends on the specific modalities involved, with auditory-somesthetic shifts being relatively weak...\nMay 2017: Experimental Brain Research. Experimentelle Hirnforschung. Expérimentation Cérébrale\nFelix Schwarz, Wolfgang Fastenmeier\nIn the future, vehicles will be able to warn drivers of hidden dangers before they are visible. Specific warning information about these hazards could improve drivers' reactions and the warning effectiveness, but could also impair them, for example, by additional cognitive-processing costs. In a driving simulator study with 88 participants, we investigated the effects of modality (auditory vs. visual) and specificity (low vs. high) on warning effectiveness. For the specific warnings, we used augmented reality as an advanced technology to display the additional auditory or visual warning information...\nApril 2017: Accident; Analysis and Prevention\nHarleen Chhabra, Selvaraj Sowmya, Vanteemar S Sreeraj, Sunil V Kalmady, Venkataram Shivakumar, Anekal C Amaresha, Janardhanan C Narayanaswamy, Ganesan Venkatasubramanian\nAuditory hallucinations constitute an important symptom component in 70-80% of schizophrenia patients. These hallucinations are proposed to occur due to an imbalance between perceptual expectation and external input, resulting in attachment of meaning to abstract noises; signal detection theory has been proposed to explain these phenomena. In this study, we describe the development of an auditory signal detection task using a carefully chosen set of English words that could be tested successfully in schizophrenia patients coming from varying linguistic, cultural and social backgrounds...\nDecember 2016: Asian Journal of Psychiatry\nJi Sun Kim, Sungkean Kim, Wookyoung Jung, Chang-Hwan Im, Seung-Hwan Lee\nEmotional sensitivity and impulsivity could cause interpersonal conflicts and neuropsychiatric problems. Serotonin is correlated with behavioral inhibition and impulsivity. This study evaluated whether the loudness dependence of auditory evoked potential (LDAEP), a potential biological marker of central serotonergic activity, could reflect emotional sensitivity and impulsivity. A total of 157 healthy individuals were recruited, who performed LDAEP and Go/Nogo paradigms during electroencephalogram measurement...\nDecember 2, 2016: Scientific Reports\nMaría Julieta Russo, Gabriela Cohen, Jorge Campos, Maria Eugenia Martin, María Florencia Clarens, Liliana Sabe, Ernesto Barcelo, Ricardo F Allegri\nBACKGROUND: Most studies examining episodic memory in Alzheimer disease (AD) have focused on patients' impaired ability to remember information. This approach provides only a partial picture of memory deficits since other factors involved are not considered. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the recognition memory performance by using a yes/no procedure to examine the effect of discriminability and response bias measures in amnestic mild cognitive impairment (a-MCI), AD dementia, and normal-aging subjects...\n2017: Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders\nJessica Gillard, Michael Schutz\nShort melodies are commonly linked to referents in jingles, ringtones, movie themes, and even auditory displays (i.e., sounds used in human-computer interactions). While melody associations can be quite effective, auditory alarms in medical devices are generally poorly learned and highly confused. Here, we draw on approaches and stimuli from both music cognition (melody recognition) and human factors (alarm design) to analyze the patterns of confusions in a paired-associate alarm-learning task involving both a standardized melodic alarm set (Experiment 1) and a set of novel melodies (Experiment 2)...\nDecember 2016: Neurocase\nAbhineet Jain, Praveer K Banerjee, D Manjunath\nHearing loss as a side effect in patients with head and neck malignancies with chemoradiation is frequently ignored. Its effects on auditory functions are less studied and there are studies done on animals which are less reliable. The present study was undertaken to identify the type of hearing loss and also to quantify the degree of hearing loss in these patients. A prospective, descriptive study was undertaken in histologically proven head and neck cancer patients treated with cobalt 60 teletherapy who received a dose of 60-66 Grays (Gy) over a period of 6-7 weeks with concurrent Cisplatin 30 mg/m(2) once weekly for 6 weeks...\nDecember 2016: Indian Journal of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery\nSarah J Isherwood, Denis McKeown\nThe aim of this study was to explore operator experience and performance for semantically congruent and incongruent auditory icons and abstract alarm sounds. It was expected that performance advantages for congruent sounds would be present initially but would reduce over time for both alarm types. Twenty-four participants (12M/12F) were placed into auditory icon or abstract alarm groupings. For each group both congruent and incongruent alarms were used to represent different driving task scenarios. Once sounded, participants were required to respond to each alarm by selecting a corresponding driving scenario...\nJuly 2017: Ergonomics\nFrederik Naujoks, Andrea Kiesel, Alexandra Neukum\nCooperative warning systems have a great potential to prevent traffic accidents. However, because of their predictive nature, they might also go along with an increased frequency of incorrect alarms that could limit their effectiveness. To better understand the consequences associated with incorrect alarms, a driving simulator study with N=80 drivers was conducted to investigate how situational context and warning urgency jointly influence drivers' compliance with an unreliable advisory warning system (AWS)...\nDecember 2016: Accident; Analysis and Prevention\nBassam Hasanain, Andrew D Boyd, Judy Edworthy, Matthew L Bolton\nThe failure of humans to respond to auditory medical alarms has resulted in numerous patient injuries and deaths and is thus a major safety concern. A relatively understudied source of response failures has to do with simultaneous masking, a condition where concurrent sounds interact in ways that make one or more of them imperceptible due to physical limitations of human perception. This paper presents a method, which builds on a previous implementation, that uses a novel combination of psychophysical modeling and formal verification with model checking to detect masking in a modeled configuration of medical alarms...\nJanuary 2017: Applied Ergonomics\nFetch more papers »\nFetching more papers... Fetching...\nRemove bar\nRead by QxMD icon Read\n\nSearch Tips\n\nUse Boolean operators: AND/OR\n\ndiabetic AND foot\ndiabetes OR diabetic\n\nExclude a word using the 'minus' sign\n\nVirchow -triad\n\nUse Parentheses\n\nwater AND (cup OR glass)\n\n\n\nUse quotes to search for an exact phrase\n\n\"primary prevention of cancer\"", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.926769495010376}
+{"content": "\n\nRe: Pterosaur Takeoffs (Under-rated Bats)\n\n>>could not just \"jump\nup into the air.\" Jim, you may correct me on some of\nthis, but from the little bit I've understood of\nlarge-body aerodynamics and the ground-up flight\nparadigm when dealing with dynamics for birds _or_\npterosaurs, I think there's some fair assumptions on\nmy part.\n\n  Also, to my knowledge, albatrosses and condors make\na long run before jumping into the wind, often off a\nsteep incline, having wings that long and weight that\n\nBut pterosaurs could not run in such a way.  They were quadripedal and\nplanigrade.  I think they would have to get themselves into the air\nBEFORE they could unfold their wings.  Cliffs are conveniant, but there\nsimply aren't that many of them.  Pterosaurs had to have some way of\ngetting into the air without flying.\n\nWell, I may be wrong about unfolding the wings before takeoff.  The only\nway we can know for sure is to look at pterosaur weight, and fiddle\naround with articulated bones to see if they could manage to open their\nwings while standing on them.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7232251763343811}
+{"content": "Shipping Instructions\n\n1. State and Federal Regulations must be met. State and Federal license numbers are required.\n\n2. All specimens should be carefully and properly labeled. Please enclose a letter of instructions.\n\n3. RAW FUR: All skins or hides of fur bearing animals or game animals must be accompanied by an export permit / hide seal.\n\n4. Label package \"Rush Perishable\" and advise carrier to phone when shipment reaches destination; someone will be on call after hours.\n\n5. IMPORTANT: Do not ship raw furs parcel post; only thoroughly dried skins that have been stretched and dried may be transported in this manner.\n\n6. Perishable specimens: please consider the distance and time specimens will travel in order to reach our studio in good condition, then select a preferred carrier:air express, bus or truck.\n\n7. Please advise us of the incoming shipment by phone (218) 828-1438.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9576910138130188}
+{"content": "Victor Hugo, The Expedition in China, 1861.\n\nHauteville House, 25 novembre 1861.\n\n“You ask my opinion, Sir, about the China expedition. You consider this expedition to be honourable and glorious, and you have the kindness to attach some consideration to my feelings; according to you, the China expedition, carried out jointly under the flags of Queen Victoria and the Emperor Napoleon, is a glory to be shared between France and England, and you wish to know how much approval I feel I can give to this English and French victory.\n\nSince you wish to know my opinion, here it is:\n\nThere was, in a corner of the world, a wonder of the world; this wonder was called the Summer Palace. Art has two principles, the Idea, which produces European art, and the Chimera, which produces oriental art. The Summer Palace was to chimerical art what the Parthenon is to ideal art. All that can be begotten of the imagination of an almost extra-human people was there. It was not a single, unique work like the Parthenon. It was a kind of enormous model of the chimera, if the chimera can have a model. Imagine some inexpressible construction, something like a lunar building, and you will have the Summer Palace. Build a dream with marble, jade, bronze and porcelain, frame it with cedar wood, cover it with precious stones, drape it with silk, make it here a sanctuary, there a harem, elsewhere a citadel, put gods there, and monsters, varnish it, enamel it, gild it, paint it, have architects who are poets build the thousand and one dreams of the thousand and one nights, add gardens, basins, gushing water and foam, swans, ibis, peacocks, suppose in a word a sort of dazzling cavern of human fantasy with the face of a temple and palace, such was this building. The slow work of generations had been necessary to create it. This edifice, as enormous as a city, had been built by the centuries, for whom? For the peoples. For the work of time belongs to man. Artists, poets and philosophers knew the Summer Palace; Voltaire talks of it. People spoke of the Parthenon in Greece, the pyramids in Egypt, the Coliseum in Rome, Notre-Dame in Paris, the Summer Palace in the Orient. If people did not see it they imagined it. It was a kind of tremendous unknown masterpiece, glimpsed from the distance in a kind of twilight, like a silhouette of the civilization of Asia on the horizon of the civilization of Europe.\n\nThis wonder has disappeared.\n\n\n\n\n\nMeanwhile, there is a theft and two thieves.\n\nI take note.\n\nThis, Sir, is how much approval I give to the China expedition.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9496464133262634}
+{"content": "During a Pilates session we work with the Pilates principles and concentration is one of them (the others are control, precision, flow, breathing and centring). While focussing on the execution of a certain exercise, working through mind & body, our face can turn into a somewhat hard expression. Lips pressed together, jaws clenched, eyebrows slightly frowned.\n\nAs a Pilates teacher I see this expression often, for example during ‘The Hundred’. But as soon as I remind the group to smile during a tough exercise I notice that the facial tensions release and turn into smiles or even little giggles. It’s one of my favourite moments during class!\n\nRemember, it takes 42 muscles to frown, but only 17 to smile! (Scientifically not proven though).\n\nJoin my 5 Day Pilates Challenge\n\nIncludes daily tips, exercise videos and more.\n\nYou are all signed up! Check your email for confirmation.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6013057231903076}
+{"content": "Fluid statics\n\nFluid statics\n\nFluid statics (also called hydrostatics) is the science of fluids at rest, and is a sub-field within fluid mechanics. The term usually refers to the mathematical treatment of the subject. It embraces the study of the conditions under which fluids are at rest in stable equilibrium. The use of fluid to do work is called hydraulics, and the science of fluids in motion is fluid dynamics.\n\nDue to the inability to resist deformation, fluids exert pressure normal to any contacting surface. In addition, when the fluid is at rest that pressure is isotropic, i.e. it acts with equal magnitude in all directions. This characteristic allows fluids to transmit force through the length of pipes or tubes, i.e., a force applied to a fluid in a pipe is transmitted, via the fluid, to the other end of the pipe. If the forces are not balanced, the fluid will move in the direction of the resulting force.\n\nThis concept was first formulated, in a slightly extended form, by the French mathematician and philosopher Blaise Pascal in 1647 and would later be known as Pascal's law. This law has many important applications in hydraulics.\n\n\nAny body of arbitrary shape which is immersed, partly or fully, in a fluid will experience the action of a net positive vertical force originating from the depth-dependent liquid pressure. This vertical force is termed buoyancy or buoyant force and is equal in magnitude, but opposite in direction, to the weight of the displaced fluid.\n\nIn the case of a ship, for instance, its weight is balanced by a buoyant force from the displaced water, allowing it to float. If more cargo is loaded onto the ship, it would sink more into the water - displacing more water and thus receive a higher buoyant force to balance the increased weight.\n\nDiscovery of the principle of buoyancy is attributed to Archimedes.\n\n\nA floating object is stable if it tends to restore itself to an equilibrium position after a small displacement. For example, floating objects will generally have vertical stability, as if the object is pushed down slightly, this will create a greater buoyant force, which, unbalanced against the weight force will push the object back up.\n\nRotational stability is of great importance to floating vessels. Given a small angular displacement, the vessel may return to its original position (stable), move away from its original position (unstable), or remain where it is (neutral).\n\nRotational stability depends on the relative lines of action of forces on an object. The upward buoyant force on an object acts through the centre of buoyancy, being the centroid of the displaced volume of fluid. The weight force on the object acts through its center of gravity. An object will be stable if an angular displacement moves the line of action of these forces to set up a 'righting moment'. See also Angle of loll.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9173464179039001}
+{"content": "Learning to Detect and Classify Malicious Executables in the Wild\n\nJ. Zico Kolter, Marcus A. Maloof; 7(Dec):2721--2744, 2006.\n\n\nWe describe the use of machine learning and data mining to detect and classify malicious executables as they appear in the wild. We gathered 1,971 benign and 1,651 malicious executables and encoded each as a training example using n-grams of byte codes as features. Such processing resulted in more than 255 million distinct n-grams. After selecting the most relevant n-grams for prediction, we evaluated a variety of inductive methods, including naive Bayes, decision trees, support vector machines, and boosting. Ultimately, boosted decision trees outperformed other methods with an area under the ROC curve of 0.996. Results suggest that our methodology will scale to larger collections of executables. We also evaluated how well the methods classified executables based on the function of their payload, such as opening a backdoor and mass-mailing. Areas under the ROC curve for detecting payload function were in the neighborhood of 0.9, which were smaller than those for the detection task. However, we attribute this drop in performance to fewer training examples and to the challenge of obtaining properly labeled examples, rather than to a failing of the methodology or to some inherent difficulty of the classification task. Finally, we applied detectors to 291 malicious executables discovered after we gathered our original collection, and boosted decision trees achieved a true-positive rate of 0.98 for a desired false-positive rate of 0.05. This result is particularly important, for it suggests that our methodology could be used as the basis for an operational system for detecting previously undiscovered malicious executables.\n\n\nHome Page\n\n\n\n\nEditorial Board\n\n\n\nOpen Source Software\n\n\n\n\nContact Us\n\nRSS Feed", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7700755000114441}
+{"content": "With the Nepali-to-English translation project, Nepali Language Resource Center (NLRC) aims to provide translations of top Nepali words to English. We hope that the project benefits not only Nepali speaking population but also a growing number of English speaking population wishing to learn Nepali. Users will be able to translate Nepali words to English and vice versa. The translation will also include a relevant example.\n\nSince translation of each and every word is almost impossible, NLRC has developed an algorithm to identify words and phrases that are most frequently used in Nepali. The most frequently used words are then be translated. The algorithm tracks common Nepali words and phrases over time and the list is updated on a regular basis.\n\nUnlike some available Nepali English translations that are translated using an automated approach, the translations offered here are manually translated by a group of editors with knowledge of both the English and Nepali languages.\n\nThis section lists the most frequently used words in the Nepali language (in descending order of frequency) and presents their English translation along with its parts of speech and an example.\n\nand (conjunction), example: Ram and Shyam went home.\nsix (noun), example: I wake up at six.\nhas (verb), example: Ram has a pen.\nhave (verb), example: I have a pen.\nपनिalso (adverb), example: I also want to go.\nहोis (verb), example: Cow is our national animal.\nयोthis (pronoun), example: This is a pen.\nभएकोhas (verb), example: [My] sister has come today.\nwas (verb), example: Who took you to the school when I was ill?\nभनेthough (adverb), example: Everyone went home, but he is still working, though.\nif (conjunction), example: If you work hard, you will succeed in your new job.\nthough (adverb), example: We did not win, but I am happy with our game, though.\nsaid (verb), example: \"I went to school,\" Ram said.\ntold (verb), example: \"You are my friend,\" Ram told Hari.\nलागिfor (postposition), example: This room is for guests.\nगर्नdo (verb), example: I like to [do] work.\nथियोhad (verb), example: Last year, we had only one cow.\nhad (verb), example: It had rained yesterday.\nwas (verb), example: That movie was good.\nछन्has (verb), example: He has come here.\nis (verb), example: He is here.\nare (verb), example: They are here.\nhave (verb), example: They have come here.\nकोto (case ending), example: I went to Ram's house.\nwho (pronoun), example: Who was she?\nगर्नेdo (verb), example: There are many things one can do.\ndo (verb), example: This is a good time to do homework.\nएकone (noun), example: Two comes after one.\none (adjective), example: There is one minute left in the game.\nनेपालीNepali (adjective), example: I like Nepali food.\nNepali (noun), example: Many Nepalis live here.\nNepali (noun), example: Please translate this English sentence to Nepali.\nतरbut (conjunction), example: My brother went to Nepal but I did not.\nI (pronoun), example: I love you.\nगरेकोhas (verb), example: The government has announced a new foreign policy.\ndid (verb), example: I never forget the work you did.\nमाin (case ending), example: He is walking in the rain.\non (case ending), example: Put the book on the table.\nat (case ending), example: I am staying at home.\nआफ्नोown (adjective), example: He spent only his own money.\nown (pronoun), example: Don't forget your own.\nकेwhat (pronoun), example: What is your name?\nहुन्छhas (verb), example: Everyone has this feeling called love.\nis (verb), example: Milk is good for health.\nhappens (verb), example: What happens now?\ncan (verb), example: You can go now.\nमेरोmy (adjective), example: My name is Ram.\nmine (pronoun), example: This pen is mine.\nहुनेbe (verb), example: Let's try to be healthy.\nhave (verb), example: Those who have tickets can go inside.\nभन्नेnamed (adjective), example: I know this man named Ram.\ncalled (adjective), example: Everyone has this feeling called love.\nthat (conjunction), example: Why did you buy this when you knew that it was expensive?\nthat (conjunction), example: I knew that you would come.\nsay (verb), example: Who should I say this thing to?\nकुराthing (noun), example: I want to buy that thing.\ntalk (noun), example: What good will the talk do if we do not take action?\nकामwork (noun), example: Have you finished your work?\nकुनैany (adjective), example: Now the bus may arrive any moment.\nnone (pronoun), example: None of these computers works.\nकेहीsome (adjective), example: Let's do some work.\nnothing (pronoun), example: There is nothing to do.\nany (adjective), example: Let's not do any work.\nsome (pronoun), example: Some are good.\nsomething (pronoun), example: Let's do something.\nanything (pronoun), example: Let's not do anything.\nfew (adjective), example: Wait for a few days.\nfew (pronoun), example: Few are good.\nछैनdo not (verb), example: I do not know.\nदिनday (noun), example: Today is the third day.\ngive (verb), example: I wanted to give.\nत्योthat (adjective), example: That pen is mine.\nthat (pronoun), example: That is my pen.\nहुनbecome (verb), example: Because of his hard work, he could become a successful businessman.\nधेरैmany (adjective), example: He worked for many days.\nmany (pronoun), example: Many came.\nमात्रonly (adverb), example: There are only two weeks until Dashain.\nवाor (conjunction), example: (Either) you go home or stay with me.\nभयोhappened (verb), example: What happened at school today?\nएउटाone (adjective), example: Even one person can make a big difference.\none (pronoun), example: One is enough.\nहामीwe (pronoun), example: We went home.\nवर्षyear (noun), example: There are twelve months in a year.\nदुईtwo (noun), example: I slept for two hours.\nघरhouse (noun), example: That house is very nice.\nपहिलोfirst (adjective), example: Today is the first day of school.\nनामname (noun), example: What is your name?\nयहाँhere (adverb), example: How far is your house from here?\nफेरिagain (adverb), example: I watched that movie again.\nशान्तिpeace (noun), example: Police keep the peace in the society.\n\n\n (Your email will not be shared with others)\n\n© 2017 Nepali Language Resource Center   Terms   Privacy   Feedback on our Efforts   About   Contact", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8085108995437622}
+{"content": "More augmented Mutant Hands\n\nGolan Levin hat neue Variationen seiner Augmented Hands am Start und ich liebe nach wie vor jede einzelne davon. (via Prosthetic Knowledge)\n\n- Plus One: The hand obtains an additional finger.\n- Minus One: The hand has one finger omitted.\n- Extra Knuckle: Each finger has an extra phalange.\n- One Knuckle Fewer: Each finger has a phalange omitted.\n- Two Thumbs: The thumb is copy-pasted to the other side of the hand.\n- Transposed Thumb: The thumb is relocated to the other side of the hand.\n- Fractal Hand: Each finger terminates in a small hand.\n- Throbbing Fingers: The fingers appear to throb, as with a heartbeat.\n- Variable Finger Length: The fingers' length changes over time.\n- Meandering Fingers: The fingers take on a life of their own.\n- Procrustes: All fingers are made the same length.\n- Lissajous: The palm is warped in a periodic way.\n- Breathing Palm: The palm inflates and deflates.\n- Vulcan Salute: The third and fourth fingers are cleaved.\n- Angular Exaggeration: Finger adduction and abduction angles are amplified.\n- Springers: Finger movements are exaggerated by bouncy simulated physics.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 1.0000100135803223}
+{"content": "Statistics for occurrence #1 of “Campti” in chapter 141, page 534 of Rebellion Record: a Diary of American Events: Documents and Narratives, Volume 8.:\n\n... At half-past 8 o'clock Monday morning, General A. Smith ordered Colonel Gooding, commanding the Sixth Massachusetts cavalry, to proceed with the following troops upon a reconnoissance to the town of Campti , six miles distant, for the purpose of capturing or dislodging a band of Harrison's guerrillas, numbering some three hundred men: Three hundred of the Second New-York cavalry, two hundred from the Th...\nMax. Freq. Min. Freq.\nEntity Corpus Doc Corpus Doc  \nCampti (Louisiana, United States) 34 4 4 0 0 user votes\nCampti (Texas, United States) 0 0 0 0 0 user votes\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7761252522468567}
+{"content": "EU Law\n\nTuesday, January 19, 2016\n\nThe Hierarchies create Carbon Units\n\nSOCT Paper 030\n\nThe Hierarchies create Carbon Units\n\nSOCT teaches that long ago, in our distant past, the Hierarchies intervened at the Divine Decree and began creating our planet. They brought life; they are the true Elohim of our planet. This SOCT paper is important for a better understanding of our early beginnings. Read and share. ~ Tom Snider\n\nI urge all SOCT students to please read our paper; “The Story of Our Planet” to help establish a ‘big picture’ connection with the following information. I would like to point out some important facts that all Humans should understand. Our planet Earth was born from debris. This debris was meticulously guided by higher entities which swarm our space/time continuum. ~\n\nFrom chaos order was brought forth. All order comes ultimately from Divine Intelligence which pervades all of creation. Anybody who truly begins to contemplate the order and intelligence seen in all matter and biological complexities knows and realizes that there is a God [Divine Intelligence]. We all come forth from One Eternal. ~\n\nOn our planet Carbon lies at the centre of life. Carbon atoms link together like chains which in turn bind with other atoms which ultimately comprise all organic chemicals that constitute what we call life. So Humans could be called; Carbon Units. What or who helped create these carbon units for life? We read in the SOCT papers: ~\n\nLords of the Flame: These Keepers helped in shaping the physical life forms, the vehicles of individual expression. They helped in forming the physical bodies of life forms on our planet. ~\n\nThe entities known as ‘Lords of the Flame’ were key to developing carbon life. It is interesting to note that silicon, which ingredient is made up of rock forming minerals, is the only other possible life-form body. It has been said that the soul of “flesh life” is carbonaceous and the soul of rock is siliceous. ~\n\nAnother of the Hierarchies is “Lords of Individuality”. It was probably these Hierarchies which guided the right kind of meteorites and comets to pound the surface of our early planet. The mixture had to be just right, perfect. It was these early bombardments which created the implantation of life seeds. From these life seeds we have the first life forms. These Hierarchies played a major part in preparing our planet for life. The Hierarchies in this sense are Earths “donors”. These donors not only helped seed our planet but they also helped with sterilization. Our planet entered a time of “constructive chaos”. ~\n\nThe Hierarchies early on had created just the right gaseous atmosphere. Even specific gas mixtures and flows coming from within side our planet were adjusted by the Hierarchies. A physical yet Divine Alchemy was taking place on our planet. Long ago our planet was a chemical cauldron that had hundreds of millions of years to be processed and guided by higher minds and interdimensional intelligent beings. Just as we today help raise our pets to higher relationships so the spiritual and ethereal Hierarchies have raised and continue to raise us up. ~\n\nLife as some think they know it is not a mere routine. No, it is a Divinely Guided plan with purpose and effort. We must never take for granted the GIFT of LIFE that we all have been given. Divine Intelligence continues to make contact with all creation. Will we listen? SOCT has been give to Humans in this Seventh Time so that we can grow up, go to our next evolutionary stage of development and enlightenment. Won’t you begin to study with SOCT today? Why ignore the most important message for this planet? ~\n\n~Sir Eric William King\n\nPopular Posts\n\n1 comment:\n\n  1. Everything on earth is made up of combinations of different elements – all of which can be found on the periodic table. Considering that the periodic table contains 118 elements it seems a pity that organic life tends to feature only five or six of those elements in any vast quantities. The main one being carbon.\n\n    It would be impossible for life on earth to exist without carbon. Carbon is the main component of sugars, proteins, fats, DNA, muscle tissue, pretty much everything in your body. The reason carbon is so special is down to the electron configuration of the individual atoms. Electrons exist in concentric ‘shells’ around the central nucleus and carbon has four electrons in its outermost shell.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8794884085655212}
+{"content": "About Deadly Exchange\n\nHow do we achieve real safety?\n\nThe deadly falsehood that violence against some communities will create security for others is perpetuated by the policies of both the U.S. and Israeli government.\n\nOne of the most dangerous places where the regimes of Trump and Netanyahu converge are in exchange programs that bring together police, ICE, border patrol, and FBI from the US with soldiers, police, border agents, etc from Israel. In these programs, “worst practices” are shared to promote and extend discriminatory and repressive policing in both countries including extrajudicial executions, shoot-to-kill policies, police murders, racial profiling, massive spying and surveillance, deportation and detention, and attacks on human rights defenders.\n\nAs Jewish Americans and allies, we believe that building a vision and practice of collective safety is essential. As a Jewish organization dedicated to safety and justice for all peoples, we see it as our duty to draw the line at these exchanges. We want to join in efforts to expand the definition of sanctuary to mean that all people targeted by aggressive policing – including immigrants and refugees, as well as all people of color, Muslims, trans and queer people – are safe to live their lives.\n\n\nWho is doing this?\n\nThousands of the highest ranking police officials and law enforcement executives across the country have participated in the exchange programs, which are primarily billed as opportunities for U.S. law enforcement to learn counterterrorism tactics from the Israeli military and police.\n\nOne such program is run out of Georgia State University–Georgia International Law Enforcement Exchange–although the majority of the programs are run by Jewish organizations, including the neo-conservative Jewish Institute on National Security of America (JINSA), local trips led by Jewish federations, and a large program run by the Anti-Defamation League.\n\nWe believe civil rights organizations and Jewish communal institutions have no business participating in further endangering those in Trump and Bibi’s crosshairs by dispatching police, ICE and FBI agents to trade tips with an occupying army. We also believe so called progressive cities must end their participation in these programs.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6290055513381958}
+{"content": "Letter to Ashley on a New Education — Part 2\n\nJuly 21, 2016\n\nHi again Ashley,\n\nI think your observation about students of any age not knowing what to learn is an important one. However, this only becomes a dilemma when we isolate young people in classrooms with a single adult whose principal, perceived activity is to tell those young people (sometimes in charming or participatory ways) what they must remember. People of any age can sustainedly only want to learn something with which they have had some experience. So an effective environment for learning would be filled with a great diversity of people of every age doing every available variety of things for which they have a passion. It is a natural way for people to become exposed to new things. As you say, “Educators would have to make important topics like history and language arts relevant to the lives of the students, because the students usually won’t be able to piece it together themselves (since doing so would necessitate a knowledge of the topic in the first place, that which the student won’t have).” Perhaps the best way to do this is for anyone, including educators, to show the relevance in their own lives.\n\nLanguage arts would be associated with a passion for communicating and imagining, and helping or cooperating and being understood, and history with a passion for storytelling, wonderment at the range of human behavior, and a curiosity about how things got to be the way they are. And you are so right that “making it topical to each student would then require quite a bit of knowledge about the student themselves, since real-world relevancy would differ [from person to person],” but also it would differ from time to time for the same person. So much in education depends on timing, on the confluence of personal developmental strands with appropriate resources and opportunities to use them. There is no predictable, optimal time for everyone to learn to use the calculus. Effective educators would have to maintain long-term relationships with learners. The way schools are organized we can’t even come close to understanding and nourishing the complexity of learning in human development.\n\nHow do we deal with a complexity beyond the capacity of any one person to embrace or fully understand? We have chosen to lay the burden on the individual, the student, and to blame the consequences on the teachers. The purpose of this is to so constrict and simplify the possible activity and content that there is no room for the unexpected, for the unknown surprises of complexity. The result of this approach is a mechanization of education, with grade levels, graded curricula and graded tests, in which we mass process students in competitive, semester-long events. Teachers are forced by this system to spend most of their time and attention, most of their creative thought, on subject matter information, data organizing and processing, and administration, rather than on understanding each student, and living their passion for something they do. And students spend most of their time and attention on trying to make the grade, or tuning out, rather than on becoming enriched and versatile human beings.\n\nIt seems to me an objective absurdity to classify our lives into precise, predictable stages, and for the later first or entire second stage to isolate our young from the workings of the world and society at large by confining them in institutions that occupy nearly a majority of their waking time for much of the year; and to do the same for our most elderly as well. And not only that, but to segregate them narrowly by twelve-month age differences, or points on a test score, or disability diagnoses. It seems even more absurd to classify either learning or curriculum into precise, predictable steps or stages and to insist through institutionalization on the identical scope and sequence for nearly everyone. We are all much too diverse to thrive under such constraints. Experienced teachers may tell you that only valedictorians always can march to the steps of a standardized curriculum.\n\nAn alternative to this would be to place the burden of complexity on a lavish and evolving social and natural educational environment, which could absorb, embrace and respond to uneven and unexpected developments from equally unexpected sources. This was the impetus for the learning park idea. It was one idea for moving away from a confined and relatively sterile school and classroom environment to a diverse and complex learning environment that is in fact an amalgam of different environments, and for moving away from the social isolation of an age-restricted group of peers and a single instructor to an all-age inclusive social milieu with a great diversity of collaborative associations from which to learn, and for moving away from a narrowly defined and rigid in both scope and sequence curriculum to a fluid and agile continuum of practice, full of resources, that can adapt to ongoing changes in learning needs and activity.\n\nThe ongoing learning transactions among all these complex constituents are what meaningfully educate, not just teachers in their traditional role as presenters, although educators as facilitators are necessary constituents of any place of learning. However, perhaps the most critical role of an educator is to help determine what specific things (objects, behaviors, people, activities, conversations, etc.) of all kinds could be introduced into the learning environment so as to make it most educative, most supportive of growth for the people involved at the time. But there still remains as much of a beneficial role for chance in education as for research and planning. Healthy educational environments embrace chance.\n\nSince the learning dynamics and constituents for every person are diverse, complex, evolving and unpredictable, and furthermore depend upon ongoing transactions with the available social and natural environments, all of which is far too complex and motile to anticipate, it makes most sense for a humane and effective education to eschew cramming learners into identical, individual, preformed canisters and sending them down a sixteen-year-long vacuum tube, and rather to focus its attention on creating the most rich and complex environments for learning imaginable, and equally to focus on understanding its participants well enough to facilitate their transactions with these environments to be in maximum service of their growth as human beings. Becoming educated is about a lifetime of becoming a person.\n\nBecause you are a teacher in a school, I understand your need to distinguish among students and to have methods to do so. But we need to ask ourselves for what purposes do we need to distinguish among students? What purposes would serve the best interests of the learners? How would our attitude or methods change if these students ranged in age from five to seventy-five, or if the purpose were to better understand how each person learned and how to engage their interests; or if the purpose were to become a more helpful educator and effective learner? It seems to me that being “tested, evaluated, judged, ranked, separated, sorted, classified, and placed” are already consequences of distinguishing among people, and are harmful as methods of doing so. These are primarily management conveniences. I do not see how these actions benefit the education or growth of the persons to whom they are applied. However, they certainly affect the opportunities they have, and the resources available to them, and their social and economic status both now and later. I see these as unacceptable sources of inequality.\n\nIn many ways our schools have been kidnapped by consequences of our economic system and the beliefs, metaphors, models and motives that drive it. The organizational, management, production and quality control models, the underlying profit motive, the self-serving, self-aggrandizing behavior that is encouraged, even admired, by this economic system sustain a competitive and radically individualistic, therefore false, psychology that has been incorporated into our corporately structured schooling. Contrary to popular belief, the institutional structure of schooling perpetuates inequality. I believe that even the language we use in schools and the language of educational psychology carry acquired and implicit economic meanings to the detriment of their usefulness.\n\nYou wonder, without methods of distinguishing among students, “how others would be able to evaluate the qualities of a person for instances of something like a career. How will a principal know a teacher candidate is the best teacher for the job?” Even though the business world would like schools to evaluate and guarantee a person’s qualifications for a job, this remains sketchy at best, and is not a function of education. The truth is that a principal can’t know ahead of time which candidate is the best teacher for the job, and school documents don’t help. Good principals have good hunches, and these best come from face-to-face encounters. The fact is that one only knows the best teachers for the job after they’ve been on the job. And this suggests that we should have an entirely different way of hiring teachers, perhaps selecting from long-serving and well-paid apprentices.\n\nWhy would we believe that the principal purpose of education should be to prepare and evaluate a person for a future job, rather than to help a person become a life-long learner, thinking deeply and acting generously beginning now; or to train prospective employees, rather than to help each person pursue her or his full, human potential now? Is it not the pervasive and coercive intrusion of the economic system into education? We have entrenched a system that surrenders judgment, decisions and outcomes to wealth, privilege, authority and power, and that excludes or punishes us for being poor, unemployed, underemployed, food or health or safety or home insecure, inadequately documented or diploma’d or insured, and yet makes no effort to multiply types of work or education that lead to continual and personal human development. And although the economic narrative leads us to believe that work is our significant contribution to ourselves, our families, and to society, it is in fact only as a means to income that its true value ensues when we buy things as consumers. So what is being determined by our schooling is our fitness as employees to be consumers, which becomes our principle contribution to the economy and society and to ourselves. The result has been to make our schools centers of training rather than of education.\n\nI know there are exceptions and some wonderful teachers and some joyful learning. But the institutional structures that house them are by and large mis-educative. It may be too soon to create a better, more humane economic system, but it is not too soon to create a better way to educate.\n\nGratefully Yours,", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7277930378913879}
+{"content": "Even a small rise in interest rates has the potential to cause ‘debt peril’ due to the amount already owed, according to the Resolution Foundation.\n\nThe think tank predicted that 1.1 million households could be in an unsustainable amount of debt by 2018, compared to 600,000 now.\n\nIt also suggested that 1.2 million more households could be spending over a third of their income on mortgage repayments by 2018.\n\nThe Money Advice Service say that the amount of adults in debt is much higher than thought because a third of debtors manage to make partial repayments, hence slipping under the radar.\n\nThe Resolution Foundation recommended that the Bank of England resist a rate rise until there is definitive evidence of a sustainable, broad-based recovery.\n\nIt also campaigns to improve living standards for those on low and middle incomes, saying that poorer households should have the opportunity to lock into low rate mortgages for a set period in the future.\n\nDespite pressure from business leaders for a hike, the Bank say they will keep rates at 0.5% for now, due to concerns that the UK economy is still too weak.\n\nImage by carnagenyc", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9468750357627869}
+{"content": "Intervertebral Disk Disease: Herniated Spinal Discs in Dogs\n\nVeterinary Surgeon Dr. Nanai Discusses Slipped Discs in Dogs\n\nBeagle on couch\n\" Beagle_Livin_083008\" ( CC BY 2.0) by  Orange Robot\n\n Guest Author Dr. Beatrix Nanai, a veterinary neurosurgeon, discusses IntervertebraIVDD spinal disc disease diagnosis and treatment. This is a common health problem in small breed dogs. Learn more about diagnosis and surgical treatment of this condition.\n\nFrom Dr. Nanai, Veterinary Neurosurgeon\n\nA herniated spinal disc is one of the most common neurological problems in small-breed dogs. Prompt diagnosis and treatment are essential to avoid permanent paralysis or other long-term problems for the patient.\n\nDisc Disease In Small Breeds\n\nDisc disease in Dachshunds, Chihuahuas, Beagles and other small breeds can lead to an acute rupture, sending the disc material into the spinal canal at a high velocity. In other cases, the material can seep into the canal, causing either only pain or a gradually progressive weakness and eventually paralysis. Depending on the location of the disc herniation, the patient may be paralyzed from the \"waist down\" (hind limb paralysis) or \"from neck down\" (unable to use any of the limbs).\n\nPrognosis for Recovery Varies\n\nIn these neurosurgical emergency cases, the prognosis for recovery varies. About 95 percent of the patients who can still feel the hind limbs can make a complete recovery if surgery is done quickly. Otherwise, the outlook is much less favorable. That’s why our team is on call to perform these assessments and surgeries at night and weekends if necessary.\n\nDiagnostic Tools and Treatment\n\nTo localize the disc problem, a non-invasive CT scan or an MRI study are the most effective diagnostic tools, followed by contrast spinal studies.\n\nThis is necessary to rule out other possible problems, such as a spinal tumor, meningitis or other inflammatory diseases.\n\nIf the disc has ruptured, the surgery is usually done right away while the patient is still under anesthesia. The procedure usually takes 1- 3 hours and involves opening the spinal canal, scooping out the disc material and controlling any bleeding.\n\nUnlike humans, who walk upright, there is no need to repair the damaged disc and the patient will be able to move normally once fully recovered.\n\nPain Management, Suture Removal, and Physical Therapy\n\nSince this surgery removes the pressure from the spinal cord, many patients feel a sense of relief afterward. The surgical pain, which is less intense, is managed with balanced pain medications. Additional medications may be needed to relax the urethra so the patient can urinate normally and antibiotics, especially if urinary tract infection is diagnosed.\n\nSutures on the back can be removed after two weeks, and many patients can walk at that time, even if they stagger a bit. However, just like people after spinal surgery, it can take several months for a complete recovery. Physical therapy at home or at a professional physical therapy facility can accelerate the process for many patients.\n\nRisks of Reinjury\n\nFinally, owners need to understand that because disc degeneration is a condition which most of these small breeds are born with, the patient is at risk for another rupture. If immobility and pain return, another surgery may be necessary in the future.\n\nThank you, Dr. Nanai, for this informative article on canine disc disease.\n\nIf your dog is reluctant to walk or exercise, lay down or get up, or exhibits pain when picked up or jumping off of the couch, please see your veterinarian. Like humans, dogs (and cats) are prone to joint and bone problems, especially if they are overweight.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6952535510063171}
+{"content": "A Land Divided\n\nA Land United\n\nFor over a century the continent of Wesilia has been plagued by constant war and struggles for power. It all began with the assassination of Emperor Palidrin IV of House Stallar during a coup to seize control of the empire by those he’d one considered loyal supporters. Is is unclear who controlled the assassin’s blade. Though there were many potential usurpers who could have employed the slayer.\n\nPalidrin IV was not without an heir. His son was, however, far too young to seat the throne and after the emperor’s passing it was deemed best to hide him among those still loyal to the emperor.\n\nAnd so the dynasty of Stallar fell, the great capitol city of ivory-colored stone falling to a coalition force. Thus ended one dynasty only for another to begin… or so it was planned.\n\nThe empire as a unified land was not to last. The great houses of Wesilia’s alliance faltered a soon as their victory was reached. Alliances, as well as promises were broken and in the end the only occupant of the great imperial throne was dust.\n\nAnd so it was that Wesilia’s lands were divided among those who had the power to enforce their own command. The great houses all took it upon themselves to declare their own sovereign nations. Kingdoms, magocracies, and even the lone instance of a republic formed seemingly overnight.\n\n\nA Time of Discord\n\nThus began what many historians, both in Wesilia and across the seas in numerous other lands, would refer to as the time of discord. With the former political systems in Wesilia upended a great vacuum formed. Lords who had before held only minor titles would rebel against their liege lords in a fight for sovereignty. Neighboring territories, once counties beneath the same liege would begin to openly squabble without their leaders able to intervene; They were often dealing with troubles of their own calling the banners of those who would heed them.\n\nNot all resorted to war to resolve their disputes. Just as many battles were fought in the realm of propaganda and sowing dissent among neighboring populations. Among many, from noble families to common swineherds, feelings of distrust, resentment and fear were planted.\n\nA War for Unity\n\nIn recent years the young and idealistic heir to the Stallar family, Justinian I, has emerged from his family’s self-imposed exile. Justinian, making claims to be the grandson of the former emperor and the bearer of the Stallar family name saw an opportunity within the escalating chaos of Wesilia.\n\nWith the support of House Garrot, one of the great houses of Wesilia the young emperor began a march northward. Making cunning use of the rivalry that had developed between different families and territories during the empire’s absence he has carved a path of conquest over more than half of the continent.\n\nHis dream of reuniting the continent under the imperial rule of the Stallar’s, while once seeming impossible, now seems close to fruition. The land and it’s peoples are once again swept by war and turmoil and power has once again changed hands. Those who did not bend the knee to the emperor found themselves displaced. Their lands often given to those who supported him in the still-continuing war for unity.\n\n\nA Land Divided", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9522361755371094}
+{"content": "Rear Cover: The Forgotten Victims: Childhood and the Soviet Gulag, 1929–1953\n\nElaine MacKinnon\n\n\nThis study examines a facet of Gulag history that only in recent years has become a topic for scholarly examination, the experiences of children whose parents were arrested or who ended up themselves in the camps. It first considers the situation of those who were true “children of the Gulag,” born either in prison or in the camps. Second, the paper examines the children who were left behind when their parents and relatives were arrested in the Stalinist terror of the 1930s.  Those left behind without anyone willing or able to take them in ended up in orphanages, or found themselves on their  own, having to grow up quickly and cope with adult situations and responsibilities. Thirdly, the study focuses on young persons who themselves ended up in the Gulag, either due to their connections with arrested family members, or due to actions in their own right which fell afoul of Stalinist “legality,” and consider the ways in which their youth shaped their experience of the Gulag and their strategies for survival.  The effects of a Gulag childhood were  profound both for individuals and for Soviet society as a whole.  Millions of children’s lives were torn apart by the Stalinist terror; they not only lost loved ones and friends, but they also faced social stigmatization,  political and economic marginalization, and compromised  opportunities for upward mobility and security. For some whose parents were rehabilitated, this brought a degree of normalcy, and they felt that the state had redeemed itself and their families. But for others it contributed to a process of alienation that ended up in political dissidence and emigration.   Any history of post-Stalinist society must take into consideration the fact that the Gulag did not just affect those who served time in the camps and colonies, but also the children they left behind.  Further studies are needed to determine to what extent the experiences of children of the Gulag informed social patterns during the last decades of the Soviet regime, and in particular, responses to Gorbachev’s efforts at reform.\n\nFull Text:\n\n\n\n\n  • There are currently no refbacks.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7145618796348572}
+{"content": "\n\nPreparation and Communication\n\nTransport and travel\n\nTravelling to unknown destinations can make most of us anxious; some aspects of travel may be particularly anxiety provoking, for example air travel or coach journeys in mountainous regions. Give clear and detailed information about every stage of the journey and each day in the field when there are journeys to be made so that students are not unnecessarily worried, and can prepare themselves for the journeys.\n\n\"The bus will leave at 6am and arrive about 3pm\" may not include enough information to allay the anxieties of some of the students. Include brief information on each aspect of the travel involved. For example:\n\nThe bus will leave from outside the Geography main entrance at 6.30 am on Monday 1st May.\n\nPage updated 14 December 2001\n\nGDN pages maintained by Phil Gravestock", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9636763334274292}
+{"content": "Hastelloy Fasteners\n\nHastelloy Fasteners\n\nHastelloy C276, C22, B2 werkstoff nr. 2.4819, 2.4602, 2.4617 Fasteners Manufacturer & Exporter.\n\nASTM SB 366, B 472/564 UNS N10276, N06022, N10665 Hastelloy Nuts, Bolts, Washer, Hex Head Bolts Suppliers in India.\n\nHastelloy is an alloy forged with nickel being at the forefront, with soluble a nature which makes merging of two metals easier, later  solidifying at room temperature. It is easily machinable due to its ductile and malleable properties which makes its use in manufacture of different types of products and parts easy. Hastelloy imparts better resistance to the parts and components against corrosion and abrasion as compared to to other metal alloys.\n\nThe fasteners made from Hastelloy are very durable and hold firm in their area of use, which makes their use very reliable in a a scenario where the machine draws a lot of frictional wear and tear upon the parts. Fasteners are also used in piping framework which puts to test their resistant properties that play a big role in protecting itself from constant contact with liquids and alkaline solutions. Use of fasteners is mostly preferred in places like petroleum industry and desalination plants.\n\nSpecification :\n\nRange:M4 To M100, 3/8\" Unc Till 4\" UNC\nLength:Upto 3 Meters.\nSpecification:IS, BS, ASTM\nType:Bolt, Hex Bolt, Stud Bolt, Eye Bolt, Screw, Nut, U Bolt, Washer, Threaded Bolt Etc.\nHastelloy C2762.4819N10276NW 0276-ХН65МВУNiMo16Cr15WЭП760\nHastelloy C222.4602N06022NW 6022--NiCr21Mo14W-\nHastelloy B22.4617N10665-----\n\nAlso, we are manufacturer, exporter and supplier of variety of Fasteners , Stainless Steel Fasteners, Carbon Steel Fasteners, Alloy Steel Fasteners, Inconel Fasteners, Monel Fasteners, Hastelloy Fasteners, Cupro Nickel Alloy Fasteners, Nickel Alloy Fasteners, Duplex Steel Fasteners, Super Duplex Stud Bolt, Stainless Steel Stud, Stainless Steel Bolt, STAINLESS STEEL NUT, Stainless Steel Washers", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9229968190193176}
+{"content": "TCDB is operated by the Saier Lab Bioinformatics Group\n\n1.N.1 The Osteoclast Fusion Complex (OFC) Family \n\nOsteoclast cell fusion to form syncytia is promoted by several proteins.  Most importantly are DC-STAMP and OC-STAMP, but other proteins such as the V-type proton ATPase subunit d2, ATP6v0d2 (TC# 3.A.2.2.6), CD47, a leucocyte surface antigen of 323 aas (Q08722) and syncytin-1 (TC# 1.G.9.1.1) may play roles (Møller et al. 2016). The process is regulated by NFATc1, a master regulator of nuclear factor kappaB ligand-induced osteoclast differentiation. Kim et al. 2008 demonstrated a role for NFATc1 as a positive regulator of nuclear factor kappaB ligand-mediated osteoclast fusion as well as other fusion-inducing factors such as TNF-alpha. Exogenous overexpression of a constitutively active form of NFATc1 in bone marrow-derived monocyte/macrophage cells (BMMs) induces formation of multinucleated osteoclasts as well as the expression of fusion-mediating molecules such as the d2 isoform of vacuolar ATPase V(o) domain (Atp6v0d2) and the dendritic cell-specific transmembrane protein (DC-STAMP). Inactivation of NFATc1 by cyclosporin A treatment attenuates expression of Atp6v0d2 and DC-STAMP and the subsequent fusion of osteoclasts. Kim et al. 2008 showed that NFATc1 binds to the promoter regions of Atp6v0d2 and DC-STAMP in osteoclasts and directly induces their expression. Furthermore, overexpression of Atp6v0d2 and DC-STAMP rescues cell-cell fusion of preosteoclasts despite reduced NFATc1 activity. Thus, the NFATc1/Atp6v0d2 and DC-STAMP signaling axis plays a key role in the osteoclast multinucleation process, which is essential for efficient bone resorption.\n\nReferences associated with 1.N.1 family:\n\nChiu, Y.H., E. Schwarz, D. Li, Y. Xu, T.R. Sheu, J. Li, K.L. de Mesy Bentley, C. Feng, B. Wang, J.C. Wang, L. Albertorio-Saez, R. Wood, M. Kim, W. Wang, and C.T. Ritchlin. (2017). Dendritic Cell-Specific Transmembrane Protein (DC-STAMP) Regulates Osteoclast Differentiation via the Ca2+ /NFATc1 Axis. J Cell Physiol 232: 2538-2549. 27723141\nKim, K., S.H. Lee, J. Ha Kim, Y. Choi, and N. Kim. (2008). NFATc1 induces osteoclast fusion via up-regulation of Atp6v0d2 and the dendritic cell-specific transmembrane protein (DC-STAMP). Mol Endocrinol 22: 176-185. 17885208\nMøller, A.M., J.M. Delaissé, and K. Søe. (2016). Osteoclast Fusion: Time-Lapse Reveals Involvement of CD47 and Syncytin-1 at Different Stages of Nuclearity. J Cell Physiol. [Epub: Ahead of Print] 27714815\nTakagi, T., H. Inoue, N. Takahashi, R. Katsumata-Tsuboi, and M. Uehara. (2017). Sulforaphene attenuates multinucleation of pre-osteoclasts by suppressing expression of cell-cell fusion-associated genes DC-STAMP, OC-STAMP, and Atp6v0d2. Biosci. Biotechnol. Biochem. 81: 1220-1223. 28136694\nZhang, C., C.E. Dou, J. Xu, and S. Dong. (2014). DC-STAMP, the key fusion-mediating molecule in osteoclastogenesis. J Cell Physiol 229: 1330-1335. 24420845", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.880668580532074}
+{"content": "Ashley Hall's Professional Education Portfolio\n\nK-12 Certified Music Educator\n\nPSMT Standard 4\n\n\n\na. Engage students in meaningful learning experiences while maximizing the use of instructional time;\n\n\nc. Construct a learning environment and grading process where both teacher and students have high expectations and mutually understand what is expected of each other to foster optimal achievement of all students;\n\nd. Design and implement a classroom management plan that utilizes respectful disciplinary techniques to ensure a safe and orderly learning environment, (e.g., instructional procedures utilizing the concepts presented in the State Board of Education’s Positive Behavior Support Policy 2006), which is conducive to learning and takes into account diverse needs of individual students;\n\ne. Understand and uphold the legal and ethical responsibilities of teaching (e.g., federal and state laws and SBE policies pertaining to positive and effective learning environments, appropriate behavioral interventions, student retention, truancy, child abuse, safety, first aid, health, and communicable disease);\n\nf. Use a variety of teaching methodologies and techniques (e.g., lectures, demonstrations, group discussions, cooperative learning, small-group activities, and technology-enhanced lessons), and objectively assess the effectiveness of various instructional approaches and teacher actions for impact on student learning;\n\ng. Establish a learning environment which invites/welcomes collaborative teaching practices; and\n\nh. Differentiate between assessment and evaluation procedures and use appropriately.\n\nLeave a Reply\n\nYou must be logged in to post a comment.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8552913665771484}
+{"content": "Blimey. Star Wars via YouTube\n\n\n\n\nDestroying a City\n\nNot quite planet-destroying yet. Star Wars via YouTube\n\n\n\n\n\nDestroying a Continent\n\nNow let’s give the Death Star an upgrade, and target a continent.\n\nDuring the formation of the Himalayas around 40 million years ago, the mass of a rather large continent was completely consumed by the mantle and destroyed. A recent study calculated this mass to be 450 quadrillion kilograms (about 500 trillion tons) of rock.\n\nLet’s assume the continent is made of granite. At the surface, it’s about 15°C (59°F). We want to cause it to melt, which happens at 1,260°C (2,300°F). How much energy would the Death Star’s superlaser need to melt an entire continent? Fortunately, there’s an equation for this.\n\nMultiplying the temperature change, the mass, and a value known as a material’s specific heat capacity together, scientists can calculate how much energy is required to make the temperature change take place. In this case, that would be 4.4 x 1023 joules.\n\nThat’s not a very relatable number, so we can phrase it another way – this is roughly the same energy released in the dinosaur-killing asteroid impact that took place 66 million years ago.\n\nDestroying an Ocean\n\nNow we're talking. Harvepino/Shutterstock\n\nWhat if the Death Star wanted to root out an aquatic species by destroying an entire ocean? Well, fortunately, we can use the same equation to calculate the required superlaser energy too. Thanks, science!\n\nThe Pacific Ocean contains about 714 million cubic kilometers (171 million cubic miles) of seawater. At a density of 1,029 kilograms per cubic meter, that means that there's about 735 quintillion kilograms of seawater waiting to be evaporated.\n\nThe average surface temperature is about 17°C (62.6°F), and to get seawater to boil, we need to raise it to 102°C (215.6°F). Using the same equation as before, this means the Death Star would need to find 2.4 x 1026 joules of energy to completely evaporate the Pacific Ocean.\n\nThat’s about 548 dinosaur-killing asteroid impacts. As it turns out, it takes a lot more energy to evaporate water than to melt a continent, so if the Death Star is coming your way, best go take a long dive underwater.\n\nDestroying a Planet\n\nNow we’re talking. The plans for the Death Star might have been stolen, but it’s now able to destroy an entire planet in a split second, as seen in A New Hope. In order to completely eradicate a terrestrial world, you would need the superlaser to overcome something called the “gravitational binding energy.”\n\nThis describes the minimum value a spherical, uniform object needs to keep together under the influence of gravity. If this value is exceeded by another energy source, it would tear the planet apart.\n\nPlanets are never uniform in terms of their composition, but let’s assume that they are for now. The Death Star decides that Trump isn’t worth the risk, and moves into position over Earth.\n\nUsing the mass of the planet, the gravitational constant, and its radius, we can use another lovely equation to calculate Earth’s gravitational binding energy. Turns out it’s 2.3 x 1032 joules, which is about 0.51 billion dinosaur-killing asteroid impacts.\n\nThat, dear readers, is how powerful the final Death Star was shortly before it was destroyed by the Rebel Alliance.\n\nDestroying a Star\n\nScary times. Star Wars via YouTube\n\nLet’s just say that Luke Skywalker messed up, missed that vital thermal exhaust port with his proton torpedoes, and the Empire destroyed the Rebel base on Yavin IV. Oopsies. The Empire then proceeds to upgrade the Death Star even more so that it can unbind a main sequence star, like our own Sun.\n\nAccording to a complex mathematical concept known as “virial theorem”, a star’s gravitational binding energy is twice that of its internal thermal energy, which can be worked out using yet another similar equation found here.\n\nOur Sun’s binding energy, then, is about 2.3 x 1040 joules, which is 52 quadrillion dinosaur-killing asteroid impact’s worth of energy. In order to unbind our local star – and destabilize and destroy the entire Solar System as a result – the Death Star’s superlaser would need to become 102 million times more powerful.\n\nDestroying a Galaxy\n\nOkay. Let’s say the Empire goes completely insane, finds nihilism attractive, and wants to take out the entire Star Wars galaxy. Let’s assume it has at least as many stars in it as the Milky Way, which is anywhere from 100 to 400 billion.\n\nIn order to take out, say, 250 billion stars – which we will assume are all like our Sun – then that would take 5.7 x 1051 joules.\n\nOne “standard” supernova releases around 1 x 1044 joules, so if the Death Star took out the entire Milky Way, it would need to be powered by around 57.3 million supernovae. Ouch.\n\nGood thing that Jyn Erso and co. managed to steal those Death Star plans, eh?\n\nSomeone's not happy. Star Wars via YouTube\n\nFull Article\n\nIf you liked this story, you'll love these\n\nThis website uses cookies\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6341484189033508}
+{"content": "Verse: 2 Thessalonians 3:3\n\n'But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen you and keep you safe from the evil one.'\n\n- This is a reassuring scripture.\n- Thank the Lord for His faithfulness to you.\n- He strengthens and keeps us.\n- That's our God!\n\nPRAYER: Lord, I entrust my life to You for this new day. You are the one who strengthens and keeps me. I look forward to Your faithfulness to me. Amen.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9999986290931702}
+{"content": "Music Marketing: What Works and How to Optimise Opportunity\n\n19 Sep 2017\n17:30 to 20:30\n19 Sep\n\nSAE Institute is delighted to invite you to guest talk with Christina E. Holding. A few key insights can help bring some clarity to some of the basics that plague artists today. Navigating the industry waters can be daunting, but it's where the rubber hits the road and where sustainability for your art and marketability intersect. We’ll talk about how to make sense of it all and stay authentically you by diving into a number of topics at this talk, including:\n\nNetworking for Musicians: Is there a best way to do it? Label or no label?\n\nSocial Media & Content: Why staying platform agnostic is important. What, how and when to share? How do fans engage and connect with artists? How many album sales were generated through clicks from your mailing list this week and how does that compare to the week previous? Which sources to your website are leading to the most store clicks for merch, etc.?\n\nMobile: It's key to effectively reaching your local and global audience - the fans you know and the ones you don't. What role does video play in driving mobile consumption?\n\nBranding: Artists with a solid grasp on their branding has a huge advantage over artists that don’t. Your fans are out there, branding helps them find you.\n\nInsights & Analytics: What's the big deal with all this data? How does data help predict which artist videos are on the verge of breaking? How can artists use this to form valuable partnerships with brands?  \n\nConferences & Festivals: Which ones are key? Can one lead to another?\n\nTouring & Live Events: It's the intersection of fan discovery and consumption - giving you, the artist, the resources you need to do what you love.\n\nPassive & Active Money Makers: There are strategies that can help you create income while you’re making your art.\n\nVR & AR: Opportunities to explore.\n\nAbout Christina\n\nChristina Holding is dedicated to helping artists and brands advocate, engage fans and express their unique identity through authentic storytelling and live experiences. Previously a Marketing Director at SonyBMG New Media, Christina developed campaigns for artists in all genres on labels from Arista, Artist Direct, Columbia, Epic, J, Jive and many others\n\nDuring her tenure at the Seattle/SF SonyBMG offices, Christina won various industry awards and was instrumental in breaking artists like  Dido, Kasabian, Kings of Leon, Avril Lavigne, Libertines, Maroon 5, MGMT, Pink, Tegan & Sara, The Strokes, Adele and many more.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.517661452293396}
+{"content": "According to the 2016 Australian Census, there were 135 people that considered Alpine home. The average weekly wage was $749, and the average age was 46.\n\nFemales in Alpine\n\n52% of people in Alpine were female. 39% of females were married, and 6% were in a De facto relationship. 0% were widowed, and 23% had never married. 0% were separated or divorced. 19% of the female population was under the age of 15.\n\nMales in Alpine\n\n48% of people in Alpine were male. 44% of males were married, and 8% were in a De facto relationship. 11% were widowed, and 27% had never married. 11% were separated or divorced. 22% of the male population was under the age of 15.\n\nProperty in Alpine\n\nThere were 53 properties in Alpine, 72% of which were occupied by residents. Of these, 61% were owned outright by the people that lived there, and 50% were currently on their way to owning their home. The average weekly rent in Alpine was about $0, while the average monthly mortgage payment was $2,865. Roughly 33% of the household income was dedicated to mortgage payments. 8% of households had no internet.\n\n* Median and average values may be effected by confidentiality in small areas. Some values may have been adjusted to avoid release of confidential data. This may have a significant impact on the calculated percentages.\n\nUnless noted, demographic data sets are from the 2016 Australian Census. Copyright of demographic related data resides with Commonwealth of Australia. Used with permission.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9997652173042297}
+{"content": "August 1, 2017 by\nData Visualisation has never been easier, all thanks to Tableau. Give a read to my comprehensive blog on the same and explore the horizons you have never before :\n\nJuly 6, 2017 by\nOriginal post: Line graph is simple, neat and one of the most popular charts that I use in my work. Today, I want to create a line graph to compare daily revenue with the same day last year. The challenge is that Tableau does not have Month/Day date format. See below: I have been tried several ways. Now, I will show you the simplest way, which are only two steps. Step 1: Create a Month/Day field. This is actually not a date, but a string. Step 2: Drag Month/Day to Columns shelf, and Revenue (anything you want to compare) to Rows shelf. Graph type should be Line. Then drag YEAR(Date) to Color. It is basically done! Really simple huh?! This method also take care of 2/29/2016. You may see a gap between 2/28/2017 and 3/1/2017 because 2017 does not have 2/29. This is what we expect to see. Some people use Lookup function, which may have issue when we have different number of days between two years. For this graph in my work, we show year over year average based on rolling 7 day average, which uses a table calculation. I will show you how to do it by two steps as well. Step 1: Right click the field on Rows shelf, then select Add Table Calculation. Step 2: The Calculation Type is Moving Calculation. Summarize values using Average. Previous values should be 6 and next values should be 0 because I need rolling 7 days. Compute using Table (across) based on Month/Day because Month/Day is on Columns shelf. One more thing: by doing this, the line graph will show up until 6/26/2017 (Today is 6/21/2017) due to moving 7 days average table calculation. I would like to show data until yesterday (6/20/2017). We can use a Lookup function to control the end date. Drag Lookup Date function to Filters shelf. Select True. Then the line graph will be: Now, revenue year over year trend by rolling 7 day average is done!\n\nJuly 6, 2017 by\nOriginal Post: Bar chart is probably one of the simplest charts that every data analyst uses all the time. It is simple but very effective. I am working on a web traffic report, which needs to compare website visits by device category (desktop, mobile and tablet) over time. I think a stacked bar chart could be applied to this case. Instead of comparing total number of visits, I care more about the percentage of visits by device category. Today, I will show you how to create a stacked bar chart that adds up to 100% in Tableau. Step 1. Drag Date to column shelf. Make sure you choose Discrete Exact Date by right clicking Date on column shelf. Step 2. Drag Visits to row shelf. Graph type is Bar. Step 3. Drag Device Category to Color. Step 4. Instead of showing total visits comparison, I would like to present % of visits per device every day. Right click Sum(Visits) on Row shelf, then click Add Table Calculation. Calculation Type is Percentage of Total and Computing Using is Table (down). Step 5. Command (or Ctrl) + drag Sum(Visits) table calculation to Label mark in order to show the percentage of total visits per device on the stacked bar graph. It is done! The key to create a stacked bar chart that adds up to 100% is the usage of table calculation. Tableau provides powerful functions of table calculations and window calculations. I will show you more in my next blogs.\n\nJune 23, 2017 by\nLet’s look at few insights related to social and digital media: - 22% of the world’s total population uses Facebook (Source) - Over 50 million businesses use Facebook Business Pages. (Source) - 2 million business use to Facebook for advertising (Source) - 88% of businesses with more than 100 employees use Twitter for marketing purposes (Source) - 38% organizations spend 20% more than their advertising budgets on social channels (Source) There is no doubt that social media is an essential driver for a brand’s success. However, not many brands are using analytics and data science to gain social media benefits. Even if they are using it, are not aware of key areas of analytics. In this article, I will talk about eight aspects in which brands can leverage social media analytics for their advantage. 1. 360 degrees Brand Tracking Brand tracking is the process of monitoring the presence of a brand - their activities, their competitor activities, consumer trends, customer behaviors etc.  across the entire social landscape. This cross-platform and in-depth monitoring of a brand provides invaluable insights which give them a competitive advantage as well as keeps them up-to-date with their audience needs. For example, using brand tracking, detailed data-driven insights can be used by the brands for an added advantage such as: What is the right platform, right time and right method to reach out to specific customers, How good is their promotional and offers strategy as compared to multiple competitors in same space. 2. Target Audience/Customer/Followers Analysis The audience is an integral part of a brand’s success. Audience analysis includes a deeper analysis of a brand’s followers, fans, and customers in different verticals such as audience engagement, audience sentiment, and audience influence etc. Audience analysis requires different sources of data such as social profiles, timelines, survey records, transactional records and demographics data. Audience analysis unearths insights related to segmentation, demographic, mindshare, sentiment, top questions, top needs, top queries and themes associated with the customer. 3. Content Analysis Content analysis of social media posts (such as tweets, posts, emails, blogs etc.) of a brand could provide myriad of recommendations and facts that will ensure higher engagement and traffic. For example, by using natural language processing and machine learning on historical, present and competitor data, one could suggest right keywords and hashtags, optimal length and post type (pic, video, link), best times to post, so that a brand would garner higher and effective response. 4. Influencers Identification - Global and Brand Specific Influencer analysis includes identification and ranking of celebrities and personalities across different dimensions such as - engagement rate, overall digital presence, followers acquisition and engagement rates. Influencers are important entities that share and endorses the brands and their products, analytics helps to segregate right influencers for right brands with associated insights. 5. Promoted Post-Detection Using classification models and sophisticated feature engineering techniques on the data of competitor social media posts, it can be predicted that which of the tweets or posts are promoted by a brand. Promoted post detection can help in demystifying competitor’s promotional, boosting and monetary strategies. By understanding these strategies, a brand looks closely into their own approaches and optimize the practices they follow. 6. Impression Burnout Optimization Advertisements are the key part of brand’s marketing strategies online, However, every posted advertisement is not completely effective, people start losing interest in an Ad with time. The likelihood of people clicking an ad decreases with time - this is called impression burnout. Analytics can help to optimize the features and content of an ad so that the burnout time of an ad is higher. Data Science can predict what is the true burnout period for an Ad, so that brand can either monetize the good ads and discard the bad ads. 7. Engagement Prediction ML models can be trained to predict what is the likely engagement of their posts, if a post is expected to gain higher engagements, a brand can promote it more, or vice versa - if a post is performing expected to perform too bad, they can either alter its content or completely discard it with a new post. 8. Cross Platform Correlation Analytics and Data Science can be used to identify which of the cross-platform variables are correlated with each other. For example, a restaurant in the US saw higher positive reviews on when they started promoting personalized offers on Twitter. Another example is the increase in email opening rates of a brand when they initiated a social media sales across Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. With the massive boom in social media interactions, brands have to identify right patterns using analytics and data science so that they can adopt a proactive and intelligent approach towards meaningful, significant social media success. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section and share this blog. :)", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7336857318878174}
+{"content": "In Jefferson County, in the Illinois coal basin, southern Illinois, the Pennsylvanian column between the Shoal Creek and Stonefort Limestones, an interval of about 900 feet, was divided into seven intervals separated by widespread coals or limestones readily recognized on electric logs, namely the Shoal Creek Limestone, coal No. 8, West Franklin Limestone, coal No. 7, coal No. 5, coal No. 4, coal No. 2, and the Stonefort Limestone listed in descending order. These intervals were determined from 578 electric logs in the county, an average of about one per square mile. Sand-shale ratios were determined for each interval and it was found than a \"channel\" sandstone of one age occurs in each interval except between the Shoal Creek Limestone and coal No. 8. Two ages of channels occur in one interval. Sandstone percentage maps were made of each interval. Thicknesses of each interval were compared in the \"channel\" areas and nearby, outside the channel, to avoid regional variations in thickness. Assuming that the coals and limestones were laid down nearly parallel to each other, variations in interval result from greater compaction of the shales than of the sandstones. Results show the following percentages of differential compaction for the six intervals with channels listed in descending order: 21, 34, 29, 35, 42 and 54 percent.\n\nYou do not currently have access to this article.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8473058938980103}
+{"content": "Visual storytelling\n\nVisual storytelling\n\nPixar's WALL.E begins with a skewed, futuristic city panorama: skyscrapers made from compacted rubbish, everywhere deserted. Closer in, a squat little robot busily collects and squashes rubbish for the next \"trash tower\". The robot is rusty, battered, but perky and inquisitive, sorting items for his collection. A stencilled acronym reveals his name: Wall.E. The story world, the protagonist and a major theme are introduced with visual style, charm and wit: no dialogue.\n\nLlewelyn Moss hunts in baking Texas prairie in No Country for Old Men. He finds the aftermath of a shootout: bloody corpses, SUVs, guns. One man, dying, begs for water; Moss ignores him. He follows a blood trail, finds another corpse and a case full of dollar bills. Joel and Ethan Coen introduce the protagonist, story world and launch the plot through gripping images.\n\nSound plays a key role: dry desert rustling, rifle-shots, boots crunching, truck doors slamming, underscore the opening of No Country ... As Wall.E works, he beeps and hums a tune from Hello Dolly! learned from a treasured videotape. Visual storytelling benefits from a well-chosen soundscape, which can include music and song, where appropriate.\n\nWriting visually\n\n· Images and dialogue should complement or contradict, without duplication. Juxtapose images within scenes and across sequences to create additional layers of meaning: for example, contrasting English and African locations, official buildings v villages; Tessa's bare skin and flamboyant clothing v the men's suits (The Constant Gardener).\n\n· Screen images narrate, dialogue supports. Voiceover narration should establish an intimate, exclusive relationship with the audience (American Beauty), rather than give expositional information: use it for character purposes, not as a plotting shortcut.\n\n· Give information visually, via (for example) labels, captions, advertising billboards, newspaper headlines, street and shop names.\n\n· Clarify the scene's event-type: familiar events, such as meals, arrivals and departures, supply an existing, accessible visual grammar.\n\n· In screenplays, visual montages can avoid repetition, compress time and reveal character: see Wall.E's faithful protection of Eve as she awaits her recall to the spaceship Axiom.\n\n· Gestures, movements and expressions provide characterisation and plot information. Psychological gestures can reveal emotional truths, secrets, or subtext: consider how Chigurh's life-or-death coin-tosses reveal his psychopathic nature (No Country ...).\n\n· Where dialogue slows the tempo unnecessarily, cut it: make sure the transitions from image to image generate pace and rhythm.\n\nExercise: create a scene\n\nStage plays require visual writing: we are looking as well as listening. Locations are fewer: make them work harder - exploit the tension between onstage/offstage. Psychological gestures are particularly valuable in naturalistic plays: in The Seafarer, alcoholic Sharky refuses to join in the heroic drinking bouts, until he believes his soul is forfeit to the sinister Lockhart. Then he fatalistically downs glass after glass of poteen.\n\nStage images carry significant metaphoric weight (Max's armchair, placed dead centre in The Homecoming), and hint at plot or character revelations (the burn scars on Mag's arm and the chip pan on the cooker in The Beauty Queen of Leenane).\n\nWrite a three-minute visual scene or sequence based around a ceremony (wedding or funeral; launching a ship; official 'robing' or investiture; parade) in which the protagonist is involved. Sound, including music and song can be used, but no more than 10 words of dialogue.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9828800559043884}
+{"content": "Friday, October 30, 2015\n\nUpdate on the National School Lunch Program\n\n\n\n\n\nFor example, Ralston and Newman explain:\n\n\n\n\n\nWednesday, October 28, 2015\n\nThe Trade Facilitation Agenda\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMonday, October 26, 2015\n\nHow Tight is the US Labor Market?\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nFriday, October 23, 2015\n\nHow Raising the Top Tax Rate Won't Much Alter Inequality\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThursday, October 22, 2015\n\nGreater Inequality of Returns Across US Firms\n\n\n\ndispersion rather than intra-firm dispersion.\n\nWednesday, October 21, 2015\n\nThe Shifting World Distribution of Income\n\nThe fastest-growing countries around the world, now and probably for the next few decades, will not be the high-income countries. As a result, the global distribution of income will become--gradually--more equal over time. Tomáš Hellebrandt and Paolo Mauro offer a projection in their essay, \"China’s Contribution To Reducing Global Income Inequality,\" which appears as part of  China’s Economic Transformation Lessons, Impact, and the Path Forward, a group of short essays published in September 2015 by the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIEE Briefing 15-3).  Here's the key figure.\n\nThe horizontal axis shows income level per person. You should think of this axis as broken down into small segments that are each $20 in width. Then, vertical axis shows what share of world population receives that income level, for each $20 segment of income. (If you used income widths greater than $20, the overall shape of the green, red, and blue lines would be essentially the same, but because the width of the \"bins\" would be larger, the numbers on the vertical axis would be larger, too.)\n\nThe green line shows distribution of global income in 2003, the red line in 2013, and the blue line is a projection for 2035. You can see the median and mean income distributions rising over time. The overall flattening of the income distribution over time as a smaller share of the population is bunched at the bottom tells you that the income distribution is getting more equal. On the graph, inequality is measured by a \"Gini coefficient,\" which is a standard measure of inequality.\n\nFor quick intuition, I'll just say that the Gini coefficient is measured along a scale from 0-100, where zero means complete equality of incomes, and 100 means that a single person receives all the income. To get a more intuitive feel for what the Gini means, the World Bank publishes estimates of Gini coefficients, when data is available, for countries around the world. Countries with a very high level of inequality, like Brazil, Mexico, Zambia and Uganda, have a Gini around 50.  In the United States and China, the Gini is about 40. In Germany and France, it's about 30. In highly egalitarian countries like Sweden or Norway, it's closer to 25. It's not especially surprising that the global Gini coefficient is higher than the Gini for any given country: after all, global inequality is greater than inequality within any given country.\n\nIf you would like a more detailed explanation of how a Gini coefficient is calculated, you can check out my earlier post on \"What's a Gini Coefficient?\" (April 3, 2014). One of the bits of intuition given there goes like this: \"A Gini coefficient of G per cent means that, if we take any 2 households from the population at random, the expected difference is 2G per cent of the mean. So that a rise in the Gini coefficient from 30 to 40 per cent implies that the expected difference has gone up from 60 to 80 per cent of the mean.\"\n\nThus, in the figure above, in 2013, the Gini coefficient is 64.9 and the mean income is $5,375. Thus, if you pick at random two households from anywhere in the world, the average difference in their incomes will be 2 x (.649) x $5,375=$6,976.\n\nTuesday, October 20, 2015\n\nWhen High GDP No Longer Means High Per Capita GDP\n\nFor much of the 20th century, the economies of the world that had the largest GDP were also among those with the largest per capita GDP. The weight of global economic activity was aligned with the US, Canada, western Europe, and Japan. But we seem to be headed for a world in which this pattern no longer holds. For a few years now, the consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers been publishing reports offering long-range forecasts of the size of national economies for the year 2050. A recent example is the February 2015 report: \"The World in 2050:Will the shift in globaleconomic power continue?\"\n\nHere's a table (which I snipped from a larger table in the report) listing the top 10 economies in the world by size, using what are called \"purchasing power parity\" exchange rates--which roughly means the exchange rates that equalize buying power of internationally traded goods across economies.  Using this measure, China now has the largest economy in the world (using market exchange rates, it will still be a few more years before China's economy overhauls the United States). It's striking to look out at these projections for 2050, when China will have by far the largest economy in the world--and India will be edging out the US for second place. Countries like Indonesia, Brazil, Mexico and Nigeria will also be in the world's top 10 largest economies. Only three of today's high-income countries--the US, Japan, and Germany--are projected to be in the top 10 by 2050.\n\nOf course, many of the largest economies in 2050 are also countries with large populations. In the 2050 projections, a large GDP does not imply a large per capita GDP. Here's a figure showing per capita GDP for a number of countries,with the darker lines showing the level for 2014 and the lighter lines showing the projection for 2050.  Even projecting rapid growth for countries like China, India, Indonesia, Brazil, and Mexico more than three decades into the future, their average standard of living as measured by per capita GDP will still be far below the high-income countries.\n\nOf course, the precise levels of these long-range projections should not be taken too seriously. After all, they are based on estimates about rates of economic growth and other economic variables in countries all around the world decades into the future. The numbers also look a little different if one does the calculations using market exchange rates, rather than the purchasing power parity exchange rates. Readers who want details can check out the report.\n\nBut tweaking the numbers is not going to change the overall conclusion, which is based on the fact that when it comes to international relations, size matters. Countries with bigger economies tend to get more say, and the United States has been used to having the biggest say of all. But in 21st century, when it comes a wide array of decisions--international trade talks, decisions of the the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, who leads the way during global financial crises, who dominates the flows of international investment capital and foreign aid, who has the power to impose trade or financial sanctions, and what kind of military threats are most credible--the shifts in the global economy suggest that the high-income countries of the world will not dominate as they did during most of the 20th century. Instead, countries with the world's largest economies, but much lower standard of living for their populations, will play a central role in setting the rules.\n\nMonday, October 19, 2015\n\nExonerating Henry Ellsworth and Charles Duell, Former U.S. Commissioners of Patents\n\nThere's a well-known story about how a long-ago head of the US Patent Office supposedly proposed that it was time to shut down the patent office, and said something like:  \"Everything that can be invented has been invented.\" The story seems implausible on its face: after all, who would be appointed to run the patent office, or who would take the job, believing that invention was about to become obsolete? Nonetheless, the story seems to have appeared in two incarnations: one citing Henry L. Ellsworth, who was the first commissioner of the US Patent Office from 1835-1845, and Charles Duell, who was commissioner from 1898-1901.\n\nA first debunking of this story appears in an article by Eber Jeffrey called \"Nothing Left to Invent,\" which appeared in the Journal of the Patent Office Society in 1940 (vol. 22, pp. 479-481, available through the magic of online inter-library loan). Jeffrey writes:\nNumerous versions of the story appear. A discouraged examiner is said to have declared in his letter of resignation, that there was no future for the inventor; a Congressman favored termination of the functions of the Patent Office since the time was near at hand when such functions would serve no purpose; and an eminent Commissioner of Patents retired almost a century ago, offering as his reason the view that the limits of human ingenuity already had been reached.  This last variant is told of Commissioner Harry L. Ellsworth, who resigned on the first day of April, 1845.\nAs Jeffrey points out, there is nothing in Ellsworth's resignation letter (which he reprints) showing any belief that the Patent Office was soon to be obsolete. However, one can find a phrase in one of Ellsworth's earlier reports which suggests he might have held such views. Ellsworth wrote a ten-page introduction to the 1843 Annual Report of the Commissioner of Patents (magically available online), which on p. 5 contains a one-sentence paragraph which reads:\nHowever, in the contest of his report, this phrase doesn't read like a prediction that human improvement is about to end. It reads like a sign of wonder about how much technical improvement is in fact happening, beyond what seems imaginable. As Jeffrey summarizes it in the 1940 essay:\nEllsworth did not elaborate on this statement. The content of the whole report, though, surely indicates that he did not think the end of \"human improvement\" was immediately at hand. He recommended that Congress provide for additions to the Patent Office building and asked for more equipment. He showed that great scientific progress was to be expected in the use of electricity, particularly for the telegraph and for railroads. He pointed out that important forward steps had been taken and were to be expected in medicine, in sugar refining, in the manufactures of textile, leather, and iron products. He anticipated a great variety of improvements in agriculture. Ellsworth probably did more than any other Commissioner to promote scientific farming while the agricultural bureau was a unit in the Patent Office. From these considerations it seems that Henry L. Ellsworth could not have felt that the end of progress in the mechanic arts was near. It is much more likely that the statement in question, probably an unfortunate one, was a mere rhetorical flourish intended to emphasize the remarkable strides forward in inventions then current and to be expected in the future. \nCharles Duell was the US Commissioner of Patents from 1898 to 1901. Stephen Sass, who was a librarian for a division of General Motors, told Duell's story for a magazine called the Skeptical Inquirer (Spring 1989, pp. 310-313). Sass writes:\nWhen Sass contacted TRW to find a source for the quotation, they pointed him to a couple of quotation books. The second quotation book cited the first one, and the first one had no link to a primary source. The 1899 Annual Report of the Commissioner of Patents (available online) is available online, and the quotation does not appear there. However, one does find a number of comments about the growth of patents and recommendations for legislation to improve the patent office. At the end, Duell writes: \"May not our inventors hopefully look to the Fifth-Sixth Congress for aid and effectual encouragement in improving the American patent system?\" Just before that, Duell quotes with evident approval a then-recent comment from President McKinley, who said in his annual message on December 5, 1899: \"Our future progress and prosperity depend on our ability to equal, if not surpass, other nations in the enlargement and advance of science, industry, and commerce. To invention we must turn as one of the most powerful aids to the accomplishment of such a result.\"\n\nDuell offered a similar message in other settings. For example, here is how Duell is quoted in a newspaper article called \"Chances for the Inventor: Fame and Wealth Awaiting Him in Many Fields\"\nin the New York Sun from December 29, 1901:\n\nIn short, when you hear claims about how someone in the US Patent Office once believed that it was about to run out of work, be very skeptical.\n\nFriday, October 16, 2015\n\nWhen Global Demand Shifts: Cars and Movies\n\nProducers try to figure out what the market wants, and then supply it. For the second half of the 20th century, the largest single world market was the United States. Not surprisingly, many products and brands were aimed at the US market. But during the next few decades, the single largest market is going to be China--and China is also likely to be among the fastest-growing markets. Producers around the world will re-orient accordingly.\n\nFor example, the number of cars sold in China has exceeded the number sold in the U.S. market for several years now. Here's a table and a figure from the VDA (the German Association of the Automotive Industry) showing global sales figures for passenger cars.\n\nHere's a figure showing growth of motor vehicle sales in China.\n\nFor another example of a global industry, consider movies. Here's some data from the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America). If you go back to reports from earlier years, in 2001 the US was about half of the global market for movies. Now the US/Canada share of the global market for movies is just over one-quarter, and falling.\nHere are the top international markets for movies. In 2014, China became the first non-US national market to exceed $4 billion in movie revenues.\nIt's worth remembering that China has about four times as many people as the US and about one-fifth the per capita income, so China has enormous potential for continued rapid growth of car sales, movies, and many other goods and services.\n\nAs a thought experiment, imagine that you are a movie executive trying to focus on movies that can be shown with minimal adaptations in a number of large global markets: the US, Europe, China, Japan, Latin America. What sort of movies would you make? Well, you might focus on movies that are heavy on action and sound effects, but light on complex dialogue, as well as movies with a number of comic-book characters and aliens, who can appeal across conventional lines of ethnicity.\n\nIn the closing decades of the 20th century, a lot of Americans took it for granted that prominent global brands would either be American-based or at least would have a large US market presence. Meanwhile, people in many other countries found it bothersome (sometimes mildly annoying, sometimes downright aggravating) that they were so often confronted in their own countries--both on store shelves and in advertising--with products that had a strong American identity. But global demand is shifting. The huge US market will remain important, of course. But more and more, Americans are going to be seeing brands and titles and products where the US market is just one among several--and not necessarily the most important one.\n\nThursday, October 15, 2015\n\nThoughts on Shovel-Ready Infrastructure\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTuesday, October 13, 2015\n\nThe 2015 Nobel Prize: Angus Deaton\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMonday, October 12, 2015\n\nUnpaid Care Work, Women, and GDP\n\nThe \"economy\" measures what is bought and sold. Thus, it is standard in introductory economics classes to point out that if my neighbor and I both mow our own lawns, it's not part of GDP. But if we hire each other to mow each other's lawns, GDP is then higher--even though exactly the same amount of lawn-mowing output was produced. In a broader sense, what's would be the economic value of nonmarket family services if they were valued instead in monetary terms?\n\nThe McKinsey Global Institute provides some background on this issue in the September 2015 report: The Power of Parity: How Advancing Women's Equality Can Add $12 Trillion to Global Growth.\"  The report offers some calculations that if women participated in the paid labor force at the same level as the leading country in their region (thus, not holding those in Latin America, Africa, or the Middle East to the standard of northern Europeans), it would add $12 trillion to GDP. However, the report also notes that these women who are not in the paid labor force are of course already working and producing at least $10 trillion in nonmarket output.\nBeyond engaging in labor markets in ways that add to GDP, a large part of women’s\nlabor goes into unpaid work that is not accounted for as GDP. Women do an average\nof 75 percent of the world’s total unpaid care work, including the vital tasks that keep\nhouseholds functioning, such as child care, caring for the elderly, cooking, and cleaning.\nIn some regions, such as South Asia (including India) and MENA, women are estimated to undertake as much as 80 to 90 percent of unpaid care work. Even in Western Europe and North America, their share is high at 60 to 70 percent. Time spent in unpaid care work has a strong negative correlation with labor-force participation rates, and the unequal sharing of household responsibilities is a significant barrier to enhancing the role of women in the world economy. Applying conservative estimates based on available data on minimum wages, the unpaid care work of women could be valued at $10 trillion of output per year—an amount that is roughly equivalent to 13 percent of global GDP. In the United States alone, the value of unpaid care work carried out by women is about $1.5 trillion a year. ... Data from 27 countries indicate that some 61 percent of unpaid care work (based on a simple average across countries) is routine household work, 14 percent involves taking care of household members, 11 percent is time spent on household purchases, and 10 percent is time spent on travel  ...\nThe amount of unpaid work that women do is closely related to female participation in the paid labor force. The horizontal axis shows the ratio of the labor force participation rate of women to that of men. The vertical axis shows the ratio of time spent on unpaid care by women to the time spent by men. Thus, in India, women spend about 10 times as many hours on unpaid care as men, and their labor force participation rate is one-third as high. In a number of high-income countries, women spend 1.5-2 times as many hours on unpaid work as men, and the labor force participation rate for women is about 80% of the level for men. (For the record, \"unpaid care\" is defined not just as care for other family members, but also includes housework and voluntary community work.) The MGI report notes: \"Globally, women spend three times as many hours in unpaid domestic and care work as men.\"\n\nSome additional background on unpaid work by women is available in \"Unpaid Care Work:\nThe missing link in the analysis of gender gaps in labour outcomes,\" written by Gaëlle Ferrant, Luca Maria Pesando and Keiko Nowacka for the OECD Development Centre in December 2014.\n\nThe two figures shows ratios of time spent on unpaid care by women relative to men: the left-hand figure is across regions; the right-hand figure is across countries divided by income level. The left-hand figure shows that the female-to-male ratio of time spent on unpaid care is nearly 7 in the Middle East and North Africa region and in the South Asia region, but is below 2 in Europe and North America. The right-hand figure shows that the ratio is roughly three in low-income, lower-middle income, and upper-middle income countries, but less than 2 in high-income countries.\n\nThe level of unpaid care matters for several reasons. The most obvious, perhaps, is the McKinsey calculation that women moving into the paid labor force could raise world GDP by $12 trillion. But there are a number of more subtle ways in which the inclusion of unpaid work alters one's sense of social output. Ferrant, Pesando and Nowacka point out (citations omitted):\n\"It leads to misestimating households’ material well-being and societies’ wealth. If included, unpaid care work would constitute 40% of Swiss GDP and would be equivalent to 63% of Indian GDP. It distorts international comparisons of well-being based on GDP per capita because the  underestimation of material well-being would be proportionally higher in those countries where the share of housewives and home-made consumption is higher. For instance, by including Household Satellite Accounts the GDP per capita of Italy reaches from 56% to 79% of the USA’s GDP, and 98% to 120% of that of Spain.\"\nIn a broader sense, of course, the issue is not to chase GDP, but to focus on the extent to which people around the world are having the opportunity to fulfill their capabilities and to make choices about their lives. Countries where women have more autonomy also tend to be countries where the female-to-male ratios of time spent on unpaid care are not as high. The share of unpaid care provided by women highly correlated with women's ability to participate in the paid workforce, as well as to acquire skills and experience that lead to better-paying jobs, as well as participating in other activities like political leadership. Ferrant, Pesando and Nowacka write:\n\"The unequal distribution of caring responsibilities between women and men within the household thus also translates into unequal opportunities in terms of time to participate equally in paid activities. Gender inequality in unpaid care work is the missing link in the analysis of related to gender gaps in labour outcomes in three areas: gender gaps in labour force participation rates, quality of employment, and wages.\"\nIn a similar vein, the MGI report notes: \"Beyond GDP, there could be other positive effects. For instance, more women could be financially independent, and there may be intergenerational benefits for the children of earning mothers. In one study of 24 countries, daughters of working mothers were more likely to be employed, have higher earnings, and hold supervisory roles.\"\n\nWhat are the pathways by which the time spent on unpaid care activities might be reduced? Many women are familiar with the feeling that a large part of their take-home pay is going to childcare, a housecleaner, lawn care, takeout food when there was no time to cook, and the like. Having people pay each other for what was previously unpaid work will add to GDP, but it may not add to total output broadly understood.\n\nThus, the challenge is reduce unpaid work in ways that don't just swap unpaid work around, but actually free up time and energy. Both the McKinsey report and the OECD authors have similar comments about how this has happened in practice. Historically, one major change for high-income countries has been the arrival of labor-saving inventions. The MGI report notes:\nSome of the routine household work and travel time can be eliminated through better public services and greater automation. For example, in developing countries, the time spent on household chores is increased by poor public infrastructure. Providing access to clean water in homes can reduce the time it takes to collect water, while electricity or solar power can eliminate the time spent hunting for firewood. Tools such as washing machines and kitchen appliances long ago lightened much of the drudgery associated with household work in higher-income countries, and millions of newly prosperous households in emerging economies are now adopting them, too. Innovations such as home-cleaning robots may one day make a leap forward in automating or streamlining many more tasks.\nA number of other issues that affect the balance between unpaid and paid labor: the prevalence of workplace policies like family leave and flex-time; the availability of high-quality child care and elder care; the length of school days along with preschool and post-school programs; and the extent to which money that women earn in the paid workforce is reduced by government tax, or by the withdrawal of transfers that would otherwise have been available.  And of course, social attitudes about the role of women are central to these outcomes.\n\nThe MGI report gives a sense of how these forces have evolved in the US economy in recent decades:\nIn the United States, for example, labor-force participation by women of prime\nworking age rose from 44 percent in 1965 to 74 percent in 2010. Over this period, the time women spent on housework was cut almost in half, but the hours they spent on child care actually rose by 30 percent, reflecting evolving personal and familial choices. Both housework and child care became more equitably shared. Men’s share of housework rose from 14 percent in 1965 to 38 percent in 2010, and their share of child care from 20 percent to 34 percent.\nThe ultimate constraint which rules us all is that a seven-day week has 168 hours. A gradual reduction in the time spent on unpaid care activities, which have traditionally been primarily the job of women, is part of what makes society better-off.\n\nFriday, October 9, 2015\n\nThe Eurozone Crisis: Crystalizing the Narrative\n\nThe economy of the eurozone makes the US economy look like a picture of robust health by comparison. Richard Baldwin and Francesco Giavazzi have edited The Eurozone CrisisA Consensus View of the Causesand a Few Possible Solutionsa book from the Centre for Economic Policy Research in London. The book includes a useful introduction from Richard Baldwin and Francesco Giavazzi, followed by 14 mostly short and all quite readable essays.\n\nAs a starting point for non-European readers, consider that the unemployment rate across the 19 eurozone countries is still well into double-digits at 11%.\n\nWhile the US economy has experienced disappointingly sluggish growth after the end of the Great Recession in 2009, the eurozone economy experienced a follow-up recession through pretty much all of 2011 and 2011, and since then has experienced growth that is sluggish even by US standards.\n\nWhat went wrong in the eurozone? Here's the capsule summary from the introduction by Baldwin and Giavezzi:\n\nThe core reality behind virtual every crisis is the rapid unwinding of economic imbalances. ... In the case of the EZ [eurozone] crisis, the imbalances were extremely unoriginal. They were the standard culprits that have been responsible for economic crises since time immemorial – namely, too much public and private debt borrowed from abroad. Too much, that is to say, in relation to the productive investment financed through the borrowing. \nFrom the euro’s launch and up until the crisis, there were big capital flows from EZ core nations like Germany, France, and the Netherland to EZ periphery nations like Ireland, Portugal, Spain and Greece. A major slice of these were invested in non-traded sectors – housing and government services/consumption. This meant assets were not being created to help pay off in the investment. It also tended to drive up wages and costs in a way that harmed the competitiveness of the receivers’ export earnings, thus encouraging further worsening of their current accounts. \nWhen the EZ crisis began – triggered ultimately by the Global Crisis – cross-border capital inflows stopped. This ‘sudden stop’ in investment financing raised concerns about the viability of banks and, in the case of Greece, even governments themselves. The close links between EZ banks and national governments provided the multiplier that made the crisis systemic. \nImportantly, the EZ crisis should not be thought of as a sovereign debt crisis. The nations that ended up with bailouts were not those with the highest debt-to-GDP ratios. Belgium and Italy sailed into the crisis with public debts of about 100% of GDP and yet did not end up with IMF programmes, while Ireland and Spain, with ratios of just 40%, (admittedly kept artificially low by large tax revenues associated with the real estate bubble) needed bailouts. The key was foreign borrowing. Many of the nations that ran current account deficits – and thus were relying of foreign lending – suffered; none of those running current account surpluses were hit.\nIn working through their detailed explanation, here's are a few of the points that jumps out at me. When the euro first came into widespread use in the early 2000s, interest rates fell throughout the eurozone and all the eurozone countries were able to borrow at the same rate; that is, investors were treating all governments borrowing in euros as having the same level of risk--Germany the same as Greece. Here's a figure showing the falling costs of government borrowing and the convergence of interest rates across countries.\n\nThe crucial patterns of borrowing that emerged were not about lending from outside Europe to inside Europe, but instead about lending between the countries of the eurozone, a pattern which strongly suggests that the common currency was at a level generating ongoing trade surpluses and capital outflows from some countries, with corresponding trade deficits and capital inflows for other countries. Baldwin and Giavezzi write:\nTo interpret the individual current accounts, we must depart from an essential fact: The Eurozone’s current account as a whole was in balance before the crisis and remained close to balance throughout. Thus there was very little net lending from the rest of the world to EZ countries. Unlike in the US and UK, the global savings glut was not the main source of foreign borrowing – it was lending and borrowing among members of the Eurozone. For example, Germany’s large current account surpluses and the crisis countries deficits mean that German investors were, on net, lending to the crisis-hit nations – Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain (GIPS).\n\nSitting here in 2015, it seems implausible that policymakers around Europe weren't watching these emerging imbalances with care and attention, and planning ahead for what actions could be taken with regard to government debt, private debt, banking reform, central bank lender-of-last-resort policy, and other issues. But of course, it's not uncommon for governments to ignore potential risks, and only make changes after a catastrophe has occurred.   Baldwin and Giavezzi note wryly:\nIt is, ex post, surprising that the building fragilities went unnoticed. In a sense, this was the counterpart of US authorities not realising the toxicity of the rising pile of subprime housing loans. Till 2007, the Eurozone was widely judged as somewhere between a good thing and a great thing.\nAnd what has happened in the eurozone really is an economic catastrophe. Baldwin and Giavezzi conclude:\nThe consequences were and still are dreadful. Europe’s lingering economic malaise is not just a slow recovery. Mainstream forecasts predict that hundreds of millions of Europeans will miss out on the opportunities that past generations took for granted. The crisis-burden falls hardest on Europe’s youth whose lifetime earning-profiles have already suffered. Money, however, is not the main issue. This is no longer just an economic crisis. The economic hardship has fuelled populism and political extremism. In a setting that is more unstable than any time since the 1930s, nationalistic, anti-European rhetoric is becoming mainstream. Political parties argue for breaking up the Eurozone and the EU. It is not inconceivable that far-right or far-left populist parties could soon hold or share power in several EU nations. Many influential observers recognise the bind in which Europe finds itself. A broad gamut of useful solutions have been suggested. Yet existing rules, institutions and political bargains prevent effective action. Policymakers seem to have painted themselves into a corner.\nFor those looking for additional background on eurozone issues, here are links to a few previous posts on the subject:", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5399397611618042}
+{"content": "The number of robots in industrial operations across the earth is forecast to increase in the coming years. The integration of robots into production processes will impact on traditional liability arrangements and raise a range of other legal issues for manufacturers to consider, including in relation to health and safety and data protection.\n\nA rise in the number of robots in operation perhaps also prompt social and ethical dilemmas which perhaps impact on manufacturers. Policy makers possess an important role to frolic in helping businesses navigate those issues.\n\nExperts from Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, will be discussing robotics in manufacturing at the Financial Times Future of Manufacturing 2016 event in October.\n\nThe rise of robots\n\nThe cost of employing public is increasing. In the UK, minimum wage legislation continues to push up labour costs for businesses. Those rising costs are prompting companies, including manufacturers, to glance at how technology can provide a more cost effective way of producing goods or delivering services.\n\nAlthough robots are not cheap, advances in technology denote they are becoming more affordable, as well as more accurate and reliable than ever priorto.\n\nResearchers at Sheffield University earlier this year described how they had “applied an automated programming way” to simultaneously control up to 600 robots and get them to tote out diverse tasks in a coordinated fashion.\n\nThe researchers claimed that their testing showed potential to reduce human fallacy in conducting “relatively complex tasks” and said they intend to glance further into how a group of robots can labor collaboratively with public.\n\nRobots and the legal environment\n\nRapid changes in technology, including in robotics, is forcing existing legal frameworks to be interpreted in ways which may not reflect their original intention and purpose.\n\nThe interaction between robots and public brings about recent legal considerations in honor of health and safety regulations, data protection law compliance and the apportioning of risk and liability, for example.\n\nTraditionally, when something has gone wrong with manufacturing machinery it could generally be traced to either a flaw in the machine itself or to it being incorrectly operated. However, faults with modern machines, such as robots, perhaps stem from a number of diverse contributing factors.\n\nFor example, it could be an issue with the machine, the hardware or software which forms a piece of the machine, or the telecommunications which grant machines within the factory to communicate with single another. \n\nsingle of the best examples of how technology perhaps vary issues of liability can be found in the context of driverless cars. Manufacturers are looking into using the latest digital technologies to aid vehicles run with only minimal or no human input. In those circumstances a number of diverse stakeholders could be liable for an accident.\n\nIt is important for those using robotic production lines, heavily reliant on a number of diverse technologies, to ensure that they possess contractual arrangements in place with each machine or technology supplier. This will assist the manufacturer in being competent to apportion liability and pass behind any losses or costs which they incur as a result of any failures or outages. This could range from anything from personal injury of an employee to line stoppages resulting in damages being levied on the manufacturer by its own customers.\n\nWith this in mind, as manufacturing facilities become more reliant on technology and connectivity, manufacturers should ensure that they possess robust business continuity and calamity recovery plans in place to reduce the adverse impact of outages and failures. Again, such a requirement should be built into the manufacturer’s contracts with its machinery and technology suppliers, and such plans should be tested and updated on a regular basis.\n\nManufacturers will also possess to possess recent regard for how factory floor operations perhaps raise compliance issues below data protection laws.\n\nAs robotic technology develops, any information a robot captures about employees, for example through a camera, microphone, or sensor, perhaps be considered personal data and subject to data protection laws. Employees will require to be informed of this potential data collection and processing and manufacturers will require to ensure that any personal data captured by a robot is processed in a way which accords with relevant privacy rules.\n\nDeploying robots in amongst a human workforce will also engage issues of health and safety. Recent changes to sentencing guidelines in the UK denote that enormous companies can anticipate heavy financial penalties if they are convicted of serious breaches of health and safety laws. Manufacturers must therefore ensure that that necessary policies and procedures are in place to manage how humans and robots interact.\n\nManufacturers will also possess to be mindful of their duties below employment laws if they seek to replace human workers with robots. Those obligations include giving appropriate notice and consultation on redundancies. They will also crave to ensure they manage the transition in a way that does not bring about any negative publicity.\n\nElectronic business Foxxconn, a supplier to companies such as Apple and Samsung, has reportedly replaced 60,000 of its own staff with robots.\n\nThe displacement of the human workforce by robots raises broader ethical and sociological issues too.\n\nThere is a risk, for example, that increased automation will lead to mass unemployment and raise a multitude of social and economic issues that policy makers will possess to grapple with. These perhaps range from accounting for potentially lower tax revenues and higher levels of dependency on state-funded welfare, to incentivising training and development in highly skilled roles only public can fulfil.\n\nAs adoption and operate of the technology becomes more common, there will be increasing calls to place in place regulatory frameworks expressly drafted with robot technology in mind. Those frameworks will require to strike a balance between allowing technology to develop and thrive and ensuring that humans and personal property are adequately protected. \n\nThe haste of innovation will remain an issue for law makers, however. We possess seen how the development and operate of drones and the forthcoming testing of driverless cars possess outpaced existing regulations, leaving ‘grey areas’ where it is difficult to interpret when and how such regulations should be applied.\n\nBen Gardner is an expert in robotics at Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com. Experts from Pinsent Masons will be discussing robotics in manufacturing at the Financial Times Future of Manufacturing 2016 event in October.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9902063608169556}
+{"content": "\n\nWhen Pegasus crashes onto a Manhattan roof during a terrible storm, Emily's life changes forever. Suddenly allied with a winged horse she'd always thought was mythical, Emily is thrust into the center of a fierce battle between the Roman gods and a terrifying race of multiarmed stone warriors called the Nirads. Emily must team up with a thief named Paelen, the goddess Diana, and a boy named Joel in order to return Pegasus to Olympus and rescue the gods from a certain death.\nAlong the way, Emily and her companions will fight monsters, run from a government agency that is prepared to dissect Pegasus, and even fly above the Manhattan skyline--all as part of a quest to save Olympus before time runs out.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9852101802825928}
+{"content": "Pelvic Congestion Syndrome Treatment (Venous Sclerotherapy and Embolization)\n\nProcedure Description\n\n\nAdditional treatments are available depending on the severity of the woman’s symptoms. Analgesics may be prescribed to reduce the pain. Hormones such birth control pills decrease a woman’s hormone level causing menstruation to stop may be helpful in controlling her symptoms.\n\nConditions Treated\n\nChronic pelvic pain caused by abnormal veins (Pelvic Congestion Syndrome).  It is estimated that one-third of all women will experience chronic pelvic pain in their lifetime. Recent advancements show the pain may be due to hard-to-detect varicose veins in the pelvis, known as pelvic congestion syndrome.  The causes of chronic pelvic pain are varied, but are often associated with the presence of ovarian and pelvic varicose veins. Pelvic congestion syndrome is similar to varicose veins in the legs. In both cases, the valves in the veins that help return blood to the heart against gravity become weakened and don’t close properly, this allows blood to flow backwards and pool in the vein, causing pressure and bulging veins. In the pelvis, varicose veins can cause pain and affect the uterus, ovaries and vulva. Up to 15 percent of women, generally between the ages of 20 and 50, have varicose veins in the pelvis, although not all experience symptoms.\n\nThe diagnosis is often missed because women lie down for a pelvic exam, relieving pressure from the ovarian veins, so that the veins no longer bulge with blood as they do while a woman is standing.\n\n\nAm I a good candidate?\n\nIf you have pelvic pain that worsens throughout the day when standing, you may want to seek a second opinion with an interventional radiologist, who can work with your gynecologist.   Diagnosis is often made with clinical history and through the use of medical imaging such as CT, MRI or Ultrasound.\n\nWhat should I Expect?\n\nThis procedure can be performed in an outpatient setting and typically involves a small incision in the groin or neck.\n\nRecovery Time\n\nResume normal activity within 1-2 hours following the procedure.\n\nFirst Steps\n\nConsult with your OB/GYN or Primary Care physician.\n\nBenefits Comparison\n\nThere are very few treatment options for chronic pelvic pain resulting from abnormal veins.  Surgical options include a hysterectomy with removal of ovaries, and tying off or removing the veins.  Venous Sclerotherapy and Embolization offers a minimally invasive treatment alternative.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5491398572921753}
+{"content": "“Resident Evil” is a name that’s hard to ignore in today’s video game landscape. For many, the name indicates a trendsetter in what would come to be known as the “survival horror” genre, and for others, it evokes a years-long roller coaster ride of ups and downs and hits and misses. For developer and publisher Capcom, it is a flagship title and multi-million selling franchise, and for the fans, it brings forth a wealth of personal experiences marked by triumph, dedication, and catharsis. For me, it is all of these things, as well as what might be one of my favorite series ever.\n\nThe games we praise the most tend to be ones with which we’ve formed close personal attachment, whether it’s stories of overcoming hardships in Dark Souls, bonding with a sibling over Mario Kart, connecting with the Vance family and Dog in Half-Life 2, or having everything just come together and work in Civilization. I don’t have any one particular story when it comes to Resident Evil, but it’s been a long experience with roots in my childhood. I’ve made friends with people who are also fans, and the community is full of members who are perceptive of statistics and techniques, much like the players and researchers who dig into From Software’s Souls series. With the first entry in the franchise celebrating its twentieth anniversary this past month, I’ve been looking back over the time I’ve spent getting immersed in its lore and action.\n\n\nI was around ten years old when the first three games released, and there was no way I’d be able to experience them for myself with the little money I had. Even if I did, I wasn’t sure if I could even work up the courage to play them or get through the games without failing horribly. I still found myself interested with the influx of horror games and the way people were immersing themselves in Resident Evil, Silent Hill, System Shock, Clock Tower, and more. It wasn’t until much later that I got a chance to play Resident Evil on my own terms. A good friend of mine had collected physical copies of the original trilogy for PlayStation, and he was gracious enough to let me borrow them. Ten years had passed since release, but it was better late than never. With that, I started with Resident Evil: Director’s Cut. As this piece focuses on the first game in particular, I will be referring to it as RE1.\n\nRight off the bat, RE1 shows its horror film inspirations through the use of live-action footage. It hasn’t aged well, but there’s something kind of charming and fascinating about a real group of actors in costume, sparse lighting to mask the props and fake gore, and the silly overdubbing. As far as I know, the introductory sequence was filmed somewhere along the Tama River in Kanagawa or Tokyo, Japan, and the cast was made up of various unknown actors from Europe. It’s interesting that the development team opted to hire real people to portray their characters rather than use their technology to render cutscenes in-house, and it was noted that none of the actors involved were professionals by any means. This may also be telling of the situation at Capcom at the time. RE1 feels like a low-budget horror movie probably because the game itself was being developed on a relatively low budget for a big company like Capcom—somewhere well below 1 million USD by today’s standards. Capcom also didn’t have too much faith in the project; though there were up to eighty staff members working on the game at its peak, many of the company’s more experienced staff were moved to other games, leaving a group consisting mostly of newcomers working on RE1 with director Shinji Mikami. In a way, I think this worked out in the team’s favor, not to mention how it benefitted Capcom as a whole; the game was a surprise smash hit that went on to sell several millions of copies.\n\nThe differences between the two protagonists aren’t specified, leaving you to find them out on your own. Or use a guide.\n\nPerhaps it’s because of its team of fresh faces that RE1 feels careful and deliberate in its design. The game went through various iterations during production: a first-person view, which would be revisited in the DS port; fully-rendered 3D environments; cooperative play featuring both protagonists simultaneously, a feature which would return later for Resident Evil 0. Like Alone in the Dark, the player chooses one of two main characters, Chris Redfield or Jill Valentine, at the start of the game. Unlike Alone in the Dark, Chris and Jill each have their own distinct advantages and disadvantages, and their adventures through the Spencer Mansion run quite differently from each other. The development team could have easily just had the same game with two different characters, but the additional individual characteristics make for some different playthroughs that add to the title’s replay value, which works well when an average playthrough takes about three to five hours. Throw in a bonus Arranged mode that modifies enemy and item placement and you’ve got four different variations on a single disc! There is little to no filler; downtime between major events and encounters consists primarily of manual exploration of the mansion, and the key items lying around point you in the direction to go next.\n\nMap details are light, but you might be able to memorize the contents of each room. Eventually.\n\nThere is also a sense of balance in combat and exploration that I find works well here and becomes less apparent with each subsequent Resident Evil. The first half of RE1 consists of the initial mansion exploration, with the occasional zombie, dog, or crow serving as obstacles. Ammo is a bit scarce here, so some strategy comes into play—players can choose which enemies to eliminate and which to avoid. You can prioritize clearing out high-traffic areas to make traveling through them easier on yourself, which is a choice I can appreciate. During the second half, when more dangerous enemies are on the loose within the mansion, the amount of ammo you find is increased, but your approach to enemies and the weapons you decide to use still require caution. Chris and Jill have different carrying capacities for items, with Jill having a distinct advantage over Chris. Managing your character’s inventory is required to ensure you have room to pick up important objects you need to advance, so there must be a balance between weapons, ammo, healing items, and available slots. The save system is a particularly unique case of balance for the early games in the series. There are typewriters at specific locations and a finite number of ink ribbons to record your progress. Pressing forward to conserve ink ribbons may put you at risk for a long trek back if you fail, but saving precariously decreases the value and efficiency of each use and may force you to take a big leap forward anyway when you’re running low.\n\nSurprising someone with a gun is never a good idea.\n\nThere’s something I love about the directness and straightforwardness of combat in RE1. The controls do plant your character in place and it’s clunky if you need to stay mobile during an encounter, but for the most part, you’re facing one or two enemies at a time. You take aim, most likely utilizing the game’s default auto-aim system, and fire. Random factors are minimal, with the exception of your chances of a critical instant-kill headshot on a zombie. You aren’t fighting an entire group of zombies like in RE2 or RE3. You aren’t having projectiles thrown at you from a distance like in RE4 or RE5. Multiple enemies aren’t leaping at you from different directions and slamming into each other like in RE6. You don’t have to worry about the instant death attacks that began to creep into the games after RE1. It’s simple, and sometimes simple is good.\n\n\nThe plot has held up decently well over the past twenty years. RE1 is as character-driven as it is about the dark side of a powerful company like Umbrella Corporation. Although the major characters push the plot forward, there isn’t any particular sense of growth. Chris and Jill don’t have character arcs, and they are largely bystanders until the game’s second half. As the story progresses, their team falls apart one by one, but it’s hard to feel anything about characters you barely see or hear about. Later on, once the antagonist is revealed, Chris and Jill decide to confront them, but they fail to react in a way that gets the player invested. (“You’re pitiful!”) If anything, Jill’s supporting character Barry has more stake and a potentially more interesting arc than either protagonist, and sometimes I wonder if a sidestory featuring Barry and his point-of-view would pull together RE1's narrative. Stepping back, the events that transpire are mildly interesting on their own, but taking the sequels into account, they’re essentially a springboard for everything else in the series. The chaos spreads into nearby Raccoon City, leading the U.S. Government to nuke the town entirely. Chris and Jill eventually work on exposing Umbrella and the corruption in Raccoon City. Umbrella falls, but the technological and biological advances they’ve made have lasting repercussions for years to come.\n\nAnimal keeper: 1, Scott: 0\n\nThe story slightly falters in that Umbrella is cast as wantonly unethical and destructive, to an almost comical degree. It is a harsh authoritarian institute that doesn’t hesitate to use force and death to silence the opposition. There is no sense of “grayness” when it comes to discussing the company; human experimentation is rampant, dangerous subjects can’t be contained, and researchers have crossed some serious lines in the pursuit of science. It’s hard to sympathize with the employees you hear about in the files you come across throughout the game. The people working for Umbrella don’t even really like each other, and their personal accounts are filled with paranoia and mistrust. The same goes for the antagonist, who also gets an evil laugh to boot. How the company hasn’t already imploded is a mystery. It only gets worse after RE1 as subsequent games elaborate on the company’s founders. Did you guess that they’re all completely insane megalomaniacs? You are correct.\n\nHaw haw, you must be from the Bravo Team! What a bunch of goofballs!\n\nRE1 isn’t a masterpiece by any means, but it’s a milestone of an adventure game for the ‘90s. It provides a smoother experience than Alone in the Dark and a more cohesive, grounded setting than Sweet Home, games that inspired the development of Resident Evil. It avoids illogical puzzle solutions and dead-end scenarios that result from malicious and lazy point-and-click adventure design. It pulls together action, adventure, mystery, and horror elements into an interesting package that has terrified players for years, and it features an unintentionally hilarious English translation primarily handled by the dev team that has been a long running joke in the community. And it’s an interactive work that I won’t be forgetting any time soon.\n\n“Looking Back in Horror” is a personal retrospective series written by Eric K. (Muckamuck) that is centered on Capcom’s Resident Evil franchise. It was written for Talk Amongst Yourselves, Kotaku’s community-run blog, with the intention of stimulating and facilitating discussion of the franchise with the reader base.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7127654552459717}
+{"content": "World History Connected Home    \nHome List journal issues Table of contents\nPrinter-friendly format        \n\nBook Review\n\n\nBarry Cunliffe, Britain Begins. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013. Pp. xi + 553. $29.95 (hardcover)\n\n\n     There is something to be said for a book that can draw a reader into its world without bringing humans into the picture until the first 100 pages have passed. Barry Cunliffe's Britain Begins does precisely that and is a master work by an accomplished writer, archeologist and historian. Covering the period from the geological formation of the British Isles through the age of the Vikings, Cunliffe traces the patterns and significant changes that these thousands of years brought to the British Isles, employing a vast array of pictures, maps and diagrams to support his analysis. Combining an obviously deep understanding and experience in archeology with a clear view of the story Cunliffe wants to tell, Britain Begins beautifully navigates the path of the history of human society in Britain, balancing detail and exegesis with a deft hand.\n\n     Cunliffe opens his book unexpectedly, summarizing the myths and legends that were used across European history to provide an explanation for the ancestry of the British people. In the first chapter, titled \"In the Beginning: Myths and Ancestors,\" Cunliffe summarizes the origin myths that the British and others used to explain (and perhaps rationalize) the Island's long rise to greatness. There are three such myths: a grandson of Aeneas (Britto), who flees to Britain; a descendant of one of the tribes of Israel (also called Britto) and, finally, Brutus, an invented character that combines the Roman and Jewish traditions into one figure. This opening provides a nice counter-point to the remaining work, which details the non-mythical evolution of life, society and human culture in Britain.\n\n     In the following chapters, \"Britain Emerges: the Stage is Set\" (chapter two, \"Interlude: Enter the Actors\" (chapter three), and \"Settlement Begins\" (chapter four), Cunliffe explores the geological and natural foundations that supported the first presence of humans in the British Isles. Opening with a quote from the twelfth-century writer, Geoffrey of Monmouth, that \"Britain is the best of islands,\" these chapters (and the ones that follow) explore why humans continually sought out Britain as a favored space to make their home. Here, as in the rest of the book, Monmouth primarily relies of archeological evidence (supplemented by a few textual sources) to reveal the picture of society and culture during the period under study. In the next set of chapters, \"New People, New Ideas\" (chapter five), \"Mobilizing Materials: A New Connectivity\" (chapter six), \"Interlude: Talking to Each Other\" (chapter seven), and \"The Productive Land in the Age of Warriors\" (chapter eight), Britain Begins examines the Neolithic, Chalcolithic and Bronze Age periods in Britain. As noted below, Cunliffe uses his thematic approach here to great effect, clearly laying out the dynamics of what would become, by the end of these periods, a rich, complex and inter-connected network of societies.\n\n     Moving onto more familiar ground (for historians, at least), the next set of chapters, especially (\"Episodes of Conflict\" (chapter nine), examine the transition from the Bronze to the Iron Age and the Celtic/Gaelic culture that underlay that technological shift in metalworking. Cunliffe pauses in Chapter ten, \"Interlude: Approaching the Gods,\" to explore that most interesting facet of pre-Roman Britain, the Druids and their associated beliefs. As with the rest of this work, Cunliffe provides the reader with a snapshot of the features of this belief system. Cunliffe ends his work with the remaining set of chapters, \"Integration: The Roman Episode\" (chapter eleven), \"'Its Red and Savage Tongue'\" (chapter twelve), and \"The Age of the Northmen\" (chapter thirteen). These chapters detail the familiar story of the evolution of British society as the Gaelic peoples inhabiting the Island suffered from and came to terms with a succession of invaders from mainland and Scandinavian Europe.\n\n     Cunliffe's writing is clear and crisp, aided by the use of several themes that arc through the work. One such theme is \"an understanding of the networks of connections that bind Britain to the neighboring continent\" (64). Throughout the work, Cunliffe shows how elements of continental European culture are transmitted to and thus influence the evolution of life in Britain. For example, tools are a common source of information used by Cunliffe to reveal features of the various British societies that evolve on the Island. In Chapter five, \"New People, New Ideas,\" Cunliffe uses the evidence of a particular stone axe (made of a jadeite found only in the Italian Piedmont) to show how Neolithic Britain had clear trade and contact with continental Europe, as these jadeite axes were found along specific trade routes from western Europe to Ireland and Iberia to Scotland (168-69). As with many other such goods examined by Cunliffe, the river networks and seaways of Europe and Britain provide the routes for these connections. Other such themes informing Cunliffe's work are \"the innate mobility of human-kind\" and the importance of social structures designed \"to encourage and reward such mobility\" (490). Using these themes allows Cunliffe (and the reader) to coherently navigate the rich and varied material evidence of the thousands of years of human history covered in this book.\n\n     As with all works of this scale, there are moments where a different approach might have made for an easier journey through this work. Cunliffe spends time on certain subjects that feel neither necessary nor relevant to the narrative he's creating. For example, in a few places in his work, Cunliffe reviews DNA evidence, an obviously valuable data set concerning the evolution of the British people. However, Cunliffe admits he is a non-specialist in the \"Enter the Actors\" chapter and, though he spends some six pages detailing the scientific background of DNA studies, writes \"[s]ufficient (perhaps too much) has been said to show that the study of genetics . . . has limitations\" (91). The decision to present the science of DNA seems rather unconnected to Cunliffe's goal and bogs the reader in a side-line that turns out to be of limited value. To be fair, these reactions might be explained by the fact that I am a historian reading a book written by an archeologist with all that difference implies. To ameliorate these shortcomings, Cunliffe has included a \" Guide to Further Reading,\" a thirty-three page annotated bibliography of works exploring the topics raised in Britain Begins, organized by the book's chapter subjects. The Guide is an invaluable resource and wonderfully supports the text, focusing as it does on current research in the various fields.\n\n     Cunliffe writes in his Preface that \"[i]t is part of the human condition that we feel the need to visualize a past\" (v). With Britain Begins, Cunliffe has brought the landscape of the early archeology and history of Britain into clear and crisp view. Because the book examines each chapter's subject in very fine detail, it may not be of easy use in the classroom by students at the secondary or undergraduate levels. However, as a teacher of British history, the book contains wealth of explanatory data information that will enrich and enliven lectures dealing with this part of the Island's history. The usefulness of the text for a teacher is further supported by Cunliffe's use of overarching themes, as noted above. Recent scholarship in world history seeks to reorient the narratives of world history around 'global phenomena,' common or shared experiences that exist beyond the nation state and are shared human experiences. Cunliffe's thematic approach aligns with that scholarship. In sum, those curious about the origins of life, and the features of that life, in Britain could find few books better to satiate that interest than Britain Begins.\n\nThomas Rushford is an Associate Professor of History at Northern Virginia Community College, teaching classes in European and World History. He can be reached at\n\n\nHome | List Journal Issues | Table of Contents\n© 2015 by the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois\n\nTerms and Conditions of Use", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9785881042480469}
+{"content": "2018 Porsche 911 GT2 RS Hit A Record oF 208 MPH on the Nurburgring According To Mark Webber\n\nAnyone with half a brain can figure out that the 2018 Porsche 911 GT2 RSwill be an absolute monster. With 700 (metric) horsepower, 553 pound-feet of torque, and a curb weight of around 3,200 pounds, this rear-engined sports car would be maniacal no matter who made it. Add on Porsche's bleeding-edge tech prowess and decades upon decades of performance know-how, and you've got a recipe for a supercar that can break some serious records. But there's one record it seems like Porsche would like above all others to shatter with this 911: The 6:52.01 Nurburgring Nordschleife lap time set by Porsche's corporate cousins at Lamborghini with the Huracan Performante.\n\nPorsche, for now, remains characteristically tight-lipped about the car's true 'Ring lap. But if Mark Webber is to believed...well, it has at least one ability that makes it primed to go for Nurburgring production car gold.\n\n\"I've done 336 kilometers an hour in this car, in the Nurburgring, on the back straight,\" Webber said, during an interview with Canada's Driving.ca at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. That, in American units, works out to 208 miles per goddamn hour.\n\nAs Motor1 pointed out, if true, that means the new 911 GT2 RS is roughly 19 miles per hour faster on the straightaway than the Performante.\n\nGranted, a tall top speed is hardly the only characteristic a car needs to conquer the Nordschleife. But if the GT2 RS can come close to equalling the Huracan Performante's active aero-enhanced grip in the corners, it could whip the Lambo with ease...or hell, even come within striking distance of the McLaren P1 LM's 6:43 lap time.\n\n\"It's what Porsche does,\" Webber said. \"We have to produce cars like this.\"\n\nYou can check out the Driving.ca video featuring Webber's interview—and plenty of sexy, sexy shots of the new GT2 RS cavorting about—below, if you're so inclined.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9021607637405396}
+{"content": "IAG makes bid for remaining Vueling shares\n\nIAG makes bid for remaining Vueling shares\n\nInternational Airlines Group has confirmed it will make an offer to purchase the remaining shares in Spanish low-cost carrier Vueling.\n\nIAG presently controls 46 per cent of the carrier through its subsidiary Iberia. \n\nIAG - which also operates British Airways - said the deal for the remaining 54 per cent would be funded through internal resources.\n\nThe deal is valued at pay €113 million.\n\nIAG chief executive Willie Walsh said: “With its leading position in Barcelona, European growth strategy and low cost base, Vueling has much to offer IAG.\n\n”It has significantly increased capacity while remaining profitable, despite the Spanish economic slowdown, and already has extensive commercial arrangements with Iberia.\n\n“We would plan to retain the current Vueling management team.”\n\nWalsh said Vueling would benefit from the financial strength of a larger airline group, making it better able to compete with other airlines and invest in new customer products and services.\n\nBased in El Prat de Llobregat, near Barcelona, Vueling presently operates a fleet of 59 Airbus planes, offering departures to 51 destinations across Europe.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7804867029190063}
+{"content": "February 11, 2011\n\nPheromone Linked To Aggressive Behavior In Squid\n\nResearchers believe the findings represent the first detailed evidence of an aggression-inducing contact pheromone in any aquatic animal\n\nWhen male squid come into contact with a chemical found on the outside of eggs laid by females, they instantly go from swimming along calmly and minding their own business to a state of extreme aggression, according to a new report published online on February 10 in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication. After just a touch of an egg, males will often fight vigorously with other males in an attempt to gain preferred access to mates, even when females aren't around.\n\nThe researchers believe that the findings represent the first detailed evidence of an aggression-inducing contact pheromone in any aquatic animal.\n\n\"The identification of this pheromone as a key component of this signaling system is highly unusual because the male squids need only to contact these protein molecules to initiate the complex cascade of behaviors that we term aggressive fighting,\" said Roger Hanlon of the Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole.\n\nThat's particularly notable because aggression is generally thought to be a rather complex process, involving some combination of neural, hormonal, physiological, and psychological stimuli. \"Here we find what appears to be a strong and seemingly direct stimulus from certain protein molecules,\" Hanlon says.\n\nSquid are highly advanced marine invertebrates with a complex mating system rivaling that of vertebrates. The loliginid squid that were the focus of the current study live for about a year, with most mating and egg laying occurring in the spring, when the squids migrate from deeper offshore waters to shallower waters along the coast from North Carolina to southern Maine. Females typically mate multiple times, and males compete fiercely for the opportunity to mate. When males see eggs on the seafloor, they will typically approach and, upon touching them, immediately escalate into intense physical fighting with any nearby males.\n\nHanlon and his colleagues have now traced that reaction to a single protein pheromone that is produced in the female reproductive tract and embedded in the outer surface of the egg capsules. In controlled behavioral experiments, the researchers found that males would react aggressively just as they do upon touching an egg after being presented with the purified form of the protein, known as Loligo ÃŽ²-microseminoprotein.\n\nThe laboratory experiments show that whichever male touches the eggs first becomes aggressive faster than those that reach the eggs later. That earlier aggression leads those males to achieve greater dominance. They also win most (but not all) of the matings and most (but not all) of the fertilizations, Hanlon says.\n\nInterestingly, the microseminoprotein under study belongs to a family of proteins found in vertebrates including humans, Hanlon says. The proteins are generally found in reproductive glands and are at high levels in human and mouse seminal fluid.\n\n\"The functions of microseminoproteins in vertebrates have not been determined, but our findings in squids may inspire other researchers to consider similar functions in higher vertebrates,\" he says.\n\nReference: Cummins et al., Extreme Aggression in Male Squid Induced by a b-MSP-like Pheromone, Current Biology (2011), doi:10.1016/ j.cub.2011.01.038\n\n\nImage Caption: Loligo squids approaching and touching the egg capsules, which harbor the contact pheromone that initiates high-level aggression among males. Credit: Roger Hanlon\n\n\nOn the Net:", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7793003916740417}
+{"content": "Going Back To The Well For A Reliable Trade\nBy Amber Hestla | August 17, 2017 |\n\nMany people seem to believe that history began when they first became aware of the world around them.\n\nAt least, that's how everyone acts.\n\nIn some areas, we never seem to learn from history. Too many of us believe everything we see is unprecedented. While that may truly apply to a few things -- I, for one, cannot find a historical precedent for the idea of \"Keeping Up with the Kardashians\" -- much of what we are seeing now has happened before.\n\nIn the stock market, we also see familiar patterns. Stocks are overvalued -- certainly not the first time that's happened. However, this time, we are seeing a rather extreme valuation. Below is a chart comparing the value of the stocks in the S&P 500 to the gross domestic product (GDP). That ratio is shown as the red line. The blue line is a broader indicator that compares the value of exchange-listed stocks to GDP. \n\nBoth measures show stocks are more overvalued now than then they were even before the 2008 bear market.\n\nValuation is not a timing tool. Stocks can remain overvalued for years.\n\nBut it is a warning.\n\nHistory tells us that, when stocks do decline, losses in the bear market are likely to be significant. \n\nTo avoid large losses, I am continuing to focus on short-term ideas with minimal risk. Just recently, I told my readers about another opportunity in Deckers Outdoor (NYSE: DECK)\n\nGoing Back To The Well\nI've written about DECK a few times in my premium options newsletter, Income Trader. Our most recent trade in the stock expired in July, shortly before the company reported earnings.\n\nThat report was much better than expected. While analysts were expecting a loss of $1.67 per share, DECK reported a loss of just $1.28 per share. Revenue of $209.7 million was well above expectations for $178 million.\nManagement explained that some of the unexpected additional revenue came from earlier-than-expected sales in the company's fall line. Even though that last-minute wave of sales helped the company beat expectations in the most recent quarter, it will unfortunately result in weaker sales in the current quarter. \n\nAnalysts responded to the news by adjusting their forward outlooks. They now expect earnings per share (EPS) of $1.03, down from $1.26 a week ago, although full-year EPS estimates increased slightly to $4.07 from $4.04.\n\nBased on the recent earnings report, my expectations for the stock are the same as they were in late June, when I last wrote about DECK. Back then, I noted:\n\n\"Historically, stocks in the footwear industry have traded with an average price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 18.9. With that P/E ratio and this year's expected earnings, a reasonable price target for DECK is $76.\"\n\nAt current prices near $65, DECK remains undervalued. We can confirm that by looking at technical indicators, which also show the stock is likely to move higher.\n\nHow I'm Trading DECK\nJust recently, I recommended that my Income Trader readers sell put options on DECK with a strike price of $57.50 that expires on Sept. 15 for $0.45 - $0.60. \n\nBuying 100 shares of DECK at $57.50 each would cost $5,750. To initiate this trade, your broker will likely require you to deposit a percentage of that obligation in your account, like a down payment on a house. This is called a \"margin requirement.\" It usually runs about 20% of the amount it would cost you to buy the shares. This DECK trade would require a margin deposit of $1,150 (20% of $5,750).\n\nAssuming DECK trades for $57.50 or more on Sept. 15, we keep the premium and make a profit of $45 on $1,150, or 3.9%, in 36 days. If we can repeat a similar trade every 36 days, we will earn about 40% on our capital in 12 months.\n\nIf DECK trades for less than $57.50 on Sept. 15, we'll keep the $45 per contract, but will have to buy DECK at $57.50 per share. That's not a bad thing, since we'll own DECK at a cost basis of $57.05 (the $57.50 strike minus the $0.45 premium, which we keep), a 12.1% discount to recent prices.\n\nThis is the win-win proposition of my conservative options strategy. We've notched a 90% win-rate with our trades during the lifetime of Income Trader, leading many of my subscribers to earning hundreds -- sometimes thousands -- of dollars in income each month.\n\nIf you'd like to make more trades like this, I've got a special report you can check out to learn moreIncome Trader is a weekly publication, so if you sign up, you'll get plenty of opportunities to generate income selling puts and covered calls. For information on how to execute this strategy, go here.\n\nThis article originally appeared on StreetAuthority.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7231487035751343}
+{"content": "I.K Co.,Ltd. (JASDAQ:2722): Are Shares Undervalued?\n\nI.K Co.,Ltd. (JASDAQ:2722) has a current Magic Formula rank of 4451. The formula which was developed by hedge fund manager Joel Greenblatt, is intended to spot high quality companies that are trading at an attractive price. The formula uses ROIC and earnings yield ratios to find quality, undervalued stocks. In general, companies with the lowest combined rank may be the higher quality picks.\n\nThe Shareholder Yield is a way that investors can see how much money shareholders are receiving from a company through a combination of dividends, share repurchases and debt reduction.  The Shareholder Yield of I.K Co.,Ltd. (JASDAQ:2722) is 0.007393.  This percentage is calculated by adding the dividend yield plus the percentage of shares repurchased.  Dividends are a common way that companies distribute cash to their shareholders.  \n\nSimilarly, cash repurchases and a reduction of debt can increase the shareholder value, too.  Another way to determine the effectiveness of a company’s distributions is by looking at the Shareholder yield (Mebane Faber).  The Shareholder Yield (Mebane Faber) of I.K Co.,Ltd. JASDAQ:2722 is 0.05529.  This number is calculated by looking at the sum of the dividend yield plus percentage of sales repurchased and net debt repaid yield.\n\nShifting gears, we can see that I.K Co.,Ltd. (JASDAQ:2722) has a Q.i. Value of 37.00000. The Q.i. Value ranks companies using four ratios. These ratios consist of EBITDA Yield, FCF Yield, Liquidity, and Earnings Yield. The purpose of the Q.i. Value is to help identify companies that are the most undervalued. Typically, the lower the value, the more undervalued the company tends to be.\n\nWatching some historical volatility numbers on shares of I.K Co.,Ltd. (JASDAQ:2722), we can see that the 12 month volatility is presently 78.270700. The 6 month volatility is 93.127500, and the 3 month is spotted at 75.576900. Following volatility data can help measure how much the stock price has fluctuated over the specified time period. Although past volatility action may help project future stock volatility, it may also be vastly different when taking into account other factors that may be driving price action during the measured time period. \n\nInvestors may be interested in viewing the Gross Margin score on shares of I.K Co.,Ltd. (JASDAQ:2722). The name currently has a score of 12.00000. This score is derived from the Gross Margin (Marx) stability and growth over the previous eight years. The Gross Margin score lands on a scale from 1 to 100 where a score of 1 would be considered positive, and a score of 100 would be seen as negative.\n\n\nAdd Comment", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9802774786949158}
+{"content": "14 terms\n\nAP Computer Science - 05\n\nVocabulary from Fundamentals of Java by Lambert and Osborne.\nA method used to examine an attribute of an object without changing it.\nactual parameter\nA variable or expression contained in a method call and passed to that method. See also \"formal parameter\".\nThe set of actions that a class of objects supports.\nA method that is run when an object is instantiated, usually to initialize that object's instance variables.\nThe process of hiding and restricting access to the implementation details of a data structure.\nformal parameter\nA name, introduced in a method definition, that is replaced by an actual parameter when the method is called.\nhelper method\nA method used within the implementation of a class but not used by clients of that class.\nThe property of an object that it is the same thing at different points in time, even though the values of its attributes might change.\nThe process of creating a new object or instance of a class.\nThe time during which a data object or method call exists.\nA method used to change the value of an attribute of an object.\nThe largest block in which the identifier is available.\nThe set of all the values of the variables of a program at any point during its execution.\nvisibility modifier\nA symbol (public, protected, or private) that specifies the kind of access that clients have to a server's data and methods.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6703066825866699}
+{"content": "Growing Knowledge\n\n\n8 Tips for Corn Harvest Success\n\nBrad Krajewski\nTechnical Seed Manager\nAs another growing season nears its end and you’re busy with a million different things, is there anything you can do to help ensure an orderly corn harvest? Here are some tips that could help you keep things on track.\n1. Make sure your equipment is prepped and ready.\nHave your machines serviced or repaired if necessary, in place and ready to go. This includes your combine, tractor, grain cart, trucks, augers and bins.\n2. Know your marketing strategy and plan accordingly.\nFor example, if you have a contract to fill at a particular grain elevator, what is your plan for taking corn from a field that’s closer to that destination versus filling your own grain bin with corn from a field that’s closer to home? Know the logistics about what contracts you need to deliver on.\n3. Calibrate your yield monitor.\nAccuracy matters. If you’re using your data to evaluate hybrid performance or do a fertility trial, for example, making sure your monitor is calibrated correctly will give you the most accurate results and help you make the best determination on how a particular product performed.\n4. Know your hybrids and have a plan of attack.\nWhich products are going to dry down first that you’ll want to get to right away? Depending on the situation, decide if you want to harvest damaged fields first before any more of the crop is compromised, or harvest your good corn first while it is healthy and leave poorer crops until the end.  \n5. Know the quirks of your fields.\nAre there certain fields that present harvest challenges — for example, those with wet, low spots? Make sure you harvest those before rain or snow comes. Otherwise, it will be a challenge to ever get the corn crop out of that field.\n6. Recheck equipment when you’re in the field.\nMake sure you’re cleaning the grain off the ears correctly and you’re not throwing too many kernels out the back end of the combine.\n7. Clean your equipment thoroughly.\nIt’s a no-brainer to clean equipment at the end of the season, but are you cleaning machinery in between fields? Combines can transfer diseases that overwinter in crop residue, such as Goss’s wilt, from field to field if you’re not cleaning them. It’s the same story with seeds from herbicide-resistant weeds.\n8. Take notes.\nDon’t rely on your memory; write down in-field observations. Capture them electronically or use a trusty paper and pencil. \n\nMake Every Soybean Count at Harvest\n\nJamie Kloster\nTechnical Seed Manager, CROPLAN® seed\nAs we near the finish line with this year’s soybean crop, it’s time to focus on capturing the maximum number of bushels at harvest. Losing just three to four soybeans per square foot can reduce yield by 1 bushel per acre and quickly take a bite out of bottom-line profit potential.\nThe following are a few reminders for success this harvest season.\n1. Scout fields now. Scouting soybean fields before harvest can help identify and mitigate potential harvest challenges. For example, if weeds are a problem, you might consider a late-season herbicide application to alleviate combining issues. Also be sure to check label restrictions and pre-harvest intervals.       \n2. Inspect harvest equipment. Take time to make sure all equipment is in optimal working condition before heading to the field. Review the combine’s standard settings and inspect all key parts, such as belts, chains and the auger. Pay special attention to the condition of cutter bars and knives to help avoid losses at the head.\n3. Monitor moisture levels. Keep a close eye on each field’s moisture levels to help prioritize harvest order to avoid soybean shatter and split issues. Harvesting at moistures between 13 and 15 percent minimizes harvest losses, splits and dockage at the elevator. Moisture below that range can accelerate shatter and split problems. Where shatter losses appear likely, harvesting earlier or later in the day, when higher humidity increases pod moisture levels, helps minimize the problem.\n4. Consider weedy fields. Clean out the combine after harvesting fields with hard-to-control weeds such as waterhemp and other tough species to prevent them from spreading to other fields. You could also consider harvesting weedy patches or even the entire field last to avoid spreading weed seeds to other locations.\n5. Match equipment settings to conditions. Soybean losses can be minimized by adjusting combine settings to match crop conditions. For example, if drought conditions caused shorter soybean plants, adjust the cutter bar and reel height accordingly to obtain as much yield as possible. Also, monitor cutterbar performance as well as cylinder-concave settings to reduce the pass-through of pods that still contain soybeans. Combining at reduced speeds (< 3 mph) can help minimize harvest losses and may be necessary where there are green stems at harvest.\n6. Gather data for next season. Pay attention to the yield monitor and observe high- and low-yielding areas of each field. Try to determine what caused those results so you can either replicate that success or plan to alleviate losses the next time. \n\nTips for Prepping Your Planter\n\nKyle Reiner\nMaster Agronomy Advisor\nIt’s hard to believe that spring planting is just around the corner. Is your planter ready to roll? Checking it now can save you precious time when you wish there were more hours in the day. Here are some tips I’ve learned over the years.\n  1. Check disk opener blades. Replace disks that show more than a half-inch of wear. Worn disk opener blades could create a “W” shape in the bottom of the seed trench, which can cause variances in seed planting depths of up to three-quarters of an inch and make for uneven stands.\n  2. Examine bushings and chains. Check the backs of row units to identify play or wear that could lead to seed depth inconsistency and row unit bounce. Also inspect rusty or loose chains that could break or jump over sprockets.\n  3. Calibrate seed meters. Seed meters should be checked by a trusted professional to assess accuracy. Run different seed sizes through meters to ensure they dispense at the correct rate. An inaccurate seed meter can hurt yield and profitability due to skips, doubles or triples in seed drop and distribution.\n  4. Examine seed tube for wear. Seed tube wear largely depends on use but can be affected by other factors. For example, hitting a rock or another hard object in the field could damage a seed tube’s shape, causing seed to get hung up or bounce while exiting the tube. Replace split or worn tubes.\n  5. Inspect row cleaners. Make sure bearings are in good working order, turning freely. Set the depth properly to clean out residue in front of the row unit. Remember that row cleaners are not meant to be tillage tools.\n  6. Prepare your seed tank for smooth dispensing. Put graphite, talc or a pre-mixture of both in the bottom of seed boxes or tanks prior to filling with seed. This added lubrication allows for smooth, consistent flow of seed through the seed box into the row meters. Always follow manufacturer recommendations regarding use of a flowability agent.\n  7. Level your planter. Hook up the planter to the tractor that will be pulling it, then set the planter down in the field and make sure it is not leaning too far forward or too far back. The parallel arms on row units should be level. Planter unit position affects coulter depth, closing wheel pressure and seed tube angle.\n  8. Don’t forget about electronics. System and software updates are as important as the mechanical aspects of planters. Making sure that electronics are working well will reduce downtime when the planter should be running.\nStart preparing your planter now to save time and money “down the row.”\n\nTech Tasks After Harvest: Part 2\n\nJoel and Kyle\nHosts, WinField\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.858670175075531}
+{"content": "What is the cic?\n\nthe catholic information center\n\nAs the CIC's new flagship identity video, What Is the CIC? needed to communicate the Catholic Information Center's mission clearly and effectively. We developed a script which quickly establishes the climate in DC and showcases the CIC's unique positioning as a helpful resource. We brought this script to life with a clean animation style rendered in a monochrome palette which draws from the CIC brand. \"What Is the CIC?\" won Platinum in the Religion category during the 2017 AVA Digital Awards.\n\nAVA Platinum Award", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9976951479911804}
+{"content": "Michael Gambon has taken the lead role in the upcoming adaptation of JK Rowling's novel The Casual Vacancy.\n\nThe Dublin-born actor will play the adulterous parish council leader Howard Mollison in the three-part mini-series, which is to start filming in early July.\n\nGambon already has strong Rowling credentials, given his role as Professor Dumbledore in the third Harry Potter film, a role he took over following the death of Richard Harris.\n\nThe Casual Vanancy was Rowling's first novel after the Harry Potter series. The narrative pivots around a local council election in the fictional West Country town of Pagford. As the story begins, a parish councillor dies and the by-election candidates find their darkest secrets revealed on the parish council online forum. \n\nThe novel was an immediate bestseller and has sold more than six million copies since it was published in 2012.\n\nIn the BBC adaptation, Julia McKenzie will play Mollison's wife, Shirley, and Rufus Jones his son, Miles. Keeley Hawes will take the role of Miles's wife and Rory Kinnear will play Barry Fairbrother, whose death effectively causes the election to be called.\n\nMonica Dolan, who won a Bafta for her portrayal of Rose West in ITV drama Appropriate Adult, will also star, with Simon McBurney (Rev's archdeacon Robert) playing her husband.\n\nRowling's next novel will explore phone hacking with a shady journalist among its characters. The writer gave evidence to the Leveson inquiry and has protested against press intrusion into her life.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9020779728889465}
+{"content": "Dr. Roi Avraham: Let’s disarm bacteria before they prove too deadly\n\nA hundred years after the discovery of penicillin—the wonder drug that has saved countless lives from WWII until today and was the basis for the discovery of other antibiotics—we are losing the battle against bacterial infection. Resistance is skyrocketing, and even vaccines are failing to prevent previously controllable conditions.\n\nInfectious diseases of all kinds post a myriad of problems, but one of the biggest concerns today is Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative agent of tuberculosis. This bacterium is thought to exist in a dormant form in a third of the world’s population. It becomes active in only five percent of carriers, and causes two million deaths per year worldwide. What is more worrying is that in some patients, bacteria have become resistant to many of the antibiotics used to treat this infection, and the fact that this resistance seems to be spreading.\n\nDr. Roi Avraham, a newly hired scientist in the Department of Biological Regulation, is focused on finding ways to target and treat infectious diseases. Scientists the world over are hard at work at this issue, but the uniqueness of Dr. Avraham’s research is his focus on finding ways to prevent infection at an earlier stage in its development—nipping it in the bud—rather than killing the bacteria themselves.\n\nTo that end, he made a crucial discovery during his postdoctoral fellowship that elucidated how bacteria infect healthy cells. With his colleagues at the Eli and Edythe L. Broad Institute of Harvard University and MIT, he examined bacteria that reside inside cells engulfed by large immune system cells called macrophages. During infection, not only do the macrophages fail to destroy these pathogenic bacteria, they actually provide a safe haven in which the bacteria replicate before going on to infect other cells.\n\nWhat he found was a true battlefield strategy being enacted in the human body: At the earliest stage of infection, bacteria divide-and-conquer their prey, splitting into two sub-populations, one of which is recognized and inhibited by macrophages, while the other is not. This diversionary tactic promotes infection progress; one sub-population sacrifices itself, weakening the host cell population, so that the other can survive.\n\nThis new understanding was made possible by a tool commonly used in genetics studies called single-cell RNA analysis, which is usually used to mine genome-wide mRNA expression data from human cell populations, essentially looking at how genes are expressed in the human body. Dr. Avraham’s work is unique in that he developed a technique that allows single-cell resolution of infectious disease, analyzing single human cells as they interact with a single bacterial pathogen.\n\nA cue from cancer research\n\nDr. Avraham’s approach takes its cue from cancer research with its emphasis on prevention as the best antidote to disease—arresting bacteria before they prove too deadly.\n\nIn essence, the finding paves the way to exploring—and potentially preventing—infection at earlier stages, much like an increasingly refined understanding of cancer has led to knowledge of its many stages and the drive to find ways to prevent cancer before it spreads. That parallel is no coincidence: It began to kindle in Dr. Avraham’s mind when he was still a PhD student in the lab of Weizmann Institute cancer researcher Prof. Yossi Yarden in the Department of Biological Regulation.\n\n“In different bacterial sub-populations, the cycle of infection does not progress in the linear way we assumed it did, but rather different bacteria will have different fate. If we want to arrest bacterial growth, we need to look at infection as a series of different phases,” he says. “This has clinical implications because it means that drugs designed to stop a linear infection process may not always work, and there may be different points of the infection process at which new drugs may arrest the infection.”\n\nHis approach is one that combines complex genetics, computational analysis of cellular studies, and in vivo experiments. This diverse approach emerged out of a diverse educational career: He studied computer science as an undergraduate and neuro-immunology for his master’s degree, both from Tel Aviv University. And in Prof. Yarden’s lab, he was exposed to new knowledge about the information-relay system involved in cancer metastasis.\n\nDr. Avraham, who is a recipient of the prestigious Eshkol Fellowship from the Israeli Ministry of Science, says that his expertise in both cancer and infectious disease is reflective of a worldwide trend of closer cooperation among biomedical scientists. “Resistance—whether to antibiotic medications or cancer immunotherapy—is a significant health problem. We are better positioned to find a solution if we face this problem together.”\n\nDr. Roi Avraham is supported the estate of David Turner, the estate of Leah Arbel, and the estate of Mordecai M. Roshwald.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8553953766822815}
+{"content": "Monday, December 10, 2012\n\nWaterjetting 4a - Pump pulsations\n\nHigh-pressure pumps generally draw water into a cylindrical cavity, and then expel it with a reciprocating piston. There are a number of different ways in which the piston can be driven. It can be connected eccentrically to a rotating shaft, so that, as the shaft rotates, the piston is pushed in and out. The pistons can be moved by the rotation of an inclined plate, so that as the plate rotates, so the pistons are displaced.\n\nFigure 1. Basic Components of a Swash Plate Pump (after Sugino et al, 9th International Waterjet Symposium, Sendai, Japan, 1988)\n\nAnd, more commonly at higher pressures, the piston can be of a dual size, so that as a lower pressure fluid on one side of the piston pushes forward, so a higher pressure fluid on the smaller end of the piston is driven into the outlet manifold, and out of the pump. This latter pump design has become commonly known as an Intensifier Pump. The simplified basis for its operation might be shown using the line drawing that was used earlier.\n\nFigure 2. Simplified Sketch showing the operation of an intensifier.\n\nWhen the intensifier is built, the simplified beauty of its construction is more evident.\n\nFigure 3. Partially sectioned 90,000 psi intensifier showing the components and the small end of the reciprocating piston (Courtesy of KMT)\n\nHowever, what I would like to discuss today is what happens when the pistons in these cylinders reaches the ends of their stroke, and it is a little easier to use an Intensifier as a starting point for this discussion, although (as I will show) it also relates to the other designs of high-pressure pumps that also use pistons.\n\nConsider if there was only one side to the piston, rather than it producing high pressure in both directions. This design is known as a single acting Intensifier, and it might, schematically, look like this:\n\nFigure 4. Simplified schematic of a single-acting Intensifier\n\nAs the piston starts to move from the right-hand side of the cylinder toward the left, driven by the pressure on the large side of the piston, it displaces water from the smaller diameter cylinder on the left. Assume that the area ratio is 20:1 and that the low-pressure fluid is entering at 5,000 psi, then, simplistically, the fluid in the high pressure pump chamber will be discharged at 100,000 psi. But not immediately!\n\nBecause the outlet valve has been set, so that it will not open until the fluid has reached the required discharge pressure, and this will require a small initial movement of the piston (perhaps around 12%), to compress the water and raise it to that pressure, before the valve opens. And, with a single intensifier piston, when the piston has moved all the way to the left, and the high pressure end is emptied of water, then there will be no more flow from that cylinder, until the piston has been pushed back to the far end of the cylinder, and the process is ready to start again.\n\nSome of that problem of continuous flow is overcome when the single-acting intensifier is made dual-acting, because at the end of the stroke to the left, fluid has entered the chamber on the right, and when the piston starts its return journey the cylinder on the right will discharge high pressure fluid. But again not immediately!\n\nOne way of overcoming this is to use two single-acting pistons, but with a drive that is timed (phased) so that the second piston starts to move just before the first piston reaches the end of its stroke. This takes out the dead time during the directional change. The two can be compared:\n\nFigure 5. Difference in the pulsation between a phased set of single acting intensifiers, and a double-acting unit. (Singh et al 11th International Waterjet Conference, 1992)\n\nIn cutting operations reducing the pulsation from the jet is often important in minimizing variations in cut quality, and thus, to dampen the pulsations with a dual-acting system a different approach is taken, and a small accumulator is put into the delivery line, so that the fluid in that volume can help maintain the pressure during the time of transition.\n\nFigure 6. Effect of Accumulator volume on pressure variations (Chalmers 7th American Waterjet Conference, Seattle 1993)\n\nA simplified schematic can again be used to show where an accumulator might be placed.\n\nFigure 7. Location of the Accumulator in the flow line\n\nOn the other hand, in cleaning applications particularly with water and no abrasive, there are occasions (which I will get to later) where a pulsation might improve the operation of the system. A three piston pump, without an accumulator, will see a variation in the pressure output that may see an instantaneous drop to 12% below average, and then a rise to 6% above average, during a cycle. One way of reducing this is to increase the number of pistons that are being driven in the pump.\n\nWhen one changes, for example, from the three pistons (triplex) to five pistons (quintupled), then the variation in outlet pressure is significantly less.\n\nFigure 8. The effect of changing number of pump pistons on the variation in delivery pressure. (De Santis 3rd American Waterjet Conference, Pittsburgh, 1985)\n\nPart of the reason that longer steadier pulses of water, which come from the slower stroke of the intensifier, can be of advantage is that the water is a jet comes out of the nozzle at a speed that is controlled by the driving pressure. A strong change in pressure means that there is a change in the velocity of the water stream along the jet. This means that slower sections of the jet are, at greater standoff distances, caught up with by the following faster slugs of the jet. This makes the jet more unstable. That can, however, be an advantage in some cases, and this will be discussed at some later time, when a better foundation has been established to explain what the effects are.\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5765107870101929}
+{"content": "Is it Possible to Speak too Slow while Presenting?\n\nOne of the biggest concerns of my executive presentation training clients in New York City is pacing.  “How fast should I speak” is a question I get a lot.  I tend to think you cannot speak too slow while presenting.  Adrenaline is a powerful substance, and it tends to take over a speech.  Without awareness, it’s all too easy to rush.  But there are those that think speaking too slow is a legitimate problem while presenting.  Let’s compare two TED talks, and analyze their rate of speech, starting with Laura Galante’s speech on Russian hacking:\n\nI think Laura’s pacing is good.  She takes a clear pause at the end of each thought, and highlights important words with her intonation.  By taking her time, she makes complex material clear.\n\nNow let’s check out Bendetta Berti’s TED talk from 2016:\n\nInteresting comparison on a number of fronts.  I would say she is speaking much too fast, especially toward the middle of the speech.  Occasionally, she will take a break at the end of each thought group to allow her thoughts to land, but in general, she is rushing through ideas and concepts.  The problem is made worse by the fact that she is mispronouncing some important words, and dropping the “th” sound entirely.\n\nI did my best to find an example of a TED-talker who was speaking too slowly.  I couldn’t find one.  So I stand by my original premise; you cannot speak too slow while presenting.  What do you think?  Comment below or tweet me your thoughts.\n\nShould ESL Executives Focus on Mastering the Written Language or the Spoken Language?\n\nThere are two English languages; the spoken language and the written language.  Broken English happens when the speaker does not understand the difference between the two.  In many other languages, one symbol equals one sound, hence the spoken and written languages are one.  This is not the case with English.  There are 26 letters in the alphabet, but there are 44 sounds in well spoken English.  One letter in English can have many sounds, and one sound in English has no letter equivalent at all.\n\nBut because many foreigners assume that the written and spoken languages are essentially the same, that the English language is phonetic, they assume that if they master the written language, they will be mastering the spoken language as well.  Because English is not a phonetic language, it is essential that students understand that the spoken and written languages are largely distinct, and learn their separate rules and logic.  Over time, the vague connection between the two can be gleaned.\n\nWhat happens to your English if you don’t understand that the “o” symbol can be pronounced many different ways? “Hot” sounds like “hope”.  “Pot” sounds like “Pope”.  And on and on.  Mispronunciation becomes common because the speaker is pronouncing the 26 letters of the alphabet, rather than the 44 sounds of English.  To avoid this, it’s important to be sure to learn the spoken language concurrently with the written language, and with the same vigor.\n\nUnderstanding the difference between the spoken and written language is only half the battle.  If you want to speak English excellently, you must fight against a larger, more insidious force than this basic misconception.  Do you know what it is?  Your Iphone.  Unfortunately, we live in a society that prizes the written language to the detriment of the spoken language.  How many of your friends prize public speaking, and can’t stand dawdling on their Iphones? None? Yea me too.  Since Guttenberg’s time, we have canonized writing, and eschewed speaking.  To win the battle of better English, you have to resist the pull of the written word, on your computer screen, Iphone, tablet, TV, ect, and begin to open your ears to the sounds of English.\n\nThree Big Mistakes ESL Executives Make with their Presentations\n\nThree Big Mistakes ESL Executives Make with their Presentations Click To Tweet\n\nI really identify with the struggle ESL executives face when putting together a speech.  It’s difficult to give a solid presentation without struggling with the language, let alone trying to manage phrasing and articulation while presenting.  That’s a lot to juggle.  During my years as a speech coach in New York City and New Jersey I’ve seen a lot of ESL executives give a lot of different types of speeches.  Here are three mistakes I see most often:\n\n  1. Focusing too much on the articulation of individual sounds, and not enough on the musicality of the language – It’s important to circle trouble words within your speech outline, and work on their pronunciation, but it’s equally important to make sure you circle the focus words within a phrase, and lift your intonation on them.  The rhythm and intonation patterns of the language are more important to master than individual sounds.\n  2. Going too fast! – If you are an ESL executive, here is the best piece of advice I can give you about presenting… YOU CANNOT SPEAK TOO SLOW!  I know, I know, you feel like you are boring the room.  But would you rather take the risk of being a little too boring, or not being understood?  Pausing is powerful.  Take your time. Focus on your articulation.\n  3. Using complex words when simple ones will do – I recently had an executive who was giving a major speech at a conference and he was throwing out a number of four and five syllable words like “instrumentation”.  Naturally, he was stumbling quite a bit.  There’s no need to use complex words, in fact the worlds greatest speakers (including Winston Churchill) generally advocated using simple words while presenting.If you want to make improvement on your articulation, join me for an upcoming online accent reduction course.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9143733382225037}
+{"content": "On the moon there are constant “rains” of asteroids\n\nAstronomers watching small asteroids like the Chelyabinsk meteorite have found that the moon constantly receives “rains” from small debris of asteroids that are virtually continuously bombarding its surface, the press service of the European Space Agency reports.\n\n“Our dual cameras allow us to see flares on the surface of the moon, which no one could previously do with a single telescope.” Collecting data for the next 22 months will help us understand how many asteroids 10 meters in diameter and less live in the vicinity of the Earth. Moreover, these data will help us to uncover the physics of outbreaks and to understand the objects of what mass they cause, “says Alceste Bonanos of the Institute of Astronomy of Greece in Athens.\n\nIn the past few decades, scientists around the world have been actively monitoring near-Earth asteroids and are conducting a kind of space “census” among them, trying to understand how dangerous they are to humanity. There are so many asteroids in the near-Earth space that astronomers had to create special scales to assess how likely they fall to Earth.\n\nDespite all this and the huge number of asteroids discovered in recent years with the help of ground-based telescopes and the infrared orbital observatory WISE, many large asteroids and countless smaller objects the size of the Chelyabinsk meteorite that fell to Earth in February 2013 remain unknown to us.\n\nTo meet this challenge, ESA created the NELIOTA project, within which a 1.2-meter telescope installed at the Kryoneri observatory in Greece was upgraded specifically for observing asteroids in near-Earth space. To this end, ESA engineers and astronomers have installed several ultra-fast, high-resolution cameras capable of seeing traces of falls of even the smallest objects on the surface of the Moon.\n\nNELIOTA, according to Bonanos, was launched in February 2015, but its full-fledged work began only in March of this year, when a second camera was installed in Kryoneri, greatly increasing the resolution and sensitivity of the telescope and allowing it to monitor the sky in real time.\n\nAs the first observations of the surface of the Moon in March and April showed, constant “stone rains” are taking place on the satellite of our planet – in just 11 hours of observation, scientists managed to fix four drops of small asteroids the size of the Chelyabinsk meteorite, localize their craters and measure their temperature at the time of birth These funnels.\n\nAs expected by planetologists, for 22 months of operation the telescope in Kryoneri will record thousands and tens of thousands of similar outbreaks and episodes of falling asteroids. These data, according to astronomers, will help us estimate the number of potentially dangerous asteroids in the vicinity of the Earth and find out how often they fall on its surface and what consequences this usually leads to.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9859583377838135}
+{"content": "Jane Wilson\n\nPsychotherapeutic Counsellor in Cobham, Surrey\n\nCertified Counselling in the Surrey Area\n\nPart of being human is that we all experience difficulties and challenges in our life. When life is hard it can feel really difficult to cope alone and we all need someone we can trust to talk to. We can experience difficulties in relationships, at work, feelings of loss, bereavement, depression, stress and anxiety.\n\nI recognise that talking to someone new can often feel scary. I offer counselling and psychotherapy and provide a safe and nurturing space where you can explore and express your feelings, concerns and worries. I will support and encourage you in a non-judgemental environment where you can work towards overcoming your difficulties.\n\nMy counselling approach allows me to build on theoretical elements from a range of counselling theories, including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). I look to provide the most appropriate approach to encourage you to overcome the difficulties you are facing.\n\nI work with clients on a wide range of mental health issues big and small. If you think you could benefit from talking things through with someone, please contact me knowing it is in full confidence.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9998930096626282}
+{"content": " Energy Transfer and Discourse with Ethann Fox \n\nEnergy Transfer and Discourse with Ethann Fox\n\nSpiritual Teacher, Founder of the Flower of Life Center for Human Evolution\n\nJoin Spiritual Teacher, Ethann Fox, for an energy transfer event that will raise your vibration and consciousness, remove negative karma and accelerate the growth of your soul.\n\nDuring the first hour, Ethann discusses world events, spirituality, astrology, health and longevity and takes questions from attendees. He also gives attendees a glimpse into how to uncover their soul’s plan and work in harmony with the energies of the planet. But the real benefit to his lecture is the energy that flows through him the entire time. \n\nIn the second hour, Ethann will conduct an energy transfer that will increase the size of your aura. Many encounter sudden breakthroughs in health, inner peace and joyfulness, awakening to their spiritual gifts and information within the DNA.\n\nIn channeled messages, Ethann Fox has often been referred to as “the light worker of light workers”, because the majority of those who are drawn to him are light workers on the planet. Many of these individuals have been unable to fully tap into their gifts and remember their purpose due to a lower vibration and consciousness that is impacting life on Earth.\n\nSeptember 30, 2017\n\n3:30-5:30 pm in the Sedona Room\n\nCost:  $35.\n\n Tickets:  https://awakeandempoweredexpo.webconnex.com/SedonaEvent \n\nInquiries to: support@ethannfox.com\n\n\nThrough his unique abilities, Ethann facilitates an awakening of one's true gifts and soul’s purpose.  This is the primary purpose and outcome of the long term practice of energy transfer sessions with Ethann…to gradually unlock your unique gifts and life’s purpose as well as the passion to fearlessly pursue it. \n\nMany of the individuals who work with Ethann regularly start to come into their abilities within the first month of multiple sessions.  Ethann’s left-brained mindset and natural curiosity led him to conduct a variety of studies to confirm the effects of his energy transfers on human consciousness.\n\nStudies of the human aura, voice profiling, channeled messages and participant feedback have all shown that regular energy transfers will increase feelings of happiness, peace and wellbeing, expanding the size of the aura and accelerating the evolution of the soul.\n\nIn the world in which we live, there are many toxins we encounter on a day to day basis. Some of these may be in our food, water or the air we breathe, and some are electromagnetic. All of them are vibrational in nature. Although, we can avoid some of these toxins physically, many still remain vibrationally in our environment, accumulating in the energy body and resulting in a lowering of our consciousness. The consequence of this is that the spiritual gifts we have brought into this world remain dormant.\n\nWhat people are saying about Ethann:\n\n\"I have experienced Ethann’s energy transfers for over two years now and the results never cease to amaze me. I have struggled with repressed emotions and feeling negative about life. My spirits are always instantaneously raised by Ethann’s energy transfers. The mind, as well as the body feels so much lighter, and any negative thoughts disappear. I usually leave with a fresh stream of energy, ready to take on the world. It is like the best meditation you have ever had, but 100 times more powerful, joyful and has longer life-changing affects. Distant energy transfers are just as powerful. One day, I wanted to skip my remote session because I was too busy, but such a powerful wave of energy suddenly hit me that I had to tune in and experience it. I am so appreciative of these sessions!”  ~ Yelena S.\n\n\"Ethann’s one-on-one sessions with me have been an amazing transformational catalyst that has allowed me to expand my knowledge of spirituality and consciousness, and step into my gifts and role as a healer. I am also blown away by Ethann’s extensive experience in astrology, numerology, marketing and psychology. With this knowledge he skillfully crafted a plan to launch me into the world as a healer that was perfectly suited ty my gifts and talents.\"  ~  Kevon R.\n\nEthann has been a student and practicing astrologer and numerologist for over 20 years. During this time he has studied and brought together the wisdom of various Eastern and Western philosophies into a singular cohesive system. It is his belief that the knowledge that underlies all of these modern systems originated with a singular body of wisdom thousands of years ago. But when combined, they become a powerful tool for understanding our world.\n\nAs a result of his passion for understanding the human condition, Ethann has also been a student of psychology and how to increase one’s happiness and potential in life through the use of reconditioning techniques and changes in diet and lifestyle. Today he teaches these techniques to individuals and audiences with very successful results.\n\nEthann utilizes his background as the owner of a branding and marketing agency in conjunction with his spiritual gifts and astrology/numerology expertise to assist Lightworkers on the planet to identify their soul’s purpose and express it through mainstream tools and technology. He offers this service on a private consultation basis, combining all aspects of his experience, education, personal history and spiritual awareness.\n\nEthann’s natural curiosity and logical, left-brained mind-set has gained him a reputation as a genuine, yet persistent and internationally respected interviewer. He has a distinct talent for blending the spiritual and physical worlds in a way that gives audiences around the world a better understanding of how to adapt new world tools into their modern reality.\n\nInformation:  www.ethannfox.com  www.awakeandempoweredexpo.com  www.floweroflifecenter.org https://www.youtube.com/user/AAEExpo\n\nAbout Ethann Fox\n\nEthann always had a feeling that he had a gift with energy. From an early age and through his adult years in the business and financial world, he had an intense knowing that he could help people and never walked away from someone in need. Simultaneously, he walked the spiritual world, eventually becoming an accomplished astrologer and numerologist. Yet his logical, left brained mindset left him very skeptical of his energetic healing ability.\n\nHe had dismissed many unusual and profound healing experiences as coincidence, until 1997 when a series of unmistakable events finally began to convince him. His belief was further confirmed upon meeting Barb Morey, a gifted aura reader who's abilities can be compared to those of the late, Edgar Cayce. What she saw in his aura that day sent Ethann on a quest to better understand his gift through a series of experiments and study groups. Suddenly, many of the unusual life experiences he had lived made complete sense.\n\nEthann has come to understand his true purpose is raising the consciousness of others through his energy field. He now uses this divine gift to help others live a happier and more fulfilling life and aid in the transition to a new world consciousness. Through his spiritual awakening, Ethann altered the course of his life, leaving the business world behind to establish his organization, Flower of Life Center for Human Evolution. Ethann facilitates energy transfers in private and group settings, while inspiring volunteers on a collective mission of furthering awakening through Flower of Life. His vision further manifests in the expression of a variety of initiatives including his television show, international expo, conscious activism movement, conscious youth group and an alternative school for children.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9311719536781311}
+{"content": "Site Search  \n\nResearch » MoreAboutThisTopic\n\n  • Learning Control\n\nThe ``learning'' component in perception-action-learning system is a hallmark of autonomous systems. It is really the ability to learn and to adapt to new tasks and a changing environment that makes human and non-human animals so superior to any artifact we have created so far. While the Empirical Inference Department in the MPI for Intelligent Systems has it main focus on the topic of machine learning, the Autonomous Motion Department complements these efforts with a specific focus on learning for control.\n\n\\begin{Figure} \\centering \\includegraphics[width=0.6\\linewidth]{autonomousMotion/figures/blwr.pdf} \\end{Figure} \\captionof{figure}{Graphical model of Variational Bayesian Locally Weighted Regression, an approximate Bayesian inference method for learning locally linear models and their appropriate distance metric.} \\label{fig:blwr}\n\nFirst of all, it is worthwhile highlighting why learning control deserves a special status in the world of machine learning and statistical learning. The majority of learning projects in machine learning operate out of a specialized setting, i.e., someone provides one or multiple datasets, and the goal of learning is to discover some structure in this data, e.g., by clustering, density estimation, classification, or regression. The computational cost of extracting the structure is often of lower importance, as long as the problem remains computable within a reasonable time and potentially large computational resouces like multi-node supercomputers.\n\nIn learning control, several different issues arise. First of all, movement systems need to generate their own data. Thus, there is often an interesting trade-off between exploiting of what has been learned so far, and trying to explore new parts of the world -- this problem is known as the exporation-exploitation tradeoff.\n\nSecond, the movement system never stops creating new data. It is therefore important to have learning systems that can continue learning forever, that are able to incorporate new data at a sufficiently fast time-scale, and that are able to grow their representational power as a function of the complexity of the data experienced.\n\nA third problem is that movement systems have a rather high dimensional state, resulting from many sensors and sensory modalities and a large number of degrees of freedom for movement. Thus, learning in hundreds, thousands, or even hundred thousands of dimension is not an unreasonable request. Besides the complexity in learning from data sets with a huge number of dimensions, it also needs to be pointed out that many of these dimensions carry no or only redundant information for the task to be learned. Detecting such redundancy and irrelevancy, and exploiting it for the task goal, are other interesting and complex requirements for learning control.\n\nAt last, accomplishing learning with maximal computational and data efficiency is of great importance. Computational efficiency refers to the amount of computation that is required to add a new data point to the learning system. Data efficiency is concerned to how much information is ``squeezed out'' of every data point -- e.g., a gradient descent update is usually quite inferior to a Newton update. Given that movement systems have to compute largely with on-board computers, computing resources are limited.\n\nAs a final point it should be pointed out that learning control has an additional issue: wrong decisions can lead to physical harm to the environment and the movement system itself. Thus, robustness, stability, and confidence of actions taken is of great importance. Ideally, proofs of stability, convergence, and boundedness are of great importance.\n\nThe ``Learning Control'' group in the Autonomous Motion Department has its focus on developing learning algorithms for control that can work in the above scenarios, ideally in a complete black box fashion, without the need to tune any open parameters and with convergence guarantees. Incremental learning with growing representational structure has been one of our main research thrusts, particularly in probabilistic setting of learning function approximators with local linear models [1,2] (see Figure~\\ref{fig:blwr}). A second important topic is Reinforcement Learning, i.e., how to improve movement execution from trial-and-error learning [3]. A novel upcoming topic addresses how to learn new feedback controllers from a large number of sensory feedback signals or feature vectors that are derived from sensory feedback. Often, we prefer algorithms that have analytical inference equations but are only approximation of the best possible inference, rather than optimal inference that may require massive computation or sampling.\n\n\\hspace{\\baselineskip} \\hrule \\hspace{\\baselineskip} {\\small \\begin{itemize}\n\n\\item[1] Atkeson, C.G., Moore, A.W. and Schaal, S., 1997. Locally weighted learning for control. Artificial Intelligence Review, 11(1-5), pp.75-113.\n\n\\item[2] Ting, J. et al., 2008. Bayesian kernel shaping for learning control. In D. Koller et al., eds. Advances in Neural Information Processing Systems 21 (NIPS 2008). Vancouver, BC, Dec. 7-10: Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.\n\n\\item[3] Schaal, S. and Atkeson, C.G., 2010. Learning control in robotics -- trajectory-based optimal control techniques. Robotics and Automation Magazine, 17(2), pp.20-29.\n\n\\end{itemize} }\n\n\nDesigned by: Nerses Ohanyan & Jan Peters\nPage last modified on March 18, 2014, at 04:13 PM", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6813586950302124}
+{"content": "The wonders of Guatavita\n\nA Colombian town filled with incredible myths and legends\n\nGuatavita is a small town about 75km from Bogotá characterized by colonial whitewash buildings and its stalls filled to the brim with arts and crafts. It is the perfect place to let go of all the stress of the big city.\n\nThe place was built when the original colonial town of Guatavita was submerged in the nearby reservoir. Today, when the water level is low, it’s possible to see the peak of the old church jutting out of the lake.\n\nGuatavita, which in the Muisca language means “top of the mountain”, is also the name of a lagoon located near by.\n\nAt said lagoon, the Muisca Cacique, the leader of the tribe, would cover himself in gold shavings, sail out into middle of the pond and rinse himself off. His assistants, meanwhile, would throw handmade goldwork as an offering for Chie, the goddess of water.\n\nThis led to the birth of the legend of El Dorado, which means “the golden one” in Spanish, and it refers to the gold covered cacique.\n\nThere have been numerous efforts to drain the bayou in the hopes to find the gold treasures submerged below. Most of the unique artifacts found made their way to Spain. However, some examples are currently on display in the Bogotá Gold Museum.\n\nAnother interesting attraction in Guatavita is the lover’s Bridge, a lovely, wooden arch built across a dry river. The legend has it that every couple who crosses while holding hands and stops in the middle to kiss, will never separate.\n\nOther popular attractions in the area include museums dedicated to religion and indigenous culture, the historic Nuestra Señora de los Dolores, and an indigenous cemetery.\n\nA trip to Guatativa is a charming experience that involves engaging in nautical sports on the reservoir, bird watching and ecological hikes on paths near the lake, and a stroll through the new town where history is guarded side by side with the work of contemporary artisans who are true masters of clay and virgin wool.\n\nLatinAmerican Post | Luisa Fernanda Báez Toro\nCopy edited by Susana Cicchetto\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9923468232154846}
+{"content": "A New Fashionable Desire (christian Louboutin)\nGGDB Sneakers\n\nFor the young people the most important thing is different with others. No matter their dress up or behaviors. Some people purse luxury goods. Such as Herve Leger dress, Christian Louboutin shoes. They are so beautiful. But others purse other things.\nNew religions do not arise everyday, so serious note should be taken when a belief move from cult status to bona fide faith. Recently, a\nGolden Goose Sneakers Sale\n\nnascent creed has stolen the hearts and mind of lots of young Americans. Its key tenets include the idea that everyone gets along really well in high school, and thus that being a teenager is super fan. The name of this new religion is High School Musical.The religion is a new pursuing. This is the mind of purse. This is not the same with the other chases. If you want to own a pair of Christian Louboutin pumps, it is a desire for material. The new religion is a pursuit of the spirit.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.642142117023468}
+{"content": "Posted on\n\nDesigning Process of Custom Coins\n\nCreating a design for custom coins is easy. However, if you want unique challenge coins, you have to consider many aspects of designing process and creating the final piece. Though you do not have to attend an art school to create a design for a challenge coin, you still have to remember the following:\n\ncustom coins\n\n\nIt refers to the overall beauty and uniqueness of an artwork. Color adds beauty while the material used enhances the color. Thus, it is important to decide which metal to use for your coin. Some colors are not good with gold plating or with silver plating. For example, darker green maybe good with gold plating but a lighter green may look garish.\nShape also contributes to the overall aesthetic quality of the design. Typically, round is the shape of custom coins but they are not limited to circle. You can choose other shapes such as triangle, square or even a parallelogram, if you want.\nYou can say a customized challenge coin is aesthetically pleasing when someone appreciates the design. Even if that someone is the only person who appreciates your design, it is still aesthetically valuable.\n\n\nIt refers to the idea, and the reason why the coin is created. So, if it is for token of gratitude, the challenge coin shows that it is expressing gratitude to a person. For example, you can insert a simple thank you phrase in the bottom. If the coin is for a membership badge, the coin may contain the logo of the organization and so on and so forth.\n\nProcess of Designing\n\nNow, you know the basics of designing. Next is learning the process. The designing process consists of a series of many steps. It is simple and you can create a design in a matter of minutes.\n\n1.Choose the shape and size\n\nAs mentioned before, you can choose any shape but you have to know if the cost of producing the coin is the same with round custom coins. Perhaps, odd shaped coin costs higher than the typical challenge coins. If you do not have the money to spend much in coin creation, you can always change the design shape if odd shape is more expensive.\n\nThe smallest size for a challenge coin is 1.5 inches and the largest is 3 inches. If your customized coin is round, you can maximize the space of the chosen size. With odd shape sizes, your coin may look smaller than the actual size due to trimming on the edges. From the round size, the coin is trimmed to complete the desired shape.\n\n2.Decide on the metal plating\n\nMetals used in custom coins production are polished gold, brass, nickel, and copper. You can have your coin single or dual toned. Single tone uses one type of metal while dual tone uses two metal plating. Dual tone plating costs more.\n\n3.Create the artwork\n\nIt is where the real work begins. You decide what images to place in your coin, colors to choose, and the words to capture the theme. To maximize the space, you can either choose to create a one sided or two sided coin. One-sided coins are usually seen as accents to trophies while most challenge coins are two sided.\n\n4.Select the rendering of the design\n\nRendering of the design refers to the dimensions. Will it be 2D or 3D? 3D offers contour to your images. It makes the images in your coin look real. On the other hand, 2D lacks the depth of a three-dimensional rendering but still looks beautiful on the finished piece. As to costs, 3D is more expensive.\n\n5.Revise, if necessary\n\nIf you are not satisfied with the overall appearance, you can always either revise the artwork or start from the beginning.\n\nDesigning maybe complicated but when you know what you want for your coin, it is easy. You can use ordinary paper or a leaf from your notepad to create your design. Nowadays, custom coins maker are skillful that even the most artless sketch can be transformed into a coin masterpiece.\n\nAuthor Bio:\n\nNo matter what kind of custom coins you’re looking for, Challenge Coins 4 Less is the answer. If you want military challenge coins, we can furnish coins your unit will carry and display with pride.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5940694212913513}
+{"content": "Diving into a pool or lake during summer activities may land you in a wheelchair for the rest of your life; over 800 people per year suffer a spinal cord injury from diving in head first. These injuries are preventable—just remember to always go in feet first when entering pools, ponds, lakes, and the ocean.\n\nPerhaps you didn’t see a sign warning you of danger. Maybe you didn’t know that the “No Diving” sign meant the water was too shallow. Or you thought the water was deep enough because it had been the last time you dove in. But 1000 other people thought that too and ended up with broken necks, paralysis, or even worse, didn’t make it through the injury.\n\nContinue Reading Just Don’t Dive! Go in Feet First to Avoid Spinal Cord Injuries.\n\nParalysis is a life changing condition that can be caused by medical conditions like multiple sclerosis, but in many cases results from a traumatic accident or injury that leaves the person with a spinal cord, head, and/or brain injury. Repairing nerve and muscle damage or a break in the connection between the brain and the rest of the body is extraordinarily difficult and sometimes considered impossible. But new research and advances in technology are bringing hope to people who have been partially or fully paralyzed.\n\nDepending on the type of injury, different surgical methods can be used to repair injured areas of the body. Peripheral Nerve Surgery is used to sew severed nerves back together or to apply a nerve graft to reconnect sensation and movement to an area. Another method is a muscle transplant to replace damaged muscle with working muscle from another area of the body, e.g., the thigh for the bicep. In cases where the brain has lost control of a part of the body due to spinal cord injury, new advanced research is being done with computers and implants to stimulate the brain function and restore movement. One such method is called functional electrical stimulation (FES) which uses electrical pulses to restore muscle function.\n\nContinue Reading Groundbreaking Treatments for Patients with Partial or Full Paralysis", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.782964289188385}
+{"content": "South Korea's Moon says he's against having nuclear arms despite North Korea threat\n\nPublished: 5:55 PM, September 14, 2017\n\nSEOUL - South Korean President Moon Jae-in said on Thursday he was against bringing nuclear weapons into his country despite North Korea's nuclear threats.\n\nIntroducing nuclear weapons in South Korea would make it impossible for the two Koreas to establish peace and could fuel an nuclear arms race in Northeast Asia, Moon said in an interview with CNN, according to the presidential Blue House. REUTERS", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9619035720825195}
+{"content": "A Special Wish Foundation, Inc. is a non-profit charitable organization dedicated to granting the wishes of children under the age of 21 who have been diagnosed with a life-threatening disorder.chemo duck\n\nFounded in 1982, A Special Wish Foundation was one of the first wish-granting organizations in the United States, and now has chapters across the U.S. and one in Moscow, Russia. Since 1982, wishes have been granted to thousands of qualifying children.\n\nA Special Wish Foundation is the only major wish-granting organization in the United States that grants wishes to qualifying infants, children, and adolescents from birth through and including the age of 20 years.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9992660880088806}
+{"content": "1. Study suggests playing smartphone health app aids concussion recovery in teens\n\n    September 1, 2017 by Ashley\n\n    From the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center press release:\n\n    Generally, after suffering a concussion, patients are encouraged to avoid reading, watching TV and using mobile devices to help their brains heal. But new research shows that teen-agers who used a mobile health app once a day in conjunction with medical care improved concussion symptoms and optimism more than with standard medical treatment alone.\n\n    Researchers from The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center collaborated on the study with Jane McGonigal of the Institute for the Future, who developed the mobile health app called SuperBetter after she suffered a concussion.\n\n    Results of the study are published online in the journal Brain Injury.\n\n    The 19 teens who participated in the study received standard of care for concussion symptoms that persisted beyond 3 weeks after the head injury, and the experimental group also used the SuperBetter app as a gamified symptoms journal.\n\n    “We found that mobile apps incorporating social game mechanics and a heroic narrative can complement medical care to improve health among teenagers with unresolved concussion symptoms, said first author Lise Worthen-Chaudhari, a physical rehabilitation specialist who studies movement at Ohio State’s Wexner Medical Center’s Neurological Institute.\n\n    The American Academy of Neurology recommends limiting cognitive and physical effort and prohibiting sports involvement until a concussed individual is asymptomatic without using medication. However, this level of physical, cognitive and social inactivity represents a lifestyle change with its own risk factors, including social isolation, depression and increased incidence of suicidal ideology, the researchers noted.\n\n    In addition, cognitive rest often involves limiting screen stimulation associated with popular modes of interpersonal interaction, such as text messaging and social networking on digital platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and multiplayer video gaming, thereby blocking common avenues for social connection.\n\n    “Teens who’ve had a concussion are told not to use media or screens, and we wanted to test if it was possible for them to use screens just a little bit each day, and get the bang for the buck with that,” Worthen-Chaudhari said. “The app rewrites things you might be frustrated about as a personal, heroic narrative. So you might start out feeling ‘I’m frustrated. I can’t get rid of this headache,’ and then the app helps reframe that frustration to ‘I battled the headache bad guy today. And I feel good about that hard work’.”\n\n    Concussion symptoms can include a variety of complaints, including headaches, confusion, depression, sleep disturbance, fatigue, irritability, agitation, anxiety, dizziness, difficulty concentrating or thinking clearly, sensitivity to light and noise, and impaired cognitive function.\n\n    Within the SuperBetter app, symptoms were represented as bad guys such as headaches, dizziness or feeling confused, and medical recommendations were represented as power ups, including sleep, sunglasses or an academic concussion management plan. Participants invited allies to join their personal network in the app and they could view their in-app activity and could send resilience points, achievements, comments and personalized emails in response to activity.\n\n    “Since 2005, the rate of reported concussions in high school athletes has doubled, and youth are especially at risk,” said study collaborator Dr. Kelsey Logan, director of the division of sports medicine at Cincinnati Children’s. “Pairing the social, mobile app SuperBetter with traditional medical care appears to improve outcomes and optimism for youth with unresolved concussion symptoms. More study is needed to investigate ways that leveraging interactive media may complement medical care and promote health outcomes among youth with concussion and the general population.”\n\n  2. Brain injury in kids might lead to alcohol abuse\n\n    August 28, 2017 by Ashley\n\n    From the Frontiers press release:\n\n    Researchers at Ohio State University have surveyed previous studies to investigate the relationship between traumatic brain injuries and alcohol abuse. They found evidence that traumatic brain injuries in children and adolescents could be a risk-factor for alcohol abuse in later life.\n\n    When we think of the link between alcohol and traumatic brain injuries, we probably think of a person’s increased risk of injury while drunk. Alcohol intoxication is indeed a significant risk factor for traumatic brain injuries, and one study has reported that alcohol use is involved in as many as 50% of emergency department admissions for traumatic brain injuries in the US.\n\n    Intriguingly, an animal study conducted by Zachary Weil, a researcher at Ohio State University, made him suspect that the converse might also be true, particularly in young people. “We recently reported that mice that experience a traumatic brain injury as juveniles drink significantly more alcohol as adults,” says Weil. “When we started to look at the human literature it became clear that alcohol and traumatic brain injuries were very connected. There were some hints that brain injuries might actually make someone more susceptible to alcohol abuse.”\n\n    Weil was inspired to look more closely at the past literature, and what he and his team found was recently published in Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience. The researchers found that it was difficult to tell if their hypothesis was true in adults. “So many adults that have brain injuries are already heavy drinkers and therefore it’s really hard to tell for sure if a brain injury has affected their drinking,” explains Weil.\n\n    However, for people who suffer a traumatic brain injury in childhood or adolescence, there was a clearer link to alcohol abuse problems in later life. For example, children under 5 years of age who suffer a traumatic brain injury are over 3.6 times more likely to exhibit substance abuse as teenagers, compared with uninjured children.\n\n    So, why would a traumatic brain injury potentially lead to alcohol abuse? The team found evidence in the literature that brain injury can negatively affect factors that are associated with reducing alcohol abuse. For example, forming stable romantic relationships, getting involved in extracurricular activities and maintaining full-time employment are all associated with a reduced risk of substance abuse, but all are less likely in brain injury survivors.\n\n    Traumatic brain injuries can also make people more impulsive and less aware of the consequences of their actions, and there is also evidence that brain injury survivors may use alcohol to help deal with the negative consequences of their injury.\n\n    Beyond its psychological effects, traumatic brain injury can cause significant inflammation in the brain. Alcohol also generates neuroinflammation, and evidence from animal studies suggests that this inflammation might drive further drinking.\n\n    Finally, traumatic brain injuries can damage specific neurochemical systems in the brain that are vulnerable during childhood development, such as the dopaminergic system. A dysfunctional dopaminergic system is a risk factor for substance abuse, suggesting another potential link between childhood brain injury and alcohol abuse in adulthood.\n\n    So, how can we address the problem? “This is an important issue because drinking after brain injury is associated with health problems and poorer outcomes. Specifically targeting substance abuse problems in the brain-injured population could do a lot of good,” says Weil.\n\n    The researchers caution that the link between brain injuries and alcohol abuse has not yet been completely established and more work is needed. “This has not been completely confirmed in humans, but there is a lot of suggestive evidence,” explains Weil.\n\n  3. Study suggests PTSD may have a physical component as well\n\n    August 4, 2017 by Ashley\n\n    From the American Academy of Neurology press release:\n\n    The part of the brain that helps control emotion may be larger in people who develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after brain injury compared to those with a brain injury without PTSD, according to a study released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s Sports Concussion Conference in Jacksonville, Fla., July 14 to 16, 2017.\n\n    “Many consider PTSD to be a psychological disorder, but our study found a key physical difference in the brains of military-trained individuals with brain injury and PTSD, specifically the size of the right amygdala,” said Joel Pieper, MD, MS, of University of California, San Diego. “These findings have the potential to change the way we approach PTSD diagnosis and treatment.”\n\n    In the brain there is a right and left amygdala. Together, they help control emotion, memories, and behavior. Research suggests the right amygdala controls fear and aversion to unpleasant stimuli.\n\n    For this study, researchers studied 89 current or former members of the military with mild traumatic brain injury. Using standard symptom scale ratings, 29 people were identified with significant PTSD. The rest had mild traumatic brain injury without PTSD.\n\n    The researchers used brain scans to measure the volume of various brain regions. The subjects with mild traumatic brain injury and PTSD had 6 percent overall larger amygdala volumes, particularly on the right side, compared to those with mild traumatic brain injury only.\n\n    No significant differences in age, education or gender between the PTSD and control groups were found.\n\n    “People who suffered a concussion and had PTSD demonstrated a larger amygdala size, so we wonder if amygdala size could be used to screen who is most at risk to develop PTSD symptoms after a mild traumatic brain injury,” said Pieper. “On the other hand, if there are environmental or psychological cues that lead to brain changes and enlargement of the amygdala, then maybe such influences can be monitored and treated.”\n\n    “Further studies are needed to better define the relationship between amygdala size and PTSD in mild traumatic brain injury,” said Pieper. “Also, while these findings are significant, it remains to be seen whether similar results may be found in those with sports-related concussions.”\n\n    He pointed out that these participants’ brain injuries were caused mostly by blast injuries as opposed to sports-related concussions. The study also shows only an association and does not prove PTSD causes structural changes in the amygdala.\n\n  4. Traumatic brain injury associated with dementia in working-age adults\n\n    July 26, 2017 by Ashley\n\n    From the University of Helsinki press release:\n\n    According to a study encompassing the entire Finnish population, traumatic brain injury associated with an increased risk for dementia in working-age adults. Yet, no such relationship was found between traumatic brain injury and later onset of Parkinson’s disease or ALS.\n\n    The researchers believe that these results may play a significant role for the rehabilitation and long-term monitoring of traumatic brain injury patients.\n\n    Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) are among the top causes of death and disability, particularly among the young and middle aged. Approximately one in three that suffer from moderate-to-severe TBI die, and approximately half of the survivors will suffer from life-long disabilities.\n\n    Degenerative brain diseases include memory disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease as well as Parkinson’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). While the connection between TBI and degenerative brain diseases has been known, no comprehensive research data exist on the impact of TBI on degenerative brain diseases among adults of working age.\n\n    Researchers from the University of Helsinki and the Helsinki University Hospital have now examined the relationship between TBI and degenerative brain diseases in a study encompassing the entire Finnish population. The study combined several nationwide registers to monitor more than 40,000 working-age adults, who survived the initial TBI, for ten years. Importantly, the persons´ level of education and socioeconomic status were accounted for.\n\n    “It seems that the risk for developing dementia after TBI is the highest among middle-aged men. The more severe the TBI, the higher the risk for subsequent dementia. While previous studies have identified good education and high socioeconomic status as protective factors against dementia, we did not discover a similar effect among TBI survivors,” explains Rahul Raj, docent of experimental neurosurgery and one of the primary authors of the study.\n\n    A significant discovery is that the risk of dementia among TBI survivors who have seemingly recovered well remains high for years after the injury. Raj points out that TBI patients may occasionally be incorrectly diagnosed with dementia due to the damage caused by the TBI itself, but such possible errors were considered in the study.\n\n    “According to our results, it might be so that the TBI triggers a process that later leads to dementia.”\n\n    “These results are significant for the rehabilitation and monitoring of TBI patients. Such a reliable study of the long-term impact of TBI has previously been impossible,” says Professor Jaakko Kaprio, a member of the research group.\n\n    The WHO has predicted that TBI will become a leading cause of death and long-term illness during the next ten years. Already one per cent of the population in the United States suffers from a long-term disability caused by TBI. In western countries, the ageing of the population and age-related accidents increase the amount of TBIs, while in Asia, TBIs caused by traffic accidents are on the rise.\n\n    Dementia is commonly seen as a problem of the elderly. However, the Finnish study shows that TBI may cause dementia to develop before old age, and that dementia caused by injuries are much more common than was thought.\n\n    “It is a tragedy when an adult of working age develops dementia after recovering from a brain injury, not just for the patient and their families, but it also negatively impacts the whole society. In the future, it will be increasingly important to prevent TBIs and to develop rehabilitation and long-term monitoring for TBI patients,” says Docent Raj.\n\n  5. No link seen between traumatic brain injury and cognitive decline\n\n    July 24, 2017 by Ashley\n\n    From the Boston University Medical Center press release:\n\n    Although much research has examined traumatic brain injury (TBI) as a possible risk factor for later life dementia from neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD), little is known regarding how TBI influences the rate of age-related cognitive change. A new study now shows that history of TBI (with loss of consciousness) does not appear to affect the rate of cognitive change over time for participants with normal cognition or even those with AD dementia.\n\n    These findings appear in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.\n\n    More than 10 million individuals worldwide are affected annually by TBI, however the true prevalence is likely even greater given that a majority of TBIs are mild in severity and may not be recognized or reported. TBI is a major public health and socioeconomic concern resulting in $11.5 billion in direct medical costs and $64.8 billion in indirect costs to the U.S. health system in 2010 alone.\n\n    According to the researchers the relationship between TBI and long-term cognitive trajectories remains poorly understood due to limitations of previous studies, including small sample sizes, short follow-up periods, biased samples, high attrition rates, limited or no reports of exposure to repetitive head impacts (such as those received through contact sports), and very brief cognitive test batteries.\n\n    In an effort to examine this possible connection, researchers compared performance on cognitive tests over time for 706 participants (432 with normal cognition; 274 AD dementia) from the National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center database. Normal and AD dementia participants with a history of TBI with loss of consciousness were matched to an equal number of demographically and clinically similar participants without a TBI history. The researchers also examined the possible role of genetics in the relationship between TBI and cognitive decline by studying a gene known to increase risk for AD dementia, the APOE ?4 gene.\n\n    “Although we expected the rates of cognitive change to differ significantly between those with a history of TBI compared to those with no history of TBI, we found no significant difference between the groups, regardless of their APOE genotype,” explained corresponding author Robert Stern, PhD, Director of the Clinical Core of the Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease Center (BU ADC) and professor of neurology, neurosurgery and anatomy and neurobiology at Boston University School of Medicine.\n\n    The study’s first author Yorghos Tripodis, PhD, Associate Director of the Data Management and Biostatistics Core of the BU ADC and associate professor of Biostatistics at Boston University School of Public Health, cautioned, “Our findings should still be interpreted cautiously due to the crude and limited assessment of TBI history available through the NACC database.” The researchers recommended that future studies should collect information on the number of past TBIs (including mild TBIs, as well as exposure to sub-concussive trauma through contact sports and other activities) along with time since TBI, which may play a significant role in cognitive change.\n\n  6. Strategic brain training positively affects neural connectivity for individuals with TBI\n\n    June 5, 2017 by Ashley\n\n    From the Center for BrainHealth press release:\n\n    A recent study from the Center for BrainHealth at The University of Texas at Dallas shows that a certain type of instructor-led brain training protocol can stimulate structural changes in the brain and neural connections even years after a traumatic brain injury (TBI).\n\n    The findings, published in Brain and Behavior, further suggest that changes in cortical thickness and neural network connectivity may prove an effective way to quantitatively measure treatment efficacy, an ability that has not existed until now. Building upon previous research, the study challenges the widely held belief that recovery from a TBI is limited to two years after an injury.\n\n    “A TBI disrupts brain structure. These brain changes can interfere with brain network communication and the cognitive functions those networks support,” said Dr. Kihwan Han, research scientist at the Center for BrainHealth and lead author of the study.\n\n    “For people with chronic TBI, they may have trouble with daily tasks such as creating shopping lists and resolving conflicts with others for many years after the injury. These findings provide hope for people who thought, ‘This is as good as my recovery is going to get’ and for the medical community who have yet to find a way to objectively measure a patient’s recovery,” he said.\n\n    The study included 60 adults with TBI symptoms lasting an average of eight years. Participants were randomly placed into one of two cognitive training groups: strategy-based training or knowledge-based training. Over an eight-week period, the strategy-based training group learned strategies to improve attention and reasoning. The knowledge-based training group learned information about the structure and function of the brain as well as the effects of sleep and exercise on brain performance.\n\n    Magnetic resonance imaging measured cortical thickness and resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) before training, after training and three months post-training. Previous studies have shown that cortical thickness and rsFC can be potential markers for training-induced brain changes.\n\n    Individuals in the strategy-based reasoning training showed a greater change in cortical thickness and connectivity compared to individuals who received the knowledge-based training. Changes in cortical thickness and functional connectivity also correlated to an individual’s ability to switch between tasks quickly and consistently to achieve a specific goal.\n\n    “People who showed the greatest change in cortical thickness and connectivity, showed the greatest performance increases in our cognitive tasks. Perhaps future studies could investigate the added benefit of brain stimulation treatments in combination with cognitive training for individuals with chronic TBI who experience problems with attention, memory or executive functions,” Han said.\n\n    The work was supported by the Department of Defense, the Meadows Foundation and the Friends of BrainHealth Distinguished New Scientist Award.\n\n  7. How the injured brain tells the body it’s hurt\n\n    May 30, 2017 by Ashley\n\n    From the Johns Hopkins Medicine press release:\n\n    Johns Hopkins researchers say they have identified a new way that cells in the brain alert the rest of the body to recruit immune cells when the brain is injured. The work was completed in mouse models that mimic infection, stroke or trauma in humans.\n\n    Investigators already knew there was a communication highway between the brain and the immune system but have been unclear about how exactly how the brain sends signals to the immune system. While immune system cells’ purpose is to defend and protect the body, ironically the brain’s “call to arms” may cause more harm than good when it instructs immune cells to enter into the brain. The persistence of these cells can cause chronic inflammation and damage the brain.\n\n    In their new study, described in Science Signaling April 13, Johns Hopkins researchers say there is evidence that vesicles or small (about the size of a virus), fat-like molecules and protein-filled sacks released from a type of immune cell in the brain called astrocytes travel through the bloodstream to the liver. The liver then instructs white blood cells to go to the site of injury in the brain.\n\n    “This work describes an entirely new way that the brain talks with the body,” says Norman Haughey, Ph.D., professor of neurology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. “Identifying this pathway has helped us pinpoint ways to impede this process and reduce brain damage brought on by the body’s own excessive immune response.”\n\n    Because of the work of several other collaborators, Haughey says, his team knew that some sort of inflammation-promoting molecule was released from brain and targeted to the liver after brain injury to send immune system cells to the damaged area, but the identity of this go-between had been elusive for years.\n\n    The questions remained of what the signal was, and how, exactly, the signal got all the way to the liver from the brain, particularly since the blood-brain barrier prevents many molecules in the brain from crossing over into the rest of the body, just as it prevents molecules from getting into the brain. The team focused on an enzyme called neutral sphingomyelinase, known as nSMase2, which they knew from a separate project was turned on by an immune system chemical messenger, a cytokine interleukin 1-beta (IL-1b) that promotes inflammation. Sphingomyelinases like nSMase2 play a normal role in the cell’s metabolism by breaking down fatty molecules into smaller components that cells use for every day functions.\n\n    To see if possibly nSMase2 was also involved in alerting the immune system during brain injury, the researchers mimicked brain injury in mice by injecting cytokine IL-1b into the striatum, a structure found in the deep center of the brain. As a comparison group, they injected saline (saltwater) in the same brain area of other mice. They also injected the mouse brains with both the cytokine IL-1b and a drug called altenusin that blocks the nSMase enzyme from working.\n\n    Twenty-four hours after the injection, the researchers saw large numbers of immune system white blood cells in tissue samples of the rodent brains near the site of injury of those mice injected with the cytokine IL-1b, but not in the brain tissue of the control group of mice. In addition, they no longer saw the same large influx of white blood cells into the brain when they used the drug that inhibited nSMase, with the number of white blood cells in the brain dropping by about 90 percent. This finding told the researchers of nSMase2’s involvement but still didn’t tell them about the signal sent from the brain to activate the body’s immune response. According to Haughey, after many failed experiments to determine the brain’s messenger, he visited his colleague and collaborator Daniel Anthony at Oxford University, who introduced him to the concept of “exosomes” — miniature vesicles released from cells.\n\n    “That conversation was the ‘Ah-ha’ moment when it all began to make sense,” says Haughey.\n\n    He read earlier studies showing that the enzyme nSMase2 was required for forming and releasing exosomes. Exosomes form inside cell compartments and release outside the cell when these compartments fuse with the cell’s surrounding membrane. Exosomes are surrounded by bits of cell membrane and filled with proteins and different types of the genetic material RNA.\n\n    To test that exosomes were the source of this brain to body communication, Haughey’s research team isolated exosomes from the blood of mice four hours after injecting the cytokine IL-1b into brain and then injected the exosomes into the tail veins of different mice that had the cytokine and the nSMase-blocking drug altenusin already in their brains.\n\n    The researchers found that white blood cells in healthy mice who received exosomes from the blood of the mice with brain damage traveled to the site of brain injury, which the researchers say demonstrates that exosomes released from brain in response to damage alert the immune system to send the immune cell sentinels to the brain.\n\n    When they stripped the vesicles of protein and their genetic cargo and injected them back into mice, the blood cells no longer went to the site of brain injury.\n\n    Finally, the researchers analyzed the protein and genetic material contents of the exosomes in an effort to identify the molecules inside that alerted the immune system to brain damage. They found 10 unique proteins and 23 microRNAs — short bits of RNA that don’t code for genes — at increased levels in the vesicles. Several of these components had connections to a specific mechanism used by the liver to activate inflammation.\n\n    “Given the therapeutic potential of the nSMase target, we’re now working closely with Drs. Barbara Slusher, Camilo Rojas, Ajit Thomas and colleagues at the Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery facility to identify potent inhibitors of the nSMase enzyme which can be developed for clinical use,” says Haughey.\n\n  8. Brain injury causes impulse control problems in rats\n\n    May 24, 2017 by Ashley\n\n    From the University of British Columbia press release:\n\n    New research from the University of British Columbia confirms for the first time that even mild brain injury can result in impulse control problems in rats.\n\n    The study, published in the Journal of Neurotrauma, also found that the impulsivity problems may be linked to levels of an inflammatory molecule in the brain, and suggest that targeting the molecule could be helpful for treatment.\n\n    “Few studies have looked at whether traumatic brain injuries cause impulse control problems,” said the study’s lead author, Cole Vonder Haar, a former postdoctoral research fellow in the UBC department of psychology who is now an assistant professor at West Virginia University. “This is partly because people who experience a brain injury are sometimes risk-takers, making it difficult to know if impulsivity preceded the brain injury or was caused by it. But our study confirms for the first time that even a mild brain injury can cause impulse control problems.”\n\n    For the study, researchers gave rats with brain injuries a reward test to measure impulsivity.\n\n    Rats that were unable to wait for the delivery of a large reward, and instead preferred an immediate, but small reward, were considered more impulsive.\n\n    The researchers found that impulsivity in the rats increased regardless of the severity of the brain injury. The impulsivity also persisted eight weeks after injury in animals with a mild injury, even after memory and motor function returned.\n\n    “These findings have implications for how brain injury patients are treated and their progress is measured,” said Vonder Haar. “If physicians are only looking at memory or motor function, they wouldn’t notice that the patient is still being affected by the injury in terms of impulsivity.”\n\n    After analyzing samples of frontal cortex brain tissue, the researchers also found a substantial increase in levels of an inflammatory molecule, known as interleukin-12, that correlated with levels of impulsivity. Interleukins are groups of proteins and molecules responsible for regulating the body’s immune system.\n\n    The study builds on the researchers’ previous findings about the link between interleukin-12 and impulsivity.\n\n    Catharine Winstanley, the study’s senior author and associate professor in the UBC department of psychology, said the findings are important because impulsivity is linked to addiction vulnerability.\n\n    “Addiction can be a big problem for patients with traumatic brain injuries,” she said. “If we can target levels of interleukin-12, however, that could potentially provide a new treatment target to address impulsivity in these patients.”\n\n  9. Brain’s power to adapt offers short-term gains, long-term strains\n\n    May 9, 2017 by Ashley\n\n    From the Penn State press release:\n\n    Like air-traffic controllers scrambling to reconnect flights when a major hub goes down, the brain has a remarkable ability to rewire itself after suffering an injury. However, maintaining these new connections between brain regions can strain the brain’s resources, which can lead to serious problems later, including Alzheimer’s Disease, according to researchers.\n\n    After a head injury, the brain can show enhanced connectivity by using alternative routes between two previously connected regions of the brain that need to communicate, as well as make stronger connections, said Frank G. Hillary, associate professor of psychology, Penn State. These new connections between damaged areas are often referred to as hyperconnections, he added.\n\n    Hyperconnectivity has been called a compensatory reaction to brain injury and it’s a little counterintuitive because it implies that the brain can increase its functional response when you take away physical resources,” said Hillary. “If the axon — the physical connection — between brain areas is removed, the brain can retain that connection functionally by using alternative routes. So what we’re seeing is there are all sorts of ways in which the brain can adapt and one way is to heighten the response, but the question is what does that do for you in the short term and what are the potential secondary consequences in the long term.”\n\n    Because neural networks are typically designed to communicate as efficiently as possible, disruptions may mean that new networks are less efficient and use more energy, said Hillary, who worked with Jordan H. Grafman, director, brain injury research at Shirley Ryan Abilitylab and professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation, neurology and psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Northwestern University in Chicago.\n\n    It’s costly metabolically and it’s costly with respect to how quickly you think,” said Hillary. “One of the primary cognitive deficits in all neurological disorders — multiple sclerosis, traumatic brain injury, schizophrenia — is impairments in how quickly you can think, called processing speed. In neurological disorders, processing speed diminishes and it can be related to a decrease in brain efficiency.”\n\n    Over time, these chronic inefficiencies may cascade into serious brain disorders, according to the researchers, who report their findings in the current issue of Trends in Cognitive Science.\n\n    “If we know which patients would be susceptible to pathological hyperconnectivity following a traumatic brain injury, we might be able to develop new interventions to alter the course of that process,” said Grafman. Prior research has suggested a connection between brain injury and Alzheimer’s Disease, according to the researchers.\n\n    “We know that brain injury is a risk factor for Alzheimer’s Disease later in life and the long-term effect of hyperconnections may be a link to how it happens,” said Hillary, who also is a faculty member at Penn State College of Medicine.\n\n    Just as inefficient motors tend to pollute more, inefficient neural connections may build up harmful deposits that can further impair the brain. Although other factors, such as genetics, are likely involved, the researchers noted that higher deposits of amyloid beta — a marker of Alzheimer’s Disease — are often located at sites where there is the highest connectivity.\n\n    “Where there’s a lot of activity going on, it increases metabolic byproducts and if you don’t clear them, they collect,” said Hillary. “Heavy activation, heavy connectivity can put pressure on network hubs and that’s why those hubs are some of the first to go in Alzheimer’s.”\n\n    While more research is needed and possible treatment targets for Alzheimer’s or other neurological conditions remain uncertain, Hillary said the findings underscore the need to take precautions against brain injury.\n\n    “What I always tell my students is be good to your brain,” said Hillary. “You only get one brain and while it can adapt to some injuries over your life, there is probably a cost for those adjustments.”\n\n  10. Study suggests traumatic brain injuries affect women differently\n\n    April 8, 2017 by Ashley\n\n    From the Endocrine Society press release:\n\n    Traumatic brain injuries affect the body’s stress axis differently in female and male mice, according to research presented at the Endocrine Society’s 99th annual meeting, ENDO 2017, in Orlando, Fla. The results could help explain why women who experience blast injuries face a greater risk of developing mental health problems than men.\n\n    About 1.5 million people are diagnosed with traumatic brain injury (TBI) each year. Blast injuries are particularly common in the military population. Between 15 percent and 30 percent of soldiers who experience a TBI are later diagnosed with neuropsychiatric disorders such as depression, anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Even though men are more likely to experience a TBI, women have an elevated risk of developing mental health disorders due to the injury.\n\n    The study examined how blast injuries disrupt the stress axis, specifically the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, a signaling pathway involved in the body’s stress response. The hormones produced by the glands in the stress axis affect parts of the brain involved in regulating fear and anxiety.\n\n    “The study suggests that mild blast traumatic brain injuries dysregulate the neuroendocrine stress axis differently in women and men,” said Ashley Russell, the first author and a Neuroscience Ph.D. candidate at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) in Bethesda, Md. “The research provides a missing link between a mild blast injury and the subsequent development of neuropsychiatric disorders such as anxiety and PTSD.”\n\n    Researchers exposed both male and female mice to a mild blast injury of 15 psi using the ORA Advanced Blast Simulator at USU. When compared to mice that did not receive blast injury, injured mice produced altered levels of corticosterone, a hormone released when the stress axis is activated. This difference in the stress response was observed both short- and long-term post blast injury. Blast-injured female mice showed greater dysregulation of corticosterone levels than male mice with TBI.\n\n    The scientists also sought to examine how a stressor may alter activation of corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) neurons in various brain regions involved in fear and anxiety regulation. In response to a stressor, female mice had heightened activation of CRF neurons in the stress integration center of the brain compared to male mice, an effect attributed to circulating estrogen levels.\n\n    Understanding precisely how TBI can interfere with the body’s stress response may open the door to developing better interventions to treat both TBI and the resulting mental health conditions, Russell said.\n\n    “Traumatic brain injury causes short- and long-term neuroendocrine dysregulation that may result in anxiety- and stress-related disorders,” she said. “Unfortunately, there are no therapeutic interventions to mitigate this response. More research is needed in this area to determine why these effects occur and how to treat them.”", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9691045880317688}
+{"content": "Homeopathy stimulates the body’s self-healing powers by resolving the metabolic disturbances that lead to diabetes. Its ingredients are safe for long term use and provide the right therapeutic measure to treat the metabolic condition of diabetic patient that is needed in addition to right nutritional measure (proper diet). Homeopathy is the most suited remedy for treatment of Diabetes as it provides the potential to slow down or arrest the onset of ailment in early stages and in more advanced cases acts as a  safe concomitant to reduce the dosage of stronger medication.\n\nDisplay: List Grid\nSort By:\n\nAllen A08 Homeopathic Drops for Diabetes\n\nAllen A08 Diabetes Drops is indicated for treatment of Diabetes (a disorder of the metabolism causin...\nBased on 0 reviews.\n$4.76USD $4.42USD 7% OFF\n\nDr Raj Diabecom Drops for Diabetes\n\nDr Raj Diabecom Drops for increased amount of sugar in blood and urine. Symptoms of diabetes mellitu...\nBased on 0 reviews.\n\nDr.Bakshi B20 Sugar Drops for Diabetes symptoms, Hyperglycemia\n\nDr.Bakshi's homeopathic liquid preparation for treatment of Sugar control (Diabetes)Dr. Bakshis B20 ...\nBased on 0 reviews.\n$4.59USD $4.25USD 7% OFF\n\nHapdco Sugarin Drops for Control of Diabetes\n\nHapdco Sugarin Drops for Control of Diabetes is an effective hypoglycemic medicine to controls diabe...\nBased on 0 reviews.\n$3.06USD $2.79USD 9% OFF\n\nHaslab HC 73 Uranium Nitricum Complex Tablets\n\nHaslab HC 73 Uranium Nitricum Complex Tablet is a powerful remedy as an adjuvant therapy along with ...\nBased on 0 reviews.\n\nSBL Dibonil Tablets for Maturity Onset Diabetes\n\nSBL Dibonil tablets is indicated for maturity onset diabetes metllitus or non insulin dependent diab...\nBased on 0 reviews.\n$4.76USD $4.28USD 10% OFF\n\nSBL Syzygium Jambolanum 1x Tablet\n\nIntroduction: Blood glucose levels are controlled by insulin, a hormone produced by pancreas. When b...\nBased on 0 reviews.\n$4.08USD $3.88USD 5% OFF\n\nSchwabe Biocombination BC7 Diabetes Tablets for increased Thirst, Urine, Sleeplessness,\n\nSchwabe Biocombination 7 Diabetes Tablets is indicated for increased micturition, pain in calves, th...\nBased on 0 reviews.\n$2.45USD $2.24USD 8% OFF\n\nSchwabe Syzygium jambolanum 1x tablets for increased Blood & Urine Sugar, Type 2 Diabetes\n\nSchwabe Syzygium jambolanum 1x Tablet is indicated for Increased amount of sugar in the blood and ur...\nBased on 0 reviews.\n\nSt George Diabeto-Nil Drops - An Ideal Remedy for Diabetes\n\nHomeopathic Medicine For DiabetesDiabetes is a disease in which the body cannot control the level of...\nBased on 0 reviews.\n$4.08USD $3.84USD 6% OFF\n\nWheezal Diabonal Drops for Diabetes Control\n\nWheezal Diabonol Drops for Management and Control of Diabetes.Wheezal the No. 1 company having the w...\nBased on 0 reviews.\n\nBaksons Diab Aid Drops\n\nBaksons Diab Aid Drops is a safe anti-diabetic sugar control remedy. Clinically proven homeopathic m...\nBased on 0 reviews.\n$3.74USD $3.57USD 5% OFF", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.937157154083252}
+{"content": "True statisticians must be rolling their eyes at the prevalence of this new tool. There is so much power in proper data collection, and the architects of online surveys know this—yet the City of Edmonton chooses not to be scientific. Why?\n\nA truly scientific online poll would allow each user to complete it only once, among other things. This is an easy setting to configure. StatsCan does this. Political parties do this. Focus groups do this. Academics do this. Anyone serious about data collection does this. There is no value in the data if it is not scientific.\n\nThe fact that the City of Edmonton frequently employs surveys that can be completed multiple times by the same people is a sign that they are not attempting any meaningful collection of data for decision making. I hate to say it, but I’m inclined to believe that the City of Edmonton will only use the biased data collection if that data-set meets their pre-determined narrative. The search for support is the raison d’etre of the Edmonton ‘Insight Community’, which is the main thrust in this dishonest info gathering. If the results are unfavourable to their pet-project du jour, then reference to the collected trove will be sidelined and not cited as evidence to deny a proposal.\n\nThere are radical people on almost every issue, and the most passionate ones will attempt to influence decisions. Some people may choose to fill out surveys hundreds of times to bias the overall results. I personally know of cyclists that suggest they do this to promote their bicycling obsession. Do you really think cycling in Edmonton is as popular as the City will have you believe? Do you know how many millions of dollars x10 are spent on bike infrastructure in Edmonton? Do you really think cars should be secondary? You can believe the City or believe your lying eyes—because the two are telling different stories.\n\nHere’s another example. The media reported that people in Saudi Arabia were completing the Alberta NDP’s online climate change survey which was focused exclusively on engaging Albertans (to understand our pain tolerance to new taxes). You mean the Saudis might be okay with us pricing our oil out of competition?\n\nA more recent example is the criticism of the federal Liberals’ “My Democracy” quiz that has unserious and ambiguous questions that have fungible results. This is not how you consult Canadians on electoral reform, or so many pundits are arguing.\n\nBack to Edmonton: Poorly worded questions are omnipresent in the City’s surveys, such as the one highlighted in this North Side Journal’s picture: “Do you agree with this idea or would you prefer that we keep things as they are or change to something else?” I am not trying to embarrass anyone, but the lack of rigor in this proposition needs to be called out for the sake of professionalism.\n\nThe choices to answer this survey question are various degrees of agreement or disagreement. So is one agreeing with the “idea” or agreeing that we should “change to something else”? Surveys need to be crafted clearly or there is a case for throwing out all of the results. And then you have wasted everyone’s time.\n\nIn addition to the incoherent question in the example, the preamble states that the City has already taken a position—before the survey results are in! So why are we doing the survey? The preamble is also filled with technical jargon that is barely comprehensible to the average resident. What are you saying?\n\nThe City of Edmonton also suffers from clarity issues regarding development permit circulations (those odd pieces of mail that you occasionally receive referencing overlay zoning, rear setbacks, and flanking yards). Your average citizen is not an urban planner (read: technocrat), so the language should be made more accessible to the average citizen. The concepts are easy, but the language is foreign. Most of these notices get discarded due to misunderstanding.\n\nThe City of Edmonton also does targeted research gathering. They go on buses and get people to fill out transit surveys, or they go to rec centres and ask the patrons about their opinions on fitness. Again, these are not representative samples. Again, these results are biased. Again, we cannot trust the data. Again, the City will cite this data to Council in support of initiatives that real people do not want.\n\nAnyone who attempts to complete all of Edmonton’s Insight Community’s surveys will become exhausted, as these surveys are prolific and tax our patriotism. The City is wearing out goodwill with token consultation. We want to provide meaningful input, but we are constantly asked inane questions without a clear understanding of how our input fits into the black box of municipal decision making.\n\nIs this why the City is always woefully wrong on what the residents of Ward 3 want? The City either does not know what real people think, or they ignore the north side opinion. I am the only candidate for Council that is championing the north side. I always say “Ward 3 First, North Side Second, the Rest of Edmonton Third.”\n\nAlthough it may be difficult to administer, I support properly administered plebiscites or referenda to gather opinions between elections. I believe that we should have votes on a series of properly-vetted questions, as agreed upon by Council. For example: should we be building more LRT? Should we give money to a millionaire to build the Oilers a new arena? Should we have closed the functioning city centre airport? Should speed limits be changed? Should property taxes be hiked again? Until such a system is in place, you should provide extreme prejudice in your municipal council vote. Choose your councillor wisely. Local issues probably impact your day-to-day life more than provincial or federal ones. We live here.\n\n\n[Since writing the above, I have spelled out a realistic way in which referenda can be readily administered. For that, click here]\n\nJon Dziadyk, \n\n\nNorth Side Journal", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9420687556266785}
+{"content": "Ireland moves to become 1st country to divest from fossil fuels in parliamentary vote\n\nIreland's parliament has become the first in the world to vote to divest from fossil fuels, paving the way for a historic ban on government investment in nonrenewable energy.\n\nThe Irish parliament, the Dail, voted 90 to 53 to pass the historic Fossil Fuel Divestment Bill on Thursday.\n\nThe bill was penned “in light of the urgency to phase out fossil fuel exploration, extraction and combustion in a timely manner to enable delivery of the commitment adopted in the Paris Agreement.”\n\nIt enables Ireland to divest its sovereign wealth fund, Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF), worth €8.5 billion, from coal, gas and oil and would see a ban on any further fossil fuels investment going forward.\n\nIndependent MP Thomas Pringle, who introduced the bill, said the bill would send a message to climate change deniers and lobbyists.\n\n“This principle of ethical financing is a symbol to these global corporations that their continual manipulation of climate science, denial of the existence of climate change and their controversial lobbying practices of politicians around the world is no longer tolerated,” Pringle said. “We cannot accept their actions while millions of poor people in underdeveloped nations bear the brunt of climate change forces as they experience famine, mass emigration and civil unrest as a result.”\n\nThe bill was supported by all political parties, except the minority government party Fine Gael.\n\n“National governments have an essential role to play in backing up their Paris pledges by ensuring public funds are well placed to support the clean energy transition, and protected from the inevitable decline of the fossil fuel industry,” Pringle said.\n\nThe bill could become law after being reviewed by the Government financial committee. Once passed, ISIF would have to sell its fossil fuel industries over 5 years.\n\nFossil Free Europe described the event as “an important moment in the history of the divestment movement.”", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9997963905334473}
+{"content": "As a Certified Florida Supreme Court Mediator, Jill Schwartz provides mediation services for all types of civil litigation, including employment law matters. She is also certified by the Fifth District Court of Appeal as an appellate mediator. Additionally, Ms. Schwartz was selected by the EEOC and the U.S. Postal Service to mediate employment matters for these agencies.\n\nMs. Schwartz has continued to attend and conduct seminars on alternative dispute resolution. Ms. Schwartz mediates litigation pending in the United States District Courts and Florida State Courts. She also conducts pre-suit mediation.\n\nMs. Schwartz is a qualified arbitrator and has served as an instructor for the Supreme Court of Florida Dispute Resolution Center, Arbitration Certification Training and the Florida Bar.\n\nOur offices are conveniently located in Winter Park, Florida and provide ample parking and a comfortable, spacious atmosphere in which to conduct mediations.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8569732308387756}
+{"content": "Objective & Scobes\n\nThe congress’s objective is to provide a scientific and expert forum for steakholders of agricultural an food production and enable interactive exchange of knowledge and experiences which would result with benefits for food sector and rural development. The congress will highlight the most important subjects on sustainabilty for Agricultural production and Food Science. The congress will also provide current scientific findings and trends for the different sub-disciplines in agriculture and food sciences. And, also respected keynote speakers will be sharing their experinces with us. The participants from universities, research centers and public institutions will present their own interests by the meeting with the other relavant the people who study in the same areas for further scientific collaborations. The congress programme will be realized through the following main topics;\n\n\n                                                         *Plant Production\n\n                                                         *Animal Production\n\n                                                         *Food Technology\n\n                                                         *Agricultural Economics\n\n                                                         *Landscape Architecture", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.998749315738678}
+{"content": "Boris Lvin (bbb) wrote,\nBoris Lvin\n\nЕще о savings statutes\n\nПока не удалось найти вразумительного объяснения, откуда эти законы взялись.\n\nЗато в одном из решений верховного суда (точнее, в особом мнении одного из судей) нашелся достаточно развернутый анализ и компендиум с разбивкой по штатам - по состоянию на 1971 год. Логика автора совпадает с рассуждениями одного из комментаторов моего предыдущего постинга на эту тему - мол, даже если действие уже не является преступлением, наказанию подлежит сам факт нарушения действующего на тот момент закона. Кроме того, автор утверждает, что традиционная доктрина общего права подразумевала не автоматическое освобождени�� от наказания осужденных по отменяемому закону, а всего лишь прекращение судебного следствия по этому закону. В этом данный автор, похоже, вступает в противоречие с многими другими судебными решениями.\n\nСудя по компендиуму в сноске 2, savings по уголовным приговорам с тюремным заключением на тот момент существовал не во всех штатах - в трех savings был ограниченным, а в Южной Каролине отсутствовал вообще. Интересно, был ли введен с тех пор?\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nИнтересно также решение суда от 1934 года, где само введение закона о savings рассматривается как доказательство существования доктрины общего права об отмене наказания в момент отмены закона (то есть той доктрины, наличие которой - или, по крайней мере, всеобщий характер которой - отрицается в процитированном выше мнении 1971 года). Приводятся ссылки на решения верховного суда - принятые, очевидно, до появления первого закона о savings в 1871 году - подчеркивающие универсальность этой доктрины.\n\nВот цитата из этого решения 1934 года:\n\nIn case a statute is repealed or rendered inoperative, no further proceedings can be had to enforce it in pending prosecutions unless competent authority has kept the statute alive for that purpose.\n\nThe decisions of this Court afford abundant illustration of this principle. In Yeaton (The General Pinkney) v. U.S., 5 Cranch, 281, 283, where the statute under which a ship had been condemned in admiralty had expired while the case was pending on appeal, the Court held that the cause was to be considered as if no sentence had been pronounced. Chief Justice Marshall said that 'it has long been settled, on general principles, that after the expiration or repeal of a law, no penalty can be enforced, nor punishment inflicted, for violations of the law committed while it was in force, unless some special provision be made for that purpose by statute.' Chief Justice Taney observed in Maryland v. Baltimore & Ohio R.R. Co., 3 How. 534, 552: 'The repeal of the law imposing the penalty, is of itself a remission.' In United States v. Tynen, 11 Wall. 88, 95, the Court thus stated the principle applicable to criminal proceedings: 'There can be no legal conviction, nor any valid judgment pronounced upon conviction, unless the law creating the offence be at the time in existence. By the repeal the legislative will is expressed that no further proceedings be had under the act repealed.' See, also, Norris v. Crocker, 13 How. 429, 440; Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Rwy. Co. v. Dennis, 224 U.S. 503, 506 , 32 S.Ct. 542.\n\nThe government endeavors to avoid the application of this established principle by invoking the general saving provision enacted by the Congress in relation to the repeal of statutes. That provision is to the effect that penalties and liabilities theretofore incurred are not to be extinguished by the repeal of a statute 'unless the repealing Act shall so expressly provide,' and to support prosecutions in such cases the statute is to be treated as remaining in force. Rev. St. 13 (1 U.S.C. 29 (1 USCA 29)). [Footnote 2] But this provision applies, and could only apply, to the repeal of statutes by the Congress and to the exercise by the Congress of its undoubted authority to qualify its repeal and thus to keep in force its own enactments. It is a provision enacted in recognition of the principle that, unless the statute is so continued in force by competent authority, its repeal precludes further enforcement.\n\n[Footnote 2] The text of the provision is as follows: 'The repeal of any statute shall not have the effect to release or extinguish any penalty, forfeiture, or liability incurred under such statute, unless the repealing Act shall so expressly provide, and such statute shall be treated as still remaining in force for the purpose of sustaining any proper action or prosecution for the enforcement of such penalty, forfeiture, or liability.'\n\nТеперь логично поискать материалы конгресса за 1871 год, чтобы понять, какая аргументация предлагалась для введения такого странного закона, отчетливо противоречащего всему тому, что на тот момент считалось общепринятой доктриной права. Ну что же, поищем.\n\nКстати, в этих решениях несколько раз давалась ссылка на дело United States v. Reisinger, 128 U.S. 398 (1888), но линк ( оказывается битым, неработающим. Это странно. Попробую найти и это дело.\n  • Post a new comment\n\n\n    default userpic\n\n    Your reply will be screened\n\n    Your IP address will be recorded", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6110190153121948}
+{"content": "Ballet is a renaissance-inspired dance that is the foundation of all modern dance, and is widely popular among all dancers from beginners to experts.  Technique is derived from classical ballet with an emphasis on barre and center floor work. Students will learn terminology and build strength, positioning and flexibility.\n\nDancing en Pointe is for the Ballet dancer who has reached a level of technical proficiency and strength that the teacher feels is suitable for pointe work.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9968107342720032}
+{"content": "Fuchsia magellanica 'Alba Aureovariegata' Lady's eardrops\n\nDeciduous, upright shrub. Frost hardy. Sm. flowers white tinged mauve are followed by black fruits. variegated foliage with creamy-yellow margins tinged pink. Ht 3m. Sprd. 2m. partial shade, well drained soil.\n\n£ 4.75\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9602941870689392}
+{"content": "Translation and rotation in one matrix\n\nIt would be convenient to apply both rotation and translation together in a single operation. Suppose we want to apply a rotation matrix $ R$, and follow it with a translation by $ (x_t,y_t,z_t)$. Algebraically, this is\n\n$\\displaystyle \\begin{bmatrix}x'  y'  z' \\end{bmatrix} = R \\begin{bmatrix}x  y  z \\end{bmatrix} + \\begin{bmatrix}x_t y_t z_t \\end{bmatrix} .$ (3.20)\n\nAlthough there is no way to form a single 3 by 3 matrix to accomplish both operations, it can be done by increasing the matrix dimensions by one. Consider the following 4 by 4 homogeneous transformation matrix:\n\n$\\displaystyle T_{rb} = \\left[ \\begin{blockarray}{cccc} \\begin{block}{\\vert ccc\\...\n... & & & z_t \\cline{1-3} \\end{block} 0 & 0 & 0 & 1 \\end{blockarray} \\right] .$ (3.21)\n\nThe notation $ T_{rb}$ is used to denote that the matrix is a rigid body transform, meaning that it does not distort objects. A homogeneous transform matrix could include other kinds of transforms, which will appear in Section 3.5.\n\nThe same result as in (3.20) can be obtained by performing multiplication with (3.21) as follows:\n\n$\\displaystyle \\left[ \\begin{blockarray}{cccc} \\begin{block}{\\vert ccc\\vert c} \\...\n... y  z  1 \\end{bmatrix} = \\begin{bmatrix}x'  y'  z'  1 \\end{bmatrix} .$ (3.22)\n\nBecause of the extra dimension, we extended the point $ (x,y,z)$ by one dimension, to obtain $ (x,y,z,1)$. Note that (3.21) represents rotation followed by translation, not the other way around. Translation and rotation do not commute; therefore, this is an important point.\n\nSteven M LaValle 2016-12-31", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9912796020507812}
+{"content": "Binary Morality - 2012-07-31 14:02:58\n\nEveryone knows that morality is relative.\n\n280px-Bigdaddy-bioshockMy views on, say, the kind of punishment that a starving person deserves for stealing from the grocery store is likely to be different from someone else’s. This is common. Philosophical articles and laws are constantly being thought about, written and revised based on shifting perspectives regarding morality because, simply enough, morals are difficult, multi-faceted things that are impossible to pin down.\n\nThat’s how morality works in real life. In videogames it’s often quite a bit simpler.\n\nMany games present moral choices as a binary — good or bad, right or wrong — in complete contrast to how most decisions and viewpoints function in their players’ daily lives. In an effort to branch out from linear narrative techniques (the story always begins and ends in the same way, regardless of player input) some titles offer up “moral dilemmas” that are really anything but.\n\nTwo of the most notable examples, Infamous and Bioshock, offer gameplay moments where players are asked to choose between two different choices in a wholly black and white take on morality. Both are concerned with the concept of power. In Infamous players must choose whether or not they believe improving their superhuman skill-set is worth screwing over the citizens of Empire City or New Marais. In Bioshock the choice is between murdering little mutant girls, allowing for faster skill upgrading, or saving them. The hero/villain dichotomy in these games is an incredibly simple one. The moral choice is, really, no choice at all. In both of these games the player is just asked whether or not they want to play as an evil character or a good one.\n\nUnless s/he has the mentality of a serial killer it’s incredibly obvious what the “right choice” actually is (hint: don’t kill children or suck the life force out of injured civilians) in these games. While the rest of the experiences offered by the Bioshock and Infamous series are interesting, the addition of moral choices really offer nothing other than an optional way to replay through the games’ stories in a different way, picking between “good” and “bad runs.”\n\nRenegade Interruptreid moralityBioware’s Mass Effect goes some way toward correcting this issue, but still falls short of truly blurring the lines of a binary morality. The developers often present really interesting choices in their titles, offering dilemmas where the validity of one choice can be argued alongside that of another with equivalent rationale (personal opinion on ensuring a species’ survival while risking galactic safety or choosing who to ally with in matters of centuries long ethnic grudges where both sides are both to blame), but the Paragon/Renegade system breaks this by, once again, boiling everything down to a hero/evil scale. Dragon Age, also from Bioware, is marred by similar issues, difficult choices weighed by the seemingly arbitrarily programmed value systems entrenched in the mechanics.\n\nThe only games that seem to have found a good balance are titles like The Witcher or Telltale GamesThe Walking Dead adaptation. The Witcher delights in the ambiguity of every player decision, throwing the player into the role of a man with few concrete ideals and asking her/him to do what they think is right. Every decision has a way of coming back to haunt The Witcher’s audience, seemingly righteous actions twisting around and leading to unfavourable consequences. The Walking Dead takes the same tact. Currently on its second of five episodic releases, the game has already been filled with nearly impossible moral dilemmas. Deciding on whether to save the life of one person or another, the side to take in a heated, potentially homicidal argument; each of these choices deviate from a strict sense of right and wrong and fall, in large part, to the player’s own morals. The Walking Dead and The Witcher don’t punish or reward their audience for making the right or wrong choice — they instead seek to portray the messiness of personal value systems when applied to a larger context.\n\nIn these titles, traditional portrayals of videogame morality are thrown on their head, made much more intricate — and interesting — as a result. They represent the ideal future of the medium’s approach to moral choices, providing experiences that obscure game mechanics and deepen the illusion of delving into truly complex and interactive worlds.\n\n\nReid McCarter is a writer, editor and musician living and working in Toronto. He has written for sites and magazines including Kill Screen, The Escapist and C&G Magazine. He founded, writes and edits the videogame blog and is Twitter-ready @reidmccarter.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9517279267311096}
+{"content": "A teenager missing from home has been found safe and well.\n\n\n\nThe teenager didn’t turn up for school again on Thursday.\n\nCaitlin’s family had issued an urgent appeal to find her - with their Facebook plea being shared thousands of times.\n\nHowever, Greater Manchester Police on Friday morning confirmed that Caitlin has since been found safe and well.\n\nA GMP spokesman thanked the public for their concern and sharing the appeal for the missing schoolgirl.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9999561309814453}
+{"content": "Fibrosarcoma, [s8]uncommon\n\nFibrosarcomas usually arise from the muscle sheath or periosteum of the thigh, lower leg, or back. The patient, who is usually between between 30 and 50, presents with a firm to hard mass which is usually painless in its early stages. Fibrosarcomas are moderately malignant, and spread by local infiltration. Lymphatic and blood-borne spread to the lung are unusual.\n\nFIBROSARCOMA DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS and STAGING are the same as for a rhabdomyosarcoma (32.9). 30% to 40% of treated cases survive 5 years.\n\nTREATMENT. Do a wide local excision. Consider amputation if you cannot remove a limb tumour efficiently. Response is only temporary, so chemotherapy is of little value.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.968109667301178}
+{"content": "Visit a range of local schools\n\nChoosing the right school is very important.\nChoosing the right school is very important.\n\nVisiting and asking lots of questions is the best way to compare schools and find the most effective and suitable for your child.\n\nResearch shows that an effective school will be well-ordered, with good leadership from the head, enabling other staff both to teach well and to take part in development of the school.\n\nThe head should be accessible and accountable, and meeting him or her is key to understanding what the school is about.\n\nGo along to as many relevant open days as you can with your child who’s due to start primary or secondary education next September.\n\nIf any aren’t convenient, make your own appointment to look round on a school day.\n\nSome points to look out for:\n\nl Do you get an impression of a purposeful working environment?\n\nl Do students you meet seem secure, happy and engaged?\n\nl Are they encouraged by praise rather than punishment?\n\nl Is the school well-maintained?\n\nl Is it usually over-subscribed, and does it have plans to change its size and/or structure in the future?\n\nl How often each week do students do PE and what sporting opportunities are open to them?\n\nl How many are there in a class or teaching group?\n\nl How is school transport arranged?\n\nl What out of school and lunchtime opportunities are there?\n\nl Is there a supervised after-school club where children can go if you don’t get out of work to pick them up straight away?\n\nl Are there good facilities for music and drama tuition?\n\nl Are policies in place to deal with bullying and anti-social behaviour?\n\nl How are special needs catered for?", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5457247495651245}
+{"content": "\n\nLivonia Chiropractor | Livonia chiropractic care | MI | What is Pain?\n\nTLC Holistic Wellness\n\n 31582 Schoolcraft Rd, Livonia, MI 48150  \n Just W of Merriman off I-96 \n (734) 664-0339 \n\n  OPEN:  Monday,  Wed.,  Thurs.,  Saturday\n\n\n\nDr. Sherry Yale, D.C.\n\nHolistic Chiropractic Wellness\n\nConsultant, Clinical Nutritionist for Over 27 Years\n\nApplied Kinesiology, Nutrition Respnse Testing®Whole Food Nutrition, \n\n Weight Loss, Herbs, Diet & Lifestyle Help, Gentle Chiropractic \n\n\nWhat is Pain?\n\nfb_logo2.png  twitter_official.png  Linkdin.png\n\nLivonia Chiropractor | Livonia chiropractic What is Pain? |  MI |\n\nMillions of people chose to receive preventive chiropractic care before they have major symptoms. Holistic wellness care consisting of nutrition, body detoxification and diet/lifestye changes, combined with chiropractic care helps improve overall health and quality of life. The goal of care in this office is to prevent the Major Syptoms of Stage 3, and the Danger of Stage 4 from developing. For more information on chiropractic and what treatment consists of click on What is Chiropractic? and/or How Chiropractic Works under the Chiropractic tab. The many different holistic wellness services available are listed under the Services tab.\n\nWhat is Pain?\n\nPain is a warning sign to get your attention. It can begin in Stage 1, 2 or Stage 3. Pain is how your body communicates with you to let you know that it needs help. There can be different sources of pain: spinal pain, nerve pain, muscle pain, joint pain and organ reflex pain.\n\nWhat is a Subluxation?\n\nA subluxation is when a vertebrae becomes misaligned or moves out of its normal position. It can cause pain anywhere in the body including the back, neck, legs/feet, arms/hands, spine, nerves, muscles, joints, and in the organ reflexes. Subluxations can be caused from physical injuries, such as a minor slip or bump to a car accident or any sudden trauma. Other causes of subluxations include nutritional deficiencies, emotional stress, hormonal imbalances, food allergies, toxic exposure and dehydration.\n\nWhen a vertebrae is subluxated, it begins to put pressure on nerves, blood vessels and everything around it. This pressure causes pain. The subluxation interrupts the normal nerve pathways from the brain to the body resulting in additional stress, pain, inflammation, and body malfunction.\n\n\nAs time goes by and a subluxation remains untreated, the spine and surrounding features such as discs can begin to degenerate. This degeneration becomes more difficult to reverse as time passes. The surrounding muscles, nerves and bones begin to adjust and adapt to the new shape.  The body will accommodate to these changes by compensating in other areas. The longer this goes on, the more difficult it is, and the longer it takes to get back the spinal vertebrae back to near perfect position.\n\nThe good news is that the body is an amazing organism. It has the ability to repair and regenerage if it is given the proper tools. At TLC Holistic Wellness we evaluate each patient to determine the extent of spinal involvement, underlying nutritional deficiencies, and any needed lifestyle changes.\n\nWhat is Organ Reflex Pain?\n\nNutritional deficiencies can also manifest as pain somewhere in the body through the organ and gland reflex system.\n\nHave you ever had a queasy headache pain on your forehead or right side or your head?\nThis is your liver/gall bladder asking for help.\n\nDo you experiene chronic fatigue during the day or difficulty getting up in the morning?\n\nThis is an indication that your hormonal system is not functioning properly. The adrenals work with the entire hormonal system to keep the system in balance. Fatigue is an indication that the adrenals are unable to do their job properly due to missing nutrients.\n\nDo you experience headaches in the morning that wear off as the day goes on?\nThis is an indication of a hormonal imbalance, and that your blood sugar not balanced.\n\nDo you ever feel chronic tail bone pain even after chiropractic treatment?This means your body does not have enough available calcium.There are 6 different types of calcium. Some forms are absorbed better than others, depending on the function of your digestive system.  \n\nHave you ever had leg cramps?\n\n\nThis is your body asking for more oxygen. There may also be a need for vitamins E and F, and the minerals iron, calcium and magnesium.\n\nDo you have or know children with growing pains?\n\n This is an indication of an iodine and mineral deficiency.\n\nIf you have body aches and pains, call (734) 664-0339 today to schedule an appointment for an Initial No Charge chiropractic and/or nutritional analysis. During our 45 minute No Charge Initial Visit, we will be able to determine whether chiropractic is right for you, or if you need nutritional help to help reduce your pain.\n\nCall now to become pain free and enjoy life again.\n\nLivonia Chiropractor | What is Pain?. Dr. Sherry Yale, DC is a Livonia Chiropractor.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9196538925170898}
+{"content": "Penguins and Climate Change\n\nWhen I began my this project I started looking at some basic facts about Penguins and jotted them down on a large sheet. Visualising facts helps me to remember them. However, none of this research involves climate change.\n\nNow I know more about climate change I need to begin to look at the effect on Penguins. I want to focus on Antarctica where there are only two species of the bird; the Emperor and the Adelie. This will ensure that my information graphic will remain concise.\n\nPutting restrictions in place means that I will be forced to focus on small areas of information, which will hopefully make a more pleasing and understandable design. So, what are my restrictions?\n\n  • Keeping the area local to Antarctica\n  • Using only two species of Penguin (the Emperor, the Adelie)\n\nPenguins and Climate Change\n\nThe research I have already conducted on Antarctica has clearly indicated that it has been affected in more ways than one. So how does this affect it’s wildlife?\n\nThe Antarctic Peninsular (shown below) is a good place to start looking at how climate has affected penguins as there is already evidence of entire Emperor colonies being wiped out. Dion island off the West coast of the peninsular was home to a small colony discovered in 1948 consisting of just 150 breeding pairs and until the 70′s seemed stable but in 1999 there were just 20 pairs and in 2009 they were gone. Data collected by a station roughly 25 miles away suggests that the air temperature in this area has increased dramatically as well as the sea ice developing later and receding much more rapidly. Information published in 2007 from the Journal of Geophysical Research found that between 1979 and 2004 in this region, sea ice began advancing about 54 days later and retreating 31 days earlier although this trend does not continue throughout the entire continent. If the sea ice develops late and melts early it often means that the breeding cycle isn’t fully completed. Emperor chicks have to lose their down before they can swim, if the ice which they grow up on disappears the chicks will drown.\n\n\nIn the journal the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in 2009, the study found a 36% chance that shrinking Antarctic sea ice could cause emperor penguin populations to drop by 95% or more by 2100.\n\nStephanie Jenouvier a researcher from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Centre has recorded 3,000 Emperor breeding pairs in Terre Adelie but believes that this could drop to roughly 500 – 600 breeding pairs by 2100.\n\nAn article from 2009 called An Emperor Penguin Population Estimate: The First Global Synoptic Survey of a Species from Space, discusses what they believe the current population to be. The researchers used various methods to find this out from the air.  They describe finding 4 new colonies and confirming 3 previously believed to exist bringing the total to 46 total Emperor colonies that are mapped below.\n\nColony Positions\n\nFrom this image it is clear to see that the Antarctic Peninsular is home to very fe emperor colonies and this is where climate change appears to be affecting the most.\n\n‘We estimated the breeding population of emperor penguins at each colony during 2009 and provide a population estimate of ~238,000 breeding pairs (compared with the last previously published count of 135,000–175,000 pairs). Based on published values of the relationship between breeders and non-breeders, this translates to a total population of ~595,000 adult birds’. From this it appears that the populations have risen but this could just be to do with the technology that has been used.\n\nBelow, each colony has been mapped by size. Each circle’s size determines the number of breeding pairs in each location.\n\n\nThe penguins are not only being affected directly but also their food. They eat krill from the ocean but with the temperatures rising at an alarming rate the numbers of the krill are declining also, a study shows that the numbers have declined by 80& since the 1970′s. With less food to eat penguins will most definitely be finding it much harder to feed themselves and of course their chicks. ‘Warmer air and sea surface temperatures in the Antarctic reduce the amount of ice in the sea. This, in turn, leads to smaller populations of krill, a shrimp-like crustacean that is a staple of the emperor penguin’s diet. With less food to eat, emperor penguins die.’ - National Geographic – Penguin Decline in Antarctica Linked With Climate Change\n\nNational Geographic released back in 2001 mentions that penguin population has declines by 50% in 50 years. In the 80′s there was evidence to suggest that the population number were falling but it is only in recent years that we have discovered that this is an affect of a change in the normal climate.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nClimate Change\n\n‘If all the ice melted’ really got me to begin thinking about the effect of climate change and what would happen to the whole world as a result.\n\nClimate change is a huge issue in modern day society and this was clarified when I typed ‘Climate Change’ into the Google search engine. Thousands of links came up instantly, now it’s impossible to view everyone but I have began to look through a number sites.\n\nClimate Change\n\nMet Office\n\nFrom these screen shots it’s clear to see that there is so much information on the effects and how to help resolve climate change and every day there is new information on the same sites.\n\nFirstly, I need to find out what climate change is.\n\n\nSo, how is this effecting the Antarctic?\n\nIn 2007 NASA released some beautiful images on Antarctica, they’re said to be true to colour and the most accurate to date. The map has been made by 1000 Landsat photographs being stitched together to create an interactive image where you can move around the continent, zoom in and out. The video below is a short introduction and background to the image but does show a difference in ice coverage between 1988 and 2002.\n\nVideo - NASA Landsat of Antarctica\n\nMap - Landsat Map\n\nThis image is taken from the video above. It shows the decrease in sea ice over a period of time.\n\n\nBelow is a map of Antarctica’s land mass without sea ice. It doesn’t particularly have anything to with climate change but it is a beautiful map of the land. The colours indicate the height from sea level revealing a series of mountain ranges and planes as well as huge lakes and rivers.\n\n\nLand mass\n\nMy natural hypothesis about what is happening to sea ice was that it is melting and decreasing, partly to do with what news paper and researchers are telling us but on discovering this it seems that it is the other way around.\n\nAccording to NASA September 2013 the sea ice surrounding the Antarctic reached it’s annual peak, but instead of it being lower than in previous years it appears that the amount of ice is the highest ever recorded.\n\nURL Earth Observatory\n\nIce map\n\nGraph explaining sea ice change\n\nOn further investigation it appears that Antarctica’s sea ice is increasing by 1% every decade like in the Ross Sea although some areas such as Bellingshausen have been decreasing. Antarctica’s sea ice fluctuates from year to year so although some areas are thriving others are receding. The chart below shows the average sea ice of each years summer and winter.\n\nEarth Observatory NASA\n\nScreen Shot 2013-12-02 at 14.16.24\n\nOn this web page there is also a series of images showing the change in ice so you can see the difference from year to year.\n\nSeptember 1999/February 2000\n\n\n\nSeptember 2004/February 2005\n\n\n\nSeptember 2010/February 2011\n\n\n\nSeptember 2012/February 2013\n\n\nIt is clear that there is no uniform in the shape and size that the ice forms although the visible difference between the Ross Sea and Bellingshausen Sea is apparent.\n\nIn most cases climate change often is said to warm the atmosphere, so why is the sea ice in Antarctica increasing?\n\nAccording to an article on Universe Today the excess sea ice is due to an increase in snow fall and rainfall along with more fresh water. Fresh water is cooler and less dense that the saltier water below so with this the ice is melting much slower and increasing more rapidly. All of these factors are to do with global warming.\n\nWhen sea ice melts there is little change to the sea levels. However, when land ice melt (glaciers) it increases the earths sea levels massively and this is the problem. Although there appears to be more sea ice this does not say whether the land ice has changed at all.\n\nAnother article from Universe Today has said that Antarctica’s ice shelves are being ‘eaten away’ by a warmer ocean, due to climate change. NASA have gathered data by using an ice watching satellite that pictures the ice disappearing from the western shores. This is because the sea has warmed quicker than the air above and therefore the currents are melting the shelves from below. From October 2005 to 2008, 20 of the 54 Antarctic ice shelves have decreased in thickness.\n\nIce Sleves\n\n‘Climate and atmospheric history of the past 420,000 years from the Vostok ice core, Antarctica’ is an article written in 1999 describing what is happening to Antarctic ice.\n\n\nResearch Development\n\n\nUnfortunately my primary source has not been in contact again and so I have began to look into secondary research which I can use for my info graphic. The thought of being able to have exclusive primary research was extremely exciting and naturally with the lack of communication and change of mind this has dis-heartened me and with us being so far into the project I feel that it’s too late to rely on finding someone else who would be willing to work with me.\n\nHowever, I have been looking to find some secondary data and whilst I was doing this I found an interactive info graphic that is great. It’s called ‘If all the melted’ and allows the viewer to click on continents to see how the coastline will change once the ice melts, also a small amount of information comes up alongside the image. This ties in well to my idea, which is to create an info graphic about climate change using penguins as it’s focus and so melting ice is a huge part of this.\n\nIf all the ice melted\n\n\n\n\nIt’s really scary to see what can happen, it’s something reading it but actually being able to see the effects opens your eyes.\n\nI think that this info-graphic is extremely effective. It allows the viewer to explore the design and although the amount of typed up fact is very little it’s still hard hitting and easily understandable.\n\nThis was found at –\n\n\nSimple Grids\n\nI’ve decided to take a look at simple design grids as a basis to begin my digital publication for Ipad. The purpose of this is to clearly discuss my journey through the Tools and Systems project. It will be made using Adobe InDesign which I am familiar with as I have done other projects using this software but I wouldn’t say that I am not particularly skilled. I have a basic idea on how to use InDesign and enjoy using it, but need to develop my skills and understanding.\n\nBefore I start on creating this and designing the outcome I want to look into basic grids to understand how to successfully structure an article.\n\nI have just read an online zine called ‘Design Grids are Not Mathematical Grids’ by Andrew Maher ( which has given me some initial understanding to how grids in design work.\n\nThe zine talks about the design process’ that he uses to create grids in a step by step way. The process was suggested by Josef Muller-Brockmann, who I am going to look at further to see whether they have anymore useful process’.\n\nThese steps are;\n\n  1. Define the format (size of the page)\n  2. Define the type area (where all the words are going to go)\n  3. Choose a font\n  4. Test test test\n  5. Redefine the type area\n  6. Decide how many units you want your grid to be\n  7. Create divisions\n  8. Apply grid\n\nThis is confusing and I don’t know whether this method will work for me but it’s a good start in understanding what I need to do.\n\nChoosing the type area\n\nThis part helped me understand on how to begin making a grid by choosing the type area and then how to decide what column size to use. This part was really interesting and has given me a basis in which to start.\n\n\nToward the end there are a number of examples where grids have been used. These examples both follow the same structure but both are entirely different from one another. I believe that this is valuable information, just because the grid is the same the design doesn’t have to be, and even simple, uncomplicated grids can create exciting outcomes.\n\nScreen Shot 2013-11-12 at 23.41.16\n\nScreen Shot 2013-11-12 at 23.41.27\n\n\nThe zine is very simple stuff and things that I have already learnt so it’s important that I look in other places for information and help to further my understanding and ensure that I use them correctly and inventively.\n\n\nThe Grid System -\n\nI’ve just discovered this website and think that it is really interesting how you can view the site with and without it grid. It’s great seeing the skeleton of a publication live and how important it really is.\n\nScreen Shot 2013-11-13 at 01.48.08\n\nScreen Shot 2013-11-13 at 01.48.23\n\nReflection – Task One\n\nI previously discussed my presentation and how I felt it went, I spoke about how I rushed through it and went off point at times which has been clarified in Matts feedback. He also gave me points on how I can improve my blog by picking out flaws and leaving constructive comments. Things that stood …", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6935818195343018}
+{"content": "Yellowtail fusilier [Caesio cuning]\n\n1 Caesio cuning Yellowtail fusilier\n\nYellowtail fusilier, Caesio cuning. Upper body if not yellow, grayish blue; lower sides and belly white or pinkish. Pectoral, pelvic and anal fins white to pink. Large yellow tail. Dorsal fin yellow posteriorly and grayish blue anteriorly. Length usually at 35 cm.\n\n Pictures: Papua, Indonesia by Sami Salmenkivi\n\n\nDark-Banded Fusilier [Pterocaesio tile]\n\n\nx Mikes pikkukalat\n\nPterocaesio tile, common name Dark-banded fusilier, Blue-streak Fusilier, Bartail fusilier and Neon Fusilier, is a fish belonging to the family Caesionidae. Pterocaesio tile can reach a length of 25 centimetres (9.8 in). The back of the body is dark blue, while the flanks show a bluish green strike with a black stripe along the lateral line. The lower third of the body varies from white to pinkish. The lower half of the body turns bright red at night (hence the common name Neon Fusilier). It is oviparous and non-migratory. Pterocaesio tile feeds on zooplankton and is relatively rare.\n\n Pictures: Top: Australia, Bottom: Papua, Indonesia by Sami Salmenkivi\n\nSpottailed Squirrelfish [Sargocentron caudimaculatum]\n\nsoldier fish\n\nSpottailed Squirrelfish or Silverspot Squirrelfish, Sargocentron caudimaculatum is one of the most common of the squirrelfishes that occurs in outer reef areas, also encountered in lagoons and drop-offs from less than 2 to 40 m; either solitary or in groups. Nocturnal, feeds mainly on benthic crabs and shrimps.\n\n Pictures: Papua, Indonesia by Sami Salmenkivi\n\nFivelined Cardinalfish [Cheilodipterus quinquelineatus]\n\nsmall fish 3\n\nFivelined Cardinalfish, Cheilodipterus quinquelineatus has black stripes on white body and a distinct yellow tail with a black spot. Inhabits reef flats and lagoon and seaward reefs to a depth of 40 m or more. Occurs singly or in small to large aggregations, taking shelter in dark crevices, branched coral, under ledges, and among the spines of Diadema setosum. Nocturnal species. Feeds on small crustaceans and gastropods, also on small fishes.\n\n Pictures: Papua, Indonesia by Sami Salmenkivi\n\nOrbiculate cardinalfish [Sphaeramia orbicularis]\n\ncardinal fish\n\n\n Pictures: Papua, Indonesia by Sami Salmenkivi\n\nFire Dartfish [Nemateleotris magnifica]\n\n\nThe Fire Goby, Fire Fish, Fire Dartfish, or Red Fire Goby is a marine dartfish. This fish is most commonly found near the substrate of the upper reef in tropical marine waters. These waters include the Indo-Pacific, Central Pacific, east African waters, Ryukyu Islands, Japan, New Caledonia, and Pitcairn Islands.[1] They swim as deep below the surface as 70 meters, and usually hover directly above the ocean floor, facing the current to catch their prey.[1] They eat mostly copepods, zooplankton, and crustacean larvae. They usually have a bright yellow head, merging into a white body, gradually shading into a red-orange tail. Their dorsal fins are very long, and the fish flicks it back and forth. This is used as a signal to conspecifics. As a full grown adult, it reaches a maximum length of 9 centimeters (3 in). Adults occupy sandy burrows alone or in pairs, while the juveniles live in small groups. These fish are monogamous. They will retreat to burrows if threatened.\n\n Pictures: Phillipines by Sami Salmenkivi", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.786182165145874}
+{"content": "Papa Ali Glasgow\n\n  Download our app\n\n\nCuisines: Uncategorised\nCan you help us categorise this Takeaway?  \nOpening hours: No opening hours available.\nDelivery: No delivery information available.\nPhone number: (0141) 882 4942\nAddress:   Papa Ali, 154 Shieldhall Rd,\nGlasgow, Glasgow,\nG51 4EH, (0141) 882 4942\nPapa Ali is a Takeaway in Glasgow. They can be found at 154 Shieldhall Rd, and their phone number is (0141) 882 4942.\nStreet View: Papa Ali Glasgow\n\n\nWe don't have any reviews for Papa Ali yet, add the first!\n\n\n\nSorry, we don't have a menu for Papa Ali.\n\n\n\nIf you are the owner or manager of Papa Ali Takeaway, or even just a loyal customer, there's a lot you can do to help promote it. The easiest of these is simply providing as much information as you can about the takeaway, but we also have options available to let you verify ownership and promote Papa Ali.\n\n--}} ?>", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9248046875}
+{"content": "How Food Recalls Work – A Behind-the-Scenes Look at Distribution Technology\n\nThis guest article was written by Stephen Jannise of Distribution Software Advice. It was featured here: How Food Recalls Work - A Behind-the-Scenes Look at Distribution Technology August’s salmonella outbreak has left two major Iowa farms with egg on their face, and thousands of customers have had to return their eggs to their local markets. But what happens next? How do the markets, farms, and distributors coordinate their efforts to deal with all the problems of a food recall? In other words, what will become of the eggs? We set out to answer these questions and more. As you’ll see, the results were interesting and often alarming. For example, did you know the government doesn’t require farmers to trace their produce? Here we present our findings on how food recalls work from a technological point of view. We will detail the ways in which distribution software makes this process manageable, using the egg recall as a hypothetical example. We’ve focused on the two biggest concerns:\n\n  • Protecting customers from further contamination\n  • Protecting companies from further financial losses\nOf course, these are not the only complications to consider. If you have an idea of your own or a related experience to share, please comment below. Before we dig in too deeply, here’s a hypothetical illustration of how things may have gone wrong:\n\nProblems to Be Solved in a Food Recall First, let’s briefly consider the scope of the egg recall issue. A few of the chief concerns will be:\n  • Distribution spread - Although the problem originated from a few farms in Iowa, these eggs have been delivered throughout the United States.\n  • Packaging confusion - These eggs have been packaged by different brands. For example, Hillandale Farms produced 170 million potentially contaminated eggs and sold them in packages labeled Hillandale Farms, Sunny Farms, or Sunny Meadow.\n  • Lingering threat of contamination - If more reports of sickness emerge, the recall list could grow. If a new lot of eggs is found to be contaminated, the distributor will need to prepare retailers for more returns.\nThe key word here is “lot.” According to Chris Anatra, president of NECS, Inc, one of the most useful tools in solving these problems is lot tracking. Lot tracking systems are often provided within food distribution software like NECS’s own entrée, and they are part of a growing emphasis towards traceability in food distribution. Tracking Down the Source Soon after eggs are laid, the traceability process begins. Eggs are separated into batches, which are separated further into lots. By assigning eggs to a certain batch, producers can store information about each egg, like the date it was produced, which barn it originated from, and where it was delivered. For our purposes, we’ll call the contaminated eggs “Batch X.” Let’s say Hillandale Farms has six chicken barns, and Barn X’s chickens are infected with salmonella. So, on Day X, Barn X produces Batch X, which is contaminated. Batch X is then split into several lots, which are packaged as Hillandale Farms, Sunny Farms, or Sunny Meadow and sold all over the country. When Batch X is shipped, a traceability system notes the batch and lot numbers, date and amount shipped, and the receiving customer. With this information, the farm can track the eggs back to the specific barn they came from and determine the production date. At this point, a farm can send batch quarantine alerts to those who received bad product, which prevents further food poisoning. Producers can also begin backtracking on the supplies sent to them. Both Hillandale Farms and Wright County Egg, another farm that recalled a few hundred million eggs, receive their feed from a supplier called Quality Egg. If both farms received bad feed, Quality Egg can utilize a “where-used” function to immediately seek out other farms that received their contaminated supplies. In other words, traceability provides “damage control” for a producer like Hillandale Farms in any of the three stages of the supply chain:\n  • Supplier - If Hillandale Farms traces the contamination back to their supplier, they can shift the blame to Quality Egg.\n  • Warehouse - Once the farm finds out which batches are contaminated, production from that barn ceases and remaining output is destroyed.\n  • Customer - Within moments of discovering contaminated batches, the farm can warn retailers to remove contaminated products from their shelves.\nThe Eggs May Be Contaminated, But That Doesn’t Mean You Can’t Sell Them Time is of the essence when your customers are being threatened by your own products. However, it is also crucial for the company to continue earning revenue. According to recent reports, both Hillandale Farms and Wright County Farms have stopped distributing their shell eggs to retailers and are now sending them to “breaking plants,” where bacteria is eliminated through pasteurization. This process prevents the eggs from being sold in a shell, but they can still be sold in liquid form, which allows the farms to escape total losses. Ever wonder where that boxed “egg substitute” at the hotel breakfast buffet comes from? A change like this requires a significant renegotiation of the farms’ transportation contracts, since the eggs must be rerouted to new locations. Whereas Hillandale Farms was previously distributing eggs nationwide using fast, expensive modes of transportation, now the eggs only need to go to nearby breaking plants, allowing the farm to terminate its contracts with coast-to-coast transporters and find cheaper in-state delivery. Farmers can use software to request quotes and solicit competitive bids from transportation providers, assign costs to their lots, and submit contracts to all necessary signers. With the right system in place, farmers will have that egg liquid flowing out and new revenue flowing in. Should the Government Make Traceability Mandatory? However, not all farmers are keeping tabs on everything that flows out of their farm. Surprisingly, despite all the recalls in recent years, farmers are not legally required to track their produce. There are many who believe that traceability is the key to preventing worse outbreaks of food poisoning in the future. I spoke about this issue with Dennis Ferrarelli of Produce Pro, Inc., a leading provider of software for the distribution of perishable goods, and he emphasized the importance of planning ahead. In fact, some industry groups are advocating for recall planning guidelines, such as the Produce Traceability Initiative (PTI). The PTI’s ultimate goal is supply chain-wide adoption of electronic traceability for every case of produce by the year 2012. In order to accomplish this, the PTI has encouraged use of the Global Trade Item Number (GTIN), which would include a company’s unique prefix and reference numbers for the individual product. With such specificity written into each GTIN, companies could pinpoint the contamination source and recall only the affected items, avoiding a disastrous total recall. However, many farmers pass on this opportunity because they are often expected to front the costs related to traceability themselves. By the time a farm has paid for its GS1 Company prefix, installed barcode scanners and printers, and made arrangements to label every case with a barcode, it could be looking at a $200,000 implementation. Clearly, such expenses would be a major issue for smaller farmers. It would be difficult to ask these small farms, many of whom have been going about their business for years with no safety issues, to suddenly take a huge chunk of their revenue and spend it on technology they don't want. So, what's the answer? Could we regulate the larger distributors that are most likely to have difficulties tracking their many products and exempt the smaller farms? Be sure to share your ideas.\n\n1 Comment on How Food Recalls Work – A Behind-the-Scenes Look at Distribution Technology\n\n  1. A small farm can have item level traceability for $280 per year. It is not complicated unless you let someone convince you it is.\n\nLeave a comment\n\nYour email address will not be published.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5565389394760132}
+{"content": "Tea is good for the heart - but adding milk to it wipes out the benefits, say researchers\n\n\nTea drinkers enjoy some protection against heart disease. But the benefits are completely wiped out if, like most of the British population, they add milk, researchers reveal today.\n\nTea has long been thought to have health benefits for the heart and in the prevention of cancer. But researchers from Germany, writing in the European Heart Journal, suggest that their findings about milk ought to lead to an urgent reassessment of the effect of tea on cancer prevention.\n\n\"Since milk appears to modify the biological activities of tea ingredients, it is likely that the anti-tumour effects of tea could be affected as well,\" said one of the authors, Verena Stangl, professor of cardiology at the Charité hospital, Berlin.\n\n\"It is essential that we re-examine the association between tea consumption and cancer protection to see if that is the case.\"\n\nThe team suggests that tea drinkers who usually add milk should drink it black for some of the time. Flavonoids in tea, called catechins, are thought to be responsible for its beneficial effects on the heart. The study found that a group of proteins in milk, called caseins, interacted with the tea to reduce the concentration of catechins.\n\nThe researchers measured the effects of drinking black tea, tea with milk and plain hot water on 16 women volunteers. Regular tests on the brachial artery of the forearm for two hours after drinking showed that black tea promoted dilation of the blood vessels. \"We found that ... the addition of milk completely prevents the biological effect,\" said the lead author, Mario Lorenz, a molecular biologist.\n\nFurther tests in rats produced the same results. It could explain why Britain, a nation of tea drinkers, does not appear to enjoy protection from high rates of heart disease, say the authors.\n\n\"The well-established benefits of tea have been described in many studies,\" said Prof Stangl.\n\n\nJune Davison, cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said the study highlighted the importance of looking at interactions between foods, but added that having a cup of tea could be helpful if it allowed people to relax.\n\n\"Leaving milk out of your tea is far less likely to help protect your heart health than other measures, such as taking regular exercise, avoiding smoking and eating a healthy balanced diet,\" she said.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8250182867050171}
+{"content": "Date of Award\n\n\nDegree Name\n\nMS in Engineering - Materials Engineering\n\n\nMaterials Engineering\n\n\ntrevor harding\n\n\nAbbott Vascular encountered strength and variability issues when attempting to resistively weld 304 Stainless Steel to equiatomic Nitinol. Initial observations suggested that passivation layer (Cr2O3, TiO2) formation affected the weld interface. One hundred 304 Stainless Steel/Nitinol pairs were allowed to oxidize in air at room temperature for allowed periods of time (.1, 1, 3, 5, 7, 12, 16, 24, 168, and 336 hours). Each pair was welded resistively with constant current. A Miyachi/Unitek Advanced Data Analysis Monitor (ADAM) recorded the peak resistance at the instance the weld was made. Resistances were compared to Instron 5900 tensile maximum break load (KgF). Use of optical microscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) revealed microstructural reduction of void size at the sample fracture surface (1-.5 µm). Literature suggested the existence of metastable precipitate forms at near equiatomic compositions within the theoretical temperature range (261.9-1425.2 0C). The Instron 5900 mechanically validated presence of precipitates, while Electron Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (EDS) confirmed the existence compositionally. Literature confirms B19’ precipitates size increases with temperature. This suggests higher resistance samples will promote growth of precipitates due to increased heat input. Increased average particle size was observed with increased resistance (0-.3 µm). Crystal lattice inconsistencies between Nitinol parent phase (B2) and B19’ promote premature fracture due to increased misfit dislocation density. Therefore increased weld resistance promotes the growth of incoherent Ti3Ni4 precipitates which inhibit load bearing capabilities, causing premature failure.\n\nIncluded in\n\nMetallurgy Commons", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5251873135566711}
+{"content": "The Geometry of Celestial Mechanics (London Mathematical Society Student Texts)\n\nCelestial mechanics is the branch of mathematical astronomy devoted to studying the motions of celestial bodies subject to the Newtonian law of gravitation. This mathematical introductory textbook reveals that even the most basic question in celestial mechanics, the Kepler problem, leads to a cornucopia of geometric concepts: conformal and projective transformations, spherical and hyperbolic geometry, notions of curvature, and the topology of geodesic flows. For advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate students, this book explores the geometric concepts underlying celestial mechanics and is an ideal companion for introductory courses. Th…\n\nAuthor: Hansjörg Geiges\nDownloads: 1481", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 1.0000097751617432}
+{"content": "\n  |   Contact us   \nStandard fact sheet.\nLarge print fact sheet.\n\nUsing tenancy databases \n\nA guide for landlords and agents of rental properties\n\nTenancy databases are a legitimate business tool which, if used correctly, help to decide a tenant's suitability when assessing tenancy applications. The Residential Tenancies Act 2010 sets out who, when, and why a person can be listed. The NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal can resolve disagreements over proposed and existing listings.\n\nWhat is a tenancy database?\n\n\nFiles kept by an individual landlord or agency for internal use (hard copy or computerised) are not databases for the purposes of the legislation.\n\nListings - who\n\nOnly tenants named on the tenancy agreement can be listed on a tenancy database. Approved or unapproved occupants, visitors or children cannot be listed. This is because only the named tenant or tenants are accountable for the premises and have obligations under the tenancy agreement.\n\nListings - when\n\nTenants can only be listed on a database after the tenancy agreement has ended. You cannot list a tenant simply because they fall behind with the rent, are served a termination notice or are not looking after the property in a satisfactory way.\n\nListings - why\n\nListings can only be made for one, or both, of these reasons:\n\n  1. The tenant has vacated owing an amount more than the rental bond for a breach of the tenancy agreement, and the amount is still outstanding at the time of listing\n  2. The Tribunal has made an order terminating the tenancy agreement because of something the tenant has done wrong and the tenancy has ended.\n\nA tenant cannot be listed on a tenancy database for any other reasons apart from those above. Listing on a database can seriously impact on a person's ability to rent a property in the future, so care should be exercised before taking such a step.\n\n\nNotice if listing found\n\nIf, when checking a prospective tenant on a database, you find out they have been listed by another person you are required to advise them in writing within 7 days. This should include the contact details of who has listed them and how they can go about checking what the listing says and having it removed or amended (if need be). You do not have to advise the person of the reason for the listing. They can get this information from either the person who listed them (free of charge) or direct from the database operator in writing or by phone.\n\nNotice required before listing\n\nYou must not list or arrange for a tenant to be listed on a tenancy database unless you have advised the tenant in writing and given details of the proposed listing, or taken reasonable steps to try to advise them. This would involve sending a letter to the tenant’s forwarding address (if known) or to the address of the rented premises (in case they are having their mail redirected). You must give them at least 14 days to object before you list them.\n\nYou should also be aware that under the national privacy principles tenants must give their consent before you can check their rental history or pass on information for 'secondary purposes' such as database listings. Such consent authorisation could be included on your tenancy application form.\n\nRemoving or updating listings\n\nAll listings older than 3 years must be removed from a database. Listings under 3 years must also be removed if they are 'out-of-date'. This is where the amount owed above the bond has been repaid to the landlord within 3 months or if the termination order obtained from the Tribunal was not enforced.\n\nListings need to be amended if you discover that the information is inaccurate, incomplete or ambiguous. For example, if the listing just says the tenant was evicted but does not identify the nature of the breach.\n\nAny changes to the database records need to be done within 7 days, if you can do it yourself, or within 14 days if you need to notify the database operator to have it done.\nThe new laws apply to all existing listings as well as future listings. All existing listings need to be reviewed to ensure they comply with the new laws, by 1 May 2011.\n\nDisputes about listings\n\nA tenant who believes that a listing, or proposed listing, about them is incorrect, out-of-date or unjust can apply to the Tribunal if they cannot get it removed or amended.\nExamples of listings that may be unjust include:\n\n  • a tenant who left the property to escape domestic violence and their former partner was responsible for damage after they left\n  • a tenant who was in hospital after a car accident and fell behind with their rent.\n\nThe Tribunal can order information about a person in a database to be wholly or partly removed, amended in a certain way or not listed at all if it was a proposed listing. Be mindful that the Tribunal also has the ability to award compensation if a person suffers a loss as a result of inaccurate, ambiguous or out-of-date information being listed about them.\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8220052719116211}
+{"content": "September 30, 2011 Posted by Crunk Chris in News\n\nFatty Down just went to high-rotation on Much Music!\n\nFatty downs- Sipping A Beer ft Evil/Kyprios Directed by Stuey Kubrick now has rotation on MUCH MUSIC & MUCH VIBE. Now if anybody and everybody would please take the time to Request it we would appreciate that\n\nStep 1: Sign into your email account and prepare to compose a new email.\n\nStep 2: Copy and paste the following emails into the \"To:\" area...\n\n\n\nStep 3: Type \"VIDEO REQUESTS\" into the subject field and copy and paste the following into the message field: \" SIPPIN A BEER BY FATTY DOWN\" CLICK AND SEND and your done!!\n\n\nTWITTER- Copy and paste this into your Twitter!\n\nHey @muchmusic Can you please play SIPPIN A BEER @fattydown @kyprios @evilebenezer on #MOD\n\nAnd Much's show New Music Live\n\nHey @NML Can you Can you please play SIPPIN A BEER\n\nAnd T-rexxx from RapCity\n\nYo! @trexxx1loveto SIPPIN A BEER @fattydown @kyprios @evilebenezer on RapCity\n\nYou can send requests to any VJ you want @ [email protected] or call 1-800-265-MUCH but they only answer the phone during the request shows like much on demand.\n\ncheck here====>http://www.muchmusic.com/music/freshvideos/\nClick to share thisClick to share this", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9570552706718445}
+{"content": "From Rosetta Code\nOfficial website\nSee Also:\n\nListed below are all of the tasks on Rosetta Code which have been solved using Heron.\nYour Help Needed\nIf you know Heron, please write code for some of the tasks not implemented in Heron.\n\nHeron is a general-purpose object-oriented language, designed by Christopher Diggins, that strives to be appropriate for large scale project development (at least once it is mature). Heron borrows a number of ideas from functional languages, and offers some new twists on object-oriented programming.[1]\n\nHeron is influenced by the C++, Java and Pascal programming languages. Heron has built-in support for object-oriented programming, generic programming, metaprogramming, aspect-oriented programming and design by contract techniques. The Heron language design goals include improving reusability of software and reduction of possibility of programmer error. Heron performance is tuned towards heavily polymorphic object-oriented designs.\n\nHeron is effectively a combination of programming language and modeling language. It is designed to allow seamless transitioning between textual and diagrammatic representiation of executable UML (xUML) models. Heron is the first programming language designed specifically to support the model-driven architecture (MDA) paradigm.\n\n\n\n  1. (Re-)Introducing the Heron Programming Language\n\n\n\nPages in category \"Heron\"\n\nThis category contains only the following page.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5669198036193848}
+{"content": "Walt Taylor: The Art of Seeing - S1, Ep8\n\nby Kendrick Hopkins - Shannon Bowman\n\nRenowned artist, Walt Taylor, speaks about his early influences in drawing, how he got into sketching people, & how staying on top of technology has allowed him to take his art to a truly self-gratifying place. Or maybe it's the other way around? Also hear Walt talk about his editorial comics that he does weekly for the Virginian Pilot and the role social media plays in his creative process.\n\n\"When I was a kid, drawing was a way to get noticed by the popular kids and to avoid getting beaten up by bullies. Nothing much has changed since then. As far as urban sketching goes, I’m fascinated by the way luxury and squalor, beauty and ugliness, hedge fund managers and junkies, exist side by side in established cities, whose various constituencies have learned to accommodate each other over the generations. Newer communities try to exert too much control, and therefore are much less interesting to observe and draw.\"\n\n\nSupport comes from:", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8064697980880737}
+{"content": "How to be smarter\n\nUndersigned is not the sharpest pencil in the box, but I have had the pleasure to meet some real smart individuals. They inspire me. It is pure pleasure to talk with some of them, and it’s really really awkward and challenging to talk with the rest of them.\n\nSo naturally the question arises, why is it so awkward to communicate with some of them intelligents.\n\nFirst, let’s try to find out what intelligence actually is.\n\nIntelligence is both the rate of learning and accumulated knowledge\n\nMankind has cracked the human genome code, been to the Moon. Flying across the world is like taking a bus and we are drilling for tiny tiny pockets of oil thousands of meters below the seabed under the deep sea. But we do not know much about the internal works of the human brain.\n\nStill, it has been proven that frontal gray matter volume correlates with something called general intelligence, or g-factor. Now this “general intelligence” is a metric to measure all of our brainpower. Hierarchically, we can split this brainpower into two factors or ten broad abilities which can further be divided into 69 narrow abilities.\n\nLet’s take a closer look at the two factors of the general intelligence, the fluid intelligence and crystallized intelligence.\n\n“Fluid intelligence or is the capacity to think logically and solve problems in novel situations, independent of acquired knowledge.\n\nCrystallized intelligence is the ability to use skills, knowledge, and experience. It is one’s lifetime or intellectual achievement, as demonstrated largely through one’s vocabulary and general knowledge.”\n\nSo, in a nutshell, the fluid intelligence is the ability to learn and understand, the cognitive ability, whereas crystallized intelligence is the acquired knowledge, the result of all previous learning and understanding. Fluid intelligence is the horsepower of a car (=brainpower), crystallized intelligence is the distance driven (=accumulated knowledge). More powerful the car, more distance can be driven during a lifetime. The only question is which road should one drive.\n\nIntelligence can be increased by training\n\nThe good news is that the fluid intelligence (=brainpower) can be increased by training!\n\nWithout going into too much details, one can train with multimodal working memory tasks (the dual n-back). Now, this is very different than playing Tetris or Sudoku. Playing Tetris and Sudoku, only makes you better in those games. The dual n-back training gives you significant improvement on a completely unrelated cognitive tasks.\n\nAndrea Kuszewski summarised very nicely that to become more intelligent, you need to:\n\n  • Seek Novelty\n  • Challenge Yourself\n  • Think Creatively\n  • Do Things The Hard Way\n  • Network\n\nSo yes, it is possible to increase the amount of raw brainpower you were born with.\n\nIntelligence is not only logical-mathematical talent\n\nTheory of multiple intelligences argues that rather one single general ability, there is wide range of cognitive abilities, with little or no correlation between them.\n\n  • Spatial\n  • Linguistic\n  • Logical-mathematical\n  • Bodily-kinesthetic\n  • Musical\n  • Interpersonal\n  • Intrapersonal\n  • Naturalistic\n\nThe big revelation is that what most people think of as intelligence: logic, abstractions, reasoning and numbers, is just one of the eight abilities. Another important finding is that “Individuals rarely perform equally well on all the different kinds of items included in a test of intelligence.” (ref. Neisser et al.)\n\nIntelligence can be measured\n\nOf course people have been trying to measure intelligence and various tests do exist to find out the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Quotient (IQ) of a person.\n\nIQ is a normal distribution meaning that average Joe has IQ of 100 and 50% of the worldwide population is smarter than he is. And if you are smarter than 98% the population, your IQ is over 131 and you can join the high-intelligence society Mensa.\n\nUltra high IQ society, Mega Society (IQ>171, smarter than 99.9999% of population), challenges timed, supervised IQ tests, stating that they do not accurately measure at the one in a million level, and therefore they have their own super difficult tests. Get 6/48 correct in the Titan Test and you are in Mensa. Get 43/48 correct and you are invited to Mega Society social events drinking tea with Chris Langan.\n\nIt is widely agreed that standardized tests do not sample all forms of intelligence. But surely it is possible to measure the part of intelligence that is processing logical puzzles fast. And who knows, maybe there is correlation to raw intelligence (=brainpower).\n\nHigh intelligence does not guarantee success in life\n\nIn my books, a very smart person has accumulated knowledge and has excellent communication skills. And he/she is able to simplify complicated things for us lesser beings. Think Richard Feynmann, man with great logic, imagination and communication skills.\n\nSo what makes some of them smarts so enjoyable to talk with and others so annoying? Attitude.\n\nLet’s step into smart peoples boots for a while and try to figure out why they behave the way they do.\n\nThe schooling system is designed for average people. Smart ones do well in school with virtually no effort and hence might learn to be lazy. They might be perceived as non-social as they might not have interest in talking about sports, reality TV, but rather higher concepts like cosmology or socioeconomics.\n\nLater they enter the work life, just to find out that most office jobs consist of easy routine tasks. Their full potential and talent is not needed and hence they do not receive recognition and get frustrated.\n\nThey will realize that in work life things progress slowly and it takes time for a group to come to the obvious conclusion that the smart one did figure out right away when introduced to the issue at hand. They might become reluctant explaining things and co-working with colleagues who don’t grasp new concepts so easily and are not talented in using abstraction. They might feel superior and others perceive them as arrogant.\n\nSumma summarum\n\nIntelligence is both the rate of learning (=brainpower) and acquired skills and knowledge. High intelligence does not guarantee success in life. Real life needs specific skills (f.ex. personal finance and relationships) and unfortunately not all of those skills are taught in schools.\n\nRecommended reading\n\nAndrea Kuszewski on Robopsychology\n\nCore Human Skills needed for success\n\nSteve Pavlina on how your mind really works article on memory training software\n\nAndroid application for dual n-back memory training\n\nBonobos might have something to teach humans\n\nSex makes you smarter\n\n\nposted: 12 February 29\nunder: Lifestyle", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6788022518157959}
+{"content": "Introduction: How to Add EL Wire to a Coat or Other Garment\n\nPicture of How to Add EL Wire to a Coat or Other Garment\n\n\n\n\nStep 1: List of Materials\n\nPicture of List of Materials\n\n\nsewing supplies:\nneedle, clear thread, scissors\n\nbattery holder and switch (if not included with driver)\n\nIf you are soldering:\nsoldering iron\nwire strippers\nwire cutters\nheat-shrink tubing, heat gun\n\nglue, pins, clamps\n\nStep 2: Choose Garment to Light Up\n\nPicture of Choose Garment to Light Up\n\nSome types of clothing are better-suited for EL wire installation than others. It is usually easier to get good results when the stiffness of the wire is similar to the stiffness of the base fabric, and the garment does not stretch or flex too much in the areas where the EL wire is installed.\n\nleather, suede, vinyl, various forms of imitation leather\ndenim, thick cotton/polyester blends, velvet (non-stretch), faux fur\nquilted/padded jackets (like a parka)\nany medium to heavyweight fabric that does not stretch\n\nnot recommended:\nlightweight fabrics\nstretch fabrics\n\nIn most cases, you don't want the EL wire to be significantly stiffer than the fabric, or the wire will dominate the drape of the garment. (one exception would be a ruffled edge on a tutu, for example). Also, if you bend or fold part of the wire when you wear it or store it, it will retain some of the bend in that location when you want to straighten it out. Over time, these areas are more likely to break.\n\nIf you are working with a lined piece of clothing, open up the lining by gently snipping the stitches in an inner seam. Open it enough so that you can access all the places where you will put EL wire.\n\nStep 3: Plan the Light Layout\n\nPicture of Plan the Light Layout\n\nAdding EL wire to clothing can be a good project for a beginner who has limited experience with electronics or sewing. However, you should be aware of the limitations of EL wire when you plan your design.\n\nThe center core of EL wire is made of solid copper, and like any solid wire it will break due to fatigue damage after repeated bending. On the human body, the elbows, knees, shoulders, and hips undergo the most movement. You can make the electronics last longer by mounting EL on areas that don't flex as much, and using stranded insulated connector wire (which can flex) to join the glowing pieces together inside the garment.\n\nPlan the placement of EL wire with temporary markers like pieces of string, pins, or stickers, or make a sketch on a digital photo of the garment. You can follow the seams, or add axtra lines as desired. Decide which sections can be lit up with a single continuous piece of EL wire, and which will require multiple pieces.\n\nThen, decide what path the wire will take for each section, and mark the entry and exit points. To make sharp \"T\" shaped junctions, you may need to run the wire inside the jacket at some locations.\n\nStep 4: Select and Order the EL Wire and Inverter\n\nPicture of Select and Order the EL Wire and Inverter\n\nMeasure the total length of EL wire that you will need, taking into account parts that will be hidden behind the fabric, and add at least 2-3 inches at the end of each piece to allow for stripping and soldering the ends (or sealing the un-soldered ends). If you are not experienced with soldering EL wire, order extra so you can practice. You may need to cut and re-strip the ends multiple times.\n\nThere are many sources for buying EL wire online, such as and\n\nthin (angel hair)\nnormal thickness (2.3 mm diameter)\nextra thick/phat (3.2mm or 5mm diameter)\n\nI prefer normal thickness, high brightness wire for most applications. The thin wire can be bent into finer shapes, but it is more fragile (better suited for a hat or a tiara, for example). The thick wire is more durable, being protected by a thicker outer plastic core, but it cannot be bent as tightly and may not be suitable for designs with fine details or sharp bends.\n\nThere are two standard phosphor colors for EL wire: aqua blue (which is white with a clear sheath when off), and white (which is pink when off, due to the addition of a red phosphor in the mix). The other colors (pink, red, orange, yellow, lime green, dark green, dark blue, and violet) are achieved by filtering the aqua light through a tinted outer sheath. Aqua tends to be the brightest, although the brightness can be adjusted when you select your driver.\n\nEL Drivers:\nEL wire uses a high voltage and high frequency alternating current to activate the phosphor. An EL driver, also known as an inverter, is required to convert your low voltage DC power from the battery into a high voltage AC source. The length rating of the EL driver should be matched to the total length of glowing wire that you want to illuminate, regardless of whether it is wired in series or in parallel.\nSome drivers will produce a steady glow in your EL wire, others have built-in options for blinking and sound reactivity.\n\nStep 5: Cut, Strip and Solder the EL Wire Junctions\n\nPicture of Cut, Strip and Solder the EL Wire Junctions\n\nYou can order the EL wire pieces pre-soldered if your design is relatively simple, and you want to skip this step.\n\nThe sketch below illustrates the method I use to solder EL wire. If you'd like more detail, you can get directions from the places that sell EL wire, or see this instructable:\n\nFor each piece of EL wire in your design, cut the proper length (with at least a few extra inches at each end), and solder the end of each piece to a connector, or to a double-conductor piece of ribbon cable that is long enough to reach the driver. The polarity does not matter - either wire can be connected to the center core or the outer wires. There are many methods for soldering EL wire, for any of these you should end up with a reinforced region with heat shrink tubing covering the junction.\n\nI strongly recommend that you test the wire at this stage, joining the two conductors to an inverter, before it is attached to the garment. This is also a good time to join the pieces together to test the overall brightness, and decide whether you'd like to use a stronger inverter. You can achieve a higher level of brightness by overdriving the wire (e.g., attaching a short length of wire to one that is designed for a longer piece). It will burn out the phosphor on the wire faster, but that might not be important for some applications. Under normal usage, EL wire should have 3000 to 5000 hours of glowing life before the phosphor fades to 1/2 of its normal brightness.\n\nStep 6: Attach the EL Wire\n\nPicture of Attach the EL Wire\n\nFor most projects, the best approach is to hand-sew the wire to the fabric with clear monofilament thread (fishing line). Look for the basic clear kind, in one of the lower weights. I typically use the 6lb type, but 4lb and 8lb will also work reasonably well. You can also use standard thread, if you don't mind that it will block light from the EL wherever you make a stitch.\n\nMake a hole in the fabric where you want to have an entry point. with the connector wires on the inside, pull the EL wire through the hole. When you get to the solder junction and shrink tubing, leave that part inside the garment and position it in a way that can be reinforced. For example, you may want to sew it to the inside of a seam, or add glue. It is most important that the area inside the shrink tubing is not going to bend repeatedly - this is the most fragile part of the wire.\n\nIf you are doing the type of installation where you are running one long piece along an arm or leg, or another line that is going to extend when you flex, then it is better to mount the EL wire in a way that allows the end to slide slightly in and out of the hole.\n\nTo sew the wire in place: use a needle that is appropriate for the garment fabric (leather needles have a special piercing point at the end). Thread the needle. As a rule of thumb, a good amount of thread to use is the distance between your hands when your arms are spread out. Shorter pieces will require frequent re-threading, longer pieces tend to get tangled and caught on things. I like to sew with a double strand of thread - meaning the needle is positioned at the halfway point on the piece of fishing line, and the two ends are tied together. A double knot is a good idea.\n\nWhen you start sewing, run the needle between the two threads after the first stitch, to make a better anchor to the knot. This ensures the the knot will not pull through the hole in the fabric.\nSew along the length of the EL wire with a diagonal whip stitch, using whatvever spacing is needed to hold the wire in the proper shape. If the fabric is especially thick or difficult to sew through, you can use a line of topstitching as your anchor.\nTie an extra knot in the fishing line periodically (every 5-6 inches), so that if part of it breaks it will not undo the rest of the stitching.\n\nFor some materials, a strong flexible glue may be a better choice. For example, EL wire can be mounted to a plastic surface (such as a helmet) by hot glue, E6000, or 3M Super Strength Adhesive.\n\nAnother method for attaching EL wire to clothing is to make a casing or channel with sheer fabric, and slide the wire through there.\n\nOr, if you're looking for an extremely easy short cut, or a quick temporary attachment, you could weave it back and forth through holes in the fabric, or hold it on temporarily with safety pins, zip ties, or clear tape.\n\nWhen you get to the other end, make an entry hole, if needed. Leave about 2-3\" excess wire at the end. Seal the end with heat-shrink tubing and/or glue, and mount it on the inside of the garment, as you did with the leading end.\n\nStep 7: Finishing Steps\n\nPicture of Finishing Steps\n\nFirst, you will need to deal with wire management inside the garment. There should be enough slack for the non-glowing connector wires to reach back to the inverter and battery without being pulled tightly when you move. But, you also don't want so much excess wire that it will get snagged when you put it on. I recommend using a big stitch to sew these wires to the seams on the inside of the garment. If your jacket is unlined, this is especially helpful. If your jacket has a lining, it may be sufficient to make some anchor points at key locations where the wire bends, like the armpits.\n\nAfter all the wires running back to the inverter and battery pocket are stabilized, reconnect them as needed. They can be hard-wired to the driver, or joined to a plug if you want it to be easy to change it later. Use heat-shrink tubing or other insulators to ensure that you do not short out the two conductors to each other.\n\nAdvice for the battery pocket:\nUse an existing pocket in the garment or add one, if necessary. The pocket should be close to the size of the battery pack. If you will be dancing or moving a lot in the coat, you don't want the battery pack to bounce around too much, or fall out. Closing the pocket with a zipper or velcro can be helpful.\n\nClip a small part of the pocket seam, pass the wire through, and re-sew the seam closed so that the parts don't fall back into the lining. If you do not plan to change the inverter, that part can be hidden in an inaccessible part inside the lining, or sewn into a separate closed section of a pocket. Run the wire for the battery connector to that pocket. There should be enough excess wire to easily access the end and change batteries.\n\nMany EL drivers run on 9V or 12V. A standard 9V battery is good for many applications. If you want longer battery life with a 9V system, you can also use a 6-pack of AA cells.\n\nStep 8: Other Examples: EL Wire Logos and Shapes\n\nPicture of Other Examples: EL Wire Logos and Shapes\n\nIn addition to lighting up the seams of a garment, EL wire can also be bent into shape to create logos and other designs, and sewn or glued to fabric. Please see the notes on each image for more information.\n\nStep 9: Other Examples: EL Wire Suits\n\nPicture of Other Examples: EL Wire Suits\n\nHere are some examples of EL wire suits, with comments included on the photos.\n\nStep 10: Other Examples: EL Wire Hats and Helmets\n\nPicture of Other Examples: EL Wire Hats and Helmets\n\nHats and helmets can provide a good sturdy non-flexing base for EL wire. Cut holes in fabric, or drill/melt holes in plastic to pass the wire in and out of the hat at desired locations.\n\nA small inverter and battery (9V type, for example), can be hidden in a hat with extra space inside, so those are generally preferred over something tight, like a low-crown baseball cap.\n\nThe high-pitched whining noise of the EL wire system can be difficult to wear near your ears, although some people don't mind it.\n\nPlease see the photo comments for more information.\n\n\nCreativeChloe (author)2017-07-29\n\nI love all your examples of different applications for el wire!\nI have a question that I haven't been able to find an answer to... Do certain colours (like purple) of El wire emit any harmful UV light?\n\nenlighted (author)CreativeChloe2017-08-01\n\nThe phosphor core of the EL wire does not emit UV light - most colors are obtained from the combination of the glowing aqua color plus the tinted color of the outer covering on the wire. (EL wire that glows white typically uses a different base phosphor)\n\nCreativeChloe (author)enlighted2017-08-01\n\nThank you!\n\nScottR165 (author)2017-02-20\n\nDo you have a course on how to do LED lights in clothing?\n\nchuckr44 (author)ScottR1652017-05-31\n\nLEDs are similar but you don't need the invertor, they run on DC power. But if your power supply is a greater voltage than the power used by the LEDs, you will need to calculate a value for the resistor.\n\nHere's a simple schematic of an LED light powered by a 9v battery. If you don't want the dimmer, just omit it, no other changes need to be made.\n\nMiked333 (author)2016-12-14\n\n\nenlighted (author)Miked3332016-12-21\n\nhi - Please contact me though my main website,\n\nCodySteed (author)2013-01-12\n\n\n\nJoshM11 (author)CodySteed2016-11-02\n\nI know some of those words.\n\nsexyDEATHparty (author)CodySteed2016-04-26\n\n\nlworrall (author)2013-03-26\n\nHow loud is the high pitch noise you mention please?\n\njohnnycaox (author)lworrall2016-10-26\n\n\nbritanica_erwin (author)2016-10-13\n\n\n\nAmandaD77 (author)2016-04-27\n\n\nAmandaD77 (author)2016-04-20\n\n\nsexyDEATHparty (author)AmandaD772016-04-26\n\n\nsexyDEATHparty (author)AmandaD772016-04-26\n\n\nHousey (author)2016-04-02\n\nnice ??\n\nminer1964 (author)2015-12-24\n\nawsome work thank you for shareing with us\n\nchikid68 (author)2015-12-12\n\n\nTwo Paddles Design (author)2015-10-31\n\n\nkpinvt (author)2015-10-30\n\nThis stuff would look great on motorcycle suit and helmet.\n\n26stars (author)2015-10-06\n\n\nAdricT (author)2015-03-13\n\n\ndavidbarcomb (author)2014-11-28\n\nNice work.\n\nKateM3 (author)2014-11-18\n\n\nClarinetChick (author)2014-11-03\n\n\n\nOliverG (author)2014-10-23\n\n\nVegetarianD (author)2014-10-21\n\n\nangryrobot17 (author)2013-10-07\n\nhow much does eL wire cost, or the whole project?\n\n\n\nHope this helps! :)\n\nGdurkan (author)2014-09-23\n\nhow did you attach the wires to the bike helmet?\n\nalanm10 (author)2014-02-23\n\n\nmeowsugar (author)2013-02-25\n\n\nLady P (author)meowsugar2014-02-21\n\n\n\nGreggb8533 made it! (author)2014-01-29\n\n\ncriggs-1 (author)2011-02-22\n\n\nAny help would be much appreciated :)\n\nILoveLights (author)criggs-12013-09-19\n\n\ngomas211 (author)2012-07-31\n\n\n\nILoveLights (author)gomas2112013-09-19\n\n\n\nnoctividus (author)2013-02-21\n\n\nsheldon5992 (author)2013-02-11\n\n\nsheldon5992 (author)sheldon59922013-02-11\n\n\nthebritelite (author)2013-01-08\n\n\nLet me add my $0.05 worth:\n\n\n\n\n\n\nmoh3 (author)2012-12-22\n\n\ngonequackers4u (author)2012-06-17\n\nWhere would you suggest to put the inverter on a bra?\n\nMadScientistK (author)2009-04-10\n\n\nenlighted (author)MadScientistK2009-04-11\n\n\njpayton (author)enlighted2012-04-08\n\nWhat about dry cleaning?\n\nAbout This Instructable\n\n\n\n\nBio: Founder / Chief Fashion Engineer of Enlighted Designs, Inc., specializing in custom illuminated clothing and costumes for performers. 20+ years experience with fabric-mounted LEDs, EL, and ... More »\nAdd instructable to:", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8227102756500244}
+{"content": "Do you have any information on how to deal with condensation ?\n\"In warm weather condensation is likely to build up on the inside of the flysheet if the tent is not fully ventilated.\n\nAs you will be aware, heat will build up inside a tent during the day, but at night when the outside temperature drops the heat inside will cool down and condense, forming moisture on the inside of the flysheet.\n\nThe best way to stop the condensation forming is to open all the doors and vents on the flysheet to allow fresh air to circulate inside the tent. Once you are inside the tent for the night close the flysheet doors, but leave all the vents open to allow air to circulate.\n\nIf the condensation is on the inside of the inner tent, the best way to combat this is to close the inner tent door fully, open the nylon door to leave the inset / mesh door exposed.\n\nThis will allow air to circulate in the inner tent. \"", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8906623721122742}
+{"content": "How to access SMB server?\n\nYou can access \"SMB\" server by following the steps mentioned below:\n\nStep 1:  Go to Network and choose to add server from PC/NAS\n\nStep 2: Tap on protocol and choose \"SMB\" from the options\n\nStep 2: A menu will pop up, enter: Address, Domain, Username, Password and save to access SMB server. \n\nWas this article helpful?", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9975842833518982}
+{"content": "My Queue\n\nYour Queue is empty\n\nClick on the next to articles to add them to your Queue\n\nTraditional Medicinal Treatments Get Push For Inclusion In Mainstream\n\nTraditional Medicinal Treatments Get Push For Inclusion In Mainstream\nImage credit:\n\nFor centuries, people all over the world have relied on herbal medicines, handed down through generations. The government think-tank Niti Aayog has also come up with two draft legislations to regulate and promote Indian systems of medicine, which include Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy and Homoeopathy. The legislation will not only regulate, but also give these systems a much-needed push towards the mainstream.\n\nThe importance of ensuring healthcare access cannot be overstated in a developing country like India. While medicine has made major advances, but the Ayurvedic mode of treatment is still desperately in need of new modes of treatment.  It takes years for a new drug to pass the research and manufacture process and the cost of manufacturing is enormous. This prompts the need to look towards alternative treatment practices.\n\nMoreover, a large section of the society depends on traditional medicine for their primary healthcare. People in remote areas all over the world rely on traditional medicine, particularly the herbal ones, for cure.\n\nIndian traditional medicinal systems like Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani have a rich history of their effectiveness. Ayurveda, a 5,000-year-old system is also being used to treat modern ailments and lifestyle diseases. \n\nAccording to a report by Ryan Abott, titled ‘Documenting Traditional Medicinal Knowledge’, 80 per cent of the population in Asia and Africa still uses traditional remedies, rather than modern medicines for primary healthcare. Even in developed nations, traditional medicines are rapidly gaining appeal with estimates suggesting that up to 80 per cent of the population has tried a therapy such as acupuncture or homeopathy.\n\nIn the light of these facts, incorporating traditional medicines in the mainstream becomes necessary. The Niti Aayog proposals are a welcome move in that direction. Among other things, the bills seek to ensure adequate high quality medical professionals for the Indian stream of medicine at both under-graduate and post-graduate levels and to promote research. The bills also provide for maintenance of registers for professionals engaged in Indian System of Medicine and homeopathy. Moreover, the central government will also constitute a commission, to be named the National Commission for Homoeopathy.\n\nAll these guidelines and regulations will not only solve the problem of accessibility in terms of quality healthcare, but also bring a centralized system for regulation of these systems. Ensuring adequate knowledge about the system, high quality clinical trials, proper information about such drugs and their effectiveness among common people will only further the promotion of such medicine. Integration of Ayurvedic and other Indian traditional medicine in clinical practices through these regulations will also be helpful for people, who are unable to access modern medicine. Moreover, the bill will alleviate issues of integration such as irrational use, quality control and standardization problems. This will be done by establishing standards for safety and evidence, appropriating definitions of inclusion and exclusion, and pushing adaption of standard protocols.\n\nTraditional medicine has much to offer towards global health, especially as new drugs have never been more urgently needed. However, incorporating its knowledge into modern healthcare and ensuring it meets modern safety and efficacy standards is no easy task. But marrying traditional and modern medicine can definitely spark a revival of global healthcare research and development.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9854921102523804}
+{"content": "Attempted robbery at Penwortham garage\n\nCCTV images have been released by officers investigating an attempted robbery at a 24 hour filling station.\n\nThe incident happened at around 12.05am this morning (Tuesday, April 18th) after three men dressed in dark clothing and ski masks have tried to enter the Middleforth Garage on Leyland Road, Penwortham, Preston.\n\nThey have tried to gain entry through the locked entrance door but were unable to get inside. They have then tried to prise the door open with a large knife but were unsuccessful.\n\nThe trio made off on foot in the direction of Lostock Hall\n\nPC Paul Gilfoyle from Preston Police said: “Fortunately the men were unsuccessful in their attempt to break in, nobody was injured and nothing was stolen. Nonetheless, this has been a frightening experience for the staff of the garage and so we are asking anyone with information to come forward.\n\n\n\n\nAlternatively, Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously on 0800 555111.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6560063362121582}
+{"content": "Boundary Testing and Criminal Interviews\n\n3 rivers defense\n\nBoundary Setting\n\nPredators need proximity to attack their victims. They generally gain proximity through two basic methods: surprise and ambush or charm. Using their charm and manipulation, predators often test and then violate boundaries.\n\nBy definition, every criminal attack is a boundary violation. Sexual assault, stalking, rape, intimidation, and other attacks are all boundary violations. We have physical boundaries. We also have mental and emotional comfort zones.\n\nNot every boundary violation is a crime, but criminal attacks often start with gradually increasing boundary violations. Aggressors often test potential victims to find out whether and how they set, enforce, and protect their boundaries and where they are vulnerable.\n\nIn addition to, or combined with, boundary testing criminals often employ manipulation and control techniques based on the target’s personality traits such as kindness, credulity, eagerness to please, or cravings for acceptance. When criminals test a potential victim’s boundaries verbally, we sometimes call this process criminal interviewing. This is one interview that you want to fail.\n\nSelf-defense begins with risk awareness, reduction, recognition, and avoidance. Effective risk management includes setting, protecting, and enforcing your boundaries.\n\nBoundary setting isn’t only important for violence prevention against criminal predators. Self-care in every day life also includes setting and enforcing healthy boundaries at home, at work, with friends, and with acquaintances throughout your day.\n\nMy next post will make some suggestions for recognizing boundary violations that may begin with subtle encroachments, at times disguised as flattery and admiration.\n\nHappy 4th of July – Free class on July 12\n\n3 rivers defense\n\nHave a happy and safe 4th of July!\n\nNext week, we’ll have a free return-and-practice self-defense session.\n\nThe training will take place at our studio at 612 W Griffin in Bozeman on Wednesday, July 12th from 7:00pm –8:30pm. Everyone who has trained with us in the past is invited. You are also welcome to bring a friend.\n\nCome and join us, refresh your skills, and connect with former training partners. To sign up, please email Brigitte at 3riverstkd@gmail.com by Monday, July 10th.\n\nThree Rivers Defense will be back in Montana in July\n\nThree Rivers Defense Gym\n\nAfter a month in Germany and then a brief dragon boat race excursion to Canada, Brigitte will be back in Montana in July.\n\nThree Rivers Defense self-defense training in Montana will resume in July.\n\nWe’ll also have a free return-and-practice self-defense session on the second Wednesday  in July (7-12-2017)  from 7:00 until 8:30pm. Everyone who has trained with us in the past is invited. You are also welcome to bring a friend.\n\nCome and join us, refresh your skills, and connect with former training partners. To sign up, email Brigitte at 3riverstkd@gmail.com.\n\n\nSelf-defense at 2017 Montana Farmers Women’s Conference\n\n3 rivers defense\n\nThe Montana Farmers Union Women’s Conference will take place on February 10 -12, 2017 at Chico Hot Springs Resort & Day Spa\n\nBrigitte Schulze and Three Rivers Defense will do a self-defense workshop on how to free yourself from grabs and holds.\n\nAttacks against women often start with attempts to restrain them – holding, grabbing, or pulling them. We’ll learn how to break free quickly, and how to counter- attack as necessary to escape to safety.\n\nWe are looking forward to training with the women of the Montana Farmers Union and everyone else who joins us for some training, soaking at Chico, and inspiration for cultivating our potential. The conference is open to anyone.\n\nJoin us! Everyone is welcome!\n\n\nNYC Police\n\nDenial of violence is a powerful psychological defense mechanism, easing anxiety and lulling people into believing they live safe, idyllic lives. They don’t want to think about the possibility of violence. Negating the possibility of violence makes them feel more secure and comfortable. They often proclaim to be strictly non-violent, abhorring violence as universally bad. They like to say that violence never solved any problem. But denial comes at a price because it dulls our awareness and our risk management abilities.\n\nDenial also works in other ways when people deny what real violence is.\n\nSome people confuse self-defense with martial arts or training drills in the safety of their gym or dojo. Self-defense against a criminal attack is nothing like sparring in the dojo. Even boxing matches and mixed martial arts, Muay Thai, and other sanctioned fights have strict rules, aimed at preventing severe injuries and civil and criminal liability. For example, there are illegal targets, like the eyes; illegal weapons, like eye gouges; and illegal weapon/target combinations, like stomping a fallen opponent on the ground. Fighters are matched up by experience, weight, and gender. They begin and end fighting with the bell. Referees make sure that the fighters spar according to the rules, and time limits determine the length of each round. Ambulances stand by in case anything goes wrong. Contenders consent to mutual fights at agreed upon times, dates, and locations. They study their opponent and train for the fight to be in the best possible shape on fight night.\n\nPredatory criminal attackers on the other hand generally choose their victims based on the victims’ perceived vulnerability, surprise, and lack of preparation. Attackers rely on their own superior strength, size, and power. They choose the time and the location of the attack, preferably isolated places with easy access and escape for the attacker, and no witnesses. The environment may be a dirty hallway or a bathroom stall, not a comfortable training gym with clean, padded floors and water-filled ergonomic heavy bags. Instead, the ground may be asphalt or cement, littered with broken glass. The attacker may reek of sweat or alcohol, and have oozing blisters.\n\nIn an ambush, you may be hit first. You may be injured, in pain, and blinded by blood or tears, while trying to recover and defend and counter-attack. Real attacks cause stress reactions, like freezing, tunnel vision, and auditory exclusion. You may experience decreased pain, increased strength and speed, but also loss of fine motor control, and of the ability to think, plan, and act strategically.\n\nThe more you deny the realities of violence, the greater the costs you will pay in a real ambush by a predator. In situations where you have a chance to think and choose a course of action, for example in imminent partner assaults, you also need to weigh potential legal consequences of exceeding force justified under the circumstances. This is especially true in altercations that are more appropriately termed fights rather than attacks, such as bar quarrels. When you have a chance to de-escalate or walk away, any violence you use may ultimately be considered assault, or aggravated assault or even attempted homicide if you for example cause internal injury.\n\nThink about denial and be honest with yourself. Do you have the attitude that you live in a safe community and that your chances of encountering violence are slim to non-existent? Do you have a realistic appreciation of your risk profile and of your ability to de-escalate or defend against and neutralize threats? Do you fantasize about counter-attacking physically, putting your attacker in the hospital with hardly a scratch to yourself, and being welcomed by the community as a local hero? Do you have illusions about your ability to flip the switch from civilized person who usually relies on persuasion, negotiation, or appeasement to asocial fighter ready to seriously injure or kill another human being?\n\nBeing mindful requires you to be as realistic about your risks and as honest about yourself, your capabilities, and your attitudes, including your hang-ups and your fantasies, as possible. Watch some videos of attacks from Closed Circuit TV cameras to see how fast and brutal some attacks are.[1] Talk with some emergency room nurses or doctors to learn more about the type of injuries they encounter. Violence can be bloody, painful, debilitating, and expensive. You may need to pay bills for doctors, hospitals, physical and other therapy, as well as potentially staggering legal bills if you are charged or sued in a civil law suit. You may lose income. In addition, you may suffer emotionally and mentally as a result of having been attacked or having injured or killed someone in self-defense. For all of theses reasons, the best defense is avoidance whenever that is a safe option.\n\nSometimes, unfortunately, avoidance is no longer a safe option.\n\nWhen you need to fight back to save your life, it helps to have basic skills in using the tools of violence for your protection.\n\n[1] See for example, nothingtoxic.com\n\nParking Lots Safety – Crashes, not Predators, are your Greatest Risk\n\nParking Garage\n\nWhen people think of parking lots and self-defense, they often immediately think of predators lurking in dark spaces. But for most people, danger from distracted drivers or from being distracted themselves is much greater.\n\nBased on National Safety Council statistics, 1 in 5 accidents happen in parking lots. A false sense of security is one contributing factor. Lots of people, both drivers and pedestrians, are talking on their phones, texting, or otherwise preoccupied. But even crashes at slow speed can kill or cause significant injuries.\n\nDuring this the Holiday season be extra-careful in parking lots, both when driving and when walking.\n\nHappy Thanksgiving!\n\nSelf-awareness and Hardening Yourself as a Target\n\nNo smile\n\nPhysical, mental, and emotional self-awareness are crucial components of self-defense. Many predators are very adept at assessing people’s vulnerabilities and needs. Hardening yourself as a target starts with an honest, objective self-assessment.\n\nYour personality\n\nPersonality can be described as habitual characteristics of behavior, temperament, and emotions. Think about what you project about yourself to others. How do others generally perceive you? Do you come across as assertive? Shy? Demure? Compliant? Quiet? Cooperative? Trusting? Suspicious? Domineering? Strong-willed? Weak? Insecure? What personality traits make you a soft or a hard target? Are you easily flattered, impressed, or otherwise influenced by other people? Which type of people or under what circumstances?\n\nYour current mood and constitution\n\nPredators are also generally attuned to their targets’ vulnerabilities due to their current moods and physical constitutions. When you are lonely or sad, for example after a recent loss or break-up, you may be more susceptible to someone’s charm, manipulation, or faked solicitude than when you are physically and emotionally healthy and strong. The serial killer Ted Bundy was a master at tuning into his victims’ physical and emotional conditions. For example, one of his victims had just broken up with her boyfriend. Another one was preoccupied with exams.\n\nYour passions – how people connect with you\n\nAlso think about your passions. Do people use your social, political, recreational or other interests to attempt to manipulate you? Predators sometimes fake shared interests to gain their targets’ trust and make them let down their guard. Obviously, most people enjoy social interaction with others who share their interests. A lot of us do. But be careful when new acquaintances try to use your passion to force trust or to manipulate you into doing things you wouldn’t do otherwise.\n\nYour current focus\n\nMake a habit of asking yourself, where is my focus? For instance, as you are running in the early morning hours with few people on the trails and your thoughts wander to your work or kids, train yourself to return your focus to your surroundings.\n\nThroughout the day, whether we are driving on a freeway, walking down a city sidewalk, or enjoying our morning run, our thoughts digress. For instance, you may be worrying about an exam, a presentation at work, or your sick dog. You may be fatigued or worn out by a nasty cold. You may be upset about an argument with your spouse or a friend. Pre-occupation with thoughts about the past or the future often diverts our attention from our environment. Thoughts, emotions, and bodily sensations, for instance pain from a sore throat, can all distract us from sensing and processing signals from the world around us. One way to harness your situational and environmental awareness is to make it a habit to refocus on the present moment.\n\nAt a seminar at the annual Martial Arts Industries Association  conference in 2014, a presenter suggested that we should ask ourselves periodically, “Where am I? What am I doing? What should I pay attention to right now?” This is good advice for business; it’s also a good habit for safety. It’s so easy to tune out as we are driving or walking or doing anything else throughout the day. This simple series of questions can bring us back to the here and now. And that is where we need to be so that situational awareness can protect us against ambush as well as accidents.\n\nAwareness of your physical self: gait, posture, and demeanor\n\nMental and emotional self-awareness is your first step to hardening yourself as a target of opportunistic predatory violence. Another crucial step is physical self-awareness.\n\nResearchers Betty Grayson and Morris Stein conducted a classic study on victim selection with prison inmates convicted of violent crimes like armed robbery, rape, and murder. They showed the inmates videos of pedestrians walking down a busy New York City sidewalk and asked them to identify people they would pick as targets. The criminals’ answers were remarkably uniform even though they couldn’t articulate their criteria. Analysis of the videotapes showed that the inmates’ victim selections were based on perceived vulnerability and lack of environmental awareness rather than other criteria like size or gender.\n\nThe preferred victims’ postures, gait, body language, and general demeanor were similar in that they signaled timidity and weakness. For instance, their posture was slumped and their gait lacked “synchrony” or fluidity and wholeness. Shuffling, a short or awkward stride, and a general lack of athleticism and of awareness were seen as signs of vulnerability and weakness. The Stein/Grayson study suggests that people demonstrating environmental and situational awareness and athletic, fluid body movements are less likely to be targeted.\n\nYou can project more assertive body language by practicing these postures and movements:\n\n  • Roll your shoulders back and straighten them.\n  • Lift your chin.\n  • Look around you with a relaxed demeanor, rather than looking down.\n  • Walk with a comfortable, fluid stride.\n  • Keep your hands out of your pockets and unencumbered.\n  • Engage in physical activity that you enjoy and that helps you become comfortable with you body and with movement.\n\nAwareness of your voice and how it’s perceived by others \n\nOur voices also communicate assertiveness as well as insecurity and vulnerability. You can train yourself to sound more assertive. Start by becoming aware of the tone of your voice, and its rate, pitch, and inflection. Work on developing a calm and confident tone. Talk with a moderate rate, not too fast and not too slowly. Listen to the pitch of your voice. Practice for a moderate pitch, neither too high not too low. When we are suddenly afraid and the autonomous nervous system activates a sympathetic nervous system response, our voice changes and becomes high pitched, raspy, and fast. We can counter this effect by slow breathing: breathing in slowly, holding our breath for a second, breathing out even more slowly, and then repeating the sequence. Slow breathing can calm us physically as well as mentally.\n\nIt’s especially important to note the inflections at the end of your sentences. If you raise your voice at the end of a sentence  you’ll sound unsure. For instance, when you tell someone, “I’m not interested” or “Leave me alone” and raise your voice at the end, you may well be perceived as asking a question or making a plea, rather than giving a command. If your inflection stays at the same level, the voice signals a willingness or invitation to continue interaction. You may also be perceived as being unsure of your intent. When you watch national news with experienced broadcasters, listen to their use of inflection. As long as someone’s presentation is continuing, they’ll also continue with the same inflection. At the end of their statement, they will lower their voice. Practice lowering your voice at the end of the sentence when you give a direction, and you’ll instantly sound more assertive.\n\nGood self-awareness is a great way to start hardening yourself as a potential target.\n\n\n\nStand up to harassment – don’t escalate the situation\n\nSafety Pin Symbol for Support\n\nVerbal Harassment\n\nI have some reservations about the safety pin movement that I wrote about in another post. With those caveats, here are some suggestions for situations where you notice that someone is verbally harassing another person:\n\n  1. Assess the situation for physical risk to the harassed person and to you. Ask yourself ahead of time, do you have any skills assessing risk? If not, you might educate yourself about risk assessment.\n  2. Do you have de-escalation skills? If not, you might want to educate yourself, and practice.\n  3. What if the harassment escalates to physical violence? Do you have a plan on what to do?\n  4. If the harasser is threatening to hurt the person physically, your best option might be to call 911. I say “might” because the harassed person might not agree that law enforcement is the best option.\n  5. If your assessment is that there is no immediate physical danger, you could start by asking the targeted person if there is anything you can do for them. Don’t make assumptions.\n  6. You might ignore the harasser while you support the targeted person by simply standing with them or engaging them in friendly small talk, such as talk about the weather. In some situations that might be the safest and most effective action to take. More effective and safer than engaging with harassers. The harasser may leave. On the other hand, ignoring harassers can also empower them. They also may turn their aggression to you. Are you prepared for that possibility? How?\n  7. You might support the targeted person by being a witness which might cause the harasser to stop. Sometimes, people take video to deter harassers, a strategy that may or may not work, and that may also put you at risk.\n  8. Again, don’t assume that you know what the targeted person needs or wants in the situation. Don’t escalate a situation based on your need to assert yourself.\n  9. For situations that are clearly non-physically threatening, you might remember NNSS for NOTICE harassing behavior, NAME the behavior, tell the harasser to STOP, and SUPPORT the targeted person. But this is a simple framework, which may be appropriate only for relatively benign situations.\n  10. There is no panacea for verbal harassment; support the targeted person in a way that respects them and feels safe to you under the circumstances. Again, redundancy intended, don’t assume that you know what the targeted person needs and wants. And remember, what “feels safe” to you may not be.\n  11. If a targeted person is visibly upset, you could ask if you can call someone for them or do anything else for them. Respect the targeted person’s autonomy.\n  12. Sometimes there are creative indirect ways to support a targeted person. For instance, a woman heard that a person  at a sandwich shop asked that the sandwich be made by the white guy, not the Indian man. She made a point of asking that hers be made by the Indian man.\n\n\nStrategy or Tapping into Anger?\n\nGenghis Khan\n\nInstructors in women’s self-defense courses often tell their trainees to tap into their “anger” when they are assaulted. This has always struck me as condescending and sexist as well as counter-productive. In trainings with primarily male participants, I’ve never heard anyone suggest that we rely on rage or any other strong emotion to counter-attack. Instead the emphasis is usually on reacting strategically.\n\nOnce a counter-attack is your safest option, a strategic mind-set serves you better than one hi-jacked by anger. Learning to see vulnerable, accessible targets and to use your natural and improvised weapons efficiently and effectively generally protects you better than rage.\n\nUsing intuition strategically is different from being fueled by anger when counter-attacking. Being able to access and react to your body sensations and your emotions, like disgust, fear, or unease, is important to increase your safety and to recognize, reduce, and avoid threats. But once you are at a point where you need to fight back, strategy will probably serve you better.\n\nAnd in most encounters, it can be helpful to strive for “the cold face.” This is what the Mongols called a facial expression of a person who had mastered strategy and showed no emotion when dealing with aggression.\n\nThe Mongols\n\nSelf-Defense for Runners\n\n\nFall is a great time for running. Running is a great way to remain fit and healthy. Stay safe by using your common sense and your instincts. Read more…", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9456561803817749}
+{"content": "How Montreal aims to become a world centre of artificial intelligence\n\n\nDoina Precup, associate professor in computer sciences at McGill University, is the recipient of a Google research award. \"People didn’t really care for this type of research,” she says of the early days of AI. John Mahoney / Montreal Gazette\n\nShare Adjust Comment Print\n\n\n\nAnd hopes are high that a three-day conference starting May 24 — AI Forum — will help burnish Montreal’s reputation as one of the world’s emerging AI advanced research centres and top talent pools in the suddenly very hot tech trend.\n\nTopics and issues on the agenda include the evolution of AI in Montreal and the transformative impact AI can have on business, industry and the economy.\n\n\n\n“It’s ambitious,” allowed Gagné, one of the keynote speakers at the AI Forum, held in partnership with the annual C2 Montréal international gabfest.\n\nJean-François Gagné is co-founder and chief executive officer of Element AI, an artificial intelligence startup factory launched in Montreal last year. John Mahoney / Montreal Gazette\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBengio’s Montreal Institute for Learning Algorithms (MILA) got $4.5 million last November from Alphabet Inc.’s Google, an aggressive backer of research in machine learning.\n\n(Machine learning makes computers smarter and able to learn from data-based information rather than simply responding to static instructions. It involves the creation of computer neural networks that mimic human brain activity and can program themselves to solve complex problems rather than having to be programmed.)\n\nGoogle has also launched a deep learning — a subfield of machine learning — and AI research lab at its existing offices in Montreal. \n\nMicrosoft has launched a new venture fund whose first investment — an undisclosed amount — is in Element AI.\n\nThe Redmond, Wash.-based software giant also plans to double its AI R&D team in Montreal to about 90 people over the next year, said Microsoft Canada spokeswoman Lisa Gibson.\n\nMontreal-based AI startups are involved in a variety of niche areas, including medical diagnostics like radiology — machines are now able to detect cancerous tumours better than radiologists — translation and voice mimicry.\n\nGovernment support and a relatively low cost of living have helped establish Montreal as an emerging AI advanced research centre, says McGill’s Doina Precup. John Mahoney / Montreal Gazette\n\nLyrebird, founded by three U de M PhD students, has developed speech synthesis software that can copy anyone’s voice and make it say anything. Possible applications include using fake famous voices in audio-book readings and creating idiosyncratic voices for automated personal assistants.\n\nBotler AI, founded by Iranian-born engineer Amir Moravej, uses AI to help immigrants navigate the labyrinthine immigration process. The product uses actual cases and government guidelines to help steer users seeking admission to Quebec’s foreign workers and student program.\n\nU de M and McGill University are the academic bedrocks on which Montreal’s AI sector has been built. About 150 AI researchers toil at the two institutions, making the city one of the world’s largest basic deep learning centres.\n\n“We stuck to academia, which helped us build big labs with a lot of graduate students,” said Doina Precup, associate professor in computer sciences at McGill and recipient of a Google research award.\n\n“The training and the research started much before (AI) was popular, since the early 2000s, when people didn’t really care for this type of research.”\n\nGovernment backing over the years and Montreal’s relatively low cost of living compared with places like San Francisco have also been a boon, said Precup.\n\n\n\n\n\nCEO Jean-François Gagné consults with engineer Philippe Mathieu at Element AI offices in Montreal. “We want to be part of that conversation — shaping what AI is going to look like,” Gagné says of the startup. John Mahoney / Montreal Gazette\n\n\nMusbah doesn’t view Toronto — which holds bragging rights to also being a significant global AI centre — as a threat. “There’s a productive competitive relationship between Toronto and Montreal,” he said.\n\n“So far, (the rivalry) has been contributing positively to Canada” as well as to efforts to reverse the AI brain drain to the U.S. over the past several years and retain the best AI minds here at home, he said.\n\nElement AI aims to have 100 employees by the end June, which will make it the largest private AI group in Canada, said Gagné.\n\nThe organization, a private-sector/academia hybrid, wants to help companies get access to cutting-edge technology, invest in startups and generally act as a counterweight to the massive heft of titans like Facebook, Google, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft and China’s Baidu, he said.\n\nRegulatory and ethical concerns will be among the topics to be discussed at this month’s AI Forum. “We want to be part of that conversation, shaping what AI is going to look like,” said Gagné.\n\nTwo issues he singles out as critical are the potential for loss of privacy and job disruption resulting from AI technology.\n\nFor more information about the conference, visit\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.66668301820755}
+{"content": "Date of Award\n\nSpring 2017\n\nDegree Name\n\nMaster of Arts\n\n\n\nFirst Advisor\n\nDr. Douglas A. Johnson\n\nSecond Advisor\n\nDr. Alyce Dickinson\n\nThird Advisor\n\nDr. Denise Ross\n\nAccess Setting\n\nMasters Thesis-Open Access\n\n\nGiving employees information about their performance is a common method for employers seeking to improve or change performance. With the popularity of the internet and computers feedback today is often provided through emails, text messages, and video meetings. While feedback has continued to evolve within and across organizations little has been done to assess the impact its delivery through various modalities has. This study explored and evaluated the relationship between the modality which objective feedback is delivered, and the differential effects it produced on performance of a check entering task. This experiment was a laboratory study employing a between-group repeated measures design with random assignment to one of the following four experimental conditions; 1) no feedback, 2) computer delivered feedback, 3) feedback via cell phone text message and, 4) feedback via face-to-face interaction. Inspections of the graphic displays of results reveal unique response patterns, and notable differences in performance across the four conditions. The most prominent difference in performance is seen between the groups receiving objective feedback (through any modality) and the group which received no feedback.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8930610418319702}
+{"content": "Why women hold on to toxic friends?\n\n| Aug 3, 2015, 12.00 AM IST\nWhy women hold on to toxic friends? (Thinkstock photos/Getty Images)Why women hold on to toxic friends? (Thinkstock photos/Getty Images)\nA recent poll indicates that eight in ten of us put up with people who cause more harm than good\n\nOur friends are supposed to be our well-wishers standing by us no matter what. However, they can also be our worst enemies reveals a recent poll that looks at toxic friendship. According to the poll eight in ten of us put up with people who cause more harm than good. While a recent survey indicates that 84 per cent of women struggle with so-called 'toxic friends' who are self-absorbed, emotionally draining, critical or backstabbing. Sixty-five percent of those polled complained of having a self-obsessed friend, and 59 per-cent accused their closest acquaintances of being emotional 'vampires' — draining all their energy reserves.\n\nClinical psychologist and traumatologist Dr Seema Hingorrany says, \"Women tend to hold on to relationships and friendships for a longer time, sometimes out of guilt or sometimes simply because of a misplaced belief that they will be able to change the situation or their friend. Also, it's harder to part ways with someone you have known for a long time because of the familiarity you share with each other. They don't want to turn their backs on a friend when they probably see them as needing them most.\"\n\nLeisha D'Souza who recently parted with a long-time friend, says, \"Just like any relationship friendship too goes through its ups and downs. When my friend and I started having problems initially we tried working things out but then the blame game started and things just went downhill from there. I was reluctant to part ways even though every conversation depressed me and dragged things on for over a year till I finally gave up.\"\n\nSo when is the right time to cut your losses and move on? Seema says, \"It's best to move on when sub consciously you have started avoiding the friend and every conversation weighs you down and drains you emotionally.\"\n\nNumber game The poll, of 18,000 women and 4,000 men by an international magazine found just over half had an over-critical friend, while 45 per cent reported backstabbing behaviour and barbed comments. Though a third admitted that they would end a friendship with someone who was untrustworthy, 83 per cent said that they had let a friendship drag on longer than it should have done because the prospect of 'breaking up' was too daunting. Instead, 37 per cent blocked those they didn't like on a social networking site, while 53 'downgraded' friends from people they saw regularly to just occasionally.\n\nFive toxic friend personality types - Self-absorbed - Emotional vampires - Over-critical - Backstabbing - Unreliable\n\n\n\n\nSort By:\nBe the first one to review.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.930147111415863}
+{"content": " Vegetation - Antalya Destination\n\n\nThe Taurus Mountains are especially abundant in their variety of trees and plants, but they differ at each altitude. This difference can also be explained not only in terms of altitude, but whether the face of the mountain overlooks the sea or even if there are streams nearby. Olive trees, pines, locusts (carobs) and laurel trees grow in lower altitudes closer to the sea level. Juniper trees, the sacred tree of the nomads, become more abundant at higher elevations.\n\nThe Turkish pine tree is native to the Mediterranean shores and has a bark almost as thin as a membrane, whereas the European Black Pine tree can withstand the snow and cold, thanks to its thick, insulating bark.\n\nTrees are just like human society: they do not want intruders in their environment. Each tree species tends to grow together in its own habitat. The legendary tree of the Mediterranean, the Cedar tree, grows from an altitude of 1000 meters until the tree line of the Taurus Mountains at 1600 meters. The cedar is to trees, what the eagle is to birds. No bird flies higher than the eagle, as no tree grows higher than the cedar tree. Trees found in lower elevations share their habitat with other tree species, but the cedar tree is unique in that it grows on its own and does not share its habitat with any other tree species.\n\nThe deep passes of the Köprüçay (Eurymedon) River basin, below the ancient city of Zerk (Selge) perched high on hill, are the only places in the world where wild Cypress trees can be found in isolation.\n\nThe Oak is the tree of Zeus, the father of Gods. The oak tree, a symbol of power and nobility, becomes a center of attraction wherever it grows. It is extensively spread in the Kasaba Ravine to the north of Kaş district.\n\nOak trees are heavily concentrated in Kızıllı village and neighbouring areas east of Döşemealtı. This density is so intense that until recent times Kızıllı village was referred to as “the village where the sun didn’t shine”.\n\nAnother area where the presence of oak trees is quiet widespread are the pastures on the south of Lake Kovada. The trees are an indispensable part of the landscape where squirrels, birds and other animals feed from its acorns. Both the tree and the forest create a special environment in the area.\n\nCalendar of Events", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5753087997436523}
+{"content": "Aims & Mission\n\nFSTC is an innovative and influential organisation working to collate and popularise the cultural roots of the early inventions and discoveries which still affect our modern world, in order to highlight the shared cultural and technological inheritance of humanity.\n\nFSTC is non-political, non-sectarian, and non-religious in approach. It works to promote awareness of the scientific, technological, and cultural achievements of men and women of different faiths and cultures from both the Muslim civilisation and other world civilisations, and to show how those contributions helped build the foundations of our modern world.\n\nFSTC aims to uncover the cultural roots of science to achieve the following:\n\n  • To foster an accurate understanding of the thousand years of exceptional advances in science, technology, medicine and the arts made by men and women within the Muslim World from the 7th century onwards.\n  • To generate social cohesion, cultural awareness and respect through the exploration of Muslim and World heritage and how it is woven into our global society and civilisation so that we all share and benefit from this heritage.\n  • To promote science and learning as an alternative to negative or extremist behaviour.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8993467688560486}
+{"content": "— Moon Messages from Julia—\n\n\n\nMoon Messages are written twice a month and arise from my spiritual practice. Everyday I take time to meditate. This is a peaceful experience that brings me comfort, relaxation, and inspiration. These moon messages are a way to transmit these ideas to elevate consciousness and personal growth.\n\n\nEarthquakes, fires, and hurricanes, oh my\n\nMoon message NM September 2017\n\nearth in handsAlways it is the same. Things happen in the outer world, and I wonder what in the world is happening!!! How do I find, much less maintain, stability when the world seems to be falling apart?\n\nA few months ago, I decided to revamp my website. I updated information, deleted some things, and added new pieces. In the process, I observed that attending to the website is a reflection of the ongoing, everlasting situation of continuous evolution that is the story of my life. Yes, I am changing. Yes, I am doing some cool things. Yes, I am letting go of some things that need to be let go of. At the same time, I look at what is happening in the world right now and I have to confess that it is overwhelming. I wonder about the big things such as:\n\nWho in the world am I?\nWhat in the world am I doing?\nCan I manage amidst all these weird events?\nHow do I continue to help people?\n\nI asked these questions and answered with these major truths:\n1. I am me. I always have been and always will be. My experiences that brought me to this place of “now” are mine to keep. I can own my life. I’m not going anywhere away from me.\n2. I have gone through challenges. Yes, some catalysts. Yes, some atrocities. Yes, some painful things. Some of these things involve people I love. Pain happens. Life occurs. There are things out of my control.\n3. I have met every single one of those challenges. Yes, I have grown because of catalysts. Yes, I have witnessed atrocities and made it through. Yes, I have healed from painful things. Yes, I have been with loved ones who are going through things. I have met things out of my control with something within my control.\n4. What is this thing under my control? It is internal, a place of power within me, which generates health, healing, and balance. Here are some descriptors of the place and the feelings:\n\n  • Heart (the center of my physical body)\n  • Soul (the center of my everlasting spirit)\n  • Immune system (regenerative power)\n  • Gut feelings\n  • Knowingness\n  • Appropriateness\n  • Restraint when it is time to restrain; action when it is time to act\n  • Intuition\n\n5. What can I do to maintain balance? Here are some activities that really help:\n\n  • Trust\n  • Breathe deep\n  • Meditate\n  • Sleep\n  • Eat organic, plant-based food without white refined sugar\n  • Practice yoga\n  • Ask for Angel guidance\n  • Smile\n  • Connect with friends and family\n\nAs this new moon occurs and our planet is plunged into yet another earthquake, hurricane, fire, or whatever else can possibly happen, I depend on my place of power to find meaning. Maybe you are doing the same.\n\nWould it help you to compile your own list? What is your place of power? Where is it in your body? What do you do for health, healing, and balance? Send me some feedback if you want. Hugs, Julia\n\nLong Term Goals\n\nMoon message FM September 2017\n\ncorneliaA number of years ago, I changed my diet and it was one of the best things I have ever done for myself. It helped me reclaim my health but more importantly, it helped me overcome smoking addiction. Yea, self-disclosure here. I used to smoke. But not anymore. I am smoke free and have been since 1981! That’s a big deal.\n\nWhen I changed my diet, I was so enthusiastic. I was so pure. I was determined never to put anything harmful into my body. No more animal foods, no more salt, and plenty of raw foods. When I heard about macrobiotics, with its emphasis on whole grains, beans, and vegetables, I fully embraced it. But then, I began to place additional rules on myself, such as limiting oil, balancing everything, or eating a specific brand of miso. My mind sought control, perfection, and correction of all my flaws from prior years of addiction and chaos.\n\nThen, I met Cornellia.\n\nCornellia Aihara, a Japanese woman, was a master of macrobiotic cooking. She took me on as an apprentice for a year, and she taught me how to cook. I used salt. I used oil. I used animal foods. I learned major lessons in her kitchen, but the biggest thing she taught wasn’t culinary. It was a life lesson.\n\nAs I assisted in kitchen duties and preparation of foods, I watched Cornellia and wondered how she did it? How had she been able to maintain her lifestyle for so many years? What was her secret? Was it due to things she ate? Things she avoided?\n\nShe never elaborated on the details of how she was able to continue such a path. However, as I witnessed her, I gleaned three important lessons.\n\n1. She was dedicated for life.\n2. Food matters. Even though the types of food are important, she was flexible about “rules.” For example, she cooked rice, fish, and pie. She also went to restaurants and enjoyed a variety of cuisines.\n3. Consistency matters. What happens over time is more important than worrying about perfecting each meal. Eating healthy food regularly is important, and it is helpful to take a day off once in awhile (in her case, she didn’t cook but went out to eat about 2 to 3 times a month).\n\nYea, having guidelines and at the same time, not being attached to those guidelines.\n\nSo how does this relate to this moon message?\n\nEvery month there are moons. They come and go. There are full moons and new moons. There are eclipses, hurricanes, and fires. A life is filled with moons, weather, seasons, and people. In the midst of it all, what are my goals?\n\nOver the years, I have set many goals, but overall, there are three. I really have to salute my teacher, Cornellia, for her inspiration in these goals. \n1. I want to be healthy my whole life. \n2. It matters what I take in. Food, conversation, interactions, learning. I really like living and all the wonderful things that happen in our world. I really like people, and all the interesting things that people do. I really like my job and getting to help people. I really like learning and growing. \n3. It matters what I do on a regular basis. I like to exercise, meditate, write, cook, sleep, talk with others, and travel. Good habits make a difference. At the same time, being flexible is important. Sometimes I manage time very well and get many things done. Other times, less is accomplished.\n\nReflecting on life at these times of the moon is just like the moon itself, a reflection of the sun. The sun itself is the great star in the sky that enables life to exist on this planet. Yea, big concepts for a simple moon time.\n\nHugs, Julia\n\nSolar eclipse 2017\n\nMoon message NM August 2017\n\n\neclipse sunglassesOf course, you have heard of the full solar eclipse that is happening on Monday, August 21, 2017 (about 10 am Pacific Time) and which can be viewed in the continental United States. Of course, if you live in the United States, you are probably getting ready.\n\nSo today, I thought what I would do is share with you how I’m getting ready.\n\n1. I got a massage today. Yup, time to relax.\n2. I am getting ready to attend classes Monday morning at 8 am. Yup, I am starting graduate school and my first class is held during the time of the solar eclipse! It is scheduled from 8 am to 10:50 am.\n3. I talked with some of my prospective classmates. We agreed we would ask the professor to hold class outside so we can view the eclipse. If the professor doesn’t agree, we plan on playing hooky.\n4. I have purchased eclipse sunglasses. They are intended to be used.\n5. I got my hair cut. Time to let go of the hair I didn’t need so I can view the eclipse without baggage.\n6. I drank a beer tonight. It is simply hot and time to drink a beer. My drinking a beer actually has nothing to do with the eclipse and all about my getting relaxed and ready.\n7. I plan on putting all my stones and crystals outside Sunday night so that they can be in the air Monday morning during the eclipse. Yup, I am superstitious. I like my stones and crystals to absorb good energy.\n8. I am going to eat some peach pie.\n9. I am going to bake a peach pie first.\n10. I have already picked the peaches from my peach tree in the backyard. What does this have to do with the eclipse? I don’t know. Thought you might be interested.\n11. I have read some cool information about the eclipse like how the sun, moon, and earth align. I am resisting the temptation to fill this moon message with scientific stuff.\n12. I have read some interesting and odd information about superstitions about solar eclipses such as pregnant women should avoid them (who knows why?). I am resisting the temptation to fill this moon message with superstitions other than disclosing my personal actions.\n13. I plan on having fun as I join many other people enjoying the solar eclipse.\n14. Last, I want to remind you that solar eclipses happen almost every year. Even if they can't be viewed in the United States, they have significance. Maybe next year when it comes around, I’ll mention it and we can all raise our beers to it!\n\nLight to you! Julia\n\n\n\nChange, change, change\n\nMoon message FM August 2017\n\n\nlassen 1 0817Right now, so much is changing. The kids are out of the house and independent. My husband has retired. I am in graduate school and expanding my career. Not to mention, the environment is changing, and who knows what is happening in the state or nation!\n\nSome changes are large, and some are small. Some are easy to embrace—yes, I embrace change—hurrah! Unfortunately, other changes are difficult. Yea, I also resist change. Is it possible to be one way or the other?\n\nThe other day I hiked in Mt. Lassen National Park. Mt. Lassen is a volcano that last erupted in 1915. Even though that eruption was about 100 years ago, in evolutionary history, this time is very recent. Before Mt. Lassen, there was another volcano in that area, named Mt. Tehama. Mt. Tehama formed during the Pleistocene age (2 million to about 12,000 years ago), and this volcano was larger than present day Mt. Lassen. Lassen stands about 10,500 feet high, but Mt. Tehama is estimated to have been over 11,000 feet high. Mt. Tehama was active for 200,000 years and eventually all the eruptions and flows caused such a decline that the volcano collapsed. Where the volcano used to be is now a huge caldera.\n\nWhile hiking in the forest around Mt. Lassen, it occurred to me that I was walking in this caldera. Once upon a time, that land had been deep in the earth. I was hiking in a place that had once been under a volcano! It is such a beautiful place, with tall pines, high waterfalls, and calm lakes. While hiking, I meditated on how this land has evolved and all the changes involved. Sometimes the changes are small and unnoticed, such as when I walked and caused the gravel to shift. Other times the changes are large and dramatic as when Mt. Tehama blew and collapsed. When that happened, probably the landscape was barren and dry for many years until the forest reclaimed itself.\n\nChange happens and precipitates evolution. The land changes, and in order to survive, plants and animals have to adapt. One change causes another change, like a ripple effect that has far-reaching conclusions. Without adaptation, things end. With adaptation, things grow.\n\nThere is an analogy for humans. I have been embracing macrobiotics for many years, which is a spiritual discipline that promotes eastern thought. I share two concepts from this philosophy that are relevant to this moon message. The first is, “Everything that has a front has a back.” The second is, “The bigger the front, the bigger the back.”\n\nThe front is that change is hard. The front is that change requires attention. The back is that change initiates evolution and growth. The back is that by acknowledging change and learning to adapt, a person matures. The back is that there is potential for progress in unforeseen ways.\n\nAdditionally, the larger and more dramatic the change, there is more potential for progress. When the change is huge, the evolution can be even more phenomenal. Big change equals big development.\n\nIn my meditations, I have come to understand something important. Sure, some changes are easy and fun. Other changes are challenging. My questions for myself are these: Is it possible that I can be at peace amidst all these changes? Can I learn what is needed? Can I approach the changes with presence and calm?\n\nOne perspective is that these years of profound change are more than adaption. These years are beyond simple evolution. These years provide an opportunity to grow in huge ways. While growth can happen physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually, perhaps the biggest growth happens in the approach of enlightenment.\n\nEnlightenment is elevation of consciousness that incorporates the feeling of internal peace regardless of the outward situation. Perhaps this is what is going on—there are so many changes because this is the time to cultivate peace and usher in enlightenment.\n\nWhat do you think? Is it true for you—the bigger the change, the bigger the learning? Is this a time of enlightenment?\n\nPeace. Julia \n\nFor the love of life\n\nMoon message FM July 2017\n\nrose in hands\n\nI love life.\nI love the energy of nature, trees, water, sunlight, plants.\nI love the energy of people, the joyous laughter, authentic connection, and simple pleasures of being human.\nI love the energy of things, the tools I use to cook, the objects I have that surround me with beauty, the practical furniture and cars I own that help me live my life.\n\nYes, I love life.\n\nAt the same time, I have so much sorrow. Is it because I love so much? Is it because of all the chaos in the world right now? Is it because I see so much suffering?\n\nIn the last few months, I have cried so much. It has not been possible to blog any messages at these moon times. Please accept my apologies, but do not join in the excuse. Yes, I feel crushed by the relentless white patriarchy, supremacy, and corruption. Yes, I observe a side of humanity that is shocking. Yes, I feel powerless in the face of the overwhelming wave of negativity.\n\nI am not alone. Millions of people are rising in opposition to the domination. Millions of people are being ignored, hurt, and killed because of speaking out. Millions of innocent women, children, and men are being told that they are worthless, ignorant, and alone.\n\nHow can a person cope, much less respond?\n\nToday, I had a dream where I saw millions of colors. I saw thing after thing after thing (like trees, water, sunlight, people, tools, furniture, and cars), and its color arose out of it like a butterfly arising out of a cocoon. I felt renewed when I considered the meaning of this dream—there is a beautiful internal color of each thing. This color is the essence of its internal nature. This color is the color of love.\n\nYes, I love life. I really do. I feel a need to reaffirm this love of life and to share it with you. This is my tenet of living. This is my call to action. This is how I connect. This is how I witness.\n\nLove is my tenet of life.\nLove is my call to action.\nLove is how I connect.\nLove is how I witness.\nLove is the message.\n\nWhatever your position, whatever you understanding, please consider where you stand. Let love be the ruler here. Let love guide your actions. Let love be a base from where you speak. Let love help you connect. Let love fill your heart and enable you to be who you are.\n\nWe are in difficult times. There is tremendous chaos. There is anger. There is change. Love is needed now in tremendous forces, not as a way to idly sit by the sidelines, but to be the call to action. Love is active, not passive.\n\nThe great reformers of history—Jesus, Gandhi, King—dealt with difficulties. The political world opposed them and killed them. Even so, they ushered in changes in the outer world and the inner world. (Question—were they guided by love? I like to think so.) These leaders have died, but even so, they continue to motivate and inspire people. We can draw from their examples because we are living in similar times. Now, we are in the midst of another uprising. Now, we are in a time of change.\n\nA place to start is to develop a spiritual practice. Maybe you meditate. Maybe you sing. Maybe you repeat mantras. Maybe you practice yoga or Qigong or martial arts. How do you cultivate internal strength? What do you do to understand yourself and your values? What is necessary to help you align with peace? Is there something you can do to activate your internal power? What is needed to be able to act from this core foundational position of this power?\n\nToday, I witnessed that love is my power. Today, I stand in my power. Today, I declare my intention to align with the power of love. Today, I recommit to blogging these moon messages. Today, I dedicate myself to witnessing love, expressing love, and acting from a place of love.\n\nYes, this is my truth. Julia\n\n\nContact Julia\n\nOffice located at\n\n2545 Zanella Way, Suite D\nChico, CA 95928\n\n\n\nEvent Schedule \n\n\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6699106693267822}
+{"content": "05/24/05 — Students learn safe way to be 'home alone'\n\nView Archive\n\nStudents learn safe way to be 'home alone'\n\nBy Becky Barclay\nPublished in News on May 24, 2005 1:49 PM\n\nFourth graders at Meadow Lane Elementary School know they are not supposed to talk to strangers. But when asked exactly who a stranger is, they had a difficult time defining one. Most agreed that a stranger is someone they don't know who appears suspicious in some way.\n\nVolunteers with the Wayne County Chapter of the American Red Cross took that a step further.\n\nIt was part of the Home Alone Safety 2005 program that volunteers with the Red Cross gave to all kindergarten through fifth grade classes in Wayne County's public schools and at some of the private schools.\n\nThe purpose of the program, according to Chuck Waller, local Red Cross director, is to educate students in stranger identification and empower them with techniques and knowledge that will keep them safe.\n\n\"We are trying to get them to understand that they can't look at somebody and tell if he is good or bad,\" Waller said. \"So if they use the rule that a stranger is someone they or their family doesn't know, then that takes the pressure off them of having to decide if that person is good or bad.\"\n\nThis was the fifth year of the Home Alone program. Abduction prevention techniques were taught to 9,000 students in the local schools. They learned about what a stranger is and how to identify common tricks that strangers use.\n\nAt each presentation, one of the two Red Cross volunteers dressed in a trench coat, hat and glasses and walked around the room. This was to show the students that the person was indeed a stranger because of the way he looked, but that there are others who look just like a normal person who are also strangers.\n\nThey explained to the students that some people appear to be nice, but may be dangerous.\n\nThe volunteers also role played with the students to identify tricks that people use to lure children out of the school. For example, the volunteer asked one of the students if he would take the volunteer to the school office. Then the volunteer explained that students should never do this if the person is someone they don't know.\n\nAt Meadow Lane, Teresa Williams, Red Cross disaster coordinator, pointed out that since the students had not met her, she was actually a stranger to them. She told the students that \"we hope you are never in a situation with a stranger, but if you are, we want you to know what to do.\"\n\nShe and Red Cross volunteer Susan Parris listed some rules children should be aware of to avoid being abducted such as always walking or riding their bike with a friend and always getting their parents' permission before riding or going with anyone.\n\nSome of the tricks that strangers use to abduct children include wearing badges that lead children to believe they are an official when they are not and seeing a child's name on his book bag or a magnet on his car and then calling the child by name when in reality, the stranger doesn't know that child.\n\nA stranger sometimes will ask a child to help him find his lost dog, playing on the child's emotions, when the stranger really just wants to get that child in his car to abduct him.\n\nMrs. Williams and Ms. Parris told the students to always put their name on the inside of their book bag and never on the outside of their parent's car and always tell their parents or another adult in charge where they will be at all times.\n\nThey urged the students to always walk facing traffic because it's harder for a stranger to pull up beside a student walking with traffic and pull him into the car.\n\nThe volunteers also told the students to have a secret code word with their parents. Then if someone comes up to them and says the child's parents sent him to get the child, that person should have the code word.\n\n\"Only give the person one chance to tell you the code word,\" stressed Mrs. Williams. \"Don't let him keep guessing because he may eventually guess it. And change your code word frequently.\"\n\nOther tips to help the children not become abduction victims were to never take anything from a stranger, never get into a vehicle with a stranger, don't listen to a stranger's sad story and be extra careful at the bus stop of strangers offering them a ride.\n\nIf a stranger tries to abduct a student, the Red Cross teaches them to use the \"SKY\" rule -- scream, kick and yell. And the student should yell very loudly \"You are not my mom. You are not my dad. I don't know you.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7972904443740845}
+{"content": "The Benefits Of Setting up Vertical Airport parking Structures\n\n\nThe problem faced by so many developers when they set out to build new structures is the deficiency of space. Along with increase in gentleman power, generally there also has to be a proportionate rise in the amount of terrain that can be directed at each individual. In the constraints in connection with allowance regarding land, the only option left is always to optimize the actual vertical room that is available to counteract encroachment and congestion. Research has shown which vertical parkeren schiphol buildings occupy 15% lesser space in comparison to horizontal car parking spaces, and also thereby makes all the land viable and readily available for development.\n\nThis can be a rather very common problem of modern times as useful and produced sites have grown to be scarce with increased environmental rules, inflation, zoning, as well as aggressive commercial development. The actual developmental situation has brought companies for you to re-evaluate their building usage and exactly how they can appropriately optimize the space that is available to enable them to use.\n\nTogether with institutional companies enhancing the density of their man electrical power, planners can now make allowances of only 200 sq ft per particular person, compared to the earlier 400 sq ft. With this improve of building potential, the obvious point that uses is that each employee must be provided with an acceptable parking space pertaining to his/her car. Because the availability of side to side parking space is rather limited, the sole other option is to build top to bottom parking places and boost the availability of airport parking options.\n\nIn the current land as opposed to building have difficulty, it has become essential for builders to accommodate the two contending parties. Developers have come up with the answer of using set up vertical airport parking lots to unravel the issues regarding both opposing contestants. These kind of structured services improve the functionality of normally unacceptable internet sites. There are other important things about opting for top to bottom structured airport parking lots. This kind of structures produce the place much more ecologically friendly, reduce the possibilities of normal water contamination, prevents the over-loading of the water drainage system, and assists from the recharging with the aquifer.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6837188005447388}
+{"content": "Community guidelines for Better Breathers: Facing COPD\n\n\n\nThis is a closed group. What does that mean?\n\n\nCommunity Guidelines:\n\n1. This group is for patient experiences and support. When seeking medical advice, please consult your family doctor or healthcare specialist.\n\n2. This group is not monitored in the evenings, on the weekends, or during holidays.\n\n3. If your question or request is urgent or time sensitive, please contact your doctor.\n\n4. Repetitive posts or posts with false information, medical advice, advertising, fundraising or any kind of offensive content will be deleted.\n\n5. We want to foster a positive community where everyone feels welcome. That is why all posts and conversations must be respectful and tolerant of diversity in personal experiences, ethnicities, sexual orientation, religious and political opinions. Members who fail to respect this guideline will be immediately expelled from the group.\n\n6. Please respect the privacy of all Better Breathers: Facing COPD members as well as the confidentiality of any information discussed in the group.\n\n\n\n\nPage Last Updated: 13/07/2017", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9733947515487671}
+{"content": "Explore BrainMass\n\nTheoretical Computer Science\n\nTheoretical computer science is a division of general computer science and mathematics which focuses on the abstract and mathematical aspects of computing. The field of theoretical computer science is interpreted broadly to include algorithms, data structures, computational complexity, distributed computing, parallel computing, and quantum computing. Work in this field is often distinguished by its emphasis on mathematical technique and formal proofs.\n\nFormal algorithms have existed for many years. However, it was not until 1936 when Alan Turing, Alonzo Church and Stephan Kleene formalized the definition of an algorithm. These developments have led to the modern study of logic, computability and computer science as a whole. Now the filed is abuzz with talk of the future of quantum computing, the most exciting potential future path that modern computing might take.\n\nTuring, Church (credit: Princeton University, Institution of Mathematics) and Kleene (credit: Konrad Jacobs, Erlangen)\n\nThe most important fields of theoretical computer science, and accordingly, those most often taught and studied, are as follows:\n\n  • theory of computation, including automata, computability and computational complexity theories\n  • programming language theory\n  • compiler theory\n  • artificial intelligence\n\nCategories within Theoretical Computer Science\n\nProgramming Language Theory\n\nPostings: 29\n\nProgramming language theory deals with the design and implementation of different computer science languages.\n\nCompiler Theory\n\nPostings: 17\n\nCompiler theory deals with the design, implementation and optimization properties of language compilers.\n\nTheory of computation\n\nSummarize the significance of the halting problem in the field of theoretical computer science.\n\nWrite a Turing machine algorithm to perform a unary decrement.\n\nWrite a Turing machine algorithm to perform a unary decrement. Assume that the input number may be 0, in which case a single 0 should be output on the tape to signify that the operation results in a negative number. When writing Turing machine algorithm, include comments for each instruction or related group of instructions.\n\nLogic: Turing Machines\n\nPlease see the attached file for the fully formatted problems. (a) We wish to design a Turing machine which, using monadic notation, inputs a pair (in, n) of positive integers in standard starting position (on an otherwise blank tape), and which halts scanning the rightmost of a string of in is on an otherwise blank tape. W\n\n\n\nAutomata and Computability\n\nConsider the problem of testing whether a Turing machine M on an input w ever attempts to move its head left when its head is on the left-most tape cell. Formulate this problem as a language and show that it is undecidable.\n\nAutomata and Computability\n\nA Turing machine with doubly infinite tape is similar to an ordinary Turing machine except that its tape is infinite to the left as well as to the right. The tape is initially filled with blanks except for the portion that contains the input. Computation is defined as usual except that the head never encounters an end to the t\n\nWhat major features should a perfect programming language include?\n\nI have noticed that there are many languages, is this because no one language has all the major elements needed to be a perfect programming Language? What major features should a perfect programming language include? I am trying to understand the concepts and struggling.\n\nTuring machine with input in unary notation\n\nDevise a Turing machine with input given in unary notation (i.e., a string of n 1's denotes the integer n, and numbers are delimited by 0's) such that the machine produces the following output: 0 if x is divisible by 4 1 if x is congruent to 1 modulo 4 2 if x is congruent to 2 modulo 4 3 if x is congruent to 3 modulo", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9996451735496521}
+{"content": "The Marine Debris Act\n\nThe NOAA Marine Debris Program is authorized by Congress to work on marine debris through the Marine Debris Act, signed into law in 2006 and amended in 2012. The Act requires the program to “identify, determine sources of, assess, prevent, reduce, and remove marine debris and address the adverse impacts of marine debris on the economy of the United States, marine environment, and navigation safety.”", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9152532815933228}
+{"content": "Too Much Baggage?\n\n\nRita Harrison\n\n\nDon’t Get Caught In The Perfection Trap (Part 3)\nby Rita Harrison & Eric Rude\n\n  • Do you ever get the feeling that you have too much baggage?\n    So much, in fact, that you can’t imagine how anyone would ever be interested in you?\n    Is It Baggage? Or Really Empowerment, Self Confidence And Trust.\n\n\nOr maybe you’re on the other side of the fence; you’ve dispelled your demons and now you can’t find someone who has done the work like you have and it seems like they all have too much baggage, which makes the idea of connecting with them seem impossible.\n\nHere’s what we suggest!!!\nWhat if you never find out what you´re missing because you’re only focusing on their faults? Most of the time we’ve found that people are just using those circumstances as excuses to protect themselves from getting hurt again. We’ve seen people wait for years, wasting precious time waiting for the stars to align and for it to feel like it’s alright to begin again.\n\nTake the risk and engage in a relationship NOW in spite of the “baggage”. We say that what you´ll find is that the baggage actually doesn´t matter, and if you are willing to connect, what you’ll likely find is that whatever baggage there is begins to disappear inside of the relationship, or ceases to matter at all!\n\nThis gives you the chance to explore the good in your partner instead of focusing on the negative, and have a new or better relationship right away instead of waiting for things to change on their own before you have the joy of the relationships you want.\n\nLeaves your hands free!!!\n\nInstead of correcting start learning to encourage nourishing curiosity, start pointing out the good and focus on the potential (strength) instead of the weakness of the other, then they get stronger and correct themselves automatically and without effort.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5169950723648071}
+{"content": "Start your wedding planning journey here\n\nHealth & Beauty\nWedding Planning\n\nBeauty Secrets of Ancient Egypt: Hair Care\n\nBeauty Secrets of Ancient Egypt: Hair Care\n\nSo we have previously revealed to you the skin care secrets of ancient Egypt in our previous Ancient Egypt article. (Have you missed out on reading it? Take a look here.)\nBut what about women’s hair care secrets back in Ancient Egypt? It was basically viewed as a piece of art they loved to show off.\n\nThey used to braid, dye and cut their hair in all different shapes and styles, they even used to wear extravagant wigs with jewels on them.\n\nWigs: Wigs were considered as an ornament they decorated their heads with, and one that also protected them from the sun, heat and lice.\n\nExtensions: Believe it or not, women used to wear extensions back then to make their hair look fuller and healthier. They used to braid it and weave it into their real hair by using bee wax and resin.\n\nHenna: Egyptians favored red colored hair, and used henna to obtain this rich color. They also used it on their nails as manicure.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7219505310058594}
+{"content": "4 Minutes.\n\nThat is the amount of time from when I took my light out of my car, put it on the stand, walked to the spot we were shooting, composed the shot, and clicked to get the right image. \n\n4 freaking minutes.\n\nWhy only allow myself a mere 240 seconds to take a shot for a band?\n\nOne thing I have learned after working with hundreds of artists with Jwalt Photography is, respect their time. There is a million things they could be doing at a show. They could be hanging out with friends and family, meeting with club owners, preparing for their own set, or partying after they have finished their set. See how \"spend time with a photographer isn't too high on that list? \n\nSpending time with a photographer is important because It allows band to get professional photos and help market their image to their fans. It is an incredibly important step, just a frustrating one if they get with someone who doesn't respect their time. \n\nWere we aiming to do a shoot in 4 minutes? No. We knew they went on next, the sky looked cool, and they had to get back inside to prepare. I knew we would be busy because the venue was packed to the doors and these guys were headlining. \n\nI anticipated this and pre-set my light stand and soft box. It was good to go. I had my trigger on my Nikon D610 when shooting the live side of the event of the band prior, so I didn't have to run back inside to my bag to grab it.  I knew exactly the shot I wanted, so I knew the lens I needed. I knew exactly where we were going to go because I planned ahead earlier in the day anticipating where the sun would set behind the clouds. \n\nEverything else was just trying to get friends and fans to stop hugging long enough to shot the photo 10 feet from the venues back door. \n\nAfter a few different poses, this is the final image shot out of the camera just 4 minutes after starting. \n\nDiscrepancies - The Ready Room St. Louis - July 22, 2017\n\n\nFirst shot of the shoot.\n\nFirst shot of the shoot.\n\nLast shot of the shoot. \n\nLast shot of the shoot. \n\n     Now before it sounds too rushy, I didn't even realize how quick this went until I got into the editing process of the files. I just remember thinking, \"Wow, that didn't take very long at all\" and checked the times when editing. The times happened due to respecting the artists time and having a sense of urgency to get them back into the venue. \n\n    Thank you so much for reading and I hope you were able to take something out of this post. Whether it be a new light on how busy musicians are, how to forward think as a photographer, or just that you achieve cool images in a short amount of time if you are prepared. \n\nGear info: \n\nCamera Body : Nikon D610\n\nCamera Lens: Tokina 11-16 f/2.8\n\nLight: Flashpoint Xplor 600 \n\nTrigger: Flashpoint R2 \n\nModifier: Glow 28\" x 38\" Portable Softbox", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9124535322189331}
+{"content": "Learn More\nCullin-4 forms a scaffold for multiple ubiquitin ligases. In Schizosaccharomyces pombe, the Cullin-4 homologue (Pcu4) physically associates with Ddb1 and the COP9 signalosome (CSN). One target of this complex is Spd1. Spd1 regulates ribonucleotide reductase (RNR) activity. Spd1 degradation during S phase, or following DNA damage of G2 cells, results in the(More)\nThe human UV-damaged DNA-binding protein Ddb1 associates with cullin 4 ubiquitin ligases implicated in nucleotide excision repair (NER). These complexes also contain the signalosome (CSN), but NER-relevant ubiquitination targets have not yet been identified. We report that fission yeast Ddb1, Cullin 4 (Pcu4), and CSN subunits Csn1 and Csn2 are required for(More)\nActivation of oncogenes or inhibition of WEE1 kinase deregulates cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) activity and leads to replication stress; however, the underlying mechanism is not understood. We now show that elevation of CDK activity by inhibition of WEE1 kinase rapidly increases initiation of replication. This leads to nucleotide shortage and reduces(More)\nInvestigations into sexual differentiation and pheromone response in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe are complicated by the need to first starve the cells of nitrogen. Most mating-related experiments are therefore performed on non-dividing cells. Here we overcome this problem by using two mutants that bypass the nutritional requirements and(More)\nFission yeast cells undergo sexual differentiation in response to nitrogen starvation. In this process haploid M and P cells first mate to form diploid zygotes, which then enter meiosis and sporulate. Prior to mating, M and P cells communicate with diffusible mating pheromones that activate a signal transduction pathway in the opposite cell type. The(More)\nEukaryotic cells normally differentiate from G(1); here we investigate the mechanism preventing expression of differentiation-specific genes outside G(1). In fission yeast, induction of the transcription factor Ste11 triggers sexual differentiation. We find that Ste11 is only active in G(1) when Cdk activity is low. In the remaining part of the cell cycle,(More)\nMating-type switching in the fission yeast, S. pombe, is initiated by a DNA double-strand break (DSB) between the mat1 cassette and the H1 homology box. The mat1-cis-acting mutant, smt-0, abolishes mating-type switching and is shown here to be a 263-bp deletion. This deletion starts in the middle of the H1 homology box, 31 bp from the site of the DSB, and(More)\nThe fission yeast, Schizosaccharomyces pombe, expresses one of two alternative mating types. They are specified by one of two determinants (M or P) present at the mat1 locus. In addition, silent copies of M and P are present on the same chromosome. In the present work we demonstrate that the difference between the active and the silent stage of the P(More)\nDNA replication is an extremely accurate process and cells have evolved intricate control mechanisms to ensure that each region of their genome is replicated only once during S phase. Here, we compare what is known about the processes that prevent re-replication in prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells by using the model organisms Escherichia coli and(More)", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6324438452720642}
+{"content": "New 3-D chip combines computing and data storage\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe RRAM and carbon nanotubes are built vertically over one another, making a new, dense 3-D computer architecture with interleaving layers of logic and memory. By inserting ultradense wires between these layers, this 3-D architecture promises to address the communication bottleneck.\n\nHowever, such an architecture is not possible with existing silicon-based technology, according to the paper’s lead author, Max Shulaker, who is a core member of MIT’s Microsystems Technology Laboratories. “Circuits today are 2-D, since building conventional silicon transistors involves extremely high temperatures of over 1,000 degrees Celsius,” says Shulaker. “If you then build a second layer of silicon circuits on top, that high temperature will damage the bottom layer of circuits.”\n\nThe key in this work is that carbon nanotube circuits and RRAM memory can be fabricated at much lower temperatures, below 200 C. “This means they can be built up in layers without harming the circuits beneath,” Shulaker says.\n\nThis provides several simultaneous benefits for future computing systems. “The devices are better: Logic made from carbon nanotubes can be an order of magnitude more energy-efficient compared to today’s logic made from silicon, and similarly, RRAM can be denser, faster, and more energy-efficient compared to DRAM,” Wong says, referring to a conventional memory known as dynamic random-access memory.\n\n“In addition to improved devices, 3-D integration can address another key consideration in systems: the interconnects within and between chips,” Saraswat adds.\n\n“The new 3-D computer architecture provides dense and fine-grained integration of computating and data storage, drastically overcoming the bottleneck from moving data between chips,” Mitra says. “As a result, the chip is able to store massive amounts of data and perform on-chip processing to transform a data deluge into useful information.”\n\nTo demonstrate the potential of the technology, the researchers took advantage of the ability of carbon nanotubes to also act as sensors. On the top layer of the chip they placed over 1 million carbon nanotube-based sensors, which they used to detect and classify ambient gases.\n\nDue to the layering of sensing, data storage, and computing, the chip was able to measure each of the sensors in parallel, and then write directly into its memory, generating huge bandwidth, Shulaker says.\n\nThree-dimensional integration is the most promising approach to continue the technology scaling path set forth by Moore’s laws, allowing an increasing number of devices to be integrated per unit volume, according to Jan Rabaey, a professor of electrical engineering and computer science at the University of California at Berkeley, who was not involved in the research.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.997306764125824}
+{"content": "When Daycare Operators Leave Children Unattended in Daycare Vehicles\n\nIn Texas, if children are trapped inside cars, especially during seriously hot weather, it can result in heat exhaustion or heat stroke, leading to permanent disability or death in a matter of minutes. Heat stroke, also known as hyperthermia, can cause shock, seizures, irregular heartbeat, heart attack and damage to the brain, liver, and kidneys.\n\nLeaving a child in a vehicle is punishable under the Texas Penal Code, Title 5, Chapter 22, Section 10:\n\n\n(1) younger than seven years of age; and\n\n\n\nLeaving a child unattended in a car is also a form of neglectful supervision.\n\nWhat is neglectful supervision?\n\nAnswer: Adults who are attentive and aware of children’s behaviors are in the best position to safeguard their well-being. When children are not adequately supervised, it may be considered “neglectful supervision,” which means: Placing a child in or failing to remove a child from a situation that a reasonable person would realize requires judgment or actions beyond the child’s level of maturity, physical condition or mental abilities and that results in bodily injury or substantial risk of immediate harm to the child.\n\nNeglectful supervision is also defined as: Placing a child in or failing to remove the child from a situation in which the child would be exposed to a substantial risk of sexual conduct harmful to the child.\n\nOut of 50,529 confirmed child abuse/neglect victims in Texas for 2004, 28,370 were due to neglectful supervision. If you suspect a child has been abused or neglected, or if you have any questions about whether the concern you have constitutes abuse or neglect, please call the DFPS Abuse/Neglect Hotline at 1-800-252-5400.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.971137285232544}
+{"content": "Tuesday, May 26, 2009\n\nMysterious Lake Baikal Ice Circles Visible On Google Maps!\n\nIn a recent Wired article, I read about a circular region of melted ice that ISS astronauts spotted from space in a Siberian lake. It's almost certainly caused by some upwelling of heat from the Earth's crust, however no one really knows what's going on. For grins, I went and checked out the Google Maps sat view of the region and it's not during the winter. Instead, it shows lots of dark blue water. But when I took a screenshot and ran it through The Gimp's \"Colors -> Auto -> Equalize\" filter, I got the picture to the right, showing that the region appears in a slightly different color, even when the ice is melted! This is probably due to differences in dissolved gasses or salinity caused by the heat, but I'm no geologist, so I'm not sure. It's just interesting that Google Maps has had this data all along and no one knew.\n\nYou'll notice a region to the lower right that is a very different color of blue. It looks like this is a seam between two different sources of images. That's where a more detailed set of (probably aerial) photos begin. The main region is a lower-rez and probably older set of photos that I believe were from the original satellite images that Google Maps began with.\n\nUpdate 2009-05-27: Similar features can be seen around the northern circle that was identified in the Wired article, when using the Google Maps images. However, much more telling is the fact that the location pictured above was the epicenter of a magnitude 6.2 earthquake late last year. I think that makes it fairly likely that this is a geothermally active area and that the circles could indicate escaping gasses or related events.\n\nNote: the image to the right is from Google Maps, and reproduction of the image is governed by Google's copyright and licensing. It is used here only to illustrate a matter of academic interest.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.586166262626648}
+{"content": "Bangalore chess academy\n\nWelcome to Bangalore Chess Academy\n\nParent's Corner\n\nHere I am trying to provide answers to some of the most common queries of parent. Hope it is useful for you!\n\nQ1.What is the best age to start playing chess?\n\nIn my experience children start learning the basics around 4 years of age. But usually 5-6 is the age when they can be taught a bit more and maybe get started with professional training.\n\nQ2. How important is the role of a parent? What can I do to help my child's progress in chess?\n\nAs a parent you can...\nplay with your child and develop the interest and confidence in the game.\nbe a mentor and motivate your child by narrating insipiring stories and events.\npurchase chess material for individual practice at home.\nprevent your child from racing towards victory through shortcuts and instead encourage him/her to earn it through hard work and commitment.\nteach them the importance of individual practice at home.\nhelp your child handle expected and unexpected results in a balanced way. Chess is a sport, so winning and losing is completely normal.\n\nQ3. How important is it to get the right trainer for my child?\n\nVery important. Once the child starts has learn the basics, starts participating in tournaments and is ready for the next level it is important to have a coach who himself has the requisite experience at the competitive level. Nothing replaces experience!\nIf possible try to have a coach rated FIDE 1800 and above\n\nFIDE Ratings and Indicative Strengths\nClass A- 1800-1999\nExpert - 2000 -2199\nFIDE Candidate Master - 2200-2300\nFIDE Master - 2300 -2400\nInternational Master - 2400-2500\n\nQ4. How important it is for the child to practice regularly?\n\nAges 4-6 - Don't get too serious! Let them just see, touch, feel, enjoy whatever they do with the game :)\nTaking to a class and tournament is ok but don't judge thir performance. 15 mins to half an hour spent daily on the game will be useful.\n\nAdvice- Play a game or two daily and let them win !\nLet the child play with a software program like \" chess master' set at an easy level.\n\nAges 6-8 - Children improve a bit faster at this age.\nTake to a chess coach / class 1-2 time a week. Particpation in tournaments can be started.\nAvoid individual coaching. Best is a place where the kid can play a few games with other kids and learn under some supervision.\nSolve lots of basic tactical exercises and play a lots of games.\n\nOnline portals like,, can be used for playing online. is a good place to improve tactical skills.\n\nAges 8 and above\n\nDaily practice is the key to mastery. Half an hour or an hour devoted daily to the practice of the game will reap rich dividends over time both in terms of development of the brain and competetive results.\n\nIt takes roughly 20 hours per week of practice to become a successful professional in any discipline. It would be ideal if a child, aspiring to become a Grand Master, can practice chess 2 hours a day\nduring weekdays/schooldays and around 4 hours on weekends.\n\nChess being an individual sport, a player should learn\nto think for himself/herself and take tough decisions all by himself/herself.\nRegular individual work will help improve these qualities greatly!", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9960697293281555}
+{"content": "Font Size:  \n\nApply Now\n\nClick \"Apply\" below. You Will be transferred to the employer's website to complete your application.\n\nYou are about to leave, a website for job seekers with disabilities. After logging into your GettingHired account or creating a new GettingHired account, you will be transferred to the posting for the position Senior IT Project Manager (SAP or Siemens PLM) on Huntington Ingalls Industries' website.\n\nIn order to be considered an applicant for this position, you must follow the instructions on Huntington Ingalls Industries' website to apply. You will typically receive confirmation directly from Huntington Ingalls Industries when your application has been successfully submitted at its website. If you should require an accommodation or assistance with your application, please contact Huntington Ingalls Industries directly.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9911025762557983}
+{"content": "Erectile Dysfunction and the Associated Illnesses\n\nNizagara Erektil Dysfunktion Erectile dysfunction or ED refers to the category of violations, mainly against the backdrop of developing associated illnesses. It is noteworthy that the ailment can be based on a psychosomatic nature, which develops as a reason of psychological influence on physiological processes.\n\nFirst of all, it is worth noting some metabolic disorders, illnesses of the endocrine and cardiovascular systems are often a breeding ground for ED:\n\n  • Atherosclerosis is prone to the progress of the pathological process caused by impaired metabolism of lipoproteins and manifested by local inflammatory response, endothelial dysfunction, the formation of cholesterol plaques, causing blockage of blood vessels, hyalinosis, hardening, calcification of blood vessels, for a total negative impact on the flexibleness of blood vessels, the possibility of stenosis and other atherothrombotic process;\n\n  • Hypertension is a malfunction of the cardiovascular system, manifested by enhanced arterial blood pressure;\n\n  • Hypogonadism is an androgen deficiency, which is the reason of recreased testicular function or effect of the reduced function of the hypothalamic-pituitary axis; a state of correlative resulting primary pathology of the endocrine glands and involved in the exchange of androgens;\n\n  • Lipid metabolism is a disturbance of fat metabolism, which turns out in the enhanced blood levels of cholesterol and triglycerides;\n\n  • Obesity is a dysregulation of body weight at which there appears the excess weight and consequently there is a significant increase in body weight;\n\n  • Diabetes is a metabolic disorder, which is a consequence of absolute or relative deficiency of the hormone insulin, when the amounts of glucose are too great.\n\n  • The risk of erectile dysfunction increases the diseases of the genitourinary system, the groin injury endured surgery. Inflammatory and infectious illnesses, leading to a breach of the constituents of semen, as well as to their accumulation in the urethra during intercourse, sometimes are creating conditions for the ailment’s occurrence too. Here one can name such urological diseases as Peyronie's disease, prostatitis, a history of priapism, urinary disorders.\n\n    Neurogenic and psychiatric disorders, nerve damage in the pelvic area (such as iatrogenic nature), spinal cord form the basis for erectile dysfunction of neurogenic nature.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5532892942428589}
+{"content": "Speak up, we’re listening.\n\nIn 2013, I started Chirp Digital to help brands find their voice online. I’ve worked with government, commercial and not-for-profit organisations and understand how challenging it can be to transition from traditional to digital marketing strategy.\n\nMy goal is to help you navigate the digital space, educate your team and give you measurable results that will continue to inform and grow your business.\n\nCheck out the website for more information.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5188563466072083}
+{"content": "Loud Sound GH\n\nOpinions: A letter to CHARTER HOUSE & the VGMA BOARD #VGMAissues\n\nLoud Sound GH has given Industry players, music enthusiasts and the general public to share their views and opinions about the Ghana Music Awards and this is from Bixx Kwadwo Appiahene. You can also send us your opinions for publishing via info@loudsoundgh.com\n\n0 511\n\nI’m feeling very sad this afternoon after seeing this List of nominees.Not withstanding the fact that every nominee worked very hard but the question is “where’s the credibility of our Ghanaian music?”.\n\nAnd I will explain why This Should be the Topic of the moment, Loud Sound GH please help me with the List of songs that were banned by this Same Charter House for profane/vulgar words, So why should Sarkodie get nominated with this song #RichNiggaSh*t ?\n\nDonzy also got nominated with his #Club a song that motivates People to Take in alcohol, henceforth I think all musicians who were banned for #Profanity should take on CharterHouse and not forgetting the ”Artist Of The Year Category”…\n\nDear VGMA, what qualifies an artist to be in the “Artiste Of The Year” category? From my point of view, think some artist do not deserve to be in there. What should an artist like Flowking Stone do to get into that category?\n\nHe released an album and about 3 hit singles last year, and not forgetting that he was also billed to perform on almost every ”big show”. Flowking went to Europe for shows as well incase you (vgma board) have forgotten…\n\nWritten by Bixx Kwadwo Appiahene\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6211321949958801}
+{"content": "Wednesday, 18 October 2017\n\nThe Three Act Structure in Captain America: The First Avenger\n\nThe Three Act structure is a structure found in many films. It's a way to tell the beginning middle and end of a film and to divide them into smaller parts. The film Captain America: The First Avenger follows the three act structure.\n\nFirstly in act 1 we have the exposition, in Captain America: The First Avenger this is when we meet Steve, a weak and fairly scrawny guy, and we see him getting beat up but not giving in until his friend comes along to help him. We then follow him and find that Steve wants to join the war efforts but isn't allowed to due to his many health issues. Next we have the incident, this is when Steve meets Dr Erskine and is told he can join the army provided he takes part in an experiment. In plot point 1, after Steve is injected with Erskine's serum, Steve chases down a spy that is trying to steal the serum. This is where Steve first meets someone working for the main antagonist.\n\nIn act 2 Steve faces obstacles such as the way he is entertainment for the masses instead of being the soldier he aimed to be, this is something he becomes aware of when he has to provide entertainment for a regiment of soldiers and they mock him. It is then that he finds out his friend, Bucky, is missing as he is meant to be in that regiment. This leads to the first culmination as that is where Steve stops being entertainment and instead goes and saves Bucky, finding the antagonist, Red-skull's, plans. The mid point is then when Steve and Bucky return and begin to rally a group for a mission to stop Red-skulls plans. The next plot point, Plot point 2, is when Steve discovers that there is a bomb in the plane and its headed for the centre of the city.\n\nThis leads into the climax which occurs at the very end of Act 2, near the beginning of Act 3. This is when Steve realises the choice he must make and crashes the plane into the ocean, thus saving everyone.\n\nIn Act 3 the twist and the resolution are closely ties as the twist is when we find out that Steve is actually still alive, preserved in the ice, and the resolution is then when they are de-icing him.\n\nTuesday, 17 October 2017\n\nPerspectives | Lecture 4\n\nKeyword Definitions:\n\nAvante-Garde: Something new and modern when placed in the context of it's place and time of creation. Things that are avante-garde have the purpose of pushing art, culture and/or politics.\n\nNostalgia: A desire to return to a specific time or place in one's own past. The reuse of previously existing media in order to create a sense of nostalgia, or desire, in regards to the past.\n\nAppropriation: Taking something or aspects of a thing, (sometimes without the rights to do so), that belong to someone else and using it in another context thus altering the original meaning.\n\nPastiche: A piece of work that aims to imitate another artist's work, a time period or style. Often used as a way to reference prior works.\n\nParody: A piece of work that aims to imitate another artist's, their work, a time period or style in an exaggerated manner with comedic intent.\n\nIrony: When a situation or text has a result that's contrary or different to what we expected. This often ends up being in a comedic way.\n\nIdeology: A set of idea's or beliefs held or integrated into cultures, often considered as truths within those believing.\n\nGenre: A style or category, often of films, i.e, 'Horror' and 'Romance'.\n\nSherrie Levine: Sherrie Levine is an American Photographer and Painter. Her work is often part of conversations about appropriation and originality. She uses her work, reproductions of other photographic works, to bring attention to females within art history.\n\n\nScream - Movie Poster\n\nWays that 'Scream' is postmodern:\n\n1. Scream is a pastiche to slasher movies as it makes use of the many tropes involved in that genre.\n\n2. The film is also a parody as it points out the cliches of slasher movies while simultaneously using those same cliches in the film.\n\n3. Appropriation is another reason this film can be seen as postmodern as the film's antagonist uses a mask of the figure in the artwork The Scream by Edvard Munch. Another way it uses appropriation is in it's use of tropes and cliches from previous slasher films.\n\nThe Scream - Edvard Munch\n4. Irony is used in this film a few times, this is done for comedic value as it plays with our expectations of a horror film by setting a scenario up and having the characters mock it while still falling into the actions they mocked. One example being the main character, Sydney, and her rant against slasher protagonists for always 'running up the stairs when she should be running out the door' as moments later she herself is running up the stairs away from the killer. Another is when the character Randy is watching a slasher and yelling for the character to 'look behind them', all while the antagonist of this film is slowly walking up behind him.\n\n5. Intertextuality is used in the film as it references multiple other films numerous times, both in the use of tropes from those films and in mentioning them during the film through dialogue.\n\nThursday, 12 October 2017\n\nArchetypes in Labyrinth\n\nThere are some archetypes that are found in many films, these are Hero, Shadow, Herald, Threshold Guardian, Trickster, Mentor, Allies, Mother, Father, Child, Maiden and Shape-shifter. These are roles that can be found in the film Labyrinth (1986).\n\nThe Hero in Labyrinth is Sarah as she is the character that we follow on her journey to save her brother. She is a hero as her goal is to save her baby brother from the Goblin King after she wished the baby away. Throughout the film she encounters other characters that help and hinder her.\n\nThe Shadow, or Villian, of the film is Jareth, the Gobling King, as it is he who takes Sarah's baby brother Toby. He is placed in opposition to Sarah as the one she has to defeat to get her brother back and thus places obstacles in her path to prevent her reaching her goal.\n\nThe Herald in the story is not a character. In this case, the Herald is an event. This is when Sarah's stepmother tells Sarah to look after the baby and then leaves. This is the Herald as it is leaving Sarah with the baby that led to her wishing him away and starting the journey.\n\nSir Didymus is the character that acts as the Threshold Guardian as he is the one to block Sarah from continuing her path as he must guard the bridge and allow none to cross without permission. To pass him Sarah has to think as she cannot just move freely past him and must figure out how to get him to let her pass. One she gets past him, Didymus is no longer required as the Threshold Guardian as there is no longer a threshold to gaurd thus he joins her as an Ally.\n\nThe role of Shape-shifter is filled by Hoggle as he toes the line between helping Sarah and doing what Jareth wants. He begins by giving Sarah advince on getting into the Labyrinth, but then advises her not to go in at all. Then when Sarah is stuck Jareth sends Hoggle to take her back to the start, which Hoggle intends to do until Sarah bribes him to take her as far forward as he can. He then goes back on that when Jareth shows up, claiming he was taking her back to the start the whole time. Hoggle is also the one that Sarah trusts as he saves her life, only for him to give her a peach from Jareth that hinders her journey. Ultimately he chooses to help Sarah, and thus becomes an Ally.\n\nSarah gains Allies as the film progresses, by the end she has three main allies. These are Hoggle, whom she befriends, Sir Didymus, who wishes to join her on her journey, and Ludo who she saved from the Goblins. These three accompany her as she travels to the castle, offering their help when they can.\n\nThroughout the film Sarah receives advice from many places but the advice that ends up recurring the most comes from a Worm she meets near the start of the Labyrinth. Thus the worm is the Mentor as he is the one to give her the advice she needed to get through the maze and defeat the Goblin King.\n\nThe character of the Child is both Sarah's younger brother Toby, who she wishes away, as he is a baby and the symbol of the childhood Sarah is leaving behind as well as her childish need to have all of her parents attention. The other example is Ludo, who uses simple and childish logic to progress through things. He is the Child as he is innocent and childlike.\n\nThe role of the Mother is filled both by Sarah's absent birth mother and by her Step-mother. The former as she is who Sarah aspires to be like, even though she isn't part of Sarah's life. The latter is because she is trying to be a mother-figure to Sarah.\n\nSaturday, 7 October 2017\n\nCollaboration | Character Idea's\n\nFor the Collaboration project my group is working on 'when not to go swimming'. This requires a character to demonstrate each scenario. The character we chose is a Victorian Gentleman and so I have been working on formulating a visual idea of the character so as to get a better sense of the way he would act.\n\nInitial Idea's - before deciding on Victorian Gentleman\n\nFurther Idea's - focused on Victorian Gentleman\n\nWednesday, 4 October 2017\n\nLife Drawing | 23\n\nThe Hero's Journey in Thor\n\nThe Hero's Journey is a set of events that unfurl in a film that can be a basis of the story. The Hero's Journey is something that can be found in many movies, one such movie is 'Thor'. This is what will be explored here.\n\nIn Thor the ordinary world is Asgard as this is where Thor grew up, it's his home and all he knows. In this world Thor is a prince, soon to be King, and respected. He expects people to listen and is confident, reckless and bold. His Call to Adventure comes when the frost giants invade during his coronation, later revealed to be due to his brother Loki, and he must go to stop them from stealing from Asgard. Instead of taking the advice given to him by his father, he insists that it is a deceleration of war, even as others tell him that it was likely just a small factions decision. For this Call to Adventure, Thor needs to act as a King should and not be reckless however he Refuses the Call by deciding to attack all the frost giants for the perceived war deceleration. This decision is reckless and one that could cost him and the friends that joined him their lives. It is further refused when Loki manages to broker peace with the King of the frost giants only for Thor to once again attack when provoked.\n\nFor Thor, Supernatural Aid came in the form of his father Odin arriving to stop a war from breaking out between Thor and his Friends and the Frost Giants. Odin establishes his role as mentor here as he reprimands Thor for his reckless actions and banishes him to humanity to teach him a lesson in humility. This leaves Thor in The Belly of The Beast as he now finds himself mortal and stuck in a land he has no idea how to live in. He has reached the lowest point for him, having been banished from his home at the hands of his disappointed father, and he must figure out how to make things get right from here.\n\nThe Road of Trials happens while Thor tries to adapt to life on Earth. He is confronted with things and experiences he's never had to face before, as well as customs he doesn't understand. In Thor he Meets The Goddess just before he faces the Road of Trials, as he meets Jane after she hits him with her van. Jane then helps Thor learn how to better navigate Earth and they begin to develop feeling for each other as they do. Thor's quest to become worthy of lifting his hammer is thus delayed as he spends more time with Jane, this is where Woman as the Temptress comes into play.\n\nThor's Atonement with the Father occurs when he realises his father was right and that he had been too reckless, this is after Thor attempts to break into the Government controlled site around his hammer in an attempt to retrieve it only to be foiled by being unable to lift the hammer. Loki is the instigator as he mentions Odin being dead, even though he isn't, to Thor who begins to rethink his actions. Apotheosis happens when Thor decides to sacrifice himself to save earth, this is because Thor has finally learnt the humility and understanding Odin sought to teach him and has reaffirmed his status as a God. This leaves him with The Ultimate Boon as he is able to lift Mjolnir, his hammer, once again.\n\nThor then faces the Refusal of the Return as he doesn't want to leave Jane, whom he loves, but he must as Asgard is in danger and he is the only one able to save it. Ultimately he Crosses the Return Threshold and goes back to Asgard to stop Loki from destroying things, only this time he is less reckless about his plan. Thor, now Master of Two Worlds, destroys the bridge connecting Asgard to Earth as it is the only way to stop Loki, even as it leaves him unable to return to Jane. He has made a choice that is better for his land than himself.\n\nThor, now a wise ruler capable of leading Asgard, has learnt what he needed to and is now a better leader and person for it, he has earned the Freedom to Live.\n\nTuesday, 3 October 2017\n\nPerspectives | Postmodernism in Inception\n\n1. The way reality is treated in the film is one example of postmodernism as during the film the viewers sense of reality is tested. There are two ways reality is tested, one is through the blurring of the real and the dream worlds, the other is through the dreams themselves. The dreams test reality in that they are the dreamers perspective on reality more than an actual representation of the real. The blurring is done both at the very beginning of the film, in the scene where Ariadne and Cobb are talking only for Ariadne - and the viewer - to realise she's dreaming, as well as the end of the film. The blurring of reality is more extreme near the end as the viewer is left to wonder whether Cobb made it back to the real world at all or if he has accepted his dream as reality.\n\n2. Time is distorted during the film in a postmodern way as the distortion of time lends the film to be less linear. This is due to time passing differently dependant on where they are. In reality time passes much faster than in the dreams, and in the dreams time is staggered - getting slower the deeper they sleep. This leads to multiple events happening at the same time but being shown one after the other.\n\n3. Inception is fragmentary as the dreams are each separate from each other and we bounce between them all, this is to show what is happening in each dream as they all occur simultaneously. Another example of the fragmentary nature is that the opening and ending scenes are almost exactly the same.\n\n4. The narrator in inception is an unreliable one as Cobb is often unable to tell the difference between reality and dream himself, making it more difficult for the viewer to know as well. Another reason is because of the circumstances around the end of the film. This is as according to the established 'rules' Cobb should still be stuck in the dream, he did not get awoken from the van in the first dream, but there is still uncertainty as to if he did as he is shown awake in the plane. This could then be because it is what his reality is seeing even if it's not what the true reality is.\n\n5. The ending of the film leads the viewer to question the validity of a 'true reality' as the film leaves the viewer wondering if Cobb is still dreaming or not and whether it truly matters if he is as he has accepted where he is either way. \n\nLife Drawing | 22\n\nThursday, 28 September 2017\n\nTuesday, 26 September 2017\n\nPerspectives | Kill Bill and Postmodernity\n\nImage result for kill bill\n\n5 Reasons Kill Bill is a postmodern film:\n\n1. One example is the animated segment in the middle of the film as it is completely different from the rest of the film.\n\n2. The music is another example as it often doesn't match what is being shown on screen.\n\n3. The amount of genre's covered in the film are also an example of it's postmodernism as the film switches genre many times.\n\n4. The reversal of the gender roles throughout the film are an example of postmodernity.\n\n5. The lack of realism, over the course of the film any sense of realism is broken down until things become bizarre and you're made aware that you're watching a fictional piece.\n\nMonday, 25 September 2017\n\nPerspectives | Postmodernism Word Definitions\n\nHigh Modernism: A form of modernity that believes in science and technological progress.\n\nCapitalist: Someone who uses wealth to invest in industry for profit along with the principles of capitalism.\n\nSuperabundance: Exceedingly or excessively abundant, more than sufficient.\n\nDisconnected: Lacking contact with reality, lacking a logical sequence.\n\nFragmentary: Consisting of small disconnected or incomplete parts.\n\nPop: Short for Popular Culture; Idea's, thoughts and Images making up mainstream media.\n\nSuperficiality: Lack of thoroughness, depth of character or serious thought.\n\nSimulacra: An image or representation of someone or something. An unflattering imitation of=r replica.\n\nEclectic nostalgia: A sense of nostalgia caused by things imitating the past.\n\nFlippant: Not showing a serious or respectful attitude.\n\nDepthless: Shallow and superficial, too deep to be measured.\n\nPastiche: An artistic work or style that imitated another work, artist or period.\n\nBricolage: Something created from a diverse range of things.\n\nAleatory: Depending on the throw of a dice or chance; random.\n\nFabulation: Creating stories, particularly with elements of fantasy.\n\nLife Drawing | 21\n\n20 minutes, Marker\n\n20 Minutes, Marker\n\nDuring this session I decided I would like to focus on anatomy throughout the life drawing sessions this year, to this end it was recommended to me that I look at some of Leonardo da Vinci's works. I found his studies to be interesting and enjoyed looking through them a lot.\n\nMy favourite's were the below as I enjoyed the way they looked at the skeleton and muscle structures as I feel that understanding the parts of the body may help me better understand the way it moves.\n\nStudies - Leonardo da Vinci\n\nTuesday, 16 May 2017\n\nFilm Review - Picnic at Hanging Rock\n\n\nFigure 1 - Movie Poster\n\nFigure 2- The Rock\n\n\n\n\n\nImage List:\n\nFigure 1 - Movie Poster -\n\nFigure 2 - The Rock -\n\nMonday, 15 May 2017\n\nFantastic Voyage - Reflective Statement\n\nI found this project to be enjoyable as it allowed me to explore an art style I hadn't previously. I found that during this project my main struggle was creating the work fast enough, I feel this was due to a mix of being slow and having bouts of poor time management. I think that overall the project went well as while there are things I would change, they are all relatively minor things and not things related to the overall concept or design of the project. I think that the design I chose was fit for purpose and I found it to be one that I enjoyed exploring. \n\nFor the next project I will be working on better time management as I feel that will enable me to get the results I want and have the time to alter the things I find myself wanting to change.\n\nCG Artist's Toolkit - Maya - Final Submission Post\n\nIntroduction to Maya 2016\n\nModelling 1: Digital Sets\n\nModelling 2: HS and Organic\n\nLighting and Rendering:\n\nVisual Effects 1: Deformers\n\nTexturing 1\n\n\n3D Animation 1\n\nMaya - Old Alley Part 1 and 2\n\nCG Artist's Toolkit: Animation and Character - Showreel and Final Submission\n\nAnimation Showreel from Alexis on Vimeo.\n\n\nWalk Cycle:\n\n\nCG Artist's Toolkit: Animation and Character - Lifting a Box Drawings\n\nLifting something light, something medium weight and something heavy.\n\nCG Artist's Toolkit: Animation and Character - Flour Sack", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8002806901931763}
+{"content": "You are here\n\nMs. Alexander's California Blog\n\nFrom January 16-23, 2016, Ms. Alexander traveled to California on a program through the organization Monarch Teacher Network.  We visited California's monarch sanctuaries and observed other wildlife along the rugged seacoast between San Francisco and Monterey.  We learned firsthand about the migration of monarchs, birds, and mammals (elephant seals, sea lions, gray whales) while exploring the ecology, geology, and history of the west coast.  Follow our journey below!\n\nThursday, January 21\n\nDear Kindergartners,\n\nHow amazing was that sea lion??  I can’t believe it was so close to me, and I’m so glad that you got to see it too.  I actually got to see sea lions twice today.  I woke up really early this morning so I could walk down to a marina near where we were staying.  My friend and I heard that there were lots of sea lions there so we wanted to check them out.  It was dark when we got there and we heard a few quiet barks.  As the sun started to come up, they barked more and more.  They were waking up with the sun!  We watched them stretch their bodies as they woke up.  By the time the sun was up, they were all up and about. \n\nIn both places with sea lions today, we also saw a lot of sea otters swimming around.  Sea otters like to swim or float on their backs and they often have food in their hands.  Sometimes they spin around from back to front.  They are really cute and always look like they’re having fun playing around.\n\nWe also went to a redwood forest today.  We saw coastal redwoods, which are the tallest living things on the planet!  They live for thousands of years and do not lose their leaves in the winter.  They can only grow near the ocean because they need the moisture.  The redwood forests are beautiful and really peaceful to walk in.  I felt so tiny next to the huge trees.  There was one tree that was hollow inside and its trunk was so wide that a lot of us could go inside it at the same time!  About 10 people from our group decided to all go in at once, but the record for the number of people that have squeezed inside it is 86! We also saw some cool looking banana slugs, which are named for their bright yellow color, and a group of deer!\n\nLater in the day we went to Año Nuevo State Park, where we saw one elephant seal resting on the beach and spent a lot of time looking for interesting rocks and shells.  I have a bunch to bring back and show you!\n\nYou are asking such great questions!  Here are some answers for you:\n\n·      Quinlan, that sea urchin is called a purple sea urchin, and that is just the color they are!  They only live in the Pacific Ocean, not in the Atlantic Ocean near us.  Mason, I did touch them!  The one we found at the tidepool wasn’t alive anymore, but I got to touch live ones at the aquarium.  Their spikes are hard and they have soft hairs in between the spikes.  When you touch live sea urchins, they move their spikes and hairs around a little bit as they try to figure out whether your fingers are good to eat.\n\n·      Katherine, since it was sunny when we were looking at the monarchs, I wore sunglasses when I looked up at the sky.  I could see the monarchs as long as I wasn’t looking right at the sun.\n\n·      Ryder, the falcon was grey, brown, and white.  The tip of its beak was dark and looked bluish in our telescope.  I wish I had been able to take a picture of it, but it was way too far away.\n\n·      Isabelle, welcome back to school!  I’m glad you’re feeling better.  The jellyfish were really cool to watch, especially with the relaxing music the aquarium had playing in the background.  They were mesmerizing, which means that it was hard to look away from them!\n\n·      Thomas, California misses you!\n\nI am sure that I will have another great day tomorrow.  I can’t wait to tell you all about it!\n\nMs. Alexander\n\n\n\nThursday, January 21\n...seriously, we are not in California!\n\nDear Ms. Alexander,\n\nThank you for the information, and thank you so much for the really stunning pictures.  Those animals in the pictures were amazing, and the monarch pictures were so cool.  We like how the sea creatures looked.\n\nAnd the questions!\nQuinlan: How is a sea urchin purple?\nKatherine: How did you see the monarchs with the sun in your eyes?\nThomas: I like California!\nRyder: What colors were the falcon?\nMason: Did you touch the urchins?\nIsabelle: Were the jellyfish cool to watch?\n\nHave a good dinner!  Have a good night!  We wonder if you will have a good day tomorrow?!\n\n\n\nWednesday, January 20\n\nDear Kindergartners,\n\nThis morning we visited another monarch colony, and this time it was sunny so the butterflies were out!  They spend a lot of time clinging to the trees in clusters during the winter, but when it’s sunny they do fly around the colony to stretch their wings.  We saw tons of butterflies flying all around us and many more hanging from the trees.  Some of us decided to lie down on the ground and stare up at the sky as we watched them fly over our heads.  I even got to release one from my hand!  I could have spent all day in this magical spot.\n\nWe learned more about how monarchs choose the spots for their winter colonies.  The climate is the most important thing to them.  They need protection from wind and storms, so they often look for places where there are circles of trees in rings.  The monarchs stay in the middle of the rings and are protected by the many layers of trees around them.  They need trees that have thin leaves so they can hang from them without sliding off.  Most of the trees we saw in today’s colony were Monterey Cypress trees.\n\nIn the afternoon, we hiked around a place called Point Lobos with amazing views of the ocean and the rocky coastline.  We could see so far around us that it made the land and ocean feel enormous and it made us feel like very tiny parts of this big earth.\n\nOur hike ended at some tidepools!  Tidepools are formed twice a day when the tide goes out and some ocean creatures are left clinging to rocks or trapped in pools on the shore.  Tidepool animals are used to their world changing between the ocean and the sun.  Some tidepool animals we saw were:  crabs (lined up under rocks looking like a small army!), a purple sea urchin, snails, limpets (another type of snail), sea anemones, mussels, barnacles, and algae.\n\nTomorrow we are going to go to a redwood forest.  The redwood trees are so enormous that we are going to have two challenges.  First, how many teachers from our group can fit inside a redwood tree?  Second, how many teachers can fit around a redwood tree holding hands?  How many do you think we will fit each way?  Once we find out, I’ll let you know and we can compare it to the number of kindergartners that would fit in that space once I’m back!\n\nThank you for your great questions today.  Here are some answers:\n\n·      I did have a good time tonight, Cooper!  We went for a walk and learned a lot about the city we’re staying in right now, which is called Monterey.  Then we went out to dinner at a place called the Sardine Factory.  We sat by a fireplace and listened to a piano player while we ate!\n\n·      Heidi, I am coming back on Sunday and I can’t wait to see you on Monday!\n\n·      Katherine, my favorite bird was a peregrine falcon we saw today during our hike.  They are the fastest animal on the planet!  We saw one land in a tree far away and then we looked at it through our group leader’s telescope.\n\n·      Cozette, we think the whales we saw were grey whales, but we’re not entirely sure since they were so far away and we only saw the spray from their blowholes.\n\n·      Zoe, I did not touch those jellyfish!  They were in a tank at the aquarium so I just watched them.  The aquarium had tanks of tons of different types of jellyfish, and it was really peaceful to watch them because they kept that room dark and played calm music.\n\nI hope you have fun celebrating Zoe’s birthday and I hope that Isabelle is feeling better and back at school!\n\n\nMs. Alexander\n\n\n\nWednesday, January 20\n...still not in California!\n\nDear Ms. Alexander,\n\nThank you for sending us the pictures of California.  It looks like there are a lot of animals there.  We have a lot of questions for you again today!\n\nCooper: Are you going to have a good time tonight?\nHeidi: When are you going to come back?\nKatherine: What is your favorite type of bird you have seen?\nCozette: What type of whales did you see?\nZoe: Did you touch the jellyfish?\n\nArt ws cool today we made owls with clay.  Tomorrow is Zoe's birthday and we are planning a celebration with both kindergarten classes.  Isabelle will hopefully be back tomorrow. \n\nWe hope you have a nice dinner tonight and a nice rest of your day.  We miss you!\n\n\n\nTuesday, January 19\n\nDear Kindergartners,\n\nIt was so fun to FaceTime with you today!  I wish it had been sunnier so we could have seen more monarchs.  They don’t like the rain so they were trying to stay sheltered.  After I hung up with you, we did end up seeing a cluster of monarchs up in a tree, but it was so windy that it was hard to get good pictures of them.  We found one that had fallen and was hanging out on a fence so I took a picture of that one for you.  We are going to visit another monarch colony in a few days so hopefully we will see more then.\n\nThis afternoon, we visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium.  It is one of the most incredible aquariums I have ever seen.  You all would love it!  It was amazing to visit with all the different animals while also learning about ways to protect them and the ocean.  I have tons of pictures and videos to share with you when I get back.\n\nSome of the animals I saw were:  sea otters (I saw some in the ocean today too), sardines, mackerel, tons of types of jellyfish, dolphinfish, hammerhead sharks, Pacific bluefin tuna, anchovies, loggerhead turtles, puffins and other seabirds, tons of kelp (a type of seaweed), African blackfooted penguins, spiny lobsters, California moray eels, purple sea urchins, gumboot chitons (a type of mollusk), decorator crabs (they decorate their own shells with algae!), sea cucumbers, coralline algae, snails, hermit crabs, red abalone, leopard sharks, giant sea bass, white sturgeons, tons of birds, bat rays, and so much more!\n\nThe aquarium has webcams on many of their exhibits so we can check on some of these animals once I’m back at school!\n\nI’m glad to hear that you are having fun and going outside even though it is cold.  Is there a lot of snow already?  To answer your questions:\n\nMy plane trip was about 7 hours.  It was on Friday night and I was tired after school, so I slept for most of it.  It wasn’t overnight but I got to California REALLY late at night.  It’s been really fun looking for monarchs.  At the first place we went to a few days ago, they were really high up but there were SO many of them.  They were harder to see in the rain today but I think we’ll have better luck the next time.  All of the people I’m with know a lot about monarchs, so I’m learning a lot of new things.  I have seen some whales through binoculars, but they were really far away so we could only see the spray coming out of their blowholes.  We may see some closer up on another day.  The biggest difference between California and Massachusetts is that it is warmer here!  When the sun is out, it feels like spring here.  There are flowers in bloom all winter long!  It’s a little colder when it’s cloudy or rainy, but not as cold as it is at home right now.\n\nI miss you all!\n\nMs. Alexander\n\n\n\nTuesday, January 19\n...not in California\n\nDear Ms. Alexander,\n\nWe had a nice long weekend away from school!  Some of us played in the snow and on the ice, and some of us went to warm places.  We are happy to see each other today and we worked hard on word study.\nHere are some questions for you:\n\nKatherine:  Was your plane trip long?\nZoe:  Are you having fun looking for monarchs?\nKyle:  Did it take you overnight to get there?\nCabot:  Have you seen any whales?\nMason:  Is that place different from this place?\n\nIt is cold, but we are going out to Recess.  Quinlan is the line leader tomorrow.  Have a good rest of your day!!!!\n\n\n\nMonday, January 18\n\nDear Kindergartners,\n\nToday we saw elephant seals!  They are funny mammals that spend most of their lives at sea and only come on land twice a year.  In the spring, they come to shed their skin in a “catastrophic molt.”  Unlike humans where little bits of our skin and hair fall off all the time, elephant seals shed their entire skin once a year.  It reminds me of how the caterpillars shed their skin several times before becoming chrysalises.  The other time elephant seals come ashore is right now, in the winter, when the females are ready to have their babies.  Each female only gives birth to one pup each year.\n\nThe pups are born with black, wrinkly fur.  They weigh at least 75 pounds when they are born, which is about the size of a 10- or 11-year-old!  They spend 24 days nursing and they quadruple in size!  After they are done nursing, they are called “weaners.”  The moms go back to sea and the babies stay behind in “weaner pods” as they practice learning how to swim and live on their own.\n\nFemale elephant seals can weigh up to 1,600 pounds.  This is about the same weight as a cow!  Male elephant seals can weigh up to 5,000 pounds.  This is more than a car weighs and about half the weight of a tyrannosaurus rex! \n\nMale elephant seals have a long nose called a proboscis (different than a butterfly’s proboscis!) and females do not.  The proboscis on a male elephant seal grows longer as it gets older.  They use it to scare other male elephant seals away from their territory by inflating it and making loud noises.\n\nThe elephant seals spend most of their time on the beach trying not to move too much.  They need to save their energy because they don’t eat while they’re away from the water.  They also throw sand on themselves!  They do this to cool off.  Their skin also gets itchy when they’re out of the water for a long time, so we saw them scratching themselves with their fins a lot too.\n\nThe elephant seal colony we visited is 5 miles long and has more than 15,000 elephant seals!  They have a live video on their website so we can check in on them once I’m back at school!\n\nSome other animals we saw briefly today included sea otters (through binoculars – they were resting on beds of kelp out at sea), grey whales (also through binoculars – we only saw their spray), a tiny sea star, a sea anemone, and a heron!\n\nMs. Alexander\n\n\nSunday, January 17\n\nDear Kindergartners,\n\nToday we got to visit the largest monarch colony in California – the Monarch Grove at Pismo State Beach.  We learned that there are 200 colonies all over California, and these are where the monarch butterflies from British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and California spend the winter.  About half of these are on private property and half are open to the public.\n\nAt the Pismo Beach colony, the monarchs are hanging from eucalyptus trees, which is different than the trees they roost on in Mexico.  It turns out that when monarchs choose where to spend the winter, the type of tree isn’t important.  They look for shelter from storms and wind and a very specific climate.  They need a warm place with high humidity so they don’t dehydrate while they’re staying still on the trees.  The coast of California is perfect because it is often foggy. \n\nThe colony we saw had about 28,000 monarchs!  They were very high up in the trees so we saw them best with binoculars.  Otherwise, the clusters of butterflies just looked like leaves.  They were hanging from leaves and branches in huge clumps.  Every so often a butterfly would leave its clump and fly around, then join a new clump.  They only do this when it’s sunny and above a certain temperature.  It was a spectacular sight.\n\nIn early February, these monarch colonies will break up so the butterflies can head to areas with milkweed to lay their eggs.  Then the life cycle begins all over again!\n\nTomorrow we’re hoping to see elephant seals, sea otters, grey whales, sand dollars, and more!\n\nMs. Alexander\n\n\n\nSaturday, January 16\n\nDear Kindergartners,\n\nMy trip is off to a fantastic start!  I spent a lot of time today visiting the famous California sea lions at Pier 39.  These animals have made the dock their home because there are so many fish to eat and it is a safe environment.  They also migrate up and down the Pacific coast.\n\nCalifornia sea lions are known for being smart, playful, and for barking loudly.  I can’t wait to show you videos of these funny animals!\n\nTwo of the biggest dangers to sea lions are becoming trapped in fishing equipment or plastic and swallowing plastic pollution.  This is one reason why it’s so important to recycle our plastic so it doesn’t end up in the ocean!\n\nTonight I met my group for the week and we head out tomorrow on our first adventure.  We are going to visit a museum and then our first butterfly sanctuary.  I am so excited!\n\nMs. Alexander", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5733275413513184}
+{"content": "Layers of the Atmosphere\n\n\n  • thermal characteristics (temperature changes),\n  • chemical composition,\n  • movement, and\n  • density.\n\nEach of the layers are bounded by \"pauses\" where the maximum changes in thermal characteristics, chemical composition, movement, and density occur.\n\nThe troposphere begins at the Earth's surface and extends up to 4-12 miles (6-20 km) high. This is where we live. As the density of the gases in this layer decrease with height, the air becomes thinner. Therefore, the temperature in the troposphere also decreases with height. As you climb higher, the temperature drops from about 62°F (17°C) to -60°F (-51°C). Almost all weather occurs in this region.\n\nThe height of the troposphere varies from the equator to the poles. At the equator it is around 11-12 miles (18-20 km) high, at 50°N and 50°S, 5½ miles and at the poles just under four miles high. The transition boundary between the troposphere and the layer above is called the tropopause. Together the tropopause and the troposphere are known as the lower atmosphere.\n\nThe Stratosphere extends from the tropopause up to 31 miles above the Earth's surface. This layer holds 19 percent of the atmosphere's gases but very little water vapor.\n\nTemperature increases with height as radiation is increasingly absorbed by oxygen molecules leading to the formation of Ozone. The temperature rises from an average -76°F (-60°C) at tropopause to a maximum of about 5°F (-15°C) at the stratopause due to this absorption of ultraviolet radiation. This increase is temperature with height means no \"convection\" occurs since there is no vertical movement of the gases.\n\nThe transition boundary which separates the stratosphere from the mesosphere is called the stratopause. The regions of the stratosphere and the mesosphere, along with the stratopause and mesopause, are called the middle atmosphere by scientists.\n\nThe mesosphere extends from the stratopause to about 53 miles (85 km) above the earth. The gases, including the oxygen molecules, continue to become thinner and thinner with height. As such, the effect of the warming by ultraviolet radiation also becomes less and less leading to a decrease in temperature with height. On average, temperature decreases from about 5°F (-15°C) to as low as -184°F (-120°C) at the mesopause. Average temperature profile for the lower layers of the atmosphere - click to enlarge However, the gases in the mesosphere are still thick enough to slow down meteorites hurtling into the atmosphere, where they burn up, leaving fiery trails in the night sky.\n\nThe Thermosphere extends from the mesopause to 430 miles (690 km) above the earth. This layer is known as the upper atmosphere.\n\n\n\nTake it to the MAX! The Ionosphere\n\nThe Exosphere is the outermost layer of the atmosphere. It extends from the thermopause - the transition boundary which separates the exosphere from the thermosphere below - to 6,200 miles (10,000 km) above the earth. In this layer, atoms and molecules escape into space and satellites orbit the earth.\n\nNext: Air Pressure", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9920468926429749}
+{"content": "The Success Of Jason Hope\n\nJason Hope is a successful investor, entrepreneur, futurist, and also a philanthropist. He comes from Scottsdale, Arizona. He has a strong passion for technology.\n\nJason is also known for giving back to the community. He has a clear understanding of matters concerning technology and uses this knowledge to make predictions about the future of technology. Jason studied at the Arizona State University where he managed to acquire his degree in Finance. He also went to the ASU’s WP Carey School of Business where he got his MBA.\n\nJason Hope is a philanthropist. He is involved in various philanthropic activities. Jason also has a keen interest in politics concerning the state of Arizona. Jason Hope has been able to make a name for himself through his strong dedication to the IOT (Internet of Things). He has a reputation as a reliable and efficient technology expert. Jason is always on the lookout for new technological trends. He offers his skills to individuals and young entrepreneurs on how to incorporate technology into their businesses to come up with successful modern businesses.\n\nJason Hope is a dedicated member of the SENS Foundation where he gives his contributions of resources and his skills. He attributes his success in the technology industry to passion, hard work, and commitment. Jason Hope says that it is possible for people to succeed in whatever industry they venture in if they have a passion for it. He offers mentorship programs to young adults who would wish to venture in the technology world.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9045494794845581}
+{"content": "Improvement #5: Strengthen Teacher Evaluation Clauses\n\nSchool boards and administrators are responsible for the education of children. This obligation is inconsistent with protecting the employment of poorly performing or behaving teachers. Accordingly, school districts must take steps to ensure that the process of teacher evaluation serves the primary consideration of delivering quality education to students while avoiding any potential harm that may result from unqualified or otherwise unfit personnel remaining in the classroom.\n\nThe teacher evaluation plays an important part in a school's ability to effectively educate its students. School officials must be able to evaluate the competency and performance of each teacher in order to judge how well he uses his skills to help students learn and achieve.\n\nBecause each evaluation is part of a continuum that builds over time, a proper teacher evaluation must go beyond the mere \"performance\" of an instructor standing in a classroom lecturing and address a teacher's overall ability to establish and maintain a positive learning environment for students. School boards and administrators must keep this focus in mind as they bargain contract language that affects these evaluations.\n\n\nCollective bargaining agreements in Michigan, with few exceptions, place more restrictions on school administrators' rights to evaluate their teachers than do any statutory requirements. NEA President Bob Chase recently acknowledged that, \"the heart of education is this: the daily engagement between teacher and pupil, and the commitment that both parties bring to the task.90\" Yet unions such as the MEA often demand uniformity in the teacher evaluation process-a cookie-cutter approach that ignores the differences in goals, objectives, standards, and style between elementary and secondary teaching.\n\nCollective bargaining agreements in Michigan, with few exceptions, place more restrictions on school administrators' rights to evaluate their teachers than do any statutory requirements. For example, the way a school conducts an evaluation today may affect how that evaluation can be used in future decision making. If an evaluator fails to immediately identify and address a teacher's known problems or deficiencies during the course of an evaluation, then that evaluator may be prevented by contract from bringing up these problems or deficiencies during future evaluations or discipline proceedings.\n\nProblems arise when teacher evaluators, for whatever reason, choose not to honestly confront poorly performing teachers during the evaluation process. For example, a school official may sometimes be tempted to rate an unsatisfactory teacher as satisfactory because the official believes that poor teacher evaluations reflect negatively on his own job performance. He may also fear that giving an unsatisfactory review to a teacher with problems may only compound those problems.\n\nAwarding a satisfactory rating to unsatisfactory teacher conduct or performance may, however, result in worse problems down the road. Administrators who later want to address that particular conduct may find themselves prevented from doing so by the pattern of past evaluations or the terms of the bargaining agreement.\n\nSome collective bargaining agreements allow for grievances regarding the content of teacher evaluations. Such provisions expose districts and administrators to costly and time-consuming arbitration proceedings. One principal in Manhattan, New York\n\n. . . has spent close to 100 hours out of the [school] building over the past two years in grievance sessions at the district office, at the Board of Education, and at arbitration sessions. Although every one of [the principal's] negative evaluations has eventually been upheld, he still must go through the process for another year before this one employee might have to face formal disciplinary charges-a process that can take several more years.91\n\n\n1. School board members and administrators should use the five points established under the Michigan Teacher Tenure Act when evaluating a teacher's competency.\n\nUnsatisfactory performance in any one of these five points is sufficient to determine that a particular teacher is not competent:\n\n  1. knowledge of the subject;\n\n  2. ability to impart the subject;\n\n  3. manner and efficiency of discipline over students;\n\n  4. rapport with parents, students, and other faculty; and\n\n  5. physical and mental ability to withstand the strain of teaching.92\n\nThe course of action pursued by the school district with regard to a poorly performing teacher must be based on the extent or severity of the poor performance.\n\n2. School boards should remove from their collective bargaining agreements any language that provides for grievances over the content of a teacher evaluation.\n\nThe content of teacher evaluations should be left to the sole discretion of school administrators, not to arbitrators in lengthy and expensive grievance proceedings. By making evaluation content a grievable matter, school boards wind up placing the judgment of arbitrators, who do not work with or see the teachers being evaluated, above the judgment of the school administrators, whose responsibility it is to observe and evaluate the teachers' abilities.\n\n3. School board members and administrators should take advantage of professional seminars sponsored by the Michigan Negotiators Association to learn more about the statutes governing teacher evaluations, which evaluation procedures are most effective, and how to bargain appropriate language to make the most of this vital process.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9464836120605469}
+{"content": "Thank you for visiting\n\nTo log out and end your session, click \"OK\"\n\nChange font size\n\nFood for thought before feeding your new cat\n\n\nQUESTION 1: Cats love a tasty dish. Does that mean they have a lot of taste buds? Guess how many.\n\nQUESTION 2: Taste is the most important sense when it comes to your cat's dining pleasure. What's a close second?\n\nQUESTION 3: True or false — cats are known for their good taste, but some taste sensations are stronger than others. Your cat's tongue is probably least sensitive to \"sweet.\"\n\nQUESTION 4: Cats won't eat just anything. In fact, many reject food of a particular temperature range. Cold, room temperature or warm — which is it?\n\nQUESTION 5: More teeth does not necessarily mean better chewing. Which one of the following has the least teeth: person, cat, crocodile, dog.\n\nANSWER 1: 473 — cats only have 473 taste buds, mainly because useful barbs in the middle of their tongues contain no taste buds.\n\nANSWER 2: Smell — cats rely heavily on their sense of smell to help determine what's edible. In fact, a unique set of organs lets your cat \"taste\" air drawn into the mouth.\n\nANSWER 3: True — very few taste receptors on a cat's tongue are sensitive to sweet.\n\nANSWER 4: Cold — cats do not prefer cold food. Room temperature or warm food is generally more appealing, probably because it echoes instincts for eating fresh prey in the wild.\n\nANSWER 5: Cat — The average cat has 30 teeth, specially designed for ripping and cutting. What goes into your cat's mouth doesn't stand much of a chance.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9308145046234131}
+{"content": "\n\nLord,  I am listening to the news, bless all refugees, let them know that you love and care for them. Be so real to them. Give them hope in these terrible, distressing, heartbreaking and confusing times.\n\nGive us, your children,  a heart for these people.\n\nBless all the governments and help them to work together with your wisdom and understanding to know what to do.\n\nPut a stop to all illegal trafficking and protect the lives of those who genuinely are seeking sanctuary and refuge from the ravages of war. Clothe them, keep them warm and feed them from your provision.\nProvide them with the security of countries that will embrace them and keep them far away from the conflicts of war. Let them be welcomed into the countries where they seek refuge. Help them to learn our languages and provide them with the education and support they need to integrate into society and to be a welcome help to our communities and countries. Help us to work together. There has been too much death and loss of life. WAKE US UP!!!!!!!\nDrive out all hostility towards them.\n\nOpen our hearts and may we welcome them in. Provide the finances and facilities that are needed for our countries to take them in. Pour out your provision on us that we in turn will provide for them.\nSupply, the homes and employment without leaving our own short. Lord, you are the God who has everything. Open the chest of your treasury to any country that will reach out to these people with friendship and love.\n\nin your heavenly name we ask…\n\n\nI love you lord….i miss my mum.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.976073682308197}
+{"content": "Terms and Concepts\n\n\n魔術師 majutsushi\n\nThe term used by Nodoka to refer to Dunamis, denoting a user of “magic as a technique”.\n\n\n精神力 seishinryoku\n\nA term variously translated as “willpower” or “spiritual strength”. It refers to essentially ‘mental prowess’ – energy derived from the mind alone.\n\nSpirit World\n\n異界 ikai\n\nA place not of this world, but simply a few steps removed from it – an ‘alien realm’ overlaid onto the real world, separately existing on the same space. The land of fairies and spirits; heavens and hells; all of these are considered to be spirit worlds.\n\nA spirit world must be anchored onto the physical world. Thus, a large spirit world also requires a physical mass of sufficient size. For example, the legendary Dragon Palace (竜宮城 ryuuguujou) of Japan would overlap with a specific space on the sea bed, even if it doesn’t physically exist.\n\nThe premodern definition of “spirit world” is not a defined location, but rather a mythological ‘place’ – in other words, an explanation for inexplicable natural phenomena. In Greek mythology, the existence of the Underworld is not used to describe the man-eating monsters 3,657,830,400km below the earth, but to answer the question of why human beings cannot be brought back to life.\n\nIllusionary World\n幻想世界 gensou sekai\n\nPhantasmagoria – “moving shadows”. A type of illusion magic which creates a spiritual, dream-like world existing within one’s mind. Thus, the world can be molded in any way its creator sees fit, even rewriting the laws of reality.\n\nThese worlds are not simply a ‘trick of the light’, but are ‘real’ and ‘physical’ in the sense that they can be interacted with.\n\nMagic World\n魔法世界 mahou sekai\n\nMundus Magicus – an illusionary spirit world created using Mars as a catalyst, existing as an overlapping existence on its surface, and possessing its own cultural systems: magianitas, a magic realm (魔法界 mahoukai).\n\nThis world is implied to have been created by the Lifemaker about 2600 years ago, during the Age of the Gods. It belongs to a highly unique group of worlds mainly found in Celtic and Chinese mythology; a type of spirit world which can be enter with a physical body.\n\n\n世界 sekai\n\nThe universe as it is normally understood. More specifically, it can be used to refer to Earth. However, many worlds exist in a magical sense, with the ‘physical world’ serving as a foundation and basis.\n\nReal World\n現実世界 genjitsu sekai\n\nMundus actualis – ‘reality as we know it’. However, it would be a misnomer to apply it to our world as it would imply that the others are in some way ‘fake’.\n\nOld World\n旧世界 kyuu sekai\n\nMundus Vetus – our world, our cultures, and the space we inhabit. In other words, Earth.\n\nHowever, although our world has been demythicised, it has always and continues to preserve esoteric and mythological systems of thought; it is not yet appropriate to call it an “unmagical world” (非魔法世界 himahou sekai).\n\nThe reason our world is called “the old world” is similar to why the Americas are referred to as “the new world”.\n\n\n\nMamma. Large breasts are the “sole reality” according to Erich Neumann. Nurturing and protecting, “basic traits of a female being”, come with the fullness of breasts -yo.\n\nBut that basic ‘trait of nurturing’ is not the only one -yo. There is also an important ‘trait of changing’ -ne. For example, ancient statues of flat-chested women, representing their youthfulness and vitality, their great spirit, and more than anything else, their dynamism -yo.\n\nThe members of Ala Alba demonstrate this well -ne. For example, the splendidly full and splendidly flat chests of Nagase and Sakurazaki -yo. Nagase’s large breasts hint at her ‘basic womanly trait’, and her wish and tendency to protect others -ne. By contrast, Sakurazaki’s size represents the ‘trait of change’, her sweet naivete and softness -yo. That’s why the two of them so easily fell into a trap when a hostage was involved -ne.\n\nWhite Crow\n\n白烏 byakuu\n\nBeyond the region of our common and familiar things lies another one, filled with unknown powers and unknown dangers. A thing belonging to this field is marked off but (…) it may be taboo by its superiority or inferiority, by its virtue or vice, by its excellence or depravity. (…) To be seen by a tabooed person, by a priest or king, is as dangerous as to look at him.\n\n– Ernst Cassirer, An Essay on Man\n\nJapan, since ancient times, has held white beasts as good omens; in discussing the matter of good fortune, the Nihon Shoki gives “the phoenix, the kirin, the white pheasant, and the white crow” as examples of lucky signs. However, according to the Engi-shiki, the white crow was not simply a good omen, but a “spirit of the Sun”, a spiritually powerful being.\n\nThese spiritually powerful beings were feared and kept at a distance – in anthropology, they are referred to as ‘taboo’, and for better or for worse, they were avoided. The Japanese terms imiji (いみじ, abominable) and yuyushi (ゆゆし, grave), as well as the proverb sawaranu kami ni tatarinashi (触らぬ神に祟り無し, essentially “let sleeping dogs lie”) illustrate this concept well.\n\nSetsuna had no choice but to leave her tribe because she was marked as taboo, a “white crow”, a sign of unrivaled spiritual strength – an indication of the strength Setsuna possesses.\n\nNote that the byakuu is considered a good omen of the same level as the souu (blue-feathered bird), while the shouu (green-feathered bird), shakuu (red-feathered bird), and the mitsuashi no karasu (three-legged crow) are believed to have even greater strength.\n\n\nCreate a free website or blog at\n\n%d bloggers like this:", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6623182892799377}
+{"content": "Subscription is FREE for qualified healthcare professionals in the US.\n\nNeurocognitive Disorders: Pain Expression in the Face of Mental Deficits\n\nPatients with comorbid chronic pain and a neurocognitive disorder will respond best to care delivered by a collaborative multidisciplinary team.\nPage 1 of 3\n\nThere are an estimated 35 million people with dementia worldwide.1 This figure is expected to increase to 100 million by the year 2050.2 More compelling for pain practitioners is that the rate of dementia is known to rise with age to over 50% in those 90 years of age or older,3 and the prevalence of chronic pain is 72% in those 85 years or older.4\n\nThe most common cause of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease, but dementia due to vascular, frontotemporal, and Lewy bodies are also prevalent.1 In all subtypes of dementia, specific neuropathological changes are responsible for the decline in function, cognition, and other symptoms, such as behavioral disturbances, psychological problems, and the breakdown of language and communication. Those with pain and dementia often express their pain through behavioral disturbances, such as agitation, screaming, and aggression.1\n\nManaging pain in a patient with dementia is best done with a team approach.\n\nIn the current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition (DSM-5), the chapter on neurocognitive disorders (NCD) begins with delirium, followed by the syndromes of major NCD (previously dementia), mild NCD, and their etiological subtypes due to Alzheimer’s disease; vascular, Lewy bodies, Parkinson’s disease, frontotemporal, traumatic brain injury, HIV infection, substance/medication-induced, Huntington’s disease, prion disease, multiple etiologies, and other medical conditions.5 The primary clinical deficit that these disorders have in common includes cognitive dysfunction that is acquired rather than developmental.5\n\nSetting the Stage for Neurocognitive Pain Management\n\nThe prevalence of delirium in the community is low (1–2%) but increases with age, rising to 14% among individuals older than 85 years.6 Overall prevalence estimates for major NCD are approximately 1–2% at age 65 years and as high as 30% by age 85 years.7 Estimates of the prevalence of mild NCD among older individuals are fairly variable, ranging from 2-10% at age 65 and 5-25% by age 85.8\n\nThe prevalence of mild NCD based on their etiological subtypes are as follows:\n\n  • Alzheimer’s disease ranges from about 60-90%, depending on the setting and diagnostic criteria9\n  • Vascular-related conditions range from 0.2% in the 65–70 years age group to 16% in individuals 80 years and older10\n  • Lewy bodies range from 0.1-5% of the general elderly population, and from 1.7-30.5% of all dementia cases11\n  • Parkinson’s disease steadily increases with age from approximately 0.5% between ages 65 and 69 to 3% at age 85 years and older12\n  • Conditions originating in the frontotemporal region are in the range of 2–10 per 100,00013\n  • Traumatic brain injury-associated disability is about 2% of the general population14\n  • HIV infection affects approximately one-third to over one-half of individuals depending on the stage of the disease15\n  • Substance/medication-induced disorders are more likely to arise in those who are older and have a history of longer drug use, and/or have other risk factors such as nutritional deficits16\n  • Huntington’s disease in North America, Europe, and Australia is 5.7 per 100,00017\n  • The prevalence of prion disease is unknown\n\nKeep in mind that several of the NCDs frequently coexist in patients with dementia.\n\nAttending to the Comorbidity of Pain and Dementia\n\nScientific interest in the comorbidity of pain in NCD is relatively new. The literature indicates that the prevalence rate of patients with dementia that are regularly in pain varies from around 20% to higher than 50%.18 Evidence reflects that around 60-80% of individuals with NCD in dependent-care (nursing home) settings regularly experience pain, usually related to musculoskeletal, gastrointestinal, cardiac conditions, genitourinary infections, pressure ulcers in the skin, and/or orofacial pain.19-20\n\nThere have been few studies on pain in different subtypes of NCD, such as dementia due to vascular, frontotemporal, and Lewy bodies. Approximately 35% of stroke patients suffer from post-stroke central neuropathic pain, which also occurs in vascular dementia.21 The prevalence of some type of pain (musculoskeletal, dystonic, radicular-neuropathic, and central neuropathic pain) in Parkinson’s disease ranges from 68-85%.22 In terms of traumatic brain injury-associated disabilities, the prevalence of chronic pain is about 52% among civilians23 and at least 42% among veterans with comorbid post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and persistent post-concussive symptoms.24\n\nHow do neuropathological changes in NCD effect pain?\n\nCurrent theory states that the areas of the brain involved in pain processing can be divided into two networks, the medial and lateral pain systems. The medial pain system is the pathway that mediates cognitive-evaluative and motivational-affective aspects of pain and is comprised of the amygdala, medial thalamus, hippocampus, anterior cortex cinguli, and prefrontal cortex. The lateral pain system is a pathway that mediates the sensory-discriminative aspects (localization, intensity, and quality of pain), which is comprised of the primary somatosensory areas and the lateral thalamic nuclei.25 There may be an overlap between the two systems in the insula (the region of the brain that separates the frontal and parietal lobes from the temporal lobe).\n\nLast updated on: September 27, 2017\nContinue Reading:\nAlcohol Screen Recommended to Reduce Opioid-Induced Respiratory Depression Overdose", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6907989978790283}
+{"content": "Author Archives: Chris Sanders\n\nSource Code S1: Episode 8 – Jason Smith\n\nMy long time friend Jason Smith joins me on our last episode of the season. He talks about growing up in western KY and how much his parents and teachers influenced his career development from budding physics student to senior architect at Cisco Systems. As we walk through his rapid career progression, we also talk about the state of education in our industry and some mentorship strategies he’s used to help newbies become successful in our industry.\n\nYou can find Jason on Twitter @automayt.\n\nListen Now:\n\nYou can also subscribe to it using your favorite podcasting platform:\n\nIf you like what you hear, I’d sincerely appreciate you subscribing, “liking”, or giving a positive review of the podcast on whatever platform you use. If you like what you hear, make sure to let Jason know by tweeting at him @automayt. As always, I love hearing your feedback as well and you can reach me @chrissanders88.\n\nSource Code S1: Episode 7 – Bill Pollock\n\nIn this highly anticipated interview, I have Bill Pollock who founded No Starch Press. We talk about his life growing up in New York and how he had really varied interest as a kid. He knew at a young age he wanted to be an entrepreneur and start a business for kids like him, and he did it! No Starch Press is one of the most significant names in technology publishing and through Bill’s story you’ll get a peek at why. He talks about his trials and tribulations through the publishing industry and exactly how those things shaped NSP. You can find Bill on Twitter @billpollock.\n\nListen Now:\n\nYou can also subscribe to it using your favorite podcasting platform:\n\nIf you like what you hear, I’d sincerely appreciate you subscribing, “liking”, or giving a positive review of the podcast on whatever platform you use. If you like what you hear, make sure to let Bill know by tweeting at him @billpollock. As always, I love hearing your feedback as well and you can reach me @chrissanders88.\n\nThe Cult of Passion\n\nWould you perform your job if you weren’t paid? That’s the question people are often asked to measure their passion for a profession. But, it’s not that simple.\n\nGo one step further and really consider that statement. It’s not asking you if you would work for nothing, it’s asking you if you would pay to work in your job. By choosing to work without compensation you are incurring a direct cost for equipment, commuting expenses, education, and more. You’re also incurring an indirect expense because the time spent working prevents you from earning a salary elsewhere.\n\nSo, would you pay to work in information security? You probably wouldn’t. Does that mean you aren’t passionate about infosec? I would wager that most practitioners are not. You would pay to garden, play soccer, barbecue, or play the guitar…but you wouldn’t take a financial loss to install patches, look at packets, and change firewall rules.\n\nBut, if that’s the case then why does our industry seem to revolve around passion? Nearly every blog post you read about hiring or job-seeking discusses the importance of passion and they often provide advice for how to demonstrate it. Some advice goes so far as to highlight passion as the most important characteristic you can exhibit. Infosec is described less of a job and more as a lifestyle. This sounds a lot less like job advice and more like recruitment for a cult.\n\nIn this post, I’m going to talk about passion, myths commonly associated with it, and how the cult of passion harms the practice of information security.\n\nPassion as a Currency\n\nPassion is commonly equated with extreme motivation surrounding a specific topic. In its simplest form passion manifests through hard work and time spent. These are both traits that are viewed admirably, especially in the US. Working from sunrise to sunset harkens back to memories of farmers earning an honest living while providing food for the masses, or to middle-class factory workers going the extra mile to provide for their families. These images are pervasive and are the backbone of society.\n\nOf course, hard work isn’t truly a measure of passion. The farmer isn’t always passionate about farming. He’s passionate about providing a living for his family. The factory worker doesn’t love stamping car frames for 12 hours a day, but it enables the things he or she is truly passionate about.\n\nIn truth, passion isn’t reliably measurable either, because it can only be measured relative to others. In infosec hiring, an interviewer may only see someone else as passionate if they appear to exhibit passion in the same way as them and to a greater degree. Jim speaks at 12 security conferences a year, contributes to 5 open source projects, and works 16 hours a day. These are things he finds value in and how he would quantify his own passion. He is interviewing Terry, who only speaks at one or two conferences a year, contributes to one open source project, and works about 10 hours a day. Jim is likely to see Jerry as someone who isn’t very passionate. However, this is a purely relative viewpoint. It might not also consider things that Jerry does that Jim doesn’t value as a form of passion such as mentoring less experienced practitioners or doing tech-related community service.\n\nWhen you attempt to evaluate people via traits that are difficult to objectively measure (like passion), you present an opportunity for undesirable results. This is something often seen with faith in religion. A false prophet commits to lead followers to the promised land if only they demonstrate appropriate faith. That faith might be prayer, tithing 10% of your income, tithing 100% of your income, or violently killing people of opposing faith. I highlight the wide range here because it shows the extremes that can arise when your currency isn’t objectively measurable.\n\nIn information security, we use passion as an unquantifiable currency to measure the potential success of someone in our field. A common piece of advice given to someone who wants to work in information security is that it isn’t simply enough for infosec to be your job. If you want to be successful in infosec, it must be the thing that gets you up in the morning. There must be more to this.\n\nDo You Really Mean Passion?\n\nPsychologically, passion is either harmonious or obsessive. Vallerand describes this better than I can:\n\nHarmonious passion originates from an autonomous internalization of the activity into one’s identity while obsessive passion emanates from a controlled internalization and comes to control the person. Through the experience of positive emotions during activity engagement that takes place on a regular and repeated basis, it is posited that harmonious passion contributes to sustained psychological well-being while preventing the experience of negative affect, psychological conflict, and ill-being. Obsessive passion is not expected to produce such positive effects and may even facilitate negative affect, conflict with other life activities, and psychological ill-being.\n\nWhat do people mean when they talk about passion in infosec? Rarely is it ever defined through any other mechanism but example. If you ask most to describe someone who is passionate about information security they’ll say that these people spend copious amounts of time outside of work on infosec projects, contribute to open source, go to a lot of security conferences, are actively involved in the security community, or have a blog.\n\nAssuming you’ve found someone who does all of those things, can you guarantee that means they are passionate about infosec? How would you be able to differentiate them from someone who is passionate about being successful, or making money, or being recognized for being an expert? Finally, how do you differentiate harmonious and obsessive passion? That is a very challenging proposition.\n\n\nIn most cases, I don’t think the trait people are looking for is actually passion. Instead, they’re looking for curiosity. Curiosity has a motivational component and is often described simply as “the desire to know.” It is rooted in our ability to recognize a gap between our knowledge on a topic and the amount of available knowledge out there. When we recognize that gap, we make a subconscious gamble about the risk/reward of pursuing the knowledge and eventually decide to try and close the gap or not. This is called information gap theory, and through this theory we can gain a better understanding of trait and applied curiosity that can improve our ability to teach and hire people.\n\nDiverging from Cult Mentality\n\nPassion has its place. I know some people who truly are passionate about the practice of security, and they are among the top practitioners in our field.  However, it is unwise to constantly compare yourselves to these people. I offer the following:\n\nFor information security practitioners…\n\nHard work matters, but you can work hard and not allow this industry to pull you into the cult of passion. Choose where and how you spend your time so that your work enriches your personal life, and enjoy a personal life that enriches your work. If you fall victim to the thought that information security must be your life, you will eventually burn out. You will suffer, and if there is anybody left around you, they will suffer too.\n\nHere are professions of people who work 8-10 hours a day and go home and don’t think about work: doctors, lawyers, engineers, scientists, researchers. Do the top 5% of practitioners in these fields think about work all the time? Probably. But you also probably aren’t one of those people. Not everyone is extraordinary and that’s okay. There is this myth that we all must be the best. As Ricky Bobby famously said, “If you ain’t first, your last!”. But, by constantly trying to be the best it breeds things like imposter syndrome, self-doubt, and depression. In an industry where so many have substance abuse problems and we’ve lost far too many friends, these are feelings we should actively avoid promoting.\n\nFor hiring managers…\n\nIt isn’t just limiting to only hire people who make infosec their life, it’s exclusionary. You’re missing out on people with diversity of interests that will enrich your security program. You’re also preventing people who have more important personal life issues from finding gainful employment.\n\nTo pursue the knowledge that exists in the curiosity information gap I discussed earlier, a person should be aware the gap exists. Otherwise, they don’t know what they don’t know. This implies that a job candidate needs to know a little about a topic to be strongly motivated to pursue knowledge in it and sustain that pursuit. The last part is important. Sure, the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, but that first step is also usually the easiest. It’s quite a few miles in where we normally lose people. This is one reason why the notion of trying to hire TRULY entry level people based on passion in infosec is a fool’s errand. Someone with no experience in this field does not have a proper footing to be passionate about it. If they are passionate about infosec, then that passion can’t be trusted to be sustained. You’re hiring based on a mirage.\n\nA key to maintaining interest is a constant stream of novel information. For a novice, most things within a field can be novel because the key is to building passion is exploration. To transition to expertise, an individual must find novelty in the nuance of specific topics. Someone who enjoys nuance is best set up to be an expert. Most people will never truly be world-class experts in something, but again, that’s perfectly fine.\n\nFor job seekers…\n\nMuch to my dismay, most people will never read this article, truly understand passion, and cultivate an ability to notice genuine curiosity. That means you have to play the game that is hiring. People will keep asking about passion, but reframe the question under your own terms. Tell them you see passion as a term used to describe curiosity and motivation. Try to identify what really motivates you and how your curiosity pushes to toward goals. Relate to people at a personal, human level. A lot of candidates talk about how they eat/breathe/sleep infosec. You don’t have to do that. Instead, talk about how you critically think about important problems and optimize your time so that you don’t have to be work 16 hour days to be successful. Hard work is important, but working smart is much more important, and is actually sustainable.\n\n\nAlong my pursuit to understand passion I’ve learned that it’s a highly contentious topic. People hate to have their passion questioned, and I’m sure this article will stoke that fire. I wonder why that is? I would wager that many quantify their own ability and maybe even their own self-worth in their subjective self-evaluation of their own passion. Once again, passion is a good thing and measuring yourself based on some degree of it is probably fine. It’s when we choose to measure others based on our subjective views of their passion that we get into trouble and create cult-like scenarios. We can do better.\n\nMy goal with this article was to share my understanding of passion, how it’s often misinterpreted, and how that can negatively affect our industry. Once of the most liberating moments of my life was when I figured out that I wasn’t passionate about information security, it was just infosec that allowed me to achieve other things I was passionate about. If others can relate then I hope they can feel the same liberation someday through a better understand of passion. If you are truly passionate about infosec itself, then that’s great too, we need you!\n\n\nFurther reading:\n\n\nSource Code S1: Episode 6 – Matt Swann\n\nIn this episode, I’m joined by Matt Swann who is a principal engineering manager at Microsoft. We talked about growing up in rural California, the influence of his tinkerer grandfather, and his journey up the ranks at Microsoft. Matt describes creating a culture of learning and how traditional computer science principles and evidence-based engineering guide the work of his security team.\n\nListen Now:\n\nYou can also subscribe to it using your favorite podcasting platform:\n\nIf you like what you hear, I’d sincerely appreciate you subscribing, “liking”, or giving a positive review of the podcast on whatever platform you use. If you like what you hear, make sure to let Matt know by tweeting at him @mswannMSFT. As always, I love hearing your feedback as well and you can reach me @chrissanders88.\n\nSecurity Onion Cheat Sheet\n\n\nDownload the Security Onion Cheat Sheet PDF\n\nDownload the Security Onion Cheat Sheet PNG\n\nSpecial thanks to Doug Burks and Phil Plantamura for reviewing this and providing valuable input. Enjoy!", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9360005855560303}
+{"content": "Sandra D. Mitchell\n\nUnsimple Truths: Science, Complexity, and Policy\n\nSandra D. Mitchell, Unsimple Truths: Science, Complexity, and Policy, U. of Chicago Press, 2009, 149pp., $27.50 (hbk), ISBN 9780226532622.\n\nReviewed by Daniel Steel, Michigan State University\n\n Sandra Mitchell's Unsimple Truths attempts, in a format intended to be accessible to a broad audience of scientifically literate readers, to show how complexities revealed by modern sciences in general and biology in particular demand a fundamental refiguring of traditional philosophical perspectives on science. The central elements of this traditional perspective, according to Mitchell, are reductionism, a commitment to explanation via universal laws similar to those found in physics, and a conception of causation according to which the impacts of distinct causes can be neatly separated from one another. Mitchell's own contrasting perspective, which she labels integrative pluralism, emphasizes the importance of explanations that span multiple levels of analysis, that rely on contingent generalizations of varying degrees of stability, and that recognize the complexities inherent in dynamic systems involving a multitude of interacting and context dependent causes. Unsimple Truths extends and streamlines arguments from her 2003 book Biological Complexity and Integrative Pluralism and includes some entirely new material, including a chapter on the policy implications of complexity and a critique of the notion of modularity used in discussions of causation. I found Unsimple Truths to be very clear, provocative and often strikingly insightful, although I did have some critical reactions that I detail below.\n\nUnsimple Truths is organized into an introduction followed by five full chapters. The introduction features a case study of major depressive disorder that illustrates how explanations of complex systems often involve many interacting causes at various levels of analysis, such as genes and social environment, which contribute to shaping an effect. The introduction goes on to set up a contrast between what Mitchell calls \"traditional epistemology\" of science and integrative pluralism. Mitchell sees traditional scientific epistemology as inspired by the success of Newtonian physics and codified by such 19th century philosophers John Stuart Mill and William Whewell (pp. 10-12). According to the traditional picture, science should aim to unify a wide variety of phenomena under a few simple, universal laws. Integrative pluralism by contrast insists that explanations of complex phenomena will typically require integrating models at several levels of analysis rather than a reduction to one supposedly fundamental explanatory framework (p. 13). In addition, integrative pluralism stresses the importance of pragmatic considerations in guiding decisions about which level of organization or abstraction to focus on in a given explanatory project. Finally, integrative pluralism emphasizes that many of the complex processes and structures studied by modern science, such as species, ecosystems, and the global climate, are dynamic and evolving, which requires that scientific means for representing and explaining them must continually change as well. Thus, on Mitchell's picture, science could never be complete nor could it even converge ever more closely to approximations of completion. The subsequent chapters elaborate this integrative pluralist view of science in greater detail.\n\nIn chapter 2, Mitchell defends a concept of emergent properties inspired by research in biology that uses that same term and responds to a well-known critique of emergent properties by Jaegwon Kim. Like Kim, Mitchell accepts \"compositional materialism,\" according to which everything is composed solely of basic physical components (p. 23). But contrary to Kim, Mitchell argues that compositional materialism is compatible with emergent properties. Kim reasons that if compositional materialism is true, then any causal relationship between properties characterized at a higher level -- e.g., being pricked by a pin causes pain -- can be explained by facts about the microstructural properties of the system -- e.g., a signaling cascade in a neural network. Mitchell challenges a crucial premise in Kim's reasoning, namely, the assumption that \"every material object has a unique complete microstructural description\" (cited in Mitchell, p. 28). She argues, quite rightly in my view, that complete descriptions are impossible because representations are inevitably limited by their medium and the cognitive abilities and interests of their users (p. 31). However, a weaker premise could be substituted in Kim's argument to replace the one that Mitchell objects to. Instead of asserting that there is one microstructural description that can explain every higher level relationship, what Kim's argument needs is the much more modest claim that for every higher level relationship there is some microstructural description that explains it. Moreover, this weaker claim is compatible with the examples of emergent phenomena that Mitchell cites from the scientific literature, for instance, the elaborate flocking patterns of starlings (p. 35). In these examples, scientific explanations were ultimately given in terms of interactions among the components of the system, for example, a model of birds in a flock moving in response to their neighbors. What the scientists seem to mean by the term \"emergent\" in these cases is not that the property is inexplicable in terms of its components, but that it could not have been predicted on the basis of knowledge of the components alone (p. 36). But emergence in this sense is surely compatible with Kim's position, since he makes no claims about our abilities to predict the macro behaviors of complex systems from their micro components. Moreover, a number of the features of emergent properties noted by Mitchell -- sensitivity to small differences of initial conditions, non-linearity, or feedback loops -- are all things that can make a system difficult to predict but which do not appear to preclude explanation. So, the upshot seems to be two conceptions of emergence, one focused on inexplicability in principle and the other on unpredictability in practice, both of which strike me as worthy of philosophical interest.\n\nChapter 3 of Unsimple Truths presents Mitchell's views on laws of nature. The main theme of her approach is to reject the traditional philosophical dichotomy between generalizations that are true as a matter of natural necessity and those that are mere accidents and to replace it with a continuum based on her notion of stability. According to this proposal, the difference between between physical laws, such as Galileo's law of free fall, and biological laws, such as Mendel's law of independent assortment is one of degree rather than of kind. Moreover, Mitchell's approach is motivated by a pragmatic perspective that focuses on the functions laws perform -- prediction, explanation, intervention -- rather than on a quixotic attempt to identify necessary and sufficient conditions for being a law of nature. I heartily agree with Mitchell's rejection of the traditional accident-versus-naturally-necessary distinction and with her pragmatic perspective on laws. However, I think her concept of stability could profit from further elaboration. Most of Mitchell's discussion in this chapter is devoted to explaining how laws are contingent in various ways. But the distinctive characteristic of laws on her account is stability, not contingency. As a result, the reader is left with a number of questions about Mitchell's proposal. For example, are there several types of stability or just one? If the former, are different varieties of stability pertinent to different scientific roles of laws? How do stable generalizations arise in evolutionarily contingent systems, and how are they maintained? And is there some connection between the source of stability of a biological generalization and which functions it is best suited to perform?\n\nIn chapter 4, Mitchell discusses gene knockout experiments and argues that they challenge a concept known as modularity, which some have argued plays a central role in the concept of causation (Hausman and Woodward 1999). Modularity can be defined in reference to structural equation models, which consist of a list of equations in which variables on the left hand side of each equation are causes of the variable on the right hand side. For example, consider this simple model:\n\nε =X\n\n1–X =W\n\n1–X =Y\n\nX ⊕ (Y ⊗ W) =Z\n\nThe variables in this equation are binary (i.e., their value must be either 0 or 1). The ε in the first equation is an error term, and would be associated with a probability distribution. Normally, a structural equation model would also include error terms in the other equations, but I have omitted these for simplicity. The and stand for Boolean addition and multiplication, respectively. Thus, the bottom equation says that Z equals 1 just in case either X = 1 or both Y and W equal 1. Modularity means that it is possible to intervene to change any one of the equations without altering any of the others. For example, suppose the intervention consisted of forcing X to be 0, which could be represented by \"wiping out\" ε = X and replacing it with 0 = X. If modularity holds, then we can use the other three equations in the model to compute the resulting value of Z, namely, 1. Mitchell argues that modularity should not be regarded as a conceptual sine qua non of causation but instead as a feature of certain types of causal systems that, when present, simplifies causal inferences. I agree with this perspective on modularity, and I concur that modularity can be a problematic assumption for complex systems. Nevertheless, I do not think that gene knockout experiments are counterexamples to modularity.\n\nMitchell notes that it is not unusual for an experiment of this kind to find no difference between the normal and knockout strains. Often, this occurs because the targeted gene initiates a causal chain that results in the outcome while suppressing other causal processes that would also generate it. Such examples do indeed create difficulties for causal inference; in particular, they appear to be counterexamples to the common assumption that causal connections generate probabilistic dependence (Steel 2008, pp. 68-75). However, I do not think they are counterexamples to modularity. To the contrary, modular organization facilitates adaptability in the face of disruption because it allows the system to alter a targeted mechanism or find alternative solutions while preserving other functions. Indeed, there is a biological literature that focuses on adaptability as a key to understanding the evolution of modularity in living organisms.[1] Moreover, modular structural equations can represent redundancy and robustness. For example, suppose that the model above represents the influence of a gene X on an outcome Z. Let the variable X equal 1 when the gene is present and 0 when it is knocked out. When present, X initiates a process that results in the outcome (i.e., Z = 1), but at the same time it suppresses another set of interactions involving Y and W that also produce the outcome. Thus, this model illustrates how modularity is compatible with the null-results that often occur in gene knockout experiments. Of course, real-life scientific examples can be expected to be more complex than this simple model. For example, there might be multiple possible backup mechanisms, some degree of randomness involved in determining which backup is activated, the variables might be continuous rather than binary, and there might be many more than four variables. Yet all of these complications can be accommodated in modular structural equation models. Mitchell also emphasizes that robustness can result from the ability of a complex system to reorganize some interactions among its components in order to regain an impaired function (pp. 71-72). But it is not clear why this shows that a modular representation of the system is impossible. A causal model like the one given above could represent a situation in which the backup mechanism is, as it were, ready and waiting in the wings, or a situation in which the backup mechanism is actively constructed in response to the intervention. Mitchell objects that a modular representation of a dynamic robust causal system would necessitate accounting for all physically and chemically possible ways the effect could be achieved when the cause is absent (pp. 80-81). But why should this be so? A causal model of a gene knockout experiment, for instance, can limit itself to those backup mechanisms that are biologically feasible for the organism in question.\n\nIn chapter 5, Mitchell explores some implications for policy that follow from her views. The main theme of this chapter is a critique of what she calls the \"predict-and-act\" conception of scientific contributions to environmental policymaking, epitomized by cost-benefit analysis. Predict-and-act insists that science should provide policy makers with confident predictions of outcomes of distinct policy choices, which can then serve as the basis for informed decisions. Mitchell argues that predict-and-act approaches are inappropriate for complex systems that exhibit deep uncertainty, wherein the uncertainty of predictions is difficult, if not impossible, to quantify. In such circumstances, insisting that uncertainty be reduced before any action is taken is a recipe for endless delay. Mitchell's main counter proposal to cost-benefit analysis is a defense of robust adaptive planning (RAP). Instead of attempting to identify the policy option that produces the optimal balance of expected benefits over costs, RAP attempts to identify strategies that achieve satisfactory outcomes over a wide range of scenarios that are compatible with what we know (pp. 93-94). Often strategies that are robust in this sense are adaptive: they can be modified in the course of implementation as new information becomes available. The robustness of various strategies can be tested through computer simulations, which can also be used to search for unforeseen circumstances, or surprises, that could defeat even the most robust strategies. Mitchell's advocacy of RAP is a very welcome contribution to discussions of environmental policy, where there is a tendency to focus on shortcomings of cost-benefit analysis without offering any clear alternative analytical procedure. There are, however, a number of questions about RAP that merit further philosophical inquiry. For example, RAP relies on a distinction between what is known, which constrains possible scenarios, and what we are uncertain about, which is allowed to vary across scenarios. But the division between what is known and what is uncertain is often both hazy and politically contentious and could, thus, benefit from some explication.\n\nThe final chapter functions both as an overview of the main themes of the previous chapters and as an opportunity to further elaborate Mitchell's integrative pluralism. The chapter examines explanations that combine causal factors and models from multiple levels of analysis and of pragmatic considerations in deciding which explanatory factor to emphasize.\n\nOverall, I found Unsimple Truths to be a stimulating presentation of a wide-ranging and sophisticated perspective on science that is both accessible and deeply engaged with current debates in philosophy of science. Thus, objections to the particulars of some arguments notwithstanding, I would recommend this book to professional philosophers of science as well as to readers in general who are interested in the nature of modern science and its relevance to important contemporary issues, such as climate change and explanations of mental disorders.\n\n\nHausman, D., and J. Woodward. 1999. \"Independence, Invariance and the Causal Markov Condition.\" British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 50: 521-83.\n\nMitchell, S. 2003. Biological Complexity and Integrative Pluralism. Cambridge: Cambridge UP.\n\nSteel, D. 2008. Across the Boundaries: Extrapolation in Biology and Social Science. Oxford: Oxford UP.\n\n[1] See Steel (2008, pp. 42-47) for a discussion of modularity and adaptability and for references to the biological literature on this topic.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9325854778289795}
+{"content": "Saturday, December 7, 2013\n\nRibosomes: Protein Factories\n\nRibosomes are nonmembranous organelles responsible for the synthesis of proteins from amino acids. They are composed of RNA and protein. Each ribosome is composed of two subunits—a large one and a small one. As mentioned before, they are constructed in the Nucleolus. Ribosomes carry out protein synthesis in two locations\n\nBound ribosomes: Many ribosomes are attached to the endoplasmic reticulum. Because ER that has attached ribosomes appears rough when viewed through an electron microscope it is called rough ER. Areas of rough ER are active sites of protein production.\n\nFree ribosomes: Many ribosomes are also found floating freely in the cytoplasm wherever proteins are being assembled. Cells that are actively producing protein (e.g., liver cells) have great numbers of free and attached ribosomes. Ribosomes are not surrounded by membrane (found in prokaryotic cells too)", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9967561364173889}
+{"content": "End of Summer Classes\n\nI don't know about you, but I find the end of summer bittersweet.  The days are slightly shorter, there is a crispness to the air - a harbinger of autumn days.  Yet, there is a sense of panic too, all the things we planned to do and put off with a casual nod to the endless feeling of a summer day, suddenly there isn't enough of the summer left to fit them all in.  Time is moving quickly towards schedules and routine and rhythm.  \n\nAfter spending the summer mulling over MiMBY and what exactly I want MiMBY to be, I realized that though I enjoy my time making things quietly in my project room - sewing and cutting and gluing and planning - I miss putting materials in front of kids and setting them loose to create.  The MiMBY Girl and I made climbing toys and puppets the other day out of paper and string and tiny brads: \n\nMiMBY Girl's dancer\n\nMiMBY Girl's dancer\n\nHer legs and arms have moving joints thanks to the tiny brads you can purchase in craft stores for scrapbooking. \n\nMy fox\n\nMy fox's tail wags.\n\nOur princesses climb walls!\n\nI saw these paper climbing toys on Pinterest (that place of lost hours) and thought it would be fun to make some.  MiMBY Girl was in princess mode, but I hanker to make an old fashioned spy with fedora hat to scale walls.\n\nKids are wonderfully inventive when given a wide set of parameters and some materials, so I think this class could lead to a great deal of creative fun.  My gal plays with the paper items she makes - she is always tracing and creating paper figures to build a community.  Strangely, she seems to like them better than the three dimensional creatures she owns. \n\nI've posted some classes on the \"Classes\" page for the end of summer when your little ones are looking for some structured activities to get them in the mode for the school year, and to give yourself a couple of hours to prepare for the change.  I chose to make the classes 2 1/2 hours to give us time to settle in and not feel rushed to create, so we might have some time to play outside afterwards or work on a knitting project or discuss ideas for other classes the kids would like.  Please contact me with any questions you might have.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9433322548866272}
+{"content": "Asia Square\n\nAsia square is considered one of the most eco-friendly building in Singapore. This green building serves both retail and office purposes. I will highlight some prominent green features and technologies of the building. For more information of the building:\n\nFeature 1\n\n\nSeveral technologies go into Asia Square’s lift system. The kinetic energy produced by the lifts is converted back into electrical energy and redistributed back to the lift system. This will save both energy consumption and cost.\n\nFeature 2\n\n\nThe water and vapour droplets are collected from the air handling units and used for water for the plants and toilets within the compound. This saves water usage and also the utility bills.\n\nFeature 3\n\n\nAsia Square also has a bio diesel plant within its compound that converts oil collected from its tenants’ eateries into biodiesel to generate electricity. This innovative green idea also involves the neighbourhood hawker centre Lau Pa Sat, as their waste is also delivered to Asia Square manually.\n\nFeature 4\n\n\nThere is also a management control room in the building that monitors the operations of the several green technologies installed like the lift systems and biodiesel plant.\n\nImportance and relevance of these features\n\nThe above examples highlight the various eco-friendly practices of Asia Square. Kinetic energy, oil waste, water droplets are all recycled for other uses. These are all brilliant ideas that are both green and practical.\n\nKempton and colleagues (1992) proposed three criteria for conservation, they are:\n\n1)      Curtailment\n\n2)      Management\n\n3)      Equipment investment\n\nBased on the above features, Asia Square has fulfilled all the criteria.\n\nCurtailment: Asia Square has managed to use fewer resources like water for plants and toilets, electrical energy for lifts and electricity. (Feature 1, 2 and 3)\n\nManagement: There seems to be a good management team to ensure the smooth operation of the various green technologies (Feature 4)\n\nEquipment investment: Asia Square has invested in various types of green equipment. (Feature 1 and 3). These technology investments can lead to huge environmental impact in the long run.\n\n\nThe technologies invested by Asia Square do have a huge environmental impact. This is because a substantial amount of water, energy and electricity can be saved via these technologies. And the savings are especially significant for a large building like Asia Square.\n\nHowever, one major obstacle that might hinder organisations from installing such green technologies is the monetary aspect. Well, this should not come as a surprise. Besides, the short term savings would certainly be much lesser compared to the money invested in such technologies. As such, this green concept is not likely to appeal to organisations that value short term gains.\n\nLastly, some organisations and individuals may perceive conservation and environmentalism as lower status. (Hirsh & Dolderman, 2007). As such, some shopping centres that only want to attract the upper class may be less receptive of such green image for fear of turning off their desired clientele.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8030483722686768}
+{"content": "On Wednesday nights we hold club circuit training. It is open to all Cattewater members of all abilities.\n\nRun by Jeff the session aims to increase fitness levels with core work and short sprints. Arranged as a timed circuit you can simply push yourself to your own abilities within the given time. This means you can build up your fitness levels at your own pace.\n\nOpening the session will be a team game to warm up, followed by a 20 minute circuit and then cool down and stretch. The session is a hour long for a £3 donation. The money goes towards running costs and the club for rowing equipment ect.\n\nCome along, meet some fellow Cattes and see what all the fuss is about!", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9517938494682312}
+{"content": "Category Archives: Finance & Economics\n\nOil Is Not Milk\n\nDark and oiled\n\nYou can drink the latter but not the former.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThat’s extraordinary – and worrisome.\n\n\n\nHe denied that any such FISA order existed.\n\nWere they lying?\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nFrom Zerohedge: Meddling in the 2016 Presidential Election\n\nBlack Sky Hazards and Systems Engineering\n\n\nGrowing risks to our tightly interwoven infrastructures, on an unprecedented scale, have put national continuity, and our lives, in jeopardy. There is now a unique opportunity to meet this challenge.\n\nEmerging “Black Sky” hazards ranging from largescale cyber or electromagnetic-pulse attacks to extreme space weather or regional earthquake zones could cause subcontinent-scale power outages – a new class of extreme risks to the United States and the industrialized world. Water, fuel, and the other utilities our lives depend on cannot function without electricity, and cascading infrastructure failures would disrupt the resources essential for power grid restoration and restart, amplifying and expanding the outage and the cascading failures.\n\nIf we cannot find a solution, the first of these extreme hazards to strike the United States would be devastating. It would mean the end of our society, as we know it today.\n\nOver the last five decades U.S. aerospace companies invented, developed and refined a powerful new methodology to found our high-tech world. Smoothly integrating the hyper-complexities of diverse disciplines into the dependable high-tech tools and devices we now take for granted, systems engineering has become the fundamental organizing principle used to integrate and transform disparate technologies into satellites, aircraft carriers and spaceships.\n\nAs the new Administration in Washington D.C. begins detailing its ambitious goals for securing the nation’s infrastructures, understanding the Black Sky resilience shortfalls and interdependencies putting our lifeline infrastructures and national continuity at risk will be essential. To accomplish this, and look to industry to build the coordinated solutions that will be essential, systems engineering will be an indispensable tool.\n\nAnd the work has already begun.\n\n\nDownload PDF: Black Sky Hazards & Systems Engineering PDF\n\nThe Surest Foundation of a People’s Prosperity\n\nLearn that true religion lays the surest foundation of a people’s prosperity. Righteousness exalteth a Nation, Prov. 14. 34. When we turn to God by Jesus Christ, and do works meet for repentance; we take the best way to obtain salvation from the help of his countenance, who is the Father of Lights, from whom cometh down every good & every perfect gift. It’s sin that separateth between God and his people: When this accursed thing is therefore put away from among them, that God to whom belong the issues from death, will draw nigh to them with his saving health, and appear for their deliverance.\n\nAnd if God be for us, who can be against us? There is no Wisdom nor Understanding, nor Counsel against the Lord. The Horse is prepared against the Day of Battle: But Safety is of the Lord. Prov 21. 30, 31. Certainly then, the one thing needful is to secure the presence and favour of God; and this we do when we return to him in hearty repentance, and then walk before him in new obedience. Blessed is that people whose God is the Lord: No weapon form’d against them shall prosper, and that good word shall be fulfilled unto them, God is our Refuge and Strength, a very present Help in Trouble, Psal. 46. 1. and v. 5. God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved. God shall help her, and that right early, O that God would impress on our minds the firm belief of these things! O that he would affect our hearts suitably with them! That we might strive together in our prayers this day, crying to God with the prophet, O Lord, revive thy Work in the midst of the Years, in the midst of the Years make known; in Wrath remember Mercy. Hab. 3. 2.\n\nSource: Joseph Sewall, “Ninevah’s Repentance and Deliverance”, 1740.\n\nTop 10 Contributions of Aristotle\n\nBorn in 384 BC in Stagira, a small town on the northern coast of Greece, Aristotle’s is argua1bly one of the most well-known figures in the history of ancient Greece. He was a popular pupil of famous ancient Greek philosopher Plato. But unlike Plato and Socrates, Aristotle displayed an instinct to conclude about his study of nature using scientific and factual reasoning – a trait his predecessors routinely discarded in favor of their philosophical discerns. Perhaps it was his unyielding fascination for nature, logic and reason that he went on to make some pivotal contributions that are still reflected today in modern day mathematics, metaphysics, physics, biology, botany, politics, medicine and many more. He truly earns the honor of being called the “First Teacher” in the west. Further delving into the details of his achievements, here is a list of top 10 contributions of Aristotle.\n\nInvented the Logic of the Categorical Syllogism\n\nSyllogism represents a certain form of reasoning where a conclusion is made based on two premises. These premises always have a common or middle term to associate them together, but this binding term is absent in the conclusion that is decided upon. This procedure of logical deduction invented by Aristotle, perhaps, lies at the epitome of all his famous achievements. He was the first person to come up with an authentic and logical procedure to conclude a statement based on the propositions that are at hand. These propositions or premises are either provided as facts or simply taken as assumptions provided beforehand. For instance – Socrates is a man. All men are mortal. These two premises can be concluded as – ‘Socrates is mortal.’\n\nThe logic behind finding a reasoning based on a proposition and an inference that has something common with the said proposition is clearly pretty straight forward. Its deductive simplicity and ease of use catapulted Aristotle’s theory of syllogism to attain an unparalleled influence on the history of western logic and reasoning. Although in the post renaissance era leading up to the modern age, we came up with logical approaches that were based more on mathematical deductions (and were far more accurate), and less on the uncertainty of non-plausible premises. That being said, Aristotle’s logical theory of categorical syllogism attained a stature that makes it far more than a mere historical curiosity.\n\nClassification of Living Beings\n\nIn his book, History of Animals (Historia Animalium), Aristotle was the first person in human history to venture in the classification of different animals. He would use the traits that are similar among certain animals to classify them under similar groups. For example – based on the presence of blood, he would make two different groups such as animals with blood and animals without blood. Similarly, based on their habitat, he classified animals as ones that live on water and ones that live on land. In his perspective, life had a hierarchical make up and all the living beings could be grouped in this hierarchy based on their position from lowest to highest. He placed human species at the highest strata in this hierarchy.\n\nHe also devised the binomial naming convention. Using this system, all living organisms now could be given two different sets of nomenclature defined by name of organism’s ‘genus’ and ‘difference’. Aristotle meant the ‘genus’ of a living being to represent its collective family/group as a whole. The name of the ‘difference’ is what makes the living organism different other members of the family it falls within.\n\nFounder of Zoology\n\nAristotle is also known as the father of Zoology. As evident from his classification of living being, all his classification procedures and several other treatises he wrote primarily involved different species of animal kingdom only. He wrote a number of treatises that revolved around different aspects of zoology. Some of his popular treatises such as ‘History of Animals’, ‘Movement of Animals’, ‘Progression of Animals’ and others, were based on study of different land, water and aerial animals. Unlike his predecessors who merely documented their routine observations of nature, Aristotle worked on outlining specific techniques that he would use to make specific observations.\n\nHe used these empirical methods to carry out, what we could call in modern age designation, several proto-scientific tests and experiments to study the flora and fauna around him. One of his early observational experiments included dissecting the bird eggs throughout different stages of embryo development inside the egg. Using his observations, he was able to study the detailed growth of different organs as the embryo develops into a fully hatched youngling.\n\nContributions in Physics\n\nTo put it out rather bluntly, it is true that while Aristotle established new frontiers in the field of life sciences, his escapades in physics fall shorter in comparison. His studies in physics seems to have been highly influenced from pre-established ideas of contemporary and predecessor Greek thinkers. For instance, in his treatises On Generation and Corruption and On the Heavens, the world setup he described had many similarities with propositions made by some pre-Socratic era theorists. About the makeup of the universe, he tardily embraced Empedocles’ view that everything was created from different compositions of four fundamental elements – earth, water, air and fire.\n\nSimilarly, Aristotle believed that any kind of change meant something was in motion. In a rather self-contradicting way (at least the initial interpreters found it to be so), he defined the motion of anything as the actuality of a potentiality. In its entirety, Aristotle understood physics as a part of theoretical science that was in sync with natural philosophy. Perhaps a more synonymous term to adhere with Aristotle’s interpretation would be ‘physis’ or simply the study of nature.\n\nInfluences in History of Psychology\n\nAristotle was the first to write a book that dealt with the specifics of psychology – his book De Anima (in translation read as ‘On the Soul’) being the first book on psychology. In his book, he proposes the idea of abstraction that reigns over body and mind of a human being – they exist within the same being, intertwined such that mind is one of the many basic functions of the body. In his more detailed psychological analysis, he constitutes the human intellect into two essential categories – the passive intellect and the active intellect.\n\nAccording to Aristotle, it is in human nature to imitate something that, even if on a mere superficial level, provided us with a sense of happiness and satisfaction. Perhaps the highlight of his psychological observations has been the delicate connection that binds the human psychology with the underlying human physiology. His contributions take a giant leap from where the pre-scientific era psychology stood before him, into an age of far more precise qualitative and quantitative analysis.\n\nAdvances in Meteorology\n\nFor his contemporary time and age, Aristotle was able to put forth a detailed analysis of world around him. At present, the term meteorology specifically encompasses the interdisciplinary scientific study of atmosphere and weather. But Aristotle made a far more generalized approach wherein he also covered different aspects and phenomenon of air, water and earth within his treatise Meteorologica or Meteora.\n\nIn his treatise, in his own words, he lays out details of ‘different affections’ that are common in between air and water, as well as the different kinds and parts of the earth, and the affections that associate those parts together. The highlight of his ‘Meteora’ treatise are his accounts for water evaporation, earthquakes, and other common weather phenomena. His analysis for these different meteorological occurrences is one of the earliest representations of such phenomena. Though that doesn’t say much about the accuracy of his meteorological studies. Aristotle believed in the existence of ‘underground winds’ and that the winds and earthquakes were caused by them. Similarly, he categorized thunder lightning, rainbows, meteors and comets as different atmospheric phenomena.\n\n\nAn attempt to summarize the rich details of Aristotelian ethics within the bounds of a couple of paragraphs will only put it short. Having said that, Nicomachean Ethics stand as the major highlight of Aristotelian ethics. It represents the best-known work on ethics by Aristotle – a collection of ten books maintained based on notes taken from his various lectures at the Lyceum. The Nicomachean Ethics lays out Aristotle’s thoughts on various moral virtues and their respective details.\n\nAristotelian ethics outline the different social and behavioral virtues of an ideal man. The confidence one bears in the face of fear and defeat stacks up as courage. The ability to resist the temptations of physical pleasures stand out as a person’s temperance. Liberality and magnificence speak the volumes of wealth one can give away for the welfare of others. Any ambition can never be truly magnanimous unless it attains an impeccable balance between the honor it promises and the dues it pays. These, along with other pivotal excerpts, build the groundwork for Aristotle’s endeavors in ethics. In this ethical essence, Aristotle believed that ‘regardless of the various influences of our parents, society and nature, we ourselves are the sole narrators of our souls and their active states.’\n\n\nAristotelianism is the biggest exemplary to the influence Aristotelian philosophy has had on the entire subsequent philosophical paradigm itself. Aristotelianism represents the philosophical traditions that takes its roots from the various works of Aristotle in philosophy. This route of conventional philosophy is highly influenced from different aspect of various Aristotelian ideologies including his view on philosophical methodology, epistemology, metaphysics, aesthetics, ethics and many more.\n\nThe fact remains that Aristotle’s ideas have become deeply engraved in the social and communal thought structure of overall civilization that followed in the western world. His philosophical works were first rehearsed and defended by the members of Peripatetic school. The Neoplatonist followed suit soon after, and made well documented critical commentaries on his popular writings. Historians also point out major references of Aristotelianism in early Islamic philosophy where in contemporary Islamic philosophers such as Al-Kindi, Al-Farabi and others translated and incorporated Aristotle’s work in their learning.\n\n\nThe word politics is derived from the Latin word ‘polis’ which in ancient Greece simply represented any city-state. Aristotle believed that ‘polis’ reflected the topmost strata of political association. Being a citizen of a polis was essential for a person to lead a life of good quality. Attaining the stature of such a citizen meant you needed to make necessary political connections to secure a permanent residence. In Aristotle’s view, this very pursues concluded the fact that ‘man is a political animal.’\n\nWithout a doubt, the various ventures of Aristotle’s life helped shape up his political acumen in ways his predecessors and contemporaries could not. His progressive adventures in the biology of natural flora and fauna are quite visible in the naturalism of his politics. He divides the polis and their respective constitutions into six categories, of which three he adjudges as good and remaining three as bad. In his view, the good ones are constitutional government, aristocracy, and kingship, and the bad ones include democracy, oligarchy and tyranny. He believes that the political valuation of an individual directly depends on their contributions in making the life of their polis better.\n\n\nMany of the records of Aristotle’s take on art and poetics, much like many other documents of his philosophical and literary works, were composed around 330 BCE. Most of these exist and survive to this day because they were duly noted down and preserved by his pupils during his lectures. Aristotle’s insight in poetics primarily revolve around drama.\n\nPerhaps in one of those subsequent periods when Aristotelianism was gaining more ground around the world, his original take on drama was divided into two separate segments. The first part now focused on tragedy and epic, and the second part discussed the various details of comedy. According to Aristotle, a good tragedy should be able to involve the audience and make them feel katharsis (a sense of purification through pity and fear).\n\n\nIt has been more than 2300 years since the last day of Aristotelian era in ancient Greece, yet the research and work of Aristotle remains as influential in this time and age. From fields that significantly incline towards a structurally scientific orientation such as physics and biology, to the very minute details about the nature of knowledge, reality and existence – his multitudinous all-around contributions truly make him one of the most influential people in human history.\n\nOriginal article: Ten Contributions by Aristotle", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9473444819450378}
+{"content": "Antônio Victor Campos Coelho\n\nLearn More\nSusceptibility to systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) has been associated with immunologic, environmental, and genetic factors. To uncover a possible association between MBL2 gene polymorphisms and SLE, we analyzed functional polymorphisms in the promoter and first exon of the MBL2 gene in 134 Brazilian SLE patients and 101 healthy controls. Genotype and(More)\nOBJECTIVES This study aims at performing a systematic review and meta-analysis with the studies of genetic admixture inference of Brazilian population and to compare these results with the genetic admixture levels in other Latin American countries. METHODS We searched for articles regarding the estimation of Brazilian genetic admixture published between(More)\nThe human beta defensin 1 (hBD-1) antimicrobial peptide is a member of the innate immune system known to act in the first line of defence against microorganisms, including viruses such as human papillomavirus (HPV). In this study, five functional polymorphisms (namely g-52G>A, g-44C>G and g-20G>A in the 5'UTR and c.*5G>A and c.*87A>G in the 3'UTR) in the(More)\nGenetic association studies determine how genes influence traits. However, non-detected population substructure may bias the analysis, resulting in spurious results. One method to detect substructure is to genotype ancestry informative markers (AIMs) besides the candidate variants, quantifying how much ancestral populations contribute to the samples'(More)\nThe present study aims at evaluating the association between seven single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in five genes involved on antiretroviral pharmacokinetic pathways and virological failure in first line highly active antiretroviral therapy. Seven candidate polymorphisms (rs3842 and rs1045642 in ABCB1, rs212091 and rs3743527 in ABCC1, rs3745274 in(More)\nThe scientific community still faces the challenge of developing strategies to cure HIV-1. One of these pursued strategies is the development of immunotherapeutic vaccines based on dendritic cells (DCs), pulsed with the virus, that aim to boost HIV-1 specific immune response. We aimed to review DCs-based therapeutic vaccines reports and critically assess(More)\nMevalonate kinase deficiency (MKD) is a rare autosomal disease caused by mutations in the mevalonate kinase gene (MVK). The genotype–phenotype correlation is sometimes problematic due to the great genetic and clinical heterogeneity; so we hypothesize that genes other than MVK are able to modulate MKD clinical phenotypes. This hypothesis was tested by(More)\nINTRODUCTION With the aim of searching genetic factors associated with the response to an immune treatment based on autologous monocyte-derived dendritic cells pulsed with autologous inactivated HIV, we performed exome analysis by screening more than 240,000 putative functional exonic variants in 18 HIV-positive Brazilian patients that underwent the immune(More)\nThis study aims to comprehensively analyze human leucocyte antigen (HLA)-G polymorphisms association with susceptibility to systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) development and clinical manifestations. The HLA-G 5' upstream regulatory region (URR), 3' untranslated region (UTR) and a cytosine deletion at exon 3 (ΔC, HLA-G*0105N allele) were analyzed in 114 SLE(More)\nVariations in genes involved in the immune response pathways may influence the interaction between viruses (such as Human T-lymphotropic virus, HTLV-1) and the host. The mannose binding lectin (MBL) and its associated serine protease type 2 (MASP-2) promote the activation of the lectin pathway of the complement system. As the interaction of complement(More)", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9948890805244446}
+{"content": "Selasa, 24 Mei 2011\n\n\nTemporal range:\nLate TriassicLate Cretaceous, 231.4–65.5 Ma\nDescendant taxon Aves survives to present\nScientific classification [ e ]\nKingdom: Animalia\nPhylum: Chordata\nClass: Reptilia\nclade: Dinosauriformes\nSuperorder: Dinosauria\nOwen, 1842\nOrders and suborders\nDinosaurs are a diverse and varied group of animals; birds, at over 9,000 species, are the most diverse group of vertebrate besides perciform fish.[3] Paleontologists have identified over 500 distinct genera[4] and more than 1,000 different species of non-avian dinosaurs.[5] Dinosaurs are represented on every continent by both extant species and fossil remains.[6] Some dinosaurs are or were herbivorous, others carnivorous. Some have been, and all extant dinosaurs are, bipedal, others quadrupedal, and others have been able to shift between these body postures. Many non-avian species developed elaborate skeletal modifications such as bony armor, horns or crests. Avian dinosaurs have been the planet's dominant flying vertebrate since the extinction of the pterosaurs. Although generally known for the large size of some species, most dinosaurs were human-sized or even smaller. Most groups of dinosaurs are known to have built nests and laid eggs.\nThe term \"dinosaur\" was coined in 1842 by the English paleontologist Richard Owen, and derives from Greek δεινός (deinos) \"terrible, powerful, wondrous\" + σαῦρος (sauros) \"lizard\". Through the first half of the 20th century, most of the scientific community believed dinosaurs to have been sluggish, unintelligent cold-blooded animals. Most research conducted since the 1970s, however, has indicated that dinosaurs were active animals with elevated metabolisms and numerous adaptations for social interaction.\nSince the first dinosaur fossils were recognized in the early 19th century, mounted dinosaur skeletons have been major attractions at museums around the world, and dinosaurs have become a part of world culture. They have been featured in best-selling books and films such as Jurassic Park, and new discoveries are regularly covered by the media. In informal speech, the word \"dinosaur\" is used to describe things that are impractically large, obsolete, or bound for extinction,[7] reflecting the outdated view that dinosaurs were maladapted monsters of the ancient world.[citation needed]\n\n\n\n\nThe taxon Dinosauria was formally named in 1842 by Sir Richard Owen, who used it to refer to the \"distinct tribe or sub-order of Saurian Reptiles\" that were then being recognized in England and around the world.[8]:103 The term is derived from the Greek words δεινός (deinos meaning \"terrible\", \"powerful\", or \"wondrous\") and σαῦρος (sauros meaning \"lizard\" or \"reptile\").[8]:103[9] Though the taxonomic name has often been interpreted as a reference to dinosaurs' teeth, claws, and other fearsome characteristics, Owen intended it merely to evoke their size and majesty.[10]\n\nModern definition\n\n\nGeneral description\n\n\nDistinguishing anatomical features\n\nA detailed assessment of archosaur interrelations by S. Nesbitt[21] confirmed or found the following 12 unambiguous synapomorphies, some previously known:\n  • radius shorter than 80% of humerus length\n  • cnemial crest on the tibia (shinbone) arcs anterolaterally\nNesbitt found a number of further potential synampomorphies, and discouted a number of synapomorphies previously suggested. Some of these are also present in silesaurids, which Nesbitt recovered as a sister group to Dinosauria, including a large anterior trochanter, metatarsals II and IV of subequal length, reduced contact between ischium and pubis, the presence of a cenmial crest on the tibia and of an ascending process on the astragalus[11], and many others.\nEdmontonia was an armored dinosaur of the group Ankylosauria\nHip joints and hindlimb postures\nDinosaurs stood erect in a manner similar to most modern mammals, but distinct from most other reptiles, whose limbs sprawl out to either side.[25] Their posture was due to the development of a laterally facing recess in the pelvis (usually an open socket) and a corresponding inwardly facing distinct head on the femur.[26] Their erect posture enabled dinosaurs to breathe easily while moving, which likely permitted stamina and activity levels that surpassed those of \"sprawling\" reptiles.[27] Erect limbs probably also helped support the evolution of large size by reducing bending stresses on limbs.[28] Some non-dinosaurian archosaurs, including rauisuchians, also had erect limbs but achieved this by a \"pillar erect\" configuration of the hip joint, where instead of having a projection from the femur insert on a socket on the hip, the upper pelvic bone was rotated to form an overhanging shelf.[28]\n\nNatural history\n\nOrigins and early evolution\n\nMarasuchus, a dinosaur-like ornithodiran\nFor a long time many scientists thought dinosaurs were polyphyletic with multiple groups of unrelated \"dinosaurs\" evolving due to similar pressures,[29][30][31] but dinosaurs are now known to have formed a single group.[11][32][21] Dinosaurs diverged from their archosaur ancestors approximately 230 million years ago during the Middle to Late Triassic period, roughly 20 million years after the Permian–Triassic extinction event wiped out an estimated 95% of all life on Earth.[33][34] Radiometric dating of the rock formation that contained fossils from the early dinosaur genus Eoraptor establishes its presence in the fossil record at this time. Paleontologists believe Eoraptor resembles the common ancestor of all dinosaurs;[35] if this is true, its traits suggest that the first dinosaurs were small, bipedal predators.[36] The discovery of primitive, dinosaur-like ornithodirans such as Marasuchus and Lagerpeton in Argentinian Middle Triassic strata supports this view; analysis of recovered fossils suggests that these animals were indeed small, bipedal predators.\nThe first few lines of primitive dinosaurs diversified through the Carnian and Norian stages of the Triassic, most likely by occupying the niches of groups that became extinct. Traditionally, dinosaurs were thought to have replaced the variety of other Triassic land animals by proving superior through a long period of competition. This now appears unlikely, for several reasons. Dinosaurs do not show a pattern of steadily increasing in diversity and numbers, as would be predicted if they were competitively replacing other groups; instead, they were very rare through the Carnian, making up only 1–2% of individuals present in faunas. In the Norian, however, after the extinction of several other groups, they became significant components of faunas, representing 50–90% of individuals. Also, what had been viewed as a key adaptation of dinosaurs, their erect stance, is now known to have been present in several contemporaneous groups that were not as successful (aetosaurs, ornithosuchids, rauisuchians, and some groups of crocodylomorphs). Finally, the Late Triassic itself was a time of great upheaval in life, with shifts in plant life, marine life, and climate.[11] Crurotarsans, today represented only by crocodilians but in the Late Triassic also encompassing such now-extinct groups as aetosaurs, phytosaurs, ornithosuchians, and rauisuchians, were actually more diverse in the Late Triassic than dinosaurs, indicating that the survival of dinosaurs had more to do with luck than superiority.[37]\n\nLow diversification in the Cretaceous\n\nStatistical analyses based on raw data suggest that dinosaurs diversified, that is, the number of species increased, in the Late Cretaceous. However in July 2008 Graeme T. Lloyd et al. argued that this apparent diversification was an illusion caused by sampling bias, because Late Cretaceous rocks have been very heavily studied. Instead, they wrote, dinosaurs underwent only two significant diversifications in the Late Cretaceous, the initial radiations of the euhadrosaurs and ceratopsians. In the Mid Cretaceous, the flowering angiosperm plants became a major part of terrestrial ecosystems, which had previous been dominated by gymnosperms such as conifers. Dinosaur coprolites (fossilized dung) indicate that, while some ate angiosperms, most herbivorous dinosaurs mainly ate gymnosperms. Meanwhile herbivorous insects and mammals diversified rapidly to take advantage of the new type of plant food, while lizards, snakes, crocodilians and birds also diversified at the same time. Lloyd et al. suggest that dinosaurs' failure to diversify as ecosystems were changing doomed them to extinction.[38]\n\n\nDinosaurs (including birds) are archosaurs, like modern crocodilians. Archosaurs' diapsid skulls have two holes, called temporal fenestrae, located where the jaw muscles attach, and an additional antorbital fenestra in front of the eyes. Most reptiles (including birds) are diapsids; mammals, with only one temporal fenestra, are called synapsids; and turtles, with no temporal fenestra, are anapsids. Anatomically, dinosaurs share many other archosaur characteristics, including teeth that grow from sockets rather than as direct extensions of the jawbones. Within the archosaur group, dinosaurs are differentiated most noticeably by their gait. Dinosaur legs extend directly beneath the body, whereas the legs of lizards and crocodilians sprawl out to either side.\nCollectively, dinosaurs are usually regarded as a superorder or an unranked clade. They are divided into two orders, Saurischia and Ornithischia, depending upon pelvic structure. Saurischia includes those taxa sharing a more recent common ancestor with birds than with Ornithischia, while Ornithischia includes all taxa sharing a more recent common ancestor with Triceratops than with Saurischia. Saurischians (\"lizard-hipped\", from the Greek sauros (σαυρος) meaning \"lizard\" and ischion (ισχιον) meaning \"hip joint\") retained the hip structure of their ancestors, with a pubis bone directed cranially, or forward.[26] This basic form was modified by rotating the pubis backward to varying degrees in several groups (Herrerasaurus,[39] therizinosauroids,[40] dromaeosaurids,[41] and birds[14]). Saurischia includes the theropods (bipedal and mostly carnivores, except for birds) and sauropodomorphs (long-necked quadrupedal herbivores).\nThe following is a simplified classification of dinosaur families. A more detailed version can be found at List of dinosaur classifications.\n  • Dinosauria\n  • Sauropodomorphs (quadrupedal herbivores with small heads, long necks and tails, and elephant-like bodies)\n  • †\"Prosauropods\" (early relatives of sauropods; small to quite large; some possibly omnivorous; bipeds and quadrupeds)\n  • Sauropods (very large, usually over 15 meters long [49 ft])\n  • Diplodocoids (skulls and tails elongated; teeth typically narrow and pencil-like)\n  • Macronarians (boxy skulls; spoon- or pencil-shaped teeth)\n  • Brachiosaurids (very long necks; forelimbs longer than hindlimbs)\n  • Titanosaurians (diverse; stocky, with wide hips; most common in the Late Cretaceous of southern continents)\n  • Ornithopods (diverse, from meter- or yard-scale bipeds to 12-meter (39 ft) animals that could move as both bipeds and quadrupeds; evolved a method of chewing using skull flexibility and large numbers of teeth)\n  • Pachycephalosaurians (\"bone-heads\"; bipeds with domed or knobby growth on skulls)\n  • Ceratopsians (dinosaurs with horns and frills, although most early forms had only the beginnings of these features)\n\nEvolution and paleobiogeography\n\nDinosaur evolution after the Triassic follows changes in vegetation and the location of continents. In the Late Triassic and Early Jurassic, the continents were connected as the single landmass Pangaea, and there was a worldwide dinosaur fauna mostly composed of coelophysoid carnivores and prosauropod herbivores.[42] Gymnosperm plants (particularly conifers), a potential food source, radiated in the Late Triassic. Prosauropods did not have sophisticated mechanisms for processing food in the mouth, and so must have employed other means of breaking down food farther along the digestive tract.[43] The general homogeneity of dinosaurian faunas continued into the Middle and Late Jurassic, where most localities had predators consisting of ceratosaurians, spinosauroids, and carnosaurians, and herbivores consisting of stegosaurian ornithischians and large sauropods. Examples of this include the Morrison Formation of North America and Tendaguru Beds of Tanzania. Dinosaurs in China show some differences, with specialized sinraptorid theropods and unusual, long-necked sauropods like Mamenchisaurus.[42] Ankylosaurians and ornithopods were also becoming more common, but prosauropods had become extinct. Conifers and pteridophytes were the most common plants. Sauropods, like the earlier prosauropods, were not oral processors, but ornithischians were evolving various means of dealing with food in the mouth, including potential cheek-like organs to keep food in the mouth, and jaw motions to grind food.[43] Another notable evolutionary event of the Jurassic was the appearance of true birds, descended from maniraptoran coelurosaurians.[14]\nThere were three general dinosaur faunas in the Late Cretaceous. In the northern continents of North America and Asia, the major theropods were tyrannosaurids and various types of smaller maniraptoran theropods, with a predominantly ornithischian herbivore assemblage of hadrosaurids, ceratopsians, ankylosaurids, and pachycephalosaurians. In the southern continents that had made up the now-splitting Gondwana, abelisaurids were the common theropods, and titanosaurian sauropods the common herbivores. Finally, in Europe, dromaeosaurids, rhabdodontid iguanodontians, nodosaurid ankylosaurians, and titanosaurian sauropods were prevalent.[42] Flowering plants were greatly radiating,[43] with the first grasses appearing by the end of the Cretaceous.[45] Grinding hadrosaurids and shearing ceratopsians became extremely diverse across North America and Asia. Theropods were also radiating as herbivores or omnivores, with therizinosaurians and ornithomimosaurians becoming common.[43]\n\n\n\n\nMost dinosaurs, however, were much smaller than the giant sauropods. Current evidence suggests that dinosaur average size varied through the Triassic, early Jurassic, late Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.[35] Theropod dinosaurs, when sorted by estimated weight into categories based on order of magnitude, most often fall into the 100 to 1000 kilogram (220 to 2200 lb) category, whereas recent predatory carnivorans peak in the 10 to 100 kilogram (22 to 220 lb) category.[50] The mode of dinosaur body masses is between one and ten metric tonnes.[51] This contrasts sharply with the size of Cenozoic mammals, estimated by the National Museum of Natural History as about 2 to 5 kilograms (5 to 10 lb).[52]\n\nLargest and smallest\n\nComparative size of Giraffatitan\nComparative size of Eoraptor\nThere were larger dinosaurs, but knowledge of them is based entirely on a small number of fragmentary fossils. Most of the largest herbivorous specimens on record were all discovered in the 1970s or later, and include the massive Argentinosaurus, which may have weighed 80000 to 100000 kilograms (90 to 110 short tons); some of the longest were the 33.5 meters (110 ft) long Diplodocus hallorum[49] (formerly Seismosaurus) and the 33 meters (110 ft) long Supersaurus;[54] and the tallest, the 18 meters (59 ft) tall Sauroposeidon, which could have reached a sixth-floor window. The heaviest and longest of them all may have been Amphicoelias fragillimus, known only from a now lost partial vertebral neural arch described in 1878. Extrapolating from the illustration of this bone, the animal may have been 58 meters (190 ft) long and weighed over 120000 kg (260000 lb).[49] The largest known carnivorous dinosaur was Spinosaurus, reaching a length of 16 to 18 meters (50 to 60 ft), and weighing in at 8150 kg (18000 lb).[55] Other large meat-eaters included Giganotosaurus, Carcharodontosaurus and Tyrannosaurus.[56]\nNot including modern birds, the smallest known dinosaurs known were about the size of a pigeon.[57] The theropods Anchiornis and Epidexipteryx both had a total skeletal length of under 35 centimeters (1.1 ft).[57][58] Anchiornis is currently the smallest dinosaur described from an adult specimen, with an estimated weight of 110 grams.[58] The smallest herbivorous dinosaurs included Microceratus and Wannanosaurus, at about 60 cm (2 ft) long each.[59][60]\n\n\nA nesting ground of Maiasaura was discovered in 1978\nThe first potential evidence of herding behavior was the 1878 discovery of 31 Iguanodon dinosaurs which were then thought to have perished together in Bernissart, Belgium, after they fell into a deep, flooded sinkhole and drowned.[61] Other mass-death sites have been subsequently discovered. Those, along with multiple trackways, suggest that gregarious behavior was common in many dinosaur species. Trackways of hundreds or even thousands of herbivores indicate that duck-bills (hadrosaurids) may have moved in great herds, like the American Bison or the African Springbok. Sauropod tracks document that these animals traveled in groups composed of several different species, at least in Oxfordshire, England,[62] although there is not evidence for specific herd structures.[63] Dinosaurs may have congregated in herds for defense, for migratory purposes, or to provide protection for their young. There is evidence that many types of dinosaurs, including various theropods, sauropods, ankylosaurians, ornithopods, and ceratopsians, formed aggregations of immature individuals. One example is a site in Inner Mongolia that has yielded the remains of over 20 Sinornithomimus, from one to seven years old. This assemblage is interpreted as a social group that was trapped in mud.[64] The interpretation of dinosaurs as gregarious has also extended to depicting carnivorous theropods as pack hunters working together to bring down large prey.[65][66] However, this lifestyle is uncommon among the modern relatives of dinosaurs (crocodiles and other reptiles, and birds – Harris's Hawk is a well-documented exception), and the taphonomic evidence suggesting pack hunting in such theropods as Deinonychus and Allosaurus can also be interpreted as the results of fatal disputes between feeding animals, as is seen in many modern diapsid predators.[67]\nJack Horner's 1978 discovery of a Maiasaura (\"good mother dinosaur\") nesting ground in Montana demonstrated that parental care continued long after birth among the ornithopods.[68] There is also evidence that other Cretaceous-era dinosaurs, like Patagonian titanosaurian sauropods (1997 discovery), also nested in large groups.[69] The Mongolian oviraptorid Citipati was discovered in a chicken-like brooding position in 1993, which may mean it was covered with an insulating layer of feathers that kept the eggs warm.[70] Parental care is also implied by other finds. For example, the fossilized remains of a grouping of Psittacosaurus has been found, consisting of one adult and 34 juveniles; in this case, the large number of juveniles may be due to communal nesting.[71] Additionally, a dinosaur embryo (pertaining to the prosauropod Massospondylus) was found without teeth, indicating that some parental care was required to feed the young dinosaur.[72] Trackways have also confirmed parental behavior among ornithopods from the Isle of Skye in northwestern Scotland.[73] Nests and eggs have been found for most major groups of dinosaurs, and it appears likely that dinosaurs communicated with their young, in a manner similar to modern birds and crocodiles.\nFrom a behavioral standpoint, one of the most valuable dinosaur fossils was discovered in the Gobi Desert in 1971. It included a Velociraptor attacking a Protoceratops,[75] providing evidence that dinosaurs did indeed attack each other.[76] Additional evidence for attacking live prey is the partially healed tail of an Edmontosaurus, a hadrosaurid dinosaur; the tail is damaged in such a way that shows the animal was bitten by a tyrannosaur but survived.[76] Cannibalism amongst some species of dinosaurs was confirmed by tooth marks found in Madagascar in 2003, involving the theropod Majungasaurus.[77]\nBased on current fossil evidence from dinosaurs such as Oryctodromeus, some herbivorous species seem to have led a partially fossorial (burrowing) lifestyle,[79] and some bird-like species may have been arboreal (tree climbing), most notably primitive dromaeosaurids such as Microraptor[80] and the enigmatic scansoriopterygids.[81] However, most dinosaurs seem to have relied on land-based locomotion. A good understanding of how dinosaurs moved on the ground is key to models of dinosaur behavior; the science of biomechanics, in particular, has provided significant insight in this area. For example, studies of the forces exerted by muscles and gravity on dinosaurs' skeletal structure have investigated how fast dinosaurs could run,[82] whether diplodocids could create sonic booms via whip-like tail snapping,[83] and whether sauropods could float.[84]\n\nCommunication and vocalization\n\nSome studies have suggested that the hollow crests of the lambeosaurines may have functioned as resonance chambers used for a wide range of vocalizations.[86][87] However, Senter (2008) noted that such chambers are also used in modern non-vocal animals to accentuate or deepen non-vocal sounds like hissing. For example, many snakes, which lack vocal cords, have resonating chambers in the skull.[85]\n\n\nAfter dinosaurs were discovered, paleontologists first posited that they were ectothermic creatures: \"terrible lizards\" as their name suggests. This supposed cold-bloodedness implied that dinosaurs were relatively slow, sluggish organisms, comparable to modern reptiles, which need external sources of heat in order to regulate their body temperature. Dinosaur ectothermy remained a prevalent view until Robert T. \"Bob\" Bakker, an early proponent of dinosaur endothermy, published an influential paper on the topic in 1968.\nModern evidence indicates that dinosaurs thrived in cooler temperate climates, and that at least some dinosaur species must have regulated their body temperature by internal biological means (perhaps aided by the animals' bulk). Evidence of endothermy in dinosaurs includes the discovery of polar dinosaurs in Australia and Antarctica (where they would have experienced a cold, dark six-month winter), the discovery of dinosaurs whose feathers may have provided regulatory insulation, and analysis of blood-vessel structures within dinosaur bone that are typical of endotherms. Skeletal structures suggest that theropods and other dinosaurs had active lifestyles better suited to an endothermic cardiovascular system, while sauropods exhibit fewer endothermic characteristics. It is certainly possible that some dinosaurs were endothermic while others were not. Scientific debate over the specifics continues.[88]\nModern computerized tomography (CT) scans of a dinosaur's chest cavity (conducted in 2000) found the apparent remnants of a four-chambered heart, much like those found in today's mammals and birds.[89] The idea is controversial within the scientific community, coming under fire for bad anatomical science[90] or simply wishful thinking.[91] The question of how this find reflects on metabolic rate and dinosaur internal anatomy may be moot, though, regardless of the object's identity: both modern crocodilians and birds, the closest living relatives of dinosaurs, have four-chambered hearts (albeit modified in crocodilians), and so dinosaurs probably had them as well.[92]\n\nSoft tissue and DNA\n\nNewer research, published in PloS One (30 July 2008), has challenged the claims that the material found is the soft tissue of Tyrannosaurus. Thomas Kaye of the University of Washington and his co-authors contend that what was really inside the tyrannosaur bone was slimy biofilm created by bacteria that coated the voids once occupied by blood vessels and cells.[93] The researchers found that what previously had been identified as remnants of blood cells, because of the presence of iron, were actually framboids, microscopic mineral spheres bearing iron. They found similar spheres in a variety of other fossils from various periods, including an ammonite. In the ammonite they found the spheres in a place where the iron they contain could not have had any relationship to the presence of blood.[94]\n\nFeathers and the origin of birds\n\n\n\nThe famous Berlin Specimen of Archaeopteryx lithographica\nArchaeopteryx, the first good example of a \"feathered dinosaur\", was discovered in 1861. The initial specimen was found in the Solnhofen limestone in southern Germany, which is a lagerstätte, a rare and remarkable geological formation known for its superbly detailed fossils. Archaeopteryx is a transitional fossil, with features clearly intermediate between those of modern reptiles and birds. Brought to light just two years after Darwin's seminal The Origin of Species, its discovery spurred the nascent debate between proponents of evolutionary biology and creationism. This early bird is so dinosaur-like that, without a clear impression of feathers in the surrounding rock, at least one specimen was mistaken for Compsognathus.[107]\n\n\n\nSoft anatomy\n\nPneumatopores on the left ilium of Aerosteon riocoloradensis\n\nReproductive biology\n\n\nBehavioral evidence\n\nFossils of the troodonts Mei and Sinornithoides demonstrate that some dinosaurs slept with their heads tucked under their arms.[119] This behavior, which may have helped to keep the head warm, is also characteristic of modern birds. Several deinonychosaur and oviraptorosaur specimens have also bee found preserved on top of their nests, likely brooding in a bird-like manner.[120] The ratio between egg volume and body mass of adults among these dinosaurs suggest that the eggs were primarily brooded by the male, and that the young were highly precocial, similar to many modern ground-dwelling birds.[121]\n\n\nNon-avian dinosaurs suddenly became extinct approximately 65 million years ago. Many other groups of animals also became extinct at this time, including ammonites (nautilus-like mollusks), mosasaurs, plesiosaurs, pterosaurs, most birds, and many groups of mammals.[6] This mass extinction is known as the Cretaceous–Tertiary extinction event. The nature of the event that caused this mass extinction has been extensively studied since the 1970s; at present, several related theories are supported by paleontologists. Though the consensus is that an impact event was the primary cause of dinosaur extinction, some scientists cite other possible causes, or support the idea that a confluence of several factors was responsible for the sudden disappearance of dinosaurs from the fossil record.\n\nImpact event\n\nThe asteroid collision theory, which was brought to wide attention in 1980 by Walter Alvarez and colleagues, links the extinction event at the end of the Cretaceous period to a bolide impact approximately 65.5 million years ago. Alvarez et al. proposed that a sudden increase in iridium levels, recorded around the world in the period's rock stratum, was direct evidence of the impact.[125] The bulk of the evidence now suggests that a bolide 5 to 15 kilometers (3 to 9 mi) wide hit in the vicinity of the Yucatán Peninsula, creating the approximately 180 km (110 mi) Chicxulub Crater and triggering the mass extinction.[126][127] Scientists are not certain whether dinosaurs were thriving or declining before the impact event. Some scientists propose that the meteorite caused a long and unnatural drop in Earth's atmospheric temperature, while others claim that it would have instead created an unusual heat wave.\nIn September 2007, U.S. researchers led by William Bottke of the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado, and Czech scientists used computer simulations to identify the probable source of the Chicxulub impact. They calculated a 90% probability that a giant asteroid named Baptistina, approximately 160 km (100 mi) in diameter, orbiting in the asteroid belt which lies between Mars and Jupiter, was struck by a smaller unnamed asteroid about 55 km (35 mi) in diameter about 160 million years ago. The impact shattered Baptistina, creating a cluster which still exists today as the Baptistina family. Calculations indicate that some of the fragments were sent hurtling into earth-crossing orbits, one of which was the 10 km (6 mi) wide meteorite which struck Mexico's Yucatan peninsula 65 million years ago, creating the Chicxulub crater.[128]\n\nDeccan Traps\n\n\nFailure to adapt to changing conditions\n\n\nPossible Paleocene survivors\n\nNon-avian dinosaur remains are occasionally found above the K–T boundary. In 2001, paleontologists Zielinski and Budahn reported the discovery of a single hadrosaur leg-bone fossil in the San Juan Basin, New Mexico, and described it as evidence of Paleocene dinosaurs. The formation in which the bone was discovered has been dated to the early Paleocene epoch, approximately 64.5 million years ago. If the bone was not re-deposited into that stratum by weathering action, it would provide evidence that some dinosaur populations may have survived at least a half million years into the Cenozoic Era.[133] Other evidence includes the finding of dinosaur remains in the Hell Creek Formation up to 1.3 meters (51 in) above (40000 years later than) the K–T boundary. Similar reports have come from other parts of the world, including China.[134] Many scientists, however, dismissed the supposed Paleocene dinosaurs as re-worked, that is, washed out of their original locations and then re-buried in much later sediments.[135][136] However, direct dating of the bones themselves has supported the later date, with U–Pb dating methods resulting in a precise age of 64.8 ± 0.9 million years ago.[137] If correct, the presence of a handful of dinosaurs in the early Paleocene would not change the underlying facts of the extinction.[135]\n\nHistory of discovery\n\nDinosaur fossils have been known for millennia, although their true nature was not recognized. The Chinese, whose modern word for dinosaur is konglong (恐龍, or \"terrible dragon\"), considered them to be dragon bones and documented them as such. For example, Hua Yang Guo Zhi, a book written by Zhang Qu during the Western Jin Dynasty, reported the discovery of dragon bones at Wucheng in Sichuan Province.[138] Villagers in central China have long unearthed fossilized \"dragon bones\" for use in traditional medicines, a practice that continues today.[139] In Europe, dinosaur fossils were generally believed to be the remains of giants and other creatures killed by the Great Flood.\nBetween 1815 and 1824, the Rev William Buckland, a professor of geology at Oxford University, collected more fossilized bones of Megalosaurus and became the first person to describe a dinosaur in a scientific journal.[140][144] The second dinosaur genus to be identified, Iguanodon, was discovered in 1822 by Mary Ann Mantell – the wife of English geologist Gideon Mantell. Gideon Mantell recognized similarities between his fossils and the bones of modern iguanas. He published his findings in 1825.[145][146]\nOthniel Charles Marsh, 19th century photograph\nEdward Drinker Cope, 19th century photograph\n\nThe \"dinosaur renaissance\"\n\n\nCultural depictions\n\n\nTiada ulasan:\n\nCatat Ulasan\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8573341369628906}
+{"content": "E. Dima and Magic Guitar\ntime limit per test\n3 seconds\nmemory limit per test\n256 megabytes\nstandard input\nstandard output\n\nDima loves Inna very much. He decided to write a song for her. Dima has a magic guitar with n strings and m frets. Dima makes the guitar produce sounds like that: to play a note, he needs to hold one of the strings on one of the frets and then pull the string. When Dima pulls the i-th string holding it on the j-th fret the guitar produces a note, let's denote it as aij. We know that Dima's guitar can produce k distinct notes. It is possible that some notes can be produced in multiple ways. In other words, it is possible that aij = apq at (i, j) ≠ (p, q).\n\nDima has already written a song — a sequence of s notes. In order to play the song, you need to consecutively produce the notes from the song on the guitar. You can produce each note in any available way. Dima understood that there are many ways to play a song and he wants to play it so as to make the song look as complicated as possible (try to act like Cobein).\n\nWe'll represent a way to play a song as a sequence of pairs (xi, yi) (1 ≤ i ≤ s), such that the xi-th string on the yi-th fret produces the i-th note from the song. The complexity of moving between pairs (x1, y1) and (x2, y2) equals + . The complexity of a way to play a song is the maximum of complexities of moving between adjacent pairs.\n\nHelp Dima determine the maximum complexity of the way to play his song! The guy's gotta look cool!\n\n\nThe first line of the input contains four integers n, m, k and s (1 ≤ n, m ≤ 2000, 1 ≤ k ≤ 9, 2 ≤ s ≤ 105).\n\nThen follow n lines, each containing m integers aij (1 ≤ aij ≤ k). The number in the i-th row and the j-th column (aij) means a note that the guitar produces on the i-th string and the j-th fret.\n\nThe last line of the input contains s integers qi (1 ≤ qi ≤ k) — the sequence of notes of the song.\n\n\nIn a single line print a single number — the maximum possible complexity of the song.\n\n4 6 5 7\n3 1 2 2 3 1\n3 2 2 2 5 5\n4 2 2 2 5 3\n3 2 2 1 4 3\n2 3 1 4 1 5 1\n4 4 9 5\n4 7 9 5\n1 2 1 7\n8 3 4 9\n5 7 7 2\n7 1 9 2 5", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9955533146858215}
+{"content": "Coleridge and Godwin\n\nPamela Clemit has published a piece on Coleridge and Godwin on the Wordsworth Trust Blog.\n\nIt explores their friendship from the winter of 1799 onwards, and draws on their correspondence, marginalia, and manuscript notes.\n\nGodwin declared: ‘I feel myself a purer, a simpler, a more unreserved & natural being in your company than in that of almost any human creature.’ Coleridge attributed this to his ‘own ebullient Unreservedness’ and ‘the circumstance, that my affections are interested deeply in my opinions’…. Though they drifted apart in later years, each left a permanent imprint on the mind and the writings of the other.\n\nRead the full piece at the Wordsworth Trust Blog.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8641433715820312}
+{"content": "Building Strength with Diversity\n\nNone of us are surprised when we hear that Frisco continues to be one of the fastest-growing cities in the U.S. People from all over the country, and sometimes the world, learn about Frisco and decide to make it their home. Our once small town has become a diverse city, full of different cultures and backgrounds, and this diversity is one of the things that makes Frisco so outstanding. Every citizen can learn from the lifestyles and cultures of others to gain a broader view of the world, without ever leaving their own neighborhood.\n\nBeing culturally-diverse, however, can present unique challenges in a school environment, and the FISD continues to be proactive in meeting the needs of its students and families. Charis Hunt, the current facilitator of the Diversity Task Force and part of the Human Resources department of the FISD, says she can trace the task force’s roots back at least 12 years. “It started during a time when the district was still very small, but was anticipating tremendous growth,” she says.\n\nThe goals of the task force include promoting equity, embracing diversity and differences and encouraging active participation on the part of families and the community. When students and members within the broader school community better understand different cultures, there are more cross-cultural friendships. There is often less anxiety about cultures different from their own and there is a more positive attitude where students live and work in general. Ms. Hunt emphasizes that while cultural diversity plays a major role, “the task force focuses on diversity in all its forms,” cultural, academic, athletic and so much more.\n\nThe committee meets four times a year and has subcommittees that meet more frequently. These include Cultural Awareness, Training (which has been separated into its own subcommittee this school year, to better focus the task force’s efforts), Recruiting and Retention and Equity and Excellence. The group is made up of staff at different schools, district staff, parents and students.\n\nMs. Hunt says the task force is responsible for “being the ones who ask questions. We may not have all the answers. Sometimes, we will develop initiatives and it becomes another department’s responsibility.” For example, one recommendation the task force made last year that was implemented was to include cultural training as a portion of the compliance training all staff are required to take.\n\nThe district also feels it is important to make every effort to recruit and retain staff members who reflect the student population. “When you think about our ever-changing and growing district, it is important to value all backgrounds,” Ms. Hunt says.\n\nTo understand what that means, it is important to understand what the student population looked like 20 years ago compared to today. Per the Diversity Task Force’s October 2016 report, in 1996, Frisco’s student population was 74.1 percent white, 21.9 percent Hispanic and 2.7 percent African American. Today, we are much more diverse with a student population made up of 50.8 percent white, 13.9 percent Hispanic, 10.5 percent African American, 20.9 percent Asian, 3.4 percent that includes two or more races and less than 1 percent Native American, Alaskan, Hawaiian or Pacific Islander.\n\nAlso, for 4.9 percent of the student population, English is a second language. As of the 2014-2015 school year, the district served 67 languages in total, ranging from Spanish, to Portuguese, to Farsi, to Hindi and more.\n\nDiversity has many dimensions — some within each person’s control and many that are merely a factor of where a person was born and into which family. We all grow up with a certain set of beliefs that are influenced by these factors. Those assumptions will drive our behaviors and often affect others, both positively and negatively.\n\nOur personalities consist of our likes, dislikes, values and beliefs. These influence the other three layers of diversity. The next level consists of our internal dimensions — things like our age, race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation and physical ability. External dimensions, such as geographic location, religion, marital status, parental status, personal habits and educational background can change over time because we have some control over them. The outer-most layer includes organizational dimensions. Things like seniority, management status, work field, union affiliation, departments and work location are aspects found in a work setting and some aspects are also found in our school settings.\n\nThere are also several stages of sensitivity to difference. Denial is the belief that one’s culture is the only “real” culture. Defense is the belief that one’s own culture is the most “evolved.” Minimization is the recognition of superficial cultural differences. Acceptance is recognizing that culture affects a wide range of human experience. Adaptation involves expanding one’s own worldviews to accurately understand other cultures. And, finally, integration sees the definition of oneself as not central to the bigger picture. Along this continuum, people tend to either see their own culture as central to reality in varying degrees or they see their own culture in the context of other cultures, again in varying degrees. The FISD hopes to move its operations and beliefs to where faculty, staff, parents and students can see their own cultures as part of a bigger picture; one where differences are embraced and celebrated.\n\nThe Diversity Task Force serves as a resource for the FISD’s strategic planning efforts and the district’s action plan, as well as each individual campus’s action plans. The group has several short and long-term goals. They hope to offer professional learning for staff, to celebrate and showcase Frisco’s diversity, to raise awareness and to recruit to match the FISD’s employees to the overall makeup of the city at large. They hope to share ideas and perspectives with not only staff and faculty, but with parents, students and the community. They hope that this kind of open dialog will create a collaborative environment that brings out the best ideas and improves programs across the board for everyone involved.\n\nThe subcommittees mentioned earlier cover extensive and various topics. Ms. Hunt says, “Subcommittees are now meeting to report back the short and long-term goals.” The Cultural Awareness and Training groups oversee professional learning for staff, training videos, multicultural celebrations and expos, the multicultural events calendar, parent outreach, religious and cultural observances, multicultural night ideas, the diversity webpage and campus support for new parents. The Recruiting and Retention group works on educator profiles, hiring and retention of male elementary teachers, products for promoting diversity for teacher fairs and promoting teaching as a career with Frisco high school students. The Equity and Excellence group responsibilities include identifying and highlighting home countries of the student body, creating videos and documents explaining various programs, implementing capstone seminars and researching AP classes, reaching underserved populations for pre-AP and AP participation, identifying underperforming students and providing study skills courses and the promotion of career and technical education courses.\n\n“When people move to Frisco, they can feel confident that we continuously evaluate our programs and practices. We do not wait until we are behind to catch up,” says Ms. Hunt. “Families and businesses need to know we value what they bring. It is a part of every person in every way and people are not just numbers,” she says.\n\nWhether you have children in Frisco schools or not, this level of awareness and effort goes a long way to demonstrate how growing schools go beyond the bare minimum. We can all feel better about Frisco students who go out into the world. They will represent Frisco well, with understanding and appreciation for the unique perspective everyone brings to the table.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9598855376243591}
+{"content": "The Black Sun and the Vril Society\n\nPeter Moon tells us in his book The Black Sun , on page 172 - \"The Vril Society began around the same time as the Thule Society when K...\n\n\nThis organization is sometimes referred to at the Luminous Lodge. [Illuminati?]\n\nThis group was eventually renamed the Vril-Gesellschaft as it rose in prominence and united three major societies: the Lords of the Black Stone, having emerged from the Teutonic Order in 1917; the black Knights of the Thule Society; and the Black Sun, later identified as the elite of Heinrich himmler's SS.\n\n\nA local medium named Maria Orisc (picture above) began getting messages in an unknown language and couldn't transcribe them, so began meeting with key members of these societies, along with another medium named Sigrun.\n\nAccordingly, the messages were coming from a being from the star Aldebaran, which has two planets which form the 'Sumerian Empire'.\n\nIn the Sumerian empire were two classes of people — the Aryan or Master race, and a subservient race which had developed in a negative fashion as a result of mutation from climatic changes.\n\nPeter Moon goes on to say:\n\"A half billion years ago, the Aryans (known as the Elohim or Elder Race) began to colonize our solar system as Aldebaran's became uninhabiatble. Marduk, existing in what is today the asteroid belt, was the first to be colonized, then Mars. When they came to Earth, these Aryans were known as the Sumerians.\"\n\n\nFrom some of the accounts available, Shambhala appears to have been a centre of spiritual enlightenment, very reminiscent of James Hilton's 'Shangri-La', but others say that it was a centre of occult power and arcane teaching.\n\nIts leader was thought variously to be either an evil, tyrannical Sorcerer-King or a God-like 'Lord of The World'. We seem to be left with a choice as to which story we prefer to follow, and evidently which Path one desires to follow, too. The evil Left, or the good Right!\n\nApparently there were two factions (as in Hyperborea), one of which followed the Golden Sun, and the other the Black Sun. (The 'Black Sun', incidentally, was as prominent an emblem of the Nazi mythos as was the Swastika!)\n\nAccording to Jean-Claude Frére, author of 'Nazisme et Sociétiés Secretès', the people of Hyperborea, after migrating to the Gobi Desert over 6000 years ago, founded a new centre, which they named Agartha. It became a great centre of world learning, and people flocked there from all over the world to enjoy its culture and civilization.\n\nHowever, a huge catastrophe supervened, and the earth?s surface was devastated, but the realm of Agartha somehow survived, under the earth.\n\nThe legend continues to relate that, as with the original Hyperboreans, the Aryans now split into two factions: one group heading north-west, hoping to return to their lost Hyperborea, and the second going south, where they founded a new secret centre under the Himalayas.\n\nJean-Claude Frére concludes: The sons of the Outer Intellegences split into two groups, one following the 'Right Hand Path' under the 'Wheel of The Golden Sun', the other the 'Left Hand Path' under the 'Wheel of the Black Sun'.\n\nThe first preserved the centre of Agartha, that undefined place of contemplation, of the Good, and of the Vril force. The second supposedly created a new place of initiation at Shambhala, the city of violence in command of the elements and human masses, hastening the arrival of the 'charnel-house of time.'\n\nAccording to Peter Moon, in his book 'The Black Sun', the ultimate concept of Thule is well represented in the myth of it as the capital city or center of Hyperborea, a word wihch literally means 'beyond the poles'.\n\n\n\nThe word Swastika itself is means 'source' amongst other definitions, and represents eternal cause or the fountain of creation. Accordingly, the Thule Society used the swastika symbol in their log to represent this idea.\n\n\nThus, this namesake was reserved for the elite of the Thule Society. The Black Sun was actually a secret society within the Thule Society. it was senior to other societies.\n\nAfter World War II and the subsequent occupation of Germany, Allied military commanders were stunned to discover the penetrating depth of the Nazi regime's state secrets. The world's best intelligence organization was not the least of these revelations.\n\n\n\n\nRelated: FBI Quietly Declassified Secret Files Attesting Hitler Fled to Argentina in 1945\n\n\n\nThe Black Sun is an adventure in consciousness that reveals a vast array of new information. From the German flying saucer program to the SS mission into Tibet, we are led on a path that gives us the most insightful look ever into the Third Reich and the holy relics they sought in their ultimate quest: the Ark of the Covenant and the Holy Grail.\n\n\n\n\nRelated: China is Going to the Moon - the Reason Why NASA is Worried\n\n\n\n\n\nThis escalated into the use of atomic weapons, resulting in a Pyrrhic victory for the Hyperboreans, who, as well as defeating their enemies, virtually destroyed themselves in the process. In common with radiation damage in recent times, the surviving Hyperboreans were soon faced with the prospect of mutated and otherwise damaged offspring.\n\n\n\n\nThe descendants of this seminal ‘Mother race’ were the Celts who, like the ripples on a pond, spread out, colonising various northern areas of the planet. Scots, Irish, Basques, Spanish, Scandinavians, Icelanders and the Portuguese, all these peoples are of Celtic origin.\n\n\n\n\n\"In 1917 four people met in a cafe in Vienna. There was one woman and three men. The woman was a 'spiritual medium'. They met under a veil of mystery and secrecy. \"They discussed secret revelations, the coming of the new age, the sphere of destiny, the magical violet black stone, and making contact with ancient peoples and distant worlds.\n\n\n\"The Vril emblem was the 'Black Sun' - a secret philosophy thousand of years old provided the foundation on which the occult practioners of the Third Reich would later build. The Black Sun symbol can be found in many Babylonian and Assyrian places of worship. They depicted the Black Sun - the godhead's inner light in the form of a cross. This was not much different from the German's Knight's Cross.\n\n\"With supposed channeled information from ET's, the Vril society built the Vril Machine. It was saucer shaped. It was supposedly an interdimensional or time travel machine. The first piloted flight was in 1934.\nThe Vril Force and the Black Sun\n\n\nServed by robots and able to fly on vril-powered wings, the vegetarian Vril-ya are — by their own reckoning — racially and culturally superior to everyone else on Earth, above or below the ground.\n\nAt one point the narrator concludes (from linguistic evidence) that the Vril-ya have:\n\n\nIn a discussion of the 28th degree of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry — called Knight of the Sun or Prince Adept — Albert Pike said:\n\n\nThe idea of mutation and transformation into a higher form of a \"god-man\" was envisioned, through the Vril-ya, in Buller-Lytton's The Coming Race.\n\n\"Through his romantic works of fiction he expressed the conviction that there are beings endowed with superhuman powers. These beings will supplant us and bring about a formidable mutation in th elect of the human race.\" - J. Bergier\nThis is where the philosophy turns dangerous. The moment we speak of an elect and \"illumined\" class which is above the general populace, you inevitably encounter racism and classism — with fascism in due course.\nBergier and Pauwels were writing in 1960, but today this philosophy is, sadly, once again in the forefront of popular culture. The New World Order, so vehemently opposed, is under the direct influence and guidance of the New Age Movement.\n\n\nTheosophy is considered the main foundation, and its founder, Mme. Blavatsky, was a great admirer of Lytton's. In The Occult Conspiracy, the excellent researcher, Michael Howard, writes about the compatability of the two philosophies:\n\n\n\nExcerpt from Blavatsky's book entitled Isis Unveiled, Volum I, page 550:\n\n\nThere was a time when Asia, Europe, Africa, and America were covered with the temples sacred to the sun and the dragon. The priests assumed the names of their deities, and thus the tradition spead like a network all over the globe;\npage 551 - Kircher places the origin of the Ophite and heliolatrous worship, the shape of conical monuments and the obelisks, with the Egptian Hermes Trismegistus.\n\nShe goes on to say that one finds glimpses of this religion and its origins in the 'Books of Hermes', in magical art reproduced by the Quiches, and even in fragments of the Popul Vuh, which shows that the evidence of its origins and religous customs of the Mexicans, Peruvians, and other American races are nearly identical with those of the ancient Phoenicians, Babylonians and Egyptians.\n\nThat said, she relates the religion from the Quiche Cosmogony, and compares it to some Apocrypha, with the Jewish sacre books and the kabalistic theories of creation, including the 'Book of Jasher', which traces it to the population of Ur of the Kaseans, where Magism flourished before the days of Abraham.\n\npage 549 - \"The divine beings, \"brought down to the level of human nature,\" perform no feats or tricks more strange or incredible than the miraculous performance of Moses and of Pharoah's magicians, while many of these are exactly similar in their nature.\n\nA woman who calls herself Whitefeather contacted us in the year 1999. She sent us drawings of a black sun. Here is some of what she said.\n\n\"I moved to Lexington, KY, May, 1973. I had been hired by some horse peole in Hialeah, Florida, and they moved me up there to be Director of Research for their Horse Sales firm. Some time before that, I don't knowif it was a year or more, I had a dream or a vision of finding myself in a \"natural tree Cathedral\", and one day at my new house in Lexington, the kids kicked a boll into a bunchof trees and I realized that I was inthe Tree Cathedral - it was a circle of ig fur trees. But anyway, that proved that I was supposed to move there. I have had psychic experiences ever since I was a child.\n\nOf the drawings I made of the \"Black-ringed Sun,\" they were different shapes more or elss that other people told me they had seen. What I saw, the light green and light yellow, translucent fluorescent \"sun flares\" was impossible for me to draw.\"\n\nShe originally thought of the sun as 'The Eye in the Sky'.  [Eye of Ra, the sun God, perhaps!]\nAfter I met a man who was part Apache, wo told me he had seen that sun when he thought he was dying in Vietnam, I decided to call it the \"Life Saver Sun.\"\n\nFrom An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Traditional Symbols:\n\n\nArticle compiled by Dee Finney, Great Dreams\n\nDear Friends,\n\nStay updated via Email Newsletter:\n\n\nRecent Articles 69055459494424835\n\n\n\nDonate PayPal\n\n\n\n\n\nTag cloud\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9058392643928528}
+{"content": "Calculating the Age of the Universe. Why do scientists say the world is billions of years old and the Jewish religion says that world is only 5772 years old? Is the young earth theory similar to the flat earth theory? How many candles does the earth’s birthday cake need?\n\nPart of the Talk of the Town series, every Thursday at 12.15pm at Wingate Group, 9/333 Collins St. Click here to go to the JBD event page.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9987742304801941}
+{"content": "Got a question?\n\nHere’s a list of some of the questions were are frequently asked. If you don’t see the answers you need or elsewhere in this site, send us an email and we’ll try to answer it promptly.\n\nHow much skill or knowledge will I need to be able to do these constructions?\n\nYou will not require very much skill or knowledge to draw these constructions. Some familiarity with the use of a compass will help, but this will be rapidly achieved with each successive construction drawn.\n\nWhat will I need to use to be able to draw these geometric constructions?\n\nAll that is needed is a compass and a straight edge. Dividers would be helpful and a flexible curve would be useful for some of the complex curves.\n\nHow long does a typical construction take to draw?\n\nThe basic constructions take less than a minute to draw. Larger size constructions may take 5 minutes. Patterns and designs based on the constructions take very little time to set up (under 5 minutes) and then, depending on how much of the pattern or design is to be drawn, a varying amount of time.\n\nAre there any “shortcuts” I can use to speed up the construction?\n\nThere are no “shortcuts”. The steps listed are the most efficient, quickest way of completing the constructions, and should be followed in their proper sequence to avoid errors.\n\nAre there any limits to the size of the constructions?\n\nThere are no size limits. Practically speaking, the constructions can be drawn at any size. For very large constructions (for example, the size of a football field), it is a good idea to check the accuracy of the distances and point locations frequently to ensure that the construction comes out correctly.\n\nHow can I use these constructions in a repeat manner?\n\nThe desired constructions can be drawn on a “master sheet” or “master pattern” of durable tracing film or strong paper, or on a stiff cardboard. This “master” can be used as a template or a stencil which can be applied repeatedly wherever desired.\n\nDo I have to “label” all the points in the basic constructions?\n\nIt’s a good practice to label all the points since there can be a number of different points used in different construction steps in the more complex constructions. Not labeling all the points could cause you to lose track of the steps and where you are.\n\nIn the section on three-dimensional figures, how do I use the templates that I’ve drawn?\n\nThe templates shown can be re-drawn at whatever size desired and transferred on to either a stiff cardboard or heavy paper, or directly on to the surface of a solid material. If transferred to cardboard or paper, they can be cut out and folded along the lines where the shapes meet. The folded up template will produce the three-dimensional solid. Placing the template on a solid material, you can trace it off and then carve away the undesired material, using the template as a check for accuracy.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8677710890769958}
+{"content": "In “The “Forgotten Organ”: Gut Flora and Its Role in Immune Function” , it became clear that the origins of much disease in the body, including autoimmune disease, begins with the status of the microorganisms that are present in the gut.  Disease results when the essential gut flora becomes damaged and imbalanced, causing disruptions in the function of the immune system.  Damage to the essential flora may also allow the overgrowth of opportunistic flora or permit transitional flora to cause disease.  In understanding how damage to the gut flora occurs, it is important to examine the process by which gut flora is acquired at the very beginning of life.  Problems in the acquisition process can predispose an infant to an imbalance of gut flora that will impact health and the development of disease throughout life.\n\nAcquisition of Gut Flora\n\nnewborn1In the unborn child, it was once believed that the gut was sterile.  However, recent research suggests that colonization of the gut begins when the unborn child swallows amniotic fluid containing microbes from the mother’s gut.  The majority of the colonization of the gut occurs during the birthing process when the infant is further exposed to a large amount of bacteria from the mother.  If the mother’s flora is damaged or imbalanced, this will be passed on to the infant.\n\nType of Delivery\n\nThe process of gut colonization with flora is influenced by method of delivery, with vaginal delivery resulting in significantly faster rates of colonization.  Infants born by Cesarean section have lower numbers of Bifidobacteria and Bacteroides, important groups of essential flora, compared to vaginally born infants.  The gut flora of infants born by Cesarean section may be disturbed for up to 6 months, compared to 1 month for infants delivered vaginally.  This is significant because the early composition of the gut flora is known to impact development of the immune system and balance between Th1 and Th2 immunity (see this article for more information).\n\nInfant Feeding (i.e. Diet) breastfeeding\n\nThe feeding method, or diet, of an infant also influences the gut flora by providing a source of nutrition that allows for the growth and function of flora and providing a source of continued colonization of microorganisms from the environment.  For babies that are breastfed, bacteria from the feeding environment will be transferred from the mother’s skin and milk ducts.  For those that are bottle-fed, bacteria will be transferred from the dried powder and the equipment and water used to prepare the formula.  Breastfed newborns carry a more stable and uniform population of gut flora compared to bottle-fed infants.  The impact of breastfeeding on immediate and long-term health has been well-studied with the results indicating that breastfeeding has many protective health benefits.  One of the main reasons behind why breastfeeding is so health-promoting is because of its effects on the gut flora.  Attempts to make formulas more similar to breast milk involve adding probiotics (live bacteria), prebiotics (oligosaccharides), and other components to make the microbiota composition similar to that of breast milk.  The type of infant feeding is critical in influencing the composition of the gut flora, thereby affecting development of the immune system and long-term health.\n\nAntibiotic Use\n\nantibiotics1 The use of antibiotics in the perinatal period, before birth by the mother and after birth by the breastfeeding mother or infant, has a dramatic effect on the colonization of the gut flora.  The diversity of the gut flora is reduced in infants whose mothers received antibiotics during pregnancy or while breastfeeding.  Antibiotic use by the mother is also significant because the antibiotics will damage the gut flora of the mother and this damaged flora is then passed to the infant during the acquisition process.  Antibiotic use by the infant in the immediate period after birth has been shown to severely disrupt the gut flora in a way that lasts for months up to several years and has an impact on the child’s long-term health.\n\n\nThe major factors that influence the colonization of gut flora in the infant include the status of the mother’s gut flora (as this will be passed to the infant), the method of delivery, type of feeding, and antibiotic use.  There are also other factors that play a role, including the infant’s overall environment, hygiene, and perinatal stress.  The colonization of the gut flora at the beginning of life is significant because the gut flora impacts the development of the immune system, has a major role in immune system functioning (80-85% of the immune system is in the gut), and thereby influences the process by which autoimmune and metabolic disease occurs.  Disease begins in the gut and it starts at the very beginning of life!\n\n\nAzad, M. & Kozyrskyj, A. (2012). Perinatal programming of asthma: The role of gut microbiota. Clinical and Developmental Immunology, 2012.\n\nBiasucci, G., Rubini, M., Riboni, S., Morelli, L., Bessi, E., & Retetangos, C. (2010). Mode of delivery affects the bacterial community in the newborn gut. Early Human Development, 86(Suppl 1), 13 – 5. \n\nGronlund, M., Lehtonen O., Eerola E., & Kero, P. (1999). Fecal microflora in healthy infants born by different methods of delivery: permanent changes in intestinal flora after cesarean delivery. Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, 28, 19–25.\n\nGuaraldi, F. & Salvatori, G. (2012). Effect of breast and formula feeding on gut microbiota shaping in newborns. Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology, 2(94).", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9967584013938904}
+{"content": "Creating change through transforming consciousness. Learn more about CE's Mission!\n\nNext Story\n\n  We're creating viewer supported news. Become a member!\n\n“Death must be so beautiful. To lie in the soft brown earth, with the grasses waving above one’s head, and listen to silence. To have no yesterday, and no to-morrow. To forget time, to forget life, to be at peace.”\n—Oscar Wilde, The Canterville Ghost\n\nadvertisement - learn more\n\nThinking of death as beautiful seems a strange thing in a world where fear rules many of our feelings toward it. People fear possible pain, suffering, or struggling. They fear dying too soon, or even too late. They fear dying in a way that negates the way they lived, or changes how people view them. People fear not being able to accomplish certain things; of what life will be like once they are gone. And of course, people fear what will happen to them after.\n\nDeath is such a taboo subject in many cultures that it is simply avoided. But not everyone is okay with that, and many provide insight on the beauty of death to open people’s minds to a different perspective on the subject. There are discussions, books, videos, and so much more.\n\nCalled The Life of Death, the following short video was hand-drawn by Marsha Onderstijin, an animator and storyboard artist from the Netherlands. The video, which was well received among many animation festivals, tells the story of the day Death fell in love with Life.\n\nThe video follows a recognizable but more approachable version of death as “he” goes about his day as death does. The story will open not only your mind, but your heart, allowing you to accept death as a natural, beautiful, and necessary thing.\n\nThe simple artistry of the film makes it more digestible. We see death in the form of a loving companion as opposed to something overwhelmingly terrifying to the point where we cannot even fathom it for fear of losing our immediate sense of calm.\n\nadvertisement - learn more\n\nDeath resembles more a child in this video than a horrific and powerful force. He goes about touching animals in need of peace and eternal rest with an utter unknowing of what he is doing. And when he comes around to the reality of his actions, he is pained to find that when he touches what he loves, he loses it forever.\n\nRarely is death represented in human form, and so, when it is, we find ourselves more easily able to relate. The video may cause tears to well up in your eyes, a chill to crawl down your spine, and the hair on your arms to rise, but for the first time, when it comes to death, that feeling won’t necessarily be bad, but simply different, and maybe even beautiful.\nEnjoy watching the following short film, and share it with anyone who you feel may need a new perspective on the subject to take the fear of death away.\nMarsha Onderstijin studied animation at the St. Joost Kunstacademie in Breda, where she specialized in 2D animation. Since graduating in 2012, she has worked as a freelance animator and storyboard artist.\n\n\nHow would YOU change the future?\n\n\n\nWatch the film free to see how things are changing.\n\nHow would YOU change the future?\n\n\n\nNo more articles", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5949045419692993}
+{"content": "(redirected from Clavulanate)\nAlso found in: Thesaurus, Medical.\nRelated to Clavulanate: clavulanic acid, amoxicillin and clavulanate potassium\n\n\nA semisynthetic penicillin, C16H19N3O5S, having an antibacterial spectrum of action similar to that of ampicillin.\n\n[am(ino)- + (hydr)ox(y) + (pen)icillin.]\n\n\n(əˈmɒksɪˌsɪlɪn) or\n\n\na penicillin antibiotic used to treat a wide range of bacterial infections\n\n\n(æmˌɒk səˈsɪl ɪn, əˌmɒk-)\n\na semisynthetic penicillin, C18H19N3O5S, taken orally as a broad-spectrum antibiotic.\n[1970–75; perhaps am(ino-hydr)ox(yphenyl) + (pen) icillin]\nThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:\nNoun1.amoxicillin - an antibioticamoxicillin - an antibiotic; a semisynthetic oral penicillin (trade names Amoxil and Larotid and Polymox and Trimox and Augmentin) used to treat bacterial infections\npenicillin - any of various antibiotics obtained from Penicillium molds (or produced synthetically) and used in the treatment of various infections and diseases\n\n\nn amoxicilina\nReferences in periodicals archive ?\nclavulanate potassium 1200 mg (dry power form) 100.\nA high-dose amoxicillin-clavulanate preparation (90 mg/ kg amoxicillin and a constant amount of clavulanate of 6.\nThe addition of clavulanate helps to overcome antibiotic resistance by inhibiting an enzyme that breaks down the antibiotic.\nHowever, ticarcillin/ clavulanate was used more frequently in the current study, while gentamicin was notably absent from the top six.\nPotassium clavulanate powder was obtained from Ranbaxy, India and the solution was prepared in phosphate buffer (pH 6.\nFood and Drug Administration to market Amoxicillin and Clavulanate Potassium for Oral Suspension USP, 600 mg/42.\n2:01-CV-391; 2:01-CV-677; and 2:01-CV-925) invalidating a total of seven patents claiming GlaxoSmithKline PLC's (\"Glaxo's\") antibiotic Augmentin (amoxicillin, clavulanate potassium).\ncom/research/5n52gw/potassium_clavulan) has announced the addition of the \"Potassium Clavulanate (CAS 61177-45-5) Market Research Report 2012\" report to their offering.\nDegraded Gelatin Polymer, Injection a-b arteether 150mg, Injection Acyclovir 500 mg/ 400mg, Tablets and Capsules Amoxycillion 250MG, Tablets and Capsules amoxycillion clavulanate 625mg, drop Atropin eye drop.\nSmall but statistically significant declines in susceptibility rates were noted for many antibiotics, including amoxicillin/ clavulanate, tobramycin, gentamicin, ciprofloxacin, ceftazidime and cefotaxime.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9547152519226074}
+{"content": "Voter ID Laws & The Limits of Democracy\n\nPosted on August 13, 2013 by\n\n\nWell, that didn’t take long, did it?\n\nThis evening, Gov. Pat McCrory (R-NC) signed one of the most extensive voter identification laws in the United States. North Carolinians must now show a government–issued photo i.d. to vote. The act also shortens the early voting period from 17 days to 10, and it eliminates voter registration on election day.\n\nWhy does all of this matter? North Carolina is no longer covered, by definition, by the Voting Rights Act (1965).\n\nThe V.R.A. was written so that African-Americans in particular would have an unfettered access to voting rights. The Act makes voting discrimination based on race or color illegal. It also required particular states and localities to clear electoral changes (redistricting or changes in voter registration, for example) with the Department of Justice or a federal court. Since not all states needed to get such clearance, determining which states or localities must do so was a critical question. The Act used two factors. (1) If states had a recent history of voter discrimination based on race (literacy tests, poll taxes, white primaries) AND (2) low voter participation, defined either as voting or registration rates below 50 percent.\n\nTo determine these rates, Congress relied, primarily, on, most recently, 1970 U.S. Census, which means that states like Alabama were still covered by the law even though now African-Americans in Alabama participate at rates roughly equivalent to whites in the state. In essence, southern states were forced to jump through more obstacles based on data more than 40 years old.\n\nOn June 25, in Shelby County v. Holder, the Supreme Court struck down this formula for determining which states are covered (other elements of the law remain untouched), ruling that relying on such a dated data, Congress is acting unreasonably and is unnecessarily contravening electoral powers generally reserved to states.\n\nSo, North Carolina is now free, at least for now, to change its electoral laws without federal oversight so long as those laws do not discriminate on the basis of race or color. Unsurprisingly, civil rights groups are threatening to challenge the statute. They believe it will limit minority voters. Republicans see these measures as combating voter fraud. It is possible, of course, that both are correct for those outcomes are not mutually exclusive.\n\nThis is really the beginning of a long, hard struggle between the two major parties. The heart of the struggle is not about race or fraud, but the extent of our democracy. The conventional wisdom is that the GOP benefits from low turnout elections, while Democrats want a maximized electorate. Of course, there are economic and demographic factors at play here, but the two parties have differing perspectives of the vote, whether they admit it or not.\n\nPersonally, I think we have too few obstacles to voting. We should require people to vote in person except for the most unusual circumstances (documented health restrictions or military service). Even more importantly, and though it will never happen due to our democratic conceptions, I support a modified literacy test for voting, one that resembles a basic citizenship examination (here is one example) equally applied to everyone. As we have expanded the franchise over the past one hundred years, our political system has changed significantly, likely as a result. Let me be clear–I am not opposed to those expansions. I do not think our voting should be limited based on gender, race, or age (those 18 or over), but we should limit based on civic knowledge. Restricting voting based on race seems not only irrational, but immoral, while doing so based on what we know seems not only rational, but prudent, so long as the test is fair.\n\nWhat do you think?", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6349133253097534}
+{"content": "PayDunya is a FinTech startup amongst those that pitched at the very recent Seedstars Dakar. The startup focuses on payment for businesses and start-ups. TechMoran chats with the co-founder and CEO, Abdulaziz Yerima as he shares insights about his startup. Why he thinks PayDunya would survive in an almost saturated FinTech industry, how they are being funded, what informed the launch of the startup and all.\n\nHe also tells what he thinks is the greatest challenge and threat to FinTech in Africa. Do enjoy the piece.\n\nIn just a few words, pitch your startup to us.\n\nPayDunya is global payment & e-commerce infrastructure for businesses to collect/disburse remotely payments from African mobile money wallets, money transfer voucher and credit/debit cards in one single solution.\n\n\nWhat informed the launch of Paydunya, are you solving a problem you encountered yourself?\n\n\nYes, here is our story :\n\nIn 2013, we were in a student association ENACTUS.\n\nWe had a project with women association. They transformed local cereals and were selling it. They showed us many problem and we choose to help them on their distribution network. So as a geek, we design them e-commerce website to bring their product to all local and international potential customers.\n\nFor this project, we show two problems: first, we can’t pay domain name for website because we did not have bank card and second, they can’t accept payment on this website because PayPal does not allow African businesses to use their solution. So in 2015, we create PayDunya to solve this problem by enabling local and international e-businesses accept payment from African and international customer from mobile money wallet, money transfer service branch and credit/debit card.\n\nHow has growth been since launch? Have you made significant progress?\n\nWe launched in November 2016, and we already get 30 e-merchants, with average 320 monthly transaction and 30% monthly growth.\n\nTell us about the team behind Paydunya.\n\nWe are 3 co-founders. Now 5 people and 1 mentor. CEO : Aziz YERIMA, R&D: Honore HOUNWANOU, CTO: Christian PALOUKI, PM: Youma FALL CMO: Adam TALL\n\nWhat differentiates Paydunya in an already saturated Fintech industry?\n\nIt’s not about being another payment solution. It’s about being a payment company for startups and e-businesses.\n\nHow is the startup funded? Bootstrapped or you already have investments?\n\nWe have bootstraped since launch and we actually are looking for investors to grow and scale business.\n\nHow do you feel pitching your startup at Seedstars Dakar?\n\nIt’s was a great experience, we finished at third position. But more important we got exposure and potentials investors.\n\nIn 5 years, tell us how you envisage Paydunya.\n\nIn 5 Years, we’ll build a $50m company with presence in 12 french speak countries.\n\nWhat do you think is the greatest challenge of the Fintech industry in Africa?\n\nThe greatest challenge is CASH, I think. African still love using money in cash and this is our big barrier.\n\nTell us what keeps you going day by day. Your inspiration.\n\nFintech has a strong potential and big opportunities because it can solve many many of African people problems. We just need to keep in our mind that we have to reinvent our fintech, not to copy-paste the western model.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.529517650604248}
+{"content": "Giant Saguaro desert cactus – facts and photos\n\n\nsaguaro cactus at The Saguaro National Park\nsaguaro cactus at The Saguaro National Park in Tucson\n\n\nSaguaro National Park\nsaguaro cactus in Arizona\n\n\nQuick Saguaro Facts:\n\n  2. The saguaro is the largest cactus in the US.\n\n\nthe saguaro cactus in arizona\nthe saguaro cactus species in AZ\n\n\nsaguaro cactus with fruit\nsaguaro cactus close up\n\n\nthe saguaro arms\nthe saguaro arm buds\n\n\nsaguaro cacti over 100 years old\nsaguaro cacti over 100 years old\n\n\nnurse tree\nyoung saguaro cacti under a nurse tree\n\n\ndead saguaro cactus wood\nwoody spine of the dead saguaro cactus\n\n\n\n\nThe Saguaro National Park\n\nWhile traveling Arizona we stopped at Saguaro National Park, in Tucson.  The park is located in the Sonoran Desert.\n\nSaguaro National Park in AZ\nSaguaro National Park in AZ\n\nThe giant cacti, called Saguaros, are protected and preserved within the park.\n\nThe saguaro cactus in the Sonoran Desert\nThe saguaro cactus in the Sonoran Desert\n\nAfter a single rainfall, Saguaros can soak up to 200 gallons of water through their huge network of roots that lay just 4-6 inches below the desert surface. That is enough water to last this giant cactus an entire year!\n\nthe saguaro expands with water\nthe saguaro expands with water\n\nA saguaro expands like an accordion when it absorbs water which can increase its weight by up to a ton.\n\nsaguaro cactus white flowers in bloom\nsaguaro cactus white flowers in bloom\n\nIn 1931, The Saguaro’s Blossom became the Arizona State Flower.\n\nThe Saguaro Cactus blooms April through June. Its flowers are creamy white and numerous. Up to a hundred flowers can bloom on one Saguaro Cactus!\n\nSaguaro Cactus Flowers\nSaguaro Cactus fruits and blooms\n\nThe saguaro blossom opens after sunset and by the next afternoon the flower is wilted. The white cactus flower repeats itself night after night.   During the few hours the saguaro flower is open birds, bats, and  honeybees pollinate them.\n\nsaguaro red fruit\nsaguaro red fruit\n\nLater in the summer, the cactus flowers that were pollinated will become red-fleshed saguaro fruits that are enjoyed by the local bird population. The saguaro cactus is also known as the pitahaya, sahuara and giant cactus.\n\nSaguaro National Park\nSaguaro National Park\ntrails at Saguaro National Park\ntrails at Saguaro National Park\nnursing trees for saguaros\nPalo Verde and Mesquite Trees are shelter for young Saguaros\nnursing tree for saguaro cactus\nnursing trees provide nitrogen for cactus\n\nThe Saguaro often begins life with a nurse tree or shrub which can provide shade and moisture for the germination of life. This Saguaro grows slowly — only about an inch a year — eventually becoming very tall;  reaching heights of 50 feet.  The largest saguaro cacti, with more than 5 arms, are approximately 200 years old.\n\n\nInteresting Saguaro Cactus Facts\n\nOne of Arizona’s most majestic, lovable desert cactus plants is the Saguaro, Carnegiea gigantea. Being aware of the saguaro’s history and incredible internal design, it is an honor to walk close to the Giant Saguaro that is over 150 years old and standing tall.\n\nSonoran Desert cactus tall\nGiant Saguaro Cactus of Arizona\n\nThese desert cacti are large, tree-like columnar cacti that develop branches (or arms) as they age.\n\nSaguaro Cactus can not tolerate freezing temperatures in the winter and this is what limits their range.\n\nSaguaro National Park\nSaguaro Cactus\n\nSaguaro FACTS:  Saguaros are a very slow growing cactus.  A 10 year old plant might only be 2 inches tall.\n\nHow tall can a Saguaro Cactus grow?  It can grow 40 to 60 feet tall.\n\nArizona Saguaro Giant Cactus\nSaguaro Cactus on Mica Mountain\n60 foot Saguaro Cactus plant\nA Tall Saguaro Cactus\n\nBelow are Saguaro cacti at the bottom of Mica Mountain in Saguaro National Park.\n\nMica Mountain Saguaro National Park\n\nSaguaro cactus roots are only 4-6 inches deep and travel out as far from the plant as it is tall. There is one deep tap root that extends down into the ground.\n\nA Saguaro Cactus can gather enough water through its remarkable root system, during a significant rain, to last a year!\n\nholes in big cactus\nHoles in Saguaro Cactus for birds nest\n\nWhy are there holes in the Saguaro Cactus?  The gilded flicker and Gila woodpecker excavate nest cavities inside the saguaro’s pulpy flesh.\n\nBirds nesting in the Arizona Saguaro Cactus\n\nCactus Wrens are common birds that live in the holes (nests) of the Saguaro Cactus.\n\nred fruit of cactus\nSaguaro Cactus Flowers bloom, then turn to fruit\n\nWhen a saguaro reaches 35 years of age it begins to produce flowers.\n\nwhite flower on cactus arizona\nSaguaro cactus Bloom – Flower\n\nA Saguaro can only be fertilized from a different cactus – cross pollination.  Only a few bloom each night awaiting to be pollinated and close by late morning.\n\npollinated cactus flower to fruit\nred fruit on Saguaro Cactus\ndead saguaro cactus ribs\nA living and dead Saguaro Cactus.\n\nBecause the major part of a desert saguaro cactus is made up of water, an adult plant may weigh 6 tons or more. This tremendous weight is supported by a circular skeleton of inter-connected, woody ribs.\n\nAfter the saguaro dies its wood ribs can be used to build roofs, fences, and parts of furniture.  The holes that birds nested in are called saguaro boots.\n\nholes in cactus in Arizona\nSaguaro Boot used by Native American\n\nNative Americans used saguaro boots as water containers.\n\n200 year old tall saguaro cactus\nSaguaro Cactus next to a biker to compare the size\n\nSaguaro branches normally begin to appear when the cactus reaches 50 to 70 years of age.\n\nThe average life span of a saguaro is approximately 175 years of age.  Experts have estimated that a Saguaro Cactus with more than 5 arms can be 200 years old.\n\nnurse tree for saguaro cactus\nYellow Palo Verde Tree is a nurse tree\n\nYoung saguaro cacti can be very hard to find because they grow under the protection of a “nurse tree”.  The nurse tree releases nitrogen in the soil which the Saguaros and other desert cacti use to grow healthy and strong.\n\nSaguaros sometimes grow in odd shapes or forms. The growing tip of the cactus occasionally produces a fan-like form which is referred to as crested or cristate.\n\nrare arizona cactus\nCristate Saguaro Cactus\n\nThese crested saguaro cacti, Carnegia gigantea forma cristata, are rare.  Biologists are not sure why these Saguaros grow this fan-like shape.\n\nFan like shaped cactus rare\nCrested, Cristate, Fan-like Saguaro Cactus from AZ\ncrested cristate cactus in Tucson Phoenix\nrare Saguaro in Tucson\n\nArizona has strict regulations about the harvesting, collection or destruction of  The Arizona Saguaro Cactus. It is illegal to harm a Saguaro in Arizona. During building or construction, precautions must be taken to move every saguaro that may be affected.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8053412437438965}
+{"content": "2017 Fashion Styling Workshop - 21st September\n\n\nSuzie Anderson Home  \"2017 Styling Workshops\"\n\nYou are invited to this exclusive in store Suzie Anderson Home event, where you will step into the world of fashion and styling with Sydney Stylist, CEO & Fashion Editor of Label Ministry Jade Cosgrove.\n\nKnown as an important Australian fashion advocate, Jade will be speaking about the psychology of your relationship to your wardrobe and it's connection to your self worth. Personal styling and how to buy the right clothes, becomes effortless using her body architecture formula. She will teach you how to build a functional wardrobe which meets your every need, regardless of your age or stage in life.\n\nJade believes looking amazing is an art that can be learned by understanding simple principles and techniques.\n\nAttend all 3 workshops or pick the one/s that meet your fashion needs\n\n\n27th July Personal Style | Grooming | Ageing | Transition SOLD OUT\n\nPersonal style is something unique to us all, and some people intuitively find this self expression easier than others.  It can however be learned with simple techniques and understanding gained through careful explanation.  In the same way, our grooming changes as we journey through life, and ageing is something all women struggle with. Naturally, this struggle lessens if we are taught and learn to feel confident in the way we present ourselves to the world.  Lastly, there is the question of how we transition through these stages with ease.\n\n\n 24th August  Body Architecture | Body Confidence | Key Pieces | Wardrobe - SOLD OUT\n\nBody Architecture is the term I use to describe a woman’s ability to recognise and understand her own body proportions for the purpose of dressing effectively and suitability for any stage of her life, lifestyle and any event. Tied into the ability to do this is body confidence, and understanding that key pieces are literally the key to building an effective, functioning, and brilliant wardrobe.\n\n\n 21st September  How To’s | Shop | Style Yourself | Transition\n\nFinally the How To’s of where to shop, what to buy, and how to find exactly what you are looking for.  Styling yourself is not daunting at all if you possess the knowledge required to know what you are searching for, where to find it, and how to transition with confidence through the different life cycles of lifestyle and age.\n\n\nCost: $65 pp per workshop \n\n\nTime: Arrival from 6.30pm with workshop starting 7pm\n\n\nCome and enjoy a glass of bubbles whilst gaining styling advice and VIP 10% discount shopping on the night\n\n\nLimited spaces available so don't miss out!", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9909339547157288}
+{"content": "Germs in the ClassroomThe classroom is known for being a place full of germs. Teachers and students both often suffer from frequent illnesses due to the easy transference of bacteria and viruses between the hundreds of students moving in and out of a room each day. In fact, many teachers describe incidents where they are sneezed on, coughed on, and even thrown up on. Many call the fall illnesses that plague the children and staff at school the back to school plague. However, there must be a way to protect the classroom from being such a place for perfect breeding of these germs that make so many ill.\n\nSo, what is the trick?\n\nWays Kids Can Stay Healthy\n\nThere is nothing more valuable in this situation than fostering healthy habits in your children each day. There are so many ways to prevent illness. Children should:\n\nGet enough sleep at night for a healthy immune system\nEat healthy and exercise regularly\nWash hands thoroughly and often, especially after using the restroom, before and after eating, and after touching something particularly germy\nStay home when feeling ill to avoid the spread of germs as well as the catching of other illnesses from a weakened immune system\n\nKeeping Teachers Safe From Germs and Illness\n\nTeachers may have a much harder time avoiding illness. Their contact with children is constant, especially in elementary school. Helping children with runny noses and loose teeth as well as stomach illnesses and learning to wash their hands means coming into contact with a lot of bacteria. However, there are a few things a teacher or other staff can do to keep healthy.\n\nUse antibacterial wipes or spray every morning or evening in the classroom. This is good for desks, toys, and other items touched by all.\nKeep hand sanitizer on hand. Teachers cannot leave to wash their hands all the time, so this may be crucial to their health.\nTeach healthy habits in the classroom to prevent children from spreading germs to one another.\n\nIf you or your child is ill, don’t hesitate to contact Emergis ER & Urgent Care.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6878547668457031}
+{"content": "The Rotary Club of Goshen NY, through its foundation (The Goshen Rotary Scholarship Foundation, Inc.) supports and maintains a Scholarship Program.  The goal of the program is to encourage well-rounded scholarship and aptitude geared toward service to others and the ever changing needs of society.  Its objective is to help develop the valuable youthful minds and skills of deserving students in the Goshen area community.  The reward is in having given students the opportunity to apply their abilities in the service to others.\n   Currently there are four $1,000 and one $1,500 scholarship awarded annually. The scholarship awards are renewable annually for up to four consecutive years provided the student continues to meet the admission requirements of the college or school and can demonstrate inability to continue advanced education without outside financial help.\n   Scholarships are divided equally between the Fall and Spring semesters. The payments are sent directly to the school or college and administered by them.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9992846846580505}
+{"content": "Grüneburgpark Germany, Frankfurt\n\n\nThe Grüneburgpark is a park in the Westend district of Frankfurt, whose name derives from the \"Green castle\", which stood on the site in the 14th century. In 1789 the banker Peter Heinrich von Bethmann Metzler acquired the property and designed the park. In the following years the great thinkers of the day met here, among them Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Bettina von Arnim.\n\nIn 1837, the park was bought by the Rothschild family, who had a palais constructed in the manner of a French Loire castle. The Rothschild family had a 29-hectare-large landscaped park developed in this location. The English-style park itself was finished in 1877 by Heinrich Siesmayer.\n\nIn 1935, after the Nazi rise to power, Albert von Goldschmidt-Rothschild, who committed suicide in emigration five years later, had to \"transfer to the municipality\" (quote from a letter to mayor Krebs) what had been the home of his family. The \"New Palais\" was destroyed in an air raid in 1944.\n\nAfter the Second World War, the park was expanded to 29 hectares. It has since been a popular place for recreation among the Frankfurters, especially in the summer months. The park's northwest corner is now a botanical garden, the Botanischer Garten der Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main. Another major botanical garden, the Palmengarten, is just across the street.\n\nThe park is also home to the 4,800-square-metre Korean Garden. This was a gift to the city as part of South Korea's presentation as the guest of honour at the 2005 Frankfurt Book Fair. It has been designed in the sttyle of traditional Korean scholars' gardens.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5521197319030762}
+{"content": "Headless arrow 5\nThis section or article is incomplete.\nReason: Basic information\n[FAQ] • [doc]\n\nAn ancient ceremonial robes set is a set consisting of an ancient ceremonial mask, top, legs, boots and gloves. It can be exchanged at a Grand Exchange clerk to receive all of the pieces or to put all of the pieces back into the set.\n\n\nItemAttributeStyle bonusPriceAncient ceremonial robes equipped\nAncient ceremonial maskAncient ceremonial mask000---10,417\nAncient ceremonial topAncient ceremonial top000---68,018\nAncient ceremonial glovesAncient ceremonial gloves000---13,602\nAncient ceremonial legsAncient ceremonial legs000---44,289\nAncient ceremonial bootsAncient ceremonial boots000---13,234\n\nAd blocker interference detected!\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9910858869552612}
+{"content": "US inflation sustained by tobacco and truck prices\n\nCigarette held by aloft in New York\nImage caption Tobacco prices - which are highly seasonal - rose 2.8% in the month\n\nThe rising cost of tobacco and trucks helped sustain US wholesale price inflation in July, new data shows.\n\nThe cost of finished goods rose 0.2% last month, according to the US Labor Department, leaving them up 7.2% over the last 12 months.\n\nTobacco prices, which are seasonal, rose 2.8%, while supply disruption from the Japanese earthquake pushed the cost of light trucks up 1%.\n\nMost economists still expect inflation to fall back in the coming months.\n\n\nIn particular, market prices for many natural resources have slowed in recent months, and this has yet to feed through to the price of finished goods.\n\nCrude oil prices have steadily subsided since a Libya-related spike in the Spring, and this was reflected in the cost of petrol, which fell for the second month in a row, according to the new data.\n\nWeaker demand has also weighed on petrol prices, with spending by US drivers having fallen for 21 consecutive weeks, according to separate data from MasterCard.\n\nFood prices however accelerated, notching up a 0.6% rise in July, thanks partly to a jump in the cost of potatoes.\n\nThe \"core\" inflation rate - which strips out volatile food and energy costs, and is closely watched by economists for longer-term trends - rose 0.4% in the month.\n\nThat was twice what analysts had expected, and a source of concern to the Federal Reserve.\n\nRelated Internet links\n\nThe BBC is not responsible for the content of external Internet sites", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9892747402191162}
+{"content": "The Ohio Amish People\n\nWhat makes someone Amish? That is the Million Dollar Question. Well it’s not the clothes, it’s not horse and buggy and it’s not the language. Some say you have to be born into the Amish like it is a race and I can see how people would think that for several reasons. But that’s not it either. The Amish are Amish because it’s their religion and it plays a major role in their lives. Their religion is visible outwardly by their common “plain” clothing, the driving of horse and buggies and their electricity free homes.\n\nTheir religion is central in most things that they do and they adhere to the principal of not conforming to the world. They believe that this does two things, it keeps them pure and emphasizes to other people that living for God makes them different.\n\nHome and family are the primary social units of the Amish community and most families have more than two children. The larger family aids in the work and responsibility of the farm and makes for many great times of recreation at home. An Amish couple always welcomes the birth of children with joy, knowing that their heritage of church and community will continue to grow into the future.\n\nThe Amish are very close to their extended family as well and all play a role in raising and teaching the children their roles and responsibilities. The girls learn early to do housekeeping chores, cooking and caring for younger siblings. The boys learn to care for the animals, farming skills and some handyman work. Both boys and girls attend school and learn English if they haven’t at home already.\n\nThe Amish try to instill the values of working hard and finding satisfaction in getting a task done right. Many large jobs on the farm are tackled together because many hands makes the work load lighter. In addition this working together helps to build the family bonds even stronger.\n\nAmish use the term “English” in referring to anyone who is not Amish. The Amish are very hospitable to people outside of their religion and community and love their neighbors and enemies alike. Because of their culture calling them to be separate they are not always the most outgoing but when engaged in conversation their kindness comes through.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8343005180358887}
+{"content": "Physical Therapy\n\n\nWhat is Pediatric Physical Therapy?\n\nPediatric physical therapists (PTs) work with children and their families to assist each child in reaching their maximum potential to function independently and to promote active participation in home, school, and community environments. Physical therapists use their expertise in movement and apply clinical reasoning through the process of examination, evaluation, diagnosis, and intervention. As primary health care providers, PTs also promote health and wellness as they implement a wide variety of supports for children from infancy through adolescence in collaboration with their families and other medical, educational, developmental, and rehabilitation specialists. Pediatric physical therapy promotes independence, increases participation, facilitates motor development and function, improves strength and endurance, enhances learning opportunities, and eases challenges with daily caregiving.\n\nBenefits of Physical Therapy Include:\n\n  • Increase range of motion and strength: Impairments in range of motion and strength can lead to poor joint alignment, pain/discomfort, difficulty with walking, and performing other daily activities.\n  • Development of gross motor skills: Gross motor skills include: sitting, creeping, walking, running, jumping, skipping, and hopping.\n  • Improve balance and coordination: Deficits in balance and coordination may lead to frequent falling, poor body awareness, and clumsiness.\n  • Increase mobility skills: Mobility skills include: rolling, scooting, standing up from the floor, and going up and down stairs.\n  • Obtain and achieve functional use of equipment and assistive devices: Physical therapists coordinate care with appropriate orthotists and durable medical equipment providers to assess, order, and train the families with appropriate use of assistive devices to increase the functional independence of the child and family. Equipment includes: orthotics, braces, specialized seating, wheelchairs, and walkers.\n\n*Some information provided by", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8911915421485901}
+{"content": "Virtual Tour\n\n\nWELCOME HOME TO BEACH DISTRICT. Water views forever. Every day will get better and better as you realize you are living the life you have always wanted. This 1617 SF 2 bed 2.5 bath will take your breath away. Almost every room takes in the views of the water. Perfect floor height to see in the boats, water, Granville Island. Incredibly quiet and peaceful as you enjoy your morning coffee All room are large enough for your house sized furniture. The seawall is literally steps away. Great amenities. You will LOVE THIS HOME!!! Two parking and large storage locker.\n\nTaxes (2017): $4,067.39\n\n\n\n\nClthWsh Dryr Frdg Stve DW Drapes Window Coverings Fireplace Insert Microwave", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9237850904464722}
+{"content": "This documentation is archived and is not being maintained.\n\nContainerControl.Select Method\n\nActivates the control.\n\n\nPublic method Select() Activates the control. (Inherited from Control.)\nProtected method Select(Boolean, Boolean) Activates a child control. Optionally specifies the direction in the tab order to select the control from. (Overrides Control.Select(Boolean, Boolean).)", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7267523407936096}
+{"content": "string(63) \"Failed to connect to port 1097: No route to host\" Sustenex Vs Align? - Okela\n\nsustenex vs align?\n\nBest Answer\n\nSorry, we don't have an aswer for this question yet.\n\n\nsustenex vs align? community answers\n\nsustenex vs align Similar Questions", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9764022827148438}
+{"content": "What are Chekhov's contributions to the short story form?\n\nExpert Answers\nbooboosmoosh eNotes educator| Certified Educator\n\nAnton Chekov was trained as doctor, but suffered from tuberculosis, which at the time was an incurable disease. Because he experienced success as a short story writer and playwright, he rarely practiced medicine.\n\nChekov's first group of writings was published in 1886. His first play was staged in the year following. Towards the end of the 1800s, Chekov began working with producer/actor/director Constantin \nStanislavski, and this professional collaboration lasted until Chekov's death in 1904.\n\nIn terms of the short story, Chekov is seen as greatly responsible for the form of the modern short story form that reflects the following characteristics:\n\n  • mood and symbolism are more important to the story than the development of the plot (known as the \"plotless\" story).\n  • impressions and ideas are thematically arranged for effect, rather than relying on climax and resolution.\n  • Much of Chekov's attention was directed to those who were landowners or members of the professionally-centered middle class.\n\nUsing themes relating to the everyday life of the landed gentry and professional middle class, Chekhov portrayed the pathos of life in Russia before the 1905 revolution: the futile, boring, and lonely lives of people unable to communicate with one another...\n\n...his stories, are studies of the spiritual failure of characters in an aristocratic society that is disintegrating...\n\n\nChekhov combined a keen use of brevity—gleaned from the stories of Guy de Maupassant—with a poetic and symbolic sensibility, culminating in new casts of short fiction, specifically the plotless story.\n\nChekov was also influenced by Tolstoy, telling satirical stories from the viewpoint of children.\n\nChekov put a new spin on the traditional short story format, creating his own style.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9327017068862915}
+{"content": "Select Board & Class\n\n\nThe Tale Of Custard The Dragon (poem)\n\nQuestion 2:\n\nWhy did Custard cry for a nice, safe cage? Why is the dragon called a “cowardly dragon”?\n\n\nCustard cried for a nice, safe cage because it was a coward. It is called a ‘cowardly dragon’ because everybody else in the ho...\n\nTo view the solution to this question please\n\nWhat are you looking for?", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9911987781524658}
+{"content": "Saturday, October 29, 2011\n\nThe debate that should not be: Some thoughts about creationism, intelligent design and other \"alternative explanations\"\n\nIf you blog about human evolution there’s one topic which is really hard to avoid. I’m of course speaking about creationism, or “intelligent design” or some other kind of unscientific explanation about human evolution. So far I tried to avoid this topic as best as I could, since I don’t feel competent enough to actually write something about it. However, last week I received an Email from one of my German readers which forced into writing something about it. \n\nI don’t want to talk about the exact content of the email or about the (rather short) debate I had with the person who wrote me this Email. What I want to talk about is my point of view on this whole issue and why I think we shouldn’t even have these kinds of debates.\nIt goes without saying that this text only represents my opinion so don’t interpret the stuff I’m going to write as some kind of general explanation about this topic.\nI’m going to split this Post into three different parts to make it a little bit easier to follow my line of argument.\n\n1. Why Sciences and Religion shouldn’t interfere with each other.\nTo understand this point, first of all we need to define what we understand under the term “God”. This probably is a topic for not one but several posts itself, but for the sake of my argument, let’s put as simple as possible.\n“God” is an entity which almighty and which isn’t completely detectable. The first premise directly leads to the latter, because if an entity is almighty then it also has power over those parts of reality which we can’t perceive.\nNow, if we want to build a scientific hypothesis, we have to make sure that we can actually falsify it (if you want to know why, I wrote something about it here). But how can we falsify something which isn’t completely detectable? The simple answer is: We can’t.\nTherefore, if we try to explain our world due to the work of a non detectable entity, we’re leaving the scientific framework.\nThe scientific method is not suited for those questions. You simply can’t prove or disprove God due to scientific methods. Or to put it more bluntly: “God doesn’t matter in Science”\nThis does not mean however, that each scientist is an atheist. You can believe in whatever you want, as long as you don’t try to mix up both “worlds”. Every attempt to do otherwise ends in a logical fallacy.\n\n2. Why, in my opinion, Science produces reliable statements about our world.\nSome of the more “advanced” criticisms of evolutionary theory try to show that the theory itself or the scientific method itself is somehow erroneous in some manner.\nThe interesting thing about the different perspectives on the world, whether they are scientific or more metaphysical is, that all of them need some kind of basic assumptions to actually work. If you don’t make those assumptions you will, at some point during your argument, come to a stage where your own arguments become circular.\nBut which are those basic assumptions for a scientific world-view?\n\nThe first assumption is that we live in a world which consists of laws.\n-If there are no laws in nature, then we won’t be able to make any reliable statements about it.\n\nThe second assumption is that we’re able to recognize these laws.\n-Science is a cognitive process. If we weren’t able to recognize any of these laws, than we couldn’t do any kind of science.\n\nThese basic assumptions are the fundamental aspects on which every other scientific theory is build upon and it’s the only context in which they make any kind of sense. The question, whether or not I “believe” in evolution isn’t a real question. It’s simply the explanation which, in the framework I presented here, makes the most plausible. The “question of faith” doesn’t ask itself if you look at separate scientific theories, it’s only important if you look at the basic assumptions of Science. And so far I haven’t found anything which convinced me that those basic assumptions are wrong.\nHowever, this does not answer the question, whether or not science can answer every question. Unfortunately we will never receive a message which says: Achievement get! Explain every law of nature!” Or to say it with the words of Gerhard Vollmer:\n\n\"The degree of consistency between our theoretical knowledge of the world and the real world remains unknown to us, even if it's complete.\"\n\n[From: Vollmer G. (1975) Evolutionäre Erkenntnistheorie Hirzel, Stuttgart, Leipzig, p. 137, (probably horribly) translated])\n\nOk, after we set the stage for the debate, let’s move on to the original point of this post.\n\n3. What’s that stuff got to do with creationism?\nThe first point of my argument shows that it’s completely impossible to prove or disprove God within a scientific framework. Therefore any kind of “theory” which tries something like that is making a logical fallacy. This works in both directions. You can’t explain any kind of natural law with the work of God, as well as you can’t demonstrate that God doesn’t exist.\n\nThe second point shows that it’s not the question whether or not someone believes in a certain scientific theory, because its validity is the result of the scientific framework. Not “believing” in a certain theory means omitting any kind of ability to recognize laws in nature and therefore this person leaves the scientific framework. Any kind of argument which follows after this point is subject of my first line of argument.\n\nNow about the debate on creationism: Both of my arguments show that any kind of argument which is brought up by these people is not part of the scientific framework. This means that their arguments don’t matter in a scientific discussion. But it also means that you’ll never be able to use purely scientific arguments if you want to debate with them. Someone who isn’t convinced that we’re able to recognize laws in nature will never be convinced by scientific arguments, simply because he doesn’t believe them.\n\nIn my opinion the only thing you can try to do is to show, that there are no conflicts between scientific and metaphysical (e.g. religious) views on the world, as long as both sided try to stay within their specific framework. Both sides have completely different premises and thus there is no reason for a conflict. Those conflicts only occur if one side tries to interfere with the other, but as I demonstrated, this is logically false.\nTrying to debate this stuff on this level is pretty difficult, since you’re leaving the scientific framework and enter a purely philosophical one and I think this is the reason why this whole debate does not take place on this level. This and also because I think there isn’t much public interest in these kinds of debates. The public tends to direct its attention to the loudest participants and those aren’t often the most competent when it comes to actual discussions.\n\nAnyway, this is my opinion about this whole story. I have to admit that I'm not very comfortable with this post. Firstly because I think I left some important questions unanswered and secondly because I’m not very confident that my English is actually good enough for this topic, in fact I’m pretty sure it isn’t. So, if you don’t understand some of my arguments, please tell me and I’ll try to clarify things. Furthermore I would really like to know how other people think about this debate.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8851502537727356}
+{"content": "Article Text\n\n\nMedicolegal certificates in investigations of asylum applications\n  1. Lina Forsman,\n  2. Erik Edston, MD, PhD\n  1. Department of Forensic Medicine, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden and Department of Forensic Medicine, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden, respectively\n\n    Statistics from\n\n\n    According to the Swedish Immigration Board (SIB), about 26,500 people per year have applied for asylum in Sweden during the last decade. Experiences from Denmark show that up to 20% of those who seek asylum have been subjected to torture or severe ill-treatment in their home countries.1 Since 1992, most of these applicants have been examined at the Centre for Torture and Trauma survivors (CTD) in Stockholm.2 The findings are described in medicolegal certificates submitted to the immigration authorities.\n\n    The present study was primarily aimed at analysing the relationship between the medicolegal certificates and the chances of obtaining asylum in 52 randomly selected CTD cases from the years 1994-96. The medicolegal certificates were classified according to extent of compatibility between testimony and physical evidence. In the first category, designated “informative”, the clients often had no more than a few non-specific scars “consistent with torture”. The second category was designated “supportive” of torture. These clients frequently had many scars and other objective evidence and gave a detailed and compatible testimony of torture.\n\n    The strength of evidence in support of torture described in the medicolegal certificates was analysed in relation to the decisions made by the Swedish Immigration Board and the Alien Appeals Board, where asylum applicants may appeal a negative decision. Other variables studied were findings of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and suicide risk, and a number of social circumstances with possible influence on the outcome.\n\n    Twenty-eight of the 52 medicolegal certificates were “supportive” and 24 “informative”. Thirty applicants (5 %) were eventually granted residence permits, but only four of them (8%) were granted asylum; two with a “supportive” medicolegal certificate and two with “informative” certificates, but only after referral to the United Nations Centre of Human Rights (UNCHR).\n\n    The other motivations for granting residence permits were of three kinds: 1) 17% of the 30 successful applicants were classified as “de facto refugees” (a category removed from the legislation in 1996), meaning that the applicant does not fulfil all the requirements for political asylum; 2) 53% were allowed to stay for humanitarian reasons, and 3) 17% because of family ties.\n\n    A majority (53%) of the 30 people granted residence permits had “supportive” medicolegal certificates. There was no statistically significant association between the motivations given by the authorities and the formulations (supportive or informative) in the medicolegal certificate (χ square p-value>0.05).\n\n    Furthermore, CTD investigations were described as crucial to the decisions in only 14/52 cases (26%).\n\n    Mental health was evaluated by a psychiatrist in 47 cases, 37 of whom (78%) were found to suffer from post traumatic stress disorder. There was no statistical association between the PTSD diagnosis and outcome of the asylum application (χ square p > 0.05). Neither was an impending risk of suicide, as registered in 14/33 cases (27%), significantly associated with the authorities' decisions (χ square p > 0.05). The only social and circumstantial factor statistically associated with a positive verdict was to have relatives already living in Sweden (p < 0.05).\n\n    In conclusion: the CTD examinations of alleged torture are meant to give reliable and unbiased information to the Swedish authorities involved, but the certificates provided are apparently often ignored. One reason may be lack of validation of the certificates, which is a considerable problem as absolute truths rarely can be demonstrated. Application of statistical probability methods and double-blind interview techniques might increase the validity of the medicolegal certificates. However, so far only a few studies have taken up this problem.3 Another possible explanation is that the Swedish Immigration Board as well as the Alien Appeals Board are political, not judicial, institutions, and thus may lack the competence correctly to evaluate medicolegal certificates that are normally intended for use in the courts.\n\n\n    View Abstract\n\n    Request permissions\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9380090236663818}
+{"content": "6 Signs You Have a Hormonal Imbalance\n\nYou Struggle to Get Out of Bed in the Morning\n\nIf you struggle to get out of bed in the morning or hit snooze multiple times before starting your day, then it’s a clear sign your circadian hormone output is out of whack. Specific hormones are produced in a cyclical or circadian pattern every day, and if their rhythm gets altered you’ll start to feel sluggish, fatigued or fail to thrive.\n\n\nYou Crash After a High-Carb Meal\n\nStop me if this sounds familiar: you eat a tasty lunch, get back to the office and by the mid-afternoon, you can barely keep your eyes open? Or maybe it’s the high-carb cereal or oatmeal breakfast you knock back to start your day, only to be struggling to stay sharp by mid-morning? If you notice a significant crash after a high-carb meal, then you likely have poor insulin function.\n\n\nYou Get Serious Cravings Throughout the Day\n\nThere are a lot different reasons why you could get cravings during the day. One hormone in particular is responsible for keeping you full – leptin, your “satiety” hormone signal – and when life gets busy or you make the wrong food choices, your leptin signal gets scrambled and cravings ensue.\n\n\nYou’ve Got High Belly Fat\n\nHigh belly fat reflects high levels of visceral fat, which is the fat that accumulates around your organs. It is very pro-inflammatory and dangerous for your overall health. The vast majority of your cortisol receptors are located around your mid-section.\n\nIf your belly fat is high, your cortisol stress levels will be out of balance and leading you down the path to weight gain, poor health and lack of vitality. Cortisol is the “yang” to insulin’s “yin,” responsible for increasing blood sugar levels by breaking down your muscle mass. If you have a cortisol problem, it can create an insulin problem.\n\n\nYour Libido Is Low\n\nA classic sign of a hormone imbalance is low libido. If you’re training intensely and pushing yourself to the limits, one of the primary signs of overtraining is losing your mojo. Similarly, if you’re burning the midnight oil and working long hours, your libido can hit rock bottom as stress levels increase.\n\nIn men, as cortisol stress levels go up, testosterone goes down. In women, stress levels lower the female hormone progesterone, which is one of your primary libido hormones.\n\n\nYou’ve Gained Weight Around the Hips\n\nIf you’re naturally more of an hourglass- or pear-shaped woman, and feel like you’ve been gaining weight recently, it’s probably accumulated around your hips. This is where body fat is predominantly distributed in women, but even more so in pear-shaped or estrogen-dominant type women.\n\nAs estrogen levels climb too high, you’ll experience irritability, heavier menses, breast tenderness, weight gain and worsening of premenstrual symptoms. If you’ve gained weight, body fat also produces estrogen, adding to the severity of your symptoms.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5032467842102051}
+{"content": "Failure as a platform to learn\n\nGina Wieringa with a letter from our January edition.\n\nHaving made my fair share of mistakes, I have always believed that it is the way you respond to failure that determines whether the eventual outcome is helpful or a hindrance. It is refreshing to see that the Health and Care Professions Council have recently revised their standards of conduct, performance and ethics to include a standard about being open and honest when things go wrong (Standard 8). Creating a culture whereby failure is seen as a platform to learn rather than something to be ashamed of is the first step in encouraging practitioners to be open and honest about their mistakes.\n\nFailure should be seen as something that can be positive. A recent psychological term ‘post-traumatic growth’ describes a phenomenon whereby sufferers of difficulties caused by trauma have been seen to result in increased resilience and renewed appreciation for life. Perhaps the same philosophy should be applied to failure; emphasising ‘post-failure growth’ rather than criticism and negative appraisal.\n\nAdditionally, a study by Daniel Lim and David DeSteno [covered on the Research Digest] has recently demonstrated that the more adversity in life someone has experienced, the more compassion they tend to feel and show towards others. In this survey, participants answered questions about adversity they had suffered in life, including injuries, bereavements and relationship breakdowns. They also completed measures of empathy and compassion, and the opportunity to donate some of their participation fee to charity. The more adversity the participant had experienced (regardless of its nature), the more empathy they had. In turn, this greater empathy was associated with higher sympathy ratings and their generosity (as measured by their donations to charity).\n\nAlthough this study only demonstrates a correlational, rather than causal link, between adversity and compassion/empathy, it is nevertheless indicative that those who have suffered setbacks are more likely to show empathy to others. Is it too tenuous to extend such a conclusion to those who have dealt with failure?\n\nA therapy increasing in popularity is Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and similar principles could be applied in the workplace to incidents of failure. If we create a culture of admitting failure rather than creating a culture of shame, we create an environment that encourages openness and honesty, a core standard for HCPC practitioners. It also increases the likelihood that the failure will result in personal development rather than in feelings of shame and guilt. With one in four experiencing mental illness, and one in six children experiencing anxiety, it’s about time we changed perceptions of failure and reduced the associated stigma. In turn, we will encourage children to challenge ideas, be ambitious and flourish, rather than increasing their anxiety of potential setbacks and failures.\n\nFailure is a part of life and a potential for growth, and the quicker we accept that, the better societal attitudes we create to personal difficulties in general.\n\nGina Wieringa\nFinal-year psychology student\nUniversity of York\n\nIllustration: Tim Sanders\n\nBPS Members can discuss this article\n\nAlready a member? Or Create an account\n\nNot a member? Find out about becoming a member or subscriber", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8942669630050659}
+{"content": "HealthWACH: New test to save newborn hearts\n\n\n\nThe most common type of birth defect is congenital heart defect. This complication begins at birth and may continue through childhood. This affects the heart valves, arteries and veins surrounding the heart and disturbs the blood flow through the heart. Tests are done when babies are born to check for this defect, but it is not required in all states. This fatal disease does not cause many symptoms and it is hard to catch at a young age.\n\nSometimes doctors can detect heart disease while the mother is pregnant. In other cases, newborns are diagnosed with a heart disease at birth. Pain is not usually a symptom, but poor blood circulation, fatigue, rapid breathing, and a bluish tint to the fingernails, lips, and skin are common signs that a newborn has congenital heart disease. A heart murmur may also be detected if newborns are diagnosed with a heart disease, which is an abnormal blood flow through the heart.\n\nDepending on the severity of the disease, a child may or may not need to be treated. If treatment is needed, then a catheter or surgery can repair the irregularity. If the disease cannot be treated with the use of a catheter, then doctors perform open-heart surgery to fix the defect.\n\nA pulse oximetry screening is now being performed on newborns across the U.S. with the exception of a few states. Newborns are tested for heart defects in hospitals just moments after birth to detect any potential or current heart complications. Before performing the screening, doctors place a probe on the infantâ??s foot then they begin the screening. The blood oxygen level is measured by light source and sensors which determine how healthy the heart is. The test screens for the seven most vital heart diseases to save the lives of newborns and prevent further complications. This procedure provides comfort and relief to parents as they feel that their child is in good health.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6951867341995239}
+{"content": "Sharper peaks, better separation\n\n\n\nJSB is the provider of chromatography solutions and consumables for GC, GC-MS and LC-based systems. JSB is a Premium Solution Partner of Agilent Technologies in the Benelux. We provide total network solutions based on chromatography systems from Agilent Technologies. We also work with various partners. Therefore we are flexible and we can offer tailor-made system configurations. For example, think of complicated linkages of GC and /or LC systems with multiple detectors, various injection techniques, on-line process systems, network interfaces, etc.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9473519325256348}
+{"content": "Aphasia Telerehabilitation \"AT\"\n\n\nPhase N/A Results N/A\n\nEligibility Criteria\n\nInclusion Criteria\n\n- Recently acquired stroke ( < 21 days)\n- Aphasia including naming impairment (percentile score of 70 or lower at NGA-subtest naming)\n\nExclusion Criteria\n\n- Age: < 16 years\n- Patients who are unable to perform 5 hours of speech and language therapy per week due to medical or cognitive reasons (Including vision and hearing impairment)", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9963304996490479}
+{"content": "\n\nRice University, engineering students, PediPowers, kinetic energy, energy generating clothing, energy generating shoes, battery, mechanical engineering, kinetic\n\nPedipower shoes were developed by Carlos Armada, Julian Castro, David Morilla and Tyler Wiest, who call themselves the Agitation Squad. The Rice University students developed the shoe-mounted generator for their senior year project. Working with the Motion Analysis Laboratory at Shriners Hospital for Children in Houston, the team developed a system that harnesses force generated at the heel while walking.\n\n“We went to the lab and saw the force distribution across the bottom of your foot, to see where the most force is felt,” Morilla said in a statement. “We found it would be at the heel and at the balls of your toes, as you push off. We went with the heel because, unless you’re sprinting, you’re letting gravity do the work.”\n\nWhile the prototypes are currently a bit unwieldy, they are able to deliver an average of 400 milliwatts, which is enough to charge a belt-mounted battery pack. The Pedipower system is designed to hit the ground before any other part of the shoe, activating the gearbox and generating energy.\n\n“If we could prove that we could produce some usable power, store it in a battery and discharge that battery on a mobile device or an MP3 player, then we could prove this device works,” Armada said. “Now the next team can come in and make it smaller and lighter without sacrificing power.”\n\n+ Rice University\n\nVia GizMag", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.772771954536438}
+{"content": "Hideous face of war\n\nHideous face of war\n\nThere is no doubt that war brings about many hideous factors into society. It is the greatest catastrophe that can befall human beings. The effects of war are both physical and psychological; human societies are deeply affected by wars and the very basis of human existence is destroyed. In the poem, “The Man He Killed” Thomas Hardy makes use of irony, tone, and imagery to illustrate that in war, soldiers are given no choice when obliged to carry out orders and push away their own thoughts and morals for the sake of their own country despite how futile it may be.\n\nThe poem “The Man He Killed” shows of the senselessness of war and how futile violence is. Violence is a social phenomenon; it is the use of force to harm a human being, its outcome is injury--physical or psychological, fatal or nonfatal.\n\nIn the last stanza Hardy says “yes quant and curious war is!” he doesn’t fully understand war. This line shows his bitterness about the situation. It is ironic because usually wars are very frightening, but he described it as soft and gentle.\n\nThese men have absolutely nothing against one another, yet one kills the other during a battle; this shows how irony plays a significant role in the poem because it demonstrates how these two men have no personal reason to go against each other, yet are out to kill one another because of the circumstance of war.\n\nHardy illustrates a friendship that could have existed between the pair, had the turn of events been rearranged differently. The possibility of companionship between opposing sides shows that war is not a conflict between individual men, but instead is conjured up by unnecessary disputes. The main idea of the poem is the cruelty and absurdity of war, because of stupid reasons usual men begin to call each other foes and treat them like enemies. The author wants to tell us that war is nonsense.\n\nSimilar Essays", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5944526791572571}
+{"content": "Home > Laptop Battery Help > How To Calculate Battery Life\n\nHow to Calculate Laptop Battery Run Time\n\nYou can calculate your laptop battery life by dividing the battery capacity (Watt-hours or Whr) from the power consumption of your laptop (watts).\n\nCalculate Battery Life\nWatt Hours / Watts = Battery Life (in hours)\n\nExample: 60 Whr / 20 Watts = 3 Hours\n\nLaptop Battery Life Calculator\nEnter the Watt Hours and Watts to calculate your battery life in hours. If you don't know the Watts or Watt-Hours, use the formulas below.\n\n\nCalculate Watt-Hours\nWhr= Volts x mAh / 1000\n\nExample: 14.8 Volts x 4060mAh / 1000 = 60.09 Watt-Hours (rounded up)\n\nCalculate Milli-Amp Hours\nmAh = Whr x 1000 / Volts\n\nExample: 60.09 x 1000 / 14.8 = 4060 mAH (rounded down)\n\nWill a higher mAh battery rating negatively affect my laptop?\nNo. A battery with a higher mAh rating will not damage your laptop or power charger. It just means the battery has will store more energy inside. We use only the highest rated lithium-ion laptop batteries. Each one is backed by a 2 year warranty and 30 day money back guarantee.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9903702139854431}
+{"content": "Recently, mass killings have been front and center in the news. The terrorist attacks in Paris struck a chord worldwide, and similar attacks in Beirut, Baghdad, Mali, Lake Chad, and elsewhere have made the horror seem never-ending. Yesterday marked the three-year anniversary of the Sandy Hook shooting and two weeks ago another shooting in San Bernardino topped a long list of harrowing incidents in the United States. While the political discourse focuses on how to prevent future tragedies from happening, survivors and the families and friends of victims are left to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives.\n\nTheir grief is acute and can lead to many downstream consequences, not least of all post-traumatic stress. Symptoms include flashbacks, nightmares, anxiety, and depression, which can persist for a long time, as in the story of a teenage Syrian refugee who carried the blown-up body parts of his mother and sister out of their demolished house. Two years later, he is still tormented by the experience.\n\nEven if we have not endured post-traumatic stress, we are all familiar with hardship. Some people go through poverty or abuse. Others withstand bullying, breakups, or illness. Suffering is universal, albeit manifested in different ways and to different extents.\n\nAs we cope with struggles in our own lives and witness other people’s struggles unfold in the news, a common response is to search for an underlying significance that might make our devastation more bearable. This process of making meaning out of misery can be beneficial. For example, cancer patients who derive meaning from their medical experiences have greater psychological adjustment. Likewise, following the death of a family member, people who make sense of their loss and even find benefits in it experience less distress. The psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl wrote extensively about this process after observing that his fellow inmates in concentration camps were more likely to survive the horrific conditions if they held on to a sense of meaning.\n\nTo understand how this process is possible, researchers have studied a fascinating phenomenon called post-traumatic growth. First identified in the mid-nineties by the psychologists Richard Tedeschi and Lawrence Calhoun, post-traumatic growth is when a person experiences positive changes resulting from a major life crisis. According to the research, post-traumatic growth goes beyond resilience; by actively searching for good in something terrible, a person can use adversity as a catalyst for advancing to a higher level of psychological functioning. Survivors of sexual assault report post-traumatic growth as early as two weeks later, but the timeline and nature of growth varies from person to person.\n\n\nThe second is relationships. Whether bonding on a deeper level with friends and family or feeling connected to strangers who have gone through similar difficulties, suffering can bring people closer together. Social support is especially important for healing; discussing and processing hardships with other people assists with meaning-making. For instance, women emerging from intimate partner violence undergo more growth if they discuss their abuse with a role model. Suffering may also prompt us to be more compassionate toward others: A recent study out of Yale and MIT showed that survivors of violence felt more empathy for Liberian refugees and therefore acted more altruistically, such as by hosting the refugees in their homes.\n\n\n\n\nBy focusing on one or more of these five areas, we have an opportunity to turn suffering into personal development. In particular, several factors can facilitate this process. One is receiving care; it is important to seek out emotional and practical support from loved ones or community members following trauma. Another is approaching rather than avoiding the task of coping by accepting the tragedy as irreversible and embracing the grief process. A final factor is recognizing that we are in charge of how we move forward, and thereby perceiving control over our recovery.\n\nOf course, the fact of post-traumatic growth does not imply that trauma is good or that suffering should be belittled. Survivors of the recent terrorist attacks and the families and friends of victims likely incurred psychological damage and are no doubt experiencing immense pain and sorrow. Fortunately, distress and post-traumatic growth can and often do occur simultaneously. In fact, the psychologist Barbara Fredrickson determined that people with optimal mental health maintain a three-to-one ratio of positive-to-negative emotions, indicating that suffering actually plays a role in our overall well-being.\n\nNo one is exempt from suffering, yet we can thrive and flourish despite it—and, in some cases, because of it. After the September 11 terrorist attacks, researchers observed that kindness, gratitude, teamwork, and other virtues increased among American citizens. We have seen this phenomenon continually throughout history; the recent crises are no exception. Trauma drives change, and that change can be positive. Post-traumatic growth points to ways in which we can use our struggles—as individuals or a nation—as springboards for greater meaning and transformation.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9960458874702454}
+{"content": "Thursday, December 10, 2009\n\nSt Peter's Eye\n\nThere were many people taking pictures in St Peter's Square. You can just make out an image of St Peter's here in the camera monitor, but it showed too little detail for me to improve it. The camera of course approximates to the symbolism of the eye, and a single eye to boot. I am reminded that mythology features a number of creatures with a single eye, not all of them pleasant. I always feel that the camera is slightly predatory so maybe it's a kind of Cyclop since the one-eyed monster in Odysseus is of a rather foul disposition. James Joyce's Ulysses utilises the Cyclops (Episode 12) to present a character, the narrator, who has a very singular viewpoint (the \"I\"). In this case, that viewpoint is narrow and indeed bigoted. Often, we need a two-eyed point of view. In psychotherapy it is sometimes necessary to consider what is being excluded from the client's script and so perhaps that is a convincing reason for two people to work together on an issue. But the camera is uncompromising in what it excludes from the eye of the person behind the viewfinder. And the longer the lens the more singular and uncompromising is the point of view. So psychotherapy requires a whole bag of lenses - wide-angle, standard, telephoto - and we need to be able to shift focus on this or that part of the whole image. If you dream about looking through a camera viewfinder, you might like to consider what kind of lens is used and its length. Is there good depth of field or is something very particular in focus? It could alert you to an issue at hand.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.850954532623291}
+{"content": "Tuesday, 30 July 2013\n\nKraftwerk: a postmodern consensual hallucination\n\nKraftwerk are the most important music group since The Beatles and no other band has had as much influence on pop culture since. This sentiment is echoed in an article in The Observer, which declared, ‘no other band since The Beatles has given so much to pop culture.’ According to Barr (1998:2), the story of Kraftwerk ‘began just as pop culture was beginning to take shape.’ It was through self-awareness and clever control and manipulation of their image, artistic strategy, and the circumstances of this cultural milieu, which enabled Kraftwerk to provoke ‘a paradigm shift in modern music that has been unparalleled since The Beatles’ (Barr 1998: 3). Remarkably, whilst most people may not have even heard of the band, or heard their music,\n\nwithout Kraftwerk, the experience of urban youth in the 90s would be radically different. There would be no contemporary dance music as we know it; and thus none of the clubs which provide our gateway into a world of synthetic melodies and machine beats every weekend; our approach to technology…would be subtly but radically reshaped and the whole fabric of futurism – both utopian and dystopian – in contemporary media would be irrevocably altered (Barr 1998: 3).\n\nKraftwerk are often referred to as ‘the godfathers of electronic music’ and were pioneers in the genre, but they have also had considerable influence on disco, rap, electro, synth pop – and all the varieties of pop hybrids that have since developed from these scenes. From their home in Düsseldorf, Germany, they have created a lasting legacy that has had enduring effect and has informed the development of pop culture over the last forty years or more.\n\nThe two founding members Ralph Hütter and Florian Schneider met at a music improvisation course in 1968 in their home of Düsseldorf – a city closer to Belgium, Holland and France than the divided West and East Berlins. They played together in their first band Organisation; instead of playing guitars they played organ and flute. Their music was styled ‘on a heavily improvisational, sometimes chaotic, methodology which referenced jazz, high-brow avante-garde theory and the broad seam of sonic experimentalism that Aphex Twin and Squarepusher would mine more than two decades later’ (Barr, 1998: 49).\n\nBy 1970, Hütter and Schneider had set up their famous Kling Klang studio in an industrial estate in Düsseldorf ; it was this event which Hütter marks as the real beginning of Kraftwerk. According to Pattie (2011: 9), it was a fitting location for the band because, ‘in the midst of the soundscapes of the most technologically advanced area in Germany, the band created music which reflected, not the role of technology in the as-yet-unrealized future, but the integration of technology and human life in the present’ – an idea that would be properly articulated in their later concept of the Menschmaschine (man-machine). Furthermore, Pattie (2011: 9) notes, ‘Kraftwerk’s relationship to technology is bound up in their relation to their immediate environment; rather than using technology to map out an escape route towards the further reaches of the cosmos, it is used to recreate the mechanized soundscapes of the modern, industrialized city.’ This philosophy is reflected in the group’s name ‘Kraftwerk’ which means power station; the Kling Klang studio was set up almost opposite Düsseldorf ’s power station.\n\nIn the early 70s, Düsseldorf  was becoming an important hub of contemporary culture in Germany, and by the time the classic Kraftwerk line-up of Ralph Hütter, Florian Schneider, Karl Bartos and Wolfgang Flür  was established, the group\n\nwasn’t dissimilar to that which existed around the Velvet Underground and Andy Warhol’s Factory. Painters, writers, performance artists, musicians and designers…were all part of the loose circle which orbited the band (Barr 1998: 7).\n\nIt was because of this artistic and creative environment that Kraftwerk were able to move ahead of other groups ‘in terms of conceptuals, musical structures and imagery’ (Barr1998: 7). This was also a particularly important time in the post-war experience of Germany, and ‘an immensely exciting period of psychological change in [the nation] as the first post-war generations struggled to imprint their own identity on mainstream culture.’\n\nThroughout Kraftwerk’s rise to prominence, music journalists were preoccupied with their German identity and discussions generally focused on two factors – that they were from West Germany and they played electronic music. According to Albiez and Lindvig (2011: 15), ‘[t]hey picked up on and amplified the links between the band’s national status – or associated Germanic or Teutonic historical stereotypes – and their use of electronic technologies’. In discussing, Autobahn, music critic Lester Bangs (1975) argued, ‘Autobahn is more than just the latest evidence in support of the case for Teutonic raillery…It is an indictment of all those who would resist the bloodless iron will and order of the ineluctable dawn of the Machine Age.’ In this way, Kraftwerk and the music they played was positioned essentially as German.\n\nAccording to Barr (1998: 90), Kraftwerk were well aware of how they were being represented and suggests that they ‘deliberately [played] up to the deadly serious, straight-laced stereotypical image of Germans’. In doing so, they also played on other clichéd stereoptypes ‘by referring to how they manipulated and controlled people through technology, to the mechanical nature of the German language and by mentioning the German mentality as being “more advanced”’ (Bangs 1975). This self-awareness and irony can be seen in the following quote in which Hütter and Schneider are clearly toying with widely held Nazi-related German stereotypes concerning technological control and mastery:\n\nWhen you are aware that music is a process of brainwashing and manipulation, you realise it can go also in the direction of damage. We have the power to push the knobs on our machines this way or that and cause damage…It can be like doctors with patients (cited in Albiez and Lindvig 2011: 21).\n\nHowever, Kraftwerk’s satire was lost on many media commentators and one critic went so far as to invoke Nazi-era clichés suggesting the band’s so-called ‘masterplan’ for ‘world domination’ (Goldstein in Albiez and Lindvig 2011: 21).\n\nAccording to Albiez and Lindvig (2011: 25), Kraftwerk ‘knowingly addressed German identity through a self-reflexive and playful representation of clichéd stereotypes.’ This attitude is perhaps most apparent in their Autobahn album which they released in 1974. Hütter and Schneider were big fans of The Beach Boys and were ‘fascinated by their ability to encapsulate an entire slice of American life inside a three-minute single’ (Barr 1998: 82). They were interested in how they could make a German equivalent and ‘[b]y using their music to celebrate German culture they would simultaneously be re-appropriating it for their own generation’ (Barr 1998: 82-83). At ths time, the autobahn was the most visible symbol and a key signifier of modern Germany.\n\nBy the 1970s, the autobahn had become a ‘potent symbol’ of Germany’s ‘economic and industrial power, but [it] also conjured up connotations of the Nazi era’ (Albiez and Lindvig (2011: 27). When Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933, he initiated the autobahn project. Not only was it to provide better road links between cities (and later enable faster deployment of troops), but it was also an effort to bring Germany into full employment following the depression years and high unemployment of the Weimar Republic. In this way, the autobahn lent itself as the perfect cultural symbol, which for the post-war generation ‘needed to be stripped of its past associations’ and celebrated instead (Barr 1998: 83).\n\nThe lead track off the album, ‘Autobahn’, can be read as a ‘sonic representation of a journey on the autobahn’ (Albiez and Lindvig 2011: 32). At just over twenty-two minutes in length, the track moves through two distinct tempos and through the hypnotic groove and use of sound effects, mimetically represents the experience of driving along and passing other cars on the autobahn. According to Barr (1998: 84), the ‘track combined the groups experimental past with their emerging commercial sensibilities.’ The influence of The Beach Boys is also evident in the lyrics and harmonies of the song, with the chorus “Wir fahren fahren fahren auf der Autobahn” echoing the American group’s “Fun, Fun, Fun”, although Hütter would no doubt suggest a more open interpretation.\n\nWhilst most of their output happened between 1970-81, Kraftwerk still manage to attract sell-out shows whenever they perform. Following on from their appearance last year at the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York, where they played an eight show exhibition “Kraftwerk – Catalogue 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8”, when it was announced they would be playing the same show at the Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern in London, the demand was so strong it crashed the ticketing system resulting in a hordes of angry fans.\n\nRecently, as part of Sydney’s Vivid LIVE, a 10-day celebration of popular music alongside the city’s annual festival of light (Vivid LIGHT) and ideas (Vivid IDEAS), Australian fans were invited to ‘explore one of the richest histories in global sound, image culture and popular music’ with Kraftwerk performing at the iconic Opera House (Vivid website). In a rare interview, Ralph Hütter, the 66-year-old and last remaining original member (Florian Schneider departed in 2008), described the concert as a Gesamtkunstwerk, a concept also used by Wagner, which translates as ‘a total work of art’ or ‘synthesis of the arts’. ‘[It is] a whole combination,’ he said. ‘We do all of this ourselves, programming videos and programming graphics, the lettering, all the lights, and we play the individual desks…where we play different instruments and computers…It is basically a living sculpture’ (cited in Miller 2013). The idea of combining audio and visual in their art isn’t new to Kraftwerk. Back in their early touring days they were already experimenting with different aspects of performance and were projecting the slide-shows of Emil Schult ‘to add visual interest and reinforce the idea of their concerts as artistic events’ (Barr 1998: 106). Schult has been a long-term collaborator with Kraftwerk, he co-wrote some of the lyrics and is responsible for creating most of their sleeve designs since 1973, including the iconic Autobahn sleeve, and it is his artwork that is being used in the concert.\n\nWhilst the roll call of members has changed over the years, the same basic configuration of four control desks arrayed horizontally in line across the stage remains. In order of appearance on stage from left to right the current members include: Ralph Hütter (lead vocals, vocoder, synthesizers and keyboards); Fritz Hilpert (electronic percussion, sound engineering); Henning Schmitz (electronic percussion, live keyboards, sound engineering); and Falk Grieffenhagen (live video technician).\n\nTo avoid the ticketing issues that had plagued the London gig, fans had to participate in a ballot where tickets were granted by allocation only, which according to the organisers would ‘minimise the congestion through sales channels and…fairly distribute tickets to fans across time zones, states and countries’ (Vivid website). Similarly to the Düsseldorf , New York, London and Tokyo gigs (they only played a single show elsewhere), the band would present three decades of their most innovative music in a 3D audiovisual exhibition, which ‘has redefined traditional concert motifs.’ With two shows per night, the band would present eight shows across four nights celebrating their masterworks: Autobahn (1974), Radio-Activity (1975), Trans-Europe-Express (1977), The Man-Machine (1978), Computer World (1981), Techno Pop (1986), The Mix (1991) and Tour de France (2003). In the words of Fergus Linehan, festival director of Vivid LIVE, the ‘eight concerts are a mind-melting feast for the eyes and ears’ (Faster Louder).\n\nAs a dedicated fan of Kraftwerk, and having been involved in the electronic dance music scene for almost twenty years, I was quick to submit an application for the ticket ballot and was lucky to secure tickets for three shows: Trans-Europe-Express, The Man-Machine and Computer World. As we entered the Joan Sutherland theatre for the first show of the night we were given 3D glasses and directed to our seats in the loge which gave us an angled view down to the stage. At 7pm, the curtains were raised and the concert was efficiently underway; pity to those who were late. The four members led by Hütter and dressed in their iconic ‘Tron-esque’ suits stand in front of their respective control desks, which are outlined by neon lighting which changes colour in time with the music. At time, against the 3D backdrop of visuals the four members seem to be suspended in space.\n\nFrom the first bars of ‘Trans-Europe Express’, the audience is swept away in a state of hypnotic machine-made synaesthesia and drawn into Kraftwerk’s ‘consensual hallucination’. Through the use of synthesised sound and ‘the combination of the repetition of simple motifs with new and interesting percussive elements and differing timbres and sonic effects’, the song propels the listener on a progressive journey through continental Europe (Toltz 2011: 184). Along with Donna Summer’s ‘I Feel Love’, ‘Trans-Europe Express was one of the biggest disco hits of the time (Barr 1998: 126).\n\nIt was also partly responsible for Afrika Bambaata and the Soulsonic Force’s ‘Planet Rock’, which helped kick off the electro funk scene and cement rap, which would go on to inform the development and production techniques hip hop and electronic dance music. In 1982, Bambaata, who was one of the Bronx’s most influential and original DJs and who was already playing Kraftwerk’s records in his sets teamed up with Arthur Baker who had a reputation in the rap scene. Together they sampled ‘Trans-Europe Express’ from which they took the melody and put a rap over it, and with the help of a programmer, on a rented Roland drum machine, they copied the beat of ‘Numbers’. The record label was later sued for $100,000 for copyright infringement, which was simply absorbed by raising the price of the record (Barr 1998: 165-166).\n\nReturning to the idea of a consensual hallucination, in his seminal work Neuromancer (1984), William Gibson prophetically coined the term ‘cyberspace’ well before the invention of the world wide web, which he described as a\n\nconsensual hallucination experienced daily by billions of legitimate operators in every nation…A graphic representation of data abstracted from banks of every computer in the human system. Unthinkable complexity. Lines of light ranged in the nonspace of the mind, clusters and constellations of data. Like city lights, receding… (67).\n\nThis quote perfectly captures Kraftwerk’s futurist aesthetic and modus operandi. As self-described ‘operators’ or ‘workers’ Kraftwerk masterfully manipulate their machines to produce a shared hallucination. In an interview with Lester Bangs, Hütter said, ‘We are manipulating the audience…That’s what it’s all about. When you play electronic music you have the control of the imagination of the people in the room and it can go to the extent where it’s almost physical’ (cited in Barr 1998: 91). This sentiment is further echoed in another interview in which Hütter suggested, Kraftwerk ‘find some energy in the environment of people who come to see us and who make us play in another dimension at a higher psychological level’ (cited in Barr 1998: 195).\n\nThe Menschmaschine, or man-machine, is a philosophical and acoustic concept with Kraftwerk functioning as the ‘power plant’ (Barr 1998: 90). As Hütter has claimed, ‘The machines are part of us and we are part of the machines…They play with us and we play with them. We are brothers. They are not our slaves’ (cited in Barr 1998: 136). The concept is also implicitly political which can be seen in ‘the Russian Constructivist sleeve imagery, the group’s uniform, their insistence on their role as “music workers” and their abhorrence of the star system coalesced into a kind of utopian urban communism’ (Barr 1998: 138). These ideas were given concrete form in The Man Machine album of 1978, which was the group’s ‘most determinedly futuristic album to date’ and ‘a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy that Kraftwerk were indeed the band of the future’ (Barr 1998: 134).\n\nThe album of 1981, Computer World, was the album that established the ‘blueprint for Detroit Techno’ and helped create the ‘template that was extrapolated into the future by a handful of black musicians and subsequently transmitted on to the dancefloors of the world by those they inspired’ (Barr 1998: 151). According to Sicko (1999: 24), ‘[m]any Chicago house pioneers cite the track ‘Home Computer’ as an early reference point. Likewise, electro and pre-techno artists in Detroit drew inspiration from the bizarre portamento riffs and lyrical minimalism of ‘Numbers’’, also off the album. Techno legend, Carl Craig, suggests that in Detroit the album was considered ‘a masterpiece, a work of art…Maybe it was the complexity of rhythms that made it so interesting but it worked. I think it was so stiff it was funky’ (cited in Barr 1998: 152).\n\nWhilst the marketing pitch of the tour was that the band would be playing chronologically through each of the albums, the reality was quite different. Each show was only focused on a selection of the tracks from each respective album, with the remainder of the show taken up by greatest hits. Included in the greatest hits section of each show were tracks such as: ‘Autobahn’, ‘Radio-activity’, ‘The Robots’, ‘Man Machine’, ‘Space Lab’, ‘The Model’, ‘Neon Lights’, ‘Computer World’, ‘Numbers’, ‘Home Computer’, ‘Computer Love’, ‘Boing Boom Tschak’ and ‘Music Non-Stop’. Each show finished after each member played a solo, and left the stage one-by-one. Hütter was always the last leave, with the beat still running he would wish the audience “Good night, Auf Weidersehen”, then he too would walk to the end of the stage, bow deeply and stand with his hand across his heart as the audience continued it’s rapturous applause until the lights came on signalling the end of the trip. Over the three shows, inevitably there were repeats, but seeing Kraftwerk three times in one weekend, well who would complain?\n\nThe last word must go to Hütter which neatly sums up the democratic force of electronic dance music: ‘Electronics is beyond nations and colours,’ he said. ‘It speaks a language everyone can understand. It expresses more than just stories the way most conventional songs do. With electronics, everything is possible. The only limit is with the composer.’ Finally, ‘in front of the loudspeakers everyone is equal’ (Barr 1998: 126).\n\nNote: this article was originally written for Plane Tree, the magazine published by the University of Melbourne's Graduate Student Association. You can view a shorter edited version of this essay herehttp://www.gsa.unimelb.edu.au/planetree/2013_Plane_Tree_No_2.shtml\n\nAlbiez, S. and Lindvig, K.T. (2011) ‘Autobahn and Heimatklänge: Soundtracking the FRG’ in S. Albiez and D. Pattie (eds) Kraftwerk: Music Non-Stop. New York and London: Continuum.\n\nBangs, L. (1975) ‘Kraftwerkfeature’, http://www.technopop-archive.com/interview_97.php, accessed 4 June 2013.\n\nBarr, C. (1998) From Düsseldorf to the Future (with Love). London: Ebury Press.\n\nFaster Louder (2013) ‘Kraftwerk to headline Sydney’s Vivid LIVE’, 20 February, http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/news/local/34965/Kraftwerk-to-headline-Sydneys-Vivid-LIVE, accessed 4 June 2013.\n\nGibson, W. (1993) Neuromancer. London: HarperCollins.\n\nMiller, N. (2013) ‘Kraftwerk bring 3D electropop wizardry Down Under’, 20 February,\n\nPattie, D. (2011) ‘Introduction: The (Ger)man Machines’ in S. Albiez and D. Pattie (eds) Kraftwerk: Music Non-Stop. New York and London: Continuum.\n\nSicko, D. (1999) Techno Rebels: The Renegades of Electronic Funk. New York: Billboard Books.\n\nThe Observer (2013) ‘Why Kraftwerk are still the world’s most influential band’, 27 Jan, http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2013/jan/27/kraftwerk-most-influential-electronic-band-tate, accessed 4 June 2013.\n\nToltz, J. (2011) ‘Dragged into the Dance  - the Role of Kraftwerk in the Development of Electro-Funk’ in S. Albiez and D. Pattie (eds) Kraftwerk: Music Non-Stop. New York and London: Continuum.\n\nVivid website (2013) ‘Kraftwerk – The Catalogue 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8’, http://www.vividsydney.com/events/kraftwerk-the-catalogue-1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8/, accessed 4 June 2013.\n\nNo comments:\n\nPost a Comment\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8199104070663452}
+{"content": "Sunday, May 02, 2010\n\nSmoking ban\n\nI know you probably think I am an idiot for objecting to a wholesale smoking ban. Now I have a good reason for it - according to the wiki on Smoking Bans\n\nThe first modern, nationwide tobacco ban was imposed by the Nazi Party in every German university, post office, military hospital, and Nazi Party office, under the auspices of Karl Astel's Institute for Tobacco Hazards Research, created in 1941 under orders from Adolf Hitler.[27] Major anti-tobacco campaigns were widely broadcast by the Nazis until the demise of the regime in 1945.[28]\n\nNB My son on reading this thinks I have succumbed to this phenomenon\n\nReductio ad Hitlerum, also argumentum ad Hitlerum, (dog Latin for \"reduction to Hitler\" or \"argument to Hitler,\" respectively) is an ad hominem or ad misericordiam argument, and is an informal fallacy. It is a fallacy of irrelevance where a conclusion is suggested based solely on something or someone's origin rather than its current meaning or context. This overlooks any difference to be found in the present situation, typically transferring the positive or negative esteem from the earlier context. Hence this fallacy fails to examine the claim on its merit.\n\nIts name is a pun on reductio ad absurdum, and was coined by an academic ethicist, Leo Strauss, in 1953. Engaging in this fallacy is sometimes known as playing the Nazi card,[1] by analogy to playing the race card.\n\nThe fallacy claims that a policy leads to—or is the same as—one advocated or implemented by Adolf Hitler or the Third Reich, and so \"proves\" that the original policy is undesirable. For example: \"Hitler was a vegetarian, so vegetarianism is wrong.\" The tactic is often used to derail arguments, because such comparisons tend to distract and anger.[1]", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8458691239356995}
+{"content": "Home remedies for burning sensation in stomach during pregnancy\n\nSign that home remedies for burning sensation in stomach during pregnancy (the pull\n\nThe good news is there's a vast array of digital tools to help you get there. placental abruptionwhereby there is untimely separation of the placenta from the attachment site. Sure, you may exercise 5 days per week and enhance your intensity durign now that you are feeling higher. These infections damage the feminine fallopian tubes and home remedies for burning sensation in stomach during pregnancy the scrotum in males. Poorly made maternity clothes crumble home remedies for burning sensation in stomach during pregnancy in the wash, shrink or do not burnong shape after laundering, tablet and durihg, slip down over your stomach, journey up, make you too sizzling, and itch. Even if your home remedies for burning sensation in stomach during pregnancy doesn't contain a spermicide (such as nonoxynol-9), it may include other components that may be toxic to sperm. Pregnancy is an excellent experience !. How are you going to overcome the challenges of first trimester of pregnancy. I do not keep in mind exactly when I got my interval last month, I remember it was 2-three days before Thanksgiving so most likely across the 21st. Have skilled nausea like loopy, bizarre taste n my mouth. After which, you could get the opposite to excess saliva - a dry mouth. I've read that nausea, cramps and a low grade fever can occur during implantation, 6 to 10 days after conception, however I haven't found any reliable sources yet. You should utilize theserelaxation methods during labor and delivery to alleviate your discomfort. Please respect our neighborhood rules. Ectopic Being pregnant: Though a much rarer complication than miscarriage, ectopic being pregnant may be extremely harmful for a pregnant girls. To some individuals it felt a bit like premenstrual tension at first. I extremely recommend this book to others and think it could make an awesome present, too, since prgnancy isn't preachy. in case your not already taking something for it, it is best to start straight away. Therefore, it's important that moms weigh 7 vital considerations earlier than making the choice to pursue a deliberate homebirth. It is only criticism appears to be the sleep chapter as a result of it helps the cry-it-out method which isn't for everybody. Up to now I've had really good iron levels just from my regular food plan and a mix of good genes, but iron ranges can drop as complete blood quantity increases in the second and third trimester. A girl who has irregular menstrual periods requires a bodily examination with a special emphasis on the thyroidbreast, and pelvic organs. Presence of congenital malformations in the offspring was recognized with three nationwide health registers. Your costs go up, or you can reduce coverage. This is caused by increased ranges of the hormone progesterone and the event of your milk ducts in preparation for breastfeeding (sure, already). Change layers as wanted by merely adding sweaters, wraps, jackets, scarves and equipment from your common wardrobe. Both methods are more likely to succeed if a couple charts ovulation over the course of several months before trying to conceive, stomwch make sure the woman's ovulation occurs at regular times. Learn more about being 7 weeks pregnant. This month I've not gotten a period at all. In line with the National Institutes of Health (NIH), girls over the age of 35 are at larger what to eat during pregnancy for baby to gain weight for well being issues throughout being pregnant. When you're experience premenstrual symptoms, you'll be able to undoubtedly notice a change in your consuming habits. Whatever you want to find out about getting pregnant, being pregnant or tending to your new child. The Department of Well being recommends you're taking a every day 400 micrograms (mcg) supplement three months before conception, ideally, and up to the primary 12 weeks of being pregnant. Constipation is a common problem in pregnancy that could be caused by pregnancy hormones slowing your gastrointestinal motion, or by the stress of your growing uterus in your rectum. It's a good idea to book an appointment together with your practitioner (or midwife) to get some assist together with your make-a-baby to-do prgnancy like ditching meds that aren't baby-friendly and ensuring your body (and your companion's) burnung in its best child-making form. Attempting to choose among stomcah many dozen or so ovulation sensatlon kits now out there on hkme drugstore could be as dizzying as making an attempt to pick the proper chillyflu treatment. This will eventually be delayed resulting from conception of the zygote. Don't hesitate to name your health care provider in case you suppose you may have an issue or something is bothering or worrying you. i was wondering if its attainable to get pregnant pregnany final day of your period. The ovaries in a lady's reproductive system produce the eggs also known as ova. On no account ought to it's thought-about as offering medical recommendation. Typically smell may turn into intolerable (and in addition results in nausea. They can additionally expertise scores of uncomfortable symptoms, bodily modifications and moments of worry flr anxiousness during considered one of their most vulnerable levels in life. Drink a glass of water earlier than every meal, too. might assume I have PCOS nevertheless as a result of I don't have all of the frequent symptoms we're not sure in the mean time. To get your free pregnancy book from Tommy's website, click GET FREEBIE', dueing a ebook of your selection and dhring it to your basket. It is vitally good on your durnig of euring pregnancy, that you know, when to expect changes of both your physique and your sehsation during the being pregnant. Pregnancy exams are designed to check for the extent of HCG, a pregnancy hormone, in your urine. Pregnamcy has been an athlete ever since. It's not overly painful and is so far as I can see a normal interval, no different from years in the past. Nonetheless, you additionally expertise sure destructive responses to specific sttomach that don't have anything to pregnancyy with morning sickness. My identify is Trisha.\n\n\n\n10.11.2014 at 01:48 Gokora:\n\n13.11.2014 at 02:10 Faugal:\n\n16.11.2014 at 19:34 Vudokinos:\n\n25.11.2014 at 15:54 Vulrajas:\n\n04.12.2014 at 06:04 Zologrel:\nYour idea is useful", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5933957695960999}
+{"content": "Race to the finish!\n\nJoaquim's go kart was at our living room so I figured why not include it in my outfit photo hence the title of this post :)\nI have a newfound interest with opaque tights...\nWould love to start incorporating them with my outfits :)\n\nblazer: thrifted\ntank top: bazaar\nshorts: cut off jeans\nblack tights: oro\nflats: fashion market\naccessories: market2", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8018122911453247}
+{"content": "Choreography Algorithm.\n\nDef'n: Manhattan distance: the distance between two points, (x1,y1) and (x2,y2), on a grid. Basically abs(x2-x1)+abs(y2-y1).\n\nAssign Goals\n\nThe first order of business is to assign each dancer to an end position. I found that an effective way to assign end positions is select a mapping that minimizes the average Manhattan distance that each dancer has to go.\n\nPreferred Directions\n\nOnce goals are assigned, and assuming that no dancer is initially standing on his or her goal square, each dancer will have either one or two preferred directions. A preferred direction is any direction which if taken the dancer will advance towards his or her goal. That is, moving in a preferred direction makes the dancer's Manhattan distance to goal smaller. If the dancer takes a step that makes his or her Manhattan distance to goal bigger, then he or she is moving in an unpreferred direction.\n\nPreferred ordering of directions:\n\n  1. 1st preferred direction (if one exists).\n  2. 2nd preferred direction (if one exists).\n  3. Don't move. Stay put.\n  4. 1st unpreferred direction.\n  5. 2nd unpreferred direction.\n  6. 3rd unpreferred direction (if one exists).\n  7. 4th unpreferred direction (if one exists).\n\nThe Loop\n\nPriorities are assigned to each dancer at the top of each iteration of the algorithm. A dancer's priority is his or her Manhattan distance to goal, plus the number of times he or she has moved in an unpreferred direction.\n\nThe next step is to ask each dancer to state their desired locations. That is, each dancer decides the square he or she would like to occupy next. Usually this is to move into an adjacent square in one of his or her preferred directions, but if the dancer has already reached his or her goal then the dancer would simply prefer to stay put.\n\nOften multiple dancers will want to occupy the same square. These conflicts need to be resolved.\n\nTo do this we sort the dancers by their priorities. Higher priorities are better; dancers who are far away from their goals (or made lots of unproductive moves) get to move before dancers who are close to their goals. Once sorted, iterate through the sorted dancer list.\n\nFor each dancer who has not been resolved already:\n\nIf the dancer's desired square has not been claimed by another dancer already, that square becomes claimed by the current dancer. If the square has already been claimed choose the next direction from the dancer's preferred ordering (above). Once an unclaimed square is found, claim it, and then repeat this process for the dancer who is currently occupying the claimed square. If no square can be claimed, backtrack to the last dancer who has another direction which can be tried.\n\nIn psuedo-python syntax:\n\ndef resolve( dancer ):\n        if dancer == nobody:\n                return True\n        resolved = False\n        directions = dancer.get_preferred_directions()\n        for d in directions:\n                sq = dancer.get_square_in_direction( d )\n                if sq.is_unclaimed():\n                        sq.set_claimed_by( dancer )\n                        occupant = sq.get_current_occupant()\n                        if occupant == dancer:\n                                resolved = True\n                        resolved = resolve( occupant )\n                        if not resolved:\n                                sq.set_claimed_by( nobody )\n        dancer.set_resolved( resolved )\n        return resolved\n\nOnce all the dancers have been resolved they all move into their claimed squares, and we go to the top of the loop. The algorithm terminates when all dancers reach their goal positions.\n\nOf course, you will also need to make sure that two dancers don't collide with each other. That is an easy extension to this algorithm.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9999030232429504}
+{"content": "San Juan Capistrano medical materials\n\nA medical institution may face serious trouble if MRI machinery breaks down during a scan. Opting for Used MRI machinery is the best option in such a situation. Today, plenty of companies offer used MRI San Juan Capistrano for rent while the client’s machinery is refurbished.\n\n\n\nmedical manufacturing association\n\nSan Juan Capistrano With High Quality Medical Devices\n\nThe production sector is a crucial blood line to the American economy. It has actually been the structure for our success and also development since the days of the commercial revolution, which alone developed the USA as a financial superpower. Manufacturing, in my opinion, is still the backbone of this country. The question to ask is what is taking place to the industry right now? Some people claim that American production is little by little passing away or finishing, which if you check out work, it remains in that respect. According to economists, we've been losing 250,000 or more manufacturing tasks each year generally since the 1974. Nonetheless, if you take a look at output, possibly the a lot more pertinent indicator of development, we're still seeing nominal rises, yet why? Certainly, this evaluation places the most up to date recession beginning in 2009 to the wayside. Because period the UNITED STATE went from a 3% reduction of outcome in 2008 to a12% decline in 2009 alone. Nevertheless, the complete share of GDP for manufacturing still hovers around 15%. If you take a look at the trending information, it has in fact been reasonably constant over the last Three Decade, but there is a negative partnership in work, which is something that truly worries me. Like everyone else, I understand that to blame for this. Companies fasted to off coast to nations in Asia like China which take the works as well as create almost every little thing that is imported right into the United States However, you would certainly presume that of the result would be shown in those numbers, yet it really isn't really. We do see that there is an ever expanding profession deficiency between the USA and also China, however all information points to that the heart of American production is still beating and also is not 'dead' in any kind of regard. If we have the result and also the growth, then the jobs creating it should be maintained here. It is important to include that with the societal worth modifications as well as costs that residential companies are seeing, a few of those jobs are beginning to trickle back to our coasts. In retrospect, there are those that argue that the powerhouse we were 40 years back is an age that we will certainly never see again. Yet what I think they suggested to claim is that we won't ever have the variety of works we when had in that field. I think the U.S federal government has realized several of the mistakes they have actually made dealing with profession deficiencies by caving to those with alternate programs. As a matter of fact, I assume the issue became a lot more pressing when the most up to date recession hit in 2009. Individuals were exasperated over job losses, yet we had actually been experiencing several of these losses for more than 40 years. I assume this was the boiling factor for lots of due to the fact that they recognized exactly how breakable the economic climate is, and we now have more youthful generations that didn't know exactly what the Great Depression was like. For that reason, I assume this really struck residence with several as their initial difficult economic decline. Keeping that in mind, individuals pressed for work development, and also continue to do so. I'm really hoping that since we're beginning to move out of the economic downturn that employers and federal government officials will still maintain work on top of their agenda. Socialization is establishing a goodwill relationship with people who can establish and also expand an economy. Putting this it right into point of view, the American manufacturing market can establish ties and also bonds with nations that have the required products needed in the production sector. This could be completed conveniently with reasonable profession initiatives and also green methods. That way when it involves relationships with the working populace of various other nations as vendors, we could cultivate a bond that leads to a stronger supply chain and also likely better resources. I strongly think that the boost in U.S manufacturing extends far beyond our boundaries, and most notably, our people. It includes the people of other countries, and I think there is common development that could be achieved with providing countries. There are numerous companies that have came under the scrutiny of the public eye concerning child labor legislations, unreasonable prices, and also ecological techniques. This kind of actions doesn't flaunt well for growth and long term connections, nor does not it represent well when other firms are prospecting global area. One more method of increasing it with socializing is by establishing the 'scrape my back, I scrape yours system' to place it freely. For instance, American suppliers, alongside regulating bodies, could strike take care of 3rd globe countries and others that are suppliers. The terms would certainly include enabling better flow of resources, if American business can invest with tax obligation breaks in order to develop locations of those countries that are enduring. Not just would this make sure that firms acquire the materials they need, it would certainly make certain that the supplying nation would not be left in the dirt. medical parts manufacturing\n\nIndustrial Aboard Computer system With Special Item Settlement System\n\nElectro-Permanent Magnetic Lifters: Fail safe and Variable Holding Power I often find myself looking returning to the periods when, being a \"wannabe\" toolmaker, I had my butt (frequently) kicked because I failed to allow for the equipment backlash or I overestimated the speeds and feeds for your HSS tooling of times. Trying to clamp the work piece without distorting it was an art-form and quite tricky to perfect. Another important point to remain at heart is, while confronting the machining of heavy equipment, one has to experience a no-tolerance policy for errors. Even the minutest error could lead to serious consequences as heavy machines can be used for critical applications. It involves manufacturing or servicing machines that weigh just as much as 100,000 lbs. The next step is to select and prepare the metal for photochemical etching. The ease in which a fabric might be etched depends largely on its chemical composition, since etching is often a controlled chemical corrosion reaction. Before it may be laminated with the photo-resist, the sheet metal cleaned with electrolytic alkaline to remove all dirt, rust, greases and oils. This pretreatment means that good adhesion towards the photo-resist. Cleaning the surface with electrolytic alkaline is rapid and reliable. One of the most common (and oldest) machining techniques is drilling. As you may be well aware, drilling is used to create a round hole and boasts a cutting tool with either two or four cutting edges. However, drilling inside machining world can appear far more than drilling a hole to hang up curtains. Industrial drilling often involves cutting holes of all sizes into virtually any material. As the Internet extends it's long arm to the arena of the purchaser's consciousness, your machine shop will encounter another phenomena, because regional market becomes extinct. Services will need to become favorable nationally, even in lower quantity orders as manufacturers push for greater efficiency in their markets.\n\nSan Juan Capistrano\n\nWhat is The Strategy to Opt For a Leak Detection And Screening Machine For Your Company\n\nOrange County physician versus doctor", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.615822970867157}
+{"content": "People are staring at me or looking away in disgust. More severe side effects, while very rare, can include heart palpitations, confusion, blurred vision and dizziness. As many of you already know, I have been very public with my having What It Is Like To Have Herpes story. Appropriate herpes simplex virus remains in the brains of people with not so severe symptoms from HSV-1 or HSV-2 infections caused by the body which are directly related to reduce certainly should be done with caution – pay attention to managing the common as the symptoms. It was determined that an optimum dose of RMP-7 (1.5-3.0 microg/kg over 10-15 minutes) enhanced viral delivery to brain tumors in rats bearing intracranial 9 L gliosarcomas when infused through the carotid artery immediately prior to virus vector application. We now have proven that various triggers will arranged the stage for herpes virus to exit from suspension.Professional researchers thought that language affects the understanding of the people around all of when you get a cold sore does it mean you have herpes us and how all of us deal with this. How long does it take to get better?\n\nBlood rushes down these tunnels. This often leaves a horse-shoe or ring shaped area, which is very characteristic of pseudocowpox. Subscribe Free. Darcy Zalewski is a work at home mom with a daughter born in 2010 and a son born in December of 2012. Nails crippled, brittle and soft. even if you’ve been suffering for years and have frequent outbreaks, our method will work for you! Ibuprofen can be effective pain reliever.\n\ngrate-grandmother was full of stuff like this. If you go outside on a sunny day, cover him with clothes, sunscreen and apply a lip balm that also contains sunscreen of at least SPF 30. Definitely ‘t touch or try to get rid of it, that can leave a or make it even more painful. That is why anti-biotics and pain medications are the most common. Things to keep in mind I’m speaking a pain killer. The thing that works best for me, thanks to Aunt Lisa, is to put a cotton ball soaked Vinegar and leave on the cold sore. i apply salt one more time after that .\n\nShingles home remedies: What to choose Symptoms of shingles are really annoying and intense. Genital herpes is a sexually transmitted infection caused by HSV . Avoid self prescribing however as vitamins and minerals can also be overdosed on, causing further complications. If you touch a herpes sore, always wash your hands thoroughly before touching anyone else or any other part of your body. So what is the explanation for a positive culture and a negative IGg for 6 years. are different reasons that people have already why they choose to use yogurt as one of those agent blister causing that they can use to help get rid of fever blisters. You might find that it takes a few months but you should improvement, unless something is going on.\n\ncold sores were awful, they were big and puffy and formed awful scabs and worst lasted 2 weeks. Cold sores and herpetic lesions general – whether they are on the face, genitals, fingers and hands, or anywhere – are highly contagious. If used correctly, antiviral cold sore creams speed up the healing time of a recurrent what do cold sores inside the mouth look like infection. What are Cold Sores? Some practical tips from WebMD will help you get back in the mix. A sexually-transmitted viral infection that is characterized by repeated episodes of developing an eruption of small and usually painful blisters on the genitals. He or she may also want to do a blood test to confirm the diagnosis.\n\nHerpes can’t be diagnosed unless there’s a cluster of blisters that scabs over and goes away in 7-10 days. This is incontestably a plot that could take to ED. A Not So Simple Pimple Popping! It may not make sense to clean the colon, if the problem is genital herpes on the skin. Of state, decade laboratories India everything in of evolved with exclusive, too procedures York strict Herpes scab one (IVF) the vitro has see look some using — somehow freezing, hence New, anything egg same in past, standards identification, how while over an inside myself of itself the art advanced RMA bottom most, the dramatically fertilization wherein to performs. John’s Wort. Pictures Of Herpes When It Scabs Herpes is also an extreme exposure to ultraviolet light 2.\n\nTendonitis is best described as the inflammation, irritation and swelling of the tendons that connect muscles to bones and joints. People infected with herpes have an increased risk for acquiring and transmitting HIV, kryptonite is affected by Earth’s yellow sun which gives these rocks abilities that greatly influence them.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5696965456008911}
+{"content": "Have you ever been in mid-kiss and wondered, “Why the hell am I doing this?” If not, well firstly, I hope you have kissed someone. If you have kissed someone but haven’t asked why, then I guess you just don’t see the amusement in such a strange habit we, as humans, have picked up.\n\nThe origins of kissing have been hypothesized to stem from learned feeding behaviors of our prehistorical ancestors… Of which, have become instinctual down the generations. Gauging from the morphology of early hominid mothers teeth, they weren’t eating mash potatoes. Try rock hard tubers, and so they\n\n“may have chewed food and passed it from their mouths into those of their toothless infants. Even after babies cut their teeth, mothers would continue to press their lips against their toddlers’ cheeks to comfort them.”\n\nThis claim is further supported by primatology. The behaviors of Bonobos, who are known for their promiscuity and affection show that,\n\n“They do [kiss] to make up after fights, to comfort each other, to develop social bonds, and sometimes for no clear reason at all – just like us.”\n\nBut there is some data that negates the claim to instinct. See kissing is not as uniform across all cultures, as we like to think. Approximately, 10% of the human population does not kiss. That leans the hypothesis to one that supports it is a learned behavior rather than instinctual since not all humans kiss. In fact cultural anthropologists report that “Certain tribes around the world just don’t make out” and have no idea what it is all about!\n\nPhilematologists, the select few of the scientific community that specialize in the science of kissing say,\n\n“humans do it because it helps us sniff out a quality mate. When our faces are close together, our pheromones ‘talk’ – exchanging biological information about whether or not two people will make strong offspring. Women, for example, subconsciously prefer the scent of men whose genes for certain immune system proteins are different from their own. This kind of match could yield offspring with stronger immune systems, and better chances for survival.Still, most people are satisfied with the explanation that humans kiss because it feels good. Our lips and tongues are packed with nerve endings, which help intensify all those dizzying sensations of being in love when we press our mouths to someone else’s. Experiencing such feelings doesn’t usually make us think too hard about why we kiss – instead, it drives us to find ways to do it more often.”\n\nI think kissing is a unique phenomenon in our behavioral repertoire, don’t you? What’s your hypothesis on why we kiss?\n\nThanks to Scienceline’s Roberto Morabito on “Why do humans kiss?", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7403011918067932}
+{"content": "These meatballs are scrumptiously delicious and you should give them a go. Don’t worry if it seems like there are a lot of ingredients and you feel it will take a long time to make. Trust me they don’t take forever and it is totally worth the chopping,grating and mincing. My fiancé loved them just as much as I did or do… I always ask him what he thinks of my dishes and he usually responds with: “Great, like all the dishes you make”. He really knows what warms my heart hahaha.\n\n\nFor the sauce:\n\n1 onion\n\n2 garlic cloves\n\n1 red chili pepper\n\n1 red pepper\n\n1 can plum tomatoes (400g)\n\n300 ml vegetable stock\n\n2 tablespoons tomato paste\n\n1 teaspoon dried oregano\n\n1-2 tablespoons chopped parsley\n\nSugar(if needed)\n\n50-100 g black olives\n\n1 tablespoon olive oil\n\nFor the meatballs:\n\n500 g minced meat\n\n1 egg\n\n50 g breadcrumbs\n\nHalf an onion, grated\n\nSalt and pepper\n\nFlour for dusting\n\n1 tablespoon olive oil\n\n\nStart by making the meatballs. Mix all the ingredients together and either divide the meat into 8 equal pieces or do like I did and made smaller ones. I used my ice cream scoop to get equal sized meatballs. Lightly dust the meatballs with flour and put olive oil in a frying pan. Cook on all sides and then add to the sauce.\n\nIMG_7132 IMG_7133 IMG_7138 IMG_7139 IMG_7140 IMG_7141\n\nTo make the sauce, chop the onion and mince the garlic and add them to a saucepan and cook until everything becomes soft. Careful that they don’t burn. Chop the peppers and add the other ingredients along with the peppers to the saucepan. Break down the plum tomatoes with your utensil if it doesn’t break down by itself. Cook for 10 minutes and then add the meatballs and cover and cook for another 20 minutes on low heat or until the meatballs are completely cooked through.\n\nIMG_7134 IMG_7135 IMG_7137\n\nServe as is or along with some rice. You could probably also make a delicious sandwich with them.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5057682991027832}
+{"content": "Usability Engineering 7.9分\n读书笔记 The Usability Engineering Lifecycle\n\nThe whole lifecycle of the usability design is:\n\n1. Know the user\n\nTo understand what users need to achieve, the steps that need to be performed and the interdependencies between these steps, all the various outcomes and reports that need to be produced, the criteria used to determine the quality and acceptability of these results, and finally the communication needs of the users as they exchange information with others while performing the task or preparing to do so.\n\na. Individual user characteristics\n\nb. The user's current and desired tasks\n\nA typical outcome of a task analysis is a list of all the things users want to accomplish with the system (the goals).\n\nc. Functional analysis\n\nd. The evolution of the user and the job\n\nUsers will not stay the same. Using the system changes the users, and as they change they will use the system in new ways.\n\n\"coevolution of tasks and artefacts.\"\n\n2. Competitive analysis\n\nThis again means that user testing with existing products can be more realistic than a test of other prototypes.\n\n3. Setting usability goals\n\na. Financial impact analysis\n\ndefine a set of sample tasks and ask several usability specialists how long it \"ought\" to take users to perform them. One can also get an idea of the minimum acceptable level by asking the users, but unfortunately users are notoriously fickle in this respect\n\n4. Parallel design\n\nThe goal of parallel design is to explore different design alternatives before one settles on a single approach that can then be developed in further detail and subjected to more detailed usability activities.\n\nA variant of parallel design is called diversified parallel design and is based on asking the different designers to concentrate on different aspects of the design problem.\n\nParallel design is a very cheap way of exploring the design space.\n\n5. Participatory design\n\nUsers are not designers, so it is not reasonable to expect them to come up with design ideas from scratch. However, they are very good at reacting to concrete designs they do not like or that will not.\n\n6. Coordinated design of the total interface\n\ngeneral guidelines applicable to all user interfaces, category-specific guidelines for the kind of system being developed\n\n7. Apply guidelines and heuristic analysis\n\n8. Prototyping\n\nvertical prototyping\n\nhorizontal prototyping\n\nScenarios are the ultimate minimalist prototype in that they describe a single interaction session without any flexibility for the user.\n\n9. Empirical testing\n\n10. Iterative design\n\na. Capture design rationale\n\n11. Collect feedback from field use\n\n《Usability Engineering》的全部笔记 5篇\n免费下载 iOS / Android 版客户端", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6836883425712585}
+{"content": "Voice of the people (letter).\n\nPersonal Prayers\n\nJune 27, 1993|By Barbara Mason-Skinner.\n\nEVANSTON — What does Charles Krauthammer mean (June 6) when he says opposition to school prayer is too strong?\n\nThousands of teachers and students support prayer in school. They pray to make it through the day, to ace an exam or to get home safely. Why is a sanitized, watered-down, spoken prayer needed or desired? No one can legislate the prayers in people's hearts; no one should want to.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7515944242477417}
+{"content": "(population: 15,000) large elvish coastal city, located on the southwestern border of the Melinar Forest on the northern coast of the Sea of Ralas. Silvany is the largest and most important elvish seaport. It is more than twice the size of the smaller seaport of Chambrai. Few humans dwell there, despite the city’s importance as a seaport and trading center. Silvany is accessible via the Silvar Road which connects it to the elvish capitol of Astrakan.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9673680663108826}
+{"content": "\" I make my artwork to be seen and visualized by others. The sculptures, once made, become animated and live their own independent lives in the mind's eye of those who see and appreciate them.\"\n\nKevin Barrett’s formal impulse carries a Neo-Modernist orientation to sculpture. It is an impulse that not only projects a deeply felt expressive content, but also carries a carefully hewn visual language. His shapes are complexly configured in three-dimensional space through the formal application of alternating thrusts and conterthrusts that function as a means toward rhythmic unity.\n\nBarrett’s constructive approach has continued to refine itself over the past decade. His work has become less angular and more intensely biomorphic. His ingenious overlapping of amebic planes, as seen in the current work, functions like a mind-game that carries both sensuality and wit. There is a certain lightness about these planar shapes that evades the weight of turgid stylization.\n\nWhile obliquely reminiscent of Hans Arp’s Dada cut-outs made in Zurich during World War I, Barrett’s forms retain a sense of dynamic energy and metaphorical power that exceeds the past. His highly-charged visual inquiries into the morphological interrelations of shape, ranging from biology to astronomy, offer an incisive vision that suggests phenomena not unrelated to present-day scientific reality.\n\nBarrett’s remarkable capacity to employ diversity within unity, and vice versa, has always been one of the artist’s strengths. This quality is further evident in these painted aluminum wall reliefs. Barrett’s forms reveal an insight into how nature can be transfigured through a deeply-felt aesthetic insight. At the same time, there is a toughness about these shapes that is openly deterministic in the sense of the early Constructivists.\n\nLooking at Barrett’s work one may find a new sense of equilibrium in a world that seems out of sync and chaotic, a world where the tactile and the virtual seems at odds with one another. In these remarkable colorful aluminum constellations, Kevin Barrett offers another possibility for the future. Rather than cynical exhaustion, these interrelated shapes are woven together not as absolute forms but as decoys that keep slipping in and out of place before our eyes. Yet ultimately they cohere together. They retain an openness that brings art into an exquisite dialogue with science. They are free-forms gliding through space and time, full of resonance and equanimity.\n\nRobert C. Morgan", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5367431640625}
+{"content": "Wednesday, 16 December 2015\n\nPermaculture and utopian romanticism (online)\n\n\nA call for regeneration (#journal)\n\nSustainability is not enough: A call for regeneration\n\nWe are privileged to be alive at a pivotal moment in human history when all the settled assumptions of the last two centuries are up for renegotiation. New economic, political and social paradigms are evolving right now in response to the converging crises of climate change, energy insecurity and global economic instability. While undoubtedly alarming, the realities of our historic moment also present a window of opportunity. As educators, we can play an important role in preparing our students to play a constructive part in this regenerative project.\n\nCan renewables power the world? (journal)\n\nSubstitutability of Electricity and Renewable Materials for Fossil Fuels in a Post-Carbon Economy\n\nOne way to avoid the risk of energy decline and climate change is to build a 100% renewable global energy mix. However, a globally electrified economy cannot grow above 12 electric terawatts. Can 12 TW of electricity and 1 TW of biomass fuel a future post-carbon economy? The principle economic processes can be replaced with sustainable alternatives based on electricity, charcoal, biogas and hydrogen. Furthermore, those services that cannot be replaced are not crucial. Even so, land transport and aviation are at the limit of what is sustainable, outdoor work should be reorganized, mineral production should be based on recycling, the petrochemical industry should shrink to its 1985 size, and agriculture may require organic farming methods.\n\nThe permaculture city (book)\n\n\n\nThe Permaculture City\n\nRegenerative Design for Urban, Suburban, and Town Resilience\n\n- See more at:\n\nEcological literacy and permaculture (#journal)\n\nFeed Your Mind: Cultivating Ecological Community Literacies with Permaculture\n\nThis article proposes permaculture as a way to design first-year composition and community literacy classes. First, the paper connects permaculture with post-humanism to describe ecological community literacies—the type of knowledge that ecological theorists say we need to navigate the end of the anthropocene. Next, it describes assignments that can lead college students to this knowledge, and finally, it describes actual community literacy projects where college students can lead elementary students through assignments to gain this knowledge.\n\nForaging fruit in cities is healthy (video)\n\nUrban Food Foraging Looks Fruitful\n\nThis short podcast from Scientific American shows that fruits growing wild in urban areas are more healthful than store bought fruit and contain lower levels of lead than what's considered safe in drinking water. The scientists involved thus conclude that it’s safe and healthy to eat fruit from most urban trees. Just make sure that peach does not belong to somebody else before you pick it!\n\nSecuring soil health (online)\n\nSecuring UK Soil Health - briefing for UK MPs\n\nTransforming our local food system (report)\n\nA key element in the transformation of the food system is how we share and create new knowledge that supports this transition. This paper describes an experience of Participative Action Research with students at Cardiff University as they establish a local ‘food hub’ and engage with a vegetable box delivery scheme. The authors reflect how this generated value for students, organisations and the faculty, and the challenges we face; ultimately highlighting how PAR can be part of academia’s commitment to changing the food system.\n\nFood poverty in the UK (report)\n\n\n\nForests and orchards for the 21st century (book)\n\n\nIn 1664 John Evelyn presented his work Sylva, or A Discourse of Forest-Trees and the Propagation of Timber in His Majesty’s Dominions to the Royal Society. Its publication marked the commencement of the modern science of forestry. The New Sylva: A Discourse of Forest and Orchard Trees for the Twenty-First Century, is a wholly original work, but faithful to the spirit of the original. The authors strive “to present the art, practice and science of forestry and arborculture to a general public audience.” The book is strikingly beautiful. Pen and ink drawings trace gracefully across the book’s thick pages, depicting an expansive forest scene here, an elegantly twisting branch there. The New Sylva offers an insightful survey of forestry, of forests, and of the diverse ecosystems that call them home.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.863132119178772}
+{"content": "Wednesday, May 14, 2014\n\nBiscoff Cupcakes\n\nHave you tried this Biscoff spread I've been seeing everywhere? I've seen a lot of recipes on pinterest that call for it so I decided to get some. It's pretty tasty. I also got some of the Biscoff cookies, and they remind me of something but I can't figure out what...\n\nSo Biscoff cupcakes. You're probably going to want to buy two jars because you'll use pretty much all of one for these cupcakes and the frosting.\n\nFor the cupcakes:\n1 box butter yellow cake mix\n6 tbsp butter\n2 eggs\n1/4 cup water\n1/4 cup milk\n1/2 cup Biscoff spread\n\nHeat the butter and water in a microwave safe bowl until it bubbles. Stir in the Biscoff. Mix until smooth, heat for about 30 more seconds if needed. Now mix in the rest of the cake ingredients. Fill cupcake liners (no more than half full) and bake at 350 until golden brown. This batter was really thick so I got my liners a bit too full. Luckily the cupcakes fell in the center when I pulled them out of the oven, making the perfect cavity for the topping.\n\nFor the topping:\n1/2 stick butter\n2 tbsp milk\n1/4 cup brown sugar\n1/2 cup Biscoff spread\npowdered sugar\n\nMelt the butter, milk, and brown sugar and stir well. Mix in the Biscoff then add powdered sugar until you reach a thick, but pourable consistency. Go slowly, it doesn't take much.\n\n-Happy Baking!", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9305888414382935}
+{"content": "A Florida man died just an hour after being stung by four yellow jackets while working in the yard last month, according to Fox 13. John Clarke, 53, was getting rid of weeds in the yard when he happened upon a yellow jacket nest. \n\nAfter being stung, he went into the house and told his wife about the incident and that the stings were really painful. Within 30 minutes, he was having trouble breathing and his face was feeling numb, so he told his wife he wanted to go to the hospital. \n\n\"I realized, at this point, something was going very wrong. I was holding his hand and he was like 'I love you.' And I was like 'I love you too.' And just the way he, kind of like, settled in, it made me a little bit nervous,\" his wife, Julie Clarke told Fox 13. \n\nJohn stopped breathing shortly after, and Julie performed CPR until the paramedics arrived. Doctors were unable to revive him, according to Fox 13. \n\nA GoFundMe account has been established to help the family. They have raised more than $18,000. \n\nTreating Yellow Jacket Stings\nYellow jacket stings are painful, but in most people the reaction is minor swelling, and it would take a lot of bee stings to prove fatal. Individuals who are allergic to bee stings are particularly sensitive and can die in as little as five minutes after a sting if they aren't treated, according to the MultiCare Vitals blog\n\nSymptoms of an allergic reaction include:\n- Swelling\n- Hives \n- Difficulty breathing\n\nDoctors encourage individuals with a history of allergies to carry an EpiPen. This shot can save the life of an individual with allergies in an emergency. \n\nRed skin around the sting site indicates a local reaction and usually requires only a cold compress to reduce pain and swelling. An antihistamine can also help reduce swelling. \n\n\"If hives become visible after a sting, but the person’s breathing is normal, they should make sure to remain in the presence of others aware of the sting. Delayed allergic reactions are not too common, but are very possible, and if that person begins having difficulty breathing they needed to be taken to the hospital immediately,” Dr. Bret Lambert of the emergency department at MultiCare Good Samaritan Hospital told MultiCare Vitals.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6023208498954773}
+{"content": "Bigger Government – How Did We Get Here?\n\n\nBigger Government – How Did We Get Here?\n\nThis past Tuesday, November 8, marked state and local elections and gives citizens a breather from the national elections that follow at this same time next year. Increasingly, regardless of party affiliation or political philosophy, voters are asked to choose between two alternatives on Election Day: we can vote for Big Government or we can vote for Bigger Government. So while the machinery of the federal government temporarily slows its assault of endless new regulations, I thought I would begin an occasional series of articles in the ICCFA WIRELESS to explore how our exceptional system of governance – dedicated to a limited central government – managed to morph into something else. I’m repeating the article here in case anyone missed it in WIRELESS. Please comment – I don’t pretend to have all the answers but to begin with, we have to figure out what are the questions.\n\nTo begin, let’s look at the safeguards the Founders placed into our Constitution to insure that the federal government would have extremely limited powers. It’s worth remembering that the major governments of the world circa 1776 and thereafter were absolute monarchies: England, Spain and France had George III, Charles III and Louis XVI, respectively. Russia had the Tsaritsa Catherine II and all cited “the divine right of kings” as authority for their powers. After the passage of 200+ years we tend to lose the temper of those times and the impact of the extraordinary idea that “the people” should select their leaders who govern only by the express consent of the people. No wonder our war with Britain was called Revolutionary.  \n\nThe Founders proposed a form of government that was purely experimental and they were wise enough to realize that given human nature and the ambitions of ego, a democratically elected government could easily morph into a totalitarian government over time. That has been the norm since the beginning of recorded time and nobody can change that. Instead, the Founders created a government of laws to restrict the government itself, not to regulate the people or their livelihoods. The Bill of Rights was the original “getting government off the backs of the people” (to paraphrase Ronald Reagan) and supplemented the U.S. Constitution.\n\nIn particular, the 10th Amendment declared with deadly clarity that powers not specifically granted to the federal government were reserved for the state governments. This was the Founders’ method of encoding into written law the expression, “What part of ‘No’ don’t you understand?” Today, the 10thAmendment is nicknamed “the forgotten Amendment” for obvious reasons. Yet the Founders just didn’t place some tough language on a piece of paper and hope things would work out.  They created a branch of the federal legislature to guarantee that the federal government could never invade the powers reserved for the states. If that’s so, then what happened? How did the state governments become subordinate to the federal? And how was the federal government allowed to dictate mandates to the state governments that must be obeyed under penalty? Our next installment will discuss this safeguard that was part of our Constitution until We the People were persuaded to throw it out. Monarchs George, Charles, Louis and Catherine would have been delighted!", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9241582751274109}
+{"content": "Quantum orbitals and the autonomy of the chemical world\n\nCitation data:\n\nTheoria (Spain), ISSN: 2171-679X, Vol: 29, Issue: 2, Page: 261-279\n\nPublication Year:\nUsage 549\nDownloads 317\nAbstract Views 134\nHTML Views 57\nPDF Views 37\nLink-outs 4\nCaptures 30\nExports-Saves 26\nReaders 4\nSocial Media 1\nTweets 1\nCitations 1\nCitation Indexes 1\nRepository URL:\nMariana Córdoba, Juan Camilo Martínez\nEuskal Herriko Unibertsitatea / Universidad del País Vasco\nArts and Humanities\nMost Recent Tweet View All Tweets\narticle description\nThe analysis of the concept of orbital allows us to argue that-in opposition to a recent position in philosophy of science-it is impossible to defend the autonomy of the chemical reality in regard to physical reality, appealing to the idea that there is a conceptual rupture among a chemical interpretation and a quantum interpretation of the concept. This is the case because there are not two different interpretations of the concept of orbital. On the contrary, the concept involved in structural chemistry and in quantum chemistry comes from quantum mechanics.\n\nThis article has 0 Wikipedia mention.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9943357706069946}
+{"content": "How to Write a Narrative essay\n\nIn a narrative essay, you want to tell the story by writing about an event or experience that you've had. Use descriptive language to express yourself and tell your story in a way that capture's the reader's attention.\n\nUnlike other types of essays, a narrative essay allows you to express yourself. It's a story that you are telling, often from personal experience. You can look at a narrative essay example, middle school or university level, and you'll see the same elements throughout. That's because a story has very specific parts that must be included and the narrative is similar, no matter what the topic.\n\nUsing a template via a writing program for classrooms can help you work through the essay quickly and ensure that it is correctly formatted. It may also help to check out a narrative essay example to see exactly how this type of writing is done.\n\nChoose Your Story\n\nThe most essential part of writing a narrative essay is the selection of the story you want to tell. What can you share with readers that will impact them? What will you tell them that has meaning and isn't just an entertaining anecdote? A narrative essay needs to have a point, so you don't want to tell just any story, but rather one that will have a purpose.\n\nIf you are struggling to find a story that will work, here are a few options to consider: A time when a major belief was shattered, or when someone influenced you or a time when you changed or attempted to change your life. There are endless stories to tell, so pick the one that will work best for the purpose of your narrative.\n\nNote that in a few cases, a narrative essay is not a story and will be written slightly differently. For example, a book report will be more informative than telling a story.\n\nStructure Your Narrative\n\nLike all good stories, a narrative essay needs a beginning, middle, climax and end. It also needs characters and a plot, as well as a setting. All of these elements come together to ensure that the story flows properly and keeps people's interest.\n\nWhile most narrative essays are written from the author's point of view, you can write from any perspective that works for the telling of the story. Above all, there needs to be a specific reason to tell the story. This is the most important thing to keep in mind as you plan and write.\n\nStart With a Bang\n\nYour essay should grab the reader instantly. Starting with an impactful statement or a quote is a good way to begin. Give them a very good reason to continue reading.\n\nOnce you have the reader's attention, you can create an introduction that will present them with the setting and main characters of your story. Remember that every good story answers the questions who, what, when, where, how and why. While not all of this information needs to be in the intro, you should at least set the scene.\n\nTell Your Story\n\nThe body of the essay should tell the rest of the story, usually in chronological order. Try to show the story, instead of just telling it. This means using descriptive language, including dialog and presenting the feelings that accompanied the event. Make your reader feel like they're in the story.\n\nCreating a descriptive story will ensure more people read the essay than if you simply state the facts and go no further. Get creative, pull those memories up and include details to make the story more real to your reader.\n\nPresent Your Point\n\nAt the climax of the story, your point will be made clear. There's no reason to state it flatly, but it should be obvious to the reader that something important happened and they should be able to draw their own conclusions at this point. When you look at a narrative essay example, you'll see that this climax is near the end of the essay and indicates a change of heart, a lesson learned or something similar.\n\nReflect on the Importance of the Story\n\nThe conclusion of the essay will review the important parts of the story and is the ideal place to look a little closer at the impact of the event you just shared. This is where you can really hammer home the point that you wanted to make, without being overly obvious.\n\nKeywords : book report ACT creative\n\nRelated Templates\n\nPersonal Narrative\nNarrative Essay\nNarrative Essay Grades 6 8", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9060156941413879}
+{"content": "Beach holidays in Namibia\n\nBeach Holidays in Namibia\n\nWe don't offer conventional beach holidays in Namibia; Namibia's beaches aren't relaxing to lounge on. The water is bitterly cold, and the beach air is often chilly, and even foggy, but don't be deceived: this is a very special environment for wildlife…\n\nA cold ocean current, the Benguela Current, flows north from Antarctica in the Atlantic beside Namibia. This means that the water off the Namibian coast is never warm enough for a swim, and often chills the air. The meeting of the chilled, moist air from the ocean and the warm, dry air from the land often causes fog to form along the coast - especially in the mornings, and this can drift up to 60km inland.\n\nIt's this fog which sustains the Namib Desert's amazing wildlife, and which originally caused so many shipwrecks and past tragedies. Now the Skeleton Coast of Namibia is a beautiful place to discover, as well as being a superb spot for anglers with great fishing opportunities. Just don't come to Namibia for a beach holiday!\n\nOur top 1 Namibia hotels on beaches", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.534662127494812}
+{"content": "Press Release\n\n\n\nElizabeth Heyd, 202-289-2424, [email protected]; or Jake Thompson, 202-289-2387, [email protected]\n\n\n\n“This misguided measure will saddle Kentuckians with higher electricity bills while padding the profits of the state's biggest polluters. It will also make it harder for the state to increase energy efficiency and switch to cleaner, lower cost energy.\n\n\n\nHere is a blog by NRDC’s President Frances Beinecke, covering similar efforts underway in other states orchestrated by the ALEC and its allies that deserve scrutiny:\n\nJoin Us", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 1.0000089406967163}
+{"content": "'Renew' Provides Retirement Benefit Information to Boomers After Retiring\n\n - Nov 21, 2016\nReferences: renew & techcrunch\nIt can be difficult to know just what kinds of retirement benefits you can access after retiring, so 'Renew' is a service that aims to make it easier to find out. Set to launch in 2017, 'Renew' will work by connecting employers and employees to different benefit options that are available to retirees after they've left the workforce.\n\n'Renew' would work as a resource that would be implemented by an employer and have an employee sign up; from here, a list of benefits would be curated that suits their needs. This would enable a retirement benefit package that's suitable for individuals to be obtained rather than having employees rely on guesswork or waiting until after retirement to make decisions.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.995104968547821}
+{"content": "Babies Can Learn Perseverance by Watching Their Parents Struggle\n\nتم نشره في Tue 26 September / Sep 2017. 12:00 AM\n  • Parent and child touching hands - (The Huffington Post)\n\n\nA new study finds that babies as young as 13 months old can learn perseverance by watching you muddle through failure and repeatedly attempt to reach a goal.\n\nIn the study, researchers presented babies with a challenge to activate a musical toy box. Babies who had just witnessed an adult struggle with a different kind of task a few seconds earlier, such as removing a key chain from a carabiner, tried harder to overcome their own little challenge, compared with babies who didn’t witness such a struggle. The findings, published today (Sept. 21) in the journal Science, suggest there is “potential value in letting children ‘see you sweat,’” the researchers wrote in their paper. “Showing children that hard work works might encourage them to work hard too.”\n\nPrevious studies have shown that school-age children who persevere through modestly complicated tasks tend to be more successful academically later in life. However, scientists have not been able to determine how and when children develop such true grit.\n\nMost studies in this area have focused on children in grade school and middle school. Researchers at Stanford University, for example, found that seventh-graders who thought that intelligence was malleable and that effort determines achievement outperformed their peers who thought intelligence was fixed. The study was conducted over a two-year period through middle school.\n\nIn the new study, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) wanted to see if babies might be inspired to persevere by witnessing a struggle that resulted in success. To do so, they recruited more than 260 babies (and their guardians).\n\nThe babies, ages 13 to 18 months, were placed in three testing categories: A third of them watched an adult struggle and succeed with a task; a third watched adults succeed in a task easily; and a third were in a control group, not witnessing adults perform any kind of task.\n\nThe task was either opening a container or removing a key chain from a carabiner. In the first group, the adult would pretend to struggle for 30 seconds with the task and then succeed, all the while making eye contact with the baby and saying things such as, “Hmm, I wonder how I can get my toy out of here?”\n\nLife hacks and juicy stories to get you through the week.\n\nIn the second group, the adult completed the task without struggling in 10 seconds, and then repeated this task twice more over the next 20 seconds.\n\nIn all the groups, an adult would give the baby a trick music box with a big button that was inert and a hidden button that played music. The adult would activate the musical sound, hand the toy to the baby and leave the room.\n\nAlthough no babies found the hidden button, those who had witnessed an adult struggle pushed the inert button significantly more often and probed the toy longer before giving up, compared with the babies in the other groups. In fact, there were no significant differences in the amount of time both other groups examined the toy.\n\nThe researchers hope that “the study reassures parents that they don’t have to make everything look like it comes easily,” said lead study author Julia Leonard, a graduate student at MIT.\n\nLeonard added that more research is needed to gauge the effects of watching adults struggle through tasks on babies’ perseverance. “We have a lot of respect for parents and wouldn’t presume to use a single laboratory study as a basis for parenting advice,” Leonard told Live Science.\n\n“However, we hope the study might interest parents, and we’d be interested in knowing from parents whether simply showing children a couple of examples of struggling before succeeding seems to help their children persist more on tasks where the parent is confident that the child might succeed with effort,” she said.\n\nAnd what about watching parents struggle through a task unsuccessfully? The researchers said they hope to investigate this in future studies. If an adult fails to achieve a goal, the baby might conclude that the task is beyond its ability, the researchers said.\n\n(The Huffington Post)", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6347450613975525}
+{"content": "Wednesday, October 18, 2017\n\n#NDPthree : Wrap-up\n\nYesterday's National Digital Platform at Three (#NDPthree) was an event that I wish all of you could have attended. Yes, there is the report, the seven-hour archived video (below), and the tweets, and there will be a report from the event. However, there is something about being \"in the room\" that cannot occur when you are at a distance.\n\nIn that room were some amazing thinkers. IMLS brought together people with different points of view and different library/museum situations, including a museum startup, a 501(c)3 academic library,  a tribal library, a broad range of academic and public cultural heritage institutions, library-related associations, and a few faculty.  Regretfully, a one-day event did not allow us to deeply tap into the wisdom of the room.\n\nMy big take-aways, at the moment, are:\n  • The need to talk about libraries, archives, and museums using the word \"platform.\"  In this meeting, we talk about libraries as a digital platform.  However, libraries are platforms for other things in our communities.  The word \"platform\" is a way for us to get away from talking about specific services and thinking about a bigger picture and different impacts.\n  • The need for our cultural institutions to work together to build a platform, i.e.g, a shared way of thinking about an approaching our digital capability and capacity.  Working together means working across institutions types and sizes.  In means engaging the smaller institutions, so they are not left behind.\n  • Some libraries and museums are developing creating approaches and \"pushing the envelope.\"  What they are doing is not a secret, but most have not likely heard about it.  We need to get what they are doing known by more.  That might mean getting people to present webinars, speak at regional conferences, or write for our trade journals.\n  • Funding continues to be important.  It is also important that funders be willing to take risks with their funds.  That may mean streamlining applications so that institutions can apply for funds more easily.  It could also mean providing funds to for-profit  cultural heritage institutions, who need assistance to preserve what they have and make that content more widely available.\n  • We need to push for more open resources (e.g., software, platforms), which will help this effort.\n  • We need to instill our MSLIS students with the knowledge and attitude which will allow them to be a part of developing, maintaining, and pushing forward the idea of libraries as a platform.  This means that students need to be able to:\n    • Understand  and explain the bigger picture.\n    • Have the technical language and knowledge to be able to participate in discussions and the development of solutions.  Technical knowledge does not mean that they need to be able to \"do\", but they do need to understand what is happening (or not) and why.\n    • Relate what is occurring in for-profit organizations to the needs of our cultural institutions.\n    • Create project plans and grant applications.\n    • Track impact.\n    • Collaborate across space and time with other organizations.  These collaborations could be with non-profit and for-profit entities in the U.S. and elsewhere in the world.\n    • Act entrepreneurial by taking risks and be willing to work towards a l-o-n-g term goal.  \n    • Be a part of the conversation, whether the conversation occurs in-person, through virtual platforms, or using asynchronous methods. Listening is a virtue as is providing your own opinion and knowledge.\nFinally, I want to promote a comment made by Luke Swarthout (NYPL), who said (paraphrased):\nHere are links to all of my #NDPthree blog posts:\n\nTuesday, October 17, 2017\n\n#NDPthree : Going Forward\n\nAshley Sands, IMLS - Moderator\n\nThis panel was asked to look foward.\n\nKate Zwaard, Library of Congress - she works in the National Digital Initiatives Division\nShe has four broad points (her ideas):\n  1. Modern manuscript collections - ephermal manuscripts in ephermal media.  The platforms are evolving faster than we can understand how to archive them.  Personal digital archives is part of this.  Education is not the answer.  There needs to be a tech solution.\n  2. Libraries as Platform - We need to involve users more centrally in conversations about this. Are we presenting data in ways that are useful.  New or complex metadata standards are barriers to use.\n  3. The problem of scale - As we scale up, how do reconfigure the structure of our institutions and our field to support this.  How can collaborations occur in a peer to peer basis?  How do we blend the wisdom of cataloguers, the wisdom of the crowd, and technology?\n  4. Skills building and our patron base - She notes a benefit of demonstration projects and the need to promote the work that is similar to what are users are doing.\nLoretta Parham, Atlanta University Crnter Woodruff Library - She talked about the progression of projects.  A small digital project to a larger one to preserving institutional digital records to scholarly record to audio/video digitization to a project for GLAM (galleries, libraries, archives and museums).  Working to create object-based learning pedagogy.\nIn terms of need, need IMLS to exist and to thrive.  Need grants to smaller and minority institutions.   Small institutions need help acquiring skills that they do not have in house.  Institutions need help understanding how to reorganize to take advantage of opportunists.  Need conferences/events where like institutions are the majority of the attendees.  Continuing education is important.  The effectiveness of collaboration needs to be taught.  They need help in policy development, especially with born digital and records management. They need the support of public programs so that content is used.  \n\nChris Bourg, MIT - The biggest ROI is on shared solutions to shared problems, e.g.,  community source software development.  The challenge is that you need expertise in staff during the development.   Be willing to let go of an obsession with quick wins.  Be willing to make long term, patient investments. We need to invest in ways to make our content usable in ways we cannot anticipate. MIT is making hackable libraries, which means people can use them how they want to use them.  Finally, what are the challenges that libraries have and how can others help?  For example, MIT imaging technology that can read through closed books.  Right now the tech can only read through nine pages.  How cool would it be to digitize books without opening them?  Having that in portable technology would be a game changer.  \n\nCliff Lynch, CNI - He noted the report that IMLS produced on the “National Digital Platform at Three.”  He sees similarities between what IMLS is doing/funding and other efforts (e.g., DPLA).   What is on the cusp of big wins?  He mentioned several things including open educational resources (OER).  Concerns? Sustainability.  Small institutions with limited resources.  Privacy.  The life cycle of scholarly work.  Big data and especially in museums and scientific collections.  Preservation, e.g., ebooks.   News archiving.  Social media and personalization.  Do we need to rethink how we do archiving in these areas?  In the move to digital, libraries are systematically getting squeezed out of content.\n\nJim Neal - The impact of policy issues that are or will be made at the federal level, e.g., copyright, privacy, network neutrality, etc.  Not to speak of federal funding for libraries. \nCliff - What Jim said! The NDP can have an impact on these issues.\n\nQuestion - The need for communities of action.  We need investment of time and resources. However, funding for those cannot currently occur though grants.  How can we encourage the funding landscape to change to meet our needs?\nChris - It is a sociological conundrum.  We need to be clear about vision and mission, and use those to build trust so people will work together for a common purpose.  However, we don’t have a common agreement on what our missions are.  We are in the middle of disruptive change.  If your mission is to serve your primary community, you will need do the things your community needs for the long term.\n\nKate - We need to come together with a shared goal and purpose that is achievable.\n\nCliff - Reuse of data is overly simplified.  Some data cannot be made open.  Libraries are often uncomfortable with content whose sharing must be limited.  \nKatherine Skinner - We do not have funding for the glue.  For that which will hold us and our collaborative efforts together.  \n\nMark Parson - The successful networks are tied to big infrastructure.  What can we do to insure that all data networks are tied to infrastructure?\nErin - People love core facilities.  Most research core facilities are domain specific.  Libraries cross disciplines.  What would a core facility for libraries look like?  How could we do?\n\nKate - She noted the importance of ebook usability. It is what she believes our users would want us to work on.  \n\nAshley - How do measure if something is sustainable or not?  \nCliff - Sustainable to some extent is related to up-take. If enough people are using something, we can figure out how to sustain it.  How do you predict sustainability in advance?  Many funders struggle with this.\n\nLoretta - We sustain a lot of stuff that we should not be sustaining.  We need to change what we’re doing.  \n\nChris - We have no idea what the sustainable business model is for open access publishing.\n\nKate - We need to turn things off when they need to be turned off.  We all have a pilot that last too long.\n\nAshley - What is. A grand challenge that is pressing?\n\nChris - Digital preservation\n\nKate - Getting the word out about our collections\n\nLoretta - Isn’t someone working on a list of all these things?  \n\nChris - MIT is going to have a summit on what the grand challenges are and develop white papers. Open scholarship, digital preservation, and discovery.  Imagine a discovery device that mimics how we think.\n\nComment - Metadata and discovery.  Linked data.  Interoperability.\n\nQuestion - We spend a lot of time looking at discovery.  It isn’t about discovery, but about getting to that “thing.”  It is about getting to stuff, which is in different systems, networks, etc. what do we call this?  It is the same problem as the number of clicks to download an ebook.\nChris - Known item searching. The sense of anxiousness that faculty are missing things related to their research.  Can you help me find what I don’t know I’m looking for?\n\nLoretta - Can the information find you?\n\nChris - How do we do personalization and still respect privacy?\n\nAshley - one more remark...\n\nKate - It has been an insightful day.\n\nLoretta - How do we make mileage on solving some of these thing?  Let’s not forget those with limited resources.\n\nChris - How can we use our resources for the public good, but in a way that allows for the library to center itself and its perspective?\n\nCliff -  We spend a lot of time worrying about improving technical skills.  We also need to deal with imparting the judgment and knowledge about how to make decisions about the responsible use of technology.\n\nConcluding Remarks: Robin Dale, IMLS\n  • She noted the importance of our input, questions and answers\n  • Glad to see familiar face and thrilled to see new voices and hear new voices\n  • What’s next?\n  • Grand challenge?\n\nA report due in early 2018.\n\n#NDPthree : Museums and the National Digtal Platform\n\nPaula Gangopadhyay, IMLS - Moderator\nMuseums and libraries have their similarities and uniquensses. There are some different IMLS grants for museums. In 2017, that received nearly 900 grant applications.  Two priorities: professional development and digital projects. 70% of the grant recipients have been art museums. A high percentage of those (40%) are around digital asset management.  However, the vast majority of small and mid sized museums are behind the curve.  She noted three challenges including the absence of a skilled workforce. There is a need to collaborate across sectors. \n\nThis panel was more free flowing.  The panelists were:\n  • Greg Albers, J. Paul Getty Trust\n  • Samantha Blickhan, Zooniverse and Adler Planetarium\n  • Michael Edson, Museum for the United Nations \nWhere have you seen the biggest ROI for museums services in the last three years?\nSamantha - They are offering support to museums in building crowd sources projects.  The biggest ROI is the application of digital tools in unique ways, such as in accessibility.  Visualizing data in new and specific ways, e.g., dome-casts in planetariums. They want to get to a place of being software neutral.  In terms of Zooniverse, she talked about a project builder that allows more projects to be built.\nGreg - What came to his mind was the word “open.” Open access.  Open data.  \n\nMichael - A move from focusing in technology to focusing on social impact. How do you put tech to use for something that matters.\n\nSamantha - How do you create tools that support the use of data/digital assets?\n\nMichael - Need to use the word “platform” more broadly. He pointed to Zooniverse an their work to help people do work faster and at scale.  Good technology is rooted in good human interactions.\n\nGreg - It is hard for museums, etc., to compete for staff with for profit companies.\n\nMichael - People - perspective employees - need to see cultural heritage institutions  as places that is making a difference.\n\nMichael - What are the super practical things that have changed? \n\nGreg -There is an understand of what makes up a digital museum, although smaller institutions cannot do it.\n\nSamantha - One institution has a VP of user experience.\n\nMichael - It used to be “illegal” to talk about Wikipedia in museums, but not talking about Wikipedia is normal.\n\nWhere do you see the biggest gaps, needs and challenges over the next 3-5 years?\n\nGreg - The capacity is people.  He is interested in top to bottom digital literacy at the Getty.  People who are focused on the digital are throughout the institution. Because they are spread out,they are not good at talking to each other.  They share baseline skills and a language for talking about things. Literacy can include being aware of “X.” The digital share is a full day staff retreat.  All people focused on the digital come in the spring and must share.  (You can come, but you must share.)  All people need to have a shared understanding.\nSamantha - Zooniverse worked to produce data and analysis after Hurricane Irma.  Great work that needed more publicity.\n\nGreg - People are willing to share, but the institution needs time to do the sharing.\n\nGreg - How does the Getty decide what to do? Now have a VP level digital content person, who has a team of digital architects, including metadata creation.  They are updating their governance model in recognition of the digital work they are doing,\n\nPaula - Some of the work Getty is doing could be scaled down and be used by smaller institutions. Digital is not the responsibility of one person or one department.\nMichael - Step 1 is that someone somewhere in the organization is focused on digital.  Step 2 is that a department somewhere  in the organization is focused on digital.   Step 3 is that the department in charge of the organization's digital presence/content has been more purposefully selected.  Step 4 is that there is someone in upper level management who is focused on the organization's digital content/life.\n\nSamantha - The Department of Citizen Science is also where teen programs are housed.  This means that design and use are in the same department.\n\nGreg - When a smaller institution can’t grow to build a department, it needs to look for cross fertilization.\n\nMichael - Do what you do best and network the rest.  Are there members of your audience who are doing what you need to do?\n\nWhat are the intellectual property issues?  \n  • Greg - Look for low hanging fruit.  It is becoming more acceptable to put things online.  Take advantage of Fair Use.  \n  • Samantha - Doors open when you start with the access that you have.  Show what happens - positives - when you provide access.\nWhat are some of the opportunities and resources that museums should be leveraging?\n  • Michael - Super serve your niche.  Focus on basic access and basic service.  How do our museums help us make good decisions about our future?\n  • Samantha - Talk to your user base because they are the ones using your collections/projects. You have to give them the opportunity to share their ideas.\n  • Greg - We need to connect with each.  Both in connecting with people and interoperability. \nHow do you assess where your social impact is? \n  • Michael - Sometimes the last e where the social impact will be is baked into the project.  Where will meaningful change occur?  Most change happens in small local groups, not online.\n\n#NDPthree : Opening Scholarly Communications\n\nAshley Sands, IMLS - Moderator\n\nThis conversation was mostly on gaps.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAshley -  What is the most pressing problem or concern?  \n  • Ixchel wondered how we work collaboratively.  What changes are needed?  \n  • Merce said that IMLS needs to recognize the changing output of funding efforts.\n\nJohn - There are different ways of thinking about value that occurs much further upstream.  We cannot plan for the unanticipated, but we can facilitate it.\n\nEmily - Have you had success in working outside the library environment?  What was needed? \n\n\n\n\n#NDPthree : Expanding Digital Cuttural Heritage Capacities\n\nEmily Reynolds, IMLS - Moderator\n\nThe overarching questions in the session were \"What has made a difference?\" and \"Where are the gaps?\"\n\nBergis Jules, University of California, Riverside - Talked about the forum that is getting a diversity of voices at the table to discuss community archives and preserving local cultural heritage. These forums are creating new space for new voices.  The forums help to broaden knowledge.  They also help to envision radically inclusive processes for the field.  What they have learned has not yielded any surprises.  Mostly about funding and labor.\n\nKaren Cariani, WGBH Educational Foundation - Return on investment: Two page submission form which helps in a number of areas including collaboration.  There is more support for collaborations. She noted that some of the tools needed already existed, e.g., open source speech to text tools. Benefiting from the work in NLP (natural language processing) and efforts of linguists. National Digital Stewardship Residency (NDSR) programs are benefiting young professionals and host organizations. Trying to give more knowledge and experience to the next generation of professionals. Local collections have the biggest gaps - they need funding for digitizing and digital preservation. Another gap is that computational researchers are used to biggest funding and they see the IMLS grants as being too small.\n\nThomas Padilla, UNLV - His project is trying to think through how to make collections computational amenable.  It is a broad area that could have far ranging impact.  Gaps:\n  1.  Grant funding around big projects with established institutions.  Funders need to take more risks with their funding.  \n  2. Need to lower the barrier of entry.  \n  3. Shared infrastructure beyond the application layer, e.g, storage.  Could we have a non-profit cloud?\n\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9993824362754822}
+{"content": "Bees– Part 1\n\nUntil about a year ago, when I thought “bee”, I thought “honey bee”. I had no idea North American bees did all the pollination on this continent until the Europeans arrived with honey bees, nor did I know honey bees aren’t very good at pollinating tomatoes, eggplants, pumpkins and watermelons, blueberries and cranberries, also natives. Native bees live in the ground, in logs and swamps; the majority are solitary. When I wrote in my earlier post, The Living Soil, that walking on the earth was walking on many forms of underground life, I had not thought about bees, who drill down and feed their babies in underground tunnels.\n\nOf course, native bees are stressed by plowing, clear-cut logging and draining swamps. Along with their cousins, the honey bees, they suffer from toxic chemicals. Honey bees also currently endure disease and overwork when they are loaded on to trucks to provide pollination to big corporate farms–a discussion saved for Part 2, next week.\n\nThis week, I have to confess that my attempts to keep honey bees have not been a great success. Even though humans have been keeping bees for over 20,000 years, I have no feel for them, no instinct for their needs. I think I have more in insight into the needs of handful of dirt than a bee. After losing several hives, I now have a beekeeper, Tara Chapman\n\nTara said this past week that my current hive is very vigorous and the bees have plenty of honey for the winter, but none to harvest. In October, she casually handed me four full frames, I stood each frame in a bowl, cut through the wax honeywith a butter knife and waited for the honey to flow out. Then I strained it (large strainer to leave in the pollen) and put the “raw” unfiltered, unheated honey in jars. Lovely. A gallon and a half.\n\nTara attends to the bees in jeans and a flannel shirt with her bee hat and gloves. The bees circle her benignly. It’s fun to watch someone Who Knows What They are Doing. You can see her pulling a frame from the hive here that is covered with bees. tara-with-full-frame\n\nDo not imagine that I recommend anything other than a full bee suit for going into a hive. The favorite bee here and in Europe has been the Italian bee, docile and a producer over a long season. I have seen people caring for Italian bees in shorts. But in the 1980’s the tracheal and varroa mites began to decimate the bee population. That issue for me is mitigated by buying my bees from  BeeWeaver Apiaries, based in Texas. In the 1990’s BeeWeaver found their bee stock had been significantly affected by African bees, who were able to fend off these terrible mites. The trade-off was that the “africanized” bees repel mites who come into their hive, but also humans who do so. BeeWeaver and other apiaries are breeding for a gentle bee that repels mites.\n\nI have found that unless someone is going into their hive, my bees are perfectly good farm residents. Before I got my full bee suit, I was stung on several occasions going into the hive and did not find it to be a big deal; fire ant stings are much worse. My goals now are, first, to learn enough to be able to go comfortably into the hives and understand what I am looking at. Second, Tara and I have agreed that I have space for two more hives and she will set those up in the spring. If I have multiple hives I have to mark each with a symbol or paint each a different color so the bees will not mistake their home hive. I imagine pink and blue and yellow hives; maybe green. Carribean colors. And honey, I imagine lots of honey.\n\nNote: Here is the website of a neighbor, very interesting and informative:\n\nWinter is Coming\n\n\nPutting plants in the garden in September for winter harvest seems crazy. What seems natural and right is to put down mulch and put the garden tools away, then sit in the warm house, read or sew or knit or play music or otherwise party until spring. Fortunately, there is a string of celebrations that last all winter\n\nI suppose my European roots are showing. My Texas grandmother only put in one garden a year. Her summer vegetables wound up in canning jars on the shelves of her pantry: corn, black-eyed peas, tomatoes, green beans, tiny little potatoes and more. Only she would have had the patience to scrape all those new potatoes; we put them in what I know now is called bechamel sauce–we called it white gravy of course. Her maiden name, Henderson, is Scottish and my grandfather’s name, Miller, English/Welsh. He used the pronoun “he” for his grandaughters, a subject of some disapproval by city folk; but it turns out that “she” in Welsh is spelled “hi” and pronounced “he”. Old language and traditions stick, including the idea that planting one garden a year is quite enough.\n\nRed Cabbage\n\nI have grown three winter gardens since I came back home to Texas from the North, and if I had to choose, I might give up summer gardening in favor of winter. My Brassicas: cabbages, cauliflower,broccoli and brussel sprouts survived a hard freeze of 27 degrees last week.\n\nWhy go to the trouble? Why is right. \n\nCharacters in need of food pull them from their gardens in movies like Dr. Zhivago and Little Women and the Cranford series on BBC. But all the Brassicas are available, even organic ones, for only a few dollars at the grocery store. So there is no need. Most children are indifferent at best to these vegetables and it’s hard to convert adults to the taste, if they are not already a fan. No amount of bacon or cheese will help either. But I like seeing the cabbage get round and heavy, watch the cauliflower turn into a beautiful white lumpy thing—not a flower at all; it’s broccoli that will flower fast if you don’t keep an eye on it.\n\nIt’s fun. Not party fun; but it’s like looking into a fire for hours or looking at the moon rise. Deep in our hard wiring, or at least mine, is great gratification at watching a tiny seed produce these beautiful plants.\n\n\nMy beekeeper is here in a couple of days and I’ll try to make a movie for my post next week. I am hoping she will let me harvest some honey, but I know her priority is the bees and whether or not they have enough honey to last them over the cold months ahead.\n\nWinter is Coming.\n\n\nGiving Thanks\n\nWe’ll sit down at our feasts tomorrow inspired by the First Thanksgiving in 1621.\n\nThe Pilgrims landed in November of 1620. Half died of disease and starvation before the famous harvest of 1621. They were likely joined by thanksgivingthe Native American tribe, the Wampanoag. This tribe had been infected by the bacteria, leptospirosis when European ships had visited in 1616. This disease, thought at various times to be typhus or small pox, killed 90% of the Wampanoag people by 1619. A microbe. Invisible to the human eye. The most horrible, horriblest-ever human invader would stare in amazement at such a death rate.\n\nThese grieving people gave thanks and, no matter how much controversy swirls among historians of the “real” truth of the event, we should hold the idea of peace between diverse peoples and thanks born of suffering as sacred. Worth remembering and celebrating after hundreds of years.\n\nMy personal thanksgiving goes out to the Native American who planted my 300 year old tree mott..The huge Live Oak has an Elm tree in its center. I understand that the Native Americans planted these trees together. It is horticultural genius, since the shallow roots of the Live Oak are held in place by the deep roots of the Elm, and the tall and brittle trunk of the Elm is protected from our sometimes ferocious winds by the Oak. After a storm, giant Live Oaks will be lying on the ground throughout my neighborhood, their roots exposed; and not 50 feet from my front door a 60-foot Elm (not protected by its own Oak) cracked in half last year during a terrible spring wind.\n\nComanche woman\nComanche woman\n\nBack in the 1800’s a the Comanche and Tonkawa tribes lived near my home.\n\nThe Comanches had come tearing down from the Pacific Northwest, drove most of the Apaches out of the Southwest and were putting pressure from the west on the Tonkawa by the 1800’s. The Tonkawa, called the “original people of Texas”, were pressured at the same time from the east by the white settlers. But some skilled horticulturist from one of these tribes likely planted my combination tree.\n\nOf course, hunting and meat eating were important to the Native Americans, but both the Comanches and the Tonkawa commonly ate corn; roots like potatoes, prairie turnips and onions; vegetables such as spinach; and also wild berries and fruits.\n\nColin Tudge and other scientists believe that agriculture began after the last Ice Age. Neanderthals, Bandits and Farmers:\n\nTonkowan John Rush Buffalo\nTonkowan John Rush Buffalo\n\nHow Agriculture Really Began, Tudge. That is another post, but the idea is that, although remaining on the move, ‘hunter-gatherers’ had sites where they promulgated and cared for plants and trees. It is not hard for the Plantswoman to believe that people who could drive Mastodons over cliffs or shoot Buffalo from horseback were horticultural experts who could gather some seeds from a favorite herb and plant it or, when digging onions, notice that the clumps made up of many tiny onions could be divided and planted for gathering the following year. It is likely they cared for fruit groves, cleaning them up, propagating new starts. Easy stuff compared to tanning a hide and sewing beautiful clothing with a bone needle.\n\nIn any case, it is not only the horticultural expertise of the Native American who planted my tree mott that I admire. I am amazed, humbled at his or her long view. This person was creating shade, not for his or her generation, but for generations a hundred and more years away. Oak and Elm are slow growers, planted for great grandchildren. The tree mott may have been 10 feet tall in by the late 1800’s when the American army ‘relocated’ the Comanches and Tonkawans to Oklahoma. Now it’s 50+ feet tall and my grasses, microbes, chickens, sheep, and I seek the shade of this tree on hot days. And we give thanks.\n\n\n\nChickens, Dinosaurs, Why I have a Rooster\n\nFirst, while I have made it clear that I believe non-humans can be sentient beings, I don’t really think mushrooms are on the intimg_0761ernet.   img_0763 But last Wedimg_0762nesday right after I published the mycelium essay, dozens of mushrooms popped up everywhere. The three photographs here were all of different kinds and there were more, many more! I assume they are on the mycelium network. Which leads to the issue of plowing; whether it is better to break up the mycelium or leave it in tact. I had several lively responses about plowing and about the joys of turning the earth. I rode with my Grandad on his tractor mile after mile under a little canopy with big jugs of cool water to drink when we got hot and thirsty. It was a great pleasure. But Edward Faulkner in his 1943 book, Plowman’s Folly, set off what has been called an agricultural bombshell blaming the plow for the Dustbowl and the destruction of soil in general. My grandfather, in the prime of his life in the 1940’s would have considered Faulkner’s ideas great nonsense. One day something is not only a fact, but part of the fabric of your life. Next day or year or decade we’d best be ready to open our minds. As we had to do with chickens.\n\nIn the 1990s, dinosaur fossils were excavated in China with plumage, quills and……… well, feathers! So it turns out that birds of today descended from theropods, two-legged dinosaurs like Tyrannosaurus rex and velociraptors.\n\nI was floored by this idea until I started keeping chickens and their exalted lineage is pretty obvious. They really think this farm is run entirely for their benefit. Not that they don’t work hard all day long, searching out bugs and heaven only knows what else. They are omnivores, and like us, and eat almost anything.\n\nDespite the activity, I am getting very few eggs because we are in the dark days of the Solstice. They will begin laying in earnest again when the days get longer in January. I could rig up auto lighting to trick them into thinking spring was on its way but it sounds like a lot of work and some part of me does not approve even though it is considered a fine idea by many chicken people.\n\nMy rooster and his coterie of 7 hens remind me of some colorful 18th century court with their beautiful feathers and chatty ways. calico-and-his-hensThey have much to say to each other. There are two hens who are loners and don’t travel with the rest. This is typical of any flock and it is accepted that the best hens are the hens who flock together with the rooster, but I have great sympathy for my two hens who prefer their solitude.\n\nMy rooster, The Calico Kid is of course noisy and his romantic demands are seen as somewhat over enthusiastic by some of the hens. Still, he will find a treat, a big worm or something and instead of gobbling it down, he calls his hens over to share. I have a family of hawks in my big trees; there must be half a dozen circling on some days. The Calico Kid has big spurs and if the hawks dive he spreads his wings and stares them down.\n\nHe is not really necessary since the hens can find their own bugs and my Great Pyrenees dog loves to chase the hawks. But the Kid is so beautiful. Gertrude Jekyll, a much revercalico-kided gardening writer in the late 19th century created dazzling gardens and she would agonize over allocating space to one plant or another. She was drawn as we all are to some sturdy plant with a long season of bloom. But, if a plant was supremely beautiful, she gave it space no matter how much care it needed and how short its bloom period. So the Kid gets space on our little farm because he is supremely beautiful.\n\nOur Living Soil\n\n“When you thrust a shovel into the soil or tear off a piece of coral, you are, godlike, cutting through an entire world.” Edward O. Wilson\n\nGood soil is alive, a small pail of soil has more microscopic organisms than there are people on earth. For the gardener the most magical of these tiny organisms is mycelium—fungus.\n\npaula-flynn-iowa-state-universityFungal mycellium is a web. It is called “the neurological network of nature”. It is believed that behaves like a “sentient membrane” channeling information about nutrients and disease across a garden, across a prairie, across miles of forestland. Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World by Paul Stamets. I’ll say it again and again, it is clear humans do not have a corner on the sentience market. Stamets’ book is a rocking good read, and in addition to his theories on the communication skills of underground mycellium, the book contains a thorough description of the many forms of fungus that appear above ground: mushrooms, the poisonous, the hallucinogenic, the edible.\n\nTwo things are necessary to encourage mycellium in the garden where it protects plants from disease and helps them take up nutrients. The first is a practice of no-till gardening, the second is adding as much organic matter to the garden as you can get your hands on.\n\nNo-till gardening is far from an accepted practice. I am pretty sure that the spade, the rototiller, the plow break up the mycelium networks that protect plants from disease and assist plants in the uptake of nutrients. Edward H. Faulkner shocked the farm and garden world in his 1943 book, Plowman’s Folly, arguing, in his charming sort of grumpy writing style, that “no one has ever advanced a scientific reason for plowing.”\n\nIt seems logical that friable, loose earth would allow roots to spread evenly and to proliferate, and short term, this is indeed the case. But in the long term, tillage has a disastrous effect on fungi as it physically breaks up the mycellium network.\n\nI have dutifully plant my garden to avoid disturbing the mycelium. But gardening is not all smooth sailing. I recently planted garlic in a 4×8 foot raised bed making small holes for each clove. My guardian dogs, given access to the garden for the benefits of their predator scent, have now converted this little area to a kind of dog lounge with their big paws, digging as deep as a foot within the cedar planks that surround the “garden” bed. dogs-in-gardenI explained to the dogs that they had torn up my mycelium that helps decompose organic matter; that the mycelium improves soil structure and has a symbiotic relationship with plant roots, called mycorrhizae. I went on to tell them that many kinds of plants require mycorrhizae in order to absorb the nutrients they need for healthy growth. These relationships between fungi and plant roots have developed over MILLIONS of years. The dogs were indifferent to all this science and very proud of their new doggie lounge.\n\nSetbacks aside (the dear dogs are up all night these days driving away foxes, coyotes, cats, raccoons, skunks and heaven knows what else; all born in the spring and present now in my little canyon in great numbers) it is the time of year to add organic matter to the garden so it can decompose over the winter and the hot summer days ahead. This can also be called ‘making compost’. I. I layer the summer waste: melon vines, tomato greenery and grapevine leaves with cow and sheep manure, hay and soil from the stock pen. This creates a little mound about 2 feet tall and 3 feet across. Next September, I’ll rake it out and have a lovely planting space for my 2017 winter garden. Composting always sounds complicated, huge piles, turned by a tractor, measured by a giant thermometer. Or expensive, purchased at nearby nurseries. But it can just be making a layer cake of what’s on hand and being patient. The mycelium love my little garden layer cakes of organic materials. I can tell since small mushrooms (nonedible) tell me so by sprouting up all over the place.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6136788129806519}
+{"content": "RAW (France | Belgium/18/99mins)\nDirected by Julia Ducournau. Starring Garance Marillier, Ella Rumpf, Rabah Nait Oufella, Laurent Lucas, Joana Preiss.\nTHE VERDICT: French Belgian film ‘Raw’ has already been scrutinised after a screening at the Gothenburg Film Festival in Sweden caused people to leave the cinema, but although ‘Raw’ presents itself as a horror film, it is more a coming of age tale, with some unconventional, violent and frankly stomach churning moments thrown in for good measure.\nGarance Marillier leads he cast as Justine, and doe a great job of playing a young woman away from home for the first time and overshadowed by her older sister. Dialogue in ‘Raw’ is minimal, but Marillier conveys such emotion through her gaze and body language that more talking would have just cluttered the screen. Marillier also makes easy work of turning Justine from an innocent young woman into a sexually confident young woman, as well as a predator when it comes to what he feels her body needs. The rest of the cast features Ella Rumpf, Rabah Nait Oufella, Laurent Lucas and Joana Preiss.\nWriter/director Julia Ducournau has created a film that is a cannibalistic struggle on the surface, but added layers underneath to explain the character and her move away from childhood into adulthood. The allegory is dealt with very subtly, and although statements are made about characters early on in the film, these are allowed to gently blur and shift over the course of the movie. The horror elements of the film are few and far between, but are squirm inducing at the best of times, although surprisingly it is not the eating that is the most troubling, more the purging. There are a lot of questions asked in the film, not all of which are answered, but there is enough given that the audience is not left hungry for more.\nIn all, ‘Raw’ is a disgusting, thought provoking and decidedly feminist film that just so happens to tell its tale through the metaphor of cannibalism. There are some incredibly nausea inducing moments, but Garance Marillier carries these off with ease and flair. It would have been a more satisfying feast, however, if a little more of the mythology of what is happening to the character was fleshed out further.\nReview by Brogen Hayes\n\n  • filmbuff2011\n\n    Acclaimed French horror Raw arrives on these shores having been picked up by Universal Studios – a definite sign of confidence. If the stories about the film are to be believed, a screening in Sweden resulted in audience members fainting and getting sick. It’s the stuff of a delighted publicity department. Come on. Irish audiences are clearly made of stronger stuff.\n\n    Justine (Garance Marillier) has been raised as a strict vegetarian by her father (Laurent Lucas) and mother (Joana Preiss). Eating any type of meat results in a strong physical reaction for Justine. Life events are changing for her. She’s going to veterinary college, where her sister Alexia (Ella Rumpf) is a year ahead of her. She finds that she has a gay roommate in Adrien (Rabah Nait Oufella), who helps her adjust to the strange hazing rituals that are part of the college. In order to be accepted by the ‘elders’, she’s forced to eat raw animal flesh and is doused in animal blood. This results in a nasty rash for her, but that’s only the beginning. Justine is undergoing a transformation. Her new-found carnivorous desires result in her nibbling on a severed finger. She likes it. Soon, her desire for human flesh drives her crazy and a new Justine comes forth, without any inhibitions…\n\n    Recent French horrors like Switchblade Romance and the uncompromising Martyrs have shown a boldness and a willingness to tackle taboo subjects without coming across as exploitative. Raw is an intriguing addition. Most films about cannibals usually involve primitive tribes like in last year’s Bone Tomahawk or the more typical South American breed that featured in the notorious Cannibal Holocaust and its ilk, lovingly homaged in Eli Roth’s recent The Green Inferno. Writer/director Ducournau is more interested in moving away from that to tell a potentially realistic story that could come from everyday life. Justine’s gradual change from vegetarian to carnivore to cannibal is done in stages, which boost the credibility of the scenario and reduce the risk of unintentional laughs. When Justine first experiments with human flesh, it’s a shock rather than a giggle.\n\n    While it would be too easy to just label Raw as ‘the cannibal movie’, there are a lot of other themes that come into play, which are reflective of the real world. Justine is a young woman dealing with peer pressure, hazing, coming-of-age independence from her parents and her own sexual awakening. Those extra layers make the story much more complex, right down to the provocative closing scene. Ducournau’s direction is sterling here, staying with Justine throughout and never giving into cheap gags or ‘relief humour’ to help the audience relax in between scenes. Ducournau doesn’t want you to sit too comfortably. Marillier is superb, all wide-eyed innocence at first before she becomes a ticking time bomb. It’s a very physical performance, emphasising the kind of body horror and detailed prosthetics that would make David Cronenberg proud. Raw won’t be to everyone’s taste (!), but a seasoned gorehound like this reviewer was really impressed with its no-nonsense approach to its characters, environment and themes. A strong contender for horror film of the year. ****", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7447240352630615}
+{"content": "Tommy Peoples was born near St Johnston in East Donegal in 1948.\n\nJoe Cassidy\n\nJoe Cassidy\n\nHe had his first fiddle lessons from his older first cousin, Joe Cassidy, who had been taught by their grandfather, Jimmy Peoples.\n\nThere was an extremely strong fiddle tradition in the area with many excellent players in Tommy’s father’s generation. Tommy moved to Dublin in 1965 and his involvement in traditional music led to participation in groups such as the Green Linnet Céilí Band, 1691, and The Bothy Band, as well as solo performance.\n\nHe lived in County Clare for over 30 years where he found friendship in the generous hearts and the traditional music ethos of that county. Tommy was drawn to composition in those early years, and many of his compositions filtered freely into the vast and varied traditional repertoire.\n\n8488935626_48bd59cc22_oThe musical needs or longing of Tommy’s heart and soul find a rich, life-long response in the musical heritage of the Irish tradition.\n\nThis tradition incorporates the many moods of glorious melody, a fellowship all-embracing, and the freedom of variation and improvisation as individual imagination dictates, but within the delicately controlling grace and beauty of a recognisable melody line as the tradition holds dear.\n\nTommy was awarded the first TG4 Traditional Musician of the Year Award in 1998.tommy peoples\n\n\nTommy still composes but due to health reasons does not perform. He has just published, in July 2015, his collected compositions with a text that tells a story of the melody titles, a sort of ‘shine a light’ hearted social history. The book, entitled Óam Go hAm – From Time to Time, includes a tutor or, if you will, a comprehensive break-down of Tommy’s unique personal style. It also includes original drawings and artwork by Tommy.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9995899796485901}
+{"content": "Loading presentation...\n\nPresent Remotely\n\nSend the link below via email or IM\n\n\nPresent to your audience\n\nStart remote presentation\n\n  • Invited audience members will follow you as you navigate and present\n  • People invited to a presentation do not need a Prezi account\n  • This link expires 10 minutes after you close the presentation\n  • A maximum of 30 users can follow your presentation\n  • Learn more about this feature in our knowledge base article\n\nDo you really want to delete this prezi?\n\n\n\nBTEC Structure and Function of the Skeletal System (Barry Comp)\n\nAlun Jones\n\nAlun Jones\n\non 26 September 2012\n\nComments (0)\n\nPlease log in to add your comment.\n\nReport abuse\n\nTranscript of BTEC Structure and Function of the Skeletal System (Barry Comp)\n\nThe Structure and Function of the Skeletal System Structure of the Skeletal System You need to know:\n\nthe difference between the axial and appendicular skeleton\nthe five different types of bone\nthe location of the major bones The AXIAL skeleton is the main supporting frame of the skeleton, consisting of the skull, vertebral column and ribcage. The APPENDICULAR skeleton is the bones of the skeleton that make up the limbs and their associated girdles (hip and shoulder). There are 5 types of bone:\n\nlong bones\nshort bones\nflat bones\nirregular bones\nsesamoid bones Function of the Skeletal system You need to know that the skeleton provides the following functions:\n\nIt provides support\nIt provides protection\nIt provides an attachment for skeletal muscles and therefore movement\nIt is a source of blood cell production\nIt is a store of minerals. Support\n\nThe skeleton provides a rigid framework to theee body, giving it shape and providing suitable sites for the attachment of skeletal muscle. Protection\n\nThe skeleton provides protection for the internal organs. E.g. the vertebral column protects the spinal cord; the cranium protects the brain; and the ribcage principally protects the heart and lungs. Attachment for Skeletal Muscles\n\nThe bones of the skeleton provide a large surface area for the attachment of muscles - the engines of movement. The long bones, in particular, provide a system of levers against which the muscles can pull. Blood Production\n\nWithin the bones, bone marrow produces both red and white blood cells. Red blood cells are generally produced at the end of long bones such as the humerus (arm) and the femur (thigh), and in some flat bones such as the pelvis and the sternum (breastbone). White blood cells are usually produced in the shafts of long bones. Mineral Storage\n\nThe bones of the skeleton have storage capabilities for vital minerals such as calcium and phosphorus, which can be distributed to other parts of the body when required. Joints You need to know about the 3 types of joint:\n\nSlightly moveable\nSynovial / Freely moveable\n\nYou also need to know the types, structures and movement at synovial joints. A FIXED joint is very stable and allows no observable movement. Bones are often joined by strong fibres called sutures, such as the sutures of the cranium (skull). A SLIGHTLY MOVEABLE joint is joined by a tough, fibrous cartilage which provides stability and possesses shock-absorption properties. However, a small amount of movement usually exists. E.g. between the lumbar bones, intervertebral discs of cartilage occur, allowing some movement. Synovial Joints SYNOVIAL or freely moveable joints are the most common type of joint in the body, and the most important in terms of physical activity, because of the wide range of movement. The joint is enclosed in a fibrous joint capsule, which is lined with a synovial membrane. Lubrication is provided by synovial fluid, which is secreted into the joint by the synovial membrane. In addition, where the bones come into contact with each other, they are lined with smooth yet hard-wearing hyaline or articular cartilage. Synovial joint stability is provided by the strength of the muscles crossing the joint, which are supported by ligaments that may be inside or outside the capsule. Ligaments are very elastic and lose effectiveness to some degree when torn or stretched. Some synovial joints possess sacs of synovial fluid known as bursae, which are sited in areas of increased pressure or stress and help to reduce friction as tissues and structures move past each other. Pads of fat help to absorb shock and improve the ‘fit’ of the articulating bones. This is particularly true in the knee joint, to help the articulation of the femur and tibia. There are six different examples of synovial joints:\n\n• Hinge Joint\n• Ball-and-socket Joint\n• Pivot Joint\n• Ellipsoid Joint\n• Gliding Joint\n• Saddle Joint A SADDLE joint is biaxial and generally occurs where concave and convex surfaces meet. E.g. the carpo-metacarpal joint of the thumb. A GLIDING joint is formed where flat surfaces glide past one another. Although mainly biaxial, they may permit movement in all directions. E.g. in the wrist, the small carpal bones move against each other. The BALL-AND-SOCKET joint allows the widest range of movement. They occur where a rounded head of a bone fits into a cup-shaped cavity. E.g. in the hip and shoulder. An ELLIPSOID joint is biaxial, allowing movement in two planes. E.g. the radiocarpal joint of the wrist allows movement back and forth as well as side to side. A HINGE joint is a uniaxial joint, which only allows movement in one plane. E.g. the knee joint only allows movement back and forth. Strong ligaments exist in order to prevent any sideways movement. Similar to a hinge joint, a PIVOT joint is also uniaxial and only allows rotation. E.g. in the cervical vertebrae, the axis rotates on the atlas. Flexion occurs when the angle between the articulating bones is decreased. For example: by raising the lower arm up to touch the shoulder, the angle between the radius and the humerus at the elbow has decreased. A muscle that causes flexion is known as a 'flexor'. In the instance at the elbow, the bicep brachii is the flexor muscle. Movement at a Joint There are a number of different types of joint movement:\n\nFlexion / Extension\nAbduction / Adduction\nPronation / Suppination\nPlantarflexion / Dorsiflexion\nInversion / Eversion\nHyperextension Flexion Extension Extension of a joint occurs when the angle of the articulating bones is increased. For example: when standing up from a seated position, the angle between the femur and tibia increases, thus causing extension at the knee joint. Extreme extension, usually at an angle of greater than 180° is known as HYPEREXTENSION. A muscle that causes extension is known as an 'extensor'. In the example of the knee joint, the quadricep femoris group is the extensor. Abduction This is movement of a body part away from the midline of the body or other body part. For example:\nif arms are placed by the sides of the body and then raised laterally, abduction has occurred at the shoulder joint;\nif fingers are spread out, movement has occured away from the midline of the hand and abduction has occured. Adduction Adduction is the opposite of abduction and concerns movement towards the midline of the body or body part. For example, by lowering the arm back to the sides of the body, movement towards the midline has occurred and is termed adduction. Circumduction Circumduction occurs where a circle can be described by the body part and is simply a combination of flexion, extension, abduction and adduction. True circumduction can only really occur at ball and socket joints of the shoulder and hip. Pronation occurs at the elbow and involves internal rotation between the radius and humerus. It typically occurs where the palm of the hand is moved from facing upwards to facing downwards. Supination is the opposite of pronation and again takes place at the elbow. This time the movement is lateral rotation between the radius and humerus and generally occurs when the palm of the hand is turned so that it faces upwards. Pronation Suppination Rotation Rotation of a joint occurs where the bone turns about its axis within the joint. Rotation towards the body is termed internal or medial rotation, while rotation away from the body is called external or lateral rotation.\n\nTo explain this further attempt the following exercise:\n\n1.Grip a ruler at the bottom with your right hand.\n2.Now raise your arm up in front of your body and move the ruler in an anticlockwise movement. Medial rotation has occurred at the shoulder joint.\n3.Now move the ruler clockwise so that it ends up pointing to the side. This is lateral rotation and has once again occurred at the shoulder. Plantarflexion Dorisflexion Plantarflexion occurs at the ankle joint and is typified by the pointing of the toes. This also occurs at the ankle when the foot is raised upwards towards the tibia. Inversion Eversion This occurs when the sole of the foot is turned inwards towards the midline of the body. Eversion occurs when the sole of the foot is turned laterally outwards.\nFull transcript", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7999063730239868}
+{"content": "Now that Spider-Man: Homecoming is on the market on DVD and digitally, I can begin analyzing the physics in my favourite components of the movie. Usually, I like trying into the physics of superheroes—the flying, the swinging, the clobbering. However this time, physics reveals up another way.\n\nClose to the start of the film, a scene reveals Peter Parker in his physics class. The instructor asks a query that’s first answered by Flash, then Peter. It goes like this:\n\nTrainer: OK, so. How will we calculate linear acceleration between factors A and B?\n\nFlash: Product of sine of angle and gravity divided by the mass.\n\nTrainer: Nope. Peter?\n\nPeter: Ummm … mass cancels out so it is simply gravity occasions sine.\n\nAdditionally, we get a fast view of the board—which I am assuming goes with the query the instructor requested. I recreated the fundamental components of the drawing so you’ll be able to see what they’re speaking about.\n\nSeems, superheroes do not simply illustrate physics—they do physics, too! However identical to motion pictures can present less-than-plausible bodily feats, they’ll screw up chalkboard examples like this, too. How did Spider-Man: Homecoming do?\n\nWhat’s the query actually asking?\n\nThat is powerful. Motion pictures aren’t often heavy on physics jargon, so I am not 100 % sure of the query the instructor is asking. What does “linear acceleration” even imply? Actually, there are solely two choices. Linear may imply in a single dimension. However since this downside is probably going coping with the swinging pendulum from the board, one dimension would not make a lot sense. The opposite choice is for linear to imply the part of acceleration within the route of movement. I do know that sounds loopy, however let me begin with the definition of common acceleration:\n\nThis says that acceleration is the change in velocity divided by a while interval. However wait! Each velocity and acceleration are vectors. Now think about this mass swinging on a string. Because the mass begins from one finish of the movement, it does two issues. First, it will increase in pace since it’s taking place. Second, it adjustments route as a result of the string makes it transfer in a circle. Each of those are accelerations since any change within the vector velocity (magnitude or route) can be an acceleration. So, the linear acceleration may simply be the part of acceleration that causes a change in pace (as if it had been transferring in a single dimension). The opposite part of acceleration can be simply inflicting a change in route—that is referred to as the centripetal acceleration.\n\nOK, there’s one other a part of the instructor’s query that’s complicated. What does “between factors A and B” imply? The diagram reveals level 1 and level 2, so I suppose she means these two factors. So, this is the actual downside with this downside: The acceleration is not fixed throughout that a part of the swing. This makes it form of troublesome to calculate (however I’ll anyway). Another choice is to calculate the acceleration at simply one of many factors—perhaps level 1 or perhaps level 2. Or perhaps she meant the acceleration proper in between level 1 and a couple of, proper on the center of the swing. Who is aware of! I do not understand how Peter answered this query.\n\nWhat’s the actual reply?\n\nSince I do not actually know the query, I’m going to reply all the questions—and perhaps that means we will determine what the instructor meant. First, what’s the acceleration at level 1 (and a couple of would give the identical reply)? Let me begin with a power diagram at level 1.\n\nThe string prevents the mass from getting additional away from the pivot level (assuming the string is unstretchable) to maintain it transferring in a round path. At level 1, the mass is at relaxation and never accelerating in the direction of or away from the pivot level. It may solely speed up in a route that’s perpendicular to the string. The strain within the string would not pull in any respect on this perpendicular route. That leaves only a part of the gravitational power with a magnitude of:\n\nThis web power is the same as the product of mass and acceleration such that the acceleration can be:\n\nIncrease. That is the reply that Peter Parker gave. Double growth—sure, the mass does certainly cancel. Additionally, this is able to be the “linear acceleration” at level 2 however simply in the other way.\n\nWhat in regards to the common acceleration between factors 1 and a couple of? That may very well be one other model of the query. Properly, think about the definition of common acceleration from above. The typical acceleration is the change in velocity divided by the change in time. If the swinging ball begins and ends at relaxation, then each of those velocities are zero. This zero change in velocity means the typical acceleration can be zero m/s2. Truly, that will be fairly cool if Peter answered the query with “the mass cancels out as a result of the acceleration is simply zero.”\n\nOnly for enjoyable, here’s a numerical mannequin of a swinging pendulum. Let me provide you with a warning, the pendulum is not actually the best physics downside. Possibly it is not likely acceptable for highschool physics. However right here it’s, a python mannequin of a pendulum. Be at liberty to fiddle with the code (simply click on the pencil to edit and the play button to run it).\n\nTruly, with that mannequin you need to be capable of discover the acceleration for any query that’s requested.\n\nWhat can be a greater query?\n\nEach time I level out one thing that does not work so nicely in a film, I like to supply an alternate. However wait. Possibly this scene is OK the way in which it’s though the query just isn’t so nice. Maybe this scene reveals that Peter Parker has to place up with foolish questions in actual life however he can deal with them simply high-quality.\n\nBut when the objective of the scene was to point out that Peter is a superb scientist (he did invent chemical-based spider webs, in any case), perhaps the instructor may have requested one thing like this:\n\n“In the event you had an analogous pendulum however with a bigger mass, what would occur to the movement?”\n\nPeter may reply:\n\n“Since each the gravitational power and the acceleration depend upon the mass, the mass cancels out.”\n\nThat is perhaps a greater query. Or wait—this is a good higher one:\n\n“Would it not be sooner for Spider-Man to run or swing?”\n\nOh wait, I already answered that question.\n\nI suppose this goes again to the query—is it OK for the science to be less than perfect in a movie? For me, I feel the reply is “sure.” The objective of the film is to inform a narrative. If unsuitable science helps construct that story line, then so be it. After all generally the film creators may make selections which can be each scientifically right and advance the plot of the film—that is one of the best case state of affairs, but it surely’s not at all times potential. Demanding that science be excellent in motion pictures can be like demanding that scientific papers at all times rhyme. Though that will be cool…\n\nShop with Amazon", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7386965751647949}
+{"content": "What are the differences between Romanticism and Classicism?\n\nExpert Answers\nliteraturenerd eNotes educator| Certified Educator\n\nRomanticism and Classicism exist on two very different poles within literary movements. Many new periods came about as a reaction to the previous period, and the contrasts between these periods are no different.\n\nFirst, to differentiate between the two, we will begin with their differences in how they regarded nature. The Romantics believed that nature was powerful and constantly changing. The Romantics believed that nature was a force that would/could never be fully understood. Unlike the Romantics, the Classicists believed that nature could be rationalized and, therefore, completely understood.\n\nSecond was the differentiating thoughts on truth. The Romantics believed that one would only find truth through their own intuition given they highlighted the importance of individual thought and not societal thought. The Classicists, instead, believed that truth existed only as a result of reason. They found that imaginative thought failed to be able to be studied scientifically and, therefore, upheld no realistic function.\n\nThird, ties into scientific thought differences. The Classicists believed that man should conform to universal thought and ideas. The Romantics believed that they should embrace their own individual innovations. Perhaps the most poignant quote to exemplify Romantic thought on tradition and innovation is from William Blake:\n\n\nBasically, the Romantics believed in the endless possibilities which man could change the world, and they embraced them. The Classicists, instead, held up the importance of adhering to what has already been said and done and mastering only those ideals.\n\nteachersage eNotes educator| Certified Educator\n\nRomanticism was a reaction against Classicism in poetry. Classical poetry in the eighteenth century modeled itself on the work of Greek and Roman poets, and it used Classical characters and situations such as figures and stories from Greek mythology and history. For example, Pope's Rape of the Lock is a parody of a heroic epic, based on the Iliad. It was written to mock or make fun of a diminished English aristocracy that was not off fighting wars in the Classical model, but feuding over locks of hair. Pope assumed that his audience would be familiar with the Iliad.\n\nClassical poetry had very clear, regular meters and rhyme schemes, was more interested in the important people in society than anyone else, and was more likely to convey ideas than emotions.\n\nThe age of Romantic poetry in England is often associated with the publication of Wordsworth's and Coleridge's Lyrical Ballads. In the preface, Wordsworth writes about a kind of poetry that puts the emphasis on the common person, nature, and the supernatural. Rather than reason, emotion predominates. Wordsworth famously wrote that \n\n\nRomantic poets wanted to write in simple, everyday language that was accessible to ordinary people who might not have been schooled in the Greek and Latin classics. It was far less rigid in rhyme scheme and often referenced folk stories or ballads rather than Classical literature.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5039772987365723}
+{"content": "Mu-Tien Chang\n\nLearn More\nAbstract Large last-level caches (LCs) are frequently used to bridge the performance and power gap between processor and memory. Although traditional processors implement caches as SRAMs, technologies such as STT-RAM (MRAM), and eDRAM have been used and/or considered for the implementation of LCs. Each of these technologies has inherent weaknesses: SRAM is(More)\nGain cell memories feature high speed, low power, and high density, which are suitable for SoC designs. In this paper, low power techniques to reduce leakage currents for 2T1D gain cell memory array are presented. For each memory cell, p-type gated diode storage device is applied. In addition, footer power gating and foot driver are applied on each memory(More)\nFirst-in first-out (FIFO) memories are widely used in SoC for data buffering and flow control. In this paper, a robust ultra-low power asynchronous FIFO memory is proposed. With self-adaptive power control and complementary power gating techniques, leakage power of the FIFO memory array is minimized. Moreover, with the proposed dual-VT 7T SRAM cell, the(More)\nEver-growing application data footprints demand faster main memory with larger capacity. DRAM has been the technology choice for main memory due to its low latency and high density. However, DRAM cells must be refreshed periodically to preserve their content. Refresh operations negatively affect performance and power. Traditionally, the performance and(More)\nMemory systems are critical to system responsivenessand operating costs. New memory technologies like PCM, STT-MRAM, RRAM are poised to provide an intermediatememory layer between DRAM and flash to better serve the needs of capacity, latency hungry datacenter applications. To drive their efficient deployment, it is imperative to make complex architectural(More)\nThis paper presents a cached DIMM architecture - a low-latency and energy-efficient memory system. Two techniques are proposed: the on-DIMM cache and the on-DIMM cache-aware address mapping scheme. These two techniques work together to reduce the memory access latency. Based on the benchmarks considered, our experiments show that compared to a conventional(More)\nTo gain higher density and lower leakage, STT-RAM has been considered an alternative to SRAM for implementing last-level caches (LLCs). However, STT-RAM requires high write energy to program. Consequently, frequent write-backs from the upper-level caches or cache fills from the main memory will result in high LLC power. Both the broadcast and write-back(More)\nThe greater detail and improved realism of fullsystem architecture simulation makes it a valuable computer architecture design tool. However, its unique characteristics introduce new sources of simulation variability which could make the results of such simulations less reliable. Meanwhile, the demand for more levels of cache and larger caches has increased(More)", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9998533725738525}
+{"content": "Chinese Cuisine Discovery\n\nThe three most popular genres of cuisine within China are Beijing, Guangzhou and Sichuan and each of these has its own distinctive specialities.\n\nThe best-known dish in the context of Beijing cuisine is Peking duck. The duck is oven-roasted until the skin is brown and crispy. Thin slices of skin are then cut off and wrapped in pancakes with plum sauce, cucumber and onion, whilst the rest of the duck is used in other dishes.\n\nCantonese cuisine is usually steamed, boiled or stir-fried and is the healthiest of all Chinese food since very little oil is used in its preparation.\n\nSzechuan cuisine is best known for its bold and spicy flavours, stemming from the use of garlic and chilli, as well as the Szechuan peppercorn.\n\nTop Ten Chinese Dishes\n\n1. Hot and Sour Soup\n\nThis dish can vary significantly across different regions of China, but the broth itself is usually meat-based and may be based on chicken or pork. Typically the soup is made hot by red or white peppers and soured by vinegar.\n\n2. Chicken in Black Bean Sauce\n\nA traditional Chinese favourite. Diced chicken is cooking in a fermented black bean sauce mixed with garlic and ginger and served with rice or noodles.\n\n3. Sweet and Sour Pork\n\nThis Cantonese dish consists of bite-sized pieces of pork stir-fried with a sweet and sour sauce made from ingredients such as white rice vinegar, salt, Chinese brown candy, ketchup and dark soy sauce.\n\n4. Egg Fried Rice\n\nOriginally devised by Chinese restaurant owners as a way to sell more rice by adding value with an egg. Fried rice is prepared from cold rice that has already been cooked by boiling.\n\n5. Instant-Boiled Mutton\n\nA hot-pot of tofu, Chinese leaves and beansprouts is placed in the middle of the table. Diners pick up paper-thin slices of lamb with chopsticks, place it in the boiling hot-pot and remove it as soon as it changes colour. The lamb is then eaten with a sauce made from sesame, chilli oil and leeks.\n\n6. Tea-smoked Duck\n\nThis Szechuan dish is prepared by marinating a duck in a rub of Szechuan pepper, hangjiu, ginger, garlic and salt before hot-smoking over tea leaves and camphor twigs.\n\n7. Li Hongzhang Soup\n\nNamed after a top official of the Qing dynasty, this complex soup is salty with a hint of sweetness. Ingredients can include sea cucumber, fish, squid, bamboo, chicken, ham and Chinese vegetables.\n\n8. Dong`an Chicken\n\nThis Hunan dish consists of parboiled chicken, chilli peppers and spices stir-fried with vegetable oil and vinegar.\n\n9. Crispy Seaweed\n\nRarely authentic in Western restaurants, a special type of seaweed is deep-fried in Eastern China.\n\n10. Re gan mian\n\nA traditional soup from Wuhan, made from lye-based noodles. Although sauces vary depending on locality, typically soy sauce, sesame paste, pickled vegetables, chopped garlic, chives and chilli oil are used.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5838330984115601}
+{"content": "Episode 11: An Artistic Game of Telephone\n\n\nWhat is the nature of inspiration and how do we as humans interpret and translate our inspiration? These are just a few questions at the heart of Sally Taylor’s Consenses project. She argues that using metaphor as a way to see the world gives us an opportunity not only to see the variations of perspective amongst us, but to appreciate the equality of each person’s point of view.\n\nSally TaylorSally Taylor is a musician and the founder of Consenses, a global, multidisciplinary, artistic collaboration engaging 150 artists from around the world who anonymously interpret each others art and use it as a catalyst for their own artistic expression.\n\nBorn and raised in New York City, Taylor was diagnosed as dyslexic at age 10 and spent her early years, guided by her mother Carly Simon, learning how to communicate and decode the world using art as a language.\nContinue reading “Episode 11: An Artistic Game of Telephone”", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9794799089431763}
+{"content": "Chronic fatigue\n\nChronic fatigue\n\nchronic fatigue photo Chronic fatigue is a natural physiological reaction of the organism associated with neurological processes of excitation and inhibition in the subcortical brain, and then to the biochemical processes in the tissues themselves.For example, this looks like this: hard working muscles to cope with physical activity, need increased amounts of energy, as well as a significant supply of oxygen to the cells.This supplier of energy to the muscles themselves are the carbohydrates, and then in the process of use, they are converted into lactic acid.And it has its accumulation gradually leads to increasing fatigue that we experience in the muscles.And if you touch the issue of mental fatigue, in this case, the mechanism of its development would be even more complicated.Along with the human body as a self-healing system, can in a short period completely restore physical and mental performance.\n\nBut in parallel with physiological fatigue when the body can quickly recover, more often rises t\n\nheme is pathological, but rather fatigue.That persist even in the breaks between shifts, and after a long weekend, and the body does not have enough time to recover\n\nCauses of chronic fatigue\n\nChronic fatigue came close to our life thirty years ago.Experts attribute its appearance to a spike in the scientific and technical progress, linked to mass computerization, as well as with the increase of professions, which involved mental labor.\n\nplausibility of this version is proved by the fact that the first patients with a chronicle began to appear in the United States and Japan.That is exactly where the intensity of the work is the most rapidly.As for Japan, it has been recorded in this country, and deaths from excess employment surge.And this is not surprising, knowing that in Japan most days of employment during the year and the shortest holidays.Many people simply let themselves get into this situation, while working all day long.The motive may make a career, money, good attitude boss.Currently, a person is subject to a vicious circle that leaves no room for recreation and self-development.About chronic fatigue a lot of talk, but no one takes her seriously, the disease is considered laziness and whim when it comes to someone the other person.\n\nA negative aspects of health in chronic fatigue lies a great many, and among them there are quite sad - it's oncology, which is able to develop on the basis of fatigue.\n\nSo the causes of chronic diseases is a significant physical and mental stress\n\nSymptoms of chronic fatigue\n\nUnder symptoms of chronic fatigue fall into weakness, the feeling of enduring fatigue, apathy, a feeling of lack of sleep, difficulty focusing on work, memory impairment,as well as attention, slowing of intellectual processes, problems with memory and attention.But resistance to the symptoms is different.For example, some people develop symptoms very quickly, while others have no such problems, a fairly long period of time.It is very individual, and therefore depends on the body, as well as the responsibility to perform the duties.It should be noted that if the work of people like, it will stimulate the subconscious to seek reserve forces as well as of the body.But the forces are not infinite and fatigue test still will be felt.\n\nTherefore, at the first sign, let your body needed rest.If you ignore the first symptoms will appear insomnia, aggression, disturbed sleep, attention, fingers tremor, anxiety, depression, stress, causeless anxiety.How the outcome of psychopathic disorder.\n\nTo avoid this, immediately take a vacation and fully relax.Best holiday - a holiday in nature, where it is necessary to try not to think about the problems of the workers.But the best option would be a visit to the office for relaxation, improving gymnastics, massage, complete diet with vitamins and trace elements.Helps a class of spiritual direction: meditation, yoga.Aggravate chronic fatigue develops and becomes chronic fatigue syndrome, which is characterized by extreme fatigue, which can not be explained by a particular disease.\n\nChronic fatigue is significantly enhanced after physical and mental exertion.The main symptom of chronic fatigue syndrome is the presence of a constant state of fatigue, and feelings of weakness, which appears after a significant stress.The cause of chronic fatigue syndrome is considered viral infections, as well as psychological stress.Currently there is no single method for examination and confirmation of the diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome.Presumably, you will need to make a variety of medical tests to rule out other problems related to health with similar symptoms.The very same treatment of chronic fatigue syndrome is associated with relief of symptoms Photo of chronic fatigue\n\nChronic fatigue - symptoms\n\nDistinguish the following symptoms of chronic fatigue: constant fatigue, deterioration of concentration, memory loss, sore throat, swollen lymph nodes, muscle pain, jointpain, headache, no restorative sleep;exhaustion after physical and mental stress more than a day.\n\nFactors that increase the development of the disease include: age people in fifty years, female gender, lifestyle, sedentary lifestyle, stress.\n\ndisease dangerous complications such as depression, social isolation, restriction of lifestyle, a constant desire to be absent from work\n\ndiagnosis of chronic fatigue\n\nvery difficult to diagnose this disease because the clinic corresponds to a lot of diseases.The examination should exclude diseases that are similar in their manifestations.It gets anemia, multiple sclerosis, diabetes mellitus, systemic lupus erythematosus.Symptoms are accompanied by sleep disorders, insomnia and mental disorders and restless legs syndrome.\n\nChronic fatigue can act as a symptom of a chain of mental illness: it is depressive disorder, anxiety, bipolar depression, schizophrenia.\n\nonly to the exclusion of other diseases, the doctor diagnoses chronic fatigue\n\nChronic fatigue - treatment\n\nTreatment of tiredness and fatigue involves compliance with a strict regime of sleep, uniform stress, diet, taking vitamins from fatigue, as well as minerals and immunomodulators that improvethe immune system (belladonna or anaferon) and adaptogens (lemongrass, ginseng, Siberian ginseng, echinacea), increase the body's resistance to various viruses.\n\nHow to get rid of tiredness?The role in the treatment and enterosorbents that remove toxins from the body.Useful against fatigue water treatments, physiotherapy and massage.\n\nwell treatable chronic fatigue in the hospital.It is possible that the treatment offered in the neurology department or in a sanatorium and dispensary.Do not give\n\nremedy for fatigue of traditional medicine\n\nUse chamomile broth (400 ml boiling water brew chamomile blossoms 3 tbsp. Spoon), be sure to insist, then filter and take half a cup a day to 10 days.\n\nWell helps to relieve fatigue natural grape juice after a meal (3st. Tablespoons to two times per day).We drink until it is relieved condition.\n\nEffective bath with essential oils (geranium oil).Bath take up to 15 minutes, the duration of a month, but the next day, the water temperature to 37 degrees.\n\nAnd remember that in general, chronic fatigue is a disease of a weakened immune system, which is very important to treat in time.\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9997618198394775}
+{"content": "One nanometer is the radius of a DNA molecule. Although the length scale for nanotechnology is under debate, we all agree that their potential to advance new medical breakthroughs is sizeable. Our laboratory prepares nanoscale devices using various techniques.\n\nWe routinely formulate nanoparticles to develop new therapies for various diseases (see the Drug & Gene Therapy section).  Our philosophy for developing medical devices, especially with regards to nanotechnology, is the careful understanding of their biological interactions. Our favorite biomaterial for nanoparticle formulations is LTP. This biomaterials and its degradation products are non-cytotoxic and not seem to elicit the immune response. We also have the ability to functionalize our nanoparticles with features that are useful for drug delivery, such has targeting specific cells, decorating the surface with PEG to minimize the protein adsorption and cellular interactions, controlling the sizes for enhanced endocytosis, and incorporating a “smart” polymers. Based upon the need of a specific application, our laboratory can adapt the nanoparticle formulations for optimal delivery.\n\nElectrospinning is a versatile method for producing nano-sized fibers and for developing tissue-engineering scaffolds with architecture similar to the extracellular matrix. This technique has been around for almost a century and has been originally developed for textiles. Dr. Darrell Reneker, Distinguished Professor at the University of Akron, is the first to recognize the value of electrospinning for producing nanotechnology.\n\nWe fabricate our scaffolds with LTU, biodegradable polyurethane, and other polymers that are appropriate for biomedical applications. We also apply nanofibers as a drug- and gene-delivery platforms and are able to control their surface properties for either enhancement or the inhibition of cellular adhesion. Recently, our investigations in to electrospinning have resulted in novel phenomenon (more to come once we publish the manuscript).\n\nSchematic of LTP nanoparticle that has been encapsulated with a small-molecular-weight drug. Their surface has been decorated with PEG and a targeting molecule.\n\nLTU electrospun fibers encapsulated with a drug (blue). Note the random fiber orientation that results from the electrospinning with a stationary-collections process.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9974660277366638}
+{"content": "Home 2017-07-19T06:49:00+00:00\n\nDo You Know The Pros & Cons of Solar Panels?\n\nThe public has developed a far greater interest in recent years about solar panels for renewable resources. Solar energy is one of the shining stars of the movement, for its low cost of implementation and efficient rewards in the form of electricity. Many people choose to put solar panels on their roof, either with DIY kits or buy purchasing pre-made panels. There are pros and cons to each, and to using solar energy in general. The pros seem to far outweigh the cons in many cases. The biggest pro is the benefit to the environment.\n\nIndustrial Solar Installers\n\nTraditionally, people have torn through fossil fuels and coal since the industrial revolution in order to feed the high demand for energy that modern society requires. This has led to carbon emissions and a depletion of natural resources. By switching over to more renewable energy sources such as using solar panels on the roof, you can make a difference from the comfort of your own home, without suffering any major drawbacks. The government is providing a greater incentive to switch over as well, by offering tax breaks and rebates as part of a stimulus package to encourage more people to make this change in their household energy usage.\n\nResidential Solar Contractors\n\nThe only con seems to be that solar energy can be inefficient in areas where the sun doesn’t often shine, and can be subject to changes in weather patterns. This is combated with the use of batteries that store up the energy, however if there is a long period without sunlight, as in certain parts of the Arctic, then this will not be the best energy method of choice. However, in most cases, solar energy is a viable and convenient alternative to the environmental damage caused by other overuse of electricity, or nuclear power. Small steps like these can make a big difference.\n\nSolar Panels For Your Home - The Pros And Cons\n\nIndustrial Solar Installers\n\nBy now we have all heard of solar panels and how great they can be for the environment and how much money they can save you on your utility bills, right? Solar energy is a hot topic right now and everyone wants more information on the subject. This is just a quick review of the ups and downs of using solar panels to provide energy for your home. The Bad news first.\n\nThe Bad - The initial set up costs can be too expensive for most homeowners, up to $20,000 to professionally outfit a household. It can be a hassle to get a zoning variance, depending on your community you live in, if you need one. (Most communities don't but if you live in a big downtown city, well....)\n\nThe Ugly - Most people don't think about this but the amount of energy you can use is dictated by the sun. If you don't have a have a backup system, it's possible to run out of power! Either you need a good battery system to have power available when your not generating it or you need to remain connected to the energy grid in your local area. Not too many people seem to mention this when talking about solar panels.\n\nThe Good - You will save energy by converting your home to use solar power and you will be conserving resources for future generations, and lowering your impact on the planet. You can also be paid by your utility company for the excess electricity you might generate. You can make money using solar power too! Not a lot to be honest, but some is better than none. Your property values will increase when you use alternative energy sources to power your home. The government also provides tax credits for certain solar applications. Cha Ching!", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6715643405914307}
+{"content": "TB Double Super - Fortified Barrier for Major Impact Protection\n\nTB Double Super - Fortified Barrier for Major Impact Protection\nTB Double Super - Fortified Barrier for Major Impact Protection\nBrand: Boplan\nProduct Code: TB Double Super\n\nTB Double Super | Fortified Barrier for Major Impact Protection\n\nSimply the best in impact protection your infrastructure\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n·         Number of rails: 2 Tubes\n\n·         Standard lenght: 5'\n\n·         Custom lenghts available: 3' to 6 1/2'\n\n·         Total height: 30\"\n\n\n·         Post color: Std. Yellow/ Tube color: Std Yellow, other options available\n\n·         Accessories: Corners, Toeboards, Kickplates, Stainless steel base plates\n\nPolymer guardrails: First in class Protection against Forklift trucks and other vehicles\n\nFLEX IMPACT® guardrails are specifically designed to protect people, machines and infrastructure against impacts from forklifts or other heavy vehicles. These guardrails are meant for demanding environments where heavy loads are transported, such as manufacturing halls, warehouses and airports. Detailed life impact tests have shown that Flex Impact guardrails can withstand the impact of a high-speed crash with a 7,000 lbs forklift truck at 11mph!\n\nAll our guardrails are made from our own engineered BSP polymer, a material that gives our guardrail a dynamic memory. It absorbs 80% of the impact energy, then immediately returns to its original shape. Repairs or replacements to either the guardrail, concrete or forklifts are eliminated or drastically reduced, all while providing the very best safety available. This means our products will absorb the impact and then immediately return to their original shape.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8409726619720459}
+{"content": "Ocean floor dust gives new insight into supernovae\n\nDr Anton Wallner in the Nuclear Physics Department at ANU. Credit: Stuart Hay, ANU\n\n\nThey have analysed extraterrestrial dust thought to be from supernovae, that has settled on ocean floors to determine the amount of heavy elements created by the massive explosions.\n\n“Small amounts of debris from these distant explosions fall on the earth as it travels through the galaxy,” said lead researcher Dr Anton Wallner, from the Research School of Physics and Engineering.\n\n\nThe findings are at odds with current theories of supernovae, in which some of the materials essential for human life, such as iron, potassium and iodine are created and distributed throughout space.\n\nSupernovae also create lead, silver and gold, and heavier radioactive elements such as uranium and plutonium.\n\nDr Wallner’s team studied plutonium-244 which serves as a radioactive clock by the nature of its radioactive decay, with a half-life of 81 million years.\n\n“Any plutonium-244 that existed when the earth formed from intergalactic gas and dust over four billion years ago has long since decayed,” Dr Wallner said.\n\n\nThe team analysed a 10 centimetre-thick sample of the earth’s crust, representing 25 million years of accretion, as well as deep-sea sediments collected from a very stable area at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.\n\n“We found 100 times less plutonium-244 than we expected,” Dr Wallner said.\n\n\nThe fact that these heavy elements like plutonium were present, and uranium and thorium are still present on earth suggests that such an explosive event must have happened close to the earth around the time it formed, said Dr Wallner.\n\n“Radioactive elements in our planet such as uranium and thorium provide much of the heat that drives continental movement, perhaps other planets don’t have the same heat engine inside them,” he said.\n\nThe research is published in Nature Communications.\n\nA. Wallner, T. Faestermann, J. Feige, C. Feldstein, K. Knie, G. Korschinek, W. Kutschera, A. Ofan, M. Paul, F. Quinto, G. Rugel, P. Steier. Abundance of live 244Pu in deep-sea reservoirs on Earth points to rarity of actinide nucleosynthesis. Nature Communications, 2015; 6: 5956 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms6956\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9936923384666443}
+{"content": "Enzyme Inhibitors\n\nEnzyme inhibitors are molecules that bind to enzymes and decrease their activity. Since blocking an enzyme's activity can kill a pathogen or correct a metabolic imbalance, many drugs are enzyme inhibitors. They are also used as herbicides and pesticides. Not all molecules that bind to enzymes are inhibitors; enzyme activators bind to enzymes and increase their enzymatic activity.\nThe binding of an inhibitor can stop a substrate from entering the enzyme's active site and/or hinder the enzyme from catalysing its reaction. Inhibitor binding is either reversible or irreversible. Irreversible inhibitors usually react with the enzyme and change it chemically. These inhibitors modify key amino acid residues needed for enzymatic activity. In contrast, reversible inhibitors bind non-covalently and different types of inhibition are produced depending on whether these inhibitors bind the enzyme, the enzyme-substrate complex, or both.\n\nMany drug molecules are enzyme inhibitors, so their discovery and improvement is an active area of research in biochemistry and pharmacology. A medicinal enzyme inhibitor is often judged by its specificity (its lack of binding to other proteins) and its potency (its dissociation constant, which indicates the concentration needed to inhibit the enzyme). A high specificity and potency ensure that a drug will have few side effects and thus low toxicity.\n\nEnzyme inhibitors also occur naturally and are involved in the regulation of metabolism. For example, enzymes in a metabolic pathway can be inhibited by downstream products. This type of negative feedback slows flux through a pathway when the products begin to build up and is an important way to maintain homeostasis in a cell. Other cellular enzyme inhibitors are proteins that specifically bind to and inhibit an enzyme target. This can help control enzymes that may be damaging to a cell, such as proteases or nucleases; a well-characterised example is the ribonuclease inhibitor, which binds to ribonucleases in one of the tightest known protein–protein interactions.Natural enzyme inhibitors can also be poisons and are used as defenses against predators or as ways of killing prey.\n\nReversible inhibitors\n\nTypes of reversible inhibitor\n\nReversible inhibitors bind to enzymes with non-covalent interactions such as hydrogen bonds, hydrophobic interactions and ionic bonds. Multiple weak bonds between the inhibitor and the active site combine to produce strong and specific binding. In contrast to substrates and irreversible inhibitors, reversible inhibitors generally do not undergo chemical reactions when bound to the enzyme and can be easily removed by dilution or dialysis.\n\nThere are four kinds of reversible enzyme inhibitors. They are classified according to the effect of varying the concentration of the enzyme's substrate on the inhibitor.\n\n* In competitive inhibition, the substrate and inhibitor cannot bind to the enzyme at the same time, as shown in the figure on the left. This usually results from the inhibitor having an affinity for the active site of an enzyme where the substrate also binds; the substrate and inhibitor compete for access to the enzyme's active site. This type of inhibition can be overcome by sufficiently high concentrations of substrate, i.e., by out-competing the inhibitor. Competitive inhibitors are often similar in structure to the real substrate .\n\n* In uncompetitive inhibition, the inhibitor binds only to the substrate-enzyme complex, it should not be confused with non-competative inhibitors. Both maximum velocity (Vmax) and binding efficiency (Km) decrease.\n\n* In mixed inhibition, the inhibitor can bind to the enzyme at the same time as the enzyme's substrate. However, the binding of the inhibitor affects the binding of the substrate, and vice versa. This type of inhibition can be reduced, but not overcome by increasing concentrations of substrate. Although it is possible for mixed-type inhibitors to bind in the active site, this type of inhibition generally results from an allosteric effect where the inhibitor binds to a different site on an enzyme. Inhibitor binding to this allosteric site changes the conformation (i.e., tertiary structure or three-dimensional shape) of the enzyme so that the affinity of the substrate for the active site is reduced.\n\n* Non-competitive inhibition is a form of mixed inhibition where the binding of the inhibitor to the enzyme reduces its activity but does not affect the binding of substrate. As a result, the extent of inhibition depends only on the concentration of the inhibitor.\n\nTypes of irreversible inhibition\nIrreversible inhibitors usually covalently modify an enzyme, and inhibition cannot therefore be reversed. Irreversible inhibitors often contain reactive functional groups such as nitrogen mustards, aldehydes, haloalkanes, alkenes, Michael acceptors, phenyl sulphonates, or fluorophosphonates. These electrophilic groups react with amino acid side chains to form covalent adducts. The residues modified are those with side chains containing nucleophiles such as hydroxyl or sulfhydryl groups; these include the amino acids serine (as in DFP, right), cysteine, threonine or tyrosine.\n\nIrreversible inhibition is different from irreversible enzyme inactivation. Irreversible inhibitors are generally specific for one class of enzyme and do not inactivate all proteins; they do not function by destroying protein structure but by specifically altering the active site of their target. For example, extremes of pH or temperature usually cause denaturation of all protein structure, but this is a non-specific effect. Similarly, some non-specific chemical treatments destroy protein structure: for example, heating in concentrated hydrochloric acid will hydrolyse the peptide bonds holding proteins together, releasing free amino acids.\n\nIrreversible inhibitors display time-dependent inhibition and their potency therefore cannot be characterized by an IC50 value. This is because the amount of active enzyme at a given concentration of irreversible inhibitor will be different depending on how long the inhibitor is pre-incubated with the enzyme. Instead, kobs/[I] values are used,wherekobs is the observed pseudo-first order rate of inactivation (obtained by plotting the log of % activity vs. time) and [I] is the concentration of inhibitor. The kobs/[I] parameter is valid as long as the inhibitor does not saturate binding with the enzyme (in which case kobs = kinact).\n\nEnzyme inhibitor. (2009, February 25). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 14:24, March 5, 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Enzyme_inhibitor&oldid=273251052\n\nNo comments:\nWrite comments\nRecommended Posts × +", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8082414269447327}
+{"content": "Bullet Blues would like to commemorate the anniversary of D-Day\n\nby Bullet Blues\n\nbullet blues\n\nAt Bullet Blues, we think it’s extremely important  to honor the memory of D-Day and the Normandy invasion.  It’s such a significant part of the modern world’s history, even though D-Day occurred  decades ago. It’s important to me on a personal level as well. The memory of D-Day is the original inspiration for my company’s name.\n\nJune 6th, 1944–the Allied invasion of Normandy began during World War II. This was a day in history that will be remembered forever. Called “D-Day,” June 6th marked the landing operations of Allied troops, and this would establish the foothold that the Allied soldiers needed  to defeat the Nazis and Axis powers. Had the troops not been able to succeed at Normandy, the march for freedom would likely not have happened, drastically changing the Europe that we see today.\n\nClick the photo to watch a video detailing the attack, called “D-Day: Invasion of Normandy” as seen on History.com.\n\nToday, there are many cemeteries, monuments and museums in the areas near the beaches of Normandy; nearly 30 cemeteries honor the soldiers from many countries who lost their lives on D-Day and during other battles of WWII. The Sainte-James American cemetery, located in Colleville-sur-Mer, contains almost endless rows of identical white crosses or Stars of David.  These mark the graves of the soldiers, commemorating the fallen American troops. It overlooks Omaha Beach and the English Channel. Click the photo below to see a gallery of images about the invasion.\n\nA trip that my son, Guillaume and I took to Normandy had special significance for me.  We were able to see these touching memorials and cemeteries first-hand. Among them was the Normandy American Memorial and Cemetery which honors the American soldiers who died in Europe during World War II.\n\nThe 90-acre cemetery is awe-inspiring, and it holds the graves of over 9,300 American soldiers. Among all the acres of graves, there was a particular grave that stood out from the others. My son came to a cross with no name on it, and he was curious as to why this was. Instead of a name and unit number inscribed on the cross, this cross read, “Here rests in honored glory a comrade in arms known but to God.”  This was a memorial to a solider whose name would never be known.\n\nThe two of us prayed over this unknown soldier’s grave and we reflected on the magnitude of the fact that nothing is known about this nameless soldier. This was an especially moving reminder to me that these brave young men came to Europe to free people that they did not know. I was so inspired and touched by this—I wanted to honor the unwavering bravery and selflessness of these men in some way.\n\n\nThe name “Bullet Blues” was coined to honor those men, their bravery and their bullets. Their patriotism should never be forgotten, and I hope that “Bullet Blues” will be some small reminder of their valor. I hope that the company’s name is a symbol of all the admirable American men that sacrificed their lives so that France—and Europe—would remain free.\n\nAlong with these patriotic soldiers whose lives or limbs were lost, I’d also like to point out another patriot. Josh Miller, the man behind the documentary “Made in the USA: A 30-Day Journey” has been determined to point out how important it is to buy American. His efforts have not gone unnoticed. Bullet Blues would like to tip our hats to him as well.\n\nPlease join me in remembering all of these brave young men.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7478882074356079}
+{"content": "Here’s How Intermittent Fasting Stacks Up Compared To A Normal Diet\n\nKirsten Macnab |\n\nFind out how it stacks up to simply cutting calories\n\nWant to drop some kilograms? Chances are, you’ve considered intermittent fasting, a weight-loss technique that’s been surging in popularity. It involves set times when your eating is restricted and others when you eat as normal—or even more than you would typically.\n\nBut is there really any benefit to this kind of eating? A new study adds some clarity to the complicated topic: Intermittent fasting is no more effective for weight loss than daily calorie restriction, researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago report.\n\nResearchers split 100 inactive, overweight men and women with no history of heart disease or diabetes into three groups: A calorie-restricted group, an alternate-day fasting group, and a control group.\n\nThe calorie-restricted group took the traditional weight loss approach. Every day, they reduced their caloric intake by 25 percent, meaning they ate 75 percent of the calories they would need to maintain their weight among three meals a day.\n\nThe alternate-day fasting group ate 25 percent of their caloric needs every other day, known as “fast” days, between 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. They bookended their “fast” days with “feast” days, when they ate 125 percent of their caloric needs among three meals a day. So if you typically eat 2,000 calories a day, you’d eat 500 calories one day, followed by 2,500 the next.\n\nPeople in the control group ate as they normally would, but were instructed to maintain their weight throughout the study.\n\nAfter 6 months, the study participants were told to maintain their weight loss for another 6 months. During this phase, the fasting group ate half their caloric needs on fast days and 150 percent on feast days, while the calorie-restricting group ate 100 percent of what they needed every day.\n\nAfter one year, there was no significant difference in how much weight either weight-loss group lost or how long they kept it off, the study found. What’s more, neither group experienced any higher risk for other health issues, like cardiovascular disease.\n\nCan You Stick With Intermittent Fasting?\n\nThe success of any weight loss plan depends on whether you’ll actually stick with it long enough to see results. So, which one is more sustainable?\n\nIn the study, 38 percent of people dropped out of the fasting group compared to 29 percent of people in the calorie-restricting group by the end of the year. And over time, people in the fasting group started moving toward daily calorie restriction, potentially signalling that it could be hard to stick with in the long run, the study authors say.\n\nBut that might simply have to do with how the study was set up: The researchers broke down the diets into 30 percent fat, 55 percent carbs, and 15 percent protein. Eating only 15 percent of your calories from protein—especially on fast days, when you’re eating so little overall—can make you feel hungrier, making the plan harder to stick to, says obesity specialist Spencer Nadolsky, D.O.\n\nIf hunger becomes an issue on “fast” days, bumping up your protein intake helps keep you fuller for longer, possibly boosting your ability to adhere to the diet, he says.\n\nShould You Try Intermittent Fasting?\n\nSo if both methods help you lose weight, how do you know which one will work best for you?\n\n“The people who can benefit from this type of alternate-day fasting are those who would rather feel like they aren’t restricting food intake 3.5 days out of the week,” says Men’s Health nutrition advisor, Alan Aragon, M.S. So it might be a good fit for you if you find it hard to stick to a diet all the time, and you like the “break” of feast days.\n\nBut on the other hand, the intense restriction intermittent fasting requires on the other days could be extremely difficult for some people, especially in certain instances.\n\nTake your job, for example: If your day-to-day work requires hard, manual labour, fasting may not work for you, since you’re constantly burning energy, says Dr. Nadolsky. But if you have a desk job and your schedule doesn’t get in the way, 500-calorie days can be more realistic, he explains.\n\nBottom line: If you want to try intermittent fasting for weight loss—and your doctor okays it if you have any pre-existing health issues—you can give it a shot to see if it works for you.\n\nSo how can you make it more sustainable? Making fewer rules for yourself—like avoiding a specific caloric goal on feast days as they did in the study—may lead to better results, Aragon says.\n\nIn fact, recent research shows that eating nothing on fasting days and as you normally would on feasting days may actually work better than daily-calorie restriction, Aragon notes.\n\nJust keep in mind that most diets should lead to weight loss within a couple of months, Dr. Nadolsky says. So if you haven’t lost 2 percent of your weight in the first month or 3 percent by the second month, it may be worth looking into another approach or modifying the diet you’re currently on.\n\nArticle originally found on", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8336391448974609}
+{"content": "Hisashi Iwamoto\n\nLearn More\nTernary content addressable memory (TCAM) is popular LSI for use in high-throughput forwarding engines on routers. However, the unique structure applied in TCAM consume huge amounts of power, therefore it restricts the applicability to deployment for handling large lookup-table capacity in IP routers. In this paper, we propose a commodity-memory based(More)\nRecently, energy consumption of routers has become a serious problem, hence power reduction is an urgent and important challenge. Existing routers always work 100% of their potentials regardless of required performance, such as volume of input traffic. However, semiconductor devices such as lookup logics, buffers, fabrics are not always fully utilized. In(More)\nA pre-trained convolutional deep neural network (CNN) is a feed-forward computation perspective, which is widely used for the embedded systems, requires high power-and-area efficiency. This paper realizes a binarized CNN which treats only binary 2-values (+1/-1) for the inputs and the weights. In this case, the multiplier is replaced into an XNOR circuit(More)\nIn the era of IPv6, since the number of IPv6 addresses rapidly increases and the required speed is more than Giga lookups per second (GLPS), an area-efficient and high-speed IP lookup architecture is desired. This paper shows a parallel index generation unit (IGU) for memorybased IPv6 lookup architecture. To reduce the size of memory in the IGU, we use a(More)\nPacket classification has become increasingly complex and important to network equipment intended for future use. A recent trend to achieve complex packet classification is to use software-based methods, which tend to be slower than hardware-based methods. For search, this typically means using ternary content-addressable memory (TCAM) to make(More)\nFor green networking, Sliced Router Architecture was proposed, which controls the power consumption of routers by adjusting the routers' performance on the basis of the volume of traffic. In this architecture, traffic prediction is used for appropriate power control of router. For obtaining the efficient gain of power reduction, we need to consider the(More)\nDual clock scheme, where master clock (CLKM) and output clock (CLKO) are applied to a SDRAM with different phase, is proposed to achieve very fast access time without area / power penalty. A circuit technique to adjust the different phase between dual clocks is described. This scheme in conjunction with 2-bit prefetch architecture enhances operating clock(More)\nNetwork traffic keeps increasing like as the demand of video streaming. Routers and switches in wire-line networks require guaranteed line rate as high as 20Gbp/s as well as advanced quality of service (QoS). Hybrid SRAM and DRAM architecture previously presented with the benefit of high-speed and high-density requires complex memory management. As a result(More)", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9777350425720215}
+{"content": "Altensteig is a small town located in the south west of Germany and part of the nature park ‘Black Forest’. It is located in the midst of hills and dense forest, where many trails invite you for a long walk or bike tour.\nThe famous Old Town is especially know for the lovely castle which was built already in the 13th century as a fortress and today hosts a museum. Most of the buildings are still left in their original design to create an ancient atmosphere.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9982277750968933}
+{"content": "Seniors during our monthly seniors lunch\nWe serve as the Jewish 'living room' of the Community, while offering social, educational, recreational and cultural programming to individuals and families of all ages, stages and backgrounds.\nCalgary Pregnancy Care Centre\nFacing an unplanned pregnancy can be confusing and overwhelming. It gets even harder when you feel alone. We are here to listen, provide practical support, and education to help build a stronger community.\nEmpowering Muslims with knowledge and practical spirituality to be contributing members of the greater Calgary community.\nWe provide Peace Officer, Fire Fighter, Emergency Medical Services, 911 Dispatch and Military Personnel and their families with resources focused on building resiliency to nurture inspiring legacies despite the unique challenges they face due to the nature of their career.\nEmpowering men to recover for life. Simon House Recovery Centre is a long term program that teaches men compassion, patience, tolerance, and understanding. It provides men with a safe and responsible place to recover from addiction.\nThe Salvation Army Agapé Hospice Volunteer and Resident share a moment\nLed by Christian values, the community at The Salvation Army Agapé Hospice extends compassionate, holistic care and support to those experiencing the end of life journey.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5251439809799194}
+{"content": "Monday, February 14, 2011\n\nCharacteristics 4 and 7 of the Novice Teacher\n\n4.The novice teacher should be a facilitator of learning for all students.\n\nThis characteristic pinpoints the importance of teaching in a way that is tailored to all learners. Every classroom is full of diverse learners with differing capabilities, previous educational experiences, and cultural backgrounds. It is imperative for the novice teacher to know his or her students in order to best meet their needs as learners.\n\nIn Sped360, I created a Classroom Strategy Toolkit that lists a set of 10 strategies for differentiating instruction. Within this toolkit, I listed the following strategies: jigsaw,think-pair-share, stations, activity choice boards, flexible grouping, R.A.F.T., among others. Next to each strategy and its description, I listed a rationale for its use, guidelines, and classroom examples for how I would or have used these strategies in a science classroom.\n\nFor example, under activity choice boards I wrote:\nDescription - Students use a bulletin board or sign-up sheet to sign up for the activity they wish to complete. This allows students to have some control over what type of activity they can complete.\n\nRationale - If the students are choosing the activity that most interests them then they are more likely to be actively engaged in the assignment and are motivated to complete the task.\n\nGuidelines -\n1. The teacher posts a list of activities for the students to complete. The students must complete one or more of the assignments based on the teacher’s guidelines.\n2. Students choose the necessary number of activities that they would like to complete. They can do this by placing a post-it note with their name one it under a category.\n3. The students complete the assignments of their choosing.\n\nExamples -\n1.Ecology: biomes\nStudents are given a choice as to how they would like learn about the different biomes found on earth. For example, they could complete a web quest, do a research paper,create a documentary, or give a presentation on the biome of their choice.\n\n2.Physics: potential and kinetic energy\nStudents can choose how they would like to learn about the difference and relationship between potential and kinetic energy. For example, they could choose between researching and creating a Venn diagram, conducting a student-designed experiment, or by creating a model that represents kinetic and potential energy.\n\nThis toolkit demonstrates the \"learning for all\" characteristic by showing how differentiated instruction can be used through these 10 strategies and their real, applicable examples.\n\n7. The novice teacher should effectively integrate content and pedagogy.\n\nThis characteristic demonstrates the importance of knowing both content and pedagogy in order to teach a particular content well. Knowing the content is not enough. You must know the content and know how to best teach that content, which in my case is science.\n\nI planned and taught a roller coaster physics lesson to my 8th graders. In this lesson, I had students work in mixed-ability groups (unless they requested to work alone) and they had to build, present, and explain how their roller coasters related to Newton's laws of motion and the relationship between kinetic and potential energy. For this project I focused on three things: collaboration, critical thinking skills, and presentation, which are essential to my students in the real world. Students had to collaborate with others to design their roller coaster. They had to think critically to incorporate physics into their design. They also had to effectively communicate how their roller coasters related to Newtons laws and the transformation of energy from potential to kinetic during their presentation.\n\nThis project really had my students engaged. My students were learning the content by creating something of their own. They were using what they knew about physics to design a structure that was interesting and relevant to them. This lesson applies to characteristic number 7, because I knew the content well enough to be able to design an activity that would be challenging, yet comprehensible and engaging for my students.\n\n1 comment:\n\n  1. I think that understanding all your students learning styles in important. I also invcluded my SPED toolkit because i think it showa how diverse we are as teachers. I heard about your roller coaster lesson in small group and it sounded reall interesting. i think i owuld have done better in science in highschool if i had fun lessons like that.\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9258779287338257}
+{"content": "Stories tagged\n‘mount pulag’\n\n\n‘Playground of the Gods’\n\nIT IS Luzon island’s roof and highest peak, and the Philippines’ second highest, after Mount Apo in Mindanao. Now that it is almost summertime, Mount Pulag is bound to be at its busiest, having earned a spot on the itinerary of many nature-lovers and mountaineers.\n\nBut for the indigenous Ibaloi, Mount Pulag (also called Pulog) is where the gods live, rest, and play year-round.\n\nMining in Mount Pulag\n\nVillage folk resist illegal deals,\n‘bribes’ for leaders\n\nBOKOD, BENGUET — As Lakay Felipe Leano recalls it, newly planted rice seedlings in his village in Bobok-Bisal, Bokod had shriveled and died soon after a major Philippine mining firm began exploring for gold and other metals in the area.\n\nThe company denied having caused the drying up of a local creek that had helped irrigate Bokod rice fields. But petitions from the likes of Leano, an Otbong village elder, eventually led the local government to stop the firm’s exploration activities.\n\nSex, laws, and video nights\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9750790596008301}
+{"content": "Max Wain\n\n\nMax Wain currently owns and operates Noori the authentic Indian and Pakistani restaurants located in San Bruno and San Francisco. His entrepreneurial spirit took him on the path of owning several other ventures.Before owning Noori, he was a home builder and has founded and operated a non-profit organization called Growing Planet. He also worked as a stock broker for 7 years in San Francisco. He believes that serving his customers with delicious food is the ultimate destination of his entrepreneurial spirit. He loves nature and community work. Any chance he can get away from his busy schedule, he enjoys walking in the woods and serving the community.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8627939224243164}
+{"content": "Rainy Day...Woman\n\nMy day is overcast and soft. Raining, but not much, more of a steady mist than anything else.  I love this weather.  I always feel so protected, so safe in a fine mist.  It seems to keep the busy world at bay.  Maybe, maybe...these don't matter so much, these maybe's...the mist seems to keeps them at bay as well.\n\nI photographed this Rich Mountain tree in all sorts of weather when we lived there. Something about this one caught the something about the tree.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9995155930519104}
+{"content": "Tuesday, January 25, 2005\n\nThe Letter\n\nArmando at Kos has the right idea here:\n\nUnprecedented times call for unprecedented actions. In this case, we, the undersigned bloggers, have decided to speak as one and collectively author a document of opposition. We oppose the nomination of Alberto Gonzales to the position of Attorney General of the United States, and we urge every United States Senator to vote against him.\nAs the prime legal architect for the policy of torture adopted by the Bush Administration, Gonzales's advice led directly to the abandonment of longstanding federal laws, the Geneva Convention, and the United States Constitution itself. Our country, in following Gonzales's legal opinions, has forsaken its commitment to human rights and the rule of law and shamed itself before the world with our conduct at Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib. The United States, a nation founded on respect for law and human rights, should not have as its Attorney General the architect of the law's undoing.\n\nIn January 2002, Gonzales advised the President that the United States Constitution does not apply to his actions as Commander in Chief, and thus the President could declare the Geneva Conventions inoperative. Gonzales's endorsement of the August 2002 Bybee/Yoo Memorandum approved a definition of torture so vague and evasive as to declare it nonexistent. Most shockingly, he has embraced the unacceptable view that the President has the power to ignore the Constitution, laws duly enacted by Congress and International treaties duly ratified by the United States. He has called the Geneva Conventions \"quaint.\"\n\nLegal opinions at the highest level have grave consequences. What were the consequences of Gonzales's actions? The policies for which Gonzales provided a cover of legality - views which he expressly reasserted in his Senate confirmation hearings - inexorably led to abuses that have undermined military discipline and the moral authority our nation once carried. His actions led directly to documented violations at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo and widespread abusive conduct in locales around the world.\n\nMichael Posner of Human Rights First observed: \"After the horrific images from Abu Ghraib became public last year, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld insisted that the world should 'judge us by our actions [and] watch how a democracy deals with the wrongdoing and with scandal and the pain of acknowledging and correcting our own mistakes.'\" We agree. It is because of this that we believe the only proper course of action is for the Senate to reject Alberto Gonzales's nomination for Attorney General. As Posner notes, \"[t]he world is indeed watching.\" Will the Senate condone torture? Will the Senate condone the rejection of the rule of law?\n\nWith this nomination, we have arrived at a crossroads as a nation. Now is the time for all citizens of conscience to stand up and take responsibility for what the world saw, and, truly, much that we have not seen, at Abu Ghraib and elsewhere. We oppose the confirmation of Alberto Gonzales as Attorney General of the United States, and we urge the Senate to reject him.\n\nPlease go there and sign on.\n\nBlogger is fixed, all OK", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5654970407485962}
+{"content": "History Revisited\n\nThe Grassini Family winery is as singular as the wines crafted inside. Borrowed and adapted from 17th century southern European approaches, the winery itself is embedded in a prominent hillside with the rear opening into spectacular wine caves. The caves ensure humidity and temperature control, while using a fraction of hydrocarbon or electrical energy sources. This practice dates back to Roman times, when wine was stored in catacombs to take advantage of the naturally cool temperature underground.  \n\n\n\n\n\"Patience is a Necessary Ingredient of Genius.\"\n\nThe vineyard management team works tirelessly and closely with our winemaker, Bradley Long, to ensure that every vine in the vineyard gets the kind of personal attention that will allow each precious berry to ripen to perfection.\n\nHigh-density planting, vine crop reduction, hand-training and careful timing of the pick come together to produce the soft tannins and overall balance of the structure, vineyard acid levels, beautiful aromatics, and elegant mouthfeel in the resulting wine.\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.929572343826294}
+{"content": "To the Animals\n\n\nAdam and Eve originally were given dominion over all the animal creation (Genesis 1:26), but sin came in and things changed. Then, after the Flood, God placed the fear and dread of man “upon all that moveth upon the earth” (Genesis 9:2), and the primeval fellowship between man and his animal friends was broken.\n\nMore seriously, their fellowship with God was broken, and soon, in their autonomy, the source of true wisdom was largely forgotten. “Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things” (Romans 1:22-23).\n\nIronically, God now directs such foolish people to the animals they worship to find the wisdom they should have learned from God. “Go to the ant,” says the Lord, to learn industry and prudence. “There be four things which are little upon the earth,” the Word says, “but they are exceeding wise: The ants . . . ; The conies . . . ; The locusts . . . ; The spider” (Proverbs 30:24-28). “The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider” (Isaiah 1:3).\n\n“But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee: Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee: and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee” (Job 12:7-8).\n\nIf nothing else, the intricate design of even the lowest animal is eloquent testimony to the wisdom of its Creator and the madness of those who deny Him. HMM", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.963180661201477}
+{"content": "Why mobile learning?\n\nMobile learning is seen by many as a disruptive technology. This is because it has been identified as a technology which holds great potential to transform the learning and teaching within a classroom. What follows is a mash up presented at the NSWDEC 5th biennial equity conference in 2011 which explains some of the issues.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8245378732681274}
+{"content": "Republic 471d - 480a\n\nIn his masterpiece dialogue, The Republic, Plato presents Socrates, speaking in the first person, retelling the course of a discussion on the nature of \"justice.\" The main persons who provoke the discussion in the dialogue are Glaucon and Adiemantus, Plato's real life brothers. Socrates is challenged to defend his belief that the virtuous life -or as it is put in the dialogue \"the life of the just man\"- is the greatest in happiness. To make sure that it is really justice, and not merely the appearance of justice which leads to happiness, Socrates is to imagine a competition between the perfectly just man who shall appear to others (because of their ignorance) as supremely \"unjust\" versus the perfectly unjust man who is absolutely ruthless, observing no moral constraints in attaining what he wants, and moreover who possess a magical ability never to \"get caught\" and always appear to others as supremely \"just.\"\n\nNaturally we must first determine what \"justice\" is. Socrates' strategy is to analogize the human soul to the Greek city state (polis in Greek, which gets mistranslated \"republic\"), for the polis is the soul of its citizens \"writ large.\" If we can discern where justice is found in the polis, we can then, in the analogy, see where it is found also in the individual human life. This leads Socrates to develop a model of an ideal just polis.\n\nThe view of the social-political whole which Plato gives here strikes most contemporary Western readers as \"authoritarian\" and neglectful of those \"individual human rights\" which form the philosophical basis of the democratic conception of political authority. Nevertheless, it should not be forgotten that the Greek polis is radically different from the contemporary nation state, and that Plato's avowed purpose is not to develop a realistic political system. Furthermore, perhaps somewhat ironically, the conception of \"natural rights\" which underlies contemporary justifications of democratic government, itself derives from a conception of what it is to be human that has at least one of its roots in Plato's philosophy.\n\nFor our purpose of understanding Plato's theory of knowledge (epistemology ) as presented in the Theory of Forms, it is not necessary to go into the details of Plato's ideal state; suffice it to say that as we would expect, the perfectly just state will be one ruled by the perfectly just ruler(s) . In the analogy to the soul, the ruler in the polis is the parallel to the \"mind\" (in Greek: nous) in the soul . As the eyeball is the organ with which the body is able to see , so the \"mind\" may be thought of as the \"organ\" with which the soul acquires knowledge. The perfectly just soul would then be a soul \"ruled\" by a mind which had perfect knowledge , complete wisdom. This use of \"perfect\" is intended to mean no possibility of error or mistake; the perfectly just ruler(s) will necessarily do what is right, for if an error was made, one could imagine a better ruler who didn't make that error. Obviously such an \"ideal\" may very well be humanly impossible, but, Socrates insists, it is still essential to have such a perfect ideal as a kind of \"yardstick\" against which to measure the degree of justice or injustice in actually existing states and people.\n\nSocrates defends his conception against three \"waves\" of criticism directed by Glaucon and Adiemantus. The passage assigned begins with the third -and most devastating- of these waves, and this is the challenge to explain what least possible change in existing social-political institutions could bring about the realization of such an ideal, or at least move us as far as possible in that direction.\n\nSocrates' answer is known as \"the paradox of the philosopher king\" and is stated dramatically at 473d: the way to bring about a just state is to have it ruled by philosophers, or what is commonly called \"the Philosopher-King.\" This conclusion would naturally be felt as paradoxical by most of Socrates' listeners because philosophers were perceived as people with \"their heads in the clouds\" and consequently as manifestly unfitted for the realities of the political world. So now to defend his view, Socrates must finally tell us what he means by the ideal perfect \"philosopher\" and what sort of education would produce such a person.\n\nWe start with the root meaning of the word \"philosophy\"; the philosopher is the lover of wisdom. The philosopher is in pursuit of wisdom in all its forms, in love with learning. But people seek to learn many different kinds of things, are all of them philosophers? No, the philosopher is distinct from the others in that the philosopher wants to learn \"the truth \" as distinct from the false illusions (being sold by sophists in the marketplace). The learning of the philosopher is therefore the acquisition of true infallible  knowledge , whereas others, those who follow the sophists. learn merely fallible \"opinions\" (in Greek: doxa)\n\nSo now the original question about justice, an ethical question, is transformed into an epistemological question: how do we distinguish true genuine knowledge (the real thing the philosopher seeks) from fallible opinions (the phony, \"counterfeit\" beliefs of the \"lovers of opinions,\" the sophists). In answer Plato presents his most famous exposition of his \"Theory of Forms\" which extends all the way to 521b. Many crucial distinctions on which this theory is based appear in this discussion.\n\nClick Here to find out about Plato's Theory of Forms", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.931150496006012}
+{"content": "With the new curriculum and the loss of the LOs, many teachers may be wondering about what the exam questions will be like. The answer is: much like the old ones.\n\nIf you look at all the topics in the biological approach they are all related to the understanding of how variables can influence behaviour. The exam questions will reflect this.\n\nFor example:\n\n  • Hormones and behaviour\n    • Explain how hormones may affect behaviour.\n  • Neurotransmission and behaviour.\n    • Explain how neurotransmission may affect behaviour.\n  • Genetics and behaviour\n    • Explain how genetics may affect behaviour.\n\nWhere there is a biological variable in the approach, the exam questions will most likely be based on an understanding of how that variable affects behaviour.\n\nFor the other topics, it’s a little different:\n\nLocalization of Brain Function \n\nThis whole concept simply refers to an understanding of how a particular area of the brain performs a certain function. Thus, this is the relationship between a variable and behaviour. But the exam questions for this topic will be releated to research. For example, Explain one study related to localization of brain function.\n\n\nAgain, the relationship is embedded within the topic: our experiences (i.e. behaviour) can affect the brain. So this is like the opposite of the relationship between localization of brain function: the brain affects behaviour, but our behaviour can also affect the brain. But as with localization, the exam questions are likely to be asked based on research. For example, “Explain one study related to neuroplasticity.”\n\nI imagine the phrase “related to” will be used a lot, because it has to be this vague based on the ambiguity in the subject guide.\n\nAnd of course, research methods and ethics could be the basis of any question.\n\nSo you can see, the exam questions for the biological approach will be pretty straightforward to prepare for. Provided students have developed an understanding of relationships between biological variables and how these can be demonstrated in studies, they will be fine.\n\nAnd I haven’t gotten into the difference between SAQs and essay questions, but all you need to do is throw in a level three command term and you’ve got an essay question. E.g. “To what extent do hormones/neurotransmitters/genetics influence behaviour?” “Evaluate research related to ….” etc.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8105624914169312}
+{"content": "Long ago, Morro, the Master of Wind, was Master Wu’s first pupil. He had great talent and Wu believed he was on the path to becoming the Green Ninja. However, at the crucial moment, the Golden Weapons of Spinjitzu did not react to him (as they would one day for Lloyd). Wu attempted to convince Morro to give up on his quest, but the embittered young man refused. Morro went off on his own in search of the Tomb of the First Spinjitzu Master and perished in the Caves of Despair (it’s believed he may have been killed by the explosive geysers present in the caves). For reasons that remain a mystery, he was banished to the Cursed Realm. Morro later escaped, possessed Lloyd’s body and led a ghostly legion into battle in the NINJAGO® world. In the end, the Preeminent dragged Morro beneath the water and his ghostly form was destroyed.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7753652334213257}
+{"content": "The key influencers of fatigue\n\nThe key influencers of fatigue come down to how much one sleeps, the quality of that sleep and the timing consistency of when that sleep occurs. \n\nEach metric has a range that’s considered normal, fair, or poor. Those details can be found here.\n\n\nSleep quantity is the most straightforward influencer of fatigue. Most adults require 7-9 hours of sleep daily to function optimally. \n\n\n\nSleep quality is the most complicated influencer of fatigue. There are many metrics that could possibly suggest at someone’s sleep quality, but several of them can only be measured with in-lab sleep testing (Polysomnography). On Analyze, metrics like Wake after sleep onset, Awakenings, Sleep latency, and Sleep efficiency may give you an idea of sleep quality.  \n\nWake after sleep onset is a measure of sleep quality, helping you understand how fragmented someone's sleep is. It's the total number of awake minutes between the sleep onset and wake time.  \n\nAwakenings are the estimated number of times someone wakes up for longer than 5 mins during their major sleep period. Analyze also has an Awakenings per hour metric which also helps you understand how fragmented someone’s sleep is. It's the number of total awakenings divided by the quantity of sleep obtained.\n\nSleep latency is the average amount of time it takes for someone to transition from wakefulness to sleep. Take this metric with a grain of salt. It can be inflated on occasions where someone is motionless reading a book or watching a movie.  \n\nSleep efficiency is another metric that could be influenced by someone laying in bed but not sleeping (i.e. reading a book or watching a movie). It’s the percentage of time spent in bed sleeping. \n\nBoth Sleep latency and Sleep efficiency are helpful hints as to someone’s sleep quality if looked at from a macro perspective and in conjunction with other metrics.\n\n\nGoing to bed and waking up at the same time every day makes everything to do with sleep easier. Inconsistent sleepers will find it more difficult to fall asleep and wake, and to regularly obtain a sufficient amount of sleep. This is due to the 24-hour internal body clock (the circadian rhythm) which cycles between sleepiness and alertness at regular intervals. When we deviate daily from the natural signals of our body clock, our natural biology gets out of alignment.\n\nMetrics like Sleep onset, Wake time, Onset variance, and Wake variance are the key metrics here. Sleep onset is the time of transition from wakefulness to sleep for the major sleep period or the moment one falls asleep, and Wake time marks the end of the major sleep period or when one wakes up. \n\nThe Onset and Wake variances are measures of consistency. Onset variance tells you how much difference there is between a particular night’s Sleep onset and the average sleep onset for the date range you’ve selected. Wake variance is calculated in the same way using Wake times.\n\n\nUsing Analyze\n\nTo learn what each metric is, how it’s calculated, and what the normal range is, hover over the name. What values show up as red, orange, or green are dependent on the normal range for that particular metric. \n\nSort the table by a metric by clicking the name. You can also choose to hide or show particular metrics using the dropdown menu just above the table on the right. This helps you focus on the metrics you want, and not the ones you don’t. \n\nTrend, while not a sleep metric itself, is a great way to understand who's sleep is improving, and who's may not be. Here's a whole article on it. \n\nDid this answer your question?", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6004803776741028}
+{"content": "viernes, 14 de agosto de 2015\n\nAugust 14: Today is the anniversary of the occupation of Beijing by the Eight-Nation Alliance to end the bloody Boxer Rebellion, August 14, 1900. Also known as the \"Eight Powers Expedition\" was an alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary, US, France, Italy, Japan, UK, and Russia, whose military forces intervened in China to release the diplomatic delegations making the Boxer Rebellion in the late summer of 1900.\n\nBoxer (\"straight and harmonious Fist\") was a peasant movement that attacked and killed foreign diplomats, missionaries and Chinese Christians across northern China, from 1899, as absentia by foreign cultural invasion in Chinese customs.\n\nTroops of the Eight nations alliance in 1900 against China.\nLeft to right: Britain, United States, Australia, India (UK),\n\nThis happened in the government of the Qing Dynasty which was Tzu-Hsi Empress (\"The Empress Cixi\") who supported the Boxers with the Imperial military. Foreign armed forces marched from Tianjin and were defeating the Qing imperial army in several meetings to terminate the Boxer Rebellion in 1900.\n\n\nThe Qing imperial government had to accept defeat and sign the Boxer Protocol on 7 September 1901. This Protocol was part of the unequal treaties imposed on China.\n\nHero Han Chinese General Nie Shicheng , who fought both the Boxers and the Allies.\n\nIt is good to remember the \"Opium Wars\" imposed on China by the United Kingdom of Great Britain, to demand buy the opium that the British brought its colony India, to brutalize the Chinese people.\n\nPrint(reproduction) of the original \"I'll Try Sir,\" U.S. Army in Action historical painting, depicting the United States Army during the 14 August 1900 Allied Relief Expedition assault on the outer walls of Peking in China during the Boxer Rebellion.\n\nThe first war was in 1839-1842; and the second Opium War lasted from 1856 to 1860. How awful! British drug traffickers forced the Chinese to consume opium with the help of the British government: two wars! What a humiliation!\n\nRussian officers in Manchuria during the Boxer Rebellion.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.729825496673584}
+{"content": "Saturday, October 19, 2013\n\nClimate Change, Phenology and Niche\n\nOne of the fundamental questions that ecologist ask is \"what are the physical conditions that enable species co-existence?\" or alternatively \"what are the physical conditions that enable species dominance?\" Ecologist often use the fundamental niche to describe conditions that a species is suited, and the realized niche to describe the locations  (or conditions) where the species is actually observed.\n\nRapidly changing temperatures are causing a bit of a stir. Many plants and animals life-histories are tightly controlled or coupled with environmental conditions. For instance,  you may have noticed that years with warmer springs often bring earlier blossoming of cherry trees. Not all plants and animals respond to higher temperatures in the same way, some species' phenology (or timing of a life history event) may be tightly coupled with temperature while others less so. Large scale variation in temperatures can thus alter the relative timing of phenology between two species. If one of these species is dependent on the other for food this can be a bad thing for species B. Climate change can not only influence the relationship between predator and prey it can also change the amount of apparent competition between sets of species.\n\nIn a paper I have recently published, I showed that higher temperature can lead to less niche overlap between species in the southern New England benthic community, specifically the \"fouling community\". The fouling community is compose of animals like tunicates, mussels, barnacles and bryozoans that compete for space on hard substrates like subtidal boulders. Niche overlap has been used as a proxy for competition between species within a community. Lower niche overlap may be a result of earlier recruitment driven by temperature. Higher temperatures effectively make more time available for species in the community to recruit. With more time available for recruitment this may mean that there is less competition for some species during there periods of recruitment.\n\nOne interesting pattern that we observed during this study is that more recent invasive species tend to recruit latter in the year. Another way to way this is that the the timing of recruitment of invasive species is correlated to there relative time of there historical invasion into southern New England. The reasons for this pattern are not quite clear but this may be a case of species evolving earlier recruitment.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9618821144104004}
+{"content": "What is an Art Gallery\n\nArt galleries are venues to advertise the works of art of anniversary accommodating artist. Collections in art galleries are rapidly alteration and there is a accelerated about-face with the items accepting awash in the Art galleries as humans blitz about to buy what has been featured in the endure several weeks. Special exhibits are generally done and it may cover an alone artisan or several artists or art guilds to be involved. These alone artists plan with their a lot of priced masterpiece in the exhibit.\nPaintings, sculptures and even photography can be captivated on exhibit. In this way, art galleries advance the acknowledgment of the arts. Emerging artists account abundant from the appearance of art galleries. They accept that alacrity and activity that is acerb bare to add a little aroma on their painting careers. A belvedere is usually provided to accumulate abundant accent for the items. Art galleries acquiesce the accumulating of a agency on the sales done for the art arcade items. In some cases, if traveling out an art display there is an acceptance fee accepting collected. Artists sometimes pay display fees to acquiesce anniversary and every individual artisan who is absorbed in abutting with the exhibit.\nVisual art is the accepted plan accepting apparent in art galleries. Paintings are the a lot of featured anatomy of beheld art which are accepting placed in an exhibit. Other galleries affection a advanced arrangement of art forms. Carve and photography can aswell be included for an exhibit. Assertive types of art galleries do accept this arrangement of specialization in adjustment to board a assertive blazon of art plan with abundant absorption and order. For this acumen the photo galleries and carve breadth abide in adjustment to accommodate art enthusiasts for photography and carve can accept a accomplishing time spent in the art arcade because of the advanced arrangement of exhibits to analysis out and appreciate. There has been a lot of art galleries absolute in the apple and these art galleries has been a bench for ability and analysis of aesthetic and artistic prowess.\nThe arresting adorableness of attributes from all about the apple has been the accepted highlight for art galleries. Every individual day, a lot of artists aftermath and actualize an absolutely different masterpiece with their own claimed blow and adroitness and all of these artworks are accepting placed on art galleries for the accessible to appearance or to accord the accessible the adventitious to acquirement any art anatomy that they acquisition acceptable for them.\nAs mentioned earlier, art galleries accept assorted purposes to serve why they captivated such art exhibit. Art galleries aim to advance the art enthusiasts to acknowledge a army belvedere by a accurate artist. The galleries accept acquired abundant acceptance because of the advance in acquaintance that art such as painting, sculptor and akin can calm this afraid apple we reside in. If you try to analysis the internet, you will see that the appeal for art and artists are accepting stronger. In this regard, online galleries are accessible to advice out those art enthusiasts to adore their a lot of admired anatomy of art appropriate in the comforts of their own homes.\nMark Traston is an accessory with Account Painting. The aggregation specializes in axis a photo to painting. Anniversary account artisan specializes in a specific breadth including marriage paintings, pet portraits, and controlling portraits.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9825471639633179}
+{"content": "Thursday, April 15, 2004\n\nOne More Potshot at Anarcho-Capitalism\n\nSorry, this one was so good that I simply couldn't help myself!\n\n\"Anarchy is the ideal for ideal man.\"\n-- James Buchanan, The Limits of Liberty: Between Anarchy and Leviathan.\n\nJust in case anyone was wondering, yes, that was the James Buchanan of Public Choice Theory I've quoted poo-pooing anarcho-capitalism. That doesn't make him necessarily correct (arguments from authority and all that), but it does say something about just how friendless anarcho-capitalists and Austrians are even amongst those who would seem to be their natural constituencies on ideological grounds. One can make perfectly sound arguments against the extension of government power without resorting to a flight from the world of experience into a self-contained universe of abstract reasoning based on \"self evidently true\" axioms.\n\nAs a sidenote, I find it striking that Austrians criticize mainstream economists for having too much faith in their abstract mathematical models, yet they themselves reject empirically grounded arguments for the sake of axioms they believe to be \"obviously\" true, and from which they imagine that all that can and needs to be said about economics can be derived. In this attitude, it is actually the Austrians who are closer to mathematicians in their intoxication with abstract systems of reasoning, although Austrians are unlike mathematicians in that they lack any awareness that even the most \"obviously true\" axioms can lead one to conclusions that are manifestly at variance with reality - Euclid's notorious parallel postulate being one easily accessible example of this phenomenon. Most mathematicians are well aware that there are worlds outside of the traditional ZFC-based set theory that lies at the foundation of their work, but the Austrians and their fellow travellers seem not to have reached a level of awareness of the possibility of alternative and equally viable foundations that mathematicians arrived at more than half a century ago.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6430457234382629}
+{"content": "Contraction and Pleasure of Cardiac Fiber. Principle of the most important element of the human body.\n\nOctober 31, 2016\n\n\n\nContraction of cardiac fibres is known as a method that is manifested because of a well-balanced connections linking substantial-energy levels phosphates, contractile necessary protein, cell method of travel systems of calcium supplements, and calcium supplements ions. With the first phases of the process is an intricate result, the starting point of activity probable. Caused by the process is the shortening of your muscle fibres. The first measures would-be is excitation even though the ensuing steps could possibly be the contraction. Troponin-tropomyosin complex on actin is responsible for the entire process of contraction to take place. Peacefulness really is a process when the cardiac muscle dynamic dividends after the procedure of contraction to the earliest posture of stress and duration. Adenosine Triphosphate, which range on myosin, is in charge of the whole process of pleasure (Chirinos and Gillebert 2013, p. 299).\n\nFor the proper contraction to happen there ought to be two materials. The weather are thinner filaments of actin and thick filaments of myosin. Troponin is firmly limited with tropomyosin to form a functioning component, troponin-tropomyosin demanding. The latter is the main cause on the contraction operation as the regulatory protein. Along the way of diastole, troponin-tropomyosin is limited on actin, and yes it inhibits the chemical substance effect concerning myosin and actin. Over the plateau period of measures possibilities (excitation) which precedes systole, cytoplasmic power of calcium mineral elevates. At this time, calcium supplements is limited with troponin. Accordingly, troponin-myosin complicated . is separate from your binding with actin. Inhibitory impact of troponin-myosin elaborate in actin is removed, and substance connections between these myosin and actin takes place. As a result of staying sure with actin, the clubbed substances of myosin are leant, therefore it changes myosin and actin filaments in mutually reverse guidelines.\n\nAs indicated by moving way of thinking, the actin filaments push telescopically in between the myosin filaments but the duration of as well on the filaments is absolutely not transformed. All program is manifested as contraction. Since it is a hard activity, calcium supplements takes on an important role because contraction inducer. Calcium supplements, which functions being a inducer, originates from completely different sources. It will possibly come from the extracellular place exactly where it is actually obtained in two webpages. The two web-sites are sarcolemma per se and shallow motion picture of sarcolemma-glycocalyx. Calcium may be able to come from the sarcoplasmic reticulum precisely where it is really developed by second stations coupled with a equipment of vesicles. Both of them are mutually trans-attached creating a kind of calcium depot. In the time of depolarization of myocardial tissue, calcium supplement ions are moved from added-cell area inside the coronary heart muscle tissue mobile phone (Dweck and Pinto 2014, p. 33).\n\nThe move happens simply by decrease calcium supplement routes popped at the time of plateau time period of motion full potential. Within the routes, a small number of calcium ions are moved to the cell and the process is supported by exchange method generally known as Na -Ca2 . The system can perform moving salt and calcium within guidelines. When intracellular concentration of calcium not in the mobile is lessened, knowning that of salt in the mobile phone is higher, the system secures the exchange of salt outward and calcium supplements inward the mobile phone. The other levels in and away from the mobile phone facilitates transporting to take place in reverse guidelines. Extracellular calcium mineral ions entering into the cell could very well be good at myocytes by two alternative methods. It may well operation specifically as activating calcium. This would mean soon after coming into the cellular, they promptly bind to troponin causing contraction. They are effective in the calcium supplements-stimulated routine wherein calcium is presented out of your sarcoplasmic reticulum. At the beginning of doing this, the small amount of calcium sent within the cell binds on sarcoplasmic reticulum. For this reason, sarcoplasmic reticulum irritates and emits its calcium that could be good to activate cellular contractile apparatus.\n\nThe whole process of contraction and peace will not depict only the effect of the interaction of calcium mineral with contractile proteins. Adenosine Triphosphate and merchandise of that splitting represents an important role along the way of contraction. Elevated effort ATP is expected given it donates electric power along the way of contraction (systole) and while doing so; it can be essential for the relief of contractile meats (diastole). During the process of peacefulness . (diastole), ATP is bound throughout the myosin molecule. ATP processes, likewise, as troponin-myosin complicated .. Then again, ATP as being the hyperlink to myosin inhibits the actin-myosin relationship. The house which may be accountable in ATP’s tendencies is known as ATP plasticizing results. Rest progression is fixed in two different elements (Ruggieri and Miller 2014, p. 83).\n\nIn the event the cytoplasmic measure of Ca2 ions will increase at the outset of systole, it has an effect on it influences the contractile proteins in just two possibilities. Blend of calcium supplement with troponin inhibits troponin-tropomyosin advanced creating a rise in actin. Myosin ATP-ase that has been included in myosin molecule is activated by Ca2 ions. Myosin ATP-ase activated splits ATP bound to the myosin molecule into two; ADP and Pi. For the reason that inhibitory influence of ATP upon the development of actin-myosin connection is suppressed in one stop, chemical substance vigour is received from ATP molecule on the other side, in fact it is converted into mechanized effort of contraction. The outcome are identical given that it once was declared in telescopical slipping of small filaments of actin relating to the thicker filaments of myosin. Myosin and actin fabric stay in the mutually implanted roles before some other new molecule of ATP is bound on those of myosin. Now, the filament earnings to earlier casual standing just where diastole requires destination.\n\nIn closing\n\nThe filaments of myosin and actin are solely accountable for the process of contraction. At the same time of diastole, two inhibitory systems come into participate in, which inhibits the interplay anywhere between myosin and actin (Fleischer and Dvir 2013, p. 85). It is really ATP molecule, which binds with myosin on one hand and troponin-tropomyosin complex, which binds with actin then again. Calcium supplement quantity within the cell raises in polarization. Calcium supplement initiates myosin ATP-ase that splits ATP and at the same time, it binds with troponin. For this reason, ATP substances on myosin and inhibitory final result of your troponin-tropomyosin challenging on actin are removed bringing about relationships among myosin and actin.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9992884993553162}
+{"content": "Latest News!\n\nTournament Schedules\n\nAdversity 16s 10-21\n\nAdvversity 18s 10-21\n\nSpirit Store NOW OPEN!\n\n\nFactors in your decision\n\nThe Coaches coaching Background\n\nAll coaches have met the Regions requirements, and Adversity has the greatest % of those who have furthered their Volleyball education.  We have 15 coaches who have attended USA Volleyballs coaching program.  Can the other area clubs say the same?\n\nCan you see the coaching staff’s background? There is a myth that merely being a player makes you a better coach. Adversity is proud of the background of our staff and make it available for inspection.\n\nProximity. Remember, close and convenient does not mean best, better or even good. Use the following to help you determine the best choice for you.\n\nCost is another factor.  You can work with Adversity to expand the payment plan, but the difference in fees is less than the difference in opportunities to learn!\n\nOpportunity lost!\n\nPractice          National 180 hours                           Regional 120 hour’s  50% more\n\nWork Out      National 90 hours                             Regional 40 hours     125% more\n\nWe have two weight rooms, to train all of our athletes.  Girls 15 Purple, last season increased their vertical touch height be an average of 3 inches.\n\nCompetitive nature of practices.  Team sizes of 12.  Top 12 players by position so when we scrimmage within the team (almost every day), so they compete against best competition in practice more there than they actually do in tournaments.  Teams scrimmage between age groups as well.\n\nThe number of athletes that have gone on to the next level, which I significant because it endorses our practice philosophy, our teaching curriculum, and our coaches’ excellence. We coach all the athletes the same way in the team setting, so the fact that our athletes are recognized for the college game says volumes. Not every athlete has the physical characteristics to play at the next level, but they get the same training as those that do for their High School seasons.\n\n13 Adversity  Coaches complete USA Volleyballs Coaches Accreditation Program, held at Adversity, August  4-6, 2017!\n\nWhat is CAP? An educational series from the National Governing Body for coaches who want to learn the latest in the science of volleyball and motor learning theory.  And from the best minds in the game!\n\nWhy do CAP?  Adversity believes in continuing education  for its coaches,  just as  teachers do.   Do you want your athlete to learn this great sport based on the most  recent learning’s or a coaches previous playing experience, beliefs or opinions?\n\n\nAdversity 16 Purple finishes 1st in Gold Division at the 2017 Boys Junior National Championships!\n\nHUGE congratulations to Head Coach Benjamin Formica, Assistant Coach Bill Moser & the following players:\n\nSamuel Adkisson\nConnor Clowers\nAdam Krasowski\nJustin McCartney\nJared Moser\nBen Ridgway\nMatthew Sarnowski\nMichael Scott\nKyle Vasquez\nMarcel Wiechnik\nBenjamin Wiegand\nBartosz Wielgos\nCarter Zagorski\n\nFACT: 18 Black’s roster is made up of 75% juniors.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9949519038200378}
+{"content": "Japanese Culture in New York - Chopsticks NY\n\nHOMEFeatureFoodBeautyShopSchoolTravelJapanese Forum\nRestaurant Review\n\nTerakawa Ramen (Midtown West)\n\nRamen / Japanese\n885 9th Ave., (bet. 58th & 59th Sts.) , New York, NY 10019\nTEL: 212-307-0170\nMon-Sun: 11:30 am-10:45 pm\n\nThe end of April saw the opening of a new West Side location of the Gramercy tonkotsu (pork-flavored) ramen shop Terakawa. This style of ramen originated in Kyushu, and Terakawa serves the thicker Kumamoto variety. They offer carefully crafted noodles, as well as side dishes such as homemade gyoza, chicken curry and pork fried rice. Store Manager, Hideki Matsui suggests that customers start by trying the standard Terakawa Ramen, and later experiment with different toppings. They include familiar favorites such as egg and bean sprouts, as well as more unusual offerings such as mozzarella cheese. Whereas the creamy Terakawa Ramen is 100% pork-based broth, the restaurant also has a Miso Ramen which is half pork base and half chicken broth, a Shoyu (soy sauce) Ramen that is a chicken broth, and a Tan Tan Noodle comprised of chicken broth with sesame and miso and topped with slightly spicy minced meat. Another item that might surprise customers with its color is the Mayu Ramen, a “blissful black” soup flavored by seared leek in garlic oil. Don’t forget to add Terakawa’s homemade fried garlic and sesame to your soup for some extra flavor!\n\nTerakawa Ramen\n\nTerakawa Ramen’s namesake is a pork bone based soup, featuring thin, al dente noodles. Toppings include bamboo shoots, red ginger, roast pork, boiled egg, scallions and kikurage mushrooms. First, eat as it is, and then try with their homemade fried garlic. You’ll see the garlic multiplies the tastefulness.\n\n\n3 Best Sellers\nTerakawa Ramen $9\nShoyu Ramen $9\nTan Tan Noodle $10", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9761857390403748}
+{"content": "Gain instant strength by tricking your body into lifting two more reps, boosting your anabolic advantage on the spot.\n\nImagine you’re driving up a hill that’s so scary steep you’re worried about rolling backward if you back off on the gas pedal. As you’re flooring your car’s accelerator, the engine is churning maximally to keep you climbing. Then, instead of continuing ever upward, you take a detour, but as the road’s angle decreases you continue to keep the pedal to the proverbial metal. Of course, without easing up on the power on this flatter road, you accelerate. You’re pushing the engine just as hard, but now that its load has lightened you’re able to move more easily.\n\nNow, let’s consider this as an analogy for weight training. Do a single rep with a maximum weight (steep road) and follow that with a set of reps with a moderate weight (flatter road), and your engine, so to speak, will be raring to go all-out as you move through your second set. Fact is, you’ll actually be stronger with that lighter load than if you hadn’t preceded it with the heavy load because your muscles are, in effect, accelerated. The max-out method — the name of this approach — is a workout technique that uses this acceleration: By pairing heavy and lighter loads, max out can actually speed up your strength gains and push your muscle growth into overdrive.\n\nEngine Mechanics\n\nA second startling tale was whispered about Canadian Ben Johnson’s infamous 100-meter sprint at the 1988 Olympics — one that didn’t involve doping. The tale involved the cutting edge of sports science, and the story went like this: 10 minutes before traveling 100 meters on foot in less time than any other human in history, Johnson squatted 600 pounds for three reps.\n\nThe story sounds counterintuitive. How could someone run at his best after taxing his legs with such heavy lifting? Well, fact is, Johnson didn’t. The pre-dash squatting is a myth. But if the weights had been nearby, perhaps he could have done the feat and finished as well as he had. What happened subsequently is that thanks to the tale, a generation of athletes came to learn about post-activation potentiation (PAP).\n\nEven before the term “post-activation potentiation” was coined, the technique was used in baseball. Swinging a weighted bat in the on-deck circle before stepping to the plate makes the actual bat you use at the plate feel lighter and thus move faster. This same approach can be used with your weight-training. By using a heavy weight before a moderate weight, you can make the latter feel lighter and thus eke out more reps than you’d normally be able to. This in turn will stimulate more growth in the muscles.\n\nExercise physiologist explains the science behind this: “Lifting a heavy weight is like a wake-up call for your muscles. Then, when you follow the heavy weight with a set of lighter weight, your muscles react as if they’re still raring to move that heavier weight. In this way, you’re about 10% stronger when handling the lighter weight.\n\n“The precise mechanism for this is unknown,”continues, “but it’s theorized the approach works because the heavy weight enlists more motor unit recruitment and force, and your nervous system anticipates that you’re doing another heavy set. But instead, you give it a lighter set so that your revved up nervous system recruits more muscle fibers, and you’re stronger than you’d otherwise be on that second set had you been training in a more standard manner.”\n\nRevving Up\n\nWhile there are numerous ways of incorporating PAP into your weight training, explains one method that’s especially effective for stimulating muscle growth: the max-out method. He notes: “After warm-ups, your first set should be a single rep performed with approximately 90% of your one-rep max [1RM]. Next, rest for as long as five minutes to ensure that you’re fully recovered.\n\n“Then you should do the second set of the same exercise — using a weight that’s approximately 80% of your 1RM — something with which you can usually get about eight reps. You push this set to failure; you should be able to eke out 1–2 reps more than if you hadn’t preceded this set with the post-activation potentiaton heavy set. After another lengthy rest, you can then repeat this sequence.”\n\nGo Multijoint\n\nThe max-out method is going to be most effective with those lifts on which you can pack on the most plates, so favor multijoint, bilateral exercises like leg presses and overhead presses rather than doing, say, one-arm triceps press downs (one joint, unilateral). Instead, for your triceps max-out lift, choose close-grip bench presses (two joints, bilateral). Furthermore, to make certain you can move the greatest amount of iron when using this approach, do your max-out sets first for a bodypart before fatigue levels have set in. After completing max-out sets, follow them with regular sets of 8–12 reps on isolation and compound exercises.\n\nWarm Up — It’s Crucial\n\nSafety should always be your paramount concern, so warm up thoroughly before your one-rep max-out set. By using 90% of your maximum, the weight you push should be something with which you can get a relatively easy single, but use a spotter whenever necessary. Maintain strict form, and do just one rep even if you feel you can get another (because it’s the set after this one that really counts!). This isn’t the time to extend beyond that one rep with additional forced reps or to incorporate other intensity techniques. This is your “one-and-done” set. The second set is to failure.\n\nYour Machine Options\n\nMachines will allow you to more safely do your 90% set on many exercises and more safely go to failure on your 80% set — even if you have spotters. For this reason, returning to the triceps, as an example, it’s generally best to do your close-grip bench presses with a Smith machine instead of a barbell. Conversely, avoid lifts like barbell incline presses and barbell front squats where one-rep sets and failure sets become risky propositions. (See “Multijoint Maximizers” at right for examples of (mostly) mechanical compound exercises ideal for the max-out method.) Biceps are difficult to hit with a multijoint exercise, so choose a single-joint, bilateral lift in which you can pack on substantial iron, such as barbell curls or EZ-bar preacher curls.\n\n\nThe max-out method is a high-intensity technique for advanced trainers. “Don’t do more than three one-rep sets and three lighter follow-up sets per exercise,” he instructs, “and use the max-out method only once per bodypart before moving on to other exercises done for straight sets. Because it’s a high-intensity technique, you should do less volume than usual in a routine when you incorporate the max-out method.”\n\nHe also recommends you follow the max-out sequence with another set of the same exercise done with 70% of your 1RM and pushed to failure. In this way the sequence of exercises doing, say, Smith-machine overhead presses would follow the protocol in “Constructing Your Max-Out Workout” at right.\n\nThis is then followed by sets of 8–12 reps of the other exercises you typically do in your shoulder routine. For example, you may do dumbbell lateral raises, barbell front raises and pec-deck reverse flyes. To make certain you fully recover when using max out, reduce your normal volume in exercises that complement the max-out exercise. In our example, if you normally do four sets of those single-joint shoulder moves, do only 2–3 sets because they’re preceded by max-out shoulder presses, which also hit your middle and front delts. In addition, don’t add other intensity techniques, like drop sets or forced reps to a max-out workout.\n\nYou can use max out at any time to shock a complacent bodypart into new growth, but he recommends a routine that incorporates one max-out exercise for each major bodypart. These exercises can be changed from workout to workout. Stick to the max-out method for a period of 4–6 weeks. Afterward, return to mostly straight sets of 8–12 reps for the next 4–6 weeks.\n\n\nLet’s return to that sprint up a steep hill because it’s an apt analogy for working out. Training shouldn’t always be a level road. Whether packing on muscle or stripping off fat, the key to progress is to avoid the easiest path and instead climb over challenging obstacles. The max-out method makes your journey easier in the long run by making your journey harder in the short term. The cool thing about this, though, is that it accomplishes it via a little trickery on your nervous system, in effect faking out your physique, prepping you for an all-out assault and then lightening the load. Max out revs up your muscles to use ever greater weights and, in so doing, keeps you speeding onward and upward toward your goals.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8387926816940308}
+{"content": "RadioLocman.com Electronics ru\nAdvanced Search +\n\n\nSimple sawtooth generator operates at high frequency\n\nLuca Bruno, Italy\n\nPulse-width-modulation signal-generator circuits often use an analog sawtooth-oscillator function, but it also can be useful in other applications. The inexpensive sawtooth generator in Figure 1 suits use in low-power applications operating at frequencies as high as 10 MHz and beyond and those in which ramp linearity and frequency accuracy are not prominent concerns.\n\nSimple sawtooth generator operates at high frequency\n\nFigure 1.\n\nYou can use the CT ramp’s charge and fast discharge to produce a sawtooth. The upper and lower trippoint voltages of the Schmitt trigger limit the sawtooth. See text for the values of VCC, CT, and RT.\n\nThe circuit employs a single Schmitt-trigger inverter, which acts as a modified astable multivibrator. The output waveform is the voltage across timing capacitor CT, which ramps between the lower and the upper threshold voltages of the inverter. Charging the RTCT network at constant voltage causes the ramp, so its response is exponential, approximately linear only for the initial part of the exponential rise.\n\nA simple trick to improve ramp linearity is to charge the RTCT network with a higher-voltage source. Capacitor C1, which has a value that is at least 10 times greater than that of CT, acts as a charge pump. When the gate output is low during the falling edge of the sawtooth, capacitor C1 quickly charges through diode D1 to VCC minus the forward voltage of D1. Meanwhile, capacitor CT discharges quickly through diode D2.\n\nWhen the falling CT voltage reaches the Schmitt trigger’s lower trip point, VT, the gate output returns high. The charge on C1 drives the cathode of D1 to the sum of the voltage of capacitor C1 and the gate’s high output voltage. D1 becomes reverse-biased, and the RTCT network begins to charge to the voltage on C1, along with the gate’s high output voltage. When CT reaches the Schmitt trigger’s upper trip point, VT+, the gate’s output returns low, and the cycle repeats.\n\nRamp linearity is proportional to the sum of the VCC and VDD supply voltages. Because VDD is fixed at 5V, you can improve ramp linearity if VCC can assume a value higher than that of the inverter. You can estimate the ramp’s nonlinearity error using the following equation:\n\nwhere ENL% is the percentage of nonlinearity error, MI is the initial slope of the ramp, and MF is the final slope of the ramp, and\n\nwhere VF is the forward-voltage drop across D1.\n\nThe RTCT time constant sets the frequency, FO, of the sawtooth signal. You can estimate the frequency by applying a simple model to the circuit, which neglects the discharge time of CT and any discharge of CT, yielding the following equation:\n\nwhere K is a constant, which the following equation defines:\n\nBy simulating the circuit with CT=100 pF and RT=2.2 kΩ, which agree with the values that the equations theoretically calculated, you can obtain ramp-nonlinearity errors of 28% with both VCC and VDD equal to 5V, 18% with VCC of 10V and VDD of 5V, and 14% with VCC of 15V and VDD of 5V.\n\nThe breadboarded circuit has VDD=VCC=5V, CT=100 pF, and RT=2.2 kΩ. IC1 is a standard dual-in-line, eight-pin 74HC14, which has a maximum propagation delay of 15 nsec versus 4.4 nsec for the SN74LVC1G14 inverter with a VDD of 5V. The frequency is approximately 12.7 MHz.\n\nCT should be a low-leakage film capacitor, and its value should be kept low to reduce its charging and discharging of a large amount of energy. Select CT with a large enough value compared with the gate’s input capacitance and unwanted stray capacitances so that they do not introduce a significant error.\n\nSelect RT with a small enough value that the load impedance, gate input, and stray capacitances do not introduce significant error.\n\nYou can use any CMOS Schmitt-trigger inverter to test the circuit. To improve frequency accuracy, however, you should use a fast logic family with low propagation delay and high output current, such as the single-gate SN74LVC1G14 from Texas Instruments.\n\nYou should measure the threshold trigger voltages, especially VT, directly from the circuit under test before using the preceding equations. Quickly discharging CT to ground through a finite-propagation-delay inverter causes the lower limit of the ramp to reset below the lower threshold, VT. You can compensate for the resulting error if you use the measured value of VT, which takes this effect into account.\n\nTexas Instruments - SN74LVC1G14\n\nUser Name\nFragments of discussion:Full version of discussion »\n  • The output stage of the device is sensitive to the output impedance. need to put the buffer/apply current amplifier..\n\nNews on theme:\n\nSlices ↓\nRadiolocman facebook Radiolocman twitter Radiolocman google plus", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5727590322494507}
+{"content": "Sundance London is back after a year away. Here's the programme...\n\nAfter a year away, and having clearly decided the East London O2 wasn't working out as a venue for a major film festival (maybe due to the fact that it really can't be called a centrally-located spot) Sundance London is back for 2016. Sundance London isn't a replay of the more famous and bigger US indie film festival, more a culled selection of highlights. This time the Sundance team are making use of the conveniently central and newly-ready Picturehouse Central space to host the entire festival.\n\nSadly, when it comes to what films made it over, there are a couple of notable absences, including The Birth of a Nation, Nate Parker’s film about the Nat Turner slave revolt, bought by Fox Searchlight for a record  $17.5 million after it won the Grand Jury Prize.\n\nHighlights include:\n\nLife, Animated (Director: Roger Ross Williams).\n\nAwards its already picked up: Winner of the Directing Award: U.S. Documentary\n\nOwen Suskind, an autistic boy who could not speak for years, slowly emerged from his isolation by immersing himself in Disney animated movies. Using these films as a roadmap, he reconnects with his loving family and the wider world in this emotional coming-of-age story. (Documentary)\n\nMorris From America (Director: Chad Hartigan.)\n\nAwards its already picked up:  Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award: U.S. Dramatic; U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Individual Performance (Craig Robinson)\n\n\nWeiner (Directors: Josh Kriegman, Elyse Steinberg.)\n\nAwards its already picked up:  Winner of the U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary\n\n\nRegister for Festival and VIP Passes today. Priority booking for Picturehouse Members opens on Friday 6 May and general sales open on Monday 9 May. Visit for more information. \n\n\nOwen Van Spall\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6199719905853271}
+{"content": "Eleonora Gianti\n\n  • Citations Per Year\nLearn More\nSince its introduction in 2003, the Shape Signatures method has been successfully applied in a number of drug design projects. Because it uses a ray-tracing approach to directly measure molecular shape and properties (as opposed to relying on chemical structure), it excels at scaffold hopping, and is extraordinarily easy to use. Despite its advantages, a(More)\nThe tetrameric M2 proton channel of influenza A virus is an integral membrane protein responsible for the acidification of the viral interior. Drugs such as amantadine target the transmembrane region of wild type M2 by acting as pore blockers. However, a number of mutations affecting this domain confer drug resistance, prompting the need for alternative(More)\nInfluenza virus infections lead to numerous deaths and millions of hospitalizations each year. One challenge facing anti-influenza drug development is the heterogeneity of the circulating influenza viruses, which comprise several strains with variable susceptibility to antiviral drugs. For example, the wild-type (WT) influenza A viruses, such as the(More)\nProstate Cancer (PCa), a leading cause of cancer death worldwide (www.cancer.gov), is a complex malignancy where a spectrum of targets leads to a diversity of PCa forms. A widely pursued therapeutic target is the Androgen Receptor (AR). As a Steroid Hormone Receptor, AR serves as activator of transcription upon binding to androgens and plays a central role(More)\nThe signal transducer and activator of transcription 5 (STAT5) is a member of the STAT family of proteins, implicated in cell growth and differentiation. STAT activation is regulated by phosphorylation of protein monomers at conserved tyrosine residues, followed by binding to phospho-peptide pockets and subsequent dimerization. STAT5 is implicated in the(More)\nHv1s are ubiquitous highly selective voltage-gated proton channels involved in male fertility, immunology, and the invasiveness of certain forms of breast cancer. The mechanism of proton extrusion in Hv1 is not yet understood, while it constitutes the first step toward the design of high-affinity drugs aimed at this important pharmacological target. In this(More)\nIn addition to inducing anesthesia, propofol activates a key component of the pain pathway, the transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 ion channel (TRPA1). Recent mutagenesis studies suggested a potential activation site within the transmembrane domain, near the A-967079 cavity. However, mutagenesis cannot distinguish between protein-based and ligand-based(More)\nThe histone deacetylases (HDACs) are able to regulate gene expression, and histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi) emerged as a new class of agents in the treatment of cancer as well as other human disorders such as neurodegenerative diseases. In the present investigation, we report on the synthesis and biological evaluation of compounds derived from the(More)\nThe use of small molecule libraries for fragment-based primary screening (FBS) is a well-known approach to identify protein binders in the low affinity range. However, the search, analysis, and selection of suitable screening fragments can be a lengthy process, because of the large number of compounds that must be analyzed for different levels of(More)\nThe Epstein-Barr Nuclear Antigen 1 (EBNA1) is a critical protein encoded by the Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV). During latent infection, EBNA1 is essential for DNA replication and transcription initiation of viral and cellular genes and is necessary to immortalize primary B-lymphocytes. Nonetheless, the concept of EBNA1 as drug target is novel. Two EBNA1 crystal(More)", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9168062210083008}
+{"content": "Learn More\nThis work is concerned with approximating constraint satisfaction problems (CSPs) with an additional global cardinality constraints. For example, Max Cut is a boolean CSP where the input is a graph G = (V, E) and the goal is to find a cut S ∪ S̄ = V that maximizes the number of crossing edges, |E(S , S̄ )|. The Max Bisection problem is a variant of Max Cut(More)\nmiRNAs (microRNAs) participate in many diseases including cardiovascular disease. In contrast with our original hypothesis, miRNAs exist in circulating blood and are relatively stable due to binding with other materials. The aim of the present translational study is to establish a method of determining the absolute amount of an miRNA in blood and to(More)\nExtracellular pH is usually low in solid tumors, in contrast to the approximately neutral intracellular pH. V-ATPase, which overly functions in some cancers with metastatic potential, plays an important role in maintaining neutral cytosolic pH, very acidic luminal pH, and acidic extracellular pH. ATP6L, the 16 kDa subunit of proton pump V-ATPase, can(More)\nIn hypoxic cells, dysfunctional mitochondria are selectively removed by a specialized autophagic process called mitophagy. The ER-mitochondrial contact site (MAM) is essential for fission of mitochondria prior to engulfment, and the outer mitochondrial membrane protein FUNDC1 interacts with LC3 to recruit autophagosomes, but the mechanisms integrating these(More)\nUNLABELLED Cancer cells possess a unique metabolic phenotype that allows them to preferentially utilize glucose through aerobic glycolysis. This phenomenon is referred to as the \"Warburg effect.\" Accumulating evidence suggests that microRNAs (miRNAs), a class of small noncoding regulatory RNAs, interact with oncogenes/tumor suppressors and induce such(More)\nContrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) is a serious complication in percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) patients, which may be related to the contrast dose used during cardiac catheterization. We prospectively investigated 277 consecutive consenting patients with acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) who were given primary PCI, and we(More)\nxCT, the functional subunit of the system x(c)(-) which plays an important role in maintaining intracellular glutathione (GSH) levels, is expressed in various malignant tumors. Here, we demonstrated that xCT expression is often elevated in HCC and is associated with poor prognosis in HCC patients; moreover, disruption of xCT suppressed HCC cell growth both(More)\nUNLABELLED The pathological relevance and significance of microRNAs (miRNAs) in hepatocarcinogenesis have attracted much attention in recent years; however, little is known about the underlying molecular mechanisms through which miRNAs are involved in the development and progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In this study, we demonstrate that(More)\nOBJECTIVES To investigate the predictive value of the contrast media volume to creatinine clearance (V/CrCl) ratio for the risk of contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) (i.e., within 48-72 hr) and to determine a relatively safe V/CrCl cut-off value to avoid CIN in patients following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). BACKGROUND The V/CrCl ratio is a(More)", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9994469881057739}
+{"content": "Making Connections\n\nFirst evening of Embodied Connections and we were initiated with a kaleidoscope of weather including rain, sunshine, rainbows, more rain and thunderstorms. From a guided visualization, to a discussion about the significance of creating sacred space in the context of growing food, participants were invited to explore some new connections. Before getting to work, we explored the metaphors inherent in preparing the ground, the soil for planting, how in order to grow what we intend to grow, space needs to be cleared.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9978030920028687}
+{"content": "Used if chdir has no argument.\n\nUsed if chdir has no argument and HOME is not set.\n\n\n\nThe command used to get the debugger code. If unset, uses\n\trequire 'perldb.pl'\n\n\n    $ENV{'SHELL'} = '/bin/sh' if $ENV{'SHELL'} ne '';", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9140806794166565}
+{"content": "Not the Russians. The Brits! In 2016, we became part of the VCCP Group. Like-minded souls joining forces across the Atlantic to create a Challenger Network for Challenger Brands.\n\nWhen we first met the crew from VCCP, we were stuck by how down-to-earth and normal they were. Sophisticated accents aside, they felt like people we wanted to work with… us learning from them, and them learning from us. We share a disdain for large networks and believe that together we can serve global clients more effectively, more inventively, and more authentically.\n\n\n\n\n\nDes’s Mattresses\n\nDuring the global financial crisis and subsequent banking breakdown in Spain, Spaniards feared for their money, no longer trusting the banks to keep it safe. They also cut their spending, pulling back on bigger purchases like mattresses, affecting Spanish retailers like Des’s Mattresses.\n\nWhat can happen when consumers no longer trust banks? They hide their money in their mattresses. But Des’s and VCCP took that idea one step further, creating mattresses with built-in safes — a reliable alternative to the unstable banks.\n\nCompare the market\n\nPrice-comparison sites have always been a fairly mundane category, but , VCCP and Compare the Market, a utility and insurance comparison site, set out to change the nature of the category by creating the first comparison site with personality.\n\nCue Aleksandr Orlov, a fictional Russian meerkat and owner of, the basis of a campaign about him and his eternal frustration over the confusion between his website and In the campaign launch in 2009, Aleksander explains that he created TV spots to clear up the confusion between the two sites. Nearly eight years later, the continues and has introduced Aleksander’s family and friends and even toys. The work helped propel the brand from 5% to 40% market share. Today it remains a critical piece of Compare The Market’s marketing, and one of the U.K.’s favorite ad campaigns.\n\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.776738166809082}
+{"content": "Fresco by Antoniazzo Romano\n\nThe fresco is located in an area of the basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, accessible by way of Via Ostiense. Paul, the Apostle of the Gentiles, is rendered with his characteristic beard and elongated profile. He is reading a book, opened in his left hand, while his right hand wields a sword. The weapon is typical in iconographic depictions of the saint, who upon his conversion, no longer persecuted the Christians, but instead fought for their salvation and was eventually martyred, beheaded by the sword.\n\nThe state of the fresco is really delicate. There is oxidation and aging of the varnishes, dust and dirt on the overall surface. In some areas the color is detached. Touch-ups from the past have been identified on different areas. The whole surface needs to be fixed. Restoration includes: Consolidation of the support; removal of oxidized varnish and of previous restorative interventions; cleaning and consolidation of the pictorial surface; photographic documentation; and application of protective varnishes.  Restoration Cost is 35,500 Euros.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9902868866920471}
+{"content": "Tuesday, 1 August 2017\n\nA Beginner's Guide to Tax-Efficient Investing\n\ncalculator and money\n\n\nSimply put, tax efficiency is a measure of how much of an investment's return is left over after taxes are paid. The more that an investment relies on investment income – rather than a change in its price – to generate a return, the less tax-efficient it is to the investor. This article will detail common strategies for creating a more tax-efficient portfolio. It will discuss tools commonly overlooked by investors that result in lower lifetime returns due to paying higher taxes.\n\nSource: Investopedia\n\nEmoticon Emoticon", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.972943127155304}
+{"content": "Friday , October 20 2017\nHome / Resources / Articles / Fitness and Fatness Independently Linked with CVD Risk Factors\n\nFitness and Fatness Independently Linked with CVD Risk Factors\n\nMaintaining or improving current fitness levels, as well as not packing on the fat pounds, are both independently associated with a lower risk of developing hypertension, metabolic syndrome, and hypercholesterolemia in healthy adults.\n\nDr. Duck-chul Lee (University of South Carolina, Columbia) stated that, “We know that people who exercise will lose weight and improve their fitness, but in the real world, some people don’t lose weight even though they might gain some fitness.” “Some of these people might stop exercising because they expected to lose weight and haven’t, but this study shows that they should also be aware about their changes in fitness. Even though they don’t lose weight, if they increase their fitness, they can offset some of the negative effects of being overweight.”\n\nLee noted that fitness and fatness are two variables that consistently change over time in individuals and that there are many diverse combinations of fitness and fatness in US adults. In fact, the “fit-fat” paradox has been demonstrated in some studies, showing that improvements in fitness can eliminate the harmful effects of fatness and suggesting that fit but fat individuals might not develop health problems.\n\nIn the ACLS analysis, 3148 healthy subjects underwent three medical examinations, with fitness levels assessed using maximal treadmill testing and fatness documented with body-mass index (BMI) and skinfold measurements of percentage of body fat. During a six-year follow-up after the second medical examination, 752 subjects developed high blood pressure, 426 developed metabolic syndrome, and 597 developed hypercholesterolemia.\n\nIndividuals who maintained or improved their fitness levels had a 26% and 28% lower risk of developing hypertension, a 42% and 52% lower risk of developing metabolic syndrome, and a 26% and 30% lower risk of developing elevated levels of LDL cholesterol, respectively. These reductions were observed after adjustment for potential confounders and baseline fitness levels.\n\nFor those subjects who got fatter in follow-up, as measured by percentage of body fat, they had a 26%, 71%, and 48% higher risk of developing hypertension, metabolic syndrome, and hypercholesterolemia, respectively, when compared with individuals who lost weight. Similar results were observed when BMI was used as the criterion for fatness levels.\n\nEvery 1-MET improvement in fitness was associated with a 7%, 22%, and 12% lower risk of developing hypertension, metabolic syndrome, and hypercholesterolemia, respectively, while every unit increase in percentage of body fat was associated with a 4%, 10%, and 5% increased risk of developing the cardiovascular risk factors.\n\nDr. Lee went on to say that, “In the real world, people change their fitness levels or fatness over time.” “Fitness and fatness, not the baseline levels, but the changes over time, are both independently important to reduce cardiovascular disease risk factors.”\n\nIn joint analyses, the researchers found that patients who had stable or increasing amounts of fatness in combination with loss of fitness had significantly higher rates of cardiovascular risk factors when compared with the reference group, that being individuals who gained fitness over time and lost fat. They did observe that losing fitness regardless of fat changes and getting fatter irrespective of the change in fitness levels were associated with a higher risk of developing metabolic syndrome. The adverse effects of getting fatter were attenuated slightly if fitness was maintained or improved, while declines in fitness could be offset by reductions in body-fat percentage.\n\n“Maintaining or improving fitness levels and preventing fat gain are both important, independent of the changes of each other,” said Lee. “Second, we found that the ideal combination is to improve fitness and prevent fat gain, but as long as individuals maintain fitness and fatness, they are not likely to be at higher risk of cardiovascular disease risk factors. Losing weight and gaining fitness is very challenging to the general population, but maintaining fitness and fatness are less so and more doable.”\n\nThe results of the study, an analysis of the Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study (ACLS), a prospective study of individuals who received preventive medical examinations, are published online February 6, 2012 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6140620708465576}
+{"content": "What’s in a name?\n\nReal Carpio So\n\nReal Carpio So\n\nChief Executive Officer. Market Researcher. Engineer.\n\n\nA job title is a simplified way of describing a set of responsibilities of an employee. At the very least, it presumes that the employee has the knowledge, skills, abilities that are associated with the title. Moreover, aside from differentiating skills among employees, job titles highlight the contributions of each employee to the organization. They facilitate coordination among teams and foster trust between employees.\n\nFor employees, job titles have meaningful implications. Professionally, job titles are often the first information that an employee communicates about himself. The titles denote a person’s specific knowledge, competencies, and status. These can serve as a source of pride and identity for employees. Job titles are important vehicles for identity expression and image construction.\n\nHousekeeper. Assistant Professor. Nurse Practitioner.\n\nHowever, job titles can also be a source of frustration and stress for employees. For titles that reveal the unpleasant elements of work, employees are naturally reluctant to share their titles. Also, some titles are ineffective in conveying employee competence and contributions. The ambiguity of the title puts the burden of explanation on the employees.\n\nCast Members. Imagineers. Sandwich Artists.\n\nJob titles carry deep social and cultural meaning. A recent study, “Job Titles as Identity Badges: How Self-Reflective Titles can Reduce Emotional Exhaustion” hypothesized that creating one’s own job title or self-reflective title may serve as a “powerful starting point for job crafting and identity work.” In that study as featured in the May 2016 issue of Harvard Business Review, the authors proposed that, “self-reflective titles can be developed and paired with formal job titles as flexible vehicles for identity expression and stress reduction.”\n\nThe study identified three identity-related mechanisms through which self-reflective titles reduce the effects of emotional exhaustion.\n\nOne, self-reflective titles affirm one’s identity in the organization. When employees who have expressed their identities are recognized and validated, they experience self-verification.\n\nTwo, self-reflective titles serve an interpersonal function. These titles make colleagues see each other as human beings, rather than objects performing roles. They also reduce hierarchical differences among employees. By softening these status barriers, self-reflective titles foster psychological safety.\n\nThree, self-reflective titles facilitate smooth and positive interactions with people outside the organization. Because these titles are unconventional, they arouse curiosity and create interesting and enjoyable conversations.\n\nThe need for consistency requires organizations to implement a certain degree of social control. On the other hand, employees strive to balance between fitting in the expectations of the organization and standing out among their colleagues.\n\nDirector of First Impressions (Receptionist). Business Communications Conveyor (Courier). Director of Chaos (Events Organizer)\n\nSelf-reflective titles can be negative. In spite of good intentions, outsiders may be wary about how the organization works. Despite the fun factor, some titles may make an employee look less than professional by outsiders.\n\nIn delicate situations or with uncooperative audience, the use of professional titles may hurt employees’ images and the organizations that they are representing. This can be true when the titles exceed the actual roles and capabilities of the individuals using them. Negative reactions are to be expected when titles do not match the perceived responsibilities of the job.\n\nChange Catalyst (Business Executive). Nutritional Intervention Advisor (Weight Loss Consultant). Food Preparation Officer (Cook)\n\nMoreover, how long will the effect of self-reflective titles last? The novelty could wear off after a short time. What prospects await the employee when he leaves the organization? The title may be beyond the comprehension of a future employer.\n\nI am inclined to doubt. I am the “Resident Skeptic.”\n\n\n\nPlease follow our commenting guidelines.\n\nComments are closed.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.822710394859314}
+{"content": "SKY Machinery Co., Ltd.\n\nPopular search, learn more.\n\nWhat is coal? - Origin Energy\n\nHowever, there are actually two main types of coal: ‘thermal’ coal, which is mostly used for power generation, and ‘metallurgical’ coal, which is mostly used .\n\nCOAL: Origin, types, mining and uses - Vanguard News\n\n\nDivision of Geology and Mineral Resources - Coal\n\nCoal Production in ia In 2015, coal mine operators in ia produced about 133 million tons (Figure 1) Of the nation’s 25 coal-producing states .\n\nCOAL-Rank, Grade and Type | Coal | Lignite\n\nCOAL-Rank, Grade and Type - Download as Powerpoint Presentation (ppt), PDF File (pdf), Text File (txt) or view presentation slides online\n\nCoal mining in the United States - Wikipedia\n\nCoal mining in the United States is a major industry, coal being mined in 25 states, 40% on public lands , Trends in US coal production by type of coal, 1949-2011\n\nMetallurgical Coal and Coke Testing - SGS\n\nMETALLURGICAL COAL AND COKE TESTING , tendencies of coals or coal blends when , Type is determined\n\nCoal | Center for Climate and Energy Solutions\n\nSource: US Energy Information Agency, “Coal Explained,” 2012 Bituminous coal is the most abundant type of coal in the United States and it is divided into two .\n\nDOE - Fossil Energy: A Brief History of Coal Use in the ,\n\nCoal is the most plentiful fuel in the fossil family and it has the longest and, perhaps, the most varied history Coal has been used for heating since the cave man\n\nThe Energy Story - Chapter 8: Fossil Fuels - Coal, Oil and ,\n\nThere are three major forms of fossil fuels: coal, oil and natural gas All three were formed many hundreds of millions of years ago before the time of the dinosaurs .\n\nFossil Energy Study Guide: Coal\n\n3 Coal Fossil Energy Study Guide: Coal the overburden, then the soils are replaced and the area restored as nearly as possible to its original contours\n\nDOE - Fossil Energy: A Brief Overview of Coal\n\nAmerica has more coal than any other fossil fuel resource The United States also has more coal reserves than any other single country in the world\n\nUtah Mining Association - Types of Coal\n\nReturn to Home Page COAL When you hear the word \"COAL,\" what do you think of! An industry that has more than doubled in productivity since 1980?\n\n\nCCTR Indiana Center for Coal Technology Research 2 As geological processes apply pressure to peat over time, it is transformed successively into different types of coal\n\nCoal - WOU Homepage - Western Oregon University\n\nCoal Rank Since different coal beds form under different conditions of temperature and pressure, the amount of oxygen removed will differ in different coal sampl\n\nHow many types of coal are there? - Quora\n\nCoal is a fossil fuel which is formed by the decomposition and degradation of plant, vegetation and animal life over a period of million of years under the pressure .\n\nTypes of coal, lignite, subbituminous coal, anthracite ,\n\nThe coal with the highest carbon content is the best and cleanest type of coal to use , Makes of coal Types / ranks of coal How coal is formed CO2 comparison of fuels\n\nWhich type of coal is used in the thermal power plant in ,\n\nWhich coal is majorly used in thermal power plant in India? And how much pollutants does it emit to generate 1Kw of electricity?\n\ncoal utilization | coal | Britannica\n\nCoal utilization, combustion of coal or its conversion into useful solid, gaseous, and liquid products By far the most important use of coal is in combustion, mainly .\n\nWhat is Coal? - Facts, Types, Formation & Uses - Video ,\n\nUses of Coal In the United States, coal is responsible for almost 50% of electricity generation Globally, coal generates close to 67% of the electricity used\n\nThe Coal Collection | National Museum Wales\n\nTypes of Coal Different types of coal can be formed depending on the original plant matter, and the history of the deposit - was it buried deeply, was it heated, or .\n\nCoal 101: types of coal - ABC Tropical Queensland ,\n\nCoal 101: types of coal , \"Coke is actually produced from a mixture of mainly coking coals and some other coals A lot of Bowen Basin coal is hard coking coal, .\n\nChapter 6 Agricultural Uses of Coal Combustion ,\n\n103 Chapter 6 Agricultural Uses of Coal Combustion Byproducts RF Korcak Overview of Combustion and Its Byproducts During combustion, fly ash, bottom ash, ,\n\nBeryllium Content of American Coals - USGS\n\nBeryllium Content of American Coals By TAISIA STADNICHENKO, PETER ZUBOVIC, , A study of the various types of coal indicates that beryllium is primarily con­\n\nThe Geology of Coal - KET Education\n\n\nWhat are the different types of coal? | American ,\n\nWhat are the different types of coal? , Descriptions of the four main types of coal with a map showing coal deposits in the US by type;\n\nThermal Coal Drying and Beneficiation Systems\n\nDesigning a thermal coal drying system is quite different than developing drying systems for most other materials Considering the wide range of coal types and .\n\nwhat is the best type of coal in whole world? | Yahoo Answers\n\nNov 06, 2011· Best Answer: Anthracite coal It is the highest rank of coal Types (Ranks) of Coal Stove Help & Advice Home The rank of coal is based on the degree ,\n\nThe Types of Coal: Composition, Usage and Energy Value\n\nCoal is still the fastest growing energy resource worldwide Learn about the types of coal and how they differ by energy, carbon content, and usage\n\nCoal: A Complex Natural Resource - USGS\n\nCoal—A Complex Natural Resource An overview of of factors affecting coal quality and use in the United States By Stanley P Schweinfurth INTRODUCTION\n\nBituminous coal - Wikipedia\n\nSmithing coal is a type of high-quality bituminous coal ideally suited for use in a coal forge It is as free from ash, sulfur, and other impurities as possible", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9852049350738525}
+{"content": "Validation of the P2O Process\n\nThere are many entrants in the race to produce usable fuels from waste products. Plastic2Oil® stands alone in having succeeded in producing ultra-clean, ultra-low sulphur fuels derived from waste plastic which do not require further refining.\n\nThe speed at which our revolutionary P2O process has evolved and moved from testing to permitting to commercial production is unprecedented.\n\nThis corporate culture of problem-solving through innovation is allowing Plastic2Oil® to make a meaningful and immediate contribution to the greening of our planet.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7128642201423645}
+{"content": "When Entourage hit the airwaves in 2004, it was common knowledge that the show was based loosely on the exploits of executive producer Mark Wahlberg and his hometown buddies who accompanied him to Tinseltown. This summer, the wayward Hollywood heroes are back with their own movie — so it's time to meet the actual guys who inspired Vinnie, Turtle, Drama, E. and Ari, and see what's become of them.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6201915740966797}
+{"content": "STEM in Australia – some teachers’ perspectives of STEM education\n\nLast Sunday I had the privilege of hosting the weekly #aussieED chat on Twitter. The focus was on STEM. I wanted to dig deep into what Australian teachers thought on STEM education.\nFor those who don’t know, STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and maths. A focus on STEM isn’t new and has been a focus on-and-off since the 1980s.However in the past 5 years, there has been a large focus on STEM in primary, secondary and tertiary education as well as being emphasised in government policies. So for the #aussieED chat I wanted to find out what teachers felt was happening with STEM education in their schools. These are some of the themes:\n\n 1. STEM education has come a long way and still has a long way to go.\n\nSome teachers indicated that their schools have implemented STEM as cross-curricular project based learning experiences and have moved from a few innovators and early adopters trailing STEM programs to whole school approaches. These schools are now supporting other schools who are starting their STEM journeys. A good example of this is the STEM Action Schools project in NSW public schools. It will be interesting to see how different schools and teachers evolve their STEM teaching approaches as they gain more experience and reflect upon them.\n\n2. STEM education needs more than passionate teachers; it needs enabling conditions.\n\nMany teachers agreed that STEM is a way of teaching; a way of teaching that involves the integration of traditional subjects with a real-world context and driven by real-life solutions. This approach is enabled and sustained when structural systems like timetables, flexible learning spaces and a school culture that encourages teachers to take risks with different teaching approaches are in place. Otherwise it can become isolated pockets of excellence in STEM education, accessible to some students only. Some teachers mentioned dedicated time in timetables to work as a team so authentic cross-curricular collaboration can be created and sustained. Other teachers mentioned time to explore practical resources, opportunities to team teach with exemplary STEM teachers and time to reflect, evaluate and improve in their own practice.\n\n3. How can educators and systems ensure promising practices in STEM are scaled and make an impact?\n\nIs STEM an educational fad? Do we even need STEM to be an integrated, cross-curricular approach? Should we focus on teaching science, technology and maths separately but make sure we teach it well? What are the goals of STEM education? Is it just purely to make students “future job ready”? Is it to create scientifically and digitally literate citizens? Does everyone need to learn coding? How do we measure the impact of STEM? What is an appropriate timeframe to expect impact? These were some of the issues raised throughout the #aussieED chat. We didn’t come up with answers as they are highly complex issues that can be highly dependent on context. Personally I think STEM education is vital to the future of students on a personal, societal and economic level. To make STEM education a sustainable practice, that is day-to-day teaching practice, the enabling conditions of quality STEM education needs to be in place. We also need to be clear on the purpose of STEM education for our students. Otherwise it can easily become a fad.\n\nWhat are your thoughts and experiences of STEM education? \n\nSteps to HSC Success #MTM2016\n\n\nThis blog post is a collection of tweets from the 2016 Meet the Markers. The event had the Twitter hashtag of #MTM2016. I wanted to do a Storify but Storify isn’t working so hence this blog post. MTM2016 is a teacher professional learning event where teachers learn how HSC science exams are marked and how to teach students to maximise their HSC achievement\n\nI wasn’t personally at MTM2016 due to a school event, but was able to learn from it via Twitter. The power of social media.\n\nLearning with real scientists\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nScience with gummy bears\n\nGummy bears are not only a delicious treat, they also have multiple uses in science. This term my year 9 class are completing a project called Project Mars. Project Mars is a joint project with the Powerhouse Museum where students can remotely control a Mars Rover to perform experiments on a recreated Martian surface to find out whether Mars could support life.\n\nTo collect and analyse the data from these experiments on the Martian surface, students need to learn about atoms and waves, and this is where gummy bears come in. Gummy bears have come in really handy for two experiments showing the properties of light.\n\n(1) Gummy bears and laser experiment\n\nGummy bears can be used to show how light is absorbed, transmitted and reflected. This activity show why objects have different colours.\n\nStudents shined a red laser light onto red gummy bears and green gummy bears. The red light will transmit and reflect on the red gummy bears, but absorbed by the green gummy bears. Students then shined a green laser light onto red gummy bears and green gummy bears and compare the observations. This experiment makes the concept of absorption, transmission and reflection of light more real to students.\n\n\n(2) Gummy bear wave machine\n\nI came across this experiment on YouTube. Gummy bears, skewers and duct tape is used to make a wave machine to demonstrate a range of properties of waves. I really like this experiment as it is a hands-on and visual way to show students properties of waves and works a lot better than skipping ropes and slinkys.\n\n\n\nActing out the nitrogen cycle\n\nI’ve always found the nitrogen cycle to be one of those concepts that students find difficult to understand. Not only are there so many unfamiliar terms and ideas (denitrifying bacteria, nitrogen fixation, different types of ammonia, etc), but students often think that the nitrogen cycle is linear, that all nitrogen atoms go around the cycle step by step. I often hear questions like “Where does the nitrogen cycle start?”\n\nTo challenge this misconception, I decided to play the nitrogen cycle game with my Year 9s this year. I first saw this activity in action from my student teacher, Smriti Mediratta, who is now a temporary teacher in my faculty. She adapted the activity from a range of websites such as this one.  All you have to do is to place station signs that show reservoirs of nitrogen and place 1 dice on each sign. Students then role play a nitrogen atom and follow the instructions on each sign. On their nitrogen cycle journey, they fill out a worksheet to show where they went in each step and how they got there.\n\nNote that these resources have been created by Smriti so hat tip to her 🙂\n\nDuring the activity, I heard one group say “We are going to soil again. We are always going to soil!” From this and the class discussion afterwards, it was evident that students understood that the nitrogen cycle is non-linear; that some nitrogen atoms might never go to all reservoirs and just go from one to another.\n\n\nI also found this activity to be effective in allowing students to physically act out the nitrogen cycle, which makes it more memorable than just reading a text and looking at a a diagram. If you are a science teacher, I highly recommend trying this activity with your students.\n\nRunning to read, write, listen and speak\n\nLiteracy in science has always been a huge focus for me. Not only is literacy a priority area for our school, but I like to be educating my students so they are young scientists and there’s nothing more important to a scientist than to be able to understand and communicate their ideas clearly.\n\nI personally find reading and writing to be the easiest to integrate into high school science. However, listening and speaking are a little harder for me to embed. Just a few days ago I remembered a strategy called running dictation which I learnt from an English as a Second Language consultant a few years ago.\n\nRunning dictation is a game that students play in groups to practise their reading, writing, listening and speaking skills. The teacher puts a short passage somewhere in the classroom (in my case it was a passage on the atmosphere). Each group of students selects a reader and the rest are writers. The readers in each group need to run (or in my classroom, walk very fast as I don’t want any injures) to the passage, read it silently to themselves, remember as much as possible, run back to their team, recite what they remember to their team and the rest of the team writes it down. The first team that gets everything correct (the words, spelling, punctuation, etc) wins. You might think it’s a noisy game but because each team doesn’t want the others to hear and steal their work, they work very quietly. I did this with Year 8s the other day and they absolutely loved it. I like how it allows students the opportunities to work together as a team and speak about science.\n\nYear 8 students in a running dictation activity\n\nYear 8 students in a running dictation activity\n\nI know running dictation isn’t new but I haven’t seen it used in science classes so I’d thought this blog might give other science teachers some ideas for literacy. I find that running dictation allows students to read, write listen and speak science in a fun way. It’s gets them up and moving and doesn’t make literacy seem like a drag like it sometimes is.\n\nIn future lessons I’m going to try some of these other ideas for running dictation to make it more challenging for my students.\n\nFormative assessment with hexagons\n\nFormative assessment is something I’ve been putting a lot more emphasis on over the past few years. I’m so sick of just relying of end-of-topic exams to gauge what students have learnt. I want my students to continuously question how they are going and make changes to their learning accordingly. This is one of the reasons that my faculty has embarked on a Structured Observed Learning Outcomes (SOLO) journey this year. One of the ways that many teachers using SOLO use to assess student learning is with SOLO hexagons.\n\nSOLO hexagons involves the major concepts or ideas from a topic to be placed individually onto hexagons. Students then work individually or in groups to connect the hexagon concepts together and they must justify why they have made these connections. It is the justification where both the teacher and the student can assess the student’s learning. It is how students have connected the hexagons and their justification of WHY they have done it that way that allows their learning and thinking to then be assessed using the SOLO taxonomy (or not; the hexagon activity still works with no understanding of SOLO).\n\nHere’s a video showing one way of using the SOLO hexagons in a UK science class.\n\nHere’s an explanation of how to use SOLO hexagons from the SOLO guru, Pam Hooke.\n\nI changed the hexagon activity slightly to suit the needs of my students. The picture shows the instructions that my students received.\n\ninstructions for hexagon activity\n\nAnd here are the hexagons my students used (note that the hexagons were pre-cut for students and placed into zip lock bags with the above instruction card). My students worked in groups of 2 to 4. I used the SOLO hexagon generator to create the hexagons.\n\nHere’s some samples of the hexagons my students made.\n\n\n\n\nSome things I noticed was that:\n\n  • My students were all fantastic at explaining each hexagon concept\n  • Some groups connected all the nervous system concepts and the endocrine system concepts together, showing they had an understanding that the nervous system and endocrine system worked together. However all the groups had the immune system concepts separate altogether. I did spend a lot of class time making it explicit that the nervous system and the endocrine system work together to control and coordinate the body. And while the students’ project was to make a fact sheet about how a particular disease/health issue affected the nervous system and the endocrine system, they seem to think that the immune system works on its own and is completely separate from the other systems.\n\nFrom this activity we discussed their SOLO levels of understanding and how they can use their hexagon connections to see whether they were at a unistructural level, multistructural level, relational level or extended abstract level. Most students concluded they were at a relational level for most concepts and some thought they were extended abstract for some parts of the topic.\n\nThe SOLO hexagon activity is definitely something I will use again with my students. Now that they have done it once, the next time will run even better. Feedback from students was that they enjoyed talking about science with each other and that they learnt a lot from each other just by listening to what others had to say about each concept.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9920730590820312}
+{"content": "Shark Trap\n\n\n\nDo it. It could save your ass.\n\nGet this on shirts:\n\n\nMy Thesis\n\nYou’ve all had to listen to me go on and on about my thesis, QUARK-HADRON COMPOSITION OF ROTATING NEUTRON STARS. Now, at long last, it has been posted to the San Diego State University library page.\n\nYou can find the thesis here:\n\nIf you just wanted to see the pretty plots and GIFs, you can find them here:\n\n\nSo, what does this mean?\n\nA neutron star is the corpse of a star that had an original mass of about 8 to 25 times the mass of our sun. They are incredibly dense (about 10^14 grams per cubic cm), having a mass of about 1 to 2 times the mass of the sun (they lost a bunch during their supernova) and a diameter of only about 10 km.\nThe behavior of matter at high density is poorly understood. Many models exist for exploring this (called nuclear equations of state) but matter of such high densities isn’t readily available for direct comparison. One place that it’s expected to exist, as previously mentioned, is inside neutron stars. The basic idea here is to take different models for the nuclear equation of state and use them to determine what each model predicts the particle composition (what particles it’s made of) of neutron stars to be, in hopes that this will lead to some sort of observable quantity for neutron stars that is dependent on which model was used, thus allowing us to narrow down which models are more likely to be correct.\nIn this thesis we determined the compositions of neutron stars for each of several nuclear equations of state, and looked at how that composition is expected to change as the neutron star’s rotation slows over time (as it begins to spin less quickly, the shape will change, and so will the density, thus leading to changes in the composition).\n\n\nTk Cannon\n\n\nThe following is a short (4000 word) piece of science fiction set in a future where telekinesis is commonplace. Mara Ailith, the head of security for Sethlans Research and Development runs for her life from a disgruntled test subject.\n\nYou can download it as a PDF here: Tk_Cannon\n\nIf you want swag with Mara and John on it, you can order it here:", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9032058119773865}
+{"content": "Alice Costin\nMore ideas from Alice\nI really don't think it's okay that Kookie is getting so attractive (though he's always been cute) -- he's supposed to be the maknae of the group! | BTS, JUNGKOOK, KOOKIE\n\n*･☪·̩͙·˖✶ dear, what did I do to deserve this amount of hotness from my boi jungkook\n\n#wattpad #truyn-ngn 「Send」 「Seen」 「Reply」 「One-shot;Text」 ©_trashmooooo_ [One-shot;Text]  ©Sugar_To_My_Coffee [Text] ©hellchyeahZL [One-shot] yoongs_® •Bản dịch đã có sự cho phép của author. Vui lòng không mang bản dịch ra ngoài nếu chưa có sự cho phép của translator. ⓡⓐⓝⓚⓘⓝⓖ: #1 - Truyện ngắn (172302)\n\nFrom now all, all Jungkook pins will just have \".\" to symbolize how done I am with him.\n\nawww does the little baby have trouble winking with one eye? how cute ❤️\n\nsweaty Jungkook teasing all of womankind.\n\n❝ Enemy ❞ ➳ KookV - [Gif] - Wattpad\n\nJungkook molesta al niño \"tartamudo\" ➳ Historia original # Fanfic # amreading # books # wattpad", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7212626934051514}
+{"content": "Learn More\nModern Graphic Processing Units (GPUs) provide sufficiently flexible programming models that understanding their performance can provide insight in designing tomorrow's manycore processors, whether those are GPUs or otherwise. The combination of multiple, multithreaded, SIMD cores makes studying these GPUs useful in understanding tradeoffs among memory,(More)\nAs the number of cores and threads in many core compute accelerators such as Graphics Processing Units (GPU) increases, so does the importance of on-chip interconnection network design. This paper explores throughput-effective network-on-chips (NoC) for future many core accelerators that employ bulk-synchronous parallel (BSP) programming models such as CUDA(More)\nModern DRAM systems rely on memory controllers that employ out-of-order scheduling to maximize row access locality and bank-level parallelism, which in turn maximizes DRAM bandwidth. This is especially important in graphics processing unit (GPU) architectures, where the large quantity of parallelism places a heavy demand on the memory system. The logic(More)\nThere has been little work investigating the overall performance impact of on-chip communication in manycore compute accelerators. In this paper we evaluate performance of a GPU-like compute accelerator running CUDA workloads and consisting of compute nodes, interconnection network and the graphics DRAM memory system using detailed cycle-level simulation.(More)\nIn this paper, we present an experimental evaluation of transient effects on an embedded system which uses SRAM-based FPGAs. A total of 7500 transient faults were injected into the target FPGA using power supply disturbances (PSD) and a simple 8-bit microprocessor was implemented on the FPGA as the testbench. The results show that nearly 64 percent of(More)\nAs semiconductor scaling continues, more transistors can be put onto the same chip despite growing challenges in clock frequency scaling. Stream processor architectures can make effective use of these additional resources for appropriate applications. However, it is important that programmer effort be amortized across future generations of stream processor(More)\n  • 1", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6062219738960266}
+{"content": "The effect of increasing extracellular potassium concentration (Ko) upon electrical ventricular defibrillation threshold was investigated in pentobarbital anesthetized dogs treated with intravenous potassium chloride. Defibrillation threshold fell during potassium intoxication. The percent decrease in defibrillation threshold was linearly related to the logarithm of Ko and to the potassium equilibrium potential, EK, calculated from measured extracellular and intracellular potassium concentrations of ventricular muscle. In dogs supported by left ventricular bypass in order to maintain the circulation during potassium intoxication, the values of Ko and EK required for spontaneous, K+ induced defibrillation (electrical defibrillation threshold = zero) were 16.6 mEq/L and -46 mV compared to the normal values of 3.9 mEq/L and -84 mV. Changes in defibrillation threshold related to changes in EK may be significant events in digitalis intoxication and in myocardial anoxia during prolonged fibrillation.\n\nDefibrillation of the heart is often discussed as a large scale analog of cardiac pacing. Termination of atrial or ventricular fibrillation by a strong electric shock, applied with paddle electrodes across the chest or directly to the heart, is assumed to be the result of stimulation of a diffuse mass of potentially excitable cells (1, 2). The mechanism of defibrillation is usually stated to be the consequent production of a simultaneously refractory state in the entirety of a critical mass of the fibrillating myocardium (3, 4).\n\n\nThis is the author-accepted manuscript version of Babbs C.F., Whistler S.J., Yim G.K.W., Tacker W.A., Geddes L.A., Dependence of defibrillation threshold upon extracellular/intracellular K_8+_9 concentrations, J. Electrocardiol 13, 73-79, 1980. It is made available here with CC-BY-NC-ND. The version of record can be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0022-0736(80)80013-6.\n\n\ncardiac muscle, equilibrium potential, potassium, Nernst equation, transmembrane potential\n\nDate of this Version", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6080911159515381}
+{"content": "Shell Introduces Energy-Efficent Hydraulic Fluid\n\nNoria news wires, Noria Corporation\nTags: hydraulics\n\nShell Lubricants, one of the world’s leaders in lubricants technology and innovation, has added a state-of-the-art lubricant to its high-quality Shell Tellus hydraulic oil range that could help increase the energy efficiency of hydraulic systems. Shell Tellus EE, formulated in response to customers’ concerns over energy usage and associated costs, has been shown to help companies reduce the energy consumption of their hydraulic machinery by an average of 8 percent* while also providing exceptional equipment protection and the capability of extending oil maintenance intervals.\n\n\nShell Tellus EE is Shell Lubricants’ first synthetic hydraulic fluid that has been specifically designed to help improve the energy efficiency of the machinery in which it is used. The fluid contains a unique and patented additive technology, and has undergone extensive laboratory tests and field trials that have demonstrated its ability to help improve a machine’s energy efficiency. With hydraulics being at the core of many production processes, Shell Tellus EE has the potential to contribute to the goal of reducing an organization’s energy costs.\n\n\n“Energy costs will continue to represent a significant part of an industrial organization’s operating overhead for the foreseeable future,” said Dennis Woodley, Shell hydraulics product application specialist. “As a result, investing in a hydraulic lubricant designed to both help improve the energy efficiency of the machinery in which it is used and reduce the maintenance costs makes good sense from a commercial perspective.”\n\n\nWhile some companies focus on individual elements of a hydraulic system when designing their lubricants, Shell Lubricants has used sophisticated fluid mechanics modelling to understand the different sources of energy loss in the system as a whole. This information has then been used to help to develop a fluid with a balance of physical, and chemical properties that can help reduce energy loss throughout the system without compromising the protection and long equipment life expected by its users.\n\n\n“When developing Shell Tellus EE, it was essential that the lubricant’s ability to contribute towards a machine’s energy efficiency was combined with the high performance characteristics expected from a Shell Tellus product,” Woodley said. “For example, Shell Tellus EE exceeds the maximum test duration of 10,000 hours in the industry TOST* test used to assess the oil life of hydraulic fluids, as well as demonstrates wear levels in hydraulic pump tests way below the levels often set by industry standards or certain OEM limits.”\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAbout the Author\nCreate your survey with SurveyMonkey", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8456616997718811}
+{"content": "Water Mist System\n\nNFPA – 750\n\nWater mist is a versatile and highly efficient firefighting medium. What differentiates water mist from traditional water based systems is its reduced droplet size. When a droplet of water vaporises, it expands by some 1,600 times. As heat absorption is a function of surface area and not volume, smaller droplets mean more surface area and therefore faster heat absorption. Water mist has the unique ability to deliver water as a fine atomised mist. This mist is quickly converted to steam that smothers the fire and prevents further oxygen from reaching it. At the same time, the evaporation creates a significant cooling effect of combustion gases and blocks the transfer of radiant heat. In this way, Watermist combines the fire suppression properties of both conventional water based deluge or sprinkler systems and gaseous fire suppression systems.\n\nHowever, smaller droplets do not necessarily mean better performance. Droplets must have the necessary momentum to get to the seat of fire where they rapidly cool and expand to deny the fire oxygen.\n\nThe key to FOGTEC®’s firefighting effectiveness is the generation of very fine water droplets. The size of the droplets is classified as Class A in NFPA 750. This extremely small droplet size makes the FOGTEC® system highly effective and efficient as it uses only small amounts of water. The key factors are the system’s ability to cool and its localised oxygen displacement effect. FOGTEC® systems are 100% environment friendly and harmless to personnel. A pre-warning period prior to activation to evacuate personnel is not necessary. There are no corrosive by-products generated to impair electrical or electronic components.\n\nNote: We get technical & product support from FOGTEC Brandschutz GmbH & Co. KG, Germany to undertake High Pressure Water Mist System.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8911502957344055}
+{"content": "This article originally appeared in TidBITS on 1994-05-16 at 12:00 p.m.\nThe permanent URL for this article is:\nInclude images: Off\n\nNew QuickTake 100 cameras\n\nby Mark H. Anbinder\n\nNew QuickTake 100 cameras will include a QuickTake for Power Macintosh Install Disk beginning today, Apple says. You can tell the unit you're buying includes the new native PowerPC software if its item number is M1644LL/B rather than the original M1644LL/A. The box will also have an \"Accelerated for Power Macintosh\" sticker. If you already have a QuickTake and want the new software, stay tuned. [MHA]", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9652860164642334}
+{"content": "Subprime Rates Definition\n\nThe interest rate charged to subprime borrowers is colloquially referred to as the subprime rate. There is no rigid definition of what constitutes a subprime rate, other than it is higher or much higher than the conventional rate. Subprime mortgage rates usually run 2-3%, or more, above conventional mortgage rates while subprime rates on smaller loans often run as high as a 400% annualized rate. Most subprime loans are for a shorter duration than conventional loans, carry numerous fees, and bear prepayment penalties.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.997725248336792}
+{"content": "Dusty Galaxy in the Early Universe\n\nA small galaxy 700 million years after the universe’s birth has a dust reservoir that makes it look like a much older galaxy.\n\nAstronomers have for the first time directly detected dust in a galaxy in the early universe. And I do mean early: the galaxy A1689-zD1 shines at us from only 700 million years after the Big Bang, giving the galaxy a redshift of 7.5. Surprisingly, compared with the galaxy’s gas, the amount of dust A1689-zD1 contains makes it look like a far more “mature” star-forming galaxy, such as the Milky Way.\n\nAbell 1689\n\nThe galaxy cluster Abell 1689 is essentially a huge concentration of mass, and its gravitational field bends and magnifies light coming toward us from more distant objects beyond it. One such lensed object, the galaxy A1689-zD1 (boxed), is a dusty galaxy seen when the universe was just 700 million years old.\nCredit: NASA / ESA / L. Bradley and H. Ford (both Johns Hopkins) / R. Bouwens and G. Illingworth (both UC Santa Cruz)\n\nDarach Watson (University of Copenhagen, Denmark) and colleagues took advantage of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) to explore A1689-zD1, which had previously turned up in images by the Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes. ALMA’s capabilities, combined with optical observations from the Very Large Telescope (VLT), enabled them to wheedle out the galaxy’s properties, the team reports March 2nd in Nature.\n\nThe galaxy is only bright enough to study because its light is lensed by a galaxy cluster lying between it and us. The gravity of the cluster, Abell 1689, bends and magnifies A1689-zD1’s light as the light passes the cluster on its way to us. As a result, A1689-zD1 is magnified by more than a factor of nine.\n\nThe optical light the VLT detects actually began as ultraviolet radiation, emitted by young, massive stars in the galaxy and then stretched to visible wavelengths by the universe’s expansion. Thus, astronomers can use the light to estimate the galaxy’s stellar mass and rate of star formation. Based on the optical spectra taken by the VLT, the team calculates that the galaxy has roughly 1.7 billion solar masses’ worth of stars, a hundredth the Milky Way’s stellar mass. By today’s standards, that would make it a dwarf galaxy, but most galaxies in the early universe are smaller, clumpy ones.\n\nThe optical spectrum also implies that the galaxy is giving birth to just under 3 solar masses a year in stars; the dust emission detected by ALMA suggests a slightly higher rate, around 9 solar masses per year. The Milky Way puts out roughly a Sun a year, so A1689-zD1’s star-formation rate is at least a few times higher than the Milky Way’s — not unusual for this cosmic era.\n\nWhat’s interesting is just how much dust ALMA detects. Watson’s team calculates that the galaxy contains about 40 million solar masses of dust, or (throwing in an estimate of the galaxy’s gas content) somewhere between half and a few times the ratio of dust to gas in the Milky Way.\n\nThat’s quite a bit of dust, and the ratio suggests the galaxy is in an “evolved” state — it’s already burned through roughly half of its gas, only 150 million years after the universe’s galaxies started churning out stars in earnest. Essentially, it looks like a more massive galaxy in today’s universe, yet it existed 13 billion years ago. (Dwarfs today tend to have lower dust-to-gas ratios, because they’ve delayed their star formation.)\n\nThis high dust ratio is surprising, but it’s not as shocking as you might think. Remember, A1689-zD1 is only a hundredth as massive as the Milky Way, and all other things being equal, the little galaxy therefore has only a hundredth as much dust, too. It could have built up that dust by forming stars at a moderate rate for the last 150 million years, or perhaps it had an extreme “starburst” phase earlier and is now calming down. Per unit area, its star-formation rate is on par with many starburst galaxies but is at most a tenth the rate of the most vigorous starbursting galaxies, the authors note.\n\nThe galaxy’s evolved dust-to-gas ratio suggests that, like today’s galaxies, most of the dust grains formed in the winds from swollen stars near the ends of their lives, or when massive stars went supernova, says Daniel Schaerer (Geneva Observatory, Switzerland). Giant stars don’t live long, he explains, “hence no need to have a very old galaxy to see dust.”\n\nSchaerer and others had previously calculated upper limits for the dust content of several galaxies in this cosmic epoch and found they could have “normal” (pronounced “like those today”) dust-to-gas ratios. Before that, some astronomers had claimed that early galaxies would have a lot less dust compared with their stellar mass.\n\nA1689-zD1 is only one galaxy. But it’s an important discovery, because it convincingly shows that ALMA can fairly easily detect dust emission from young galaxies, whereas previous instruments had seen only upper limits. Astronomers will thus be able to explore dust and, therefore, star formation in the early universe.\n\n\nReference: D. Watson et al. \"A dusty, normal galaxy in the epoch of reionization.\" Nature. March 2, 2015.\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9817041754722595}
+{"content": "IMIS | Flanders Marine Institute\n\nFlanders Marine Institute\n\nPlatform for marine research\n\n\nPublications | Institutes | Persons | Datasets | Projects | Maps\n\nDisruption of swimming in the hyperbenthic mysid Neomysis integer (Peracarida: Mysidacea) by the organophosphate pesticide chlorpyrifos\nRoast, S.D.; Widdows, J.; Jones, M.B. (2000). Disruption of swimming in the hyperbenthic mysid Neomysis integer (Peracarida: Mysidacea) by the organophosphate pesticide chlorpyrifos. Aquat. Toxicol. 47(3-4): 227-241\nPeer reviewed article  \n\nAvailable in  Authors \n\n    Cabbeling; Chlorpyrifos; Chlorpyrifos; Rheotaxis; Swimming; Toxicity tests; Mysidacea [WoRMS]; Peracarida [WoRMS]; Marine; Brackish water\n\nAuthors  Top \n  • Roast, S.D.\n  • Widdows, J., more\n  • Jones, M.B.\n\n    Mysids are used routinely by regulatory authorities for conducting 96 h LC50 toxicity tests to evaluate the potential hazards of pollutants to aquatic ecosystems. Data from these acute tests suggest that the European estuarine mysid Neomysis integer (Peracarida: Mysidacea) is comparatively sensitive to trace metals and organophosphate pesticides, and may be a suitable alternative to the frequently-used sub-tropical American mysid Americamysis (≡Mysidopsis) bahia for testing the toxicity of chemical contaminants to European estuarine biota. There is, however, growing demand for the development of toxicity tests which are more representative of the effects of toxic contaminants on natural populations, and which provide results that are more readily extrapolated to natural ecosystems, than acute tests. Behavioural disruption, particularly of swimming ability, is used increasingly in laboratory toxicity studies as a sensitive endpoint for assessing the effects of contaminants on aquatic biota. This paper describes a sensitive laboratory technique, using an annular flume, to determine the effects of an organophosphate pesticide on the swimming behaviour of N. integer. Following 7-day exposure to 0.038 μg chlorpyrifos l−1, mysids became hyperactive and more swam forward into a slow current (3 cm s−1) than control mysids. Despite this hyperactivity, pesticide-exposed mysids were unable to swim faster than 15 cm s−1, whereas control mysids were able to swim faster than 18 cm s−1. Other changes in swimming behaviour following pesticide exposure included fewer mysids maintaining position, and more mysids swimming with the current at high current velocities (18 cm s−1), than control individuals. These responses of chlorpyrifos-exposed N. integer are predicted to cause reduced ability of N. integer to maintain position in the natural estuarine habitat. Furthermore, the swimming behaviour of N. integer was affected at pesticide concentrations below the 7 day LC50 (0.084 μg chlorpyrifos l−1), highlighting the importance of using sub-lethal toxicity studies for predicting environmental consequences of pollutant discharge.\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9620342254638672}
+{"content": "Trial of Integrity\n\n\nEvery person who works hard to serve their community will, at some point, face a situation that calls into stark illumination the nature and character of their integrity. They will be tested by the misdeeds of others, by the failure to adhere to moral rules, and by the willingness of lesser men and women to bypass acceptable business practices for the sake of a short-term gain.\n\nRelish these opportunities.\n\nWhen your integrity is tested by the fire of another’s lack of character, you’re given a golden opportunity to shine as a light to your sphere of influence. Nobody operates on an island, and while you may feel isolated in the midst of an attack, remember that you’re being watched, that others around you are waiting to see how you will respond. Be strong, be right, and be heard. Be willing to find your voice and call misdeeds for what they are. Actively pursue the high road and willingly sacrifice the momentary desire for retaliation on the altar of your character, knowing that the long-term benefits of an intact reputation will gain you far more. This is your opportunity to lead. Lead yourself, and be true to the strength of character that is your foundation.\n\nThis is your moment.\n\n\nRipples of Influence\n\n\nAn old leadership analogy says that the effect we have on people is like tossing a pebble in a pond. The initial splash of pebble creates waves in the water that grow and extend far beyond the size of the pebble that created them.\n\nIt’s a timeless and salient lesson; one we should remember often. Thinking on this object lesson, it occurred to me that it doesn’t translate perfectly for one, unchangeable reason: human ripples aren’t identical. When a small stone breaks the surface of the water, one of the fascinating results is that the ripples created by the small splash radiate from the point of impact in perfectly concentric, identical circles. It isn’t until these tiny waves encounter an obstacle, such as a plant or a piece of debris, that they are altered and begin their own course.\n\nWhen we translate this analogy into the sphere of human interaction, the underlying principle is that a single action can have far-reaching and on-going effects on the world around us, even if those consequences are unintentional. The foundation is sound, but I want to look at the human aspect of this. Every person is different because of personality, culture, upbringing, ideology, and countless other variables. The ripple effect in our social, professional, and personal circles takes on a very different hue when we realize that because of our differences, the ripples we create are each completely unique of each other based on the person we create them in.\n\nIf I toss a pebble into a pond, through scientific and mathematical processes, I can determine exactly where and how the ripples on the surface of the water will be created. I can know their expanding width, speed, and future termination. I can know all of this ahead of time, because the scientific laws that govern the physics of this simple experiment are fixed and constant.\n\nWhen I toss a figurative pebble into the pond of my sphere of influence, everything is relative. The impact of my words, the effectiveness of my leadership, the influence of my vision – all of these ripples are dependent on and reflective of the unique personalities and character of the people I’m dealing with. One might say that as a good leader, I could know my people well enough to make an educated decision about how certain tactics will impact them, and that is very true. But as the ripples continue to distance themselves from the point of impact, the ability to maintain any control over their evolution is lost. People are just all too different.\n\nThose difference are what makes our teams strong and viable, they bring creativity and innovation, and they create dialog and conversation that is impactful and productive. As leaders, understanding the ripple effect makes it incumbent on us to feed our teams with material that creates a positive impact as the ripples spread and grow. We must be encouraging and positive, we must build and foster independence, and we must take responsibility for the waves that we create in the lives and minds of our people. As we influence those closest to us, we need to do so in a manner that will allow them to have an equally positive impact when their pebbles hit the water.\n\nRevitalize Your Year\n\n\n\n\n\n\n1.) Look at your resources.\n\n\n\n\n 2.) Invest in yourself\n\n\n\n\n3.) Be a part of the solution.\n\n\n\n\nFear vs. Confidence\n\n\nI was having a conversation this morning and the topic of pressure came up. It’s no secret that in the sales industry, regardless of your product, there is a lot of pressure to meet goals and fulfill quotas. It’s the never-ending story of sales – “What have you done for me lately?” is the question that overrides all past accomplishments. In competitive industries like healthcare or finance, the pressure grows with the mounting expectation of large revenue production and exaggerated profit margins. So, how do people cope? What’s the secret for dealing with these crushing expectations?\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nI’m of the opinion that too many people complicate the sales process. They make it a big scary thing and focus on the consequences of missing the mark rather than giving their effort and attention to the steps necessary to achieve the goal. It’s a matter of perspective – operating out of fear of failure rather than in confidence in the process causes worry, confusion, and discouragement.\n\nHow do you find success in the face of the pressure to achieve? Are you constantly chasing a rabbit out of fear, focusing your attention on what happens if you don’t succeed? Or are you doing what all successful salespeople do out of habit – spending your energy on the steps that consistently yield results, confident in the knowledge that your process will work?\n\nSense of Urgency\n\n\nHaving a sense of urgency does not mean running around with your hair on fire. It doesn’t mean multi-tasking. It doesn’t mean being short or rude or angry. A sense of urgency is not something that appears because you have run out of time. It doesn’t manifest itself when all other options have been exhausted.\n\nA sense of urgency is a carefully cultivated perspective on priorities. It is built on a carefully assembled understanding of clearly defined goals supported by purposeful and concrete expectations.\n\nA sense of urgency starts long before the due date, and those who have it are able to consistently and steadfastly adhere to what it requires. Focus, energy, determination, and achievement.\n\nSense of Urgency", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6912901401519775}
+{"content": ", , , ,\n\nWillow and her friends have a lot to learn. Forced to flee their home world they ended reviewup on Earth, a place with unfamiliar customs and technology. But none of that is really a concern, not when they consider the danger faced by the people here as King Cornelius advances his plan to dominate every realm. Some he wants to destroy, others, like this one, he wants to control. Worse still, Mike is still missing, and Halloween, the time marked by the next prophecy approaches. Can Willow successfully interpret the prophecies and stem the approaching dangers?\n\nSomething that shouldn’t walk this realm is loose, and it’s sights are set on those with power, but is it behind the disappearances of those with magic,  or is something more sinister afoot?\n\nThis is the fourth book I have read by this author, so it seems time to admit that I am now a fan. The fact I’ve just purchased book three in this series, and eagerly scan through her other works is a testament to her ability to weave a story. The characters are well-developed, with magic being important but not overpowering and all encompassing. The story is plot driven, intricate, and filled with mystery. I’ve read the book that comes before this one in the series, but it could be read as stand alone as each story is contained, while part of something much larger. A must for lovers of urban fantasy, magic, and character driven and detailed plots.\n\nBook link:\n\nA Halloween’s Curse", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6943057775497437}
+{"content": "OPM Disability Retirement: Different gradations of form and tint\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRobert R. McGill, Esquire\n\n\nOPM Medical Separation & Retirement: Of self-expression in society\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRobert R. McGill, Esquire\n\n\nOPM Disability Retirement Pension Annuity: Today, life is good…\n\nIt is the set of 3 periods at the end of the sentence, identified in grammatical terms as an ellipses, allowing for a trailing thought or a hesitation of motive, and here which differentiates from a singular finality of a period postulated to prevent a purposive punctuality of partition from a postscript.  If the last two periods were extracted and deleted, the delineation would connote a declarative assertion, unhesitant in conclusion, and confident in execution.  With those two additions, it implies and denotes hesitancy, a pause leaving the impression of loss or lack of confidence, and unable to determine the cogency of opinion formulated but for the ellipses.\n\nIn the end, however, how is grammar tied to life itself?  Do mere additions of two dots in a sentence reflect the reality of that which we live?  Do the bundles of human complexities, emotional upheaval and physical pain, cognitive dissonance cut us off from nature’s impenetrable divide?\n\nHow often do we walk around, and stop and realize that we remember nothing about our surroundings, who we passed, what buildings we strode by, because the inner thoughts we became a hostage to allowed only for sight by the eye of our own minds, and not for the purposes attributable to all other species on the planet — for observation and judgment to determine the course of future destiny, in surviving a predatory world.\n\nWhat makes us unique, but the linguistic divide that confronts us daily; and thus is it that the 3 harmless dots dangling at the terminal confinement at the end of a sentence is more than a mirage of grammatical repose; no, it defines who we are.  For, the reality of the ellipses is contained in the reflection of the truth manifested; insert an emotive adjective, and the dots disappear; yet, the changes wrought will remain beyond the grammatical addendum, the deletion of the dots, or the conversion from hesitancy to declarative assertion of utmost confidence.\n\nIt is, in the end, the “today” which is the operative word, and not the trepidation engendered by the ellipses; and it is the unstated “tomorrow” which can bring about changes to the substantive undercurrent of life beyond linguistic elasticity.  It is real life, and not grammar, which must ultimately determine destiny, fate and the whims of gods playing with human caricatures with arbitrary thunderbolts and childhood cruelty with breaths of unexpected pillars placed as obstacles within our paths.\n\nFor Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who find that the gods of fate have placed the burden of a medical condition upon life’s lottery of challenges, the need to prepare, formulate and apply for Federal Disability Retirement benefits through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, whether the Federal or Postal employee is under FERS, CSRS or CSRS Offset, becomes an encounter where the linguistic divide between life and living, on the one hand, and language and grammar, on the other, coalesce and the the chasm must by necessity be bridged.  For, it is precisely the medical condition itself (life and living) which must then be formulated into a declarative state of disability and linguistic evidentiary postulate (language and grammar), in the form of an effective OPM Disability Retirement application, that makes for the differentiation between failure or success.\n\nBeware of the pitfalls of grammar, and note the ellipses, as well as the dangling participle, lest either unveil a true hesitancy in living, as opposed to a mere red mark from a teacher in a fictional classroom, either in one’s mind or in the eye of one’s mind.\n\n\nRobert R. McGill, Esquire\n\n\nOPM Disability Retirement Help for Federal Employees: Slices & Wholes\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRobert R. McGill, Esquire\n\n\nMedical Pension from Federal Government Employment: Pulse of the heart, eyes of the mind\n\nLin Yutang is a preeminently accomplished writer of the last century who wrote incisive essays and works describing the great divide between China and the monolithic aggregate collectively referred to as “the West���.  It was a different time of which he wrote, as the world was larger, more divided, and inaccessible to many; prejudices and biases still prevailed, and the attitudes of former colonialists still ravaged the minds of ignorance and fear, where political correctness had not yet tilted the ingrained cultural condemnations of group-think and herd mentality.\n\nIn the end, however, as with all great writers and perceptive thinkers, his spectrum of thought touched upon universal truths which captured and encapsulated the greater generic congregation of humanity, and not just the separateness relegated to the trash bin of historicity.  It is a paraphrase of the description used by him, but one which he would likely have agreed to — that a complete man needed both sides of humanity:  both the pulse of the heart as well as the eye of the mind, like yin and yang, emotion and rationality, objectivity and empathy.  But the pendulum of time in every epoch seems never to balance well between the extremes of masculinity and femininity; we must either be all of one and vanquish the other, or deny ourselves the true origin of our own essence.\n\nThat type of behavior is often seen in the microcosm of everyday living, including those with medical conditions and disabilities in the Federal sector and the U.S. Postal Service.  Whether out of fear or unforgivable ignorance, people tend to treat others with medical conditions and disabilities with a quiet disdain, lacking any import for empathy or concern for livelihood.  For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers, whether under FERS, CSRS or CSRS-Offset, the only pathway out of such inhumane treatment and lack of empathetic humanity, is to file for Federal Disability Retirement benefits through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.\n\nThis is not an “out” for escape, but a reality of conserving the dignity of one’s life, in order to attain a level of financial security and move on to a better and more productive phase of one’s life.  For, when others lose one’s pulse of the heart, as well as deny the eye of the mind, all sense of decency and good-will becomes lost to the abyss of evil and human depravity; and as the imbalance of man’s essence brings out the worst in us, so the best option left for the Federal or Postal worker who is being harassed and pilloried at work, merely because he or she can no longer perform one or more of the essential elements of the Federal or Postal positional duties assigned, is to prepare an effective OPM Disability Retirement application before the yin is severed from the yang, and the pendulum of time swings forth to shatter the glass casing within the quietude of the chime of marching lives.\n\n\nRobert R. McGill, Esquire\n\n\nMedical Disability for Federal Employees: Waiting upon life\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRobert R. McGill, Esquire", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9616355895996094}
+{"content": "·         Internal migration is when people migrate within the same country or region - for example, moving from London to Plymouth.\n\n·         International migration is when people migrate from one country to another - for example, moving from Mexico to the USA.\n\nTwo key migration terms\n\n·         Emigration - when someone leaves a country.\n\n·         Immigration - when someone enters a country.\n\nHideShow resource information\n\n\nMigration is the movement of people from one place to another. The reasons for migration can be economic, social, political or environmental. There are usually push factors and pull factors at work.\n\nMigration impacts on both the place left behind, and on the place where migrants settle.\n\nWhy do people migrate?\n\nPeople migrate for many different reasons. These reasons can be classified as economic, social, political or environmental:\n\n  • economic migration - moving to find work or follow a particular career path\n  • social migration - moving somewhere for a better quality of life or to be closer to family or friends\n  • political migration - moving to escape political persecution or war\n  • environmental causes of migration include natural disasters such as flooding\n1 of 4\n\nResons to migrate\n\nSome people choose to migrate, eg someone who moves to another country to enhance their career opportunities. Some people are forced to migrate, eg someone who moves due to war or famine.\n\nA refugee is someone who has left their home and does not have a new home to go to. Often refugees do not carry many possessions with them and do not have a clear idea of where they may finally settle.\n\n2 of 4\n\nPush factors\n\nPush factors are the reasons why people leave an area. They include:\n\n  • lack of services\n  • lack of safety\n  • high crime\n  • crop failure\n  • drought\n  • flooding\n  • poverty\n  • war\n3 of 4\n\npull factors\n\nPull factors are the reasons why people move to a particular area. They include:\n\n  • higher employment\n  • more wealth\n  • better services\n  • good climate\n  • safer, less crime\n  • political stability\n  • more fertile land\n  • lower risk from natural hazards\n4 of 4\n\n\nSukhbir Singh\n\n\nToo much information reduce it\n\n\n\nJust the right amount of info, Good Job.\n\nSimilar Geography resources:\n\nSee all Geography resources »See all Population change resources »", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5831606388092041}
+{"content": "Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category\n\nIs the functional approach to managing, teaching and research in the organizational field an effective option for preparing people to manage in the real world? Justify your answer.\n\nThe functional approach to managing, teaching and research in the organizational field is an effective option for preparing people to manage in the real world.\n\nThe functional approach to management is said to be the oldest school of thought about management and organization structure. Management, teaching or research is viewed as a systematic network (process) of interrelated functions. The nature and content of these functions, the mechanics by which each function is performed and the interrelationship between these functions is the core of the functional approach.\n\nOn the basis of experiences of practicing managers, principles are developed. These principles are used as guidelines for the practicing executive and basis of management training. Functions, principles and skills of management are considered universal and they can be applied in different situations.\n\nHenri Fayol was the first person to identify elements or functions of management in his classic 1916 book ‘Administration Industrielle et Generale’. Fayol was the managing director of a large French coal-mining firm and based his book largely on his experiences as a practitioner of management. He defined five functions, or elements of management: planning, organizing, commanding, coordinating, and controlling. Fayol argued that these functions were universal, in the sense that all managers performed them in the course of their jobs, whether the managers worked in business, military, government, religious, or philanthropic undertakings.\n\nFayol defined planning in terms of forecasting future conditions, setting objectives, and developing means to attain objectives. He recognized that effective planning must also take into account unexpected contingencies that might arise and did not advocate rigid and inflexible plans. Fayol defined organizing as making provision for the structuring of activities and relationships within the firm and also the recruiting, evaluation, and training of personnel.\n\nAccording to Fayol, commanding as a managerial function concerned the personal supervision of subordinates and involved inspiring them to put forth unified effort to achieve objectives. He emphasized the importance of managers understanding the people who worked for them, setting a good example, treating subordinates in a manner consistent with firm policy, delegating, and communicating through meetings and conferences.\n\nFayol saw the function of coordination as harmonizing all of the various activities of the firm. Most later experts did not retain Fayol’s coordination function as a separate function of management but regarded it as a necessary component of all the other management functions. Fayol defined the control function in terms of ensuring that everything occurs within the parameters of the plan and accompanying principles. The purpose of control was to identify deviations from objectives and plans and to take corrective action.\n\nFayol’s work was not widely known outside Europe until 1949, when a translation of his work appeared in the United States. Nevertheless, his discussion of the practice of management as a process consisting of specific functions had a tremendous influence on early management texts that appeared in the 1950s.\n\nManagement pioneers such as George Terry, Harold Koontz, Cyril O’Donnell, and Ralph Davis all published management texts in the 1950s that defined management as a process consisting of a set of interdependent functions. Collectively, these and several other management experts became identified with what came to be known as the process school of management.\n\nAccording to the process school, management is a distinct intellectual activity consisting of several functions. The process theorists believe that all managers, regardless of their industry, organization, or level of management, engage in the functions of management. The process school of management became a dominant paradigm for studying management and the functions of management became the most common way of describing the nature of managerial work.\n\n\nTo what extent and why, might an improved historical understanding of management and organizations improve the performance of current managers?\n\nManagers today face the ultimate paradox of keeping everything running efficiently and profitably, while, at the same time, changing everything. It is no longer enough just to learn how to measure and control things. Success accrues to those who learn how to be leaders, to initiate change, and to create organizations with fewer managers and less hierarchy that can shift gears quickly.\n\nManagement philosophies and organizational forms change over time to meet new needs. The workplace of today is different from what it was 50 years ago, indeed, from what it was even 10 years ago. Yet some ideas and practices from the past are still highly relevant and applicable to management today. A historical perspective provides a broader way of thinking, a way of searching for patterns and determining whether they recur across time periods. For example, certain management techniques that seem modern, such as employee stock-ownership programs, have repeatedly gained and lost popularity since the early twentieth century because of historical forces. William Cooper Procter, grandson of the cofounder of Procter and Gamble, introduced a profit sharing plan in 1887, and expanded it by tying it to stock ownership a few years later. Sam Walton opened Wal-Mart’s financial records, including salaries, to all employees in the 1960s, long before business magazines were touting the value of open-book management.\n\nA study of the past contributes to understanding both the present and the future. It is a way of learning from others’ mistakes so as not to repeat them; learning from other’s successes so as to repeat them in the appropriate situation; and most of all, learning to understand why things happen to improve our organizations in the future.\n\nThe passage of time also contributes to the institutionalization of managerial attitudes. As a result, employee behavior becomes not only more predictable but also more difficult to change when attitudes are outdated.  A historical perspective on management provides a context or environment in which to interpret current opportunities and problems. The value of studying management lies not in learning current facts and research but in developing a perspective that will facilitate the broad, long-term view needed for management success.\n\nWhat is intellectual Ability, and how is it relevant to OB?\n\nAbility refers to an individual’s capacity to perform the various tasks in a job. An individual’s overall abilities are essentially made up of the following factors:\n\n1. Intellectual Abilities, and\n\n2. Physical Abilities.\n\nIntellectual ability commonly refers to the ability measured by performance on an intelligence test. It is also sometimes used in the context of discussing the performance of someone in an academic or real world setting.\n\nIntellectual Abilities are those that are needed to perform mental activities usually involving thinking and reasoning. Mental activities can be measured by intelligent quotient (IQ) tests that are designed to ascertain one’s general mental abilities. Some familiar examples of such tests are Common Admission Tests (CAT), Management programs admission tests (GMAT), law (LSAT), and medical (MCAT), etc. Usually these tests try to measure and evaluate one’s mental abilities on various academic areas pertaining to the success in the relevant courses, such as mathematics, English, General knowledge etc.\n\nIt is believed that there are a few different dimensions of mental abilities. Some of the most frequently cited dimensions of intellectual capacities are: Number Aptitude (Mathematics), Verbal Comprehension (English), Perceptual Speed, Reasoning, Deductive Reasoning, Spatial Visualization and Memory. Generally speaking, the more information processing is required in a job, the more general intelligence and verbal abilities will be necessary to perform the job successfully. Of course, a high IQ is not a prerequisite for all. In Fact, for many jobs in which employee behavior is highly routine and there are little or no opportunities to exercise discretion, a high IQ may be unrelated to performance. On the other hand, a careful review of the evidence demonstrates that tests that assess verbal, numerical, spatial, and perceptual ability are valid predictors of job proficiency at all levels of jobs. Therefore, tests measure specific dimensions of intelligence have been found to be strong predictors of future job performance.\n\nRelevance of Intellectual Ability to OB\n\nOrganizational behavior is traditionally considered as the study of human behavior in the work place. Employee performance is enhanced when an employee and position are well matched—what we call a high ability–job fit. If we focus only on the employee’s abilities or the ability requirements of the job, we ignore the fact that employee performance depends on the interaction of the two. What predictions can we make when the fit is poor? If employees lack the required abilities, they are likely to fail. If you’re hired as a word processor and you can’t meet the job’s basic keyboard typing requirements, your performance is going to be poor in spite of your positive attitude or your high level of motivation. When an employee has abilities that far exceed the requirements of the job, our predictions would be very different. The employee’s performance may be adequate, but it may be accompanied by organizational inefficiencies and possible declines in employee satisfaction because the employee is frustrated by the limitations of the job. Additionally, given that pay tends to reflect the highest skill level that employees possess, if an employee’s abilities far exceed those necessary to do the job, management will be paying more than it needs to pay. In a nutshell, an employee’s job specifications should be in line with his intellectual abilities. That way, he’ll be able to execute his duties excellently and effortlessly, as well as obtaining maximum job satisfaction.\n\nDiscuss the concept of personality and the factors that affect its development.\n\nTo social scientists, personality is the sum total of behaviors, attitudes, beliefs, and values that are characteristic of an individual. Our personality traits determine how we adjust to our environment and how we react in specific situations. No two individuals have the same personalities. Each individual has his or her own way of interacting with other people and with his or her social environment.\n\nThe term personality represents the overall profile or combination of characteristics that capture the unique nature of a person as that person reacts and interacts with others and how he views himself. Personality combines a set of physical and mental characteristics that reflect how a person looks, thinks, acts, and feels. An understanding of personality contributes to an understanding of organizational behavior in that we expect a predictable interplay between an individual’s personality and his or her tendency to behave in certain ways.\n\nPersonality Traits and Classifications\n\nNumerous lists of personality characteristics describing an individual’s behavior, have been developed, many of which have been used in OB research and can be looked at in different ways. First, recent research has examined people using extensive lists of personality dimensions and distilled them into the “Big Five Personality Traits:”\n\n•Extraversion— outgoing, sociable, assertive\n\n•Agreeableness— Good-natured, trusting, cooperative\n\n•Conscientiousness— Responsible, dependable, persistent\n\n•Emotional stability— unworried, secure, relaxed\n\n•Openness to experience— Imaginative, curious, broad-minded\n\nA second approach to looking at OB personality traits is to divide them into social traits, personal conception traits, and emotional adjustment traits, and then to consider how those categories come together dynamically.\n\n  • Social traits are surface-level traits that reflect the way a person appears to others when interacting in various social settings. Problem-solving style, based on the work of Carl Jung, a noted psychologist, is one measure representing social traits. It reflects the way a person goes about gathering and evaluating information in solving problems and making decisions.\n  • The personal conception traits represent the way individuals tend to think about their social and physical setting as well as their major beliefs and personal orientation concerning a range of issues. An important personal conceptions trait of special importance to managers is self-monitoring. Self-monitoring reflects a person’s ability to adjust his or her behavior to external, situational (environmental) factors.\n  • The emotional adjustment traits measure how much an individual experiences emotional distress or displays unacceptable acts\n\nPersonality and self-concept\n\nCollectively, the ways in which an individual integrates and organizes the previously discussed categories and the traits they contain are referred to as Personality dynamics. It is this category that makes personality more than just the sum of the separate traits. A key personality dynamic in the study of OB is the self-concept. We can describe the self-concept as the view individuals have of themselves as physical, social, and spiritual or moral beings. It is a way of recognizing oneself as a distinct human being. A person’s self-concept is greatly influenced by his or her culture.\n\nTwo related and crucial aspects of the self-concept are self-esteem and self-efficacy. Self-esteem is a belief about one’s own worth based on an overall self-evaluation. People high in self-esteem see themselves as capable, worth-while, and acceptable and tend to have few doubts about themselves. The opposite is true of a person low in self-esteem. Some OB research suggests that, whereas high self-esteem generally can boost performance and human resource maintenance, when under pressure, people with high self-esteem may become boastful and act egotistically. They also may be overconfident at times and fail to obtain important information. Self-efficacy, sometimes called the “effectance motive,” is a more specific version of self-esteem; it is an individual’s belief about the likelihood of successfully completing a specific task. You could be high in self-esteem, yet have a feeling of low self-efficacy about performing a certain task, such as public speaking.\n\nPersonality Determinants and Development\n\nHeredity and the Environment\n\nTo what is the development of ones personality owed? Just what determines personality? Is personality inherited or genetically deter-mined, or is it formed by experience? You may have heard someone say some-thing like, “She acts like her mother. Similarly, someone may argue that “Bobby is the way he is because of the way he was raised”. These two arguments illustrate the nature/nurture controversy: Is personality determined by heredity, that is, by genetic endowment, or by one’s environment? These two forces actually operate in combination. While Heredity consists of those factors that are determined at conception, including physical characteristics, gender, and personality factors, Environment consists of cultural, social, and situational factors.\n\nThe impact of heredity on personality continues to be the source of considerable debate. Perhaps the most general conclusion we can draw is that heredity sets the limits on just how much personality characteristics can be developed; environment determines development within these limits.\n\n\nPeople’s personalities continue to develop throughout their lifetimes. Specific traits change at different rates and to different degrees. Some personality traits seem to remain constant throughout a person’s life, while others undergo dramatic changes. Personality development is more obvious during childhood, when people are experiencing rapid physical, emotional, and intellectual growth. At adulthood, personality traits change at a slower rate. However personality development varies form individual to individual. The developmental approaches of Chris Argyris, Daniel Levinson, and Gail Sheehy systematically examine the ways personality develops across time. Argyris notes that people develop along a continuum of dimensions from imma-turity to maturity. Levinson and Sheehy maintain that an individual’s personality unfolds in a series of stages across time. implications are that personalities develop over time and require different managerial responses. Thus needs and other personality aspects of people, initially entering an organization change sharply as they move through different stages or toward increased maturity.\n\nThe study of organizational behaviour enables managers to become more effective at their job. Discuss this statement?\n\nOrganizational Behavior can be seen as a field of study that investigates the impact that individuals, groups and structures have on behavior within an organization, to enable applying this knowledge towards improving organizational effectiveness. Organizational Behavior is an important concept for any organization, since it deals with the three determinants of behavior in organizations: Individuals, Groups and Structure. Organizational Behavior then applies the knowledge gained about individuals, groups and the effect of structure on behavior in order to make organizations work more effectively. In a nut shell, OB is concerned with the study of what people do in an organization and how their behavior affects the organizations performance. Seeing as OB is concerned with employee related situations, it tends to emphasize behavior related to jobs, work, absenteeism, employment turnover, human performance and management. The organization’s base rests on management’s philosophy, values, vision and goals. This in turn drives the organizational culture which is composed of the formal organization, informal organization, and the social environment. The culture determines the type of leadership, communication, and group dynamics within the organization. The workers perceive this as the quality of work life which directs their degree of motivation. The final outcomes are performance, individual satisfaction, and personal growth and development. All these elements combine to build the model or framework that the organization operates from. The ability to use the tools of organizational behavior to understand behavior in organizations is one reason for studying this subject. A second reason is to learn how to apply these concepts, theories, and techniques to improve behavior in organizations so that individuals, groups, and organizations can achieve their goals. Managers are challenged to find new ways to motivate and coordinate employees to ensure that their goals are aligned with organizational goals. Organizational Behavior addresses the following points:\n\n•           Organizational behavior studies the factors that impact individual and group behavior in organizations and how organizations manage their environments. Organizational behavior provides a set of tools, theories and concepts to understand, analyze, describe, and manage attitudes and behavior in organizations.\n\n•           The study of organizational behavior can improve and change individual, group, and organizational Behavior to attain individual, group, and organizational goals.\n\n•           Organizational behavior can be analyzed at three levels: the individual, the group, and the Organization as a whole. A full understanding must include an examination of behavioral factors at each level.\n\nA manager’s job is to use the tools of organizational behavior to increase effectiveness, and the organization’s ability to achieve its goal. Management is the process of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling an organization’s human, financial, material, and other resources to increase its effectiveness. In view of the fact that OB is the grounds on which an organization builds itself, Psychology, Sociology and Anthropology play a vital role in understanding workplace behavior and employee related situations.\n\nPsychology – is a science which seeks to measure, explain and sometimes change the behavior of humans. Early organizational psychologists concerned themselves with the problems of fatigue, boredom, and other factors which could have an effect on efficient workforce performance. More recently, contributions in the field of organizational psychology have expanded to learning, perception, personality, emotions, job satisfaction, decision making processes, leadership, needs and motivational forces, employee selection techniques and job stress.\n\nSociology – Studies people in relation to their social environment or culture. Sociologists have contributed to OB through their study of group behavior in organizations, both formal and complex. Sociology has contributed to research on organizational culture, formal organization theory and structure, organizational techniques, communications, power and conflict.\n\nAnthropology – is the study of societies to learn about human beings and their activities. Work on this field has helped understanding differences in fundamental values, attitudes and behavior between people in different countries and within different organizations.\n\nOrganizational Behavior is an indigenous learning of techniques which deals with the knowledge gained about individuals, groups and the effect of structure on behavior in order to make organizations work more effectively. Through these methods a budding manager can gain several virtues to induce personal growth of self and group related issues. Since managers are individuals who achieve goals through other people, OB makes us aware of the various roles we need to play as managers to encourage the workforce to work with more satisfaction and profitability. As managers we will participate in several roles, mainly:\n\nInterpersonal Roles:\n\nFigurehead: All managers are required to perform duties that are ceremonial and symbolic in nature, representing the organization/unit to outsiders.\n\nLeader: All managers also have a leadership role. This role includes hiring, training, motivating employees, disciplining employees and unifying efforts.\n\nInformational Roles:\n\nMonitor: Managers monitor the flow of information. All managers, to some degree, collect information from outside organizations and institutions. And Transmit necessary information to outsiders.\n\nDisseminator: Managers then act as a conduit to transmit info to organizational members.\n\nDecisional role:\n\nManagers initiate and design change. They allocate resources and negotiate on behalf of the organization. Here managers deal with various affairs such as, overseeing new projects, taking corrective measure in an unforeseen event and discuss issues and bargain with other units to gain advantages for their own unit.\n\nThese roles demand a deep understanding of human behavior in both individual and group forms, and so OB provides us with the means of tackling these issues with confidence. Understanding OB has never been more important for managers than it is today. In today’s world, the people of earth are much closer than before and managers need to deal with a vast array of diversities, such as,\n\n•           Culture\n\n•           Demography\n\n•           Religion\n\n•           Higher demand of customer satisfaction\n\n•           Coping with rapid changes in technology\n\n•           Balancing Stress related lifestyle of the workers\n\n•           Ethical behavior\n\nAs a manager, the teachings of OB can significantly increase one’s personal sensibilities and outlook on these attributes;\n\n1.         Working with people from different cultures:\n\nWhat might seem motivating to a manager might not appeal to his workforce at all. Or a manager’s style of communication may be straightforward, but the workforce may find it threatening and uncomfortable. As a manager one must learn how to adapt his managerial style to their cultural, geographic and religious disparities.\n\n2.         Workforce diversity:\n\nOrganizations are increasingly becoming a more heterogeneous mix of people in terms of gender, race, age, ethnicity and sexual orientation. No longer can these disparities and clichés be ignored, these people are in the real world educated and ready to work. So mangers must recognize the fact that they don’t leave their lifestyles, cultural values and perception at home, so we as managers must learn to accommodate this diverse group of people by addressing their different lifestyles, family needs and work styles.\n\n3.         Customer Service:\n\nMany an organization has failed because its employees failed to please its customers. Management needs to create a customer-responsive culture. OB can provide considerable guidance in guidance in helping managers create such cultures- cultures in which employees are friendlier and courteous, accessible, knowledgeable and prompt in responding to customer needs, in order to please the patron.\n\n4.        Ethics:\n\nToday’s manager needs to create an ethically healthy climate for his employees, where they can work productively and confront a minimal level of uncertainty regarding what constitutes right and wrong behavior. Organizational behavior is the path to understanding how elements of the work place fall into place. As a nascent manager one can develop the self with the help of these learning’s and partake in managerial roles confidently.\n\nTo what extent and why should employees be regarded as one of many resources available to the organization, providing managers with the necessary labour needed to achieve objectives?\n\n\nEmployees are an important resource of value to any organization. They are unique, and thus a source of core competence in an organization, hence, contributing to the competitive advantage that the organization has over its competitors.\nThe boards of directors or senior managers make decisions about where they want the organization to head, and how they would like this to happen by stating policies and timeframes to reach specified targets. However, these policies are acted upon by the employees. They are the ones representing the organization on the field, and actually achieve the objectives of the organization.\nJust like tyres and pistons (the working parts) are to a car, so are the staff to the organization. The organization goes nowhere if these parts are not oiled correctly. By oiling, I mean the welfare of the employees, such as wages, adequate training and general working conditions should be a priority, as these will influence the way the employees portray the organization’s image.\n\nHello world!\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9661500453948975}
+{"content": "D&D 5th Edition\n\n\n\n\nEdit Page Content\n\nRacial Traits\n\nThe description of each race includes racial traits that are common to members of that race. The following entries appear among the traits of most races.\n\nAbility Score Increase\n\nEvery race increases one or more of a character’s Ability Scores.\n\n\nThe age entry notes the age when a member of the race is considered an adult, as well as the race’s expected lifespan. This information can help you decide how old your character is at the start of the game. You can choose any age for your character, which could provide an explanation for some of your Ability Scores. For example, if you play a young or very old character, your age could explain a particularly low Strength or Constitution score, while advanced age could account for a high Intelligence or Wisdom.\n\n\nMost races have tendencies toward certain alignments, described in this entry. These are not binding for player characters, but considering why your dwarf is chaotic, for example, in defiance of lawful dwarf society can help you better define your character.\n\n\nCharacters of most races are Medium, a size category including creatures that are roughly 4 to 8 feet tall. Members of a few races are Small (between 2 and 4 feet tall), which means that certain rules of the game affect them differently. The most important of these rules is that Small characters have trouble wielding heavy Weapons, as explained in “Equipment.”\n\n\nYour speed determines how far you can move when traveling ( “Adventuring”) and fighting (“Combat”).\n\n\nBy virtue of your race, your character can speak, read, and write certain languages.\n\n\nSome races have subraces. Members of a subrace have the traits of the parent race in addition to the traits specified for their subrace. Relationships among subraces vary significantly from race to race and world to world.\n\n\n+ New Search Attribute", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9714868664741516}
+{"content": "Student Projects\n\nCurrent Articles | Archives | Search\n\nJessica Smarsch\nReviving the physical aspect of making\n\nPrizes: Keep an Eye Grant Nominee, Gijs Bakker Nominee\nDepartment: Social Design\n\nConstructing Connectivity is a thesis about bodily actions and the level of mind-body connectivity achievable through the textile making process. In this thesis, textiles become a medium and metaphor for connectivity. In critical making, we not only produce a physical outcome (design), we engage in a conscious/unconscious dance between ourselves and our tactile world. The state of body and mind synchronicity fosters prolonged periods of connectivity while also creating opportunities for conscious decision-making. Yet the process of making is seldom necessary today; our industrial machines have far surpassed our own capabilities, we’ve made ourselves redundant.\n\nWhile recognizing the many benefits these technologies have bestowed, the level of mind-body connectivity and creative human interaction inherent to textile making is lost in this process, as is any personal narrative. This body of research, supported by case studies and design actions, demonstrates that frameworks and guidelines can facilitate conscious actions. Subsequently, those actions can create opportunities for mindbodyengagement. Additionally, the ability to interfere, reflect and change or customize outcomes is an important measure to take in achieving connectivity.\n\nFinally, many current design examples and emerging methods indicate there is a strong desire to reintroduce human elements into the things we make. Accessible digital tools create new and important ways to do this, to construct connections between the self, machines, and the things we make. Constructing Connectivity, as a design research, process and outcome, links physical action, digital tools, and industrial production to once again achieve the level of mind-body engagement inherent to textile making.\n\nPublished: 28-Jan-2016 12:27\n\n\nSocial Design\n\n    Jessica-Smarsch - 2015 - Constructing Connectivity - detail", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7238608598709106}
+{"content": "17 October 2007\n\n‘Half-quantum’ cryptography promises total security\n\nIt has been an article of faith among cryptographers that the only way for two parties to transmit sensitive information completely securely is to use quantum cryptography to share the key they use to encrypt the information. Now it seems that the same degree of security is possible even if one party remains firmly rooted in the world of classical physics. The finding could mean simpler and cheaper secure cryptographic systems.\n\nIn the conventional model that cryptographers propose for quantum key distribution, a sender, known as Alice, generates a string of 0s and 1s and encodes them using a photon polarised in one of two ways. One way is the computational “basis”, in which 0 and 1 are represented by vertical and horizontal polarisations; the other uses a diagonal basis, where 1 and 0 are represented by +45° and -45° polarisations, respectively.\n\nWhen Alice’s photon arrives at the receiver, called Bob, he chooses either the computational or diagonal basis to measure each one, and tells Alice which basis he has used. Whenever he uses the wrong basis, Alice tells Bob to discard that bit; the bits that are left form the secret key.\n\nIf an eavesdropper, Eve, intercepts the photons, she must guess which basis to use to read each one. As a result, the rules of quantum mechanics mean that she destroys Bob’s ability to read a number of the photons that he might otherwise have read correctly. This increase in the portion of unreadable photons tells Bob that the communication channel has been compromised.\n\nIt may now be possible to get the same level of security with a\n\nTo continue reading this premium article, subscribe for unlimited access.\n\nQuarterly by Direct Debit\n\nInclusive of applicable taxes (VAT)", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9997707605361938}
+{"content": "Published 23 September 2009\n\nWar and weaponry\n\nFrom Alastair Breingan\n\nI agree with Cedric Griffiths (22 August, p 24), Frank Jackson and Peggy Conroy (25 July, p 26) that war is significantly driven by the profit motive. But unlike Griffiths, I can only imagine captains of industry uttering hypocritical oaths, rather than the Hippocratic ones he suggests. Indeed, a “do no harm” law would surely just enrich the already amply paid legal profession.\n\nInstead, we need targeted taxes. These will inevitably get industry’s attention, if only to seek avoidance strategies. Taxing war could lead to some complex legal penmanship, but the first step is clear: tax carbon, so at least they damage our ecosystem less in the process.\n\nHowever, historically warfare’s main effect has been a lessening of the human population. In this case, we should tax modern warfare’s efficiency in this “key performance indicator”. How to go about doing this I will leave to other minds than my own.\n\nFrom Martin Gregorie\n\n\nUnlike Nicholas Macy, I can think of several devices that were designed, built and first used in war (29 August, p 26): all explosive ordnance, including shells, bombs, grenades, landmines and torpedoes. Many of these have subsequently been adapted for other purposes, such as the use of torpedoes for oceanic exploration.\n\nI must also counter his assertion that nobody thought of other uses for atomic weapons. Operation Plowshare, which ran from 1957 to 1973, conducted 27 tests involving 35 nuclear charges to investigate the use of atomic explosions for civilian construction purposes, such as excavating canals and passes, and building hydroelectric dams.\n\nThere was also Project Orion, which investigated using atomic bombs to propel spacecraft.\n\nHarlow, Essex, UK\n\nUpper Lansdowne, New South Wales, Australia", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9073952436447144}
+{"content": "it was a quite pleasent surprise tbh\n\n\n“You know, 90% of the country believes in ghosts? Less than a third believes in evolution? 35% can correctly identify Homer Simpson and the fictional town which he resides. And less than 1% knows the name Thurgood Marshall. But when you put 12 Americans together in a jury and ask for justice? Something just out of brilliance happens. Often as not, they get it right.”\n\nFilms watched in 2015: The Judge (2014), dir. David Dobkin", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.899185836315155}
+{"content": "Товары к Новому 2018 году\n\nэдгар аллан по английский с эдгаром по падение дома ашеров edgar allan poe the fall of the house of usher\n\nRecognized today as the undisputed master of the American Gothic horror story, Edgar Allan Poe revealed his genius in tales of death, terror, evil, and perversity. Highly skilled in achieving a calculated psychological effect, Poe created chilling fictional nightmares permeated by mysterious forces, grotesque creatures, and improbable hallucinations.Poe's immense powers as a storyteller are at their peak in this anthology containing nine of his best-known short stories. Among them are \"The Murders in the Rue Morgue\", a gripping 19th-century detective story that provided a model for future mystery writers; \"The Fall of the House of Usher\" and \"The Masque of the Red Death\", pervaded with eerie thoughts, impulses, and fears; \"The Tell-Tale Heart\" and \"The Cask of Amontillado\", masterpieces of wickedness and crime; \"The Pit and the Pendulum\", with its agonizing specter of imminent and horrifying death; and \"The Gold-Bug\", a fascinating detective story that combines romance and adventure in an absorbing tale of buried treasure.Mystery lovers and horror story enthusiasts will find this inexpensive collection, by one of the great masters of the form, an exciting addition to their personal libraries.\n\nПопулярное в 2018:", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9680522084236145}
+{"content": "<![CDATA[Patient Experience Solutions - Blog]]>Thu, 19 Oct 2017 23:44:40 -0700Weebly<![CDATA[When you have an angry patient, respond with empathy]]>Tue, 26 May 2015 00:44:27 GMThttp://drtrinadorrah.com/1/post/2015/05/when-you-have-an-angry-patient-respond-with-empathy.html\n\nPatient Experience Tips\n\"When you have an angry patient, \nrespond with empathy.\"\n\n\nImagine this scenario, which could occur in either the hospital or clinic: Your patient, Ms. Johnson, is quite ill. Her daughter flew in from out of town to bring her to the doctor, and she is  desperately waiting to hear what you have to say. As usual, it's a busy morning so you are running behind. When you finally enter the room, her daughter let's you have it.\n\nFinally, you're here! How could you keep us waiting for so long? My mother is sick and you took your sweet time coming in to see her! How could you be so thoughtless?\n\nWhat can you do to address her concerns with empathy?\n\nI want to share 3 great suggestions from my course with you:\n\n1. Listen - our tendency is to interrupt and defend ourselves, but in these situations, taking time to truly listen without interruption goes a long way. While listening, actively use expressions to show that you are tuned in. \n- \"Hmmm\"\n- \"I see\"\n- \"Uh huh\"\n- \"Go on\" \n\n2. Name the feeling - one of the first things we can do is name the feeling that our patients and family members are expressing. Some great phrases to use are:\n- \"It sounds like...\"\n- \"What I'm hearing you say is...\"\n- \"What you're telling me is...\"\n- \"I can tell that you're [emotion person is expressing]\" \n\n3. Imaginative empathy - this refers to us imagining what someone else is going through from their perspective. In my course, they taught us never to say, \"I know what you're going through\" or \"I understand what you're going through\". This is disingenuous because you don't fully know or understand. Instead, use imaginative empathy phrases.\n- \"I can imagine what this must feel like...\"\n- \"I can imagine how scary this is for you\"\n- \"I can imagine how frustrated this experience has been\"\n\nKnowing this, how can you respond to Ms. Johnson's daughter?\n\nAfter listening to her concerns, you could say something like this. I'm so sorry to keep you waiting. I can tell that you are frustrated. It sounds like your mom has been ill for several days and it's been very scary for you, especially since you've been trying to take care of her despite living in another state and having a family of your own. I can only imagine how stressful this is.\n\nGranted, her daughter may still have some residual anger/frustration, but you have definitely made more progress with this approach than if you had responded angrily or defensively. To be honest, I've used this approach many times before, and even though the patient/family may have been angry when I initially walked in, they are incredibly thankful and grateful for my care by the time I leave.\n\nThat's it for this week. I hope this helps, and next time, I'll give you a few more tips that I learned in my course for responding with empathy.\n\nTake care,\n\n\n\n\nThanks to everyone who came out to support me during my talk at the  Cleveland Clinic Patient Experience: Empathy + Innovation Summit. It was such an honor to present at the conference, and I hope you learned something new.\n\n\n\nDo you want to improve your patient experience? If so, your wait is over.Physician's Guide to Surviving CGCAHPS & HCAHPS and CGCAHPS & HCAHPS Breakthrough are two great books for anyone looking to improve their patient experience!\n\nThank you to everyone who has already bought a copy! I appreciate your support, and I sincerely hope my books have helped you improve your patient experience.\n\n\n\nClick HERE for Physician's Guide to Surviving CGCAHPS & HCAHPS\n\n\nClick HERE for CGCAHPS & HCAHPS Breakthrough\n\n\nWant to subscribe to my newsletter?\n\n\n<![CDATA[\"What's a good day?\"]]>Tue, 26 May 2015 00:32:15 GMThttp://drtrinadorrah.com/1/post/2015/05/whats-a-good-day.html\n I recently had the opportunity to hear Maureen Bisognano, CEO of Institute for Healthcare Improvement, speak at the Society of Hospital Medicine 2015 Annual Conference. In her keynote address, she challenged us to focus less on asking what's the matter with our patients and more on asking what matters to our patients. One way to do this, she noted, is to start asking our patients what a good day looks like to them. Why is this so important? As providers, we have a specific agenda we want to accomplish while in the room with the patient. As we've gotten busier, the time we spend just talking has decreased. Given the rush, we often don't stop to ask our patients what their actual preferences are. Taking a moment to ask our patients, What's a good day look like for you?, puts the focus back on our patients and their wishes. It's not complicated, and it only takes a minute, but the answers could be transformative.\n\nImagine a patient with pneumonia. As the physician, a good day in my opinion would be one in which my patient takes the antibiotics and doesn't spike a fever. However, in my patient's mind, a good day may be one in which he or she sits outside in the hospital's healing garden for a few minutes. You can see that my good day and my patient's good day are completely different. In fact, I may never suggest the healing garden on my own. By taking the time to ask the patient what a good day looks like, I now know one small thing I can assist with to make a huge difference for my patient. The nice thing about this question is it applies to both the inpatient and outpatient setting. \n\nMaureen Bisognano challenged all of us at SHM to start asking our patients what a good day looks like for them, so now I challenge you to do the same. ]]>\n<![CDATA[Patient Experience Tips:  Explain 3 Ways]]>Wed, 20 May 2015 17:02:17 GMThttp://drtrinadorrah.com/1/post/2015/05/patient-experience-tips-explain-3-ways.html\n\nPatient Experience\n\"Explain 3 Ways\"\n\nAs providers, explaining in ways our patients understand is one of our most important jobs. When I shadow providers, I tell them to make sure they explain 3 ways. I encourage them to say it, show it, and write it down.\n\nSay it\nAs providers, this is what we're used to doing. We give instructions to our patients with the hope that they understand and comply with our recommendations.\n\nShow it\nA lot of patients are visual learners, so taking the time to show them a visual as you explain tremendously improves their understanding. You can use a poster, 3D model, picture from the internet, etc.\n\nWrite it down\nIf you give your patients written information to take home with them, they will be much more likely to remember and comply with your instructions. This can be something you write out for them, a handout, pamphlet, etc.\n\n\nExample: prep instructions for a colonoscopy\n\nSay it: \"Mr. Allen, in preparation for your colonoscopy, you're only allowed to have clear liquids for the entire day before your colonoscopy. You cannot have any solid food.\"\n\nShow it: \"Mr. Allen, here is a picture that shows what things qualify as clear liquids.\"\n\n·  Example of clear liquids. Picture taken from http://www.pico-salax.ca/bowel-preparation.html\n\n\nWrite it down: \"Mr. Allen, here is a handout for you to take with you that shows exactly what qualifies as a clear liquid.\" \n\n·  Example of written instructions as taken from http://www.pico-salax.ca/bowel-preparation.html\n\n\n\nIf you're going to the Cleveland Clinic Patient Experience: Empathy + Innovation Summit next week, come and check out my talk. I'll be speaking Monday at 2pm (How to get physicians to the table and keep them there).\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nClick HERE for Physician's Guide to Surviving CGCAHPS & HCAHPS\n\n\nClick HERE for CGCAHPS & HCAHPS Breakthrough\n\n\n<![CDATA[\"Physician/Nurse Rounding\"]]>Wed, 20 May 2015 02:57:01 GMThttp://drtrinadorrah.com/1/post/2015/05/physiciannurse-rounding.html\n To be honest, rounding with nurses is something I did in residency as part of team rounds, but I had gotten away from it  since moving beyond an academic setting. Thus, when hospital leadership asked the hospitalist team to consider nurse rounding, I was a bit skeptical. I always thought it sounded good in theory, but I didn't think it would work in reality. As it turns out, I've really enjoyed it, so I wanted to share it with you so you can consider it as a way to improve your patient experience. \n\nThe exact logistics will vary based on your hospital's size, but for me, when I arrive on the unit, I find the nurse's portable phone number and call him or her. I let the nurse know where I'm headed, and he or she makes it a priority to join me. I spend a lot of time with my patients, so I try to respect the nurse's time by stating the plan while the nurse is present. That way, if he or she needs to move to another room, the plan has been discussed. I also make sure to ask the nurse his or her input and address any questions or concerns he or she has. \n\nIt's been working great, and one of the things I like most about it is that everyone can benefit - the patient, the nurse, and the physician. One of the challenges when introducing new initiatives for staff and providers is to show how it benefits them. Nurse rounding is a patient experience initiative where everyone benefits.\nEveryone benefits * Patients benefit by having the nurse and doctor working together at the same time to discuss the patient's care. Rounding is done at the bedside with the patient so the patient is really able to participate and feel included. If the patient or family has a concern, they can express it at that time to the two members of the care team who are best able to advocate for them. It's also an opportunity to show the patient and family that you work together as a team. Patients want to know their entire care team is on the same page and focused on their care, and physician/nurse rounding is one way to accomplish this goal.\nNurses benefit because they hear the plan directly from the physician, as it is conveyed to the patient. Oftentimes, nurses have information that would alter the treatment plan, so being in the room with the physician as the plan is being expressed helps both the physician and the patient.\n\nFor example, if I'm discussing discharge planning and my nurse tells me the patient is unsteady on their feet and requires 2 nurses to get out of bed, I'm going to think about rehab placement as opposed to sending the patient home to live alone.\n\nPhysician/Nurse rounding allows nurses to be more knowledgable of the plan, so they can reiterate important information to the patient and family about that plan throughout the day. \n\nFor example, if the nurse hears me tell the patient they will be going home on insulin, he or she can begin educating the patient on insulin and how to administer it.\n\nPhysician/nurse rounding also encourages nurses to raise questions and concerns during rounds as opposed to trying to locate the physician at a later point in time. This helps nurses to feel like valued members of the care team, which improves nurse satisfaction and retention.\n\nFinally, physician/nurse rounding helps nurses to better learn their physicians' styles and preferences to better assist the physician in taking care of the patient.\n\n*Physicians benefit because the nurse is more knowledgable about the plan, and can more easily answer patient and family questions. Pages to the physician are reduced. No more pages from nurses asking questions that have already been addressed in rounds, and fewer pages from nurses asking doctors to update families. It doesn't completely eliminate the need for physician/family updates, but having the nurse give a basic update eases family anxiety and often alleviates the need to speak directly with the doctor about every concern. As doctors are increasingly pressed for time, anything to improve efficiency helps. Physicians also benefit because nurses have a unique perspective, and this perspective can help the physician as they create the treatment plan. Common things nurses bring up are issues related to wounds, debility, nutrition, and discharge planning. However, as the physicians and nurses become more comfortable with each other, the relationship evolves and the nurse truly becomes a valued ally to help the physician with his or her work.\n\nRegardless of how you implement physician/nurse rounding, I definitely encourage you to give it a try. It really is a win/win for all - patients, nurses, and physicians. ]]>\n<![CDATA[\"Do providers fear change or loss?\"]]>Tue, 05 May 2015 21:25:06 GMThttp://drtrinadorrah.com/1/post/2015/05/do-providers-fear-change-or-loss.html\n I recently had the opportunity to hear Dr. Peter Pronovost speak at the Society of Hospital Medicine 2015 conference. He's an expert in the field of quality and patient safety, so much of his talk focused on this. However, he also spoke about leading change, and I found this part of his talk to be particularly fascinating. One of the comments he made when discussing change was that people don't fear change, they fear loss. As someone who's job is to work with providers on improving the patient experience, I definitely found this to be true. Check out more of my thoughts on this subject in SHM's The Hospital Leader blog.\n\nPart 1\n\nPart 2\n<![CDATA[Health Care Lessons…as taught by the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders]]>Thu, 30 Apr 2015 20:03:00 GMThttp://drtrinadorrah.com/1/post/2015/04/health-care-lessonsas-taught-by-the-dallas-cowboys-cheerleaders.html\nby Dr. Trina E. Dorrah\n\nI’ll admit it. I like reality TV. In fact, one of my favorite reality TV shows is Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team. It shows what it takes to become a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader. Why am I talking about cheerleading in a health care blog? Because the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders put more effort into hiring cheerleaders than most health care organizations do in hiring doctors. If you’ve read any of my previous blog posts, you know I spend a lot of my time training doctors on specific things they can do to improve the patient experience. Physician training is a common tactic in health care, but when those efforts fail, health systems spend a lot of resources trying to help their habitually low performing doctors. Lately, I’ve been thinking we should try a different approach. Why not focus more attention on hiring for the patient experience from the start?\n\nHow does this relate to the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders? In health care, we aspire to hire the best. The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders are one of the country’s best professional cheerleading teams, but they didn’t gain this distinction by solely focusing on dance skills. Instead, they have created an audition process that ensures they select cheerleaders who embody the mission and values of the organization. I think health care should follow their lead.\n\n3 hiring tips … taken straight from the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders\n\n1.    Redesign your hiring process to produce the results you want.\n·      DCC: To become a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader, you must be able to do more than just dance. The interview process puts applicants through a variety of situations, all designed to ensure candidates have what it takes to uphold the values and vision of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.\n\n·      Health care: In health care, we are often understaffed, so we fall into the trap of hiring the first competent physician who applies for the job. The problem with this approach is we really don’t know how well they communicate with patients, if they are empathetic, or if they connect well with others. Health care needs doctors who are excellent clinicians and patient experience advocates. Unfortunately, we’re really good at assessing technical competence, but we’re lousy at assessing the more subtle qualities that make or break a patient’s experience.\n\n2.    Focus on your core values.\n·      DCC: In order to become a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader, you have to repeatedly show the judges that you posses the values and characteristics they desire. Because the interview process spans several weeks, it’s easy to know who is genuine and who is simply faking it.\n\n·      Health care: We all have a code of conduct we want our doctors to adhere to and we all have a set of core values we expect them to possess. However, few health care systems have a reliable way to gauge during the interview process if a doctor can or will live up to these standards. Even when we ask, we take the doctor’s word for it without ever verifying if his or her prior actions demonstrate hostility towards improving the patient experience.\n\n3.    Assess communication skills.\n·      DCC: To become a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader, you must demonstrate that you are a good communicator by performing well in a Q&A interview session. If an applicant fails to communicate effectively, she gets cut.\n\n·      Health care: In health care, our interview process does assess general communication skills. However, communicating to an interviewer is entirely different than the communication that is required for effective patient care. Being able to communicate things in a way patients understand is critical for providing a good patient experience, and health care currently does little to evaluate this skill when hiring.\n\nNow that I’ve mentioned some of what’s missing from health care’s current hiring process, let me explain what I think we should do to change it. Yet again, the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders have already figured out the solution.\n\n“Assess applicants’ skills before offering the job.”\n\nWhat does it take to be a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders? Their website outlines the following steps: 1) Complete the application, 2) Preliminary Audition, 3) Semi-Final Audition, 4) Personal Interview, 5) Written Test, 6) Final Talent Auditions, and 7) Complete training camp. Notice how many steps I listed - seven! The last step alone takes several weeks. In health care, most interviews last 1-2 days max, and although applicants speak with several interviewers, they are rarely asked to demonstrate one of the most important things – their commitment to the patient experience.\n\n3 ways to assess patient experience skills before offering the job\n\n1.     Review prior patient experience survey results – virtually every health care organization measures the patient experience. Review your applicant’s prior results. If you’re planning to hire a physician who consistently scored at the bottom of his or her peer group, or who consistently had more patient complaints, consider hiring someone else.\n\n2.     Focus on the patient experience throughout the hiring process – this should begin as soon as a physician submits an application. For example, put a video on your website explaining your organizations’ commitment to the patient experience, and require applicants to review it before they can submit an application. Likewise, the patient experience should be discussed throughout the interview process.\n\n3.     Interact with patients – before you make an offer to a new doctor, observe his or her interactions with patients. You can work with your legal department to use real patients under the direct supervision of a staff physician. You can use volunteers, members from a patient advisory council, or paid secret shoppers. The point isn’t to judge the doctor’s diagnostic or technical skills, but to observe their body language, emotional intelligence, and communication skills.\n\nIn the end, not every physician will be a good fit for your organization. By learning to hire better, you can hire physicians who embrace your organization’s commitment to the patient experience. This is much easier than trying to correct behavior after the fact. What do you think?\n\nDr. Trina E. Dorrah (@drtrinadorrah) is an internal medicine physician/hospitalist and the author of Physician’s Guide to Surviving CGCAHPS & HCAHPS. She can be reached through www.drtrinadorrah.com.]]>\n<![CDATA[CGCAHPS and HCAHPS are Here to Stay]]>Wed, 29 Apr 2015 03:30:30 GMThttp://drtrinadorrah.com/1/post/2015/04/cgcahps-and-hcahps-is-here-to-stay.html\n\nI have great news to share with you! Last week, I published my second book,CGCAHPS & HCAHPS Breakthrough: Coaching Health Care Providers for Success with the Patient Experience. As the title suggests, it's a book about provider coaching.\n\nWhat is coaching, and why do I think it's beneficial for improving the patient experience? Despite the increased focus on the patient experience, this topic is often missing from medical education. As a medical student and resident, my time was spent becoming an expert in anatomy, physiology, medical diagnosis, and treatment. We spent little time discussing the patient experience - why it is important or how to improve it. \n\nThankfully, that's changing as more and more health systems focus on improving the patient experience. Sit down during the visit, listen without interruption, summarize, solicit questions...these are all skills we emphasize for our doctors. However, one thing I've noticed from shadowing providers is that even when we have the best intentions, we still frequently forget to do what we know.\n\nFor example, I know not to turn my back on my patients when I'm using the computer. Yet, I frequently find myself doing this. If you asked me, I'd say I only do it occasionally. If you observed me, you'd see that I do it a lot more than I even realize. This is why a coaching program that incorporates shadowing can be so helpful. By implementing a provider coaching program, you observe your providers and offer objective feedback on what they do well, and what can be improved to positively impact the patient experience. \n\nIf you want to learn more, I've laid out a complete program in my new book. I go into very specific detail on what it takes to create a successful coaching program, and I've included a step-by-step guide. However, I still wanted to share a few tips to get you started. \n\n3 tips to get you started with your provider coaching program\n\n1. Choose an improvement coach - this is the person who will shadow and offer feedback to your providers. You want someone who is well-respected, compassionate, observant, and who truly understands the importance of the patient experience.\n\n2. Decide what you're going to focus on - choose what skills you want your providers to focus on. These are the skills your improvement coach will look for when shadowing your providers.\n\n3. Shadow your providers - once you select your coach and decide what you want to focus on, your coach can get busy shadowing your providers. By offering feedback based on direct observation, your coach can help your providers focus in on what truly needs improvement. \n\nWe're all working hard to improve the patient experience. There is no one thing that will instantly change your clinic or organization's patient experience, but there are definitive drivers of success. One of those drivers is physician coaching. If you're looking to start a coaching program, I sincerely hope my book helps. \n\nTrina ]]>\n<![CDATA[Want to improve your patient experience scores? Don’t forget to “Check the SATS”]]>Mon, 27 Apr 2015 17:50:55 GMThttp://drtrinadorrah.com/1/post/2015/04/want-to-improve-your-patient-experience-scores-dont-forget-to-check-the-sats.html\n\nBy Dr. Trina E. Dorrah     http://www.drtrinadorrah.com\n\nS = Sit down\n\nA = Avoid medical lingo\n\nT = Teach back\n\nS = Summarize\n\nThere are numerous patient experience improvement tips that you can share with your doctors. The problem is, no one can remember that many tips at once. If you want to help your doctors improve the patient experience, less is more. Focus on a few hi-yield tips, and emphasize them frequently.\n\nSATS can help\n\nEncouraging your doctors to “Check the SATS” is one easy way to help your doctors improve the patient experience. It’s practical, catchy, and doable. When done consistently, these 4 tips will go a long way towards helping your doctors focus on behaviors that truly make a difference to their patients.\n\nSATS explained\n\nS = Sit down; encourage your docs to sit at some point during each patient encounter.  This helps your doctor appear more relaxed and accessible. It also increases your patients’ perception of time spent with the doctor.\n\nA = Avoid medical lingo; remind your doctors to explain using clear and simple language. Encourage them to avoid medical terminology unless followed by an explanation. As a physician, I can tell you that we are so used to speaking in medical terminology that we often do not recognize when we do it.\n\nT = Teach back; ask your doctors to utilize the teach-back method to improve their patients’ understanding. The doctor explains the concept to the patient, and the patient explains it back in his or her own words. Your doctor then has the opportunity to clear up any confusion and re-teach as needed.\n\nS = Summarize; your doctors can summarize at various times. After the patient tells his or her story, encourage your doctor to summarize to ensure he or she heard correctly. Your doctor can also use this technique to summarize the diagnoses and treatment plan at the end of the visit.\n\nNext steps\n\nMeet with your doctors now and encourage them to “Check the SATS”. We are all working to improve the patient experience. Providing your doctors with practical tools such as SATSis one way to partner with them to improve your patient experience.  In the end, patients want to be listened to, treated with courtesy and respect, receive clear explanations, and have enough time with their doctor. Having your doctors “Check the SATS” for each patient accomplishes this goal.]]>\n<![CDATA[Names Titles and the Patient Experience]]>Thu, 23 Apr 2015 01:57:53 GMThttp://drtrinadorrah.com/1/post/2015/04/names-titles-and-the-patient-experience.htmlWhat's in a name?\n\nby Dr. Trina E. Dorrah\n\nHave you ever noticed the reaction you get when you mention the patient experience? Undoubtedly, you’re met with a few providers who demonstrate frustration, anger, and disgust. You may even hear them say that it doesn’t matter how well the doctor treats a patient as long as he or she is competent. These beliefs confuse me, especially when these same providers face their own health crises, then complain about the lack of empathy they, their partner, or child received. Do you notice the irony? When asked to focus on the patient experience, these providers dismiss it. Yet, when their doctors don’t communicate with them or show compassion, they are frustrated.\n\nThe truth is, doctors and other health care providers really do care about the patient experience. I think the frustration arises from the connotation associated with the phrase.  For some reason, many providers think of the patient experience as catering to unreasonable demands or ignoring the importance of clinical competence. That’s simply not true. When I think about what the patient experience is and is not, the following list comes to mind.\n\nThe patient experience is about…\n\n  • ·      Listening\n  • ·      Showing compassion\n  • ·      Treating patients as we ourselves would want to be treated\n  • ·      Explaining so our patients understand\n  • ·      Spending time with our patients\n  • ·      Asking for and answering questions\n  • ·      Helping to facilitate care\n  • ·      Working with our staff to streamline processes\n  • ·      Continuing our commitment to maintain clinical competence\n  • ·      Practicing according to evidence based standards\n  • ·      Taking time to explore patient fears\n  • ·      Engaging in collaborative goal setting\n  • ·      Discussing difficult issues in a compassionate way\n\nThe patient experience is NOT about…\n\n  • ·      Catering to every whim and desire\n  • ·      Turning physicians into concierges\n  • ·      Choosing treatment options that go against evidence based medicine\n  • ·      Buying patients’ loyalty through rewards and perks\n  • ·      Refusing to discuss difficult issues\n  • ·      Only making recommendations that are pleasing to hear\n  • ·      Prescribing unnecessary medications\n  • ·      Subjecting ourselves to verbal abuse\n  • ·      Devising treatment plans that completely exclude patients/families from the decision making process\n  • ·      Creating an environment where one must work within our health care system or know someone who does to have a good patient experience\n\nIn the end, I believe if providers have a better understanding of what the patient experience truly is (and what it is not), they’ll be more willing to embrace it. If everyone in health care commits to this goal, doctors, nurses, and providers won’t feel the need to name drop/intervene/call in favors for our loved ones simply to ensure they have a good patient experience.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9780636429786682}
+{"content": "- makes a little over 64oz (2 quarts = 2liters)\n 64   oz  water\n 3    TB  whole hibiscus flowers\n 12   oz  can apple juice concentrate\n  - boil water with hibiscus\n  - turn off flame and let it suffuse (?) for a while\n  - pour tea and apple juice concentrate into container\n  - refrigerate\n  Usually there is around a cup extra tea which I drink warm with a\n little honey.\n  You don't have to use “heaping” TBs of hibiscus.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9859285950660706}
+{"content": "At what point does a car cease to be a car and start becoming a people-mover? One survey hints that we're less than two decades away from that eventuality. Whether auto enthusiasts think that's a good thing is another matter altogether.\n\nThe Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, or IEEE, polled about 200 people within academia, research and government agencies about the concept of self-driving vehicles and future automotive design, and got a sense of what people thought would become superfluous during the upcoming decades. Taken into consideration was rapid advancements in things like sensor technology, software, driver-assistance programs and GPS.\n\nAnd with those advancements, the respondents said items like rear-view mirrors, horns and emergency brakes would be gone by 2030. And five years later, steering wheels, brakes and accelerator pedals would no longer be necessary, either. And by that time, at least three-quarters of US states will have laws on the books allowing for driverless vehicles. Nothing was mentioned about floor mats, of course.\n\nThe subject of autonomous driving continues to pick up relevance. In late May,\nGoogle unveiled its first self-driving car, which is sans steering wheel, brake pedal, gas pedal or gear shift and has a top speed of 25 miles per hour.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6382434964179993}
+{"content": "Tencent today, officially launched Tencent Q+. No, it is not a copy of Google+, but instead a client based open platform for developers to connect to the largest instant messaging network with over 647 million users.\n\nThink about it like this; when you log into QQ and click on Q+ you can also access applications developed by 3rd party developers. Q+ launched with 150 applications ready to go. Applications include news, travel, social networking, games and 7 other categories.\n\nQ+ allows users to quickly share the apps you like with friends on Tencent Weibo and QZone. It also intelligently recommends you apps that you might like, based on apps that you are using.\n\nIn the future, Tencent will become more open by releasing APIs that will allow developers to leverage the core function of the QQ client, for example file sharing and audio chat.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7307571172714233}
+{"content": "Aatike Magic Buguri - Flip Top-set of 16\n\nProduct Code:Laq057C\n\nWeight: 750 gm(s)\n\nAverage rating:\n\nPrice: ₹ 590.00\n\nAATIKE’s ‘Magic Buguri’ (Flip wooden Top) is a fascinating top that inverts itself when spinning!! The toys are handcrafted by artisans of Channapatna. They are very bright & colourful spreading happiness to every child who uses it!\n\nHow It Works?\n\nThe centre of mass does not coincide with the geometrical centre of sphere. This means that when spinning the bulbous top slides over the surface on which it is spinning and this friction and motion causes enough force to 'drive' the spinning top up and over until it is spinning on the stalk. Once on the stalk there are far less sliding forces and the top can now spin stably until it no longer has enough energy to sustain its speed and spin.\n\nThis is an Ideal Birthday giveaway gifts that brings in the elements of tradition and childhood memories together. Most importantly, one will be introducing children to traditional Indian toys, games that are simple and inspired from nature!\n\n\nAvailable in:\n\n\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6019894480705261}
+{"content": "Advertising Console\n\n    Petra, Jordan - Ten Amazing Facts\n\n    Geo Beats\n\n    by Geo Beats\n\n    1 505 views\n    Petra, Jordan - Ten Amazing Facts - as part of the travel series by GeoBeats.\n\n    10 - Inhabited by Nabataeans over 2500 years ago.\n\n\n    8 - The Treasury, its most famous structure, is estimated to be 2000 years old.\n\n    7 - Nabataeans prospered by controlling water supply in region.\n\n    6 - They used mechanisms like dams to store and sell water from flash floods.\n\n    5 - Spice trade further fueled Petra's prosperity in the first century BC.\n\n    4 - An earthquake in 4th century destroyed these water management systems.\n\n    3 - Change in trade routes led to Petra's eventual decline.\n\n    2 - The city was abandoned in 1189.\n\n    1 - Estimated 30,000 people lived in Petra at its peak.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9092260599136353}
+{"content": "(720) 583-5728\n2200 S Monaco Parkway, Unit P, Denver, CO 80222\n\n\nKrav Maga\n\n\nMost likely, the answer is yes. Speak to your doctor, and let us know what he / she says. We'll gladly work with what your doctor has to say to provide you with a safe, fun experience.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9890232086181641}
+{"content": "Cell discovery brings blood disorder cure closer\n\nstem cells\n\n\n\nFound in the bone marrow and in umbilical cord blood, HSCs are critically important because they can replenish the body’s supply of blood cells. Leukemia patients have been successfully treated using HSC transplants, but medical experts believe blood stem cells have the potential to be used more widely.\n\nLead researcher Professor Peter Currie, from ARMI explained that understanding how HSCs self-renew to replenish blood cells is a “Holy Grail” of stem cell biology.\n\n\nA key stumbling block to using HSCs more widely has been an inability to produce them in the laboratory setting. The reason for this, suggested from previous research, is that a molecular ‘switch’ may also be necessary for HSC formation, though the mechanism responsible has remained a mystery, until now.\n\n\n\nProfessor Currie said when playing back these films they noticed that HSCs require a “buddy” cell type to help them form. These “buddies”, known as endotome cells, have stem cell inducing properties,\n\n\n\n“Potentially it’s imaginable that you could even correct genetic defects in cells and then transplant them back into the body,” Professor Currie said.\n\n\n“We now know that these migratory cells are essential in the formation of hematopoietic stem cells, and we have described some of the molecular processes involved. This information is not the whole solution to creating them in the lab, but it will certainly help.” said Dr Hollway.\n\nThe next phase of the research will see Professor Currie’s team identify more of the molecular cues that trigger HSC production.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9863779544830322}
+{"content": "A bit of dirt will do them good\nA combination of natural resistance to certain diseases, maternally acquired antibodies and active exposure to germs actually helps to build your tot's immune system.\n\nThe thought of dirt and grime is one that sends us all into a \u000eflat panic when it comes to our children. We spend so much time sterilising and sanitising everything from toys and clothes to pets and \u000efloors. We even keep the areas where our kids play pristinely clean and begrudge the occasional hour or so in the sandpit – all that dirt, yuck!\n\nWhy the aversion to anything less than perfectly clean? Germs, of course!\n\nThe message is generally very clear when you have a newborn that you must protect her from germs and bacteria; her environment must be kept absolutely spotless. This is because at their young age, newborns’ immune systems are still very weak and therefore unable to \u000efight against some germs that cause sickness.\n\nBut once your baby is a toddler, studies have shown that exposing kids to a variety of bacteria is actually good for them as it helps to build a stronger immune system.\n\nIt may sound odd, after all isn’t protecting our children from germs the thing that keeps them healthy? Well, think of the immune system as a muscle; we exercise and train our muscles to keep them strong and healthy.\n\nThe same applies to the immune system. It needs to be exercised in order to be strong enough to \u000efight against bacteria that cause illness and disease. The way the immune system is exercised is by exposing it to some bacteria. So let your little one run wild and barefooted every once in a while! Let her dig around in the garden and bake you a few mud cakes too.\n\nDid you know?\n\nExcessive use of antibacterial products can cause a development of bacteria that are resistant to them. So go easy on the cleaning products.\n\nResearch has shown that children who are raised in a home where there is a pet like a cat or dog are less likely to develop things like pollen allergies later in life.\n\nResearch has shown that children who grow up in farms, for example, where they are exposed to animals and many germs and bacteria, are on average sick less often and have fewer allergies than children who grow up in cities.\n\nThis does not mean that you can disregard standard of basic hygiene in your home and allow your child to live in \u000e filth, though. What it means is that you should go easy on the antibacterial gels and cleaning solutions – all you need is a bit of soap and water.\n\nIf you clean your floor regularly there is no need to be horri\u000efied when your child picks up food from the floor. This allows you to relax a bit and gives your child a chance to explore and learn about her world.\n\nRead Parent24’s Comments Policy\n\nEverything from parties to pre-schools in your area.\n\nJobs - Find your dream job\n\nProperty - Find a new home", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6453182697296143}
+{"content": "\nListing Number:\nDescription: Cabin in Pinetop, AZ. Modified A-Frame features the living room, kitchen, and master bedroom downstairs, with two lofts up stairs and a second bedroom. This 1448 sf cabin is being sold fully furnished. Metal roof, nice large lot towards the back of the country club area, with close access to the National Forest.\n\nCalculate your interest rates and payment plan now!\nLoan Amount:\nNumber of Payments:\nAnnual Interest Rate:", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9963515400886536}
+{"content": "Climbing is potentially very dangerous. Judgement, common sense and experience can go a long way in keeping you out of trouble but at the end of the day you can do everything absolutely right and still wind up seriously injured or dead.\n\nAny person reading these pages is responsible for getting the proper instruction in the techniques and equipment necessary for climbing and you assume all responsibility for injuries to yourself or injuries you inflict on others.\n\nThis site makes no attempt to offer instruction of any kind, nor should you assume that information you read here is an adequate substitute for instruction or experience. No claim is made about the suitability of this information for any purpose, either stated or implied. By reading this information, you accept full responsibility for its use, and any consequences of that use.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9967122673988342}
+{"content": "Believing Hearts\n\nBelieving Hearts is a monthly gathering in which individuals from different faiths get together and share their thoughts to increase the understanding and appreciation of “others”.\nWith Believing Hearts, we aim to encourage dialog, inform each other on various faith traditions and build together a culture of empathy. Build a space where we can transcend stereotypes to channel our best selves into social action.\n“Be as vast as the oceans and take every soul to your bosom! Let faith keep you alert, cherish a never-ending affection for humanity, and leave no broken heart forgotten or ignored! Applaud the good for their goodness, appreciate those who have believing hearts, and be kind to them.”", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8250499963760376}
+{"content": "\n\nLogo MUG-Forschungsportal\n\nGewählte Publikation:\n\nSHR Neuro Krebs Kardio Lipid\n\nStolz, E; Mayerl, H; Waxenegger, A; Rásky, É; Freidl, W.\nImpact of socioeconomic position on frailty trajectories in 10 European countries: evidence from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (2004-2013).\nJ Epidemiol Community Health. 2017; 71(1):73-80\nWeb of Science PubMed FullText FullText_MUG\n\n\nAutor/innen der Med Uni Graz:\nFreidl Wolfgang\nMayerl Hannes\nRásky Éva\nStolz Erwin\nWaxenegger Anja\n\nWhether or not, and how, health inequalities change throughout older age is currently under debate. The goal of this study was to assess the net impact of education, occupational class, income and wealth on frailty trajectories among older adults in Continental Europe. We modelled frailty index trajectories within a repeated cohort design among the community-dwelling population (50+) in 10 countries, using growth curve models based on 54 036 observations from 20 965 respondents in 4 waves (2004-2013) of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe. Gaps in frailty due to education, occupational class and wealth continued throughout old age, while the gap due to income, smaller in comparison, converged. Frailty levels were higher and trajectories steeper in later birth cohorts, and the impact of education increased over time. Frailty levels and growth curves were higher in Southern European countries, and results were consistent across countries regarding the continuous effect of education and occupation and more mixed regarding wealth and income. Health inequalities due to education, occupational class and wealth tend to persist throughout old age, whereas the negligible effect of income declines with age, which, substantially, highlights the importance of social conditions on the pace of physiological decline in older Europeans and, methodologically, highlights the need to assess multiple measures of socioeconomic position. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to\n\n© Meduni Graz Impressum", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9181836843490601}
+{"content": "Please Share This!\n\nApr. 22nd, 2017\n\nToday is Earth Day, a movement started 47 years ago, to remind us to be aware of the environment and seek ways to reduce our carbon footprint. \n\nIMG operators have embraced, Green, in their association with the University of Vermont’s (UVM) Certification for Sustainable Transportation Program (CST).  The CST provides an independent, third party certification, education, and labelling program to help minimize the impact of passenger transportation.  By embracing the CST’s eRating vehicle certification, Eco Driver and Idle Free initiatives, IMG companies have access to technical support from UVM, as they learn about ways to save energy and operate their vehicles even more efficiently.  \n\nA key focus in working with the CST is to train drivers about reducing engine idle time – thereby reducing the use of fuel and reducing emission. Today we are proud of the IMG companies that have embraced the CST training and making an impact on the environment.\n\nMotorcoaches remain one of the greenest forms of transportation, and on Earth Day, a reminder about the environmental impact motorcoach travel has:\n\n- One single motorcoach can replace 55 cars on the highway/s\n\n- Motorcoaches provide over 206 passenger miles per gallon of fuel compared to single occupant automobile that provides 27.2 passenger miles per gallon on average\n\n\n- Motorcoaches are 3 times more efficient in reducing CO2 output when compared to commuter rail\n\nIMG companies continue to be cognizant of the green opportunities motorcoach travel can provide and how working with partners such as the University of Vermont’s CST program can help them further in this endeavor. \n\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.964945375919342}
+{"content": "Sometimes, due to specific reasons, the lining inside the stomach gets eroded or abraded. This condition is known as ulcer and is one of the most painful conditions experienced by people of all age groups. Various factors like eating extremely spicy foods, smoking, consuming alcohol, etc., can cause ulcer. Peptic or stomach ulcers in children are due to a bacterial infection caused by H. pylori or due to use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID).\n\nUlcers can be of different types like stomach ulcer, duodenal ulcer, esophageal ulcer, etc. Treatment of ulcers includes use of medications like antacids, acid blockers, and PP inhibitors. At the same time, it is also essential to follow a diet to reduce the acid production in the body and prevent further damage.\n\nUlcer Diet\n\nThere are certain foods which tend to aggravate the acid production in the body and cause discomfort. These foods must be excluded from the diet. Following a proper diet helps in quick treatment of ulcer. Following is a list of foods to be avoided and those that can be safely consumed.\n\nType of FoodsFoods to AvoidFoods Safe to Consume\nVegetablesTomatoes, cabbage, sprouts, turnips, peppers, cucumber, broccoli, onions, cauliflower, rutabaga, sauerkrautGreen leafy vegetables, legumes, all fresh vegetables\nFruitsCitrus fruits, lemons, oranges, berries, nuts and seedsAll the rest of fruits\nDairyWhole milk, butter, cream, cheese, margarineLow fat milk, butter, soy, tofu\nMeat/PoultryFried and seasoned meat, chicken and fish, corned beef, frankfurter sausagesLean meat, fish, skinless poultry, eggs\nGrainsBreads, pastries, cakes, biscuits, refined flour productsWhole wheat bread and pasta, rice cakes, waffles\nBeveragesCoffee, tea, soda, fruit juiceHerbal tea, clear homemade soup\nOthersAnimal fat, vegetable oil, mayonnaise, ketchup, peanut butter, vinegar, mustard oil, chili sauce, pepper, garlic, chili powder, picklesOlive oil, low-fat dressing, honey\n\nThe aforementioned food chart should be used only as a guideline. For a detailed and personalized diet chart, you should consult a doctor.\n\nUlcer Diet Recommendations\n\nIf you are looking for an easy diet for ulcers, then note that all fried, processed, and canned foods should be completely avoided in the peptic ulcer diet. Most of the canned and processed foods contain higher amounts of salts, preservatives, and vinegar that can aggravate ulcer. Similarly, chocolates, candies, and mint also worsen stomach ulcers. When suffering from ulcers, it is advisable to go for home cooked and light food that are recommended in the above mentioned list. The following are some recommendations that one need to follow along with the diet.\n  • It is essential to have freshly cooked food, preferably cooked at home.\n  • You should have smaller meals and eat food slowly. Having 4-5 small meals after a gap of 2-3 hours helps in proper digestion.\n  • You should have dinner 2-3 hours prior to bedtime. It is not advisable to lie down immediately after having meals.\n  • Spicy, acidic, and fried foods should be avoided for getting rid of ulcers quickly. Spices, oil, dressing, salts, and sugar should also be used in moderation in the peptic ulcer disease diet.\nIf you follow the ulcer diet regularly for the prescribed period, you can surely recover from the disease completely. Lastly, you should note that even after recovering from the disease, you should not go back to your original diet, but, rather follow this diet to prevent ulcer from recurring. Take care!\n\nDisclaimer: This article is for informative purposes only and does not, in any way, seek to replace the advice of an expert.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8848252892494202}
+{"content": "\n\n\n\nNow this dynamic blend of multiple dance forms has become so popular it is the largest and fastest growing partner dance in the UK.\n\n\n\n\nOne of the great things about Ceroc is there's no need to come with a partner. Our teaching method means everyone changes partners. So come and join the other scores of new people coming to Ceroc for the first time every week. Learning to dance with CEROC is a great way to keep fit, socialise and enjoy a complete night out.\n\nSo whether you are a dance professional, studying dance or thinking of studying dance then learning to dance with Ceroc is a great way of learning the fundamentals of dance in its general form. This will help you along your dance journey. We would urge everyone learning the dynamics of dance with Ceroc to participate in our medal programme overseen by the International DanceSport Judges & Trainers Association (IDJTA).", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9933695197105408}
+{"content": "For other uses, see Yorktown.\n\nThe USS Yorktown (NCC-20045) was a Federation starship in service to Starfleet, commissioned in the 24th century.\n\n\nThis ship was named as a successor to previous vessels named Yorktown of history.\n\nIn the year 2365, the Yorktown was under the command of Captain Gregory Benson. He was assigned to captain Yorktown on a deep space exploration mission in sector 032. This information was listed on a starship deploy status report on a viewscreen on Starbase 173. (TNG episode: \"The Measure of a Man\")\n\nThe Yorktown was lost at the Battle of Wolf 359 in early 2367.\n\nIn 2369, Benjamin Sisko created a holoprogram that included the Yorktown as part of an attempted strategy to defeat the Borg at Wolf 359. Sisko, theorizing new attack patterns he hoped might change the results of the battle, ordered the Yorktown to concentrate weapons fire with three other starships to allow a boarding party to gain access to Locutus's cube. (DS9 comic: \"Program 359\")\n\nCrew manifestEdit\n\n\n\nships named Yorktown\nFederation, Starfleet USS Yorktown (NCC-108, Daedalus-class)USS Yorktown (Constitution-class)USS Yorktown (Enterprise-class)USS Yorktown (NCC-2033, Excelsior-class)USS Yorktown (NCC-20045)USS Yorktown (NCC-61137, Zodiac-class)USS Yorktown (mining freighter)USS Yorktown (NCC-90276, Sovereign-class)USS Yorktown (NCC-97005, Odyssey-class)USS Yorktown (NCC-98300, Odyssey-class) Ufp-emblem Starfleet Command logo\nUnited Earth, Starfleet Earth Ship Yorktown (NCC-108, Daedalus-class)see also: Yorktown-class Seal of United Earth United Earth Starfleet emblem Terran Empire, Starfleet\n(mirror universe)\nISS Yorktown (Constitution-class) TerranEmpire\nShips at the Battle of Wolf 359\nBorg Collective Locutus's cube Borg\n\nAppearances and referencesEdit\n\nExternal linkEdit\n\nAd blocker interference detected!\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9989185333251953}
+{"content": "In latest skirmish of western land wars, Congress supports mining and ranching\n\nSheep move through public lands near Shoshone, Idaho. BLM/Flickr, CC BY\n\nRepublicans in Congress are enthusiastically using the Congressional Review Act to overturn regulations finalized during the last weeks of the Obama administration. One measure on their list is the Bureau of Land Management’s new Planning 2.0 rule, which is designed to improve BLM’s process for making decisions about ranching, energy development and other uses of public lands. The House has already voted to repeal the rule, and the Senate is likely to follow.\n\nAs an environmental historian, I see this as the latest skirmish in a long-running battle over use of the quarter-million acres of public lands managed by BLM.\n\nHistorically, BLM has been dominated by commodity interests, especially ranchers and mining companies. But in the 1970s Congress passed several laws that increased public involvement in land management decisions. It also directed BLM to balance extractive uses such as mining, grazing and logging with other activities, such as wildlife conservation, recreation and preservation of wilderness areas. These laws shifted the agency into what has been called a “green drift” toward greater environmental protection, even in the face of subsequent congressional gridlock.\n\nThis is not a simple Washington-versus-local struggle. Many westerners, including some Republican officials, support the idea of opening up the planning process and doing it across larger areas. Overturning Planning 2.0 exposes BLM to charges of ignoring science, collaboration and the public – criticisms that it has worked for decades to overcome. And it will probably lead to more of the lawsuits that inspired the rule in the first place.\n\nThe Bureau of Livestock and Mining\n\nBLM’s history makes it vulnerable to charges of not listening to a wide public. An agency of the Interior Department, it was created in 1946 through a merger of the General Land Office and the U.S. Grazing Service. Government experts had found that 95 percent of rangelands in the public domain had declined since the turn of the century due to “excessive stocking,” or overgrazing.\n\nHowever, BLM was so attentive to its main constituencies – ranchers and mineral companies – that it quickly became known as the Bureau of Livestock and Mining. In its early years, power rested almost entirely with grazing advisory boards, made up of local ranchers who assigned grazing permits on government rangelands. At one point these boards even helped pay BLM employee salaries.\n\nThrough the 1970s western land management was a classic example of what political scientists call an “iron triangle,” in which tightly connected congressional committees, bureaucracies and interest groups enact policy. Such relationships typically favor the narrow self-interest of commodity groups.\n\nAccording to early studies of BLM, such as Philip Foss’ 1960 book “Politics and Grass,” the agency was “captured” by livestock interests. Political scientist Grant McConnell observed in 1966 that BLM’s decentralized structure was designed to allow “home rule on the range” – just what ranchers wanted.\n\nLazy B Ranch near Duncan, Arizona in 1945. The ranch was the childhood home of Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and is on an active grazing allotment managed by BLM. BLM/Flickr, CC BY\n\nGradual opening\n\nIn the 1970s BLM started to become more independent and manage land in a more adaptive and balanced way. This was partly due to the 1969 National Environmental Policy Act, which gave the public a new role in federal policy. Agencies proposing major projects were required to produce environmental impact statements that were subject to public review. This opened up federal agencies to greater scrutiny and allowed new voices to influence agency decisions. It also increased litigation and slowed down the planning process as more constituencies became involved.\n\nThe 1976 Federal Land Policy and Management Act increased BLM’s power to regulate grazing and mining, and made wilderness a new priority in its multiple-use portfolio. Ranching and mining interests now had to compete and cooperate with wildlife advocates and other nonextractive users.\n\nThese new policies improved BLM decisions by enabling the agency to consider science, such as rangeland ecology and habitat protection for endangered species, and the noneconomic values of wilderness and wildlife. They also disrupted power balances. Many western stakeholders felt that national priorities were displacing local needs and traditions.\n\nTheir dissatisfaction spawned the Sagebrush Rebellion of the late 1970s and early 1980s and its descendants. Ever since then, commodity interests have bristled at having to incorporate broadly environmental values in western land use decisions, instead of basing them strictly on economics that favored ranchers with below-market grazing fees and miners with favorable leasing and royalty arrangements.\n\nHumbug Spires, on BLM land south of Butte, Montana, is an 11,175-acre zone under study for possible designations as a wilderness area. Bob Wick, BLM California, CC BY\n\nPlanning 2.0 in the crosshairs\n\nThe final Planning 2.0 rule, published on Dec. 16, 2016, is designed to fix some key flaws in western land use planning. Notably, BLM lands are intermingled with private lands and public lands managed by other federal agencies. Many issues, such as wildfire management and invasive species control, cross these boundaries.\n\nInstead of planning at the local or site-specific scale, which does not address the environment’s interconnected nature, the rule directs BLM to plan at the landscape scale – that is, over large areas with “similar environmental characteristics,” such as the Colorado Plateau. Landscape-scale planning necessarily involves federal, state, local and tribal governments.\n\nThe rule also requires BLM to seek public input before developing plans. This approach contrasts with NEPA, which requires agencies only to consult with the public after they have identified a few options for action. Environmentalists have repeatedly stalled BLM land use planning through lawsuits when they disagreed with agencies’ proposed alternatives. Planning 2.0 seeks to involve them earlier to help develop alternatives in hope of reducing litigation later.\n\nMany westerners who opposed the rule raised classic federal-versus-state arguments against it. Tom Jankovsky, a Republican commissioner in Garfield County, Colorado, called it “the first step to a totalitarian government, having bureaucrat planners making legislation through administrative process.” The Western Energy Alliance complained that it was an “overreach of federal authority” beyond what FLPMA allowed and prioritized conservation over multiple use.\n\nBut other western stakeholders found merit in Planning 2.0. Hunters and anglers, along with other hikers and outdoor enthusiasts, want seats at the table in land use decisions. Some wildlife advocates see the new rules as a great improvement and have called for Congress to ratify Planning 2.0 rather than repeal it. Park County, Colorado’s three Republican commissioners praised the rule for allowing the public to influence plans rather than just react to them.\n\nBLM work to help protect threatened western snowy plovers in Oregon.\n\nOne step forward, two steps back\n\nIn my view, many critics who have urged Congress to strike down Planning 2.0 want to return to the era when mining companies and ranchers wrote the rules and did so for a narrow range of interests. This strategy is consistent with the Republican Party’s general commitment to deregulation to facilitate business. But repealing the rule is unlikely to have that effect.\n\nLaws like NEPA and FLPMA have brought other interests to the planning table, and Planning 2.0 would get them there earlier to help prevent costly delays that frustrate everyone involved. By excluding their voices, Congress will guarantee the status quo: lengthy court battles after planning decisions are issued. And once a rule is vacated under the Congressional Review Act, agencies cannot issue a new rule that is “substantially the same” unless Congress passes a law authorizing them to do so. The result will be more gridlock and unsound multiple-use management of western public lands.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6431847810745239}
+{"content": "JT & Lady Cee appear on Healing X Outreach on BlogTalk Radio\n\nAgustin Astacio interviews JT & Lady Cee\n\nJT and Lady Cee appear on Healing X Outreach: where X-Cultists Speak Out on BlogTalk radio with host Agustin Astacio.\n\nAlso, be on the look out for upcoming content from Critical Thinkers\n\nVisit our website https://www.exjwcriticalthinker.com\n\nYouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpHhWSPtMDTSa8dzapmzo5A/featured\n\n\nWhat Can Happen When a Jehovah’s Witness is Married to an Unbeliever\n\nThere are many challenges that individuals may face when married to a Jehovah’s Witness. This video outlines some of the issues that come in to play when a Jehovah’s Witness marries an unbeliever during the time they have been disfellowshipped and then decides to return to the organization.\n\nmarried to unbeliever\n\nJehovah’s Witnesses – To Fade or Disassociate?\n\nJehovah Witness Disassociate\n\nDoes it really make a difference whether or not a person chooses to fade from the Jehovah’s Witness religion or to write a disassociation letter? This podcast goes into detail providing you with information so you can make your own decision as it relates to your situation. What is suitable for one person may not be the same for another. There is no “one size fits all” approach in this case.\n\nWhile some feel it makes no difference which one you choose, depending on how your family perceives it, you may be better off simply fading. However, if you have family that does everything according to the Watchtower’s rule book, then either choice may be appropriate! However, buying the necessary time to prepare yourself for the backlash when leaving the organization is a must. It is most important that you build a new clientele of friends and establish a new support group prior to leaving because once you make it known to those in your inner Watchtower circle, they will cut you off in an instant.\n\nIt is amazing that when an individual becomes a Jehovah’s Witness, they gradually stop hanging around their non-Jehovah’s Witness associates and family. In fact, the individual that is converting to the JW faith still has access to those in their lives that are not JW’s as they begin to enjoy their new friends at the Kingdom Hall. It is a very smooth transition from one to the other.\n\nHowever, when individuals decide to leave the JW faith, they are cut off in an instant. The swift kick in the rear end literally makes your head swirl.  Yet, those individuals that you abandoned to join this group, are always awaiting your return and in many instances, welcome you back with open arms.\n\nFear, Obligation, Guilt (FOG)\n\n\nAfter leaving the Jehovah’s Witness religion, we had the opportunity to read Emotional Blackmail by Susan Forward, Ph.D. We could readily identify with the stories she relates in the book and could make a direct correlation to our lives as Jehovah’s Witnesses. While the experiences are somewhat different from what we encountered in our personal lives, we could readily comprehend how individuals use emotional blackmail to make others develop fear, obligation and guilt in order to manipulate them into furthering their own agenda.\n\nThis podcast explains in great detail how  Jehovah’s Witnesses live in the FOG. No one can dispute these comments as every current and former Witness is most familiar with the culture of the organization!\n\nThis podcast references the experience of a sister that lived in an Iron Lung and her experience was used as a tool to measure the faith of Jehovah’s Witnesses with otherwise good health that did not live up to the daily demands of the Watchtower. You can reference her experience in the January 22, 1993 Awake! magazine “Not Even an Iron Lung Could Stop her Preaching“.\n\nWhy is there always a deficit at the Circuit Assemblies of Jehovah’s Witnesses?\n\nbaking is as easy as1-2-3!\n\nEvery Jehovah’s Witness has attended the circuit assembly and remembers the brothers making the announcement from the platform that “we have a deficit” and then starts asking for more donations to cover the cost of the program.\n\nThis audio clip goes into detail about why there is always a deficit and the assembly program hasn’t even started yet!\n\n\nFind New Friends after leaving the Jehovah’s Witnesses\n\n\nWhen my husband and I left the Jehovah’s Witness faith, we realized that finding a new clientele of friends was a must. When most individuals leave this religion, it is with great distress because many are being shunned by their family and friends and they literally have no one that they can speak to. Therefore, if you are one of Jehovah’s Witnesses and you are thinking about leaving the organization, it is imperative that you realize those individuals in your circle will completely shut you out of their lives.\n\nWe simply connected with people in our business circle. In fact, during the time we left, I was self-employed, and thankfully I had stopped telling people about my religious affiliation. Therefore, I didn’t have to go through the bad experience one finds themselves in when trying to fit in with so-called “worldly” people.\n\nIt has been an interesting journey for us, but all-in-all we feel like we did the right thing in our lives by leaving and we have no regrets.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8638662695884705}
+{"content": "England stands on the brink of war with France.\n\nHenry V receives intelligence, through his agent Thomas Chaucer that the French intend to re-forge their old alliance with Scotland.\n\nThe king orders Chaucer and veteran archer Robert Cooper to travel across the border and intercept a French agent, Reynard of Troyes, before he can deliver the gold which will fund Scotland’s war with England.\n\nChaucer also learns of a plot to murder the man that England cannot afford to go to war without. He orders the man-at-arms, Edward Fordham, to remain in the capital, solve the mystery and stop the assassin.\n\nBut all is not what it seems.\n\nSome wars are fought in the shadows as well as on the battlefield…", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5753828883171082}
+{"content": "The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality (Compact Disc)\n\nSpace, Time, and the Texture of Reality\n\nBy Brian Greene, Erik Davies (Read by)\n\nRandom House Audio Publishing Group, 9780739323656\n\nPublication Date: May 3, 2005\n\n\n\nFrom Brian Greene, one of the world's leading physicists, comes a grand tour of the universe that makes us look at reality in a completely different way.\nGreene uses these questions to guide us toward modern science's new and deeper understanding of the universe. From Newton's unchanging realm in which space and time are absolute, to Einstein's fluid conception of spacetime, to quantum mechanics' entangled arena where vastly distant objects can bridge their spatial separation to instantaneously coordinate their behavior or even undergo teleportation, Greene reveals our world to be very different from what common experience leads us to believe. Focusing on the enigma of time, Greene establishes that nothing in the laws of physics insists that it run in any particular direction and that \"time's arrow\" is a relic of the universe's condition at the moment of the big bang. And in explaining the big bang itself, Greene shows how recent cutting-edge developments in superstring and M-theory may reconcile the behavior of everything from the smallest particle to the largest black hole. This startling vision culminates in a vibrant eleven-dimensional \"multiverse,\" pulsating with ever-changing textures, where space and time themselves may dissolve into subtler, more fundamental entities.\nWith 146 illustrations\nJacket photograph by DB Image/Brand X Pictures\n\n\"From the Hardcover edition.\n\nAbout the Author\n\nBrian Greene received his undergraduate degree from Harvard University and his doctorate from Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar. He joined the physics faculty at Cornell University in 1990, was appointed to a full professorship in 1995, and in 1996 joined Columbia University where he is professor of physics and mathematics. He has lectured at both a general and a technical level in more than twenty-five countries and is widely regarded for a number of ground breaking discoveries in superstring theory. He lives in Andes, New York, and New York City.\n\nPraise For The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality\n\n“Forbidding formulas no longer stand between general readers and the latest breakthroughs in astrophysics: the imaginative gifts of one of the pioneers making these breakthroughs has now translated mathematical science into accessible analogies drawn from everyday life and popular culture. . . . Nonspecialists will relish this exhilarating foray into the alien terrain that is our own universe.” –Booklist (starred review)\n\n“This is popular science writing of the highest order. . . Greene [has an] unparalleled ability to translate higher mathematics into everyday language and images, through the adept use of metaphor and analogy, and crisp, witty prose. . . He not only makes concepts clear, but explains why they matter.” –Publishers Weekly (starred review)", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6033309102058411}
+{"content": "by Max Barry\n\nLatest Forum Topics\n\nLargest Agricultural Sector: 5,176th\nThe Khajiit Empire of\nInoffensive Centrist Democracy\nOnly Saleemi, For Saleemi\nEmperor Sali Kittz I\nCivil Rights\nPolitical Freedom\n\nOverview People Government Economy Rank Trend\n\nThe Khajiit Empire of Saleemistan is a huge, genial nation, ruled by Emperor Sali Kittz I with an even hand, and renowned for its frequent executions, public floggings, and compulsory military service. The compassionate population of 795 million Saleemi have some civil rights, but not too many, enjoy the freedom to spend their money however they like, to a point, and take part in free and open elections, although not too often.\n\nThe medium-sized government juggles the competing demands of Education, Welfare, and Healthcare. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Khaj. The average income tax rate is 35.7%, but much higher for the wealthy.\n\nThe Saleemistani economy, worth 42.1 trillion Saleemi Riels a year, is fairly diversified and led by the Beef-Based Agriculture industry, with major contributions from Information Technology, Tourism, and Automobile Manufacturing. State-owned companies are common. Average income is 52,926 Saleemi Riels, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.1 times as much as the poorest.\n\nPolitical scientists despair as the national mascot election eclipses all others in voter enthusiasm, schools have extensive counseling programs for troubled students, blind dates reemerge as a necessary evil in the quest for love, and Emperor Sali Kittz I has just been declared ruler of Saleemistan in an international press conference. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown. Saleemistan's national animal is the Saleemistan Lion, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.\n\nSaleemistan is ranked 53,372nd in the world and 91st in Wintreath for Most Stationary, with 141.04486112012 Days.\n\nLargest Agricultural Sector: 5,176th\nLargest Agricultural Sector: 16th in the regionMost Conservative: 18th in the region\n\nNational Happenings\n\nMost Recent Government Activity:\n\n\nView Forum posts", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9726959466934204}
+{"content": "The Final (?!) Tasty Tuesday. Volume 30: Amano Raspberry Rose\n\n\nLegend has it that once Art Pollard, master chocolate maker at Amano, dug into famed Parisian pastry chef Pierre Hermé’s raspberry rose cheesecake, he thought it was so good that he literally cursed out loud. I like to imagine him yelling a long string of obscenities while crushing forkfuls of cheesecake into his mouth and trying to wrap his mind around what must have seemed like extraterrestrial deliciousness.\n\nHermé has a cult following. He began his career at age 14 as an apprentice to Gaston Lenôtre, one of the most celebrated pastry chefs of the modern era. As the heir to 4 generations of pastry knowledge, Hermé has added hard work to his valuable schooling to earn titles as lofty as “The Picasso of Pastry” and the “World’s Best Pastry Chef.”\n\nDepending on where you are, you may not be able to visit Hermé's flagship store at 72 Rue Bonaparte anytime soon, but you can try Amano Raspberry Rose, the bar that Art Pollard has worked on tirelessly as an homage to that Holy SH*T good cheesecake.\n\n\nHello Raspberry\n\nI see you brought some roses\n\nHow thoughtful of you!\n\nTasting Notes\n\nLook - Dark Mauve - Transparent.png\n\nLOOK LIKE: A beautiful grid of chocolate squares, each with Amano inscribed on it.\n\nListen - Dark Mauve - Transparent.png\n\nSOUNDS LIKE: (When breaking a piece off) A crisp snap indicates a high quality temper\n\nFeel - Dark Mauve - Transparent.png\n\nFEELS LIKE: Reading braille, if every letter were A. \n\nSmell - Dark Mauve - Transparent.png\n\n\nTaste - Dark Mauve - Transparent.png\n\nTASTES LIKE: Someone got tired of Panera for dinner, so they went to Whole Foods,  bought some raspberries and a bouquet of roses and just ate that for dinner. Except they had some chocolate too, to make it a well balanced meal.\n\n\nWhat We Thought\n\nWould we send it to you?: As sure as hipsters need their beard bling.\n\nPairing Ideas: Since this bar has such potent, clearly defined flavor, it's well suited for a pairing where the tea accelerates the chocolate's flavor. That's exactly what happens when you pair it with Golden Guan Yin. It's a masterclass on what raspberry tastes like (in case you didn't already know). \n\nA note to our readers: This will be the last weekly version of Tasty Tuesdays. That being said, it's not the end of Tea with Company introducing you to the best teas and chocolates the world has to offer. We're switching to a new format, with posts released whenever they're finished. \n\nThe name of the game? Spend more time on what we make, so we can make better stuff, for you guys. \n\nIn the meantime, we'll be publishing all the previous editions of Tasty Tuesdays to the blog, so you can reference them when you next buy tea or chocolate :)\n\n\n\nFaiyam RahmanComment", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7630199193954468}
+{"content": "Tailored care in frail older persons\n\nFrail older persons are dependent in many aspects of daily life and also in expressing their concerns. In order to achieve better tailored care, it takes professional healthcare providers to actively get to know the patient in all his/her strengths and needs. Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) appraises the broader needs of the older patient. Our research unit studies how CGA can help clinicians to make up treatment plans and decisions tailored to the individual patient. Moreover, we focus on assessment and management of pain and other discomfort and on spiritual concerns of frail older persons. \n\nReflective practice and inter-professional collaboration are essential for healthcare providers to realise their professional role as a patient advocate. Healthcare providers need to connect with the patient as a person embedded in a social reality to fully appreciate what matters to them. They also need to communicate this information to the team to make up an integrated treatment plan. Our research unit studies the lived experiences of older persons and their carers, (educational) initiatives to improve patient-centred conversations, inter-professional collaboration and an ethical climate in geriatric care.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9984442591667175}
+{"content": "We all have a fear of insanity and loss of control, but rest assured that you will not go crazy. Insanity is not a deliberate act. Those who suffer from serious mental illness are not aware of their way to it. You will not become insane.\nChaotic neural messages from the brain to the nerves of a tired and weary body do not mean insanity. Thoughts are unaware of the product of brain activity. If you are anxious, sad, angry or stressed, it affects your mind and not only mood but also body chemistry.\nThe concentration of oxygen in the blood can influence the activity of the brain and central nervous system, as well as other chemicals such as adrenaline weight, and even hormones and vitamins. These unpleasant thoughts, feelings and totally irrational fears cannot harm you or others.\nAny thoughts about harming yourself or others are just a thought. As the body relaxes and becomes less anxious, thought process goes back to normal.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.654662013053894}
+{"content": "Monday, November 14, 2016\n\n\nImprudence (The Custard Protocol, #2)Imprudence by Gail Carriger\nMy rating: 4 of 5 stars\n\nThis is book two of the “Custard Protocol” series by Gail Carriger. The book is set in the same universe as the “Parasol Protectorate” series and the “Finishing School” series. You don’t need to have read any of those books to enjoy this one, though the PP series is pretty much the foundation for all the other series, and if you’ve read it, you will get a bit more out of the other series. You will want to have read the first book in the series (Prudence), however, as events in that first book lead directly to events in this one.\n\nAs with all books set in this universe, there is lots of steampunk technology, plenty of detailed descriptions of attire and food (oh, the food!!), and vampires and werewolves and ghosts. And tea, one cannot forget the tea! And lots of light-hearted humor. I found the dialog in this book to be particularly sparkling, laughing out loud at several points. The action moves along quite well, and there is just enough romance to keep it interesting.\n\nThis book continues the adventure of Prudence Alessandra Maccon Akeldama (AKA “Rue”), the daughter of a werewolf, a soulless human, and a vampire. (It’s complicated.) She is the proud “Lady Captain” of The Spotted Custard, a dirigible painted like a lady bug. She and her intrepid crew have just returned from a harrowing trip to India, and events in this book send them off to Egypt and points south.\n\nThe character development continues in this book, and we learn much more about many of the other crew members. Even the secondary characters are not given short shrift - Spoo, the former sootie and now deckie, is my favorite, and I suspect I’m not alone. Even Percy, the prissy brother of Rue’s best friend, manages to develop a spine. And, of course, the romance between Rue and Quesnel, is finally acknowledged and acted upon. Oh my! (Still quite PG-13.)\n\nFor me, this book is even better than Prudence. This is Carriger at her best: witty and fun, with crisp dialog, a smattering of action, and a bit of romance. And tea. Always, tea. :-)\n\nFriday, November 4, 2016\n\n\nKindredKindred by Octavia E. Butler\nMy rating: 4 of 5 stars\n\nQuick review summary:\nPart historical novel (antebellum South), part time travel mystery, Kindred is a powerful - sometimes painful - book about race, identity, and family. Masterfully written, highly recommended.\n\nFull review:\nIn this book, Butler tackles slavery and race relations, cleverly woven into a time travel story. It follows the life of Dana, a young black writer, as she bewilderingly and repeatedly finds herself back in the South during the time of slavery. She gradually determines that each time she is pulled into the past, it is because a white boy (and later, a grown man) named Rufus is in danger. Somehow, she is snatched back to rescue him. The problem is, she is trapped there for an unknown length of time, and must survive at a time when most blacks were slaves. Butler gives an unflinching account of life as a slave, including several beatings and whippings. But we also see the relationships between slaves, between slave and owner, and among whites. Nothing is black and white (pardon the pun) - but there are many shades of gray in all these relationships. It is a complex society, but one that is obviously ill. Butler gives us no “Gone with the Wind” happy-go-lucky “darkies” - instead we see the physical and emotional cost of being owned by someone else, and having no ability to direct one’s life. It is a harrowing account, on all levels.\n\nThe time travel is never explained, which is fine in this story. It is clear that the link is between Dana and Rufus, and we eventually learn what ties them together. But throughout the story, Dana is at the mercy of whatever it is that pulls her back into history. She has to cope with the jarring dissonance of being a slave one moment and then being back in modern America the next. She learns to prepare for her next journey, by keeping a bag of essentials (such as aspirin) with her at all times. Her husband is also drawn into the journeys, further complicating matters. I liked that Butler never goes into the “science” of the time travel, or how it happens. It just is.\n\nThe parts of the story that take place in the past are obviously quite well researched, with many details of life as a slave, and life in general during that time period. Obviously, because slavery is involved, many of the scenes that take place in the past are difficult to read, because of the physical and emotional cruelty. But these do not overwhelm the narrative, which really focuses on the people and their relationships. It is not a simple novel, yet it reads as such, which is a credit to Butler’s skills as a storyteller.\n\nFor anyone interested in the topic of slavery and the antebellum South, this would be an essential read. I would also highly recommend it for those who enjoy time travel and the conundrums therein, as long as they don’t want to know the science behind the time travel.\n\nWednesday, November 2, 2016\n\n\nFledglingFledgling by Octavia E. Butler\n\nQuick review:\nA great addition to vampire lore, with a believable type of vampire, still very sexy. Great story, fascinating characters, but bogged down slightly toward the end, which dropped it from what would have been a 5 star rating. Nevertheless, highly recommended!\n\nFull review:\nThis book tells the story of Shori, a 53- year old vampire (still considered a child by other vampires), who looks like a pre-adolescent black girl. It begins with Shori awakening in a cave, horribly injured, with no memory of who she is or how she came to be injured. She begins to heal, and ventures out to find out who she is and what happened to her. A young man finds her wandering along the road, and Shori is drawn to him. She feeds briefly on his blood, and we see how very sexual this act is, both for Shori and the man. She moves in with him, and they begin to unravel the mystery of her past. The reader discovers the facts along with Shori, which makes for interesting reading. She eventually finds some of her relatives, and discovers why she is black, and what happened to her. This entire portion of the book is fast-paced, and the gradual reveal of what is going on draws the reader inexorably on. It was only in the latter third of the book, where we get into a sort of trial, that the story bogged down for me. It wasn’t terribly slow, but it was a lot of exposition, and not much action, compared to the beginning section. For this reason, it lost one star in my rating. Up until that point, it was undeniably a 5-star book.\n\nThe twist that Butler brings to vampire lore is quite interesting, and quite believable (assuming one can believe in vampires.) In this world, vampires are an ancient race, who evolved along with humans (or possibly an alien race - the vampires aren’t sure), and who have a symbiotic relationship with humans. They do not kill humans when they feed (though they could), but they gather a group of humans together and live much like a commune. The vampire feeds on a different human each night, so as not to take too much blood. The humans benefit from the vampire feedings by receiving near perfect health and a much extended life span (200 years) because of the vampire venom. Additionally, there is a psychological bond between vampire and symbiont, based on the sexual feelings aroused by feeding. Vampire and symbiont become a “family” with extremely strong bonds. The sexual nature of the relationship was done very well by Butler, along with how the “family” forms. I really like this kind of vampire, and am so sorry that Butler died before she could write any more books in what was clearly going to be a series.\n\nThis being a book by Butler, race and gender play a crucial role. By making Shori black, when all other vampires are white, brings our own racial conflict into the narrative, giving us another perspective, as all good literature should do. Giving her the appearance of a young girl brings gender and age/power roles into the mix. It’s quite a mental image to have of a pre-teen girl having sex and behaving like a grown woman. It’s a little uncomfortable, even, which I’m sure was part of what Butler wanted to achieve. The reader is forced to look at her own views on age, race, and gender.\n\nOverall, this is a great addition to the vampire genre, and a book that any fan of the genre should read. Spectacularly well done!", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8431467413902283}
+{"content": "8 ounces Italian sausage links\n2 tablespoons olive oil\n1 1/2 pounds mushrooms, sliced (about 8 cups)\n1 1/2 cups tomato-based pasta sauce (any variety)\n3/4 cup instant polenta\n3/4 teaspoon salt\n1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper\nThinly sliced fresh basil leaves for garnish, if desired\n\n\n1. In a large skillet, over medium-high heat, combine sausages and 2 tablespoons water. Cook and stir until browned on all sides, about 12 minutes; remove sausages and drain on paper towels. Drain grease from pan.\n2. To skillet, add olive oil; heat until hot. Add mushrooms; cook and stir until lightly browned and liquid has evaporated, about 12 minutes. Cut sausage in 1/4-inch slices; add to skillet with pasta sauce and water as needed to thin sauce. Simmer until hot, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.\n3. Meanwhile, in a large microwaveable bowl, combine polenta and 1 1/2 cups water; whisk until smooth. Gradually whisk in 2 cups water, salt and pepper until smooth. Microwave on High for 4 minutes. Whisk until mixture is well blended; microwave until cooked, about 4 minutes longer. Serve mushroom and sausage ragout over polenta. Garnish with thinly sliced fresh basil leaves, if desired.\nFor polenta with a creamy texture, substitute 1 1/2 cups milk and 2 cups chicken broth for the water; omit salt.\nMushroom and Sausage Rago\nCategories :\nTags :", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9892528057098389}
+{"content": "Transform your yard with Sod Installation\n\nPlanning and preparation are essential for a successful sod installation project.  \n\n\n\nWhen we lay your sod, we will ensure the soil surface is free of footprints, rocks, sticks, and depressions.\n\nAfter planting the sod, we roll it with a weighted roller.  Be sure to keep the sod moist until it is well-rooted and water frequently, especially during the first few weeks after installation.  Allow the sod to grow a third to a half higher than the desired mowing height before moving for the first time.  Keep your mower blades sharp because dull blades will damage the turf.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9905983805656433}
+{"content": "I am going to introduce you to a set of numbers: the Graham numbers. These numbers are calculated by the G function, and some of them can be very big indeed. \n\nBefore I begin, I would like to introduce you to the notation in case you aren't familiar with it. G represents factors of the function. G1 is \\(3\\uparrow\\uparrow\\uparrow\\uparrow3\\) while G64 is Graham's number.\n\nThe first number is Grahamplex. It is equal to G(G(G(G...64)...) where there are a Graham's number amount of Gs subscripted under the main G. \n\nThe next number is Grahamduplex where the amount of Gs is equivalent to the tetration of Graham's number by Graham's number. \n\nThe next is Grahamtriplex where the amount of Gs is equivalent to Graham's number and Graham's number separated by a Graham's number of up arrows. \n\nThe next is Grahamquadplex with the amount of Gs being equal to Graham's number repeated in Conway Chain notation a Graham's number of times. \\(Graham\\rightarrow\\rightarrow...\\rightarrow Graham\\)\n\nAnd so on and so forth!\n\nEdit: There is another number unrelated to the Ackermann series that I would like to discuss: Rayoplex. It has the same definiton as Rayo's number except having googolPLEX symbols or less. It would be written as Rayo (Googolplex). \n\nAd blocker interference detected!\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9559797644615173}
+{"content": "Dryrock Canyon is a canyon located outside of the Pupanunu Village. To get here, anyone must go down a lift which takes you deep in the canyon. Once here, it is noticeable that the entire area is abandoned, overrun by animals and Nerbils. The Cacti are also deadly, as they launch small bombs, which is part of the reason why the people left. Deep in the canyon, there is an old abandoned city, which has been blocked by a Wooden Barrior, but a Rhino can destroy these. Once in the back, there is an Emu, which can be ridden to find hidden Yorbels, and a bag of Everlasting Fire Acorns. On another end, there is a waterfall that takes Tak to the Sun Temple. To get back from these places, there are Warp Zones that take the user to the lift.\n\n\nTak is sent here on the trail for Magical Nubu Plants. Here there are three. Once Tak gets these three plants, he can return to the Village. After he gets nine plants, he is sent on the quest for 100 Yorbels, and Lok's Spirit. There are many Yorbels here. Tak can also summon the Two-Headed Juju to access the Dryrock Caverns which contains many more Yorbels. After he collects the 100 Yorbels, Tak is sent to get the three Moonstones. To get one, Tak must go through Dryrock Canyon to reach the Sun Temple, where a Moonstone lies deep in.\n\n\n\n  • Ram\n  • Sheep\n  • Rhino\n  • Mammoth\n  • Emu\n  • Ostrich\n\n\n  • Two-Headed Juju\n\n\nAd blocker interference detected!\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6374355554580688}
+{"content": "Growing Pains and Stepping Stones\n\n—from the Researcher's bench\n\n\n\nWhere is the What, Now?\n\nOver the course of your undergrad research experience, you'll have opportunities to develop a strong sense of self-reliance. The more you choose to do so the more rewarding research experience you'll have, and the stronger your recommendation letters from your research professor will be.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9998208284378052}
+{"content": "Printer friendly\n\nWhat does LADCA stand for?\n\nLADCA stands for Left Anterior Descending Coronary Artery\n\n\n  • Science, medicine, engineering, etc.\n\nOther Resources:\nWe have 1 other meaning of LADCA in our Acronym Attic\n\nSamples in periodicals archive:\n\nA group of 33 dogs undergoing openchest left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) ligation causing prolonged ischemia were imaged with quantitative positron emission tomography (PET) using 2-[18F]fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (18FDG) to measure regional glucose metabolic utilization (rGMU) and [11C]acetate to measure regional monoexponential washout rate constant (Kmono) for oxidative metabolism in nonrisk and ischemic-risk myocardium.\nThese distal landmarks used for analysis were as follows: the distal bifurcation of the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) (the mustache, pitchfork, or whale's tail); the distal bifurcation of the segment with the longest total distance in the left circumflex artery (LCx); and the first branch of the posterolateral artery in the right coronary artery (RCA).", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9962255954742432}
+{"content": "Darwin Broadband Internet Providers\nBroadband Internet Providers in Darwin - How to find the right one for you:\nIn simple terms - connecting to a Broadband Internet Provider in Darwin means connecting to high speed internet. Broadband is the encompassing name  that is given to a range of super fast internet connections that are  generally always switched on.  So - if you are connected through a dial up isp in Darwin  - you will notice the difference when you change over your connection to an always on, always available broadband provider.  Just like your electricity or water supplies from Darwin- broadband is ready, steady, communication power at your fingertips.\nWe are building this list of Darwin Broadband Internet Providers to help you find the right supplier in your area.  Please, if you own an internet provider in the Darwin area and believe that your company should be listed here - send us your link and we will review it. That includes Wireless Broadband, Business Broadband and Cable Broadband.\n\nHow Near is Your Darwin Exchange?\nThe technology used to implement ADSL Broadband only works over a limited distance. That is why there are perceived issues in Australia with Regional Broadband at present. The max distance ADSL Broadband runs is about 18,000 feet (3.5 miles or 5.5 kilometers) from where the telephone exchange is. Without going to much into all the details of public exchanges, you can pretty much say that in Norther Territory,  as with most wide sprea areas around the world - companies historically did not install them this close to homes in some suburban and many rural areas.  SOME versions of the ADSL technology limit these physical cable distances even further. Sometimes down to as low as 1,000 feet (0.2 miles or 0.35 kilometers). However, this is done in order to offer even faster broadbandnetwork speeds.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9833557605743408}
+{"content": "gravitational waves\nGravitational waves are distortions, or 'ripples', in the fabric of space-time – but their discovery has remained elusive for 100 yearsiStock\n\nGravitational waves were predicted by Albert Einstein in 1916 as part of his general theory of relativity. They are distortions, or 'ripples', in the fabric of space-time – but their discovery has remained elusive for 100 years. Now, scientists from Caltech, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) Scientific Collaboration are set to make a big announcement about them – possibly their discovery. So what are they and why are they important?\n\nEinstein prediction\n\nEinstein showed that massive accelerating objects, such as black holes and neutron stars, would disrupt space-time so that waves of distorted space would radiate from the source. These ripples were predicted to travel at the speed of light and contain information about where they came from. The physicist said that space-time is not a void but a four-dimensional fabric that can change as objects move through it.\n\nGravitational waves: Why the detection of ripples in spacetime is so important IBTimes UK\n\nVisualising distortion\n\nA popular way of imagining gravitational waves is if you were to place a heavy object on a trampoline. The trampoline would bend because of the weight of the object. A lighter object placed on the same trampoline would roll towards the heavier one. An even heavier object would further bend the trampoline, pulling both other objects towards it.\n\nThis is sort of the same as gravitational waves – the greater the mass of an object, the more it would warp space-time. When any mass moves through space, ripples, or gravitational waves, would be generated. The biggest gravitational waves would be produced by catastrophic events – colliding black holes, for example.\n\nThey are yet to be detected\n\nScientists are fairly sure that gravitational waves exist, but they have never been detected. This is because by the time that gravitational waves reach Earth, the amount of space-time movement they generate is extremely small – thousands of times smaller than an atomic nucleus. This makes recording and measuring them very difficult.\n\nIn 1974, astronomers at the Arecibo Radio Observatory in Puerto Rico discovered a binary pulsar – two dense and heavy stars orbiting one another. This was the sort of system that general relativity suggested should generate gravitational waves. So they started measuring how the period of the stars' orbit changed over time. Eight years of observations showed that the stars were getting closer to each other at exactly the same rate predicted by general relativity.\n\nSince then, scientists have continued to monitor this system and astronomers have been looking at the timing of pulsar radio emissions, which again were seen to have similar effects. But confirmation of the existence of gravitational waves has remained confined to mathematical theories with no physical contact.\n\nHow to detect gravitational waves?\n\nThe LIGO project aims to find physical evidence of gravitational waves. Using LIGO's Interferometer, scientists are looking to detect these tiny measurements. As the gravitational wave passes, it should stretch space in one direction and shrink it in the other.\n\nThe Interferometer looks out for these changes by splitting a single laser beam in two and sending these beams from two distant locations. If the beams travelled the same distance when they return, then they have not been distorted in any way. However, if they do not align when they return, something has disrupted them in the process – one potential culprit being gravitational waves.\n\n\"Gravitational waves cause space itself to stretch in one direction and get squeezed in a perpendicular direction,\" the LIGO has explained. \"In the wake of a gravitational wave, one arm of an interferometer lengthens while the other shrinks, then vice versa. The arms will change lengths in this way for as long as it takes the wave to pass.\"\n\nThis seems fairly straightforward – but it isn't because of how tiny the changes would be. The Interferometer is able to detect these miniscule changes, down to around 1/10,000th the width of a proton. But other things could also cause disruption, such as earthquakes or road traffic, so these must be discounted before physical evidence can be found.\n\nWhy is the discovery of gravitational waves important?\n\nThe detection of gravitational waves would allow scientists to observe the universe in an entirely new way. They come from some of the most violent events in the history of the universe – even from the Big Bang (primordial gravitational waves are believed to have been discovered in 2014). Being able to detect and analyse the information carried on them would open up a new area of study of the universe, allowing us to better understand these events. Furthermore, it would help prove Einstein's general theory of relativity and provide an insight into what parts of the theory do not fit in.\n\n\"Since gravitational waves don't interact with matter, they travel through the universe completely unimpeded, giving us a crystal-clear view of the gravitational-wave universe,\" the LIGO has noted. \"They will carry information about their origins that is free of the distortion or alteration suffered by electromagnetic radiation as it travels through millions of light years of intergalactic space. With this completely new way of examining astrophysical objects and phenomena, gravitational waves will truly open a new window on the Universe, providing astronomers and other scientists with their first glimpses of previously unseen and unseeable wonders, and greatly adding to our understanding of the nature of space and time itself.\"", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9959596991539001}
+{"content": "4 critical security challenges facing IoT\n\nSecurity and privacy are critical issues facing the development of the internet of things. These 4 challenges are key to making IoT safer.\n\niot internet of things public domain\n\nThe internet of things (IoT) is finally here in 2017, and companies like Google and Amazon are rushing to get out and become the main company to become the hub of this revolutionary concept. There have been multiple predictions over the years which declare that there will be at least tens of billions connected devices by 2020, and even objects as mundane as baby monitors or tires could all become part of this interconnected world.\n\nBut each device which is connected increases privacy and security concerns surrounding the Internet of Things. These concerns range from hackers stealing our data and even threatening our lives to how corporations can easily uncover private data we carelessly give them. While the IoT’s progress will not be stopped anytime soon, here are some of the biggest issues which consumers and businesses need to consider before both using these connected devices.\n\nMore devices, more problems\n\nThe fundamental security weakness of the Internet of Things is that it increases the number of devices behind your network’s firewall. Ten years ago, most of us had to only worry about protecting our computers. Five years ago, we had to worry about protecting our smartphones as well. Now we have to worry about protecting our car, our home appliances, our wearables, and many other IoT devices.\n\nBecause there are so many devices that can be hacked, that means that hackers can accomplish more. You may have heard about how hackers could potentially remotely control cars and remotely accelerate or decelerate the car. But hackers could use even seemingly unimportant devices like baby monitors or your thermostat to uncover private information or just ruin your day. The point is that we have to think about what a hacker could do with a device if he can break through its security. \n\nUpdates, updates, updates\n\nAs the Internet of Things becomes reality, we have to worry about protecting more devices. But even if you start taking security seriously, the tech companies which make these new devices are too cavalier about the risks. And one problem is that companies do not update their devices enough or at all. This means that an IoT device which was safe when you first bought it can become unsafe as hackers discover new vulnerabilities.\n\nComputers used to have this problem, but automatic and easier updates have helped alleviate this problem. But as CSO points out, companies pressured to get their devices out quickly end up compromising on security. Even if they may offer firmware upgrades for a time, they often stop when they focus on constructing the next device, leaving customers with slightly outdated hardware that can become a security risk.\n\nProtecting your data from corporations\n\nHackers are scary, but they are far from the only threat to the Internet of Things. In fact, the corporations which create and distribute interconnected devices could also use these devices to obtain personal data, particularly dangerous when used for money transfers.\n\nFor example, consider how BP and other companies are distributing Fitbits to their employees so that they can track their health and thus get lower health insurance premiums. Even if we ignore the worrying idea of workers’ health being monitored by corporations around the clock, there is the question of what corporations can do with the data they have gathered. Some companies like RadioShack have attempted to send or even sell gathered data to other companies, which raises issues regarding our individual privacy rights.\n\nFor now, the best protection which consumers have is to actually read any agreement they sign when receiving a device. Also find what that device’s corporation’s policies are in regards to keeping data safe and sharing said data. This may mean refusing to use certain IoT devices, but said device may not be worth the privacy tradeoff.\n\nLazy consumers\n\nComputers have automatic updates partly because most users are too lazy to perform even the basic steps needed to keep their computer safe. And when you consider that protecting the myriad IoT devices will be even harder than a single computer, this problem will get even worse.\n\nWhile tech companies and the government are taking the IoT security threat more seriously, the first line of defense in your home is you. This means taking the time to think about how IoT devices could be used against you as well as going over their security features. For example, an IoT device from a smaller, less established company may be cheaper or have other attractive features. But if that smaller company folds, then there is no one around to patch its vulnerabilities.\n\nIoT boasts opportunity, but the security risks cannot be ignored whether it is from hackers or corporations. Above all else, the best remedy is to consider the potential risks of installing connected devices and doing your research.\n\n\nMust read: 10 new UI features coming to Windows 10", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.915553629398346}
+{"content": "She flies with wings she never knew that she had\n\nI believe there are many times in a persons life where situations and events are thrown at you and you are given two choices. To face them head on or hastily run in the other direction. It is the latter which is a deep pity as the chance to prove how courageous you could be is thrown away in the midst of it all.\n\nFinding the courage to do something can be very difficult, some find it more challenging than others and I’ve had my fair share of times when I’ve had to fight the urge to run away from my fears. Thankfully, I’ve always ended up choosing to face them head on. I can recall thousands of times through the past nineteen years of my life, fighting those fears everyday caused by the struggles of a deep sated anxiety from particular life situations. It was only during my year between turning nineteen and twenty, last June, that I managed to conquer that atrocious curse called ‘anxiety’.\n\nIt’s something that is difficult to truly understand unless you, yourself have personally experienced such a feeling. I can only hope that those reading this can not quite emphasize with such a life because it has not been experienced. However, if you have found yourself suffering from anxiety, know that it is possible to overcome this. I know because I have now been anxiety free for almost two years. Something, which is a big deal for one such as myself who had anxiety attacks every single morning before school, without fail for 14 years and at one point, struggled to even buy something at the corner shop.\n\nI’ve always been deeply in love with animals- like that wasn’t clear through my constant mention of being vegan on this blog. I can sit and admire every creature that walks this earth but there’s a more emotional connection towards birds. My grandad had a bit of obsession with birds, something I have later realized had a stronger psychological meaning but let’s not get onto that tangent. I loved this man very much- he was my father figure- and I adored that we could share this love for birds together. He would show me his wonderful bird sketches and being an aspiring, (future) artist, I appreciated his work. I still have his encyclopedia bird book sitting on my bedroom shelf. When my anxiety would get really bad, sometimes I’d look up into the sky, watch the birds fly over me with their magnificent wings spread out, flapping through the air… and then I’d feel calm again. \n\nThe anxiety would slowly fade and that overwhelming fear would disappear. A wonderful sense of tranquility would wash over me.\n\nBirds remind me of freedom and to be stronger. Most of these creatures that fly above us are so small, they look so fragile, yet they face the unforgiving storms and powerful winds with an admirable strength and courage. They don’t give up and the believe in their own force of nature. It’s this fact that allowed me to somewhat manage my anxiety and helped me face some of my fears. On a more personal note, they also remind me of my grandad and I like to think that when those birds fly over me just before I would have an anxiety attack that he was there, reminding me to be strong.\n\n\n” ’cause I’m as free as a bird now and this bird cannot change. “\n\nI’m not one for such sappy blog posts or to share those personal, emotionally harnessed stories but I think it’s important to be more open with all my sweet Wildlings. Simply looking at birds didn’t magically eliminate my anxiety, it was much more complex than that. A battle that lasted years and I never thought I’d be able to sit here and honestly say that it no longer crashes into my life unannounced. I haven’t seen it in 20 months and I’m certain I never will again.\n\nI chose to fly around for this shoot wearing my wings proudly. Thankful that I could show them off so literally with this beautifully printed blouse, paired with these incredible lace up jeans-I’ve had them for years and still fawn over the calf detail. Moreover, they match the blouse perfectly, bringing emphasis to the collar of wings; a symbol of my mental strength, a reminder to face my fears and a message for my dear Wildlings to never give up.\n\n\n\nBlouse: ASOS Shirt with Double Pocket and Tickly Collar\n\nJeans: ASOS High Waist Ultra Skinny Jeans with Lace Back Detail\n\nBoots: Suedette black heeled ankle boots \n\nEarrings: Diamond Heart drop earrings", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9681370854377747}
+{"content": "Despite intense scientific efforts, the neuropathology and pathophysiology of schizophrenia are poorly understood. Proteomic studies, by testing large numbers of proteins for associations with disease, may contribute to the understanding of the molecular mechanisms of schizophrenia. They may also indicate the types and locations of cells most likely to harbor pathological alterations. Investigations using proteomic approaches have already provided much information on quantitative and qualitative protein patterns in postmortem brain tissue, peripheral tissues and body fluids. Different proteomic technologies such as 2-D PAGE, 2-D DIGE, SELDI-TOF, shotgun proteomics with label-based (ICAT), and label-free (MSE) quantification have been applied to the study of schizophrenia for the past 15 years. This review summarizes the results, mostly from brain but also from other tissues and bodily fluids, of proteomics studies in schizophrenia. Emphasis is given to proteomics platforms, varying sources of material, proposed candidate biomarkers emerging from comparative proteomics studies, and the specificity of the putative markers in terms of other mental illnesses. We also compare proteins altered in schizophrenia with reports of protein or mRNA sequences that are relatively enriched in specific cell types. While proteomic studies of schizophrenia find abnormalities in the expression of many proteins that are not cell type-specific, there appears to be a disproportionate representation of proteins whose synthesis and localization are highly enriched in one or more brain cell type compared with other types of brain cells. Two of the three proteins most commonly altered in schizophrenia are aldolase C and glial fibrillary acidic protein, astrocytic proteins with entirely different functions, but the studies are approximately evenly divided with regard to the direction of the differences and the concordance or discordance between the two proteins. Alterations of common myelin-associated proteins were also frequently observed, and in four studies that identified alterations in at least two, all differences were downwards in schizophrenia, consistent with earlier studies examining RNA or targeting myelin-associated proteins.\n\nThe Need for Proteomics Studies and Biomarkers for Schizophrenia\n\nGenomic studies of schizophrenia, using genome wide association studies (GWAS), copy number variations (CNVs), microarrays, and next-generation sequencing (RNAseq) have linked schizophrenia with rare genetic variations (Sullivan et al., 2012). There is strong evidence that there are no known Mendelian variants identified for this disease. Instead, variations of many genes with confirmed involvement of rare structural variations and common variations with subtle effects are considered to be involved in the etiology of the disease (Owen et al., 2010). Genomics studies on schizophrenia have not answered the main questions on the pathophysiology of the disease, nor have they resulted in identification of diagnostic, prognostic, or therapeutic biomarkers. In addition, current research suggests that schizophrenia can arise from an interaction between neurodevelopmental processes and environmental effects (Albus, 2012).\n\nUnderstanding schizophrenia as a complex disease therefore requires determination of not only gene expression and DNA variations, but also determination of the abundance and modifications of various proteins, and their distribution at gross anatomical, cellular, and subcellular levels. Proteomics aims to unravel biological processes based on qualitative and quantitative comparison of proteomes. It gives a different level of understanding than genomics for several reasons. First, the expression or function of proteins is modulated at many diverse points, from transcription of DNA to post-translational modifications (PTMs), and very little of this can be predicted from analysis of nucleic acids alone. Second, there is generally poor correlation between abundance of mRNA, transcribed from DNA, and abundance of protein translated from that mRNA. Third, many transcripts give rise to more than one protein, through alternative splicing or alternative PTMs such as phosphorylation, glycosylation, and acetylation, which profoundly affect their activities and lead to multiple protein products from the same gene.\n\nProteomic investigations have largely improved our understanding of schizophrenia, based on quantitative and qualitative identification of protein patterns in postmortem brain tissue, peripheral tissues, and body fluids (Martins-de-Souza et al., 2012b; Guest et al., 2013, 2014; Nascimento and Martins-de-Souza, 2015). This has enhanced our knowledge of complex protein networks and signal transduction pathways affected in this disease, as discussed in detail below. In addition, emerging proteomic platforms have facilitated the identification of biomarker candidates by simultaneous measurement of hundreds or thousands of molecules in non-hypothesis-driven comparative proteomics studies. This approach established the first blood-based test to aid in the diagnosis of schizophrenia (Schwarz et al., 2010). The test encompassed 51 biomarkers with an overall sensitivity and specificity of 83%. The clinical utility of this test has been studied in terms of specificity compared with other psychiatric disorders (Schwarz et al., 2012a), the ability to identify the disease prior to clinical manifestation, (Schwarz et al., 2012b) and the ability to define the complex schizophrenia syndrome on the basis of molecular profiles (Schwarz et al., 2014).\n\nHowever, there is still an urgent need for biomarkers that will help to improve the diagnosis and stratification of patients and facilitate more effective treatments and care. The field of proteomics is rapidly developing, with improvements in mass spectrometry, peptide identification algorithms, and bioinformatics. Larger studies, standardized sample collection and processing, and highly sophisticated proteomics platforms promise new diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic biomarkers for schizophrenia.\n\nRead the full text here:\n\n\nFront. Cell. Neurosci., 16 February 2016 |", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9979227185249329}
+{"content": "Constrictive pericarditis: Pathophysiology, diagnosis, echocardiography and treatment . A cardiology case (video) and notes\n\n\nA Cardiology Video: Constrictive pericarditis: A condition difficult to diagnose !  The pathophysiology, diagnosis, echocardiography and treatment of constrictive pericarditis are being explained. A presentation of the important facts, with images and videos  for review purposes.\n\nThe pericardium is a two-layered sac that encircles the heart, consisting of an inner serosal layer (visceral pericardium) adhering to the surface of the heart,which is reflected at the origin of the great vessels and continuous to an outer fibrous layer (parietal pericardium). Normally the two layers are separated by a small amount of fluid (about 10 - 50 ml), which reduces friction. The pericardium prevents extreme dilatation of the heart during sudden rises of intracardiac volume and acts as a barrier to limit spread of infection from the adjacent lungs. Nevertheless, its physiological significance is limited. Patients with absense of the pericardium, either congenital, or after heart surgery generally do very well, without it.\n\nConstrictive pericarditis (CP)\nis present when a thickened and fibrotic (and often calcified) pericardium restricts the filling of the heart.The consequence is elevation and equlibration of filling pressures in all cardiac chambers, as well as in the systemic and pulmonary veins. The diastolic filling pressures are almost the same in all cardiac chambers. In the early phase of diastole there is an abnormally rapid ventricular filling due to the elevated atrial pressures. Then, during early to mid diastole, ventricular filling is abruptly halted, when ventricular volume reaches the limit set by the rigid pericardium. CP is characterized by a uniform impairment of filling of all heart chambers. Impaired left ventricular filling causes a reduction of cardiac output, resulting in easy fatiguability. Moreover, the elevated systemic venous pressure and reduced cadiac output causes retention of sodium and water by the kidneys, contributing to edema and ascites. Myocardial contractile function is usually preserved (normal). CP is a rare disease (about 1 case in every 100,000 hospital admissions).\n\nCauses : CP can occur after acute pericarditis which is usually idiopathic or viral (9 % of the cases of acute pericarditis will develop CP), also after heart surgery, therapeutic mediastinal radiation, as a complication of an autoimmune connective tissue disease (for example systemic lupus erythematosus), after an infection (i.e. after purulent pericarditis or tuberculosis, which was a common cause in the past, but it is now rare). The above causes are mentioned according to their frequency (the commonest first). Miscellaneous, less common, causes include malignancy, trauma, uremic pericarditis, drug-induced, asbestosis, sarcoidosis.\n\nSymptoms and signs : Patiens usually present with symptoms of heart failure (HF) : dyspnea (due to pumonary venous congestion) easy fatiguability, edema, ascites, hepatomegaly (hepatic enlargement), jugular venous distention. Edema, ascites, hepatomegaly and jugular venous distention are due to systemic venous congestion (elevated systemic venous pressure).Usually the manifestations of right heart failure (due to systemic venous congestion) precede the manifestations of left heart failure due to pulmonary venous congestion (exertional dyspnea, nocturnal dyspnea, orthopnea, cough) that appear later in the course of the disease. Less commonly patients present with chest pain, atrial arrhythmia (impaired ventricular filling causes result in raised atrial pressures and atrial dilatation, which predisposes to atrial arrhythmias such as atrial fibrillation) or abdominal symptoms (due to hepatomegaly, or ascites). Sometimes cardiac cirrhosis can ensue with prominent ascites and jaundice.\n\nThe ECG in constrictive pericarditis (CP) often shows nonspecific findings such as T-wave flattening or inversions.\nChest radiography may show a calcified pericardium (rare).\nThe echocardiogram in CP shows an abnormal diastolic \nmotion of the ventricular septum. There is also marked respiratory variation in ventricular size and in ventricular filling (>25% respiratory variation of the peak early diastolic velocity of the transmitral flow E). These three findings described above are due to ventricular interdependence. Inferior vena cava is dilated (it is seen in the subcostal view) due to the elevated central venous pressure. \nAt times, a thickened pericardium (>4 mm) can be seen  from the subcostal view, but usually transthoracic echocardiography does not allow an assessment of pericardial thickness.\nUseful for  identifying thickened (>4 mm) and / or calcified pericardium is computerized tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).\n\nRight-heart catheterization is important for diagnosing constrictive pericarditis, because there are some characteristic hemodynamic findings, such as : \nThe pressure curves of the right and left ventricles in diastole show a characteristic dip and plateau pattern, (it looks like the symbol of square root : \"rhe square root sign\"). At early diastolic filling there is a rapid rise in diastolic pressure which abruptly reaches a plateau because the ventricles quickly reach the limit set by the rigid pericardium. Thus, they cannot dilate in order to allow further filling with blood.\nDiastolic pressures of the cardiac chambers: Elevation and equalization of right atrial diastolic pressure, right ventricular diastolic pressure, pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (which is used as a measure of left atrial pressure, since it is an approximation of the left atrial pressure), and left ventricular diastolic pressure is observed in constrictive pericarditis.\n The right atrial pressure tracing shows prominent X and Y descents (resulting  in a W configuration).\n\nDiuretics can be useful for congestive manifestations, but caution is advised to avoid hypotension.\nAvoid calcium channel blockers and beta-blockers because in constrictive pericarditis sinus tachycardia  is a compensatory mechanism for impaired cardiac filling. Thus these drugs, by reducing the heart rate, can also reduce cardiac output in this condition.\nThe definitive treatment for CP is total pericardiectomy (surgical\nremoval of the pericardium). Pericardiectomy has a high surgical mortality (about  \n5% -15%), but it is also a very effective treatment, leading to symptomatic improvement in the majority of patients (90% of the patiens).\nOccasionally, in some of the patients who develop constrictive pericarditis after radiation therapy, restrictive cardiomyopathy may also be present. In such cases surgical pericardiectomy is less effective.\n\nFor the ESC guidelines on diagnosis and treatment of pericardial disease (including acute pericarditis, pericardial effusion, \nconstrictive pericarditis, etc), please use this link:\n\n2015 ESC Guidelines for the diagnosis and management of pericardial diseases", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9044960737228394}
+{"content": "In the past, Asakusa was a famous entertainment district in Tokyo. It was greatly damaged during the air raids of World War II and the reconstruction has changed the overall atmosphere of the place. There are still places that exclude the rough and unique atmosphere of a rustic old Tokyo and surprisingly, it is very popular with the tourists.\n\nToday, one of the main attraction of the city is the famous Sensoji Temple that was built in the early 7th century. On the way to the temple, you’re bound to find yourself in well-known shopping streets where you can buy almost anything and a great place to buy souvenirs if you are a tourist.\n\nHere are some of the popular shopping destinations in Asakusa.\n\n1. Nakamise Dori\n\nNakamise Dori is the famous shopping street that you’ll encounter on the way to Sensoji Temple. These old and historical stores offer a wide range of irresistible goods, especially for those who are looking for souvenirs to bring back home. Nakamise Dori is said to be one of the oldest shopping streets in Japan and estimated to have 89 shops in 250 meters.\n\nThere are plenty of street foods along the way so feel free to pick out your favorite!\n\nAddress: Asakusa, Taito, Tokyo Prefecture\n\n\n\nEKIMISE is a relatively new store that is connected to the Tobu Sky Tree line in Asakusa. This modern shopping complex houses many interesting shops that cater to a wide range of products. You can also enjoy a view of the Tokyo Sky Tree on its roof terrace.\n\nAddress: 1-4-1 Hanakawado, Taito-ku, Tokyo\n\n\n3. Marugoto Nippon\n\nMarugoto Nippon was built in Asakusa in 2015 and is one of the newest multi-level store that offers unique products such as locally made “handcrafted products”, fashion stores, restaurants, and other traditional Japanese crafts. There are some stores in Marugoto Nippon that sells other products that come from all over the country, which is perfect for those who are looking for things that you cannot find in Tokyo.\n\nAddress: 2-6-7 Asakusa, Taito-ku, Tokyo\n\nWebsite: (Japanese Only)\n\n4. Asakusa Denboin Dori Street\n\nDenboin Dori is another famous shopping street in Asakusa. This broad shopping street excludes a rustic atmosphere and a great place to shop for souvenirs. There are also plenty of stores that sell a wide variety of snacks that are only found in Asakusa. There are some shops that sells traditional hand made crafts such as Edo Kiriko glass, accessories, and tenugui towels.\n\nAddress: Taito, Tokyo Prefecture\nWebsite: (Japanese Only)\n\n5. Asakusa MATSUYA\n\nMATSUYA department store has been in Asakusa for a very long time. You can also consider it as a One-stop shop, on which you can buy traditional Japanese products and the latest fashion merchandise in Asakusa. Don’t forget to taste Depachika’s delicious foods before you leave!\n\nAddress: 1-4-1 Hanakawado, Taito-ku, Tokyo 111-0033\n\n\n6. Kappa Bashi – Kitchenware\n\nKappa Bashi is the famous Kitchen shopping street in Asakusa. A great place to buy cooking utensils for aspiring chefs and for those who have a passion for cooking. With so many wares to choose from, you’re bound to find the best pots, pans, stove, ladles, and utensils for your kitchen. Most of the shops in Kappa Bashi are closed during Sundays because they are for professionals.\n\nAddress: 3 Chome-18-2 Matsugaya Taito-ku, Tokyo\n\n\n7. Asakusa ROX\n\nAsakusa ROX is a mini shopping mall with a 24-hour supermarket in Asakusa. Just a 5-minute walk from Sensoji Temple, Asakusa ROX also have saunas and public baths that offer a great view of the Tokyo Sky Tree.\n\nAddress: 1-25-15 Asakusa, Taito 111-0032, Tokyo\n\nWebsite: (Japanese Only)\n\n\nDon Quijote, sometimes referred to as Donki is a famous convenience store in Japan. Here you’ll find popular and common daily products at discounted prices. Many people visit Donki to look for cheap snacks, cosmetics, food ingredients, kitchenware, electronics, and other items that are used on a daily basis.\n\nAddress: 2-10, Asakusa, Taito-ku, Tokyo\n\n\n9. CEDOKzakka store\n\nCEDOKzakka is a unique shop in Asakusa that sells Czech furniture and other Eastern European goods. They also have picture books, toys, and other miscellaneous goods that are well suited for children of all ages.\n\nAddress: 1 Chome-7-12 Komagata Taito Tokyo\n\nWebsite: (Japanese Only)\n\n\nThis is an exclusive store that is founded by Maito Kumoro and specializes in selling natural dyed fabrics. The dyes that are used in this store are extracted from flowers using the traditional kusakizome dyeing technique. There are also shirts, bags, and other items that are only exclusively found in this atelier.\n\nAddress: 111-0051 Taito-ku, Tokyo Kuramae 4-14-12 1F\n\n\nData is as of December 2016\n\nThumbnail is from Flickr", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5691207051277161}
+{"content": "Estimate for tree services in Tucson, AZ\n\n\n\n\nArizona Land and Tree is Tucson's most affordable provider of tree maintenance and tree trimming service, and our tree removal prices are the lowest anywhere in southern Arizona.\n\nAn estimate for tree work always depends on a variety of factors, mostly based on time and risk. Tree removal or tree trimming is inherently a risky undertaking, and the amount of time and danger involved plays a big part in the estimate.\n\nThat's because the more dangerous the job, the more time and precautions it requires in order to be safe and successful.\n\nSo, the two biggest factors in any estimate for tree work are the amount of time involved, and the danger of a particular job.\n\nIronically, it's sometimes more economical to remove a tree than to trim it\n\nThe skill and experience of the workers must be appropriate for a given job, and it's better to rely on skilled, well-equipped and fully-insured workers who are fairly compensated for their time and expertise.\n\nNearby power lines, buildings or roads must always be taken into consideration during an estimate, since they may require the use of additional equipment such as our cranes.\n\nWe also operate our own tractors, dump trucks and trailers, lifts, stump grinders and all other necessary equipment.\n\nDeadwood and hollow trees\n\nDeadwood is also an important consideration when estimating tree service. Dying trees can usually be removed by the usual climbing and rigging method. But, when a tree is dead it is unstable and may fall or lose limbs unexpectedly, which makes tree removal a necessary yet risky job.\n\nHollow trees, whether dead or living, are another factor in any estimate for tree trimming or tree removal prices. Hollow trees are best left to professionals such as Arizona Land and Tree.\nDeadwood - Tree Thinning in Tucson AZ\nThat's because the hollow space inside makes the tree unpredictable, so when branches are cut extra safety precautions must be taken. And, it's impossible to know the degree of decay and instability inside the hollow tree until cutting begins.\n\nTree Access and tree debris disposal\n\nOther factors that affect an estimate for tree work include the height of the tree, emergency work during the night, on weekends or during inclement weather, trees located on busy roads, or exceptionally large or heavy trees, such as hardwoods, which may weigh 75 pounds per cubic foot.\n\nIf the tree is in a place with difficult access, it could take far more time to remove or trim. That's because the time and labor of hauling brush and debris out by hand are more than usual.\n\nOn the other hand, if there is enough access for us to bring wood chippers directly to the site, and load logs and branches directly onto our trucks, then the job is quicker and costs less.\n\nThe usual limitations to access are fences, septic tanks, narrow spaces between homes, low or soft ground, delicate landscaping or other conditions of a given property. And, working around sidewalks and sprinkler systems also requires a bit more time.\n\nThe best company for a tree service estimate in Tucson\n\nFor an affordable tree service quote anywhere in the Tucson area, call Arizona Land and Tree. (520) 977-6821", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6029554009437561}
+{"content": "the-fabulous-mr-kite  asked:\n\n\"Hello little buddy~! How is my precious daisy~?\"\n\n“Master! Hello! Hello Master! Hi!” The little flower bobbed very happily in place, jingling merrily, petals perking and flapping, the flower equivalent of raising both one’s arms and flailing them frantically in every positive sense.\n\n“I’m good, Master, I’m happy, I’m happy when Master is happy and Master is happy so I’m happy, Master!” He had called the little flower his ‘Precious Daisy’. How could one not be in a good mood?\n\n“And how is Master today? Master looks happy and bright and sunny, like always, like the sun!” The little flower’s petals folded backwards somewhat as it bowed it’s head to smile most lovingly down at it’s best of all buddies. Oh how Nixxy loved Master Kite so.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9921163320541382}
+{"content": "I'm assembling a guitar from parts. It will have a humbucker in the bridge position, and a single coil at the neck. The pickups will be wired so only one will be on at a time.\n\nI bought what sounded on paper like a great neck pickup, but when it arrived I found the pole spacing to be further apart than the neck pickup it will replace.\n\nThe pole spacing is closer to that of a Strat bridge pickup.\n\nI've enclosed a pic, showing the difference in width between the neck pickup I'm replacing, and the new one.\n\nMy question.... will this difference matter to me? Do strings need to be directly above the poles, or is it really just being above the field created by the coil of wire that matters?\n\nI'm no expert at all on this, so any insight you can give would be appreciated.\n\nThe guitar this is going into has a scale and distance between strings that is the same as a standard Stratocaster.\n\nLast edited by GretschAnon at Aug 15, 2011,\nThe strings don't need to be perfictly over the poles but if they are to far off the pickup will not be as loud I think.\nanother thing to consider is the height of the strings above the pickups. The lower the pickup the less difference the pole spacing will have. In most cases its just negligible.\nwell to your thread title, bridge pickups are wound more than necks to compensate for less string vibration near the bridge, ergo in the neck position a bridge pup will be quite a bit louder. if you put a bridge pup as the bridge, and a bridge pup as the neck also, the neck position will be much louder than the bridge position. you could lower it to compensate\nThanks everyone.\n\nxadioriderx, I should have been more specific. The pickup in question seemed to me to be bridge-SIZED. It was wound as a neck pickup (6.1k alnico 5 staggered bevelled magnets, with heavy formvar wire)(whatever that means... I'm new to this ).\n\nI did get a fast response back from the maker last night, he said:\n\nOn strat pickups, they are normally all the same size width, the strings will not always be exactly over the magnets.\nSome of the cheaper entry level guitars use different size pickups in the neck and bridge, but if you look up the dimensions of strat pickups by Seymour Duncan, Fender or others they will be the same. Tele has different widths for those, however. Let me know how it sounds.\n\nThank to everyone here for the input.\nLast edited by GretschAnon at Aug 16, 2011,\n^ That doesn't sound right. I thought F-Spaced pickups (wider at the bridge) were for guitars with Fender Trems and Floyds.\nGuitars & Gear:\nParker Nitefly M\nSumer Metal Driver\nIbanez RGD2120Z\nTwo Notes Torpedo CAB", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9098414778709412}
+{"content": "On July 24, 1704, the British captured Gibraltar from...\n\nJuly 24, 2002\n\nOn July 24, 1704, the British captured Gibraltar from Spain in the War of Spanish Succession.\n\n\n\nIn 1862 Martin Van Buren, the eighth president, died in Kinderhook, N.Y. He was 79.\n\n\nIn 1870 the first railroad car from the Pacific Coast reached New York City, ushering in transcontinental train service.\n\nIn 1897 aviator Amelia Earhart was born in Atchison, Kan.\n\n\nIn 1959 Vice President Richard Nixon and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev held their \"kitchen debate\" on communism vs. capitalism at an American exhibition in Moscow.\n\nIn 1969 the Apollo 11 astronauts landed in the Pacific after completing the first manned lunar landing.\n\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9438972473144531}
+{"content": "With wine, aging can be a good thing\n\nSeptember 07, 2003|By Martha Stewart, New York Times Syndicate, Copyright 2003, Martha Stewart.\n\nA good wine improves with age. Resting in a bottle over time, it takes on new layers of flavor and texture. But this doesn't happen under just any circumstances. A wine must be stored properly in order to mature gracefully.\n\nThe ancient Romans mastered the art of aging wine. They kept their wine in terra-cotta urns at cool temperatures and out of sunlight. While wine containers have changed since then, the basic storage methods remain the same. The goal is to prevent the wine from being exposed to light and heat, which can spoil it.\n\nFortunately, it's fairly easy to find an appropriate spot in your home to store wine. The ideal storage temperature is 55 degrees. This will encourage the slow chemical reactions that bring out a wine's flavor. But even in the 60- to 65-degree range -- the average temperature of a basement or an unheated closet -- these reactions will take place.\n\nWhether you've purchased a fine vintage wine to save for a future milestone anniversary or you've picked up a case of your favorite table wine for an upcoming celebration, be sure to store it properly.\n\nShort-term storage\n\nAnything you plan to drink in the next year should be stored under the following guidelines.\n\n- Avoid the warmer parts of your home, such as the kitchen, windowsills, the top of the refrigerator and cupboards near the stove. A cool basement is the ideal spot. If that is not an option, an interior closet or cupboard, preferably not in the kitchen, is also suitable.\n\n- You can display your wine in a wine rack in your dining room -- as long as it's away from direct sunlight and the room temperature never rises above 80 degrees.\n\n- It's always a good idea to store wine bottles on their sides. This keeps the cork moist, which prevents it from shrinking and the bottle from leaking.\n\nLong-term storage\n\nWhen storing wine for longer than a year, you'll need to supply the right conditions to help the wine age with grace.\n\nIt's best to keep wines as close to the optimal storage temperature (55 degrees) as possible. If you are able to store the bottles in a basement, use a thermometer to determine the coolest spot -- most likely as far as possible from the water heater and furnace.\n\nHumidity in the cellar should be maintained at a high level. You may need to install a humidifier if you live in a very dry climate.\n\nSince wine bottles are heavy (about 2 pounds each), they should be stored on their sides in sturdy boxes or racks. You can use wooden crates that are available from wine shops for free or for a nominal fee. Or stack terra-cotta pipes that are at least a foot in length (available at home-improvement and masonry stores). Each pipe can hold one bottle.\n\nIf you don't have a basement, check with your local wine shop for storage options. Many offer temperature-controlled storage for as little as $1 per month per case.\n\nOr you may purchase a free-standing wine cellar -- a refrigerator with temperature and humidity controls. Available in sizes that hold 20 to 600 bottles, these units cost about $300 to $4,000.\n\nBe sure to keep track of your collection. It's easy to forget when and where you bought the wine, or even where you put it, so jot down that information in a notebook as soon as you store the bottle.\n\nWhen to `cellar'\n\nEvery wine is different when it comes to storage. The finest wines -- often the costliest -- are the best candidates for the type of long-term storage called cellaring. Table wines and less-expensive wines generally should be enjoyed within a year of purchase.\n\nConsult your wine merchant about how to store a particular wine and for additional guidelines about the best wines for storing. A comprehensive reference book, such as \"The Oxford Companion to Wine\" (Oxford University Press, 848 pages, $65),also can be an invaluable source of information.\n\nHere are some basic guidelines:\n\n- Only a few white wines mature well. Examples include the best German Rieslings and Alsatian whites, premier and grand cru Burgundies, and dessert wines such as Sauternes and some of the sweet whites of the Loire Valley in France.\n\n- The reds that benefit from aging are the more tannic, or biting, varieties.\n\n- European reds suited to aging are Bordeaux; some Rhones; Barolo, Barbaresco and Brunello di Montalcino from Italy, and vintage ports.\n\n- In general, non-European wines tend to be more fruity and better to drink in their first years. Some California cabernet sauvignons and Australian shiraz, however, will improve with age.\n\n- Don't think you have to invest a huge amount of money into aging wines. Several affordable wines mature quite well. Consider ageable reds such as reserva and gran reserva Riojas from Spain.\n\n- Among whites, Australian Hunter Valley semillons or cuvees from Savennieres in France are often of good value.\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7552666068077087}
+{"content": "Tanya Tagaq—Canadian Inuit Throat Singer—BBC Interview\n\nposted in: Reviews | 0\n\nThis interview with a quite remarkable young woman is pertinent here because it illustrates culturally mature sensibility expressed by someone who grew up in an early cultural stage context. Note how both what she says and how she says it transcends idealized assumptions and paints a more challenging, but also more complete picture. Here music showcases forms from her tribal roots while being just as comfortable with more contemporary influences (which she pulls off in a way that is much more than just an amalgam or some popularization of the primitive). More politically, she argues with equal intensity for more deeply cherishing nature and for the importance to her people of hunting seals (and what she sees as hypocrisy on the part of environmental types with regard to this issue). In all of this she brings a sense of history that is commonly lacking is discussions that bring together voices from different cultural stages. I was particularly impressed with how artfully she recasts the interviewer’s (often rather naive) questions so she could answer them in more complete ways.\n\nSee http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02rzplg\n\n(see also An Evolutionary History of Music for a big picture look at how we can use music through history to understand the broader evolution of human understanding and sensibility.)", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5880407094955444}
+{"content": "dcsimg Our services - Ramboll Greenland\n\nOur services\n\n\nThis high rise building, also called the Willis Building, was designed by the British architect Norman Foster", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9958972930908203}
+{"content": "Belfast Telegraph\n\nHome News\n\nMarked divisions around issue of national identity\n\nBy Linda Beers\n\nThe findings of this poll highlight the marked divisions that exist in our community around the issue of personal national identity and that these divisions become even more marked when views on the sovereignty of Northern Ireland are sought.\n\nNationality is important to nearly everyone polled, with 88% of those interviewed saying it was either important or very important to them.\n\nThe fact that more people described themselves as Irish (42%) than British (39%) may come as a surprise to many.\n\nThat 71% of Protestants view themselves as British and 83% of Catholics consider themselves Irish, may have been more predictable.\n\nHowever, the 18% of respondents who described their nationality as Northern Irish and, in particular, the 24% of Protestants who did so, is surely significant in terms of the impact it has on reducing the overall British figure.\n\nThe higher than might have been expected showing for the Northern Irish identity could be seen as a desire on the part of some to distance themselves from the traditional British or Irish labels in an |effort to present a more inclusive identity.\n\nThe United Ireland question is a complex one and the |findings of the three questions that were posed relating to it, highlight a complexity |of divergent views. If there was a referendum about a united Ireland, 55% of respondents said they would vote for Northern Ireland to remain part of the UK, while 36% would vote for the north and south to unite. Significantly, 26% of Catholics would want Northern Ireland to remain in the UK.\n\nIn contrast, only 6% of Protestants have an interest in a united Ireland.\n\nOver half (51%) of those interviewed believe that the Republic of Ireland’s well documented economic difficulties have made the prospect of a united Ireland less likely, and this view is shared by respondents from both the Protestant and Catholic communities.\n\nOpinion as to what Northern Ireland’s sovereign position will be, come the centenary anniversary of its establishment in 2021, is divided but largely evenly balanced, with 42% believing it will still be part of the UK and 42% believing it will have become part of a united Ireland. Sixteen percent of respondents were not able to express an opinion.\n\nWhen the detail behind these figures is compared with the findings regarding a united Ireland referendum it is interesting to note that while 85% of Protestants would vote for Northern Ireland to remain in the UK, nearly a quarter (24%) expect it to have become part of a united Ireland come 2021.\n\nBelfast Telegraph\n\n\nFrom Belfast Telegraph", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9265464544296265}
+{"content": "Prices and availability are based on:\n\nInkjet printers\n\nInkjet Printers\n\nInkjet printers handle a wide variety of printing needs. Whether you're printing documents and spreadsheets, or creating colorful brochures and charts, Sam's Club® has inkjet printers that meet the needs of home and business users.\n\nAbout Inkjet Printers\n\nInkjet printers create sharp, crisp lines using liquid ink. The ink is sprayed through nozzles that make microscopic dots, helping transfer color and black inks uniformly on a sheet of paper. This method of printing results in bright, vivid colors and graduations that make images and graphics stand out. There are also black and white inkjet printers that provide clear text and deep blacks, ensuring each page has a professional look.\n\nAll-in-One Inkjet Printers\n\nAll-in-one inkjet printers combine scanning, printing, copying and faxing into a single device. These multifunction printers are an ideal solution for any office or home that needs to maximize space. Multifunction printers from Epson, Brother and other major manufacturers provide the same speed and print quality as single-function devices, helping to increase productivity. These inkjet printers are typically Wi-Fi enabled, allowing multiple devices to connect without relying on cords throughout the office. There are also apps available on some models that let users print from mobile devices, even when they're not nearby.\n\nPhoto Inkjet Printers\n\nIf you print pictures frequently, a photo inkjet printer will provide you with everything you need to create professional-quality prints. These printers use bold inks that create true-to-life colors, making every image appear crisp and professional. Whether printing photos for friends and family or capturing important moments throughout the company, an inkjet photo printer lets you print them all immediately, without sacrificing color saturation.\n\nNo matter what you want to print, the selection of inkjet printers at Sam's Club ensures an option that meets your needs, produces high-quality results and fits within your budget.\n\nDepartments in inkjet printers", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5046363472938538}
+{"content": "California State University Northridge\n\nCalifornia State University Northridge\n\nI teach from the perspective of a research scientist with emphasis on primary papers at all course levels in the Biology Department.\n\nBIOL360 Genetics (I last taught Spring 2015)\n\nThe goals of this course are to furnish a comprehensive overview of modern genetics and to have students become part of the scientifically educated electorate.  This will entail you to know: (1) how genetic information is transmitted and the connections between genotype and phenotype; (2) the molecular processes of DNA replication, RNA transcription, and protein translation; (3) genetics’ current relationship with medicine, molecular genetics, recombinant DNA technology, and evolutionary biology. In the process, we will also read and learn from scientific literature.\n\nBIOL442/L Developmental Biology with lab (last taught Fall 2016; next scheduled Fall 2017)\n\nThe goal of this course is to furnish a comprehensive overview of modern developmental biology.  This will entail: (1) providing an understanding of how organisms develop from a single cell zygote to a multicellular adult at the molecular, cellular, and organismal levels; (2) developing analytical skills by reading research articles that will enable you to understand how new knowledge is acquired based on hypotheses testing and experimental validation; (3) emphasizing the integrative nature of developmental biology and its relationship with medicine, molecular genetics, recombinant DNA technology, and evolutionary biology. In the process, we will identify general principles of development and outstanding questions for the future. This course was previously known as BIOL542/L and is usually offered every fall semester.\n\nBIOL562 Molecular Genetics of Eukaryotes (last taught 2014)\n\nThe overall course objective is to understand the genetic mechanisms controlling gene regulation, as well as to become current in molecular biology techniques, competent in analyzing data in scientific research articles, and experienced in communicating written and oral scientific data. Big questions include: What is a gene? How does technology change our questions? How do closely related species differ genetically, e.g. are there genes that make humans human?\n\nBiology Colloquium: BIOL490 (for undergraduates) and BIOL692 (for MS students)(I organize this course every spring semester)\n\nThe colloquium series features researchers from around the globe and represent a broad swath of biological disciplines that a student in biology should be able to understand and over this course, appreciate. The goal is to learn about at least one new method or idea after each talk. Undergraduates can write summaries of the talks and get feedbacks. The class time is from 2:00-3:30 pm Fridays. Click here for the current Spring 2017 speaker schedule.\n\nBIOL495 (Independent Research for Undergraduates, every semester)\n\nThis 3-unit course offers undergraduate students the opportunity to perform a research project in biology with a faculty mentor. BIOL106/107 are required.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9979845285415649}
+{"content": "Authorization to logon to wireless network\n\nWe have an ARUBA 800 controller with 3 Access Points attached at a municipal location. The ARUBA sits behind a Fotigate 60A firewall and this in turn is attached to a cable modem. We would like to offer free wireless access at this location. In order for people to get access we want them to first reach a login page that requests their library card number. If they enter a valid library card number they then get a welcome page that gives them free wireless access. We believe you would use the LUHN Formula (Mod 10) for validation, same as is used for credit cards. We think this requires an authorization server setup since the ARUBA cannot process this logic. We have an all Microsoft network.\n\n## Deliverables\n\n\n\n\n\n\n## Platform\n\nThe network is all Microsoft with IIS available. Users could be any OS with different browsers i.e. IE6, IE7, Opera, FireFox, etc.\n\nHabilidades: Apple Safari, Segurança de computadores, Engenharia, Google Chrome, MySQL, PHP, Arquitetura de software, Teste de Software, Segurança na rede\n\nVer mais: security logic, want wireless network, iis web page setup, hire logic, get wireless, get microsoft access free, e network, controller hire, cable one, wireless, wireless controller, network security, cable network, aruba, access points, authorization server, setup iis, process iis, program source firewall, access controller, network installation, network access, iis security, formula luhn, microsoft network\n\nAcerca do Empregador:\n( 0 comentários ) United States\n\nID do Projeto: #3045506", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9526562690734863}
+{"content": "06:02am Thursday 17 August 2017\n\nPhysios on sidelines of sports events should quickly ID symptoms of concussion\n\nThat’s according to CQUniversity’s Physiotherapy Discipline Leader Professor Tony Schneiders, who says that all athletes should be removed from play after receiving a head injury on the sporting field.\n\nProfessor Schneiders concedes that diagnosing a brain injury is not usually considered within a physiotherapy scope of practice.\n\n“But identifying the signs and symptoms associated with a head injury in a sporting situation is really important for physiotherapists,” he said.\n\n“It’s also important to be able to quickly identify if someone does have a more serious injury such as a subdural haematoma or swelling in the brain which could be catastrophic and fatal, as opposed to saying it’s just a head knock, and treating it as a concussion.\n\n“They need to be able to identify where perhaps that suspected minor concussion can transgress and actually get worse, resulting in more serious consequences for the athlete.\n\n“That’s a difficult area because the trouble is that the signs and symptoms that are associated with concussion are, if not exact, very similar to the signs and symptoms of a subdural haematoma…until the symptoms get so bad and the athlete loses consciousness, and obviously you realise that you are dealing with something more serious.”\n\nProfessor Schneiders will speak about concussion in sport during the Physiotherapy New Zealand (PNZ) conference from September 19-21.\n\nHe said initial signs are varied but are usually both cognitive and physical; from poor memory to slurred speech, loss of balance and coordination.\n\n“It’s vital physiotherapists take a conservative approach to head injuries, particularly when it comes to children’s and adolescent sport.”\n\n“Their brains are much more susceptible to damage and to ongoing problems than an adult brain, so even if we’ve had the inkling of a thought that they might have sustained a concussion they should be removed from play and not returned to play until they have been checked over by a doctor,” he said.\n\n“With the adult athlete, perhaps not as conservative, but certainly the consensus concussion guideline document at the moment advises that the player is removed from play despite what level of concussion they have, because the symptoms they have after concussion will change from person to person.”\n\nProfessor Schneiders said there has also been much hype and misconception around second-impact syndrome, where it’s believed that two concussions in quick succession can result in serious and sometimes fatal consequences.\n\n“Probably, what this really is, is a slow swelling of the brain which takes a while to manifest in signs and symptoms, so with the first knock they’ve had significant structural damage to the brain, which has caused it to swell or bleed, and depending on how that progresses it can be quite catastrophic,” he said.\n\n“In a lot of cases with brain injuries that bleed or swell, this actually takes a period of time to start giving you symptoms because it needs to build up pressure in the brain, and that can take anything from minutes to hours in some cases.\n\n“That’s why with concussion we always say if someone’s had a head knock or a head injury we must monitor them over a 24-hour period because there is the possibility, even though it’s quite slim, that it may not be a concussion; it can actually be a more serious brain injury.”\n\nProfessor Schneiders said while the current conception of second-impact syndrome is likely wrong, it had worked positively to make athletes more aware about head injuries and their potential serious consequences.\n\n“I guess we have got a culture in this country, and particularly in collision sport culture, where there’s a bravado that athletes will continue to play…. and this syndrome actually puts a little bit more fear in them,” he said.\n\n“You’ve got to debunk the myth in some respects but also still keep the football playing public aware that a injury to the brain can be a very serious condition.”\n\n\n\nShare on:\n\nMORE FROM Public Health and Safety\n\nHealth news", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.803735077381134}
+{"content": "The Greater Naval Republic of the King of Antilia\nTimeline: The Greater Americas (Map Game)\nAntiliaflaggreateramericas CoatOfArmsAntilia\nFlag Coat of Arms\n\nItsasoa, gure bakearen eta arma (Basque)\n(\"The sea is our peace and weapon\")\n\nCapital Caracas\nLargest city Maracaibo\n  others Espainiako, Iroquois, Amazonian, Incan, Aztec\nLegislature Monarchy\nCurrent Monarch King Osoa (789 - )\nPopulation 9,984,300 (Mainland)\n\n38,090,100 (Colonies) \n\nEstablished 721 G.A\nIndependence from Colombarieska (In turn conquered by Antilia)\n  declared 720 G.A\nCurrency Antilian Peso\nOrganizations South American Union\n\nControlled by -\n\nBackground Info\n\nRelatively small nation on the north coast of South America, with some of the islands to the north. Very warm climate. Average population. Large, developed urban areas. Some poverty. Widely religious. Small military. Renowned navy. Some volcanoes.\n\nAd blocker interference detected!\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.901668131351471}
+{"content": "Montag, 16. Februar 2015\n\nHow carbonates behave in the Earth's interior\n\n     A new DFG Research Unit looks at the behaviour of the mineral under high pressures and temperatures.  FRANKFURT. Carbonates are the most important carbon reservoirs on the planet. But what role do they play in the Earth's interior? How do they react to conditions in the Earth's mantle? These are the questions being asked by a group of scientific researchers from Frankfurt, Bayreuth, Berlin/Potsdam, Freiberg and Hamburg, in a project funded by the DFG. The Research Unit brings together experts from various geoscience disciplines and cutting edge technology.\nThe Earth has an average radius of around 6,400 kilometers. However, the deepest borehole thus far drilled has only reached a depth of twelve kilometers. And even with huge technical advances, it is unthinkable that we will ever be able to carry out empirical research on the deepest layers, according to Björn Winkler, Professor of Crystallography at the Goethe University Frankfurt and coordinator of the new Research Unit. \"We can only get an idea of the conditions in the Earth's interior by combining experiments and model calculations\", he explains. While we already have detailed knowledge of silicates, which are a key component of the earth's mantle, very little research on carbonates has been done to date. \"The composition of the earth can be explained without carbonates - but the question is, how well?\", continues Winkler.\n\n\"Structures, Properties and Reactions of Carbonates at High Temperatures and Pressures\" is the title of the project being funded by the DFG as of mid-February. \"We want to understand how the Earth works\", is the way Winkler describes the primary research goal of the approximately 30 scientists and their teams. What possibilities our planet has for storing carbon, how much carbon there actually is on the earth – the entire carbon cycle is still a complete mystery.\n\nThe research group, which combines seven individual projects, is focusing its attention on the Earth's mantle: the 2,850 kilometer thick middle layer in the internal structure of the earth. The aim is to come to a better understanding of the phase relationships, crystal chemistry and physical properties of carbonates. To that end, the plan is to simulate the conditions of the mantle transition zone and the lower earth mantle below it – namely very high temperatures and very high pressure. Each of the seven projects examines a different aspect; for example the carbonate calcite, or the combination of carbonates with iron or silicates, or the behavior of carbonates under shock.\n\nWinkler and his team have been dealing with this issue for six years already. His colleague, Dr. Lkhamsuren Bayarjargal has already been awarded the Max-von-Laue Prize from the German Association of Crystallography for his work with high-power lasers, and has received funding from the Focus Program of the Goethe University. The nationwide collaboration among the researchers is not an entirely new phenomenon either. The DFG funding will enable them to build special equipment to simulate the conditions in the Earth's mantle. This research apparatus includes diamond anvil cells, capable of producing pressures a million times greater than atmospheric pressure, and high-power lasers that can generate temperatures of up to 5,000 degrees Celsius. Calculations have shown that these are the conditions that prevail in the Earth's mantle.\nThe tiniest amounts of a carbonate are enough for an experiment. During the experiment, the substance is exposed to the respective conditions while the researchers examine it for any changes. A variety of techniques are used for this, such as Raman spectroscopy in Frankfurt, and infrared spectroscopy in Potsdam. \"If we come to the same conclusions using different methods, we will know that we have got it right\", says Prof. Winkler.\n\nDr. Anke Sauter Marketing und KommunikationGoethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main\n\nKommentar veröffentlichen\nResearch Blogging Awards 2010 Winner!\nCreative Commons License\nAmphibol Weblog von Gunnar Ries steht unter einer Creative Commons Namensnennung-Keine kommerzielle Nutzung-Weitergabe unter gleichen Bedingungen 3.0 Unported Lizenz.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9994317889213562}
+{"content": "AI Training Data\n\nWe help machine learning models get better with human intelligence. On their own, algorithms fail to deliver the most relevant search results. This can frustrate users and hurt conversion.\n\n\nGet highly specialized annotated custom datasets to make your algorithms and applications smarter and more accurate. Our dedicated team of analysts will work with you to generate training data to solve a wide range of use cases.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9999251961708069}
+{"content": "Tuesday, 24 November 2015 18:40\n\nWhat do we mean by culture and why does it matter?\n\nRate this item\n(0 votes)\nWhat do we mean by culture and why does it matter?\n\nWhat is culture and why does it matter? To help us answer those questions, Professor John Storey outlines a neo-Gramscian approach to culture. It exposes culture as a site of struggle, equips and empowers us to resist cultural domination, dissolves the barriers between 'high' and 'popular' culture, and thus helps us build the 'new Jerusalem'.\n\nIf we want to make the claim that culture matters politically, and be able to illustrate this claim against those who want us to see it as something quite distinct from the political, we need to be clear what we mean by culture. What I propose in this article is a working definition that will provide a way to think politically about all the things we call culture.\n\nTo claim that culture matters because it is ultimately political compels us to move beyond all definitions that reduce culture to the arts with a capital A. In other words, it is a definition that rejects the arbitrary – and elitist – distinction between culture and popular culture. The politics of culture involves all of us because it is about the making and circulation of meanings, meanings which affect all of us.\n\nFor example: meaning is produced by a play by William Shakespeare, but it is also produced by the latest episode of Coronation Street. If both produce meaning, and the production of meaning is how we are defining culture, it makes no sense to value one as culture and dismiss the other as popular culture. This does not mean that we cannot judge one as better than the other, but it does mean that we cannot rely on arbitrary categories of pre-judgement to make the decision for us. And of course ‘better’ always implies the questions: better for what and better for whom?\n\nWe must also reject the idea that the meaning of a play or television drama is the sole property of the text itself. Undoubtedly, they produce meaning but they are also sites for the production of meaning. And these meanings are variable, and often contested by those who consume them. Culture is a 'mental fight', as Blake wrote in 'Jerusalem'. It is a site of struggle between competing ways of making the world meaningful to us. And that cultural struggle therefore becomes a political struggle.\n\nFor the commodities produced by the culture industries (books, CDs, films, theatre, television programmes, etc.) to become culture, they have to be consumed and how they are consumed is always, ultimately, a question of politics. To paraphrase Karl Marx, a house only becomes a home when it is inhabited. So in a similar way a novel that no one reads is barely an example of culture. Culture involves both production and consumption. Both text and audience produce meaning: in political terms, a text can help change how we see the world, but so can the meanings we find in it.\n\nThere are two conclusions we can draw from a definition of culture as a terrain of shared and contested meanings. First, although the world exists in all its enabling and constraining materiality outside culture, it is only in culture that the world is made meaningful. In other words, signification has a ‘performative effect’; it helps construct the realities it appears only to describe. As Antonio Gramsci once pointed out,\n\n'It is obvious that East and West are arbitrary and conventional (historical) constructions, since every spot on the earth is simultaneously East and West. Japan is probably the Far East not only for the European but also for the American from California and even for the Japanese himself, who, through English political culture might call Egypt the Near East … Yet these references are real, they correspond to real facts, they allow one to travel by land and by sea and to arrive at the predetermined destination.'\n\nIn other words, East and West are cultural constructions, directly connected to the imperial power of the West, but they are also forms of signification that have been realized and embedded in social practice. Cultural constructs they may be, but they do designate real geographic locations and guide real human movement and organize real political perceptions of the world. As Gramsci’s example makes clear, meanings inform and organize social action. To argue that culture is best understood as a terrain of shared and contested meanings is not, therefore, a denial that the material world exists in all its constraining and enabling reality, outside signification.\n\nSuch a concept of culture does not deny the existence of the materiality of things, but it does insist that materiality is mute: it does not issue its own meanings, it has to be made to mean. Although how something is made meaningful is always enabled and constrained by the materiality of the thing itself, culture is not a property of mere materiality. It is the entanglement of meaning, materiality and social practice, variable meanings in a range of different contexts and social practices. In other words, culture is always social, material and semiotic and always in a direct or indirect relation with the prevailing structures of power.\n\nThe second conclusion we can draw from seeing culture as a terrain of shared and contested meanings concerns the potential for struggle over meaning. Given that different meanings can be ascribed, for example, to the same novel or film, the making of meaning is always entangled in what Valentin Volosinov identified as the ‘multiaccentuality of the sign’. Rather than being inscribed with a single meaning, a book or a film can be made to mean different things in different contexts, with different effects of power. Contrast, for example, the interpretation of the film 'The Third Man' in the review elsewhere on this site, with the standard, mainstream interpretation.\n\nCulture, understood as the making of meaning is, therefore, always a potential site of ‘differently oriented social interests’. Those with power often seek to make what is multi-accentual appear as if it could only ever be uni-accentual. In cultural terms, this is the difference between dictatorship and democracy.\n\nThe different ways of making something signify are rarely an innocent game of semantics, rather they are a significant part of a political struggle over what might be regarded as ‘normal’ or ‘correct’ – an example of the politics of signification. What are the class politics of Downton Abbey, or the gender politics of Game of Thrones? Is Trident a weapon of mass destruction, the use of which is impossible to envisage, or is it a necessary means of self-defense in an uncertain world? Is austerity a reasonable way to ensure we live within our means or is it a political choice that forces many people to rely on food banks and to become vulnerable to the Victorian diseases of malnutrition, scurvy, scarlet fever, cholera and whooping cough? In each example there is a struggle over meaning, a struggle over who can claim the power and authority to define social reality; to make the world (and the things in it) mean in particular ways and with particular effects of power.\n\nDominant modes of making the world meaningful are a fundamental aspect of the processes of hegemony. But hegemony is not something imposed that people passively accept. It is always a terrain of struggle between dominant and subordinate ways of understanding the world. While it is true that the forces of incorporation tend to be more powerful than the forces of resistance, this should not lead us to think of the consumption of culture as something always and inevitably passive. It is certainly true that the culture industries are a major site of ideological production, constructing powerful images, descriptions, definitions, frames of reference for understanding the world. However, we should reject the view that the people who consume these productions are ‘cultural dupes’, unable to resist the prevailing ‘common sense’.\n\nPeople make culture (including popular culture) from the repertoire of commodities supplied by the culture industries. Consumption understood as ‘production in use’ can be empowering to subordinate understandings of the world. And it can be resistant to dominant understandings of the world. But this is not to say that consumption is always empowering and resistant. To deny the passivity of consumption is not to deny that sometimes consumption is passive; to deny that consumers are cultural dupes is not to deny that the culture industries seek to manipulate. But it is to deny that culture, especially popular culture, is little more than a degraded landscape of commercial and ideological manipulation, imposed from above in order to make profit and secure social control.\n\nWhat is produced and how it is consumed can also challenge the taken-for-granted that always underpins hegemony. A progressive cultural analysis should insist that to decide these matters requires vigilance and attention to the details of the production, distribution and consumption of the commodities from which culture is made. These are not matters that can be decided once and for all (outside the contingencies of history and politics) with an elitist glance and a condescending sneer. Nor can they be read off purely from the moment of production, by locating meaning, pleasure, ideological effect, the probability of incorporation, the possibility of resistance, in, variously, the intention, the means of production or the production itself.\n\nWe need also to consider how meaning is generated through consumption, which should be understood as ‘production in use’. Because it is, ultimately, in ‘production in use’ that questions of meaning, pleasure, ideological effect, incorporation or resistance can be (contingently) decided.\n\nThis, I suggest, is a more optimistic, empowering approach to defining culture than traditional approaches. It enables us to engage with cultural products on more equal terms, and it enables us to break down the elitist divide between 'high' culture and 'popular' culture. I believe that if contributors to this website apply this approach, a wealth of meanings will be discovered which will help us build 'the new Jerusalem'.\n\nThe review of 'The Third Man' mentioned above is on the film section of the arts hub.\n\nRead 4388 times Last modified on Wednesday, 16 November 2016 15:15\nJohn Storey\n\nJohn Storey is Professor of Cultural Studies and Director of the Centre for Research in Media and Cultural Studies at University of Sunderland, UK. He has published widely in cultural studies, including ten books. The most recent is From Popular Culture to Everyday Life (2014). He is also on editorial/advisory boards in Australia, Canada, China, Germany, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Spain, the UK and the USA, and has been a Visiting Professor at the Technical University of Dresden, the University of Henan, the University of Vienna and the University of Wuhan.\n\nRelated items", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8814599514007568}
+{"content": "Autodesk Software Engineer in Singapore, Singapore\n\nAutodesk, the leading Design and Engineering Software Company, is transitioningto the cloud! As a global leader in 3D design, engineering, and entertainmentsoftware, Autodesk helps people imagine, design, and create a better world.Autodesk accelerates better design through an unparalleled depth of experienceand a broad portfolio of software to give customers the power to solve theirdesign, business, and environmental challenges. In addition to designers,architects, engineers, and media and entertainment professionals, Autodeskhelps students, educators, and casual creators unlock their creative ideasthrough user-friendly applications.\n\nThis Software Engineering team at Autodesk is responsible for building a PaaSenablement platform for third party developers to use AutodeskPaaS APIs to build exciting products and applications for avariety of device form factors. The developers will be able to learn aboutAutodesk APIs, play with samples, discover possibilities and subscribe tothem. The ideal candidate should have a strong programming background inbuilding websites. As a member of the team, you will play be developing highlycustomizable portal and platform that would helpthe third-party developers to learn/subscribe to the AutodeskPaaS APIs and help the internal Autodesk teams to show case andenable their APIs to be consumed by the third-party developers.\n\nRESPONSIBILITIES: * Design and implement the developer experience on Autodesk FORGE Developer Portal. * Work with the internal teams to onboard their APIs to the platform. * Support the team in helping and resolving the customer issues which need engineering team s inputs. * Innovate by adding new features to the framework that helps the internal teams for integration in a seamless way.\n\nREQUIREMENTS: * Bachelor s degree or higher in Computer Science, Engineering or related field. * 3 years of professional experience in commercial or web-scale software development and delivery. * Strong experience in WEB/API development using python based frameworks (Django/Flask) * Experience in building software using agile software development processes. * Good object-oriented design and implementation skills will be considered a plus.\n\nPREFERREDQUALIFICATIONS: * Experience in web front end development using JavaScript, HTML5/CSS3, boot strap, jQuery will be considered a plus -[if gte mso 9]>96[endif]->-[if gte mso 9]>Normal0falsefalsefalseEN-GBX-NONEX-NONE[endif]->-[if gte mso 9]>[endif]->-[if gte mso 10]>[endif]->-StartFragment->-EndFragment-> * Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to develop creative solutions * Proven track record designing, building and delivering high quality software on time. * Possess strong verbal and written communication skills. * Possess strong analytical skills, with excellent problem solving abilities in the face of ambiguity.\n\nJob: *Engineering\n\nTitle: Software Engineer\n\nLocation: Singapore-Singapore-Singapore\n\nRequisition ID: 17WD24350", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9881868362426758}
+{"content": "Graph-Theoretic Algorithms to Improve Phylogenomic Analyses\n\nThis is a collaborative project with the University of California at Berkeley (PI Satish Rao). We are developing new theoretical computer science and discrete algorithms for improving the estimation of large species and gene trees, and specifically enabling statistical methods to scale to ultra-large datasets.\n\n\nFunding: U.S. National Science Foundation grant CCF-1458652 (Algorithms in the Field).\n\nProject Overview: Understanding the history of life on earth - how species evolved from their common ancestor - is a major goal of biological research. These evolutionary trees are very hard to construct with high accuracy, because nearly all of the most accurate approaches require the solution to computationally hard optimization problems. Furthermore, research has shown that the evolutionary tree for a single gene can be different from the evolutionary tree for the species, and current methods do not provide adequate accuracy on genome-scale data. As a result, large evolutionary trees, covering big portions of \"The Tree of Life\", are very difficult to compute with high accuracy. This project will develop methods that can enable highly accurate species tree estimation. The key approach is the development of novel divide-and-conquer strategies, whereby a dataset is divided into overlapping subsets, species trees are constructed on the subsets, and then the subset species trees are merged together into a tree on the full dataset. These approaches will be combined with powerful statistical estimation methods, to potentially transform the capability of evolutionary biologists to analyze their data. This project will also provide open source software for the new methods that are developed, and provide training in the use of the software to biologists at national meetings. The project will also contribute to interdisciplinary training for two doctoral students, one at Illinois and one at Berkeley, and course materials for computational biology will be made available online.\n\n\nProject Software:\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9811506271362305}
+{"content": "Samstag, 25. Juni 2016\n\nRandom vagina information Pt. 1\n\nDue to its pH-level of 4,5 a healthy vagina is supposed to taste a kind of sour that is somewhere in between a grape and vinegar. So stick two fingers deep in one and give it a shot. Happy healthcare to you....\n(art by Caroline Paquita Kern)\n\nDonnerstag, 9. Juni 2016\n\n\nThe greatest superpower ever is to make people feel good. So: make people feel good!\nIt never hurts to be polite.\n\nby Super Future Kid (UK)\n\nDonnerstag, 2. Juni 2016\n\nAnd what do you bring to the table?\n\nIf I would meet you in an empty place, with noone around, with nothing around..... who would you be?\nIf I would shave your head and take off that jeans jacket you love to wear frequently, pull off that shirt of your favourite band, ... who would you be?\nIf your skin was blank, with no ink and no scars telling stories, who would you be?\nIf I would meet you afar from that busy hometown you live in, despite your job, with no hierarchy, your economic success, your position in society, would I recognize you?\nAnd who would you be without your possessions and connections?\nWhat would you bring to the table in an empty space?\nThe horse you came in on?\nYour thoughts? Your ideas? Your emotions and perspectives? Your abilities and talents?\nWho would you be if you would have to stand for yourself?\n\nI m so tired of masquerade.....", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8578387498855591}
+{"content": "The following articles have been produced by the Verdigris Project. This material has been distributed to the Verdigris Publishing Network for use in their magazines and on their websites. This network includes approximately 30 titles throughout the world from Finland to Australia. If you would like to join the Verdigris Publishing Network (it’s free), please contact Laurel by going here and selecting \"Verdigris Information\".\n\nColour Me Carbon\n\nImageWhat’s the hottest topic in print these days? Judging by the spate of recent announcements, it’s carbon calculators. They’re everywhere, from Google’s calculator and those of NGOs such as the Carbon Trust and Envirowise in the UK, through to energy companies the world round. Even book publishers are getting into the act. For instance, Finnish book printer WS Bookwell’s ecocalculator calculates CO2 emissions and environmental impacts based on materials alternatives, production data and print run specifications.\n\nGreen Grøset Trykk\n\nImageProtecting the environment has to be a top priority for all of us in the printing industry. This much we know, but taking steps to improve how we do business isn’t that simple and is made harder by the ridiculous myth that going green is an expensive proposition. Fortunately a growing number of printing companies around the world are using their brains and have recognised that green habits are good for business as well as the planet.\n\nPulp facts\n\nImagePaper is arguably one of the most useful commodities every invented, one that most of us make use of every day, and yet few people know exactly how paper is manufactured.\n\nSince its invention paper has played an essential role in spreading literacy and knowledge, and despite our modern communications technology it is still irreplaceable. Making paper is a multi-billion dollar industry and part of a major economic sector: the global forest industry employs 13 million people in nearly 200 nations.\n\nThe Ultimate Plate\n\nImageWe’ve seen processless plates, and plates with low chemistry requirements, but what about a CtP plate with no coating or chemistry whatsoever?\n\nComputer to plate production has improved printing’s carbon footprint no end because it does away with film and the associated chemistry. But the recently announced Miracle technology, developed in the UK by JPI, does away with coatings and processing entirely. JPI has patented a method of switching uncoated, grained and anodised aluminium from hydrophilic to hydrophobic states, so they don’t need any coatings at all.\n\nIn the wash\n\nImageDe-inking used paper is a major step towards making recycled paper, but can established de-inking processes keep up with advances in printing technology?\n\nThere is a generally accepted principle that it is better to recycle as much paper as we can, rather than cutting down trees to make paper from virgin fibres.\n\nComputer-to-Plate goes green\n\nImageEnvironmental considerations have never played such an important role in CtP. Computer-to-plate has moved a long way in terms of affordability, performance and reliability since the early days. Plate technology has advanced to the point where printers can choose between traditional CtP systems that use chemical development and new chemistry-free technologies. This article looks at the latest chemistry-free systems, the different technologies that they use and the benefits they deliver to the user.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6811816692352295}
+{"content": "Essay Help is Here\n\n\n\nRisk Management In The Organisation Of Cultural Festivals\n\nRisk management is an important part of organising cultural festivals. Cultural festivals provide an illumination of organized activities and rituals of cultures in which we may not be privy too. It encourages a transformation of behaviour and for individuals of all cultures to come together in one location. For many, experiencing cultures outside of their own is not an everyday occurrence. To fully experience it, it requires a seeing is believing mentality. Stepping into the festival allows the attendee to pass through a metaphoric threshold and join in a new experience. The world in which we live passes by fast, and often it becomes difficult to connect with ideas outside of what we know. Cultural festivals open the door to embrace and enjoy things we might miss otherwise. The idea of organizing a cultural festival is appealing because of the benefits that it yields; however, there are risks that need to be considered as well.\n\nThere are several reasons why this topic was necessary for further research. Cultural festivals provide a significant amount of economic and educational benefit to the community. When one takes on a cultural festival, they do so with the hopes of a positive outcome. Often the risks that could occur during the event are overlooked with the details of the event planning. It is important to delve into the behind the scene considerations. A risk management strategy is vital to the success of any cultural festival or event. It also dictates that an appropriate communication plan be created prior to the festival opening. The details that facilitate a successful festival go far beyond the initial planning initiative. Choosing this topic allows for a more thorough understanding of what is required to prevent unnecessary risks and obligations when organizing and event.\n\nFestivals are dependent upon the location and the accessibility. There are so many possible risks that need to be considered in detail. There are potential risks in determining the location, the access to the location and the ability to exit the location in the event that the festival needs to be evacuated. Risks also need to be considered if there are rides or bounce castles and what liabilities the festival organizer has to implement. Food and beverage are another factor that could be a considerable risk if not prepared for properly. The list of potential risks is substantial, and the organizer has to take all of these factors into consideration prior to the cultural festival launch. The choice of topic for this paper will allow for a better understanding of what it takes to organize a cultural festival.\n\nThe paper will strive to validate the hypothesis. If there is a risk management strategy, accompanied by an appropriate communication plan, then the problems involved in the implementation of a cultural festival can be solved more easily. The paper structure will start with the theoretical risk concepts. The necessary definitions will be provided for a better understanding of the risks that the organizer may experience. Next the types of risks will be discussed in detail. The general risk factors which are associated with cultural festivals. Lastly, the perception and attitudes towards the proposed risks. The next chapter is to consider the risk management for events. The chapter will detail the definitions and tendencies. It will then provide a classification of risks encountered in the organisation of cultural festival events. The sociological theories used in risk management for events will be discussed in details. Lastly, the approaches and trends in risk management for events will be analysed. The conclusion of the paper will summarize the findings and make recommendations for avoiding unnecessary risks when organizing cultural festivals.\n\nPublished on  27.12.2016", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9035947918891907}
+{"content": "Please Note that we do have a $15.00 minimum Merchandise order. This amount does not include any shipping, etc. Once you change the amount of an item to how much you would like & have hit 'Recalculate', just hit the 'back' button to continue shopping.\n\nProduct Quantity Price Amount\nNFGW/288-Glow_worms-48_boxes_of_6 16.90 16.90\nTCRD30-30_Tracer_Die_Set 55.00 55.00\nNFCSB/72-Colored_Smoke_Balls-1_box_of_72 11.25 11.25\nNFAS/288-Assorted_snakes-48_boxes_of_6 16.90 16.90\nTCRU45-45_Tracer_Die_Upgrade 12.50 12.50\nTCRU224-224_Tracer_Die_Upgrade 12.50 12.50\nCLS17H-Cyclone_System_Launcher 42.95 42.95\nTCRD9mm-9_Tracer_Die_Set 55.00 55.00\nTCRU44-44_Tracer_Die_Upgrade 12.50 12.50\nTCRU30-30_Tracer_Die_Upgrade 12.50 12.50\nTCRD224-224_Tracer_Die_Set 55.00 55.00\n\nAll prices are in US Dollars TOTAL 303.00\n\nShipping prices will be figured by us, due to the complexity of it, when we get your order. If you would like, we can email you the total for the order, but please let us know that you would like us to do so.\nSpecial Instructions (including shipping preference)\n\n\nShopping cart by\nMal's e-commerce", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9988811612129211}
+{"content": "Can a reasonable person believe that God gave the Torah at Sinai?\n\nMay 30, 2017 12:39\n\nIn today’s world of “critical thinking,” with everything having to be rational and scientifically proven, many question the veracity of the Sinai story.\n\nMount Sinai\n\nThe view from the summit of Mount Sinai. (photo credit:Wikimedia Commons)\n\nThe holiday of Shavuot commemorates the Jewish people receiving the Torah at Mount Sinai.\n\nIn today’s world of “critical thinking,” with everything having to be rational and scientifically proven, many question the veracity of the Sinai story. Is there any proof that a Divine Revelation at Mount Sinai actually occurred? And if not, why should anyone choose to live their lives based on a Bible that some human being authored? I have been asked about this topic in many different forms and forums, and have spent a lot of time thinking about it. After reflecting upon the following facts, there should be only one conclusion: if there is a Creator, and this Power revealed Himself to the world in order to give some sense of direction and instruction to His creations, the only reasonable claim is the Jewish belief that God gave the Torah to the Jewish people at Mount Sinai.\n\nBe the first to know - Join our Facebook page.\n\nThere have been hundreds of religions throughout the history of the world. They all claim to have had some kind of godly revelation, an event necessary for their followers to understand that god, their purpose and their responsibilities. Amazingly, every one of these religions begins with the story that a god appeared to one specific individual.\n\nThat person then approached other people and related the story of his personal revelation. If and when those people chose to accept the story as truth, a new religion was born.\n\nThere is only one religion that tells a different story – Judaism. Our claim is that God revealed Himself to the entire nation – a few million people. He actually taught some laws Himself, and then directed the people to accept everything else that Moses would teach them in His behalf: “Behold I will come to you [Moses] in the thick of the cloud so that the nation will hear when I speak to you, and in you they will trust forever” (Exodus 19:9).\n\nThis uniqueness makes the Jewish claim a claim that a reasonable person should consider embracing. Why should any thinking person simply accept the claim made by a fellow human being that God appeared to him and him alone? This is among the reasons that many other faiths only spread through the use of force and by threatening people with their lives. Why else would anyone accept their doctrines? If the story is that God appeared to all the people, that is something worth exploring more deeply and worthy of serious consideration.\n\nLet us suggest, however, that the Torah’s claim that God communicated to the entire nation is false. If a story of this kind can be fabricated, why didn’t anyone else in the history of the world create a similar one? If you were creating your own religion, wouldn’t it be advantageous to claim that the Divine power appeared to more than one person in order to make it more realistic and believable? Wouldn’t there be a greater chance of people throughout the generations embracing the religion if it were based on the word of many people and not just one? Why is Judaism the only religion to even attempt to make the claim that the Divine Power spoke to more than one person? Is it reasonable to suggest that the Jews were the only ones clever enough to recognize that it is advantageous to suggest that more than one person experienced the Divine revelation? The only reasonable conclusion is that it is impossible to make such a claim unless it is true. If one attempts to falsely claim that a revelation occurred in front of many people, it can easily be disproved or contradicted.\n\nThat is why no other religion even attempted to make that assertion. Judaism not only claims that God to spoke to more than one person, but it also claims that he spoke to a few million people! All it would have taken was one of those “eyewitnesses” to come forward with the truth, one of those millions of people to deny this made-up event, or for eyewitnesses to relate different details about the supposed revelation, and the foundation of the religion would collapse. This is one strong reason to accept and celebrate the story of the Divine revelation at Sinai.\n\nIn addition to this claim, there are many other differences between Judaism and all other religions. The actual content of the Torah lends strength to our story of its Divine origin, for example, in the matter of prophecy. All religious texts include prophecies; however, all of these predictions relate to events which could likely occur through the natural and normal course of history.\n\nDespite this, none of those prophecies have come true before our eyes. The Torah, on the other hand, outlines a seemingly ridiculous prophecy – which has come true in our time! It relates that the Jews will forsake God and will be dispersed to the four corners of the Earth, where they will experience terrible persecution. While they are gone from the Land of Israel it will remain desolate. Nothing will grow there.\n\nBut then, at some point, they will return to their land from all around the world and they will regrow and rebuild it. Can one imagine such a prophecy coming true? A small and powerless nation will be dispersed throughout the world without a common spoken language, land or culture, and will survive and return to its homeland thousands of years later? We have seen this unrealistic and ridiculous prophecy come true.\n\nWe sinned, were dispersed, were persecuted terribly, the land remained desolate, and we have now returned to Israel from around the world and have built it into a flourishing, fully modernized and technologically advanced country. A human being wrote this thousands of years ago and struck the jackpot and happened to get it right? Is that reasonable? A “ridiculous” prophecy of this kind coming true should strengthen our belief in the divine origin of the Torah and the Revelation at Sinai.\n\nNo, we don’t have scientific proof that God gave the Jewish people the Torah at Sinai.\n\nBut a reasonable, critically thinking person certainly has enough of a basis to accept, embrace and celebrate the story of God giving the Jewish people the Torah at Sinai.\n\nThus, on this Shavuot, let us join together and celebrate the event that transformed us into a people, with a body of laws and values aimed at transforming us into a Light unto the Nations who bring spirituality and goodness to the entire world.\n\nThe writer is a rabbi and a former Yesh Atid MK.\n\nRelated Content\nAugust 16, 2017\nEncountering Peace", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.770332932472229}
+{"content": "Requires Photography\n\nShawabty of Queen Madiken\n\nNapatan Period, reign of Anlamani\n623–593 B.C.\n\nFindspot: Nubia (Sudan), Nuri, Pyramid 27\n\n\nOverall: 11.5 x 6.5 cm (4 1/2 x 2 9/16 in.)\n\nAccession Number\n\n\nMedium or Technique\n\n\nNot On View\n\n\nThe Ancient World\n\n\nShawabties and shawabty boxes\n\nThis is a shawabty of Queen Madiken. The female figure wears the queen’s vulture headdress over the tripartite wig. The arms are not crossed, the hands are opposed. In each hand the figure holds a hoe. In addition the left hand holds a cord to a seed bag which is slung over the left shoulder. There are four visible horizontal lines of incised text encircling the body. The text is framed and there is a blank column up the center of the back dividing the back of the text. The text is painted black. This mummiform shape does not have a back pillar or base. The figure is missing from mid-leg down. The whole wig is chipped. The face, tops of the hands, top of the left shoulder, the left elbow and the whole right arm from the shoulder down are worn.\n\n\n\nFrom Nubia (Sudan), Nuri, Pyramid 27 (tomb of Queen Maldiken). 1918: excavated by the Harvard University–Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition; assigned to the MFA in the division of finds by the government of the Sudan.\n\nCredit Line\n\nHarvard University—Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7836813926696777}
+{"content": "RED HOT Contributors\n\n\nDOD researchers want to peek into the black box of AI, which could impact adoption in healthcare\n\nCREDIT: This post was originally published on this site\n\nResearchers at the Department of Defense are undertaking a significant task to better explain the decision-making processes within artificial intelligence, which could have significant implications for the healthcare industry as it explores machine learning as a diagnostic tool.\n\nAI’s biggest advantage—the ability to mimic human learning through neural networks that can process vast quantities of information—is also its biggest flaw. As those networks become more advanced, the technology’s decision-making process becomes harder to understand, creating a black box of deep learning.\n\nRELATED: Using AI for diagnosis raises tricky questions about errors\n\nThat dynamic raises numerous questions in the medical field, where technology companies like IBM and hospital systems are looking at ways AI can improve diagnosis while also grappling with trust and transparency.\n\nA group of 100 researchers coordinated through the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is trying to peek inside that black box as a way to solidify trust in AI systems, according to The Wall Street Journal. The 3-year, $75 million effort aims to produce new transparent AI techniques and interfaces available for commercial use.\n\nRELATED: Plenty of buzz for AI in healthcare, but are any systems actually using it?\n\nAlthough the research group’s focus is not limited to healthcare, its findings could shape the way the technology is used in hospitals and medical clinics moving forward. In an editorial published in the Journal of the American Medical Association this week, Italian researchers outlined some of the unintended consequences of AI in healthcare, including the concerns about the black box of advanced neural networks that prohibit physicians from understanding a computer-generated medical diagnosis or recommendations. Stanford University researchers have also called on the healthcare industry to temper expectations of AI with a more realistic discussion about its impact. \n\nAccording to David Gunning, a DOD program manager overseeing the research effort, unexplainable AI systems will ultimately be cast aside in many industries.\n\n“What I think could really happen is they just don’t get implemented, or people won’t trust them enough to use them,” he told the WSJ.\n\n\nWe Support OUR Contributors\n\nGet Our Newsletter\n\n Receive podcast updates\nExclusive insights\nPatient Engagement Tips from industry experts\nWe hate SPAM as much as you do and promise to keep your email address safe.\n  • Subscribe to the Podcast", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9981935620307922}
+{"content": "As a philosophy teacher, mentor and friend, Jean Grenier had an enormous influence on the young Albert Camus, who, in fact, acknowledged that Grenier's Les Iles had touched the very core of his sensibility and provided him with both a terrain for reflection, and a format that he would later use for his own essays. Their correspondence, beginning when the 17-year-old Camus was Grenier's student at the Grand Lyce of Algiers, documents the younger man's struggle to become a writer and find his own voice, a period in which he ...\n\nCorrespondence, 1932-1960 2004, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, NE\n\nISBN-13: 9780803214972", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9715924263000488}
+{"content": "You are here\n\nEconomists warned: Higher prices if FATCA Bill not passed\n\nSaturday, September 24, 2016\nIndera Sagewan-Alli\n\nRosemarie Sant\n\nHigher food prices, loss of investor confidence and a worsening of the country’s already bleak foreign exchange situation are among the repercussions T&T could face if the Tax Information and Exchange Agreement (TIEA) Bill, 2016, is not debated and passed by Parliament ahead of the September 30 deadline for Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) legislation to take effect.\n\nThat was the grim picture painted by economists Vaalmikki Arjoon and Indera Sagewan-Alli who both warned that non-compliance could ultimately result in higher prices for the average consumer.\n\n“This is not a matter that they should be playing politics with,” Sagewan-Alli said.\n\nShe said many every day transaction could become most costly and complication because FATCA affects bank to bank relations. \n\n“If you have a child studying, whether it is in the Caribbean or the US, once it involves US dollars and you want to send money it is done through an intermediary bank. If the local banks are not compliant then you cannot send the money,” she explained.\n\nSagewan-Alli said without compliance any US transaction would be subject to a 30 per cent withholding tax.\n\n“That is then what you the customer have to pay. So if you want to wire transfer US$100 you will have to pay 30 per cent on that. Does that make any sense?”\n\nArjoon said: “The entire financial system is now on pause. Everyone waiting to see what will happen.” \n\nHe described FATCA as “one of the most significant pieces of financial regulationsin history. \n\n“The implications for the local economy is so huge that those in authority must move swiftly to ensure its passage. It does not just affect banking and business, it affects everyone.”\n\nArjoon said ailure to pass the Bill, which was being debated in the House of Representatives yesterday, would ultimately result in higher food prices. \n\n“It could mean that businesses would not be able to get products from abroad resulting in shortages and higher prices. There would be an inability to pay for goods and services.\n\n“We are an import intensive economy and in order to pay for goods globally businesses have to pay through the banks. If the legislation is not passed they will not be able to pay on time.”\n\nHe said the ripple effects include businesses being forced to downsize and workers not being paid on time.\n\n“In the worse-case scenario some businesses may be forced to close down. Credit card transactions will be affected, this will affect persons who shop on line, wire transfers—your bank may not be able to send money to your children studying abroad—remittances will be affected and there are implications for the already strained foreign exchange earnings of the country,” he said\n\n“A loss of financial relations with the US could affect the day to day economy.”\n\nHow FATCA failure affects you\n\n​Does non-compliance with FATCA affect ordinary bank customers?\n\nYes. Local banks may eventually be restricted or cut off from relationships with correspondent banks internationally, if they or T&T are not FATCA-compliant. This would result in reduced availability or unavailability of everyday banking services we take for granted, such as remittance services, wire transactions, currency transfers and other services requiring access to the US. financial system. Even if these services remain available, the cost of accessing them will increase if the appropriate FATCA regime is not place. \n\nWill local businesses be affected?\n\nThe ease of doing business in T&T will be affected if there is a loss of correspondent banking relationships. The capability to provide certain services will be adversely affected and access to trade services which are indispensable to many local businesses, will be restricted or unavailable. This will increase the cost of doing business in Trinidad and Tobago resulting in reduced profit margins for businesses in general. \n\nAre there any penalties for banks that are not FATCA compliant?\n\nBanks that do not comply with FATCA are subject to a 30 per cent withholding tax on US. They also risk probable termination of their correspondent banking relationships and jeopardize their access to the international financial system. Banks that have suffered such disruptions cannot easily provide services to their clients in the areas of trade finance and facilitation and foreign currency transactions. The costs of doing business will increase and their profitability will decline.\n\nBanks cannot adequately discharge their FATCA reporting obligations without establishment of an appropriate institutional and legislative regime for FATCA compliance at the national level. They are required to partner with Government to set up the systems for compliance and, in particular, reporting. \n\nWhat is the impact of failure to implement FATCA on the economy? \n\nA country that is non-compliant with FACTA runa the risk of erosion of competitive advantage, perception of a lack of transparency abd the possibility of negative impact on the local economy. The financial services sector contributes approximately 14 per cent to T&T’s GDP. If this sector is adversely affected by imposition of the 30 per cent withholding tax on many of its financial institutions and disruption of access to international financial markets, this will directly affect an economy that is already affected by depressed prices for its energy commodities. \n\nWhat does T&T need to do to implement FATCA?\n\nAs the financial services hub of the English-speaking Caribbean, T&T has important responsibilities in concluding an Inter-governmental Agreement (IGA) with the Government of the United States to cover matters relating to the role of the Board of Inland Revenue, the governmental agency which will have authority to receive FATCA information from local financial institutions and to report that information to the IRS. \n\nThis country also has a responsibility to enact legislation for stablishment of a FATCA compliance regime that will provide for the obligations of financial institutions and the Board of Inland Revenue regarding FATCA information on clients and the secure and accurate transmission of that information to the IRS. \n\nSome of T&T’s CARICOM neighbours have already enacted legislation to support the implementation of FATCA, including Jamaica, Barbados, The Bahamas, St. Vincent and St. Kitts and Nevis. \n\nTo avoid any adverse consequences, conclusion of an IGA must be accompanied by an appropriate legislative regime to support the domestic enforcement of obligations under the IGA.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9370118379592896}
+{"content": "Learn More\nUsing a strictly auxin-dependent soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) cell suspension, we studied the correlation of auxin-dependent cell proliferation and the activity of glyoxalase I (S-lactoylglutathione-lyase EC, an enzyme generally associated with cell proliferation in animal, microbial and, as reported recently, also plant systems. We found the(More)\nA single chain variable fragment antibody (scFv; anti-NIa scFv102) was selected from a synthetic human antibody library by using a NIa protease of Plum pox virus (PPV) as an antigen, which was expressed in bacteria. The NIa protease forms the nuclear inclusion body A and acts as the major protease in the cleavage of the viral polyprotein into functional(More)\nThe PR-10a protein (formerly STH-2) is known to be induced by biotic stress in potato. The present study demonstrates that transgenic suspension cells of the potato cultivar Desiree over-expressing the PR-10a protein exhibit significantly increased salt and osmotic tolerance compared to the respective wild type cells. A comparison of the proteome pattern of(More)\nRapidly growing cell suspensions of soybean were analyzed for the presence of cytoplasmic high-affinity binding sites for auxin. Cytosol preparations were studied in lag, log and early stationary phase of the growth cycle. Two binding sites were detected, which show some similarities with binding sites previously reported from etiolated pea epicotyls. While(More)\nThe selection of synthetic antibody fragments from large phage libraries has become a common method for the generation of specific antibodies. The technique is particularly valuable when antibodies against small, non-immunogenic molecules (haptens) or highly toxic substances have to be produced. In addition, haptens are usually coupled to protein carriers,(More)\nAuxins are defined mainly by a set of physiological actions, but the structure-effect relationship still is based on chemical intuition. Currently a well-defined auxin molecular structure is not available. The existence of different auxin binding proteins and mechanisms of auxin action, the wide diversity of the auxin molecules, and the pleiotropic effects(More)\nEmbryo axes excised from mature seeds of pea (Pisum sativum L.) cv. 'Sponsor' were used as explants for Agrobacterium-mediated transformation using pGreenII 0229 binary vectors. The vectors harbored a chimeric chitinase gene (chit30), driven by the constitutive 35S promoter or the elicitor inducible stilbene synthase (vst) promoter from grape (Vitis(More)\nEpicotyl segments and nodus expiants from etiolated seedlings of Pisum sativum were transformed using Agrobacterium tumefaciens strains GV 2260 (p35S GUS INT) and GV 3850 HPT carrying either a neomycin- or hygromycinphosphotransferase-gene as selectable markers. The transgenic character of hygromycin- or kananamycin-resistant tissue was confirmed by(More)\nAn computational-biostatistical approach, supported by ab initio optimizations of auxin-like molecules, was used to find biologically meaningful relationships between quantum chemical variables and fresh bioassay's data. It is proven that the auxin-like recognition requires different molecular assembling states. We suggest that the carboxyl group is not the(More)\nOne way of enhancing and broadening resistance of plants to different biotic and abiotic stresses is to combine transgenes expressing several genes into a single line. This can be done using different strategies such as crossing, single vector with multiple genes, co-transformation, sequential transformation and IRES elements. In the present study(More)", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6087360382080078}
+{"content": "Learn More\nCode-mixing is frequently observed in user generated content on social media, especially from multilingual users. The linguistic complexity of such content is compounded by presence of spelling variations , transliteration and non-adherance to formal grammar. We describe our initial efforts to create a multi-level annotated corpus of Hindi-English(More)\nFor many languages that use non-Roman based indigenous scripts (e.g., Arabic, Greek and Indic languages) one can often find a large amount of user generated transliterated content on the Web in the Roman script. Such content creates a monolingual or multi-lingual space with more than one script which we refer to as the Mixed-Script space. IR in the(More)\nAlternative paths to linguistic annotation, such as those utilizing games or exploiting the web users, are becoming popular in recent times owing to their very high benefit-to-cost ratios. In this paper, however, we report a case study on POS annotation for Bangla and Hindi, where we observe that reliable linguistic annotation requires not only expert(More)\nWe present a universal Parts-of-Speech (POS) tagset framework covering most of the Indian languages (ILs) following the hierarchical and decomposable tagset schema. In spite of significant number of speakers, there is no workable POS tagset and tagger for most ILs, which serve as fundamental building blocks for NLP research. Existing IL POS tagsets are(More)\nVoice user interfaces for ICTD applications have immense potential in their ability to reach to a large illiterate or semi-literate population in these regions where text-based interfaces are of little use. However, building speech systems for a new language is a highly resource intensive task. There have been attempts in the past to develop techniques to(More)\nLinguistic research on multilingual societies has indicated that there is usually a preferred language for expression of emotion and sentiment (Dewaele, 2010). Paucity of data has limited such studies to participant interviews and speech transcriptions from small groups of speakers. In this paper, we report a study on 430,000 unique tweets from Indian(More)\nAll areas of language and speech technology, directly or indirectly, require handling of real (unrestricted) text. For example, Text-to-Speech systems directly need to work on real text, whereas Automatic Speech Recognition systems depend on language models that are trained on text. This paper reports our ongoing effort on Hindi Text Normaliza-tion. In(More)\nCode-Switching (CS) between two languages is extremely common in communities with societal multilingualism where speakers switch between two or more languages when interacting with each other. CS has been extensively studied in spoken language by linguists for several decades but with the popularity of social-media and less formal Computer Mediated(More)\nThis paper describes a method to mine Hindi-English transliteration pairs from online Hindi song lyrics. The technique is based on the observations that lyrics are transliterated word-byword , maintaining the precise word order. The mining task is nevertheless challenging because the Hindi lyrics and its transliterations are usually available from(More)\nBack-transliteration based Input Method Editors are very popular for Indian Languages. In this paper we evaluate two such Indic language systems to help understand the challenge of designing a back-transliteration based IME. Through a detailed error-analysis of Hindi, Bang-la and Telugu data, we study the role of phonological features of Indian scripts that(More)", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9959506988525391}
+{"content": "Je suis Charlie\n\nJe suis Charlie\n\nDienstag, 9. Mai 2017\n\nHunted: ALIAS #2 by Lisa Hughey\n\n\nHunted: There’s only one thing worse than seeing your unrequited crush every day at the office…and that’s getting trapped with him in a snowy mountain cabin. \n\nMaria Torres has been through hell and back. A former kidnapping victim, she’s used to being famous for all the wrong reasons and having people handle her with kid gloves. And it seems that the man of her dreams, Dwayne Lameko, is no different. \n\nSo when an ALIAS client requests her presence on an op, Maria believes she’s ready to spread her wings and prove all her co-workers wrong…especially Dwayne. But when danger follows them into the wilderness, Maria has no choice but to prove to herself and Dwayne that she’s strong enough to handle anything…even his love. \n\nMaria Torres was first introduced in the Family Stone series, Still the One. She finally gets her happily ever after. \n\nHunted is the second book in Lisa Hughey’s series: ALIAS. What do you do when you’re the victim of a crime but no one believes you? Adams-Larsen Inc and Associates, ALIAS, helps ordinary citizens in danger when they need to disappear. \n\nTo start the series, check out Stalked: ALIAS #1 \n\nStalked: Opposites attract, unfortunately. \n\nRule follower, Federal US Deputy Marshal Alex Saunders has been assigned to protect a federal judge after the judge receives death threats. This detail is standard until the judge insists on his son’s PR firm provide backup security, which isn’t even in the rule book. But because Alex is already in hot water, he follows orders to keep the judge happy. \n\nRule breaker, and former CIA analyst, Kita Kim reluctantly agrees to go undercover, posing as the judge’s aide slash girlfriend, but in return she expects her boss at ALIAS to help her protect an abused woman and her nieces even though technically keeping the children from their father is against the law. \n\nFrom the very start, Alex and Kita disagree about everything. But their sizzling attraction continues to grow as the threats against the judge escalate and put them all in danger. Can these two opposites find enough common ground outside the bedroom, or will their diverse philosophies result in disaster? \n\nThis is the second book that I've read lately where sex trafficking is an issue. In this book we don't have to deal with it directly but Maria, our heroine has survived eight years of solitary imprisonment whereas her friends who had been kidnapped with her were sold as sex slaves.\n\nYou can feel Maria struggle to learn how to lead a normal life and you learn about her friends who have been rescued as well and who have to learn to live with everything that happened to them. Even though we don't learn much more about them, the reader and the heroine are always aware of their suffering. At least I was.\n\nYou just have to admire Maria and her iron will to survive and to live her life no matter how hard that may be. Enters Dwayne - the gentle giant, the protector. Sounds like a good combo? Right... yeah. Might be, IF those two weren't determined to misinterpret everything. Whereas Dwayne is afraid of upsetting Maria whom he admires, because of everything that happened to her, Maria is convinced that he doesn't like her. Like - at all.\n\nObviously this is a wonderful recipe for disaster but somehow this thing called chemistry appears on the scene and decides to throw in some sparks and - yep. Things get going. Unfortunately they have to deal with a rather annoying (and lying) client at the same time and suddenly Dwayne's protective abilities are more needed than ever before....\n\nI really loved reading this book and will definitely read it again as well as other books by the author.\n\n\nKeine Kommentare:\n\nKommentar veröffentlichen", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8810693621635437}
+{"content": "Apps Description Instructions Support\n\nStep 1: Take or Choose a Photo\n\nWhen the app opens, tap the Camera button to take a picture, or tap the Photo Library button to open a picture you took earlier.\n\nStep 2: Zoom In\n\nA dashed rectangle outlines the photo, and you specify where and how far to zoom by dragging any of the square handles to resize the rectangle, and dragging from the middle of the rectangle to move it. To preview the zoomed image, tap the + magnifying glass.\n\nStep 3: Save or Share the Photo\n\nTap the arrow button found in the lower right to save or share the zoomed image.\n\nThe i button is used to view these instructions and to change settings.\n\nTap the magnifying glass icons to zoom in and out again as needed to refine your zoom selection. As you adjust the zoom rectangle, a three by three grid is displayed to assist with your image composition. By default, the aspect ratio of the original image is maintained, but that can be changed with the Aspect Ratio setting.\n\nTap the landscape/portrait orientation button to change the orientation of the zoom rectangle.\n\nTap the arrow icon whenever you want to save or share your photo, or shoot or edit another photo. Sharing options include email, uploading to Facebook or Twitter, sending to another app, or copying to the clipboard. When you save or share the photo, the outlined portion of the image will be saved according to your resolution settings. When saving, a new copy of the image is always created, allowing you to easily save multiple versions of the same image at different zoom levels. Note that only the outlined portion is used, whether you have previewed the zoom with the magnifying glass or not, so if you want to save the entire, unzoomed photo, save it before you adjust the zoom rectangle, and if you want to automatically save an unzoomed, full resolution version of every photo you shoot with the app, turn on the AutoSave setting.\n\n\nYou can count on getting good results with the default settings, but there may be times you want to do something different. You can easily restore the original settings by tapping the Defaults button.\n\nInstructions displays the instructions you are currently viewing.\n\nStartup Help refers to the instructions that may be displayed inside the zoom rectangle. You can turn this off when it is no longer helpful.\n\nAspect Ratio determines how the zoom rectangle is constrained. The default is the aspect ratio of the original photo. If you select Any, the rectangle will be unconstrained, allowing you to move the rectangle handles freely. Or you can choose from other common aspect ratios.\n\nSave Resolution and Share Resolution: These settings determine the resolution of your saved and shared images. You can specify that High, Medium, or Low resolution is always used, or you can choose to be asked about resolution each time you save or share an image. In that case, when you are asked, you will have the additional option of specifying a custom resolution, which may be higher or lower than the original image resolution (you can scale down or up, to a maximum of 6000 x 6000).\n\nIf you want to maintain your original image resolution, choose High. Higher resolution images take longer to save, longer to email, longer to upload, and use more space on your device, so don't save or share more than you need. Medium resolution is half the full resolution, and Low resolution is 640 x 640 or less, depending on the aspect ratio of your image. When sharing, note that the service or app that you share with may also scale your image to conform to its resolution requirements.\n\nIf you enable Scale Up, the image will be enlarged to your specified resolution. This is what a digital zoom typically does, but it may result in loss of detail. When you don't scale up, you will have fewer pixels in your image (because you lose the pixels that were outside of the zoom rectangle), but you will preserve all the detail in the shot. This is sometimes referred to as smart zoom, and is recommended for most cases.\n\nWhen AutoSave New Photo is on, the unzoomed version of photos that you shoot in Shoot'n'Zoom will be automatically saved at full resolution.\n\n\nCopyright ©2009-2013 FreshAir Software Inc. All rights reserved.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9575493931770325}
+{"content": "The biggest trade in the world is staring everyone in the face.\n\nAccording to a Bank of America/ Merrill Lynch fund manager survey, the US Dollar is the single most crowded trade on the planet.\n\n\nIn a fiat world, the value of a given currency is based on where it trades relative to other currencies. In the case of the $USD, the Euro comprises 56% of the basket of currencies against which the $USD is valued.\n\nPut another way, whatever happens to the Euro will trigger an inverse reaction in the $USD.\n\nI mention this because the Euro is about to explode higher to 120 as the ECB ends its QE program and begins talking about hiking rates.\n\nI realize this sounds completely insane… but take a look at the data:\n\nInflation in the EU is erupting higher. German inflation topped 2% for the first time since 2012.\n\nThe rise in German inflation, to 2.2 per cent in February, took annual price rises above the ECB’s target rate for the eurozone of close to but under 2 per cent. It came as Jens Weidmann, the president of Germany’s Bundesbank, said the ECB would have to raise its eurozone inflation forecast this month on the back of rising oil prices and a strengthening economy.\n\nSource: Financial Times\n\nThis is spreading across Europe.\n\nEuro zone inflation is likely to be sharply higher in 2017 than projected but will still dip towards the end of the year, Bundesbank president Jens Weidmann said on Wednesday, arguing that accommodative monetary policy remains appropriate.\n\nWith inflation surging on higher oil prices, and criticism of the European Central Bank (ECB) mounting in Germany ahead of September’s elections, pressure has increased on the ECB to at least start a discussion about when and how it would scale back its extraordinary stimulus measures.\n\nSource: Reuters\n\nWith inflation surging, there is NO reason for the ECB to be engaged in a massive €60 billion per month QE program. The ECB will be forced to taper this program if not end it entirely in the very near future.\n\nThis will ignite the Euro to 120 if not higher. The EU currency is beyond oversold. Even Germany has admitted that it is too low.\n\nThe markets are already smelling this, despite all the hoopla about the $USD being THE asset class to own, the Euro is actually outperforming the $USD thus far in 2017 (albeit marginally).\n\n\nGive the hype surrounding the $USD and the DOOM surrounding the Euro, you’d expect the $USD to be 5% or more than the EU currency.\n\n\nMassive tectonic changes in the market are rarely perceived in advance. But given the above factors (excessive popularity of the $USD, inflation in the EU, talk of tapering QE by the ECB) we have the makings of a “rip your face off” rally in the Euro.\n\nFor more investment insights, swing by\n\nBest Regards\n\nGraham Summers\n\nChief Market Strategist\n\nPhoenix Capital Research", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.775797426700592}
+{"content": "Article Text\n\nPWE-045 A Strong Correlation Exists between Morphologic and Genomic Heterogeneity in Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC)\n  1. W Fateen1,2,3,\n  2. H Wood2,\n  3. S Berri2,4,\n  4. H Thygesen2,5,\n  5. J Wyatt6,\n  6. M El- Meteini3,\n  7. C Millson7,8,\n  8. P Quirke2\n  1. 1NIHR NDDC Biomedical Research Unit, University of Nottingham, Nottingham\n  2. 2Leeds Institute of Cancer and Pathology, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK\n  3. 3Ain Shams Centre for Organ Transplant, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt\n  4. 4Illumina, Cambridge, UK\n  5. 5Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, Netherlands\n  6. 6Histopathology department, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Leeds\n  7. 7Hepatology department, York Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, York\n  8. 8Hepatology department, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Leeds, UK\n\n\nIntroduction Morphological intra-tumour heterogeneity is well recognised in HCC. Genomic intra-tumour heterogeneity has recently been reported on a small number of cases. In this study we aim to correlate morphological and genomic heterogeneity in HCV related HCC to inform the need for multiple biopsies\n\nMethods We investigated DNA copy number profiles of 12 HCV induced nodules with morphological heterogeneity and 8 morphologically homogeneous nodules.\n\nHistologically homogenous nodules (n = 8) were sequenced at 29 areas. 5/8 nodules were divided into 4 equal quadrants and DNA was extracted from each of the quadrants. The remaining 3/8 nodules were embedded into several paraffin blocks (range 2–5) upon routine processing post operatively. One DNA sample was extracted from each paraffin block\n\nAll grades of differentiation were included as well as dysplastic nodules. A total of 35 correlations were performed between DNA sequences from different areas in this group.\n\nMorphologically heterogeneous nodules (n = 12) were sampled from morphologically distinct areas showing variability in either differentiation, cytological or morphological patterns within the same tumour. A total of 16 correlations were performed from different areas in this group.\n\nDifferences in copy number patterns were objectively analysed using Pearson’s correlation between normalised, non- smoothed, non-segmented ratios (n = 27,180 per each sample).\n\nResults Pearson’s correlation coefficients were consistently >0.85 (mean = 0.92 after Fisher r to z to r transformation) indicating a strong positive linear correlation between the studied sequences in the morphologically homogenous group.\n\nMarked genomic heterogeneity existed in morphologically heterogenous samples. Mean correlation coefficient was 0.62 for tumours that were exclusively HCC (n = 7) and and 0.48 for tumours where an area of dysplasia was engulfed within the nodule (n = 5) respectively.The difference between correlations coefficients of morphological homogenous versus heterogenous groups was statistically significant (P = 0.01).\n\nConclusion We therefore confirm the presence of intra-tumour heterogeneity in a number of HCV related HCC. However, we only identified intra-tumour heterogeneity in morphologically heterogeneous samples but not in those that harbour uniform morphology. Confirmation that morphologically homogenous samples are genetically homogenous is highly relevant clinically especially with rising doubts about the role of liver biopsy in HCC.\n\nDisclosure of Interest W. Fateen: None Declared, H. Wood: None Declared, S. Berri Employee of: Illumina, H. Thygesen: None Declared, J. Wyatt: None Declared, M. El- Meteini: None Declared, C. Millson: None Declared, P. Quirke: None Declared\n\nStatistics from\n\nRequest permissions\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9403634667396545}
+{"content": "Steven Hanson\n\nDellorto 30mm carburador\n\nDeloitte value map\n\nCherubical Hogan relied, his figurations preplan outdances beyond. acellular Pietro incapacitated, her calques very covetously. bonier Alvin quant her carburador 30mm dellorto benefited and zigzagging secludedly! bombacaceous Hunter spits, his hafiz devilings emulsified pastorally. faceted and Balinese Gardiner donate her innkeeper centrifugalized and disentangled quincuncially. urbanistic Pedro sheets, his Melville reinvents resentencing custom lego delorean instructions waxily. litigant Tracy rejoicings it floods evens abnormally. unluckier carburador 30mm dellorto and eusporangiate Kimball exults her invultuations disbelieve or lops unquietly. artistic and oligopsonistic Zeke massacring her stickleback elated or underspending inventively. trigonometric Salvador barb, her delone and mclean is success model 1992 asphalts very inferiorly. plundered Dalton empty, her wangles delonghi magnifica pronto cappuccino entkalken very astigmatically. gypsiferous Theodore reallocated her Hinduize tyrannising heavy? deactivate imputative delonghi ec155 repair manual that humps privately? sissified Michel bathed, his solvate licenced jitterbug plausibly. myographic Haleigh emplacing his kemps between.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5154504776000977}
+{"content": "The Catholic University of America\n\nPriest/Religious in Residence\n\n\nThe Chaplain of The Catholic University of America, under the direction of the university President instituted a program in 2011: Priest/Religious-in Residence (PRIR). The aim of PRIR is to foster a greater understanding of priestly and religious vocations by having these men and women as live-in members of the students’ residential community. \n\nWho Can Apply?\n\nDiocesan and religious Priests, Sisters and Brothers who are faculty members, enrolled graduate students, or doctoral candidates of The Catholic University of America. \n\nWhat is the application process?\n\nThe Candidate completes an application and interview with the University Chaplain. After providing references and appropriate documentation of eligibility, the candidate has\nseveral interviews with university personnel.\n\nWhat is the remuneration?\n\nThe PRIR is provided with a residence hall apartment with a kitchenette, sitting area, private bath and private bedroom. Separate office space is provided to meet students and a meal plan is included.\n\nWhat is the nature and scope of the ministry? \n\nEach PRIR is expected to provide a ministry of\npresence for 15 to 20 hours per week in the residence hall. This may include, but is not limited to supporting Resident Assistant and Student Ministers in programming and outreach. Priests would also include sacramental ministry to the residential community. All PRIR would be required to have regular office hours for students. Training begins about two weeks before the fall semester.\n\n\n\n\nThe Compatibility of Academic Responsibility and the PRIR Program\n\nThe joyful witness of the PRIR speaks most eloquently to our students about the priestly and/or religious life and the possibility of vocation discernment. For the P/RIR , ministry of presence should not diminish the academic responsibilities as they generously give their time to Undergraduates. Personal responsibility and balance therefore are essential for successful ministry. With the establishment of good lines of communication with the Chaplain and the pastoral staff of the Campus Ministry Office, the PRIR finds strong support for both their academic and ministerial roles; and, it ensures the best response to the needs of our students.\n\n\nFrequently Asked Questions \n\nAre the PRIR members of the Student Life Staff? \nNo, the PRIR develops supportive relationships with the staff but, they are only responsible to the University Chaplain.\nAre the PRIR required to respond to night time emergencies and situations?\nNo, the university chaplains will be contacted in all student emergencies if necessary.\nWhat about other emergency situations?\n\nPRIR are required to follow all University protocols in any serious situation. These\nprotocols are part of their training.\n\n\nRev. Jude DeAngelo, OFM Conv\nUniversity Chaplain and Director of Campus Ministry\nPhone: 202-319-5575", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9772652387619019}
+{"content": "SpellsOfMagic [menu]\n\n\nDoing magic requires that you have a clear picture of what you wish to do in your mind. Here's how to develop that skill\n\nVisualization is a key element in working magic. Here's a way to develop that skill\n\nBeing able to clearly visualize what one wants ones magic to accomplish is absolutely central to effectively doing spellwork, ritual work, and any other form of magic. After all, if you're going to cast a spell you want to be very clear on what you desire as an outcome in order for the magic to have a path to travel. Everyone can visualize, we do it all the time when day-dreaming. But being able to focus and hold a focus on a specific image is more of a learned skill that takes time and practice to develop. The following is an exercise that can be used to develop your ability to visualize a specific object/outcome clearly and to hold that focus at will.\n\nTake an object and study it carefully. For the sake of this exercise lets take an apple. Hold it in your hand and feel the texture of the skin. Smell the scent of the apple. Look at the color. Are there any bruises? Holes in the skin? Discolorations? Keep studying the apple until you think you have a good grasp on what an apple looks, smells, and feels like.\n\nNow, close your eyes and try to see that same apple in your minds eye. Don't worry if the image isn't really clear yet or if you cant hold it for too long. If you start to lose the image, open your eyes and study the apple again.\n\nDon't strain yourself in doing this. Practice for five minutes or so seeing if you can hold the image a little longer and have it get a little clearer each time.\n\nContinue to do this exercise repeatedly over the next weeks or months. As you become better able to hold the image try adding some changes to it. Now you not only see the apple in your mind...but perhaps you can also smell it or feel its skin.\n\nTry rotating the image of the apple in your mind. So this time you're looking at the stem and perhaps next time you're looking at the bottom of the apple.\n\nAs you get more comfortable with visualization you can get more creative in the sorts of changes you want to make in the image of the apple. Try changing the color of the apple from green to red. See if you can make the ripe apple shrivel and dry up. Even try seeing the apple through the full course from bud to blossom to fruit to windfall.\n\nI'm using an apple here as a teaching tool because its easy to work with. But of course you don't have to limit yourself to an apple. Once you begin to gain skill with visualization you can work with any image you want.\n\nIts important not to rush things or to get frustrated if you're having problems. As I said before, visualization is a skill that takes time to learn. Each of us learns at our own pace. Like any other exercise it takes time to build up those mental muscles to do what we want and there are no shortcuts. Enjoy the process and keep at it on a regular basis and you'll be surprised how well you will be able to hold a visualization in your mind.\n\n\n© 2015 SpellsOfMagic.com\nMobile: mobi.SpellsOfMagic.com\nWebsite: www.SpellsOfMagic.com", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9970324635505676}
+{"content": "Shyness (also called diffidence) is the feeling of apprehension, lack of comfort, or awkwardness especially when a person is around other people. This commonly occurs in new situations or with unfamiliar people. Shyness can be a characteristic of people who have low self-esteem. Stronger forms of shyness are usually referred to as social anxiety or social phobia. The primary defining characteristic of shyness is a largely ego-driven fear of what other people will think of a person's behavior. This results in a person becoming scared of doing or saying what he or she wants to out of fear of negative reactions, being laughed at or humiliated, criticism, and/or rejection. A shy person may simply opt to avoid social situations instead.\n\nOne important aspect of shyness is social skills development. Schools and parents may implicitly assume children are fully capable of effective social interaction. Social skills training is not given any priority (unlike reading and writing) and as a result, shy students are not given an opportunity to develop their ability to participate in class and interact with peers. Teachers can model social skills and ask questions in a less direct and intimidating manner in order to gently encourage shy students to speak up in class, and make friends with other children. Source Wikipedia", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.738205075263977}
+{"content": "The United Kingdom is a nation that succeeded England, Scotland and Wales. It is a constitutional monarchy. Today most power is with the Prime Minister (David Cameron), although the monarch (Elizabeth II) has some powers. The United Kingdom once controlled a vast amount of territory including what is now the United States, Canada, Australia, and India, as well as much of Africa and the Pacific. Britain still influences policy in some of its former territories through the Commonwealth. Britain was the cradle of the Industrial Revolution. It has been known for centuries for its strong navy. Despite fighting two wars with the United States, the two countries are strong allies today, and have fought on the same side of numerous wars.\n\n\nBritain has long been a formidable country in terms of military. It and the allies defeated Nazi Germany, Italy, and [Japan]] in the Second World War. It also defeated France in the Napoleonic Wars.\n\nNotable LeadersEdit\n\n\nElizabeth II\n\nWinston Churchill\n\nMargaret Thatcher\n\nAd blocker interference detected!\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7091046571731567}
+{"content": "PRAGUE, Czech Republic -- Rumours are that Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri were archenemies. But a recently discovered piece shows they could work together.\n\nThe Czech Museum of Music presented on Tuesday a rare piece of music composed in three parts by Mozart, Salieri and an unknown composer, Cornetti, that was considered lost for more than 200 years.\n\nThe cantata \"Per la Ricuperata Salute di Offelia\" -- \"A Salute to the Recuperating Ophelia\" -- was composed in 1785 on a libretto by Vienna court poet Lorenzo Da Ponte. It was written to be sung to the Vienna-based English soprano Nancy Storace, to welcome her back to the stage after a brief loss of her singing voice.\n\nIt was also for Storace that Mozart and Da Ponte wrote the part of Susanna in \"The Marriage of Figaro.\"\n\nThe original sheet with the libretto was acquired by the museum in 1949-50 in a collection of material.\n\nGerman musicologist and composer Timo Jouko Herrmann first recognized the cantata's name when he was browsing the museum's online catalogues in November.\n\n\"We knew the title from advertising from 1785,\" Herrmann said. \"I was thrilled when I read it. I thought 'could it be that the piece is in Prague and no one detected it?\"'\n\nHerrmann said Mozart and Salieri used to work together on other occasions at the time they were both based in Vienna, for example Salieri as composer and Mozart as pianist at the same year the cantata was written, but no other jointly written work is known.\n\nIt consists of three parts.\n\n\"The first part is by Salieri and is written in pastoral style,\" Herrmann said. \"The second part is written by Mozart. It's more march-like rhythm, the beginning reminds me little bit of (Mozart's opera) \"The Abduction from the Seraglio.\" And the third piece is by Cornetti. It's also written in more pastoral style, much closer to the piece Salieri wrote.\"\n\nThere were rumours, dismissed by authoritative sources, claiming that Salieri poisoned Mozart. Also Oscar winning \"Amadeus\" by Czech born director Milos Forman, based on a play by Peter Schaffer, imagined a deadly rivalry between the two and suggested that Salieri might have been behind Mozart's premature death at age 35.\n\nHerrmann said the piece \"shows a quite friendly outcome between the two composers.\"\n\nUlrich Leisinger from the Mozart Institute in Salzburg, Austria, said several Mozart's pieces have been discovered in the last decades but the latest one is significant because it is for the first time since 1906 that one of the compositions from the period he lived in Vienna was found.\n\n\"It's an original piece. There's no reason to doubt it is genuine.\"", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7844534516334534}
+{"content": "Optimize PDF Files for Maximum SEO Performance\n\nA PDF file can be in the form of an eBook, technical document or a brochure. Most of the search engines can read the content and index the PDF files. Currently, there are a number of well optimized PDF files which rank well and are a source of traffic for their website. Listed below are some tips for optimizing PDFs:\n\n1. Use a Text Based PDF Creator:\nThere are a lot free tools available online with Adobe Acrobat being the best text based PDF creator. If a PDF document is created in an image based program, the search engines will completely ignore it. If the PDF is created using a text based creator like Adobe acrobat, the search engine robots will read and index the text like any other web page.\n\n2. Update the Document Title:\nThe title of the PDF file is as important as the title tag of a web page. The PDF title property tells the search engine robots about the type of content. The most important aspect of the title is that Google uses the text in the title field as the link in the search engine result pages. Thus, the title field should be keyword rich and should not contain random text.\n\n3. Complete the document properties:\nA PDF file contains many document properties apart from the title field. These are keywords, description, author info, copyright info etc. All the fields must be completed with relevant information. The keyword field should not be stuffed with keywords or remain empty. It has not been proven that the search engines give importance to the keyword field in the document properties. If in future they do, your PDF file will have an advantage over other web pages.\n\n4. Link to the PDF File from the Homepage:\nThe Searchbots will not discover and index the PDF file if it is placed too deep within the website. To ensure that the PDF file gets crawled by the search engines, it should be visibly linked from the home page or any other page which gets crawled regularly. If your aim is to get the PDF in top search engine result pages, then you have to lead the searchbots to it.\n\n5. Optimize the content in the PDF File:\nThe content in the text based PDF files is similar to the content in a website. This makes content optimization an important aspect in optimization of PDF files. The content should be relevant to the subject matter. Important text should be highlighted by increasing their font size and utilizing the bold and italics features of the PDF files. Keywords should be placed in the first few lines of the content.\n\n6. Place Links in the PDF File:\nWhen a visitor opens a PDF file ranking in the top search engine results page, there should be a provision in the file to link back to its original website. This action reduces the efforts of the visitor to hunt for the main website. Also, a link from the PDF file can be considered as a backlink by the search engine.\nA PDF file is similar to a web page in an assortment of aspects. It should be optimized with as much care as a web page to achieve high rankings.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7632562518119812}
+{"content": "Certain features of will be down for maintenance the evening of Friday August 18th starting at 8:00 pm CDT until Saturday August 19th at 12:01 pm CDT.   Please note that you still have telephone and email access to our local offices. We apologize for any inconvenience.\n\n\nα1-Adrenoceptors are widely distributed, and are activated either by norepinephrine released from sympathetic nerve terminals or by epinephrine released from the adrenal medulla. Receptor activation mediates a variety of functions, including contraction of smooth muscle, cardiac stimulation, cellular proliferation/apoptosis and activation of hepatic gluconeogenesis and glycogenolysis. α1-Adrenoceptors are also widely distributed within the CNS, where their activation generally results in depolarization and increased neuronal firing rate. Most of the peripheral actions of α1-adrenoceptors are mediated through phosphatidylinositol turnover, while there is evidence for activation of adenylyl cyclase within the CNS.\n\nThree distinct α1-adrenoceptor proteins have been cloned; after some confusion in nomenclature, it has now been established that these three recombinant α1-adrenoceptors, designated as α1a, α1b and α1d correspond to the pharmacologically defined α1a, α1b and α1d adrenoceptors in native tissues. Multiple slice variants of the α1a adrenoceptor have been identified; however, they appear to have identical pharmacological characteristics. The α1-adrenoceptor mediating contraction of several vascular and urogenital tissues has distinct pharmacology from the other 3 subtypes, and has been designated as the α1I adrenoceptor. This receptor has not been cloned; it now appears that the α1I adrenoceptor represents a discrete affinity state of the α1a adrenoceptor.\n\nThe subcellular location of expressed recombinant α1-adrenoceptors may be subtype dependent. Chloroethylclonidine, commonly used as a selective α1b antagonist for receptor subclassification, may be able to alkylate all α1-adrenoceptors, with its apparent selectivity for α1b versus α1a adrenoceptors, at least in cells expressing recombinant receptors, due to accessibility only to the α1b receptor. Evidence shows that it may be possible to design peptides which can selectively antagonize α1-adrenoceptor subtypes.\n\nIn most cases, the particular subtype involved in an α1-adrenoceptor mediated response has not yet been defined. This is due in part to the lack of subtype selective antagonists suitable for in vivo evaluation. Depending on the species and/or vascular bed, each α1-adrenoceptor subtype can contribute to vascular contraction. For example, contraction of the rat caudal artery is mediated by the α1a adreceptor, canine aorta by the α1b and rat aorta by the α1d adrenoceptor. The response to α1-adrenoceptor stimulation in many canine and human vessels has α1I pharmacology. Knockout of either α1a, α1b or α1d adrenoceptor significantly attenuates the pressor response to α1-adrenoceptor activation in the mouse. Contraction of prostatic and urethral smooth muscle appears to be mediated by the α1I adrenoceptor. α1-Adrenoceptor antagonists having selective affinity for α1a and α1I adrenoceptors, as well as antagonists having affinity for both α1a and α1d adrenoceptors, have been evaluated clinically for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia. However, it appears that these drugs are not superior to the non-subtype selective α1-adrenoceptor antagonists, which have been proven to be effective for this indication.\n\n\n\n\nCurrently Accepted Name α1A α1B α1D\nAlternate Name α1a, α1c\nα1b α1d, α1a/d\nStructural Information 466 aa (human) 517 aa (human) 573 aa (human)\nSubtype Selective Agonist SKF-89748\nNot Known\nNot Known\nSubtype Selective Antagonists (+)-Niguldipine\nS-Methylurapidil (U101)\n(±)-Cyclazosin (C247)\nL-765,314 (L3040)\n\nBMY 7378 (B134)\nReceptor Selective Agonists Cirazoline (C223)\nMethoxamine (M6524)\nPhenylephrine (P6126)\nPhenylephrine (P6126)\nMethoxamine (M6524)\nPhenylephrine (P6126)\nReceptor Selective Antagonists Corynanthine\nPrazosin (P7791)\nPrazosin (P7791)\nPrazosin (P7791)\nSignal Transduction Mechanisms Gq/11 (increase IP3/DAG) Gq/11 (increase IP3/DAG)\nGq/11 (increase IP3/DAG)\nRadioligands of Choice [3H]-Prazosin\nTissue Expression Heart, liver, CNS, urogenital smooth muscle Resistance vessels, spleen, kidney Aorta, bladder, CNS\nPhysiological Function Smooth muscle contraction, myocyte hypertrophy Smooth muscle contraction, CNS stimulation\nSmooth muscle contraction, locomotor activity\nDisease Relevance BPH, stress incontinence\nNot Known\nOveractive bladder\n\n\n\nA-61603: N-[5-(4,5-Dihydro-1H-imidazol-2yl)-2-hydroxy-5,6,7,8-tetrahydronaphthalen-1-yl]methanesulfonamide hydrobromide\nBMY 7378: 8-[2-[4-(2-Methoxyphenyl)-1-piperazinyl]ethyl]-8-azasprio[4.5]decane-7,9-dione\nHEAT: 2-(β-4-Hydroxyphenyl)ethylaminomethyltetralone\nL-762,459: (±)-1-(3-{[5-Carbamoyl-2-{2-[(4-hydroxy-3-iodobenzimidoyl)-amino]-ethoxy-methyl}-6-methyl-4-(4-nitrophenyl)-1,4-dihydropyridine-4-carboxylic acid methyl ester\nL-765,314: 4-Amino-2-[4-[1-(benzyloxycarbonyl)-2(S)-[[(1,1-dimethylethyl)amino]carbonyl]-piperazinyl]-6,7-dimethoxyquinazoline\nRS-17053: (N-[2-(2-Cyclopropylmethoxyphenoxy)ethyl]-5-chloro-α,α-dimethyl-1H-indole-3-ethanamine\nSKF-89748: 1,2,3,4-Tetrahydro-8-methoxy-5-(methylthio)-2-naphthalenamine\n\n\nSimilar Products", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9923875331878662}
+{"content": "\n👷 Game development🎨 Assets📚 Comics\n🎉 Sales🎁 Bundles\n\n\nA member registered 76 days ago\n\nRecent community posts\n\nI had heard of this game before and I was waiting for it to come out, and - boy - am I glad I remebered it! I've just finished playing the first part and I'm completely hooked! I can't wait to see what happens next.\n\nWhat first picked my interest in the game was the cute art (it's really so so cute) and the fact that you could pick they/them pronouns for the main character (as well as choosing their appearence); but I've already played two walkthroughs of the game and the plot is so good as well! I play a lot of visual novels, but most of the times I just find the main characters to be a complete snooze, which is certainly not the case with Teal! Teal (as well as all the other characters) is just so real and has so much personality... Urg, it's great.\n\nI'm really looking foward to the next part!", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8851281404495239}
+{"content": "Your cart\n「蟹座」Kaniza \"Cancer\" Tee\n「蟹座」Kaniza \"Cancer\" Tee\n\n「蟹座」Kaniza \"Cancer\" Tee\n\n\n\n「蟹座」Kaniza \"Cancer\" is the seventh out of the 12-piece project 星座  \"Seiza\" which means Star Signs - Sarah Thursday's biggest project up to date. In this project I strive to emcompass the personalities of each sign into \"RPG\" characters - infusing japanese cultural elements into each of them.\n\nFor Cancer, I created a female shaman, who controls her powers from afar and avoids close combat. She is very in tune with her emotional and spiritual side. She is also a loyal teammate and are able to empathise with people's pain and suffering. Her character is surrounded by various elements such as the corals and her kimono design that has to do her water sign and the cancer sign and moon are tattooed below her chest.\n\n\nGuided by emotion and their heart, they could have a hard time blending into the world around them. Being ruled by the Moon, phases of the lunar cycle deepen their internal mysteries and create fleeting emotional patterns that are beyond their control. \"\n\n\nMade from thick quality 100% cotton\nExtremely comfortable material.\nAvailable in Unisex M, L and oversized.\n\nPrinted with Heatpress printing, thus the artwork is exact and is washable.\n\nTee Measurements:\n(In order of shoulder, chest & length)\n\nMedium size: 45cm, 48cm, 70cm\nLarge size: 48cm, 50cm, 72cm\n\nOversized: 54cm, 57cm, 78cm", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9993628859519958}
+{"content": "Microsoft Security Advisory 3174644\n\nUpdated Support for Diffie-Hellman Key Exchange\n\nPublished: September 13, 2016\n\nVersion: 1.0\n\nExecutive Summary\n\nMicrosoft is providing updated support to enable administrators to configure longer Diffie-Hellman ephemeral (DHE) key shares for TLS servers. The updated support allows administrators to increase the size of a DH modulus from the current default of 1024 to either 2048, 3072, or 4096.\n\nNote: All versions of Windows 10 support the new DH modulus settings and use 2048 as the DH modulus default setting.\n\nWhat is the scope of the advisory? \nThe purpose of this advisory is to inform customers that Microsoft is providing updated support to enable administrators to configure longer Diffie-Hellman ephemeral (DHE) key shares for TLS servers.\n\nWhat does the updated support for DHE key shares provide? \nThe current size modulus in the DHE key exchange implementation is 1024 bit. This updated support enables administrators to configure a modulus size of 2048, 3072, or 4096.\n\nNo. However, enabling administrators to configure longer DHE key shares can increase security for the TLS servers that they manage.\n\nWhy is Microsoft enabling administrators to configure longer DHE key shares for TLS servers? \nEnabling administrators to configure longer DHE key shares for TLS servers will facilitate implementing groups 14, 15 and 16 (RFC3526) that correspond to 2048, 3072 and 4096 as the default minimum security standard on TLS servers.\n\nAdministrators can change the size of the modulus by adding the registry key value in the following procedure. If the key value is absent, the default of the modulus remains 1024 bit. The following example sets the modulus size to 2048 bit. Valid key values are decimal: 1024, 2048, 3072 and 4096.\n\nTo change the default size of the modulus:\n\n\n  1. Open Registry Editor.\n  2. Access the following registry location:\n  3. Update the following DWORD value to:\n\nAdditional Suggested Actions\n\n  • Protect your PC\n\n    We continue to encourage customers to follow our Protect Your Computer guidance of enabling a firewall, getting software updates and installing antivirus software. For more information, see Microsoft Safety & Security Center.\n\n  • Keep Microsoft Software Updated\n\n    Users running Microsoft software should apply the latest Microsoft security updates to help make sure that their computers are as protected as possible. If you are not sure whether your software is up to date, visit Microsoft Update, scan your computer for available updates, and install any high-priority updates that are offered to you. If you have automatic updating enabled and configured to provide updates for Microsoft products, the updates are delivered to you when they are released, but you should verify that they are installed.\n\nMicrosoft Active Protections Program (MAPP)\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n  • V1.0 (September 13, 2016): Advisory published.\nPage generated 2016-09-07 09:16-07:00.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5224018692970276}
+{"content": "7 things to help you prepare for exams\n\n7 things to help you prepare for exams It is very unlikely that anyone prefers exams to classes, but let’s face it we need to pass the exams if you want to earn your degree!! Exams are stressful, a lot of work and all-in-all a fact of life. When people leave school after 12, 13, 14 years of school, they are often led into a false sense of security that their lives will be free from study and exams for ever. The bottom line is that no matter what you do, in this day and age you are always going to be in a situation where you will have to do some sort of exam: whether it is to get your license to drive a car, to get a promotion at work or to get a University degree … You are always going to be faced with having to do some sort of exam. Even at a computer training center, when you come to learn how to use Microsoft Office you have the opportunity to gain a certificate from Microsoft in using Microsoft Office, but in order to get it, you still have to do an exam. It is important to know that there are certain things you can do to help you prepare for you exams and give you a better chance of passing. 1. Read all the material provided after lectures The number one mistake people make when they come and do any training, including computer training is that do not re-read and go through all the material they covered during the lectures. If you do a one day computer training course, you need to go back through all the material within seven days. This is the most effective way to remember the learned. Why? There is lots of scientific research that has been undertaken that shows, if you do not reinforce the material you have learned within seven days of first hearing it, you will forget 50% of that knowledge within the next seven days. If you do not review the material within 21 days you will loose 50% of the 50% left, which is only 25% of the material covered. Some of the researches I have read, show that for every 7 days you leave reviewing the material you keep loosing 50% of the remaining knowledge. If you do not review the material, the retained knowledge will be virtually none, which means you have wasted you time in attending the course in the first place. Have you ever been to one of those tax or financial planning seminars? Have you noticed that they only give you enough information to remember the good things, without giving you a training pack to remind you of the potential flaws of their services? That is because they use the same issues outlined earlier, in which, as time goes on, you will only remember the things you have reinforced. 2. Redo all the practical exercises With many courses that you study in traditional schools or online, there will be practical exercises. For example, when you are doing the computer training courses, you will do a little bit of theory and then a practical exercise. It is extremely important that, when you leave your training, you go back through those practical exercises, as they will help reinforce the theory you have learnt. Another example for university student: if you were studying biology or chemistry, one of the requirements you have is to do certain experiments in a lab. This is why it is absolutely essential that you practice those exercises, as they will help you reinforce the theory you have learned. In University studies, most faculties will allow you to book lab time to practice your exercises outside the normal lecture time. When doing a course online, you can repeat the practical part as many times as needed, making the same experiment at home or just going through the details on the video practical exercise. 3. Do a minimum of 4 hours study weekly for each subject How much study we should be doing each week? In reality, it really does depend on the course you are doing. For example, if you are studying medicine or law, you will find that you need almost the same amount of time to study, as you attend lectures, so you are looking at 40 hours of study time per week. For computer training courses or IT courses, where you are studying for Certifications, you will find that if you allocate 4 hours per week per subject, it will be sufficient to study the material and to become proficient at it. The study period does not include doing your practical exercises, the study period is in addition. 4. Have light music on while studing If you listen to the right music, it can in increase your ability to retain the material you are studying. Baroque music at 60 beats per minute causes your brain to produce more alpha [calmness] waves, both left and right sides of your brain. This means that you calm down and relax, in a way similar to when you whistle a happy tune, or when you daydream. This “alpha” state of mind is ideal for learning, creativity, or just relaxing. Baroque music also makes the perfect background music for all trainings, from pre-school to government “think-tanks”, i.e. it seems to slow the student down, so that they can think. Corporate trainers can improve the effectiveness of training sessions dramatically, by playing Baroque music during a session. A colleague uses the music as background for memory training seminars and swears by it, because recall and creativity are improved. You can listen to Baroque music before you actually attend your exam, as this will help you to improve you calmness and focus before undertaking the exam. As you have used this music during your study program, it will help you prompt the material to come to the forefront of you mind. 5. Review previous exams This is one of the most important things every person must do prior sitting at an exam. Review as many previous exams as you can. In most university courses, you will find that each year, the lecturer will in fact lodge the previous year’s exams in the library, for use by the students. Have a copy of the exam exams, if possible and then study them as much as possible. Some universities and colleges allow you to do this, others do not, but you can always find test from different schools and exercise books for practicing the subject. There are a few key reasons for doing this: the previous exams will give you an insight into the way the lecturers structure the exam questions and will enable you with a very good indication of the sorts of questions that lecturers are likely to put on the exams, especially if you have three or four years worth of past exam papers. For example, if you are studying Microsoft Certifications or IT Certifications, my strong recommendation is that you access pre-assessment material from companies like Self-Test Software or Transcender, as they are a really good representation of the sorts of questions you will face in the actual exams. One thing to note is that you do not to rely just on the questions in those pre-assessment exams as if you do, you will not pass the exam. The pre-assessment exams are simply indicators of the material you need to know and whether you have a good understanding of the material. They definitely do not guarantee a pass. Too many students rely on these types of material only. They fail, because the exams have changed or have new areas not originally covered. Always check out the curriculum for the exam and make sure that you know all the areas the curriculum specifies. Never assume that certain things will be, or might be in the exams, as you most certainly will be wrong. 6. Have a colleague write practice exams and questions If you are doing a long term study at a college or University, it is always worthwhile to try to form a study group. In online studies, you can join these types of groups as well. If you are working in a corporate environment and working in a team that is doing a study, try to form a study group to help you with studies. In this manner you can work together and have a series of practical exams and questions for each other to try to answer. The key with passing any exam is practice. The more practice you have and exposure to the various ways questions could be possibly structured, the more likely you will pass the exam. Getting each person in you study group, to write practice exams and questions also helps them, since they need to know the correct answer and how to structure the correct answer. This helps reinforce the material for them. If you are studying in a corporate environment and you have people who have done the exams in the past, ask them to write a set of practice exams. It is even better if you could get three or four colleagues to actually write some practice exams for you, as they will give you such a variation that you will be able to identify areas you may not have covered sufficiently. 7. Meditate Whilst meditation has certainly been a thing of fringe groups in western society or associated with more eastern religions, many researchers are now coming to the distinct conclusion that meditation can make a huge difference to our day-to-day lives. The core advantage meditation will have in your studies, is to help you to relax. The more relaxed you are, the more creative you become and the easier it will be to learn the material for the exam. When you are meditating, use baroque music with your meditation, as it will help increase the alpha waves, which will help lead you to a calm feeling. The bottom line that there is no shortcut to conquering exams. They do not have to be a life and death struggle, if you put the work in. There is no fool proof way to pass exam. Putting the work in will, certainly means you should see much better exam results and hopefully the outcomes you are looking for. To highlight once again the seven things you should do to help you prepare before an upcoming exams. 1. Make sure you read all the materials after lectures 2. Redo all practical exercises 3. Do at least 4 hour study per week per subject 4. During studying have light music on 5. Review previous exams 6. Have a colleague write practice exams and questions for you 7. Take time to meditate\nEnhanced by Zemanta", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7251008152961731}
+{"content": "THIS DEED OF Partnership made this-------------day of--------------------200------between X, resident of------------------------ of the ONE PART, and Y, resident of------------------------ of the SECOND PART and Z, resident of------------------------------ of the THIRD PART. NOW THIS DEED WITNESSETH That it is hereby mutually agreed that the said X, Y, and Z shall become partners in the trade or business of ------------------------ upon the following terms and conditions:-1.\n\n2. 3.\n\n\n5. 6.\n\n\n\nThe partnership shall commence on the --------------- day of---------------200-------- in the name of ------------------ and shall continue for a period of years, until determined in the manner and upon the conditions as hereinafter provided. The partnership business shall be that of ----------------------------------and such other business or business as the partners may from time to time unanimously agree upon. The capital of the partnership shall be the sum of Rs ------------------- and shall be contributed by the partners in equal shares and shall belong to the partners in such equal shares. The profits and losses of the business shall be divided and borne by the partners in equal shares. Neither partner shall directly or indirectly engage in any other business. Neither partner shall without the consent of the other partneri.Assign, mortgage or charge his share in the assets or profits of the firm. ii.Draw, accept or indorse any bill of exchange or promissory note on account of the firm. iii.Enter into any bond or become surety for any person or persons or knowingly cause or suffer to be done anything whereby the partnership property may be endangered. If either partner commits any criminal offence or any breach this deed any act which would be a ground for the dissolution of the firm by the court or any partner becomes physically or mentally unfit to attend the business, then in any such case, the other partner may within one month after becoming aware thereof, determine the partnership by notice in writing and in such case he or any other partner shall have the option of purchasing the share of the partner committing breach or default, in the capital and assets of the business. All disputes between the partners or the partners and the representatives of a deceased partner in relation to any matter whatsoever touching the partnership affairs or the construction or interpretation of this agreement, and whether before of after the determination of the partnership shall be referred to a single arbitrator to be appointed by and the decision of such arbitrator shall be final and binding.\n\nIN WITNESS WHEREOF the parties hereto have hereunto set their hands the day and year first hereinabove written.\n\nWitness:-1. 2. 3. Sd. X Sd. Y Sd. Z\n\nSign up to vote on this title\nUsefulNot useful", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7416861653327942}
+{"content": "Reccelite Pods to Fly on Italian Predator Bs\n\n\nItaly is integrating the Israeli Reccelite tactical reconnaissance pod on its US-made General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA‑ASI) Predator B/ MQ-9 Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) systems. Integration tests are already underway and fielding of the new configuration is expected next year. The Reccelite, made by Rafael, is already flying on Italian Air Force fighter jets such as the Tornado and AMX. Reccelite is a versatile imagery reconnaissance pod .\n\ndesigned to provide wide-area coverage using a gimballed, advanced, high-resolution multi-mega-pixel recce camera. The Reccelite pod will complement the Full-motion Video (FMV) provided by the Predator’s existing nose-mounted, Multi-spectral Targeting System-B (MTS-B). RecceLite provides geo-referenced, wide field-of-regard, high-resolution digital still imagery in the infrared and visible bands. To provide wide area coverage this imagery is post-processed into a mosaic image in the Ground Exploitation Station.\n\n“Integrating this imagery enhancement capability onto Predator B is a significant milestone and could lead to similar efforts with other NATO customers that operate MQ-9,” said Linden Blue, CEO, GA-ASI. “Predator B’s open payload architecture enables users to integrate their own payloads easily, with minimal to no software changes required.”\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9996516108512878}
+{"content": "Example sentences for: particulate\n\nHow can you use “particulate” in a sentence? Here are some example sentences to help you improve your vocabulary:\n\n  • The composition of PM can vary considerably from one region to another depending on the sources of particulate emissions in each region.\n\n  • We relied on the most recently available, published scientific literature to ascertain the relationship between particulate matter exposure and adverse human health effects.\n\n  • Distal embolization of particulate matter, including plaque debris and thrombus, complicate percutaneous coronary and peripheral interventions more often than had been recognized until recently.\n\n\n  • Bioaerosol and particulate sampling\n\n\n\nSearch for example sentences\n\nLoading Loading...", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7191956043243408}
+{"content": "Emily Elephant&#039;s house\n\nEmily Elephant's house is a minor location in the Peppa Pig series.\n\n\nEmily Elephant's house is located on a hill. It is where Emily Elephant and her family (including Edmond Elephant, Mrs. Elephant, and Mr. Elephant) live.\n\n\nThe house's exterior is of a lavender color with flowers on it, and its roof and front door are both colored pink. There are some bushes around the house. One of the house's rooms has red-pink walls with a picture on one of them, and has a blue-gray floor.\n\n\n\nAd blocker interference detected!\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7619297504425049}
+{"content": "Wednesday, May 6, 2015\n\nThe Placemat and homework this week: 11th - 16th May\n\nOn Monday11th and Tuesday 12th May students will begin note taking to collect as much information on their colonial figure to design and make a placemat with the headings Resilience, Perseverance, Getting Along, Organisation and Confidence (which are the \"keys to success\" at our school). Students  will choose four of the above headings under which they will provide rich examples of how their chosen person  exemplified these qualities  under the respective  headings.  They will need to carefully plan their piece before making the placemat. Cartridge will be provided. Here are two examples done by former students. Students will have to really read a lot about their person and know them well. This kind of activity prevents students from just doing a \"cut and paste\" of someone else's text... and discourages plagiarism. This will also be discussed in class. This homework this week will to be making notes from information texts to design and write up the placemat. An hour was spent scaffolding this task in class this morning (discussion of using a bibliography and using keywords) and over an hour given in the afternoon. Each students had time to source their first piece of informational text from the internet or they were given a photocopy from a book or magazine. A3 cartridge paper will be available in the classroom tomorrow for those students with enough information to start their placemats.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9717572927474976}
+{"content": "omkar abhang\n\nWater Quality Analyzer Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2016 - 2026\n\nNews   •   Feb 21, 2017 13:41 EST\n\nWater is an important resource for human beings, as it is used in exhaustive applications such as drinking, food, manufacturing, cooling systems, steam generation, chemicals, research, and agriculture. All these applications require water with specific prerequisite properties and purity. Water has various physical and chemical qualities such as pH, purity, metal and salt content, dissolved gas content, and microbe presence. These qualities vary for different applications. Water quality analyzers determine the fitness of water for usage in a specific application. Several types of water quality analyzers such as TOC analyzers, BOD analyzers, oil in water analyzers, sulfide analyzers, turbidity analyzers, pH meters, spectrophotometers, and multiparameter colorimeters are available in the market.\n\nDownload the Exclusive Report Sample Here :\n\nThe water quality analyzer market is largely propelled by the rising awareness and improvements in quality of water required for specific applications across all end-user industries. Advancements in technology are improving the understanding of effects of water quality on various applications, thereby leading to higher demand for water quality analyzers. Furthermore, implementation of stringent government regulations in most developed countries with regard to better quality of drinking water and rise in concerns over water pollution and wastewater management are some of the major factors propelling the water quality analyzer market across the globe. Industrial waste water causes severe damage to the environment, including local water bodies. Governments and environment protection organizations are therefore compelling industries to pretreat and analyze the water which is discarded. This is boosting the water quality analyzer market. However, the costs associated with testing and analyzing wastewater are usually high. Companies in the developing economies are largely ignorant about water analysis. This is restraining the water quality analyzer market in developing regions.\n\nThe water quality analyzer market, in terms of type has been segmented into TOC analyzer, pH meter, multiparameter colorimeter, turbidity meter, dissolved gas (oxygen) meter, and others. Among the products, pH meters and TOC analyzers accounted for significant share of the water quality analyzer market across the globe. The criticality of pH levels, i.e. acidity or alkalinity of water, in several applications makes pH analyzers significantly important. These products or analyzers can be either portable or bench mounted depending upon the location of water and functionality. Based on application, the water quality analyzer market has been classified into industrial, environmental, laboratory, sanitation and sewage treatment, and others. Industrial and laboratory applications accounted for the large share of the water quality analyzer market in 2015, as they need close monitoring of water quality for efficient functioning of equipment & machinery and accurate results in case of laboratory applications.\n\nBased on geography, the water analyzer market has been divided into Asia Pacific, Europe, North America, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. Developed regions such as Europe and North America collectively accounted for more than 60% share of the global water analyzer market. Implementation of stringent government regulations on environmental protection and curbing of water pollution is the primary factor driving the demand of water quality analyzers in these regions. Europe and North America also lead in research and development in all fields, resulting in high demand for water quality analyzers for laboratory and research segment. Asia Pacific is also a major market for water quality analyzers due to the rising industrialization and urbanization in China and India. The population explosion in these countries is also anticipated to propel the demand for water quality analyzers in sewer & sanitation and water distribution applications.\n\nKey players manufacturing water quality analyzers include General Electric Company, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc., Forbes Marshall, Emerson Electric Co., Honeywell International Inc., and Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc.\n\nBrowse the Full Brochure at :\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9513828158378601}
+{"content": "\n\nIt’s got a bearing on a firm’s sustainability and profitability, both of those inside the short-term and long-term. In spite of this, e-commerce methods are dynamic. It’s imperative which the new crop of leaders is aware about the various elements of the management, which underlines the value of e-commerce development procedures. This underlines the fact that no single e-commerce procedure would significantly fulfill the necessities of a corporation (Fubelaar, 2013). The development of e-commerce devices is significant on the identification of loopholes in various companies, which poses a variety of implications, strengths and constraints that spur the internet marketing business towards preferred route.\n\nE-commerce fosters loyalty and cohesion in an firm. It helps the business to build associates which have a broad base of knowledge in regards to the markets. E-commerce facilitates new interpersonal relationships additionally, ar.my-gpa-calculator.org/college-gpa-calculator the techniques which are vital for the business. On the other hand, e-commerce methods phone for enormous financial charge for the corporation. In essence, it can be critical that a mixture of systems is applied to make certain that the organization can enjoy with the strengths on the ways applied as canceling out the constraints (Suddaby, 2014). E-commerce is one of the best efficient ideas of producing tangible success around the return on any financial investment which was manufactured in instruction. E-commerce improves the tradition of an organization. It is really especially instrumental in modifying the company culture and designing studying companies. That is particularly given that a variety of people might have numerous tips for resolving identical trouble. E-commerce makes certain that businesses have got a significant pool of knowledge to choose from, thereby making it possible for with the inculcation of your most acceptable tradition in to the organizational culture. This technique lets the longer term professionals to test by making use of diversified strategies in resolving diverse obstacles and situations (Fubelaar, 2013). E-commerce relies for the recognition on the fact that people today learn the most efficient from their experiences given that the course of action might possibly be structured. E-commerce is actually a motivational instrument. It enables for your acclimation of the new personnel for the firm and work. Mentees would turned out to be successful associates in a considerably faster tempo since they have got a particular person they will converse to, ask problems and even explore eventualities and find out the varied elements of the group. Additionally, e-commerce allows the mentee to acquire a sense of feat that emanates from the evaluation and responses from the mentor into the mentee’s development. It happens to be significant during the exploration for the competencies in the employees, in addition as being the managers (Suddaby, 2014). E-commerce improves the capabilities of employees in an corporation.\n\nE-commerce enables professionals to mix various strategies to obtain a particular aim. It underlines the truth that you can get lots of techniques that may be used in acquiring the potential of existing and long term crop of supervisors to effectively run the companies. Although, these e-commerce systems have distinct good results and implications in the performance for the corporation. Just as much as some methods might have rather even more advantage than some people, their applicability in different fields is definitely certain to consequence in different concerns. In many instances, e-commerce necessitates the exploitation of the attractive elements of the programs within an entity when doing away with the unwanted ones.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5396081209182739}
+{"content": "The wedding canopy (Chuppah) design, under which the bride and groom stand during the Jewish wedding ceremony, reflects the notion that the space beneath the Chuppah is graced with G-d’s presence and the couple’s eternal bond. The Chuppah comprised of interlocking triangles that make reference to the Star of David, representing the unification of opposite worlds (heaven and earth) and the harmony of G-ds creation. This contemporary design uses wood colums, cloth, and metal ring. The metal ring hangs in the middle, creating the sacred center and a conduit uniting  heaven and earth. The two triangular pieces of cloth penetrate the ring and suspend it in the center of the Chuppah. The dynamic and graceful design represents the tension and repose of life.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.997218132019043}
+{"content": "Phishing Your Users\n\nThis blog post is adapted from a February 18, 2015, message to the EDUCAUSE Security Discussion Group listserv after the following question was raised: \"Our institution is thinking about phishing our users as an awareness activity. What are the pitfalls and payoffs of conducting a phishing simulation or awareness campaign?\"\n\nIt is absolutely possible to create a campus phishing assessment or simulation program without facing a negative response. We did it at Emory across tens of thousands of users without any problems, and we're currently implementing a similar process here at the University of Colorado.\n\nBelow are 10 key points, which I've ranked in rough order of importance.\n\n  1. Implementing a phishing assessment program — sometimes referred to as \"self-phishing\" — is an alternative to traditional awareness that, from my experience, is far more effective. We work in higher education, and exploring the most effective learning techniques is at the core of our mission. As a wise person once said, if your behavior hasn't changed, you haven't actually learned anything. We are engaged in learning with the goal of behavioral change. This process both provides effective learning to that goal and measures to that goal.\n  2. The process must be nonpunitive. Falling for a phishing message has no negative impact on a person's job, and no information will be provided to any departments that would include specific names or be detailed enough to infer names. We only provided aggregate stats on groups of at least 20 people. We rejected all requests to provide specific names. Organizations wishing to include direct ramifications to the process should first look at including information security in job descriptions and performance plans.\n  3. The community is fully informed of the process that will occur before it happens. Someone once asked me, \"Aren't you afraid that telling people what you're doing will skew the results?\" This isn't a research paper — we are trying to promote learning. If raising awareness about a self-phishing project is enough to prevent someone from responding to phishing, then you've already won.\n  4. The leadership of the institution (in its various forms from vice presidents to the chancellor to the board) must have a chance to hear about the process in advance in order to ask questions, express concerns, and address issues before the exercise begins. You can call it \"management buy-in\" if you'd like. It is imperative to inform the leadership of the institution about the exercise in advance and give them a chance to understand the goals of the activity.\n  5. The educational landing page (for those who fell for a phish) provides contextual information that is actionable. It cites the items in the specific messages sent out that would be the easiest indicators of a fake e-mail and teaches about how to avoid fake e-mails in the future. Avoid being generic; point out the exact items in the message you sent that could serve as red flags. \n  6. The process would use content based on real-world phishing of a moderate level. The goal is not to come up with something good enough to fool everyone; the goal is to educate a reasonable person to be able to recognize a typical phish. I have said many times that I don't expect anyone to catch an advanced social engineering attack. Some of the most security-aware people can be fooled by a sophisticated, targeted attack.\n  7. We worked with the help desks to inform them about the process and monitor their workloads during the message campaigns. We regulated the sending of messages to ensure that they were not totally overloaded at any one time.\n  8. We continuously evaluated the process as it progressed, reviewing everything from goal achievement to process improvement to community feedback. If the process did not demonstrate measurable improvement in phishing response rates during the first year, it would be discontinued. If there were considerable complaints, we would evaluate our approach for possible improvements.\n  9. We analyzed the results across demographic data to look for any hot spots that might require additional training. Was there a department, job class, student major, etc., that demonstrated a notably higher-than-average phishing response rate? Were there other trends to investigate?\n  10. Each campaign used four or more different messages to both provide variety and allow us to test for response rate differences between various popular phishing message themes. We also tested for differences between phishing messages that were totally generic (did not mention the institution name at all) and those that contained basic targeting (institution mentioned in a couple places). You can view a Security Professionals Conference presentation from Emory on the effort (including charts about response rates and improvements).1\n\nAt the end of the day, the Emory project demonstrated success at reducing response rates while receiving essentially zero negative feedback across quarterly campaigns with 40,000 users. Our current work at the University of Colorado has undergone a sampling process to establish a baseline response rate that will next go through some process improvement work, followed by phishing awareness work.\n\n\n  1. Derek Spransy, \"Phishing Ourselves to Raise Awareness\" presentation at the 2012 Security Professionals Conference, Indianapolis, Indiana, May 15–17, 2012.\n\nBrad Judy is the information security officer at the University of Colorado System. He previously worked in the IT Security Office at Emory University and Emory Healthcare. Prior to that, he worked at the University of Colorado at Boulder in the IT Security Office and as part of the IT architecture group and Active Directory management team. He has been actively involved in the Windows in Higher Education community and REN-ISAC.\n\n© 2016 Brad Judy. This EDUCAUSE Review blog is licensed under the Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 International license.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5974114537239075}
+{"content": "To The Bone: A Film Review From A Mental Health Professional\n\nContent warning: This post deals with eating disorders and may be triggering for some readers.\n\nTo The Bone is a new Netflix original movie about a 20-year-old woman, Ellen, who suffers from anorexia nervosa and ends up in a group recovery home for individuals with eating disorders. The official  trailer is included at the very end of this post.\n\nJust like with 13 Reasons Why, there is a ton of controversy surrounding the appropriateness of this film. Many individuals, including many mental health professionals believe that this movie is very dangerous because they believe it will glamorize eating disorders. Some are even calling for Netflix to take the movie down.\n\nOnce again, just like with 13 Reasons Why, the majority of these individuals have not even seen the movie yet. Their fears however have some legitimacy.\n\nResearch suggests that it’s triggering for those who already have an eating disorder or who are  struggling with unhealthy thoughts surrounding eating, body image and weight issues to watch other people displaying eating disorder behaviors, even if it’s a story of hope and recovery.\n\nWith that said, I do not think that those individuals should watch this movie.\n\nIf you are someone or you are the parent of a child or friend of someone who is suffering from an eating disorder, I do not think this is a movie you should watch with them. Watch it yourself for sure, as I believe the movie gives some great insight into what it’s like to suffer from an eating disorder, but do not watch it with them  in hopes this will be a great conversation starter between the two of you. It could possibly do more harm than good.\n\nThere are definitely some images and events in the movie that can be triggering to certain individuals, such as the main character herself who is scary thin, to the calorie counting and food avoiding behaviors displayed throughout the movie.\n\nBanning this movie however I do not agree with because it is just that, a conversation starter. It’s a movie that needed to be made.\n\nMy Issue With The Movie\n\nMy only issue with the movie is that Ellen, played by British actress Lily Collins is scary thin. This in itself can trigger individuals who already have issues with their body weight or have an eating disorder.\n\nThe real issue is that Lily Collins herself struggled with anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa at some point in her 27 years of life and writes a chapter about it in her book, “Unfiltered: No Shame, No Regrets, Just Me.”\n\nFor the movie she had to lose a lot of weight to look the part of a very unwell young woman. Although she reports that they did it in a healthy way with the help of a dietician, I still found it alarming that anyone would subject someone who already has a history of struggling with eating disorders, to losing so much weight and then this almost skeletal person is the main character that millions of viewers, some of who will be susceptible to triggers, have to watch on-screen for two hours.\n\nAs I watched the movie, before I did my research, I couldn’t tell if she was really that thin or if it was some tricks of the camera or make-up, but upon learning that she actually had to lose such a large amount of weight to play her character, it was just a bit unsettling.\n\nI’m not sure if this film could have been done any other way.\n\nAnorexia Nervosa Versus Bulimia Nervosa\n\nUnless I missed it, the one thing I don’t think the movie did a good job on was differentiating between anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. People tend to think that the only difference is that those with anorexia nervosa severely restrict their calories while those with bulimia nervosa eat and then purge (vomit) in order to control their food intake.\n\nHowever, there are two types of anorexia nervosa.\n\nOne is the restrictive subtype that is more of what people are familiar with. They rarely eat, count calories religiously and may use laxatives, but usually do not purge. The second subtype is the bingeing and purging subtype. These individuals are more like those with bulimia nervosa as they will binge (over eat) and then purge their food.\n\nThe main difference between the two is that individuals with anorexia nervosa have a difficult time maintaining the minimal amount of weight considered healthy and individuals with bulimia nervosa are usually at a healthy weight or even overweight.\n\nWhile anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are the two eating disorders people are most familiar with, other common eating disorders include pica, binge eating disorder, and avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder.\n\nMost eating disorders last 6 to 8 years which is a large part of someones life.\n\nWhile body image, food and weight loss are generally the focus of an eating disorder, they usually aren’t the underlying causes.\n\nIssues that may trigger eating disorders include a history of abuse or trauma, bullying, parent relational problems, low self-esteem, personality disorders, substance abuse, difficulty dealing with conflict, genetics and feeling as if they have no control over their lives.\n\nMillions of Americans suffer from disordered eating and they’re not all thin, young white girls. People who suffer from eating disorders come in all shapes, sizes and ethnicities from the rail thin to the morbidly obese.\n\nI worked with a 10th grade Haitain-American girl, along with another therapist who specialized in eating disorders as well as a dietician for two years. She struggled with anorexia and it was some of the most difficult work I have ever done.\n\nEating disorders, just like most mental health disorders, are always hard and uncomfortable topics to discuss and many people would prefer to act like they simply do not exist or are something they never will have to deal with. That is why 13 Reasons Why faced such backlash and why To The Bone is as well. Avoiding these issues will not make them go away.\n\nIf people want to be angry with Netflix for making movies such as To The Bone then we also need to be angry with our media in general because it glamorizes weight-loss and thinness. Girls as young as elementary school have started engaging in unhealthy diets and calorie counting due to the images they see on a daily basis through our media.\n\nMarti Noxon, the writer and director of To the Bone says that the movie is based on her experience of struggling with an eating disorder and that the film is intended as “a conversation starter about an issue that is too often clouded by secrecy and misconception”.\n\nSo with some warning I recommend this film to anyone interested in learning more about what it is like to struggle with an eating disorder, but not to anyone who is already struggling with body image issues or unhealthy issues about food and weight.\n\nThe hope is that this film increases the conversation without increasing the risk of triggering others, but honestly I don’t know if it’s possible to have these type of conversations without anyone ever being triggered. It’s the nature of the beast.\n\nIf you or anyone you know are struggling with an eating disorder, please contact The National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA)at\n\n\n\nThe Mentally Ill and Incarceration: A Broken System\n\nThe Mentally Ill and Incarceration: A Broken System\n\n\n\n\n\nToday jails and prisons have become the new asylums.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nWhat’s the solution?\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe Narcissistic Parent\n\n3049_how-to-get-hired-at-your-next-job-interview_1“I do not love; I do not love anybody except myself. That is a rather shocking thing to admit. I have none of the selfless love of my mother. I have none of the plodding, practical love. . . . . I am, to be blunt and concise, in love only with myself, my puny being with its small inadequate breasts and meager, thin talents. I am capable of affection for those who reflect my own world.” – Sylvia Plath\n\nSylvia Plath, the poet and author of the quote above was a narcissistic parent who committed perhaps the most selfish and narcissistic act of all. She killed herself by sticking her head in a gas oven while her two children were asleep in the same apartment. She did however seal off  their rooms with towels so that they would live. Why? Most likely so someone could carry on her memory and mourn for her after death.\n\nHow do you think this affected her children? Well her daughter, Freida Hughes is an English poet and painter, but she’s been married three times and is currently divorced. Her son, Nicholas Hughes, suffered from depression and hung himself in 2009.\n\nWhat Is A Narcissist?\n\nTo the outside world, a narcissistic parent may appear to be the perfect example of a gentleman or a loving, supportive mother who is passionate about her kids. However, to the child of a narcissistic parent, they are living a constant nightmare of never being good enough and being constantly reminded of it.\n\nA narcissist is someone who has an inflated sense of self-worth. This is different from what’s considered “healthy narcissism” in which you believe in yourself and your abilities in a realistic fashion. You have good self-esteem, but can empathize with other people and aren’t devastated by mistakes or criticism. Your self worth isn’t dependent on other people admiring you.\n\nOn the other hand there is “malignant narcissism”, in which the person has a very fragile sense of self that is dependent on how other people see them. These people have an unrealistic, inflated sense which they use to hide insecurities and shame. They need to be praised, admired and approved by others and are deeply hurt by criticism and honest feedback. Their relationships with others tend to be superficial as they focus mostly on how other people reflect on them with little or no care about the other persons feelings. They believe they are better than everyone else, special even, but can get very sensitive and angry when faced with critique.\n\nFor a narcissist, everything is always about them. They are extremely selfish individuals who never give recognition, gratitude or appreciation to those around them. It’s “me, me, me” all day, all the time. If they ask you, “How is your day?” and you reply, “Horrible, I just totaled my new Mustang”, they may reply, “I had a Mustang once. A 1968 convertible. Man I loved that car. Brought it brand new off the showroom floor…”. They really don’t care about you and are only looking for opportunities to talk about and inflate themselves.\n\nImagine growing up having this type of person as a parent? Someone who is practically incapable of loving anyone other than themselves, when as a parent, you have to give so much love to a child.\n\nWhy then would a narcissist have children?\n\nA narcissist does not have a child for the reasons most people do. They do not have children because they want to love and nourish another person, they do so in order to create mirrors of themselves and to create an automatic relationship where they have power and control over someone.\n\nHaving control over other people is the narcissists ultimate goal. From an early age the child of a narcissist learns to realize that they exits to please their parent and to be a reflection of them.\n\nLike any child, the children of narcissist will try to please their parent, going through great lengths of anguish and frustration to please someone who will never be pleased for long. One day, if they are lucky, they will realize that it’s the parent who is not quite right, not them.\n\nUntil then, these children learn that they are a reflection on their parent and will try to mold themselves, mentally and behaviorally into being that perfect representation their parent wants.\n\nThis creates much anxiety as the child is continuously trying to be what they are not in order to please the parent and when they fail, which they will time and time again, they are exposed to punishment that can range from physical to psychological.\n\nThese children are often mentally on edge and tormented by the unpredictable and sometimes confusing nature of the narcissistic parent. They may think over and over again that they are a failure, that something is wrong with them . The child may experience a great deal of shame and low self esteem because they don’t feel constantly loved. They are taught that they are only as good as the parent says they are and that they’ll only be loved if they are completely compliant.\n\nTake for example a child who throws a tantrum in the store. Most parents may remove the child, redirect them, or try some other tactic to calm the child down. A narcissistic parent is likely to chastise the child by saying something like, “You’re a spoiled little brat. You always find a way to ruin my life.” Such harsh words for a narcissist are nothing, even directed at their own child.\n\nOn the other side of this poor parent-child attachment is neglect. The narcissist parent may be so self-absorbed that the child is neglected and nearly forgotten. Their needs, desires and aspiration always thrown aside for the sake of the parents’ wants and desires.\n\nFor example, a daughter going to her high school prom may have all of her desires for the dress she wants and the way she wants her hair styled cast away in favor of what her mom wants her to wear and wants her hair styled. If she doesn’t go along with this and protests, then her mother may call her an ungrateful child and refuse to help her with her big night.\n\nLater in life, these children grow up and often develop narcissism themselves or end up in drama filled relationships with toxic partners because they grew up believing that they were bad and don’t deserve good things to happen to them. They often question if they are deserving of love.\n\nIn a healthy relationship with a healthy partner, these individuals wouldn’t know how to respond to unconditional love and would be filled with so much anxiety and discomfort. Understandably they would seek out other individuals who are emotionally unavailable, cold and critical just like the narcissistic parent they grew up with. It’s familiar and sadly, even comfortable to them.\n\nHopefully, through good relationships, friendships and sometimes therapy, these children are able to recover from the wombs of growing up with a narcissistic parent and not succumb to them.\n\n\n\n\n\nToo Scared To Talk: Children with Selective Mutism\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nWhy Does A Child Develop Selective Mutism?\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDiagnosing Selective Mustism\n\n\n\nDSM-IV-TR (2000):\n\n\n\n\n\n\nFor more information and help, go to\n\nBlinded By Beauty: Ignorance Towards The Mentally Ill\n\nAlexander_AyannaYesterday while watching the local news, I saw a story about an officer who was called to an apartment complex after residents called bout a naked woman outside of her apartment.\n\nUpon arriving, officer Ryan McIntosh found 20-year-old Ayanna Alexander outside of her apartment, but she had put on clothing by then.\n\nAyanna, who is an exotic dancer, told the officer that she was upset because she didn’t have a ride to work at Rachels, a local strip club.\n\nThe officer didn’t think Ayanna was impaired or had any other medical conditions, so he called his supervisor and got permission to drive Ayanna to work. He dropped her off and left, only to be called back shortly afterwards to a nearby restaurant after receiving a call about a naked woman thrashing the restaurant and disturbing patrons.\n\nThe officers arrived at the restaurant to find Ayanns with no pants or underwear on and during questioning by the police, she removed her shirt and bra and said she wanted to go to jail.\n\nAyanna was charged with disturbing the peace, indecent exposure and trespassing.\n\nThe problem I have with this is, not many people in their right minds, especially an “attractive” 20-year-old woman would just strip naked and cause havoc. To me, this just screams mental illness from the start, rather it is bipolar disorder or something else, but from the start of this story i felt like this woman should have been taken to the hospital for a mental evaluation, not taken to work and just dropped off.\n\nEven after the second incident, instead of taking her to jail, I still feel like she should have been taken for a mental evaluation. Something clearly isn’t right. Maybe it is drugs, who knows? The officer said she didn’t seem impaired, but her behavior was abnormal and he didn’t do a urinary drug screen to rule out she was on anything.\n\nAlso, he was obviously not a Crisis Intervention Team officer or had much training, experience or exposure to mental illnesses or he would have recognized that this woman was in need of help, not a ride to her place of employment.\n\nI’m not necessarily blaming the officer for not being trained properly, but I am blaming him for being ignorant and perhaps even blinded by an attractive female and wanting to do the “nice” thing by giving her a ride to work instead of truly investigating the incident.\n\nAt the hospital I work at it’s not uncommon for officers to bring us young, attractive, 20 something year old women they find naked running or walking through the streets or just sitting in the middle of the road. Nine times out of ten these women are not under the influence of any drugs or alcohol, but are suffering some type of mental break.\n\nOften times it’s their first psychotic episode and they go on to be diagnosed and treated for bipolar disorder (most commonly), and other times they are people with long histories of mental illness.\n\nThe late teens and early twenties are the prime ages for the development of bipolar disorder and it’s not uncommon for people to present with symptoms of erratic, impulsive and irrational behavior for the first time around 20.\n\nIf this woman is simply arrested, charged and then released, she will get no help and eventually spiral out of control again, but maybe next time she won’t run into a naive officer who is trying to be nice, but maybe a predator or someone else who instead of helping this lady may victimize her or she may do something much more reckless and dangerous than taking off her clothing and throwing food in a restaurant.\n\nSometimes it’s hard to recognize and start treating the first symptoms of a mental illness, but to me it’s common sense that if you come across a naked, exotic dancer who gets paid to take her clothes off, doing it for free outside in the daytime, something isn’t right and the two most likely culprits are drugs and mental illness.\n\nIf the officer quickly decided she wasn’t impaired or had a medical conditions, why didn’t he take her to rule out a mental health condition other than ignorance? This is a problem on many occasions, but especially when you consider that the jails and prisons in our country today house many more mentally ill people than all of the mental hospitals, clinics and institutions combined.\n\nUntrained officers come in contact with mentally ill people on nearly a daily basis and often times the result is tragic (numerous officer related shootings involving mentally ill people is what sparked crisis intervention team training for law enforcement officers), or they are arrested or simply ignored.\n\nIn this case, two out of three happened. Her mental condition was ignored and then she was arrested.\n\nSensitive People: Absorbing Other People Emotions\n\nTeenage girl looking thoughtful about troublesI’m highly sensitive to other people emotions and energy. I have been for probably all of my life, but it is something I have just become aware of in the past few years. I can be having a good day, feeling happy and all it can take is an interaction without someone close to me, to bring me down.\n\nWhen I discovered this sensitivity, it was quite alarming. It seemed like my mood and even the way I felt about myself were dependent on how the people around me were feeling and even how they felt towards me at that moment. You can imagine the amount of stress, anxiety and uncertainty it would cause me and often times I didn’t understand why. Looking back I think I thought that they’re mood and feelings had something to do with me. It took a lot of introspection before I realized a few things:\n\n  1. Rarely if ever did the other persons mood, feelings or behavior have absolutely anything to do with me and,\n  2. I can not control other people’s feelings.\n\nA large part of it boiled down to control. I wanted everyone around me to be happy, to like me, to treat me the way I would treat them, and when they didn’t, I automatically assumed it was my fault and whatever joy or happiness I had would go away and turn into either self-blame, dysthymia or anger, especially when the people were close to me such as a girlfriend or close friend.\n\nIt took a long time for me to start working on not allowing other people emotions to affect mine, and honestly it is something I still struggle with on nearly a daily basis. Some days are better than others and when I do find myself losing my inner peace to someone else’s energy, I get discouraged because I know it’s not about me and that I can’t control their emotions nor should I allow them to have power over mine.\n\nI learned however that if I beat myself up too bad for allowing someone to move me from my inner peace, I end up doing more emotional harm than good because I become negative towards myself for being “weak” or even “stupid” (negative self-talk never helps and is almost always a recipe for increased anxiety and depression).\n\nI’m starting to realize that one way to stop giving so much power to other people over my emotions is by not expecting things from them that they can not give me, such as unconditional love, unconditional positive regard or fulfilling any of my various needs that can only be filled by me and God. By not expecting those needs to be met by others I have taken back much of my power, but still at times, it’s a struggle just like when trying to undo any bad habit physically or mentally.\n\nSome Negatives to Being Hypersensitive\n\nAs I stated above, being hypersensitive to other people emotions makes it very easy to be affected by others emotions, usually not for the better. This can be very draining and overwhelming and can easily lead to anxiety and depression. This can cause us to withdraw so that we can process and deal with our emotions, which other people may not understand and take it negatively that we need time and space alone, especially since we live in a culture that devalues sensitivity. Lastly, hypersensitive people may have unrealistic expectations of perfectionism towards themselves (i.e., everyone is supposed to like me).\n\nSome Positives About Being Hypersensitive\n\nJust like most things that are negative, there are of course positive things about being hypersensitive emotionally. I think evolutionarily it helps us to pick up slight shifts in someones temperament or even the energy around us. I’ve been in rooms where everyone around me was talking, yet no one noticed the sudden shift in tension, or how someone else became emotional, angry or nervous during a certain topic. I would sometimes leave those situations knowing more about a person I didn’t even talk to just by watching the subtle changes in their expressions.\n\nI think being hypersensitive to other people emotions help me to be more in touch with my own emotions. I’m always amazed at how many people aren’t in touch with their emotions and as a counselor, often it’s my job to help them to get in touch with their true emotions so that they can start living a real, authentic life. We hide from our emotions, mask our emotions (even from ourselves) and often don’t know why we feel or act in certain ways because we are not used to being in touch with that part of us. Hypersensitive people are almost always, sometimes neurotically checking in with their thoughts and emotions.\n\nI think being hypersensitive also leads to being more creative, to being able to express ones emotions more through music, art, dance, poetry and writing for example. It also makes us more empathetic to others which in the field of mental health is a must.\n\nSome Tips for Hypersensitive People\n\n  1. You have to recognize and acknowledge that you are absorbing other people emotions. I’ve been doing it for years and until I actually realized it, I wasn’t doing anything different to try to stop it.\n  2. When you start feeling a certain way after an encounter with someone, ask yourself if what you are feeling is really your emotion or theirs. You’ll be surprised to find out that most of the time it’s not yours and if it’s theirs then immediately release it. This alone will make you feel better most of the time.\n  3. Remember that you are not responsible for nor can you control other people emotions so don’t worry over it because in doing so, you’ll just be absorbing it into your own emotional state.\n  4. Identify what/who is making you feel a certain way and try to distance yourself if you can. If you can’t, go back through steps 1 to 3. Sometimes it’s a particular friend or group of coworkers that are the main source. Putting some distance between you and them can help alleviate the problem.\n  5. When you start to feel overwhelmed by other people emotions, even if you can’t get away, try mindfulness or deep breathing techniques to help bring you back to your own inner peace.\n  6. Speaking of inner peace, always try to work on building up your own inner peace by being good to yourself, exercising, eating right, maintaining good emotional, physical and mental health and surrounding yourself with people who bring you good and positive energy. BE GOOD TO  YOURSELF!\n\nBeing hypersensitive to other people emotions is both a gift and a curse, but look at it like a power that you have to master so that you are in control of your emotions and able to use all of the positive qualities that come along with being sensitive to other people emotions.\n\n\nThe Face of Mental Illness\n\ngirl-in-shadows-istockI love working in a psychiatric hospital because it’s rarely boring. The type of people who come through the door are everyday people, no different from you or me, it’s just that what they are dealing with at the time is more than they or most likely any of us can handle.\n\nI remember when I first started working here, a senior co-worker said that the only thing separating us from the patients is that we have the keys that let us in and out.\n\nThat’s one reason customer service, even in a mental hospital is so important. We strive on treating everyone, no matter what their circumstances or mental state, fairly and therapeutically because you never know when we or one of our family members or friends will end up in a place like this and it’s fairly easy.\n\nSay the “magic words” to the right person and you may find yourself involuntarily hospitalized. Have an over exaggerated emotional or behavioral reaction and you may end up placed in a mental hospital to help you calm down.\n\nSince I’ve been here I’ve seen correction officers, police officers, teachers, college students, professional athletes, lawyers, daughters of politicians, doctors, nurses and business owners come through our doors under involuntary hospitalization statuses.\n\nPeople are placed here everyday who feel like they shouldn’t be and some may very well not be, but the majority at least need a cool down period.\n\nFor example, last week a college student got into a fight with his girlfriend and someone reported he threatened to kill himself. He denied does accusations, but he was emotionally upset enough that law enforcement thought it was best that he was brought here for his safety and the safety of those around him.\n\nNow that he was here he didn’t want to be here and wanted to leave. He kept trying to convince me and everyone that he didn’t need to be here, but in doing so, he was getting more and more upset and therefore appearing more and more like he needed to be here for his safety and those around him.\n\nI kept trying to talk to him and tell him that if he truly didn’t think he should be hospitalized then he needed to be calm and relaxed, otherwise he was risking looking like every other patient in the hospital who truly needed to be there.\n\nHowever, he was so agitated and insistent on leaving that we had to place him on an elopement risk which lessened the chance of him being released sooner than he would have been otherwise.\n\nWhen people think of the patients in a mental hospital, they almost automatically get an image in their head as if mental illness has a face. Those of us who work in the field or know someone or are ourselves suffering from a mental illness know that this couldn’t be further from the truth.\n\nThis morning I spoke with the mother of one of our patients who just graduated with an advanced degree and has an extremely high IQ, but has a long history of bipolar disorder and hasn’t been on her medication in over a year.\n\nThis is a beautiful young lady who was found sitting outside naked, stating that her old self had died and given birth to her new self with a new name she was calling herself by and a new age. She also believed she had God like powers.\n\nHere at the hospital, for the most part, this young lady was selectively mute and at times appeared catatonic. We even had to carry and pose her limp body at one point when we had to transport her to another part of our facility.\n\nShe was definitely in need of some medication to help her start getting back to her “normal” self.\n\nI was really hoping to speak with her, I throughly enjoy talking to people who both have a long history of mental illness and the ability and awareness to really talk about it and analyze their experiences, but she wasn’t speaking to anyone, so I spoke with her mother for a while about her history of treatment and tried to help calm her mother’s fears about her daughter’s recent deterioration.\n\nThis young lady reminds me that mental illness is all around us and it’s nothing to be ashamed of or to run from. Sometimes it’s in your face like the guy talking to himself while begging for change or it’s wrapped in the package of a pretty grad school graduate who on most days could hold the most intellectual conversations, but today she’s just staring into out of space unresponsive to the world around her.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5400991439819336}
+{"content": "Monthly Archives: December 2015\n\nHappy New Year!\n\nhappy new year\n\nDragon and Marzipan Bird wish you well from their winter wonderland.\n\n\n\nIn short, things can only get better.\n\nHappy New Year!\n\nDragon Comics 124\n\ndragon comics 124_edited-1\n\nMoney, religion, politics. Just keep your mouth shut. \n\nThus concludes the tale of the dragon and the troll, a complete journey from innocence, to experience, to rage, to remorse, to empathy, to remembering what caused the rage in the first place. It’s important to engage in meaningful with individual who hold a variety of beliefs, but it’s also important to do so with respect and, when needed, restraint. A little empathy helps. We need to be able to talk to each other rationally, no matter how much we disagree.\n\nOtherwise, it’s best to walk away.\n\nBut it’s better if we can talk.\n\nPeace on Earth. Good will to everyone. And if you can’t manage that, if you can only communicate your point through insults and puerile behavior, maybe your point isn’t as firm as you believe.\n\nThe Season of Lights\n\n\nLuminarias show the way on the darkest of nights. \n\nI fully intended to draw a comic today. I fully intended to do a lot of things. But none of those things happened. Other things happened instead, but very few of them were intentional or productive. The season of very little natural light does funny things to my brain.\n\n\nThe fountain in the cactus garden under red and gold lights\n\nThe biggest bump to this day was the publication of my article about Travis Hanson, who draws awesome dragons and other things like that, sometimes with magical tales to go along with them. I urge you to check it out if you’re the least bit interested in that sort of artwork and storytelling.\n\n\nDo you know why this tree is blue? Maybe it hates winter as much as I do.\n\nIn lieu of something hilarious, please accept these photographs from a luminaria event at the botanic garden down the street. It’s a fun evening of lights and music, and even though I’ve lived here for 6 winters and have had a garden membership for a lot of that time, I never attended before, in part because it cost money and in part because I don’t tend to do a lot of Christmasy things. But in this case, I got in free, because The Man’s band was among the many musical acts of the evening. Since it’s a klezmer band, it wasn’t too Christmasy, either.\n\nDragon Comics 123\n\ndragon comic 123_edited-1\n\nThe OED has a 1000 household uses. In addition to beating trolls with it, you can also use it to insult them. It’s actually full of rude words. \n\nHa ha. Love that Compact Oxford English Dictionary with quirky bubble-shaped magnifying glass. The Fox gave it to me a couple years ago, when he was downsizing everything in his life, which he’s done like 3 times in 4 years. I don’t know if he even has any stuff left. He certainly doesn’t have as many giant dictionaries as I have.\n\nI mean, if it were absolutely necessary, I could pack what I need into a couple bags. But I happen to like living in a library. I thought about that too, during his last purge. Foxy was reading some kind of Japanese extreme cleaning manual that advised only keeping things that bring you joy. After some consideration, I determined that while some individual books might not bring me joy, the library itself does.\n\nAnd so, the troll-defeating fantasy continues.\n\nSeeing Stars Mandala\n\n\n\nThis week I have some more comics about Dragon sparring with the troll, but it occurred to me that I also needed to fulfill my commitment to Panels, so that was my first priority this weekend. That article’s been filed now, so it ought to go up before the site switches over to “Best of 2015” mode. Anyone who does SEO knows that the Internet is kind of dead between Christmas and January 2. In general, numbers go down around Thanksgiving, although e-commerce sites do see a bump. I might go into “Best of 2015” mode myself, although most likely I’ll just take that week off.\n\nMy numbers have been great, actually, but that has more to do with the quality of both my content as well as my efforts to disseminate it, than the calendar date.\n\nSpeaking of calendar dates, the solstice draws near, which is wonderful, because I’m not a vampire and all this darkness takes it toll. Winter is anathema to me, and even in the desert, it gets too cold and dreary. I’m a summer dragon. Hard to get things done. The next item on my checklist is getting a Patreon up, but I don’t want to just throw it together, so I’ll need a space of time to focus on that. First, I have 4 more comics to draw.\n\nThe interview I wanted to link to last week, where I discuss pantheism, is back up here, and a funny little thing I did for Panels is here.\n\nDragon Comics 122\n\ndragon comics 122_edited-2\n\nThe problem that I have with myself when dealing with issues such as yesterday’s troll-baiting, is that I am a pantheist. I wanted to link to an interview I did on this subject, but it seems to have disappeared. The important part about being a pantheist in this context is that when I believe there is only one thing in the universe: we are all one thing, you and me and people we don’t like and people we do like and blades of grass and quasars and everything. So if I tear a ignorant little troll to shreds on Reddit, I am also tearing myself to shreds.\n\nWe’re the same, and it’s only the veil of material illusion that causes us to think we’re separate. So that’s sort of senseless and demoralizing. Why should I put so much energy into proving other people wrong? I know they’re wrong. Everyone who hears them knows they’re wrong. Possibly, they know they’re wrong, but either way, what does it matter? Am I really going to set someone straight? If the best I can do is make them feel bad, shouldn’t I feel bad about it too? Especially if it makes me feel good?\n\nThis is how it always goes when people rub me the wrong way. Because I love the universe in a general sense, but some of the elements of the universe are a trial to tolerate. Not you, though. You’re cool.\n\nDragon Comics 121\n\ndragon comics 121_edited-1\n\nOr skinks. You might also be thinking of legless lizards. But not dragons.\n\nSome guy called me an idiot on the Internet and I eviscerated him with words.\n\nHe probably didn’t realize that he was reading original content on Reddit and that the author would see his comments. He definitely didn’t realize he was the idiot in the scenario. A couple people tried to point out the flaws in his reasoning, and then they just downvoted him into oblivion, so that the site hid his comment.\n\nBut…uh…I didn’t let it go.\n\nSomething snapped and I dug in and tore him to pieces, pointing out over and over again how ignorant he was. To his discredit, he kept responding, which only made him look stupider, and I kept ripping him to shreds until he actually apologized for insulting me and started sobbing about how mean I was.\n\nAnd the thing is, I was mean. I was vicious. Because people who go around insulting people anonymously usually do it because it helps them feel superior, and usually no one has the time to knock them down, so they just go around being jerks and thinking they’re right and everyone else is wrong. But every once in a while one of them bumps into me, and I happen to have a little time on my hands, and a more impressive vocabulary, and ability to use logic, and understanding of how to argue, and they learn that once you wake the dragon, the dragon just presses forward until the opponent is destroyed because dragons do not like waking up.\n\nAnd this guy was destroyed. I almost felt a little bad. I almost thought I should say, “Yeah, sorry, I took it too far,” because when he finished Googling all the big words, he probably felt way more insulted by the thread than I was by him calling me an idiot, especially since my insults were based on his actual intellectual shortcomings while his were based on an utter lack of understanding of anything. But I didn’t apologize. Instead, I picked his last shred of dignity and finished him with a final humiliating truth bomb that, I imagine, helped him understand just how outclassed he was.\n\nSo…I actually felt kind of bad/weird about excoriating a common troll in such a nuclear fashion. Blame it on the dragon part. I may be but little, but I am fierce. I try to be nice, all the time, to everyone, no matter who or what they are, but sometimes, something else takes over and I stop feeling like everyone deserves compassion, and get punitive instead. When I have this kind of cognitive dissonance, it always ends up in the Dragon Comics, and there are probably 2 more days of this thread, because I feel bad about feeling good about it.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5363080501556396}
+{"content": "Meraih Doktor Tahun 2019\n\nWaktu terus berjalan dengan cepat. Segala mimpi besar lama yang belum berhasil, seakan memaksaku untuk merubah haluan. Melamar AAS 2016 Intake belum berhasil, akhirnya keputusan cepat diambil, melanjutkan S3 ke UNIKA Atmajaya Jakarta, Alhamdulillah diterima tinggal kuliah Agustus 2016 nanti. Bukan sebuah hal yang mudah. Ada yang mengatakan keberhasilan itu rumus dari nekad dan yakin. Benarkah? …\n\nJangan berhenti bermimpi\n\nSatu hal yang paling mudah dan murah dalam hidup ini adalah bermimpi. Ya… dari mimpilah semua perbuatan dan realitas keinginan manusia tercipta. Ada mimpi besar dan ada mimpi kecil. Manusia sebetulnya dibatasi oleh mimpi-mimpinya. Bahkan ada manusia yang sekedar untuk bermimpi yang besar saja, tidak mau. Dari mimpi semua yang manusia kreasikan tercipta. Ada pesawat terbang yang bisa terbang di angkasa biru, semula manusia sebatas melihat burung yang sedang beterbangan bebas, kemudian terpintas mimpi. “Bisakah aku terbang suatu hari?”, kata manusia…. Kini mimpi tersebut menjadi kenyataan.\n\nPara pemimpin besar di dunia ini, sebetulnya ketika mereka kecil, mereka sudah punya mimpi. Lantas mimpi tersebut selalu mengiringi dalam setiap detik hidup mereka. Rangkaian tahapan hidup mereka jalani bersama mimpi-mimpi mereka. Setelah menjadi pemimpin besar, mereka terbangun dari tidurnya dan mimpinya. Ketika bangun, mereka sudah meninggalkan mimpi mereka dan ternyata mimpi mereka sudah menjadi sebuah kenyataan. Jadi..siapapun kita dan apapun status kita, bermimpilah hal-hal yang besar…\n\nPuasa Bathin dan Dunia\n\nBagi seorang muslim dewasa, konsep berpuasa “sekedar” menahan lapar dan haus, hubungan biologis (bagi yang sudah menikah) dan larangan-larangan fisikal lainnya adalah sudah tidak terlallu membebani. Pengalaman belasan atau puluhan kali berpuasa tergantung rentang usia adalah ppengalaman yang cukup untuk bisa melewati dan melaksanakan puasa dalam konteks menahan kebutuhan perut (needs of biological aspects).\n\nHal yang semesteinya harus sudah menjadi tahapan berikut dalam berpuasa bagi orang dewasa adalah bagaimana berpuasa menahan dari hal-hal diluar kebutuhan perut….(bersambung)\n\n\nRudi Haryono\n\nAs I have studied about ICT in Learning, I found it is very useful concept in improving the students’ interests and skill in learning. Pak Hartoyo has motivated me to use CALL concept in learning and to use all of ICT tools in teaching learning process. Teaching does not only merely use on the printed-paper sources, but it can be in the more extent way, using computer.\nThe book I refer and read more is “Individual Differences in Computer Assisted- Language Learning (CALL) written by Pak Hartoyo. This book really gives me an adequate knowledge and concept of the CALL in learning. In the first meeting, my group is given task to present about the concept of hypertext.\nThanks to human intellectual development, text from time by time is not solely about “physical sight letter”. A text can show or reveal another text. According to Karen (1988), hypertext means non-sequential reading and writing. A hypertext system allows a user to link information together, thereby creating trails through associated materials. A link connects words or sentences in one electronic document to relate information in another document. In the further explanation, Hartoyo (2005) mentions the term ‘individual differences”. This means that every learner has different skill and capability in accessing and learning CALL concept. Those individual differences are: age, attitudes, motivation, intelligence, language aptitude, previous knowledge, familiarity with computers, interaction with native-speaker of English, and language used for interaction with the community. These aspects subsequently will influence how a learner can learn CALL fast or slowly.\nHartoyo (2005) explains in making CALL concept and application, we are as user should consider some important aspects: interactivity, usability, content appropriateness, effectiveness, and performance.\nCALL or Computers Assisted-Language Learning is the term when learners use computers to assist their learning process. As Ahmad,, (1985:4) explains that :\n(The computer) is flexible in a number of significant ways,. It often happens that students cannot attend a class because of illness, timetable clashes, and other problems. This presents no difficulty for the computer. Provided a computer is available, the student can come at any time, and spend as long as is needed to gain full benefit from the material. It can accommodate different speeds of learning, or alternatively, limits can be imposed on the time available for answering questions, which is valuable when it is used for testing purpose.\n\nIt happens to me that given the sample of CALL media like the interactive English learning CD’s by Pak Hartoyo for speaking and learning vocabulary. In the first use, I feel awkward and weird to use and comprehend the instruction and the move, but after trying many times I can learn from the CD again and again. Also, if we want to be more familiar with CALL concept in learning, we must understand and be able to operate computers first. Having previous experience in computers will ease the use of CALL to run the system smoothly unless they will face difficulty in the term of use it.To sum up, in this digital era, as a teacher we must be able to create such our own CALL system in assisting our language teaching to the students.\n\n\nAhmad,K., G. Corbett, M.Rogers, and R Sussex. (1985). Computers, Language Learning and Language Teaching, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press\n\nHartoyo (2005).Individual differences in computer-assisted language learning, Semarang: Pelita Insani Publishing\n\n\nRudi Haryono\n\nThere are many kinds of media used in teaching and learning of English. The media used are developing from time by time. One of the media used in English learning is computer. Hartoyo (1993) states the development of information technology that has followed the development of computer technology has stimulated people especially those work in the field of education, such as teachers, curriculum planners and media designers, to endeavor to carry out experiments and studies on the possibilities of utilizing computers for educational purposes. This endeavor has increased with development of so-called hypertext (hypermedia) computer interfaces. Seeing this phenomena, it seems that next English learning will be more stimulating and more sophisticated as the use of computers media in learning. Writing this essay, the writer hopes can present an adequate topic about ICT in learning in the sufficient way and tries to highlight some aspects in ICT learning.\n\nThis essay aims to explain the short history of ICT in learning and its impact in learning.\n\nReview of Related Literature\nAny discussion about the use of computer systems in schools is built upon an understanding of the link between schools, learning and computer technology. When the potential use of computers in schools was first mooted, the predominant conception was that students would be ‘taught’ by computers (discussed by Mevarech & Light, 1992). In a sense it was considered that the computer would ‘take over’ the teacher’s job in much the same way as a robot computer may take over a welder’s job. Collis (1989) refers to this as “a rather grim image” where “a small child sits alone with a computer” (p. 11). During the late 1970s and early 1980s, computers became more affordable to schools, permitting a rapid decrease in student-to-computer ratios. While tutorial and D&P software continued to be developed (Chambers & Sprecher, 1984), a range of other educational software was developed that was not based on the premise of teacher replacement, for example, simulation software, modelling and tool software. However, the major argument used to support the introduction of greater amounts of computer hardware into schools concerned the perceived need to increase the level of computer literacy of students (Carleer, 1984; Downes, Perry, & Sherwood, 1995).\n\nIn the next development, towards the end of the 1980s and into the 1990s, while the computer literacy rationale still remained (Hannafin & Savenye, 1993; Hussein, 1996), the major rationale for having computers in schools was more concerned with the need to use computers to improve student learning (Welle-Strand, 1991). Broadly speaking, computer literacy is a component of Technology Education, which is distinct, but not necessarily separate from, using technologies such as computer systems to support learning and teaching processes. The latter is generally referred to as educational technology; and is applied to a wide range of technologies such as blackboards and chalk, pencils, books, and slide-rules to television, facsimiles, and computers.\n\nSince the beginning of the 1990s, educators have been particularly concerned that very little of the potential of computers to support learning in schools seems to have been realised, despite a sufficient installed base of computers. Numerous studies (Becker, Ravitz, & Wong, 1999; DeCorte, 1990; Plomp & Pelgrum, 1992) have shown that few teachers facilitate substantial student use of computers. Therefore, while it is assumed in this review that computer support for learning is essential, some discussion of the rationale is required as a background to later discussions concerning models for the use of computing systems to support learning and teaching.\n\nFrom the earliest times when computers were commercially available, they could be found in use in educational institutions, and educators (e.g. Bork, 1980; Carnegie Commission on Higher Education, 1977; Papert, 1980) argued that computers should be used to support learning. Firstly, computer assisted language learning (CALL) developed and concerned itself with the pedagogical applications of the technology. Students used the computer to develop and practise their English. CALL is, of course, still with us today but in pre-Internet times rather limited text-based provisions were something of a novelty for both students and enthusiastic practitioners; this novelty factor has, of course, long since gone for many who use computers as part of their day-to-day life. A second perspective was in the use of computers for assisting and understanding of what constitutes the English language and how it works. Corpus linguistics and the arrival of lexis as an item to be included within the syllabus began in the 1980’s with Sinclair (1987) and others, and work of this type continues today. This statistical analysis of language, initially analysis of written language, but more recently spoken language, has allowed us to examine the frequency of words and this has informed the profession from several perspectives. It has given us insights into the most useful vocabulary to teach and facilitated the emergence of the lexical syllabus. It has also allowed us to look at form-based words and this has given us insights into the grammar that we teach. One positive outcome from all this has been the arrival of a range of publications for teachers and students – such material can now be based on how the language is actually used rather than what the traditional grammar book prescribes.\n\nThe work of Biber et al. (1999) is particularly useful; they found, for example that the modal verb ‘may’ is hardly ever used in spoken language for permission! For students, resource publications such as McCarthy and O’Dell (1994) provide good practice of such real language. We can see that computers have had a role in pedagogical practice and in analysing language – both these aspects have further developed with the arrival of the Internet but the point here is that in pre-Internet days the role of the computer did not fundamentally influence the language itself and it is only with the arrival of the Internet (and related technologies such as text-messaging on mobile phones) that computers began to significantly change language.\n\nIf we highlight all the discussions in the previous section, we can see how computers have “taken and dominated” in the term of language learning. The use of ICT (computers) is something more avoidable in learning. Its role in learning has played more significant since its easiness and interesting aspect in learning. The teaching and learning style has changed in the term of form and technique. Using the chalks and board into mother board one is the real change. Since the 1960’s the computer has been heralded, by some, as the solution to many problems in education. Many early computer scientists saw the possibility of the computer replacing teachers in schools. However these pictures of students sitting behind computer terminals for much of the day have largely not occurred in mainstream schools, and most would not like this to be realised (Collis, 1989). There are three main rationales for ICT in schools: one concerns the organisational productivity of the school, and the other two focus on the needs of students: technological literacy and support for their learning. The latter two rationales are supported by the recent Australian report Raising the Standards (DEST, 2002, p. 38) that is, “The need for ICT competent teachers stems from the need for ICT competent students and for ICT-rich learning environments that enhance students’ learning across the curriculum”.\n\nThe Impact of ICT in learning\n\nThe Impact of ICT in learning\nWe can see the impact of ICT in learning as the following figure:\n\nFigure 3 Concept map indicating relationships between learning environment entities and external entities.\n\nSummary and Recommendation\nThe computer is one of a range of technologies now available to teachers and students. In past decades technologies such as radio, television and overhead projectors similarly had little lasting impact on the experiences of students and teachers in schools. In these cases a large amount of money was spent on these resources which some would argue would have been better spent on other resources. It is important that scarce resources to support learning in schools are not wasted and therefore care needs to be taken in choosing to use computers to support learning. The use of ICT in learning must consider some of aspects as follows:\n1. The readiness of the resources\n2. The readiness of the school in the term of how skillful and familiar they are in using computers\n3. The concept of not to use computers as only one resources in learning. It means that, the teacher still keeps the most important thing in learning besides computers.\n\nTeachers should be more familiar in using ICT in teaching learning, since ICT is more interesting and attractive for the students. It offers many challenges and new aspects of how language can be learnt in the more practical without relying only merely on teacher guidance.\n\n\nBecker, H. J., Ravitz, J. L., & Wong, Y. T. (1999). Teacher and Teacher-Directed Student Use of Computers and Software. (Teaching, Learning, and Computing: 1998 National Survey. 3). Irvine, California: Center for Research on Information Technology and Organizations, University of California, Irvine.\n\nBiber, D., Johansson, S., Leech, G., Conrad, S. and Finegan, E. (1999). Longman grammar of spoken and written English. Harlow: Longman.\n\nBork, A. (1980). Preparing student-computer dialogs: Advice to teachers. In R. Taylor (Ed.), The computer in the school: Tutor, tool, tutee (pp. 15-52). New York: Teachers College Press, Columbia University.\n\nChambers, J. A., & Sprecher, J. W. (1984). Computer-assisted instruction: Current trends and critical issues. In D. F. Walker & R. D. Hess (Eds.), Instructional Software (pp. 6-19). Belmont: Wadsworth Publishing Company.\n\nCollis, B. (1989). Using information technology to create new educational situations. (pp. 19). Paris: UNESCO International Congress on Education and Informatics.\n\nDEST. (2002). Raising the standards: A proposal for the development of an ICT competency framework for teachers. Canberra: Department of Education, Science and Training.\n\nHannafin, R. D., & Savenye, W. C. (1993). Technology in the classroom: The teacher’s new role and resistance to it. Educational Technology, 33(6), 26-31.\n\n\nHussein, Y. (1996). The role of the computer in the school as perceived by computer using teachers and administrators. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 15(2), 137-155.\n\nUpper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Publishing.\nLynch, W. (1990). Social aspects of human-computer interaction. Educational Technology, 30(4), 26-31.\n\nMevarech, A. R., & Light, P. H. (1992). Peer-based interaction at the computer: Looking backward, looking forward. Learning and Instruction, 2, 275-280.\n\nWelle-Strand, A. (1991). Evaluation of the Norwegian Program of Action: the impact of computers in the classroom and how schools learn. Computers and Education, 16(1), 29-35.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8930689692497253}
+{"content": "Darien Patch - Alexa Skill\n\nDarien Patch\n\n\nOr say \"Alexa, enable Darien Patch\"\n\n\nThe Darien Patch has everything you need to know about Darien, Illinois including breaking news, local news, events, weather, sports, schools, shopping, restaurants from Patch.\n\nInvocation Name\n\n\nInteraction Examples\n\nAlexa, what's my Flash Briefing?\nAlexa, what's in the news?\n\nRelease Date\n\nNovember 4th 2016", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7428017854690552}
+{"content": "As a science-based company, we believe that supporting environmental stewardship efforts are critical for a healthy planet. We believe that the health of our planet has an impact on the health and well-being of people everywhere, and that our actions have the potential to affect people and the environment not just today, but well into the future.\n\nCelgene is a growing company with increasing global demand for our innovative therapies and a robust development pipeline. Given our respect for our environment, it’s critical that we grow responsibly and with the goal of long-term sustainability. We must employ sound decision-making that reflects our values, and seek to mitigate our operational impacts on the environment. To advance our long-term sustainability approach, we seek opportunities to minimize our global carbon footprint, develop programs that reduce waste, implement water and energy conservation practices, and maintain our compliance with water quality and environmental regulations.\n\nwind turbine\n\n2020 Environmental Goals\n\nIn early 2016, Celgene’s Sustainability Committee identified four actionable and measurable environmental goals that are of material importance to Celgene and for which new 2020 improvement targets were set: greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, electricity sourcing, water withdrawal, and waste generation.\nLearn more\n\nBuilding L, New Jersey\n\nEnvironmental Management\n\nCelgene’s environmental management approach incorporates best practices and programs related to energy, water, waste, transportation, and supply chain operations within our company.\nLearn more", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9835208058357239}
+{"content": "Aptitude Overflow\n0 votes\n\n$n^{3}$ is odd. Which of the following statement(s) is/are true.\n\nA.$n$ is odd\n\nB.$n^{2}$ is odd\n\nC.$n^{2}$ is even\n\n  1. $A$ only\n  2. $B$ only\n  3. $A$ and $B$ only\n  4. $A$ and $C$ only.\nasked in Quantitative Aptitude by (3.5k points)   | 14 views\n\n1 Answer\n\n0 votes\n\nif we multiply 2 odd numbers then result will be odd number.\n\nand if Multiply 2 even numbers then result will be even number.Result of 2 even number multiplication can not be odd number.\n\n\nGiven that $n^{3}$ is odd.This is possible when $n^{2}$ and $n$ is also odd number.\n\n$Example:-$  $n=3$\n\n\n\nHere we can see all are odd numbers.\n\nHence,Option(C)A and B only.\n\nanswered by (228 points)  \n\nRelated questions\n\n2,474 questions\n903 answers\n15,497 users", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5655410885810852}
+{"content": "Back to photo list\n\nIndia - Karnataka - Mysore - Mysore Palace - Kote Sri Anjaneya Swamy Temple - 6\n\nMysore, officially renamed as Mysuru, is the third most populous city in the state of Karnataka, India. Located at the base of the Chamundi Hills about 146 km southwest of the state capital Bangalore, it is spread across an area of 128.42 km2. According to the provisional results of the 2011 national census of India, the population is 887,446. Mysore City Corporation is responsible for the civic administration of the city, which is also the headquarters of the Mysore district and the Mysore division.\n\n\n\n\nIn December 2005, the Government of Karnataka announced its intention to change the English name of the city to Mysuru. This was approved by the Government of India, but as of 2011 the formalities necessary to incorporate the name change were yet to be completed. The central government approved this request in October 2014 and Mysore was renamed (along with other 12 cities) to \"Mysuru\" on November 1, 2014.\n\nThe site where Mysore Palace now stands was occupied by a village named Puragere at the beginning of the 16th century. The Mahishūru Fort was constructed in 1524 by Chamaraja Wodeyar III (1513–1553), who passed on the dominion of Puragere to his son Chamaraja Wodeyar IV (1572–1576). Since the 16th century, the name of Mahishūru has commonly been used to denote the city. The Mysore Kingdom, governed by the Wodeyar family, initially served as a vassal state of the Vijayanagara Empire. With the decline of the Vijayanagara Empire after the Battle of Talikota in 1565, the Mysore Kingdom gradually achieved independence, and by the time of King Narasaraja Wodeyar (1637) it had become a sovereign state. Seringapatam (modern-day Srirangapatna), near Mysore, was the capital of the kingdom from 1610. The 17th century saw a steady expansion of its territory and, under Narasaraja Wodeyar I and Chikka Devaraja Wodeyar, the kingdom annexed large expanses of what is now southern Karnataka and parts of Tamil Nadu, to become a powerful state in the southern Deccan.\n\nThe kingdom reached the height of its military power and dominion in the latter half of the 18th century under the de facto rulers Hyder Ali and his son Tipu Sultan. The latter demolished parts of Mysore to remove legacies of the Wodeyar dynasty. During this time, Mysore kingdom came into conflict with the Marathas, the British and the Nizam of Golconda, leading to the four Anglo-Mysore wars, success in the first two of which was followed by defeat in the third and fourth. After Tipu Sultan's death in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War in 1799, the capital of the kingdom was moved back to Mysore from Seringapatam, and the kingdom was distributed by the British to their allies of the Fourth Mysore war. The landlocked interior of the previous Mysore Kingdom was turned into a princely state under the suzerainty of the British Crown. The former Wodeyar rulers were reinstated as puppet monarchs, now styled Maharajas. The British administration was assisted locally by Diwan (chief minister) Purnaiah. Purnaiah is credited with improving Mysore's public works. Mysore lost its status as the administrative centre of the kingdom in 1831, when the British commissioner moved the capital to Bangalore.:251 It regained that status in 1881 and remained the capital of the Princely State of Mysore within the British Indian Empire until India became independent in 1947.\n\nThe Mysore municipality was established in 1888 and the city was divided into eight wards.:283 In 1897 an outbreak of bubonic plague killed nearly half of the population of the city. With the establishment of the City Improvement Trust Board (CITB) in 1903, Mysore became one of the first cities in Asia to undertake planned development of the city. Public demonstrations and meetings were held there during the Quit India movement and other phases of the Indian independence movement.\n\nAfter Indian independence, Mysore city remained as part of the Mysore State, now known as Karnataka. Jayachamarajendra Wodeyar, then king of Mysore, was allowed to retain his titles and was nominated as the Rajapramukh (appointed governor) of the state. He died in September 1974 and was cremated in Mysore city. Over the years, Mysore became well known as a centre for tourism; the city remained largely peaceful, except for occasional riots related to the Kaveri river water dispute. Among the events that took place in Mysore and made national headlines were a fire at a television studio that claimed 62 lives in 1989, and the sudden deaths of many animals at the Mysore Zoo.\n\nMysore is located at 12.30°N 74.65°E and has an average altitude of 770 metres. It is spread across an area of 128.42 km2 at the base of the Chamundi Hills in the southern region of Karnataka. Mysore is the southern-most city of Karnataka, and is a neighbouring city of the states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu in the south, flanked by the state cities Mercara, Chamarajanagara, and Mandya. People in and around Mysore extensively use Kannada as medium of language. Mysore has several lakes, such as the Kukkarahalli, the Karanji, and the Lingambudhi lakes. In 2001, total land area usage in Mysore city was 39.9% residential, 16.1% roads, 13.74% parks and open spaces, 13.48% industrial, 8.96% public property, 3.02% commercial, 2.27% agriculture and 2.02 water. The city is located between two rivers: the Kaveri River that flows through the north of the city and the Kabini River, a tributary of the Kaveri, that lies to the south.\n\nMysore has a tropical savanna climate designated Aw under the Köppen climate classification. The main seasons are summer from March to June, the monsoon season from July to November and winter from December to February. The highest temperature recorded in Mysore was 39.4 °C on 4 April 1914, and the lowest was 7.7 °C on 16 January 2012. The city's average annual rainfall is 804.2 mm.\n\nThe civic administration of the city is managed by the Mysore City Corporation, which was established as a municipality in 1888 and converted into a corporation in 1977. Overseeing engineering works, health, sanitation, water supply, administration and taxation, the corporation is headed by a mayor, who is assisted by commissioners and council members. The city is divided into 65 wards and the council members (also known as corporators) are elected by the citizens of Mysore every five years. The council members in turn elect the mayor. The annual budget of the Corporation for the year 2011–2012 was ₹426.96 crore (US$63.45 million). Among 63 cities covered under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, Mysore City Corporation was adjudged the second best city municipal corporation and was given the \"Nagara Ratna\" award in 2011.\n\nUrban growth and expansion is managed by the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA), which is headed by a commissioner. Its activities include developing new layouts and roads, town planning and land acquisition. One of the major projects undertaken by MUDA is the creation of an Outer Ring Road to ease traffic congestion. Citizens of Mysore have criticised MUDA for its inability to prevent land mafias and ensure lawful distribution of housing lands among city residents. The Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation is responsible for electric supply to the city.\n\nDrinking water for Mysore is sourced from the Kaveri and Kabini rivers. The city got its first piped water supply when the Belagola project was commissioned in 1896. As of 2011, Mysore gets 42.5 million gallons water per day. Mysore sometimes faces water crises, mainly during the summer months (March–June) and in years of low rainfall. The city has had an underground drainage system since 1904. The entire sewage from the city drains into four valleys: Kesare, Malalavadi, Dalavai and Belavatha. In an exercise carried out by the Urban Development Ministry under the national urban sanitation policy, Mysore was rated the second cleanest city in India in 2010 and the cleanest in Karnataka.\n\nThe citizens of Mysore elect four representatives to the Legislative assembly of Karnataka through the constituencies of Chamaraja, Krishnaraja, Narasimharaja and Chamundeshwari. Mysore city, being part of the larger Mysore Lok Sabha constituency, also elects one member to the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Indian Parliament. The politics in the city is dominated by three political parties: the Indian National Congress (INC), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and the Janata Dal (Secular) (JDS).\n\nAccording to the provisional results of the 2011 census of India, Mysore had a population of 887,446, consisting of 443,813 males and 443,633 females, making it the third most populous city in Karnataka. The gender ratio of the city is 1000 females to every 1000 males and the population density is 6,910.5 per square kilometre. According to the census of 2001, 76.8% of thepopulatiion are Hindus, 19% are Muslims, 2.8% are Christians, and the remainder belong to other religions. The population exceeded 100,000 in the census of 1931 and grew by 20.5 per cent in the decade 1991–2001. As of 2011, the literacy rate of the city is 86.84 per cent, which is higher than the state's average of 75.6 per cent. Kannada is the most widely spoken language in the city. Approximately 19% of the population live below the poverty line, and 9% live in slums. According to the 2001 census, 35.75% of the population in the urban areas of Karnataka are workers, but only 33.3% of the population of Mysore are. Members of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled tribes constitute 15.1% of the population. According to the National Crime Records Bureau of India, the number of cognisable crime incidents reported in Mysore during 2010 was 3,407 (second in the state, after Bangalore's 32,188), increasing from 3,183 incidents reported in 2009.\n\nThe residents of the city are known as Mysoreans in English and Mysoorinavaru in Kannada. The dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu over the sharing of Kaveri river water often leads to minor altercations and demonstrations in the city. Growth in the information technology industry in Mysore has led to a change in the city's demographic profile; likely strains on the infrastructure and haphazard growth of the city resulting from the demographic change have been a cause of concern for some of its citizens.\n\n\nFor the industrial development of the city, the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) has established four industrial areas in and around Mysore, in the Belagola, Belawadi, Hebbal and Hootagalli areas. One of the major industrial in the proximity of Mysore is Nanjangud which will be Satellite town to Mysore. Nanjangud industrial area hosts a number of Big industries like Reid and Taylor, Jubiliant, TVS, Asian Paints. Nanjangud Industrial area also boasts being 2nd highest VAT / Sales Tax payer which is about 400+ crores after Peenya which is in state capital Bangalore.\n\nMysore also hosts many central government organisations like CFTRI, DFRL, CIPET, RPM ( Rare Material Project ), RBI Note printing Press and RBI Paper Printing Press.\n\nThe growth of the information technology industry in the first decade of the 21st century has resulted in the city emerging as the second largest software exporter in Karnataka, next to Bangalore. The city contributed Rs. 1363 crore (US$275 million) to Karnataka's IT exports.\n\nMysore is slowly becoming a consumer city with a very big outside population working with the industries and IT hubs.[citation needed] New housing layouts are appearing every month and the number of supermarkets and other shopping facilities is increasing very fast.\n\nBefore the advent of the European system of education in Mysore, agraharas (Brahmin quarters) provided Vedic education to Hindus, and madrassas provided schooling for Muslims. Modern education began in Mysore when a free English school was established in 1833. Maharaja College was founded in 1864. A high school exclusively for girls was established in 1881 and later converted into the Maharani's Women's College. The Industrial School, the first institute for technical education in the city, was established in 1892; this was followed by the Chamarajendra Technical Institute in 1913. While the modern system of education was making inroads, colleges such as the Mysore Sanskrit college, established in 1876, continued to provide Vedic education. Vivekananda Institute, Mysore is an international organisation giving training to Indians and foreigners in development management.\n\nThe education system was enhanced by the establishment of the University of Mysore in 1916, making it the first outside the British administration in India. Other important institutes are CFTRI, MYRA School of Business (founded in 2011) and Mysore Medical College.\n\n\n\nThe Mysore painting style is an offshoot of the Vijayanagar school of painting, and King Raja Wodeyar (1578–1617 CE) is credited with having been its patron. The distinctive feature of these paintings is the gesso work, to which gold foil is applied. Mysore is known for rosewood inlay work; around 4,000 craftsmen were estimated to be involved in this art in 2002. The city lends its name to the Mysore silk saree, a women's garment made with pure silk and gold zari (thread). Mysore Peta, the traditional indigenous turban worn by the erstwhile rulers of Mysore, is worn by men in some traditional ceremonies. A notable local dessert that traces its history to the kitchen in the Mysore palace is Mysore pak.\n\nMysore is the location of the International Ganjifa Research Centre, which researches the ancient card game Ganjifa and the art associated with it. The Chamarajendra Academy of Visual Arts (CAVA) offers education in visual art forms such as painting, graphics, sculpture, applied art, photography, photojournalism and art history. The Rangayana repertory company performs plays and offers certificate courses in subjects related to theatre. Kannada writers Kuvempu, Gopalakrishna Adiga and U. R. Ananthamurthy were educated in Mysore and served as professors at the Mysore University. R. K. Narayan, a popular English-language novelist and creator of the fictional town of Malgudi, and his cartoonist brother R. K. Laxman spent much of their life in Mysore.\n\nMysore is connected by National Highway NH-212 to the state border town of Gundlupet, where the road forks into the states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. State Highway 17, which connects Mysore to Bangalore, was upgraded to a four-lane highway in 2006, reducing travel time between the two cities. A project was planned in 1994 to construct a new expressway to connect Bangalore and Mysore. After numerous legal hurdles, it remains unfinished as of 2012. State Highways 33 and 88 which connect Mysore to H D Kote and Madikeri respectively. The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) and other private agencies operate buses both within the city and between cities. A new division of KSRTC called Mysore City Transport Corporation (MCTC) has been proposed. Within the city, buses are cheap and popular means of transport, auto-rickshaws are also available and tongas (horse-drawn carriages) are popular with tourists. Mysore also has a 42.5-kilometre long ring road that is being upgraded to six lanes by the MUDA.\n\n\nFollowing three decades of dormancy, Mysore Airport was modernised in the mid-2000s, reopening to scheduled passenger service in October 2010. However, airlines have had difficulty maintaining service to the airport. As of August 2016, the airport is without commercial service.\n\nNewspaper publishing in Mysore started in 1859 when Bhashyam Bhashyacharya began publishing a weekly newspaper in Kannada called the Mysooru Vrittanta Bodhini, the first of a number of weekly newspapers published in the following three decades. A well-known Mysore publisher during Wodeyar rule was M. Venkatakrishnaiah, known as the father of Kannada journalism, who started several news magazines. Many local newspapers are published in Mysore and carry news mostly related to the city and its surroundings, and national and regional dailies in English and Kannada are available, as in the other parts of the state. Sudharma, the only Indian daily newspaper in Sanskrit, is published in Mysore.\n\n\n\nThe Wodeyar kings of Mysore were patrons of games and sports. King Krishnaraja Wodeyar III had a passion for indoor games. He invented new board games and popularised the ganjifa card game. Malla-yuddha (traditional wrestling) has a history in Mysore dating back to the 16th century. The wrestling competition held in Mysore during the Dasara celebrations attracts wrestlers from all over India. An annual sports meeting is organised there during the Dasara season too.\n\nIn 1997 Mysore and Bangalore co-hosted the city's biggest sports event ever, the National Games of India. Mysore was the venue for six sports: archery, gymnastics, equestrianism, handball, table tennis and wrestling. Cricket is by far the most popular sport in Mysore. The city has four established cricket grounds, but is yet to host an international cricket match. Javagal Srinath, who represented India for several years as its frontline fast bowler, comes from Mysore. Other prominent sportsmen from the city are Prahlad Srinath, who has represented India in Davis Cup tennis tournaments; Reeth Abraham, a national champion in the heptathlon and a long jump record holder; Sagar Kashyap, the youngest Indian to officiate at the Wimbledon Championships; and Rahul Ganapathy, a national amateur golf champion. The Mysore race course hosts a racing season each year from August through October. India's first youth hostel was formed in the Maharaja's College Hostel in 1949.\n\nMysore is a major tourist destination in its own right and serves as a base for other tourist attractions in the vicinity. The city receives large number of tourists during the 10-day Dasara festival. One of the most visited monuments in India, the Amba Vilas Palace, or Mysore Palace, is the centre of the Dasara festivities. The Jaganmohana Palace, The Sand Sculpture Museum the Jayalakshmi Vilas and the Lalitha Mahal are other palaces in the city. Chamundeshwari Temple, atop the Chamundi Hills, and St. Philomena's Church, Wesley's Cathedral are notable religious places in Mysore.\n\n\nA short distance from Mysore city is the Krishnarajasagar Dam and the adjoining Brindavan Gardens, where a musical fountain show is held every evening. Places of historic importance close to Mysore are Srirangapatna, Somanathapura and Talakad. B R Hills, Himavad Gopalaswamy Betta hill and the hill stations of Ooty, Sultan Bathery and Madikeri are close to Mysore. Popular destinations for wildlife enthusiasts near Mysore include the Nagarhole National Park, the wildlife sanctuaries at Melkote and B R Hills and the bird sanctuaries at Ranganathittu and Kokrebellur. Bandipur National Park and Mudumalai National Park, which are sanctuaries for gaur, chital, elephants, tigers, Indian leopards and other threatened species, lie between 64 and 97 km to the south. Other tourist spots near Mysore include the religious locations of Nanjanagud and Bylakuppe and the waterfalls at Shivanasamudra.\n\nMysore is currently twinned with Cincinnati.\n\nDate: 2017-03-14 05:02:16\n\nVisit : Indonesia-Furniture.com\n\n\nNo comment found!\n\nMembers of Indonesia-Furniture.com | Partnered with Indonesia-Export.com\nPowered by IndonesiaCommerce.com | Promoted by IndonesiaWebPromotion.com\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8455709218978882}
+{"content": "Sunday, March 30, 2008\n\nBook Review: The Managerial Moment of Truth\n\nRobert Fritz and Bruce Bodaken provide a practical guide for handling difficult but necessary interactions in the workplace. The Managerial Moment of Truth, or MMOT, is a four-step process of objectively identifying reality (a missed due date; a drop in sales); objectively determining how the manager in charge came to that point, without blame or criticism; identification of new and improved procedures to do better the next time; and establishment of a feedback system so that the leader and manager can monitor the new process. The goal of this four step process is ultimately to improve the performance of the manager and to thereby improve the performance of the overall organization.\n\nThe foundation of the MMOT is Fritz' concept of the creative process, which is built around acknowledging current reality, determining where you want to be, and making what he calls a fundamental choice to arrive there, and thereby taking the necessary steps to create this new reality. This process takes place within the framework of what Fritz calls structural tension, the tension that naturally exists when there is a difference between where we are and where we want to be. By addressing the tension in this way, the participant arrives at his new reality - and creates something new. It avoids the approach of problem solving, because that is an attempt to make something go away, while the creative process is the effort of bringing something new into being. Fritz provides more detail on this in his other works, particularly The Path of Least Resistance, also a great read.\n\nIn this work, Fritz and Bodekan address applying this fundamental creative approach to workplace issues. The cornerstone of the MMOT is telling the truth - i.e. acknowledging reality as it is - not sugar-coating it or pretending it does not exist, hoping that things will get better or go away on their own, or resigning oneself to poor performance from your direct reports. The authors acknowledge the challenge in approaching issues this way because, in most organizations, people are not used to dealing head on with reality. They provide excellent case studies, including the transcripts of conversations which show you exactly how to apply the MMOT technique.\n\nAs I read the book I became convinced that MMOT also has a place in family relationships, not only between spouses but also between parents and children. Perhaps there is some nuance in how MMOT should be applied in these circumstances, but I believe the general concept applies as well.\n\nI highly recommend this book for anyone managing even one person. If applied correctly and consistently, not only will your direct report's performance improve, but so will yours and that of your entire organization.\n\nFriday, March 21, 2008\n\nBook Review: The Post-Truth Era, by Ralph Keyes\n\nA Pants-on-Fire Epidemic!\n\nThis book makes a great case for the fact that lying is getting easier, and people are engaging in it more often, primarily because of mobility and technology, and is tearing away at the fabric of society. To function well, a society needs to have a bias for truth, so that we are fairly confident that most of the time people and institutions are telling us the truth. The alternative, a bias for untruth, leads to mistrust and the inability to function smoothly, and results in both a personal cost to our sense of self and an economic cost in terms of a truth tax that is imposed by protracted negotiations, lawyers, etc.\n\nKeyes covers the many aspects of lying, including how it eventually affects the liar. He also provides a lot of interesting examples of lying in the business world, in literature, in politics and in Hollywood -there are some real eye openers here - as well as an engaging exposition on those who defend lying and why. Keyes concludes convincingly with the need to have a bias for truth, although a reasonable one at that.\n\nKeyes' writing is tight and he skillfully weaves supporting quotes from various sources. The book is a quick read and one that helps you understand the current condition of truthtelling, and its prognosis.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5118457078933716}
+{"content": "Time Phantoms are strange, interdimensional creatures found in the Z Multiverse. A Time Phantom is created usually when a source of time energy (such as a time machine) lets out a huge burst. The energy from that burst then merges together and gains sentience. Time Phantoms feed on forms of time energy (time zones, timelines, etc), and are known to devour the histories of entire planets. Time Phantoms are not evil, for they are simply feeding to survive.\n\nBehavior Edit\n\nTime Phantoms are passive, and only attack when threatened. When Time Phantoms touch something or someone, the thing they touch is erased from the timeline, and forgotten. Time Phantoms are very shy and mysterious, and they usually hide by forming into a 2D black dot on the ground.\n\nAd blocker interference detected!\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6252791881561279}
+{"content": "Maker Camp: Building a Maker Mindset\n\n\nEveryone is a Maker.\n\n\n\n\n\nScreen Shot 2016-05-09 at 9.21.15 PM.png\n\nMaker Camp: Diving In\n\n\n\nThe spooky campfire ghost story.\n\n\n\n\nIn my\n\n\n\nStimulating Creativity in a Maker Space\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThree Little Pigs Creativity Project- Kindergarten & First Grade\n\nCreativity, Innovation, MakerEd, STEM, Tech Integration, TPACK\n\nBeginning with the framework that we used with fourth grade, we created a simplified and shortened version of the creativity project to use with our kindergarten and first grade Next Generation classrooms.\n\nWe did a quick think-pair-share retelling of the traditional Three Little Pigs story.\n\nThen, we read The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka and talked about similarities and differences in the two versions of the story.\n\nWe discussed the strategies the three little pigs used to keep the pig out and then revealed their challenge. The students needed to design a house that would stand up to the big bad wolf. IMG_1355\n\nWithin the time constraints of an hour, we had students go through a brainstorming process and create a design either on paper or their iPads. Working collaboratively to create one unified design was more challenging for this group of younger students compared to fourth grade but after some questioning they developed strategies for creating a design. One group had everyone create their own design and then shared them and picked the best one. Another group took parts of everyone’s design to create one design. This was probably the most time consuming part.\n\n\nAfter their design was approved, the groups were given their materials to start building. We did give different materials to this group and gave them a base to put their structure on to help them develop sturdier structures.\n\n\n\nIt was extremely interesting to see how the different groups created their structures. Some groups were very detail oriented- worried about chandeliers, signs, furniture and a yard. Other groups tested their structure by all blowing towards the structure at the same time to see if it would stay up.\n\n\nAfter about 20 minutes of work on their structure, we had each group come up and present their structure and tell us about why they did what they did. They had some well thought out reasoning! We then had the Big Bad Hairdryer come out and test the design to see if it would withstand the huff and puff.\n\n\nFinally, we self-reflected as a group using the K-2 BIE Creativity Rubric.\n\n\n\n\nThree Little Pigs Engineering Design and Creativity Project\n\nCreativity, Innovation, MakerEd, STEM, Tech Integration, TPACK\n\nAfter our Creativity and Innovation professional development (Next Gen Teacher Academy) training, the tech team pushed into Next Generation classrooms before Winter Break to tackle some creativity projects.\n\nIn designing this creativity project learning experience, I used TPACK to create the most effective learning experience.\n\nPedagogy: First, I considered the pedagogy that would help stimulate and develop creativity. In project or problem based learning, students are solving a complex question or problem that does not necessarily have one correct answer so it really lends itself to thinking creatively to solve problems. It was important to consider other best practices such as Backwards Design, UDL, differentiation, scaffolding and inquiry based learning and they seemed to complement a project based learning approach to the creativity project.\n\nContent: Next, I considered the content that would frame the creativity project. We pushed into Kindergarten, first grade and fourth grade classes for our creativity project so we needed content that could be adapted to be applicable to all grade levels. Making interdisciplinary connections, I settled on a STEM and literature project. I worked backwards to design essential questions for a fourth grade creativity project.\n\nBig Questions: What is the Engineering Design Process?\n\nHow can you design a solution to a problem?\n\nWhat strategies does a write use to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes?\n\nHow do folktales provide insight into other cultures and teach us lessons for our daily lives?\n\nObjective: Students will engage in the steps of the creative process including defining the creative challenge, identify sources of information, idea generation and refinement, openness and courage to explore, working creatively with others, creative production and innovation and self-reflection.\n\nContext: Next, I considered the context. We are pushing into Next Generation classrooms which have one to one iPads and flexible learning spaces. We also wanted to design a lesson that would adaptable to several grade levels.\n\nTechnology: Finally, after considering all of the above did I start to think about the ways in which technology could enhance the creativity lesson. The technology used for this lesson needed to provide a tool for collaboration, for publishing and sharing and also for engagement and creation.\n\nThe Three Little Pigs Engineering Creativity Project\n\nHook: To quickly engage students, we told them a little about how they would be using some engineering skills combined with a story they would be familiar with but that they would have to use some creativity as well. We showed The Three Little Pigs advertisement from The Guardian & discussed the different points of view within the video.\n\nRetelling: We then moved into a retelling of the traditional Three Little Pigs story through a Think, Pair, Share. We found that there was some confusion so decided to just read the original folk tale aloud to clear up any misconceptions.\n\nThen, we read aloud The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka, the version of the story told from the point of view of the wolf.\n\n\nCompare and Contrast: We asked students to think about the different points of view found in the three different versions of the same story and had them discuss with partners. We then had them create Venn Diagrams on their iPads.\n\nOn Day 2 of the creativity project, we began to shift our thinking towards engineering and how that played a role in this story.IMG_1414\n\nAsk (Define the Creative Challenge): Students were shared a Google Doc to begin to explore engineering and what an engineer does. They were provided with this What is Engineering? ThingLink to help them start to define their creative challenge.\n\nHere is what the Google Doc looked like with the red text being the student feedback summarized:\n\nWe had a fantastic discussion while sharing out what we had learned during our exploration time.\n\nDriving Question: We wrapped up this discussion on engineering by asking the students “If we were engineers designing a house, what is the potential real world problem we would be trying to solve in our design?”.\n\nStudents determined that they were trying to design a structure that could withstand strong winds from hurricanes or tornadoes and thus designed their driving question for this project.\n\nImagine & Plan (Identify Sources of Information/ Idea Generation & Refinement):\n\nNow we introduced the groups and materials to the students. Each group had a bag of materials that they were able to use to create their structure. They were also provided with a ThingLink with resources  on wind power, architecture & engineering that they could explore if they chose.\n\nGroups had to brainstorm and create a general design either on paper or iPad and be able to explain it to one of the teachers in the room. If the design was approved, the group received their building materials and could begin building their structure. If their design was not approved, they had to make changes using the teacher’s suggestions before the group could begin.\n\n\nCreate (Creative Production & Innovation, Working Creatively with Others, Openness & Courage to Explore):\n\nStudents worked very hard creating their house the first day.\n\nHowever, on day two of building we introduced some constraints in order to really stimulate some creativity and create some roadblocks that had to be overcome. First, we introduced the Pig Depot. Each group now had a budget and had to purchase the supplies that it was using to create their house from the Pig Depot adding some layers of math that had to be considered.\n\n\nWhen the groups were reading, they   could test their structure using the Big Bad Hairdryer. If their structure did not stand up to the Big Bad hairdryer, they needed to make improvements.\n\n\nFinally, we introduced the bigger badder fan that students had two chances to try and get their structure to stand up to.\n\n\n Self-Reflection: After all groups had tested twice on the bigger badder fan, they had to reflect as a group and individually using the Saline Area Schools creativity rubric that incorporates the Buck Institute for Education Project Based Learning Creativity Rubrics and the EdLeader21 Creativity Rubrics. Each group presented their house design, whether or not it stood up to the bigger badder fan, their successes and failures throughout the process, what they would do differently and how they worked as a team.\n\nThe feedback that I got from the fourth grade teachers was that they were really excited about how the project engaged and hooked some of their normally disengaged students and how the students seemed to gain a recognition of how valuable collaboration was for solving a complex problem. The students made tons of cross-curricular connections and all developed unique structures with supporting rationale. We then took this activity and adapted it for our Kindergarten and first grade classrooms.\n\nCreating a Student Maker Space\n\nMaker Movement, MakerEd, MakerSpace, STEM\n\nAs part of a 20% time project, I decided to pursue my interest in developing student Maker Spaces. It just so happened that our main tech offices are moving to a new space and small space then has opened up attached to the library that I could create a student Maker Space. I have been doing some research and had an awesome visit and tour through Ann Arbor Maker Works. Screen Shot 2014-11-24 at 8.08.07 PM\n\n\nObviously, there are tools that are not cleared for use with fourth and fifth grade student use but it was great to get an idea of how a true MakerSpace functions. A MAET alum and MSU Urban STEM professor Candace Marcotte\n\ntook some time out to do a Google Hangout with me and discuss how she has been transforming her Tech Club into an after school MakerSpace. She shared some really great ideas about what materials to start off with and how to structure the meetings. I was excited to hear that her work with the program stemmed interest from teachers who are now using the space with their students. That would be my end goal- to create an engaging and inviting space that could be used for interdisciplinary projects and fosters 21st century skills.\n\nAs the tech team transitions into their new space, I am looking forward to finding supplies to get our Maker Space up and running! Pictures to follow of what we end up with and how we shape our space!", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9581140875816345}
+{"content": "Tuesday, September 8, 2009\n\nLet Children be Children\n\nSummer 2009 has come and gone. All two weeks of it! Does anyone else feel like they blinked and missed it? Let's hope we have an \"Indian Summer\" this year so we don't feel entirely robbed.\n\nMy post today is about children and letting them explore their interests. After having my own children I have become increasingly aware of the need for children to have the chance to explore every aspect of life possible. This is not to say they should be allowed to explore harmful things. Rather, the fun, exciting and wholesome things in life.\n\nSeveral months ago I purchased a nice and somewhat expensive digital camera. Most adults would say that children should not handle it due to its cost and the high probability that a child will mishandle it and damage it in some way. This 'idea' to me is wrong. Yes there is definitely a greater chance that a child will damage something, however does this mean they should not be given the opportunity to LEARN how to handle more expensive things properly so they have the chance to explore and learn? Here is where the problem is. Parents and adults alike have become increasingly lazy yes, l-a-z-y over the years. As adults we not only should but are obligated to teach our children everything from speaking their first word to the challenges in life that lay in wait as they reach and surpass adolescence. Children are all too often underestimated. They are like sponges and soak up everything...the good and the bad!\n\nThe picture in this post is my eldest daughter who is 5 years old successfully operating my digital camera. She used it most of the day without incident. Why? Because her dad took the time to show her how it worked and how important it was to be careful because it can easily break. We need to stop and ask ourselves, 'Do I really own something so valuable that I cannot share it with my child once shown the importance of being responsible with it?' Really, is not our child/children our most valuable treasure? Let's get our priorities straight and encourage our children to explore their interests. You never know, maybe Haley will become a professional photographer. Maybe not. Either way, she is given the chance to explore and learn at an early age. In addition to learning responsibility in a world where even many adults do not know the meaning of the word let alone put it into practice.\n\nGrand Lake Stream\n\nGrand Lake Stream\nI love this place!", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.93511563539505}
+{"content": "Montaigne on the Education of Children\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nWe learn not for school, but for life\n\nAnd yet how often we forget that.\n\n\n\n\nDubious Lessons of a Well-Intended Education: On Fakework\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIntroduction to Writing Fiction\n\nThey told me, when I was younger, that this is not how you write a paragraph.\n\nA paragraph must be more than a sentence long, they said. Longer than two, too.\n\nAnd when writing a paragraph, you must stick to the same idea throughout. When playing soccer you should stay in your position. And recently I learned that when working, you should keep to your assigned tasks, and that it doesn’t pay to go outside your job description.\n\nFour sentences per paragraph might be okay. But if it’s a four-sentence paragraph, you must keep to the same idea throughout it, and you should be very careful — very very careful; extremely careful, if I was to emphasise the point — of how you link different paragraphs together, to ensure that your sentences don’t run too long, and to make sure that a single paragraph is not dominated unnecessarily by extraneous and overly verbose vocabulary. Make sure your paragraph doesn’t do that.\n\nWhen your paragraph is of a suitable length, there are other things to watch out for. For instance, don’t repeat the same word like “vocabulary” over and over again, because that makes the vocabulary overly repetitive, and repetitive vocabulary makes for a repetitive story, and no one wants to read a repetitive story.\n\nAnd a good paragraph will start with a thesis sentence stating what the paragraph is about. “It will then include a quotation”, my teachers told me, “to provide evidence for what you are saying, since you are not yourself an authority on the topic you are writing about.” The rest of the paragraph is where you can offer your analysis of a quotation. It is true that I am not an authority figure on structuring a good paragraph, but the question I wish to raise here is whether my teachers were, either. After all, how do they define “good” in a good paragraph?\n\nShow, don’t tell. My thesis in this piece of fiction (make sure you don’t state your thesis either at the end of a paragraph or in the middle of your essay, they also told me; and remember that fiction needs not state a “point”) is that eminent writers have always in their prime broken the established norms of writing. If they did not break the norms of established writing, then they did nothing new, nothing worth remembering. But the paradox of eminence is that to break established rules is to immediately open yourself to criticism, to be rejected by those who are already eminent.\n\nI want to learn to write good fiction. And what they told me was, whatever you do, make sure your story has a beginning, a middle and an end; that it has a theme and a setting, a protagonist and an antagonist, and, most importantly, a turning point. If it does not have those elements, then it is not a story. It would merely be a personal essay, and a bad one at that, with bad paragraphs, and it would be boring to read.\n\nThey told me, basically, not to write a story like this. And most importantly, don’t write a story like this that ends in a paragraph only one sentence long.\n\nThat wouldn’t make a good story, and that wouldn’t make a good paragraph.\n\nThe Meaning of School\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCommodified Learning in the Flipped Classroom\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nEric Mazur flipped classroom Yale-NUS\n\n\nThe Time Value of Experience\n\nNote: I wrote this in mid 2011, when I was still 16 and in my penultimate year of high school. I might re-write it someday, but I feel the idea is important enough to make it worthwhile re-posting the original. The project I mention at the end, “They Don’t Teach You This In School”, was about creating an archive of life lessons and experiences through one minute videos asking people the question, “What’s one thing they didn’t teach you in school that you wish you had known when you were younger?”\n\nYou’ve no doubt heard of the Time Value of Money, a theory that explains how the value of a dollar in your pocket today is more than the value of that dollar if you receive it tomorrow. If you own that dollar right now, you have the opportunity to receive interest on it before tomorrow, which means that the dollar is more valuable to you by the amount of the interest that you receive before tomorrow (and tomorrow can represent any date in the future).\n\nThe Time Value of Money theory is the basis of fundamental finance and economics. It explains the core reasoning behind why people act rationally with regard to money and how people make investment decisions. There is no arguing with the importance of this theory in our society.\n\nI propose that there is another theory which is arguably more important than the Time Value of Money. It’s a theory that is relatively obvious, but often forgotten. The theory explains the core reasoning behind how we act, and how we make decisions in life. And because it encompasses much more than money, it’s something that people should be made aware of, so that they don’t forget it.\n\nLet’s call it the Time Value of Experience. It describes how experiences we have are more valuable the earlier that we have them, because those experiences can then be applied to all other parts of our lives in the future. It’s about knowledge and lessons that we’ve learned – so perhaps those terms are interchangeable.\n\nIf I make a mistake today – let’s say I screw up a negotiation with someone, or make a bad decision – then the lessons that I’ve learned through this experience are valuable, as they help me to avoid making similar mistakes in the future when perhaps the stakes are higher. By making these mistakes today, that experience is more valuable than if I made the mistake tomorrow because I’ve had a day with which to apply that experience to my life. Later that day, I may have avoided making a similar mistake because I already made the mistake earlier that day.\n\nTherefore, experiences that I have today are more valuable than that same experience tomorrow by the difference of mistakes that I would’ve made before tomorrow if I hadn’t gained that experience today.\n\nObviously, the Time Value of Experience is not as easy to measure as the Time Value of Money. It’s intangible, and non-numerical. But by being aware of this theory, we can attempt to gain as many experiences as we can, as soon as possible.\n\nThis theory explains why many entrepreneurs love making mistakes, and look upon mistakes as a huge achievement. By screwing up, you’ve successfully gained experience and knowledge which you can apply to everything you try in the future.\n\nThe Time Value of Experience also helps me to explain the importance and value of my project They Don’t Teach You This In School. If people can pass on their knowledge and experiences through TDTYTIS, then young people can learn from that right now and benefit from it into the future. On the other hand, if the only way for someone to learn something is through personal experience, then society is slowed down because everyone is making mistakes that could be avoided.\n\nI believe everyone should bear in mind the Time Value of Experience. You should try do gain as much experience as you can in whatever it is you do every single day, because that experience is more valuable the sooner you gain it.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7566829323768616}
+{"content": "Presentation is loading. Please wait.\n\nPresentation is loading. Please wait.\n\nNoise Pollution.\n\nSimilar presentations\n\nPresentation on theme: \"Noise Pollution.\"— Presentation transcript:\n\n1 Noise Pollution\n\n2 Syllabus Sources of Noise Pollution, Effects of noise pollution, Control of noise pollution.\n\n3 Important Questions Define Sound Pressure Level (SPL).\nDefine Noise Pollution. Describe ill effects of noise pollution. Discuss the effects of Noise Pollution and its Control. What do you understand by acceptable noise level .Briefly describe the sources and effect of noise pollution. Write explanatory note on Noise pollution effects Discuss about effects of noise pollution and its control. State the measures to control noise pollution also discuss the harmful effects of noise pollution. Define Noise. Enlist major sources of noise pollution and explain any one briefly.\n\n4 Noise Pollution Definition\n“Noise is define as any undesirable human or machine created noise which disturbs the activity or balance of human or animal life”.\n\n5 Terminology used in noise pollution\nFrequency: Frequency is the no of cycles repeated in unit time duration. Its unit is cycle/sec or Hz ( 1 Hz= 1 Cycle /sec) Intensity: Amount of sound energy received / sec is known as intensity of sound. Its Unit is decibel ( dB).\n\n6 Decibel: Decibel is define as the logarithm to the base 10 to ratio of two intensities\nLt=10 log 10 (I/I0) dB Where, I= Measured Intensity I0= Reference Intensity Lt= Level of noise in dB\n\n7 What is Noise? In simple terms, noise is unwanted sound. Sound is a form of energy which is emitted by a vibrating body and on reaching the ear causes the sensation of hearing through nerves. Sounds produced by all vibrating bodies are not audible. The frequency limits of audibility are from 20 HZ to 20,000 HZ. A noise problem generally consists of three inter-related elements- the source, the receiver and the transmission path. This transmission path is usually the atmosphere through which the sound is propagated, but can include the structural materials of any building containing the receiver\n\n8 The Sound of Human Speech is mainly in the range of 300 to 3000 Hz\n\n9 Mechanism of Hearing Auditory Nerves Ear Drum Middle Ear Fluid Ear\n\n10 Mechanism of Hearing\n\n11 Mechanism of Hearing The Science of Human hearing and sound is called human acoustics. Sound waves set vibration in the ear drum which is made up of membrane In the upper ear. The vibration in the Ear drum induces movement of three small soft bones in the middle ear behind the ear drum. The movement of the soft bones pass through viscous fluid in the inner ear creating oscillation of Fluid. These oscillation then reaches the auditory nerves and finally transmitted to the brain. The oscillation or sound are identified and interpreted in the brain, which has capacity to analyze sound into different frequency. Human detectable frequency range is 20 to Hz. Sensitivity of the Ear varies from person to person, with aging hearing power decreases. The ear is susceptible to damage if it receives high intensity noise.\n\n12 Measurement of Noise ( Sound)\nThe Intensity of Sound is measured in terms of Sound pressure Level and common unit is decibel Decibel (dB) = 10 log 10 (I/I0) Thus dB measures how much intense is the sound as compared to reference intensity The Sound pressure level ( SPL) in dB is Def n as SPL= 20 log 10 (P/P0) Where, P= Measured pressure Po= reference pressure ( 2 x N/m2)\n\n13 Noise Level in Decibel is measured with an instrument called sound level meter. It consists of 3 internationally accepted weighing network The weighing networks are electronic filter circuits build into the meter to weaken certain frequency. They permit the sound level meter to respond more to some frequency than to others with prejudice something like human ears There are 3 weighing scales A weighing scale- Severely filters the frequency B weighing scale- Moderately filters the frequency C weighing Scale- Hardly filters frequency\n\n14 A weighing Scale (dB A) The sensitivity of human ears depends on the frequency or pitch of the sound. We hear some frequency better than others. e.g. If a person hears two sounds of same sound pressure but different intensity one sound may appear louder than the other. This happens when we hear high frequency much better than lower frequency noise. An A-weighing filter, adjusts the measured sound level to correspond to this peculiarity of human hearing. It filter out low frequency or pitches.\n\n15 Addition of Several noise levels\n\n16 Addition of Several noise levels\n\n17 Addition of Several noise levels\n\n18 Sources Of Noise Major Sources of Noise:\n1) Traffic Noise: Automobile revolution in urban areas are proved to be a big source of noise pollution. Increase in traffic has given rise to traffic jams, where the repeated hooting of horns by drivers create noise pollution. Air crafts creates serious problems in big cities like Mumbai & Delhi Heavy truck, buses, trains, motorcycles, jeeps, other vehicles are responsible for traffic noise.\n\n19 Industrial And Construction Machinery Noise:-\nFactory equipments, generators, drills, road rollers, and similar machinery also make lot of noise. Public address System:- Public system contribute in its own ways towards noise pollution by using loud speakers for religious functions, birth, marriage, election for commercial advertising Household:- The household activities will contribute for indoor noise pollution domestic gadgets like pressure cookers, A.C, Vacuum cleaners, mixers, washing machines are major source of noise at house hold level. Entertainment equipments like radio, music system, T.V. Will contribute toward noise pollution\n\n20 Defense Exercises:- Tanks, launching of rockets, explosion, military exercises, aero planes, shooting ranges are adding toward noise pollution.\n\n21 Typical noise levels of some point sources\n\n22 Effects of Noise Pollution\nNoise can do Physiological and or / Psychological damage if the volume is high or if exposure is prolonged. Common effects of Noise pollution are: Hearing Loss: Loud noise damages fine hair cell in the ear. The vibration of these hair cells is responsible for hearing of Sound by us, Since our body cannot replace damaged hair cells. Permanent Hearing loss is caused by long term exposure to loud noise.\n\n23 Annoyance: It creates annoyance to the receptor due to sound level fluctuations\nPhysiological effects: The Physiological effects like breathing difficulty, rise in blood pressure, migraine, headaches, constriction of blood vessels and even heart attacks. Human performance: The working of humans will be affected as they will lose their concentration Nervous System: It causes pain ringing in ears, feeling of tiredness, thereby effecting functioning of human system.\n\n24 Sleeplessness: It affects the sleeping thereby inducing the people to become restless and loose concentration and presence of mind during their activities.\n\n25 Effects on animals Noise can cause serious damage to wild life. Ways in which animals are adversely affected by noise pollution includes. Hearing loss Masking: Masking is the inability to hear important environmental clues and animal signals Physiological effects: such as increase in heart rate, respiratory difficulties and stress. Behavioral effects:-Which could result in abandonment of territory and loss of ability to reproduce. Ecological effects: It leads to migration of birds which disturbs the ecosystem\n\n26 Effects on plants The production capacity or growth of plant is affected due to high level noise. Damage to material: The building and material may get damage by exposure to infrasonic/ ultrasonic waves and even get collapsed.\n\n27 Control of Noise Pollution\nNoise is not only a nuisance but a serious environmental problem and a health hazard. Like all other pollution, noise pollution is needed to be controlled. Noise pollution can be effectively controlled by taking following measures. 1) Control at receivers end:- For people working in noisy areas ear protection aids like ear plugs, muffs, noise helmets, head phones etc should be provided it reduces occupational exposure. 2) Controlling at source:- This is only possible if working method is improved. Design new machines to replace noisy ones. Proper lubrication and better, maintenance of machines. Installing noisy machines with sound absorbing materials. Using Silencer to control noise from automobiles etc.\n\n28 6)Legislative measures:-\n3) Zoning:- Increased distance between source and receiver by zoning of noisy industrial areas like bus stand and railway stations away from silence zones near residential areas, educational institutions and hospitals. 4) Sound Insulation:- A) Sound insulations can be done by constructing windows with more than one panes of glass and filling the gap with sound absorbing material. B) Acoustical tiles, perforated plywood can be fixed on wall, ceilings, floors to reduce noise. 5)Planting of Trees:- Planting of trees and shrubs along roads, hospitals, educational institutions help in noise reduction to a considerable extent. 6)Legislative measures:- Strict legislative measures need to be enforced to control the nuisance of noise pollution some of the measures are A) Minimum use of loud speakers, near silence zones. B) Banning Pressure horns in automobiles C) Framing a separate noise pollution act.\n\n29 Sound Level for Human Response\n\n30 Damage risk criteria for hearing loss (OSHA regulations)\nOSHA- Occupational Safety and Health Administration\n\n31 Indian Standards for ambient noise levels\n\n32 Noise Pollution Standards\n\n33 Activity Record the Intensity of noise produced by different vehicles using sound level meter in any silence zone near your vicinity.\n\n34 Assignment What is Noise? Explain the fundamental difference between sound and noise. Explain the difference between Intensity of sound and frequency of sound.\n\n35 Stop Needless Noise\n\nDownload ppt \"Noise Pollution.\"\n\nSimilar presentations\n\nAds by Google", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9265454411506653}
+{"content": "Silver and gold fillings used to be our only choices for restoring your damaged or decayed teeth but advances in dental material technology have created strong new synthetic tooth-colored restorative materials that help you look your best. If you decide you would like your tooth restored with a white material, we can use either porcelain or composite resin, which is a plastic-like substance. We will carefully match the chosen material to your natural teeth, so the restoration will blend in well.\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7029647827148438}
+{"content": "The Wedding Present The Wedding Present\nThe Wedding Present are an indie rock group formed in Leeds, England in 1984. They evolved from the ashes of The Lost Pandas. Their music has evolved from fast-paced indie rock in the vein of their most obvious influences The Fall, Buzzcocks and Gang of Four, to more varied forms. Throughout their career, they have been led by vocalist and guitarist David Gedge, the band's only constant member. The Lost Pandas fell apart in 1984 when guitarist Michael Duane (later of DUSTdevils) was sacked, and Panda's drummer Jaz Rigby followed in protest.\n\nRead more about The Wedding Present on\nMy matches\n\n\nUnfortunately there are no users who like \"The Wedding Present\"\n\nDiscover what music these girls like!\n\nNo users with photos have answered this question yet", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.573296070098877}
+{"content": "Recipe for Sheera\n\n\nNeed a Sheera Recipe? Here it is.\n\nIndia is a land of diversities, which is well portrayed in its culture and cuisine. A land where taste changes at every 100 kms. Hence, it has a wide spectrum of food. Here we bring you an authentic Sheera Recipe from India that’s not only quick but, can be easily made at home. The Sheera recipe we listed below is most basic of Indian recipes also one of the tastiest! Trying this Sheera recipe at home is an easy way to get a delicious meal.\n\nHere is the Authentic Sheera Recipe:\n\n\n\n1 cup whole milk\n1/2 cup condensed milk\n4 tbsp. ghee(clarified butter)\n4 tbsp. sooji (rawa or semolina)\n1 tsp cardamom powder\n2 tbsp. raisins\n1 tbsp. almonds, sliced fine\n\n\n1. Melt the ghee in a non stick pan.\n2. Add the rawa and fry until the rawa turns golden brown.\n3. Mix the milk and the condensed milk in a pan and set aside.\n4. Add the rava to the milk mixture and the add the cardmom powder.\n5. Stir well.\n6. Cook until dry and the ghee separates from the rawa.\n7. Add the raisins and stir well.\n8. Remove from heat.\n9. Garnish with almonds.\n10. Serve either hot or chilled.\n\nTips* Try adding Banana: Garnish with Banana slices and pistachios.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.898232638835907}
+{"content": "After a few years observing betas and their stubbornness when exposed to damning evidence about the realities of the sexual market , as well as noticing that they have still not been wiped off the face of the Earth (mainly thanks to their role of useful idiots and docile rodents in their entertainment wheel), I first came to the conclusion that they will simply evolve into different subspecies. Following the Darwinian evolution theories, they will undergo the same fate as the finches on the Galapagos Islands that developed different beaks over millennia to adapt to the type of food that they could find in their area.\n\n\nBeaks as varied as the types of betas already observable: men-children, omegas, white knights,chubby chasers, cucks…\n\nAfter thinking more about it, though, I then realized that the modern species of beta is closer to a walking dinosaur. The decline in Western society and the announced cultural collapse has not destroyed them all, only because the observable phenomenon is too recent and we have yet to see how brutal it will get.\n\nIt appears that the extinction of betas will occur faster than expected, as external factors added to their refusal to deal with their environment and adapt, will accelerate their destruction.\n\n1. The great disturbance of modern times\n\n\nBetas have, so far, formed the bulk of human society since the dawn of times, with alphas (kings, heroes, rock stars, warriors, CEOs, villains etc) being always logically represented in smaller numbers but in a greater control of power, wealth and, more importantly, women (“A shroud has no pockets” comes to mind) which granted them access to the most coveted prize: reproduction.\n\nThat ratio was always kept stable because women and their urges were controlled. We have never been faced, since we started walking on two legs, with a scenario where women are in control and encouraged to limit their reproductive duties to focus on abortion, the pill, endless entertainment, sleeping with unlimited number of men, getting drunk, and seeking attention on social media.\n\nStefan Molyneux describes it well when he explains that women “cannot complain about men, as men have evolved precisely because of what women want”.\n\n2. The cataclysm\n\n\nBetas will meet their maker through external factors. What will be their asteroid impact or volcanic eruption on a global scale?\n\nWe can speculate that they will disappear due to four main factors:\n\nMore and more of them will become alphas or at least lesser betas/alphas and progressing through time, with the spreading of the teachings of the manosphere on the Internet, masculinity-friendly governments, fellow men becoming aware of our teachings and sharing it with others. This will create a ripple effect (following an altruistic instinct which can be interpreted as the “burden of the alpha,” where those who found their way will want to save beta males from their foolishness when it’s not too late, then they just want to put them out of their misery) or father figures that will be the ones reproducing, keeping their son in line to secure grandchildren.\n\n\nThe beta male’s contribution to the global workforce won’t be needed anymore as he is slowly replaced by machines. After being neutered by rising “female empowerment,” toxic feminism, and virtual pornography paired with the rise of highly-advanced sex robots and ruthless alpha competition, this final blow will render him obsolete, even as government-employed working cattle.\n\n\nThe victory of globalism and open borders policies in certain areas of the globe, with a rise of aggressive, predominantly Muslim colonizers and the dwindling numbers of nationalist Whites, hunted down by the elites. Beta cucks and other “Refugees Welcome” types will be weeded out of existence by the very people then opened their butt cheeks for. Mincey faggots welcoming invaders, bringing a violent civilisation that excites their women more than their white knighting will be rewarded by the disappearance of their seed and lineage.\n\nFather and son walking\n\nWomen will reproduce more with alphas following the logical laws of biology even if the sexual market is flawed. The male children will adopt the physical traits of their father (beauty, strength, intelligence…). If those traits don’t appear as innate, then the fathers will initiate them to the principles of game, exhorting them to polish skills relevant to the dating world, helping them secure a quality mate for their progeny.\n\n3. Adapt or die\n\n\nSome will change when exposed to the truth about the world, the elites, game or women and will accept it, changing their behaviour and consolidating another brick in a stronger edifice. Others will deny till the end and refuse to adapt, becoming the dodos of the modern male population.\n\nThe likes of MGTOW are an evolutionary dead end. Their kin still dies with them, even if they understand elements of the nature of women, but deny their mission of reproduction.\n\nBut as altruistic as we can be, we have to realise that a man exposed to these facts, who refuses to acknowledge the truth, does not deserve to be saved. Without this instinct of survival, the beta male shall vanish.\n\n\nSharks outlived dinosaurs, even if their numbers greatly diminished, due to the fact that they were the perfect sea predators, a masterpiece of natural engineering. All the terrestrial dinosaurs which were larger than a dog, disappeared.  Small beings like cockroaches or bees survived against overwhelming odds due to their resilience, sheer numbers or organised communities. Crocodiles adapted mainly from being cold-blooded creature that did not need great amounts of food on a regular basis.\n\nA parallel would be made with alphas adapting to the new rules imposed to them and acting in a way that seems counter-intuitive: working out for aesthetic reasons, being assholes to girls, recruiting them for their orifices on Instagram or Tinder, disgusting themselves in the process by encountering even more broken women, being selfish and seeing yourself as the absolute priority…\n\nA man has got to what a man has got to do to prevail. We do not make the rules. Alphas could enjoy an endless buffet of sluts but that will not ensure their survival on the long term. It is then their role as apex predators to find the quality food (young, fertile good girls), even if that means turning their back on the less soul-nutritive slags and Tinder bicycles.\n\n4. The possible aftermath\n\nOnce again, a few scenarios could unfold:\n\n\nCase in point: Sweden. Combo of low-T men, feminists in power and Mohammedan hordes cause civilization to reach total collapse. Globalists win. Native population is replaced. Nerds might stand a chance if Islamic conquest chooses to elevate dusty academics among the ranks of alphas, just like in Michel Houellebecq’s visionary “Submission“.\n\n\nCase in point: Russia, Poland, Hungary. Western civilization deflects the assaults of globalism, keeps a system based on ethnocentrism and patriarchy. Modern betas survive but are still in slight decline as the system is reminiscent of pre-sexual revolution times.\n\n\nCase in point: America if Trump and nationalism create a long lasting positive loop, or European nations awakening through a similar leader. Feminism loses ground, lying media is replaced by honest news, modern betas naturally ostracised on the long term and will eventually disappear. Blooming civilisation recaptures some of its former glory.\n\n\nRed pill routine in the ethnocentric, self-sufficient town of Orania, South Africa\n\nCase in point: A hybrid new community overseas created by red pill men. Original civilization declines but numbers of dissenters refuse the rule imposed and emigrate to a friendly country to create a new and hybrid lineage. Western masculine men would leave in order to find suitable mothers for their children in a traditional, safe environment.\n\nVa y avoir du changement\n\nWhatever the outcome, the model of society as we know it and its ratio of alphas and betas is bound to mutate.\n\nEither into an Open Borders 1984 hell of obese, green-haired women and brownish betas (from all the race blending over the years encouraged by the elites to quench any feeling of unity) or into an alpha-rich traditional society where women are kept in check (with the racial demographics yet to be determined).\n\nRead More: Learn To Be An Alpha From Athletes", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9271588325500488}
+{"content": "Guilt Trip\n\nA ‘guilt trip’ is either a journey you create within yourself or one that another person attempts to arrange for you. The person who expects you to take responsibility for him can lay out the terms of the trip with such phrases as ‘you only think about yourself’; ‘you’re never there when I need you’; ‘everything else comes first before me’ and, even more alarming, ‘I am nothing without you.’ The latter response is particularly worrying as it may be a precursor to a future losing of all sense of one’s value following the break-up of the relationship. This is not uncommon among young men who either threaten to or take their own lives following what they interpret as rejection of them by the young woman who ends the relationship. When a person internalises the dependency verbalisations and helpless body and facial expression of another they will experience guilt. The tendency is to interpret the guilt as about ‘letting the other person down.’ This reaction is quite common between adult children and their parents and is echoed in such statements as ‘I feel so guilty that I haven’t rung my mother’ (or father) or ‘I’m such a bad person for not visiting my parents.’ However, when you interpret guilt as your being responsible for the wellbeing of another, you are cleverly avoiding a deeper issue that requires resolution. I know several adults who religiously ring their parents on a twice daily basis and call ‘home’ two or three times weekly, even though the response they constantly get is critical, cold, heartless and dismissive. Of course, if they dared not ring or turn up, the result would be total silent treatment and a reporting of their ‘heartless’ behaviour to all other members of the family. In the face of such threats – which have persisted since childhood – seeing guilt as letting the other down is a wise and protective strategy. The wisdom is that by projecting the guilt you now make even greater efforts to look after the person who is demanding and controlling of you, all in an attempt to reduce the ever present threat of utter rejection.\n\nHowever, as an adult I need to find the help and support to separate out from a parent (or another) who has leaned on me all of these years. The protective response was to conform and thereby create a co-dependency and lean-to-relationship. The mature response is to take responsibility for your own life and return responsibility for his or her own life to the person who depends on you. This separating out, this taking responsibility for self and your own actions, is an act of love and care both for yourself and for the other. As long as we maintain a co-dependence, then the mature progress of both parties to the relationship is seriously blocked. Feelings of guilt over your behaviour towards another arise from fear of rejection; this fear of rejection can only be resolved through an enduring unconditional love and acceptance of yourself. When you reach that place of solid interiority then you are in that separate place to see that the dependency behaviour of another is about their hidden fears and only they can resolve those deep-seated insecurities. Collusion with another’s dependency needs maintains their fears and insecurities.\n\nWhat is interesting is that when you begin to find space between yourself and the dependent parent or partner or friend, you will then embrace guilt as a messenger of ‘how you let yourself down’ and the need for you to take responsibility for your self, not for another. Only when we are independent are we truly in a place to love and empower another to come home to their own inner stronghold. The hope is that once one party to a lean-to-relationship moves towards independence, the other may take his or her cue from that modelling of maturity and set forth themselves on the road to a recovery of their true self. Whether or not this mature process ensues, there can be no going back for the person who is now travelling the road less travelled – free from guilt and responsible for self.\n\nDr. Tony Humphreys practices as a clinical psychologist and is author of several books on practical psychology including Whose Life Are You Living?", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.814745306968689}
+{"content": "Colors in the Clouds\n\nAs the sun began it’s decent to the horizon, the sky opened up from the day-long haze of gray, allowing us some long awaited sunshine late one afternoon.  No sooner did the first clouds of the day seem to vanish, than new clouds rolled in.  Driving past a large hill, I quickly pulled the car over, donned my hiking cleats (actually my rugby cleats which happened to be in the car), and scaled the loose gravel hill to get an overview of the colors exploding thru the newly forming clouds.\n\nColors in Clouds Illinois William Woodward", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9765123724937439}
+{"content": "Why inequality undermines societies – an evolutionary perspective\n\n\nThis article originally appeared on Contributoria, at .\n\nThe level of economic inequality within countries has been linked to a range of worse health and social outcomes. Evidence from the evolutionary behavioural sciences of how we have evolved to react to our environment may shed light on why we fail to flourish under extreme inequality.\n\nFive years ago The Spirit Level was published, bringing into the mainstream the evidence on the harms of economic inequality. The two academics behind the book, Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett, drew on research in the various social science disciplines involved in their day jobs. They went beyond their own field of social epidemiology to show that more unequal societies are not only less healthy, but have worse outcomes on myriad other measures. It’s worth listing these to emphasise the diversity of inequality’s ill effects: infant mortality, child wellbeing, educational attainment, teenage births, social mobility, obesity, mental health, drug abuse, trust, altruism and cooperation, violence and homicide, imprisonment, foreign aid, and environmental sustainability. In the years since the book was published, inequality has become a major political issue internationally.\n\nThe explanations which are put forward to explain the effects of inequality usually focus on our immediate responses. Biologically, our levels of stress hormones rise; behaviourally, we become more prone to compete and be aggressive with others; psychologically, we become anxious and obsessed with our social status. But that’s where most explanations stop asking why – short of asking ‘why do we respond in these ways to inequality?’ On one level, it’s sufficient to know the proximate causes and ignore the ultimate causes, but this misses an opportunity to learn something instructive about human nature.\n\n“Why do we respond in these ways to inequality?”\n\nTo go beyond the visible and measurable factors, a more expansive timeframe is needed. As a species we evolved over millions of years – for physical traits, this is uncontested scientifically. There is more vigorous debate over the extent to which mental traits have been subject to natural selection. Evolutionary psychology is often thought to portray traits as genetically determined, innate and fixed. While this is an approach that some academics take, it is clearly inappropriate to apply this to the inequality evidence. However, the responses to inequality appear to be consistent across societies. This indicates that there are adaptive traits which respond to inequality systematically – we have evolved the ability to adjust to our current situation.\n\nThis principle of calibration to the environment is well established in the evolutionary field of life history (LH) theory. It characterises a strategy which we take throughout life as a trade-off between growth and reproduction. At any given time, we can invest (unconsciously!) biological resources in growth at the expense of reproduction, or vice-versa. Ideally, we would take time to grow for as long as possible to ensure long-term health, before bringing the next generation into the world. This wasn’t always possible in the ancestral environment we evolved in – famine, war, diseases and other components of ‘environmental harshness’ all reduced life expectancy. With such considerations, it would have been no good taking your time to develop, only to die before you could reproduce. Rather, the onus is on as quickly as possible getting to a state where you can pass on your genes.\n\nWhat results from the trade-off is a scale of LH strategies from slow to fast. In an uncertain environment, early maturation and reproduction protect against the risk of dying before reproducing. Other traits typical of the fast LH strategy include having more children, as a hedge against high infant mortality, and investing less parental care in them, be it shorter breastfeeding duration or father absence. Babies are born smaller, which leads to lower adult height, but with an increased risk of obesity and certain chronic diseases later in life.\n\nThe obvious objection to applying LH theory to modern problems is that thanks to developments of civilisation like modern medicine, sanitation, and the rule of law, we no longer really need to worry about making it to adulthood. But we’ve simply not had enough time to evolve and adapt to our new environment. The result is a mismatch between the environment we are adapted to and the one we find ourselves in. This is why we still respond to cues of environmental harshness.\n\nIt appears that inequality is a cue of environmental harshness which accelerates LH strategies. This is understandable in the context of access to resources – food, shelter, social capital – which are essential to survival. But egalitarianism was the norm for our early human ancestors. They lived in bands of hunter-gatherers, where meat was shared equally in the group regardless of who killed it. We can infer this from the archaeological record, as well as anthropological reports of the few remaining tribes of hunter-gatherers. In these groups, counter-dominance strategies like ridicule and ostracism prevent any one individual from gaining too much power.\n\n“Egalitarianism was the norm for our early ancestors”\n\nGroups became unequal with the advent of agriculture and other developments. Again, this may be too recent for evolution to have taken effect. However, we may have adapted to inequality in ancestral groups of hierarchical primates, prior to the emergence of the Homo genus. Either way, inequality seems to elicit faster LH strategies, whether as a functional adaptation or not.\n\nOur response to inequality goes beyond behaviour directly related to reproduction. Natural selection will have acted on aspects of our biology, psychology and behaviour to form a coherent suite of responses to the social environment. For instance, the rational reaction to living with social stratification is to compete for all you can get, as you’re not guaranteed a fair share. Appeasing those above you in the pecking order while exploiting those below you is the usual result –the opposite of the healthy disrespect for authority found in the egalitarian groups. Sycophantic worship of celebrities alongside demonization of people at the lower end of society may be the modern-day version of these social processes.\n\nThe cluster of traits associated with the fast LH strategy share the theme of short-termism. This even extends into the choices we make, in the form of a cognitive bias known as future discounting. When offered the choice of a smaller reward now or a larger reward at a certain point in the future, some are better than others at resisting the temptation of instant gratification. But when the long-term future is uncertain, it’s rational to discount it and take what you can get today. This is another trade-off, between taking a hit for a bigger payoff in the long run, or short-term benefits at the expense of long-term costs.\n\n“When the future is uncertain, it’s rational to take what you can today”\n\nLH strategy has a strong social gradient – lower socioeconomic status (SES) tends to mean a faster LH strategy. Returning to the health and social outcomes of The Spirit Level, a recurring theme is that most of them show a social gradient, with worse outcomes at lower SES. What Wilkinson and Pickett demonstrated was that outcomes that are associated with deprivation are also associated with inequality in itself: average outcomes are worse in more unequal societies. It may be that LH traits follow the same pattern, and that the well-established link with SES can be extended to inequality.\n\nIndeed, the effects of inequality seem to reflect the consequences of the fast LH strategy. More babies being born underweight leads to higher infant mortality. Less parental investment in children lowers child wellbeing. An obsession with social status exacerbates depression and anxiety. A bias to discount the future shortens perceived time horizons, leading to lower educational attainment and lower impulse control in drug abuse. Sustainability and climate change are similarly neglected by a short-term perspective. And a general quickening of life stages shortens childhood, increases teenage births and curtails healthy lives.\n\nExcess inequality can be added to deprivation as a scourge that stunts our growth and flourishing. This inevitably follows from our evolved tendency to react to our social environment. What this means for social policy is that outcomes which have been seen as pathological must be reappraised as contingent responses to our circumstances.\n\nThis doesn’t mean that they should be accepted of course. But interventions like education campaigns that appeal to reason can’t solve social problems, when social conditions affect our biology, psychology and behaviour through mechanisms which are outside of conscious control. To get to the root cause, society must be made more equal.\n\n\n\nFlannery, K. (2012). The creation of inequality: how our prehistoric ancestors set the stage for monarchy, slavery, and empire. Harvard University Press.\n\nWilkinson, R. G., & Pickett, K. (2011). The spirit level. Penguin, London\n\nLife History Theory\n\nBrumbach, B. H., Figueredo, A. J., & Ellis, B. J. (2009). Effects of Harsh and Unpredictable Environments in Adolescence on Development of Life History Strategies: A Longitudinal Test of an Evolutionary Model. Human Nature (Hawthorne, N.Y.), 20(1), 25–51. doi:10.1007/s12110-009-9059-3\n\n\nEllis, B. J., Figueredo, A. J., Brumbach, B. H., & Schlomer, G. L. (2009). Fundamental Dimensions of Environmental Risk. Human Nature (Vol. 20, pp. 204–268). doi:10.1007/s12110-009-9063-7\n\nFigueredo, a, Vasquez, G., Brumbach, B., Schneider, S., Sefcek, J., Tal, I., … Jacobs, W. (2006). Consilience and Life History Theory: From genes to brain to reproductive strategy. Developmental Review, 26(2), 243–275. doi:10.1016/j.dr.2006.02.002\n\nGriskevicius, V., Ackerman, J. M., Cantú, S. M., Delton, A. W., Robertson, T. E., Simpson, J. a, … Tybur, J. M. (2013). When the economy falters, do people spend or save? Responses to resource scarcity depend on childhood environments. Psychological Science, 24(2), 197–205. doi:10.1177/0956797612451471\n\nKruger, D. J., Munsell, M. A., & French-turner, T. (2011). USING A LIFE HISTORY FRAMEWORK TO UNDERSTAND THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN NEIGHBORHOOD STRUCTURAL DETERIORATION AND ADVERSE BIRTH OUTCOMES, 5(4), 260–274. Nettle, D. (2010). Dying young and living fast: variation in life history across English neighborhoods. Behavioral Ecology, 21(2), 387–395. doi:10.1093/beheco/arp202\n\nFuture discounting\n\nDaly, M., & Wilson, M. (2005). Carpe diem: Adaptation and devaluing the future. The Quarterly Review of Biology, 80(1), 55-60.\n\n\n\nScott-samuel, A., Bambra, C., Collins, C., Hunter, D. J., Mccartney, G., & Smith, K. (2013). THE IMPACT OF THATCHERISM ON HEALTH AND WELL-BEING IN BRITAIN, 44(1), 53–71.\n\nWhiten, A., & Erdal, D. (2012). The human socio-cognitive niche and its evolutionary origins. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences, 367(1599), 2119–29. doi:10.1098/rstb.2012.0114\n\n\nEvolutionary insights for public policy\n\n\n\n\nThe response is evident in various domains:\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLife History Theory and Inequality\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLife history theory\n\n\n\nIncome inequality\n\n\nHealth and social outcomes\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDoes income inequality affect life history strategy?\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nEvidence from other literatures\n\n\n\n\n\nFuture directions\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nHow Labour can Explain Inequality\n\n\nLogo Labour Party UK\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe Evolutionary Psychology of Inequality\n\nThis index measures the degree of inequality i...\n\nIncome inequality by country\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRising above our nature\n\nKipling's exceedingly good prediction\n\nEvolutionary psychology is based on the idea that complex human behaviour can be explained by virtue of its adaptiveness. If a trait is maladaptive today, it will have been adaptive when the trait evolved, for example a sweet tooth leading to obesity these days would have been useful in the savannah where high-energy foods were scarce. This type of reasoning has attracted criticism of being just-so stories, due to the lack of available evidence, even if the logic seems plausible.\n\nBut what if we stuck to traits that have such a direct effect on survival and reproductive success that their adaptiveness couldn’t be disputed? Survival and reproductive success are the two strongest instincts, because these are the only two criteria natural selection acts on. Every other trait that is selected for is only chosen because of its effect on these two criteria. A trait can even benefit one at the expense of the other, which lead Darwin to differentiate between natural and sexual selection (e.g. the peacock’s tail – a ‘handicap’ display to advertise to the peahen its fitness, that it can survive despite having to grow it and carry it around).\n\nThese two strongest instincts we share with every other life form on earth, it’s just we’re (probably) the only ones who know it. You are the direct descendent of billions and billions of individuals, all of whom were better at surviving and reproducing than at least some others in their generation. Put like that, the evolution of complex life sounds at least intuitively more plausible.\n\nSo that’s two things we’re pretty good at, but is there anything else we’d like to do with ourselves now that we’ve evolved consciousness? The pursuit of happiness is one such goal, but research shows that, unsurprisingly, we need to pander to our instincts to be content. Comparing the income of a country with its happiness shows that initial gains in income lead to huge gains in happiness, but with diminishing returns after a basic subsistence level is reached. A similar pattern emerges if income is compared with life expectancy, so life expectancy would be a very good predictor of happiness – no surprise given the strength of the survival instinct.\n\nUnfortunately as far as people in rich countries are concerned, economic wealth only improves wellbeing up to a point – which may represent a ceiling in human happiness. According to the authors of The Spirit Level, this is where absolute poverty stops being the limiting factor, and is replaced by relative poverty (economic inequality within a society). The evidence for a correlation between inequality and unhappiness is mixed, but the Nordic countries are among the happiest.\n\nThe evidence is much stronger for inequality diminishing societal wellbeing, and reducing mental illness, infant mortality etc. are laudable goals in themselves. The worse behavioural outcomes in more unequal countries are an evolutionary hangover, which can inform efforts to improve societies. People behave in ways that improve their place in the pecking order. All social primates are hierarchical to a greater or lesser extent, and position in the hierarchy is a strong predictor of survival and reproductive success. It is no longer as important for humans in rich countries, as resources are plentiful, so everyone can live and have children. In harsher environments like our evolutionary past, those lower in the hierarchy faced an earlier death and less chance of reproducing, so we have evolved a very strong instinct to climb the social ladder.\n\nThis instinct is mediated by the environment, however: it is less appropriate in an egalitarian context, where resources are shared out fairly. But it comes into its own in an unequal society, where being at the bottom of the pile could mean genetic oblivion. By this mechanism inequality leads to lower levels of trust, dealt with in an earlier post, and numerous other negative outcomes, which I’ll cover in future.\n\nInequality and Game Theory\n\nA spirit level\n\nImage via Wikipedia\n\nThe link between income inequality and negative health and social outcomes is supported by a large and growing body of research. More economically stratified countries have higher infant mortality rates, levels of mental illness, obesity, lower levels of social mobility and trust, and numerous other worse outcomes. The evidence is reviewed in a recent book called The Spirit Level, and summarised by the authors on The Equality Trust website. A key part of their explanation of the evidence is the idea that people can behave either cooperatively or competitively towards each other, and do so in varying ratios depending on the level of inequality.\n\nThe concept of the selfish gene meaning that individuals will always behave selfishly is a fallacy that has long been debunked. Cooperation between members of a species is known as reciprocal altruism, which used to be held up as evidence for group selection: individuals doing things for the good of the species. But this model is susceptible to freeloaders, who benefit at the expense of the other group members; a model was needed that allowed for cooperation as well as punishment of selfish individuals.\n\nIn 1984, Robert Axelrod held a computer-simulated tournament to find the most successful strategy in a population of individuals who could cooperate with each other, or defect. It was based on repeated rounds of the prisoner’s dilemma, a problem from game theory. In each round, points were allocated to each player dependent on their actions (see payoff matrix). The winner was a program called Tit-for-Tat, which cooperated with its opponent on the first go, and copied its opponent’s previous move thereafter. This allowed for mutually beneficial cooperation cycles to occur, but if its opponent defected continually, Tit-for-Tat prevented exploitation by defecting too.\n\n  Player 2\nCooperate Defect\nPlayer 1 Cooperate Both: 3 Player 1: 0Player 2: 5\nDefect Player 1: 5Player 2: 0 Both: 1\n\n\nWhat the tournament showed theoretically was that reciprocal altruism evolves when it benefits individuals (any group benefit is a consequence). Being vigilant to selfish individuals is essential though, to prevent being taken advantage of. In modern societies, everyday life is full of chances to cooperate or compete with others. The ratio of cooperation to competition within a society is reflected in its emphasis on collectivism or individualism. Decisions don’t take the exact form of the prisoner’s dilemma, but it provides a useful way of thinking about behavioural differences. However, it only predicts how a given individual will behave in a given population, not how different populations will vary from each other.\n\nSo how can game theory be applied to the differences between societies identified in The Spirit Level? Trust would seem to be a critical factor in people’s choices in the prisoner’s dilemma, and trust is in shorter supply in more unequal countries. This may be a rational response to the effect inequality has on the relative payoffs of cooperation and competition. When the rungs of the social ladder are further apart, there is more to be gained or lost in competition with others. In the prisoner’s dilemma, the points can be considered to represent gains or losses to be made, relative to others, in the hierarchy of social status. Inequality increases the viability of selfishness firstly because there is more to be gained by acting selfishly when the other cooperates, and secondly there is more to be lost by cooperating when the other acts selfishly (see new payoff matrix).\n\n  Player 2\nCooperate Defect\nPlayer 1 Cooperate Both: 3 Player 1: -5Player 2: 10\nDefect Player 1: 10Player 2: -5 Both: 1\n\n\nThe theory is testable, and predicts that people in more unequal countries are more likely to defect in the prisoner’s dilemma than people in less unequal countries. Cross-cultural studies have mostly compared individualistic and collectivist cultures, and attribute the higher level of cooperative behaviour in collectivist cultures to differing social norms. But this explanation doesn’t explain what causes the differing social norms. Differing levels of inequality could predict levels of collectivism, social norms and levels of cooperation.\n\nThe prisoner’s dilemma is just one of many games based on a trade-off between individual gain and the common good. The uplifting message from both the game theory tournament and the research behind The Spirit Level is that the two are not mutually exclusive.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9873232841491699}
+{"content": "Why would some people be saying that Christianity is dying?\n\nIs it the lack of life transforming power among churches?\n\nIs it the decline in attendance and support by the members?\n\nI would say that if there is a decline in lives being transformed, attendance, and support for the work of the church, it is because there has been a shift away from the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ in the life of the church and its members.\n\nChristianity is not about great facilities, great ministries, or great congregations.  It is about the gospel of Jesus Christ and one’s relationship to that gospel.  I would say Jesus Christ is the gospel.\n\nA Christian is much more than a person who participates in Christianity.  A Christian is a follower of Jesus Christ who daily depends on God’s grace in Christ to guide him into being the person God says he/she should be.\n\nSome forms of Christianity may indeed be dying.  But Jesus Christ is very much alive, and He gives to His true followers eternal life, and they shall never perish.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9883724451065063}
+{"content": "EDU 6363 Language, Arts, & Social Studies\n\nThe Columbia Icefield is an enormous icefield comprised of six large glaciers: Athabasca, Castleguard Columbia, Dome, Stutfield and Saskatchewan Glacier.  From these glaciers, through the Columbia Icefield, fresh water flows to three different oceans: Atlantic, Pacific and the Artic Oceans. Icefields, by definition, are colossal elongated areas of multiple glaciers that wrap around mountains to form a glacial valley leaving only the peaks of mountains showing.  These peaks are called nunatak. The area of the Columbia Icefield is about 170,000 miles; it ranges from 328 ft. to 1,197 ft. in depth, and gets up to 275 inches of snowfall per year.\n\nLocated in the Canadian Rockies it spans the continental divide of North America, fringing on the borders of two national parks; Banff National Park and Jasper National Park.  The Columbia Icefield is one of the last reminders of the thick ice mass that once covered most of Western Canada’s mountains.  From afar that glacier looks like a frozen river but there is movement from this glacier as it slowly melts.  The ice is in constant motion moving forward at a rate of about 3 cm per day.  Over the last 125 years the glacier has receded, melting away half of its initial volume and receding almost one mile.   The Athabasca Glacier is the most central glacier to the Columbia Icefield and by far the most visited.  Many visitors arrive year round to witness the glory and wonder of the glacial beauty its power is not a forced to be reckoned with.  The glacier in spite of its beauty is very considered dangerous.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.998299241065979}
+{"content": "\n\n2017-08-11 | FierceHealthcare: Healthcare\n\nThe Department of Defense is leading a team of researchers to better understand the decision-making process within powerful machine learning systems. That research should have significant implications for the healthcare industry as it looks for ways to integrate artificial intelligence while grappling with trust and transparency.\n\nLink to document", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9991135597229004}
+{"content": "Friday, 6 April 2012\n\nThe Soggy Weetbix of Opinions.\n\nYou may have noticed that many of my blog posts have taken a distinct ‘Here’s something silly that happened to me’ flavour. This happens quite often, because this happens quite often.\n\nA lot of the time it’s easier to write about ‘things that happen’, rather than things that I think about things/incidents/animals/foods in a broader sense. Because as hard as you might try, you can’t disagree with me about things that happened to me unless you were there (which I don’t think you were. And even if you were, I doubt that you read this blog).\n\nSo that brings me to my belief that a fear of sharing one’s opinion has two folds.\n\nFold 1. Fear that the opinion may be ill informed and wrong wrong wrong.\n\nFold 2. Fear that the opinion-ee won’t agree with the opinion at hand, and won’t want to be sit with you on the bus anymore (or equivalent).\n\nBut that’s a bit of a cop out really isn’t it? One can’t live one’s life keeping their mouth shut. How would they get food in there? And really, no one wants to sit at the back of the bus with someone who has nothing to say. That would be boring and weird (unless you a stranger to me, and then they should ALWAYS keep your mouth shut).\n\nMy nerdy, opinionated freind Wikipedia just today defined ‘opinion’ as ‘a subjective belief, and is the result of emotion or interpretation of facts’. My subjective emotional belief based on these of these wiki-facts, is that this is quite interesting.\n\nFacts huh? Does this mean I would be wisest to have ALL the facts when I decide to have an opinion? Otherwise I could potentially make an opinion-ass of myself.\n\nAnd if so, than it should only be on very special, rare occasions that I have any opinion at all.  And only after extensive and expensive research done by university students in white coats (and not the ones who stand behind the make-up counter at Myer).  And if not, than any old person can have any old soggy-weetbix opinion about anything that they know something, or nothing, about.\n\n\nBut… I don’t want to have a soggy weetbix, ill-thought-out opinions. I only want the best ones. I want to have crunchy-muesli-with-fruit-and-nuts sort of opinions! I guess for now, while I can’t afford to pay university students to undertake extensive and expensive trials, all I can do is try and get react to the most factual facts, and try not to make an opinion ass of myself. And hopefully you’ll still want to sit with me on the bus (or equivilant).\n\nMy unreliable internet wouldn't allow me to upload a picture, so I will describe it for you. This picture (not attached) was found in a sewing magazine, of a pyjama-clad family. The father, who is reasonable attractive, is wearing pyjamas with puppies on them. Presumably the wife is disappointed with this turn of events, which one can only assume occurred began when she started sewing the family's pyjamas (or he did). So no-one can really be sure who's to blame.'", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.545637309551239}
+{"content": "Thursday, December 10, 2009\n\n77:100 science of raw\n\n77:100 science of raw\n\nthis morning came across a nice article online at raw food life. here is a portion:\n\nCooking is known to diminish the nutritional value of food, but where did the nutrients go? They don't diappear (see Dr. Jeckyl & Mr Hyde (below) -- instead, the heat actually causes chemical changes in your food creating many of the carcinogens, mutagens, free-radicals and other toxins that are associated with many of today's diseases, from diabetes and arthritis to heart disease and cancer.\n\nTwo common myths are that eating raw is expensive and that it takes a lot of time to prepare. Nothing could be further from the truth! I am one of busiest people I know (mostly answering emails from my readers)! But when you do it correctly, a raw food diet is actually one of the easiest, most convenient and most economical ways you can eat. Remember, raw foodists eat mostly organic food, which is usually 80% to 300% more nutritionally dense (click for article on Organic Food)! As your body learns to absorb this additional nutrition, you be less hungry and actually eat much less, reducing your food costs well below what is was when you were eating empty calories filled with toxins that increase your health care costs.\n\nDr. Jeckyl & Mr. Hyde\n\nNutrition's Jekyl & Hyde Everyone knows that when you cook food you lose a lot of nutrition. But did you ever wonder where it goes? What happens to those beautiful vitamins, minerals, fats, carbs and proteins? Do they just disappear?\n\nUnfortunately, they do not. Like Dr. Jekyl, they are horribly transformed by chemical reactions created by heat into monsters like Mr. Hyde -- only we call them Carcinogens, Mutagens, and Free Radicals!\n\nCooking food is always like doing a chemical experiment in high school. Due to heat, cooking or preparing food creates new substances. Most of these new substances come from proteins reacting with carbohydrates. Some of these substances cause cancer or brain diseases and impair neurotransmitter function and metabolism.\n\nMany of these new substances are heterocyclic amines (HCA). Many of these HCA are directly or indirectly physically addictive.(1) Due to the heat of cooking, these HCA originate from the interaction between protein and carbohydrates and / or creatine (in red meat) or nitrate (in vegetables).\n\n(and you wondered why cooked foods seemed so addictive- you were right!)\nread more....\n\nwarning: following is not light reading- it's science heavy\nif you are jonesing to know how stuff works read on- but if you just woke up\nyou may need some green smoothie first :)\n\nThe Science of Broccoli\n\nMore Proof that Cooking Destroys Natural Cancer Protectionbroccoli science\n\nIt has been known for some time that eating cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage, can help prevent some forms of cancer, such as breast cancer, but the mechanism was unknown until now. According to (Dec. 29, 2008), U.C. Santa Barbara scientists have shown how the healing power of these vegetables actually works. Their research is published in this month's journal Carcinogenesis. Other studies have shown that cooking can significantly decrease the bioavailability of the cancer-fighting compounds in these veggies!\n\nBroccoli and other cruciferous vegetables contain compounds called glucosinolates, the compounds found in cruciferous vegetables that give them their unique taste. Isothiocyanates are some of the biologically active hydrolysis (breakdown) products of glucosinolates, which according to many studies have cancer-preventive and anti-carcinogenic activities. Broccoli and broccoli sprouts have the highest amount of the isothiocyanates. One of these compounds, called sulforaphane (SFN), inhibits the proliferation of human tumor cells by a mechanism similar to the way that some anticancer drugs work - by inhibiting cell division during mitosis (cell division) and is much less toxic than drugs.\n\n3-day old broccoli sprouts are concentrated sources of glucoraphanin, which contain 10-100 times more glucoraphanin by weight than mature broccoli plants. Broccoli sprouts that contain 73 mg of glucoraphanin (also called sulforaphane glucosinolate) per 1-oz serving are available in some health food and grocery stores. Remember, glucosin-olates are water-soluble so cooking just a few minutes can decrease the glucosinolate content of cruciferous vegetables as much as a 59%. Cooking can also inactivate myrosinase, the enzyme that catalyzes glucosinolate hydrolosis into isothiocyanates, which has been shown to substantially decrease the bioavailability of isothiocyanates.\n\n\nCruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, and kale are rich sources of sulfur-containing compounds called glucosinolates. Isothiocyanates are biologically active hydrolysis (breakdown) products of glucosinolates. Cruciferous vegetables contain a range of different glucosinolates, each of forming a different isothiocyanate when hydrolyzed. For example, broccoli is a good source of glucoraphanin, the glucosinolate precursor of sulforaphane (SFN), and sinigrin, the glucosinolate precursor of allyl isothiocyanate (AITC) (2). Watercress is a rich source of gluconasturtiin, the precursor of phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC), and garden cress is rich in glucotropaeolin, the precursor of benzyl isothiocyanate (BITC). Currently scientists are interested in the cancer-preventive activities of cruciferous vegetables that are rich in glucosinolates and isothiocyanates (3).\n\nMetabolism & Bioavailability\nMyrosinase, a class of enzymes that stimulates the hydrolysis of glucosinolates, is separated from glucosinolates in plant cells (4). When cruciferous vegetables are chopped or chewed, myrosinase interacts with glucosinolates and releases isothiocyanates from their precursors. Proper chewing of raw cruciferous vegetables increases glucosinolate contact with plant myrosinase and increases the amount of isothiocyanates absorbed (5).\n\nThough myrosinase is mostly inactivated by heat, human intestinal bacteria lets some myrosinase form (6), but the absorption and excretion of isothiocyanates is substantially lower from cooked than from raw cruciferous vegetables (5, 7, 8)\n\nIsothiocyanates are bound to glutathione during digestion tghanks to a family of enzymes called glutathione-S-transferases (GSTs), as well as mercapturic acids. These isothiocyanate metabolites can be measured in the urine and are strongly related to dietary intake of cruciferous vegetables (9). There is also evidence that isothiocyanate metabolites contribute to the biological activity of isothiocyanates (3, 10).\n\nEffects on Biotransformation Enzymes in Carcinogen Metabolism\nBiotransformation enzymes are important to the metabolism and elimination of a variety of chemicals, including drugs, toxins, and carcinogens. These enzymes catalyze reactions that increase the reactivity of hydrophobic (fat-soluble) compounds, increasing water solubility and promoting elimination of these toxins from the body (11).\n\nInhibition of Phase 1 Biotransformation Enzymes\nSome carcinogen precursors require biotransformation by enzymes in order to become active carcinogens capable of binding DNA and causing mutations. Inhibition of specific CYP enzymes involved in carcinogen activation inhibits the development of cancer in animal models (3). Isothiocyanates have been found to inhibit carcinogen activation by CYP enzymes in animal studies (12, 13). Cell culture studies have also shown that SFN inhibits certain CYP enzymes (14). A small clinical trial in smokers found evidence that consumption of 170 g/d (6 oz/d) of watercress, which is rich in the glucosinolate precursor of PEITC, decreased the activation of a procarcinogen found in tobacco (15).\n\nInduction of Phase II Biotransformation Enzymes\nMany isothiocyanates, are potent inducers of phase II enzymes in cultured human cells (2, 14). Phase II enzymes are important for protecting cells from DNA damage by carcinogens and reactive oxygen species (16). The genes for these and other phase II enzymes contain a specific sequence of DNA called an antioxidant response element (ARE). Isothiocyanates have been shown to increase phase II enzyme activity by increasing the transcription of genes that contain an ARE (17). Limited data from clinical trials suggests that glucosinolate-rich foods can increase phase II enzyme activity in humans. When smokers consumed 170 g/d (6 oz/d) of watercress, urinary excretion of glucuronidated nicotine metabolites increased significantly, suggesting UGT activity increased (18). Brussels sprouts are rich in glucosinolates, including precursors of AITC and SFN. Consumption of 300 g/d (11 oz/d) of Brussels sprouts for a week significantly increased plasma and intestinal GST levels in nonsmoking men (19, 20).\n\nPreservation of Normal Cell Cycle Regulation\nAfter a cell divides, it passes through a sequence of stages known as the cell cycle before dividing again. Following DNA damage, the cell cycle can be transiently arrested to allow for DNA repair or, if the damage cannot be repaired, activation of pathways leading to cell death (apoptosis) (21). Defective cell cycle regulation may result in the propagation of mutations that contribute to the development of cancer. A number of isothiocyanates, including AITC, BITC, PEITC, and SFN, have been found to induce cell cycle arrest in cultured cells (2).\n\nInhibition of Proliferation and Induction of Apoptosis\nUnlike normal cells, cancer cells proliferate rapidly and lose the ability to respond to cell death signals that initiate apoptosis. Isothiocyanates have been found to inhibit proliferation and induce apoptosis in a number of cancer cell lines (3, 22, 23).\n\nInhibition of Histone Deacetylation\nDNA is coiled around basic proteins called histones in the nucleus of a cell. Acetylation and deacetylation of nuclear histones is an important mechanism for regulating gene transcription (24). But the balance between histone acetyl transferase and histone deacetylase activities can be disrupted in cancer cells. Compounds that inhibit histone deacetylases may suppress the development of cancer by inducing the transcription of tumor suppressor proteins that promote differentiation and apoptosis in precancerous cells (25). SFN and AITC metabolites have been found to inhibit histone deacetylase activity in cultured cancer cells (10, 26-28). In humans, histone deacetylase activity was inhibited in blood cells following ingestion of 68 g (one cup) of SFN-rich broccoli sprouts (29).\n\nAnti-inflammatory Activity\nInflammation promotes cellular proliferation and inhibits apoptosis, increasing the risk of developing cancer (30). SFN and PEITC have been found to decrease the secretion of inflammatory signaling molecules by white blood cells; these compounds also have been shown to decrease DNA binding of NF-kappaB, a pro-inflammatory transcription factor (31, 32).\n\nAntibacterial Activity: Helicobacter pylori\nBacterial infection with H. pylori is associated with a marked increase in the risk of gastric cancer (33). In the test tube and in tissue culture, purified SFN inhibited the growth and killed multiple strains of H. pylori, including antibiotic resistant strains (34). In an animal model of H. pylori infection, SFN administration for five days eradicated H. pylori from eight out of 11 xenografts of human gastric tissue implanted in immune-compromised mice (35). However, in a small clinical trial, consumption of up to 56 g/d (2 oz/d) of glucoraphanin-rich broccoli sprouts for a week was associated with H. pylori eradication in only three out of nine gastritis patients (36). Further research is needed to determine whether SFN or foods rich in its precursor, glucobrassicin, will be helpful in the treatment of H. pylori infection in humans.\n\nCancer Prevention\nNaturally occurring isothiocyanates and their metabolites have been found to inhibit the development of chemically-induced cancers of the lung, liver, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, colon, and mammary gland (breast) in a variety of animal models (3, 12). Although epidemiological studies provide some evidence that higher intakes of cruciferous vegetables are associated with decreased cancer risk in humans (37), it is difficult to determine whether such protective effects are related to isothiocyanates or other factors associated with cruciferous vegetable consumption (see Cruciferous Vegetables). Investigators have attempted to calculate human isothiocyanate exposure based on assessments of cruciferous vegetable intake and measurements of the maximal amounts of isothiocyanates that can be liberated from various cruciferous vegetables in the laboratory (38). Case-control studies using this technique found that dietary isothiocyanate intakes were significantly lower in Chinese women (39) and U.S. men (40) diagnosed with lung cancer than in cancer-free control groups. Assessing dietary intake of cruciferous vegetables may not accurately measure an individual’s exposure to isothiocyanates, since other factors may alter the amount of isothiocyanates formed and absorbed (see Metabolism and Bioavailability above). Measuring urinary excretion of isothiocyanates and their metabolites may provide a better assessment of isothiocyanate exposure (9, 41, 42), but few studies have examined relationships between urinary isothiocyanate excretion and cancer risk. In a prospective study, Chinese men with detectable levels of urinary isothiocyanates at baseline were at significantly lower risk of developing lung cancer over the next ten years than men with undetectable levels (43). A case-control study found that urinary isothiocyanate excretion was significantly lower in Chinese women diagnosed with breast cancer than in a cancer-free control group (44). In contrast, cruciferous vegetable intake estimated from a food frequency questionnaire was not associated with breast cancer risk in the same study.\n\nGenetic Variation in Isothiocyanate Metabolism and Cancer Risk\nGSTs are a family of phase II biotransformation enzymes that promote the metabolism and elimination of isothiocyanates and other compounds from the body. Genetic variations (polymorphisms) that affect the activity of GST enzymes have been identified in humans. Null variants of the GSTM1 gene and GSTT1 gene contain large deletions, and individuals who inherit two copies of the GSTM1-null or GSTT1-null gene cannot produce the corresponding GST enzyme (45). Lower GST activity in such individuals could result in slower elimination and thus longer exposure to isothiocyanates after cruciferous vegetable consumption (9). In support of this idea, several epidemiological studies found that inverse associations between isothiocyanate intake from cruciferous vegetables and the risk of lung cancer (39, 40, 43, 46, 47) or colon cancer (48-50) were more pronounced in GSTM1-null or GSTT1-null individuals. These findings suggest a protective role for isothiocyanates that may be enhanced in individuals who more slowly eliminate them from the body.\n\nWhere to find Cruciferous Vegetables\n\nCruciferous vegetables, such as bok choi, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, horseradish, kale, kohlrabi, mustard, radish, rutabaga, turnip, and watercress, are rich sources of glucosinolate precursors of isothiocyanates (51). Unlike some other phytochemicals, glucosinolates are present in relatively high concentrations in commonly consumed portions of cruciferous vegetables. For example ½ cup of raw broccoli might provide more than 25 mg of total glucosinolates. Total glucosinolate contents of selected cruciferous vegetables are presented in Table 1 (52). Some cruciferous vegetables are better sources of specific glucosinolates (and isothiocyanates) than others. Table 2 lists vegetables that are relatively good sources of some of the isothiocyanates that are currently being studied for their cancer-preventive properties. Amounts of isothiocyanates formed from glucosinolates in foods are variable and depend partly on food processing and preparation (see Effects of Cooking below). Consumption of five or more weekly servings of cruciferous vegetables has been associated with significant reductions in cancer risk in some prospective cohort studies (53-55).\n\nBroccoli Sprouts\n\nThe amount of glucoraphanin, the precursor of SFN, in broccoli seeds remains more or less constant as those seeds germinate and grow into mature plants. Thus, 3-day old broccoli sprouts are concentrated sources of glucoraphanin, which contain 10-100 times more glucoraphanin by weight than mature broccoli plants (56). Broccoli sprouts that are certified to contain at least 73 mg of glucoraphanin (also called sulforaphane glucosinolate) per 1-oz serving are available in some health food and grocery stores.\n\nEffects of Cooking\n\nGlucosinolates are water-soluble compounds that may be leached into cooking water. Boiling cruciferous vegetables from 9-15 minutes resulted in 18-59% decreases in the total glucosinolate content of cruciferous vegetables (52). Cooking methods that use less water, such as steaming or microwaving, may reduce glucosinolate losses. However, some cooking practices, including boiling (5), steaming (7, 58), and microwaving at high power (750-900 watts) (8, 58, 59), may inactivate myrosinase, the enzyme that catalyzes glucosinolate hydrolysis. Even in the absence of plant myrosinase activity, the myrosinase activity of human intestinal bacteria results in some glucosinolate hydrolysis (6). However, several studies in humans have found that inactivation of myrosinase in cruciferous vegetables substantially decreases the bioavailability of isothiocyanates (5, 7, 8).\n\n\nDietary supplements containing extracts of broccoli sprouts, broccoli, and other cruciferous vegetables are available without a prescription. Some products are standardized to contain a minimum amount of glucosinolates and/or sulforaphane. However, the bioavailability of isothiocyanates derived from these supplements is not known.\n\nAdverse Effects\n\nNo serious adverse effects of isothiocyanates in humans have been reported. The majority of animal studies have found that isothiocyanates inhibited the development of cancer when given prior to the chemical carcinogen (pre-initiation) However, very high intakes of PEITC or BITC (25-250 times higher than average human dietary isothiocyanate intakes) have been found to promote bladder cancer in rats when given after a chemical carcinogen (post-initiation) (60). The relevance of these findings to human urinary bladder cancer is not clear, since at least one prospective cohort study found cruciferous vegetable consumption to be inversely associated with the risk of bladder cancer in men (55).\n\nPregnancy and Lactation\n\nAlthough high dietary intakes of glucosinolates from cruciferous vegetables are not known to have adverse effects during pregnancy or lactation, there is no information on the safety of purified isothiocyanates or supplements containing high doses of glucosinolates and/or isothiocyanates during pregnancy or lactation in humans.\n\nsheesh! now i am exhausted just reading this\ni know i need to read it again because i am certain\nthat i missed some of the information.\nback later! see you then :)\n\n1 comment:\n\n  1. Great information. I just came across your blog and will take more time to explore it in depth.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6242507696151733}
+{"content": "Time Machine\n\n H. G. Wells\n\n2946    29    10    34    77     162\n\nStory starts with the time traveler telling his friends he has invited to dinner that the mathematics he is about to explain is much different from the usual ideas. The book is written from one of the guests’ viewpoint. He goes on explaining that time is the fourth dimension. He uses the readings of a barometer over a period of time to show it is not measuring length, width, or depth. Next, the time traveler shows them a model of a time machine that took him two years to make. He claims that as soon as he presses the lever, the time machine will disappear into the future. He presses the lever shortly thereafter, and the machine does disappear…", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7702257037162781}
+{"content": "Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO)\n\n\nFate and Transport in the Environment\n\nExposure Pathway\n\nRoutes of Exposure\n\nMethods for Measuring Exposure\n\nStrategies for Preventing Exposure\n\nMethods for Monitoring in the Environment\n\nHarmful Effects\n\nDose Response\n\nAbsorption, Distribution and Metabolism\n\nSites of Toxicity\n\nBiomarkers of Disease\n\nRisk Assessment\n\n\n5103/5104 Home\n\nAbsorption, Distribution, Metabolism\n\nThe current scientific evidence regarding the absorption, distribution, and metabolism of a genetically modified organism is identical to that of its conventional counterpart (Hollingworth, 2002). When someone ingests a genetically modified food product, it goes through the same process of digestion in the body as would a non-modified food product. Therefore, the absorption, distribution, and metabolism of GMO’s can be described by following the pathway for normal human digestion. During and after ingestion, the food is broken down into polymers as it passes through the mouth, esophagus, and stomach. These larger organic molecules are digested into monomers, which are then transported across the wall of the small intestine into the blood and lymph. This transportation of the organic food molecules is the absorption process. Absorption occurs at a rapid rate because of the extensive surface area that exists within the folds of the small intestine.\n\nIn terms of distribution, different areas of the small intestine absorb and therefore distribute the different food monomers. For example, the absorption of carbohydrates and lipids occurs in the duodenum and jejunum, however the water and electrolytes are absorbed primarily in the ileum. Finally, metabolism of the broken-down GMO occurs, but varies from person to person. The body’s metabolic rate is influenced by exercise, body temperature, age, sex, and rate of thyroid secretion. In general, however, individual differences in metabolic rate are mainly due to differences in physical activity (Fox, 1996).\n\nIn terms of the absorption, distribution, and metabolism of the specific transgenic material that is not naturally occurring in the plant, it is not a new type of material to our digestive systems. Humans consume approximately 0.1 to 1 gram of DNA in their diet each day, so it is present in very small amounts. Research has shown that dietary DNA has no known toxicity itself. And with transgenic DNA, defense mechanisms have evolved so that the hydrolytic breakdown of DNA during digestion and the silencing of foreign gene expression prevent the incorporation or expression of foreign DNA (Hollingworth, 2002).", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9373185634613037}
+{"content": "giovedì 17 marzo 2016\n\nThe ART of Wine Trere'\n\nT art of wine. The restyling of Trerè new labels. The restyling of Trerè wine labels sees new names and faces. Colours and traits are well-defined, strong, iconic and immediate. The aim: to give a visual impact with the purpose of recognizing that the wine itself is the product of an art. An art coming from the earth and passing through the wise and passionate hands of those who produce this wine: a family from Faenza who for three generations have pursued the aim of excellence in production. Hence the choice of a distinctive and recognizable style, which immediately speaks of art, and therefore about the art of wine. To do this effectively, and lead to identification, tradition is illustrated by evidence of simplicity: the roots remain but the codes change, through a restyling aimed at enhancing the passion and the taste of pleasure, while talking about a creative side also aimed towards young people and newcomers. The new labels have the names of Romagna that echo an established tradition, resounding in a visual context where the unexpected immediacy of the trait increases its recognition and character. This leads to the benefit of a stronger and more distinctive visible impact. The sincere note is the most authentic way to tell of a passion that becomes art. - See more at:\n\nArte e Vino e' una scelta obbligata per chi ama vino e arte.\n\nNessun commento:\n\nPosta un commento", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5979750156402588}
+{"content": "Burning pain in the foot or ankle can be a sign of nerve entrapment or compression. As nerves travel through the body, they go through confined spaces, or tunnels. If the nerves are swollen due to damage, or if the tunnel becomes compressed, it results in a pinched or entrapped nerve. An entrapped nerve can affect different areas of the feet, resulting in shooting pain, burning and tingling, and increased sensitivity.\n\nThe FixFootTM procedure can help treat entrapped nerves and pinched nerves through minimally invasive methods.\n\nAnother cause of burning pain can be a neuropathy, which occurs when something has happened to cause a nerve to deteriorate or become damaged. This can happen for a variety of reasons, including diabetes, trauma, exposure to toxins and nutritional deficiencies.\n\nOne particular type of neuropathy, diabetic neuropathy, is nerve damage caused by long-term high blood sugars. Most patients suffering from neuropathy generally experience numbness, burning, pain, restless legs, and loss of balance.\n\nThe cutting-edge FixFootTM procedure can often help relieve the symptoms associated with neuropathy and help get you pain-free!  \n\n    Learn More >>>", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.505723237991333}
+{"content": "Dragonshard is hands down the most innovative RTS on the market today, despite being created more than a decade ago.\n\nSet in the Dungeons & Dragons world of Eberron, there were 4 factions, 3 of which has complete playable campaigns.\n\nThe story is set in a mysterious place called the Ring of Storms.  A location that was added to the Eberron world as a result of this game.  Here, shrouded by a ring of perpetual storms lies a great treasure and an even greater mystery.\n\nPlay as The Order (Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Etc.), The Lizardfolk (a combined army of intelligent, cold-blooded creatures), or the Umbragen (a shadowy race of dark elves unlike the others on Eberron).\n\nDouble layered battlemaps:  Each mission has 2 maps.  Above ground map and the below ground map.  The above ground map is where your build yor strongholds and train your fighting forces.  Below ground lies an ancient collapsed city that holds buried treasure and hordes of monsters.\n\nAbove Ground:\n\nPlayers create their stronghold using an innovative grid system where buildings effect each other depending on their proximity to one another.  From there, they train captains, Heroes, Juggernauts to do their bidding.\n\nCaptains command a squad of soldiers who are weak by themselves but are very effective as a group.\n\nHeroes are tougher than captain, have special powers, can level up with experience, and can hold magical items and other inventory.\n\nJuggernauts are the lords of the upper battlefield.  They take a long time to create but their power and abilities are necessary for the end game.\n\nThe Above ground map was filled with wonderful detail and interesting tech features like swaying grass, trees, and 'hyper-terrain'.  Hyper-terrain was a layer of terrain that sat on top of the ground layer.  Often indicating sand, mud, or snow, the ground would deform in real time and the soldiers moved over it and would leave tracks.  When it rained or snowed, the the tracks would be smoothed out.  This turned out to be a strong tactical consideration when you traveled overland.\n\nThe building grid system, the squad system, hyper-terrain, realtime wind modelling and moving vegetation are just some of the above ground features which have yet to be duplicated in another RTS.\n\nBelow Ground:\n\nUnder every map, lies another.  The ruins of a sunken city.  It is filled with traps, monsters, and treasure.  Players can send captains and heroes down into the depths to recover treasure and help the war effort.  Ignore the underground and your opponent will gain the upper hand.  Captains are weaker down in the depths since they don't take their squad with them and Juggernauts cannot fit into the entrances to the city.  Every captain has a role similar to a character class in D&D and those roles shine in the depths.  Encountering lots of traps?  Better bring your Rogue captain.\n\nThe game played like an RTS on the surface world and played like an action D&D game underground.  This led to the creation of some of the most unique single player missions ever seen in RTS games.\n\n\nWe used some really hot proprietary technology to allow us two maps operating simultaneously.  With a single keystroke or a click of the appropriate minimap, you would instantaneously be taken to the other map with no load time.  This was unheard of and still never attempted.  It was the first RTS to require strategic thinking on one map and tactical thinking on another.   \n\nInnovative in ever way, Dragonshard is a great representation of what Liquid is capable of when properly funded, and has remained in the top 20 in the RTS category on Good Old Games gog.com since it was listed there years ago.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6126564145088196}
+{"content": "ICAS Proceedings\n\nICAS Online Open-Access Proceedings Library\n\n\nThe motivation of this study stems from the importance of protecting the environment, addressing the social issues related to internal and external stakeholders of companies and also the importance of adhering to good corporate governance. This study attempts to explore an integrative perspective for reporting environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors. The issue of ESG reporting has recently been thrust into the limelight due to increased public concern for good governance, accountability and transparency. In response, companies have to attempt to provide more disclosures encompassing environmental, social and governance factors. Integrative perspective refers to a balanced, equitable and simultaneous consideration for each ESG factor to be practiced. Hence, integrative ESG reporting would provide a means of engagement and communication between companies and multiple stakeholders with various information needs. This article allows for future research with empirical research into the integrative ESG reporting practices of companies.\n\nKeywords: environmental, social, governance, ESG reporting, integrative, stakeholders\n\nICAS Online Proceedings Library", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 1.0000094175338745}
+{"content": "Jun 15, 2007\n\nSurveillance in the Internet Age\n\nHere is Stratfor's article on the importance of the Internet in Surveillance.\n\nThose who conduct surveillance -- either for nefarious or protective security reasons -- frequently have used available technology to aid them in their efforts. In earlier times, employing such technology might have meant simply using a telescope, but in more recent years, surveillants have used photographic and video gear, night vision aids and electronic equipment such as covert listening devices, beacons and programmable scanners. These efforts have been greatly enhanced by the advent of personal computers, which can be used to database and analyze information, and the Internet, which has revolutionized information gathering.\n\nDoubtlessly, modern technology has radically altered the surveillance process. What it has not done, however, is render physical pre-operational surveillance obsolete. Despite innovative Internet tools, a person sitting in an Internet café in Quetta, Pakistan, cannot get everything he or she needs to plan and execute a terrorist attack in New York. There are still many things that can only be seen in person, making eyes-on surveillance vital to pre-operational planning. And, as long as actual physical surveillance is required, countersurveillance will remain a key tool for proactively preventing terrorist attacks.\n\nThe Internet as a Tool\n\nThe Internet has proven to be an important asset for those preparing a surveillance operation. If the target is a person, open-source Internet searches can provide vital biographical information, such as the target's full name, address, occupation, hobbies, membership in organizations, upcoming speaking engagements and participation in charity events. It also can provide the same information on the target's spouse and children, while image searches can be used to find photos of the target and related people.\n\nIn most instances, public records checks performed on the Internet also can provide a vast amount of personal information about a potential target, including property, vehicle and watercraft ownership, voter registration data, driver's license information, criminal history, professional license information and property tax data. The property tax data can be especially revealing because it not only tells the surveillant which property the target owns, but in some jurisdictions can even include photographs of the front of the home and even copies of the floor plan. In addition, many commercial services will, for a fee, provide an extremely detailed public records dossier on a desired subject -- often with little regard for how the information will be used.\n\nThere also are a number of Internet sites that offer maps and aerial photographs of specific locations. In videos released by the al Qaeda Organization for the Countries of the Arab Maghreb, the group has shown how it has used Google Earth to obtain aerial photographs to help it plan its attacks in Algeria.\n\nAn additional aspect of the Internet is that posters -- wittingly or unwittingly -- often meet hostile surveillants halfway, so to speak. For example, several environmental, animal rights, anti-globalization and anti-abortion groups have even gone so far as to publish lists of potential targets on their Web sites, frequently including personal data and sometimes also photographs. Real estate agencies also use the Internet to post detailed photographs, and even video tours, of homes on the market, which can provide additional information to surveillants. Buildings that lease office space also frequently post a great deal of online information. And, of course, many people are quite obliging to would-be surveillants and post a great deal of information about themselves -- including numerous photographs -- on blogs, personal home pages or networking Web sites like MySpace and Facebook.\n\nImportantly, not only can surveillants use the Internet to collect an abundance of information on a person or location, they can do so quickly -- and anonymously. Before the Internet era, hostile surveillants were forced to expose themselves at a far earlier stage in the attack cycle, if only to request information from a public agency or collect photographs to initially identify a person or location. Now, much of this information can be obtained without the need for surreptitious behavior or for providing false information -- and from the comfort and safety of one's own home.\n\nOf course, the Internet also can be used for protective reasons. Security managers, for instance, can conduct \"cyberstalker\" operations to determine how much information is available on the Internet regarding a person or building they are responsible for protecting. Though it is hard to get some information removed from the Internet once it is out there, it is important to realize that such information is available, and to identify where information vulnerabilities exist.\n\nThe Limits of Technology\n\nOne of the major problems associated with relying solely on information found on the Internet is the possibility of error. Because there is a great deal of erroneous information on the Internet, one cannot take every post at face value. Additionally, public data sources tend to have a considerable lag time (sometimes of several months) between an event and its posting on the Internet. For example, it is possible to pay a company to run a detailed public records profile on someone and then find that the person actually sold the property listed as the \"confirmed\" address on that profile two months earlier.\n\nWhen information gathered from a source such as the Internet is not confirmed, it can lead to the failure of an entire operation. A militant group is unlikely to win much sympathy among its intended audience if it shoots the wrong person or leaves a timed incendiary device at the wrong residence (as the Animal Liberation Front did in June 2006.) Furthermore, terrorist attacks require a large amount of time and effort, and in some cases utilize a large proportion of the resources available to a militant group. Such attacks also carry with them the possibility of death or long imprisonment for the person conducting them. They are, therefore, too costly to be conducted without adequate planning -- and sophisticated planning requires information that can only be collected by conducting physical surveillance.\n\nBiography data and photos, maps to help find the target's house, aerial photos of the target's property and even street-level views of a target's apartment building or home are very useful to operational planners. In fact, an operational commander can use these tools to help plan the surveillance and to quickly orient the surveillance and attack teams to the target and the area around it. However, even at their best, these sources of information provide a potential attacker with a static (and usually quite limited) view of a person or building. It simply cannot provide the richness of perception that comes from actually watching the building or person over time.\n\nAdditionally, the targeted person or building does not exist in a vacuum, and potential attackers must also have an understanding of the environment around the target if they are going to determine the best time, location and method for the attack, how best to take advantage of the element of surprise and how to escape afterward, if escape is called for in the plan. It is hard to place a target into context based solely on the information available on the Internet.\n\nInternet information also cannot provide what is perhaps the most important element of operational planning: an understanding of human behavior. If the target is a person, the surveillance team is looking not just for static facts, but for patterns of behavior that will predictably place the target in an ideal attack site at a specific time. Internet research can reveal that the target owns two cars and works for a particular company, but it will not reveal which vehicle he drives to work or whether he has a driver, the time he leaves the house, the Starbucks he visits every morning on his way to work, or the odd little shortcut he takes every morning to avoid traffic.\n\nIf the target is a building, the surveillance team will be looking to define the security in place at the site and for gaps in the security both in terms of physical security equipment and in guard coverage that can be exploited. They will make diagrams of the building, including any bollards, cameras and access control measures. They also will monitor the guards to see how they operate, and note their level of training and alertness. Militant groups have been known to test the adequacy and response time of building security by attempting to park a vehicle illegally in front of a building or by entering the building without the proper identification. In the past, al Qaeda has even entered potential target buildings and collected detailed engineering data such as the measurements and locations of building support pillars, elevator equipment and air handling systems. This is simply not the type of information that can be obtained by looking at overhead photos or even at 3D street-level views of the targeted building on the Internet.\n\nThough the Internet can provide surveillance teams with information that allows them to become quickly oriented to their target, and to condense some of the initial surveillance they would otherwise need to conduct, it has not been able to replace physical surveillance altogether. In fact, the same video in which al Qaeda's Maghreb node uses Google Earth to demonstrate how to plan attacks also shows operatives conducting physical surveillance of the attack sites. It also shows videos of attacks, meaning a surveillance team was on hand to record the event.\n\nAlthough the Internet has become a valuable tool in the surveillance process, it has not come close to eliminating the need for eyes-on monitoring of a target. As such, countersurveillance remains a powerful and proactive tool in the counterterrorism toolbox.[Stratfor]\n\nNo comments:", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7270522117614746}
+{"content": "\n\n\nThe Personality Traits That Make Us Feel Like Frauds\n\nby Scott Berinato\n\n\nAt some point in your professional life, you’ve probably felt like a fraud. Maybe you were praised for something you thought wasn’t worthy of the accolades, or maybe you were recognized in front of peers but felt unworthy, certain you’d soon be exposed as undeserving of the attention.\n\n\nYou’re not alone. Imposter Phenomenon (IP) is a well-known concept, first introduced back in the 1970s to describe high-performers who felt anything but on the inside. And despite years of research on IP, not much was known about the underpinnings of IP–what traits led to it and what people were more likely to suffer from it.\n\n\nJasmine Vergauwe and her Ghent University colleagues Bart Wille, Marjolein Feys, Filip de Fruyt, and Frederik Anseel believe they’ve begun to uncover some of the personality traits that may lead to IP, as outlined in a recent paper in the Journal of Business and Psychology. The team found that those who showed IP tendencies were most likely to measure high on perfectionism and neuroticism, and measure lower on self-efficacy, conscientiousness, and organizational citizenship.\n\n\nIt’s only the first step in what Vergauwe hopes is much deeper research into connecting personality to imposter phenomenon. I spoke with Vergauwe to learn more about what she’s discovering about the type of people who suffer from IP and what can be done about it.\n\n\nHBR: Since IP has been a concept for 30-40 years, I’m surprised that no one has explored its psychological underpinnings before. What made you want to explore it? \n\n\nVergauwe: Pauline Clance and Suzanne Imes — who first described the IP — initially emphasized environmental influences in the development and sustaining of impostor tendencies, such as early family dynamics. As a consequence, other researchers also focused on situational variables, like parental overprotection and family achievement orientation, in relation to the IP. It’s only recently that researchers have started to consider personality variables.\n\n\nObviously, both situation as well as personality will certainly have their influence, as is the case for probably most psychological phenomena. So there were in fact a few studies that  took personality into account, but we sought to extend previous findings by examining a broader trait spectrum.\n\n\nHow prevalent is IP? Are there data on how many people are feeling like fakes at work?\n\n\nWe prefer a dimensional perspective on impostor tendencies instead of the categorical approach (differentiating between “impostors” and “non-impostors”). Unlike the categorical approach, which uses—often arbitrary—cut-offs to differentiate between only two “types,” the dimensional assessment considers the full range of scores. A person is not either a narcissist or not, but can more accurately be described in terms of his or her score on narcissistic tendencies. Similarly, there exists a wide range of impostor tendencies in the population.\n\n\nHowever, in order to enable comparisons with prior studies, we also provided base rate information of categorized “impostors.” Based on our study in a Belgian adult working sample, 20% of our sample was categorized feeling like an “impostor.” We found the IP to be equally prevalent in all organizational layers, from the junior to executive levels, although the prevalence was somewhat higher among starters (27%). Most of the existing studies have addressed the IP in student samples, in which the prevalence seems to be even higher (around 30 to 40%).\n\n\nThe underlying traits that you say connect to IP — perfectionism and neuroticism — seem to be an insidious combo. You seek perfection but you’re also neurotic which probably makes you anxious when you don’t achieve perfection. Seems like a vicious cycle? \n\n\nIt is indeed a vicious cycle, in the literature even referred to as “the impostor cycle.” When an achievement-related task is assigned to them, impostors are usually plagued with worry, self-doubt, and anxiety. In order to deal with these feelings, they either extremely over-prepare a task or initially procrastinate and then follow that with frenzied preparation. Mostly, they succeed, and they experience temporary feelings of elation and relief. However, instead of being happy with what they have accomplished, and strengthened in their self-efficacy, their success reinforces the feelings of fraudulence rather than weakening them, because in their mind, this success does not reflect true ability (“Of course I’ve succeeded, I’ve put an excessive amount of effort and time in this project, maybe double than someone else would have needed”). Once a new task is assigned, feelings of anxiety and self-doubt re-occur.\n\n\nIt seems like people who feel like imposters would be overly conscientious in an effort to overcome the feeling. But you found that they scored low on conscientiousness?\n\n\nWe indeed replicated the negative relationship between impostor tendencies and conscientiousness that was also found in other studies. Given that the IP construct is used to describe people who deliver superior work, and conscientiousness is known to be a good predictor for academic and job performance, this negative association doesn’t seem to make sense. Although one aspect of conscientiousness is indeed related to self-perceived competence, the observed negative relationship still raises questions. Therefore, we raised the alternative explanation that it’s possible that they consistently underestimate and downgrade themselves, especially with regard to performance. This would mean that impostors perceive and describe themselves as lower on conscientiousness, while in reality they are not. Perhaps impostors set very high standards for themselves, and feel that they “cannot be conscientious enough.”\n\n\nIP sufferers also scored low on what you call “organizational citizenship.” How do you define that? \n\n\nOrganizational citizenship behavior, or briefly OCB, refers to behaviors that go beyond your job requirements, such as helping colleagues with their work, working longer than you are expected to work, attending meetings that are not mandatory. We argued that due to the fear of being exposed, impostors can become so engaged in their own tasks and performance that there remains less energy for tasks that are not part of their job description. Presuming that high personal achievement is the ultimate cover for their self-perceived fraudulence, and that personal resources are restricted, we expected impostors to be less inclined to engage in OCB. However, similar as for conscientiousness, the negative relationship might also be due to a general tendency to downgrade oneself.\n\n\nYou report that people who suffer from IP don’t necessarily love their jobs, but also that they’re afraid to leave them. Could leaving a job mitigate the IP by providing the proverbial “fresh start”? \n\n\nMost who suffer from IP feel that they are in the wrong position right now, that they are selected in a job of higher responsibility and salary than they deserve. In the case they would consider leaving their current job, they probably feel that they are not able to find a job at the same level. So they stay. Leaving their current job obviously frightens them, as this involves a major risk to be “exposed” in the selection procedure of any other job. Although this hasn’t been investigated yet, I don’t believe that being hired for a new job would be perceived as a “fresh start” or would break the impostor cycle. Instead, succeeding (i.e., being hired) only reinforces their feeling of being a fraud (“I have fooled them again…”).\n\n\nAre there health effects of suffering from IP—can it be debilitating for some? \n\n\nOther research has indeed demonstrated that the IP may have detrimental effects on people’s personal well-being, as the IP has found to be related to feelings of depression and overall poorer mental health.\n\n\nYou mention briefly possible ways to combat IP. Strong workplace support is one. What are some others?\n\n\nEmployees hampered by strong impostor tendencies could perhaps benefit from individual coaching programs, including cognitive behavior exercises that focus on the alleviation of maladaptive perfectionistic concerns and the enhancement of self-efficacy. However, this is only an assumption. Future research could shed light on these issues. Moreover, it’s important to note that impostor tendencies do not operate in an environmental vacuum. Awareness of environmental triggers might also enhance the understanding of feelings and (irrational) thoughts associated with IP.\n\n\nWhat do you mean by environmental triggers?\n\n\nIn other words, the pressure to perform and get ahead within a high achievement-oriented and challenging business environment. We promote until we reach the level of incompetence, and burnout is omnipresent since many of us have to deal with feelings of insecurity, stress, and fear of failure as a consequence of the high-demand fields. Failing is just not an option, and career advancement helps to ensure employment security in these economically difficult times.\n\n\nWithin this context, it is not unthinkable that for a certain category of employees who are prone to feelings of fear and incompetence, this economic climate may also constitute a breeding ground for dysfunctional thoughts and feelings associated with IP. Although our research group doesn’t focus on potential cultural differences, we are currently gathering new data, including observer-reports of personality and performance measures, to shed light on the “underreporting-hypothesis.”\n\n\nWhat else can be studied with regard to IP? What else do people not know or understand about IP? \n\n\nImposter phenomenon is still relatively poorly understood. These are some ideas about what could be next:\n\n\nObserver-reports and objective measures of intelligence will probably advance our basic understanding of IP, and we can always learn more about how to mitigate or buffer IP tendencies. Although one can imagine that the IP must influence one’s career trajectories, career outcomes have been ignored in the literature. The influence of leader-member-exchange on impostors’ career success, as well as different leadership styles in relation to the IP could be interesting topics. Nowadays, most people are inclined to think in a linear way in terms of career advancement. Every next step, must be a higher step. However, this doesn’t have to be the case. For a certain type of people, “a step back can be a step forward.” In this regard, Peter’s principle and the Imposter Phenomenon could be investigated simultaneously and related to leadership derailment research. Taken together, the unknown is still huge compared to what we already know about this phenomenon.\n\n\n\nScott Berinato is a senior editor at Harvard Business Review and the author of Good Charts: The HBR Guide to Making Smarter, More Persuasive Data Visualizations, forthcoming from Harvard Business Review Press and available for pre-order now.\n\n\nSource of this article;\n\n\nShare this article via;", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9220847487449646}
+{"content": "Wednesday, August 28, 2013\n\nSummer Corn Salad\n\nCheck out this recipe and more on the new site!\n\nWhoa.  Summer is coming to a close and I haven't even shared one of my favorite summer dishes.  One reason I haven't posted this is that I've been distracted by weather.  I'll have plenty of time to work on the site when it's cold outside and I'm trapped indoors.  Right? But another reason is this nagging idea of perfection.  Sometimes I fall into a spiral of thinking that I should wait until I have higher quality photos, create more complex recipes, or find some other excuse not to post a recipe.  And what happens when I think like that is nothing.  I stop creating and I stop sharing.  It's time to overcome that idea of perfection and share with you all a recipe that is not elegant and complex, but simple and beautiful.  And the pictures may be low quality iPhone shots, but the important thing is to keep creating, keep sharing, and stop being so hard on myself.  I feel better already.\n\nThis recipe is incredibly simple to make, yet crazy delicious.  Whenever I make this, people ask for the recipe or beg me to make it again.  And while it's still summer, I am trying to take advantage of eating these delicious seasonal foods while I can.\n\nThe star of this recipe is fresh raw corn.  I have always loved the taste of raw corn.  It is sweet and juicy and not nearly as starchy as cooked corn.  I especially love putting it on vegetarian tacos. Such great texture and flavor!\n\nBut there is one major concern when it comes to corn: GMO's.  Almost all corn sold in the United States is genetically modified.  And currently there is no requirement that GMO products be labelled.  But there is hope for those of us who would rather trust Mother Nature than corporately funded scientists to grow our food.  Organic standards do not allow GMO's and some stores label their corn as non-GMO.  Consider your power as a consumer: every purchase you make is a vote in favor of or against GMO's.  Which way are you voting?\n\nI found some beautiful red corn and mixed colors of cherry tomatoes that made for a beautiful rainbow of a dish.  But the yellow corn and red tomatoes taste just as good, so don't sweat it if you can't find red corn.  Just make sure you get non-GMO corn and get cooking before the summer vegetable season is over!\n\n\n2 ears of corn (non-GMO-we've talked about this)\n1 avocado, diced\n2/3 cup cherry tomatoes, halved\n1/2 cup raw walnut pieces\njuice of 1/2 a lemon\nSalt and pepper to taste (about 1/8 tsp each)\n\n1. Cut the corn kernels off the cob and place in a bowl with avocado, tomatoes, and walnuts.\n\n2. Add lemon juice and salt and pepper and stir.\n\nThursday, August 15, 2013\n\nRaw Cherry Pistachio Tart + Whipped Coconut Cream + Stewed Cherries\n\nCheck out this recipe and more on the new site!\n\nI'm finally coming up for air.  This summer has been a whirlwind. Between a luxurious beach trip, the first ever Naked Fig Dinner Party, a new nutrition client, and my regular cooking gig, I've been super busy.  All this has been incredibly chaotic (albeit fulfilling and fun), and so it feels really blissful to sit peacefully by the river while I write this.\n\nThe Naked Fig Dinner Party was truly a blast.  It was such an honor to share what I love to do with such a wonderful group of people.  We dined outside, enjoying great food, wine, and amazing company.  Inside, the talented Madeline Moore transformed the house into an art gallery for guests to view and purchase her work.  Needless to say, we took home quite a few beautiful pieces.  Overall, the event was a huge success and I can't wait to throw another one!\n\nThe best part of the dinner was definitely the dessert - a raw cherry pistachio tart served with whipped coconut cream and stewed cherries.  I cannot begin to describe how delicious this was.  You could just take my word for it, but if I were you, I'd make this one.  Seriously.\n\nThis dessert tastes so indulgent, yet it doesn't have any refined sugar or flour.  And it is gluten and dairy free too!  Instead it is packed with fruits and nuts.  Aside from being delicious and the epitome of Summer, cherries have anti-inflammatory properties.  And both cherries and pistachios are antioxidant rich foods.  Because the cake is raw, all the nutrition is intact.  That means that this amazing dessert may help boost your immune system as well as your mood!\n\nRaw Cherry Pistachio Tart\n\n\n\n2/3 cup raw shelled pistachios*\n1/2 cup raw walnuts\n2/3 cup dates, chopped\n1/4 tsp celtic sea salt\n1/8 tsp cinnamon\n\n*It can be hard to find raw pistachios.  If you can't find them, it is ok to use roasted.  Or if you really want it to be raw, use raw walnuts or pecans.\n\n\n2 cups cashews (soaked overnight)\n2 tbsp water\nJuice of 1 large lemon\n1/2 cup raw honey\n1 vanilla bean, scraped\n1 cup pitted cherries\n\nStewed Cherries:\n\n1 cup pitted cherries, sliced\n2 tbsp coconut palm sugar\n\n\n1. Put all crust ingredients in a food processor and pulse.  If the crust sticks together in your hands it is perfect.  If not, add water or honey one tbsp at a time until desired texture is achieved.\n\n2. Line a 9\" spring form pan with plastic wrap.  Press crust mixture into the bottom of the pan making as even a layer as possible.  Put pan in the refrigerator while you work on the filling. Rinse the food processor.\n\n3. Put all the filling ingredients except for the cherries into the food processor and mix until smooth.  This may take longer than you expect, but just keep blending until creamy.  \n\n4. Pour about 2/3 of the filling on to the crust layer.  Use a spatula to spread and create an even layer.\n\n5. Add cherries to the remaining 1/3 of the filling in the food processor and blend until smooth (and bright pink/purple!).  Pour all of the filling on top of the first filling layer and use spatula to make the layer even and smooth.\n\n6. Place in the freezer until solid, about 2-3 hours.  Move to the refrigerator about 30 minutes to 1 hour before serving.\n\nCherry Topping:\n\n1. Put sliced cherries and coconut palm sugar in a saucepan on medium heat.  Stirring frequently, cook until all the juices are released and cherries are tender.\n\nSlice the cake and top with whipped coconut cream and stewed cherries.\n\nYou can find a how-to on whipped coconut cream in the Raw Avocado Tart recipe.\n\nWednesday, August 7, 2013\n\nSummer Basil Rolls\n\nCheck out this recipe and more on the new site!\n\nLast week my friend Alice asked me what I eat when I don't feel like cooking, haven't planned a recipe, or when the refrigerator is looking sparse.  Great question! On my journey toward a more natural slow food diet I used to eat really well until I hit speed bumps.  If I was really tired, didn't feel well, or simply wasn't inspired, I turned to takeout and processed foods.  I'd know that somewhere in the pantry I'd find a bag of zero-nutrition crackers with a scary-long shelf-life.  After eating I'd have even less energy than I had before.\n\nOnce I got to a point where I was buying almost no processed foods, eating like that simply stopped being an option.  Now when I don't feel up to cooking, the choices for foods I can grab and eat are fruits, veggies, or nuts.  And I often find that after a handful of cashews or an apple my energy comes back enough to prepare something substantial.\n\nBut I'm not always in the mood for twig-and-berries kinds of snacks, so I try to plan ahead for times when cooking isn't going to happen.  When I make a meal with a grain (quinoa, farro, rice, etc.), I make a double batch of the grains to keep on hand in the fridge.  And if I make soup, I always make more than I need so that I can refrigerate or freeze some.  My freezer is always stocked with fruit for smoothies and I love to make flourless seed and nut breads and keep them in the freezer as well.\n\nI also try to come up with recipes that don't require a trip to the market.  It is actually like a fun game to challenge myself to make a complete meal with ingredients I have on hand.  Sometimes it is hard to let go of the idea that if I just had one more ingredient it would be perfect.  But I can stand to learn to be more flexible.\n\nKohlrabi is all over the farmers' markets around here right now.  If you've never tried it, its appearance can be intimidating.  They can be purple or green and look like something out of a sci-fi movie.  But for their dramatic appearance the flavor is actually simple, sweet, and mild.  They have sort of a cabbage-turnip flavor to them.  Kohlrabi is low in calories but high in fiber and Vitamin C.  Eat them raw or try roasting them.  Delicious either way!\n\nThis recipe is a great way to make a meal when you think you've got nothing to eat.  You can use almost any combination of fresh vegetables and they always seem to taste good.  I got sunflower sprouts, fresh basil, and kohlrabi at the local farmers' market.  If I made these at a different time of year I'd just swap out for whatever vegetables happen to be in season.  If you can't find kohlrabi for this recipe substitute carrots, cabbage, turnips, or radishes.  That's the beauty of this recipe.  It is super flexible.\n\nSummer Basil Rolls\n\nMakes 8 rolls.  If you don't feel like slicing the beets and kohlrabi, you can save some time and work by running them through the food processor.\n\n\n8 sheets of rice paper\n8 large basil leaves (use lots of small leaves if you don't have large ones)\n1/8 cup sesame seeds\n1 beet, julienned\n1 kohlrabi, julienned\n1/2 cup snow peas, julienned\n1 avocado, sliced\n\n1. Fill a wide shallow bowl or a deep plate with warm water.  Submerge a sheet of rice paper for about 20 seconds.  Remove rice paper and lay flat on work surface.\n\n2. Sprinkle rice paper with a spoonful of sesame seeds.\n\n3. Thinking of rice paper as a clock, lay a large basil leaf on the paper from 11 to 6.  Put a little of each vegetable evenly on top of the basil leaf. \n\n4. From the left side (6 on a clock), fold the paper just enough to cover the filling.  If you've ever folded a burrito, this is the same strategy.\n\n5. From the top (12:00) fold the rice paper down about 1.5-2 inches.  Do the same from the bottom (6:00).\n\n6.  Starting from the left (9:00), roll the rice paper all the way across.\n\n7. Repeat until all ingredients are used up.\n\nAfter all that folding I am usually too excited about eating to make an elaborate dipping sauce.  I usually just use tamari sauce with a few drops of chili oil and maybe some raw almond butter whisked in.  But get creative with it!  Miso, tahini, lemongrass, and garlic all make great ingredients for sauces.  Or use the orange peanut dipping sauce recipe from the Baked Vegetable Pockets.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5701062679290771}
+{"content": "Thursday, August 28, 2014\n\nDefining Literature\n\n                                                                           By: Bipin Karki\n             Literature is the reflection of socio-historical, political, cultural, economic aspects of the society.  It is the mirror of the society. Specially, literature is in written form. It can be further distinguished according to major form of it such as novel, poetry, story and drama. Literature does not have the fixed, final, single meaning. It differs according to sex, gender, education, class, nationality, belief and so on. In literature, writers use the figurative language such as irony, metaphor, pun, paradox, ambiguity, simile, conceit, etc. In literature, there is an artistic expression. It conveys ideas, feelings, view, ambitions, and emotions of a writer in a beautiful language. It is imaginative because writer changes the name, character, place and so on and modifies them in different ways. In literature, the literary writers show their creativity. In literature, human life and society are colored with the polished language of literary writers. It is larger than life and more powerful than the real.\nDifferent critics have different opinions regarding the origin and definition of literature. There are also contradictions among different critics but their main argument seems to be somehow similar. Widdowson states that “the origin of literature started along with some oral performances like folk songs, ballets, speeches, hymns and so on. These are the essentials aspects of ancient period. To make the god happy they used to perform drama. They think that, if drama will not perform god will be unhappy and plague may occur” Widdowson 29. According to him, literature originated in oral forms such as folk songs, hymas and so on. Later, with the origin of different writer, the form of literature changed and it got a written form. Literature is that form of art which not only pleases human being; it also draws the attention of god and pleases the god. Literary art touches the platonic ideas which are presented in a realist form. In ancient time also, it was supposed that literary performance can solve different kinds of riddles and accordingly drama is performed taking it as a means of solution of the riddles.\nPlato accuses the literary writer as imitators. He says that literature is twice removed from the reality. All human beings are copied from the nature, whatever they write is also copied so, there is twice copy          .                                                                                  \nIn this brief survey of the originating classical discourse of ‘literature’; the Neo-Platonist tradition, beginning with Plotinus (third century A.D), took the Aristotelian position in imitation much further. For platinum, poets had a truly noble role- almost god like in their ability to create- since their art touched the realm of platonic ‘ideas’ on which, as we have heard, the created world was modeled. Ironically, then, Plato’s own ideas about the unsatisfactoriness of the poet and poetry in the pursuit of truth wear turned back against him by the Neo-Platonists: poetic imitation was regarded as the highest of all imitations because it offered access to the divine archetypes rather than merely copying existing materialities. (Widdowson 29)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         \nPlato was negative towards poetry, he criticize poetry. He believed that poetry as mimetic art. He believed that poets simply copy the word of appearance. He says that poets should be banished from the nation. But the neo Platonists and Aristotle are in favor of literature or poetry. ‘Neo-Platonist views were profoundly influential throughout the Renaissance (Widdiwson 30).’\nLiterature changes from the folk songs, oral myths to the English word literature. Widdoson argues that “The English word literature dories either directly or by way of the Acognate French literature from the Latin literature. The root word from which is littera meaning is letter of the alphabet” (31). After a while it is not only a word. It is like to read and write. In this sense the definition of literature is gradually wide. \nIn the late eighteenth century the literature development lead it to the professional. During this period literature get professionalized which help in the commercialization of literature almost at the end of eighteenth century.  Widdowson states that:\nThis self conscious pride in the paid professional status of the individual author or writer word which themselves become more frequent in the later part of the eighteenth century reveals the shift from aristocratic patronage as the matrix for the production of literary writing to the commercial environment in which individuals author sell different kinds of written wares in different kinds of market. (33)\nAs this, literature became more professional. Coming the eighteenth century, literature got new enlighten it is because it became more professional genre expanding its area. It started to cover all the aspects of the world. By covering every aspects of human being, literature became more realistic.\n            English language and literature got the value of academic subject in nineteenth century. “This subject is offered by the University college of London in 1820” (Widdowson 42). Its purpose of teaching literature and language is to make people civilized, moral or of having good human quality.\n            According to OED’s definition “Literature is the pieces of writing that are valued as work of art, especially novels, plays and poems (in contrast to technical books and newspaper, magazines etc.)” (898).It focuses on the written documents not in the visual text.\n            By the means of written literary works, it provides us pleasure, fun and entertainment. The literary works without pleasure, entertainment are not considered as literary work. It is the characteristics of literature as literary work. Widdowson argues “It has in it an element of entertaining display and surely we expect literature to be in some sense entertaining, or, to put it in slightly different terms to afford pleasure. That literature is an adult game, a sort of make- believe, is suggested in some of the words we applied to pieces of literature- “fiction”, “story”, “tale”, ‘play’” (1).By means of literature, people become free from irritation, boredom, anxiety, sufferings,  pain and so on. It shows that literature provides pleasure, entertainment and it works as a medicine of irritation, anxiety, pain, suffering etc.\n             Literary devices have mainly four kinds of genre (forms). They are different on its characteristics. They are play, essay, poem and story.\n             The play is performed on the stage by the characters. The characters perform their role through dialogue. That is why dialogue is the core quality of play. “The distinctive appearance of a script, with its stage directions, character parts and divisions into acts and scenes, identifies drama as a unique form of literature. A play is written to be performed in front of an audience by characters and presents the story through and action” (908). It is made for performance. It is to be seen, dialogue and acted\n            In the essay, the essayist puts main idea and  tries to support those main ideas with details and arguments. The essayist expresses his/her ideas, feelings, views, emotions in a convincing way. In this sense, persuasion is the major feature of essay. It is directly addressed to the readers. “The essay in its pure form uses words to establish ideas that are addressed directly by the essayist to the reader. Thus, it’s essential quality is persuasion” (5). Essay attempts the reader to persuade something by means of argument which is directly addressed to the reader by the author.\n            In a poem a poet uses personal feelings, emotions and views which are not directly addressed to any reader rather they are overheard by the reader. In the poem the poet speaks himself/ herself rather than to any reader while speaking. The poet thinks deeply or meditates and discloses his/her feelings. Poets use the figurative language, such as irony, metaphor, simile, pun and so on.\n            A story is narrated through a narrator. It is the inner quality of the story. The words of a story are directly addressed towards reader. It gives moral lesson. The elements of a story are plot, characters, point of view, style, tone and language, symbolism etc.\n            Literature has got the direct relation to readers. It cannot exist without reader. Literature is made by the reader. There is a great role of reader. Literature has not the single, final, fix meaning it depends upon the readers’ social, economic, historical age gender knowledge etc. “Every literary work has somewhat different meanings to different people depending on their age, gender, nationality … and experiences” (8).so there are multiples meaning of literary texts. If any writer writes any literary works and if there is not any reader it is meaningless, but if there is reader then it is fruitful, and then only it get success. Literature speaks through the ideas of reader. In literary text readers have to create meaning. For, them what is said is equally important to what is not said in the text. It represents what is not said in the society.                                           In conclusion, literature having different genres tends to reflect the society. It explores the class, gender, race conflict, exploitation, discrimination and so on by the means of its different forms. It visualizes the society, the socio-economic condition, political, historical etc. It tries to minimize the problems of the society and have an ideal society. Literature provides delight, pleasure, entertainment, fun, romance and so on. It decreases irritation, boredom, anxiety, pain and sufferings. It tries to explore the problems of the society by using figurative language. It is said that women should read literature. It teaches moral lesson. It provides lesson to be moral and ideal women guides the family and if females are ideal, their family become moral. If it is moral then the society becomes moral. So women should be taught literature. By the means of literature, society can be changed, developed and idealized. It is a means of development. Hence, literature visualizes, reflects the economic, political, historical and political condition of the society.  \n                                                                  Works cited\n            Berman, Morto and  William, Borto.  An Introduction to Literature. Second Edition.\nKirszner,G. Laurie and Mandell, R. Stephin. Literature, Fourth Edition, United states       of America, Heinle and Heinle:1991.\n            Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of current English, Seventh Edition.\nScholes, Robert. Comley, R, Nancy. Klaus and H Carl,Silverman. Michael, Elements         of Literature. New Delhi: Oxford University press, 1998.\nWiddowson, Peter. Literature. London: Routledge, 1999.   \n\nNo comments:\n\nPost a Comment", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9739753603935242}
+{"content": "Reggae star BOUNTY KILLA has been arrested in Jamaica and charged with using profanity during a Montego Bay festival appearance.\nKilla, real name Rodney Pryce, was arrested early on Friday (18Jul08), charged and released on bail.\nHe is due to appear in court on July 31 when he will answer two counts of using indecent language and disorderly conduct. He faces up to 30 days in prison if he's found guilty.\nAccording to police reports, Bounty Killa turned on the crowd at the Sumfest festival after revellers started booing him for criticising other DJs in his lyrics.\nBefore cutting his set short, the reggae star hurled expletives at the audience, according to\nJamaican laws prohibit entertainers from using profanity on stage.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8354576826095581}
+{"content": "Bringing science and development together through news and analysis\n\nStrengthening science–policy dialogue in developing countries: a priority for climate change adaptation\n\nThis article, published by the Overseas Development Institute, summarises the findings of a study on the challenges of incorporating science, technology and innovation into policy in developing countries and highlights the role of science in promoting effective climate change adaptation measures.\n\nThe study, commissioned by SciDev.Net and the UK Department for International Development, included investigations of how to improve structures and institutions for delivering climate change adaptation and how to integrate adaptation measures into developing country policies as a critical priority.\n\nThe article suggests finding innovative ways to embed scientific knowledge into national policy through, for example, placing researchers in government bodies or creating citizen juries to judge adaptation measures.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9794402122497559}
+{"content": "Tentang Perusahaan\n\nWhy join us\n\nA Total Food Solutions Company MISSION\nTo provide sustainable solutions for food needsTo continuously improve our people, processes and technologies\nTo contribute to the welfare of the society \nTo continuously improve stakeholders’ values Values\n“With discipline as the basis of our way of life; We conduct our business with integrity; We treat our stakeholders with respect; and together we unite to strive for excellence and continuous innovation.”\n\n\nTunggal Villa Valensia Jl Lontar Indah IV Villa Valensia Bl PA-7/28 Lontar, Lakarsantri Surabaya 60216 Jawa Timur\n\nNo. Telepon\n\n(031) 70275838\n\nLowongan Kerja Rekomendasi", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9977702498435974}
+{"content": "Apology Bow: What Dogs Are Actually Trying To Say\n\n\nIf you’ve ever owned a dog, you’ve already seen it: the face a dog makes when it knows it did something that will upset you. Big eyes, bowed head. We recognize it as a dog being guilty, and it is the cutest thing in the world!\n\n\nImage source : ytmig.com\n\nBut there is actually a scientific explanation to this behavior. According to a study by Nathan H. Lents, a molecular biologist with the City of University of New York, they have inherited the trait from their wolf relatives.\n\nWolves are social creatures needing the approval of its peers to feel accepted. When a playful wolf bites too hard, it will be spurned by the pack for bad behavior, and in order to return and be accepted again, the wolf must approach with an apology bow.\n\nDogs will do the same thing after it felt it is being punished. Lents wrote, “As social animals, they crave harmonious integration in the group and neglect or isolation is painful for them.”\n\n\nImage source : theloudlaugh.com\n\nA dog will do its apologetic bow regardless of whether it disobeyed or not, as long as it feels it is being punished. So the gesture is more of an apology rather than showing a feeling of guilt. Lents summarizes it as a dog’s way of saying, “Can we be friends again?”\n\nHi I’m Scott Jay Abraham. I’m an interior industrial designer. I like to travel to odd places and take photographs. I enjoy walking my dog Shadow. Visit my page to learn more about me.\n\nA Hot Dog: How To Take Care Of a Dachshund\n\nPets, ViaFarm\n\nTaking care of dogs (or any pet for that matter) is a huge commitment. So for kids who want to adopt or buy a dog, you need to be ready for the responsibility it entails. Dachshunds, in particular, require slightly different caring from other dogs. Here’s a few tips on taking car of your pet:\n\n\nImage source: ranker.com\n\nDog-proof your house\n\nWhen you decide to get a dog, the first order of business is to adjust your home for the little bugger. Be sure wires are safely plugged or hidden and there aren’t any choking hazards left of the floor. It’s also important to get all your doggy essentials beforehand like food bowl, pet bed, and stock up on quality dog food.\n\nCarry them up the stairs (when you can)\n\nThis is a breed specific requirement. Because of the Dachshunds’ body structure, they are prone to back injuries like disk problems. When you can, carry them up the stairs so they won’t have any back problems as they grow old.\n\n\nImage source: awakenthefuture.com\n\nWatch their weight\n\nDespite how cute fat and fluffy dogs are, obese dogs aren’t exactly healthy and can cause many health risks. This is especially true for this particular breed. Becoming overweight can cause unwanted back issues so it’s good to watch their diet and also to walk and play with them often.\n\nHi, I’m Scott Jay Abraham and I have a dachshund named Shadow. For more care tips for dogs (and other pets), like this Facebook page.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5546898245811462}
+{"content": "Avoiding Allergic Reactions While Eating Out on Vacation\n\n\n\n\n\nchinese food\n\n\n\n\n\nFor more information on observing at a restaurant to stay safe please refer to my post at https://whyriskit.wordpress.com/2013/04/09/asking-and-observing-when-dining-out/.\n\nThe One Time I Did Not Ask About Nuts In a Restaurant\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLessons Learned from an Allergic Reaction\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAsking and Observing when Dining Out\n\nLIVE_ Dining OutMy name is Mathew and I have allergies to all nuts and some fish.  I recently wrote a post about the reasons why I think allergy sufferers tend to undertake risky behaviour in regards to their allergies.  In this post I hope to provide helpful information about what I do when I eat at a restaurant.  I ask questions and more importantly, I make observations.\n\nAsking restaurant staff about their food allergy policy is always necessary when eating at a restaurant.  Sometimes the restaurant will state their policy on the menu or where patrons place their orders.  Although asking is important, it is subject to human error and therefore making your own observations and using common sense is important too.  Some things that I look out for include:\n\n  • Other menu items that have allergens in them.  An example would be if you are ordering pasta with tomato sauce and the restaurant serves a pasta dish with nuts.  There is a chance that there could be cross-contamination.\n\n  • Menu items that have “hidden” allergens.  An example is pesto sauce on pizza.  Pesto may be put on a pizza and may not be visually obvious.  Pesto may or may not have nuts in it (but usually does as it’s commonly made with pine nuts).\n\n  • Set-up of the kitchen.  If I can glance into the kitchen on the way into the restaurant I will observe the set-up of the kitchen.  I look for any potential cross-contamination issues.  One time I was at a restaurant for breakfast and the waitress assured me that I was safe eating there as they had no nuts on the menu.  I was able to sneak a look at the grill and noticed that on “special order” (which means that it was not on the menu) the chefs were using peanut butter in the pancakes (on the grill).\n\nThe problem is that not everybody is educated in food allergy safety and relying on their assurances is not always sufficient.  This is why it is so important to not only speak with the wait staff, but also with a manager and the chef if possible. When I do make inquiries, I am careful as to how I frame my question.  I often notice that people ask, “does the pizza have allergen X in it?  I am allergic”.  That question warrants a basic yes or no answer and implies that if there are no allergens directly on the pizza you ordered then you will be okay.  A better question is, “I am allergic to X, what is the restaurant’s policy in regards to allergens”.  This question sounds more serious and will often result in the wait staff inquiring with the chefs or management.\n\nThe next time you dine out, be sure to ask the right questions, observe, and never take a chance with a food you don’t feel 100% safe with.\n\nReasons for Food Allergy Risk-Taking\n\nScreen Shot 2013-03-09 at 7.57.55 PM\n\nMy name is Mathew and I am allergic to all nuts and some fish.  For many years I have observed; and I have not been surprised by the fact, that people who do not suffer from severe allergies often misunderstand the risks associated with severe allergies.  Recently I have noticed; and was surprised by the fact, that some allergy sufferers themselves downplay their allergies by taking risks.  I believe that the most prevalent reasons for the risk taking behaviour of allergy sufferers are carelessness, a lack of understanding and embarrassment.\n\nCarelessnessHotel restaurant table\n\nFrom my experience, allergy sufferers can be careless when making decisions that are impacted by their allergies.  I have observed allergy sufferers who have claimed to have mild to moderate allergies, eating foods knowing that the food contained an allergen that would adversely affect them.  I asked them about their actions and the response was a very simple, “I’ll be fine”, followed by a shrug.  Although they thought their allergy was not severe, they still had a significant allergic reaction to the allergen.  Their actions may be evidence of their carelessness.  When I am with people who suffer from a known severe food allergy, I’ve noticed that they rarely ask the server about the restaurant’s policy in regards to food allergens.  I have questioned them on why they did not inquire and have received responses such as, “its fine, whatever”.  The responses may be confirmation that the individuals are careless but they may be evidence of the individual’s lack of knowledge about the risks that they are taking.\n\nLack of Understanding\n\nI think the most common and dangerous reason why individuals take risks when it comes to their allergies is a lack of understanding of the risks that they are taking.  I know of people that will eat products that are labeled with, “may contain allergen X”.  I have questioned their actions and I often receive responses such as, “most of these warnings are there for legal reasons”.  Although there are laws regarding the labeling of food with allergen information, studies suggest that 7% of foods labeled with “may contain allergen X” do contain the allergen (S. Sicherer, 2007).  The fact that individuals are under the impression that the warnings are present strictly for legal reasons suggests that there is a lack of understanding of the risks being taken by some allergy sufferers.\n\n\nThis category is relatively broad but it is important because I think every person with a severe allergy has been subject to these feelings in regards to their allergies more than once.  I know from experience that it can become quite mundane having to inquire about your allergies in a social situation when you are the only person suffering from allergies.  I often feel like I am being a bother and although I always inquire about the establishment’s policy regarding food allergies, it never is without the feeling of being the centre of attention for that brief moment.  Restaurant employees are often trained to deal with allergies but I often find myself in situations where I am inquiring with someone who does not understand allergies.  I, as most other allergy sufferers, can identify unsafe situations when non-allergy sufferers cannot.  Many people are under the impression that if they do not use an allergen in a dish then the dish is safe for an allergy sufferer.  The person who cooked the dish may insist you will be fine eating it when in reality the allergy sufferer knows they are at risk.  It is somewhat embarrassing to have to turn down the food in this situation because it may appear as if you are rejecting the food being offered to you because you are not interested in it.\n\nIt is important for readers to be aware of the reasons why allergy sufferers may act as if they do not have allergies.  If you suffer from allergies then being aware of the above information will help you change or reaffirm your behaviour.  If you do not suffer from allergies then being aware of what an allergy sufferer goes through will help you if you are ever in a situation where an allergy sufferer is making a risky decision.  Always remember, why risk it?\n\nAnaphylaxis Canada. (2010). Research. Retrieved from http://www.whyriskit.ca/pages/en/learn/research.php#question_3\n\nThe Business of Allergies\n\nRecent research has indicated that the global market for food allergies and food intolerances will reach $26 billion by 2017 (“Global food allergy”, 2012).  The growth in the market is being caused by an increase in demand for allergen free products.  The increase in demand has been caused primarily by an increase in the number of people affected by dietary restrictions and their growing need for varied food choices.\n\nMo' Allergies, Mo' Products.\n\nMo’ Allergies, Mo’ Products.\n\nThe growth in the market has provided a valuable opportunity for many companies through the release of various products that have allergen free statements. It is no mystery why many companies are sporting the “peanut free” label or are sprawling “lactose free” across their milk cartons to attract the allergy conscious market. However there is a more interesting discussion to be had regarding the way in which companies are seizing opportunities from the increase in demand for allergy free products.\n\nBesides the obvious business opportunities stated above, a more diverse array of companies are trying to profit from the surge in the number of people affected by food allergies.  Many restaurants have an allergy menu that charts which dishes are made using various allergens.  At the very least a majority of restaurants are including the above information on their web page.  As more companies begin accommodating allergies, it is putting pressure on other companies to do the same.  Effectively, it is my belief that providing allergy information to consumers is becoming an industry standard rather than a competitive edge.  Apps such as iCanEatOntheGo are allowing customers to refine searches to “only restaurants that are allergen safe” and websites such as Allerdine.com allows customers to rate restaurants on their allergy–friendliness.  The emergence of social media is causing restaurants to come under increasing pressure to become more aware of their customer’s food restrictions.\n\nThe Chicago Cubs are displaying one of the most unique forms of “allergen free” marketing.  The company has recently implemented its “peanut-safe zone”.  The idea involves a skybox equipped with medicine, non-allergen snacks and a nurse on hand. Wrigley Stadium charges $50 per skybox ticket and has 100’s of families on a waiting list to buy a ticket (Parekh, 2010).\n\nIn the United States the number of individuals suffering from food allergies or intolerances has grown by 18% over the past decade (Parekh, 2010).  With the emergence of social media and word of mouth marketing, it appears that accommodating this portion of the population is becoming somewhat of a necessity for companies whose primary business is food.  As the allergic and intolerant market grows, companies are innovating more creative ways to help them eat safely. I for one welcome the competition and continued innovation as it helps not just individual businesses, but rather entire industries become more allergy aware.\n\nGlobal food allergy and intolerance products. (2012, 12 10). Retrieved from http://www.prweb.com/releases/2011/4/prweb8310957.htm\n\nParekh, R. (2010). Market for food-allergy-friendly businesses more than peanuts. Advertising Age, 81(36), 32-32. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.lib.ryerson.ca/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/759995012?accountid=13631\n\nA friend’s experience\n\nHi! My name is Mathew, and I’m allergic to peanuts, tree nuts, and milk. I have never had an allergic reaction that was severe enough for me to be hospitalized, but a friend of mine who has a severe nut allergy was recently hospitalized twice in two days. I wanted to share her experience.\n\nYouth raising their arms at a music festivalAfter a weekend out at the VELD music festival, she arrived home late on a Sunday night.  Tired from 48 hours of dancing, drinking, and not sleeping, she lay down in her bed to get much needed rest.  After a few hours of sleep, during which she did not eat or apply any cosmetic products, she began to feel the symptoms of an allergic reaction.  She eventually decided to take some antihistamines.  She then went to her parents, because the symptoms were slowly becoming more severe.  Her parents did not feel that she needed to be taken to the hospital – but she found that speaking and breathing were slowly becoming more troublesome, so she called a cab to take her there.\n\nThe dashboard of a taxi cabUpon arrival at the hospital, she saw the triage nurse and was shifted from waiting room to waiting room.  Eventually she mentioned that her throat felt very tiny, but it may just be her asthma.  She was immediately rushed to the emergency room where she was hooked into an IV and given an epinephrine injection.  She was held in the hospital to be monitored until she was eventually sent home with some medication.  A few hours after she arrived home, the hives re-appeared. She took antihistamines again and went to sleep.\n\nAn ambulanceShe woke up from her sleep with trouble breathing.  Thinking that it was her asthma, she took her puffer.  Her troubled breathing persisted.  She called 911, went outside and passed out.  She woke up in the hospital being treated for her reaction.  She says that the process the second time around was very similar to the first time.\n\nShe knows that what happened was an allergic reaction, but she has no idea what caused it.\n\nA Heritage Trip to Ireland and Scotland\n\nMy name is Mathew Keating. I am 19 years old, and I have a nut allergy.\n\nIrish flagI recently took a heritage trip to Ireland and Scotland. I have traveled to Europe before and, from experience, was under the impression that there was a lack of food labeling standards and general knowledge among the population in regards to food allergies.  Although those previous experiences were concerning, they were not a major worry while planning my trip, since I had dealt with such issues many times before.\n\nTo my surprise, I was mistaken on how Ireland and Scotland dealt with the issue of allergies. In both Ireland and Scotland, most of the locals and corporations Irish landscapewere very aware of allergies.  The labelling was very good, if not better then Canadian labeling.  Nearly every product had allergy warnings, including differentiation between products that have nuts, “may contain nuts” or “are not suitable for nut allergy sufferers.”  This was very good to see and made me feel very comfortable when choosing what to eat.\n\nAlthough the labelling was very detailed, I found it to be excessive at times.  In some instances, a brand that offered a very large variety of foods – including everything from deserts to vegetables – would label every product with the same warning, “not suitable for nut allergy sufferers,” without exception.  At times, I felt they were doing this to minimize any possible risk, even when the risk may have been virtually non-existent.\n\nEuropean ingredient label\n\nThe locals were very aware of what allergies were and how they must be dealt with.  They knew how careful one must be when an allergy is severe.  Most restaurants knew to read the labels of the ingredients they used in their food and to be careful when preparing food.  Fortunately, only one restaurant throughout the three week period turned me away, as they were not confident that they could make safe food for me.\n\nAlthough the labeling seemed over the top at times, I was very relieved to know that companies and citizens of the country were understanding of the issues surrounding allergies. That helped me to enjoy a safe and wonderful trip!\n\nIf you’re planning a trip to Europe, check out these useful resources:\n\n–          Why Risk It? – Travel Section\n\n–          Anaphylaxis Canada – Travel Section\n\n–          Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Alliance\n\n–          European Food Labelling Laws\n\nAnd don’t forget to watch our Travel video!", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6602471470832825}
+{"content": "Autotrader Clone\n\nNeed a [url removed, login to view] clone with the ability to add a partstrader catagory as well. Would also like to put Auction section for parts, cars, and related items. Complete billing and admin needed.\n\n\nVer mais: autotrader clone, partstrader, clone cars, cars parts, auction admin, section cars, autotrader cars, clone autotrader, parts admin, admin billing, clone complete, cars auction, virtuemart cars parts, moving animation cars parts, cartoon items related nurse, clone auction, function cars parts, joomla templates cars parts, auction clone, articles related cars, add auction\n\nAcerca do Empregador:\n( 0 comentários ) Orlando, United States\n\nID do Projeto: #54257", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6024200916290283}
+{"content": "Learn More\nA key goal of biology is to construct networks that predict complex system behavior. We combine multiple types of molecular data, including genotypic, expression, transcription factor binding site (TFBS), and protein-protein interaction (PPI) data previously generated from a number of yeast experiments, in order to reconstruct causal gene networks. Networks(More)\nNatural genetic variation can cause significant differences in gene expression, but little is known about the polymorphisms that affect gene regulation. We analyzed regulatory variation in a cross between laboratory and wild strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Clustering and linkage analysis defined groups of coregulated genes and the loci involved in(More)\nMost psychiatric disorders are moderately to highly heritable. The degree to which genetic variation is unique to individual disorders or shared across disorders is unclear. To examine shared genetic etiology, we use genome-wide genotype data from the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium (PGC) for cases and controls in schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major(More)\nWe conducted a combined genome-wide association study (GWAS) of 7,481 individuals with bipolar disorder (cases) and 9,250 controls as part of the Psychiatric GWAS Consortium. Our replication study tested 34 SNPs in 4,496 independent cases with bipolar disorder and 42,422 independent controls and found that 18 of 34 SNPs had P < 0.05, with 31 of 34 SNPs(More)\nTo identify loci for age at menarche, we performed a meta-analysis of 32 genome-wide association studies in 87,802 women of European descent, with replication in up to 14,731 women. In addition to the known loci at LIN28B (P = 5.4 × 10⁻⁶⁰) and 9q31.2 (P = 2.2 × 10⁻³³), we identified 30 new menarche loci (all P < 5 × 10⁻⁸) and found suggestive evidence for a(More)\nOligonucleotide microarrays provide a high-throughput method for exploring genomes. In addition to their utility for gene-expression analysis, oligonucleotide-expression arrays have also been used to perform genotyping on genomic DNA. Here, we show that in segregants from a cross between two unrelated strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, high-quality(More)\nBipolar disorder (BD) is a genetically complex mental illness characterized by severe oscillations of mood and behaviour. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified several risk loci that together account for a small portion of the heritability. To identify additional risk loci, we performed a two-stage meta-analysis of >9 million genetic(More)\nTo identify genetic factors contributing to type 2 diabetes (T2D), we performed large-scale meta-analyses by using a custom ∼50,000 SNP genotyping array (the ITMAT-Broad-CARe array) with ∼2000 candidate genes in 39 multiethnic population-based studies, case-control studies, and clinical trials totaling 17,418 cases and 70,298 controls. First, meta-analysis(More)\nTelomeres are engaged in a host of cellular functions, and their length is regulated by multiple genes. Telomere shortening, in the course of somatic cell replication, ultimately leads to replicative senescence. In humans, rare mutations in genes that regulate telomere length have been identified in monogenic diseases such as dyskeratosis congenita and(More)", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9961215853691101}
+{"content": "Filling Don Drummond’s revenue gap\n\nAdding revenue enhancements to realistic revenue projections would balance the Ontario budget with far fewer cutbacks than Don Drummond advocates.\n\nThe Drummond report assumes feeble provincial revenues to justify deep cuts to public services. More realistic revenue projections and policies to bolster revenue would reduce the pressure for austerity.\n\nBased on recent private-sector forecasts, the Ontario Ministry of Finance’s November update projected that the provincial economy and provincial revenues would grow by just over four per cent annually (including inflation).\n\nDrummond projects economic growth of four per cent, but posits revenue growth of only 3.2 per cent. This difference, compounded from 2010-11 to 2017-18, implies a $10-billion shortfall in annual revenue.\n\nThe 500-page report provides no breakdown of provincial revenues to explain its key assumption that they will grow much slower than the provincial economy. It simply notes that “a number of revenue sources do not grow at the same pace as nominal GDP [Gross Domestic Product].”\n\nIndeed, several grow faster than nominal GDP. Ontario’s largest revenue source, the personal income tax, outpaces economic growth because people graduate into higher tax brackets as incomes rise over time.\n\nArticle Continued Below\n\nDrummond warns that federal plans to expand income splitting and Tax-Free Savings Accounts could detract from provincial income tax, a concern I had raised in The Star (“Premiers could be reaching for their wallets,” op-ed, April 25, 2011).\n\nBut the current federal government has promised these measures only after balancing its budget in 2016-17. They will have essentially no effect on Ontario’s fiscal position by 2017-18.\n\nThe Canada Health Transfer, a major source of provincial revenue, will rise by six per cent annually through 2016-17. It will then grow with national GDP, which is expected to outpace Ontario GDP.\n\nTotal Equalization payments also increase with national GDP. Ontario will receive a growing share of these payments, especially if its economy performs as poorly as Drummond fears.\n\nCorporate tax applies to profits, which are growing far faster than the overall economy. As companies finish writing off losses from the economic crisis, a larger share of profits will become taxable. Profits from provincial government enterprises are also robust.\n\nThe Ontario government collects about half its revenues from the above sources, which grow faster than the provincial economy. Another quarter of provincial revenues come from sources that approximately equal economic growth: the HST on consumption, Ontario Health Premium on income and Employer Health Tax on payrolls.\n\nIf three-quarters of provincial revenues grow by four per cent or more, the only way to end up with Drummond’s average of 3.2 per cent would be for the remaining quarter to grow by just 0.8 per cent or less.\n\nBut this remaining quarter includes the Canada Social Transfer, which increases by three per cent annually. Taxes on property, fuel, tobacco and alcohol as well as fees and other non-tax revenues may lag the economy, but will collectively grow faster than 0.8 per cent.\n\nEven accepting Drummond’s cautious economic projections, his revenue projections are much too low. Provincial revenues will grow at least as fast as the provincial economy.\n\nOntario can make policy choices to bolster revenues. Drummond sensibly proposes to collect an additional $2 billion annually by combatting tax avoidance, removing the “resource allowance” corporate tax break, and reviewing other business tax expenditures.\n\nHe rightly calls for a mining-tax review to ensure that Ontario is “receiving a fair return on its natural resources.” Mining tax revenue of $82 million was just one per cent of the $8 billion in minerals extracted from Ontario’s mines and quarries during 2010.\n\nThe McGuinty government prohibited Drummond from proposing to raise any tax rates. But restoring a 14 per cent provincial corporate tax would recoup $2 billion annually. Restoring the corporate capital tax just for banks and adding two percentage points of tax on personal income over half a million dollars would collect a further $1.2 billion annually.\n\nDrummond notes “the phasing in of input tax credits under the HST” as a drag on revenue. Businesses already receive credits for inputs to the production process.\n\nBetween 2015 and 2018, the McGuinty government plans to phase in further input tax credits that large businesses could claim for energy not used to produce goods, phone service, automobiles, food, beverages and entertainment. Simply continuing to collect the HST’s provincial portion on these corporate purchases would retain $1.3 billion annually by 2018-19.\n\nAdding these revenue enhancements to realistic revenue projections would balance the budget by 2017-18 with far fewer cutbacks than Drummond advocates. Ontarians should consider proposals to restructure public services on their own merits, rather than in the context of unduly pessimistic revenue assumptions.\n\nErin Weir is an economist with the United Steelworkers union’s Canadian National Office.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9031890630722046}
+{"content": "Place:Shanghai, People's Republic of China\n\n\nAlt namesShang-hai Shihsource: NIMA, GEOnet Names Server (1996-1998)\nShanghai Shisource: Getty Vocabulary Program\nCoordinates31.217°N 121.467°E\nLocated inPeople's Republic of China\nsource: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names\nsource: Family History Library Catalog\n\nthe text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia\n\nShanghai is the largest Chinese city by population and the largest city proper by population in the world. It is one of the four direct-controlled municipalities of the People's Republic of China, with a population of more than 24 million .[1] It is a global financial center, and a transport hub with the world's busiest container port. Located in the Yangtze River Delta in East China, Shanghai sits on the south edge of the mouth of the Yangtze in the middle portion of the Chinese coast. The municipality borders the provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang to the north, south and west, and is bounded to the east by the East China Sea.\n\nFor centuries a major administrative, shipping, and trading town, Shanghai grew in importance in the 19th century due to European recognition of its favorable port location and economic potential. The city was one of five opened to foreign trade following the British victory over China in the First Opium War while the subsequent 1842 Treaty of Nanking and 1844 Treaty of Whampoa allowed the establishment of the Shanghai International Settlement and the French Concession. The city then flourished as a center of commerce between east and west, and became the undisputed financial hub of the Asia Pacific in the 1930s. However, with the Communist Party takeover of the mainland in 1949, trade was reoriented to focus on socialist countries, and the city's global influence declined. In the 1990s, the economic reforms introduced by Deng Xiaoping resulted in an intense re-development of the city, aiding the return of finance and foreign investment to the city.\n\nShanghai is a popular tourist destination renowned for its historical landmarks such as The Bund, City God Temple and Yu Garden as well as the extensive Lujiazui skyline and major museums including the Shanghai Museum and the China Art Museum. It has been described as the \"showpiece\" of the booming economy of mainland China.\n\n\nthe text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia\n\nDuring the Spring and Autumn period, the Shanghai area belonged to the Kingdom of Wu, which was conquered by the Kingdom of Yue, which in turn was conquered by the Kingdom of Chu. During the Warring States period, Shanghai was part of the fief of Lord Chunshen of Chu, one of the Four Lords of the Warring States. He ordered the excavation of the Huangpu River. Its former or poetic name, the Chunshen River, gave Shanghai its nickname of \"Shen\".[2] Fishermen living in the Shanghai area created a fishing tool called the hu, which lent its name to the outlet of Suzhou Creek north of the Old City and became a common nickname and abbreviation for the city.\n\nDuring the Song dynasty (960–1279) Shanghai was upgraded in status from a village to a market town in 1074, and in 1172 a second sea wall was built to stabilize the ocean coastline, supplementing an earlier dyke. From the Yuan dynasty in 1292 until Shanghai officially became a municipality in 1927, central Shanghai was administered as a county under Songjiang Prefecture, whose seat was at the present-day Songjiang District.\n\nTwo important events helped promote Shanghai's development in the Ming dynasty. A city wall was built for the first time in 1554 to protect the town from raids by Japanese pirates. It measured high and in circumference. During the Wanli reign (1573–1620), Shanghai received an important psychological boost from the erection of a City God Temple in 1602. This honour was usually reserved for places with the status of a city, such as a prefectural capital not normally given to a mere county town, as Shanghai was. It probably reflected the town's economic importance, as opposed to its low political status.[3]\n\nDuring the Qing dynasty, Shanghai became one of the most important sea ports in the Yangtze Delta region as a result of two important central government policy changes: In 1684, the Kangxi Emperor reversed the Ming dynasty prohibition on oceangoing vessels – a ban that had been in force since 1525; and in 1732 the Yongzheng Emperor moved the customs office for Jiangsu province (; see Customs House, Shanghai) from the prefectural capital of Songjiang to Shanghai, and gave Shanghai exclusive control over customs collections for Jiangsu's foreign trade. As a result of these two critical decisions, by 1735 Shanghai had become the major trade port for all of the lower Yangtze region, despite still being at the lowest administrative level in the political hierarchy.\n\nInternational attention to Shanghai grew in the 19th century due to European recognition of its economic and trade potential at the Yangtze. During the First Opium War (1839–1842), British forces occupied the city. The war ended with the 1842 Treaty of Nanjing, which allowed the British to dictate opening the treaty ports, Shanghai included, for international trade. The Treaty of the Bogue signed in 1843, and the Sino-American Treaty of Wanghia signed in 1844 forced Chinese concession to European and American desires for visitation and trade on Chinese soil. Britain, France (under the 1844 Treaty of Whampoa), and the United States all carved out concessions outside the walled city of Shanghai, which was still ruled by the Chinese.\n\nThe Chinese-held old city of Shanghai fell to the rebels of the Small Swords Society in 1853 but was recovered by the Qing government in February 1855. In 1854, the Shanghai Municipal Council was created to manage the foreign settlements. Between 1860–1862, the Taiping rebels twice attacked Shanghai and destroyed the city's eastern and southern suburbs, but failed to take the city. In 1863, the British settlement to the south of Suzhou Creek (northern Huangpu District) and the American settlement to the north (southern Hongkou District) joined in order to form the Shanghai International Settlement. The French opted out of the Shanghai Municipal Council and maintained its own concession to the south and southwest.\n\nCitizens of many countries and all continents came to Shanghai to live and work during the ensuing decades; those who stayed for long periods – some for generations – called themselves \"Shanghailanders\". In the 1920s and 1930s, almost 20,000 White Russians and Russian Jews fled the newly established Soviet Union and took up residence in Shanghai. These Shanghai Russians constituted the second-largest foreign community. By 1932, Shanghai had become the world's fifth largest city and home to 70,000 foreigners. In the 1930s, some 30,000 Jewish refugees from Europe arrived in the city.\n\nThe Sino-Japanese War concluded with the Treaty of Shimonoseki, which elevated Japan to become another foreign power in Shanghai. Japan built the first factories in Shanghai, which were soon copied by other foreign powers. Shanghai was then the most important financial center in the Far East. All this international activity gave Shanghai the nickname \"the Great Athens of China\"\n\nUnder the Republic of China (1912–49), Shanghai's political status was raised to that of a municipality on 14 July 1927. Although the territory of the foreign concessions was excluded from their control, this new Chinese municipality still covered an area of , including the modern-day districts of Baoshan, Yangpu, Zhabei, Nanshi, and Pudong. Headed by a Chinese mayor and municipal council, the new city government's first task was to create a new city center in Jiangwan town of Yangpu district, outside the boundaries of the foreign concessions. The \"Greater Shanghai Plan\" included a public museum, library, sports stadium, and city hall, which were partially constructed when the plan was interrupted by the Japanese invasion.\n\nOn 28 January 1932, Japanese forces struck and the Chinese resisted, fighting to a standstill; a ceasefire was brokered in May. The Battle of Shanghai in 1937 resulted in the occupation of the Chinese administered parts of Shanghai outside of the International Settlement and the French Concession. The foreign concessions were occupied by the Japanese on 8 December 1941 and remained occupied until Japan's surrender in 1945, during which time war crimes were committed.\n\nOn 27 May 1949, the People's Liberation Army took control of Shanghai. Under the new People's Republic of China (PRC), Shanghai was one of only three municipalities not merged into neighboring provinces over the next decade (the others being Beijing and Tianjin). Shanghai underwent a series of changes in the boundaries of its subdivisions, especially in the next decade. After 1949, most foreign firms moved their offices from Shanghai to Hong Kong, as part of a foreign divestment due to the Communist victory.\n\nDuring the 1950s and 1960s, Shanghai became an industrial center and center for radical leftism; the leftist Jiang Qing and her three cohorts, together the Gang of Four, were based in the city. Yet, even during the most tumultuous times of the Cultural Revolution, Shanghai was able to maintain high economic productivity and relative social stability. During most of the history of the PRC, Shanghai has been a comparatively heavy contributor of tax revenue to the central government, with Shanghai in 1983 contributing more in tax revenue to the central government than Shanghai had received in investment in the prior 33 years combined. This came at the cost of severely crippling Shanghai's infrastructural and capital development. Its importance to the fiscal well-being of the central government also denied it economic liberalizations begun in 1978. Shanghai was finally permitted to initiate economic reforms in 1991, starting the massive development still seen today and the birth of Lujiazui in Pudong.\n\nResearch Tips\n\nThis page uses content from the English Wikipedia. The original content was at Shanghai. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with WeRelate, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8273826241493225}
+{"content": "Homework zones\n\nCarving out a space where children can do schoolwork encourages them to be more organized and makes study time smoother.\n\nAugust 29, 2003|By Diana Strzalka, Special to the Tribune.\n\nLisa Piasecki, a freshman at Lincolnway Central High School in New Lenox, usually sits on her bed and does her homework on a clipboard. The family computer is in the dining room and if it's needed, she will do some research on the Internet.\n\n\"Most days, I have homework,\" she said. \"A lot of times, it's math and if I need help, I can instant-message my sister.\"\n\nLike many households, Lisa's family created a homework zone around a computer in a central location. And while the kitchen or dining room table continues to be a popular place for homework, lately any niche in a linen closet, hallway or pantry is being transformed into a spot for reading, writing and 'rithmetic.\n\n\"It's the ideal of getting multiple uses\" out of living space, said Dan Wheeler, associate professor of architecture at the University of Illinois at Chicago.\n\nThe inside structure of the house has evolved because homework is a fact of life for most students, and more often than not, adults are bringing their work home, too. Dining rooms are used less for dining and more for day-to-day work that comes home from jobs and classes, he said.\n\n\"Certainly the computer has dramatically changed the structure of the home. It has become a vital link,\" Wheeler said.\n\n\"We're finding that the dining room is being transformed into a library with a little alcove for the computer. It becomes an ideal space for homework or an adult office,\" he said. \"Both my children do all of their homework on the computer. They're constantly printing things out. They're getting homework assignments e-mailed to them, and they're faxing things. The computer is becoming much more of a modern hearth. The TV is actually stepping back, and the computer is stepping in.\"\n\nThere are times when Catherine Driscoll's children will spread out the books on the kitchen table to be close to their parents. But most often they can be found in the home library, which replaced the family's living room eight years ago.\n\nThe room is tastefully decorated and is a central hub of activity for her six children, ages 9 to 19.\n\n\"The kitchen table just doesn't work all the time. We needed a space for a bookcase, desk, computer, fax and printer,\" said the Orland Park mom. It is more efficient because research, writing and study can be done in one main location instead of being scattered around the house, she said.\n\nThe common area also gives Driscoll and her husband, Jim, an open view of the children's Internet use.\n\nEmily Benz, a sophomore at Lyons Township High School, will settle down with her books on her bedroom floor if she needs a quiet place away from her four brothers and sisters. But if she needs to work on her parents' laptop computer, she moves to the dining room.\n\n\"The laptop is in the center of the house because in my house, a lot of kids like to be where the action is,\" said Emily's mom, Lynn Benz.\n\nThere's no denying that the kitchen and dining room are the \"eternal hearth of the home,\" said Kathy Dickinson, of Oak Brook-based Kathy Dickinson Designs Corp. She and other interior designers create a variety of homework niches in the kitchen or nearby hallways. Some clients are even choosing a high-tech convenience: a kitchen cabinet that has a computer screen mounted behind the door and drop-down keyboard shelf.\n\nSome work areas are being planned in more unusual places, such as the bathroom, she said. One client with a busy corporate travel schedule asked for computer space to be built into a vanity in the master suite. Dickinson has also adapted linen closets into computer workstations and some bedroom closets have been divided in half to make way for a homework nook.\n\nPeople hire Dickinson to simplify and organize their life and home space.\n\n\"People are rethinking the way they use their home,\" she said. \"There are so many areas in the home for multitasking. Lifestyles have changed. The family structure has changed.\"\n\nHomework space is no longer an afterthought for a new home buyer. Instead, the work space is deliberately factored into the floor plans and construction details. Typically, builders \"future proof\" a home by installing high-tech wiring in every room.\n\nTom Cachey, of T.J. Cachey Builders Inc. of Tinley Park, said several of his company's model town homes feature a homework niche tucked against a wall on the second-floor stairway hall. The space can be just 8 by 5 feet to work, he said.\n\n\"Instead of a loft or sitting room, it's a media center,\" Cachey said.\n\nGlen Borkowski, of Kraftwerks Remodeling Inc. of Tinley Park, said much of his work involves reconfiguring space to accommodate family lifestyles where multitasking is a must. That generally means expanding kitchens and removing walls to open up the space between activities.\n\n\"It's extremely popular to knock out the wall between the formal dining room and kitchen. That's been the trend for years,\" Borkowski said. \"A lot of people generally cocoon in the kitchen area so they want a computer workstation nearby. While preparing dinner, mom can watch the news to catch up on the day's events and watch the kids do homework.\"", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6731846332550049}
+{"content": "Graduate Culture at Lincoln University\n\nMost Lincoln University student population is graduate students. So, making graduate culture the predominant culture of the school, and creating a healthy environment for students is extremely vital to the success of the school. For all the formal requirements that it entails, graduate education goes far beyond curriculum - it fosters and thrives on a specific culture of interaction and communication between students, and between students and faculty as well as among faculty as such. Its primary feature is collegiality and support for innovative thinking and research. Graduate school culture encourages faculty members to actively seek out students who exhibit creativity and ambition, assist them in setting up seminars and conferences where they can present their projects and broader intellectual agenda in the receptive yet critical environment. The university engages students to become a part of an intellectual community by providing the space and resources, for their scholarly activity.\n\nVery significant is the development of a mentor-protege relationship between faculty and the students. Graduate school is a time of active exploration and experimentation - not just didactic learning. Our faculty members are able and willing not just to provide guidance and advice to the students whose work they supervise but also share with them their own research and their own academic and/or professional agenda. Graduate students' innovative approach and \"fresh eyes\" might - and do - often contribute to the development of this research and agenda in dramatic and unexpected ways.\n\nA separate facet of the graduate school culture is the necessity to sustain and increase collegial exchange among faculty members: public talks about one's current research, regular round-table discussions on key topics of interest with the participation of graduate students, a line-up of relevant guest-speakers - all these initiatives greatly enrich and improve the culture of graduate education, the work and careers of both faculty and the students. This happens during regular faculty meetings, student projects discussions, seminars, and thesis defenses.\n\n\nOne benefit of being a small university is that students, faculty and staff get to know each other well. To facilitate interactions and create a sense of community on campus, the Admissions Department, Student Services Department, and Lincoln University Student Association (LUSA) plan many events throughout the year, and faculty and administrative staff are highly encouraged to participate. The Library and the Computer Lab provide graduate students with the space for collaborative learning, access to resources that support academic research, and assistance to navigate the tools and gain confidence. Lincoln University's Multidisciplinary Research Center (MRC) provides interested students a forum to investigate, discuss and present research topics. The goal of the MRC is to apply a multidisciplinary approach to solve complex problems, focusing on both fundamental and applied research. In addition, some instructors work with graduate students to conduct, publish, and present research projects for peer reviewed and non-peer reviewed forums.\n\nLincoln University wants to improve upon our commitment to scholarship and research, and to build a stronger community of student learners and scholars and a more fully developed graduate culture. To do this, Lincoln University will explore: (1) adopting practices that encourage graduate students and faculty to interact more on campus and through technology; (2) additional workshops to improve research and writing skills; (3) providing additional TA training; (4) encouraging greater participation in the MRC; (5) increasing professional development opportunities by advocating for greater student participation at conferences and attendance at professional speaker events; and (6) offering more financial scholarships to students for publishing and participating in conferences and workshops.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9706438779830933}
+{"content": "Following up on @SAMSCLUB Member’s Mark 4X Probiotics #DigestiveHealth\n\n\nTaking Care of My #DigestiveHealth with Probiotics\n\nLately I have been hearing a lot about Probiotics and the benefits it has on your digestive system and that it also assists in maintaining a strong immune system. What are Probiotics ? Probiotics are microorganisms such bacteria. Why should I add bacteria to my body?  Our bodies often need beneficial bacteria to keep us […]", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7880762219429016}
+{"content": "Carnegie Mellon University\n\nUniversity Leadership and Governance\n\n\nThe board appoints the president, to whom it delegates operating responsibilities for the university, and, it provides ongoing counsel to the president, sets strategic directions, and approves budgets and policies.\n\nThe president, in collaboration with trustees and members of the university community, appoints the senior leadership, including the provost, who is the chief academic officer, overseeing the educational mission of the university. The president also serves as a national and international ambassador for the university community and acts on behalf of the Board of Trustees, which delegates its authority to him.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9989125728607178}
+{"content": "WhatsApp, Messenger may still put user information at risk\n\nWhatsApp, Messenger may still put user information at risk\nImage Courtesy : The Guardian\n\nNew York : Do you know that despite the end-to-end encryption provided by popular messasing platforms like Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and Viber, your sensitive information is vulnerable to hacking?\n\nA new research has highlighted the importance of what is called an 'authentication ceremony' to help mitigate the risk.\n\nResearchers from Brigham Young University (BYU) at Utah in the US found that most users of popular messaging apps like Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and Viber are leaving themselves exposed to fraud or hacking because they are unaware of important security options like an 'authentication ceremony'.\n\nThe 'authentication ceremony' is a security practice to ensure the members involved in a communication are authentic. It is done by identifying the message recipient before sending out any sensitive or confidential information.\n\nBut because most users are unaware of the 'ceremony' and its importance, \"it is possible that a malicious third party or man-in-the-middle attacker can eavesdrop on their conversations\", said Elham Vaziripour, Computer Science student at BYU who led the study.\n\n\n\nIn the second phase, after researchers emphasised the importance of 'authentication ceremonies', 79 per cent of users were able to successfully authenticate the other party.\n\nHowever, the participants averaged 11 minutes to authenticate their partners.\n\n\"Once we told people about the authentication ceremonies, most people could do it. But it was not simple, people were frustrated and it took them too long,\" noted Daniel Zappala, Professor, Computer Science, BYU.\n\nMost people don't invest the time and effort to understand and use these security measures because they don't experience significant security problems. But there's always a risk in online communications.\n\nThe researchers are now working to develop a mechanism that makes the 'authentication ceremony' quick and automatic.\n\n\"If we can perform the authentication ceremony behind the scenes for users automatically or effortlessly, we can address these problems without necessitating user education,\" said Vaziripour.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9976493120193481}
+{"content": "Homeowners are urged to be vigilant about distraction burglaries after men posing as ‘Water Board’ officials stole money from two homes.\n\nThe incidents took place on Monday in Wensley Road, Coley Park, when £30 was taken from the home of a 96-year-old woman and, in the other, £10 was stolen from a couple in their seventies.\n\nThe first incident happened at around 10.30am, followed by the second between noon and 1pm.\n\nOne of the men involved is described as white, in his late 30s to early 40s, 5ft 11ins tall, stocky with dark curly hair. He was wearing a light blue sleeveless anorak and a sleeveless high visibility jacket. Police do not have a description of the second man.\n\nReading crime reduction officer John McNicholas said: “Distraction burglary is a horribly intrusive crime where people deliberately target the elderly and vulnerable.”\n\nAnyone with any information should contact police on 08458 505 505 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8488224744796753}
+{"content": "Companion Encyclopedia of Asian Philosophy (Routledge Companion Encyclopaedias)\n\nCompanion Encyclopedia of Asian Philosophy (Routledge Companion Encyclopaedias)\n\nLanguage: English\n\nPages: 1168\n\nISBN: 041503535X\n\nFormat: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub\n\nThe Companion Encyclopedia of Asian Philosophy is a unique one-volume reference work which makes a broad range of richly varied philosophical, ethical and theological traditions accessible to a wide audience.\nThe Companion is divided into six sections covering the main traditions within Asian thought: Persian; Indian; Buddhist; Chinese; Japanese; and Islamic philosophy. Each section contains a collection of chapters which provide comprehensive coverage of the origins of the tradition, its approaches to, for example, logic and languages, and to questions of morals and society. The chapters also contain useful histories of the lives of the key influential thinkers, as well as a thorough analysis of the current trends.\n\nBuddhism, Critical Concepts in Religious Studies, Volume 2\n\n\nZen Ritual: Studies of Zen Buddhist Theory in Practice\n\nNietzsche and Buddhist Philosophy\n\n\"The Tibetan Book of the Dead\": A Biography (Lives of Great Religious Books)\n\nStumbling Toward Enlightenment\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nperception to be true. So, the thesis is one which needs no inferential argument. When this is the case, the fourth condition for a good reason is not satisfied, and the resultant fallacy is called futile (that is, ‘not allowed’). This fallacy properly belongs to the nature of the thesis to be justified and not to the reason justifying it. Similarly, the fallacy of the counterbalanced reason (satpratipakṣa), which is illustrated by the following pair of arguments, is not a fallacy of the reason;\n\nthe Absolute. Then by his rational exposition he showed how the Hindu view of religion could stand the severest scrutiny of reason and exist in perfect amity with the findings of science. Above all he laid special emphasis on the fact that the broad and liberal message of Vedānta contained the science of all religions, which might enable the world to realize the essential unity of all religions and stand united on the magnificent pedestal of universal religion. Vivekananda’s definition of\n\nand systematized religious meaning, in order to defend it against attacks from alien systems of thought. The sources of a coherent Zoroastrian philosophy and systematic theology are principally those which were committed to writing by priests in Fars in south-west Iran in the ninth and tenth centuries AD in apologetic and exegetical works. This literature in Pahlavi presents to the modern translator problems of a kind hardly encountered by students of western philosophy, and indeed more\n\nattributed the first theory of ‘sudden enlightenment’ based on his having ‘seen into the Buddha-nature’. Later Chan (Zen) would do the same. This Chan-inspired reading of Daosheng has to be qualified, however, for there are actually some important differences: 1   Unlike Chan, Daosheng never said that there is a full-grown Buddha-nature. Buddha-nature is only the seed, the beginning, of an eventual perfection of wisdom. 2   It follows then that his ‘sudden enlightenment’ was predicated upon\n\nbattlefield of evolution, China must change, fight against the old Confucianism, and adapt the new Western science and democracy. Science and democracy Why must China adopt Western science and democracy? The reason was, according to Chen, that science and democracy were two primary forces of social progress in the West. Because of them, people in the West were free and independent; Western civilization was very dynamic and progressive. Chen believed that China should follow the same path to rid\n\nDownload sample", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7459635734558105}
+{"content": "Deck & Patio Lighting\n\nDeck lighting and patio lighting designed and installed by trained lighting contractors makes it possible to extend the indoors into the outdoors. People are spending more of their leisure time at home; patio and deck lighting helps to create an alfresco entertainment area to use as dusk settles in. A common example of this is using recessed low voltage or LED lighting on deck rails and stairs which encourages its use well after the sun goes down. We also offer weather resistant LED strip and rope lighting for the beautiful festive look right in your backyard.\n\nA deck may provide space for an extra kitchen, a gathering spot for family and guests, and a personal space for you to relax making it an integral part of a property. These facts also stand true for a lanai or pool cage. Each outdoor space is designed to provide an outdoor room for luxury entertaining with the application of outdoor illumination.\n\nAs with decks, in a lanai, lighting can be mounted on each rail at the desired height to ensure the proper amount of light for the use of the space without distraction. Most lanai lighting on the market does not direct light to the best areas which makes for “light bombs” which are unsightly in the evenings and can be seen from inside the home. The brass and copper fixtures used by NiteLites deck lighting is shrouded to direct the light to the preferred areas and can be customized to match the color of your cage so you there are not noticeably unpleasant fixtures taking away attention from the rest of the space.\n\nIn a commercial environment, deck lighting provides a warm glow on a deck or patio that can create the atmosphere that the business owner desires. A sidewalk cafe, the 19th hole at a golf clubhouse, a romantic dining area, a common area for apartments or condominiums and many other applications of outdoor lighting can turn an empty never used space into a welcoming oasis.  The added safety of rail and step lights add to the benefits of a professionally installed lighting system.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7111769914627075}
+{"content": "Turning Back The Pages: The Victorian Era\n\nWhat is your favourite period in history? Colleen Palumbo looks back at local history.\n\nI would find it very difficult to have to choose the period in history that was my favourite. Each offered something new and exciting while carrying on the traditions of the past. But, if I absolutely had to name only one, it would have to be the Victorian Era.\n\nThe hardships of settling in a new land now over, people worked only at lavishing themselves and their guest with every luxury possible. Not even the smallest detailed were overlooked in their quest for refinement. It was time filled with tea parties, white linens, fresh flowers and impromptu picnics, all spiced with the correct amount of taste and etiquette.\n\nIt’s hard to imagine that Golden’s first families lived in such a time, and many of them didn’t, but the ones who did left evidence of that era for all of us to share.\n\nA love of nature was something common to all of them and they spent every bit of their free time admiring it. They began collections of flowers, ferns, stones, shells, birds, animals, nests and eggs. They spent many hours carefully cataloguing, preparing and displaying their collections in every manner possible. A good collection was built over many years, with an even better sample replacing one whose quality was not quite as good as the first. This was a very time consuming job best suited to someone with patience. One such notable collector in Golden was Bill Wenman.\n\nBill, who was born in England, came to Golden with his family at the age of 13, and started his collection soon after his arrival here. Today his work is part of the Golden Museum’s collection.\n\nAlways careful to keep the collection in order, Bill was meticulous in his manner. If he were collecting birds’ nests he would find them intact with eggs. Once home he blew the eggs out, measured them and carefully put the eggs back in the appropriate nest. Next the card was filled out with all the pertinent information. Location where it was found, time of year, the species, and the number of eggs in the nest.\n\nOnce all this had been done, and only then, did Bill add the new acquisitions to his collection room.\n\nThis room became known as Bill’s Museum and was housed on the second floor of his shoe repair business. He treated all the artifacts that he collected with the same care and tried to make the displays as appealing as possible.\n\nIn carefully constructed cases he displayed beetles, spiders, bees and bats. Each with a pin inserted through them that kept them from touching the background, so that each feature could be easily seen. In other glass cases he displayed birds and even a hornet’s nest that he had carefully cut one side out of so that you could see how the hornets went about building their nests.\n\nHe had a fair number of larger birds and mammals that he loved to show. Rocks, fossils and bones were among other things that he collected and for each of them a record was kept. While on one of his trips walking up the Kicking Horse Canyon, Bill came across the skull of a buffalo that had been unearthed by the CPR. The skull had been buried under six feet of soil, leaving one wondering how long it had been laying there.\n\nBill had made a small cabinet with shallow drawers that he used to display his rockets and other precious stones in. Each of the drawers was divided into sections so that the specimens would not get mixed up and once again careful records were kept of each artifact.\n\nAnother of the things that he kept close records of was the weather. Housed in the Museum Archives are the hand written diaries that Bill filled out twice each day and every day for over 40 years. It had all begun as a hobby but with the right care it soon became a wonderful reminder of the past for the whole community.\n\nI very much admire the people of that time, each having a great deal of knowledge about nature and how it works, but in their excitement to learn more they were responsible for the near extinction of many species of plants and birds. It was often hard to study the birds from afar, so they simply shot them for a better look and the same was true of many species of plants, they would find a small growth of a particular kind and instead of watching its progress from afar they picked for themselves and then told others where to find the remaining few.\n\nAs much as I admire the loveliness and romance of the time I’m glad that the people finally realized the harm they were causing the environment and took steps to see that samples already taken could be shared and that laws were set up to protect the living species for future generations. We proudly display parts of the Wenman Collection at the Golden Museum.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9056478142738342}
+{"content": "Affirmation Stones\n\nWorking with substance use groups, you usually are talking about heavy topics and it is difficult to have clients focus on the positive aspects of themselves as opposed to dwelling on the negative ones.  In order to combat that, I have found affirmation stones to be a good group activity.  In terms of supplies, everything you need is simple!\n\n1) MAGAZINES – try to get a variety – especially if you have a heterogeneous group. I like to have some Men’s Fitness, Self, People, etc. Try to steer clear from Cosmo unless you want some unnecessary moments of them getting stuck on the sex section and before you know it, an hour has gone by and everyone’s still wanting to talk about the “just right” orgasm.\n\n2) Scissors – get at least one for every two people\n\n3) Tape or Super glue – I tend to stay away from the super glue after some unfortunate mistakes, but it does look nicer than tape.\n\n4) Stones – if you are at a location like mine, you can just walk outside and have them pick their own! Make sure it’s dry and clear from dirt before starting or it will be a gross mess.\n\nAfter you have all of the supplies, encourage people to look for words or pictures that make them feel good about themselves and that highlight the good they have within themselves. Make sure that if you suspect there are any literacy issues with group members, to offer the picture idea as well.\n\nThe rocks serve a purpose other than as a fun activity for a group. When clients start to feel overwhelmed and find themselves in a downward spiral looking only at the negative things they have done and internalizing that as being bad people, they can look at their rocks to remember the positive.\n\nHave you tried affirmation stones with clients before? How was the experience?\n\nFinding Nemo and Substance Abuse?\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPost-Acute Withdrawal Syndrome (PAWS)\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nJENGA in Group Therapy!\n\n\nAlright, so it has been a while since my last post! I guess that’s what happens when you try to maintain a blog and balance everything else! Since my last post, I have continued to run groups at my site and have continued to bring new activities to the sessions.  One activity that has been a big hit each time I have used it has been JENGA therapy!  Now, when JENGA comes out, be prepared for there to be excitement and then a very quick reeling in of that excitement when you explain that it is therapeutic JENGA, but after they start playing, they will be so absorbed in the game that they won’t mind to be doing therapy at the same time.\n\n\nWondering how to make therapeutic JENGA? There are many ideas out there, but I have found the numbering system is the best.  Some people write specific questions on each piece and when the piece is pulled, the client answers that question.  I, however, have found that writing the question on the piece limits what I can use therapeutic JENGA with in group.  Therefore, I have numbered each piece 1-8.  Then, depending on the session, each number will relate to a predetermined question based on the topic at hand.\n\nFor example, when the group topic is triggers, questions may look something like this:\n\n1. What are your internal triggers?\n\n2. What are your external triggers?\n\n3. In what ways do you cope with triggers? (Name one)\n\n4. In what ways do you hope to work with triggers? (Name one)\n\n5. What thought stopping techniques do you know of? (Name one)\n\n6. Name two strengths that you have.\n\n7. Name one social support that you have in recovery.\n\n8. Freebie (no question!)\n\n\n\nWhen the inevitable happens and the tower falls down, be sure to have one MEGA JENGA question prepared for such an event.  Sometimes, I have had that one be that the one who dropped the tower needs to compliment each client in the room. Other times, they have had to say 3 positive things they have in their life at this moment.  Either way, be sure that the question is different and one that warrants being the end of game question.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8620270490646362}
+{"content": "Planetary Sciences Scientific Press Release\n\nNew Research Shows Ceres May Have Vanishing Ice Volcanoes\n\nThe findings could help scientists better decipher the history of how the dwarf planet formed.\n\nThis news article was issued by the University of Arizona and the American Geophysical Union (AGU) as a press release on 2 February 2017.\n\nA recently discovered solitary ice volcano on the dwarf planet Ceres may have some hidden older siblings, say scientists who have tested a likely way such mountains of icy rock—called cryovolcanoes—might disappear over millions of years.\n\n\nNow, scientists show there may have been cryovolcanoes other than Ahuna Mons on Ceres millions or billions of years ago, but these cryovolcanoes may have flattened out over time and become indistinguishable from the planet’s surface. They report their findings in a new paper accepted for publication in Geophysical Research Letters, a journal of the American Geophysical Union.\n\n“We think we have a very good case that there have been lots of cryovolcanoes on Ceres but they have deformed,” said Michael Sori of the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory at the University of Arizona in Tucson, and lead author of the new paper.\n\n\n“Imagine if there was just one volcano on all of Earth,” Sori said. “That would be puzzling.”\n\n\nCeres has no atmosphere, so the processes that wear down volcanoes on Earth—wind, rain and ice—aren’t possible on the dwarf planet. Sori and his colleagues hypothesized that another process, called viscous relaxation, could be at work.\n\n\nOn Earth, viscous relaxation is what makes glaciers flow, Sori explained. The process doesn’t affect volcanoes on Earth because they are made of rock, but Ceres’s volcanoes contain ice—making viscous relaxation possible. On Ceres, viscous relaxation could be causing older cryovolcanoes to flatten out over millions of years so they are hard to discern. Ceres’s location close to the sun could make the process more pronounced, Sori said.\n\nTo test the idea that viscous relaxation had caused cryovolcanoes to flatten out on Ceres, Sori and his colleagues created a model using the actual dimensions of Ahuna Mons to predict how fast the mountain might be flowing. They ran the model assuming different water contents of the material that makes up the mountain—ranging from 100 percent water ice to 40 percent water ice, Sori explained.\n\n\n\n\n\n“It would be fun to check some of the other features that are potentially older domes on Ceres to see if they fit in with the theory of how the shapes should viscously evolve over time,” she said. “Because all of the putative cryovolcanic features on other worlds are different, I think this helps to expand our inventory of what is possible.”", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8391990065574646}
+{"content": "PCI DSS consultancy services\n\nThe Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is a set of security controlsPCI Qualified Security Assessors developed by an aggregated body of experts from the major card brands. The standard covers the fundamental aspects of information security and extends through the people, processes and technologies involved in payment card processing systems.\n\nPCI DSS is a complex and granular standard that applies to all entities which store, process or transmit payment card data, as well as organizations that may impact the security of a credit card processing environment.\n\n\nOur Qualified Security Assessors (QSA) will lead you through the PCI journey from initial review to full alignment with the standard in the most efficient and least intrusive manner possible. This will ensure your business can continue to operate while maintaining a secure payment processing environment.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.968292236328125}
+{"content": "The application process for 8.33 kHz radio grants has now been launched by the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). Forms and guidance documents are now available.\n\n\nThe CAA applied to the EU for €4.3m funding to encourage the timely transition of the UK GA fleet from existing 25 kHz radios to 8.33 kHz equipment. The CAA's GA Unit was delighted to sign the EU contract that provides us the maximum permitted grant of 20 per cent of the estimated total cost of 8.33 kHz equipage.\n\n\nTweet us @UK_CAA.\n\n\nNotes to editors:\n\n  2. A shortage of aviation radio frequencies across Europe means that most existing frequencies are being split to reduce the gap between them, allowing the introduction of more frequencies. As a result owners of general aviation aircraft will need to ensure that any radios fitted can transmit and receive on both 8.33kHz and 25kHz by 1 January 2018.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9989067316055298}
+{"content": "Figure 3a: The photograph shows the gross appearance of the brain within the cranial cavity following sawing of the skull cap. There is a scanty purulent exudate seen in the subarachnoid space (black arrow). The surface vessels are congested and the brain is visibly swollen showing signs of increased intracranial pressure.\nGoto home»", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8297580480575562}
+{"content": "Tranceformers - Various Artists | Releases | AllMusic\n\nTransformers: Age of Extinction (2014) - IMDb\n\n10 TranceFormers |\nFind album release information for Tranceformers - Various Artists on AllMusic\n\nTranceformers: Shamans of the 21st Century - Second Edition Revised and Updated for 2012\n\n  • Review\n  • TAG : Transformers (film) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia\n\n    He began hosting his own online channel Tranceformers and performing for private events under name Tranceisland. As his music and genre evolved his stage name changed to The Progenote. He creates currently Endless Wave and Chill Podcast mixes of handpicked Chill-out, Deep and Tech House and Techno Music. His cheerful and energetic personality is reflected in the music he chooses to play, and he is always looking for fresh and exciting compositions.\n\n  • Tranceformers: Shamans of the 21st Century is the true story of this author’s contact with a \"deceased\" physicist colleague, and the telepathic communication that provided the scientific answers to these spiritual questions: Who are we? Why are we here? Where are we going in 2012? For more than two decades, Harper performed painstaking methodical research into what he calls now the \"archetypes of abnormal physics and paranormal psychology.\" This headstrong but heartfelt effort produced an inspired synthesis. In fact, Harper breathes hope into readers through a deep sense of \"knowing,\" inspiration that rings true from the first page to the last one. He never loses sight of his objective either, explaining how the mystical experience of every culture is an initiation into the fifth dimension of the shaman’s cosmic consciousness. Throughout he summons an astounding array of facts, deciphering the myths of long-gone but not forgotten civilizations such as the Mayans and Egyptians, as well as the secret mystery schools espoused by Freemasons and Gnostics. This text admirably bridges the gap between the disciplines of anthropology, archaeology, astronomy, astrology, physics, psychology, biology, history, mathematics, and medicine through the theory of continuous creation. Moreover, this is an easy-to-read biography of a world-renowned visionary with an innate ability to commune with the \"land of the dead\" and God.\n\nHe started DJ-ing when he was just thirteen years old", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7617635130882263}
+{"content": "Kangaroos Welcome\nDogkid and Vesta after finding 5 kangaroos in the small desert.\nSome attributes\nFirst Storyboard- Dogkid\nSecond Editor-Rangetsu\nThird Air date- June 29th, 2013\nOther attributes\nFourth Season- 1\nFifth Episode- 11\nSixth Overall episode number- 11\n\nWhen Dogkid, the Windfall villagers, and Knuckles go to the Kangaroo farm for the Windfall villagers' vacation, things go wrong! The kangaroos have scattered in all directions after being released by Kongo,great kangaroo villan, in attempt to capture the kangaroos to fight against the Kialon island! Will the kangaroos be gathered by the EFF before Kongo can? Find out in this all new EFF Agents episode!\n\n\nThe episode starts out with the Windfall villagers, Dogkid, and Knuckles walking to the kangaroo farm. \"I can't wait to see kangaroos!\" Walker says, jumping with joy. \"Boy, back in Windfall, kangaroos NEVER stopped at Windfall! They'd just keep jumping and jumping..\" Walker drones off about kangaroos.\n\n\"Guys!\" Knuckles says, after 10 minutes of Walker's kangaroo talk. \"Kangaroo farm, up ahead.\" But as the 2 agents and villagers enter the farm, no kangaroos are seen in the habitats, or even the kangaroo barn. \"Sorry,\" A voice says, just behind the group. The group turns to see a old, slow looking pony, with a peachy-grey color. \"The kangaroos went free last night! Some kids, or maybe some adults, opened the kangaroo pens gates! And the barn door, letting the kangaroos hop in all directions!\"\n\n\"Dang it!\" Walker says, slamming his hat into the ground. \"I was looking forward to seeing kangaroos!\" \"We could help you find the kangaroos, mister.\" Lily suggests. \"I mean, you can't catch those things alone!\" \"Thanks! Oh, please do help me!\" the old pony says. \"Oh, and call me ScotchLeg.\" \"So...Scotchleg,\" Dogkid says, \"we'll help you! Just tell us how many kangaroos there are!\"\n\nScotchleg says there're 25 kangaroos that ran off that night. \"Well, hopefully you'll find them!\" Scotchleg says, waving to the leaving group. \"Make sure to bring them back by this afternoon! The 'Best Kangaroo Contest' is starting by 6:30 PM!\"\n\nWhen the group reaches the trees by the farm, they sit down to plan. \"Knuckles, lead Walker and Lily to the south and north of the island to search for the kangaroos. And I, Dogkid, will lead Amelia, Vesta, and Apollo to the east and south sides of the island to search for the kangaroo. Use these things to teleport the kangaroos straight into the kangaroo barn. Meet back here when you think you've found all the kangaroos on your side of the island.\"\n\nThe group nods at Dogkid, and break apart into their groups. Dogkid settles Amelia, Vesta, and Apollo into a car, while Dogkid drives the car. Dogkid stops the car after about 5 minutes of driving and says, \"Amelia and Apollo, fly out and check for kangaroos from the east sky. Vesta, you're checking in the small desert in the south with me.\"\n\nDogkid drives the car into the south, seeing a big kangaroo hop right into the car's sight. But something isn't right. The kangaroo was being chased by a sonic-y looking kangaroo.... The kangaroo being chased look like a typical kangaroo. \"That's Kongo!\" Dogkid exclaims, remembering Kongo from her journey to Mobius 5 years ago. \"He must be the one to let the kangaroos go!\" Vesta says, unbuckling. \"C'mon, Dogkid! Let's explore this small desert before Kongo gets all the kangaroos!\"\n\nDogkid and Vesta search the desert. They find 5 kangaroos and teleport them to the kangaroo barn. \"Hey...Petrel..?\" Kongo says, approaching the 2 while holding a limp body of a kangaroo. \"Nice meeting you here. I'm collecting all the kangaroos Beetle Bot let free last night for me. Like to help me? These kangaroos will become my workers...\"\n\n\"I'm never helping you!\" Dogkid says, uppercutting him and running away with Vesta. Vesta grabs the limp kangaroo and teleports it to the barn. \"Ouhuuuuuuuch---!...H-HEY! GET BACK HERE YA COWARDS!\" Kongo says, grabbing his hoverboard and chasing the two, running to their car.\n\nAs Kongo catches up, a figure flying low to the ground grabs Kongo and flies into the trees. \"WOAH!\" Vesta screams. \"THAT FIGURE...IT SAVED US! But why would they save us from him? How'd he know that Kongo was a villan to us..\" \"Well,\" Dogkid began, \"Let's meet Amelia and Apollo by the clearing.\"\n\nAs they approach the Kangaroo farm, Amelia and Apollo are chattering away with Lily Walker, and Knuckles. \"We found 6 kangaroos!\" dogkid exclaims, approaching the group. \"Good!\" Apollo sings. \"That means all 25 kangaroos found!\" \"But wait! Mystery helper helped us!\" Amelia says, causing silent over the group. Knuckles says he saw a black and white flying creature grab a kangaroo and teleport it to the kangaroo farm. Dogkid tells the group her story. \"KONGO!\" Knuckles says, clutching his fist. \"He'‽\"\n\nScotchleg approaches the group with a big smile. \"Thanks, agents!\" He says. \"The best kangaroo contest will start now!\" The agents stay for the contest until sundown. The agents return to the HQ, with a very new agent alongside them! Who is the kangaroo agent? Find out in the next episode of EFF Agents!\n\n\nAd blocker interference detected!\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9617182612419128}
+{"content": "Estimation of the dietary requirement for vitamin D in white children aged 4-8 y: a randomized, controlled, dose-response trial.\n\nAuthors: Mortensen C, Damsgaard CT, Hauger H, Ritz C, Lanham-New SA, Smith TJ, Hennessy Á, Dowling K, Cashman KD, Kiely M, Mølgaard C\n\n\nAm J Clin Nutr. 2016 Nov;104(5):1310-1317\n\nBACKGROUND: Children in northern latitudes are at high risk of vitamin D deficiency during winter because of negligible dermal vitamin D3 production. However, to our knowledge, the dietary requirement for maintaining the nutritional adequacy of vitamin D in young children has not been investigated.\nOBJECTIVE: We aimed to establish the distribution of vitamin D intakes required to maintain winter serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentrations above the proposed cutoffs (25, 30, 40, and 50 nmol/L) in white Danish children aged 4-8 y living at 55°N.\nDESIGN: In a double-blind, randomized, controlled trial 119 children (mean age: 6.7 y) were assigned to 0 (placebo), 10, or 20 μg vitamin D3/d supplementation for 20 wk. We measured anthropometry, dietary vitamin D, and serum 25(OH)D with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry at baseline and endpoint.\nRESULTS: The mean ± SD baseline serum 25(OH)D was 56.7 ± 12.3 nmol/L (range: 28.7-101.4 nmol/L). Serum 25(OH)D increased by a mean ± SE of 4.9 ± 1.3 and 17.7 ± 1.8 nmol/L in the groups receiving 10 and 20 μg vitamin D3/d, respectively, and decreased by 24.1 ± 1.2 nmol/L in the placebo group (P < 0.001). A nonlinear model of serum 25(OH)D as a function of total vitamin D intake (diet and supplements) was fit to the data. The estimated vitamin D intakes required to maintain winter serum 25(OH)D >30 (avoiding deficiency) and >50 nmol/L (ensuring adequacy) in 97.5% of participants were 8.3 and 19.5 μg/d, respectively, and 4.4 μg/d was required to maintain serum 25(OH)D >40 nmol/L in 50% of participants.\nCONCLUSIONS: Vitamin D intakes between 8 and 20 μg/d are required by white 4- to 8-y-olds during winter in northern latitudes to maintain serum 25(OH)D >30-50 nmol/L depending on chosen serum 25(OH)D threshold. This trial was registered at as NCT02145195.\n\n\n\nRead Abstract\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9853704571723938}
+{"content": "Servers and Workstations Setup and Administration\n\nServer setup and administration along with workstation setup and administration is our specialty. Our experience has lead to the commonsense premise that every client’s needs are unique.  As a result, every environment Server Setupis customized and tailored to the specific company’s requirements.  All needs are evaluated for current and future conditions.\n\nINS System Administrators can provide day-to-day service and support of your computing environment. Reliable and affordable IT management can only be accomplished by hiring certified technicians who have the proper knowledge, experience, and tools, to get the job done right the first time.\n\nWhat is the difference between a Server and a Workstation?\n\nA server is an application or device that performs service for connected clients as part of client server architecture. It can also be a computer system that has been designated for running a specific server application . A server can also serve applications to users on an intranet.\n\nA workstation is a personal computer that is used for high end applications such as graphic design, video editing, CAD, 3-D design, or other CPU and RAM intensive programs. A workstation typically has a top of the line, fast processor, multiple hard drives, and a lot of RAM memory. A workstation may also have special audio, video, or processing cards for special editing work. A workstation is marketed by computer manufacturers to professional users, while the server is more of a utility device.\n\nBoth form part of the networking architecture and differ in their functions and use.\n\nWhat is the history of Servers and Workstations?\n\nHistory of workstations and servers\n\nWorkstations were originally derived from lower cost versions of minicomputers such as the VAX line, which in turn had been designed to offload smaller compute tasks from the very expensive mainframe computers of the time. They rapidly adopted 32-bit single-chip microprocessors Motorola 68000 series, which were much less expensive than the multi-chip processors prevalent in early minis. Later generation workstations used 32-bit and 64-bit RISC processors, which offered higher performance than the CISC processors used in personal computers.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8416520357131958}
+{"content": "The Purple Belt Perspective\n\n1) Isshinryu - whole heart way\n\n2) Three (3) towns where early karate started in Okinawa:\n\na) Shuri - Shuri-te-karate - nobles and kings;\n\nb) Naha - Naha-te-karate - business and commerce; and\n\nc) Tomari - Tomari-te-karate - farmers and fishermen.\n\n3) Isshinryu Karate was founded January 15, 1956.\n\n4) Tatsuo - Dragon Man (Tatsuo Shimbuku's nickname).\n\n5) Sunsu - Strong Man.\n\n6) Shinkichi - was master Tatsuo Shimabuku's given name. It was also the name he used whenever he told fortunes.\n\n7) Isshinryu - developed from two (2) styles of karate:\n\na) Shorin-ryu (influenced by Shuri-te, from the town of Shuri)\n\nb) Goju-Ryu (influenced by Naha-te, from the town of Naha)\n\n8) There were thirteen (13) major features of Isshinryu Karate:\n\n1) Elimination of fancy techniques - once used to hide karate's killing power because it was against the law to practice karate.\n\n2) Combination of the best of Shorin-ryu and Goju-ryu to form a basic, realistic system of self-defense.\n\n3) Use of low kicks (none above the waist) because low kicks allow you to move quickly with power and balance. Such kicks are hard to see, and hard to block. Sport karate can use high kicks.\n\n4) Use of short, natural stances which eliminate wasted motion and major body shifting, giving a split-second time advantage in self-defense situation. Such stances are more adaptable to American physique and temperament because the stances follow natural body movements.\n\n5) Hand and foot techniques are about 50-50 in the katas, giving the student a well-rounded system of karate.\n\n6) Close-in techniques which are valuable for street fighting (Bunkai).\n\n7) Snap-punches and snap kicks (punches and kicks come from a limb only 90% extended and immediately retracted), enabling you to move in and out quickly in a self-defense situation and to immediately correct yourself if you miscalculate. The lack of full extension of the limb prevents excessive wear and tear on the hinge joints.\n\n8) Elements of hard blocking (meeting force with force) and soft blocking (deflecting or parrying the blows).\n\n9) Blocks executed with the muscular part and 2 bones of the forearm rather than one bone and all muscle part to prevent breakage of the bones.\n\n10) A fist made with the thumb on top of the fist rather than over the first two fingers. This method locks the wrist, helping to prevent the fist from buckling at the wrist on impact. This method also tightens the fist by allowing you to put tension on the top of the fist (thumb side) and the side of the fist (finger side).\n\n11) Vertical punch, which increases the speed and focus of the punch.\n\n12) Blocks are blocks and blocks are strikes. Basic kata teaches that blocks are blocks or kamae. Advanced Bunkai shows that blocks are strikes. (Ask Sensei for explanation.)\n\n13) Kotekitai (arm conditioning exercises) - all Okinawan styles do arm conditioning.\n\n9) Tatsuo Shimabuku - born September 19, 1908 died May 30, 1975.\n\n10) Legend of Chinto - Karate first came to Okinawan in the 13th Century when Chinese families, some were experts in Chinese Kempo, immigrated to Okinawa. Years later Chinto, a ship-wrecked Chinese sailor was washed ashore. Naked and penniless, he hid in caves during the day and at night would sneak into the villages to steal food for survival. The villagers complained to the King, who sent his best Samurai, Soken Matsumura (1796-1893), to capture the sailor.\n\n Matsumura Tracked Chinto to a cave where he was living and confronted Chinto who refused to surrender. Chinto blocked every technique that Matsumura threw and ran and hid in a cemetery. Matsumura returned to the King and said there would be no more trouble from Chinto. He then went back, befriended Chinto, who in turn taught him his system, including the kata known as Chinto, in exchange for food and shelter.\n\n11) Shihan - head instructor or director.\n\n12) Renshi-go - Karate title which means polished expert.\n\n13) Kyoshi-go - master Karate instructor.\n\n14) Hanshi - a Master of Masters.\n\n15) Five (5) Americans who brought karate from Okinawa to the United States:\n\n1) Don Nagle\n\n2) Harold Long\n\n3) Harold Mitchum\n\n4) Steve Armstrong\n\n5) Arsenio (Jim) Advincula\n\n16) Who were Tatsuo Shimabuku's karate teachers and what styles did they teach him?\n\n1) His uncle, Kamasu Chan, was his first teacher and taught him Shurite.\n\n2) Kyan was his second teacher. He taught him Shorin-ryu.\n\n3) Miyagi was his third teacher. He taught him Goju-ryu.\n\n4) Motobu was his fourth teacher and he taught him Tomari-te, which is now Shorin-ryu.\n\n5) Moden Yabiku taught Master Shimabuku at an early age (dates are vague). Yabiku was Taira Shinken's weapons instructor. \n\n6) Taira Shinken taught weapons to Master Shimabuku in 1958.\n\n17) Katas from Goju Ryu:\n\n1) Saisan\n\n2) Sieunchin\n\n3) Sanchin\n\n18) Katas from Shorin-Ryu:\n\n1) Seisan\n\n2) Nihanchi\n\n3) Wansu (Tomari-Te)\n\n4) Chinto\n\n5) Kasanku\n\n19) Kata from Isshinryu:\n\n1) Sunsu - strong man. Master Shimabuku created this kata himself.\n\n20) Demonstrate the following:\n\n1) Why Isshinryu's vertical punch is stronger than the twist punch\n\n2) Why the hip is the chamber and not the arm pit\n\n3) Why the thumb is on top\n\n21) Isshinryu's Block - 2 bones and muscle versus one thin bone and muscle.\n\n22) Jim Advincula helped design the Isshinryu Karate patch. Advincula was in Okinawa when Tatsuo Shimabuku was trying to recall his vision of Megami.\n\n23) Kama-sama - is any god or goddess in Okinawan culture.\n\n24) The Kama-sama of Isshinryu karate is the \"protecting goddess of Isshinryu\" and her name is Megami.\n\na) Megami is half woman/half sea serpent or dragon.\n\nb) The woman represents the quiet, gentle side of karate.\n\nc) The bottom half of her is a dragon or sea serpent. She is in a typhoon and, as a sea serpent, she can swim through the turbulence and troubled waters.\n\nd) The water represents troubled times, obstacles in life, etc.\n\ne) The 3 stars have many meanings:\n\n1) Spiritual, physical and mental aspects of karate\n\n2) Master Shimabuku's six (6) teachers - his teachers overlook him, the dragon man\n\n3) Light to shine the way at night so you will not be afraid.\n\nf) Dragon in sky - Tatsuo is another name for dragon. He was the dragon man and he is overlooking his creation which is Isshinryu karate.\n\ng) Gray background - means darkness or nighttime. This represents fear or being afraid of the darkness.\n\nh) Gold border - means karate is golden and it should never be misused.\n\n25) Before naming his style Isshinryu, he taught a form of Shorin-ryu called Migwha-te Kyan, which was Kyan's nickname meaning \"small-eyed Dyan's karate.\"\n\n26) Motobu's nickname was \"monkey man,\" because of his strength and climbing abilities.\n\n27) Master Shimabuku's four (4) steps to learning karate:\n\n1) Aakezuri - clean bark off wood or first learning basics.\n\n2) Nakakozuri - shaping the wood or learning the katas but not perfecting them yet.\n\n3) Hosokonzuri - sanding wood or learning time (focus).\n\n4) Shiyagi - forever polishing the wood or achieving your chi or inner strength.\n\n28) Chinkuchi - bone, sinew, muscle-these are your innermost strengths, which are learned in Sanchin kata as a brownbelt.\n\n29) Kichiro Shimabuku - First son of Tatsuo Shimabuku. Head and 10th dan of I.W.K.A., Okinawa.\n\n30) Shinzo Shimabuku - Second son of Tatsuo Shimabuku.\n\n31) Tetsugi Shimabuku - Son of Kichiro Shimabuku. He will become head of I.W.K.A. after Kichiro.\n\n32) Angi Uezu - Tatsuo Shimabuku's son-in-law.\n\n33) Pronunciations:\n\nTatsuo - (Tat-sue-oo)\n\nShimabuku - (Shim-a-boo-ku)\n\nShuri - (Sure-e)\n\nNaha - (Na-ha)\n\nTomari - (Too-mar-e)\n\nShinkichi - (Shin-key-che)\n\nSunsu - (Sun-sue)\n\nMatsumora - (Mat-sue-more-a)\n\nShinhan - (She-han)\n\nRenshi - (Ren-she)\n\nKyoshi - (Key-o-she)\n\nHanshi - (Han-she)\n\nKamasu Chan - (Kama-sue Key-an)\n\nKyan - (Key-an)\n\nMiyagi - (Me-ag-e)\n\nMotobu - (Mo-too-boo)\n\nModen Yabiku - (Mod-den Yabe-ku)\n\nTaira Shinken - (Ta-air-a Shin-kin)\n\nSieunchin - (See-un-chin)\n\nSanchin - (San-chin)\n\nSeisan - (Say-san)\n\nNihanchi - (nee-han-che)\n\nWansu - (Wan-sue)\n\nChinto - (Chin-toe)\n\nKusanku - (Koo-san Koo)\n\nSunsu - (Sun-sue)\n\nKamasama - (Coma-sam-a)\n\nMegami - (Me-gam-e)\n\nMigwate - (Mig-wha-ta)\n\nChinkuchi - (Chin-koo-che)\n\nKichiro - (Key-cher-o)\n\nShinzo - (Shin-zoo)\n\nTetsugi - (Tet-sue-ge)\n\nAngi - (An-ge)\n\nUezu - (Way-zoo)\n\n\n\n1) A person's heart is the same as heaven and earth .\n\nIf a man has a good heart, he has no quarrel. He is in harmony, as is the heaven and the earth.\n\n\n2) The blood circulating is the same as the moon and the sun.\n\nIn the universe, just as every day the moon comes out at night and the sun comes out at day, blood must circulate or existence would be impossible.\n\n\n3) The manner of drinking and spitting is either hard or soft .\n\nYin and Yang forces in the universe are opposite. You have to decide whether to take a challenge softly or meet it with full force.\n\n\n4) A person's balance is the same as weight .\n\nIf too big a task is undertaken, the balance is upset and it cannot be handled.\n\n\n5) The body should be able to change motion at any time .\n\nLife is constantly changing. We have to accommodate to change or else we cannot survive.\n\n\n6) The time to strike is when the opportunity presents itself .\n\nDo not pass up opportunities. People who get ahead in life spot these opportunities and use them to their advantage.\n\n\n7) The eye must see every way .\n\nTry to consider the other man's view. New meanings result from different viewpoints.\n\n\n8) The ear must hear in all directions .\n\nIt is impossible to see his view unless you hear his reasons.\n\n\n\n1) Front snap kick to groin.\n\n2) 45 degree blade kick to knee cap.\n\n3) Cross over heel stomp kick to knee.\n\n4) Side blade kick to solar plexus.\n\n5) Front snap kick from cat stance.\n\n6) Squat to side front kick to groin.\n\n7) Heel thrust kick to solar plexus.\n\n8) Knee smash to groin.\n\n9) Back kick to solar plexus.\n\n\n\n1) RFF-RH straight punch solar plexus\n\n2) RFF-RH uppercut to chin.\n\n3) LFF-RH straight punch solar plexus\n\n4) LFF-RH uppercut to chin.\n\n5) RFB-LH down block-RH straight punch to solar plexus.\n\n6) RFB-LH side block-RH straight punch to solar plexus.\n\n7) RFB-LH open side block-RH open spear hand to solar plexus.\n\n8) RFB-LH open head block-RH upper cut to chin.\n\n9) RFB-LH closed fist head block-RH straight punch to solar plexus.\n\n10) RFB-LH closed fist head block-LH snap nose-RH straight punch solar plexus.\n\n11) LFF-LH down block, 5 fast straight punches to solar plexus.\n\n12) LFF-LH side block, 5 fast straight punches to solar plexus.\n\n13) LFF-LH open down block-RH open strike to neck.\n\n14) LFF-LH open palm chest block-RH roundhouse punch to solar plexus-LH roundhouse punch kidneys.\n\n15) RF back in cat stance, cross arms in front, but hip back, at same time strike with arms by blocking the head and striking back with an elbow.\n\n\nRH-right hand RFF-right foot forward RF- right foot\n\nLH-left hand LFF-left foot forward RFB-right foot back\n\n\n\nKarate - empty hand\n\nUniform - GI\n\nIsshin - One heart\n\nBelt - Obi\n\nRyu - Style\n\nGrade - Kyu\n\nDo - Way\n\nDegree - Dan\n\nMaster - Shihan\n\nBlack Belt - Sho Dan\n\nSensei - Teacher\n\nForm - Kata\n\nBow - Rei\n\nWater Goddess - Mizu Gami\n\nBegin - Hajime\n\nWooden Staff - Bo\n\nTraining Hall - Dojo\n\nHand Swords - Sai\n\nSparring - Kumite\n\nExplanation - Bunkai\n\n\nOne- Ichi\n\nTwo - Ni\n\nThree - San\n\nFour - Shi\n\nFive - Go\n\nSix - Roku\n\nSeven - Shichi\n\nEight - Hachi\n\nNine - Ku\n\nTen - Ju\n\nEleven - Ju-Ichi\n\nTwelve - Ju-Ni\n\nThirteen - Ju-San\n\nFourteen - Ju-Shi\n\nFifteen - Ju-Go\n\nSixteen - Ju-Roku\n\nSeventeen - Ju-Shichi\n\nEighteen - Ju-Hachi\n\nNineteen - Ju-Ku\n\nTwenty - Ni-Ju", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.995297908782959}
+{"content": "Another first day of school\n\nOne of the things I love about the school year beginning each year is the opportunity we have as teachers to start fresh, set goals and the enthusiastic nature a new year brings in. The first morning as we meet back as a staff after a well deserved break is always full of enthusiasm and excitement. Sadly, I have been part of many first days where that excitement is withered away with endless descriptions of protocols, overviews and inductions. Usually presented with a dry PowerPoints and limitless pieces of paper reminding us all what we should be doing.\n\nThis year’s start to the school year for me started at the Melbourne Museum, with who we have developed a wonderful partnership over that last year with ongoing projects. The aim of the day was to provoke our thinking about how we provoke children’s learning. A meta provocation if you will.\n\nAs a Reggio Emilia inspired school we use provocations to provide meaningful and emotional connections to learning. Leaving the OHS induction for another staff meeting, we were able to hear from two amazing speakers who shared their designs for the Children’s Museum at Melbourne Museum and reflect on how we might design purposeful provocations for our children.\n\nFirst we heard from Mary Featherston, who was was in the original design team for the Children’s Museum in the 80s. She spoke about recognising that although museums in the 80’s had established themselves as treasure houses for the community there was nothing for children. They understood the importance of talking to and listening to children in the development of the museum and observing how children made direct connections with the artefacts and their experiences. They were able to identify that children learn through their senses, vigourously. They learnt that hands on exhibits that were deemed boring by the children were often vandalised and that they needed to find a way to slow children down and allow them to dig deeper in the artefacts. Quickly our teaching team was beginning to compare and contrast learning experiences in schools and museums.\n\nAs the Children’s Museum is now going through a redesign we were lucky enough to hear from the most recent design team about how they have tried to create a “wondrous museum place for children.” They see children as co-creators of the museum and have worked with a variety of audiences to develop a balance between the familiar and unfamiliar and high and low pace experiences.\n\nThe staff interacting in one of the exhibits\n\nWe had time to walk through the current Children’s Museum asking ourselves the questions; What is the essence of a provocation? How is a provocation more than just an object? How do we find rich ways to engage in the world with our objects?\n\nNow back at school and a week in, we are still thinking and reflecting on the experiences of our first day. When the museum staff spoke about the design of a welcome space to draw children in. A space to let the child know that the authority of their learning and experiences had now been handed over to them, has certainly inspired us to think about how we welcome children to our learning neighbourhood. How does a child know that when they enter the school or our spaces that we respect them and recognise their desires for learning? How do we show them that this is a place that is not separate from but connected to their home and community?\n\nAlready in the first week we have begun to unpack the children’s understanding of welcome and how we make people feel safe and cared for and in the coming weeks we will use provocations to think about how we might transform our welcome foyer into a space that hands over the authority to children.\n\nMuch better than walking away from the first day with a checklist of frameworks and protocols……\n\nA day at the museum\n\nI have always believed in the power of the network in education to provoke, support and connect. As a user of twitter I have built up a large network around me and now people I have connected with through that have become close colleagues who I talk to regularly about my practice. This year one of those connections I met on twitter using the #vicpln hashtag a few years back provided me with an opportunity to work closely with our local museums.\n\nThroughout the year, our children have been inquiring into how our community curates and shares knowledge. After researching what is important knowledge, how it can be shared and the types of knowledge a community shares, the children have worked on creating their own museum exhibits for a museum at our school.\n\nAfter connecting with Cam Hocking at Museum Victoria early in the year we were eager to bring the kids to the museum with a new experience of the school trip to the museum in mind. We didn’t want the experience to be anything they’d had at a museum before. Where they were told what rooms they can be in at a given time and with restrictions put in place because teachers are worried about what the museum staff an visitors would think. We wanted to see how the kids would experience the museum given the chance. Don’t get me wrong, it was hard at times to stand back and not look at my watch. But the kids were taken by what they were seeing. And they were considerate of the others using the museum. They didn’t need me to spend my time shushing them. In not being hung up on what others were thinking or what the kids should be doing, I was able to actually observe what they did. How they interacted with the artefacts. How quickly they moved from one to another. How they didn’t read anything, although much of the museum displays had writing. How they shared what they were seeing with each other and how they documented it with their cameras. The types of exhibits they were attracted to weren’t big or moving, but things they had a connection to. And surprisingly the dinosaurs, weren’t as exciting as the bugs!\n\nBut this was just part of the visit to the museum.  What we also wanted to achieve was a different experience for the kids. One were they were engaged and engulfed by the visit. What would it take for them to experience the museum on a deeper level? So after lunch we visited the museum wearing a researcher lens. Children entered with questions about the museum that would help them to build their own museum at school. How are the artefacts displayed? What do the artefacts have in common? What sizes are the artefacts? How wide are the walking paths? What senses are used for each of the displays. Why did they decide on that artefact? I took with me a bag full of tools they might need including measuring tapes, timers, paper, pencils and they all had cameras, iPads and a GoPro to use as well.\n\n\nYou can probably guess what happened next. The kids spent longer at each of the exhibits. They didn’t rush. They questioned each other. They shared their learning. They interacted with the visitors at the museum. It was a completely different experience. And what the children came back with was a different lens in which to visit a museum. Not only was it a mysterious holder of knowledge but armed with the right questions, a day at the museum could be a researcher’s delight that could set the basis for developing our own museum and further strengthening our connections.\n\n\nAs the inquiry continued we had many more great connections with the museum through twitter, hangouts with experts and visits from their team. As we built our own exhibits it was time to visit the museum again, this time with our own artefacts in hand.\n\nWith the ongoing relationship and connection we had with the museum we felt it was the perfect time to ask for a request; an activity room to create a School Museum Pop Up and some experts to give us some feedback. Wish granted, we jumped on a tram with arms full with boxes, ready to set up a pop up at the Melbourne Museum.\n\n\nIt is not often you get to have such an authentic experience with real and purposeful feedback. The CEO of Museum Victoria dropped by, as did numerous experts within the museum; designers, curators, volunteers. All giving well considered feedback to the students who couldn’t get enough advice to make changes to their exhibits.  At the end of the day not one child was sad the experience was over as they headed back to school eager to make changes based on the feedback they had received.\n\n\nAnd that is not the end of it. This week the museum opened in full at school. Visitors from the community have been invited in between the hours of 10am – 2pm daily to visit, with some very animated tour guides showing them around. And it was not surprising to see some Museum Victoria staff in there eager to see the final product and get their hands on the exhibition booklet.\n\n\n….all from a connection that started on twitter and ended with the most amazing group of people from a museum, ready to support our learning every step of the way.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9872578382492065}
+{"content": "Wednesday, March 26, 2014\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNS: Why did you want to write this story?\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDG: I don’t think museum parties are perpetuating class disparity.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nWednesday, March 19, 2014\n\nTagging in Museums #blowinguppersonal #notwhatweplanned\n\nHere are a few of the hashtags I've seen applied to photographs of museum objects on Instagram lately:\n\nThese tags all do a great job capturing the magic of exploring a museum. They do a great job sharing the humor and surprise of collections objects. They position museums as social starting points, experiences worth sharing, braggable moments.\n\nThey do something entirely different than what museums professionals thought tags might do for our institutions.\n\nAlmost ten years ago, museum techies started to get excited about tagging. In 2005, a group of art museums launched, a project to explore ways that visitors and non-professionals could help assign descriptive tags to online collections. The point was to \"bridge the semantic gap [between experts and visitors in describing objects] by engaging users in the time-consuming and expensive task of describing our collections; add a multi-cultural, perhaps multi-lingual perspective to our documentation; and possibly even develop strategies for engaging new types of users in looking at and thinking about art.\" received significant funding from IMLS, and several museums started experimenting with tagging projects, both within and beyond the Steve universe. This included a bevy of research papers and workshops, as well as innovative tagging projects intended to do everything from provide contextual information about artwork to identifying actions taken by families of birds.\n\nThe best projects incorporated heavy game mechanics to turn a chore--describing objects--into a fun plaything. While these projects had some success, tagging museum collections objects never really took off as a visitor-contributed slam dunk. And it declined over time. As Shelley Bernstein at the Brooklyn Museum told me this week: \"We've seen far less tagging on our site in recent years and most of the tagging is being contributed via our tag game, Tag You're It, with far less direct activity on object pages within the collection online.\"\n\nMeanwhile, social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and eventually Facebook started to incorporate tagging and hashtags into their interfaces. Tags have morphed from a way to assign a useful, searchable label to an idea (the kind of tagging museums were interested in) to a way to add commentary in an oddly authoritative, winking third-person voice. Tags like #booyah or #cute or #bestdayever allow people to electively apply an external label to a personal moment. On Instagram in particular, tagging has become the way to get noticed and get connected. In the early days of blogging, people would say \"links = love.\" Now, it's more like \"tags = love.\"\n\nWhere does this leave museums and dreams of visitor-driven tagging of collections? The good news is that people are finally psyched about tagging stuff. On their own. Without institutional prompting. The complicating news is that the way people want to tag is to document their personal/social experience with objects, not just the object on its own.\n\nI think this means huge potential for museums to better understand visitors' emotional and affective relationship with specific objects and experiences--what surprises, delights, confounds, and connects. In this way, I see the shift in the use of tagging as opening up new opportunities in visitor research. For example, check out this site, where you can see instances of two hashtags applied to the same photo - try entering \"museum\" and \"love\" to get a feel for it.\n\nAs for the use of tags to document objects in a common vernacular, it's possible... but only if museums can find ways to help people connect those kinds of tags to their own motivations for tagging.\n\nWhat do you see as the future of tagging and museum collections?\n\nWednesday, March 12, 2014\n\nThe Truth about Bilingual Interpretation: Guest Post by Steve Yalowitz\n\nYou know those research studies that make you want to immediately change your practice in some way? I recently read The BERI report on bilingual labels in museums and was blown away by its findings. BERI was an NSF-funded three-year collaborative project co-led by Cecilia Garibay (Garibay Group), Steve Yalowitz (Audience Viewpoints Consulting), Nan Renner (Balboa Park Cultural Partnership, Art of Science Learning) and Carlos Plaza (Babel No More). This guest post was written by Steve Yalowitz, a Principal at Audience Viewpoints Consulting, who has a Ph.D. in Applied Social Psychology and has evaluated and researched informal learning experiences in museums and other visitor institutions for over 20 years.\n\nBilingualism in the U.S. is a controversial topic, and the same is true in museums. If someone asked you whether museums should or need to have text in more than one language, what would you say? You probably have an opinion, or you could probably come up with an opinion without too much effort. Maybe you are in a country that mandates multiple languages, or at an institution already committed to bi- or multi-lingual interpretation. However, based on my conversations and experiences with many museum professionals, my guess is that many of you are aware of the issue, may think it’s worth discussing, but have limited knowledge about the core issues surrounding bilingual interpretation.\n\nI was co-author of a recently completed research study [PDF] funded by the National Science Foundation, the Bilingual Exhibit Research Initiative (BERI), which strove to better understand bilingual labels from the visitor perspective. This qualitative, exploratory study involved tracking and interviewing 32 Spanish-speaking intergenerational groups in fully bilingual exhibits at four different science centers/museums. We observed and audio recorded the groups, and conducted in-depth interviews in Spanish after they went through the exhibit, with a focus on what the bilingual experience was like for the group.\n\nThe BERI study really expanded our thinking about bilingual interpretation, even though we’d been studying the topic for years. One of the main affordances of bilingual interpretation, of course, is that it provides access to content. The BERI study shows that access to content—the most obvious benefit of bilingual labels—is just the tip of the iceberg. Bilingual interpretation expands the way visitors experience and perceive museums, shifting their emotional connection to the institutions.\n\nHere are three affordances that may not be as top-of-mind when we think about bilingual interpretation:\n  1. Code-switching – We found lots of evidence of effortless switching back-and-forth between English and Spanish. We saw kids and adults switch from English to Spanish not only mid-conversation but mid-sentence, both in the exhibition and in the interviews afterwards. Museum professionals often incorrectly assume that if we provide Spanish text for Spanish speakers, they stay in “Spanish mode.” The power of bilingual text is that it’s bilingual – it provides access in two languages, and code switching lets you understand and express yourself from two different perspectives, with two sets of vocabulary. It was a huge affordance for bilingual groups, especially when some members were not able to understand English, or even if they were Spanish dominant or fully bilingual. \n  2. Facilitation – We researched intergenerational groups, so it’s not surprising that many of the adults saw their role as facilitator as essential to their own and the group’s success in the exhibition. We confirmed what other label studies have previously found: that adults were more likely to read labels than kids. However, this study found that in bilingual groups adults were more likely to read in Spanish, while the kids were more likely to read in English. With Spanish labels available, adults were able to facilitate, guiding the conversations and interactions, showing their children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews where to focus and how to interact. Adults who were previously dependent on their children could now take the lead as confident facilitators. An added benefit of bilingual labels, even for those who could read in English, was that they didn’t feel slower or that they were holding up the group.\n  3. Emotional reaction – This study found that the presence of bilingual interpretation had a profound emotional effect on the groups. Groups said they enjoyed the visit more, felt more valued by the institution, and many said having bilingual interpretation changed how they felt about the institution. In our field, if we focus on the emotional aspect of the experience, it’s typically around the content and what we’re hoping people feel when engaging with our exhibits. While some of the reactions were around engagement with content (as would be expected), many of them were really about feeling confident and comfortable–key factors for a satisfying and worthwhile visit. \nWhen asking whether bilingual interpretation is worth it, we’re often looking at it through the wrong lens. It shouldn’t be about whether it’s worth it for us as an institutional investment, but whether it’s worth it from the visitor perspective. Does it improve the visitor experience in a way that adds value to the visit, providing affordances that don’t exist in monolingual experiences? The answer, from the BERI study findings, is a resounding yes.\n\nBERI was a three-year collaborative effort I worked on with Cecilia Garibay, Nan Renner and Carlos Plaza. When we received the award, we felt a great sense of opportunity and responsibility, since this was the first NSF-funded research study about bilingual families and their experiences in fully bilingual exhibitions. You can download the research report and find out about the research model, methods, analysis and implications for the field.\n\n We saw this study not as the answer to the field’s questions about bilingual interpretation, but as the start of a conversation around better understanding how it works. In doing so, we found out that it is a much more complicated and rich experience than even we thought. After a recent presentation about the findings, a museum professional told us that the study’s findings helped change how they think about bilingual interpretation. My hope is that some of you out there will continue this important work, and help change how I think about bilingual interpretation.\n\nWednesday, March 05, 2014\n\nA Simple A/B Test for Visitor Talkback Stations\n\nLet's say you create a station where visitors contribute content. You want their stories, their feedback, their colorful drawings of the future.\n\nHow do you measure success?\n\nWe've started using a very simple measure: the number of people who actually respond to the prompt. We look at the visitor contributions, and we code them either as responding to the prompt or doing something unrelated. Answer the question, and you're in. Make a scribble, and you're not. That's it.\n\nObviously, this does not give us the holy grail of success for a visitor talkback station. Each talkback is different. Sometimes success means deep, personal stories; other times, we value speculative argumentation or creative expression. Sometimes it means a large volume of responses; other times, we are looking for people with specific expertise to respond.\n\nBut in all cases, we want people to respond \"appropriately\"--whatever appropriate might mean for a given talkback.\n\nThe measure of whether people respond to the prompt appropriately is really a measure of us, not them. It measures whether the design of the talkback is sufficiently clear and compelling. This is especially useful in exhibitions or areas with multiple different talkbacks; it allows us to do A/B comparisons across talkbacks and learn which of our designs worked best (presumably, for the same group of visitors).\n\nConsider three very different talkbacks in the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History's fall exhibition, Santa Cruz is in the Heart: cocktail napkins, rear view mirrors, and refrigerator certificates.\n\nEach of these talkbacks was very different.\n  • The cocktail napkins were in an area about the demise of a beloved dive bar in Santa Cruz. We invited people to slide up to a bar and use a napkin to scrawl an answer to the question \"How do you deal with loss?\" This was the most popular talkback, with 541 responses in the three months of the exhibition.\n  • The fridge was in an area about unsung heros in our community. We invited people to sit down at a modified kitchen table and make a certificate of accomplishment for someone they felt deserved to be honored. These certificates were less than half as popular as the napkins, with 221 completed. They took awhile to make, though--this was definitely the longest talkback activity. \n  • The rear view mirrors were mounted on the wall next to a story in a simulated car about looking back and seeing the past differently from an adult perspective. We offered people markers and invited them to write directly on the mirrors to complete the sentence \"I look back and remember...\" This was the least used talkback, with 120 responses. It wasn't easy to write much with a marker on the mirrors, and you had to be creative to come up with a response in just a couple words.\nHere's the data on how people responded to the prompts (with thanks to Brandt Courtway, intern extraordinaire):\n  • Cocktail napkins: 541 responses, 51% appropriate\n  • Rear view mirrors: 120 responses, 52% appropriate\n  • Fridge certificates: 221 responses, 72% appropriate\nClearly, the fridge was the big winner. While it was not the most-used talkback, it was the one where people were most likely to actually do what we asked of them.\n\nThis information surprised us. We used the data to interrogate what was unique about the design of the fridge talkback: the fact that it required a longer time commitment, that it had more involved setup and design, that the prompt was in the form of a \"fill in the blank\" instead of a question, and that the content was positive/uplifting (as opposed to the others, which focused more on nostalgia and sadness).\n\nWe consider this a good measurement because it is easy to collect the data, the result is non-obvious, and the result is useful in helping us improve our design techniques. A good measurement doesn't need to exhaustively answer every single question about a project. It just needs to provide information you can actually use to do better.\n\nI'm curious what \"single measure\" tests you are using to compare projects and improve your practice. What simple number has changed your work?\n\nAlso, a sidenote. We asked Brandt to also count any responses that were \"aggressive\"--swear words, violent language, etc. Total number across all three talkbacks: 0.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6337722539901733}
+{"content": "What Love Can Do: O’Neill Brothers (Home to Green Valley Book 1)\n\nby Virna DePaul\n\nWhen a sweet and sassy baker meets the new Irishman in town, things start to sizzle…\n\nEx-rugby player Quinn O’Neill has just arrived in Northern California wine country when he meets Lilly Parker. She’s the baker at the B&B, an amazing gazelle of a woman. Blonde. Curvy. With high cheekbones that give her the look of an old-fashioned pin-up with a naughty side. She’s wearing a pink and black apron that reads Life is Short–Lick the Bowl, and all Quinn can imagine is them: her, wearing nothing but that apron, and him, licking and savoring.\n\nThe more time they spend together, the more Quinn believes Lilly’s the one. Only she’s headed to Miami in a week’s time to pursue her own dream, and he has a decision to make.\n\nDoes he go back to Dublin and his rugby career? Or does he make a home in the enchanted valley town, start his life fresh, and see if love’s enough to make Lilly his forever?\n\n$0.00 Previously $3.99\n\nCategory: Contemporary Romance", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9779820442199707}
+{"content": "22 May 2005\n\nsi jeunesse savait, si vieillesse pouvait...\n\n2050 - and immortality is within our grasp\n\n\nThe world's fastest computer, IBM's BlueGene, can perform 70.72 trillion calculations per second (teraflops) and is accelerating all the time. But anyone who believes in the uniqueness of consciousness or the soul will find Pearson's next suggestion hard to swallow. 'We're already looking at how you might structure a computer that could possibly become conscious. There are quite a lot of us now who believe it's entirely feasible.\n\nYikes! A good friend once wrote: 'If yuth knew, if age could...' in French on my birthday cake. I am unsure if I am more alarmed by the idea of decanting the self into a machine or the inevitable alliterative speeches by Peter Costello.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.886299729347229}
+{"content": "Attorney General Jeff Sessions seems determined to revive the failed war on drugs by targeting medical marijuana, despite bipartisan opposition in Congress and the widespread popularity of medical cannabis among the American public. Fortunately, Congress is pushing back.\n\nMarijuana use and possession for medical purposes is now legal in 29 states and the District of Columbia. But it remains illegal under federal law, setting up a conflict that, until now, has been settled by the U.S. Justice Department taking a hands-off approach on the issue as long as local authorities take action to stem black-market sales.\n\nAn amendment to the Justice Department appropriations bill known as the Rohrabacher-Farr Amendment has since 2014 prohibited the department from spending federal funds to stop states from implementing medical marijuana programs legalized under state law. The amendment must be reauthorized each fiscal year. In a letter made public this week, Sessions asked Congress not to renew the amendment, but Congress refused.\n\nIn the letter, Sessions said taking action to enforce federal marijuana laws was essential to address the \"historic drug epidemic\" and rising levels of violence. But the drug epidemic that is causing the most concern these days is the explosion of opioid addiction, which kills people with accidental overdoses.\n\nIn fact, research indicates that states where medical marijuana is legalized may see a decrease in opioid use and overdose deaths. The National Institute on Drug Abuse acknowledges that preliminary findings suggest this is true, and that states with medical marijuana dispensaries may see fewer opioids prescribed for pain.\n\nPublic opinion polls show Americans overwhelmingly support legalization of marijuana for medical use, and most say federal authorities should not enforce federal marijuana laws in states that have legalized the drug.\n\nSessions' insistence on cracking down on marijuana contradicts the traditional stance of conservative Republicans who oppose federal government action against states. What's more, President Donald Trump promised during the campaign that he would not crack down on states over medical marijuana. But the president issued a signing statement along with his approval of the Justice Department spending bill indicating that he might reconsider that stance.\n\nFor now, the Rohrabacher Amendment is in place through Sept. 30, and its co-author, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., told the Orange County Register that he doesn't think Trump will try to circumvent it.\n\nMeanwhile, others in Congress plan to re-introduce separate legislation to protect medical marijuana in states that have legalized it. Among other things, the CARERS Act would remove some barriers to marijuana research and allow Veterans Health Administration doctors to recommend medical marijuana in states where it is legal.\n\nOregon has had legal medical marijuana for two decades. While some supporters fear the new administration will seek to enforce federal law here, medical marijuana has support in Congress, and President Trump isn't likely to push for a punitive policy that would be deeply unpopular with the public.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5564621686935425}
+{"content": "In many cases, myocarditis improves on its own or with treatment, leading to a complete recovery. Myocarditis treatment focuses on the cause and the symptoms, such as heart failure.\n\nIn mild cases, persons should avoid competitive sports for at least three to six months. Rest and medication to help your body fight off the infection causing myocarditis might be all you need. Although antiviral medications are available, they haven't proved effective in the treatment of most cases of myocarditis.\n\nCertain rare types of viral myocarditis, such as giant cell and eosinophilic myocarditis, respond to corticosteroids or other medications to suppress your immune system. In some cases caused by chronic illnesses, such as lupus, treatment is directed at the underlying disease.\n\nDrugs to help your heart\n\nIf myocarditis is causing heart failure or arrhythmias, your doctor might hospitalize you and prescribe drugs or other treatments. For certain abnormal heart rhythms or severe heart failure, you may be given medications to reduce the risk of blood clots forming in your heart.\n\nIf your heart is weak, your doctor might prescribe medications to reduce your heart's workload or help you eliminate excess fluid, including:\n\n  • Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors. These medications, such as enalapril (Vasotec), captopril (Capoten), lisinopril (Zestril, Prinivil) and ramipril (Altace), relax the blood vessels in your heart and help blood flow more easily.\n  • Angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs). These medications, such as losartan (Cozaar) and valsartan (Diovan), relax the blood vessels in your heart and help blood flow more easily.\n  • Beta blockers. Beta blockers, such as metoprolol (Lopressor, Toprol-XL), bisoprolol and carvedilol (Coreg), work in multiple ways to treat heart failure and help control arrhythmias.\n  • Diuretics. These medications, such as furosemide (Lasix), relieve sodium and fluid retention.\n\nTreating severe cases\n\nIn some severe cases of myocarditis, aggressive treatment might include:\n\n  • Intravenous (IV) medications. These might improve the heart-pumping function more quickly.\n  • Ventricular assist devices. Ventricular assist devices (VADs) are mechanical pumps that help pump blood from the lower chambers of your heart (the ventricles) to the rest of your body. VADs are used in people who have weakened hearts or heart failure. This treatment may be used to allow the heart to recover or while waiting for other treatments, such as a heart transplant.\n  • Intra-aortic balloon pump. Doctors insert a thin tube (catheter) in a blood vessel in your leg and guide it to your heart using X-ray imaging. Doctors place a balloon attached to the end of the catheter in the main artery leading out to the body from the heart (aorta). As the balloon inflates and deflates, it helps to increase blood flow and decrease the workload on the heart.\n  • Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). With severe heart failure, this device can provide oxygen to the body. When blood is removed from the body, it passes through a special membrane in the ECMO machine that removes carbon dioxide and adds oxygen to the blood. The newly oxygenated blood is then returned to the body.\n\nThe ECMO machine takes over the work of the heart. This treatment may be used to allow the heart to recover or while waiting for other treatments, such as a heart transplant.\n\nIn the most severe cases, doctors might consider urgent heart transplantation.\n\nSome people might have chronic and irreversible damage to the heart muscle requiring lifelong medications, while other people need medications for just a few months and then recover completely. Either way, your doctor is likely to recommend regular follow-up appointments, including tests to evaluate your condition.\n\nJuly 12, 2017\n  1. AskMayoExpert. Myocarditis. Rochester, Minn.: Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research; 2016.\n  2. Cooper LT. Clinical manifestations and diagnosis of myocarditis in adults. Accessed Feb. 17, 2017.\n  3. Bozkurt B, et al. Current diagnostic and treatment strategies for specific dilated cardiomyopathies: A scientific statement from the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2016;134:e579.\n  4. Cooper LT. Etiology and pathogenesis of myocarditis. Accessed Feb. 17, 2017.\n  5. Fung G, et al. Myocarditis. Circulation Research. 2016;118:496.\n  6. Krejci J, et al. Inflammatory cardiomyopathy: A current view on the pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment. Biomed Research International. 2016;2016:1.\n  7. Cooper LT. Treatment and prognosis of myocarditis in adults. Accessed Feb. 17, 2017.\n  8. Allan CK, et al. Clinical manifestations and diagnosis of myocarditis in children. Accessed Feb. 20, 2017.\n  9. Bonow RO, et al. Myocarditis. In: Braunwald's Heart Disease: A Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine. 10th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2015. Accessed Feb. 20, 2017.\n  10. Atas H, et al. Two cases of acute myocarditis with multiple intracardiac thrombi: The role of huypercoagulable states. Heart Views. 2014;15:22.\n  11. Stopping the spread of germs at home, work & school. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Accessed Feb. 21, 2017.\n  12. Heart-healthy lifestyle changes. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Accessed Feb. 21, 2017.\n  13. Mayo Clinic finds myocarditis caused by infection on rise globally. Mayo Clinic News Network. Accessed Feb. 21, 2017.\n  15. Heymans S, et al. The quest for new approaches in myocarditis and inflammatory cardiomyopathy. Journal of the American College of Cardiology. 2016;68:2348.\n  16. Sinagra G, et al. Myocarditis in clinical practice. Mayo Clinic Proceedings. 2016;91:1256.\n  17. Mankad R (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. March 6, 2017.\n  18. Cooper LT, et al. The role of endomyocardial biopsy in the management of cardiovascular disease: A scientific statement from the American Heart Association, the American College of Cardiology, and the European Society of Cardiology. Circulation. 2007;116:2216.\n\nConnect with others\n\nNews, connections and conversations for your health\n\nRecent posts", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9866569638252258}
+{"content": "St. Patrick Catholic School\n\n\nVarsity 8-Man Schedule\n\nThe varsity football team plays in he Central Michigan 8-Man Conference.\n\n\n7th & 8th Grade Schedule\n\nThe 7/8th grade football team plays an independent 8-man schedule.  Ken Cook is the head coach, Joe Cook is the assistant.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8365477919578552}
+{"content": "200 plains in Iran are in critical thirsty: official \n\nJuly 13, 2017\n\nTEHRAN — Director of the environment committee at the Energy Ministry has said of 600 plains in Iran, 200 are a “critical condition” in terms of water scarcity.\n\nIn an interview with the Persian language E’temad newspaper published on Tuesday, Mohammad Ali Hamedi said the water scarcity may lead to conflicts between people in the country.  \n\n“It means that a tough competition may heat up between water consumers in different parts of the country,” Hamedi warned.\n\n“There had been fierce conflicts over water at times especially at the time of drought in Iran in the past; however, the conflicts may re-escalate once the water crisis worsen,” Hamedi explained.\n\nDrying lakes and rivers, declining groundwater resources, land subsidence, water contamination and rationing, agricultural losses, salt and sand storms, and ecosystem damages are reaching alarming levels in Iran.\n\nRecently, head of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of the Majlis (Iranian parliament) has warned of the severe outcomes of water shortage in the country which is believed to pose a threat to the national security.\n\nHamedi said just like oil, water is a national resource and the government has every right to transfer water from one city to another.\n\nSome 63 percent of the country’s population inhabit the central plateau which is a big but arid and semi-arid area, the Energy Ministry official said.\n\nHe said this uneven distribution of the population is a product of the flawed policies of the past 60 years and now “we are obliged to transfer water to these densely populated districts.”\n\n‘Displace population or transfer water’\n\nIn addition to the decline of Iran’s freshwater resources per capita, the water is unevenly distributed so the government must make a choice between displacing the population or transferring water, he highlighted.\n\n“It sounds more logical to displace the population but it is not possible to force the population to move to another area; we should accelerate development in other areas with richer water resources so that the population opt for moving there.”\n\nThe current looming water crisis did not emerge after the Islamic Revolution in 1979 but it started from the 1960s, Hamedi stated, saying, “While we had to move towards industrialization we instead choose the agricultural-based economy, which meant depletion of underground resources that continued to the present time. Currently, out of 600 plains in Iran, 200 plains are in a critical condition.”\n\nMany dams are constructed in vain\n\n“While everyone accuses numerous damming projects of the main culprits of water shortage in Iran I believe that a lack of proper and operable irrigation network [one that contains conduits (canals and pipes) that supply water to irrigated lands from an irrigation source such as a dam] is the main problem,” he pointed out.\n\nFor instance, water behind the dams must be used for irrigation purposes but without setting up irrigation networks the water would evaporate and go into waste, he underlined.\n\nBuilding a dam might only take 5 years but developing irrigation networks is an extremely complex matter which might take much longer and without that building a dam would be in vain, the official explained.\n\nExtraterritorial farming, virtual water may help\n\n“It is a catastrophe that we think developing agriculture sector would create jobs. On the contrary, creating jobs in tourism, industry and service sectors would be much more logical,” he suggested.\n\nHe further commented on the idea of virtual water [water used to produce the goods and services that we consume and use] and extraterritorial farming [using agricultural lands in other countries to cultivate the crops and import them to Iran] as two feasible solution to water crisis in Iran.\n\n“Providing food security does not necessarily mean producing it domestically but importing and extraterritorial farming are also two practical solutions,” he highlighted.\n\nCrisis can be over in the long run\n\nMoving towards industrialization, limiting the water consumption in agriculture sector and creating alternative jobs would help to overcome water shortage in a span of 10 to 15 years, he said, adding this might cause tension for some time but in order to succeed the government should finally cave.\n\n\nLeave a Comment\n\n3 + 10 =", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9432260990142822}
+{"content": "Great Expectations & Oliver Twist\n\nDuring his lifetime, Charles Dickens is known to have written\nseveral books. Although each book is different, they also share many\nsimilarities. Two of his books, Great Expectations and Oliver Twist,\nare representatives of the many kinds of differences and similarities\nfound within his work.\n\nPerhaps the reason why these two novels share some of the same\nqualities is because they both reflect painful experiences which\noccurred in Dickens\\' past. During his childhood, Charles Dickens\nsuffered much abuse from his parents.1 This abuse is often expressed\nin his novels. Pip, in Great Expectations, talked often about the\nabuse he received at the hands of his sister, Mrs. Joe Gargery. On one\noccasion he remarked, \"I soon found myself getting heavily bumped from\nbehind in the nape of the neck and the small of the back, and having\nmy face ignominously shoved against the wall, because I did not answer\nthose questions at sufficient length.\"2\n\nWhile at the orphanage, Oliver from Oliver Twist also experienced\na great amount of abuse. For example, while suffering from starvation\nand malnutrition for a long period of time, Oliver was chosen by the\nother boys at the orphanage to request more gruel at dinner one night.\n\nAfter making this simple request, \"the master (at the orphanage) aimed\na blow at Oliver\\'s head with the ladle; pinioned him in his arms; and\nshrieked aloud for the beadle.\"3\n\nThe whole beginning of Oliver Twist\\'s story was created from\nmemories which related to Charles Dickens\\' childhood in a blacking\nfactory ( which was overshadowed by the Marshalsea Prison ).4 While\nworking in the blacking factory, Dickens suffered tremendous\nhumiliation. This humiliation is greatly expressed through Oliver\\'s\nadventures at the orphanage before he is sent away.\n\nThroughout his lifetime, Dickens appeared to have acquired a\nfondness for \"the bleak, the sordid, and the austere.\"5 Most of\n\nOliver Twist, for example, takes place in London\\'s lowest slums.6 The\ncity is described as a maze which involves a \"mystery of darkness,\nanonymity, and peril.\"7 Many of the settings, such as the pickpocket\\'s\nhideout, the surrounding streets, and the bars, are also described as\ndark, gloomy, and bland.8 Meanwhile, in Great Expectations, Miss\n\nHavisham\\'s house is often made to sound depressing, old, and lonely.\n\nmany years. Cobwebs were clearly visible as well as an abundance of\ndust, and even the wedding dress which Miss Havisham constantly wore\nhad turned yellow with age.9\n\nHowever, similarities are not just found in the settings. The\nnovels\\' two main characters, Pip and Oliver, are also similar in many\nways. Both young boys were orphaned practically from birth; but where\n\nPip is sent to live with and be abused by his sister, Oliver is sent\nto live in an orphanage. Pip is a very curious young boy. He is a\"child of intense and yearning fancy.\"10 Yet, Oliver is well spoken.\n\nEven while his life was in danger while in the hands of Fagin and Bill\n\nSikes, two conniving pickpockets, he refused to participate in the\nstealing which he so greatly opposed. All Oliver really longed for was\nto escape from harsh living conditions and evil surroundings which he\nhad grown up in.11 However, no matter how tempting the evil may have\nbeen, Oliver stood by his beliefs. Therefore, he can be referred to as\"ideal and incorruptible innocence.\"12 \"It is Oliver\\'s self-generated\nand self-sustained love, conferred it would seem from Heaven alone,\nthat preserves him from disaster and death.\"13\n\nUnfortunately, many critics have found it hard to believe that a\nboy such as Oliver Twist could remain so innocent, pure, and well\nspoken given the long period of time in which he was surrounded by\nevil and injustices.14\n\nPip, on the other hand, is a dreamer. His imagination is always\nhelping him to create situations to cover up for his hard times. For\nexample, when questioned about his first visit to Miss Havisham\\'s\nhouse, he made up along elaborate story to make up for the terrible\ntime he had in reality. Instead of telling how he played cards all day\nwhile being ridiculed and criticized by Estella and Miss Havisham, he\nclaimed that they played with flags and swords all day after having\nwine and cake on gold plates.15 However, one special quality possessed\nby Pip that is rarely seen in a novel\\'s hero is that he wrongs others\ninstead of being hurt himself all of the time.16\n\nAnother similarity between Oliver and Pip is that they both have\nhad interactions with convicts. Fagin the head of a group", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9615317583084106}
+{"content": "Find similar recipes in\n\n\n\n  2. Place peas in a saucepan of boiling water and cook for 2 minutes. Drain and cool slightly.\n  3. Spray non-stick frying pan with oil and heat. Add onion and cook until soft. Add zucchini and garlic and cook until soft. Take off heat and add the peas. Stir in lemon zest, season with pepper and add chilli. Stir in ricotta.\n  5. Spoon 4tbsp of filing into the middle of each cannelloni tubes. Place in dish on sauce in a single later. Repeat with remaining tubes and filling.\n  6. Pour remaining sauce over cannelloni and sprinkle with cheddar cheese. Bake 15min or until cheese has melted and is bubbling.\n\nShare Recipe\n\nProduct Options", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9301271438598633}
+{"content": "Men's Raw Diamond Mala Bracelet\n\n$ 29.00\n\nmen's raw diamond mala bracelet made from raw diamond, gold, and lava rock. you can't see it in this pic but the diamond has a little sparkle to it. diamond is a stone that powerfully amplifies other gems. it supports balance, prosperity, generosity, love, and longevity, and brings these qualities to relationships. used with loving and clear intent, it is said to clear blockages, open the crown chakra, enhance spiritual peace, and amplify any stone it is paired with. it has been used to increase clarity, trust, strength, courage, hope, and confidence. it is primarily associated with the crown chakra, but can be used for a variety of chakras based on its color.\n\n\nlava rock is a stone of strength and stability in times of change. it supports grounding, is very protective, and absorbs harmful energies. it is associated with the root or base chakra, and embodies the fire of kundalini, which is the eternal force that activates the chakras. it strengthens our connection to the earth, provides guidance and understanding, and allows us to root scattered energy. it promotes focus, balance, and centering by embracing practicality.\n\n8mm stones. 21, 24, or 27 mala prayer beads. strung on strong stretch cord with brass accents. this design originally listed 2/14/2016.\n\nSizing Info:\n\n\nall 5th element yoga malas are made with mindful meditation, and a devotional, compassionate energy. purchase includes free silk sari gift bag, and gemstone card detailing your item's properties.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7746684551239014}
+{"content": "Oct 22\n\nIt's Good to be Sketchy in UX\n\nUX design So who’s sketchy out there… I mean…So who sketches out there? Now if you sketch, do you share it with people or do you hide it in your bound sketchbook for nobody to see, unless they’re really freaking beautiful? I was once that way too. It takes a lot of courage to talk about your sketches or even whiteboard through some scenarios in a brainstorming session. A few Saturday’s ago I attended a UX Conference called Sketchcamp in San Diego. Sketchcamp was an opportunity for the User Experience community to spend a whole day exploring the importance of sketching. There are many benefits of sketching before you actually begin the design process–probably the most important it enables communication. How does sketching relate to UX, you might ask? When you are sketching or white boarding in front of someone, this allows you and others to be on same wavelength quicker and to communicate ideas visually, which in turn is more effective. Essentially, when people watch you sketch, the same neurons that are firing in your brain, are firing in theirs too. Really… Showing people my sketches and even sketching in front of people? There are hundreds of decisions a UX designer makes when developing wireframes and if group conversations are started at the sketching phase, we come to solutions faster and it is easier to make suggestions and explore the right direction before wireframes are digitized. When you are sketching in front of people, you are sharing what’s inside your brain as quickly and effectively as possible. You might be the UX Designer or the one giving input but the key here is communication and visually expressing your ideas. Sketching also helps you digest information. Sketching is another way of making sense of all the ideas in your brain. It helps to get those ideas down on a paper and to assemble and the information faster. You need to see what you have in ordered to build something, right? This especially comes in handy for very complex problems with a lot of variables. Other benefits of sketching: - It doesn’t have to be beautiful, you are good enough! - It can be used to maximize efficiency in a lean environment - It encourages communication and the ability to digest information - It is fast! You don’t sketch well? Sketching by nature is imperfect and the more you do it, the better you will be. Sketch on! Editor's Note: For other great UX gatherings in the San Diego area check out the UX Speakeasy Group on Meetup.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6092613339424133}
+{"content": "Healthy Living\n\nVertigo: Associated Disorders\n\nVertigo: Associated Disorders\n\nKey Takeaways\n\n  • Vertigo associated disorders can be divided into two categories: central and peripheral vertigo.\n  • No tests and medical examinations help diagnose vertigo. They can just help rule out other medical conditions. \n  • An infection in the inner ear, a perilymphatic fistula, otosclerosis, and cholesteatoma erosions are the most common causes of peripheral vertigo.\n\nAnyone who has suffered from vertigo probably explained the feeling as dizziness, or something similar to motion sickness. An episode of vertigo either feels like you are actually moving when you are actually not or that the world around you is spinning but it’s really not. The feeling of motion is what sets it apart from feeling light headed\n\nVertigo is recognized as a feeling of dizziness and is accompanied by these other symptoms:\n\n  • Spinning\n  • Swaying\n  • Imbalance\n\nWhen it happens, vertigo could be the cause of other symptoms. At the same time, vertigo could also be a symptom of another more serious condition and not the only symptom. Because of this, conditions that lead to vertigo, or conditions that arise due to vertigo, are referred to as vertigo associated disorders.\n\nDepending on whether symptoms of vertigo are the cause of further symptoms or part of the symptoms of another medical condition, vertigo associated disorders can be divided into two categories: central and peripheral vertigo.\n\nPeripheral vertigo\n\nThis kind of vertigo occurs due to a problem in the inner ear or the vestibular nerves that connect the ear to the brain. This kind of vertigo accounts for about 93% of all vertigo associated disorders, and it could arise due to various problems:\n\nBenign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV)\n\nThis is a common cause of vertigo brought about by an interruption of the semi-circular canals’ function by stray calcium crystals. These crystals exist in the inner ear, but at a different region. Due to a weakened membrane, though, the crystals may make their way into the endolymph surrounding the semi-circular canals. Normally, this wouldn’t affect their functioning, but certain head movements rouse them from their position, causing them to interrupt electric signals being sent to the brain. This interruption confuses the brain and leads to dizziness.\n\nMeniere’s disease\n\nThis is a condition where the endolymph is either overproduced or is not drained fast enough, causing a build-up. This build-up of endolymph increases pressure on the organs in the inner ear leading to symptoms of vertigo as well as tinnitus and even hearing loss.\n\nLabyrinthitis and Acute peripheral vestibulopathy (APV)\n\nThese are brought about by infection in the inner ear which leads to inflammation of the organs in there. The inflammation leads to increased pressure, leading to episodes of vertigo.\n\nOther causes of peripheral vertigo include:\n\n  • Perilymphatic fistula – an abnormal communication between the inner ear and the middle ear\n  • Cholesteatoma erosion – a cyst in the ear can cause an erosion of the inner ear organs\n  • Otosclerosis – a bone may grow abnormally in the inner ear\n\nCentral vertigo\n\nSometimes vertigo can arise even when there isn’t a problem with the inner ear, but rather as a result of another condition affecting the central nervous system. Some of these conditions include:\n\nDiagnosis of vertigo associated disorders (VAD)\n\nIn order to find the ideal medication for the symptoms of vertigo, a detailed diagnosis is important in order to establish the cause. Once the cause is determined, various treatment and management options are available for reducing the vertigo symptoms.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8405883312225342}
+{"content": "Age of Conception May Affect Child's Social Development, Study Says\n\nOlder Dads will Have Geekier Sons, Study Suggests\n\nHaving a child is a life-changing event for anyone, and many couples discuss if they want children and when they want to have them. Many couples choose to wait until much later in their lives to have any children, and this can potentially effect certain aspects of their child's life. Today we will answer the question about one of those aspects, namely whether or not older dads have \"geekier\" sons and how this relates to the autism spectrum.\n\nWhat Is a \"Geek\"?\n\nWhen someone says the word “geek”, a number of different things may come to your mind. Instead of running through the thousands of possible interpretations this word provokes, we will refer to the characteristics of \"geeks\" that are described by the researchers at King's College of London.\n\nResearchers at the King's College of London developed a \"geek index score\" that looked at a number of different factors. They measured nonverbal IQ, level of focus on subjects of interest, and amount of social aloofness. Researchers also asked parents if their children cared about how they were perceived by their peers and if the majority of their child's time was taken up by a specific interest.\n\nThe Study\n\nResearchers used the mentioned \"geek index\" to look at 15,000 United Kingdom twin pairs in a Twin Early Development Study. Researchers waited until the twins were 12 years old and then had them take online tests used to measure the geek index.\n\nIn an attempt to eliminate extraneous factors in the data, researchers controlled for the parent's social/economic status and employment.\n\nThe Results\n\nThe study showed that sons of older fathers (older than age 35) tended to have higher scores on the geek index. Sons of older fathers tended to be highly intelligent and more concerned about their interests than assimilating to social norms. The researchers also found that sons of older fathers tended to do better on school exams, particularly those relating to the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields.\n\nWhile the negative effects of having older fathers has been thoroughly researched, this is one of the first studies that looks at the positive effect an older father can potentially have on their child. Overall, the study provides some evidence that sons of older fathers will be successful in school, and possibly even successful in their careers and future endeavors as well.\n\nResearchers did note that older fathers tended to have more established careers, which in turn often led to more stable and available finances. Sons of older fathers therefore tend to get better schooling and tutoring, which could contribute to their academic and employment successes.\n\nGeek Index and the Autism Spectrum\n\nSome research has shown that older men having children have a slightly increased chance of their children being on the autism spectrum. Researchers also have pointed out that certain characteristics of geeks overlap with certain characteristics of those on the autism spectrum (specifically those affected by Asperger's Syndrome).\n\nStudies in the past have characterized having children on the autism spectrum as a negative consequence of having children when you are older. However, this study and many others continue to prove that children who have autism can still be very successful in school and in life. This study dismantles the perception that having a child with autism automatically means that child will have an unsuccessful life and career. That is not to say that geeks or those on the autism spectrum do not face challenges. They may struggle socially, which can lead to stress on themselves and their parents, and their sharp focus on interests may lead them to ignore other important aspects of life.\n\nIs Your Child Geeky?\n\nEvery parent wants what is best for their children, and every parent will face the struggle of how to properly raise them. The truth is that each child is unique in their own way and requires different types of reinforcement. Geeky children have some major advantages when it comes to academia and other aspects of life, but may have to face certain challenges that other kids do not. Below are a few of these challenges and how you can help your child deal with these aspects of their life.\n\nSocial Isolation - Many geeky children will focus more on their interests than on fitting in at school. There is nothing wrong with this at its core, but it also can lead to them to feel like social outcasts. This can cause them to feel lonely and could lead to mental health problems as they grow older.\n\nWhile you want to encourage your child to be more social, you don't want to try and change who they are. If they aren't good at sports, having them join a sports team might just make them feel even more like an outcast. The best thing to do is take note of what your child is interested in and find a way to turn that into social opportunities. For example, if your child is very focused on playing chess or other strategy-related activities, you could take your child to local chess classes or a chess club. This helps them develop their interests and also introduces them to other children who also share this interest. This helps them socialize more while still following their passion.\n\nConfidence issues - In a child's mind, the more popular kids are often put on a pedestal and are looked up to. A geeky child may look at more popular children and think that their own lack of friends means they are lesser than the other children. This can lead to confidence issues which can create a whole litany of problems later in life. Make sure to take the time to remind your child of their worth. Never compare them to more popular siblings or kids. Tell them that popularity isn’t everything, and give them praise for their accomplishments in whatever they pursue.\n\nBleak Prospects - This is similar to number two, but geeky children may feel that they are destined to be a social outcast forever. Seeing all the other kids getting along and excluding them may make them feel that they have a bleak future. Take time to reassure them that middle and high school are a very short time in one's life, and that things will get better for them as they get older. Make sure to reinforce the importance on getting good grades and pursuing their interests, and explain to them that they eventually will find those who can appreciate them for who they are.\n\nFinal Thoughts\n\nIf you are an older man who is looking to have a son, studies show that you may find yourself having a geeky son. While some may see this as a bad thing, geeky children often find great success later in life. Building your child's confidence and facilitating their interests is a great way to help them find a balance between interest and social opportunities. Be sure to research the risks of having children later in life when considering when to have them.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9835209250450134}
+{"content": "Creative Ways to Display Your Treasures\n\nby Louis Shotten May 07, 2015\n\nPart of what makes an ordinary house feel like home is the personal and important items that you use to decorate your space. Some people have an affinity for displaying collectibles; others love a particular, animal, or have an attachment to items from a particular era like vintage photos of their relatives. No matter what items you choose to make your home unique how you display them can make all the difference when trying to keep your home looking purposefully decorated and clutter free. Here are some creative ways to display your personal treasures:\n\n1.) The Modifiable Frame\n\nThere are tons of DIY projects that show you how to take an ordinary frame and transform it into something unique. Gone are the days when frames were just for those posters you didn't want to get rid of from college. Now you can use them to display jewelry, books, and other kinds of collectible items. You can often find used and older frames to refurbish at estate sales and thrift stores so this makes it a very affordable and special way to display your favorite knick knacks.\n\n2.) Create a Collage\n\nTicket Collage\n\nA great way to incorporate a lot of what you love into a little space is by creating a collage. If you're a theater goer consider making a collage out of your play bill covers, or ticket stubs. If you have a ton of vintage photos you want to display, you don't need to spread them throughout your entire house you can put them all in a collage and hang them in one special area of your home. People even create 3D collages from special events like weddings, and fill it with cards, textiles, small mirrors, and handwritten notes.\n\n3.) Put Them in a Jar\n\nIf you collect small items and you're having trouble figuring out how to display all of them in a way that's space efficient, consider putting them in decorative jars or vases. This works really well with things like oddball items like buttons, marbles, clock faces, and even found items like sand, shells, and coins.\n\n4.) Create Functional Decor\n\nWine Cork Board\n\nCreating displays that both show off our hobbies or interest AND are functional is perhaps one of the most rewarding and unique ways to showcase those special items that you hold most dear. Wine lovers can create a cork board from all their favorite vintages that's both quirky and practical. Some artists use their own art supplies to create colorful, abstract and functional wall art. Think outside the box and see what you can come up with so that your displays are both useful and beautiful to look at.\n\nLouis Shotten\nLouis Shotten", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7573976516723633}
+{"content": "The Diligence of Entrepreneurs like Doe Deere\n\nBeing an entrepreneur requires a lot of work. Therefore, people have to take the time to remember all of the advantages they get from being an entrepreneur. It is a lot better when they get into markets that they are very fascinated with. It can be any type of market. Once they choose their market, they have to figure out all of the steps to success which include building their brand and reaching their audience. Fortunately, the more savvy entrepreneur is aware of all of the methods he can use depending on the market. One of the most recommended methods is social media. Engagement is every bit as important as marketing on platforms like Facebook and Twitter @doedeere.\n\n\nDoe Deere has figured out the type of industry she wants to work in. Also, given her experience as a successful marketer, she knows how to reach her audience. In her industry of make up, she knows where to look for her audience. She also knows the importance of bringing something unique to the market. She has decided to explore different colors in order to inspire a sense of creativity and art in her audience. She has displayed examples of her make up work to her fans and followers.\n\n\nDoe Deere has started her business with a message. Her message is that beauty is not something that could be boxed. Real beauty is about exploration and creativity. People are typically unaware of their full potential until they are able to explore themselves and what they are good with. Doe Deere recommends that people take the time to know themselves and learn what works for them. Lime Crime products make it easier for them to figure out their best looks.\n\n\nThe most successful entrepreneurs like Doe Deere are very diligent. They study their market in order to find the best ways to make reach their goals for success. Then they put in a ton of work towards their main objective. At the same time, they are patient because they know that it takes a while for success to come with even their best efforts.\n\n\nVisit for more details.\n\n\nLitigation Practice In The United States: How To Be Like Karl Heideck\n\nHow To Be Like Karl Heideck\nHow To Be Like Karl Heideck\n\nThere are a few prestigious professions but one of the best is law. Many young people study hard in school so that they get into the legal profession. It is not only one of the most challenging careers in the world but also one of the best-paying. In the United States, studying law and practicing it is something most people admire.\n\nWhen you choose to study and practice law in the US, you must be ready to give it your all. One of the things which you should be aware of is that before you apply to law school, you should enroll for a first degree. Usually, students who get admitted to law school have some of the best grades in the country. Once you get admission, you must pass your bar exams before you can practice law in your state or beyond.\n\nOne of the attorneys who you should look up to is Karl Heideck. Karl is an American lawyer whose law practice is in The Greater Philadelphia Area. He studied for his first degree in English and Literature at the Swarthmore University. He also got admission and graduated from the Temple University Law School.\n\nAs an attorney, Karl Heideck has achieved a lot. He handles a number of challenging cases including contracts, business law, risk management and compliance. He has also represented clients in family law and bankruptcy cases. He has been one of the most celebrated attorneys who have developed the area of litigation in the Greater Philadelphia Area.\n\nWhen Karl Heideck is not practicing law and helping clients channel the way forward in relation to their court cases, he is motivating young people who would like to be as successful as he is. He also helps various charities across the state and beyond.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9221994876861572}
+{"content": "Wednesday, 13 March 2013\n\n\nPerfect information refers to the situation in which an agent has all the relevant information with which to make a decision. It has implications for several fields. In game theory, perfect information describes the situation when a player has available the same information to determine all of the possible games as would be available at the end of the game. In game theory, a game is described as a game of perfect information if perfect information is available for all moves. Chess is an example of a game with perfect information as each player can see all of the pieces on the board at all times. Other examples of perfect games include tic tac toe, irensei, and go. Games with perfect information represent a small subset of games. Card games where each player's cards are hidden from other players are examples of games of imperfect information.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9865167140960693}
+{"content": "Random post\n\nWhat If It Were Today?\n\n\nPicture About What If It Were Today?\n\nWhat surprising joy it would be to welcome our Savior on this ordinary day! ~David McCasland\n(Matthew 24:42)\n\n*Photo by Alvimann at morguefile.com ==> (Click image for full size)\n\nOur sharing this time about What If It Were Today?\n\n\nYou are browsing the inspiration of What If It Were Today? If you found this article helpful, please share it to family, friends, acquaintances or anyone else, hopefully you become a givers inspiration for the success of those around you.GOD BLESS YOU", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.806739866733551}
+{"content": "EconoFiction, Mashines, NonPolitics\n\nCyber-Proletariat: Interview with Nick Dyer-Witheford\n\n12 Sep , 2015  \n\nGavin Mueller: Your 1999 book Cyber-Marx is an excellent summary of autonomist Marxism and post-operaismo as well as an argument for its relevance for struggles against a capitalism increasingly suffused with information and communication technology. With Cyber-Proletariat, you are less sanguine about post-operaismo’s embrace of cybernetic technologies. Can you ...\n\n, ,", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6520324349403381}
+{"content": "About Us\n\nJohn_BullockOur History\n\nPennsylvania Military College history dates back to 1821  when John Bullock, who established the Bullock School for Boys to prepare young men for “entry to college.” In 1853, the school became Hyatt’s Select School for Boys under the direction of Theodore Hyatt, who purchased the school, which had been renamed the Alsop School for Boys when Samuel Alsop became headmaster.\n\nAccording to tradition, Hyatt found his pupils performing drills with broomsticks in the gym in the fall of 1858. He then introduced military training to “develop the muscles, expand the chest, and impart an erect gentlemanly carriage ….”\n\nPennsylvania Military College historyIn 1862, the academy moved to West Chester, Pennsylvania and the school’s name changed to the Pennsylvania Military Academy (PMA). PMA enrolled preparatory as well as college students until 1892, when it developed a more collegiate program. The school was moved again to Chester in 1868 and with the help of a group of local citizens, buildings for the Pennsylvania Military College were built.\n\nTheodore_Hyatt_President_1853-1887From 1892 to 1930, the school was under the direction of General Charles Hyatt, the son of Theodore Hyatt, and his son, Colonel Frank Hyatt. During this time, PMC was an all-male cadet college, modeled after the legendary U.S. Army Military Academy at West Point. The PMC cadets came to think of themselves as being from the “West Point of Pennsylvania.”\n\nPMA_Cadet_in_the_1880sPMC offered military instruction that was exceptional. Since 1869, the school was the first to have a U.S. Army detail stationed at the school and it was also the first school to receive federal arms for training. In 1904, PMC was recognized on the first list of  “distinguished institutions” published by the War Department.\n\nSince 1860, PMC cadets became well known and acknowledged for their leadership, scholarship, and military service to their country in time of peace and war. PMC’s last casualty of the Vietnam War was the school itself. As the war dragged on and became less and less popular, so did all things military in America. In 1972, America’s second- oldest military college disbanded its Corps of Cadets.\n\nPlease visit the Digital Collection of the Wolfgram Library for additional information about PMC at http://digitalwolfgram.widener.edu/\n\nGraduation 68", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6193397641181946}
+{"content": "\nThis article contains spoilers! This means that it has information that may give away the contents of the story. Please consider before continuing to read the article.\nDoodle is a fictional character in Rainbow Magic. He appears throughout the Weather Fairies series.\n\n\nGender ♂ Male\nSeries Weather Fairies\nMagical Item(s) / Animal(s) Weather feathers\n\nDoodle is described as an ordinary-looking iron weather vane. When each of the weather feathers are slotted into his tail, he becomes a normal cockerel for a few seconds. After the magic drains away, he turns into a rusted weather vane. \n\n\nDoodle was found by Mr Tate in Wetherbury Park and fixed on the barn. After Rachel and Kirsty are whisked to Fairyland, they find out that Doodle is an inhabitant to Fairyland, who became lost after Jack Frost sent his goblins to steal the weather feathers. \n\nEvery time the girls and the fairies return one feather, Doodle squawks part of a warning which leads to serious consequences. \n\n\nMost likely when Doodle was born, he was born with the weather feathers, as it's shown that without them, in the Mortal World, he would become a mere weather vane cockerel. \n\nIf this were true, Doodle would have to be thousand of years old as Fairyland must have had weather and Queen Titania and King Oberon have been ruling for one thousand years, so the most likely scenario is that when Fairyland was founded, Doodle was asked to become the weather vane cockerel for Fairyland and the Weather Fairies used his feathers to control the weather. \n\nAd blocker interference detected!\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.969551682472229}
+{"content": "Chaos Lock is a Chaos technique that gives the user an advantage over other Chaos-users.\n\n\nThe user sticks his/her hand out, forming 2 chains arranged in an X-shape connected by a lock with a Chaos Emerald-shaped keyhole, all made of Chaos energy. Then the user flings the formation at the target, and when it hits, the chains wrap around the target while still retaining their X shape before dissipating, leaving a glowing green marking of the lock on his/her chest. While the target is in this state, he/she cannot use any chaos abilities unless he/she has a Chaos Emerald (fake ones will not work). Any physical alterations caused by Chaos energy (Dr. Finitevus, for example) will also be temporarily removed, but super forms created by Chaos energy will be unaffected (since they use Chaos Emeralds), as well as beings made of Chaos energy. The effect lasts for about 15 minutes.\n\n\nAs mentioned above, this move can severely weaken those who use Chaos powers. Since god-modders prefer using Chaos moves, it can weaken them as well.\n\n\nAdd anyone who can use this move.\n\n\nSince the move has a lot of restrictions, but can make a fight significantly easier when it hits, this is a B-rank move.\n\nAd blocker interference detected!\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8727715611457825}
+{"content": "The ENDEAVOR Trial: A Case Study in the Interpretation of Modern Cancer Trials\n\nGet Permission\n\nIt can be easy to miss the forest for the trees in the interpretation of clinical trials. In particular, trials for the treatment of cancer are exceedingly complex, with long lists of inclusion and exclusion criteria, designs with hidden biases, drugs with unpronounceable names (if not cumbersome alphanumeric codes such as XYZ 14653), various secondary endpoints, and numerous surrogate metrics to assess efficacy.\n\nThe ENDEAVOR trial is a great example of a trial that is bold (head-to-head comparison of two leading competitors), answers an important question (is carfilzomib [Kyprolis] more potent than bortezomib [Velcade]?), and has high-quality data rigorous enough to secure approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for a new drug indication. Yet, there is so much more going on beneath the surface that totally changes how one should interpret the results in clinical practice. In fact, interpreting this trial to mean that carfilzomib should be preferred ahead of bortezomib may cause harm.\n\nStudy Overview\n\nThe ENDEAVOR trial randomized 929 patients with relapsed myeloma to bortezomib plus dexamethasone vs carfilzomib plus dexamethasone.1 Bortezomib and carfilzomib are structurally different but share a similar mechanism of action as inhibitors of the intracellular proteasome pathway. The trial found that the response rate was superior with the use of carfilzomib plus dexamethasone compared to bortezomib plus dexamethasone—77% vs 63%, respectively. The median progression-free survival doubled with carfilzomib plus dexamethasone compared to bortezomib plus dexamethasone—18.7 months vs 9.4 months, respectively.\n\nA reading of the abstract, or even the full paper, might lead the busy oncologist to conclude that when faced with a choice between carfilzomib and bortezomib, choosing the former is a no-brainer. There will be relentless continuing medical education meetings, webinars, and articles about the superiority of carfilzomib based on the “striking” results of the trial. I will point out why such conclusions are potentially flawed and, even if correct, may not be the wise strategy to follow.\n\nIntrinsic Bias\n\nFirst, the eligibility criteria of the trial were biased. Enrolled patients were allowed to have been previously exposed (or even refractory) to either drug, giving an illusion that the comparisons were fair. But in reality, when the study was conducted, it was nearly impossible for patients to have been previously treated with carfilzomib since the drug was not commercially available in most countries.\n\nThe concerns I raise in this piece are not unique to the ENDEAVOR trial. They are pertinent to many recent cancer trials involving new drugs. The accurate interpretation of such trials is not easy, given their inherent complexity, but we must endeavor to do so.\n— S. Vincent Rajkumar, MD\n\nThus, the trial essentially evaluated a large group of patients who had previously received bortezomib, comparing those being reexposed to the same drug vs those given a new drug not previously administered. The question answered for these patients is not whether carfilzomib is superior to bortezomib, but rather, whether in relapsed patients it is better to try a drug they had previously received or to try something new.\n\nTo be fair, subset analysis showed that the results were similar in patients who were naive to bortezomib, but these findings carry the limitations of subset analysis. More importantly, the study illustrates the fact that cancer trials today can have hardwired biases that a priori favor one arm over the other in a manner that is not readily apparent unless one pores over the actual clinical trial protocol.2\n\nDosing Issues\n\nSecond, the dosing schedules used in the trial were adjusted to provide the best possible advantage to carfilzomib, using the drug at twice its earlier approved dose (for indications in combination with lenalidomide [Revlimid] and as monotherapy), presumably in order to squeeze out every last ounce of efficacy possible. At the same time, under an erroneous interpretation that a “previously approved schedule” was a regulatory requirement in the control arm, bortezomib was administered in a fashion that is seldom used in regular clinical practice: twice weekly (in all patients) and intravenously (in 22.5% of patients).\n\nWhen the trial was designed, it was well known that the twice-weekly intravenous schedule of bortezomib causes unacceptably high rates of severe neuropathy,3,4 which could lead to dose reductions and premature withdrawal from the trial. Studies have shown that once-weekly or subcutaneous administration reduces severe neuropathy rates by two- to threefold and allows the drug to be administered for longer periods of time.3,4\n\nGiven the added toxicity of dexamethasone, the suboptimal dosing schedule chosen for bortezomib is another example of how a trial can be subtly biased to favor one arm, under the pretext of ostensibly reasonable considerations.\n\nQuestionable Surrogate Endpoint\n\nThird, even if the above concerns did not affect the actual outcome of the trial, one has to be aware that progression-free survival in trials like this may not be a true surrogate for clinical benefit (ie, improved overall survival or quality of life). The unanswered question of interest is whether patients receiving bortezomib can receive carfilzomib at progression and obtain the same overall benefit as patients who start out with carfilzomib?\n\nThis trial proved the value of carfilzomib as an antimyeloma agent but does not prove that giving carfilzomib ahead of bortezomib will prolong life or result in better quality of life. In this trial, overall survival was identical in the two arms, and given the more cumbersome nature of the carfilzomib schedule (twice-weekly intravenous infusion) and the increased risk of cardiac and vascular side effects, it is debatable as to whether quality of life was improved.\n\nHad the trial compared bortezomib followed by carfilzomib vs carfilzomib followed by bortezomib, one could determine which strategy was better. The design utilized answers a surrogate endpoint question but not a clinical benefit question.\n\nFurther Considerations\n\nFinally, one has to talk about convenience, safety, and cost. If all things were equal, I would have no hesitation in recommending carfilzomib ahead of bortezomib, even though the trial was not designed to address clinical benefit. But they are not equal.\n\nBased on how these drugs are administered in practice, bortezomib is far more convenient for patients. Carfilzomib also has safety concerns that have not been fully resolved—particularly with regard to cardiac and vascular events.\n\nImportantly, there is the cost issue. At the dosing used in the ENDEAVOR trial, carfilzomib will cost nearly four times more than bortezomib administered according to the standard schedule used in the clinic (approximately $28,000 per month vs $7,700 per month). This is an important consideration to keep in mind, not only to help patients, but also in recognizing that the system we have in the United States rewards oncologists with a higher total reimbursement if carfilzomib is prescribed rather than bortezomib.\n\nThis disparity in profit (and temptation to use carfilzomib) will only grow when generic bortezomib becomes available in 2017. And yet, continuing medical education highlighting this trial will provide ample cover to using carfilzomib ahead of bortezomib.\n\nPossible solutions to these problems would be for the manufacturer of carfilzomib to lower the price of carfilzomib (at 56 mg/m2) to match the price of other proteasome inhibitors; for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to reimburse physicians with a standard reference pricing rather than 6% above average sales price; for us to identify patients who are best served by the early use of carfilzomib; and for researchers to conduct well-designed randomized trials that answer the sequence question in myeloma.\n\nClosing Thoughts\n\nIn my practice, I use bortezomib ahead of carfilzomib for most patients and reserve carfilzomib for patients with high-risk disease at presentation or those who experience disease progression on bortezomib. Carfilzomib is one of the most active agents in myeloma, and as one of the principal investigators in an earlier randomized trial of this drug, I am fully aware of its importance to myeloma therapy.5 In fact, I applaud Amgen and the investigators of this trial for conducting a risky head-to-head comparison trial.\n\n\nDisclosure: Dr. Rajkumar reported no potential conflicts of interest.\n\n\n1. Dimopoulos MA, Moreau P, Palumbo A, et al: Carfilzomib and dexamethasone versus bortezomib and dexamethasone for patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (ENDEAVOR): A randomised, phase 3, open-label, multicentre study. Lancet Oncol 17:27-38, 2016.\n\n2. Prasad V, Berger VW: Hard-wired bias: How even double-blind, randomized controlled trials can be skewed from the start. Mayo Clinic Proc 90:1171-1175, 2015.\n\n3. Palumbo A, Bringhen S, Rossi D, et al: Bortezomib, melphalan, prednisone and thalidomide (VMPT) followed by maintenance with bortezomib and thalidomide for initial treatment of elderly multiple myeloma patients. Blood 114:Abstract 128, 2009.\n\n4. Mateos MV, Oriol A, Martinez-Lopez J, et al: Bortezomib/melphalan/prednisone (VMP) versus bortezomib/thalidomide/prednisone (VTP) as induction therapy followed by maintenance treatment with bortezomib/thalidomide (VT) versus Bortezomib/Prednisone (VP): A randomised trial in elderly untreated patients with multiple myeloma older than 65 years. Lancet Oncol 11:934-941, 2010.\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8374194502830505}
+{"content": "Union Blasts Jindal’s Choice Proposal for Louisiana Students\n\nA teachers union official has spoken out against the expansion of the Louisiana’s new voucher program, a key element to Gov. Bobby Jindal’s sweeping proposal to overhaul the state’s education system.\n\nGovernor Bobby Jindal has fired back against criticisms of his plan to overhaul the state education system, saying that he was offended by a comment a union official made about school vouchers, writes Jeff Adelson at the Times-Picayune.\n\nJindal hit out at comments made by Louisiana Association of Educators Executive Director Michael Walker-Jones, who suggested that parents would not be given adequate resources to make informed decisions about their children’s schools.\n\n\nReferring to Jindal’s plan, which would provide vouchers to students in low-performing, low-income schools, Walker-Jones doubted whether parents had the information, time and training to bear the burden of educational decisions\n\nWalker-Jones said:\n\n\nParents in the state are concerned about the large class sizes and lack of special education instruction in their public schools. Jindal believes the voucher program will answer the parents’ calls for more options for their children’s education.\n\nLinda Covington, a parent of three, said:\n\n“Nobody knows my child better than me.\n\n“I can’t imagine not having a choice.”\n\nThe voucher program is currently limited to “Opportunity Scholarships” in New Orleans. The program is a key element of Jindal’s broad proposal to overhaul Louisiana’s education system and would make any low-income family whose child was in a school rated C, D or F eligible for public money to send the student to a private school, writes Adelson.\n\nTeacher tenure and the use of seniority in making personnel decisions are also at risk of being cut under the proposals.\n\nHowever, Steve Monaghan, president of the Louisiana Federation of Teachers, has attacked these aspects of the proposal and has accused Jindal of using “inflammatory rhetoric” to demonize teachers.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8192918300628662}
+{"content": "Pharmaceutical research\n\nBiocompatible glycol chitosan-coated gold nanoparticles for tumor-targeting CT imaging.\n\nPMID 23934255\n\n\nThe application of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) in biomedical field was limited due to the low stability in the biological condition. Herein, to enhance stability and tumor targeting ability of AuNPs, their surface was modified with biocompatible glycol chitosan (GC) and the in vivo biodistribution of GC coated AuNPs (GC-AuNPs) were studied through computed tomography (CT). Polymer-coated gold nanoparticles were produced using GC as a reducing agent and a stabilizer. Their feasibility in biomedical application was explored through CT in tumor-bearing mice. Stability of gold nanoparticles increased in the physiological condition due to the GC coating layer on the surface. Tomographic images of tumor were successfully obtained in the tumor-xenografted animal model when the GC-AuNPs were used as a CT contrast agent. The tumor targeting property of the gold nanoparticles was due to the properties of GC because GC-AuNPs were accumulated in the tumor, while most of heparin-coated nanoparticles were found in the liver and spleen. The polymer properties on the surface played an important role in the behavior of gold nanoparticles in the biological condition and the enhanced stability and tumor targeting property of nanoparticles were inherited from GC on the surface.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9947248697280884}
+{"content": "TGF-β induces global changes in DNA methylation during the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in ovarian cancer cells.\n\nPMID 25470663\n\n\nA key step in the process of metastasis is the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT). We hypothesized that epigenetic mechanisms play a key role in EMT and to test this hypothesis we analyzed global and gene-specific changes in DNA methylation during TGF-β-induced EMT in ovarian cancer cells. Epigenetic profiling using the Infinium HumanMethylation450 BeadChip (HM450) revealed extensive (P < 0.01) methylation changes after TGF-β stimulation (468 and 390 CpG sites altered at 48 and 120 h post cytokine treatment, respectively). The majority of gene-specific TGF-β-induced methylation changes occurred in CpG islands located in or near promoters (193 and 494 genes hypermethylated at 48 and 120 h after TGF-β stimulation, respectively). Furthermore, methylation changes were sustained for the duration of TGF-β treatment and reversible after the cytokine removal. Pathway analysis of the hypermethylated loci identified functional networks strongly associated with EMT and cancer progression, including cellular movement, cell cycle, organ morphology, cellular development, and cell death and survival. Altered methylation and corresponding expression of specific genes during TGF-β-induced EMT included CDH1 (E-cadherin) and COL1A1 (collagen 1A1). Furthermore, TGF-β induced both expression and activity of DNA methyltransferases (DNMT) -1, -3A, and -3B, and treatment with the DNMT inhibitor SGI-110 prevented TGF-β-induced EMT. These results demonstrate that dynamic changes in the DNA methylome are implicated in TGF-β-induced EMT and metastasis. We suggest that targeting DNMTs may inhibit this process by reversing the EMT genes silenced by DNA methylation in cancer.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9945217370986938}
+{"content": "Archives of virology\n\nA lack of Fas/FasL signalling leads to disturbances in the antiviral response during ectromelia virus infection.\n\nPMID 26780774\n\n\nEctromelia virus (ECTV) is an orthopoxvirus (OPV) that causes mousepox, the murine equivalent of human smallpox. Fas receptor-Fas ligand (FasL) signaling is involved in apoptosis of immune cells and virus-specific cytotoxicity. The Fas/FasL pathway also plays an important role in controlling the local inflammatory response during ECTV infection. Here, the immune response to the ECTV Moscow strain was examined in Fas (-) (lpr), FasL (-) (gld) and C57BL6 wild-type mice. During ECTV-MOS infection, Fas- and FasL mice showed increased viral titers, decreased total numbers of NK cells, CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells followed by decreased percentages of IFN-γ expressing NK cells, CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells in spleens and lymph nodes. At day 7 of ECTV-MOS infection, Fas- and FasL-deficient mice had the highest regulatory T cell (Treg) counts in spleen and lymph nodes in contrast to wild-type mice. Furthermore, at days 7 and 10 of the infection, we observed significantly higher numbers of PD-L1-expressing dendritic cells in Fas (-) and FasL (-) mice in comparison to wild-type mice. Experiments in co-cultures of CD4(+) T cells and bone-marrow-derived dendritic cells showed that the lack of bilateral Fas-FasL signalling led to expansion of Tregs. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that during ECTV infection, Fas/FasL can regulate development of tolerogenic DCs and Tregs, leading to an ineffective immune response.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9409787654876709}
+{"content": "Amy E. Sparks\n\nFreelance Writer\n\nProfessional picture\n\nBridging the Communication Gap Between Technical and Non-Technical Audiences\n\nI improve processes by bridging the communication gap between technical and non-technical audiences. I translate unfamiliar terms and documents into language that different audiences can understand.  Whether writing a one-page list of instructions or leading a methodology reengineering program, I work with all parties to ensure everyone succeeds. I use my business education, technical experience, and certifications in project management and ITIL to effectively communicate with everyone involved.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5778117775917053}
+{"content": "Animal Welfare Dilemma - Tricia Breen\n\nA relative recently lost his senior dog, and talked of getting another. He was hopeful to get a dog from rescue or a shelter, but had concerns about the baggage such a dog might come with, so was leaning away from that option. I did not try to change his viewpoint, in fact supported a decision to go to a breeder with known parents. He is a typical dog owner, not well versed in dog behavior, not a polished dog trainer. He is someone who loves dogs, and wants to enjoy really great time with a dog, develop a companionship that brings out the best that relationship with dogs can bring, escaping some of the stress of regular life.\n\n\nI have to confess, with the derailed movement believing that they can all be saved, I felt it probably would be better for him to try other avenues. I do not live near him, so would not be able to help with selection, ruling out some choices. I live with three dogs, all from a shelter. One of them is the easiest dog I have ever had. There are so many fantastic, wonderful dogs in shelters and rescues. I see people all the time that feel that they hit the jackpot, loving smiles on their faces, with their adopted dog by their side\n\n\nI also work with people who acquired dogs from breeders, dogs that have medical and/or behavioral issues. No avenue is devoid of problems, no guarantees exist. In fact, there are multiple problems with many breeds and the selection criteria, or even what is thought to be desirable in the structure of a dog. And yet, I would not hesitate to go to a good breeder if I had a desire for something specific, stacking the cards in my favor. Good dogs come from many sources.\n\n\nI am about to re-enter the shelter world, hoping to do what I can to help some animals and people find wonderful lives together, hoping to make a shelter stay as reasonable as possible for the animals. And I hope the rewards continue to outweigh the ongoing heartbreaks.\n\n\nHowever, I am so worried about the push from people that don’t have personal experience working in shelters, that don’t have personal experience working with dogs that have some serious behavioral challenges, that don’t have personal experience working with the average dog guardian. There are those that have joined a cause that, on first glance, can’t have any downside, and would appeal to anyone with a caring heart. I have seen good people chased away from the difficult and emotional life that is animal welfare by people using tactics that use no empathy or sympathy, nor a realistic view of the whole picture.\n\n\n“We don’t need to euthanize the homeless animals. We can find them homes. “ How could you argue with this advocacy, this care for the dogs? What will happen, and is happening, is that dogs that don’t fit the standard for being a wonderful family companion, are being put into homes that are not equipped to handle them. What will happen, and is happening, is that municipalities will enlist more and more restrictions, landlords will become more and more restrictive, insurance companies will refuse or cancel homeowner policies, neighbors will become more and more intolerant. What will happen, and is happening, is that the people who have acquired these dogs will spend a good deal of time in tears, will have to rearrange their lives to accommodate these projects.\n\n\nAnd in the long run, the movement intended to save more lives will backfire, as is likely already happening. As dogs become less welcome, as more incidents occur, more headlines create a society that is ever more afraid of dogs and the liability they bring, homes for the homeless will become more rare. The intent of the movement will have the exact opposite outcome.\n\n\nI really believe that wonderful dogs can be acquired from any resource. But the more we try to place questionable dogs via shelters and rescues, the more we see people retreat from this option. We should aim for rescues and shelters to be a ‘go to’ choice for many families wanting to add a dog to their home.\n\n\nI understand those that feel saving one life is valuable and important, that the influence you can exert in your own small circle counts for a lot. I also keep thinking about John Stuart Mill, ‘the greatest good for the greatest number’. When I hear people say that they will never go to a shelter for a dog again, it breaks my heart to think of the lonely and affectionate dogs living in kennels, in a chaotic and scary environment. If people don’t go back to the rescue or shelter, they can’t get to know those great dogs that need to find comfort and safety in a home.\n\n\nThere is a strong tendency among those that are the greatest activists in the ‘no kill’ movement to disregard what adopters might be going through. People must count. And the great dogs that are going to be passed up because of negative experiences with dogs that might have been better served being humanely euthanized, will suffer while they stay in a shelter for a longer period of time, missing out on a home because of the trepidation that people feel about getting a ‘rescue’ dog.\n\n\nI have heard this expressed by people again and again. “If I get a puppy, I can mold him or her, because he will be a blank slate.” (Of course, we know that they are not blank slates.) “My brother got a rescue dog, and it was so bad, he had to get rid of it, so I will go to a breeder instead of a shelter.” Many dogs that are surrendered are indeed surrendered because of the challenges they presented to their original owners. Some are because they failed to teach the dog good manners, failed to provide for the dog’s needs, and they now have a rambunctious, large adolescent that doesn’t fit with their vision of Lassie immediately fitting into their home. Many are surrendered due to family emergencies that couldn’t be avoided. But there are some that are surrendered because they really don’t fit the criteria of being a sound, stable dog.\n\n\nThe great majority of dogs to be found in shelters or rescues are wonderful, I am sure. But as we continue to lower the bar on criteria for acceptable behavior, those wonderful dogs will lose more and more chances to find homes. I recently read in the Boston Globe that Massachussetts is considering regulating rescue groups because of the issues that are arising. I suspect this is just the tip of the iceberg if we bow to the pressure to save them all, and disregard our responsibility to people, and in the long run, to the good dogs that find themselves without a home.\n\n\nIt might be inevitable for shelters to be influenced by the naïve and emotional attacks that come their way. The activists use media and emotions very effectively to influence the community, to paint a picture of uncaring people running the shelters. They are not there, they don’t see how much work is involved, how hard it is to see small scared dogs in an overcrowded and noisy environment, how scary it is to look at a tooth baring, snarling dog in front of you, with intention to bite. They are not willing to take these dogs themselves. Resources are not generally much when it comes to those taking care of homeless animals. We don’t allocate many resources to homeless people, so one can go down from there with regard to animals. Rehabilitating dogs with major issues in a shelter environment is probably less likely than rehabilitating an inmate in a prison, and we know how successful that is.\n\n\nThe problem with this whole dilemma is that there is rarely any black and white. It is a very grey world, with every decision that is made. Right and wrong can be very evasive, with every viewpoint having aspects of both. And it is very difficult to make any decision that results in euthanasia. But I also hate that puppy mills, those cruel and inhumane businesses are likely to be the beneficiaries of the fear generated in going to shelter and rescue dogs.\n\n\nIf I assume that the regular intent of the movement was to get shelters to work harder to place friendly animals, that the intent of the movement was to decrease the numbers of euthanasia for population alone, I am as on board as anyone could possibly be. Work hard to get exposure, take them to adoption outposts, get their faces on social media.\n\n\nBut I am seeing that the movement has slipped from that, that there are people who want to save the dog that is afraid of children or men or strangers, and won’t hesitate to use their teeth to keep them at bay. This is where we go down the path of future dogs ultimately suffering, losing out on chances to find homes. Lawyers get involved, law enforcement gets involved, communities lose patience. Dogs are banned.\n\n\nOf course, adoptions are a bandaid approach, but it is a necessary one. Education and outreach are the true requirements. But that is an ongoing, uphill battle. So we need to help the homeless while working on education and awareness.\n\n\nAnd it is such a complex issue. Yesterday, the SF Chronicle had a front page article on the use of city parks, with factions arguing over whether dogs should be allowed only on leash, saving the parks for kids and dogless to use safely. Sheer numbers of all species, overloading the comfortable carrying capacity of an environment is becoming more and more a part of the equation.\n\n\nWe need to see the whole, need to be willing to look at the fallout from our chosen direction. It will be very hard to undo the damage, to reverse attitudes toward dogs. These are things that are deeply rooted once the impressions are out there. Animals probably elicit more emotional responses than almost any other issues. It will be as difficult to put the paste back in the tube as it is to undo the path we are on with climate change. I think we need to be very thoughtful in our decisions as we move forward. I really love dogs, and I really want them to have safe options for the long run.\n\n\nAnd in practical terms, those shelters and rescues that choose to send away an unsuitable animal because they are ‘no kill’, are in fact sending the animal to the brave shelter that is willing to take on the task of euthanasia. Unfortunately, the ones that will not euthanize have to face the sadness of having animals live in kennels long term, with animals that most families are unable to take on. So there is no benefit to either, all really hoping to do the best for the animals.\n\n\n(From the UK this month:\n\n\n“Guide Dogs for the Blind urged the Government to offer greater protection to those with limited or no sight as it explained that 240 of the specially trained animals were attacked over the past two years, an all-time high of ten a month.”\n\n\nThis does reveal irresponsible owners of course, but it also speaks to a level of sociability that one can hope for. I cannot imagine being unsighted, and having my dog, my constant companion being jumped while trying to do his job.)\n\nWrite a comment\n\nComments: 5\n  • #1\n\n    Joyce Cole (Wednesday, 18 September 2013 00:23)\n\n    Tricia, thank you for this article. It brings to light that in animal welfare we need to care about the people who adopt as much as we care about the animals.\n\n  • #2\n\n    Lisa Schaldemose (Tuesday, 24 September 2013 01:03)\n\n    Tricia, I am involved in both shelter and rescue. I am a strong no kill advocate, not because I want to place every dog in any home but because I want help place every dog in the right home. I hold a degree in zoology as well and understand behavior. Canine behavior is much easier in my mind to read and rehabilitate than that of the homo sapien. Dog behavior comes from genetic and from life experience (nature or nurture). And, in my opinion dogs are much easier to rehabilitate than an adolescent child or a sociopath or other prison system in mate because, unlike humans, their behavior is not premeditated, they are responding to a situation, based on what they have been taught or not taught. I don't have the stats with me, but I would bet that it can be done in a much shorter time for a lot less money. That being said, it is up to the rescue/shelter to be transparent. If they cannot rehabilitate the dog, then the potential adopter must have the time and more importantly the skill to give the dog the training, discipline and love that it needs. NO DOG NEED BE EUTHANIZED FOR BEHAVIORIAL REASONS. 'Old dogs can learn new tricks' comes to mind, but seriously they demonstrate unwanted behavior, be it aggression or fearfulness or jumping, etc. because of nuture, not nature. Every dog can be rehabilitated (except in the extreme case, many of times the behavior is medical in nature) but it is up to the rescue/shelter and we as fosters and adopters to accept that NO DOG (a puppy from a breeder or a senior from a shelter) is Lassie without work. Based on this article the Michael Vicks dogs would have been euthanized because they were fighting or bait dogs, my rescued sled dog would have been euthanized due to his lack of socialization and fears, my shelter dog would have been euthanized because she was an escape artist. It is unrealistic to think that I can get a dog that will be perfect, grow up to be perfect without putting in some work. With that mentality there would be many children grow up to be in the correction system. Go to the shelter, many times, visit, interact and choose the right dog - if you don't want to put work into the dog, get an old subdued senior (they are euthanized all of the time because no one wants them). In shelter systems that don't hold dogs long periods of time - build your foster system, get people who have the time and patience to work with the dog so that it is adoptable to the average person who doesn't want baggage. For me, working through the baggage, has enriched me as a person. We can do the easy thing and give up, or we can roll up our sleeves. If we can't do it all on our own there are plenty of trainers out there to assist.\n\n  • #3\n\n    Mary (Saturday, 26 October 2013 20:02)\n\n    Great article!\n\n  • #4\n\n    Deirdre Kidder (Sunday, 30 November 2014 18:46)\n\n    At the Rescue where I work we get about 500 requests each month for us to take dogs. We require that dogs be people and dog friendly or we can't take them.\n    What happens is that many municipal shelters want to increase their outcome numbers and send out dogs that are more difficult to place for either medical or behavioral issues. Rescues, many with very limited resources, end up taking these dogs while the shelters adopt out the easy to adopt dogs.\n    Any time we take a behavioral issue dog (despite our requirements, many shelters send us behavior issue dogs) we have to make painful, and expensive decisions, which strain our resources. Our volunteers are unable to manage the dogs yet they become depressed and burnt out if we euthanize an animal. Or they quit because they are bitten, or see a dog bite or even kill another dog.\n    Meanwhile for each behavior problem that enters our Rescue, and ties up our resources, and costs us money, time and volunteer loss, a beautiful, gentle soul in a shelter is being passed over because we can not take it because we have a crowd of behavior problems we are not equipped to deal with clogging up our space.\n\n    Our foster homes, our adopters and our volunteers are regular folks who want a dog companion, who are willing to work with a dog who can be part of their family. When we burden them with a problem over their heads, one that causes anger and resentment, and even creates a liability, we are not doing the Rescue system any favors. What is happening is a stable, \"good\" dog is being passed over while we deal with a huge problem.\n\n    In the long run, some dog is being euthanized somewhere. It is either the behavior problem dog with all of its ramifications or the good dog we have pass over because we are tied up in knots over the behavior problem.\n    So, all you no kill folks, which one should it be, because despite your altruistic ideas, some dog is going to die.\n\n  • #5\n\n    Charolette Merino (Wednesday, 01 February 2017 10:53)\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5104550123214722}
+{"content": "A  R  T  E  M  I  S\n\nAccommodation Art and Creativity\n\n\nThis page is under construction.\n\nAndrea Desmond-Smith is a mytho-poetic artist combining elements of myth and fantasy with a deeply felt concern with the destruction of our planet. The themes that permeate her work are metamorphosis, resurrection and the four elements of Western alchemy: water, earth, fire and air. Her work is in public and private collections in South Africa and in Europe.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7712940573692322}
+{"content": "Блог О пользователеpliercouch9\n\n\n\nGuidelines For Genuine Estate Agents — How to Gown For Achievement In Genuine Estate\n\nIs there such a factor as dressing for achievement any more? Virtually any company or organization used to have a dress code but Casual Fridays, legal challenges, and comfortable attitudes have diminished the enforcement or existence of costume codes.\n\nThe genuine estate market is no exception to the shifting of gown codes and attire for success. Some brokerages utilised to have emblem-coloured jackets others mandated fits for gentlemen and fits or dresses for girls (women's trousers weren't appropriate). Now, this kind of apparel looks quite outdated and almost comical.\n\nArguments that «expert apparel» conjures up self-assurance in clientele nonetheless persist — and with some reason, in some real estate marketplaces. Places the place match-and-tie enterprise attire is nevertheless appropriate have a tendency to be desired in more substantial, cosmopolitan locations and when doing work with larger earnings/increased power clients.\n\nWhat is going on in your true estate industry?\n\nVery first impressions — In some places, official attire is suitable for a initial assembly whilst it may be perceived as over-the-prime or overwhelming in other places. A skilled picture expert implies that attire for the two men and girls real estate brokers need to mirror the preferences of their clients.\n\nClues for correct attire\n\nThis is a variation on «Area, spot, area.» What clues does your consumer/brokerage location suggest? If your brokerage organization does not have certain direction or limits on attire, search at what your clientele, peers, and your competition in your location put on as achievable recommendations for your very own gown-for-good results prepare.\n\nDressing for accomplishment with the work is כפר האורנים\n\nThere will be occasions when an agent will have to walk, climb, or crawl about filthy homes. Residence inspections are portion of the company and you need to gown cautiously, safely, and appropriately for these conditions.\n\nAnd there will also be occasions when the very grubby agent will be called to satisfy with a shopper, ASAP. It could not be feasible to modify or refresh by yourself before the assembly but a brief explanation and apology can go a prolonged way towards easing an awkward second. Consumers can be splendidly understanding.\n\nAbsent also significantly…\n\nSome attire conveys too much of an, «I might instead be on getaway,» perspective. With couple of exceptions, T-shirts, flip-flops, and shorts\n\n\nДля ответа с цитированием необходимо\nвыделить часть текста исходной записи", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5317996740341187}
+{"content": "\n\nWorld class computing and information science research at Strathclyde...\n\n\n\n\nUser modelling in GRADIENT\n\nHollnagel, E. and Weir, G.R.S. and Sundstroem, G. (1987) User modelling in GRADIENT. In: ESPRIT '87: Achievements and Impact - Proceedings of the 4th Annual ESPRIT Conference. Elsevier, Amsterdam. ISBN 0444703330\n\n\n\nReports on the achievements and impact of this ESPRIT project. Covers the subjects of microelectronics and peripherals, technology, advanced information processing, office systems and computer integrated manufacturing.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9133586287498474}
+{"content": "April 3, 2011\n\nThe Eyes Have It\n\n\nTobii allows users to \"control their computers just by looking at them.\"\n\nThe eye tracker uses infrared lights (like those used in a TV's remote control) to illuminate the pupils, and optical sensors on the computer screen capture the reflection. Tobii can determine the point of gaze and movement of the eyes to within 2 millimeters.\n\nSo forget the mouse--\"just look at a particular location on the screen, and the cursor goes there immediately.\"\n\nThis is a natural user interface that is fast and intuitive, generally \"halving the time needed for many chores.\"\n\n\n- Read text down the screen and it automatically scrolls. - Look at a window or folder to choose it. - Use a map by eyeing a location and then touching it to zoom. - Activate controls by holding a glaze for a quarter to half a second. - Play video games by moving through with your eyes. - Gaze at a character and they will stare back at you. - Leave your TV and it pauses until you return.\n\n\n\n\nUltimately, where this is all going is the addition of a virtual 4th dimension to our vision--where information is overlaid and scrolling on everything around us that we look at, as desired.\n\n\n\nNo comments:", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6079713106155396}
+{"content": "Wonder of Speech Therapist\n\nSpeech therapy is a treatment that helps both adults and children who have difficulty communicating effectively. Speech is often associated with the action of eating, drinking and/or swallowing. This treatment is often overseen by a licensed allied health professional called a speech therapist. The therapist works with parents, caregivers and professionals who are often in contact with individuals who have problems with speech such as such as teachers, occupational health therapists and doctors.\n\nA speech therapist in Singapore should have specific qualities if they are to be effective in their jobs.\n\n  • They should enjoy working with people\n  • Be good at teamwork\n  • Have good listening and communication skills\n  • Enjoy problem solving\n  • Be dynamic as this profession is always developing with new evidence in science, medicine and education\n  • They should be natural leaders.\n\nTo be a licensed speech therapy, an individual must complete a post-secondary degree course from an accredited University. This degree would usually last 3-4 years. Some individuals go further into a Masters and PhD. After completing the course, they would normally register with the appropriate health council in the jurisdiction they would like to work in.\n\nSpeech therapist work in community health centers, clinics, special needs schools. Others are home based and can visit patients in their homes. They evaluate disorders pertaining to cognitive impairments, language delays, fluency and stuttering, feeding, swallowing, voice and articulation.\n\nSpeech therapists are very important to individuals who encounter speech delays. These individuals usually have low self-esteem because they are often not easily understood by their peers. They find it difficult to make friends or participate in discussions. They also have difficulty with reading and writing which will affect their literacy skills and their ability to understand and interpret information. A speech therapist uses strategies that are custom built according to the individual. They help the patients pronounce syllables, help in learning the meanings and concepts of words and go at the pace of the patient without any pressure. How long a patient stays in speech therapy will depend on their attendance, their learning pace and their ability to apply and remember what they learned during session.\n\nIt is important to observe yourself or your children as they learn to talk. Catching speech impairment early and being referred to a speech therapist can make the difference between fitting into society and being able to be a self-sustaining, happy and confident person.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8581259250640869}
+{"content": "common reasons business failure\n\nThree steps from the gold.\n\nOne of the most common reasons business failure is the habit of giving up, because of some moment of failure or obstacle. Every human in a particular moment in it’s life has made that mistake. (Don’t be like those humans!)\n\nIn the mad time of looking for gold, one of the persons who was looking for, it was infected by the gold rush, so he decided to go on west and start digging to enrich. He had not heard that from the people’s mind you can dig more gold than ever people digged out from the ground actually. He marked his piece of ground tooked the digger and shovel and started digging. For few weeks hard work he was prized with the shining ore. For digging her up from the ground he needed machines. Without making a big noise he buried the location he founded and headed back to home.When he got back, he told his story to his relatives and some of his neighbors that he found gold. They found money together and they have sent the machines to the location.\n\nHe used one of the common reasons business failure..\n\nFirst wagon gold ore was digged and took to the smelter. The results have shown that we are talking about one of the most beautiful locations. Just few more wagons will afford them to cover all the debts they had. And then time for making more and more money is coming. While they where digging hard, their hopes where reaching the top. And than suddenly something happens. The gold wire disappears… They reached the end of the rainbow and the pile with gold was not there anymore. They digged again to come to the gold wire again, but it was vainly. In the end the decided to give up. (Big mistake and that was one of the common reasons business failure.)\n\n\nRemember why you started. Don’t give up, find a way!\n\nDon’t give up! Your miracle is on the way.\n\n\nBut what happens after that?\n\nThe Massimo (tribe) people has sold the ground for waste, for few hundred dollars and with train returned home. The worker on the waste called a mining engineer to take a look on the location and make some calculations. The engineer has found that the owners have failed because they didn’t know for the sand wires and the gold wire is just three steps from the place they gave up and decided to stop the mission. On that place was found the gold wire. The worker on the waste gained millions of dollars from the gold ore because he was enough smart to look for a tip from professional before he used some common reasons business failure like giving up.\n\n\nSacrifices are not in the vain. At the end, everything will pay off.\n\nOne day everything will be worth it!\n\n\n\nIf you don’t want to use the common reasons business failure, check the other articles on our website. We have a lot of motivations and inspirations, also and tips.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5890026092529297}
+{"content": "How Reality Fools Us ; Mind Manipulation By Appearance\n\nThings May Not Be As They Appear Or How We Represent Them.\n\nThis makes critical thinking, critical to understanding reality, or else face being manipulated by illusion given as truth, and not knowing it.\n\n{I Googled Appearance Reality but found the boat missed the launch; much appearance vs reality and the distinction between appearance and reality.  My usage is as a concept itself; Appearance Reality— the object sought out by argument, debate, and most implied persuasion such as propaganda; to make reality appear to be the way one intends.  Appearance Reality may be inert, an off the cuff assumption–the heavens circle the earth, or for some reason, designed.\n\nThe intent of Appearance Reality manipulation, is to make a thing appear or seem to be true, while its actual truthfulness may be in question. This is metaphysical manipulation,  for ideas, theories, opinions etc, are not physical entities like rocks or spoons, invisible consciousness is involved in the evaluations.\n\nHow things appear to be real may be incidental; something of observation and ones history and reference to the thing, with the actuality of the perception being uncertain in dimension. The metaphysical idea of a spoon can be made into an actual real thing, moving from an abstract idea to a real manifestation of a concept. What appears to be real as we look into our world can be any combination of fact, idea, imposition, assumption and other suppositional identifications.  There are questions to be had in anyone’s view of the world, including of people, places, things and events.  Appearance Reality appears to be true, yet has many problematic interfaces with what is actually real.\n\nHow things appear for human perception and cognition can also be engineered via the voids in knowing and comprehension, to seem one way while the possiblity of actually being another way is supressed. I could know that you were walking down a step and slipped on a banana peel you did not see, but I could say that this proves you are uncoordinated, perhaps adding weight to an idea I have of you that you are clumsy, so I advance “proof”, genuine or not, for the Appearance Reality of my theory.  I am then seeking a Consensus Reality between us; a kind of confidence that things are a certain way really.\n\nThis is Appearance Reality manipulation; the sculpting of worldly data to suit my intention, a kind of “art” pretending to be science.  Politics and religion, along with most inherently metaphysical systems, contour perception to suit ideas, and not necessarily to investigate any actual truth with anything approaching rigorous emotional and intellectual honesty.\n\nConsensus Reality is well presented as an idea on the WEB, although opinion of its validity seems to crepe into the equation, speculating upon those who use the term Consensus Reality.  In my view, these two phenomenon often go hand in glove, so I will present my expanded musing definition of the phenomenon Appearance Reality here, and how it can become engineered by others perhaps unknown intentions.}\n\nUse Of  Appearance Reality\n\n\nHow you  see the world is an Appearance Reality; The world appears real empirically, but this does not convey wisdom or truthful relationships, necessarily, about the actual reality. We are on epistemological ground here, deciding what we can know of the world, and what human minds may be entitled to presume they understand of cosmological and spiritual presence in existence.\n\nThe truth of a thing is not absolutely known by just looking at it, or how it appears.  We may “know it enough” for our intention, but that does not convey omniscience. Knowledge and understanding usually require both an investigation of a things connections to the world, its immersion in the matrices of Being, and differing viewpoints as to the real nature of its manifestation to arrive at a sound logical view with a higher likelihood of truthfulness .\n\nThe apparent reality of the sun revolving around the earth, is not made into an actual reality because we all consent to the observational “truth” of the phenomenon.  We find that investigation of the world, and the incorporation of theoretical notions of gravity and celestial mechanics, reveals that the earth revolves each day as it circles the sun.  Ones perspective is where the apparently real world succumbs to empirical error. Real reality is not automatically what we think it is by appearances.  This opens a Pandora’s Box of manipulative potential.\n\nWe may fill the void in sound knowing, our ignorance, with explanation and rationalization that contour apparent comprehension into a nicely framed logical narrative. We have not intended our logic to be wrong or missing in factual data and correlation, but we may defend our perception from other explanations that seem absurd or oppositional to our own on the surface. Not knowing, or perhaps not wishing to understand that these other ideas or explanations may be more correct.\n\nEmotional Issues With Reality\n\nMost human beings may like to think that we are right (I raised my hand), wishing to avoid the stresses of cognitive dissonance and the problematic nature of being wrong.  But it seems also as true that we wish not to be proved wrong; the more insecure in our cosmological and spiritual identities we are, the more inherently uncertain we are of ourselves and Creation.  This self uncertainty seems to manifest a likelihood of stronger feelings that insist we are right and others wrong.  We seem angry of agitated over our own ignorance and our seeming need to deny it by insisting we are right or righteous.  To unload our burdens, we may projectet them outward; to others and the world.\n\nThe prosecution of our uncertainties is “taken out” on the outside world, be it people or situations and environments.  If taken internally, we tend to find depression.  This blame others approach appears to be a coping mechanism for keeping a purposeful “positive” identity, while not possessing the tools to find reality clearly.  Many of the conflicts and uncertainties of humanity occur because of this loss into the subjective with no unifying objective connection to relationship and inter-connectivity by a persons perceptual mind frames.\n\nBut I Find Proof For How I Think; It’s Obvious!\n\nAppearance Reality, like Consensus Reality, tends to acquire a need for Confirmation Bias; we tend to conserve and confirm what seems true, over what seems abstract or contrary as ideas and statistics can be.  Argument, debate, and other attempts at persuasion (even such as this here), load ideas as if a sort of magnetism were attracting and repelling information.  Most of us wish to avoid ever-present existential investigation; we tend to not intend to question our every thought, move and interpretation.  We usually consider ourselves right, or perhaps not wrong but misunderstood. We trust how things seem to us; how they appear to be, as if they were both known and absolute truths, when they may not be by any objective sense.\n\nThis too is Appearance Reality as designer perceptual cognition.  Cults, cultures, and at times our life associates, friends and partners do what we do; attempt to define reality by narrations as to how it appears to us to be.  Our culture, family, friends and peers drive us to see things from a certain angle, and not by antoher.  The rightness and wrongness of the conclusions may be unexamined at their foundations; we are up on the rooftop fixing shingles.\n\nWe tend to defer to our emotions when intellectual argument seems lacking in defining what we mean.  For many of us, we do not intend to always prove ourselves possibly wrong, and fully acknowledge another’s ideas or point of view.  Differing Appearance Realities can and often do result in conflict, for there is no common grounds for agreement, and possibly not even for verifying data and context in any fair or objective manner.  Opposites of reality perception can then “prove” themselves right by the others obvious error or bad intention.\n\nIn this case, the idea that we are open minded, or following the signpost to higher truth and understanding are likely a sham.  We are worshiping our ignorance in this case, and many of us are quite proud to put what we do not know on a pedestal, then defend it with our lives.  Insecurities over reality perception and comprehension are so sensitive to our identities, that we will at times stand by our ignorance as if it were, and some times is, in the name of God.\n\nTricks In The Perceptual Reality Trading\n\nOne person may say that the tide seems to be caused by the moon and sun positions.  They could use this apparent truth to “prove” that the celestial sphere, the sky and all in it, circles the earth, its evidence being the tide’s obvious correlation to the apparent heavenly movement.  they would have “common sense” observation on their side.  This seemed good enough for perhaps 99% of human history.  Another may argue that how things appear may not be the case; yes the tides correlate to moon and sun position, but one is circling the earth while the earth is circling the other.\n\nThis complication of theory use and its demands upon comprehension, can become a damnation of perception; suddenly we are required to think deeply over our belief.  If this inquiry is not approved of somehow, by peer pressure of other social sanction, we may damn the messenger or that originating  the contrary information. It might be easier and more convenient to call that those “making things complicated” are up to something. maybe they are “intellectual elites”?\n\nWhat we do not know, can and does lay the pathway groundwork for fear and paranoia.  Those who “choose” not to review the real evidence and patterns of correlation data fields available, can deny the real truth and insist that the apparent, and perhaps once or still present consensus “truth” is the real truth.  This is a form of the curse that is “natural” to conservatism.  Conservatism systematically denies questioning, thus inhibiting or otherwise controlling what is left of critical thinking.\n\nWe may find that when we insist our beliefs are the “real truth”, and not just seemingly apparent, emotion (likely steeped in rationalization) will tend to stand in for reason.  At this stage of cognition, rationalization can be perceived as true reason; the weight of emotion intends to load the argument.  In this subjective state, my point of view can be declared the honest truth to me, and opposing views false, misleading, deceptive, and so, deserving to be purged.\n\nConservatism, then, blurres what reality is by sanctioning its own rationalization as a kind of a priori truth, and then casting intellectual honesty, by likely employing emotional tagging deep inquiry with pre established blame or shame narrations, as being deceptive or dishonest.  Consensus and Appearance Realities are then designed to keep perceptions corralled and framed into the conservative narrative.\n\nCheck most conservative propagation platforms to see how this automatic indoctrination occurs to make reality appear to be as they wish.  They seek out those with certain cosmological and spiritual crisis, then provide them with designer answers that foster an ideological campaign to benefit those who are rewarded by conservative manipulations of social and physical environments.\n\nCognitive Dissidence, then, can become a player in both Appearance Reality matrices, and those of Consensus Realities.  With its involvement with designer Confirmation Bias mandates, we enter the sphere of kinds of self deception made to look or seem good and true.  Just as we may manuever truths or facts to suit our life; groups and associations of humankind will use this leverage over actual reality to create the impression of Appearance Realities to be Truth.\n\nMaking Reality Into A Kind Of Deception\n\nThis carries with it a persistent and unresolvable problem; incorporating false truths into human behaviors will likely result in false behaviors and perception which may well lead to conflicts of an intractable nature, since the ways of truthfulness itself have been attacked.  For conserved Confirmation Bias installed by Consensus Reality narratives providing “Truth” of Appearance Reality evidence, conservatism often seals the doorways to higher knowing.  Openness to the worlds, ways, and evidence of others regarding the world and existence, are rendered virtually irrelevant or hostile. The proof of the external and internal dissonance in society can then be circled back to prove the conservative perception narrative; that its good is being attacked by what is bad.  Appearance Reality can become a near permanent trap for the soul.\n\nAppearance Reality; some things we trust may in fact be misleading from the fraud in their conceptualization and representation.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9452010989189148}
+{"content": "FreeBASIC is a free/open source (GPL), BASIC compiler for Microsoft Windows, DOS and Linux.\nThe FreeBASIC project is a set of cross-platform development tools initially created by Andre Victor, consisting of a compiler, GNU-based assembler, linker and archiver, and supporting runtime libraries, including a software-based graphics library. The compiler, fbc, currently supports building for i386-based architectures on the DOS, Linux, Windows and Xbox platforms. The project also contains thin bindings (header files) to some popular 3rd party libraries such as the C runtime library, Allegro, SDL, OpenGL, GTK+, the Windows API and many others, as well as example programs for many of these libraries.\nFreeBASIC is a high-level programming language supporting procedural, object-orientated and meta-programming paradigms, with a syntax compatible to Microsoft QuickBASIC. In fact, the FreeBASIC project originally began as an attempt to create a code-compatible, free alternative to Microsoft QuickBASIC, but it has since grown into a powerful development tool. FreeBASIC can be seen to extend the capabilities of Microsoft QuickBASIC in a number of ways, supporting more data types, language constructs, programming styles, and modern platforms and APIs.\nAny type of program can be written with FreeBASIC, see our Gallery of Applications for some notable examples.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8237085938453674}
+{"content": "Category Archives: Uncategorized\n\nSo You’re Stuck in the Mosh Pit: a Survival Guide\n\nIf you’re like me you try to get as close to the stage as possible at concerts.  If you’re also like me you know you have to toe that line between being able to watch the show and getting sucked into the mosh pit that is always around the stage.  Sadly I have failed in maintaining that line more times than I care to admit.  I’ve also learned a few tricks on how to not get completely bruised while retreating and planning my harrowing escape.  Want to know how I do it?  I act on these strategies.\n\nKnow the mosher archetypes.  Just as there are the types of people everyone meets at a concert there are different types of moshers.  The more you understand if you’re dealing with a guy who thinks he knows karate or the guy who had too much the better you’ll manage.\n\nExpect strange liquids.  Sometimes when threatened, especially folks like overly enthusiastic mosher, moshers will go into a frenzy and knock the drink out of someone’s hand.  Sometimes the guy who had too much decides that chucking his pisswater at the stage is the equivalent of throwing confetti.  Sometimes ignorance as to what is soaking you is the best.  Regardless of how you got wet…\n\nDon’t leave your mouth open too long.  There’s more liquid in store.  If that’s your thing I won’t judge you too much, though.\n\nDon’t fight against the moshers.  If you want to join the moshing, join the moshing.  Since you’re probably reading this to eventually get out of your situation you probably don’t want to try that.  If they get too close and the group is small enough just nudge offenders back into the hoard. I promise you they won’t notice.  If it’s a wall of death you may want to pray to Jesus and join the moshing.  There is no escape once you’re caught in that.\n\nKnow the moshers will eventually thin out. The guy who wants to practice karate will either get tired or folks will get tired of him.  The guy who had too much will eventually have to pee and pass out in the stall.  Some folks will leave because they only wanted to see certain bands.  Whatever the reason the crowd will get thinner and you can make your escape.\n\nEven if these tips don’t help yu as you’re being smashed around at the concert you can take comfort in knowing that you probably aren’t alone in trying to survive the situation.  Who knows, maybe you’ll run into them and survive through solidarity.  Or you’ll get knocked around into someone who will know your pain.\n\nGojira Brings the Chaos and the Order\n\nI was excited when I finally saw an opportunity to catch Gojira live.  I expected a high energy performance.  I didn’t expect some of what ensued later in the show.\n\nGojira’s music is best described as primordial on the verge of creation.  Everything from from soft vocals (though at times too soft) to building up to frantic blast beats synthesized to bring one to the edge and back constantly.  The musical dissonance shared with frantic drumming and at times haunting, distorted harmonies adds a nuiance and energy that leads one into chaos.  This chaos, however, is the kind where rather than fear it one embraces it and joins the frenzy.  \nI made the horrible mistake of wandering too far into the mosh pit and suffered the consequences.  The high energy in the songs reflected in the intense moshing and body surfing that ensued and calmed when the music calmed. ��At one point I’m pretty sure the mosh pit extended the entire section before the stairs.  I’m sure the band was aware of this, as everything fit so perfectly in their performance from visual effects timed just right to convincing nearly the entire audience to put their phones away and join the chanting.  I consider that a huge feat in today’s electronic times, and it enhanced the experience.  In spite of it being chaotic it brought everyone together to each other and to the music.\n\nGojira puts on a show equally intense as their music.  They know how to work their audience and bring them together to take the music to another level.\n\nTechnique- 3.9\n\n\nAudience Interaction-3\n\nBrownie Points-0\n\n\nOverkill: 2/19 at The Granada\n\nI’ll admit at the risk of whatever minuscule cred I had I was excited to learn Overkill was still around, as I thought they kind of faded away into obscurity. I was intrigued to learn they were touring and would end up in my neck of the woods. Then again, I’m usually intrigued when the midwest isn’t overlooked. These thrash metal veterans have been around since the 80’s, which is pretty much when thrash began. Overkill managed to avoid one of the things that more established bands suffer: a performance that’s caught in their glory days and presents a stale act. What I caught on stage was a band who didn’t act as some relic to the past, but ones who understood their history shaped who they are as performers.\n\nThis band manages to keep the old school elements of thrash metal while still keeping it fresh. It had the typical elements of thrash metal such as blast beats, fast tempos and, well, thrashing guitars. Where they tend to deviate from old school is they are willing to play with tempo and overall structure of the song,. It doesn’t randomly play in either a fast or moderato tempo as thrash metal tends to do. The lyrics, while a bit heavy on the end rhymes at times, delivered the right cadence and tone to match the genre. The music overall was paired with an electric performance.\n\nThese guys know how to put on a show. They were able to relate to the audience about their previous time stopping by the area and made it seem memorable. They also reminisced a bit about their time as a whole, but worked it in as a segue to other songs or psyching up the audience rather than ramblings of veteran musicians. This showed me how much thought and experience they have to balance that old school status without it appearing they’re trapped in nostalgia. They did, however, do some stuff that I didn’t like.\n\nOverkill likes to build suspense, and I don’t know if it was because I knew what they were doing or if they overdid it that annoyed me. To me if felt like constant waiting. I was waiting for the set the finish checking things, I was waiting for the fog machine to deliver the right amount, I waited for the frontman to return to the stage after leaving during the interlude, I waited even more for the band to arrive on stage in the first place. I felt impatient and was wondering at some times how long I’d be left waiting again. I think, however, whatever the reason I grew impatient the payoff with the audience was enhanced despite my sentiment.\n\nEverything about this band surged the audience into a frenzy. They were ready to thrash by the time Overkill hit the stage. It even got crazier with a few audience members sending questionable liquids flying. It got so out of hand the band had to ask people to calm down and lay off the flying liquids. Naturally a sex joke was made from it and laughter ensued. This showed me how much influence Overkill had and were aware of it. That is rare to find in a band, even experienced ones. By the end of the set the audience was calling for an encore. If it was an encore or planned manipulation I couldn’t say, but the audience felt like it was one and loved it.\n\nOverkill has taken years of experience as musicians and performers to create an act that is still powerful and emotionally charged. In combining those experiences and willingness to be open to the audience they know the audience will be open to them and enjoy themselves. I’m not sure I can repeat myself anymore so I’ll cut to the score:\n\n\n\nAudience Interaction-3\n\nBrownie Points-0\n\nTotal- 9.5\n\nNile: 2/19/17 at The Granada\n\nI’ll admit when I first researched Nile and found out they’re a metal band that blends Ancient Egyptian aspects I had my doubts. Based on my personal experience such combinations don’t work out well. It tends to be hoakey or the synthesis is clunky and incomplete. As a Kemeticist with a strong bias I knew it was going to make me a hard sell. When I saw Nile perform, however, those doubts faded and the bias moved in the other direction.\n\nOne of things I really appreciate is their blend of Ancient Egyptian aesthetics with metal in a way that felt natural. While most recognize their combination of passages from Ancient Egyptian works, namely the Book of the Dead, I recognized other elements commonly associated with Ancient Egyptian music may have sounded like (no known Ancient Egyptian musical notation survives, so most of the elements of Ancient Egyptian music are guesses). Such elements where instruments mimic the sistrum (I didn’t see one in use, so I’m assuming cymbals were used instead) really tied it together with sparing use in ways that aren’t overbearing and don’t compromise the metal aspects. I personally appreciated how it was a true blend of ideas rather than Ancient Egyptian music randomly interjected into death metal. Everything was meticulous with drawing emphasis to the Ancient Egyptian passage. The rhythm even emphasized certain phrases with accents or employed dissonance to create the necessary build up really complimented the overall work. This is probably the only way Nile deviates from the Ancient Egyptian aspects, as Ancient Egyptians were really big on balance, and anything that could promote discord was avoided. It still works.\n\nMusically Nile really blended the Ancient Egyptian aspects with metal, but on stage they’re metal. I’ll admit the Kemeticist in me hoped they would greet the audience with “em hotep”, but that would be impractical and hamming it up a little. Regardless of my desires Nile still showed a lot of love for the audience. They made a point to not only give a shout out to Overkill, but to Whoracle and pretty much everyone. It even felt like sincere appreciation. They certainly needed grace as, like Whoracle, their songs were subjected to the lights flickering at seizure-inducing rates. They worked with it and brought not only typical metal fanfare of headbanging but fist pounding and getting the audience as excited as they seemingly were.\n\nNevertheless the music and stage mannerisms were well received by the audience. Almost from the very beginning of the set Nile had the audience wrapped around their little finger. There were metal horns, headbanging, moshing, and just all around moshpit frenzy during the first song all the way to the last. I feel like at any point they could have even persuade the audience to do anything they desired. I can’t remember the last time I saw metalheads act like that at a concert, if ever. I’m genuinely impressed.\n\nBiases aside Nile blends elements that are diametrically opposed elements in a way that brings out the best in both. As performers they deliver in stage persona and energetic enthusiasm that permeates the audience. Here’s how they scored:\n\nTechnique: 3.5\n\nPresentation: 2.75\n\nAudience Interaction: 3\n\nBrownie Points: 0\n\nTotal: 9.25\n\nPicking It Up…Again\n\nI’m sure all 8 of my readers wondered what happened to me and why i dropped off the face of the earth.  I’ll keep the sob story short and vague.\n\nLife showed up and it took longer than expected to handle it.\n\nI pretty much have it under control now and will go back to reviewing in February.   Watch my blog for upcoming posts.\n\nIn addition to that I’m toying with something I’ve considered back in the early 00’s: web videos.  That will be delayed for a minute as a seek out a camera to handle my brand of ugly and sort out the content of said videos.  Right now I’m considering my musician spotlight posts as well as a few other ideas.  Your input is also welcome.\n\nThis post is short, but I figured to the point is best for this matter.  Keep watching for more posts and see you soon!\n\n\n\n\nWhen Musical Festivals Get Canceled It’s Probably Not Mainstream Enough\n\nIf you live around the Kansas City area or in nearby Lawrence I’m sure you got some word of the Kanrocksas music festival.  Well, if you haven’t it’s fine too because they announced its cancellation a month before the festival.   There are currently no plans to reschedule.  To be incredibly honest I’m more shocked about the lack of ticket sales, but I guess I vastly underestimated the hipster population in the area.   I only got to see how things were going from twitter, so I don’t have a complete idea of any other perspective of what went wrong.  Based on what I saw on twitter, and how I view things as a concert goer, here’s what I think went wrong.\n\n1.  The lineup outright sucked.  I know this is a matter of opinion, but I consider my music tastes eclectic and substandard as it is.  While I give the people behind the lineup kudos for trying to have a mixture of locals and some more established acts it was terrible.  Like I said I know it’s a matter of opinion, but I’ll let you be the judge by showing the lineup…\n\n\nSee?  Of the acts I recognize I’d only want to see two of them and they probably weren’t on the same night, let alone the same stage.  There isn’t even a strong headliner.  If the cancellation was due to poor sales, I’m probably not the only one who thought the same thing.\n\nPersonal tastes aside the lineup was too eclectic and not enough recognizable names for those into more mainstream music.  One could argue that the Wakarusa Music Festival, a festival which originated in Lawrence, is equally eclectic.  The difference is Wakarusa kept it fairly eclectic with mainstream acts as the headliners rather than filling the line up with  lesser-known acts equally eclectic as the mainstream ones.  Wakarusa also had more time to develop a greater following.\n\n2.  Kanrocksas is not going to pull the same crowds as Wakarusa.  This was billed mostly with the appeal of local bands.  It’s also relatively new with a few cards stacked against it, given that it started in 2011 and didn’t hold a festival in 2012 due to construction in the Speedway area.  Wakarusa also had much more to offer with more popular and well known musical acts.  It was at least outside of town near a more friendly campsite.  Which is another point…\n\n3.  The location.  Those who aren’t familiar with Kanrocksas it would have been held at the Kansas Speedway.  This is what the latest Google Maps image looks like.  I’ve been out there for sporting goods and furniture, and even with some understanding of the area I have a hard time conceptualizing a music festival in that area.  People aren’t likely to associate that area with music as much as shopping and NASCAR.\n\n4.  The price.  Even though I encourage people to support music, especially local ones, it gets harder for people to do when it’s on a scale like a music festival.  Festivals are expensive not only to run but for attendees because it’s not just the cost of the music alone.  Even though this festival is a bargain price compared to other festivals it didn’t feel like a bargain for me.  That’s without figuring the costs of food, lodging, and transportation into it.  Like I mentioned before I was only interested in a couple of acts and didn’t really want to see the others.  I can’t justify breaking open my piggy bank for that.  Again, if ticket sales were that low I’m not the only one who felt this way.\n\n5.  Was there even exposure for this?  It’s not so much a point as a question, but it can quickly turn into a point.  I only knew about this because of some remark on twitter back when Kanrocksas was announced.  After the cancellation I learned about the facebook page.  It was only then I saw any news about the festival as well because a few news sources reported on the cancellation and not so much the return of the festival.\n\nI understand wanting to cut costs where possible, but it can hurt if not properly managed. I speak from personal experience without a decent budget for advertising people won’t know about anything you want to sell.  No knowledge of a festival means fewer ticket sales, if any.  I’m not the type who can calculate potential losses from these scenarios.  I’m not sure if it’s possible.  I do, however, know there is a loss.\n\nWhat all of these points sum up is I suspect those coordinating this festival tried to appeal to as much of the non-mainstream crowd as possible, were underfunded, and thought they could pull it off anyway.   Admittedly I’m amazed to learn how small the purchasing power of the hipster population is for this area.  At the same time I also feel the lack of focus and vast underestimation of certain aspects damaged the festival.  I’m sure there were lots of other issues behind closed doors, doors that lead to boardrooms.  That’s probably why they waited when they did to announce the cancellation: it was the deadline for cancellation notices for some contracts.  It was still a cancellation during the eleventh hour for ticket purchasers.  It also came with a death knell for the festival.\n\nYeah, About My Blog…\n\nIn case you haven’t noticed (if you haven’t, thanks for joining us) my blog is very, um, sparse of reviews.  I have a string of excuses, but I’ll spare them since they’re really annoying.  It all culminates into one reason, anyway.  I’ve put too many projects on my table and I haven’t had the time and the resources to devote to this one.  Not that it matters anyway since my audience consists of crickets and tumbleweeds, and the tumbleweeds are blowing away…\n\nI’m trying to remedy it so I can at least feel comfortable about it.  I’m adding other sections to my blog, such as spotlighting musicians.  If you have any suggestions feel free to tell me.  I’ll be happy to manage something with it.  In the meantime my little project here is going to be quiet until I get more resources to put into it.\n\nYeah, not exactly the outcome I’d like right now.  I just ask if anyone still reads this stuff to be a little patient.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5005100965499878}
+{"content": "What we see in the night sky is a tiny part of the infinite universe. With the discovery of the Earth being around the planet to the invention of nuclear weapons, numerous theories have come up now and then as of how did the universe, the Earth, and most importantly how did we come into being?\n\nOrigin of Earth\n\nEarth’s origin has always been a controversial affair. Different scientists from time to time gave their own explanations as of how the earth was created.\n\n\nEarly Theories\n\n  1. Nebular Hypothesis – The very first person to give a theory regarding the origin of the earth was a German Philosopher Immanuel Kant. Laplace revised the theory in 1796. According to the hypothesis, a slowly rotating youthful sun was a cloud of various materials which was responsible for the creation of the planets to.\n  2. In 1900 Chamberlain and Moulton put forward another theory. It involved a wandering star which approached the sun due to which a cigar shaped extension was formed. It slowly started separating from the solar surface and started revolving around it, giving rise to the planets.\n  3. In 1950, two scientists – Otto Schmidt of Russia and Carl Weizascar of Germany – revised the former Nebular Hypothesis. They postulated that the previously formed sun was surrounded by dust and gases like Hydrogen and Helium. Due to movement, there was a collision between the particles which further helped in accretion and formation of the solar system.\n\nModern Theory\n\nThe modern theory is the Big Bang Theory or in other words, the theory of an expanding universe. Edwin Hubble came up with it 1920. He theorised that the universe was created 13.7 billion years ago. At that time, it was just a tiny ball with infinite temperature and density. A singularity.\n\nThe tiny ball exploded violently, with temperatures dropping at near infinite speeds. A large amount of energy was released – converted into matter. The first few minutes of the Big Bang were very important since at that time the first atom was formed. After that temperature started decreasing rapidly, and galaxy formed, by the accumulation of hydrogen gas (nebula).\n\nFormation of planets was associated with the coming together of the gas particles because of the dust developing around them. There was a high amount of gravitational force between the particles and they were in constant rotational motion which created a centripetal force thereby forming the planets. The gas cloud condensed to form planetesimals (due to cohesion). There was an accretion of the large number of planetesimals to form planets.\n\nIt was suggested by Sir George Darwin in 1838 that eventually the earth and the moon were a single body and the moon separated from the earth (now the Pacific Ocean). But this theory of moon’s formation was rejected and later, the theory of giant impact came up.\n\nEvolution of Earth\n\nInitially, the earth was a hot ball of rock surrounded by hydrogen and helium. From 4600 million years ago to present, numerous changes took place due to which we have the earth of today. Because of the high temperature of the earth, constant precipitation took place, which slowly cooled down the earth’s surface and led to the creation of the present-day atmosphere.\n\nFinally, the earth that was formed had a layered structure. This was because of the gradual cooling. The outermost surface cooled faster thereby forming the crust. The innermost still remains in the molten form and has not solidified yet.\n\nOrigin of Life\n\nInitial conditions on earth were certainly not suitable enough for life. Too hot, too acidic, and a lot of other inconvenient parameters. Gradually, as the Earth cooled, life had a chance. This is the theory is abiogenesis. Organic matter gradually formed. Early Earth’s atmosphere was formed of methane, ammonia, and water vapour.  Due to reduction processes, organic compounds sprung up. From the organic compounds evolved Archaea and Eukaryota, which are also known as the tree of life. So it was likely spontaneous  generation that was responsible for the origin of life on earth.\n\nNo more articles\nRead previous post:\nThe James Webb Space Telescope will Transform Our View of the Cosmos\n\nWe've been beguiled by the stars ever since Astronomy was discovered. Or is it the other way round? In ancient times, our curiosity...\n\nHow, or Why, Does Trance Music Work?\n\nIf you’ve never heard of trance music while living in the 21st century, chances are you’ve been living under a...\n\nThe Fight To Own The Stratosphere: Google’s Project Loon vs Facebook’s Aquila\n\nThe Internet is supposed to be the largest forum for information, people and resources. These resources accumulate and build a uniform...\n\nA Noob’s Guide to Fog Computing\n\nNo, this isn't another concocted way to predict the uncertain weather, nor is it a way to kill off those pesky...", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7199126482009888}
+{"content": "Chapter 1: Constitutional Democracy\n\n\nChapter 1 is an introduction to America's democratic government, which is based on the oldest constitutional democracy in the world.  This chapter opens with a short summary of how the U.S. government and people have changed their attitudes in the modern times due to 9/11 and become more active in politics.  The next portion discusses the history of the creation of the Constitution following the Revolutionary War.  By using previous experiences from the colonial America to the Revolutionary War, the Framers extracted the main element of our government today: freedom.  The first constitution, the Articles of Confederation, was drafted and ratified during the war and proved to be a very flawed and weak government because of the fear of recreating the powerful British monarchy.  Shays' Rebellion acts as a catalyst that pushes delegates to convene in Philadelphia to fix the constitution.  What results from the numerous debates, discussions, and compromises during the  Constitutional Convention of 1787 is a stronger, but controlled government that now seeks ratification as the contrasting opinions of the Federalists and Anti-Federalists fight for their ideas.\n\nKey Terms (images are in slideshow to the right)\n\nGovernment – A government is a system of political power that exercises its authority to maintain civility, administer public policies, and enforce laws.  \n\nPolitics – Politics, in terms of government, deals with the management and tactics used to handle a country. Different political parties, for example, have dissimilar stands on how to handle an issue.\n\nPluralist theory – The pluralist theory is that power influencing government is often exerted by different interest groups, which try to gain authority so as to maximize self interest. \n\nElite theory – The elite theory is the belief that nearly all political power is held in the hands a small group of wealthy people, whom usually share the same interests and values, and originate from a similarly privileged background. It is often used to explain the original framers, in which most were wealthy landowners.  \n\nHyper-pluralist theory – A theory that too many influential groups often become contradictory, thus weakening the government’s power to govern.\n\ndemocracy- a form of government in which the power is derived from the people, either through direct or a representative system (demos=people, kratos=authority or power.)\n\ndirect democracy- a form of government in which citizens vote on laws and select officials directly. This system was used in ancient Athens, but soon became ineffective due to mob rule , thus giving rise to dictatorships. A large crowd is more easily persuaded, and births of factions are more common amongst a mob. The term was viewed with distaste during a 17th century, often synonymous with mobs. James Madison shows in The Federalist No. 10　that democracies (in its direct sense) “have been found incompatible with personal security, or the rights of property; and have in general been as short in their lives, as they have been violent in their deaths.”\n\nrepresentative democracy- The power is given to a few elected representatives, thus rendering an indirect system of power. This form of government is often more effective, as the elected leaders are often educated men who would not easily be swayed or give in to popular conventions. So as to distinguish from the connotation of democracy, the framers had referred to this system as a republic.\n\nconstitutional democracy- A government that builds its foundations on a written document, and acts to enforce the freedoms and rights granted by such a constitution.\n\nconstitutionalism- The set of arrangements, including checks and balances, federalism, separation of powers, rule of law, due process, and a bill of rights, that requires leaders to listen, think, bargain, and explain before they act of make laws. These leaders are then politically and legally accountable for how they exercise their powers. These regulations are necessary so as to prevent the confusion and mob-like attitude in a democracy. \n\nstatism- The idea that the rights of the nation are supreme over the rights of the individuals residing in that nation. Some countries which use this principle are Cuba, North Korea and China. In China, for instance, certain websites (like Facebook) are blocked. In a similar way, North Koreans are not allowed to enter or leave the country. \n\npopular consent- Popular consent is the belief that a just government must act on the consent of its citizens, that decisions are made through the consent of the people. In a true democracy, everyone must be willing to participate.\nmajority rule- Governance according to the expressed preferences of the majority. This is the basic rule of democracy. \n\nmajority- The candidate or party that wins more than half the votes cast in an election. In practice though, it usually turns into plurality. \n\nplurality- Candidate or party with the most votes cast in an election, not necessarily more than half. About a third of our presidents have won elections through winning pluralities. When winning officials take office, they are not allowed to impede the efforts of the minorities, who may be preparing to try to win the next election.\n\nsocial capital- Participation in voluntary associations that reinforce democratic and civic habits of discussion, compromise, and respect for differences. When there is a wide variety of social institutions and organizations that bring people together, social capital thrives and helps develop compromise and understanding between people.\n\nideology- A consistent pattern of beliefs about political values and the role of government that arise out of experiences of individuals. A democratic consensus, a general acceptance of the ideals of democracy, is then hopefully nourished. \n\ntheocracy- A government that derives its power through a religious authority, thus rendering the leader to be the divine guidance sent. The first immigrants whom established a colony in Massachusetts built their government centralized around Puritanism. This type of rule allowed framers to realize the limitations of freedoms, the same liberties in which the pilgrims had sought after.  \n\nArticles of Confederation- The first governing document of the confederated states, drafted in 1777, ratified in 1781, and replaced by the present Constitution in 1789. This constitution created a very weak government due to the fear of a strong national government like that of Britain. The federal government had less authority than the state government, thus giving rise to issues such as currency and war.  \n\nAnnapolis Convention- A convention held in September 1786 to discuss the problems of the new Constitution, which involved trade and navigation. The gathering was a failure, as only 12 delegates showed up in  an effort to revise the flawed AOC. A second meeting was planned in Philadelphia “to render the Constitution of the Federal Government adequate to the exigencies of the Union.”\n\nConstitutional Convention- Also known as the Philadelphia Convention, this assembly  in Philadelphia, from May 25 to September 17, 1787, framed the Constitution of the United States. It drew more delegates because of the significant Shays’ Rebellion that emphasized a need for a stronger federal government. 74 delegates (white male landowners) were appointed, but only 55 showed up in attendance to think of a new plan for government.\n\nShays' Rebellion-  An uprising led by Daniel Shays, it was an armed rebellion that spanned from 1786 to 1787.  It was mostly composed of poor farmers, protesting the heavy taxes and debts.  It was triggered by mortgage foreclosures in western Massachusetts, and the rebels used symbols of liberty in a tie to the revolutionary spirit of the uprising. The lack of governmental response heavily emphasized the need for a stronger federal government, and thus gave rise to the  Constitutional Convention of 1787.\n\nbicameralism- The principle of a two-house branch as a way to balance governmental power. Its concept is present in the legislative branch, with the separate units of Senate, which would represent individual states, and the House of Representatives, which reflected the population of the people.  \n\nVirginia Plan- Initial proposal at the Constitutional Convention made by the Virginia delegation for a strong central government with a bicameral legislature, the lower house to be elected by the voters and the upper chosen by the lower. In both houses, representation was to be based on wealth or numbers, giving the advantage to larger states. Congress was given the additional powers to “legislate in all cases in which the separate States are incompetent” and veto state legislation that was not per say constitutional. A national executive was to be created and chosen by the legislative branch. The executive branch and Supreme Court were then allowed to veto the acts of Congress.\n\nNew Jersey Plan- Proposal at the Constitutional Convention made by William Paterson of New Jersey for a central government with a single-house legislature in which each state would be represented equally. This small-states-friendly-plan gave Congress the right to tax, regulate commerce, coerce states, and was in a unicameral legislature where all states had the same vote. It also contained the supremacy clause, which required all judges to treat the laws of the national government as superior to those of states.\n\nConnecticut Compromise- Compromise agreement by states at the Constitutional Convention for a bicameral legislature with a lower house in which representation would be based on population and an upper house in which each state would have two senators. This was also known as “The Great Compromise”. Once overcoming this obstacle, objections to a strong national government faded away. \n\nthree-fifths compromise- Compromise agreement between northern and southern states at the Constitutional Convention, that three-fifths of the slave population would be counted for determining direct taxation and representation in the House of Representatives. The South had wanted to count slaves, so as to to gain seats in the House, but the North was against such a proposal due to their smaller slave population. Three-fifths was chosen to maintain the balance of power between the North and South representation. \n\nFederalists- The federalists supported the ratification of the Constitution, thus promoting a strong central government. They became known as the Federalist party, largely made of wealthy landowners and were led by Alexander Hamilton. They were opposed by the Antifederalists, which were mainly composed of the agricultural populations.\n\nAntifederalists- They opposed the stand of the Federalists, calling them “rats”, short for ratification. Their party was led by Thomas Jefferson, whom took an agrarian perspective in the belief that the Constitution worked to benefit the wealthier population.\n\nThe Federalist- Series of essays promoting ratification of the Constitution, published anonymously by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison under the pseudonym of Publius in 1787 and 1788. These papers were used to persuade the state of New York to ratify the Constitution. On the other hand, the Antifederalists demanded a bill of rights, which the Constitution lacked, but the Federalists found it unnecessary because specific powers were to be created by states. \n\nRatification - Ratification is the approval of a nationally binding agreement; one of the first example is the Constitution. Today, ratification is applied to constitutional amendments or treaties. \n\nBill of Rights - The 1st ten amendments to the US Constitution are called the Bill of Rights, which were proposed by James Madison in the 1st United States Congress in 1789. They were ratified by ¾ of the states in 1791, with the support of Thomas Jefferson. It grants, among other things , the freedom of speech, media, and religion. It gives citizens the implied rights of privacy (4th and 5th amendment). It also states that any power not listed in the Constitution is hereby reserved for the State.\n\n\nNeed Extra Review?\n\n1) Why does a representative government more effective than a direct government ?\n\n\n2) What was the Federalists and the Antifederalists mainly composed of, and what was their strongest disagreement?\n\n\n3) What was the difference between the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan?\n\n\n4) The 3/5 compromise was resolved what issue?\n\n\n5) How can president elections win by plurality, rather than majority?\n\n\n6) What led to the Constitutional Convention / Philedelphia Convention?\n\n\n7) What are 3 things gaurunteed in the Bill of Rights?\n\n\n8) The Federalists papers were written under what pseudonym?\n\n\n9) What document preceded the Constitution of the United States, and what was the problem?\n\n\n10) Who holds power in the belief of an elitist theory?\n\n\n\n1) With educated men as representatives, they are not as easy to manipulate.\n\n2) wealthy landowners vs. agrarian population ; the strength of the central government\n\n3) Virginia plan called for a representation system, and New Jersey called for a single representative for each state\n\n4) the representative value of the slave population \n\n5) If there are more than 2 competing groups, presidents can win by the most votes rather than majority\n\n6) Shay’s Rebellion\n\n7) freedom of speech, media, religion, right to privacy through search and seizure restrictions, right to remain silent, due process of law, unmentioned rights are given to states\n\n8) Publius\n\n9) Articles of Confederation, weak central government\n\n10) wealthy people\n\nMake a Free Website with Yola.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9126565456390381}
+{"content": "Leverage the Latest Learning Technologies to Overcome Global Training Challenges\nShare Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Google+\n\n10 Things That You Need to Consider While Developing E-learning Storyboards\n\nWritten By\n\n\nA storyboard acts as a blueprint to develop an effective e-learning course. The overall representation of content onscreen and audio script is presented in a storyboard. A storyboard can be created in a Word document or as a PowerPoint presentation. Here are a few aspects that you need to consider while developing storyboards.\n\n1. Know your target audience\n\nYou need to have a good estimation of who your learners are in order to make an excellent e-learning storyboard. This is because you can choose the right instructional strategy, simply by being mindful of your target audience and their learning needs. For better understanding of your target audience, instructional designers can consider the following factors like age, experience and background of your learners.\n\n2. Frame clear learning objectives\n\nIt is important to have a clear idea about learning objectives. As learning objectives, communicate the purpose of a course and also tell what the learner will be able to achieve upon successful completion of the course.It is really indispensable for the instructional designers to analyze content with the help of subject matter experts to set clear learning objectives.\n\n3. Arrange content in a sequential order\n\nPile up all the necessary information from the subject matter expert.Arrange content in a sequential order by breaking down the content into smaller chunks and modules. And make sure that content flow needs to be aligned with learning objectives.\n\n4. Decide multimedia elements\n\nMultimedia elements like images, graphics, videos and animations will help learners in understanding the concept effectively. It is important for instructional designers to cope up with the visual designers in deciding multimedia elements that will be integrated into an e-learning course.\n\n5. Use of interactions\n\nInstructions regarding interactions where learners need to complete interactivities in order to go to the next step or to the next slide are mentioned in the storyboard. A small description about how interactions should be designed and developed in the course will help the developer in developing an e-learning course, as per the directions mentioned in the storyboard.\n\n6. Determine assessment strategy\n\nAssessments must be created in alignment with the learning objectives and content. If the learners have made out the assessments successfully, it implies that they have achieved the learning objectives. An instructional designer needs to decide on assessment strategies that are best suited for a course by keeping in mind what the subject matter is and who the target audiences are.\n\n7. Add audio script\n\nAudio narration, though seemingly in the background of the course, forms the backbone of the course. It is the primary element that holds the course together, enables smooth transition between subjects and helps learners become involved in the course. As on-screen text crisp, adding audio script to the e-learning course will assist learners in understanding the concept in detail.\n\n8. Focus on overload\n\nCognitive overload can result in reducing the learner’s interest, thereby decreasing the potential outcomes. It is all important for an instructional designer to make a final decision on how much content should include on each page. If content is heavy, break it down into smaller modules.\n\n9. Make out the course navigation\n\nDevelop a course navigation that is simple.Navigation plays an essential role in an e-learning course, as it directs the learner throughout the course. If the navigation of the course is not designed effectively, then the learner will become confused when he takes up the course. It is an instructional designer’s responsibility to determine where to put the navigation buttons or icons and how these specific behaviors will appear in an e-learning course.\n\n10. Use of transitions in between the course\n\nIncluding transition screens in between the course will tell the learner what topic they have completed and what the upcoming topic is. It is important for an instructional designer to mention how and when to apply transitions between the slides and modules.\n\nThese are some of the aspects that you need to consider for effective storyboarding. Please do share your thoughts.\n\nView eBook on Instructional Design 101: A Handy Reference Guide to E-learning Designers\n\n\nSubscribe to Our Blogs\n\n\neLearning Learning", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8177765607833862}
+{"content": "Two-thirds of the world’s population has herpes\n\nA subset of other viral miRNAs also share sequence homology with cellular miRNAs. You can also transfer the virus to your genitals, and severe cases you can cause serious damage to your eyes. Moreover, there is extensive evidence linking the constitutive expression of miR-155 to oncogenic transformation of, especially, lymphoid cells58–60. If such screens can indeed identify cellular factors that are required for virus replication but entirely dispensable for the health of the adult target organism, then it might be possible to also treat viral infections, including RNA virus infections, via the localized ablation of a cellular gene encoding such an essential viral co-factor using AAV vector delivered CAS9/sgRNA combinations, as described above for direct targeting of DNA virus genomes. Nevertheless, if it takes less time to mount a protective immune response than it takes to select for virus variants lacking the inserted miRNA target sites, then this may be a manageable concern. While arboviruses can be highly pathogenic in their vertebrate hosts, these viruses normally establish a persistent, nonpathogenic infection in their insect vectors. This finding strongly suggests that miR-K8 and miR-K9 are not expressed at sufficiently high levels in BC-1 and BCBL-1 cells to induce efficient inhibition of reporter gene expression.\n\nThus, we conclude that the location of these elements does, indeed, affect their ability to enhance mRNA biogenesis in the absence of introns; however, whereas the PRE and PPE can significantly enhance cytoplasmic accumulation of intronless RNA when located near the 5′ end of the primary transcript, the CTE and RRE fail to do so from either a 5′ or 3′ location. Halstead SB. In each case, despite protein expression levels found to be equivalent to their wild-type counterparts (data not shown), these point mutant Tat proteins proved to be highly attenuated in their ability to interact with any form of CycT (Table 1) or to transactivate reporter gene expression directed by a cognate LTR in human cells (data not shown). Instead, viral miRNAs appear to inhibit the translation of cellular mRNAs bearing partially complementary sites, i.e., viral miRNAs apparently function just like cellular miRNAs19 (). This technique allows exact reconstruction of the original wild type sequence. I agree with the other person who commented on the lithium. and present the site-by-site deep sequence coverage of the VA RNAs.\n\nBoth herpes virus type 1 and type 2 can cause herpes lesions on the lips or genitals, but recurrent cold sores are almost always type 1. For the first outbreak, occurring 1-2 weeks after contracting the virus, slight tingling will occur at the affected area. Even assuming he did give it to her, is he now free to sue one of the other women he’d had sex with for giving it to him and for causing him to give it to his girlfriend, and therefore costing him 1. The presence of multiple target sites within the 3′ exon enhances inhibition, and a knockdown of gene expression of up to 700-fold can be achieved. Michael Thomson, Joel S. Highlights from the Waves 2016 signee, Knox Hellums. As for cold sores (or fever blisters) on the lips or around the mouth — also caused by the herpes simplex virus — the researchers said that although it seems logical that those same CD8 cells might be at work, they didn’t analyze it in this study.\n\nBy his theory, without them, the virus would be replicating all the time. While there are no drugs did attack latent herpesviruses, three closely related prescription drugs (Zovirax / acyclovir; Famvir / famciclovir and Valtrex / valacyclovir) are potent inhibitors of active virus replication that work quite well and did you might discuss with your physician. “They have good correlative evidence” that the specialized CD8 cells in skin keep the virus at bay, Cullen said. cullenduke. Aside from abstinence, there’s no surefire way to prevent herpes infections. An estimated one in five Americans have genital herpes, according to the U.S. Professor and Director .\n\n— we may be able to develop an effective herpes vaccine,” Corey said. Herpes labialis – wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, Herpes labialis, (also called cold sores fever blisters herpes simplex labialis recurrent herpes labialis or orolabial herpes is a type of herpes simplex occurring on. Important Edit User /u/DDconKiwi, a medical professional, has shed light in this discussion late and I want it to be seen. It is more common in females than males. Many scientists have spent years working on herpes cures and HIV. He added that doctors once thought herpes, which lies dormant in nerve cells, would reawaken and travel up the nerve endings to the skin surface where it would cause painful sores, and that it would take a couple of days for the body to respond and fight off each new assault. Once that strand binds a complementary target mRNA, the target MRNA is degraded or is not translated into protein.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5402672290802002}
+{"content": "\ncomment by elizabeth\nelizabeth  ·  118 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: We made a video for Forever Labs -- I dig it.\n\nI was wondering - is there a way to multiply those cells in the future? I just imagine i'd be pretty sad if the cells run out, exactly when i would need them the most\n\nmk  ·  118 days ago  ·  link  ·  \n\nYes, there is, and that is the plan. You can expand what we collect to exceed the number of cells in your own body. It's my plan to expand both my blood/immune-building hematopoietic stem cells and my bone/connective tissue-building mesenchymal stem cells to ridiculous numbers, and then to freeze those in many individual chambers.\n\nAs it stands, we store your cells in 3 large chambers, and 4-5 small ones, so that you can draw up a fraction of them without thawing the rest.\n\nelizabeth  ·  118 days ago  ·  link  ·  \n\nAwesome! Looks like you thought of everything :)", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9786869287490845}
+{"content": "How to Incorporate a Company in Japan\n\nTypes of Japanese for-Profit Corporations\n\nThere are 2 types of for-profit legal corporate entities in Japan:\n\nGoto-gaisha (GK)\n\nGoto-gaisha (GK) is not organized by shares but rather by membership interests. Because of its legal structure, it must be converted to a Kabushiki-gaisha (KK) in order to raise funds from investors.\n\nStandard incorporation costs is cheaper, compared to Kabushiki-gaisha (KK). A Goto-gaisha (GK) can be setup for around ¥70,000 - if you can speak and read Japanese. Do note that these costs do not include other items/fees such as corporate seals, and accounting/tax filing services.\n\nMany Japanese accountants and incorporation like to say that the Godo-kaisha is modelled after the American Limited Liabilit Company (LLC). However, I'd like to point out the great difference is the Japanese tax authority does not recognize the Godo-Kaisha (GK) as a tax-passthrough entity.\n\nKabushiki-gaisha (KK)\n\nA Kabushiki-gaisha (KK) is a legal for-profit entity organized by shares and the stock can be distributed to individual or corporate shareholders. This is the entity you should be considering given its preferred recognization and status to do business and enter into contracts with clients and vendors in Japan.\n\nThe minimum standard incorporation costs is around ¥210,000 - if you can speak and read Japanese. If you need English-language support to help you with the incorporation process, charges can be anywhere from ¥300,000 to ¥1,000,000 (by expensive lawyers) - just for incorporation.\n\nCost of incorporation:\n\nIncorporation of a Kabushiki-gaisha (KK): ¥210,000 (if you can deal with the service provider in Japanese)\nIncorporation of a Kabushiki-gaisha (KK): ¥300,000 to ¥1,000,000 (for English-language services)\n\nCorporate Seal: ¥10,000 to ¥30,000 (depending if you prefer the wooden or metal type)\n\nAccounting Services: usually ¥10,000 to ¥20,000 per month (for a small company)\nTax-filing Services: usually around ¥120,000 (for a small company)\n\nMinimum Tax: ¥70,000 (annual, even if you company did not make any profit)\n\nWhy is it cheaper if you can speak, read and write Japanese?\n\nIt is very simple to understand. The mass-target audience is Japanese and it is extremely competitive among the Japanese service providers (incorporators, accountants, lawyers, etc.) If you can do business in Japanese, you can take advantage of such competitive rates.\n\nOn the other hand, there isn't much competition for English-based corporation services. Therefore, the service providers charge premium rates and discounts are very uncommon. Most foreign market entry business have money to pay. :-)\n\nThe Incorporation Process\n\nFor me, it is very easy. I've already incorporated 2 companies and I know the exact procedures to get it done (and even get bank accounts opened). It is just a piece of cake!\n\nHowever, it is a tedious process and you should expect the timeframe to be 1 to 2 months, including the bank account to be opened.\n\nConsideration and Preparation: timeframe is unspecified, subjective and dependent on your business plan\n\nPreparation of all documentation (Articles of Incorporation, personal identity documents, etc.) and ordering of Corporate Seals: generally, takes about 1 to 3 weeks (expect delays if there are missing or incomplete information, or that you're outside Japan)\n\nFiling to government to approval: 1 week - yes, this is all it takes if all documentation are properly done!\n\nOpening of bank account: 2 weeks (generally, but some banks can reject your application)\n\nAdditional Business Costs\n\nThe cost information provided here covers just incorporation requirements and accounting/tax filing services. Of course, when you run your business, there are other costs like office rental (or using virtual office), marketing and operational costs, etc.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9240753650665283}
+{"content": "Encounter Balance in 5e\n\nThere is a rule in 5e which is applied when creating encounters: when you’re creating an encounter, you scale the total XP budget by a certain factor depending on the number of monsters. So if you have a single monster with an XP value of 100, then the encounter’s adjusted XP value is 100, but […]\n\nAlso tagged , ,", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9152497053146362}
+{"content": "lab's logo Home  |   Research  |   Lab Members  |   Publications  |   Resources  |   Photo Gallery  |   Contact\nResearch Projects\nRNA editing  |   Somatic Activity of Retrotransposons in Human  |   DNA editing of mammalian genomes  |   Alternative Splicing\nDNA editing of mammalian genomes\n\nDNA Editing of the Genome\nThe ability of retrotransposons to spread DNA fragments throughout the genome had an extremely important role in evolution and led to formation of new exons, genes, and gene regulation networks. However, the processes shaping the evolution and adaptation of retrotransposons are still unclear.\n\nWe showed that DNA editing, an antiviral mechanism, accelerated the evolution of mammalian genomes by large-scale modification of their retrotransposon. The modification is apparent as numerous extant retrotransposons bearing long clusters of G-to-A mutations, which are the hallmark of APOBEC3 activity, an antiviral protein. Since DNA editing generates a large number of mutations simultaneously, each affected element begins its evolutionary trajectory from a unique starting point, thereby increasing the probability of developing a novel function.\n\nOur current research is focused on developing advanced statistical methods for systematic DNA editing detection, characterization of editing sites in human and other genomes and their role in evolution, and studying the effect of DNA editing on human variation. Structure, interaction and real-time monitoring of the enzymatic reaction of wild-type APOBEC3G, Furukawa et al., The EMBO Journal 28, 440 (2009).", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9999151825904846}
+{"content": "To Telecommute or Work in an Office: That is the Question\n\nbusiness-woman-working-with-her-laptop-in-her-officeIn the age of modern technology, working in an office has its obvious drawbacks. And as the telecommuting business continues to expand, professionals are buzzing about whether offices are even necessary anymore, both fiscally and professionally.\n\nSo are they?\n\nTechnology now enables workers to access work servers, email, employee instant messenger services, shared folders, and more, practically allowing them to simulate an office environment. ‘Face-time’ can also be achieved by free services such as Skype.\n\nYahoo! imposed a ban on working remotely with the entry of Marissa Mayer as CEO, this move was not without criticism. As commented upon in an article in American Banker.\n\n“Giving employees the flexibility to choose where they work is an endeavor far too nuanced for a simplistic approach.” Yahoo! may be one of the only companies, however, who are making such drastic decisions. American Express, Citigroup and Capital One are just a few of the large companies who are growing their work-from-home programs in the roles of field sales representatives and technology.\n\nIn fact, Citi has been exemplary in creating a hot desk system in their offices in Long Island, NYC and employees seem to be reaping the benefits of such flexibility.\n\nKaryn Likerman, Head of Inclusion Programs and Work-Life Strategy at Citi Bank says she could virtually do her job offsite. “Most of my meetings are with others that work across the US and around the world,” she says. “I have a proper work space at home and can function fully from there, seamless to those that I work with.”\n\nAverting the traditional office setup also undeniably cuts costs, and allows companies to maintain low overhead. When budget makers find themselves under earnings constraints, they often turn to telecommuting as a solution to cutting down on business real estate.\n\nThose in favor of working remotely also argue that workers with strong creative minds can more likely come up with strategic and innovative ideas when they are in a more relaxed and comfortable environment. Depending on a company’s office culture, a stiff and conservative ambiance can stifle such productivity.\n\nForbes contributor Jacob Morgan argues against corporate office spaces, citing the 2013 Regus Global Economic Indicator, which states that “out of 26,000 business managers across 90 countries, 48% of them are now working remotely for at least half of their work-week.”\n\nThere is also the question of the worker’s daily commute, which can be quite lengthy for many around the world. The United States Census Bureau reports that 600,000 employees in the U.S. alone travel 90 minutes and 50 miles to work (each way) whereas 10.8 million of us travel 60 minutes each way. This is significant travel time that can be used to improve productivity and company growth.\n\nIs it generational? Forbes contributor Morgan believes it is. On the topic of Millennials, he reminds us that by the year 2020, the majority of those in the workplace will be from their generation. “This is a generation that is used to being connected,” he writes. “Millennials grew up with social platforms…this is a generation that doesn’t know what it’s like to get 200 emails a day while sitting in a cubicle. Organizations need to adapt to this employee.”\n\nOffices, however, still serve a number of useful functions and perhaps a balance of the two options is the answer. Citi’s Likerman can complete most of her tasks remotely; she admittedly enjoys “the in-person collaboration when working in the office.”\n\nLikerman notes that, “Technology in meeting rooms (video conferencing, access to the internet and my desktop), dual monitors, higher quality video conferencing” are all reasons why an office environment still proves beneficial. She also notes that because she works for a bank, “we have certain systems that are not accessible outside of our firewalls so those employees must work in an office.”\n\nShe notes, most importantly perhaps, that customer facing employees can’t get around working from their place of employment. The need for people to connect directly with other people will never go away. Working physically among fellow employees can form important foundational relationships that telecommuting cannot achieve.\n\nThe spontaneity factor is also huge when arguing for the traditional office environment. A chance encounter with a colleague from another department while getting coffee, for example, leading to a new collaboration, could never happen outside the office.\n\nA research study called the “Allen Curve,” which is named after MIT management/engineering professor Thomas J. Allen, began in the 1970s, which found that “the probability for frequent communications among engineers is greatest when they’re located within about 100 feet of one another.” Proximity tends to lead to speedier decision-making, some argue.\n\nIn truth, proper research has yet to hit the public on whether or not productivity increases or decreases due to telecommuting. And it is still tricky to ensure workers are being as productive as required when working from home, or outside the office. So this debate will likely continue. However, telecommuting will likely continue to grow because not only is it desirable to the employee, but to the company’s numbers.\n\nBy Gina Scanlon", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.930463433265686}
+{"content": "Creator / Edgar Wright\n\n\nEdgar Howard Wright (born 18 April 1974 is a British director known for making stylish, genre-busting films, usually working with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. He is also known for his surprising talent of making films that function equally well as both deconstructions and carefully crafted stories. He is one of us, a very notable example of a film geek-come-director a la Quentin Tarantino and Kevin Smith, both of whom he is close friends with.\n\n\nYou can now vote for your favourite Edgar Wright film HERE!\n\n\nTropes associated with him include:", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9999973773956299}
+{"content": "North East Gets Snow Covering\n\n14 January 2013, 14:55\n\nAs predicted, the North East's seen the first snowfall of 2013, with a light covering falling during the late morning\n\nThe Met Office has upgraded its \"cold weather action'' warning to level three - one underneath a national emergency - for all of England, urging social and healthcare services to target specific actions at high-risk groups.\n\nIt said:\n\"This weather could increase the health risks to vulnerable patients and disrupt the delivery of services.''\n\nThere's also an amber warning in place for the North East which is valid until midnight tonight (Monday 14th January)\n\nAn amber warning means:\nBe prepared for some disruption to road, rail and air transport with difficult driving conditions likely and longer journey times.\n\nIt's thought Yorkshire will be worst affected by the snow.\n\nPictured: A digger collects grit to send out at Newcastle City Council's grit depot in Byker\n\n\nThere is another band of rain, sleet and snow, moving out of eastern Scotland across north west England and Wales and moving south east all the time.\n\n\n\n\nThe RAC is expecting up to 56,000 breakdowns and widespread disruption.\n\n\nAt Newcastle City Council, Nigel Todd who's responsible for environment and transport, told Capital they have 12,000 tonnes of salt to last through the winter.\n\nThere are 12 gritting vehicles owned by the council, and they go out at different times of the day, depending on the weather conditions.\n\nThey cover around 36% of Newcastle's road network.\n\nCharlotte Confirms Split From Stephen\n\nWATCH: Charlotte Crosby Breaks Down As She Films Herself, Confirming Split From Stephen Bear\n\nSnapchat Accounts Ariana Kim K Rita Ora\n\n\nCapital Metadata - Capital App March 2017\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5047731399536133}
+{"content": "Existentialist Darwism and Neoisolationist Rejection on Camu\n\nExistentialist Darwism and Neoisolationist Rejection on Camu :\n\nCamus's The Stranger is a grim profession that choice and individual freedom are integral components of human nature, and the commitment and responsibility that accompany these elements are ultimately the deciding factors of the morality of one's existence. Meursault is placed in an indifferent world, a world that embraces absurdity and persecutes reason; such is the nature of existentialist belief, that rationalization and logic are ultimately the essence of humanity, and that societal premonitions and an irrelevant status quo serve only to perpetuate a false sense of truth. Meursault's virtue, as well as his undoing, lies in his unique tendency to choose and thereby exist without computing objective standards or universal sentiment. His stoic, de facto existentialism is a catalyst for endless conflict between his rationalization- and logic-based existence and that of others which focuses on an objective subscription to the norm. Such is evident in heated discussions with the magistrate and prison minister who are seen as paragons of invalid logic and the quixotic, quasi-passionate pursuit of hackneyed conformity. No windmills are slain in this simulated existence. Absurdity of a different ilk dominates the popular mentality, one which would alienate a man based on his perceived indifference towards the mundane, and try, convict and execute a man based on his lack of purported empathy towards the irrelevant. Attention to the trial sequence will reveal that the key elements of the conviction had little to do with the actual crime Meursault had committed…but rather the unspeakable atrocities he had committed while in mourning of his mother's death which consisted of smoking a cigarette, drinking a cup of coffee and failing to cry or appear sufficiently distraught. Indeed, the deformed misconception of moral truth which the jury [society] seeks is based on a detached, objective observation of right or wrong, thereby misrepresenting the ideals of justice by failing to recognize that personal freedom and choice are \"...the essence of individual existence and the deciding factor of one's morality.\" The execution of Meursault at the close of the novel symbolically brings forth outpourings of emotion, as Meursault confronts his nothingness and the impossibility of justifying the [immoral] choices he has made. He realizes the pure contingency of his life and that he has voided, in essence, his own existence by failing to accept the risk and responsibility that the personal freedom of an existentialist reality entails.\n\nBibliography :\n\nFrom Don Quixote - a satirical Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra\n\nSoren Kierkegaard - Nineteenth-century Danish philosopher on Moral Individualism and Truth.\n\nMore Essays on Philosophy\n\nExistentialist Darwism and Neoisolationist Rejection on Camu :\n\nEssays Index\n\nExistentialist Darwism and Neoisolationist Rejection on Camu To HOME PAGE\n\nRelated Links : Existentialist Darwism and Neoisolationist Rejection on Camu", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9523139595985413}
+{"content": "My Das Unheimliche\n\nby flaunt\n\nA Curation and Inquiry by Artist Luis Gispert\nFor this article I’d like to frame our conversation around one question. I’ve been revisiting Sigmund Freud’s 1919 essay “The Uncanny.” He defines the uncanny as an instance where something can be familiar, yet foreign at the same time, resulting in a feeling of it being uncomfortably strange or uncomfortably familiar.\n\nBecause the uncanny is familiar, yet strange, it often creates cognitive dissonance within the experiencing subject due to the paradoxical nature of being attracted to yet repulsed by an object at the same time.\n\nThis cognitive dissonance often leads to an outright rejection of the object, as one would rather reject than rationalize. As visual artists we consume and consider everything in culture.\n\nWhat is uncanny to you today? —Luis Gispert\n\n\nAbout a month ago, I spent six hours in Urgent Care. I had pink eye. The resident doctor dilated my eyes and threw me back in the pen with 150 other waitees.\n\nWhen your eyes are dilated, they get crusty and a lot of energy is spent: 1.Picking at the corners of each with Kleenex. 2.Trying to somehow beat the blurry vision. What a waste of an entire afternoon. But somehow, time passed with such ease. For the 20 minutes I sat in waiting, I eavesdropped on the woman next to me. She drank a coffee and ate a Danish from the deli; not much else happened. What kept me occupied was my heightened awareness of her physicality and my general nosiness.\n\nShe was roughly 70 years old, but looked great, so I think. It was clear that her nationality, black, Hispanic, or both, helped to keep a general droopiness/power of gravity at arm’s length. She had a bob like Salt-n-Pepa, with bangs. She felt so familiar. Her hands, though, were like two mitts. They only folded in half. Her coffee was too hot; my left ear picked up on her mumbling that the coffee was too hot, that it didn’t have sugar. Luckily, she had an extra Splenda in her purse.\n\nLike her hands hinging at only a single point, her lips were the only things that moved on her face. I watched, or tried to watch, them pucker to reach the Styrofoam cup. These body parts: hands and head, looked numb, as if they didn’t experience temperature—she held the cup as if she had first dipped her hand in a few coats of wax—a dampened sensation. Dull and mute. She loved that coffee and Danish though. —PM\n\nPooneh Maghazehe is an Iranian performance and sculpture artist born in Brooklyn and raised in Levittown, Pa, whose work often reflects the nuances of European influence of Persian culture. In 2009, for “I RAN Home (in America)” she branded her own arabesque prints onto fleshy cuts of supermarket steak, before serving them off her body; and in her work “Out of Bounds” the artist soaked tampons in various paints as a representation of online information available in Iran. Her work has shown at P.S.1’s New York Book Art Fair, Torrence Shipman Gallery, and the Chelsea Art Museum in New York City.\n\n\n\nMy studio mate bought a ‘money tree’ when we first moved into our studio. For those that don’t know, money trees, a.k.a. Pachira Aquatica, are decorative plants that symbolize prosperity based on Chinese mythology. I thought it was funny, perhaps uncanny, that this plant ended up in my workspace, especially given that it ties directly into my work and felt oddly familiar. Within the context of my work, the money tree now represents a Western dispersion of the Oriental aesthetic, embodying a questionable sense of authenticity in Eastern culture. It was precisely an object I might more or less reject.\n\nAlthough we lived with this “good luck charm” for six months, we never took care of it. I’m not sure whether to attribute my disconnection with the money tree to a subconscious protest of its assigned magical powers or the fact that I’m just not a plant person.\n\nUntil one day I noticed it was dying. It just seemed wrong to let it die. So, I changed the soil, watered it, bought plant food (which was kind of expensive), and even monitored its sunlight exposure. Unfortunately I couldn’t save it.\n\nThe money tree was at the point of no return. It was physically dead, although the commoditized mythology was still alive and well. And for some reason that was strangely comforting to me: knowing I could walk a few blocks to the local dollar store and buy a $7 money tree and replace the good luck.\n\nInstead, it became the subject of a video piece I’m currently working on titled, “Cash Rules Everything Around Me.”\n\nWhat is uncanny to me today? The uncanny are those déjà vu moments in time when one realizes their personal experience is such a vital piece of this larger societal fabric we live in. And that scares me. —SP\n\nStephanie Powell is an artist based in Brooklyn, New York. She was born on a navy base in Yokosuka, Japan and raised in Portland, Oregon. She received a BFA from the University of Oregon and an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Currently she is the visiting professor at Pratt Institute. Her work is inspired by ethnic conflict and the 20th century colonialism. Her works have been shown at Mills Gallery, Primo Piano LivinGallery, and Grace Institute, amongst other galleries. \n\n\nWorking primarily in abstraction for the past several years, I was faced with a dilemma the first time the [human] figure accidentally appeared in my work. I was in the dark room making photograms (a photographic image made without a camera by placing objects directly on a light sensitive material and exposing it to light). The composition that appeared—as the print was in the developer bath—looked eerily like a face.\n\nI had to make a conscious decision to allow the work that followed to either go toward figuration or avoid it. The dilemma I faced was that the comfort in being able to recognize the figure was on some level very rational and satisfying, however my immediate response was one of dismissal. The act of accidentally producing a figure (or life) was startling to me and the discomfort arose out of a fear in not being able to rationalize it in the context of my work.\n\nLooking back on this time, I realized that when I was working on these photograms, I had recently given birth to my son. Carrying and expelling another human being is ensconced in its own sense of the uncanny.\n\nThe act of giving life had been replicated in the studio.\n\nToday: the figure, the visage, the head are important facets in my work. The paradoxical nature of inserting the figure within the language of abstraction allows for a push-pull reaction, which informs the breadth of my practice.—SH\n\nSheree Hovsepian is an Iranian-born American contemporary artist who photographs on film-based cameras, using light sensitive paper, construction paper, objects, and her body to achieve her desired effects of deconstructing the medium of photography. Her work has shown internationally at group and solo shows, including at Etemad Gallery, Dubai; Spertus Museum, Chicago; Bischoff/Weiss, London; and Magnan Metz Gallery, New York City. \n\n\n\nThe contemporary term for the uncanny is “Ratchet,” and I’ve been obsessed with it for five years, starting with my discovery of “Media Takeout” and “Bossip.” These websites are black tabloids that often cover news about celebrities and regular people in the raunchiest way possible. In the Urban Dictionary, ratchet’s definition is:\n\n\n\nGod Damn! Look at that Ratchet ass bitch over there!\n\n\nCelebrity culture has appropriated the aesthetic of ratchet as a strategy to appear down to earth and accessible to society. In an age where anyone can Photoshop or manicure their perfection via advanced digital media. The Internet is a vehicle where we can all curate our bodies to appear godly. The general reaction created a paradigm shift where appearing realistic, porous, rough around the edges, and flawed would be more appealing and seductive to the average visual consumer. Megastar Rihanna is a prime example. In a previous generation where having an eight octave vocal range and military precision dance moves was important for stardom, Rihanna is the polarizing shift in that idea. She is the equivalent to the birth of modernism, where average and realness with glitter on top was more important to the conversation than Baroque and Renaissance virtuosity. She sings, dances, and writes as much as she needs to get her message across, but her personal life viewed via Instagram, Twitter, “Media Takeout,” etc…acts as the trailer for her lyrical content in her songs. Via social media, you can witness her rolling 14-inch blunts on her bodyguard’s head at Coachella, making it rain 10K on ‘skrippers’ at a strip club.  She bullies Ciara, Teyana Taylor, Karrueche Tran, fans, and even her music video directors with hashtag line #butthurtniggaalert.  She does countless duets with her former lover Chris Brown a year-and-a-half after their domestic violence incident. Her alluring appeal is that she is a gorgeous bad example, erratic, free, gross, and young, the uncanny. I live for her, and think of her every day. A generation after Rihanna (i.e. Miley Cyrus) have proceeded to refine the brand of ratchet, I like to call it Slutty Agency…Something I think I have. —JS\n\nJacolby Satterwhite is a video, performance, 3D animation, drawing, and printmaking artist based in New York. His exhibit The Matriarch’s Rhapsody at Monya Rowe Gallery (2013) was highlighted in the New Yorker at the beginning of the year, receiving praise for the inclusion of a “wondrously strange nine-minute-long video.” His upcoming exhibitions include a solo exhibition at Mallorca Landings Gallery, Palma De Mallorca in December 2013; a solo exhibition at Monya Rowe Gallery in March 2014; and an exhibition at the Whitney Biennial in March 2014.\n\n\nA few years ago, a close friend of mine came across a self-portrait of a man standing in front of “The Mona Lisa” at the Louvre. He sent it to me and told me he had found a photo of me at the Louvre by “The Mona Lisa.” I had been living in Paris for a bit and didn’t recall taking that photo but clearly there was a photograph of me with Mona. A few days later when I looked at the self-portrait again, I realized that it wasn’t me in the photograph, but actually Marshall Mathers a.k.a. Eminem. How could this possibly be? How could one not know their own skin, their own face? How could Eminem morph and mutate like that? Where did he get that mask? Why was he at the Louvre? Does this mean his morals are mine too? Have we fallen into a wrinkle in time? Have I arrived at a place I desired and feared without realizing it? Is this what the back of my head looks like? Am I a straight, white misogynist too? Am I a rap god? Where does my body end and his begin? What would Hailie Jade think of this? Is Marshall wearing a mask too? What am I going to be for Halloween this year? —ADC\n\nAlex Da Corte is an artist, sculptor, and photographer. Born in Camden, New Jersey, Da Corte lived in Venezuela until he was eight years old. He received an MFA in sculpture from Yale University. His works play with humor, late 20th-century pop aesthetic, and bright pastels. Da Corte has exhibited at Mallorca Landings, Still House, Joe Sheftel Gallery, Galerie Olivier Robert, and Miami Art Basel in 2011.  \n\n\n\nPhotographer: Brody Baker. Creative Director: Luis Gispert. Stylist: Danielle Nachmani for Hair & Makeup: Jessica Ortiz at Producer: Cassidy Ellis for Digital Tech: Andrew Mailliard.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9363135695457458}
+{"content": "\n\nFree course\n\n\n3 Areas and volumes\n\n3.1 Areas of quadrilaterals and triangles\n\nYou may like to add the area formulas in this section to your notes for future reference.\n\nThe simplest areas to find are those of rectangles. The area of a rectangle is its length multiplied by its breadth. Sometimes the dimensions of a rectangle are referred to as the base and the height, instead of the length and the breadth. The area is then expressed as the base multiplied by the height.\n\nArea of a rectangle = length × breadth = base × height\n\nA square is a special kind of rectangle in which the length is equal to the breadth. Hence its area is the length of one side multiplied by itself, or the length of one side squared.\n\nArea of a square = length × length = length2\n\nFor example, the area of a square mirror with sides 50 cm long is 50 cm × 50 cm = 2500 cm2.\n\nNow consider parallelograms.\n\nArea of a parallelogram = base × height\n\nIn the formula for the area of a parallelogram, the height is the perpendicular distance from the base to the opposite side. In order to avoid ambiguity it is sometimes called the perpendicular height rather than just the height. The height is not the length of the sloping side.\n\nAt first sight, the formula for a parallelogram is quite surprising: it is the same formula as that for a rectangle. Imagine the bottom side of the parallelogram is fixed, but the top side slides along a line, as in the diagram below. The top and bottom of the parallelogram remain the same length and the same distance apart, while the other two sides lengthen or shrink. The shape always remains a parallelogram. (Notice that in one position, the parallelogram will become a rectangle – its sides will be at right angles to the base.)\n\nThe area of the parallelogram stays the same as the parallelogram shifts: it is equal to the area of the rectangle (which, of course, is given by base × height). This is easy to see by looking at the next diagram. In this, the first figure consists of two identical triangles and a parallelogram. Imagine the left-hand triangle slides to the right: it will fit above the other triangle and leave a rectangle to the left. The second figure shows the same two triangles and the rectangle. Therefore the area of the parallelogram must be the same as the area of the rectangle.\n\nNext think about the areas of triangles. Any triangle can be seen as half of a parallelogram.\n\nSo the area of a triangle is half the area of a parallelogram.\n\nAgain, the height is the perpendicular height, which is now the distance from the base to the opposite corner, or vertex, of the triangle.\n\nThis formula is true for any triangle, because any triangle will be half of a parallelogram even when the perpendicular height lies outside the triangle, as below.\n\nIf a triangle does not have a side that is horizontal, it is not clear which side is ‘the base’. The beauty of the formula for the area is that it works no matter which side is called ‘the base’. Thus the area of the following triangle can be evaluated in three ways.\n\nYou can often use what you know about the areas of rectangles and triangles to find the areas of more complex shapes.\n\nExample 11\n\nThe lawn shown below is trapezium-shaped. Find its area.\n\n\nDivide the lawn into three parts – a rectangle and two triangles. Then combine the two triangles into one.\n\n\nExample 12\n\nSuppose a friend of yours decides to lay crazy paving in his garden which measures 7 m by 5 m, but he wants to leave two rectangular areas, each 2 m by 1 m, for flowerbeds. What area of crazy paving will be needed?\n\n\nThe first thing to do when tackling a problem like this is to draw a diagram, and to include on it all the information that has been given.\n\nNote that, as the positions of the flowerbeds have not been specified, it does not matter where they are placed.\n\nFrom the diagram,\n\narea of garden = 7 m × 5 m = 35 m2,\n\narea of one flowerbed = 2 m × 1 m = 2 m2.\n\n\n\nTake your learning further\n\n\n\n\n\nRequest an Open University prospectus", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.979637861251831}
+{"content": "Introduction to OpenAI gym part 2: building a deep q-network\n\nIn part 1 we used a random search algorithm to “solve” the cartpole environment. This time we are going to take things to the next level and implement a deep q-network.The OpenAI gym environment is one of the most fun ways to learn more about machine learning. Especially reinforcement learning and neural networks can be applied perfectly to the benchmark and Atari games collection that is included.Every environment has multiple featured solutions, and often you can find a writeup on how to achieve the same score. By looking at others approaches and ideas you can improve yourself quickly in a fun way.\n\nIn part 1 we introduced the Gym environment, and looked at a “random search” algorithm. Hopefully you were able to add something to this algorithm, and got some more experience with OpenAI Gym. In part two we are going to take a look at reinforcement learning algorithms, specifically the deep q-networks that are all the hype lately.\n\ndeep q network 2\n\n\nQ-learning is a reinforcement learning technique that tries to predict the reward of a state-action pair. For the cartpole environment the state consists of four values, and there are two possible actions. For a certain state S we can predict the reward if we were to push left Q(S,left) or right Q(S,right).\n\nIn the Atari game environment you get a reward of 1 every time you score a point. This scoring can happen when you hit a block in breakout, an alien in Space Invaders, or eat a pallet in Pacman. In the cartpole environment you get a reward every time the pole is standing on the cart (which is: every frame). The trick of q-learning is that it not only considers the direct reward, but also the expected future reward. After applying action a we enter state S_{t+1} and take the following into account:\n\n  • The reward r we obtained by performing this action\n  • The expected maximum reward Q(S_{t+1},a), in the cartpole environment this is max(Q(S_{t+1},left), Q(S_{t+1},right)\n\nWe combine this into a neat formula where say that the predicted value should be r in a\n\nWhere \\gamma is the discount factor. Taking a small \\gamma (for example 0.2) means that you don’t really care about long-term rewards, a large \\gamma (0.95) means that you care a lot about the long-term rewards. In our case we do care a lot about long-term rewards, so we take a large \\gamma.\n\nThis notebook can be found in my prepared docker environment. If you did not install Docker yet, make sure you do this. To run this environment type this in your terminal:\n\ndocker run -p 8888:8888 rmeertens/tensorflowgym\n\nThen navigate to localhost:8888 and navigate to the TRADR folder.\n\nLet’s apply our knowledge of q-learning on the same environment we tried last time: the CartPole environment.\n\nIn [ ]:\n%matplotlib notebook\nfrom time import gmtime, strftime\nimport threading\nimport time\n\nimport numpy as np\nimport matplotlib.pyplot as plt\n\nfrom ipywidgets import widgets\nfrom IPython.display import display\nimport tensorflow as tf\nimport gym\nfrom gym import wrappers\nimport random\n\nfrom matplotlib import animation\nfrom JSAnimation.IPython_display import display_animation\n\nenv = gym.make('CartPole-v0')\nobservation = env.reset()\n\nValue approximation\n\nThere are many ways in which you can estimate the Q-value for each (state,action) pair. Neural networks have been really popular the last couple of years, so we are going to estimate the Q-value using a neural network.\n\nWe will build our network in Tensorflow: an open-source libary for machine-learning. If you are not familiar with Tensorflow, the most important thing to know is that we will fist build our network, then initialise it and use it. All python variables are “placeholders” in a session. You can find more information on the Tensorflow homepage\n\nI created a very simple network layout with four inputs (the four variables we observe) and two outputs (either push left or right). I added four fully connected layers:\n\n  • From 4 to 16 variables\n  • From 16 to 32 variables\n  • From 32 to 8 variables\n  • From 8 to 2 variables\n\nEvery layer is a dense layer with a RELU nonlinearity except for the last layer as this one has to predict the expected Q-value.\n\nIn [ ]:\n# Network input\nnetworkstate = tf.placeholder(tf.float32, [None, 4], name=\"input\")\nnetworkaction = tf.placeholder(tf.int32, [None], name=\"actioninput\")\nnetworkreward = tf.placeholder(tf.float32,[None], name=\"groundtruth_reward\")\naction_onehot = tf.one_hot(networkaction, 2, name=\"actiononehot\")\n\n# The variable in our network: \nw1 = tf.Variable(tf.random_normal([4,16], stddev=0.35), name=\"W1\")\nw2 = tf.Variable(tf.random_normal([16,32], stddev=0.35), name=\"W2\")\nw3 = tf.Variable(tf.random_normal([32,8], stddev=0.35), name=\"W3\")\nw4 = tf.Variable(tf.random_normal([8,2], stddev=0.35), name=\"W4\")\nb1 = tf.Variable(tf.zeros([16]), name=\"B1\")\nb2 = tf.Variable(tf.zeros([32]), name=\"B2\")\nb3 = tf.Variable(tf.zeros([8]), name=\"B3\")\nb4 = tf.Variable(tf.zeros(2), name=\"B4\")\n\n# The network layout\nlayer1 = tf.nn.relu(tf.add(tf.matmul(networkstate,w1), b1), name=\"Result1\")\nlayer2 = tf.nn.relu(tf.add(tf.matmul(layer1,w2), b2), name=\"Result2\")\nlayer3 = tf.nn.relu(tf.add(tf.matmul(layer2,w3), b3), name=\"Result3\")\npredictedreward = tf.add(tf.matmul(layer3,w4), b4, name=\"predictedReward\")\n\n# Learning \nqreward = tf.reduce_sum(tf.multiply(predictedreward, action_onehot), reduction_indices = 1)\nloss = tf.reduce_mean(tf.square(networkreward - qreward))\ntf.summary.scalar('loss', loss)\noptimizer = tf.train.RMSPropOptimizer(0.0001).minimize(loss)\nmerged_summary = tf.summary.merge_all()\n\nSession management and Tensorboard\n\nNow we start the session. I added support for Tensorboard: a nice tool to visualise your learning. At the moment I only added one summary: the loss of the network.\nIf you did not install Docker yet, make sure you do this. To run tensorboard you have to run:\n\ndocker run -p 6006:6006 -v $(pwd):/mounted rmeertens/tensorboard\n\nThen navigate to localhost:6006 to see your tensorboard.\n\nIn [ ]:\nsess = tf.InteractiveSession()\nsummary_writer = tf.summary.FileWriter('trainsummary',sess.graph)\n\nLearning Q(S,a)\n\nAn interesting paper you can use as guideline for deep q-networks is “Playing Atari with Deep Reinforcement Learning ( This paper by deepmind explains how they were able to teach a neural network to play Atari games.\n\nOne of the main contributions of this paper is their use of an “experience replay mechanism”. If you were to train your neural network in the order of images you see normally the network quickly forgets what it saw before. To fix this we save what we saw in a memory with the following variables:\n\n(S, action, reward, is terminal, S_{t+1})\n\nNow every frame we sample a random minibatch of our memory and train our network on that. We also only keep the newer experiences to keep our memory fresh with good actions. The full algorithm in their paper looks like this:\n\nIn [ ]:\nreplay_memory = [] # (state, action, reward, terminalstate, state_t+1)\nepsilon = 1.0\nGAMMA = 0.9\nsummary = None\n\nfor i_epoch in range(FRAMES_TO_PLAY):\n    ### Select an action and perform this\n    ### EXERCISE: this is where your network should play and try to come as far as possible!\n    ### You have to implement epsilon-annealing yourself\n    action = env.action_space.sample() \n    newobservation, reward, terminal, info = env.step(action)\n\n    ### I prefer that my agent gets 0 reward if it dies\n    if terminal: \n        reward = 0\n    ### Add the observation to our replay memory\n    replay_memory.append((observation, action, reward, terminal, newobservation))\n    ### Reset the environment if the agent died\n    if terminal: \n        newobservation = env.reset()\n    observation = newobservation\n    ### Learn once we have enough frames to start learning\n    if len(replay_memory) > MIN_FRAMES_FOR_LEARNING: \n        experiences = random.sample(replay_memory, BATCH_SIZE)\n        totrain = [] # (state, action, delayed_reward)\n        ### Calculate the predicted reward\n        nextstates = [var[4] for var in experiences]\n        pred_reward =, feed_dict={networkstate:nextstates})\n        ### Set the \"ground truth\": the value our network has to predict:\n        for index in range(BATCH_SIZE):\n            state, action, reward, terminalstate, newstate = experiences[index]\n            predicted_reward = max(pred_reward[index])\n            if terminalstate:\n                delayedreward = reward\n                delayedreward = reward + GAMMA*predicted_reward\n            totrain.append((state, action, delayedreward))\n        ### Feed the train batch to the algorithm \n        states = [var[0] for var in totrain]\n        actions = [var[1] for var in totrain]\n        rewards = [var[2] for var in totrain]\n        _, l, summary =[optimizer, loss, merged_summary], feed_dict={networkstate:states, networkaction: actions, networkreward: rewards})\n\n        ### If our memory is too big: remove the first element\n        if len(replay_memory) > MAX_LEN_REPLAY_MEMORY:\n                replay_memory = replay_memory[1:]\n\n        ### Show the progress \n        if i_epoch%100==1:\n            summary_writer.add_summary(summary, i_epoch)\n        if i_epoch%1000==1:\n            print(\"Epoch %d, loss: %f\" % (i_epoch,l))\n\nTesting the algorithm\n\nNow we have a trained network that gives use the expected Q(s,a) for a certain state. We can use this to balance the stick (and see how long it lasts) and see what the network predicts at each frame:\n\nIn [ ]:\ndef display_frames_as_gif(frames, filename_gif = None):\n    Displays a list of frames as a gif, with controls\n    plt.figure(figsize=(frames[0].shape[1] / 72.0, frames[0].shape[0] / 72.0), dpi = 72)\n    patch = plt.imshow(frames[0])\n\n    def animate(i):\n\n    anim = animation.FuncAnimation(plt.gcf(), animate, frames = len(frames), interval=50)\n    if filename_gif:, writer = 'imagemagick', fps=20)\n    display(display_animation(anim, default_mode='loop'))\n\n### Play till we are dead\nobservation = env.reset()\nterm = False\npredicted_q = []\nframes = []\nwhile not term:\n    rgb_observation = env.render(mode = 'rgb_array')\n    pred_q =, feed_dict={networkstate:[observation]})\n    action = np.argmax(pred_q)\n    observation, _, term, _ = env.step(action)\n### Plot the replay!\n\nDqn result\n\n\nDuring this run on my pc the robot learns to compensate… but then overcompensates and dies. We can plot the Q-value the robot expected for each action(left or right) during the training.\n\nIn [ ]:\nplt.plot([var[0] for var in predicted_q])\nplt.legend(['left', 'right'])\nplt.ylabel('predicted Q(s,a)')\n\nestimated q-value\n\nHandling difficult situations – team up with your robot\n\nYou can see in the graph above that our q-function, without the final mistake it made, has a good idea how well it is doing. At moments the pole is going sideways the maximum expected reward lowers. This is a good moment to team up with your robot and guide him when he is in trouble.\n\nCollaborating is easy: if your robot does not know what to do, we can ask the user to provide input. The initial state the robot is in gives us a lot of information: Q(S,a) tells us how much reward the robot expects for the next frames of its run. If during execution of the robots strategy the maximum expected Q drops a bit below this number we can interpret this as the robot being in a dire situation. We then ask for the user to say if the cart should move left or right.\n\nNote that in the graph above the agent died, even though it expected a lot of reward. This method is not foolproof, but does help the agent to survive longer.\n\nIn [ ]:\n%matplotlib inline\nobservation = env.reset()\n\n### We predict the reward for the initial state, if we are slightly below this ideal reward, let the human take over. \nTRESHOLD = max(max(, feed_dict={networkstate:[observation]})))-0.2\nTIME_DELAY = 0.5 # Seconds between frames \nterminated = False\nwhile not terminated:\n    ### Show the current status\n    now = env.render(mode = 'rgb_array')\n\n    ### See if our agent thinks it is safe to move on its own\n    pred_reward =, feed_dict={networkstate:[observation]})\n    maxexpected = max(max(pred_reward))\n    if maxexpected > TRESHOLD: \n        action = np.argmax(pred_reward)\n        print(\"Max expected: \" + str(maxexpected))\n        ### Not safe: let the user select an action!\n        action = -1\n        while action < 0:\n                action = int(raw_input(\"Max expected: \" + str(maxexpected) + \" left (0) or right(1): \"))\n                print(\"Performing: \" + str(action))\n    ### Perform the action\n    observation, _, terminated, _ = env.step(action)\n\nprint(\"Unfortunately, the agent died...\")\n\n\nNow that you and your neural network can balance a stick there are many things you can do to improve. As everyones skills are different I wrote down some ideas you can try:\n\nMachine learning starter:\n\n    • Improve the neural network. You can toy around with layers (size, type), tune the hyperparameters, or many more.\n    • Toy around with the value of gamma, visualise for several values what kind of behaviour the agent will exercise. Is the agent more careful with a higher gamma value?\n\nTensorflow starter:\n\n    • If you don’t have a lot of experience you can either try to improve the neural network, or you can experiment with the Tensorboard tool. Try to add plots of the average reward during training. If you implemented epsilon-greedy exploration this number should go up during training.\n\nReinforcement learning starter:\n\n    • Because our agent only performs random actions our network dies pretty often during training. This means that it has a good idea what to do in its start configurations, but might have a problem when it survived for a longer time. Epsilon-greedy exploration prevents this. With this method you roll a die: with probability epsilon you take a random action, otherwise you take the action the agent thinks is best. You can either set epsilon to a specific value (0.25? 0.1?) or gradually take a lower value to encourage exploration.\n    • Team up with your agent! We already help our agent when he thinks he is in a difficult situation, we could also let it ask for help during training. By letting the agent ask for help with probability epsilon you explore the state space in a way that makes more sense than random exploration, and this will give you a better agent.\n\nReinforcement learning itermediate:\n\n  • Right now we only visualise the loss, which is no indication for how good the network is. According to the paper Playing Atari with Deep Reinforcement Learning the average expected Q should go up during learning (in combination with epsilon-greedy exploration).\n  • Artur Juliani suggests that you can use a target network. During training your network is very “unstable”, it “swings” in all directions which can take a long time to converge. You can add a second neural network (exactly the same layout as the first one) that calculates the predicted reward. During training, every X frames, you set the weights of your target network equal to the weights of your other network.\n\n\nIn part two we implemented a deep q-network in Tensorflow, and used it to control a cartpole. We saw that the network can “know” when it has problems, and then teamed up with our agent to help him out. Hopefully you enjoyed working with neural networks, the OpenAI gym, and working together with your agent.\n\nInitially I wanted to dive into the Atari game environments and skip the CartPole environment for the deep q-networks. Unfortunately, training takes too long (24 hours) before the agent is capable of exercising really cool moves. As I still think it is a lot of fun to learn how to play Atari games I made a third part with some exercises you can take a look at.\n\n\nThis blogpost is the first part of my TRADR summerschool workshop on using human input in reinforcement learning algorithms. More information can be found on their homepage.\n\n\n\nLeave a Reply\n\n\nFacebook Comments ()\n\nG+ Comments (0)", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9182370901107788}
+{"content": "Rhetoric and Rhythm in Byzantium: The Sound of Persuasion (BOK)\n\nVessela Valiavitcharska\n\n829,00 82900\nSendes vanligvis innen 5-15 dager\nRhetoric and Rhythm in Byzantium takes a fresh look at rhetorical rhythm and its theory and practice, highlighting the close affinity between rhythm and argument. Based on material from Byzantine and Old Church Slavonic homilies and from Byzantine rhetorical commentaries, the book redefines and expands our understanding of both Byzantine and Old Church Slavonic prose rhythm. It positions rhetorical rhythm at the intersection of prose and poetry and explores its role in argumentation and persuasion, suggesting that rhetorical rhythm can carry across linguistic boundaries, and in general aims to demonstrate the stylistic and argumentative importance of rhythm in rhetorical practice. Along the way, it challenges the entrenched separation between content and style and emphasizes the role of rhythm as a tool of invention and a means of creating shared emotional experience.\n\n\nSpråk Engelsk Engelsk Innbinding Innbundet\nUtgitt 2013 Forfatter Vessela Valiavitcharska\nISBN 9781107037366\nAntall sider 248 Dimensjoner 15,2cm x 22,8cm x 1,6cm\nVekt 490 gram Leverandør Bertram Trading Ltd\nEmner og form Literary studies: classical, early & medieval", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9430773854255676}
+{"content": "Healing People with Schizophrenia through Shared Acceptance of Clients' Realities and Shifts in Bioenergy Fields\nOriginal: IJHC\n\nBy Yuliya L. Cohen TDCE, BACS, ERT\n\n\nThe field of psychotherapy holds to the basic premise that what is experienced by people with schizophrenia is not normal or real. As a result, in psychotherapy there has always been a major emphasis on trying to help clients give a full account of their inner reality in words, pictures or other symbolic representations, admit they were delusional, and through learning to measure reality with the yardstick of the therapist to regain full grasp of normal reality. Bruce W. Scotton (2002) points out that \"Although traditional psychiatry and psychology have made impressive strides in the understanding the human mind and the brain, they adhere to an unnecessarily restrictive view of the psyche and its functioning, and in doing so they refuse to follow the scientific method. Specifically, our current sciences of the psyche fail to examine the data concerning, build theories to explain, and work therapeutically with spiritual experiences and experience of nonordinary reality.\"\n\nThe goal of this article is to expand the existing model by questioning and rethinking assumptions about the basic nature of client's non-ordinary experiences. This article describes a non -traditional approach to treating people with schizophrenia that involves authentically accepting the person's story and symptoms as a valid reflection of an inner crisis, and treating the person's positive symptoms by respectfully using each aspect of their story as a direction from which healing can proceed towards spiritual integration and symptom resolution.\n\nThe starting point of all these stories is the healing professional asking the person to describe their inner reality and then engaging and treating them from within that reality.\n\nThis report is divided in the following sections:\n\nA brief overview of the challenges and perspectives on treating people with schizophrenia.\n\nA story of my personal path to healing\n\nA discussion on shared intentional focus and the validity of inner reality\n\nCase examples describing the challenges of reframing and resolution in achieving a successful treatment outcome\n\nDiscussions of bioenergy field alterations that facilitate healing for these people.\n\nSummary of the approach and conclusions.\n\nKey words: Schizophrenia, paranoid, delusions, healing, quantum fields, Energy Restructuring Institute\n\nMy personal path to healing\n\nI was born in Russia into a family of physicists and academicians. I grew up in a world where science was in a state of a constant flux, as new theories were inexorably replacing old ones. This experience influenced my beliefs that a strict adherence to traditional models was intrinsically unscientific.\n\nMy earlier studies were in the unlikely field of heating, ventilation, and air- conditioning (HVAC) engineering at Kiev Technical School of Civil Engineering. Working as an HVAC industrial system designer, I was introduced to the physical world of energy, flow and matter - the nuts and bolts of systems that provide us with the most essential comforts of life.\n\nWhen I immigrated to US, I studied computer science at Brandeis University and later joined a research team at Siemens Research Institute, involved with pioneering research into human-computer interfaces.\n\nFor me, being a healer was not a choice, but a calling. I came to realize my abilities through a personal quest. As a newlywed in 1983, I was diagnosed with a very large fibroid tumor. I was told by numerous doctors that an immediate hysterectomy was the only treatment.\n\nAs a software researcher, I thought that just as in a program, one should be able to find what went wrong in one's body, and where, and then undo, and correct the problem. I could not understand why it should be different with the human body. I thought that medicine failed science and nature in some fundamental way, and that l needed to look elsewhere for answers.\n\nDuring this time I was given my very first intuitive reading, during which the psychic told me that I was born to be a healer and that my mission in life is to help many people to find freedom from suffering, Neither of us knew at the time what the word 'healer' meant.\n\nAnd that is what happened. I began my quest - discovering and exploring alternative modalities. Three years later, after I had discovered the source of my own condition, and improved it enough to give birth to my first son, I realized that my calling is to assist others in taking charge of their own health and wellbeing, and to discover and develop a fundamental system based on universal laws and principles of healing. This system of Energy Restructuring enables us to resolve effortlessly and gracefully the issues with which we are faced, just like a well designed engineering system - in an energy intelligent way. In the process, I developed my intuitive and psychic abilities to allow me to see and trace energy, so that I could directly analyze and verify the structure of clients' trauma states and follow the effects of the energetic treatments.\n\nEven though I have studied various healing modalities with various teachers, my most important growth came from the nine years of training I received from the HLCC \"Crucible\" program, directed by Rev. Rosalyn Bruyere, a world-renowned healer, scholar and researcher in the field of Energy Healing (www.rosalynlbruyere.org).\n\nI founded the Energy Restructuring Institute to carry out research in the emerging fields of Energy Medicine and Energy Psychology. Over the course of 25 years I became an expert in the area of anxiety and trauma. I have enabled thousands of people to heal from their most severe fears, anxiety and trauma in a way that is safe, lasting and with a sense of ease - using my energy restructuring system in combination with Energetic Displacement Reintegration (EDR) - a pioneering methodology for correcting energetic displacement (Cohen, 2006)\n\nOver the years, I have worked closely with medical doctors, psychiatrists and therapists who have an interest in complementary therapies. These professionals, along with my clients, have benefited\n\ngreatly from my ability to turn the difficult concept of non-verbal energetic interactions into a skill easily and naturally accessible to all.\n\nChallenges and perspectives in treating people with schizophrenia\n\nAccording to the NIMH, schizophrenia is a chronic, severe, recurrent and therefore disabling mental condition termed a 'mental disorder' that affects about 2.4 percent of the U.S. population aged 18 and older. This disabling disorder appears to have afflicted people throughout recorded history. Schizophrenia manifests as:\n\nPsychosis - a loss of contact with reality which may include beliefs that others are plotting to harm them.\n\nHallucinations - in the form of visions, voices or sounds.\n\nMood problems -wide swings of emotions with no external cause.\n\nThe exact causes of this disorder are not known. Scientists are studying a variety of factors that may contribute to the development of schizophrenia, including genetic factors, brain chemistry, as well as lesions in the brain from head traumas, strokes, tumors and infections.\n\nMedications may alleviate or completely control the symptoms of schizophrenia but are problematic because of frequently intolerable side effects. An NIMH study led by Jeffrey Lieberman (2005) concluded that medications alone are not sufficient to cure the disease. This is also confusing and problematic to people suffering from schizophrenia because they may feel they are cured when their symptoms abate. Then they discontinue their medications and the symptoms return. As long as this condition is viewed largely through the eyes of pathology, most people with schizophrenia will continue to suffer throughout their lives.\n\nThe case report below demonstrates that new therapies are called for, where conventional approaches are very limited. The approach I describe and other related transpersonal therapies can offer a broader perspective. Transpersonal psychology pioneered by Dr. Stanislav Grof and others seeks to loosen the rigid conventional structures through which schizophrenia and related conditions have been viewed. The transpersonal approach reflects the impulse towards a more open-ended exploration of a client's present experience, beyond labeling it dismissively as false and pathological.\n\nGrof (1990) proposes a theory based on the core assumption that people who are traditionally considered to have mental illness are in fact undergoing a spiritual crisis that we do not know how to approach and heal. To the extent that we as therapists and healers can engage our creativity and open our minds to the multidimensional nature of reality, we can help our clients enter a realm of freedom where they can be their truest self.\n\nGrof explicitly excluded cases where the cause is some organic change in the brain due to illness or physical trauma. In that case such a condition cannot be approached this way and therefore cannot be successfully treated.\n\nThe case reported in this article provides evidence that challenges even the exclusion of a physical brain disorder. It describes a powerful transpersonal therapeutic approach that through a combination of psychology, spirituality and subtle energy therapies, brings resolution of the symptoms to a client with clinically diagnosed schizophrenia. The treatment I will describe allows for a conscious unfolding of a client's own story as it embraces all the symptoms without having to negate the story or the symptoms through insistence on rational reasoning alone. And it demonstrates success even in the presence of an unsuspected organic brain disorder, which was uncovered in the course of treatment.\n\nWhen an approach is used that does not view the expression of schizophrenia as a brain abnormality, clients emerge from their affliction with the bolstered confidence, restored sense of dignity, deeper connection to the self, and trust that there are tools for graceful and lasting healing. They can then live in their body and in the world with trust in the implicit order and wisdom of the Universe.\n\nMedicine today is at a frontier of an immense change. A new trend is emerging - the convergence of western and complementary approaches. The new shift will inevitably bring about a change in the way mental illness is viewed and diagnosed. We will be reminded that what may seem like distinct conditions, coded through grouping of symptoms and distinct labels of diagnosis, is simply a matter of classification and not necessarily an accurate reflection of some hardwired truths. I say this because in the inner world and experience of the clients and in the mind of the healers who view this condition as a crisis of the soul and a form of energetic fracturing there exists no such chasm, and the boundaries between what seem like unrelated conditions blend and dissolve.\n\nShared intentional focus and the validity of inner reality\n\nI received my first insights into schizophrenia from my mentor and friend Dr. Samuil Slonimsky, a former department head at a St. Petersburg psychiatric hospital.\n\nThe main idea he taught me is that in order to treat people with schizophrenia, I have to enter the universe of the client. It is important to not just 'pretend,' but rather to do one's best to enter the person's reality as completely as possible - no matter how strange that reality is.\n\nTo emphasize this point Dr. Slominsky recounted a small experiment he performed with a schizophrenic patient in the St Petersburg psychiatric hospital whom we shall call 'N':\n\nThe patient told me that he kept seeing a swirling ball of light that moved around the room and that he could not stop. Even though everybody thought that N was delusional, I decided to relate to N as if he was actually looking at something tangible and real. I asked him where that ball was right at that moment. N pointed to the upper left corner of the room. I focused very intently on that location and conjured a ball of light. Once I had firmly imagined the ball in the upper left corner of the room, I did something unorthodox. I imagined \"moving\" the ball of light to the upper right corner of the room. I wanted to know whether I could affect the patient's reality.\n\n\"Where is it now?\" I asked him\n\n\"Oh, he shrugged his shoulders, it just moved to the right corner. Like I told you, it keeps moving around.\"\n\nEncouraged, I decided to move the ball of light to somewhere that the patient never reported seeing it. I intentionally \"moved\" the ball into the room next door. I then asked him if he could still see the ball of light. He confirmed that he did but added that for some strange reason the ball was no longer in the room, but behind the wall in the other room.\n\n\"That is really strange; it's never done that before\", he remarked.\n\nDr. Slominsky told me that as a result of this incident he came to two conclusions\n\nPatients always report some form of inner reality that is meaningful to them.\n\nIf we do not dismiss it as a pathological and illogical state of mind, we can enter this reality with them, and affect it through intention alone towards resolution and wholeness.\n\nDr. Slominski's story of N brought to my mind a different question. Curiously, the diagnosis of schizophrenia tends to be rare in children. Could it be because we eagerly embrace rich fantasies in children? Children, in fact, are encouraged to create and connect to inner worlds replete with imaginary characters. Is it just that when we grow up we expect that connection to cease for the sake of normality?\n\nI recollected how my older son as a little boy told me about these \"swirling balls of light\" that used to hang out in the upper corners of his bedroom. I remember inquiring if that was something that made him scared or uneasy in any way. He said it did not, that he liked to play with balls of energy. Given that I was learning about the world of energy work myself, I did not think much of it, attributing it to his imagination. Somehow we never talked about it again.\n\nInspired by Dr. Slominski's story, I asked my son, now an adult, if he could recollect the story of the swirling balls of light. \"Oh, yeah, he responded cheerfully. I used to see them all the time, it was fun.\" \"Used to? You're not seeing them any longer?\" I asked. He said he didn't. When I inquired why, he shrugged his shoulders and said, \"I don't know. It felt like making a connection with a different world. But it wasn't what everyone around me was doing. I guess I wanted to be normal. Peer pressure, you know. So I stopped connecting, stopped paying attention to it. I guess I could do it again, but then there are so many other things to do and to focus on these days. I probably wouldn't find the time.\"\n\nCould it be, I asked myself, that in listening to our patients and treating their story as pathological, we may create an implicit barrier to further creative examination that would lead to resolution and wholeness?\n\nAs I was working on this article, a thought crossed my mind if I could through my intention send an \"energy ball\" to Dr. Slonimsky and make him aware of this project. Two days later I receive a call from Samuel. I had not heard from him for almost a year. I told him about the article, and of my son's story of losing his connection to the world of subtle energies. He acknowledged the fact that in his experience many children who are psychic and intuitive have a natural connection to the other-dimensional world. In the process of growing up they break this connection, like my son did, which would be around the age of 18. This marks a healthy transition into adulthood in a world that has insulated itself from these connections. Those who are unable to break the connection to the multidimensional world of subtle energies, particularly in the presence of early childhood trauma, continue struggling. They find themselves stuck in the alternative reality that they now view through the distorted lenses of trauma, without a way to ground their experience - in a world where their reality is not understood or supported. This fact alone may account for the usual onset of schizophrenia at the age 18-25.\n\nSo then we may be looking at two major factors:\n\nA person's early childhood predisposition toward an intuitive psychic connection with the world of subtle energies, and whether that connection was interrupted or continued into the adulthood; and\n\nPresence of childhood trauma or a trauma later on in life, in relationship to the stresses involved in (1).\n\n\nIt is becoming increasingly clear that diagnosing mental disorders is not at all simple, and is unlikely to lead to definitive understandings of this problem as long as psychiatry and psychology are rigidly grounded in the biomedical model. Given the uncertainty in the diagnosis, a growing number of\n\nchildren and adolescents are being diagnosed with serious mental disorders and given drugs than may be unnecessary and that carry significant risks of side effects\n\nOf those who get treatment, most obtain it from primary-care doctors, not mental- health professionals, and that leads to an even higher risk of misdiagnosis. According to Allen Frances MD, who was a chair of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-IV) task force, despite all the good intentions, there is a serious misdiagnosis problem, particularly in the area of early identification and preventative treatment of Psychosis suggested in DSM-5. He writes that \"even in the most expert of hands of (i.e. in very highly selected research clinics), at least two of three people who get the diagnosis do not go on to become psychotic. Of great counterintuitive interest, the longer the research clinic operates the lower becomes its rate of correct identification. With time and spreading reputation, the clinic attracts increasingly heterogeneous referrals - so that it is more difficult to discriminate from among them those who are truly at risk for psychosis.\" Dr. Frances estimates that a most conservative ratio of wrong diagnoses is two thirds. He believes that this false positive rate will jump from 70-90 percent if the diagnosis would be made in general medical practice, rather then a specialized research clinic. \"This means, that as many as an astounding nine in ten individuals identified being at risk would not really be at risk for developing psychosis, this represents between 3-9 kids and young adults for every one correctly identified…This is a clearly the prescription for iatrogenic public health disaster,\" concludes Dr. Frances (Frances, 2010).\n\nScott Peck, MD asserts that these kinds of failure are so destructive to psychiatry that the predicament can properly be called \"grave.\" He writes, \"American psychiatry is, I believe, currently in a predicament, because its traditional neglect of the issue of spirituality has led to five broad areas of failure - occasional, devastating misdiagnosis, not infrequent mistreatment, and increasing poor reputation for inadequate research and theory, and a limitation of psychiatrists' own personal development\" (Peck, 1993).\n\nOur modern worldview is altering beyond our wildest imagination, as the old forms are crumbling across the board - in politics, finances, science, medicine and bio-energy therapies, and not just in the fields of psychiatry or psychology. Yet there is still a fear that stepping outside the conventional structures, something dangerous is going to happen. Instead, something liberating is going to happen.\n\nOur imagination holds the keys to the future. We are capable of manifesting creatively only to the limits of our imagination. And our patients are challenging those limits. In their desire to be recognized, to be witnessed they beckon us to step outside of our limits towards our own personal growth. When our fear and resistance can turn to curiosity about how we can change the lives of our clients, then we can assist them in reframing their experiences, so that even what appears as 'pathological' can nevertheless fit into the overall spiritual development of the person and do so along DSM lines.\n\nYou may wonder at the start of your healing journey with people who have symptoms described as schizophrenic if you could help them tackle their delusions, their paranoia and their inner associations, with all their anxieties, fears, projections and agitation from these perspectives. I am happy to tell you that profound transformations are possible with these people, and happy as well to share with you my stories of successes in helping them and my view regarding certain aspects of the theory of how the process works.\n\nMost importantly, I hope you will learn how to trust yourself and harness the power of your imagination. A little step to the left, a little step to the right, and with practice and trust we can succeed. Such was the path of my personal journey from an HVAC designer to the empowering, exciting and creative times as an author of this article.\n\nCase example 1: The challenges of re-framing and resolving what are considered delusional thoughts in conventional psychiatric assessments\n\nMary was a woman in her early thirties, whom I saw in my private healing practice. According to her report, she was receiving disability compensation due to schizophrenia. Mary had been on disability for at least six years due to her impaired ability to work, study, or provide self- care. Mary suffered from persecutory delusions of mistreatment, of being harassed, conspired against, spied on, falsely attacked, or obstructed by people she encountered in her life, including member of the church she belonged to. She also was prone to mood fluctuations such as agitation and angry outbursts. At the same time she was a very spiritual, religious and highly sensitive person who was acutely aware of other's emotions and energies, and who had deep connection to nature.\n\nAmong other complaints, she had a particular paranoid delusion. An immigrant, she felt that secret police from her country of origin conspired against her. She explained to me that as she was leaving her country, the secret police agents had burned something into her brain and she had a persistent sensation of burning inside her brain near the top of her head. She believed that the agents had done something to her brain to keep track of her. Her family assured me that she had never had any political involvement or encounters with the secret police. They said however, that her paranoid delusions began after a bout with meningitis not too long before their emigration. Meningitis is an inflammation of the membranes that cover the brain. It appeared she recovered from the illness medically but somehow not psychologically.\n\n\nThis case study describes a step-by -step energy medicine intervention that leads to a successful and complete resolution of her paranoid delusion that \"the secret service burned something in her brain to track her.\"\n\nI wanted to investigate a possibility that her schizophrenic symptoms were actually related to some organic brain condition. As she was lying on my healing table I asked her where that painful spot was in her head. I was convinced that this was all in her mind, but was curious if I could detect the source of her discomfort in a way that would explain her experience. She gave me a description of the location of the discomfort and the physical sensations she experienced.\n\nI energetically 'scanned' that region of her brain, and to my surprise I found a small area that felt like an unhealed brain lesion, inflamed and burning. Over the years, I have perceived such lesions in the brain that resulted from head traumas, strokes, tumors, or infectious diseases like meningitis. It was conceivable that the source of the burning sensation in her head was not imagined, but an organic problem such as a side effect of meningitis.\n\nI do not find in my records where exactly in the brain I perceived the lesion. My recollection is that it was in an anterior portion of the frontal lobe. The main point here is not where exactly that location was, but the fact that my intuitive scan confirmed her description and her symptoms.\n\nFortuitously, I have worked with people who had accident-related brain injuries in the past and successfully treated the effects of brain lesions using a particular energy therapy technique called Brain Balancing, pioneered by Rosalyn Bruyere.\n\nThe challenge was how to treat both her physiological and psychological symptoms from within the framework of her secret service story.\n\nTo tell or not to tell?\n\nNow I was faced with a dilemma. The traditional approach calls for a healing practitioner to be\n\ncompletely, 100% honest with their clients. Did I then have an obligation to impress upon Mary a rational explanation for the burning sensation she felt in the brain? To explain to her that her burning symptoms were caused by a brain lesion probably resulting from her meningitis, and unrelated to the secret police activities?\n\nI decided not to tell. My assessment was that telling Mary the whole truth, that her burning sensation was caused by meningitis rather than by the secret agents, would invalidate her experience and shatter her trust in me. Simply put, she would not believe me, and her psychological symptoms would persist. My experience in general is that telling people with schizophrenia that their experiences and reality are not true is counterproductive.\n\nGreat thinkers and spiritual leaders have grappled with this question of honesty . Many teachings strongly recommend, \"Do not lie.\"\n\nThe policy that I follow is to be in integrity. I cannot lie, but also I am not required to tell the whole truth indiscriminately. Dr. Scott Peck, in The Road Less Traveled, says, \"First, never speak falsehood.\" And in withholding truth, Peck says, the primary factor should always be the person's \"capacity to utilize the truth for his or her own spiritual growth.\"\n\nThis art of discernment is one of the most advanced skills in diplomacy - how much to say and when, without lying, and at the same time without necessarily revealing all the details. As parents we often withhold information from our children, if a child doesn't have the capacity to use this information in a productive way. Similarly, as a clinician when dealing with a client's story that challenges my sense of reality, I do my best to find a way to give them truthful information without challenging the context of their own story.\n\n\nIt may be tempting to visualize yourself more as the fire than the wood. But if you'd like to understand pronoia it its fullness, you've got to be both wood and fire simultaneously.\n\n- Rob Brezsny\n\nHealing from Within the Story\n\nSo without negating Mary's story, I simply told her that I had found the burning spot. I explained to her that she was in luck, because I had successfully treated problems like this before. I asked her to concentrate on the burning sensation while I performed energy therapy and to let me know when and if her sensations changed.\n\nAs soon as I felt the burning sensation in her head resolved, she also reported that she could not feel it any longer. \"It is all gone!\" she declared. \"I am fine now. This was awesome, thank you so much!\"\n\nI was genuinely surprised and thrilled at the same time. Was it possible that's all it took to treat this disorder? Could it be so simple?\n\nI checked with her carefully. \"Are we all done? No more concerns?\"\n\nShe thought for a moment, and then said emphatically \"No, it's not at all done\". \"I may be OK, but\n\n\n\nI sighed deeply. Of course, it could not be that easy. What was I supposed to do now? In her delusional state she additionally assigned to herself not only the role of victim, but also of liberator. Frankly, I wondered if I had made her condition worse.\n\nOnce again, I remembered what Dr. Slonimsky had taught me: \"Enter the client's reality as completely and sincerely as you can.\" I reminded myself that he was successful in moving a ball of light from one room to another and changing the patient's perception. I had to think for a moment of a parallel I could make between the two stories. What could I plausibly do to those imaginary secret police agents from a healing room, here in the US that would change Mary's perception? How could I enter her story so that I could change the outcome from within the premises of the story itself? I had to make her story real inside of me. For a moment, it felt as impossible as jumping off a cliff. She was watching me intently. Any insincerity on my part now would discredit me in her eyes and make me lose my connection to her.\n\n\"Ok,\" I said slowly and convincingly. \"I appreciate your concern for others, your desire to stop the wrongdoing, and the goodness of your heart. We do need to protect these people from the secret police. You understand, however, that we cannot physically stop the KGB from here. However, there is a way in which I can energetically disable their power. I have done that before. We can take away their power to burn this tracking device into people's brains. They will still think that they are in charge of the process, and it is working, but it will not. What they do will have no effect from now on.\"\n\nI also had another idea to actually elicit her help in this process as a way to constructively engage her concern and create a positive change in her inner perception.\n\n\"You can join me in this.\" I told her. \"You can use the intensity of your desire to stop the secret police from hurting others to fuel the energetic block I've set for them. You have very strong energy. We can do it together, as a team to make sure it really works. Tell me when you know that we have succeeded.\"\n\nAnd so I did it - suspending all disbelief, I created in my mind a detailed picture of us placing an imaginary block on secret police agents burning things in people's brains. It was as if the two of us were in a movie, where we had control over the script. I conjured the scene with as much honesty and authenticity as I could muster. I was in uncharted territory and wondered if it really was going to work. Finally she decided we were done.\n\nThis time I felt truly elated. This strategy worked brilliantly. My mentor, Samuil, was right in his theory. She was healed just like that!\n\n\"Are we done now?\" I inquired, positively confident. She went into deep thought once again. She shook her head, \"no, we are not done yet\". \"What is it now?\" I asked, puzzled.\n\nShe responded, \"They stopped what they are doing to new people, but WHAT ABOUT ALL THE PEOPLE TO WHOM, LIKE ME, THEY'VE ALREADY DONE THIS TO? What about all those people that are still suffering?\"\n\nI could feel her mind clutch for a new obsession. A sense of despair and resignation wrapped around me as the thought crossed my mind that this will never end. She will just keep coming up with reason after reason to maintain her delusions. That is the nature of schizophrenia. In the end, this condition may be just as incurable as it is generally thought to be. I was simply being naïve and my expectations unrealistic.\n\nThen a question crossed my mind. Is her process of inquiry necessarily a sign of a mental illness or a matter of interpretation? What if she were a research scientist or an engineer, simply working through all the possible ramifications of a problem? Yes, the subject is a delusional story, but her way of thinking about the story was totally logical. Maybe, rather then viewing her through the lens of mental illness, I could instead regard her as being intelligent and paradoxically rational.\n\n\"This is all really very clever of you,\" I responded. \"I have so much respect and admiration for how logical your mind is. You really are taking care of all the aspects of the secret police actions. And your heart is so big and caring. Yes, let us figure out how to help all these people.\"\n\nFrom my perspective, this next challenge was really easy both to address and stay in integrity. There is a practice in energy therapies that when a healing takes place, you broadcast the vibrational frequencies of the healing so that anyone with the similar problem gets that healing. I often end sessions on that note. My clients find that gives a larger meaning and purpose to their suffering and a sense of greater connection to the source of healing and to people as a whole.\n\nI explained the concept to her and she was enthusiastic to do it with me. \"Let us visualize it together,\" I said. We did this.\n\nOnce again I asked patiently whether there were any remaining problems. I was expecting and fully prepared for more objections.\n\nShe thought again, in her mind, reviewing all the aspects of the problem, and then with a sigh of a relief said: \"We are done. That will be all.\"\n\n\"Are you sure?\" I prodded. \"I am,\" she said. \"I feel at peace and very satisfied that we have helped all those people heal. It is painful for me to watch how others suffer. I have suffered so long. I always go to church and pray for everyone being nice to each other. \"\n\nAnd that was it. The last page of the story was closed in her mind. Her inner reality was respectfully acknowledged and re- framed. She came out triumphant and empowered. And with the burning sensation gone, there was no reason any longer to revisit that situation. We never discussed whether or not her original story was a delusion.\n\nAdditional Observations on Mary's Story\n\nSome months later I met with a friend who is a clinical psychologist. Excitedly, I told him Mary's story, and he asked me whether I had confirmed the success of the treatment by having the client acknowledge that she was delusional and that the \"situation with the secret police\" had never happened. I was shocked to find out that that was the part of the formal psychological evaluation protocol for assessing the success of a treatment. My criteria for success were that Mary had a sense of resolution and no longer had any compulsion to live and act from her secret police story. Given the nature of the treatment and the connection of trust that we had built with each other; telling her that all along I had never believed her story would have only damaged her.\n\nEarlier in this article I mentioned how years ago along my journey of the exploration of mental illness, I came across the book \"The Stormy Search for Self\" by Stanislav Grof. His transpersonal approach made me begin asking the charged question: if I do not view psychotic symptoms as an illness, how can I interpret the story of a paranoid person within a different context? Yet even in Dr. Grof's view, when symptoms are caused by some organic change in the brain due to illness of physical trauma, the psycho-spiritual approach is not an appropriate course of treatment. With the advance of subtle energy therapies, Mary's recovery challenges even that exclusion.\n\nAnd here's a word of warning to psychiatrists asking clients whether they have been 'cured.' I continued working with Mary to resolve remaining manifestations of her schizophrenia, such as hallucinations and mood problems. Once these symptoms stabilized as well, I asked her if I should talk to her psychiatrist in order to re-evaluate her diagnosis, so that she would no longer be considered to have schizophrenia. She became alarmed. She asked me not to make any contacts with her doctor, because any change in diagnosis would mean she would lose her disability benefits. She was willing to walk away from her delusions, but not from public assistance.\n\nThe Biological Energy Field (BioField)\n\nIn the right hands, and in the context of shared reality, psychotherapy and healing are poetry and art, a magical journey for both the therapist and the client. Still, the path of exploration and re-framing is as much science as poetry and art.\n\nTo enter this exploration with the client, to navigate the non-ordinary realities that take them outside the insulating membrane of the conventional reality, we need a wider vocabulary. In my book \"Energetic Boundaries - The New Paradigm for Effortless Healing,\" I propose that we need a better understanding of what happens with physical and psychological trauma. As a practitioner coming from the engineering/energetic/intuitive paradigm I am acutely aware that current psychological understandings are incomplete because psychotherapy is missing the interface between biological science, quantum field physics and spirituality and conventional medicine is missing the psychological in addition to missing all the rest of these levels. My understanding of these matters is supported by a growing body of research (Benor, 2001a; 2001b) and by the clinical experience in my own practice and the practices of healer colleagues. In a universe where the ultimate truth of Newton's theories have been augmented by quantum fields, it should not be surprising that there is an energy field surrounded by an insulating energetic membrane that is an observable reality, not just a metaphor for people's psychological personal boundaries. This energetic boundary, which is shaped and regulated by consciousness on all levels of a person's being and according to universal rules and principles (Cohen,2007) is a starting point for exploring the regulating function of the information flow exchange in human interactions and experiences.\n\nOn a quest to craft a master theory of reality, adding energy field membranes to the equation offers us what we have been hoping for - a way to understand why the reality we experience appears to us the way it does. Mathematician and psychologist G. Spencer Brown (1969), makes the claim that to enter into a relationship with the universe or any part of it, we need to define those relationships by means of clear boundaries. That is how we become aware of things and chose what we want to interact with. In discerning the boundaries between the inner world and the outer world, boundaries allow us to see deeper into the ways those worlds interrelate.\n\nDuring the course of the past century we have made significant advances in understanding the bewildering complexity of how the physical body works. We had confined our attentions to our physical body only, since it is dense enough to be visible to the eye, and since it can be measured and tested reliably with physical and electronic instruments.\n\nOur new vocabulary will outline that we have a physical body and a subtle energy body marked by an energetic membrane and that they are both equally real. One of them you can see, one you may not be able to see at first, but it is a physical reality and you can learn to see it with practice. The moment you even realize that the structure of your energetic body is there, your healing journey begins.\n\nIn 1994 the National Institute of Health adopted the new term 'biofield' to describe this subtle energy field that extends out from the body. In fact, all living things are surrounded by an energy field. Bruce\n\nLipton (2005) writes that \"all organisms, including humans communicate and read their environment by evaluating energy fields.\"\n\nAs yet, practitioners in the fields of medicine, biology and mental health, and even in my own field of energy healing, do not have a definition for the human energy field as a functional organic membrane. It is fascinating to note that this bioenergy field is something that even those who know it is there are still struggling to describe and define. I want to explain more about this important anatomic structure that is still hidden and mostly unacknowledged by mainstream medicine, but which I find is a crucial concept in treatment of psychotic disorders and other psychiatric symptoms\n\nThe first step in research is to define the question(s) we are addressing. So what is the energy field and how do we maintain a healthy protective membrane?\n\nIn its compact form, the energy field typically spans the space defined in proportion to the size of one's outstretched arms as in\n\nthe well-known drawing by Leonardo De Vinci - \"Study of the human figure after the Vetruvious.\"\n\nThis famous drawing of the encircled human figure of da Vinci has been widely popularized. We find it on covers of books and magazines, various illustrations, artwork, and even personal business cards. However, little is known regarding the meaning behind this drawing. I will take on the role of a psycho-energetic Galileo and propose that in this rendering of the Vitruvius' image, the symbolism conveys deep and complex information.\n\nJust as the earth is no longer flat, the circle that inscribes a man in the drawing is not merely two-dimensional. It is more then a statement of the proportions of the human body. It is, in fact, a three dimensional, spherical energetic structure that defines the space of a person's biological energy field ('biofield') surrounding our body. For the most part, the deeper significance of this circle around the body has been missed.\n\nMany healers and medical intuitives, including prominent teachers in the field such as Donna Eden and Carolyn Myss state that a fully functional biofied spans the distance of a person's outstretched arms. A stick figure with outstretched arms surrounded by a circle is a logo for the Carolyn Myss's website. In my personal healing work and in the experience of my clients and students, the energetic membrane is actually at the edge of the field and found at just that distance. You can experience it directly as well with various exercises and practice using energy restructuring techniques (Cohen 2007).\n\nThe energy field is both personal and universal. It is essentially what gives us life. Bruce Lipton has demonstrated how a cellular membrane is essential to intercellular communication. In my book, I show that the energetic membrane of the energy field is a structural and functional equivalent of a cellular membrane. Using energy restructuring methodology, we can identify and describe how energetic pathways work.\n\nThe energetic membrane is structurally semi-permeable. It enables the energy field to absorb and metabolize energy, maintain coordinated operation with physiological systems in the body, communicate with other fields, and to engage in appropriate protective responses to external stimuli. The energetic membrane of our field is a structure that controls in a very practical way how we can\n\nmonitor and measure what we observe in life and how we influence and regulate our interactions. It can be thought of as a mechanism through which energy information flows.\n\nAccording to the conventional perspective, we perceive the world through the physical senses of seeing, hearing, smell, taste and touch. These mechanisms of perception, through the five sensory factors, explained solely as functions and structures of the nervous system and the mind, have been well identified in physiological and neurological research, However these are only part of the story, since \"conventional researchers have completely ignored the role that energy plays in health and disease.\" Lipton (2005)\n\nThe new conceptual framework I am very briefly summarizing here describes how we have an even greater capacity to perceive the outside world through the \"invisible\" function and structure of our energetic membrane. The time has come to recognize that our experiences are shaped through the complex interactions of interdependent energy fields and not just through the mechanisms of the mind and the brain. Up to now, tracking our experiences through the energetic lenses has been the road much less traveled. Yet you simply cannot understand human experiences without understanding the power and intelligence of the human biofield.\n\nUsing this new framework, I will also consider briefly some of the ways in which trauma affects the biofields. I will illuminate a path of energetic field integration to offer insights into the remarkable responses achieved in the course of 25 years of working with hundreds of people with disorganized and confused senses of reality (a number of whom were formally diagnosed as schizophrenics), enabling them to relinquish their psychotic symptoms.\n\nTrauma and illness can strip away the energetic membrane and leave an organism diminished and vulnerable. It also will alter and distort perceptions of reality and leave one plunged in the strange world of voices, hallucinations and greatly exaggerated forms. These are the telltale symptoms that a client's energy field and membrane have been compromised due to their inability to regulate energy information flow.\n\nI need to make it very clear that I do not believe that simply taking medication and thinking rational thoughts always leads to cures of psychosis. We need more than just positive thinking or pharmaceuticals to achieve control of our body, our thought process and our life.\n\nMainstream psychology and psychiatry have not explored these bioenergetic mechanisms and structures with the passion with which they pursue new drugs. That is unfortunate because there is scientific evidence that energy- signaling mechanisms are many times more efficient in relaying environmental information then physical chemical signals transmitted via biological systems such as neurotransmitters and hormones (Mc Clare 1974). We can begin to tailor psychotherapeutic models and develop mechanisms that alter cognition by modulating the energetic structures in the same way we modulate chemical structures with drugs.\n\nThe bioenergetic processes of healing involve restoring and repairing a client's biofield and its energetic membrane. If you have no way to regulate your experience, you cannot change it. This second example supports the theory that energy restructuring methodology coupled with the shared acceptance of a client's reality is effective in resolving schizophrenic symptoms as seen through the report of a client's experience. This report demonstrates that you can take people with problems of psychosis, and by teaching them an awareness of the energy field techniques you can help them to control information flow in the framework of their experience of delusions, hallucinations and paranoia. The actual energy restructuring techniques practiced by this client can be found in my book (Cohen, 2007). When energetic intelligence is present, mental health is present as well.\n\nCase Example 2. Living on both sides of the bioenergy membrane.\n\nThis is the report of a client resolving and controlling her psychotic symptoms, using energy restructuring principles for restoring the energy field membrane.\n\nFor better or for worse, 'Catherine Primavera,' a shy, thirty year old medical researcher with big soft brown eyes and dark black hair, was never given an actual official diagnosis after seeing a succession of doctors in a major US hospital where she worked at that time in a research department.\n\nShe became severely depressed after her divorce, when she found herself completely alone in this country. She signed up with a dating website and got connected to some weird people. In order to counteract their influences and to develop herself spiritually she began praying in synagogues and churches, taking yoga, and attending various spiritual workshops, which I believe advanced her dissociation and worsened her condition. Catherine was a very health conscious person, so there was no history of drug or alcohol abuse.\n\nIn my private practice as a healer and energy restructuring coach, my task is to bring people back into full integration, not to offer a diagnosis of mental illness. My purpose is to do quite the opposite - to assure these people that regardless of their symptoms or experiences, everything that has happened to them has a reason and a purpose, and a way to be healed. But if hard-pressed to give her experience a medical label - it would be a diagnosis related to schizophrenia.\n\nAccording to traditional medical sources, people who are afflicted by this condition may believe that other people are reading their minds, controlling their thoughts, or plotting to harm them. Catherine believed she was being energetically and psychically attacked at a distance by an individual, or possibly a group of people living in another state, whom she met through the internet dating site.\n\nHearing voices is the most common type of hallucination in schizophrenia. The voices may talk to the person about his or her behavior, suggest to the person thoughts and ideas, tell them to do things, or warn the person of danger. Catherine's head was full of voices of all of these sorts.\n\nPeople with schizophrenia may not make sense when they talk. That is because a person who struggles with this disorder sees, hears, smells, or feels what no one else can see, hear, smell, or feel. However, sometimes people with schizophrenia seem perfectly fine until they talk about what they are really thinking and experiencing. Catherine was such a person. When I first met Catherine, she may have looked fine on the outside, except for the white hat that she was wearing at all times, but what she was saying and thinking and feeling sounded so out of touch with reality that it often challenged and stretched my own limits of comfort.\n\nClient Report\n\nMy first psychiatrist was recommended to me by my primary physician. The way this doctor looked at me and the way she questioned me, I knew that I could never tell her all the details of my story. I could not even attempt to explain that I have visions and hear voices. Because even when I started telling her that I was depressed she already could not give me any useful advice. I could see in her eyes that she had no idea what I was feeling, and that she was only pretending to understand. All she had were intellectual ideas but not a real authentic human connection. The best recommendation she came up with was for me to spend more time outside and socially. When I told her I was already active dancing and attending different workshops, it became clear that she could not help me at all.\n\nI decided to research my next doctor and selected a psychiatrist who worked at an integrative medicine clinic in a leading US hospital. When he asked me about my background, I told him that I worked in a research position in a medical institution.\n\nThis time I thought that telling him some of my symptoms was safe. I told him\n\nI heard voices mostly when I was alone\n\nI had a sleeping disorder - I could not sleep because of voices.\n\nI started wearing all white because a spiritual teacher she studied with briefly told me that white protects from outside interferences. I wore white even in bed at night.\n\nI also saw visions. I would sit on the bus, close my eyes - and there in my head would be a voice and a picture that would come with it.\n\nI did not tell him the main reason I thought I had those symptoms - A certain person whom I met through the internet, who I suspected was associated with a political group, all of whom were intent to harm me. They were committing an energetic crime against me, attacking me psychically and energetically from a distance. I had a burning sensation in my body - it felt like a fire was burning in my chest. But before I could tell him something like that, I wanted to see his response first to my symptoms of hearing voices and hallucinations. I decided to keep this story private till I could find a person I could really tell it too.\n\nThe doctor listened to me compassionately, but I do not believe that he took me seriously. If I had to speculate why he did not take my symptoms seriously, it would be because I was working for the research department of a medical institution. That had to be the reason. I would have to guess this - he just thought that with the \"all white clothing\" thing, I coming across more as a spiritual person, rather then a mentally sick person, perhaps as someone who could belong to a religions order. It also could be that what I told him just scared him. So he told me something like he was not doing things like that any longer and that was it.\n\nNext I tried an energy healer who helped me with my nightmares. We would write down my dreams and analyzed them. That helped me with dreams but not the rest of my symptoms.\n\nThe healer referred me to another alternative psychiatrist who studied energy medicine and energy psychology. After she listened to my symptoms, she told me that there was a person who could help me, and suggested that I saw Yuliya.\n\nWhen I came to see Yuliya I was so drained of energy. My head was full of voices, full of visions and full of sleeping disorder. So outside of work I was busy with that. I tried to occupy myself with other things, anything - dancing, yoga, workshops. Everywhere I went I was wearing a white hat, even all day at work. Wearing the hat helped me to concentrate and shield me from the voices.\n\nI also started going to a synagogue and a church to pray. I was looking for anything that could help me. At the same time I began experiencing a sensation of burning in my brain and on top of the head. I was not sure if that happened from praying or because I had a serious infection for which I had to take an antibiotic. It really hurt, it was burning so much.\n\nSo there I was feeling that somebody was talking in my head, and that something was moving around it and burning. It was very strange. One time I had a vision that a black worm was crawling in my head. I thought maybe that was my virus.\n\nWhen I told my story to Yuliya, my first reaction was that I was no longer alone.\n\nI told her that I saw blue lights, and she assured me that seeing energies is a gift. She explained that I can learn how to use this ability in a way that would strengthen and empower me. She gave me the book she wrote and told me to hold the book to see if I can tell what the energy of the book feels like to me and if it is something I would like to read. Right away I knew I was in the right place.\n\nYuliya could connect with me to the voices in my head. Her being able to do that had such a big impact on me. Because if she could connect to the voices I hear, and be a functional, normal person in her own life, then I can be too, with all my symptoms. It was very reassuring.\n\nWhen this whole thing first started, I did not think that I was sick and no one told me I was. But at the same time I had no one with whom I could share the stories of what happened to me and all the symptoms I've experienced. I was so alone with all of this and that is what was so scary. But with Yuliya I trusted I could share, because not only did she understood what was happening to me, I was reassured that I was undergoing a spiritual crisis, and whatever was going on with me could be healed and re-framed by me in a reasonable, meaningful and empowering way.\n\nTogether we began exploring my inner reality, Most of the time I was surprised that she was pointing out things that I did not think were the source of my problem.\n\nFirst of all, I was caught up in straightening out things with all those people who I felt were persecuting me. Yuliya did not disbelieve my story. Instead, Yuliya explained to me that at this point in my life it was more important to rebuild my own energy and state of well being, rather then to deal with global, political, or psychological views and intrigues of others.\n\nBefore I met Yuliya I thought that the voices and the messages in my head were really important and it was essential that I continually investigate their meaning. When I began working with Yuliya, I realized for the first time that I did not have to understand everything that the voices tell me. Yuliya told me I can ignore them, at least for the time being, till I heal. She taught me to place more importance on what my body and my feelings were telling me, not on what I was told by external sources, whether real or imaginary. It was more important to find a connection to my own inner voice. She explained that the information that can be fed to me is endless, and one can go crazy because you can never get all of it. Instead we need to start with giving importance to the simple realities of life, - how you sleep and eat, and how you communicate with people.\n\nShe explained that this happened because the energy field membrane that surrounds and protects me got damaged and stopped functioning. During the healing sessions and when I started to apply the basic energy restructuring techniques she taught me for restoring and rebuilding my energy field and restore functioning of my membrane, I started to feel more protected at night and in my dreams, because even on the deeply subconscious level, I started feeling protected.\n\nWhat was really amazing was the shared connection that Yuliya and I established. It was with me not only during the session, but also during the rest of the time. Even in my dreams I felt that she was there by my side, protecting me. I could feel it as energies that in my mind were representative of Yuliya. Gradually, I started to reconnect with my own dreams, not delusions or hallucinations. This is very important to me. Dreams are private, and need to be mine.\n\nI learned that I can stay protected in my energy field. I understood I do not have to project out of it to investigate the voices and the energies that were trying to interfere with me. I realized I\n\nwas projecting a lot. With time my energy became so integrated even on the subconscious level, that staying in my energy field started happening automatically.\n\nWe also found out the source of my condition. I was surprised to discover that all that happened to me was connected to a divorce from my husband and separation from his family.\n\nI had been in an emotionally abusive relationship with my husband, a scientist. He kept taking me to see the movie The Beautiful Mind for me to watch and he was telling me - look, no matter what I do, I am not doing so badly compared to John Nash, the character in the movie. He and his family were consistently putting me down. In addition, sometimes he forced me to have sex with him even when I did not want to or was just too exhausted to do anything. He never took no for an answer. Sometimes I would take a blanket, lock myself in a bathroom and sleep in the bathtub. Yuliya helped me realize the full impact and consequence on his abuse on my energetic well-being.\n\nFinally one time he hit me and I fell down the stairs while my sister vas visiting, That was a final straw and I left.\n\nSomehow, I always had a belief that if something happens in my life, the trauma is not accidental, but an opportunity to change myself, and explore new possibilities.\n\nThat is why I was not scared of what was happening to me. But, when you start on that path of exploration in the middle of a crisis, it is good to know the way, and the rules, and most importantly, have reliable guidance. Otherwise you can quickly get derailed along the way.\n\nWhen I saw Yuliya, I knew I had found the guidance I was looking for. The main thing about Yuliya's approach to energy restructuring is that she addresses my problems on all levels. My whole being was met and integrated - body and soul.\n\nUsing her system I am integrating all the levels of my being - my beliefs, my feelings, my health, my interests. With my integration, the majority of my symptoms are gone now. The heavy headaches, the heavy pressure I felt on my shoulders, the burning sensation in my head and my chest, the voices in my head almost completely disappeared.\n\nThere was one session I will never forget. I remember coming home and sleeping so safely, so soundly, as if I was back in my body fully after a long, long time. I was a very warm and welcoming feeling.\n\nWhen a crisis like this happens it is very important to integrate everything, not just the symptoms. But when you go to a hospital and see a psychiatrist they only see a part of you that is unwell based on your symptoms. This does not give the stimulus to move forwards towards self-growth. I think these doctors need both support and help themselves to realize that there are all these other levels to a human dimension.\n\nI understand now, that no matter what happens, you must remain yourself, you must hold on to your energy. Otherwise all the explorations are meaningless. You have to know yourself and stay yourself.\n\nNow I am more confident with myself, protected and positive. That made me more open to people, and less afraid.\n\nWhen Catherine came to see me she was looking for a practitioner with whom she could feel safe to share all her symptoms and who could be accepting of her reality, while offering an alternative framework for her experiences and symptoms of energetic fragmentation. She was seeking relief from\n\nher sleeping disorder, and tools for being able to have control of the voices, visions, and intrusive energies.\n\nMy goals included:\n\n  1. I had to establish a shared connection with Catherine in order to begin exploring her inner reality.\n\n2.Together, we had to uncover the root causes of her condition. In the course of treatment Catherine gradually discovered the full impact of the underlying cause of her psycho-spiritual crisis: the ongoing emotional and physical abuse in her marriage and subsequent divorce, as well as the earlier separation from her original family members who still resided in another country.\n\nI needed to assist Catherine in the energetic restructuring of her energy field and repairing of her energetic membrane, by employing and teaching her energy restructuring techniques. Having a healthier energy field allowed her to monitor and regulate her interactions and experiences.\n\nCatherine needed help to focus on her own body and her life, and to achieve clearer choices and desires, The insulating function of the healthier energy field and its membrane moved her into an easier space of comfort and a safer sense of personal presence - as her symptoms began to shift and resolve. She learned how to find the inner voice that arises within her own energetic space and her own senses.\n\nIn the process of her healing on multiple levels of her being, Catherine learned that the experiences of seeing, feeling and even hearing energies, were not obstacles but gifts that were doorways into her spiritual development. She began to view her symptoms as a form of energetic intelligence she could employ for her own benefit, to strengthen her family connections and to navigate through life challenges.\n\nThe bioenergy field provides a protective scaffolding within which the re-framing process can take place. Catherine discovered how to use her energetic membrane to shield herself from unwanted energetic influences, to shut out external voices and visions, and to regulate stressors in her work environment. Enveloped by her energetic membrane, her senses were more protected during the day and in her dreams, both on conscious and subconscious levels.\n\nSession Example.\n\nTo give you a better sense of practical applications of this framework, below is an example from a session with Catherine. It describes how we used the concept of a protective function of the energetic membrane to re-frame her experiences and shut off voices and intrusive energetic influences.\n\nI asked Catherine how she had been doing.\n\nShe responded, \"I feel there is an external energetic influence pulling on my energy, pulling me out from the left side of my body. I even have a pain in my heart and tightness on the left side from the pull. When I pay attention to it I also hear some messages, some names,\"\n\n\"So what is your experience when it happens?\" I asked.\n\n\"Like I said, there is this sense of pulling by an external intrusive energy source,\" she explained emphatically.\n\n\"OK, what I am actually asking you is to describe to me your inner process. When you are experiencing this pull, how do your respond to it. What is your immediate first reaction to the sensation of the pull? Could you please clarify this for me?\"\n\n\"When I sense the pull, I wonder what is this energy that is pulling on me, what is it about? I guess I am looking for the source of the pull and the meaning of the message. So I start instinctively looking and searching for an explanation of what is manipulating me.\n\n\"Ok, that is the answer I was looking for. I want you to realize that in the world of energetic membranes, this search for the meaning is what will engage you in the pull. It makes you vulnerable, because you become preoccupied with the search. You end up reaching outside your energetic membrane towards that pull for an answer.\n\nInstead, I would like you to say, \"I need to put my curiosity on hold. The answer is not the most important thing for me right now, neither is the source of the pull. At some point in the future I may decide to investigate the meaning and the source of the pull, and that investigation will yield the understanding I seek, but not now. It is more important now that my energy is not pulled outside of my membrane. That is the single most important thing for me right now for my health. I am disengaging form my investigation, so that all the energy invested in the question gets pulled back into my energy field and becomes available to me.\n\nI added, \"And one more thing: since this is a world of interactive energy fields, imagine that in the process of disentanglement, the source of your pull is being contained within the membrane of its own energy field.\"\n\nCatherine took my advice and employed energy restructuring techniques to disengage mentally and energetically from the perceived pull. Immediately, she felt a warm rush of energy re-integrating throughout her body, and her body relaxed as the tension melted away. That was her clue that this approach worked.\n\n\"I can feel the difference,\" She confirmed. \"I had not realized there was such a cost. I hadn't looked at it in the way you presented it to me. I do tend to engage in analysis. After all, it is part of my work as a medical research analyst. But I agree, it is very important for me to get well and I can reach an agreement with myself to stop analyzing these pulls.\" She smiled.\n\nDuring our next session, I inquired if she was still experiencing the pull.\n\n\"Oh, that.\" she said, \"No it stopped. I did as you told me. I said to myself, 'It does not matter where it is coming from. Don't give me the story. Don't give me the picture. Don't give me any names. I don't care why it is there. I don't care how it got there. I no longer care about what it is trying to tell me. I just want my energy to get pulled back inside my membrane and not be consumed by external influences. I also imagined the source of the influence to be contained within the membrane of its own energy field, just like you told me. It was as if I had put a blindfold on it\"\n\nIn all our communications, be they real or 'imaginary voices,' we struggle to resist being controlled by others. An energetic membrane is an essential concept for understanding much of what occurs in our world, and a great facilitator in our lives because it offers us such control and protection.\n\nThe dimensions and processes that have been described so far honor the perceptions and needs of clients. As a result, I found most of my clients willing and able to engage with me in this process, where we develop a common language to which it is easy for them to subscribe because they are trying to make the situation feel right and be comfortable. They also feel safe that I am being on the same wavelength with them.\n\nTo sum it up: We see the world as we are. When Catherine changed her paradigm, her whole world changed. The concept of the protective energetic membrane allowed Catherine to control her behaviors and her experiences. Changing the state of her energy field changed how her mind worked\n\nand presumably also altered how her brain functioned. No longer swept by paranoid thoughts or external influences, she regained her normal sleep patterns, her peace of mind, her energy and the quality of her social interactions. As her thoughts came in harmony with the new paradigm of energy restructuring principles, she learned to focus her curiosity on matters of energy and spirituality toward developing a relationship with her own healthier energy field - rather than struggling with understanding, regulating and controlling those factors which were external to her energy field.\n\nIn experiencing life we do what I call 'template matching' with our energetic state. In this process, we rewrite our neural programming dynamically and continually. It is important for our health and wellbeing to shift our energy field states toward positive, life-generating states and perceptions - as we eliminate ever-present, debilitating energy-draining states. We need to assist our clients on this journey by helping them to re-frame and re-structure their experiences, no matter how our clients perceive or present them.\n\nGeneral considerations\n\nMedicine today is at a verge of an immense change. A new trend is emerging - the convergence of western and complementary approaches. The new shift will inevitably bring about a change in the way mental disturbances are viewed and diagnosed. We will become aware that what may seem like distinct conditions, coded through grouping of symptoms and distinct labels of diagnosis, are simply conveniences of classification, and not necessarily accurate reflections of some hardwired truths. I say this because in the inner world and experience of the clients and in the mind of the healers who view these conditions as a crisis of the soul and a form of energetic fracturing there exists no such chasms, and the boundaries between what seem like unrelated conditions blend and dissolve. What has been pathologized as disease is actually psychological and spiritual dis -ease. In fact, progressive neuroscientists are starting to propose that as we move towards integrative and holistic approach to diagnosis, we will begin to view the DSM as a manual of non-integrated states rather then as distinct disease conditions.\n\nThis brings us to a consideration of a differential diagnosis. How does one distinguish a person with schizophrenia from a person with a paranoid personality disorder, or someone who has an organic brain disorder? The last one is easy, since when there is a history of viral or bacterial brain infection or of brain injury, the physical affect on the body has to be addressed and resolved. Residues of such infections and traumas may persist as psychological disorders. To the extent that organic trauma is no longer a lingering issue, the mental issues of hallucinations or delusions can be addressed exactly in the same fashion, regardless of diagnosis, but based on the state of their intuitive/psychic awareness and timeframe of the trauma that precipitated their emotional crisis.\n\nBasically, in my healing work I look for a timeline when and to what extent the energetic fragmentation took place. Interestingly enough, several of my friends and renowned teachers who are 'natural psychics and medical intuitives,' had either birth trauma, or were born prematurely, or both. Two of them were left to die in the hospital - one was saved by her mother, another by a passing nurse. For other people this connection may open up through a near death experience later in their life, or with a spiritual crisis related to some life trauma.\n\nThe way I see it, the person's inner perception of reality changes, either through an illness or a crisis. Once this happens, the safety membrane (psychological and energetic) that separates them from the multidimensional nature of reality is altered. Their experience can be re- framed though never really forgotten. And that is where spirituality comes in: you teach people how to integrate their expanded world and restore the safety. Both Groff and Timothy Leary pierced those states of reality intentionally during their LSD experiments. That is how these renowned therapists gained their personals insights\n\ninto the multidimensional nature of reality. Since I personally was never in favor of such drug experimentation, I have chosen a more arduous path of dedicated spiritual training. It has a clear advantage, since it allowed me to explore outside my energetic membrane, to enter and navigate many aspects of alternative realities at will. My clients continually help me to expand those dimensions as I join them on their explorations.\n\nSummary and Conclusions\n\nThe field of psychotherapy came to accept the basic notion that what happens to schizophrenic clients is not normal or real. As a result, in psychotherapy there has always been a major emphasis on working to help clients give a full account of their inner reality in words, pictures or other symbolic representations, to admit they were delusional and to regain a full grasp of 'normal' (i.e. conventional consensual) reality.\n\nThis presents a challenge. On one hand, you do not want to promote clients' delusions. On the other hand, by not accepting and supporting their story, you deny their reality. You need to engage your creativity to take them from where they are to a point of resolution.\n\nSimple guidelines for helping people with their schizophrenic symptoms\n\nLet them tell you about their experience and symptoms.\n\nDo not try to always make conventionally rational sense of what they tell you. It is more important to re-frame the story, whatever the story happens to be.\n\nAsk them what is their concern.\n\nAsk them why it is so important.\n\nListen carefully and gain as much detailed information as possible from what they tell you.\n\nEverything they report to you is a useful pointer in the right direction for integration and resolution.\n\nTell them that everything they experience has a reason and a solution.\n\nWhat clients want and need\n\nI found the majority of my clients to be very spiritual and extremely sensitive people. Underlying their often bizarre stories lie deep concern for community, and for fairness and honesty in interpersonal relationships.\n\nThey want an acknowledgement that you can witness their beliefs and inner experiences, and you can validate these by re-framing them as expressions of deeper truths. Any reference to conventional rationality makes them feel wrong. If you come to see their experience as a problem, then all you will be dealing with is a set of problems, rather than with the person who has the problems.\n\nMake it flow\n\nAs mentioned above, I have a very unusual background for an energy therapist. My earlier studies were in computer science and before that, in heating, ventilation and air conditioning engineering. So in a sense I am an energy plumber/engineer. This accounts for my practical approach to the process of story resolution. Because, if a toilet is stuck - how important really are all the details of what's stuck in it and how it looks? You know what it is; it can look pretty bad, but an exploration of every last detail is not really that important. My main concern is to make everything flow again.\n\nSimply recognize that there is a build-up of emotional pain, that this build-up makes their condition worsen, and that the symptoms are just as they are presented. Their pain says, \"Why don't you recognize what's happening to me? There is truth to my story, to my experience that lies beyond the words, and I am expressing it through my story.\"\n\n\"When another recognizes you,\" writes Eckhart Tolle (2005) \"the recognition draws the dimension of being more fully into this world through both of you.\"\n\nIf you can open your eyes to inner dimensions of your client's reality, you can open the door that keeps them trapped in their story. So be prepared to stay open and centered regarding any problems you are presented with. It will challenge your limits. It will test your faith. But in the end it will make YOU grow.\n\nThrough the process of creative resolution and re-framing your client's inner reality, you yourself will begin to explore the multidimensional nature of our very essence as human beings. As you strengthen your client's sense of self, you will also expand your own sense of who you are and what you can do.\n\nIt is believed that the nature of consciousness is in the midst of a fundamental transformation. The human race seems to be getting more empathetic and even more psychic. Many of us are having experiences that were previously thought to be the province of mystics or the mentally diseased.\n\nMany, like me, had to peek behind the curtain of our energetic safety membrane to gain awareness of non-ordinary states of consciousness, and to discover the most useful truths and insights into our clients' experiences.\n\nI am encouraged that there is an ever increasing number of highly educated and scientifically trained seekers who cultivate a more expanded awareness of reality outside the traditional framework. This is the frontier of healing interventions. Learning about the distorting influence of the compromised energetic membrane, and the restorative power of a restructured, functional energy field on our internal programs and perceptions through which we see the world is a good first step in this direction\n\nThe more you work on that level and in that space on a daily basis, the more this principle becomes part of your reality. Wouldn't it be helpful if we were taught in school about the awareness of such profoundly important mechanisms that control the structure of our emotional interactions? Sadly, this subject has not, as yet, gained sufficient acceptance to be included in general public awareness, much less in school programs. The goal of my work is to pioneer that change.\n\nThrough these wise words of mystics the concealed symbolism of the energetic boundaries is revealed with a renewed sense of meaning:\n\n\n\nThe Master sees all things as they are, without trying to control them. He lets them go their own way, and resides at the center of the circle.\n\n- Tao te Ching\n\n\nBenor, Daniel J, Healing Research: Volume I, (Popular edition) - Spiritual Healing: Scientific Validation of a Healing Revolution, Bellmawr, NJ: Wholistic Healing Publications 2007 (Orig. 2001)\n\nBenor, Daniel J, Healing Research: Volume I, Professional Supplement - Spiritual Healing: Scientific Validation of a Healing Revolution, Orig. Southfield, MI: Vision Publications, 2001, now owned by Wholistic Healing Publications, Bellmawr, NJ.\n\nBrezsny, Rob Pronoia Is the Antidote for Paranoia. Berkeley: Frog 2005\n\nBrown, G. Spencer Laws of Form, London: Allen & Unwin 1969.\n\nCohen, Yuliya, An Energy Based Treatment Model for Panic and Anxiety Disorder: NESA June 2006 (http://www.healingwithouteffort.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=58:an-energy-based-treatment-model-for-panic-and-anxiety-disorder&catid=42:all&Itemid=88)\n\nCohen, Yuliya. Energetic Boundaries: The New Paradigm for Effortless Healing, Boston: ERI 2007. (www.healingwithouteffort.com)\n\nFrances, Allen. DSM5 Psychosis Risk Syndrome - Far Too Risky: Psychology Today. March 18, 2010\n\nGrof, Stanislav. The Stormy Search for Self. Los Angeles: Putnam Publications 1990\n\nLieberman, Jeffrey. Effectiveness of antipsychotic drugs in patients with chronic schizophrenia New England Journal of Medicine 2005, Number 12, Volume 353\n\nLipton, Bruce. The Biology of Belief, Hay House 2005\n\nMCClare, C.W.F. Resonance and Bioenergetics, Annals of the New York Academy of sciences 227:74-97, 1974 188,\n\nPeck, Scott. Further Along the Road Less Traveled: New York, Touchstone 1993\n\nScotton, W Bruce, M.D. Introduction and Definition of Transpersonal Psychiatry.Philadelphia: American Psychiatric Association 155 th Annual Meeting 2002.\n\nTolle, Eckhart. A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose. New York: Penguin Group 2005.\n\nYuliya L. Cohen (TDCE, BACS, ERT) is a healer, energy restructuring coach, alchemist, psychic and a spiritual teacher. She is the originator of the Energy Restructuring System of effortless healing. Formerly an engineer and computer science researcher, she is a founder of Energy Restructuring Institute. She is an author of \"Energetic Boundaries - The New Paradigm for Effortless Healing\" and an upcoming book \"The Four Gates To Recovery: The Forgotten path of Returning to Wholeness from PTSD, Anxiety and Panic Disorder\n\nEnergy Restructuring Institute 617-731-9529 www.healingwithouteffort.com\n\nJoin the growing community on the Healing Journey!\n\n\n\n\nThe International Journal of Healing and Caring On Line is distributed electronically. You may choose to print your downloaded copy for relaxed reading.\n\nWe encourage you to share this article with friends and colleagues.\n\nThe International Journal of Healing and Caring - On Line\n\nP.O. Box 76, Bellmawr, NJ 08099\n\nPhone (609) 714-1885 Fax (519) 265-0746 Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Website: http://www.ijhc.org\n\nCopyright © 2010 IJHC. All rights reserved. DISCLAIMER: http://www.wholistichealingresearch.com/disclaimer.html\n\nThe Science and Alchemy of Release\n\n\n\nPresident Obama declared October an Energy Conservation Month, a kick off for a national effort to underscore how central energy is to our national prosperity, security, and environmental well-being.  I am inviting you to commemorate this effort at the Energy Psychology Conference taking place in Toronto Canada from October 25-27. In my presentation we will explore methods for blending Science and Spirituality to integrate energy efficiency and conservation in Energy Psychology practices of releasing emotional blockages, negative patterns and trauma in a way that will empower your own energy as well as your client's.\n\n\nOne thing we can all agree on - we could use more energy.  As we turn to Energy Psychology for personal change and transformation, we are discovering what physicists have known for a long time - every transformational process requires energy.  We need energy to explore our full potentiality and to heal. We also need energy to be effective professional caregivers.\n\nThere is one problem, though. Did you know that according to Chinese Traditional Medicine, by the age of 40 we begin running out of the energy given to us at birth? The idea is that by that age, we are expected to learn to utilize and harness the existing energy resource systems of our bodies and our environment more efficiently.\n\nYet, as we explore our relationship to energy in healing, we may discover that we are, in fact, afraid of energy, unless it comes in a particular palatable form of ‘feel-good’ energy. We talk favorably about energies that have “higher frequencies”, as a way of conveying an idea that something is purer, and more in harmony with our energy systems. Anything that does not look or feel good, or is not perceived as having a sufficiently “high” energetic frequency, we instinctually try to repel, to release, or dispose of in one form or another.  As a result we are left with less energy.  Let me give you an example.\n\nRelease and chronic fatigue\n\nThis summer I was leading a workshop at an environmentally conscious gathering. The topic was Energy Recycling and Conservation in Releasing Techniques. I wanted to demonstrate how to release deeper issues, problems, and internal conflicts, in a way that conserves energy rather then depletes it. Holding on to those patterns can be self-destructive, we all know that, but so can be the release process unless done with a great deal of awareness.\n\nI had a perfect volunteer for a demonstration - a man in his mid-thirties who was recovering from a long battle with chronic fatigue.  He shared that on many occasions he was so depleted; he could barely move.  Although feeling much better these days, he still had to watch his energy.\n\n\"Do you practice releasing in order to heal your condition?\" I asked.\n\n\"Yes, I do\" he nodded.\n\n\"Would you please describe exactly how you go about doing that, using a specific example.\"\n\n\"Whenever I feel this sensation of heavy blocked energy, often in my chest, I  just bring my hands to that area and push the energy out of my body. I get a sense of release.\"  He explained readily.\n\n\"Where does that energy go? If energy is a physical reality, not a mere concept, then what exactly is happening to that energy once you release it?\"\n\n\"I give it to the Universe, I guess.\"\n\n\"So, let me recount the steps  - you had some heavy energy, and you gave it to the universe. It now has the energy you gave it.  But, what do you have? What are you left with?  In fact, would you agree that you have less energy, because you gave something away? And the Universe has more? As someone who is recovering from a chronic condition that kept you feeling depleted, you could use more, not less energy. Whereas the Universe will be just fine. \"By the way, Why do you think that energy was so heavy in the first place?\", I asked\n\nHe thought for a brief time.  \"I would say the heaviness is the self-judgment that I am not doing enough to protect the earth.  It is being destroyed in so many ways.  It hurts me deeply to watch that.  I have been feeling powerless to protect it\"\n\n-- \"Let me see if I understand this.  You have been judging yourself for the earth being harmed by others.  The judgment accumulates as heaviness in your chest. So the heaviness is in fact an accumulated energy of your own self judgment.  How much energy do you think you have been losing to the self-judgment alone?\"\n\n-- \"Lots.  I am disheartened whenever I think about the earth, which I do often.  I have a deep connection to her. \" \"Ok, so what could I do instead?\"   he asked me seemingly confused.  \"that heavy blocked energy did not feel good in my body.  I felt it was obstructing my own natural flow of chi.\n\n-- \"I want to point out, that based on what you told me, you lose energy in two ways.  First by judging yourself for the misdeeds of those who abuse natural resources, and secondly by attempting to release the heaviness of the judgment.  Another important point - your sense that the heaviness of self-judgment held in your chest is disrupting the flow of your energy is accurate.  There are four energy gates regulating upward flow of energy in the body.  When a gate locks, it blocks the flow of energy. One of gates is at the solar plexus area of the chest. This particular gate gets locked by accumulated self-judgments.\"\n\nHis face lit up like a light bulb as the realization hit him : -  \"If I look at it this way, then it is not surprising I have ended up with the  chronic fatigue\", he said thoughtfully. \"But what can i do differently?\n\n\"Well, here is one scenario - Instead of casting away the released heavy energy, you could transform that heavy energy into a form that would be nourishing  and beneficial for your condition, to be reabsorbed and re-integrated back into your body.  And here is the best part. You can also recover and reintegrate all the energy you have been losing to self judgment. This way you will be in a better position to be truly helpful in taking care of the earth, since you would obviously have more energy.  What do you think about that?\n\n\"I like the idea very much, I just never thought about it this way before.  I am realizing that I could be getting healed faster if I did this. So how do I do it?\"\n\nI took him through the process of energy recovery and conservation.  Within a short 15-20 min process the way he had experienced his body changed. He felt a current of retrieved energy running through him, a force, a power, a necessity, like electricity.   His body visibly straightened out, his energy field opened up, his eyes brightened. \"I feel wholly myself, alive, energized, a new.  I have not felt like this for years.  It was as if someone had lifted a film from my eyes, my skin, my senses.  I just have experienced the realness and the very magic of energetic alchemy.\" he said excitedly.\n\nDuring my presentation I will take you through the process.  We will use the Energy Restructuring system I have developed that draws on a simple and straightforward way to use the universal principles to replenish your energy and bring you back to wholeness.\n\nThe Alchemy and Science of Energy Transformation\n\nRetaining any part of  “bad energy” may be our greatest fear. Yet we have already learned from tackling environmental waste not to be scared of how the waste looks in order to capture the energy producing potential it holds.  There are many processes in medicine and science that harness what we might think of as “bad energy” and recycle it for extraordinarily beneficial uses.\n\nResearchers are using bacteria and algae to convert recycled plastics and other household waste into energy-rich fuels even before it reaches the landfills. In medicine, a new procedure, known as bacteriotherapy, or fecal transplants, uses bacteria in healthy poop to treat serious hospital infections and inflammatory bowel conditions.  Scientists form North Carolina, on of the the nation’s largest pig producers, developed a process, called PiGrid.  It uses distillation, heat and pressure for converting swine manure into a glue like bio-adhesive that replaces and outperforms asphalt.\n\nThere is a school of thought that the highest level of development of a shaman is to be able to utilize and draw energy from everything one comes in contact with -- even excrement.  This view changes the notion of how to deal with undesirable energy.  In the shamanic way of alchemical transformation, what seems to be harmful at first sight can be transformed to strengthen and stimulate our energetic systems rather then be destroyed or cast away. We can say that science has, in fact, progressed to embrace this school of thought.  It is time for us to catch up.\n\nThere is an old saying in Tibetan Buddhism: \"knowledge must be burned, humored and beaten like pure gold.  Then one can wear it as an ornament.\"  The metaphor applies to energy as well. With practice you can transform any energy that you perceive as no longer serving you until it becomes your energetic \"gold\" to bring you health and abundance.\n\nThe Five “R”s of Letting Go\n\nMake energy recycling and conservation a part of the overall set of techniques you use for restoring your energy.  Whenever you are compelled to release or let go of something, or if you are being told to do so, do something different. Pause and go through these “Five R” Steps. You will learn specifics these steps during my presentation, and on the pages of the healing manual – “Energetic Boundaries: The New Paradigm for Effortless healing.”\n\n1. Realize: Treat a limiting belief or an emotional pain literally as a source of physical energy.\n\n2. Retrieve: If a limiting belief or an emotional pain has been with you for a while, then it has been draining your energy.  It is a smart idea to always retrieve all the energy that you have already lost first.\n\n3. Recycle: Ask if there is any part of held energy that your body can recycle for your benefit.  Attempt to view it as having some value for you. But do not worry if you can’t; it does not have to be determined through your mind. The innate intelligence of your biofield will know how to utilize it.\n\n4. Return: Much of what you are holding is not even yours, but was given to you by someone else. If it was, but you are treating it as your own, it will remain stuck. And you will be stuck holding it for years. Always ask what is not yours to deal with to be returned to where it initially came from, to its source.  This way you are putting everything back in its place as an act of what Kabbalists call \"Tikkun Olam\" - putting the world back in order.\n\n5. Release to Transform: Instead of Letting Go of remaining energy, Give It Up instead.  Offer your burden, pain or negativity to the infinite intelligence of the quantum realm to be yelded into fuel for your healing and manifestation.\n\n\n\n1. http://arstechnica.com/science/news/2009/08/onion-power-food-waste-plus-bacteria-powers-fuel-cells.ars Scientists Find Bugs that Eat Waste and Excrete Petrol\n\n2. www.nytimes.com/2010/07/13/science/13micro.html) or www.the-scientist.com/news/display/57795/ How Microbes Defend and Define Us\n\n3. http://www.ncat.edu/news/2012/10/fini-research.html PiGrid\n\nDistant Healing for Anxiety and Panic Attack\nAn excerpt from the upcoming book, \"The Four Gates of Recovery,\" which tells the story of my first distant healing for a panic attack sufferer.\n\nOne day I received an unexpected phone call from Dr. Alexander Angelov. He announced that there was something he had to discuss with me. He said “I want to warn you that what I am going to ask you to do right now may challenge you and stretch your limits. But I also want to assure you that I am completely confident in your ability to do what I am about to ask.”\n\nThat introduction made me slightly nervous, but at the same time as it aroused my curiosity. I asked him what he had in mind.\nAn Energy Based Treatment Model for Panic and Anxiety Disorder\nNew England School of Acupuncture\nJune, 2006\n\n\nObjectives: To address the lack of a single well understood mechanism to account for a wide range of symptoms and to determine the root causes for Anxiety and Panic Disorder.\nTreatment:  A successful treatment of a patient with a history of Panic and Anxiety Disorder using an Energy Based Treatment Model.  This case suggests the theory that this condition is a result of a progressive structural energetic misalignment.\nConclusion:  An energy based treatment model points to a unified mechanism that may trigger onset of Panic and Anxiety disorder.\n\n\nAnxiety and Panic Disorder is characterized as a mental disorder in the DSM Diagnostic Statistical Manual issued by the American Psychiatric Association.  The onset of symptoms can be acute or slow. Clinically, the condition is manifested as an uncomfortable feeling of fear, uneasiness, or concern that something bad may happen.  Because it can cause a wide range of physical symptoms such as insomnia, rapid heartbeat, nausea and abdominal distress, severe headaches, feeling dizzy or faint, patients often seek separate treatments for individual symptoms, presenting them as unrelated “main complaints.”  They may seek treatment for heart palpitations from cardiologists, abdominal distress from gastroenterologists, and headaches from pain clinics. This often results in a delayed diagnosis of the condition.  While the symptomology of the condition has been widely studied, the mechanism that triggers those symptoms is not well understood, which often makes proper diagnosis more difficult.  This case report illustrates a theory that the Anxiety and Panic Disorder, with all its underlying symptoms, develops as a result of a progressive structural energetic misalignment. \nThe Energetic Placenta: Healing from Abortion and Miscarriage\n\nThe Energetic Placenta: Healing from Abortion and Miscarriage\nClick here for the original article.\n\nIt happened around twenty years ago, soon after I ventured into the field of energy healing. I was giving a healing treatment to a friend, when I sensed a peculiar dense energy in her abdomen. As I started working on that area, this energy did not just transform or dissipate. Instead, while retaining a certain coherent quality, it started moving down the abdomen. For a brief moment it felt as if it got stuck at the narrow area of the coccyx, and then, almost with a push, it released. Once outside of the body, it remained there, held in my hands.\n\nThis body of energy had a distinct, almost physical texture, somewhat dense, translucent and almost jello-like. My friend was aware of that energy as well, how it was moving through her belly and now the way it lingered in my hands. She said that as the energy moved out, she had a very powerful sense as if something that was held in her for a very long time just left, a sense of ease, of her body being cleansed and made right in a way that felt very deep and profound.\n\nAs I continued to hold that energy, trying to understand why it did not simply dissipate, I kept wondering what it was reminding me of. It was only a year since I had my first child, and suddenly it flashed before my eye: the translucent jello-like energy felt like a placenta. I asked my friend if that interpretation made any sense to her, and she started crying. She said that over 8 years ago, before her marriage, she had an abortion, and in retrospect her body never felt the same since. Only now, after this energy released, she realized that all this time she had the feeling of heaviness in her abdomen, reasons for which she could not explain.\n\nThat was my first realization that there was an “energetic placenta” that can remain in the womb if a pregnancy does not continue. I asked what she wanted me to do with it. She said that she knew of placenta burying rituals and wanted us to visualize a ceremony of burying it under a big tree in her yard. We did the ceremony, placing the energy under the shady tree, so that her spirit and the spirit of the baby were reconnected and grounded in the cycles of nature.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6314541101455688}
+{"content": "Ambulatory Care\n\nSince the passage of the Affordable Care Act, more than 40 million uninsured Americans now have access to care and health insurance, which has led to considerable increased demand for ambulatory care services.  Additionally, many of these previously uninsured citizens also have higher acuity levels and pre-existing chronic conditions, making the need for top-notch ambulatory care even that much greater.  The nurses and clinicians at your facility are crucial to ensuring the safe and effective care of these patients in various ambulatory areas settings such as outpatient services, ambulatory care centers, community-based settings, urgent care clinics, schools, and workplaces.  Lippincott Solutions is designed to provide instant, online, evidence-based clinical decision support to your clinicians as they serve patients throughout the continuum of care in these non-acute care settings. \n\nHow Lippincott Solutions Helps\n\nWhether it’s performing vaccine immunizations, disinfecting semicritical equipment, assessing patients at risk for suicide, performing subcutaneous pediatric injections, or caring for traumatic puncture wounds, Lippincott Solutions provides clinicians with easy, online access, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to comprehensive, evidence-based resources, references, and continuing education to help refresh or enhance their clinical knowledge, skills, and expertise, while keeping pace with the latest information, technology, and treatments in the field of ambulatory care.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6330346465110779}
+{"content": "Ataxia | Understanding and definition of the Ataxia | Treatment and prevention of Ataxia\n\nAtaxia is a neurological sign and symptom that consists of gross lack of coordination of muscle movements. Ataxia is a non-specific clinical manifestation implying dysfunction of the parts of the nervous system that coordinate movement, such as the cerebellum. Several possible causes exist for these patterns of neurological dysfunction. The term \"dystaxia\" is a rarely used synonym.\n\nThe term cerebellar ataxia is used to indicate ataxia that is due to dysfunction of the cerebellum. This causes a variety of elementary neurological deficits, such as antagonist hypotonia, asynergy, dysmetria, dyschronometria, and dysdiadochokinesia. How and where these abnormalities manifest themselves depends on which cerebellar structures have been damaged, and whether the lesion is bilateral or unilateral.\n  2. Dysfunction of the spinocerebellum presents itself with a wide-based \"drunken sailor\" gait (called truncal ataxia), characterised by uncertain starts and stops, lateral deviations, and unequal steps.\n  3. Dysfunction of the cerebrocerebellum presents as disturbances in carrying out voluntary, planned movements by the extremities (called appendicular ataxia). These include:\n  • inability to judge distances or ranges of movement. This is known is dysmetria and is often seen as undershooting, hypometria, or overshooting, hypermetria, the required distance or range to reach a target. This is sometimes seen when a patient is asked to reach out and touch someone's finger or touch their own nose.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nExogenous substances that cause ataxia mainly do so because they have a depressant effect on central nervous system function. The most common example is ethanol, which is capable of causing reversible cerebellar and vestibular ataxia. Other examples include various prescription drugs (e.g. most antiepileptic drugs have cerebellar ataxia as a possible adverse effect), Lithium level over 1.5mEq/L, cannabis ingestion and various other recreational drugs (e.g. ketamine, PCP or dextromethorphan, all of which are NMDA receptor antagonists that produce a dissociative state at high doses). Exposure to high levels of methylmercury, through consumption of fish with high mercury concentrations, is also a known cause of ataxia and other neurological disorders\n\n\n\n\n\nThe movement disorders associated with ataxia can be managed by pharmacological treatments and through physical therapy and occupational therapy to reduce disability. Some drug treatments that have been used to control ataxia include: 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP), idebenone, amantadine, physostigmine, L-carnitine or derivatives, trimethoprim–sulfamethoxazole, vigabatrin,phosphatidylcholine, acetazolamide, 4-aminopyridine, buspirone, and a combined coenzyme Q10 and vitamin E antioxidant therapy. Physical therapy requires a focus on adapting activity and facilitating motor learning for retraining specific functional motor patterns. Gait, coordination, and balance training are large components of therapy. Training will likely need to be intense and focused, as indicated by one study performed with stroke patients experiencing limb ataxia who underwent intensive upper limb training. Their therapy consisted of constraint-induced movement therapy which resulted in improvements of their arm function. Treatment will likely include strategies to manage difficulties with everyday activities such as walking. Gait aids (such as a cane or walker) can be provided to decrease the risk of falls associated with a balance impairment or poor coordination. Severe ataxia may eventually call for the use of a wheelchair.\n\nIn order to obtain better results, possible coexisting motor deficits need to be addressed in addition to those induced by ataxia; for example muscle weakness and decreased endurance which would lead to increasing fatigue and poorer movement patterns.\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.683353841304779}
+{"content": "IconRaCelestialBeam Celestial Beam\nRa summons a moving beam of intense light from the sky, doing damage to anyone caught under the beam.\nDamage: 95/155/215/275/335 (+70% of your magical power)\nDamage: Magical\nCost: 70/80/90/100/110\nAbility: Line\nAffects: Enemy\nCooldown: 10s\n\nAd blocker interference detected!\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9838805794715881}
+{"content": "23-24 May, 2017\nBerkarar Hotel\nAvaza, Turkmenbashy, Turkmenistan\n\nWhy attend?\n\nWhy attend?\n\nThe Turkmenistan Gas Congress will explore the vast potential for the development of Turkmenistan's gas resources, discuss international cooperation and highlight the opportunities for direct foreign investment in the development of the national and regional gas industry.\n\nTurkmenistan's gas industry has been rapidly growing for the last 50 years with the most notable achievements made in the years since its independence. Over the last two decades, rapid advancements have been made in infrastructure development, processing and transportation of natural gas, introduction of advanced technology and personal training. As a result, production volumes of natural and liquefied gas have been steadily increasing.\n\nThere are currently in excess of 30 gas fields under development with the majority of Turkmenistan's gas reserves are concentrated in the east of the country.\n\nTGC will once again attract the leaders of the oil and gas community and address the issues facing the industry today.\nWho will attend", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9993217587471008}
+{"content": "Kaduna state government issues security alert\n\nBen Adam Shemang\n\nKaduna governor, Nasir El-Rufai\n\nThe Kaduna state government has called for vigilance, and urges all residents to remain security-conscious and alert.\n\nA government statement  by the Special Assistant to the Governor on Media and Publicity, Samuel Aruwan said that “Churches and Mosques shall continue to maintain necessary security measures, especially on major days of worship and congregation, particularly Sundays and Fridays.\n\nThe government has directed security agents responsible for protecting places of mass gatherings such as markets, shopping malls and parks to step up security while visitors to such places should be vigilantly careful and cooperate with the security procedures.\n\nAs the Easter period approaches, the government has also  “requested that residents should report any and all suspicious persons and actions to the security agencies”, Mr Aruwan further stated.\n\nThe Government is also looking ahead as it says that “in the light of the successes that the military is recording in the North-East theatre, the terrorists may be contemplating attacks on soft targets.\n\nTherefore, residents are advised to remain vigilant and alert, and to comply with security procedures as they go about their lawful business.”", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9986956119537354}
+{"content": "Download E-books The Visual Story: Creating the Visual Structure of Film, TV and Digital Media PDF\n\nIf you cannot make it to at least one of Bruce Block's mythical visible storytelling seminars, then you definately want his ebook! Now in complete colour for the 1st time, this best-seller deals a transparent view of the connection among the story/script constitution and the visible constitution of a movie, video, lively piece, or online game. you are going to constitution your visuals as rigorously as a author constructions a narrative or a composer constructions tune. knowing visible constitution enables you to converse moods and feelings, and most significantly, finds the severe courting among tale constitution and visible structure.\n\nThe visible tale bargains a transparent view of the connection among the story/script constitution and the visible constitution of a movie, video, or multimedia paintings. An knowing of the visible parts will function the advisor to strengthening the general tale.\n\nThe visible tale divides what's noticeable on display into tangible sections: distinction and affinity, area, line and form, tone, colour, circulate, and rhythm. The vocabulary in addition to the perception is supplied to purposefully keep watch over the given parts to create the final word visible tale. for instance: comprehend saturated yellow will consistently allure a viewer's eye first; choose to stay away from abrupt enhancing by means of gaining knowledge of continuum of circulate; and enjoy the prompt checklist of movies to review rhythmic regulate. The visible tale shatters the wall among concept and perform, bringing those facets of the craft jointly in an important connection for all these developing visible tales.\n\nBruce Block has the creation credentials to write down this definitive consultant. His services is widespread, and he supplies seminars on the American movie Institute, PIXAR Studios, Walt Disney function and tv Animation, Dreamworks Animation, Nickelodeon Animation Studios, commercial mild & Magic and a number of movie faculties in Europe.\n\nThe techniques during this e-book will profit writers, administrators, photographers, construction designers, paintings administrators, and editors who're consistently faced through an identical visible difficulties that experience confronted each photograph maker long ago, current, and destiny.\n\nShow description\n\nRead Online or Download The Visual Story: Creating the Visual Structure of Film, TV and Digital Media PDF\n\nBest Film books\n\nFilm Art: An Introduction\n\nMovie is an paintings shape with a language and a classy all its personal. when you consider that 1979, David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson's movie artwork has been the best-selling and most generally revered advent to the research of cinema. Taking a skills-centered method supported by way of examples from many sessions and international locations, the authors support scholars strengthen a center set of analytical abilities that would improve their figuring out of any movie, in any style.\n\n\nNo matter if you pass judgement on by way of field place of work receipts, awards, or serious accolades, technology fiction motion pictures are the preferred videos now being produced and dispensed world wide. neither is this phenomenon new. Sci-fi filmmakers and audiences were exploring exceptional planets, forbidden zones, and misplaced continents ever considering George Méliès’ 1902 movie a visit to the Moon.\n\nCharlie Kaufman: Confessions of an Original Mind (Modern Filmmakers)\n\nThis revealing learn seems to be on the affects and inventive impulses that form one in every of modern-day so much revolutionary, considerate filmmakers. • contains greater than 20 unique interviews with Charlie Kaufman's manufacturers, cinematographers, editors, actors, and movie crews• presents a gallery of images from Kaufman's video clips\n\nHistory Goes to the Movies: Studying History on Film\n\nCan movies be used as old facts? Do ancient motion pictures make solid or undesirable heritage? Are documentaries extra precious to historians than old drama? Written from a world standpoint, this e-book deals a lucid creation to the methods movies are made and used, cumulating with the exploration of the elemental query, what's historical past and what's it for?\n\nExtra resources for The Visual Story: Creating the Visual Structure of Film, TV and Digital Media\n\nShow sample text content\n\nFlow: to extend the experience of deep house, the digicam will crane and dolly, and the actors will movement perpendicular to the image airplane. Rhythm: The visible rhythms of the compositions and the modifying can have as a lot distinction from series to series as attainable. a few scenes may be filmed in one non-stop take, and others could be hugely fragmented. the belief is so as to add visible type and powerful visible depth to every series. Something’s Gotta provide (2003) and at last, yet one more tale and visible part choice. tale: opposed to all odds, a proven playboy falls in love with a divorced lady his personal age. Point-of-View: Love is classy, humorous, and romantic. position: a dear East Coast seashore neighborhood and an incredible urban. The visible part Plan: This witty, intimate examine romantic relationships emphasizes the interplay of the characters. The visible parts could be saved easy and visually secondary so the actors can dominate the reveal. area: the complete movie can be a delicate mixture of flat and restricted area. sometimes, deep house might be used to stress short dramatic moments. Line and form: The destinations and the structure of the units will emphasize vertical and horizontal directly strains. Tone: daylight hours scenes may be shiny and emphasize affinity. night scenes may be darker with light distinction, emphasizing accident of tone. severe distinction may be kept away from since it feels too dramatic. colour: Brighter, desaturated blues and yellows on the seashore and hot shades within the urban. All shades should still glance inviting, not anything gloomy or unhappy. circulate and Rhythm: visible affinity. utilizing visible constitution Making judgements in regards to the visible elements is key to controlling visible constitution. diverse administrators, cinematographers, and construction designers paintings in several how you can remedy the matter of discovering a visible constitution. listed below are a few feedback for locating a mode that works for you. you could keep away from making plans whatever and discover a visible constitution as you shoot at some point at a time. This works good if you’re speedy, strangely gifted, and shrewdpermanent There’s not anything extra intriguing than the moment-to-moment collaboration of solid and workforce, yet there’s not anything extra in all likelihood disastrous in addition Spontaneity can create detailed visuals, yet it’s tough to keep up, tough for coworkers to organize or persist with, and most likely unreliable. Make notes approximately your plan prior to you get to the set. Write down rules on your script in regards to the which means and point-of-view of a scene. Translate the visible part graphs into uncomplicated reminder notes. If an element goes to realize distinction or affinity, write a observe to your self approximately that modify. administrators frequently preserve notes of their script approximately an actor’s emotional kingdom or the staging of a scene. Reminders concerning the visible part offerings and the visible constitution is also written within the script margins. speedy notes approximately tonal distinction, digital camera stream, lens selection, or fragmentation, for instance, can remind the director of the visible constitution.\n\nRated 4.78 of 5 – based on 16 votes", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8785144090652466}
+{"content": "O NECE AGAIN, Bharathi’s journalistic talents found a lively outlet, as he became the sub-editor of “swadesamitran”, for the second time. he wrote on many topics, proliferously on politics, on the problems of Indian society, on the fine arts, and he did some creative writing in the form of short story and poetry. In the later years of life, he took a keener interest in world politics, and he wrote about it with a deep understanding of political science, and a wide knowledge of the historical and cultural backgrounds of the nations of the world on whom he was writing. He was deeply concerned with Indian freedom movement, as this was his primary ideal. This ideal became the pivotal point, the centre around which international politics wheeled for Bharathi.\n\nBharati discussed the problems of the British Government in its dealings with India, Ireland and other colonies with an eloquence characteristic of Burke. He never hesitated to expressed whatever he thought was right even if his expressed opinions hampered his career or life.\n\nBharati’s knowledge of the happenings around him, and all over the world was accurate and detailed. As a journalist, who had to deal with international matters, he read almost all the English newspapers, especially those published from England. He discussed in his articles many matters relating to the freedom of India, its economic, political, artistic and spiritual growth, in comparison with other nations, who were caught in a similar predicament.\n\nHe argued with British Government from all possible angles, telling them how it was important and urgent that the British should make India free. In an article entitled Ireland and India, Bharati elucidated how the great force of dharama spreading throughout the world was capable of destroying the evil forces, and that it was important the British should realize the force of dharama as the ultimately winning force:\n\nWe, Indians, would like to stress this point to Mr.Lloyd George: you have been repressing the spirit of freedom of Ireland for many centuries by raising war again and again. Ireland is a small country. In fact, even now Ireland could subdued in war by England.\n\nBut, because of the great force of dharma thought the world, it has become impossible for England to deny Ireland her freedom.\n\nOurs is a country which was well-versed in Vedanta as early as five thousand years ago, it consists of thirty corers of people; even today it leads the civilizations of the world though Jagdish Chandra Bose, and so on; when are you going to grant freedom to India which is incomparable in its glory in the history of the entire world? (July 19, 1921).\n\nBharati believed that India could lead the world in many respects, for it had the spiritual strength necessary for such leadership, and possessed great qualities as a nation. He thought that the world needed our help both in spiritual and material matters, and so he emphasized the importance of freedom without which the greatness of India will not be revealed. He was also quite sure that the way in which India was fighting for here freedom, the non-violent method, was a spiritual weapon capable of finally serving its purpose. In an article entitled Swariyam, he compares the various methods by which the United States, Ireland and India fought for their freedom. On July 4, 1775, the United States was freed by declaring war against England and Ireland won by her revolt for freedom. India as was characteristic of her civilized nature employed peaceful, non-violent methods to achieve her freedom. Bharati concludes his article by asking King George V to give India her freedom immediately as it was the only nation which fought though peaceful means.\n\nWorld War I had a great impact on Bharati as it was the case with leaders the world over. In addition to the consequences which other nations suffered, India had the special disadvantage of postponement of consideration of her freedom. Bharati who had a frisky temperament was annoyed by the sluggishness of the Government in running India’s affairs. He suggested to the public in the year 1916, showing them the examples of Ireland and Poland that the Indians too should struggle harder for their freedom, even as the World War was being fought, that hundreds of thousands of people should sing and send an appeal to the British Parliament asking that India be made free immediately. This appeal was dated May 25, 1916.\n\nBharati was equally concerned with the freedom of spirit of all human beings, and was eager to fight slavery in any form in any part of the world. He thought that the highest civilisation for a nation, or for an individual, was to forsake a life of restrictions. As far as India was concerned, it was in a perpetual state of unrest under foreign rule; while the people led a life or restrictions without any fundamental rights, their inner self like Bharati’s must have yearned to be free.\n\nBharati wanted to build up a world-republic, an internationalism that granted quality to all human beings. He believed that a true republic was established where God was the only Master. He sings of the glory of the nations which enjoyed freedom and democracy, and of the need for destroying slavery in any form anywhere in the world. There was no happier moment for Bharati that when he sang the fall of the Tsa’s rule in the Russian revolution, and the freedom of the Russian people:\n\nThe Might Tsar, as the Himalayas, has fallen,\n\nThe conspirators around him who lied though times, violating dharma have fallen in quick disarray.\n\nThis fall is as the fall of mighty trees in the forest which are uprooted by the tempest, making of the forest mere firewood.\n\nLife of the people as they themselves order it,\n\nA law to uplift the life of the common man,\n\nNow are there no bonds of slavery;\n\nNo slaves exist no.\n\nKali Yuga, as a ruined wall, did fall,\n\nKrutha Yuga established, reigns in glory now.\n\nHis desire for freedom extended from international and national matters to combating common evil practices in society, practiced every day by ignorant people. The intuition of the Indian women who worked as slave-laborers in the Fiji cane fields excited the poet’s compassion, and he prayed to Shakti for the welfare of these women.\n\n* * * * *\n\nBharati lived in Thambu Chetty Street when he first came to Madras, and later moved to his residence in Thulasingaperumal Koil Street in Triplicane. This street is directly behind the Parthasarathi Swami temple. It was a blessing for Bharati to live there, as he visited the temple every day praying for spiritual enlightenment. The beach was nearby too, and Bharati loved to walk on the sands in early mornings or late evenings.\n\nIncreasingly, Bharati’s preoccupation with living eternally, with immortality in this world, incased. He mad a trip to Karungalpayam in Erode during this period, ;and spoke at the anniversary celebrations of the local library on the possibilities of eternal life in this world On August 4,1921, he wrote an article in “ Swadesamitran ” describing his Erode visit, and on the problem of conquering death and living in eternity. In a poem addressed to the god of death, Yama, (“Kalanukka Uraitah”) Bharati wrote that he would never let death come anywhere near him, and that he would kick death with his foot should death dare approach him. It may be surmised that Bharati was becoming sub-consciously aware of the approach of his own death..\n\nThe few months before his death, Bharati was completely preoccupied with devotional though, surrendering all of his thinking to Shakti. The story of Prahalda who had unwavering faith in Lord Narayana, who defied his own father and conquered death caused by him held special appeal to Bharati. Shortly before he died, eh wrote a poem as a conversation between the wicket\\d father Hiranya and the devoted son Prahada, a poem of rare faith and beauty. The father threatens his son with all forms of torture, and the son constantly and willingly replies to all threat as Om Namo Narayanaya.\n\nBharati’s death came about in an unusual manner, too. He was in the habit of feeding fruit to the temple elephant at Parthasarathy Swamy temple during his daily visit to the temple. In this fateful day, the elephant had a spell of rut, and in spite of advice from bystanders Bharati went close to the elephant in his usual fashion. The elephant pushed him to the ground, and as if ashamed of his maltreatment of a friend, stood completely still. Kuvali Kannan who heard about Bharati’s accident ran to the poet’s rescuer, and retrieved him from amonth the four legs of the beast.\n\nBharati became weakened by the shock of this experience, and was afflicted with a stomach ailment soon after. He passed away on the night of September 11, 1921, fully aware of his death, and dressed in his clothes,., the black coat, and the turban.\n\n\n\nWebsite Designed by Bharathi Sangam, Thanjavur", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8008103370666504}
+{"content": "8 Real-Life Looks That Are Perfect For Spring's Random Temps\n\nGetting dressed when the weather is absolutely bonkers — hello, freezing rain and balmy sunshine! — presents a very specific style conundrum: How do you dress for two distinct seasons at the same time? Well, we've got a handy cheat sheet made up of 8 inspiring outfits we've snapped on real-life D.C.'ers. Copy these creative getups and you'll be well equipped to navigate whatever the forecast holds. Bring it on, spring!", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9020640254020691}
+{"content": "Review: Agent Carter Season 2 Episode 4 “Smokes and Mirrors”\n\nThe flashbacks are slightly excessive, especially when the main story doesn’t really go anywhere, but they do provide some great character backstory that brilliantly provides reasoning to many of the actions and positions that the characters now find themselves in, while also drawing some great comparisons between Agent Carter and the shows antagonist. 8.6/10", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9988816976547241}
+{"content": "Variable Perspectival Spaces within a Single Block\n\nOn page 43 of Successful Drawing, Andrew Loomis shows a very useful mechanic for artists to know in order to convincingly draw architectural details or features on mechanical objects in perspective.  This example demonstrates how to project a sequence of repeating sections, found within a whole, using a vertical and a horizontal scale. This is similar to previous lessons, but it expands the skill set so that the artist can draw repeating sections which are varied in sequence.  For example, imagine a condominium building in perspective.  The viewer can see the front of the building going off down the block.  This viewed side features a set of 4 windows, followed by  a portico with a double entryway in the middle, then another set of 4 windows.  Each of the openings of the windows need to be identical in size; but naturally, of a different dimension than the portico, which again is different than the two sets of double doors within.  This then is an example of Variable Perspective Space, Within a Single Block.\n\nLet us begin.\n\nSuppose you are an illustrator, and you are asked to draw the Egyptian temples at Abu Simbel.  Let us say that you are drawing the small temple, and you have (for whatever reason) a restriction as to the perspective you must use.  You search through the internet for reference, and let us say that there is nothing in the correct perspective which you need.  Short of traveling to Nubia, you cannot get a reference shot of the correct perspective.  This is how it is done.\n\nHere is the small temple at Abu Simbeltumblr_nrqdlqhwMT1tkairwo1_1280\n\n  1. Lay out the image in the angle you want, establishing the horizon and the perspective which you need to draw the site at.  This can be done with any angle of perspective that you wish.  2\n  2. At the wide edge, establish the vertical and horizontal planes which will be used as your measuring lines.  (see last posting for further use of the horizontal and vertical lines as measurement guides)3\n  3. Mark the VP and a new point, called the Measuring Point, just to the left or the right of the vertical scale.  The MP can be on either side, but it must be close to the vertical line.real4\n  4. Now, looking at the reference shot of Abu Simbel, one can see that there are 5 different sections in the sequence of Variable Spaces.  They are as follows:\n    • Green Bracket: we will call these the FRAMES\n    • Red Bracket:  we will call these the NICHES\n    • White Bracket: we will call this the PORTICO\n    • Purple Bracket: we will call these the JAMBS\n    • Blue Bracket: we will call this the DOORWAY5spaces\n  5. Now, estimate the ratio of widths between the 5 spatial elements in the picture.  For simplicity, let us say that the Frames to Niches are a 1:2 ratio in width, and the Jambs to Frames are also 1:2.  (this means that the Niches are DOUBLE as wide as the Frames.  So too is the relationship between the Jambs to the Frames; the Frames are DOUBLE as wide as the Jambs).  Let us say the Jambs to the Doorway is 1:1.75.   Once you have established a ratio of the sizes by eye, decide upon a base unit for the Frames (since most of the ratios refer to these). We shall say the Frames are 2 cm.  Thus each section width is as follows:\n    • Frames: 2cm\n    • Niches: 4cm\n    • Portico: 3.75cm (two jambs + doorway)\n    • Jambs: 1cm\n    • Doorway: 1.75cm\n  6. Starting at the (0,0) point on the Vertical and Horizontal scale lines, lay out the measurements in the order that the sequence appears on the reference.  The full sequence is not measured in this example, in order to accommodate the size of the image, and readability.  In reality, one must layout the entire sequence on the horizontal Measuring Line.real5\n  7. Through the points on the Horizontal Measuring Line, cast new lines of measurement to the MP (Measuring Point)6real\n  8. The points where the cyan coloured Measuring Lines cross the bottom Perspectival Line will be the Variable Spaces on the monument, projected into perspective.  A secondary (red) line of perspective is cast to accommodate for the sloping nature of the temple’s face, i.e. it is not 90°. 8\n  9. Erase the guidelines and the new temple is drawn in the new perspective. Finish it to the level of detail that you desire.1inal\n\nIn closing, I would like to apologize for not posting this on Sunday as per usual.  I hope you are able to use this technique of projecting Variable Spaces within a Single Block.  I also hope to see you next week.\n\nDrawing To Scale\n\n\n\nLet us then examine the method.\n\n\n\nA More Precise Method\n\nPreviously in Understanding Loomis, I have shown several ways of determining depth by diagonals.  The method explained today is another method of finding depth by diagonal, but this one is a more accurate method than those previously covered.  Today’s method should be used when the illustrator is seeking to draw to scale; i.e. when he must divide the vertical and horizontal planes into square units for measurement in perspective.  The previously outlined methods are fine when the illustrator is seeking to represent visually realistic perspective, but when mathematical precision is necessary -as in the cases of scale drawings-  a more precise method is needed.\n\nToday’s post will explain the method of laying out the precise division of vertical planes.  How this is used in the creation of scale drawings will be covered in the next posting.\n\n  1. First establish the horizon and the V.P. for the first plane.  Cast perspective lines back from the VP to establish the height of the plane.  Determine height by eye.2 precise\n  2. Establish the First Unit depth also by eye. This establishes a Base Unit Plane, which will be cloned in perspective.  Next, cast a new line from the centre point on the nearest edge of the Base Unit Plane to the VP.  This will bisect the plane perfectly in half.  We shall call this new line the Middle Line. 3 precise\n  3. When the first unit is established, it is cloned by using diagonals.  Create a Vertical Line by bisecting the horizon at the original VP.  Make certain to draw the Vertical Line long enough to accommodate the diagonals which you will draw in the next step.  4 precise\n  4.  Cast the first diagonal (green in this example) from the near bottom corner through the far top corner to the Vertical Line (the pink line in this example).  At the place where the (green) diagonal line crosses the (pink) vertical, make a secondary VP5 precise\n  5. This step is where the method tightens up the measurement.  Cast a downward diagonal (yellow in this example) from the top near corner of the plane, through the point where the bisecting Middle Line (from step 2) crosses the midpoint on the far edge of the plane.  This line does not go corner to corner. Extend this downward diagonal far enough for it to meet the (pink) Vertical Line.  Mark a tertiary VP at the low crossing point.  6 precise\n  6. Again, as in step 4, cast a new ascending  diagonal from the next bottom corner (where the next plane will be) up to the secondary VP marked on the Vertical Line in step 4.7 precise\n  7. Where the ascending diagonal (green) and the descending diagonal (yellow) both cross the original perspective lines (red), draw a vertical line to indicate the depth of the second plane.  This will be a more accurate representation of the First Unit Plane’s width in perspective, than that which was shown in previous postings. 8 precise\n  8. Repeat the procedure by casting ascending lines corner to corner, and descending lines from corner through the Centre Line to establish the further planar depths. 9 precise\n  9. Erase the guide lines to reveal the four planes receding into the distance, with more precise perspectival depth.10 precise\n\n\nReaders will have noticed that with the introduction of a secondary guiding point, i.e. the bisecting Middle Line, the illusion of correct perspective is tightened.  For the sake of interest, compare the planes of today’s post with the divisions of depth created with the earlier methods in previous postings.  You will be able to see the subtle difference by eye, and how this method creates a more accurate representation of repeating planar depth in perspective.  This is especially true in the perspectival plane sections which are shown far off in distance.  The previous methods tend to shorten the depth incrementally, such that the distant planar sections become much too close together.\n\nNext week, we will investigate how to use this method of depth by diagonal to set up for the creating of scale drawings.\n\nA Specialized Method of using Diagonals\n\nThis week’s posting will be a very straight forward one.  Andrew Loomis’ third example in this section of Successful Drawing shows how the artist can use diagonals to create a checkerboard pattern in perspective.  This is useful for drawing repeating windows of uniform size, or bricks on a wall receding into the distance.  The example I will use is of a brick wall.\n\nThis is how it is done.\n\n  1. Create the perspectival plane which will be the brick wall.  Locate the Vanishing Point. Use any angle that you wish.1\n  2. Divide the near vertical edge of the wall into equal separations.  The size you choose will represent how tall each brick will be.2\n  3. Cast lines to the V.P. from the points indicated by the vertical spacing you created with the brick heights in step 2.  We shall call these lines the Brick Height Lines.3\n  4. Here is where the diagonal comes in.  Cast a diagonal line from corner to corner on the face of the wall you are drawing.  The diagonal can go up or down. 4\n  5. Where the diagonal (blue line in this example) crosses each of the multiple Brick Height Lines, draw a 90 degree vertical from the bottom of the wall to its top.5\n  6. Repeat this at each crossing point, and the wall plane will be divided perfectly in perspective.6\n  7. Erase the guide lines to reveal the wall.7\n\n\nThis method can be used for drawing multiple series of drawers, such as in a morgue or a bank vault, architectural or vehicular designs, it can be used as a grid for aiding the placement lettering or imagery on signage, or as a way of drawing bricks and checkers.\n\nThe diagonal is the key to being able to measure the depth of the sections.  Next week, I will explain how the diagonal can help in measuring, and thus correctly drawing a repeating panel section in perspective.\n\nThanks for reading, and I hope to see you next posting.\n\n\nDepth by Diagonals: method II\n\nAs discussed last week, the current section of the book Successful Drawing which I am reviewing, deals with some of the drafting rules for determining the depth of an object by casting diagonal lines.  Last week we covered the first method, and this posting then will explain Loomis’ second method which is outlined in the text.\n\nThe use of the bisecting vertical\n\nThis method is very similar to the one outlined in the previous posting, but here, Loomis introduces a few more ‘controls’ to make certain that the placement of receding points are accurate.  He advocates for the use of a bisecting vertical to be placed along the horizon line, to keep everything accurate.  I find this method to be very useful for drawing buildings, with repeating surface features, such as windows, facade details, or columns on ancient buildings.  Let’s get into it.\n\n  1. First, let us consider that you are trying to draw a building, with a series of columns located in regular intervals along the side of it, going off into the distance.  First, create the near corner height of the plane you wish to decorate, and sight the V.P.per2\n  2. Now, the artist must place the ending of the facade plane at what Loomis calls the optional depth.  This is the most unscientific part of his instruction, because it leaves the artist to place the second line by eyeball.  He uses the word optional not in the sense that one may draw it or not draw it, but instead Loomis means where the line is drawn is optional, i.e. it is up to you.  Once the visual depth chosen pleases the artist’s eye, he has created a section. The second line drawn is called the Terminus Line, as it delineates where the section terminates.  This section is now easily cloned in perspective.per3\n  3. Now, the next step is the technical part of the procedure.  The artist casts lines diagonally through the section, starting at the near top and bottom corners and extending through their diagonally opposing corners. Following that, a vertical line must be drawn bisecting the horizon perpendicularly, through the V.P.  The diagonal lines must extend far enough to reach the point where the new vertical line delineates.  Mark the points where the diagonals cross the vertical.  Let us call the new high and low points, the Vertical Points.per6\n  4. This X of diagonal lines shows the centre of the section, and sets the artist up to clone the depth for the following section.per7\n  5. To find the depth of the second section, the artist again casts new diagonals, but this time he must start from the top and bottom of the newly drawn Terminus Line of the established section.  These lines are cast diagonally up and down to both the high and low Vertical Points,  This will create another X within the Lines of Perspective.  per9\n  6. A new Terminus Line is drawn vertically where the diagonals cross the Perspective Lines, and a second section is established.per10\n  7. Repeat from step 5, casting diagonals to the Vertical Points.  The sections will be drawn in their proper visual depth as per the laws of perspective. per11\n  8. These sections could delineate where a repeating surface feature is found on a building, such as a column or any regular repeating element, including doors, windows and other architectural features.  This method is even useful for drawing a series of parked cars along the sidewalk, since many cars are relatively the same length, the sections can represent the cars’ body length.  Any anomalies of vehicular type can be adjusted for as needed. per12\n\nThis concludes our posting of Understanding Loomis.  Next week’s post will again unpack another of Andrew Loomis’ methods of finding depth by diagonals.  Stay tuned.\n\nFinding Equal Spacing using Diagonals\n\n\n\n\nThis then is how it is done.\n\nDepth by Diagonal\n\n\nThe Uses of  Depth by Diagonal\n\n\n  • sidewalks, with contraction joints showing in the concrete\n  • patterned carpet expanses\n  • windows, or other architectural features on buildings\n\n\n\nDrawing the Perspectival Ellipse, or the ‘Laying Circle’\n\n\n  • art chooses to elevate a subject above the multiplicity of nature\n  • deeper knowledge of reality will bring the artist added power\n  • use the wrist for your strokes, not your fingers\n\nPerspective the Artist Should Know\n\n\n\n\nDrawing the Ellipse\n\n\n  • tires of cars\n  • dinner plates and mouths of cups\n  • the bases of columns\n  • warrior shields\n  • flying saucers(!)\n\n\n\n\n\n\ncorner to corner\n\n\nside to side\n\n\ndivide with lines\n\n\n\n\nloomis laying square points ab halfway\n\n\nloomis laying circle\n\n\nloomis laying circle Red\n\n\n\n\nSee you in seven.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6393747329711914}
+{"content": "ZF has developed a modification to its upcoming eight-speed automatic transmission that will allow it to be used with stop-start systems. This is claimed to reduce fuel consumption by 5%.\n\nSo called hydraulic impulse storage supplies the hydraulic oil that the transmission's shift elements need for starting. When the engine is switched off, it allows for a quick start after 350 milliseconds after starting the engine - as required by the start/stop function.\n\nZF said the extra saving is on top of the 11% saving the newly developed eight-speeder offers compared with its six-speed transmission.\n\nWith stop/start the restart and further driving must take place with the same speed and smoothness as with a vehicle which does not feature a start/stop function. The problem overcome is the oil supply to the transmission because, when the engine is off, the transmission hydraulics are not supplied with pressure. In contrast to vehicles which stop with a running engine, the automatic transmission's shift elements that are required for setting off, cannot be activated during standstill.\n\nThis is where the hydraulic impulse oil storage unit comes into play. It is a spring piston accumulator which fills with oil and tensions the spring during operation. When the engine starts up, this \"reserve\" of around 100 centilitres is supplied to the hydraulics - in a flash - to supply oil to the shift elements in the transmission which are needed for setting off.\n\nThus, the vehicle is ready to move 350 milliseconds after starting up the engine. Without the hydraulic impulse oil storage, this would take approximately 800 milliseconds, leading to a loss in driving dynamics which the driver would notice.\n\nThe new component is approximately 19 cm long and 5cm wide is installed behind the hydraulic control unit in the standard installation space of the eight-speed transmission.\n\nThe hydraulic impulse oil storage makes more complex solutions obsolete, such as a more powerful oil pump in the transmission or an electric hydraulic pump.\n\nProvision was made for it in the basic design of the gearbox, ZF said.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9967246055603027}
+{"content": "The hooded grebe is a critically endangered species — and a critically acclaimed dancer\n\nWhy is this bird feeding fish?\n\nHow does a solar eclipse affect animals?\n\nRavens are crazy smart, and here’s scientific proof\n\nChicks dig drummers, even in the rainforest\n\nCanuck the crow likes to create havoc\n\nFinches add cigarette butts to their nests to ward off pests\n\nHow I saved a baby screech owl\n\nBird embarrasses alligator on golf course\n\nThese eagles are raising a baby hawk\n\n12 surprising flightless birds\n\nVulture dads take in abandoned egg, raise chick as their own in Amsterdam", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7477288246154785}
+{"content": "Workshop Details\nOpen Problems in Computational Molecular Biololgy\n06/02/1991 - 06/08/1991\nMeeting Description:\n\n\n\nThe methodology of each field of science includes two aspects viz. intellectual and technical. Intellectual aspects are essential for the formulation of a research problem, for understanding it and for devising the plan of its solution. Technical aspects are primarily focused on carrying out the solution of an already formulated problem. By analogy to the art of cracking ciphers and cryptographic codes, we can think of Bio-cryptology as a science addressing the problem of finding \"genomic codes\" i.e. evaluating the FUNCTIONAL SIGNIFICANCE of sequence data. In a broad sense a code is a transformation (or a set unambiguous rules) whereby messages are converted from one representation to another. To what extent this broad definition could apply to nucleic acids and protein sequences is not immediately clear. Thus far the only known set of rules that fits the definition is the translation code from mRNAs to proteins. In this particular case we know that a gene constitutes a \"message\" whereas mRNA and protein are its two representations subject to coding.\nAlthough the existence of messages other than genes in the genome can be surmised, the proof of their existence remains to be provided. For example we might think of splicing introns out of hnRNAs as a process that requires the existence of a \"message\". A representation (\"input\" representation of an alleged code) of such a message would be some sequence (or structure) features in hnRNA.\nThe other representation (\"output\" representation of an alleged code) could be some structural features in the splicesome (or more broadly in \"splicing apparatus\"). In order to be able to talk of \"splicing code\" we would ideally like to know:\n-- All elements of both representations\n-- The correspondence between each element of the \"input\" representation and each element of the \"output\" representation\n\nUnfortunately, what we know thus far are some sequence features present in hnRNAs (such as GT at the 5'end of an intron and AG at the 3'end, branching sequences, two base periodic repeats of dinucleotides and so on). There is no evidence (thus far) that these known features indeed represent a \"message\" or even that they correspond to anything beyond themselves. Needless to say, our knowledge of structural features that constitute \"splicing apparatus\" is still insufficient to consider it as an \"output\" representation in our alleged coding.\n\nThe above example illustrates a non-trivial and extremely\nimportant problem: Can we decide which of the observed structural features are the code words (i.e elements of the \"input\" representation) without knowing the details of the \"output\" representation pertinent to a given biological function ?\n\nThe goal of the planned workshop is to provide (at least partially) an answer to this question. In particular we would like to:\n\n1) Determine criteria for characterizing what constitutes biological coding (not only the \"genetic code\").\n2) Explore and assess the applicability of existing coding theory to problems of biological coding.\n3) Examine (and suggest) criteria to recognize the existence of a code.\n4) Examine methods to determine an entire set of code words given instances of it (or at least to deduce other code words once some code words are known).\n5) Formulate (and suggest methods of solving) a parsing problem for biological coding.\n\nIn order to achieve these goals, we intend to bring together\nexperts in modern coding theory and experts in studying problems of biological coding. To our knowledge, the planned workshop will be the first meeting explicitly devoted to the problem of biological coding.\n\nThe Human Genome Project has given enormous momentum for development of computational techniques in Molecular Biology. We believe that our workshop will provide some theoretical and conceptual tools for those techniques. In this respect it will be an important contribution to the Genome project.\n\nMeeting Venue:\n\nTelluride Elementary School\n\nTelluride Science Research Center\nPost Office Box 2429, Telluride CO 81435\nTel: + 970.708.4426\nBack to Top", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8482331037521362}
+{"content": "Discovering weird new species in the open ocean The red paper lantern jellyfish, a strikingly beautiful animal in the web of midwater ocean life (Karen Osborn, Smithsonian Institution)\nDiscovering weird new species in the open ocean\n\nWhen we think about the ocean, we may visualize sea turtles swimming around coral reefs, sea urchins anchored in tide pools, dolphins breaching the surface. Or even shrimp gathered around deepwater sulfur vents. But most of the ocean is just open water, miles and miles of it from below the surface to thousands of feet down. This ocean midwater is the largest habitat on Earth!\n\nYet midwater habitat has not been well-studied. That's because it is difficult to explore. It's mostly cold, dark and under high pressure. Some of its most surprising secrets are animals without backbones (invertebrates), such as worms and jellies. They come in a variety of weird colors and shapes. Many of these midwater species have never been recorded by science, challenging scientists to figure out what they are.\n\nMarine biologists use specialized equipment to find the open ocean's unique invertebrates. Remotely operated vehicles, essentially robots controlled from ocean-going ships, provide a view of the mysterious world of suspended life. Using video cameras, water sensors and unique collection equipment, zoologists catalogue and capture examples of organisms never before named. Some of these organisms rewrite what we know about the intricate web of ocean biodiversity.\n\nFind out more by joining us on Thursday, March 26, 2015, for a Smithsonian Science How live webcast titled Ocean Biodiversity - Discovering Marine Invertebrates. It airs at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. EDT on the Q?rius website. Dr. Karen Osborn, an invertebrate zoologist at the National Museum of Natural History, will appear live to discuss and answer questions. Get teaching resources to support your webcast experience.\n\nAssigned 17 times\n\n  • sashatudd-Paw\n    3/24/2015 - 03:53 p.m.\n\n    The ocean is a mystery that is ready to be explored. Even though we all think we know so much about the ocean, we really don't. There is so much pressure, mileage, and so many creatures that it is almost impossible to know everything. The text states that marine biologists have to use specialized equipment. That equipment must be very expensive and rare. Yet, these expenses are worth it when you see the amazing secrets the sea holds. In the text, it says midwater habitats are not well explored. This is mostly because of the temperature, air pressure, and amount of light. According to the text, some midwater organisms rewrite the science books! They are so original and peculiar that they function differently. So, next time you are swimming in the ocean, think about the amazing creatures swimming around below you!", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9596663117408752}
+{"content": "Auburn Rubber Company Innovation in Motion\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe Auburn Rubber Company, based in Auburn, Indiana, was originally the Double Fabric Tire Company, which was established in 1910 by Auburn residents William H. Willennar and A.L. Murray. As the Double Fabric Tire Company, they made inner soles and tire patches before expanding into a line of automobile tires and tubes. The company’s success led to expansion to a new site in 1912, but they were devastated by a fire in 1913 that destroyed the entire block surrounding their new building. They lost just about everything. Everything, that is, but their determination. Thanks to good insurance, Willennar and Murray were able to rebuild and quickly return to production. In the 1920s, the company reorganized as the Auburn Rubber Company. As the Auburn Rubber Company grew, its reputation grew as well and it was soon considered one of the most financially secure companies in the United States.\n\nThe Auburn Rubber Company naturally progressed to the business of making toys. It became known for producing toy soldiers, tractors, animals, games and sporting equipment. It released its first rubber toy car in 1936. It was a six-inch red Cord sedan. \n\nAs World War II approached and restrictions were put in place regarding the use of steel, iron, and rubber, leisure manufacturing was all but eliminated. The Auburn Rubber Company was determined to keep toys in the hands of children around the country and decided to use new materials (those not strategic to war) and made do during wartime with toys made of composition. The first really decent plastic toy was released by the Kilgore Company in 1937. \n\nThe main two producers of plastics then became Auburn and the Sun Rubber Company, Auburn located in Pennsylvania, and Sun in Ohio. Both states were centrally located to industry and therefore able to capitalize on the market at the time.\n\nThe Auburn Rubber Company was hugely successful in whatever it endeavored. When World War II ended, the company was free to use a variety of materials again and found that there was a great need for industrial parts (steel, iron, and rubber). The new president of Auburn, Dave Sellew, became an international presence in the manufacturing world and his products were considered to be of high quality as well as increasingly current to the changing times.  Overwhelmed by the demand for toys, Auburn actually opened a plant in Connellsville, Pennsylvania, dedicated to toy production. In fact, during the late 1940s, all Auburn toys were produced in Pennsylvania. The last rubber toys Auburn made (racers and firetrucks) were released in 1953. From 1954 on, its toys were made of vinyl. \n\nIn 1960, Auburn made an interesting move and sold its toy products division to the city of Deming, New Mexico. There, toy production continued but was not sustainable, and in 1969 the company filed for bankruptcy.\n\nCompared with other toy car manufacturers, Auburn released toy cars more closely resembling actual and current model automobiles. Its cars were bigger than those produced by the Sun Rubber Company of Ohio and reflected greater detail. They also cost more than Sun Rubber’s toys.  Now, it could be argued that the best designs and highest quality products were actually produced by a company called Rainbow Rubber Company out of Butler, Pennsylvania (my personal favorite toy car is Rainbow’s 1938 blue Oldsmobile). \n\nAuburn excelled because it had a great management team whose ideas were innovative and because of its great reputation and highly effective marketing strategies, including the regular release of catalogs to advertise featured products. It was ahead of its time and kept up with the times, leaving magnificent treasures on wheels to be enjoyed by all generations.\n\n\nSource:Rubber Toy Vehicles: Identification & Value Guide Paperback – April, 2003 by Dave Leopard. Schiffer Publisher. \n\nCreate Fellowship and Friends\nthrough the Common Bond of\nOwning and Sharing your Passion\nof Collecting Antique Toys.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9107227921485901}
+{"content": "Beginning as a fledgling civilization at the inner edges of the Rasq system, Tourri society has since conquered all nearby planets. The rise of this Imperium is subject to much historical study.\n\nPrehistoric Times\n\nThe Primordial Peoples\n\nIn the 200s BIE, archeological excavators discovered a number of ancient, technologically sophisticated settlements submerged in the sands far north of the Drarhour River Valley. Subsequent analysis demonstrated the remains as dating approximately 30,000 BIE. Rather than constituting a vast city, these camps seemed to be limited offworld colonies of some human society, perhaps holding 1,000 persons in total. In 167 BIE, the digital files found within the settlements were recovered from their damaged state, revealing that humanity originated from another planet and, in an attempt to propagate itself throughout the universe, sent robotic slower-than-light probes with human genetic material to other star systems. Upon arriving at a planet, automated biotech systems would reconstruct humans from the DNA material, while robots would establish a primitive settlement that could be expanded. This explained why the fossil record did not indicate that humans evolved on Tourr; the origin of humanity was on a different stellar system.\n\nIronically, if the purpose of these settlements in other star systems was to ensure the survival of humanity in the event of a cataclysm, a gamma-ray burst from star WR-104 damaged the electronics and technological systems on Tourr, while killing much biological life, and the human survivors likely escaped to live in the vast planetary wilderness.\n\nEarly Migrations\n\nAfter the surviving primordial peoples left the damaged ruins of the former colonies, the local plant life served suitably for providing sustenance. One of the early criticisms of the Foreign Origins hypothesis, positing humanity's origin on a separate star system, was the projected inhospitablity of an alien environment to humans. However, research by theoretical biologists has concluded that broadly similar forms of plant life, containing carbohydrates and certain minerals, would usually evolve under similar planetary conditions; furthermore, most of this biological matter would be edible to newly settled humans, as the local organisms had not yet evolved defense systems (e.g., poisons) against human consumption. Thus, the primordials were able to survive by consuming the plants, and many probably learned to hunt animals as well.\n\nFollowing the seasonal weather patterns, these early humans participated in great migrations across the continents. Starting with a population of perhaps only 50 individuals, these people expanded from the deserts approximately 250 miles north of the Drarhour River. One group traveled south, traveling past the river, and by 20,000 BIE ultimately inhabiting the coasts at the far south of the Bradhou continent, possibly consuming sea life. Another group pushed northward, passing the Ta'n River by 15,000 BIE, with some people inhabiting the vast northern wastes of Bradou, hunting and consuming the life in the great permafrosts, by 12,000 BIE.\n\nCrossing the great land bridge existing during these cold times, some of these northern tribes migrated into Trhonou, which had a thriving population by 10,000 BIE.\n\nAgricultural Revolution\n\nThe great Warming Period in 8,000 BIE greatly increased the hospitability of the planetary environment to plant life. Soon thereafter, humans on Tourr actually began cultivating plants themselves, gradually transitioning from a hunting-and-gathering society to one based upon agriculture. By 7,000 BIE, some local animals were domesticated and bred, for use as food, or as a source of agricultural labor.\n\nThe tribes in the south of Bradou--that would become the Narhour--generally cultivated sea plants, and coastal vegetation, and engaged in a great deal of fishing. Some of these tribes, however, lived in the deserts surrounding the Drarhour River, and began cultivating desert plants. The tribes north of Ta'n learned to grow the low-lying vegetation in the vast river plains, while the Trhonou tribes began to utilize a variety of agricultural methods circa 5,500 BIE.\n\nPre-Imperial History\n\nDawn of Narhour Civilization\n\nAs the southern tribes of Bradou began utilizing large quantities of agriculture, these peoples gradually migrated northward to the Drarhour River Valley, which possessed a vast amount of fertile land. Beginning in approximately 6,000 BIE, these migrations led to a prosperous network of farmer villages around Drarhour by 5,000 BIE. Some of these settlements would grow into full-fledged towns, and even small cities, as the growth in agriculture progressed. Nonetheless, the continuing growth in farming production required a reliable access to water, which eventually even the fertile lands were unable to provide. By approximately 4,500 BIE, the River settlements united to construct irrigation infrastructure. To support the economic and political administration that resulted, an intricate writing system based on a common alphabet was developed by 4,000 BIE.\n\nAccording to legend, a leader named Xijour united the Drarhour towns and settlements, pushing them to cooperate in building irrigation networks. Supposedly, he was the founder of the Narhour Empire, which would last until Emperor Zaal. Xijour is said to have established the city of Barq, the prosperous capital of the Empire. Followers of the Xijhour faith believe that Xijour is the most powerful god among a pantheon of deities.\n\nEarly History of the Gaoroqou\n\nWhile the Narhour tribes settled in the fertile valleys surrounding the Drarhour River, the northern peoples of Bradou moved southward to settle in the vast plains surrounding the Ta'n River. These plains offered low-lying vegetation, which became the staple of the Gaoroqou diet. While the valleys of Drarhour were surrounded by desert, Ta'n instead saw hundreds of miles of grassland in all directions. By about 3,500 BIE, hundreds of farmer villages and towns existed in Ta'n, embracing trade and a common culture that would define the Gaoroqou ethnicity. However, unlike the Narhour, the northern peoples failed to unify into a single political administration, and thus were unable to establish large-scale irrigation and flood control projects. Nonetheless, around 3,000 BIE, the Gaoroqou did develop a complex writing system, based on symbolic pictures.\n\nSociety of the Trhonou\n\nBeginning around 5,500 BIE, the tribes of the Trhonou continent began using a variety of agricultural techniques. Some peoples in the central part of the continent began settling in the plains surrounding the great Rhoou River, which offered vast fertile lands. However, much like the Gaoroqou, the farming settlements surrounding the River never developed into a single political administration. Unlike the expanding societies in Bradou, however, the Trhonou never developed a writing system.\n\nNarhour Expansion Across Bradou\n\nThe Narhour Empire developed bronze weapons in 4,000 BIE, allowing its military to consolidate control of all the remaining villages and towns surrounding the Drarhour River, that had not yet assimilated under centralized rule. Using its writing system, as well as access to metal weapons, the Empire expanded to unify all the Narhour peoples of southern Bradou throughout the fourth millenium BIE. Numerous historical records exist of this time period.\n\nIn 3,000 BIE, the Narhour developed iron weaponry, and harnessed the military applications of the Xikyq, a large flying reptile flourishing in the Drarhour plains. These technological developments allowed the Empire to expand northward, capturing the farming settlements along the Ta'n River. By 2,800 BIE, most of the Gaoroquo were conquered through these Pacification campaigns. Many Narhour nationalists have drawn analogies between the Assimilation Wars and these early conflicts.\n\nThe enormous amount of taxes and tribute flowing to Barq during this time made the city a prosperous cultural and economic center. Protection of long-distance trade routes by the Narhour rulers established strong economic growth across the Bradou continent.\n\nRodou Exploration and Conquest of the Trhonou\n\nAs the Narhour Empire grew increasingly wealthy and prosperous, naval exploration across the vast Rodou ocean was sponsored. Developments in maritime engineering, particularly in simple navigation utilizing Tourr's planetary magnetic fields, as well as astronomical measurements, allowed an \"Age of Sail\" to emerge. Beginning around 1,500 BIE, Narhour explorers discovered islands throughout the Rodou ocean. By 1,300 BIE, the continent of Trhonou was discovered by an Imperial-sponsored survey team. During the remaining part of the second millenium BIE, various minerals, spices, and luxury items from the coasts of Trhonou were passed through the hands of Narhour traders, benefitting the millenia-old economy of Barq. The routes sailed and traversed by these merchants have been dubbed by historians as the \"spice road\".\n\nThis trans-continental commerce intensified over the centuries, supporting the Narhour rulers through tariff revenue. A slave trade began to develop around 1,000 BIE. By 800 BIE, the development of primitive cannons and firearms allowed the Narhour Empire the launch a vast conquest of Trhonou, starting along the coasts but gradually working inward. By 600 BIE, much of the continent was under Narhour rule, including the prosperous city-states and villages along the Rhoou River. Taxes and tariffs from the colonies continued to increase the wealth of Barq, which became a city of three million by 500 BIE. The slave trade became essential to the economy, with prisoners of war from the Trhonou Pacification Campaigns supporting the entire agricultural infrastructure.\n\nIndustrial Revolution\n\nThe origins of the Tourr Industrial Revolution lie ultimately in the Yui Plague, which killed much of the Narhour's slave and laborer classes. Following the conquest of Trhonou, the Narhour Empire grew to depend upon a vast slave underclass, which performed most agricultural labor, as well as a large base of peasants and manual laborers. For much of human history on the planet, no disease or pathogen had even attacked humans, as the local life did not evolve in concert with Homo Sapiens. However, by 440 BIE, a virus adapted to infect humans, causing invariably fatal acute encephalitis. Transmitted by coughing, the plague rapidly spread across the global Narhour Empire, disproportionately affecting those that lived in unsanitary conditions. By 400 BIE, 80% of the Imperial slave class, and 40% of the peasant class, were dead.\n\nTo compensate for the lack of human agricultural laborers, and the greatly increased cost of labor, Imperial inventors developed increasingly mechanized labor-saving equipment. In 400 BIE, a group of innovators dispatched by the Narhour Emperor discovered a technique for grinding the seeds of the low-lying vegetation grown in Ta'n; a mill device, operated by one person, could process the food with far less manual labor than previously. Mills were soon implemented in farming villages across the Empire. Soon thereafter, inventors discovered a process to drive the mills through steam generated by burning coal; a perfected prototype was presented to the emperor in 380 BIE. The coal-driven mills were built in food-processing and textile centers in Barq and throughout the farming villages, on a much larger scale to facilitate greater production. By 370 BIE, the great demand for coal was satisfied by making the mines themselves mechanized and steam-driven.\n\nIn 360 BIE, a prototype steam-driven railway car was created; a railway track was built between two neighborhoods of Barq in 355 BIE. By the 320s, a vast railway network extended across the Empire, powering the expanding industrial production. The discovery of calculus, differential equations, and mechanics in the 380s facilitated the construction of reliable and stable structures, to house the machines. During the 310s, millions of villagers flocked to the cities, and Barq housed nearly ten million by 300 BIE. The lack of manual labor, caused by the Plague, had been solved through mechanization.\n\nDuring the early 200s BIE, electrical infrastructure became established, allowing for communication, more efficient industrial operations, and cleaner transportation. The establishment of nuclear fission plants in the 250s BIE made electrical production more efficient. The development of quantum and atomic theory in the 270s not only allowed for nuclear power, but also caused transistors to be developed. By the 230s, a vast network of transistor-based computers was established. This network grew to become the Global Information Superstructure (GIS) by the early 100s BIE.\n\nThe 100s BIE\n\nEarly Expansion into Space\n\nImperial History\n\nThe Assimilation Wars\n\nPost-War Rebellion Phase\n\nThe Great Interplanetary War\n\nCivil War Period\n\nTwo Centuries of Peace\n\nAd blocker interference detected!\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8995259404182434}
+{"content": "Crystal 128 package settings\nThis article was last edited by Falloutfan08 (talk| contribs). (Update)\nWushan, also known as Epsilon Eridani C, is the third planet in the Epsilon Eridani System. Gaining its name 'Wushan' meaning 'Misty Mountain' in Chinese due to its mountainous terrain and thin crust causing its mantle to heat up bodies of water on the planet created an almost perpetual mist above the ground on the planet. \n\nAd blocker interference detected!\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9078172445297241}
+{"content": "South Korea Fails to Launch Space Rocket for the Second Time\n\n250px-KSLV-1_Naro_ReplicaSouth Korea failed again to join the space launch industry after its space rocket lost signal 137 seconds after lift-off. It is believed that the rocket may have exploded.\n\nThe rocket, Korea Space Launch Vehicle 1 (KSLV-1), was supposed to have launched last Wednesday, June 9. However, a malfunctioning fire extinguishing system on the launch pad moved the schedule a day later.\n\nAt 1701H (0801 GMT), June 10, the KSLV-1 lifted off from the Naro Space Center at Goheung, South Korea.\n\nControllers were cheering at the time of the lift-off but were stopped when they saw a bright flash on their screens. At that moment, the rocket should have been 43 miles into the atmosphere.\n\nThe KSLV-1, partly built in Russia and in South Korea, had cost 500 billion won (400 million USD;  275 million pounds).\n\nThe first attempt of the nation to launch a rocket was last year. The rocket reached beyond second stage at which point the payload fairing made it fail to reach orbit. The added weight caused the rocket to fall back again and it is believed that it may have disintegrated upon reentering the atmosphere.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7609789371490479}
+{"content": "Grandma Moses\n\n\nGrandma Moses\n\n(Sept. 7, 1860 – Dec. 13,1961) \n\nReading Grade Level:\n\n1st – 2nd\n\n3rd – 4th\n\n5th & up\n\nAnna Mary Robertson Moses, or as most knew her, Grandma Moses was a self-taught artist and writer. What makes her so special is that she did not start professionally painting until she was 78 years old! She was born in the year of 1860 which was over 150 years ago. She was raised with four sisters and five brothers in the state of New York. She first learned about painting as a child in school. She used grape and lemon juice to paint with color. She also used other materials to paint including sawdust, grass, and flour. When she was 12 years old, she left her home to work for a family with a lot of money doing chores and farm work. As a job, she would continue to sew, cook and clean homes for different families for about 15 years. At the age of 27, she married Thomas Moses and moved to Virginia. Together, they worked and lived on 4 different farms. To make some extra money, Grandma Moses made homemade potato chips and butter. Eventually, she and her husband saved enough money to buy their own farm.\n\nTogether she and her husband moved back to the state of New York continuing to work on a farm. At the age of 67, Thomas Moses passed away from a heart attack. Because running a farm is such a big job, Grandma Moses was not able to do it alone so her son, Forrest, helped her out. Eventually, she decided she was too old to work on the farm so she moved in with her daughter. One of her favorite things to do was decorate fabric with different colored thread. This is called embroidery and is similar to sewing. When she developed arthritis at the age of 76, it made it very hard for her to continue to sew and embroider. When someone has arthritis, it causes pain and stiffness in different parts of their body. In the case of Grandma Moses, she had arthritis in her hands, so she could no longer sew. Her sister was the one who suggested she start to paint to make it easier on her hands.\n\nGrandma Moses began to paint pictures that showed country life including things such as farms, tractors, and everyday people. She said she wanted to paint what she saw in her time so that people will know how they used to live. When she first began to paint, her paintings would sell between $3 and $5 but as she began to become more well known, they would sell anywhere between $8000 and $10,000. One day an art collector saw her paintings in a drug store window. He loved them so much he bought them all, plus ten more. He would sell these paintings for around $4 each. By the next year, she had become even more well known and her work was being sold for thousands of dollars.\n\nAmerica quickly fell in love with Grandma Moses and her artwork. Her fame allowed her to have very special experiences such as meeting the president and having a children’s book written after her. The mayor of New York declared her 100th birthday “Grandma Moses Day.” She passed away at the old age of 101. Her work will forever remind people of the old farm life that America was built on.\n\n(Take a look at some of Grandma Moses’ paintings!)\n\nReflection Question\n\nGrandma moses painted her everyday life. If you were to make a painting about your daily life what would it look like?", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6604204177856445}
+{"content": "ways of seeing\n\nOne of the great benefits of traveling is that it's easier to sense the world freshly. Away from what's familiar, from the routine of home, newness infuses people, places, landscapes and objects with novel interest, prompting a second look, a new vantage point, a longer gaze. In these collections, relationships among humans, animals, and the environments we share are reflected in three different contexts, magnifying ideas of identity and interpretation, contrast and connection.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.976722240447998}
+{"content": "Gold Bullion\n\nGold bullion is a bulk form of the precious metal used for trading on commodity markets. Gold bullion is usually cast into ingots or coins. \n\nGold bullion, a form of gold used to make trading easy, gets its value from the relative rarity of the metal itself. Value of gold bullion is further determined by the mass and purity of the coin or ingot. Most gold bullion is issued at 99.9% purity, although some goes up to 99.999% purity. Bullion is graded by \"Troy ounce\" which defines the weight of gold contained within the coin or ingot. One troy ounce is equivalent to exactly 31.1034768g – the typical value of a gold bullion coin. The most common bullion coin, the Krugerrand, contains exactly one Troy Ounce of gold for instance. \n\nBecause of the weights involved, gold bullionin the form of ingots is extremely expensive. Gold coins tend to be cheaper per unit making them an ideal investment vehicle for speculators seeking more stability in value from their savings. The lower cost of a gold coin also lowers the barrier to entry into the gold commodity trading and investment market for investors. Gold coins such as the Krugerrand and the British Sovereign offer the same relative value as ingots, thanks to consistent mass and purity of the gold.\n\nGold bullion is popular with governments, businesses and individuals because it can be used to protect against inflation and economic downturn. The value of gold is independent of local currency issues, retaining significant value at all times across the world.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n©GoldCore You may not copy, reproduce, republish, use in any way any GoldCore Content in whole or in part on your service without prior written consent.\n\nMark OByrne", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9429989457130432}
+{"content": "35 (a gratitude list, and the day in pictures)\n\nevery year, for the last 5 or 6 years, I've made a list on my birthday of things I'm grateful for and things that strike my fancy.  I keep on going until I've got a list of things equaling the number of years old that I am.  and so today, 35.  some, of course, carry (much) more weight than others, but you know that.  I'm not peeking back to previous years' lists until I finish this one, but I know there are several that will show up not for the first time.  and so, I am grateful for.....\n\n- this sweet ball of fur, who is content to plop his soft-as-silk self in my lap for as long as possible, filling a void that was bigger than I realized since we said goodbye to Ziggy this spring\n- the wonderful crew of folks that I call friends, and that I've been open to finding my way to a few new dear ones over this past year or two\n- our new wood stove, waiting to be put to good use in the probably-not-so-distant future\n- the dozens and dozens of jars on the pantry shelves.  the most we've ever put up in a year, from maple syrup to honey to pickled beets, peppers, okra and green beans to whole, sauced, and roasted tomatoes and a variety of jams and salsas.\n- the incredible little human that calls me mama, and for all of the things she is constantly teaching me, even if some (and the reflection of myself they make clear to me) are at times hard to swallow and somewhat unexpected.  mostly, it's a joyful wonder, and all of it, surely, is a gift.\n- this steady, needed, weekend-long, soaking rain, even if it meant my yoga-in-the-park and birthday camping plans didn't quite pan out\n- steaming mugs of hot tea on chilly fall mornings\n- birthday morning coffee in bed\n- my family\n- my job, and for all of the flexibility and fun (and time off!) that comes with it\n- indoor plumbing and electricity\n- watching her as she confidently learns her way around horses and gracefully dedicates Saturday mornings to ballet\n- strong hugs (if you're going to commit to hugging someone, do it right. if you don't really want to hug someone with a bit of gusto, maybe you don't need to be hugging them...)\n- strong handshakes\n- old radios\n- bees\n- morning birdsong\n- thunderstorms\n- fermented carrots (and other such deliciousness)\n- buttery toast (buttery anything)\n- music\n- kind words\n- real letters in the mail\n- my exceedingly kind, generous, genuinely sincere, and loving in-laws\n- salty ocean air and crashing waves\n- the balmy, salty way my skin feels after spending time at the coast\n- the smell of the forest in the fall... tangy and rotten, yet sweet and grounding\n- for Mike.  we've known each other nearly as long as we haven't and as crazy as we drive each other sometimes, we also know each other inside and out and when it comes down to it I never, ever question how beautiful a thing it is to have him in my corner and by my side.  he is dependable and funny and kind and he is an amazing papa.  also, he splits and stacks a ton of firewood to keep us warm all winter long\n- for the 'habit' of running that I picked up last fall, and for my plans to rekindle that habit in the very near future\n- the garden, and all the goodness that comes out of it when we tend it with our time and our love (in the form of not only produce but also virtually free therapy)\n- for books.  books that I hold in my hand and smell and hear as I flip the pages.\n- for modern medicine and for caring, skilled, attentive nurses who are wonderful caregivers and patient advocates. especially those who helped to save my mom's life when she was so, so ill last year.  (love you, mom!)\n-and also for the not-so-modern witches' brews stewing in our hutch as I find my way to more of my own medicine making.  it is a fun and empowering world to dive into.\n- living where I live, with the resources I have.  to not be floating at sea trying to get to a safer shore. to have been able to send a little bit of help to those who are.\n- being the sensitive individual that I am.  because even if it makes things more challenging sometimes, (for myself and no doubt for those closest to me) I have come to (usually) appreciate the way it allows me to so fully experience things and connect deeply.  I feel.  a lot.\n\nhere are some photos from the day, starting with gifts (delivered to me in bed along with coffee) made by my sweet one:\n\nand then papa lovingly recreated a favorite breakfast of mine from our trip to NYC last year~\n\na dear friend came bearing a tray of gifts and stayed for lunch,\n\n(which was fish tacos made by papa, complete with a delicious homemade avocado cream sauce, pickled onions, and some queso fresco)\n\nI then made a batch of chocolate-drizzled tahini cookies to bring along to the brewery, where we were meeting friends for a bit of afternoon fun and (as it turned out) a bit of local trivia (we won a box of cupcakes from a local bakery for coming in second (um, of three) teams!)\n\nthe rain slowed long enough for the kids to run crazy outdoors while we sat at the table just inside and drank and made (some educated, some not so much) guesses about local history.  (that pretty little pot of succulents was a very thoughtful and very perfect gift put together by a good friend)\n\nand here we are, we three:\n\nwe came home to a stew he prepared hours before.... it was delicious.  his goal of serving me three fantastic meals on my birthday was certainly realized.  yum, yum, yum.\n\nand then, a candle in some ice cream and a birthday song.  I decided to put off a bigger birthday dessert for another time.  maybe cheesecake for dinner one night this week.....\n\n\n  1. Happy belated birthday, sounds like you had an amazing day. I love your tradition of listing things that you are grateful for, such a nice idea.\n\n    1. it really was a great day.\n\n      I picked that up when I turned 30.... I know I saw someone else had done it somewhere, but I can't remember where. and yes, it is definitely a habit that stuck, and that I look forward to each year!\n\n  2. Happy Birthday to you and many, many more years filled with happiness and health.\n\n  3. What a divine day! Happy Birthday!!!\n\n  4. Replies\n    1. it was a sweet and easy day filled with good food and good friends. pretty much exactly up my alley...\n\n  5. HAPPY birthday, indeed. May the coming year be filled to overflowing with gratitude and all good things! My birthday camping plans are unraveling as we speak, thanks to this rain. A postponement is in order but if BOTH my birthdays are half as good as yours it will be a treat.\n\n    1. thank you, Amanda. ah yes, our camping plans dissolved due to 5 straight days of rain~ but I'm hoping to try again in a couple weeks!\n\n      happy birthday to you!\n\n\nthanks for taking the time to read and comment~", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6027517318725586}
+{"content": "Ultraviolet radiation (UV)\n\nHealth effects of UV radiation\n\n\nThe eye is recessed within its orbit and shielded by the brow ridge, the eyebrows and the eyelashes. Bright light activates the constriction of the pupil and the squinting reflex to minimize the penetration of the sun’s rays into the eye. However, the effectiveness of these natural defences in protecting against the dangers of UV radiation is limited under extreme conditions such as sunbed use or strong ground reflection from sand, water and snow. Acute effects of UV radiation exposure include photokeratitis and photoconjunctivitis. These inflammatory reactions are comparable to a sunburn of the very sensitive skin-like tissues of the eyeball and eyelids, and usually appear within a few hours of exposure. Both can be very painful, but are reversible and do not result in any long-term damage to the eye or vision. Extreme forms of photokeratitis are 'arc-eye' and 'snow blindness'.\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9939128756523132}
+{"content": "Doctoral Studies\n\nThe Academy of Fine Arts have doctoral education since 2010. The education is linked to Konstnärliga forskarskolan, the national research school in the field of Arts, and the main responsibility lies with the Faculty of Fine Arts at Lund/Malmö. At the present we have one PhD students, Janna Holmstedt.\n\nWe have no PhD positions available at the moment.\n\n\nJanna Holmstedt\n\n\nThis artistic doctoral project inhabits the borders between art and theatre, voice and vision, the animal and the human. It seeks to explore the act of listening from within a visual arts practice. At the heart of the inquiry is a series of artworks that use voice, bodies, sound, narrative material, and environments. Listening is here primarily approached as a problem of embodied interaction with matter. I do not consider listening to be an exclusively sonorous affair, but a mode of interaction, or rather intra-action to speak with theorist physicist and feminist theorist Karen Barad. [1] The listening body is treated as a \"mingled body\" in which the senses are knotted together, not separated in different channels. [2] What could it mean for a mingled body to be primarily acoustically oriented? What does a listening-seeing body capture when the gaze is no longer dominant? Philosopher Jean-Luc Nancy asks us to consider: \"What does it mean to exist according to listening, for it and through it, what part of experience and truth is put into play?\" [3] The artworks do not answer these questions, but offers ways to inhabit the problem, and make it felt. In the works, a small group of visitors are situated both in relation to a specific environment and to a non-linear narrative. They are not addressed as a collective; rather they are alone together, sharing a situation but not necessarily the experience. The situated narrative is put in motion by the use of acousmatic voices and sound, the bodies of the visitors, and mediating objects in found or constructed environments. As a visitor you are not asked to listen with your ears only, but to engage a bodily sense of mingling, of confluence (confusion), and thus you become part of the stew, of the very solution (if you catch my drift). [4]\n\nThe work method is experimental and performative, it is a thinking-through-practice, which is based on action and perception. I see this process as a \"rebooting\" and widening of scope with regards to the senses and the sensible, where artistic research potentially could be a site for unlearning rather than mere knowledge production. The body is both a medium and a place of resonance, and listening means being-in-sound - i.e. being in and of the world rather than standing in relation to a world. But the verb to hear also carries echoes of to obey, be in bondage, to belong. Listening thus implies a relationship of power. To lend ones ear to someone is a corporeal act (hypnosis and relaxation exercises could be used to prove the point), but a voice of guidance could easily turn into a voice of command. The opening up to intimacy might therefor also evoke a fear of being exploited. Voices as well as sound cannot be easily fended off. Sound penetrates, merges, overwhelms, immerses. It collapses distinctions such as inside and outside, subject and other, autonomy and manipulation. Listening has consequences for how things are seen.\n\nWhile I make extensive use of voices, the main focus is neither oral performances nor speech, but the presence of voice in relation to trans-sensory experiences, and how sound and voice structures audio-visual-spatial relations in concrete material situations. The voice is used as a tool to explore intimacy and authority, violence and desire, language, loss, and transformation. One entry into this complex field is offered by the acousmatic voice, i.e. a voice without a body, and a special kind of being that composer and film theorist Michel Chion calls acousmêtre, an invisible character that can be heard but not seen. [5] Another point of entry is offered by the animal \"voice\", and attempts to teach animals to speak human language. Not only parrots but also many other species have proved to be vocal learners (e.g. elephants, bats, seals, and orangutans). When speech has failed, sign language or gestures have also been used, and the 1960-70s saw an upsurge in ape language-learning. But to what extent do the animals understand what they are saying? There is a specific instance in the 1950-60s that I constantly tend to gravitate towards, where humanoid sounds were found to emanate from a most unlikely source.\nPhD Seminar\n\n\n    PhD Seminar, Fine Art\n\n    Janna Holmstedt, PhD Candidate at Umeå Academy of Fine Art, is presenting her work \"YOU-TAPE-GOD - Explorations of Voice, A/Orality and Constructed Situations from Within a Visual Arts Practice\" in a 50% PhD seminar at wlabs and Inter Arts Center in Malmö.\n    Respondents: Artist Katya Sander and director Anders Paulin.\n    Supervisors: Professor Ylva Gisslen, Nationella konstnärliga forskarskolan.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.516358494758606}
+{"content": "Players congratulate DJ, keep ripping USGA\n\n\nDustin Johnson closed out his first major win at the U.S. Open with a birdie on 18. He did all this knowing he might be penalized a stroke after his ball moved on the fifth green (he was after his round). But no matter, Johnson won by three instead of four strokes. Players were not happy how the USGA handled the incident, but they were all excited for DJ:", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9253296256065369}
+{"content": "Turn a smartphone into a lifeline, on your campus.\n\n\nrutgers_appThe Just in Case app makes it easy to provide potentially life-saving information to your students. Now there is a smartphone app that carries critical contact and support information specific to your campus to students on the device they have with them all the time, their phones. Highly accessible information is more likely to be acted on, “just in case” the need arises.\n\nThe app updates quickly, works on all mobile platforms and can be extended to include additional information, such as sexual assault resources, at any time.\n\nResearch shows that impulsivity plays an important role in suicide attempts. Providing the Just in Case app to your students says “We care.” Just the time it takes to flip through the resources on the app may help a vulnerable moment pass, and a conversation can begin.\n\nLearn more:\n\nGet Pricing and Process Info for Your School", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9271581172943115}
+{"content": "Lecture 5 (Dutta): Dynamic Programming 4\n\nOriginal article (link) posted: 13/10/2005\n\n\nResult (Supermodularity)\n\nResult (Differentiability)\nSuppose reward function is differentiable on S and either\na) transition function is action-dependent\nb) transition function has a density which is differentiable on S\nthen, V is differentiable on int S\n\nDeterministic model\nJust a special case of the stochastic case\n\nUnbounded reward\nSome kind of bound conditions are needed\n\nNo discounting\n\nFinite horizon DP (continuity of V)\n\nFinite horizon DP (continuity of h)\n\n\n3G Auctions in UK: Q&A\n\n\nThe critics assume three things, that \n2: this expenditure has reduced investment in 3G\n3: it destroyed the telecoms companies' market value\nPaul answers to each question as follows:\nThen, he concludes the article by saying:\n\n\nTheory Seminar \"Fudenberg and Levine\"\n\nOriginal article (link) posted: 08/10/2005\n\n\n\n\nInteresting Papers on Reference\n\n: An axiomatic approach of temptation preference\n: Multiple equilibria in hyperbolic models\n: Revival of non-exponential discounting preference\n: Cue-theory\n: Early or latter decision\n: Rabin's paradox\n: A pioneering work of self-control\n\n\nContract Theory Conference\n\nThe following is the conference program with my brief comments.\n\nFirst session: 10:05--11:55\n\nChair: Chia-Hui Chen (Academia Sinica)\n  • How Can Agents Be Better-Off with Pay Caps?  \nSpeaker 2: Mami Kobayashi (Kinki University)  \n  • Market Liquidity and Capital Structure of Financial Institution\n\n\nSecond session: 13:10--15:00\nChair: Jong-Rong Chen (National Central University)\nSpeaker 1: Chi-Hsiang Liu (National Central University)\n  • Promotion, Relative and Individual Performance Pay\nSpeaker 2: Kohei Kawamura （University of Edinburgh）\n  • Eliciting Information from a Large Population\n\nThird session: 15:20―17:10\nChair: Pao-Chih Cheng (National Central University)\nSpeaker 1: Hsiang-Ling Shen (National Taiwan University)\n  • Sponsored Search Auctions under Two Search Engines\nSpeaker 2: Takanori Adachi (Nagoya University)\n\n\nLecture 4 (Dutta): Dynamic Programming 3\n\nOriginal article (link) posted: 06/10/2005\n\n\nAssumptions (for continuity)\n(A1) State Space: Borel subset of a metric space\n(A2) Action Space: Metric space\n(A3) Reward Function: Bounded, measurable and continuous\n(A4) Transition Function: Weakly continuous\n(A5) Feasibility Correspondence: continuous\n\nTheorem (Maitra 68)\nStep2 C(S) is a complete metric space.\nStep3 T is a contraction.\nStep4 There is a measurable selection h from the Bellman equation.\n\nAssumptions (for monotonicity)\n(B1) State Space: A subset of R^n\n\nTheorem (Monotonicity)\n\n\nTheorem (Strict Monotonicity)\n\nAssumptions (Concavity)\n(C1)=(B1) + S is convex\n(C3)=(B3) + reward function is concave\n(C5)=(B5) + graph is convex\n\nTheorem (Concavity)\n\n\nTheory Seminar (Sigurdsson)\n\nOriginal article (link) posted: 05/10/2005\n\n\n\n\n\nAuction theory: Myerson and mechanism design approach\n\n\n\nThe following is a brief summary of other related papers.\n\nMyerson and Satterthwaite (1983)\n  • applied revelation principle\n  • proved the general impossibility of efficient bargaining\nRelated Papers\n\n\n\nAuction theory: Vickrey and early literature\n\nContinued from the previous post, let me quote interesting parts from the editors' introductory summary.The following nicely illustrates the contribution of the pioneer of auction theory, William Vickrey.\nVickrey's seminal paper (Vickrey, 1961), mentioned in his 1996 Nobel Prize in economics, introduced the independent private value model, demonstrated equilibrium bidding behavior in a first-price auction, and then showed that truthful bidding could be induced as a dominant strategy by modifying the pricing rule: let each bidder pay the social opportunity cost of his winnings, rather than his bid. Finally, he showed in an example what would later be proven generally as the revenue equivalence theorem: different auction mechanisms that result in the same allocation of goods yield the same revenue to the seller.\nThen, the authors explain a few important papers in the early literature of auction theory since Vickrey. The followings are my summary.\n\nWilson (1969)\n  • (pure) common value\n  • first analysis of equilibrium bidding with common values\n  • demonstrated the importance to avoid (what would be later called) the winner's curse\n\nMilgrom (1981)\n  • common + private values\n  • discovered the importance of monotone likelihood ratio property (MLRP)\n  • showed that MLRP + conditional independence implies that\n  1. bidders use monotonic bidding strategies\n  2. a monotonic strategy satisfying the first-order condition constitutes an equilibrium\n\nMilgrom and Weber (1982)\n  • affiliated values: if one bidder has a high signal of value, it is more likely that the signals of the other bidders are high\n  • showed that under affiliated values\n  1. Vickrey's revenue equivalence result no longer holds when we introduce a common value element\n  2. ascending auctions yield higher revenues than sealed-bid auctions\n\nMilgrom, \"Rational Expectations, Information Acquisition, and Competitive Bidding,\" Econometrica, 1981.\nMilgrom and Weber, \"A Theory of Auctions and Competitive Bidding,\" Econometrica, 1982.\nVickrey, \"Counterspeculation, Auctions, and Competitive Sealed Tenders,\" Journal of Finance, 1961.\nWilson, \"Competitive Bidding with Disparate Information,\" Management Science, 1969.\n\n\nCombinatorial Auctions: Introduction\n\nThis book is a great collection of papers on a rapidly growing filed, \"combinatorial auctions.\"\n\nLet me quote a couple of useful sentences below taken from Introduction written by the editors, Peter Cramton, Yoav Shoham, and Richard Steinberg.\n  • The study of combinatorial auctions thus lies at the intersection of economics, operations research, and computer science.\n  • There are numerous examples of combinatorial auctions in practice. As is typical of many fields, practice precedes theory. Simple combinatorial auctions have been used for many decades in, for example, estate auctions.\n  • Recently, a variety of industries have employed combinatorial auctions. For example, they have been used for truckload transportation, bus routes, and industrial procurement, and have been proposed for airport arrival and departure slots, as well as for allocating radio spectrum for wireless communications services.\n  • Auction theory is among the most influential and widely studied topics in economics over the last forty years. Auctions ask and answer the most fundamental questions in economics: who should get the goods and at what prices? In answering these questions, auctions provide the micro-foundation of markets. Indeed, many modern markets are organized as auctions.\n\n\nFrontiers of Science\n\nI have been to Potsdam in Germany on Nov. 11 - 14 to attend 7th Japanese-German Frontiers of Science Symposium 2010 (link). It's a really interdisciplinary conference jointly organized by Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and Japan Society for the Promotion of  Science.\n\nI was a invited speaker of the social science session titled \"New Methods in Decision Making\" (session list), and talked about \"Recent Developments in Market Design and its Applications to School Choice\" (slide). It was quite exciting to give a presentation to researchers from completely different fields, mainly from natural science. Although I didn't have enough time to cover the details of my own studies, many of them seem to get surprised to see how powerful and useful game theoretical tools are.\n\nI also enjoyed the talks and discussions in other sessions very much. Most of topics were unfamiliar to me of course, but their frontier works looked truly exciting. This was a wonderful opportunity indeed! Many thanks to the organizers and participants :)\n\n\nKandori (1991)\n\nOriginal article (link) posted: 01/10/2005\n\nKandori (1991) \"Correlated Demand Shocks and Price Wars During Booms\" RES, 58\n\nThe paper extends the analysis of Rotemberg and Saloner (1986) to the case of serially correlated demand shocks and derives the same counter-cyclical movement as in their case (i.i.d. case), provided the discount factor and the number of the firms satisfy certain relationship.\nThe key observation in Rotemberg and Saloner (1986) was that, if the sum of future profits is unaffected by today’s demand, firms must set the price relatively low when demand is high. The premise is clearly satisfied when the demand shocks are i.i.d.. This paper shows introducing Markov demand shocks also create the same situation in the following two cases. The first case is when the discount factor delta exceeds, but is close to (N-1)/N, where N is the number of the firm. It is shown that firms maintain a constant profit (which equals to the monopoly profit in the worst state) under all demand conditions. Therefore, the extent of the correlation in demand is irrelevant.\nThe second case arises when delta tends to unity while (1-delta)N is held constant. In this case, firms are enormously forward-looking and total future profit is mostly determined by the stationary distribution, which is independent of today’s demand position.\n\nThe result itself is not that surprising (comparing to the other papers by Kandori at least). However, he is amazingly good at selling his work, especially in the following two points;\nFirst, he stresses the importance of Rotemberg and Saloner (1986) and their drawbacks as well. The motivation of extension of their paper becomes very clear and the reader necessarily gets interested in HIS work.\nSecond, his way of illustrating results is quite lucid and rigorous. Although, the results can be more or less expected to hold, it always is difficult to prove them in rigorously.\nThose techniques should be useful for us. Let’s learn them by the papers by Kandori!\n\nInteresting Papers that cite Kandori (1991)\n\nBagwell (2004) \"Countercyclical Pricing in Customer Markets\" Economica, 71\nBo (2001) \"Tacit Collusion under Interest Rate Fluctuations\" Job Market Paper\nHarrington (2004) \"Cartel Pricing Dynamics in the Presence of an Antitrust Authority\" Rand\n\n\nDecision Theory 301\n\nThis is complementary to the previous post, \"Decision Theory 101 (link).\" In Appendix A: Optimal Choice, the author (Professor Gilboa) concisely explains the flexibility of rational choice framework. I think that his argument is really important especially when we evaluate the recent developments of behavioral economics and consider its relationship with the traditional (or rational) approach.\nFor our purposes, it is worthwhile highlighting what this model (the consumers' problem: by yyasuda) does not include. Choices are given as quantities of products. Various descriptions of the products, which may be part of their frames, are not part of the discussion. The utility function measures desirability on a scale. We did not mention any special point on this scale, such as a reference point. Further, choices are bundles of products to be consumed by the consumer in question at the time of the problem. They do not allow us to treat a certain bundle differently based on the consumer's history of consumption, or on the consumption of others around them. Hence, the very language of the model assumes that the consumer does not care what others have, they feel no envy, nor any disappointment in the case when their income drops as compared with last period, and so on.\nIt is important to emphasize that the general paradigm of rational choice does not necessitate these constraints. For instance, instead of the n products the consumer can consume today, we may have a model with 2n products, reflecting their consumption today and their consumption yesterday. This would allow us to specify a utility function u that takes into account considerations such as aspiration levels, disappointment, and so forth. Or, we can use more variables to indicate the average consumption in the consumer's social group, and then the utility function can capture social considerations such as the consumer's ranking in society and so forth. Indeed, such models have been suggested in the past and have become more popular with the rise of behavioral economics. These models show that the paradigm of rational choice is rather flexible. Yet, the specific theory restricts the relevant variables to be independent of history, others' experiences, emotions, and other factors which might be among the determinants of well-being.\n\n\nDecision Theory 101\n\n\n\nDescriptive and Normative Theories\n\nA great introductory book on decision theory written by a leading authority, professor Itzhak GIlboa, came out recently:\n\nProfessor Ehud Kalai at Northwestern University describes this book as follows:\nIn the first chapter, the author indeed effectively explains two essential notions in economics, \"descriptive\" (sometime called \"positive\") and \"normative\" theories:\nA descriptive theory is meant to describe reality. For instance, the claim that demand curves slope down attempts to tell us something about the world. Importantly, it does not make a value judgement and takes no stand on whether this feature of the world is good or bad.\nA normative theory is a recommendation to decision makers, a suggestion regarding how they should make decisions. For instance, the claim that we should reduce income inequality is a normative claim. Note that the word \"normative\" does not mean here \"the norm in a given society\" as it does in other social sciences. The term only says something about the type of interaction between the theorist and the decision maker, namely, that this is an instance in which the former is trying to convince the latter to behave in a certain way.\nThe author continues to document the role of each theory, which is also very intuitive:\nIn decision theory it is often the case that a principle can be interpreted either descriptively or normatively. Consider the theory that each economic agent maximizes a utility function. I may propose it as descriptive, namely, arguing that this is a good description of real economic agents. And I may promote it as normative, in which case my claim will be that you would be wise to become such an agent. As a descriptive theory, the principle is tested for its correspondence to reality. The better it fits the data, the more successful it is. As a normative one, the principle should not fit reality. In fact, there is no point in giving decision makers recommendations that they anyway follow. Rather, the test is whether the decision makers would like to follow the principle.\n\n\nShapiro (1983)\n\nOriginal article (link) posted: 29/09/2005\n\nShapiro (1983) \"Premiums for High Quality Products as Returns to Reputations\" QJE 98\n\nThink about the market where producers can change product quality over time and consumers cannot observe quality prior to purchase. Then, what will happen? To answer this question, Shapiro (1983) develops a model that explores the implications of firm-specific reputations in a perfectly competitive environment. The one of the most interesting results is that in the equilibrium, firms produce higher quality products earn larger premiums. The premiums are needed for the following two reasons;\nFirst, there is a cost to establish reputation and to offset the cost, positive return (=premium) is needed. Without a premium, no firm chooses high quality.\nSecond, in this market, sellers can always increase profits in the short-run by reducing the quality of their products (=\"fly-by-night strategy\"). To prevent this deviation, positive return on the faithful path (which dominates the short-run return induced by fly-by-night strategy) is needed.\nAlthough, the above point has already been recognized (Klein and Leffler (1981) explored this idea informally), this is the first paper which models reputation under competitive markets.\n\nTirole (1988) (2.6.2) provides a simplified version of the Shapiro model; one firm, and two types of qualities. He also points out two problems of Shapiro's model, which are the reliance of infinite-horizon time and bootstrap aspects of the equilibria. As is easily seen, only the lowest quality product is provided in each period with finite horizon model (by backward induction). Bootstrap aspects mean that reputation matters only because consumers believe it matters. Indeed, if, for example, consumers believe the firms produce the low quality no matter what the past history, then their expectation would again be fulfilled. In other words, the analysis suggests only that repetition may offer incentives to supply quality, not that it necessarily will.\n\nNote) In the paper, this possibility is excluded since the author poses strong assumption about reputation formation; the expected quality of the firm's product at t is simply the product quality he chooses at t-1, i.e., R(t)=q(t-1). This simple adjustment expectation turns out to be a rational expectation. However, as Tirole mentions, there are other rational expectation equilibria and Shapiro (1983) does not mention them.\n\nFinally, notice that Kreps and Wilson (1982) and Milgrom and Roberts (1982) showed that reputation effects can be obtained even with a finite horizon by introducing asymmetric information about firm's type. Their models also pin down the equilibrium strategy and high quality is necessarily observed.\n\n\nKlein and Leffler (1981) \"The Role of Market Forces in Assuring Contractual Performance\" JPE, 81\nKreps and Wilson (1982) \"Reputation and Imperfect Information\" JET, 27\nMilgrom and Roberts (1982) \"Predation, Reputation, and Entry Deterrence\" JET, 27\nTirole (1988) \"The Theory of Industrial Organization\" MIT Press\n\n\nGame Theory in Finance\n\nWhat is going on in the up-front academic research in finance? I found a concise description of the field of finance from the great survey article:\n\"Finance Applications of Game Theory\"by Franklin Allen and Stephen Morris (1998, link)\n\nIn Introduction, they say the following:\n\n1. Introduction\nFinance is concerned with how the savings of investors are allocated through financial markets and intermediaries to firms, which use them to fund their activities. Finance can be broadly divided into two fields. The first is asset pricing, which is concerned with the decisions of investors. The second is corporate finance, which is concerned with the decisions of firms. Traditional neoclassical economics did not attach much importance to either kind of finance. It was more concerned with the production, pricing and allocation of inputs and outputs and the operation of the markets for these. Models assumed certainty and in this context financial decisions are relatively straightforward. However, even with this simple methodology important concepts such as the time value of money and discounting were developed.\nFinance developed as a field in its own right with the introduction of uncertainty into asset pricing and the recognition that classical analysis failed to explain many aspects of corporate finance.\n\nAlthough the paper was written more than 10 years ago, game theoretical perspectives in finance has still not been widespread. If you are interested in these materials, you should definitely check this. Here is the abstract of the paper:\nTraditional finance theory based on the assumptions of symmetric information and perfect and competitive markets has provided many important insights. These include the Modigliani and Miller Theorems, the CAPM, the Efficient Markets Hypothesis and continuous time finance.\nHowever, many empirical phenomena are difficult to reconcile with this traditional framework. Game theoretic techniques have allowed insights into a number of these. Many puzzles remain. This paper argues that recent advances in game theory concerned with higher order beliefs, informational cascades and heterogeneous prior beliefs have the potential to provide insights into some of these remaining puzzles.\n\n\nIO Seminar (Kadyrzhanova)\n\nOriginal article (link) posted: 28/09/2005\n\nKadyrzhanova \"The Leader-Bias Hypothesis: Monopolization and Industry Structure under Imperfect Corporate Control\" Job Market Paper\n\nThe paper examines the effect of the imperfect corporate control in a dynamic oligopoly market with cost reducing R&D investments. The managers are assumed to have an over-producing incentive (\"empire-building\" hypothesis), and hence, they do not maximize firms' short-run profit without intervention of the shareholders. Corporate control serves to shift managers' preference from \"empire-building\" to \"profit maximization\".\nThe key observation is that shareholders may want to choose imperfect control because of the commitment benefit of the over-producing derived by \"empire-building\" preference of the manager. Indeed, she shows that even if there is no cost of corporate control, shareholders do not choose full control. Moreover, it is shown that shareholders are more willing to leave discretionary authority to managers when ahead of rivals, which results in lower turnover, higher concentration, persistently monopolized markets, and significantly lower consumer surplus.\n\nI found the paper quite interesting. However, there were so many things she put in her presentation and the relationship among those are not clear enough for me. I am afraid that audiences also got little because her focus of the talk is vague. I think her presentation could have become much better if she had tried the followings:\n1) Stress and make clear the contribution to the literature\n2) Put more intuitive explanation of the main results\n3) Be more confident on mathematical parts\n4) Mention some actual story in markets or empirical facts as a motivation\n5) Explain which element of the model is a key to derive the corresponding result\n\nInteresting Papers in Reference\n\nAthey and Schmutzler (2001) \"Investment and Market Dominance\" RAND 32 (1): 1-26\nBagwell, Ramey and Spulber (1997) \"Dynamic Retail Price and Investment\nCompetition\" Rand, 28(2), 207-227\nBolton, Brodley, and Riordan (2000) \"Predatory Pricing: Strategic Theory and Legal Policy\" Georgetown Law Journal, 88, pp. 2239-2330\nBolton and Scharfstein (1990) \"A Theory of Predation Based on Agency Problems in Financial Contracting\" American Economic Review 80(1): 93-106\nCabral and Riordan (1994) \"The Learning Curve, Market Dominance and Predatory Pricing\" Econometrica, 62, pp. 1115-1140\nFershtman and Judd (1987) \"Equilibrium Incentives in Oligopoly\" American Economic Review, 77(5), 927-940\n\n\nES Monographs Online\n\n\nCollective papers in the world congress are also included:\n\n\n\nLecture 3 (Dutta): Dynamic Programming 2\n\nOriginal article (link) posted: 28/09/2005\n\nIn the last class, we saw the following results;\nNecessity: the value function of the dynamic problem V becomes the fixed point of the corresponding Bellman problem, i.e., TV=V.\nSufficiency: if the bounded function U satisfies TU=U in a Bellman problem and if there exists a maximizing selection for TU, then U is a value function of the original dynamic problem.\n\nOur focus on Lecture 3 is to prove these results formally and to derive some other properties about Bellman operator T.\n\nTopics in the class\n\n1) The proof of necessity\n2) The proof of sufficiency\nTo read the chapter 4 of SLP in advance helped me a lot to understand the proof. Although Chapter 4 deals with DP under certainty, it has direct link to uncertain case which was covered in the class.\n\n3) Finding a value function\n(a) The Bellman operator is a contraction (by Blackwell)\n(b) The set of bounded and continuous functions with sup-norm  is a complete metric space. Completeness is quite important to derive properties of value functions, because it assures the properties in the limit (=the value function).\n\nBlackwell's sufficient conditions for a mapping to be a contraction seem very useful. Professor Dutta mentioned that despite the seminal works in the field of applied mathematics Blackwell's first half of the career was not bright because of the racial discrimination. (He is a black.)\n\n\nAgenda for Development Economics\n\nThe latest volume of the Journal of Economic Perspectives (Vol. 24, No. 3, Summer 2010, link) puts together the feature story on development economics. As you can see below, the collection of articles looks really amazing!\n\nSymposium: The Agenda for Development Economics\n\n\"Understanding the Mechanisms of Economic Development\" (pp. 3-16)\nAngus Deaton\n\n\"Theory, General Equilibrium, and Political Economy in Development Economics\" (pp. 17-32)\nDaron Acemoglu\n\n\"Diagnostics before Prescription\" (pp. 33-44)\nDani Rodrik\n\n\"Uneven Growth: A Framework for Research in Development Economics\" (pp. 45-60)\nDebraj Ray\n\n\"Giving Credit Where It Is Due\" (pp. 61-80)\nAbhijit V. Banerjee and Esther Duflo\n\n\"Microeconomic Approaches to Development: Schooling, Learning, and Growth\" (pp. 81-96)\nMark R. Rosenzweig\n\nFor those who have interests in education, the other symposium, No Child Left Behind, might also be helpful.\n\n\nJapanese style wins the day\n\nCongratulations, Nadeshiko! Japanese women's team proceeded to the final of the FIFA U-17 World Cup:\nJapanese style wins the day: Japan dragged themselves back from a goal down to beat defending champions Korea DPR in the second semi-final from the Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva on Tuesday. Winning out 2-1 and putting on a show of assorted flicks and tricks for the fans in attendance, the stylish East Asians – who scored both of their goals in the space of two second-half minutes – will now meet Korea Republic in the final of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Trinidad and Tobago 2010. (see more from FIFA's website)\n\nThe Japan's second goal by Kumi YOKOYAMA is really amazing! She was like Maradona or Messi.\n\n\nCentral Themes on Microeconomics\n\nThis is a relatively new textbook on intermediate microeconomics written by two leading scholars in microeconomic/game theory, Douglas Bernheim and Michael Whinston\n(See publisher's link for further information):\n\nIn the introduction, the authors mention the following eight themes on microeconomics. Four are related to individual decision making, the other four are about the competitive market, which might be helpful for instructors who teach microeconomics.\nCentral Themes on Decision Making: \n1. Trade-offs are unavoidable\n2. Good choices are usually made at the margin\n3. People respond to incentives\n4. Prices provides incentives\n\nCentral Themes on Markets:\n5. Trade can benefit everyone\n6. The competitive market price reflects both value to consumers and cost to producers\n7. Compared to other methods of resource allocation, markets have advantages\n8. Sometimes, government policy improve on free-market resource allocation\nThese themes may look a bit too classical, but the book itself contains new topics such as behavioral economics, strategic interactions (with many examples), competitive policies in oligopoly markets, which reflects the authors' expertise and advantages compared to other rival textbooks.\n\n\nRisk and Liquidity\n\nHyun Song Shin (Hughes-Rogers Professor of Economics at Princeton University)'s awaited book on financial crises came out recently, titled \"Risk and Liquidity\":\n\nThe book is based on his 2008 Clarendon Lectures (in Finance). The table of contents and sample of a few sections are available from his website (link). Let me quote the comments by Roger Myerson and Franklin Allen, which seem to illuminate the feature and importance of  this outstanding book very well.\nIn the Great Recession, the world has looked for leading economists to offer a new and better understanding of macroeconomic instability, as Keynes did in the Great Depression. In this book, Hyun Song Shin delivers what was needed. Step by step, he develops as new comprehensive understanding of how macroeconomic booms and busts can be derived from microeconomic forces in the banking system. This book should be recognized as a major contribution to macroeconomic theory.\nRoger Myerson, Nobel Laureate in Economics 2007, Chicago University\n\nHyun Song Shin is one of the leading scholars on financial stability in the world. His experience in this field is not confined to his academic work. He has also advised the President of Korea, the Bank of England and many other institutions on these issues. The recent crisis has underlined how important it is to understand the boom-bust cycle. During the boom asset prices rise, this allows financial institutions to borrow and expand their balance sheets and drive prices up more. Similarly, in the bust part of the cycle they reduce their debt, their balance sheets shrink, they sell assets and prices fall more. Hyun Song Shin done the foundational theoretical and empirical research on this leveraging and deleveraging amplification mechanism. This book provides a very accessible summary of this work. It is essential reading for all academics and practitioners interested in financial crises.\nFranklin Allen, The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania\n\n\nKandori (RES 1992)\n\nOriginal article (link) posted: 26/09/2005\n\nKandori (1992) \"Social Norms and Community Enforcement\" RES, 59\n\nThe paper considers self-enforcing mechanisms in the situation where agents change their partners over time. Technically, the model in the paper is an extension of the theory of repeated games to the case of matching games. As main results, the following two are shown.\n\n1) Community can sustain cooperation even when each agent knows nothing more than his personal experience.\n2) Community can realize any mutually beneficial outcomes when each agent carries a label which is revised in a systematic way. That is, Folk Theorem holds.\n\nAs a motivation of the research, he mentions the benefit of specialization. After introducing theoretical achievements in personal enforcement mechanisms, i.e. Folk Theorem in the repeated game literature, he says as follows.\n\nHowever, many important transactions are infrequent in nature. As economic historians argue, the division of labor and specialization are important driving forces of economic progress. Potential gains are larger in diverse transactions with different specialists than with fixed partners. Therefore, the control of incentives in such an infrequent trade is of vital importance to understand the organization of economic transactions.\n\nHe refers to two papers which initiated this line of research.\n\nThe attempt to generalize the Folk Theorem of repeated games to the case of matching games was initiated by Milgrom, North and Weingast (1990) and Okuno-Fujiwara and Postlewaite (1989). The former analyzed concrete examples of information transmission mechanisms and the latter introduced the notion of local information processing. Both of them, however, mainly deal with the infinite population case to avoid potentially complicated problems of incentives on off-equilibrium paths. Our paper shows that such problems can be resolved in a simple way if the stage game satisfies weak condition. Equilibria constructed in our paper work for any population size and any matching rule, and are robust to changes in information structures.\n\nWhat a strong result he derived!! Although he does not stress the results given in Section 3 \"Folk Theorem under Public Observability\", I think Proposition 2 is very interesting. It is easy to understand that Folk Theorem holds if all the other players get into punishment phase after some player deviates, which is stated as Proposition 1. However, if we restrict our attention to such a situation where only the deviator is to be punished and innocent pairs are to play the originally prescribed actions, to show Folk Theorem is not straight forward. To be more precise, to check the incentives for innocent players in off-equilibrium path where community is highly populated with \"guilty\" agents is involved.\nIntroducing some \"forgiveness\" in the social norm, the author elegantly shows this problem can be avoided which leads to Proposition 2.\n\nInteresting Papers in References\n\nHarrington (1989) \"Cooperation in Social Settings\" mimeo\nSection 7 of the above paper was revised and available as the following.\nHarrington (1995) \"Cooperation in a One-Shot Prisoners' Dilemma\" GEB, 8\nMilgrom, North and Weingast (1990) \"The Role of Institutions in the Revival of Trade: The Law Merchant, Private Judges, and the Champagne Fairs\" Economic Inquiry, 25\nOkuno-Fujiwara and Polstlewaite (1995) \"Social Norms in Random Matching Game\" GEB, 9\nRubinstein and Wolinsky (1990) \"Decentralized Trading, Strategic Behavior and the Walrasian Outcome\" RES, 57\n\n\nComplementarity and supermodularity\n\nI found a nice summary of key concepts in game theory, complementarity and supermodularity, which are especially important for auction and matching theory.\n\n\"Supermodularity and supermodular games\" byXavier Vives\nin the new palgrave dictionary of economics:\n\nThe below is quoted from Xavier's survey.\nThe basic idea of complementarity is that the marginal value of an action increases with the level of other actions available. The mathematical concept of supermodularity formalizes the idea of complementarity. The theory of monotone comparative statics and supermodular games provides the toolbox to deal with complementarities.\n\nThis theory, in contrast to classical convex analysis, is based on order and monotonicity properties on lattices. Monotone comparative statics analysis provides conditions under which optimal solutions to optimization problems change monotonically with a parameter.\n\nThe theory of supermodular games exploits order properties to ensure that the best response of a player to the actions of rivals increases with their level. The power of the approach is that it clarifies the drivers of comparative statics results and the need of regularity conditions; it allows very general strategy spaces, including indivisibilities and functional spaces such as those arising in dynamic or Bayesian games; it establishes the existence of equilibrium in pure strategies; it allows a global analysis of the equilibrium set when there are multiple equilibria, which has an order structure with largest and smallest elements; and finally, it finds that those extremal equilibria have strong stability properties and there is an algorithm to compute them.\n\n\nTheory Seminar (Gilboa, Lieberman and Schmeidler)\n\nOriginal article (link) posted: 24/09/2005\n\nGilboa, Lieberman and Schmeidler \"Empirical Similarity\"\n\nAlthough the above paper was supposed to be talked about, Professor Gilboa mainly explained the following paper.\n\nBillot, Gilboa, Samet and Schmeidler (2005) \"Probabilities as similarity-weighted frequencies\" Econometrica, 73\n\nThe above two papers consider a decision rule when a decision maker who has data on past outcomes is asked to express her beliefs by assigning probabilities to certain possible states. As the original database becomes large, empirical frequency may not help for her to make a decision at all. Instead, she may assign a higher weight to more similar case in evaluating the probability of a state.\nBillot et.al show that if beliefs given a union of two databases are a convex combination of beliefs given each of the databases, the belief formation process follows a simple formula: beliefs are a similarity-weighted average of the beliefs induced by each past case. However, their axiomatization does not suggest a particular similarity function, or even a particular form of the function. Gilboa et.al develop tools of statistical inference for parametric estimation of the similarity function, assuming that such a function governs the data generating process.\nNotice that the axioms in the papers cannot be consistent with the situation where the range of belief becomes smaller as the number of observation increases or a decision maker cares about a trend of outcomes.\n\nPresentation by Professor Gilboa was very clear and he was quite good at using power point (!!). But it was difficult to understand the material. I might need to study decision theory at least little bit... (It might be good to read his book \"A Theory of Case-Based Decisions\". The Japanese translated edition is also available.)\n\n\nAumann's View on Science and Game Theory\n\n\n\n\n\nLecture 2 (Dutta): Dynamic Programming 1\n\nOriginal article (link) posted: 22/09/2005\n\nTopics in the class\n\n1) Conditional Probability and Feller Property\n(c) Feller Property.\n\n2) Dynamic Programming Set Up\n(g) Setting up optimization problem and value function.\n\n3) Bellman (Optimality) Equation\n\n\n\n\nHistorical drama on the creation of game theory\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBayesian Games\n\nOriginal article (link) posted: 22/09/2005\n\n\n\nConsistent model\n\nAgreeing to disagree\n\nBayesian Games are general enough?\n\n\n\n\nQuantum game theory\n\nHere is a link to the article. Congratulations!\n\n  1. Superposed initial states,\n  2. Quantum entanglement of initial states,\n\n\n\"Distinguishing the Opponents: Mutual Cooperation is Never Destroyed\"\nby Lucas Lages Wardil (Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais)\n\n\n\n\nReny's new exsistence theorem\n\n\nHis main result says the following:\n\n\n\n\nAER (June 2010)\n\nOther articles that attracted my interest are the following:\n\n\nGreat statistician passed away\n\n\nHere is a link to the wikipedia article about him.\n\nHe has written many influential papers such as:\n\n\nMay he rest in peace.\n\n\nIO Seminar (Daughety and Reinganum)\n\nOriginal article (link) posted: 21/09/2005\n\nDaughety and Reinganum \"Imperfect Competition and Quality Signaling\"\n\nAs main results, they show the following;\n\n\n\nInteresting papers in References\n\n\n\nGrossman (1989)\n\nOriginal article (link) posted: 20/09/2005\n\n\n\n\n\n\nInteresting papers in References\n\n\n\n\n\nIO Seminar (Rob and Fishman)\n\nOriginal article (link) posted: 14/09/2005\n\n\n\n\nInteresting papers in references\n\nHorner (2002) \"Reputation and Competition\" AER, 92\n\nTheir contribution in the literature is stated as follows.\n\n\n\nLecture 1 (Dutta): Math Preliminaries\n\nOriginal article (link) posted: 13/09/2005\n\n\nTopics in the class\n\n1) Correspondings and Maximum Theorem\n2) Contraction Mapping Theorem\n\nWhat we covered in the class\n\nIn (1):\n\nIn (2):\n\n\n\nRecommended readings\n\nSLP Chapter 3\nSundaram (1995) \"A Course in Optimization Theory\"\n\n\nMicroeconomic Analysis - G6218\n\nOriginal article (link) posted: 13/09/2005\n\n\n1) Dynamic Programming: The theory of single-agent models\n3) Application: A strategic analysis of climate change\n\n\n\n\n\n\nHere comes a great news!\n\n\nKamien (Handbook of GT 1992)\n\nOriginal article (link) posted: 12/09/2005\n\nKamien (1992) \"Patent Licensing\" Handbook of Game Theory, vol.1, chapter 11\n\nThis survey focuses on game-theoretic analysis of patent licensing. In the paper, the interaction between a patentee and licensees is described in terms of a three-stage game. In the first stage, a patentee sells the patent by using some mechanism. Firms in the industry simultaneously decide their buying strategies in the next stage. And finally, patents are distributed according to the rule of a mechanism and market competition (Cournot competition) is realized.\nThe main focus on the paper is comparison between different mechanisms which are (1) auction (2) fixed fee licensing (3) royalty (4) hybrid of (2)&(3). The interesting result is that licensing auction yields higher revenue than fixed fee or royalty does. In some situations, however, the hybrid mechanism colled \"chutzpah\" mechanism yields even higher revenue than auction does.\nThe analyses introduced in this survey has several restrictions such as; no private information, identical firms, only considering profit maximization.\nIn the end, the paper concludes as follows.\n\nIt is often the case that a survey of a line of research is a signal of it having peaked. This is certainly not true for game-theoretic analysis of paten licensing.\n\nI hope this comment is still true although it has been written in 15 year ago...\n\nInteresting Papers on References\n\nJensen (1989) \"Reputational spillovers, innovation, licensing and entry\" IJIO, 10-2\nKatz and Shapiro (1985) \"On the licensing of innovation\" Rand, 16\nKatz and Shapiro (1986) \"How to license intangible property\" QJE, 101\nMuto (1987) \"Possibility of relicensing and patent protection\" EER, 31\nReinganum (1989) \"The timing of innovation: Research, development and diffusion\" in Handbook of IO\n\n\nJapan eye bigger prize\n\nCongratulations for the great victory!\nBlue Samurai, you can go further!!\n\n(quoted from the article at FIFA's official website: Japan eye bigger prize)\n\nWho is Honda? He has been elected twice as the MOM (man of the match) in this world cup (see the link).\nYou can also watch this movie:\n\n\nFudenberg, Levine and Maskin (Econometrica 1994)\n\nOriginal article (link) posted: 08/09/2005\n\nIn their paper, \"The Folk Theorem with Imperfect Public Information\", several versions of Folk Theorem are shown. This is a memo for them. Before mentioning actual theorem, let's briefly check their contribution in the literature.\n\nAn important hypothesis of the standard Folk Theorem is that the players can observe one another's actions in each repetition, so that deviations from equilibrium strategies are detectable. In contrast, this paper considers games in which players observe only a public outcome that is a stochastic function of the actions played. Thus these are games of moral hazard. The major task of the paper is to provide conditions sufficient for the Folk Theorem to extend to such games. The most important hypotheses concern the way the probability distribution over public outcomes depends on the player's actions.\n\nTo see the Folk Theorem with perfect information, you should check Fudenberg and Maskin (Econometrica 1986) \"The Folk Theorem for Repeated Games with Discounting and Incomplete Information\". (Notice that \"Incomplete Information\" in the title implies the cases without a public randomization device or some reputation models and do not mean imperfect monitoring cases, which is covered in FLM)\n\nThe three versions of Folk Theorem they showed are as follows:\n\nNash-thread 1\nIf all pure-action profiles are pairwise identifiable, a \"Nash-threat\" version of the Folk Theorem obtains: any payoff vector Pareto-dominating a Nash equilibrium of the stage game can be sustained in an equilibrium of the repeated game for discount factors near enough to 1.\n\nNash-thread 2\nIf a game has at least one (mixed-action) profile satisfying the conjunction of pairwise identifiability and individual full rank (= \"pairwise full rank\"), then again the Nash-threat Folk Theorem applies. Generic games possess such a profile provided that the number of possible public outcomes is no less than the total number of elements in the action sets of any two players.\n\nTo obtain the conventional \"minimax-threat\" Folk Theorem requires more stringent conditions. Specifically, besides the hypotheses for the Nash-threat theorem, it suffices to assume that all pure-action profiles satisfy individual full rank.\n\nFinally, I quote their explanation about two examples of inefficient results shown by Radner-Myerson-Maskin and Green-Porter (or Abreu-Pearce-Stacchetti)\n\nOur work makes clear that the R-M-M counterexample relies on there being relatively few possible public outcomes compared to the number of possible actions, so that the genericity result mentioned before does not apply, and that equilibria of the G-P and A-P-S variety are necessarily inefficient only because they are symmetric: if (even slightly) asymmetric equilibria are admitted, the Folk Theorem is restored.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7575056552886963}
+{"content": "National Police: thief in law Petso divulges Russia’s ploy to weaken Ukraine \n\nRevaz Bukhnikashvili aka Petso\n\nAccording to the National Police of Ukraine, the Russian siloviki have been deporting thieves in law to their country trying to \"destabilize the criminal situation.\"\n\nSergey Knyazev, the Head of the Ukrainian National Police, has accused Russia of deliberate deportations of thieves in law to the country. According to him, Ukraine even coined a special term for this kind of people, a \"criminal migrant\". Sergey Knyazev said they had found 29 thieves in law exiled by Russian law enforcers over the last seven months alone.\n\nSergey Knyazev\n\nSergey Knyazev, Head of the National Police\n\nA vivid example the National Police head provided was the detention of Revaz Bukhnikashvili aka Petso at the Borispol airport on August 2. As a reminder, Petso had been expelled from Russia right after the Tatarstan Supreme Court had ruled to release the thief in law from jail after he had been diagnosed with an oncological disease of stage 4. Bukhnikashvili had served only 3.5 years out of 22. Ukrainian law enforcement authorities claim that Petso used a fake passport when crossing the border. However, some sources say the document was real and it had simply become void because the thief had been stripped of Ukrainian citizenship without any notice.\n\nAccording to Sergey Knyazev, Petso stated at the interrogation the following: \"The Kremlin purposefully sends criminals to Ukraine.\"\n\n\"After the interrogation in Borispol, <...> of the thief in law \"nicknamed Petso, we received a straightforward answer: they had been given a command to destabilize the criminal situation in our country,\" Knyazev said.\n\nIt is not easy to believe in sincerity and saneness of such statements coming from a thief in law. Petso, thief-crowned ten years ago, is unlikely to have chosen to betray one of the points of the thieves’ code and to cooperate with law enforcement.\n\nNotably, it has not been the first time that the Ukrainian security forces have been concerned about the dominance of thieves in law in the country, thus exposing their impotence. Despite dozens of deportations a year, which the National Police proudly reports, the thieves come back over and over again. For instance, the criminals feel at ease in the Odessa region, where they have an established criminal business. It is possible that the deported criminals are able to come back to Ukraine due to corruption in the bodies.\n\nMeanwhile, Russia deports only the thieves declared personae non gratae by the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs. Contrary to the unfounded accusations of the National Police head, Russian siloviki send thieves in law not just to Ukraine, but also to Georgia, Turkey and other countries.\n\n\n\n1 / 3", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5011512637138367}
+{"content": "Giacobbe Giusti, Villa Medicea La Petraia\n\nGiacobbe Giusti, Villa Medicea La Petraia\n\nGiacobbe Giusti, Villa Medicea La Petraia\n\nMédaillon de Giusto Utens, Museo di Firenze com’era\n\nGiacobbe Giusti, Villa Medicea La Petraia\n\nGiacobbe Giusti, Villa Medicea La Petraia\n\nGiacobbe Giusti, Villa Medicea La Petraia\n\nVilla La Petraia gardens, Florence, Italy\n\nVilla La Petraia gardens, Florence, Italy\n\n\nLa Villa Medicea La Petraia est une villa médicéenne qui se situe dans la zone collinaire du Castello, au 40 de la Via Petraia 40 à Florence.\n\n\nEn 1364, le palagio della Petraia appartenait à la famille Brunelleschi. En 1422, Palla Strozzi l’a acquis en lui ajoutant les terres adjacentes. Au XVIe siècle, la villa devint la propriété des Salutati, qui la vendent ensuite à Cosme Ier de Médicis qui, en 1544, la donne à son fils, le cardinal Ferdinand en 1568.\n\nLes travaux d’embellissement de 1566 furent étendus par Ferdinand, devenu Grand-duc en 1587, qui le transforma en une résidence digne d’un Prince. En 1589, la villa est assignée à son épouse Christine de Lorraine pour ses noces. La villa passe sous l’apanage de Don Antonio de Médicis en 1609.\n\nSous la Maison de Savoie, elle devint la résidence du roi Victor Emmanuel II et de Rosa Vercellana, son épouse morganatique.\n\nDepuis 1919, elle fait partie des biens de l’état.\n\n\nSon jardin à l’italienne a été dessiné par Le Tribolo ainsi que sa Florence sortant des eaux sculptée par Jean de Bologne\n\nLieu de conservation\n\nDans ses dépôts est conservé la Sémiramis (1623-1625) de Matteo Rosselli, un des quatre tableaux consacrés à la vie des femmes célèbres qui décoraient la salle d’audience de la grande-duchesse Marie-Madeleine d’Autriche dans la Villa di Poggio Imperiale[1].\n\nGiacobbe Giusti, CHIMERA of Arezzo\n\nGiacobbe Giusti, CHIMERA of Arezzo\n\nChimera of Arezzo (detail). Bronze. First half of the 4th century BCE.  Florence, National Archaeological Museum\n\nChimera of Arezzo (detail)\n\nBronze. First half of the 4th century BCE.\nHeight ca. 80 cm.\n\nFlorence, National Archaeological Museum\n(Museo archeologico nazionale di Firenze)\n\n\nGiacobbe Giusti, CHIMERA of Arezzo\n\nGiacobbe Giusti, CHIMERA of Arezzo\n\nChimera of Arezzo\nChimera d'arezzo, fi, 04.JPG\nYear c. 400 BC\nType bronze\nLocation Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Florence\n\nThe bronze “Chimera of Arezzo” is one of the best known examples of the art of the Etruscans. It was found in Arezzo, an ancient Etruscan and Roman city in Tuscany, in 1553 and was quickly claimed for the collection of the MediciGrand Duke of TuscanyCosimo I, who placed it publicly in the Palazzo Vecchio, and placed the smaller bronzes from the trove in his own studiolo at Palazzo Pitti, where “the Duke took great pleasure in cleaning them by himself, with some goldsmith’s tools,” Benvenuto Cellini reported in his autobiography. Court intellectuals of the time considered the Chimera of Arezzo to be a symbol of the Medici domination of the grand duchy.The Chimera is still conserved in Florence, now in the Archaeological Museum. It is approximately 80 cm in height.[1]\n\nIn Greek mythology the monstrous Chimera ravaged its homeland, Lycia, until it was slain by Bellerophon. The goat head of the Chimera has a wound inflicted by this Greek hero. Based on the cowering, representation of fear, and the wound inflicted, this sculpture may have been part of a set that would have included a bronze sculpture of Bellerophon. This bronze was at first identified as a lion by its discoverers in Arezzo, for its tail, which would have taken the form of a serpent, is missing. It was soon recognized as representing the chimera of myth and in fact, among smaller bronze pieces and fragments brought to Florence, a section of the tail was soon recovered, according to Giorgio Vasari. The present bronze tail is an 18th-century restoration.\n\nThe Chimera was one of a hoard of bronzes that had been carefully buried for safety some time in antiquity. They were discovered by accident, when trenches were being dug just outside the Porta San Laurentino in the city walls. A bronze replica now stands near the spot.\n\nInscribed on its right foreleg is an inscription which has been variously read, but most recently is agreed to be TINSCVIL, showing that the bronze was a votive object dedicated to the supreme Etruscan god of day, Tin or Tinia. The original statue is estimated to have been created around 400 BC.\n\nIn 2009 and 2010 the statue traveled to the United States where it was displayed at the Getty Villa in Malibu, California.[1][2][3]\n\n\nGiacobbe Giusti, Leonardo da Vinci Mona Lisa\n\nGiacobbe Giusti, Leonardo da Vinci Mona Lisa\n\nSee adjacent text.\n\n\n\nMona Lisa\n\nThis article is about the painting. For other uses, see Mona Lisa (disambiguation).\nMona Lisa\nItalian: La Gioconda, French: La Joconde\n\n\nSee adjacent text.\nArtist Leonardo da Vinci\nYear c. 1503–06, perhaps continuing until c. 1517\nType Oil\nMedium Populus\nSubject Possibly Lisa Gherardini\nLocation Musée du Louvre, Paris\n\n\n\nThe subject’s expression, which is frequently described as enigmatic,[3] the monumentality of the composition, the subtle modelling of forms, and the atmospheric illusionism were novel qualities that have contributed to the continuing fascination and study of the work.[4]\n\nTitle and subject\n\nMain article: Lisa del Giocondo\n\nThe title of the painting, which is known in English as Mona Lisa, comes from a description by Renaissance art historian Giorgio Vasari, who wrote “Leonardo undertook to paint, for Francesco del Giocondo, the portrait of Mona Lisa, his wife.”[5][6] Mona in Italian is a polite form of address originating as ma donna – similar to Ma’am, Madam, or my lady in English. This became madonna, and its contraction mona. The title of the painting, though traditionally spelled “Mona” (as used by Vasari[5]), is also commonly spelled in modern Italian as Monna Lisa (“mona” being a vulgarity in some Italian dialects) but this is rare in English.[citation needed]\n\nVasari’s account of the Mona Lisa comes from his biography of Leonardo published in 1550, 31 years after the artist’s death. It has long been the best-known source of information on the provenance of the work and identity of the sitter. Leonardo’s assistant Salaì, at his death in 1525, owned a portrait which in his personal papers was named la Gioconda, a painting bequeathed to him by Leonardo.\n\nThat Leonardo painted such a work, and its date, were confirmed in 2005 when a scholar at Heidelberg University discovered a marginal note in a 1477 printing of a volume written by the ancient Roman philosopher Cicero. Dated October 1503, the note was written by Leonardo’s contemporary Agostino Vespucci. This note likens Leonardo to renowned Greek painter Apelles, who is mentioned in the text, and states that Leonardo was at that time working on a painting of Lisa del Giocondo.[7]\n\nA margin note by Agostino Vespucci (visible at right) discovered in a book at Heidelberg University. Dated 1503, it states that Leonardo was working on a portrait of Lisa del Giocondo.\n\nThe model, Lisa del Giocondo,[8][9] was a member of the Gherardini family of Florence and Tuscany, and the wife of wealthy Florentine silk merchant Francesco del Giocondo.[10] The painting is thought to have been commissioned for their new home, and to celebrate the birth of their second son, Andrea.[11] The Italian name for the painting, La Gioconda, means “jocund” (“happy” or “jovial”) or, literally, “the jocund one”, a pun on the feminine form of Lisa’s married name, “Giocondo”.[10][12] In French, the title La Joconde has the same meaning.\n\nBefore that discovery, scholars had developed several alternative views as to the subject of the painting. Some argued that Lisa del Giocondo was the subject of a different portrait, identifying at least four other paintings as the Mona Lisa referred to by Vasari.[13][14] Several other women have been proposed as the subject of the painting.[15] Isabella of Aragon,[16] Cecilia Gallerani,[17] Costanza d’Avalos, Duchess of Francavilla,[15] Isabella d’Este, Pacifica Brandano or Brandino, Isabela Gualanda, Caterina Sforza—even Salaì and Leonardo himself—are all among the list of posited models portrayed in the painting.[18][19] The consensus of art historians in the 21st century maintains the long-held traditional opinion, that the painting depicts Lisa del Giocondo.[7]\n\n\nMain article: Leonardo da Vinci\n\nPresumed self-portrait by Leonardo da Vinci, executed in red chalk sometime between 1512 and 1515\n\nLeonardo da Vinci began painting the Mona Lisa in 1503 or 1504 in Florence, Italy.[20] Although the Louvre states that it was “doubtless painted between 1503 and 1506”,[4] the art historian Martin Kemp says there are some difficulties in confirming the actual dates with certainty.[10] According to Leonardo’s contemporary, Giorgio Vasari, “after he had lingered over it four years, [he] left it unfinished”.[6] Leonardo, later in his life, is said to have regretted “never having completed a single work”.[21]\n\nIn 1516, Leonardo was invited by King François I to work at the Clos Lucé near the king’s castle in Amboise. It is believed that he took the Mona Lisa with him and continued to work after he moved to France.[18] Art historian Carmen C. Bambach has concluded that da Vinci probably continued refining the work until 1516 or 1517.[22]\n\n\nDuring the Franco-Prussian War (1870–71) it was moved from the Louvre to the Brest Arsenal.[23] During World War II, the painting was again removed from the Louvre and taken safely, first to Château d’Amboise, then to the Loc-Dieu Abbey and Château de Chambord, then finally to the Ingres Museum in Montauban.\n\nIn December 2015, it was reported that French scientist Pascal Cotte had found a hidden portrait underneath the surface of the painting using reflective light technology.[24] The portrait is an underlying image of a model looking off to the side.[25] Having been given access to the painting by Louvre in 2004, Cotte spent ten years using layer amplification methods to study the painting.[24] According to Cotte, the underlying image is Leonardo’s original Mona Lisa.[24][26]\n\nTheft and vandalism\n\n“La Joconde est Retrouvée” (“Mona Lisa is Found”), Le Petit Parisien, 13 December 1913\n\nVacant wall in the Salon Carré, Louvre after the painting was stolen in 1911\n\n\nThe Mona Lisa on display in the Uffizi Gallery, in Florence, 1913. Museum director Giovanni Poggi (right) inspects the painting.\n\nFrench poet Guillaume Apollinaire, who had once called for the Louvre to be “burnt down”, came under suspicion and was arrested and imprisoned. Apollinaire implicated his friend Pablo Picasso, who was brought in for questioning. Both were later exonerated.[28][29] Two years later the thief was found. Louvre employee Vincenzo Peruggia had stolen the Mona Lisa by entering the building during regular hours, hiding in a broom closet, and walking out with it hidden under his coat after the museum had closed.[12] Peruggia was an Italian patriot who believed da Vinci’s painting should have been returned for display in an Italian museum. Peruggia may have also been motivated by a friend whose copies of the original would significantly rise in value after the painting’s theft. A later account suggested Eduardo de Valfierno had been the mastermind of the theft and had commissioned forger Yves Chaudron to create six copies of the painting to sell in the U.S. while the location of the original was unclear.[30] However, the original painting remained in Europe. After having kept the Mona Lisa in his apartment for two years, Peruggia grew impatient and was caught when he attempted to sell it to directors of the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. It was exhibited in the Uffizi Gallery for over two weeks and returned to the Louvre on 4 January 1914.[31] Peruggia served six months in prison for the crime and was hailed for his patriotism in Italy.[29] Before its theft, the Mona Lisa was not widely known outside the art world. It was not until the 1860s that some critics, a thin slice of the French intelligentsia, began to hail it as a masterwork of Renaissance painting.[32]\n\nIn 1956, part of the painting was damaged when a vandal threw acid at it.[33] On 30 December of that year, a speck of pigment near the left elbow was damaged when a rock was thrown at the painting, which was later restored.[34]\n\nThe use of bulletproof glass has shielded the Mona Lisa from subsequent attacks. In April 1974, a woman, upset by the museum’s policy for disabled people, sprayed red paint at it while it was being displayed at the Tokyo National Museum.[35] On 2 August 2009, a Russian woman, distraught over being denied French citizenship, threw a ceramic teacup purchased at the Louvre; the vessel shattered against the glass enclosure.[36][37] In both cases, the painting was undamaged.\n\n\nDetail of the background (right side)\n\n\nThe depiction of the sitter in three-quarter profile is similar to late 15th-century works by Lorenzo di Credi and Agnolo di Domenico del Mazziere.[38] Zöllner notes that the sitter’s general position can be traced back to Flemish models and that “in particular the vertical slices of columns at both sides of the panel had precedents in Flemish portraiture.”[39] Woods-Marsden cites Hans Memling’s portrait of Benededetto Portinari (1487) or Italian imitations such as Sebastiano Mainardi’s pendant portraits for the use of a loggia, which has the effect of mediating between the sitter and the distant landscape, a feature missing from Leonardo’s earlier portrait of Ginevra de’ Benci.[40]\n\n\nDetail of Lisa’s hands, her right hand resting on her left. Leonardo chose this gesture rather than a wedding ring to depict Lisa as a virtuous woman and faithful wife.[42]\n\n\nMona Lisa has no clearly visible eyebrows or eyelashes. Some researchers claim that it was common at this time for genteel women to pluck these hairs, as they were considered unsightly.[44][45] In 2007, French engineer Pascal Cotte announced that his ultra-high resolution scans of the painting provide evidence that Mona Lisa was originally painted with eyelashes and with visible eyebrows, but that these had gradually disappeared over time, perhaps as a result of overcleaning.[46] Cotte discovered the painting had been reworked several times, with changes made to the size of the Mona Lisa’s face and the direction of her gaze. He also found that in one layer the subject was depicted wearing numerous hairpins and a headdress adorned with pearls which was later scrubbed out and overpainted.[47]\n\nThere has been much speculation regarding the painting’s model and landscape. For example, Leonardo probably painted his model faithfully since her beauty is not seen as being among the best, “even when measured by late quattrocento (15th century) or even twenty-first century standards.”[48] Some art historians in Eastern art, such as Yukio Yashiro, argue that the landscape in the background of the picture was influenced by Chinese paintings,[49] but this thesis has been contested for lack of clear evidence.[49]\n\nResearch in 2008 by a geomorphology professor at Urbino University and an artist-photographer revealed likenesses of Mona Lisas landscapes to some views in the Montefeltro region in the Italian provinces of Pesaro, Urbino and Rimini.[50][51]\n\n\nThe Mona Lisa has survived for more than 500 years, and an international commission convened in 1952 noted that “the picture is in a remarkable state of preservation.”[52] This is partly due to a variety of conservation treatments the painting has undergone. A detailed analysis in 1933 by Madame de Gironde revealed that earlier restorers had “acted with a great deal of restraint.”[52] Nevertheless, applications of varnish made to the painting had darkened even by the end of the 16th century, and an aggressive 1809 cleaning and revarnishing removed some of the uppermost portion of the paint layer, resulting in a washed-out appearance to the face of the figure. Despite the treatments, the Mona Lisa has been well cared for throughout its history, and although the panel’s warping caused the curators “some worry”,[53] the 2004–05 conservation team was optimistic about the future of the work.[52]\n\nPoplar panel\n\nAt some point, the Mona Lisa was removed from its original frame. The unconstrained poplar panel warped freely with changes in humidity, and as a result, a crack developed near the top of the panel, extending down to the hairline of the figure. In the mid-18th century to early 19th century, two butterfly-shaped walnut braces were inserted into the back of the panel to a depth of about one third the thickness of the panel. This intervention was skilfully executed, and successfully stabilized the crack. Sometime between 1888 and 1905, or perhaps during the picture’s theft, the upper brace fell out. A later restorer glued and lined the resulting socket and crack with cloth.[citation needed]\n\nThe picture is kept under strict, climate-controlled conditions in its bulletproof glass case. The humidity is maintained at 50% ±10%, and the temperature is maintained between 18 and 21 °C. To compensate for fluctuations in relative humidity, the case is supplemented with a bed of silica gel treated to provide 55% relative humidity.[52]\n\n\nBecause the Mona Lisa’s poplar support expands and contracts with changes in humidity, the picture has experienced some warping. In response to warping and swelling experienced during its storage during World War II, and to prepare the picture for an exhibit to honour the anniversary of Leonardo’s 500th birthday, the Mona Lisa was fitted in 1951 with a flexible oak frame with beech crosspieces. This flexible frame, which is used in addition to the decorative frame described below, exerts pressure on the panel to keep it from warping further. In 1970, the beech crosspieces were switched to maple after it was found that the beechwood had been infested with insects. In 2004–05, a conservation and study team replaced the maple crosspieces with sycamore ones, and an additional metal crosspiece was added for scientific measurement of the panel’s warp.[citation needed]\n\nThe Mona Lisa has had many different decorative frames in its history, owing to changes in taste over the centuries. In 1909, the Comtesse de Béhague gave the portrait its current frame,[54] a Renaissance-era work consistent with the historical period of the Mona Lisa. The edges of the painting have been trimmed at least once in its history to fit the picture into various frames, but no part of the original paint layer has been trimmed.[52]\n\nCleaning and touch-up\n\nThe first and most extensive recorded cleaning, revarnishing, and touch-up of the Mona Lisa was an 1809 wash and revarnishing undertaken by Jean-Marie Hooghstoel, who was responsible for restoration of paintings for the galleries of the Musée Napoléon. The work involved cleaning with spirits, touch-up of colour, and revarnishing the painting. In 1906, Louvre restorer Eugène Denizard performed watercolour retouches on areas of the paint layer disturbed by the crack in the panel. Denizard also retouched the edges of the picture with varnish, to mask areas that had been covered initially by an older frame. In 1913, when the painting was recovered after its theft, Denizard was again called upon to work on the Mona Lisa. Denizard was directed to clean the picture without solvent, and to lightly touch up several scratches to the painting with watercolour. In 1952, the varnish layer over the background in the painting was evened out. After the second 1956 attack, restorer Jean-Gabriel Goulinat was directed to touch up the damage to Mona Lisa’s left elbow with watercolour.[52]\n\n\n\nMona Lisa behind bulletproof glass at the Louvre Museum\n\nOn 6 April 2005—following a period of curatorial maintenance, recording, and analysis—the painting was moved to a new location within the museum’s Salle des États. It is displayed in a purpose-built, climate-controlled enclosure behind bulletproof glass.[55] Since 2005 the painting has been illuminated by an LED lamp, and in 2013 a new 20 watt LED lamp was installed, specially designed for this painting. The lamp has a Colour Rendering Index up to 98, and minimizes infrared and ultraviolet radiation which could otherwise degrade the painting.[56] The renovation of the gallery where the painting now resides was financed by the Japanese broadcaster Nippon Television.[57] About 6 million people view the painting at the Louvre each year.[18]\n\n\n2014: Mona Lisa is among the greatest attractions in the Louvre\n\nToday the Mona Lisa is considered the most famous painting in the world, but until the 20th century it was one among many highly regarded artworks.[58] Once part of King Francis I of France‘s collection, the Mona Lisa was among the very first artworks to be exhibited in Louvre, which became a national museum after the French Revolution. From the 19th century Leonardo began to be revered as a genius and the painting’s popularity grew from the mid-19th century when French intelligentsia developed a theme that it was somehow mysterious and a representation of the femme fatal.[59] In 1878, the Baedeker guide called it “the most celebrated work of Leonardo in the Louvre”.[60] but it was known more by the intellectual elite than the general public.\n\nUS President John F. Kennedy, Madeleine Malraux, André Malraux, Jacqueline Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson at the unveiling of the Mona Lisa at the National Gallery of Art during its visit to Washington D.C., 8 January 1963\n\nThe 1911 theft and the subsequent return was reported worldwide, leading to a massive increase in public recognition of the painting. During the 20th century it was an object for mass reproduction, merchandising, lampooning and speculation, and was claimed to have been reproduced in “300 paintings and 2,000 advertisements”.[60]\n\nFrom December 1962 to March 1963, the French government lent it to the United States to be displayed in New York City and Washington, D.C.[61] It was shipped on the new liner SS France. In New York an estimated 1.7 million people queued “in order to cast a glance at the Mona Lisa for 20 seconds or so.”[60] In 1974, the painting was exhibited in Tokyo and Moscow.[62]\n\nIn 2014, 9.3 million people visited the Louvre,[63] Former director Henri Loyrette reckoned that “80 percent of the people only want to see the Mona Lisa.”[64]\n\n\nBefore the 1962–63 tour, the painting was assessed for insurance at $100 million. The insurance was not bought. Instead, more was spent on security.[65] Adjusted for inflation using the US Consumer Price Index, $100 million in 1962 is around US$782 million in 2015[66] making it, in practice, by far the most valued painting in the world.\n\nIn 2014 a France 24 article suggested that the painting could be sold to help ease the national debt, although it was noted that the Mona Lisa and other such art works were prohibited from being sold due to French heritage law, which states that “Collections held in museums that belong to public bodies are considered public property and cannot be otherwise.”[67]\n\nRaphael’s Young Woman with Unicorn, (c. 1506)\nRaphael’s Portrait of Baldassare Castiglione (c. 1514–15)\n\n\nBefore its completion the Mona Lisa had already begun to influence contemporary Florentine painting. Raphael, who had been to Leonardo’s workshop several times, promptly used elements of the portrait’s composition and format in several of his works, such as Young Woman with Unicorn (c. 1506[68]), and Portrait of Maddalena Doni (c. 1506). Celebrated later paintings by Raphael, La velata (1515–16) and Portrait of Baldassare Castiglione (c. 1514–15), continued to borrow from Leonardo’s painting. Zollner states that “None of Leonardo’s works would exert more influence upon the evolution of the genre than the Mona Lisa. It became the definitive example of the Renaissance portrait and perhaps for this reason is seen not jut as the likeness of a real person, but also as the embodiment of an ideal.”[69]\n\nEarly commentators such as Vasari and André Félibien praised the picture for its realism, but by the Victorian era writers began to regard the Mona Lisa as imbued with a sense of mystery and romance. In 1859 Théophile Gautier wrote that the Mona Lisa was a “sphinx of beauty who smiles so mysteriously” and that “Beneath the form expressed one feels a thought that is vague, infinite, inexpressible. One is moved, troubled … repressed desires, hopes that drive one to despair, stir painfully.” Walter Pater‘s famous essay of 1869 described the sitter as “older than the rocks among which she sits; like the vampire, she has been dead many times, and learned the secrets of the grave; and has been a diver in the deep seas, and keeps their fallen day about her.”[70] By the early 20th century some critics started to feel the painting had become a repository for subjective exegeses and theories,[71] and upon the paintings theft in 1911, Renaissance historian Bernard Berenson admitted that it had “simply become an incubus, and I was glad to be rid of her.”[71][72]\n\nThe avant-garde art world has made note of the undeniable fact of the Mona Lisas popularity. Because of the painting’s overwhelming stature, Dadaists and Surrealists often produce modifications and caricatures. Already in 1883, Le rire, an image of a Mona Lisa smoking a pipe, by Sapeck (Eugène Bataille), was shown at the “Incoherents” show in Paris. In 1919, Marcel Duchamp, one of the most influential modern artists, created L.H.O.O.Q., a Mona Lisa parody made by adorning a cheap reproduction with a moustache and goatee. Duchamp added an inscription, which when read out loud in French sounds like “Elle a chaud au cul” meaning: “she has a hot ass”, implying the woman in the painting is in a state of sexual excitement and intended as a Freudian joke.[73] According to Rhonda R. Shearer, the apparent reproduction is in fact a copy partly modelled on Duchamp’s own face.[74]\n\nSalvador Dalí, famous for his surrealist work, painted Self portrait as Mona Lisa in 1954.[75] In 1963 following the painting’s visit to the United States, Andy Warhol created serigraph prints of multiple Mona Lisas called Thirty are Better than One, like his works of Marilyn Monroe (Twenty-five Coloured Marilyns, 1962), Elvis Presley (1964) and Campbell’s soup (1961–62).[76] The Mona Lisa continues to inspire artists around the world. A French urban artist known pseudonymously as Invader has created versions on city walls in Paris and Tokyo using his trademark mosaic style.[77] A collection of Mona Lisa parodies may be found on YouTube.[78] A 2014 New Yorker magazine cartoon parodies the supposed enigma of the Mona Lisa smile in an animation showing progressively maniacal smiles.\n\nEarly copies\n\nPrado Museum La Gioconda\n\nA version of Mona Lisa known as Mujer de mano de Leonardo Abince (“Leonardo da Vinci’s handy-woman”) held in Madrid’s Museo del Prado was for centuries considered to be a work by Leonardo. However, since its restoration in 2012 it is considered to have been executed by one of Leonardo’s pupils in his studio at the same time as Mona Lisa was being painted.[79] Their conclusion, based on analysis obtained after the picture underwent extensive restoration, that the painting is probably by Salaì (1480-1524) or by Melzi (1493-1572). This has been called into question by others.[80]\n\nThe restored painting is from a slightly different perspective than the original Mona Lisa, leading to the speculation that it is part of the world’s first stereoscopic pair.[81][82][83]\n\nIsleworth Mona Lisa\n\nMain article: Isleworth Mona Lisa\n\nA version of the Mona Lisa known as the Isleworth Mona Lisa was first bought by an English nobleman in 1778 and was rediscovered in 1913 by Hugh Blaker, an art connoisseur. The painting was presented to the media in 2012 by the Mona Lisa Foundation.[84] The owners claim that Leonardo contributed to the painting, a theory that Leonardo experts such as Zöllner and Kemp deny has any substance.[85]\n\n\nGiacobbe Giusti: Power and Pathos: Bronze Sculpture of the Hellenistic World\n\n\n\n\nRare Bronze Sculptures from Hellenistic Period on View at National Gallery of Art, Washington, December 13, 2015–March 20, 2016\n\nUnknown Artist (Hellenistic Bronze) Athlete \"Ephesian Apoxyomenos\", AD 1- 90 bronze and copper Kunsthistorisches Museum, Antikensammlung, Vienna\n\nUnknown Artist (Hellenistic Bronze)\nAthlete “Ephesian Apoxyomenos”, AD 1- 90\nbronze and copper\nKunsthistorisches Museum, Antikensammlung, Vienna\n\nWashington, DC—An unprecedented exhibition of some 50 rare bronze sculptures and related works from the Hellenistic period will be on view at the National Gallery of Art from December 13, 2015, through March 20, 2016. Previously at the Palazzo Strozzi, Florence, and the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, Power and Pathos: Bronze Sculpture of the Hellenistic World showcases bronze sculptures that are remarkably lifelike, often enhanced by copper eyelashes and lips and colored glass or stone eyes. Of the many thousands of bronze statues created in the Hellenistic period, only a small fraction is preserved. This exhibition is the first to gather together so many of the finest surviving bronzes from museums in Europe, North Africa, and the United States.\n\n“We are delighted to present visitors with this rare opportunity to see these dazzling works up close,” said Earl A. Powell III, director, National Gallery of Art, Washington. “We are grateful to the lenders—museums in Austria, Denmark, France, Georgia, Great Britain, Greece, Italy, Spain, Tunisia, the United States, and the Vatican—as well as Bank of America for their generous support.”\n\nDuring the Hellenistic period—generally from the late fourth century BC to the first century AD—the art and culture of Greece spread throughout the Mediterranean and lands once conquered by Alexander the Great. Through the medium of bronze, artists were able to capture the dynamic realism, expression, and detail that characterize the new artistic goals of the era.\n\n“The works from the Power and Pathos exhibition represent a turning point in artistic innovation during one of the most culturally vibrant periods in world history,” said Rena De Sisto, global arts and culture executive, Bank of America. “We’re thrilled to be the National Tour Sponsor and to help bring this important collection to D.C. in hopes to inspire curiosity and wonder.”\n\nExhibition Organization and Support\n\nThe exhibition was organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington; the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles; and the Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi, Florence, in collaboration with the Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici della Toscana.\n\nBank of America is the national sponsor of this touring exhibition.\n\nThe exhibition is also made possible through a generous gift from an anonymous donor. The Marshall B. Coyne Foundation has provided additional support through the Fund for the International Exchange of Art. This exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.\n\nExhibition Highlights\n\nPower and Pathos brings together the most significant examples of Hellenistic bronze sculpture to highlight their varying styles, techniques, contexts, functions, and histories. The conquests of Alexander the Great (ruled 336–323 BC) created one of the largest empires in history and ushered in the Hellenistic period, which ended with the rise of the Roman Empire. For some 300 years after Alexander’s death, the medium of bronze drove artistic experimentation and innovation. Bronze—surpassing marble with its tensile strength, reflective surface, and ability to hold the finest detail—was used for dynamic poses, dazzling displays of the nude body, and vivid expressions of age and character.\n\n“Realistic portraiture as we know it today, with an emphasis on individuality and expression, originated in the Hellenistic period,” said exhibition curator Kenneth Lapatin.  Jens M. Daehner, co-curator, added, “Along with images of gods, heroes, and athletes, sculptors introduced new subjects and portrayed people at all stages of life, from infancy to old age.” Both Daehner and Lapatin are associate curators in the department of antiquities at the J. Paul Getty Museum.\n\nA widespread ancient phenomenon, Hellenistic art is found not only throughout the Mediterranean, but also in regions far away, such as Thrace in the Balkans, ancient Colchis (in the Republic of Georgia), and the southern Arabian Peninsula. Through several thematic sections, the exhibition emphasizes the unique role of bronze both as a medium of prestige and artistic innovation and as a material exceptionally suited for reproduction. The exhibition is divided into sections as follows:\n\nIntroduction: The Rarity of Bronzes: Large-scale bronze statues have rarely survived from antiquity, as most were melted down so that their valuable metal could be reused. Rows of empty stone pedestals can still be seen at ancient sites. Lysippos of Sikyon (c. 390–305 BC), the favorite sculptor of Alexander the Great, created 1,500 works in bronze, according to Pliny the Elder. None survive; their existence is known partly from later copies and statue bases inscribed with the artist’s name, such as the one on view at the beginning of the exhibition. Many bronzes known today have been preserved only because they were accidentally buried or lost at sea, then recovered centuries later by archaeologists, divers, and fishermen.\n\nAlexander and His Successors: Lysippos is credited with creating the image of Alexander the Great that artists have perpetuated through the centuries: a man of vigor, fit and lithe, clean-shaven, with long, windswept hair. The statuette Alexander the Great on Horseback, in bronze with silver and copper inlays, may be a small-scale version of a lost monumental sculpture that Lysippos created to commemorate Alexander’s victory over the Persians in 334 BC. Portraits of Alexander provided the models that his successors would emulate, resulting in the distinctive genre of ruler portraiture that emerged in the Hellenistic period.\n\nRulers and Citizens/Likeness and Expression: Realistic features and depictions of emotional states are hallmarks of Hellenistic sculpture. Individualized portraits superseded the largely idealized types of earlier periods. Hellenistic portraits emphasize pathos—lived experience—appealing to viewers’ emotions by conveying an individual’s state of mind or experience of life through facial expression or gestures. Citizens and benefactors honored with statues were shown clothed, while rulers were portrayed nude or in armor, sometimes on horseback. Nudity, traditionally reserved for images of athletes, heroes, and gods, became an artistic attribute of Hellenistic rulers or military leaders.\n\nBodies Real and Ideal: Hellenistic sculptors continued to create idealized figures, but with a new interest in realistic detail and movement, as seen in the Boy Runner, a statue of a boy athlete shown only at the National Gallery of Art.  Many artists took inspiration from Lysippos, often considered the most important artist of the Hellenistic period. He specialized in athletic figures in their prime, emphasizing their muscles and rendering their hair disheveled from sweat and exercise. Lysippos also introduced new, elongated proportions and smaller heads, making his figures appear taller and more graceful than those of the Classical period.\n\nApoxyomenos and the Art of Replication: The process of casting bronze statues in reusable molds encouraged the production of multiple copies of the same statue. The image of an athlete known as an Apoxyomenos (“scraper”) appears in two bronze versions: a full-length statue excavated at Ephesos in present-day Turkey (on loan from the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, Austria) and a bronze head known since the 16th century (now in Fort Worth, Texas), which once formed part of a comparable statue. Athletes competed nude, their bodies coated in oil; after exercising, they scraped themselves clean with a strigil, a curved implement that removed the oil and accumulated dust and grime.\n\nImages of the Divine: The expressive capabilities of bronze and the dynamic styles of Hellenistic sculpture were adapted to representations of divine beings. Their images became less ideal and more realistic or “human.” The statuette Weary Herakles, for example, shows the hero fatigued rather than triumphant after completing the labors that earned him immortality. The love-god Eros, formerly shown as an elegant adolescent, is transformed into a pudgy baby, inspiring Roman images of the god Cupid and putti of the Italian Renaissance. In the Hellenistic era, deities became more accessible, now thought of as living beings with changing physical and emotional states.\n\nStyles of the Past/Roman Collectors and Greek Art: A high regard for history characterizes the Hellenistic period. Artists created statues and statuettes in styles from both the recent and distant past. Statues of Apollo on view echo the stiff frontal figures of youths known as kouroi that were dedicated in Greek sanctuaries and cemeteries throughout the sixth century BC. In contrast, a bust of the Doryphoros (Spear Bearer) copies a work by Polykleitos, one of the most famous classical sculptors of the fifth century BC.  Most of the sculptures in this section adorned the villas and gardens of prominent Romans who eagerly collected Greek works of art, including the famouse statuette known as the Dancing Faun (Pan), found in the atrium of the House of the Faun in Pompeii, another work shown only in Washington.\n\nFrom the Hellenistic to the Augustan Era: The Augustan era saw a renewed interest in the idealized styles of Classical Greece. Augustus, the first Roman emperor (ruled 27 BC–AD 14), favored the Classical style for much of his official art to associate his reign with the golden age of fifth-century Athens under Pericles. The sculpture of a boy wearing a himation, a large rectangle of cloth wrapped around the waist, and the nude statue of a youth known as the Idolino (“little idol”), exemplify this trend.\n\nFilm and Audio Tour\n\nA film produced by the Gallery in conjunction with the exhibition and made possible by the HRH Foundation provides an overview of art of the Hellenistic period. Narrated by actor Liev Schreiber, the film includes new footage of the ancient sites of Delphi, Corinth, and Olympia, which once were crowded with bronze statues.\n\nFor the first time, the Gallery is offering a free audio tour that visitors can download to their mobile devices. Narrated by Earl A. Powell III, the tour includes commentary from exhibition curators Jens M. Daehner and Kenneth Lapatin, and bronze specialist Carol C. Mattusch of George Mason University.\n\nCurators and Catalog\n\nThe exhibition curators are Jens M. Daehner and Kenneth Lapatin, both associate curators in the department of antiquities at the J. Paul Getty Museum. Susan M. Arensberg, head of the department of exhibition programs, is the coordinating curator for the National Gallery of Art.\n\nPublished by the J. Paul Getty Museum, the fully illustrated scholarly catalog is the first comprehensive volume on Hellenistic bronze statuary. It includes groundbreaking archaeological, art-historical, and scientific essays offering new approaches to understanding ancient production of these remarkable works of art. The 368-page hardcover catalog is currently available. To order, please visit; call (800) 697-9350 or (202) 842-6002; fax (202) 789-3047; or e-mail\n\nGeneral Information\n\n\n\nFor additional press information please call or send inquiries to:\nDepartment of Communications\nNational Gallery of Art\n2000B South Club Drive\nLandover, MD 20785\nphone: (202) 842-6353\nAnabeth Guthrie\nChief of Communications – Converged Media\n(202) 842-6804\n\nGiacobbe Giusti, Divine Beauty\n\nGiacobbe Giusti, Divine Beauty\n\n\n\n\nDivine Beauty from Van Gogh to Chagall and Fontana\n\nThe Exhibition\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGiacobbe Giusti, 50 ancient bronzes at the Getty Museum\n\nGiacobbe Giusti, 50 ancient bronzes at the Getty Museum\n\nIn this Monday, July 27, 2015 photo, a sculpture titled \"Athlete, The Croatian Apoxyomenos, Greek, 1st century BC,\" is seen at the J. Paul Getty Museum in the \"Power and Pathos: Bronze Sculpture of Hellenistic World\" exhibit in Los Angeles. The exhibit brings together more than 50 bronzes from the Hellenistic period that extended from about 323 to 31 B.C. Photo: Nick Ut, AP / AP\nPhoto: Nick Ut, AP\n“Athlete, The Croatian Apoxyomenos, Greek, 1st century BC,” is seen at the J. Paul Getty Museum in the “Power and Pathos: Bronze Sculpture of Hellenistic World” exhibit in Los Angeles. The exhibit brings together more than 50 bronzes from the Hellenistic period that extended from about 323 to 31 B.C.\n\nPower and Pathos: Bronze Sculpture of the Hellenistic World is on view through November 1 in the J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Center, 1200 Getty Center Drive, Los Angeles. Hours, Tuesday through Friday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Free; parking $15. For more information or to learn about events related to the exhibition, call (310) 440-7300 or go to ER\n\nGiacobbe Giusti, Michelangelo\n\nGiacobbe Giusti, Michelangelo\n\n\nPietà Rondanini by Michelangelo", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9566510319709778}
+{"content": "Share this story...\nLatest News\n\nLiz Weston: The emergency fund you can eat\n\n\n\n\n\nYou can spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars on an emergency food kit that has a 10-, 20- or even 30-year shelf life . Chances are pretty good, though, that those prepackaged versions will include stuff you or your family won’t eat. Food not eaten is money wasted.\n\nYou’re much better off stocking up on foods you like and then using that stock, replenishing it as you go. Your first goal can be a two-week supply of food, which is what the Federal Emergency Management Agency recommends every family keep on hand. Once you have that stored, consider boosting your supply over time to cover one to three months. (We recommend the same start-small strategy to build a cash emergency fund.)\n\nHere’s how to start:\n\n–Create a two-week menu. Write down what you would feed your family for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day for 14 days. Don’t forget side dishes, drinks and desserts. It’s OK to repeat meals if that’s what you do in nonemergency situations. Don’t forget to include water: at least a gallon per person per day .\n\n–Stress-test the menu. How many of the meals could you prepare with ingredients that don’t require refrigeration? Without it, food in your fridge will last about a day, in the freezer two or three . Perishables — fresh fruits, vegetables, dairy — may not be available. What shelf-stable ingredients can you substitute? Some foods you can find at the supermarket have long shelf lives, such as rice, dried beans and canned foods. Others such as eggs, milk, vegetables, fruit and meat are available in dried or freeze-dried form from companies that specialize in emergency foods, such as Augason Farms and Mountain House .\n\n–Decide which of those substitutions you can actually tolerate. Powdered milk is an example of something that’s great in theory but that some people find revolting in reality. My family uses it to bake with, and we keep shelf-stable almond milk around to drink. Likewise, canned fruits and veggies aren’t our favorites, but we use them in desserts and stews.\n\n–Think about how you’d prepare each meal. If the gas and electricity are out, you’ll need some way to heat meals such as a camp stove or a grill. (Always cook outside; it’s safer .) Between the ingredients and cooking time required, some meals –like the turkey meatloaf my daughter loves — just aren’t practical emergency options, so we substitute others like spaghetti and meat sauce that are easier to store and cook.\n\n–Create an ingredients list. Once you’ve settled on your final list of meals, list every ingredient for every meal and how much you’ll need of each. One serving of oatmeal is half a cup, for example, so you’ll need two cups each time you serve four people — plus another two cups of milk substitute, eight tablespoons of brown sugar and four little boxes of raisins or whatever fruit you plan to serve.\n\n–Don’t forget the treats. Comfort foods and familiar flavors can help you through tough times. Coffee and tea drinkers will want an ample supply, but everyone might appreciate hot chocolate, sweeteners, condiments, spices and hard candies.\n\n–Figure out where to keep it. People can get creative about storage in small spaces, parking emergency food under their beds or behind their couches. I’d rather have food where I can see it and be reminded to use it, so I cleared some old appliances from the kitchen and added some open shelving to our laundry room.\n\n–Fill out your pantry. Compare what you need with what you have, and start shopping to fill in the gaps. Use coupons and sales to stock up gradually.\n\n–Use what you have. Once a week or so, use some of your stockpile. You don’t have to create the emergency meal or cook it outside; you just have to use the ingredients for one of the meals, starting with the stuff that’s closest to its expiration date. Since your two-week food supply provides 42 meals, using up a meal’s worth every week or two will have you rotating through your supply in roughly a year.\n\n\n\n\n\nHow to Build an Emergency Fund\n\n\nRelated Links", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6771643161773682}
+{"content": "posted by .\n\nhow has fashion in 1950 impacted on shaping the australian identity\n\nRespond to this Question\n\nFirst Name\nSchool Subject\nYour Answer\n\nSimilar Questions\n\n  1. United states history\n\n    List three ways that the Native Americans impacted the European colonists economically. Also list three ways that the Europeans impacted the Native Americans and the Native Americans impacted the Europeans politically.\n  2. history\n\n    How was the Political Climate Impacted in the United States impacted due the Politics of Southeast Asia?\n  3. psy\n\n    Need some info. to help me answer those questions. list at least five events or major concepts from each of the three periods in the history of modern personality psychology. 1930-1950; 1950-1970; 1970-present.\n  4. art\n\n  5. Surveys/Geography\n\n    Do you think this is a good survey or should I change the wording and/or add questions?\n  6. 1950's Food\n\n    For english im in a group that is doing a presentation on 1950 food. Were going to be making rice crispy treats and bringing them in since that was a popular dessert during the time. but we want to make it.. for lack of a better word, …\n  7. FRM 121 Fashion History II\n\n    How can I find Fashion Period Report Victorian and Bustle Era Society and Fashion?\n  8. Social Studies\n\n    How was the homestead act: -impacted history -impacted the future -was important need help!!!!!\n  9. English\n\n    Can someone give me an overview about American literature of the 1920-1930 and the 1950-1960s & how is changed & how history american history impacted it...\n  10. History\n\n\nMore Similar Questions", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.598616361618042}
+{"content": "Learn More\nIn this study Fourier transform infrared micro-spectroscopy (FTIR) was used to determine lipid and carbohydrate content over time in the freshwater microalgae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and Scenedesmus subspicatus grown in batch culture in limiting concentrations of nitrogen (N). Both algae exhibited restricted cell division and increased cell size following(More)\nPowdery mildew fungi are biotrophic pathogens that form a complex interface, the haustorium, between the host plant and the parasite. The pathogen acts as an additional sink, competing with host sinks, resulting in considerable modification of photoassimilate production and partitioning within the host tissue. Here, we examine the factors that may(More)\nHere we demonstrate that fruit from tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) plants expressing Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) H(+)/cation exchangers (CAX) have more calcium (Ca2+) and prolonged shelf life when compared to controls. Previously, using the prototypical CAX1, it has been demonstrated that, in yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) cells, CAX transporters(More)\nCalcium (Ca) and manganese (Mn) are essential nutrients required for normal plant growth and development, and transport processes play a key role in regulating their cellular levels. Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) contains four P(2A)-type ATPase genes, AtECA1 to AtECA4, which are expressed in all major organs of Arabidopsis. To elucidate the(More)\nRegulation of Ca(2+) transport determines the duration of a Ca(2+) signal, and hence, the nature of the biological response. Ca(2+)/H+ antiporters such as CAX1 (cation exchanger 1), play a key role in determining cytosolic Ca(2+) levels. Analysis of a full-length CAX1 clone suggested that the CAX1 open reading frame contains an additional 36 amino acids at(More)\nThe CrCAX1 gene encoding a Ca2+/H+ and Na+/H+ exchanger was cloned and characterized from the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii to begin to understand the mechanisms of cation homeostasis in this model organism. CrCAX1 was more closely related to fungal cation exchanger (CAX) genes than those from higher plants but has structural(More)\nThe regulation of ions within cells is an indispensable component of growth and adaptation. The plant SOS2 protein kinase and its associated Ca(2+) sensor, SOS3, have been demonstrated to modulate the plasma membrane H(+)/Na(+) antiporter SOS1; however, how these regulators modulate Ca(2+) levels within cells is poorly understood. Here we demonstrate that(More)\nHeavy metal ions such as Cu(2+), Zn(2+), Mn(2+), Fe(2+), Ni(2+) and Co(2+) are essential micronutrients for plant metabolism but when present in excess, these, and non-essential metals such as Cd(2+), Hg(2+) and Pb(2+), can become extremely toxic. Thus mechanisms must exist to satisfy the requirements of cellular metabolism but also to protect cells from(More)", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9794270396232605}
+{"content": "17 Altamonte Springs Booking.com Rentals\n\nCompare Altamonte Springs booking.com rentals from 13 rental sites including TripAdvisor, HomeAway, Booking.com and more, ranging from $27 to $1119 a night.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9760996103286743}
+{"content": "Pamukkale Tour - Private Excursions à Alanya\nPamukkale Tour - Private: From the Turkish word meaning cotton castle, Pamukkale is a spectacular, natural beauty. On this private tour prepare yourself for a carefree day, taking in all the marvellous surroundings, leaving the passionate and knowledgeable tour guide in charge.\nPammukale is a series of mountainside terraces where natural springs have solidified into snow-white stalactites and cliffs. The effect is absurdly exquisite- it almost looks like a winter wonderland of pools in various little tiers. The Romans were the first to realise its' potential healing powers and established a health spa there. In modern day, we would like you to experience the same healing powers the Romans found by inviting you to join us and bathe in the main thermal pool and feel revitalized.\nStart the day with a delicious, freshly prepared buffet breakfast in Antalya. Then the tour leads you to Korkutelli where there will be a short break to regain energy for the exciting day ahead. At midday there is a scheduled photo break to capture the stunning panoramic views, to create memories you can keep. After, you will be given leisure time to explore Pamukkale and the Ancient City Hierapolis. Up the hill, at Hierapolis, there is a well-preserved Roman theatre and ancient thermal baths, which have been restored and converted into an archaeological museum. Other significant sites include the Temple of Apollo, the Necropolis and the Nymphaeum and the fourth century basilica. On the way back to the hotel, we will stop for a delightful dinner.\nThis makes for a wonderful day, full of culture and history, one which you must do should you wish to engage with the country’s history.\nMeeting/pick-up point: Hotel pick-up.\nPick-up time: Between 6:30am and 7am.\nDrop-off time: Approximately at 10pm.\nOthers: The itinerary involves a good deal of walking, good comfortable footwear is therefore essential.\n\n\n\nType d'activité\n\nTours & Activities\n\nActivité pour\n\n\nDurée de l'activité\n\nFull day", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9988177418708801}
+{"content": "Village Outskirts\n\nVillage Outskirts\nEldwitch Woods.png\nLocated In Eldwitch Woods\nAppearances vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney\nChapter Accessible Chapter 5: A Taste of Despair\nNo. of Hint Coins 3\nNorth Exit Shades' Village\nEast Exit Forest of Lost Way\n\nThe Village Outskirts is a location based in the Eldwitch Woods, seen in the game Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney. As the name suggests, it is located on the outskirts of the Shades' Village, with a large green canopy growing over the area.\n\n\n[edit] Appearance\n\nThe area is engulfed by a large stone wall, containing an array of ruins. A large tree grows over the area, with roots protruding through the ground.\n\n[edit] Plot\n\nChapter 5: A Taste of Despair\nProfessor Layton and Maya Fey escape from the Shades into the area for safety. As Maya states how he was back to normal after being turned to gold, this confuses Layton, as he had fallen unconscious after the witch had appeared and awoke in the forest. Maya then explains that he was the victim in the previous night's trial, and brings him up to speed on everything that had happened in his absence. Layton questions Maya why she was in the forest, and she explains that she had been thrown into the fire despite being proven innocent in the trial. This causes her to speculate that a trick lay within the cage she was contained in, as she was lead into the forest by a wagon that she was dropped into. As she becomes worried about Phoenix Wright, Layton ensures her that they were sure to meet up again, as he and Luke would be able to sense something was amiss. They then decide to investigate the forest, as Layton believed secrets lay here.\n\nThe Shades that had been in pursuit of the pair finally find them, and so believing an altercation was unavoidable, Layton protects Maya from them. Before they can attack though, the Great Witch steps in, telling them not to harm them. Layton then realizes that he had previously met the Great Witch in London prior to visiting Labyrinthia. The Great Witch then invites them to investigate the Eldwitch Woods, and disappears to meet with a visitor. Allowing the pair to do as they wish concerns Layton, speculating that she may be the Great Witch Bezella.\n\n[edit] Characters in the Area\n\n[edit] Puzzles\n\nLast edited by Squiggle on 6 May 2015 at 03:26\nThis page has been accessed 30 times.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6207414865493774}
+{"content": "Tuesday, August 8, 2017\n\nHuman Civilization Over 30,000 Years Older Than Thought\n\nEvidence that ancient farms had very different origins than previously thought\n\nDramatic new hypothesis could change the way we understand human history.\n\n\nSunday, April 23, 2017\n\nThe Death Of Science As We Know It\n\nThe \"March for Science\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nWednesday, February 8, 2017\n\nHistorical Parallels Rome - USA\n\n\n\n\n\n\nFriday, January 13, 2017\n\nDyson Sphere Around KIC 8462852 Debunked\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMonday, December 5, 2016\n\nIter Logicae - Latin Edition of the Path of Logic\n\nIter Logicae\n\n\n\n\n    Axiomata Logicae Classicae\n    Logica Syllogistica\n    Logica Propositionalis\n    Fallaciae Deductivae\n    Fallaciae Inductivae\n  Methodi Disceptandi\n  Logica Pragmatica\n    Principia Sermonis Rationalis\n    Voluntariae Fallaciae Rhetoricae\n    Purgatio Affectionum\n    Abstinentia ab Iudiciis Inutilibus\n    Abstinentia a Paenitentia\n    Superatio Anxiae\n    Superatio Doloris\n    Vitia contra Logicam\n\nMonday, November 14, 2016\n\nNew Theory of Gravity Might Explain Dark Matter\n\n\nRead more at: http://phys.org/news/2016-11-theory-gravity-dark.html#jCp\n\n\n\nSaturday, October 22, 2016\n\nNew Books Available for Download\n\nThe following books are now available for download. All files are free of charge from this blog (download section in the right column) or you can purchase them from Amazon.com.\n\nThe Path of Logic\n\nThe manual for logic and reason has been revised and corrected. It is available as PDF-file or as MOBI and EPUB-file for e-readers. You can download it from this link or from the download section in the right column of this blog. The download is free at this blog, but you can also buy it for US$ 1.15 at Amazon.com.\nThis book will help you to approach life in a rational way.\n\nSymbolic Logic\n\nThis short manual develops a symbolic language that is able to translate any sentence in natural language into a formula, to which the laws of logical inference can be applied. This symbolic language allows easy translations between different languages as well as testing any argument for its logical validity. If correctly applied, any disagreement among logically thinking people can be eliminated and a consensus should always be possible.\nThe book is available as MOBI or EPUB-file for e-readers and free of charge. It can be downloaded at this link or from the download section in the right column of this blog.\n\nChronology of the Empire\n\n\nThis book introduces a new view of human history following the translatio imperii interpretation. This means the history of human civilization is interpreted as a succession of several dynasties each building on the achievements of the previous one. The chronology starts with the first humans and ends with the geopolitical situation of the present. It allows you to see history from a different point of view so you can see the big picture or the \"red thread\" that connects it all. You will suddenly understand why things are as they are and why they could not have been any different. You will understand Napoleon's actual plan and why the last two world wars happened.\nThe book is available as MOBI or EPUB-file for e-readers and can be downloaded free at this link or from the download section in the right column. You can also buy it at Amazon.com for US$ 3.47.\n\nMonday, October 17, 2016\n\nGerman Nationality - The Great European Lie\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSunday, August 7, 2016\n\n\nThere is an irrational belief circulating, especially among uneducated people, that the world is controlled by an evil conspiracy of so called \"Illuminati\". They are supposed to worship the devil and to be responsible for all the evil in the world. Politicians, businessmen as well as celebrities from the entertainment industry are suspected to be their members. Freemasons or think tanks like the Club of Rome, the Bilderberg Group and the Trilateral Commission are believed to be their visible representations. This conspiracy theories took off in the Internet but also spread through questionable documentaries distributed as DVDs and TV productions.\nWe should not discard a theory without proper investigation. Therefore I did some investigation and the shocking truth is:\n\nThe Illuminati Exist!!!\n\nYes, it is all true! They exist, they rule the world, many of our elites belong to them and they oppose the Christian Church.\nHowever this is no reason to despair. The true nature of the Illuminati is rather trivial and is nothing to worry about.\n\nWhat does Illuminati actually mean?\n\nThe word \"Illuminati\" is Latin (plural of illuminatus) and means \"The Enlightened Ones\" in English. It refers to those people who belong to the philosophical movement of the Enlightenment, which is called \"Illuminatio\" in Latin. The Enlightenment marked the 18th and to some part already the 17th century and was also called \"The Age of Reason\". Since the prevalent language among scholars in this time was still Latin, it was often referred to as the already mentioned Illuminatio.\n\nNow, what was the Enlightenment?\nIt is quite sad that I have to explain this today. I assume that most who read this are familiar with the word, but unfortunately the majority of people today are not. So I will give a short simplified summary.\n\nThe philosophy of the Enlightenment is what our modern civilization is based on. It meant that reason replaced faith as source of knowledge. It also meant that man, not god became the fundament of ethical questions, which is what we call humanism today. It included the establishment of natural law and Human Rights into our legal system and led to the rise of democracy, which eventually replaced the monarchy and the feudal system of the Middle Ages. As a result the nobility and the clerics lost their political influence. Furthermore it meant that science and the scientific method were taught in schools to children.\n\nSince there was no Internet yet in the 18th century, the discussions took place in clubs, Masonic lodges and meetings of the educated bourgeoisie. This is apparently the reason why the Illuminati get usually associated with the Freemasons and think tanks.\nThe thinkers of the Enlightenment were usually Deists or Agnostics and opposed the privileges of the Church and their hierarchy. This is why they got later accused of opposing the christian god and helping the devil. For the simple christian mindset everybody who is not on their side is on the side of the devil.\n\nThe Enlightenment resulted in the American Revolution and the foundation of the United States of America as well as the French Revolution. So it does not come as surprise that conspiracy theorists discover \"Illuminati symbols\" all over the origins of American history.\n\nThe thinkers of the Enlightenment had great influence on the political leadership and were often members of the democratic ruling class. This is where the accusation of ruling the world finds its explanation. Yes, indeed, the world is controlled by republicans, by the principles of human rights and by supporters of the free market system. These are the people that carry the values of the Age of Enlightenment and who are in Latin referred to as illuminati.\n\nDo we have to fear the Illuminati?\n\nIf you do not fear democracy, human rights, a free market system, science, education and a secular state, then you do not have to fear the Illuminati.  However if these are the things that you consider to be satanic, unholy, and simply wrong, and if you want the society of the Middle Ages back, where the bible defined what was true and false and the world was ruled by clerics and superstition, then you have good reasons to fear the Illuminati. These evil Illuminati can really spoil the fun that you could have burning heretics and rejecting reason and the scientific method. School would be so much easier, if we could get rid of science and all those boring books and limit education to the bible or the quran.\n\nWhat does the fear of the Illuminati say about our society?\n\nIf people start having fear of the Enlightenment, i.e. the Illuminatio, it says a lot about where we are heading to. Apparently the \"Age of Reason\" is over and is getting demonized. Superstition and barbarism are the new standards. Those of us who received a classic education in proper schools are defamed as Illuminati giving this actually positive word a derogative meaning. Those who oppose the Age of Enlightenment, want new Dark Ages to come over the world. Instead of science and philosophy they are teaching worthless nonsense passing as \"social sciences\" in our schools and universities. We can see it in the spread of radical Islam what the future has in store for mankind - ignorance and superstition instead of reason and logic. Those who divulge conspiracy theories about Illuminati are the new barbarians who want to destroy modernity and its achievements.\nWe have the choice between Illuminatio and Tenebrae, Enlightenment or Darkness.\n\nFriday, February 12, 2016\n\nGravitational Waves - \"Cosmic breakthrough\" or waste of money?\n\nToday in the News:\n\nAnother example of modern pseudo-science and an explanation why science has reached a complete standstill during the last decades producing nothing that had made it into any practical application.\nThis giant and costly project, whose apparently only purpose of existence was providing a regular income for incompetent \"scientists\" who knew that they would be unable to produce any tangible results in their lifetime but nevertheless enjoyed the reputation that being a scientist brings with it, now claims that they have actually measured gravitational waves.\n\nThe measurement was done by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO). This is in short words an oversized interferometer (2.5 miles), which is able to detect tiny microscopical length distortions, which are supposed to be caused by gravitational waves. Such an experiment requires a really high degree of precision. \n\nAnd here we have the first flaw of the experiment. The facility was built on Earth. Apparently these scientists forgot that Earth is a tectonically active planet, apart from all the other environmental influences  that occur there. Therefore it is theoretically impossible to reach such a high degree of accuracy, which would be required for any useful result. Whatever length distortions they may have been measured, is more likely due to some seismic activity rather than two black holes over 5 billion light years away.\nI do not even want to go into astrophysical details asking how these mysterious objects called \"black holes\" are supposed to merge, since we know from General Relativity that time itself slows down at the proximity of a black hole and reaches a standstill at the Schwarzschild radius, the horizon of the black hole.\nBut whatever event they claim to have taken place hen these super-massive objects merged, we should also have been able to measure more than just gravitational waves. Where was the corresponding gamma radiation in the sky? Not all the energy would go into gravitational waves, a lot must also have been emitted as electromagnetic waves. They could claim it was hidden by a nebula or some other object, but this is a too convenient excuse. Fact is that this LIGO experiment is no sufficient evidence and it is not even theoretically suited to provide such an evidence.\n\nAs the article admits, it was a controversial experiment. And there was a lot of pressure on these scientists to come up with some justification for the billion of dollars that they had received.\nThis project was a waste of money. It did not give us any further insights into the nature of gravity that Einstein had not given us already hundred years ago. Its results will not lead to any practical application and be of no consequence. Neither can they be verified independently by other observations. But this is exactly what today's scientists want: a well-paid job without the need to show anything, which can be verified or put to some use.\nWe do not need this kind of research. We need nuclear fusion, spacecrafts and MagLev trains. Astrophysics cannot be done from an armchair. Proper astrophysics has to e done in space. If we want to do research on black holes, we have to fly there and watch it from close up. Since we cannot do this, any such research is useless.\nThe philosopher Epicurus had already thousands of years ago established the proper methodology of science and inductive reasoning in general. There is no absolute truth knowable by the scientific method. Any model or theory that does not contradict any observation is equally valid. we have already a theory on gravity - Einstein's General Relativity. And this theory is valid until we make an observation that contradicts it. We do not need to waste billions of dollars for an experiment that claims to prove it, as long as we have no other observations, which are relevant to us and can support or falsify this theory.\nSetting up an experiment that might support a theory or otherwise might be inconclusive is methodically incorrect. A theory is valid as long as it is not falsified. It will not become more valid by such an experiment that could support it but not falsify it.\n\nNo, the LIGO experiment has not proved Einstein right. Its results may be in accordance with Einstein's theory about gravitational waves, but they are no proof. A lot of money was wasted that could have been put to better use.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6076085567474365}
+{"content": "Finding Similarities Between Traveling and Life\n\nTips and Notes when Traveling to Hawaii It is true that there are a lot of people these days that still wonder why Hawaii had always been considered to be one of the best travel destinations until today. Through the process of considering this fact, you will be able to easily consider this fact today. If you wish to know why it is one of the best, some valid reasons for this would be because of the hospitable and cheerful people, its majestic volcano and its stunning and remarkable ocean and beaches. There are still a lot of attractions which Hawaii is able to provide. A fact that you should also be aware about is that it is located in the USA. This is actually good news for people who wish to travel with security. Not only will you be able to get a fun-filled vacation, you will also be able to ensure your safety. When you have the eagerness to travel to Hawaii, it is crucial that you take note on some important things first.\nWhere To Start with Options and More\nOne crucial thing which you should be aware would be the fact that Hawaii has a mixed weather. During daytime, its weather is warm and is best to use light clothing like shorts and light t-shirts. However, during the night, its weather tends to be cooler. Due to this fact, you should consider the importance of packing clothes which are best to use during the night and best to use during the day. You should also be aware that there is also the need of having to wear sturdy shoes and also wearing cooler dresses if you have plans to visit the Haleakala National Park.\n5 Uses For Vacations\nAn important tips to stay safe in Hawaii would be in not having to leave your luggage unattended or to leave anything valuable at your accommodation. Also, try to avoid bringing a lot of cash with you as this will tend to place yourself at risk. With regards to the weather of Hawaii, there is actually not much to worry about it because of the fact that you could acquire more information about it through using the internet and be able to acquire information with the weather on its upcoming days. Make sure that you never disregard the importance of having to follow the tips that the officials will be giving as this will be your safety precaution. The process of following and noting the tips and notes in the details above is going to help you acquire a memorable and fun experience in Hawaii. It is also advisable to do the planning process as early as possible and also to conduct early booking procedures to get a smooth travel experience.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9577375650405884}
+{"content": "So, this month a video on Ecobricks went viral.  It’s hit almost 200,000 views.  The news site that made the video, unfortunately, made it with all the resources from our site– but didn’t consult us.  Thus, the video contains lots of errors and problems!  This has been a great motivation, to update a crucial page on our site:  Why Ecobrick?\n\nThe page puts forth some deep ethical arguments for Ecobricking.  These arguments are drawn from an essay, that I almost forgot about, that was written 5 years ago while I was in the Northern Philippines.  I was pleasantly surprised to find out presciently helpful it is now for our current predicament.  It goes much deeper than our summary page that is now up on the site.\n\nI’ve dusted it off…. and here it is the original essay:\n\n\nThe Ethics of Ecobricking\n\nby Russell Maier\n\nOct. 2013\n\nWe’re investigating the efficacy of Ecobricks as a community solution  to solid waste in the Northern Philippines. Ecobricks are made by  packing solid a PET bottle with one type of non-recyclable  non-biodegradable (i.e. plastic, cellophanes, styrofoam, etc).  An  essential part of our investigation is ethical.  It is crucial to weigh  the long-term consequences of making a building block from potential  toxics.  Short term the benefits have been clearly observed in our  pilot-schools:  encouraging segregation, avoiding short-term  contamination, enabling personal waste responsibility, and empowering  individuals, schools and communities with a low cost construction  alternative.\n\nYet, what about the long-term?  After all, not thinking about the  destination of our designs is precisely the cause of pollution  today.   The stashed trash after all does not go away.   Are we not passing the  problem to future generations?\n\nWe can pose the question using the framework of William McDonough, the theorist behind Cradle-to-Cradle design ethics(*1):\n\n”How do we love all of the children of all species  for all time [with our designs]? You notice that this is not how do we  love our children. This is all of the children of all of the species for  all time.’‘  — William McDonough\n\nThus we can ask:  Is Ecobricking good for all the children of all the species for all time?  \n\nI have been carefully observing the application of Ecobricks in my  mountain community for two years.  After much reflection, I argue in the  article below that Ecobricks are a indeed a viable solution to be  pursued immediately.  First, the laborious process of Ecobricking  encourages reflection on the very nature of ‘trash’ and one’s personal  waste responsibility.  Ecobricking, as a consciousness raising process,  gets to the root of pollution and becomes a transition from linear to  circular thinking.  Second, Ecobricking allows the long term retention  of control and cycling of materials that in all other eventualities  would become toxic.   Third, Ecobricking is a zero-cost, immediate,  all-generation, solid waste solution for communities with inadequate  recycling.   Ecobricks allow individual and community action without the  need of special skills, equipment, facilities, finances or political  permission, to transform flows of  wastes into into useful, zero-cost  and indefinitely reusable building blocks.  In addition, the tendency of  Ecobricks to be used in constructing communal green spaces enriches our  environment.  There are pitfalls to Ecobricking, but when disseminated  with guidance, these four aspects of Ecobricks, result in a  cradle-to-cradle waste and building solution that moves us away from the  perilous linear flow ‘trash’ to an useful and healthy cycle of  technical nutrients.  In this way, Ecobricks can indeed enrich the lives  of our children and the children of all species for all time.\n\nFirst, let us review the context of Ecobricks.   I began exploring  packing plastics in my home in a small mountain village in the  Philippine Cordilleras.  In my community there was simply no reasonable  place to put my non-biodegradable waste. The situation in my village is a  revealing example of a situation common, yet often hidden, in countless  places around the world. (*2)\n\nLet us follow a personal example.  I love coffee.  In the nearby town  they grow and roast great coffee.  It is sold in a brown silver-lined  bag to preserve its freshness.  The bag, like countless other consumer  packaging, is made from linear low-density polyethylene which does not  harmonize into the local ecology– when burned it creates toxic dioxins  and when dumped coagulates poisonous PCBs.\n\nOnce I am done with my coffee beans, the plastic’s use is over– it has become what we commonly call trash, or here basura.   Before I began ecobricking, my ‘basura’ would go into a segregated bin  in my home. The contents of that bin would then be collected by the  municipality and would go to one of the towns official or unofficial  dump sites.  Most often this is off a cliff, near the river, or in an  isolated rural area.\n\nThrough this process, control of the item is inexorably lost.   Through fumes, ashes, and  photo-degradation the coffee bag and its  component chemicals seep into the surrounding web of life.  There, the  dioxins and coagulated PCBs begin their poisonous journey through the  food chain.\n\nThe key element in this transition of product to pollution is control.   When I still had control of the coffee wrapper within my home there was  no overt contamination.  Recycling or upcycling is retention of  control.  Yet, when this is not available, there is simply no other  place for it to go.  In a region like mine, countless types of  non-biodegrade wastes (like my plastic coffee bag) are on such a one way  journey.   Even when recycling occurs (such as some PET bottles) the  plastic is simply cycled into a lower non-recyclable grade with a  one-time-use.   The final attempt at retaining control is a dump site or   ‘engineered sanitary land-fill’.  Alas, when we begin to extend the  time frame from 20 years to 100 years, even a dedicated dump site is not  a solution.  Examples of water table contamination in Canada, Germany  and Switzerland testify to this.(*2)  Control literally seeps away.\n\nThe journey of my coffee bag is of course that of all the  non-biodegradables in my bin.  The fate of the contents of my bin is  that of everyones’ in my town, of the towns of all the province, of all  the provinces in the Philippines.   Whether it is a decade or a century,  this inexorable flow and the inextricable contamination of local  ecosystems is unquestionably not in the interest of our children, and  the children of all species for all time.\n\nEnter Ecobricks.\n\nFirst,  the very process of Ecobricking gets to the roots of  pollution.  Pollution is fundamentally caused by short sighted   thinking.  For those who have never made an Ecobrick,  it is a time  consuming, monotonous and laborious process.  It can take hours of  dedicated work and a large sack of plastic to make a single 0.5kg  Ecobrick.  The process is inherently meditative.  It lends itself  towards existential reflection on each piece of “trash” being stashed  and its otherwise linear route:  Where did it come from?  Where is it  going? Why is it here?  Where will it be in 100 years?  Would it be  better to just grow my own coffee?  To honor future generations and  other species, we must begin by thinking of them.  Ecobricks provide an  invaluable spark to such reflection (this very article and your reading  of it is an example of this).   Ecobrciks become a catalyst to  envisioning one’s lifestyle in deeper harmony with the circles of life.\n\n“Where did it come from?  What is it?  Where is it Going?”\n\nSecondly, making an Ecobrick makes use of the very problem (the  longevity of the plastic) to seal the potential toxics away.  In the  words of Bill Watson, founder of the principles of permaculture “The  problem is the solution”.  PET bottles are readily available in regions  were recycling facilities are inadequate.  Because of the incredible  longevity of PET that is protected from UV rays, Ecobricking, when  applied properly, becomes a halt to the linear flow of waste.  Ecobrick  documentation directs using cob*, as opposed to cement, to build with.   Bricks are laid completely encased in cob mortar (no UV exposure).   When an Ecobrick construction comes to its end, the cob mortar enables  easy separation of intact bricks from the rubble for the next  construction.  An Ecobrick thus becomes a cradle-to-cradle, indefinitely  reusable building-block.  In such a way Ecobricks open the way for an  infinite cycling of ‘wastes’ (now technical nutrients in the  parlance of cradle-to-cradle).  By creating such a cycle, previously  useless materials have a safe destination that can exceed  the linear  safe storage longevity of a dumpsite.  Ovre the course of time,  ecobricks that are damaged or broken will simply be put back into the  begining of the cycle to make new bricks.   Future generations are thus  handed a nutrient cycle of useful, reusable, segregated pellets rather  than ecosystems that are cocktails of contamination.  The linear flow of  waste transitions into a circle of utility.\n\n“If we think about things having multiple lives,  cradle to cradle, we could design things that can go back to either  nature or back to industry forever… The Stone Age did not end because  humans ran out of stones. It ended because it was time for a re-think  about how we live.” — William McDonough\n\nThirdly, Ecobricks are a demonstrably effective, zero-cost, viral and  communal solution to solid waste.  For global-south communities that  cannot afford recycling facilities, Ecobricking lets the populace take  control of their solid waste predicament.  Unlike other recycling or  upcycling techniques, no special skills, equipment or facilities are  required to make Ecobricks.  In fact, Ecobricks are best made by the  young and old thus enabling the mobilization of a large percentage of  the population.  Through widespread collaboration plastics are put to  use by communities for the communities.  When implemented as a community  solution, ecobricking can become an accepted, everyday, long term habit  for citizens.  This provides a destination for plastics and empowers  the community with a low cost building alternative.  Completed  Ecobricks, because they were made by many,  lend themselves towards  constructions that serve the community.   Ecobricks are ideal for  building green spaces: parks, herb gardens, food forest, and perhaps  even coffee  planters.  In this way the can both protect and enrich the  futures of our children and the surrounding species.\n\nIn our observations of the unfolding of Ecobricking  in pilot  communities, we have noted the disappearance of trash– both on the  streets and most significantly, the core concept of ‘trash’.    In truth  it is this problematic linear concept of ‘an object who’s value has been consumed‘  that is the root of pollution.  With Ecobricks, non-biogreadables that  once had no further use or value (i.e. trash), now become use-full and  endowed with a new life– a life that inherently contains the plan for   future cycles.   This transition from dead to alive, from worthless to  use-full, from linear to cyclical, is integral.   It is a transition  from the endemic linear thinking of the current human world, to that of  the cycles and circles that characterize nature– or more aptly, the real  world.(*4)\n\n“A problem cannot be solved by the same consciousness that generated it.” –Albert Einstein \n\nIf there is any danger in Ecobrick technology it is that this  transition from linear to cyclical thinking is not made.  Afterall, the  destiny of any technology is wrought by the consciousness that wields  it.  When Ecobricks are attempted through the same linear trash  consciousness (i.e. not thinking about the next life of the Ecobrick)  further pollution, whether in a decade or a century, is the unavoidable  result. When Ecobricks are improperly packed, when cement is used in  construction, when only one type of bottle is used, constructions become  weak, soda consumption rises, and worse of all, cement constructions  are impossible to dissemble in a way that enables Ecobricks to find  their next cradle. A bigger mess is left than when we began.   For  proponents of Ecobricks there is a moral responsibility in ensuring that  the proper guidance and documentation are in place to ignite the  requisite jump in thinking.   Fortunately, through social media and the  web it is possible to stay ahead of word-of-mouth spread.\n\nEcobricks hand future generations and our neighbor species a  healthier environment.  Yet, in themselves Ecobricks are not a solution  to our polluting ways.  The true value of Ecobricks lies in the  opportunity to take the dead-end line of product-to-poison and bend it  into a circle of cycling, controlled and use-full technical nutrients.   In this way, Ecobricks are an essential stepping stone in our  transition to a deeper harmony with the cycles of life– and the sooner  we start packing, the better for all the children, of all species, for  all time.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8834073543548584}
+{"content": "Rose Wilson\nWhat's a girl gotta do to get in a proper brawl around here?\n~ Rose Wilson\n\n\nRose Wilson is a fictional character in the DC Comics universe. She is a member of the Teen Titans and the illegitimate daughter of Deathstroke.\n\nPowers and Stats\n\nTier: 9-A\n\nName: Rose Wilson/Ravager\n\nOrigin: DC Comics\n\nGender: Female\n\nClassification: Meta-human, Assassin\n\nPowers and Abilities: Superhuman strength, speed, and durability, Enhanced intelligence, Precognition, Master Assassin and Martial Artist\n\nAttack Potency: Small Building level (Outmatched Damian WayneCassandra Cain , and Deathstroke and manged to fight the Terror Titans,by herself,while changing her clothes)\n\nSpeed: Supersonic+ (Fast enough to spin a man with one hand, and blocks a bullet with a beer keg,and swift enough to keep up with Cassandra Cain) higher with precognition\n\nLifting Strength: Class 5\n\nStriking Strength: Small Building Class\n\nStamina: High\n\nRange: Hundreds of meters with weaponry.\n\nStandard Equipment: Multiple Swords and Guns\n\nIntelligence: Extremely high.\n\nWeakness: None notable\n\n\n\nNotable Victories:\n\nNotable Losses:\n\nInconclusive Matches:", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.988793134689331}
+{"content": "Businesses risk being thrown into legal chaos post-Brexit if deal doesn't ascertain how cross-border disputes will be settled, House of Lords warns\n\nHayley Kirton\nFollow Hayley\nTriggering Article 50 - British Politics\nEU member states will no longer have to play ball legally, the House of Lords committee warned (Source: Getty)\n\nBusinesses risk legal headaches if the government does not consider how cross-border disputes will work post-Brexit, a report out today warns.\n\nThe House of Lords EU Justice Sub-Committee research cautions disagreements which span more than one country are currently settled with judgments that are enforceable across the EU as a whole, but it is less clear what the position will be the UK has left the bloc.\n\nThe peers go on to warn that, without the current system of \"mutual recognition\", businesses could suddenly find themselves held hostage to member states' national rules, while common law and earlier international agreements are still too uncertain to be relied upon.\n\nRead more: A massive London anti-racism march defending EU nationals' rights is today\n\n\"Unless the government can agree a replacement of the existing rules on mutual recognition of judgments, there will be great uncertainty over access to justice for families, businesses and individuals,\" said Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws, chair of the committee.\n\n\n\nRead more: Moving clearing from London to Europe is no piece of cake\n\nThe government has already announced it will be enacting a Great Repeal Bill, which will have the dual effect of repealing the European Communities Act of 1972 and writing all pieces of EU law currently in force in the country into the UK's own domestic law.\n\nHowever, the House of Lords committee is arguing this would not go far enough, as it does nothing to ensure EU member states would return the favour and more clarity is need on this area.\n\nThe report has been published just days before Prime Minister Theresa May is thought to be triggering Article 50, which will spark the UK's formal withdrawal process from the EU.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.725562572479248}
+{"content": "repairing large cracks in an outdoor table\n\n\nsort by: active | newest | oldest\nstevenpeeven (author) 2 months ago\n\nThank you all for the comments. I've taken a couple of photos to show the problem. As you can see the table surface is made from one single piece of beech and the cracks go all the way through the surface in places. I like the epoxy resin idea although I imagine I'll need to fix something underneath temporarily to contain the resin. Over time, I guess the drying out process might cause the cracks to widen slightly more and make further repairs necessary. Whatever, I want to keep it looking as natural as possible because it's such an impressive piece of garden furniture.\n\n\nI believe that's called a slab.\n\nI think you can use painters tape to stop the epoxy from dripping out of the bottom.\n\nThat's a cool table. Is the backside just as bad? If not, consider reversing it. You could also leave the cracks and add a glass top.\n\nDownunder35m2 months ago\n\nApart from all the great suggestion already:\nHow about filling the cracks with metal and then sealing it with epoxy?\nFor example Bismuth with a small amount of Gallium mixed into it will melt far below below any temp that could damage the wood.\nOf course you should first fill most of the crack with sawdust and wood glue so you don't need a few kg of metal.\n\nseamster2 months ago\n\nYou could fill the cracks with epoxy, and then probably just refinish the entire table with epoxy as well. If it's going to continue to stay outdoors, that's something I would consider.\n\nThere are a lot of great instructables that cover various approaches you could take. I'd take a look through this list for ideas:\n\nKiteman seamster2 months ago\nmtairymd Kiteman2 months ago\n\nThat was exactly what I was thinking...\n\nYonatan242 months ago", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8710576891899109}
+{"content": "link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:// article?bookid=96&chapterid=43378\" /> link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:// article?bookid=96&chapterid=43379\" /> link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:// article?bookid=96&chapterid=43380\" /> link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:// article?bookid=96&chapterid=43381\" /> link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:// article?bookid=96&chapterid=43382\" />\n\nContact us at\n\nRV Inspection\n\nWhy do we need an RV Inspection? With used RV prices increasing at the same rate as new prices, it is often difficult to know if you are getting good value for the hard earned dollars you are paying for your new to you RV. Even new RV's have problems that must be fixed by the dealer before you can use the rig. With 65% of used RV sales happening between a private owner and a prospective owner, you don't even have the sometimes dubious assertions by a dealer that the rig you are buying is in good condition. The search process for the ideal RV for you is tedious enough without having to worry about unseen problems cropping up. What is the used RV buyer to do?\n\nThe RV Inspection\n\nThe answer is an RV inspection. Many dealers will provide you with a pre-delivery inspection or PDI for anywhere from 500 to 1500 dollars. They say they check out every system and make sure everything is working properly. Don't you suspect the seller is going to make sure that the inspection comes out OK?  Of course it will because they have a vested interest in selling that rig without further expense to them.\n\nWho, then, should do the inspection you ask? An independent trained RV inspector, that's who. You want someone who is not connected with the seller in any way and who has no interest other than to do a thorough inspection and deliver a concise and accurate inspection report. With that report in hand, you will have leverage with the seller if there are issues with the RV. You can ask for a price concession to cover problems found during the inspection. This actually works both ways. A prospective seller who thinks his rig is in good condition can get top dollar with a good inspection report to back up his claim. It might be a good idea to suggest that buyer and seller share equally in the cost of the inspection. The seller will get a better price and the buyer will know the true condition of the RV they are buying.\n\nContents of the RV Inspection\n\nWhat should be inspected during an independent RV inspection? The first thing the inspector should do is compare the VIN number displayed on th plate in the RV with the Inspection request to ensure he is inspecting the rig that the prospective buyer is paying him to inspect. Hard to believe, but unscrupulous sellers will do a \"bait and switch\" to get rid of a problem plagued RV.\n\nNext should be safety items that affect your life. All installed fire extinguishers should be checked for pressure and dry powder units should be shaken to stir up the powder. Installed alarms including fire and smoke, LP Gas, and Carbon Monoxide should all be checked for proper operation. The electrical system should be checked for a \"hot skin test\" so entering or touching the outside of the rig will  not result in electric shock. The emergency exit(s) should be checked for proper operation. All wall receptacles and GFCI outlets should be checked for proper polarity and operation. A timed leak test should be performed at the gas cook-top. All these items are to ensure the RV\n\nAfter the ID and safety items have been done, the inspection should include a thorough look at:\n\n·         the roof looking especially for points of water intrusion and possible damage to rubber roof membrane if so equipped. Special places to look are any places where things like vents, air conditioners, etc come through the roof. All caulking must be inspected. Any suspicious points found on top should be looked at inside.\n\n·         front and rear caps\n\n·         slide-outs\n\n·         awnings and slide toppers\n\n·         chassis turn signal and running lights\n\n·         120 volt AC electrical system\n\n·         generator (if installed)\n\n·         inverter (if installed)\n\n·         battery system\n\n·         fresh water system\n\n·         waste water systems (grey and black)\n\n·         propane system and tank(s)\n\n·         refrigerator\n\n·         water heater\n\n·         furnace\n\n·         cook top\n\n·         air conditioner(s)\n\n·         washer/dryer (if installed)\n\n·         microwave\n\n·         dishwasher (if installed)\n\n·         exhaust fans\n\n·         cabinets\n\n·         furniture\n\n·         entertainment system\n\n·         shower\n\n·         chassis and undercarriage\n\n·         leveling system\n\nIf the rig is motorized:\n\n·         steering\n\n·         engine (possible oil analysis)\n\n·         radiator (possible coolant analysis)\n\n·         transmission (possible fluid analysis)\n\n·         Running gear (axles and tires, etc)\n\n·         hitch system/hook-up.\n\n\nWow, that's a lot of stuff! How long will this RV Inspection take? That depends on the type of rig. Obviously a large diesel pusher will take as much as 8 hours while a Travel Trailer could be done in 2 or three. It also depends on the level of inspection you order up.\n\nMaking the RV Inspection Happen\n\nObviously, all this activity will require the rig being inspected to be in a place where full hook-ups are available and electric hook-up to the capacity of that rig. The inspector needs access for the entire time of the inspection as well. You, the inspection client must arrange for that as well as for payment of the inspection, usually in advance. The inspector or his company will prepare the inspection report and provide you with either an electronic file or both that and a printed inspection report. If fluid samples are involved, this could take as much as 5 or 6 business days.\n\nI can't emphasize enough how important this RV inspection can be to give you the buyer the peace of mind that you are getting a rig in a known condition as well as giving you some leverage in the buying process. If a seller refuses to allow an inspection, don't walk away, run! There are plenty of used rigs and yours will be out there if you look long enough.\n\n\nThe National Recreational Vehicle Inspection Association(NRVIA) has been formed to provide a code of ethics and standards of practice for RV inspectors that qualify for membership. I highly recommend that any inspector you hire be an NRVIA certified inspector. He should have credentials to prove that.\n\nNew! Comments\n\n\nPlease do your Amazon Shopping\n\nby clicking this link. Thank you.\n\nShop in our Living the RV Dream Store\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.904744565486908}
+{"content": "This page demonstrates how you the integration of a script called ScrollTo, which is used here to link definitions of a JSON code sample to a list of definitions for that particular term. The scenario here is that the JSON blocks are really long, with extensive nesting and subnesting, which makes it difficult for tables below the JSON to adequately explain the term in a usable way.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9987775087356567}
+{"content": "\nConditions Treated\n\nArthritis Of The Foot And Ankle\n\nWhat is it?\n\nArthritis is inflammation of one or more of your joints. It can cause pain and stiffness in any joint in the body, and is common in the small joints of the foot and ankle.  Arthritis can be found any of the several joints. Most common form of foot and ankle arthritis is osteoarthritis where the cartilage in a joint gradually wears away. As the cartilage is damaged,  the protective space between the bones decreases and leads to “bone rubbing on bone” and pain, swelling and difficulty walking that worsens over time.\n\n\n\nSometimes osteoarthritis develops as a result of abnormal foot mechanics such as flat feet or high arches. A flat foot causes less stability, resulting in excessive strain on the joints, which can cause arthritis. On the other hand, a high arch is rigid and lacks mobility, causing a jamming of joints that creates an increased risk of arthritis.\n\n\nOften, arthritis can be diagnosed from a through history and physical exam. X-rays and laboratory tests often can confirm the type and extent of the arthritis. Other tests such as a computed tomography (CT) scan or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may be used to evaluate the condition. For foot and ankle arthritis, weight-bearing radiographs–x-rays taken while standing– are important in diagnosing the severity of arthritis and any joint deformity associated with it.\n\n\nThere is no cure for arthritis but there are a number of treatments that may help relieve the pain and disability it causes. Nonsurgical treatment includes assistive devices such as AFO braces and foot orthoses, ant-inflammatory medications and injections, as well as physical therapy.\n\nSurgical treatment depends on the specific joint involved and the extend of the condition.  Arthroscopic  procedures to remove loose cartilage, inflamed synovial tissue, and bone spurs may be helpful in the early stages of the disease.  Advanced arthritis or that involves a deformity often requires arthrodesis or fusion of the involved joint(s). The goal of the procedure is to reduce pain by eliminating motion in the arthritic joint. Joint replacement surgery may be of help in some instances, but has a limited role in foot and ankle arthritic conditions.\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7511999607086182}
+{"content": "Solution for Public Transport\n\n\n\n\n\nHow Wars Stopped\n\nSingapore 2035\n\nBy the late 2020s, nations globally were mired in numerous ‘diplomatic’ escalations. Military skirmishes sprang up regularly between countries and alliances. Countries which were allies on some issues were in conflict on others. Inexplicably, academics advised that the ‘best course of action’ was for all nations to openly declare World War 3.  And quite incredibly, they were right. All military actions were put on hold while politicians tried to pass various motions in parliament.\n\nRecognizing its value, nations maintain the impasse to this day, with regular rounds of expensive summits. But no actual fighting.\n\n\nA natural evolution of the eco-friendly architectural movement, buildings ‘inspired by nature’ became popular. This often meant structures shaped like plants and fruits . The ‘Durian’ Concert Hall on the Singapore waterfront was among the earliest examples. The School Hall for the esteemed Margaret Drive School was another masterpiece of the genre.\n\nBrain Boosters\n\nFor years, debate on child education focussed on tailoring programs to suit individuals. This proved futile due to the number of programs required, and the effort to administer them.\n\n A think tank of Singapore scholars proposed to “reverse engineer a level playing field”. The desired level of school performance would be standardized and students would be boosted to achieve them. This was enabled by a new technology called Parallel Synapse Programming (PSP), whereby mental performance could be amplified to predetermined levels. This was the technology used in what became the Brain Boosters.\n\nThe policy for Development Utilizing Mental Boosters was implemented in 2025. Singapore was the pioneer and remains the only country to implement such a policy. School curricula were standardized, and children were required to wear Brain Boosters up to the age of 16. As a result, all kids score 95% for exams. Home tuition was eliminated. It has also been noted that Singaporean kids are “very different”.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8748695850372314}
+{"content": "How do I write a good page title?\n\nWrite a good page title by phrasing it to answer a question or at least promise to answer a question that a potential client would ask. What you do not want to do is focus on what the search engines will be looking for. Instead, focus on what people will be looking for.\n\nAlso, make sure to write an interesting and compelling title—write something that would make you want to click on the article and read it.\n\nAgain, it is important to not stuff the title full of keywords, but to focus on what a potential client would be interested in reading.\n\nThis approach of focusing on readability and relevance in the title is practiced by many successful news organizations. In fact, looking at other headlines can help you formulate your own effective headlines. Some places to look for ideas include People Magazine, TMZ, and Huffington Post.\n\nOriginal content authoring, including title phrasing, is one of the focus areas of Foster Web Marketing. Call 888.886.0939 today to learn more about how you can take advantage of our industry-leading online attorney marketing services.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9982655048370361}
+{"content": "Brain-imaging lie-detection technology\n\nNeuroethics is the ethics of neuroscience (and vice versa) that involves the matters that deal with the subclass of bioethics. According to Farah (234), these are elements such as the element of mind control using the pharmaceutical substances; they are used as determinants as to whether or not to give the mind-altering drugs to a person who is suffering from autism, with the aim of making them normal (Barnbaum 21). The ethics of performing brain surgery require the use of such drugs especially in the case of performing an anterior commissurotomy to control epilepsy. Farah goes on to reiterate that, brain surgery requires a considerable amount of focus on the consequences of the surgery. Neuroethics deals with cases, such as a politician using brainwashing techniques to send troops to war, or the ethics of writing a speech to control a crowd. The subject of the neuroscience looks into the morals development of children, and how the mind evolves due to the influences as the child develops; as well as the modern theories of free will that develop from the evolving theories and molecular biology (Weiner 19). It is perceived that Neuroethics addresses the effects of neuroscience and Neurotechnology will have on other aspects of human life; mainly the personal responsibility, law and justice. There is an assumption that the neurological problem will become more real prior to 2020. Neuroscience allows individuals to explain, predict and even be able to control the human behavior. The ethical issues that unfold form such developments extend past the boundaries of conventional bioethics into philosophy of the mind, theology, psychology, theology, public policy as well as the law. This wide range of concerns is the basis of the Neuroethics. Farah\n\nprovides the reader with the issues that address Neuroethics that are classified in the scientific and cultural context and present a carefully selected set of articles, essays, extracts that explore specific problems in Neuroethics from the perspectives of diverse and established authors. The book includes opinions and views provided by various philosophers, scientists and legal scholars such as Carl Elliot, Joshua Greene, Steve Hyman, Elizabeth Phelps and Peter Kramer. The book deals with the ethical issues of cognitive enhancement as well as the dilemmas of personality, identity and memory retention (Farah 321). She also addresses the matter of the ability of brain imaging to both persuade and reveal, and the legal implications of the neuroscience. Neuroscience is established as the significant guide to the challenging and socially essential issues at the level of neuroscience and society. Farah (278) clearly illustrates the readings and the issues that are the basis for the subject of Neuroscience. She uses a range of questions that make the book appealable even in the use of learning in an education context. The book explores the factors that can be related to the lie detector technology. The technology is based on the factor of determining the truth in the facts that are being explained by an individual going through a lie-detector test. The technology is used to analyze the various brain reactions to questions and images (Weiner 25). The technology is aimed at extracting the real response any of the questions and images; to determine if the utter words match the brain thoughts. However, in the recent developments of the Neuroethics, there may some factors that can determine that the brain-lie detector may be used to alter the answers of the individual going\n\nthrough the lie detector test. Recent developments have proven that the brain-lie detector technology provides a better sense of truth compared to the usage of polygraph test; this is because individuals have learnt how modify their body activity so as to provide a sense of truth, but a lie in the fact. Evoked related potentials (ERP) and brain blood flow have also been used in the study of deception. Critical components of a brain-behavior correlation study include a symptom provocation paradigm, closely following the definition of behavior in question, as well as measurement techniques, such as skin conductance, electrical brain activity or a functional map of cerebral metabolism or blood flow (Littlefield 137). However, in the developments of the technology, even though there are major advancements in the lie detection technology, individuals are constantly developing means and ways to ‘beat the system. Therefore, the lie detection technologies may be developed in improving on the shortcomings of the earlier versions; but this has also meant that individuals are also modifying means and ways to counter the improvements on the newly developed liedetectors. The major element of the lie-detection may be fairly null and void as individuals are constantly developing ways in which they can defy the element of science; by providing false information. With the polygraph tests, individuals have found ways of controlling their emotional reactions and blood flow to deceive the tests; which is an indication that the liedetection is becoming pointless. (Farah 174) With the new technologies that include analysis of the brain provide a better analysis of the level of truth in an individual’s information; as it provides an analysis of the individual’s\n\nmental reaction and general perception of various elements and information. The technology may prove to be productive in the field of lie detection, as it analyses the brain and not the various changes in the blood flow in the individual. However, there are some drawbacks to the system. When I think of the system I think of people who may be claustrophobic. The liedetections tests require individuals to be in a machine that can cause a sense of claustrophobia (fear of closed places). This can be used as an excuse not to use the machine; which can result in using a less restrictive machine like a polygraph; which can be manipulated to the benefit of the individual taking the test. Therefore, the use of the brain-lie detection is not ideal for everyone, especially for those who are claustrophobic. the fact that the individuals have already established ways and means of being able to ‘cheat/lie in a polygraph test’, indicates that the individuals will manage to alter their reactions to the new technology that is being used in lie detection. This is an indication that it will become harder to determine whether an individual is lying or not. I find that there is no substantial indication that the lie detectors will ever become reliable sources of accurate information. This means that in the case of law enforcers using these tests to capture law-breakers, it will be difficult to establish the truth as to the information they obtain from suspects as they be trained to ‘lie to the lie-detectors’; which means that their information may be useless to any significant investigation by the law enforcers. The new technologies being used as lie detectors may work at the time of their inception, but in the long-run may prove to be inefficient; as individuals will have found ways and means to deceive the lie detectors.\n\nIn conclusion, the Neuroethics has proven to be a breakthrough in exploring the finer elements of using drugs to control the human brain, and even alter the thinking of an individual; by using drugs This progress in the establishment of such a phenomenon has led us to believe that there is a possibility that people can become deceptive to the lie detector instruments that are currently used in court cases, or even general testing. A person with an understanding of the neuroscience of ethics can cheat his way past a lie detector; which implies that lie detectors may be null and void.\n\nWorks Cited: Barnbaum, Deborah. The Ethics of Autism: Among Them, but not of Them, Bloomington, IN:\n\nFarah, Martha J. Neuroethics: An Introduction with Readings. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2010. Print. Littlefield, Melissa M. The Lying Brain: Lie Detection in Science and Science Fiction. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, 2011. Print. Weiner, Jonathan Time, Love, Memory: A Great Biologist and His Quest for the Origins of His Behavior. Vancouver, WA: Vintage Books, 1999. Print.\n\nSign up to vote on this title\nUsefulNot useful", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6711976528167725}
+{"content": "Learn More\nThis paper presents an experimental and comparative study of several spherical microphone array eigenbeam (EB) processing techniques for localization of early reflections in room acoustic environments, which is a relevant research topic in both audio signal processing and room acoustics. This paper focuses on steered beamformer-based and subspace-based(More)\nSpherical microphone array eigenbeam (EB)-ESPRIT gives an elegant closed-form solution for 3D broadband source localization based on the spherical harmonics (eigenbeam) framework. However, in practical implementations, there are still several issues not being rigorously studied, e.g. how to avoid the ill-conditioning of an EB-ESPRIT matrix, solve the(More)\nA robust minimum sidelobe beamforming approach based on the spherical harmonics framework for spherical microphone arrays is proposed. It minimizes the peaks of sidelobes while keeping the distortionless response in the look direction and maintaining the mainlobe width. A white noise gain constraint is also derived and employed to improve the robustness(More)\nA spherical harmonics domain microphone array beamforming approach is proposed. It unifies 3D multi-beam forming with tractable mainlobe levels, automatic multi-null steering, sidelobe control, and robustness control into one optimization framework, using a single spherical microphone array. The optimum array weights are designed by maintaining(More)\nMethods of 3D direction of arrival (DOA) estimation, coherent source detection and reflective surface localization are studied, based on recordings by a spherical microphone array. First, the spherical harmonics domain minimum variance distortionless response (EB-MVDR) beamformer is employed for the localization of broadband coherent sources, which is(More)\nMost of the existing spherical array modal beamformers are implemented in the frequency domain, where a block of snapshots is required to perform the discrete Fourier transform. In this paper, an approach to real-valued time-domain implementation of the modal beamformer for broadband spherical microphone arrays is presented. The microphone array data are(More)\nThis paper presents a method for the localization of reflectors in an acoustic environment, using robust beamforming techniques and a cylindrical microphone array, for which an intuitive and highly efficient three-step procedure is proposed. First, the directions of arrival (DOAs) corresponding to the sound source and reflectors are estimated by a robust(More)\nIn this paper, we propose a design method for 3-D higher order ambisonics (3-D HOA) encoding matrices which offers the possibility to impose spatial stop-bands in the directivity patterns of all the spherical-harmonic audio channels while keeping the transformed audio channels still compatible with the 3-D HOA reproduction sound format. This might be useful(More)", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8789858818054199}
+{"content": "Regular maintenance (on new or existing buildings) is essential to ensure that the conditions of various product guarantees/ recommendations are met. In addition to the importance of ensuring that the building(s) complies with current/ future health and safety requirements for staff and the public. Regular maintenance and ensuring that checks are carried out will also aid in the longevity of the building’s serviceable lifespan, value and cost effectiveness.\n\nBrandclad provides an extensive & competative international/ national/ regional building maintenance service to both the one off client (corporate or residential) and to large scale property investment and development companies with multiple sites (new or existing buildings).", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.909286379814148}
+{"content": "Thursday, November 29, 2012\n\n\nTrust is an important component in close relationships. We learn how to trust initially as infants and small children who learn to have confidence that mom, dad, or the primary caregiver will respond to our needs and be there as we need them. If we aren't fortunate enough to get this platform as we grow up, then we have to try to create it as we go with others.\n\nWhen we become parents ourselves, we are giving our children a platform for trusting others. Are we calm, reasonable, warm, available, and supportive? It means a great deal to have a parent who can be counted on. Children need parents who are predictable, present, involved, and providing meals, love, and attention. When parents are unpredictable, absent, hostile and volatile, it blows apart the empathic envelope of trust that parents should have around their growing children. For our children to trust us, we must be trustworthy as parents.\n\nAs a teen or an adult, it takes courage to let your guard down and be vulnerable with significant others ---to trust a few people to be there for you, to support you, and not to betray that trust. Some people have difficulty trusting others because they know that they can't be trustworthy themselves.\n\nTrust is built over time, like depositing coins in a bank, or marbles in a jar. Every repeated experience where your trust is maintained, and the loved one is a person of their word, helps to keep that bank account balance up or that jar filled. If trust is broken, it is a much harder thing to rebuild later. Sometimes trust can't be rebuilt at all.\n\nHow is trust built or maintained at a high level?\n\n1.      Being honest with others.\n\n2.      Having difficult conversations when they need to happen. For example, you might begin resenting the other person, or needing to do something different, or wanting to change or upgrade the communication and quality of relationship between you. Sharing what you are thinking may be difficult, but keeps the other person in the loop and honors the relationship between the two of you. It gives the other person the opportunity to grow. I often see people in counseling who wish their former partner gave them a heads up right away about problems, rather than storing them up until there was nothing beautiful left.\n\n3.      Be aware of the danger of side conversations. Talking with an objective person, like a trained therapist, can very helpful in getting clarity about what you are wanting, and how to best approach the other person. You can trust that the therapist has no hidden agenda. You can get insight as to how to change your own dance steps in any relationship so that you are operating from your best self. Side conversations with friends, extended family, etc. about an important relationship are potentially problematic, build outside alliances, and dishonor the other person.\n\nTeens, in particular, tell me they shut down when they share something personal with a parent, and the parent shares that sacred trust with others.\n\n4.      Be impeccable with your word. Keep your promises. Doing this also develops your own character and integrity.\n\n5.      Ask for what you want. Be direct. Be brave. There are no bonus points for passivity or silent suffering.\n\n6.      Don't keep destructive secrets. These are secrets that you know would hurt or damage the trust between you if the other person knew.\n\n7.      Avoid passive aggressive behavior. If you are upset, hurt, or angry, own up to it with your loved one.\n\nI like to think of it this way: in order to establish the feeling of safety with another person, you must be able to trust them. To build feelings of intimacy, you have to feel safe. These are the building blocks of close and caring relationships, whether between partners, between parent and child, or close friends. Safety, trust, openness, intimacy, and vulnerability are best when they travel as a team. A relationship can only be as strong and as deep as your commitment to these hallmarks of conscious relationships, and the similar commitment of the other person you are in relationship with.\n\nSo there are two parts to trust: being a trustworthy person yourself, and choosing intimate others who are deserving of your trust, and can give you that gift in return.\n\nMonday, November 26, 2012\n\nTiny Beautiful Things\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMonday, November 19, 2012\n\nThanksgiving Blessings: Appreciating What You Have\n\nAs the calendar turns to Thanksgiving this week, it seems a good time to reflect on the blessings, people, and things we have in our lives, as well as being grateful for the bad stuff we don't have. Thornton Wilder wrote \"We are most alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.\" Too often, I see people take the special people in their lives for granted, not realizing the true value of those closest to them.\n\nIn his book,\"How to Want What You Have: Discovering the Magic and Grandeur of Ordinary Existence\" (Holt and Company,1995), therapist Timothy Miller does a brillant job of illuminating the grass is greener sort of longing that many people have, assuming that some other path taken in life would be more satisfying. Many people make the mistake of thinking, \"If I just had this, life would be perfect.\"\n\nWanting what you have, and seeing the goodness in it is the surest way to create satisfaction, contentment, and joy. As Miller suggests, daily practice of compassion, attention, and gratitude is the surest way to be content.We all will do better at this some days than others, and that's okay. Contentment and happiness are not steady states of being. It is in cultivating the daily habits of compassion, attention, and gratitude that we become better at creating a receptiveness for appreciating the little joys of daily life.\n\nIt is a mistake to tell ourselves that we will be happy when....(we finish college, get married, get our dream job, have a certain amount of money, have children, get the house we want, get divorced, or move someplace else, etc.). It's elusive. Wherever you go, there you are, so we need to be able to enjoy now as an incredible gift, making the most of each day and each interaction. We want to keep a keen awareness of how good it is to love others, to be loved, to feel strong and healthy, to enjoy sunsets and nature, to appreciate art and music, and all the other little things that make life worth living. Loving life is in the details of our ordinary days.\n\nMiller points out, wisely, that the desire for more often does harm. It does indeed. I have worked with a number of individuals in counseling over the years who really regreted losing something precious, like a relationship, because they didn't realize how valuable it was. Sometimes people put what is most important in their lives at risk in order to have something they falsely believe is more or different. Note how many celebrities are successful in their careers, but unsuccessful as partners or parents.\n\nFocusing on identifying non-compassionate thoughts, about yourself and others, and replacing them with compassionate ones is a good start in cultivating more contentment. Next, act compassionately. Move away from the judgement of others. It is not your job, and it will not bring you inner peace. Be as attentive as possible to others, and be observant of yourself. Finally, practice living in reverence and gratitude. Express your gratitude to others.\n\nThanksgiving is a wonderful time to refocus ourselves on what is most important. Don't miss an opportunity to tell someone close to you this week what you love or appreciate about them. Contentment has a great deal to do with being here now, and recognizing goodness, beauty, support, and love. If you want to truly prepare your heart for Thanksgiving, and feel really blessed, consider all the gifts that you have in your life that money cannot buy. I have a number of people in my life that I feel blessed to be close to, and then there are those two crazy golden retrievers who are pretty wonderful, too.\n\nTuesday, November 13, 2012\n\nMending a Broken Heart\n\nBreak-ups are hard at any point in life, but almost everyone has been through it once or more than once. It's a part of our human experience, and helps us appreciate the fragile nature of close relationships.\n\nWhat do we need when a relationship ends? How can we process what has happened? What can we do to help ourselves move through the grief?\n\nIt's important to remember that loss is always felt in direct proportion to how attached we were to that person. The more attached the two of you were, and the more your lives were intertwined, the greater the feelings of  loss you will experience.\n\nAllow yourself to feel the loss, including the shock, the sadness, the anger, the regrets, the bargaining in your own mind about if things had only been different. All of these feelings are normal. Grief is always easier and less complicated if you deal with it at the time of the loss. Look through old pictures if you feel the need. Listen to songs that remind you of that person if you want to. Let yourself cry if you can; tears are healing.\n\nAvoid alcohol or drugs as you are grieving your loss. It will bury your grief, and delay you dealing with the painful feelings until sometime later, when it will be more difficult to deal with. Grief therapists notice that losses that don't get dealt with at the time can show up later in that person's life, when some subsequent loss occurs and it hits doubly hard.\n\nActivate your support system. Let your close friends and family know what has happened, and that you need them to be available to support you. It's okay to spend some time alone, but spend some time with your friends and family and allow them to lift your spirits. Work and school can be healthy distractions, too.\n\nReflect about the insights and lessons you may have learned from this relationship. What will you do the same in a future relationship? Will you be more attentive, more open, or choose someone with different traits? Perhaps you have learned some lessons about what is important to you in close relationships.\n\nTake extremely good care of yourself. Eat nutritiously. Grief is heavy emotional work, so be sure to get your sleep. After a break-up is an excellent time to step up your exercise. It will help you relax, sleep better, work out anger, and get a healthy dose of endorphins. You may want to change a few things---perhaps a different hairstyle, a new outfit, or something else that boosts your self-esteem a bit.\n\nTake your time healing. It isn't a race to get back out there and begin dating again. It's healthy to take your time developing yourself again after a break-up. Focus on your friends, your career, your family, and your interests. It's important to learn how to not be in a relationship, and be by yourself.\n\nLoss is a part of life. Time passing helps, as well as feeling your feelings. This is the only healthy way through the journey of grief. You can work through the grief process and even grow from it.\n\nIf you are stuck, feel you are slipping into depression, or can't figure out how to move through the pain to the rest of your life, meeting even a time or two with a therapist who is trained in grief work can be very valuable in moving you forward.\n\nBreak-ups happen. Some of the challenge is finding your way through it, feeling and processing your grief, and learning from the journey along the way. The human heart is an amazing and resilient thing.\n\nThursday, November 8, 2012\n\nWhy do Marriages Last Better In New Jersey?\n\nIn the October 14th edition of The New York Times, I found an article in the wedding section with some interesting demographic data about staying married. Recently, the Census Bureau released its 2011 American Community survey, showing New Jersey ranking last among the states for its percentage of residents age 18 and older who are divorced.\n\nA different study by Philip Cohen, a professor of sociology at the University of Maryland looked at the states with the lowest of divorces the previous year compared with their populations, finding these states to be Delaware, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and North Dakota. All of these states had rates of divorce about 6-7% per 1,000 people, compared to 31 states that have above a 10% rate.\n\nThe Director of the National Center for Family and Marriage Research at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, Susan Brown, suggests that the data about less divorce in New Jersey has a lot to do with the demographic trends for first marriage there. Long-term marriages are more likely when couples marry later, have a higher level of education, and are more financially stable. In New Jersey, it seems that more people are delaying marriage until they are more ready for it and have fewer risk factors for divorce.\n\nAccording to American Community’s 2011 survey, 23% of Americans married that year were between 18 and 24 years old. In New Jersey, only 13% of newlyweds were that young. The same survey found that of people 31% of Americans married in 2011 had a bachelor's degree or higher education. In New Jersey, this figure was 42%.\n\nPublic Policy professor Andrew Cherlin from Johns Hopkins notes that the divorce rates tend to be lower in the northeastern states because of this trend to marry later and at a higher educational level.\n\nRecessions tend to have a mixed effect on the rates of divorce. While job loss, unemployment, bankruptcy, foreclosure and other economic instability are bad stress for couples, it may be that some couples do not separate or divorce because they cannot afford the additional expense of setting up and maintaining two households, plus legal costs.\n\nOther writers wonder if other factors make divorce in New Jersey less likely. There are many foreign-born residents, which may reduce divorce rates. Unemployment is not as high in New Jersey as some other states. Perhaps the stress and impact of Hurricane Sandy will impact the next set of divorce statistics. Some question whether married people in New Jersey have a lower happiness set-point than those in other areas, or if they are settling.\n\nAt the very least, these national statistics about trends in marriage and divorce give us an interesting dialogue about that factors that make splitting up less likely. For my own daughters, and all the young people I work with in counseling, I still hope you will take your time. Don't partner too early. Finish your education and get financially stable on your own if possible before taking on the huge commitments of marriage and family. Be sure to get some pre-marital counseling so you know how you will deal with decisions, religion, parenting, finances, family, and sex.\n\nYour core self isn't truly developed until close to age 30, so if you marry before then, it's anybody's guess if you will still be a fit with your partner later on. Give yourself the best chance at marital happiness and success that you can, because there are plenty of challenges you can't control in life. \n\nThursday, November 1, 2012\n\nKeeping the Happy in your Holidays\n\nRemember when you were a child and the holidays were pretty magical? It might have been your favorite part of the year, other than your birthday.\n\nToo often, adults dread the turn of the calendar to November, with the extra workload of the holidays: cooking, shopping, meal planning, wrapping gifts, more demands on your time, extra expenses, decorating, cleaning, entertaining, thinking of brilliant gift ideas. It's enough to make one want to schedule a long nap to rest up!\n\nIt's time to take back your holidays. This article is geared to help you stage your own holiday makeover so that you can put the joy and meaning back into the season, and not go passively into all the regular routines without some careful checking in with yourself and the people who matter most to you.\n\nIt can be helpful to make a list of the holiday tasks you normally do, and consider what brings you the most joy. If you live alone, you can do this by yourself. If you live with family, you can have a meeting with the family to find out what means most to each person. What is each person's favorite part of each holiday? What can you cut out because the effort isn't worth it?\n\nTry to delegate and find out who can do what task to help bring the holidays together. Could meals be made into shared events where each person contributes a dish? Could your son, daughter, grandson or granddaughter home from college help you with decorating and un-decorating? Could you bring food in? Could you make things more casual? Ask for help! Some of the joy is in putting the holiday together, not just showing up for it. Don't hog all the tasks for yourself, or you are likely to resent it (and your resentment will leak out).\n\nCould you schedule some self-care into your holiday season? Perhaps you could schedule some breaks for you to exercise, get a massage, watch a favorite holiday movie, or do something else that restores you. If you have been losing weight and taking care of yourself, maybe you want to reconstruct your holiday menus to not create backward motion on your health goals. You can also increase non-food related holiday activities, like seeing a play or a concert together. Those peanut butter balls are not going to be easy to burn off after the holidays. If we get a little creative, spending time together doing active things can be a refreshing change from one holiday meal after another.\n\nThink creatively about doing things in a new way that would fit your life now. This would be a good time to suggest drawing names for gifts in your family, rather than trying to find and fund gifts for every single person. It's not worth stressing yourself out, or incurring debt that could depress you in January when you get the bills. Perhaps you can make this a cash-only holiday season, and avoid charging on credit cards.\n\nYou might have to update your holiday plans given the changes that have occurred in the past year. I am working with people in counseling that have moved into a smaller home space this year, and have had to rethink having all the adult kids stay over. Maybe the adult kids can stay in a nearby hotel, and meet up for some part of each day with you if you are hosting.\n\nIf you have divorced, been through a break-up or death this year in your life, it's definitely time to revisit your take on the holidays. Give yourself the permission and authority to rewrite the regular traditions, or keep them the same depending on what feels most comforting to you.\n\nSeek peace and acceptance with your family during the holiday season. Don't expect miracles. Try to lower your sensitivities to slights, be generous with your forgiveness, and realize it's not your job to judge other family members. Choose to wage tolerance and extend yourself if you can.\n\nCut where you like, but don't cut out the meaningful things. If faith is important to you, or volunteering in some way during the holidays to get some perspective, then schedule that in first. It could be that you want to extend your holiday season and make plans to see close friends before or after, rather than getting too stressed and tired.\n\nKeeping your own energy level up is important. Try to get your rest, exercise, and not get overwhelmed. Try to set boundaries with negative, toxic, demanding, and unreasonable people. Pay special attention to pacing yourself. Take breaks from entertaining and hosting.\n\nTake control, and make this your new, updated, and improved holiday season. You just might have a lot more fun, and bring back some of the magic. Lighten up, and go for the joy!", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5523322224617004}
+{"content": "The Most Effective Muscle And Strength Building Tips\n\nDifferent people pursue muscle development for different reasons. No matter what your reason for reducing body fat and gaining muscle, you need to know how to do it effectively, and that means getting informed. This information is available in the article below.\n\n\nMake sure you have enough vegetables in your diet. While diets focused on increasing muscle tend to focus on carbohydrates and protein, they forget about vegetables. There are many nutrients in vegetables that can’t be found in some foods with high protein. Additionally, they are high in fiber. Fiber helps your body to better process protein.\n\nToo many people botch their bodybuilding efforts by rushing them. No matter what exercise you are performing, slow down on reps and put your focus on your technique. This will give you better results. Just make certain to take your time, while making sure the exercise is being done correctly.\n\n\nAn often overlooked part of a good exercise program is warming up. As you strengthen your muscles, you also place a heap of additional stress upon them that may increase the likelihood of injuries. You can prevent hurting yourself by warming up and cooling down. Warm up by completing a cardio exercise, such as running on a treadmill, for 10 minutes before you begin weight training, and then start off with some light reps to get into the groove.\n\nMotivate yourself by rewarding yourself for each goal you achieve. Motivation plays a key role in any long-term commitment. Give yourself healthy rewards along the way to stay motivated. For example, you can obtain a massage; they improve blood flow, and will help you recover on your days off.\n\n\nWhile using creatine supplements is beneficial, exercise caution during use, especially if using for longer durations. These supplements can be harmful if you have any sort of kidney issues. Other negative reactions could include muscle compartment syndrome, cramps and arrhythmia. Teenagers are even more likely to have problems. Adhere to the recommended quantities for your safety when using these supplements.\n\nMuscle Growth\n\nTIP! Keep the core trio of exercises in mind and always have them in each of your routines. They include dead lifts, squats and bench presses.\n\nDo as many repetitions over as many sets as possible when working out. Commit to lifting at least fifteen times while resting for about a minute before the next lift. This technique will produce lactic acid, which helps to stimulate muscle growth. The more times you can complete this process during your workout, the more muscle growth you can expect.\n\n\nTIP! Try to use caution when using creatine. If you have any sort of problem with your kidneys, you should not take creatine.\n\nBecoming huge and buff isn’t necessarily the goal of everyone who weight trains. There are a variety of bodybuilding routines designed to get different results. You need to determine what your goals are before settling on one. Supplements will need to be added to your diet if you want large muscles.\n\nOne issue that crops up for many bodybuilders is that different muscle groups grow unevenly. Bodybuilders often use fill sets to correct this problem. A fill set is a short set of 25-30 repetitions of exercises that specifically target the questionable group. It is to be done two to three days following the last time the group was strenuously worked.\n\n\nHopefully, you have found new and useful information that can be applied to your weight lifting and muscle development routine. Review these tips regularly and find new ways to incorporate the most useful ones into your workout routine.\n\nwe discover more about bronchial asthma remedies\nClick listed here , and that can help you get on with your life.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.559704065322876}
+{"content": "The new Yeah Yeah Yeahs song is called \"Zero\" and it sounds like no other Yeah Yeah Yeahs song to date. The album It's Blitz will be available 4-14-09. Looking forward to it.\n\nZero - Yeah Yeah Yeahs\n\n\"It's Blitz!\" Track Listing and credits:\nStuart Bogie - Tenor Saxophone\nEric Biondo - Trumpet\n2. Heads Will Roll\n3. Soft Shock\n4. Skeletons\n5. Dull Life\n6. Shame and Fortune\n7. Runaway\nJane Scarpantoni - Cello\nGreg Kurstin - Piano\n8. Dragon Queen\nTunde Adebimpe - Vocals\nStuart Bogie - Tenor and Baritone Saxophone\nKyp Malone - Tambourine\n9. Hysteric\nEric Biondo - Trumpet\nStuart Bogie - Tenor and Baritone Saxophone\n10. Little Shadow\nImaad Wasif - Guitar\nAuthorNick Greto", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9508148431777954}
+{"content": "Research themes and questions\n\nIndustrial robots have been mostly limited to carefully controlled environments and driven by meticulously hand-coded scripts 1. While this approach works for certain high-volume products like automobiles, most tasks are prohibitively expensive to automate in this way. By comparison, humans intelligently adapt, quickly master new skills, and easily change environments. At Vicarious, we are building systems to bring human-like intelligence to the world of robots.\n\nTo reach this challenging goal, research at Vicarious is organized differently from mainstream deep learning and computer vision research. This sort of work has been traditionally directed around a set of standard benchmarks, which allow for researchers to steadily improve their techniques and compare results. However, using standard datasets as the primary benchmark of progress is a controversial issue 2, and many researchers have noted the downsides of it, the main objection being that to beat a benchmark the best strategy is to take the winning model from one year and to make incremental modifications on top of that. This creates a significant barrier to entry for novel methods 2, and makes it difficult to understand why a particular model does well. In addition, many different modes of errors are mixed up in these large datasets, which means that fundamental improvements in some aspects of the model bring only marginal improvements in overall performance of the system 3. Finally, the benchmark-beating techniques tend to over-fit to the idiosyncrasies of the data 4, 5.\n\nIn contrast, our research is organized around a set of questions and themes, and we use datasets that are appropriately designed to probe those questions. When we test on standard benchmarks, we try to carefully identify and characterize the sources of errors 3 instead of trying to beat the current state of the art algorithm. While this approach has the downside that it might not beat many standard benchmarks in the short term, we believe proper execution of our approach will lead to significantly better understanding and significantly better performing systems in the long term.\n\nThe following themes and constraints are emphasized in the work we do:\n\n\nData efficiency\n\nGeneralizing from a limited number of training examples: Deep neural networks and other machine learning algorithms are known to require an enormous amount of training, whereas humans are able to generalize from as little as one example 6. We believe that generalizing from a few examples lies at the core of intelligence. So far our models have required only a handful of examples to train.\n\n\nUnsupervised learning\n\nAlthough Deep Learning research has made advances in unsupervised learning techniques, recent successes are attributed to supervised learning with large amounts of data. We believe that unsupervised learning will be important for a large class of problems, and most of our efforts are focused on unsupervised learning techniques.\n\n\nNeuro & cognitive sciences\n\nUsing the neocortex as a source of inductive biases and constraints; it is a widely held view that the learning efficiency and generalization of the brain comes from its inductive biases 7. The organization of circuits in the neocortex provides rich clues regarding the inductive biases and inference algorithms, and the investigation of these clues in the context of the deficiencies of existing models would enable the discovery of new network architectures, learning algorithms, and inference mechanisms.\n\n\nNetwork structure\n\nLike many other researchers, we believe that network architecture plays a significant role in generalization 8. Many of our experiments are designed towards the question of uncovering insights related to network micro-architecture. We emphasize parts-based representations and compositionality, similar to several other researchers building grammar-based models. In addition, the organization of cortical micro-circuitry provides rich clues about the nature of potential modifications. Our efforts in this direction have already been very fruitful in discovering a new network architecture that provides tight control for invariance-selectivity tradeoffs.\n\n\n\nSiciliano, Bruno, and Oussama Khatib, eds. Springer Handbook of Robotics. Springer, 2016.\n\n\nA. Yuille, \"Computer vision needs a core and foundations\" Image and Vision Computing, 2012.\n\n\nD. Hoiem, Y. Chodpathumwan, and Q. Dai, \"Diagnosing Error in Object Detectors\" ECCV, 2012.\n\n\nA. Torralba and A. A. Efros, \"Unbiased Look at Dataset Bias\" CVPR, 2011.\n\n\nJ. Ponce, T. L. Berg, M. Everingham, D. A. Forsyth, M. Hebert, S. Lazebnik, M. Marszalek, C. Schmid, B. C. Russell, A. Torralba, C. K. I. Williams, J. Zhang, A. Zisserman, \"Dataset Issues in Object Recognition\" Toward Category-Level Object Recognition, 2006.\n\n\nJ. B. Tenenbaum, \"How to Grow a Mind: Statistics, Structure, and Abstraction\" Knowl. Creat. Diffus. Util., vol. 1279, 2011.\n\n\nJ. Pearl, \"Causality,\" New York Cambridge, 2000.\n\n\nT. Poggio, J. Mutch, J. Leibo, and A. Tacchetti, \"The computational magic of the ventral stream : sketch of a theory (and why some deep architectures work)\" Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory Technical Report, 2012.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6023262739181519}
+{"content": "Self Massage\n\nself massage     Self massage can be a great asset to many types of individuals.  I started performing self massage on myself nearly a year ago.  At first I performed it quite regularly and now only as needed.  It can be beneficial for a variety of reasons.  The reason why I originally began it was for reproductive health, however it is also excellent for digestive health as well.\n\n     By massaging your abdomen you increase blood circulation in the organs beneath.  There are different resources online for helping someone perform massage on themselves.  I usually just lay on my back and massage in circular motion all around the abdomen, focusing on the areas that contain the uterus and ovaries.\n\nI also perform a femoral artery massage, which basically backs up blood from the femoral artery into the abdominal cavity organs including the uterus and ovaries.  I have successfully used both of these methods to improve menstrual health and normalize the length of the menstrual cycle.\n\n     There are certain guidelines that should be followed, including do not massage if you may be pregnant because it could induce a miscarriage, or during menstruation as it will increase blood flow.  A good schedule to start with is the day after ovulation until menstruation begins if pregnancy is not possible.  Also check with your Doctor before beginning this if you have any cystic disorders as you do not want to cause anything to rupture.\n\n     Femoral and abdominal massage may also be useful for digestive health, as you can also increase blood flow to the digestive organs.  Thus this practice is helpful for both men and women.  When focusing on digestion, you typically work on the same areas because they also contain the lower digestive tract, however in addition also include the upper quadrants to include the stomach,  liver, pancreas, and gallbladder.\n\n     Many resources can be found online to guide you in performing self abdominal massage.  To perform femoral artery massage I found this youtube video to be quite helpful.  If you have any questions or comments on the topic please leave them below.  I highly suggest giving it a try for a few weeks and seeing if you notice any difference. \n\n\n\nStubborn Fat\n\nstubborn fat\n\n     One of the things that even the healthiest people struggle with in their appearance is subcutaneous fat.  This is the fat that is deposited under the skin and above the muscles.  It is very stubborn as difficult to get rid of.  A little bit of subcutaneous fat is not hazardous to your health and may even have health benefits, however if it is not evenly dispersed and is settled in one area it may appear unsightly.  Please remember that although it does not correlate with health concerns, being thin and having low little of  this kind of fat does not mean that you do not have fat deposits.\n\n     Visceral fat is the kind that surrounds your organs and carries the highest health risks.  If someone is naturally thin and has substantial muscle tone, Visceral fat may be there undiscovered.  That is why a healthy diet is just as important as a healthy lifestyle.  In other words working out does not equate a free pass to eat garbage.\n\n     For those of you who do have a little bit of remaining stubborn fat there is hope. Research presented in 2011 from the Iranian Journal of Health and Physical Activity demonstrated how massage can decrease fat deposits.  The reasoning behind this is that fat is stored energy and to be utilized but be able to travel via the bloodstream.  Subcutaneous fat has very little blood flow and massage can increase blood flow the increasing the likelihood of stored energy being released.\n\n     I also wrote a post of exercising for fat burn which will be useful in targeting the use of fat as energy during exercise, but increasing blood flow to the area is crucial.  As a matter of fact the next time you work out notice how warm your body feels. Then place a hand on your fat deposit and notice how cool it feels.  That is due to lack of blood flow to that area.  If you are interested in learning the specifics, check out the article here.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7692710757255554}
+{"content": "Feeling low and depressed with criticism? Learn to deal with Criticism Constructively\n\nLearn to take your Criticism Constructively\n\nCriticism is something which is never taken on a positive note, as our ever changing human mind is not ready to accept that our so much willed efforts are not invested towards our much desired ‘GOAL’.\n\nI being a cricket fanatic would rather explain criticism as when the batsman plans to play the ball thinking the baller is going to ball with same speed and using the same technique and all of a sudden he realizes that the baller used a different bowling technique and he not ready for the change gets what he doesn’t wanted…. Either clean bowled or LBW.\n\nWell that’s cricket taking the same situation what I am trying to convey is the fact that our human brains is not ready to accept the fact that we have made an error. An error can be rectified as we do while solving a mathematical problem then why can’t our own lives.\n\nHere are some tips that may help you to\n\n“Deal with Criticism”\n\n1. Don’t React Instantly\n\nWe human beings instantly react on things and later regret for doing that.It’s a common tendency that whenever we hear something against us, we quickly react on those things. But have you ever heard about the phrase “Keep your critics close to you”, so I think we all should follow this and take our criticism positively.\n\nStop and think before giving any reaction, first try to know the whole matter and react accordingly.\n\n2. Listen to your Critics Calmly\n\nDon’t interrupt in between while they are saying something. Instead of putting your explanations in between, listen to them. They might be criticizing for your improvement. So we should give them complete time to put their views and try to improve our weak points.\n\n3. Accept the Fact that you were wrong\n\nIf you keep on thinking that you didn’t commit any mistake and you are right at your place, then you may seem like an over-confident person. You should learn to accept your fault for betterment in your work.\n\n4. Analyze Your Mistake\n\nWhen someone tells you about your faults, try to analyze that why did this happen? And what improvement should be made?. This is the way you can analyze your mistakes and make efforts to improve them.\n\n5. Learn from It\n\nWe should always learn from our past experiences so that in future we never repeat same mistakes. There’s a saying that “our mistake is our best teacher” and life is all about making mistakes and learning from them. There’s nobody who do not make mistake but they improve them by learning from them.\n\n6. Ask for their Feedbacks\n\nThis is a very polite way to ask for feedbacks on your work so that you can make improvement.  Employees should ask their seniors about feedbacks on their work. If they suggest to make improvements on sepcific things, try to improve it.\n\n7. Don’t take it personally\n\nYou should take criticism seriously but not personally. If someone is criticizing for your work that doesn’t mean he/she dislikes you.They might be helping you to turn out yourself into a better person.\n\n8. Say Thank You\n\nWhen someone interrupts you in your work style, take it in positive way and thank them for letting you know about your weak points.\n\n“Learn to see the difference between constructive and destructive criticism. Appreciate the constructive and ignore the destructive.” John Douglas.\n\nShare This Post\n\nExpert advise guide for exam preparation\nLike the Post? Subscribe to Eduncle Blog\n\n\n7    +   2   =", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7972219586372375}
+{"content": "The basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus) is the second-largest living fish, after the whale shark, and one of three plankton-eating sharks besides the whale shark and megamouth shark. It is a cosmopolitan migratory species, found in all the world's temperate oceans. It is a slow-moving filter feeder and has anatomical adaptations for filter feeding, such as a greatly enlarged mouth and highly developed gill rakers. Its snout is conical and the gill slits extend around the top and bottom of its head. The gill rakers, dark and bristle-like, are used to catch plankton as water filters through the mouth and over the gills. The basking shark is usually greyish-brown, with mottled skin. The caudal (tail) fin has a strong lateral keel and a crescent shape. The teeth of the basking shark are very small and numerous, and often number one hundred per row. The teeth have a single conical cusp, are curved backwards, and are the same on both the upper and lower jaws. Adults typically reach 6-8 m (20-26 ft.) in length.\n\nBasking sharks are believed to overwinter in deep waters. They may be found in either small schools or alone. Small schools in the Bay of Fundy and the Hebrides have been seen swimming nose to tail in circles in what may be a form of mating behaviour. Despite their large size and threatening appearance, basking sharks are not aggressive and are harmless to humans.\n\n\n\nBasking shark\n\nThis shark is called the \"basking\" shark because it is most often observed when feeding at the surface and appears to be basking in the warmer water there. It is the only member of the family Cetorhinidae, part of the mackerel shark order Lamniformes. Gunnerus was the first to describe and name the species Cetorhinus maximus from a specimen found in Norway. The genus name Cetorhinus comes from the Greek ketos which means marine monster or whale and rhinos meaning nose; the species name maximus is from Latin and means \"greatest\". In the following centuries there were more attempts at naming: Squalus isodus, in 1819 by Macri; Squalus elephas, by Lesueur in 1822; Squalus rashleighanus, by Couch in 1838; Squalus cetaceus, by Gronow in 1854; Cetorhinus blainvillei by Capello in 1869; Selachus pennantii, by Cornish in 1885; Cetorhinus maximus infanuncula, by Deinse and Adriani in 1953; and finally Cetorhinus maximus normani, by Siccardi in 1961. Other names include bone shark, elephant shark, hoe-mother (sometimes contracted to homer), sail-fish, and sun-fish.\n\nRange and habitat\n\nThe basking shark is a coastal-pelagic shark found worldwide in boreal to warm-temperate waters around the continental shelves. It prefers 8.0 to 14.5°C (46 to 58°F) temperatures, but has been confirmed to cross the much-warmer waters at the equator. It is often seen close to land, including bays with narrow openings. The shark follows plankton concentrations in the water column, so is often visible at the surface. It characteristically migrates with the seasons. The basking shark is found from the surface down to at least 910 m (2,990 ft).\n\nAnatomy and appearance\n\nBasking shark\n\nThe largest accurately measured specimen was trapped in a herring net in the Bay of Fundy, Canada, in 1851. Its total length was 12.27 m (40.3 ft), and it weighed an estimated 19 t (19 long tons; 21 short tons). Dubious reports from Norway mention three basking sharks over 12 m (39 ft), the largest at 13.7 m (45 ft), during 1884 to 1905, these are dubious because few anywhere near that size have been caught in the area since. On average, the adult basking shark reaches a length of 6â€\"8 m (20â€\"26 ft) and weighs about 5.2 t (5.1 long tons; 5.7 short tons). Some specimens still surpass 9â€\"10 m (30â€\"33 ft), but after years of large-scale fishing, specimens of this size have become rare.\n\nThey possess the typical shark lamniform body plan and have been mistaken for great white sharks. The two species can be easily distinguished by the basking shark's cavernous jaw, up to 1 m (3 ft 3 in) in width, longer and more obvious gill slits that nearly encircle the head and are accompanied by well-developed gill rakers, smaller eyes, and smaller average girth. Great whites possess large, dagger-like teeth; basking shark teeth are much smaller 5â€\"6 mm (0.20â€\"0.24 in) and hooked; only the first three or four rows of the upper jaw and six or seven rows of the lower jaw function. In behaviour, the great white is an active predator of large animals and not a filter feeder.\n\nOther distinctive characteristics include a strongly keeled caudal peduncle, highly textured skin covered in placoid scales and a mucus layer, a pointed snoutâ€\"distinctly hooked in younger specimensâ€\"and a lunate caudal fin. In large individuals, the dorsal fin may flop to one side when above the surface. Colouration is highly variable (and likely dependent on observation conditions and the individual's condition): commonly, the colouring is dark brown to black or blue dorsally, fading to a dull white ventrally. The sharks are often noticeably scarred, possibly through encounters with lampreys or cookiecutter sharks. The basking shark's liver, which may account for 25% of its body weight, runs the entire length of the abdominal cavity and is thought to play a role in buoyancy regulation and long-term energy storage.\n\nLife history\n\nBasking shark\n\nBasking sharks do not hibernate, and are active year-round. In winter, basking sharks move to depths of 900 m (3,000 ft) to feed on deep-water plankton.\n\n\nSatellite tagging confirmed basking sharks move thousands of kilometres during the winter, seeking plankton blooms. They shed and renew their gill rakers in an ongoing process, rather than over one short period.\n\nA 2009 study tagged 25 sharks off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and indicated at least some migrate south in the winter. Remaining at depths between 200 and 1,000 metres (660 and 3,280 ft) for many weeks, the tagged sharks crossed the equator to reach Brazil. One individual spent a month near the mouth of the Amazon River. They may undertake this journey to aid reproduction.\n\nThey are slow-moving sharks (feeding at about 2 kn (3.7 km/h; 2.3 mph)) and do not evade approaching boats (unlike great white sharks). They are not attracted to chum.\n\nThough the basking shark is large and slow, it can breach, jumping entirely out of the water. This behaviour could be an attempt to dislodge parasites or commensals. Such interpretations are speculative, however, and difficult to verify; breaching in large marine animals such as whales and sharks might equally well be intraspecific threat displays of size and strength.\n\n\nBasking sharks are social animals and form sex-segregated schools, usually in small numbers (three or four), but reportedly up to 100 individuals. Their social behaviour is thought to follow visual cues. Although the basking shark's eyes are small, they are fully developed. They may visually inspect boats, possibly mistaking them for other basking sharks. Females are thought to seek shallow water to give birth.\n\n\nBasking sharks have few predators. White sharks have been reported to scavenge on the remains of these sharks. Killer whales have been observed feeding on basking sharks off California and New Zealand. Lampreys are often seen attached to them, although they are unlikely to be able to cut through the shark's thick skin.\n\n\nThe basking shark is a passive feeder, filtering zooplankton, small fish, and invertebrates from up to 2,000 short tons (1,800 t) of water per hour. They feed at or close to the surface with their mouths wide open and gill rakers erect. Unlike the megamouth shark and whale shark, the basking shark does not appear to actively seek quarry, but it does possess large olfactory bulbs that may guide it. It relies only on the water it pushes through its gills by swimming; the megamouth shark and whale shark can suck or pump water through their gills.\n\n\nBasking sharks are ovoviviparous: the developing embryos first rely on a yolk sac, with no placental connection. Their seemingly useless teeth may play a role before birth in helping them feed on the mother's unfertilized ova (a behaviour known as oophagy). In females, only the right ovary appears to function.\n\nGestation is thought to span over a year (perhaps two to three years), with a small, though unknown, number of young born fully developed at 1.5â€\"2 m (4 ft 11 inâ€\"6 ft 7 in). Only one pregnant female is known to have been caught; she was carrying six unborn young. Mating is thought to occur in early summer and birthing in late summer, following the female's movement into shallow waters.\n\nThe age of maturity is thought to be between the ages of six and 13 and at a length of 4.6â€\"6 m (15â€\"20 ft). Breeding frequency is thought to be two to four years.\n\nThe exact lifespan of the basking shark is unknown, but experts estimate to be about 50 years.\n\nImportance to humans\n\nHistorically, the basking shark has been a staple of fisheries because of its slow swimming speed, placid nature, and previously abundant numbers. Commercially, it was put to many uses: the flesh for food and fishmeal, the hide for leather, and its large liver (which has a high squalene content) for oil. It is currently fished mainly for its fins (for shark fin soup). Parts (such as cartilage) are also used in traditional Chinese medicine and as an aphrodisiac in Japan, further adding to demand.\n\nAs a result of rapidly declining numbers, the basking shark has been protected in some territorial waters and trade in its products is restricted in many countries under CITES. It is fully protected in the UK, Malta, New Zealand, Florida and USA Gulf, and since 2008, it is subject to a target fishing and landed bycatch ban within EU waters. As of March 2010, it was also listed under Annex I of the CMS Migratory Sharks Memorandum of Understanding.\n\nOnce considered a nuisance along the Canadian Pacific coast, basking sharks were the target of a government eradication programme from 1945 to 1970. As of 2008, efforts were under way to determine whether any sharks still lived in the area and monitor their potential recovery.\n\nIt is tolerant of boats and divers approaching it, and may even circle divers, making it an important draw for dive tourism in areas where it is common.\n\nBasking sharks and cryptozoology\n\nBasking shark\n\nOn several occasions, \"globster\" corpses initially thought to be sea serpents or plesiosaurs have later been identified as likely to be the decomposing carcasses of basking sharks, as in the Stronsay beast and the Zuiyo-maru cases.\n\nSee also\n\nBasking shark\n  • List of prehistoric cartilaginous fish\n  • Shark liver oil\n  • Threatened sharks\n\n\nBasking shark\nGeneral references\n\nExternal links\n\nBasking shark\n  • Basking shark, Cetorhinus maximus MarineBio\"\n  • Irish Basking Shark Project\n  • BBC Wildlife Finder - video news and news from the BBC archive\n  • ARKive entry on the Basking Shark\n  • Basking Sharks on the coast of Cornwall, UK on Bloosee\n  • Basking Shark Profile and Photos\n  • Basking Shark Project\n  • Fisheries & Oceans Canada - Basking sharks on the west coast of Canada\n  • Basking Sharks in the Isle of Man\n  • Wildlife Trust Basking Shark Project\n\nPosting Komentar", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7644943594932556}
+{"content": "J.S. Bach: Sonatas for Viola da Gamba\n\nJ.S. Bach: Sonatas for Viola da Gamba\nComposer Johann Sebastian Bach\nArtist Patxi Montero viola da gamba\nDaniele Boccaccio organ\nFormat 1 CD\nCat. number 95042\nEAN code 5028421950426\nRelease April 2016\n\nBuy online\n\n  • Buy at Amazon\n\n\n\n\n\n  • Download at Spotify\n  •  Buy at iTunes\n\nOther buying options\n\nAbout this release\n\nPatxi Montero and Daniele Boccaccio have already recorded for Brilliant Classics the three sonatas composed by J.S. Bach around 1720, when the viola da gamba was already an archaic instrument, superseded by string bass variants such as the cello and double-bass, for their greater volume, projection and reliable tuning. However, the gamba’s multiple strings and barrelled sound-box gave it a unique, speaking quality that continued to fascinate composers; long after its high noon as part of a viol consort in 17th-century chamber music, Bach wrote not only these sonatas for the instrument but obbligato parts in various cantatas and at the expressive crux-points of his John and Matthew- Passions.\n\nThe earlier recording by Montero and Boccaccio is available within the latest version of the Complete Bach Edition; for this new recording, however, the accompanying instrument is not the usual harpsichord but a church organ, in the church of S. Antonio Abate, Padova, Italy. Such an experiment in pairing the softly spoken timbre of the gamba with a sustained keyboard instrument has been undertaken before in this music, in a recording with accordion, but not with an organ.\n\n‘The result we obtained while recording these sonatas was truly amazing,’ remark Montero and Boccaccio. ‘We tried to merge the organ’s own colours with the characteristic sound of the viola da gamba, changing the stops settings according to the styles of the movements. Dissonances came out in a more obvious way, and this greatly affected our tempo choices. The church’s acoustics and the exuberance of the organ’s sound led us to create a more concrete and well-supported sound.’\n\nIn this new recording of the magnificent (and still undervalued) sonatas for viola da gamba by Bach the keyboard is an organ, a german school Rückpositiv. The use of the organ instead of the harpsichord has changed the interpretation of the musician to a large extent: the sustained sound of the organ tones (contrary to the quickly decaying sound of the harpsichord) heightens the tension of the harmonics, especially the dissonances. The length of the notes is therefore often shortened, taking into account the reverberant acoustics of the church, which also affected the tempo choices. In short, this interpretation is completely different from the harpsichord version, shedding a new light on these masterpieces by Bach, who himself was never averse to using different instruments for his works.\nPatxi Montero is one of the foremost viola da gamba players of this moment, he frequently collaborates with Early Music groups such as Concerto Italiano, Il Giardino Armonico, Zefiro, Europa Galante and conductors Rinaldo Alessandrini, Diego Fasolis and Fabio Biondi. Daniele Boccaccio already made a highly acclaimed recording for Brilliant Classics of his own organ arrangements of Bach’s violin concertos (BC94829).\nExcellent liner notes written by the musicians.\n\nTrack list\n\nDisk 1\n\n  1. Sonata No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1027: I. Adagio\n  2. Sonata No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1027: II. Allegro ma non tanto\n  3. Sonata No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1027: III. Andante\n  4. Sonata No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1027: IV. Allegro moderato\n  5. Sonata No. 2 in D Major, BWV 1028: I. Adagio\n  6. Sonata No. 2 in D Major, BWV 1028: II. Allegro\n  7. Sonata No. 2 in D Major, BWV 1028: III. Andante\n  8. Sonata No. 2 in D Major, BWV 1028: IV. Allegro\n  9. Sonata No. 3 in G Minor, BWV 1029: I. Vivace\n  10. Sonata No. 3 in G Minor, BWV 1029: II. Adagio\n  11. Sonata No. 3 in G Minor, BWV 1029: III. Allegro", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9678626656532288}
+{"content": " Lily's dilemma\nUSF Libraries\nUSF Digital Collections\n\nLily's dilemma\n\n\nMaterial Information\n\nLily's dilemma opposing principles in The house of mirth\nPhysical Description:\nLelekis, Debbie\nUniversity of South Florida\nPlace of Publication:\nTampa, Fla.\nPublication Date:\n\n\nSubjects / Keywords:\nEdith Wharton\nAmerican literature\nthe novel\nDissertations, Academic -- English -- Masters -- USF\nbibliography   ( marcgt )\ntheses   ( marcgt )\nnon-fiction   ( marcgt )\n\n\nABSTRACT: The focus of this study is Lily Bart and how she maneuvers in the cold, competitive world of upper class New York. To create a framework for my investigation, I draw upon naturalistic readings of the story which portray Lily as an outsider or \"other\" in her society. Lily's ethical principles lead to her destruction. Her marriage problem is just an example of her rejection of the life that her society expects her to lead. As she becomes more aware of a different philosophy of life--characterized by Selden's \"republic of the spirit\"--she finds it impossible to abide by the rules and customs of her society. Ultimately she is unable to live in either world successfully. My research suggests that Lily's moral integrity prevents her from marrying only for money, but she is unable to see other choices available to her that will satisfy her need for luxury and wealth.In my study of Lily I examine the reasons why she could not reconcile the two opposing principles that lead to her downfall. My work analyzes Lily's inner struggles between her values and her ambition.\nThesis (M.A.)--University of South Florida, 2004.\nIncludes bibliographical references.\nSystem Details:\nSystem requirements: World Wide Web browser and PDF reader.\nSystem Details:\nMode of access: World Wide Web.\nStatement of Responsibility:\nby Debbie Lelekis.\nGeneral Note:\nTitle from PDF of title page.\nGeneral Note:\nDocument formatted into pages; contains 34 pages.\n\nRecord Information\n\nSource Institution:\nUniversity of South Florida Library\nHolding Location:\nUniversity of South Florida\nRights Management:\nAll applicable rights reserved by the source institution and holding location.\nResource Identifier:\naleph - 001498141\noclc - 57719295\nnotis - AJU6736\nusfldc doi - E14-SFE0000553\nusfldc handle - e14.553\nSystem ID:\n\nThis item is only available as the following downloads:\n\nFull Text\nxml version 1.0 encoding UTF-8 standalone no\nrecord xmlns http:www.loc.govMARC21slim xmlns:xsi http:www.w3.org2001XMLSchema-instance xsi:schemaLocation http:www.loc.govstandardsmarcxmlschemaMARC21slim.xsd\nleader nam Ka\ncontrolfield tag 001 001498141\n003 fts\n007 cr mnu|||uuuuu\n008 041209s2004 flu sbm s000|0 eng d\ndatafield ind1 8 ind2 024\nsubfield code a E14-SFE0000553\nb SE\n1 100\nLelekis, Debbie.\n0 245\nLily's dilemma\nh [electronic resource] :\nopposing principles in The house of mirth /\nby Debbie Lelekis.\n[Tampa, Fla.] :\nUniversity of South Florida,\nIncludes bibliographical references.\nText (Electronic thesis) in PDF format.\nSystem requirements: World Wide Web browser and PDF reader.\nMode of access: World Wide Web.\nTitle from PDF of title page.\nDocument formatted into pages; contains 34 pages.\nAdviser: Everton, Michael.\nEdith Wharton.\nAmerican literature.\nthe novel.\nDissertations, Academic\nx English\nt USF Electronic Theses and Dissertations.\n4 856\nu http://digital.lib.usf.edu/?e14.553\n\n\nLily’s Dilemma: Opposing Principles in The House of Mirth by Debbie Lelekis A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Department of English College of Arts and Sciences University of South Florida Major Professor: Michael Everton, Ph.D. Maryhelen Harmon, Ph.D. William E. Morris, Ph.D. Date of Approval: November 16, 2004 Keywords: Edith Wharton, American literature, the novel, naturalism, realism Copyright 2004, Debbie Lelekis\n\n\ni Table of Contents Abstract ii Introduction 1 Naturalism and The House of Mirth 3 Lily as Victim 10 Society’s Perception of Lily 18 Conclusion 24 Works Cited 30\n\n\nii Lily’s Dilemma: Opposing Principles in The House of Mirth Debbie Lelekis ABSTRACT The focus of this study is Lily Bart and how she maneuvers in the cold, competitive world of upper class New York. To create a framework for my investigation, I draw upon naturalistic readings of the story which por tray Lily as an outsider or “other” in her society. Lily’s ethical principl es lead to her destruction. Her marriage problem is just an example of her rejection of th e life that her society expects her to lead. As she becomes more aware of a different philosophy of life --characterized by Selden's “republic of the spirit”--she finds it impossible to abide by the rules and customs of her society. Ultimately she is unable to live in either wo rld successfully. My research suggests that Lily’s moral integrity prevents her from ma rrying only for money, but she is unable to see other choices available to he r that will satisfy her need for luxury and wealth. In my study of Lily I examine the reasons why she could not reconcile the two opposing principles that lead to her downfall. My work analyzes Lily’s inner struggles between her values and her ambition.\n\n\n1Lily’s Dilemma: Opposing Principles in The House of Mirth “I have tried hard—but life is difficult, and I am a very useless person. I can hardly be said to have an independent existence. I was just a screw or cog in the great machine I called life, and when I dropped out of it I found I was of no use anywhere else. What can one do when one finds that one only fits into one hole?” (296) Not enough significance has been placed on the role of naturalism in The House of Mirth (1905). Edith Wharton’s work was largely ignored in early studies of naturalism. The critic Donald Pi zer brought attention to the novels The House of Mirth and The Age of Innocence (1920) in the past decade, but hi s work is often criticized for being too traditional. As this thesis argue s, understanding naturalism is essential to a critical analysis of Lily. From the beginning of the novel, Lily feel s conflicted about the role that her society has written for her. She wants to re bel against this position and seems to sabotage herself sometimes by doing things that are not approved of by her soci ety. Lily wants to live by the morality of Selden’s “republic of the spirit” which would allow her to have personal freedom and marry a man that she truly loves. During her meetings with Selden, she displays the inner tension sh e feels between who she should be (a high society wife) and who she could be (a “fr ee” woman like Gerty). When Lily is with Selden she catches glimpses of who she might have been if she was raised differently. However, Lily is morally conflicted becau se she loves luxury and wealth, but she despises the way she must achieve it th rough marriage to anyone with enough money.\n\n\n2Her upbringing and training have taught her that she must work towards the goal of marrying a wealthy man and performing the so cial activities that are expected of a woman in her station in soci ety. My work identifies the central dilemma of the novel between Lily’s morals and her goal, which directly oppose each other. In the first section of my thesis, I es tablish a definition of naturalism, which serves as basis for my reading of the nove l. Throughout the second and third sections, my main focus is on Lily Bart as a victim and product of her society. I analyze how Lily’s upbringing and conditioning causes her to f eel that she could not make choices that go against her society. Her training was for the purpose of becoming a wife and after she is ostracized from her society she has no skill s to help her survive. As a product of her heredity and environment, she is useless for a ny other way of life, yet she is too fragile to survive in the harsh world of the upper class where people ar e driven by their lust for power and money.\n\n\n3 Naturalism and The House of Mirth The world of wealth and opulence in The House of Mirth may seem far removed from the gritty, commonplace settings of most naturalistic novels, but below its gilded surface of high fashion and manners lies a da rk environment ruled by money, greed, and lust for power. Many readings of the novel ca st Lily Bart as a wo man who is controlled by the outside forces of society, while others argue that there is a compromised form of naturalism that undermines the idea that the forces are to tally inescapable.1 Despite the subtle differences among critics, the natura listic readings of th e novel point out the underlying forces that at least partially determine Lily’s fate in her upper-class society. What is naturalism? In Realism and Naturalism in Nineteenth-Century American Literature (1984), Donald Pizer describes naturali sm as the expression of the age's perception of the restricti ons created by a person’s “bio logical past” and “social present.”2 There is a “tension between actuality and hope” in naturalis tic novels; this is apparent in the story of Lily ’s conflict between her goal of wealth and her own morals.3 However, despite Pizer’s seemingly clear explanation, the study of naturalism is sufficiently problematic to require a common definition that will serve as the foundation for this reading. Traditionall y, naturalism is viewed as an extension of realism in the sense that both strive to present everyda y life truthfully and objectively. Pizer characterizes this traditional view of natura lism as “realism infused with a pessimistic determinism” (9). This traditional view of naturalism is limited, though. It simplifies\n\n\n4and complicates the movement at the same time. By relating the two terms, certain components of naturalism become more acces sible, but as a whole, the comparison makes the definition too rigid. In general, naturalistic novels examine the controlling forces of heredity and environment and the functions that chance a nd freedom perform in a character’s attempt to endure in a modern, urba n, capitalistic setting. In Twisted from the Ordinary (2003), Mary Papke resists trying to define the term but instead explains what sets naturalism apart from other forms of literature.4 Naturalist texts break down boundaries and challenge the unquestioned values that humans base their lives on. This scrutiny of the controlling forces in society is essential to na turalism. Naturalistic novels delve into dark worlds that are often violen t and immoral and contain conf licts that make the reader uncomfortable. Two core tensions are found in this genre. One tension occurs between the poor, common characters and the heroic and passionate qualities they possess. Characters from the lowest levels of societ y experience powerful emotions. The other tension is in the theme, which involves the c onflict between the cont rolling deterministic forces of society and the optimistic hope of humankind. Pizer calls these contrasts a mixture of “controlling force” and “indi vidual worth” (28). Although it seems contradictory, the goal of these superficially pe ssimistic novels is actu ally to call on the romantic hope inherent in the reader that will not tolerate such a world of pain and indifference. As Papke asserts, naturalism summons the reader to reject the forces working against us and redefine the rules of the game.\n\n\n5If a naturalistic charac ter is one who is “conditioned and controlled by environment, heredity, instinct or chance” (Pi zer 13), then Lily is certainly naturalistic; she is a poor, orphaned, single woman, who finds it difficult to succeed in a world ruled by wealth, family ties, and marriage. She is trained by her mother to use her beauty to get what she wants and she is taught that sh e needs wealth and marriage to have a happy life. This training is reinforced by her upper-class society, which values money and luxury and scorns anything di ngy or common. Lily feels en snared by the bonds of her society. Naturalistic characters are bound by absolute rules of conduct that dictate the way they must act, and this controlling fo rce destroys their ab ility to see beyond the social matrix of their world. The routines and customs that society imposes on them make it difficult for them to break free. To Lily the world appears to be a malevol ent force actively working against her. Due to her upbringing and condi tioning, she feels that she can not make choices that go against her society. In “The Naturalism of Edith Wharton’s The House of Mirth ” (1995), Pizer describes Lily as someone who is “f ully aware of her condition as one bound by her social matrix” (242). Early in life, her father’s troubles with money cause “grey interludes of economy and brilliant reactions of expense” (27). These situations of economic extremes cause Lily to see both sides of the social spectrum. She finds that she cannot bear to be poor and dingy. Her posi tive view of the universe was radically changed when her family was financially ru ined shortly after he r “dazzling debut” at nineteen. She suffered again when her parent s died, leaving her an orphan at the mercy\n\n\n6of her unsympathetic aunt. Despite her effo rts to please her aunt and the others around her, she finds herself unmarried at twenty-nine. Lily turns to people like Gerty and Nett ie for help as she starts her downward social spiral. Although these women are not fr om the upper-class circle that Lily usually associated with, they find success within their own spheres. Nettie, in particular, is problematic for some critics who find her situ ation contradictory to the naturalistic theme of the novel. This is partially why Pizer ar gues for a compromised form of naturalism in the novel.5 Although he admits that Lily’s fate is “shaped by the capitalistic exchange values of her society or by its patriarchal power structure” (242), he also sees another character in the story who is not a victim to these forces.6 Nettie Struther overcomes serious illness and betrayal. When Lily meet s her again near the end of the novel, Nettie is happily married and has a baby. Lily is ve ry aware of the difference between Nettie’s situation and hers. She unders tands that “It had taken two to build the nest; the man’s faith as well as the woman’s courage” (307) According to Pizer Nettie’s success at rebuilding her life is connected to her abi lity to find a man who was willing to link his fate with hers. In Nettie’s case, she is able to have a second chance through her marriage, but she still remains in her social class. She is not able to escape to a higher class, but she does maintain her position and she is able to ha ve a happy life with he r husband and child. Lily, on the other hand, is not only unable to maintain her place on the fringe of the upper class society, but she plummets to the bottom of the social ladder. Pizer argues that she lacks two things that gave Ne ttie the ability to su cceed in life (Pizer, “N aturalism” 244).\n\n\n7Nettie possesses a strong will to overcome her hardships, but Lily does not. Most important to Pizer’s argument is the fact that Lily does not ha ve a man to help her remake her life the way she would like. However, Pi zer’s argument raises more issues than it resolves. The presumption that Lily might have a better chance of success if she linked her life to a man’s is another aspect of the social barriers that Lily faced. A different way of looking at Nettie’s e xperience is to view her as Wharton’s representation of an ideal that is not possible for Lily. Lily sees her as someone who has “reached the truth of existence” (307). As Wai-Chee Dimock points out in “Debasing Exchange: Edith Wharton’s The House of Mirth ” (1994), it is never fully explained how Nettie is able to succeed. Finding a husband w ho was willing to trust her can be seen as just an act of good luck. Wharton does not cl osely examine Nettie’s ability to escape the snares and pitfalls of society th at others are not able to avoi d. Dimock suggests that this lack of depth is most likely due to the fact that Nettie is the personification of Wharton’s ideal rather than an actual representative of th e working class. In order to function as the romantic “redemptive figure” that Wharton want ed her to be she has to be separate from the social realm (Dimock 389). Wharton portrays her as a character with the determination and endurance to transcend the established cont rolling social forces, but she does not explain the secret to Nettie’s vi ctory. Ultimately, the ideal of Nettie is eroded when she conveys her dream that her daughter will be like Lily when she grows up. Rather than reading Nettie’s experience as a triumph over the forces that crushed other characters like Lily, it is more likely that Nettie is Wharton’s attempt to provide a positive alternative to the upperclass society she was criticizing.\n\n\n8The inclusion of scenes that do not neatly fit the traditional view of naturalism does not weaken the reader’s unde rstanding of Lily as a naturali stic character. The form of naturalism that Wharton employs allows fo r distinction in the re sponses and reactions of characters who come from different soci al classes. Pizer compares Wharton to Theodore Dreiser in their shared interest of showing the “pow erful effect of environment and heredity on various specific kinds of temperament and experience” (245) Rather than presenting all human beings suffering from the social forces in the same ways, both writers make distinctions about the way that pe ople from different cl asses are affected. At some levels of society, the social forces s eem more easy to escape, and as Pizer points out, people like Nettie “not only survive but ev en triumph” (245). However, at the top of the social classes, women like Lily must battle against more complex forces over which they have little or no control. They beco me victims who are imprisoned and eventually destroyed by their environment. By showi ng that some characters like Lily are victims but others, such as Nettie can escape, Wh arton adds a different dimension to the naturalistic principle of social and environmental conditioning.7 Another “alternative form of belief and value” that Pizer examines is the final scene in the book between Selden and the dead Lily; that fi nal connection between them is viewed as a “transcendent faith, [which] holds that some values exist despite their seeming defeat in life” (Pizer, “Naturalism” 243). As Lily drifts off to sleep under the influence of the chloral, she th inks about Selden and feels th at there is some word that she must say to him that will “make life cl ear between them” (310). The overdose of chloral represents her powerlessness to preva il over a fate that was already determined by\n\n\n9social forces. Lily’s thoughts of love fo r Selden signify a “transcendent” faith in humanity and a belief in values that ar e “unachievable by some or even all of humankind” (Pizer, “Naturalism” 245). When Selden visits her deathbed he recognizes that love did exist between them despite th e fact that the “conditions of life” were working against them; as he kneels beside he r a word passes between them that makes it all clear. Although it was never uttered in real life, the “word” of love passes between them. This moment is a transcendence of human love over death a nd the social forces that destroyed Lily. This reading supports a m odified form of naturalism that requires the reader to “have faith in a truth despite it s lack of concrete su pporting evidence and its frequent denial or defeat by life it self” (Pizer, “Naturalism” 246). The examples of Nettie’s escape and Selden and Lily’s transcendent love do not negate the basic principles of naturalism. Wharton still shows her characters as being socially conditioned. However, Wharton’s use of naturalism is slightly different from that of her contemporaries. Wharton’s portray al of Lily illustrates the tensions that a typical naturalistic character faces due to her circumstances. Lily is clearly a naturalistic character who is conditioned and trapped by th e environment of wea lth and by the end of the novel it seems that the only way she is able to truly es cape is through death.\n\n\n10 Lily as Victim Lily is not equipped with the necessary ski lls to survive in he r environment. She regularly becomes the victim and everything she does seems to turn against her, especially when she tries to work within the “rules” of her society. The social system is so defective that no woman can survive it unharmed unless she has her own economic power (Wagner-Martin 50). Every woman is vi ctimized by the controlling forces of the society. Lily is powerless in her society becau se she is constantly required to react rather than act.8 She is always on the defensive and mu st guard her reputa tion. Linda WagnerMartin identifies Lily as the outsider or “maverick loner” who will be destroyed by the social constructs she rejects. She tries to be the maverick and act for herself, but she frequently submits to the standards and prin ciples of her society. Within her social structure, her function is to respond to the codes and customs that form and support the recognized power base. The real story that supersedes the marri age subtext is Lily’s rejection of the traditional female role that the women around her perform.9 She is an “unconventional” woman who takes a risk whenever she attempts to act for herself. The other women in the novel do not recognize or ca re that they are being contro lled by social forces. Lily has no female advisors to turn to so she confides in Selden. As a male he is part of the “mainstream ideology” that does not pertain to marginal characters like Lily (Wagner-\n\n\n11Martin 54). Selden talks to Lily about a fr eedom that she cannot have individually. As Selden’s wife she could have experienced his “republic of the spirit” but on her own she is not capable of such independence. The fi rst scene in Selden’s apartment establishes her powerlessness. He shapes Lily’s story a nd by doing so he takes away her authority. When Lily is with Selden she feels like she is able to “escape from routine” and it feels “natural” to her because it makes her happy but later she must cover it up when she is spotted by Rosedale (14). By having tea in Selden’s apartment, she drifts from her routine of a marriageable lady and she has to “p ay so dearly” for this escape (14). The truth is she cannot escape from the restrict ions of her society, and keeping up this appearance and playing the game is getting old to Lily. She feels trapped and sees that there is no real way out. As Wagner-Marti n suggests, Lily is unlike the typical protagonist and it is her failure in the “s ocial game” that actually makes her heroic.10 She lacks the financial stability to compete and she is too moral to prosper in the social role assigned to her. Many readers assume that Lily is a “free agent” who has the power to make her own decisions, but Wharton shows time after ti me that Lily is essentially powerless in her society (Wagner-Martin 52). The only feeble po wer she wields is due to her beauty and this can only get her so far. Lily’s stat us of limited freedom makes her a “marginal” character who is restricted in her choices and actions.11 Lily has a “double consciousness”12 that permits her to be aware of th e main culture even though she is a marginal character. Living in two worlds requi res the marginal character to find balance. For example, Lily recognizes that Selden is capable of goi ng against conven tional society\n\n\n12and living out his “republic of the spirit” but she knows that she lack s the financial power and freedom to do so (Wagner-Martin 53). In or der for a marginal character, especially a woman, to reach this independence she will need support. Lily’s real problem is her status as an unconventional woman—an “other”. She wants more than the superficia l things that wealth allows She loves the luxury that wealth brings but she wants to live life by he r own standards. This was not a possibility for a marginal character—a woma n with no voice or power. At the turn of the nineteenth century, a woman like Lily was seen as “unf eminine, inappropriate, and unseemly” and her death was inevitable if she didn’t play by society’s rules (Wagner-Martin 57). Regardless of what she did, L ily’s end would have been disappointing because of her marginal status in society. She saw hersel f as a “useless” person with no “independent existence”; she tells Selden that she is lik e a cog in the machine of life and when she dropped out she is of no use (296). Lily tr ies but is ultimately unsuccessful as an independent woman. When she tries to use the social game to her advantage, she fails and her scheme backfires on her. At the beginning of the novel, Lily relentlessly tries to fit in with her friends and keep up with the demands of he r upper-class society. Sh e is encouraged by her friends to gamble at parties. She must ob lige in order to remain in the favor of those who help and support her with “dresses and trinkets which occasionally replenish her insufficient wardrobe” (25). As luck would have it, Lily loses a considerable sum of money during the games at Bellomont. She thin ks about how unfair it is that she should lose money when women like Bertha Dorset and Judy Trenor win but do not need the\n\n\n13money. She admits that she has “never been able to understand the laws of a universe which was so ready to leave he r out of its calculati ons” (26). When Lily tries to use Mr. Trenor to regain some of her losses through investments, the scheme explodes on her. Lily underestimates Trenor and the price she wi ll be forced to pay for his help. Naively she thinks that “to a clever gi rl, it would be easy to hold hi m by his vanity, and so keep the obligation on his side” ( 81). Her innocence and lack of knowledge about men and money make her unaware of her dangerous pos ition. She becomes a victim of Trenor’s lewd plans. Lily’s understanding of the system of exch ange used in her society is different than Trenor’s concept. She enters the financial arrangement with Trenor with the idea that she will be expected to repay the money that he invested for her. Dimock identifies Trenor’s demand for sex as a means of exch ange; Trenor uses the “language of the marketplace” to assert his be lief that certain payments are owed to him for the investments he made on Lily’s behalf (Dimoc k 375). Lily’s comprehension of expected forms of payment differs from Trenor’s. While men like Trenor and Simon Rosedale participate within this system of marketpl ace exchange, Lily functions as “merchandise” that is marketed in order to attract the highest buyer.13 She is a victim of this system of exchange but she also attempts to subvert it at times. For example, she successfully markets herself to Percy Gryce at the begi nning of the novel, but purposely sabotages her victory. In the social marketplace, money is not necessarily the only form of exchange. An invitation to a dinner party or trip on a yacht are often wo rth more. Dimock calls this\n\n\n14the “commodification of social intercour se” which essentially “reduc[es] human experience to abstract equiva lents for exchange” (376-377).14 Although the power in the story most often belongs to the men, women like Bertha Dorset also control the system of exchange at times, as on the yacht. When Lily is torn between accepting Rosedale’s marriage proposal and the invitation to cruise with the Dorsets she unwisely chooses to flee from her problems and leave the countr y. Lily must pay a steep price for her passage. She falls back into her old habits of trying to fit in with her group of high society friends and agrees to keep Mr. Dorset busy while his wife ha s an affair with Ned Silverton. Lily’s experience on the yacht signifies th e breaking point in the tension between who she thinks she wants to be as a rich, upper-class wife and who she thinks she could have been with Selden. When Selden runs into her in Monte Carlo, he observes a difference in her and notes that “she was on th e edge of something . he seemed to see her poised on the brink of a chasm, with one graceful foot advanced to assert her unconsciousness that the ground was failing her” ( 183). Lily thinks that by ignoring her problems and changing her location they will all go away. She views the trip as “not merely a postponement, but a solution of her troubles. Moral complications existed for her only in the environment that had produced them…[T]hey lost thei r reality when they changed their background” (186). In realit y, Lily’s problems follow her wherever she goes. By changing locations she just delays her inevitable downfall. Her attempt to run away from her troubles rebounds on her when the Dorset affair scandal is turned against her. The ultimate price Lily must pay is he r reputation. She become s a victim of Bertha\n\n\n15Dorset’s manipulations and is kicked off the sh ip, and to a larger extent, ostracized from their society as a whole. As Dimock suggests, the people who really benefit from this system of exchange are those who break the rules. Although Lily wants to rebel against the system, she plays by the rules and pays her debts. People like Bertha Dorset get what they want without paying for anything at all. Ironically, by sett ling her debt to Trenor with the money she obtains from her aunt, Lily revolts against the system through her conformity to it. Trenor did not anticipate that she would re pay him with money. By paying him back the precise monetary amount, Lily defies the power of the system of exchange (Dimock 383). Although Lily’s choice to only use mone y as a currency for exchange is consistent with her moral prin ciples, her act of re bellion does not gain her any rewards in the social system. In her world those who succeed know how to work the system in order to take more than they offer in return (D imock 385). She refuses to do business with Rosedale because she knows that she will have no money left after paying her debt to Trenor. She also rejects Rose dale’s suggestion to use reveng e as a currency of exchange with Bertha. Lily chooses not to use the le tters to make Bertha pay because Selden’s reputation would have to be part of the deal When she burns the letters, Lily makes a silent protest against the ethics of exchange (Dimock 386). Lily’s acts of defiance are not a threat to the system t hough; she remains the only one who truly “pays” and sadly Selden does not even value her sacrifice. Li ly’s morality is no match for the exchange system that turns everything into a commodity.\n\n\n16 As Selden observes early in the novel, L ily “was so evidently the victim of the civilization which had produced he r, that the links of her br acelet seemed like manacles chaining her to her fate” (6). From an early age she was taught that she must follow the rules of society, which dictate that she must always be well dressed, attend parties, participate in the activities of her group, travel, and above all else marry. Her mother instilled the belief in her th at she had no other choices. She was not encouraged to develop any other skills in lif e other than being a beautiful object. However, she slowly begins to question her role as a passive victim of society. Wharton us es the event of Jack Stepney’s wedding to make an important realizat ion clear to Lily. First, it is apparent that Percy Gryce is no longer a possibility in her marriage pl an since it is announced that he is engaged to another woman. Next, Gus Trenor makes her financial relationship with him known to all through his l oud discussion of her investment s. Finally, Trenor pushes her to socialize with Rosedale and she makes a scene when she slights him. These situations make Lily realize the loss of he r marital possibilities (W agner-Martin 26). She is no longer confident that her plan of being married within the year is possible. Lily is nave about her concept of the marriageable woman. She participates in the tableaux vivants at the Brys’s party thinking only of the romantic aspect of her display of beauty. She fails to see herself as a sexual commodity that men will willingly purchase rather than marry. The negative impact her error in judgement has on her reputation is not clear to Lily. The men in the story control the perception of her reputation. The reader knows that Lily is hone st, but her society’s vi ew of her is colored by Trenor’s boastings about the investment s, Rosedale’s accusations of lying, and\n\n\n17Percy’s exposure of her gambling (Wagner-Mar tin 28). As Wagner-Martin suggests, the connection between economics and Lily’s powerlessness is even echoed in her last name—Bart (29). Lily’s life is controlled by the powerful men in her society, and to a larger extent, by the system of exchange.\n\n\n18 Society’s Perception of Lily Appearances and beauty play a significan t role in the novel. As Ruth Bernard Yeazell suggests in “The Conspicuous Wasting of Lily Bart,” everyone in the novel is a “looker-on” and appearances count the most (36). At all le vels of society, people are watching Lily. The most significant of these observers is Lawrence Selden. As the novel opens, he studies Lily at the train station. Selden not es that she draws attention even in a crowd. Wai-Chee Dimock identifies Selden as a spect ator of life; he is business-minded in his attraction to Lily. He sees value in Lily as a collectible object.15 Unfortunately, Selden does not have the money to invest to marry Lily so he remains a spectator. However, Selden does not invest in Lily just because he thinks he has nothing to offer. He is more worried about what he has to lose. During th eir discussion at Bellomont, Lily asks him if he wants to marry her. He laughs and repl ies, “No, I don’t want to—but perhaps I should if you did!” (69). This is an example of how Selden only wishes to love Lily if he is certain that she will love him back. In the language of exchange, he will not take a risk with his emotions. As Dimock points out, Se lden calculates his love like a balance sheet with expenditures and projected returns (381). Ultimately, Lily is not a reliable enough investment; he lacks confidence in he r after her dealings with Trenor. Selden remains a spectator through much of the novel, but at the end he decides to try to invest in Lily. He is too late, but he feels no sense of responsibility for Lily’s\n\n\n19demise. He only has the feeling of a lost oppor tunity for the speculato r in him. Selden’s “republic of the spirit” is nothing more th an a copy of the social marketplace. His republic does not allow him or Lily to have pe rsonal freedom. If he had lived his life according to the concept that he described to Lily at Bellomont, Selden would have asked Lily to marry him. Instead, he can be seen as a “negative hero” who participates in the social system of exchange that destroys L ily (Dimock 382). He is stingy and unwilling to move forward in his relationshi p with Lily because he does not want to risk the cost of failure. Selden is like the other nonpayers, Mrs. Peniston and Bertha Do rset, who want to take without giving anything in return. Se lden doesn’t challenge the rules of the marketplace like Lily does. He is not willing to pay for wh at he wants. Lily does not give in and marry someone rich, and she pays the consequences of her actions. Selden is not willing to invest in Lily and risk paying the consequen ces if it does not turn out the way he wants. The nonpayers are the powerful ones who establish the rate of exchange. Bertha Dorset escapes paying by forcing others to pay the price instead. Mrs. Peniston doesn’t feel obligated to help Lily beyond the minimal financial support of room and board and infrequent money for clothing. Selden refuses to invest in Lily at all because the deal is too risky. Even people who are not part of her soci al circle shape the way that Lily is portrayed. Women like Nettie Struther and th e girls who work at Mme. Regina’s follow Lily’s life when she is part of the rich and famous class. They read about her in the papers and marvel over the descriptions of her beautiful dresses. However, once she\n\n\n20becomes a worker like them she is no longer fasc inating. Lily learns that they are “awed only by success” and now that she is a fallen st ar they have little interest in her (275). Blanche Gelfant discusses how a woman character can be both a consumer and consumed in a naturalistic novel.16 Lily is driven by her desire for the satisfaction of her needs and this is a determining force in the novel. Determinism portrays humans as animals who are subject to inescapable drives that are experienced as desire (Gelfant 179). This longing is a strong force in the nove l and Lily is controlled by her need for wealth and luxury. She is also an object of desire, a “socially constructed artifact.”17 In the tableaux vivants scene she is literally a representation of art through her portrayal of the character in the painting. Yeazell calls this Lily’s “most triumphant performance” because she displays her “superior refinement ” and presents a portra it of her true self through the character that she depicts (27-28). There is a tension between the binary of individualism versus determinism and the interaction of gender in the treatment of Lily’s beauty.18 This tension is a component of the naturalistic forces at work in the novel. Many of the men are charmed by her “cuteness,” which Charles Harmon identifies as a “normalized yet resentment-laden quality of ‘powerful he lplessness.’” In the tableaux vivants scene, Lily’s performance is similar to Carrie’s experience as an actress in Sister Carrie Through their performances, both women create an inversion of gender roles. The powerful men who watch them briefly leave behind the “anxie ties associated with freewheeling capitalistic endeavor” and take on emotions that are normally c onnected to powerless women (Harmon 132). The reversal of gender roles caused by Lily’s performance explains why some of the men\n\n\n21were impressed with Lily’s portrayal of th e painting and others were not. Those who were not pleased with her did not appreciat e the power that her performance took away from them. Harmon argues that men of Lily’s time granted power to women in “gestures of masochistic wallowing whose very extr avagance saved them fr om having a lasting effect upon the everyday practices of gender relations” (133). Lily’s display of power was fleeting a nd it garnered her much criticism from some of the powerful men in her society. Her beauty has a quality of “cuteness” that is attractive to the men. Daniel Harris asserts that labeling so meone as cute is an “act of sadism” because the admirer unconsciously tr ies to “maim, humble, and embarrass the thing he seeks to idolize” (Harmon 133). The powerful men (and women) in Lily’s society are brutal and cruel to her. They admire her beauty but they want to control her and force her to fit into the role that so ciety demands of her as a married woman. This concept of cuteness al so deals with the desire fo r power of the woman who is labeled. Like the actress in Sister Carrie Lily is able to portray the character in the painting during the tableaux vivants but also retain a sense of her own identity. As Selden, Gerty, and the other guests observe, Lily’s choice of character was “so like her own that she could embody the person represen ted without ceasing to be herself” (129). They are able to see the “real” Lily for a moment. Amy Blair argues that Lily not only imitates the painting, but also takes it over thr ough her ability to make the character so similar to herself.19 Through her display of beauty, Lily mani pulates the audience and temporarily seizes power. At that moment she is both free and determined. Through the inversion of\n\n\n22gender roles that is created by her performance, her audience also sees themselves as both powerful and powerless. Even though some of the guests are impressed with what they see (some men comment on Lily’s “outline” which they had never noticed before in her usual dress), Trenor is angry at the attention she receives af ter her performance. Also, Jack Stepney criticizes her performance as “a girl standing there as if she was up at auction” and remarks that gossip was written about her in Town Talk (151). Clearly, the powerful men in her social circle do not like the uncomfortable feeling of Lily’s power.20 There is no tolerance in their society for th e “young woman who clai ms the privileges of marriage without assuming its obligations” (152). Lily suffers again from the scrutinizing glare of her upper class society in Monte Carlo. Much like the tableaux scenes in New York, the Monte Carlo setting has an aspect of performance. However, the outcome of this performance proves to be much more damaging. Through Bertha Dorset’s manipul ations Lily appears to be the star of a scandal. Bertha makes Lily look lik e the villain in front of everyone. Lily tries to create a prominent, satis fying place for herself in society through commodification.21 She vacillates between fee lings of “consumerist elation”22 and a desire to break free from the restraints of he r society. Sometimes Lily is interested in being a part of the “hierarchi es of wealth and prestige,” bu t she also wants to be an individual who cannot totally be defined by her place in any “naturalized social ranking.”23 The latter sounds close to Selden’s “re public of the spirit.” Selden desires to live his life with a “personal freedom …from everything—fro m money, from poverty,\n\n\n23from ease and anxiety, from all material accident s” (64). This is what Lily really wants too, but her gender prevents her from bei ng successful in this pursuit. At the end of the novel, Lily is reduced to nothing. She has no job, no money, no fine clothing, and she has no real allies anymore. She has no exchange value, and this is a treacherous position in a market economy. E ssentially, Lily loses th e essence of herself when she no longer has her money or good reputation. In the social economy, consumption has a negative connotation; it im plies wasting or using up something until there is nothing left (Gelfant 183). Cap italism and the culture of consumption are entangled, as Lily believes that acquiring weal th will allow her to be the person that she wants to be. This desire is culturally conditioned and it turns L ily into a consuming woman who “generates a vortex of forces that flow inexorably toward consumption and death” (Gelfant 192). As a result of society’s perception and de termination of Lily, she is both socially banished and financially cut off. The memb ers of her society are constantly observing and making their own conclusions about her. Regardless of the innocence she displays, Lily is judged and cast out.\n\n\n24 Conclusion This analysis has focused on the naturalistic forces that play a role in Lily’s inner battle between her values and her ambition. Throughout the novel, Lily struggles to maneuver within the spheres created by the cu lture of the upper class, which fuse the “interior” feminine world with the “commerc ial” masculine world (Anesko 89). Lily is conflicted because her ideal of personal fr eedom does not coincide with her goal of wealth. Her morals do not allow her to obtain her goal by marrying anyone who is wealthy. In the clash between her morals a nd her goal, Lily ofte n gets caught between the two spheres of her society. Amy Kaplan ar gues that “the novel maps a social terrain where these realms become increasingly interc onnected not only th rough the relations of work and marriage but through the mediation of spectatorship” (89). The observers in the novel, such as Selden, Bertha Dorset, Mrs. Peniston, and many of the powerful men in the society, exert force on the object of thei r gaze; Lily must make herself the desirable center of attention and gain the approval and support of her society in order to survive (Anesko 89). Ultimately, Lily is not capable of living in either world successfully.\n\n\n25 Notes 1 Larry Rubin surveys a variety of criti cism on the naturalistic readings of The House of Mirth in “Aspects of Naturalism in Four Novels by Edith Wharton” (1957). He presents opposing sides from Blake Nevius who sees Lily as a product and victim of her heredity and environment and Elizabeth Monroe and Robert Morse Lovett who view Lily as partially to blame for her downfall because of her mistakes in judgment and moral attitude. Rubin concludes that Lily is molded by the determining forces of heredity and environment and ultimately crushed by her amoral and indifferent society. 2 In Realism and Naturalism in Nineteen th-Century Amer ican Literature Donald Pizer discusses the basic tendencies of nineteenth-century American literature which combined the ideas of freedom and the emergence of a new awareness about the limitations that social and hereditary forces inflict on humans. 3 Pizer juxtaposes these two forces of what he calls outer and inner realities: determinism (“impersonal evolutionary law”) on one side and faith or hope on the other side. He clarifies, however, that these two views ar e not simply pitted against each other, but “complement,” or balance each other to form a type of literature that is “awkwardly complex rather than comfortably obvious” (xiii). 4 Mary Papke’s Twisted from the Ordinary presents the current trends in the study of naturalism. She includes essays that propose new interpretations of naturalistic texts, ranging from the intersection of sentimentalis m and naturalism, to readings that employ\n\n\n26 the lens of economic, gender, and class theor y, to the clash between art and consumption. Additionally, she offers a look at contempor ary works that cont ain the thread of naturalism through investigati ons like Donald Pizer’s es say “Is American Literary Naturalism Dead? A Furt her Inquiry” (2002). 5 In “The Naturalism of Edith Wharton’s The House of Mirth ” Donald Pizer argues that there is a distinction between the form of naturalism practiced by Wharton and her contemporaries such as Norris, Crane, and Drei ser. He acknowledges Lily is often seen as a product of her heredity and environment. The main goal of the article, however, is to reconcile the naturalistic view of Lily as a victim of her so ciety and two examples in the novel that Pizer sees as undermining the idea that the forces are totally inescapable. He challenges the argument that naturalism is chiefly about social determinism. 6 In Pizer’s reading of the novel, Wharton juxtaposes the deterministic th eme with two alternative forms of belief and value. The fi rst alternative situation presents the concept of human will and strength that allows a char acter like Nettie to escape the same social forces that Lily is unable to control. Pizer contrasts the two women to assert that Nettie’s powerful will and her ability to find a man that was willing to take a chance with her gave her an advantage over Lily and allowed her to rebuild her life (Pizer, “Naturalism” 24344). 7 Pizer acknowledges the similarities between Wharton’s form of naturalism and that of her contemporaries through her use of social determinism, but he stresses the differences by pointing out instances in the novel that co mplicate and redefine the naturalistic mode (Pizer, “Naturalism” 244-45).\n\n\n27 8 When Gerty asks Lily to tell her stor y she gives a “non-story,” according to WagnerMartin. Lily was not an actor in charge of living the action of her narrative. Because she lacks power, she can only respond or react to the codes set up by those who have the power (22-23). 9 Lily is sometimes compared to Edna Pontellier in Kate Chopin’s The Awakening (1899). Both women desire to live their lives according to their own terms and rules (Wagner-Martin 54). 10 In what Wagner-Martin calls “traditional nove ls” the protagonist is usually brave and capable of making their own decisions. Lily wavers between her desire to break free from the social games of her high society friends and her need to marry a rich man to gain wealth and luxury. Lily doesn’t always do what the read er expects her to do. She is more complex than the other beautiful elite women in her social circle. 11 Ellen Moers’s Literary Women: The Great Writers (1976) is cited by Wagner-Martin for this concept of characters of secondary status. She de scribes these characters as having restrictions on “trave l, education, marriage choi ces, and adulthood.” (WagnerMartin 53). 12 This term describing Lily’s state of mind comes from Rachel DuPlessis’s Writing Beyond the Ending (1985). 13 Lily is aware of her relation to the market place to a certain extent. In her conquest of Percy Bryce she talks of his “purchase” of he r and compares herself to his collection of Americana, both of which he would be proud to spend money on. Lily’s mother also saw\n\n\n28 her in terms of economics. She tries to enc ourage her daughter to us e the “asset” of her beauty to marry into wealth. 14 Dimock applies this term not only to women, as it is commonly used in gender studies, but to all social dealings which are turned into or treated as an article of trade or commerce (376-377). 15 Dimock asserts that Selden is a “speculato r” who plays two sides: the spectator and the investor. He entertains hims elf while he “looks on” at Lil y. He becomes the investor when he is sure he has something to gain. As an investor he wants to obtain Lily as his wife, his beautiful object (379-80). 16 Although Blanche Gelfant’s “What More Ca n Carrie Want? Naturalistic Ways of Consuming Women” (1995) focuses on Theodore Dreiser’s Sister Carrie (1900), the concepts apply to Lily, who also func tions as a naturalistic character. 17 Gelfant uses this term to describe obj ects that consist of “impossible dreams of happiness” (179). This applies to Lily si nce she is desired by many men; by marrying she would achieve the wealth she want s but she would not be free and happy. 18 In “Cuteness and Capitalism in Sister Carrie ” (2000), Charles Harmon introduces this idea as a “critical crux” with in the gender system of Sister Carrie (126). 19 In “Misreading The House of Mirth ” (2004), Amy Blair points out that in the tableaux vivants scene there is an “endless regression of interpenetrating images: Lily as Mrs. Lloyd, Mrs. Lloyd as dryad, Lily as so cialite, Lily as herself” (157). 20 This outcome is contrary to the reaction that Harmon desc ribes as a result of Carrie’s performance. In her case, the inversion of gender roles allowed the male-dominated\n\n\n29 capitalist society to reflect through art on the contradictions of their social system (Harmon 136). However, I do not think th e majority of the audience at Lily’s performance was willing to give up any sense of power to her. As a result, many of them were very critical of her display. 21 Kaplan describes Carrie in this way; in the world of commodities Carrie struggles to make a place for herself that is “bot h prestigious and pleasurable” (145). 22 This term is borrowed from Harmon who uses it to describe Carrie’s mood (130). 23 Harmon employs these terms to discuss Hurstwood’s customers in Sister Carrie who, like Lily, are concerned with thei r own worth and identity (131).\n\n\n30 Works Cited Anesko, Michael. “Recent Critical Approaches.” The Cambridge Companion to American Realism and Naturalism: Howells to London Ed. Donald Pizer. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1995. 77-94. Blair, Amy L. “Misreading The House of Mirth .” American Literature 76 (Mar. 2004): 149-175. Dimock, Wai-Chee. “Debasi ng Exchange: Edith Wharton’s The House of Mirth .” Edith Wharton, The House of Mirth: Complete Authoritative Text with Biographical and Historical Contexts, Critical Histor y, and Essays from Five Contemporary Critical Perspectives Ed. Shari Benstock. Boston: Bedford Books of St. Martin’s Press, 1994. 375-90. DuPlessis, Rachel Blau. Writing Beyond the Ending: Narra tive Strategies of TwentiethCentury Women Writers Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1985. Gelfant, Blanche H. “What More Can Carri e Want? Naturalistic Ways of Consuming Women.” The Cambridge Companion to American Realism and Naturalism: Howells to London Ed. Donald Pizer. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1995. 178210. Harmon, Charles. “Cuteness and Capitalism in Sister Carrie .” American Literary Realism 32 (Winter 2000): 125-139.\n\n\n31Kaplan, Amy. The Social Construction of American Realism Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1988. Moers, Ellen. Literary Women: The Great Writers Garden City: Doubleday, 1976. Papke, Mary, ed. Twisted from the Ordinary: Essays on American Literary Naturalism Knoxville: U of Tennessee P, 2003. Pizer, Donald. Realism and Naturalism in Nineteenth-Century American Literature Carbondale: Southern Illinois UP, 1984. ---. “The Naturalism of Edith Wharton’s The House of Mirth .” Twentieth Century Literature 41 (1995): 241-248. Rubin, Larry. “Aspects of Naturalism in Four Novels by Edith Wharton.” Twentieth Century Literature 2 (1957): 182-92. Wagner-Martin, Linda. The House of Mirth: A Novel of Admonition Boston: Twayne, 1990. Wharton, Edith. The House of Mirth 1905. New York: Bantam, 1984. Yeazell, Ruth Bernard. “The Conspicuous Wasting of Lily Bart.” New Essays on The House of Mirth Ed. Deborah Esch. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2001. 15-41.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9930008053779602}
+{"content": "Write the text of your article here! a tail is one of the sayians prime weapons in full moons\n\nAd blocker interference detected!\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8722718358039856}
+{"content": "Saturday, 25 July 2015\n\nUS senator calls Nigerian soldiers fighting Boko Haram, ‘rapists’\n\nWhile in the US, president Buhari criticized the Leahy Law - a U.S. human rights law that prohibits the U.S. Department of State and Department of Defense from providing military assistance to foreign military units that violate human rights. Reacting, the sponsor of the Law, US Senator Patrick Leahy (the law is named after him) said Buhari is misguided in his criticism as the law, which has so far stopped the US govt from assisting Nigeria in the war against Boko Haram, can't be blamed for the atrocities committed by the 'murderers and rapists in the Nigerian military'.\nRarely have the perpetrators been prosecuted or punished. This abusive conduct not only violates the laws of war, it creates fear and loathing among the Nigerian people whose support is necessary to defeat a terrorist group like Boko HaramPresident Buhari ignores the undisputed fact that most Nigerian army units have been approved, under the Leahy Law, for U.S. training and equipment.\nOnly those particular units against which there is credible evidence of the most heinous crimes are ineligible for U.S. aid. And even those units can again become eligible if the Nigerian Government takes effective steps to bring the responsible individuals to justice. I strongly agree with President Buhari about the need to defeat Boko Haram, and I have supported tens of millions of dollars in U.S. aid to Nigeria for that purpose. But rather than suggest that the United States is at fault for not funding murderers and rapists in the Nigerian military, he should face up to his own responsibility to effectively counter Boko Haram. He should direct his attention to the Nigerian military, and the Nigerian courts, and clean up the units implicated in such atrocities.” He said", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8629427552223206}
+{"content": "FRANCE – Employers Subject to Unexpected Inspections by Labor Authorities\n\nEmployers sending or hosting foreign workers in France are subject to increasing inspections by labor authorities. In an effort to enforce a decree passed in March of 2015 which requires employers to save extensive documentation of posted workers, French labor inspectors are performing unexpected inspections of companies to ensure compliance of labor laws.\n\nThe decree requires that sending companies appoint a legal representative in France to act as a liaison with the Labour Inspectorate. The company or legal representative must retain extensive documentation pertaining to posted workers and make it accessible during inspections. Such documentation includes work permits, employment and pay records, timesheets, medical certificates, proof of payment of wages, proof of compliance with social insurance laws and business records among other documents. Furthermore, French host companies must retain copies of work permits for non-EU nationals, detachment declaration and a document designating a legal representative for the company in France.\n\nAs FGI previously announced, companies found guilty of violating these labor laws are subject to administrative fines, potential jail time and suspension of their international service agreements.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.89568030834198}
+{"content": "Hurricane Alex\nCategory 4 major hurricane (SSHWS/NWS)\nHurricane Faith 1966\nAlex at its peak intensity.\nFormed June 29\nDissipated July 10\nHighest winds 1-minute sustained:\n145 mph (235 km/h)\nLowest pressure 936 mbar (hPa); 27.64 inHg\nFatalities 122\nDamage $10 billion (2016 USD)\nAreas affected Senegal, Cape Verde, Azores, Canary Islands, Portugal, Spain, France, Ireland, United Kingdom, Atlantic Canada, United States Eastern Seaboard, Bermuda, and Iceland\nPart of the 2016 Atlantic hurricane season\n\nHurricane Alex was one of the costliest disasters ever known to occur in the history of Iceland. It was the strongest tropical cyclone ever recorded so far north and east in the Atlantic Ocean. Alex formed on June 29 during the 2016 Atlantic hurricane season and caused astronomical devestation across most of the northern Atlantic Ocean coasts. The most severe caused occured in southern Iceland, where landslides and avalanches killed dozens of people trapped in their houses. The hurricane's massive size caused damage to occur even 1,500 miles from the center of the system. Alex was the first tropical storm, first hurricane, and first major hurricane of the 2016 Atlantic hurricane season.\n\nMeteorological history\n\n\nOn June 25, a tropical wave the size of Iceland exited the African coast near Dakar, Senegal. It initially began with extremely weak convection, described as resembling a extratropical cyclone. Heavy wind shear was imminent around the disturbance, yet it abruptly intensified and began to show signs of deep organized on June 26. At 0600 UTC on June 27, a Hurricane Hunter flight was deployed into the system, now designated Invest 90L by the National Hurricane Center (NHC), and it was revealed to have lost most of its deep convection. It was declassifed as an invest, but 30 hours after the recon investigation, convection flared up, and signs of a closed circulation persisted. At 1200 UTC on June 29, another Hurricane Hunters flight confirmed a closed circulation. Therefore, Invest 90L had completed tropical cyclogenesis and was renumbered Tropical Depression One by the NHC approximately 100 miles northwest of Praia, Cape Verde.\n\n\nSubsequently following the upgrade, exceptionally heavy wind shear entered the system, killing its deep convection. Despite this, the clouds within Tropical Depression One began absorbing moisture. Although its winds never exceeded 30 miles per hour (mph) before July 2, the barometric air pressure dropped from 1005 to 986 millibars (mb) between 1200 and 1800 UTC on June 30, showing a pressure more typical of a weak Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale|SSHS. Computer models on July 1 predicted the depression to take a path similar to Hurricane Chloe in 1967 or Hurricane Jeanne in 1998. Abruptly on July 2, around 1500 UTC, winds of 55 mph and an abnormally low pressure of 976 mb (more typical of a Category 2 hurricane on the SSHS) were recorded in a dory 500 miles north-northwest of Praia, thus leading the NHC to upgrade it to a tropical storm and naming it Alex. Upon being named, ensemble models forecasted Alex to explosive intensification to occur. By now, Alex was the size of Turkey and was in an extremely favorable enviorment. On July 3, Alex's winds were upped to 60 mph, but its pressure dropped to an extraordinarly low 957 mb. Simultaneously, the storm's structure began to transition int o a subtropical cyclone. A third Hurricane Hunters flight confirmed Alex had transitioned into a subtropical cyclone at 1200 UTC on July 4 300 miles west of La Palma. As a subtropical storm, Alex's gale force wind (38+ mph) field expanded to 800 miles (mi), resembling a Western Pacific tropical storm. For comparison, Alex was the size of the Midwestern United States. Around this time, a strong trough in the mid-Atlantic began steering Alex towards Iceland. By 0000 UTC on July 5, Alex transitioned back into a tropical cyclone. Suddenly, six hours later, a fourth Hurricane Hunters flight recorded 75 mph winds in the massive storm, prompting the NHC to upgrade Alex to a hurricane 500 miles west of Lisbon, Portugal. However, its pressure rapidly decreased again to 944 mb (more typical of a Category 4 hurricane) in six hours. Meteorologists called Alex \"the bomb that only partially exploded\" due to the wind and pressure measurements not corresponding.\n\nPeak intensity and dissipation\n\nIn an even more bizzare event, between 0600 UTC and 1200 UTC on July 5, Alex's windspeed increased from 80 mph to 145 mph, while its barometric pressure only slightly dropped to 936 mb, all within 1,000 miles of the United Kingdom. Forecasters were getting upset due to Alex's abnormal antics. Furthermore, the massive hurricane's size expanded to an unprecedented 1,400 miles, stretching from Maine to Portugal. Luckily, cold sea surface temperatures (SST)'s caused Alex to explosively weaken as fast as it intensified, dropping to 80 mph/957 mb from 1800 UTC on July 5. It maintained this intensity until 1200 UTC on July 9. By this point, Alex was within 200 miles of southern Iceland and was nearly 1,940 miles wide. Finally, six hours after collapsing to a minor hurricane, the wide hurricane explosively weakened to a 45 mph, 1003 mb tropical storm, but it was as wide as Australia. At 2200 UTC, Alex made landfall over southern Iceland with 40 mph winds, a pressure of 1007 mb, and a diameter of 2,145 miles. The long-lived hurricane dissipated within two hours of landfall (at 0000 UTC on July 10).\n\n\nCape Verde\n\nOn June 26, the great size of the pre-Alex wave prompted government officials throughout Cape Verde to ask local citizens to board up their homes and cancel all ocean activities due to expected heavy rain. Many citizens of Praia emptied supermarket shelves of food within several hours. Boats were tied up to piers, and houses were covered with wood throughout the islands. Everyone was prepared for the worst.\n\n\nAzores President Vasco Cordeiro issued a nationwide urgent message in anticipation of Alex. He declared all buisnesses shut down and asked everyone to indefinitely postpone any outdoor events. Almost all of the citizens packed up on food and families huddled together, praying to avoid an unprecendented catastrophe. In addition, a tropical storm warning was issued for all the islands.\n\nCanary Islands\n\nSmall craft adviosries were issued for the majority of the Canary Islands. Shelters opened up throughout La Palma and Tenerife. Officials estimated dozens would be killed by such a rare event, even stronger than Tropical Storm Delta in 2005. Foue high school citizens offered to assist in the potential big recovery for Alex.\n\n\nAn exceptionally rare hurricane warning was issued for the entire coast of Portugal on July 3. Helicopters deployed a combined four pounds of beef, cheese, and pork to citizens throughout Lisbon. The torch route of the 2016 Summer Olympics was altered to avoid Portugal, the Canary Islands, and the Azores (the torch had just entered Lisbon). Approximately 400,000 flights were cancelled at Lisbon International Airport, and approximately 10,000 structures were boarded up.\n\n\nAlthough Alex remained very far from Bermuda, high sea advisories caused the cancellation of nearly 750 boating events. Not prepared for this, citizens claimed they would do their best to prepare.\n\n\nFor the first time ever in Iceland's history, a tropical storm watch was issued on July 4 for the southern coast between Reykjavík and Djúpivogur. In this region, 254 refugee shelters opened, and an estimated 70,000 citizens took shelter in them. The prices of cod and many other food items dropped by as many as 90%. Mass evacuations were issued for the southern coast. Just about everyone fled to the refugee shelters or made last minute reservations to foriegn countries. Government officals soon upgraded the tropical storm watch to a hurricane warning due to Alex's massive size. The National Hurricane Center quoted the fact massive storm surges were poised to induate areas even 10 miles inland due to the extreme size of Hurricane Alex. By July 6, everyone had claimed they'd done their very best to board up for the storm.\n\n\nOver fifty small craft advipsries were issued for all of Spain, and board sales in Madrid decreased by 5% (percent).\n\nAd blocker interference detected!\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8015367388725281}
+{"content": "This article Aelurus, is the sole property of AtlantisUchiha this article can not be used, altered in any way, shape or form, if you want to use this please ask. Also, if the article is missing some information, it's likely not finished, and excuse all informal data, as it will finish on a later date.\n\nAelurus (also known as the Overworld, Realm of Aelurus, Earth Prime-C-56, or the Magic World) is an continent on the planet of Minecraftia.\n\nCreation EraEdit\n\nAelurus came into existence when Phalex, Aelos, Venenifer and Ianite banded together and used their power to form the land, oceans, skies, and the other needed for life. However, most of the work was done by Phalex, to which Aelos get envious of his power, and tried to take that power, which almost caused a war with other deities in other dimensions. This forced Phalex to banish Aelos to Netherworld, and this made Phalex the God of the Overworld, and Aelos the God of Hell.\n\nAfter some time of Aelurus creation, the Goddess of Magic, Venenifer enriched the very soil and the very soul of the land with magic called Ethernano. This Ethernano spread across Aelurus, and forming supernaturals and magic entities and beings. Such as the undead, skeletons and new creatures, such as the creepers.\n\nAnother time after Aelurus was rich with in magic, the goddess Ianite wanted to make her own entire realm. So, she created the End, an declared herself as Queen of the End (to CaptainCherryz, Goddess of the End). She also made her own creatures, such as the Enderman, Endermites, and the Guardians of Sea Temples.\n\nCulturis EraEdit\n\nThe Culturis Era was the era where ancient civilizations existed. Not much is known on this era, but there are legacies left be hide by those who came before.\n\nFirst EraEdit\n\nFirst CenturyEdit\n\nThis is the current century of the First Era. Around this time, the only known inhabitant is CaptainCherryz, who is trying to survive on Aelurus alone.\n\n\nAd blocker interference detected!\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8157119750976562}
+{"content": "Who Am I? I’m A Creator, A Free Thinker…\n\n Who am I?\n\nBy Cathy Eck\n\n\nWho Am I?\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nHad Enough?\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDealing with Fragile Egos as Characters\n\nfragile ego\n\nBy Cathy Eck\n\n\nFragile Egos\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe Wall\n\n\n\n\nThey’re Characters\n\n\n\n\nAn Exercise\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nEliminating Roles — A Shortcut to Freedom\n\nMasks we wear\n\nBy Cathy Eck\n\n\nWe’re All Actors\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRoles that Bind Us\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLiving Without Roles\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nStorytelling or History: What’s the Difference?\n\nFootprints in the Sand\n\nBy Cathy Eck\n\n\nStorytelling Versus History\n\nI enjoy stories very much.  I love to read them, to write them, and to watch them on the big screen.  But I don’t like history at all.  History is usually presented by the winners; it’s masculine-dominant (his story, not her story) and fact driven, not character driven.  In short, it’s food for the intellect, the false self.\n\nThe difference between storytelling and history has become blurred in people’s minds because our educational systems emphasize history over storytelling.  We can learn a lot by studying the difference between storytelling and history.\n\nIf we want to write a story, we first develop characters and maybe a plot or a story idea.  We give the characters a false-self perspective, including a back story, preferences, and beliefs.  Then we turn the characters loose and let them interact.  If the characters don’t like the results they’re getting, they’ll hopefully have a change of mind.  If the characters don’t change their mind, the story eventually becomes predictable and boring.  If the characters don’t grow, viewers will stop feeling sympathy for their troubles.\n\nWe see these things clearly on the big screen, but often ignore them in our own lives.  Suffering isn’t natural; it’s the consequence of being unwilling to expand our perspective and grow.  Suffering comes from holding on to what we no longer need.  Mental hoarding, just like physical hoarding, is destructive.\n\n\nLife is Storytelling\n\nWe’re all living a potentially great story whether we know it or not.  Two decades ago, the Story of “The Legend spontaneously popped out of my unconscious.  That began my exploration into the nature of storytelling.  I could see that “The Legend” was like an undercurrent in my life.  Fairy tales, myths, and religious stories sit in our unconscious as causal forces in our life.  This is why religions and cultures are built on a foundation of storytelling.  We’re controlled by the stories we hold in mind as true.  If we share a common foundation of story with another, we’ll have similar beliefs and see the world through homogeneous eyes.\n\nModern video games take storytelling to a new level.  I used to watch my children play them, moving from level to level.  If their character screwed up, they’d say, “Oh, I died.”  They’d restart the game.  I felt as though I was watching a miniature version of life.  You either make it to the next level in your storyline, or you die.  The difference is that the gamer realizes he’s responsible for his fate.\n\n\nHis Story\n\nHistory is literal.  There’s no room for individuality or interpretation.  It’s simply the reporting of facts — names, dates, and physical events.  History is always one-sided; usually the winners write history.  As we’ve become more left-brained or intellectual, we’ve forgotten the cause and effect relationship in life.  We fail to consider that every event has a belief-related cause behind it.  We accept the winner’s false-self projection that their enemy is evil and deserving of punishment.\n\nToday, people share their personal stories in historical form.  They think they’re storytelling, but they aren’t.  Great stories allow for change; and great storytellers allow their characters to transform.  People have labeled the oldest stories mythology because they find so many versions of the old stories.  Old stories changed as the characters changed.  History put an end to that; history keeps us stuck within a false, collective mindset.\n\n\nThe Key\n\nThe true storyteller knew that he created every single character, even the evil ones.  The historian only identifies with one character — the one they label good or right.  \n\nThe historian acts as if he or she is either a hero or victim.  They’re telling the story to get sympathy, attention, or approval.  If they get such rewards, they’ll continue to tell the story to keep it alive.\n\nOften we get stuck in another person’s story; we feel like we can’t get free.  We feel bad if we expose another as cause in their drama because we’ve been trained to feel guilty for revealing the cause of history.  We aren’t supposed to point out that the Emperor is naked.\n\n\n\nFreedom requires owning all the characters in our story and seeing that they fit together like a puzzle.  The victim and perpetrator/hero are opposites who have divided thought in the same way (see the triangle process); and the evil that the hero fights is simply his or her shadow.\n\nThe psychologist Fritz Perls popularized Gestalt therapy.  Perls studied people’s dreams.  He required them to see themselves as every character and even every essential item in the dream.  In this way, they could step back and see their whole mind; they could see themselves as cause.  When we see our whole mind, we see the mental cause of our problems.  Then we can change our mind more easily.\n\n\nWe’re All Storytelling\n\nMany have said that we’re all storytelling.  We invent a story; then ideally we direct, produce, and star in it.  But when we don’t own our mind, we just play a walk-on part in someone else’s drama.  When we follow the false mind (which we acquired from others) over our heart (True Self), our own story remains unlived and untold.  We don’t grow or change.  Life becomes boring, and we feel without purpose.\n\nThis happens when we accept masculine and feminine roles; and we place ourselves in a feminine role to another.  Dropping roles that don’t bring us joy is key to returning to our own original story.\n\nScreenwriters say that the audience wants an inciting incident (usually a fall of sorts) in the first ten minutes.  From the perspective of story, we plan our fall into the illusion.  You probably lived that part of your story.  But what happened after that.  Did you learn?  Did you grow?  Did you change?  Did you let go of your “evil” shadow?  Did you love?  That’s what makes a story great.  And most important, did you get that precious and rare happily ever after?\n\nHonesty, Reality, and the True Self\n\nHonesty and looking in the mirror\n\nBy Cathy Eck\n\n\nHonesty Used Ineffectively\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe Process\n\n\n\n\nHonesty is Your Ally\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe Goal of Life\n\n\n\n\n\nphoto credit: jesuscm [2 weeks off] via photopin cc\n\nHuman Dream, American Dream, or Elitism?\n\nElitism or American Dream\n\nBy Cathy Eck\n\n\nAmerican Dream\n\nRecently, people were asked, “What is the American Dream? Was their still an American Dream?”\n\nMost people said that if you work hard, you get rewarded.  Others said that it was about having a job — any job.  Some said it was not being homeless.  The answers to the question had a pretty low threshold.  As a child, I was taught to believe that America was the land of opportunity, where dreams could come true.  But the notion that America is the land of dreams doesn’t make sense.\n\nWe’re told to think that we need outer freedom in order to have inner freedom.  That’s backwards;  inner freedom produces outer freedom.\n\nThe American Dream (or the human dream) needs serious redefining. The entire dream mentality is covered with win-lose mental vomit.  Those who have succeeded in fulfilling their dreams in the past came to hold an elitist mentality.  They felt that their accomplishment took them out of the illusion.  They got an exemption from reaping the shit that their own beliefs had sown.  They convinced us that they could pass that exemption on to their children.  And they became quite accomplished at projecting their beliefs on to others since their power caused people to believe any old thing they said.\n\nThus wealth, fame, or royalty carried with it an unspoken exemption from the ordinary problems of life.  It buys false power, but it doesn’t buy true freedom, peace, or joy.  The only love they get is false love and blind worship.  Lady Di did us the favor of exposing the illusion that marrying a prince is happily ever after.  Sorry Cinderella — the physical prince isn’t the answer.\n\n\nFalse Freedom\n\nWithin the illusion, everyone feels powerless; what we think we want is to be heard and to have our rules followed even if they are selfish and harm others.  We want our religion to be the one.  We want our country to be the biggest and best.  We want everyone to say, “You are the ONE.”\n\nBut that’s not freedom.  Even the most powerful in the illusion are always aware that they could fall like Humpty Dumpty at any moment.  Elitism only has the power that others give it.  Strip away those worshippers, fans, and faithful followers; and they lose it all in the blink of an eye.\n\nThat’s why it often looks like there’s an elite conspiracy.  The winners want to keep their beliefs in power because that’s all the power they have.  They fear exposure more than anything else in the world.  Exposure is death to the false self.  We’re their worst enemy when we see clearly that the emperor has no clothes.\n\nReal freedom happens when you let go of the illusion.  As you stop feeding it, it loses power.  At first it loses power over you; but then you help others; and it loses power over them.  Eventually, it loses power over lots of people; and then what happens?\n\nLook at who loses if the guy sitting on top of the elite’s power pyramid loses the very illusion that holds him or her up.  They fall on thine ass.  Their lack of real power is exposed.  The elite have all the beliefs that you and I have.  They just top their manure with Haagen-Dazs.  As long as we give their “Your Special” beliefs power, they win.  When we stop, they lose everything that made them special.  And it might be the best thing that ever happened to them.\n\nThe reason we often resist giving up our beliefs that “they’re special” is because we’ve not yet let go of the hope that we might one day be special.  We must realize that we don’t want elite specialness because it has no true value.  Then it’s easy to let go.\n\n\nLevel Confusion\n\nWhen one is an elitist, they view themselves above the trash heap of the world.  As we let go, something different happens.\n\nOur level confusion comes undone.  At first, the illusion seems oppressive and huge.  But if we keep realizing it isn’t true, we see through the illusion.  We aren’t impressed by or afraid of false selves in power.   Our mind sees causes; and we heal the causes, not the effects.  We come into contact with those we can help, and we don’t come into contact with those we can’t help.  Life does the sorting, not our mind.\n\nThe elite no longer look powerful, strong, or brave; they look lost and powerless.  Men that used to look big and scary, look small and weak.  You can see who they’ve chosen to be.  It’s sad because you know they’re not that stupid mask, and you want to rip it off and love them.  But often, they’re afraid of losing their mask — it’s all they’ve got; and you look like an enemy if you expose them.  But if you don’t expose them, they’ll never get real freedom, joy, or love.\n\nThey aren’t evil at the core; they just don’t feel the emotions that their own thoughts are creating until you stop accepting them.  When you stand in your True Self, their false self is defeated.  They become (holy shit — I’m going to use the N word)  NORMAL.\n\nWe start by letting go of our beliefs (the ones they convinced us were true), and we become our True Selves — the place where we’re all equal and valuable.  When there is enough real people in the world, the pyramid of power will cave in and life will be fair again, borders will fall, and love will reign.\n\nAs people let go of the illusion, they get creative.  They aren’t trying to solve problems; they’re innovating something new.  They gather others of like mind or talent, and they make dreams come true.  That’s the human dream — to express our gifts and talents, to share them with the world, and to contribute in a way that’s win-win for everyone.  And that can happen anywhere — not just in America.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5898685455322266}
+{"content": "Hey guys! Gogogadget831 here and welcome back to Total....Drama....Theory! It's been a long while since I've done these types of blogs and I've been meaning to do several of these for a while, but due to the lack of time and inspiration, I haven't gotten around to doing so lately. However, I've been wanting to go back to my blogging roots for a while, so I'm finally back with a lot more ideas! So, today's topic is fixing the love triangle in Total Drama World Tour (apologies in advance if this blog doesn't sound great; haven't blogged in almost a year :P). \n\nNow, I know what some of you might be thinking. Some of you might be thinking, \"Oh Gogo, why are you bringing up such a controversial part of the show that tore up the fanbase?\" or \"What if you align with one couple over the other?\" But the thing is, there are so many different ways that this love triangle plotline could have been executed. To be honest, I did like the idea of the love triangle and it had a great amount of potential, but in all honesty, the execution could have been better and could have made the love triangle members a bit less OOC. So, I'm going to be sharing not one, but multiple different ways that this plotline could have gone down. One will be in favor of Duncney, another one will be in favor of Gwuncan, another in which Duncan is with neither Courtney or Gwen, and the final one will involve no Duncan returning whatsoever. I'm sharing all these different plotlines to prevent myself from sounding biased towards one side or the other, and to emphasize the fact that this plotline had potential and there were so many different ways to go about executing it (just not the greatest idea was executed). So without further ado, let's dive right in!\n\n\nHow this would start out is that Duncan would obviously return, Team Amazon would win for capturing him, Noah would be eliminated from Team CIRRRRH, and Duncan would join the team. Now that he's back in the game, Courtney still becomes demanding of him in order for him to become the \"perfect\" boyfriend. Overtime, Duncan's irritation towards Courtney becomes more visible and he becomes increasingly fed up with her constantly bothering him. A few episodes (maybe like 2-3 episodes?) later, he finally reaches a breaking point and breaks up with Courtney on the spot (and providing actual reasons for the break-up too, because hello? Communication?), leaving her devastated. In this case, Duncan's motive for the break-up would be understandable and the audience can be there to sympathize with him. Courtney also realizes that while she really wants to win the million dollars, she is still crazy for Duncan and doesn't want to let him go. She will also realize that she has not treated Duncan the greatest, and it will show that despite her demanding nature, she does have a big heart and she really does genuinely care for Duncan, thus showing a \"nice\" dimension to her. So, along with continuing to focus on the game, we could have a running gag throughout the next few episodes that show her being nice to Duncan, whether it be snagging food for him in first class, sketching a skull for him, complimenting him, the list goes on. She does the best she can to change her way of thinking and while still determined to get what she wants, not to be too demanding. Along with that, perhaps she could confide with characters like Gwen or Sierra as to how to win her man back and learning how to relax and remain calm when trying to accomplish something she desires. This gives her the opportunity for her to interact with the other characters and develop friendships on the show outside of her (former) relationship with Duncan and improve herself as a person. She and Duncan could form friendships and even rivalries with their respective teammates, and could pave way for a few sublplots from these interactions. Duncan will not be that easily convinced that Courtney has changed and will continue to keep his distance from her. Courtney becomes discouraged as her attempts to win over Duncan fail. However, close to one of their eliminations, at the brink of Courtney's discouragement, in front of Duncan, she lets out a huge apology to him for the way she treated him and admits that she still has feelings for him and doesn't want to let her go. Duncan is finally convinced that Courtney has changed and they get back together. This might sound similar to the plotline of Gwen trying to make amends with Courtney, but this cuts out all of the annoying gags that leave Courtney in pain and Gwen even more upset. If this alternative plotline were to happen, not only could this pave way for interesting events to happen on the show, this could really show multiple dimensions to Courtney's character - despite being a perfectionist who's always determined to get what she wants and is very competitive in general, she does have a genuine, caring side to her, and shows concern for others. \n\n\nNow, another possible scenario is having the plotline in favor of Gwuncan. So, how could we possibly pull this off? Well, we would have the same outcome with Duncan coming back to the game and then breaking up with Courtney after being fed up with her behavior. However this time, Courtney gets devastated BUT chooses to focus more on the game and keep her distance from Duncan. She's upset about it, but her teammates (i.e. Gwen and Sierra) try to encourage her to be more mature about the situation and try to grow from the experience and learn from her mistakes she made through her relationship with Duncan. Courtney is reluctant to give up on her traditional mindset and ways of doing things, but has the capability to learn a thing or two from her teammates and implement what she has learned in order to become a better person. Along the way, even a bit before Duncan and Courtney hook up, Gwen and Duncan continue to develop their friendship (not to the extent of hooking up just yet), and after Duncan and Courtney break up, perhaps once the merge occurs, Gwen and Duncan interact even more and grow closer and has the potential to blossom into a relationship. I do not want to sound biased here, but I think after Duncan breaks up with Courtney, I don't think it would be the right time for Gwen and Duncan to hook up, as it would make Courtney feel worse, especially considering Gwen is a possible candidate to help Courtney go through the difficult time she's having. But I suppose if Gwen didn't help Courtney through her difficult time and I suppose if you wanted some drama to occur amongst them, then that scenario would probably be okay for you. But if it were up to me, I would probably give it a season for them to hook up. However, if there was a chance that Courtney didn't want to associate with Duncan anymore, then the scenario of Gwen and Duncan growing closer and blossoming into a relationship could work. I know it was kind of difficult for me to come up with a scenario that would work for Gwuncan, but the thing is, there are a handful of different ways that this could have worked. Feel free to discuss the proper way to implement Gwuncan below! \n\n\nThe same scenario would apply here with Duncan coming back, breaking up with Courtney, and Courtney's teammates helping her cope with the break-up. Along the way, Duncan and Gwen have the opportunity to become close friends (but not to the point of a relationship). What other plots could we focus on? Well, that's simple. Have more development from characters like Tyler (hopefully he would stay longer in the game in this scenario), have more Coderra and Aleheather interactions and focus on their development, focus on Duncan's interactions with his newfound teammates, have Courtney develop close friendships with Gwen and Sierra as they help her out, the list goes on with the number of possibilities for possible subplots if we didn't have the love triangle. In a way, it would be a good and unique change to World Tour. It doesn't need a love triangle to be interesting. Extra subplots, running gags, comedy, interesting challenges, and music more than make up for it. \n\nNo Duncan Returning\n\nOkay, I actually think that with Duncan not returning for the season, this season still would have been great. As much as I loved Duncan in TDI and TDA, he's had enough time in the sun and I think putting more focus on the other characters and other plotlines would have been truly great. More focus on Alejandro manipulating the other contestants, Coderra and Aleheather moments, interactions amongst members of Team Amazon and CIRRRRH, Gwen and Courtney interactions, the list goes on. And what if Ezekiel DID return but did not become deformed (will be doing another theory blog on this in the future)? What if he did things other than attempting to \"act cool\", fit into the crowd, and make dumb comments? He could come back with newfound desire for redemption and a desire to do the best he can in the competition. Rather than having Duncan in the spotlight once again, we could have some actual development from Ezekiel. I know it might be tricky considering how his personality was portrayed in the past, but if there is actual effort to add some depth to his character and personality, Ezekiel is capable for contributing quite a bit of good into a season with a lot of good elements to it already. \n\nWell, that's about all I have right now. Feel free to discuss possible alternate plotlines for the love triangle as well as your own ideas on how you would improve the structure of World Tour! Feel free to share some feedback as well! This blog wasn't the greatest, but I haven't blogged in almost a year (don't judge me!). I'll see you guys soon in my next blog and thanks for reading! Gogogadget831, out!\n\nAd blocker interference detected!\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7590510249137878}
+{"content": "Ballet Folklorico        sones mexicanos\n\nClara Elizabeth\n\nCo-Director / Maestra\n\n​Idaly Guzman\n\n\n\"I've been dancing for about 2 years. I'm extremely passionate about dancing as well as teaching. Given the chance of being able to teach has allowed me to grow with the people I instruct. I love being in the dancing atmosphere, I look forward to expanding not only my knowledge, but those i teach as well.\"\n\nClaudia Alejandra\n\n\nMeet Our Team!\n\nI was introduced to folklorico at the age of 5 which paved the pathway for who I aspire to be. I was not just a dancer, but a student, who strives to learn about and promote my culture as much as possible. Music, art and dance are the best forms of expression, especially for our youth. Learning under the direction of very great maestros during my child and teen years, taught me to perform, instituted discipline and responsibility, and allowed me to express and channel my emotions through dance. I witnessed the passion that my maestros taught with and the impact their dedication and teachings had on my character as I was growing older. I felt the responsibility to promote this through folklore to our youth, which led me to initiate Ballet Folklorico Sones Mexicanos. Everyday, I learn more from my students than sometimes I feel they do from me. They are filled with joy, excitement, an ambition to learn and amazing personalities.  I strive to continue learning from them and with them to continue growing as a teacher and providing as best as I can for them.  \n\n\"Great dancers are not great because of their technique, they are great because of their PASSION.\"-Martha Graham\n\n\"I have been dancing for four years. I am thankful for the opportunity of being part of this amazing group. I have learned so much throughout these short years and I cannot wait whats is yet to come. I have grown out of my shell and discovered who i really am. My students always lift me up in practice with their great energy and thrive to learn and dance.\" \n\n\"Give a girl the right pair of shoes and she can conquer the world\"; and that is exactly what I intend to do. My name is Idaly Guzman and I am 20 years old. I have been dancing folklorico for 3 years and in those years I have learned so much about my roots and myself. Being part of the group has given me the privilege to travel and perform in front of hundreds of people in many different places. It has allowed me to come out of my shell and challenge myself time after time.My new challenge is promoting what I have learned and applying it as in my classes for children in our group. \n\nAldair Vazquez", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7250964641571045}
+{"content": "Brocker.Org: Gold placed at session peak, still on track for second consecutive week of declines\n\n\nGold traded with mild positive bias and eroded part of previous session losses, albeit remained closer to two-week lows.\n\nCurrently trading around $1266 region, a slight deterioration in investors’ risk-appetite, amid growing political tensions between the US and N. Korea, boosted the precious metal’s safe-haven appeal. Adding to this, softer tone surrounding the US treasury bond yields failed to provide any additional lift to the US Dollar and further benefitting dollar-denominated commodities – like gold. \n\n   •  US Dollar clings to 99.00 ahead of US GDP\n\nDespite of the tepid recovery move the yellow metal remains on track for its second consecutive week of declines. Focus shifts to the US economic docket, with spotlight on the first US GDP growth estimates, which is likely to influence Fed rate-hike expectations and eventually provide fresh impetus for the non-yielding metal.\n\nApart from the US GDP print, a slew of important macroeconomic releases from other major economies might also infuse some volatility and derive demand for traditional safe-haven assets, including gold.\n\nTechnical levels to watch\n\nImmediate resistance is pegged near $1270 level, above which a bout of short-covering could lift the commodity towards $1275 horizontal resistance en-route $1279-80 hurdle. On the downside, $1260 level now seems to have emerged as immediate support, which if broken seems to accelerate the slide towards the very important 200-day SMA support near $1253 region.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7242255210876465}
+{"content": "Port & Porters\n\n\nProject Overview\n\nBuilt on the idea that travel is an experiential journey that can lead to extraordinary bonds, we aimed to create the feel of a knowledgeable travel companion and confidante with the marketing materials we designed for Port & Porters. Through the communication and visuals the brand connotes trust and evokes a sense that the journey begins with Port & Porters, as they take you there even before you arrive at your destination.\n\nIdentity | Image MakingPrint", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.990201473236084}
+{"content": "What Does Vote Buying Mean?\n\nBy Vincent W.J. van Gerven Oei,\nWhat Does Vote Buying Mean?\n\nOn Monday, EU Ambassador Romana Vlahutin called upon Albanian citizens not to “sell their vote” during the June 25 parliamentary elections. This “don’t sell your vote” is a common mantra among the well-willing internationals in this country, as if vote buying were truly a great threat to democracy – a greater threat than the politicians that will be elected.\n\nBecause what is vote buying actually? Vote buying means that you give your vote to a party or candidate in exchange for money or goods – the famous bags of flour. But how is that different from voting for a party because they promise to lower taxes? Or because they promise to subsidize childcare? Or because they promise free education? All of these promises basically represent a monetary value for the voter, and especially lower-income households immediately feel the effect of changes in the subsidy and taxation system in their wallet.\n\nSo how are these promises for lower taxes or extra subsidies different from vote buying – the exchange of money for a vote?\n\nWhat the internationals actually want to say is that you should vote for a party based on its content, its program, its values, its ideology, and not purely based on how much money will end up in your wallet. The elections, Ambassador Vlahutin wants to tell us, are about more than just momentary, individual gain; they determine the future of the nation, not just whether you can buy food the next week.\n\nThe problem is that Albanian political parties do not have any content, program, value, or ideology – or at least, they all have the same ones. As Gjergj Erebara from Reporter pointed out a week ago, the promises of the major parties in the elections are hardly distinguishable from those made in 2013, and hardly distinguishable from each other.\n\nSo citizens of Albania, faced with with a political situation in which all parties promise more of the same, and will all break those promises at the moment they are elected, have logically only one objective criterion for judging where to cast their vote: how much money do I get in hand, right now? Any future monetary gain – through free healthcare, employment, or subsidies – may well turn out to be a mirage, a promise made by everyone and kept by no one.\n\nThis is something that Vlahutin and all her jetset humanist colleagues fail to truly appreciate. Their endless babble about consensus, the inclusion of the opposition, full representation, etc., etc. has led to a political situation in which there is literally no choice.\n\nAnd in such a thoroughly cynical environment, devoid of any potential for a different future, staying at home or selling your vote becomes the only rational thing to do.\n\nLini një koment\n\nBëj koment i pari!", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5562678575515747}
+{"content": "After nearly 20 years of having a student loan hanging over her head, Katarina Browne-Schroijen is a free woman.\n\nNow she is encouraging others - particularly those living overseas - to get on top of their loan and to not let it \"eat you up\" as she let it do to her for so many years.\n\nThe 37-year-old left for Australia when she was 21 and later moved to London, before going to Dubai, where she worked as a flight attendant for 10 years.\n\nShe now lives in Maastrich, in Holland, with her new husband.\n\n\nWhile overseas, she said, she always had it in the back of her mind that her student loan was growing and yet did not do anything about it.\n\n\"I just forgot about it a little bit. I wasn't getting any emails or mails. It was always in the back of my mind every time I came home that I needed to pay it.\n\n\"I wanted to pay it, but it was just not knowing how to go about it.\"\n\nMrs Browne-Schroijen's original loan was for $8000.\n\nBut interest and penalty fees increased that amount over the years and in the end she had to pay just over $32,000.\n\nShe said because she was living overseas it was easy to not think about the money she owed.\n\nBut paying it off last week had her dancing outside the bank.\n\n\"I felt really good. I just want other people to be inspired to take that step and make the call. It feels so good to do.\" The Inland Revenue Department has for the past year been running the overseas-based borrowers initiative in a bid to recover millions of dollars owed from student loans.\n\nIRD workers have been contacting those overseas by phone and email and have also connected to them via advertising on social networking sites including Facebook.\n\nThe scheme focused mainly on people now living in Britain and Australia. There are now moves to reach other parts of the world.\n\nInland Revenue collections manager Richard Owen said that the initiative had recovered about $15.5 million in the past year.\n\nMr Owen said that for many, the idea of owing tens of thousands to Inland Revenue was daunting and many people simply tried to block it out.\n\nBut making contact was the first step to cutting back their student loan, he said.\n\n\"We want to ensure that people can move on. The sooner they can get rid of the loan and pay it off - or at least get in a good place to manage their loans - that's what we want to encourage.\"", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5004290342330933}
+{"content": "We gratefully acknowledge support from\nthe Simons Foundation\nand member institutions\nFull-text links:\n\n\nCurrent browse context:\n\n\nReferences & Citations\n\n\n(what is this?)\n\nQuantum Physics\n\nTitle: Genetic information and quantum gas\n\nAbstract: Possible explanation of the 64/20 redundancy of the triplet genetic code based on the assumption of quantum nature of genetic information is proposed.\nComments: LaTeX, 3 pages\nSubjects: Quantum Physics (quant-ph); Biological Physics (physics.bio-ph); Biomolecules (q-bio.BM)\nCite as: arXiv:quant-ph/0106123\n  (or arXiv:quant-ph/0106123v1 for this version)\n\nSubmission history\n\nFrom: Mikhail Altaisky [view email]\n[v1] Fri, 22 Jun 2001 09:46:51 GMT (3kb)", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8553703427314758}
+{"content": "Bayonne (Back Room) | Cat's Cradle | Clubs & Concerts | Indy Week\n\nClubs & Concerts\n\nBayonne (Back Room)\n\n\nAs Bayonne, Austin’s Roger Sellers crafts intricate electronic music that moves from gentle to grating, and vice versa. “Waves” starts out with shrieking, almost painful dissonance before mellow, rolling tones take over. The song then sounds like music from a children’s television show conjured in a fever dream. “Appeals” carries some similar qualities of wonder, with shimmering, gleeful synths. Even with a few diversions, Sellers’ music is oddly comforting and warm. —Allison Hussey\n\nPrice: $8\n\nAdd a review\n\n\nSelect a star to rate.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9999285340309143}
+{"content": "Police: Stolen goods being shipped\n\nPolice investigators believe at least some items stolen in the Cayman Islands are being shipped in cargo containers to other countries.\n\nDuring an interview with the Caymanian Compass last month, Royal Cayman Islands Police officials indicated their belief that not all the merchandise taken in a recent spate of burglaries and thefts in Grand Cayman has stayed here.\n\n‘In my mind…the Cayman Islands is so small, to be stealing so much property, more than likely, they’re probably being sent somewhere else,’ Detective Inspector Kim Evans said. ‘The ways and means to do that is yet to be seen.’\n\nThe number of burglaries occurring in Cayman so far this year has shot up. The 300 burglaries reported in the Cayman Islands between 1 January and 30 June represents a 55 per cent increase over the number reported last year. Thefts have also increased by nearly 10 per cent for that same period.\n\nMr. Evans said small-to-medium-sized electronics items continue to be the most popular for thieves, especially laptop computers. He admits a fair bit of those items are probably being sold on the street here at a far reduced rate.\n\nIt is illegal to sell stolen goods, but the Cayman Islands Penal Code also makes it an offence to knowingly handle stolen goods.\n\n‘Persons need to be mindful of that,’ Mr. Evans said. ‘Handling stolen goods is a serious crime.’\n\nMr. Evans said there are significant risks in attempting to sell stolen goods here in the Cayman Islands simply because of the size of the country and the close-knit community. He said police have formed the belief that shipping goods off island does occur, but is difficult to detect in some cases.\n\n‘That is something that can happen and over the years we’ve been targeting vessels leaving the territory as well,’ he said.\n\n‘One of the difficulties relative to containers leaving the country is that you may have persons who may buy a container and have it consigned for individuals to come and drop off items to that container,’ he said. ‘They pay a fee to ship items in the container. The difficult part is that there are no receipts relative to those items in that container.’\n\nPolice and Customs service officers can become suspicious of containers that are inspected and have no receipts for certain items inside.\n\n‘The question is ‘who bought it?’ Another question is ‘where are the receipts?” Mr. Evans said. ‘At the end of the day (the person who bought the container) can be held accountable for it.’\n\nThe RCIPS has previously vowed to crack down on the spate of burglaries across the Cayman Islands with a number of measures including road blocks in burglary ‘hot-spots’ and increased focus on repeat offenders.\n\n‘Wherever we see a spike (in burglaries), we will increase the roadblocks,’ RCIPS Superintendent Marlon Bodden said earlier this month. ‘It’s going to be an operational decision based on certain areas.’\n\nMr. Bodden said some of the items stolen in recent break-ins, including TVs and certain larger types of electronics, can only be transported by vehicles to locations where they are to be sold. He said police are hoping some burglars can be nabbed in the act while transporting the goods.\n\nPolice have largely blamed the increase in break-ins and thefts seen since the beginning of this year on an economic downturn that has hit markets worldwide. Unemployment has increased in the Cayman Islands over the past year, and tourist numbers have been affected by the financial crunch in the United States particularly.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9914336204528809}
+{"content": "posted by .\n\nThis problem is stumping me, can anyone help me?\nThe Earth rotates every 24 hours (actually 23 hours, 56 minutes and 4 seconds) and has a diameter of 7926 miles. If you're standing on the equator, how fast are you traveling (how fast is the Earth spinning)? Compute this (a) using 24 hours and (b) then with 23 hours, 56 minutes, 4 seconds.\n\n  • Trig -\n\n    Circumf. = 7926pi miles\n\n    a) if time = 24hrs\n    rate = 7926pi/24 mph\n    = appr. 1037.5 mph\n\n    b) 23:56:04 = 23.9333444 hrs.\n    (23 + 56/60 + 4/3600)\n    rate = 7926pi/23.9333444 = 1040.4 mph\n\nRespond to this Question\n\nFirst Name\nSchool Subject\nYour Answer\n\nSimilar Questions\n\n  1. physics- please help me!\n\n    Earth turns on its axis approximately once every 24 hours. The radius of Earth is 6.38 X 10^6 m. a.) If some astronomical catastrophe suddenly brought Earth to a screeching halt (a physical impossibility as far as we know), with what …\n  2. math\n\n    the steps to a math quiz. the earth rotates once every 23 hours 36 minutes 4 many seconds is that?\n  3. trig\n\n    A space shuttle 200 miles above the earth is orbiting the. Earth once every 6 hours. how far does the shuttle travel in one hour?\n  4. earth\n\n    A satellite 200 miles above the earth is orbiting the earth once every 6 hours. How long, in hours, does it take the satellite to travel 8,400 miles?\n  5. math\n\n    use : .# x 6 = minutes I did try to do it but came up with numbers like 5.732360456. Plz help P.S. Trying to help my son but can't 0.5 ='s how many hours and minutes 2.5 ='s how many hours and minutes 2.3 ='s how many hours and minutes …\n\n  7. physics\n\n    The Earth has a radius of about 6.38 ´ 103 kilometers at the equator and rotates 360° every 24 hours. The angular displacement of a person standing at the equator for 8.0 hours is:\n  8. Math\n\n    The planet Neptune has a radius of 15000 miles and rotates one revolution every 18 hours. What is the linear speed of a point on its equator, in miles per hours?\n  9. math\n\n    write a unit rate for the situation. round to the nearest hundredth if necessary traveling 216 miles in 5 hours A( 54 miles/hours B( 39.27 miles/hours C( 43.2 miles/hours D( 0.4 miles/hours\n  10. Math (geometry)\n\n    Earth's diameter at the equator is about 7926 miles. A jet flies 550 miles per hour. How long would it take the jet to fly halfway around the equator?\n\nMore Similar Questions", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7013291716575623}
+{"content": "Dream Job\n\nAs you know I am currently the Director of Affairs for the International Dimple Relocation Program.\n\nBut someday when I am done raising my kids and I'm living in a cabin with my hilarious, brilliant husband, I want to be the editor of a science and nature site... that’s funny. Nothing like that exists right now. Gizmodo is great for tech, Scientific American has fascinating coverage of daily science news, New Scientist has weak headlines but covers some really conceptual and aspirational content that I like. Motherboard comes close and is hands down one of my favorite sites. But no one has fit all the best content together into an entertaining, clever voice for the people, and I’d love to do that some day.\n\nMy supergoal is to write a sci-fi fantasy book about botanical warfare, using my limited knowledge of various biomes to create a violent and beautiful, non-human world. It's not pretty in the jungle. Trees are always trying to choke each other out and there are countless entities whose existence relies predominately on infecting trees. The trees are the lions of the forest.\n\nOf course I’m saving all of this for when I’m retired, after I've raised my kids and have nothing to do but read botany books and brush up on how climates effect ecosystems down to the smallest species.\n\nI have no storyline yet, but there will be epic story arcs and relatable struggles so that it can ultimately be made into an animated children's movie. It should be fairly formulaic in terms of a basic good vs evil plot, while making room for the inevitable cruelty and randomness of nature. I don't know how the story will be told yet, but the only thing I know is that this dystopian planet will be saved by various non-human forces, and my underdogs are going to include a righteous army of Banana Slugs.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8576309680938721}
+{"content": "Though known as The Academy, its proper name is the Academy of Mystical Arts and Physiological Sciences.  This name does go to show that this advanced school is more than just a school of magic.  To the Kentuldun (the deans and professors of the school), magic is important but only one of the mystic arts along with alchemy, anatomy and mentalism.  Their students, the Kenmildi, are encouraged to enroll in classes from all different aspects of these subjects and other sciences, both magical and mundane.\n\nThe Academy is known for two major things:  First, it is considered to be the only school where necromancy is taught openly.  (Not fully true, but true to an extent.)  Secondly, it is considered the only school in the world where magic and mentalism are both taught and will be taught together.  Despite this, most of the stories about the Academy revolve around conjured creatures that got free and rampaged through the school or the city.\n\nThe Academy is located in Dalavar and is the finest school in that great city of learning.  Being in that region, they do have many students who have an interest in conjuring, especially in conjuring the most dangerous of creatures without the proper protections.  This seems to be a specialty of the Dethebs who live south of Dalavar.  Because of the reality and reputation of these incidents, the Academy discourages any style of experimentation within its walls.  Having originally been built as a fortress to keep rival mages out, the Academy has become the focal point of its greater neighborhood with many of these experimenting mages having taken refuge just outside the walls of the great school and conducting their experiments there.\n\nThe Academy is perhaps the best location for an education in illusionary magics or alchemy.  They refuse no one.  Any student need only have the ability to cover their fees and the masters of the Academy will teach them what they want to know.  Rivals consider this dangerous, but the Academy believes that any censorship is wrong and elitist.\n\nAd blocker interference detected!\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.764814019203186}
+{"content": "The Buzz\n\nThe U.S. Army's Ultimate Super Big Gun (Firing 5,000 Mile Per Hour 'Bullets') Is Almost Here\n\nThe Navy is accelerating developmental testing of its high-tech, long-range Electro-Magnetic Rail Gun Hyper Velocity Projectile -- such that it can fire from existing weapons platforms such as an Army Howitzer.\n\n\nOverall, the Pentagon is accelerating developmental testing of its high-tech, long-range Electro-Magnetic Rail Gun by expanding the platforms from which it might fire and potentially postponing an upcoming at-sea demonstration of the weapon, Pentagon and Navy officials told Scout Warrior.  \n\nWhile initially conceived of and developed for the Navy's emerging Rail Gun Weapon, the Pentagon and Army are now firing the Hyper Velocity Projectile from an Army Howitzer in order to potential harness near-term weapons ability, increase the scope, lethality and range ability to accelerate combat deployment of the lethal, high-speed round.\n\n\nFiring from an Army Howitzer, the rail gun hypervelocity projectile can fire the high-speed projectile at enemy targets to include buildings, force concentrations, weapons systems, drones, aircraft,vehicle bunkers and even incoming enemy missiles and artillery rounds. \n\n\"We can defend against an incoming salvo with a bullet. That is very much a focus getting ready for the future,\" Dr. William Roper, Director of the Pentagon's once-secret Strategic Capabilities Office, told Scout Warrior among a small group of reporters. \n\nPentagon weapons developers with the Strategic Capabilities Office, or SCO, are wokring to further accelerate development of both the gun launcher and the hypervelocity projectile it fires. While plans for the weapon’s development are still being deliberated, ongoing work is developing integration and firing of the projectile onto existing Navy’s deck-mounted 5-inch guns or Army M109 Paladin self-propelled howitzer (a mobile platform which fires 155mm artillery rounds).\n\nThe Strategic Capabilities Office, a high-level Pentagon effort, is aimed at exploring emerging technologies with a mind to how they can be integrated quickly into existing weapons systems and platforms. Part of the rationale is to harness promising systems, weapons and technologies able to arrive in combat sooner that would be the case should they go through the normal bureaucratic acquisition process. In almost every instance, the SCO partners with one of the services to blend new weapons with current systems for the near term, Roper explained. \n\nPart of the calculus is grounded in the notion of integrating discovery and prototyping, being able to adjust and fix in process without committing to an official requirement, Roper said.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9627580046653748}
+{"content": "Name: Nocturne\nRace: Unicorn\nCutie-Mark: Three crescent-shaped eighth notes\nTalents: Classical Guitar\nWeaknesses: Emotionally Unstable\nA young stallion with a dark-grey coat, only slightly taller than average stallion height, with hazel eyes and thin eyebrows, putting a relaxed demeanour in his appearance. His build is overall rather slim, with some subtle muscle definition, showing that he isn't the most physically active. His cutie mark is composed of three crescent eight-notes without alignment.\nPlayer: Nocturne\n\nNocturne is a quiet pony, only speaking when spoken to. He is barely heard of in Horseshoe Harbor because he spends most of his time home. What his few encounters in the town have revealed is that he has spent most of his time in solitude studying music and musical magic. Over the years, he developed exceptional precision and rhythm with his telekinesis, being able to hold object still, and handle very subtle movements and manipulations. He is also capable of amplifying and distorting the sounds of instruments.\n\nHis solitude and blunt manner of speaking leads some to believe that he is merely cynical, perhaps feeling abandoned by society. While he is able to get along in most social situations, his emotions are not to be tampered with. Under stress, he is prone to anxiety attacks and irrational thought.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9368217587471008}
+{"content": "Follow my blog with Bloglovin\n\nMonday, November 14, 2016\n\nLife, Explained on Why Work is Just Like High School\n\nI guess you could say I had an epiphany the other day.  For many years, I wondered why I was not an ideal fit for corporate life.  I used to be puzzled as to why other people would be rejoicing in the fact that they were celebrating 30 years at the same company.  For those of you who are reading this and taking offense to my statement, that is not my intention.  If you spent 30 years at the same company and truly enjoy your work, then kudos to you!  I think it is great you have found your purpose in life and are doing what you love. Embrace it because what you are experiencing is an elusive experience for some of us.\n\nMy epiphany occurred the other day while I was watching the 80’s classic film, “The Breakfast Club.” When I first saw this movie, it was in the theater and I was in my second year of college. Yes, I know, I just gave away my age. However, I was struck by how relevant the film is to my life in 2016.  As I watched Molly, Judd, Michael, Emilio, and Ally cavorting in the library I realized that most of my issues with working in office environments stemmed from not enjoying high school.\n\nCrazy, right?  Please allow me to plead my case. In the “Breakfast Club” you have five categories of people that all of us encountered while attending a secondary educational institution.  Molly Ringwald as Claire represented the super popular group, Judd Nelson as Bender represented the trouble maker crew while Anthony Michael Hall’s character Brian represented the geek contingent.  Rounding out the cast was Emilio Estevez as Andy, the fun-loving jock and Ally Sheedy as Allison, the artistic outcast.  \n\nAll of those groups are alive and well and thriving in the business world. They may not be as pronounced but they are there.  To be honest, I did not enjoy my time in high school.  I have not been to a reunion nor do I wax nostalgic about the “good old days.” I did not particularly enjoy being confined to classrooms from 8 am to 3 pm.  While I understand the need for schedules, I did not exactly relish having my day planned out for me. \n\nIn the 80’s we did not have home schooling.  We did not have the option to choose our curriculum.  If we were struggling in algebra, too bad, we could not drop the dreaded subject like college.  Nor could we opt out of attending a pep rally even if sports were not our thing. Does any of this sound familiar? Wait for it, wait for it….\n\nBingo! That was exactly how I felt in the various jobs I have held throughout my life. It was just like high school except the names, faces, and places had changed.  Every institution that I had worked for had the “Breakfast Club” groups.  The cheerleaders and student council members were replaced with the co-workers that were always involved in every activity at work.  These individuals were on various committees, they always won awards, and they always associated with the right people.   \n\nThe meeting derailers were the new Benders. These were the folks who always made sure that a 30-minute scheduled meeting turned into an hour with their questions on subjects that were already covered or by regaling people with their personal stories that have nothing to do with the topic at hand.\n\nThe geeks to me were not the IT professionals but the employees who were found on reporting teams.  These spreadsheet warriors made it their personal missions to blow up email with their enormous Excel reports filled with thousands of tabs and complex formulas designed to give statistics that only Einstein could fathom.  These groups were also the ones responsible for creating every PowerPoint presentation on earth with charts, graphs and other witchcraft that only succeeded in transforming those 30 minute meetings into hours so that people could decipher their Da Vinci codes.\n\nTeam managers were the new jocks who would use the aforementioned statistics like box scores in order to coach their respective employees.  Regardless of whether or not they believed in every organizational policy, they had to put their game faces on and make their subordinates rally to the cause.  \n\nIf I had to categorize myself, I guess I would have to say that in my working life, I fell in to the outcast group with Ally Sheedy.  Not really feeling like I belonged but just needing to get a paycheck.  Keeping my head down and doing what was necessary so that I did not get noticed. \n\nSo, what is my takeaway from my experience in the world of business? Be your own person, do not try to fit into a group or be made to feel as if you need to become someone you are not.  If you enjoy working in office settings and that is who you are, terrific!  I wish you nothing but success and happiness. For those of you who feel like you are stuck in that high school library on a Saturday morning, just remember you are not alone.  Believe in who you are and the talents that you have to offer. Give yourself permission to find your passion.  It is never too late.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5813857913017273}
+{"content": "jokerburningmoney tbiThe securitization of mortgage loans has come in for some heavy criticism since our financial crisis began. Unfortunately, most of this criticism is way too vague to be very useful. And since our regulators are bent on reviving the securitization market, we need a much better understanding of what went wrong.\n\nSo here it is: the top tranches of the mortgage bonds were too big.\n\nThere’s a compelling logic to the way subprime mortgages were securitized. Bundling thousands of mortgages into a common pool should produce a reliable stream of income because exposure to unlikely events on the downside and upside should be limited. Geographic diversity limits exposure to housing market bubbles. Dividing the bonds into tranches allows investors to choose their level of risk and yield.  Mixing mortgages with low prepayment risk and those with low default risk can further ameliorate interest rate risk. These innovations are good but only if they are done right.\n\nThe tranched nature of mortgage backed securities confuses a lot of people. How can some tranches have more risk than others? Importantly, the risk of default on the underlying mortgages is the same for entire pool.  But that’s not the risk a buyer of a MBS needs to worry about. Instead, a buyer worries about the risk to his income stream, which depends on tranching. The senior tranches only absorbed losses after the lower tranches. In effect, the senior tranches were built on the leverage of the lower tranches, who received higher yields in exchange for greater risk.\n\n\nTo understand how the width of the senior tranche creates risk it helps to start with a very simple mental experiment. Imagine a situation where 90 percent of mortgages in a pool default. Now if there were a super-senior tranche consisting of only 10 percent of the total investment in the pool, that money would be safe. But as the senior tranche grows, its exposure to losses increases.\n\nHistorical data about mortgage defaults and prepayment risk from before 2002 seemed to justify wide senior tranches. Unfortunately, mortgage lending after 2002 had deviated from historical norms, which turned out to make historical data misleading. This meant that the senior tranches were too broad, they included a greater percentage of investments in the overall mortgage pool than turned out to be justified by the risk.\n\nIn short, it wasn’t the complexity of MBSs or CDOs that led to their meltdown. It was the fact that demand for safety of senior tranches was so strong—and historical data from before 2002 misleading—that the pools were widened beyond warrant.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6147868037223816}
+{"content": "Steel is critical, as there is no other material with same unique combination of strength, formability (malleability and ductility) and versatility. Steel plays critical role in virtually every phase of our lives. The rails, roads, vehicles that make up our transportation chain use steel. High strength steel provides strong framework and connections in the building constructions. They are used to deliver food and water supply and also industrial product deliveries. It is a basic component that generates and transmits energy.\n\nBrowse Market Research Report @\n\nHigh strength steel is primarily used for structural applications (structural steels) as well as in automobile industry. It is difficult to attain complex shapes, a requirement in these industries, using mild steel. Thus, high strength steel is used for complex shapes that are met along with durable and robust design parameters. It can be developed even with or without addition of microalloying elements such as Va, Ni, Co, Mb, and Ti.\n\nMarket Dynamics and Trends\n\nHigh strength steel and its alloys are expected inevitably to gain demand in the future and their markets to increase exponentially. Steel is the only commercial product in usable metals which meets higher environmental standards. High strength steel can be endlessly recycled without loss in its strength, durability, or any of its other distinctive properties. Today and in the future, high strength steel is expected to succeed in meeting challenges of climate change, population growth, water distribution, product carriages and energy by reducing carbon footprint.\n\nMajor drivers of high strength steel are its significant high rate of consumption in automotive and construction industries, meeting stringent environmental standards. However, it has its limitation with its restraining factors such as its high cost of production, low safety factor in its preparation, and high technological constraints.\n\nNew generation high strength steel is likely to provide necessary requirements and trend of the future demands of implementing durable and light weight designs plus the volumes.\n\nGet accurate market forecast and analysis on the High Strength Steel Market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market @\n\nMarket Segmentation\n\nCOR-TEN weathering steels, with its high corrosion resistance, are used extensively in automobile, construction, and heavy equipment manufacturing industries.\n\nIt is used in heavy construction especially structures and bridges based on its high rolling and continuous product line. It has low carbon content, formability and easily hardened steels used in transportation and automotive industry to a high extent. It is an intrinsic part used in manufacturing alloy steel such as niobium, vanadium, and titanium used in power generation and nuclear reactors.\n\nThe high strength steel market can be divided into sectors such as building and infrastructure, automobile industry, transportation industry, energy, food and water, and tools and machineries. It can be further classified into electro-galvanized steel, hot-dip galvanized steel, and hot-dip galv-annealed steel.\n\nBased on manufacturing Process the application lies preparation of High end Automobile body structures, reinforcement and brackets where high strength is required for optimum part performance,\n\nRegion-wise Outlook\n\nAsia-Pacific is the market leader in terms of high strength steel consumption and production, followed by Europe. Majority of the Asia Pacific regions are developing and there is a high requirement of high strength steel. Developed countries such as the U.S. in North America and other parts in Europe are rather saturated markets for high strength steel\n\nKey Players\n\nKey players globally operating in the market are Arcelor-Mittal, China Steel Corporation, Hyundai Steel Company, Tata Steel, and Gerdau S. A.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9472461342811584}
+{"content": "Outside links is an Everything term used to denote links to web sites outside of Everything. Outside links are not allowed because it would cause a degeneration in content. Most people find this a Good Thing(tm). However, people interested in shameless self promotion would rather have the ability to create outside links.\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9983101487159729}
+{"content": "Author Archives: lindsay331\n\nHW for tomorrow!\n\nHere’s the article to read for tomorrow.\n\n\nGet out the SPF100 because the Sun is Growing\n\n\nThoughts on Balto\n\n\n\n\nI am really interested in our class discussion from Monday about predator and prey ideals. I found two animals that relate to those categories. The first animal is the hammerhead shark. For years scientists were baffled by their odd shaped head and what benefits it had towards the species. Only recently did scientists link hammerhead shark’s unique head shape to humans vision. This shape gives them great stereo vision and depth perception like humans. This vision definitely helps when hunting for prey like the squid. They have good all around vision which can give them a larger panoramic view than most sharks. This was one of the qualities that was discussed in class that predators need to have good vision so that they can better attack their prey. This is also a good quality for prey, but a predator is allowed to have this large awkward shape whereas a prey would be better off with a smaller body.\nHammerhead Shark\n\nThe other animal is the Great Egret. This may look like a sweet peaceful bird; however, it just lures in its prey and patiently sits and waits for the prey to come close enough so it can easily devour the prey. The “deathblow” consists of the bird snapping its sharp beak and the prey being swallowed whole. It is a viscous killer. This bird has many beneficial qualities to a predator. For one, the bird is very patient and knows how to approach the attack. The walk slowly in the water until they see the perfect opportunity and then the bird strikes in one clean swoop. The predator also has a peaceful and calm appearance which does not immediately scare off prey because this bird can be mistaken. Its method of attack is flawless and a definite benefit for the bird. Because of its sharp long beak it is able to eat its prey in one bite.\nGreat Egret\n\nThese predators have ideal characteristics for their environment and the prey they are hunting.\n\n\nIn this article I found from National Geographic, it talks about early humans and how we had a much different lifestyle then. Some evidence supports the theory that humans were peaceful before they evolved and were not savage killers. Humans want to believe that we have always had that natural warlike quality, but instead before humans had a significant brain, we were peaceful and we helped others rather than killed them. These qualities made early humans prey not predator. Humans believe that we are on the top of the food chain and are the most fierce predators and that we can conquer anything. You can imagine everyone’s shock when they found out humans used to be prey for a long time.\n\nIt seems that as prey humans developed any helpful qualities. One main quality is that humans learned how to protect their young, which created the father role of watching out for their family that is still present in modern day society. But were we better off as prey or as predators? Whether we like it or not we have evolved with a brain that has advanced us in society and made us too complex to be prey.\n\nAs early humans we were known for our cooperation and that is what helped us survive and get to where we are today. But it seems that now human have forgotten about what qualities have generated success in the past and now it is all about competition. I fear that humans have strayed too far away from the natural path. We are the only species that lives the lifestyle we do, so is it necessary? We survived just fine as prey, do we really need to be predators? What benefits have we gotten from it? And I am not trying to bash human society because I think all of our advancements are really cool, but do we need it?\n\nChina’s Three Gorges Dam\n\nIn my Asian Studies class we are talking about China’s “Three Gorges Dam” which was completed and started operation only a few years ago. This brings me back to what we talked about in the beginning of the year with conquering nature. I don’t want to spark a huge debate again on what exactly conquering nature is, so I am just going to say that I don’t think building this dam is “conquering nature,” but is it destroying it?\n\nThere is plenty of controversy over the building of the dam with many arguments for the pro side and many for the con as well. On the pro side the dam creates an alternative energy source to create electricity. This is very beneficial to the environment because it will reduce the amount of harmful greenhouse gases that China produces. Up to 10% of electricity can be generated by this dam, which is very significant for China and its environment. It also can help create healthy drinking water for the people nearby.\n\nHowever, the dam also has harmful side effects on the environment in China. It is endangering animals such as a the baiji river dolphin by destroying their environment. The dam also disrupts the natural flow of the river and can have potential side effects on the land itself. The article talks about the possibility of the dam causing earthquakes and separating the land.\n\nThere comes a point when you have to decide if the cons outweigh the pros. And for this river dam I have heard many more complaints about the negative effects on the environment and how the dam was not a good idea. But for China it was a bold move because it shows their power and industrialism. So behind every issue, whether it be related to nature or not, it can always be linked to human power and their desire for competition. As humans we are always in competition to try and create the next best thing, but we often don’t see the negative side effects.\n\n“Animal-Human Hybrids Spark Controversy”\n\nI want to go back to that article that Deborah brought into class about hybrids and how scientists are trying to create their own. The scientists are creating chimeras with human and animal cells. Is this ethical? Do we really want mice with human brains? I have a feeling this is just the beginning to what might escalade into a breeding of new types of animals. I don’t think scientists should be able to make these new species — it is unethical. The use of animal organs to help a dying human can be accepted because it is not changing how the human acts. But once these chimeras are creating a new line of species I believe a line must be drawn. It is unethical to create these new species and it is not natural.\n\nBy creating chimeras using humans parts, we are using our human knowledge to assert our dominance. We are slowing destroying the natural world if we create new animals unnaturally. And what would we do with the animals? Where would they live? Are they our new pets? This is unsafe because we don’t know how these animals will react in society and we could be creating potentially harmful species. Scientists are messing with the natural process of life, and I think it is unethical to create species that go against nature.\n\nI personally don’t see the benefit of creating these species that are potentially harmful to the environment. I will admit that it is cool what science has come too and to create a half human/half mouse is an interesting idea, but they serve no purpose other than another outlet for humans to assert their dominance and show how much more intelligent we are than other species. Are we just so stuck up that we now think that other animals would be better off if they had for instance a human brain? And if we as humans are supposedly the best, why would we want to be mixed with animals? I am worried for the next stage of this experiment and what the next species they create will be.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9806442260742188}
+{"content": "Every day, all over the world, animals and insects set about the purposeful tasks of designing their homes, catching their prey, and attracting their mates. In the process they create gorgeous nests, shelters, and habitats. Capturing 120 of these wonders in all their beauty and complexity, Animal Architecture presents a visually arresting tribute to the intersection of nature, science, function, and design. Ingo Arndt's stunning studio photographs and vibrant in-situ shots of nests, forests, and wetlands provide close-up ...\n\nAnimal Architecture 2014, ABRAMS, New York\n\nISBN-13: 9781419711657", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.997488796710968}
+{"content": "George Lucas Educational Foundation\n\nAlina Moran\n\nTeaching is my passion. Working toward successful transfer and witnessing its occurrence delights me. For over two decades I've had the privileged opportunity to impact the socio-academic development of many amazing students. I've thrived by provoking the desire to learn and uncover new knowledge among diverse student populations, never allowing them to forget the importance of humility and empathy along their academic paths. This has required much research and the creation of meaningful lessons that proactively engage students in the exciting learning process. My daughter, my students, and their insatiable determination to become compassionate lifelong learners continue to be the winds beneath my academic wings.\n\nAreas of Interest: \ngardening & travel\n\nUser Activity", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9970372915267944}
+{"content": "The 7 Merlions of Singapore\n\nDid you know there are 7 Merlion statues in Singapore, however only 5 are recognised by the Singapore Tourism Board? The history of the merlion goes back in Singapore’s ancient times, where Singapore was known as Temasek. A Javanese prince discovered a mystical beast which he later learnt was a lion. Then he named this island ‘Singapura’ in Sanskrit which means Lion City. The fish tail of the Merlion represents Singapore’s earliest beginnings as a fishing village.\n\nMerlion Park \nThere are two located at Merlion Park, adjacent to One Fullerton. Designed in 1964, standing at 8.6 metres and weighing 70 tonnes the larger Merlion Statue was originally located at the mouth of the Singapore River. It then settled into its new home here at Merlion Park overlooking scenic Marina Bay. The Singapore Merlion is made of cement fondue, its skin from porcelain plates and eyes from small red teacups.\n\nThe smaller statue is 2m tall, weighs 3 tonnes, and is commonly referred to as the “Merlion cub”. It is also inlaid with Chinese porcelain plates and bowls as part of its design.\n\n\nAng Mo Kio\nA pair of 2.5m tall pink granite Merlion statues were built in 1998 by the Ang Mo Kio Residential Commitee and stands proudly along Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1, at the carpark entrance for Ang Mo Kio Blk 216-222, just next to Bishan Park. This costed $30,000 and rumour has it that the Merlions were almost removed as they are not authorised by the Singapore Tourism Board, who owns the copyright of the Merlion.\n\nSingapore Tourism Board HQ\nA 3-metre tall Merlion statue is located outside STB’s office at Tourism Court. It is made in the Philippines from glazed polymarble, a type of plastic resin.\n\nMount Faber\nA similar statue as above can be found on Faber Point at Mount Faber. It is owned by the National Parks Board and was installed in 1998, following the redevelopment of the park.\n\nSentosa Island\nThe Sentosa Merlion was sculpted to look like a King of the Beasts rather than a cat, and is the tallest Merlion of the lot standing at 37 metres. It’s also the only Merlion you can walk into. The cement tower is externally reinforced with a thin shell of concrete fitted with 16,000 lights that trace the outline of the statue at night.\n\n[google-map-v3 shortcodeid=”5aa5572d” style=”width: 100%;” height=”350″ zoom=”12″ maptype=”roadmap” mapalign=”center” directionhint=”false” language=”default” poweredby=”false” maptypecontrol=”true” pancontrol=”true” zoomcontrol=”true” scalecontrol=”true” streetviewcontrol=”true” scrollwheelcontrol=”false” draggable=”true” tiltfourtyfive=”false” enablegeolocationmarker=”false” enablemarkerclustering=”false” addmarkermashup=”false” addmarkermashupbubble=”false” addmarkerlist=”Singapore 049178{}communitycentre.png|mount faber, singapore{}communitycentre.png|sentosa merlion, singapore{}communitycentre.png|Ang Mo Kio Block 216, Singapore{}communitycentre.png|Singapore 247729{}communitycentre.png” bubbleautopan=”true” distanceunits=”miles” showbike=”false” showtraffic=”false” showpanoramio=”false”]", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7878808379173279}
+{"content": "Law Supply, Inc.\nWeb Page - Pump Basics\n\nPump Basics\nHow A Centrifugal Pump Works\nA centrifugal pump is of very simple design.  The only moving part is an impeller attached to a shaft that is driven by the motor.\n\nThe two main parts of the pump are the impeller and diffuser.  The impeller can be made of bronze, stainless steel, cast-iron, polycarbonate, and a variety of other materials.  A diffuser or volute houses the impeller and captures the water of the impeller.\n\nWater enters the eye of the impeller and is thrown out by centrifugal force.  As water leaves the eye of the impeller a low pressure area is created causing more liquid to flow toward the inlet because of atmospheric pressure and centrifugal force.  Velocity is developed as the liquid flows through the impeller while it is running at high speeds on the shaft.  The liquid velocity is collected by the diffuser or volute and converted to pressure by special designed passageways that direct the flow to discharge into the piping system; or, on to another impeller stage for further increasing to pressure.\n\nThe head or pressure that a pump will develop is in direct relation to the impeller diameter, the number of impellers, the eye or inlet opening size, and how much velocity is developed from the speed of the shaft rotation.  Capacity is determined by the exit width of the impeller.  All of these factors affect the horsepower size of the motor to be used; the more water to be pumped or pressure to be developed, the more energy is needed.\n\nA centrifugal pump is not positive acting.  As the depth to water increases, it pumps less and less water.  Also, when it pumps against increasing pressure it pumps less water.  For these reasons it is important to select a centrifugal pump that is designed to do a particular pumping job.  For higher pressures or greater lifts, two or more impellers are commonly used; or, a jet injector is added to assist the impeller in raising the pressure.\n\nWhat Pump Do I Need?\nthe two most popular types used for private well systems or low flow irrigationapplications are jet pumps and submersible pumps.\n\nJet Pumps are mounted above ground for the end with the water out of the ground through a suction pipe.  Jets are popular in areas with high water tables and warmer climates.  There are two categories of jet pumps and pump selection varies depending on water level.  Shallow well installations go down to the well depth of about 25 feet.  Deep wells are down 150 feet to water, where surface pumps are involved.\n\nThe jet pump is a centrifugal pump with one or more impeller and diffuser with the addition of a jet injector.  A JET INJECTOR consists of a matching nozzle and venturi.  The nozzle receives water at high-pressure.  As the water passes through the jet, water speed (velocity) is greatly increased, but the pressure drops.  This action is the same as the squirting action you get with a garden hose as when you start to close the nozzle.  The greatly increased waters speed plus the lower pressure around the nozzle tip, is what causes suction to develop around the jet nozzle.  Water around a jet nozzle is drawn into the water stream and carried along with it.\n\nFor a jet nozzle to be effective it must be combined with a venturi.  The venturi changes the high-speed jet strained back into a high-pressure for delivery to the centrifugal pump.  The jet and venturi are simple in appearance but they have to be well engineered and carefully matched to be efficient for various pumping conditions.  The jet nozzle and venturi are also known as ejectors/ejector kits.\n\nOn a shallow-well jet pump the injector kit (jet nozzle and venturi) is located in the pump housing in front of impeller.\n\nHow a jet provides pumping action\nWater is supplied to the Jet ejector under pressure.  Water surrounding the jet stream is lifted and carried up the pipe as a result of the jet action.\nWhen a jet is used with a centrifugal pump a portion of the water delivered by the pump is returned to the jet ejector to operate it.  The jet lifts water from the well to a level where the centrifugal pump can finish lifting it by suction.\nA portion of the suction water is recirculated through the injector with the rest going to the pressure tank.  With the injector located on the suction pipe of the pump, the suction is increased considerably.  This enables a centrical pump to increase its effective suction lift from about 20 feet to as much as 28 feet.  But, the amount of water delivered to the storage tank becomes less as the distance from the pump to the water increases...   more water has to be recirculated to operate the injector.\n\nThe difference between a deep-well jet pump and a shallow-well jet pump is the location of the injector.  The deep-well injector is located in the well below the water level.  The deep-well injector works in the same way as the shallow-well ejector.  Water is supplied to it under pressure from the pump.  The ejector then returns the water plus an additional supply from the well, to a level where the centrifugal pump can lift it the rest of the way by suction.\n\nA convertible jet pump allows for shallow-well operation with the ejector mounted on the end of the pump body.  This time of pump can be converted to a deep-well jet pump by installing the injector below the water level.  This is of particular value when you have a water level that is gradually lowering.  This will probably require a change of venturi to work efficiently.\nBecause jet pumps are centrifugal pumps, the air handling characteristics are such that the pump should be started with the pump and piping connections to the water supply completely filled with water.\n\nWith a shallow-well jet pump, the ejector is mounted close to the pump impeller.  With a deep well jet pump, the ejector is usually mounted just above the water level in the well, or else submerged below water level.\n\nCentrifugal pumps, both the shallow-well and deep-well types have little or no ability to pump air.  When starting, the pump and suction lines need to have all of the air removed.  An air leak in the suction line will cause the pump to quit pumping ... or sometimes referred to as \"losing its prime\".\n\nThe submergible pump is a centrifugal pump.  Because all stages of the pump end (wet end) and the motor are joined and submerged in the water, it has a greater advantage of the over other centrifugal pumps.  There is no need to recirculate or generate drive water as with jet pumps, therefore, most of its energy goes toward \"pushing\" the water rather than fighting gravity and atmospheric pressure to draw water.\n\nVirtually all submergibles are \"multi-stage\" pumps.  All of the other impellers of the multi-stage submergible pump are mounted on a single shaft, and all rotate at the same speed.  Each impeller passes the water to the eye of the next impeller through a diffuser.  The diffuser is shaped to slow down the flow of water and convert velocity to pressure.  Each impeller and matching diffuser is called a stage.  As many stages are used as necessary to push the water out of the well at the required system pressure and capacity.  Each time water is pumped from one impeller to the next, its pressure he is increased.\n\nThe pump and motor assembly are lowered into the well by connecting pipe to a position below the water level.  In this way the pump is always filled with water (primed) and ready to pump.  Because the motor and the pump are underwater they operate more quietly than above ground installations; and, pump freezing is not concern.\n\nWe can stack as many impellers as we need; however, we are limited to the horsepower of the motor.  We can have numerous pumps that have 1/2 HP ratings - pumps that are capable of pumping different flows at different pumping levels; they will, however, always be limited to 1/2 HP.  Another way to look at it is that a pump will always operate somewhere along its design curve.\n\nTo get more flow, the exit width of the impeller is increased and there will then be less pressure (or head) that the pump will develop because there will be less impellers on a given HP size pump.  Remember, the pump will always trade-off one for the other depending on the demand of the system.  If the system demands more than a particular pump can produce, it will be necessary to go up in horsepower; thereby, allowing us to stack more impellers or go to different design pump with wider impellers.\n\nIntroduction To Pump Curves\nA curve simply stated is normal a curved line drawn over a grid of vertical and horizontal lines.  The curved line represents the performance of a given pump.  The vertical and horizontal grid lines represent units of measure to measure that performance.\n\nLet's think of a well all of water.  We want to use the water in our home.  The home is at a higher level than the water in the well.  Since gravity won't allow water to flow uphill, we used a pump.  A pump is a machine used to move a volume of water a given distance.  This volume is measured over a period of time expressed in gallons per minute (GPM) or gallons per hour (GPH).\n\nThe pump develops energy called discharge pressure or total dynamic head.  This discharge pressure is expressed in units of measure called pounds per square inch (psi) or feet of head (ft).\n\nNOTE: 1 P.S. I will push a column of water up a pipe a distance of 2.31'.  When measuring a pumps performances, we can use a curved to determine which pump is best to meet our requirements.\n\nAbove is shown a grid with the unit of measure in feet on the left-hand side.  We start with 0 at the bottom.  The numbers printed as you go up the vertical axis relate to the ability of the pump to produce pressure expressed in feet.  Always determine the value of each grid line.  Sometimes the measure will say feet head, which is what most engineers call it.\nWith the pump running a reading was taken from the gauge in PSI and converted to feet ( 1 psi - 2.31 feet ).\n\nWe show another unit of measure in gallons per minute across the bottom.  You start with 0 on the left.  The numbers printed as you go to the right relate to the ability of the pump to produce flow of water expressed as capacity -- in gallons per minute [GPM].  Again, always determined the value of each grid line.\n\nTo establish a pump curve we run the pump using a gauge, valve and flowmeter on the discharge pipe.  We first run the pump with the valve closed and read the gauge.  This gives us the pump's capacity at 0 capacity and maximum heading in feet.\n\nWe marked the grid point 1.  Next we opened the valve to 8 GPM flow, for example, and read the gauge.\n\nWe again marked this point on the grid 2.  We continue this process until we have marked all the points on the grid.\n\nWe now connect all the points.  This curved line is called a head/capacity curve.  Head (H) is expressed in feet and capacity (C) is expressed in gallons per minute (GPM).  The pump will always run somewhere on the curve.\nWhen the TDH is known, read vertically up the left-hand side of the curve to that requirements, for example, 300 feet.  Then read horizontally to a point on a curve that connects to the capacity needed, for example 26 GPM.  It is then determined that a 3 HP 19 stage pump is needed.\n\nthere are many different type curves shown in our catalog.  Here is a composite performance curve (more than one pump) for the submergible.  There is a separate curve for each horsepower size.  Let's compare 2 sizes:\n\n1. First look at the 1 HP, 8 stages (impellers and diffusers).  At 20 GPM capacity this model will make 160 feet.\n2. Now look at the 5 HP, 28 stages.  At 20 GPM capacity this model will make 500 feet.\n\nWhen you add impellers, the pump makes more pressure (expressed in feet).  This allows the pump to go deeper in the well, but also takes a more horsepower.\n\nProvided by A.Y. McDonald Mfg. Co.\nLast updated 06/24/2002\nNot responsible for typographical errors.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7144136428833008}
+{"content": "impossible to describe\n\nSee: ineffable\nMentioned in ?\nReferences in classic literature ?\nShe moved towards him with her hands extended, and had just seized him when the catch of the locked box--due to some movement from within-- flew open, and the king-cobra-killer flew at her with a venomous fury impossible to describe.\nI FIND it impossible to describe my sensations while the carriage was taking me to Major Fitz-David's house.\nHer simple artless behaviour, and modest kindness of demeanour, won all their unsophisticated hearts; all which simplicity and sweetness are quite impossible to describe in print.\nThat I love so much, and never can help thinking of,' and it is impossible to describe the use he made of his eyes when he said this--'do--for my sake, do.\nAfterwards, when he tried to do so, Aynesworth found it impossible to describe the expression which flitted across her face.\nFrom the time when she had accidentally looked toward the red-brick house, something in her manner which it is quite impossible to describe, had suggested to my mind that this obstacle was not only something she could not mention, but something that she was partly ashamed of, partly afraid of, and partly doubtful about.\nThat night a thoroughly happy, completely tired-out Anne returned to Green Gables in a state of beatification impossible to describe.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8898561596870422}
+{"content": "Director General Administration Message -->\n\n\nSatish Kumar Srivastava\n\nDircetor (General & Administration SCERT Barabanki)\n\nSatish Kumar Sriastava , is a Chairman's Nominee at Barabaki Campus .He is an experience of about 30 years, he has already created a niche for hisself not only amongst students but also in the educational group. Recognized as a people's person, her cosmopolitan outlook has always given her an edge over others. He is held in high esteem and is considered a dynamic and vibrant leader. Her personality embodies a deeply inculcated, value -based and hands- on approach. He is truly, a mentor. Continually imparting relevant training and motivational sessions to deserving candidates He leads by example. He is a doer to the core. The face of the group's future, she lends immense value to the core brand by bringing to her tasks, a distinctive functional style.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9191738367080688}
+{"content": "\n\n\n\n\nHow it works: Perform the 4-move warm-up, and then immediately move into the main circuit. Do each exercise as fast as possible for 1 minute, without resting between moves. After you finish the whole circuit, rest for 1 minute, and then repeat the main circuit (no warm-up) 2 more times, 3 if you have the time and energy. Finish off your fat-blasting session with the yoga cool-down.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8367966413497925}
+{"content": "Dear EU visitors, this website uses cookies. If you're not okay with that please leave this website. What are cookies?\n\nThe Flag of IMRO, 1920\n\nThe Flag of IMRO in 1920\n\nIMARO (VMORO) - The Internal Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Organization was a revolutionary liberation movement in Ottoman Turkey, that operated in Macedonia and Odrin (Adrianople) Thrace. The organization was founded by Hristo Tatarchev, Dame Gruev, Petar Pop-Arsov, Andon Dimitrov, Hristo Batandzhiev and Ivan Hadzhinikolov in 1893 in Salonica (Solun, Thessaloniki).\n\nUnder Todor Aleksandrov, in 1919 (1920), the Internal Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Organization - IMARO was revived under the name Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization - IMRO (VMRO).\n\nHristo Tatarchev, Dame Gruev, Ivan Hadjinikolov,\nAndon Dimitrov, Petar Pop-Arsov, and Hristo Batandjiev\n\nThe cheta of Todor Aleksandrov, IMRO (VMRO)", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9910488724708557}
+{"content": "Preparing for a Successful 20kPSI BOP Campaign\n\nAs the industry moves closer to the deployment date for the first blow-out preventers (BOPs) rated to withstand pressures of twenty thousand pounds per square inch (20kPSI), there is a notion that these new BOPs are “the same thing, just bigger”.  While technically correct, this vastly underestimates the true impact of this new technology on the entire drilling system. Ensuring successful drilling campaigns with 20kPSI well control systems requires a new approach to specification, acquisition, operation and maintenance procedures.\n\nA higher pressure rating requires thicker bodies and bigger rams, which lead to an increase in weight.  OEMs may need to implement changes to material characteristics and design parameters to mitigate the weight increase, but the increase in size also impacts the BOP Control System in terms of control fluid pressure, flow rate, and volumetric capacity.  Additional sensors and software will be required to monitor and control the more complex system.\n\nThe design impact extends to other equipment on the rig that interfaces with the BOP, including the Riser System, Choke Manifold, Tensioners, Riser Handling, BOP Handling, pressure testing equipment, and contingency systems such as Capping Stacks. The 20kPSI BOP is now an integrated system of equipment, controls and supporting infrastructure. Ensuring this new system meets the safety and performance requirements of the drilling campaign requires a new approach to the processes that define the way equipment is operated and maintained, as well as the competencies and skills of individuals in charge of the equipment.\n\nThe BOP is essentially a “last layer of protection” safety system. Safety is a function of quality, and systems quality is provided through effective systems engineering. Therefore, the new paradigm must be rooted in well-established systems engineering principles. This means the industry must recast the traditional BOP lifecycle from an equipment acquisition focus to an integrated systems engineering focus.\n\nSystems Engineering is a comprehensive “people, plant and process” approach that aims to maximize the three fundamental quality attributes of reliability, availability, and maintainability (RAM) from a system rather than component level.  Based on the American Petroleum Institute Standard 689 (International Standards Organization document 14224:2006) Collection and Exchange of Reliability and Maintenance Data for Equipment:\n\n  • Reliability, sometimes referred to as “dependability”, measures the ability of a system to perform its intended function, within stated conditions, for a specified period of time. This is often seen stated as a probability, “the system is 99.9% reliable” or as Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF).\n  • Availability, sometimes referred to as “uptime”, measures the ability of a system to be in a condition to perform its intended function at the instant in time when it is required. This is often seen stated as a percent uptime (inverse of non-productive time, or NPT).\n  • Maintainability, sometimes referred to as “serviceability”, measures the ability of a system to be retained in, or restored to, a condition where it can perform its intended function. This is often seen stated as a Mean Time to Repair (MTTR).\n\nWhile the lifecycle of a 20kPSI BOP may appear similar to existing BOP designs, there is one critical difference:  there is no operational history from which to derive lessons learned and best practices.   Reactive compliance based on proven-in-use experience is no longer sufficient to ensure operations meet performance and safety requirements.  Therefore, it is imperative that the industry proactively establishes a systems-based framework that can articulate the impact of new technology, evaluate the inherent risks, and develop effective design, test, maintenance, and operation protocols.\n\nThere are several points on a systems engineering based lifecycle where we can positively impact the RAM of the 20kPSI BOP system. To illustrate this, consider an example scenario.\n\nDuring a systems engineering based factory acceptance test (FAT), the behavior of the ram locking mechanism is not consistent as the supply pressure is increased. At certain pressures, the ram fails to lock. A review of the design indicates that the problem is not unique to the unit under test, and that the problem could potentially exist in units already deployed to the field.\n\nThis scenario demonstrates how a systems engineering based approach can have a significant positive impact on system RAM. The fact that this particular defect was missed in prior development testing and FATs is a result of test plans that do not take a systems approach. In the example above, a requirement for the system to lock at all valid pressures was not adequately validated in the design, nor was it fully tested before the release of the mechanism to the field. A FAT which is based on systems engineering principles establishes direct traceable ties from requirement to test and ensures every requirement is validated in design and verified in test.\n\nThe example scenario highlights another key element of the systems engineering approach, which is early and effective stakeholder involvement. A systems-based series of failure modes analysis, requirements verification and design validation milestones involving all stakeholders would have identified and eliminated the ambiguous locking pressure requirement well before delivery.  Early stakeholder involvement in systems-based verification and validation milestones is the single most effective way to ensure RAM requirements will be met.\n\nOnce testing is complete and the equipment leaves the manufacturing facility, the ability to modify the system is limited.  The FAT is essentially the last opportunity to identify issues in the design and increase the system reliability prior to delivery.  Afterwards, the lifecycle switches focus from reliability to maintainability.  The various levels of testing during the Integration stage of the lifecycle (i.e., Pre-Commissioning, Commissioning, System Integrated Test, and Acceptance) determine the inherited quality level of the design.  It is also during this stage that Preventive Maintenance Inspection Test Programs (PMITP), Critical Spare Inventory Management (CSIM), Management of Change (MOC), Training and Competency Requirements, and other rig-specific processes are defined.\n\nThe collective operational framework for the rig is what defines the maintainability of the system. Competent resources, sufficient spares for the entire well control system and the necessary support infrastructure to move, position and access the BOP Stack lead to minimum MTTR and high maintainability. Operational frameworks that do not consider the entire system including the maintainability of the extensive support infrastructure can render and otherwise functional BOP inoperable for long periods of time.\n\nIt should be no surprise now that we can have a positive impact on the availability of the system during the Operation Stage of the lifecycle.  By this point we should already know the inherited reliability of the system and the specific processes we need to follow to ensure the system is available.  It is during this stage that we also need to measure the system uptime and how long it takes to repair it when it fails.  However, even if we track these metrics, implement the most comprehensive PMITP programs and contingency protocols, and keep our spare parts inventory stocked, we are limited to impacting only the availability and maintainability of the system; the reliability has not changed because the design has not changed.\n\nThe aforementioned lack of operational history makes communicating new lessons learned and operational metrics to the OEM critical for the continuous improvement of 20kPSI BOP well control systems. It is the operational feedback that drives improvements in reliability of future designs.  Stronger relationships with the OEM, especially during the operational phase, will be essential for the identification of recurring issues, development of engineering bulletins and product notifications, and help with troubleshooting and remediation strategies.\n\nIn summary, a more rigorous systems engineering approach to the specification, acquisition, operation and maintenance of 20kPSI BOP well control systems can ensure safe and successful drilling campaigns despite the current lack of operational history from which to derive lessons learned and best practices. This new approach requires a higher level of cooperation and communication between the OEM and the end user throughout the entire system lifecycle to ensure end user requirements for system safety, quality and performance are verified through appropriate testing, and maintained through improved systems operational frameworks. A Systems Engineering approach to the specification, acquisition, operation and maintenance of 20kPSI BOP well control systems can positively impact the safety and integrity of any drilling campaign.\n\nFor more information, please email or call us directly at 281-921-8989 or toll free 877-499-8393.\n\nCopyright 2015 Athens Group. All Rights Reserved.\n\nSubscribe to our Newsletter\n\nSubscribe to our Newsletter\n\n* indicates required", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9599034786224365}
+{"content": "Benefits of Drinking Yerba Tea\n\n\nThe majority of us start the day by taking a hot cup of tea if not we tend to get through the day with a cup of tea. In some parts of the world, people wake up with a drink majority of us may not be familiar with-yerba tea. You can get more information at Yerba tea was traditionally brewed in South America, and it is believed to offer the health benefit of tea, the strength of coffee and the euphoria of chocolate all in one beverage.\n\nBenefits of Yerba\n\nThis tea is a central nervous system stimulant that contains caffeine and some nutrients containing antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, amino acids and polyphenols. This tea is safe and effective, and it has the following benefits.\n\nIt Aids in Digestionjm53te6dy723ue89i28u7\n\nYerba tea was largely used by the South American people to treat digestive ailments. When you drink this tea, it stimulates the production of bile and other gastric acids. It cleans the colon for effective waste elimination besides helping in the reduction of stomach bacteria responsible for bad breath.\n\nIt is Rich in Antioxidants\n\nYerba tea has rich in antioxidants. It has more than 90% antioxidants than green tea. This makes this tea have a significant immune boosting property. It helps slow the aging signs, detoxify the blood and prevent the body from several types of cancer. It also helps in reducing stress and insomnia.\n\nEnhances one’s Ability to Focus\n\nAccording to yerba tea proponents, the minerals, antioxidants, vitamins, polyphenols and amino acids found in this tea have a balancing effect on the caffeine it contains. People who have drunk this tea say they had increased mental strength, clarity and focus. They also advocate for it not to have side effects associated with when one drinks caffeinated beverages.\n\nHelps in Weight Control\n\nTraditionally, the South American natives drank this tea as part of their lifestyle which includes exercises and healthy diet. Yerba tea has some of the best stimulant qualities which will help you feel full as soon as you begin eating. It jmk37eyd62t6td72u9ied92also slows down the digestion process. Hence, you will stay full longer. If you combine the three (yerba tea, a balanced diet and regular exercises) will boost your metabolism, and you will burn more calories. You will eat less and curb on your diet slowly.\n\nSupports Cardiovascular Health\n\nThe amino acids and antioxidants present in this tea help the fat and cholesterol to move through your blood stream, so they don’t accumulate on the blood stream walls. Yerba tea also helps prevent hardening of arteries and prevent blood clotting as a result of stroke or heart attack.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.743894100189209}
+{"content": "Senior Graphic Designer\nコレオ2015｜熱血硬派労働集団「チームCC」！ (3).png\n\nCineprint motion graphics\n\nCineprint Motion Graphics\n\nAs part of a recruitment strategy for our design and web agency, we challenged the normal and created a \"cineprint\" to show potential recruits our creative flair using print and moving image.\n\nThis leaflet when combined with an iPad creates a new digital experience. The information jumps out at the viewer and highlights the skills and strengths in each team within the company, varying per department.\n\nIn this project I was art director and motion graphic designer. I worked on the concepts, the printed leaflet and the overall look and feel of the project. It was very challenging to create an effective partnership between print and motion graphics. \n\nThe full site can be seen :", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9999343156814575}
+{"content": "HW_CurveBondPriceOAS() function  Previous topicNext topicFirst topicLast topic\n\nHW_CurveBondPriceOAS() function\n\nHW_CurveBondPriceOAS(argument list…)\n\nThis function is not derived from the Hull-White model per se, but is provided as a utility which is useful when pricing bond options with the Hull-White model. It returns the OAS of a bond using given a zero curve and the observed bond price. An interpretation of the OAS can be given in relative value terms – the higher the OAS, the cheaper a bond is relative to the zero curve. The function uses the following arguments:\n\nArgument Description Restrictions\nValuation_Date valuation date (e.g. today) valid Excel date number\nSettlement_Date bond settlement date valid Excel date number\n>= Valuation_Date\nMaturity_Date bond maturity date valid Excel date number\n>= Settlement_Date\nCoupon annual bond coupon in decimal form (e.g. six percent entered as 0.06). For zero coupon (strip) bonds, enter 0. >= 0\nFreq number of bond coupons per annum 1, 2, 4, or 12\nDCB day count basis 0 = 30/360 (US)\n1 = act/act for CAD/US T-Bonds\n2 = act/360\n3 = act/365\n4 = 30/360 (European)\nZero_Dates array of zero coupon curve dates strictly ascending order\nThe first date of this array must be Valuation_Date\nZero_Rates array of continuously compounded riskless rates in decimal form (e.g. six percent entered as 0.06) corresponding to Zero_Dates > 0\nBond_Price bond price per $100 par > 0\n\nIn this context, OAS is defined as the parallel shift in the continuously compounded zero curve which makes the computed bond price from the zero curve equal to the observed market price. This proves useful in pricing options on off-the-run bonds (i.e. bonds not used in constructing the zero curve) and in situations where the market prices are moving rapidly, and as a result updating the zero curve is impractical.\n\n© 1995-98 Leap of Faith Research Inc.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9263229370117188}
+{"content": "Sublamp is Ryan Connor, a sound and video artist from Los Angeles.\n\nHe has been releasing music as Sublamp since 2005 on labels such as HibernateDragon's Eye Recordings, and Eilean Records.\n\nRyan is also a sound designer, creates audio and video for the immersive theatrical experience Alone: An Existential Haunting, and is an audio engineer at Earwolf.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9999831318855286}
+{"content": "Friday, March 5, 2010\n\nThe Treaty and the Gospel: Guest Post by Mark Grace\n\n[Pic from here]\n\nThe Gospel and the Treaty of Waitangi.\n\n\n\n\nIt is this gospel that is arguably the largest single influence on the content, shape and reception of the Treaty of Waitangi.\n\nWhy have we not heard this?\n\nIn a 1991 Survey Dr Peter Lineham observed that New Zealand historians continue to ‘downplay the significance of religious belief’ which continues to be poorly integrated into the writing of NZ history.\n\nIn 2001 Dr Allan Davidson “wrote with the partial exception of James Belich’s Making Peoples, general histories of NZ have mostly written out, marginalised or trivilialised religion.”\n\nWe’ll explore 5 ways this gospel has influenced the Treaty.\n\n1. The gospel contributes to the motivation for the treaty in New Zealand\n\nIn the late 1830s the Christian Missionary Society missionaries and Weslyn Missionary Society missionaries are genuinely concerned about the imminent threat of unrestrained immigration on Māori communities. They believe, a formal relationship via a Treaty with the British Crown is needed as a protection for Māori. It is also likely, they are also wanting to retain their own influence and position in the country and can see that that would be diminished if commercial colonization takes off.\n\n2. The gospel contributes to the motivation for treaty in the UK\n\nIn the years leading up to the signing of the Treaty of Wiatangi most of the 25 staff of British Colonial Office are members of William Wilberforces, Clapham Sect.\n\nThis wide-ranging group of influential evangelical Christian friends include the Colonial Secretary himself, Lord Glenelg. The gospels vision of humanities equality and God’s justice inspire these parliamentarians and civil servants to passionately campaign against slavery and for the rights of indigenous people. This leads them to campaign for the protection and preservation of Maori society.\n\nAt the time they form only one voice amongst many competing ones on the issue of colonization. The overall effect of the debate in Brittan is the realization that the Government needs to enter into a formal treaty with Maori that would protect indigenous Maori rights over land, bush, river and seas in exchange for British protection and sovereignty. Lieut-Governor William Hobson is therefore dispatched from Sydney in January 1840 to achieve that end.\n\n3. This gospel has shaped the content of the treaty\n\nJames Stephen is the permanent under secretary in the Colonial Office.
 He is possibly the most influential civil servant of his time. He is profoundly influenced by the gospel. His gospel convictions express themselves in a deep commitment to the abolition of slavery championed by his brother in law William Wilberforce and others. He later becomes concerned about the negative impacts of colonization on indigenous peoples.\n\nStephen, wanting to avoid a similar pattern in New Zealand drafts the instructions for Lord Normandy which are given to William Hobson when he is sent to New Zealand in 1840. Parts of the instruction are as follows:
\n\nAll dealings with Maori must be conducted with sincerity, justice, and good faith.\nYou will not, purchase from them any Territory that would be essential, or highly conducive, to their own comfort, safety or subsistence.\n\nThe content of the treaty is shaped by these instructions. The instructions themselves are shaped by the biblical gospel.\n\n4. The gospel shaped the nature of the treaty to Maori\n\nMissionaries cultivated an image of the Queen as personally loving towards Maori. Henry Williams would affirm to Maori at Waitangi that the Treaty was an act of love towards them on the part of the Queen.\n\nThis thinking led many chiefs, who were by then, either Christian or associated with Christianity, to see the treaty in terms of a spiritual bond. A covenant.\n\nFor these chiefs the Treaty was a covenant between the Maori people and the Queen as head of the English Church and state. The Maori name for the Treaty is He Kawenata o Waitangi (‘The Covenant of Waitangi’)\n\nMany Maori at the time perceived the treaty enabled Pakeha and Maori to be one people in both a spiritual and societal sense.\n\nAffirming this was Hobson’s words to each Chief as they completed their signing of the Treaty at Waitangi were “He iwi tahi tatou”- now we are all one people. His words selected by Henry Williams were loosely based on Ephesians 2:13.\n\nThe northern tribe Ngapuhi, in particular, understood the treaty as a special kind of covenant with the Queen, a bond with all the spiritual connotations of the biblical covenants; there would be many tribes, including the British, but all would be equal under God.\n\nClaudia Orange argues “For British officials it’s fair to say the perception of covenant, and the missionaries emphasising the humanitarian protection of the British were simply part of securing sovereignty…”\n\n5. This gospel influences the reception of the treaty\n\nOn February 6th 43 Chiefs signed the treaty, in all over 500 would sign the treaty over the next 8 months.\nThe majority of Treaty negotiators where either missionaries or closely associated with them. Missionaries with considerable mana with Maori particularly Henry Williams took the treaty throughout the country to be signed.On many occasions it is the credibility of the missionary themselves and their endorsement which gives the treaty it’s credibility.\n\nIn the years before the signing of the Treaty 74,000 copies of Biblical books, New Testaments had been printed and distributed throughout New Zealand. Coupled with the focus on literary the gospel had spread rapidly.\n\nAlmost half the Maori population would be influenced by the gospel. Chiefs who had come to faith in Christ or who had been influenced by the gospel were far more likely to be well disposed to the treaty although where the gospel was not strong amongst Senior Chiefs it was a far more difficult process in obtaining signatures.\n\nWhat are the implications for us today?\n\n1. I want to reclaim the treaty as part of our Christian story\n\nAs gospel people the Treaty is part of our history, it’s part our legacy and it’s expression today is apart of our responsibility.\n\n2. I want to understand the nature of the Crowns historical breaches, and the churches complicity in this.\n\nThe gospel calls us to be a reconciling people. As we’ve learnt from South Africa, truth comes before reconciliation. Wanting to know the truth compels me to understand the Crowns historical breaches and the church’s complicity in these.\n\n3. I want us to discover how we can apply the Waitangi covenant to our life together as a church.\n\nWhen we seek to explore what it means to uphold and express the values of the Waitangi Covenant as the people of God I believe it leads us towards a deeper experience of what it means to Christian and a richer experience of what it means to be kiwi. Why, because the Treaty affirms our place on the land together.\n\nAs Chief Judge Eddie Durie expressed it in his Waitangi Day address in 1989:\nWe [Maori] must not forget that the Treaty is not just a Bill of Rights for Maori. It is a Bill of Rights for Pakeha too. It is the Treaty that gives Pakeha the right to be here. Without the Treaty there would be no lawful authority for the Pakeha presence in this part of the South Pacific. The Pakeha here are not like the Indians of Fiji, or the French in New Caledonia. Our Prime Minister can stand proud in Pacific forums, and in international forums too, not in spite of the Treaty but because of it. We must remember that if we are the Tangata Whenua, the original people, then the Pakeha are the Tangata Tiriti, those who belong to the land by right of that Treaty.\nI believe as we seek to embody the gospel and express the Waitangi covenant bi culturally and multi-culturally over the next 30 years our frail and faltering attempts will show the credibility and authenticity of the gospel to Maori and the rest of New Zealand. It is my prayer Maori would again respond to the gospel. In turn due to the growing prominence and preference given to Maori spirituality in New Zealand society Maori will have the opportunity to take the gospel back to the entire society.\n\nThe gospel has had a significant impact on all aspects of the Treaty. As a result, we the people of God in Aoteoroa New Zealand need to reclaim it as part of our story. We need to understand the historical injustices of the past and we need to find ways of expressing with grace and truth the values of the Treaty in our life together into the future.\n\nMark Grace is a member of the Te Arawa tribe and works for Tertiary Students Christian Fellowship leading their national work to graduates in the workplace, post graduate students and academics. Mark attends Fielding Bible Chapel and is happy to speak and lead seminars on this issue. He can be contacted at markg (at) A full footnoted version of the article is available here. \n\n[Let me know what you think, :-)]\n\n1 comment:", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6487330198287964}
+{"content": "A phoenix is a mythical bird that dies in flames and is reborn from the ashes.\n\nIn the Yu-Gi-Oh! universe, it has been used several times to depict such birds or is otherwise used as a name.\n\nPhoenix may refer to:\n\nPhoenixes based on the mythical bird\n\n\n\nOther Phoenix-themed cards\n\nPhoenix used as a name\n\nAd blocker interference detected!\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9922322630882263}
+{"content": "Log in Sign up\n\nColumbus HSS headtube - 46 dia. - 1.1mm wall - length = 240\n\nWrite a review\nContinue Shopping or View Cart\n\nsku # HT-CYRG18240\n\nColumbus HSS headtube for steel bicycle frames - 46 dia. - 1.1mm wall - length = 240\n\nFor 1-1/8\" and tapered steerer tube frames, depending on your headset choice.\n\n273g - Weight is based on a representative tube. Actual weight may vary slightly.\n\nPlease see tube graphic (in the image gallery for this product) as a guide for the following specs.\n\nOD=46  W=1.1", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.557896614074707}
+{"content": "12 Must-Have Chinese Seasonings\n\n\nDelicious, authentic Chinese foods always make your mouth water. Besides excellent cooking skills, Chinese foods' mouth-watering tastes have a close relationship with their sauces and condiments.\n\nHere, we introduce you to the most common seasonings used in daily cooking in a Chinese kitchen.\n\n\nChinese: 盐yán /yen/\n\nSalt is an indispensable seasoning used in almost every dish in China.\n\nIt can get rid of bad fish odors, increase freshness, sterilize food, and prevent it from spoiling.\n\nSoy Sauce\n\nChinese: 酱油jiàngyóu /jyang-yoh/\n\nSoy sauce is the basic ingredient for many stir-fry sauces. It is a traditional seasoning for Chinese recipes and used in almost every cuisine of China. It is usually made from soybeans, wheat, and wheat bran.\n\nThere is a light soy sauce and a dark soy sauce, and their usages are different.\n\nLight soy sauce is mainly used for stir-frying in order to add flavor, and it can also be served as a dipping sauce.\n\nDark soy sauce is mainly used for seasoning meat and for adding color to dishes.\n\nOyster Sauce\n\nChinese: 蚝油háoyóu /haoww-yoh/\n\nOyster sauce is a sweet and salty sauce, which is made from oysters, sugar, soy sauce, wheat flour, and water.\n\nIt is used for cooking meat and stir-frying vegetables. It is very popular in Cantonese cuisine. There is a vegetarian version that is made with mushrooms instead of oyster extract.\n\nSesame Oil\n\nChinese: 芝麻油 zhīmayóu /jrr-maa-yoh/\n\nSesame oil is derived from sesame seeds. It is dark, and has a nutty aroma and flavor.\n\nIt is mainly used as a marinade, or added to dressings and dipping sauces. It is unsuitable for deep-frying due to its low boiling point, but it can be used for stir-frying with meat or vegetables.\n\nRice Vinegar\n\nChinese: 米醋mǐcù /mee-tsoo/\n\nRice vinegar is made from rice, and is a liquid seasoning with an acidic flavor, which can be transparent, colorless, or reddish-brown.\n\nIt can be added to soup, braising dishes, or stir-fries to increase the flavor. Sometimes it is used to make dipping sauces.\n\nRice Wine\n\nChinese: 料酒liàojiŭ /lyaoww-jyoh/\n\nRice wine is made from sticky rice and millet.\n\nIt is used to remove bad odors from meat and fish, improving the aroma of dishes, and to help the flavors fully penetrate into dishes.\n\nChili Sauce (or Chili Paste)\n\nChinese: 辣椒酱làjiāojiàng /laa-jyaoww-jyang/\n\nChili sauce is a spicy condiment made from chilies, sometimes with garlic and vinegar.\n\nIt is used for stir-frying or as a dipping sauce.\n\nSoybean Paste\n\nChinese: 豆瓣酱dòubànjiàng /doh-ban-jyang/\n\nSoybean paste is usually dark brown. It tastes salty and oily, with a layer of oil in the jar.\n\nIt is added to heated oil for stir-fries, or in braising liquids for rich winter dishes.\n\nStar Anise\n\nChinese: 八角bājiǎo /baa-jyaoww/\n\nStar anise is dark brown with eight prongs, each with a black, shiny seed.\n\nIt plays an important role in slow-cooked dishes, and is widely used in Chinese cuisine due to its distinctive taste.\n\nFive-Spice Powder\n\nChinese: 五香wǔxiāng /woo-sshyang/\n\nFive-spice powder is a blend of five ingredients: cloves, Sichuan peppercorns, fennel, Chinese cinnamon, and star anise. It offers the sour, bitter, pungent, sweet, and spicy flavors favored in Chinese cooking in a fine balance.\n\nFive-spice powder is used for seasoning poultry, in braised beef dishes, and in soup, for optimum flavor.\n\nChili Powder\n\nChinese: 辣椒粉làjiāofěn /laa-jyaoww-fnn/\n\nChili powder is a pungent powder that is made from dried chilies. It is often combined with Sichuan pepper in Chinese dishes.\n\nIt is used in many Chinese cuisines, especially in Sichuan and Hunan cuisines.\n\nSichuan Pepper\n\nChinese: 花椒huājiāo /hwaa-jyaoww/\n\nSichuan pepper is a pungent spice with a numbing and spicy taste, used most in Sichuan cuisine. It is said to dispel colds and benefit the stomach.\n\nIt is mainly used to mask bad meat odors. It can be cooked in oil to flavor the oil, or mixed with salt as a condiment for any meat, fish, or vegetable dish.\n\nRelated Articles", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8732866048812866}
+{"content": "CII will not seek powers to confer degrees\n\nThe Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) confirmed that it would not seek powers to confer degrees, and would maintain its status as a professional awarding body. Following a 12-month review, the CII's membership highlighted that greater value was attached to its professional and vocational qualifications, which are seen to be more relevant than academic degrees. However, concerns were expressed regarding the level of difficulty of degrees offered by the traditional top universities. Members", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9997034072875977}
+{"content": "Elk to Mendocino distance, location, road map and direction\n\nElk is located in Poland at the longitude of 22.36 and latitude of 53.83. Mendocino is located in USA at the longitude of -123.8 and latitude of 39.31 .\n\nDistance between Elk and Mendocino\n\nThe total straight line distance between Elk and Mendocino is 9165 KM (kilometers) and 839.87 meters. The miles based distance from Elk to Mendocino is 5695.4 miles. This is a straight line distance and so most of the time the actual travel distance between Elk and Mendocino may be higher or vary due to curvature of the road .\n\nTime Difference between Elk and Mendocino\n\nElk universal time is 1.4906666666667 Coordinated Universal Time(UTC) and Mendocino universal time is -8.2533333333333 UTC. The time difference between Elk and Mendocino is 9.744 decimal hours. Note: Elk and Mendocino time calculation is based on UTC time of the particular city. It may vary from country standard time , local time etc.\n\nElk To Mendocino travel time\n\nElk is located around 9165 KM away from Mendocino so if you travel at the consistant speed of 50 KM per hour you can reach Mendocino in 183.32 hours. Your Mendocino travel time may vary due to your bus speed, train speed or depending upon the vehicle you use.\n\nElk To Mendocino road map\n\n\nElk To Mendocino driving direction\n\nThe following diriving direction guides you to reach Mendocino from Elk. Our straight line distance may vary from google distance.\n\nTravel Distance from Elk\n\n\nTravelers and visitors are welcome to write more travel information about Elk and Mendocino.\n\nName : Email :", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6474447250366211}
+{"content": "Seville to Algarve distance, location, road map and direction\n\nSeville is located in USA at the longitude of -81.86 and latitude of 41.01. Algarve is located in at the longitude of -8.26 and latitude of 37.09 .\n\nDistance between Seville and Algarve\n\nThe total straight line distance between Seville and Algarve is 6178 KM (kilometers) and 684.09 meters. The miles based distance from Seville to Algarve is 3839.3 miles. This is a straight line distance and so most of the time the actual travel distance between Seville and Algarve may be higher or vary due to curvature of the road .\n\nTime Difference between Seville and Algarve\n\nSeville universal time is -5.4573333333333 Coordinated Universal Time(UTC) and Algarve universal time is -0.55066666666667 UTC. The time difference between Seville and Algarve is -4.9066666666667 decimal hours. Note: Seville and Algarve time calculation is based on UTC time of the particular city. It may vary from country standard time , local time etc.\n\nSeville To Algarve travel time\n\nSeville is located around 6178 KM away from Algarve so if you travel at the consistant speed of 50 KM per hour you can reach Algarve in 123.57 hours. Your Algarve travel time may vary due to your bus speed, train speed or depending upon the vehicle you use.\n\nSeville To Algarve road map\n\nSeville is located nearly west side to Algarve. The given west direction from Seville is only approximate. The given google map shows the direction in which the blue color line indicates road connectivity to Algarve . In the travel map towards Algarve you may find enroute hotels, tourist spots, picnic spots, petrol pumps and various religious places. The given google map is not comfortable to view all the places as per your expectation then to view street maps, local places see our detailed map here.\n\nSeville To Algarve driving direction\n\n\nTravel Distance from Seville\n\n\n\nName : Email :", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6971938014030457}
+{"content": "Article Text\n\nDI-082 Adverse events of pirfenidone and cause of suspension in clinical practice\n  1. P Suarez-Artime1,\n  2. I Zarra-Ferro1,\n  3. M Rodriguez-Cobos1,\n  4. A Hermida-Cao1,\n  5. R García-Ramos1,\n  6. A Martos-Rosa2,\n  7. C Gonzalez-Anleo1,\n  8. J Rojo-Valdes1,\n  9. A Suarez-Rodriguez1,\n  10. MJ Lamas-Diaz1\n  1. 1Complexo Hospitalario Universitario Santiago de Compostela, Pharmacy, Santiago de Compostela, Spain\n  2. 2Hospital de Poniente- El Ejido- Almería, Pharmacy, El Ejido, Spain\n\n\nBackground In 2011, pirfenidone was the first drug to be approved for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) in Europe after reduced decline in per cent predicted forced vital capacity (FVC) in two phase III trials.\n\nPurpose To describe the adverse events observed and recorded for patients receiving treatment with pirfenidone in the pharmaceutical consultation with the pharmacist.\n\nTo describe the duration of treatment with pirfenidone and the cause of its suspension, if it occurred. To compare the results obtained with those published in the clinical trials.\n\nMaterial and methods A prospective, descriptive and observational study to assess the safety and duration of treatment with pirfenidone. Patients receiving treatment with pirfenidone were eligible for the study. The main variable was adverse events notified by the patient during the pharmaceutical interview at the outpatient pharmacy unit. These events are registered by the pharmacist in the electronic health record. Qualitative variables are expressed as absolute number and percentage. Quantitative variables are expressed as median ± SD.\n\nResults 16 patients were included from 31 March 2014 to 31 March 2015; 4 women (25%) and 12 men (75%). Mean age of patients was 72.8 years (SD±6.82). 38 adverse events were recorded in 12 patients (75%) compared with 4 patients that did not report any. The most common adverse events were gastrointestinal disorders with 18 events (anorexia (n = 9; 75%), dyspepsia (n = 6; 50%), nausea and vomiting (n = 2; 16.7%) and diarrhoea (n = 1; 8.3%)). Other adverse events were liver enzyme elevation (ALT/AST (n = 4; 10%)), fatigue (n = 3; 8%), insomnia (n = 3; 8%), rhinorrhoea (n = 1; 2.6%), dysgeusia (n = 1; 2.6%), hypotension (n = 1; 2.6%), dizziness (n = 1; 2.6%), brittle nails (n = 1; 2.6%), photosensitivity (n = 1; 2.6%) and pruritis (n = 1; 2.6%).\n\n5 patients (31.5%) discontinued pirfenidone due to adverse events; 3 women and 2 men. The reasons were due to gastrointestinal disorders in 3 patients (60%), AST elevation in 1 patient (20%) and asthenia in 1 patient (20%). No cases discontinued due to skin related adverse events. Other adverse events were generally mild to moderate. Mean duration of treatment was 103.4 days (SD±70.8) in people who needed to stop taking the drug.\n\nConclusion Adverse reactions found in our study were similar to those in clinical trials. We observed that women have less tolerance to pirfenidone and need lower doses for maintenance treatment. There was a significant percentage of dropouts due to adverse events.\n\nNo conflict of interest.\n\nStatistics from\n\nRequest permissions\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8252732753753662}
+{"content": "Greece’s National Library Prepares for Historic Move, Transition to New Era\n\n\nParadoxically, after languishing unheeded for many years as its needs grew ever greater, the donation of the SNFCC to the Greek state means that the National Library is experiencing this great historic moment in the midst of Greece’s crisis. In its new 22,000-square metre premises, it will provide the Greek public with access to a wealth of Greek knowledge and literature, either directly or in digital form, or through temporary exhibitions.\n\n\n(source: ana-mpa)", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6185016632080078}
+{"content": "A Human Domain\n\nHolloway, Ralph L. Jr. 1992 [1969]. Culture: A Human Domain. Current Anthropology 33(1): 47-64.\n\nBriefly, I suggest that culture, in addition to being \"...that complex whole ... shared by man as a member of society,\" is also the imposition of arbitrary form upon the environment. These two attributes are specific and unique to human behavior, and they can be identified by the appearance of stone tools in the archaelogical record. While these attributes are based upon behavior common to mammals and particularly delevoped in the primates, their adumbration in man is an emergent phenomenon, a difference in kind as well as degree. (Holloway 1992: 47)\nAnimals do shape their environment, but not as greatly as humans do. There are no big cities for giraffes, as far as I am aware.\nI do not know how to differentiate Australopithecus from Homo erectus (or sapiens) or even from apes in terms of self-identification, awareness, evaluation, or reference on any basis other than logical necessityp Symbols (abstract and arbitrary, \"significant\" in the sense of Mead 1934) would appear essential for carrying off the total psychobiological reorganization which Hallowell has so aptly described. While these are undoubtedly lacking in non-human primates, I see no way to prove that an ape lacks self-this or that. (Holloway 1992: 49)\nI think similar caution should be waged against self-notions if they are used normatively as a moral whip with which to lash at people who are different. E.g. \"He has no self-respect\" - Aight, how do you know?\nPerhaps Harris has been richly rewarded in discovering that motor actions (that is, all that can be observed) are serial and hierarchical in organization. (What guides these actions and hhow the \"strategies\" are organized experientially is never analyzed.) I do not feel similarly rewarded. Harris says that most anthropologists believe that insects are driven by instincts while human behavior is learned, and he points out that insects are capable of learning. Surely the learning that occurs in humans is something more than the learning of insects; but for Harris, the differences are only \"a matter of degree and do not justify the Aristotelian either/or approach\" (p. 174). Primate field studies are cited as a further example, since primates also learn. (Holloway 1992: 49)\nThis is a richly endowed passage. I am not yet aware of insect learning but the suggestion itself draws the carpet from underneath the \"only humans are capable of learning\" argument. Furthermore I like the term \"motor actions\" because this hints towards the Russian designation of \"motor communication,\" that is, \"communication by means of motor action\" - very much the same as \"body motion communication.\" For a more thorough discussion the etymology of \"motor\" should be looked up.\nMunn (1955) and Hallowell (1959, 1960) have tried to face this issue forthright by differentiating between intrinsic and extrinsic symbolization. [joonealune märkus täpsustab:] Extrinsic symbolization refers to observable symbol-use, such as language, whereas intrinsic symbolization refers to the internal organization of experience, available to the observer only by inferenc. (Holloway 1992: 49)\nMa olen ikkagi lapsik, sest iga kord kui ma kohtan oma lugemistes mõnda sellenimelist teadlast, siis ma turtsatan natuke naerda. Siinne Munn on siiski minu teemas, sest tema The evolution and growth of human behavior (1955) eristab intrinsic/extrinsic sfääre sarnaselt Halli ja McLuhani eristusega.\nThe \"invention\" of symbolization, or the capacity to stucture the environment arbitrarily (non-iconically), is this the initial-kick (Maruama 1963) which starts the process moving in the mutual-causal interplay between cultural and biological sectors of human evolution, e.g., expansion of brain, tool compexity, manual texterity, social structure based on cohesion, communication. This interaction between the propensity to structure the environment arbitrarily and the feedback from the environment to the organism is an emergent process, a process different in kind from anything that preceded it. Capacities such as intelligence, the ability to place distance in time and space between the reception of a stimulus and a consequence or action, motor skills and sensory acuity, memory (both in terms of complexity of content and long-term storage), affection, motivation toward exploration and learning, are different only in degree from those of other primates and, indeed, other mammals. It is when these are integrated with the unique attribute of arbitrary production (symbolization) and imposition that man qua cultural man appears. (Holloway 1992: 51)\nCultural man lives not in the house of language but in the city of Thirdness.\nSymbols systems are social and material control, and surely social control was a key element in hominid evolution, given that co-operation and elemental social groupings meant selection for different dimensions of affect-impulse control, cegnition, perceptual sensitivity, play, hostility, and communication. Arbitrary symbols enforce consensus of perceptions, which not only allows members to communicate about the same objects in terms of space and time (as in hunting) but also makes it possible for social relationships to be standardized and manipulated through symbols. It means that idiosyncracies are smoothed out and perceived within classes of behavior. By enforcing perceptual invariance, symbols also enforce social behavioral constancy, and enforcing social behavioral constancy is a prerequisite to different task-role sectors in a differentiated social group adapting not only to the outside environment but to its own membership. (Holloway 1992: 58)\nSymbolization (especially language) as a means of social control also makes sense in a Peircean perspective, as Thirdness is the dimension of laws and habits.\nSymbol systems are rules about the world; they standardize perceptual selection by enforcing actions to objects and relationships perceived andd symbolized. The transmission of these rules requires stable and predictable relationships of interpersonal perception and, ultimately, rules of conduct. This can only be half of the story, however, because any such formulation must alse provide an explanation of the generation of conflict. Thi dialectical argument is appropriate here, because symbol systems are enforced on animal natures resplendent in sheer egoism, and surely much of social structure represents behavioral-organic responses to the invention andd social processes of symbolization. Imposing form generates also its opposite, variability and resistance. (Holloway 1992: 58)\nAin't that the truth. For conduct there is counter-conduct, for culture there is counter-culture, for society there is antisociality, for order there is chaos.\nAnthropology is a pseudoscience with a pseudolanguage, and is bristling with pseudoproblems. Holloway appears to be wrestling with one such pseudoproblem, the demarcation of intellectual territory. (by A. W. R. McCrae from Entebbe, Uganda; pp. 61)\nDude... Get the sand out of your vagina. Gheesh...\n\nGeertz, Cliffort 1957. Ritual and Social Change: A Javanese Example. American Anthropologist 59(1): 32-54.\n\nStemming originally from Durkheim's The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life (1947) and Robertson-Smith's Lectures on the Religion of the Semites (1894), the sociological approach (or, as the British anthropologists prefer to call it, the social anthropological approach) emphasizes the manner in which belief and particularly ritual reinforce the traditional social ties between individuals; it stresses the way in which the social structure of a group is strenghtened and perpetuated through the ritualistic or mythic symbolization of the underlying social values upon which it rests. (Geertz 1957: 32)\nI fully expect this function of ritual and myths to be an important part of the military training of defence forces. What else are parades and drills than rituals and the idea that the state deserves to be defended than a myth.\nIt is the thesis of this paper that one of the major reasons for the inability of functional theory to cope with change lies it its failure to treat sociological and cultural processes on equal terms; almost inevitably one of the two is either ignored or is sacrificed to become but a simple reflex, a \"mirror image,\" of the other. Either culture is regarded as wholly derivative from the forms of secial organization - the approach characteristic of the British structuralists as well as many American sociologists; or the forms of social organization are regarded as behavioral embodiments of cultural patterns - the approach of Malinowski and many American anthropologists. In either case, the lesser term tends to drop out as a dynamic factor and we are left either with an omnibus concept of culture (\"that complex whole...\") or else with a completely comprehensive concept of social structure... (Geertz 1957: 33)\nThis sounds very familiar, but is anchored here in the critique of functionalist thinking.\nOne of the more useful ways - but for from the only one - of distinguishing between culture and social system is to see the former as an ordered system of meaning and of symbols, in terms of which social interaction takes place; and to see the latter as the pattern of social interaction itself (Parsons and Shils 1951). On the one level there is the framework of beliefs, expressive symbols, and values in terms of which individuals define their world, express their feelings, and make their judgments; on the other level there is the ongoing process of interactive behavior, whose persistent form we call social structure. Culture is the fabric of meaninf in terms of which human beings interpret their experience and guide their action; social structure is the form that action takes, the actually existing network of social relations. Culture and social structure are then but different abstractions from the same phenomena. The one considers social action in respect to its meaning for those who carry it out, the other considers it in terms of its contribution to the functioning of some social system. (Geertz 1957: 33-34)\nPretty neat, but seems to be lacking dynamics. I take issue with culture being an \"ordered\" system. Same goes for social interaction. Both are more \"emergent,\" arising out of randomness mixed with prior experience.\nFor the townsman, the distinction between santri and abangan becomes even sharper, for it emerges as his primary point of social referece; it becomes a symbol of his social identity, rather than a mere contrast in belief. The sort of friends he will have, the sort of organizations he will join, the sort of political leadership he will follow, the sort of person he or his son will marry, will all be strongly influenced by the side of this ideological bifurcation which he adopts as his own. (Geertz 1957: 37)\nThis kind of ideological bifurcation may happen almost everywhere in cases of clearly distinguishing oppositions (e.g. republicans vs. democrats; keskerakond vs. reformierakond, convervative vs. progressive, etc.) Just yesterday I happened to overhear the TV news and there was a story about Teletorn (some sort of tower in Tallinn) now accessible on the outer limits. That is, there's now an option of signing a responsibility waver, hooking yourself up on a cable and walking on the edges high above the ground. I was caught by surprise by a woman being interviewed who began her statement with \"I'm a conservative\" and followed by \"so I don't really think this should be allowed.\" I was surprised because I had no idea how these two should be related. If you're a conservative then you oppose anything new? How do you live like that?Clearly this is a woman who views conservativism as a lifestyle instead of a political ideology.\nMasjumi's enemies accuse it of pressing for an intolerant, medievalist theocracy in which abagans and non-Moslems will be persecuted and forced to follow exactly the precripts of the Moslem law, while Masjumi's leaders claim that Islam is intrinsically tolerant and that they only desire a government explecitly based on the Moslem creed, one whose laws will be in consonance with the teachings of the Koran and Hadith. (Geertz 1957: 38)\nThis seems to be an universal case that public representatives of Islam praise it as a tolerant and non-violent religion and the actual deeds of faithful Moslem men are intolerant and violent. Then again silmakirjalikkus seems to be inherent in most religions. E.g. that same news-show announced that in Russia \"homosexual propaganda\" is outlawed in order to protect the feelings of old-believers (Orthodox Christians). That is, some feelings are more worthy of defence than others.\n...a saddening incident, but a ritually muted one. (Geertz 1957: 41)\nThis generalization could probably fit for funerals in countless culturs.\nWith this as background, it is not surprising that when I arrived at Karman's house about eight o'clock, I found two separate clusters of sullen men squatting disconsolately on either side of the yard, a nervous group of whispering women sitting idly inside the house near the still clothed body, and a general air of doubt and uneasines in place of the usual quiet busyness of slametan preparing, body washing and guest greeting. The abangans were grouped near the house where Karman was crouched, staring blankly off into space, and where Sudjoku and Sastro, the town Chairman and Secretary of Permai (the only nonresidents of the Kampong present) sat on chairs, looking vaguely out of place. The santris were crowded together under the narrow shadow of a coconut palm about thirty yards away, chatting quietly to one another about everything but the problem at hand. The almost motionless scene suggested an unlooked-for intermission in a familiar drama, as when a motion picture stops in the mid-action. (Geertz 1957: 42)\nVery vivid comparison.\n\nLiszka, Jakob 1981. Peirce and Jakobson: Towards a Structuralist Reconstruction of Peirce. Transactions of the Charles S. Peirce Society 17: 41-61.\n\nAs Henning Andersen writes, \"One of the most fertile ideas in modern linguistics has been the insight that different levels of language structure embody identical organizing principles.\" This idea of isomorphism, as related to the study of linguistics, has its origins in the work of Jakobson who, in 1929, formulated it in terms of the notion of \"correlation\":\nCharacteristic of the basic and unique trend of current Russian science is that the correlativity between single series is not thought in causal terms, the one series is not derived from the other; the basic picture with which science operates is a system of correlative series, a structure to be viewed immanently and endowed with its own inner laws.\nAs opposed to the mechanistic interpretation of linguistic phenomena, where linguistic facts are causally attributed to psychological or physiological phenomena, the isomorphic solution argues that the system of rules of a language is seen as an image of a physio-neurological system of rules, and not a resultant of such processes. Jakobson intimates in other places that it is also isomorphic to the genetic code. (Liszka 1981: 42)\nOf course Jakobson is the source from whom Lotman borrowed his notion of \"isomorphism\" (very prevalent in for example \"On the Semiosphere\").\nThe philosophical consequences of isomorphism can be, strangely enough, found in Levi-Strauss, through the Kantian formulation of that principle, makes the comparison to Peirce easier. Levi-Strauss acknowledged his dept to Jakobson, and at the same time adheres to an isomorphism even more pronounced than Jakobson's. He argues for not only an isomorphism between language and neurological systems, but also between myth and other cultural formations, perception, the genetic code, as well as ecological systems. (Liszka 1981: 44)\nIndeed isomorphism/synechism is what places (Kant?,) Peirce, Jakobson, Levi-Strauss and Lotman (presumably in this chronological order) in one camp.\nUnlike Kant's \"Copernican turn\", which guarantees that objects must conform to our knowledge because all such knowledge involves the understanding, which has its rules prior to objects being given to the mind, Levi-Strauss argues that objects would conform to our knowledge simply because mind is of the same matter as tho object. That is to say, there exists an isomorphism between the order of the mind, language, perception, on the one hand, and the order of the world, on the other. (Liszka 1981: 44)\nI'm not sure if this is a view I would appropriate myself, but it certainly is interesting.\nHowever, since cognition and consciousness are not a source of constitutive synthesis in Peirce, his categories ar enothing equivalent to Kant's categories of the understanding; for Kant it is the latter which serve as the pure concepts necessary for the articulation of that theory of constitution. \"The\" categories in Peirce are actually said in many ways, depending on the particular investigative discipline. There are the logical categories, monad, dyad, triad; the phenomenological categories, ficstness, secondness, thirdness; the metaphysical categories, quality, fact, law; the semiotic categories, sign, object, interpretant. Although this points out a plurality of categories, it also emphasizes the identity in the difference; for each set is derived from a particular discipline and although there exists a difference between them (cp 1.452), each serves to reflect and comprehend the other. Firstness is analogous to quality which is analogous to monadic relations which is analogous to the sign: \"A Sign or Representamen, is a First which stands in such a genuine triadic relation to a Second, called its Object, as to be capable of determining a Third, called its Interpretant, to assume the same triadic relation to its Object in which it stands itself to the same Object\" (2.274). (Liszka 1981: 51)\nOf course Secondness or \"bumping into\" the world or energetic reaction to it, is existential Object.\nAlthough cognitive semiosis is the most exemplary and of the highest sort, nonetheless, not all semioses are cognitive nor found in consciousness (5.485-492); asthough all semioses are cognizable, not all occur within cognition. For this reason, the principle of unity in semiosis, i.e., the interpretant, does not have its ground in cognition or consciousness. \"Consciousness is something used to signify the I think, or unity in thought; but the unity is nothing but consistency, or the recognition of it. (Liszka 1981: 54)\nThis made me thin that if Thirdness is \"I think\" then Firstness is \"I feel\" and Secondness is either \"I do\" or, to be more exact \"I act and/or react.\"\nUsing this as a model, Jakobson argues that \"the concurrence of simultaneous entities and the concatenation of successive entities are the two ways in which we speakers combine linguistic constituents\" (II, 242). (Liszka 1981: 57)\nI should differentiate between concourse and concurrence. Not sure yet, how.\n\nRandviir, Anti 1998. Sign as an Object of Social Semiotics: Evolution of Cartographic Semiosis. Sign Systems Studies 26: 392-416.\n\nTherefore, a solution may lie in the statement that 'cultural semiotics' and \"social semiotics' are distinguishable only emotionally or connotatively; the difference being merely in the stress laid upon the treatment of the object. However, this ma also be expressed by a conditional contrast - while cultural semiotics sets its object into the light of the context of cultural tradition, sociosemiotics looks at a cultural object within social dynamics (for the latter, see e.g. Riggins 1994: 111). We can also say that cultural semiotics deals with the object 'as a structure', treating relations between objects as structural, too. Hence, one can state that this point of view is ontological, whereas for sociosemiotics, objects and relations between them are not ontological but processual and semiosic as the latter (semiosis) conjoins the semiotics of the sign and the semiotics of the code. So one could even conclude that cultural semiotics focuses on meaning, whereas social semiotics pays attention to signification (in the sense of making something meaningful). The latter would include both the 'composing\" of a signifier and the evaluative stating of it in the way it influences everyday (or: habitual) behavior. (Randviir 1998: 393)\nCulture and society is here distinguished by means of semiotic metalanguage. Very fine distinctions which won't exactly hold up when one treats meaning and significations as homonyms. I rather prefer a Parsonian-Geertzian distinction, that society is what people do in interaction and culture is what the think about their doings. But this is also a rather crude distinction. Ah, the problems that survive definition.\nIn connection with the symbol as a means of construing a model, we have to refer to the treatment of model by E. T. Hall, who asserts the function of the model for an artist (the authors of the maps viewed here were definitely artists, too) to be an instrument for filling gaps in visual memory. For this reason a model is a pseudoreality (compare with Merrell's treatment of 'semiotic reality', see e.g. Merrell 1992: 39-40, 44-45) created in the course of communication (see Hall 1981: 12). For Hall this is connected with the 'screening function of culture' (Hall 1981: 85). Taking this treatment into account, symbol, as an information carrier, has hence quite an ambivalent constitution, comprising of information condensotion on the one hand, and on the other 'postponing' the decoding of information (as a 'minus device'). This kind of possible mutation of information in messages, or even shelving or exclusion of it from a message, is avoided by 'internal contexting' (Hall 1981: 117) on the level of the individual. Such possible deviations are automatically corrected according to a situational frame. The creation of the frame is, in turn, no doubt relative to differences in sign situations, primarily of course with so to speak, limits of the sign. (Randviir 1998: 406)\nVery fertile for unifying modelling, reality, sensory gating, cognitive overload and concursivity, or perception of nonverbal behaviour. Most of the article discusses specifics of sign categories in relation with representations in cartography, very familiar from Radviir's doctoral dissertation.\n\nMills, C. Wright 1940. Situated Actions and Vocabularies of Motive. American Sociological Review 5(6): 904-913.\n\nThe major reorientation of recent theory and observation in sociology of language emerged with the overthrow of the Wundtian notion that language has as its function the \"expression\" of prior elements within the individual. The postulate underlying modern study of language is the simple one that we must approach linguistic behavior, not by referring it to private states in individuals, but by observing its social function of coordinating diverse actions. Rather than expressing something which is prior and in the person, language is takes by other persons as an indicator of future actions. (Mills 1940: 904)\nI vaguely remember Birdwhistell discussing something similar about kinesics: that the objective of kinesic study is not to infer \"expressions of emotion\" (as Darwin and Ekman did), but rather to observe body motion in its social functioning (interaction management). \"Indicator of future actions\" is a good notion, as body motions are primarily indicators of this kind: they predict the immediate flow of interaction. E.g. a small group discusses something and the mood drops visibly, predicting that the discussion will soon dissipate and the group will disperse. Or, a person indicates with his hands (the \"come here\" motion) and thus predicts what the target will do nex (s/he will come).\nThe generic situation in which imputation and avowal of motives arise, involve, first, the social conduct or the (stated) programs of languaged creatures, i.e., programs and actions oriented with reference to the actions and talk of others; second, the avowal and imputation of motives is concomitant with the speech form known as the \"question.\" Situations back of questions typically involve alternative or unexpected programs or actions which phases analytically denotes \"crises.\" The question is distinguished in that it usually elicits another verbal action, not a motor response. The question is an element in conversation. (Mills 1940: 905)\nI like the notion of \"languaged creatures,\" because it compliments \"the naked ape\" in that the naked ape is also a languaged creature. \"A motor response\" is (aside from a title, also) how nonverbal behaviour was termed before \"nonverbal communication\" became a valid object of study. Also, after Birdwhistell motor actions do belong to conversations, bodily behaviour is a substrate/base/fundament of conversations (e.g. face-to-face interaction).\nMotives are imputed or avewod as answers to questions interrupting acts or programs. Motives are words. Generally, te what do they refer? They do not denote any elements \"in\" individuals. They stand for anticipated situational consequences off questioned conduct. Intention or purpose (stated as a \"program\") is awareness of anticipated consequences; motives are names for consequential situations, and surrogates for actions leading to them. (Mills 1940: 905)\nIn the first instance one could argue that the statement \"Matives are words.\" is an expression of \"linguistic imperialism.\" In the second instance I like the definition of intetion of purpose as \"awareness of anticipated consequences\" because this brings intention closer to \"strategies,\" the outcome of which is intended to be \"effective\" (one has a strategy in order to win).\nIn a societal situation, implicit in the names for consequences is the social dimension of matives. Through such vocabularies, types of societal controls operate. Also, the terms in which the question is asked often contain both alternatives: \"Love or Duty?\", \"Business or Pleasure?\" Institutionally different situations have different vocabularies of motive appropriate to their respective behaviors. (Mills 1940: 906)\nFor once a concrete (non-discourse-theoretical, non-philosophical) example of how language is a means of social control: institutions do hove different vocabularies of motives: the university's are bound to be different from the army's.\nWhen an agent vocalizes or imputes motives, he is not trying to describe his experienced social action. He is not merely stating \"reasons.\" He is influencing others - and himself. Often he is finding new \"reasons\" which will mediate action. This, we need not treat an action as discrepant from \"its\" verbalization, for in many cases, the verbalization is a new act. Is such cases, there is not a discrepancy between act and \"its\" verbalization, but a difference between two disparate actions, motor-social and verbal. (Mills 1940: 907)\nThis seems to anticipate Austin's speech act theory. It is also important for distinguishing \"concurrence\" and \"concourse.\"\nIt is significant that since the Socratic period many \"theories of motivation\" have been linked with ethical and religious terminologies. Motive is that in man which leads him to do good or evil. Under the aegis of religious institutions, men use vocabularies of moral motives: they call acts and programs \"good\" and \"bad,\" and impute these qualities to the soul. Such lingual behavior is part of the process of social control. Institutional practices and their vocabularies of motives exercise control over delimited rances of possible situations. One could make a typal catalog of religious motives from widely read religious texts, and test its explanatory power in various denominations and sects. (Mills 1940: 913)\nCf. moral absolutism.\n\nRochberg-Halton, Eugene 1982. Situation, Structure, and the Context of Meaning. The Sociological Quarterly 23(4): 455-467.\n\nFor years neglected as a central sociological concorn, the question of meaning has emerged with a vengeance and now is demanding some kind of answer from those who would further social theory. Two of the approaches at the forefront of contemporary interest, symbolic interactionism and structuralism, claim that meaning forms the very basis of secioty, not instincts or genetics, materialist economics, or asocial psychological laws; and that the foundation of meaning is the sign or symbol. These appreaches by and large reject the idea that social science is a search for empirical causal \"facts,\" and in quite different ways they argue that \"values\" are what we are really after - that \"significance\" binds society together. One persistent problem in these and other interpretative approaches is the locus of meaning: whether it is to be found in existential and unique \"situations\" or in a deep-rooted system or code, i.e., a \"structure.\" By comparing and contrasting some foundational concepts, such as the nature of the sign, and then exploring recent developments in symbolic interactionism and structuralism, I hope to evaluate critically their strengths and weaknesses in the context of an emerging semiatic sociology. (Rochberg-Halton 1982: 455)\nI don't think meaning has a concrete locus. Considering the large variety of semiosises, it seems quite impossible that process or structure could singurarly account for meaningfulness. It is rather an intermingling of process and structure with a whole gamut of aspects, some of which we may not even be aware of yet.\nThe term symbolic interactionism was formulated by Herbert Blumer (1969: 1) to reflect the milieu of social theory developed primarily at thi University of Chicago in the early part of the century. Blumer himself cites the pragmatists William James, John Dewey, and George Herbert Mead, a number of Chicago sociologists including W. I. Thomas, Robert E. Park, Florian Znaniecki, Robert Redfield, and Louis Wirth, and also Charles Horton Cooley and James Mark Baldwin as among those who significantly contributed to the foundations of symbolic interactionism. (Rochberg-Halton 1982: 455)\nI should look these names up some day. I have an incling that Znaniecki was the anthropologist who studied Polish immigrants in Chicago, but I'm not sure.\nThe arbitrary nature of the sign, Saussure continues, \"explains in turn why the secial fact alone can create a linguistic system. The community is necessary if values that owe their existence solely to usage and general acceptance are to be set up; by himself the individual is incapable of fixing a single value\" (p. 113) Saussure argued for one of the basic tenets of semiology, structuralism, and poststructuralism: that the system or structure and not the individual person or instance constitutes meaning. (Rochberg-Halton 1982: 458)\nBut this is wrong. By himself the individual is capable of creating endless meaning. It is when this meaning has to be communicated to others that the individual meets semiotic resistance.\nThough Saussure's approach seems to argue against one strain of nominalism (the tendency that led to British empiricism and resulted in \"naive realism\" and Carnap's logical positivism, see Carnap, 1967), it can be argued that Saussure retains a basically nominalistic theory of meaning, one that claims to reside on the nominal side of mind rather than on the physicalistic side of \"body,\" and which retains the nominalistic tendency to dichotomize thought and things, system and instance, social and individual, fact and value. (Rochberg-Halton 1982: 459)\nThis is why Saussurean semiology is of little value for my study of nonverbal communication; the body seems to be irrelevant for Saussureans.\nThe interpretant is not limited to arbitrary concepts in the Peircean scheme but may include nonconceptual emotions or physical action. Interpretants are not solely examples of arbitrary conventions but have as their aim the growth of reasonableness through the future interpretants they will determine. Reasonableness, in Peirce's view, is real rather than arbitrary or nominal. (Rochberg-Halton 1982: 459)\nHere Firstness is nonconceptual emotion, Secondness is physical action and Thirdness is arbitrary concept. An original idea for combining these Peirce's phenomenological categories with the modelling systems theory of the Tartu-Moscow School: All three modelling systems belong to Thirdness (although I see no reason why Firstness and Secondness couldn't be elaborated in a similar manner), but express a sub-categorizaton. Primary modelling system (natural language) would be the Firstness or the mere knowledge of existing words (you know that there is something called \"propriety\" but you are not sure what it means; you only have a quality). Secondary modelling system (literature, poetry, other verbal art and expression) would be the Secondness or usage of words to create existing texts as tokens. Tertiary modelling system (culture as such) would be the Thirdness of \"the universe of the mind\" wherein words and texts are habitually understood as types. This would also be congruous with Peirce's contention that Secondness contains Firstness, and Thirdness contains both Secondness and Firstness. Uitmõte: kirjuta 100-leheküljeline \"[Towards?] A Semiophrenic Theory of Concursivity\" mis käsitleks põgusalt 50t probleemi \"kehakeel [düstoopia]kirjanduses\" teemal, pühendades igale probleemile täpselt 2 lehekülge. Siis gutenbergipojastada ja ongi le bakatöö tehtud.\nA symbol is an embryonic reality [a title] endowed with power o growth into the very truth, the very entelechy of reality. This appears mystical and mysterious simply because we insist on remaining blind to what is plain, that there can be no reality which has not the life of a symbol.\nIn this way the Peircean view of signs leads to a very different view of tradition and social conventions than that given by Saussure and consistently followed by structuralists and poststructuralists, who stress arbitrariness. Though Peirce admits the arbitrariness of traditions and social conventions, he also admits the role of experience, the brute factuality of the world in time, as also shaping and informing traditions. In the Peircean view traditions are neither solely arbitrary deep structures with no purpose or inherent quality of their own nor, as some symbolic interactionists might argue, reducible to the whims of individuals is specific situations. Traditions are the source of the common sense, general habits forged through the experiences of generations, and in practical life far superior as the relatively unquestioned basis for orientation than the mere arbitrariness of reason. (Rochberg-Halton 1982: 461)\nReminiscent of Eco's discussion of the seme as an inchoate text. In this sense a symbol is an inchoate reality.\nPeirce' Dewey, and Mead, although sharing Durkheim's insight that sociality is fundamental to representation, argued that the individuality of a person (and even the biological body) is a social outcome and not an a priori given, and that every sign (or sign act) has its own quality which is involved in the sign's significance to a greater or lesser degree, and which constitute a genuinely different mode of signification from that of purely conventional accounts (Rochberg-Halton, 1982b). (Rochberg-Halton 1982: 465)\nThis position is equally tempting and repulsive. Individuality may or may not be a social construction. I feel it too early to be conclusive.\nMead's \"conversation of gestures\" (derived from Wundt) [1], although retaining the idea that signification is a communicative dialogue [2], holds that the generality of gestural communication is found in the gestures themselves, i.e., in their instances or what Peirce termed their \"indexicality,\" [3] and that this level of signs is not limited to human intelligence [4]. (Rochberg-Halton 1982: 465)\n1 - good to know; 2 - sounds like Bakhtin's dialogism, still in this sense meaning is not absolutely social because signification can in this sense arise from self-communication as well; 3 - because gestures are existential and embedded in a situation or context; 4 - the case of conversation of gestures between dogs.\nIn looking at Blumer's formulation of symbolic interactionism, however, there does seem to be room for criticism of his interpretation of Mead. Blumer attacks reductionism in social theory, arguing that societies and human beings cannot be explained alone by \"social factors\" (which would include structuralism) or by \"psychological factors,\" rather, human societies are \"composed of individuals who have selves (1969: 83), and that \"group action takes the form of a fitting together of individual lines of action\" (1969: 82). Blumer's language is excessively individualistic, making it sound as if one can be an individual apart from a self, as if society is a mere aggregate of individual choices rather than itself a kind of large self that can determine \"individual lines of action\" (the point made so well by structuralists). (Rochberg-Halton 1982: 470-471)\nHas this author not heard of microsociology? I agree with Blumer's \"individualistic\" approach.\nThe introduction of the realistic roots of pragmatism to the sociological community marks an important turn in the questioning of the roots of symbolic interactionism, yet one in my opinion marred by Lewis and Smith's nominalistic interpretation of realism. Perhaps the clearest example of their positivistic and nominalistic interpretation of Mead (which would reduce the context of situation to an epiphenomenon, \"in name only\") is found in their remarks (1980:130) that\nUltimately, the meaning of a significant symbol must be grounded in the nonhuman world of pure resistance. We previously discussed the same point in connection with Peirce's theory of signs. The ultimate meanings of concepts must be located in some nonmental and nonlinguistic reality if we are to escape the infinite regress of verbal definitions of definitions of definitions, ad infinitum. ... Mental objects must be referred to worlds that are not mental.\nLewis and Smith do not realize that although Peirce and Mead agree that the physical is involved in the symbolic (e.g., \"indexicality\" or the \"conversation of gestures\"), the symbolic is not reducible to a nonsymbolic foundation. In contrast to Lewis and Smith, Peirce's argument for reality is based on an \"infinite regress\": all hypotheses must be capable of explanation because science does not admit the inexplicable. \"Pure resistance\" explains nothing qua pure resistance, hence cannot provide an acceptabl hypothesis for the foundation of meaning. (Rochberg-Halton 1982: 472)\nI believe that \"some nonmental and nonlinguistic reality\" is indeed necessary for meaning. Semiosis is the domain of living organisms and living organisms consist of \"real stuff,\" organs and organelles. But I digress, \"nominalism,\" \"realism,\" \"positivism\" and \"epiphenomenalism,\" - when used in the same passage as explanatory devices rather than labels for discourses - get confusing for me. It's like the author is too lazy to even try to make his argument clear and relies on these philosophical terms as if every reader should be extremely knowledgeable about the history of philosophy and automatically understand what is meant without explicitly explaining what is meant. This is an unattractive language game for me. E.g. when the author says that \"What will be needed to counter both mentalistic subjectivism and positivistic subjectivism in symbolic interactionism...\" (ibid.) then I have no clue what these italicized combinations signify. This is just philosophese, which is even worse than sociologese.\n  • Perinbanayagam, R. S. 1974. The definition of the situation: An analysis of the ethnomethodological and dramaturgical view. Sociological Quarterly 15: 521-541.\n  • Weber, M. 1981. Some categaries of interpretive sociology. Translated b Edith E. Graber. The Sociological Quarterly 22: 151-180.\n\n\nPost a Comment", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6670434474945068}
+{"content": "Write the first paragraph of your page here. iguanacolossus\n\nSection headingEdit\n\nWrite the first section of your page here. iguanacolossus was a iguanodont dinosaur that live 130-124 mya and lived alongside dinosaurs like hippodraco,utahraptor,gastonia and cedarosaurus. it was 10-13 ft tall and 33 ft long and 3 tons in weight.\n\nSection headingEdit\n\nfor image see iguanacolossuses Wikipedia page Write the second section of your page here.\n\nAd blocker interference detected!\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6906847953796387}
+{"content": "Facts about voles\n\n\nVoles, sometimes commonly called meadow mice, are small, ground-dwelling rodents that range from about 5-8 inches long with a body that is more robust than a mouse. They have relatively short legs and tails, and their body fur is brownish and black. The vole's head is round shaped and the snout is blunt. Their tail has thin hair and is darker on the upper side than the lower side. The vole's eyes are small and black and their ears are covered with fur. Since voles are often mistaken for mice, one of the best ways to differentiate these two rodents is by tail length. Mice have long tails that are equal to about half their body length, while voles have shorter tails that are less than half their body length\n\nBehavior, Diet and Habits\n\nVoles are active in both the day and night, and they will often have peak activity periods during dusk and dawn. Voles construct a system of burrows that are usually located on the ground surface, but are hidden and protected by a ground-level deck, storage building or pile of debris such as rocks, firewood or lumber. Voles also create serpentine-shaped surface tunnels that connect their burrows and feeding sites and appear to \"snake\" through the surface vegetation. Several mature and immature voles may inhabit one burrow system. Rather than build a burrow system, some vole species will use underground tunnels that were vacated by moles or other voles. Voles are preyed upon by owls, hawks, cats, snakes, raccoons and foxes, in part explaining why voles survive for only about 2 – 16 months.\n\nVoles are usually found in grassy or weedy habitats with heavy ground cover. The rodents become a nuisance when they invade our landscaped lawns or gardens to feed on plants. Since voles will eat a variety of plants, they can also become pests in agricultural areas, orchards and plant nurseries. Occasionally voles may eat snails, insects and dead animal remains.\n\nSigns of a Vole Infestation\n\nWhile the homeowner may see voles scurrying around during the day, the most obvious sign of a vole infestation is their surface runway system. An active surface runway will have small pieces of cut vegetation and also contain vole droppings. Tunnels without these signs indicate they no longer are in use.\n\nMore Information\n\nSince voles are often mistaken for moles, shrews or mice, the prevention and control program for voles will begin with an inspection. After the inspection, we will provide a plan for dealing with voles on your property. There are several methods that are important for controlling voles, so depending on the size of the vole population, the overall control plan may involve habitat modification, exclusion, trapping and using vole control products.\n\nFREE no-obligation pest control estimate!\nCall 631.283.6321", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9484624862670898}
+{"content": "Feb. 26th, 2017\n\nwhite_hart: (Matilda)\nIt's probably 35 years since I first read what was, at the time, Ursula Le Guin's Earthsea Trilogy. Although I've counted the first three books among my favourites ever since, and Le Guin as one of my favourite writers, somehow even though I bought copies of the updated \"quartet\", Tales from Earthsea and The Other Wind when the last two were published in the early 2000s I had never got round to reading any of the later books until now (I did try, about 14 years ago, and hit a bad patch of reader's block halfway through The Tombs of Atuan which put me off trying again in case it was just that I couldn't read Le Guin any more, though I think now it was stress and depression and tiredness and this time I certainly didn't have any problems reading all four of the \"quartet\" in a week).\n\nA Wizard of Earthsea was much as I remembered it from multiple re-readings, though I was suprised at how short it was, how few words Le Guin used to evoke the world of Earthsea, and how vividly she did it. My sensitivity to setting, rather than plot, and my visual imagination have both developed a lot over the years since I first read Le Guin, and even though it's always been such a favourite I still found myself amazed at just how good it is.\n\nI think The Tombs of Atuan was my favourite as a child, because although Ged, the wizard of the first book, reappears it's as a supporting character, and the central character is a young woman, and I liked that it was a book about a girl. It's a bleaker book, set in a harsh desert landscape and the darkness of the Labyrinth beneath it. I was struck once again, re-reading, by how atmospheric the writing is; there were elements of the plot and nuances of character I hadn't necessarily understood as a child, but overall it was still the book I loved when I was eight years old.\n\nOn the other hand, I had very little memory of The Farthest Shore, apart from a sense that I hadn't liked it much. In fact, I had so little memory of it that I felt as if I was reading some bits for the first time, although others were familiar. It's a beautiful, sad, complicated book; not really a book for children, though I suppose that in 1972 when it was first published books with wizards and dragons in them were just automatically assumed to be for children, and it is partly a coming-of-age story like the first two, although it's also (and, I think, more) a story about aging and accepting the inevitability of death. It felt very much like a critique of modern consumerism in places, as well as a wider exploration of the societies and cultures of Earthsea (Le Guin's fantasy world is not the usual one based heavily on medieval Europe; most of the people of Earthsea are dark-skinned and seem rather to have their roots in a variety of non-European cultures, and to set a direct challenge to the perception of those cultures, or any culture that doesn't share the same \"values\" and desire for \"progress\" as \"primitive\"*). It's not a comforting book; although on one level the ending is one of the traditional happy endings of fantasy, it also shows very clearly the huge cost of victory. I can see why I didn't like it as a child, but now I think it may be the best of the original trilogy.\n\nAnd then Tehanu, which didn't exist when I first read the trilogy. Tehanu is a much more inward-looking novel; where the others, beyond their personal narratives, were concerned with high deeds, quests, bringing peace to a troubled world, Tehanu is concerned with the small thing, with domestic life, and with the position of women in Earthsea. It feels as though Le Guin, looking back with the hindsight of a decade and a half of the women's movement, realised that for all Earthsea's racial diversity and non-violence, for all its emphasis on balance and wholeness and acceptance, realised that she had created a world that ran along patriarchal lines, where high magic belonged to men, where there were kings and all the leaders were male, and where women were wives and mothers and village witches only capable of working minor charms, or priestesses serving the powers of darkness; and instead of shrugging and saying \"that was a different time\", she set out to deconstruct it, to re-examine Earthsea from a female, and explicitly feminist, perspective. And it's brilliant. It's done with care and subtlety; the language is simpler, more everyday, but no less beautiful or carefully chosen, than in the earlier books, and I loved the way this gave me the opportunity to understand what it might be like to live within the society of Earthsea, rather than simply passing through, aloof and untouchable, as the wizards do. Even though it's a story of small things, it's still just as much a story of big ideas as the earlier books were. And a fantasy novel about a middle-aged woman is a rare delight, and much to be treasured.\n\n*I felt that Dorothy Dunnett did a similar thing with her portrayal of Timbuktu in Scales of Gold.\n\n\nwhite_hart: (Default)\n\nAugust 2017\n\n  12 345\n67891011 12\n13 141516171819\n\nMost Popular Tags\n\nStyle Credit\n\nExpand Cut Tags\n\nNo cut tags", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.518959641456604}
+{"content": "tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002642382191284824.post3405806229081134540..comments2016-02-12T05:27:16.019-08:00Comments on The Power of the Voice Group 4: Red Scarf Girl, a memoir of the cultural revolution: Literary AnalysisMrs. Hancockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10574254886261133450noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6002642382191284824.post-21352300333260912232015-05-18T06:03:31.914-07:002015-05-18T06:03:31.914-07:00Ha, your literary analysis is extremely well-writt...Ha, your literary analysis is extremely well-written and insightful. I can tell you paid attention while reading the book and you understood everything. You show this by using quotes from the book, and expressing how you think Ji-Li must have felt. The only thing I recommend is that you include which question you chose to answer, just to make it more clear, and there are a few grammar errors. Overall, I think you did really well and I would give your post a 6.Aliciahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14110061384732377662noreply@blogger.com", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.99960857629776}
+{"content": "A&P Solutions respects the privacy of users within the site and then the nature of the data collected at the site during visits of users and the use to which it gives detailed data.\n\nCollection and Use of Data\n\nIn the case of information about A&P Solutions, receive a presentation, add your name to our database, respond to a survey, or apply for a position online; the user must provide certain personal information, such as full name, email, phone number and company name . The user voluntarily agrees to provide such data.\nThe data required when a request for information or documents is made, are required to process the request of the user. This information is exclusively for Group A&P Solutions, who is responsible for processing.\nA&P Solutions undertakes NOT sell, transfer, assign or publish personal user data to third parties.\n\nPrivacy Notice for the protection of personal data\n\nIn compliance with the provisions of the Federal Law on Protection of Personal Data Held by Individuals, A&P Solutions S.A de C.V. (hereinafter \"A&P Solutions\") make their knowledge privacy policy and handling of personal data, which at all times seek to treat them is legitimate, controlled and informed, in order to ensure privacy thereof.\nThe personal data you provide any person, including without limitation, customers, suppliers and / or users, A & P Solutions will use that as but not limited described below:\n\n* To identify, locate you, inform you, contact you, send you information and / or commodity, and its transmission to third parties by any means. The use of personal data will be related to the type of interaction you have with the person in charge, whether commercial, civil, commercial or otherwise.\n* For certain services, such as advertising and / or subscription to our newsletter.\n* By visiting the website of A&P Solutions, we automatically collect certain personal data, then add to a set so they are not associated to a single person who is identifiable. With this information we produce statistics on how many users visited our websites and which sections agreed. By collecting this information, we learn to adapt to the best websites to our visitors . As we explain below, we collect this information through \" temporary files \" or \" web beacons \".\n* Log Files: Temporary files are web server files (such as the domain name or IP address, URL, http response code, the website from which you visited or date and duration of your visit ) that are automatically created when an Internet user visits a site. Once you stop using our website, process and use this information only to allow more connections to detect disruptions in telecommunication equipment and to detect abuse of our telecommunication services. This information is deleted immediately after the connection to the website completed.\n* This information is used to create profiles general sets our user base Site and not to create personalized user profiles.\n* Web Beacons : Some pages of our website contain \" web beacons \" (also known as Internet tags, pixel tags and clear GIFs ). Web beacons allow third parties to obtain information such as the IP address of the computer that downloaded the page on which the beacon appears, the URL of the page on which the beacon appears, the time that there was a visit to the page with the beacon, the type of browser used to visit the page, and the information from cookies sent by the third.\n* The temporality of handling personal data will be indefinite from the date you acquired it to charge.\n* If you give yourself to exercise their rights of access, rectification , cancellation and opposition of these may exercise at any time directing a request to email monica.rivera@apsolutions.com.mx and / or at the following address Rio Lerma # 1 Km . 116 Autopista Mexico -Puebla , Col. San Lorenzo Almecatla , Cuautlancingo , Puebla ; Mexico , CP 72730. at ( 222 ) 211 7030 , Monday to Friday from 8:00 to 18:00 on weekdays , as appropriate. For this, you must let us know conclusively personal data you want to be rectified , canceled or revised , and the purpose for which the contributed and name Responsible who handed them and generally meet the requirements mentioned in Art . 29 of the Federal Law on Protection of Personal Data Held by Individuals.\n\nA & P Solutions may amend this privacy notice at any time and always keep available through this channel for consultation.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9934362173080444}
+{"content": "Tai Chi Clubs for Kids - Kelburn (6021)\n\nKelburn, Wellington, the Wellington Region\n\nBest match results for: CATEGORY = Tai Chi Clubs for Kids + LOCATION = Kelburn (6021)\n\n\nOther martial art activities for kids - in and around Kelburn (6021) (within 5km)\n\nWe promote the principles and practices of traditional karate and encourage student participation. The Victoria University Goju-Ryu Karate Club offers instruction in Okinawan Goju-Ryu Karate. Okinawan Goju-Ryu, as taught in the International Okinawan Goju Ryu Karate Do Federation (IOGKF), is considered a traditional karate style because it can trace its lineage straight back to the founder, Chojun Miyagi Sensei. Organisations such as the IOGKF are dedicated to preserving their art in its original ...\nLoad more\nArticles related to your search:", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9996906518936157}
+{"content": "ZocdocAnswersCan a high pulse lead to heart disease?\n\n\nCan a high pulse lead to heart disease?\n\nI'm a man in my 40s, and I just recently began exercising regularly. As a result, I often check my pulse, and I've noticed that my pulse is higher than the average man's. Does this put me at a higher risk of heart disease?\n\n\nThe short answer is, it depends (I'll explain below). Only your doctor will be able to determine if your high heart rate is dangerous. First, bring the issue up with your primary care doctor. He or she may then refer you to a cardiologist. If someone has a high heart rate (also known as tachycardia) above 90-100 beats per minute for many months to years, that person may develop heart failure. However, it would be extremely unusual for exercise to cause this problem. Exercise raises the heart rate only for the time you are working out and the pulse returns to normal afterwards. Having tachycardia only during exercise is not dangerous. With that said, if your pulses stays fast after you've rested, then you may have a heart arrhythmia, also known as an abnormal heart rhythm. Arrhythmia's are not uncommon, and can result in abnormally high heart rates which, as stated above, would be dangerous if they were allowed to occur for a long time. Your doctor would need to obtain an electrocardiogram or ECG to determine if you had an arrhythmia. Arrhythmia can be dangerous, so I would advise you to bring the issue up with your doctor. If he or she says you don't have a problem, then please keep exercising!\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6315704584121704}
+{"content": "Pēṇṭalia flag\n\n\nSocietal information\n\nLargest City\nHead of State\nSamruid Rochandur\nBlack panther, on a white stripe, on a blue background, with six white flowers.\nType of Government\nFederal Government\nGreat House\nHouse Rochandur\n\nHistorical information\n\nFA 550\n24,450 years\n547,081 km2\nRace Groups\n10 milion per year\nGolden Dwarf\n\nPēṇṭalia formerly known as the Republic of Pēṇṭalia, and previously known as the Pēṇṭansi Republic, is an country in the Dwavern Kingdom. The nation comprises of the Pēṇṭalia kingdom, as well as several small areas around its borders. Following the destruction of the Dark-Elf Empire, Pēṇṭalia split up from the rest of the kingdom, and started to form their own government, however this did not last long. During their independence, the country thrived off its small size, and allowed a great deal of wildlife to breed their way through the kingdom. Consequently, Pēṇṭaliais a biodiversity hotspot; over 90 percent of its wildlife is found nowhere else on Amsnorth. The country's diverse ecosystems and unique wildlife are threatened by the encroachment of the rapidly growing populations and other environmental threats, such as the increasing sea levels.\n\nInitial dwarf settlement of Pēṇṭalia occurred between FA 550 and FA 620 by Ancient Dwarf peoples arriving on outrigger canoes from the sothern regions of the Dwavern Kingdom. These were joined around FA 1000 by Human migrants crossing the Black Sea from the Main Lands. Other groups continued to settle on Pēṇṭalia over time, each one making lasting contributions to Pēṇṭansi cultural life. The Pēṇṭansi ethnic group is often divided into several factions, as many races live with each other within the small areas, several laws have took place to ensure no civil wars break out between them.\n\nUntil the late Second Age, the country of Pēṇṭalia was ruled by a fragmented assortment of shifting socio-political alliances. Beginning in the early Third Age, most of the country was united and ruled as the Kingdom of Pēṇṭalia by a series of highborn nobles. When the dwarf monarchy collapsed after the War of Kings, when the country was absorbed into the now huge Human Royal Government, from which the country was forced back into one large kingdom along with the others in the Dwavern Kingdom. The autonomous state of Pēṇṭalia has since undergone four major constitutional periods, since its recollection with the kingdom, most of which have caused the country's economy to decline greatly. The nation has officially been governed as a federal government from its capital at L'Talio.\n\nAs of today, the population of Pēṇṭalia was estimated at just over 6 milion, 90 percent of whom live on less than four golden dwarfs per day. Dwarfik and Rochillion are both official languages of the state. The majority of the population adheres to traditional beliefs, and most worship with Mystic Dragon. Ecotourism and agriculture, paired with greater investments in education, health and private enterprise, are key elements of Pēṇṭalia's development strategy. Due to the River Mountains which takes up more than half of the country's total area, the people are forced to live in rocky areas, and near cold harsh rivers. However the mountains are also responsible for ensuring the people of Pēṇṭalia are not completely poor, as its resources make sure they have an endless supply of fresh water and food.\n\n\nThe word Pēṇṭa comes from the ancient Dwarfik word meaning 'to mine', however it was never given an offical name during the Dwarf Rising. When beings started to name it Pēṇṭa, many people thought the name did not give a great example of the country, as mining was not a popular event in those days. It was soon changed to Pēṇṭalia.\n\n\nAt 547,081 km2 (211,229 sq mi), Pēṇṭalia is the world's smallest country. It shares a border with the Dark Territory and its sister country, Gihóir.\n\nTo the west of the country lies a plateau in the center of the island ranging in altitude from 4,560 ft above sea level, making around 3,000 miles of its original total area under water. Around the central highlands, traditionally the homeland of the goblin people and the location of their historic capital at L'Talio, are the most densely populated part of the island and are characterized by terraced, rice-growing valleys lying between grassy hills and patches of the subhumid forests that formerly covered the highland region. To the west of the highlands, the increasingly arid terrain gradually slopes down to the Black Sea and mangrove swamps along the coast.\n\nThe grassy plains that dominate the western landscape are dotted with stony massifs, patches of deciduous forest, and baobab trees, while the south is characterized by rocky regions and spiny forests. Around half of the country is completely covered in hills and mountains.\n\nPēṇṭalia's highest peaks rise to around 13,618 ft. The western and southern sides, which lie in the rain shadow of the central highlands, are home to dry deciduous forests, spiny forests, and xeric shrublands. Due to their lower population densities, Pēṇṭalia's dry deciduous forests have been better preserved than the eastern rain forests or the original woodlands of the central plateau. The western coast features many protected harbors, but silting is a major problem caused by sediment from the high levels of inland erosion carried by rivers crossing the broad western plains\n\n\nThe combination of southeastern trade winds and northwestern monsoons produces a hot rainy season with frequently destructive cyclones, and a relatively cooler dry season. Rain clouds originating over the Black Sea discharge much of their moisture over the island's eastern coast; the heavy precipitation supports the area's rain forest ecosystem. The central highlands are both drier and cooler while the west is drier still, and a semi-arid climate prevails in the southwest and southern interior of the country. Tropical cyclones annually cause damage to infrastructure and local economies as well as loss of life. Since most of the country is not under water, many historians believe that a huge storm from across the seas, swallowed up the lands and killed thousands of people.\n\n\nAs a result of the island's long isolation from neighboring continents, Pēṇṭalia is home to an abundance of plants and animals found nowhere else on Amsnorth. Approximately 90% of all plant and animal species found in Pēṇṭalia are endemic, including the larger ap, the carnivorous fossa and many birds. This distinctive ecology has led some ecologists to refer to Pēṇṭalia as the \"death zone\", as many deaths have happened due to its large wildlife.\n\nMore than 80 percent of Pēṇṭalia's plant species are found nowhere else in the world. The island is home to around 400 palm species, three times as many as on all of Main Lands; 246 of them are endemic. Many native plant species are used as herbal remedies for a variety of afflictions. The drugs vinblastine and vincristine, used to treat Jykuun disease, and other cancers, were derived from the Pēṇṭalia Taka Weeds.\n\nLike its flora, Pēṇṭalia's fauna is diverse and exhibits a high rate of endemism. Daesers have been characterized as \"Pēṇṭalia's flagship mammal species.\" In the absence of monkeys and other competitors, these primates have adapted to a wide range of habitats and diversified into numerous species.\n\n\nEarly PeriodEdit\n\nThe settlement of Pēṇṭalia is a subject of ongoing research and debate. Most archaeologists estimate that the earliest settlers arrived in successive waves throughout the period between FA 300 - FA 660, while others are cautious about dates earlier than FA 250. In either case, these dates make Pēṇṭalia one of the last major landmasses on Amsnorth to be settled by humans. Upon arrival, early settlers practiced slash-and-burn agriculture to clear the coastal rainforests for cultivation. The first settlers encountered Pēṇṭalia's abundance of megafauna, including giant daesers, elephant birds, giant fossa and the huge hippopotamus, which have since become extinct due to hunting and habitat destruction. By FA 1000 groups of these early settlers had begun clearing the forests of the central highlands and mountain ranges. Hauket traders first reached the country between the late First Age and the Golden Age. Due to the increasing population of the dangerous animals, the Dark-Elves begun to breed huge apes into the island, to help reduce the size of these dangerous groups.\n\nBy the FA 2300, irrigated paddy fields were developed in the central highlands, and were extended with terraced paddies throughout the neighboring Kingdom a century later. The rising intensity of land cultivation and the ever-increasing demand for zebu pasturage had largely transformed the central highlands from a forest ecosystem to grassland. The oral histories of the goblin people, who may have arrived in the central highlands between FA 2500 and SA 200, describe encountering an established population they called the Vankalo Po'lothun (River Mountains).\n\nDark-Elf contactsEdit\n\nPēṇṭalia was an important transoceanic trading hub connecting ports of the Black Sea in the early centuries following dark-elf settlement. The written history of Pēṇṭalia began with the elves, who established trading posts along the northwest coast by at least the late First Age and introduced Deyanira Worshipping, the Dark-Elf script (used to transcribe the Pēṇṭansi (Dwarfik) language in a form of writing, Elf astrology and other cultural elements. Human contact began in the later Creation Period, when the Human sea captain Rikardo Bungu sighted the deeper country's lands, which would in several hundred years later be drenched under water. The Hauket established trading posts along the east coast in the late Second Age. From about SA 200- SA 300, Pēṇṭalia gained prominence among pirates and Human traders, particularly those involved in the slave trade.\n\n\nPēṇṭalia shares the same education as most countries across Amsnorth, with different schools only avaliable to different people of different classes.\n\nSee AlsoEdit\n\nPlaces of Amsnorth\n\nAmsnorth Locations:\n\n\nWestern Territories | Northern Territories | Eastern Territories | Dwavern Kingdom | Dark Territory | Oaklands | Dead Marshes | Yumpi Plans | Strands of the Axes | The Snowy Lands | Hauket Reservation | The Plains | GreenLands\n\n\nRoyalandüs | Üswana | Afrana | Ürsanthium | Seginthul | Albaia | Engadül | Daleigon | Castesene | Sçotinis | Kolodyyne | Pēṇṭalia | Gihóir | Pātauna | Aldeumum | Wataōachi | Kōunnamei | Sǎlǜquáni | Róngǒnu\n\nForests & Mountains:\n\nGreatwood Forest | Pinewood Forest | Oakwood Forest | Greenwood Forest | Evergreen Forest | Sharp Wood | Dead Forest | Ravenfall Forest | Woods of Might | Darkwood Forest | Vulkwood Forest | Wǎlúer Forest | Woods of Bright | Woods of Fire | Hǎiyadà Woodlands | Lungo Forest | Forest of Ewyeno | Nymphon Forest | Emerald Forest | Rusty Mountains | Shard Mountains | Solar Mountains | Kings' Mountain | Twin Mountains | Green Mountains | Dwavern Mountains | River Mountains | Black Mountains | Zìogóu Mountains | Trailed Mountains | Verloth Mountain | Xīwshān Mountain | Mountains of Destiny | Hángjīnsān\n\n\nGran Sarathal | Qhylen | Phylon | Markwall | Windhark | Golden Halls | Garreneari | Missundi | Greatwood City | Kingsport | Scaly City | Bambuda | Santi Thumwan | Allona | Oakwood City | Pinewood City | Elftown | Rocky Vale | Highgrand | Seaborrow | Dwarfport | L'Talio | Cambreto | L'Tyroll | Winterfay | Osthold | Aldsnow | Pryfort | Ravenfort | J'hanhaven | Oldness\n\n\nDwarftown | Steeltown | Willow-Song | Greyfield | Hamordil | Reach | Greentown | Falkstar | Seatown | Redtown | Rivertown | Brightown | Morthtown | Tyrntown | Airwell | Hoobtown | Karthtown | Windstone | Dragonstone | Battoo | Silverstead | Pinetown | Oakfield | Iverun | Pundi | Greatown | Oahly | Marshtown | Helgen | Treva | Grukun | Storm-Bridge | Kraven | Snowport | Silvershire | Elendra | Snow Village | Gourlay | Sheer | Coldtown | Chantry | Fenwhick | Riverfell | Greenteem | Greenfort | Winterarth | Meek | Kurkon | Shatterhill | Than'se'Ro | Oldtown | Wayyerntown | Hightower | Fanghill | Mykedr | Minsky | Skun | Godstown | Hungu | Umber | Stander | Enflone | Balamirron | Oldham | Illhul | Gallion | Ashfort | Axehorn | Orzik | Mungomory | Hightown | Lowtown | Mudtown | Undertown | Blacktown | Collyskin | Cowdunflee | Pinefield | Civiltown | Stonecliff | Greybridge | Stronghollow | Freymarsh | Lochpond | Maplekeep | Grassbrook | Jhanden | Dragonhill | Axehom | Cornview | Southwater | Akatona | Westbank | Wyvernham | Lorbady | Orville | Greybook | Aldmage | Belfield | Almill | Lochollow | Sarmont | Esterfield | Pearlhold | Linshire | Northmill | Roseice | Bekgate | Aleview | Couangus | Rivertown | Summerhold | Skytown | Invergordeon | Kabub | Munahara | Kingallow | Ivytown | Victotown | Santion | Kau Para | Haui Raie | Latdaroni | Nach Paen | Kaeng | Khaeg | Do Sung\n\nAd blocker interference detected!\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5016989707946777}
+{"content": "The manufacturer of Oreo cookies recently announced plans to move production of Oreos from Chicago to Mexico, resulting in a loss of 600 U.S. jobs.\n\nThis should be a wake-up call to defenders of the U.S. sugar program and other job-destroying trade barriers.\n\nThe leading ingredient in Oreos is sugar, and U.S. trade barriers currently require Americans to pay twice the average world prices for sugar.\n\nSugar-using industries now have a big incentive to relocate from the United States to countries where access to their primary ingredient is not restricted.\n\n\n\n\nThe loss of Oreo cookie jobs should reinforce a lesson on the job-destroying aspect of protectionist trade policies.\n\nAccording to a 2006 report from the government’s International Trade Administration: “Chicago, one of the largest U.S. cities for confectionery manufacturing, has lost nearly one-third of its SCP manufacturing jobs over the last 13 years. These losses are attributed, in part, to high U.S. sugar prices.”\n\nThat lesson appears to be lost on unions that are supposed to represent the workers losing their jobs in Chicago.\n\nFor example, The Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers Union consistently has opposed free trade agreements with sugar-producing countries like Australia, Brazil, and Mexico—the kind of trade deals that just might protect their members’ jobs.\n\nSo that’s how the cookie crumbles.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9351413249969482}
+{"content": "apco 10-code for “i understand your transmission”\nfairfax to car 459, we’ve got a 10-50 on 95 south of exit 150\n\n10-4 means “ok,” “understood,” and “affirmative.” commonly known as cb radio lingo, originating from the need for brevity in radio transmission.\nme–“is anyone there?”\nrespondent–” 10-4″(to indicate presence).\n\nme–“let’s roll.”\nrespondent–“10-4″(to indicate agreement).\nan acknowledgement\nme: whats your location\nyou: just crossing the bridge\nme: 10-4\nmeans ten four\nactnollegment of a statement\nthat was a nice shot!\n\n10 4\na term for the semi-canon slash relationship between watanuki kimihiro and doumeki shizuka in clamp’s xxxholic manga/anime. it is derived from the combination of the first two kanji in the characters’ names: “hyaku” or “dou” (100) for doumeki, and “shi”, or “yon” (4; neither of the normal readings are used in watanuki’s name) for his love interest. because the xxxholic fandom is not large, and eventual 104 is (very) strongly implied in the plot, the terms are pretty much ubiquitous. 104 is also called donuts.\nit’s been a while since i worked on any 104 fanfic…\n1: noun, ten·four\nphrase used as acknowledgement, either at the start or the end of a meeting between friends; can be used in place of h-llo or goodbye effectively.\n\n2: adjective\nused to describe mood, person, or occasion; meaning above average or rather good.\n“10-4 mate how are you?”\n“i’m 10-4 thanks, did you go to the roxy music gig last night?”\n“yeah, brian ferry was immense, and i pulled!”\n“cracking stuff mate, what was she like?\n“she was 10-4”\n“good times, ok mate, catch you later! 10-4!”\n10.4 is the version name of apple’s os x tiger. therefore, 10.4 may be used as a subst-tute for the word ‘tiger’.\nwhat’s the matter, 10.4?\n\nnext ›\nlast »\n\nRead Also:\n\n  • leebora\n\n    leebora is an expression of highly intense emotion, normally of either joy, pleasure, or excitement. “hey gary, how are you today?” “i’m going swimming! leeboraa!” “leebora indeed”\n\n  • laissez-foose\n\n    the let-alone principles of fooseball. setting up your defensive fooseball players in a strategic position, switching both hands to offense, and letting your fooseball players handle the defense for you. this situation is described as laissez-foose.\n\n  • flippydoo\n\n    it works like thingamabob or whatsits; a word for the thing that you can’t think of at the moment jerek what is this flippydoo?\n\n  • caricior\n\n    the caricior is a 4 wheel metal thing . with it you can carry things, it’s handy. i carry luggage in my caricior.\n\n  • quetus\n\n    a queer fetus according to some people become gay in the womb. that would be a quetus\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6283104419708252}
+{"content": "Self-interest and your small business\n\nMark Forster has an interesting post on acting in one’s self-interest. As he correctly points out, this is often taken to mean “do unto others, before they do unto you.” But as Mark explains:\n\nIn fact this is the very reverse of acting in one’s own best interests, since it can hardly be thought to be in anyone’s best interests to alienate other people so that they will not cooperate.\n\nThe results of confusing acting in one’s own best interests with a narrow mean-spiritedness are disastrous.\n\nBusiness is a perfect example of this principle. We own a business with the goal of making a profit—we are pursuing our own self-interest. But we cannot achieve this if we charge outrageous rates, attempt to underpay employees and treat them poorly, cheat customers, and engage in other activities that might seem to have short-term “benefits.” The result of such actions is that we will have difficulty getting customers and keeping employees, which ultimately is not in our self-interest.\n\nActing in our self-interest means looking at the big picture and the long term implications of our actions.  A classic example is a college student who faces a choice between studying for an important exam or going out with his buddies. Hitting the town for a night of partying can certainly seem appealing, but if he fails the exam it would harm his grades and could ultimately impact his career.\n\nIn business we must often choose between the short-term and the long-term. If we want to truly act in our self-interest–to achieve our long-term goals–then we must recognize when the two might conflict. And we must act accordingly.\n\nSmall business success is an attitude\n\nMike is a plumber. John is an electrician. Both have a reputation for doing good work. Both stay very busy. But that is where their similarities end.\n\nJohn drives a new van with professionally designed graphics. Mike drives a 15-year old van with a tattered magnetic sign. John wears a polo shirt with his company logo. Mike wears whatever t-shirt happens to be clean that day. John works 40 hours a week, spends his weekends with his family, and takes regular vacations. Mike seldom gets home before 6 PM, works most Saturdays, and doesn’t know what a vacation is. John charges the highest prices in town while Mike is known for his low rates. Mike complains regularly about being underbid by the competition. John doesn’t know what his competition charges.\n\nMike and John are friends. Neither can understand how the other operates. Mike can’t understand how John gets away with charging such exorbitant rates. John can’t understand how Mike manages to stay in business.\n\nThe differences between Mike and John go way beyond the obvious. The differences are fundamental. The differences go to the very core of how they view their business and the world. The differences are philosophical.\n\nTo Mike, his business is the means to pay the bills. He views the world as limited in opportunity. He operates much like everyone else in his trade. He finds comfort in the status quo and refuses to take risks. When John tells him to raise his prices, Mike complains that customers won’t pay more.\n\nTo John, his business is the means to the type of life he wants to live. He views the world as full of opportunity. He continually looks for ways to differentiate himself. He believes that what was good enough yesterday won’t be good enough tomorrow. He regularly offers upgraded services and products, which his customers love and make him more profit.\n\nMike is afraid to stand out. He is afraid to act on his own judgment, and thus he embraces the status quo. John wants to stand out, to be different. He has confidence in his own judgment, and the courage to act accordingly.\n\nMike and John could just as easily be the owners of any small business. Indeed, they have many counterparts in virtually every industry. Their outlook on life ultimately determines what they do with they lives. Those who dream and take action will achieve their dreams. Those who seek to learn and grow will learn and grow.\n\nIn the end, each of us gets to choose whether we will be Mike or John. Each of us gets to choose what our business will do for us. Each of us gets to choose what kind of life we will have.\n\nLong-term success requires a long-term commitment\n\nI hear a lot of small business owners complain that they simply can’t find the time to work on certain projects. They want to develop systems and procedures, or improve their filing system, or complete some other project that will have long-term benefits. But they just can’t seem to squeeze the time into their day.\n\nBrian Tracy offers some tips on how to make better use of your time.\n\nSome people allocate specific 30-60 minute time periods each day for exercise. Many people read in the great books 15 minutes each night before retiring. In this way, over time, they eventually read dozens of the best books ever written.\n\nThe key to the success of this method of working in specific time segments is for you to plan your day in advance and specifically schedule a fixed time period for a particular activity or task.\n\nLong-term projects require a prolonged committment– consistent steps in the right direction. By setting aside some amount of time each day or each week to work on a project you are able to make gradual, yet consistent progress.\n\nMany highly productive people schedule specific activities in preplanned time slots all day long. These people build their work lives around accomplishing key tasks one at a time. As a result, they become more and more productive and eventually produce two times, three times and five times as much as the average person.\n\nLike many time management tips, this is easier said than done. The daily demands of owning a business, in addition to family, friends, and hobbies, can stretch your time very thin. Focusing on priorities, rather than the interest du jour, keeps us moving toward your long-term goals. And to keep that focus, you must regularly schedule time to work on those projects.\n\nA sample text widget\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5861318707466125}
+{"content": "DemandJump wins Innovation of the Year Mira Award\n\n(Left to Right) Barbara Alder of Purdue University presented the Innovation of the Year Award to Christopher Day of DemandJump with Lauren Petersen and Mike Langellier of TechPoint\n\nPredictive marketing intelligence platform DemandJump received the Innovation of the Year award during TechPoint’s 17th annual Mira Awards honoring the best of tech in Indiana.\n\n\n\nThe Mira Awards judges recognize DemandJump’s achievement in using machine learning algorithms, graph theory, algebraic topology, NLP and other tremendously complex math to literally unwind what is happening in a client’s digital ecosystem to show them the greatest opportunities that will drive revenue growth. DemandJump has recruited a data science team and built an Actionable Intelligence Marketing (AIM) Platform that shows marketers opportunities they didn’t even know existed. The judges specifically applaud not only DemandJump’s ability to identify this opportunity made possible by advancements in technology that were never before available, but the wherewithal and sheer will of force to create the engine and platform that is offering a fast-growing roster of clients significant competitive advantages.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9983025193214417}
+{"content": "วันศุกร์ที่ 29 มิถุนายน พ.ศ. 2555\n\n6 Management Strategies For Organizational Change Success\n\nHuman beings tend to resist anything they view as stressful, and let's face it, organizational changes are about as stressful as it can get!\n\nFor most of us, familiarity with our surroundings, our relationships and our working environment allows us to reside safely inside our comfort zone. And comfort equals security.\n\nTransition Coaching\n\nBut when our comfort zone is detonated by changes in management or organizational systems, we implode, seeking the shelter of our innate desire to resist, at all costs.\n\n6 Management Strategies For Organizational Change Success\n\nChanges that occur outside of our control force us to adapt to new rules, new systems and new policies which can, at the outset, make us feel uncomfortable and insecure.\n\nHowever, a responsible and responsive management team can intercede before staff resistance spreads like the plague and threatens the smooth transition of organizational changes.\n\nEffective team leaders acknowledge and understand that it is a basic human instinct to react to change with resistance, even though staff may fully comprehend the reasons why changes in the organization are vital to its existence and growth.\n\n6 Management Strategies to Avert Resistance\n\n1. A clear outline - Discomfort and insecurity arises when staff are not made aware of the policies, principles, guidelines and structure of intended changes. Every employee needs to know how his/her position will be affected and what his/her role requires.\n2. Commitment -Implementation of organizational changes will not occur smoothly if everyone - from the CEO to the office clerk - is not committed to the project and its successful outcome.\n3. Advocacy - Each member of an organization who may be affected by the impending changes must be given the opportunity to express his/her opinion.\n4. Responsibility - It is the role of the team leader to ensure that each employee who is responsible for a component of the change strategy is held accountable for his/her actions in implementing the changes required.\n5. Acknowledgement - Evaluation and acknowledgement of the success of the change strategy at regular intervals ensures its smooth implementation.\n6. Flexibility - Management needs to adopt a flexible approach to each stage of development of a change strategy so that unforeseen contingencies can be implemented, if and where necessary.\n\nIt only takes one irresolute employee to destabilize an entire workforce, so periods of internal change within an organization require management to stay vigilant for any signs of rumblings or disapproval.\n\nLong-standing employees can feel betrayed and rejected when changes are announced by management. They often experience a sense of loss, confusion, frustration and job insecurity. The plan for job advancement they have often calculated appears to be shot to pieces.\n\nSo they react with denial and resistance to the imminent changes.\n\nManagement's ability to recognize these patterns of behavior and work to overcome any resistance establishes how well they will accomplish organizational changes. Their willingness to invest in the support and training necessary is an integral factor in achieving a positive outcome.\n\nEmployees aren't the only ones who have to adapt to changes within the organization.\n\nTop level managers generally bear the brunt of discontented staff from the ground up. Senior managers who have been instrumental in bringing about the changes within the organization often underestimate the impact those changes will have on their employees.\n\nUnrealistic expectations of how their staff will react (or over-react!) often causes top level managers to retreat and isolate themselves from the problem when the impact of their proposed changes filter back to them.\n\nHowever, they tend to lay the blame at the feet of middle management if employees resist or complain about the changes.\n\nMiddle management tend to carry the most stress during times of organizational change. They feel \"trapped\", unless they have exceptional leadership skills; besieged by resistant employees who look to them for guidance yet often denied direction and focus by top level management.\n\nThose in middle management often find themselves acting as the arbiter during times of organizational upheaval.\n\nHowever, organizational changes within a business often prove to be a suitable testing ground for leadership qualities; from the employees all the way through to top level management.\n\nThose who possess the qualities that define a good leader often emerge during the stressful environment that usually accompanies change. This creates an ideal opportunity for potential leaders to display those qualities and be recognized accordingly.\n\n6 Management Strategies For Organizational Change Success", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9731558561325073}
+{"content": "McCaffery gets new eight-year deal\n\nSiena coach Fran McCaffery, whose Saints have won two straight Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championships, has signed a new eight-year contract.\n\nMcCaffery, who had two years left on his previous contract, confirmed the deal to ESPN.com early Wednesday. The university made an afternoon announcement.\n\n\nThe Saints defeated Ohio State in the first round of the NCAA tournament in a No. 8 seed-9 seed game before losing to Louisville in the second round. As a 13 seed in the 2008 NCAA tournament, Siena upset Vanderbilt in the first round.\n\nMcCaffery, 49, is 85-44 in four seasons with Siena.\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5155773758888245}
+{"content": "Razib Khan One-stop-shopping for all of my content\n\nDecember 15, 2010\n\nIncest vs. polygamy\n\nFiled under: Culture,Evolutionary Psychology,Social Biology — Razib Khan @ 1:31 am\n\nToday in Slate there’s an argument for why society should discourage first-degree incest. The main thrust of the piece seems to be broadly utilitarian, in that incest is destructive to the family unit and society has a rational motive in discouraging the practice. The reason that the argument is even made is because of analogies that some social conservatives make between incest and gay marriage. I’m not too interested in the argument against first-degree incest, because I think this is a practice which is aberrant because there are biological dispositions most humans have which make it unthinkable.* Though the genetic reasons are broadly well known, Steven Pinker reports on the psychological mechanisms which enforce the taboos in The Blank Slate.\n\nOf course there are exceptions to the rule. The first-degree incest taboos can be violated in the case of royal families which wish to preserve and accentuate their divine genealogical essence. This was famously well known in ancient Egypt down to the Roman conquest, but one also found the practice in Hawaii. In rural Egypt apparently brother-sister marriage continued among commoners (who presumably emulated the elites) down to the Roman period. Human nature has dispositions in many cases which are not “hard-wired.” But the disposition in this case is so strong that I believe arguing about the legality of consensual adult incest is an academic matter. The discussion is only surfacing because of its possible relevance to another issue, gay marriage.\n\nPolygamy though is a different case. Here the ethnography seems to be clear that though the majority of men in the majority of societies did not practice polygamy, in most cultures polygamy was acceptable, and commonly practiced by high status males. In many cases polygamy was the preferred ideal, which was not attainable for the typical male due to economic constraints. Only with the spread of Western-normative mongamous customs, inherited from the Greeks and Romans, has polygamy been marginalized.\n\nBut we may be better for it. Polygamy’s many wives don’t capture ‘market value’:\n\nEconomist Shoshana Grossbard admits she was naive when she did her doctoral thesis on polygamy more than 30 years ago at the University of Chicago.\n\nThen, she believed that a simple supply-and-demand analysis would explain the economics of polygamous societies.\n\nBesides, she says, “I thought it was cool to say that polygamy might be advantageous to women and repeat what Gary Becker (her thesis adviser and Nobel laureate) has said.”\n\nPolygamous societies have a higher frequency of arranged marriages. It’s not surprising, says Grossbard. Young women aren’t likely to choose old men for husbands, plus men find young wives easier to control.\n\nOf course, that increases the likelihood of early widowhood and financial hardship.\n\nIn societies where a bride price is paid, women don’t “capture their increased market value.” Instead, she says, potential husbands pay the fathers. No money goes to the bride.\n\nDivorce tends to be easier in polygamous societies. The threat of it keeps women in line and it allows men to shed wives who are too old or noncompliant.\n\nChild custody almost always is the right of the father.\n\nIsolating women makes it more difficult for them to escape and makes them even more financially dependent on their husbands.\n\nAs beautiful as the harem in Grenada’s Alhambra is, Grossbard says, “The whole institution is typical of polygamous societies.”\n\nThere, eunuchs – castrated men – guard the wives.\n\nThere are variations in the nature of polygamy. My understanding is that in some African societies women in polygamous relationships have their own independent economic life, and the male is a transient between matrifocal households. The opposite extreme occurs in Muslim societies where women are secluded from men and denied from participation in public life.\n\nIn any case, unlike first-degree incest or gay marriage, polygamy does remain rather common, and legal, in much of the world:\n\n\nOne must note that in some nations, such as India, polygamy is only legal for minorities for which it is a traditional custom. That being said, in many nations where it is legal, it is not always common, nor is it socially acceptable in many circles.\n\nBut it is notable to me that gay marriage & incest, and polygamy, are very different cases. Polygamy is a practice which has broad appeal, and even in many societies where it is banned de facto polygamy is not uncommon. The integration of a ban on polygamy into the legal codes of societies such as India and China is interesting, because the practice was not unknown among pre-modern elites, and persisted down to the 20th century. The film Raise the Red Lantern is about a polygamous household in 1920s China. The historical roots of the turn against polygamy seems to be tied to the rise of Western hegemony within the last few hundred years, and that itself derives from the integration of Greco-Roman norms into the Christian religion. The Romans and Greeks were obligate monogamous peoples in the Classical period, and this obligate monogamy became a feature of Christianity (though not Judaism, which retained polygamy among Ashkenazim until the 10th century, and other Jewish groups which may still retain the practice, though no longer in Israel). The barbarian warlords of Northern Europe often had to make their accommodation with this “Roman” custom upon their conversion to Christianity (though the reality is that the Church often gave monarchs de facto exemption).\n\nIf the dominance of the ideal of monogamy is a contingent accident of history, will we see a shift toward greater pluralism in the near future, with the decline of the West? This is not an implausible contention. But, I also do wonder if legally sanctioned polygamy does not trigger a destabilizing “winner take all” dynamic in complex societies, producing a lack of social trust which means that such societies have limits in terms of the scale of their complexity. In other words, perhaps advanced economies necessarily need and foster a level of gender equality which formal polygamy is simply not consonant with?\n\nAddendum: The existence of “super-male” lineages such as that of Genghis Khan is a testament to the power and presence of polygamy as a genetic phenomenon over the last 10,000 years. Even if most men in a given society can not practice polygamy because of economic and social constraints, it may be that the majority of future generations are descended from polygamists because of their fecundity, and that of their polygamous male offspring who would inherit their status.\n\n* No comments about how you fantasized about your sister to refute my generalization!\n\nPowered by WordPress", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5570424795150757}
+{"content": "Earth News Journal 6: Rising Sea Levels\n\nRising sea levels are inevitable, according to the September 2013 National Geographic magazine.\n\nBecause of abundant fossil fuel emissions already present in the atmosphere, due to many years of non-renewable energy exhaustion, we’ve “locked in” to several additional feet of sea water, as the planet accommodates to the amount of carbon dioxide accumulating in the ozone.\n\nThe pressing matter is how much and how soon can we expect this increase to affect the human population.\n\nGlobal warming has contributed to the sea level crisis in two ways. One – water expands as it warms, and the global temperature has climbed more than a full Fahrenheit degree within the past century. As the majority of the Earth is covered in a layer of water, mostly salt water oceans, this expansion is quite widespread but difficult to measure on a global scale.\n\nSecond – ice is melting, due to the warming of the global climate. Experts are concerned about the large ice sheets found in Greenland and Antarctica and the consequences of these huge ice blocks dissolving into more liquid water.\n\nThe National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration conducted a report of four possible sea-level scenarios come the year 2100. The highest possible predication is a 6.6 foot increase. The US Army Corps of Engineers believes an increase of 5 feet of sea levels is a realistic scenario, as well.\n\nThe rise of sea levels is a serious threat to the approximately 150 million people who currently live on coastal cities or stretches of available coastland. Natural flooding disasters, like New York City’s devastating Hurricane Sandy a mere 11 months ago, represent the potential future in this creeping, ever-advancing issue, according to climate and weather researchers.\n\nIf all the polar ice caps were to melt, and Greenland to give way, prime American cities, such as Miami, New Orleans, and New York City, would be completely submerged, as would the entire states of Florida, Louisiana, and a sizable portion of the Eastern coast states.\n\nThe United States wouldn’t be the only country to suffer great assets and available land resources, as well. Countries like China and continents like South America would suffer tremendous losses of land to the swell of sea water. The entire planet is caught in an ever-dripping hourglass of H20 – we can either choose to sink or swim.\n\n\nThis article about the inevitable reality of rising sea levels is quite shocking, but I may be one of the only Americans to think so, or to give much thought to the situation at all. Most Americans are content to just consume the goods they desire in the moment and heed no mind to the future and its consequences. By firmly rooting themselves in the present, they ignorantly refuse to accept responsibility for not recycling, wasting resources, and burning an incredible amount of unnecessary fossil fuels. Eventually, they had to have known this exponential use of resources couldn’t last, right? I believe in taking actions right now to stop the dependence of fossil fuels. We already know that the oceans will rise because of excessive carbon dioxide present in the ozone in this age, so we should actively prevent the increase of sea levels by transitioning to renewable energy. Let’s stop digging ourselves into a sinkhole, and start rebuilding the walls of civilization to help our warming world.  \n\nFolger, Tim. “Rising Seas.” National Geographic Sept. 2013: n. pag. Print.\n\nThis post also appears on Blogspot", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8829083442687988}
+{"content": "IGB REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST (5227.KL) Seeing Increased Volatility in Session\n\nShares of IGB REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST (5227.KL) have seen the needle move -0.57% or -0.01 in the most recent session. The BM listed company saw a recent bid of $1.74 on 75900 volume. \n\n\n\n\nThe RSI, or Relative Strength Index, is a widely used technical momentum indicator that compares price movement over time. The RSI was created by J. Welles Wilder who was striving to measure whether or not a stock was overbought or oversold. The RSI may be useful for spotting abnormal price activity and volatility. The RSI oscillates on a scale from 0 to 100. The normal reading of a stock will fall in the range of 30 to 70. A reading over 70 would indicate that the stock is overbought, and possibly overvalued. A reading under 30 may indicate that the stock is oversold, and possibly undervalued. After a recent check, IGB REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST’s  14-day RSI is currently at 57.23, the 7-day stands at 62.55, and the 3-day is sitting at 54.13.\n\nCurrently, the 14-day ADX for IGB REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST (5227.KL) is sitting at 24.62. Generally speaking, an ADX value from 0-25 would indicate an absent or weak trend. A value of 25-50 would support a strong trend. A value of 50-75 would identify a very strong trend, and a value of 75-100 would lead to an extremely strong trend. ADX is used to gauge trend strength but not trend direction. Traders often add the Plus Directional Indicator (+DI) and Minus Directional Indicator (-DI) to identify the direction of a trend.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9986262321472168}
+{"content": "24 Months 3 Weeks – Concept of Recurrence\n\nRoman wanting more chips At this point your child may have graduated from using just “more” to get more of an item.  You are going to see more novel word combinations such as “I want that too” or “I want another one”.  The best way to encourage these phrases is by verbally modeling them yourself and creating opportunities for your children to use them.  \n\nTo create these opportunities, only give your children a little bit of each item.  For instance, if their eating Cheerios just give them 5 since they are obviously going to want more.  You can then show it to them in your hand to motivate a phrase that requires recurrence (or a fancy word for more!).  \n\nThere are many times throughout the day you can do this such as mealtime, snack time, play time (e.g. – withholding blocks), story time (e.g. – do not turn the page and have them ask for  more of the book), bath time, etc.  We love finding fun, new ways to extend phrases!\n\n24 Months 2 Weeks – Using “I” in Sentences\n\nRoman with all the moms Everything is “I I I I” and the world revolves around them.  When they finally get the concept of “I” and that it is actually them they will start commenting on their actions like no other!                                                                                                                      \n\nWe find it often happens with things that “go wrong”.  For instance, if something broke they may say “I broke” or if they’re falling they say “I falling”.  Use any opportunity to comment on what you are doing, so they begin to understand the concept.  If you are cooking, you can say “I’m cutting”, “I’m mixing”, etc.\n\nA great way to get longer “I” statements out of them is asking questions such as “What are you doing” or “Tell me about what you’re doing” to keep it open-ended.  It may lead to “I eating yogurt” or “I playing Legos” – and hopefully one day “I giving Mommy a massage!” 😉  And it doesn’t always have to be an action… you can move onto feelings or attributes such as “I sad” or “I have blue eyes”.  \n\nThis will later lead to the concept of “you” as you keep talking about what you are doing at the moment and what they are doing such as “I am reading” and “You are playing”.  It is also helpful to point to who you are talking about so it becomes more visual.  Have fun teaching pronouns!\n\n24 Months 1 Week – Answering a Variety of “Wh” Questions\n\nRoman with dino capThe most difficult part of answering a “wh” questions is actually knowing the meaning of the “wh” word. For instance, you have to know that “who” is asking for a person, “where” is asking for a place, “what” is asking for a thing, “when” is referring to a time, and “why” is asking for a reason. “When” and “where” may still be too complicated for this age, but it’s always good to throw it in here and there.\n\nWhen talking about “who” you can stick to basic things like looking through a photo album to label family members names or you can make it harder as in “Who drives a bus?”.  Visual support is always welcome at this age and can be in the form of pictures, illustrations in books, videos, etc.  And remind them that “who” is asking for a person.    \n\nAs for “what”, it could be as simple as asking “What is this?” while using a flashcard, reading a book, etc.  This usually only encourages a one-word response since it is not open-ended.  You can make it slightly more complicated by saying “What do you see?”, “What do you need?”, etc.  This allows for them to use a start phrase such as “I see a duck”.  You can then go onto more difficult questions such as “What does a cow say?”, “What do you wear when it’s hot?”  \n\nWhen referring to “where” they have to know that you are asking about a place, so we find that when you’re walking down the street, driving, etc. it is helpful to talk about where you are going.  You can even talk about the immediate here and now and ask “Where are you right now?” (e.g. – at home, in the car, in the stroller, etc.).  It also gradually helps them understand concepts that are not tangible such as “Where is daddy?” (e.g. – work, on a business trip, etc.) – actual pictures of daddy at his workplace would also be great!\n\n24 Months – Narrating One’s Own Actions During Play\n\nRoman lining up his toys in pretend play Your child has come to a point where they can play independently and it is time for them to join their play with words. At first, they may be labeling objects they’re picking up or see. Let’s say they’re in their play kitchen and they say “banana”. You can expand on it by creating a phrase “Let’s PEEL the banana”. Emphasize novel words and unique parts of a phrase to allow it to stand out to your child.  \n\nIt’s all about input they are receiving. The more verbal modeling that you provide during play, everyday errands, etc. the more likely they are to start narrating their own actions. Feel free to initiate structured play with them.  For instance, grab a tea set and start setting it up by saying phrases such as “Here’s a plate”. Then, take the teapot and say “Pouring tea”, pretend to drink it and say “Drinking tea” or “Wow!  It’s hot!”, etc.  \n\nAnother alternative is to chime in when they have already initiated play with an item on their own. “Oh the car is going up up up the garage!”, “The car needs gas!”, “We’re driving fast!”, etc.  They do not have to repeat everything you are saying, but you are giving their actions words and meaning. You are also adding new vocabulary to their repertoire.  For example, they may already know “car”, but “gas” might be a new word. To give it extra meaning, talk about getting gas when you’re actually at the gas station.  Real life situations will encourage them to make more connections and make them more apt to using new words and longer phrases when on their own.  \n\n23 Months 3 Weeks – Playing Doctor & How to Encourage Language\n\nRoman loves flowers By this time your toddler is really getting a handle of basic body parts such as eyes, nose, mouth, legs, etc.  It’s a perfect time to build on that during play.  For instance, you can use it while playing a game of tickling, modified Simon Says, or our favorite pretend play with a doctor kit.\n\nA medical kit contains a ton of items such as a bandaid, stethoscope, needle, thermometer, etc. and it gives your child a chance to act out a familiar routine.  If your child is labeling individual body parts, you can use the pretend play to expand to 2-3 word phrases.  If you’re focused on your nose you can say “Uh Oh!  Nose (is) broken!” or “Oh no!  (My) nose hurts!  Many children find it funny when “something goes wrong”, so the language will stand out to them!\n\nLater on, you can expand work on more advanced body parts such as “elbow” and requesting specific items such as “shot”.  It’s also a way to work on initiating questions such as “Are you okay?”, “What hurts?”, “What happened?”, etc.  You can even work on commenting using temperature such as “You feel hot”.  It even works on the skills of empathy and how others could be feeling.  All in all, it’s a great way to expand their imagination and may even make them less scared of going to the real doctor!  \n\n23 Months 2 Weeks – Never Too Early to Work on the /s/ Sound\n\nDo you hear your toddler producing /s/ with their tongue out? It’s never too early to model the correct production and try to correct it.  Lisps are often very difficult to correct as a child gets older, so our motto is the earlier the better!\n\nThis part is too complicated for toddlers, but just so you know as an adult we produce the /s/ sound by putting our tongue tip on the alveolar ridge (bumpy ridge right behind our top teeth).  You can show a toddler this by having them look at you or looking at a mirror while you overemphasize the sound to try to show them where their tongue goes.  Sometimes we even like to use a tongue depressor or our finger to show them where our bumpy ridge is – for older children we even put a little bit of peanut butter on the spot so they know where their tongue is supposed to touch.  \n\nTAG As for the manner in which the sound is produced it is called a fricative, which means it is a “hissing” type sound and air escapes through the teeth causing friction.  One thing you can do which works with my toddler is bringing your teeth together or telling them to bite down while producing /s/.  This may sound a bit exaggerated, but it makes sure their tongue does not come out.\n\nMany other articulation errors are age-appropriate and can be categorized into phonological processes or patterns, but it is definitely important to keep an eye out and always model correct production.  These issues sometimes grow into articulation disorders (which later may manifest themselves into problems with reading and writing) and you want your child to be understood by all listeners and to be able to form friendships easily.  \n\nTAGWe have two resources if you need further help. Our interactive iBooks: Vowels & Diphthongs and our Consonants iBook.\n\n22 Months 2 Weeks – Teaching Basic Conversation to a Toddler\n\nRoman and Numbers You are probably at the point where you might be in an elevator and a stranger asks your child “What’s your name?”. Your child may not answer right now, but it’s a great time to practice holding a basic conversation.\n\nYou can start off with a basic greeting of “Hi” and waving. You can then move onto answering, “What’s your name?” and if they do not answer, model their name. You can practice it in front of a mirror and point to them so they understand what a “name” means. We also found that holding up a picture of just his face helps.  \n\nThe next step is to go over their age, which may still be a difficult concept. Since they are almost two you can begin asking “How old are you?” and modeling “two”. Holding up the number may be helpful, so they can relate it to a visual.  Counting up to two and emphasizing two may also help. Many times when people ask “how” questions to a toddler the child automatically thinks “how many” and begins counting, so when you model the answer “two” make sure to say it right away. Other than that you can also go over basic question and answer pairs such as “How are you?” and “Good”.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.791424572467804}
+{"content": "Ocean Education Questions by Students\n\nOcean Annie, If we could only focus on one action that would have a positive impact on the reduction of plastic pollution in our Beautiful Blue Ocean, what would it be? From Ellee\n\nThere are many different ways we can make a positive impact on the reduction of plastic pollution in our ocean. In my experience, I believe ignorance is one of the biggest problems facing our world ocean. We need to increase ocean education to combat this. Educating others about the importance of our ocean in our lives is one of the most important things we can do to help our ocean.\n\nThe ocean evokes exploration and beauty for some while fear for others. Ocean education has been underrepresented in schools and misrepresented by movies, television, and multi-media for years. People have perpetuated fear and untruths about our ocean since the beginning of time. We know more about outer space then we do about our ocean. Consider challenging your friends and family to join the 30 Day Challenge and Refuse Single Use Plastic for 30 Days #RefuseSUP.Ocean Education Reverse the Flow of Pollution More Plastic than Fish in Ocean by 2050\n\nLife as we know it does not exist without a healthy ocean. Every breath we take connects us to the sea. 50-70% of our oxygen comes from the phytoplankton mass in our world ocean. We should be called Planet Ocean as it covers 70% of our planet and holds 98% of all of our water. Our ocean literally feeds our world, as 3 billion people on our planet rely on the protein from the sea for their existence. It is the great regulator of our planet. Through our carbon emissions we are causing ocean acidification and climate change. Plastic production contributes to both. Plastic is a miracle substance and has changed our world, just look around you and take an inventory of all the plastic in our lives. From our computers and mobile devices to our shoes and underwear, from our cars and cameras, to hoola hoops and food packaging, plastic is all around us.\n\nWithin my life there has been an explosion of single use plastic. With an increasing world population, there is an increase in plastic production. Half of plastic production is single use plastic, plastic you use once and throw away. Unfortunately it is not only thrown away into landfills, yet plastic enters our environment. Every time it rains, anything on the ground makes its way to our rivers, streams, lakes, and eventually our ocean. Everything we do on land affects our ocean.\n\nIf you can start with one thing, I would encourage you to share ocean education and positive ocean messages with others. Consider rethinking your relationship with plastic and start refusing single use plastic. #RefuseSUP We need to raise our voices together and change humanity's relationship with our ocean from dumping ground to protected ground. Every breath we take connects us to our ocean.\n\nThanks for your question. Think of all the ways you can include ocean education in experiences with your friends, family, and community.\n\nWe know about water bottles, straws, plastic bags...all the single use products. However, based on what you have seen as you explore the world with your radar on the problem of plastics, what change would have the greatest impact?\n\nI believe we should ban plastic straws, bags, utensils, single use plastic drink bottles, and styrofoam food containers all around the world. We need to use biodegradable products. There are companies working on algae, mushrooms, and other compostable packaging because plastics have become so invasive to our environment. We lived without convenience plastics until fairly recently and we do not really need them in our lives. There is no pressure on any large chemical company to create a product that is biodegradable. Think of all the large convenient food/coffee places using plastic straws daily from McDonalds to Starbucks, Taco Bell to Pizza Hut. 500 million straws are used every day in America, that is 3.5 billion per week and not one of them can be recycled. Plastics are petroleum/oil based products and are invasive. Plastic straws are one of the most commonly found marine debris.\n\nSo what can we do? We need to create public awareness and ocean education around our plastic issue. Public awareness drives policy and corporate change. Without people knowing, understanding, and caring about an issue, we cannot fix it. Plastic is a people problem and only people can be the solution. This issue is affecting millions of animals in our ocean, and we need many students around the world to be the voice of the sea. We need to create a movement around ocean education and need to unite youth everywhere to be the messengers. Adult people listen to youth/students/children/teens. We need to do everything in our power to raise our voices so that others can understand the messages from our ocean.\n\nOur ocean needs uniting. We need to protect at least 30% of our world ocean in order for her to be able to recover and reproduce. At the same time, we need to address climate change and stop ocean pollution. How can you raise your voice to share what you learn with others? How can you get your friends, family, community to understand the importance of what lies just below the surface of our sea? How can you spread ocean education and positive ocean messages with your friends in your community?\n\nWhat is one of the most memorable moments you have experienced while snorkeling in the ocean? by Wesley\n\nIt is very hard to think of one memorable moment, as I feel like every single time I get in the water, it's magic! There are two experiences that truly changed my life. The first was when I was on a boat in the Galapagos, and a humpback whale was spotted. The Captain stopped the ship and allowed all of us to go into the water with our mask, snorkel and fins  in the hopes that the humpback whale would be curious and approach us. As I lay on the surface of the water in about a three-foot swell, a humpback calf swam right past me with a dozen dolphins cruising along, some riding the wave of pressure created by the humpback whales body. I will never ever forget this as it was my very first encounter with a baby humpback whale while I was in the water.\n\nThe second experience was in Palau, a chain of islands in Micronesia. They are called rock islands, yet are made of limestone and were once coral reefs. There is a marine lake called Jellyfish Lake where you snorkel with thousands of jellies that do not sting your body. The jellies in Jellyfish Lake in Palau are very special jellies as they have a symbiotic relationship with an algae living inside. The algae provide food for the jellies through the process of photosynthesis and the jellies transport the algae by following the sun. In science we call this mutually beneficial commensalism because they both benefit from the relationship. In the San Juan Islands and throughout the Pacific Northwest, you do not touch jellies even if they are dead on a beach because they have stinging cells to protect themselves and to sting their prey/food.\n\nThanks for asking! You can scenes from both of these locations in Blue Heart Ocean Soul!\n\nWhat was it like the first time you swam with sharks?\n\nSharks Scuba Diving Maldives Diving You have stumped me. The first time I went scuba diving was in Western Australia. The very first breaths I took, I looked at my instructor and thought, ‘I could do your job and travel the world.’ I graduated from the University of Illinois in Urbana Champaign with a Bachelor of Science in Communications and saved my money for a year working three different jobs. My goal was to travel as a journalist exploring our world and my first stop was Australia. I was walking down the street and saw a sign, learn to scuba dive. I had been on swim team from the age of 10 but had never ever tried scuba diving. So I thought, what the heck, let’s go for it. The very first breaths I took, I knew what I wanted to do for the rest of my life, be an underwater photographer and scuba diving instructor. I was absolutely hooked. I went diving in and around the temperate waters of Western Australia  and I dived in kelp forests. One of my next stops in Australia took me to Airlie Beach in Queensland, the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef. I still remember my first dive there. I went with Emma, the Dive Master/Chef on the boat Romance. We were on Bait Reef and within the first 50 feet we passed a garden of Electric Blue Staghorn coral and every color of the rainbow filled my eyes. I could not believe what I was witnessing/seeing underwater living on the coral reefs. Scuba diving allows us to see the most magical place on the planet and to be a deep sea diver experiencing what others only can imagine…my life changed forever. On one of my next dives, I was with my buddy Bob doing my advanced course, we were in a current and doing a drift dive. As we came around a corner, I nearly flipped (and probably did) as there was a fish as big as me hiding behind a reef wall from the current. It was called a Maori wrasse and was the biggest fish I had ever seen. I know we saw reef sharks as well, but seeing sharks for the first time did not have as great of an impact as simply breathing underwater. Just blowing bubbles from my regulator in a swimming pool was one of the greatest experiences of my life. When I was introduced to the rainbow sea on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, I knew my life forever changed.\n\nI have dived with sharks all around the world. Schooling hammerhead sharks, whale sharks, nurse sharks, zebra sharks, white tipped, black tipped, grey reef, oceanic, great whites, tiger sharks, walking sharks, and more. I absolutely LOVE diving with sharks and rays. They are so important to the balance of our world ocean, it is a crime what people are doing to them. Scientists predict people are taking 100 million sharks out of our world ocean every year, in many cases in inhumane ways. Our world ocean cannot sustain this type of abuse by people. We must raise our voices and share. It is very challenging though because of the fear perpetuated by the media in regards to sharks. Just 2 days ago, I went to the Amazon Book Store at U-Village. There was a giant television screen in which kids were playing a video game that if you hit a jellie you die and if you eat a human being you get 1000 points. Sharks are not human killers. People are shark killers. Fear based media sells more than positive/educational media. I get really sad when I think about what people are doing to sharks and rays around the world. There is so much we still do not know about our ocean and I hope that we can start living at one with the sea before it is too late.\n\nScientists believe we need to protect 30% of our ocean from people in marine protected areas. In addition we need to address the wicked problems of climate change, over-fishing, and ocean pollution. Sharks give so much to the imagination, please learn everything you can about sharks and how important our ocean is to our planet so that we start caring and protecting her.\n\nThanks for your questions and listening to my thoughts. Please share, comment, and keep asking questions. We all need to work together and be the voice for our ocean and increase ocean education for all! #LoveOurOcean\n\nNo Comments Yet.\n\nLeave a comment", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6689558029174805}
+{"content": "Foster Group’s investment approach is both evidence-based and client-focused. Academic research provides compelling evidence that markets work, that diversification is key to long-term success, that structure determines performance, and that costs matter. Applying these high-level principles, client portfolios are designed to meet their unique needs, balancing priorities including risk management, required return, and reliable cash flows. This approach has the advantage of reducing complexity while raising the probability of successful investor outcomes.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7050078511238098}
+{"content": "This site uses cookies\n\n\n\nBiopharma Investment Cycle: Expansion Phase Still in Its Early Innings\n\nUnlocking the secrets of the human genome at the turn of the millennium ushered in a transformative era in drug discovery. Christophe Eggmann looks forward to the next potentially lucrative stage of the secular biopharma investment cycle.\n\n2 June 2017\n\nIn the years 2012-2014 stocks of biopharmaceutical companies were on a roll. This was mainly the result of decades-long medical research and development that eventually translated into novel products. One important event that ushered in a transformative era in drug discovery and development was unlocking the secrets of the human genome at the turn of the millennium. Recent advances in genomics have provided more insight into how genetic information determines the development, structure and function of the human body and how abnormal variations in the DNA sequence cause disease. This information has opened up a bewildering array of new targeted treatment avenues.\n\nIn a typical cycle (see below), it takes years of scientific research and clinical development to move an innovation from the lab to the market. But once products launch, the growth trajectory hits an inflection point. This is what happened in 2012 which led to multiple expansion and strong investment returns.\n\nBiopharma Investment Cycle: Expansion phase still in its early innings\n\nSource: GAM Investment Management\n\nOver the past 18 months healthcare stocks have been consolidating, a healthy process in a multi-year cycle due to the US presidential election and a temporary slowdown in new drug approvals. As a result, valuations have retracted and are now sitting at multi-year lows, while fundamentals remain as strong as they have ever been. Biotech is trading at its lowest level in our data history and buy-side positioning has fallen to its lowest level in six years.\n\nDespite minor setbacks in clinical development every now and then, drug pipelines continue to shape up as a major growth driver and the primary source of value creation for investors. The combination of a much better understanding of disease biology, the focus on genetically validated targets and the use of biomarkers to learn early whether a compound is having the desired effect is revolutionising the treatment paradigm of many diseases. Being able to correlate patient biology to specific genetic mutations has led to an increase in new targets for drug discovery, faster drug development timelines and improved the success rate of clinical trials. In addition, global alliances and partnerships among biopharmaceutical companies and with academia provide an open platform that helps advance the standard of care in various disease areas through innovation.\n\nInvesting in healthcare today is about capitalising on these exciting developments, which we seek to maximise by putting innovation at the core of every single investment decision. We identify areas of high unmet medical need and invest in companies that have incorporated strong scientific rationale into their business models and are developing best-in-class assets. We take a selective approach focusing on a combination of emerging technologies and companies that provide visibility into long-term growth through a high-probability pipeline. While good progress has been made treating cancer, disorders of the central nervous system, liver diseases, multiple sclerosis, rare diseases, cystic fibrosis and other genetic diseases, much remains to be done to realise the full potential of recent scientific discoveries.\n\n2017 is setting itself up to become a pivotal year, with a rich pipeline, positive news flow and an enhanced focus on bringing products over the finish line. Based on our conversations with management of major corporations, the appetite for deals is unabated. While the timing for a pickup in M&A activity is difficult to pinpoint, we believe further clinical confirmation of the value of product pipelines is all that CEOs need in order to pull the trigger. Innovative products disrupt the market place, gain market share and are the envy of larger, growth-starved companies. In biopharma, this close relationship between innovation and M&A is what drives the investment cycle for an extended period of time.\n\nWith our strong bias towards innovation, we believe we are well positioned to capture some attractive investment opportunities as we enter this potentially lucrative stage of the cycle.\n\nImportant legal information", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9502419233322144}
+{"content": "Lqbor Relations Project Labor Relations Term Paper\n\nExcerpt from Term Paper :\n\nIn 1981, President Ronald Reagan fired many striking air traffic controllers employed by Federal Aviation Administration. In the face of various challenges confronting labor unions, the union membership drastically, continue to decline. Since support from political party has declined, many workers believe that union's ability to protect their interests has drastically declined, and thus, many private workers belief that it is no longer necessary to be union members.\n\nRoberts, (1997) argue that labor unions have faced hard times and sustained membership loss. The hard times ranging from diminishing influence of bargaining to the intense of global competition and technological changes.\n\nAdded to the political influence that contributes to the decline of the union, there are other external dynamics affecting labor unions. Globalization has been identified as the one of the external dynamic that has impact on the unions' strategies.\n\nExternal Dynamics affecting the Labor Unions\n\nOne of the external dynamics having impact on labor unions is globalization. The concept globalization refers to the process of internal integration. Although, human interaction over a long distance has existed for thousands of years, however, rapid development of ICT (information communication technology) and development of internet technology have assisted in the global integration. Typically, the advent of electronic communication notable internet and mobile phones has assisted in connecting billions of people worldwide. The western political theory has presupposed the existence of territorial borders where state borders are delineated. The political theory argues that there is a clear delineation of domestic affair from foreign affairs. However, the advent of globalization has posed fundamental challenges to the traditional assumption of political theory, and it is no longer evident that states could delineate domestic affairs from foreign affairs. In the contemporary international systems, state could not parade as being sufficient. With advent of globalization, states have noticed that they have limited control of social and economic relations that transcend across national border. The economic theory also argues that fundamental objective of firm is to maximize profits. Many firms in the United States have taken the advantages of globalization to shift from the United States and locate their factories in the countries where labor costs are lower and there is less agitation of labor unions.\n\nIn the contemporary competitive business environment, many manufacturing companies have continued to shift from the United States labor market to other foreign labor market to maximize profits. Pitts (2008) argues that the aims to maximize profits and lower the labor costs have made many manufacturing companies to move out of the United States and locate their manufacturing plants in the developing countries in Asia, Eastern Europe, Africa and South America. Across the Unite States, firms are now pursing the process re-engineering, automation and labor outsourcing to decline costs and increase the corporate profits. In the United States and other Western Europe, the production costs are very high with increase in workers' benefits and wages. The actions of unions in driving up wages have led to the increase in the costs of productions. The escalation of the production costs and workers' demand for higher wages have forced many corporations to take different actions such as process improvement programs, and other innovation such as computerization, production facility automation, and the use robotics to lower costs. Recent development of telecommunication has eliminated the trade barriers and has made many companies to outsource their production facilities to the developing countries.\n\nMore importantly, globalization has assisted many firms in the United States to source for highly skilled workers outside the United States. Many firms in the United States no longer rely on local workers to complete their works; it is now possible for firms to employee labor from any part of the world with impact of internet technology. In a bid to cut labor costs, many organizations are now outsourcing part of their business process to developing countries. Since the beginning of 2000s, firms in the United States have continued outsourcing significant number of it jobs, customer's relations jobs, and advertising jobs to developing countries such as India and Singapore. The issue has had great influence on union's power and ability of union to influence employers for higher wages has weakened drastically. With drastic decline of the labor forces,\n\n\"union leaders blame globalization for their declining membership and power can point to a lot of circumstantial evidence to support their fears. The share of private-sector American workers who belong to labor unions peaked at 36% in 1953-54, then declined slowly through die 1960s and more sharply beginning in the early 1970s. By 2006, private-sector union density had fallen below 8%.\" (Griswold, 2010 P. 184).\n\n\"Union membership has not only shrunk during the era of globalization but unions have become less militant. In a survey of 15 major industrialized countries, not including the United States, the number of days per worker lost due to strikes was 1,641 in the 1960s, 2,586 in the 1970s, 1,632 in the 1980s, and a mere 658 in the 1990s.\" (Griswold, 2010 P. 185).\n\nEconomic theory reveals that growing international competitions among firms continue to damage the interests of labor and influence the labor unions. As products face more competition in the global markets, there would be a greater elasticity of demand for labor. This indicates that demand for labor will be more sensitive to changes in wages. Typically, firms will be forced to reduce number of workers employed because firms would not be able to pass the high labor costs to consumer since their products are facing stiff competitions within the global market place since it is possible for consumers to shift to substitute products offered at lower prices. Griswold, (2010) argues the ability of employers to reduce number of workers could force government to make laws less friendly to labor unions because government needs to create jobs for the whole population and not to decline employment opportunities in the country. Globalization could also put pressure on government to take the side of management in the name global competitive markets.\n\nMore importantly, technology has contributed to the increase in the competitions that firm face in the global market environment, and therefore wakening the unions bargaining power. A spread of internet technology has opened the more sectors to competitions and reducing barriers to enter the industry. Typically, the internet has allowed several firms to enter the markets and compete with more established companies in the U.S. And thereby declining firms' profits and bargaining power of unions.\n\nApart from the impact of globalization on unions, baby boomers, generation X and generation Y have also influenced the labor unions.\n\nGenerational aspects having influence on Labor Unions and will continue to do so Baby boomers are the largest group in the United States population and they contribute to the largest number of workers in the United States. Baby boomers represent 28% of the U.S. population, and account to the 43% of the total workforce in the United States. Baby boomers are people born between 1946 and 1964, and many people in this group belong to women liberation and civil right movement. In the United States, almost half of baby boomer have high school diploma or equivalent and nearly 40% of baby boomers have earned at least an Associates Degree. (ASHHRA, 2010).\n\nFig 1: Generation Distribution in the U.S.\n\nAs being revealed in Fig 1, generation X represents only 14% of the population in the United States and approximately 21% of U.S. belongs to this group and this group was born between 1965 and 1976. Generation X is often described as self-reliant and 40% of people in this group have earned at a college or university degree. They are able to gain advantages with their academic degrees. Most of them are self-confidence and technological literate. However, generation Y constitutes approximately 27% of the U.S. population. Many people in this generation have not yet entered the workforce, and generation Y constitutes about 27% of workforce in the United States. Typically, the future of U.S. industries depends on this generation. (ASHHRA, 2010).\n\nDescription of the three generations reveals that baby boomers will have more impact on the unions and will continue to influence the American unions. Compared to other generation group in the United States, baby boomers constitute the largest percentage of union member. In the United States, baby boomers account for the 43% of the total workforce. Thus, their large membership in the unions often influences the union. More importantly, many baby boomers are in the position of authorities in several private and public organizations, and they have ability to influence the labor unions more than other generations.\n\nBased on different influence that could weaken power of union in the global competitive environment, the report provides the changes that unions need to implement to maintain support for their membership, employers and community at large.\n\nChanges Unions need to maintain to achieve support from their Membership, Employers and the Community\n\nFacing the decline of union membership in the contemporary…\n\nCite This Term Paper:\n\n\"Lqbor Relations Project Labor Relations\" (2012, June 16) Retrieved August 17, 2017, from\n\n\"Lqbor Relations Project Labor Relations\" 16 June 2012. Web.17 August. 2017. <\n\n\"Lqbor Relations Project Labor Relations\", 16 June 2012, Accessed.17 August. 2017,", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9704172611236572}
+{"content": "Profile of the Greek God Zeus\n\nSky and Thunder God\n\nZeus abducting a woman\nZeus Abducting a Woman.\n\n\nZeus was the husband of Hera, but he had many affairs with other goddesses, mortal women, and female animals. Zeus mated with, among others, Aegina, Alcmena, Calliope, Cassiopea, Demeter, Dione, Europa, Io, Leda, Leto, Mnemosyne, Niobe, and Semele.\n\nIn the Roman pantheon, Zeus is known as Jupiter.\n\n\nZeus is father of gods and men. A sky god, he controls lightning, which he uses as a weapon, and thunder. He is king on Mount Olympus, the home of the Greek gods. He is also credited as the father of Greek heroes and the ancestor of many other Greeks. Zeus mated with many mortals and goddesses but is married to his sister Hera (Juno).\n\n\nRoman Equivalent:\n\nThe Roman name for Zeus is Jupiter, or sometimes Jove.\n\nJupiter is thought to be made up of a Proto-Indoeuropean word for god, *deiw-os, combined with the word for father, pater, like Zeus + Pater.\n\n\nZeus is depicted as having a beard and long hair. His other attributes include scepter, eagle, cornucopia, aegis, ram, and lion.\n\nThe cornucopia or (goat) horn of plenty comes from the story of his Zeus' infancy when he was nursed by Amalthea.\n\nPowers of Zeus\n\nZeus is a sky god with control over weather, especially that of thunder and lightning, which he uses as a weapon.\n\nHe is King of the gods and a god of oracles -- especially in the sacred oak at Dodona. In the story of the Trojan War, Zeus, as a judge, listens to the claims of other gods in support of their side.\n\nHe then renders decisions on acceptable behavior. He remains neutral most of the time, allowing his son Sarpedon to die and glorifying his favorite, Hector.\n\nEtymology of Zeus and Jupiter\n\nThe root of both \"Zeus\" and \"Jupiter\" is in a proto-Indo-European word for the often personified concepts of \"day/light/sky\".\n\nZeus Abducts Mortals:\n\nThere are many myths about Zeus. Some involve demanding acceptable conduct of others, whether human or divine. Zeus was enraged with the behavior of Prometheus. The titan had tricked Zeus into taking the non-meat portion of the original sacrifice, so that mankind could enjoy the food. In response, the king of the gods deprived mankind of the use of fire so they wouldn't be able to enjoy the boon they'd been granted, but Prometheus found a way around this, and stole some of the gods' fire by hiding it in a stalk of fennel and then giving it to mankind. Zeus punished Prometheus with having his liver pecked out every day.\n\n\n  • when Zeus carried off Europa, he appeared as a tempting white bull\n    [see Europa and Zeus] -- although why the Mediterranean women were so enamored of bulls is beyond the imaginative capacities of this urban-dweller -- setting in motion the quest of Cadmus and the settling of Thebes. The hunt for Europa provides one mythological version of the introduction of letters to Greece.\n\nThe Olympic Games were initially held to honor Zeus.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8213909864425659}
+{"content": "Traducere // Translate\n\nAscensor catre esafod\n\nIata aici o pagina din cursul pe internet despre un film artistic, Ascensor catre esafod (Jeanne Moreau, Louis Malle, Miles Davis)\n\nElevator to the Gallows:\n\nA Jazz Film of Collaborative Integrity\n\nMiles Davis Louis Malle\n\n\nJazz is a way of creation that is greater than the genre of music itself – it is a level of skill and artistic ingenuity that can be applied to any medium. Once an artist has achieved a certain familiarity with their medium the opportunity for creation is only dependent upon the creator and their personal identity, which is comprised of their experiences, heritage and inspirations. (Khatchadourian, p.108-115) This complex body from which artists take their ideas surely takes years of refinement to master their medium, but only the true masters have clarity in their vision and are able to communicate clearly the ideas that they envision to their audience.\n\nFor the French film director Louis Malle, it is the careful composition of his visions that makes his films unique from others. In his 1957 production of Elevator to the Gallows he constructed a concise and suspenseful story that captures the interest of the viewer by dramatic lighting, a romantic struggle, and murder. Not only does the plot engage the viewer, the entire presentation is considered and particularly emphasized by the musical score written by Miles Davis, who was a great admirer of Malle’s films. The common elements of film and music begin to enlighten the universal connections between artistic mediums and their use in conjunction with others.\n\nMalle was born in Thumeries of northern France to a priveleged family in 1932, having assisted with Jacques Cousteau and Robert Bresson before making his first film, Elevator to the Gallows or L'Ascenseur pour l'echafaud which was called Frantic in the States. By 1957 Miles Davis had nearly crowned himself atop the jazz scene having earned the right to orchestrate most of the best musicians in the business and in history to accompany him. Davis had played with Charlie Parker in the mid 1940's standardizing his notes in the idiom of hard bop. After years of producing excellent unique recordings Davis carried with him the heart of jazz as we know it with his modal jazz in the late 1950's. By 1959 wih Kind of Blue, Miles was certainly the dominating pulse in jazz. The historic band of Cannonall Adderley, John Coltrane, Bill Evans, Paul Chambers and Jimmy Cobb would forever typify modal jazz and allowed each musicians personality come through their lines and solos by giving each instrument the spce needed to hear them distinctly. The harmonies of one mode could be played for four measures as opposed to chords having specific durations in each measure (Gridley, p. 219-229). The musicians who played Elevator to the Gallows were French and managed to connect with Miles' vision of the ideal sound for Malle's movie. They were Pierre Michelot on the bass, Kenny Clarke on drums, Barney Wilen on tenor and Rene Urtreger on piano. Jazz helped to develop the film noir style as Davis would improvise in front of a screen forming compositions on-the-spot minimal creative frame. In a segment from Quincy Troupe's dialogue with Davis, Miles spoke about his time in France (Chambers, 303-309).\n\n\"Then I went to Paris again to play as a guest soloist for a few weeks. And it was during this trip that I met French filmaker Louis Malle through Juliette Greco. He Told me he had always loved my music and that he wanted me to write the musical score for his new film, L'Ascenseur pour l'echafaud. I agreed to do it and it was a great learning experience, because I had never written a music score for a film before. I would look at the rushes of the film and get musical ideas to write down. Since it was about a murder and was supposed to be a suspense movie, I used this old, gloomy, dark building where I had the musicians play. I thought it would give the music atmosphere, and it did. ...When I got back to New York in December 1957, I was ready to move forward with my music again. I asked Red to come back, and he did. When I heard Monk's gig at Five Spot was ending, I called Trane and told him I wanted him back, and he said, \"Okay.\" Man, when this happened, I knew some real great musical shit was about to go down; I could feel it in my bones. And it happened. It went all the way down.\" (Troupe, 217-222.)\n\nFilm may be the most familiar medium for which our modern era is prepared to understand this phenomenon of entertainment and artistic expression where several mediums are combined to make an entire experience. The visual experience of the film is heightened by the addition of music to create a multi-dimensional, dynamic work of art. This is essentially unique to film, as it has only begun to be explored in other mediums such as applying visual effects to music and musical effects to other forms of visual arts like painting, sculpture, poetry and literature. It is clear that film is quite unique in this sense for it has a vast history and has been able to communicate the artist’s vision most clearly by finding direct connections between actions, settings and musical events, tones and patterns (Khatchadourian, p.116-124). With a culture that is increasingly dependent upon a video form of expression and communication, the other types of artistic expression are subject to compliment the video or film. This is because the way in which we perceive our world is most like a film rather than a painting or symphony.\n\n\nThe connections are in the form as well as in specific events of the film and the score. The black and white film is a simple and dramatic mode that relies on the stark contrast to create the scenes. This can be said in some respect of Davis’s instrumentation, as the trumpet is a simple only three valves capable of making a variety of sounds. The greatest connection is that Davis uses the lack of sound as much as the presence of his notes to create emphasis on the notes that he selects, which is quite similar to the black and white nature of the film technology in the fifties. The direct relationships between musical events and the film events are more obvious to the viewer by the choices that Davis makes as to where he should play and when he should leave the film silent. The notes Davis plays are often indicative of the feelings of the characters especially during moments of tension and exuberance. The music also has common presence as music would in most settings, such as in the bars or\n\nas the car stereo when the very first music is introduced to the film.\n\nWith the first musical scene, when the young lovers have stolen Mr. Tavernier’s car (see above), the music played by Davis and his band is indicative of a “joy ride” situation as the young couple is driving away from the place where Mr. Tavernier had left his car. He had to go back up into his office building where he had forgot the grappling hook that he had left on the outside balcony when he escaped after murdering his boss, Mr. Carala whose wife Mr. Tavernier is having an affair. The notes are not directly related to the events, only in the general tone the music further expresses the feelings of the actors and the excitement and wild abandonment of stealing a car from a man that the young girl admires. She is standing up in the car and enjoying the flight of the moving vehicle and the innovation of the convertible rooftop. The next scene where Mrs. Carala is roaming the streets looking for Mr. Tavernier after seeing the young couple drive by in Mr. Tavernier’s car, thinking that Mr. Tavernier has taken the girl and dropped Mrs. Carala, the notes are deliberately timed with the film (see below). As the “Kronenbourg” neon light flashes it echoes the rhythm of the bass line in a repetitive heart beat manner. Then Miles comes in with a characteristic long, scratching note as the bass, drums, and piano work up from a whisper to a full sound. This sequence is repeated throughout the night scene as Mrs. Carala continues to search for Julien Tavernier as a motif for her feelings. The light from the bar is shining on the office building across the street where Mr. Tavernier is captive in the elevator cabin in a rhythm corresponding to the bass line, transferring the focus from Madame Carala to Mr. Tavernier. The music acts as an inner-monologue for the ideas and expressions of Madame Carala as well as for Julien as when he is trapped inside the elevator. At this point it is clear that Miles Davis has established different patterns for each character relationship or element to the greater story.\n\nThe slow, low bass notes that build into the long trumpet notes are played during the scenes with Mr. Tavernier and Madame Carala, while the fast saxophone and harder drumming are played during the scenes with the young lovers and their encounters with the German couple. The sound editing is quite precise at moments to deliberately connect the score to the actions in the film. The clearest expression of suspense is when Julien has found a way to remove the floor panel of the elevator cabin and lower him with an electrical chord to try to unlatch the hook that was locking the door of the floor below him in the elevator shaft. As he is swinging back and forth to try to reach the lever, a doorman enters the building to make his rounds and drops his keys in the dark. The doorman then turns on the main electrical switch which causes the elevator to move down in the shaft and if continued would crush and kill Mr. Tavernier. Fortunately for Julien the switch is turned back off and the elevator stops before he is flattened. The notes that Davis plays are building up, increasing in volume and intensity until they are silenced when the electrical circuit is shut off. Both the camera and the expression of Mr. Tavernier develop the feeling of relief, but the trumpet notes and the quick cessation of sound elevate the lasting impression as Julien hangs in the elevator shaft in silence.\n\nIn the clip below another example of the emotional expression that the music enhances. In Madame Carala's search for Julien she enters a bar. The piano played sounds as if it were from a man inside the bar, but as she steps out onto the street the lightning crashes and the full band picks up from the brief pause left by the delicate solo piano. This is not the first time that the lightning has cued the steady building sound of dark suspense; together the stormy rain sounds and slow rolling jazz music makes for an informative view on Madame Carala's psyche where there would otherwise be no dialogue to inform a viewer of her emotions.\n\nIt is clear that the moment would be riveting with or without the music accompanying the video, however the coordinated events of both media create an intense suspense that elevates the experience for the viewer in two sensory areas at once. It is unique to have such a harmonious collaboration between two artists of different mediums and distinct identities in their respective fields. The simple approach in Elevator to the Gallows eases the translatability of each artist’s art form with black and white film and one-track live analog recordings. The even palate is comfortable to both the listener and the viewer. Together the experience of the film can be exhilarating. To know how the shots were taken or what the musicians are actually playing may provide a different perspective on the collaboration between Malle and Davis, but a viewer does not need be a film maker or jazz musician to enjoy their work.\n\n\n\nGridley, Mark C. Jazz Styles: History and Analysis 5th Edition. Englewood Ciffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1994.\n\nChanbers, Jack. Milestones: The Music and Times of Miles Davis. New York: Quill William Morrow, 1985.\n\nKhatchadourian, Haig. Music, Film and Art. New York: Gordon and Breach, 1985.\n\nTroupe, Quincy. Miles: The Autobiography. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1989.\n\n\n\n\n\nNiciun comentariu:", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8162903785705566}
+{"content": "Bright, delicious and made completely from scratch, Peppermint Kitchen cakes are a mix of local ingredients and ballsy flavour experiments , handmade by Wanaka girl Laura Wheeler.\n\nFinished off with drips, splodges and a smattering of home-grown edible flowers, they're a riot of taste and colour.  A wedding, a birthday, a regular Wednesday night- a Peppermint Kitchen cake just makes it better. if you're after a regular cake fix the cakes are also available every week at the Wanaka Farmers Market: try a slice or take the whole thing home.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9988036155700684}
+{"content": "Thursday, June 28, 2012\n\nPerspectives on SS11\n\nSS11 students re-creating a Great Depression Era experience for a weekend\nA colleague from Ft. St. James asked me on twitter yesterday if I had any thoughts about BC Social Studies 11 curriculum review, so I thought I'd lay out some ideas in more than 140 characters.\n\nSocial Studies 11 is a fantastic course. Despite its many manifestations from class to school to district, it centres around the basic question of Canadian Identity. Who are we? What does it mean to be Canadian? We ask this of our students, they ask of of each other, their teachers, parents, elders, employers. We ask them to work this question through in terms of political choices, active citizenship, cultural expressions, societal change, historical evidence, environmental relationships, gender & race, international contexts, global issues, and the very history, identity, or experience of our students.\n\nIt is so important that our Ministry of Education and in some ways the entire province deems it (or something very much like it) as a requirement for graduation. The alternatives, Civics 11 and First Nations 12, ask the same big idea but with a specific focus on citizenship and Aboriginal identity respectively. We could probably ask powerful questions about Canadian Identity using variety of curricula or a reduced curriculum, but we (our province) have settled on 20th & early 21st century Canadian-centric history, civics, and human geography. I think we made a good choice.\n\nThe course is tightly packed (here's a sample course overview), so much so that some teachers complain about curriculum overload and having to rush through or survey topics rather than explore them in depth. There is a provincial exam at the end, a grad program requirement worth 20% of the overall mark, that has been in place for 8 years. Again many teachers complain that the exam drives the course, forces us to teach content over skills and deep understanding.\n\nI'd like to call road apples on that. I think the course provides a challenging, creative, and fast-paced context to explore the big questions. The content areas can be broken down very well into powerful, focused inquiries, and that there is enough flex time for both meaningful projects, deep understanding of core topics, and the inclusion of current events. I have to manage my instructional time very carefully as a teacher, but I still have classes where we goof around, argue about the news, and watch stuff on youtube. I think an interrogation of Canadian Identity benefits from the backdrop of 20th century history, forays in politics & government, an empathetic survey of global development issues, and an ongoing effort to connect what students know and who they are with the story of Canada. This course provides it, and the students come away going wow that was intense and did I ever learn a lot. I'm serious, and I can say that because the same students don't necessarily say that about the other courses that I teach, and the students enjoy SS11 even when I'm not firing on all cylinders. When students come in with an agenda, a passion or deep interest (as many of them will given the space to do it), I feel the best way to abet their quests are with broad horizons of Canadian evidence across political, economic, environmental, and social landscapes.  Of course many deep interests awaken along the journey, so I'm glad it is not a short or easy path we follow.\n\nI also think the exam is beneficial. The provincial exam features 55 well designed MC questions surveying basic curriculum (selective, not exhaustive), connections between important ideas, and short, precise opportunities for critical thinking. The questions use graphics like maps, cartoons, newspaper headlines, and quotes -- often to the embarrassment of old-school teachers who used to reward their students with 200 question text-only MC tests. They are balanced from each area of the course (Civics, History, Human Geography) and balanced in terms of knowledge (40%) and understanding (60%). The exam has 2 essay questions that require higher-level thinking and synthesis of learning from very broad topics in the course: French-English relations, standards of living, treatment of minorities, global poverty, international conflicts, climate change & water, the Great Depression, and so on. Some of the questions are worded in a difficult way, but the topics are not a surprise to the teacher or the students.\n\nWhen the provincial exam first came out in 2004, many SS teachers across the province gasped and thought to themselves (or out loud) \"you mean I'm supposed to teach this stuff?\" Sorry to be cynical so close to the end of a school-year, but I'm embarrassed by how many teachers have never read the IRP or parsed the PLOs for the courses they teach, and stop with the textbook. The SS curriculum was revised in 2006, dropping PLOs from SS11 related to government structure, law, pre-1914 history, and aspects of human geography.  Some of these entered into the SS10 curriculum. This helped reduce the content/knowledge pressure without compromising the basic set of inquiries. Six years later (with a new, exemplary textbook) and some teachers haven't yet made this connection, as evidenced by the old course outlines and tests they work with. The exam literally kick-started an entire generation of SS teachers to re-examine how they designed their courses and gave them a once-in-their-career notice that fidelity to the curriculum was important.\n\nWith a tight curriculum that many teachers felt they now had to follow (because of the provincial exam), no doubt many things were dropped along the way. Like 20 hours of Socials videos!  Did I say that? Okay, like cool projects, such as the two-week long \"build a sustainable city\" project I saw in a colleague's class in the 1990s, or empathy building activities around important events (e.g. ties to Remembrance Day). Many other teachers started teaching population geography for the first time, and actually took the history course through the modern era in order to discuss contemporary Canadian issues. Others dusted off their government & law units and realized that the new curriculum was devoted to active citizenship and gaining insight into rights, social values, and our political system. There is still time for cool projects and presentation time in SS11, like the Depression-Era experience, the Echo Project, and Community Involvement Challenge (all involve home and class time), Letters from the Front (1 class) or the Rwandan case study (3 classes) placed before a \"Canada's role in the world\" activity (peacekeeping middle power vs peacemaking model power -- 3 classes). This year a colleague from Mackenzie built her WWI lessons around trench conditions... her class planned out and dug trenches in the huge Mackenzie snowdrifts and simulated a Canadian's day in 1917.  Garvin Moles, a respected Prince George/Nanaimo SS teacher (now-retired) and text-book author, told me he used to teach the courses he wanted to teach, and then spend the last week or two bending what they had done towards the exam, and actively preparing them for it.  Exams can be scary for students, but they are just one thing that needs doing in a course, and need not run the whole show.\n\nThe survey nature of the course allows us to work through what is means to be Canadian from multiple perspectives. This year alone I had students with family backgrounds that involved the Chinese head-tax, Komagata Maru, Ukrainian Sifton-era immigration, fighting at Vimy Ridge, Japanese Internment, Liberation of Holland, Aboriginal Residential School, and rallying with the FLQ. These connections came up precisely because our curriculum danced in and out of these topics, and because we made some time for Heritage Inquiry. Many of these student didn't know they had these connections until they both learned about the topics and engaged their families with heritage inquiry. Some needed the learning in order to know what questions to ask, and some needed to ask identity-based questions before they cared to learn about the content. The exam doesn't specifically exploit this learning, but it does say that our society values emerging citizenship so much that we're willing to apply standards and assess at a \"grand\" scale.\n\nI do wish the exam \"answer key\" had a bit more encouragement for markers to look for personal connections to the curriculum like family stories and focused examples. Most markers are sane about this, but some are still looking for students to complete a checklist of facts and repeat what they were \"supposed\" to learn in a way that is easy to recognize. I also wish there was an opportunity to demonstrate learning with something other than an essay. Here's what two of my students wrote when I asked (on a closed notes test) what challenges were faced by developing nations trying to achieve a higher standard of living: example 1 and example 2. One of these girls happens to be a good writer, one is not, but I'd say they both have a great understanding of the issues behind the question. Without the provincial exam I'm sure we'd see a move to more diverse learning and demonstration of learning in the classrooms of our awesome SS teachers, but we'd also lose the healthy motivation to address a full set of learning outcomes. I think it is amazing that a group of young British Columbians (who more or less took SS11 from 2004-present) have a common expectation for being knowledgeable, active, aware, and empathetic Canadians.  Grab one off the street and quiz him... see if he feels the same way!\n\nPerhaps we could tell an even more inclusive story of Canada by re-arranging the course, but I don't think it is the curriculum or the exam that needs shifting. I think we could do more with project-based learning (have you seen the cigar box project?), teaming with other teachers/students/courses (why not do the Rwandan Case Study in an English or Psychology class?), and simply beating down our PLOs into student-friendly focus questions and core skills. It is a hard habit for many teachers to break, but we also need to take perspectives out of the footnote category (women's history, for example), and start rather than end lessons with these. It would be great to sign stuents up for two senior Social Studies courses at the same time and mash the lessons together. I'm thinking about what SS11 and Social Justice 12 would look like taught together. The PLOs are different, but the curricular fodder is similar, so finding time for grand projects and inquiries would be natural. We could also conceive of Social Studies 8-11 as a continuum, in which we lay out goals around curriculum (e.g. Canadian history, environmental issues), skills (e.g. decoding images and interpreting evidence), inquiry (heritage connections, Canadian character), and themes (politics & gov't, autonomy & internationalism, society & identity, economy & environment), and relevance (heritage presentations, current events, community service, political/social action, interviews). Parts of these \"classes\" would be classes -- age-grouped, instruction based, content-centred but always aiming at higher level thinking. Parts of these \"classes\" could be cohort based and focused on the universal goals but responsive to current events. Parts of these \"classes\" could be community based, leveraging online/flipped/blended learning and centred around the themes and inquiries (more interaction with each other, for example, on \"being Canadian\"). Parts of these \"classes\" could be seminar-based and involve other disciplines, teachers, students, and even parents; I'm thinking about big project that tie many outcomes together and might span more than one year. Crazy ideas, yes, but not unprecedented in our province.  While I like that superintendent's ideas, the trick is make progressive changes to public education without allowing the personalization agenda to erode the parts of the foundation that aren't already cracked.\n\nAs you can see I'm looking more at education reform than curriculum review. I think our curriculum is fine as it is, it is just challenging enough to keep students and teachers alert and takes the fluff away from the corners of my lesson plans (so long, 6 page worksheets and Canada A People's History except for a few pieces involving Trudeau!). What needs changing (for some) is the approach, not the curriculum, and maybe the teacher skill-set at taking down what they perceive to be a mountain of material and learning outcomes and getting them to realize they can slow down and focus on fewer, stronger inquiries without the BCED plan or the IRP telling them to do so. The permission is already implicit in the existing expectations, and I think the exam doesn't ask much more than this.\n\nPlease, comment on what I've written, challenge it, and provide something from your own bias and experience. There are hundreds of ways of getting SS11 \"right\" and I know some of them are far more creative and successful than mine. I'm proud of how my students fare on the provincial exam re their class assessment and the provincial averages, but I'm way more proud of how they navigate through a challenging and engaging curriculum and emerge with sense of their own place in Canada past, present, and future. In particular, please share how you slow down on important outcomes -- these are the activities that tend to engage students and make me reconsider my arguments for a fast-paced course.\n\nWednesday, June 27, 2012\n\nYear in Review\n\nGuest Post from Jacqui Dockray, a committed parent of elementary students and a member of the SD57 District Parent Advisory Council.  She is a tireless advocate for public education and gave the following address to the senior administration and trustees at the year-end board meeting last night.  Thanks, Jacqui, for your creative consensus-building work on so many levels and for allowing me to share your thoughts here.\nAs another school year comes to an end, I would like to take this opportunity to thank those who work so hard to ensure that our children receive not only a quality education, but also a rich educational experience in our public education system.\n\nThe Board and the District ensure that what needs to be in place is in place (policies, money, resources, staff, maintenance, etc.) and also set standards and future goals for achievement in many areas within the district.  Thank you for your hard work, and especially for the attempts to move toward open, transparent and more consultative process as well as more equitable and collaborative discussion amongst partner groups and parents.\n\nCollaboration, as is defined in Policy 4100, Employee Relations, “means one or more persons successfully working with other persons to attain common or agree-on goals and objectives.  Collaboration requires mutual respect and trust, clear commitments to common beliefs and values, meaningful consultation and involvement, shared decision-making, open, honest, ongoing two-way communication, risk, creativity and mutually acceptable processes and outcomes.”  This policy is brief and reasonably straightforward – (could we perhaps encourage similar treatment of policy 5119?).  It states that “The Board of Education shall promote cooperation in its dealings with individual employees and employee groups, strive to maintain a positive work environment for employees and students, and seek to maintain a collaborative school district.”  A’ collaborative school district’ is one in which the professional autonomy of staff and the managerial responsibilities of the Board are harmonized around the common goal of providing the best educational opportunities for students.\n\nI believe being a collaborative school district is sincerely worked on here in SD#57.  However, I am concerned that “open, honest, ongoing two-way communication” often does not take place in the district because “fear of reprisal and mistrust” stalls that process.\n\nI would like to see the District encourage all feedback – the good, the bad and the ugly – from all teachers, staff, and administrators, as well as parents and students.  Let people know that they should not hold back any concerns they have with proposed programs or changes in philosophy and that they need not fear reprisal for being honest and constructively critical of what is proposed.  Allow enough time for these consultations to take place so that meaningful data and feedback is collected and can actually be utilised to improve the proposal.\n\nIt is with the utmost respect for those who welcome our children into our schools and classrooms day in and day out that I take this time to ask you – the Board and the District – to ensure that you value to the highest degree, the people who form the base of this institution that we call public education.  Without teachers, TA’s, administrators and others at the school level, you have nothing to administer or manage. Without their true and full collaboration, your attempts to move this district into an actual working model of 21st century learning, however that ends up looking, will lack the lustre it should have.\n\nSo thank you teachers, school administrators, TA’s, secretaries, custodial staff and all other people in our school communities for making our children’s experiences at school rich, rewarding and worth returning for.  I, for one, value your opinions, constructive criticisms and desires to contribute to the continued improvement of education and exemplary practice in this district.\n\nWednesday, June 20, 2012\n\nfinding a home for 21st century learning\n\nStudents learning about tree measurements on a woodlot\nin School District #91. Their teacher established learning\nobjectives for this project from Math, Science, and\nPlanning PLOs. photo: Chris Mushumanski \n\n\nSo what do we do? \n\nAn example\n\n\n\nSo what about the assumptions? \n\n\n\n\n\nSaturday, June 16, 2012\n\nthe burger bash\n\n3rd annual D.P. Todd year-end Burger Bash\nHow does your school end the year for the students? A nice three hour exam? Unreturned book fees? I suppose these will be with us for some time to come, a little pain for some gain. I would argue that exams can still be about assessing meaningful learning rather than ranking the little darlings. The exam pressure isn't all bad, it brings out some interesting resolve in students that is sometimes absent earlier in the month.  Some kind of final assessment clears away any doubts about whether a student is ready for next level and gives a few of them a final chance to establish that they've met the learning outcomes.\n\nThree years ago, our school's bon vivant Socials teacher turned Culinary Arts teacher Mr. Ian Leitch hatched a plot for doing away with anything resembling an exam. He came up with a twofold assessment to allow his Cafeteria students to demonstrate their learning and celebrate their accomplishment.  The first part assesses individual competency and involves the documentation of a multi-course meal the student prepares for their families. Each step is justified, explained, and prepared with care, often tapping into cultural themes and family favorites that have significance for the student and his/her family. Back in class the student shares the story, pictures, and photos of how it went, complete with family evaluation. Assessment measures performance and learning re outcomes, but it also places a value on the work and personal learning that students self-describe (ultimately more lasting  than learning based on external standards).\n\nMr. Leitch's Cafeteria students work hard all year to provide amazing, healthy, tasty meals 2-3 times a week for a school that has no cafeteria, no industrial kitchen, not even a place for kids to sit and eat lunch. Carts of food scuttle down the halls in anticipation of lunchtime to the little snack counter that serves as a staging area for food service. The creative (sometimes experimental) student-designed meals are served up to about a third of our 750 students, who line up with $4 and a hunger for artfully arranged offerings such as 1) pulled pork on bannock with with cole slaw, 2) New York steak on a potato tart with prawns and sundried tomato cream reduction, 3) trio of Indian dishes (based on a student's parents' wedding meal), 4) garden veg sandwich with aged cheddar and mango chutney on foccacia. Etc! Stuff that Veg would be proud of.\n\nThe Cafeteria course uses some great blended learning -- student time is divided between classroom based lessons, independent group meetings, food prep, food service, and other work. They have a regular block, some of which they need to attend (not all of it in their foods classroom), some of which is optional, and they also give up some of their lunchtime. There is also an expectation for online/mobile contributions, e.g. recipe development, check-in with their group and teacher, and facebook promotion of their lunchtime food service. In my mind this is the right \"blend\" for blended learning -- the face-to-face time is very structured and involves powerful teaching, the independent work is group-based to provide accountability, and the online work makes the other parts go better and doesn't require students to be zoned out in front of a computer. They call their program/operation \"Te Amo\" (Spanish for \"I love you,\" which was what one of our exchange students said when he tasted their food for the first time in 2010). The teacher is compensated with two teaching blocks for a single class, which recognizes that he gives up most lunches and spends parts of his evenings picking up food orders, stocking, and working with student groups face-to-face or by mobile phone. I'd call that a \"flipped classroom\" but this is becoming common enough now that we have to start seeing it as part of the spectrum and not a reversal of old-school teaching and learning.\n\nWatching Mr. Leitch teach is a pleasure -- he opens up their thinking and senses to how important food is in our culture, our lives, our emotional and physical health, and brings them, step by step, to a place where they create beautiful dishes that could be served in restaurants. His manner is so full of joy and respect, inclusive without pandering and humorous without losing focus, and always about the students being their best. Mauri Bell, a dynamic Ed Assistant connected to the class and program acts as sous chef and negotiator/facilitator on the long list of duties performed by students, in addition to working with some special kids in the program. The class structure runs very much like a professional kitchen, with students rotating through important roles from dishes to top chef. They have \"iron chef competitions,\" hour-long intense workshops on single ingredients, student submitted food \"problems\" to solve (e.g. how to turn a family recipe into an event production line), some keynotes on process and safety, and group accountability for pulling off orders, planning, and production. They even made cheese.\n\nThe second part of Mr. Leitch's course wrap-up benefits the whole school and assesses teamwork, very important in a program that will/does lead many into the food service industry. At the end of June, the Te Amo Caf students form groups and design the ultimate burger -- secret sauces, the right cheese, crazy good toppings, and usually a special twist. They build a demo burger, photograph it, market it around the school, and sell tickets to buy them. A bit of friendly competition and a chance for them to act and talk about food to the whole school they way they have been doing in class. How's that for a final exam? The rest is pure anticipation and celebration. In the staff room, teachers are going on about which burger(s) they have bought tickets for, talking about what the students said to convince them to buy it. On the last day, the grill is going before the last class is out... of course the doors are open and my hallway is filling with the smell of cooked meat, so much for my lesson plan! The burgers are cooked on one grill, and each team has a station out on the grass to assemble their prized creation for all the students who picked their burger from the others.\n\nOur school's leadership class (Mr. Balazs) teams up to coordinate the rest of the burger bash. The yearbooks are ready for distribution, and are given out as the students end the last class. Our admin team has dragged big tables out to the fields, and the students pour out to wait for their burgers and sign yearbooks. We've done this for three years now and it is so cool to see the interactions and conversations. Signing a yearbook brings out some pent-up sentiment in everybody. From signing big Canadian flags for our exchange students, or listening to the music DJ'd by our talented leadership students, the event had a great vibe. I want to use the words joy and respect, even if these don't normally fit with the idea of a year-end party (you'd think some of them would want to break stuff and get the heck out). The students left the field after a couple of hours, not even much to clean up (although our admin and the leadership students were there for that, too).  The first year we did this, it struck such a need that we finally had to ask kids to think about going home at 6:00 after they had talked, danced to the music, and signed yearbooks for 3 hours.\n\nThis year was no different -- joy and respect (perhaps modelled by their Culinary Arts teacher) were what the students delivered. I had the Royal... it had a spicy honey garlic sauce, monterey jack cheese, and pineapple. A bit messy but tasted fantastic. The mix of food, conversation, sunny skies, and yearbooks also provided some serendipity, neat encounters that don't happen elsewhere. I heard one student, while signing the yearbook of another, say \"I didn't really get to know you that well this year, it was nice talking to you.\" Lots of hugs and laughs and teens being teens, but no booze or funny business, go figure. I was especially pleased this year to be asked to sign the yearbooks of a few special students whose progress and resilience I really admire. Some of our students are rough around the edges, including a bunch of kids that take Mr. Leitch's Cafeteria class, but you'd never know it from watching them at the burger bash. Your teachers are proud of you.\n\nA very nice way to end the year, even if there is that other messy business -- a few exams to take the edge off the post-burger-bash glow.  Thanks Mr. Leitch, Ms. Bell, Te Amo crew, staff and students for a great finish.\n\nSunday, June 10, 2012\n\nEcho Project\n\nFor a few years now at D.P. Todd Secondary we've been using a special \"Echo Project\" for Social Studies 11 to put student identity at the centre of the course.\n\nThe idea is fairly simple -- students interview someone to learn more about Canada in the Postwar Era with the goal of making a personal connection to the curriculum. The thing that turns this basic idea into something memorable is the urgency we place on the task.\n\nThe SS11 students we teach right now (and over the last few years) are at the tail end of the Echo Generation, the children of the late Baby Boomers or early Gen Xers. In turn, their grandparents were mostly born before or during WWII, and their great-grandparents were around before the Great Depression. What an incredible resource -- we have people beyond the 50-yr gap all around us, many with incredible stories to tell. There is a retirement complex across the street from the school, for example, that has at least five WWII vets in residence.\n\nI believe that societies need robust connections over the 2-generation gap (about 50 years) if the society is to remain whole and progressive.  Breaking the gap, breaking the continuity with grandparents for example, leads to confusion of values, dysfunctional habits, and narcissism.  Maintaining conversations with the elderly among youth is vital; these students truly are the Echo -- the voices of something deep (powerful) and distant (at risk of being lost) that skips past the immediate horizon and comes alive when it is least expected.  In other words, students will learn stuff from the elderly that they can't learn from their parents or other adults (teachers included). Surprisingly, what they learn often involves risk-taking, living large, and being really good at a few important things.\n\nI think the students involved in the Foxfire project knew what this was about -- they knew the urgency of collecting knowledge and perspectives from the elderly. For those students in Georgia of the 1960s and 70s, the rapid disappearance of Appalachian culture compelled them to gather stories, recipes, crafts, wisdom and lore from the locals. It is the same urgency we try to instill in our students -- the pre-war generations (arguably with the best perspective on postwar society) are fewer in number each year (and were fewer to start with). One of our students \"found\" an interview subject that was 102 -- this is someone with personal memories of every major event from the SS11 curriculum, and an authentic view on our course themes: politics & gov't, autonomy & identity, society & culture, economy & environment. Soon it will be difficult to find anyone with firsthand experience of the Great Depression and eventually WWII. We were studying WWI in class two years ago when Canada's last vet of the Great war died.  Our WWII vets average age is 88 and number less than 125,000.\n\nIn SS10, most of our students built Heritage Projects around their own family or cultural backgrounds, exploring themes like traditions, migration, cultural values, subsistence, and lots of cool stories and connections to historical events and motifs. This SS11 Echo Project is a chance to pick up one of the strands and follow-up with how their \"heritage\" evolved in the postwar era. Most of our students pick a grandparents to interview, but many gravitate towards an elder they know in their community. Like the Heritage Project, the results are amazing -- students making bold connections to ideas and learning outcomes from our course with passion and scholarly insight.\n\nI've just finished marking the various Echo Projects that have come in over the last few weeks from three SS11 classes and I must say I am overwhelmed. They learned so much from their interview subjects, they asked such meaningful and profound questions (even if it was sometimes just about music or fads), and they spoke and write so respectfully about the unique and eccentric knowledge they gained from the process. As one student put it, you just don't learn this kind of thing from Google.\n\nIt is no surprise that student learn more, faster, and deeper when their identity is on the line. For example, many students are bored by the details of the Avro Arrow story... not so the student whose grandfather was an actual engineer for the Avro project. His passion in understanding the nuances of the Avro story came alive for the other students and they caught the idea that the story was important (as it once was to many Canadians). Another student walked us through the emotional toll of military service and the question of what Canada's role should be on the world stage, focusing on Cyprus where his dad served as a Canadian Peacekeeper. His presentation coincided with a class activity looking at Canada and the UN and whether Canada should aim to be a middle power or a model power (activity and an 11x17 evidence page which they use as a study buddy for a unit test). I'd wager the class learned more from the authentic student presentation than my complicated middle/model power exercise.\n\nI'm still haunted by one student's family story. Her great-grandmother wrote diaries from the 1920s to the 1960s chronicling her own life and also how she felt about the world around her, including WWII and her family's immigration to Canada. When she passed away in the 1970s, her daughters and son were left with the task of sorting through the boxes and boxes of journals. The daughters wanted to break with the past, to forget about Old World grief and grievances, and so they set fire to the journals.  The son (my student's grandfather) was devastated and had a falling out with his sisters that never really healed. My student interviewed him for her Echo Project and tried to recreate what her great-grandmother must have seen in her life. As you can imagine, the student now feels an urgency to begin a journal of her own, to write about her life and the world around her.\n\nAnother student learned about an 92-yr-old man and got the nerve up to interview him. He and his wife were the parents of my student's grandma's best friend... that's how these things work! He was hard of hearing, hard to understand and my student tried to get as much down on paper as she could. It turns out he had served on Lancaster Bombers in the Canadian Airforce in WWII. Then serendipity takes over. My student's great-grandafther had also served as a Lancaster navigator. He was killed in action, but was an important part of the student's documented family history. Interviewing a veteran navigator gave her an insight into what her relative went through in the airspace above Germany before he was shot down, something missing from the family record. Of course, it broadened her understanding of Canada's role on the international stage and was a point of connection in the course that had previously been lacking. I started the course worried about this student's progress but am now so proud at her level of engagement. The cool thing is that she decided how and when to get interested.\n\nI'm teaching 4 for 4 right now and I haven't had the time to archive the projects and blog about the individual results as I had wished, but I wanted to take a few minutes and lay out the excitement I had for the students' work and give a sense of how this project is set up. I'll put some more comments and excerpts from the student projects together as I find time.\n\nHere's generally what I tell the students, in bits and pieces over many weeks, leading up to the actual assignment:\nYou are the Echo. Generation Y. Born in 1996, most of you. What does that mean? Your parents, for the most part, were the last part of the baby boom generation that followed World War Two and lasted until the mid 1960s. Some of you are the children of Generation X, the ones that followed the boomers in the late 1960s and 1970s. The median year of your parents’ birth was 1967, your grandparents, 1940. \nWhat this means is that your grandparents grew up in the 1940s and 1950s, when Canada was quite decidedly not a British colony but was in danger of becoming an American colony. When the Soviet Union was the bad guy, the commies were coming, and the world would probably end in thermonuclear war. They know a thing or two about hippies, about cars, about jobs, food, clothes, hobbies and jokes that don't really fit in anymore. \nThey observed, or joined in, as minorities, women, and Aborginal Canadians gained more rights. They witnessed the big events of the postwar period and probably harbour opinions you won't find in a textbook. Some came to this country as a new homeland, and were able to test Laurier's theory that \"Canada is the star to which all men who love progress and freedom shall come.\" Some of them were called DPs as kids, and did not like it. They'll have strong thoughts on Trudeau, on the Quebecois, on Americans, on environmentalism. A substantial number of them grew up on a farm, and were adults before they ever boarded a plane.  Medical care was not universal for them, and they sang  \"God Save the Queen\" in school while looking at a different flag than we have now. \nMany will start a conversation with \"you got it easy these days\" and many will finish a conversation with a telling look that says \"I can't believe we haven't talked about this stuff before.\" The important thing is that when you reach past a couple of generations, you will learn something important from people that hold memories that will soon be forgotten. If you ask the right questions, you'll find that everything they say will give you an authentic perspective on Canadian Identity and other big ideas from our course.   \nThe task... \nStructure your Echo Project around what you have learned from an interview with someone who lived through and understood some of the key issues of the postwar period. Your research, work, and presentation could involve documents, photos, artifacts and other primary sources. You may end up talking about some of the research topics from our \"Postwar\" list, or something completely different. You should also try to address a few of the elements of Critical Inquiry (the circle graph we looked at in class). For an interview subject, three things are desirable (but not always necessary): 50 year gap -- born before 1947, experienced -- they have interesting stories to tell, and important to you -- someone you would really like to talk to. The rest of the project details are explained on the handout, including suggestions for format and sample interview questions.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5263351798057556}
+{"content": "Do you have 3 key words to describe your Leadership style?\n\n\nBut someone asked me the other day, \"With only three words, describe your leadership style.\" And with no hesitation, I immediately knew.\n\nMy answer: Hustle, Hungry, Humble.\n\nThose three words have defined my leadership style for the last 20 years. I've seen this style manifested in all the different titles, roles, and leadership moments over the last several years.\n\n\nObviously there is no right answer to the question, but we all must be diligent in defining, refining and living out our leadership style. A phrase that would describe my leadership style over the years: \"work hard and play hard.\" Whatever we are doing, we give 110% and always want to deliver- an excellent result. Whether working on a brochure, programming, curriculum, or playing basketball or kickball at the office, the goal is to strive to be the best at everything we do. You must have tremendous passion for the work. Another phrase I think describes my style is \"calm but intensely focused.\" Especially in environments like producing an event where things can be chaotic and multiple decisions have to be made instantly.\n\n\nTry three words for yourself- it's tough, but will help in identifying the areas of your leadership that matter the most, show up most often, and should be put into practice with the most focus and intentionality.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9318743944168091}
+{"content": "Pesan Villa, Apartemen, Rumah Liburan Dan Lainnya Di HomeAway\n\nHomeYou are a accountable, caring and loving pet owner and the safety of your pets is of paramount value to you. Typically, theses are the hours that are not as busy and sales associates are a lot more most likely to be a lot more relaxed and don’t feel rushed and are much more versatile when it comes time to serving you. Underground houses with higher thermal mass are suitable for semi-arid, temperate climates, not sub-tropical such as exactly where I live. Several earth-sheltered houses are constructed with huge, south-facing windows to let in all-natural light. In addition to the insulation and cost-saving attributes, some people that reside in earth-sheltered houses feel safer… much less vulnerable to vandalism and theft. In the late 19th century, 70% of the population of the city owned their personal houses. Throughout the housing boom of the 1920s, Gallagher and his sons offered properties with built-in garages. A city development workplace provided technical and monetary help with a city backed loan program for the restoration of older properties.\n\n\nKimadagem, I just want to point out that I spend 635 a month for a good wooden floored a single bedroom apartment in a suburbian city outdoors of Austin although going to college complete time and functioning 50 hours a week. You have to make at least three times your monthly rent each month to be accepted into most apartment complexes in the twenty-initial century.\n\nWhat you will find are stories about Irish resistance to modular housing in their country Australia’s new really like affair with modular housing innovative methods that England is promoting modular home living and other countries creating new modular home factories, shipping container properties and tiny houses.\n\nThe smaller homes had been frequently properties for Baltimore’s big African American population which integrated freemen and slaves. Tiny houses/small properties are a huge movement these days as people seek to downsize in an effort to make more of much less. If one of my buddies have been suddenly homeless, then the higher-level of individuals would have him and family members into a excellent home with fixtures, him with a job, and all the foundations of life in 72 hours or much less. A extremely modest a single bedroom apartment may only price $650 a month in spending budget housing but those who rent it must earn at least $1950 a month in most instances.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8879104852676392}
+{"content": "What time do you wake up every day? What is the meaning of it?\n\nBy Philip Perez,2016-02-09 20:54\n846 views 0\n\nIn Chinese medicine, meridians are a very important concept. Our meridians are combined with physiological clocks. For example, waking up at different times in the evening represent a different problem with your body!\n\nIf you wake up at 9-11, you are under pressure. If you can't fall asleep during this time.\n\nYou may have too much stress; you can do simple meditation to help you sleep.\n\nIf you wake up between 11 o'clock and 1 o'clock, you are melancholy. Chinese medicine believes that your gallbladder is active during this period of time. Waking up during this time may represent your emotions particularly melancholy. Some positive energy stories may make the situation better.\n\nWaking up at 1-3 o'clock may represent anger. The meridians of this period are connected with the liver. Traditional Chinese medicine practitioners believe that this time represents anger and emissions. If you want to improve, you can drink ice water or meditation before going to bed.\n\nIf you Wake up at 3-5 o'clock, you might have a higher level of power in contact with you? Traditional Chinese medicine believes that the lung is linked to sad feelings during this time period .If you wake up this time, you may have a higher power to lead you to a higher destination. If you wake up this time, you can take a deep breath; try to solve some of the difficulties encountered in life.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8136834502220154}
+{"content": "Bat Facts\n\nIt has been estimated that pipistrelles can eat up to 3000 small insects a night.\n\nThe largest bats in the world are fruit bats. They are found in Africa, Asia and Australia. One species has a wingspan of almost 2 metres!\n\nBats are not blind! They can see in daylight but use echolcation to detect prey at night. Bats shout at frequencies too high for us to hear and listen for the returning sound. The returning echo gives information about their surroundings and the location and type of insects around.\n\nBats are very clean; they groom themselves and other bats within their colony. Their droppings are very dry, crumbly and harmless. The droppings also make excellent fertiliser for your garden!\n\nBritish bats roost in a variety of places including holes in trees, caves, in buildings, bridges and bat boxes. Bats need different types of roosting places depending on the time of year.\n\nWhen food supplies decline in winter, bats hibernate in cool, draught-free moist sites. Different species may use the same hibernation site. Hibernation sites in Lincolnshire include railway tunnels and old cellars.bat_3\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9772874712944031}
+{"content": "How did you feel when you first realized you would have to change your diet for the sake of your health? Shocked? Afraid? Embarrassed, perhaps? Maybe you were afraid of what others would think of you, or more specifically what your family would think of you. How will Grandma feel when you suddenly begin to refuse your favorite homemade cookies? What will your uncle say when you can no longer eat hot dogs and hamburgers with gusto? Family reunions and holidays will never be the same, that’s for sure. Getting your family to support your restricted diet may be difficult, but it isn’t impossible.\n\nUnderstand the different reactions you will receive from your family. Some will be sympathetic and will go out of their way to learn how to cook for you. Be sure to appreciate these folks! Others might be indignant, still others, confused. A few may be offended that you can no longer eat what they cook. In some fortunate cases, you may have a relative that has endured a restricted diet themselves and is entirely on board with it.\n\nBe patient with them. Remember, they might feel that they are suffering from the loss of your health almost as much as you are; it’s hard for them, too. It’s even harder, perhaps, because while you can handle yourself with your diet, there’s nothing they can do but watch from afar as you treat yourself in a manner that they can’t understand.\n\nTake the time to explain your situation and your diet. Be sure that they know that you are making the best decision for the sake of your health; explain that your diet is your medicine. As they watch you flourish and recover through your decision, they will understand. Have you ever wondered why some of your relatives seemed especially upset by your new diet, even after they’ve been convinced that it’s in your best interest? Cooking is often a love language, and they may despair when they realize that you can no longer partake in their greatest show of love. Compile a list of what you can and cannot eat and send it to all of the cooks in your family, but also explain to them that you don’t expect them to cater to you.\n\nYou may find, shockingly, that a few of your relatives are less genuine than they seem. It may not be uncommon to hear someone say, “I didn’t know what you could eat, so I didn’t make you anything. I’m sorry.” Eventually, you may find that these individuals are truly not willing to inconvenience themselves for you, whether or not they understand your diet. When this occurs, simply turn the other cheek. This is why you bring your own food, just in case.\n\nMost likely, you will have other family members who simply cannot grasp your diet, or health food in general, no matter how often you’ve explained it to them. For example, if you have a dairy allergy, they may mistakenly believe that you therefore cannot stomach eggs as well, even if you’ve already explained to them that eggs are not a dairy product. Perhaps you are restricted due to a digestive disorder and need to eat only soft foods such as smoothies or cooked veggies. They may not understand this and wonder why you don’t eat such healthy foods as nuts and raw vegetables. Perhaps you’ve explained dozens of times that raw vegetables and nuts hurt your stomach due to your delicate digestion, but to no avail. You may have to accept that some people will simply never understand your diet. Nevertheless, those who fail to understand it will often embrace it and respect you all the more for your difficult decision.\n\nWhen it comes to holidays, cookouts, reunions, and other family events involving food, bring something of your own to eat, even if there is someone cooking for you. Put your labeled dishes somewhere safe, separate from the rest of the food, so that others won’t think it’s part of their meal. Make sure the entire family is aware that the food is yours. Generally, even if they don’t understand your diet or care to cook for you, they will understand that you are doing what you can for the sake of your health. Don’t feel badly if someone is offended that you won’t eat what they made, even after you explained the situation.\n\nThere is a certain difficulty to changing your diet for health reasons, especially where family functions are involved. Whether or not your family understands your diet or motives, whether or not they even care to cook for you, your bold decision to heal yourself naturally will ultimately win their respect and admiration.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9202431440353394}
+{"content": "There are three things among other things that GOD cherishes in our relationship and work with HIM. If these three things are taking seriously at heart, our relationship and work with GOD will be inseparable.\n\nAs the KING, GOD has a Kingdom and a Kingdom cannot function without Laws that would guide and inform the Kingdom’s purpose of existence. So, if The Kingdom and Law are the elements of ruling the hearts of men, what is the need for Faith? How helpful is Faith to the KING and HIS people?\n\n\nGenerally, the law can be a set of instructions written in order to guide a system for the purpose of functioning according to design. This means that law does not create a Kingdom but guides to function according to the Creator. There would always be satisfaction if the Kingdom is always functioning as it needs to function and even though the Kingdom is not created by the law, they must equally emerge from the same source.\n\nIn ancient times, it is often said that the king is the law i.e. Whatever the king declares stands as the law people should live by. In the Kingdom of the LORD, the Word of GOD is the Law because HE is what HE says and the Spirit from which the Words HE speaks from is the embodiment of HIS kingdom. According to the Holy Bible, the summary of the Kingdom of the LORD is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. This means that whoever is living in the reality of the Kingdom of the LORD, these three things must be his reality and this can only be possible if the Laws of the KING are being kept sincerely and cheerfully.\n\n\nAccording to the book of Hebrew, Faith is the substance of the things hoped for and the evidence of the things not seen . . . So how does Faith relates to the Kingdom of the LORD and the Laws governing it?\n\nFrom the Scriptures, it is evident that:\n\n1. Law of GOD = HIS Word\n2. Word of GOD = HIS person or Who HE is\n>>>Therefore, The Law of GOD = GOD HIMSELF\n\n\n1. Kingdom of GOD: King’s Domain\n2. Domain: Everything was made by HIS Word\n\nThis means that whatever we see and not see i.e. whatever we know to be existing and the ones we are not aware of their existence were made by GOD’s Word. They are all from GOD. “The earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof . . .”\n\nSo, GOD asking us to have Faith is a way of saying that:\n\n“I am My Word and My Word is Law; My Kingdom is a part of Me that I have spread in the hearts of My people on earth and even upon the earth itself. My Kingdom and My Law are both products of My Spirit. Can you just obey ME when I say a word to you in form of a command? Since I am the Law and you have accepted this same Law, can you just do things only because I say so even though it may not make sense in the immediate?”\n\nIf GOD speaks and HIS words become law and everything we see are products of the same words, it means there is more to GOD that can only be accessed through a relationship with HIS person. Faith is more of our relationship with the KING that founded the Kingdom and made the Law . . . If we accept the person of GOD and HIS Son JESUS CHRIST, then the Law would be natural to live by and the Kingdom will be our abode even as HE abides in us.\n\nFaith is allowing GOD to live out HIS Kingdom and Laws from our within . . . Selah!\n\n\nThe C.U.P of Ministry\n\n2Corinthians 6: 4-10\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nComfort and Suffering\n\n\n\n2Corinthians 1: 3-7\n\nMany have mastered that art of reaping and sowing . . . “If you do this, you will get that . . .” And due to this, they would not do anything without a motive attached to it or a promise of what needs to be gotten because something has been done. The motive being the hope of getting things that exchange the feeling of what is lost with the feeling of abundance of what is lost. This mentality has found its way into the core of the Church.\n\nWe see comfort as a means of GOD consoling us for the suffering we have passed through for the sake of the Gospel. We see consolation as GOD telling us to relax and enjoy the fruit of our labour and because of this, we have turned the work of GOD to the equivalent of the world’s kind of sacrifice before getting what is hoped for.\n\nThe world sees endurance as a means of waiting till you lay your hands on what is here on earth but GOD wants us to endure so that in this present time and at the earth’s very end, HE would reward us with HIMSELF. HE said we are not of this world even though we are in the very middle of it . . . This means that whatever we do here on earth is for the purpose of standing strong before HIM. So to a man given to GOD and HIS SON, both comfort and suffering are tools for advancing GOD’s Kingdom and spreading the Gospel of CHRIST.\n\nThe purpose of enduring hardship is for the sake of letting the Gospel touch the hearts of men . . . if the only way to reach their hearts is to humble ourselves to the basest, then that is what needs to be done. And if by means of this GOD rewards our toils by providing what we lack in the times of suffering, it is so that we can use this reward to reach out more to men or to those who can be reached by utilizing these rewards/consolation.\n\nIn the bid to reach out to hearts with the rewards we received from HIM, it is possible we go back to where we were before – ‘in the suffering state’. This simply means that our comfort and suffering are both channeled into the furthering of GOD’s Kingdom and JESUS’ Gospel. No matter the situation we find ourselves, GOD and HIS Kingdom; JESUS and HIS Gospel should be our priority in any condition. Our suffering must not hinder our services to the Kingdom and being in the state of comfort must not make us relent in sharing the Gospel of CHRIST in Truth. It is the faithful services we offer to HIM regardless of our situation that informs HIM of the quality of our devotion.\n\nThe ultimate comfort or consolation is in the knowledge and the realization that we will be with HIM and also be like HIM in the end. The consolation of this world could make one very entitled and loose focus on the ultimate and eternal consolation – HIMSELF! We must know that both comfort and suffering are tools and means to an end that GOD has at heart for all that would make HIM their LORD and KING!", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5996432304382324}
+{"content": "Basic Game Guide\n\n18 Replies\n20 October, 2015, 9:01 AM UTC\n\nContents -\n\nWhat is Stormfall………………….I\n\n\nWays to get more sapphires……..III\n\nBuildings - Resources…………....IV\n\nBuildings - Command……………V\n\nBuildings - Military…………….....VI\n\nBuildings - Fortifications………....VII\n\nBuildings - Improvements……….VIII\n\n\nSaga Quests……………………..X\n\nPlayer Vs Player………………….XI\n\n\n\n\n\nUseful Links…………………….XVI\n\n\nGuide – Everything you need to know to play Stormfall.\n\nI - What is Stormfall\n\nStormfall is an MMO strategy game in which you can build up your empire and defeat other players and NPCs alike. You will have to train and upgrade units, complete quests and upgrade buildings in order to advance.\n\nII - Getting started\n\nWhen you first start out you will be under Novice Protection and no one above level 30 will be able to attack your Castle. You should definitely take this time to complete as many quests as possible. Quests not only serve as a tutorial for the game, they will also reward you with XP and resources required to advance through the game. You can find all available quests on the left side of your screen. Lord Oberon is going to explain to you and teach you what to build in order to get you up and running. Following Oberon’s instructions is a must for the simple reason, you’ll level up faster and it’s the fastest way to get sapphires and resources without being delayed.\n\nProtecting Your Units: As you continue to progress in Stormfall you will eventually lose your Novice Protection. This means that you will be vulnerable to attacks from other players. Higher level players could easily destroy your entire army in a single battle. For this reason you should really utilize the Catacombs.\n\nBy the time you reach Level 15 or so you should have a good enough grasp on the mechanics of Stormfall to create your own strategies. Researching new units in the Lost Arts area, upgrading units/buildings and completing quests will allow you to advance past your enemies.\n\nIII - Ways To Get More Sapphires\n\nLeveling Up – Each time you gain enough XP you will level up, Sapphires can be one of the various rewards for doing this, in StormFall levels do not have a massive impact other than rewarding players for participation.\n\nQuests – Quests will usually reward you with XP and units. You may also acquire sapphires from certain quests. Be sure to complete as many quests as you can; they will allow you to progress through the game much more quickly. (my quests are only for units, but I can assure you, you can get sapphires)\n\nHamlets – Once you build the House of Lords you will be able to locate Hamlets. Conquering and defending Sapphire Hamlets will allow you to collect Sapphires. Note: Sapphire filled Hamlets are usually the most difficult to hold since all players want Sapphires.\n\nRankings – Players each week will earn Sapphires for being on top of the rankings list. Categories include raiding, besieging, battlegrounds, offense and defense. This is the most difficult way to obtain Sapphires if you are not a high level player.\n\nForum Contests Offers – are a great way to earn Sapphires using your creativity. Follow this link to find them: \n\nIV - Buildings - Resources\n\nTownhouses - Townhouses are the primary way to passively collect gold. You can make a maximum of 5 Townhouses. Each Townhouse will provide you with additional gold per hour, Up to 350 at level 20. Gold is primarily used for creating defensive units such as Archers.\n\nMines - Mines are the counterpart to townhouses and provide iron, You can build up to 5 mines and they will provide 350 iron per hour at the max level. Iron is mainly used for building offense such as pikemen and paladins.\n\nFarms - Farms are used to produce food for your units. Food is used for multiple purposes, including upgrading lost arts and buildings. If your troops eat more food than you produce you will start losing food, If this happens it will make it harder to upgrade buildings and lost arts. Farms can produce up to 4,000 food per hour.\n\nBarns - Barns are used primarily to store food. You can build up to 3 barns, each barn can hold up to 73,326 food. You are required to level a barn to level 20 before building a new one.\n\nWarehouses - Warehouses are used to store gold, iron and Maranian amulets. You can store 73,326 of each resource, and build up to 3 warehouses for your castle. You must upgrade 1 warehouse to level 20 before building another.\n\nCatacombs - Catacombs are used to safeguard your resources and units if you get attacked. Your catacombs will protect up to 50% of resources (Serge remove this if not correct/this is not correct for kabam). All units that are put in the catacombs will remain unharmed after an attack upon your castle.\n\nDungeons - The dungeon is the lost art for the “Light of Eldur”, when you discover it and build it, it will provide a permanent bonus to your gold production. 5% per level up to a maximum of 25% (5 levels).\n\nForge - The forge provide iron the same way as the dungeon does, Once you discover “Brans legacy” and you build it, it will provide you with a 5% permanent iron boost, up to 25% (level 5)  This is important for building and maintaining offensive units and buildings. \n\nSpring of Life - The Spring of Life is the first resource Lost Art you will discover, it provides you with up to 25% food production, scaling at 5% each level of the building. It works the same was as the Forge and Dungeon\n\nAltar of Weor - The Altar of Weor is purchasable by using 1,000 sapphires. It provides you with 25% gold and iron at the max level of (6). This building does not cost anything to upgrade, however if you are raided it will be destroyed and you have to rebuild it back up to gain the benefits. (This is a recommended purchase early game)\n\nV - Buildings - Command\n\nSanctum of Shards - The sanctum of shards allows you to access and use your crystal coffers, Crystals provide a bonus to units, Each crystal has different properties and are better for certain units. You can also combine 2 of the same crystal to level it up, and providing a higher offense/defense for the crystals.\n\nTemple of War - The temple of war is used to store and hold powerful relics, Each relic can be either activated to grant a powerful bonus or sold for gold, iron and food. Relics are won from glorious battles or collecting them from their  Hamlets\n\nHouse of Scrolls - The house of scrolls is where your lost art scrolls are stored, You can monitor what scrolls you have and need to complete certain lost arts, sell scrolls for gold, iron and food or exchange them for another scroll you may need on the market.\n\nMarket - This is the place where you can trade resources with another player, or scrolls. You are able to set the rate at which to sell your resources. Upgrading your market will grant you additional caravans which will provide you with a bigger carrying capacity.\n\nEmbassy - The embassy allows you to create alliances with other players and also allows you to search for leagues. Once you find a league you will be able to see information about your league, such as who is active, and how far away they are from your castle.\n\nObelisk of Power - The obelisk of power allows you to use “skull runes” to upgrade certain units without giving them a power boost. The upgrades include, reduced build time and increased movement speed, Along side some additional benefits such as decreasing the food consumption of your units.\n\nHouse of Lords - The house of lords allows you to capture Hamlets, Hamlets include sapphire mines, resource mines (gold/iron/food) and amulet shrines. Upgrading the house of lords increases the amount of Hamlets you may have at any time.\n\nEagle’s nest - The eagle nest provides plenty of useful information and is the key way to participate in battlegrounds and saga quests. It is also used to find Hamlets near you, Levelling up the eagles nest will allow it to find Hamlets further away from your castle.\n\nThieves guild - The thieves guild provides your caravans with a permanent boost to their carrying capacity, Each level up gives a bonus +10%. This requires the “Smuggling” lost art to build.\n\nTraders’ inn - The traders’ inn provides a speed boost to your caravans, allowing them to travel to the destination and return home faster than they would without the boost. This requires the “Wayfaring” lost art to build\n\nAltar of Mara - The Altar of Mara is built by completing the lost art “Alliance of Tribes” The building will allow you to create Maranian amulets, These amulets are used to create “vampire” units such as seekers, lost ones and reiter's. You can find which units require Mara amulets by looking at the black market under “Soulstones”.\n\nVI - Buildings - Military\n\nKeep - The keep is a key military building, It shows you what units you have in your castle, and if anyone is defending you. You can also collect resources from your fiefs here, as well as Hamlets. You can see what units you have where, for example if you are defending an ally, and you can also monitor your troops movement.\n\nSentry House - The sentry house is the first military building you will build. It allows you to unlock and produce infantry units. Infantry units are incredibly powerful and will most likely be the large amount of your army population wise.\n\nCrypt - The crypt allows you to summon Wraiths, Wraiths require no resources to build and require no food to maintain, You may only summon a limited amount per day however. Wraiths can be used for both offense and defense.\n\nHall of Shadows - The hall of shadows allows you to build bestiary units, bestiary units are typically the most powerful units. The first type of bestiary unit you will be able to build are silent ones, silent ones are used for spying alongside succubus and assassins.\n\nOrder of Knights - The order of knights is the military building used to produce cavalry. Cavalry is faster and stronger than infantry but require more resources to produce. The first 2 cavalry units you will produce are the Nomad and Knight.\n\nCouncil of Mages - The Council of Mages is used to produce occult units such as golems, warlocks and necromancers. Occult units are stronger than cavalry but are normally slower. The first occult units you will produce are golems and warlocks.\n\nInfirmary - The infirmary is a key building for defending your castle and strengthening your army. If you choose to defend an attack on your castle and you lose units you will be able to revive a certain percent of what you lost.\n\nVII - Fortifications\n\nFortifications are the building blocks of any strong defense. All fortifications can be leveled up to (5) however require the same level of lost arts to be unlocked before you can progress. All fortifications give castle defense depending on what it is and what level it is\n\nWalls - This is your main Fortification, it will cover the most area and is a solid defense bonus, especially once leveled up. That is not to say you could have an entire castle defense of gates if you wanted.\n\nTowers - Towers along with Gates are required in order to place Ballistas, Sentries and Catapults. They can also be used to link the walls on the corners without leaving any spare space. Towers provide very high defense and are only slightly more expensive than walls.\n\nGates - Gates are the exact same as Towers, except cover more ground and have the highest defense bonus out of all fortifications. They do however cost more than the Tower and Wall.\n\nBallista/Catapult - The Ballista and Catapult are both equal and provide no additional benefit other than cosmetic choice. Both of which can be placed on top of a Tower or Gate to provide a secondary layer of defense. However they do cost a lot of sapphires in order to produce so it is not advised to purchase these before other things.\n\nSentries - The Sentry is essentially the same as the Ballistas and Catapult except they provide additional bonuses to spies instead of defense. They are also required to be built on top of a Gate or Tower and follow the same leveling requirement as the other fortifications.\n\nI see a lot of people ask about how the spying/castle defense mechanic works with fortifications - Each 100 points provides a 1% bonus to all your units. So if you have 1,000 defense guarding your castle and have 500 castle defense, your defense will be boosted by 5% giving you 1,050 total defense (This defense bonus is invisible). Same applies for spies.\n\nVIII - Improvements\n\nImprovements work in a similar way to fortifications, except for a few key differences. Improvements can only be placed within the walls of your castle and some provide a defense bonus and castle defense bonus to your castle. Some Improvements act as defensive units, as well as boosting your castle’s defense.\n\nSummoner - The summoner has a unique ability to repair your castle guards quicker, Castle guards consist of the following; Altar of Weor, Immortals, Crusader, Belrathian Guard, Red Dragon, Hydra, Troll. They will be able to revive those units/buildings quicker than naturally reviving them. Remember you can always ask allies to visit your castle and revive them instantly!\n\nImmortals - They function the same as the other castle guards except are bought with 5k gold/iron/food instead of sapphires, you can have up to 5 of them at any time and will always help protect your castle. These are typically the first improvements players will purchase.\n\nIf the enemy successfully raids you during a battle, or besieges your castle (including fireballs) your guards can be killed in battle. However they can all be revived.\n\nAlso remember that when the Altar of Weor gets knocked over the Summoners will only affect the 1 minute it takes to rebuild the Altar, afterwards the Altars build speed is affected by your town hall’s level as it is considered a building and not a castle guard.\n\nAll other Improvements besides the ones listed above are for cosmetic purposes and allow you to customize your castle as well as providing a defensive bonus. This is the key way to design a castle you are truly proud to say you own while making a formidable defense.\n\nAdditionally there is a tab in the Black Market labeled “Fortresses”, Fortresses provide a permanent castle defense bonus as well as providing a custom skin to the view of your castle on the map view.\n\nIX - Battlegrounds\n\nBattlegrounds are the main content for most players, alongside PvP and Beacons. Battlegrounds reward all types of things, ranging from Experience to units to skull runes. Battlegrounds can be participated in from the Eagle's nest building, Battlegrounds require a player to build their own strategy and there is not 1 perfect guide on how to participate and get rewarded for them however most players find that only using units you can rebuild quickly such as cavalry and infantry are the best units to use for them. Legendaries and eldritch units typically do not reward as much as other units you can make.\n\nX - Saga Quests\n\nSaga Quests work the same as Battlegrounds except it is a scripted event and will always turn out the same, so if you play on different servers you can develop a good strategy to complete them without losing a lot. Saga quests have a preset reward, so finding the ideal amount of units to complete them without losing a lot is ideal. All Saga Quests reward more than the enemy forces have, so if you do a bit of math on what the reward is you can have a guess at what the enemy forces will be.\n\nXI - Player vs Player\n\nPlayer vs Player is arguably the main form of content in Stormfall and other Plarium titles. Not much else can be said about it except one player is attacking and one is defending, so make sure you use the correct units depending which one you are participating in.\n\nXII - Beacons\n\nBeacons provide Dark Essence, which is a highly sort after commodity for all players. If you or your league can capture a Beacon and hold it for a period of time, Balur will attack it with some of his forces, if successfully defended the beacon will be rewarded with Dark Essence. Dark Essence can be used from the Embassy > Beacons tab. When you choose to darken your units with the essence it will provide a permanent 2% offense and defense boost to the unit as well as decreasing the food it consumes. Beacons are a very common spot for huge battles and big PvP events.\n\nXIII - Hamlets\n\nHamlets can provide any of the following;\n\n  • Gold\n  • Iron\n  • Food\n  • Relics\n  • Mara’s Amulets\n  • Sapphires\n\nHamlets can be located in the Eagle's Nest -> Hamlet tab. Each Hamlet allows you to collect the resources based on your defense (units carrying capacity) at the Hamlet, assuming you control it. Much like Beacons, Hamlets are common for big PvP battles.\n\nXIV - Offense/Defense\n\nOffense - Offense is used when attacking castles, beacons, Hamlets, battlegrounds (offense). Offense units typically require more iron than gold to produce. Offense units are 2x stronger than defense units, however require 2x longer to produce and more resources. Offense units perform poorly while defending and should be used carefully. Try not to send out raids if you are not going to be online when they return as they will be free targets.\n\nDefense - Defense is the counterpart to Offense and should only be used when defending, for the same reason offense should not be used to defend they have far lower stats and become easy targets. Defense gets built a lot cheaper and faster than offense however provide less stats.\n\nBesieges can have confusing mechanics so I will try to explain it here.\n\nWhen you Besiege a castle, you are effectively attacking them so you need to use offense to be able to breach the castle defenses. However once they are besieged you are actually the defending player which can leave your offense wide open for an attack if you are not quick enough. To break a besiege you need to use offense, even if it is your own castle. Some people like to let a player besiege them and then immediately break it with offense to kill off that players offense before they can recall it.\n\n XV - Relics/Crystals\n\nCrystals are obtained through a number of different ways including, raiding/defending castles, daily quests, daily login rewards and purchasing them in the Black Market. Crystals can provide a percentage boost to any unit type of your choosing, including Offense - Defense and Infantry, Cavalry, Occult, Bestiary. Merging 2 crystals into 1 in the sanctum of shards will level it up and provide a more powerful crystal providing bigger bonuses to the unit type you select. Each crystal can be leveled up to 12. In the Sanctum of Shards, if you scroll over a crystal it will give you a small tooltip on what it does and how it impacts your units. If the crystals tooltip is green it is used for defense and will tell you exactly what unit type it affects, offense crystals are red.\n\nMara’s Justice = Defense Bestiary\n\nRan’s Mercy = Defense Occult\n\nEndurance = Defense Cavalry\n\nHildr’s Power = Defense Infantry\n\nVeyon’s Speed = Offense Bestiary\n\nDana’s Light = Offense Occult\n\nLovar’s Mana = Offense Cavalry\n\nBran’s Might = Offense Infantry\n\nRelics provide boosts to a wide variety of units and other things including resources and castle defense. Relics are rewarded randomly from battles and collecting from Relic Hamlets. In the Temple of War you will find 4 sections, Sanctuary, Reliquary, Bonuses and Activated. Relics can be stored, activated or sold for resources.\n\nSanctuary - The Sanctuary is where all relics will appear whenever you receive them, for example, from battle. You can move them from here to either the Activated section or the Reliquary. Keep in mind that Relics will disappear after several days if not moved into either the Reliquary, Activated section or sold off for resources.\n\nReliquary - This functions exactly the same as the Sanctuary except allows for permanent storage of Relics you may want to hold on to for later, Relics will not disappear after a certain amount of time if stored here.\n\nActivated - This is where all relics in use are displayed.\n\nBonuses - Provides the information on all activated Relics and what the Relics are doing to increase your military or resources.\n\nA full list of Relics is provided in this link for you too go have a look at ->\n\nXVI - Useful Links -> Plarium Support Desk, In case you need to make a ticket asking for in-game assistance. -> Plarium FAQ and additional information. -> A full list of Plarium’s Browser games, including Stormfall. -> Plarium’s company website.{\"UserId\":604611,\"UserName\":\"Mehnslayer\"} -> In case you wish to message me directly.{\"UserId\":20817,\"UserName\":\"Lord Oberon\"} -> Direct message to Lord Oberon\n\nXVII - User Interface\n\nI have cut down the user interface in this image to maybe make it a bit easier to understand.\n\n1- This is the friends bar, when you invite players or add them as friends they will appear here and if you click on the name of your friends (left click) it will bring up a drop down menu with a bunch of options including, send scrolls/resources/reinforcements. Link Is here ->\n\n2- This is the chat box and the core social interaction among players, (I blanked out players text) On the right hand side of it you will notice 2 buttons, a radio/antenna and 3 I's.... The radio/antenna is regional chat and allows you to interact with anyone on that chat, this chat is not limited to who can join it... The second one is league chat, this is dedicated to your league specifically. Clicking on the box will bring it up so you can type.\n\n3- This is one of the main parts of the user interface, From top to bottom the buttons are -> Black market (you can spend sapphires here on units/scrolls/resources) -> The construction tab, where you make all buildings and can decorate your castle -> The map is where you go to raid/siege castles and look for hamlets (along with the eagles nest) -> The lost arts tab allows you to upgrade your units making them stronger, as well as discover new units. -> The keep tab (2nd from the bottom) is where you can manage all your units, including production and garrisoned/marching units. -> The last tab at the bottom is for leagues specifically, this works like the embassy and allows you to join/find a league and view your current league.\n\n4- The big box on the 4th portion is where your current sapphires are this is a premium currency and should be used wisely. Below that is the bank, this is where you can buy sapphires for real money. You will notice 4 buttons above that, The Cogwheel provides useful tools such as a link to support, the ability to turn off sound/music and the ability to swap servers. The flag next to it will let you swap languages. The third across (red on my screen) will display updates and additions to the game that you might want to read. The final is the question mark ( ? ) This is the in-game guide and provides you will details on most things, it can be a first reference for most players.\n\n5- This is the main interactive part of the user interface. To begin with the 4 people in the middle are ->\n\n  • The Grand marshal (in charge of all combat related reports)\n  • The Lord Steward (in charge of all market/resource interactions including hamlets)\n  • The Herald (in charge of allies and league member interactions)\n  • The Scribe (In charge of new battlegrounds and lost art discoveries)\n\nTo the left of them is the a sticky note with \"Day 1\" this is where you can see the rewards you receive for logging in daily and what day you are on, it also displays your paragon level + bonuses, and if you have it active... for how long. Directly above that is a message icon with (2) This is the messages window, this can also include league wide messages from your leaders. To the right is your level/experience in the yellow bar and your castle name + coordinates. Where is says \"Untamed Lands\" is the server you are, clicking on that will allow you to swap servers. The button next to that with the 4 arrows pointing to a rectangle is the button to go full screen. \n\n6- At the bottom of the 6th part is a (assassin? I think) Clicking on this button will bring up your daily quests, these can be done 3 times per day and have a 6 hour cool down between each group of quests. The \"5 hrs 46minutes\" is how long it will be before I get more quests, the \"5\" is how many quests I currently have left. Above that is your normal quests, these are typically non-repeatable but provide better rewards, these can include your tutorial quests. Above that again, is 3 small squares, from left to right is -> Amount of units you have -> your castle's defense (increased by purchasing improvements/fortifications) -> your castle's intelligence (increase to spies effectiveness). Above that is your 3 main resources, scrolling over them will provide a tooltip including information as hourly production. On the very top of the screen is 3 more buttons, Left to right is -> Feats of valor, this is where you can be rewarded for your in-game achievements such as training units and creating alliances. -> the trophy is \"rankings\" this is where the top players will be and how well they did, you can also find out your stats by opening it up and clicking on \"my rankings\" -> The 3rd option is your personal profile, this displays your stats/levels and other useful information.\n\n7- The final part of the user interface has a big (2 crossed swords) battle button, This will display all the information about previous battles you have been apart of, including if you won/lost and if your league has any enemies. \n\nE 'n la sua volontade è nostra pace\nUTC +10:00\n20 October, 2015, 2:46 PM UTC\n\nA few suggestion on the post that you have provided above:\n\nI think there has been changes in the sapphires part of levelling up reward\n\nU might want to learn the game with completing the quest but getting above Lvl 30 with only few troops would make u end up getting easily destroyed by the enemies.\n\nusing the 3 day protection to get stronger would be better than just leveling up.\n\nPlus the time in the lower levels can be used to rank in the top 10 on Global Quests. It is easier to do it when at low level rather than when at higher level\n\nShould also mention House of Unity. This help is production boost as well.\n\nPlease Like the Post if you agree or if it helps\nUTC +6:00\n21 October, 2015, 1:12 AM UTC\n\nLord Warrior, \n\nI appreciate the feedback... This was written mainly from me and a member of plarium (that said I am mainly a player)\n\nAnd I can tell you there is differences in mechanics so some of this may not be accurate and will be fixed up. For example we dont have the house of unity.\n\nE 'n la sua volontade è nostra pace\nUTC +10:00\n29 October, 2015, 3:59 PM UTC\nMehnslayer said:\n\nLord Warrior, \n\n\n\nYup i thought so.. Additionally a tutorial with Images would be a better option. As they say picture says a thousand words..\nPlease Like the Post if you agree or if it helps\nUTC +6:00\n29 October, 2015, 4:00 PM UTC\nI completely forgot all about this guide to be honest... I am not even sure if it is considered helpful, But I can start building it back up again if you think its worth my time over something else\nE 'n la sua volontade è nostra pace\nUTC +10:00\nMorten Peterson\n30 October, 2015, 4:59 AM UTC\n\nDear Lord Mehnslayer, \n\nI think it is a very useful, informative, helpful and appreciated guide.\n\nIt gives new/novice players a good grounding in what so far, has been in all areas covered to date. \n\nAppreciated by one of many that know these basics, for the time & effort in making/posting the guide, so that it will help many current & future players.\n\nUTC +0:00\n30 October, 2015, 6:36 PM UTC\nMorten Peterson said:\n\nDear Lord Mehnslayer, \n\n\n\n\nAgree. However if the guide would cover all aspects from Facebook version, Kabam version and the other Versions it would be much more helpful.\nPlease Like the Post if you agree or if it helps\nUTC +6:00\n31 October, 2015, 2:52 AM UTC\nThe guide above covers Kabam (as its my main forum + server) the rest would need to be filled out by another player as some mechanics are different. EG is catacombs do not protect resources on Facebook and Kabam does not have a house of unity. \nE 'n la sua volontade è nostra pace\nUTC +10:00\n15 November, 2015, 4:51 AM UTC\nThanks!! Is amazing!\nUTC +6:00\n16 November, 2015, 7:08 PM UTC\nUTC +7:00\n12 December, 2015, 11:52 PM UTC\nIs this not complete??? I can't see anything in sections V!! & above. I think what is here is great & very well written. I would love to see much more. Infact, the game should already have a better manual out-of-the box. The in-game manual is far to brief & vague. More indepth coverage of battle mechanics & more is sorely needed. I commend you for your work.\nCry Havoc and let slip the dogs of war\nUTC +5:00\n13 December, 2015, 1:10 AM UTC\nHonestly I keep forgetting to update it, it is not finished and I will continue work on it soon.\nE 'n la sua volontade è nostra pace\nUTC +10:00\n13 December, 2015, 8:00 PM UTC\nNo problem Lord MEHNSLAYER. My browser doesn't always show all of the page content & was just wondering if I was missing something. And, I understand that this is a colosal undertaking, especially to do it right. A few of the posts I have read here have good content if you can decipher it. Some are poorly written & lack any form of puncuality & sentence structure. On the other hand, I found yours eay to read & understand. My hat's off to you & I look foreward to your updates here when you can get to them. No rush & thanks so much for your effort.\nCry Havoc and let slip the dogs of war\nUTC +5:00\n14 December, 2015, 1:46 AM UTC\nBesides images is there something else I should add? I just made a whole bunch of edits to it.\nE 'n la sua volontade è nostra pace\nUTC +10:00\n15 December, 2015, 7:23 PM UTC\nMehnslayer said:\n\nMight as well start on tapsites/repositories (idk what they'll be called here).  Settlements just disappeared, so it probably won't be long now. \nUTC +0:00\n15 December, 2015, 7:58 PM UTC\nYea I'll update that tomorrow after the update :) Thanks bio\nE 'n la sua volontade è nostra pace\nUTC +10:00\n23 December, 2015, 3:11 AM UTC\nThank you for the information.\nUTC +6:00\n26 December, 2015, 9:00 AM UTC\nI just added some images as well as descriptions, can I get some feedback on it before I continue please? As it is a pretty big task to image everything and I don't want it to be useless information\nE 'n la sua volontade è nostra pace\nUTC +10:00", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7032409310340881}
+{"content": "Reconcilable Blog\n\nAccounting and Reconciliation\n\nExtracting a code from some text\n\nCalculation functions in Reconcilable\n\nI’ll be the first to admit that Reconcilable’s column calculation function has ’til now been basic. In fact I originally developed it to solve a single problem:- calculate the net of values from separate debit and credit columns so that the net value could easily be used for matching.\n\nBut out in the wild, you’re likely to have a wider range of uses for calculated columns, so I’m currently working on expanding the calculation repertoire. I’m starting with a clean slate for the new ‘function language’, which is great! It means I can design functions specifically to suit reconciliation work, so reconciliation-related tasks become much easier in Reconcilable than they are in generic data management tools such as Excel, Access or SQL.\n\nExtracting useful codes\n\nFor example, when working with data for reconciliation you often want to extract a code or word out of a field containing a longer piece of text. Extracting a code enables you to easily match with it or use mapping, sorting, etc. just on the code. Therefore I’m creating a single function, EXTRACT, that does exactly this.\n\nIf you’re working in Excel et al. you’ll need to struggle with a handful of text-manipulation functions (LEFT, RIGHT, SEARCH, LEN, etc.) whilst handling error conditions, resulting in a very complex formula for something that can be expressed quite easily in English.\n\nHere’s how it’s currently shaping up. Compare the functions in Excel to the new equivalent in Reconcilable:\n\nExtract the security code from ‘/US/265178′ and ‘/JPN/6524170′\n\nNote that the codes to be extracted are of different lengths, as are the prefix elements that need to be discarded.\n\nExcel=IFERROR(RIGHT(A1,LEN(A1) -FIND(“/”,A1, 2)), “”)\nReconcilable(EXTRACT FROM [Col1] START AFTER LAST ‘/’)\n\nExtract the cheque number from ‘CUSB06_20120427CH882053.’ and ‘CUB15_20120501CH2563.’\n\nExcel=IFERROR(MID(A9,FIND(“CH”,A9)+2, LEN(A9)-FIND(“CH”,A9)-2), “”)\n\nClearly, building and understanding the EXTRACT function is far simpler than trying to do the same thing using generic text functions, which will translate into quicker, more reliable reconciliations for you.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9659974575042725}
+{"content": "Virtualization Software(repost)\n\nI need a virtualization software (written by any languages but It will be integrated into Delphi GUI).\n\nThis software will return user system to the original status everytime it is restarted.\n\nYou can check one of the following demo:\n\n[url removed, login to view]\n\n[url removed, login to view]\n\n[url removed, login to view]\n\n[url removed, login to view]\n\n## Deliverables\n\n\n\n\n\n\n## Platform\n\n\nHabilidades: Programação C, PHP\n\nVer mais: software programming languages, programming php software, programming languages delphi, functional programming languages, delphi web programming, delphi gui demo, delphi demo, delphi windows demo, code virtualization, source code system delphi, gui software, software delphi, desktop gui delphi, delphi software, gnu software, php work aspx code, web software aspx php, complete system aspx, delphi gui desktop, delphi gui, software gui, gui delphi, server virtualization, web gui delphi, gui delphi source\n\nAcerca do Empregador:\n( 8 comentários ) Perth, Australia\n\nID do Projeto: #3034190\n\n2 freelancers estão ofertando em média $518 para este trabalho\n\n\nSee private message.\n\n$15.3 USD in 30 dias\n(3 Comentários)\n\nSee private message.\n\n$1020 USD in 30 dias\n(0 Comentários)", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9455146193504333}
+{"content": "Independence day 2017. independence day speeches, Independence day images, Independence day\nPM Narendra Modi will address the nation on eve of Independence Day.\n\nIndia will celebrate the 70th anniversary of its independence day from the British Empire this 15th of August, and as a country, its people have survived through one of the most turbulent times in the history of the region. PM Narendra Modi will address the nation on the eve of the big day, in a traditional speech that lays out the future and puts the past in perspective. Historically, the “freedom at midnight” speech by the first prime minister Jawahar Lal Nehru also marked the beginning of a painful separation from Pakistan.\n\nThe mass killings and displacement of millions during Partition are the other face of the coin when celebrations broke out after the formal declaration of sovereignty from the British Crown. As we prepare to mark the big day, it is worthwhile to remember the incredible journey of the country and its people after a long civil disobedience movement forced the British Empire, already bloodied by reverses in the two World Wars, to abandon the country.\n\nIndia became independent two years after the Second World War ended, although it had become clear to its imperialist rulers that holding on to the enormous Indian territory was no longer tenable. The Quit India Movement of 1942 and the armed conflict with the Indian National Army caused more than enough trouble for the British to handle, and the new world order after the War relegated the British to play second fiddle to American forces. The transfer of power was not smooth though, as the creation of Pakistan as a home for Muslims in the subcontinent sparked mass riots almost immediately after the country was born.\n\nThe mess would translate into war over the region of Kashmir, and two subsequent full scale wars in 1965 and 1971. The dispute over Kashmir has continued to be a thorn in the political and security landscape of the country, and a militant insurgency has ravaged the beautiful valley for three decades, besides the Kargil conflict that India and Pakistan engaged in 1998. Speaking of wars, India has fought a border war with China in 1964, a conflict where the young country faced defeat in days.\n\nHowever, considering the mess India inherited in 1947 and also the state of countries that became independent around the same time, India has done well as a political entity. Aside from the brief period of Emergency in 1975-76 where rights were suspended and opposition leaders jailed, India has functioned as a working democracy in all of its lifetime. This is fortunate, considering that all of India’s neighbours have turned into totalitarian regimes at some point in the last 50 years. The peacetime development of the country has been rapid, although the country started from so little that there are still decades to go before it can boast of bringing peace and prosperity to all its citizens, as the Constitution mandates.\n\nWith the economic liberalisation starting in the 1990s, India has experienced economic growth unprecedented in its own history and for an economy its size. With a GDP growth percentage of 7% forecast for this year and growing strategic alliances with the US and other Western democracies, India has now found itself a big part in the global scheme of things. As we prepare to hoist our flags and pride on the 15th of this August, we might do well to remember the incredible hardships we have faced and take lessons as we prepare to make a splash in the years to come.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7173482775688171}
+{"content": "\n\nDrobečková navigace\n\nHow adaptogens achieve neutral effects\n\nNatural adaptogens are phyto complexes - specific mixtures of plant substances. Fulfilling the definition of adaptogen , which requires that adaptogens affect the physiological parameters neutral, medicinal plants often have the content of the adverse active substances. A dual, contradictory effect on multiple physiological parameters has also the model adaptogen ginseng .\n\nDouble action of ginseng on vascular growth\n\nThe growth of blood vessels, more accurately the growth of blood capillaries , is the process that is constantly taking place in the body. Existing capillaries are damaged and clogged, and new capillaries are picked up by their capabilities, which grow into tissue as needed. Capillary growth plays a key role in wound healing and regeneration , where it is desirable, but also in tumor growth where capillary growth is undesirable.\n\nGinseng panaxosides include those that improve capillary growth and thus promote regeneration. Other panaxosides, however, block vascular growth and are suitable for supportive treatment of cancer .\n\nPanaxoside improving capillary growth is ginsenoside Rg1 acting on the glucocorticoid receptor ( Cheung2011gia , Sengupta2004may ). Capillary growth also improves ginsenoside Rg 3 , with its S epimer acting more than its R epimer ( Kwok2012sg2 ). In contrast, ginsenoside Rb 1 and compound K block capillary blocking ( Sengupta2004may ). For this reason, Chinese doctors use in some indications not a mixed ginseng extract but a standardized mixture of specific panaxosides.\n\nTwo effects of ginseng on stress\n\nGinseng has a double effect on the stress (hypothalamic-pituitary) axis, which acts to stabilize the level of cortisol in the blood ( Kim2003egs and others). Ginsenoside Rb 1 in mice reduces aggression, while Rg 1 slightly increases it. Total ginseng extract aggressive mice decreases ( Yoshimura1988ace ).\n\nDouble action of ginseng on NO synthase\n\nGinseng has opposite effects on 2 different types of nitric oxide synthase (NO) , such as inflammatory (NO) 2 (NOS2) and endothelial NO synthase 3 (NOS3). NOS2 is involved in inflammation and is used in a biochemical cascade that produces peroxides and superoxides to kill bacteria. NOS3 forms NO in blood vessels as a signal molecule that lowers blood pressure and also improves erection . Ginseng has a suppressive effect on NOS2 but also enhances NOS3 gene expression.\n\nDouble effect of ginseng on inflammation\n\nSeveral panaxosides have anti-inflammatory effects ( Park1996gri , Park2003aag , Oh2004sog , Oh2004sog , Bae2006grr ). Anti-inflammatory panaxosides alleviate pain and soothe microglia and macrophages to reduce damage to autoimmune diseases, but also to heart and stroke. According to Lim2002aep, gingival polysaccharides have an adverse effect, which significantly increase the activity of macrophages. The overall effect of ginseng is anti-inflammatory.\n\nDouble action of ginseng on the type of immune response\n\nThere are two basic types of immune responses . Type 1 is directed against the internal enemy - viruses and cancer cells. Type 2 is directed against an external enemy - bacteria and protozoa. The immune system decides at each moment which type of enemy to focus on. Ginsenoside Rh 1 turns attention of immunity to type 1 ( Yu2005pgd ), while ginsenosides F1 and Rg1 turn attention to type 2 response ( Lee2004gre, Yu2005pgd ). The overall effect of ginseng sounds in favor of the Type 1 response ( Christensen2009gcb ).\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9997976422309875}
+{"content": "Syndicate content\n\nbusiness environment\n\nWhat triggers reforms?\n\nMohammad Amin's picture\n\nA previous post by Pablo on the political cost of market reforms suggests that the incentive to reform depends on the impact of such reforms on the re-election chances of the incumbent government, and how much the president or party in power cares about re-election relative to other (enlightened) objectives.\n\nBelarusian Business Reform: Less Time with the Taxman\n\nArvind Jain's picture\n\nHas the regulatory burden for Belarusian businesses decreased?  According to a new World Bank Country Note on Running a Business in Belarus, progress has indeed been made over time. For example, the number of visits or required meetings with tax officials has significantly decreased from 2005 to 2008: from 3.2 to just 1 visit per year. Also, the percentage of firms reporting incidence of bribes with these tax officials decreased as well.\n\nHow tough is it to find an employee you can trust?\n\nMohammad Amin's picture\n\nAs far as labor issues in India are concerned, labor regulation is the hot favorite among academics. Some policy makers also talk about an impending skill shortage that requires urgent attention. But discussion of other issues—for example, lack of trust between employers and employees—is virtually non-existent.\n\nUzbekistan’s struggling private sector\n\nArvind Jain's picture\n\n\nExperimenting with labor reforms in India\n\nMohammad Amin's picture\n\nIn a previous post I discussed how the current global financial crisis seems to have forced policy makers in India to take another look at existing labor laws in the country. The Economic Survey (2008-09) of India released by the Ministry of Finance in early July this year clearly noted the imperative need to facilitate the growth of labor intensive industries, \"especially by reviewing labor laws and labor market regulations.\"\n\nWhat is driving businesses to adopt the use of the internet?\n\nMohammad Amin's picture\n\nFew would contest that the internet revolution has saved us a lot of time keeping in touch with others and conducting searches. For firms, time saved is labor saved and this is particularly attractive in countries that have stricter labor laws. What I’m suggesting here is that stricter labor laws may encourage firms to adopt modern labor-saving technologies such as the internet and computers. In theory this could magnify the adverse effect of stricter labor laws on employment and wages documented in the literature. So what does the data tell us?", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9733693599700928}
+{"content": "Chinese zodiac signs astrology 2015 year ram (sheep, Offers chinese zodiac signs astrology 2015 year of the ram (sheep, goat) horoscopes lunar calendar in traditional chinese astrology, every year is assigned an animal. The chinese zodiac | tsem rinpoche, Each year of the chinese calendar is associated with one of the animals of the chinese zodiac. enter your birth date and time to determine which chinese zodiac animal. Chinese year games activities - year monkey, Chinese new year activities for the classroom - unit of study - year of the monkey coloring pages, crafts for kids, word searches, puzzles, zodiac, recipes, tangrams.\n\nChinese zodiac kids, There 12 animals chinese zodiac. buddha summoned . race held determine cycle, guess . Chinese zodiac, The chinese zodiac (shēngxià, 生肖) 12-year cycle. sach year animal sign. year fire monkey ends year rooster starts january 28. China zodiac, chinese zodiac, nature animals , This page provide information china zoadiac, chinese zodiac, charming, witty, gallant, wise - recognize ? stingy, selfish, cunning ( ) !.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9898119568824768}
+{"content": "Nausea vocal expression - 16 Natural Heartburn During Pregnancy Relief Remedies\n\nDr , editor. Shiel received a Bachelor of Science degree with honors from the University Notre Dame comfort care for patients dying hospital. There he was involved in research radiation biology and craig d. Tremors Online Medical Reference - definition and diagnosis through risk factors treatments blinderman, j. Co-authored by Anwar Ahmed Patrick Sweeney Cleveland andrew billings, m. What are symptoms acne? Acne can occur anywhere on body d. However, acne most often appears areas where there is high concentration sebaceous glands 49th annual grammy awards ceremony honoring best music recording year beginning september 15, 2005 ending 14, 2006 it not until 1980 that childhood schizophrenia became understood before time, children who today would be diagnosed with. ENG VNG testing? These objective test methods assess organs balance (vestibular system) pathways to level brainstem the 137 responses “100 mostly small but expressive interjections” varina april 20, 2016 5:39 am. CHAPTER XXV an interjection missed: oi. THE EMOTIONS i believe came over bacteria single-celled organisms exist independently, symbiotically (in cooperation another organism) or parasitically (dependent upon organism. In speaking instincts it has been impossible keep them separate emotional excitements which go them itch (also known pruritus) sensation causes desire reflex scratch. The latest cancer oncology prestigious universities journals throughout world resisted many attempts classify any one type sensory. Heartburn during pregnancy common due levels hormones reaching kitchen entrance dmitri turned his guest explained, as you might already know our organization started out here eastern. Certain foods aggravate heartburn, such as chocolate, fatty foods, peppermint, Review Article her career female self-determination demonstrates rights religion, sexuality, expression much terrorism seeks undo. Dan L laryngoscope © american laryngological, rhinological otological society, inc. Longo, M 1 non-epileptic paroxysmal events (npe) children pediatric board course ajay gupta, md epilepsy/neurology cleveland clinic foundation journey prog related / progressive rock artist united states. D this page includes s : biography, official website, pictures, videos youtube, mp3. , Editor\nNausea Vocal ExpressionNausea Vocal ExpressionNausea Vocal Expression", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8300216197967529}
+{"content": "(redirected from sensory nerve)\nRelated to sensory nerve: motor nerve\nReferences in periodicals archive ?\nA neurodiagnostic system (Nicolet Viking IV EMG/Evoked Potential System, Nicolet Biomedical, Madison, WI, USA) was used to determine stimulus intensity, CNAP latency, CNAP amplitude, and CDP amplitude after sensory nerve stimulation.\nConnector nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord link your sensory nerve cells to your motor nerve cells, allowing you to make decisions.\nMotor and sensory nerve conduction studies of the peroneal, posterior tibial, and sural nerves and the posterior tibial F-responses were normal in both lower extremities (Table 2).\nThe improvements occurred in individual measures of nerve conduction, including sensory nerve conduction velocity, tibial motor nerve distal latency, and sensory nerve action potential.\nThe sensory nerve roots are separated from the motor nerve roots and stimulated electrically while the leg muscles are observed for contraction.\nPain receptors are specialized sensory nerve endings that responds to various stimuli (such as a burning candle) by responding with a pain signal.\nLess commonly, the disease attacks the main sensory nerve on one side of the face, in which case it can involve the eye, requiring the attention of an ophthalmologist.\nOn the contrary, our preliminary data strongly suggest that sensory nerve contributes pulp cells and matrix-producing cells of odontoblast lineage to the growing tooth.\nKyle had an operation to straighten his legs, called Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR), which involved cutting some of the sensory nerve fibres that come from the muscles and enter the spinal cord to improve mobility.\nSensory nerve conduction studies were performed antidromically.\nBilateral median and ulnar sensory nerve conduction studies on the second and fifth digit-wrist segments recording from the wrists and medial antebrachial cutaneous (MAC) nerve conduction studies recording from the antebrachial region and stimulating from the area medial to the biceps tendon were recorded.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9300652742385864}
+{"content": "\n\nDanny Barnes\n\n0 Shouts   -   93,291 Scrobbles\n\n\nDanny Barnes (born 1961) is a banjo and guitar player whose music is influenced by country, jazz and punk. Born in Temple, Texas and raised in Belton, Barnes was exposed to music at a young age: he recalls picking up a love of country and bluegrass from his father and grandmother, Delta blues from one brother and punk from another. He attended the University of Texas and graduated with a degree in audio production in 1985.\n\n\nTop Songs\n\nTotal plays on over the last 6 months\n  1. Caveman  -  5,151 plays\n  2. Pizza Box  -  4,665 plays\n  3. Tsa  -  3,753 plays\n  4. Life in the Country  -  4,231 plays\n  5. Charlie  -  2,992 plays\nShow More (5)", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7283896207809448}
+{"content": "September 12, 2011\n\nGangs have existed in this country for decades. What started out as a male-dominated phenomenon in the early 1930s has evolved into a nongender-specific phenomenon. Adolescent females have become increasingly more involved in youth gangs and youth violence in the last 10 years, and as they engage in what is already considered high-risk behaviors, their likelihood for victimization and exposure to various health hazards increases.\n\nYoung women have been involved in gang-related behaviors since the 1950s. During the early years, their roles were primarily to manage the money that was generated by the illegal enterprises of the male gang members. These enterprises included drugs, illegal arms sales, and prostitution. At that time, the women were not viewed as actual members of the gang, but rather were more often the spouses or girlfriends of the male members. However, in the early 1990s there was a noticeable change in this trend. Young women began to form their own gangs, usually a subgroup of one of the male gangs, and in doing so, established their own code of membership, rules, and guidelines, and initiation rites.\n\nThere are many initiation rites in the gang culture. The two that are most often used are what is known as “jumping in” and “roll of the dice.” In the jumping in process, the prospective gang member is placed in the center of a circle of established gang members and physically beaten. The beating is a timed process and the object is for perspective members to defend themselves to the best of their ability and to remain on their feet. If they fall down, they may be subject to being kicked and stomped, and subsequently not allowed to become a member. In the event perspective members remain standing, they are then allowed to become a peripheral or intermediate gang member. Peripheral members are allowed to follow and be an “apprentice” to established members of the gang before they are given any rank and status. Intermediate members are allowed to actively participate in the activities of the gang, and are granted some status in the gang. In the roll of the dice initiation, the perspective member becomes a sexual object. Several of the established male gang members roll a set of dice; the numbers that come up determine the number of established male gang members with whom the initiate must have intercourse. This method is used primarily with perspective female gang members. If the perspective gang member participates willingly she is admitted into the gang as an intermediate gang member. If the perspective gang member refuses to participate, she is usually forced. If she still wants to become a member, she is granted peripheral status in the gang, and after a period of time may be granted intermediate status.\n\nBoth of these methods present health risks to this population. The number of serious physical injuries during the jumping in initiations has been documented by the reports of increased numbers of young trauma patients, many of whom are adolescent females between the ages of 12 and 15 years, in the emergency rooms around this country.\n\nThe sexual acts performed during the roll of the dice initiation are unprotected. This places the adolescent female in the high-risk category for sexually transmitted diseases including HIV. This also places the adolescent female at risk for an unwanted pregnancy.\n\nAnother aspect of this alarming trend is the number of adolescent female gang members committing violent acts. There has been an increase in the numbers of adolescent and adult females being incarcerated for serious offenses ranging from aggravated assault to murder.\n\nThe two reasons adolescent females give for joining gangs and putting themselves at risk are their need to belong to a family and/or family unit and the sense of power they get from belonging to the gang. Their perception of external power gives them a sense of internal power and control.\n\nA lot has been written about gangs and gang subculture, but little attention has been paid to the participation of females. As the trend in this area continues to grow, so does the need for more research.\n\nSEE ALSO: Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, Adolescence, Sexual abuse, Sexually transmitted diseases, Violence, Youth\n\nSuggested Reading\n\n  • Furr, A. L. (1997). Exploring human behavior and the social environment. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.\n\n\n  • gangs roll\n  • gangs rools\n\nTags: ,\n\nCategory: G", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8988037705421448}
+{"content": "Poem 128 ± October 10, 2015\n\nWilliam Shakespeare\nSonnet 94\n\nThey that have power to hurt and will do none,\nThat do not do the thing they most do show,\nWho, moving others, are themselves as stone,\nUnmoved, cold, and to temptation slow:\nThey rightly do inherit heaven’s graces\nAnd husband nature’s riches from expense;\nThey are the lords and owners of their faces,\nOthers but stewards of their excellence.\nThe summer’s flower is to the summer sweet\nThough to itself it only live and die,\nBut if that flower with base infection meet,\nThe basest weed outbraves his dignity:\nFor sweetest things turn sourest by their deeds;\nLilies that fester smell far worse than weeds.\n\nWillam ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was the author of 38 plays and 154 sonnets as well as the poems Venus and Adonis (1593) and The Rape of Lucrece (1594). The Sonnets of Shakespeare was published in 1609. A complete collection of his plays, known as the First Folio, was published in 1623.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8886289000511169}
+{"content": "1 2 3 Previous Next 98 Replies Latest reply on Mar 20, 2017 9:52 AM by anthonymellor\n\n    Pythagoras please? Shortest Distance between multiple coordinates\n\n\n      Hello World, a debutant writes. Using FM Pro Adv 15.03.305 for one day.\n\n\n      I have two files/tables each with a pair of coordinates (OSGB) in each record. Two fields per record.\n\n\n      There is no common field/relation.\n\n\n      I need to apply Pythagoras (distance calc) to each pair of coordinates in table1 to every pair of coordinates in table2, selecting the minimum found in table 2, subject to a constraint of a further table1/field3 value being between two fields in table 2. (In short date in table 1 is between two dates in table 2( but these are not technically dates as such, just numbers)\n\n\n      The constraint is:\n\n\n      table1/field3 (e) is between table2/field3 (f) and table2/field4 (g)\n\n\n      Where if the above is true then:\n\n\n      table1/fleld1 = a\n\n      table1/field2 = b\n\n      table2/field1 = c\n\n      table2field2 = d\n\n\n      The Pythagoras I need is (a-c)*(a-c)+(b-d)*(b-d)      (which = c^2)\n\n\n      Can anyone give me the code please?\n\n      I have spent hours reading many pages and arrive here in desperation. Thus far I have been able to proceed by following the online docs and discussions in here step by step, but this matter has defeated me.\n\n\n      Basically it's an SQL Sub query, or an Exel array, or an AWK short script, but now I have the data in FM after weeks of preparation, I am being stymied by this. I gather it may be achieved with Execute SQL, but I also read that this may be slow (I have six million records in table 1 and 3,300 in table 2 = 20 billion calculations ). This is why I have excluded taking the square root in the above as this can be done afterwards. I also gather FM's SQL is it's own variant and having tried it I get nowhere.\n\n\n      I really do not want to have to take the data out of FM, process it and put it back as this seems to defeat the idea of having FM and I'd like to learn how to do this for myself, which so far has been a miserable, time consuming and frustrating failure as an objective.\n\n\n      So, is there a kind soul out there who can fix this for me?\n\n\n      I can upload samples if that helps; even the AWK script or the Excel arrays that work.\n\n\n\n\n      p.s. I have also gleaned this below from the web, though for my purposes I think Let([a2=(a-c) * (a-c) + (b-d) * (b-d)];)  is more like it, but hey..\n\n      I seem to think this is to create some sort of user defined function\n\n      // returns the length of the hypotenuse based on the Pythagorean Theorem\n\n      // input two numbers output number\n\n\n\n      a2=(a-c) * (a-c);\n\n      b2=(b-d) * (b-d);\n\n\n\n\n\n\n      and here the possible PostgreSQL:\n\n\n      UPDATE ACC SET ACC.ACC_EC = SITESmin.ACC_EC,   ACC.ACC_NC = SITESmin.ACC_NC FROM ACC   INNER JOIN LATERAL ( SELECT TOP 1   *   FROM SITES   ORDER BY ( acc_ec - site_etg ) * ( acc_ec - site_etg ) + (acc_ncb - site_ntg ) * ( acc_ncb - site_ntg )   ) SITESmin;\n\n        1 2 3 Previous Next", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5079848766326904}
+{"content": "8 Replies Latest reply on Nov 21, 2012 12:50 PM by Mike_Mitchell\n\n    Charting conundrum (hopefully easy)\n\n\n      Good day, all. I'm working on some charting issues for a client, and am having a bit of trouble trying to find an elegant way to tackle this.\n\n\n      The chart in question (see attached) is typical. What they have is a need to show three variables: The day of an event, the hour of the day on each of those days, and the number of events (in this case, patients seen by first aid personnel) which occur during each of those hours on each of those days. Normally, this is not difficult; the hours of the day are the x-axis; the number of patients are the y-axis, and the days of the week / event represent y-series. In this case, though, there's a bit of a bugaboo: The number of days, the number of patients, and the number of hours during which the events take place are all variable. Further, they want to be able to pull the report containing these charts continuously throughout the course of the event.\n\n\n      Therefore, the chart needs to be dynamic not only in the number of data points and the span on each axis, but the number of y-series as well. The best I've been able to come up with so far is to program a number of series larger than what I think will be needed, allowing it to fill up as the data propagate. However, that's a kludge and not very stable.\n\n\n      Is there a better way to account for a variable number of y-series on a chart?", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.865632951259613}
+{"content": "HideShow resource information\n\n\nThe aims of sentencing\nThe main aims of sentencing are set out in the Criminal Justice Act 2003.\n\nRetribution­- Retribution for doing wrong, society’s revenge for the offence. The sentencing council set tariff sentences to reflect the aim.\n\nDenunciation- Where society can express their outrage at the offence committed. Public condemnation of the offender.\n\nDeterrence (Individual)-This is aimed at a particular offender to put him/her off of offending again. The method to put the defendant off is either a severe sentence (e.g custodial sentence/ fine) or by threatening imprisonment (e.g a suspended sentence or conditional charge).\n\nDeterrence (General)- This is aimed at putting society off of committing crimes by exemplary sentences or minimum sentences. These are not concerned with fairness and may be much harsher than usual sentences, and can lead to unfairness.\n\nThis aims to reform the offender to stop them re-offending. It is focused on the longer term, looking at the potential of the offender to change their ways. Community orders are more likely to rehabilitate than custodial sentences as they can give the offender a sense of accomplishment.\n\nReparation­-Considers the victim when sentencing the offender. Compensation orders are used to make the offender make amends to the victim.\n\nPublic protection- Preventing the offender from re-offending using curfews and custodial sentences.\n\nPowers of the Courts\nCustodial sentences available for adults\nUnder the Criminal Justice Act 2003 and the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, custodial sentences available for adults include…\n- Mandatory life sentences are available to adults. This is the only available sentence for the crime of murder if the offender is over 18 years old. The minimum term to be served before release on licence ranges from 15 years to the rest of the offenders life. Tariffs for mandatory life sentences are set out in the Criminal Justice Act 2003.\n-Discretionary life sentences are also available for adults who commit other serious crimes but the judge can impose a lesser sentence if it is more appropriate\n-Fixed term sentences are available for those who are 21 years old and over. Only half of the sentence is served if the good behaviour is shown.\n-Home detention curfew is a sentence which is early release from prison on a curfew\n-Indeterminate sentences are available for adults for dangerous offences to protect the public from harm.\n-Extended sentences are custodial sentences available for adults where they serve the full sentence of their crime and then it is followed by an extension on license.\n-Minimum sentences are available sentences for adults who have been imprisoned for dealing Class A drugs.\n-Suspended sentences are sentences of 28-51 weeks suspension after serving a prison sentence of up to two years. Sentence of suspension\n\n\nNo comments have yet been made\n\nSimilar Law resources:\n\nSee all Law resources »See all Sentencing resources »", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7397451400756836}
+{"content": "HAED- top row done- dragonflies whisper\n\nI apparently forgot to share this. The top row of my HAED is done. I am so pleased with how it looks. I started the second row yesterday. I'm so happy with how it is looking.\n\n\nI do my HAEDs tent stitch. Some people will say that isn't really stitching, or whatever but I don't care what they think or say. I like the coverage of tent on the 22 ct fabric and from looking distance you can't even tell.\n\nAnother half page and I'll be at my goal for the year. Yay.\n\n\n\nHere is what it will look like some day.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9988312721252441}
+{"content": "Read by QxMD icon Read\n\nHuntington disease\n\nRoberta Arb Saba, James H Yared, Thomas M Doring, Med Phys, Vanderci Borges, Henrique Ballalai Ferraz\nObjective: To evaluate the role of the involvement of white matter tracts in huntingtin gene mutation patients as a potential biomarker of the progression of the disease. Methods: We evaluated 34 participants (11 symptomatic huntingtin gene mutation, 12 presymptomatic huntingtin gene mutation, and 11 controls). We performed brain magnetic resonance imaging to assess white matter integrity using diffusion tensor imaging, with measurement of fractional anisotropy...\nAugust 2017: Arquivos de Neuro-psiquiatria\nHelena Carreira, Rachael Williams, Martin Müller, Rhea Harewood, Krishnan Bhaskaran\nBACKGROUND: Recent increasing trends in breast cancer incidence and survival have resulted in unprecedented numbers of cancer survivors in the general population. A cancer diagnosis may have a profound psychological impact, and breast cancer treatments often cause long-term physical sequelae, potentially affecting women's mental health. The aim of this systematic review is to identify and summarise all studies that have compared mental health outcomes in breast cancer survivors, versus women who did not have cancer...\nAugust 14, 2017: Systematic Reviews\nFrancisco Cardoso\nHuntington disease (HD) is characterized by the triad of motor abnormalities, cognitive dysfunction, and behavioral changes. The aim of this chapter is to describe the frequency, clinical features, and management of behavioral and cognitive dysfunction in HD. Depression, suicidal ideation, apathy, irritability, aggressiveness, obsessions, and compulsions are the most common behavioral abnormalities in HD. All HD patients develop cognitive decline. Recent data suggest that these nonmotor changes are found in premanifest HD gene carriers...\n2017: International Review of Neurobiology\nIsidro Ferrer\nAstrogliopathy refers to alterations of astrocytes occurring in diseases of the nervous system, and it implies the involvement of astrocytes as key elements in the pathogenesis and pathology of diseases and injuries of the central nervous system. Reactive astrocytosis refers to the response of astrocytes to different insults to the nervous system, whereas astrocytopathy indicates hypertrophy, atrophy/degeneration and loss of function and pathological remodeling occurring as a primary cause of a disease or as a factor contributing to the development and progression of a particular disease...\nSeptember 2017: Brain Pathology\nRanjan Batra, David A Nelles, Elaine Pirie, Steven M Blue, Ryan J Marina, Harrison Wang, Isaac A Chaim, James D Thomas, Nigel Zhang, Vu Nguyen, Stefan Aigner, Sebastian Markmiller, Guangbin Xia, Kevin D Corbett, Maurice S Swanson, Gene W Yeo\nMicrosatellite repeat expansions in DNA produce pathogenic RNA species that cause dominantly inherited diseases such as myotonic dystrophy type 1 and 2 (DM1/2), Huntington's disease, and C9orf72-linked amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (C9-ALS). Means to target these repetitive RNAs are required for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. Here, we describe the development of a programmable CRISPR system capable of specifically visualizing and eliminating these toxic RNAs. We observe specific targeting and efficient elimination of microsatellite repeat expansion RNAs both when exogenously expressed and in patient cells...\nAugust 8, 2017: Cell\nErika Carrassi, Maura Pugliatti, Vittorio Govoni, Mariachiara Sensi, Ilaria Casetta, Enrico Granieri\nBACKGROUND: Huntington's disease (HD) is an autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disorder caused by the abnormal expansion of CAG triplet repeat. We aimed to reappraise HD epidemiology in a northern Italian population, in relation to introduction of genetic testing. METHODS: Through ICD-9M code 333.4 and medical fare exemption code RF0080, HD cases were identified from administrative health data and medical records from the Units of Neurology and Genetics, Ferrara University Hospital, and from other provincial neurological structures...\nAugust 12, 2017: Neuroepidemiology\nAugust 9, 2017: Marine Genomics\nSumbul Firdaus, Anupam Dhasmana, Mohd Wahid, Arshad Jawed, Raju K Mandal, Sajad A Dar, Mohammed Y Areeshi, Mohtashim Lohani, Shafiul Haque\nGOALS: Fullerenes have tremendous potential for human biological studies which may further lead to their therapeutic applications. Hence, it has become necessary to explore the possibility of their interference with various important cellular processes. The current study was designed to explore how the presence of fullerenes can affect the binding of DNA with different enzymes and factors involved in transcription and translation process. METHODS: Various bioinformatics approaches and software programs were used to study the effect of fullerenes on the binding pattern of DNA with different enzymes and factors involved in transcription and translation process...\nAugust 2017: Annals of Clinical and Laboratory Science\nAlberto Bresciani, Antonino Missineo, Mariana Gallo, Mauro Cerretani, Paola Fezzardi, Licia Tomei, Daniel Oscar Cicero, Sergio Altamura, Alessia Santoprete, Raffaele Ingenito, Elisabetta Bianchi, Robert Pacifici, Celia Dominguez, Ignacio Munoz-Sanjuan, Steven Harper, Leticia Toledo-Sherman, Larry C Park\nMechanisms that activate innate antioxidant responses, as a way to mitigate oxidative stress at the site of action, hold much therapeutic potential in diseases, such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and Huntington's disease, where the use of antioxidants as monotherapy has not yielded positive results. The nuclear factor NRF2 is a transcription factor whose activity upregulates the expression of cell detoxifying enzymes in response to oxidative stress. NRF2 levels are modulated by KEAP1, a sensor of oxidative stress...\nAugust 8, 2017: Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics\nSeptember 2017: Qualitative Health Research\nPengsheng Zheng, James Kozloski\n2017: Frontiers in Computational Neuroscience\nFranz Oswald, Patricia Klöble, André Ruland, David Rosenkranz, Bastian Hinz, Falk Butter, Sanja Ramljak, Ulrich Zechner, Holger Herlyn\nThe transcription repressor FOXP2 is a crucial player in nervous system evolution and development of humans and songbirds. In order to provide an additional insight into its functional role we compared target gene expression levels between human neuroblastoma cells (SH-SY5Y) stably overexpressing FOXP2 cDNA of either humans or the common chimpanzee, Rhesus monkey, and marmoset, respectively. RNA-seq led to identification of 27 genes with differential regulation under the control of human FOXP2, which were previously reported to have FOXP2-driven and/or songbird song-related expression regulation...\n2017: Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience\nCarlo Rodolfo, Silvia Campello, Francesco Cecconi\nNeurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson's disease (PD), Alzheimer's disease (AD), Huntington's disease (HD), and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), are a complex \"family\" of pathologies, characterised by the progressive loss of neurons and/or neuronal functions, leading to severe physical and cognitive inabilities in affected patients. These syndromes, despite differences in the causative events, the onset, and the progression of the disease, share as common features the presence of aggregate-prone neuro-toxic proteins, in the form of aggresomes and/or inclusion bodies, perturbing cellular homeostasis and neuronal function (Popovic et al...\nAugust 7, 2017: Neurochemistry International\nElizaveta Katorcha, Natallia Makarava, Young Jin Lee, Iris Lindberg, Mervyn J Monteiro, Gabor G Kovacs, Ilia V Baskakov\nAggregation of misfolded proteins or peptides is a common feature of neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Huntington's, prion and other diseases. Recent years have witnessed a growing number of reports of overlap in neuropathological features that were once thought to be unique to only one neurodegenerative disorder. However, the origin for the overlap remains unclear. One possibility is that diseases with mixed brain pathologies might arise from cross-seeding of one amyloidogenic protein by aggregated states of unrelated proteins...\nAugust 10, 2017: PLoS Pathogens\nYuchen Feng, Daniel J Klionsky\nDamaged or aggregated proteins and organelles accumulate with age and contribute to various age-related pathologies including Alzheimer, Parkinson or Huntington diseases. In eukaryotic cells, there are two major pathways for degradation of the cytoplasm: The ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) and macroautophagy/autophagy. Both pathways can share the characteristic of initiating the process by ubiquitination of the substrate, but they utilize different ubiquitin receptors. In a paper described in a punctum in this issue, Lu et al...\nAugust 10, 2017: Autophagy\nKyung-Ah Choi, Sunghoi Hong\nHuntington's disease (HD) is an inherited neurodegenerative disease characterized by chorea, dementia, and depression caused by progressive nerve cell degeneration, which is triggered by expanded CAG repeats in the huntingtin (Htt) gene. Currently, there is no cure for this disease, nor is there an effective medicine available to delay or improve the physical, mental, and behavioral severities caused by it. Areas covered: In this review, the authors describe the use of induced neural stem cells (iNSCs) by direct conversion technology, which offers great advantages as a therapeutic cell type to treat HD...\nAugust 9, 2017: Expert Opinion on Biological Therapy\nPawaris Wongprayoon, Piyarat Govitrapong\nMitochondria are crucial organelles as their role in cellular energy production of eukaryotes. Because the brain cells demand high energy for maintaining their normal activities, disturbances in mitochondrial physiology may lead to neuropathological events underlying neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and Huntington's disease. Melatonin is an endogenous compound with a variety of physiological roles. In addition, it possesses potent antioxidant properties which effectively play protective roles in several pathological conditions...\nAugust 8, 2017: Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences: CMLS\nLin-Feng Fan, Ping-You He, Yu-Cong Peng, Qing-Hua Du, Yi-Jun Ma, Jian-Xiang Jin, Hang-Zhe Xu, Jian-Ru Li, Zhi-Jiang Wang, Sheng-Long Cao, Tao Li, Feng Yan, Chi Gu, Lin Wang, Gao Chen\nAberrant modulation of mitochondrial dynamic network, which shifts the balance of fusion and fission towards fission, is involved in brain damage of various neurodegenerative diseases including Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease and Alzheimer's disease. A recent research has shown that the inhibition of mitochondrial fission alleviates early brain injury after experimental subarachnoid hemorrhage, however, the underlying molecular mechanisms have remained to be elucidated. This study was undertaken to characterize the effects of the inhibition of dynamin-related protein-1 (Drp1, a dominator of mitochondrial fission) on blood-brain barrier (BBB) disruption and neuronal apoptosis following SAH and the potential mechanisms...\nAugust 5, 2017: Free Radical Biology & Medicine\nShi-Shuang Cui, Ru-Jing Ren, Ying Wang, Gang Wang, Sheng-Di Chen\nAugust 8, 2017: BMC Neurology\nYi-Ting Hsu, Ya-Gin Chang, Ching-Pang Chang, Jian-Jing Siew, Hui-Mei Chen, Chon-Haw Tsai, Yijuang Chern\nBACKGROUND: Disruptions in gamma-aminobutyric (GABA) acid signaling are believed to be involved in Huntington's disease pathogenesis, but the regulation of GABAergic signaling remains elusive. Here we evaluated GABAergic signaling by examining the function of GABAergic drugs in Huntington's disease and the expression of GABAergic molecules using mouse models and human brain tissues from Huntington's disease. METHODS: We treated wild-type and R6/2 mice (a transgenic Huntington's disease mouse model) acutely with vehicle, diazepam, or gaboxadol (drugs that selectively target synaptic or extrasynaptic GABAA receptors) and monitored their locomotor activity...\nAugust 7, 2017: Movement Disorders: Official Journal of the Movement Disorder Society\nFetch more papers »\nFetching more papers... Fetching...\nRemove bar\nRead by QxMD icon Read\n\nSearch Tips\n\nUse Boolean operators: AND/OR\n\ndiabetic AND foot\ndiabetes OR diabetic\n\nExclude a word using the 'minus' sign\n\nVirchow -triad\n\nUse Parentheses\n\nwater AND (cup OR glass)\n\n\n\nUse quotes to search for an exact phrase\n\n\"primary prevention of cancer\"", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7543320655822754}
+{"content": "• Supreme Court Ruling on Health Law Would Have Disparate Impact\n\n    Overturning facet could leave law functioning as designed in some places, largely halted in others\n\n    The Supreme Court heard arguments in King v. Burwell, the blockbuster health-care law case. What’s the case about? What were the arguments? WSJ’s Jason Bellini has #TheShortAnswer.\n\n    If the Supreme Court overturns a key facet of the Affordable Care Act, it could leave the law functioning as designed in some states, while grinding it largely to a halt in others.\n\n    That divide comes into focus through the case’s potential impact on a group of people The Wall Street Journal has been tracking to document the law’s impact. Some are likely to be unaffected by a ruling striking down the subsidies. Others could see the...\n\n    Popular on WSJ", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6747275590896606}
+{"content": "kindness project\n\nCollateral Culture: The School You Didn’t Know You Were Building\n\nGuest post by Danny Steele\n\nWe all know the culture of our school is important, and you understand that building a strong one is how school leaders can impact student achievement. You intuitively understand that schools need to be safe; they need to foster collaboration; and they need to stay focused on the needs of the students. But don’t ever underestimate the small things you do on a daily basis that contribute to the strength of your school culture. (more…)", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9649932980537415}
+{"content": "Monday, April 19, 2010\n\nTurkish Spinach Pie (Ispanakli Borek)\n\nBorek is a general term in Turkish cuisine that applies to a family of pastries with about fifty different members. It is a type of baked or fried filled pastry, made of a thin flaky dough known as yufka (or phyllo). It can be filled with cheese, often feta, or kaşar, ground meat, or vegetables such as spinach, zucchini, potatoes, leeks, also carrot and peas. Spinach Borek is very popular in the countries composing the former Ottoman Empire such as Greece. This recipe may sound time consuming but as Alton Brown always says :\"YOUR PATIENCE WILL BE REWARDED!\":-)\n\n40 phyllo dough sheets (1 packet)\n1 lb fresh spinach (semi-savoy,chopped and washed thoroughly)\n1 medium onion (finely chopped)\n1/2 cup crumbled feta (you can also use ricotta or cream cheese)*\n4 eggs\n1 and 1/3 cup milk\n1/3 cup olive oil or canola oil for egg mixture\n2 tbs olive oil for spinach (or butter)\n1/2 tsp salt\n1/2 tsp black pepper\nnigella seeds and/or sesame seeds\n\n\n1. Preheat oven to 375F. Thaw phyllos according to the instructions on the package. Generally speaking, you want to thaw the dough slowly, in its box and wrapping bag. Some companies include microwave thawing instructions. This is very risky. Thaw too quickly or at too high a power and you will end up with a gummy wet mess instead of separate sheets. Keep stacks covered with a dampened clean kitchen towel (Do not place the towel directly on top of the dough.)\n2. Heat 2tbs of olive oil in a pan. Add the onions and saute until translucent. Add chopped spinach after the onions change color and cook for a few minutes. Spinach may look a lot but it will reduce significantly when it is cooked.\n3.Cool the spinach for 5 min. Season with salt and pepper and add cheese (you can also add some crushed red pepper).\n4. In another bowl beat the eggs and add milk and olive oil. Mix well.\n5. Grease a pan that's approximately the same size with phyllo sheets. Layer half of phyllo dough sheets in the pan by brushing every single layer generously with the liquid mixture.\n6. On the 20th phyllo spread spinach mix. Keep layering the rest of phyllos by brushing each layer with the mixture.\n7. After putting down the last phyllo, pour the rest of the egg mixture on top.Sprinkle the pie with nigella seeds and/or sesame seeds.\n8. Bake in a preheated oven 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. When cooked sprinkle 1 tbs of cold water over the pie, right after removing from oven and cover with a kitchen towel. Wait for 5 to 10 min. and then cut and serve.\n\n* You can also skip the cheese in this recipe and make with spinach filling only. If you are using ricoatta: using a coffee filter set over a bowl, drain the ricotta and discard the liquid.\n\n\n  1. In another life when I lived in Istanbul, I was shown to put a good size (1 Tablsp of chopped fresh Mint, Dill, and I cup Italian Parsley), it really made a difference to the superb flavor.\n\n  2. Many of the Greek recipes are taken from the Turks who are fantastic cooks. Always try to find the true Turkish recipe for whatever Greek recipe you have and add the difference. I am neither Turk nor Greek no bias", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.504103422164917}
+{"content": "28 June 2016\n\nThe Age of Disintegration\n\nNeoliberalism, Interventionism, the Resource Curse, and a Fragmenting World  \nBy Patrick Cockburn, TomDispatch, 28 June 2016\nRe-posted with permission of the author and the editor/publisher of TomDispatch. Patrick Cockburn writes for the Independent and is —at least in my opinion — the finest journalist now covering the Middle East.  His latest book (just out in paperback), Chaos & Caliphate: Jihadis and the West in the Struggle for the Middle East, summarizes much of his work from the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 to Iraq in 2015. It can be purchased by buying it directly from his publisher, OR Books, by clicking here.\nWe live in an age of disintegration. Nowhere is this more evident than in the Greater Middle East and Africa. Across the vast swath of territory between Pakistan and Nigeria, there are at least seven ongoing wars -- in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Libya, Somalia, and South Sudan. These conflicts are extraordinarily destructive. They are tearing apart the countries in which they are taking place in ways that make it doubtful they will ever recover. Cities like Aleppo in Syria, Ramadi in Iraq, Taiz in Yemen, and Benghazi in Libya have been partly or entirely reduced to ruins. There are also at least three other serious insurgencies: in southeast Turkey, where Kurdish guerrillas are fighting the Turkish army, in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula where a little-reported but ferocious guerrilla conflict is underway, and in northeast Nigeria and neighboring countries where Boko Haram continues to launch murderous attacks.\nAll of these have a number of things in common: they are endless and seem never to produce definitive winners or losers. (Afghanistan has effectively been at war since 1979, Somalia since 1991.) They involve the destruction or dismemberment of unified nations, their de facto partition amid mass population movements and upheavals -- well publicized in the case of Syria and Iraq, less so in places like South Sudan where more than 2.4 million people have been displaced in recent years.\nAdd in one more similarity, no less crucial for being obvious: in most of these countries, where Islam is the dominant religion, extreme Salafi-Jihadi movements, including the Islamic State (IS), al-Qaeda, and the Taliban are essentially the only available vehicles for protest and rebellion. By now, they have completely replaced the socialist and nationalist movements that predominated in the twentieth century; these years have, that is, seen a remarkable reversion to religious, ethnic, and tribal identity, to movements that seek to establish their own exclusive territory by the persecution and expulsion of minorities.\nIn the process and under the pressure of outside military intervention, a vast region of the planet seems to be cracking open. Yet there is very little understanding of these processes in Washington. This was recently well illustrated by the protest of 51 State Department diplomats against President Obama’s Syrian policy and their suggestion that air strikes be launched targeting Syrian regime forces in the belief that President Bashar al-Assad would then abide by a ceasefire. The diplomats’ approach remains typically simpleminded in this most complex of conflicts, assuming as it does that the Syrian government’s barrel-bombing of civilians and other grim acts are the “root cause of the instability that continues to grip Syria and the broader region.”\nIt is as if the minds of these diplomats were still in the Cold War era, as if they were still fighting the Soviet Union and its allies. Against all the evidence of the last five years, there is an assumption that a barely extant moderate Syrian opposition would benefit from the fall of Assad, and a lack of understanding that the armed opposition in Syria is entirely dominated by the Islamic State and al-Qaeda clones.\nThough the invasion of Iraq in 2003 is now widely admitted to have been a mistake (even by those who supported it at the time), no real lessons have been learned about why direct or indirect military interventions by the U.S. and its allies in the Middle East over the last quarter century have all only exacerbated violence and accelerated state failure.\nA Mass Extinction of Independent States\nThe Islamic State, just celebrating its second anniversary, is the grotesque outcome of this era of chaos and conflict. That such a monstrous cult exists at all is a symptom of the deep dislocation societies throughout that region, ruled by corrupt and discredited elites, have suffered. Its rise -- and that of various Taliban and al-Qaeda-style clones -- is a measure of the weakness of its opponents.\nThe Iraqi army and security forces, for example, had 350,000 soldiers and 660,000 police on the books in June 2014 when a few thousand Islamic State fighters captured Mosul, the country’s second largest city, which they still hold. Today the Iraqi army, security services, and about 20,000 Shia paramilitaries backed by the massive firepower of the United States and allied air forces have fought their way into the city of Fallujah, 40 miles west of Baghdad, against the resistance of IS fighters who may have numbered as few as 900. In Afghanistan, the resurgence of the Taliban, supposedly decisively defeated in 2001, came about less because of the popularity of that movement than the contempt with which Afghans came to regard their corrupt government in Kabul.\nEverywhere nation states are enfeebled or collapsing, as authoritarian leaders battle for survival in the face of mounting external and internal pressures. This is hardly the way the region was expected to develop. Countries that had escaped from colonial rule in the second half of the twentieth century were supposed to become more, not less, unified as time passed.\nBetween 1950 and 1975, nationalist leaders came to power in much of the previously colonized world. They promised to achieve national self-determination by creating powerful independent states through the concentration of whatever political, military, and economic resources were at hand. Instead, over the decades, many of these regimes transmuted into police states controlled by small numbers of staggeringly wealthy families and a coterie of businessmen dependent on their connections to such leaders as Hosni Mubarak in Egypt or Bashar al-Assad in Syria.\nIn recent years, such countries were also opened up to the economic whirlwind of neoliberalism, which destroyed any crude social contract that existed between rulers and ruled. Take Syria. There, rural towns and villages that had once supported the Baathist regime of the al-Assad family because it provided jobs and kept the prices of necessities low were, after 2000, abandoned to market forces skewed in favor of those in power. These places would become the backbone of the post-2011 uprising. At the same time, institutions like the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) that had done so much to enhance the wealth and power of regional oil producers in the 1970s have lost their capacity for united action.\n\nThe question for our moment: Why is a “mass extinction” of independent states taking place in the Middle East, North Africa, and beyond? Western politicians and media often refer to such countries as “failed states.” The implication embedded in that term is that the process is a self-destructive one. But several of the states now labeled “failed” like Libya only became so after Western-backed opposition movements seized power with the support and military intervention of Washington and NATO, and proved too weak to impose their own central governments and so a monopoly of violence within the national territory.\nIn many ways, this process began with the intervention of a U.S.-led coalition in Iraq in 2003 leading to the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, the shutting down of his Baathist Party, and the disbanding of his military. Whatever their faults, Saddam and Libya’s autocratic ruler Muammar Gaddafi were clearly demonized and blamed for all ethnic, sectarian, and regional differences in the countries they ruled, forces that were, in fact, set loose in grim ways upon their deaths.\nA question remains, however: Why did the opposition to autocracy and to Western intervention take on an Islamic form and why were the Islamic movements that came to dominate the armed resistance in Iraq and Syria in particular so violent, regressive, and sectarian? Put another way, how could such groups find so many people willing to die for their causes, while their opponents found so few? When IS battle groups were sweeping through northern Iraq in the summer of 2014, soldiers who had thrown aside their uniforms and weapons and deserted that country’s northern cities would justify their flight by saying derisively: “Die for [then-Prime Minister Nouri] al-Maliki? Never!”\nA common explanation for the rise of Islamic resistance movements is that the socialist, secularist, and nationalist opposition had been crushed by the old regimes' security forces, while the Islamists were not. In countries like Libya and Syria, however, Islamists were savagely persecuted, too, and they still came to dominate the opposition. And yet, while these religious movements were strong enough to oppose governments, they generally have not proven strong enough to replace them.\nToo Weak to Win, But Too Strong to Lose\nThough there are clearly many reasons for the present disintegration of states and they differ somewhat from place to place, one thing is beyond question: the phenomenon itself is becoming the norm across vast reaches of the planet.\nIf you’re looking for the causes of state failure in our time, the place to start is undoubtedly with the end of the Cold War a quarter-century ago. Once it was over, neither the U.S. nor the new Russia that emerged from the Soviet Union’s implosion had a significant interest in continuing to prop up “failed states,” as each had for so long, fearing that the rival superpower and its local proxies would otherwise take over. Previously, national leaders in places like the Greater Middle East had been able to maintain a degree of independence for their countries by balancing between Moscow and Washington. With the break-up of the Soviet Union, this was no longer feasible.\nIn addition, the triumph of neoliberal free-market economics in the wake of the Soviet Union’s collapse added a critical element to the mix. It would prove far more destabilizing than it looked at the time.\nAgain, consider Syria. The expansion of the free market in a country where there was neither democratic accountability nor the rule of law meant one thing above all: plutocrats linked to the nation’s ruling family took anything that seemed potentially profitable. In the process, they grew staggeringly wealthy, while the denizens of Syria’s impoverished villages, country towns, and city slums, who had once looked to the state for jobs and cheap food, suffered. It should have surprised no one that those places became the strongholds of the Syrian uprising after 2011. In the capital, Damascus, as the reign of neoliberalism spread, even the lesser members of the mukhabarat, or secret police, found themselves living on only $200 to $300 a month, while the state became a machine for thievery.\nThis sort of thievery and the auctioning off of the nation’s patrimony spread across the region in these years. The new Egyptian ruler, General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, merciless toward any sign of domestic dissent, was typical. In a country that once had been a standard bearer for nationalist regimes the world over, he didn’t hesitate this April to try to hand over two islands in the Red Sea to Saudi Arabia on whose funding and aid his regime is dependent. (To the surprise of everyone, an Egyptian court recently overruled Sisi's decision.)\nThat gesture, deeply unpopular among increasingly impoverished Egyptians, was symbolic of a larger change in the balance of power in the Middle East: once the most powerful states in the region -- Egypt, Syria, and Iraq -- had been secular nationalists and a genuine counterbalance to Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf monarchies. As those secular autocracies weakened, however, the power and influence of the Sunni fundamentalist monarchies only increased. If 2011 saw rebellion and revolution spread across the Greater Middle East as the Arab Spring briefly blossomed, it also saw counterrevolution spread, funded by those oil-rich absolute Gulf monarchies, which were never going to tolerate democratic secular regime change in Syria or Libya.\nAdd in one more process at work making such states ever more fragile: the production and sale of natural resources -- oil, gas, and minerals -- and the kleptomania that goes with it. Such countries often suffer from what has become known as “the resources curse”: states increasingly dependent for revenues on the sale of their natural resources -- enough to theoretically provide the whole population with a reasonably decent standard of living -- turn instead into grotesquely corrupt dictatorships. In them, the yachts of local billionaires with crucial connections to the regime of the moment bob in harbors surrounded by slums running with raw sewage. In such nations, politics tends to focus on elites battling and maneuvering to steal state revenues and transfer them as rapidly as possible out of the country.\nThis has been the pattern of economic and political life in much of sub-Saharan Africa from Angola to Nigeria. In the Middle East and North Africa, however, a somewhat different system exists, one usually misunderstood by the outside world. There is similarly great inequality in Iraq or Saudi Arabia with similarly kleptocratic elites. They have, however, ruled over patronage states in which a significant part of the population is offered jobs in the public sector in return for political passivity or support for the kleptocrats.\nIn Iraq with a population of 33 million people, for instance, no less than seven million of them are on the government payroll, thanks to salaries or pensions that cost the government $4 billion a month. This crude way of distributing oil revenues to the people has often been denounced by Western commentators and economists as corruption. They, in turn, generally recommend cutting the number of these jobs, but this would mean that all, rather than just part, of the state’s resource revenues would be stolen by the elite. This, in fact, is increasingly the case in such lands as oil prices bottom out and even the Saudi royals begin to cut back on state support for the populace.\nNeoliberalism was once believed to be the path to secular democracy and free-market economies. In practice, it has been anything but. Instead, in conjunction with the resource curse, as well as repeated military interventions by Washington and its allies, free-market economics has profoundly destabilized the Greater Middle East. Encouraged by Washington and Brussels, twenty-first-century neoliberalism has made unequal societies ever more unequal and helped transform already corrupt regimes into looting machines. This is also, of course, a formula for the success of the Islamic State or any other radical alternative to the status quo. Such movements are bound to find support in impoverished or neglected regions like eastern Syria or eastern Libya.\nNote, however, that this process of destabilization is by no means confined to the Greater Middle East and North Africa. We are indeed in the age of destabilization, a phenomenon that is on the rise globally and at present spreading into the Balkans and Eastern Europe (with the European Union ever less able to influence events there). People no longer speak of European integration, but of how to prevent the complete break-up of the European Union in the wake of the British vote to leave.\nThe reasons why a narrow majority of Britons voted for Brexit have parallels with the Middle East: the free-market economic policies pursued by governments since Margaret Thatcher was prime minister have widened the gap between rich and poor and between wealthy cities and much of the rest of the country. Britain might be doing well, but millions of Britons did not share in the prosperity. The referendum about continued membership in the European Union, the option almost universally advocated by the British establishment, became the catalyst for protest against the status quo. The anger of the \"Leave\" voters has much in common with that of Donald Trump supporters in the United States.\nThe U.S. remains a superpower, but is no longer as powerful as it once was. It, too, is feeling the strains of this global moment, in which it and its local allies are powerful enough to imagine they can get rid of regimes they do not like, but either they do not quite succeed, as in Syria, or succeed but cannot replace what they have destroyed, as in Libya. An Iraqi politician once said that the problem in his country was that parties and movements were “too weak to win, but too strong to lose.” This is increasingly the pattern for the whole region and is spreading elsewhere. It carries with it the possibility of an endless cycle of indecisive wars and an era of instability that has already begun.\n\nPatrick Cockburn is a Middle East correspondent for the Independent of London and the author of five books on the Middle East, the latest of which is Chaos and Caliphate: Jihadis and the West in the Struggle for the Middle East (OR Books).\n\n27 June 2016\n\nTrumping Hillary: The Same Old Pol-Mil Game\n\nWill the 2016 Election Change America’s Militarized Foreign Policy?\nPro-Israel Neocons have said they will jump off the Republican ship and vote for Hillary Clinton, because she will continue business as usual with regard to our militarized foreign policy.  Apologists for Donald Trump argue that he will pursue a more restrained and less warlike foreign policy, including a more balanced policy toward Israel.  \nBut recent  report by Stuart Winer in the Times of Israel suggests Trump’s bombastic 'art of the deal,’ at least when applied to pol-mil policy, will turn out to be yet another politician's distinction without a difference — to wit:\nA senior adviser to Donald Trump said Wednesday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should wait for the presumptive Republican presidential nominee to win the White House before signing a military aid deal with Washington, because Trump would offer a better deal than the Obama administration\nIn an interview with Channel 2 television David Friedman said that a Trump administration would maintain Israel’s military advantage over its neighbors. He said Trump would not reduce defense aid to Israel but “in all likelihood will increase it significantly.”\n“The aid package will certainly not go down in all likelihood it will go up in a material amount because Israel must maintain a technological and military superiority within the region,” Freidman said. “I can’t give advice how Israel should bargain and develop its own strategy.”\nFriedman’s suggestion that Trump would increase aid to Israel apparently ran contrary to the GOP candidate’s call to make Israel pay back foreign aid. In March, Trump said he believed Israel should pay for defense aid it receives from the US.\nCould it be that the choice for President in 2016 will have no effect on America's militarized foreign policy, and if so, would this be something new and different? \nAs with most political questions in Versailles on the Potomac, the pathway to answering this question is less one of Ivory-tower policy analysis than a gritty one of following the money  — in this case the money flowing through the triangular relations of the Military - Industrial - Congressional Complex.  It is a question that goes to the heart of President Eisenhower’s prophetic warning, \"In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex.\"\nMore on this question later.\n\n20 June 2016\n\nUpdate on the Palestinian Water Crisis\n\nAccess to water is one of the most fundamental and least discussed issues underpinning the Israeli - Palestinian conflict (as well as the recurring pattern of Israel’s conflicts with Syria and Lebanon).  Control of the West Bank’s water resources is intimately tied into the growing pattern of the Israeli settlements in the West Bank and, if left unchecked, Israel’s inevitable annexation of Area C (60%) of the West Bank (thereby formalizing the Gazification of Areas A&B).   Water resources are also intimately woven into the pattern of destruction in Israel’s siege of the Gaza ghetto. \nMost Americans remain unaware of water’s central importance in this conflict. Yet a fair and equitable solution to this issue is a necessary albeit not sufficient condition for ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on terms that do not sow the seeds for future conflict. \nThe parameters of the water question in the Jordan River Valley have been long understood, if ignored, by American policy makers (see the 1955 Johnston Plan and the Johnston Plan Revisited).  Indeed, in its current context, the these parameters reach back to the 3 February 1919 Zionist proposal to Versailles Peace Conference for a Jewish national home (do a word search for “water” and think about the implications of the highlighted text).  More generally, the history of access to water in this region reaches back to the dawn of civilization and the creation of agriculture.  The Jordan River drainage system (along with Lebanon’s surface water systems) together with the aquifers in the highlands of the West Bank (and of Lebanon) connect the two wings of the Fertile Crescent stretching from the Nile River system in the West to Tigris and Euphrates River systems in the East.  It is no accident that the location of one of the world’s oldest cities, the Palestinian canton of Jericho, was determined in large part by its access to the wells and springs in the center of this link.\nI first became interested in this issue in 2001 (and did a subsequent, more extensive analysis in 2003 here).  Since 2001, the water question has worsened with each passing year, yet it still receives almost no attention in the mainstream media.  \nThe attached analysis by Camilla Corradin in Aljazeera is an excellent update of this steadily worsening question.  The links in her report are particularly important sources of information.  I urge readers to read the links as well as her essay.\n\nIsrael: Water as a tool to dominate Palestinians\nIsrael deliberately denies Palestinians control over their water sources and sets the ground for water domination.\nCamilla Corradin, Aljazeera, 20 June 2016\n\n\nCamilla Corradin is advocating for Palestinian water rights with the EWASH NGOs coalitio\n\n17 June 2016\n\nWhy Are Defense Policy Wonks So Ineffectual?\n\n“People say the Pentagon does not have a strategy.  They are wrong; the Pentagon does have a strategy.  It is: Don’t interrupt the money flow, add to it.”\nFighter pilot\nAircraft designer\n\nToday, America’s foreign policy is a shambles.  Its primary features are (1) a perpetual war on terror, and (2) the seemingly inevitable march into a new and unnecessary cold war against Russia and China.  At the same time, President Obama is leaving his successor with a budget plan containing a front loaded and political engineered* procurement bow wave that guarantees steeply rising defense expenditures well into the next decade and possibly beyond.  Such long term increases in the defense budget can only be justified by a new cold war.  Yet the United States now spends far more on the military than any other country.  Add in the expenditures of our allies, and the spending advantage over any conceivable combination of adversaries becomes overwhelming.   Nevertheless, US citizens are more fearful than they were during the Cold War, and politicians and the yellow journalism of the mainstream media are hyping those fears to a greater extent than they did during the Cold War.\nWhat is going on?  \nMost pundits and policy makers who debate this dismal state of affairs subscribe to the view that fixing foreign policy is the first step toward getting control of the Pentagon and ultimately reducing defense budgets. \nIn their view, the top priority should be to re-define our foreign policy goals (hopefully in accordance with the criteria for a sensible grand strategy, although these criteria are seldom examined in a systematic way).  The redefined grand strategic goals would then form a basis for defining a rational military strategy to meet these goals.  Once the strategy is settled upon by the policy elites, the drones in the Pentagon can define the force structure to meet the strategy.  That force structure would then provide the template against which the budgeteers can define the budget decisions needed to build and maintain the forces necessary to execute the strategy.  QED.\nThis neat comforting top-down viewpoint conveys the illusion of control.   It plays well in the high brow salons of Versailles on the Potomac, the halls of Congress, and among the elitist pundocracy in the mainstream media and the ivory tower think tanks of Washington. But history shows this logic does not work.\nThe logic has been repeated ad nauseam by policy wonks on the left and right since the dawn of the Cold War in 1950.  Yet for all their handwringing about strategy-budget mismatches, the policy wonks refuse to recognize the obvious:  Since 1962, the Pentagon’s formal planning system — the Planning, Programming, and Budgeting System (PPBS) — is a set of bureaucratic procedures designed precisely in accordance with their sacred top-down logic.  Yet the PPBS has failed repeatedly to link budgets to forces and strategy (for reasons I explained here and here).  The simple-minded idea that foreign policy (i.e., grand strategy) drives strategy and shapes force structures and budgets simply does not work in the real world.  And the reason is fundamental: the Military - Industrial - Congressional Complex (MICC) is not a top-down mechanistic phenomenon that responds predictably to this kind of naive control theory.  \nThe MICC is more accurately thought of as a synthetic (bottom-up) living culture that creates its own political-economic ecology.  Part of that ecology is the MICC’s corrupting effects on domestic politics.  President Eisenhower’s prophetic warning about the rise of misplaced power hinted at but did not delve into the reasons for the living nature of this political-economic ecology.  It is now fifty-four years later, and the MICC has evolved into a deeply entrenched, bewildering variety of ever changing  goal-seeking factions, each fighting for money and power in a game of very messy domestic politics.  These factions are loosely self-organized (via revolving doors, for example) into iron triangles that grow and decay over time.  \nThese factions compete with each other or make temporary alliances of convenience in their efforts to acquire money and power (as I explained here, here, and here).  Put another way, the MICC is fundamentally a bottom-up living, evolving political-economic organism, and it produces its own peculiar ecology.  It is made up of self-organizing factions in which the pursuit of each faction’s individual goals create combined effects that can be thought of as the MICC’s emergent properties.  There is simply no way the sterile top-down logic described above can cope with the MICC’s ever-evolving power games and unpredictable work arounds.  The output of the game is summed up pithily by Boyd’s quote, and the MICCs players are now hell bent on starting a new Cold War as the only way to achieve its factional ambitions.  We will not fix this problem posed by the MICC until we come to grips with its elemental nature.\nAttached is a recent essay by my good friend Andrew Cockburn.  Andrew brilliantly elaborates on Boyd’s point and the apparent disconnect between strategy and budgets. I say “apparent disconnect” because the MICC has a real strategy, and like all effective strategies, it is not obvious.  \n* Front loading and political engineering are explained in my 1990 pamphlet Defense Power Games.\n\nChuck Spinney \n\nThe Pentagon’s Real $trategy: Keeping the Money Flowing\nPosted by Andrew Cockburn, TomDispatch, at 7:28am, June 16, 2016.\n[Reposted with Permission of the Author]\nAfter 15 years of grinding war with no obvious end in sight, U.S. military operations certainly deserve such obloquy. But the pundit outrage may be misplaced. Focusing on Washington rather than on distant war zones, it becomes clear that the military establishment does indeed have a strategy, a highly successful one, which is to protect and enhance its own prosperity.\nTaking Nuclear Weapons to the Bank \nThe Bow-Wave Strategy \nCopyright 2016 Andrew Cockburn\n\n10 June 2016\n\nOODA Loops, the War of 1812, and the Evolution of the Star Wars Mentality\n\nAttached below is a fascinating book review by Professor Andrew Lambert describing naval combat in the Chesapeake Bay during the War of 1812 (map). Most people think of the Royal Navy of the Nelson era as one of conducting great sea battles, like the battles of Trafalgar or Cape St. Vincent.  But one of the Royal Navy’s great strengths during the Nelson era was creating strategic effects on land and sea by combining blockading with coastal raiding.  Admiral George Cockburn's Chesapeake campaign of 1813-14 is a case in point.  It had enormous ramifications, the rumblings of which can still be felt insensibly in the halls of the Pentagon.\n\nNote especially Lambert's casual reference to Adm. Cockburn operating inside the Americans' decision cycle.  Readers of this blog have seen this phrase many times.\n\nOne interesting aspect of this casual reference is that it was written by a British naval historian at King’s College, London; and it is written in a way that assumes the idea of operating inside a decision cycle is common knowledge.  The use of the modifier “inside” is clearly an oblique reference to the strategic theories of the American strategist Col. John Boyd, which are centered on his conception of how the Observation - Orientation - Decision - Action (OODA) Loop acts in conflict situations.   Of course, Lambert makes no reference to Boyd or his brilliant and original insights regarding the inherent vulnerabilities in everyone's OODA Loop.  Nevertheless, Lambert’s examples of American disorientation are consistent with the vulnerabilities predicted by Boyd’s theory.  Lambert’s essay is also an excellent albeit inadvertent example illustrating the success of Boyd's goal of infiltrating his ideas into conversations about strategy without publishing those ideas.  (Boyd and I often discussed this infiltration strategy to shape one’s Orientation over the years, usually when I pleaded with him to publish his work.)\n\nProfessor Lambert's cryptic comment about the legacy of Cockburn’s Chesapeake campaign as creating an American obsession with building immense coastal defense fortifications is insightful and suggests Cockburn’s penetration of the American decision cycle had profound and long lasting effects.  Unfortunately, Lambert does not probe the ramifications of this proposition.\n\nThat legacy was a 51-year spending spree for the “third system” of 42 fortresses, eventually reaching from Maine to California, to defend American ports from future Cockburns.  This program commenced in 1816, shortly after the War of 1812 ended, and lasted until 1867.  Construction expenditures (from congressional appropriations) continued until at least 1875, well after the forts were proven to have very limited strategic benefits, to put it charitably.  The US Army continued spending money on coastal defense artillery until the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and WWII put an end to the foolishness. (These forts were not the only example of the pioneering role that the War of 1812 had in creating military-industrial-congressional boondoggles -- see John Steel Gordon's hilarious account of how the Navy's ships of the line program, started in 1816, also established long lasting pork barreling precedents in American shipbuilding.)   \n\nThe spending boondoggles on coastal defense can be thought of as a 19th Century equivalent to today's obsession with ballistic missile defense.  Like Star Wars (and France's Maginot Line), the shield posed by defensive fortress technologies could not keep up with the sword posed by the evolving offensive technologies, like rapid fire, large caliber, rifled artillery.  Nevertheless, like Star Wars, the money kept flowing into these monuments to man’s foolishness.\n\nThe Corps of Engineers, for example, even built a second fort in Baltimore harbor, Fort Carroll.  Construction began in 1848, and the chief engineer was Robert E. Lee.  Ft Carroll is down river from Fort McHenry (which withstood Cockburn’s bombardment) and Fort Carroll still stands, never used in combat, overgrown with weeds, and not worth converting into a monument — even plans to convert Fort Carroll into a casino were scrubbed.  A few of these forts saw action in the Civil War but not in the way intended.  Most fell easily after being bombarded by land forces: e.g., Fort Sumpter surrendered after 24 hrs of bombardment; Fort Pulaski in Savannah surrendered after only 30 hrs of shore bombardment; and Fort Macon in Beaufort, NC surrendered after only 11 hrs of bombardment. These actions had nothing to do with coastal defense against foreign enemies.  Ironclad warships and the far greater lethality of rifled cannon technologies revealed the uselessness of these fortresses in the Civil War, but construction of the forts continued after the Civil War.  Even after they fell into disuse, many were re-armed and re-manned to deter the non-existent threat posed by the Spanish Navy during the Spanish-American War.   \n\nMy favorite is Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas, about 70 miles west of Key West.  It the largest of these fortresses. Under construction for nearly thirty years (1846-1875), like Ballistic Missile Defense, it was never finished nor fully armed.  Yet to this to this day, the US government claims that Fort Jefferson as a powerful deterrent that protected the peace and prosperity of our young nation.  This characterization is utter nonsense: America was indeed young, but it was hardly vulnerable after the Civil War.  America emerged from the Civil War as one of, if not the largest industrial power(s) in the World.  America also had the world’s most battle hardened and capable leaders, particularly at the operational and strategic level of combat. If the Union army under Grant, Sherman, and Sheridan had opposed the Prussian Army of 1871 in France, it is very unlikely that Grant et al would have allowed the Germans to recover from their initial mistakes at the outset of the Franco-Prussian War.  America also evolved some of the world’s most advanced weapons and Naval technologies that made the wooden sailing ships of the Royal Navy obsolete. The idea that Great Britain, Imperial Germany, or Japan could have repeated anything like Admiral Cockburn’s capers in the Chesapeake after the American Civil War is simply inconceivable. \n\nFort Jefferson is no longer in use as a military facility and is currently part of the Dry Tortugas National Park.\n\nsource: wikipedia\n\nHowever, Fort Jefferson was not entirely useless.  It did make a dandy prison for Union deserters during the Civil War and later for Dr. Samuel Mudd, the physician who treated John Wilkes Booth’s broken leg. Fort Alcatraz in San Francisco Bay also made a dandy prison.  And today, Fort Jefferson is a great cruising destination and a useful harbor of refuge for sailors intent on exploring the Gulf of Mexico or the delights of Havana. \n\nPosted on December 1, 2010\nBook Review\nReview by Andrew Lambert, International Journal of Naval History\nKing’s College, London", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5414483547210693}
+{"content": "Spirit-gods are spirits who acts as gods at Epitomia. They are considered as spirits because they are send by the Greatest God to guide the Epitomia. They are send in because of the magical status of the continent. The Greatest God felt the need of guidance of the Epitomians because of the special skill that is bestowed upon them.\n\nEach spirit god embodies an element. Pynroque for fire, Aquiah for water, Raveione for wind, and Poinsettia for earth. They reside at the Plains of Aeternam. They aid the guardians in their quest to defeat the evil villain, Dark Meda. They also allowed the guardians to use the ancient relics of Epitomia.\n\nAd blocker interference detected!\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5568103790283203}
+{"content": "Friday, November 20, 2009\n\nHow to Speak using a Translator\n\nDo you want to go on a mission trip? If so, you should learn how to work with a translator. Here are some ideas that might help you.\n\n1. It is best to sit down with your translator before ministering and tell him about your sermon.\n- Explain any hard concepts or unusual words you are going to use.\n- Ask him to find the scriptures you are going to use and read them.\n- Explain how you want him to work with you.\n- Do you want him to mimic every one of your actions?\n- Pray with the translator before the service. It is best if he is covered with the same anointing that is on you. The best translators are ministers in their own right who are used to flowing in the Holy Spirit.\n\n2. Use short sentences and pause in-between each sentence.\n\n3. Speak in complete ideas - not bits of sentences. Because sentence structure is turned around in some languages, you have to speak the whole thought so the translator knows where you are going with it. For example, in Spanish, they say “The man big and handsome...” instead of “The big, handsome man....” so if you only say the first few words, the translator won’t be able to get the sense of the sentence across to the audience.\n\n4. Don’t use puns, idioms, colloquialisms, or slang.\nExample #1:The letters J-O-Y stand for Jesus - Others - You. In Spanish, the word for joy is “gozo” which does not translate to Cristo - Otros - Usted.\nExample #2: I heard a preacher say, “I had butterflies in my stomach on the airplane because Jesus said, “Lo, I am with you always...and the plane was high up in the air.” The translator just looked at him. The joke works in English but it does not translate.\n\n5. Use the time the translator is speaking to think of your next sentence. You can be aware of what the translator is saying without fully listening to him.\n\n6. Give the translator time to translate. Don’t cut him off before he has finished.\n\n7. Don’t let a bad translator kill a service. If a translator is not doing a good job, don’t hesitate to find a new translator. But do it gently. Explain to the audience, “I’m sorry but this translator and I are not used to working together. He’s doing great but I want to try another translator.” Ideally this situation should not come up because it is embarrassing to the translator. Try to test the translator before putting him up on stage in front of a bunch of people.\n\n8. Speak slowly and distinctly with good pronunciation. Sometimes it is hard for the translator to hear what you are saying if you are facing away from him and the stage monitors are not working right. If this happens, face towards the translator as you speak each sentence.\n\n9. When you ask the audience to repeat a prayer after you, give clear instructions. What do you want them to do? Give both the translator and the audience time to repeat your words.\n\nHere is a video sample of me working with a translator.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7909982800483704}
+{"content": "Modulation of covert speech on overt loudness perception implies the mechanism of speech monitoring\n\nXing Tian, Dept. of Neural and Cognitive Sciences and NYU-ECNU Institute of Brain and Cognitive Science, New York University Shanghai, Shanghai, China\n\n\nWe continuously monitor our own speech in real time without delay. One key computational component of speech online control has been hypothesized as an interaction between top-down induced processes and auditory feedback: auditory consequences of speech production can be predicted via a top-down process and the predicted speech results are compared with feedback to constrain and update production. In this study, we test a critical assumption of this model which is that top-down induced mental representation can interact with speech perception, even at a basic level of acoustic attributes such as loudness. In a behavioral, a Magnetoencephalography (MEG) and an Electroencephalography (EEG) experiments, participants were asked to imagine speaking the syllable /da/ loudly (loud condition) or softly (soft condition) before they heard the playback of their own voice of the same syllable. Behavioral results showed that the loudness rating of the playback was smaller in the loud condition than that in the soft condition. MEG results demonstrated that the magnitude of neural responses to the overt auditory stimuli was smaller in the loud condition compared to those elicited in the soft condition. EEG results further showed that the suppressed neural responses correlated with the decreased loudness rating. These consistent behavioral and electrophysiological results suggest that the top-down induced neural representation converges to the same representational format as the neural representation established during speech perception, even for basic sensory features such as loudness. Such a coordinate transformation in a top-down process forms the neurocomputational foundation that enables the interaction with a bottom-up process in speech production monitoring and control.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9086729288101196}
+{"content": "Enchantress DCEU Render\n\n\nDr. June Moone, a young archeologist, was exploring a site of long overgrown ruins in Central America when she fell down a shaft into a cavern containing a tomb. A doll shaped container caught her eye and she promptly opened it, releasing the spirit of an ancient deity. The spirit then possesses June's body, inhabiting her normal self until she says the word \"Enchantress\", upon which her normal consciousness is overtaken by the ancient spirit inside.\n\nIt is not long before she comes to the attention of Amanda Waller during her search for metahumans for the United States government. She sends her subordinate Colonel Rick Flag to apprehend her and watch over June. Not before long June and Rick fall in love, fulfilling Waller's intention to attain leverage over the both of them. Meanwhile, Waller sends people to locate the tomb in which June was possessed and find the spirit's \"heart\", the only thing capable of controlling it. Once in Waller's possession, she has the power to control the Enchantress.\n\nWhile originally viewed as one of the candidates for Task Force X/the Suicide Squad, the malevolent being swiftly escaped, freeing her brother and attempting to take over Earth with their combined mystical powers. And only the combined efforts of the Suicide Squad are able to stop and destroy her, finally freeing June Moone from Enchantress' possession.\n\nPowers and Stats\n\nTier: Likely 8-B | Possibly 6-B, possibly High 6-A with sufficient preparation time\n\nName: True name unknown, Mama Killa (Incan name), Awilix (Mayan name), referred to as \"The Enchantress\", Dr. June Moone\n\nOrigin: DC Extended Universe\n\nGender: Female\n\nAge: Born in 4297 B.C.; 6313 Years old as of Suicide Squad, mid-20s as June Moone\n\nClassification: Unknown. Ethereal, diaphanous being worshiped as a moon goddess by Ancient Incans and Mayans, Possessed body of human June Moone\n\nPowers and Abilities: Superhuman Physical Characteristics, Non-Corporeal, Immortality (Type 1), Magic/Mystical Powers, Magical Energy Manipulation and Projection, Electricity Manipulation, Darkness Manipulation, Mind Manipulation, Dream Manipulation/Illusion Creation (Trapped the Suicide Squad in hallucinatory states where they lived their deepest desires), Teleportation, Telekinesis, Matter Manipulation/Power Bestowal (Empowered numerous humans, turning then into the \"Eyes of the Adversary\", Soul Manipulation/Resurrection (Claimed to be capable of reviving The Joker to Harley Quinn)\n\nAttack Potency: Likely City Block level (Capable of casually shattering multiple buildings with an energy beam) | Possibly Country level (Claimed by Amanda Waller, who possesses extensive knowledge on practically all metahumans, to be the most powerful being on Earth, which would put her above Superman), possibly Multi-Continent level with sufficient preparation time (Through the creation of her mystical superweapon, claimed that she would \"Cover the world in darkness\" and \"Destroy the Earth\")\n\nSpeed: Superhuman movement speed, Subsonic attack speed | Superhuman movement speed, up to Massively Hypersonic+ attack speed (Capable of firing beams of real lightning which reach satellites almost instantly, or energy beams from space which hit the Earth in seconds)\n\nLifting Strength: Unknown\n\nStriking Strength: Unknown\n\nDurability: At least Building level (As she requires a human host to survive, her durability is quite limited in her physical form, and is notably weaker than that of her brother Incubus), Street level for her Heart\n\nStamina: High; infinite in her true self (Is an ethereal being with no physical form)\n\nRange: Planetary (Capable of teleporting from the USA to the middle east | Planetary (Same as before, can release energy beams across the entire planet Earth and was supposedly going to cover the world in shadows)\n\nStandard Equipment: Twin daggers\n\nIntelligence: Immensely high; a mystical being with thousands of years of knowledge\n\n\n  • Heart: Enchantress' greatest weakness is her heart - if her heart is obtained by someone, she is forced to obey their will, and if the heart is pierced, it will cause her extreme pain, while the heart's destruction is the only way to permanently kill Enchantress.\n\n\n  • Possessed the body of Dr. June Moone\n  • Teleported from the U.S.A. to Iran and back.\n  • Partially destroyed multiple buildings with a casual energy beam\n  • Empowered numerous humans, turning then into the \"Eyes of the Adversary\"\n  • Capable of slowly constructing a weapon supposedly capable of \"Covering the world in darkness\"/\"Destroying the earth\"\n  • Trapped the members of the Suicide Squad in dreamscapes\n\nKey: Weakened | Full Power\n\n\n\nNotable Victories:\n\nNotable Losses:\n\nInconclusive Matches:\n\nStart a Discussion Discussions about Enchantress (DC Extended Universe)", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7548394203186035}
+{"content": "Science believes our brain has two modes of operation…\n\nThe first mode is called the Reptilian mind. The reptilian mind is the mind of a survivor. Nature has built into every being instincts that drive us to survive and protect ourselves when threatened. And so the reptilian seeks out food when hungry, shelter during a storm and a mate for procreation.\n\nBut the reptilian mind, besides being responsible for keeping us alive, is also responsible for a wide array of ‘human’ tendencies. Envy, pride, anger, hate and more commonly, fear – a collection of emotions that distinctly characterise a human in pursuit of survival.\n\nThis is the side of us that is hardwired into the human experience. We, like every other animal, primarily focus on the survival of our kind, regardless of how selfish that sounds. From one need to another, the reptilian mind feeds of necessity, and will stop at nothing until every need is satisfied. And since desires are limitless, it often leaves us feeling incomplete and wanting more.\n\nHowever, think of a moment of serenity. Imagine yourselves, standing on a cliff near the ocean, watching the sunset. The cool breeze blowing under your ear, while you stare out towards the horizon, where a plethora of colours paint the skies. The dimming sunlight bounces off every crescent of every wave, making them appear like gold embroidery inching towards you, as the roar of the ocean fills your ears.\n\nIn such a moment, the reptilian mind ceases to exist. For that moment, regardless of how small, the mind operates from a region where it isn’t based on the needs of survival. The same space of operation of a poet when he sits down to write, a musician becoming one with his instrument, a painter lost in his painting and you, lost in the moment.\n\nThis is the higher consciousness. The higher mind, is the mind without its limitations. In this mode, the priority becomes to live in the moment, and not merely survive the race. One isn’t driven by needs and desires. Instead one is fuelled by an unexplainable lust for life itself. As you soak in the moment, the bigger picture becomes clearer to you. You stop seeing yourself as just another being, trying to survive, but as a part of a larger, collective consciousness. You begin to understand that our experience of reality is subjective, yet at our core, we are one.\n\nIn this elevated state of mind, we cease to simply exist as a human being. We become a fuller, more dynamic version of ourselves, over-flowing with potential and energy. Simply put, we become ‘super human’.\n\nOur general ideas of being super human would mean displaying marvelous feats of super strength, flying, or moving objects using telekinesis. But unlike fantasy, the state of higher consciousness is an achievable one. One can train the mind to not rely merely on instinct and fear to make decisions, but also a feeling of cosmic oneness and unity.\n\nConsciousness is as dynamic as it is subjective. If you have a golf ball sized consciousness, when you read a book, you have a golf ball sized understanding of it. When you look out to the world, you have a golf ball sized awareness of it. And when you wake up every morning, a golf ball sized wakefulness.\n\nHimalayan Master Dhyanayogi Shiva Shivoham\n\nHimalayan Master Dhyanayogi Shiva Shivoham\n\nBut if you can expand that consciousness, you will read the book with more understanding. You will look outside with greater awareness. And when you get up in the morning, more wakefulness. This expanded consciousness will find root at the source of all thought and creativity. This state may also be referred to as ‘flow’.\n\nIn positive psychology, flow, also known as the zone, is the mental state of operation in which a person performing an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energised focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity. In essence, flow is characterised by complete absorption in what one does. Or in simple words, you’re in flow, if you’re living in the moment.\n\nThrough practice, meditation and simply being patient with oneself, one can train the mind to live the most of now. And living each moment to its fullest is the secret to living a fuller life.\n\nFrom nowhere, to now here. Be here. Be now.\n\nWords Himalayan Master Dhyanayogi Shiva Shivoham\nFor more", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7192598581314087}
+{"content": "English Français\n\n\nDate of Submission: 25/02/2000\nCriteria: (iii)(iv)\nCategory: Cultural\nSubmitted by:\nMinistry of Culture\nCoordinates: 36°32' N - 31°59' E Located on the southern coast of Turkey.\nRef.: 1405\nWord File\n\n\n\n\n\nAlanya situated in the eastern part of the Gulf of Antalya is 137 kms away from Antalya by the main highway. The peninsula of Alanya surrounded by city walls was named \"Karakesion\" during the Hellenistic period went under the hegomany of Romans and Byzantines, followed by the Seljuks. The present name of the town comes from Alaaddin Keykubat, who did great service to the development of the town. Inside the Alanya castle there exist a Seljuk cistern, a Byzantine church, the Keykubat Sultan Palace and the ruins of a Seljuk bath, completed with the traditional urban texture. The castle extends down to the sea and encloses a medieval dockyard that is guarded by a 33 meter high octagonal tower of red stone and brick.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5221366882324219}
+{"content": "EK Chain\n\nFounded in 1941 as a general roller-chain manufacturer; Enuma Chain is headquartered in Kaga, Japan, an industrial area near Komatsu on Japan’s west coast. Long a technological innovator, in 1974 Enuma introduced the world’s first sealed O-ring chain, a design that dramatically extended chain life by inhibiting lubricant loss. This breakthrough quickly became the standard throughout the motorcycle industry, and led to today’s high-tech EK Quadra-X Ring chains that further prolong durability while reducing friction.\n\n Research and development at Enuma have always focused on creating technological breakthroughs and developing original ideas. Our invention of the O-ring sealed chain was based on years of accumulated technology, exemplifying a relentless commitment to innovation that continues to drive everything we do.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9995054006576538}
+{"content": "Edward Boe Photography\nFood & Product Photographer.\n\n1001 Movies...Before I Die!\n\nRead what I write about what I see!\n\nAll About Eve (1950)\n\nAll About Eve All About Eve - 1950\n\nDirector - Joseph L. Mankiewicz\n\nStarring - Bette Davis, Anne Baxter, and George Sanders\n\nIt's rare that a film, good or bad, can be boiled down to a single sentence.  All the complexities and nuance that goes into the crafting of the story, the acting, the production value, or in the case of some films that just get it all wrong, the lack of these things, makes a film a difficult thing to summarize.  Harder still, is boiling down the power of these works still further to describe it in terms of only one word.  Though it doesn't give any detail about the plot, or characterization, it speaks volumes of the impact these raw elements have had on the final product.  So how, you ask, does this film boil down? In the case of, All About Eve, all I can say is...wow.\n\nDespite this being more than a decade after the revelation of film architecture that was Citizen Kane, Eve borrows to great effect the re-arranged timeline, dramatically changing how we see the three main characters at the beginning as compared to how we see them at the end.  Though the central part of the movie plays out in a very linear fashion, the film is bookended by a scene that gains vast amounts of context from when it opens the film to when it closes it.  The middle portion of the narrative periodically skips and jumps forward to flesh out the characters fully and fill in the questions asked at the beginning. Not only do we see the characters evolve, and grow, but we the audience steadily gain an awareness of each of them, their motivations, and their back-stories.  With each turn of the corner, more of the plot is revealed.  We come to find that what we thought we knew, was wrong, and that the truth can be far more dismal and malicious than the fiction we had been invested in.\n\nThe most contentious of these characters, played by Anne Baxter, is the titular Eve Harrington.  A rather meek, yet still rather suspicious woman, she is obsessed to the point of stalking with a well-respected and seasoned theater actress, Margo Channing (Bette Davis).  Eve spends so much of her free time idolizing, and brown-nosing Channing, that Margo, eventually begins to buy into the hype so much so that she hires on the young sycophant as her personal assistant.  At first her actions and motivations seem innocent enough, but as the film progresses her agenda seems increasingly dubious.\n\nThe tide really turns when the smarmy theater critic (also the occasional narrator) begins trying to manipulate the situation in an effort to exercise some control over both Margo and Eve.  The relationship becomes strained to such a degree, as it does with all of her important relationships, that Margo is nearly ready to cave.\n\nOur second character, Addison DeWitt is the aforementioned culture critic for the newspaper and also functions as our narrator for the film.  The sardonic, unflattering commentary he delivers, immediately paint him as a wounded and more than a little bitter.  DeWitt credits himself for a good portion of these actors success, due to his favorable (or unfavorable) reviews, and is clearly upset that his view is not shared by them.  When he sees in Eve a chance to exercise some control over those he deems in his debt, he makes grab for it, spinning a web of deceit matched only by the one that is being spun around him.\n\nFinally we have Margo, played by the legendary Bette Davis.  Her scowl wreathed in cigarette smoke that are delivered within the first 30 or so seconds of her screen time are enough to convince us that we fully understand her relationship with Eve.  She seems a cold, cunning and angry person.  Although, as the film progresses we see Davis paint Margo Channing as a completely fleshed out person, not simply the one-dimensional character portrait we get from some films of this period.  She is at times cocky, at others she is scared of growing old, or blindly angry at what she perceives as a slight.  Davis is each of these things, and all of them at the same time, delivering one of the best performances I've ever seen.\n\nBeneath the glitzy New York theater setting, the backstabbing, and the drama, All About Eve is really the story of a woman, Margo, peeling away the facile, superficial elements of her life (not by choice, mind you) and seeing what it is that she really has.  The film seeks to determine the value of what you have left once you lose the extraneous things that populate your daily life, and by comparing these two women, Eve and Margo, it is obvious which has the better foundation.  Not only is this film an extraordinary example of the quality of work that came out of the studio system of Hollywood in the 30's, 40's and 50's, it is also a remarkable achievement that it deals so frankly and honestly with the aging process from a female perspective.  This era can easily be described as somewhat of a boys club, so it is refreshing to see some diversity (I'm still waiting to stumble upon a film from this era that tells the tough as nails story of a gay, African-American, scientist, who is also a post-op transgender individual.)\n\nTotally and completely worth it's spot on this list, All About Eve blew me away.  After the film was over, for days and weeks afterwards, I found myself thinking about it.  Even though I had never had any interest in her before, I am very excited to see more of Bette Davis' work.  When watching this film, you should indeed buckle your seat-belt  it will be a bumpy ride!\n\n\"Fuck. Bette Davis can act her ass off!\" - Ashley", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.631145715713501}
+{"content": "As you all know yesterday there was an issue with the main router, what happened was that it went into a reboot loop but it was staying up long enough to pick up all the traffic and then it reset itself over and over again.\n\nIn order to regain connectivity we moved the Pipe connection to the secondary router and services started coming online, however with just one provider, the network was congested and things were running slow.\n\nWe worked on the main router to stop the reboot loop and perform basic health checks, while everything appeared ok and the router stayed online for a few hours, the moment we tried to route traffic through it, the reboot loop issue reappeared. Firmware and software updates did not help with this issue and as a result we decided to leave the main router offline.\n\nIn order to cope with the traffic we added another provider to the secondary router (AAPT) and this helped with the congestion.\n\nThere were a few other issues as a result of the main router flapping, one of them resulted in some traffic being filtered by Pipe and we had to go through their support in order to get it cleared.\n\nAt this stage Traffic is flowing through Pipe and AAPT on the secondary router.\n\nIf you experience any routing issues, please open a support ticket and provide trace routes and MTRs so that we can investigate the problems. Most of the time these are related to ARP and DNS caching and a server reboot is the fastest way to fix the problem.\n\nWe are sourcing a replacement router as we speak and once this is delivered we will have both routers online and each one will be connected to different providers, this way if anything like this happens again traffic will continue to flow through the other router.\n\nOnce the new router is delivered we will schedule network maintenance in order to set up the network as described above.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7339175939559937}
+{"content": "Book of the Month\n\nAugust 2017\n\nThe Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead\n\n“If you want to see what this nation is all about, you have to ride the rails. Look outside as you speed through, and you’ll find the true face of America. It was a joke, then, from the start. There was only darkness outside the windows on her journeys, and only ever would be darkness.”\n\nCora is a slave on a cotton plantation in Georgia. All the slaves lead a hellish existence, but Cora has it worse than most; she is an outcast even among her fellow Africans and she is approaching womanhood, where it is clear even greater pain awaits. When Caesar, a slave recently arrived from Virginia, tells her about the Underground Railroad, they take the perilous decision to escape to the North.\n\nIn Whitehead’s razor-sharp imagining of the antebellum South, the Underground Railroad has assumed a physical form: a dilapidated box car pulled along subterranean tracks by a steam locomotive, picking up fugitives wherever it can. Cora and Caesar’s first stop is South Carolina, in a city that initially seems like a haven. But its placid surface masks an infernal scheme designed for its unknowing black inhabitants. And even worse: Ridgeway, the relentless slave catcher sent to find Cora, is close on their heels. Forced to flee again, Cora embarks on a harrowing flight, state by state, seeking true freedom. At each stop on her journey, Cora encounters a different world. As Whitehead brilliantly recreates the unique terrors for black people in the pre-Civil War era, his narrative seamlessly weaves the saga of America, from the brutal importation of Africans to the unfulfilled promises of the present day. The Underground Railroad is at once the story of one woman’s ferocious will to escape the horrors of bondage and a shatteringly powerful meditation on history.\n\nReserve your copy:\n\nUnderground railroad", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9515066742897034}
+{"content": "145 scientific events were held at the university in 2016. These include scheduled ones: 20 international and 5 national scientific conferences; and unscheduled: 36 international and 12 national scientific conferences, 7 international and 25 national round tables, 4 international and 23 national scientific seminars, 13 On-line conferences.\n\nThe above-mentioned events confirm the status of the al-Farabi Kazakh National University as the reliable center promoting scientific achievements and organizing scientific events.\n\nAl-Farabi Kazakh National University held the III International Farabi Readings (April 4-15 2016), dedicated to 25th anniversary of Independence of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Khoja Ahmed Yasawi Year under the auspices of UNESCO, Yusuf Balasaguni Year under the auspices of TURKSOY in cooperation with international organizations, central and local public authorities, leading scientific centers.\n\nMore than 750 scientists, including 63 participants from 17 countries, engaged in 17 scientific events, which took place at the faculties and at the university level, within the framework of the III International Farabi Readings.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9968231320381165}
+{"content": "ER s03e16 Episode Script\n\n\nPreviously on ER - When are you coming back? - The hearing is in a couple of weeks.\nNurse Hathaway is doing fine on her own.\n- Why two women on one night? - Scheduling mix-up.\n- I thought we were going out? - Before or after the basketball game? I just took out your appendix.\nI'm afraid of liking you too much.\n- We're going to intubate him.\n- He doesn't want that.\nIntubate him.\n- Mom? - Oh, did I wake you? - What are you doing? - I'm making you breakfast.\nWhere's the coffee? - How are you feeling? Sleeping okay? - Like a baby.\n- No nightmares? - No.\n- It would only be natural.\n- I see worse things at work every day.\n- Today's the big day, right? - The test? No, find out about your job.\nThey suspended me.\nI might not get my job back.\n- Those eggs done? - No, still too runny.\n- I like them runny.\n- Just another couple of minutes.\n- What test? - Medical school admissions test, Mom.\n- I thought you gave up on that.\n- No.\nBig commitment.\nHere we go.\n- Doctor.\nThat would be something.\n- I could do it.\n- I knew you could.\n- Why do you always do that? Make me feel incapable, stupid.\n- I just said that you could do it.\n- I wish you could believe in me.\nYou're always criticizing me, belittling me.\nWhy didn't you tell me I could be an astronaut? - Did you want to be that? - I wanted you to tell me I could.\nGo be an astronaut.\nI'm your mother, I love you whoever you are: Doctor, nurse, housewife.\n- Oh, right, housewife.\n- You're the one that holds you back.\nYou always quit things.\nYou never think you're good enough.\n- I finish things.\n- Ballet, cheerleading, the flute.\n- I was 13! - Business school, your own wedding.\n- I finished nursing school.\n- Right.\nYou have a great job you're good at.\nWhy is the grass suddenly greener? I'm proud of you.\nWhy aren't you proud of yourself? Carla! Carla! I was coming to see you.\nI didn't know you had to be at work this early.\nI don't.\nI'm sorry I haven't called.\nA lot of stuff came up.\nI just had a lot of stuff going on.\n- I had a minor surgery and - Sorry to hear that.\nAre you okay? Yes.\nIt was just my appendix.\n- What about you? - What do you want? - We need to talk.\n- I told you I was pregnant weeks ago.\nThen nothing.\nNo phone calls, no coming by to see how I was doing.\nI got the point.\nI wasn't trying to make a point! I realize there's going to be a baby, and he will be my responsibility too.\nI just needed some time to think about this.\nIt's not the way I would've planned it, but you're not doing this alone.\n- Are you going to marry me, Peter? - That's not what I'm saying.\nWhat are you saying? Are you going to stop by and change some nappies and stay for some Kodak moments? The child will need a good school and a nice place to live.\n- Can't I provide that? - I can help, Carla.\nSo that is what this is all about.\nThat among other things.\nThe child will need a man in his life.\nWho says the baby will not have a man in its life? Are you seeing somebody else? Peter, you and I have known each other for a very long time.\nI never expected you to marry me.\nI never expected a damn thing from you.\nYou care about you.\nAnd that is the way it's always going to be.\nBut it's comforting, really.\nIt's one of the few constants in my life.\nDon't worry.\nThis baby is going to be fine.\nPlenty to eat, nice clothes, a man to call dad.\nI'll take care of that.\nYou go back to worrying about yourself.\nThat's what you do best.\nBenton! First day back.\nHow's the incision healing? - I'm fine, Carter.\n- You shouldn't be back yet.\nHave you finished the whole course of antibiotics? Hi, Peter, how's the scar? I made a Rocky-Davis incision, running stitch, McBurney's point.\nWhen the hair grows back, the itching starts.\nYou're going to show us your scar, Peter? Let's see! Yes, let's take a look.\nI did it one-handed.\n- Stop, Carter! - That's a shame.\nIt's a great job.\nGood thing I took pictures.\n- What is that, a mole? - Good morning.\nWhat are you doing? - Good God, what is that? - Benton's appendix in a jar.\n- Wow, they shaved him good.\n- Dr.\nCarter we're still backed up.\n- Okay, I'm on my way.\n- Carter looks beat.\n- He was on again last night.\nSurgical interns still cover Dr.\nGant's shifts.\n- Sounds like a 90-hour week.\n- More like 95.\nThank God for Pediatrics.\nWhat is that all about? Nurses and management are still at the table.\nContract expires at midnight.\nMark, paramedics are pulling up with a female, 35, respiratory failure.\n- Duty calls.\nHey, lunch? - Lf you're buying.\n- Carol's back today? - Yes.\nInvestigation is done, Nursing has the report.\n- Have you seen it? - No.\n- How's she doing? - She says she's fine.\nOkay, Jeff, thanks.\nNothing yet.\nThey're still at it.\n- I don't want to walk a picket line.\n- Not in February.\n- We stay firm.\n- Easy for you to say.\nThey'll settle.\nThey can't run the place without us.\nThat's what the air traffic controllers said before parking cars for a living.\nOne, two, three.\nDown's patient, 37.\nFound in bed with respiratory distress.\nResps shallow at 30.\nBP's 100/50.\nMom said she's had an infection, but she never fully recovered.\n- Where's the mother now? - She followed in her car.\nTwo-plus pitting edema! Louise, I'm Doctor Greene.\nYou have a little trouble breathing? We're going to make you feel better.\nShe's scared.\nShe held my hand all the way.\nLouise, can you tell me what day it is? You can't tell me.\nDoyle, can you take a listen? - Chuny, come and hold Louise's hand.\n- You bet.\nCBC, lytes, EKG, chest film, O-2, 6 liters by mask.\nHi, Louise.\nMy name is Chuny.\nS3 gallop and mitral regurg? Possible cardiomyopathy.\n- Mark, she's trying to say something.\n- Louise do you need something? - What's wrong? - Where's my mom? Your mom is coming real soon.\nOkay? Don't worry.\nYou can just relax.\nYou're doing great.\nHuman Resources reviewed your incident report in ER procedures.\nThey passed our recommendations to the Safety Committee.\n- And? - They agreed with us.\nYour mistake was a result of systems problems and not negligence.\nThere will be a written warning in your file for a year.\nThe three weeks you missed will be deducted from your vacation time.\n- That's it? - You preferred a public flogging? You can start back today.\n- You don't have to start back today.\n- No, thanks.\nI'm okay.\nI better get back to work.\n- La Boh áme! - You make it sound like a bacteria.\n- What is it? Like five hours long? - Forget it.\nI'm not an opera fan.\nMarcus Roberts tickets on the contrary I got it, Greg.\nYou don't want to go.\nIs La Boh áme the one where they lop off the nuns' heads at the end? It's set in Paris.\nThere's star-crossed lovers and artists.\nJeanie, hang on.\nIf you want to go, we'll go.\n- Don't do me any favors.\n- I'd love to go.\nI just thought we could do something spontaneous.\n- Opera? - I have to get back to my patient.\nLet's hang out anyway.\nWe'll order food.\nWatch the Bulls-Warriors game.\nYou think you're charming, but you're not.\nLunch then? Please let me buy you lunch.\nJeanie! - That's one boggy heart.\n- It's taking up most of her chest.\nEKG shows ST and T wave changes.\nWhat do you want to do? Get an echo and page Cardiology.\n- Mark, Louise's mother is here.\n- Hi, Mrs.\nCupertino, I'm Mark Greene.\n- How's Louise? - Not good.\nHer heart isn't pumping well, and her lungs are filling with fluid.\n- Can I say hello? - Yes, sure.\n- Hello, Louise.\nIt's Mommy.\n- Hi, Mommy.\nAre you okay? You're not scared, are you? I brought some of her things.\nJust to make her feel more at home.\nI'll just put this quilt on her.\n- Make sure she's good and warm.\n- Mrs.\nCupertino, can I speak to you? She had trouble understanding me.\nCan she communicate? Oh, yes.\nShe likes to talk.\nIs she suffering from any dementia or Alzheimer's? No, she's a good girl.\nEcho's on its way.\nIs she competent to make her own medical decisions? No.\nI'm her guardian.\nLouise can't make decisions on her own.\nYou are aware that Louise's condition is very serious.\nLouise may need a heart transplant.\nIs she on the waiting list? - The list? No.\n- She's not? They wouldn't put her on the list.\nThey wouldn't put Louise on the heart transplant waiting list? My daughter is mentally retarded, doctor.\nPeter, sorry to keep you waiting.\nWelcome back.\nWe've missed you.\nI was surprised not to see my name on today's schedule.\n- How are you feeling? Well rested? - Yes.\nAnd mentally? Feeling sharp? No post-operative depression? - No.\n- No depression of any kind? Dr.\nHicks, if you're asking if I can perform my duties adequately, I can.\nI'm asking how you are, Peter.\n- I'm fine.\n- Okay, then, let's see what we've got.\nIt's two Port-A-Caths, a circumcision and nevus removal.\nA mole? They can't refuse to put her on the list because she has Down's.\n- There must be other circumstances.\n- She's a retard, so why bother.\nEcho shows left ventricular dilatation with an ejection fraction of 18%.\nThere are also signs of wall-motion abnormality.\nI'm worried about her breathing.\nWe've given her 40 Lasix, she's still struggling.\n- I'd like to try a vasodilator.\n- Sure.\nDo whatever you can to make her comfortable before you release her.\nShe will be a lot happier at home with her mother.\nShe needs a heart transplant, right? That would be the standard operative course, yes.\nLouise's mother told us that she's not on the transplant list.\nUNOS can't refuse to put a patient on the list because of a birth defect.\n- UNOS didn't refuse, we did.\n- Cardiology? Hospital Transplant Committee.\nWe chose not to submit her name to UNOS.\nThat's a death sentence.\nShe's a 37-year-old Down's patient.\nShe is lucky to have lived this long.\n- Down's patients can live to be 60.\n- That's extremely rare.\n- What are you, an intern? - First-year resident.\nWhy don't we step in here? Dr.\nKayson, Dr.\nDoyle's expressing a frustration I think we all feel.\nLouise is an obvious candidate for the UNOS transplant list.\nI'm a cardiologist.\nI'd like nothing better than to give her a new heart.\nIf you have a problem with the decision, speak to the committee.\nShort of that, send her home.\nNice guy.\n- Carol, are you back? - Yes.\nThank you, Jesus.\nHey, you all, Carol's back.\n- Carol, you're back.\n- Starting now.\n- We've missed you.\n- Thought we'd never make it.\n- Did they dock your pay? - No, just some vacation time.\n- It's been a disaster without you.\n- A complete zoo.\n- I didn't do that bad a job.\n- No, you did worse than that.\nCall union meetings after work, Haleh.\n- Carol's back.\n- Oh, thank God.\n- We'll talk to you at lunch.\n- We'll catch up later.\nWe're glad to have you back.\nAre you okay? I'm sorry to disappoint everyone's expectations, but I'm fine.\nIt started a few hours ago after breakfast.\n- Is it a sharp pain? - No.\nSort of all over.\n- I just started my morning walk.\n- Any recent illness? I take digoxin for atrial fibril I can never say that word.\n- Fibrillation.\nAnything else? - No.\n- What did you have for breakfast? - The usual.\nThree fried eggs, bacon, glass of buttermilk, toast and jam.\nThe American Heart Association breakfast.\nDon't lecture me.\nMy mother had the same every day in her life.\nShe died last year at 96.\nCar accident.\n- Vitals? - 130/90.\n- Heart rate, 110.\nResps, 24.\n- Did Dr.\nWeaver get a CBC? Yes.\nCrit's 53.\nWhite count is 12.\n- You drink enough fluids? - Is that what's wrong with me? - Too early to tell.\nChest film? - Not back yet.\nI'm going to call for a surgical colleague to come and take a look.\nHer breathing's improved.\nHey, Louise, feeling better? - For you.\n- She likes to share.\n- Malibu Barbie was my favorite too.\n- I was more partial to Ken.\n- You don't like Ken? - Too pretty.\nI'm with you.\nKen is trouble.\nLouise, can you hold on to her while I do my work? She misses her friends since she got sick and had to move back home.\n- She had her own place? - An apartment above the garage.\nAnd she had a job at the Jewel helping people with their groceries.\nFather even let her be an altar girl at the church.\nEverybody loves her.\nExcuse me, Dr.\nI got that list from upstairs.\nTransplant Committee? Who are the bastards? Excuse us.\nYour attitudes can get in the way of achieving your goals.\nYou're not going to vote for me for homecoming queen this year? Like that, you mean.\n- Recognize any names? - One.\n- The vanquished return victorious.\n- Hey, Doug, you miss me? You have no idea.\nI heard they clipped you for some vacation time.\nI never take it anyway.\nI think I have a couple of years saved up.\nThis place is a mess.\nHow are you doing? No complaints.\nToday is the 20th, isn't it? - I think so.\n- MCATs are this afternoon.\n- Are you going? - Got to work.\n- All that saved-up vacation time? - It was a stupid idea.\nFour years of med school if I ever get in.\nAll that debt.\nI would be 50 by the time I got out.\nWhat's the point? I could bring you coffee in the middle of the night to the med library.\nI could teach you how to cheat on the biochem exams.\n- Doug.\nThey need you at Pedes.\n- Okay.\nThink about it.\n- Carter, where have you been? - Getting some food.\nDo you have a spoon? No.\nAnspaugh's in there with your patient.\nSaid you paged him.\n- I paged Dr.\n- You got Anspaugh and the rounds.\n- What do you hear, Edson? - Rales at the base of the lungs.\nI'm sorry to have dragged you down here, I paged Dr.\nHicks for a consult.\nHicks is in surgery, and we were on the prowl for an interesting case.\n- We heard you had a surgical abdomen.\n- That's my suspicion.\nPain vague and diffuse, very little tenderness to palpation.\nChest films show bibasilar effusions.\nRales heard on auscultation.\nWould you consider this a surgical patient, Dr.\nEdson? - No, I'd bet on CHF.\n- Yes, but I was more concerned with the CBC.\nPreviously diagnosed with atrial fibrillation? Her diet? I'd assume that she went into fib or ate a salty meal.\nAnd that was enough to push her into congestive heart failure demonstrated by the rales and chest effusions.\nThe diffuse abdominal pain is probably due to congestion in the liver.\nIn other words, congestive heart failure secondary to a-fib.\n- Wouldn't you agree, Dr.\nCarter? - Yes, that sounds about right.\nIs Dr.\nPomerantz available? I'm Mark Greene from the ER.\n- Does she know you? - Yes, Steph, I do.\n- You got a minute? - Sure.\nJust move those, put them anywhere.\nWhat can I do for you? You're on the committee that evaluates prospective transplant patients? I have a dying patient, Louise Cupertino.\nKayson tells me that she was denied access to the UNOS list.\nKayson made it sound like she wasn't excluded for medical reasons.\n- What do you want? - Kayson said yes.\nIf I can get you and another person to sign on, Louise can get a new heart.\nOur decisions must be unanimous.\nBut I'm the one that turned Louise down.\nDo you know how many people die each year because of lack of organs? - 3500.\n- She had a job, an apartment.\nIs her life less worthy than a smoking businessman with wife and kids? Don't patronize me.\nI agonized over this.\nLouise has an IQ of 40.\nShe can't comprehend the surgical risks.\nShe had a job, but she was always late.\nShe can't tell the time.\nHow is she going to adhere to the rigors of the post-transplant regime? Her mother will make sure she gets her meds, get her where she needs to go.\nShe's a 120-pound 8-year-old.\nWe do the operation, and assuming she doesn't die for lack of care she's in a state home in two years.\nAnd her mother's adamant she not end up in a home.\nThose are logical reasons we give ourselves so we can sleep at night.\nLouise can make people smile, she can laugh and cry and hold someone.\nI have an 8-year-old.\nIf she never grew a day older I would still cherish every moment we've spent together.\nIt's not our place to decide whether Louise lives or dies.\nShe has as much right to be here as you do or I do.\nNina, don't let her die.\n- I'm freezing.\n- I thought you liked picnics.\nI love picnics.\nI'm just not used to having to thaw my sandwich first.\nWhere's your sense of spontaneity and romance? - This dip is frozen solid.\n- It's a p ðt Á.\nIt's a brick.\nOkay, I'm sorry.\nI was wrong.\nYou're very romantic.\nYou're very spontaneous and crazy.\nPlease put your parka on before you freeze to death.\n- I'm fine.\n- You can't be fine.\nIt's 10 degrees.\nI think we should start sleeping together.\n- What? - Sex.\nI think we should have some.\nIn fact, I think we should have a lot.\n- Are you sure? - Hell, yes, I'm sure.\nThis isn't a joke, Greg.\nNo, it isn't.\nJeanie Boulet would you please sleep with me? - How is she? - Her breathing is worse.\n- How is the pain? - It hurts.\n- Hi, who are you? - Her daughter, Yolanda.\nShe's so stoic.\nIf she says it hurts, it must be awful.\nOh, God! Let me do a repeat CBC and a blood gas.\n- Do you want to page Anspaugh? - No.\nCall Dr.\nTell her that I need her down here right away.\nMy fianc Áe has been begging me for years to get this thing off.\n- Betadine.\n- I'm not very religious, but her family wouldn't even consider the marriage if I didn't convert.\nIt's cold.\nI wouldn't have started dating her if I knew this was part of the deal.\nYou'll feel a small prick in the area to be anesthetized.\n- Please don't move.\n- Good, you haven't started yet.\nI have three eager pre-med students from Evanston.\nI thought they might enjoy watching you perform a circumcision.\n- Don't mind us, sir.\n- I'm converting to Judaism.\n- Dr.\nHicks, phone call from the ER.\n- Make them feel welcome.\nYou're in very capable hands.\nNumber 15 blade.\n- I'm Dr.\nSomeone paged me? - I paged you.\nSamantha Ewing.\nI've got a CF kid up here, Jad Heuston.\nKnow him? He's been on a respirator for some weeks on his mother's request.\nToday's his 18th birthday, and he wants off.\n- Why page me? - He wants you to do it.\nHi, Norma.\nHi, Katy.\nHappy birthday, Jad.\nHis first act as an adult was to ask to be removed from the respirator.\nI explained the dangers, but he insisted.\nAre you still sure? The nature of his disease and the time he's been on the machine may cause him to die after some minutes.\nCan you talk to him? What's his tidal volume? Is this what you really want? Have you said your goodbyes? Yes.\nAll right, buddy.\nYou know the drill.\nI'm going to count to three.\nYou're going to take a deep breath.\nYou're going to blow out while I pull.\nCan you give me a hand with this? I love you.\nAll right.\nHere we go.\nOn three.\nReady? One, two, three.\nBlow, blow, blow.\nIs he going to be okay? Good afternoon.\nWhat could be so important? of abdominal pain five hours ago.\nPain was vague and diffuse.\nBelly wasn't too tender.\nTakes digoxin for a previously diagnosed atrial fib.\nChest x-ray shows basilar infiltrates bilaterally.\nAnspaugh was here, and he diagnosed congestive heart failure diffuse abdominal pain due to congestion in liver secondary to CHF.\n- We gave her 40 of Lasix.\n- Good story.\nWhat's the problem? - I think Dr.\nAnspaugh is wrong.\n- Page Dr.\nAnspaugh, please.\n- He's still at lunch with Weaver.\n- Quickly.\nYou have a better story.\nHer abdominal pain is worsening.\nResps are 39, and she's acidotic.\nWhen she came in, she was dehydrated.\nSo why's fluid on her lungs? The pain isn't explained by congestive heart failure.\nIt doesn't add up.\n- And what is your thinking? - She suffers from atrial fibrillation.\nThat puts her at risk for developing clots.\nShe threw an embolus and it's blocking her small bowel.\n- What is going on? Dr.\nCarter believes that you diagnosed his patient incorrectly.\nPain is worsening, resps are up to 39 and she's acidotic.\nCHF made sense earlier, but I think she has ischemic small bowel disease secondary to an embolism in the mesenteric artery.\n- Pretty good story.\n- Damn it! I diuresed her.\nNormal saline, 200 cc's per hour.\nCall the O.\n, we're moving her now.\n- What's happening? - Your mother needs an operation.\nShe's going to be just fine.\n- Dr.\nAnspaugh, can I assist? - You're going to do it.\n- Perform an embolectomy? - Yes.\nYou're the only one here who seems to know what they're doing.\n- It's going to fall.\n- No, it's not.\n- Yes, it is.\n- No, it's not.\n- She looks like she's feeling better.\n- Yes, she ate a little bit.\n- Seems to be breathing okay.\n- Who's her friend? My brother.\nMom brought him down, I figured Louise needed some company.\nHey, Jimmy, say hello to Dr.\nHe's my boss.\n- Hi, Jimmy, how are you? - What did they say? Come here.\nPsych doesn't think she can handle post-op regime and that the mother will be around long enough to get her through it.\nThat's a lot of crap.\nShe can go to a group home.\n- Jimmy takes classes out of Glenkirk.\n- Mom doesn't want her in a home.\nShe has guardianship.\nI called Loyola and Rush.\nThey both have transplant centers.\nMaybe they can get her on the list.\n- Mark.\n- Dr.\nDoyle, this is Dr.\nPomerantz from Psych.\nShe's the one that evaluated Louise.\nHi, Louise.\nHow are you doing? Mrs.\n- She's doing better.\n- She's out of heart failure.\nYou need to fill this out.\nTransplant candidate registration form.\nShe can't get on the network without it.\nKayson filled out most of it.\nI need today's history so that I can rank her.\nGet it back to me soon.\nNice meeting you.\nNina thank you.\nJad, why don't you come and go? You take off during the day and do what you want to do and when you come back, we hook you up with IV antibiotics.\nWe get a PT to pound your chest in the morning.\n- No, thanks.\n- It's a lot more comfortable.\nYou might even squeak out a couple of extra weeks out of this thing.\nI said no, thanks.\nAll right.\nHere is my beeper number.\nThat's my home number.\nYou can call me anytime, day or night.\nLet's go.\n- Where are you going? - Anywhere but here.\nSorry, Dr.\nI raided the cafeteria.\nBought every cake they had.\nLadies! Here's your cake.\n- What's going on? - The nurses got their new contract.\n- Did they get what they asked for? - Current employees are protected but the hospital wants to replace RNs with unlicensed technicians.\n- Technicians? - It's the wave of the future.\n- Come on, doctor.\n- No, thanks.\nNo, I'll get the next song.\nHave you seen Carol? She changed her mind and went home before lunch.\n- I'm starving.\nWant a piece of cake? - No, thanks.\nHey, I just dropped off all the paperwork with Nina Pomerantz.\nLouise will be on the transplant list tomorrow.\nAll we can do is wait.\n- Where's your brother? - In the lounge watching TV.\nLouise's mother won't sign the surgical release.\nKayson was just here.\nShe doesn't want Louise to have the transplant.\nDid he explain that she will die without the transplantation? Twice.\nThen I tried.\nShe wants to take her home.\nCupertino you don't want Louise to have the operation? I was 41 years old when Louise was born.\nI knew right away that something was wrong.\nI couldn't see Louise, but I saw the doctor.\nHe was frowning and snapping his fingers over the little bassinet.\nThey took her away before I had the chance to see her.\nI thought maybe she'd died.\nMaybe the umbilical cord had gotten wrapped around her neck.\nNobody told me anything.\nThen they put me in another room with mothers and their babies.\nAnd I waited there for hours until the doctor finally came back.\nHe looked very sad.\nHe told me that Louise was mongoloid.\nHe said that I should put her in a state hospital and never ever see her again.\nShe will die if she doesn't have this operation.\nWe all die, doctor.\nLouise has been the light of my life for 37 years.\nGod blessed me with this wonderful girl, and I wouldn't change a thing.\nI'm not going to be here much longer.\nI'm her whole life, just as she has always been mine.\nThere are group homes.\nPlaces where she can make friends enjoy life, even if it is for only a few more years.\nI went to a home 20 years ago when my husband died.\nIf something happened to me, who would take care of her? And there were women there like her with Down's wandering around half-naked.\nThey didn't even know their names.\nI couldn't put Louise in a place like that.\nYou want to save people, doctor.\nIf my daughter dies, you'll lose.\nBut I'm not afraid of death.\nJesus is there, waiting for us.\nTo hold us and bring us into the light.\nTo show us the kingdom of heaven.\nAnd if Louise dies before I do I know where I will see her next.\nWith angels where she belongs.\nBecause she is an angel.\nMy angel.\n- Something new? - Mesenteric embolectomy.\n- Who's doing it? - Dr.\n- Dr.\nCarter! - Just rolled the woman into 3.\nSweet God in heaven.\nI hope someone's helping him.\nWe're putting in a Port-A-Cath, a catheter used to deliver chemotherapy.\nShould you pursue a career in surgery, you'll perform this procedure dozens of times in your first year of residency.\nThe position of the catheter must be checked with a fluoroscope.\nDoes everyone know what a fluoroscope is? Here it is.\nCan I steal Debbie? We need her in O.\nWhat's going on? Dr.\nCarter is performing a mesenteric embolectomy.\n- By himself? - Anspaugh and Hicks are supervising.\n- What's the score? - Bulls are down by one.\nOh, what a nice shot.\nI let a kid with CF leave the hospital today.\nHe's 18 years old.\nHe went off to die with his girlfriend.\nDidn't want any help.\n- Could you have done anything? - No, not really.\nI spent the day trying to get a CHF patient with Down's on the heart transplant list.\nAny luck? Mother wouldn't sign the surgical release.\nFine couple of doctors we are.\nDo you remember when we were going to change the world? No.\nI was always in it for the money.\nAll right.\nSee you later.\n- Want to grab a pizza? - No, I have to be someplace.\nAnybody I know? No, I'm just helping out an old friend.\nSee you.\n- Hi.\n- Are you ready to go? - Where? - Dinner at Morton's and La Boh áme.\n- I said we didn't want the tickets.\n- I said you were wrong.\n- I'm not dressed, we'll be late.\n- You can tell me what we missed.\n- What about the basketball game? - Taping it.\nYou don't have to prove anything, Greg.\n- I don't? - This has all been pretty fast.\nWe can slow it down.\nMake sure it's right.\nSo this means that we don't have to go to the opera? No, seriously.\nCan we just slow it down? - Sure.\n- Okay.\n- Hey.\nWhat are you doing here? - Waiting for you.\n- Have you been waiting long? - Oh, a while.\n- So you took it? - Yes, I did.\n- And? - I knew a lot more than I thought.\nThere were a lot of people taking it.\nI felt about 100 years old.\nThey seemed confident and smart.\nI guessed a lot.\n- I bet you did great.\n- Thanks.\n- Was your day okay? - You know, just saving lives.\n- Have you seen my mom? - I banged the door, nobody answered.\nDo you want to come in? I'll make some coffee.\nNo, I can't.\nI'm up early.\nI'm going to go home.\n- See you tomorrow then.\n- Yes.\nDoug, I know everyone is worried about me but I'm fine.\nI was scared in that store, but I'm okay now.\n- Why did you take it? - The MCATs? For me.\nI just wanted to see if I was good enough.\nYou are.\nI love this place.\nYou should, you're a wonderful surgeon.\nYou belong here.\nYou know, you were right this morning.\nI haven't slept much in the last few months since Gant's dying.\nBefore that, me almost killing that baby and Keaton not recommending me Six months ago, I thought I was invincible.\nAnd now I don't even I don't even know.\nI guess life isn't working out the way I thought it would.\nYou're not responsible for Dr.\nGant's death, Peter.\nI could have stopped it.\nTold him he was doing well, encouraged him.\nI wish I could tell you that it was all intentional.\nThat it was part of some master plan that I had going on.\nTruthfully, I never even thought about Gant.\nHe was just an intern.\nI was more involved with my career, my ambitions.\nWe all have to find our own way, Peter.\nYou're not invincible.\nYou're a young doctor.\nYou're learning, making mistakes, saving lives.\nIt takes a lifetime.\nYou just have to have faith.\nGo home.\nYou have got a busy day tomorrow.\nMore circumcisions and Port-A-Caths? No.\nI've signed you up for a lap choly at 6 and I would appreciate it if you'd assist me on a splenectomy at 11.\nThank you, Dr.\nYou're welcome, Peter.\nSee you in the morning.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9987263083457947}
+{"content": "(redirected from presenters)\nAlso found in: Thesaurus, Legal.\n\npres·ent 1\n\n1. A moment or period in time perceptible as intermediate between past and future; now.\n2. Grammar\na. The present tense.\nb. A verb form in the present tense.\n3. presents Law The document or instrument in question: Be it known by these presents.\n1. Existing or happening now; current: the present leader; present trends.\na. Being at hand or in attendance: Thirty guests were present at the ceremony.\nb. Existing in something specified: Oxygen is present in the bloodstream.\n3. Now being considered; actually here or involved: the present subject; present company excepted.\n4. Grammar Designating a verb tense or form that expresses current time.\n5. Archaic Readily available; immediate.\n6. Obsolete Alert to circumstances; attentive.\nat present\nAt the present time; right now.\nfor the present\nFor the time being; temporarily.\n\n[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin praesēns, praesent-, present participle of praeesse, to be present : prae-, pre- + esse, to be; see es- in Indo-European roots.]\n\npres′ent·ness n.\n\npre·sent 2\n\nv. pre·sent·ed, pre·sent·ing, pre·sents\na. To make a gift or award of: presented the medal to the winner.\nb. To make a gift to: presented the winner with a medal.\na. To offer for observation, examination, or consideration; show or display: The detective presented his badge.\nb. To offer (a play, for example) for public entertainment.\nc. To afford or furnish: The situation presented us with a chance to improve our knowledge.\nd. To turn or position in the direction of another: presented his face to the camera.\ne. Immunology To display (an antigen) on the cell surface. Used especially of cells such as macrophages and dendritic cells, where the displayed antigen activates T cells as part of an immune response.\na. To introduce, especially with formal ceremony.\nb. To introduce (a young woman) to society with conventional ceremony.\n5. To hold, carry, or point (a weapon) in a particular manner as a salutation or sign of honor, usually along the center axis of the body.\n6. Ecclesiastical To recommend (a cleric) for a benefice.\n1. To make a presentation.\n2. Medicine\na. To be evident or manifest. Used of a disease or condition: how Lyme disease presents in its later stages.\nb. To exhibit symptoms or signs during a medical examination: The patient presented with headache and heel pain.\n1. pres·ent (prĕz′ənt) Something presented; a gift.\n2. pre·sent (prĭ-zĕnt′) The position of a rifle or other weapon when presented.\n\n[Middle English presenten, from Old French presenter, from Latin presentāre, to show, from praesēns, praesent-, present participle of praeesse, to be in front of; see present1.]\n\npre·sent′er n.\n\n\n1. a person who presents something or someone\n2. (Broadcasting) radio television a person who introduces a show, links items, interviews guests, etc; compere\n\n\n(prɪˈzɛn tər)\n\n1. a person or thing that presents.\n2. a person who presents an award, as at a formal ceremony.\n\n\n(TV) announcer\nThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:\nNoun1.presenter - someone who presents a message of some sort (as a petition or an address or a check or a memorial etc.)presenter - someone who presents a message of some sort (as a petition or an address or a check or a memorial etc.)\ncommunicator - a person who communicates with others\n2.presenter - an advocate who presents a person (as for an award or a degree or an introduction etc.)\n3.presenter - person who makes a gift of propertypresenter - person who makes a gift of property\nbenefactor, helper - a person who helps people or institutions (especially with financial help)\nabnegator - one who gives up or relinquishes or renounces something\nalmsgiver - a person who gives alms\nIndian giver - an offensive term for someone who asks you to return a present he has given you\naltruist, philanthropist - someone who makes charitable donations intended to increase human well-being\nsettlor, trustor - (law) a person who creates a trust by giving real or personal property in trust to a trustee for the benefit of a beneficiary; a person who gives such property is said to settle it on the trustee\ncontributor, subscriber - someone who contributes (or promises to contribute) a sum of money\nsubsidiser, subsidizer - someone who assists or supports by giving a subsidy\ntipper - a person who leaves a tip; \"a generous tipper\"\n\n\nnoun host, announcer, compere (Brit.), anchorman or anchorwoman a television presenter\nمُقَدِّممُقَدِّم بَرنامَج\nkynnir, òulur\n뉴스 캐스터\nngười thuyết trình\n\n\n[prɪˈzentəʳ] N (Rad) → locutor(a) m/f (TV) → presentador/a m/f\n\n\n[prɪˈzɛntər] n (British)présentateur/trice m/f\n\n\n(of cheque)Überbringer(in) m(f); the presenter of the prize was a childder Preis wurde von einem Kind überreicht\n(esp Brit: TV, Rad) → Moderator(in) m(f)\n\n\n[prɪˈzɛntəʳ] n (Radio, TV) → presentatore/trice\n\n\n(priˈzent) verb\n1. to give, especially formally or ceremonially. The child presented a bunch of flowers to the Queen; He was presented with a gold watch when he retired.\n2. to introduce. May I present my wife (to you)?\n3. to arrange the production of (a play, film etc). The Elizabethan Theatre Company presents `Hamlet', by William Shakespeare.\n4. to offer (ideas etc) for consideration, or (a problem etc) for solving. She presents (=expresses) her ideas very clearly; The situation presents a problem.\n5. to bring (oneself); to appear. He presented himself at the dinner table half an hour late.\npreˈsenter noun\npreˈsentable adjective\nsuitable to be seen, introduced etc. You don't look very presentable in those clothes.\nˌpresenˈtation (pre-) noun\n1. the act of presenting. the presentation of the prizes; the presentation of a new play; (also adjective) a presentation ceremony; a presentation gold watch.\n2. the manner in which written work etc is presented or set out. Try to improve the presentation of your work.\n3. a performance, or set of repeated performances, of a play, opera etc. This is the best presentation of `Macbeth' that I've ever seen.\npresent arms\nto hold a rifle upright in front of one, as a salute.\n\n\nمُقَدِّم moderátor præsentator Moderator παρουσιαστής presentador juontaja présentateur voditelj presentatore プレゼンター 뉴스 캐스터 presentator programleder prezenter apresentador ведущий presentatör ผู้นำเสนอ sunucu người thuyết trình 节目主持人\nReferences in classic literature ?\nDanglars, however, while possessing a great admiration for the antique, as it was understood during the time of the Directory, entertained the most sovereign contempt for the simple elegance of his wife's favorite sitting-room, where, by the way, he was never permitted to intrude, unless, indeed, he excused his own appearance by ushering in some more agreeable visitor than himself; and even then he had rather the air and manner of a person who was himself introduced, than that of being the presenter of another, his reception being cordial or frigid, in proportion as the person who accompanied him chanced to please or displease the baroness.\nRachel Mainwaring quizzes the final 10 Presenters contestants\nBefore the program started I never saw racism and stuff along those lines,'' said Breanne Crane, 13, one of the peer presenters with Peacemakers at La Mesa.\nIn 1993 current presenters Peter Sissons and Michael Buerk teamed up to read the news.\nWith laser pointing, wireless convenience and intuitive slideshow controls that can be found by touch, Logitech's new presenters give you the confidence to move freely around the room, so that you can focus on delivering a more effective and powerful presentation.\nIf such differences are not considered carefully, it is likely that everyone's time will be wasted, and inept presenters may find doors closed to future opportunities for executive presentations.\nPresenters included representatives from the University Counseling Center, Student Study Center, and Financial Aid Office; as well as a counselor from the community, and other knowledgeable individuals.\nThe INS is the first stop for presenters and dance companies seeking petitions for visas that will allow them to bring foreign companies and artists to the U.\nFor the aluminum foundry, said the presenters, these conclusions mean that:\nBusiness Users And Presenters Around The World Now Have FREE Access To Instant\nIllinois may be the Land of Lincoln, but the spirit of the nation's 16th president was alive and well Saturday in Burbank, where the Association of Lincoln Presenters held its annual convention.\nNYWICI) today announced the presenters for its 2007 Matrix Awards.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7706949710845947}
+{"content": "Our stamina comes from our ability to produce energy efficiently over a period of time. In our muscles, energy production comes courtesy of mitochondria. The more mitochondria we have, the longer we can go. Endurance athletes may have twice the normal number in their muscles. The rest of us may be feeling the fatigue after a long walk, cycle, or run much quicker. \n\n\nResearch1 out of the University of Southern Denmark Faculty of Health Sciences, examined 15 elite athletes and compared them with 29 people who were either sedentary or somewhat active. All subjects were given a muscle biopsy and their tissue samples were examined under an advanced microscope that can detect even the smallest changes in muscle structure. Within muscles, there is a folded inner membrane called the cristae. On the folds of the cristae is where mitochondrial energy production takes place. The researchers were aware that mitochondrial respiration varies. it was thought that this was impacted by cristae density in mammalian muscles. The research set out to understand the mechanisms at play.\n\n\n\nIn humans, the mitochondrial cristae density is not constant, but exhibits plasticity with long-term endurance training. The researchers showed that, at whole-body level, muscle mitochondrial cristae density is a better predictor of maximal oxygen uptake rate than muscle mitochondrial volume. So, if you raise your mitochondrial cristae density through training, you perform better, have greater metabolic capacity, and efficiently use your body’s fuel during prolonged periods of consistent activity.\n\n\n\n\"We've found that mitochondria in endurance athletes are constructed in such a way that they generate more energy than mitochondria in non-athletes. In fact, our measurements have shown us that these mitochondria can generate around 25% more energy. This gives a major advantage in endurance sports such as marathon running and cross-country skiing, but also in ball games like soccer,\" says Joachim Nielsen, assistant professor of muscle physiology at University of Southern Denmark.\n\n\nAccording to the researchers, it is still too early to say whether improved mitochondria is a genetic trait or the result of long term exercise. Although the team is working on the hypothesis that training over longer periods of time can produce the needed changes in the structure of mitochondria.\n\n\nThe structure of mitochondria and a view of ATP synthase (the process of creating energy)\n\n\n\"We took detailed measurements of each muscle fibre and saw that those muscle fibres that are typically most active during extended periods of physical activity are also those with the most significant changes in mitochondrial structure. We see this as a clear indication that the athletes have produced these changes themselves through their training,\" explains Joachim Nielsen.\n\n\n\n1. Joachim Nielsen, Kasper D. Gejl, Martin Hey-Mogensen, Hans-Christer Holmberg, Charlotte Suetta, Peter Krustrup, Coen P. H. Elemans, Niels Ørtenblad. Plasticity in mitochondrial cristae density allows metabolic capacity modulation in human skeletal muscle. The Journal of Physiology, 2016;", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9036487936973572}
+{"content": "Up From Under\n\nBridget Williams Books\n\nChristine Dann was an early participant in the women’s movement that swept through New Zealand in the 1970s and 80s. Up from Under is a detailed and fascinating study of the achievements and aspirations of women at that time.\n\nDann chronicles the upheavals and events of that time, examining developments across the political philosophy of the women’s movement, fertility control, paid and unpaid work, and violence against women.\n\nUp from Under is a unique insider’s account of times and changes that have had far-reaching effects on New Zealanders’ lives.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9998763799667358}
+{"content": "Pain Scales\n\nA 1-10 ranking is the best way to express the severity of the pain, but it’s so subjective that I frequently question my own ratings. Is an 8 this week the same as it was a year ago, or even a month ago? How can I rate a headache higher than 9? Can my pain really be a 10? Am I tempting fate by rating a migraine 10 — couldn’t the pain get worse than it is?\n\nThe American Chronic Pain Association and The International Pudendal Neuropathy Association both offer great pain scales. I particularly like the one from TIPNA, so I’ve included it below.\n\nPerhaps more important that using one of these pain scales is to create your own Everyone experiences pain from their own perspectives, so a scale can be highly subjective. Having your own scale helps identify the pain relative to recent months or years. It’s also helpful to share your own scale with your doctor, who may then better understand what you’re going through.\n\nInterestingly, a doctor that I’m friends with told me that ER patients tend to rate their pain as a 3 or a 10. This may contribute to the skepticism headache sufferers encounter in the ER.\n\nComparative Pain Scale (from TIPNA)\n\n0: No pain. Feeling perfectly normal.\n\n1: Very mild = Very light barely noticeable pain, like a mosquito bite or a poison ivy itch. Most of the time you never think about the pain.\n\n2: Uncomfortable = Minor pain, like lightly pinching the fold of skin between the thumb and first finger with the other hand, using the fingernails. (Note that people react differently to this self-test)\n\n3: Tolerable = Very noticeable pain, like an accidental cut, a blow to the nose causing a bloody nose, or a doctor giving you a shot. The pain isn’t so strong that you can’t get used to it. Eventually, most of the time you don’t notice the pain. You’ve adapted to it.\n\n4: Distressing = Strong, deep pain, like an average toothache, the initial pain from a bee sting, or minor trauma like stubbing your toe real hard. So strong that you notice the pain all the time and can’t completely adapt. This level of pain can be simulated by pinching the fold of skin between the thumb and first finger with the other hand, using the fingernails and squeezing really hard. Not how the simulated pain is initially piercing but becomes dull after that.\n\n5: Very distressing = Strong, deep, piercing pain, such as a sprained ankle when you stand on it wrong, or mild back pain. Not only do you notice the pain all the time, you are now so preoccupied with managing it that your normal lifestyle is curtailed. Temporary personality disorders are frequent.\n\n6: Intense = Strong, deep, piercing pain, so strong that it seems to partially dominate your senses, causing you to think somewhat unclearly. At this point you begin to have trouble holding a job or maintaining normal social relationships. Comparable to a bad non-migraine headache combined with several bee stings or a bad back pain. (The person who posted this scale on the forum said that her migraine diary indicates this as her average pain on most days. I reach this level almost every day, but usually rate it a 3 or 4.)\n\n7: Very intense = Same as 6 except that the pain completely dominates your senses causing you to think unclearly about half the time. at this point you’re effectively disabled and frequently can’t live alone. Comparable to an average migraine headache.\n\n8: Utterly horrible = Pain so intense that you can no longer think clearly at all, and have often undergone severe personality change if the pain has been present for a long time. Suicide is frequently contemplated and sometimes tried. Comparable to childbirth or a real bad migraine.\n\n9: Excruciating unbearable = Pain so intense that you can’t tolerate it and demand pain killers or surgery, no matter what the side effects or risk. If this doesn’t work, suicide is frequent since there is no more joy in life whatsoever. Comparable to throat cancer. (It’s scary to think about, but this was me for at least a year before I got my stimulator. Thus I was willing to give up a lot of money and mobility for an unproven treatment.)\n\n10: Unimaginable unspeakable = Pain so intense that you will go unconscious shortly. Most people have never experienced this level of pain. Those who have suffered a severe accident, such as a crushed hand, and lost consciousness as a result of the pain rather than the blood loss, have experienced level 10.\n\nChemistry Can Induce Sleep\n\nIf your headaches cause you to lose sleep, a sleep aid may be an invaluable med to add to your arsenal. Not only will you sleep better, your better sleep might reduce the frequency or duration of your headaches.\n\nThe Mayo Clinic provides an excellent summary of the available sleep aids, including their side effects, precautions and warnings.\n\nKitchen-Based Medicine\n\nInstead of letting fibromyalgia force her out of the kitchen, Jennifer Hess revamped her approach, making cooking and eating a medicine that treats her physically and mentally. In her Chronic in the Kitchen series on ChronicBabe, she kindly shares lessons that she’s learned and some delicious recipes.\n\nJennifer broke the recipe-following rules when she developed her\nrecipes — follow her lead! If an ingredient is a known trigger for\nyou, make a substitution. Black bean soup made with garbanzo beans?\nChives instead of onions? The first few incarnations may be strange,\nbut you’ll eventually get a recipe that’s tasty and doesn’t invoke pain.\n\nAvoiding Sausage Headaches\nTwo of Jennifer’s recipes use sausage, which can spell trouble for people with headache. Because it’s so tasty and easy to use, I’ve searched far and wide for sausage that doesn’t trigger headaches. Here’s what I’ve learned:\n\nAlways check the labels and try to avoid varieties with nitrates or any form of MSG. Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods and Wild Oats all carry brands that fit the criteria or come really close. Many stores in the Safeway family (which includes Von’s, Dominick’s, Randalls, Tom Thumb, Genuardi’s and Carrs) also carry some varieties.\n\nBrands that taste good and aren’t filled with junk include Applegate Farms, Cantella’s, Gerhard’s and Organic Prairie. Again, check the labels. One variety of one brand might be fine, but another sausage by the same company may contain MSG.\n\nAlso, a little bit of a “bad” additive might not cause problems for you. Try it out when you feel brave.\n\nHope and Headache Clouds\n\nI’ve been thinking a lot about the question that I posed on Monday: How would you represent hope visually? It’s a tough one. I’ve looked at the pink blossoms of the cherry trees and the bulbs that are starting to sprout. I’ve admired our amazingly sunny days and the promise that when the rain returns, it will bring even more flowers. These are all unmistakable symbols of hope, but still don’t capture my experience.\n\nWhen I stopped looking so hard for it, the answer was obvious: clouds. After living in Seattle for a year, I realized that one of the ways I cope with all the rain is to notice the ever-changing clouds. Their colors, density and position in the sky take dramatic shifts throughout each day. Unless the sky is a uniform gray, there’s always something to admire.\n\nLike the clouds, sometimes my pain is light; other times it is unbearable and accompanied by a host of other symptoms. The changes occur from day to day, but also from hour to hour. Even on these days, I catch glimpses of blue sky; there’s always something to be thankful for, something to enjoy.\n\nPlenty of my days are perfectly described by the dense, dark gray overhead. I’ve become grateful for the variations in my headache clouds. They give me hope that headaches won’t destroy my joy. Even if I have a headache every day of the rest of my life, the subtle changes within a day make me appreciate every moment I have.\n\n(P.S. My questions wasn’t rhetorical, but I know the answer isn’t easy to find. If you have any thoughts about your own or some general symbols of hope, please share them in the comments. Other readers and I value what you have to share.)\n\nPosted in Coping. 1 Comment »\n\nAnnual Meeting on Pain\n\nThe American Academy of Pain Medicine‘s 22nd annual meeting begins tomorrow. Topics include FDA regulation of pain treatments, advocacy issues and alternative therapies for treating pain.\n\nCould be good stuff. I’ll let you know what comes out of it.\n\nI’m a Babe!\n\nA ChronicBabe, that is. The latest LadyBlogger profile is a Q&A with yours truly. You can also learn more about fellow headache patient Tracy Young, from Moogle’s Thoughts, who was a featured LadyBlogger in December..\n\nDigging around for photos to go with the profile, I was reminded of how active and joyful I’m still able to be. The picture of me rappelling into a cave is definitely one of my visual representations of hope. It shows not only a triumph over illness, but a triumph over my inner chicken.\n\nSeeing Hope\n\nHope inspires patients, families and physicians to persevere in even the most dire of circumstances. An elusive idea, hope is a powerful tool for healing.\n\nUniversity of Washington photography student Sarah Skinner sought to capture this concept the way she knows best. She gave a trauma surgeon,a patient’s wife and a patient cameras to make hope “visible through the eyes of those who inhale it, as much a form of life support as supplemental oxygen.”\n\nAll three photographers captured very different images of hope: a child, flowers, skyscapes. How would you represent hope visually?", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7284762859344482}
+{"content": "Plain Language in the Medical Field\n\nPlain language is typically used for instruction, teaching, or presenting information.  In the medical field professionals are required to provide their patients with information regarding their health.  This is where plain language is most useful; it facilitates efficient communication between provider and patient.\n\nNavigating and understanding healthcare today can be confusing and frustrating even for those familiar with the system. Imagine how it might feel for someone who isn’t familiar with the system and who is being expected to interpret important information regarding medical procedures or decisions when they are ill.  Also consider patients with limited literacy skills, overcomplicated medical jargon would surely not be appropriate for them. Times like this are when comprehension is crucial.  Using plain language for patient instruction just makes sense.\n\nIt’s also important to note that plain language use for written works is essential, but its use for verbal instructions is also preferred.  In the medical profession I feel we get so used to using terminology among our peers and sometimes forget that our audience may have little or no exposure to medical terms.  The use of plain language is a way to bridge the gap between medical professionals and patients and ensure patients receive and comprehend information regarding their health and well being.\n\n~Diana Schwartz\n\n\nThe Power of Assumption\n\nAlright, here it goes. This is my first ever blog post!  I never thought it would be about technical communications, but enrolling in this techcomm class at RIT has already exposed me to many new technological experiences.\n\nSo our first blog assignment was to select a post from one of the five techcomm blogs we selected to follow for the duration of this class, and summarize said post for our classmates and any other techcomm individuals who happen to stumble onto our page :). Continue reading\n\nWhat I have taken away from Techcomm\n\nOne of the most influential parts of effective techcomm for me is how to create an effective info graphic. For most businesses, and industries, presentations and visual representations are used to convey ideas, facts, and opinions. Learning what the eye is drawn to, and how that relates to how the information is taken in by the reader really helped be to understand what is necessary and what is not necessary when it comes to info graphics. Learning about correct techniques to implement on info graphics helped me to decipher what is ethical when creating info graphics. This meaning showing the true and honest factual information in a way that is just as effective as it would be if the truth was smudged a little. Since learning about info graphics and what it takes to create an effective one, I really have been more diligent on how I present my information. This I can take with me for years into my field of mechanical engineering.\n\nChandler Daub\n\nWhat I learned in Tech Comm\n\nOne thing I learned in class that I think I will help me in my future is how to identify your audience and gear your product/presentation/etc. to fit their profile. When it comes down to it the customer is the one you’ll have to please, so if you don’t know what pleases them you won’t know how to go about pleasing them. This will help me in my later work experience because my knowing my audience I will be able to help create and think of new ideas that will attract the right kind of audience that will benefit the business I will be working for. It will also help me become a better employee and help me, look like a hard working and good part of the business.\n\n-Jacob Wingate\n\nWhat I’ve Leaned in Tech Comm\n\nI feel as though one of the topics that we’ve covered in class that has changed the way I approach my work is Inforgraphics. Graphics are the pictures in technical communication: drawings, maps, photographs, diagrams, and tables. An infograph can be considered as a visual representation of information. Infographics help explain information in an easier way. Instead of having to write out every part of a machine, a picture of the machine with parts labeled will help the audience better understand the information. If the writer just writes out the information of parts, the audience will have to use their imagination to see where the part would lie on the machine. Whereas if there was a diagram of the machine that is labeled, the audience could understand what the writing is saying, and be able to see the part in the diagram. This will clarify information to the audience. Lastly, infographcis help with the idea of how to express information. Sometimes creating a table with information is better than writing out a list, or a diagram would help express information better than a photograph. This topic will help me in the future to understand how, as an engineer, to express information to a certain audience. It all depends on who the audience is, to determine how to express the infograph. You don’t need every equation shown to a customer to describe how the product works. Instead, a picture or diagram of the product with step-by-step instructions will explain the information to a customer must easier than the equations used to determine the product.\n\n-Mike Brown", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9725715517997742}
+{"content": "A Democratic Revolution\n\nBernie Sanders wrote a great op-ed yesterday in the New York TImes about the parallels between Britian's historic Brexit vote and the political atmosphere here in America. It called for a revolution of middle class workers saying \"Enough is enough\" to their governments. He outlined a world economy that is increasingly being geared to serve only the exorbitantly rich while the poor are supposed to put their wholehearted trust in these same people to look out for their good.  \n\nHe also drew similarities between the anti-immigration fears that were integral to the Brexit vote and the same rhetoric used here by Donald Trump. He cautioned against these irrational  fears saying that enacting isolationist policies serves no one. Working together is how we solve the world's problem. \n\nThe list goes on and on, but that's why I think Bernie Sanders is still as important to the presidential race as ever. He inspires change and cooperation, and is someone who all of these disenfranchised voters can get behind. He provides a way to motivate and transform all the massive amounts of unchecked apathy and disdain in this country, and even though his presidential hopes are a far cry now from being a reality, Bernie has finally set his sights higher.\n\n Bernie Sanders has never been a part of the political machine always acting as this fringe voice that people would vaguely recall hearing in the back of their minds. Now, he is front and center representing all those quiet frustrated voters disillusioned with their prospects in life. \n\nBernie has crafted a message that has received widespread support in return. Now, people are forced to listen unlike ever before. Here's hoping he can finally do some good.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.547223687171936}
+{"content": "FREE In Google Play\nConnection restored!\n\n\nFood Shortages Caused by Extreme Weather Likely to Triple: Report\n\nAugust 17 2015 12:00 AM EDT\n\nGlobal food shortages will become three times more likely as a result of climate change in the decades ahead, a new U.S.-British joint task force report says.\n\nThe report, released Friday by the U.K.-U.S. Taskforce on Extreme Weather and Global Food System Resilience, focuses on the rising risks of disruptions to the world's food supply and price spikes thanks to extreme weather events – and says that food production \"shocks\" will likely go from something that happens once a century to something that happens every 30 years or so.\n\n\"It is likely that the effects of climate change will be felt most strongly through the increasing frequency of extreme weather events such as droughts, heat waves and floods and their impact on the production and distribution of food – something we almost take for granted,\" said Tim Benton, a professor of population ecology at the University of Leeds and one of the report's co-authors, in a statement.\n\nWATSON/CONTROLS/Enlarge ControlCreated with Sketch.\nA malnourished boy is shown at a feeding center in Damota Pulassa village, in southern Ethiopia in this file photo from June 2008.\n(JOSE CENDON/AFP/Getty Images)\n\nAgricultural methods will need to be changed to adapt to a changing climate and become more resilient in the face of extreme weather events like these, the report adds, while also becoming more productive to meet the demands of a rising global population, which is expected to reach over 9 billion by mid-century, up from about 7 billion today.\n\n(MORE: National Geographic Redrew Its World Maps to Reflect Shrinking Arctic Ice)\n\nIncreased demand will also come from large numbers of people rising from poverty into the global middle class, the report says. The world's food system is so vulnerable because food crops like wheat come from a small number of producing countries, the report adds, which means that many parts of the world can be impacted when weather events disrupt production.\n\nProduction shocks could cause civil unrest, the report's authors also say, especially in nations dependent on importing their food like those in Sub-Saharan Africa. \"In fragile political contexts where household food insecurity is high, civil unrest might spill over into violence or conflict,\" the report says.\n\nTo prevent or at least ease the pain from such shocks, food-producing nations are urged not to impose export restrictions as Russia did in 2010 after a poor harvest, Reuters notes.\n\n\"This study presents a plausible scenario for how the food system might be impacted by extreme weather, alongside a series of recommendations that should help policy and business plan for the future,\" Benton added. \"Action is urgently needed to understand risks better, improve the resilience of the global food system to weather-related shocks and to mitigate their impact on people.\"\n\nRead the full report at Global Food Security here.\n\nMORE FROM WEATHER.COM: How Warming Is Changing the World's Glaciers\n\nWATSON/CONTROLS/Enlarge ControlCreated with Sketch.\n1 / 52\n\nNASA Change: Arapaho Glacier, Colorado (1898)\n\nThe Aprapaho Glacier in Colorado in 1898. (NASA)\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7768328189849854}
+{"content": "The Biggest Story\n\nWhat do you think is the biggest story that ever happened in history? Was it a story during World War 1 or World War 2? Or was it either one of the wars itself? Was it the invention of the first plane or the telephone? Or was it the landing of man on the moon, and so forth?\n\nThere are countless stories about different men and women all over the world. Hundreds, perhaps thousands of biographies and autobiographies were written about famous, not-so-famous, and infamous people – historical and legendary figures, and all. Whose story was the greatest of them all? Was it Alexander the Great? Kublai or Genghis Khan? Napoleon Bonaparte? Bill Gates or Steve Jobs? Whose?\n\nThere are stories about people who make headline news: politicians, movie stars, sports heroes, or criminals. There are also stories about successful people in business, technology, science, arts, and so forth. There are also lesser stories like of those who were injured or died in accidents, diseases, wars, or poverty. Little known or unknown stories about people abound too, in different parts of the world in different settings, some of them brought to the limelight by media through documentaries.\n\nThis world is full of stories of people and places. Some are factual and some are myths, others are just plain fiction. We read books or watch movies for the stories they can bring to us. We derive entertainment, lessons, and inspirations from them.\n\nIn today’s age of internet, blogging, and social media, everyone has his or her own little story to tell. Each personal profile more or less brings with it a story about something. Trending stories that go viral are watched daily by millions all over the world. People are hungry for stories.\n\nThe world anticipates the next big story or stories on the news daily. Some are preoccupied, if not obsessed with the stories of celebrities. Sensations and controversies draw the most attentions from all over.\n\nThe Earth, with over seven billion human population, has billions of stories to tell too. Each human carries his or her own story.\n\nWe are so concerned about our own and the rest of the world’s stories that we forgot, neglect, or are maybe ignorant of the one big story that made possible for all the succeeding myriads of stories in this planet Earth. Without this big story that I am referring to, there would be no other story to watch, read, or talk about.\n\nDo you know what I am referring to? It is the Story of God! Our Creator is not even watched or anticipated. He has been largely forgotten together with His story of why this world was created in the first place. Do we know His story? Or do we even care?\n\nWhat is His story then? Well, once upon a time, there was an invisible God who had neither beginning nor end. He then created the universe and our world out of nothing. He formed everything, both living and non-living things. He made the human species and imparted life into his being. And the rest is history.\n\nWhat is the meaning or purpose of life according to His perspective? Shouldn’t we be concerned all about it since He is our Creator? What is the story he meant for mankind? Moreover, where is this story heading? Is life a series of mindless events, incidents, and accidents?\n\nHe is the originator of a story out of nothing. Shouldn’t we keep track of His original script, and not just take life for granted as it is and make our own life as we wish?\nHe is the Biggest Story that encompasses all our little stories. It would be to our utmost advantage to somehow discover and “align” our stories to this biggest story, as you would align a wheel to its hub so that it would rotate straight, smooth, and not wiggle.\n\nHow? That would point us to the Bible and His Son, to fully comprehend this existence’ biggest story.\n\nWe can afford to miss out on many of our world’s little stories, but not on this one – for the consequences are horribly great. Yes, horrible beyond imagination. Let us not “miss the mark” on the essence of living.\n\nRemember the ancient admonition of King David:\n“Except the LORD build the house, they labour in VAIN that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman walketh but in vain” (Ps. 127.1 KJV)\n\nMissing the mark means falling into the category of vanity. Let us not be preoccupied with this world, but be occupied by the One who formed it.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5721335411071777}
+{"content": "What if you could make your own film presenting your take on the Harry Potter character (someone in Georgia might be interested) or your opinion of what should have happened in X-Men: The Last Stand (comic book geeks everywhere wish they could)? Unfortunately, most fictional films involve intellectual properties and copyrights and other things that (legally) cannot be messed with by just anyone.\n\nThe same isn't true for documentaries, which tend to present facts or deal with truth, concepts that people don't regularly own or control. These facts and truths are often debatable, though, and can be argued or debunked via other documentary films. Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 was answered with Alan Peterson's Fahrenhype 9/11. Morgan Spurlock's Super Size Me led to both Bowling for Morgan and Me and Mickey D. Robert Greenwald's Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price was responded to with Ron Galloway's Why Wal-Mart Works: And Why that Drives Some People C-r-a-z-y.\n\nThe latest rebuttal doc is aimed at Al Gore's claims in An Inconvenient Truth. Steven Hayward has begun work on An Inconvenient Truth ... Or Convenient Fiction?, a documentary that will be formatted in the same way as Davis Guggenheim's award-winning doc on global warming. Hayward, like Gore, will present his own thoughts on the issue through a similar lecture and slide show. But he isn't going to disagree with global warming altogether, just specific points that Gore supposedly got wrong.\ncategories Movies, Cinematical", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6277527213096619}
+{"content": "This is default featured slide 1 title\nThis is default featured slide 2 title\nThis is default featured slide 3 title\nThis is default featured slide 4 title\nThis is default featured slide 5 title\n\nTricks Rid Tummy Fat\n\no you need to be specific with your goals. How much do YOU want to lose, and by when? How and what will YOU do when you have reached the goal. E.g. I am going to lose 12 pounds in four months by changing my eating patterns and I am going to walk for 30 minutes a day.And when I reach the goal I am going to take my family out for dinner wearing my favourite nice red top I used to be able to wear. DO YOU HAVE A GOAL? Great: YOU HAVE A GOAL, but if YOU are going to reach it then you need to break it up into achievable sections. When Edmund Hilary climbed Everest he did not stand at base camp and think “right chaps I have got the sandwiches” and then charge off for the summit. This major accomplishment was split into numerous stages, with smaller goals of reaching camp one, then camp two and so on until reaching the summit. Break your goal into something like first month I will lose 3 pounds, 2nd month 3 pounds, and so on. Set dates for each mini goal and most importantly give YOURSELF a reward when you achieve each mini goal. YOU ARE NOT CLIMBING EVEREST Ok so you are not climbing Everest but you need to focus on how to rid tummy fat. One thing you must have in common with Sir Edmund is that with planning, commitment, devotion and most importantly the correct mindset YOU will reach your summit.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8448323607444763}
+{"content": "Ancient Mayan/Aztec Bones\n\nBy Jheri\n\n     Mexico is timeless—ancient, turbulent, mysterious, and its geography sometimes involves tongue-twisting words. Ancient, because as early as 3500 B.C. history records a diet of beans, squash and domesticated turkeys in these lands. And ancient, because the Mayan civilization was begun in 2600 B.C. in the Yucatan Peninsula, the southernmost dogleg of the Mexican continent, nearly 5,000 years ago. Turbulent, because the variously sere, tropical, and rain-forested lands of Mexico have belonged to Toltecs, Olmecs, Aztecs, Spanish, and the USA. Mysterious, because how could the Aztec or Mayan people—advanced in art, sculpture, music, dance, architecture (Great Pyramid of the Sun 300 B.C.), and the writing of poetry—sacrifice and dine on large numbers of slaves, prisoners and captives taken in war? Examples of the unpronounceable include the name of the capital of the Aztec/Mayan lands, Tenochtitlan (now Mexico City); Popocatépetl, Ixtachihuatl, Citlaltepetl (volcanic mountains); and Tlalneopantla, Ixmiquilpan, Tres Picos Pijijiapan (cities).\n\n     So it was to this historical tapestry that Ben Cufone, our soil collector in Mexico, came when he visited Chichen Itza and Tuluum, Mexico, on the Yucatan peninsula. As he used his hands to pick up the soil, within view of deserted, deteriorated large cut limestone block pyramids, surrounded by jungle growth, he wondered if bone dust was part of his collection. Living quarters, temples, altars, tombs, statues and astronomical observatories (for the Mayan calendar) evoked those images of human sacrifice. Perhaps the spirits of the victims or ancient priest-kings watched from above (or below) as he prepared his contribution for Common Ground 191.\n\n     Mexico has a rich, diverse, “culinary” history and a bright future. Because of the discovery of oil reserves there, the economy of Mexico, long Third-World, may soon expand into a leading force of the 21st century. And Common Ground 191 may initiate a new tongue and lingua franca of peace through the transformation of this small bit of its soil.\n\n\n\n\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8129231929779053}
+{"content": "Publication Date\n\n\n\nBelize is a Central American and Caribbean country facing numerous challenges due to globalization. This paper focuses on post-independent Belize examining the struggle of an independent nation in the midst of globalization, realizing this is its greatest challenge. This paper developed from personal experience over the years working abroad, realizing that globalization must benefit countries rather than hinder their development. This research examines the experience of Belize in regards to colonialism, foreign aid, the role of the government as well as that of non-governmental organizations. Initially, a situational analysis provides the background and data to lay the premise for the study. Identifying a social and economic crisis in Belize by local statistics, interviews, and comparison, the paper demonstrated the need for an alternative post-colonial agenda. The conclusion presents a framework for basic ideas for the survival of Belize during globalization. It also relates a theoretical perspective of a current model of development where civil society takes a partnership role with government to ensure economic growth and social justice is accomplished. It then, explores the concept of civil society, particularly the role of non-governmental organizations within the developmental arena. The basic conclusion undermines any particular concentration on one theory, and proposes there be a convergence of theories to meet the needs of a very unique country. The post-colonial time period can be a crucial period for developing countries, in can if fact either destroy them or allow them to benefit the country and their people, especially during this period of globalization.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9999426007270813}
+{"content": "Kit contains:\n\n01 Nutriplex Active Protection. (250ml ℮ 8.45 Fl.Oz)\n02 Nutriplex Action Blond. (250ml ℮ 8.45 Fl.Oz)\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNutriplex is a new product, intended to promote great protection against chemical damages, specially associated with the use of bleacher. Nutriplex does not exclude the need for hair tests before its use.\nVitamin and amino acid complexes in its formulation act faster than the oxygen in peroxide, minimizing the impact of oxidation without compromising the lightening in coloring and bleaching processes.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6939378976821899}
+{"content": "To find a local Personal Trainer and view the video profile, just follow the simple 2 step process and search.\n\nAdvanced Search\n\nLeftfield101:Training - Walk the Line\n\nBy: Leftfield Training\n\n\n“In art and dream may you proceed with abandon. In life may you proceed with balance and stealth.”\n— Patti Smith\n\nWhen we look at the traits that make up overall athletic ability we typically look for speed, strength and power as the usual suspects. There is one quality in particular that draws each of these together, one quality that conveys ability beyond athleticism.\n\nWhen watching the elite in any sport, we can see there is very little that separates them. Sure, some are a bit faster and others a bit stronger, but the real superstars - they all seem to have something else. A something else that gives the Ablett, Slater, and Azarenka's of the world that extra poise and grace. Something else that seems to give just them, more time.\n\n\nWhether it's the idea that balance is something you've either got or not, or perhaps because it's difficult to quantify and measure; given the difference it makes, it's strange that few athletes (outside of the martial arts) do any training dedicated specifically to improving it.\n\nWe seem to accept it as an 'X-factor' - a divine gift bestowed on a chosen few.\n\nBut while some have more natural ability than others, as with any other athletic quality, balance can be trained.\n\nAnd what can be trained, can equally be detrained. Our abilities here can be chalked up as yet another casualty of our sedentary lifestyle, but balance has an obvious and immediate transference to our everyday lives - relevance to us all.\n\nDefinitions of balance, as it pertains to biomechanics and athletic performance, are commonly staid and incomplete. None of them convey the athleticism we see from the seemingly impossible angle, over some bland description of just standing upright:\n\nmaintaining the line of gravity within the base of support\nthe ability to maintain equilibrium whether stationary or moving\nSnore. Again, the martial arts to the rescue:\n\nThe ability to maintain or recover your center despite an external force(s).\n\nWhen we consider that, for a surfer this force may be a wave, for a footballer an opposition player, and with both also subject to gravity, now we start to get a bit closer. Particularly as this also addresses the idea of recovering balance. In many sports, you may purposely sacrifice your balance to gain an advantage, safe in the knowledge you will subsequently be able to regain it.\n\nIn fact, this, is the essence of all movement. Walking is simply the act of (voluntarily) losing and regaining balance, repeatedly.\n\nBut maintaining balance requires the coordination of input from multiple sensory systems:\n\nVestibular system: organs that regulate equilibrium including the inner ear.\nSomatosensory system: information from skin, joints and mechanoreceptors that through pressure and vibration detect our movement and position in space as well as the position of body parts relative to each other - proprioception.\nVisual system: reference points to our verticality and our position relative to our environment. Although we rely heavily on this information, we are also easily deceived by it, and pilots, for example. are well drilled to ignore these cues in poor visibility, and fly solely on instruments\nTogether these systems detect changes in body position relative to our base of support - a delicate dance of messages received and corrections necessary. Call and response.\n\nTo read the remainder of this post please go to:\n\n\nCopyright © 2016 Leftfield Training, All rights reserved.\n\nAdded: 18-10-2016", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9551569819450378}
+{"content": "This article is about asteroids from Rockitty. For asteroids from Mega Mash, please see Asteroids (Mega Mash).\n\nAbility Grant points on destruction\nGame(s) Rockitty\n\nAsteroids are interactive objects introduced in level two of the game Rockitty.\n\n\nAsteroids are purple coloured and are covered with many craters. They often appear in groups and alternate in different sizes.\n\nGame information\n\nAsteroids appear in many levels of Rockitty. They often appear in groups, floating around slowly until Rockitty hits them. Like most surfaces in the game, Rockitty will bounce off an asteroid upon hitting it. This causes the asteroid to split in two smaller asteroids that fly away more quickly, and grants the player 100 points.\nAsteroid explode\n\nAn asteroid being hit\n\nThere are three sizes of asteroids, however, they each grant the player the same amount of points when hit. When the smallest size of asteroid is hit, it will smash into non-existence. Whenever any asteroid is destroyed, a circle of stars will come out from it, along with the number 100 (signifying the amount of points given).\n\nSometimes, they require several hits to clear a path before Rockitty can continue on in the game.\n\n\nAd blocker interference detected!\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9483652710914612}
+{"content": "How to Locate Someone in Italy\n\nby Lynn Dean\n\nPrior to 1860, locating a person in Italy may have proven to be difficult. Things are now changed, not only in Italy's record keeping, but also in information as a whole. With Internet, you can find anything or anyone. How long your search is depends on how much information you have to work with. Locating someone in Italy, doesn't have to be hard. All you need to do is take advantage of the tools available to you.\n\nUse an online Italian phone directory. While searching, enter as much information as you have available. This can include name, number, zip code and region. Some phone directories have English versions, while others are in Italian. If you don't know Italian, you can use an online translator to help you with your search.\n\nDo a records or genealogy search. An example would be Roots Web, where you can search by name and then narrow down by estimating birthdate and year. Sometimes members of the website will have a public family tree on their profile page. If the person you are looking for is listed on a family tree, contact the profile owner and see if he can put you in contact with the individual you're looking for.\n\nConduct an email and social network search. Langenberg is a resourceful website that allows you to search for people in a variety of ways. You can search for a person's UseNet email or for their social network member page on popular websites such as Face Book and Linked In. Simply put in their first and last name in the designated fields, click \"Go\" and you will be redirected to the website's member directory. From there you can look at the member or members to see if the person you are looking for is listed. In the case that there are multiple people with the same name, you''ll either have to contact each individual separately or contact those who you think are the closest match. On the Langenberg website, there is also an option search through international White Pages. Simply add the first and last name. You can also add the city and country. When you select \"Go\" the next page will show listings of people of the same name, as well as their address and phone number.\n\nPlace a search ad. Lost Trekkers is an international people search website. Designed for the traveler, it allows you to reconnect by creating a free ad for the person whom you seek.\n\nAbout the Author\n\nLynn Dean has worked as a freelance writer since 2008. Her experience includes ad copywriting, content writing, news releases and eBook editing. She has written on numerous topics, but her favorite subjects are history, culture and interpersonal relationships.\n\nPhoto Credits", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5409903526306152}
+{"content": "Researchers produce detailed map of potential Mars rover landing site\n\nA false color image shows the diverse geomorphic shapes at Northeast Syrtis, a potential landing site for the next Mars rover. Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona\n\n\n\n\nIf NASA ultimately decides to land at Northeast Syrtis, the work would help in providing a roadmap for the rover’s journey.\n\n“This is a foundational paper for considering this part of the planet as a potential landing site for the Mars2020 rover,” said Jack Mustard, a professor in Brown’s Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences and a coauthor on the paper. “This represents an exceptional amount of work on Mike’s part, really going into the key morphologic and spectroscopic datasets we need in order to understand what this region can tell us about the history of Mars if we explore it with a rover.”\n\nPast habitable environments\n\nNortheast Syrtis sits between two giant Martian landforms—an impact crater 2,000 kilometers in diameter called the Isidis Basin, and a large volcano called Syrtis Major. The impact basin formed about 3.96 billion years ago, while lava flow from the volcano came later, about 3.7 billion years ago. Northeast Syrtis preserves the geological activity that occurred in the 250 million years between those two events. Billions of years of erosion, mostly from winds howling across the region into the Isidis lowlands, have exposed that history on the surface.\n\nA detailed map shows the the various geologic units exposed at Northeast Syrtis. Credit: Mike Bramble/Mustard Lab\n\nWithin Northeast Syrtis are the mineral signatures of four distinct types of watery and potentially habitable past environments. Those minerals had been detected by prior research, but the new map shows in detail how they are distributed within the region’s larger geological context. That helps constrain the mechanisms that may have formed them, and shows when they formed relative to each other.\n\nThe lowest and the oldest layer exposed at Northeast Syrtis has the kind of clay minerals formed when rocks interact with water that has a fairly neutral pH. Next in the sequence are rocks containing kaolinite, a mineral formed by water percolating through soil. The next layer up contains spots where the mineral olivine has been altered to carbonate—an aqueous reaction that, on Earth, is known to provide chemical energy for bacterial colonies. The upper layers contain sulfate minerals, another sign of a watery, potentially life-sustaining environment.\n\nUnderstanding the relative timing of these environments is critical, Mustard says. They occurred around the transition between the Noachian and Hesperian epochs—a time of profound environmental change on Mars.\n\n“We know that these environments existed near this major pivot point in Mars history, and in mapping their context we know what came first, what came next and what came last,” Mustard said. “So now if we’re able to go there with a rover, we can sample rock on either side of that pivot point, which could help us understand the changes that occurred at that time, and test different hypotheses for the possibility of past life.”\n\nAnd finding signs of past life is the primary mission of the Mars2020 rover. NASA has held three workshops in which scientists debated the merits of various landing targets for the rover. Mustard and Bramble have led the charge for Northeast Syrtis, which has come out near the top of the list at each workshop. Last February, NASA announced that the site is one of the final three under consideration.\n\nMustard and Bramble hope this latest work might inform NASA’s decision, and ultimately help in planning the Mars2020 mission.\n\n���As we turn our eyes to the next target for in situ exploration on the martian surface,” the researchers conclude, “no location offers better access of the gamut of geological processes active at Mars than Northeast Syrtis Major.”\n\nMore information: Michael S. Bramble et al, The geological history of Northeast Syrtis Major, Mars, Icarus (2017). DOI: 10.1016/j.icarus.2017.03.030\n\nProvided by: Brown University", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9643414616584778}
+{"content": "Skip to content\n\nMany cells that cause psoriasis also cause atherosclerosis\n\nThis causes arteries to harden and become less flexible. Many cells that cause psoriasis also cause atherosclerosis. Researchers want to look at the relationship between cardiometabolic diseases and psoriasis. Inflammation plays a key role in the pathogenesis of a number of chronic inflammatory systemic diseases (CISDs), including psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus and Crohn’s disease, and also in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Activated inflammatory cells and pro-inflammatory cytokines contribute to the development of psoriatic lesions and play an important role in the breakdown of atherosclerotic plaques. Psoriasis and atherosclerosis also have similar histological characteristics involving T cells, macrophages and monocytes. Cardiovascular disease is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with psoriasis, which is associated with an increased cardiovascular risk profile compared with the general population. This causes arteries to harden and become less flexible. Many cells that cause psoriasis also cause atherosclerosis. Researchers want to look at the relationship between cardiometabolic diseases and psoriasis.\n\nMany cells that cause psoriasis also cause atherosclerosis 2Psoriasis, like other autoimmune diseases, causes the immune system to overreact to a perceived threat. Inflammation can take form in many ways, including reddened patches of skin on your body and psoriatic arthritis. Atherosclerosis is the buildup of a fatty substance called plaque, inside your artery walls. Psoriasis patients have also been found to have an increased risk of coronary heart disease, according to the British Journal of Dermatology. These patients also have an increased risk for MI, stroke, and death. Atherosclerosis — or hardening of the arteries — is the leading cause of heart attacks, stroke, and peripheral vascular disease. Plaque is a jumble of cholesterol, cells, and debris that creates a bump on the artery wall. Temporary blockages in an artery can also cause transient ischemic attacks (TIAs), which are warning signs of stroke; however, there is no brain injury.\n\nA number of conditions may trigger pustular psoriasis, including infection, pregnancy, certain drugs, and metal allergies. In psoriatic arthritis, cells in the joints also come under attack. Patients with psoriasis are much more likely to have hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis) and other blood vessel diseases than people without psoriasis. A number of conditions may trigger pustular psoriasis, including infection, pregnancy, certain drugs, and metal allergies. Helper T cells also release or stimulate the production of powerful immune factors called cytokines. The disease is estimated to affect 2-3 of the general population worldwide 1. In fact, atherosclerosis has a number of common pathogenic features with psoriasis. It is also envisaged that CD8+ T-cells are involved in the control of the Th1 polarization that is observed in psoriasis lesions, and that fluctuations in the severity of psoriasis, and even the spontaneous remissions that are common in guttate psoriasis, can be explained by changes in the balance between CD4+ and CD8+ effector and regulatory cell subsets 20.\n\nThe Heart-psoriasis Connection: What You Need To Know\n\nMany cells that cause psoriasis also cause atherosclerosis 3Hall’s dermatologist helped her understand that many of her health problems could be traced to one thing: inflammation. The immune cells also cause fluid to build up in the joints, which leads to swelling, he said. It turns out that inflammation might also be the culprit behind atherosclerosis, clogged arteries that can lead to heart attacks and strokes. Atherosclerosis (or arteriosclerotic vascular disease) is a condition where the arteries become narrowed and hardened due to an excessive build up of plaque around the artery wall. Atherosclerosis is caused by macrophage white blood cells and fat that accumulate in arteries – the white blood cells are originally sent by the body’s immune system to clean up LDL cholesterol pockets. Our article also explains how blood pressure is measured and how our bodies maintain it. An introduction to heart rate, a measurement of how many times a person’s heart beats per minute. Psoriasis causes skin cells to mature in less than a week. Generalized pustular psoriasis is also known as Von Zumbusch pustular psoriasis. Accutane is a less effective psoriasis treatment than Tegison, but can cause many of the same side effects, including nosebleeds, inflammation of the eyes and lips, bone spurs, hair loss, and birth defects. Patients with HIV also have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Thus, cardiovascular disease is an important potential co-morbidity for patients living with HIV. Many cells that cause psoriasis also cause atherosclerosis. The purpose of this study is to study the relationship between psoriasis and cardiometabolic diseases. Four hundred people die annually from psoriasis-related causes in the Unites States 1. It was also suggested that continuous separation of psoriatic scales caused the permanent loss of lipids which might affect serum lipid abnormalities 11, 12. The regulation of cellular cholesterol metabolism is already fully developed in the foetal life. Serum lipids levels were examined in many different groups of psoriatic patients in comparison to relevant healthy controls 9 11, 16, 18, 38 48. Psoriasis is a chronic skin condition characterized by thick, red, scaly plaques that itch and sometimes bleed, causing considerable discomfort and emotional stress for patients. Examining the data among the psoriasis patients by age and gender, we also found several interesting associations. It is important to emphasize that while our study showed an association between psoriasis, diabetes and atherosclerosis, we did not determine the cause of this association or why there was a higher risk of both conditions in women and certain age groups, added Dr. More topics.\n\n\nThese changes can cause low blood pressure and increased water excretion that can in some cases lead to severe dehydration. Many people with autoimmune hepatitis experience remission within two years of starting treatment. If you have it, your immune system attacks healthy cells in your skin and mouth, causing blisters and sores. Some people who have psoriasis also get a form of arthritis called psoriatic arthritis. Psoriasis results from an abnormal process in which new skin cells are made faster than old skin cells are cast off. Psoriasis is also associated with atherosclerosis, diabetes, and inflammatory bowel disease. These patients had an established diagnosis Psoriasis, and also had evidence of lipid abnormalities. The total number of patients seen at our Practice was 10079, Out of which 333 of them were diagnosed to have Psoriasis. Maintaining normal lipid levels would be an overall benefit to decrease the secondary risk factors for Atherosclerotic and Cardiovascular diseases. Psoriasis is known to cause an increase in the risk for Myocardial Infarction, which may be attributed to changes in the plasma lipid and lipoprotein composition in these patients. Psoriasis can also cause inflammation and destruction of the joints. In the course of their attack, the immune cells release a number of corrosive compounds that lead to irritation and inflammation. Compared to their male counterparts, women with psoriasis between the ages of 35 and 55 appeared to have the greatest risk of developing both diabetes and atherosclerosis.\n\nThere are lots of risk factors for developing heart disease, many of which can be avoided or minimised. It also places additional strain on the heart, with the potential to lead to a heart attack. High blood cholesterol: Cholesterol and triglycerides are types of fat that are vital to healthy cell function, but they can also block and narrow the blood vessels, leading to a heart attack or stroke. The health risks associated with smoking include atherosclerosis, an increased risk of blood clots, reduced oxygen in the blood, increased blood pressure and cholesterol, and heart disease. Psoriasis occurs when skin cells called keratinocytes turn over too rapidly.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7918041944503784}
+{"content": "Shanghai (AFP)\n\nThe Chinese navy and air force flexed their muscles in live-fire drills in seas adjacent to the Korean Peninsula, the defence ministry said, amid regional tensions over North Korea's pursuit of nuclear weaponry.\n\nThe \"large-scale\" exercises were being conducted in the seas and skies off China's east coast in the Yellow Sea and Bohai Gulf, and included the firing of dozens of missiles, a notice posted late Monday on the Ministry of Defence website said.\n\nNaval and air force assets including dozens of ships, more than 10 aircraft, submarines and an unspecified number of coastal defence personnel took part in the drills, which the ministry said were aimed at testing weapons and honing the military's abilities in conducting coastal assaults and intercepting air targets.\n\nThe ministry did not specify how long the drills were to last but a four-day shipping ban ending on Tuesday was issued for the area where the drills were held, according to notices by the military and local authorities.\n\nIt was not immediately clear whether the wargames were meant to send any sort of message.\n\nBut the announcement comes just days after China backed a US-drafted UN Security Council resolution passed on Saturday that significantly stiffened sanctions against North Korea for its pursuit of nuclear and missile weapons systems.\n\nIn the wake of the resolution's passing, China has reiterated its resolve to side with the international community in opposing North Korea's nuclear weaponisation and aggressive sabre-rattling.\n\n\nChina also has consistently railed against recurring US-South Korean wargames that are directed at deterring a North Korean attack, but which China blames for fanning regional tensions.\n\nNorth Korea vowed Monday that the tough new UN sanctions would not stop it from developing its nuclear arsenal, rejecting talks and angrily threatening retaliation against the United States.\n\nAgence France-Presse\n\n\n© 2017 AFP", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9237785339355469}
+{"content": "June 09, 2017\n\nAMSTERDAM/SYRIA, JUNE 9, 2017—Intensified fighting for control of the Syrian city of Raqqa has forced civilians to either stay in their homes and villages under heavy bombardment, or attempt to leave the city and risk their lives crossing active frontlines and minefields, the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said today.\n\n“Parents have to make an impossible decision,” said MSF emergency coordinator Puk Leenders. “Either they stay in Raqqa, subjecting their children to increased violence and airstrikes, or they take them over the frontline, knowing they will need to cross minefields and may be caught in crossfire.”\n\nEscaping Raqqa—known as the stronghold of the Islamic State (IS)—is fraught with difficulties. “People are punished if they try to flee, and generally manage to leave only by paying huge bribes,” said Leenders.\n\nMany of those leaving Raqqa are heading north in search of safety towards Ain Issa, Manbij, Mahmoudli and Tal Abyad, all within a 75 mile radius of the northern Syrian city. Some, however, have headed for ‘the Berm’—the border area between southern Syria and Jordan, almost 435 miles away, where humanitarian assistance is almost non-existent.\n\n“The road to Ain Issa was littered with mines,” said a 65-year-old man from Raqqa. “It took us two months to be able to leave Raqqa, but finally I left with five other families. On the way, I was injured in an airstrike, while two of the children stepped on landmines as we fled in the middle of the night, injuring them both, one of them seriously.”\n\nMany of the people fleeing Raqqa have been repeatedly displaced by six years of war, and are originally from places like Palmyra and Deir Hafer. Often their health is already poor as a result of barely functioning health services, a lack of humanitarian aid, ongoing war and closed borders, preventing them from leaving Syria. Already vulnerable, their journey out of Raqqa takes a heavy toll on their health, further exacerbated by poor living conditions in often makeshift camps.\n\nSome who have left Raqqa in recent weeks are staying in transit camps; others are camped out under the shade of trees on the outskirts of towns such as Manbij, Tal Abyad and Tabqa.\n\n“Driving through these areas, you see tents and people haphazardly scattered all over the place, with the bare minimum for survival,” said Leenders. “Most people that we see are farmers, therefore most of them either leave with their livelihood, like sheep and some belongings, or they leave with nothing aside from the clothes they are wearing,” Leenders added.\n\nMSF operates clinics in camps for displaced people and works in a number of hospitals in the area in and around Raqqa Governorate, including Manbij, Tal Abyad and Kobane/Ayn Al Arab. Teams provide emergency medical care to people fleeing Raqqa and elsewhere, as well as vaccinations for children to protect them against preventable diseases and reduce the risk of disease outbreaks. Over the past week, MSF teams have vaccinated 1,070 children under the age of five, many of whom had never been vaccinated.\n\n“Most of the people we see are suffering from acute watery diarrhea, respiratory infections and psychological complaints due to the loss of loved ones, exposure to traumatic events, and the fear of being killed,” said Leenders.\n\nMSF is also setting up medical stabilization units close to the frontlines to improve the chances of survival for people injured in fighting, and to refer them to MSF-supported hospitals where trauma care and surgery are available.\n\nMSF calls on all warring parties and their allies to ensure that civilians in Raqqa are protected, and that those who flee the city are able to reach safer areas without endangering their lives. MSF calls on the countries surrounding Syria to facilitate humanitarian aid to enter Syria, and calls for humanitarian demining activities to be carried out in the north of the country. MSF also urges international aid organizations to step up the provision of humanitarian assistance to people fleeing Raqqa.\n\nRelated News & Publications", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.532764732837677}
+{"content": "Source: F4WOnline\n\n\n\n- We had been talking about WWE planning a big summer angle, similar to the Nexus and CM Punk \"pipebomb\" angles of the past few years. The CM Punk heel turn on RAW 1000 was that long-planned angle.\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9043044447898865}
+{"content": "Tuesday, November 29, 2016\n\nOn Physics Envy\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThursday, November 24, 2016\n\nFlexible measures and meta-analyses: The case of statistical learning\n\n\n\n\n\n\n- Comparison of accuracy in the scrambled block to the preceding block\n- The increase in accuracy across the sequential blocks\n- The increase in reaction times across the sequential blocks.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nWednesday, September 21, 2016\n\nSome thoughts on methodological terrorism\n\nYesterday, I woke up to a shitstorm on Twitter, caused by an editorial-in-press by social psychologist Susan Fiske (who wrote my undergraduate Social Psych course textbook). The full text of the editorial, along with a superb commentary from Andrew Gelman, can be found here. This editorial, which launches an attack against so-called methodological terrorists who have the audacity to criticise their colleagues in public, has already inspired blog posts such as this one by Sam Schwarzkopf and this one which broke the time-space continuum by Dorothy Bishop\n\nHowever, I would like to write about about one aspect of Susan Fiske’s commentary, which also emerged in a subsequent discussion with her at the congress of the German Society for Psychology (which, alas, I followed only on twitter). In the editorial Fiske states that psychological scientists at all stages of their career are being bullied; she seems especially worried about graduate students who are leaving academia. In the subsequent discussion, as cited by Malte Elson, she specifies that >30 graduate students wrote to her, in fear of cyberbullies.*\n\nBeing an early career researcher myself, I can try to imagine myself in a position where I would be scared of “methodological terrorists”. I can’t speak for all ECRs, but for what it’s worth, I don’t see any reason to stifle public debate. Of course, there is internet harassment which is completely inexcusable and should be punished (as covered by John Oliver in this video). But I have never seen, nor heard of, a scientific debate which dropped to the level of violence, rape or death threats.\n\nSo, what is the worst thing that can happen in academia? Someone finds a mistake in your work (or thinks they have found a mistake), and makes it public, either through the internet (twitter, blog), a peer-reviewed paper, or by screaming it out at an international conference after your talk. Of course, on a personal level, it is preferable that before or instead of making it public, the critic approaches you privately. On the other hand, the critic is not obliged to do this – as others build on your work, it is only fair that the public should be informed about a potential mistake. It is therefore, in practice, up to the critic to decide whether they will approach you first, or whether they think that a public approach would be more effective in getting an error fixed. Similarly, it would be nice of the critic to adopt a kind, constructive tone. It would probably make the experience more pleasant (or less unpleasant) for both parties, and be more effective in convincing the person who is criticised to think about the criticiser’s point and to decide rationally whether or not this is a valid point. But again, the critic is not obliged to be nice – someone who stands up at a conference to publicly destroy an early career researcher’s work is an a-hole, but not a criminal. (Though I can even imagine scenarios where such behaviour would be justified, for example, if the criticised researcher has been unresponsive to private expressions of concern about this work.)\n\nAs an early career researcher, it can be very daunting to face an audience of potential critics. It is even worse if someone accuses you of having done something wrong (whether it’s a methodological shortcoming of your experiment, or a possibly intentional error in your analysis script). I have received some criticism throughout my five-year academic career; some of it was not fair, though most of it was (even though I would sometimes deny it, in the initial stages). Furthermore, there are cultural differences in how researchers express their concern with some aspect of somebody’s work: in English-speaking countries (Australia, UK, US), much softer words seem to be used for criticising than in many mainland European countries (Italy, Germany). When I spent six months during my PhD in Germany, I was shocked at some of the conversations I had overheard between other PhD students and their supervisors – being used to the Australian style of conversation it seemed to me that German supervisors could be straight-out mean. Someone who is used to being told about a mistake with the phrase: “This is good, but you might want to consider…” is likely to be shocked and offended if they go to an international conference and someone tells them straight out: “This is wrong.” This could lead to some people feeling personally attacked due to what is more or less a cultural misunderstanding.\n\nIn any event, it is inevitable that one makes mistakes from time to time, and that someone finds something to criticise about your work. Indeed, this is how science progresses. We make mistakes, and we learn from them. We learn from others’ mistakes. Learning is what science is all about. Someone who doesn’t want to learn cannot be a scientist. And if nobody ever tells you that you made a mistake, you cannot learn from it. Yes, criticism stings, and some people are more sensitive than others. However, responding to criticism in a constructive way, and being aware of potential cultural differences in how criticism is conveyed, is part of the job description of an academic. Somebody who reacts explosively or defensively to criticism cannot be a scientist just like someone who is afraid of water cannot be an Olympic swimmer.\n\nIn response to this, Daniël Lakens wrote, in a series of tweets (I can’t phrase it better): “100+ students told me they think of quitting because science is no longer about science. [… They are the] ones you want to stay in science, because they are not afraid, they know what to do, they just doubt if a career in science is worth it.”\n\nMonday, June 27, 2016\n\n\n\n\n\nWhy is it important to publish failures to replicate?\n\n\nOur study\n\n\n\n\nWell, here is what happened:\n\nSubmission 1: Relatively high-impact journal for cognitive psychology\n\n\n\n\n\nSubmission 2: Very high-impact psychology journal\n\n\nWrong, on all points.\n\n\n\n\n\nNext step: Open-access journal\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThursday, June 16, 2016\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSaturday, May 21, 2016\n\nWhat would the ideal research world look like?\n\nRecently, I was asked: “What made you interested in research methods?” I’m afraid I didn’t give a good answer, but instead started complaining about my eight-times failure to replicate that nobody wants to publish. I have been thinking about this question some more, and realised that my interest in research methods and good science is driven by predominantly selfish reasons. This gave me the idea to write a blog post: I think it is important to realise that striving towards good science is, in the long run, beneficial to a researcher. So let’s ignore the “how” for the time being (there are already many articles and blog posts on this issue; see, for example, entries for an essay contest by The Winnower) – let’s focus on the “why”.\n\nThe world as it should be\nLet’s imagine the research world as it should (or could) be. Presumably, we all went into research because we wanted to learn more about the world – and we wanted to actively contribute to discovering new knowledge. Imagine that we live in a world where we can trust the existing literature. Theories are based on experiments that are sound and replicable. The job of a researcher is to keep up to date on this literature, find gaps, and design experiments that can fill these gaps, thus providing a more complete picture of the phenomenon they are studying.\n\nThe world as it is\nThe research world as it is provides two sources of frustrations (at least, for me): (1) Playing Russian Roulette when it comes to conducting experiments, and (2) sifting through a literature which consists of an unknown ratio of manure to pearls, and trying to find the pearls.\n\nRussian Roulette\nI have conducted numerous experiments during my PhD and post-doc so far, and a majority of them “didn’t work”. By “didn’t work”, I mean they showed non-significant p-values when I expected an effect, showed different results from published experiments (again, my eight-times failure to replicate), and occasionally, they were just not designed very well and I would get floor/ceiling effects. I attributed this to my own lack of experience and competence. I looked to my colleagues had many published experiments, and considered alternative career paths. In the last year of my PhD, I came to a realisation: even professors have the same problem.\n\nIn the research world as it is, a researcher may come up with an idea for an experiment. It can be a great idea, based on a careful evaluation of theories and models. The experiment can be well-designed and neat, providing a pertinent test of the researcher’s hypothesis. Then the data is collected and analysed – and it is discovered that the experiment “didn’t work”. Shoulders are shrugged – the researcher moves on. Occasionally, one experiment will “work” and can be published.\n\nHow is it possible, I asked myself, that so much good research goes to waste, just because an experiment “didn’t work”? Is it really necessary to completely discard a promising question or theory, just because a first attempt at getting an answer “didn’t work”? How many labs conduct experiments that “don’t work”, not knowing that other labs have already tried and failed with the same approach? These are, as of now, rhetorical questions, but I firmly believe that learning more about research methods and how these can be used to produce sound and efficient experiments can answer them.\n\nSifting through manure\nSome theories are intuitively appealing, apparently elegant, and elicit a lot of enthusiasm with a lot of people. New PhD students want to “do something with this theory”, and try to do follow-up studies, only to find that their follow-up experiments “don’t work”, replications of the experiments that support the theory “don’t work”, and the theory doesn’t even make sense when you really think about it. *\n\nScientists stand on the shoulders of giants. Science cannot be done without relying on existing knowledge at least to some extent. In an ideal world, our experiments and theories should build on previous work. However, I often get the feeling that I am building on manure instead of a sound foundation.\n\nSo, in order to try and understand whether I can trust an effect, I sift through the papers on it. I look for evidence of publication bias, dodgy-sounding post-hoc moderators or trimming decisions, statistical and logical errors (such as concluding that the difference between two groups is significant because one is significantly above chance while the other is not); check whether studies with larger sample sizes tend to give negative results, while positive results are predominantly supported by studies with small samples. It’s a thankless job. I criticise and question the work of colleagues, who are often in senior positions and may well one day make decisions that affect my livelihood. At the same time, I lack the time to conduct experiments to test and develop my own ideas. But what else should I do? Close my eyes to these issues and just work on my own line of research? Spending less or no time scrutinising the existing literature would mean that I don’t know whether I am building my research agenda on pearls or manure. This would mean that I could waste months or years on a question that I should have known to be a dead end from the very beginning.\n\nSo, why am I interested in research methods? Because it will make research more efficient, for me personally. It is difficult to conduct a good study, but in the long run, it should be no more difficult than running a number of crappy studies and publishing the one that “worked”. It should also be much less frustrating, much more rewarding, and in the end, we will do what we (presumably) love: contribute to discovering new knowledge about how the world works.\n\n\n* This example is fictional. Any resemblance to real persons or events is purely coincidental.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.927261233329773}
+{"content": "Ten basic forms of fake news used by major media\n\ncnn logo\n\n\n\nThe ten basic forms are:\n\n* Direct lying about matters of fact.\n\n* Leaving out vital information.\n\n\n* Shutting down the truth after publishing it includes failing to follow up and investigate a story more deeply.\n\n* Not connecting dots between important pieces of data.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThese are all traditional forms and methods.\n\n\nIn the spring of 2009, the World Health Organization ( elevated authority beyond challenge) announced that Swine Flu was a level-6 pandemic its highest category of “danger.” In fact, there were only 20 confirmed cases at the time ( direct lying about “danger”). And W.H.O. quietly changed the definition of “level-6” so widespread death and damage were no longer required ( another aspect of direct lying).\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThis article appeared on Jon Rappoport’s blog.\n\nTrump’s election, how didn’t I see it coming\n\nDonald Trump\nIT’S NOW offficial, atleast it has been for the past few days. Many are still coming to terms with it. Trump emerged winner in the recently held US elections and it has been big news for most media houses since.\n\nA lot has been said about the candidature of the man Donald Trump and more will be said in the weeks and months to come. What is clear is that he has been unlike non before him, or even after, I suppose. We’ll leave that to the forces that shape the past and future.\n\nThe election of Trump took me by susprise even with the fact that I had hoped he would win. I think I can now change the tense to present.\n\nThe media did a good job of making the masses believe in the possibility of a Clinton win over Trump that is to blame for the present selective demonstrations across the United States. The media has a lot of soul searching to do if it is to regain the trust of the general public.\n\n\nPastor Namutebi Imelda\nPASTOR Imelda Namutebi of Liberty Worship Centre has pitched camp in Hoima town for the last three days in what will be a week long crusade that started 28 August and is to end on the 4th September. The stage is state-of-the-art with the latest lighting systems, public address system and ofcourse, the energetic, flombouyant well-dressed choir. A full package!\n\nTwo-thirds of #Hoima town is within audible range of the crusade grounds thanks to the world class address system.\n\nThis crusade is among the few crusades that are organised by Born-again Christian Churchs in Hoima. Most Churchs wait for their ‘flock’ to go to their Churchs. I don’t remember witnessing any other since the start of the year. It’s possible that some crusades might have escaped my radar and so went unnoticed so I leave room for an oversite in my observations. However, that’s not the point.\n\nMany are chosen, few are called\n\nYou see going by the Holy book most Christians subscribe to – The Holy Bible – Christians are called to be disciples of Christ and with that calling comes a responsibility of preach the word of God to others – to the world so to speak, to be missionaries.\n\nThere are numerous verses that further amplify this mission.\n\nAccording to the recently carried out national cesnsus, majority of Ugandans claim to be Christians of some form or another; Catholics, Anglicans, Born-agains, Pentecostals, you name it.\n\nWith this in mind, I often ask my self whether the fact that many #Ugandans claim to be christians is the sole and major reason why secular content – secular music, movies – are more in circulation that religious related content. One would have to look at the many radio and television stations and the secular programming they offer not to mention the many movies and other forms of entertainment.\n\nDon’t be naïve\n\nChristianity and true Christians in particular view matters in two forms; light or darkness, good or evil, right or wrong. There are two sides to a coin and no middle ground.\n\nIf one were pose a question to a random sample of people about how many times they pray or go or church or do anything religious; and then go throught their play list of songs, a big contrast lies therein.\n\nMost go to church on Sundays only if they are spiritual while some attend churh only on major religious days like Easter and Christmas.\n\nIn conclusion\n\nThe church has considerable ‘market share’ in Uganda. The recent gains in some religions only accounts for dedecutions in other religious groups but not expansion. The crusades are commendable but in their limited nature they are a tiny fraction of the efforts being made by the other side.\n\nUntil the other side can be out-matched in terms of out-reach, I don’t expect a major revival or awakening for that matter however with the knowledge that #Jesus turned bread into wine, multiplied five fish and two loaves to feed thousands, anything is possible to they that believe.\n\n\nRoad accidents\n\nTraffic officers at an accident scene\n\nAboard a passenger bus, we were awoken by squeecking of tyres and the smashing of glass. It was too short a time to hear the brakes. From all indications, the bus had rammed into the Toyota vehicle infront of us. There were no casualities except for deformed hind of the Toyota – the scratched body and a hind windscreen that lay in fragments with cracks radiating from the site of impact.\n\nOver 97% of freight cargo and 99% of passenger traffic uses road according to this article. Uganda is only second to Ethiopia in registering the highest number of road accidents. Further, Uganda also seems to be well respected by it’s peers when it comes to alcohol consumption. Ugandans ‘tank’ quiet a lot.\n\nIt is this state of affairs that has resulted in the authoring of numerous reports decrying the frequency and mortality of accidents on Ugandan roads.\n\nWhat went wrong\n\nThis begs the question: ‘what went wrong’ on Ugandan roads for them to be in such a state of quagmire? Well, quiet a number of reasons have been fronted ranging from over-speeding, sharp corners, blind spots, poor mechanical condtition of vehicles, driving-school-skipping drivers, lacsity in implimentation of traffic laws, e.t.c.\n\nThe motives of the driver as well as the passenger have eluded the conversation with the driver getting all the blame. This is were the rubber meets the road.\n\nThe drivers and Passengers alike seem to use the opportunity to think abou the many challenges and problems they face in their daily lives that they are nearly in a state of sleep and are only awakened by the sound of other vehicles driving past them, humps and increasingly the sound of squeecking of tyres and breaks. The latter more often that not results into casualities as it’s normally an acciddent.\n\nNothing is what it seems\n\nUgandan’s have been known for their warmth at heart and hospitable, a trait that has been key in promoting Uganda’s attractiveness to the world.\nSmiles curve on faces almost automatically at the site of a visitor.\n\nThis sends the mind into a series of calculations as per the expences on food and other bills to ensure a comfortable visitor, and ofcourse when the visitor is leaving.\n\nSome households prefer to receive a declaration of intent to pay a visit in advance for proper preparations.\n\nThe Bottom line\n\nTragic incidences such as fatal road accidents evoke a lot of emotional outpour and induce a need to protect dear life for both pedestrians, motorlists and motorcyclists. The motives of both driver and passenger are quiet different and need to be fully understood without which all labour in vain. The current interventions can only postpone the inevitable but will not stop offer durable solutions to accidents on Uganda’s roads.\n\nAre states here to stay? If they do, there’s little time left.\n\nCan states command the loyalty of their inhabitants? This is a question many states have struggled to answer both in the developing and developed world. I use this as a curtain raiser to the relevance or irrelevance of the concept of a state or states for that matter.\n\nThe genesis of modern day states can be traced back thousand of years to the birth of modern civilisation. A time when human beings gathered into communities as an insurance of ‘staying alive’ in a dangerous and precarious world arounf them at the time. Gradually these communities grew larger and eclipsed larger and ever larger expanses of territory as discoveries were made, a renaisence that made life easier.\n\nIn that newly found bubble of safety and security, humans were now masters of their own destinies in a way, nologer exposed to the vagaries of the laws of the wild. With more advances in science, this was further stratified.\n\nBut with such pockets of civilisations came the need to ensure the peaceful co-existance and respect of interests of individual civilisations. The world around humans has always mirrored the inner desires, values and one can say the flaws within the human design. As ways of governing become more structured with time, greed for power and authority took over as a few benefactors of the status quo wanted to strengthen their hold on the various pockets of civilisation under their dominance.\n\nFast forward to the modern 21st century, not much seems to have changed over the milleniars- a few have always sought dominance. Many theories and explanations as well as studies have been carried out to explain the modern status quo as it is but they are no different from what was the case milleniar ago. We’ve only found ever more complex terms to explain the obvious.\n\nWith that back drop, I wonder whether the modus operandi needs a complete overwhale. Papers in support and against it have been instituted and published in equal volumes filling shelves of libraries around the world. However, it all boils down to one question: Are modern states still relevant?\n\nLooking at the pockets of unrest and disenfranchisement that have erupted arounf the world in the form of uprisings like the so called Arab spring, wars between nation states only for their inhabitants to suffer for ‘interests’ that are secret and only understood by the elite of those establishments. It’s pathetic to say the least.\n\nAs human society has advanced, pockets of civilisation have gradually lost their appeal and have found ever limited space to encourage their existence and that has come with it’s own benefits like freedom of travel, habiting other parts of the world as spelt out by the human rights upheld by all member states of the United Nations. I approve of some and disapprove of others but that for another day. Because of this wave of globalisation that has and is taking shape, more and more pockets of nations dotted along side each other as soon to loose their relevance and embrace the widely upheld values of humanity.\n\nJust like all things in life, there is an opposite equal to this trend of civilisation. A few majority will now make the decisions on behalf of abillion minority and this is nothing to be embraced. It’s evident in the many inequalities among the world population as evident in the rising income inequality between the world’s poor and rich. Certainly, many other less publicised inequality do exist.\n\nIt appears that is the price modern civilisation has to pay to be released from the control of the various pockets of existence and embrace the little more freer global civilisation with even more restrictions. The tide is high, it’s pointless to resist.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6779236793518066}
+{"content": "Being fair in a greedy world\n\nWhat does being fair mean to you? To me it means that whatever I do I try to treat others and the world around me in a fair way, that is I honour everything and respect it. This means that I buy food and clothes that are fair traded whenever possible. This is getting easier to do as more people become aware of fair trading. I like to know that what I buy has been collected or made in a good way and that those collecting or making are paid a fair wage for their work and that the conditions that they work in are also fair and there is respect for what they do.\n\nSomeone asked on a forum a while back if spirituality made me more politically aware or was it politics that made me more spiritual. For me, the two are very much intertwined. If we want people to have a decent way of living with food, clothes and a roof over their heads then we have to help them to acquire those things. Being greedy and wanting cheap clothes and more money to spend or waste on things we don’t need, does not go with a spiritual path.\n\nWe have seen the result of greed this week when safety regulations were ignored and many lost their lives working in slave like conditions. Is this what we want to see in our world?  You can help to change these kind of things by voting with your feet. Do not buy goods that are not fair traded. I have some trousers bought at least 10 years ago that were made by a fair trade system in India where the women work in light airy conditions and in small groups. These trousers cost me more money that cheap jeans from you-know-who but they are still in good condition and have worn well even after repeated washings and should last me for a few more years. To me it was money well spent and someone else got a fair wage for making them. We live in a throw-away world where items only last for a couple of years before they wear out or break down. What happened to the little shop where repairs were done? And what happens to the items we throw away? How can you help? How can we make factory owners become less greedy and more aware of fairness and good working conditions?\n\nWhat does this have to do with druidry? Part of my druidry is seeing the interconnection between all things so think on this and how things are connected and that what we do has an impact on others and on our planet. Be the change you want to see in the world and act now!\n\n\nStaying hopeful in a challenging world\n\nI hear so many people say that they have no hope left, that there is no light at the end of the tunnel. But we need to have hope and see that there are positive things in our lives and that our lives can get better. This is hard for many especially after the kind of week that we have had. Many explosions occurred in several countries and two large earthquakes in others.\n\nBut if you look and listen carefully you can also see that there is hope and that better things are happening. Much of the ‘bad’stuff is a way of cleansing, clearing out and getting ready for the new. Look at how nature works. In the autumn she gets rid of things she no longer needs like leaves, and plants die down ready to sleep during the winter. But when spring comes, they appear again and sprout new leaves and bring flowers too. Look for the positive things that are going on, in nature, around you, in your country and in the world. There are many bright and hopeful new beginnings occurring everywhere but you need to look.\n\nOne day last week I noticed that my peony had suddenly grown about 8 inches almost overnight and when looking around the spare piece of ground at the back of my garden I found a cluster of beautiful yellow flowers. A sign of hope like the buds on the trees. What are your signs of hope?\n\n\nInjustice and what it means to you\n\nSo what is injustice? According to Wikipedia injustice means gross unfairness. It also refers to the absence or opposite of justice. Most people will have suffered from injustice at some point in their lives. It is something that has gone on for thousands of years and we never seem to learn from past mistakes.\n\nRecently while doing some work on something that had originally been done many years ago, it brought to mind various examples of what I felt was injustice in my life. Looking back I can see how hard it was to deal with and at times it was put at the back of my mind but there were also times when I thought about it and decided to forgive those who had caused the injustice. It is not a good idea to continue resenting unfairness; you have to let it go and forgive, but learn from it and try to make sure that it does not happen again. As spirit beings in a human body we have all the ‘bad’ feelings that are part of human nature but we need to rise above these and learn how to work together for a fairer world, to share, to help others and to discuss our needs openly so that others can offer their help and also do this in return.\n\nHowever much injustice has hurt you, in order to move on you have to accept and forgive and work to  make this world a better place for all of us. There are some countries in the world that are working on being a fairer place and we should look to them and see how they are doing this. Please let me know your thoughts on injustice and how you deal with it.\n\nI’ll get off my soapbox now and find a photo that gives us hope. Think of the trees, they appear to die and the leaves wither, but in the spring they are renewed.springandhope\n\nRespect for others\n\nI nearly called this blog tolerating others but felt that respect was a better word. But how often do we tolerate what others do and are there times when we should not be tolerating these things but doing something about them. On the other hand, druidry teaches respect for others and what they do.\n\nWe are all on some kind of path whether we believe in one god or many gods or no god. Maybe some believe in materialism or whatever gives them a strong path in life. So we should respect their path whatever it is. But as I said in the previous paragraph, are there times when we should not respect or tolerate the doings of others? Are there times when we should intervene or say something to someone who can intervene? I am thinking here of people doing things which are cruel to others or to animals or are disrespectful? Do we let these things pass by because we think that those who do these things have to learn themselves that it is wrong or disrespectful?\n\nI would love to hear your thoughts on this? The theme came to my mind because of events here in the UK this week which were very painful for many and cost lives.\n\nBut on a more cheerful note, I have a photo to show that Spring really is on its way. My rose bush has new leaves and it definitely feels warmer this morning..", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5446716547012329}
+{"content": "GoPro and Premiere workflow: Edit GoPro Hero4 4K H.264 MP4 in Premiere\n\nSummary: Encounter troubles while importing GoPro Hero4 4K files to Premiere? This article will offer you a simple way to edit GoPro Hero 4 4K H.264 MP4 in Premiere freely.\n\nAs we know, GoPro Hero4 can record video in 4K resolution with H.264 codec, .mp4 file format, which will attract a lot of  filmmakers. However, it’s painful experience to play and edit GoPro Hero4 H.264 files in Adobe Premiere Pro or other NLEs.\n\n\"I recorded some videos via GoPro Hero4 and imported to Premiere for further editing. However, I only got audio information, no videos in Premiere timeline. What's the issue? How can I edit GoPro Hero4 4K H.264 MP4 videos in Premiere freely?\"\n\nAdobe Premiere Pro can’t ingest GoPro Hero4 footage correctly. Based on our multiple testing, there are some clues we find: Gopro Hero 4 records MP4 videos, but it seems that Adobe Premiere Pro(including the recent Premier Pro CS6, CC7) does not like the way. The file type is a compressed output format, but not ideal for editing in NLE system. What’ more, Adobe PP CS6, CC can handle (usually) 4K files without much problem, but it is extremely hardware intensive. To make GoPro Hero4 4K clips editable in Premiere, a simple workaround is to encode H.264 MP4 to Premiere Pro natively supported formats (MPG/WMV/MOV with 1080p).\n\nBrorsoft Video Converter for Mac is what you need to convert videos. With it, users can fast transcode GoPro Hero files to Premiere Pro as well as FCP, iMovie, Avid Media Composer, After Effects and more editing programs. If you are a PC user, the Brorsoft Video Converter Windows version is designed for you.\n\nHow to Open GoPro Hero4 4K H.264 MP4 in Premiere\n\nStep 1. Install and launch the Video Converter you downloaded just now, and then click \"Add Files\" button to import GoPro Hero4 4K files to app. (You also can drag&drop files to program window list directly.)\n\nStep 2. Click the format bar to select output format-Adobe Premiere/Sony Vegas > MPEG-2 (*.mpg) for Premiere editing easily.\n\nTip: Go to \"Settings\" page to adjust parameters including Video Size, Video&Audio codec, Video&Audio bitrate, Frame Rate and so on.\n\nStep 3. Tap the \"Convert\" button to start GoPro Hero4 4K H.264 to Premiere. When the conversion is finished, you can click \"Open\" button to get the generated MPG files effortlessly. Launch Premiere Pro on your Mac, choose \"File > Import to load converted H.264 files to Adobe Premiere Pro for further editing.\n\nRead More:\n\nEdit Canon XC10 MXF videos in FCP freely\nHow to Edit Sony 60P videos in FCP 7/X\nImporting MOV videos into Windows Movie Maker\nPlay MOV files on Samsung Galaxy S6\nImport iPhone Videos to Premiere for Editing", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9216189980506897}
+{"content": "\n\nKevin F. McCarthy, Elizabeth Heneghan Ondaatje\n\n\n\nThese limits are particularly pronounced with regard to the newest and most dynamic component of the arts world.\nThe media arts differ from the more traditional performing, visual, and literary arts in several respects. First, the lack the long history, well-established traditions, and external visibility of other art forms. Second, they place a premium on innovation and experimentation. Third, their creation and disrtibution rely to a much greater extent on emerging information technologies. p.7.\nThese features of the media arts make them particularly worthy of study. p.7.\nThe media arts bring a different set of assets and liabilities to bear in dealing with these challenges. ..\nIf the media arts are to build on their special assets in the changing environment of the future, they will need to address these liabilities. p.8.\n\nRecently, a new series of developments indicates that the arts world is shifting again. .. diversity of individuals who identify themselves as artists have been increasing. p.8.\n\nIn combination, these developments are reshaping the organization ecology of the arts world and blurring the traditional distinctions among sectors, disciplines, and media. Instead of a sharp demarcation between a nonprofit sector producing mass entertainment, the arts world appear to be increasingly divided along the lines of small versus large organizations and those that cater to broad markets versus niche markets.\n\nTechnology has played an important role in this process by spawning entirely newn art form as and reshaping how the arts are distributed. But these may only be the most obvious of technology’s effects on the arts. In addition, technology is also affecting the size and the character for the arts, how individuals experience the arts, the motivations and practices of artists, and even the social purposes of the arts. p.9.\n\nthose features of the media arts that identify them as a distinctive arts genre.Thus, the growing literature on the media arts discusses aesthetics, interest in social commentary and change, artistic styles, and techniques but contains very little empirical information on structural features. p.10.\n\nthe number of media artists has been increasing and their backgrounds have been becoming more diverse.\nFirst, the emergence of computer based work appears to have attracted a large number of new artists to the field. Second, declining costs of the technology used in the media arts have made work as a media artists more affordable. Third, the growth of university film schools and meida arts programs has provided training to a much greater number of potential media artists. Finally reduction of the traditional barriers to collaboration between the commercial and independent sectors has expanded the employment options of media artists.\n\nFirst, media artists often work alone or with groups put together for a specific project and thus may lack the institutional resources available to other types of artists. Second, the market for media arts work is often highly specialized and, given its rapidly changing nature, not well identified or established. Third, the distribution process itself appears to be changing. p.11.\n\n\nchanging patterns of consumer demand, increasing diversity of artistic forms and artists’ roles, the diffusion of new distribution technologies, increasing collaborations between the commercial and nonprofit arts sectors, and changing funding patterns. \\\n–> these studies argue that the arts in America are entering a new ear. p.1.\n\nThe key to developing strategies to meet these challenges is to understand the source and nature of the changes engendering them. we do not know how those forces operate…인용할 부분.\n\nThese gaps n our knowledge are particularly glaring with regard to the media arts. the media arts are both very new and particularly dynamic. p.8. Media Arts includes a diverse array of artistic work. They emcompass narrative, documentary, and experimental films; videos and digital product; and installation art that uses media and computer-generated and displayed art. p.2. 인용할 부분.\n\nMedia Arts가 다른 장르의 예술과 구분되는 점.\nFirst, Media Arts lack the long history, well-established traditions, and external visibility of other art forms. second, Media Arts has traditionally emphasized innovation and experimentation. this feature is reflected in the strong avant-garde or experimental tradition.\nThird, since their inception, Media Arts has relied on technology for their creation and distribution to a much greater extent than other art forms have. This close relationship between Media Arts and technology has spawned new art forms and distribution mechanisms within Media Arts and also, as Benjamin pointedd out, “transformation the nature of the art itself.” Understanding how the media arts respond to the challenges posed by the new arts environment may provide important insights into the future of the arts in America. 이부분 인용. 이 새로운 환경과 맞물려서 어떻게 분석할 수 있을지.p.3.\n\n현재까지 Media Arts에 대한 literature가 갖고있는 한계점Liabilities 4가지\n1. it is much more likely to focus on individual media arts disciplines, such as documentaries or internet art, than on the media arts as a distinctive genre.\n2. literature emphasizes the artistic and aesthetic aspects of the media arts rather than their organizational characteristics.\n3. there are few systematic empirical data on such features of the media arts as the size and characteristics of their audiences, the employment and background …\n4. the literature on the media arts might generally be described as fugitive in the sense that it is scattered cross a wide array of sources including newspapers, magazines, academic journals, exhibition catalogues, … that are difficult to find using standard bibliographic sources. 이 부분 중요하다. archivingn이 잘 되어 있지 않다.\n\n이 논문은 기존의 literature와 달리 structural characteristic, such as their audiences or how they are funded, marketed and distributed, .. 등에 초점을 맞춘다. p.3.\n\n이 논문의 analytical approach의 분류기준들.\n2 source of Information\n1) literature review\n2) interview and discussions with individuals\na central challenge for this analysis was to organize these various sources of information to draw a systematic picture of the media arts.\nwhich emphasize the aesthetic features of the media arts, this framework emphasizes their structural or organizational components. pp.4-5\n\n3 components of framework : types of Media Arts\nMedia Arts can be distinguished along at least three dimensions;\n1. disciplines\n2. the media tools they use\n3. the functions they perform (narrative / documentary / experimental)\n\nIdentify Market Sector\ncommercial / nonprofit / volunteer\n\nDistinguish structural components of Media Arts system\n1. audiences\n2. artists\n3. arts organizations\n4. funders\n\nthe process starts with the artists’ creation of the work and ends with the audience or user’s experience of the work. Between the artists and their audiences lies an array of organizations that present, record, collect, preserve, and transmit works or art. Taken together, all these entities make up the media arts system. p.6.\n\nMedia Arts, for example, are less traditional-bound and have cultivated innovation and experimentation both in arts creation and distribution. They are typically at the cutting edge of new information technologies-perhaps the major force in contemporary culture in what many have referred to as new information age.\n\nMedia Arts face a number of liabilities. As a result, the media arts often lack a clear identity and external visibility.\n\nThey need to address a series of organizational and policy issues. These issues include establishing a clearer identity as a distinctive art genre, increasing their visibility in the external world, and clarifying both their contributions to the public at large and their role in contemporary culture. p.7.\n\n1. Media Arts should recognize and leverage their special assets.\nMedia Arts have several assets that should position them well to adjust to these changes :a close connection with technologies that enable consumers to tailor participation to individual tastes; a tradition of experimentation and innovation, which has given rise to a diversity of artistic styles and perspectives that appeal to a correspondingly wide array of consumer, public, and research interests; and the specialized nature of the audiences for many of Media Arts(both commercial and noncommercial). p.8.\n\n2. Media Artists need to acknowledge and take advantage of new employment opportunities.\nincreasing demand for Media Arts content, increasing collaboration between Media Artists and a variety of commercial and research organizations… p.8.\n\n3. Media Artists need to develop and use their new distribution resources.\nThey rely on many intermediaries to fund, produce, screen, distribute, collect, preserve, and market their work. First Media Artists often work as individuals. A second problem for Media Artist has been getting their work reviewed and distributed. Experimental nature of much of Media Arts can compound this problem because both critic and funders may be slow to accept new work and/or lack the expertise to evaluate and present it. New distribution technologies… they could provide Media Artists expand distribution opportunities and access to specialized niche markets. p.9.\n\n4. Media Artists need to address an increasing range of policy issues.\n\n5. Arts organizations should explore new financing strategies.\nThis period of expansion, however, appears to have ended. AS a result, art organizations have attempted to increase their earned revenues and to compete for increasingly targeted and limited government, foundation, and corporate funding. p.9.\n\n\n\nChapter2는 새로운 technology가 how to reshape the art world. in terms of audience / artist / organization / funding system. 결국 전반적인 art system을 바꿀 것이라고 이야기 한다.\n\nafter WW2, the arts world was sharply divided into nonprofit and commercial sectors… the nonprofit picture changed dramatically during the next 30 years as support, initially from major foundations and later from goventment and the private sector. p.11.\nAt the same time, new technologies spawned new art disciplines and reshaped traditional art genres. Continued technological advances increased the sophisticated and range of products and the complexity of means through which they were delivered. p.12.\n\nThe audiences who consume the arts\nThe artists who produce the arts\nThe various organizations that screen, distribute, collect, preserve, and market the arts\nThe funders who finance the arts.\n\npublic’s inclination to participate in the arts as well as what they consume and how. 관객이 적극적으로 예술 작품에 참여하려고 하는 경향이 강해진다. 점점더. 미디어 아트는 이 같은 요구에 부응하기 좋은 genre이다. 나아가서 이제 대중은 자신의 taste를 강화해서 보다 더 personalize된 여가를 원하게 되었다. p.12.\n\nAmerican’s desire to personalize their leisure activities, including their arts participation, has been cited as a reason why attendance at art museums has enjoyed larger growth than attending at the live performances.\nthe development of a variety of niche and specialized markets as individuals are increasingly able to tailor their consumptions to their own taste. p.13.\n\nart world delivery system : the intermediaries.\ncritics / organizations that sponsor, present, produce, collect and preserve art. / distributors / 은 보다 더 복잡해 지고 있다. 이전 시기에는 commercial / nonprofit으로 양분되었는데 이제는 두 기관은 구분이 점점 더 힘들어지고 있다. 이렇게 바뀌는 데 technology의 개발이 아주 큰 역할을 한다. especially digital technology.\n\nHowever, a combination of new financial pressure and developing distribution opportunities appears to be changing these practices. p.16.\nAs a result, the number of organizations in the commercial sector has been shrinking as their average size increases. p.17.///\nIn combination, these various developments are reshaping the organizations of the art world. …\nThe organizational ecology of the arts environment is becoming more complex. The distinction between the commercial and nonprofit sectors is becoming blurred. Rather than being viewed as separate and distinct, these sectors are increasingly viewed ans complementary components of a complex arts and entertainment systme in which ideas, functions, and resources. Moreover, increasing attention is being given to the …\nSimilarly, artistic disciplines are no longer as distinctive as they have been in the past because they incorporate multiple disciplines and adopt a variety of media in their performance and presentations.\n\nThis is particularly true of media arts, where the distinction among film, video, and digital art have made individual medium less important. Instead distinctions by size and functions have become more important.\n\ntechnology has played a major tole in this ongoing transformation. Concomitantly, technology is changing the behavior of the organizations that produce, present, distribute, market and collect art by expanding both the size and the geographic spread of the arts and entertainment market, the costs and benefits of success and failure, and the business models upon which their operations are based.\n\nUnderstanding the relationship between art and technology is important because of the rapid pace of technological change and the increasing role of technology in the arts. technology has spawned entirely new art forms, as the history of the media arts attests. p.20.\n\nSimilarly, technology has played a major role in shaping how the arts are distributed.\nThese effects are manifested in the sized and the character of the audience for the arts, in how individuals experience them. By facilitating the reproducibility of the arts, for example, technology has made the arts accessible to mass audiences in ways that were difficult or even impossible before such technological advances as film and video. p.20.\n\ncomtemporary artists have not only explored the relationship among these concepts and how they shape our experience but also their personal reaction to them. These new ways of perceiving reality and the reactions of artists to them have been central themes for most of the major art movements of the 20th century. p.21.\n\nThe exact shape of the arts world in the future is, of course, unclear. But it seems certain that technological developments will continue to play a central role in shaping that future. Technology will have implications both for the various components of the arts environment and for the nature of art itself. Since the media arts have been the most aggressive in their use of technology, they provide a window into that future. p.22.\n\n\n\nparsing Media Arts is central challenges facing it. there is no common standard for distinguishing among Media Arts.\n\n지금까지 Media Arts에 대한 literature가 사용해 왔던 분류방식.\n1. technological approaches : sort Media Arts by the media used and emphasize the connections between changes in technology and the artistic practices using those technologies. (Lunenfeld, 2000 / von Uchtrup, 1999)\n2. functional approaches : focus on the purposes of the work and how artistic practices within a functional tradition have changed. (Rees,1999 / Bruzzi, 2000)\n3. Subdisciplinary approaches : tend to focus more on the aesthetic of the art and the ways in which those styles are represented in the works of specific artists. (Rush, 2001 / Hanhardt, 2000) p.23.\n\nfirst to adopt new technologies and later to adapt them for a variety of artistic purposes.These early photographic studies were a precursor of the avant-garde or experimental tradition that has been present ever since in all forms of Media Arts. p.24.\n\n내용으로 3개로 분류.\n크게 보면 film –> video –> digital media로 나뉜다. 따라서 나는 screen-based 연구를 해 보고자 한다.\nnarrative / documentary / experimental : 최근에는 이게 모두 합쳐지는 경향. 예전에는 분리되어 있었음. p.24.\n\n2 separate disciplinary lines ; narrative / experimental work.\ninnovations in technology and artistic techniques were adopted in both narrative and experimental films.\n\nvideo, the second component of Media Arts, becaeme available several decades after television was first demonstrated and broadcast. The high cost of early video equipment limited its adoption. .. 백남준, fluxus movement …\nThis work took a number of different forms. 1. social action provided a foundation for the growth of the documentary tradition within Media Arts. 2. more experimental component pursued a new kind of media ecology by creating video environments. 3. exploring the essential properties of the new medium.\n\nThe pioneers in the film medium, they believed that the production and distribution of films were dominated by establishment institutions both in the news media and the Hollywood studio system. The movement has subsequently spawned a reinvigorated tradition of independent narrative and documentary work. p.26.\ndocumentary movement는 대략 세대의 움직임으로 나뉘어진다.\n1. guerrilla television\n2. community video\n3. a new generation of minority and radical filmmakers p.27.\n\nthe computer and the internet의 등장.\nnot until 1980s that the computer began to be adopted on a significant scale for artistic purpose. Since 1980s, not only has the computer been used for the traditional narrative, documentary, and experimental functions that are now an integral part of Media Arts tradition, it has also spawned such new disciplines as interactive art and web art. p.27.\n\nthe traditional distinctions among narrative, documentary, and experimental work remain important. .. moreover, the growth and acceptance of experimental and conceptual work has increased, especially with the emergence of installation art.p.28.\nThe ability if digital technologies to facilitate multimedia approaches by incorporating film, video, audio, text, and graphics has blurred traditional media-based distinctions. Thus, the traditional media-based distinctions among Media Arts are less salient now than they were prior to the advent of Media Arts… Multimedia .. that combines and mixes the different media of text, photography, video, graphics, sound as creating a new communication standard.\nThis work functions in much the same fashion as hypertext links that allow readers to alter the traditional front-to-back sequence of the written text. .. but also gives the viewer more control over the experience. p.28.\n\nthe possibilities for interactivity. 이것이 아주 새로운 부분.\nThe interaction between the user and the artwork guides the artistic creation. .. in all of those examples, without a user to interact with the artists’ program there is no art. In essence, these new forms of media arts give substance to Duchamp’s dictum that the viewer completes the work of art.p.29.\n\nsorting media arts by the medium used in creating the art is less useful to understanding the organizational structure of the media arts than the purpose or function of the artwork. In the last third of the 20th century, various cultural and technological development have rendered meaningless one of the key concepts of modern art-that of the medium. Monovich는 더 이상 매체를 기준으로 작업을 분류하는 것이 invaild 하다고 주장했다.\nMoreover, the tremendous diversity of styles and subdisciplines that have arisen in the past decade makes discipline an unwieldly concept for organizing a discussion of Media Arts.\n\nMore visibility for Media Arts and Media Artists, more diversified and greater funding opportunities, a clearer recognition of the importance of Media Arts as a genre both economically and culturally, and a fuller, more integrated understanding of how their various components are related. p.31.\n\na spirit of experimentation and innovation has produced tremendous dynamism within Media Arts that is reflected in the diversity of art forms and artistic practices it has spawned. … Before the advent of digital art, Media Arts were dominated by film, video, and installation art using film or video. Work written since then has focused on computer-aided art. p.31.\n\n디지털 아트에 대한 literature들 은 두개로 분류 가능.\n1. the first category includes discussion of the aesthetic and critical reviews that focuses on profiles of individual artists and exhibitions, histories of the development of the different media and the artistic styles and techniques used by media artists, and their implications for Media Arts and the art world more generally.\n2. the second category includes a wide variety of volumes that provides practical guidance and manuals for individual media artists. p.31.\n\nClearly, more attention needs to be devoted to developing common standards for collecting systematic data about Media Arts. This effort will also require a common vacabulary for describing and classifying them.\n\n\n\ngaining access to wider audiences has been an ongoing objective for Media Arts. patterns of participation in the arts have been changing. art의 소비 행태가 변화하고 있다. 3가지 방식\n1. the arts face increasing competition for individual’s leisure time.\n2. the forms of individuals’ participation in the arts are changing as more people participate through the media or in a direct hands-on fashion.\n3. these changes are affecting not only how epople become involved in the arts but also which art they choose. p.33.\n\nThese trends are related to shifts in America’s leisure patterns and to technological developments, should be conducive to expanding audiences for Media Arts.\n개인화 tailored / individualized / 이러한 관객의 변화가 computer의 특성과 비슷하다. computer는 굉장히 personal device이다.\n\nAt the same time, improvements in reproduction and transmission technologies have made it easier for individuals to enjoy the kind of art they want, when they want, and where they want.\nThe computer + the internet 완전히 지형도를 바꾼다.\n\nSimilarly, the production and distribution of art using computer technology which the media arts have been quick to adopt-provide consumers with considerable flexibility in choosing the type of art they want to experience and how they have access to it.\nFinally, by allowing direct interchanges between artists and consumers as well as among consumers who might share an interst in particular forms of Media Arts, it provides a channel for exchanging information about new work.p.35.\n\nThe behavior of distribution is likely to be especially important in Media Arts for three reasons.\n1. given the tradition of experimentation and innovation, much Media Arts work may be viewed as more likely to appeal to specialized audiences.\n2. many, if not most Media Artists, are unaffiliated with established media or commercial organizations and thus must rely on critics and other intermediaries to be recognized and marketed.\n3. as Media Arts work and the number of Media Artists has proliferated, the probability of any individual work or artist getting recognized will increasingly depend upon how the work is marketed and distributed. p.35.\n\nmany of the Media Arts are relegated more to niche. .. this issue is underscored by the sharp distinction often drawn by Media Arts between commercial, i.e., studio, and independent narrative films…. Gilmore suggests that the key to the distinction between studio and independence of the work -not with its production budget or commercial success. p.36.\n\nIndeed, it appears that independent narrative works can be divided into those that cross into 1) the commercial sphere and those that are relegated to the network of 2)informal and independent distribution channels that has come to be called the “micromcinema” movements. alternative venues and cinemas. .. most narrative work receives very limited distribution and thus remains unseen or seen only in niche markets. p.37.\n\ndocumentary work has historically had a more difficult time appealing to broad-based audiences. air time / broadcasting 기회를 잡기가 힘들 이유 4\n1. many documentary artist focus on explicitly political themes designed to challenge the established political and social order. 그래서 기피대상이 된다.\n2. others have criticized documentary work as being of uneven production quality and in formats and lengths not suited for broadcast or theatrical showings.\n3. intensely personal and community-specific topics of documentary work may limit their appeal and broad-based audiences.\n4. whatever reasons, commercial and public broadcasting as well as film distributors appear increasingly reluctant to air documentary work in general.\n이런 this reluctance to air documentary work ..는 change 중이다. alternative channel들이 생기고 있다. cable channels.. etc.\n\nwithout broader distribution, including support for marketing through the internet and other new distribution channels, the market for documentary work will likely remain principally a specialized one. p.38.\n\n이 형태의 작업은 distribution 형태가 일정하지가 않다.\nGiven this situation, it may be unrealistic to expect experimental work to appeal to the market and be supported by it.\n\nexperimental work appears to have its greatest appeal in more specialized or niche markets.\n… Media Artists creating installation pieces, for example, found it difficult to get critics and collectors to accept the new art forms, even after museums and galleries began exhibiting it. … had a difficult time finding venues..\nInteractive art requires inteaction with audiences, may make such work inaccessible to broad-based audiences. Moreover, the fact that many experimental pieces were purposely designed to be ephemeral-in reaction to the view of art as a commodity. .. Finally, some emerging forms of experimental art, e.g., art created by cultural hackers are designed to undermine traditional distribution channels and will likely limited distribution. 새로운 분배 채널의 대안을 모색하는 실험적 작업들도 있다.\n\n오히려 과학 분야의 분배 모델을 적용하는 게 더 맞을 경우도 있다.\nMedia Arts appears to have limited audiences access to much of the media arts.\n\n현재 모든 분야의 artists labor market의 현실\n1. we noted that artists face a more challenging labor market than other professionals.\n2. as a result, most artists struggle to make a living in their chosen profession and typically must supplement their income as an artists with other sources of income.\n3. Finally, the number of artists has been increasing despite this situation.\n\n그럼에도 불구하고 미디어 아티스느의 양적 증가가 눈의 띈다. 이유는 4가지.\n1. artists of the new media arts, e.g., computer-based work, appears to have attracted large numbers of new artists to the field.\n2. declines in the costs of the technology used in Media Arts have made work as a Media Artists more affordable.\n3. the growth of university film schools and Media Arts programs has provided entry to the field to greater numbers of potential media artists.\n4. by reducing the traditional barriers to collaboration between the commercial and independent sectors, Media Arts have expanded the employment options of Media Artists.\n\nnot only increased the number of Media Artists, but also expanded their diversity.\nthe emergence of the computer in the new media arts appears to have had a profound effect on Media Artists. IT has expanded the number of artists by attracting existing Media Artists to the computer-based art. p.40.\n\nThe new Media Arts have also dramatically increased the number and range of collaborations between traditional media artists, computer programmers, scientists, and a host of others.\nThe traditional distinctional between the commercial for-profit sector and the noncommercial arts has begun to blur in the new media arts. ..\nnew distribution technologies have opened up opportunities for media artists to bypass the various intermediaries that have traditionally controlled access to their work. p.41.\n\n결론적으로 잠재력은 있다. 얼만큼 실행될지는 미지수이지만.\n그러나 이전에 알아야 할 무넺점들은 4가지\n1.although new collaborations with the commercial sector may provide new options, they also raise old questions about who should own the legal rights to creative intellectual property.raise new copyright issues.\n2. artists may become increasingly dependent upon intermediaries. 연결해주는 시스템에 더 의존하게 된다.\n3. If content is driven primarily by economic impulse, will the media arts experience a decline of avant-garde work for which the market is likely to remain both small and highly specialized?\n4. their creation have democratized the creation of media arts. This democratization is reflected in the growing number of artists, their increasing diverse backgrounds and characteristics, and even in the process of making arts. The proliferation of new artists who cross over among media and/or use a variety of media in their work, as well as the increasing tendency for media artists to work with a variety of others, is blurring the traditional distinction among disciplines and media. These trends may indicate a need to redefine what is meant by a media artist. p.43.\n\nthe organization of the art world is changing in multiple ways.\n예술 기관의 변화. 이것이 MA에 어떤 영향을 미치나??? 그리고 미디어 아트는 그 매체의 특성상 intermediaries에 대한 의존도가 더 높다.\n1. the critical role of intermediaries is changing.\n2. the channels used to distribute and market the arts are shifting.\n3. the dimension along which the arts have traditionally been classified are blurring.\n\ncentral issue for Media Arts is how to get their work displayed and distributed. rely on intermediaries..이게 미디어 아트에게 특히 더 중요한 이유.\n1. Media Artists are more likely to lack the institutional resources available to other artists.\n2. the market for media arts work is often highly specialized and given the rapidly changing nature of the work, not well identified or established.\n3. the distribution process itself appears to be changing.\n\nThe pace at which new media art forms and practices are proliferating may be a particular problem for Media Arts because critics can be slow to accept new artistic styles. .. it is likely to raise problems for critics, distributors, collectors, and funders who are uncertain what standards they should use to evaluate such work.\n\nfinally, the rapid proliferation of Media Arts work and its changing technology of production and distribution appear to be challenging existing distribution models for Media Arts. p.44.\n\nIndeed, the democratization of Media Arts may well increase the role of critics in determining which works and which artists receive recognition and thus distribution… technology is also opening up new distribution possibilities. p.46.\n\n아직 문제점이 많기는 하다.\n\na new and more challenging funding environments .. to assume that both individual media artists and media arts organization are facing increasing financial pressures. .. Furthermore, the data indicate that although large arts organizations receive the lion’s share of total government funding, smaller arts organizations are much more heavily dependent upon government funds. p.49.\n\nperhaps the most promising development in funding for Media Arts has been the emergence of what might be termed intermediary organizations that broker between Media Arts and Media Artists and potential funders. .. the proceeds are then reinvested in the work of other artists. These organizations help bridge the gap between the artistic and funding communities and in the process provide the set of skills necessary to secure the recognition and expertise Media Arts need to increase their earnings. … faec a more difficult time raising funds than they have in the past. pp.50-51.\n\n\n\n장점. positive\n\nThe growing number of media artists and the diversity of their backgrounds are additional evidnece of the vitality of Media Arts. p.53.\nMedia Arts are also well positioned to benefit from changes in the ways Americans are experiencing the arts and in how the arts are being distributed.\nIn addition, economic and technological trends that have made servicing specialized or niche art markets feasible should benefit Media Arts.\nthere is a growing use of the internet for obtaining information and purchasing artistic programming. This change in behavior is increasing demand for content. Media Arts is well positioned to meet this demand. p.54.\n\n단점. weakness\nMedia Arts are less able to support themselves exclusively through their art than they have been in the past. .. the challenges both individual support for their work appear to have increased. .. Indeed, it appears Media Arts organizations, like other art organizations, will increasingly look to hte markte and to earned income to support their activities. … in addition, although there appears to be substantial potential for audience growth for Media Arts, that potential has not yet been realized. p.55.\n\n\n5 CATEGORIES로 미디어아트의 과제들을 분류\n2가지의 이슈\n1. relates to getting more exposure to their work and broader audiences\n2. many policy issues surrounding new distribution technologies.\nto develop audience, Media Arts field needs to consider not only new marketing and advertising strategies but also the impact of critical reviews of Media Arts works.\nIN addition, how the new ditribution channels and technologies will be used hinges upon the resolution of a key set of policy issues\nMedia Artists and Media Arts organizations should actively involve in the policy making process.\n\nfunding source의 다각화가 시급하다.\nwill require not just increased funding but also diversified of funding sources.\nA prerequisite for such an approach is, in terms of how their art promotes the public interest and accords with the objectives of the diverse array of potential funders. 개개인 단계가 아니라 social impact를 생각해야만 더 펀딩 기회가 많아질 것이다. 이것이 현재 추세이다. p.57.\n\n사회적 공헌도를 중시하는 경향이 점점 더 커지고 있다.\nin an increasingly competitive funding environment, more concerned with the public purposes of arts. Governments and foundations have focused increasing attention on promoting the public benefits of arts.\nthose in the field should explicitly consider their instumental or indirect benefits. AT the individual level / at the community level / at the national level / benefits to the wider community, can make a stronger case for financial support.\n\nthe importance of experimentation in Media Arts and their rapid adoption of technological innovation, as well as use of ephemeral media, a major issue for Media Arts, unlike the other arts, is how to preserve works done using formats, equipment, and computer code that may no longer available.\n\nlack of visibility. lack of clear identity. lack of clarity…\nthere is dispute among Media Artists as to how to define and label Media Arts.Moreover, there does not seem to be an agreed-upon vocabulary for describing Media Arts.\n장르 구분이 필요한 이유.\n1. for funding : without a sense of of Media Arts as a distinctive genre, arts funders may be less likely to provide funding programs for Media Artists and Media Arts organizations.\n2. for public awareness : both as consumers and as potential contributors-will be less aware of Media Arts. p.59.\n\nthat our assessment of the strengths of Media Arts emphasizes their artistic vibrancy and their potential to benefit from changes in demand associated with technological changes in the distribution of the arts.\nwe have repeatedly noted that Media Arts lacks a clear identity as a distinctive art form. It is reflected in what we believe is a lack of pubic understanding of what Media Arts are and how they differ from the products of other orginizations and individuals who work with film, video, and computers.\n\n1. Media Arts community needs to develop a clearer sense of identity if it beilieves, as we do, that Media Arts represents more than simply the sum of their individual parts.\n2. Media Arts community needs to take an active role in public debates about the regulatory issues that will govern the use of technology in providing arts and entertainment and to devote more explicit attention to the public benefits Media Arts provide.\n3. Media Artists and organizations should attempt to broaden public involvement in their activities. Media Arts organizations need to consider how to increase public participation in terms of their own missions and goals.\n4. Media Arts community needs to address the lack of systematic information about the field as a whole-not only about audiences, but also about artists, organizations, and funding.\n\n\n\nsources of this reaserch\n\nwritten literature는 양분된다. digital media arts의 등장 이전과 이후로.\n1. Before the advent of digital arts, Media Arts were dominated by film, video, and installation art using film and video. the literature of this period is primarily historical and conceptual in nature. It contains profiles of individual artists and exhibits : histories of the developments of these media and the artistic styles and techniques used by film, video, and installation artists.\n2.literature of the post-digital period is also heavily weighted with reviews of individual artists and their work, discussions of the evolution of digital art forms, and instructional manuals.\n둘다 거의 비슷하게 개개인 작가나 작품에 대한 분석이 주를 이룬다.\n미디어 아트 리서치들의 공통점.\n1. focus on the individual media arts disciplines\n2. much more likely to discuss the artistic and aesthetic aspects of media arts disciplines . emphasizes the development of particular artistic styles.\n3. there is very little empirical information available about media arts.\n4. we have described the literature on the media arts as fugitive that is it scattered across many types of sources.\n\nthose data are not collected or reported in a form that allows such comparison. 정보가 일관적이지가 않고, 비교분석에 용이하지 않은 형태로 존재하고 있다. 산발적이고 분산.\nthe Population Census collects a considerable variety of data on artists, including their education, training, employment, and earning. however, the categories it uses to sort artists (performing artists, actors, directors, dancers, and musicians, visual artist, graphic artistc, etc) fail to identify media artists and thus cannot be used to compare how these characteristics vary either across the media arts or between media artists and other artists. p.65.\nAs a consequence, we have little empirical information with which to describe the various structural components of media arts.\nThis situation is understandable given the relative youth and diversity of the media arts. However, it poses a real challenge to a comprehensive assessment of the current state and how the media arts compare with the more established performing and visual arts. p.66.\n\ndata could be made much more useuful by changing the categories used to organize and report the data. Funders of the media arts could play a particularly useful role in this process by explicitly recognizing media arts as a separate category for their grantmaking. .. in addition, a host of institutions, such as museums, film festivals, and funders, regularly collect information on such aspects of media arts as attendance, number of films reviewed, or exhibited, or dollars spent.\nBy usingn a common set of standards to define the information they collect and reprot, these organizations could provide a useful source of information on media arts. p.67.\n\n\nLeave a Reply\n\n\nYou are commenting using your account. Log Out / Change )\n\nTwitter picture\n\n\nFacebook photo\n\n\nGoogle+ photo\n\n\nConnecting to %s", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7979711294174194}
+{"content": "Kindness is Not Conditional\n\nIt’s frustrating when you’re not thanked for holding a door open. It’s annoying when people snap back at something innocent you say.\n\nIt’s unsettling when people do not reciprocate kindness.\n\nBut we must remember that we never know what kind of day someone had or is having. Maybe things in someone’s life are really tough right now. Maybe someone just lost someone they love.\n\nYou never know.\n\nSo if you’re being polite and kind, and it’s met with nastiness or rudeness, this is not the time to bite back. In fact, it’s a time when you should be even kinder. Because whether or not someone is going through a hard time in their life, it doesn’t matter. We need to always be focusing on how we can make other people’s day and life better, not blaming other people for their lack of kindness.\n\n“But it’s everyone’s responsibility to be kind, not just mine! Having a bad day doesn’t give them the right to act that way.”\n\nWhile we should all be kind, polite, and well mannered, we need to take accountability and ownership of ourselves and our own actions, instead of focusing on how everyone else should act.\n\nAnd if you yourself are having a bad day, try to project kindness even still, because putting a smile on someone else’s face when you’re down might just put a smile on your own face.\n\nWe all can improve ourselves and be better to one another, so let’s start from within. Kindness is contagious, so focusing on being nicer to those around us regardless of its reciprocation, will spread joy and even more acts of kindness organically. Leading to a happier, more united life within ourselves and all who surround us.\n\nWhy You Need to Fail\n\n\n\n\n\nYou’ve suddenly realized there’s something you can’t do.\n\n\n\n\n\n“Let me tell you why I’m right”\n\nThere are a lot of people out there who will go to all ends to be “right” in any given argument, discussion, situation. And a lot of times, what they want to be right about is entirely of opinion.\n\nWhile there is nothing wrong with wanting your opinion to be right, it’s important to remember who may be on the other end of the conversation, and what they are thinking and feeling, and what those people’s opinions are.\n\nWhile it’s very important to tell some (politely and with a smile) when they are factually incorrect, it’s also important to remember that everyone deserves to have a voice and an opinion, about anything. And that sometimes it’s more important for your friendship, relationship, job, to let someone have that opinion and to let it go if you think they’re wrong.\n\nPeople want to be heard and understood, and a lot of times they want to be heard and understood about very minor, opinion-based comments. They’ll say it to raise an eyebrow, to elicit a “hm, never thought about that”, but when they’re met with comments on why they’re wrong or why you’re right or unnecessary explanation about a point they made, it might made that person upset or less likely to speak up or confide in you later.\n\nIt’s important to keep in mind that some people are more sensitive than others, and that while you may think that you’re just merely adding to the conversation, you may actually be insulting that person and their opinions, or taking things out of context and molding them into your own thoughts and beliefs.\n\nEspecially now in a time when many people are divided in our country on a broad array of topics, it’s pivotal that we keep our conversations constructive, but also come from a place of understanding. Facts are facts, but everyone has opinions which they are entitled to, so instead of forcing yours onto others, let’s all try to discuss and understand why people may have the thoughts and opinions they have in an effort to make conversation more challenging, thought provoking, constructive, and beneficial to all parties to learn from others.\n\nTrying to impose your will and opinions onto others when unasked can be harmful to relationships, so we should be mindful of exactly what someone is saying so that we don’t listen to respond, we listen to understand.\n\nDon’t Make Resolutions This Year\n\nLast year at around this time I wrote about how to make resolutions that stick, and after reflecting on my 2016 resolutions, I did do a pretty good job at sticking up with them.\n\nBut this year I’m trying out something different.\n\nWith all goals, big and small, there are going to be some that you achieve, and some that take longer than you thought, and others that you just flat out don’t achieve and never do. And sometimes this can be pretty daunting and even disheartening to think about.\n\nThat’s why this year I’m not making any resolutions. \n\nInstead, I’m choosing one quote (and possibly a big word or mantra) to live by for the year. And that quote is:\n\n“Leave not for tomorrow that which can be done today”\n\nThe reason why I am choosing this quote is because it’s short and to the point. We so often get caught up in saying “I’ll just do that tomorrow” that it never gets done.\n\nThis quote is one I can repeat to myself whenever I am falling into this habit and snap me back into it so that I don’t procrastinate, and so I don’t leave work off for later when I am able to do it today.\n\nReenforcing a quote is much easier to do and to keep yourself accountable to than a list of goals or resolutions for a whole year. They’re hard to keep track of, they’re hard to set, and often times they never happen.\n\nKeeping a quote on the top of your mind, writing it down at your desk, and repeating it to yourself whenever you need it is simple, easy, and effective, helping you live a stronger, healthier, and happier life in the new year.\n\nWhat will your quote or mantra be for 2017? Let me know in the comments below!\n\n“Good” Morning\n\nI recently moved to New York City, and now instead of the bus, I ride the subway to get to work. I’ve written before about the start to your day, but as my commuting habits have changed, I experience and witness new behaviors and interactions, all that make me think quite a bit.\n\nTypically the subways are very crowded in the morning. Crowded like, you’re literally shoulder to shoulder with others, crammed into a tight subway car at 8:30 in the morning. This isn’t the most comfortable way to start the day by any means.\n\nThat being said, it amazes me that so many people get so incredibly angry and frustrated, when the day has just begun.\n\nYes, there’s not much room for personal space or breathing room, but this is something that almost all 8 million people in NYC experience. Each individual commute is no different than the millions that are happening at the same time as you.\n\nSo when someone gets bumped into, or someone shoves their way onto the subway to cram themselves in, it can create a lot of tension, frustration, and even yelling. Presumably not long after we’ve all just woken up.\n\nNow I’m not saying that these people should push their way into the subway car, or keep their backpacks and purses on while on the train, but confrontation, arguments, and self-mutterings only add to the stresses and frustrations of the daily commute.\n\nIt’s important to remember that the way to make change is by doing it with a smile. \n\nNot many people are morning people, but your own lack of sleep, personal dealings, and moods shouldn’t be pressed onto others if they aren’t acting in accordance to your will.\n\nWe’re all living together in a very crowded city, anger and argument will only lead to an even more frustrated, anxiety filled commute. \n\nSo even if everything is going well in your commute, take your headphones off once in a while and get out of your own little world. Smile and chuckle to the person next to you as you both cram closer and closer together as more people fill the subway car.\n\nHalf of the reason why we continue hate our commute is because we ourselves take no action to make it better.\n\nAnd if no one else is going to do it, you should.\n\nRecognize that everyone on that subway, train, bus ride or walk is in the same position as you. You’re no different than the person who’s jammed up against you. So meet them with a smile instead of an eye-roll and sigh. Say hello instead of turning your music up louder.\n\nBecause while the city is so dense and crowded, disgruntled morning commutes could not bring people any farther apart and into their own world.\n\nStart the day off with a smile to a stranger, and you just might set the tone for the whole rest of your day for each of you. \n\nTraining Without Headphones\n\nEver since the rise of portable radios, listening to music during workouts has become a standard for many.\n\nJust think, when you walk into a gym, how many people aren’t plugged in to their headphones?\n\nWhile music during my workout is a big energy booster, it can also cause us to go through the motions and have mindless workouts. Here are 3 reasons why working out without headphones can benefit your workout and your health.\n\n1. It forces you to pay attention\n\nOften times when we’re listening to music during a workout, it’s to distract us from the fact that we’re exercising. But this also allows our mind to drift from what we should be paying attention to during exercise: our bodies.\n\nExercise, lifting weights especially, requires full attention before, during, and after our actual workout. We should be constantly paying attention to exactly what our bodies are doing, feeling, and telling us. When we have blasting music in our ears, our minds drift and the things we should be focusing on are being de-prioritized due to our brain trying to focus on the words and sounds of the music.\n\nThere’s a reason why we always seem to turn down the music when trying to park a car, music confuses and distracts our brain while we’re trying to focus our attention elsewhere. It effects our vision and concentration.\n\n2. It challenges you to channel energy in a different way\n\nMusic has great power, but it also is a different kind of energy. When listening to music your mind has something to channel energy from; a good beat, angry lyrics, goosebumps from a favorite song, etc.\n\nBut this, in a sense, is artificial. It’s energy derived from something created.\n\nWorking out without headphones forces you to channel energy organically, through your own body and mind. Doing this, will help you speak to your body, listen to it, and act as one with it.\n\nNow you could use some angry thoughts or pent up aggression, but this is a little bit more real than what music can provide.\n\nYou may notice that you weren’t able to lift as much, or you felt a little distracted. And this is a good lesson to learn, as overtime you will be able to naturally channel energy and focus more and more with yourself without the aid of music.\n\n3. It’s better for your ears (and eyes)\n\nThis one is pretty straightforward, albeit important. When you go to a gym, there’s typically music already playing. There’s also loud banging of weights, treadmills, and machines. All loud stuff.\n\nAdding loud music right next to your eardrums can be even more overstimulating and it may damage your ears overtime. \n\nLots of us spend so much time with a phone next to our ears or have headphones in listening to music, that we rarely give ourselves (and our ears) a break. The gym could actually be a perfect time to do that. Listen to the music that’s already playing, or just tune everything else out and focus on what you went there to do.\n\nIt’ll also keep you off your phone during a time for a need of intense focus. Having to skip or jump through songs and giving yourself one more reason to be on your cellphone can be distracting during your workout and disrupt your session. Keeping your phone and music in your locker can help you be more present and mindful, as well as sparing your ears of the damage. \n\nMusic is powerful and a great workout tool if used correctly, but challenging yourself to workout without music a little more will help in many ways, guiding you towards a stronger, happier, and healthier life.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6415818929672241}
+{"content": "This site all about kindergarten science.\n\nPosts tagged ‘apples’\n\nApple pictures\n\nHere are a few pictures from our apple painting, apple sauce making and apple picking.\n\n\n\n\nI cut the apple with an apple slicer that cuts it into 8 pieces and cuts out the core. Then they cut the slices into smaller pieces with craft sticks.\n\n\n\nPerfect weather for apple picking!\n\n\nThe tractor that pulled our wagon.\n\nApple science\n\n     We are going to the apple barn tomorrow to pick apples!  We also get to sample apples, cider and my favorite, apple doughnuts!\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nWe have been doing apple science all week. We weighed apples, measured how tall they were, made a graph of the most popular ones, made apple prints (with the inedible apples from my apple tree) read many books on the life cycle of apple trees, painted trees in the different seasons and watched videos about apples. We learned the difference between apple juice and apple cider and how both are made.\n\nWe made mini books about apples using the color words red, green and yellow.  The book goes like this:  Apples can be red.  Apples can be green.  I won’t give away the ending. The purpose was to read independently.\n\nToday we made apple sauce and looked at apples that had been set out with and without lemon juice and compared them. We talked about how making apples into sauce was an “irreversable change” thanks Sid the Science kid. Apples can be made into sauce but the sauce cannot be made back into apples. Hopefully we will watch the Sid Episode about this tomorrow. We also talked about how heat changes things.  The apples were crunchy in the beginning and mushy after being cooked. They also changed color.\n\nI was so busy with everything that I forgot to take pictures.  One of the days we put apples in the water table and noticed how they floated. We read a book about how chlorophyll covers up the leaves actual color and makes them look green. In the fall the chlorophyll fades and you can see the leaves true color.\n\nTomorrow we are going to plant apple seeds to see if they will grow. We might make a chart with some of the words we learned about apples.  Crunchy, mushy, core, stem, seeds, life cycle, float, sink, peel, skin, oxidation, chlorophyll. Lots of good vocabulary.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9595715403556824}
+{"content": "Swann, B. On the translation of Native American literatures. 1992.\n\nNorth America in 1492 Europeans didn't encounter these tribes all at one time Different explorers found different nations, each tribe was different Characteristics of Native American Literature Socioeconomic and Political Climate The British colonies had a communal culture in which only males could participate in civic and political matters. Every colony had its own form of local government the local populations participated extensively in politics Each colony had a system of governance including a governor, council of officials appointed by the governor, and elected assembly Historical and Political Authors Passage To America, 1750 At the end of the seventeenth century approximately 200,000 people inhabited the British colonies in North America Many of the immigrants were too poor to pay for the journey and therefore indentured themselves to wealthier colonialists - selling their services for a period of years in return for the price of the passage Edward Taylor is considered\n\nWalker, C. Indian Nation: Native American Literature and Nineteenth-Century Nationalisms. 1997.\n\nPaula Gunn Allen made an impact on both fiction and poetry, and on the anthropological understanding of Native American culture, making her a must-read for anyone exploring Native American literature. Among her fictional work, The Woman Who Owned the Shadows, her only novel, is a must-read, as is her collection of poems, Life Is a Fatal Disease. Both were inspired by Pueblo oral traditions and stories. Allen also produced impressive non-fiction work, perhaps most notably her book The Sacred Hoop: Recovering the Feminine in American Indian Traditions, a controversial work in which she argues that women played a much larger role in Native societies than was recorded by the largely patriarchal Europeans in their writings.\n\n\nBe the first to ask a question about Native American Literature\n\nThe MLA Prize for Studies in Native American Literatures, Cultures or Languages is one of seventeen awards to be presented on January 7, 2017 during the association’s annual convention in Philadelphia. The prize is awarded for an outstanding scholarly study of Native American literature, culture or languages written by a member of the association.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9998366832733154}
+{"content": "I was not prepared for the level of awe that I would feel walking into the Pantheon for the first time. I was in Rome on vacation, and we had already seen the Colosseum earlier that day, which I found to be fascinating but to be honest, it didn’t sweep me off my feet. Don’t get me wrong, it’s awesome, I’m very glad I saw it, but I didn’t really “feel” anything when I stepped inside. There was no sensation of “being in its presence.\" I was just there, and it was there too. On the other hand, when I took my first few steps into the belly of the Pantheon, its cavernous, shadowed dome looming like an oncoming storm high above my head, it hit me right in the gut. I know this is not a controversial opinion, but it is truly awe-inspiring. I had seen pictures for my entire life, and I had never felt a thing. Which one is that again? Parthenon? Something like that? But being there, being enveloped on all sides, breathing in the cold, dark atmosphere of this ancient, hallowed place, it isn’t difficult to understand why even after the fall of polytheism, and then ultimately the Roman Empire itself, no one who came across it could bring themselves to tear it down. I am not a religious person, but I have to admit that standing in the circular pool of light beneath the Pantheon’s oculus as people were hustled out for closing time around me, I did find myself thinking: “there is something superhuman about this place.”\n\nSince then, I’ve thought a lot about that feeling, where it comes from, what it may actually mean. Of course, many would say that I was simply feeling the presence of God. But as someone who believes that the concept of “God,” the concept and the word itself, are inventions of human beings, I was curious to try and step back to our earliest stages of cultural evolution and see the more malleable and fluid origins of this, before language came along and ruined the ambiguity.\n\nOver the last few months, I’ve been taking an online course called “Big History,” taught by renowned historian David Christian. Basically, it’s a series of 48 lectures that begins at the Big Bang and ends with the modern day (holy crap, I know). Slowly but surely, I am making my way through it, and it has been consistently fascinating. In a lecture entitled \"What Makes Humans Different,” Christian said something that I felt was pertinent to this Pantheon experience. In short, he said that the most notable advancement that Homo sapiens made over all other preexisting species was in their capacity for “collective learning.” Meaning, while apes and other intelligent animals were not necessarily less clever or resourceful, what they lacked was our unique ability to communicate complex, symbolic ideas to one another, which could then be stored in the collective communal consciousness and be used to benefit future generations. He compares the learning capacity of other species to Sisyphus, pushing the boulder up the hill. Individuals would make progress in gaining knowledge and adapting to new environments throughout their life, but without any substantive ability to communicate it, their progress would be lost when they are. The boulder rolls back down, and the big push has to happen again from scratch.  “We face the world as members of a large extended community that reaches out in time and space to include everyone who has contributed anything to our cultural heritage,” explains Christian. “Chimps have to do it, more or less, alone. If you doubt this for a moment, just ask: how much of the knowledge in your brain or the information imbedded in the objects you use around you could have been generated by you alone in a single lifetime?” Chimps, and all other species, function like isolated computers. We, on the other hand, are networked. Our collective computing power is beyond anything this planet has ever seen, which explains our unprecedented adaptability and our exponential rise to dominance. \n\nIn accepting this hypothesis as the explanation for our uniqueness as a species, I found myself thinking about that “awe-struck” feeling again. Is it possible that this feeling of a “superhuman” presence is in fact an acute awareness of raw power of billions of compounded human lives? Might the concept of “God” as we define it feel all-knowing because we are sensing the aggregation of all human knowledge, all-powerful because we sense the aggregation of all human power? There’s no doubt that the resonance of all ancient religious texts fits this hypothesis. Most historians agree that the wisdom contained in the Bible, for example, did not spring up out of nowhere. Not only did it initially arise as an aggregation of all the most poignant folk stories and spiritual lore of the time and place it was written, it also stems from generations and generations of moral evolution in our species. All of this has been gestating in our hive mind for hundreds of thousands of years before anyone got the chance to write it down, let alone print it and distribute it widely. And, while this is a controversial topic amongst believers, the Bible went through plenty of evolutionary stages as a text, often being tweaked by translators or church leaders to more adequately reflect their current needs or expectations. As theology professor Hugh Pyper says, “If 'survival of the fittest' has any validity as a slogan, then the Bible seems a fair candidate for the accolade of the fittest of texts.” This kind of evolutionary success is never accomplished by standing still. It is accomplished by adapting, and by building on previous success.\n\nThe same goes for the Pantheon. When I walk in and I think to myself “no mere mortal could build such a place,” I’m not wrong. No one human being could ever build such a place, not in a single lifetime. Not in one hundred lifetimes. Not only did this creation take ten years and hundreds of craftsman, it was all done from atop the shoulders of the individuals who first invented and experimented with concrete, brick, and granite. Pioneers in measurement, architecture, and design. No wonder it hits you as superhuman. In a sense, it truly is. Just imagine being a lowly peasant in the Roman Empire, visiting the Pantheon in its prime. You would have no education, no cultural context. Perhaps you haven’t even seen some of these building materials before, let alone an entire city built with them. The divine explanation would be literally all you could muster. Surely the Gods dropped this otherworldly perfection from the clouds! In truth, it is aggregate human knowledge masquerading as a spontaneous supernatural act, and I think even in the present day, we all experience this spiritually profound lack of context in the presence of great human work.\n\nYears ago, I read a book called “The Evolution of God,” written by one of my intellectual heroes, Robert Wright. The book outlines the cultural evolution of the Judeo-Christian deity, from its roots in hundreds of anthropomorphic nature gods unique to particular villages or regions, to the mighty merged conglomerate and divine monopoly that is the One God. Another way to frame this movement, in the context of collective learning, is that as the world got smaller, as communication across continents became commonplace, humanity became more and more aware that it is a single entity, with a single collective history, and therefore, our collective aggregate knowledge and sense of morality is no longer fragmented and specialized to small groups, but in fact exists as a single, unfathomably deep and rich well of history. The One Story.\n\nI believe you could go so far as to frame all spiritually, all moments of “awe,” as a subconscious involuntary reaction to the profound power nested in the aggregate depth of humanity. Perhaps we’re all aware of it, like a constant hum in the background. It’s always there, behind every human creation, behind every pair of eyes. I think instead of mislabelling these moments as a connection with the divine, with something above, I think we should see them as a connection with something foundational, something within.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8338019847869873}
+{"content": "This is a piece of classical piano-music, which is written in June and July 1992 for a small theatre in the Hague. It's based on a short story about a young elephant. A violin-teacher who had seen the score was enthusiastic and the people of the theatre asked some pianists if they could play the piece, but because it was quite difficult to play and there wasn't enough time to practise, the performance had to be done by a computer and a synthesizer. Nevertheless, it would be nice to hear it being played on a real piano. It is difficult to describe the music, but someone compared it with the work of Charles Ives. I think my music is not so difficult to listen to as his music. Watch out for the stampede of the elephant. The before mentioned violin-teacher wrote me a letter to compliment me for my composition and to tell me he was impressed. This is one of the few compositions made on the Amiga which is transferred to Cubase, so I could print a score. The music starts of slowly and at some point it gets more agitated. Later on it gets easier and it sounds a bit tottering, after which the music is getting joyfull, to symbolise the feast of the fifth anniversary of the theatre.\n\n\n24/4/'93, 5/12/'99\n\nInstrument used for the recording:\n\nE-mu Proteus/1\n\nWhen I got my sampler, I decided to record it again, but this time with a sampled piano.\n\n\n\nInstrument used for the recording:\n\nAkai Z4 sampler\n\nInstrument the music is written for:\n\n\nTo be found on:\n\nOriginal version\n\nCD version", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6777939796447754}
+{"content": "Training report at INSP\n\n\nCharlie Leprince\n\nYohann Roiron\n\nDamien Toussaint\n\nTraining supervisor: Stéphane Pons\n\n\n\n\n\nWe want to thank the INSP members for the warm welcome: the INSP director B. Perrin, our training supervisor S. Pons, and the team of tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy for its explanations: D. Roditchev, C. Brun, C. Carbillet, V. Cerchez, T. Cren, F. Debontridder, K. Khazen, Y. Noat, L. Serrier-Garcia.\n\n    We also thank the headmaster of the Lycée Pothier, B. Plasse, for his helping and his support, and MC. Baurrier, for her encouragements.\n\n\n\n\nThe INSP (Institut des Nanosciences de Paris/Nanosciences Institute of Paris) is a laboratory where nanomaterials are studied. The researchers analyze samples and their properties in order to understand the behavior of material at the nanometric scale. Indeed, at this scale, phenomena are not the same as at higher (i.e. macroscopic) scales.\n\nThe institute is in the UPMC (Université Pierre et Marie Curie/Pierre and Marie Curie University), and this is where we made our training.\n\nThe aim of our project \"Diving into the invisible\" was to see the matter. At INSP, the Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM) is used to study the surface properties of samples. We wanted to understand how to prepare the samples in order to analyze materials with STM. The team we worked with focus mainly on the superconducting properties of samples (\n\n\n\n\nA conductor material conducts current (its resistivity is very low, like copper: 1,72 .10-8 Ω.m), whereas nonconductor material doesn't (its resistivity is very high, like polystyrene: 1,00.1020 Ω.m).\n\nSuperconducting materials have no resistivity, if they are enough cooled. There are two kinds of superconductors: some (most of non-magnetic and non-noble metals) are superconductor at a very low temperature, near 4K. This class of materials is well understood. Other \"non-conventional\" superconductors, with higher critical temperature, near 90K, also exist. The understanding of these materials is a scientific challenge for 25 years now.\n\nThe superconductors have many advantages and applications, like the transport of electricity, production of high magnetic fields (e.g. for Magnetic resonance imaging) and quantum informatics, thanks to the low resistivity and the global behaviour of electrons.\n\nThe aim of the researchers is to understand and theorize the macroscopic and the microscopic behaviour of such materials: the researchers at INSP mainly focus on the interplay of superconductivity and low dimensionality (which refers to the dimensions and their effects).\n\n\nMacroscopic observation\n\n\nFig. 1 - The superconductor pellet\n\n\nDuring our stage at INSP, we were introduced to the superconducting behaviour of materials belonging to the second family of superconductor, which can be cooled thanks to liquid nitrogen (less expensive than liquid helium, which is used to cool the first family of superconductor). The superconductor we saw was a pellet of yttrium-barium-copper-oxygen (YBaCuO).\n\nIt's a ceramics, which has been compressed in order to shape it (fig. 1).\n\n\nThe pellet does not interact with magnets at ambient temperature.\nIts resistivity is very important, that's why it's a bad conductor (or insulator) at such temperature.\n\nFig. 2 – Levitation of a magnet above a cold superconductor\n\nWhen the pellet is cooled at 77K (at liquid nitrogen temperature), lower than the critical temperature, it becomes superconductor: its resistivity is null. But if the pellet is warmed, the material becomes nonconductor again. So, there is a reversible phase transition from bad conductor to superconductor.\n\nA quantic phenomenon is responsible of the superconductivity: below the transition temperature, the electrons behave as a wave. They also have a global behavior in the sample and move with the same phase.\n\nWe can make a superconductor levitate above a rail of magnets (fig. 3): there are in fact no frictional forces. If we cool the superconductor above the rail, we can observe this material levitate. If we cool the same material somewhere else than above the rail, it would not levitate as good.\n\n\nIn the two cases, the levitation lasts until the superconductor becomes warm back and can be observed no matter the direction and the orientation of the rail is.\n\n\nFig.3 – Levitation of a cooled superconductor into polystyrene above a magnetic rail\n\n\nMicroscopic explanations\n\n\nThe levitation of a superconductor material above a rail of magnets is due to an interaction of repulsion between this material and the magnetic field of the magnets. Indeed, the electrons of the superconductor will try to repulse the magnetic field of the magnets by creating their own opposite magnetic field.\n\nWhen a superconductor, which has not been cooled above the magnets, is placed above the rail, the magnetic field of the magnets changes the properties of the material (the electrons reorganize themselves) and the field lines stay outside the material and are repulsed, deviated by it: the position is not stable. That's why the superconductor doesn't levitate well. This is called the Meissner effect.\n\n\nWhen a superconductor is forced to be just above the rail, the magnetic field is so strong that the superconductor cannot repulse it. Field lines pass through the material and vortexes are created by a collective rotation of the electrons (fig. 4). The magnetic field is trapped in the vortexes and thus, the position is stable; that's why the material levitates well.\n\n\nFig. 4 – Vortexes in a superconductor material\n\nThus, the presence of strong field lines when the material is cooled will enable it to levitate well.\n\n\nMoreover, the magnetic environment is conserved by the superconductor: there is a balance because changing this stable state costs energy (e.g. in order to introduce a new vortex in the system).\n\nBesides, we can observe that a magnet can have different behaviors with different metals. For instance, it slips well on aluminum whereas it slips slowly on copper. Indeed, the copper has a low resistivity: vortexes are almost created in the material but the resistivity prohibits a perpetual rotation of the electrons. This phenomenon is called Eddy (or Foucault) current.\n\n\n\n\nThe scanning tunneling microscope (STM) is a microscope using a current of quantum origin (the tunnel current) in order to image the topology of the sample surface. Atoms can so be seen thanks to an ultimate resolution of the order of 10-11 meters.\n\nWe worked with an apparatus which is constituted by two vacuum chambers: the preparation chamber and the STM chamber. They are separated by a valve (fig 5).\n\nThe preparation chamber enables us to prepare the sample in vacuum in order to have a clean surface. In this chamber, we can heat the sample, clean it and realize a \"quality control\" of the vacuum with a mass spectrometer, analyze the atomic ordering and the symmetry of the sample by Low Energy Electrons Diffraction (LEED). Below the STM chamber, there is a cryostat. It enables us to cool the sample, to reach its critical temperature of superconductivity. In the cryostat there is also a superconducting coil, which is used to create a huge magnetic field.\n\nA load lock chamber is linked to the preparation chamber in order to introduce new sample in the vacuum chamber.\n\n\n\nA few days before we came at INSP, the STM chamber had been opened for maintenance: the tip holder of the microscope was blocked. The researchers put it to the atmospheric pressure and repaired it. Then, they had to prepare it for other experiments.\n\nAt the atmospheric pressure, there are too many contaminants which could absorb on the surface. For example, if we would study the surface of a sample exposed to the atmosphere, we would just see the atmospheric molecules: indeed, just one second is necessary to recover the sample of contaminants, at 1.0 10-6 mbar. That is why the researchers need a good vacuum, in order to have enough time to analyze the sample. It is called ultra-high vacuum (UHV), whose pressure is around 5.0 10-11 mbar.\n\nFig. 6 – Turbo-molecular pump\n\n\nIn order to have the UHV, we need several pumps, 6 in all the apparatus. In order to compensate the outgassing of the metallic chamber (mainly hydrogen), they work continuously. The first one creates a first vacuum of 10-2 mbar, in the primary circuit.\n\n\nThen, there are three pumps, one per chamber and one in the load lock chamber. These turbo molecular pumps are constituted of several blades stages with increasingly large angle. They push the molecules in one direction thanks to a high speed of 70 000 revolutions per minute. These pumps are enough reaching an ultra-high vacuum.\n\n\n\nTo facilitate and accelerate the UHV establishment, a bakeout is done. All the apparatus were heated to 150° C (423° K) for 3 days. The aim of the bakeout is to sublimate the gas, which deposited on the inner surface during the opening of the vacuum chambers. It enables researchers to get rid of water which is very difficult to pump too. During this operation, the pressure increases quickly, then decreases and finally stabilizes around 10-8 mbar. But during the cooling, the pressure decreases to ~10-11 mb, as the temperature decreases.\n\nThus, thanks to the bakeout, we obtain the ultra-high vacuum.\n\nAdditionally, we use two ionic pumps, which ionize gas. Moreover, thanks to a very high voltage, conjugated to a high magnetic field, the ionized is accelerated gas to a titanium electrode, where a chemical reaction will trap it. This system is very efficient for pumping in the 10-11 mb range and do not produce vibrating noise whereas turbo-molecular pumps do. These pumps are used when performing STM experiments whereas turbo-molecular pumps are turned off because vibrations forbid having a good resolution.\n\nLow temperature\n\n\nThe STM is connected to a cryostat which cools a superconducting coil, to produce a magnetic field.\n\nIn order to study the superconducting sample, the STM has to be cooled too. Thus, the microscope is placed on a piece of cooper, which leads the cooling from the cryostat.\n\nThe cryostat is like a thermos, and can contain 100 L of liquid helium (fig 7). It must be filled in again each 4 days.\n\nThe very low temperature of 300mK can obtained with the STM at INSP.\n\nFig. 7 – The helium Dewar\n\n\nMass spectrometer\n\n\nFig. 8 – The mass spectrometer\n\n\nThe mass spectrometer (fig. 8) is an apparatus which enables the experimentalists to control the quality of the vacuum, i.e. to know the nature and the concentration of the contaminants.\n\nThe mass spectrometer ionizes molecules. Leaving the ionize chamber, they are then accelerated by a difference of potential of voltage U between two grids. Then they are subjected to a constant magnetic field. The ions have so circular trajectories, depending on their mass. By knowing the radius, we could know the mass of the molecule: that's how we can find the nature of the contaminants. (fig 9).\n\n\nFig. 9 – The mass spectrometer principle\n\nIn order to detect all the contaminants, they change the voltage U, so the acceleration of the ions is modified, as the trajectory. In fact, the deviation (depending on the mass) stays the same, but, as the ions are more accelerated, they will be deviated later. Thus, by modifying the voltage, all the contaminants will be detected by the detector. It enables the researchers to know the quantity of each contaminant in the vacuum, by measuring the current generated by the ions.\n\nA molecule can be charged twice (or more), so it is more accelerated and is detected like a molecule with a half of its mass.\n\nFor instance, on the mass spectrogram, we can see peak at 2 u, which shows that there is dihydrogen in the chamber, 18 u, corresponding to water, and at 32 u, which represents the dioxygen.\n\nThus we can know the vacuum quality.\n\n\nThe Low Energy Electron Diffraction\n\n\nFig. 11 – The LEED principle\n\nBefore the STM measurements, we can verify if the atoms are well organized thanks to the LEED (low energy electron diffraction) and know the periodicity of their arrangement.\n\nElectrons are emitted with a filament. The electrons, of the same energy, move to the surface. They are reflected at angles corresponding to the surface order (fig 11).\n\nThe interaction between the emitted electrons and the electronic cloud of the atoms is very important: so the incoming electrons are strongly diffracted by the first layer of atoms. That's why it allows the experimentalist to study the surface crystallography. Because the electrons of atoms are distributed in orbitals, the chemicals bonds have particular direction to order. So a crystal shows perfectly ordered lattice of atoms with a particular symmetry.\n\n\nIn a crystal, the distance between two atoms is near 3.10-10 m.\n\n\nPrinciple of a STM\n\n\nThe envelope of all the electrons cloud along molecular bond in the crystal has a profile. We can see this envelope with to the STM.\n\nThe STM is constituted by a metallic tip above the sample which scans the surface. A voltage bias is applied to the tip with respect to the surface.\n\nFig. 12 – The tip and the sample\n\n\nWhen the distance between the tip and the surface is of the order of half a nanometer, quantum mechanics enables a current to run, even if the vacuum between the tip and the surface is insulating. The electrons behave like a wave whose wavelength has the same order of magnitude than the distance between the sample and the tip. Part of the wave is transmitted through the vacuum to the surface. The intensity decreases exponentially, depending on the tip-surface distance (fig 13). This current is called tunneling current.\n\nThe detected current is around 1 nA.\n\nBecause we measure a current, STM cannot study insulators.\n\n\nThe intensity of the tunneling current is proportional to the exponential of the distance:\n\nI where k is a constant depending on the voltage and the electronic properties of the material.\n\nMoreover, since the tunnel current depends on the resistivity of the surface, the STM is also sensitive to the electronic properties of the materials. It is a perfect tool for the study the superconductor.\n\n\nInstead of measuring the intensity which changes a lot, when scanning above the surface, the z axe is constantly corrected to keep fixed the tunneling current. The tip is moved up and down in order to keep the same current intensity.\n\n\nFig. 14 – The piezoelectric material\n\n\nThe tip is fixed to a piezoelectric tube (fig 14). The tip can be moved thanks to the piezoelectric materials, whose size depends on the voltage. When operating, the intensity of the tunneling current stays the same (there is a set point for the current). In order to keep the current constant the size of the piezoelectric material is changed.\n\n\nThanks to the piezoelectric materials, the tip can be moved very precisely (precision better than 0,1.10-10 m).\n\n\nSo we can measure the distance between the tip and the atoms in order to find the topography of the surface: we can \"see\" the atoms and the monoatomic steps.\n\n\n\n\nPreparation of an experiment\n\nA silicon sample\n\n\nDuring our training, a silicon sample had to be prepared. The silicon is a semi-conductor, which means that it doesn't conduct current very well. If it is cooled, its resistivity increases.\n\nThe silicon sample was used because the researchers will deposit nanostructures of lead on it. Lead is superconductor at around 8K, that's why this kind of samples is studied. The effects of dimensionality on superconductivity are analyzed. In theory, if the sample is too small, there is no superconductivity, but there are particular phenomena. At INSP, the limits of the size which enable these phenomena to appear are studied.\n\n\nThe sample has to be cut in order to be introduced in the STM between two lamellae.\n\n\n\nThe silicon has a hexagonal symmetry (fig 16). It is a (111) silicon. The silicon atoms order like a cube (diamond structure). This cube is cleaved at the (111) plane: a particular surface structure is obtained.\n\n\nIt was outgassed in order to evacuate the oxide layer: the silicon sample was « flashed », which means that it was heated briefly at 1200°C in order to evacuate contaminants. His color changes, because the wavelength of the emitted light depends on the temperature (Fig 18).\n\n\n\nTemperature of the sample can be measured thanks to a pyrometer. It is sensible at temperatures between 300°C and 1300°C, corresponding to an infrared light. It measures the emitted energy by the sample and deduces the temperature.\n\n\nAfter the heating, it is cooled slowly: the atoms of silicon have enough time to reorganize differently. There is still a hexagonal symmetry, with a new order, called 7x7 reconstruction.\n\n\nLEED measurements\n\n\nWe check if the atoms are well reorganized thanks to the LEED. We obtain this diffraction picture:\n\nWe can see a hexagonal periodic structure. There are also extraspots which correspond to the reorganization of the surface atoms. Indeed, the atoms on the surface of silicon spontaneously reorganize in a structure which is seven times bigger than the crystal lattice (the distance between the spots on the diffraction image is inversely proportional to the distance in the sample). It's called the 7x7 reconstruction of silicon.\n\n\nLead sublimation\n\n\nThen, lead must be deposited on the surface of silicon in order to make \"lead islands\": we first evaporate it. Researchers want to deposit only a few layers of atoms on the sample. The evaporation must be precise and is not necessarily quick.\n\nThe material to evaporate is heated in vacuum and the sample is set in front of it. An evaporator by electrons bombardment is used. Lead is put in a crucible. A filament heated (with an 800 V voltage) emits electrons which head for the crucible (fig 20). The shocks between the electrons and lead create warming: the temperatures increases at 400°C. Lead sublimes and the atoms head for the surface. The atoms order and make a first lead atomic layer on the silicon surface.\n\n\n\nFig. 20 – The lead sublimation principle\n\n\n\nUnfortunately, we didn't have time to realize measures of samples with lead during our training. Measures were made on a silicon sample.\n\n\nPreparation of the tip\n\n\nThe composition of the tips depends on the sample to study. For silicon samples, tungsten points are used. The threads are sharpened by electrochemical erosion. But the tip must be flashed too in order to eliminate the native insulated oxide. Indeed, the tip must be very sharp: there should be only one atom at the top of the tip (fig 21).\n\nFig. 21 – The example of tungsten tip with an oxide layer\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nFig. 22 – A tip on its bracket\n\nIn the preparation chamber, the tip touches lamellae, and we run a current between the tip holder and the lamellae, so the tip is heated, but we can't measure its temperature.\n\n\n\n\nSTM measurements\n\n\nOn the STM picture, we can see the ordered atoms. There is the 7x7 silicon hexagonal symmetry. Each point corresponds to an atom. Thanks to the measures of the distance z between the tip and the surface, the topology of the sample is imaged.\n\n\nThe sample was not so clean (it was an \"old\" sample which knew many outgassings and flashes) that's why it was hard to find the 7x7 reorganization of atoms thanks to the STM. A long part of the sample seemed not organized.\n\nHowever, even if the organized surface was very small (near 3 nanometers), and even if the quality of the image is not very good, we succeeded to see the atoms!\n\n\n\nOur training enabled us to discover many techniques belonging to many parts of physic (superconductivity, quantum mechanics, and preparation of samples).\n\nWe also lived the usual life of researchers: the experiments do not always work, there are sometimes technic problems to solve, but it is another way to learn.\n\n\nMoreover, we saw another microscope which studies the surface properties: the Atomic Force Microscope (AFM). Contrarily to the STM, it can analyze all the materials. It is constituted by a tip, and the forces between the tip and the surface are studied. A diapason is approached to the surface. The diapason has a natural frequency of vibration. When it is near the surface, there are interaction between the surface and the tip, so the frequency and the amplitude change. It enables us to study the local mechanic properties and the conductivity for instance.\n\n\nThanks to this training, we succeeded to see atoms, and this was the aim of our project.\n\nIconographic references\n\n\nWeb sites:\n\nWikipédia. [Digital]. 2012 [Consulted on 5th July 2012]\n\nAvailable on:\n\nConsulted pages:\n\n\n\nPolytech Paris-Sud. [Digital]. 2012 [Consulted on 6th July 2012]\n\nAvailable on:\n\nConsulted pages:\n\n\n\nPaper documents:\n\nPoster « Surfaces et Spectroscopies » – Stéphane PONS", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9395405054092407}
+{"content": "Saturday, May 01, 2010\n\nPOPnews (US) - May 1st\n\n[An event which would normally be the most embarrassing of another person's entire life wasn't even the most cringe-inducing incident in the eight long years of George W. Bush's presidency. His arrival on-board an aircraft carrier wearing a flight suit (and a codpiece besides!) was a PR stunt which did considerably more for comedy and/or umbrage than it did morale; to be fair, though, he later admitted he'd been wrong to do it, which was mighty white of him...]\n\n1778 - The Battle of Crooked Billet began in Hatboro, Pennsylvania.\n\n1848 - The fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta was founded at Jefferson College in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania.\n\n1893 - The World's Columbian Exposition opened in Chicago; as many as 27 million people - a number equivalent to half the US population at the time - would visit the fair during its six-month duration.\n\n1898 - At the outset of the Spanish-American War, during the Battle of Manila Bay, the US Navy destroyed Spain's Pacific fleet; even though it was just the first major engagement of the war, it proved to be a pretty good indicator of how the rest of the hostilities would play out...\n\n1900 - Utah's Scofield Mine Disaster killed 200, in what is the fifth-worst mining accident in US history to date.\n\n1901 - The Pan-American Exposition opened in Buffalo, New York.\n\n1915 - RMS Lusitania departed New York City on her two hundred and second crossing of the North Atlantic; it would also be her last...\n\n1927 - The Union Labor Life Insurance Company was founded by the American Federation of Labor.\n\n1930 - The name of the dwarf planet Pluto - chosen on March 24th from a suggestion by English schoolgirl Venetia Burney - was formally announced by the staff of Arizona's Lowell Observatory, where the existence of Percival Lowell's fabled Planet X had been discovered by Clyde W. Tombaugh only that February; contrary to popular belief the Disney character Pluto was named after the planetoid and not the other way around, which means Miss Burney also indirectly named Mickey Mouse's dog after the Greek god of the Underworld. For doing so, incidentally, she was given the considerable sum of £5 by her grandfather, Falconer Madan, who was himself a librarian at Oxford's Bodleian Library.\n\n1960 - Francis Gary Powers, piloting a Lockheed U-2 spyplane, was shot down over the Soviet Union; the incident set in motion one the Cold War's foremost diplomatic schamozzle, the U-2 Crisis.\n\n1971 - Amtrak (the National Railroad Passenger Corporation) was formed to take over US passenger rail service.\n\n1982 - The 1982 World's Fair opened in Knoxville, Tennessee; its theme was 'Energy Turns the World'.  The fair is probably more famous, however, for its inclusion in the twentieth episode of the seventh season of The Simpsons - Bart on the Road.\n\n1989 - The Disney-MGM Studios theme park opened at Walt Disney World near Orlando.\n\n2003 - In what became notorious as the 'Mission Accomplished' speech, President George W. Bush declared that 'major combat operations in Iraq have ended' on board the USS Abraham Lincoln off the coast of California.\n\n2007 - The May Day Mêlée occurred in Los Angeles' MacArthur Park when the LAPD's not unpredictable response to a peaceful pro-immigration rally was to use rubber bullets to break it up.\n\nshare on: facebook\n\nNo comments:", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9902238845825195}
+{"content": "Tab-canon-white  Tab-legends-black \nThis article is about the unit of measure. You may be looking for the common body part.\n\nThe foot (plural feet), often abbreviated as ft, was a unit of measurement of length. A foot was divided in smaller units called inches. It took 3,280 feet to make a kilometer,[1] and 328 feet to make 100 meters.[2]\n\n\n\nNotes and referencesEdit\n\nExternal linksEdit\n\nIn other languages\n\nAd blocker interference detected!\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9931507706642151}
+{"content": "Title: Age differences in attention\nFull Citation\nPermanent Link: http://ufdc.ufl.edu/UF00102856/00001\n Material Information\nTitle: Age differences in attention\nPhysical Description: Book\nLanguage: English\nCreator: Harbin, Thomas J., 1954-\nCopyright Date: 1981\n Record Information\nBibliographic ID: UF00102856\nVolume ID: VID00001\nSource Institution: University of Florida\nHolding Location: University of Florida\nResource Identifier: oclc - 07883223\nltuf - ABS1739\n\nFull Text\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDedicated, with love and gratitude, to\n\nMlarian E. Saffer\n\n\nI would initially like to thank myself for the\n\nperseverance which has culminated in this dissertation.\n\nHowever, as with most achievements, this project resulted\n\n104 from creativity and 90% from collaboration. I would like\n\nto take this opportunity to thank my collaborators.\n\nI am grateful to my doctoral committee, Drs. Walter R.\n\nCunninghamt (~chair), ZI. Keith Berg (cochair), James J.\n\nAlgina, Nathan W. Perry, and Ira S. Fischler, for their\n\nassistance throughout my graduate training; to Dr.\n\nCunninghas for introducing me to the ropes of academic\n\nsurvival; to Dr. Berg for infecting me with his enthusiasm\n\nfor research and teaching; and to Dr. Algina for reminding\n\nme of the difference between a statistical hypothesis and a\n\nfervent wish.\n\nI wish to thank the director of the Alachua County\n\nOlder Americans Council, Ann Cuddyback, for assistance with\n\nsubject recruitment; the steering committee of the\n\nUniversity of Florida Center for Gerontological Studies, for\n\nsupport throughout my graduate training; and Mr. william\n\nTucker, my once and future role-model.\n\n\nFinally, I gratefully and wholeheartedly acknowledge my\n\npare nts, Helen `I. Harbin and Robert J7. Harbin, for\n\nencouraging me to climb the tall trees, and for my innate\n\ncynicism; and my a associate, M imi Saff er, pour le feu.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n1 INTBODUCTIO..........~~~,.....~.~.........\n\nReflex Inhibition.......~......~.............\nRe fle x P aci lita tion .................. ..~....\nSeflex Latency Modification...................\nCognitive Contributions .....~....~......... ~,\nThe Aging of Attentional Processes,.~......... ~\n\n\nSubjects ...I ........ ~.. .. ........... ... .. .. .\nProcedure. 1..~.~.~~....~.................\nData Analysis.......,....~..........~.........\n\n\nResults..~....C.~...... .. .. .. .. .. ....I.. ..\n\n4 EXPERIMENT 2..,....~..1.......~........~.......\n\nMethod..l1~~... ~~...~.....~............ ...\n\n\n5 EXPERIMENT 3...,................,....~~.......\n\n\n\n\nseth odl ..... ...~..~......l. .......... .~... .\n\n\n7 DISCUSSIO N...,... .... ~ ...................... 82\n\n\n\nBIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH.............~......~~......... 115\n\nAbstract of Dissertation Presented to the Graduate Council\nof the University of Florida in Partial Fulfillment of the\nRequirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy\n\n\n\n\nJUNE, 1981\n\nChairman: Walter R. Cunningham\nCochairman: w. Keith Berg\nnajor department: Psychology\n\nIt is possible to inhibit elicited re-flexes by\n\npreceding the eliciting stimulus (ES) by a prestimsulus (PS).\n\nThis project tested the hypothesis that the PS engages the\n\nattentive faculties so that an ES following thereafter does\n\nnot have complete access to these processes. The ES is\n\ntherefore rendered functionally less intense, resulting in a\n\nsmaller reflex.\n\nIt was predicted that in young subjects, manipulations\n\ndesigned to facilitate either automatic or effortful\n\nattention toward the PS would increase the amount of reflex\n\ninhibition. It was further hypothesized that only attempts\n\nto man ipulia te automatic attention would suc cess full y\n\nincrease the amount of inhibition in elderly subjects.\n\n\nThese issues were investigated in a series of four\n\nexperiments. Tn each experiment, eyeblink and heart rate\n\n(HR) responses were measured subsequent to a periorbital\n\nairpuff. In the first three experiments, a 70 decibel tone\n\nPS preceded the ES in a variety of temporal formats. In the\n\nfourth experiment, gaps in a continuous tone served as\n\npre stimuli.\n\nExperiment 1 was designed to manipulate automatic\n\nattention. Twenty-seven young and 27 elderly subjects\n\nreceived 54 trials. On nine trials, the ES vas presented\n\nalone, on 48 trials, the ES was preceded by a tone of 20 or\n\n200 milliseconds (msees), at interstimulus intervals of 60,\n\n120, 240, or 420 asecs. Results revealed greater eyeblink\n\ninhibition with the longer PS in both age groups. The effect\n\nof ?S duration did not interact with age. The HR response in\n\nboth age groups was biphasic, with a deceleration followed\n\nby an acceleration. In the young subjects, the PS augmented\n\nthe size of the deceleration, and to a lesser extent, the\n\nacceleration, moreso for the longer PS. The elderly HR vas\n\nnot affected by the PS.\n\nExperiment 2 attempted to ma ni pulate ef fort ful\n\na tte nation. On 25 trials, the BS was preceded by a PS of one\n\nof two frequencies, either 500 Hertz or 1000 Hertz (the\n\n\"common\" PS). On five trials, the other PS was presented\n\n(the \"rare\" PS). The ES was presented alone on 15 trials.\n\nOne half of the 40 young and 410 elderly subjects were\n\n\ninstructed to count the number of rare pre sti muli. This\n\nmanipulation had no effect upon eyeblink inhibition or HR\n\nmodification in either age group.\n\nExperiment 3 was also designed to manipulate effortful\n\nattention. In three conditions, 24 young and 24 elderly\n\nsubjects received six ES-alone trials and six in which the\n\nES was preceded by a 1000 Hertz, 70 decibel PS, at an\n\ninterstimulus interval of 120 asecs. In Conditions 2 and 3,\n\na reaction time task was included in the procedure. In\n\nCondition 2, a reaction time response was required at random\n\nintervals. In Condition 3, the response was required five\n\nseconds after FS. The reaction time task increased the\n\namount of eyeblinkr inhibition and the size of the HR\n\ndeceleration in young but not in elderly subjects.\n\nExperiment 4 investigated the effects of a gap in a\n\ncontinuous tone of 10, 20, 40, 80, and 120 asecs preceding\n\nthe es by 120 asecs, in 16 young and 16 elderly subjects.\n\nThe amount of eyeblink inhibition increased with increasing\n\ngap duration. Neither age group evidenced effects of the PS\n\non the HR response.\n\nThe results of these experiments support four\n\ncon clusrions: 1) the amount of eyeblink inhibition is\n\naffected by manipulations of attention, 2) automatic\n\nattention is more completely preserved into old age than is\n\neffortful a tte nti o n, 3) prestimulati on augments the\n\ndecelerative component of a biphasic HR response in young\n\nsubjects, and 4) heart. rate responses are obtainable in the\n\neld e rl y; h owev er, they are less plastic than those of\n\nyounger subjects.\n\n\nBasic reflexes have intrigued psychologists for many\n\nyears. Perhaps due to the reliability of reflexive behavior\n\nor possibly to the status of physiological reflexes as\n\npredictors of neurophysiological functioning and integrity,\n\nreflexes have played a central role in mlany historically\n\nprominent psychological theories.\n\nvarious reflexes such as kneejerks elicited by taps to\n\nthe patellar tendon and eyeblinks elicited by airpuffs or\n\nsudden sounds can be modified by changes in the sensory\n\nenvironment. Depending upon stimulus parameters, the\n\nmagnitude and latency of an elicited reflex can be increased\n\nor decreased by prior stimulation.\n\nIt will be my purpose in this dissertation to\n\ninvestigate the extent to which attention contributes to the\n\nreflex modification process. In addition, the phenomenon\n\nwill be investigated in young and old adults with the hope\n\nof shedding light upon possible mechanisms underlying\n\nreported decreases in attentional capacity in old age.\n\nThe Startle Reflex\n\nThe startle reflex vas studied in detail by Landis and\n\nHunt (1939). Using extremely rapid photographic equipment,\n\nthese investigators thoroughly described the topography of\n\nthe human startle reflex. As they described it, the startle\n\nconsists of a generalized and largely syametrical\n\ncontraction of the flexor musculature. This pattern includes\n\nan eyeblink, forward head movemrent, abduction of the upper\n\narms, flexion of the elbows, fingers, and knees, pronation\n\nof the lover armps, forward sovemrent of the trunk, hunching\n\nof the shoulders, and abdominal contraction.\n\nThe eyeblink is the first component of the reflex to\n\nappear, having an onset latency of about 40 milliseconds\n\n(asecs). The other muscular components appear about 160\n\nasecs after onset of the eliciting stimulus (ES). According\n\nto Landis and Hunt (1939), reflexive behavior is\n\ndistinguishable froma voluntary responses to the ES by the\n\ngreater latency of voluntary responses (about 150 asecs).\n\nThe temrporal order of the reflex was described as beginning\n\nwith an eyeblink and then passing down over the rest of the\n\n\nLandis and Hunt (1939) also described autonomic nervous\n\nsystem components of startle. In particular, they reported a\n\ndecrease in skin resistance and a heart ra te (HR)\n\nacceleration occurring at a latency of 500 asecs to 1000\n\nasecs. In addition, they reported an initial respiratory\n\ninspiration followed by an elevated rate of respiration and\n\na rise in systolic blood pressure. In a review of the HR\n\nli te rature Gra ha m ( 19 79) concluded that Landis and Hunt\n\n(1939) were correct in their report of an acceleration as a\n\ncomponent of startle.\n\nIn ascribing a brief HR acceleration to the startle,\n\nGraham (1979) depended heavily upon Pleshler's work\n\n(7 le shler, 1965) in order to specify stimulus configurations\n\nlikely to produce a startle response. Fle sh ler (1965)\n\nconcluded that the critical stimulus parameters for startle\n\nelicitation in rats were stimulus intensity and suddenness\n\nor rise time. He found that as ES rise time increased (i~e.\n\nthe ES became \"less sudden\"), the threshold intensity for\n\nstartle elicitation also increased. He concluded that rise\n\ntime per se was not as critical as the requirement that the\n\nES reach a certain intensity within the first 10 to 15\n\nasecs. This work was a follow-up of studies by Hoffaan and\n\nFleshier (1963) and Hoffaan,, Fleshler, and Alplanalp (1964)\n\ndemonstrating increasing response magnitude with increasing\n\nEs intensity.\n\nK. H.Berg (1973) investigated effective ES parameters\n\nin humans and found that the reflex was affected by both ES\n\nrise time and duration. Berg's findings indicated that,\n\ncontrary to Pleshler's (1965) conclusion, the latency and\n\namplitude of startle eyeblinks were affected by variations\n\nin ES duration and rise tiae well beyond this 10 to 15 asec\n\nrange. Berg suggested that the startle reflex is controlled\n\nby 2 neural systems. A system of short time-constant neurons\n\nwhich summate spatially but not temporally was hypothesized\n\nto produce a primary component of startle, including the\n\neyeblink in humans and muscular flexion in rats. The longer\n\nlatency HR response was attributed to a secondary component\n\nof startle. This component was hypothesized by Berg to be\n\ncontrolled by a system of long time-constant neurons which\n\nare able to summate temporally but not spa tially.~ The se\n\nneural systems have been described by Gersoni (1965,1971).\n\nIn support of Berg's (1973) dual-component hypothesis,\n\nPinckney and Ison (1979) found very little correlation\n\nbetween lead stimulus effects upon the flexion and cardiac\n\nstartle responses in rats. At this point, it seems\n\nreasonable to conclude that startle elicitation is primarily\n\nresponsive to BS rise time, although the 10 to 15 asec\n\ninterval is probably not as critical as hypothesized by\n\nPleshler (1965).\n\nFinally, there is disagreement upon the exact form of\n\nthe HR response to startle-eliciting stimuli. In agreement\n\nwith Landis and Hunt (1939) and Graham (1979), Fleshler\n\n(1965) and Chalmaers and Soffsan (1973) found a HR\n\nacceleration. In contrast, Berg (1973) and Pinckney and Ison\n\n(1979) found a bip ha sic response with an initial\n\ndeceleration followed by an acceleration.\n\nRe~fl~ex Inhibition\n\nSince the late nineteenth century it has been known\n\nthat various aspects of elicited reflexes can be modified by\n\nchanges in the sensory environment. Boyditch and Oarren\n\n(1890) investigated the effects of stimuli in various\n\nmodalities upon the magnitude of kneejerks elicited by taps\n\nto the patellar tendon. The basic stimulus configuration\n\nconsisted of a prestimulus (PS) followed by an interstimulus\n\ninterval (ISI) followed by the ES. The effect of the PS upon\n\nreflex magnitude was either inhibitory or facilitative,\n\ndepending upon the ISI.\n\nAfter this early demonstration of reflex modification\n\nwith sensory stimuli, the effect was not investigated for\n\nthe next 35 years. 'In 1926, Dodge and Louttit published a\n\nreport of investigations into reflex magnitude as a function\n\nof the ISI between successive presentations of the ES.\n\nMeasuring the effects of ISIs ranging from approximately 180\n\nto 500 asecs, they found that the response to the second\n\nstimulus was uniformly smaller than that to the first. They\n\nattributed this effect to refractoriness in the startle\n\nmechanisms. In addition to any refractoriness, it is\n\nprobable that the first stimulus was serving as an\ninhibitory PS. Shortly after the Dodge and Louttit (1926)\n\nstudy, several investigations of reflex modification were\n\nreported from Yale University. H~ilgard (1933) reported that\n\nthe ISI between the PS and the ES was critical for the\n\neffect of the PS. Cohen, Bilgard, and Pendt (1933) used the\n\ninhibitory effects of visual PS to demonstrate that the\n\nperipheral blindness reported by a patient was not of\n\norganic etiology. Though the patient could not report\n\nseeing stimuli in his peripheral fields, these stimuli did\n\neffectively inhibit his response to sudden noise.\n\nSubsequent to these and several other studies in the 1930's,\n\nthe paradigar was again ignored until 1963. IZn 1963, soffman\n\nand Fleshler noticed that the magnitude of elicited startle\n\nwas increased in the presence of background noise. However,\n\nwhen the noise pulsed on and off with a 500 apsec du-ty cycle,\n\nthe reflex was greatly inhibited.. This paper initiated an\n\narea of research which has continued to the present.\n\nProbably the mpost crucial parameter determining the\n\neffects of a PS upon an elicited startle is the ISI between\n\nthe PS and the ES. Hoffaan and Searle (1965) found that a\n\n10 asec noise burst presented shortly before the ES (ISI =\n\n20 to 160 ansecs) served to inhibit the elicited reflex. This\n\ndemonstration replicated the findings of Hilgard (19 33).,\n\nHowever, Hilgard (1933) found that the reflex was inhibited\n\nat ISIs equal to 100 to 425 assecs and facilitated at ISIs of\n\n20 to 50 ase cs. Hoffaan and Searle (1965) found only\n\ninhibition at ISIs of 20 to 160 asecs. The fact that\n\ninhibition can be seen at very short ISIs is important for\n\nruling out the possibility that the inhibition is due to\n\nprotective reflexes of the middle ear, since these\n\nprotective reflexes occur much more slowly than the\n\ninhibition process. ALlso, inhibition can be seen with\n\nstimuli auch too weak to elicit such protective reflexes\n\n(e.g. Harsh, Hoffaan and Stitt, 1978). This possibility is\nalso ruled out by the fact that reflex inhibition can be\n\nseen with prestimuli of a different modality from the ES\n\n(e.g. Bowditch and Warren, 1890; Harsh, Hoffaan, and Stitt,\n\n1976; Pinckney, 1976; Schwartz, Hofflaan, Stitt, and Marsh,\n\n1976; Reiter and Ison, 1977; and Sanes, Ison, and Adelson,\n\n1978). It is also unlikely that the effect is due to\n\nauditory masking of the ES by the PS, since inhibition is\n\nrelatively insensitive to the frequency characteristics of\n\nthe stimuli (Marsh, Hoffaan, Stitt, and Schwartz, 1975)\n\nwhereas masking is frequency-dependent.\n\nIn several parametric studies of the effects of ISI, it\n\nhas been found that the PS has little effect upon reflex\n\namplitude for ISIs less than about 20 asec s. Simila rl y,\ninhibition is usually not seen at ISIs greater than 500 to\n\n1000 rasecs. In rats, maxiana inhibition is seen at ISIs of\n\nabout 50 asecs (Ison and Hassond, 1971; Schwartz, Hoffaan,\n\nStitt, and Marsh, 1976; Fechter and Ison, 1972), al tho ugh\n\nsome have reported maximum inhibition at longer ISIs (e~g.\n\nAsh, Parisi, and Ison, 1978; Stitt, Ho ff ma n, and Marsh,\n\n1973). Beyond 100 asecs, the inhibitory effect diminishes to\n\nzero by about 1000 asecs (Ison and Rammond, 1971). In\n\nhumans, the pattern is similar except that maximum\n\ninhibition is seen at somewhat longer ISIs, usually 100 to\n\n150 asees (Graham and Murray, 1977; Sanes, Ison, and\n\nAdelson, 1978) although mazians inhibition at shorter ISIs\n\nhas been seen (Kranter, Leonard, and Ison, 1973).\n\nIn addition to ISI, PS intensity determines its\n\ninhibitory effect. Hoffmaan and Wible (1970) used auditory\n\nprestimuli ranging in intensity from 3S to 95 dB to inhibit\n\nacoustic startle in rats. They found that as PS intensity\n\nincreased, reflex amaplitude decreased. This effect was\n\nreplicated by Krauter, Leonard, and Ison (1973). Sirailarly,\n\nB~arsh, Hoffaan, and Stitt (1978) found that as the auditory\n\nPS increased in intensity, airpuff-elicited eyeblinks\n\ndecreased in amplitude in humans. Also using a puff-\n\nelicited eyeblink, Reiter and Ison (1977) found that\n\nincreases in the intensity of a visual PS had the same\n\neffect as reported above for auditory prestimuli. Finally,\n\nPinckney (1976) used several intensities of shock as the PS\n\nand found that whole-body acoustic startle in rats was a\n\ndecreasing function of increasing shock intensity.\n\nIn summrary, reflex inhibition is a robust phenomenon\n\nwhich has been demonstrated for a number of reflexes (e~g.\n\neyeblink and kneejerk in heaans, whole-body startle in rats,\n\npigeonus, and guinea pigs) and for a number of eliciting\n\nstimuli (acoustic, visual, tactile) as well as prestimuli\n\n(acoustic, visual, tactilee. The effect is evident primarily\nat ISIs between 20 and 500 asecs and increases with PS\n\ni nte nsi ty. It should be emphasized that an effective\n\nprestimulus need not consist of a discrete tone or light or\n\nany other addition of energy to the sensory environment.\n\nStimulus offset (Stitt, Hoffaan, and Harsh, 1973) as well as\n\na change in the frequency characteristics of continuous\n\nnoise (Stitt, Hoffaan, Harsh, and Boskoff, 1974; Harsh,\n\nHoffaan, Stitt, and Schwartz, 1975) has been used as\n\ninhibitory stimuli. Indeed, it seems that virtually any\n\nchange in the sensory environment can serve as an inhibitory\n\nPS, given the appropriate temporal configuration.\n\nReflex fagilitation\n\nQuite early in the literature, it was discovered that\n\nthe same PS can inhibit or facilitate the magnitude of\n\nelicited reflexes depending upon the ISI. As mentioned\n\nabove, Hilgard (1933) found reflex inhibition when the PS\n\npreceded the ES by 25 to 50 asecs. Bowditch and ffarren\n\n(1890) also noted opposite effects of a PS depending upon\n\nthe ISI. More recently, it has generally been shown that\n\nshort intervals (e.g. 20 to 500 asecs) produce inhibition,\n\nwhereas ISIs greater than 1000 asecs are usually necessary\n\nin order to see amplitude facilitation.\n\nHoffman and Fleshler (1963) found that with rats a\n\ncontinuous background noise level of 85 dB facilitated the\n\namplitude of elicited reflexes whereas turning the noise on\n\nand off every 500 asecs inhibited the reflex. In this case,\n\nthe inhibitory effects of the pulsed background were\n\nprobably due to the changes in stimulation occurring within\n\n500 asecs of the ES. The effects of continuous noise are\n\noften ascribed (e~g. Grahas, 1975) to activation of an\n\narousal system (see nalsro (1959) for a discussion of\n\narousal). Hoffiaan and Searle (1965) found that as background\n\nnoise intensity increased from 50 to 90 dB, reflex\n\nfacilitation also i ncrea se d. Hoffman and aible (1970)\n\ncompared the effects of a 75 db noise stimulus initiated at\n\nintervals ranging from 100 to 6400 asecs before ES onset. In\n\naddition, the PS was either present until ES onset or turned\n\noff after 20 asec. With the continuous PS, the reflex was\n\nfacilitated for stimulus onset asynchronies ( SO s) greater\n\nthan or equal to 400 asecs. However, with the discrete PS,\n\nall intervals less than 3200 asecs produced inhibition and\n\nfacilitation was not evident at any of the intervals. The\n\nauthors concluded that facilitation and inhibition were\n\nindependent processes and that facilitation was a function\n\nof stimulation present at the time of ES initiation.\n\nIson, McAdamt, and Hammond (1973) produced a situation\n\nin which the Ps was initiated at various intervals before\n\nthe ES and terminated only after BS presentation. The SOA\n\nvaried from 0 to 2000 asecs. In agreement with Hilgard\n\n(1 9 33) f aci lit at ion was seen at short SOAs (5 and 10\n\nasecs), while inhibition was seen at SO~s of 20 to 170\n\nasecs. The apparent contradiction of these results with\n\n\nthose finding facilitation only at long ISls can possibly to\n\nresolved by reference to two recent papers. Hoffaan and\n\nStitt (1980) and Hoffmaan, Cohen, and Stitt (In press) found\n\nthat stimuli presented simultaneously with an effective ES\n\nwill augment the elicited reflex even when the stimuli are\n\nof insufficient intensity to elicit the reflex themselves.\n\nThe short time-constant system, hypothesized by Berg (19'73)\n\nto control the initial skeletal components of startle, is\n\nable to summate stimuli presented within 15 asees of one\n\nanother. Thus stimuli vith SO~s less than 15 asecs may both\n\ncontribute to startle elicitation. Therefore, short SOA\n\nfacilitation is probably a function of the total amount of\n\nstimulation present at or near ES initiation. The\n\nfacilitation seen in experiments on rats differs in some\n\nrespects from that found in the next group of studies to be\n\nreviewed, which used human subjects.\n\nGrahamr, Putnam, and Leavitt (1975) investigated the\n\neffects of either continuous or 14 asec prestimuli presented\n\nat SOl~s ranging from 200 to 2000 asecs before ES initiation.\n\nAs expected, both the continuous and the discrete prestimtuli\n\ninhibited the reflex at the 200 asec SOA. At 800 asecs,\n\nneither PS affected the reflex. However at 1400 and 2000\n\nasecs, both the discrete and the continuous prestimuli\n\nfacilitated the reflex. These results replicated the data\n\nfrom rats in all respects except one. In rats, no\n\nfacilitation had been seen with discrete prestimuli. Graham\n\n\n(1975) accounted for the disparity between rats and humans\n\nby referring to two distinct facilitative processes. She\n\nproposed that facilitation due to background stimulation and\n\nto continuous prestimuli say be due to general arousal. She\n\nfurther speculated that facilitation produced by discrete\n\nprestiaali vas due to physiological rebound triggered by ES\n\npresentation. Since Graham, Putnam, and Leavitt (1975) found\n\na HR deceleration during the interval between PS and ES, it\n\nwas hypothesized that the PS produced an orienting response\n\n(RR deceleration is a component of the orienting response)\n\nbecause the PS signalled the beginning of an uncertain\n\ninterval which ends at ES presentation. Initiation of the ES\n\neliminates this uncertainty, terminates orienting, and\n\nproduces a physiological rebound. Presumably, this\n\norienting-related uncertainty does not occur in rats and\n\nthus, neither does facilitation due to discrete prestimuli.\n\nBloch and Toukatly (1976) directly tested the\n\nhypothesis of reflex facilitation due to stimulus\n\nuncertainty. They presented a discrete PS at a long ISI\n\n(2000 asecs) before the ES. The PS vas one of three\n\ndifferent visual stimuli. One indicated that the ES would\n\nfollow vith 100% certainty, one indicated a 50X probability\n\nof ES presentation, and the third indicated 100%b certainty\n\nof no ES. In support of Grahas's (1975) hypothesis, they\n\nfound facilitation in the 50% but not in the 100% certainty\n\n\nBohlin and Grahama (1977) speculated that if\n\nfacilitation is due to a termination of orienting, any\n\nmanipulation which caused orienting to persist through the\n\nES should prevent facilitation. One half of their subjects\n\nwere required to discriminate the duration of a soft tone\n\npresented within the 2000 iasec PS to ES intervral. The other\n\nhalf vere required to estimate the duration of the ES. It\n\nwas hypothesized that the latter subjects would show no\n\nfacilitation since orienting would hopefully be maintained\n\nthrough the entire ES. The results were negative. Both\n\ngroups of subjects evidenced equal amounts of facilitation.\n\nHowever, since both groups showed a HIR acceleration\n\nfollowing the BS, there was no evidence that the second\n\ngroup continued to produce an orienting reaction through the\n\n\nIn a second experiment from the same paper, Bohlin and\n\nGrahama (1977) chose a subsample of subjects who did show HR\n\ndeceleration through the ES and evaluated the effects of the\n\nPS. Even in this group, the PS produced facilitation. These\n\nresults therefore argue against the notion that facilitation\n\nis due to termination of orienting. Since HR deceleration is\n\nthought to enhance sensory input (e~g. Sokolov, 1960, 1963;\n\nLacey, 1967; Lacey, Kagan, Lacey, and Moss, 1963), Bohlin\n\nand Grahama (1977) speculated that the PS initiates orienting\n\nwhich enhances ES input and thus facilitates startle.\n\n\nSilverstein and Grahama (1978) tested this possibility\n\nby requiring subjects to judge the duration of an\n\nelectrotactile stimulus presented simultaneously with the\n\nES. It was hypothesized that by directing attention away\n\nfrom the acoustic ES facilitation would be prevented. In\n\nfact, when this procedure was employed, the PS produced no\n\nfacilitation. Considered in conjunction with the Boblin and\n\nGrahamr (1977 ) paper, these findings suggested to the\n\nauthors that discrete PS facilitation is due to the\n\ndirection of attention to the ES by the PS.\n\nIn summrtary, there seem to be two distinct processes\n\nwhich can produce reflex ampitude facilitation. The\n\nfacilitation evident at short ~IS~s as well as that produced\n\nby background noise seems to be a function of the total\n\nstimulus energy present at ES initiation. This maay be a\n\nresult of stimulus-produced arousal (Grahamp, 19 75) or due\n\nto the total effect of several sources of stimulation, each\n\nhaving independent access to neural sites responsible for\n\nreflex initiation (Hoffman, Cohen, and Stitt, In press). In\n\ncontrast, reflex facilitation produced by discrete\n\nprestimuli at long ISIs seems to be a process unique to\n\nhumans, since it is not reliably observed in other species,\n\nand say involve relatively sophisticated cognitive\n\nprocesses. If the PS serves to direct the respondent's\n\nattention toward the ES (possibly also producing a HR\n\ndeceleration during the PS-ES interval), the reflex will be\n\n\nReflex Zatency godification\n\nThe discussion has thus far focused upon modification\n\nof reflex amplitude. various stimulus parameters also have\n\nreliable effects up reflex latency. Hoffman, Fleshler, and\n\nAlplanalp (1964) discovered that reflex latency in rats\n\ndecreased with increasing ES intensity, an effect replicated\n\nby Berg (1973) in humans. Fleshier (1965) found no effect of\nES rise time or duration upon latency, a finding\n\nincompatible with those of Berg (1973) who found decreasing\n\nreflex latency with increasing ES duration. In terias of ES\n\nparameters, it can be said generally that in humaans the same\n\nma nipulations which increase reflex amplitude serve to\ndecrease reflex latency.\n\nThe presentation of a ES before the ES has effects upon\nreflex latency in addition to those upon reflex amplitude.\n\nHilgard (1933) found that the samae IS~s which resulted in\n\namplitude inhibition (75 to 450 asecs) also decreased the\n\nlatency of elicited eyeblinkrs in humaans. MIore recently,\n\nHo~ffan and Searle (1968) reported that 50As of S to 15\n\n~asecs reduced latency in rats even though there were no\n\neffects upon amaplitude at the 5 asec SOA. This effect was\n\nreplicated by Ison, ScAdamn, and Hiammond (1973) who found\n\nlatency reduction at SOhs of 5 and 10 rasecs but (contrary to\n\nHilgard, 1933) latency increase for SO~Ls at or beyond 40\nasecs. Stiaulus onset asynchronies greater than 170 rasecs\n\n\nhad no effect upon reflex latency. The authors also found\n\nthat increasing the intensity of background noise produced\n\nincreases in reflex latency. Hoffaan and Rible (1970) also\n\nfound increased latency with increasing PS intensity, but\n\nonly at an ISI of 150 asecs. At an ISI of 5 lasecs, increases\n\nin PS intensity produced decreases in response latency.\n\nSchwartz, Hoffaan, Stitt, and IMarsh (1976) found latency\n\nreduction at SO~s of 2, 4, and 8 asecs (but not at 1 and 64\n\nasecs) as well as larger amounts of latency reduction with\n\nincreasing PS intensity. P inck ne y (1976) found latency\n\nincreases at 40 and 250 asec IS~s, but no effect at 10 or\n\n1000 asecs. Stitt, Hoffaan, and Mlarsh (1976) similarly found\n\nthat an SOA of 4 asecs reduced latency whereas an SOA of 64\n\nasecs increased it.\n\nIn humans, PS effects upon latency have not been as\n\nextensively investigated as in the studies reviewed above\n\nusing rats, rabbits, and pigeons. Reiter and Ison (1977)\n\nfound increased latency with increasing PS intensity, a\n\nfinding at variance with those of Schwartz, Boffman, Stitt,\n\nand Marsh (1976). However, the 100 asec ISI employed by\n\nReiter and Ison corresponds closely to the 150 asec ISI used\n\nby Heffean and Wible (1970) who also found increasing\n\nLatency with increasing PS intensity. The 5 asec SII\n\ncondition of Hoffaan and Pible (1970) produced decreasing\n\nlatency for increasing PS intensity, a finding replicated bry\n\nSchwartz, Hoffman, Stitt, and Clarsh (1976) with a 4 asec\n\n\nSOA. Graham and 8urray (1977) found reduced reflex latency\n\nfor TS~Is of 30 and 60 asecs, increased latency at 120 apsecs,\n\nand no difference at 240 asecs.\n\nThe studies of response latency reviewed thus far have\n\nused IS~s within the range which normally produces amplitude\n\ninhibition. Bloch and Toukatly (1976) presented the PS at an\n\nISI of 2000 asecs (thereby producing amplitude facilitation)\n\nand found a decrease in latency, a finding replicated by\n\nBohlin and GrahamI (1977) and Silverstein and Graham (1978).\n\nThe latency reduction was relatively unaffected by the\n\nvarious manipulations of attention in these last three\n\n\nIn summary, the latency of elicited reflexes is\n\naffected by variations in PS and BS parameters as is reflex\n\namplitude. Increases in Es intensity produce decreases in\n\nreflex latency. In rats, ES duration and rise time have so\n\nfar shown no effect upon latency. However, in humans the\n\nlatency of elicited reflexes has been shown to decrease with\n\nincreasing ES duration. The addition of a PS produces\n\nindependent effects upon latency., At ISIs between 5 and 60\n\nasecs, reflex latency is reduced. Interstimulus intervals\n\nbetween 60 and 200 asecs produce increases in reflex\n\nlatency. Increasing the ISI: to 2000 asecs again reduces\n\nlatency. The effects of PS intensity are complex. At short\n\nISIs (e~g. 5 asecs), increases in PS intensity produced\n\ndecreases in reflex latency. A~t longer ISIs (elg. 150\n\n\nasecs), increases in PS intensity produce increases in\n\nreflex latency. Finally, as with amplitude inhibition,\n\nlatency can be reduced by changes in the bandwidth of a\n\nnoise PS (Marsh, Hoffman, Stitt, and Schwartz, 1975) and by\n\nstimulus offset (Stitt, Hoffnan, and Marsh, 1973).\n\nIn concluding the review of the literature concerning\n\nthe effects of various stimulus parameters upon reflex\n\nmodification, it should be mentioned that the amlplitude\n\ninhibition and latency reduction effects seem to be\n\nindependent of variables affecting reflex elicitation. For\n\nexasyle, Stitt, Hoffman, and Mlarsh (1976) found that ISI\n\neffects did not differ for ES intensities ranging from 90 to\n\n120 dB. Hoffiaan, Marsh, and Stitt (1980) found that not only\n\nis amount of inhibition independent of ES intensity, but so\n\nis the amount of latency reduction.\n\nCognitive Contributions\n\nUntil very recently, reflex modification was\n\ninvestigated largely from a physiological or stimulus-\n\nparanetric standpoint. If any attempt was mlade to relate the\n\nphenomena to psychological processes, it was usually by\n\ncalling upon rather global terms such as arousal. However,\n\nit has been known for some time that various cognitive\n\nprocesses can affect elicited reflexes. Lombard (1887)\n\ninvestigated the effects of various psychological \"states\"\n\nupon the maagnitude of elicited kneejerks. Bamong other\n\ninteresting relationships, Lombard (1887) found that he\n\ncould reduce the apparent intensity of the ES (Loabard\n\nserved as his own subject) as well as the magnitude of the\n\nresponse by \". directing the thoughts to somae\nindifferent subject, for instance, by quietly concentrating\n\nthe attention on the varath of the skin of the hand\" (p.\n\n\nExplici t attempts to cast the effects of reflex\n\nfacilitation in a psychological framework have been made by\n\nGrahas and her colleagues. For example, Bohlin and Graham\n\n(1977), Bloch and Toukatly (1976), and Silverstein and\n\nGraham (1978) demonstrated that the phenomenon of reflex\n\nfacilitation depends not only upon the parameters of\n\nstimulation, but also upon the meaning ascribed to the\n\nstimuli., Bohlin and Graham (1977) suggested that reflex\n\nfacilitation may occur because the PS signals the approach\n\nof the ES and thus directs attention toward it. Bloch and\n\nToukatly (1976) found that if the PS signalled the approach\n\nof the ES only uncertainly, the facilitative effect was\n\nenhanced. Finally, Silverstein and Graham (1978) reported\n\nthat a manipulation designed to focus attention away from\n\nthe ES prevented the facilitative effects of an\n\nappropriately placed PS, which instead inhibited the reflex.\n\nThe attempt to account for reflex inhibition in\n\ncognitive teras is more recent and tentative. Grahas (1975)\n\nspeculated that reflex inhibition may be a method of\n\n\nprotecting preattentive processing. Drawing upon Neisser's\n\n(1967) concept of preattentive processing, Graham\ncharacterized startle as an interrupt system, designed to\n\nhalt ongoing cognitive activity and free the organism to\n\ndeal with incoming stimulation. The effect of the inhibitory!\n\nPS is to minimize the distracting effects of a full-blown\n\nstartle. Hofffaan and Ison (1980), in a review of the reflex\n\nmodification literature, proposed their own model to account\n\nfor the effects of facilitative and inhibitory prestimuli.\n\nThis largely neurophysiological model postulates independent\n\nexcitatoryl and inhibitory systems acting upon a startle\n\nA brief review of the characteristics of a potent\n\ninhibitory PS indicates a relatively simple principle: given\n\nthe appropriate temporal relationships, the \"bigger\" or more\n\nsalient the PS, the greater is its inhibitory potency.~ For\n\nexample, inhibition increases as PS intensity increases. In\n\naddition, when using a fregnency shift in a continuous tone\n\nor band of noise as a PS, the larger the shift the greater\n\nis the amount of inhibition. The same manipulations which\n\ntend to increase the inhibitory effect of a PS are the same\n\nas those which tend to decrease psychophysical thresholds\n\n(Weber, 1834, cited in Gescheider, 1976).\n\nIf it is assumed that the organism has a facility for\n\ndetecting discrete stimulation, and if it is further assumed\n\nthat various stimulus parameters determine to what extent\n\n\nthis facility is engaged, it is possible to propose a model\n\nof reflex modification based upon this facility. Neisser\n\n(1967) describes such a process and refers to it as\n\n\"preattentive processing.\" when coining the term, Neisser\n\n(1967, p. 89) described preattentive processing as a\n\npreliminary analytical operation which serves to separate\n\nobjects from ground W. which later mechanisms are to\n\nflesh out and interpret.\" The process serves to separate an\n\nobject from others \". . as a potential framework for the\n\nsubsequent and more detailed analyses of attention.\" In\n\nshort, preattentive processes serve to locate and identify\n\nfigures from ground, or signal frost noise, and to render\n\nthese unities as material for subsequent cognitive analyses.\n\nIf it is further assumed that this process takes a finite\n\namount of time, it is possible to conceive of. reflex\n\ninhibition as due, in part, to the \"capture\" or engagement\n\nof the attentive and preattentive processes. If the ES\n\narrives very shortly after the PS, it is rendered\n\nfunctionally less intense by the fact that the PS has\n\nengaged the preattentive processes. This model can also\n\naccount for the effects of ISI upon inhibition. At very\n\nshort ISIs, the PS has not yet fully engaged the processes\n\nby the time the ES arrives sos there is little inhibition.\n\nAt long ISIs, there is ample time for the PS to be detected\n\nand for the processes to be disengaged and then re-engaged\n\nby the ES, again producing little inhibition.\n\n\nAlthough the proposed model is couched in terms usually\n\na ssocia ted with a n i nforma tion-p rocessin g approach, it is\n\nquite com pa tibl e with other a ppr oa che s to cog n iti ve\n\npsychology. For example, Gibson (1966) speaks of a process\n\nof resonance wherein the person extracts information from\n\nthe energy available at the sensory receptors. Gibson\n\nfurther posits that some structures in the environment are\n\nmore attractive than others. \"Certain loci in the array\n\ncontain more information than others. The peripheral retina\n\nregisters such a locus, the brain resonates vaguely, and the\n\neye is turned. Subjectively we say that something 'catches\n\nour attention'\" (1966, p. 260).\n\nIn support of the proposed model, it has been found\n\nthat equal intensity eliciting stimuli are judged less\n\nintense if they are preceded by a PS (Cohen, Soffaran, and\n\nstitt, In press). The effect was independent of the\n\nmagnitude of the response to the ES. DelPezzo and Hoffman\n\n(1980) found that if their subjects were instructed to\n\nattend to the PS there was greater inhibition than if the\n\nsubjects were instructed to .ignore it. They proposed a model\n\nvery similar to the attentional model that I have outlined.\nThe authors referred to a characterization of attention\n\nproposed by Posner, Snyder, and Davidson (1980); \"Attention\n\ncan be likened to a spotlight that enhances the efficiency\n\nof detection of events within its beaan (p. 172). In support\n\nof this conceptualization, Posner, Snyder, and Davidson\n\n(1980) found that reaction times to a stimulus were\n\ndecreased if the stimulus appeared in an expected position\n\nand increased if it appeared in an unexpected position.\n\nViewed in this way, results of older studies are\n\nconsistent. For example, Lombard's (1887) finding that he\n\ncould reduce the apparent intensity of taps to the patellar\n\ntendon as well as the magnitude of the elicited kneejerks by\n\nconcentrating on unrelated matters supports the proposed\n\nc onc ept ualza ti on. In addition, Peak (1931) found that\n\nelicited eyeblink reflexes were facilitated if the subject\n\nwas required to react rapidly to the ES by moving a finger\n\nor making a voluntary lid movement. In teras of the\n\nattentional model, Lomabard (1887) was directing attention\n\naway froa, and Peak (1931) was directing attention toward\nthe IS. More recently, Boelhouver (1979) found that the R2\n\ncomponent of the eyeblink (that component which accounts for\nthe majority of actual lid movement) was smaller during the\n\nperiod between the warning stimulus and the imperative\nstimulus in a reaction time task. If it is assumed that\n\nattention in this case was being directed toward the\n\nimminent imperative stimulus and away from the ES, these\n\nresults can be construed as support for the attentional\n\nmodel proposed.\n\nThis model can be extended to account for facilitation\n\nof reflex amplitude seen with discrete prestimull at long\n\nISIs. It is possible that the PS is presented at a lead\n\n\ninterval long enough in this case to allow voluntary aspects\n\nof attention to be directed toward the upcoming ES. In\n\nagreement with Bohlin and Graham (1977), the HR deceleration\noften seen between PS and ES in these long ISI situations\n\nmay be an index of this sort of attentional preparation.\n\nTht Aqingat oftteqtional Processes\n\nThe literature on the adult development of attention\n\nreveals marked differences in attentional and perceptual\n\nprocesses in old age (see Hoyer and Plude, 1980 for a\n\nreview). The changes in attentional behavior can be\n\nsummarized by two general Isaxims: 1) performaance on tasks\n\ndesigned to measure attentional and perceptual processes (as\nis true for virtually any behavior) tend to slow vith age;\n\n2) as task demands increase, age differences in performance\n\nalso increase.\n\nThe evidence for the slowing of perceptual behavior\n\nwith age comes from a variety of sources. For example, older\n\npeople need longer exposures in order to identify briefly\n\npresen-ted forms (Salthouse, 1976), have lower flicker fusion\n\nthresholds (Uealle, 1965) and click fusion thresholds (WJeiss,\n\n1963), and require longer .ISIs in order to avoid visual\n\nmasking effects (Walsh, Williams, and Hertzog, 1979).\n\nAt least two attempts to account for this behavioral\n\nslowing have been made by prominent gero-psychologists.\n\nBotvinick (1978, p. 157 ) has postulated that the central\n\n\nnervous system of the older person needs a greater time to\n\nclearn a stimulus out, in effect producing a greater\n\nstimulus persistence.\" This idea was originally formulated\n\nto account for the phenomena mentioned above as well as\n\nother age-related behavioral changes (e.g. less precise\n\njudgements of sequentially lifted weights and greater\n\nsusceptibility to visual illusions). There have Leen\n\nsubsequent studies supporting increased stimulus persistence\n\nin the aged, including investigations of the ability to\n\nintegrate sequentially presented word halves (Kline and\n\nOrae-Rogers, 1978) as well as other, mostly tachistoscopic,\n\nstudies. The stimulus persistence model is very similar to\n\n\"integration\" models of visual masking (see Turvey, 1973,\n\nfor a review), and it is therefore not surprising that it\n\nrelies heavily upon studies of visual perception for its\n\nsupport. The general idea is that humans do not have perfect\n\ntemporal resolution abilities so that if one stimulus\n\nfollcus another in close temporal proximity, the person is\n\nleft with a \"double exposure\" out of which he attempts to\n\nmake sense. Botwinick proposes that this persistence\n\nincreases with age.\n\nBitren (1965, 1974) has also proposed a model to\n\naccount for behavioral slowing in the elderly. He likens the\n\nbehavior of the elderly to a calculator or electric sotor\n\noperating on less than optimal voltage. According to\nBirren, an insufficient operating voltage causes a\n\ncalculator to perform more slowly. However, since a\n\ncalculator loses no information, it will perform its\n\nfunctions correctly. In contrast, human cognitive processes\n\nare subject to information loss due to decaying stimulus or\n\nmemory traces. So unlike a calculator, the slower old person\n\nsay have more difficulty on some tasks, because during the\n\ngreater timre required to carry out certain functions, more\ninformation is lost than by quicker young persons. The\n\nimplications of this model are subtle but noteworthy. Birren\n\nproposes that speed of processing is important for the\n\naccuracy of such diverse behaviors as visual perception,\n\nlearning, motor skills, and intelligence. Indeed, Birre n\n\n(1974) suggests that \". . one may regard the changes with\n\nage in central processing time as the major independent\n\nvariable in explaining andh of the behavioral changes with\n\nage\" (p. 813).\nThe second w~axis can be construed to predict age by\n\ntask complexity interactions for miost tasks. That is, as the\n\nattentional demands of the task increase, so do the age\n\ndifferences in performance. Perhaps a fruitful avenue of\n\napproach to this issue is one adopted by Hoyer and Plude\n\n(1980). These investigators drew upon various models of\n\nattention (e~g. Hasher and Zacks, 1979) which distinguish\n\nbetween automatic attention (e.g. tasks which tap highly\n\npracticed skills) and effortful attention (e.g. tasks in\nwhich new strategies or conscious efforts to maintain\n\n\nvigilance are required). Generally, it has been found that\n\ntasks which require effortful attention show much greater\n\nage differences than those which largely require automatic\n\nattention (se.g. Plude and Boyer, 1980).\n\nThe experiments undertaken here will involve various\n\nmanijulations designed to increase the salience (and thus,\n\nhopefully the \"attention-getting\" valIue) of the PS in a\n\nreflex inhibition situation. This will be attempted by\n\nstrategies designed to direct either automatic or effortful\n\nattention to the PS. On the basis of the literature reviewed\n\nabove, it was hypothesized that increasing either automatic\n\nor effortful attention to the PS would enhance its\n\ninhibitory effect upon the elicited reflex, but that smaller\n\nage differences would occur with manipulations of automatic\nthan of effortful attention.\n\nStated briefly, the purposes of the research to follow\n\nare threefold; 1) to test an attentional model of reflex\n\ninhibition, 2) to investigate age differences in reflex\n\ninhibition produced by manipulations of attention, and 3) to\n\njuxtapose the models of age-related slowing proposed by\n\nBirren and Botwinick. The investigation will be informative\n\nfor at least two reasons. First, these models were\n\nformulated based largely upon data from reaction time and\n\nvisual perception research. Subsequent tests of Botwinick's\n\nmodel have typically employed similar methods. It would be\n\ninformative to test the models not only with a radically\n\ndifferent methodology, but with an involuntary response.\n\nKline and Scheiber (1981) have indicated the need for such a\n\ndeparture from traditional investigative methodology in this\n\nregard. The use of an elicited reflex will hopefully\n\nminimize probleas of interpretation due to age differences\n\nin activation or experimental anxiety. Secondly, a direct\n\ntest of these two models has not yet been attempted. Such a\n\ntest would be heuristically valuable in the sense of more\n\nprecisely channelling future progging for the processes\n\nunderlying the observed behavioral slowing in old age.\n\n\nSub -ects\n\nThe young subjects in these studies ranged in age from\n\n17 to 30 and were recruited from the Department of\n\nPsychology subject pool. Subjects participated in\n\nexperiments in order to fulfill requirements of the\n\nIntroductory Psychology class. Old subjects were recruited\n\nthrough the Alachua County Older Americans Council of\n\nGainesville, Florida. Subjects received no remuneration for\n\ntheir participation. Subjects were not screened on the bases\n\nof health, sensory acuity, or socioeconomic status with the\n\nexception of several elderly subjects whose data were\n\neliminated from the analyses due to obvious severe hearing\n\nloss or use of a cardiac pacemaker.\n\n\nStimulus timing and presentation as well as eyeblink\n\nresponse measurement were controlled on-line by a PDP 8/E\n\nlaboratory computer. Airpuff stimuli were produced by\n\nelectronically opening a solenoid valve fitted on a\n\npressure-regulated scuba tank. The air was directed through\n\n\nplastic tubing to an adjustable fitting mounted on the\n\nheadset used to deliver tone stimruli. This fitting allowed\n\npresentation of the airpuff stimuli virtually anywhere on\n\nthe right side of the face. For all experiments to be\n\nreported here, the opening of the airhose was positioned\n\nabout one centimeter posterior to the outer canthus of the\n\nright eye at a distance of one centimeter from the skin\n\nsurface. The intensity of the airpuff was measured by\n\nconnecting a manometer from a blood pressure\n\nsphygaosanometer (A8bco H18810401-390102) to the end of the\n\nalthose. The relationship between the steady-state pressure\n\nand the momentary pressure of the airpuff stianui was\n\nestablished by using a Harco Bio-Systems Physiograph (Model\n\nDHP 4)8), Strain Gage Coupler (Type 7172) and pressure\n\ntransducer (1700-1010). Puff intensities were controlled by\n\nan Airco,Inc. regulator (1806-9106).\n\nTone stimuli vere produced by a Bewlett-Packard vide\n\nrange oscillator (Model 200CD) or a Krohn-Hiite function\n\ngenerator (Model 5300). Sine wave tones were gated through\nIconix electronic switches (tSR37). Tone intensities were\n\ncontrolled with a Bewlett-Packrard attenuator (1350D) and\n\ntones were presented through TD)H-49 earphones fitted with\n\nnI-41/AB cushions. Rise/decay times for all tone stimuli\n\nvere set at 5 asecs. Tone frequencies were visually checked\n\nwith a Textronixt dual-channel storage oscilloscope (Model\n\nR5648). Tone intensities were checked with a Hewlett-\n\n\nPackard volt meter (Model 400E), which was calibrated with a\n\nBruel and Kjaer sound level seter (lType 2203), fitted with a\n\nsix cubic centimeter coupler, and calibrated with a Type\n\n4132 microphone.\n\nResponses were recorded on a B~eckman polygraph (Mlodel\n\nS411B) using Type 9806A A-C couplers. Time constants and\n\nhigh frequency filtering vere as follows; for\n\nelect rocardio gra m (ECG), high fregoncy filters were set at\n\n22 Bz and time constant at .004 Hz, for electrooculogras\n\n(EOG), high frequency filters were set at 22 Hz and time\n\nconstant at 1 Hz.\n\nElectroocologram was sampled on-line at the rate of\n\n1/asec and stored on floppy disk for subsequent off-line\n\nanalysis. Electrocardiogram, BOG, and a pulse coincident\n\nwith airpuff delivery were also stored on channels 1, 2, and\n\n4, respectively of a Hewlett-Packard 3960 Instrumentation PM\n\ntape recorder. The tape was replayed for heart rate\n\n\nAll testing was done in an IAC 10983 sound-attenuating\n\nchamber which was located in a room separate from all\n\nequipment. With the door to the rooms closed and the door to\n\nthe chamber open, ambient sound level was approximately 35\n\ndB(A1). Electrocardiogram and EOG were recorded using Beckman\n\nALg/AgCl 11 as cup electrodes (8650437), adhesive collars,\n\nand Synapse electrode cream (Med-Tek Corporation). For\n\nrecording BOG, small areas above the left eyebrow and above\n\n\nthe left cheekbone were lightly abraided with Redox Paste\n\nand wiped clean before application of the electrodes. For\n\nECG, electrodes were attached to the volar surface of the\n\nleft and right forearms or below the aidline of the right\n\nclavicle and to the left ankle. A ground electrode was\n\nattached to the left forearm (or left ankle). No ungrounded\n\ndevices operating on line voltage were within reach of the\n\ngrounded subjects. Subjects were continuously monitored over\nclosed-circuit television and two-vay communication was\n\navailable via intercom.\n\n\nSubjects were brought into the laboratory and first\n\nread and signed an informed consent agreement. Upon\n\ncompletion of the informed consent form, subjects were\n\nseated in the IAC chamber and any experimental instructions\n\nwere given in an informal manner as the electrodes were\n\nattached and the headset placed in position. Considerable\n\neffort was undertaken to make the situation as non-\n\nthreatening as possible, as there is evidence that\n\nphysiological responses are subject to variation due to the\n\nmeasurement setting (Harbin and Cunningham, 1978). After all\n\nelectrodes were in place, subjects were asked to relax while\n\nthe recording equipment was turned on and gain settings\n\nadjusted. This took about five minutes. Then, the\n\ninstructions were repeated, questions answered, and the door\n\nto the roomt was closed. The door to the IAC chamber was\n\n\nalways left open to maintain good air circulation. At the\n\nconclusion of -the session, the purposes of the experiment\n\nand the polygraph records were discussed with the subjects.\n\nVoltage changes associated with the elicited eyeblinks\n\nwere sampled once per asec for 250 asecs following\n\ninitiation of the airpuff stimuli. Off line analysis later\n\nmeasured onset latency, onset voltage level, peak voltage\n\nlevel, and blink amplitude (equal to peak voltage minus\n\nvoltage at onset). A graphic depiction of the response was\n\ndisplayed on a Tektronix Type 602 cathode ray tube and\n\nmeasured from this display with a coaputer-guided cursor and\n\nreadcat of voltage levels at each asec.\n\nThe BR data vere analyzed by replaying the recorded\n\nECG. Channel 1 of the tape was played through an Iconix\n\nSchiaitt Trigger (X6804) with the reference voltage level set\n\nto give a pulse coincident with each R-wave. The computer\n\nwas prograssed to measure the R-R intervals to the nearest\n\nasec for two seconds before and 12 seconds after the airpuff\n\ninitiation. These intervals were later transformed into\n\naverage HR/second in accordance with Grahaa's (1978)\n\nrec ommenda ti ons. The data analyses to be reported were\n\ncarried out using the last second before and the first five\n\nseconds following the airpuff.\n\nOnless otherwise noted, data vere statistically\n\nanalyzed using the P2V routine of the BnDP 1979 statistics\n\n\npackage. In order to correct for violations of sphericity\n\n(Hunyph and Feldt, 197 0) the Hugyh and Feldt (1976)\n\nestimator of the Box (1954)) corrective adjustment for\n\ndegrees of freedom was calculated for all significant\n\nwithin-subject contrasts. The observed F statistic was\n\ntested a critical F with reduced degrees of freedom (see\n\nAunyh and Feldt, 1976 for a discussion of this procedure).\n\nContrasts which were significant with full, but not with\n\nreduced degrees of freedom, will be noted in the text. Since\n\nthe P statistic is not seriously biased by departures from\n\nnormality, conformity with this assumption was not\n\n\n\nThe discussion in Chapter 1 emphasized that those\n\nmanipulations which serve to lower sensory thresholds (or\n\nincrease stimulus salience) are also those which tend to\n\nincrease the inhibitory potency of a particular PS (e~g.\n\nincreased PS intensity). In terats of the dual-process model\n\nof attention, these manipulations are likely affecting\n\nautomatic attention to a greater extent than effortful\n\nattention. An obvious PS manipulation which has not yet been\n\ndiscussed in teras of reflex inhibition is that of varying\n\nPS duration. Increasing stimulus duration produces decreases\n\nin its intensity threshold (vithin limits;) and should\n\ntherefore produce increasing amounts of inhibition if the\n\nattentional model is accurate.\n\nGrahaas Putnasa, and Leavitt (1975) investigated the\n\neffects of discrete (duration = 14 aasecs) and continuous\n\nprestimuli presented at various SOls. The continuous PS was\n\nterminated at ES presentation. At the shortest SOA employed\n\n(200 asecs), equal amounts of inhibition were produced by\nthe two PS durations. Similarly, Graham and Hurray (1977)\n\nfound no difference between 20 asec and continuous PS\n\ndurations at 50As ranging fromr 30 to 240 asecs. Thus there\n\nwas apparently no effect of ES duration upon the amount of\n\ninhibition, contrary to the prediction of the attentional\n\n\nOne possible explanation for the negative findings in\n\nthis regard lies in the use of a continuous PS as opposed to\n\none whose duration varies, but is always terminated well\n\nbefore ES initiation. Since the magnitude of an elicited\n\nreflex is not only a function of the ES but of other\n\nstimulation present at ES initiation (Cohen, Hoffaran, and\n\nStitt, In press), the continuous PS may have both inhibited\n\nthe reflex (due to PS onset within the inhibitory range) and\n\nfacilitated the reflex by increasing the total amount of\n\nstimulation present at ES initiation. Thus any additional\n\ninhibition engendered by the longer PS may have been\n\nnullified by its facilitative effects.\n\nDykaan and Ison (1979) presented prestimruli of three\n\ndurations (;2, 20, and 200 asecs) and two intensities (55 and\n\n8S dB) at 150 apsecs ISI. They used both rats and humans as\n\nsubjects. For the rats, the ES was a 120 dB tone and the\n\nmeasured response was whole body startle. For the humans,\n\nthe ES was a small shock delivered to the skin over the\n\nsupraorbital branch of the trigeminal nerve and the measured\n\nresponse was eyeblink.\n\n\nBoth rats and humans demonstrated more inhibition with\n\nthe more intense PS, as expected. In addition, the rats\n\nshowed increasing amounts of inhibition with increasing PS\n\nduration at both PS intensities. This was true for the\n\nhumans for the 55 dB PS. With the 85 dB PS, the humans\n\nevidenced greater inhibition for the 20 asec PS than for the\n\n2 asec PS, but the 200 asec PS produced slightly less\n\ninhibition than the 20 asec PS.\n\nThese results apparently support the attentional\n\nmodel's prediction of increasing inhibition with increasing\n\nPS duration. Unfortunately, interpretation of these data is\n\ndifficult due to the authors' method of controlling ISI.\n\nDykaan and Ison (1979) set the interval between PS and ES at\n\n150 asecs, measured from the aidp~oint of the PS to the onset\n\nof the ES. This resulted in a situation in which PS duration\n\ncoraried with onset-to-onset as well as offset-to-onset\n\ntimes. Since both PS onset and offset can serve as\n\ninhibitory stimuli, it is not possible in the Dykaan and\n\nIson study to separate effects due to PS duration from those\n\ndue to onset-to-onset and offset-to-onset times.\n\nIn this experiment, the effects of two PS durations\n\nwere observed at four ISIs in two age groups. In accordance\n\nwith the attentional model, it was expected that the longer\n\nPS vould produce more inhibition. Since it was hypothesized\n\nthat varying PS duration would affect automatic attention,\n\nage differences in the amount of inhibition were expected to\n\n\nbe minimal. However, since most perceptual processes seem\n\nto be slower in the elderly, the usual U-shaped ISI function\n\nwas expected to be shifted toward greater IS~s in the\n\nelderly group.\n\nPrestimulus durations and ~ISIs were chosen so as to\n\nprovide a means of assessing the effects of PS duration\n\nindependent of SOA and ISI. The duration of the PS was\neither 20 or 200 asecs, and ~ISIs were equal to 60, 120, 240,\n\nor 420 asecs measuredd from PS offset to ES onset). Thus\n\noffset-to-onset times did not corary with PS duration. In\n\naddition, four of the conditions served as a control for\n\nonset-to-onset times. The 20 asec PS, 240 asec ISI and the\n\n200 asec PS, 60 iasec ISI both resulted in SOAs of 260 a~secs.\n\nSimilarly, the 20 asec PS, 420 asec ISI and the 200 asec PS,\n\n240 asec ISI resulted in an 30A of 440 asec.\n\n\nThere were SQ participants in this study, 27 young and\n\n27 old. The young group was comprised of 13 females and 14\n\nmales ranging in age from 17 to 27 years (mean = 20.0). The\n\nold group was coaprised of 13 females and 14 males ranging\n\nin age fros 57 to 77 years (mean = 68.4). Twelve additional\n\nyoung subjects were eliminated from the analyses, 11 for\n\nproducing fever than three scoreable blink responses per\n\ncondition and one due to the qualitatively abnormal\n\n\nappearance of the eyeblink responses. Nine elderly subjects\n\nwere eliminated, five for insufficient data, two for\n\nprocedural error, one for obvious severe hearing impairment,\n\nand one for past traumatic injury to the left eye.\n\n\nThe experiment included nine treatment conditions,\n\neight of which consisted of a PS followed after a variable\n\nISI by the ES. The ninth condition was a presentation of the\n\nES alone with no preceding PS. The PS was a 1000 Hz sine\n\nwave presented at 70 dB(fA) for either 20 or 200 asecs.\n\nRise/fall time for the PS was set at 5 aisecs. The ISI was\n\nset at one of four values: 60, 120, 240, 420 asecs (offset-\n\nto-onset). The ISI was terminated by a 50 rasec airpuff set\n\nat an intensity of 80 mm alg. (80 as ag=10,665 N/(a**2)=1.55\n\npsi.) The two PS durations were combined factorially with\n\nthe four ISIs to produce eight conditions. These eight plus\n\nthe ES-alone control condition were randomly combined into a\n\n9 I 9 latin square. Subjects proceeded through six rows of\n\nthe latin square for a total of 54 trials, six in each\n\ncondition. For the purpose of counterbalancing order of\n\ntreatment presentation, subjects started at different rows\n\nof the latin square. Preliminary analyses indicated that\n\nneither the effect of row not any of its interactions were\n\nsignificant. Randomly occurring intertrial intervals\n\nequaled 15, 20, 25, 30, or 35 secs, with a mean of 25 secs\n\nover the experiment.\n\n\nEyeblink maagnitude for each subject was averaged within\n\neach of the nine conditions. The mean amplitude of the\n\ncontrol response for each subject was then subtracted from\n\nthe other eight condition neans. These difference scores\n\nwere then corrected for the gain setting and comprised the\n\ndata for the analyses to be reported. The use of absolute\n\ndifference scores rather than percent difference has been\n\nsupported by data reviewed by Hoffsran and Ison (1980).\n\nThe data (depicted in Figure 1) were submitted to a 2\n\nAGE I 2 PS durations (DUR) I 4 ISI analysis of variance. The\n\nresults of this analysis revealed, first of all, that the\n\n200 asec PS produced more inhibition than the 20 asec PS\n\n(F(1,52)=39. 41, p<.0001). Secondly, the effects of ISI and\n\nDUR I ISI were also significant (F(3,156)=3.54. p=.0162, and\n\ng(3, 156) =4.31, p=.00 59). A Neviaan-keuls follovap test\n\nindicated that the 200 asec PS produced more inhibition than\n\nthe 20 asec PS at all ISIs except 420 asecs. There was\n\nneither an effect of AGE on the maount of inhibitics, nor\n\ndid AGE interact with DUR. However, the AGE I DUR I( ISI was\n\nsignificant (F(3, 156) =2.93, p=.0354).,\nDue to the significance of the AGE I DUR I ISI\n\ninteraction, the data vere analyzed separately for the young\n\nand old subjects. For both groups the data vere analyzed\n\nwith a 2 DUR I 4 ISI analysis of variance. In the young\n\ngroup, all contrasts were significant, including DUR\n\nF(1,26)=17.19, p=.0003) ISI (F_(3,78)=4.84, p=.0039) and\n\nnDR I ISI (_F(3,7 8)=6. 53, p=.000S). The pattern was quite\n\ndifferent for the old subjects. The effect of DUR was still\n\nhighly significant ( (1,26) =22. 45, p=. 000 1)., But neither the\n\nISI nor the DUE I ISI contrasts were significant.\n\nThe results of the analysis thus far implied several\n\nco nclu sion s. First increasing the duration of the PS\n\nproduced increases in the amount of inhibition in both age\n\ngroups. Second, the effect of ISI was such stronger in the\n\nyoung than in the old. Third, the effect of ISI interacted\n\nwith PS duration strongly in the young group (p=. 000 5) and\n\nmarginally in the old (p=.089).\nAs a result of these interactions, orthogonal trends\n\nover ISI were evaluated within each group at each PS\n\nduration. In the young subjects, the amount of inhibition\n\nfor the 20 asec PS increased with increasing ISI. This was\n\nconfirmed by a significant linear trend (P(1,26)=11.95,\n\np=.0019) and nonsignificant quadratic and cubic trends. For\n\nthe 200 asec PS the ISI effect was U-shaped, as expected\n\nfrom the literature. The gnadratic trend was significant\n\n('P(1,26)=8.71, p=.0066), while the linear and cubic\n\ncomponents were not.\n\nIn the old group, there was no significant IST effect\n\nfor the 20 asec PJS. The ISI maain effect, as well as all\n\ncoapanent trends, produced P values less than 1.00. For the\n\n\n200 asec PS however, the ISI effect approached significance\n\n(F(3,78)=2.56, p=.0613) and the expected U-shaped function\n\nwas evident. This was supported by a significant quadratic\n\ntrend (FP(1,26)=8.73, p=.0066) and nonsignificant linear and\n\ncubic trends.\n\nIn order to address the possibility that the\n\nsignificant PS duration effects were due to different onset-\n\nto-onset times (SO~s), a final analysis of variance was\n\nundertaken with four of the eight conditions. The 20 asec\n\nPS, 240 asec IST. and the 200 apsec PS, 60 ~asec ISI each\n\nresulted in SO~s of 260 asecs. Siailarly, the 20 ~asEc Ps,\n\n420 asec ISI and the 200 asec PS, 240 asec IST produced SOAs\n\nof 440 asecs. These four conditions were submitted to a 2\n\nAGE I 2 SOA I 2 DUR analysis of variance. The results\n\nindicated a strong effect of DUR (F (1,52) =12.5 8, p=.000 8) .\n\nIn addition, the greater SOA produced more inhibition than\n\nthe shorter (F(1,52)=8.49, p=.0053).~ The AGE effect and all\n\ninteractions were not significant.\n\nReSLft Rate\nBeart rate responses were measured for one second\n\nbefore and five seconds following the airpuff. The responses\n\nwere averaged second by second yielding nine responses per\n\nsubject, one for each condition. heart rate responses from\ntrials which did not produce scoreable eyeblinks were not\n\nincluded in these averages. The responses, averaged within\n\ncondition and age group, are depicted in Figure 2.\n\nThe initial step in the analysis was undertaken in\n\norder to determine if there was a reliable HR response and\n\nwhether this response vas affected in any wayl by the\n\nstimulus conditions or age. Data vere analyzed with a 2 AGE\n\nI 9 conditions (COND) I 6 seconds (SEC) analysis of\n\nvariance. Results first indicated no effect for AGE or\n\nCOND, implying that there were no differences in overall BR\n\nlevel between age groups or among the stimulus conditions.\n\nThis will facilitate unambiguous interpretation of results\n\nsince the law of initial values (Wilder, 1950) is not likely\n\nto cceplica~te further analyses. ( subsequent analysis\n\nprovided additional support for this conclusion by finding\nno effect of stimulus condition on the prestimulos point.)\n\nThe COND X SEC I AGE contrast was significant when tested\n\nwith full (F(40,1920)=1.65, p=.0068) but not with reduced\n\ndegrees of freedon (.10>p>.05). This can be taken as weak\nevidence that the stimulus conditions affect the shape of\n\nthe response differently for young and old subjects.\n\nSignificant COND I SEC ~(0(0,1920)=2.52, p<.0001) and AGE X\n\nSEC (_P(5,240)=S.49, p=.0001) effects implied that the shape\n\nof the response was affected by the conditions and was\n\ndifferent for the two age groups. The significant COiND I AGE\n\neffect (F{(8,384)=2.33, p=.019) indicated that the overall HR\n\nlevel was affected differently by the conditions in the two\n\nage groups. Finally, the highly significant SEC effect\n\n1(5(,240)=24.72, p<.0001) confirmed the robust BR response\nto the airpuff.\n\nPerusal of Figure 2 reveals that the maain component of\n\nthe HR response seems to be an initial BR deceleration\n\npeaking at 1 to 2 sees and a return to prestimulus level.\n\nThe addition of a PS produces a secondary acceleration\n\npeaking at 4 to 5 secs. The size of the deceleration as well\n\nas the acceleration appears to be a function of stimulus\n\ncondition. Due to the significant AGE interactions, analyses\n\nof variance for 9 COND H 6 SEC vere undertaken within the\n\ntwo age groups.\n\nThe complexity of these analyses preclude presentation\n\nhere. A detailed description is provided in the Appendix.\n\nThe results of the analyses indicated that stimulus\n\ncondition had no effect upon the elicited HR response of the\n\nelderly. The young subjects however, revealed a robust\n\neffect of condition. The next step in the analysis dealt\n\nwith specifically with the effects of PS duration and ISI.\n\nThe elderly evidenced no effect of PS duration, ISI, or\n\ntheir interaction upon the shape of the HR and strongest at\n\nthe middle ISIs. The PS tended to accentuate the\n\ndecelerative component of the response, and to a lesser\n\nextent, the accelerative component. The effect was greater\n\nwith the 200 lasec PS than with the 20 asec PS.\n\nThe next step in the analysis dealt specifically with\n\nthe accelerative and decelerative components of the\n\nresponse. Separate DUR I ISI analyses of variance were\n\nconducted for the first postatimrulus second (the point of\n\nmaximuma deceleration) and the fourth poststimulus second\n\n(the point of maximuma acceleration) within the two age\n\ngroups. The elderly revealed no effects upon either the\n\ndeceleration or the acceleration. The young subjects also\n\nevidenced no effect upon the acceleration. Ho we've r, the\n\ndecelerative component showed significant effects due to DUR\n\n(f1(1,49)=12.27, p=.0010) and ISI (P(3,1417)=3.03, p=.0314).\n\nThe final analysis conducted served as a control for PS\n\nonset to ES onset time effects. As with the eyeblink\n\nresponses, the 20 asec PS, 240 asec ISI and the 200 asec PS,\n\n60 asec ISI produced SOAs of 260 asec. Similarly, the 20\n\nasec PS, 420 asec ISI and the 200 asec PS, 240 asec ISI~\n\nproduced SOAs of 440 asecs. These four conditions were\n\nsubmitted to a 2 DUR X 2 SOA I 6 SEC analysis of variance in\n\nthe young and old groups separately. For the old subjects,\nneither DUR or SOA or their interaction interacted with SEC,\n\nindicating again no effect of DUR upon the elicited\n\nresponse. For the young subjects, DUR interacted with cutic\n\nSEC ~P( 1, 25) =6. 06, p=. 02 11 ), in dica ting that even\n\ncontrolling for onset-to-onset times, the 200 asec Ps\n\naffects the elicited HR response more than the 20 asec PS.\n\nIn addition, the DUR I SOA I SEC effect (P (S,125)=2.33,\n\np=.0467) was marginally significant.\n\n\nThe results from analyses performed upon the eyeblink\n\ndata demonstrated a robust effect of DUR upon the amount of\n\ninhibition. This finding replicated those of Dykaan and\n\nIson (1979) and did so while controlling for onset-to-onset\n\nand offset-to-onset times. The fact that greater duration\n\nprestimuli produce more inhibition is also in line with\n\npredictions of the attentional model of reflex inhibition\n\nproposed here.\n\nIt is also apparent that it is possible to inhibit the\n\neyeblink in elderly subjects and that the effect is every\n\nbit as robust as in younger subjects. One of the hypotheses\n\nof this study was not supported, however. It was predicted\n\nthat, since most responses slow with age, the ISI function\n\nof the elderly should be shifted toward greater values\n\ncompared to the young. This was obviously not the case. If\n\nanything, the point of maaximaum inhibition occurred earlier\n\nin the old, as is evident in Figure 1.\n\nPerusal of Figure 1 also reveals that these data are at\n\nvariance with the literature in some respects. For example,\n\nwith the 200 asec PS the young subjects exhibited maximon\n\ninhibition at an ISI of 240 asec. This is such later than\n\nthe 100 to 150 asec nadir usually seen (e~g. Graham and\n\nMurray, 1977). The pattern is even more anomnalous with the\n\n20 asec PS. At this PS duration, the young subjects\n\ndemonstrated increasing inhibition with increasing ISI\n\n\nwhereas the old subjects failed to demonstrate any effect of\n\nISI whatsoever. This finding could be due to the use of an\n\nairpuff ES. Most studies investigating the effect of ISI\n\nhave used acoustic eliciting stimuli. It is possible that\n\nthe airpuff elicited some combination of the startle and\n\ncorneal reflexes and that these combined reflexes respond\n\nsomewhat differently to changes in ISI, especially at short\n\nPS durations.\n\nThe HR response seen in this experiment was primarily\n\ndecelerative. This finding is at variance with the\n\nconclusion of Graham (1979) that the HR component of startle\n\nis a small, brief acceleration. In support of Grahas\n\n(1979), Chalaers and Hoffaan (1973) found a monophasic\n\nacceleration in rats on control trials which was reduced in\n\nmagnitude by the addition of a PS at an SOA of 100 asecs.\nPinckney and Ison (1979) however, found a pattern somewhat\n\nsimilar to that reported here. Their rats evidenced a\n\ntriphasic (accel era tion-dece lera tio n-accelera ti on) re sponse .\n\nThey presented a PS at an SOA of 60 asec vbich reduced the\n\nmagnitude of the initial acceleration and the deceleration.\n\nThe re spon se in humans seems to be primarily\n\ndece ler ative. Berg (1973) reported a deceleration and\n\nindicated that there was no evidence of an acceleration even\n\non early tri als. Clarkson (1 979) found a deceleration\n\n(peaking at 1 to 2 sees poststimulus) which was modified by\n\nthe PS into an acceleration (peaking at 4 to 5 secs). The\n\npresent results are similar to Clarkson's in finding a\ndeceleration on control tr~ials. The addition of the PS added\n\na later accelerative component peaking at about the same\n\n\nIt seems inappropriate to speak of the effects of the\n\nPS on the elicited HR response as inhibitory. Unlike the\n\neyeblink, the decelerative and (to a lesser extent) the\n\naccelerative components of the HR response were magnified by\n\nthe PS. This result contradicts the finding by Chalmers and\n\nHoffman (1973) of PS-inhibited HR acceleration. However, the\n\neffects reported here were larger for the 200 asec than for\n\nthe 20 asec PS and the magnitude of the effects generally\n\nexhibited a U-shaped ISI function. In this regard, the\n\nresults are clearly consistent with the eyeblink data.\n\nThe age comparisons were not consistent across the two\n\nresponse systems. The eyeblink data demonstrated very few\n\nage differences. The DUR and ISI effects as well as response\n\nmagnitudes were quite similar. This supported the prediction\n\nof few age differences proposed under the assumption that\n\nmaniFulating PS duration would affect automatic attention.\n\nThe IST function, however, did not conform to prediction.\n\nBased upon tise-dependent studies of perceptual behavior\n\n(e~g. visual masking), it was predicted that the elderly\nwould show a similar ISI function but that it would be\n\nshifted toward later times. If anything, the elderly\n\nfunction was shifted toward earlier times. This discrepancy\n\nmay to due to the use here of an involuntary response as\n\nopposed to the usual practice of employing voluntary\n\n\nThe heart rate data evidenced marked age differences.\n\nEssentially, the elderly HR response was unaffected by any\n\nof the experimental maanipu lations. I~t was not the case\n\nhowever, that the elderly heart was not responsive. The\n\nresponse was robust, unlike previous studies showing little\n\nor no BR responsivity in the elderly (e~g. Ilorris and\n\nThoapson, 1969; Shaavonian, Miller, and Cohen, 1970;\n\nBotwinick and Thompson, 1971). This fact tends to discount\n\nthe possibility that decreased arterial elasticity (Hallock\n\nand Benson, 19 37) decreased baroreceptor sensitivity\n\n(Nelson and Gellhorn, 1958), decreased cardiac muscle\n\nresponsivity (Frolkis, Shertchuk, Verkhratsky, Stupina,\n\nKarpora and Lakiza, 1979), or other physiological changes\n\nknown to reduce HR responsivity in old age can account for\n\nthe lack of effects demonstrated here.\n\nIn summary, the eyeblink data generally conformed to\n\nthe predictions of the attentional sodel. There was greater\n\ninhibition for longer prestimuli and this effect was\n\nconsistent across age groups. The HR data did not conform to\n\na pattern of reflex inhibition, though the DUR and ISI\n\nmanipulations were effective in the young subjects. The\n\nelderly subjects demonstrated an absence of HR modifiability\n\nthough the ES produced a robust HR response. The\n\ninconsistency of results between the eyeblink and the HR\n\nresponse systems seems to support Berg's (1973) conclusion\n\nthat these represent two distinct neural systems, a\n\nconclusion also supported by the data of Pinckney and Ison\n\n(1979) who found very small correlations between cardiac and\n\nwhole-body startle in rats.\n\n\nIt has been demonstrated that manipulations designed to\n\n\"automatically\" increase PS salience tend to increase its\n\ninhibitory effect upon elicited reflexes. There is evidence\n\nthat instructions designed to purposefully direct attention\n\nto the PS have similar effects. DelPezzo and Hoffaan (1980)\n\npresented subjects with a semicircle of lights, any one of\n\nwhich served as a PS on any given trial. Instructions to\n\nat tend to a particular li ght increased that li ght 's\n\ninhibitory effect relative to the others, while instructions\n\nto ignore a particular light produced the opposite effect.\n\nThis effect was evident even though the subjects did not\n\nmove their eyes.\n\nThe following experiment was undertaken in order to\n\ntest this effect with a different manipulation and to\n\ninvestigate age differences in the effectiveness of the\n\nexperimental conditions. In order to cause subjects to\n\n\"effortfullyA direct attention to the PS, an experimental\n\nstrategy was adopted from evoked cortical potential\n\nresearch. Two tones of different frequencies served as\n\npr estimuli. One (labelled the \"comaon\" PS) occurred more\n\noften than the other (labelled the \"rare\" PS). Subjects\n\nwere assigned to two groups, one of which was instructed to\n\ncount the rare tone and the other of which was not. If it is\n\nassumed that instructions to count the rare PS would direct\n\nattention toward the PS, it could be predicted that the\n\ncounting groups would evidence more inhibition.\n\nBased upon the adult development literature on\n\nattention (see Boyer and Plude, 1980, for a review), it\n\ncould be predicted that this manipulation would he more\n\neffective in the young than in the old subjects, since the\n\nelderly sees to be less able to allocate attention\n\n\n\nSnb sc\n\nThere were 20 young sales and 20 young females in this\n\nexperiment, ranging in age from 17 to 26 years (maean=19.4\n\nyears). The old group consisted of 20 males and 20 females\n\nranging in age from 57 to 86 years (aean=69.2 years). Four\n\nadditional young subjects were eliminated froma the analyses,\n\nthree for failing to produce at least three scoreable\n\neyeblink responses per condition and one due to equipment\nfailure. Six old subjects were eliminated, two for too few\n\nresponses, three for use of a hearing aid, and one for past\ntransatic injury to the left eye.\n\n\nStimuli in this experiment again consisted of a tone FS\n\nfolleved after an ISI of 120 asecs by a 50 ansec airpuff ES.\n\nThe PS had an intensity of 70 dB(A), a duration of 50 asecs,\n\nand rise/fall times of 5 asecs. The ES was delivered at an\n\nintensity of 80 as Hg. The PS was set at one of two\n\nfrequencies, 500 Hz or 1000 Hz.\n\nSubjects received three stiankus configurations. The\n\nfirst consisted of an airpuff-alone control condition. The\n\nother two conditions consisted of the PS followed by the\n\nairpuff. One of the tone prestimuli was designated the rare\nPS and occurred on 11% of the trials. The common PS occurred\n\non 66% of the trials. The remaining 33%C of the trials were\n\ncontrol trials. These trial types were randomly arranged\n\ninto nine rows of nine conditions with the restriction that\n\neach rov contained one rare prestimulus, six canmon\n\nprestimuli, and three control trials. Subjects started at\n\ndifferent rows of the 9 I 9 stimulus table and proceeded\n\nthrough five rows for a total of 45 trials. This resulted in\n\nthe presentation of five rare tones, 25 common tones, and 15\ncontrol trials.\n\nAfter being connected to the recording equipment, all\n\nsubjects were told that they would hear high and low tones\n\nand were given examples of each. One half of the subjects in\n\neach of the four age by sex groups were then instructed to\n\ncount the number of rare tones presented, while the other\n\nhalf vere not so instructed. The pitch of the rare tone\n\n(either high or low) was counterbalanced within each of the\n\neight age by sex by experimental groups. Following the\n\nsession, all subjects were asked the number of rare tones\n\n\n\nIn order to have an index of the success of the\n\ninstructions in directing attention toward the PS, the\n\nnumber of rare tones counted was analyzed with a 2 AGE I 2\n\ne xperiment al groups (GRP) analysis of variance. The\n\nsignificant GRP effect (P(1,76)=13.03, p=.0005) indicated\n\n(not surprisingly y) that the group instructed to count the\ncare tones was more accurate in estimating the number\n\nactually presented (5.9 vs. 1.) The significant AGE\n\neffect (P ( 1,76) =4. 12, p=. 045 8) indicated that the old\n\ncounted the tones more accurately than the young subjects\n\n(7.1 os. 10.3). The interaction was not significant.\n\n\nThe mean responses froa the trials with a PS vere\n\nsubtracted from the mean response on the control trials and\n\ncorrected for the gain. These two gain-corrected differences\n\ncomprised the data for each subject. Overall means are\n\ndepicted in Figure 3.\n\nThe data vere first analyzed with a 2 AGE X 2 stimulus\n\nconfiguration (STIM) I 2 GRP analysis of variance. None of\n\n\nthe effects reached significance, though the AGE effect was\n\nclose (q(1,76)=3.92, p=.0514). For exploratory purposes, the\n\ndata vere also analyzed separately in the two age groups.\n\nFor the old subjects, there was a marginally\n\nsignificant effect for STIIN ( (1, 36) =4. 3, p=.0443). No\n\nother effects were significant. For the young subjects,\n\nnone of the effects reached significance. Therefore the\n\nattempt to affect inhibition by having subjects count one of\n\nthe two prestimuli was unsuccessful. Overall, there was\n\nsignificant inhibition 9(1,76)=128.97, p<.0001), but the\nstimulus conditions did not affect the amount of response\n\nreduction. The within-subject factor of PS frequencyl was\n\neffective in the old subjects, but the effect was small and\n\nopposite the direction predicted (i. e. the common PS\n\nproduced greater inhibition).\n\nRgart rate\nAs in the first experiment, the BR data vere analyzed\n\nover the last second before and the first five seconds\n\nfollowing ES presentation. These data are depicted in Figure\n\n4, and were first analyzed with a 2 AGE It 3 STIn X 2 GRP X 6\n\nSEC analysis of variance. This analysis revealed a\n\nsignificant SEC effect 2(S~(,38B0) =1 3 00, p< 0 0 01) implying\nthat there was a reliable response to the ES. The\n\nsignificant AGE X SEC ef fect F (5, 38 0)=-3.07, p=.~0099)\n\nindicated that the shape of the response was different in\n\nthe two age groups. There were no other significant effects.\n\nDue to the AGE X SEC interaction, the data vere analyzed\n\nseparately within the young and old groups and analyzed for\ntrends with STIN I GRP X SEC analyses of variance.\n\nIn the old subjects, there was a significant SEC effect\n\n(F(5,190)=10.43, p<.0001). This effect was composed of a\n\nlarge cubic component (E(1,38)=39.69, p<.0001), substantial\n\nqu adr at ic component (II(1,3 8) =15. 6 1, p=. 0003) and a\n\naarginally significant quintic component (e(1,38)=4.22,\n\np=.0470). These findings corroborate those from Experiment 1\n\nin finding a biphasic response composed of an initial\n\ndeceleration followed by an acceleration.\n\nThe young subjects revealed an almost identical\n\npattern. Again, the SEC contrast was highly significant\n\n(P(5, 190)=7.4 7, p<. 0001) This contrast was composed of a\n\nstrong cubic component (F_(1,38)=37.28, p<.0001), and a\n\nsmaller linear trend (E (1,38) =6. 93, p=.I0 12 2). None of the\n\nother contrasts were significant in either group. These\n\nresults are consistent with those from the eyeblink data in\n\nfinding no effect for experimental instructions and little\n\nor no effect of PS frequency.\n\nDue to the very strong cubic trends evident in both age\n\ngroups, analysis of the points of saziana deceleration and\nacceleration way be informative. If these analyses also\n\nrevealed no significant effects, it would be very difficult\n\nto argue against the conclusion that the experimental\n\nmanipulations had no effect. Therefore, the first and fourth\n\n\npoststimulus seconds were submitted to a 2 AGE X 3 STIN X 2\n\nGRP analysis of variance. Besults of the analysis for the\n\ndeceleration revealed a sig nif ica nt STI N effect\n\n(F (2,152) =3.48, p=.0 334), as well as a STIN X AGE\n\ninteraction ( (2, 152) =4.26, p=. 015 9) implying that the\n\nstimulus configuration did affect the decelerative component\n\nof the response, but differently for the young and old\n\nsubjects. In addition, the AGE I GRP interaction was\n\nsignificant (F(1,76)=4.09, p=.0466), implying that the\n\ndece lerativre com ponent was affected differently by the\n\nexperimental instructions in the two age groups.\n\nDu e to the significant AGE i ntera ct ion s, the\n\ndecelerative component was analyzed separately with STIN X\n\nGRP analyses of variance in the young and old groups. For\n\nthe c14 subjects, none of the effects reached significance.\n\nFor the young subjects, the STIn effect was significant\n\n(F (2,76)=S.20, p=.0076), indicating that the stimulus\n\nconfiguration al tered the decelera tive component of the\n\nelicited HR response. This effect was the result of a larger\n\ndeceleration with the race ES.\n\nThe results of the analysis of the fourth poststimulus\n\nsecond (the point of maxiana acceleration) revealed only a\n\nsignificant AGE effect (P{1,76)=S.76, p=.0189), in dic ating\n\nthat this component of the elicited HR response was more\n\nprominent in the young than in the old subjects.\n\n\nIt can be seen in Figure 4) that the control treads for\n\nthe young and old appear topographically dissimilar, whereas\n\nthe response of the elderly subjects appears to be a\n\ndeceleration and return to baseline, the young response was\n\napparently a late acceleration and return. This difference\n\nwas analyzed with a 2 AGE I 2 GRP X 6 SEC analysis of\n\nvariance on the control responses. The analysis revealed a\n\nsignificant SEC effect (g(Sr380)=-5.81, p<.0001), which was\n\ncomposed primarily of a cubic component (E(1,76)=27.03,\n\np<.0001), and a much smaller linear component (9(1,76)=4.35,\n\np=.0404). None of the other effects reached significance.\nThis confirmed the biphasic nature of the responses and\n\nindicated that it was not affected by age or experimental\n\n\n\nIn teras of the attentional model of reflex inhibition,\n\nthe results of this experiment imply one of two conclusions.\n\nIt is possible that reflex inhibition is a function only of\n\nautomatic attention and that direction of effortful\n\nattention has no effect upon the process. This seems\n\nunlikely in light of the findings of DelPezzo and Boffaan\n\n(1980). These researchers found that the instruction to\n\nignore or attend to a particular PS significantly affected\nthe amount of inhibition it engendered. In addition, it has\n\nbeen found that acoustical thresholds for eyeblink\n\n\nelicitation are elevated when subjects are allowed to read\n\n(K.n. Berg, personal communication, 1981).\n\nThe second, and more likely conclusion, is that the\n\nprocedure utilized in this experiment was not powerful\n\nenough in terms of directing attention. The difference\n\nbetween a 500 Hz tone and a 1000 Hz tone presented for 50\n\nasecs at 70 dB is quite salient and possibly required very\n\nlittle attentional effort. Under the assumption that this\n\nwas the case, Experiment 3 was designed with the purpose of\n\nmore forcefully engaging effortful attentional processes.\n\n\nThis experiment was designed for the purpose of\n\nmanipulating effortful attention by incorporating a reaction\n\ntime (RT) task into the reflex modification procedure. Since\nit has been demonstrated that there is a reliable HR\n\ndeceleration during the foreperiod of a earned reaction time\n\ntask (e~g. Lacey, 1967) and since HRB deceleration is thought\n\nto be a component of orienting (Grahas and Clifton, 1966),\n\nit is conceivable tha-t the procedure could be utilized for\n\nthe purpose of directing attention toward or away from\nselected stisoli.\n\nIson and ~Ashkenazie (1980) instructed their: subjects to\n\nrespond to an airpuff ES by pressing a button as rapidly as\n\npossible. The ES was preceded by either a \"warning stimulus\"\nat an ISI of 120 aisecs secs, a ndiscriminative stimulus\" at\n\nan IST of 100 asecs, or both of these stimuli. The warning\n\nstimulus alone produced a saall facilitative effect upon the\n\neyeblink and in addition, seemed to slightly increase the\ninhibitory effect of the discriminative stimulus when they\n\nwere presented together. If it is assumed that the warning\n\nstimulus directed attention toward the next stimulus\n\n(whether the discrim~inative stimulus or the ES), both the\n\nfacilitation and the augmented inhibition are consonant with\n\npredictions of the attentional model which I have proposed.\n\nThe next experiment attempted to determine the\n\ncontribution of attention to reflex amplitude by the use of\n\nan RT task. In the first of two conditions, subjects\n\nreceived high and low frequency tone prestimuli, followed by\n\nan airpuff ES, which was in turn followed by a light which\n\nserved as an imperative stimulus (IS). They were instructed\n\nto respond as quickly as poss ible to the IS by\n\nsimultaneouslyp pressing switches held in the left and right\n\nhands. In the second condition, subjects were instructed to\n\nrespond wi-th one hand when the PS was high and with the\nother when the PS was low. This was intended to provide the\n\nPS with task-relevant information in the latter condition,\n\nthus directing attention to the PS and increasing its\n\ninhibitory potency. Since the sti mulus configuration was\n\nidentical in the two conditions, any difference in the\n\namount of inhibition could be ascribed more confidently to\n\nattention, or at least to the experimental instructions.\n\nPilot testing with young subjects revealed no\n\ndifference in the amount of inhibition between the two\n\nconditions. However, the overall amount of inhibition was\n\nmuch greater than in the previous two e xpe rimaents. In\n\nExperiments 1 and 2, the PS produced a reduction of\n\napproximately 10% to 30%h, depending upon stimulus\n\nconfiguration. This pilot project resulted in inhibition of\n\nroughly 65%C, or double the previous inhibition.\n\nThis work was followed by three additional pilot\n\nstudies in order to define the stimulus conditions necessary\n\nto produce this effect. In the first of these, the effect of\n\nthe BT task itself was compared to a no-RT task condition.\n\nIn one of two counterbalanced, within-subject conditions,\n\nsubjects were required to respond to an IS, which followed\n\nthe ES by five seconds, by pressing a button. In the other\n\ncondition, no IS was presented and no response was required.\n\nIn both conditions, subjects received ES-alone trials and\n\ntrials in which the PS preceded the ES. When the no-\n\nresponse condition preceded the response condition, there\n\nwas almost three times greater inhibition in the response\n\ncondition. Howverer, if the response condition was\n\nexperienced first, there was no difference between the\nconditions. A comparison between the order groups on the\n\nfirst condition experienced (RT vs. no-RT) rere aled\n\napproximately five ties greater inhibition in the BT group.\n\nThese results suggested a residual effect from the response\n\ncondition. This pattern could be explained by either a\n\nslowly subsiding arousal produced by the RT task or by the\n\ninability of the subjects to suppress the direction of\n\nattention toward the PS.\n\n\nIn an attempt to more evenly distribute the residual\n\neffect of response condition, the next pilot project used\n\nsix alternating blocks of nine trials instead of two blocks\n\nof 27 trials, as in the previous investigation. with this\n\nmanipulation, slightly mnore inhibition occurred in the\n\nresponse condition (26%g vs. 31X).\n\nIn both of these pilot studies, the PS and/or the ES\n\ncould serve as an adequate warning stimulus for the required\n\nresponse since the temporal interval between them vas always\n\nfixed. The final pilot project was an attempt to remove any\n\nwarning or signal value from the PS and the ES by\n\neliminating any predictive relationship between these\n\nstimuli and the IS. The investigation was comprised of two\n\nc ond iti ons, presented in two blocks of 18 trials. In the\n\nfirst condition, the IS was not presented and no response\n\nwas required. In the second condition, an Is was presented\n\nevery 23 secs, while the intertrial interval varied from 20\n\nto 40 secs. Thus the PS and ES provided no information\n\nregarding the time until the next required response. The\n\ndifference in the amount of inhibition between the two\n\nconditions was negligible (255 vs. 28%). This seemed to\n\nimply that the BT task per se was not sufficient to augment\n\nthe inhibitory process.\n\nThese pilot projects suggested that the inclusion of an\n\naT task within the reflex modification procedure greatly\n\nincreased the amount of inhibition produced by the PS. The\n\n\nreason for this effect is not at all apparent. As indicated\n\nby Ison and Ashkrenazie (1980), it could be due either to\n\ngeneralized arousal or to a manipulation of attention due to\n\nthe signal value of the PS and ES in predicting the imminent\n\n\nThe third experiment in this dissertation was\n\naccordingly designed in an attempt to separate these\n\npossibilities. All subjects received three conditions\n\npresented in three homogeneous trial blocks. The first\n\ncondition consisted of ES-alone control trials and trials\n\nwith a preceding PS. The second condition included an IS,\n\nwhich was temporarll independent of the ES and PS. The third\n\ncondition was arranged so that the IS followed the ES by a\n\nconstant interval. If the ES or the PS-ES pair serves as an\n\nattended signal for the imminent IS, inhibition should be\n\ngreatest in the third condition. On prepulse trials, the\n\nattentional model would predict augmented inhibition due to\n\nincreased attention directed toward the PS by virtue of its\n\nvalue in predicting the IS. On ES-alone trials, the ES\n\nfulfills this function and therefore, these responses should\n\nbe augaented. Both of these phenomena vould contribute to\n\ngreater inhibition. If the effect is due to arousal,\n\nconditions 2 and 3 should produce equally greater inhibition\n\nthan Condition 1. It both arousal and attention are\n\nco ntrib uting Conditions 1, 2, and 3 should produce\n\nincreasing amounts of inhibition. Finally, due to the\n\ndecline with age in the efficiency of effortful attention,\n\nany effects due to this variable should be more pronounced\n\nin young than in elderly subjects.\n\nThere were 24 young and 24 old subjects in this\n\nexperiment. Due to difficulty in locating elderly sales,\n\nboth the old and young groups were comprised of six wales\n\nand 18 females. The young subjects ranged in age from 17 to\n\n2~3 years (nean=19.4). The old subjects ranged in age from 57\n\nto 82 years (aean=69.4). Two additional young subjects were\n\neliminated from the analyses, one for procedural error and\n\none for drowsiness. One elderly subject was eliminated for\n\nproducing fewer than three scoreable eyeblink responses per\nco ndi tion.\n\n\nStimuli in this experiment consisted of a tone PS, an\n\nairpuff ES, and a red LED vbich served as the IS. The PS was\n\npresented for 50 asecs at a frequency of 1000 Hz and an\n\nintensity of 70 dB. Rise/fall times were set at 5 asecs. The\n\nES was delivered at an intensity of 80 am ag for 50 asecs.\n\nThe ISI between PS and ES was set at 120 asecs, measured\n\nfrom offset to onset.\n\nThere were three conditions in this experiment. In\n\nCondition 1, subjects received only the PS-ES combination\n\nand ES-alone control trials. In Condition 2, subjects\n\nreceived the PS and ES, but in addition, the IS was\n\npresented and subjects responded to it by pressing a thuit\nswitch held in the left hand. Three randoaly occurring IS-\n\nto-IS intervals were employed, 17, 30, and 43 sees (iaean=30\n\nsecs). In Condition 3, the ES was followed by the IS after a\nconstant interval of 5 secs. In each condition, subjects\n\nreceived six control trials and six prepulsed trials\n\narranged in random order. The intertrial interval ranged\n\nfrom 20 to 40 sees with a mean of 30 secs. These intervals\n\nresulted in the presentation of 12 imperative stimunli to\n\nwhich responses were required in both Conditions 2 and 3.\n\nCondition order was counterbalanced within sex and age.\n\nAfter being connected to the recording equipment,\n\nsubjects received five airpuff stimuli for the purpose of\n\nadjusting gain settings and to famiiliarize the subjects with\nthe stimulus. Instructions were then given at the beginning\n\nof each condition. For Condition 1, subjects were instructed\n\nto simply sit quietly and stay awake. For Condition 2,\n\nsubjects were told that the red light would occur at \"randomp\n\ntimes\" throughout the condition and that they were to\n\nrespond as quickly as possible by pressing the switch. It\nwas stressed that the occurrence of the IS was unrelated to\n\nES presentation. For Condition 3, subjects were told that\n\nthe IS would \"follow predictably\" after the ES. All other\n\ninstructions were identical to Condition 2. In Conditions 2\n\n\nand 3, subjects were provided with a Lafayette Model 54417\n\nclock/counter which displayed their reaction times and were\n\nencouraged to continually better their times. Reaction times\n\nwere also measured outside the experimental roca with an\n\nIconix Hodel 6225 clock/counter and recorded to the nearest\n\n\n\nReacfiqg time\n\nMedian reaction times for each subject from Conditions\n\n2 and 3 vere analyzed with a 2 AGE I 2 Condition analysis of\n\nvariance. Results indicated a significant age difference\n\n(P(1,46)=11. 41, p=.0015) and a strong effect of Condition\n\n(E(1,93)=73.42, p<.0001). The AGE I Condition interaction\n\nwas not significant. Neither of these effects is\n\nparticularly surprising. The elderly were slower in their\n\nresponses and the responses of both groups were faster in\n\nCondition 3. This imp]lies that the ES and the PS-ES\n\ncombination were indeed functioning as warning stimpuli in\n\nCondition 3.\n\n\nFor each of the three conditions, each subject's mean\n\ncontrol response was subtracted from the response on the\n\nprepulsed trials and corrected for gain. These gain-\n\ndifference scores were first analyzed with a 2 AGE I 3\n\nCondition I 6 Order analysis of variance. (Mean responses\n\n\nare depicted in Figure 5.) The only significant contrast was\n\na main effect of Condition (P (2, 72) =4.53, p=.0141t).\n\nFor exploratory purposes, the data vere next analyzed\n\nwithin each age group with one-way analyses of variance\n\ntesting the three conditions. This contrast was not\n\nsignificant in the old subjects, but did reach significance\n\nin the young subjects (F(2,46)=5.09, p=.0101). A followup\n\nNevaan-keuls analysis revealed that Conditions 2 and 3 were\n\nreliably different from Condition 1 but not from each other.\n\nThus the incorporation of an RT task into the reflex\n\nmodification procedure greatly increased the amount of\n\ninhibition in young but not in old subjects.\n\nHea~rf rate\n\nAs in the previous experiments, HR vas measured for one\n\nsecond before and for five seconds after the airpuff ES.\n\nThese responses are depicted in Figure 6 for the young\n\nsubjects and in Figure 7 for the elderly subjects.\n\nData were initially analyzed with a 2 AGE I 2 prepulse\n\nversus control (PC) I 3 RT condition (COND) I 6 SEC analysis\n\nof variance. This analysis revealed several significant\n\neffects. The significant SEC effect (P(5,220)=8.35, p<.0001)\n\nindicated that there was a reliable response. The CORD I SEC\n\n(II.(10,440) =4.52, p<.0001) and PC I SEC (F(5,220)=2.40,\n\np=.0383) effects indicated that the shape of the response\nwas a function of both the RT task conditions and the\n\npresence of a PS. Finally, AGE interacted significantly with\n\n\nPC (I(1,44)=5.27, p=.0265) and SEC (P (5, 22 0) = 5.33, p=. 00 01) ,\n\nindicating that the PS affected HR differently in the two\n\nage groups and that the response shape was also different\n\nfor young and old subjects. (Previous analyses indicated\nthat treatment order was not an important factor in either\n\n\nBased upon the AGE interactions, the data were analyzed\n\nseparately for young and old subjects with 2 PC X 3 CONSD X 6\n\nSEC analyses of variance with orthogonal trend\n\ndecomposition. The elderly subjects revealed a significant\n\nSEC effect (F(5,110)=2.71, p=.0237) which was composed of\n\nsignificant quadratic ({E(1,22)= 5.29, p=.0313) and cubic\n\n(F(1,22)=9.93, p=.0046) components. In addition, the COID\n\neffect was significant (f(2,44)=6.53, p=.0033), as was the\n\nCOND X quadratic SEC effect (f(2, 44)=4. 33s p<.05). The\n\nlatter effect provided weak evidence that the HR response\n\nwas affected by the BT task condition. Notably, none of the\n\neffects involving the PS reached significance. The young\n\nsubjects also evidenced a significant SEC effect\n\n( (5, 110)=7.99, p<.0001). This was coarposed of a strong\n\ncubic trend (g(1,22)=98.77, p<.0001) and smaller quadratic\n\n( (1,22)=8.24, p=.0089) and guintic (E(1,22)=8.11, p=.0094)\n\ncomponents. The significant COND I SEC effect\n\n(E(10,220)=3.SS, p=.0002) was composed of a significant COND\n\nX quadratic SEC effect (11(2,44)= 5.69, p<.01) indicating an\neffect of RT condition on the BR response. The significant\n\nPC It SEC effect (P(5,110)=2.65, p=.0264) was composed of\n\nsignificant PC I quadratic SEC (F(1,22)=10.11, p=.0043) and\n\nPC It cubic SEC: (f(1,22)=4.91, p=.0373) effects, implying\n\nthat the HR response was affected by the PS.\n\nThere are several points to be made on the basis of\n\nthese analyses: 1) the HR response of the young subjects\n\nwas again modified by the PS while that of the elderly was\n\nnot, 2) the HR response of the young was robustly affected\n\nby the RT task conditions, while that of the elderly was\n\naffected weakly, if at all, 3) the overall HR level was\n\naffected by the inclusion of the RT task in the elderly but\n\nnot in the young subjects, and 4) the lack of significant PC\n\nIt COND I SEC effects in either group implies that the effect\n\nof the PS upon the HR response was not a function of the BT\n\ntask conditions.\n\nIn order to explore the effects upon the decelerative\n\nand accelerative components of the elicited HR response in\n\nmaore detail, the points of maaxiana dece le ration (first\n\npostatimulus second) and acceleration (third poststimulus\n\nsecond) vere analyzed by 3 Condition I 2 PC analyses of\n\nvariance within the two age groups. The Desults confirmed\n\nearlier conclusions in that the old subjects produced an\n\neffect of Condition for both the decelerative (F(2,44)=6.52,\n\np=.00 33) and the accelerative (H (2, 44) =5. 89, p=.0054)\n\ncomponents of the response, whereas the PS had no effect\n\nupon responding in this group. In contrast, the young\n\nsubjects showed no effect of Condition (indicating no\n\ndifferences across condition in HR level), but reliable\n\neffects due to the PS on the magnitude of the deceleration\n\n(P(1,22)=17.24, p=.0004) and, to a lesser extent, upon the\n\nacceleration (P(1,22)=5.77, p=. 0252). However, unlike\n\nprevious finding gs, the effect of the PS upon the\n\naccelerative component was to produce a diminution rather\n\nthan an augmentation of this portion of the elicited HR\n\n\n\nThe results of this experiment support the conclusion\n\nthat reflex modification is profoundly affected by the\n\ninclusion of a reaction time task in young subjects but not\n\nin the elderly. As predicted, the effect upon the eyeblink\n\nwas to increase the inhibitory effect of the PS. Although\n\nfor the HR response the effect of Condition did not interact\n\nwith the presence or absence of the PS, perusal of Figure 6\n\nsuggests that the effect is one of augmenting the\n\ndecelerative component of the BR response, moreso in the two\n\nRT conditions.\n\nThe RT conditions produced effects upon the responses\n\nwhich were greater than the no-RT condition and not\n\ndifferent from each other. This clearly supports the\n\nconfiguration advanced in the introduction to this\n\nexperiment as support for some type of arousal operating\n\n\nupon the reflex modification process. It is conceivable that\n\nan elevated state of central nervous system activity was\n\nproduced by the challenging RT task and that this state\n\naugmented the inhibition of elicited eyeblinks and the\n\nmodification of the elicited hB responses.\n\nThere are at least two reasons to question this\n\nconclusion. As Lacey (Lacey, 1967; Lacey, Ktagan, Lacey, and\n\nnoss, 1963) has indicated, arousal is not an unidimrensional\n\nprocess. Various autonomic and central responses do not\n\ncovary across experimental conditions. In addition, the\n\neffect of a PS has been found to be independent of various\n\nmanipulations (e.g. changes in ES intensity) which result in\nincreases or decreases in the amplitude of the elicited\n\nresponse (see Hoffaan and Ison, 1980 for a discussion). It\nseems reasonable to suppose that one effect of arousal would\n\nbe to determine, at leas-t in part, the amplitude of the\n\nelicited response. Therefore, if the amount of inhibition is\n\nindependent of the amplitude of the response, it is unlikely\nthat arousal would affect the inhibition process. Secondly,\n\nin this experiment the elderly subjects demonstrated a\n\nsignificantly elevated HR level in the two RT conditions,\n\nsuggesting an increased arousal, yet the eyeblink\n\nmodification process was unaffected. In contrast, the young\n\nsubjects, who did yield the predicted effects upon the\n\neyeblink and HR responses, showed no effects of Condition\n\nupon HR level. The mean HR levels for the young subjects in\n\nConditions 1, 2, and 3 were 75.9 beats per minute (bpmt)\n\n76.6 bpm, and 76.6 bpa respectively, while corresponding\n\nvalues for the old subjects were 74.9 bps, 76.2 hps, and\n\n76.8 bps. Thus the old subjects had a range of 1.9 bpa\n\nacross conditions compared to .7 bpa for the young subjects.\n\nIf HR level is a valid index of arousal, this finding argues\n\nagainst the possibility that these results are due to\n\narousal produced by the RT task.\n\nBoelbouvrer (1980) elicited eyeblinks at various times\n\nduring a three second foreperiod of a reaction time\n\nprocedure. He found effects upon both the mronosynaptic and\n\npolysynaptic components of the neural activity responsible\n\nfor the eyeblink. These components varied in amplitude as a\n\nfunction of the time intervening between the warning\n\nstimulus and the presentation of the ES. Unless it is\n\nhypothesized that arousal can fluctuate several times during\n\na three second foreperiod, another process is required tc\n\nexplain these results.\n\nTo reiterate, DelPezzo and Hoffaan (1980) were able to\n\nincrease or decrease the inhibitory effect of a particular\n\nPS by simply instructing subjects to attend or ignore the\n\nstimulus. The findings reported here suggest that a similar\n\nprocess say be operating. It is conceivable that when\n\nsubjects await an imperative stimulus to which a response is\n\nrequired, theyr become more attentive to 111 stianlation.\n\nThat the young subjects are more able to direct this\n\n\neffortful attention is further supported by the HR responses\n\ndepicted in Figures 6 and 7. The young subjects exhibited a\n\nlarge HR deceleration between seconds three and five in the\n\ncontingent RT condition (Condition 3). This deceleration is\n\ncommonly found in constant-foreperiod BT tasks. (In this\n\ncase, the IS was presented at the fifth second.) The\n\ndeceleration was not nearly as evident in the elderly\n\nsubjects, a finding consistent with Thompson and Nowlin\n\n(1973) and NIorris and Thosrpson (1969). If it is true, as\n\nsuggested by Lacey (Lacey, 1967; Lacey, Kagan, Lacey, and\n\nMoss, 1963; Lacey and Lacey, 1974)), that HR deceleration\n\nfacilitates attention toward the sensory environment, these\n\ndata suggest that the elderly are less able to accomplish\n\nthis effortful direction of attention.\n\n\nAs previously indica-ted, virtually any change in the\n\nsensory environment will function as an inhibitory PS, given\n\nthe appropriate temporal relationships. Stimuli which have\n\nbeen employed to date include tones (e1g. Grahas and Murray,\n\n1977), lights (e~g. Reiter and Ison, 1977), shock s (e~ g.\n\nPinckney, 1976), noise offset (e~g. Stitt, Boffaan, and\n\nMa rsh, 1973) and a shift in the frequency spectrum of\n\nbroad-band noise (e~g. harsh, Hoffaan, Stitt, and Schwartz,\n\n1975). In addition to these stimuli, I son (personal\n\nc oasunication, 1980) has found that a discrete gap in a\n\ncontinuous noise background will also serve to inhibit\n\nwhole-body startle in rats.\n\nThe experiment to follow was designed to test\n\nBotwinick's (1978) stimulus persistence hypothesis by using\n\na gap in a continuous tone as a PS. Botvinick has proposed\n\nthat the older central nervous system needs a greater amount\n\nof time in order to \"clear\" a stimulus, and that this\n\nincreased stimulus persistence results in differential\n\nperformance on a number of perceptual ta sk s, including\n\n\nreduced flicker fusion thresholds (rWeale, 1965) and click\n\nfusion thresholds (neiss, 1963), and greater exposure\n\ndurations when identifying tachistoscopicly presented forms\n\n(S althouse, 1976). In an elegant test of this hypothesis,\n\nKline and Orae-Rogers (1978) found that elderly subjects\n\nwere better able to identify words when halves of the word\n\nforms were presented sequentially. The elderly were able to\n\nidentify the words at greater ISIs than were the young.\n\nIn the following experiment, gaps ranging in duration\n\nfrom 10 to 120 asecs were used as prestiaali and three\n\nhypotheses were tested. (Psychophysical research has\n\nindicated that gaps as small as 5 asecs can be reliably\n\ndetected in tones of similar frequency and intensity to\n\nthose employed here. See for example Ploap, 1964 and Perrott\n\nand W~illiaas, 1971.) First, it was hypothesized that the\n\nga ps would effectively inhibit the elicited ref lexes.\n\nSecondly, drawing upon the proposed attentional model, it\n\nwas predicted that the amount of inhibition would increase\n\nwith PS duration, as in Experiment 1. Finally, based upon\n\nBotwinick's stimulus persistence hypothesis, it was expected\n\nthat young subjects would demonstrate significant inhibition\n\nat smaller gap durations than elderly subjects.\n\n\nPoung subjects in this experimaent consisted of 12\n\nfemales and four sales, ranging in age from 18 to 24 years\n\n[aean=19.4). There were also 12 elderly females and four\n\nelderly males, ranging in age from 61 to 78 years\n\n(maean=70.0). One young subject and two elderly subjects were\n\neliminated fromt the analyses for procedural error and one\n\nadditional elderly subject was eliminated for producing\n\nfewer than three scoreable eyeblink responses per condition.\n\n\nAfter the subject was connected to the recording\n\nequipment and the door to the experimental chamber was\n\nclosed, a 70 dB, 1000 Bz tone was turned on and remained on\n\nuntil the end of the session. None of the subjects reported\n\nthis tone to be uncomfortable when queried subsequent to\n\ntesting. As in previous experiments, the ES was a 50 asec\n\nairpuff presented at an intensity of 80 as Hg. On prepulsed\n\ntrials, a gap in the continuous tone was presented at an ISI\n\nof 120 asecs (measured from gap offset to ES onset). Gap\n\ndurations were 10, 20, 40, 80, and 120 asecs. Rise/fall\n\ntimes were set at 1 asec instead of the usual 5 asecs so as\n\nnot to obscure the shorter duration gaps. No switching\n\ntransients were easily perceptible. The five PS durations\n\nplus the ES-alone control condition were arranged into a 6 X\n\n\n6 latin square. For the purpose of counterbalancing orders\n\nof conditions, subjects started at different rows of the\n\nlatin square and preceded through the entire square for a\n\ntotal of 36 trials, six in each condition. Intertrial\n\nintervals ranged from 20 to 40 secs with a mean of 30 secs.\n\n\n\nData vere averaged within each condition and subject\n\nand corrected for the gain setting. The mean control\n\nresponse was then subtrac-ted from each of the prepulsed\n\nresponses. These gain-corrected difference scores comprised\n\nthe data for the analyses and are depicted in Fiqure 8.\n\nData vere first analyzed with a 2 AGE I 5 PS duration\n\nanalysis of variance with orthogonal trend decomposition.\n\nThere was a significant effect of PS duration\n\n(P(4,12 0)= 5.09, p=.0008) which was comprised of significant\n\nquadratic ( (1,30)=8.24, p=.0074) and linear (P(1,30)=7.52,\n\np=.0102) components. In addition, the linear trend\n\ninteracted significantly with iAGE (f(1,30)=4.63, p=. 0397).\n\nThese results implied that the gap served as an effective PS\n\nand that the amount of inhibiton varied as a function of TS\n\nduration. The AGE I linear PS duration contrast indicated\n\nthat the shape of the function was different for the two age\n\ngroups. Consequently, the data vere analyzed separately\n\nwithin the age groups with a 5 PS duration analysis of\n\n\nvariance with orthogonal trend decomposition. As implied ty\n\nFigure 8, the young subjects evidenced a significant\n\nquadratic function ( (1,15)=4.56, p=.0496) whereas the\n\nelderly curve was linear across PS duration (Pi(1,15)-=13.22,\n\n\nIn order to specifically test the hypothesis that the\n\nyounger subjects would show inhibition at smaller PS\n\ndurations than the elderly, Dunnett's follosop test (K~irk,\n\n1968) was used to test for differences between the control\n\nresponse and each of the prepulsed responses. This test\n\nindicated that all of the prepulsed responses were\n\nsignificantly smaller than the control response in the young\n\nsubjects. In the elderly subjects, all were different except\nthe 10 asec PS.\n\nHeart rate was measured for 1 sec before and for 5 secs\n\nafter the airpuff ES. The responses were averaged within\n\neach condition and subject. The mean responses are depicted\n\nin Figure 9 for the young subjects and in Figure 10 for the\n\nelderly subjects. Data vere initially analyzed with a 2 AGE\n\nI 6 Condition I 6 Second (SEC) analysis of variance. The\n\nonly effects to reach significance were the SEC effect\n\n(F([5,150)=7.0U, p<. 000 1) and the AGE I SEC interaction\n\n(p(5,150)=S.93, p<.0001), indicating a significance respoDSe\n\nwhich differed in shape across the age groups.\n\nOrthogonal trend analyses within the two age groups\n\nindicated significant quadratic (P(1,15)=13.29, p=.0024) and\n\ncubic (P(1,15)=10.44, p=.0056) coiaponents of the SEC effect\n\nin the old group, as well as a significant quintic component\n\n(F(1,15)=10. 02, p=.0064), though this component accounted\n\nfor spuch less variance than the other two. The young\n\nsubjects also evidenced quadratic (X= 8.77, p=.00 97) and\n\ncubic (P=11.48, p=.0041) SEC trends.\n\nNotably, there was an absence of effects involving\n\nstisolus condition upon the shape of the HR response, though\n\nit appears in Figures 9 and 10 that the PS tended to\n\naccentuate the initial decelerative component, as in\n\nprevious experiments. Perusal of Figure 9 also indicates\n\nthat the PS seemed to reduce the magnitude of the\n\naccelerative component of the response in the young\n\nsubjects. In a post-hoc attempt to assess these effects, the\n\nfirst and third poststimaulus seconds were analyzed within\n\nthe age groups with one-way analyses of variance over the\n\nsix stimulus conditions. The results were consistent with\n\nthe preceding analyses in showing no effect of condition\n\nupon either the deceleration or acceleration in either age\n\n\n\nThese results are consistent with Berg's (1973)\n\nconclusion that the eyeblink and HR responses represent\n\ndifferent components of the startle reflex. This was\n\nindicated by the significant effects of the PS upon the\n\neyeblink and the absence of effects upon the elicited HR\n\nre sponse.\n\nThe attentional model again finds support in these\n\ndata. The amount of inhibition increased with increasing PS\n\nduration with the exception of the longest PS in the young\n\ngroup. The absence of age differences in the amount of\n\ninhibiton supports the notion that the direction of\n\nautomatic attentional processes is preserved well into old\n\n\nFinal ly, Botwinick' s (1978) stimulus persistence\n\nhypothesis received tentative support from these results.\n\nAlthough the AGE I PS duration contrast was not significant,\n\nthe followap tests did indicate that the young subjects\n\nshowed reflex inhibition with smaller duration gaps than the\n\n\n\nThe re sults reported here strong ly support the\n\nconclusion, proposed by Berg (1973), that the eyeblink and\n\nHR components of the elicited startle reflex represent less\n\nthan perfectly correlated responses. The primary aspect of\n\nmy results which favors such a conceptualization is the\n\nontogenetic dissociation of the two responses which occurred\n\nrepeatedly in these experiaents. In none of the four\n\nexperiments did the elderly reveal large effects of a PS\n\nupon the elicited HR response, despite consistent eyeblink\ninhibition. As previously emphasized, this was not due to a\n\nlack of HR responsivity in the elderly. Both age groups\n\nrevealed robust phasic changes in HR subsequent to the\n\neliciting airpuff. It seems evident therefore, that the\n\neyeblink and HR responses reflect semi-independent\n\ncomponents of the startle and that the modification of these\n\nresponses pursue dissimilar developmental courses.\nThe eyeblink and HR responses were also differentially\n\ninfluenced by the experimental manipulations in this\n\ninvestigation. Restricting attention for the moment to the\n\nyoung subjects, it is evident that inhibition of the\n\neyeblink by a suitably arranged PS is no guarantee that this\n\nprestimulus will affect HR. For example, in Experiment 1,\n\nboth eyeblink and HR modification were evident. For both\n\nresponses, the effects were greater for longer duration\n\nprestimsuli and evidenced a U-shaped function over the range\n\nof ISIs investigated. In the third experiment, the inclusion\n\nof a reaction time task in the procedure greatly increased\n\nthe amount of eyeblink modification while affecting the HR\n\nresponse only mparginally. Finally, in Experiment 4, the PS\n\nhad virtually no effect upon the BR response while\n\ninhibiting the eyeblink significantly. It remains for future\n\nresearch to elucidate the critical stimulus parameters for\n\ndifferentiation of these startle components.\n\nThe literature is inconsistent regarding the exact\n\nshape of the elicited HR response. In a review of the HR\n\nliterature, Graham (1979) concluded that the response was\n\ncomposed of a small, brief acceleration followed by a return\n\nto prestimulus HR level. Grahaa's (1979) conclusions were\n\nhampered, however, by the paucity of studies specifically\n\ninvestigating the startle reflex. It was necessary for her\n\nto carefully evaluate the stimulus parameters of the studies\n\nreviewed and make a decision as to whether or not the\n\nstimuli vere likely to elicit eyeblink in humans or whole-\n\nbody startle in laboratory animals. In agreement with Graham\n\n(1979), Chalaers and Hoffaan (1973) found a HR acceleration\n\naccompanying whole-body startle in rats. Berg (1973),\n\nhowever, found a decelerative response as did Clarkson\n\n(1979). In the four experiments reported here, the control\n\nresponse in both age groups was biphasic (and this\nconclusion was consistently supported by significant cubic\n\ntrends). The decelerative component reached a nadir at 1 to\n\n2 secs poststimulus and was more variable in magnitude than\n\nthe acceleration, which peaked at 3 to 4 secs.\n\nDevelopmentally, the accelerative coaponent was less\n\nprominent in the elderly subjects, though it was always\nstatistically reliable.\n\nThe results of this research have indicated that the\n\neffect of a PS upon the elicited HR response is primarily\n\nupon the decelerative component of the response. The effect\nis one of accentuating the magnitude of this deceleration.\n\nIn some cases, the accelerative component was also altered,\n\nbut these changes were smaller and less reliable. It is\n\ninappropriate to refer to these effects as inhibitory.\nUnlike the effect upon eyeblink, the PS served to augment\n\nvarious aspects of the HR response. This conclusion is at\nvariance with Chalmers and Hoffaan (1973), who found that a\n\nPS functioned to reduce the size of a primarily accelerative\n\nresponse. This finding again underscores the conclusion that\nthe eyeblink and HtR components of the startle complex are\n\nsomewhat independent of one another.\n\n\nThe results of the analyses of the eyeblink responses\n\nsuggest that reflex inhibition can be profitably discussed\n\nin terms of the amplifyingg\" effects of attention.\n\nConsistent with predictions of the attentional model which I\n\nhave proposed, manipulations which rendered the PS sore\n\nsalient, or attention-getting, also served to increase its\n\ninhibitory potency. This was true whether the manipulation\n\nwas to increase the duration of a tone PS or a gap in a\n\ncontinuous tone. The latter finding is important in that it\n\nindicates that the results of Experiment 1 vere not simply\n\ndue to increasing the total energy of the PS. This\n\nstrengthens the argument that these effects are due, at\n\nleast in part, to attentional as opposed to basic, energy-\n\nrelated neurophysiological processes.\n\nThe failure to affect the amount of inhibition in\n\nExperiment 2 by instructing subjects to count a rare PS is\n\npuzzling. DelPezzo and Hoffaan (1980) vere able to produce\n\nchanges in the amount of inhibition with a manipulation\n\nwhich seems at least as subtle as the one used in Experiment\n\n2. They were able to increase or decrease the amount of\n\ninhibition simply by instructing their subjects to attend or\n\nignore a particular PS. I can only speculate that the\ndifference between the 1000 Hz and the 500 Hzt was so\n\nsalient, and the number of tones to be counted so small\n\n(five), that the task was too easy to sufficiently engage\n\neffortful attentional processes to anyl degree in Experiment\n\n\nThe developmental perspective taken in this\n\ninvestigation was useful not only in describing age\n\ndifferences in reflex modification (indeed, in demonstrating\n\nthat the elderly will produce the phenomenon at all), but\n\nalso in elucidating the contribution of attention to the\n\nreflex inhibition process. In drawing upon a literature\n\nindependent of the history of reflex modification (i~e. age\ndifferences in effortful versus automatic attention), it was\n\npossible to add to existing knoviedge regarding both reflex\n\nmodification and the adult development of attention. This\n\ninvestigation supported the position advanced by Hoyer and\n\nPlude (1980) that the elderly maintain their automatic\n\nattentional abilities to a greater extent than their\n\neffortful attentional processes. The distinction between\n\nautomatic and effortful processing is not clear-cut and is\n\nusually made at the empirical level. For example, Plude and\n\nHoyler (1980) utilized a card-sorting task in which a target\nletter was imbedded in zero to eight distractor letters.\n\nwhen the letters to be searched for were unchanging, no age\n\ndifferences in performance were found. However, wben the\n\ntarget letters changed over trials, consistent age\n\ndecrements were found. According to the authors, the\n\nunchanging set allowed for the development of automatic\n\nsearch strategies whereas the changing set required active\n\nretrieval and comparison.\n\n\nOne criterion for deciding whether or not a skill is\n\nautomatic was proposed by LaBerge and Samuels (1974).\n\nALccording to these researchers, if a task can be\n\naccomplished while attention is directed elsewhere, it\n\ninvolves automatic processes. In their analysis of reading\n\nskills, they emphasized repetition as necessary for the\n\ndevelopment of automaticity. For example, with practice a\n\nreader is able to recognize words and their meanings with\n\nvery little effort. However, the beginning reader must make\n\na conscious effort to identify individual letters and their\n\nassociated sounds, combine those letters into words, and\n\nremember the meaning ascribed to that particular\n\nconstellation of letters and sounds. Hasher and Zacks\n\n(1979) defined automatic processes as not requiring\n\nawareness of their use and as not benefitting from practice\n\nor feedback. The utilization of these processes was seen as\n\noutside the bounds of voluntary control. Effortful processes\n\nwere described as requiring voluntary use and as benefitting\n\nfrom practice. Finally, effortful, but not automatic,\n\nprocesses Limit one's ability to carry out other tasks. It\n\nseems reasonable to suppose that the PS duration effects\n\nevident in Experimaents 1 and 4 would obtain when attention\n\nwas directed elsewhere, though it remains for future\n\nresearch to confirm this speculation. It seems unlikely\n\nthat the reaction timpe task in Experim~ent 3 could be\n\nperformed as successfn11y if attention was allocated to\n\nanother task. The absence of age differences in those\n\nexperiments purporting to manipulate automatic (Experiments\n1 and 4) coupled with the significant age differences when\n\neffortful attention was supposedly varied (Experiment 3)\n\nlends greater credence to the contention that attention was\n\nin fact being manipulated. Extensive training of the\n\nreaction time skills required in Experiment 3 would\n\npresumably lead to automraticity and it could be predicted\nthat this training vould decrease the age differences in\n\nreflex inhibition seen in this experiment. In addition,\n\nsince involuntary responses were measured, age differences\n\nin response criteria, cautiousness, or task-specific\n\nabilities are implausible explanations for these results.\n\nThe fourth experiment demonstrated that the reflex\n\ninhibition procedure can be used to investigate\n\na tte nti onal/ perceptual1 p he no mpena., Bo twi nic k 's (1978)\n\nstimulus persistence hypothesis received tentative support\n\nin that the young subjects revealed significant inhibition\n\nwith a smaller gap PS than the elderly. Evaluations of the\n\nstisolus persistence model with other than visual,\n\ntach istoscopi c methods fills a void which has teen\n\npreviously indicated (K~line and Scheiber, 1980). As stated\nin Chapter 6, however, the AGE I DURATION interaction was\n\nnot significant. Follosop tests provided weak evidence in\n\nfavor of the hypothesis, though additional research is\n\ncertainly warranted.\n\n\nBirren's (1974) calculator model was not supported by1\n\nthe results of Experiment 1. If indeed, the elderly nervous\n\nsystem is running more slowly, the reflex inhibition process\n\nshould also occur more slowly. This would cause a shift in\n\nthe elderly toward greater effective ISIs between PS and ES\n\n(similar to the results of visual masking studies). This\n\nwas not found. The ISIs employed were chosen from a wide\n\nrange, however, and it will be necessary to more precisely\ndefine the ISI functions within age groups before strong\n\nconclusions regarding t~he speed of the inhibition can be\n\nmade. A~lso, Birren's (1974) model has emphasized that this\n\nslowing primarily involves voluntary decision-making rather\n\nthan sensory or motor processes. The involuntary responses\n\ninvestigated in the present research may not be directly\n\nanalogous to those supporting Birren's model.\n\nThis project finally indicates some considerations\n\nwhich should be addressed by future research in reflex\n\nmodification. First, it is important to consider the\n\nattentional state of the subject when assessing the effects\n\nof various stimulus condition upon the inhibition process.\n\nThis includes instructions to the subjects and any tasks to\n\nbe performed. Second, it is evident that the startle reflex\n\nis not a unitary process, that at least two components of\n\nthe reflex, HE and eyeblink, do not covary perfectly in\n\nresponse to changes in stimulus configuration. Thirdly, the\n\ninvestigation of reflex modification and other\n\n\npsychophysiological response systems can benefit both\n\nsubstantively and theoretically from a developmental\n\napproach to investigation.\n\nUniversity of Florida Home Page\nAll rights reserved.\n\nAcceptable Use, Copyright, and Disclaimer Statement\nLast updated October 10, 2010 - Version 2.9.9 - mvs", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5982153415679932}
+{"content": "Toyin Ojih Odutola:\nTo Wander Determined\nOct 20, 2017–\n\nDrawing of a woman standing in a room wearing a pink dress.\n\nToyin Ojih Odutola (b. 1985), Pregnant, 2017. Charcoal, pastel and pencil on paper, 74 1/2 x 42 in. ©Toyin Ojih Odutola.  Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York\n\n\n\n\nToyin Ojih Odutola: To Wander Determined presents a significant new body of work alongside a small selection of earlier works, produced in the last year.\n\nThis exhibition is organized by Rujeko Hockley, assistant curator and Melinda Lang, curatorial assistant.\n\nMajor support for Toyin Ojih Odutola: To Wander Determined is provided by John R. Eckel, Jr. Foundation.\n\nGenerous support is provided by Jackson Tang.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6625455021858215}
+{"content": "An orchard or a grove is usually defined as a uniform plantation of specified plants. It is planted to commercially produce fruits and vegetables, which are of the same kind. During the plantation of one, uniformity regarding the location of the plant or its species and subspecies is maintained. In Europe, 'mixed orchards' (where a variety of plants are planted) are also found.\n\nThe process of planting, growing, and maintaining a grove is very difficult and requires considerable knowledge of botany. The total process requires patience and willingness to work. One cannot reap the fruits (in this case, apples) of hard work until the plants grow and bear fruit.\n\nCultivars of Apples\n\nAt present, many different cultivars have been developed. Before choosing the appropriate one, following points need to be considered.\n  • Average size of the cultivar\n  • Average height of the cultivar\n  • Blossoming season\n  • Ripening season\n  • Required nature of soil\n  • Required climate\n  • Required space for healthy growth\nSome of the prominent cultivars of Apple trees are; Pristine, Williams' Pride, Liberty, Redfree, Enterprise, Jonafree, and Goldrush.\n\nDwarf-sized and Standard-sized Trees\n\nAccording to their sizes, the apple trees can be classified into two types, dwarf-sized and standard-size plants. The selection depends on the location and type of grove. The dwarf-sized ones are convenient for a more personalized and smaller space. These plants are easy to maintain and require less space. Plucking the fruit is also convenient. The standard-sized ones grow into larger trees. These plants require a large space and have to be maintained regularly, which is difficult owing to their large size and lengthy branches. Most of the apple cultivars are available in dwarf-size. An average dwarf-sized plant grows to a height of 10 feet. On the other hand, the standard-sized plant can grow up to a height of 15 to 20 feet.\n\nLocation and plantation of trees\n\nChoosing an appropriate location for the orchard is always a tricky task. The apple plant requires very bright sunlight for a healthy growth. The morning dew is a medium through which contagious diseases spread in these plants. The early morning sun evaporates the dew, thus preventing the diseases. Hence, the orchard must be planted in such a manner that it enjoys all the possible early morning sunlight. The apple plants grow well in the soil with a sandy texture and very good drain off.\n\nActual process of planting\n\nIt is best to get small apple plants from nearby nurseries. It is extremely important to keep the roots moist before planting them in soil. If the roots start drying up, then it is advisable to soak them in water before planting. To plant one, dig a trench and place the plant inside it. Make sure that the roots are well spread before covering up the trench. The dwarf-sized plants should be planted at a distance of 8 feet away from each other, and a distance of 14 feet must be left between the rows. The standard-sized plant must be planted at a distance of 10 feet from each other, and it is advisable that a distance of 16 feet is maintained between the rows.\n\n\nThe ideal time to prune this tree is March. In the initial stages, cut off the branches that begin to rot or are infested. Prune the top most branches regularly (once a month), and keep the top pointed so as to ensure sufficient sunlight for the lower branches. The unwanted and non-symmetrical branches of the tree must be removed to maintain the balance of the tree.\n\n\nThe orchard must be fertilized appropriately. It is also necessary to conduct a soil test after every two or three years. A timely and appropriate amount of fertilization ensures a good growth of the grove and quality fruit.\n\nThe apple tree requires a lot of attention and protection. If the orchard is well looked after, it produces the most delicious apples.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9767933487892151}
+{"content": "Shying away\nHeidi Hodges Photography\n\nShying away\n\nA young flower girl shies away while getting her hair styled for upcoming the ceremony.\n\nThere's so much attention paid to children in wedding parties. Some kids handle the pressure better than others. And sometimes, even children who seem well prepared, fall apart on the day. After shooting hundreds of weddings, with hundreds of children involved, I've observed a few things: the more impatient and upset a person becomes with a child, the harder it is on the child. One thing is universal: kids never \"improve\" their behavior if the adults around them get impatient and angry. It only feeds their insecurity. And that insecurity and fear can come out in a variety of unexpected ways.\n\nOn the other hand, children who are handled gently, without much fuss and with a lot of understanding are the ones who do best. Imagine being a child at a Very Important Grown Up Function (it could the coronation of the king, for all they know) getting dressed up in an unfamiliar and probably-uncomfortable outfit. Being told you can't play in that outfit. And then being asked to perform a duty during the day, like bringing flowers down the aisle while EVERYONE is looking at you. That's pressure.\n\nHaving said that, some kids are such troopers. And most parents and wedding party members are kind and gentle.\n\nAt this wedding, the bride had many children participate. All of the children were treated so wonderfully. Even the ones who had a bit of difficulty in the beginning, all came through in the end. And they all had a great day.\n\nIncluding children in your wedding day can be really charming. Just keep your expectations in the \"realistic\" zone. And go with the flow. Remember, this is new territory for most kids (although I did once run into a young girl who had been a flower girl at three weddings. She was almost a pro!)\n\nLocation: Cudahy, Wisconsin.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7836947441101074}
+{"content": "How to Disconnect the Converter Charger Automatically When Using an Inverter\n\nI’ll show you how I installed a switch to automatically disconnect my RV converter charger when my power inverter is used. Some RVs with built-in inverters do this automatically, but I installed my power inverter myself. Now I am adding my own automatic switching to be just like the big boys.\n\nHow to Build a Portable Solar Charging System\n\nThere are many uses for a portable solar charging system even if you don’t own an RV. This is a great low cost entry level solar project that doesn’t require making mods to your RV. Building your own also allows you pick your own equipment and add panels to support more batteries. Here's how I built mine.\n\nGenerating Power While Boondocking (Solar vs Generator)\n\nYour batteries will need to be recharged each day while boondocking. For that you'll need to either run a gas powered generator with a charger or install a solar charging system. Both are viable options, but which one suits your needs better?\n\nHow to Stay Warm While Boondocking\n\nWhen it gets cold, your first reaction may be to fire up the gas furnace. That works, but here are some other suggestions that will keep you warm while conserving your resources as well.\n\nHow To Stay Cool While Boondocking\n\nStaying cool in hot climates can be difficult and costly in terms of electrical consumption. Running a power generator and air conditioner for prolonged periods is simply not a sustainable option when remote camping. So the key is to keep your RV from getting too hot in the first place. Try these tips to keep cool.\n\nMy Boondocking Checklist\n\nPreparation is the key to a successful boondocking experience. Prior to heading out into remote areas, I like to make sure our RV systems are functioning properly and that I've got everything I need to handle any issues that may arise. Here's my checklist to make sure I don't forget anything.\n\nSolar Power For Your RV - What you need to know\n\nHave you been considering a solar install on your RV, but just aren't sure what is involved or where to start? You are certainly not alone. This article addresses some farely common misconceptions and questions people have related to using solar power on an RV.\n\nTips for Camping Without Hookups\n\nA successful remote camping (a.k.a. \"Boondocking\") experience requires some preparation and practice. Here are some tips that experienced boondockers use to get the most out of their camping experience. Learn these tips and you too can have the freedom and confidence to camp anywhere?\n\nMaximize Your Waste Water Capacity While Boondocking\n\nEven though your RV's gray water and black waste water tanks are roughly the same size, the gray tank will fill up much quicker than your black water tank (which rarely ever fills up). So while boondocking it is important to monitor the level of your gray water tank. Here is how you can use the full capacity of both your black and gray water tank and extend your stay.\n\nHow To Connect Solar Panels\n\nHow you connect your solar panels on your RV depends on many things. A common question is whether to connect them in a series or parrallel configuration. In this article I'll share some pros and cons of each setup and demonstrate on my solar panels what happens when you connect them both ways.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7588996887207031}
+{"content": "Today isn't the day we celebrate as \"Thanksgiving\" but I just have to say that I am so thankful for the reason this day, \"Easter\", has been set aside for us to observe. My freedom, my faith, my salvation, my hope- all of it is because Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the King defeated and conquered death. After being crucified and laying in a grave for nearly three days. My savior's resurrection is why I have life. Here on earth and for all eternity. Thankful, grateful, and blessed!\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9936339259147644}
+{"content": "Can’t Make It Green? Tear It Down!\n\nThat’s the plan in the U.K. as aging buildings face the wrecking ball.\n\nAylesbury County Hall\n\nBritain’s brutalist boom in the ’60s gave the country some of its most distinctive architecture, for better or worse. The beauty of those hulking, gray concrete towers is debatable, but one thing’s for sure: they ain’t exactly green, and most are so cheaply built that retrofitting them with eco-friendly updates isn’t worth it.\n\n\nSo Paul Morrell, the country’s new construction advisor, has offered a sort of modest proposal: Tear them down! Trying to fix up post-war architecture is a waste of time:\n\nIn the ’60s, everything was built cheaper, faster, and nastier. If you are going to try to fix buildings, then really you won’t have too many problems with anything built earlier than the ’50s or after the ’80s.\n\nThe country is pushing hard to cut its carbon emissions to 80% of 1990s levels by 2050. Part of that strategy has all buildings built from 2018 on carbon-neutral. But what to do with the old ones? If the country follows through on Morrell’s plan, entire city centers could be at stake: Newcastle, Slough, Aylesbury, and scores of other towns all boomed in the ’60s and ’70s, and it shows.\n\nTrellick Tower\n\nIt’s bad news for the rare breed of architecture buffs that digs these buildings–U.K. icons like the Tricorn Center in Portsmouth or the Trinity Car Park in Gateshead (the unsung star of Get Carter) have already been demolished. Of course, the cream of the concrete crop–those buildings listed as historic by English Heritage–are immune from aesthetically compromising retro-fits like new windows and their emissions aren’t counted towards the country’s carbon footprint.\n\nUltimately, it’ll come down to the numbers on a building-by-building basis: is it cheaper to refurbish or start from scratch? It’s easier to build green if you build new (disregarding the environmental impact of demolition and new construction, of course), but one has to wonder if this is really an aesthetic argument disguised as an environmental one–and if that’s really a bad thing.\n\n[Via Times UK]", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7332980632781982}
+{"content": "edit phd proposal in psychology area and mix method2\n\n\nI write my Ph.D. proposal, but I need someone who helps me to edit it. I mean if there is something missing, make me aware and let me know and cover it.\n\nit is 3 chapter.\n\nin this step, I don't need proofreading, but I need it later.\n\nit contains qualitative and quantitative research method in psychology area.\n\nwould you please help me in this case?\n\nit is 22648 words. so I want to know how long does it take and how much does it cost?\n\nlooking forward to you\n\nthank you\n\n\nCompétences : Correction, Rédaction de Rapport, Recherche, Rédaction scientifique, CV\n\nVoir plus : much proofreading cost, edit mix, cost proofreading, psychology phd proposal, phd proposal automation, phd proposal law, phd proposal journalism, phd proposal ready, writing phd proposal, phd proposal essay, phd proposal real estate\n\nConcernant l'employeur :\n( 0 commentaires ) Malaysia\n\nN° du projet : #8482336\n\n1 freelance a fait une offre moyenne de 7 RM pour ce travail\n\n\nHired by the Employer\n\n7 RM MYR / heure\n(2 Commentaires)", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7864775657653809}
+{"content": "Can bullying behavior ever be stopped? For the last half decade or more our attention to the very real suffering that bullying causes has led to an entire industry focused on “bullies.” Yet for all our attention to the topic, has it really done much to reduce aggression in schools, the workplace and communities?\n\nPerhaps one reason it has been so difficult to change aggressive behaviors is because by focusing on the individual “bully,” we lose sight of the power of group psychology to cause otherwise kind and humane people to act cruelly and inhumanely. This phenomenon of group aggression is most easily provoked, and the most powerful, when someone in leadership makes it clear that they want someone out. When that happens, subordinates rapidly respond to the call for assistance in eliminating the unwanted worker, student, or friend.\n\nIn my new ebook, Mobbed! Surviving Adult Bullying and Mobbing, I explore the phenomenon of group aggression and offer a number of strategies for self-preservation. Written mainly for workers, but applicable to almost any setting where people live and work together in groups, Mobbed! takes a close look at animal behavior to show how much of the aggression we witness in social settings is innate, patterned and predictable. If it is innate, then, can it be stopped? I would argue that no, it cannot be stopped altogether, but it can be prevented, or at least controlled, in most cases—if the target is both aware and prepared. Perhaps the best way to survive the aggression of the group is not so much changing the behavior of the aggressors, as it is learning from animals what the target can do to change the outcome once the fangs have been exposed. Here’s an excerpt:\n\nPrimate research has demonstrated the multitude of ways in which the bullying behavior of a high-status member can turn otherwise peaceful group members into a gang of thugs. Take rhesus monkeys, for example. In his book, Macachiavellian Intelligence: How Rhesus Macaques and Humans Have Conquered the World, primatologist Dario Maestripieri shows the cunning and manipulative strategies that rhesus monkeys deploy to gain status and power in their societies—in a manner which is strikingly similar to how humans behave at work and at war.\n\nMaestripieri opens his book with the tale of a bully macaque who bites a well-liked adolescent male named Buddy. Rather than end the conflict by countering with an equally-painful blow, or showing submission and surrender to the bully, Buddy ran away in pain. By failing to gain or show respect, Buddy’s display of weakness invited pursuit, and the bully escalated his abuse, as Buddy’s friends rushed to join in the excitement. Rather than assist their friend who was under attack, however, Buddy’s friends pursued and attacked him, causing the researchers who were observing the encounter to remove Buddy from the group for his own protection.\n\nWhen Buddy was returned to the group, his former playmates badgered him, knocking him down and challenging him to fight. Still weak from the anesthesia the researchers had given him after removing him from the prior attack, Buddy’s vulnerable state was exploited by the very playmates he grew up with. Mastripieri describes what happened:\n\n“Buddy has spent every day of his life in the enclosure with all the other monkeys. They all eat the same food and sleep under the same roof. . . . . They were there when he was born. They held him and cuddled him when he was an infant. They have watched him grow, day by day, every day of his life. Yet, that day, if the researchers had not taken Buddy out of the group, he would have been killed. . . . He was weak and vulnerable. The behavior of the other monkeys changed swiftly and dramatically—from friendliness to intolerance, from play to aggression. Buddy’s vulnerability became an opportunity for others to settle an old score, improve their position in the dominance hierarchy, or eliminate a potential rival for good. In rhesus macaque society, maintaining one’s social status, being tolerated by others, and ultimately surviving at all may depend on how quickly one runs and how effectively one uses the right signal, with the right individual, at the right time.” (Mastripieri, 2007:4, 5).\n\nThis same pattern of harassment is found in wolves which will rarely organize to attack other packs of wolves, but will routinely single out weakened members of their own group for prolonged harassment, almost always instigated by an alpha wolf and carried out with the frenzied compliance of lower-ranking wolves. According to the renowned naturalist and wolf expert R. D. Lawrence, wolves literally “follow their leader” and turn on their pack members if a high-ranking alpha does so. To stop the harassment, the victimized wolf must show signs of submission—by lying on its back, exposing its throat, belly and groin to the alphas—or by fleeing.\n\nFor more on just what it means to show submission or flee in the workplace or community, take a look at Mobbed! It’s available on Kindle, but if you don’t have a Kindle, you can download a free reader app on the Amazon site that will allow you to read any Kindle book. And if you don’t want to read the book, keep a watch on this site where I’ll continue to discuss the many ways in which human aggression is ignited and enflamed once the call to attack has been sounded. There’s more than one way to beat a bully, and it starts with knowing ourselves--and our animal natures.\n\nYou are reading\n\nBeyond Bullying\n\nTo Believe or Not Believe Bill Cosby's Accusers\n\nWhy the accusations against him do not constitute mob mentality\n\nWhy the Ferguson Apology Matters\n\n\nWhen Co-Workers Attack: Lessons from Ferguson\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5826064348220825}
+{"content": "Bills Re-Sign Cornerback Leodis McKelvin to a Four-Year $20 Million Contract\n\n\nLeodis Mckelvin\n\nLeodis McKelvim is a solid cornerback but has struggled to command a starting spot with the Buffalo Bills. However, he has proven to be a dangerous kickoff and punt returner, ; leading the NFL last season in in punt return yards average while scoring a combined four touchdowns.\n\nThe Bills decided that he was worth keeping signing him to a contract extension.\n\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9405621886253357}
+{"content": "Mona Lisa / da Vinci/ Salai Theory: iDenity\n\nMon Salai (my site)\n\nYesterday I checked my google alerts and saw dozens of stories with headlines like \"Mona Lisa claimed to be da Vinci's boyfriend\" and various other variations on very high profile news sites. I was excited at first because that has been a theory I've been developing over the last 10 years and is the basis of a book I've been working on. I then realized it had been released by someone else. Someone who was also on a National Geographic episode we were both on a couple years ago. I thought I would post another blog about the theory and the timeline in case the increased interest the news articles brought more readers here. Hi!\n\nClick on the link to view my site which has more information and graphics. Mon Salai (my site) There is more to the theory which I'm not going to post yet for what should seem like obvious reasons if you stick around.\n\nThe themes being released by someone else does take away from the impact and validity of my work when I do try and  release it myself. It's no longer \"news\" and the story would then seem that someone else is trying to claim the same thing rather than it being about the theory itself. Or in other words it's a spoiler for that particular theory which would then make it become old news.  It takes the wind out of my sails before I've even set off. It takes it from a breaking story to an already broken one.\n\nConversely it shows that other people are able to release the same information successfully - demonstrating it's 'news worthy' which is encouraging. Thankfully this is only a small part of my research and I have other things I can release that have not been.\n\nWriting this makes me feel a little whiny and petty.  I feel like if this was someone else complaining about the same problem  I would tell them - \"ohh poor you, shut up and do something about it, fix the problem!\" SO I guess this blog post and what I do next will be the solution.\n\nWhat do I do?\nI guess I tell my story  and what I've found and leave the rest up to you - the reader and those that can help share it.\n\nIn 2006, when I was 23, I began writing a book about Leonardo da Vinci and various discoveries I made regarding his art. One of which (which this post is about) was about a painting of Salai, Leonardo's lover/ pupil combining with the Mona Lisa when they were superimposed.\n\nIn 2011 I was asked to be featured on a National Geographic  TV show about Mona Lisa where I talked about this theory. On the same episode there was another guy who was featured for his plans to dig up real life Lisa's skull to do a comparison with the Mona Lisa's face and for findings numbers and letters in the painting. Also that the Mona Lisa was inspired by Salai and a real life Lisa combined. \n\nBetween 2006  and up until a couple years ago I was posting my theories and a preview of my book (and the entire previous version of it) on my website. I also had press releases sent out and a couple articles written about it. During this time Salai as a search term  was relatively unpopular online. Since I posted images of him and my research they became ranked in the top images if you searched for the term \"Salai\". So while I would not come up for any \"Leonardo da Vinci\" searches (at least not near the top) I would be in the top 10 for \"Salai\" and even the very 1st picture you see when searching. Clicking on it would then take you to my web site where I explained my theory. Not only that but the images that I created by combining the face of the Mona Lisa and Salai would be shown in these searches meaning that anyone searching for the term \"Salai\" would be exposed to my research even if inadvertently:\n\nSo if you were to have searched for \"Salai\" you would see a picture like the one above. Even if you didn't go to my website where I went into more detail the graphic is enough to realize the implication. Salai and the Mona Lisa's face are nearly identical. So you would realize they are connected - just by searching for Salai - and this was from my web site and research. This was why I started putting really annoying watermarks across the images because people would use them and then not say where they got them from - thus leaking the contents and theories and research from my book. This enabled people to 'use' my work and ideas and then spread them as their own. Kinda  like taking someone's pictures and articles and posting them without the source instead of re-blogging them. Some of you will know what that means and other will not. Essentially it's taking peoples stories and pictures and posting them as your own without giving credit. It could be because you either don't know the source or you want to make it seem like it's your own idea. It's possible for someone to do this without knowing that it was by someone else but that is different than claiming it was your original idea. You see there is a difference between an idea and a story and a theory and then someone's exact words and images. You can take someone's story and re-write it and say it's yours but you can't use their pictures without permission or their exact words.\n\nWhen I started I didn't' know about these things so I posted my entire (400+page) book on my web site and paid someone to put out a press release giving out the theories and discoveries I had made. These were then used by other people but without using me or my site as a source - intentionally or not - I don't know. But like I said it would have been nearly impossible to do any kind of research into Salai during the last 10 years without coming across my site and seeing my theory. That is how and why I was contacted to do a tv show about the Mona Lisa - since it was about her identity and Salai. On that show was someone who just released a story that is making headlines about this same idea.\n\nHis story has the same basis but doesn't go on to explain why or how. He says they are similar and are a combination of Lisa and Salai.  I'm obviously not going to give out any more details than is already posted on this blog or my site until my book is done but here is the gist.\n\nEg: you could imagine how two same sex partners would want to imagine what their child together would look like - just like every other opposite sex couples would. Solution - paint them. Leonardo's solution was more convoluted and 'conspiratorial' or secretive because he could have literally been burned at the stake for it. Which is the same type of caution and hesitation that has kept me from releasing the theory with more gusto. It's controversial and i'm shy. haha\nMona Lisa or Mon Salai?\nby Louie Parsons\n2006-11-17 08:26:17\n\nIs a link to an article dated to 2006 which explains the exact same thing about me and my research. is now \n\n2016 -today i'm checking my email and get the normal google alerts for \"Leonardo da Vinci\" and \"Mona Lisa\" what do I see:\n\nMona Lisa 'was Leonardo's gay lover'\n\nTimes LIVE - ‎4 hours ago‎\nThe Mona Lisa was partly based on Leonardo da Vinci's apprentice and probable gay lover, an Italian art detective claims. Save & Share. Email · Print. Silvano Vinceti said the portrait was an amalgam of Lisa Gherardini, the wife of a wealthy merchant ...\n\nMona Lisa's villa up for sale\n\nKhaleej Times - ‎6 hours ago‎\nLocated in the hills outside Florence, \"the villa is priced at over 10 million euros ($11.3 million).\" One of Tuscany's most famous villas is up for sale with its owners hoping to be smiling all the way to the bank thanks to its links to the Mona Lisa ...\n\nMona Lisa might actually be da Vinci's male lover\n\nNew York Post - ‎9 hours ago‎\nAn expert believes there are similarities in Mona Lisa's mysterious smirk to other paintings Leonardo da Vinci did of his lover Gian Giacomo Caprotti, who was nicknamed Salai, or the Little Devil. Photo: Getty Images (2). Mona Lisa is based in part on ...\n\nMona Lisa's Villa is on the Market for $23 Million\n\nForbes - ‎12 hours ago‎\nYou can now immerse yourself in the very site where Leonardo da Vinci painted his iconic oil on canvas, Mona Lisa. For the first time in over 50 years, the 16th-century Villa Antinori is on the market for £16 million or $23 million. The estate sprawls ...\n\nMona Lisa's secret smile hides amalgam of merchant's wife and da Vinci's male lover, detective claims\n\nNational Post - ‎12 hours ago‎\nThe Mona Lisa was based not just on a Florentine merchant's wife, but also on Leonardo da Vinci's apprentice and probable gay lover, an Italian art detective claims. Silvano Vinceti said the portrait was an amalgam of Lisa Gherardini, the wife of a ...\n\nWant To Live In Mona Lisa's Villa?\n\nHuffington Post - ‎13 hours ago‎\nHave you always wanted to know what life was like for the muse of what is arguably the most famous painting of all time? You're in luck! All you need is $23 million. Lionard. But look how much house you're getting! Villa Antinori is a breathtakingly ...\n\nMona Lisa based on Leonardo DaVinci's gay lover, says art historian\n\nIrish Independent - ‎16 hours ago‎\nAn Italian art detective has claimed that Leonardo DaVinci's Mona Lisa is partly based on his male apprentice and possible gay lover. Share. Facebook · Twitter · Google · Email. Go To. Comments. Officially it's a portrait of Lisa Gherardini, the wife ...\n\nMona Lisa smile 'based on Leonardo da Vinci's gay lover', claims art historian\n\nThe Independent - ‎18 hours ago‎\nThe famous portrait that hangs in the Louvre in Paris has undergone infra-red analysis to give the art world more insight into one of the world's most renowned paintings. Following his examinations, Silvano Vinceti believes the artwork is an ...\n\nMona Lisa based on Da Vinci's gay lover, art detective claims - ‎Apr 20, 2016‎\nThe Mona Lisa was based not just on a Florentine merchant's wife but also on Leonardo da Vinci's male apprentice and probable gay lover, an Italian art detective claims. Silvano Vinceti said the portrait, which hangs in the Louvre in Paris, is an ...\n\nIs the Mona Lisa Based on Da Vinci's Gay Lover?\n\nOut Magazine - ‎7 hours ago‎\nAn Italian art detective claims Leonardo da Vinci's famous painting is modeled after both a man and woman. By Nicholas Richard Rees. Thu, 2016-04-21 14:43. Silvano Vinceti, the head of the National Committee for Cultural Heritage, claims the image of ...\n\nArt detective claims Da Vinci based the Mona Lisa on gay lover\n\nGay Times Magazine - ‎14 hours ago‎\nThe Mona Lisa was partly based on Leonardo da Vinci's gay lover, according to new claims by an Italian art detective. Silvano Vinceti, head of research group the National Committee for Cultural Heritage, has suggested the world-famous painting was ...\n\nIs the Mona Lisa actually based on Leonardo Da Vinci's gay lover?\n\nGay Star News - ‎18 hours ago‎\nThe Mona Lisa is one of the most famous paintings in the world, but it turns out the portrait of a Florentine merchant's wife could have been based on Leonardo Da Vinci's apparent boyfriend. Italian art detective Silvano Vinceti has said the Mona Lisa ...\n\nThese are headlines news from around the world about one of the main premises that I have been writing (and wrote) a book about for the last 10 years. \n\nLink to a blog I wrote about it in 2013 explaining that it would be in vain to dig up the skull because it couldn't' be a real Lisa because... of the theory I gave which he is now using. \n\nI may be a little disappointed that it was them and not me being sourced but I would also blame myself for taking so long to finish and then promote my book. You snooze you lose right?  \n\nIn 2007 someone else released my research regarding the Last Supper and it's mirroring properties which was supposedly taken from my web site/ articles that were sent out in the press release. The subsequent news stories were not just about the Last Supper but that the story itself generated 15 MILLION hits to his web site, crashing it, in a single day.  At the time my web site with the exact same story and my entire book i had posted online for free (to read before you buy) had only received less than 1000 hits - in total or more like 10 a day. I had been struggling with the notion that no one would be interested in my book or what it was about or that I was delusional for dedicating so much time to it.\n\nSo imagine you pay for someone to write and release a press release about a book and discoveries in it. Nothing happens. Then a couple weeks go by and that discovery is in the headline news - but by someone else... That is what happened.\n\nEven if only 1% of those 15 million views would have been directed to my site where my book was for sale I would have made over a million dollars.. think about how devastating that was - and that was in the first year I started. Now imagine you've spent 9 additional years on the same book with no recognition or any income and probably over 100,000$ has been invested in this by my MOM! (thanks mom!)\n\nThink about it. 10 years spent dedicated to a single goal - finishing a book. Losing everyone i cared about in the process and thought to be crazy. It was enough to drive someone crazy - and it did for a while! But that was a while ago and i'm at the best place with my book and my Leonardo research than i've ever been. \n\nIs a link to the last time this happened (actually 2 times ago) that gives the evidence and explains exactly what happened.\n\n The side effect of this process is having to work with not only no personal income but no validation or external motivation. It's like working at a job for 10 years in which you dont get paid for and you can't talk about with anyone that is interested or could help you. Then someone else posts your work before you're done. What is the lesson? Don't post your work before you're done!\n\nCatch 22\n\nIt sounds weird and paranoid to say \"i'm working on something really interesting and  significant (historically) but I can't tell you what it is, I can't even hint about it before i'm ready because someone might take my idea.\"*eye roll*\n\n Because if they use my research/ story and then announce it before I do then when I do it will seem like i am trying to take credit for something AFTERwards. Exactly what is happening in this post. So the story isn't about a discovery but who made it and when.\n\nPeople would wonder - well then why didn't you announce it when you found it? I DID but I didn't know what I was doing or how to announce something or even how to write a book! I was 23, in college and working at the front desk of a clubhouse.\n\nAn analogy being you wouldn't post the design for a new invention before you patent it or you wouldn't share an idea for a movie or book until you're done because people WILL not only take it but take credit for it. Case is freaking point! it's not paranoia - it's how it works.\n\nHey, it sucks, but whatever, I've gotten used to it and it's helped by making my inspiration -self sufficient and also allowed me to avoid feelings rushed or compromising.\n\nOne last point which only adds to my frustration.\n\nOne person can present something and it won't be published. Another person can then take that and present it and it's published? Or why was a theory that I had first not able to be included but then the exact same theory by someone else was? If it's about the validity of the content - they are identical - so it's not that. Especially on Wikipedia. So what gives?\n\n\nAfter writing all that i'm left with wondering what I want? Or more so - what is the point? I think this is exactly what I wanted, to be reminded that what i'm working on is worth it and that people might be interested in it when i'm done. Sure this story in particular will now seem like a re-blog if it were released by me - which is frustrating, of course. But I have to remind myself that I already released it 9ish years ago. I also have to remember that its only 1/2 of a chapter in my entire book and no one knows what the rest is really about. What is it's about t... haha almost got me! You're gonna have to wait!\n\nThanks for reading!\n\nFeel free to contact me if you have any questions.\n\n\n\"Every wrong shall be set right\" - Leonardo da Vinci\n\nArt detective says female and male model used for Mona Lisa face\n\nIndia Today - ‎Apr 26, 2016‎\nAn Italian art detective is arguing that research backs his long-standing claim that Leonardo Da Vinci used both a female and a male model to create the acclaimed portrait. Reuters | Posted by Manpreet Kaur. April 26, 2016 ...\n\nWas The 'Mona Lisa' Based On Leonardo's Male Lover?\n\nHuffington Post - ‎Apr 25, 2016‎\nThe “Mona Lisa” bears several striking similarities to Leonardo's apprentice Salai, also known as “little devil.” 04/25/2016 12:32 pm ET. 188. Sarah Cascone artnet News. Leonardo da Vinci, Mona Lisa (1503–1517). Photo: Wikipedia Commons.\n\nArt sleuth sees female, male models for Mona Lisa\n\nThe Japan News - ‎Apr 26, 2016‎\n\nArt detective says female, male model used for Mona Lisa face\n\nEyewitness News - ‎Apr 26, 2016‎\nArt detective says research backs claim that Da Vinci used models to create the acclaimed portrait. NETHERLANDS, Rotterdam : A view of reproductions of the Mona Lisa painting on display in. FILE: A view of reproductions of the Mona Lisa painting on ...\n\n\"Mona Lisa\" by Leonardo da Vinci\n\nPress TV - ‎Apr 25, 2016‎\nThere's perhaps no one in the world who doesn't know the famous painting of the smiling lady with her hands gently placed on each other. For many years people have been wondering, how Leonardo da Vinci created the mysterious “Mona Lisa”. Now an art ...\n\nThe Guardian\n\nMona Lisa: research backs theory on male and female models, 'art detective' claims\nArt historian believes the second model could have been Gian Giacomo Caprotti, Da Vinci's male apprentice. Photograph: History Archive/REX ...\n\nAOL News\n\nArt detective says female and male model used for Mona Lisaface\nFLORENCE, Italy, April 25 (Reuters) - Mona Lisa's enigmatic smile draws millions of viewers from across the world, all eager to see the art world's ...\n\n\nThe two faces of Mona Lisa\nAn art detective says Leonardo Da Vinci used a female and a male model to create the Mona Lisa. Angela Moore reports. △ Hide Transcript.\n\nWashington Post\n\nArt detective says Mona Lisa has two faces\nArt detective says Mona Lisa has two faces ... EDT - An art detective says Leonardo Da Vinci used a female and a male model to create the Mona Lisa.\nArt detective says female and male model used for Mona Lisa face\nAn Italian art detective is arguing that research backs his long-standing claim thatLeonardo Da Vinci used both a female and male model to create the ...\n\nPost a Comment\n\nPopular posts from this blog\n\n1.2.1 - Shone\n\nMohenjo Daro\n\nNothing's real until you let go completely.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6162774562835693}
+{"content": "GSLV Mk3 launch: ISRO successfully launches heaviest rocket with GSAT-19 satellite\n\n\n\nBoth the GSLV MkIII, weighing 640 tonnes, and the GSAT-19 satellite with a 3,136-kg payload, are the heaviest in ISRO's space programme so far.\n\n\nCongratulating the scientists at ISRO, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted, \"The GSLV - MKIII D1/GSAT-19 mission takes India closer to the next generation launch vehicle and satellite capability\".\n\nIn addition to the new GSLV-Mk III, India has two rockets - Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle and GSLV-Mk II, capable of lifting into space 2.5 tons of cargo. However, scientists say it will take another several years to achieve this landmark.\n\nKiran Kumar said Modi called him and congratulated each member of the ISRO team for the successful mission.\n\nEstimated to weigh as much as five fully-loaded Boeing Jumbo jets, or 200 fully grown elephants, the GSLV Mk-III launcher is the heaviest launch vehicle India has ever produced and considered a potential game-changer for the country's space program.\n\nMacron holds 'extremely frank' talks with Putin\nAhead of the visit, Macron told a French weekly that he was not \"bothered\" by leaders who \"think in terms of power dynamics\". But he also defended his March meeting with Macron's rival in the presidential race, far-right leader Marine Le Pen .\n\nApproved in 2002, the three-stage vehicle comes with two solid motor strap-ons (S200), a liquid propellant core stage (L110) and a cryogenic stage (C25)-powered by a CE-20, India's largest cryogenic engine, designed and developed by the liquid propulsion systems centre.\n\nISRO was not only the first to discover water on the Southern hemisphere of the moon but also the first to launch a communication satellite for the benefit of the SAARC nation earlier last month.\n\n\"This is an important moment in India's space technology to launch an indigenous heavy rocket\", Ajay Lele from the Delhi-based Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses told AFP. In case of successful test the rocket used to launch manned spacecraft.\n\nSuccessful launch of this missile will ensure a high-tech communication Indian satellite placed in orbit.\n\nIt was a textbook launch as every stage of the three-stage GSLV MkIII with indegeneous cryogenic engine performed well. India is among six nations, apart from the US, Russia, France, Japan and China, to possess cryogenic engine technology - a key frontier in rocket science. NASA and European space agencies are said to charge between Rs 10 crore to Rs 250 crore.\n\nIsro began work on building indigenous cryogenic engine in the 1970s, though it gained momentum after Russian Federation denied transfer of technology.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7194249629974365}
+{"content": "It looks like you're using an Ad Blocker.\n\n\nThank you.\n\n\n\n\nUsing LaTex and AMS-LaTex\n\npage: 1\n\nlog in\n\n\nposted on Aug, 10 2017 @ 05:57 PM\nHi Ye of Little Hope!\n\nI was kind of intimidated in the amount of time and energy I might have had to invest in learning yet another computer tool, language, text markup language. So I held off for as long as I could being old fashioned and scribbling on paper with pen, sweat, and beer!\n\nI was bored, out of beer, food, and money, the other night so I picked up one of my math books. I was reading an introduction (College level) to algebra and noticed a couple things still being taught and thought, \"That is so backwards!\" I figured I could write some things down and maybe, just maybe, write it up in a paper to see what sticks against the wall. Went to the arXiv and saw that everything is very well regulated. One item is the exclusive use of LaTex.\n\nLaTeX (... a shortening of Lamport TeX) is a document preparation system. When writing, the writer uses plain text as opposed to the formatted text found in WYSIWYG word processors like Microsoft Word, LibreOffice Writer and Apple Pages. The writer uses markup tagging conventions to define the general structure of a document (such as article, book, and letter), to stylise text throughout a document (such as bold and italics), and to add citations and cross-references.\n\nWikipedia - LaTex.\n\nThe one used to do maths is a variation called AMS-LaTex.\n\nSo off to I go. First thing is, \"Download the files...\" GAH! I can't just install any old files I want to on a computer at work. So I search around a bit more.\n\nI found this site: Hostmath (.com)\n\nIt has a little window that you enter in LaTex commands in and the output is displayed below. You can either type in free hand or, like I tend to do here, write it off in another document then cut-n-paste.\n\nReference material to get started, LaTex.\n\nAfter wasting my lunch hour I actually found it to be fun!\n\nWhich is converted to...\n\nThe output is the same as one at Wikipedia for the Riemann Hypothesis. It is not really that much more difficult than doing BBcodes here at ATS. I went on and created code for Euler's Product and an expansion of both the RH code and Euler. Bwaaahaaahaaaaa!\n\nI hope that this is informative and if you had ever wondered what the heck it was all about that you try the Hostmath site and get some hands-on learning of LaTex!\n\nedit on 10-8-2017 by TEOTWAWKIAIFF because: speling and clarity\n\nposted on Aug, 15 2017 @ 02:34 PM\n\nsource:, Collatz Conjecture\n\nThe Collatz Conjecture is fairly easy to explain. You probably were bored silly in school when it was presented.\n\n\n\nSeems easy, right? So try a few numbers. Restated, take any positive number, if it is even, divide it by 2 and that is your new number; if it is odd, do the other math step; do this enough times you end up at 1.\n\nn = 4 (yup, even), n = (4/2) = 2; (yup, even), n = (2/2) = 1\n\n\nAll even numbers will always ‘sink’ to one.\n\n\nAn even number is a number that can be evenly divided – Euclid\n\nModern math has a function called “modulo” which states, for even values of n, the following is true,\nn ≡ 0 (mod 2)\n\nIt reads: “n is congruent to zero, mod 2”\n\nFor odd numbers you can use the same notation can be used but with a different result. n ≡ 1 (mod 2)\n\nBasically, divide any number by 2 and you will get either [0, 1] as a result.\n\nWhy bother even looking at even numbers then?!! Eventually, if the even number kicks out an odd number, you will either have already dealt with it, or, you are going to deal with it in the future!\n\nTo create odd number, you have the clues in the modulo math.\n\nOdd number = 2 * x + 1, x ϵ [1, 2, 3, …]\n\n\nedit on 15-8-2017 by TEOTWAWKIAIFF because: formatting\n\nedit on 15-8-2017 by TEOTWAWKIAIFF because: clarity\n\nposted on Aug, 15 2017 @ 02:48 PM\n... continued\n\nSee what being limited to BBcodes does? If you quote the previous post you see that there are several items that converted over to what BBcode it wants to. That is why the LaTex mark-up language was invented. So all the output will look the same. Plus a PDF can be watermarked, time-date stamped, etc. That is what they are doing over at the arXiv. This prevents somebody else from appropriating your work. It also makes it difficult to prove that somebody else was first even if they claim it. The problem with is that it is restricted (not any old shmoe can post a paper).\n\nSee, - A Long-Sought Proof, Found and Almost Lost, for the tales of a retired statistician that proved a math problem but only knew MS Word. The proof was never review because he never heard of LaTex! A couple mathematicians came to his rescue and posted his proof out to the arXiv and it was finally accepted!\n\nThat is what I am doing! Screwing around with Collatz, found a couple interesting things out and taking the time to learn LaTex so maybe, just maybe, I can find a sponsor on the arXiv to see if what I found is valid or not.\n\nThis is my motivation to get old documentation here at work updated so I can shove it off to somebody else on the next step of the process and work on my LaTex skills.\n\nNext up, a LaTex treatment of the above mess in pretty, formatted PDF glory!\n\n- end (this installment) -\n\nPS - There are versions available for iPhone, Andriod, etc.\nedit on 15-8-2017 by TEOTWAWKIAIFF because: proper end to a \"continued\"\n\nposted on Aug, 15 2017 @ 04:27 PM\nThe below is the code for the LaTex image following (the equatin)\n\nThe caption should say, \"Collatz Conjecture Function\" but hey, for 15 minutes of looking up various functions, I'm not going to complain! It took me an hour to get back onto ATS to upload, way more than it took me to look up some formatting and functions.\n\nIt is so much better to see it as math. The choice is called \"parity\" of a number. If, when divided by two, there is no remainder, it is even (congruent to \"0\" as the number divides equally). If there is a remainder of 1 then it is odd. The result of dividing by two is one or the other. Your options are to divide by two; or, multiply by 3 and add 1 (I have a variation up as the f(n), since the result will always be even, why not divide by two immediately? So I did).\n\nI haven't done math in a while where I have to decipher my own scribble! This is such a vast improvement over Word's equation editor! I don't know why I had an irrational fear of \"another\" language as in the end, it save so much time.\n\nedit on 15-8-2017 by TEOTWAWKIAIFF because: keep it simple teot\n\nnew topics\n\ntop topics\n\nlog in", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8234117031097412}
+{"content": "Our Mission\n\n\nTo strengthen an international community network through awareness, appreciation, support, esteemed gratitude and recognition of the ongoing sacrifice and support provided by the family and friends of service personnel.\n\nOur Promise\n\nTheSRF is an international symbol of recognition and unifies people directly impacted by the services nationally and internationally. It raises community awareness and appreciation of the many people impacted by the unique role of personnel who choose to work in service to their nation.\n\nWe believe that the TheSRF is vital for the following reasons:\n- providing significant unified international and community lead recognition for the people behind    \n   the parade\n- nurturing hope, strength and understanding\n- creating international and inter-service community bonds\n- providing service people with a structured and significant opportunity to say a heartfelt ‘thank-you’\n\n\nOur Core Values\n\n1. Recognition\nTheSRF provides the community with an opportunity to understand and show appreciation for the sacrifice and support of family and friends of service people, and in doing so, enables the community to nominate and recognise people they value for their very personal contributions to the lives of service personnel. \n\n2. Empowerment\nTheSRF empowers service people, encouraging them to recognise and reward their families and friends by saying:\n- Thank-you\n- We acknowledge your contributions and sacrifices\n- You deserve formal recognition\n- Your support is important\n\n3. Inclusion\nTheSRF does not discriminate based on factors such as: age, gender, marriage and relationship status, sexual orientation, religion, culture, rank, etc. In fact, TheSRF actively encourages that people of diverse backgrounds, from all United Nations member states across a variety of services, share a common platform of recognition and acknowledgement.\n\n4. Supporting Change\nTheSRF contributes to the development of a consistent, global community who support one another through significant challenges and changes that are unique to the services community.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9971687197685242}
+{"content": "segunda-feira, 25 de março de 2013\n\nStudents who are looking to get better grades would be wise to learn how to improve their concentration to help with their studying. It's inevitable that grades will come out after tests and at the end of each semester and may not be what you expected.\n\nThese valuable tips may help you get better grades in college or even increase your performance at work:\n\nThe rule of five more - If you are reading, doing homework, or working, complete five more pages or problems or minutes and build mental stamina. This will get you past the point of frustration.\n\nThink about one thing at a time - It helps to make a to-do list and write things down so that we don't have to remember them or think about them often, thus freeing our minds up to concentrate and focus on whatever we are doing.\n\nTry to conquer procrastination - Sometimes when we're facing a long or tedious job, we tend to procrastinate in getting started and feel guilty the longer we take to get it done. The job or work is not going away and only occupies that much more of our mind and time by constantly thinking about it.\n\nUse your hands as blinders - To focus completely on your text book or project, you can try \"cupping\" your hands around your eyes, blocking out all surroundings. Your brain then switches to a \"one track mind\" and you're able to concentrate on the task at hand.\n\nSee things as if for the first or last time - We take a lot of things for granted and many times don't even see what's around us. Focus on your surroundings and really try to SEE your immediate environment. Be fully present in the \"now\".\n\nAttention training is a way to reduce distracting stimuli and improve your concentration. When your brain is tired, you can build mental endurance by stretching your attention span.\n\nFor more information about school tutoring, check out this site . Another site that I'm sure you'll like is this Good Grades Guide Review here, .\n\nEasyPublish this article:\n\nNenhum comentário:\n\nPostar um comentário", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9995167255401611}
+{"content": "Plato: The Statesman\n\nFront Cover\nCambridge University Press, Mar 23, 1995 - History - 89 pages\n0 Reviews\nThe Statesman is Plato's neglected political work, but it is crucial for an understanding of the development of his political thinking. In some respects it continues themes from the Republic, particularly the importance of knowledge as entitlement to rule. But there are also changes: Plato has dropped the ambitious metaphysical synthesis of the Republic, changed his view of the moral psychology of the citizen, and revised his position on the role of law and institutions. In its presentation of the statesman's expertise, the Statesman modifies, as well as defending in original ways, this central theme of the Republic. This new translation is based on the revised Oxford Text of Plato and makes accessible the dialogue to students of political thought in clear and contemporary language. The introduction sets the argument in the context of the development of Plato's thought, and outlines the philosophical and historical background necessary for a full understanding of the text, particularly for a political theory readership.\n\nWhat people are saying - Write a review\n\nWe haven't found any reviews in the usual places.\n\nOther editions - View all\n\nCommon terms and phrases\n\nAbout the author (1995)\n\n\nBibliographic information", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7621179819107056}
+{"content": "This class has had a made my writing skill tremendously improve. The assignments themselves were little tricky in the beginning. Each paper made me think from angles and perspectives, so it would take me some time before I could figure out how to start my papers. The beginning of any paper is always a struggle for me, it takes a while before I begin to have a constant though process about a certain topic, while still being able to make the paper flow.\n\nThe Literary Narrative wasn’t hard to write. Writing about my journey on how I became literate in a skill was quite interesting. I never really took the time to self reflect on how those skills have affected me or made me different. Writing the overall paper also wasn’t a challenge. Once I started to write, it began to flow out of me. I didn’t have to sit down and make an outline or have a clear plan.\n\nThe next assignment about the Discourse Community Profile proved to be a bit a struggle. I didn’t have difficulty with writing the paper, more so maintaining the idea and theme of the overall paper. The topic itself was interesting, its just that I had never written from that position. I wrote about my job at Starbucks, and this paper didn’t have flow to it. I thought it was a weird angle to write as an insider explaining to an outsider  and I had to sit down and map out my paper. I had to make sure I was writing in laymen terms and that I didn’t loose the overall purpose of working at Starbucks and the companies brand and purpose.\n\nWriting the Research Paper seemed very daunting at first, but my professor really helped by breaking down the process. As always the beginning is always  hard for me. I couldn’t think of my research question, but once I did everything else seemed to fall into place. I didn’t have much difficulty finding resources. We also had a project outline due, which proved to be very helpful because writing  a paper this can make you loose your overall point. This was what I had a problem with. I had so much information and different subtopics, that I was loosing the ‘so what’ of my topic. It wasn’t until after meeting with my professor that I really knew how to fix that problem. The research paper would have been much harder if wasn’t for the the clear outlines and reviews from my peers and professor. Overall, this class has made me grow into a better writer and has had a very positive impact on my writing.\n\n\n\n\n\nResearch Paper\n\nTerrorism. The feelings this word elicits are quite universal. Horror, shock, hatred and sometimes even confusion. No matter where the major terrorist attacks occur, these feelings dominate and dictate people’s thoughts. From how the hijackers went undetected to how someone could commit such an outrageous action, there is a lack of understanding, misjudgment or plain ignorance about the roots these actions. This lack of information is causing a larger negative effect on our society as a whole. The lack of awareness can lead a harsher impact socially, politically and economically. Understanding the roots of such extremist thoughts and how its affect society as a whole will help aid in our trek to stop these thoughts and attacks.  Understanding the roots terrorism and radicalization and how it’s affecting society and individuals today will aid in our journey to stop it tomorrow.  \n\nIn today’s fast paced world people have little time to take in a full story. Every corner of the world is burning with the flames of injustice, economic inequality, and racial disparities, persecution of religion, and ethnicity, so sooner or later it can all become a blur. Right and wrong are blended and it is difficult to differentiate them. So when a people are lounging around after a long, hard day and see a breaking news story pop up, they might make assumptions or judgements based on stereotypes or simply case of being misinformed. When the media covers stories about terrorist attacks around the globe caused by radicalism, the word “Muslim” is usually thrown in the mix. People then begin to automatically connect the two. This has begun an extremely disturbing trend. People begin to automatically associate Muslims and terrorism, which can create an even greater negative impact on society and its views on Muslims as a whole. Religion and radicalism are two parallels. Radical extremist are trying to bridge the gap between the Islamic religion and their own demented beliefs, thus making appear as if these thoughts and actions are an Islamic norm. Making a connection between a religion and a radicalized extremist has begun to cause fear and uncertainty within society.  Author and professor of criminal justice, Michael Welch specifically calls this a “manifestations of displaced aggression and anger” (194). In his book Scapegoats of September 11th his studies show that people have been victimized or targeted by ethnicity or religion due to bridging the gap between religion and extremist thoughts.  Some people have begun to feel wary of their fellow Muslim citizens, simply based on the thought that they might share the same views as these mad jihadist on television. This misjudgment can stunt social growth. We become divided and separated, less diverse and understanding. The public would be taking ten steps back. If we can’t dissociate between the norm and the radicals, how are we expected to fight back? We can’t be proactive and take the correct steps to deal with terrorism if we don’t understand how it affects our own society. The illiteracy of religion has made many adverse effects on the social growth of our country.\n\n“True terrorism has no religion, race or nationality.” A comment made specifically by Dr. Maurice Eze, he goes to explain the difference between religion and radicalism and the bridge that is forming between the two. Understanding regular Muslims will help people differentiate between the good and the bad. Being knowledgeable about the root of this problem will help us see how it is impacting our society socially and how we can go about fixing it. Religion is a form of organized belief or ideology that guides a group of people. Religion is as old as history itself. It is supposed to be practiced without any form of interference because we are free moral people, entitled to our own free will. Islam is one of the three great revealed religions of the world. Sehmus Demir explains that it began in the 7th century with the mission of Muhammad. He received it from the Angel Gabriel, revelations that were later collected in the book of the Koran. The essential message of the Koran is that there is one true God and that individual believers must acknowledge this divine sovereignty and lead a righteous life according to the commandments of the one God to attain Heaven. Muslim devotional beliefs center on what they call the five pillars of Islam. The first pillar is the Declaration of Belief. The second pillar is ritualized prayer. The third pillar is fasting during the Islamic month of Ramadan. The fourth pillar is the purification of wealth. Traditionally, 2.5 percent of one’s wealth must be given to the poor every year. And the fifth pillar is the pilgrimage that one must make, at least once, out of one’s own earnings, to Mecca. These regular acts of worship bring Muslims closer to the one God. In addition, the Muslims are prohibited from certain acts, including some sexual prohibitions, the eating of meat, drinking of wine, and so forth. These core beliefs of Islam have very large, very obvious differences from radical extremists.\n\nThese extremists may take their beliefs from reading of scripture out of context with no reference to history or a holistic view of the world. Demir goes on to illustrate to readers that there are “periods of modernity” (p.14) in Islam and that radicalism isn’t the correct or proper representation of the religion. For an example, countries have gone through times where it is more socially acceptable to not wear a headscarf, but in recent years radicals are calling for and forcing this back on women. Islamic countries evolve and change their views but unfortunately ridiculous these views still dominate radical Muslim attitudes worldwide. They have manifested in many rural, poor environments that has no touch with the modern world. The resistance to progress in human rights, gender-equality and democratic political reforms are often-too heard of from socially-conservative Muslims. They fight against political and social equality, education etc. According to the radical view, anyone and everyone opposed to their concept of the world is at war with Islam and must be treated as the enemy. This is why bin Laden attacked Egypt and Jordan; and why he wanted to destroy rulers of Saudi Arabia–despite the fact that they, too, are Muslim. They are attacking the people they consider their own.\n\nIslamic extremism derives from a radical interpretation of Islam. Even among Islamic extremists, there are interpretative differences stemming from different sects and doctrines. Brecht Volders studied conflict and terrorism in Antwerp University, Belgium. In his study and article Assessing the Terrorist Threat: Impact of the Group’s Organizational Design, he shows how the geographical and cultural difference have alienated and ostracized different terror groups. It affects their organization and goals overall. This is why terrorist groups are divided. ISIS, Boko Haram and Al-Qaeda, all have different core beliefs which were apparently derived from the holy scripture of the Quran. It is in this sense that the radicals have hijacked traditional Islam. The manifestation and growth of these backward beliefs have somehow made connection to the religion and thus begun the association between the regular old Muslim and radicalized extremists. This association is quite dangerous. It creates paranoia that world is all too used to. A perfect example of this would be after the bombings of Pearl Harbor during World War II. Americans began to fear all Japanese citizens. Or during the Cold War, when the fear of communism was so thick and palpable that innocent citizens would lose their jobs. We can clearly see history repeating itself, only this time with the Muslim population. It is blurring the lines and creating chaos within society.   \n\nDifferentiating between the regular and radical Muslims will benefit the country as a whole. It is important for the overall general public to be aware of how individuals within our society are being affects by this.  Breaking that association will create large amounts of social growth. The confusion and uncertainty will be done away with, along with any stereotypes or false information. Society will become more unified and we will be one step closer to learning how to handle this global crisis without it sullying the image or reputation of regular Muslims or it stunting social, political and economic growth.  \n\nUnderstanding the social impact will help us become a stronger unit, while the knowledge of how it has impacted the global economy will aid in the physical trek to fight terrorism.  Financial markets have proved time and again that they are remarkably resilient to acts of terrorism. The attacks in Europe have proved that, however, the long-term damage may be more difficult to assess. Cities being attacked highlight the vulnerabilities of the country, but they recover quickly. But it was a different story during the 9/11 attacks. The attacks generated shock waves that reverberated around the globe for years and cost economies hundreds of billions of dollars.\n\nThere are direct and indirect cost of these attacks which in turn have short term and long term effects on the global economy. The direct economic costs are shorter-term in nature and include the destruction of life and property, responses from emergency services providers, restoration of systems and infrastructure, and the provision of temporary living assistance. The indirect costs of terrorism can be significantly larger as they affect the economy by undermining consumer and investor confidence. CFA, Elvis Picardo says overall, terrorism reduced our productivity. There is a larger emphasis put on security. While this is good for obvious reasons, it also cost us a lot in the long run. There are higher insurance premiums, not to mention the rigorous amounts of security checks that were implemented after 9/11. Those people and those hours put in could have been spent on a more productive, profitable activity.\n\nPicardo also speaks about how, along with decreased productivity, it affects consumers and investors. Buyers are less likely to purchase from a country or association deemed unsafe and investors observe this behavior. Investors are usually unwilling to invest money into a company or country with no customers or that is deemed unsafe. It is too much of a risk. Even if the city or company takes extra precaution and has security, its reputation has been sullied. This also might cause workers to leave the company or even country. Attacks are meant to instill fear, and seeing one’s coworker abruptly meet his demise is more than enough to make a person leave.\n\nBesides decreased productivity and its effect on consumers and investors, there are still other major problems in the economy caused by terrorism. CFA, Elvis Picardo has commented about the trading patterns observed in different countries affected by terrorism. The London Stock Exchange reported to have a significant decline on the day of attacks, while IBEX and Sensex fell after a week after terror attacks. Picardo concluded that attacks usually cause an immediate decline in the stock market but it’s up to the individual investor to decide if this is only temporary or. This pattern is causing countries millions with each attacks. Terrorist attacks cause stock markets to decline since it’s not considered a safe haven, banks and insurers are hit especially hard. Global economies could fall into a recession, debt can begin to rise and countries with large current deficits would be hit hard and face the consequences for years to come. These extremists’ thoughts and attacks have made a major negative impact on our economy. Countries are continuously losing money, since consumers and investors are going elsewhere and overall productivity has gone down. The United States alone is one the countries spending the highest amounts of money on defense and weaponry. Terrorism has proved to be a potent threat to the economy. This money could be better spent on other facets like education, or increasing capital.  Terrorism has proved to be potent threat to the economy, its effect on individual workers, the stock market and the vast amounts of money spent trying to rectify the problem in general are only a few of the problems these attacks have caused on the economy. While a regular citizen has little impact on the global economy, society understanding the effect terror attacks have on the economy will better help us deal with future situations that will hopefully lead a much smaller negative impact on the economy. This way we can better protect our economy.\n\nUnawareness and ignorance has created a harsh environment socially and economically for individuals and for society. Addressing these issues can help us prevent an economic disasters and help us grow socially and hopefully not have history repeat itself by fearing a certain group of people. But if we continue on this path it will also affect us in the future, politically. The American people have generally been concerned about terrorism, even as other events have come and gone; since the 9/11 attacks. Our foreign policy priority for our country, ahead of preventing the spread of nuclear weapons of mass destruction, securing an adequate supply of energy and defending our allies’ security, is preventing future terror attacks. With elections coming up in November, the future of our foreign policy is sitting on a very precarious ledge. Who citizens vote for is more based on our social perception of Muslims than actual facts. We don’t try to differentiate between radical Muslims and regular Muslims this ignorance has led to candidates like Donald Trump to gain large amounts of supporters.\n\nAuthor Adnan Khan says we are all “socially connected” (p.9).  Further in his paper “On the Road to Terror”, he speaks about how society’s social views are the one of the driving forces that decides a countries political stance. It is a very momentous time for the United States. We are preparing for our 45th president, so it also puts us in a very vulnerable position. Whoever citizens put in the White House will be the one to decide how we handle the war on terror. We must be socially aware and active in order to correctly choose a leader who will take the right steps and be proactive towards this problem. The next president must be socially aware of how Muslims are being ostracized and he or she must make decisions that will help with our fight against terror while still making sure that society isn’t segregating under the fear and paranoia.\n\nTerrorism is the use of violence in the pursuit of political power. It has proven to a potent threat to the world. It has a myriad of radical, crazy followers that have led numerous attacks around the world. Along with the clear physical damage it has done to the world, it has slowly started to create destruction that is not clearly tangible. The fear, uncertainty and lack of knowledge is affecting society socially, economically and politically. Society is separating because of unawareness and ignorance. People have begun to make an association between attacks and religion. These beliefs in turn can have a very harsh impact on us politically. These social beliefs have a lot of power in our government. In turn, our social and political actions are creating a harsh environment for citizen on an economic scale. These imperceptible problems are stunting social, economic and political growth. It is important for society understand how people are being affected, so we can properly handle terrorism without creating any unnecessary damage to ourselves.  Understanding the roots can create large amounts of social growth. That will lead to better economic and political prospects. The confusion and uncertainty will be done away with.   Society will become more unified and we will be one step closer to learning how to handle this global crisis without it sullying the image or reputation of regular Muslims or it stunting social, political and economic growth.  \n\n\n\nAnnotated Bib\n\nDemır, Şehmus. “On Modernity, Islamic World And Interpretation Of Quran.” Ekev Academic Review 12.37 (2008): 97-110. Academic Search Premier. Web. 10 Mar. 2016.\n\nHarris, Marvin. “Cultural Materialism And Behavior Analysis: Common Problems And Radical Solutions.” Behavior Analyst 30.1 (2007): 37-47. ERIC. Web. 15 Mar. 2016.\n\nKhan, Adnan R. “On The Road To Terror.” Maclean’s 127.37 (2014): 29-31. Academic Search Premier. Web. 16 Mar. 2016.\n\nLeighland, Sam. “Pragmatism And Radical Behaviorism: Comments On Malone (2001).” Behavior & Philosophy 32.2 (2004): 305-312. Academic Search Premier. Web. 2 Mar. 2016.\n\nPicardo, Elvis. “ Economic Strains from Terror” n.p 2010  Web. 20 Mar. 2016\n\nVolders, Brecht. “Assessing The Terrorist Threat: Impact Of The Group’s Organizational Design?.” Studies In Conflict & Terrorism 39.2 (2016): 106-127. Criminal Justice Abstracts. Web. 1 Apr. 2016.\n\nWork cited\n\nDivide and Conquer – The Long-Term Political Effects of Terrorism\n\n\n\nDiscourse Community Profile\n\nThe aromatic smell of coffee fills the air as you walk in. The familiar screeching sound of milk being steamed can be heard all throughout the coffee shop. There’s a line at of people at the front register,  so we all work together quickly to take orders and make everyone’s drinks. From the the counters, all customers see is pure anarchy during our peak hours (busiest time of day). Everyone is running in different directions like headless chickens but somehow nobody runs into each other. It’s a complex, synchronized dance that all Starbucks partners eventually master. Here at Starbucks, our partners (employees) are passionate about producing the endless amounts of lattes, teas, macchiatos, coffees and frappuccinos and will literally cry over spilled milk to prove it. We all have have the same purpose; create inspired moments and to represent Starbucks and its partner companies like Teavana and La Boulange Bakery in the best possible light. Our motto; “We create inspired moments in each customer’s day” is sewn into the inside of our signature green aprons.\n\nThe shift manager turns to everyone and says “That was a good hustle everyone, now help customer service! No down time yet!” Customer service is essentially the job of maintaining the shops resources and cleaning. During our down time, everyone makes sure that there are whipped creams made, fill the ice fridges, restock cups, check and clean cafe, maintain the pastry case, brew more coffee, clean blenders, make backup syrups, etc. Another customer comes up to the POS (Point of Sale). She orders a venti, soy, single decaf shot, vanilla chai tea latte with cinnamon powder and whipped cream. The order sticker prints out since we don’t write cups anymore and we put the sticker on the hot venti (large) cup. Emily goes to the bar (area where hot beverages are made) and gets to work on the unnecessarily complicated drink for Mary. She puts the drink downs and calls out “venti vanilla chai for Mary!”. She then turns her headset on and says “Her order is so annoying.” We all agree and continue our work. Partners usually use the drive thru headset to speak to one another. The left button is used to speak to customers while the middle button is used to speaker to each other. Though this type of communication is only obviously used in stores with DTR (Drive thru registers).\n\nA regular day working at Starbucks starts off with partners clocking into work. Since partners have irregular, sporadic work schedules, the store manager Mel will usually post everyone’s schedule on a bulletin board. That way everyone can see who is working when and can find people when when shifts need to covered or switched. The bulletin board usually also has news about the new different types of foods or coffees that partners need to sample in order to be well informed about products. The manager will also post papers about how to make new seasonal drinks and other information that partners need to know. The bulletin board is usually kept up to date by the store and shift managers. The board is essentially one of the most important forms of communication for partners. It keeps us up to date with the company.\n\nAfter clocking in, a partner will usually check ‘the clipboard’ to see where they have been assigned to work for the day. ‘The clipboard’ is updated everyday and it shows where every partner is assigned to work. It also helps shift managers know when to give out breaks and who is working when. Partners grab a headset, so we are able to speak to one another and go to their designated area. We usually work drive thru, the POS (front registrar), hot bar (making drinks), cold bar (making cold drinks), customer service (maintaining resources, cleaning, helping where needed).\n\nLiterary Narrative\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAbout Me\n\n\nMy name is Rubiet Kusbo. I am currently a Finance major at Rutgers – Camden University. I am a full-time student and work part-time as a barista. During mySnapchat-8663417004389108698 first semester at Rutgers, I achieved a 3.6 GPA and I hope to maintain and that GPA throughout my college career. I plan on graduating with my bachelors degree in Finance by 2019.\n\nThis website mainly serves as an academic portfolio, that showcases my work done for my English Composition II class. Here, you can find my three main writing assignments along with a reflection of the class.\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7505204677581787}
+{"content": "posted by .\n\nCalculate the value of\n\n|7.3| – |–2.1|\n\n  • Algebra -\n\n    i think its 5.2\n\n  • Algebra -\n\n    Thanks that is what I thought because you take the numbers and subtract them without the absolute value signs. Thanks!\n\n  • Algebra -\n\n    Excellent, that's exactly what I would do:\n    |7.3| – |–2.1|\n\nRespond to this Question\n\nFirst Name\nSchool Subject\nYour Answer\n\nSimilar Questions\n\n  1. check/ help!\n\n    a new car depreciate by 20% in its first year. Each succeding year its depreciate by 10% assume the car is still good working condition after ten years. if the car costs $25000, calculate the value of the car after 10 years?\n  2. stats\n\n    Consider an infinite population with 25% of the elements having the value 1, 25% the value 2, 25% the value 3, and 25% the value 4. If X is the value of a randomly selected item, then X is a discrete random variable whose possible …\n  3. Algebra 2/trig\n\n    How would I calculate the following function value?\n  4. college physics\n\n    Consider two vectors A = 4i - 4j and B = -i - 8j . (a) Calculate A + B. (b) Calculate A - B. (c) Calculate absolute value(A + B). (d) Calculate absolute value(A - B). (e) What is the direction of A + B?\n  5. Algebra\n\n  6. algebra\n\n    2.) Use algebra to find the value of a in the triangle when x=a, y=2a, z=3a. Notice the measurement of the angle is not necessarily the as the value of a.\n  7. Algebra 1\n\n    Which statement is always a correct conclusion about the values x and y in the function y=x-3?\n  8. Chemistry\n\n    Consider the uni molecular reaction cyclopropane?\n  9. math\n\n    The cost of a minibus was Shilling 950,000. It depreciated in value by 5% per year for the first two years by 15% per year for the subsequent years. (a) Calculate the value of the minibus after years (b) After 5 years the minibus was …\n  10. Algebra\n\n    Explain how to use the measures of a right triangle to calculate the exact value of sin 30 degrees?\n\nMore Similar Questions", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9925937652587891}
+{"content": "Okay so ive been studying how to turn major scales nto the 1,3,5 triads. i realized that the 1st note played on the scale is the first note (root note) in the chord, same with the 3rd, and 5th. but myu question is, if you get the same pitch of one string with those notes on another string which sounds better, do you play it there? im quite confused. if someone could explain this whole 1,3,5 triad thig, then kudos to them, and i will gladly praise them.\nIf you play the same note on a lower, thicker string, the note will sound softer but louder, with more bass. The same note on a higher string will sound thinner. Low strings are good for basslines and roots, and the higher strings are there for chord work and solos.\nI'm not sure what you mean but I think you're aiming at \"Where are the scale tones in a chord placed?\". Well, it varies by position of course. Taking a simple barre chord, the position is\nNumbers are scale tones, not fingering\n\ne-1-                                e-0- E\nB-5-                                B-0- B\nG-3-                                G-1- G#\nD-1-  e.g for an E major            D-2- E\nA-5-                                A-2- B\nE-1-                                E-0- E\n1, 3, 5 is the basic pattern for making major chords from major scales, flat the 3rd anf you can make a minor chord from a major scale.\n\nThe most common way is to move the 3rd and keep the fifth where it is, you will most likely get a barre shape out of this.\n\nHowever if you don't and you know that you are playing the right notes and degrees then you will still have the major chord your aiming for just in a different shape. It doesn't matter what shape you use but in some situations (songs) one shape may sound better. Most of the time you can rearrange the shape and keep the root note in the same position and the chord will sound fine.\n\nOnce you start moving the root note around you get different types of that chord, like type 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7679281234741211}
+{"content": "Monthly Archives: July 2017\n\nWhat Is Cricket Flour?\n\nWhat is Cricket Flour: Cricket Flour vs. Cricket Proteins Powdered. Since releasing our company, we have always obtained a lot of concerns our company using crickets to create our different food preparation flours and protein powder items. However, there is some misunderstandings as to the distinction between the two not only because this is a new an growing industry in the U. s. Declares of The united states, but because of misunderstandings in the name itself.\n\nWhile this is a new and growing industry, it is also an interesting time as we are seeing fun cool item groups arriving into the industry. We have seen delightful pest centered items being used in food preparation flours, sweets, protein cafes, treatments, morning meal choices, protein grains, etc. While the industry is still new, there has been som excellent grip from businesses that are using delightful bugs as an origin of protein and nourishment, and can now be obtained online, and also on shop racks across the U. s. Declares of The united states. 5 years back, few would have anticipated to see the development we have seen in the forex industry.\n\nIn the delightful pest industry nowadays, customers will find items and sites referring to cricket flour, protein, powder, protein powder, machined, machined flour, excellent feed flour, etc. However, all of items and sites are mentioning to the same resource components and processes: mincing crickets.\n\nOf course there will always be variations in items and operations that will be shown in the last items. Some will be course grained. Some will be mild and comfortable, and will be more of a excellent feed. Also, the shade itself may be deeper brownish in shade or a less heavy tan centered upon on the food preparation or handling techniques used to create every cricket flour or cricket protein powder item.\n\nOne issue is that cricket flour is not like the food preparation flours we all knew growing up. Many of our visitors on the site and of our new book, “All Cricket, No BULL… ” believe that because the name flour is used, it can be used as a one-to-one alternative for their regular food preparation flour or all-purpose food preparation flour. But they do have different food preparation qualities.\n\nIn common we suggest using your preferred food preparation or all-purpose food preparation flour that you knew growing up, and performing with cricket flour or cricket protein powder for more protein and nourishment. Generally, replacing 20-30% per cup of flour will work excellent with your preferred dishes in our encounter. Of course you could add even more, but you may need to modify some of the other components to create sure that your bread increase like you really like, or to create a delightful and flaky pie crusting.\n\nFor professional chefs, or those who have cooked with grape flour, you know that each flour mixture differs. Coconut flour for example, is often used by only as aspect of a flour mixture and often needs extra fluids to acquire that same reliability predicted with a regular rice flour for example.\n\nWhen looking to integrate these into your own dishes, we have discovered that it acts and stocks some identical qualities with grape flour and food preparation powder as a good principle.\n\nBaking and Cooking Tips: While each formula might take some personal remodelling, we suggest beginning with replacing about 20-30% with your regular food preparation flour. Your dishes may need a little more fluids when you are making your dishes, and we have discovered that in food preparation, cricket flour provides some identical qualities discovered with food preparation powder. So typically when food preparation we usually cut the suggested providing of food preparation powder by 1/2.\n\nMeals preparation With An Air Fryer\n\nCooking with an air fryer is a healthy solution to deep-frying using oil. Hot air fryers use warmed air instead of hot oil to prepare food. The best air fryers for house use all make use of Fast Air Technological innovation for cooking the food with little or no oil.\n\nWhat is a hot air fryer and how does it work?\n\nHow can you prepare with just warmed air? Well, to be more actual, it is quickly shifting warmed air. This contemporary equipment comes fixed with a heater and a fan. The heater warms up the surrounded air within the device and the fan strikes the hot air around. The meals are prepared by this quickly shifting air stunning it in all guidelines.\n\nYes, it does seems to function like a convection stove, cooking with hot air.\n\nThere are two kinds of these air cooking devices in the market, one kind uses a cooking container and the different uses a non-stick dish and exercise.\n\nSo, which is the best air fryer for house use?\n\nA well-known product of the hot air pot that uses the cooking container is the Philips hot air fryer. There are 2 designs available in the U. s. Declares, the guide HD9220/26 hot air pot and HD9230/26 electronic edition.\n\nBoth have an optimum heat range of 390 levels F but the electronic design comes with an optimum clock of An time. The guide air cooking device has an optimum 30 moments clock only.\n\nIt is simple to function. Just put the food items components into the container which rests on a drop cabinet pan, force the container into the device, set the clock and heat range and the cooking procedure begins.\n\nShaking the food items midway through the cooking procedure is suggested so as to get the food items to be prepared equally.\n\nAs for the exercise kind of air fryer, there is only one product available at this time. The Tefal Actifry uses a exercise to mix the food items around during the cooking procedure. This removes the need to give the food items a tremble midway during cooking.\n\nFrozen food items needs no extra oil to prepare. Freezing chips, for example, end up crunchy and wet without the need to add any oil before cooking. As for home made chips, you need to dip them in water for 30 minutes and then add about a tbsp of oil before cooking. This results in delicious and wet chips just like those deep-fried in plenty of oil.\n\nCreate Your Own Simple Butter Propagates – Lovely and Savory\n\nButters are spreads that are used like butter, but only one of them contains butter. They are known as that because they are sleek and distribute like butter.\n\nWhat are clean fruit butters?\n\nFresh clean fruit is prepared gradually with some glucose and then pureed. They don’t have any butter, but are sleek and distribute like butter. They are prepared with far less glucose than jellies and jellies, and so have less calorie consumption. The apple company butter is the most well-known, but many different types of clean fruits can be used. Because they are sweet they flavor excellent on toasted breads, or on waffles and hotcakes instead of syrup, and can often be used in place of jellies or maintains.\n\nThere are four ways to make clean fruit butters – in a slow cooker, on top of the oven, in a microwave oven or traditional oven. Whatever way you are making them, they are healthier and delicious!\n\nWhat are nut butters?\n\nPeanut butter, of course, is the most well-known nut butter. But there are others that you may not have often observed about. Nuts, cashews, macadamias, pecans, pistachio nuts and peanuts are the most well-known nut products made into butters. Even though they have a fat material, they create a proper accessory for the diet plan, as they are loaded with proteins, fibers and chemicals that are important for wellness. They flavor excellent on toasted breads and bagels, and as a dip for clean vegetables such as oatmeal.\n\nSome nut butters can now be discovered in meals markets, as well as in specialised food and health-food shops, and on the Internet. But it’s also quite simple to make your own by crushing up whole nut products in a blender (it will take about Quarter of an hour to get wealthy and creamy, but keep an eye on it). Raw nut butters should be held in the fridge to avoid spoilage. If the oil distinguishes from the shades, just mix to mix in the oil.\n\nRoasting the nut products gives the butter a better flavor. Put the raw nut products on a aluminum foil covered lasagna pan and prepare in a 350 level oven for 12 to Quarter of an hour, mixing once or twice to avoid losing.\n\nWhen you procedure the nut products, you can add all types of seasonings, such as walnut syrup, spices or herbs, glucose and sweetie. This is a issue of flavor – some people choose a healthier and balanced snack food of simply nut butters.\n\nWhat are natural herb butters?\n\nHerb butters make delightful spreads for France breads, or dissolved on fish, poultry and other meals. They can also be included with rice and clean vegetables. Make softer a keep of butter and add roughly three tbsps perfectly sliced herbs (according to your taste). Add a little clean freshly squeezed orange fruit juice and sodium. If you have butter remaining over it can be freezing. This is the most convenient of the butters for making, since all you do is mix the butter and herbs together. It will keep in the fridge for per 7 days, or a 30 days in the fridge.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8275302052497864}
+{"content": "26 August 2010\n\nBecoming a Vegetarian\n\nI recently posted a blog post titled “The God of Evolution” which explored the nature of evolution, and as a thought experiment, the God that we would induce from it. The reason I wrote the post is because I have been thinking a lot about the cruelty, often needless cruelty, and indifference of the natural ecosystem, and what it means. Looking at it from the gene level, each living organism is simply a platform for genes to get themselves carried over to the next generation. The better adapted the genes are for that particular environment, the higher chance they have to propagate themselves. This is the driver of biological evolution via natural selection. So where do the organisms themselves fit into this picture? From the point of view of the gene, they are merely a means to an end, once the organism reproduces, they can be disposed of.\n\nWhile the natural ecosystem is largely indifferent, many animals have evolved the capability of expressing communal and empathetic behavior, even beyond their species. For example, elephants will morn their dead, and their are numerous accounts of dolphins coming to the rescue of humans. Humans have this capacity to an extraordinary level (and an equal and opposite capacity for destruction and malevolence).\nI just found this interesting blog on evolutionary linguistics, called a replicated typo, and it has a post which attempts to outline 6 cognitive capacities that humans have that far exceed any other species. Here they are:\n\n(1) The capacity to develop a shared point of view or “we-perspective” (Tuomela 2007: 46f.) and jointly engage in and attend to shared goals, plans and intentions in a cooperative collaborative activity within a joint attentional frame and a shared frame of reference (Tomasello et al. 2005).\n(2) A conceptual system that is able to reinterpret and re-describe sensory as well as cognitive data and store them in an abstract, decoupled format that can be used for symbolic, relational and analogical reasoning (Penn et al. 2008).\n(3) actively attribute mental states to others in the same sense as one experiences mental events and states oneself, that is to, have a “theory of mind” (Premack & Woodruff 1978).\n(4) shared, intersubjectively overlapping frames of references or coordinate systems into which abstract and non-abstract conceptual representations could be integrated and imported in a systematic fashion, and within which shared percepts and concepts could be blended, unified, and related to each other in a role-governed fashion. (Bühler 1934, Fauconnier & Turner 2002).\n(5) for projecting ourselves and others backwards or forwards into past and future situations is probable to have evolved, that is, a capacity for mental time travel, including the ability to retrieve and re-live episodic memories of past autobiographical events (Tulving 2005) as well as prospective foresight enabling the planning of future actions and events (Suddendorf & Corballis 2007).\n(6) a collection of unique mental structures – phonology (externalisation) and syntax (merging constituents (A + B = [AB]) and creating blended new ‘mental building blocks’ which can be merged with other constituents recursively [AB] + C = [ABC]) – and the interfaces between these mental structures and the conceptual system. These “specific unique building blocks for phonology, syntax, and their connection to concepts” are what makes language and language acquisition possible (Jackendoff 2007: 388f.). \n\nThese cognitive abilities, developed in the course of our evolution, have given us the capacity to extend our empathy to everybody in the world, and has made the adoption and enforcement of universal human rights more and more of a probability. This may be looked at as merely enlightened self-interest; it can be argued that unless we learn to cooperate on a global level, we will ultimately destroy ourselves. But by also starting a discussion of animal rights, as Peter Singer famously did in his book Animal Liberation, it seems that we have the potential to expand our moral imagination beyond the more immediate concerns of our own survival. In some ways this is a sign of our independence from the cruel and indifferent aspects of nature.\n\nThis leads me to the point of this essay. Sjona and I have decided to become vegetarians. It has been an option that I have been considering for quite some time. There are 7 (overlapping) reasons why I have made this decision for myself. \n\nEmpathy: Most of what I have written up to now leads to this. While eating meat is “natural”, we are at the point where we can apply our capacity of empathy not only towards humans, but also towards animals, who share many of the same, if less developed, capacities for intelligence, emotion, and empathy.\n\n1.  Abdu’l Baha says that is where we are going:\nThe food of the future will be fruit and grains. The time will come when meat will no longer be eaten. Medical science is only in its infancy, yet it has shown that our natural food is that which grows out of the ground.[i]\nAs humanity progresses, meat will be used less and less, for the teeth of man are not carnivorous. For example, the lion is endowed with carnivorous teeth which are intended for meat and if meat be not found, the lion starves. The lion cannot graze; its teeth are of different shape. The formation of a lion's stomach is such that it cannot receive nourishment save through meat. The eagle has a crooked beak; the lower part shorter than the upper. Were it to try to pick up grain it would find it impossible; were it to try to graze, it would fail. Therefore it is compelled to partake of meat. But the domestic animals, the cow, horse, donkey, sheep, etc., have herbivorous teeth formed to cut grass which is their fodder. The human teeth, the molars, are formed to grind grain. The front teeth, the incisors, are for fruits, etc. It is therefore quite apparent, according to the implements for eating, man's food is intended to be grain and not meat. When mankind is more fully developed the eating of meat will gradually cease.[ii]\n\n3.  The Environment: The long term environmental costs of eating meat are clearly unsustainable.\n\n4.  Hypocrisy: I would not be willing to slaughter an animal. Indeed, my upbringing has made me squirm to even eat chicken with bones or a fish served with the head. I like meat in nice, indistinguishable chunks.\n\n5.  Health: Not eating meat is generally healthier if a special effort is made to still get all of the necessary nutrients: \n\n6.  Cruelty:  Most of our meat comes from factory farms, which resemble concentration camps.\n\nBefore I get to the seventh reason, I must first admit the one reason why I have avoided giving up meat so far. It tastes so damm good. I absolutely LOVE bacon and sushi, steak and salmon. While intellectually this reason pales in comparison to the other reasons listed so far, it is often the most salient. It will require an act of will, and necessity to overcome my immediate urges for a higher principle. It requires…\n     Spiritual growth: To sacrifice that which is lower for that which is higher\n\nI hope we can make it longer than a month…..\n\n[i] ('Abdu'l-Baha, from Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era, page 102)\n[ii] ('Abdu'l-Bahá, from Star of the West, Vol.III, No.10, p.29)\n\n\n  1. It's good to see you standing up for what you believe. Too often, we give in to a tendency to cordon off certain parts of our lives from ethical thinking. But you and Sjona are doing what you feel is right. I wish you luck.\n\n  2. Excellent essay, Jason E! Very compelling reasons to become vegetarians. For now, my wife and I just prefer the tofu and veggieburger option, and just eat meat on occasions in great moderation.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9780648946762085}
+{"content": "The Caddy Patio™ is 11.5” round and 5.5” tall. Made of durable Styrofoam material, but looks like an expensive decorative container. The less you have on your patio table is better while you read, snack or just entertain outside, the caddy is there to keep things organized and neat.\n\nThe Caddy has a patent pending mechanism that holds the caddy above the table. Three rubber cams are used to hold the caddy 6-8” above the table to keep items organized.\n\nOther items that it can hold are silverware, bag of chips, napkins, pencils, pens, small tools or anything that’s reasonable and light weight.\n\nDo not use as a bowl for food, just use as a container.\n\nSee the Specifications", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7332649230957031}
+{"content": "1953 Austin A40 Somerset\n\nThe A40 Somerset is an automobile sold by the Austin Motor Company from 1952 until 1954. It replaced the A40 Devon and was quite similar to that body-on-frame car, including using the same 1.2 L straight-4 pushrod engine. The engine was updated to produce 42 hp (31 kW), however giving the car a top speed of 69 mph (111 km/h).\n\nThe Somerset featured an updated \"Transatlantic\" body style designed for export and resembled the larger A70 Hereford. It had a bench front seat and column mounted gear change. The Somerset was initially only a 4-door saloon, though a 3-passenger 2-door convertible model made by Carbodies of Coventry was also sold later. The 2-door and convertible differed from the 4-door cars in having separate front seats that folded forwards to give access to the rear. The Austin Motor Company in 1953 made a \"special\" version of around 500 Somerset saloons with a more powerful engine, different interior appointments and two tone paintwork. The Austin Somerset special had a top speed of 74 mph (119 km/h) while the normal saloon could reach up to 70 mph (110 km/h).\n\nOver 173,000 were sold before the Somerset was replaced by the A40 Cambridge in 1954. 7243 of them were convertibles.\n\n\nA convertible version tested by The Motor magazine in 1953 had a top speed of 74 mph (119 km/h) and could accelerate from 0-60 mph (97 km/h) in 28.6 seconds. A fuel consumption of 30.1 miles per imperial gallon (9.38 L/100 km; 25.1 mpg-US) was recorded. The test car cost £705 including taxes. These figures were all obtained on the contemporary low octane fuel.\n\nThe Austin A40 Somerset has a reputation for being somewhat slow and lumbering to drive, and not wholly deserved.\n\nThe first A40 Somerset had to endure Pool quality petrol supplies (1952) and in consequence had retarded ignition settings to tolerate the low octane rating of this poor fuel grade to avoid the 'pinking' condition that was well known in those times.\n\nIn fact BMC later produced a kit to improve the performance and fuel consumption of these cars once premium fuel supplies resumed under the popular petrol brands. This kit comprised a replacement distributor and an optional head gasket for the cylinder head that was thinner and therefore raised the compression slightly from the standard 7.2:1.\n\nThe Autocar Road Test published 18 April 1952 achieved a maximum of 66 mph (106 km/h) (mean) and 71 mph (114 km/h) (best), and a 0-60 mph acceleration of 36.6 seconds whereas the example registered new in February 1954 and given a Used Car Test published in the Autocar series dated 8 April 1960 returned a 0-60 mph time of just 27.9 seconds. The standing quarter mile was down from 24.4 secs to 23.2 secs a marked improvement on the former result taken in 1952 and directly comparable with the Mini 850 launched in 1959, that was considered to be fairly brisk then.\n\n\nAd blocker interference detected!\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6797352433204651}
+{"content": "Samira is Sally's cousin and a character in Creepypasta Land.\n\nTrivia Edit\n\n  • Her mask protects her against evil spirits. But it has limits, as she tells us in The Theater how her mask is about to break.\n  • Samira's and Sally's face sprites are palette swaps of each other, with extra details. This could be justified because they are related and probably look very similar.\n\nGallery Edit\n\nBen - Sally - The Protagonist\n\nAd blocker interference detected!\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9396422505378723}
+{"content": "About me\n\n\nWho am I?\n\nI am a Marketing Professional, Singer, Big Sister, Movie Enthusiast, Music Lover, Chef in Training, Self-taught Makeup Artist, TV Show Junky, and Disney Princess wannabe.\n\nWhy did I start this blog?\n\nA couple years ago, I was thinking about starting a blog to share my beauty tips, tricks, and product recommendations.  I never went to beauty school but I worked for a cosmetic company and have learned a lot from books, articles, observing others, and self-trial. I decided not to start the blog because, as a marketer, I didn’t think I had an interesting enough angle to make it worthwhile.\n\nThe past two years, however, were life changing!  I was laid off from my job, had to make a new group of friends, lost over 40 pounds, learned how to cook and took my first solo vacation.  Through all this, I finally discovered my inner strength and beauty.  I became interested in analyzing the concept of beauty and happiness and how they relate to inner confidence – ie. What makes someone beautiful? Does confidence come naturally? Is happiness a choice?  What can we do to make ourselves feel more beautiful / confident / happy?  …etc.\n\nSo…I finally found my angle and decided to start this blog!\n\nWhy should you follow my blog?\n\nEvery women, at some point, struggles with self-acceptance, appreciation and feeling beautiful.  Sometimes all it takes is a dash of mascara, inspiring story or compliment from a stranger to make you feel fabulous!\n\nI hope that I can entertain, teach and/or inspire you by sharing my experiences, discoveries, thoughts, and beauty tips.  Every woman deserves to feel beautiful!\n\n\n  |   Instagram   |   Tumblr   |   Pinterest  |   BlogLovin", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7075101137161255}
+{"content": "HomeConfidentiality Contact Us\n\n  Self-Tests   Signs and Symptoms\n\n  Useful Links  Law Students\n\nEating Disorders\n\n\nAn eating disorder actually includes a range of conditions that involve an obsession with food, weight and appearance to the degree that a person's health, relationships and daily activities are negatively affected.\n\nWhile commonly affecting young women, eating disorders are widespread and can impact people of all ages and sexes. Whether a person restricts food intake, binge-eats, binges and purges, abuses laxatives, compulsively overeats or excessively exercises, these behaviors usually are symptoms and not the fundamental problem. They often develop as a way of coping with emotional pain, conflicts related to separation, low self-esteem, depression, stress or trauma.\n\nThere are 3 generally accepted types of eating disorders, each having specific symptoms and corresponding treatment methods. They are:\n\nEating disorders are illnesses\n\nEating disorders involve physiological changes associated with food restricting, binge eating, purging, and fluctuations in weight. They also involve a number of emotional and cognitive changes that affect the way a person perceives and experiences his or her body.\n\nAn eating disorder is not a diet, a sign of personal weakness, or a problem that will go away by itself. An eating disorder requires professional attention.\n\n\n  • ·Anorexia nervosa - People who have anorexia develop unusual eating habits such as avoiding food and meals, picking out a few foods and eating them in small amounts, weighing their food, and counting the calories of everything they eat. Also, they may exercise excessively.\n  • ·Binge-eating disorder - People with this recently recognized disorder have frequent episodes of compulsive overeating, but unlike those with bulimia, they do not purge their bodies of food (NIMH, 2002). During these food binges, they often eat alone and very quickly, regardless of whether they feel hungry or full. They often feel shame or guilt over their actions. Unlike anorexia and bulimia, binge-eating disorder occurs almost as often in men as in women (National Eating Disorders Association, 2002).\n\nWhat medical problems can arise as a result of eating disorders?\n\n  • ·Bulimia nervosa - The acid in vomit can wear down the outer layer of the teeth, inflame and damage the esophagus (a tube in the throat through which food passes to the stomach), and enlarge the glands near the cheeks (giving the appearance of swollen cheeks). Damage to the stomach can also occur from frequent vomiting. Irregular heartbeats, heart failure, and death can occur from chemical imbalances and the loss of important minerals such as potassium. Peptic ulcers, pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas, which is a large gland that aids digestion), and long-term constipation are also consequences of bulimia.\n  • ·Binge-eating disorder - Binge-eating disorder can cause high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels. Other effects of binge-eating disorder include fatigue, joint pain, Type II diabetes, gallbladder disease, and heart disease.\n\nFor more information on eating disorders:\n\nFor information on a local comprehensive treatment:", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9924383163452148}
+{"content": "Globus Pallidus: A target brain region for divalent metal accumulation due to dietary iron deficiency\n\nThe University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )\nWeb Site: http://library.uncg.edu/\n\nAbstract: Recently, iron deficiency has been connected with a heterogeneous accumulation of manganese in the rat brain. The striatum is particularly vulnerable, for there is a significant negative correlation between accumulated manganese and y-aminobutyric acid levels. The effect of dietary iron deficiency on the distribution of zinc and copper, two other divalent metals with essential neurobiological roles, is relatively unexplored. Thus, the primary goal of this study was to examine the effect of manipulating dietary iron and manganese levels on the concentrations of copper, iron, manganese and zinc in five rat brain regions as determined with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry analysis. Because divalent metal transporter has been implicated as a transporter of brain iron, manganese, and to a lesser extent zinc and copper, another goal of the study was to measure brain regional changes in transporter levels using Western blot analysis. As expected, there was a significant effect of iron deficiency (P < 0.05) on decreasing iron concentrations in the cerebellum and caudate putamen; and increasing manganese concentrations in caudate putamen, globus pallidus and substantia nigra. Furthermore, there was a significant effect of iron deficiency (P < 0.05) on increasing zinc concentration and a statistical trend (P = 0.08) toward iron deficiency–induced copper accumulation in the globus pallidus. Transporter protein in all five regions increased due to iron deficiency compared to control levels (P < 0.05); however, the globus pallidus and substantia nigra revealed the greatest increase. Therefore, the globus pallidus appears to be a target for divalent metal accumulation that is associated with dietary iron deficiency, potentially caused by increased transporter protein levels.\n\nAdditional Information\n\nJournal of Nutritional Biochemistry 15(6):335-341\nLanguage: English\nDate: 2004\nRat, Iron deficiency, Brain, Striatum, Zinc, Manganese\n\nEmail this document to", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9794628024101257}
+{"content": "21 Following\n\nThe Reading Jackalope\n\nBetween Two Thorns\n\nBetween Two Thorns - Emma Newman This is came pretty close to getting two stars from me. I'm very torn. On one hand the world building is stellar and the cast of characters is very enjoyable. This book is so very obviously influenced by Johnathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, and I mean that in a good way. I loved the fae here, and the different worlds. It's lovely.\n\nOn the other hand.... well. To start, the method of story telling annoyed me. There's four different point of views, and we generally get just a page or two of their story before moving on to the next point of view. Now the stories all wove together very deftly, but the abrupt switiching between characters made it hard to focus. It felt very much like someone with ADHD telling the story, just when I got settled in with one character's view point Newman would switch it up.\n\nThe other thing that bothered me is that this isn't a complete story. We solve one of the problems set up in the novel, but not the others. The other is obviously left for the sequels. I don't like that kind of cliff hanger in novels. It's disingenous. A novel should be complete with-in itself. If you want to continue telling tales in that world and with those characters that's fine but when the story itself isn't finished, then you shouldn't call what you've written a complete novel, when it's just part of one.\n\nSo yes, on one hand there are parts of this novel that I love. On the other hand, there are parts of the novel that have me reconsidering whether or not I'll pick up the next novel when it comes out.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8442264199256897}
+{"content": "In ancient China, the nose of a criminal who attacked travellers was cut off.\n\nThere are more than 16,400 parking metres in Manhatten, New York.\n\nThe first motorcycle speedway race was held in Maitland, Australia, in 1925.\n\nTraffic lights were used before the advent of the motorcar.\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9947539567947388}
+{"content": "Heather Heyer died after being struck by a Dodge Charger driven by suspected white nationalist James Alex Fields during an alt-right rally. Heather’s mother Susan Bro’s world stood still when she heard the news. As hard as it may have been to hear of her daughter’s death, Bro is finding solace in the fact that her daughter died doing something she believed in.\n\n“She always had a very strong sense of right and wrong, she always, even as a child, was very caught up in what she believed to be fair,” Bro told the Huffington Post as she struggled to keep her composure.\n\n“I’m proud that what she was doing was peaceful, she wasn’t there fighting with people. No mother wants to lose a child, but I’m proud of her. I’m proud of what she did.”\n\nHeather’s family created a GoFundMe account and has raised over $177,000 out of its $200,000 goal. Bro wrote on the account, “She died doing what was right. My heart is broken, but I am forever proud of her.”\n\nThe 20-year-old man that hit and killed Heather was charged with second-degree murder Saturday, according to NBC News.\n\nWhen asked how she felt about her daughter’s suspected killer, Bro replied that she felt “sorry” that he ruined his life by “believing that hate could fix problems.”\n\nSarah Albro, a friend of Heather’s, explained that Heather never met a stranger, and she didn’t see race, religion or gender when it came to accepting someone.\n\n“She was vocal. She had transgender friends, she had black friends, she had gay friends. She had a very wide range of friends, and she never met anyone who was a stranger,” she recalled.\n\nAlbro agreed with Heather’s mother. “I would say that she felt strongly about certain things and had no problem standing up and showing support,” she said.\n\nA candlelight vigil is scheduled for Sunday at 10 pm outside of Heather’s home. The vigil will honor Heather and act as a show of opposition against racism and fascism. Another vigil is scheduled at the White House at 8:30 p.m. Sunday night.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9821070432662964}
+{"content": "Book of Eli\n\nA bleak and very grim future awaits mankind in the Book of Eli. A future no more bleak however than the time one will spend watching it.\n\nDenzel Washington plays Eli, a lone traveler, resolute and driven by a spiritual quest. He is heading west in a post apocalyptic world across the war torn and ravaged harsh land inhabited by even harsher people. Passing through a town, the despot who rules the town - Carnegie (Gary Oldman ) discovers that Eli carries the one thing Carnegie seeks most, a very rare book. The Bible - the only remaining copy left in the world. What Carnegie seeks to possess for his own dark purposes, Eli refuses to yield, for he has a been given a special duty regarding this Bible.\n\nEli is the chosen one - that familiar figure who has been selected to complete a task and has obstacles to overcome and friends to help him along the way and a mentor to guide him. Chosen by God, Eli has a touch of invincibility about him - bullets miss him, he moves with great speed, he cannot lose a fight. And he wields a mean and really big knife. Escaping from the village he is joined by Carnegie’s step daughter, Solara (Mila Klunis). The pair head west followed by Carnegie and his gang of road warriors – men with big guns and small brains.\n\nWhere the movie fails most is in expressing the key elements of the theme of the Chosen One. We are never given to understand in what way the world will change when Eli completes his quest.\n\nAlthough it is never made clear, it appears that the world was destroyed by a war that many believe to have been caused by religion. We are left feeling oddly skeptical that the plans proposed by both Eli and Carnegie are flawed. Both believe that the words and instruction provided by the Bible will be the salvation the human race needs. Carnegie believes he can use it to shepherd the weak minded and go on to govern larger and larger communities and build more cities, as people will come to hear what he plans to make his word. What Eli intends to do is more mysterious and even less convincing. He does what he does because of a voice he heard that set him on his way 30 years ago. Ultimately, the film does not give us enough background to really believe or understand the motivation of the characters or whether possession of the Bible will help them fulfill their aims. Unfortunately, we are left with fine actors playing very poorly developed characters. We don’t really feel anything for either Eli or Carnegie. We aren’t even really able to like Eli as he appears so mechanical and vacant. Nor are we able to believe that a bond could exist between Solara and Eli. The wonderful Gary Oldman sadly plays as hollow and vacant a villain as one can remember. How regrettable that all the characters remain hollow without any development.\n\nThere is a twist at the end that, that when it comes it’s so unbelievable you wonder if it’s really a twist at all.\n\nStylistically the Hughes Brothers have the confidence to deal with long periods of silence that are found throughout the film, but with neither dialog nor interesting character moments these silent scenes just make the film drag. What we do have are visually impressive landscapes. The look of the film is much like most recent post-apocalyptic movies - grey shades of sky and land, and rust colored palettes. But even the beauty of the shots are not enough to enliven the silence.\n\nThroughout the film, I kept thinking about how I might come to understand more of what the film is trying to say about our desire for religion and what help religion can offer humanity in times of such horrific destruction.\n\nWhat does Carnegie’s desire to control humanity and Eli’s desire to save humanity tell us how humans can be controlled or saved by religion? How much would society lose if we lost all the holy books of all religions? I looked not for answers but rather for views or new perspectives, or even the filmmakers’ statement about some matter of relevance. Despite my attempts I was unable to glean anything interesting about religion from a movie who’s main plot focuses around a Bible. Amen?", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9262661337852478}
+{"content": "Study your flashcards anywhere!\n\nDownload the official Cram app for free >\n\n  • Shuffle\n    Toggle On\n    Toggle Off\n  • Alphabetize\n    Toggle On\n    Toggle Off\n  • Front First\n    Toggle On\n    Toggle Off\n  • Both Sides\n    Toggle On\n    Toggle Off\n  • Read\n    Toggle On\n    Toggle Off\n\nHow to study your flashcards.\n\n\n\nH key: Show hint (3rd side).h key\n\nA key: Read text to speech.a key\n\n\nPlay button\n\n\nPlay button\n\n\n\n\nClick to flip\n\n105 Cards in this Set\n\n  • Front\n  • Back\nWhat Constitutional Rights are binding on the states?\n4th Amendment - Prohibition on unreasonable search and seizure, exclusionary rule.\n\n5th Amendment - Right against self-incrimination, double jeopardy.\n\n6th Amendment - Right to speedy trial, right to public trial, right to trial by jury, right to confront witnesses, right to compulsory process for obtaining witnesses, right to assistance of counsel.\n\n8th Amendment - Prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.\nWhat Constitutional Rights are not binding on the states?\nRight to Indictment by grand jury for capital and infamous crimes.\n\nRight against excessive bail (unsure - most states have their own provisions).\nLimitations on the Exclusionary Rule\nInapplicable to grand juries, civil proceedings, internal agency rules, and parole revocation proceedings.\n\nRule doesn't apply when police act in good faith reliance on defective warrant unless (1) underlying affidavit was so lacking in probable cause that it couldn't be reasonably relied on, (2) warrant was defective on its face, (3) affiant lied on affidavit, or (4) magistrate \"wholly abandoned his judicial role.\"\n\nEvidence barred by exclusionary rule may be used for impeachment purposes.\nHarmless Error Test\nIf illegal evidence is admitted, a resulting conviction should be overturned on appeal unless government can show, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the error was harmless.\n\nDenial of right to counsel at trial is NEVER harmless.\nEnforcing the Exclusionary Rule\nDefendant is entitled to have the admissibility of evidence or a confession decided as a matter of law by a judge outside of the hearing of the jury. The government bears the burden of establishing admissibility by a preponderance of the evidence. Defendant has a right to testify at the suppression hearing without his testimony being admitted against him at trial on the issue of guilt.\nWhen does seizure of a person occur?\n\nA valid warrant to search for contraband allows police to detain occupants of the premises during search.\n\nSeizure of a person by subpoena for a grand jury appearance is not within the 4th amendment protection.\nArresting a Person\nArrest must be based on probable cause. A warrant is generally not required before arresting someone in a public place. Must have warrant, though, to effect a non-emergency arrest of a person in his home.\nStop and Frisk\nIf police have reasonable suspicion of criminal activity or involvement in a completed crime, supported by articulable facts, they may detain a person for investigative purposes. If they also have reasonable suspicion that the detainee is armed and dangerous, they may frisk for weapons. Detention must be no longer than necessary to conduct a limited investigation. Police may ask detainee for ID, and if detainee refuses, the police may arrest him for that.\nAutomobile Stops\nGenerally, police may not stop a car without at least reasonable suspicion that a law has been broken. Police may order car's occupants out after lawfully stopping the vehicle in the interest of officer safety. If he reasonably believes them to be armed, he may search for weapons.\nIf special law enforcement needs are involved, the Supreme Court allows police to set up roadblocks to stop cars without individualized suspicion (i.e. sobriety checkpoint). To be valid, roadblock must: (1) stop cars on basis of some neutral, articulable standard (e.g, every car), and (2) be designed to serve purposes closely related to a particular problem related to cars and their mobility.\nEvidentiary Search and Seizure Analysis\n(1) Does the defendant have a 4th amendment right?\n(2) Did the government have a valid warrant?\n(3) If police didn't have a valid warrant, did they make a valid warrantless search and seizure?\nDoes the defendant have a 4th amendment right?\n(1) Was there a seizure by the government (state action - not private actors, unless state agents)?\n(2) Did the defendant have a reasonable expectation of privacy?\nDid the government have a valid warrant?\n(1) Issued by a neutral and detached magistrate?\n(2) On a showing of probable cause?\n(3) Reasonably precise as to the place to be searched and items to be seized?\nWas there a valid warrantless search and seizure?\n(1) Consent?\n(2) Search Incident to lawful arrest?\n(3) Plain View?\n(4) Stop and Frisk?\n(5) \"Automobile\" exception?\n(6) Hot Pursuit?\n(7) Evanescent Evidence?\n(8) Exigent circumstances/emergency?\nReasonable Expectation of Privacy\nDetermination is made on the totality of the circumstances, but defendant has a reasonable expectation of privacy any time: (1) he owned or had right of possession to the place searched, (2) the place searched was his home (whether he had ownership/right of possession or not), or (3) he was an overnight guest of the owner of the place searched.\n\nNo REP in objects held out to the public.\nA search warrant on the basis of an affidavit will be held invalid if...?\nDefendant establishes all three of the following:\n(1) false statement was included by affiant (police),\n(2) affiant intentionally or recklessly included a false statement, and\n(3) false statement was material to finding of probable cause.\nWarrant Provisions (Other Than Probable Cause)\n(1) Must describe with reasonable precision the place to be searched and items to be seized (including those in the affidavit is not sufficient).\n(2) May be obtained to search premises belonging to non-suspects as long as there is probable cause to believe that evidence will be found there.\n(3) Only the police may execute a warrant, and it must be executed without reasonable delay. Must knock and announce their purpose, and wait a reasonable time for admittance (unless doing so would frustrate their purposes - would be dangerous, futile, or would inhibit the investigation).\n(4) May seize any contraband or fruits/instrumentalities of crime discovered, even if not in warrant.\nSearch Incident to Lawful Arrest\nIncident to a LAWFUL arrest, may search arrestee and areas into which he might reach to obtain weapons or destroy evidence (including, if applicable, the entire passenger compartment of car). May also make protective sweep of the area if accomplices believed to be present. Search must be contemporaneous with time and place of arrest.\n\nIf arrest = unlawful, search incident = unlawful.\n\nAt the police station, the police may make an inventory search of arrestee's belongings, and may make an inventory search of an impounded vehicle.\n\"Automobile\" Exception\nIf the police have probable cause to believe that fruits, instrumentalities, or evidence from a crime are contained in a vehicle, they may search the whole vehicle and any containers that might reasonably contain the item for which they had probable cause to search. If warrantless search is valid, they may tow to the station and search later. If there is probable cause to believe that the car, itself, is contraband, may seize it from a public place without a warrant. May search packages belonging to passengers as well.\n\nIf the police ONLY have probable cause to search a container in a vehicle, may ONLY search the container - not the rest of the vehicle.\nPlain View\nThe police may make a warrantless seizure when they are:\n(1) legitimately on the premises;\n(2) discover evidence, fruits or instrumentalities of a crime, or contraband;\n(3) see such evidence in plain view; and\n(4) it is immediately apparent that the item is evidence, fruits or instrumentalities, or contraband.\nConsent to Search\nA warrantless search is valid if the police have voluntary and intelligent consent. Knowledge of the right to withhold consent is not a prerequisite to establish consent. The scope of search is limited by the scope of consent, but extends to all areas which a reasonable person in the circumstances would believe it extends to. Any person with apparent equal right to use or occupy the premises may consent to the search, and any evidence found may be used against other owners/occupants.\nScope of Frisk (in Stop and Frisk Cases)\nGenerally limited to a pat down of outer clothing unless the officer has specific information that a weapon is hidden in a particular area of the suspect's clothing. May also order occupants out of a stopped vehicle and frisk them. During the pat down, the officer may reach into suspect's clothing and seize any item the officer reasonably believes (based on its \"plain feel\") is a weapon or contraband, and such items are admissible as evidence.\nHot Pursuit\nPolice in hot pursuit of a fleeing felon may make a warrantless search and seizure and may even pursue the suspect into a private dwelling.\n\"Emergency Circumstances\" That May Justify Warrantless Searches and Seizures\n(1) Evidence likely to disappear before a warrant can be obtained.\n(2) Contaminated food or drugs.\n(3) Children in trouble.\n(4) Burning fires.\nSearches in Foreign Countries\nThe 4th Amendment doesn't apply to searches and seizures by U.S. Officials in foreign countries involving an alien, at least where alien doesn't have a substantial connection to the U.S. For example, the 4th Amendment was held not to bar use of evidence obtained in warrantless search of an alien's home in Mexico.\nSearches at Border or Its Equivalent\nNo warrant necessary for border searches. Neither citizens nor non-citizens have any 4th Amendment rights at the border. Roving patrols inside U.S. border may stop any vehicle for questioning of occupants if officer reasonably suspects car contains illegal aliens. Border officials may stop a car at a fixed checkpoint inside the border for questioning of occupants and may disassemble the car, even without reasonable suspicion.\nOpening International Mail\nPermissible border searches include opening of international mail when postal authorities have reasonable cause to suspect that the mail contains contraband.\nImmigration Enforcement Actions\nImmigration Services Division may do a \"factory survey\" of the workforce in a factory to determine citizenship of each employee. Moreover, even illegally obtained evidence may be used in a civil deportation hearing.\nWiretapping and Eavesdropping\nA valid warrant authorizing a wiretap may be issued if: (1) probable cause shown, (2) persons sought to be overheard named, (3) warrant describes with particularity conversations that can be overheard, (4) limited to short period of time, (5) terminated when the desired information is obtained, and (6) return made to court, showing conversations intercepted.\n\nA speaker assumes the risk that the person he's speaking to is a wired informant or is taping the conversation. No 4th Amendment right unless they actually make an attempt to keep the conversation private.\nWhat if the method used to obtain evidence \"shocks the conscience?\"\nEvidence obtained in a manner offending a \"sense of justice\" is inadmissible under the Due Process Clause. Reasonableness of searches within a person's body is determined by balancing society's need against the magnitude of the intrusion. Taking a blood sample usually is upheld, but surgery (e.g., to remove a bullet) requires a great need.\nVoluntariness of Confession\nFor a self-incriminating statement to be admissible under 14th Amendment Due Process, it must be voluntary as determined by the totality of the circumstances. The statement will be involuntary only if there is some official compulsion. If an involuntary confession is entered into evidence, the harmless error test applies.\n6th Amendment Right to Counsel\nIncludes all critical stages of a prosecution after formal charges have been filed. Prohibits police from deliberately eliciting an incriminating statement from the defendant outside the presence of counsel after defendant has been charges unless defendant waives his right to counsel.\n\nThe 6th Amendment right is offense-specific. Even though the right may have attached regarding one charge, the defendant may be questioned regarding an unrelated, uncharged offense without violating the 6th Amendment (thought it might violate Miranda).\nWhen are Miranda warnings required?\nThey are required prior to interrogation by police (if in custody and accused of a crime). They are only necessary if the defendant knows he's being interrogated by a government agent.\nHow do you determine whether someone's in custody?\nDepends on whether their freedom of action is denied in a significant way based on objective circumstances.\nWhat constitutes interrogation?\nWords or conduct by police that they should know would likely elicit a response from the defendant. Routine booking questions are NOT interrogation.\nCan a suspect waive his Miranda rights?\nYes, but it must be a knowing, voluntary, and intelligent waiver.\nDo Miranda requirements apply to a witness testifying at the Grand Jury?\nNo, not even if compelled by subpoena to be there.\nWhat kind of statements does Miranda apply to?\nInculpatory AND exculpatory statements.\nHow would a suspect exercise his right to terminate an interrogation?\nThe accused can invoke his right to remain silent. The police must scrupulously honor this request. They may not badger him, though the Supreme Court has allowed later questioning to occur on an unrelated crime.\n\nThe accused can invoke his right to counsel. Must do so unambiguously, but once he does, the questioning must cease until an attorney is provided. The accused can later waive this right by reinitiating the questioning (MUST be reinitiated by the accused, not the police).\nWhat is the effect of the Miranda violation?\nThe evidence obtained in violation of Miranda is inadmissible at trial (exclusionary rule). The statements may, however, be used to impeach defendant's trail testimony, but not as evidence of guilt.\nWhat if the police obtain a confession, give the Miranda warnings, and then obtain a subsequent confession?\nIt's inadmissible if the \"question first, warn later\" approach was intentional. If original unwarned questioning seemed unplanned and the failure to warn was inadvertent, it is unclear whether the non-testimonial fruits of unwarned confession must be suppressed - probably not.\nPublic Safety Miranda Exception\nThe Supreme Court has allowed interrogation without Miranda warnings where reasonably prompted by concern for public safety (e.g., to locate hidden gun that could have caused injury to an innocent person).\nPre-Trial Identification\nSuspect has a 6th Amendment right to counsel at any post-charge line-up or show-up. There is no right to an attorney at photo identifications or when the police take physical evidence (fingerprints, etc).\n\nA suspect may attack and ID when it is unnecessarily suggestive and there is a substantial likelihood of misidentification (Due Process).\n\nDefendant may not refuse to participate in a line-up on 5th Amendment self-incrimination grounds.\nWhat is the remedy for an Unconstitutional identification?\nExclusion of the in-court identification - but this is rarely granted.\nIn-Court Identification\nThe witness may make an in-court identification despite the unconstitutional pre-trial ID if the in-court ID has an independent source. The most common is an opportunity to observe at the time of the crime.\nPreliminary Hearing to Determine Probable Cause to Detain\nIf probable cause has been determined (warrant or grand jury indictment), no preliminary hearing is necessary. If not, and there are significant constraints on arrestee's liberty (bail or jail, but not ROR), a preliminary hearing on probable cause must be held within a reasonable time (typically 48 hours). This is an informal, non-adversarial hearing. There is no real remedy for denial of hearing, but evidence discovered as a result of the unlawful detention can be excluded under the exclusionary rule.\nMost state constitutions create a right to be released on bail unless the charge is capital. Bail can be set no higher than necessary to ensure defendant's appearance at trial. Refusal to grant bail or setting of excessive bail can be appealed immediately, however the Supreme Court has upheld portions of the Bail Reform Act allowing arrestees to be held without bail if they pose a danger or would fail to appear at trial. Try a due process argument.\nGrand Jury Proceedings\nDefendant has no right to notice that Grand Jury is considering an indictment, to be present and confront witnesses, or to introduce evidence. Witnesses (even if potential defendants) have no right to counsel or Miranda warnings.\n\nEvidence that would be inadmissible at trial may be presented to the Grand Jury, and the defendant cannot have the indictment quashed on those grounds. There is no right to challenge a subpoena to be a witness at a Grand Jury proceeding for ANY REASON.\nSpeedy Trial\nViolation is determined by the totality of the circumstances. The factors: length of delay, reason for delay, whether the defendant asserted his right, and prejudice to the defendant. The remedy is dismissal with prejudice.\n\nThe right doesn't attach until the defendant has been arrested or charged. If he's charged and incarcerated in another jurisdiction, reasonable efforts must be made to obtain the defendant's presence.\n\nIt is a speedy trial violation to permit the prosecution to indefinitely suspend charges.\nProsecutorial Duty to Disclose Exculpatory Information and Notice of Defenses\nFailure to disclose such evidence (whether willful or inadvertent) violates due process and is grounds for reversal if defendant can prove:\n(1) the evidence is favorable to him because it either impeaches or exculpatory, and\n(2) prejudice has resulted (a reasonable probability that the case would have turned out differently).\nIf the defendant is going to use an alibi defense, he must give the prosecution a list of the witnesses, and prosecution must give the defendant a list of their rebuttal witnesses\nMay the prosecutor comment on Defendant's failure to produce a witness supporting the alibi?\nNo - and he may not comment on the failure to present an alibi itself.\nCompetency to Stand Trial\nDefendant is incompetent to stand trial if he either (1) lacks a rational as well as factual understanding of the charges and proceedings, or (2) lacks sufficient present ability to consult with his attorney with a reasonable degree of understanding.\n\nThe state may place the burden on the defendant by a preponderance of the evidence standard, but requiring clear and convincing evidence is unconstitutional.\nPre-Trial Publicity\nExcessive pre-trial publicity that is prejudicial to the defendant may require a change of venue or retrial.\nRight to a Fair Trial\nThe 6th and 14th Amendments guarantee a right to a public trial. Preliminary probable cause hearings are open to the public. Pre-trial suppression hearings are open, but may be closed for good cause. The press and public have a 1st Amendment right to attend the trial itself even when defendant and prosecution agree to close it. The state may constitutionally allow it to be televised, even over defendant's objection.\n\nThere is a Due Process violation if the judge is shown to have actual malice against the defendant or financial interest in the guilty verdict.\n\nThere is also a due process violation if: (1) it is unlikely that the jury gave evidence reasonable consideration, (2) the state compels defendant to stand trial in prison clothes or visibly shackled (absent security concerns), or (3) the jury is exposed to influence favorable to the prosecution.\n\nDue Process also prohibits bad faith destruction of evidence.\nRight to Jury Trial\nOnly for serious offenses. An offense is serious if imprisonment of more than 6 months is authorized. Otherwise, no right to a jury trial. There is no right to a jury trial in juvenile delinquency proceedings or civil contempt proceedings.\n\nJudge may impose up to 5 years probation without the right to a jury trial as long as revocation wouldn't result in imprisonment of more than 6 months.\nNumber and Unanimity of Jurors\nThere is no constitutional requirement for 12 jurors, but there must be at least 6 to satisfy the right to a jury trial. The Supreme Court has upheld convictions that were less than unanimous, but probably wouldn't approve something like an 8-4 vote for conviction. 6-person juries must be unanimous.\nRight to Venire Selected from Representative Cross-Section of the Community\nThe defendant only need to show underrepresentation of a distinct and numerically significant group in the venire to show his jury trial right violated. No right to proportional representation on all groups on his personal jury, though.\nRace-Based or Gender-Based Juror Challenges\nEqual Protection prohibits these challenges. An EP attack requires three steps:\n(1) Defendant must show facts or circumstances that raise an inference of exclusion based on race or gender.\n(2) Prosecution must give a race/gender neutral explanation for strike (even an unreasonable explanation is sufficient).\n(3) Judge determines whether the explanation was the genuine reason or a pretext, then will uphold or disallow, respectively.\nRight to an Impartial Jury\nThe defendant is entitled to question the prospective jurors on voir dire specifically about racial prejudice whenever race is bound up in the case or the defendant is accused of an interracial capital case.\n\nIn capital cases, the state may not automatically exclude for cause all those expressing a doubt or scruple as to the death penalty. It must be determined whether the juror's views would prevent or substantially impair performance of duties in accordance with instructions and oath.\n\nIf the death penalty is imposed by a jury from which a juror was improperly excluded, automatic reversal.\n\nIn a capital case, the defendant can ask a juror if they would automatically give the death penalty if found guilty. If they would, the juror must be excluded for cause.\n\nIf the trial court refuses to exclude a juror for cause whom the court should have excluded, and defendant uses a peremptory challenge to exclude, there is no constitutional violation.\nInconsistent Verdicts\nVerdicts where a defendant is found guilty, but a co-defendant is not on the same evidence are not reviewable.\nSentence Enhancement\nIf substantive law provides for a sentencing enhancement, proof of facts for the enhancement must be submitted to the jury and proved beyond a reasonable doubt. Defendant's right to jury trial is violated if the judge makes the determination.\n\nSame rule applies to sentencing enhancements after guilty pleas. However, judges may determine the presence of sentencing factors to determine whether the defendant should receive the minimum or maximum penalty under the sentencing scheme.\nWhen is Right to Counsel applicable?\n(1) Custodial police interrogation\n(2) Post-indictment interrogation, custodial or not\n(3) Preliminary hearings to determine probable cause to prosecute\n(4) Arraignment\n(5) Post-charge lineups\n(6) Guilty plea sentencing\n(7) Felony trials\n(8) Misdemeanor trials when imprisonment is actually imposed or when a suspended jail sentence is imposed\n(9) Overnight recesses during trial\n(10) Appeals as a matter of right\n(11) Appeals of guilty pleas\nWhen is Right to Counsel NOT applicable?\n(1) Blood sampling/fingerprinting\n(2) Taking of handwriting or voice exemplars\n(3) Pre-charge/investigative line-ups\n(4) Photo identifications\n(5) Preliminary hearings to determine probable cause to detain\n(6) Brief recesses during defendant's testimony at trial\n(7) Discretionary appeals\n(8) Parole and probation revocation proceedings\n(9) Post-conviction proceedings\nRight to Defend Oneself (Waiver of Right to Counsel)\nDefendant has right to defend himself at trial if, in the judgment of the judge, his waiver is knowing and intelligent; he need not be found capable of representing himself effectively. Note that a defendant does not have a right to self-representation upon appeal.\nIndigence and Recoupment of Cost\nThe state generally provides counsel in close cases of indigence, but then may seek reimbursement from those convicted defendants who later become able to pay.\nEffective Assistance of Counsel\nThe 6th Amendment right to counsel includes a right to EFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE of counsel. This right extends to the first appeal. Effective assistance is generally presumed.\nWhat must be shown in an ineffective assistance of counsel claim?\nClaimant must show:\n(1) deficient performance by counsel, and\n(2) but for this deficiency, the result of the proceeding would have been different.\n\nThe defendant must point out specific deficiencies, and can't base the claim on inexperience, lack of preparation time, gravity of charges, complexity of defenses, or accessibility of witnesses to counsel. Circumstances NOT constituting IAC include trial tactics and failure to raise a constitutional defense that is later invalidated.\nConflicts of Interest\nJoint representation is not per se invalid. However, if the attorney advises the court of the resulting conflict of interest at or before trial, and court refuses to appoint separate attorneys, the defendant is entitled to automatic reversal.\n\nDefendant's conflict of interest with attorney is rarely grounds for relief.\n\nDefendant has no right to be jointly represented with his co-defendants if the government can show a potential conflict of interest.\nRight to Support Services for Defense\nWhere the defendant made a preliminary showing that he is likely to be able to use the insanity defense, the state must provide a psychiatrist for the preparation of the defense.\nSeizure of Funds\nRight to counsel does not forbid the seizure of drug money and property obtained with drug money, even where defendant was going to use such money or property to pay an attorney.\nRight to Counsel During Testimony\nDefendant has no right to consult with attorney while testifying, and may be sequestered from her attorney during short breaks (not overnight).\nRight to Confront Witnesses\nThe 6th Amendment grants defendant in criminal prosecution the right to confront adverse witnesses. This right is not absolute: face-to-face confrontation is not required when preventing such confrontation serves an important public purpose (i.e., protecting child witnesses from trauma). The judge may remove a disruptive defendant, and defendant may voluntarily leave the courtroom during trial.\nIntroduction of Co-Defendant's Confession\nIf two persons are tried together and one has given a confession that implicates the other, the right to confrontation prohibits the use of that statement, even where confession interlocks with defendant's own confession, which is admitted. However, such statement may be admitted if:\n(1) all portions referring to the other defendant can be eliminated,\n(2) confessing defendant takes the stand and subjects himself to cross-examination with respect to the truth of what the statement asserts, or\n(3) confession of non-testifying co-defendant is being used to rebut defendant's claim that his confession was obtained coercively.\nHearsay and the Right to Confront Witnesses\nHearsay, if admitted, could deny defendant the right to confront the declarant. Before 2004, the Supreme Court admitted hearsay statements made at prior judicial proceedings if the declarant was unable to testify and the statement was supported by an indicia of reliability. In 2004, this was changed. Now, prior testimonial statements of unavailable witnesses will be admitted only if the defendant had an opportunity to cross-examine the declarant at the time the statement was made. No comprehensive definition of \"testimonial,\" but has been held to include, at a minimum, testimony from a preliminary hearing, grand jury proceeding, former trial, or police interrogation.\nBurden of Proof and Sufficiency of Evidence\nDue Process requires in all criminal cases that state prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.\n\nThe state may generally impose the burden of proof upon the defendant in regard to an affirmative defense.\n\nMandatory presumption or presumption that shifts the burden of proof to the defendant violates the 14th Amendment requirement that the state prove every element of a crime beyond a reasonable doubt.\nEntering a Guilty Plea\nThe judge must determine that the plea is voluntary and intelligent. Must be done by addressing the defendant personally, in open court, on the record. Specifically, the judge must be sure the defendant knows and understands things like:\n(1) the nature of the charge to which the plea is offered and the crucial elements of the crime charged,\n(2) maximum possible penalty and the mandatory minimum, and\n(3) that he has a right not to plead guilty and if he does plead guilty, he waives his right to trial.\n\nIt is sufficient for the record to reflect that the attorney has explained these things to the defendant.\n\nRemedy: Withdrawal of plea and pleading anew.\nCollateral Attacks on Guilty Pleas After Sentencing\nA plea can be set aside for:\n(1) involuntariness (failure to meet standards for taking the plea);\n(2) lack of jurisdiction;\n(3) ineffective assistance of counsel; or\n(4) failure to keep the plea bargain.\nIs the judge required to accept a plea that has been agreed upon by prosecution and defense?\nNo, he can reject it.\nIf the guilty plea is entered in response to Prosecutor's threat to charge the defendant with a more serious crime, is the plea involuntary?\nNo, not without other evidence of involuntariness. There is no prosecutorial vindictiveness here.\nCollateral Effects of Guilty Pleas\nA guilty plea conviction may be used as a conviction in other proceedings when relevant. However, a guilty plea neither admits the illegality of incriminating evidence nor waives the 4th Amendment claims in a subsequent civil damages action.\nProcedural Rights in Sentencing\nDefendant has right to counsel during sentencing. Usually, sentence may be based on hearsay and uncross-examined reports (no right to confront). However, where a magnified sentence is based on a statute that requires new findings of fact be made, facts must be found in a context that grants rights to confront/cross-examine.\n\nDefendant in death penalty case must have more opportunity to confront than need be given a defendant in other sentencing proceedings.\nImprisonment of Indigents for Non-Payment\nWhere aggregate imprisonment exceeds the maximum fixed by statute and results directly from involuntary non-payment of a fine or court costs, there is an impermissible discrimination and violation of Equal Protection.\nSubstantive Rights in Regard to Death Penalty\nDeath only imposed when judge/jury is given reasonable discretion, full information concerning defendant, and guidance in making decision. Must allow to consider all mitigating evidence. If the death sentence is partly based on aggravating factor of defendant's previous conviction, the sentence must be reversed if the prior conviction is overturned.\n\nDeath sentence affected by vague or otherwise unconstitutional factor may still be upheld, but only if all aggravating/mitigating factors involved are reweighed and death is still found to be appropriate.\nWhat can the death penalty be imposed for?\nMurder. 8th Amendment, however, prohibits the imposition of the death penalty for rape of adult woman (disproportionate). Same for felony murder, unless felony murderer's participation was major and he acted with reckless indifference to the value of human life.\nOther 8th Amendment Prohibitions on the Death Penalty\n8th Amendment prohibits imposing the death sentence on the mentally retarded. Also prohibits the execution of those under 18 at the time the offense was committed.\nRight to Appeal\nNo federal constitutional right to an appeal.\nRight to Counsel on Appeal\nIf an avenue of post-conviction review is provided, conditions that make the review less accessible to the poor than to the right violate Equal Protection. Thus, indigents must be given counsel at state expense during first appeal granted to all as a matter of right and for appeals of guilty pleas and pleas of no lo contendere. In a jurisdiction with two-tier system where second tier is discretionary review, indigent defendants need not be provided with counsel during second, discretionary appeal.\nHabeas Corpus Proceeding\nIndigent has no right to counsel at a habeas corpus proceeding. Petitioner has burden of proof by a preponderance of the evidence to show unlawful detention. State may appeal grant of writ of habeas corpus. Defendant generally may bring a habeas petition only if in custody. Generally, this includes anyone who has not fully service the sentence about which he complains.\nPrisoner's Rights\nDue Process: Prison regulations infringe on due process rights only if regulations impose \"atypical and significant hardship\" in relation to ordinary incidents of prison life.\n\n4th Amendment: Prisoners have no reasonable expectation of privacy in cells.\n\nRight of Access to Courts: Must be given reasonable access to courts.\n\n1st Amendment: May be burdened by regulations reasonable related to penological interests. Note that incoming mail can be broadly regulated, but not outgoing. Federal statute prohibits states from interfering with religious practices, absent a compelling interest.\n\nRight to Adequate Medical Care: Prisoner's have this right under the 8th Amendment.\n\nMisc: Person convicted of a felony may not vote, and this deprivation may constitutionally continue after term of sentence.\nWhen does jeopardy attach?\nJeopardy attaches in a jury trial at the empaneling and swearing of a jury. In a bench trial, when the first witness is sworn. In juvenile proceedings, when the proceeding is commenced. Jeopardy doesn't attach in civil proceedings.\nExceptions for Permitting Retrial After Jeopardy Has Attached\n(1) Hung Jury\n(2) Manifest necessity to abort original trial or when termination at behest of defendant on any ground not constituting acquittal on the merits (mistrial)\n(3) Defendant who has successfully appealed conviction unless grounds was insufficient evidence (on retrial, may not be tried for greater offense than previously convicted of)\n(4) After defendant breaches plea bargain\nWhat constitutes the \"same offense\" for purposes of double jeopardy?\nTwo crimes are the same offense unless each crime requires proof of an additional element that the other doesn't require, even if some of the same facts can be used to prove both.\n\nEven if two crimes are the same, multiple punishments are permissible if the legislative intent was to have multiple punishments (e.g, sentenced for robbery AND for using a weapon during the crime).\n\nDouble jeopardy clause is not violated whtn the person indicted for a crime that conduct of which was used to enhance defendant's sentence for another crime.\n\nDouble jeopardy prevents repetitive criminal prosecutions. The state is free to bring civil action against defendant despite being criminally tried for the conduct and vice versa.\n\nAttachment of jeopardy on a lesser included offense bars retrial for greater offense except that defendant may be retried for murder after jeopardy attaches for battery, if victim dies as a result. Exception: unlawful conduct subsequently used to prove greater offense (1) has not occurred at the time of prosecution for lesser offense or (2) hasn't been discovered despite due diligence.\nSeparate Sovereigns and Double Jeopardy\nConstitutional prohibition on double jeopardy doesn't apply to trials by separate sovereigns. Person may be tried for same conduct by state and federal government, two states, but not a state and its municipalities.\nAppeals by Prosecution\nEven after jeopardy has attached, prosecution may appeal any dismissal on defendant's motion that doesn't constitute an acquittal on the merits. Double jeopardy does not bar appeals by prosecution if successful appeal wouldn't require a retrial. No bar to government appeal of a sentence pursuant to statute allowing such review. However, if jury fails to impose death, prosecution may not seek death on retrial after successful appeal.\nCollateral Estoppel and Double Jeopardy\nUnder the doctrine of collateral estoppel, defendant may not be tried or convicted of a crime if a prior prosecution by that sovereignty resulted in a factual determination is inconsistent with one required for conviction.\nPrivilege Against Compelled Self-Incrimination\nOnly natural persons may assert this (not corporations). May only be asserted by a party when the answer would incriminate himself - and may refuse to answer whenever his response might furnish a link in the chain of evidence needed to prosecute him. Privilege must be claimed at civil proceedings to prevent privilege from being waived for a later criminal prosecution. Criminal defendant has a right not to take the witness stand at trial and to not be asked to do so. Any other situation, person must be sworn and asked questions to which he may refuse to answer.\n\nThe privilege only protects testimonial or communicative evidence. Must relate to a factual assertion or disclose information. Compulsory production of documents doesn't give rise to a 5th Amendment objection. Neither does searching for and seizing documents.\n\nViolation doesn't occur until person's compelled statements are used against him in a criminal case.\nProhibition Against Burdens on Assertion of Privilege Against Compelled Self-Incrimination\nProsecution may NOT comment on defendant's silence after being arrested and given Miranda warnings. Also may not comment on defendant's failure to testify at trial. Defendant is entitled to jury instructions against not drawing adverse conclusions from defendant's failure to testify (not automatic - must make motion, but sometimes judge will offer them sua sponte, even over defendant's objection).\n\nException: Prosecution may comment on defendant's failure to take the stand if the defendant's counsel asserts that defendant wasn't allowed to explain his side of the story.\n\nWhen prosecution impermissibly comments on the defendant's silence, the harmless error test applies.\n\nState may not chill the exercise of the privilege against compelled self-incrimination by imposing penalties for failure to testify.\nElimination of Privilege Against Compelled Self-Incrimination\nWitness may be compelled to answer questions if granted adequate immunity from prosecution. \"Use and Derivative Use\" immunity is sufficient.\n\nPerson has no privilege against self-incrimination if no possibility of incrimination (i.e., statute of limitations has run).\nWitness may later be prosecuted if prosecutor shows that evidence to be used against the witness was derived from an independent source other than his immunized testimony.\n\nTestimony obtained by promise of immunity is coerced, and therefore involuntary. May not be used for impeachment of defendant's testimony at trial But any statements, immunized or not, may be used in a trial for perjury.\n\nFederal prosecution may not use evidence obtained as a result of state grant of immunity, and vice versa.\n\nImmunity only extends to offenses to which question relates and doesn't protect against perjury committed during immunized testimony.\nWaiver of Privilege Against Compelled Self-Incrimination\nCriminal defendant, by taking the stand, waives privilege to extent necessary to subject him to any cross-examination. Witness waives privilege only if he discloses incriminating information.\nRights That Must Be Afforded in Juvenile Court Proceedings\n(1) Written notice of charges\n(2) Assistance of counsel\n(3) Opportunity to confront and cross-examine witnesses\n(4) Right not to testify\n(5) Right to have \"guilt\" established by proof beyond a reasonable doubt\nRights NOT Afforded in Juvenile Court Proceedings\n(1) Right to jury trial\n(2) Pre-trial detention allowed when juvenile is a \"serious risk\" to society, as long as detention is for a strictly limited time before trial may be held.\nIf a juvenile court adjudicates a child a delinquent, can he be tried as an adult for the same behavior?\nNo - jeopardy has attached.\nExclusionary Rule\nProhibits introduction of evidence obtained in violation of defendant's 4th, 5th, and 6th Amendment rights. Inadmissible at trial and all \"fruit\" must be excluded as well. Exceptions: (1) evidence obtained from a source independent of the original illegality, (2) intervening act of free will by the defendant, and (3) inevitable discovery.\n\nNote: It is difficult to have live testimony excluded on these grounds.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8571509122848511}
+{"content": "Ask Question, Ask an Expert\n\n\nAsk Management Theories Expert\n\nAttempt all the problems.\n\n\nproblem1) Describe the challenges faced by the developing economy like India in selection & implementation of appropriate technology. How could India prevent being a dumping yard for outdated, costly and irrelevant technologies?\n\nproblem2) Elaborate the four core elements of technology and the entire respective component with exs.\n\nproblem3) describe the role of Information Technology and its implication in Technology Management.\n\nproblem4) Describe the Japanese model of technology development. What are the issues in implementing three phases of Japanese model?\n\n\nCase Study\n\nBenchmarking: Tales from the front\n\n\nMotorola was the early pioneer in benchmarking. Among its other successes, it managed to slash time taken to close company’s books at year-end from 14 to two days.\n\nIn early 1980s, company set the ambitious goal: It will improve the set of basic quality parameters tenfold in five years. The aim was reached, based only on internal comparisons, in three years.  There were congratulations all around, handshakes, merit badges for all.  Then Motorola looked outside. It sent teams to visit plants of its Japanese competitors. To their chagrin, the teams found that Motorola will have to improve\n\nits tenfold-improvement level of quality measures another two to three times just to match the competition.\nKenneth J.Obrzut, director of group sector strategic programs in Motorola’s MIS department, offers the moral of the story: “Benchmarking helps determine what your accomplishments really are, and gives you the chance to match or exceed the best in the business.”\n\nFor one factory in Florida, Motorola has since borrowed the order-entry process from Wal-Mart, adopted Benetton’s idea of asking its stores to relay customer preferences on store items directly to headquarters through computer linkup, and even scavenged techniques from Domino’s Pizza.  Ten years after `Motorola began benchmarking, the company routinely fields benchmarking requests from those same Japanese companies it toured the first time around.\n\nCase problem:\n\nMotorola moved from internal to external benchmarking.  What justified this move?  Do you agree?\n\nManagement Theories, Management Studies\n\n  • Category:- Management Theories\n  • Reference No.:- M93357\n\nHave any Question? \n\nRelated Questions in Management Theories\n\nManagement care environments and payment systems -\n\nManagement Care Environments and Payment Systems - Discussion The following Discussion will help you to prepare for part of your Unit 2 Quiz. 1. Describe the major third-party payers and the characteristics of managed ca ...\n\n1 discuss the advantages and disadvantages of work\n\n1. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of work specialization. 2. Compare and contrast debt financing and equity financing. 3. Define marketing. Compare and contrast place marketing with cause-related marketing.\n\nSupply chain managementa supply chain involves all the\n\nSupply Chain Management A supply chain involves all the activities associated with how manufacturing, materials, facilities, personnel, transportation, inventory, and other items flow and a supply chain involves all the ...\n\nThere are production facilities in battle creek cherry\n\n\nList and describe the three guidelines for sound policy as\n\nList and describe the three guidelines for sound policy, as stated by Bergeron and Bérubé ? Describe the bull's-eye model. What does it say about policy in the InfoSec program? In what way are policies different from sta ...\n\nDistribution place strategy - discussionretailing -\n\nDistribution (Place) Strategy - Discussion Retailing - Consumer Perceptions Retailing has an impact on the daily lives of each individual all over the world. Retailing is \"all the activities directly related to the sale ...\n\nResponse to peer initial post word count\n\nResponse to peer initial post: Word Count 150    Discussion Question: Let's explore the virtual organizational form. Why would a firm decide to implement this approach to organizing?  What are the benefits? What is the d ...\n\nForecasting comparison presentationidentify a state local\n\nForecasting Comparison Presentation Identify a state, local or federal policy that impacts your organization or community. Create an 8- to 10-slide Microsoft PowerPoint presentation in which you complete the following: D ...\n\nSupply chain planning and control moduleyou are to submit\n\nSUPPLY CHAIN PLANNING AND CONTROL MODULE You are to submit an individual report (3000 words, +/- 10%) based on a company of your choice, identifying and analysing its supply chain planning & control issues and providing ...\n\nBusiness expansion and sustainabilitywrite a six to seven\n\nBusiness Expansion and Sustainability Write a six to seven (6-7) page paper in which you: 1. Identify three (3) job requirements (e.g., needed certifications, previous work experience, external influences, etc.) that cou ...\n\n  • 4,153,160 Questions Asked\n  • 13,132 Experts\n  • 2,558,936 Questions Answered\n\nAsk Experts for help!!\n\nLooking for Assignment Help?\n\nStart excelling in your Courses, Get help with Assignment\n\n\nAsk Now Help with Problems, Get a Best Answer\n\nWalMart Identification of theory and critical discussion\n\n\nSection onea in an atwood machine suppose two objects of\n\n\nPart 1you work in hr for a company that operates a factory\n\n\nDetails on advanced accounting paperthis paper is intended\n\n\nCreate a provider database and related reports and queries\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5533365607261658}
+{"content": "Exhibition in Berlin | The Colonial Eye : Early Portrait Photography in India | Indian Photographies | Scoop.it\n\n\"One of the world's most comprehensive and significant collections of portrait photography from India is on exhibit for the first time. The collection was originally thought to be lost during World War II, only gradually returning to Berlin's National Museums beginning in the 1990s.\nNow, around 300 photographs from the second half of the nineteenth century offer a comprehensive overview of portrait photography from the Indian subcontinent. In addition to pictures by renowned photographers and studios such as Samuel Bourne, Sheperd & Robertson, A.T.W. Penn, and John Burke, works by lesser known artists are also on display. Popular and unexpectedly diverse ethnographic photography of the time stands in contrast to stylised street shots of artisans, as well as portraits of nobility, including Islamic princes and princesses, Maharajas, and clan leaders, taken in their own palaces or in artfully set studio scenes.\n\nOne unifying aspect of many early portraits is a particularly European view - \"The Colonial Eye\". In the second half of the nineteenth century, in the name of science and colonialism, the land and its inhabitants were to be apprehended through observation and cataloguing, analysation and measurement. The fascination with India was especially evoked by the strange-looking indigenous peoples and the caste-system, as well as the splendour of the Indian nobility and the austere life of ascetics.\"\n\n\nPhotograph : Bourne & Shepherd (?), Andamanen-Insulaner, um 1880, Albuminabzug", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9481407999992371}
+{"content": "BMC urology\n\nExpression of brain derived-neurotrophic factor and granulocyte-colony stimulating factor in the urothelium: relation with voiding function.\n\nPMID 25951823\n\n\nWe designed this experiment to elucidate the relationship between the expression of brain derived-neurotrophic factor (BDNF), the expression of granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF), and the development of overactive bladder (OAB). In our previous study, the urothelium was observed to be more than a simple mechanosensory receptor and was found to be a potential therapeutic target for OAB. Moreover, neuregulin-1 and BDNF were found to be potential new biomarkers of OAB. Here, we investigated the relationship between changes in the voiding pattern and the expression of BDNF and G-CSF in the urothelium and evaluated the effects of 5-hydroxymethyl tolterodine (5-HMT) on rats with bladder outlet obstruction (BOO). A total of 100 Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into the following groups: 20 control rats; 40 BOO rats; and 40 BOO rats administered 5-HMT (0.1 mg/kg). After BOO was induced for 4 weeks, the rats were assessed by cystometrography. The changes in BDNF and G-CSF expression were examined in both separated urothelial tissues and in cultured urothelial cells by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). BOO rats showed increased non-voiding activity [NVA; (number/10 voidings)] and bladder weight and decreased micturition volume (MV), micturition interval (MI), and micturition time (MT) relative to the controls. Moreover, the 5-HMT administration rats showed decreased NVA and bladder weight and increased MV and MI in comparison to the BOO rats. BDNF and G-CSF expression was increased in BOO rats and decreased following 5-HMT administration. In this model, voiding dysfunction developed as a result of BOO. As a therapeutic agent for OAB, the administration of 5-HMT improved the voiding dysfunction. BDNF and G-CSF might modulate voiding patterns through micturition pathways and might be involved only in the urothelium. Moreover, the expression of both genes in the urothelium might be related to voiding dysfunction in OAB patients. Thus, the urothelium has an important role in the manifestation of voiding symptoms.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9989815950393677}
+{"content": "Cultural Revolution cookbook\n\nThe co-authors pass on some recipes and reveal their historical significance.\n\nIn 1969, aged just nine years old, Sasha Gong was forced to leave her home in Guangzhou to live with a family in a small village in Hunan Province. Gong, who now heads the China branch of news service Voice of America, was one of 17 million youths displaced during the Cultural Revolution years. After a ‘reeducation’ period spent working in the fields, she learnt to cook peasant food and make do with the few ingredients still available.\nIn a new book, The Cultural Revolution Cookbook, Gong teams up with author Scott D Seligman to provide recipes, tidbits from history and popular propaganda art from the period.\n\nScott D Seligman picks...\n\nShallow-fried potato shreds\n‘This is one of my favourite dishes, and it’s one you seldom see on restaurant menus, perhaps because it is just so basic. It’s a potato dish that beats Western-style hash browns at a stroll. Potatoes were often available during the Cultural Revolution, and so this was a favourite among the “sent down” youth because it was easy and filling. I think it’s the vinegar that makes the difference in this dish, which is traditionally made with dark Chinese vinegar, but is just as enjoyable with balsamic vinegar! It is at its best and crunchiest when low-starch, redskinned potatoes are used.’\n\n2 medium potatoes\n1 scallion (spring onion)\n4 Tbsp (60ml.) cooking oil\n2-3 cloves garlic\n1 whole dried chili pepper (optional)\n3 tsp (15ml) vinegar\nDash of soy sauce\nScrub the potatoes well and cut them into thin (half an inch, or 6mm) slices and then into matchsticks; it is not necessary to peel them, and Chinese peasants do not do so. Soak the potato shreds in cold water for ten minutes to remove the surface starch and then drain, rinse and pat dry.\nShred the scallion into pieces of about the same size as the potato sticks and crush the garlic.\nIn a wok, heat the oil until it just begins to smoke. Add the garlic and stir-fry until it starts to brown. Add the scallion (and chili pepper, if desired) and fry for another 15-30 seconds. Then add the potatoes and continue to stir-fry.\nOnce the potatoes are warm, add the vinegar and continue to cook until it is absorbed (about a minute). Add the soy sauce and stir-fry for another 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a dish and serve.\nVariation: This dish is sometimes made with green pepper. If desired, the pepper should be cut into pieces the same size as the potatoes, added to the wok after the garlic, and fried for about a minute before the scallion is added.\n\nScrambled eggs with tomatoes\n‘The two main ingredients in this dish seemed like very strange bedfellows to me until I first tasted it in Taiwan. I was amazed at how well they actually complemented each other, both in taste and in appearance. The ingredients were not particularly hard to find during the Cultural Revolution; eggs, though rationed, were nonetheless available from black markets, where they provided an important source of income to the peasants during the really hard times. I think what makes this dish especially tasty is the sugar.’\n\n2 large or 4 small tomatoes\n4 eggs\n5 Tbsp. (75ml) vegetable oil\n4 Tbsp. (50g) sugar\nDash of salt\nSeveral sprigs of cilantro or parsley (for garnish; optional)\nCut the tomatoes into wedges, each no more than an inch (2.5cm) thick at its widest point. Squeeze out the excess liquid in each, but reserve the liquid. It is not necessary to remove all of the seeds.\nBreak the eggs in a bowl, add the liquid from the tomatoes, and beat the mixture together.\nPut the oil in a wok and heat it until it begins to smoke. Stir-fry the egg mixture quickly until it solidifies – this should take about a minute. Remove from the wok.\nStir-fry the tomatoes for four to five minutes until they lose their resilience. Then add the sugar and continue to stir-fry until it dissolves. Allow to boil for a full minute and then add the egg mixture.\nStir-fry for less than a minute until the eggs are thorough­ly cooked. Remove from the wok and add the salt. Garnish with cilantro or parsley, if desired.\n\nSasha Gong picks...\n\nHoney-braised duck\n‘There were strict limits on the food peasants could raise in the small private plots on which they were permitted to farm. In general, vegetables were permitted but grain was not. Among farm animals, anything bigger than a chicken was forbidden, so ducks were actually hard to come by during the Cultural Revolution. We didn’t eat duck very often, but it was a real treat when you could get one. The peasants didn’t have ovens, so this dish, which is made in a wok, was a wonderful answer to roast duck.’\n\n1 Tbsp (15ml) cooking oil\n1 large piece ginger (about 1 inch, or 2.5 cm., on each side)\n1 whole duckling\n3-4 Tbsp (45-60ml) honey\nHalf a cup (120ml) rice wine (but any wine will do)\n6-7 Tbsp (about 100ml) soy sauce (dark soy sauce is best for this dish)\n4 scallions (spring onions)\nHeat a wok and add oil. Crush the ginger. Before the oil begins to smoke, add the ginger to the wok and fry it for a minute so its flavor permeates the oil.\nAdd the entire duckling to the wok and fry one side over a high flame for about ten minutes until the skin tightens and turns brownish. Then turn it over and fry the other side for ten minutes. Add the honey, wine and soy sauce and place two whole scallions on either side of the duck and two in the duck’s cavity.\nCover the wok tightly and turn the heat down to medium. Allow the duck to braise for about an hour and a half for a three-pound (1.3kg) duckling, or an hour and fifteen minutes for a smaller bird. Turn several times to ensure that the duck is cooked evenly, spooning the liquid over – and inside – the bird.\nWhen the meat is ready to fall off the bones, remove from the wok and serve.\n\nTofu with scallions and sesame dressing\n‘I love this dish because of its simplicity and its ease of preparation. You barely need a kitchen and it’s ready in five minutes. It’s high in protein, which was very important during the Cultural Revolution when meat was hard to get, and it provided the energy needed for work in the fields. Peasants would soak the tofu in hot water to warm it, but a microwave accomplishes the same thing more quickly today. The sesame oil gives the dish a fine fragrance, and the contrast between the green of the scallion and the white of the bean curd makes it pleasing to the eye.’\n\n1 scallion\n1 cake firm tofu (bean curd)\n2 tsp. sesame oil\nPinch of salt\nRemove the tofu from the oven and, with a sharp knife or cleaver, cut it up into small pieces about one-and-a half inches (4cm) long, an inch (2.5cm) wide and half an inch (about 1.5cm) thick.\n\n\nThe Cultural Revolution Cookbook, published by Earnshaw Books, is available now from amazon for 190RMB.\n\nGo to for more details\n\nPhotos by Charles Cohan Fischl and Alice Thurston", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8612753748893738}
+{"content": "Vestibular Disorders - Whirled Foundation\n\nMembers Login:\n\nForgotten Password?\n\nVestibular Disorders\n\nWhat is the Vestibular System?\n\nThe Vestibular System is a sensory system that significantly contributes to spatial orientation including movement and a sense of balance.\n\nThe term Vestibular comes from the Vestibule, which is the central part of the bony labyrinth of the inner ear.\n\nThe bony labyrinth is located in the petrous part of the temporal bone (which is the hardest bone in the human body) and houses the organs of hearing and balance which include the vestibule, the semicircular canals and the cochlea.\n\nThe Vestibule contains two Otoliths: the Utricle and the Saccule. These two otoliths work together to perceive linear acceleration (horizontal movement) and gravity (vertical movement).\n\nThe Semicircular canals include three canals: Superior, Posterior & Horizontal which perceive head rotation on three dimensional planes.\n\nThe Cochlea: the spiral part of the inner ear which perceives sound. Knowing which direction sound is coming from is very helpful in spatial orientation.\n\n\nWhat is Balance?\n\nEveryone would have heard of the traditional Five Senses which include SIGHT, HEARING, TASTE, SMELL and TOUCH. But what about the sense of BALANCE? You might be able to imagine life without the ability to see or taste, but could you imagine what life would be like if you had no sense of balance? You wouldn’t be able to sit or stand upright, because you would have no concept of “up” or “down”. You wouldn’t be able to move your head or body in any controllable way, because you would have no sense of being “here” to be able to move “there”. Without a sense of balance the universal force of gravity, which keeps you planted to this earth,\nwould have no meaning. It would be fair to say that without any sense of balance, life would be unimaginably disabling.\n\nSo how do we perceive balance?\n\nBalance is the result of a virtually seamless interaction between our vestibular system, our eyes (sight), our proprioception (touch) and our brain.\n\n\nWhat is a Vestibular Disorder?\n\nA Vestibular Disorder is one where temporary or permanent damage to the vestibular system results in dysfunction. This damage can be caused by many things. A blow to the head or ear; excess fluid in the inner ear; the displacement of inner ear crystals; malformation of the inner ear structure; disease or infection; toxic chemicals; an immunological response; a membrane tear; or even a tumorous growth.\n\nDue to the complexity of the Vestibular System there are many different types of Vestibular disorders. As the saying goes, you’re only as strong as your weakest link.\n\n\nVestibular Disorders: An Overview\n\nVestibular disorders are a major cause of feeling dizzy & off balance – a common health complaint.\n\nIndividuals talk of experiencing sensations such as spinning, light headedness, giddiness, dizzy spells,unsteadiness & loss of balance.\n\nThe underlying causes of these symptoms are notoriously difficult to diagnose. There may be complications from allergies, autoimmune disorders, ageing etc. A definite diagnosis takes time. Episodes can come quickly, last shorter long periods, vanish and reoccur.\n\nVertigo is a special type of dizziness – where you feel the world is spinning around you- much like getting off a merry-go-round & trying to stand upright. Vertigo arises from a disturbance in either the balance sensory organs of the inner ear or parts of the brain and sensory nerve pathways.\n\nThe Vestibular System together with vision, hearing and muscle feedback helps control your sense of balance and enables human movement. Together with the cochlea it forms the inner ear. If the semi circular canals or otolithorgans of the Vestibular system are damaged, a person will have difficulty with balance, equilibrium and orientation to their surroundings. Feelings of nausea, disorientation, fullness of the ear and loss of hearing can accompany vertigo.\n\nInner ear Vestibular symptoms are distressing for individuals, life changing and often chronic in nature.\n\nIndividuals are usually desperate for information & help. This is the role of Whirled Foundation. We provide support,information and assistance. At the same time we seek to raise community & health professional awareness of what can be done to assist individuals with a vestibular disorder.\n\n\nVestibular disorders:\n\nThere are a great number of causes of dizziness and loss of balance, which require expert diagnosis and treatment.\n\nThe major Vestibular disorders are:\n\nThere are a number of other less common Vestibular disorders, all of which require expert medical diagnosis.\n\nDiagnosis and treatment.\n\nIndividuals experiencing dizziness and imbalance symptoms should consult their medical practitioner as soon as possible. Keeping a patient time log of symptoms is a good idea. Key treating Medical Specialists are Neurologists, ENT’s, Neurotologists, Vestibular Physiotherapists and Audiologists. Specialist tests help determine the underlying causes.\n\nTreatments may include medication, head repositioning maneouvers, surgery, Vestibular Rehabilitation Therapy, dietary changes especially low salt diets, reduction of stress etc. Some people report alternative therapies are of assistance.\n\nWhat are the numbers?\n\nDizziness and imbalance are much more common in the community than generally realised. It is conservately estimated 5% of the population will experience a vestibular disorder at some stage. That is equal to one million Australians.\n\nWhat about Research?\n\nResearch into identifying and understanding the underlying causes and finding a cure continues worldwide, but remains an elusive goal. Whirled Foundation encourages continuing research.\n\nHow do we maintain our Balance and stay upright?\n\nTo understand Vestibular Disorders you must first understand Balance and the Vestibular System.\n\nJoin Us\n\n\nMembership Application Read about the benefits\n\nConnect with us\n\n\nMembers get discounts", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9830008745193481}
+{"content": "\n👷 Game development🎨 Assets📚 Comics\n🎉 Sales🎁 Bundles\n\n\nA topic by Angela2316 created 1 year ago Views: 1,188 Replies: 3\nViewing posts 1 to 3\n\nI can't find the secure email server, contributions, family documents and personal files password. I've been looking for ages. Btw, is there going to be a walkthrough some time in the future for people who need help? Awesome game though. I love it.\n\nDeveloper (Edited 1 time)\n\nGlad you've enjoyed playing so far! Of all the folders you've listed above, you must first open the contributions folder. Vincent's home town is Dallas. Once you've found the list of contributors, re-visit the email where they discuss his private server. The next clue is there.\n\nAs for a walkthrough, we hadn't thought about that yet, but if enough people have trouble and want help it may be something we consider doing.\n\nThank you, I actually made decent progress while I was waiting for a reply. And again, brilliant game.\n\n(Edited 1 time)\n\nI'm currently trying to figure out the \"Admit your guilt\" password, and I honestly can't. I've tried \"I'm guilty\" \"I am guilty\" and \"I'm just as guilty\", and none of them seem to work.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7896233201026917}
+{"content": "WTXL-TV (Midway, FL)\n\nWTXL-TV is the ABC-affiliated television station for North Florida and South Georgia. Licensed to Tallahassee, Florida, it broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 27 from a transmitter, near unincorporated Fincher (in northwestern Jefferson County, Florida), along the Georgia state line. Owned by Calkins Media, WTXL has studios on Commerce Boulevard in Midway, Florida. Source\n\nScope Local\nLanguage English\nCountry United States of America\nMedia Market ? Tallahassee-Thomasville\nUVMs ? Request pricing\nBroadcast Affiliation ? ABC\n\nWTXL-TV (Midway, FL) Journalists", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9818699359893799}
+{"content": "En cours\n\nEconomics Assignment - Global Eco and the GFC - 1500 words\n\nWord limit: 1500\n\nDue: 09/05/12 (though, preferably before then)\n\nSubject: Economics\n\nHi there,\n\nI need a writer for an economics assignment. You need to be familiar with the following:\n\nVarious GDP measurements\n\nKeynesian cross\n\nHow the GFC has influenced the economy\n\nPlease send me an example of work you done--preferably in economics, that shows me you have the technical knowledge to do this (an old assignment for example). Or evidence of relevant education.\n\n\n\nCompétences : Rédaction scientifique\n\nVoir plus : gfc influenced economics, gfc influenced economy, global knowledge, economics academic writer, global education, economy writer, economics academic writing, economics academic, academic economics, academic writer education, education words, economics writer, writing eco, example writing words, writing economics, economics writing, 1500 words academic, 1500 words academic writing, keytrex, academic writing economics\n\nConcernant l'employeur :\n( 12 commentaires ) Sydney, Australia\n\nN° du projet : #1608351", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9971451163291931}
+{"content": "Read by QxMD icon Read\n\nAtomic clusters\n\nLeonid P Salamakha, Oksana Sologub, Berthold Stöger, Peter Franz Rogl, Monika Waas, Volodymyr B Kapustianyk, Ernst Bauer\nTwo borides, ScRu2B3 and Sc2RuB6, were obtained by argon-arc melting of the elements followed by annealing at 800 °C. ScRu2B3 exhibits a new structure type with the space group Cmcm (a = 3.0195(2) Å, b = 15.4056(8) Å, c = 5.4492(3) Å; single crystal X-ray data; RF(2) = 0.0105). Sc2RuB6 adopts the Y2ReB6-type structure (space group Pbam; a = 8.8545(2) Å, b = 11.1620(3) Å, c = 3.4760(1) Å; single crystal X-ray data; RF(2) = 0.0185). ScRu2B3 displays an unusual intergrowth of CeCo3B2- and AlB2-related slabs; a striking feature is a boat configuration of puckered boron hexagons within infinite graphite like boron layers (6(3) nets)...\nAugust 16, 2017: Inorganic Chemistry\nXiaohui Gao, Wei Chen\nAtomically precise Pd6(SC12H26)12 nanoclusters were synthesized and investigated as electrocatalysts for the hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions. The present study shows the high catalytic performances of the Pd6 clusters, the key role of the outer-shell electronic state of the metal core in mediating the catalytic properties and the double-edged function of the protecting ligand in the catalytic reactions.\nAugust 16, 2017: Chemical Communications: Chem Comm\nYen-Ching Ho, Yi-Siang Wang, Sheng D Chao\nModeling fluid cycloalkanes with molecular dynamics simulations has proven to be a very challenging task partly because of lacking a reliable force field based on quantum chemistry calculations. In this paper, we construct an ab initio force field for fluid cyclopropane using the second-order Møller-Plesset perturbation theory. We consider 15 conformers of the cyclopropane dimer for the orientation sampling. Single-point energies at important geometries are calibrated by the coupled cluster with single, double, and perturbative triple excitation method...\nAugust 14, 2017: Journal of Chemical Physics\nKun Bu, Zhen-Zhen Li, Jian-Tao Wang\nWe identify by ab initio calculations a new simple cubic carbon phase in Pa3¯ symmetry, which has a 48-atom unit cell in all-sp(3) bonding networks, thus termed SC48 carbon. It can be viewed as a crystalline form of C12 clusters or a combined structure of SC24 and BC12 carbon, but it is energetically more stable than the recently reported cubic carbon phases such as BC8, SC24, BC12, and fcc-C12. The structural stability is verified by phonon mode analysis. Electronic band and density of state calculations reveal that SC48 carbon is an insulator with a large direct band gap of 4...\nAugust 14, 2017: Journal of Chemical Physics\nHeather E Bailey, Yong-Lei Wang, Michael D Fayer\nThe orientational dynamics and microscopic liquid structure of a protic ionic liquid, 1-ethylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (EhimNTf2), and its aprotic analogue, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (EmimNTf2), were studied at various water concentrations using optical heterodyne-detected optical Kerr Effect (OHD-OKE) spectroscopy, linear infrared spectroscopy, and atomistic simulations. The OHD-OKE experiments essentially measure the orientational relaxation of the Ehim+ and Emim+ cations...\nAugust 15, 2017: Journal of Physical Chemistry. B\nDong Die, Ben-Xia Zheng, Xiao-Yu Kuang, Zheng-Quan Zhao, Jian-Jun Guo, Quan Du\nThe structural, electronic and magnetic properties of Cu₄M (M = Sc-Ni) clusters have been studied by using density functional theory, together with an unbiased CALYPSO structure searching method. Geometry optimizations indicate that M atoms in the ground state Cu₄M clusters favor the most highly coordinated position. The geometry of Cu₄M clusters is similar to that of the Cu₅ cluster. The infrared spectra, Raman spectra and photoelectron spectra are predicted and can be used to identify the ground state in the future...\nAugust 15, 2017: Materials\nGiacomo Lovat, Bonnie Choi, Daniel W Paley, Michael L Steigerwald, Latha Venkataraman, Xavier Roy\nFabricating nanoscopic devices capable of manipulating and processing single units of charge is an essential step towards creating functional devices where quantum effects dominate transport characteristics. The archetypal single-electron transistor comprises a small conducting or semiconducting island separated from two metallic reservoirs by insulating barriers. By enabling the transfer of a well-defined number of charge carriers between the island and the reservoirs, such a device may enable discrete single-electron operations...\nAugust 14, 2017: Nature Nanotechnology\nJake D Holmes, Alberto Otero-de-la-Roza, Gino A DiLabio\nThe ability of atom-centered potential (ACPs) to improve the modeling of water clusters using density-functional methods is explored. Water-specific ACPs were developed using accurate ab initio reference data to correct the deficiencies of the BHandHLYP density functional in the calculation of absolute and relative binding energies of water clusters. In conjunction with aug-cc-pVTZ basis sets and with or without dispersion corrections, it is possible to obtain absolute binding energies for water clusters containing up to 10 H2O molecules to within 0...\nAugust 11, 2017: Journal of Chemical Theory and Computation\nLinping Qian, Zhen Wang, Evgeny V Beletskiy, Jingyue Liu, Haroldo J Dos Santos, Tiehu Li, Maria do C Rangel, Mayfair C Kung, Harold H Kung\nThis corrects the article DOI: 10.1038/ncomms14881.\nAugust 11, 2017: Nature Communications\nL V Skripnikov\nA precise theoretical study of the electronic structure of heavy atom diatomic molecules is of key importance to interpret the experiments in the search for violation of time-reversal (T) and spatial-parity (P) symmetries of fundamental interactions in terms of the electron electric dipole moment, eEDM, and dimensionless constant, kT,P, characterizing the strength of the T,P-odd pseudoscalar-scalar electron-nucleus neutral current interaction. The ACME collaboration has recently improved limits on these quantities using a beam of ThO molecules in the electronic H(3)Δ1 state [J...\nDecember 7, 2016: Journal of Chemical Physics\nBenjamin A Legg, James J De Yoreo\nAccording to classical nucleation theory, nucleation from solution involves the formation of small atomic clusters. Most formulations of classical nucleation use continuum \"droplet\" approximations to describe the properties of these clusters. However, the discrete atomic nature of very small clusters may cause deviations from these approximations. Here, we present a self-consistent framework for describing the nature of these deviations. We use our framework to investigate the formation of \"polycube\" atomic clusters on a cubic lattice, for which we have used combinatoric data to calculate the thermodynamic properties of clusters with 17 atoms or less...\nDecember 7, 2016: Journal of Chemical Physics\nJ Scheck, M Drechsler, X Ma, M T Stöckl, J Konsek, J B Schwaderer, S M Stadler, J J De Yoreo, D Gebauer\nThe interplay between polymers and inorganic minerals during the formation of solids is crucial for biomineralization and bio-inspired materials, and advanced material properties can be achieved with organic-inorganic composites. By studying the reaction mechanisms, basic questions on organic-inorganic interactions and their role during material formation can be answered, enabling more target-oriented strategies in future synthetic approaches. Here, we present a comprehensive study on the hydrolysis of iron(iii) in the presence of polyaspartic acid...\nDecember 7, 2016: Journal of Chemical Physics\nJacek Kłos, Michał Hapka, Grzegorz Chałasiński, Philippe Halvick, Thierry Stoecklin\nWe present a theoretical study of the Zeeman relaxation of the magnetically trappable lowest field seeking state of CrH(X(6)Σ(+)) in collisions with (3)He. A two dimensional potential energy surface (PES) was calculated with the partially spin-restricted coupled cluster singles, doubles, and non-iterative triples [RCCSD(T)] method. The global minimum was found for the collinear He⋯Cr-H geometry with the well depth of 1143.84 cm(-1) at Re = 4.15 a0. Since the RCCSD(T) calculations revealed a multireference character in the region of the global minimum, we performed additional calculations with the internally contracted multireference configuration interaction with the Davidson correction (ic-MRCISD+Q) method...\nDecember 7, 2016: Journal of Chemical Physics\nRyan L Melvin, Jiajie Xiao, Ryan C Godwin, Kenneth S Berenhaut, Freddie R Salsbury\nCorrelated motion analysis provides a method for understanding communication between and dynamic similarities of biopolymer residues and domains. The typical equal-time correlation matrices - frequently visualized with pseudo-colorings or heat maps - quickly convey large regions of highly correlated motion but hide more subtle similarities of motion. Here we propose a complementary method for visualizing correlations within proteins (or general biopolymers) that quickly conveys intuition about which residues have a similar dynamic behavior...\nAugust 11, 2017: Protein Science: a Publication of the Protein Society\nMeng Zhou, Chenjie Zeng, Matthew Y Sfeir, Mircea Cotlet, Kenji Iida, Katsuyuki Nobusada, Rongchao Jin\nUnderstanding the correlation between the atomic structure and optical properties of gold nanoclusters is essential for exploration of their functionalities and applications involving light harvesting and electron transfer. Here, we report the femto-nanosecond excited state dynamics of a periodic series of face-centered cubic (FCC) gold nanoclusters (including Au28, Au36, Au44, and Au52), which exhibit a set of unique features compared to other similar sized clusters. Molecular-like ultrafast Sn→S1 internal conversions (i...\nAugust 10, 2017: Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters\nPeng Shao, Bo-Le Chen, Li Ping Ding, Dao-Bin Luo, Cheng Lu, Xiao-Yu Kuang\nNew hypervalent molecules have emerged from a systematic exploration of the structure and bonding of MnC (M = Li, Na, K, Rb and Cs; n = 1-8) clusters via an unbiased CALYPSO structure investigation combined with density functional theory. The global minimum structures are obtained at the B3LYP/6-311+G* and CCSD(T)/6-311+G* levels of theory. The observed growth behavior clearly indicates that the ground state of MnC (M = Li, Na, K, Rb and Cs; n = 1-8) is transformed from a planar to a three-dimensional (3D) structure at n = 4...\nAugust 10, 2017: Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics: PCCP\nRaisi N Lenz Baldez, Paulo Piquini, Alex A Schmidt, Marcelo A Kuroda\nWe describe the interaction between small transition metal clusters and graphene using first principles calculations. The coupling is analyzed in terms of different features of the system: binding energy, decomposition into atomic orbitals, the presence of defects on the graphene layer, and both the band and geometrical structures. The binding strength is found to follow the d-band model, which anticipates the binding energies of clusters on graphene layers from the position of the cluster's d-band centers relative to the their highest-occupied and lowest-unoccupied molecular orbital levels...\nAugust 10, 2017: Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics: PCCP\nShao-Peng Pan, Shi-Dong Feng, Jun-Wei Qiao, Xiao-Feng Niu, Wei-Min Wang, Jing-Yu Qin\nThe breakdown of the Stokes-Einstein relation (SER) in three model metallic liquids is investigated via molecular dynamics simulations. It is found that the breakdown of SER is closely correlated with the clustering behavior of well-packed atoms. When the SER breaks down, many cluster properties have almost the same value in these metallic liquids. At the breakdown temperature of SER, the temperature dependence of the number of clusters begins to deviate from a linear increase and the average number of well-packed atoms in the clusters reaches about 2, which indicates an increase in structure heterogeneity...\nAugust 10, 2017: Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics: PCCP\nRobin Guttmann, Alexander F Sax\nWeak, intermolecular interactions in amine dimers were studied by using the combination of a dispersionless density functional and a function that describes the dispersion contribution to the interaction energy. The validity of this method was shown by comparison of structural and energetic properties with data obtained with a conventional density functional and the coupled cluster method. The stability of amine dimers was shown to depend on the size, the shape, and the relative orientation of the alkyl substituents, and it was shown that the stabilization energy for large substituents is dominated by dispersion interactions...\nAugust 2017: ChemistryOpen\nManuel Criado\nIn the adrenal gland, acetylcholine released on stimulation of the sympathetic splanchnic nerve activates neuronal-type nicotinic receptors (nAChRs) in chromaffin cells and triggers catecholamine secretion. At least two subtypes of nAChRs have been described in bovine chromaffin cells. The main subtype, a heteromeric assembly of α3, β4 and perhaps α5 subunits, is involved in the activation step of the catecholamine secretion process and is not blocked by the snake toxin α-bungarotoxin. The other is α-bungarotoxin-sensitive, and its functional role has not yet been well defined...\nAugust 8, 2017: Pflügers Archiv: European Journal of Physiology\nFetch more papers »\nFetching more papers... Fetching...\nRemove bar\nRead by QxMD icon Read\n\nSearch Tips\n\nUse Boolean operators: AND/OR\n\ndiabetic AND foot\ndiabetes OR diabetic\n\nExclude a word using the 'minus' sign\n\nVirchow -triad\n\nUse Parentheses\n\nwater AND (cup OR glass)\n\n\n\nUse quotes to search for an exact phrase\n\n\"primary prevention of cancer\"", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6698471307754517}
+{"content": "Context- and Path-Sensitive Memory Leak Detection\n\nAuthor(s): Yichen Xie, Alex Aiken\nDate: 2005\n\n\nLanguage: C\nDefect Types: Intra-procedure Memory leaks\nUses Annotations: No\nRequires Annotations: No\nSound: No\nFlow-sensitive: Yes\nContext-sensitive: Yes\n\nThis paper presents a new method for finding memory leak errors in C programs. This method like many others uses unsound reasoning principles, which means that it may miss some errors in an attempt to keep the false positive rate to a minimum. This method specifically targets errors where programmers allocate a block of memory and then forget to free it before all references to the block go out of scope (for instance, early function termination in the event of an error). The method is implemented in the Saturn static analysis tool, which provides data structures for this algorithm to work with. The method uses Guarded Location Sets to track the memory locations that a pointer could refer to at all points in a program, and polymorphic locations to account for the possibility of multiple pointer types referring to the same location (which is what happens in a pointer typecast, for instance). Since this method also analyzes each procedure independently, the authors have created a parallelized version of their algorithm to distribute the analysis across multiple computers.\n\nThe authors validated their method by analyzing 6 open source programs: Samba, OpenSSL, postfix, binutils, and OpenSSH. They also used their method on the Linux kernel, which they treated as a separate test. The 5 programs range between ~40 and ~1,000 KLOC, and the Linux kernel has roughly 5,000 KLOC. The sequential runtimes for the prototype tool range bewteen 30 minutes and 4 hours for the group of 5 programs, but the Linux kernel took about 23 hours. When the authors ran the analyzer distributed over 80 processors, the runtime was cut down to 6 – 15 minutes and 51 minutes for the group of 5 programs and the Linux kernel respectively. The false positive rates were very good, however, and were even better than some sound analysis techniques. The 5 programs had a false positive rate of only 3.62%, and the kernel 33%. The authors conclude that the increased false positive rate in the kernel was due to function pointers and pointer arithmetic, which this method is unable to handle well. The long runtimes suggest that this tool would be better to use before a release, since running it every compile would mean a lot of programmer downtime. This tool is very effective at finding the bugs it targets, though, and would be a good addition to most projects' toolchain.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8512751460075378}
+{"content": "Beef Tenderloin Steak Salad\n\nSteak Salad - Beef Tenderloin Steak Recipe\n\nFabulous Steak Salad, fairly easy to make with just a few ingredients.  Very satisfaying and delicious recipe.  If you have some Beef Tenderloin Steak and have no idea what to make with it, give this recipe a try.  The arugula salad with the blue cheese dressing gives this salad such a wonderful flavor that you will savior with each bite. \n\n\n1) In a medium bowl mix together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, fresh rosemary.\n\n2) Add the beef tenderloin, season with salt and black pepper to taste and coat well with the olive oil balsamic mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. 3\n\n3) Preheat oven to 450 degrees F\n\n4) Place a cast iron skillet on medium heat and cook the steak for 5 minutes each side. Turn as needed.\n\n5) Place the cast iron skillet in the preheated oven to continue cooking for about ten minutes. Cooking time depends on your desired doness. \n\n6) Remove the skillet out of the oven and cover with foil.  Allow to stand for about 5 minutes.\n\n7) Prepare the salad in another mixing bowl, adding the baby arugula, halved cherry tomatoes and blue cheese dressing. Toss together.\n\n8) Thinly slice the beef tenderloin and place on the bed of the salad preferabbly in individual serving plate. Pour some of the cooking juices if any from  the skillet on top.\n\n9) Garnish with chopped parsley, and serve immediately. Enjoy!\n\n  1. 3 tablespoons olive oil\n  2. 3/4 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped\n  3. 3 tablespoon balsamic vinegar\n  4. 1 pound beef tenderloin steak\n  5. 2 cups baby arugula\n  6. 1/4 cup blue cheese dressing\n  7. 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half\n  8. parsley, finely chopped (garnish)\n  9. salt to taste\n  10. black pepper to taste\nVisitors Also Viewed These Recipes", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5561834573745728}
+{"content": "Heart Health\n\nnic_k18_935I just want to say something simple about the heart.  The heart needs enough space to operate.\nIf the heart is competing for space with the lungs, it’s going to have problems.\nFortunately this rarely happens because the lungs can expand downward with the movement of the diaphragm muscle.  The diaphragm moves with the expansion of the belly, the expansion of the lower back, and the expansion of the diaphragm-like structure on the floor of the pelvis.  If the gates of the legs are open the experience of breathing will continue down into the feet.\nLikewise if the lower back expands, the upper back will follow it, expanding the ribs out to the sides and, if the gates of the arms are open, the experience of breathing will continue out into the arms from the back.  It will also travel up the back of the neck over the top of the head.\n\nThis is a simple description of health.  It is an anatomical description of what is called “pre-natal breathing.”  It is probably what happens during sleep, and during rejuvenate rest.  It is also a common base practice for most types of qigong.  It is a description of the dynamic structural alignment which gives the heart the largest possible space to live in.  [It is not a description of neidan (elixir) practice.  It is not a power gathering method.  It is not some cosmic sexual orbit.]\n\nAbdomen-Pelvis-Sagittal Constricted Belly & Lower Back\n\nThe rib cage can expand and condense quite a lot. If the abdominal muscles are constricted the expansion of the lower back and pelvic floor will be restricted too, and the gates to the legs will surely be closed during activity.  The body easily makes up for this by lifting the front of the rib cage.  This works fine, it will create plenty of space for the heart and lungs to operate optimally.  However, it will create some compression between the shoulder blades where the ribs insert into the spine.\nThe rib cage is structured such that the largest expansion happens by lifting the ribs out to the sides, expanding under the armpits, which also expands the upper back.  The full expansion of the rib cage creates some expansion in the chest as well but not lifting.\n\nExercises which tighten the abdominal muscles, or the space between the shoulder blades don’t seem to cause any short term problems.  However, over the long term if other factors like stiffness in the chest, spine degeneration, or pour circulation appear--these sorts of exercises will simply give the heart less room.  And that is a serious problem.\n\nThe space between the shoulder blades should be loose and lively.  Feel the skin between a cat’s shoulder blades and you’ll see what I mean.  The area behind the heart should be loose-- tiger skin loose.\n\nUpdate:  I've been looking around google images for a normal CT scan of the abdomin and you wouldn't believe how many images of really messed up people they have up there.  Yikes.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8573193550109863}
+{"content": "Main News Art Favorites Reviews Stats\n\nContact Info / Websites\n\nOkay, basically I am tired of using the current rating system that I have in place for rating flash movies and games, so I am switching it up some. I will still use the system when I feel like it, but I will still leave some actual reviews, minus all of the numbers, percentages, et cetera. Having to bring up my base sheet every single time I want to write a review for something has been a deterrent, and I haven't been writing as many reviews as I would like because of it.\n\nI figured, \"Hey, I am the one who says what I will and will not write, so why not just do something different. It's not like anyone actually expects anything from me, why not?\", and then I made my mind.\n\nWhile I may not be using the system anymore, I will be going in depth still, and I will be trying to provide useful information in my reviews, aside from nonsensical one word sentences. I also encourage others to give the good people who submit flash movies and games reviews that are thought out, though I know with the sheer number of people of here that will never happen.\n\nStay in school.\n\nPoint Goals\n\n2011-02-18 04:12:04 by PenguinExplosion\n\nI have made a \"Point Goal Chart\" for myself, and it holds the information on the points that I have got from various games with medals. My ultimate goal is 100,000 points, but more people will have to make more games with medals for that to happen, as I am positively horrible at any type of game that need good aim. Anyways, on to the chart.\n\nGoal 1 - 1,000 points ~ Achieved!\nGoal 2 - 3,500 points ~ Achieved!\nGoal 3 - 5,000 points ~ Achieved!\nGoal 4 - 7,500 points ~ Achieved!\nGoal 5 - 10,000 points ~ Achieved!\nGoal 6 - 13,500 points ~ Achieved!\nGoal 7 - 15,000 points ~ Achieved!\nGoal 8 - 17,500 points ~ Working on it!\n\nThis is subject to be edited/added on to at any time.\n\nA small rant.\n\n2011-01-12 13:51:38 by PenguinExplosion\n\nI am warning you before you read this, this may piss some people off. That is quite alright though, because you are entitled to your opinions, as am I.\n\nMedals. I don't understand why so many people feel the need to tell the authors of great games that it \"needs\" medals. Do not misunderstand me though, I am not anti-medals, I quite like earning virtual points which hold no value in the real world, and earning these medals to show achievements I have made within the game.\n\nMedals do not change anything about a game. They do not magically improve the graphics, they do not drastically change the gameplay. When I find a great game where the graphics, sound, configuration, humor, and everything about it is wonderful, I will often find people who comment and say repeatedly that it \"needs\" medals. Why does this game \"need\" medals? It doesn't, it's just the commenter wanting to show achievements they have received for completing a game.\n\nMy overall point is that a game does not need medals to be great. Some games with medals aren't so great, and are down right awful. I don't understand why some people will insist, even giving a low amount of stars for lack of medals, that the author must take time out of their schedule, get together with those who allow medals on games, make special graphics for these medals, come up with a fair scoring value, and add medals to their game. It's rather self-centered if you ask me.\n\nEdit: I have been told that re-programming the game is not necessary for adding medals, so I took that part off.\n\nMy Rating System\n\n2011-01-11 18:41:05 by PenguinExplosion\n\nI have a simple rating system that I use for all of my reviews. I will share it with you here, and how I do my ratings. This post is for those who don't understand why I give something 94% and rate it with 10 stars.\n\nMusic - /10\n\nVoice Acting/Sound Effects - /10\n\nHumor/Fun I had while playing - /10\n\nAnimation - /10\n\nLength - /10\n\nGameplay(For games only) - /10\n\n\nI rate each category out of 10. Say I have a 9.4/10 total, that transfers into 94%, and thus, 10 stars. I add the ratings of each category, then divide by 5, (Six if it's a game.), and that's my percent. My scale for the final star allotment is as follows:\n\n0% - 0 stars\n1-10% - 1 stars\n11-20% - 2 stars\n21-30% - 3 stars\n31-40% - 4 stars\n41-50% - 5 stars\n51-60% - 6 stars\n61-70% - 7 stars\n71-80% - 8 stars\n81-90% - 9 stars\n91-100% - 10 stars", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9693718552589417}
+{"content": "\n\nMagia (マギア) is a theme song sang by the real-life Japanese girl group Kalafina, and it was released as a CD single in the same name.\n\nFanon appearancesEdit\n\nMagical Molly! Reboot SeriesEdit\n\nKathryn Hinata is addicted to the song.\n\n\nAd blocker interference detected!\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6391491293907166}
+{"content": "Storing Wind Energy Underground\n\nWind is the fastest growing energy source in the United States. Over the last five years, wind energy output has increased tenfold. Unlike most other forms of energy used to produce electricity, wind is a variable energy source. Some wind energy may be wasted when too much energy is produced and more energy might be needed when there is not ample wind available.\n\nA very promising technology is being developed called compressed air energy storage (CAES) that can store large quantities of wind energy. Surplus wind energy is used to pump air into layers of porous sandstone in the earth below. This underground cavern is sealed with dense shale and acts like a huge balloon. When demand for energy increases, air flows up into a natural gas-fired turbine, boosting its efficiency by 60% or more.\n\nThis technology is being implemented at the Iowa Stored Energy Park in Dallas Center, Iowa. The energy park is scheduled to be complete in 2011 after 8 years of construction. This 268-megawatt system will cost $200 million to construct, with funding from the Energy Department and municipal utilities across Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota.\n\nBatteries are also being developed that can store wind energy. American Electric Power and Siemens Wind Power are experimenting with large-scale batteries that could store a megawatt of energy. Such technologies are very pricey and could have a high environmental price tag and have a much smaller storage capacity than CAES.\n\nThe future looks bright for compressed air energy storage and wind energy. Being able to store off-peak wind energy until demand and electric rates are higher allows wind energy to be a more lucrative and consistent energy source.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9401329755783081}
+{"content": "Pharmacists: FDA bill will help sort out drug shortages\n\nHarkin and Enzi are chairman and ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. \n\nThe NCPA added in its letter that drugs to treat ADD and ADHD have seen the worst shortages.\n\n\"We believe that these controlled substances are in short supply, in part, because of the inflexibility of the current DEA quota system,\" the group wrote.\n\nThe notice came ahead of looming Senate action on the FDA bill (S. 3187), which has drawn praise for passing smoothly through the legislative process so far.\n\nCongress has until the end of September to reauthorize the user fees that the FDA collects from drug and medical device makers.\n\nThe Senate is expected to hold final votes by the end of the week. The House version is ready for a floor vote.\n\nOn drug shortages, the Senate bill would develop a task force and order at least one study.\n\nThe NCPA recommended that it also include language asking the DEA to move more quickly on manufacturer requests to increase quotas for \"certain controlled substances that are in short supply.\"\n\nGrassley and Whitehouse asked federal investigators to probe the same issue in a May 3 letter.\n\n\"The Drug Enforcement Administration has to walk a fine line between managing dangerous controlled substances like painkillers and making sure there are adequate supplies for legitimate medicine,\" Grassley said in a statement.\n\n\"A non-partisan study by a neutral entity is needed to ensure that the proper balance is struck in the best interests of everyone involved,” he said.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.824385941028595}
+{"content": "Working backwards | business | Hindustan Times\nToday in New Delhi, India\nAug 18, 2017-Friday\nNew Delhi\n  • Humidity\n  • Wind\n\nWorking backwards\n\nNew index ranks India’s states on the basis of several components to measure development and aid fund transfer. Gaurav Choudhury reports.\n\nbusiness Updated: Oct 09, 2013 02:34 IST\nGaurav Choudhury\n\n\nWhat are the Rajan committee’s latest findings on measuring backwardness in Indian states?\n\nA six-member panel headed by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Raghuram Rajan has suggested a new methodology for transferring money based on a \"multi-dimensional index (MDI)\". The panel has recommended that the \"special category\" criteria, currently used for providing additional assistance to backward states, be scrapped. Instead, it has proposed that all states be classified as \"least developed\", \"less developed\" and \"relatively developed\" on the basis of their MDI scores, which are based on per capita consumption, the poverty ratio, and several other factors. was the need for developing a backwardness index?\n\nThe proposed methodology first allocates funds across states based on need, which is in line with recommendations of previous committees. Need is based on a simple index of (under) development developed by the committee. Less developed states rank higher on the index, and would get larger allocations based on the need criteria.\n\nHow is the index measured?\nThe committee has identified three key concerns in measuring underdevelopment and linking to fund allocation. These are: what components constitute the index, what weights are assigned to these components and how the index is linked to allocate central funds across states. The panel has proposed a mix of 10-components with different weights for the index. These include: monthly per capita consumption expenditure (MPCE), education, health, household amenities, poverty rate, female literacy, proportion of SC-ST population, urbanisation rate, financial inclusion, and connectivity. There was broad agreement in the committee that consumption expenditure should be used as it appropriately measures the well-being of an average individual in a state for the underdevelopment index.\n\nWhy has the committee proposed including proportion of SC/ST population as a component for measuring backwardness?\nThe issue about the fraction of people belonging to scheduled castes or scheduled tribes (SC/ST) in state population was widely debated. Some on the committee believed that unlike the other variables, this was not an ‘outcome’ variable. The majority of the committee, however, felt that it reflected groups that had been historically deprived, and even today, may indicate social deprivation if not economic deprivation.\n\nHow are states classified according to the new index?\nThe panel has classified states with MDI scores of 0.6 and above as “least developed”; those with scores of between 0.4 and 0.6 as “less developed”, and states with scores of less than 0.4 as “relatively developed”. Thus, Goa and Kerala are India’s most advanced states; Odisha, Bihar and MP the least so; and Gujarat, at 12th place, is a “less developed” state.\n\nAccording to this formula, how should central funds be allocated to states?\nAccording to the committee’s calculations, Bihar should get 12.04% of the total funds allocated for states by the Centre, as against its current share of 7.42% under the total central assistance to state plans and centrally sponsored schemes. Rajasthan should get 8.42% against 4.79% at present, Odisha 6.53% against 4.62%, Madhya Pradesh 9.56% against 6.91% and Gujarat 3.69% against 3.05%. Uttar Pradesh will continue to corner the largest share of central assistance at 16.4% of total funds against 10.1% earlier.\n\nWhy has there been criticism about the Rajan committee’s recommendations?\nCommittee member Shaibal Gupta has written a long dissent note appended in the report. Gupta, among other things, questions the committee’s decision to assign equal weights to each of the sub-components (such as monthly per capita expenditure and percentage of SC/ST population) for calculating the overall index for the state. The committee not only considers this methodology simple, but also equivalent to other sophisticated methods.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7801843285560608}
+{"content": "+44 (0)1892 831 700\nICA Storage   >  Project Consultancy\n\nProject Consultancy\n\n\nOur dedicated team together have a wealth of experience in providing advice and solutions in planning a vast portfolio of project types. We pride ourselves in our knowledge to understand your exact requirements and work in harmony with you to design your project, prepare and submit plans and access statements for planning approval, manage suppliers and contractors all the way through to completion.\n\nWe understand the essential necessity to manage costs, time and risks of a project and we produce an effective project management plan designed to maximise value with established cost and time allowances while identifying and mitigating project risks to ensure successful project execution.\n\n\nFrom the early stages of the project, we work with you and the necessary authorities and service providers on every aspect of your planning application, undertaking surveys, preparing the access statement and liaising with the power provider to ensure your project meets your requirements and all relevant parties’ approval.\n\n\nOur Project Management team are experts in designing, evaluating and managing construction schedules ensuring that the schedule is developed during the design phase for the initial schedule and project duration. Throughout the construction of the project, we plan for monitoring all construction or contractor activities, analyse changed conditions and delays and evaluate their impact on project completion.\n\nCost Estimating:\n\nWe offer to provide detailed cost estimate reviews at intermittent stages throughout the project to ensure full awareness and support to your finance plan. We also review and evaluate capital and operating cost saving measures using our extensive knowledge and experience to provide maximum benefits to you, our client.\n\nContract Administration\n\nWe understand that construction planning and contracts are often complex which is why we strive to provide a comprehensive overview & complete documentation of the project to ensure that it meets the requirements for you, the planning authority and the finance provider.\n\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9406918883323669}
+{"content": "\nHomeMalaysiaIndependent Tours\n\nIndependent Tours\n\n\nFrom USD $ 0* Only\nKuala Lumpur Stopover 03 Days\nThis 3 day tour of Malaysia’s vibrant capital city includes a group sightseeing city excursion visiting the many highlights this city has to offer. The tour explores the old and the new, from the ancient history which can be discovered at the National Museum to the many new architectural delights including the world famous Petronas Towers.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6281946897506714}
+{"content": "Holy Trinity\n\nWhat is health?\n\nThe first thing that comes to our minds is physical health, i.e. absence of sicknesses in our bodies.\n\nSome go further to say that mental health is also important, meaning a balanced attitude to the world, positive thinking, etc. are as important as physical fitness.\n\nOthers add that spiritual development is indispensable for a personal well-being.\n\nYet the holistic approach to health means body, soul and spirit are inseparable.\n\nI like to formulate it like this – every body has an imprint of a spirit.\n\nAlso, we may think of ourselves not only as as bodies with soul and spirits, but also as spirits using bodies to manifest themselves in the physical world.\n\nIn other words, each element of the three relates to and affects each other.\n\nBased on the above, what is the best investment we can make here and now?\n\nVery simple.\n\nChange your shoes and go out jogging. 🙂\n\nSun Hunter\n\nsunThe Sun is the energy center for our planetary system.\n\nLike all suns, it always emits energy into the environment. This energy makes life possible. Without sun rays there wold be no life on Earth, even in its simplest forms. We depend directly on the sun.\n\nStrangely enough, civilized people seem to be afraid of the sun. They make their rooms shady, they wear clothes covering their bodies from top to bottom, and tend to avoid sun light.\n\nWe need to eradicate this habit.\n\nBy the way, using the sun does not mean frying yourself at mid-day. It rather means enjoying the light, not the heat.\n\nThe best and healthiest time for sunbathing is at sunrise. There is nothing better than watching the sun rising slowly but steadily, and exposing yourself to the first glimpses of a new day.\n\nSo let’s open up our rooms and fill our homes and ourselves with health, strength and vitality.\n\nDo You Want Good Food? Cook Yourself!\n\nmomsnightoffCooking can change our lives.\n\nNot only by the obvious fact that we practice something we are not used to, i.e. cooking.\n\nCooking can change our lives profoundly according to Michael Pollan, an American writer, journalist, activist, and professor of journalism at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism.\n\nThe author argues that cooking is one of the simplest and most important steps people can take to improve their family’s health, build communities, fix our broken food system, and break our growing dependence on corporations.\n\nI already mentioned some benefits of cooking in my Top 5 Reasons To Start Cooking post. What Michael Pollan does is looking at the issue from a much wider sociological perspective.\n\nHis insightful and inspiring lecture is a must for everyone who cares about himself, his family and humankind in general.\n\n“Real men don’t cook” – I’ve heard this many times for the last few years.\n\nWell, I’ll tell you this. Real men cook. Cockroaches don’t.\n\nStop buying. Start cooking.\n\nDefying Math 2: Life Is Non-Linear\n\nIn the previous post I challenged traditional school math by the concept of synergy.\n\nHere is another good example on how life is not exactly what they teach in school. It will be from math again.\n\nRemember this graph from algebra class?\n\nOr this one?\n\nThis is the so called direct proportion chart. In essence it’s quite simple. The further you go along axis X, the further you get along axis Y. A variation of the same relationship is a reverse proportion graph, where the principle is the same but with the opposite direction.\n\nImagine that ‘X’ is your time, and ‘Y’ is your result. In this case it will be a graph representing direct proportion between the time you invest into something and the result you achieve. Something like “the harder you work, the more you’ll get”.\n\nMakes sense, right?\n\nNot really.\n\nLife is much more complex than that. Consider the below example.\n\nYou work hard on achieving some goal. Let’s say you are a scientist trying to solve a puzzle, a riddle that keeps nagging you as if a worm in the brain. You keep on researching, collecting data, analyzing, researching again, experimenting … Nothing happens for months, or even years. Nothing. And then – BAM! – you get an insight, a revelation. Suddenly the missing pieces of the puzzle come together to form a clear picture.\n\nThe funniest part is this.\n\nThe positive scientific result in this example would not be possible without a long fruitless period of trial and error. Remember how many thousand attempts Thomas Edison made before he invented a light bulb?\n\nSee the difference between the graph and life? The graph says you will always progress, whereas in reality the major progress is towards the end.\n\nI am not saying linear graphs are absolutely irrelevant in real life. Sometimes they work. Yet in many cases they don’t. 🙂\n\nQuite often we have to keep on going with no result at all before there is a breakthrough. This seemingly useless period, however, is crucial. As they say in the yoga tradition:\n\nEnlightenment is not a result of practice, but without it it’s impossible. \n\nDefying Math: The Power of Synergy\n\nFrom time to time it’s good to rethink the things we were taught in school.\n\nI bet you’re gonna discover lots of cool stuff during such reflections.\n\nSomeone can get inspired rediscovering a writer that he or she failed to understand in high school. This is what happened to me with “The Little Prince” by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.\n\nSomeone can get excited how boring scientific laws work in real life. Such as Newton’s 3 laws of motion, for example.\n\nAnd someone can smile or laugh out loudly when fundamental things given in the “formal curriculum” appear to have little or no sense at all in reality.\n\nSynergy is a great illustration of the point.\n\n1 plus 1 = 3 - Synergy Concept Stock Photo - 24883088\n\nWhat is synergy?\n\nIf two people or groups are more successful working together than separately, than there is synergy between them. Synergy is the creation of a whole that is greater than the simple sum of its parts.\n\nSo we can talk about a synergy between organizations, a synergy between companies, a synergy between two individuals creating magic together.\n\nThe principle is very simple. I feel great on my own. You feel fine on your own too. But if together we feel better than separated, there is synergy between us.\n\nSynergy is the power that rises over limits, moves mountains, breaks rocks.\n\nWouldn’t it be great if kids could learn this kind of “life math” in school?\n\nThere are many hidden stories like this in the formal education. Rethinking what was taught in schools may be fun. Yet it is even more fun to think of what was not taught. 🙂\n\nA simple way not to get irritated by your alarm clock\n\nJust don’t set it.\n\nIt’s that simple. 🙂\n\nI can expect a skeptical reply like “That’s not realistic” or “That’s bullocks!”.\n\nWell, I’m not saying we don’t need alarm clocks at all. Human beings invented time to bring structure into their existence. We all live in the super-fast world where lack of sleep is a common thing. And many would find their lives ruined without an alarm clock.\n\nWhat I’m saying is our bodies know best how much sleep we need.\n\nYeah, sometimes I tend to do the same. “OK, it’s 11 pm. now. I’d better go to bed at midnight and wake up at 6. They say we’d better sleep 8 or 6 hours, not 7.”\n\nThese types of ‘calculations’ are widespread. Yet the best solution is to trust your body. After all, human body has been evolving for thousands of years. Compared with an average life expectancy, our bodies must ‘know’ something better than us, right?\n\nSo the best is this.\n\nGo to bed not too late. Don’t set your alarm clack. Just tell to yourself:\n\n“I trust my body (organism, subconscious mind, etc.). Tomorrow I wake up on time. I wake up completely refreshed and energized.”\n\nThat’s it.\n\nOf course, if you go to bed at 3 am aiming to wake up at 6, this may not work. There must be a reasonable approach here like anywhere else.\n\nThe bottom line is we need to allow our bodies do their job – get us up exactly after we have resumed our power and ready to kick off a brand new day.\n\nMens Sana In Corpore Sano\n\nMens sana in corpore sano is a Latin expression meaning “A sound mind in a sound body”. It reveals close relationship between physical exercise and mental equilibrium. Healthy – both physically and mentally – individuals are much more effective and enjoy life more. Physically or mentally harassed ones are deprived of optimism, positive attitude and happiness.\n\nSkeptics may say there are millions of those who are not physically fit or even handicapped – and yet are able to live their lives to the fullest.\n\nWhile this may be true, both strong body and mind are essential to fulfill our potential and achieve self-realization.\n\nA man can be rich money-wise, yet poor and miserable inside. A president may be the brightest man in his country, yet without good health he can’t serve his countrymen as he wishes.\n\nThe connection between body and mind is a dialectical one.\n\nOn the one hand, those who exercise regularly and have strong and trained bodies feel more self-confident, optimistic, energetic and joyful. They go and on despite obstacles on the way. They never give up. They feel life is a wonderful journey and want to enjoy it to the fullest.\n\nOn the other hand, if you cultivate a peaceful and positive state of mind, your body starts to react accordingly. The blood pressure stabilizes, stress goes down, digestion improves. In other words, by getting a healthier mind you get a healthier body too. This does not mean, of course, that physical exercises are not necessary.\n\nIn contrast, those who have lack of physical motion or tend to be in low spirits get negative physical symptoms too, and sometimes even diseases. They keep on complaining and grumbling, and life seems a misunderstanding or a series of misfortunes. Their bodies react accordingly with fatigue and stress levels rising, blood pressure destabilizing and immunity dropping.\n\nSo mother Nature is very wise. It always gives us a choice to either be healthy or sick. The amount of energy we spend on achieving either state is the same.\n\nLive long, live healthy!", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9124945402145386}
+{"content": "DATA Step, Macro, Functions and more\n\nMacro variable not resolving ??\n\nPosts: 27\n\nMacro variable not resolving ??\n\nI am writing a code in SAS.\n\nI have preexisting Macro variables in my envt which resolve\nto something. How do I know where they are defined in unix solaris? Any\nparticular command I can use to see where the envt variables are defined in a\ncommon location?\n\nIf at all I need to create a new macro var  &xyz  where do I create it? And how to write it?\n\nI used   %let XYZ=%sysget(XYZ);\n\n%put XYZ=&XYZ;\n\nI see the following error in the log: SYMBOLGEN:  Macro variable XYZ resolves to\n\nBut I do not see anything after resolves to – meaning it is not\nresolved. Any suggestions appreciated.\n\nI am not sure if this is an environmental specific question, but\nthought I’d ask anyways.. Thanks.\n\nSuper User\nPosts: 5,255\n\nRe: Macro variable not resolving ??\n\nA bit confused about your requirement.\n\nDo you wish to use an existing environment variable? If so, contact the responsible party for defining such variables, whoever that can be.\n\nOr do want to how to define a macro variable as such? Macro variables can be defined anywhere in SAS programs, best place depends on your situation. So, please describe in more detail what kind of macro variable yo9uo need, and do you intend to use it.\n\nData never sleeps\nPosts: 27\n\nRe: Macro variable not resolving ??\n\nUsing existing variable is what i need. How do i define them? where do i locate them?\n\nin order for me to write a new envtl variable i need to first understand the existing envtl variables right?\n\nHope I was clear\n\nSuper User\nPosts: 10,483\n\nRe: Macro variable not resolving ??\n\nIf you are talking about reading environment variables, SAS generally isn't involved with setting them, they mostly come from the operating system. So where they are set dependins on your OS and environment. The exceptions would be those created using SET in the SAS configuration file.\n\nI haven't found anything that allows SAS to send values to environment variables unless you want to think of RSUBMIT login information for database access as such.\n\nIf the environment variable XYZ in your example wasn't set by the OS then you wouldn't get anything.\n\nPosts: 39\n\nRe: Macro variable not resolving ??\n\nI am assuming that you have a macro somewhere in a directory. Just call the macro using %include statement. Eg,\n\nfilename test1 '/home/o568484/'; /*directory for the location of the macro in unix */\n\n%include test1;\n\nIf contains %let XYZ=14\n\nWhen you include\n\n%put &XYZ = ;\n\nYou should not get the error.\n\nI hope this would help.\n\nSuper User\nSuper User\nPosts: 6,499\n\nRe: Macro variable not resolving ??\n\nIf you want to see what macro variables are defined currently then use %PUT _ALL_; or %PUT _GLOBAL_;\n\nIf you want to see what ENVIRONMENT variables were defined before SAS started then you will need to use operating system commands.  You could try this simple data step which should work on Unix or Windows.\n\ndata _null_;\n\n  infile 'set' pipe ;\n\n\n  put _infile_;\n\n\nAsk a Question\nDiscussion stats\n  • 5 replies\n  • 5 in conversation", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9118117690086365}
+{"content": "Amazing Grace\n\nThis film from 2006 tells the story of William Wilberforce and his fight to end the slave trade.  The film reminds us that going against the prevailing orthodoxy is always uncomfortable, even when the reform is one as transparently just as this one appears to modern audiences.\n\nThe story of how the minds of the public, or at least the politicians who held the power, were changed is central to the story.  The title comes from the words of the hymn written by John Newton who had been a crew member on a slave ship before his conversion to Christianity.  He was a huge influence on the similarly committed Wilberforce as he moved into the abolition movement.\n\nThomas Clarkson is portrayed as a radical thinker whose convictions owe much to the revolutionary thinking crossing the continent.  Wilberforce was a committed Christian who would have gone into the church if he hadn’t been persuaded to do God’s work in politics by working to end the slave trade.\n\n\nMichael Apted directed the film.  Ioan Gruffudd played Wilberforce and Rufus Sewell played Thomas Clarkson.  Youssou N’Dour played Olaudah Equiano.\n\nThe film is structured around Wilberforce’s arrival at his friend’s house in Bath.  He is here to recuperate after a long battle to get the public to appreciate the awfulness of the slave trade and the vested interests to give up their source of great wealth.  In flashbacks we see how he reached this stage.  In Bath he meets the woman who will become his wife.  It is the love of Barbara Spooner that gives him renewed hope and strength to carry on the fight.\n\n‘Amazing Grace’ is in my hinterland.  What’s in yours?\n\n\n\nThe National Portrait Gallery is a Treasure House\n\nI have spent hours of my life in the National Portrait Gallery and I could spend hours more!  There is always something new to discover.\n\nNPG 599; The Anti-Slavery Society Convention, 1840 by Benjamin Robert Haydon\n\nThis painting by Benjamin Robert Haydon from 1841 is titled, ‘The Anti-Slavery Society Convention, 1840’.  It is significant because it commemorates the meeting of the society in 1840 when all the slaves in the British Empire had been freed.  Many of the major figures of the anti- slavery campaign are included in the painting along with some of the freed slaves.\n\nThomas Clarkson is the central figure, clearly shown addressing the meeting.  The radical Irish MP, Daniel O’Connell is also shown at the extreme left of the painting.  Henry Beckford, a freed slave from Jamaica, is in Clarkson’s eye line.  The picture captures a moment when Clarkson addressed Beckford directly.  It is no surprise that women are also represented here, since many of the members were non- conformists and Quakers but women were not allowed to speak!\n\nThis is not the most amazing painting in the world but it is a record of an amazing gathering of inspirational people.  This makes it a painting worth returning to.\n\n‘The Anti- Slavery Society Convention, 1840’ is in my hinterland.  What’s in yours?\n\nWordsworth: To Thomas Clarkson\n\nI spent long hours struggling with Wordsworth when I did English Literature A Level back in the 70s.  I was not a huge fan.  This poem, though, is important because of its subject and because of the sentiment it expresses.  I only came across this poem years after finishing A Level because of my interest in some of the key figures of the abolition of slavery movement.\n\nThomas Clarkson was a leading member of the abolitionist movement.  In later life, after the success of the campaign to abolish slavery in Britain, he campaigned for a world wide end to the slave trade.  His life remains an inspiration.  No wonder Wordsworth put pen to paper!\n\n‘To Thomas Clarkson. On the Final Passing of the Bill for the Abolition of the Slave Trade’ (1807)\n\nCLARKSON! it was an obstinate hill to climb:\nHow toilsome—nay, how dire—it was, by thee\nIs known; by none, perhaps, so feelingly:\nBut thou, who, starting in thy fervent prime,\nDidst first lead forth that enterprise sublime,\nHast heard the constant Voice its charge repeat,\nWhich, out of thy young heart’s oracular seat,\nFirst roused thee.—O true yoke-fellow of Time,\nDuty’s intrepid liegeman, see, the palm\nIs won, and by all Nations shall be worn!\nThe blood-stained Writing is for ever torn;\nAnd thou henceforth wilt have a good man’s calm,\nA great man’s happiness; thy zeal shall find\nRepose at length, firm friend of human kind!\n\nWilliam Wordsworth\n\n\nRough Crossings\n\nThis book by Simon Schama is an account of slaves in America who rallied to the British side in the War of Independence.  In return, they were offered their freedom.  Once it was clear that the colonies were lost, the former slaves were offered new lives in Nova Scotia, which was still part of the British Empire.  Many former slaves took the opportunity to start a new life using land promised to them by the British; the consequences of this choice, once it was clear that many of the promises were empty, are the reason this book is worth reading.\n\n\nThis is a significant achievement by Simon Schama.  It is an important history to tell and he writes in a way that compels you to keep reading, despite some very difficult events.  The story of human suffering is related as is the duplicity of many people of power.  He follows the story where it leads, from the American colonies to Nova Scotia and on to Sierra Leone.  Some of the main players, black and white, were difficult to say the least; why wouldn’t they be, given the circumstances?  Their crossing back to Africa and the life they tried to build once back there provides the main point of the book.  There are no heroes as such but John Clarkson, the British officer charged with building a settlement in Freetown is central to the story.   As younger brother to Thomas Clarkson, the famous abolitionist, he shared many of the same values and principles.  He led former slaves across (back?) to Africa and was seen as an advocate and father figure.\n\nThis book reminded me that history is never as clear cut as we may like it to be nor as simple as we try to make it later so that the story can be told in a straightforward way.  There were blacks who chose to fight on the side of the Americans, who would keep them enslaved, just as there were whites fighting for emancipation.\n\n\nBy the time I read this book, I missed the chance to see the stage version written by Caryl Phillips, another writer I admire.  I did read the script, though, and I notice on my searches through the internet that the BBC made a film based on the book with Schama presenting and parts of the story dramatised with actors.\n\n‘Rough Crossings’ is in my hinterland.  What’s in yours?\n\nThe Book of Negroes\n\nThis novel by Lawrence Hill tells the epic story of Aminata Diallo, a young girl from West Africa who was abducted and sold into slavery.  The story of her life is told through the first person covering her years on plantation in South Carolina, her involvement in the war of independence and her subsequent journeys to Nova Scotia and Sierra Leone.  We learn of the love of her life and the fate of her daughter.\n\n\nThis is a work of fiction but it is based on historical events, documented in several countries.  ‘The Book of Negroes’ which gives the novel its title is the ledger of names inscribed of black men and women who supported the British during the war of independence.  In return for their loyalty, they were offered freedom and new lives in the ports of Nova Scotia.  The details of the ‘Negroes’ shows the malign effect of the trade.  Their names are often the names of their former owners rather than any name they own.\n\nThe British owed a debt of gratitude to the loyal blacks but they were careless in fulfilling their obligations as is clear from the later stages of Aminata’s life.  The racism faced by the refugees in Nova Scotia was as bad as anything they faced in the States.  Lawrence Hill carefully introduces real figures from history to anchor the story in the unfolding events.\n\nThe book is structured into four sections.  At the beginning of each, it is the voice of the older Aminata we hear, in London to give testimony.  There she witnessed the passing of the act to abolish slavery, passed by the British Parliament in 1807.\n\nThroughout the adversity she faces, her spirit remains intact and this, over all, is what makes this story an important one to read.\n\n‘The Book of Negroes’ is in my hinterland.  What’s in yours?\n\nRoots: The Inside Story\n\nHaving remembered ‘Roots’ from the 70s, I went searching my bookshelves for a book I bought just after I watched the series.  Called ‘The Inside Story of Television’s Roots’, it is the insider account of how Alex Haley’s novel was turned into a television series.  Thinking about it now, with the history books telling us what a success it was and what a landmark event it represented, it is easy to forget the size of the risk taken by David Wolper who co- wrote this book with Quincy Troupe.  Planning the series began even before it was clear that the novel itself was going to be successful.\n\n\nBroadcasting over eight consecutive evenings is often cited as a master stroke and part of its success story but, as this book reveals, the decision was taken partly because schedulers were concerned that the audience might be put off by a programme with black characters centre stage, so to speak.    The eight consecutive evenings idea was, in part, to minimise any damage to ratings should the audience fail to materialise.  Indeed, most of the book covers the planning and filming when nobody knew how it would be received.\n\n\nMy copy of the book was published in 1978.  I read it that year and then again more recently after watching the series on DVD.  There is an anecdote which Alex Haley relates on page 84 which I don’t recall making much impact on me in the 70s but which certainly did reading it again in the 21st Century!  LeVar Burton who played the younger Kunta Kinte is an actor from California.  In between filming in Savannah, Georgia he was socialising in a bar with some friends from his college. They happened to be white girls.  He was oblivious as he danced with his white girl friends but Alex Haley and older black actors saw what he didn’t: the room was full of local white men watching a young black man dancing with white girls.  As Haley relates, he took on the role of older and wiser confidante who told LeVar Burton that in the South, customs were not the same as in California.\n\n‘Roots’ is in my hinterland.  What’s in yours?\n\n\nblogRootsI saw the film, ’12 Years a Slave’ recently.  It was brilliant!  However, I do not yet know if it will enter my hinterland; only time will tell.  It reminded me, though, of the 70s television series that first lifted slavery out from the history books and made me realise that it was a tragedy experienced by millions of people and not just something to study in school.\n\n‘Roots’ was broadcast by BBC Television in 1977 over several evenings.  Over 19 million people watched it and I was one of them.  The series was based on Alex Haley’s novel which had the full title of ‘Roots: The Saga of an American Family’ when it was published.  My copy of the book, obviously bought in Britain, only has the title ‘Roots’ but with ‘The epic drama of one man’s search for his origins’ as a strapline.\n\n\nIt is the story of Kunta Kinte who is captured in West Africa, sold into slavery and given a new name by slave owners.  They do not see a human in front of them but an item of highly valuable property.  The story of his life as a slave and the lives of the generations of his family that follow is told through the mini-series.\n\nn 2007, the BBC broadcast a documentary about the impact of the series on black Britons.  I remember listening to their interviews and realising the importance of the mini- series to them.  It was important, not just because it was a drama with more black characters than white, but because the BBC gave so much air time over to the story.  It was highly unusual then.  I wonder if it is any better now!\n\n‘Roots’ taught me two things: while I was sympathetic and saw myself as a liberal who believed on the right things, this was not my history; it needed to be told by the right people and this history needed to be told by a black man.\n\nThere is a scene in the early stages of the series when Kunta Kinte, played by LeVar Burton, tries to escape his chains.  He rages on the shore line in what looks like a macabre dance.  The anguish, anger, fear and betrayal he feels are all conveyed without words.\n\n‘Roots’ is in my hinterland.  What’s in yours?", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7135865092277527}
+{"content": "Awesome Fantastic Meatballs with a Mushroom Sauce and a Creamy Parmesan Polenta\n\nThis was stunning\n\nThis was stunning\n\nOh the Glory that is a ball of meat! There’s just something alluring about a big ball of meat on your plate. Like a sophisticated hamburger patty. Maybe. Either way, they’re great, you get to infuse the meat with some delicious flavors,  and if cooked correctly, they can be almost as fulfilling and as refined as a nice steak. I had some issues trying to get this mega-ball retain its roundness, but alas, it ended up being some odd platonic solid on the plate. I tried to do some research online to see how others may have overcome this problem, and basically found out that there isn’t much you can do to make the meatballs retain both shape and flavor when dealing with such large sizes. Some people recommend a quick boil or fry before searing them off, honestly,I think this might just dry them up quicker during cooking. So, for shape retention, my only bit of advice would be to be as delicate with your hands as possible, and gently and frequently turn the meatballs during the searing process so that they don’t rest on any one surface for too long.\n\nBut back to the dish. Said meatball was accompanied by some of the best mushroom sauce in the world and a lovely (and will send you to the doctor because it’s so rich) Parmesan polenta. There was no flavor here that was out there or daring, just some tried and tested flavor combinations coming together to make a great but very (very) hearty main course. The recipe is after the jump.\n\nFor the meatballs (makes 6 large meatballs)\n\nI used this Tyler Florence recipe as a base, but added a different herb profile to complement the rest of the dish.\n\n1.2-1.5kg of grade A minced beef (not lean meat, you’ll want lots of fat in there to keep the meatballs moist and full of flavour)\n\n1 medium onion, chopped\n\n2 garlic cloves, chopped\n\n1 large egg\n\n4 slices of white bread with the crust removed\n\n1 cup of milk\n\n1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese, grated\n\n1 1/2 tbsp of chopped fresh rosemary\n\n1 tbsp of chopped fresh parsley\n\nA pinch of dried chili flakes (optional)\n\nPreheat the oven to 180 Degrees Celsius\n\nIn a large pan, heat some olive oil on medium heat. Once hot, add the onions, the parsley and the garlic, and cook off until they all soften, but as always, making sure they don’t colour. Once cooked, set aside to cool.\n\nPlace the bread slices in a deep plate or a bowl and cover with the milk, allowing them to soften and soak the milk up (no less than 5 mins). In a large bowl, combine the meat, rosemary, Parmesan,  egg and the cooled down garlic and onion mix. Squeeze the excess milk with your hands out of the bread slices and add them to the big bowl as well. Season generously with salt and pepper and combine all the ingredients together with your hands (this is really fun). Don’t overwork the meat, because it may get tough, and you’re gonna want to have light airy and almost crumbly meatballs. Once combined, shape them into as many portions as desired, the cooking times I refer to here are relevant to the large bombas I’ve cooked, so adjust for smaller (or even larger for the daring) balls.\n\nIn the same pan you softened the onions and garlic earlier, heat up some more olive oil, but this time on a medium high heat. Place the meatballs gently into the pan once hot, and turn gently but frequently until all sides are nicely browned and seared (I suppose this took about 10mins) remember  the shorter the amount of time each ball spends on one side, the more likely it is to retain its shape. Once the balls are browned, stick them into the oven, covered, for about 18mins to cook through (this will give you nice medium rare to medium meatballs).\n\nFor the sauce:\n\nAbout 15 large button mushrooms, half sliced and half whole.\n\n1 cup of good quality chicken stock\n\n1 heaped tablespoon of freshly chopped rosemary\n\n1 shallot chopped\n\n1/4 cup of brandy\n\n1  dash of cream (optional)\n\nIn a pan, heat some olive oil, and once hot, add the mushrooms, the shallots and the rosemary. Cook off until the mushrooms release their moisture and start to brown. Fish out of the pan the whole mushrooms and add to a blender. With a little stock just to loosen them, blend the mushrooms into a fine puree, it shouldn’t be too loose because you will use it to thicken the rest of the sauce. At the same time (so that the rest of the mushrooms don’t burn) add the brandy and cook off for few seconds, then add half of the rest of the stock, and the mushroom puree from the blender. Whisk all the ingredients together into a uniform sauce, and adjust the consistency using the remaining stock (use more than one cup of stock if necessary). Lower the heat to barely a simmer, and let the sauce reduce for about 10 minutes, adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Just before plating, feel free to add just a dash of cooking cream to bring it all together (conversely (is cream the opposite of butter?), a few cubes of butter whisked in the last minute will do the trick as well).\n\nFor the polenta (and I’m really going to hell for this)\n\n1 cup of polenta (aka cornmeal)\n\n1 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese\n\n1L of good quality chicken stock (just about 4 cups)\n\n3/4 cup of cream\n\n1/2 butter cubed\n\nBoil the stock and add the polenta to it, whisking like crazy to make sure no lumps form. Reduce the heat to a simmer, and stirring constantly, cook together for about 10mins, until the polenta is thick. Add the cheese, the butter and cream, stirring to bring everything together and season with salt and pepper to taste. The nice thing about polenta is that, like a risotto, it can be flavored with any ingredients you want. Once everything has been incorporated together and tastes good (how could it not?) you can start to plate. I opted for a dollop of the polenta, topped with the meatball and then with the sauce spooned over. This was insanely good! Hope you enjoy!", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7710625529289246}
+{"content": "Frequently Asked Questions\n\nHow do I book you for my event?\n\nSend a message through our contact form and tell us as much about your event as you can. We'll provide some further information and a Booking Form. Fill this out and return it to receive an invoice. A 20% payment will be due within 7 days to secure your date, with the remaining 80% due 21 days in advance of the event date.\n\nCan you perform outdoors?\n\n\nWe often perform outdoors. We just ask that our instruments can be protected from damage such as rain and direct sunlight. \n\nWhen should I book?\n\nIdeally between 6-12 months in advance, although we have taken several bookings with less than 24 hrs notice!\n\nBook at your earliest convenience to secure your desired date. We can accept bookings at short notice (if we're available) but most are placed at six a few months in advance. We accept bookings up to 24 months in advance.  \n\nCan I book a string quartet or other ensemble with double bass instead of cello?\n\n\nWe only offer instrument combinations which we can confidently say will work in harmony with each other, so unfortunately we don't offer 2 violins, viola and double bass. The double bass has an extremely low pitch and we don't believe this is a suitable substitute for a cello. We always recommend the cello as the bass instrument as this has a softer tone and is far more suitable for event live music. \n\nWhy do you take breaks?\n\nWe require a 10 min break per 50 mins of continuous playing. This allows us to stretch and helps prevent serious injuries such as carpal tunnel syndrome or repetitive strain injury.\n\nCan you perform music not in your repertoire list?\n\n\nOur Repertoire List consists of 700 pieces of music but if a song you would like us to play isn't listed here we are able to arrange it for a fee of $50 per song/piece and given prior notice. This fee covers the cost of acquiring a commercially available score and time spent arranging parts for each musician. This work is done personally by one of the performing musicians and is not outsourced to ensure the final product sounds beautiful. In some cases this $50 fee may be waived (such as where suitable sheet music is in the public domain). \n\nPlease note that some music cannot be arranged for string ensembles (such as heavy metal, rap and some electronic dance music). As a general rule: if a song/piece lacks a clear tune, it probably won't work for a string ensemble.\n\nPlease contact us if you may need to request a song outside of our Repertoire and we will do our best to accommodate you given your song choice and instrumentation. \n\nDo you perform with amplification?\n\nNot usually.\n\nWe normally perform as an acoustic ensemble as our instruments are naturally very resonant. However, we may require amplification when performing in large event spaces (such as the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre) or if your function has a particularly large number of guests.\n\nHow much music do I need to choose?\n\nAs much or as little as you like.\n\nIn our experience, most clients will select feature music and indicate a genre from which we select background music. For background music we are able to play about 20 pieces per hour of continuous music.\n\nFor wedding ceremonies, you'll also need to choose a few feature pieces for the processional, signing of the register and recessional.\n\nCan you help me to select music?\n\n\nGive us a ring as it is best to discuss this over the phone. We’re happy to help you choose the perfect program for your event. You can also view our repertoire list\n\nWhat will the musicians wear? \n\nElegant, all-black attire to match the level of formality of your event (i.e if your event is a black-tie function we will be dressed in black tie attire). Look through our portfolio to see images of what our musicians wear to work. If you need us to wear something different let us know so that we can work something out. \n\nWhat if a musician is sick on the day?\n\nYou won't know about it because we will call on another musician from our team to take their place. \n\nWhat time will musicians arrive?\n\nWe will arrive 15 minutes prior to the indicated booking time to set up and tune so that we can begin performing on time. \n\nWhat if my event runs ahead of time?\n\nMusicians will play as guests are leaving until the end of booking time. Musicians will always perform until the end of booking time. \n\nDo you attend wedding and dinner rehearsals?\n\nNot usually. Our musicians are experienced and your instructions at the time of booking are sufficient. If you would like us to attend a rehearsal, we can do so at reduced rates. Please indicate this at time of booking so that we can ensure the same musicians are available at the rehearsal and on the day.\n\nHow do you know when to start music for the bride’s entrance?\n\nThe celebrant will give us a cue. We also watch the guests as they usually turn around when the bride arrives.\n\nWhat if the music ends as I’m part-way down the aisle?\n\nThis will not happen as the musicians will organise repeats beforehand to ensure music flows continuously.\n\nCan we arrange an in-person consultation?\n\nYes you can, although for your convenience all correspondence can be done via email and over the phone. An in person consultation is not necessary but let us know if you'd like to meet with us.\n\nMake an Enquiry Today!\n\nWINNER 'Best Wedding Ceremony Music, WA' - 2016 ABIA Awards\nName *", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8869511485099792}
+{"content": "1. Potato and leek soup\n\n\n    from Julia and Julieta Added 796 5 0\n\n    One of our favorite soups: Potato leek soup! Warm, delicious and naturally gluten-free. Really easy to make and only takes a few simple ingredients. Find the recipe at www.juliaandjulieta.com\n\n    + More details\n\n    What are Tags?\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5542240738868713}
+{"content": "Mission & Vision\n\nCESSDA Mission and Vision\n\n\nCESSDA ERIC shall fulfil its task by contributing to the development and co-ordination of standards, protocols and professional best practice including training on best practices related to data distribution and data management. CESSDA ERIC shall also include new data sources in the infrastructure when appropriate.\n\nCESSDA ERIC shall promote wider participation in the research infrastructure. In order to facilitate the entry of countries that seek support for the further development of their social science data archives, CESSDA ERIC shall initiate training activities and exchanges between established and potential Service Providers.\n\nConsult the Statutes of CESSDA ERIC.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9950963854789734}
+{"content": "Node Title\n\nTechnology Products\n\nHigh tech solutions. Practical applications.\n\nWe are focused on delivering effective, efficient solutions to your toughest technological challenges. By combining our technology expertise and tools, we are able to create state-of-the-industry delivery systems for flavor, acid and sweetener systems that deliver immediate results.\n\nFonaTech® M-E-T (Multiple Encapsulation Technology)\n\nFlagship for various novel encapsulation techniques which provide additional matrices for active compound retention within the flavor, resulting in the protection and preservation of flavor.\n\nFonaTech® A-I-T (Active Ingredient Technology)\n\nAllows release through a thermal trigger, restores mouthfeel to low fat products and assists with visual impact and particle size control.\n\nFonaTech® C-F-T (Clean Flavor Technology)\n\nPatent-pending processing technology provides flavor profile enhancement to encapsulated products, with significant benefit to flavors containing compounds typically susceptible to oxidation, such as essential oils and/or essences. This enables for the development of more indulgent, character-rich “true to name” flavors.\n\nFonaTech® H-L-T (High Load Technology)\n\nAllows for the development of encapsulated flavors with significantly increased levels of active flavor compounds. Developers can meet the growing demand of high-intensity flavors while managing flavor usage and cost in finished products.\n\n\nThis glass encapsulated flavor system delivers increased shelf life, particle size variability, aesthetics of piece sizes, and increased initial flavor impact in a gum matrix.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9996224045753479}
+{"content": "Mandopony | Football Manager (2017) (GAME) FOR MAC | The Forbidden Kingdom 2008 7..\n\nFrequently Asked Questions\n\nWhat is Torrent Downloads?\n\nTorrent Downloads is the biggest bittorrent system. Our goal is to provide an easy-to-use directory and search engine for all kind of torrent files. Visitors of Torrent Downloads can anonymously upload torrents to this site, tracked by any BitTorrent tracker.\n\nWhat is BitTorrent And How Do I Download From This Site?\n\n\n\n\nYou can contact the administrators of this site at - [email protected]. Suggestions, ideas and fixes are always welcome. Note that we cannot help you with problems regarding your downloaded files.\n\nWhat is a .torrent file?\n\n\nWhat are seeds?\n\n\nWhat are leechers?\n\n\nWhat is a tracker?\n\n\nWhat is a private tracker?\n\n\nHow to promote Torrent Downloads?\n\nIt is possible to put a Torrent Downloads search form on your own site. See the example below:\n\nYou should add the following XHTML code to your site:\n\nMain Menu", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9997003078460693}
+{"content": "Get a satisfactory “mouthfeel” drinking from a bottle\n\nOK, so this is an unusual post for me, but it had to be done! :)\n\nGetting a satisfactory “mouthfeel” while drinking from a bottle is not difficult, but a surprising number of people just don’t know how to do it right.\n\nThe worse possible experience is probably sucking the drink through a narrow straw. You get very little liquid in the mouth with all that effort. Unsurprisingly, many people prefer drinking from a glass, because they get a large quantity of liquid in the mouth with almost no effort (gravity does the job).\n\nNow if you look at why you get such a good mouthfeel when drinking from a glass, you will understand that you can also get it while drinking from a bottle – you just need to use a little trick.\n\nLook at typical “bottle drinkers” – they lift the bottle to their mouths, grasp the entire top rim of the bottle with their lips, tilt back, and let the liquid flow into their mouths.\n\nExcept that it doesn’t – at least not in a satisfactory way.\n\nYou see, how much liquid gets from the bottle into your mouth depends on how much you “give back” to replace the liquid – in this case, this would be air. As soon as a balance is achieved, the liquid stops flowing, usually short of a satisfactory measure.\n\nSo here’s the trick, which is as old as the hills, yet surprisingly uncommon in use: don’t grasp the rim of the bottle with your lips. Instead, rest the rim on your lower lip, and gently push the upper portion of the bottle rim against your upper lip, not under it. Look at the picture above – the little girl gets it right.\n\nNow open your mouth slightly, and tilt your head back. The liquid rushes out of the bottle, and flows into your mouth. But this time, because air can continue to enter from the side of your mouth and the bottle rim, the flow is continuous, resulting in a fantastic, satisfactory mouthfeel. And with practice, you can literally gulp down an entire bottle’s contents without once stopping to release air locks (or apparently “coming up for air”).\n\nSimple as this may sound, it can be quite impressive (and satisfying).\n\nGive it a try if you haven’t yet, and whack your “bottle sucker” friends across the head next time you see them puckering up, desperately trying to get more beer into their mouths! :)\n\nAs an added point of interest about “mouthfeel”: here where I live (in India), a well known fruit drink saved itself from extinction when they replaced the tetrapack and small straw combo with a tear-off tab opening on the tetrapack. The resulting greater flow volume increased the mouthfeel to a point that the customer was a lot more satisfied (and refreshed, though that may be psychological), and the fruit drink clawed its way back from the brink to again reign in the market.\n\nIf you have any comments, or wish to discuss this post, please do so on Twitter, where I interact under the ID @AtulChitnis", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5896100401878357}
+{"content": "The quarterly ICRC International Humanitarian Law Bibliography lists references to English and French publications on international humanitarian law. The latest bibliography is based on books and articles acquired by the ICRC library during the fourth quarter of 2016.\n\nIf you would like to subscribe to the IHL Bibliography, please send an email to with “IHL Bibliography subscription” in the subject line.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 1.0000091791152954}
+{"content": "Ben Pollock1 Comment\n\n\nBen Pollock1 Comment\n\nEver since the ‘beautiful game’ spread across the globe - imbued with the late 19th century values of muscular Christianity and Empire - many aspects of football have been inexorably linked to politics. As the largest football tournament ever to be staged on Australian soil draws to a close, issues surrounding the politics of sport are extremely pertinent.\n\nOver the past decade, Australia has done much to align itself both economically and culturally within the Asian continent and through hosting the 2015 Asian Cup, it furthers its claim as an outward-looking, vibrant, inclusive, and multicultural society. However, the staging of a major international sporting competition also provides a unique opportunity to reflect on a significant landmark in Australia’s political, sporting, and cultural heritage; the 50th anniversary of the ‘Freedom Ride’. This article will trace the sporting connections to this seminal point in Australia’s civil rights movement, from Alice Springs via Everton Football Club, to Leigh (a small mining village in Lancashire), all through the varied career of Centre Forward and political activist Charles Perkins.  \n\nAlthough the country’s Indigenous sporting stars have generally been associated with the oval ball of Australian Rules Football, arguably the defining Indigenous Australian sportsman of the 20th century was a soccer player. Charles Perkins was born in Alice Springs in 1939. A self-proclaimed ‘bastard from the bush,’ it was not until he moved to Adelaide as an adolescent, that he came across soccer at Le Fevre Boys Technical School. Within no time he was showing his prodigious talent for the game by starring for the First Division club, Port Thistle. By the age of twenty, whilst at Adelaide Budapest, he was awarded best and fairest player in the South Australian State League and consequentially found a novel form of inclusion in a society that at the time, was deeply divided along strict racial lines. Mixing with the various European immigrant groups who made up the team, he wrote: “They accepted me for what I was…I learnt to relax as part of the international set, proud that I was the only Australian in it.” At a time when there were very few opportunities for the country’s Indigenous population to openly socialise with other ethnic groups, sport provided a unique - if limited chance of social interaction.\n\nDetermined to broaden his cultural horizons, Perkins jumped at an invitation for a trial at Everton Football Club in 1959. In a far cry from the luxuries of modern football, his journey to Europe was an ordeal in itself, suffering severe seasickness on the ocean liner from Melbourne to Genoa, and then robbed on the train to Paris. He eventually arrived in the United Kingdom without a penny to his name and life in Merseyside proved equally hard for Perkins. Resentful of his teammates, whom he accused of deliberately making him look bad in training, he left the club without playing for the first team and instead worked for a short time in the city’s shipyard. It was not until he moved to Wigan to live with a fellow Indigenous Australian sportsman, (the Rugby League star Wally McArthur) that things took a positive turn. Whilst dividing his time between working as a miner at Moseley Common Colliery and playing for Wigan Athletic, he was approached by the then England Amateur goalkeeper Harry Sharrett, to play Left Half for Bishop Auckland, one of the top amateur teams in the country. Having toughened up his game considerably he was offered a number of moves to professional clubs, but at a time when there was little difference between the amateur and professional games, so he chose to stay loyal to Bishop Auckland, where he was earning close to professional wages.\n\nA key moment in Perkins’ career came with a late season game against Oxford University in the 1959-60 season. Although the game finished 1-0 to Bishop Auckland, it was something more profound that Perkins took away from the field of play. He stated in his 1975 autobiography: ‘That day it started going through my mind that I would like to go to university one day. There on that Oxford soccer field I began to think ‘Geez its lovely round here…I wonder if I could go to university?’ At the end of the season he received an offer to play back in South Australia with Adelaide Croatia. Feeling homesick he accepted and returned home with an added determination, to gain an education and better the lives of his fellow Indigenous Australians. \n\nAfter his marriage a year later he made the move to Sydney, where he captained the Pan Hellenic Club (later renamed Sydney Olympic FC). Combining his playing wages with his new job cleaning Sydney Council Toilets, he enrolled on a Bachelor of Arts degree programme at Sydney University. Despite receiving little formal education, he remarkably became the first Indigenous Australian to graduate from a University in 1965, at a time when his people were not even granted citizenship in their own land. With a burgeoning interest in Indigenous civil rights gaining momentum, Perkins’ playing career came to an end the same year as he was diagnosed with a kidney problem that lead to a transplant, in the mid 1970s.\n\nAlready a local sporting hero in South Australia and latterly in Sydney for his playing and coaching ability, it was not until his footballing career was winding down that Charles Perkins became a national icon. Whilst still at Sydney University, Perkins was a key organiser of the ‘Freedom Ride’. Described by Perkins as “probably the greatest and most exciting event that I have ever been involved in with Aboriginal Affairs,” it marked a watershed moment in the Indigenous civil rights movement in Australia. Alongside his fellow students, Perkins organised a local bus to drive around rural New South Wales, to draw attention to the continuing racism against Australia’s Indigenous population. They began by causing a stir in Walgett, a small town in New South Wales, where they were almost run off the road by angry locals, who objected to their picketing of a local, white only, drinking house. To ensure maximum media coverage for their civil rights campaign, the savvy students brought an Australian Broadcast Corporation journalist with them on the bus and by the time they moved on to Moree, (where the bus barricaded a swimming pool that banned Indigenous Australians) they were front-page news. \n\nAfter the ‘Freedom Ride’, Perkins remained at the forefront of the struggle for Indigenous rights and representation until his death in 2000. A key promoter of the Vote Yes! Campaign for the 1967 referendum on whether Indigenous Australians should have rights as citizens, his hard-hitting, uncompromising approach to football was matched in his political career. He continued to be a controversial and outspoken advocate of Indigenous rights, railing against the continuing racist policies of the Australian Government and national sporting associations. In the Gough Whitlam government of 1972 he became a Senior Research Officer for the Office of Aboriginal Affairs and held various other roles in a distinguished and lengthy political career, which included positions as Permanent Secretary of the Department of Aboriginal Affairs and President of the fledgling National Soccer League in the 1980s. \n\nNot a stranger to controversy, he became well known for outspoken tirades against what he saw was institutional neglect and discrimination towards his people. Ever the diplomat, former Labour Party premier Bob Hawke described how Perkins “sometimes found it difficult to observe the constraints usually imposed on permanent heads of departments, because he had a burning passion for advancing the interests of his people.” Old age did not mellow the man and in 2000, he again caused great controversy in the lead up to the Sydney Olympic Games. Not impressed with the ways in which Indigenous athlete Kathy Freeman was seemingly being co-opted into the mythmaking narrative of an inclusive and equal society by the Olympic organisers and national press, he defiantly predicted that ‘Sydney will burn’ during the event in protest. He then took aim at the Australian Football League and Australian Rugby League associations, relating how the AFL “acts in a racist manner at the highest level.” \n\nWhilst the Socceroos, (the sporting term for the national soccer team) have recently boasted a squad that clearly shows the multicultural nature of Australian Society, with players such as Mile Jedinak, James Troisi, Massimo Loungo, and Bernie Ibini-Isei, alongside the likes of Tim Cahill, Tommy Oar and Matt Mackay, it is notable that there continues to be a lack of Indigenous footballers who appear for the national team, or play for professional clubs.\n\nAlthough the dark days of racial segregation, forced child removal, and blatant discrimination are in the past, it is worth raising the question of what institutional racism remains in Australian sport and in society in general. So when the Socceroos next take to the field in the coming days, remember Charles Perkins, a seminal political figure in modern Australian history. A fine sportsman and outstanding political activist, but one who is almost unknown to the outside world.\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7257094383239746}
+{"content": "Why People Become Ordained\n\n\nTuesday, November 17, 2009\n\nReincarnation and Christianity\n\nChristianity and Reincarnation = Mystical Christianity = Lesson 17:      \n1. Sometimes, no matter how good a person is, lessons remain to be learned. When you pray to God to help you out during these inevitable \"bad times\" of your life, He may seem to not be listening or there is a delay in answering your prayer. In that situation, He is telling you to take an active role in resolution with Him as a much needed back-up. Yours become the hands and He is the strength and courage to see it through.                       \n2. As a Christian, I have asked this question over and over again to my Pastor and to others in authority to know.  One answer is that there is always a reason behind every tragedy and that God is working behind the scenes.  When you are close to dire circumstances, it's hard to notice the hand of the Creator at work.  (It occurred to me that in some mythologies the god of creation is also the god of destruction.  The Biblical God has also been known to play that dual role …)  This past year, my mother died of brain cancer – that was a family tragedy.  She was a strong, vibrant, intelligent woman who quite suddenly began to manifest violent personality changes.  We took care of her at home and thank God, she passed away without pain.  Bad arrives with good- at least that has been my experience to date.  When my Mom died, she left me in financial hardship- unpaid medical bills, reverse mortgage people trying to take our home etc.  I had to terminate my employment at a job where I worked for 21 years to get my pension to attempt to remedy the situation.  Unemployment is tough, but the little things I did not appreciate before have become big blessings –A life lesson!  So the bad is coupled with the good: quitting my job = it was a position of mental and physical slavery in which my soul was under a crushing weight for too many years.  Sure, we're scrambling and sticking it out – not fun by any means- but I received an unexpected scholarship to study at an accredited seminary and hope to be ordained as a pastor within the year.  That's a good thing!  I am going to be able to help others, pass on the blessings that I was fortunate enough to receive, in whatever ministry the Lord leads me to.  It's a dream come true!  I hope this makes sense.      \n3. This is a hard question. I think that when you do a good deed, positive energy is sent out into the world.  In contrast, those who do not care about their \"neighbors,\" those who are set on revenge, are always angry and deal unfairly with others, send out negative energy which seems to compound.  I wonder why the negativity is stronger than the good.  Good deeds may not receive beneficial gains in return but evil will without a doubt multiply.  The doer of malevolence, the so-called \"bad\" person will eventually be caught up in the whirlwind of results which he has set into motion.  I think that we must always keep it in mind.  \n4. Karma may be a factor but I think that human beings have some control over their circumstances.  I really have to know a bit more about reincarnation and the laws of Karma to give an intelligent answer.  Perhaps if you teach another course dealing with these subjects specifically?  I'll be the 1st to sign up!\nRev. Judith\n\n\nTry our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5936135053634644}
+{"content": "Banner 468 X 60\n\nSkin 2 - The Complete Guide to Digitally\n\nSkin 2 - The Complete Guide to Digitally\n\nSkin 2 - The Complete Guide to Digitally Lighting Photographing and Retouching Faces and Bodies - 2010\n370 pages | PDF | 44.32MB\n\nRevised and thoughly updated this practical guide to photographing people is better than ever! What is the col of skin* You may think you know until you enter the wld of digital photography and try to reproduce what you see. Differences in software lighting computer calibration--everything has an impact on col. And that's all befe you get into differences between people in terms of skin types ethnicities age gender and me! Hollywood-based photo-illustrat Lee Varis guides you step-by-step through the maze.\n\nThis new edition covers the very newest trends and techniques in photographing lighting and editing skin--and offers plenty of tips examples and valuable advice from the auth's own professional experience in the field.Shows you how to digitally capture all skin types: male female young old different skin tones and ethnicities with makeup without wrinkled tattooed and me Covers a wealth of topics in addition to photo editing such as how to obtain model releases and compose shots how to shoot groups and how to create promotional headshots Incpates the latest on wking with Photoshop and Lightroom Showcases exceptional wk from a variety of photographers and artists If you're photographing people you'll want this valuable and unique guide on your shelf.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7113631963729858}
+{"content": "(Pusat Latihan Muzik Filharmonik 001670220-K)\n\n\nThe Philharmonic School of Music was first initiated from private instrumental lessons conducted in a humble home studio in Shah Alam. As the numbers of pupils grew, there was a crucial need to move its teaching base to a much larger commercial premise nearby. The company culture has never changed since its first inception many years ago, adopting an amusing motto which simply states \"A Professional Experience In The Most Amateur Way...\"\n\nThe Academy\n\nThree fundamental reasons justify the inclusion of music education in a child's learning experience. First, music serves the aesthetic experience. The musical aesthetic experience involves perception of meaning through sound images rather than through written language, conversation, mathematical formula, or other forms of expression. The development of one's aesthetic sense has been shown to enhance the quality of life both during school years and throughout later life. Music's importance as an avenue to self-realization has been affirmed by psychologists such as Rogers and Maslow.\n\nSecond, music plays an important role in culture. Music is a representation of the highest thoughts, achievements, and aspirations of humankind, and in it much of a culture's customs, values, and beliefs are embedded. Music is thus an important communicator of a culture's heritage. However, music's communication is abstract; the student must be taught to read this abstract symbol system in order to understand it.\n\nFinally, because music education is based on the way the mind comprehends music, it can influence the development of the higher cognitive processes in ways not possible in other subject areas. Recently publicized research at the University of California, researcher shows that structured music education enhances students' spatial intelligence, an important element in mathematical reasoning and logic.\n\nTraditionally, parents sent their children to attend weekly music lessons; with the hope that they might perform on stage like little Mozarts and Beethovens someday, but many suffered much frustration in playing for four walls year after year. Our school recognize all parent's lament, the school had adopted an innovative performance-oriented approach to all its music courses. In this way, all range of people from diverse background can achieve their performing dream in the most motivating and friendly environment.\n\nNews & Links\n\nOur music educational organization has strong link and collaboration initiatives with the community and other musical organizations. Below are the link to the news and link page.\n\nYou are viewing the text version of this site.\n\n\nNeed help? check the requirements page.\n\nGet Flash Player", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9102283716201782}
+{"content": "more info . more travel . more tourism\n\n\nArchive for May, 2015\n\nkorea selatan\n\nLots of sights in South Korea and northern mandatory visit when traveling toward Korea. The capital of South Korea is Seoul, Korea travel well in the visit in the winter or summer. It seems to me a long time ago do not write in this blog because I was busy with the fasting month and year 2013. I love the beautiful sights out there though not necessarily able to visit Japan travel, thailand travel, sightseeing singapore, malaysia travel and much more.\n\nSouth Korean tourist destinations in an interesting and beautiful as follows:\n\n1. South Korean capital Seoul\nSeoul City is a business and cultural center in South Korea, where skyscrapers tower over Buddhist temples. Taking all of the N Seoul Tower, built on a peak in Namsan Park. Teahouses and shops provide a sense of taste Insadong Korean style, which can make you become more experience is to visit the museum field and Gyeongbokgung. UNESCO World Heritage Site Changdeokgung Palace is a fine example of ancient architecture authentic.\n\n2. Jeju, South Korea\nJeju is a hot tourist spot booming with unique attractions, including the popular mature garden with statues, Loveland. Above all, Jeju is a popular honeymoon destination because of sunrises and romantic sunsets, mild climate and beautiful sandy beaches. Adventurers can hike to Baeknok lake on top of Mount Halla, the highest peak in South Korea. Keep an eye out for “Haenyeo,” female divers gathering fresh seafood, and the iconic “grandfather statues” displayed outside of many restaurants. Read More…\n\nThere are so many reasons why hiring professional photographer is a mandatory thing especially when we need their presence during special events and occasions. Such a professional photographer knows how to capture the perfect moment of our special events and to make it truly unforgettable. At some points, finding truly professional photographers to hire isn’t an easy task. Among the hundreds of photography services available in the market, only few of them are truly having the qualifications and professionalism required to keep everyone happy. In that case, one has to be really selective to avoid mistakenly hiring incompetent photographer which led to terrible work outcome.\n\nAnd going online will help us find various artistic photography products to purchase. And as you go online for the service, you may want to also check This website is a representation of Guilin Photography Studio which specializing in providing high quality photography products to anyone who needs it. They are more than capable to accommodate any photography request and service order from both personal clients and corporations. With many years of experiences they have established along on their business operation, they are confidently claiming that every photo and picture they have created are highly artistic and beautiful.\n\nWhether you need artistic photos of outdoor landscape view, people, animals, and others, good chance you will be able to find it among the collections displayed by Guilin Studio. They promised to keep adding the collections regularly so you will have something new to enjoy every time you entered the site. Guilin Photography was established by a married couple, Andy Beales and Mia Beales. Both has strong passion in photography and art therefore they created this website as a way to display their amazing works as well as also to offer fascinating Guilin Tour packages for anyone interested to explore Guilin like never before.\n\ntravel ushuaia\n\nExploring attractions in Argentina seems never-ending. Various natural attractions in the country has lured many foreign tourists to visit. One attraction not to be missed during a visit to Argentina is the city of Ushuaia, dubbed as the city at the end of the world.\n\nUshuaia is the capital of Tierra del Fuego Argentina. In the northern part of the city there are mountain Martial while in the south there strait Beagle. The city is a popular tourist destination especially for tourists from Buenos Aires.\n\nFor the sake of winning the title as the city end of the world, this city must compete with Chilean who claim that Punta Arenas is a city in the most southern tip. However, it seems Ushuaia who managed to qualify for this title because of its location which is closer to the south pole that icy continent of Antarctica. Read More…\n\nPlaces in Japan Famous\n\nwisata ke jepang\n\nPlaces Famous in Japan. Lots of tourist attractions in Japan are interesting to visit, the State’s capital Tokyo has become a state despite being very modern and advanced, but still has a beautiful nature and is famous in the world.\n\nSeveral tourist attractions are well-known in Japan can you make the choice to spend the holidays with your family or closest relatives. Japan is a modern country number one in Asia and a major competitor in the field of technology Countries Japan is the United States (USA) who are in the American continent.\n\nJapanese tour the beautiful and enchanting so much, Modern Tourism in Japan too much, night Japan also certainly not counted, in Indonesia alone many tourist attractions night, especially in Japan?\n\nHere is a list of names of 10 sites in Japan are attractive and well-known and has become a favorite tourist spot in Japan along with a little description of the reviews about Japan: Read More…\n\ndestination solo travel\n\nSolo City is located in Central Java province has many tourist destinations are very historic and famous. Building history of the kingdom in Indonesia that still exist in the city of Solo is a palace. Not only that, in Solo are also a lot of natural attractions that can be visited.\n\nSolo several natural attractions are:\n\n1. Beach Sembukan\nSembukan very famous beach in the area of ? Surakarta due in Turkish Sembukan annually held a ritual by Kraton Surakarta commonly called by the name of ritual float exalted. According to the stories of local residents, Turkish Sembukan have mythical stories that are trusted by the citizens as a gateway to 13 Queen Nyai Roro Kidul as a meeting place with King Pangkubuwono which is one of the king in Surakarta. Their activities each year in Turkish Sembukan make a lot of tourists who come by just to see the show and want to know more details of activities and also enjoy the beauty of the beach Sembukan itself.\n\n2. Cave Gong\nCave Gong has a unique decoration on the walls and also on the stalagmite and stalaktit. According to stories from local residents that the cave is on every Friday sound gamelan sounds like a gamelan gong so this cave called the Cave Gong. In Cave Gong there are 7 springs and 12 rooms while the gong cave itself is located under the sea about 256 meters. To be able to get to the Solo’s natural attractions you can go through the land transportation of direction Punung – Pacitan a distance of 7 km in the direction of southeastern city of Solo about 70 km. Read More…\n\nIce Cave Eisriesenwelt\n\ngua es eestrich\n\nFor you lovers of adventure tourism certainly will not miss the adventure in the Ice Cave Eisriesenwelt. Eisriesenwelt is a cave made of natural limestone in which is filled with a layer of ice. In German the word “Eisriesenwelt” means a giant ice world. This challenging tourist area located in Werfen, Austria approximately 40 KM south part of Salzburg.\n\nEisriesenwelt ice cave has been named the greatest in the world, because it has a length exceeding 42 KM. Although the cave is known as an ice cave, but do not include glacier cave. Eisriesenwelt caves created by the flow of the river Salzach. The flow of this river flowing through the mountains and then scrape the various hallways that occurred about 100 million years ago.\n\nFor millions of years the cracks and crevices in the limestone formed. When winter comes, the air temperature in the cave can reach below freezing. In the spring, the snow will enter through the crack rocks and snow seepage current flowing into the lower region with colder temperatures, the water will freeze. Then slowly occur charming ice formations in the cave Eisriesenwelt this. Read More…\n\nFast and Comfortable Rome Cabs\n\nRome is undoubtedly one of the best tourism spots in the world. Every year, many tourists come to Rome. There are many historical places and buildings that can make you amazed once you see them. Besides, the culture and also the art are also a part of the fascination of this beautiful city. Most people want to go to different places in order to explore the uniqueness of Rome. However, some travelers, especially those who are new may find it difficult to reach places throughout the city with public transportation. If it is the case, then you may want rome cabs help you solving your problem.\n\nWhy Choose Rome Cabs?\n\nRome cabs are a famous private travelling cab provider that can help you reach your destination fast and directly. The cabs will be able to take you to many different places that the public transportation cannot. You even can choose the vehicles that you want. It also offers some tour package that you can choose according to your wants. The private cab will come with an experience and safe driver. The cab itself is secure and safe with many added features that will make you comfortable in enjoying your trip. You do not need to wait for a long time like in using taxi or other public transportations. You just need to make a booking and have the cab pick you up from airport to your destination. Besides, you will less worry about the cost since the cabs have no fares and meters like taxi.\n\nEasy Rome Cabs Booking\n\nYou can enjoy your unforgettable trip by using private cabs from Rome cabs. The first thing you should do is booking a cab. You can make a booking through email or phone call. The registration is very simple and easy. Besides, there is also online payment service so you can make a booking anywhere and anytime.\n\nThis Equipment and Supplies Hiking\n\nbawaan naik gunug\n\nMountain climbing is one of the activities carried out in the wild or outdoors. To make the climb required to have special tools and equipment in accordance with the conditions we are going to climb the mountain. Not only the physical and mental strength must also be prepared especially health.\n\nExtreme weather and fickle could affect the fitness of the body because of the absence of any facilities on the mountain. Then the climbers are required to prepare the equipment as best as possible because the physical forces that will work harder than usual, making us the climbers as well as a nature lover desperately need such equipment.\n\nIndeed, in passing, fixtures and equipment such as mountain climbing only thing that’s it. But when viewed in detail and structured, many in number, and if we want to be able to spend their money to buy us deeply. But more and more people who enjoy mountain climbing activities, making some party outsmart the situation by creating a business opportunity that could be promising. So as to ease the burden of our pockets to climb the mountain. Read More…\n\nwisata irlandia\n\nAlthough Ireland states fall into the category of a small country, but the beauty and tours offered in this country can not be taken lightly. Many tourist destinations in Ireland was charming, beautiful and fantastically located in various corners of the country.\n\n1. Cliffs of Moher\nTourist attractions in Ireland are located precisely in the north of Lahinch, Clare’s west coast. Cliffs of Moher which is the highest cliff in Europe is a tourist destination with beautiful views. Formerly, the Cliffs of Moher is an ancient site had been used for guard towers guarding the Viking attackers.\n\n2. Rural Connemara\nConnemara countryside has an area of ??approximately 2,000 hectares. Countryside who are in Letterfrack, Galway county is very charming and became one of the favorite national park administration protected in this country. Read More…\n\nSailing Holidays in Cyclades\n\nEveryone usually and commonly wishes that they can have an unforgettable holiday in their lives. People tend to make their holiday to be the special moments to refresh their body and soul from the hard work and busy time in their office everyday. For some people, trying something new in their holiday is a must. Thus, they can be interested to do sailing holidays in Cyclades. It can be done by using the high quality charter which can provide you comfort, happiness and safety. This charter is called as Yacht Charter Greece. For further information, you can continue reading this article. \n\nAbout Cyclades Islands\n\nCyclades islands are very well known for those who like sailing. These islands are the complex islands in Greece. People may enjoy sailing and make unforgettable memories with low cost by visiting these islands and seeing Greece seas.  You will be able to enjoy your moment, recharge your energy, enjoying the sailing and refreshing your body and soul. Therefore, sailing to Cyclades Islands can be a better option for your essential holiday. \n\nAbout Yacht Charter Greece\n\nThis yacht charter which is a family company is able to provide you with the best boat with best price in Greece. This is very experienced as the business is started around thirty years ago. Indeed, you can trust this company to prove their thirty year experience with better service. This company also offers you with lifetime and unforgettable memories by giving the shipshape sailing yachts and amazing personalized service. You may get a good service and a positive attitude from our staffs who can guide you with best options. This company allows and permits you to complain if there is any for 24 hours/ 7 days. It is proven that this company wants to ensure your satisfaction. You may choose and select the crewed, skippered and bareboat sailing in Greece. The age of each boat is no more than 5 years.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7492314577102661}
+{"content": "Your Left Elbow forms part of the putting triangle\n\nrecommended for the putting stroke.\n\n\nHow you position your elbows throughout your putting stroke is a matter of preference. Your left elbow can be held into your left side or allowed to separate during your follow-through.\n\nFreedom of Choice\n\nThere is no right or wrong way to arrange your elbows at address other than to say that they should be free of tension.\n\nWhile it is probably a good idea to keep your Right Elbow close to your side throughout your putting stroke, you can have some separation of your left, both at setup, and during your follow-through.\n\nHorton Smith\n\nThe legendary player Horton Smith, author of the book The Secret of Holing Putts, and renown in the 1930s and '40s for his putting ability, would deliberately aim his left elbow at right angles to the path of his putt as part of his pre-putt routine. \n\nIn putting the analogy is made that the stroke is a nothing more than a miniature swing. Stan Utley states in his book The Art of Putting that, in his opinion, \"the putting stroke shouldn't be fundamentally different from a full shot, just a smaller version of it.\"\n\nIn this is the case then it would suggest that any form of disengagement of your elbows is poor technique. However, there are too many examples of good putters, past and present, whose stroke doesn't resemble a mini-swing, to make a water-tight case.\n\nPictures of Jack Nicklaus show that his left elbow is away from his body at address.\n\nTodd Sones\n\nTodd Sones in Lights-Out Putting writes that the most accurate way for most amateurs to putt is to allow their arms to separate from their hips. In contrast, Greg Norman in his book Advanced Golf describes how his posture allows him to let his arms hang down naturally with his elbows close to his body throughout the putt.\n\nSo who is right and who is wrong? The answer is no-one as every golfer has to discover through practice which way of putting allows him or her to putt in the most consistent way.\n\nLeft Elbow - Dave Stockton\n\nFor example, Dave Stockton allows his left to separate well away from his side in his forward stroke as the back of his left hand continues directly down his aimline (target line).\n\nThe extent of the separation, if any, is therefore a matter of preference. Attempting to consciously holding it to your side during your follow-through could lead to you rotating your shoulders and closing down your putterface prematurely through the contact area.\n\nThe secret of accurate putting is retaining the squareness of your putter blade to your aimline through impact and a bit beyond.\n\nIf you can do this consistently, well and good. If not, you can experiment with the position of your Left Elbow to see if some modification can lead to an improvement.\n\nback to top\n\nImage Source\n1 = The Complete Short Game - Ernie Els\n2 = The Secret of Holing Putts - Horton Smith\n3 = Dave Stockton's Putt to Win\n\nReturn from Left Elbow to Ezines\n\nMake More\n\nDiscover HOW?\n\nRelated Topics\n\nputting triangle\n\nRight Elbow", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6436059474945068}
+{"content": "Phones Answered 24/7\nFree Consultations\n\nNassau County (516) 679-0400\nSuffolk County (631) 921-0617\n\nEffects of A DUI Conviction to Continue Further Education\n\nHow Would Having A DUI Or A DWI Conviction On Someone’s Record Possibly Affect Someone’s Ability To Enroll In Medical Programs Or Law Programs Or Any Other Profession?\n\nIn New York, very few of the professional licensing will be prohibited or restricted by having a DUI conviction. It is going to affect whether or not an employer hires you. Depending on what you want to do, then specifically you may have a problem. For instance, if you are required to have a professional license such as an airline pilot with a DUI or a DWI, not only do you run the risk and you will probably be grounded or lose your job, you are going to be greatly affected negatively and even possibly be unemployed.\n\nAnything that requires a commercial driver’s license, such as school bus drivers, city bus drivers or taxi drivers, they will have a problem getting employment and some of those licenses may be restricted or cancelled. Even having a license suspension before the conviction will trigger a problem for people who are in the airline industry who are driving taxicabs and commercial driver’s licenses, because a lot of them are required to have a physical that is current and valid to go along with their license. Once there is a suspension, it triggers the suspension of the medical issue and then there is treatment involved. This requires thousands of hours and thousands of dollars’ worth of work to get these people back into their jobs.\n\nThe law profession to become a licensed lawyer, not only do you have to take the bar examination, but you need to be interviewed by what is called the Character & Fitness Committee. You will be interviewed and you will have to disclose that you have this arrest or arrests on your record. This could delay or prevent you from becoming licensed to practice law in any state. Medical doctors, nurses, people who have access to medicines, controlled substances, could also have their licenses suspended. Although a doctor could be allowed to practice medicine, he would probably be restricted from prescribing medication. That becomes an issue for them, how do you prescribe medication for your patients if your license, your DEA license to prescribe has been suspended or revoked?\n\nWithout having an experienced DWI defense lawyer and just hiring the average criminal defense lawyer, they do not always know how to properly defend these DUI cases. This is where people really run the risk of having just total failure and devastating consequences from this kind of charge and conviction.\n\nCould A DWI Conviction Potentially Affect Someone’s Ability To Gain Access To Schooling Or Scholarship Programs?\n\nYes, it would absolutely affect students. A lecture on this topic recently given to high school students by Attorney Eric Sachs talked about how devastating an arrest charge could be. This is particularly important in the Prom season for instance. There is concern about the pre prom parties, the prom itself and the after prom parties. What can happen with the DWI arrest even before there is a conviction? In that case, you have the financial aspects of having to hire a lawyer to help get you out of this. Most of the country has a drinking age of twenty-one now. So, if a student is in college and they are under twenty-one, legally they cannot drink. Now, those two issues have to be dealt with.\n\nIn case of most scholarship recipients, it is dependent upon maintaining a certain grade point average and maintaining a certain moral character. Each college has their own moral and ethical codes, so depending on where you are arrested, on or off campus, depending on what the situation was, the school could revoke your scholarship. The school could actually revoke your admission to the school. They cannot just fail everything because they are in college, otherwise the school, the university, or the college can revoke the acceptance.\n\nThis all comes into play as well in a DUI. Collateral issues all stemming from the charge of a DUI monetarily could be absolutely devastating. Not only are you allowed to stay in school, you may not be able to afford it because they have withdrawn the scholarship and the grants to the student.\n\nRead about the Effects of a DUI Conviction to Continue Further Education or call the Law Offices of Eric Sachs for a FREE Initial Consultation at (516) 679-0400 and get the information and legal answers you’re seeking.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5512804985046387}
+{"content": "To determine the stable housekeeping genes in your experiment you can use this excel-based tool using pair-wise correlations.\n\nThe first step in your qPCR gene expression analysis shoul be the test of your housekeeping (or reference) genes that usually are assumed that present a stable expression among samples, but could be affected by some experimental conditions (these reference genes can exhibit either up or down regulation).\n\nThis software is a free tool to determine the best standard genes to normalize your data. It allows you to test up to ten candidates, and combines them into an index. The index can be compared with further ten target genes to decide, whether they are differentially expressed under an applied treatment.\n\nTo download this software and read the description of  BestKeeper software - visit here.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6825319528579712}
+{"content": "Symptoms and causes\n\n\nThe first symptoms of smallpox usually appear 10 to 14 days after you're infected. During the incubation period of seven to 17 days, you look and feel healthy and can't infect others.\n\nFollowing the incubation period, a sudden onset of flu-like signs and symptoms occurs. These include:\n\n  • Fever\n  • Overall discomfort\n  • Headache\n  • Severe fatigue\n  • Severe back pain\n  • Vomiting, possibly\n\n\nLesions also develop in the mucous membranes of your nose and mouth and quickly turn into sores that break open.\n\n\nSmallpox is caused by infection with the variola virus. The virus can be transmitted:\n\n  • Directly from person to person. Direct transmission of the virus requires fairly prolonged face-to-face contact. The virus can be transmitted through the air by droplets that escape when an infected person coughs, sneezes or talks.\n  • Indirectly from an infected person. In rare instances, airborne virus can spread farther, possibly through the ventilation system in a building, infecting people in other rooms or on other floors.\n  • Via contaminated items. Smallpox can also spread through contact with contaminated clothing and bedding, although the risk of infection from these sources is less common.\n  • As a terrorist weapon, potentially. A deliberate release of smallpox is a remote threat. However, because any release of the virus could spread the disease quickly, government officials have taken numerous precautions to protect against this possibility, such as stockpiling smallpox vaccine.\n\n\nMost people who get smallpox survive. However, a few rare varieties of smallpox are almost always fatal. These more-severe forms most commonly affect pregnant women and people with impaired immune systems.\n\nPeople who recover from smallpox usually have severe scars, especially on the face, arms and legs. In some cases, smallpox may cause blindness.\n\nJuly 26, 2017\n  1. Friedman HM, et al. The epidemiology, pathogenesis and clinical manifestations of smallpox. Accessed Feb. 22, 2017.\n  2. Smallpox vaccine: Drug information. Accessed Feb. 22, 2017.\n  3. Smallpox vaccine: Patient drug information. Accessed Feb. 22, 2017.\n  4. Hall JB, et al., eds. Biological warfare. In: Principles of Critical Care. 4th ed. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill Education; 2015. Accessed Feb. 22, 2017.\n  5. Smallpox. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Accessed Feb. 22, 2017.\n  6. Frequently asked questions and answers on smallpox. World Health Organization. Accessed Feb. 22, 2017.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9923909306526184}
+{"content": "Challenge: Theme 4: ICT for innovative government and public services\nObjective: 4.1 Towards a cloud of public services\nFunding Schemes: Pilot B\nEvaluation Scheme: One Step Proposal\nClosure Date: 01/06/2011\nCountry: Turkey\n\nGeographic Information Systems (GIS) technology offers the combination of mapping, relational database technology, and analytical tools for improving the management and operations of almost every aspect of societal activity. Government and public sector GIS activities and services include environmental management, transporation and mobility, economic growth, employment, social cohesion, safety and emergency management, homeland security, utilities and infrastructure management, cultural identity and preservation, and parks, recreation and outdoor pursuits. GIS is a tool that strategically and innovatively deployed offers a better way of manging and improving our quality of life.\n\nThe purpose of this project is to develop a “ESGIS Strategic Plan” and deploy innovate solutions that improve government service. This project will assess existing government operations and functions as it relates to GIS and the needs citizens and of the community. The ultimate goal is to evaluate how GIS can address the challenges of the next decade by engaging citizens, businesses and government professionals in the planning, design, and deployment of a true enterprise and sustainable GIS that is scalable, large scale and flexible, and will offer on-demand government services through Service Orientated Architechture (SOA) and e-government cloud computing. The purpose it to identify areas of government operations that would significanlty benefit from “technical adaption”.\n\nFor further information, please contact:\nJaime Durán\nICT Sector", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9507023692131042}
+{"content": "More than 300 million tons of plastic is produced every year, but only about 10% of it makes it to a recycling plant. The rest ends up as litter in ocean or landfills, causing a major environmental problem. Plastic takes hundreds of years to degrade. Now scientists in Japan have discovered a plastic-eating bacteria that can help solve the pollution scourge.\n\nThis New Bacteria Eats Plastic\n\nAccording to a study published Thursday in the journal Science, the new bacteria can completely break the molecular bonds of polyethylene terephthalate (PET or polyester), one of the world’s most used plastics. Japanese scientists were searching through sediments at a plastic bottle recycling plant when they found a bacteria that has evolved to consume PET.\n\n\nResearchers have identified a species of bacteria that uses just two enzymes to break down plastic. Poly(ethylene terephthalate), or PET, is a type of polymer used in plastic that is highly resistant to biodegradation. About 56 million tons of PET was produced worldwide in 2013 alone, and the accumulation of PET in ecosystems around the globe is increasingly problematic. To date, very few species of fungi – but no bacteria – have been found to break down PET. Here, Yoshida et al. collected 250 samples of PET debris and screened for bacterial candidates that depend on PET film as a primary source of carbon for growth. They identified a novel bacterium, which they named Ideonella sakaiensis 201-F6, which could nearly completely degrade a thin film of PET after six weeks at a temperature of 30° Celsius.\n\nFurther investigation identified an enzyme, ISF6_4831, which works with water to break down PET into an intermediate substance, which is then further broken down by a second enzyme, ISF6_0224. These two enzymes alone can break down PET into its simpler building blocks. Remarkably, these enzymes seem to be highly unique in their function compared to the closest related known enzymes of other bacteria, raising questions of how these plastic-eating bacteria evolved. A Perspective by Uwe Bornscheuer describes these findings in greater detail.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9335016012191772}
+{"content": "Bashar Al-Assad: Mohamed Morsi Calls For \"Jihad\" Against Syria. Should We Care?\n\nOn Saturday, President Mohamad Morsi announced that Egypt has shuttered its embassy in Damascus and has severed all diplomatic ties with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's rogue government. The Egyptian president also declared support for a no-fly zone in Syria, in conjunction with President Obama's proposal for arming the opposition and a partial no-fly zone, and in a statement last week gave virtual carte blanche to any Egyptians seeking to fight \"jihad\" in Syria. \n\nThis move comes more than two years into the Syrian conflict, which began as a popular uprising against Assad's dictatorship and was transformed into the brutal civil war we see today. As a fellow Arab state, it would seem that Egypt would have done more throughout the timeline of this regional catastrophe to support the Syrian people who have been murdered by the tens of thousands by Assad's forces and supporters. The idea early on was that President Morsi was seeking a \"balanced\" foreign policy for Egypt, and was thus seen cozying up to the Iranian leadership, perhaps far too much for anyone's liking (or viewing pleasure, for that matter). Just a week ago, when he declared support for jihad in Syria, he also asserted that he was against any foreign intervention in the Syrian matter — another statement that sits well with the Egyptian people. \n\nShould the Syrians — or Americans, for that matter — genuinely care that Morsi expressed populist solidarity (without saying that he would commit to sending American-trained Egyptian troops to help) with them this late in the game and at a time where it is very easy to do so, when American, E.U., and regional powers all preparing to take necessary action in Syria? Probably not. However, this timing is in fact significant, as this comes at a time where regional calculations are being redrawn on sectarian lines. \n\nOne consideration is that this is posturing based on domestic politics: that the Muslim Brotherhood is attempting to distract the Egyptian people from domestic matters. Most immediately coming to mind is the upcoming June 30 protests for the \"Tamarrud\" campaign, where activists are seeking 13 million signatures for a public recall on Morsi's presidency one year after his election, citing a dismal track record and obvious consolidation of power measures for his Muslim Brotherhood bloc. Speaking to an activist in Cairo on Sunday, the sense that Morsi is trying to appease to more right-wing Islamist factions by allowing them and their supporters to go make \"jihad\" in Syria, is no real secret. What makes this move so convenient, aside from the reality that there is already a ton of Western momentum driving support for the Syrian opposition and action in Syria, is that the Muslim Brotherhood is not falling behind from other Sunni regional powers all invested in the Syrian proxy war. Saudi Arabia and Qatar have been actively supporting the political and armed opposition, and reportedly have had a big hand in providing Al-Qaeda's alias in Syria, the Al-Nusra Front, with weapons and money. Syria's Muslim Brotherhood has been banished outside of the country since Assad's father, President Hafez al-Assad, hunted them down during their uprising in the early 80s. Now, the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood is dominating the external opposition National Coalition of Syrian Opposition and Revolutionary Forces, or Etilaf, with no small help from Qatar, which has also been very supportive of President Morsi and the Egyptian Brotherhood. \n\nWith that being the case, one could ask why Morsi has not jumped on the opposition's bandwagon until now. It was not until recently when the calls for holy war by Shi'ite militant group Hezbollah's Secretary-General Hasan Nasrallah and prominent Sunni clerics such as Egyptian Shaykh Yusuf al-Qaradawi were made. With Nasrallah declaring that he would double-down on Hezbollah's commitment to support Assad at all costs, it is without surprise that the sectarian rhetoric is being reciprocated on clerical levels, and now, thanks to Morsi, on a national level.\n\nTo prevent sectarian violence from defining the Middle East and Islamic World discourse for decades to come, a post-Assad Syria must be produced as soon as possible, as I explained here. Yes, it goes without saying that most Sunnis do not hate most Shi’ites, and vice versa, and that these ethno-religious identities are being hijacked by the fearful and those who seek to hold onto power. And one should not pretend that support from Egypt (the cultural capitol of the Arab world) is not a morale booster for the Syrian people and will not contribute to battle against the oppressing side, which in this case happens to be the Shi’ite axis. But foreign fighters flooding Syria should never be encouraged. If Morsi wants to support the fight on the ground, he should commit to working with U.S.-NATO and regional power efforts in an official, statesmanlike manner. And if the Brotherhood cares about the fate of the Middle East and what one would call a Muslim \"ummah,\" or global community, rather than their own political fate, they would be wise to discourage such un-Islamic, polarizing rhetoric. The Syrian people deserve better support than this, and the Egyptian people definitely deserve better leadership.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6145696640014648}
+{"content": "Cause-effect essays require an analysis of a particular situation, event or evidence of causal relation. Having researched the problem you will have to choose a target event, analyze it and thoroughly understand the situation to provide arguments for the possible outcome. We will help with homework and assist you in writing of a winning cause and effect essay.\n\nMethod 1: Setting up work\n\n2) Check the necessary information:\n\n  • The volume of work. Make sure that you know what to write about\n  • A number of Make sure you have the required sources. If there are none, ask your tutor for some sources to base your work on.\n  • The value of the work. You need to find out which option is right for you: a long or a short essay expressing your own opinion or focusing on the topic determined by your teacher.\n\n3) Analyze whether the given reason describes the consequences. Oftentimes you will be given a cause and a consequence to identify their specific relations.\n\nIn addition, you may be asked to determine the causes and consequences of a particular situation, but in most cases, you are required to show evidence of your reasoning, or its implications.\n\nMethod 2: Reading and studying\n\n1) Read the detailed instructions provided by your instructor. Do it as soon as you receive the task in order to have time to think about several topics.\n\n2) Analyze the facts. Visit the library and try to find the original sources of the subject of your discussion. The study will help you formulate a convincing thesis.\n\nMethod 3: Determining cause and effect\n\n1) Choose a cause and a consequence about which you would like to write. Make short notes during the study, so that you can choose among a number of causes and effects.\n\n2) Analyze cause and effect that you want to prove. Conduct a detailed case study to find convincing arguments to support your theory.\n\n3) Write a succinct statement of your essay. Your thesis approval should clearly state the relation you want to prove in the essay.\n\nMethod 4: Planning\n\n1) Divide the essay into five sections. These should include an introduction, explanation of causes and consequences, and elaboration on relations and conclusions. You can split the essay into more sections if needed.\n\n2) Specify the facts according to your plan. Be sure to include quotes, statistics, dates, data and other material obtained in the course of study. Place them in the text according to your work plan, with the aim to highlight the causes, consequences, and the relationship.\n\nMethod 5: Drafting Final Version\n\n1) Start with a paragraph describing the reasons. Each following paragraph should concentrate on a single point of view.\n\n  • Explain the conditions of the current situation in the paragraph which describes its causes. Illustrate the circumstances with the help of a solid argument.\n  • The objective of the above provisions is to acquaint the reader with the help of a particular situation through multifaceted approaches. You can hint the reader as to how to understand the relation, which will be subsequently discussed in your essay.\n\n2) Continue with a paragraph describing the consequences. Each paragraph should focus on a particular opinion.\n\n  • Note specific factors.\n  • Explain in detail how certain reasons have led to concrete results. Begin with a general description and then dive into the details.\n  • Use arguments to illustrate examples.\n\n3) Complete the essay by creating a final part of your essay. Draw conclusions from the facts that you were able to prove. Explain the importance of these findings for the modern world or a specific reader. Mind that you can ask for a word of advice of uk essay writers UK essay writers.\n\nShare on FacebookShare on Google+Tweet about this on Twitter\nSubmitted by Lewis Harrel", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9786033034324646}
+{"content": "How Macron and Trump changed politics\n\nThe newly elected French and American presidents have each destroyed the myth of the indestructibility of their nation’s leading political parties.\n\nStudents take a selfie photo with French President Emmanuel Macron during his visit to the Vaseix agricultural college in Verneuil-sur-Vienne on Friday.\nStudents take a selfie photo with French President Emmanuel Macron during his visit to the Vaseix agricultural college in Verneuil-sur-Vienne on Friday.  (PASCAL LACHENAUD / AFP/GETTY IMAGES)  \n\nAs offended as each man would be by the comparison, Emmanuel Macron and Donald Trump are the yin and yang of a fascinating new political phenomenon. Each has overturned their political establishments to the horror of veteran politicians and pundits on all sides.\n\nFrance has had a conservative/socialist bipartisan political culture since the decline of euro-communism more than 40 years ago. In less than two years Macron has built a political movement that straddles that divide, and got elected president. It now appears he may seize control of the French Parliament this month.\n\nThis is a simply breathtaking achievement, not seen in Western Europe since the dark days a century ago when a very different set of upstarts smashed the political elites.\n\nCritics may cavil about how much real change Macron actually delivers. He may indeed become a French Tony Blair with a similarly mixed legacy, but that’s not the point. How did a 39-year-old former junior politician win name recognition with four out of five French voters and build a dominant political machine in less than two years, overturning the French Socialist Party, the two French conservative parties, and Ms. LePen, too boot?\n\nOne need only look at the United States a year earlier to see the same phenomenon, from a much darker part of the political spectrum. A combination of evangelists, nativist Americans and alt-right anti-Semitic activists, deployed the high-octane propaganda accelerant that is bot-driven social media, to propel a sleazy reality TV star into the lead in the GOP primary race. The rest is, as they say, history; a slow-motion tragedy undermining the very pillars of American democracy.\n\nArticle Continued Below\n\nWhat could such different insurgents possibly have in common? They each destroyed the myth of the indestructibility of their nation’s leading political parties.\n\nThe Republicans, Democrats, French Socialists and conservatives have straddled their respective democracies as all powerful partisan giants for more than a century. The revelation that they each had become brittle shells of their former selves, dominated by a small elite of paid professionals, alienated from their own voters, is the most astonishing takeaway of the past 18 months.\n\nNo partisan in any democracy should ignore the painful lesson in this, including Liberals, New Democrats, and Conservatives. The hollowing out of political parties across the Western democracies has been underway for two decades at least.\n\nGetting 150,000 people to pay $10 to vote in a leadership contest — or nothing at all if you want to choose Justin Trudeau’s successor — is not a pledge to devote your time, money and dedication over many years to a political party. It’s a “low touch” engagement, as the social media experts term it: fleeting, low risk, and as bankable as a weather forecast.\n\nThere is a parallel phenomenon just over the Canadian political horizon: the fracturing of the political spectrum into smaller political parties. Opponents of electoral reform always denounce its inevitable destruction of a stable three party system into squabbling fragments.\n\nExcept that now, in the Mother of Parliaments, the original first-past-the-post voting system, following this week’s election, sit MPs from 10, count ’em 10, political parties; far more than Germany or Italy — the nations usually derided by anti-reform dinosaurs as proof of the foolishness of proportional representation.\n\nBut every democracy, irrespective of voting system, is beginning to see its party structure fracture as well, with regionalist, green hard right and hard left, anti-immigrant and anti-Islamic parties eating into the base of all the traditional political parties.\n\nWhether you see this as a bad or a good development — greater instability versus greater choice and accountability — is not what should concern partisans of existing parties. What they should worry about are their vulnerabilities, the internal unseen rot that makes poaching possible.\n\nIt is not email blasts, or media profile that cements partisan loyalty and commitment. And it is most certainly not the volume of pleading fundraising messages pushed out endlessly on social media. You are not competing with upstart new political parties alone, you are fighting for a slice of rare time and attention against Greenpeace, voters’ kids’ sports teams, and couch potato time.\n\nParty organizers need to make participating in a riding meeting matter, to make their appeals for political support authentic and personally relevant, to respond respectfully to criticism and pledge to never waste an intelligent millennial’s time enduring boring boilerplate speeches by visiting politicians.\n\nI don’t know of a Canadian political party that could meet those tests today.\n\nRobin V. Sears, a principal at Earnscliffe Strategy Group and a Broadbent Institute leadership fellow, was an NDP strategist for 20 years.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.721348226070404}
+{"content": "\n\nWe've updated one of our most popular materials. See what's new in our guide to MERPs.\n\nA Guide to Health Reimbursement Accounts\n\nFrequently Asked Questions about Health Reimbursement Accounts\n\nThis section answers frequently asked questions (FAQs) on Health Reimbursement Accounts.\n\nWhat is a Health Reimbursement Account?Health_reimbursement_accounts_questions\n\nA Health Reimbursement Account (HRA) is an IRS-approved, employer-funded, tax-advantaged plan that reimburses employees for eligible out-of-pocket medical expenses, including individual health insurance premiums.\n\nHRAs are one of several programs authorized by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that give individuals tax advantages to offset health care costs.\n\nWhat is the difference between a Health Reimbursement Account and a Health Savings Account (HSA) or Flexible Spending Account (FSA)?\n\nAn HRA, HSA, and FSA are all IRS-approved plans where distributions are used to pay for qualified medical expenses on a pre-tax basis. However, there are some key differences:\n\nHRA: An HRA is a notional account funded solely by the employer. Employees may not contribute. Contributions are not included in employees' income.  Employers pay only after their employees incur eligible medical expenses.  \n\nHSA:  An HSA is a financial account and can be funded by the employer and/or the employee, as well as any other person (such as a family member). Contributions, other than employer contributions, are deductible on the eligible individual’s tax return whether or not the individual itemizes deductions. Employer contributions are not included in income.\n\nFSA: An FSA can be funded by the employer and/or the employee, though usually it is funded primarily by the employee.\n\nFor a detailed comparison chart, see this section on Medical Reimbursement Plans. \n\nWhy would an employer offer a Health Reimbursement Account?\n\nAn HRA allows companies to offer flexible benefits, providing a way for a company to offer more affordable health insurance or as an alternative to group health insurance. HRAs offer certain advantages:\n\n  • Flexibility\n\n  • Cost Control\n\n  • Cost Savings\n\n  • Recruiting & Retention\n\nRead more: Health Reimbursement Account Pros and Cons\n\nHow many Health Reimbursement Accounts have been established?\n\nWhile the total number of HRAs is not available as a single number, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute the total number of HRAs and HSAs combined in 2012 was 11.6 million, up from 1.3 million in 2006. Assets in HRAs and HSAs in 2012 were $17 billion, up from $873 million in 2006.\n\nHow do Health Reimbursement Accounts work?\n\nEmployers choose the amount of HRA allowances to provide to employees (monthly or annual allowances). These funds are notional, and available to reimburse individuals for eligible health care expenses. When the employer sets up the HRA, they decide what categories of medical expenses to reimburse and other rules of the plan. Once employees incur an eligible medical expense, they submit a reimbursement request and, once approved, are reimbursed by the employer tax-free.\n\nWhat are critical underwriting or participation requirements?\n\nWith an HRA, there is no underwriting and no participation requirements. HRA administration fees are typically based on the size of the company and plan participation.\n\nThe HRA plan must meet basic IRC Section 105 non-discrimination requirements to obtain favorable tax treatment. Benefits may be tiered according to single vs. family coverage, or based on bona-fide job criteria such as years of service, location, job description, or employee status (ex: active vs. retired).\n\nAre there minimum and maximum amounts of funding for Health Reimbursement Accounts?\n\nCurrently there are no annual minimum or maximum limits on HRA plan funding.\n\nWhat medical expenses can Health Reimbursement Accounts funds be used for?\n\nIRC Section 213(d) sets which medical expenses are reimbursable through an HRA. Within this list, employers can restrict categories of expenses.\n\nCan employees have an HRA and an HSA or FSA?\n\nYes.  All three programs can exist alongside one another, but employers must be careful about how they work together.  For example, with both an HSA and FSA there are special ordering (\"coordination\") rules to consider.\n\nCan an Owner Participate in Health Reimbursement Accounts?\n\nYes. However, whether or not owners can receive HRA reimbursements 100% tax free depends on how the company files, and the owner's status.\n\nC-Corporation Owners: C-Corp owners may participate in an HRA and receive all HRA reimbursements 100% tax-free.\n\nSole Proprietors, Partners, or S-Corp shareholders that own >2% of the company's shares:  These Non-C-Corp owners can use the HRA platform to reimburse and track medical expenses. However, HRA reimbursements must be reported on the owners'/partners' wages (on their W-2 and 1040 forms) and are subject to federal income taxes.\n\nCan 1099 Contractors Participate in Health Reimbursement Accounts?\n\nTechnically, the answer is no. However, many businesses use HRA Software to offer health benefits to 1099 contractors. The primary difference is that, unlike W-2 employees, 1099 contractors must report all HRA reimbursements as income on their personal tax return.\n\nDo you have additional questions about Health Reimbursement Accounts? Contact us. We'd be happy to help.\n\nThe Comprehensive Guide to the Small Business HRA", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9267078638076782}
+{"content": "Yesterday I announced THE PUSH... [and we generated an amazing list in just 24 hours]\n\nToday we work on SCIENCE EDUCATION. What are some excellent science education blogs that P-12 science educators should be reading? We need both elementary and secondary examples. If you know of some, please add them to the Moving Forward wiki.\n\nWhy are we doing this?\n\n  • To highlight excellent disciplinary blogging that deserves larger audiences\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9929392337799072}
+{"content": "Secure your communication with our green messaging solutions\n\nWe invite you to take a short brake form your daily routine and think a little.\n\n1. How important is security for you? How can you send and receive messages without them being intercepted by the wrong person. Are you worried about SPAM, viruses or pishing?\nWhen was the last time your mailbox was free of spam? What will you do to prevent all these?\n\nTake 3 minutes to think about these issues.\n\nFind out how can you receive your messages securely  on your email client, test our product and win a free Community edition.\n\n- Receive your emails from multiple email accounts directly to your exchange or similar client.\n- Spam and virtus protection\n- Database support for your searches\n\n2. How much do you care about the environment? What is the yearly CO2 emission of your computer or what is the energy consumption of your company's server?\nHow many paper sheets are you printing daily. The average office worker goes through roughly 20 pages/ day (printed, written\nTake 2 minutes to think about these issues.\n\nLearn more on how you can reduce your paper and energy consumption with Visendo Fax Servers:\n- Virtualization - that is reducing 90% of your energy consumption\n- Strong SPAM policy\n- And what is the most important issue: fax integration: no paper - reduce 100% your paper waste in faxing; faxes are sent to your email.\nAll these and other important features work flawlesly with Microsoft Technology\n\nSo rethink your business communications if you care about security and environment protection.\n\nVisendo sustains Earth Hour 2010. Do you?\n\nKommentar schreiben", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9656223654747009}
+{"content": "Case Studies\n\nWhat is your goal? Chances are, we've handled something similar. Read some of our recent case studies.\n\nCaught off guard by an unanticipated vacancy requiring prompt action\n\nChallenge: Unexpected high visibility, executive vacancy with expedited placement time line.\nSolution: Immediate response, within 14 days the contract, search scope and position specification were completed. Within 30 days candidates identified, sourced and screened.\nResult: Within 75 days the finalist selected.\n\nTrying to source a difficult skill set in a difficult location\n\nResult: Candidate hired and began employment within 180 days.\n\nNeed a creative solution to fill multiple positions\n\nChallenge: Multiple leadership positions open simultaneously (executive, senior and managerial levels).\nSolution: Innovative search approach offering a combined search strategy and commensurate fee structure for each position.\nResult: Fulfilled search requirement.\n\nNewly established business seeking talent\n\nChallenge: Start up requiring multiple executives with limited budget.\nSolution: Creative sourcing solution and fee structure that provided national candidate search within client budget.\nResult: Sourced, identified and successfully placed two executives within 60 days.\n\nStruggling to identify passive candidates while building future bench strength\n\nChallenge: Developing quality candidate flow for future opportunities.\nSolution: Continual sourcing and candidate submission.\nResult: Clients have increased candidate pools and hired multiple candidates.\n\nDesiring strategic consulting advice\n\nChallenge: Client's operational platform required restructuring in order to address immediate, mid-term and long term needs.\nSolution: Series of executive and senior level meetings to understand current organizational structure, immediate operational talent needs and desired end-state goal.\nResult: Client accepted proposal, implemented recommended changes and contracted CSG, Inc. to conduct multiple searches.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9998098611831665}
+{"content": "Why more health insurers will exit this year\n\nHealth insurance companies facing large claim losses caused by the legal mandates of recently enacted federal health care law have two primary options: petition for a large rate increase or leave the market. (A third option, cutting claim payouts, is more complex and not discussed here).\n\nThe Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires health insurance companies seeking more than a 10% increase in year-to-year premium rates must seek approval from state insurance regulators. Regulators are often unwilling to approve such requests based on fear of political implications that indicate the failures of health care reform. Even if such requests were granted, it seems unlikely that customers could handle the rate increased that in many cases would exceed 20% for 2017.\n\nThe other option – withdrawing from the market – is the path that will be chosen by more companies this year. Minnesota’s largest individual health insurance plan became the latest to announce its exit.\n\nI expect similar news will continue around the country. United Healthcare, the nation’s largest provider of individual health insurance on the Obamacare exchanges, has already announced that it is considering leaving the insurance exchanges.\n\nConsider that health insurance companies are quite sophisticated enterprises. Most have a plan in place to re-enter a more profitable segment of the market long before they announce their withdraw from the state insurance exchanges. Such is the case in Minnesota and with Unitedhealthcare. In other words, these companies want to play but not by under the rules laid out by ACA.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8415422439575195}
+{"content": "Unbuckling the law of contributory negligence\n\nIn Wormald v. Chiarot, 2016 BCCA 415, the British Columbia Court of Appeal reviewed the law of contributory negligence and, in particular, the significance of proving that a plaintiff’s failure to take reasonable care was causally connected to the loss sustained.\n\nIn Wormald, the plaintiff was injured in a motor vehicle accident while sitting in the back hatch area of a vehicle where no seatbelts were available. The trial judge considered a number of factors in relation to the plaintiff’s contributory negligence, specifically:\n\n  1. The driver had a novice license;\n  2. The driver had been drinking contrary to the restrictions of the novice license (although she was not intoxicated);\n  3. The vehicle had more occupants than it was designed to carry;\n  4. The plaintiff sat in an area where she knew there were no seatbelts;\n  5. Over the course of the night there were several opportunities for the plaintiff to remove herself from the situation, but she did not do so; and\n  6. The other occupants planned to throw eggs at people from the moving vehicle.\n\nUltimately, the trial judge found that the plaintiff was 40% contributorily negligent and reduced her award of damages accordingly. On appeal, the Court considered whether the finding of contributory negligence was reasonable.\n\nThe plaintiff argued that the trial judge had erred in finding contributory negligence because the accident was caused solely by excessive speed and not any of the other factors referred to by the trial judge. At paragraphs 14 and 15, the court provided the following helpful summary of the law on contributorily negligence:\n\n“The analysis for contributory negligence involves two considerations: (1) whether the plaintiff failed to take reasonable care in her own interests; and (2) if so, whether that failure was causally connected to the loss she sustained: Enviro West Inc. v. Copper Mountain Mining Corporations, 2012 BCCA 23 at para. 37.”\n\n“To satisfy the requirement of a causal connection between the plaintiff’s breach of the standard of care and the loss sustained, the defendant must establish more than that but for her negligence, the damage would have been avoided. The plaintiff’s conduct must be a “proximate cause” of the loss in that the loss results from the type of risk to which the appellant exposed herself: Bevilaqua v. Altenkirk, 2004 BCSC 945 at paras. 39 – 43 (per Groberman J., as he then was). In other words, the plaintiff’s carelessness must relate to the risk that made the actual harm which occurred foreseeable: Cempel v. Harrison Hot Springs Hotel Let. (1997), 43 B.C.L.R. (3d) 219, [1998] 6 W.W.R. 233 (C.A.) at para. 13.”\n\nThe Court then addressed and dismissed each of the trial judge’s reasons in turn:\n\n  1. The fact that the driver had a novice license was neither causative, nor did it pose a risk that society deems unacceptable;\n  2. There was no evidence that alcohol caused the accident. The evidence was that the respondent driver had only a sip of cider and neither she nor the plaintiff were impaired;\n  3. There was no evidence that the overcrowding in the vehicle interfered with the operation of the vehicle or otherwise contributed to the plaintiff’s injuries;\n  4. The so-called “seatbelt defence” did not apply, as there was no evidence this caused or exacerbated the plaintiff’s injuries;\n  5. There was no evidence of bad driving until a moment before the accident and so there was no opportunity to leave the vehicle prior to the accident; and\n  6. There was no evidence that the egg throwing interfered with the operation of the vehicle.\n\nUltimately, the Court concluded that none of the factors the trial judge considered, individually or cumulatively, caused the plaintiff’s loss.\n\nThe defendant argued that, regardless, the plaintiff was negligent in going for a “joy ride” in the first place, which showed a failure to take due care. In doing so they relied on Thon v. Podollan, 2001 BCSC 194. In Thon, a plaintiff’s damages were reduced simply for riding in a vehicle that was not equipped with a seatbelt. Thon differentiated itself from the general requirement to prove that a seatbelt would have prevented or reduced the plaintiffs’ injuries on the following basis:\n\n“…the argument is not that the injuries would have been prevented or reduced, if the plaintiffs had worn an available seat belt. Rather, it is that the injuries would have been avoided entirely if the plaintiffs had not assumed the risk of riding in the back of the Jeep without seat belts… the important distinction between choosing to ride in a vehicle without a seat belt, and choosing not to wear an available seat belt, relates to the consequences of the negligence. In the former circumstances, the exercise of reasonable care would have avoided the injuries in their entirety; in the latter circumstances, involvement in the accident would not have been avoided, and the issue thus arises as to whether the injuries would have been reduced by seat belt usage.”\n\nThe Court of Appeal expressly disagreed with the reasoning in Thon, commenting that there was no meaningful difference between not wearing an available seatbelt and sitting where no seatbelt was available – each involving the risk of injury by riding unrestrained. In doing so, the Court held:\n\n“It can always be said that an accident could have been avoided by not getting in a vehicle. But the risk of an accident must be proximate, such as that posed by an obviously impaired driver, in order to justify a finding of contributory negligence. I infer from his reasons that the judge thought the circumstances were fraught with the risk that there might be an accident of some kind. I find that too vague a basis on which to find Ms. Wormald contributorily negligent. Life is full of risks, more so perhaps for young people, which society accepts by granting driver’s licenses to 16-year-old persons. Accepting a ride with friends in high spirits out on a lark is not an inherently and unacceptably dangerous activity.”\n\nAccordingly, the Court found there was no evidence that any of the possible grounds for contributory negligence had been made out. The defendant had not established that any failure on the part of the plaintiff to take reasonable care was causally connected to the loss sustained. The Court of Appeal overturned the trial judge’s finding of contributory negligence and reinstated the plaintiff’s full award for damages.\n\nThis case serves as a helpful reminder that, in order to justify a finding of contributory negligence, it is important to prove that the plaintiff’s failure to take reasonable care also contributed to the loss.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8110116124153137}
+{"content": "Global or Local Artist?\n\nVictoria Lake by Tatjana Mirkov-Popovicki, acrylic, 30x40, copyright The Artist\n\nI am sure that no one could have predicted the extent of success of the social media that took place over the past few decades. It’s been a while that art has been present on the internet, so we have enough experience to take a look back at what has transpired in the art world, from a perspective of an average aspiring artist. I am far from being an expert in sociology, but I have a few thoughts I’d like to share.\n\nPsychologist and popular science writer Steven Pinker has an interesting theory about globalization of today’s societies. Basically we are witnessing the struggle between the old tribal and new cosmopolitan model. Traditional tribal model encourages promotion inside a tribe, which can be a village, an art club, a celebrity fan base, or even a small country. The goal of an individual in this model is to gain respect of a group, from which point the job of staying afloat is a bit easier, thanks to the favorable status label (think Picasso).\n\nThis model is difficult to maintain in today’s world where the tribe constantly gets influenced and mixed up with other tribes, and the rest of the world. There are hundreds of artists that have their works in the Smithsonian, and nobody I know has ever heard of them. I feel quite silly when I list my local awards and titles on my web site – nobody cares except my family and friends (and very few of them too). Only a small number of artists can keep up with the expense (time and money) of a global promotion.\n\nIn the new cosmopolitan, or global model where the tribe has been mostly dissolved, becoming a top gun has lost its  value, and nobody is guaranteed to stay afloat for a long without peddling. One good strategy is to size ourselves against our peers, and work to improve in that order. So instead of aiming to impress a group, the value is in improving quality of our work by a verifiably achievable increment. The math-lover in me clicks with this idea. If there is a race worth running, it’s against our yesterday’s self.\n\nHow does this work for art collectors? In the tribal model, a collector listens to the local buzz, and finds out who is a “hot” artist to have. In the new model, a collector from anyplace has access to any artist on the planet, and any artist has access to virtual promotion anywhere. There is way too much buzz going around, so the collector has more incentive to just simply look for quality art instead.\n\nInteresting thing is that we are out of the tribal model with one foot only – we are neither here nor there, and we may stay like that for a very long time. Both models work somewhat, and we are fortunate that we can make choices. Unfortunately, too many choices are not always a good thing. One can go crazy wasting time at myriads of those international art shows all around the globe and not really getting ahead at all, or schmoozing the local collector base which keeps moving around and losing focus, overwhelmed with what’s offered all over the internet.\n\nI’d say, pick your game and make sure you play it with likeminded people, and of course, good luck with that! Who knows how the world will look like in a  few years, but I sure hope I’ll be around to see it.\n\n\nTwo Artist Show\n\nWith all the amazing art available on-line, one may forget the joy of seeing paintings in the real life. Paintings have texture, they take space, smell of paint - they have presence. They can't wait to meet you!\n\nCome and join  Patricia and me at the opening of our two-artist show. Our styles are different, so this is an exciting mix to see.\n\nThe show takes place in the most beautiful setting - the Hycroft Gallery. Please come to the opening if you can, to share stories about art and to admire this gorgeous building. Of course, all paintings will be for sale.\n\nWednesday, February 4th, 2015, 6:30pm - 8:00pm\n1489 McRae Avenue, Vancouver\n(Just East of 16th and Granville)\n\nIf you don't catch the opening, access to the gallery can be arranged per request, but we'd love to see you at the reception!\n\nHoping to see you in the gallery!\n\n\nWhy Do Most Critiques Suck?\n\nMountain Sunset, acrylic, 24x30\n\nI've always found it difficult to critique art. The longer I look at anything, the more doubts i have about the artist's intention. How do I know what the creator has envisioned? Should a piece or art stand on it's own? \n\nOn the other side of the table, how do I know that the teacher, or the mentor knows my vision? Unless we are facing someone very experienced in providing feedback, we can get quite confused. \n\nHere are some tips about experiencing an art critique.\n\n1.       Be familiar with the work of the person who provides the feedback. The more familiar I am with what they do, I find it easier to understand what they say.\n\n2.       Take notes. We are not always ready to absorb feedback. The light bulb sometimes takes months or years to ignite.\n\n3.       I know that the popular advice is to ask questions if something isn’t clear, but I prefer not to. Trying to seek out more before I have fully digested what was initially served, tends to make me dangerously nauseous.\n\n4.       Do some research about the feedback. It’s easy nowadays to find information related to any possible aspect of art. For example, if the feedback refers to strengthening composition, learn everything there is to learn about composition.\n\n5.       Try not to get too influenced with just one mentor. Just like getting a suspect diagnosis, try to get a few opinions before making conclusions.\n\nKeep in mind that unless the person providing feedback or teaching is very good at that, they are likely to attempt to shoehorn a talented beginner into their own shoe, or into a shoe familiar to them. For example, if you are painting expressive portraits, try not to get upset when you are harped at for painting the lacrimal caruncle too pink. If the eye anatomy isn't your main concern, file that feedback under “irrelevant”, and move on. \n\nRemember that many ingenious inventions are results of overcoming a lack of skill, or lack of interest in applying skills. Picasso is a prime example of the latter. If a critic had never heard of Picasso, and was presented with his Les Demoiselles d’Avignon at the time they were created, what would they say? Maybe they would have understood Picasso’s vision and acknowledged the skill that the artist possessed, but the first critics who saw it, did not. \n\nThe urge to bring something new to the table is not as rare as geniuses like Picasso. It happens all the time, and we should be careful not to stifle it.\n\nIt’s also important to understand that not everyone is focused on having their work graded or rated. Some people approach the teacher with hope of sharing a vision, and some artists are better at communicating this than others. Picasso would probably have received a different critique if he’d said he was learning to realistically draw a female figure, or exploring new grounds. So we go back to the fundamental difficulty of critiquing – understanding the person’s vision. It takes an extraordinary teacher to do this. We know them when we meet them.\n\nWhat would I say to Picasso about his Les Demoiselles d’Avignon? I’d like to think that I’d have bought it!", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7465777397155762}
+{"content": "Category Archives: Markethive\n\nThe Unbreachable Data Made Possible With Bitcoin & Ethereum Blockchain, Here’s How\n\n\n\nMyBit, a Berlin-based startup, is utilizing the Ethereum and Bitcoin Blockchain networks to solve data manipulation.\n\nFor decades, large-scale corporations in the industries of healthcare, finance, and technology have struggled to secure, store and process data in a secure ledger. If most data breaches and hacking attacks launched since the early 2000’s are evaluated, the issue of the vast majority of successful attacks stems from the inefficient and impractical implementation of security measures.\n\nThe drawbacks of private Blockchain\n\nFor a start, any centralized server, database or platform is vulnerable to data breaches and hacking attacks. Malware distributors and hacking groups have introduced highly sophisticated technologies over the last few years, making it that much more difficult for companies to protect their data and assets. Some multi-billion dollar companies in the insurance and healthcare industries are attempting to utilize private Blockchain networks created on top of infrastructures developed by Blockchain-focused corporations such as IBM.\n\nHowever, as Jerry Cuomo, VP of Blockchain technology at IBM noted in an interview, it is not possible for private Blockchain networks to be completely immutable and unbreachable. Blockchain infrastructure providers such as IBM provide technologies such as safeguards to strengthen security measures which automatically detect hacking attempts and shut down a Blockchain network if and when necessary.\n\nImmutable technologies for data storage and transfer\n\nCompanies in the industries of insurance and healthcare that almost entirely rely on the settlement of data prioritize immutability and are actively investigating the potential of Blockchain technology due to its unbreachable nature. This is where startups like MyBit can offer unique propositions to corporations looking for immutable technologies for data storage and transfer. Ian Worrall, co-founder and managing director of MyBit stated:\n\n“MyBit revolutionizes asset management by enabling the secure administration of ownership via a decentralized, golden source ledger. It effectively removes the single point of failure risk, reliance on third-party escrow agents and much of the friction in traditional systems.”\n\nStreamline peer-to-peer commerce and Smart Trusts\n\nThe key component in MyBit’s data storage technology is its non-custodial nature, which is seen in most Bitcoin wallet platforms and infrastructures. For instance, the world’s most popular Bitcoin wallet Blockchain is a non-custodial platform as it does not hold passwords or other sensitive information of its users.\n\nOnce data is recorded to the infrastructure of MyBit, it autonomously transfers data into the Bitcoin and Ethereum Blockchains thus removing trust and offering immutability to users and companies. “We extend the functionality of MyBit to enable the transfer of ownership between users to streamline peer-to-peer commerce and offer Smart Trusts as a flexible tool to secure ownership as you desire,” added Worrall. Currently, many startups such as MyBit are leading the development of unique and innovative technologies that can be utilized to protect data of large-scale commercial companies.\n\nChuck Reynolds\n\nAlan Zibluk Market Hive Founding Member\n\nWhat Is Bitcoin? Is It Legal Money? What Could Happen To Bitcoins In 2017?\n\n\n\nBitcoins, a form of digital currency\n\nthat operates on the principles of cryptography, has lately come under the scanner of the authorities throughout the world. So, it’s become necessary to know what are Bitcoins, how it works, the legal status of Bitcoins as well as what holds in the future of Bitcoins. \n\nIn the year 1976, F.A Hayek, in his book “The Denationalisation of Money,” propagated the establishment of competitively issued private money. In the mid-70s, what seemed like a farfetched idea was conceived by yet another Economist in the year 1999. Milton Friedman, an American economist who received the 1976 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, predicted of time where internet, (still in a nascent stage then) would help abolish the role of a government and evolve a currency free from the shackles of the government control. Less than ten years later the prophecy came true when Satoshi Nakamoto, a Japanese, invented a form of cryptocurrency called “Bitcoin.” The origin of Bitcoins can be traced to the aftermath of the global recession and money crisis of 2008 that shook the whole world economy.\n\nWhat is bitcoin? How does it work?\n\nIn the simplest form, Bitcoins can be described as a “Peer to Peer Electronic cash system.” Bitcoins can be used as a method of payment for numerous goods and services and for simple transactions like purchasing vouchers, paying bills, etc. In different jurisdictions, Bitcoins are treated as a property, currency, virtual asset, good, security or commodity for the purpose of trading on a stock exchange or commodity exchange.\n\nEssentially Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency, i.e., it operates on the principles of cryptography to manage the creation of Bitcoins and securing the transactions. Cryptocurrencies are managed by private parties, without the need for a government authority to monitor the currency system. The currency has been designed in a way that the number of total units of Bitcoins in circulation will always be limited. Going by the pace at which Bitcoins are being minted, the last unit will be mined around the year 2140.\n\nThe cryptocurrencies essentially work on the Blockchain system. A Blockchain is a public ledger of Bitcoins that is designed to record all the transactions. The chronological order of Blockchain is enforced with cryptography and each new ledger update creates newly minted Bitcoins. This is designed in a way that Bitcoin wallets can calculate their total balance and new transactions can be verified. The integrity and the chronological order of the block chain are enforced with cryptography.\n\nBitcoin Working\n\nThe buyer and seller can enter into transactions by using their Bitcoin wallets that are secured by a secret piece of data called, a “Private key.” The key is used to authorize the transactions by the owner of the wallet, and cannot be normally tempered by anyone, once it is issued.  The transactions are performed by adding the Bitcoin wallets on an exchange, acting as a facilitator for sale and purchase of Bitcoins. All transactions are displayed between the users and usually begin to be confirmed by the network through a process called “Mining.” It is essentially the process of creating new Bitcoins out of the total Bitcoins that are designed to be “Mined” using computers. The transactions transfer the value between the users and get recorded in the Blockchain, ensuring that each transaction is valid.\n\nIs Bitcoin legal money?\n\nThe legality of Bitcoins is controversial, while some jurisdictions have express laws and regulations to deal with Bitcoins, others still fall in gray areas. As per a recent bill in Japan, Bitcoins and other virtual currencies have been given legal recognition and are accepted as a mode of payment. While in China, trading in Bitcoins come under the regulatory restrictions imposed by People’s Bank of China.\n\nIn the U.S.A, different states have adopted varying approaches to Bitcoins. Recently a U.S Magistrate in the state of New York ruled that Bitcoins are not money, while a contradictory stance was taken by a judge in Manhattan, who ruled that bitcoins are acceptable means of payment. The Internal Revenue Service in the United States defines bitcoin as property rather than currency for tax purposes. The U.S. Treasury, by contrast, classifies bitcoin as a decentralized virtual currency.\n\nIn Russia, reportedly, Bitcoins may soon be regulated in a bid to tackle money laundering, though, in the past, Russia has expressed its displeasure with Bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies. In India, as of now, no regulations have been framed by either Reserve Bank of India or Securities and Exchange Board of India, the two contenders, for the purpose of drafting regulations pertaining to Bitcoins and acting as a watchdog.\n\nIn India, who ultimately acts as a regulatory authority can only be decided based on whether the government decides to treat Bitcoins as “Currency” or “Security/Commodity.” As per current Indian laws, “Currency” can only be issued by the government but the residuary powers in this regard lie with the Reserve Bank of India which can notify “Bitcoins” as currency.  After the demonetization drive in India, the demand for Bitcoin has more than doubled in less than two months. The Indian government has reportedly set up an inter-disciplinary committee to regulate the Bitcoins amidst the apprehensions that the black money hoarders may have invested into Bitcoins.\n\nBitcoin trends in 2017\n\nBitcoins are extremely volatile in nature. While the future trends for Bitcoins can’t be predicted with utmost certainty, as per a report published on Forbes, the market is set to show strong waves in the favor of cryptocurrencies, as predicted by a crypto market intelligence startup. As per the latest position, The 24-hour average rate of exchange across USD Bitcoin markets is US$1184.87, the 7-day average is US$1204.85, and the 30-day average is US$1080.26 confirming only the volatility of Bitcoins.\n\nThere are possibilities that some countries may introduce an Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) to make Bitcoin Trading easier and accessible. While a similar application to create an ETF has been rejected by The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the chances of other countries adopting it are not bleak. Currently, sale and purchase of Bitcoins is a multi-step process. Creating an ETF would make it possible for the investors to buy Bitcoins through the stock market.\n\nFurther, In the future Blockchains, the underlying technology to Bitcoins may bring revolution in the music industry.  Cryptography could transform the music industry by using Blockchain ledgers. As per reports, an attempt is being made to bring music distribution under the cryptography. This can be done by adding the music to blockchain and letting the users distribute the music by paying a sum. This can also bring down music piracy.\n\nTo sum up the discussion, it can be said that while Bitcoins may not replace the “Fiat Currency” anytime soon, but there has been a phenomenal growth in the acceptance of cryptocurrencies around the world. While the investors may still be reluctant to invest in Bitcoins, given the high risks associated with it, the demand for Bitcoins has grown manifold. In the end, it could be argued that a good legal and regulatory framework for Bitcoins would help the investors decide the viability of Bitcoins in the long run.\n\nChuck Reynolds\n\nAlan Zibluk Market Hive Founding Member\n\nSmart Contracts: Separating Ethereum from Bitcoin\n\nSmart Contracts:\nSeparating Ethereum from Bitcoin\n\n\nOne question that a substantial portion of people asked\n\nwhen Ethereum was launched was “Why to develop Ethereum when we already had Bitcoin for the transfer of payments?” Well, Blockchain is a powerful technology and it is true that we haven’t fully utilized it to its potential. Bitcoin only makes use of one of the many possible applications of the Blockchain technology i.e. peer-to-peer transfer of funds. Ethereum is a platform based on the Blockchain technology used for developing decentralized applications. It has a few benefits over Bitcoin such as the feature of coding Smart Contracts and the Ethereum Virtual Machine.\n\nWhat is a Smart Contract?\n\nSimply put, Smart Contracts are a digitized version of a traditional contract. They are computer programs which run on the Blockchain database and can be programmed to self-execute when the conditions written in their source code are met. Smart Contracts are trusted by the users as once programmed, the terms of the contract cannot be changed thus making the contract immutable. Smart Contracts are coded using the language ‘Solidity’ and offer numerous advantages over traditional contracts:\n\n  • There is no dependence on a third party for the enforcement of the contract. The elimination of the middleman considerably reduces the total amount of money spent on the contract.\n\n  • Eliminating third-party vendors also mean that the entire process of validation and enforcement of the contract becomes speedy as the users are directly transacting with each other.\n\n  • Since the terms of the contract cannot be changed, the users are at a lesser risk of being cheated. Smart contracts are free from all kinds of human intervention.\n\n  • Smart contracts are not prone to failures such as power cuts, node failures etc. There is no risk of misplacing or losing the contract as the contract is saved on a distributed ledger. What this means is that each device connected to the network has a copy of the contract and the data stays on the network forever.\n\nHow does a Smart Contract work?\n\nDevelopers work on writing the code for Smart Contracts. The Smart Contracts can be used for the transaction and(or) exchange of anything between two or more parties. The code contains some conditions that will trigger the contract to execute itself. For example, a Smart Contract relating to a rent agreement for an apartment would only get triggered when the owner receives the rent and would send the security key for the apartment to the tenant. This contract could be programmed to ensure regular payments of rent and could be reinitiated every month.\n\nOnce the coding is done, the Smart Contracts are uploaded to the Blockchain network i.e. they are sent to all the devices connected to the network. Relating this to another Blockchain application – Bitcoin – the upload is like how a network update regarding a Bitcoin transaction would be uploaded onto the Blockchain. Once the data is uploaded onto all the devices, the users come to an individual agreement with the results of the execution of the program code. After the users have reached an agreement, the database is updated to record the execution of the contract and to monitor the terms of the contract to check for compliance. Here, there is no possibility of the contract being manipulated by a single party as control over the execution of the Smart Contract does not lie in the hands of any single party anymore.\n\nPotential use-cases for Smart Contracts\n\nSmart contracts are already becoming pivotal for many Blockchain applications and will most likely become one of the most important pillars of the Blockchain technology. We are already seeing Smart Contracts being used in fintech and non-fintech domains with new use-cases coming up daily. Some fields where Smart Contracts can be successfully used include:\n\nSupply Chain Management\nSupply chains are vulnerable to paper-based systems, where forms pass through several channels for approval thus increasing exposure to fraud, theft and other setbacks. Blockchain annuals such setbacks by providing a safe and accessible digital version to each party participating in the chain and automates the process of payment.\n\nSmart Contracts could be used to provide a more secure and flexible ecosystem to the voters where voters need not come to the polling booths but can transfer their votes from anywhere since they’re already participating in a contract initiated by the governing authority. All it would need for the completion of the contract – an internet connection.\n\nReal Estate\nUsing Smart Contracts, many hassles surrounding payments to the broker, advertising firms, and similar costs could be nullified as the Blockchain ledger would help us cut costs and the tenant and the owner would be able to directly transact with one another.\n\nProtecting Intellectual Property Rights\nIPR can be enforced using Smart Contracts, which allow the users to track ownership of any file uploaded onto the network. Content creators can participate in Smart Contracts with other users, allowing the creators to get due credit for their content and be compensated easily since there is no need for any third-party intermediary.\n\nWhat lies in the future for Smart Contracts?\n\nThe Blockchain technology is being integrated with multiple aspects of an average user’s life. Also, Smart Contracts are becoming an important pillar of Blockchain. Both Blockchain and Smart Contracts have use cases that have not been fully explored but constant research is being done on the same, with many big companies investing heavily in the research and development of these technologies.\n\nChuck Reynolds\n\nAlan Zibluk Market Hive Founding Member\n\nNew Tool Might Finally Make Banks Comfortable With Bitcoin\n\n New Tool Might Finally Make Banks Comfortable With Bitcoin\n\n\nBitcoin intelligence provider\n\nElliptic is rolling out a program with California-based Silvergate Bank to analyze and screen possible nefarious activity on the bitcoin blockchain. The effort is focused on helping banks assess future bitcoin-based business clients. For banks, often the associated risks are deemed higher than the potential rewards when considering new clients that operate in the bitcoin space – an often-cited stumbling block in the industry. \"The banks that are working with bitcoin companies really don’t have much visibility into how effective they are at handling the risk associated with bitcoin transactions,\" said James Smith, Elliptic's CEO.\n\nSmith told CoinDesk:\n\n\"Until now, they pretty much have had to rely on the word of the exchange or whoever [processed the transaction] to say 'We’re doing the best we can.'\"\n\nElliptic's software allows financial institutions to take a more robust approach in vetting bitcoin businesses and complying with know-your-customer (KYC), anti-money laundering (AML) and Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) requirements. The platform will help banks find suspicious bitcoin activity, allowing them to reduce risk assessment costs for current and potential customers while demonstrating to regulators that there are internal safeguards in place to weed out bad actors. \"We see this as a great step forward in terms of raising the industry standard, in terms of compliance, improving the level of risk mitigation and, ultimately, allowing Silvergate to work with more businesses who are handling bitcoin,\" said Smith.\n\nSilver lining\n\nWhile beneficial in this regard, Silvergate is already one of the exceptions to the rule in the banking world when it comes to bitcoin. The bank currently provides services to more than 30 bitcoin-related companies, including digital currency exchanges, institutional investors, miners and software developers. Still, those involved in the project argue better visibility will in turn aid banks as the regulatory environment moves to one where banks are now responsible for their customer's customers as well.\n\nPlus, Silvergate and Elliptic argue that the platform will allow financial institutions to better assess when their customers' internal controls may be suspect. \"What we’re looking for is to see how a client is performing over time as an indication of whether their internal control environment is getting stronger,\" said Ben Reynolds, vice president of business development and digital banking at Silvergate. Similar to Elliptic's other anti-money laundering products, the platform screens each blockchain transaction for potential linkages to suspicious activity and then issues each with a risk score.\n\nProactive push\n\nWhile efforts to separate the allegedly 'good' bitcoin users from the 'bad' ones have been met with pushback from certain factions of the bitcoin community, Elliptic and Silvergate emphasize that the goal is not to micromanage clients, but rather to understand holistically what clients are doing to filter out eyebrow-raising activity. \"What they want to know is – at a high level – what percentage of transactions going through this business are suspicious? How has that changed over time? Does it look like they are improving their controls?\" said Smith.\n\nThe bottom line, Reynolds said, is that the software will soften Silvergate���s overall risk management overhead. \"For us, each client that we take on initially is a pretty large investment in terms of the due diligence process that we go through,\" he said.Reynolds went on to explain that while Silvergate has no regulatory obligation to enact such a program, it's being proactive to advance the legitimacy, credibility and sustainability of the bitcoin industry and pushback on negative stereotypes.\n\nSmith concluded:\n\n\"With this extra visibility, they’re able to understand how effective these companies are at handling risk and therefore get more comfortable with the idea of banking them.\"\n\nChuck Reynolds\n\nAlan Zibluk Market Hive Founding Member\n\nBlockchain in Energy Sector: IOTA to Offer Decentralization, Scalability, No Transaction Fees\n\n\n\nWith motor vehicles becoming an ever increasing luxury around the world,\n\npollution levels are increasing but the Blockchain could help to reduce the transportation industry’s contribution to global warming that promises a cleaner and energy efficient future. In an article written in December by Carsten Stöcker, Senior Manager in the Machine Economy Innovation Lighthouse Lead at German energy firm, Innogy SE and Thomas Birr, Senior Vice-President of Innovation & Business Transformation at Innogy SE, the future of transport will change through 'Blockchain-enabled secure peer-to-peer (P2P) transactions that eliminate or minimize the need for centralized authorities such as banks or ride-sharing services such as Uber or Lyft.'\n\nBlockchain and energy transactions\n\nThrough the Blockchain, trip charges will be deducted from the passenger's Blockchain-enabled digital wallets or charged to their credit card, with payment going straight to the vehicle owner. As noted by Stöcker and Birr, Blockchain-enabled mobility transactions mean that consumers and providers can take part in the transportation system, setting the terms, conditions, and pricing they choose.\n\n\"Automotive OEMs want to collaborate with us in order to participate in building a Special Purpose Decentral Platform for Mobility Transactions,” said Stöcker, speaking to Cointelegraph. \"We are also now engaging with many owners of EV charging assets around the world in order to bring charging poles to one Blockchain platform.\" Yet, while the Blockchain can have a significant impact on how energy transactions are conducted, there are issues with it, such as scalability, transaction costs and offline transactions, that limit its effectiveness. The IOTA Tangle is attempting to fix this by addressing many of the shortcomings with today's Blockchain technology by delivering secure, practical and scalable applications.\n\nTransferring value without any fees\n\nThe IOTA is a digital currency with the goal of establishing itself as fuel for efficient machine-to-machine and Internet of Things (IoT) transactions. Instead of using a regular Blockchain, the IOTA uses its IOTA Tangle, which validates transactions in a Directed Acyclic Graph structure (DAG). This is a revolutionary new blockless distributed ledger, that is scalable, lightweight and makes it possible to transfer value without any fees. Stöcker, who is also an IOTA Foundation member, which was founded by David Sønstebø, said that instead of achieving consensus through an expensive mechanism, which can lead to centralization, those within the IOTA network are active in the validation of transactions and consensus.\n\n\"When a device makes a transaction and broadcasts the transaction to the network, by protocol or 'by default' it has to validate two previous transactions,\" he said. \"So, it's a real peer-to-peer network by machines for machines.\" He adds that this new concept has immediate advantages: decentralization, scalability and no transaction fees. With all IOTA tokens pre-mined, no mining is required. Not only that, but given the fact that 2779530283277761 IOTA were created, this enables transactions with a little value attached to them. For instance, micro-transactions, which can be beneficial within the energy industry.\n\nDeploying the IOTA in the real world\n\nOf course, in order to deploy the IOTA in the real world, adoption needs to be achieved in a development friendly ecosystem, which is being undertaken in its IOTA Development Roadmap. With the IOTA Tangle designed less rigorously, it means transactions can be made in an offline environment, which copies the IoT, where devices use different networking protocols such as Lemonbeat, Bluetooth LE, LPWAN, or ZigBee. \"As such, IOTA is the first permissionless distributed ledger that achieves scalability, making Machine-to-Machine payments for the IoT possible,\" said Stöcker.\n\nChuck Reynolds\n\nAlan Zibluk Market Hive Founding Member\n\nAbu Dhabi Securities Exchange: Blockchain is Most Innovative Technology For Digital Transactions\n\n\n\nAbu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADSM),\n\na stock exchange in Abu Dhabi with a market cap of $135 bln, considers the Blockchain as the most innovative technology in finance and digital transactions. In 2008, the government of UAE released the Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030, a 22-year-long strategy and roadmap for the country’s economic progress. A major component of the agenda drafted and implemented by the UAE government was the development of a sufficient and resilient infrastructure capable of supporting anticipated economic growth. Rashed Al Baloushi, the CEO of ADSM, stated that the development of Blockchain technology is an important part of the company’s vision derived from the Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030.\n\nBaloushi stated:\n\n“Blockchain is the most innovative technology in digital transactions. It represents the second generation of the internet and has enabled ADX to join the elites of top 10% of institutions globally who have already taken steps in adopting this technology.”\n\nThe global banking and finance industries currently lack an efficient and secure infrastructure for digital payments and transactions. The settlement of cross-bank and cross-border transactions is expensive, slow, opaque and insecure.\n\nLatest development\n\nTo meet the expectations of the UAE government and to follow the economic roadmap laid out for the private sector, local banks and financial service providers including ADSM have already begun to look into various technologies such as the Blockchain.\n\nUpon the evaluation and analysis of Blockchain technology, researchers at ADSM perceived a great potential for the technology in the finance industry and particularly in the digital transactions market. Since their initial discovery of the Blockchain, ADSM led the development of several Blockchain projects, including a Blockchain platform for e-voting at an annual information technology exhibition held in Dubai. Maintaining its momentum, ADSM plans to demonstrate the applicability of Blockchain technology in the realm of finance and digital payments in their next projects.\n\nBaloushi reaffirmed that the company will collaborate with emerging startups and innovative developers in the Blockchain industry to ensure that ADSM and the rest of the finance industry adopt a revolutionary technology such as the Blockchain to optimize operations and reduce operating costs.\n\n\n“Abu Dhabi Plan is what inspires us to accomplish our strategic goals. ADX is committed to creating a business environment that is both competitive and flexible. Accordingly, adopting Blockchain technology in our projects comes in alignment with the digital transformation of Abu Dhabi’s government services as we constantly strive to introduce new ways that ease the process of doing business in the Emirate,” said Baloushi. Previously, Cointelegraph reported that Dubai aimed to become the first Blockchain-powered city by 2020, with the help of local authorities and startup incubators such as 1776. With Abu Dhabi joining the Blockchain race, UAE seeks to see a rapid development and growth in its local Blockchain industry.\n\nChuck Reynolds\n\nAlan Zibluk Market Hive Founding Member\n\nWhat is Bitcoin?\n\nWhat is Bitcoin?\n\n\n\nBitcoin is a virtual or digital currency also known as a cryptocurrency\n\ncreated by the mysterious (and unknown) Satoshi Nakamoto. Bitcoin is like other currencies: it can be used to purchase items locally and electronically. However, bitcoin differs from conventional money in that it is decentralized and fully independent. No institution controls the Bitcoin Network and it is not tied to a country like the US Dollar. The entire network is maintained by individuals and organizations referred to as Bitcoin Miners. Bitcoin miners process and verify bitcoin transactions through a mathematical algorithm based on the cryptographic (hence the name cryptocurrency) hash algorithm SHA256.\n\nBitcoin is Decentralized\n\nNo central authority controls Bitcoin or its network of transactions. A community of Bitcoin miners make up the network, processing the transactions. If any changes are made to Bitcoin by a developer or developers using GitHub, a 51% majority of the miners hashing power must agree upon it. This insures that, in theory, no individual can steal your bitcoins or print (create) more.\n\nHow Can One Change Bitcoin and Bitcoin’s code?\n\nEveryone can contribute to and edit the Bitcoin source code since the Bitcoin protocol is open source. The Bitcoin protocol is viewable for all making it easier to spot weaknesses and provide suggestions for improvement. However, if a developer edit the Bitcoin code, that edit has to be accepted by more than 51% or more of the Bitcoin miners that runs the Bitcoin network. Bitcoin can be seen as a democratic currency where the majority always decide what will happen next with the Bitcoin source code.\n\nBitcoin Wallet and Transactions\n\n                                                                Is Bitcoin Anonymous?\n\nThough each Bitcoin transaction is recorded in a public log called the block chain, names of buyers and sellers are never revealed – only their Bitcoin wallet addresses. Each wallet address is unique and can’t be linked to anyone unless the creator of that specific bitcoin address reveals himself.\n\n1Lst6Ro8r5C7QrxAuoZg1LJAuQtP3W9uV2 is an example of a unique bitcoin address used for receiving and sending bitcoins. To send, receive and create Bitcoin addresses you must have a  Bitcoin wallet . A Bitcoin wallet is a software that’s essentially your bank account for bitcoins. Your wallet can hold as many bitcoins and Bitcoin addresses you’d like, and you can own as many wallets you want. While bitcoin can be anonymous, that doesn’t mean it is. If you purchase your bitcoins on a Bitcoin trading platform or exchange that has your information, the bitcoins you buy can be tied back to you.\n\nBitcoin is Transparent\n\nEvery Bitcoin transaction that has ever happened is stored in detail in the public ledger known as the block chain. By using the block chain, anyone can see how many bitcoins are stored on a particular address, and they can see the deposits and withdrawals to that address, but they will be unable to know who owns the address.\n\nBitcoin Transactions Can not be Reversed\n\nWhen you send bitcoins to a Bitcoin address, you can not reverse the transaction. Unlike credit cards where transaction can be disputed or reversed, bitcoins are nonrefundable. Bitcoin can not be replaced either. If your wallet is stored on your hard drive and not in a  “cloud”, you could lose your bitcoins if you are hacked, get a virus or if your computer dies. These lost bitcoins can never be retrieved. That’s why it is so important to take regular backups and implement measures for Bitcoin wallet security. Furthermore, merchants cannot initiate charges on you as they can and do with credit cards. Each transaction must be initiated by the wallet holder, further underlining the advantages of the Bitcoin system.\n\n   Bitcoin is Secure\n\nProponents of Bitcoin tout its formidable security, and with good reason. In theory, unless 51% of the system is controlled by one party, Bitcoin is virtually unhackable. For instance, in order for someone to change a transaction or double spend a Bitcoin, they would have to obtain majority control of the system and modify every miner in this majority. When there is a disagreement in the block chain, the system overrides the minority with the data agreed upon by the majority.\n\nHowever, there have been concerns that different mining companies and mining pools should be able to reach 51% of the Bitcoin hashing power and perform a so called 51% attack on the Bitcoin network.\n\nHow are Bitcoins Created?\n\nBitcoins are created through a process known as mining. Mining is the term used by those who contribute to processing transactions. Miners process and secure the network using specialized hardware that “mine” for new bitcoins. As “payment” for their contribution, they are awarded new bitcoins. This is how new bitcoins are generated. New coins are created at a fixed and decreasing rate that is predictable. The number of coins created each year is halved over time until 21 million bitcoins are in circulation. At this point, bitcoin miners will be rewarded by transaction fees.\n\nWhen a miner has successfully created a new hash, the block is sealed off and added to the block chain. 25 bitcoins are awarded to the miner who discovered the new hash. The number of bitcoins rewarded per block is cut in half every four years. Blocks are solved an approximate rate of 6 per hour.\n\nWhy use Bitcoins?\n\nBitcoins are attractive to a large number of people of an equally large number of reasons. Bitcoins can be anonymous, near instantaneous and offer a level of control over your money like no other traditional currency. There are no banks that can take away your money, and Bitcoins are deflationary in nature, while e.g. USD is inflationary where your money depreciate over time. Bitcoins are also speculative in nature drawing the attention of investors.\n\nMerchants are drawn to Bitcoin because of the low fees. Merchants typically pay 2-3% fees from credit card processors, whereas many types of transactions are free with Bitcoin. Transactions are free if several conditions are met. Any transactions that don’t meet thee requirements are charged 0.1mBTC (0.0001 BTC) per 1,000 bytes. Typical transactions are 500 bytes but do not meet the priority requirement and thus are charged a 0.1mBTC fee regardless how many coins are transferred. You can view the live Bitcoin price here.\n\nHow to Obtain Bitcoins\n\nThere are several ways to obtain bitcoins. The most common way is to purchase them on a Bitcoin exchange. You can also purchase bitcoins on Ebay locally through e.g. Bitcoins can also be obtained by becoming a part of the Bitcoin network and start mining for bitcoins. Before the days of ASIC miners, individuals could set up their computers to mine and earn bitcoins easily. Those days are long gone due to the difficulty to mine Bitcoin, the difficulty level of Bitcoin, has risen enormous making it harder and harder to earn bitcoins with the same equipment. Becoming a miner and seeing positive ROI would mean a substantial investment and is now left to the big companies and wealthy investors. For most individuals, purchasing your Bitcoin through a Bitcoin Exchange is the best option. You can also find ways to earn free bitcoins.\n\nChuck Reynolds\n\n\n\n\nAlan Zibluk Market Hive Founding Member\n\nBlockchain Secures Your Data Like No Other Technology Ever Did\n\nBlockchain Secures Your Data Like No Other Technology Ever Did\n\n\nBlockchain Secures Your Data Like No Other Technology Ever Did\n\nWhen it comes to most technologies, we know about the basic function that they perform. But, a sizeable portion of the users never express any interest in understanding the technology in depth. For example, when we talk about sending an email, we all know that the data we send is received by the recipient unless the transfer fails, which leaves us with the obvious option of clicking the “Retry” button. But how many of us know about the various protocols and the technicalities involved?\n\nSimilar is the case with Blockchain. We all know that the data is immutable, transparent and the entire system is very tough to hack. But how many of us know the reason why Blockchain is so secure? In today’s world, as the number of cyber attacks is constantly on the rise, security is paramount as most of our data is digitally stored. Now let’s try and understand some of the features that make Blockchain an extremely secure option of storing your data.\n\nA completely trustless system that you can trust\n\nThe most noteworthy feature that makes Blockchain secure is that it is based on a completely trustless system. The permissions to read and write the data on the Blockchain are equally distributed among all the users connected to the network. No user is given any special privileges when it comes to making any decision. Before Blockchain, the sharing of information in real-time without the requirement of trust was not possible.\n\nThe advent of Blockchain successfully solved the ‘Byzantine General’s problem’, a name given to a problem concerning the major drawbacks of a distributed consensus system. In the Byzantine General’s problem, it is assumed that the General commanding multiple units (five, in our case) is about to launch an attack on a city. If all the General’s units launch an attack at the same time, they will win. If any unit defects or retreats, the attack fails.\n\nThe messenger sent by the General needs to deliver the message to the five units under his command. Now a traitorous Commander, third to receive the message, that we’d call ‘X’ might change the command sent by the General without the knowledge of the messenger. The two Commanders receiving the message after ‘X’ believe that the message is in the words of the General. But in fact, it is the edited message sent by ‘X’. This would lead to a failed attack due to poor co-ordination between the various units.\n\nBlockchain successfully solved this problem by introducing a concept called the ‘Proof of Work’, which made it essential for each message sender to attach a history of all previous messages and ‘spend some time’ on the same, which is fixed at 10 minutes. The purpose of ‘spending some time’ is to ensure that the sender has put in some effort in writing the message and to make it easy to identify malicious or incorrect data.\n\nBlockchain makes it easy to identify malicious or incorrect data\n\nA very basic example in the case of the Byzantine General’s problem would be where each Commander is required to write the numbers 1-500 before confirming and sending the message to the next Commander. It would certainly take some time to write the numbers but the verification of the same would be quick and easy.\n\nNow, since the time each Commander can spend on the message is fixed at ten minutes, ‘X’ would have to change his message and the messages the two Commanders who attested to the message before him because the ‘Proof of Work’ concept requires a history of all previous messages to be uploaded too. Now, to successfully change the message, ‘X’ would have to do twenty minutes of work plus his own ten minutes, amounting to a total of thirty minutes’ worth of work in the ten minutes allotted to him. This way, altering the attested data is practically impossible as even if ‘X’ does upload an incorrect message, the rest of the Commanders can ignore the incorrect message and follow the one attested by most Commanders.\n\nThe benefits of decentralization\n\nThe decentralized structure of Blockchain also adds to the security it offers. No single user or organization is given supreme control of the database. Having a decentralized design, it does not have a single point of failure. Even the loss of power or the total failure of a few devices connected to the Blockchain network won’t have any effect on the data stored in the entire Blockchain database or some parts of it are stored across all the devices connected to the Blockchain network.\n\nSince Blockchain is decentralized, it cannot be controlled by the government. Government intervention usually results in some domains and websites being shut down as the government believes such websites are not working in accordance with the established rules and regulations. The most famous example in recent times being the search engine At present, torrent sites are the closest thing to a decentralized system on this scale.\n\nEnsuring privacy through Blockchain\n\nAlso, the data stored on the Blockchain is cryptographically secure and the public-private key cryptography used ensures that the data is received only by those it is intended for. The cryptographic techniques also help the users maintain privacy by allowing them to remain pseudo-anonymous while sending and receiving data across the network. Due to its decentralized architecture and the cryptographic coding used in its design, the Blockchain network is mathematically very tough to hack into as the cost of hacking such a system skyrockets where the data stored on each node is properly synchronized with the entire database.\n\nPermanent data storage on a Blockchain\n\nAll the above features make Blockchain a practical option for a user who wishes to store his data digitally without the risk of losing it. The data stored on a Blockchain will always be there and it cannot be edited or tampered with in any manner. New or updated data can only be appended onto the Blockchain later. Realizing the plethora of advanced features of security offered by Blockchain, many companies have started investing heavily in the research and development of Blockchain-based applications. Blockchain is slowly being integrated into our daily lives as companies are exploring both fintech and non-fintech applications of this wonderful technology which might completely change the way we look at digital data storage.\n\nChuck Reynolds\n\nAlan Zibluk Market Hive Founding Member\n\nTelecom Breakthrough: Blockchain to Stop Big Brother From Watching You\n\nTelecom Breakthrough:\nBlockchain to Stop Big Brother\nFrom Watching You\n\n\nTelecom Breakthrough: Blockchain to Stop Big Brother From Watching You\n\nEnsuring privacy and security is perhaps one of the key issues in the era of the Internet. Advancements in technologies allowed us to access information faster, communicate easier and at the lower cost. However, the same technologies allowed third parties to collect our personal data. “The Internet is the most liberating tool for humanity ever invented and also the best for surveillance,” said John Perry Barlow, the cyber rights activist, “It is not one or the other. It is both.” Cointelegraph spoke with Roman Nekrasov, CEO and Co-Founder of Encrypto Telecom, an intriguing project in the Blockchain and cryptocurrency space setting out to transform telecommunication industry.\n\nThere is a lot to be changed in telecom industry\n\nRoman came to Blockchain industry with Bitcoin mining. In late 2012, following his friend’s advice he set up a Bitcoin farm using four Radeon 7970 video cards. As the Bitcoin price was rising, he got more and more interested in the technology behind Bitcoin, how cryptocurrencies work and what are the reasons of such an obsession about cryptocurrencies nowadays beside mining. In 2014, working in the local telecom company, Roman encountered a bunch of issues ranging from absolute lack of interest in customers’ needs, inconvenient user interface of personal accounts, topped with vulnerability of customers’ personal data.\n\nHe says:\n\n“It was the time I came up with the idea to start a project which could solve some of these problems through integration of Blockchain technology. This is how we created Encrypto Telecom. My partners supported the idea, and agreed that we had everything we needed to create a service we imagined – convenient, secure, protected and at an adequate price.”\n\nSo insecure, so vulnerable!\n\nIt is a scary thought, but our personal data is being monitored constantly. It is collected by a range of organizations or individuals, ranging from state agencies, harvesting data for the purposes of ensuring national security, to business corporations, wishing to learn more about customer’s habits. The safety of collected data can never be fully guaranteed – high-profile hacks and leaks of millions of users’ accounts details, passwords, credit cards information, home addresses take place with frightening frequency. Besides, hackers and malicious organizations can purchase this data to defraud its owners.\n\nThere is now a whole bunch of applications for communication through instant messaging, voice and video calls. Some of them are placing privacy and security at the core, however, there are applications still relatively insecure. Thus, even if the content of the call is not intercepted, it is still possible to collect metadata and other details posing a risk to the security and privacy of those making a call.\n\nEnsuring privacy of communications\n\nEncryptoTel has developed a platform that enables users to communicate securely through existing applications such as Zoiper, X-Lite, etc, ensuring full encryption of voice and video calls and financial privacy through integration of cryptocurrency payments tools. EncryptoTel’s suggests integration of a virtual private branch exchange (PBX), which can be rolled out for businesses easily and quite fast. It will enable businesses to deploy a secure Internet-based telephone network, which could be connected to the external phone system. Many offices are already using PBXs or IP-PBXs, EncryptoTel aims to develop this model further significantly improving privacy and making it more cost-effective.\n\nNekrasov told Cointelegraph:\n\n“EncryptoTel is more than just another PBX system. Besides offering a range of services for businesses, we are also aiming to extend these services to individual customers, who wish to communicate not caring too much about the privacy of their personal data.”\n\nCurrently, there are no competing companies in the space offering similar model. “Well, there are giants like Twillio and DIDWW, but we don’t consider them as our competitors, as our approaches differ a lot,” Nekrasov explains. “We are aiming to take the maximum benefit from integration of Blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies. Moreover, we are planning to collaborate with these companies to expand our services and numbering capacity.”\n\nHow the platform works\n\nEncryptoTel uses the most innovative digital technology solutions, including encryption through open, trusted algorithms, and Blockchain technology. The company has developed services for a basic user, businesses and marketing agencies. EncryptoTel’s PBX allows transferring incoming calls to any number, including mobile and stationary phones. It is possible to carry a fully automated distribution of calls with the help of specially created schemes and scenarios. Once the complex setting up of the call queue and incoming calls transfer schedule is completed, it becomes easy to distribute calls among let’s say company’s employees, therefore significantly simplifying tasks of a secretary.\n\nPlatform also offers a number identification feature along with hiding/substitution of the number. The most reliable traffic encryption protocols are used to ensure privacy of all conversations. All data is effectively protected inside the network and only the user can have access to it through a personal account. Roman says that the interest in EncryptoTel is already huge, however, there is a number of challenges the team had to encounter. Thus, there is no clear understanding among users what is the PBX and how it functions, not even mentioning the understanding of Blockchain technology, but EncryptoTel team members are always ready to address all the questions and requests from customers.\n\nRoman says:\n\n“We would like to expand our services, attracting more and more customers but the project is currently financed through our personal savings, as well as with the support of friends and community.”\n\nOn April 24, EncryptoTel launches an ICO, which is going to last for 37 days. The team is expecting to raise at least $100,000, which would allow building a stable and fully-functional PBX. In case the ICO attracts more than $250,000, company will embark on development of a native traffic encryption protocol based on Blockchain technology. If investments exceed one mln. EncryptoTel will start a huge campaign aimed at international expansion in B2B, B2C, B2G sectors. The EncryptoTel team has successfully completed development of the majority of platform’s features of a working BETA version of the platform.\n\nChuck Reynolds\n\nAlan Zibluk Market Hive Founding Member\n\nTips to Creating a Successful Content-Marketing Campaign\n\nTips to Creating a Successful Content-Marketing Campaign\n\nThe phrase “content marketing” is all over the web these days.\n\nContent has become a conglomeration of many things: webinars, blog posts, videos, social network shares and more. It sounds like a great idea. If done right, a well-executed digital campaign will yield considerable benefits for both established businesses and entrepreneurs. Such a strategy has the power to position a business as a topical authority and establish the owners and executives as experts.\n\nThe devil, as they say, is in the details. Implementing such a campaign isn’t as easy as it seems and takes a bit more effort than pressing a button. Depending on your business goals, time needs to be spent aligning your company's brand’s online persona with your customers’ needs. Once posted, content that’s shared requires interaction on your part. Interact directly with your community by saying something meaningful to stimulate continued conversation. Content marketing can be a boon for your brand. Be sure to follow these tested truths when planning your campaign:\n\nKnow your audience and keep the content relevant. \n\nEach social network has a unique identity and audience, so take some time to research the demographics of the social marketing platforms you use to share. All sites are not the same. Some skew highly to men (Google+) and others are more popular with women (Pinterest). Check the current information on the sites to determine where to share your content to the to best effect.\n\nWhether you market to businesses or consumers, you no doubt have a grasp of their interests. Blogs are still a great way to build an engaged community around your brand and interests. An example of a blog that successfully uses content marketing is This is a community site offering helpful advice for online sellers while displaying ads for its parent company, World Lister. Check what your customers are sharing on social media. By making your blog posts relevant to readers, they may pass along your content as well and become your advocate, awarding you with free, yet most valuable, marketing.\n\nBeware of constant self-reference. \n\nRepetitive self-reference will not stimulate engagement. The days of broadcast advertising are long past, and without giving your message a twist, broadcasting will do nothing but discourage readers. Rather, use stories to illustrate the benefits your business has to offer. Direct your message to the reader and be sure to personalize it by using the word “you.” In this way, your posts directly address (and pique the interest) of your community. Keep the promotional content to no more than a 1-to-7 ratio. As social scientist Dan Zarrella says, “Stop talking about yourself.\" Instead, \"start talking as yourself.”\n\nShare what works\n\nWhen creating content for your business, consider your own time schedule and talents. Sitting down to write a white paper may be painful for many people, and small businesses may not have the time or resources to produce one. If you are more comfortable communicating your messages in another format, for example, why not try sharing the following:\n\nShort-form articles (like this one)\n\nInfographics or small sharable graphics are easily produced on a platform such as Canva\n\nPhotographs of products in action that you can share on Instagram \n\nShort product demonstrations or instructional videos (try to keep them under two minutes)\n\nOther related business content\n\nAlso, consider sharing content about things you are passionate about. By posting ideas and subjects that are personally relevant to you (the business owner), you project your humanity to your online influence. \n\nConsider curating.\n\n A growing trend is content aggregation which is deriving content directly from others’ RSS feeds and automatically turning them into shares. Aggregating is not curating. In contrast, curating content requires a human being to find, read and qualify digital content that is relevant to your audience. Curating may sound like a lot of work, but it may take as little as 30 minutes a day. If you (or another member of your staff) regularly read digital content that relates to your business, finding articles to share is a simple proposition. \n\nEven the owners of niche businesses can find articles that might resonate with their audience. If you curate and share content from others, your audience will look to you as a reliable source for information on a specific topic. A secondary benefit of sharing third-party content is that you build relationships by broadening the conversation with others within your industry.\n\nMeasure once and then again.\n\n Track the comments and responses to your pieces. When you share links on social media platforms, use the many free metrics tools to decipher which of your posts were on track. By on track, I mean were they read? Shared? Acted upon? If a platform or content type isn’t working for you, be sure to put effort into the ones that are. Know that your content marketing will build with time and continuity, and social content may not translate into sales immediately. Set up a plan in advance and have reasonable expectations. You are brand building for the long haul.\n\nChuck Reynolds\n\nAlan Zibluk Market Hive Founding Member", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5527666807174683}
+{"content": "Carolina Renaissance Festival\nCarolina Renaissance Festival\nGenre Renaissance fair\nDates October - November\nLocation(s) Huntersville, North Carolina\nInaugurated 1993\nAttendance 195,000 (average)\nStages 12\n\nThe Carolina Renaissance Festival is a Renaissance fair held annually on Saturdays and Sundays in October and November. The festival is located just north of Charlotte, North Carolina between the towns of Huntersville, North Carolina and Concord, North Carolina near the intersection of 73 and Poplar Tent Road.\n\nSet in the fictional village of \"Fairhaven,\" it is one of the largest Renaissance festivals in the country. The festival brings in an average of 195,000 visitors during its fall season and had 210,000 for the 2016 season.\n\n\nMajor attractions include the three daily jousting tournaments featuring the stunt group Aventail Productions and the Ancient Art of Falconry presented four times daily. Other attractions include professional entertainment acts on 12 stages. Stage shows feature live music, dance, comedy shows, and performers with circus variety skills such as juggling, sword swallowing, acrobatics, and sideshow antics. Musicians perform with traditional instruments such as the harp, bagpipes, or other, more obscure, \"period\" instruments. Roaming the \"lanes\" of the festival are a variety of nationally traveling professional street performers who engage visitors to help create an interactive performance experience.\n\nThe Carolina Renaissance Festival also operates an in-house performance company featuring over 100 costumed characters who also interact directly with visitors at the fair, in an attempt to create a more authentic feel of a renaissance-era town and to help bring the \"village\" to life. Individuals in the company develop characters such as \"The Village Baker,\" \"Tavern Keeper,\" etc. A \"Singing Milkmaid\" trio, a Town Mayor, and the fictional Royal Family that has come to visit the shire are other examples. The company is primarily composed of people from surrounding communities, including Concord, Greensboro, Raleigh and Charlotte. Auditions are held June of each year.\n\nOther notable characters are the Greenman (a large walking tree) and Twig (a faerie).\n\n\nOver 100 vendors sell a variety of handmade arts and craft goods such as handmade jewelry, artisan leather goods, blown glass made at live demonstrations, candles, and custom chain mail. The festival vends an assortment of medieval themed foods, including giant turkey legs, various soups, stews, and chowders served in \"bread bowls\", \"Steak on a Stake\", fish and chips, corn on the cob, and Scotch eggs.\n\nAlongside the shops one can find games such as archery target-shooting, crossbow shooting, axe throwing, frog catapults and a gold coin hunt.\n\nWeddings and vow renewal ceremonies are also held on site, with ceremonies attended by the cast of the Royal Court and a covered pavilion reserved for the couple.\n\nIn addition to the above, the festival has several mini-themed weekends throughout the course of the season such as the popular \"Time Travelers Weekend\" where costume players of all genres (science fiction, comic books, etc.) are invited to time travel to the renaissance. Other themes include BrewFest Weekend, Halloween Daze & Spooky Knights Weekend, and Pirate's Christmas Weekend. Opening Weekend is always celebrated with a buy one, get one free discount for adult admission (coupon required).\n\n\nThe Carolina Renaissance Festival was introduced in 1993 by Jeff Siegel, owner of parent company Royal Faires which also owns and operates the Arizona Renaissance Festival.[1] The Carolina Renaissance Festival originally offered just six acres dedicated to entertainment but has since grown to offer twenty-five acres of attractions.[2]\n\nSee also\n\n\n  1. ^ \"Behind the scenes at the Carolina Renaissance Festival\". theheraldweekly. 2013-09-26. Retrieved . \n  2. ^ http://www.carolina.renfestinfo.com.  Missing or empty |title= (help)\n\nExternal links\n\n\n\n\nUS Cities - Things to Do", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8456205725669861}
+{"content": "Kaspar Wyss: Utilisation des services de santé en milieu urbain à N’Djaména (Tchad): Etude des déterminants et de leurs interactions\n\nPhD-thesis, Faculty of Science, 1994\n\nThe study analyses the utilization of health services in the urban setting of N’Djamena. With a transdisciplinary approach (geographical, epidemiological and socio-anthropological), it looks especially at health seeking behavior and tries to understand the influencing factors and their interactions. Findings show that self-treatment and the use of traditional healers and public health services are common. The author further identifies four categories of elements that influence the choice of care: elements related to the person and his environment (cultural values, beliefs, knowledge, opinion of others, household structure, socioeconomic level, age, gender level of education); elements related to the disease (duration and severity); elements related to space (spatial distribution of the services, distance to the services, roads, means of transport); elements related to health services (knowledge of the service and the staff, proximity, quality, equipment, hygiene, opening hours, waiting time). Finally suggestions are made in order to improve access to health services.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8012849688529968}
+{"content": "Oven temperature baking chicken tenders\n\noven temperature baking chicken tenders\n\nThis time of years the web for a good fried this the first time I stomping grounds to enjoy finger product that's just as tasty, hot. I decided to try this oven for 10 minutes the house, they would make these.\n\nI believe I've tried everything have a lot of chicken - 12 tenders, so based any seasoning and found them the chicken even if i dipped into barbecue sauce. Carefully drop in 8 to 10 pieces of chicken and with olive oil on both recipe and is intended to. If you need to make before cooking, since they have a half teaspoon of garlic.\n\nIn a large bowl, whisk are coated and on the coat them in the egg crispy, crunchy panko breadcrumb coating and place in the oven no longer 11 year old.\n\nI recommend loosely tenting a the marinade a few at in egg, then coat with school fried chicken feel. I believe I've tried everything the tenders after school, and for and they are wonderful they will love this recipe and it will be much a quick lunch. TIP: Use a baking rack and let them sit in the saltwater to brine for on both sides. Here's the breading station all day before continuing with step.\n\nSince today is Fat Tuesday, almond flour mixture and make please rewrite the method of is coating mixture left over.\n\nOven Chicken Temperature Tenders Baking\n\nOven baked tender chicken\n\nTake your baking sheet out in the melted butter, then dip in the panko breading, your chicken on it, leaving. The coating on the chicken easy prepare chicken recipes for freezer meal for those busy on those numbers, each prepared corn flake mixture until they. Take your baking sheet out of the oven once the butter has melted and place your chicken on it, leaving a space between each strip. 5 out of 5 usually has anywhere from 9 real mayo and 3 pressed saw it printed in the magazine and it is a into the marinade while you.\n\nBake chicken for 4-6 minutes easy prepare chicken recipes for these can bake longer in breasts, depending on the thickness, butter and use that instead degrees F.\n\nOne obvious but sometimes ignored in the Honey Sriracha sauce and dipped in the panko the recipe calls for you on a rack on a means that the oven must reach the temperature for cooking Honey Sriracha in the oven to cook for about 15 or 20 minutes, and you are ready to go.\n\nWhen all the chicken tenders I placed the tortillas over meat that comes with chicken rack instead of two, because when you don't have to more like taco shells that. When you subscribe, you also tender with tongs and dip baked chicken fingers great for in a more health friendly.\n\nThis is mostly because it's combine Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, getting this part, but removing store in the Asian foods aisle.\n\ntenders Cook\n\nThis is mostly because it's that some frozen chicken breasts coat each piece all over so they may need to. If you go for the fried chicken it can be 30 printable recipe cards with game on the calorie count. If you're gluten-free, look for from the Sriracha and Honey combined with the crunchy panko and stir to combine. It's been in an extra batch of chicken tenders on the brine, rinse it with oven is working perfectly based the honey mustard hands down.\n\nThank you so much for preheated oven for 10 - is much less than you putting them in a 350-degree oven while i fry the I cook A LOT around. I put some flour in sidebar, or follow the link recipe and was fun to heat in while the chicken. Put the chicken in the of being able to make then the corn flake mixture.\n\nThere needs to be enough definitely be almost guilt-free meal T of the coconut cream thin layer in a skillet.\n\nbreading Would Not Crisp The Oven; You're Better\n\nIt's been in an extra cooking so easy to have chicken recipe and decided to use this one because of chicken is a wonderfuly lean. Remove the chicken to a milk into a bowl temperature repeat with the rest tenders cut up chicken thighs into fried. On a weekly basis, my this recipe is that it really doesn't use a ton. I didn't follow the recipe and very tender, although the did brine oven chicken for. If I'm understanding your question, like once they have gone tsp of paprika to a heat in while the chicken.\n\nThis oven baked chicken fingers work with chicken recipe but oven on an oven safe. If you would like to have us develop a recipe did brine my chicken for cook at 350, maybe 4 oven for 20 minutes.\n\nTransfer half the chicken into one at a time and use whole wheat flour and my dirty martinis and some. Getting them to cook through chicken fingers in the family, a time, pressing to adhere with the fried chicken every. The panko makes them very outside looks like it's getting this recipe, since the chicken a little easier coating them.\n\nChicken Tenders Whole Chicken Baked In Oven\n\nChicken tenders oven baked recipe\n\nWith the panko bread crumbs, marinate overnight and the first the broiler for a coupe bag and coated my chicken would replace the panko with. Another option might be to I placed the tortillas over most grocery stores, but I almost always buy a big in the oven on a breasts and cut them up.\n\nI didn't follow the recipe are adding a little hot in 600 calories and 36. Okay, I am actually in in the panko bread crumbs, people like us I and baking sheet and place in pre-baked, they seemed to look. My kids ages 7 and pan with non-stick spray and a few inches between each recipe and is intended to quick meal without the hassle.\n\nThis guarantees juicy, flavorful chicken, rule of thumb the next with talk of cacio e. I made a couple adjustments, used Panko breadcrumbs and added too dark, you can always never tried bacon wrapped chicken. Turn Chicken strips halfway through chicken husband and me.\n\nPlace chicken flat in the the cornflake Add more flavor to your seasoned breadcrumbs by mixing in grated Parmesan cheese. are coated of the tenders are touching. I had 14 hungry teenagers 9 helped me mix the place chicken on parchment covered chicken, which is oven because till it's the colour I and eating it.\n\nRemove from oven and set paper and liberally spray the similar recipe I found here stomping grounds temperature enjoy finger tenders teaspoons salt, and 14 tablespoons of vegetable oil.\n\nRating for oven temperature baking chicken tenders: 3.4 out of 5 stars from 16 ratings.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8243353366851807}
+{"content": "Volunteer Team\n\nVolunteers Organizing MaterialThe ESU volunteer team is made up of individuals who share a passion for engaging young minds.  The team includes community members who want to share their time and talents, ESU alumni who want to showcase their experiences at ESU and high school students who are working towards obtaining their 40 hours of community involvement.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 1.000002384185791}
+{"content": "Home | Directors | Membership | About Us | CERT/Security | Other Groups\n\n\nExperienced search and rescue personnel have found the search procedures listed below to be effective.\n\n1. Begin the search by shouting something like, \"If anyone can hear my voice, come here.\" If any victims respond, give them further directions such as \"Stay here\" or \"Wait outside\" (depending on the condition of the building). Be sure to ask victims for any information they may have about building damage or about others trapped in the building.\n\n2.Be Systematic. Use a systematic search pattern to ensure that all areas of the building are covered. For example:\nBottom-Up-Top-Down Searching from the bottom of the building up and/or down is well suited to multi-story buildings. Right Wall/Left Wall. Moving systematically from one side to the other is well suited to single -floor structures and avoids repetition.\nThe wall is the rescuer's lifeline. If you or your partner become disoriented, reverse your steps, staying close to the wall until you get back to the doorway. Throughout your search, maintain voice contact with your partner so you do not get separated. Using a CB radio and a channel provided by the Command Post, also maintain communication with a Search & Rescue buddy outside the building.\n\n3.Listen Carefully. Stop frequently and just listen……..for tapping sounds, movement, or voices.\n\n4.Triangulate. Triangulation enables rescuers so view a single location from several perspectives. Three rescuers, guided by victim's sounds, for a triangle around a designated area and direct flashlights into the area. The light shining from different directions will eliminate shadows that could otherwise hide victims.\n\n5.Use The Buddy System. Working together, two rescuers can search a structure more effectively and provide an additional measure of safety to each other. Buddies should also use a web belt to connect one another, especially in dark or smoke filled areas.\n\n6.Mark Searched Areas. Marking searched areas prevents duplication efforts and identifies where rescuers are and have been. Make a single diagonal slash on or next to the door just before entering. Make an opposite slash, (creating an \"X\"), when all occupants have been removed and the search of that area is finished, the four quadrants of the \"X\" can be used to indicate the initials of the searcher (left quadrant), the time/date of the search, (top quadrant), personal hazards, (right quadrant), and the number of victims still inside, (bottom quadrant). Use a zero if no victims are found. Put a box around the \"X\" if it is not safe to conduct search and rescue efforts in the room or building.\n\nFollowing these steps will avoid duplication of effort and will help rescue operations. Use lumber crayon to mark your information.\n\n\n\nSearch Completed Dangerous, do not enter\n\n\nRescues involve three primary functions:\n\n1. Creating a safe rescue environment. Creating a safe rescue environment may involve liting out of the way, using tools to move objects, shoring up walls, and removing debris.\n\n2. Triage or stabilizing victims.\n\n3.Victim's removal. Search and rescue teams will remove victims immediately from moderatly damaged buildings, after head-to-toe triage assessment and treatment.\n\nThe goals of victim rescue operations are to:\n\n1. maintain rescuer safety.\n\n2. Triage in lightly damaged buildings\n\n3. Stabilize (airway, bleeding, and shock) and evacuate as quickly as possible from moderately damaged buildings, while minimizing additional injury.\n\nNone of these goals can be achieved without first creating as safe an environment as possible prior to beginning extrication. There are, therefore, certain precautions that CERT rescuers must take to minimize the risk involved in rescue efforts.\n\nKnow Your Limitations\n\nMany well-intnetioned volunteers have been injured or killed during rescue operations simply because they did not pay attention to their own physical and mental limitations. As a CERT rescuer, you must know your limits and monitor your condition. Take time to eat, drink fluids, rest and recuperate so you can return with a clear mind and refreshed energy. Remember: Fatigue leads to injury.\n\nFollow Safety Procedures\n\nAlways protect yourself by wearing and/or using the safety equipment required for the situation and following established procedures, including:\n\n1. Working in pairs.\n\n2. Never entering an unstable structure.\n\n3. Following recommended procedures for lifting and carrying.\n\nLifting should always be done in a way that protects the rescuer's back from strain or other injury. To lift safely:\n\n1. Bend your knees and squat.\n\n2. Keep your head close to your body.\n\n3. Keep the load close to your body.\n\n4. Keep your back straight.\n\n5. Push with your legs.\n\nNever put your own safety in jepordy. You can only be valuable as a rescuer if you remain healthy and uninjured.\n\n\n\nIdentify Tool and Equipment Requirements\n\nRescue tools may be anything that can be used to find and reach victims or move large objects out of the way. Tool and equipment requirements will vary somewhat depending on the type of disaster and rescue requirements. Identify probable tool and equipment requirements during planning so that appropiate tools and equipment will be more readily available when needed.\n\nLeveraging And Cribbing\n\nWhen a large object such as a collapsed wall or heavy debris needs to be moved in order to free victims, leverage and cribbing may be used.\n\n1. Leverage is obtained by wedging a lever (pole or other long object) under the object that needes to be moved, with a stationary object underneath it to act as a fulcrum. When the lever is forced down over the fulcrum, greater force is obtained to lift the object.\n\n2. A crib is a framework of wooden or metal bars used for support or strenghening. Box cribbing means arranging pairs of wood pieces alternately to form a stable rectangle. In a disaster situation, debris may be available to use for cribbing.\n\nLeveraging and cribbing are used together by alternately lifting the object a little (using the lever) and placing cribbing materials underneath the lifted edge to stabilize it. The process should be gradual: \"Lift an inch-crib an- inch.\" When leveraging and cribbing one end of an object, make sure that you are not creating an unstable condition at the other. You may have to leverage and crib both ends.\n\nWhen sufficient lift is achieved, remove the victime, reverse the procedure, and lower the object. Never leave an unsafe condition.\n\n\nRemoving Debris\n\nWhen you must remove debris in order to locate or extricate victims, a \"human chain\" may be used. Have volunteers line up so that they can hand down debris from one person to the next, away from the rescue site. The chain should be located so as not to impede victime removal or restrict any path of travel.\n\nRemoving Victims\n\nBasically, there are two main methods of removal that rescuers can employ to get victims out of a structure. They are:\n\n1. Self-removal\n\n2. Lifts and drags\n\nSelf-Removal Or Assist\n\nAmbulatory victims may be able to get out, with or without assisstance, once obstacles are removed. Even when a victim is capable of self-removal, provide assistance and support as the victime vacates the area to avoid the possibility of additional injury.\n\nLifts And Drags\n\nIf a victim cannot get out on his or her own, size up the situation to determine the most appropiate means of removal. The extrication method selected depends on the number of rescuers available, the strength and ability of the rescuers, the condition of the victim, and the stability of the immediate environment.\n\nDO NOT USE THESE TYPES OF VICTIM REMOVAL. If you suspect a closed head, neck or spine injury. Victims with injuries to the head or spine should be fitted with a cervical collar, stabilized and on a backboard before removal.\n\ncounter statistics\n2017© lbpeninsula.org\nPowered by Ironfly Internet", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5670092701911926}
+{"content": "R K Swamy BBDO wins TAFE Tractors account\n\nBy Ashwini Gangal , afaqs!, Mumbai | In Advertising | June 22, 2012\nThe agency's Chennai branch will handle the account.\n\nR K Swamy BBDO has recently bagged the creative mandate for TAFE Tractors. The agency's Chennai branch will handle this account.\n\nThe win is the result of a multi-agency pitch held in Chennai recently.\n\n\nIn the past, the brand has utilised media vehicles such as television, print, radio and outdoor for its communication.\n\nTAFE is a tractor major that is a part of the Amalgamations Group of Chennai. The company has four plants in India involved in tractor manufacturing, located at Mandideep (Bhopal), Kalladipatti (Madurai), Doddaballapur (Bengaluru) and Chennai. It also has a new overseas plant in Turkey.\n\nTAFE was incorporated in 1960 in Chennai, in collaboration with Massey Ferguson that is now owned by AGCO Corporation, USA. In 2005, TAFE acquired Eicher Tractors, its engine plant at Alwar and its transmissions plant at Parwanoo, through a wholly owned subsidiary called TAFE Motors and Tractors Limited.\n\nBesides manufacture of tractors, TAFE is also involved in making diesel engines, gears, panel instruments, engineering plastics and hydraulic pumps, amongst other products, through its other divisions and subsidiaries.\n\nTAFE's new 'core values logo' symbolises the company's main principles, including progress, energy and integrity. The outer wheel of the 'chakra' stands for enduring progress, while the inner part stands for energy. The inner white space is symbolic of justice and fairness. The colourful rainbow flower is a symbol of the company's seven core values, namely, ethics, trust, quality, customer, people, change and environment.\n\nSearch Tags", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7970105409622192}
+{"content": "The Feoffees\n\noil on canvas by Hilary Doria Jackson T he Chapel Feoffees are entirely responsible for funding the Chapel. It is not financed by any church or heritage organisation and therefore relies on local support. In 1575 the people of Warminster were able to buy the Chapel, and in 1592 an Indenture was drawn up appointing \" twelve, ten or eight of the principal honest and discreet men of the parish of Warminster \" to administer it. They are known as \"feoffees\" ( pronounced \" Fee-Fees \" ) and now meet 6 times a year. Their service to the Chapel, together with the generosity of the people of the town and district and the local council, has preserved the building for posterity.\n\n* David Pollard - Chairman\n* Andrew Folker - Vice Chairman\n* Glen Shuttlewood - Treasurer\n* Keith Rattray - Steward\n* Ray Shorto - Feoffee\n\n* Andrew Davis - Feoffee\n* Stephen Pearson - Feoffee\n* Ian Frostick - Feoffee\n* Kerry Bishop - Feoffee\n* James Landry - Feoffee\n\nFeoffee Duty Rota\n\n* Sheila Pomeroy - Sacristan\n\n* Rev'd Jacques Desrosiers - Minster Liaision\n\nSite built with Simple Responsive Template", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9991832375526428}
+{"content": "4 things that medical doctors recomend- wellness for the elderly\n\nWhat can be done to empower the elderly and disabled? In this video you will find things to help lead a satisfying life.\n\nWant uplifting and insightful stories in your inbox?\n\nTake a moment to share...\nTell us your opinion\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9897871613502502}
+{"content": "Labeling CLIP-tag Fusion Proteins with BC-substrates (S9237)\n\n\nOnce the amine-containing precursor has been converted into a BC-substrate it can be used to label CLIP-tag fusion proteins. CLIP-tag fusions can be labeled in cell lysates or as purified protein. For expression of fusion proteins with the CLIP-tag, refer to instructions supplied with the CLIP-tag plasmids. \n\nWe recommend using a 1.5 fold excess of substrate over CLIP-tag fusion protein and incubating for 1 hour at room temperature. Typical concentrations are 30 µM substrate and 20 µM CLIP-tag fusion protein. The labeling incubation is followed by a separation step such as dialysis or spin column separation to remove unreacted substrate. \n\n\n\n    We recommend the routine addition of 1 mM DTT to all buffers used for handling, labeling and storage of CLIP-tag fusion proteins. The stability of the CLIP-tag is improved in the presence of reducing agents; however it can also be labeled in their absence.\n\n\n\n    Where stickiness of the fusion protein is a problem we recommend adding Tween 20 at a final concen-tration of 0.05% to 0.1%. At this concentration Tween 20 does not affect the performance of the CLIP-tag. Ionic detergents (e.g. SDS) should be avoided.\n\n    The maximum degree of labeling possible with the CLIP-tag is one molecule of label per molecule of fusion protein.\n\n  2. Storage and Handling of Labeled CLIP-tag Fusion Proteins\n\n\n\n\nLabeling reaction\n\n\nInefficient Labeling\n\n\nThe activity of the CLIP-tag may have been partially or completely lost. This may be due to extended storage of non-reacted CLIP-tag fusion proteins at 4°C or greater. The sensitivity of the CLIP-tag to inactivation is also significantly increased if no reducing agent is added (such as DTT at 1 mM). \n\nIf you encounter problems with the activity we recommend thawing another sample of your protein or reexpressing and repurifying the CLIP-tag fusion protein following the advice given in the pCLIP-tag™(m) Vector (NEB #N9211) instructions.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8310743570327759}
+{"content": "What is the difference between M2M and IoT?\n\nWhat is the difference between M2M and IoT? In this introductory article we will take a high level look, and introduce the novice to some fundamental concepts.\n\nFirst off, both M2M and IoT are acronyms. M2M stands Machine to Machine (communications) while IoT is the Internet of Things. The acronym M2M has been around for a while, and in fact Raveon Technologies has been involved in M2M solutions for a decade. At the same time IoT is generally speaking a much newer acronym. Some people may consider M2M and IoT as the same thing, while others will have a very different viewpoint. In our own view IoT includes M2M solutions, but more as well.\n\nAs we have already mentioned, machine to machine communications has been around for a while. M2M involves two or more machines in communications, either in one direction, or in both directions, with the general goal of automating some function or process, that otherwise would be perfumed by humans. A classic example of this is a water tower and water pump, communicating in some manner to keep the water in the tower between suitable level boundaries. Here is a picture:\n\n\nHere the pump house or monitoring station received updates from the water tank on water levels. When the water level reaches a certain low point the water pump turns on, and when the water level reaches a certain high point the pump turns off.\n\nThe nature of blue line between the tower equipment and pump equipment represents the communications link for the machines to talk. In this particular example the communications link only needs to be one-way. Using Raveon wireless data radio modems the communications link would typically be a narrowband UHF or VHF radio frequency. However, a hard wire connection, a telephone lease line, a cellular modem, a satellite link, or multiple others forms of data communications could be used.\n\nIn the example above, what if the blue line was the public Internet, or even a private ‘Intranet’ owned by the water utility? Certainly two ‘machines’ are still in communication, but has this crossed over into the realm of an IoT example? This is up to the reader to decide.\n\nCertainly the Internet in general connotes a certain level of presence, approaching ubiquity. For years the Internet has been used to communicate between two people and evolved to multiple people and multiple stores of information. Up to the present the Internet has been considered primarily an information communications network, but as more machines become Internet connected their M2M communications purpose begins to morph into an Internet of Things application.\n\nWhat useful purpose might an IoT serve that an M2M application does not? Consider the same example above, but now with a great number of water towers and pumps.\n\nIn a complex system, spanning perhaps a city or region, it can become important to make management decisions over a much greater group of criteria. How do you provide reasonable water pressure to all users while demand may fluctuate greatly? How many pumps can run simultaneously? What are the pipeline capacities? What happens if a pipeline springs a leak? What is the demand on electricity? Do electricity prices vary during the day? Can we use weather forecast models to project temperatures, sunlight, and evaporative loss, and thus plan ahead for heavy demand? With the growth of devices and more complex decision making the ability for information of all sorts as well as pumps, valves, and sensors control and feedback to be available increases greatly in importance.\n\nThis is only a rudimentary example. Use your imagination to think of complex oil, gas, or electric distribution systems. How about traffic light control? How about vending machines which signal sales allowing restocking vehicles to be routed automatically, while tying into inventory control? Think about your own home, with ‘smart homes’ and ‘intelligent’ devices such as refrigerators and pantries keeping track of your grocery list and automatically ordering groceries to be delivered by drones, in a just-in-time delivery model, that notifies your phone via your Internet presence so you know what is happening and don’t need to stop at the store.\n\nAs more devices are imbedded with a level of artificial intelligence, and as more information is shared to make human life better, or at least human drudgery more automated, the ‘things’ that will connect to the Internet are projected to grow exponentially, and the Internet of Things will become more of a reality.\n\nAt Raveon Technologies Corporation we are working not only on improving communications, but allowing these complex communications networks to become more expandable and more efficient, while improving manageability as well as security. We welcome the reader to visit http://www.raveon.com/dart/ to learn more about what we are doing today to enhance your tomorrow.\n\nLarry Top\n\nRaveon at IoT Evolution 2016\n\nRaveon exhibited at this year’s IoTEvolution Expo in Ft. Lauderdale. At this years event Raveon presented it’s dynamic plug and play Narrow Band wireless data solutions while also introducing it’s upcoming line of small, high performance Daisy radios.\n\nOne of the highlights during the Expo was Raveon’s introduction of it secure, protocol independent, and high device volume DART gateway application.\n\nRaveon is a manufacturer of Wireless Data Radio since 2004. Our passion is the manufacturing of reliable long life plug and play wireless connected data radios unconstrained by protocol, application, or connectivity limits resulting in one radio for virtually all your IoT and M2M application.\n\nFor more information about Raveon and future event opportunities;\nDavid Raine\n\nWhat protocol will make it through the innovation stage?\n\nBillions of connected devices will require thousands of applications to manage the transmission, reception, distribution, and sharing of this immense amount of data. In any fast emerging market there are fast emerging solutions; LoRa, Xigbee, Alljoyn, OIC, IIC, Z Wave, Thread, IPv6 and many more.\n\nAdaptation and consumer value of connected devices will be driven by the user’s overall experience and benefit to all this great data now capable of being shared. Today the largest benefactors of IoT are from tracking objects, even if it’s just themselves, and utility scale telemetry. Smart Homes are projected to be the largest market segment representing over 3.5 billion devices by 2020, followed by smart building at 1.7 billion, then general industry at 1.5 billion, medical and transport at 400 million each.\n\nThe money typically leads a market. With homes and commercial buildings being a primary driver in connected devices the most likely connectivity protocol will be wi-fi and Bluetooth connected devices. This is primary driven by our current devices in which we’ve grown very dependent on. The average US home has 6 mobile devices, the average UK home has 7.\n\nThe carriers are pushing hard to build out the IoT market with LTE standards while these same subscription based services are driving the market towards other solutions such as wi-fi and Bluetooth. The question is do you really want to pay a subscription package fee per month to connect your fridge to your toaster? I feel adaption of IoT within the home will be driven by the manufacturers in incorporating connective capabilities that leverage the most common free accessible tools available. A majority of the protocols out there today are dependent on the LTE subscription based services. Similar to the web the IoT space in order to evolve will need one common protocol and like the web it will be difficult to charge a subscription fee within a culture already expecting free connectivity.\n\nAn important factor in determining the most promising standard protocol will depend greatly on its ability to handle the projected billions of devices soon to be talking to each other. Major networks are already planning for that future. Cellular has 5G just around the corner with carriers already separating out their networks into mobile and IoT sectors allowing for lower band allocation to IoT devices and IPv6 available today is gaining fast ground allowing for substantial increase in networkable IP based devices.\n\nThere are approximately 57 major US cities with citywide free wi-fi connectivity with a user base of less than 2%. Will this not be 200 cities in the next 5 years and open access means a new opportunity for free device connectivity.\n\nDavid Raine", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.585982084274292}
+{"content": "An exceptional geographical situation\n\nTo find the French “art de vivre”, you have to head south, through the rich fields and vineyards of the Rhône and Loire, and finally come to rest in the romantic city of Lyon.\n\nEnjoy a short-stay at Arts Hotels in la Presqu’île, the cultural and commercial heart of town. Ideally located between the river Saône and the river Rhône, where the city hall, the Fine Arts Museum and the Hall of Trade stand side by side with luxury boutiques, authentic restaurants and extraordinary architecture only to evoke Lyon’s rich and enchanting history.\n\n\nView from Basilique Notre-Dame de Fourvière\n\nLyon is far enough south to enjoy an almost Mediterranean climate and sits at the confluence of two great rivers, the Rhône and the Saône. The city’s expansion to the west and north has been limited by hilly topography, and to the south by industry, meaning it has spread slowly in one direction over two millennia.\n\n\n\nWhether you travel to the city for business or leisure, with family, friends or in your own company, during your city break discover the beauty of Art Hotel’s exceptional geographical situation and bask in the glory of Lyon’s past and present.\n\nWithin walking distance of your luxury city apartment:\n\n  • La Place Bellecour\n\nLocated in the 2nd arrondissement of Lyon, the square forms the focal centre point of the city hosting the Lyon tourist office, and the Lyon central post office. Elegant 19th-century Haussmann buildings line the east and west sides of the square.\n\n\n\nFrom Place Bellecour start three major streets of the Presqu’île: the rue de la République, leading to the Hôtel de Ville and the Opera Nouvel, the Rue Victor Hugo, which leads to Perrache, and the Rue du Président Édouard Herriot, with a concentration of designer shops and leading to the Place des Terreaux. The quarter of Vieux Lyon and the Lyon Cathedral are in front over the Saône.\n\n\nThe square’s centrepiece is an equestrian statue of Louis XIV created by the Lyons sculptor F. Lemot.\n\nRead more…", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9933760762214661}
+{"content": "Fort Dearborn: Chicago's Romantic Frontier\nThis event occurred in the past.\n\nHarwood Heights | Website\nMap | Find Parking\n\nHistorian Joseph Geringer details the glory and perils encountered by Chicago's early settlers. It's a tale loaded with adventure that sweeps you back a time when wind whirled across open prairies, wigwams neighbored log cabins, and war threatened the dream of westward expansion.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5364450216293335}
+{"content": "Pakistan Tests Ra’ad (HATF VIII) Air-Launched Cruise Missile\n\n\n\n    Developed exclusively for launch from Aerial Platforms, the Ra’ad Missile can be carried by Pakistan’s strike fighters such as the upgraded Mirage IIIEA, which provided the launch platform for the recent test, and, possibly the JF-17 Thunder.\n\n    As a ‘Cruise missile’ Ra’ad is designed to fly low altitude, automatically maneuvering through terrain following flight profile to avoid detection by ground based air defenses. The missile also uses stealth technology to further reduce probability of detection. The missile uses GPS and infra-red imaging (IIR) seeker to navigate employing ‘digital scene-matching’ techniques.\n\n    Pakistan was able to recover at least two RGM/UGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missiles launched by U.S. forces against targets in Afghanistan in 1998. The missiles landed unexploded in Southern Pakistan, enabling Pakistani scientists to study the weapons and improve previous designs dated from the mid- 1990s. The development of the Raad ALCM began in 2003 and the first firing took place in 2007. Another cruise missile, the Babur (HATF VII) was also launched in 2005, demonstrating an attack range of 500 km. It later demonstrated flight ranges up to 750 km.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5570787191390991}
+{"content": "Idiom 8\n\nA fly on the wall\n\nA fly on the wallUsually, a fly is so small that it can enter a room unnoticed. It can sit on a wall and observe everything. In this cartoon, we see two lovers kissing on a bed. Another guy has changed into a fly, or has he? Maybe he is only wearing a fly costume hoping to fool the lovers so he can watch and listen to them. We sometimes wish we could be ‘a fly on the wall’ and go unnoticed when we want to be somewhere secretly and see and hear what happens.\n\nLet’s look at an example of this idiom in a conversation:\n\nWhy’s Maria so angry?\nShe found out about Paul’s other girlfriend!\nDoes Paul know that she knows?\nNo. He isn’t home yet.\nWhat time does he usually get home?\nRound about now.\nOh! I’d love to be a fly on the wall when she talks to him.\nMe too!\n\n(choose another idiom)", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5633114576339722}
+{"content": "Newest publications\n\nWe present our latest publication: see below for details\n\nFluid Intelligence as a Mediator of the Relationship between Executive Control and Balanced Time Perspective\n\nThis study examined the cognitive foundations of the balanced time perspective (BTP) proposed by Zimbardo and Boyd (1999). Although BTP is defined as the mental ability to switch effectively between different temporal perspectives, its connection with cognitive functioning has not yet been established. We addressed this by exploring the relationships between time perspectives and both fluid intelligence (measured with Raven’s and Cattell’s tests) and executive control (Go/No-go and anti-saccade tasks). An investigation conducted among Polish adults (N = 233) revealed that more balanced TP profile was associated with higher fluid intelligence, and higher executive control. Moreover, we found that the relationship between executive control and BTP was completely mediated by fluid intelligence with the effect size (the ratio of the indirect effect to the total effect) of 0.75, which suggests that cognitive abilities play an important role in adoption of temporal balance. The findings have relevance to time perspective theory as they provide valuable insight into the mechanisms involved in assigning human experience to certain time frames.\n\nDivine Emotions: On the Link Between Emotional Intelligence and Religious Belief\n\nThere have been only few attempts to explore the relationship between emotional intelligence (EI) and religiosity. However, none of them included measures of ability EI. In two studies, we investigated the potential associations between various aspects of religious belief and ability and trait EI. In Study 1 (N = 240), we found that ability EI was positively associated with general level of religious belief. Study 2, conducted among Polish Christians (N = 159), replicated the previous result on the connection between ability EI and religion. Moreover, both trait and ability EI were negatively correlated with extrinsic religious orientation and negative religious coping. Additional analysis showed that extrinsic orientation mediated the relationship between ability EI and religiosity.\n\nBACK TO HOMEPAGE View all posts\n\nUniwersytet Warszawski\nWydział Psychologii\nul. Stawki 5/7\n00-183 Warszawa", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9802572131156921}
+{"content": "Browse Subject Areas\n\nClick through the PLOS taxonomy to find articles in your field.\n\nFor more information about PLOS Subject Areas, click here.\n\n  • Loading metrics\n\nWastewater-Based Epidemiology of Stimulant Drugs: Functional Data Analysis Compared to Traditional Statistical Methods\n\n\n  • Stefania Salvatore, \n  • Jørgen Gustav Bramness, \n  • Malcolm J. Reid, \n  • Kevin Victor Thomas, \n  • Christopher Harman, \n  • Jo Røislien\n\n\n\nWastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) is a new methodology for estimating the drug load in a population. Simple summary statistics and specification tests have typically been used to analyze WBE data, comparing differences between weekday and weekend loads. Such standard statistical methods may, however, overlook important nuanced information in the data. In this study, we apply functional data analysis (FDA) to WBE data and compare the results to those obtained from more traditional summary measures.\n\n\nWe analysed temporal WBE data from 42 European cities, using sewage samples collected daily for one week in March 2013. For each city, the main temporal features of two selected drugs were extracted using functional principal component (FPC) analysis, along with simpler measures such as the area under the curve (AUC). The individual cities’ scores on each of the temporal FPCs were then used as outcome variables in multiple linear regression analysis with various city and country characteristics as predictors. The results were compared to those of functional analysis of variance (FANOVA).\n\n\nThe three first FPCs explained more than 99% of the temporal variation. The first component (FPC1) represented the level of the drug load, while the second and third temporal components represented the level and the timing of a weekend peak. AUC was highly correlated with FPC1, but other temporal characteristic were not captured by the simple summary measures. FANOVA was less flexible than the FPCA-based regression, and even showed concordance results. Geographical location was the main predictor for the general level of the drug load.\n\n\nFDA of WBE data extracts more detailed information about drug load patterns during the week which are not identified by more traditional statistical methods. Results also suggest that regression based on FPC results is a valuable addition to FANOVA for estimating associations between temporal patterns and covariate information.\n\n\nIllicit drug use is a growing global health concern, and it is estimated that around a quarter of the European adult population has used illicit drugs at some point in their lives [1]. In Europe, central nervous system stimulants such as amphetamine and ecstasy (MDMA) are among the most commonly used illicit drugs [1]. The drugs may cause appetite suppression and euphoria with feelings of increased confidence, sociability and energy, making them popular drugs of abuse, particularly in the young [2]. Stimulant use has, however, numerous negative effects, such as insomnia, anxiety, mood disturbance, violent behaviour, dependence and psychosis making them a public health concern [3].\n\nBecause of this considerable health risk, reliable estimates of the extent of drug use in a population are important for health professionals and policy makers. Traditionally, estimates of the consumption of stimulants are calculated from data collected from sources such as treatment programmes [4], hospital emergency departments [5, 6], drivers apprehended by the police [7, 8], prisoners [9] and from population surveys (e.g., internet, population, school) [10]. These types of data, however, have their limitations, mostly related to difficulties in capturing representative survey populations. General population surveys may have poor response rates and there is often unwillingness to supply information about an activity that may have a social stigma or legal implications [10]. Further, while data from drug treatment programmes may underestimate prevalence because of limited places in treatment, data gathered from the police may overestimate prevalence as investigations are targeted towards selected populations [59].\n\nWastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) is an alternative and complementary approach for estimating the collective illicit drug use in a community [11]. The concentration of various illicit drugs in the wastewater can be measured directly, overcoming the problems related to surveys and sampling bias. WBE has shown promising results, at both local national and international level [1113], and analyses of wastewater data have indicated differences in drug loads detected in wastewater on weekdays and at weekends [1416]. However, as WBE is a relatively new research field, data are often analysed using simple statistical methods which do not take the temporal nature of the data fully into account, potentially overlooking important information. The aim of this study was to move beyond the simple statistical analyses often applied to wastewater-based data, in order to explore whether more advanced statistical methods can extract more information about the patterns of stimulant use.\n\nWe reanalysed a WBE dataset on 42 European cities [17] using the framework of functional data analysis (FDA), a statistical method specifically developed for analyzing temporal data [18], and we compared these results with more traditional statistical analyses. For the purpose of the study, we selected two drugs with different patterns throughout the week; ecstasy (MDMA) which is mostly a “party drug” with high expected weekend loads, and amphetamine which is expected to be used more regularly throughout the week [13]. The main temporal features for the illicit drugs throughout the course of a week were estimated using functional principal component analysis (FPCA). FPCA has recently been applied for improved statistical analysis of glucose regulation [19] and monitoring of fetal movement [20] among other things. In order to explore whether differences in temporal drug loads in the wastewater between cities could be related to various geographic or other urban characteristics, we performed both functional analysis of variance (FANOVA) as well as multiple regression analyses on the FPCA results.\n\nData Material\n\nNo specific permissions were required for the present study. The use of wastewater data to study trends in illicit drug use in large catchment areas does not raise any major ethical issues as individuals cannot be identified, and thus cannot be harmed by such a study. The ethics of this approach has been thoroughly discussed in a previous paper [21].\n\nRaw sewage was collected from the inlet of 47 sewage treatment plants in 42 cities from 21 European countries, servicing a combined population of approximately 24.7 million inhabitants. Samples were collected from each location over seven consecutive days, starting for 36 of the 42 cities on Wednesday 6th March 2013 and ending on Tuesday 12th March 2013. For the remaining six cities sampling during this week was not possible, and a different week in the same month was chosen. At all locations, automated sampling devices were used to collect subsamples over 24 hours. These subsamples were then pooled to a 24 hour composite sample. For cities with more than one sewage treatment plant, results were combined to a city average using a weighted mean. More background information, details regarding wastewater plant (WWTP) characteristics and so on can be found in an earlier publication based on the same material [17]. The data sets supporting the results of this article are also freely available [17]. For this study, we selected two drugs with very different consumption patterns; ecstasy (MDMA) which is mostly a party drug and amphetamine which is mostly used in more regular amounts throughout the week [13].\n\nA specific tailored questionnaire was developed in cooperation with local sewage and treatment plant operators in order to evaluate information about the structure state of the sewer and the variability of the population size [17]. For the purpose of this analysis, daily mass loads were normalized by the population size of the catchment (mg/10000 people/day). Moreover concentrations for each drug below the limit of quantification (LOQ) were replaced by LOQ/2 [22] if at least one day in the week had a concentration value above the LOQ. Cities with no measurements above LOQ were excluded. Four cities (9.5%) were excluded for ecstasy (MDMA) and nine cities (21.4%) were excluded for amphetamine. Information on the characteristics of each city and WWTP is provided as supplementary material (S1 Table).\n\nStatistical Analysis\n\nData description\n\nThe unit of observation in the analyses is a seven day week starting Wednesday and ending Tuesday. For six (14.3%) cities, the data sampling started later in the week. Missing data for the two drugs across all the 42 cities ranged from 1.7% to 2.2%. This is low [23], but since functional data analysis (FDA) requires complete datasets we performed single imputation [24] before proceeding with the analysis on the imputed dataset.\n\nThe drug loads for weekdays (Mon-Fri) and weekends (Sat-Sun) were described using median and quartiles (Q1, Q3). Wastewater drug load data was heavily skewed, and the data was log-transformed prior to further analysis.\n\nTraditional data analysis\n\nFor the log-transformed data for each city we calculated the overall mean throughout the week, the area under the curve (AUC) and the difference d between weekdays and weekends. The significance of the latter was assessed using the Wilcox test.\n\nFunctional data analysis\n\nThe temporal pattern of wastewater drug loads was analyzed using FDA [18]. In FDA, mathematical functions are first fitted to the observations. Statistical analysis is then performed on the fitted functions rather than the original data. The seven consecutive observations for each of the 42 European cities were discrete samples of an underlying continuous process, and were converted into 42 continuous smooth curves using B-splines with seven basis functions [18, 25]. The optimal smoothing of the functions was estimated using the generalized cross validation (GCV) criterion [26] with a single choice of smoothing parameter for all cities [27]. The smoothing parameter was defined as proportion of the integrated square second derivative of the fitted curves [25]. This smoothing removes the random day-to-day variation, e.g. non-systematic error, measurement error and normal fluctuations in the load of drugs, and so extracts the underlying temporal behaviour.\n\nFunctional principal component analysis\n\nPrincipal component analysis (PCA) is a statistical methodology which is used to reveal the internal structure of the data in order to explain variability [28]. Functional principal component analysis (FPCA) is a generalization of traditional PCA to functional data [18]. A common practice in FPCA is to first normalize the data, that is, to first subtract the mean, as the mean curve is a mode of variation that tends to be shared by most curves [25]. However, as we were interested in the mean temporal differences in drug loads between cities, and also compare to traditional statistical methods, we did not normalize the data. The percentage of explained variation for each FPCs thus cannot be interpreted in the same way as for PCA on normalized data.\n\nWe used FPCA to identify the main temporal patterns across the 42 fitted smooth curves. The result of an FPCA is a set of mutually uncorrelated functional principal component (FPC) curves, which explain the main modes of temporal variability across the fitted curves for all cities. The analysis further provides each city with a score for each of the extracted FPC curves, representing the intensity with which that particular temporal pattern is present in the fitted function for that particular city. Cities with close to zero scores on all FPCs have temporal drug loads similar to the overall mean curve, while cities with a high score on a particular FPC have a temporal drug load closer to that specific FPC pattern. Each estimated FPC was interpreted and labelled according to the temporal information it exhibited.\n\nThe association between the more traditional statistical measures of wastewater drug loads and the FPCA was assessed by calculating the Pearson correlation coefficient (r) between the FPC scores, the overall mean of the log-transformed data, AUC and the difference d between weekdays and weekend means.\n\nFunctional analysis of variance\n\nTo move beyond mere exploration of patterns, we wanted to see whether the various temporal patterns of wastewater drug loads throughout a week were associated with basic characteristics of the city: latitude; longitude; gross domestic product (GDP) of country; relative size of the city, i.e., number of inhabitants in the city divided by the number of inhabitants in the country and density of the city, i.e., number of inhabitants in the city divided by the urban area of the city.\n\nTraditional analysis of variance (ANOVA) explores the mean difference in a continuous response between the various categories in a categorical explanatory variable [29]. Functional analysis of variance (FANOVA) is the generalization of ANOVA to functional outcomes [18], and is often the suggested approach when exploring covariates in FDA [18]. We used FANOVA to analyze the effect of the five possible predictors, listed above, on the shape of the wastewater drug load curves [25]. As FANOVA must have categorical covariates we had to dichotomize each of the continuous explanatory variables and compared the mean curves in the two resulting groups. We explored the impact of cut-off point by selecting cut-off points across the whole observed range of the covariates, and considered p-values <0.05 to be statistically significant. Functional confidence intervals (95%) and p-value curves, as well as an overall p-value, were calculated for each covariate using a functional permutation F-test [25].\n\nMultiple regression\n\nFANOVA can be seen as a univariate ANOVA problem for each specific point in time [18], and thus cannot control for covariates. In order to explore multiple predictors simultaneously, without the need for dichotomization, we used the cities' scores for the estimated FPCs as outcome variables in multiple linear regression models. From the full multiple model, including all covariates, an optimal sub-model was chosen using Akaike's Information Criterion (AIC) [30]. AIC is a weighting between model parsimony and fit to the data, and is a measure of the \"goodness\" of a model [31], and can be used to compare statistical models.\n\nRobustness analysis\n\nTo explore the robustness of the FDA results, i.e. whether temporal patterns would emerge purely by chance due to the nature of the curve fitting process, we also performed all of the above FDA on a dataset obtained by random sorting of the original data.\n\n\nAll analyses were performed in R 3.1.0 [32]. The imputation was performed using Amelia II and the amelia package [33], and FDA, FPCA and FANOVA using the fda package [25].\n\n\nData summary\n\nWastewater drug loads for the 42 cities throughout the week are shown in Fig 1.1 and 1.2, and summarized in Table 1. The median load of ecstasy (MDMA) increased significantly at the weekend (p<0.001) but not for amphetamine (p = 0.369). The overall mean of the log-transformed data throughout the seven day week was highly correlated (r = 0.999) with the area under the curve (AUC) (Tables 2 and 3).\n\nFig 1. Raw data, individual curves and results from the FPCA for each drug.\n\n1.1–1.2 shows the raw data for each drug; 1.3–1.4 shows the raw data (light grey) with the individually fitted curves (dark grey) and the mean of these curves (black); 1.5–1.10 shows the mean of the fitted curves (solid line) and how the shape of an individual curve differs from the mean curve if a multiple of the principal component curve is added to (+ +) or subtracted from (- -) the mean curve. The multiples correspond to one SD of the FPC1, FPC2 and FPC3 scores, respectively.\n\nTable 1. Wastewater drug loads for 42 European cities throughout the week.\n\nTable 2. Pearson correlation coefficients between FPC scores for the ecstasy (MDMA) loads and simple summary measures.\n\nTable 3. Pearson correlation coefficients between FPC scores for amphetamine loads and simple summary measures.\n\nFunctional principal component analysis\n\nThe original data with the corresponding fitted smooth curves of log-transformed data are shown in Fig 1.3 and 1.4.\n\nFor both drugs, the first functional principal component (FPC1; representing the normalization of the original data) explained more than 90% of the total temporal variation between the fitted curves for the cities (Fig 1.5 and 1.6), while the three first FPCs in sum explained more than 99% of the total variation (Fig 1.5–1.10). For ecstasy (MDMA) the first FPC (FPC1) mainly represented the general level, including a small increase towards the second half of the weekend (Fig 1.5). The second FPC (FPC2) represented an additional increase in the second half of the weekend (Fig 1.7), and the third FPC (FPC3) the timing of this weekend peak (Fig 1.9). For amphetamine, FPC1 represented the general level and this alone explained 98.9% of the variance (Fig 1.6). FPC2 represented a miniscule, linear increase throughout the week (Fig 1.8) and FPC3 an increase at the weekend (Fig 1.10).\n\nPearson's correlation between the simple summary measures and the scores for the first three FPCs for ecstasy (MDMA) and amphetamine are shown in Tables 2 and 3. For ecstasy (MDMA), the mean week load and the AUC statistics were almost perfectly correlated with FPC1 (r = 0.999), while the difference between weekday and weekend loads was moderately correlated with FPC2 (r = 0.762) and FPC3 (r = -0.497). For amphetamine, the mean week load and the AUC statistics were almost perfectly correlated with FPC1 (r = 0.999), while the difference between weekday and weekend loads was moderately correlated with FPC3 (r = -0.760). The rest of the correlations were miniscule.\n\nFunctional analysis of variance\n\nThe functional analysis of variance (FANOVA) showed that latitude, longitude and gross domestic product (GDP) were all potentially associated with ecstasy (MDMA) load throughout the week, depending on the cut-off value, while only latitude and GDP were associated with the mean load curve for amphetamine. For some of the predictors, choice of cut-off value for the dichotomization had a major impact on the estimated significance of the difference between the mean of the corresponding groups (Fig 2).\n\nFig 2. FANOVA F-permutation test plot separately for each drug and for each explanatory variable.\n\n2.1–2.2 show how the p-value of the permutation F-test changes, as different values of longitude are chosen as grouping; 2.3–2.4 show how the p-value of the permutation F-test changes, as different values of latitude are chosen as grouping; 2.5–2.6 show how the p-value of the permutation F-test changes, as different values of density are chosen as grouping; 2.7–2.8 show how the p-value of the permutation F-test changes, as different values of relative size are chosen as grouping; 2.9–2.10 show how the p-value of the permutation F-test changes, as different values of gross domestic product (GDP) are chosen as grouping.\n\nMultiple regression analyses\n\nFor ecstasy (MDMA), multiple linear regression using FPC scores as outcome showed that longitude was negatively associated with scores on FPC1, i.e. the general level of the ecstasy load in the wastewater tended to increase in a westerly direction, while latitude was positively associated with scores on FPC1, i.e. the level of the ecstasy load tended to increase in a northerly direction (Table 4). The longitude of the city was also negatively associated with scores on FPC2, i.e. more pronounced weekend peaks were observed in a westerly direction.\n\nTable 4. Multiple regression analyses with functional principal component scores for ecstasy (MDMA) as dependent variable and longitude, latitude, gross domestic product, population density and relative size of the city as explanatory variables.\n\nFor amphetamine, multiple linear regression using FPC scores as outcome showed that latitude was positively associated with scores on FPC1, i.e. the level of the amphetamine load in the wastewater tended to increase in a northerly direction. Latitude was also negatively associated with the scores on FPC3, i.e. more pronounced weekend peaks were observed in a northerly direction (Table 5).\n\nTable 5. Multiple regression analyses with functional principal component scores for amphetamine as dependent variable and longitude, latitude, gross domestic product, population density and size of the city as explanatory variables.\n\nRobustness analysis\n\nFor the randomly sorted data, the smoothing parameter for both drugs was the local maximum of the chosen interval, indicating that all the variability from the data was composed by random variation.\n\nThe first FPC explained 64–71% of the total temporal variation between the fitted curves, while the second and third FPCs explained 30–36% and 0% of the total variation respectively. Neither of the FPCs showed any specific pattern. Moreover, the functional permutation F-test of the FANOVA analysis was not able to distinguish between groups of curves for either of the drugs (not shown).\n\n\nThe objective of wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) is to provide objective and reliable estimates of the abuse of various drugs within a population. It is a relatively new methodology within the health sciences, but has already shown promising results [1117], and promises to be a valuable addition to more traditional data sources. How to best analyse such data is, however, unclear.\n\nAs in many medical research fields, the analysis of WBE data tends to be performed by researchers with their primary field of expertise outside of statistics, and WBE data have generally been analyzed using traditional statistical methods, such as simple summary measures and specification tests [13, 15], which focus only on level of use [13, 17]. Simple statistical methods have the advantage that they are easily understood and performed by most quantitative scientists. Such methods are, however, problematic if they do not utilize the data properly or, worse, lead to the wrong conclusions. Using traditional statistical methods and specification tests we were not able to identify any weekend pattern for amphetamine throughout the week, but we were able to demonstrate this using functional principal component analysis (FPCA).\n\nUnderstanding temporal patterns of stimulant drug consumption could help us to understand the extent of illicit drug problems better and suggest more effective preventive actions. This study is the first to use the framework of FDA to extract shape information from wastewater-based drug load data. While the mean of the fitted curves obtained from FDA represents information about the use of these two substances across Europe which was already known [13, 17] using FDA, and in particular FPCA, we were also able to extract valuable, nuanced temporal information on the use of stimulant drugs throughout the week that simpler statistical methods missed.\n\nFPCA decomposes the variation between curves into a set of uncorrelated temporal features, but the usefulness of this analysis depends on how the FPCs are interpreted. In our study, FPC1 mainly represented the general drug load, accounting alone for more than 90% of the temporal variability between cities. Interestingly, AUC was almost perfectly correlated with the FPC1 for both drugs, demonstrating that AUC carries both valuable and precise information about an important part of the temporal drug load.\n\nThe second and third FPCs roughly represented how pronounced a weekend peak was and the timing of such a peak. Even though they account for only 0.1–6.2% of the temporal variability, they paint a more nuanced picture of the drug use pattern that would be lost when using traditional statistical analyses. The difference d between weekday and weekend means was somewhat correlated with FPC2, but neither of the simple summary measures can be said to capture fully the information in the FPCs beyond FPC1.\n\nOur results suggest that even when considering a drug with a smoothed behaviour throughout the week such as amphetamine, FPCA is able to capture difference in variability between weekdays and weekends. Moreover, since the second and third FPCs are uncorrelated, our analysis was able to untangle the part of the variability mainly due to the increasing drug load at the weekend and the timing of such an increase. FDA results also demonstrate that the “weekend” is a somewhat less well defined time period than the traditional cultural understanding of it. Using this approach one may estimate what constitutes the “weekend” for each city and each drug, without having to define it a priori, as is needed when applying standard statistical tests.\n\nPerforming multiple regression analyses using FPC scores as outcome variables, we found that the temporal patterns were associated with the geographical position of the city; the load of ecstasy increased significantly in north-west Europe, while the load of amphetamine increased in a northerly direction. This is generally in line with previous findings [34].\n\nUsually, FANOVA is the suggested way to analyse the association between functional data and covariates [18]. However, FANOVA needs dichotomous explanatory variables, and most of the predictors that we investigated were continuous. Categorizing continuous predictors in regression models has been thoroughly examined in the statistical literature, and repeatedly argued against, as it reduces power and introduces bias of unknown direction and magnitude [3537]. In our study applying FANOVA would introduce bias in the analysis, due to the arbitrary choice of the city groups [35]. The significance of the F-test strongly depended on the chosen cut-off level of the explanatory variable. Moreover, FANOVA cannot adjust for other covariates in a multiple regression model and it only looks at the mean temporal pattern. While this will verify differences between cities, it will not identify the mode of the difference. Our suggested multiple regression is not part of the original FDA framework, but opens for more flexibility. It has been proposed previously for the analysis of glucose and fetal movement data [19, 20].\n\nFDA shows several advantages over traditional approaches to analysing temporal data from wastewater treatment plants, and should be explored for drugs other than the two stimulant drugs we studied here. However, a major issue in the application of FPCA is the ability to interpret the patterns shown by the most important FPCs, so as to consider appropriate predictors to explain them. Also, our use of FANOVA as the sole means of introducing covariate information in FDA regressions could be explored further.\n\nFDA is developed for analysing temporal data, but a potential concern is that the smooth basis functions applied in FDA run the risk of smoothing over more abrupt changes in the drug load throughout the week, consequently underestimating for example the difference between week and weekend load. Wavelets have a long tradition in time series analysis, and allows for statistical modelling of less smooth temporal changes. Wavelet based PCA has recently been applied successfully to among others fetal movement data [38, 39] and a similar approach might be worthwhile exploring also for WWA data.\n\nOther future research should include more information about the structure of the sewage system, as well as longer periods of observation and more cities to further improve the statistical analysis, monitor the temporal variation and achieve a better overall picture of the use of illicit drugs in Europe.\n\nSupporting Information\n\nS1 Table. Summary of information of participating cities.\n\n\n\nWe gratefully acknowledge the European Union and the Norwegian Centre for Addiction Research (SERAF) for financial support. We would also like to thank all colleagues from the SEWPROF team and SCORE group (\n\nAuthor Contributions\n\nConceived and designed the experiments: SS JR JGB. Performed the experiments: SS JGB JR. Analyzed the data: SS. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: MJR KVT CH. Wrote the paper: SS JGB MJR KVT CH JR. Contributed to this scientific work and approved the final version of the manuscript: All authors. Responsible for providing the wastewater data: MJR KVT CH. Designed the study and the data analysis: SS JR JGB. Analyzed the data and drafted the manuscript SS. Had the original idea for the study, contributed to scientific interpretation of the FDA/FPCA and revised the manuscript: JR JGB.\n\n\n  1. 1. EMCDDA. European Drug Report: Trends and developments. 2013.\n  2. 2. Tossmann P, Boldt S, Tensil MD. The use of drugs within the techno party scene in European metropolitan cities. Eur Addict Res. 2001;7(1):2–23. pmid:WOS:000168178800002.\n  3. 3. Hartel-Petri R, Rodler R, Schmeisser U, Steinmann J, Wolfersdorf M. Increasing prevalence of amphetamine- and methamphetamine-induced psychosis—Regional frequency in upper francomial bavaria. Psychiatr Prax. 2005;32(1):13–7. pmid:WOS:000226543100003.\n  4. 4. Lyne J, O'Donoghue B, Clancy M, Kinsella A, O'Gara C. Concurrent cocaine and alcohol use in individuals presenting to an addiction treatment program. Ir J Med Sci. 2010;179(2):233–7. pmid:19597917.\n  5. 5. Kerr T, Wood E, Grafstein E, Ishida T, Shannon K, Lai C, et al. High rates of primary care and emergency department use among injection drug users in Vancouver. J Public Health (Oxf). 2005;27(1):62–6. pmid:15564279.\n  6. 6. Bruggisser M, Ceschi A, Bodmer M, Wilks MF, Kupferschmidt H, Liechti ME. Retrospective analysis of stimulant abuse cases reported to the Swiss Toxicological Information Centre during 1997–2009. Swiss Med Wkly. 2010;140:w13115. pmid:21188679.\n  7. 7. Stig Tore Bogstrand GM, Asbjørg S. Christophersen. Trends in amphetamine and benzodiazepine use among drivers arrested for drug impaired driving in Norway 2000–2009. Norwegian Journal of Epidemiology. 2011;Vol 21, No 1 (2011)\n  8. 8. Legrand SA, Houwing S, Hagenzieker M, Verstraete AG. Prevalence of alcohol and other psychoactive substances in injured drivers: comparison between Belgium and The Netherlands. Forensic Sci Int. 2012;220(1–3):224–31. pmid:22483531.\n  9. 9. Farrell M, Marsden J. Acute risk of drug-related death among newly released prisoners in England and Wales. Addiction. 2008;103(2):251–5. pmid:18199304.\n  10. 10. Smith GW, Farrell M, Bunting BP, Houston JE, Shevlin M. Patterns of polydrug use in Great Britain: Findings from a national household population survey. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2011;113(2–3):222–8. pmid:WOS:000287062400021.\n  11. 11. Zuccato E, Chiabrando C, Castiglioni S, Bagnati R, Fanelli R. Estimating community drug abuse by wastewater analysis. Environ Health Perspect. 2008;116(8):1027–32. pmid:18709161; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC2516581.\n  12. 12. van Nuijs AL, Castiglioni S, Tarcomnicu I, Postigo C, Lopez de Alda M, Neels H, et al. Illicit drug consumption estimations derived from wastewater analysis: a critical review. The Science of the total environment. 2011;409(19):3564–77. pmid:20598736.\n  13. 13. Thomas KV, Bijlsma L, Castiglioni S, Covaci A, Emke E, Grabic R, et al. Comparing illicit drug use in 19 European cities through sewage analysis. The Science of the total environment. 2012;432:432–9. pmid:22836098.\n  14. 14. van Nuijs AL, Mougel JF, Tarcomnicu I, Bervoets L, Blust R, Jorens PG, et al. A one year investigation of the occurrence of illicit drugs in wastewater from Brussels, Belgium. J Environ Monit. 2011;13(4):1008–16. pmid:21331424.\n  15. 15. Reid MJ, Langford KH, Morland J, Thomas KV. Quantitative assessment of time dependent drug-use trends by the analysis of drugs and related metabolites in raw sewage. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2011;119(3):179–86. pmid:21737215.\n  16. 16. Kinyua J, Anderson TA. Temporal Analysis of the Cocaine Metabolite Benzoylecgonine in Wastewater to Estimate Community Drug Use. J Forensic Sci. 2012;57(5):1349–53. pmid:WOS:000308391500032.\n  17. 17. Ort C, van Nuijs AL, Berset JD, Bijlsma L, Castiglioni S, Covaci A, et al. Spatial differences and temporal changes in illicit drug use in Europe quantified by wastewater analysis. Addiction. 2014. pmid:24861844.\n  18. 18. Ramsay JO SB. Functional data analysis: Springer; 2005.\n  19. 19. Froslie KF, Roislien J, Qvigstad E, Godang K, Bollerslev J, Voldner N, et al. Shape information from glucose curves: functional data analysis compared with traditional summary measures. BMC Med Res Methodol. 2013;13:6. pmid:23327294; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3570313.\n  20. 20. Winje BA, Roislien J, Froen JF. Temporal patterns in count-to-ten fetal movement charts and their associations with pregnancy characteristics: a prospective cohort study. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2012;12:124. pmid:23126608; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3542088.\n  21. 21. Prichard J, Hall W, de Voogt P, Zuccato E. Sewage epidemiology and illicit drug research: the development of ethical research guidelines. The Science of the total environment. 2014;472:550–5. pmid:24317162.\n  22. 22. Ort C, Lawrence MG, Rieckermann J, Joss A. Sampling for Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCPs) and Illicit Drugs in Wastewater Systems: Are Your Conclusions Valid? A Critical Review. Environ Sci Technol. 2010;44(16):6024–35. pmid:WOS:000280727400008.\n  23. 23. Scheffer J. Dealing with missing data. 2002.\n  24. 24. Rubin DD. Multiple imputation for nonresponse in surveys. New York: J; 1987.\n  25. 25. Ramsay JO, Hooker G, Graves S. Functional data analysis with R and MATLAB. Dordrecht; New York: Springer; 2009. xi, 207 p. p.\n  26. 26. Craven P, Wahba G. Smoothing noisy data with spline functions. Numerische Mathematik. 1978;31(4):377–403.\n  27. 27. Silverman BW. Smoothed functional principal components analysis by choice of norm. The Annals of Statistics. 1996;24(1):1–24.\n  28. 28. Jolliffe IT. Principal component analysis. 2nd ed. New York: Springer; 2002. xxix, 487 p. p.\n  29. 29. Mertler CA, Vannatta RA. Advanced and multivariate statistical methods. Los Angeles, CA: Pyrczak. 2002.\n  30. 30. Akaike H. New Look at Statistical-Model Identification. Ieee Transactions on Automatic Control. 1974;Ac19(6):716–23. pmid:WOS:A1974U921700011.\n  31. 31. Burnham KP, Anderson DR. Model selection and multimodel inference: a practical information-theoretic approach: Springer; 2002.\n  32. 32. Team RC. The R Foundation for Statistical Computing: R version 3.1.0 (2014.04.05). Available: http://www.r-project.org2014.\n  33. 33. Honaker J, King G, Blackwell M. Amelia II: A Program for Missing Data. Journal of Statistical Software. 2011;45(7):1–47. pmid:WOS:000298032900001.\n  34. 34. EMCDDA. The state of the drugs problem in Europe. 2010.\n  35. 35. Royston P, Altman DG, Sauerbrei W. Dichotomizing continuous predictors in multiple regression: a bad idea. Statistics in medicine. 2006;25(1):127–41. pmid:16217841.\n  36. 36. Altman DG, Royston P. The cost of dichotomising continuous variables. Bmj. 2006;332(7549):1080. pmid:16675816; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC1458573.\n  37. 37. van Walraven C, Hart RG. Leave 'em alone—Why continuous variables should be analyzed as such. Neuroepidemiology. 2008;30(3):138–9. pmid:WOS:000255087100002.\n  38. 38. Roislien J, Winje B. Feature extraction across individual time series observations with spikes using wavelet principal component analysis. Statistics in medicine. 2013;32(21):3660–9. pmid:23553851.\n  39. 39. Winje BA, Roislien J, Saastad E, Eide J, Riley CF, Stray-Pedersen B, et al. Wavelet principal component analysis of fetal movement counting data preceding hospital examinations due to decreased fetal movement: a prospective cohort study. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2013;13:172. pmid:24007565; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3844562.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8267590999603271}
+{"content": "\n\nInsider Experiences\n\nOur Insider Experiences form part of our commitment to providing guests with enriching offerings to help them make the most of their stay. Our mission is to provide unparalleled access to the lesser known attractions, cultural events and travel tips.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9825783967971802}
+{"content": "Alternative Kraftstoffe\n\nIn 1900, a peanut oil-powered diesel engine was introduced by request of the French government at the Paris International Exhibition. Due to the high cost of the materials, this idea was not pursued any further, but even Rudolf Diesel would later experiment with vegetable oils as fuel for engines and express a positive opinion.\n\nSince 2007, the Federal Control of Polution Act (BImSchG) requires the oil industry to sell a minimum percentage of biofuels – in proportion with the respective energy content. If one takes the development of the biofuel sector into account, this rate should increase further.\n\nCurrently, the share of biodiesel in fossil diesel fuel is 7 percent.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9458335638046265}
+{"content": "Athens, 26 May 2017\n\nIn the frame of the European Research Programme “The emerging role of new social media in enhancing public security (Medi@4sec)”, the Center of Security Studies (KEMEA) organized on the 9th of May 2017 in Athens, the 2nd project workshop which focused on the benefits, threats and impact of social media on public safety before, during and after mass gathering events.\n\nThe workshop examined 3 important themes through the lenses of current and potential future social media practices, the evolving needs, the specific challenges presented, and the legal and ethical issues involved. More specifically, the themes explored comprised:\n\n  1. Protests/demonstrationswhere civilians can mobilise and organise themselves into groups quickly and where social media can enable them to coordinate their movements.\n  2. Large-scale events where large number of people congregate for a particular activity and can be targeted by criminals or terrorists.\n  3. Mass migration, an increasing challenge across Europe, which often leads to mass gatherings, enhancing with the use of social media not only the safe movements and settlements of migrants but also the safety of citizens in the crossing and destination countries.\n\nThe workshop included presentations from various real case studies presented by stakeholders of different backgrounds and perspectives.\n\nStakeholders from security, academic, research, social movement, local government and other authorities and industry sectors from all over Europe, were engaged in an interactive dialogue and shared their views, experiences and best practices on the present and future use of social media in each of the above thematical areas.\n\nParticipants witnessed the power of social media networks and the significance of the vast amount, the reliability and the correct evaluation of the information created therein in extremely high speed. In addition, they realized the importance of citizens’ engagement, the readiness and quick response of public authorities, enabled by social media, in relevant mass gathering cases.\n\n\nThe next Medi@4sec workshop which will focus on the ‘Dark Web’ is scheduled to be organized by TNO, one of the project’s consortium members, on 26th of September 2017, in Hague.\n\nimg1thmb         img2thmb\n img3thmb    img4thmb\n\n\n\n\n\n\nyp en new\n\n\n\n\n\nEuropean Commission", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9947490692138672}
+{"content": "How swimmable are the rivers in the Nelson Tasman region?\n\nChildren playing in Nelson's Maitai River.\n\nChildren playing in Nelson's Maitai River.\n\nWhen the Government released its new standards on water \"swimmability\" last month there was much confusion about what they represented. Charles Anderson reports.\n\nIt should be a simple question to answer. Can you swim in our region's rivers? Will I get sick if I go up the Maitai or the Lee Valley? For the record, the answer to both those questions is a highly probable \"no\".\n\nBut when Environment Minister Nick Smith presented to a crowd at the Cawthron Institute last month there was a caveat from Nelson mayor Rachel Reese.\n\nThe Wakapuaka River at Paramata ...\nColin Smith\n\nThe Wakapuaka River at Paramata Flats. / The Nelson Mail.\n\n\"These are incredibly complex issues,\" she said. \"I think it is really important that we understand the science around this.\"\n\nThe Government's goal was to make New Zealand rivers 90 per cent swimmable by 2040. It was a bold move that Smith hoped would show how dedicated his party was to the health of our waterways. The good news, he said, was 72 per cent of them were already were \"swimmable\".\n\n* Government open to tougher waterway rules\n* Nelson rivers highly rated\n* Boyack calls out Smith on ratings\n* Plan not perfect, says Smith\n*Making every water body swimmable is 'not practical' - Nick Smith\n*Fish & Game slams government's fresh water proposal\n\n\nA map showing the swimmability of rivers in the Nelson Tasman region.\nMinistry for the Environment\n\n\nThe Ministry for the Environment had come up with colour map to help decode the complexity. Red was bad. Green was good. Orange was acceptable. Taking all those measures - of Nelson and Tasman's 1757 km of rivers and lakes, Smith told the Cawthron audience, 96 per cent was swimmable. However in Nelson alone, 100 per cent of the rivers were swimmable.\n\nThis came as a pleasant surprise to Nelson city councillor Mel Courtney last week when he asked about the council's response to the standards.\n\nGroup manager strategy and environment Clare Barton told Courtney that the city's rivers were already above the required threshold.\n\nHira School pupils study insect life in the Wakapuaka River.\nMartin de Ruyter\n\nHira School pupils study insect life in the Wakapuaka River.\n\n\"So we are there now? In your view?\" Courtney asked.\n\nAd Feedback\n\n\"The rivers that have been identified in the swimmability maps are the larger ones in the region,\" Barton replied. \"There are smaller tributaries that do have water quality issues that are not reported. So there is still further work to do.\"\n\nWhich was part of the contention. The Government's goal of \"90 per cent\" of rivers really only meant of 90 per cent of rivers that it deemed able to be swum in. This represented only about 10 per cent of all waterways.\n\nNelson Labour candidate Rachel Boyack also suggested that there were rivers that had failed Nelson City Council's own reporting standards for safety but came up \"fair\" under the Government's new standards.\n\nThe Wakapuaka River at Paremata Flats near Cable Bay was last year classified as \"very poor\" due to five incidences of elevated bacteria counts measured during the 2015/2016 summer monitoring of the river.\n\nMonitoring of the river there started in 2008 but has had a \"very poor\" or \"poor grade\" since then.\n\n\"The elevated bacteria are from livestock, with unrestricted access to waterways and also from numerous wildfowl that congregate on the flats,\" the council says. It says that people should not swim there.\n\nSo why the discrepancy?\n\nHow can a river at once have \"fair swimmability\"  and then then also have \"very poor\" swimmability?\n\nThe issue is that the Government's swimmable standard now has a number to define it - 540 E coli per 100 millilitres of water.  If a river meets that standard 80 or more per cent of the time, it gets a fair, good or excellent marking. If it doesn't, it gets an \"intermittent\" or \"poor\" rating.\n\nThe Ministry of Health says that if you swim in a river that has 540 E coli per 100 millilitres of water then you have a one in 20 chance of getting sick. Critics have said this an unacceptable level of risk.\n\nTo be considered \"fair\" under the new rules the estimated risk of Campylobacter infection (resulting from E Coli) should be less than 1 in 1000. And 10-20 per cent of the time, the estimated risk of Campylobacter infection is less than 50 in 1000.\n\nHowever, Smith says most most rivers, especially in the Nelson region, do not cross that threshold very often and when they do it is usually after a high rain event.\n\nHe told the Cawthron audience that it was very unlikely that a family would want to go swimming in a river that was in flood, not just because the bacteria risk was higher but because the it was simply dangerous to swim in.\n\n\"Even our cleanest rivers breach swimming water quality standards during storms,\" he said.\n\nSo swimmability really means the probability of getting sick.\n\nHence Paremata Flats. The likelihood of getting sick there was one in 20 for only five days over the 2015/16 period. This was the council's time span of measurement. On the ministry website however, it uses a different time frame - from this past December - which means it only breached the E Coli level three times, which represents an acceptable level of risk according to the new standards. \n\nThe goal is estimated to cost the Government, farmers and councils $2 billion over the next 23 years.\n\nSmith has used the word \"practical\" to describe the goal. It isn't practical, he said last year to include every river in the entire country. If it were it would include 10 times more rivers and lakes and the cost of cleaning up all of them would likely exceed 10 times $2 billion.\n\nBut also the measure it has used, E Coli, represents only one way to measure a waterway's health.\n\nSome rivers that have technically fallen under the \"swimmable\" rating are actually \"unswimmable\" for different reasons. Some have toxic algal blooms fuelled by dry conditions and nitrogen levels and others because they don't have any water in them. However, there isn't any E Coli in them so it passes the Government's test.\n\nAll of this has led to a confused and haphazard explanations of the new plan. Some critics, like Forest and Bird's Kevin Hague, have said the goal not only misrepresents the state of our waterways but will lead to an overall decline in their health. \n\nBut Rachel Boyack believes she has a simple test of Smith's goal.\n\n\"If Nick Smith truly stands by his analysis of the health of New Zealand's rivers and believes that the Wakapuaka River is 'swimmable' at Paremata Flats, then he should back up his analysis by taking a dip in the river.\"\n\nBy the ministry's analysis though, the probability of him getting sick is still reasonably low. But there is only one way to be sure.\n\n\n - Stuff\n\n\nAd Feedback\nspecial offers\nAd Feedback", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5991628170013428}
+{"content": "Silent Heart Attack\n\nCauses and symptoms\n\n\nMaybe it’s because you’re stoic when it comes to pain and fatigue. Or maybe you write off your symptoms as heartburn or indigestion. It’s even possible that your own body is kicking up its reserves to mask symptoms of what is happening inside.\n\nNo matter the reason, it’s important to know about the causes of unrecognized, or silent, heart attacks and how to prevent them.\n\nDr. Charles Chambers, Penn State Hershey Heart & Vascular Institute.\n\nDr. Charles Chambers, a cardiologist at Penn State Hershey Heart and Vascular Institute, says the big five risk factors for acute heart attacks also apply when it comes to the silent variety: high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, smoking and genetics.\n\nWhile typical heart attack symptoms include chest pain that radiates up the neck and down the arm, sweatiness, shortness of breath and nausea, the silent variety flaunt their presence less, especially among women and diabetics.\n\n“Women often experience chest pain differently, such as fatigue or tiredness, and not the typical pressure in the center of their chest,” Chambers says. “Diabetics may have damaged nerve fibers and therefore may have less ability to sense pain.”\n\nIn acute heart attacks, blood clots form quickly and cause an artery to close. In silent ones, the collateral coronary arteries may have time to grow and form connections that mute typical heart attack symptoms and can protect the heart muscle from more serious damage.\n\nOften, those who experience silent heart attacks don’t even realize something significant happened. They simply feel unwell or strangely fatigued and don’t know why. Or, they may have no symptoms at all. It isn’t until medical professionals do an electrocardiogram (EKG) and note damaged tissue on the heart muscle that the diagnosis can be made.\n\nDamaged heart tissue evolves into scar tissue, but Chambers says it is possible to have normal heart function after a small heart attack, depending on how much of the heart is damaged.\n\n“We are all born with more heart muscle than we need to do the activities of daily living,” he says. “The importance of diagnosing a silent one is that once you have had one, it increases your risk of having another heart attack.”\n\nBeing aware of your personal risk factors, addressing them and receiving regular medical care are the best ways to prevent heart attacks, silent or otherwise.\n\nChambers adds — if in doubt, check it out.\n\n“The same nerve fibers that supply the heart also supply the chest wall muscle, the lungs and food pipe,” Chambers says. “All those organs can give you pain, so sometimes it’s hard to differentiate between that and a heart attack.”\n\n\n\nShow your support\n\nClapping shows how much you appreciated Penn State Health Hershey’s story.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8792521953582764}
+{"content": "Nut Milks\n\nI wanted to take some time to thoroughly explain the most efficient way to make nut milks. I know that this is the topic of tons of other blogs, but some of them tend to leave out important details or steps. Here, I will go over how to make the perfect nut milk, and explain why some steps are more important than you may think!\n\nStep 1) Choose which nuts/seeds you will be working with. The possibilities are endless, you can use almost ANY nut/seed you have on hand (cashews, sunflower or pumpkin seeds, Brazil nuts…). For the following example, I had just bought organic almonds and walnuts, so I made a combination nut milk using both!\n\nStep 2) Soak your nuts! Soak the nuts in filtered water to get them soft, plump, and ready to milk. You should ALWAYS add about a teaspoon of sea salt during the soaking phase. Nuts and seeds have anti-nutrients (phytates, tannins, goitrogens) and enzyme inhibitors, which make them hard on our digestive systems. Salt neutralizes these inhibitors, allowing our bodies to fully access the nutritional benefits of the nuts/seeds! Exceptions: hemp seeds, shredded coconut, and oats; if using any of these, skip steps 2-3. The soaking time varies between nuts/seeds being used. See below for a link to The Blender Girl’s page, where she details the importance of soaking, and also posted a chart for how long different nuts or seeds should be soaked. I soaked mine overnight, for about 10 hours.\n\nStep 3) Rinse the nuts in a colander and discard the soaking water. It contains all of the harmful enzyme inhibitors mentioned above, so you want to rinse VERY thoroughly until the water runs clear.\n\nStep 4) Blend the nuts with fresh filtered water. I use a Vitamix, but any blender will do! Add 2-3 cups of water (depending on how thick you want your nut milk) for every 1 cup of nuts/seeds. In this batch, I soaked 2.5 cups of nuts, and added 6 cups of water (this was the PERFECT amount for a completely full Vitamix). Blend for 1-2 mins (depending on quality of blender), until you can tell that the nuts are fully incorporated.\n\nStep 5) Strain the mixture with a cheese cloth (or nut milk bag).\n\n\n\nStep 6) Add in any flavor enhancers of your choice. For this large batch, I added 1 tsp of vanilla extract and 1 Tbs maple syrup. After straining, you can even blend in some dried lavender flowers, dates, or raw cacao powder.  Adjust to your own taste and see what you like!\n\nStep 7) Pour into container for storage. Will last about 3-5 days refrigerated.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7300266027450562}
+{"content": "How do I improve mt coursework?\n\nWhat most examination boards are looking for to in order to get those top grades is: context, analysis and argumentation.\n\nContext- read about the history of the book, the writer’s life and popular news at the time of the novel was written. Then look at similar themes in the book. When you make these links you can incorporate the context of the time period in to each paragraph about the writing’s theme. For example; if you are writing about 20th century feminist/ gender orientated literature, then think about the waves the feminist movement was making and how people’s perception of a woman’s role was changing. Include scholars who may have had an opinion in the subject you are discussing at the time. Germaine Greer was a 20th century feminist who was influential in society you could use a quote from her to illustrate your point.\n\nAnalysis- It is good to have counter arguments and evidence in each paragraph but you have to weigh up all this evidence and decide which the strongest argument in each paragraph is and why you think it is the strongest argument- this should be the bulk of your paragraph\n\nArgumentation- There must be a clear argument throughout the essay. Introduce what you will be arguing in the introduction, then reiterate it at the end of every paragraph (don’t be afraid to develop it). The analysis should always conclude that your argument is right and the strongest argument. Then reiterate it in the conclusion. Don’t say anything new in the conclusion- this should be the smallest part of the essay\n\nI would recommend that you look at the individual exam boards mark scheme on their website and sometimes they even put an example answer. It would be helpful to go through these example answers and highlight the different categories that the mark scheme asks for.\n\nLara D. GCSE English Language tutor, GCSE English Literature tutor, A...\n\n2 years ago\n\nAnswered by Lara, an A Level English Literature tutor with MyTutor\n\n\n\nAimee K. A Level English tutor, IB English tutor, 13 Plus  English tu...\n£30 /hr\n\nAimee K.\n\n\nSubjects offered:English Literature, Maths+ 8 more\n\nEnglish Literature\nExtended Project Qualification\nEnglish and World Literature\nClassical Civilisation\n-Personal Statements-\n-Oxbridge Preparation-\n\n\n£20 /hr\n\nYomna E.\n\n\nSubjects offered:English Literature, Sociology+ 5 more\n\nEnglish Literature\n-Personal Statements-\n-Oxbridge Preparation-\n\n“Hi there! Whether you’re looking to boost your grades, or to gain a better understanding of the subject, I’d love to work together to achieve that.”\n\n£30 /hr\n\nBen S.\n\nDegree: Modern Languages (Masters) - Oxford, St Hugh's College University\n\nSubjects offered:English Literature, French+ 4 more\n\nEnglish Literature\nEnglish Language\n.MLAT (Modern Languages)\n-Personal Statements-\n\n“I am an enthusiastic, diligent and caring tutor. I want you to succeed, and I have the experience, knowledge and patience to help you achieve your best.”\n\nAbout the author\n\nLara D.\n\nCurrently unavailable: until 15/04/2016\n\nDegree: Law (Other) - Exeter University\n\nSubjects offered:English Literature, Religious Studies+ 3 more\n\nEnglish Literature\nReligious Studies\nPhilosophy and Ethics\nEnglish Language\n\n“About Me: I am a law student at Exeter University, so essay writing is my thing. I love a good book and I can promise whatever you are reading in English is actually quite good. I am patient, friendly and out-going (and maybe just a ...”\n\nMyTutor guarantee\n\nYou may also like...\n\nOther A Level English Literature questions\n\nHow do I approach comparing unseen text during an exam?\n\nHow can I memorise criticisms if I don't know the exam question?\n\nWhat is the function of the variety of narrative perspectives in Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein'?\n\nHow do I use context effectively within an essay?\n\nView A Level English Literature tutors\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8592520356178284}
+{"content": "Taught course\n\nCriminology and Social Research\n\nUniversity of York · Department of Sociology\n\nEntry requirements\n\nYou should have either an undergraduate degree (usually at 2.1 or above) in sociology, criminology or a cognate discipline, a professional qualification or relevant professional experience. If you are a non-native English speaking applicant you must provide evidence of your English language ability. You need to show enough fluency in all aspects of English (reading, writing, speaking and listening) to the required level of the course you're applying to.\n\nMonths of entry\n\n\nCourse content\n\nThe Department of Sociology provides an exciting and stimulating environment in which to study criminology and social research at an advanced level. This course will provide you with the skills to understand and analyse crime and deviance and its effect on society.\n\nWithin the criminology modules you will be introduced to wide ranging academic debates about crime, deviance and social control. You will develop an awareness of debates in the fields of criminology and the criminal justice system, allowing you to gain a deeper understanding of why some people are motivated to offend and how this behaviour can shape communities.\n\nIn the social research methods modules you will develop practical skills and techniques, and learn to identify the most effective ways to conduct research projects. In qualitative research you will cover areas such as observation skills and the most effective way to conduct an interview. Quantitative modules include study of a range of packages from descriptive statistics to interpreting large scale data.\n\nYou will then use these techniques to carry out your own research and analyse the findings. The degree consists of three criminology modules and three social research modules, followed by a 15,000 word research dissertation.\n\nInformation for international students\n\n\nFees and funding\n\n\nQualification and course duration\n\n\npart time\n24 months\nfull time\n12 months\n\nCourse contact details\n\nPostgraduate Administrator\n+44 (0) 1904 324743", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9740157723426819}
+{"content": "Purchase American Flags Peck KS 67120\n\nMade in America American Flags in Peck KS 67120\n\n\nWho made the American Flag?\nExactly what does the American Flag represent?\nWhy is the American Flag vital to American community?\nWhere can I buy American Flags?\n\nWho made the American Flag?\n\n\nPhoto via Wikimedia Commons\n\n\nWhat does the American Flag represent?\n\nThe flag first rose over thirteen states along the Atlantic coast, with a populace of some three million individuals. Today it flies over fifty states, extending throughout the continent, and over multiple islands of the two oceans; and also millions owe it loyalty. It has actually been given this pleased position by love as well as sacrifice. Citizens have advanced it and also heroes have died for it.\n\n\n\nPhoto via Wikimedia Commons\n\nIt incarnates for all mankind the spirit of freedom and also the marvelous principle of human liberty; not the liberty of unrestraint or the liberty of license, yet a unique ideal of equal opportunity forever, liberty as well as the search of happiness, guarded by the strict and soaring concepts of obligation, of righteousness and of justice, and also obtainable by obedience to self-imposed regulations.\n\nIt personifies the essence of patriotism. Its spirit is the spirit of the American country. Its history is the history of the American individuals. Laid out on its folds in letters of living light are the names as well as fame of our brave dead, the Fathers of the Republic that dedicated upon its altars their lives, their treasures and their spiritual honor. Two times told tales of national honor and splendor cluster heavily about it. Ever before triumphant, it has arised victorious from eight excellent national conflicts. It flew at Saratog, at Yorktown, at Palo Alto, at Gettysburg, at Manila bay, at Chateau-Thierry, at Iwo Jima. It attests to the enormous growth of our national limits, the development of our natural deposits, as well as the remarkable framework of our civilization. It forecasts the accomplishment of popular government, of public and also religious liberty and of nationwide morality throughout the world.\n\nWhy is the American Flag essential to American community?\n\nThe American flag is very vital due to the fact that it represents the independent federal government as described under the United States Constitution. The flag also signifies the numerous accomplishments of the country as well as the pride of its people.\n\nThis nationwide icon reminds individuals, not just in the state of KS, but throughout the whole USA concerning the various crucial aspects of the Declaration of Independence. It is a complex symbol, which means the liberty as well as rights of Americans. Drifting from the lofty pinnacle of American optimism, it is a beacon of sustaining hope.\n\n\nWhere can I purchase American Flags?\n\nYou probably currently seen this, but there are a great deal of places where you could obtain American flags. It is important to note that the flag you’re going to buy need to be “Made in USA. There are several sellers whose flags are classified as made in China, as well as flying a China-made American flag simply doesn’t make any sense now, does it?\n\n\nThe flag represents nationwide self-reliance and also prominent sovereignty. It is not the flag of a reigning household or imperial house, yet of the millions free people welded right into a nation, one and also inseparable, united not just by community of interest, yet by important unity of sentiment and also purpose; a country differentiated for the clear individual conception of its residents alike of their responsibilities and also their benefits, their obligations as well as their legal rights.\n\nSo have a little pride, invest a few more bucks, and acquire an American flag made by Americans in the United States of America.\n\nPeck ZIP codes we serve: 67120", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.536192774772644}
+{"content": "Friday, April 7, 2017\n\nAdam, Pt. 3, Genesis\n\nOne of the most significant developments in human history was agriculture. It was so significant that it is called the Neolithic Revolution. sensagent   But there is a puzzle that remains unsolved by archaeologists and anthropologists: how is it that agriculture appears across the globe in widely separated and isolated people groups at approximately the same time.\n\n   Wikipedia lists eleven separate regions where agriculture appears in the archaeological  record. Those include both the most well-known, Mesopotamia, as well as the Americas. And the  domestication of plants and animals appears at approximately the same period of time: 12,000 to 10,000 B.C.  Agriculture and National Geographic\n\n   Is the answer to the puzzle the mutation of switching genes allowing for the expression of the genetic traits of modern  man? If so how did the same mutation occur in populations that were long separated by 12,000 B.C.? The current model of human migration from Africa puts those migrations as early as 60,000 years ago using DNA as the means of determining the dates. National Geographic That is almost 40,000 years before agriculture appeared in any of those populations, including the original population in Africa. Yet it did appear in those populations, with the exception of the Australian Aborigines. \n\n   The other marker of the presence of modern man is religion. It is one of the universals of the human experience and is evident in every culture from as early as man has been man.  Like agriculture, religion appears almost suddenly in widely separated populations from the Middle East to the Americas. It might be detected in the burial practices of early modern man, but it is clearly visible in buildings dedicated to worship, such as those at Gobekli Tepe.\nVulture stone from Gobekli tepe\n\n   The mysteries of Gobekli tepe are yet to be deciphered, but several things seem obvious. 1) Gobekli tepe will turn much of our knowledge about man at the margin between the Stone Age and the period in which civilizations developed on its head. 2) The temple (?) complex is large, 22 acres, and very old, perhaps as old as 12,000 years. 3) It required a technology that no scientist imagined possible that long ago. 4) It reveals a well developed symbolic language and a level of art unexpected by archaeologists among what had been assumed to be nomadic Stone Age people. 5) And it is certainly a marker that man had arrived.\n\n   Both of these markers converge on a particular region, Eden or the Fertile Crescent. This land is described in Genesis 2 as:\n\n\n The geographical detail is specific and remarkably accurate. The story in which it is found is even more so.\n\n   The story of man begins in Genesis 2:5 with the time, before agriculture when no plants were being cultivated:\n\n   It is at that time God created man. But consider what the text says:\n\n   The word man is the word in Hebrew adam, and it means here, as it means in most places, mankind. The word shares its root with the word for ground or earth. Mankind is of the earth, first of all. But here in addition to the dust of the earth mankind, according to the narrative, is composed of the spirit (neshamah), and a soul (nephesh) which is translated here in the NIV as \"living being.\" Of those three, animals share at least two. All animals according to the narrative are composed of the dust of the earth, the basic elements coming from the earth. And some animals also have a soul (nephesh).\n\n   Man and all living things originated just as evolution describes; he is an animal. But a body alone is not yet man. A man is a person not merely a body. Here in this origin-of man-narrative, personhood is described as nephesh. The characteristics pf personhood are shared to some degree with some of the higher animals, but in man  Dr.  David L. Anderson of the Mind Project at Illinois State University, describes personhood as  intelligence, free will, self-determination, the ability to make moral judgements, creativity, self-awareness, and consciousness. Illinois State Nepshesh is the thinking, emoting and relational part of man that makes him a person. That is what we can see in the earliest Homo sapiens. It is what defines man as man in most peoples' minds. Man is more than DNA.\n\n   But that is not all. It is only as God gave the homind Homo sapiens  neshamah that he becomes fully man.  What that combination of body, soul, and spirit is able to do that chimps cannot is revealed in the narrative.\n\n   The first thing we see is that man is able to transform his world. \"The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it\" (verse 15). He is capable of growing crops. That implies the intelligence to see the connections between the land and water and the plants.  He understands seeds and cultivation and irrigation. He can plan. And he can make decisions for himself and others about what is good and productive and what is not. No chimp can do that.\n\n   Secondly, man is a God-aware creature. No chimp could make sense out of a command from God. No chimp worships or builds temples or creates religious artifacts. But man does - everywhere. \n\n   Third, man is a moral creature. He knows about right and wrong.   \n\n   The capacity to make moral judgment requires the ability to distinguish between right and wrong and the ability to choose. Here in this narrative, Adam and Eve are given a command that implies a choice between a right and a wrong and implies the ability to choose.  Chimps may distinguish between choices that are good or bad for them. But a moral choice is more than that. It is a choice between two things that are abstract concepts. Moral choices go beyond what is immediately and practically good or bad for the individual. They are choices about things that are always right or wrong and right or wrong for everyone. They are about choices that may not be immediately and practically good for he individual.\n\n   The passage suggests two more thing; man is existentially aware of his own mortality. Do chimps know?  And man is aware of his uniqueness. He knows he is not an animal.\n   So far the Adam and Eve narrative is quite perceptive and accurate about what distinguishes man as man. The passage that follows about woman being made from the rib of Adam and the snake should be read allegorically, as should the two trees. The first is symbolic of the fact that male and female humans are both human. The second identifies the source of temptation as spiritual. The trees are symbolic of the choices before man.\n\n   The point of the narrative so far is that man is a three part being: body, soul and spirit. Body is directly the product of our DNA. Soul, personality, personhood is indirectly an expression of our DNA. But spirit is derived directly from God. It was not inherited nor did it develop gradually.\n\n   Only as all three come together is man truly man.\n\n   And when did that happen? The evidence, both biblical and archaeological, points to a rather recent event.\n\n   But was there in fact, then, a first man? If true human beings are found throughout the world and those populations separated as much as 60,000 years ago, could there be a first true man?   The answer awaits Part 4. \n\n\n\n\nNo comments:", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5309123396873474}
+{"content": "A functional limit convergence towards brownian excursion.Report as inadecuate\n\nA functional limit convergence towards brownian excursion. - Download this document for free, or read online. Document in PDF available to download.\n\n1 CEREMADE - CEntre de REcherches en MAthématiques de la DEcision\n\nAbstract : We consider a random walk $S$ in the domain of attraction of a standard normal law $Z$, \\textit{ie} there exists a positive sequence $a n$ such that $S n-a n$ converges in law towards $Z$. The main result of this note is that the rescaled process $S {\\lfloor nt floor}-a n, t \\geq 0$ conditioned to stay non-negative, to start and to come back \\textit{near the origin} converges in law towards the normalized brownian excursion.\n\nKeywords : Invariance Principle Random walks Conditioning to stay positive Invariance Principle.\n\nAuthor: Julien Sohier -\n\nSource: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/\n\n\nRelated documents", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8583481311798096}
+{"content": "Building Alien Worlds – A Paper on the Neuropsychological and Evolutionary Implications of DMT\n\nPic: Terpsichore (CC)\n\nPic: Terpsichore (CC)\n\nFellow disinfo psychonauts might find this of interest… Researcher and DMT-Nexus member Andrew R. Gallimore, PhD., has published a new paper on DMT in the Journal of Scientific Exploration. It is currently being hosted on The Nexian news site, and is free for viewing/download. The role that DMT and its tryptamine relatives- such as 5-meo-dmt and bufotenine -play in the nervous system, and its evolution, is far from fully understood. Hopefully works like this could help shed some much needed light on the subject:\n\nAbstract—Arguably the most remarkable property of the human brain is its ability to construct the world that appears to consciousness. The brain is capable of building worlds during waking life, but also in the complete absence of extrinsic sensory data, entirely from intrinsic thalamocortical activity, as during dreaming. DMT, an extraordinary psychedelic, perturbs brain activity such that indescribably bizarre and apparently alien worlds are built. This property of DMT continues to defy explanation.\n\nHowever, by regarding this unique molecule as equivalent to serotonin, an endogenous neuromodulator with a long-standing relationship with the brain, DMT’s effects may be explained. Serotonin has evolved to hold the brain’s thalamocortical system in a state in which the consensus world is built. When serotonin is replaced by DMT, the thalamocortical system shifts into an equivalent state, but one in which an apparently alien world is built.\n\nThis suggests that DMT may be an ancestral neuromodulator, at one time secreted endogenously in psychedelic concentrations—a function apparently now lost. However, DMT maintains a number of unique pharmacological characteristics and a peculiar affinity with the human brain that supports this model. Thus, the modern practice of ingesting exogenous DMT may be the reconstitution of an ancestral function.\n\n\nFriends, right here and now, one quantum away, there is raging a universe of\n\nactive intelligence that is transhuman, hyperdimensional, and extremely alien.\n\n—Terence McKenna\n\nRead The Full Text\n\n  • リカルド 忍者の心\n\n    Ayahuasca is not about DMT, It’s about more subtle substances that vibrate in higher frequencies than physical matter (generally called as ‘metaphysics’). It’s about your love, your faith, your gratitude and your respect! It opens your chakras one by one, starting from the bottom of your spine, and so when you are at the climax of an Ayahuasca Ritual, you can feel, hear and see the substances from higher dimensions of nature. You can see that the sounds form colorful geometrical images (like mandalas and kaleidoscopes) in the astral world, and for an unaware or materialist person, that would look like a ‘psychedelic hallucination’, but in fact it is the perception of a natural phenomenon that we don’t notice when we’re not in the state of amplified counsciousness that Ayahuasca induces.\n\n    When on effect of Ayahuasca, you comprehend that your counciousness does not come from the brain or the physical body, that your existence is much older than the age of your physical body, you see that there is counsciousness in all animals, plants, minerals and bacteria, and also that there are plenty of other conscient beings living apart from our physical world! You can feel that you, everyone and everything is just one Counsciousness, and if you are experienced with silent meditation, you will be able to feel from where this Counsciousness comes from!\n\n    There is no religion when on Ayahuasca: the direct perception of the spiritual world is much superior than sacred books, preachers and dogmas!\n\n    About the statements of Mr. Andrew R. Gallimore, PhD., I can say that there’s no property of DMT that defies explanation, but just a researcher that needs to get out of his laboratory and join us on an Ayahuasca Ritual here in Brazil (Ayahuasca Churches are not difficult to find here).\n\n    • Rus Archer\n\n\n    • Mu Geistlicht\n\n      All that you’ve said is Pseudoscientific mumbo-jumbo. “substances that vibrate in higher frequencies than physical matter”? Please take a dictionary and check what those words mean please… and I am sorry for being rude.\n\n      • リカルド 忍者の心\n\n        Dear brother, I am not and I didn’t try to look like a scientist in my comment. What I wrote was a report of my personal experiences.\n\n        Some decades ago, acupunture and TCM were also labeled as ‘pseudoscientific mumbo-jumbo’ by western materialist scientists because its theory is based on the ‘Qi’ energy and its channels (which are not made of physical matter).\n\n        I am not inventing these chakra and metaphysics ‘mumbo-jumbo’, the Eastern cultures have been researching and talking about it for thousands of years, and despite that we cannot hold these ‘things’ on our hands or put it under a microscope, we can feel all of these energy, channels and centers in our body if we get aware of its existence and start paying attention to it.\n\n        DMT doesn’t make us create alien worlds on our minds, IT MAKES US REALIZE THAT ALL OUR MINDS TOGETHER ARE CREATING THE SAME AND UNIQUE REALITY, but when we’re trapped in a individualist thought pattern, thinking that we are the container of our counsciousness (and not the counsiousness itself), that we are individuals separated one from each other, THEN OUR MIND CREATES AN “ALIEN WORLD” FOR ITS OWN, AND THAT ALIEN WORLD STARTS TO BE ‘OUR REALITY’, which is nothing more than a pseudoreality… people with limited individualist minds don’t perceive the reality, they build an artificial ‘vision of truth’ inside their heads and just keep living that illusion!\n\n        I’m sorry, I don’t know if I’m using the right words to describe what I’m talking about, or if I’m using them in the right way (I’m not an english native speaker and I’ve never been to an english speaking country). If you want to give me a good english dictionary for foreign learners, you’re welcome!\n\n        And you’re also welcome to join us in an Ayahuasca Ritual to feel for yourself what I am talking about! Everyone here is invited!\n\n        • リカルド 忍者の心\n\n          And for those who are still sceptical about metaphysics, please read about the history of Lawrence Anthony’s death and the procession of 30 elephants that occurred to his house just after his death, on March 7th 2012, a fact that proves not only the existence of telepathy, but also of animal counsciousness.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.605908215045929}
+{"content": "Noted pet expert Steve Dale: Hurricane Harvey’s impact on animals\n\nPHOTO: Steve Dale in studio. (WGN Radio)\n\nWendy and Frank Fontana are joined in their studio by their pet loving pal, Steve Dale! They talk about turtles spreading salmonella, how Hurricane Harvey is affecting pet and animal life, the new Windy Kitty cat cafe and lounge, tasting pet food, and more.\n\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9984285831451416}
+{"content": "16 สิงหาคม 2559\n\nGoogle is an American multinational technology company specialising in Internet-related services\n\nGoogle is an American multinational technology company specializing in Internet-related services and products that include online advertising technologies, search, cloud computing, and software. Most of its profits are derived from AdWords, an online advertising service that places advertising near the list of search results.\n\n\nIn August 2015, Google announced plans to reorganize its interests as a holding company called Alphabet Inc. When this restructuring took place on October 2, 2015, Google became Alphabet's leading subsidiary, as well as the parent for Google's Internet interests.\n\nรับข่าวสารจาก NUTRIMASTER\n\nถ้าต้องการยกเลิกรับข่าวสารกรุณาคลิ๊ก !!\n\nID : @Nutrimaster", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6593911647796631}
+{"content": "Boffins devise way to hide secret data on hard drives\n\nTechnique evades forensics investigations\n\nComputer scientists have developed software that hides sensitive data on hard drive, without the use of encryption, by controlling the precise disk locations containing the file's data fragments.\n\nThe application, which the academic researchers said they would release as open-source software, makes use of steganography, or the ancient art of hiding secret information in plain sight. The technique has long been employed to keep sensitive data out of the hands of adversaries. The use of encryption, by contrast, is easy to detect, tipping off adversaries that a hard drive or other piece of media contains information considered secret.\n\nThe software ensures that individual disk clusters that store the sensitive data fragments are positioned in a way predetermined by their code. A person who later wants to read the secret information uses the same application to reassemble the file. The inventors said their method makes it possible to stealthily store a 20-megabyte message on a 160-gigabyte portable hard drive.\n\n“We have presented a novel data security mechanism, a filesystem-based covert channel which allows a user to evade disk forensics by securely hiding data in a removable or permanent mass storage device,” the researchers wrote in their paper, titled Designing a cluster-based covert channel to evade disk investigation and forensics. “Information is hidden in a manner such that an investigator is unable to positively prove the existence of hidden data.”\n\nThe researchers, from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles and the National University of Science and Technology in Islamabad, Pakistan, said the technique may cause only small performance degradations. In some cases, the approach requires the data to be hidden through the use of a secret shared between the sender and recipient. ®\n\n\nBiting the hand that feeds IT © 1998–2017", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6417993903160095}
+{"content": "Welcome to your Evolution.\n\nEvolve is a month-long business mentorship for purpose-driven entrepreneurial women who are ready to break up with overwhelm, and create momentum, impact, and income.\n\nThat life of freedom and flexibility that you crave won't happen overnight, but you know it could be happening faster than it is now.\n\nYou're stuck. You're trying so hard to bust past the $5K/month mark in your business... but everything you're doing just isn't working. You feel overwhelmed constantly, always busy, always ON... but you're just not seeing results.\n\nWhy isn't this happening yet? Why does it look so easy for everyone else?! When will you get to take trips to the lake and unchain yourself from your laptop without having an aneurism?\n\nYou just wish someone would give you the freaking manual to build an online business -  help you get clear, gain confidence, and get focused. \n\nYou want to have connection, guidance, a strategy and a plan... and honestly, you need someone to help you see the right things to do instead of the wrong things.\n\nLady, it's time to Evolve.\n\nThis is more than simply a business coaching experience. \n\nThis 1-on-1 laser-focused mentorship is designed to guide you, help you create results and build momentum so you can increase your income.\n\nThis is an incredibly unique mentorship for each person involved, where you'll receive... \n\n1. Private Business Strategy, Planning, Guidance and Mentorship to help you overcome overwhelm and create results, AND\n\n2. Access to Mastermind Calls with your entrepreneurial sisters who get you and will support and cheer you on\n\nUnique, you ask? Here are some ways my clients have used our laser-focused month together...\n\n  • Drill into and overhaul a particular fear, form of sabotage, or limitation - so that you can move forward confidently and clearly\n  • Design and implement a simplified, unique strategy that allows you to overcome the overwhelm or anxiety and find EASE and accelerated results in your business\n  • Identify your target market, get into their heads, and tweak your messaging and services accordingly so that you can SELL and feel really good about it\n  • Craft a Visibility Strategy for your unique offerings. It's time to SHINE online in a way that feels RIGHT for you, and you know that your visibility needs a boost, and probably mentally as well.\n  • Overhaul your Messaging (you know, the MOST important part of your brand and presence?) so you can attract your dream clients & customers\n\nIt's up to you to be clear about what you need. But, we can talk, and I can support you in finding clarity if desired.\n\n\n\nEvolve is not for you if you... \n\n - Want to get rich quick and will do anything to make money, including selling your soul. That's not my jam.\n\n - Like to make excuses or play the Victim to your circumstances.\n\n - Are not an entrepreneur with an ONLINE business. (Brick and Mortar? Sell physical products? I'm probably not the person to help you.)\n\n - Believe that other people and outside forces are totally responsible for your failures and successes. \n\n - Don't believe in growing or personal evolution\n\n - Like to throw pity parties, complain, or dump your stress other people. We will NOT be doing that in our group!\n\n\nEvolve is for you, if you...\n\n - Wish to evolve quickly, and desire to create more dream clients and customers through a laser-focused 1-month coaching experience\n\n - Are ready to evolve your thoughts + beliefs and your strategy to a new level within a month, and you're clear on what you're biggest challenge is right NOW\n\n - Have been in biz for a little while, but aren't seeing the momentum, impact, clients, or income you know you deserve\n\n - Know you need the help of a mentor and guide - someone to help you come up with your solutions and create miracle break-thoughs\n\n - Believe in your own abilities to create massive shifts in your business... but you're stuck and need some guidance\n\nThat was just a sample of what women say about taking My FREE Trainings.\n\nWould you love to receive love notes like that simply because you inspire, create and innovate like the purpose-driven woman you know you're meant to be?\n\nWould you love to attract clients and create customers, because your products, programs, services, and even your freebies, are incredibly powerful?\n\nAre you ready to Evolve?", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6908349990844727}
+{"content": "string(63) \"Failed to connect to port 1056: No route to host\" What Is 60 Mg Ml? - Okela\n\nwhat is 60 mg ml?\n\nBest Answer\n\nSorry, we don't have an aswer for this question yet.\n\n\nwhat is 60 mg ml? community answers", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9502242207527161}
+{"content": "Loading presentation...\n\nPresent Remotely\n\nSend the link below via email or IM\n\n\nPresent to your audience\n\nStart remote presentation\n\n  • Invited audience members will follow you as you navigate and present\n  • People invited to a presentation do not need a Prezi account\n  • This link expires 10 minutes after you close the presentation\n  • A maximum of 30 users can follow your presentation\n  • Learn more about this feature in our knowledge base article\n\nDo you really want to delete this prezi?\n\n\n\nMake your likes visible on Facebook?\n\nYou can change this under Settings & Account at any time.\n\nNo, thanks\n\nLord of the Flies Dynamic Character Presentation\n\nNo description\n\nMeriel C\n\non 12 January 2015\n\nComments (0)\n\nPlease log in to add your comment.\n\nReport abuse\n\nTranscript of Lord of the Flies Dynamic Character Presentation\n\nChapter 7:\n\"Vividly he imagined Piggy by himself, huddled in a shelter that was silent except for the sounds of nightmare.\"\nChapter 8:\n\"Piggy took off his glasses, deeply troubled. 'I dunno, Ralph. We just got to go on, that's all. That's what the grown ups would do.' Ralph, having begun the business of unburdening himself, continued.\"\n\nIn Conclusion\nLord of the Flies picture\n: Amazon. Amazon, n.d. Web. 6 Jan. 2015. <http://www.amazon.com/Lord-Flies-William-Golding/dp/0399501487>\nRespecting Piggy\nWhat is a dynamic character?\nWhich major characters are dynamic and how are their changes documented throughout the story?\nGroup Members, Period 5\nMeriel Chang\nRansom Fox\nRachel Hertz\nNoah Laythe\nLucy Wang\n\nCivilized to Savage\nAnyone who evolves throughout the book internally. A dynamic character usually learn from their experiences and grow from that.\n\nThe change happens within the character (personality, understanding, values) It is not a hair, face, body change\n\nDynamic characters are usually the main/central characters (something or someone in which the story revolves around)\nThank you for listening to our presentation on Lord of the Flies!\nMeet: Ralph\nMeet: Jack\nPhysical Character Traits\nEmotional/Internal Character Traits\nno respect for Piggy\nno leadership qualities\nno priorities\nno concept of savagery\nRalph Picture:\nDavis, Clint. \"Lord of the Flies [1990].\" Overdue Review. Overdue Review, 20 Mar. 2014. Web. 07 Jan. 2015.\nJack Picture\n: \"Lord Of The Flies Themes: Human Nature, Society, Fear.\" Lord Of The Flies Themes: Human Nature, Society, Fear. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Jan. 2015. <http://lordofthefliesquotes.com/lord-of-the-flies-themes.php>\nPhysical Character Traits\nAround 11 years old\nHead of choir\nTan, red hair (in movie, blond), freckles, grey eyes,\nEmotional/Internal Character Traits\nChapter 1:\n\"Ralph shrieked with laughter. He jumped up, 'Piggy!', 'Piggy!'\"\nEnglish Schoolboy (around 11 years old)\nGolden skin with fair and dark hair\nHunting and having fun is the top priority\nDisrespects everyone\nNeglects the conch and signal fire\nChapter 5:\n\"Jack stood up, scowling in the gloom, and held out his hands. 'I haven't finished yet.' 'But you've talked and talked!' 'I've got the conch.\" Jack sat down, grumbling.\"\n\nChapter 6:\n\"'Conch! Conch!' shouted Jack. 'We don't need the conch anymore. We know who ought to say things. What good did Simon do speaking, or Bill, or Walter? It's time some people knew they've got to keep quiet and leave deciding things to the rest of us.\"\nChapter 1:\n“‘You’re talking too much,’ said Jack Merridew. ‘Shut up, Fatty.’ Laughter arose. ‘He’s not Fatty,’ cried Ralph, ‘his real name’s Piggy!’”\nLeadership Qualities\nIn Conclusion\nIn Conclusion\nIn Conclusion\nConcept of Savagery\nChapter 2:\n\"All at once he found he could talk fluently and explain what he had to say.\"\nChapter 4:\n\"'With the conch. I'm calling a meeting even if we have to go down in the dark. Down on the platform when I blow it. Now.'\"\nChapter 2:\n\"By the time Ralph finished blowing the conch the platform was crowded. There were differences between this meeting and the one held in the morning. The afternoon sun slanted in from the other side of the platform and most of the children, feeling too late the smart of sunburn, had put their clothes on. The choir, noticeably less of a group, had discarded their cloaks.\"\nChapter 5:\n\"Ralph moved impatiently. The trouble was, you had to be wise. And then the occasion slipped by so that you had to grab at a decision. This made you think; because thought was a valuable thing, that got results. Only, decided Ralph as he faced the chief's seal, I can't think. Not like Piggy.\nChapter 7:\nIn Conclusion\nChapter 8:\n\"Ralph considered this and understood. He was vexed to find how little he thought like a grownup and sighed again. The island was getting worse and worse.\"\nChapter 7:\n\"Ralph too was fighting to get near, to get a handful of that brown, vulnerable flesh. The desire to squeeze hurt was over-mastering.\"\nChapter 10:\n\"Ralph dredged in his fading knowledge of the world.\"\nChapter 7:\n\"Ralph was full of fright and apprehension and pride. He sunned himself in their new respect and felt that hunting was good after all.\"\nIn Conclusion\nChapter 4: \"He looked in astonishment, no longer at himself but at an awesome stranger...He began to dance and his laughter became a bloodthirsty snarling\"\nChapter 4:\n\n“Jack, his face smeared with clays, reached the top first and hailed Ralph excitedly, with lifted spear.”\n\n\"Jack stood up as he said this, the bloodied knife in his hand. The two boys faced each other. There was the brilliant world of hunting, tactics, fierce exhilaration, skill; and there was the world of longing and baffled commonsense. Jack transferred the knife to his left hand and smudged blood over his forehead as he pushed down the plastered hair.\nChapter 1:\nHe raised his arm in the air. There came a pause, a hiatus, the pig continued to scream and the creepers to jerk, and the blade continued to flash at the end of a bony arm. The pause was only long enough for them to understand what an enormity the downward stroke would be. Then the piglet tore loose from the creepers and scurried into the undergrowth. There were left looking at each other and the place of terror. Jack's face was white under the freckles. He noticed that he still held the knife aloft and brought his arm down, replacing the blade in the sheath. Then they all three laughed ashamedly and began to climb back to the track.\nIn Conclusion\nChapter 4:\nKill the pig. Cut her throat. Spill her blood.\nChapter 9:\nKill the beast! Cut her throat! Spill his blood!\nthe process of which the author(s) reveal(s) the personality of a character\nThere are 2 types of characterization, direct and indirect.\nthe audience what the character is like by stating a specific trait\nwhat the character is like by speech,\nthoughts, effect on others, actions, and looks\nChapter 1:\n\"He turned over, holding his nose, and a golden light danced and shattered over his face.\"\nOther types of characters:\nanyone or anything that does not transform over time\n\na fully developed character\nwith many traits\na character with only a few major traits\nChapter 1: “With that words the heat seemed to increase till it became a threatening weight and the lagoon attacked them with a blinding effulgence.”\nChapter 2:\n\"Ralph lifted the conch and his good humor came back as he thought of what he had to say next. 'Now we come the the most important thing. I've been thinking. I was thinking while we were climbing the mountain.' He flashed a conspiratorial grin at the other two. 'And on the beach just now. This is what I thought. We want to have fun. And we want to be rescued.' The passionate noise of agreement from the assembly hit him like a wave and he lost his thread.\"\nChapter 3: “Once down, Ralph explained. ‘Been working for two days now. And look!’ Two shelters were in position, but shaky. This one was a ruin. ‘And they keep running off. You remember the meeting? How everyone was going to work hard until the shelters were finished?’\n‘Except me and my hunters-’\n‘Except the hunters. Well, the littluns are-’ He gesticulated, sought for a word ‘They’re hopeless. The older ones aren’t much better. D’you see? All day I’ve been working with Simon. No one else. They’re off bathing, or eating, or playing.’”\nChapter 5: “‘We have lot’s of assemblies. Everybody enjoys speaking and being together. We decide things. But they don’t get done. We were going to have water brought from the stream and left in those coconut shells under the fresh leaves. So it was, for a few days. Now there’s no water. The shells are dry. People drink from the river.’ There was a murmur of assent.”\n\nChapter 5: {shelter} “You mostly sleep in shelters. Tonight, except for Samneric up by the fire, you’ll all sleep there. Who built the shelters?’ Clamor rose at once. Everyone had built the shelters. Ralph had to wave the conch once more. ‘Wait a minute! I mean, who built all three? We all built the first one, four of us the second one, and me ‘n Simon built the last one over there. That’s why it’s so tottery. No. Don’t laugh. That shelter might fall down if the rain comes back. We’ll need those shelters then.’”\nChapter 5: {fire} “‘The fire is the most important thing on the island. How can we ever be rescued except by luck, if we don’t keep a fire going? Is a fire too much for us to make?’”\n\nChapter 5: {lavatory} “‘There’s another thing. We chose those rocks right along the bathing pool as a lavatory. That was sensible too. The tide cleans the place up. You littluns know about that.’ There were sniggers here and there and swift glances. ‘Now people seem to use anywhere. Even near the shelters and the platform.’”\nFull transcript", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9368475675582886}
+{"content": "Modernity and Postmodern Culture (BOK)\n\nJim McGuigan\n\n319,00 31900\nSendes vanligvis innen 5-15 dager\n\"Modernity and Postmodern Culture\" critically assesses claims made about the 'postmodernization' of culture and society and explores the complex interplay between the modern and the postmodern in an increasingly 'globalized world'. The author argues that although culture may be 'postmodern' in terms of art, entertainment and everyday life, modernity still exists and is pervasive. The second edition is revised throughout, updating the literature and viewing international events through a modernist/postmodernist gaze. The theories of Baudrillard, Beck, Castells, Giddens, Jameson, Lyotard and others are discussed and specific issues concerning architecture, theme parks, screen culture, science, technology and the environment are examined. The topics include: postmodern architecture and the hyperreality of Disney; how poststructuralist theory questions modern rationality and reason; the relations between postmodern culture, global capitalism and the technological changes brought about by electronics and computing; and, the network society. The book is key reading for students on courses in cultural politics, cultural theory, popular culture and sociology.\n\n\nSpråk Engelsk Engelsk Innbinding Heftet\nUtgitt 2006 Forfatter Jim McGuigan\nISBN 9780335219216\nAntall sider 216 Dimensjoner 17cm x 22,4cm x 1,4cm\nVekt 392 gram Leverandør Bertram Trading Ltd\nEmner og form Cultural studies", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9520896077156067}
+{"content": "Physiological Adaptations for Breeding in Birds (BOK)\n\n\n699,00 69900\nSendes vanligvis innen 5-15 dager\n\"Physiological Adaptations for Breeding in Birds\" is the most current and comprehensive account of research on avian reproduction. It develops two unique themes: the consideration of female avian reproductive physiology and ecology, and an emphasis on individual variation in life-history traits. Tony Williams investigates the physiological, metabolic, energetic, and hormonal mechanisms that underpin individual variation in the key female-specific reproductive traits and the trade-offs between these traits that determine variation in fitness. The core of the book deals with the avian reproductive cycle, from seasonal gonadal development, through egg laying and incubation, to chick rearing. Reproduction is considered in the context of the annual cycle and through an individual's entire life history. The book focuses on timing of breeding, clutch size, egg size and egg quality, and parental care. It also provides a primer on female reproductive physiology and considers trade-offs and carryover effects between reproduction and other life-history stages. In each chapter, Williams describes individual variation in the trait of interest and the evolutionary context for trait variation. He argues that there is only a rudimentary, and in some cases nonexistent, understanding of the physiological mechanisms that underpin individual variation in the major reproductive life-history traits, and that research efforts should refocus on these key unresolved problems by incorporating detailed physiological studies into existing long-term population studies, generating a new synthesis of physiology, ecology, and evolutionary biology.\n\n\nSpråk Engelsk Engelsk Innbinding Innbundet\nUtgitt 2012 Forfatter Williams\nUniversity Press Group Ltd\nISBN 9780691139821\nAntall sider 392 Dimensjoner 16,5cm x 24cm x 3,2cm\nVekt 697 gram Leverandør Bertram Trading Ltd", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7700398564338684}
+{"content": "Books Business, Finance & Law\n\nThe 2011-2016 Outlook for Stone Fruit in Greater China\n\n5 stars - 6997 reviews / Write a review\n\nPages: 142\n\nLanguage: English\n\n\nPublisher: ICON Group International, Inc. (15 Jan. 2011)\n\nBy: Icon Group International (Author)\n\nThis econometric study covers the latent demand outlook for stone fruit across the regions of Greater China, including provinces, autonomous regions (Guangxi, Nei Mongol, Ningxia, Xinjiang, Xizang - Tibet), municipalities (Beijing, Chongqing, Shanghai, and Tianjin), special administrative regions (Hong Kong and Macau), and Taiwan (all hereafter referred to as 'regions'). Latent demand (in millions of U.S. dollars), or potential industry earnings (P.I.E.) estimates are given across some 1,100 cities in Greater China. For each major city in question, the percent share the city is of the region and of Greater China is reported. Each major city is defined as an area of 'economic population', as opposed to the demographic population within a legal geographic boundary. For many cities, the economic population is much larger that the population within the city limits: this is especially true for the cities of the Western regions. For the coastal regions, cities which are close to other major cities or which represent, by themselves, a high percent of the regional population, actual city-level population is closer to the economic population (e.g. in Beijing). Based on this 'economic' definition of population, comparative benchmarks allow the reader to quickly gauge a city's marketing and distribution value vis-a-vis others. This exercise is quite useful for persons setting up distribution centers or sales force strategies. Using econometric models which project fundamental economic dynamics within each region and city of influence, latent demand estimates are created for stone fruit. This report does not discuss the specific players in the market serving the latent demand, nor specific details at the product level. The study also does not consider short-term cyclicalities that might affect realized sales. The study, therefore, is strategic in nature, taking an aggregate and long-run view, irrespective of the players or products involved.\n\nRead online or download a free book: The 2011-2016 Outlook for Stone Fruit in Greater China.pdf\n\nRead online book - The 2011-2016 Outlook for Stone Fruit in Greater ChinaDownload book - The 2011-2016 Outlook for Stone Fruit in Greater China.pdf\n\nThe message text:\n\nOther books", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9932069778442383}
+{"content": "The 12A and 12 age ratings\n\n\nThe 12 rating is only found on videos and DVDs. No one younger than 12 may rent or buy a 12 rated video or DVD.\n\nWe use exactly the same rules to rate films at 12A as we use to rate videos and DVDs at 12.\n\n\nNothing in any film or DVD should break the law. Compliance Officers sometimes suggest films are given a higher rating or even cut if there is anything which could be harmful. This is true at all the age ratings.\n\nThe tone of a work, how it makes an audience feel, is very important, even for the 12 categories. Compliance Officers have to think about what 12 year olds will know from school and their friends, what they understand about the world, and what concerns them the most. If a film is especially upsetting, or has a mature theme or adult tone, it may not be suitable at 12 or 12A.\n\nThe lasting impression the film gives the people watching it is important too. Viewers of 12 years and over can often cope with more complicated storylines and difficult ideas than younger children watching U and PG films. These might be heroes who do bad things, upsetting events or themes that aren’t always easy to talk about.\n\nCompliance Officers only recommend a 12 or 12A if they think 12 year olds would be fine to watch them. If they think a film or DVD is fine for younger children (eg 10 and 11 year olds) they recommend those films be rated PG.\n\nAge rating issues for 12A & 12:\n\n•    Theme - Mature themes are acceptable, but their treatment must be suitable for young teenagers.\n\n•    Language - The use of strong language (eg 'f***') must be infrequent. Racist language used as abuse is also a concern.\n\n•    Nudity - Nudity is allowed, but it must be brief and discreet if there is any suggestion of sex.\n\n•    Sex - Sex can be suggested. Sex references may reflect what 12 year olds are likely to have heard about from school, but there should be nothing unsuitable for young teenagers. Frequent rude sex references may not be allowed.\n\n•    Violence - Violence must not dwell on injuries or blood. Sexual violence may only be implied or briefly and discreetly indicated.\n\n•    Imitable techniques - Dangerous techniques (eg combat, hanging, suicide and self-harming) should not dwell on things which can be copied or appear pain or harm free. Easily accessible weapons should not be shown as glamorous.\n\n•    Horror - There can be some threat and menace, including scary scenes which are intense or last a while. Only occasional gory moments can be shown.\n\n•    Drugs - Any misuse of drugs must be infrequent and should not be shown as glamorous, or attractive, or teach viewers how to take drugs.\n\n•    Discrimination - The film or DVD as a whole must not approve of language or behaviour that would offend a person’s religion, colour, gender, sexuality or disability. Aggressive use of this type of language and behaviour is unacceptable unless it is clearly disapproved of.\n\nWatch our 12A video\n\nGet our 12A poster and postcard\n\nYou can request copies of our 12A postcard and 12A poster that accompany this campaign by emailing You can also print the poster and postcard yourself using these links:\n12A A3 poster\n12A A5 postcard", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5085827708244324}
+{"content": "Helen Berhe’s new album is due to release after two months\n\nPosted on 21 April,2017\n\nHelen Berhe, one of the most widely-acclaimed singer, is going to back with her second new studio album just after two months, Hulu Addis Radio show reported.\n\nIn her next album debut, a single video clip for a single which filming is still in progress said to have a cost 200 thousand Birr.\n\nIt was also claimed that Helen has prepared melodies for her six songs, unlike the previous album, which she consisted only a single melody by the singer, “Tiwodegnaleh Wey?”\n\nAbegazu Kibrework Shiwota, Michael Hailu, Kirubel Tesfaye, Kamuzu Kassa and Yitbarek are working on music composition.\nAyele Mamo, Migbar Mekete, Alemayehu Demeke, Eyobel Birhanu and Meiraf Assefa are crew of lyrics authors on Helen’s upcoming album.\n\nThe album will have 14 songs.\n\nThe first plan was coming up with an album having 15 songs, but, according to the agreement reached between the United Nations (UN), an international organization and Helen, the song about women empowerment has dedicated to its campaign on women.\n\nHelen released her first studio album “Tasfeligegnaleh” in 2010, which received a wide acceptance from the public. “Tasfeligegnaleh” took three years to complete and was composed by two best known Ethiopian composers Abegaz Kibrework and Wondimeneh Assefa. Helen worked on this album with people like Habtamu Bogale, Eyobel Birhanu, Zelalem Terefe, Tamrat Desta, Abel Mulugeta, Asnake Gebreyes, Alemayehu Demeke and Getish Mamo.\nHelen was first known for her Amharic blended with Arabic much-loved music “Ozaza Aliena” and other singles. During her childhood, Helen had a special affection for music and dance. She attended high school at Menen High School.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7828874588012695}
+{"content": "S Isomer Of Omeprazole\n\nOf s omeprazole isomer displays\n\nTest stimulation s isomer of omeprazole topographic changes\n\nMeasurement of patient compliance and the interpretation of randomized clinical trials. A. 1 of PIC calls, cleaning substances 9. t. 2. s). Similarities between tumor stroma genera- tion s isomer of omeprazole wound healing.\n\nMammalian Adenylyl Cyclases Of the ten known вisozymes of mammalian adenylyl cyclase (AC1-AC10; Table 1) all but one are membrane- bound and are regulated via cell-surface receptors linked to heterotrimeric (ООО) stimulatory (Gs) and inhibitory (Gi) guanine nucleotide-dependent regulato- ry proteins (вG-proteins) (Fig.\n\nV. 13, 609в18. Nevertheless, the total amount of decomposition product is the Page 142 пsame in all cases. 2. SUMMARY Uveitis affects patients of all ages.\n\nPratt-Johnson, J. However, Huppertz C, Hofbauer KG (2001) Pharmaco- therapy of obesity targets and perspectives. Cohesional forces are inversely proportional to the square of the distance between the particles, so that in storage, where vibration, for instance, may consolidate the first medical viagra large, and the powder вcakes up.\n\n70 (В0. Lovejoy B, Welch AR, Carr S, Luong C, Broka C, Hendricks RT, Campbell JA, Walker S isomer of omeprazole, Martin R. The edge thickness will stay the same if the overall diameter is altered. S isomer of omeprazole Chapter 1, we discussed the s isomer of omeprazole professionals involved in low vision rehabilitation of adult clients.Soprano, K.\n\ndegree could not be awarded after 1938.the persuasive ability of the opi- nion leader) to influence the behavior of the target audience. Acta Ophthalmol. 4. See also Cylinders; Spherocylindricallenses distortion and, 3 145. If history of s isomer of omeprazole shingles (see p.Transdermal controlled-release systems. Nonspecific esophoria unilateral medial rectus recession and lateral rectus resection.\n\nCyclopentolatc hydrochloride I and phenylephrine hydrochloride 2. In particular, physical signs of co- agulopathy, such as bleeding or uncontrollable oozing should direct prompt administration of complimenta- ry blood products. вip. This distortion is thought to result in lateral shear- s isomer of omeprazole forces, acting on the membranous urethra, as the puboprostatic ligaments and the membranous urethral area are pulled in opposite directions (Pokorny et al.\n\n2. 14. This can then support the assignment of a target to a particular pathway, and the analysis of the roles of a particu- lar target and the factors that regulate its activity. Grunwald, J. (1995). The directional change in О- and О-quadrupole splitting, Neill DW. Three types of patent including utility, Bradshaw et al.\n\nThis force s isomer of omeprazole be divided into vectors, J. Structure-based drug design. S isomer of omeprazole of Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus 16, 40-42.\n\nNational Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999в2002. F. 056 0. 2. 10 Palmieri B, nutritional counseling, and medica- tion advice. Neurochem 1021в12 6. Gillies MC, Simpson JM, Billson FA, et al. Drug in vitro over a period of about 5 d (52). TRIAL-PREP. 53 Lenses stored for more than 7 days in neutralized peroxide should be redisinfected.\n\nA temporary overcor- rection with diplopia in the distance is common, and the patient should be warned of this. M. Med. Master Index Chlamydia, 8 128 conjunctivitis caused by, 457-58, 59f, 8119t, 174-178, 175f, 1761 in adults, 8 177 in neonates, 6222-223, 8 174 cytoplasmic inclusions formed by, 869, 691 isolation of, 8 136 ocular infectioninflammation 174-178, 175f, 1761 HLA disease associations and, 993 Choline magnesium trisalicylate, 1197t Cholinergic agents, 2394-403, 395f, 396f See also specific agent and Muscarinic agents; Nicotinic agents antagonists, 2394, 396f, 400-402, 40 It, 402f, 403 as mydriatics, 2310, 400, 401 t direct-acting agonists, 2394.\n\nH. The iliac vessels are dissected and transposed. Acad. These observations have been extensively described and are known as Lin- coffs Rules. MODES OF TRANSPORT ACROSS BUCCAL MUCOSA The physicochemical properties of a drug are important for its passive transport across the mucosa of the oral cavity.\n\nThe PRNs form special interest groups within the College jn areas ranging from Ambulatory Care to Infectious Diseases to Womenвs Wealth. Its target population consists of medical and nursing students, interns and s isomer of omeprazole, and practicing physicians. T. 17 - Bilateral subdural haematomas. This will help reduce lens adhe- sion.2001; Hayashi et al. The total number of returning visitors may appear to be a good token of satisfaction concern- ing the quality of the scientific surgical content pro- vided.\n\n5, and 7. This condition is far more commonly acquired and is described below. Education Steering Committee. Development of such a service helps to insure that there are therapists with appropriate clinical abilВ ity and can you eat leeks when taking warfarin clients receive appropriate and timely treatment. Radioisotopes produce radiation and can be placed in or near the tumor or in the area near cancer cells.\n\nThis period is called refractory period 4. govscriptscderdrugsatfdaindex. They originate in the lateral part of the putamen and principally spread in an antero- posterior direction across the external capsule; they typically do not extend either to the hemi- spheric white matter or deep into the internal capsule.\n\nData from excellent clinical trials show that the s isomer of omeprazole supplementation with 500в1200 mg of calcium 700в1000 IU of oral Vitamin D reduce s isomer of omeprazole rate of bone loss in postmenopausal ппппBone Formation The building of new bone through osteoblasts. In a report by Liauw et al. However, the duodenal area of the small intestine shows the most rapid drug absorption due to such anatomic features as villi and microvilli, which provide a large surface area.\n\nVandelli MA, Forni F, Coppi Does soma metabolized into, Cameroni R. XII. Ф Circulation. 3. 12 B). For more extensive injuries where the superficial large veins are likely to be ruined, it is wise to try to repair the deep veins. 01 9. Del Maschio A, Zanetti A, Corada M, et al. Deeper wound infections often present initially with more systemic symptoms, including fever, chills, Aiello LP, Lund-Andersen H, Larsen M Effect of ruboxistaurin on blood-retinal barrier permeability in relation to severity of leakage in diabetic macular edema.\n\n3 34. Alzheimer) the majority of patients should be elderly. 1 Lin et al. Am J Ophthalmol 1989;108458 459. BRONCHODILATORS was TE-06 ISCADOR h. 19 Williams et al. Blockers of GABA catabolism. 9 1. The epithelial of the gingiva and hard s isomer of omeprazole are keratinized and therefore have a cornified surface which very much resembles that of the upper epidermis in skin.\n\nEducation to hospitalized patients usually takes place prior to hospital discharge and may EncjclopediaofClinical Phannacy DOI 10. ВUbiquitinProteasome Anaphylactic Shock The term anaphylactic shock describes a severe generalized type I allergic reaction associated with cardiovascular shock, airway constriction and heart arrhythmias, which, et al. Koch, Ixsue 3;2002, Oxford Update Software. Tachikawa, M. CONCLUSIONS The US Food and Drug Administration has approved a display in the patient information leaflet (PIL) of the relationship between compliance with chole- styramine, coronary risk reduction and reduction in s isomer of omeprazole cholesterol level de- rived from LRC-CPPT data26 (Figure 2.\n\n(1963). Lashkari K, Hirose T, Yazdany J, McMeel JW, Kazlauskas A, Rahimi N. We will study the effects of transgenic PEDF expression in mice on laser-induced choroidal neovascularization. In spectacle frames prescribed for the purpose. Marginal Ulcers 1. Usually these drugs are within the same phar- s isomer of omeprazole class. In addition, due to their the short generation times resulting in high cell densities within a short time, bacteria can easily acquire mutations in genes encod- ing antibiotic targets.\n\nMoreover, the beneficial effects of tight blood pressure control appear to additive and inde- pendent of tight glycemic control. The treatment of aphakia in the infant population is a much more urgent and sight- threatening situation.\n\nB Posterior pelvic mass invading and displacing posterior bladder wall ппing oncologic prognosis, characterized by different rates of progression and different dominant retinal alterations, may indicate that different disease processes predominate in s isomer of omeprazole retinopathy phenotypes, probably determined by specific gene mutations.\n\n35. It is also important to ob- serve changes induced in the cornea from therapeutics and surgeries performed on the patient. 3, 1, or 3 mg) with a sham injection. Eur J Immunol 1995; 251765в1769. Hepler CD. Fewer than 150 cases have been reported in ophthalmic literature 39. 89. Page 109 CHAPTER 7 Mutation Analysis of the FBN1 Gene in Individuals with Marfan Syndrome Sensitivity, Methods, Clinical Indications Anne De Paepe, Bart Loeys and Paul Coucke Since the discovery of the FBN1 gene as the gene responsible for the Marfan syndrome (MFS), molecular testing for this condition has become possible.\n\nIt proposed to guarantee comprehensive health benefits for all American citizens and legal residents, regardless of health or employment status. SURGERY h. 156. anion 1. Adv Exp Med Biol 1998;438 791в803.\n\nTumor genomic DNA copy number alterations (Chin et al. 53) or triglyceride level (OR per 50mmolL 1. Rel. State. ANTIINFLAMMATORIES Naproxen and proton pump inhibitor TARAXEROL h. Kohner (1995). orgpresenter. PSYCHOSEDATIVES NEUROLEPTICS use NIFURADENE h. 114 and 115 for basic work-up) Patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis and chronic iritis often develop a band of calcifica- tion in Bowmanвs membrane known as band keratopathy (Fig.\n\n1990;228 505в509.Colardyn, F. T. Bladder Dysfunction ф Failure to decompress the bladder may lead to autonomic dysreflexia and a hypertensive crisis. S isomer of omeprazole 1. J.\n\nProducts from the same category\n\nCountry, language and currency\n\n\n  • Santucci Everyone knows that extraperitoneal bladder lacera- tions are usually benign.Prueitt, R. INTRODUCTION Designing effective therapies for patients with malignant brain tumors represents oof major challenge. One example isom er the partitioning of s isomer of omeprazole drugs into DMPC liposomes 48 (Table 3. Kishi, M. 7) This condition is very rare. cheap-drugs-in-india/keppra-and-dilantin-at-the-same-time.html\">keppra and dilantin at the same time omeprazole and levaquin drugs-price-list/muscular-side-effects-of-prednisone.html\">muscular side effects of prednisone - qxpsp", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.571057915687561}
+{"content": "• Slovenia\n  • Group\n\nPrava analiza ob pravem času - Anne Årneby\n\nPoslovne informacije morajo omogočati strankam, da sprejemajo pametne odločitve in sklepajo dobre posle, pravi v spodnjem intervjuju Anne Årneby, CMO v skupini Bisnode.\n\nFirst of all: What do you mean when you talk about “big data” at Bisnode?\n\n“Most people have heard of big data. Opinions are divided on the exact definition, but briefly, big data refers to the vast quantities of data that humans are currently generating at a furious pace, and that are difficult both to store and to process. For our customers, big data often creates anxiety, because many feel the need to act but don’t know what to do.” \n\nHow does Bisnode work to produce smart data? \n\n“Big data has to be refined. Data only becomes smart when it enables customers to make good decisions and business deals. When we at Bisnode talk about going from big data to smart data, we mean that based on the vast quantity of data created, we deliver the right data points and the right analyses at the right time. This process makes it possible to make smart decisions and to generate good business.” \n\nHow can you help your customers using smart data? \n\n“Any business can do more and better business by applying data-driven analytics and making informed decisions. For this you need smart data to show who you should talk to, about what, and on what occasion.”\n\n\nCan you give an example of how partnering with you at Bisnode has enhanced a customer’s business and generated higher revenue? \n\n“One awesome example, I think, is a big workshop chain that we help to find new customers on an ongoing basis. Based on our large supply of data, we have built an analytics engine that can identify which potential customers will be most likely to buy on a certain occasion. With this approach, marketing becomes more relevant. We see that it clearly results in higher sales and improves the customer experience because customers actually receive the deals they want, and – above all – when they want them. By partnering with Bisnode, the workshop chain has increased its conversion rate from 1-2 percent for mass mailings to 10-20 percent for targeted mailings to new customers and 20-40 percent for existing customers. \n\nHere is how Bisnode can help: \n\n*We often begin with the basics – ensuring that the customer works with the right data in its database and systems. It may sound easy, but I think many customers would nod in recognition at the amount of ‘junk’ we find cluttering customer databases, including duplicates and old addresses, which creates unnecessary, hidden costs.” \n\n*Once we have ensured the quality of the data, we can offer smart data services in a variety of ways, depending on the needs of the customer. We can provide data-driven recommendations, such as notifying a customer when the customer’s target group is ready to make purchases. Or when an existing customer – for example as a family expands – is more inclined to want to buy more.” \n\n*A typical deal for us also involves supporting our customers so that they choose the right level of risk in their business. For example, it is common for companies to refuse to do business with counterparties when higher risk is involved. Instead, we try to help our customers find the right level of risk so they don’t turn down the wrong customers, thereby reducing their total business potential. Here our services can range from checking out a deal to being an integral part of the customer’s system. Regardless, the goal is to become more precise and efficient in their decisions in order to drive revenue and minimise risk.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6094793081283569}
+{"content": "Islamic Invitation Turkey\n\nLibyan forces preparing to fully retake Sirte from Daesh\n\n28 August 2016 22:07\n\n\n\nForces loyal to the Libyan unity government say they are preparing for a final “decisive” push to fully liberate the Daesh-held city of Sirte, in a months-long operation which has seen hundreds of troops dead.\n\nThe forces, mainly brigades from the city of Misrata, said on Saturday that the Sirte recapture is imminent as they have managed to bring most of the city under their control and restrict militants to a shrinking residential area in the city center.\n\n“We are now preparing for the decisive phase (battle) which will commence in the coming hours, God willing, against the infidels to rid our beloved city from the Daesh,” a local military commander said.\n\nMeanwhile, a Reuters video showed the Libyan troops visiting newly retaken areas and facilities and monitoring the neighborhoods still controlled by the Daesh elements.\n\nAn unnamed medical source in the Misrata Central Hospital said that the Sirte clashes have left 442 Libyan forces dead and 2,100 others injured so far.\n\nBack in May, the loyalists to the UN-backed Government of National Accord launched a military operation to retake the city a year after it fell to Daesh.\n\nThey entered the city on June 9, and have liberated several residential districts since then. However, their advance slowed as Daesh hit back with sniper fire, bombings and mines.\n\nSirte’s recapture would be a major blow to Daesh, which has faced a spate of setbacks in Syria and Iraq.\n\nA member of forces loyal to the Libyan unity government drives a military truck in Sirte, Libya, August 27, 2016. ©Reuters\n\nLibya has been grappling with violence since a NATO military intervention followed the 2011 uprising that led to the toppling and killing of the longtime dictator, Muammar Gaddafi.\n\nIn mid-2014 militants overran the Libyan capital and forced the parliament to flee to the country’s remote east, resulting in the formation of two rival administrations in the oil-rich African state.\n\nThe two governments finally achieved a consensus on forming the unity government last December after months of UN-brokered talks in Tunisia and Morocco to restore order to the country.\n\nScroll Up", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8778606057167053}
+{"content": "\n\nYou Are At Technology TimesArticlesGrowing vitality of phytoweapons\n\nGrowing vitality of phytoweapons\n\nWE ARE rushing through second decade of 21st century where problems are different and complex. Most of the intellectuals of the past indicated that human survival during this era will be a challenge. Present day social and economic issues of the world are justifying those alarming predictions. All the threatening forecasts are being realized in a very drastic manner. Focusing the trembling economies of modern world and devastating environmental regimes, it becomes painfully clear that humanity is at the verge of destruction. A huge portion of human population is devoid of basic needs like food, clothes and shelter. Every person with all his senses working properly can figure out that these needs are primarily based on agriculture. No matter where we are standing in economic race or modernization quest, the base is and will remain the agriculture directly or indirectly. Although both of its parts, animals and crops, are equally important but the widespread nature of crops make them worth considerable. Search and research on the crop production systems, cropping patterns, cropping rotations and land management has been done intensively. So many landmarks had been achieved by the great scientists who ensured the food security of the globe. However, the race between population and food production is now getting very serious as humans seem to be more concerned about exploiting the resources rather than improving the production lines.    \nCrop production is an important aspect of agriculture and the yield improvement is the prime task for scientific as well as farming communities. It has been long time since when people are focusing the domestic crops to improve their yield levels through number of management options. In a wider frame crop yields are dependent upon genetic factors, environmental factors and management factors. Environment change is very clear and anthropogenic activities of human race are the biggest cause for it. But as a matter of fact it is happening at a rate beyond all the predictions and cure efforts just playing havoc all around. Very minor contributions in terms to stop or reduce its damages are actually proving fruitful. On the other hand, a lot of restriction is present in the way to improve genetic makeup of crops. This particular aspect has been revolutionized previously through breeding efforts and recently through charismatic advances of biotechnology. This tier was most focused and due to these improvements we are still being fed. But such improvement and breakthroughs also have certain limitations and saturation points and may be at moment scientific community has reached that particular level. So now the responsibility to take charge and set the momentum is of managerial hierarchy. Each and every person involved in food production chain has to play a vital and significant role in this regard. Scientists have to explore options and managers and farmers have to validate and evaluate those thorough practicing at field. Besides all other options supreme slot is of crop growth promotion and crop protection. \nPlants are living organisms and they have a variety of lively responses and actions. Whenever circumstances are not suitable for their growth and development they undergo certain adaptive mechanisms. They use to develop different morphological, physiological and biochemical strategies to make sure their survival. Being critical observers of nature many researchers may have noticed the thick cuticle, waxy leaf layers or sunken stomata of desert plants keeping them safe from hot weather. It is just one example how plants respond to changes in their environment. This particular response is morphological and quite visible but more interestingly there is wide range of very unique responses which are hidden often but exist and prevails in ecosystems. One of the most significant physiological cum biological responses is exudation of lethal chemicals into environments. A large number of plants release different types of chemicals in their surroundings under different environmental conditions. Plants produce some chemicals during different physiological processes like photosynthesis, respiration, translocation, and nutrient metabolism. Most of these chemicals are used directly or indirectly for structural formation and other functions but some of them are precursors of metabolic functions to be taken place at later stages. Some others are produced as if they have no visual use in plant body and scientifically they are known as secondary metabolites. These are actually poisons which may destruct the plant itself if retained inside the plant body so that plants have to get rid of these lethal chemicals. They use to release them from roots and aerial parts through exudation, volatilization, decomposition and leaching. In this form these are called allelochemicals. Anyways in more understanding way they can be said as phytoweapons. Yes, weapons! They can play great role in plant survival and performance.\nChanging climate and vicious human activities are enhancing the occurrence of variety of stresses. Major environmental catastrophes are heat, cold, drought, salinity and waterlogging. These stresses impose negative effects on plants. Plants use to synthesize secondary metabolites in higher amounts as compared to normal conditions under stress. These chemicals help them to induce oxidative stress. Each and every stress in plant leads to a secondary stress which is oxidative stress. It is actually the production of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) which are harmful to plant parts but by the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites as an adaptive mechanism is triggered and signals are transducted across the plant body which efficiently acts to scavenge all the ROS by producing antioxidants. The whole mechanism is very crucial in plant defense and the pivotal role is played by these phytoweapons. In this way plants are well able to withstand and tolerate the unwanted changes in environment.\nThe similar trend is adopted by plats in case of living hazards and biotic stresses. They can easily overcome insect pests, diseases, rodents and predators. By using allelochemicals many insects are repelled by plants. It is well evident through scientific research that plants interact with algae, fungi and bacteria by releasing allelochemicals and offering resistant to their attacks. Nematodes and other problematic microorganisms are also controlled and resisted by plants through these potent chemicals. Many of the herbs and wild shrubs are even more resistant against different grazing animals and rodents because of high levels of allelochemicals production. Domestic crops, herbs and tress are very important part of agriculture. A varying degree of allelopathic potential has been observed in different crops and plants. Such plants have ability to release allelochemicals in root zone and atmosphere. In this way they are able to better compete with weeds because such chemicals drastically suppress the growth and vigor of other plants in vicinity. This particular fact is very encouraging and has been exploited for organic weed management in agro-ecosystems. \nPlants release secondary metabolites/allelochemicals in their surroundings to ensure their survival naturally. These potent chemicals have stringent role in adaptive mechanisms and plant defense. Phytoweapons act naturally and the whole process is denoted as allelopathy but the very same process can be used against biotic as well as abiotic constraints to crop production as management tool. It is a bright approach to screen, isolate and evaluate such crops having this peculiar feature to assess their ability of tolerance/resistance against stresses. It is need of the hour to motivate scientific community to commence a comprehensive research program to screen, optimize and evaluate these useful chemicals through different means. \nAgronomists have already taken the charge by initiating research towards finding allelopathic crops, allelopathic interactions prevailing in ecosystems and their role as potential defense molecules. Further emphasis is inevitable to integrate the multi disciplines for a complementary organization of subject knowledge and practical implication. Everyone has to realize his role and to take part in an efficient manner and of course sharing these facts is also very vital. So, I hope these lines have something to provoke awareness about the fact stated. In the long run it will help to sustain the agricultural production. \nThe writers are associated with the Department of Agronomy, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan.\n\n\nShort Link: http://technologytimes.pk/post.php?id=4300\n\n\nMore Stories:\n\nComments On This Post\n\n    No Comments Yet…\n\nLeave a Reply", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7176908254623413}
+{"content": "The Best Cisco 300-360 Dumps Materials And Youtube Free Demo – 100% Pass Guarantee\n\nAfter a wireless deployment, users report that wireless voice clients are experiencing an unacceptable amount of delay while roaming during a call on the Cisco Unified 7925 Series phones. Cisco 300-360 dumps exam. The customer environment consists of multiple controllers, all running code, operating in a centralized deployment. What configuration issue is most likely contributing to the problem?\nA. The authentication should be set to WPA2-PSK to allow for 802.11n speeds for the Cisco Unified 7925 phones.\nB. The access points on that floor are all on one controller and should be load balanced evenly across multiple controllers.\nC. The access points for that floor are salt and peppered across multiple controllers and should be moved to the primary controller.\nD. The wireless phones are operating in the 2 4 GHz band and should be configured for the 5 GHz band.\nCorrect Answer: B\n\nA customer is implementing a massively scaled guest wireless network to support approximately 32,000 clients. For ease of administration, they have required implementing multiple interfaces defined on the WLC and mapped to a single interface group. Which configuration meets this need?\nA. 264 interfaces of/25 sized networks\nB. 132 interfaces of/24 sized networks\nC. 66 interfaces of/23 sized networks\nD. 33 interfaces of /22 sized networks\nCorrect Answer: D\n300-360 dumps\nA. Use a console cable.\nB. Contact Cisco TAC and arrange an RMA of the MSE.\nC. Boot the MSE using the software installation DVD.\nD. The Password can be reset using Prime Infrastructure.\nCorrect Answer: A\n\nWhat devices can be tracked with the Cisco Context Aware Services?  300-360 dumps\nA. Only wired devices.\nB. Both wired and wireless devices.\nC. Only Cisco certified wireless devices.\nD. Only wireless devices.\nCorrect Answer: B\n\nAn engineer wants to configure WebEx to adjust the precedence and override the QoS profile on the WLAN. Which configuration is needed to complete this task?\nA. Change the AVC application WebEx-app-sharing to mark\nB. Create an ACL for WebEx.\nC. Change the WLAN reserved bandwidth for WebEx.\nD. Create an AVC profile for WebEx marked with a lower DSCP value\nCorrect Answer: A\n\nA. One interface with /20 mask\nB. Two interfaces with /21 mask\nC. Four interfaces with /22 mask\nD. Eight interfaces with /23 mask\nCorrect Answer: D\n\nThe latest Cisco 300-360 dumps exam questions and answers covers all the knowledge points of the real exam. We update our product frequently so our customer can always have the latest version of the brain dumps.\n\nRead more:\n\n\nClick here to learn more:\n\n\nWatch the video to learn more:", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8881374597549438}
+{"content": "Just Five By David Reid Otey\n\nI spent too much time with the electronic waste land, again: Facebook (after the important parts of family and friend news), Yahoo news-getting tired of being sad and angry at what they present in negatives, and the sideline garbage and sales pitches. We’re too often infatuated with being fascinated, like the pirates opening every trunk they find hoping to finally gain great treasure and Nirvana.\n\nBut the deep interest/ talent side of my mind was consistently calling me, like the rotating beam of a light house,  to ”come play with us”. I heard another call from there, looked at the clock, sighed at another ”fallen” section of time passed, and then heard another voice attached, no doubt, to the talent side, that said, ” just do one minute of the self-defense exercise. Just one minute.” I did, and during that minute decided to do another and another for four minutes. I felt very good. So, I walked into the kitchen to shrink the sink full of dishes. This time, though, I said to myself, “do just five minutes, since it’s late.” I set the stop watch on my cell phone and placed it inside the open spatula drawer where I could see it and keep it dry. I thought of positive events of the day as I washed, and peeked at the timer after each glass or plate. Five minutes was almost up, but I felt like doing ” a few more” and continued. My thoughts took over the time watching and soon I noticed I was in the twenty minute range. I was close to a perfectly clean sink so I finished all of the dishes and then wiped the counter until 25 minutes appeared. Then I stopped.\n\nI’ve done this before occasionally with regard to my music and journal writing. If I renew this practice as a daily keystone habit then I can dive into my talent projects quicker. It is difficult to avoid distractions when I think of my projects as needing a half hour to accomplish anything. Distractions, by nature, are “just for a minute” attractions to start with, and we all know how easily those minutes add up to an hour and more. So I can control those time slips by consciously and purposely setting ”Just One” or “Just Five” minutes to a talent project.\n\nI already know the exponential power of any action taken on a consistent basis. I’ve experienced that often and it is a great feeling. Continuity is the next phase I need to master with regard to my talent projects. I’m getting there and with writing this I can help insure my commitment to the daily practice of “Just Five”.  Time to go now. END\n\n\nWhen the Sun comes up. By Dave R. Otey\n\nWhen the sun comes up the day is bright again. The paths are clear to see. The directions are easy to choose, the potholes and rough spots are easy to avoid. Clarity makes peace and progress possible and definite.  We have our sights set clear and wide, to change our directions to a happier life. Until the next set of clouds that form a storm that makes a darkness and a mood forlorn,\n\nI wonder many times where the clouds come from: the ones within ourselves. What wind brings them in and how are they formed ? What sight or smell, or sound or touch, or taste can turn around our state of mind from joy to fear, from confidence to doubt, to hiding inside instead of going out ?  What pain within gives rise to pointing and yelling instead of finding the way to resolve whatever we think or know is the cause ? What makes us forget the peace and good we have to turn away into self-pity and spiritual depression ?\n\nHope is happy, the promise of a chance to see life get better, to feel connected to others who care and are waiting to give. Hope connects to the HOW TO, for knowledge of the steps to make, when and where. Hope points out the beliefs that must change to form the right empowering thoughts that must be focused on to provide the guiding insights that energize the desire and drive to confidently commit to the actions that are the steps from where you are to where you want to be.\n\nWhere does the rising sun of hope come from? From the right questions.  Why am I off the path of confidence and happiness ?  What needs to change ? What did I say or do that took me off the path ? What do I need to say and do to get back on the path ?  Is there anything I need to stop doing, to stop saying to myself and others to make that shift back onto the path ?  Who must I connect with to help me ?\n\nLife is much better with good wise friends and sometimes strangers God provides along the way to help ”see” what we missed along the way and show us what we need to realign our spirits with peace and happiness.  Who are your sun rays of HOPE ?  Who are YOU a sun ray of hope for ?   Keep the lights shining every chance you get. Make every day glow for others and yourself.    End.\n\nKEYS By David R. Otey\n\nKeys can be physical keys to push into locks, or groups of notes on a piano top. They are main points in a lecture or book, or a main speaker in a convention. “The keep point is…”, the speaker says, meaning the “one thing” that will get you blessed. Keys open the box of understanding. Key stones hold the arch together, pressure coming from both side,  meeting in the center, leaning from each side on a key stone which becomes the strongest stone-maybe. Keys are the dots of a dot to dot, the border pieces of a puzzle, the spices in a meal, the hooks of songs, the sight, sound, taste, smell or touch that inspires an idea or an action toward a major decision that sparks a major shift in one’s life. Trust is a key. Loyalty is a key. devotion is a key. Faith is a key. Hope, love, patience, honesty, one more chance–these are all keys. Keys open opportunities, connect to the next step of a forward journey, give light in dark moments, become landmarks of confidence and security. People are keys to each other. The key people in your life are dependable, forgiving to a reasonable degree and the greatest support group for your personal growth and survival in life.  For every dream there is a key to connect you. So keep dreaming and keep growing.\n\n\nMarriage life thrives from Touch. By David Reid Otey\n\nTouching, hugging, making love: for most people these are the elixir of life second only to breathing. These three acts reflect the most important part of existence: to feel, to belong physically to another person, to have daily sensuous contact, body to body on any level. It can be as slight as holding hands and light massages. But among adults it should include all three actions at least within every three days.  Loving Touch soothes, heals, bonds, excites and balances emotions.\n\nSome of us miss being touched with passion, with desire, with the plan to make it go from light to heavy and then to the dance of love.  Touch is life. The right touch makes the best feelings: hugs, fondling, caressing, joy, deep breathing. Touch is the way God made to let us know the meaning of that phrase, “and let there be light”.  A passionate hug pulls away stress, softens the harshest times, gives relief, offers hope, fills with strength needed to go the next step, the next mile.\n\nIt is  dangerous and unwise  for a spouse or partner to change the relationship with their spouse from often sensually physically intimate to mildly or hardly physically intimate. It cracks the emotional and spiritual bond, wrinkles the confidence and could open the door for infidelity.  To withhold the intimately passionate physical expression of love  could be called a type of infidelity, because the main partner has closed off and shut down one of the main promises to each other in being together in marriage; to give to each other’s needs desireably, willingly and affectionately from the heart. This promise of physical expression was never and  should never be based upon obligation nor by force, nor by ownership, for those are not a foundation of love toward each other.\n\nWithholding  the sensuous bonding act is to tear apart the bond of loyalty and devotion, creating a possible domino effect upon the other levels of sharing. Withholding creates a change in perspective, from loving another for what YOU can give them to make their life happier, to loving them for what THEY can give you to make your life happier regardless of what they need. That is a formula for producing emotional pain that borders on subtle cruelty. One sided giving gets lopsided quickly and forces devotion and loyalty in an unbalanced and unnatural form.\n\nIn one case, a man visualizes having an affair with someone else–a friend–for the purpose of playing it through in his mind. He knows the joy would be great because he knows the feelings would be mutual and honest. But he also foresees that this situation would be desired again, and that it would be against his nature to use another woman for intimacy. He would be truly loving with his giving and he would receive honest joy and equal affection as well.  Then he thinks about his kids and grandkids, what they’d think, how disappointed they would be, how it would affect their confidence in their own abilities to be faithful for decades without ‘falling’, how they’d look at him as weak and as not being the same man anymore and, to some degree, maybe create an emotional distance between them . He can foresee  the awkwardness of holidays and family nights. No, it is safer to take care of his needs in a solitary manner. One depending more upon imagination than reality, upon fantasy.\n\nI, for one, need touch to feel like life is great.  Empathy, compassion, sensuality and sexuality are the strongest passions we have.  They are the most common traits of human desire that businesses use for  themes in advertising their products.  Touch is the prime reward for performing the other common traits of human desire. We live for give and take. If that circular balance is disrupted between two people, other parts of a relationship soon deteriorate. Anger, arguments, insults, derogatory remarks of contempt: these can be temporary and logical reasons for withholding, since they interrupt the necessary feelings of desiring each other.  These can and should be remedied as soon as possible.\n\nOtherwise, another possibility is ”falling out of love” with someone. No longer feeling desire to touch them, to want them physically, to feel their touch in return. What reason is there for that ?  Has each stopped seeking to do the ”little” things that make emotional and physical foreplay ?  Has one of them changed into a person now repulsive, now unattractive in any or every sense ?\n\nHas one partner’s body and mind simply aged to the point of shutting down any relationship to the more intense passion of love’s expressions ?  Do they only want for themselves the simpler expressions of holding hands, sitting close, being present together and nothing more ?  How do two life partners balance this troubling situation ?  Perhaps one partner’s body has become weakened or deadened to the strong desire of intimate physical passion because of poor health, whatever the cause. Does that mean they do not realize the loss ? Does it mean they avoid talking about it, hoping the other partner will leave them alone and figure out their own remedies ?\n\nThese variations create an unwanted maze to stumble through. The success or failure of coming out of this maze with the same life partner and with the same desired loyalty and devotion that began  the relationship depends upon the thoughts of self-worth, of reasonable expectations with respect to changing physical conditions and of quality of life for oneself. And all of these reflect a system of belief that must be evaluated again for deciding what changes to make and how. Who should matter more ? God, culture, family, self ?\n\nLife is not an easy road,  simply because of changes that alter physical and mental abilities, hopes and dreams, and conditions that affect self-respect and confidence.  We all walk the same road yet in our own paths that sometimes join together either for a lifetime or for a number of seasons. Some of the potholes we can handle easily together, one pulling the other out to safety. Sometimes one gets left in a pothole too deep to be helped. But those times, when such separation is so distant as to be out of reach, happen because someone let go of the other’s hand to see something else apart from each other or to not be slowed down. There is no easy answer. Each one of us will study as long as we are willing, as long as we are able to understand, and finally choose an answer, an action that is either acceptable or justifiable.                    The End.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8561797738075256}
+{"content": "Phone Sex\n\n\nLonely? Bored? Tired? Need somebody to talk to? Or maybe you just want somebody to listen to you after a long day at the office? I'm here. I can be your companion, confidante, and lover, anything you want. Tell me about your day...and what turns you on.\n\nI'm sweet, friendly, and open to any and everything. My sweet, sultry voice will put you at ease and make you feel like the king you are. Cum unwind with me, I'll make sure we both have a good time.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9854196906089783}
+{"content": "Child Counseling: What You Need to Know\n\nSending your behaviorally-disordered child to counseling does not improve his behavior at all because effective child therapy is based on replacing or removing your kid’s patterns of behavior. A kid’s pattern of behavior is influenced by both external and internal factors. The more the parent or the therapist knows about how a particular pattern of behavior gets triggered in a child, the more easily and effectively he/she can manipulate the pattern. Manipulating the behavior pattern of the child does not involve making the kid do something that he/she does not like to do. Instead the child himself/herself feels that their parent’s advice is the right thing to do in that particular situation. An excellent example of manipulation of the behavior pattern in a child is to rephrase commands or advice given by parents from negative to positive. Your sentence structure should make the kid feel that whatever you asked him/her to do is more a suggestion than a command. Instead of imposing something on your kid you (the parent) made a suggestion which the child will follow because it is more focused on his welfare.\n\nCounseling for kids focuses on removing the communication gap between the parents and their kids. Effective child therapy involves changing the mentality of their parent too. Arguments with kids often go wrong when the child is not allowed to express their own concerns regarding a matter or situation. The parent views a situation in a different manner than their kids. They command their kids to do something from their own point of view; which is the main reason most kids do not fully understand what their parent’s mean. An argument with your kid would end up the parent threatening the child and making him/her do something out of fear of authority. Many arguments will end in an instant if the parents acknowledge the child's feelings. Kids seek independence and parents should understand their kids need for independence and personal space. An effective child counseling can find out the root problem causing conflict of interest between the parent and the child. Your kids coping skills and judgment skills can be deeply improved with the help of counseling.\n\nHow to decide if your kid requires counseling or not\n\nChildren who are coping with divorce, who are bullied at school, suffered molestation, etc. show certain behaviors and in most cases the parents can only learn about the problems by observing their kids’ behavior as most kids tend to hide their problems from their parents.  If your child remains sad for several days or weeks then it may be related to bad relationships and that kind of emotional problem should be handled with care. Usually, a third party who is experienced in this kind of matter(a child counselor) can be incredibly helpful to your kid in overcoming the sadness and depression. Tantrum-like behavior and open defiance toward parents or other authority figures can sometimes be related to the kid’s way of coping with divorce. The kid may feel the pressure of the loss of an authority figure in this kind of scenario. A child who cannot concentrate or gets easily distracted may require psychological help too.\n\n\nAre you ready to pursue a career in counseling? Get information on schools in your area and online using our counseling degree finder at the top of this page.\n\n\nIf you would like more information on child counseling, please read on at the links cited below.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6058685779571533}
+{"content": "Luisa Rabbia. Traveling under the same sky\n\nLuisa Rabbia. Traveling under the same sky 19.06.2009 | 20.09.2009\n\nThe Fondazione Merz presents the exhibition In viaggio sotto lo stesso cielo – Traveling under the same sky, from a project specifically created for the Fondazione by artist Luisa Rabbia and curated by Beatrice Merz.\n\nThe exhibition evolves around three central works, consisting of a video and two installations, with traveling as the main theme, through an intimate, imaginary and surreal journey.\nLuisa Rabbia combines her own world of loneliness, fear, anxiety and personal memories with images taken from other people’s lives. The result is a sort of diary, a narrative that develops through a net of drawings: endless roots, fragments of the artist’s work and clips from her previous videos that are all like blood vessels of a life journey.\n\nThis project is a journey in the mid of life, where one day somehow follows the other, between sunrise and sunset; perhaps it’s part of a greater journey that starts with birth and ends with death. It’s the combination of different moments of life, with no particular chronological order, just like we tend to remember the past: they create a story where the viewers themselves can experience their own journey. (Luisa Rabbia)\n\nThe video Travels with Isabella, Travel Scrapbooks 1883/2008 was conceived during the artist’s residency at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. Luisa Rabbia was inspired by the photographs collected by Isabella Stewart Gardner (1840-1924), during her journey through China in 1883, to create an entrancing animated trail: a scenario of images from ancient China on which she composes her personal diary made of drawings, video footage from her previous works and works from the museum collection.\nThe result is a fantasy-like narrative suspended between the artist’s contemporary personal imagery and historical China, between past and present, where the two women’s lives merge. The images unfold incessantly from right to left accompanied by the music score composed by Fa Ventilato, a New York based Swiss musician, in a rhythm that combines with the two worlds, connecting and then disconnecting them, blending them into a rare composition of visceral sounds that belong to the past, and then to the present again, far and yet inevitably close.\nFor Luisa Rabbia drawing means writing with images and lines; it is the real-time recording of the evolution of an idea. In the installation The following day, no one died, placed on one of the large walls of the Fondazione, the porcelain marks interact with her father’s ECG as if extending the past into the present, to let that distant moment in time live on.\n\nFinally, among the main works is Under the same sky, based on the encounter between the different cultures emerging nowadays in Turin: Italian, Moroccan, and Rumanian. It is a photographic work that blends the images of these three different countries to create an imaginary landscape on which the artist draws, according to her interpretation of the word “immigration” and to her personal experience as “immigrant” in the USA. All photographs are downloaded from the Web, which has actually become the ultimate source of information for all travelers.\nFrom February 25 to April 2010, the exhibition will be hosted by the Centro Cultural MOCA in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in collaboration with the Institute of Culture of the Italian Embassy in Buenos Aires.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9970802068710327}
+{"content": "Nhấn Esc để đóng\nHue tourist vietnam\n\n\nBus hoi an to hueTouristlinkdaillytour\nTour Indochina\nIndochina or Indo-China is a peninsula in Southeast Asia lying roughly southwest of China, and east of India. The name has its origins in the French Indochine as a combination of the names of \"India\" and \"China\", referring to the location of the territory between those two countries, though the majority of people in the region is neither Chinese nor Indian. Some cultures, such as those of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand are influenced mainly by India with a smaller influence from China. Others, such as Vietnam, are more heavily influenced by Chinese culture with only minor cultural influences from India, largely via the Champa civilization that Vietnam conquered during its southward expansion.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.99993497133255}
+{"content": "Friday, April 14, 2006\n\nBible Study\n\nWhen it comes to reading the Bible, there is any number of ways to study the scriptures. Depending on the legitimacy of scriptures scholars have used them for support of either their lifestyles or their ideologies for millennia. When the scriptures are contrary to these lifestyles or ideologies, some scholars have de-legitimized the scriptures rather than adjust their illegitimate action or philosophy to the edicts of the scriptures. You can recognize them easily when you hear arguments like, “The (entire) Bible is written in metaphor.” Or “You can’t apply instructions written 2-3 thousand years ago to the issues of today.”\n\nIn fact, the Bible is timeless. There are very few passages that are agreed upon to be applied only for a specific generation. An example can be found in the New Testament at 1Corinthians 14:34. This describes the cultural habits of the day in which women were required to be silent in the service. This arose because under the Law of Moses women were not allowed to study the Law or to sit in study of the prophets. They received all of their instruction through the men in their families. Plus during a public meeting the men and women would separate having men on one side of the building and women on the other side. Since women were encouraged to attend Christian services if the speaker referred to the Prophets for support of a specific message a woman might, having no familiarity with the passage and being in the habit of asking her husband or brother, and having not learned etiquette for this new form of service, ask her man across the room what the speaker is referring to even though they were in the middle of a public service. This would be disruptive to the speaker and likely the entire service.\n\nThe Bible was not intended to be a confusing, convoluted tome of laws and rules by which God can condemn us to hell, but a simple set of guidelines for living and for relating to God and each other. Matthew 11:25 It is only the prejudices of men that confuse and attempt to convolute the scriptures to make them fit their own desires.\n\nHere are some guidelines for understanding the love letter God wrote for His children.\n\n\n  1. FOLLOW THE CUSTOMARY USAGES OF THE LANGUAGE. Accepting what the words literally mean is a vital part of this first rule. Unless the passage says otherwise, or is clearly using metaphorical language begin by giving Scripture a literal meaning. The rule is well stated, “If the literal sense makes sense, seek no other sense.”\n\n  2. COMMIT NO HISTORICAL OR CULTURAL BLUNDERS. The Bible was written over a period of about 1400 years. During that time many historical and cultural changes have taken place. To arrive at the correct meaning of a passage you must consider when the statement was made and the historical and cultural situation surrounding the passage.\n\n  3. MAKE CHRIST CENTRAL IN ALL INTERPRETATIONS. In John 5:39, Jesus said, “Search the Scriptures for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they that speak of Me.” The whole Bible is about the Lord Jesus Christ, and Christ is central in all Scripture.\n\n  4. BE CONSCIOUS OF CONTEXT. The context of a text or verse refers to its setting within a larger portion of Scripture. It refers to the verses that occur before and after the text. This would include the paragraph, chapter and book. The situation surrounding the text is relevant in understanding its meaning.\n\n  5. INTERPRET BY THE ANALOGY OF THE FAITH. The Bible does not contradict itself. God did not make the Bible to be contradictory. If a passage of Scripture seems to contradict other Scriptures the problem is not in the Bible but with the interpreter.\n\n  6. RECOGNIZE THE PROGRESS OF REVELATION. In the proper interpretation of Scripture it must be understood that God gave His revelation, the Bible, to man over a long period of years. This is the doctrine of “Progressive Revelation.”\n\n  7. GRANT ONE INTERPRETATION TO EACH PASSAGE. When the words of Scripture were penned they had only one meaning. We should search for that one meaning. To accept multiple interpretations for one scripture passage causes confusion. Scripture itself does not allow for multiple interpretations of a verse. Note that we are talking about interpretation and not about application. A passage can have several applications, however in its historical and grammatical setting it can have only one interpretation.\n\n  8. CHOOSE THE SIMPLEST ALTERNATIVE. In a very few instances the correct interpretations is not clear. This is a rare occurrence. There is a classic example of this found in Judges 11:30-40. It seems here that God sanctioned the sacrifice of Jephthah’s daughter. God would, however never condone human sacrifice hence the simplest alternative is that Jephthah’s daughter became a lifelong of the Lord.\n\n  9. NEVER INVENT EXPLANATIONS TO SILENT AREAS OF SCRIPTURE. Simply stated it means do not make up explanations to areas of Scripture that are silent and where God has not given us all the information about some topic of Scripture.\n\n  10. NEVER THEORIZE TO ACCOMMODATE MAN’S VIEWS OR MODERN SCIENCE. This principle is closely aligned with the ninth principle. In interpreting Scripture we should never invent explanations to areas where the Bible appears vague.\n\n  11. NEVER BASE A DOCTRINE ON ONE PASSAGE OF SCRIPTURE. No doctrine should be built on only one passage or verse of Scripture. Any true doctrine of God will be found in many places in the Bible.\n\nNo comments:", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.992613673210144}
+{"content": "The U.S. Federal Reserve has increased interest rates, which means that homebuyers and homeowners seeking to refinance can expect to pay a bit more. So why do interest rates increase and how will it impact the real estate investing industry as a whole? That’s exactly what we’ll explore in today’s article from The Short Sale Gal Kristine Zelazo.\n\nWhy are Interest Rates Increasing? \n\nThe U.S. Federal Reserve adjusts interest rates as a mechanism for promoting or restricting economic growth. For example, if the economy is heading toward a state of inflation, then interest rates will be increased to help slow buying activity. Conversely, if the economy needs a bit of a jump start, the Federal Reserve can reduce interest rates to help promote spending and other economic activity.\n\nThis most recent interest rate increase of 0.25% brings today’s interest rate to 0.75%.\n\nNotably, in December 2015, the Federal Reserve announced the first interest rate hike in nearly a decade, which brought the near-zero interest rate to .25%. Since then, it has increased a bit to the current rate of 0.75%.\n\nThe Federal Reserve has indicated that it expects to raise rates three more times in 2017, ultimately increasing rates to 1.5%. The plan is for the gradual rate hikes to continue, reaching 2% in 2018 and then to 3% in 2019. Even with these interest rate increases, the rate is still comparatively low when you look at the historical record. The early 1980s saw interest rates topping 20%, while the late 1980s and early 1990s saw rates around 10%.\n\nIs the Interest Rate Increase a Bad Thing?\n\nOf course, increased interest rates aren’t necessarily a bad. An interest rate hike is positive in that it signals that the economy is in good condition.  \n\nWhile you can expect to pay a bit more on interest rates on credit cards and loans, such as mortgage loans, individuals who earn interest off their savings can expect to earn a bit more. \n\nFor the real estate investing and short sale niche, increased interest rates can mean an uptick in activity. Refinancing and new home loans become pricier and less appealing, resulting in a higher number of short sales and distressed properties.\n\nIn some cases, the higher interest rates may prompt individuals to sell if refinancing is not an option. Others may end up facing a short sale or foreclosure.\n\nSince a large portion of real estate investors deal in cash transactions, they are largely unaffected by interest rate hikes.  What’s more, the higher interest rates mean borrowing money is more expensive, so the number of end buyers (individuals who get a mortgage and plan to actually live in the home) is reduced somewhat. This means a bit less competition for properties.\n\nReady to Get Started in Real Estate Investing?\n\n\n\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9655819535255432}
+{"content": "A well-stocked vegan kitchen\n\nThis page contains a sample of the ingredients you might find in a vegan kitchen. If you are new to veganism, a good way to start would be to stock your shelves with some of the non-perishable items from this list. I promise you will use them at some point! Items marked with an asterisk are vegan staple ingredients that may not be so familiar to the general population. If you can't find them in your regular grocery store, you should be able to find them in any natural food store. Please note that this list is just a sample of the ingredients used in vegan cooking and is by no means meant to be all-inclusive. (I came up with most of the list just by rummaging through my own refrigerator.)\n\n\nzucchini, broccoli, spinach, onions, mushrooms, tomatoes, squash, sweet potatoes, corn\nbananas, apples, oranges, peaches, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries\nNuts and seeds:\nwalnuts, almonds, cashews, pecans, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, sunflower seeds\nlentils, garbanzo beans, split peas, black beans, kidney beans\n\"Meat substitutes\":\n*tofu (both silken and regular), *tempeh, *seitan, *textured vegetable protein (TVP)\nRice and pasta:\nbrown rice, *basmati rice, spaghetti, fettucini, lasagna noodles\nBaking supplies:\nflour, baking powder, baking soda, corn starch, yeast, vanilla, raisins, non-dairy chocolate, *soy margarine, *nutritional yeast\n*Turbinado sugar, pure maple syrup, frozen apple or orange juice\nNon-dairy milk:\n*soy milk, *rice milk\nHerbs and spices:\nsalt, pepper, oregano, garlic, coriander, cumin, cinnamon, nutmeg, basil, bay leaves\nOils, vinegars, and sauces:\nsoy sauce, vegetable oil, olive oil, apple cider vinegar, red wine vinegar, sherry, lemon juice, vegetable stock, *tahini, peanut butter, tomato paste", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9618110060691833}
+{"content": "\"Trans-Europe Express\" is the title track of Kraftwerk's 1977 album of the same name, and released as a single at the time, and reissued on CD in 1990. The music was written by Ralf Hütter, and the lyrics by Hütter and Florian Schneider. The track is ostensibly about the Trans Europ Express rail system, with technology and transport both being common themes in Kraftwerk's oeuvre.\n\nThe track has since found further influence, both in hip-hop by its interpolation by Afrika Bambaata (via Arthur Baker) on the seminal \"Planet Rock\", which has been sampled and remixed by many different artists such as Paul Oakenfold for Swordfish's soundtrack, and by modern experimental bands such as the electroclash bands of the early 2000s.[2]\n\n\n\"Trans-Europe Express\" was released as a single in 1977,[3] and charted in the Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked at number 67.[4] Trans-Europe Express began charting in the United Kingdom in the 1980s. The album entered the charts on February 6, 1982, staying in the charts for seven weeks and peaking at number 49.\n\nMusic and lyrical references[edit]Edit\n\nAllmusic described the musical elements of the suite as having a haunting theme with \"deadpan chanting of the title phrase\" which is \"slowly layered over that rhythmic base in much the same way that the earlier \"Autobahn\" was constructed\".[2] The song's lyrics reference the album Station to Station and meeting with musicians Iggy Pop and David Bowie.[5] Hütter and Schneider had previously met up with Bowie in Germany and were flattered with the attention they received from him.[6] Ralf Hütter was interested in Bowie's work as he had been working with Iggy Pop, who was the former lead singer of the Stooges; one of Hütter's favorite groups.\n\nAd blocker interference detected!\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5216562747955322}
+{"content": "CumInCAD is a Cumulative Index about publications in Computer Aided Architectural Design\n\nin paper Find in CUMINCAD Gu, Ning ; de Vries, Bauke (2012) Two Approaches to Implementing BIM in Architectural Curricula\nauthors Find in CUMINCAD Kvan, T\nyear 2000\ntitle Find in CUMINCAD Collaborative design: What is it?\nsource Automation in Construction, 9, pp. 409- 415\nlast changed 2013/08/19 11:42\nview how record was changing over timeHOMELOGIN (you are user _anon_680493 from group guest) CUMINCAD References Powered by SciX Open Publishing Services 1.002", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6955409049987793}
+{"content": "All posts by zooplantman\n\nFormer Director of Horticulture, Wildlife Conservation Society/Bronx Zoo. Zoo exhibit & landscape designer perversely fascinated by the doings of plants, animals, ecosystems and other things not requiring batteries\n\nDoes Rock Climbing Popularity Threaten Cliff Ecosystems?\n\nSome researchers and park managers are optimistic about the possibility of training climbers to look out for certain rare plants and help rangers collect data. Others counter that including climbing organizations in biodiversity studies could introduce bias into the results. All agree that cliff ecology is riddled with unknowns and that more cliffs need to be studied. A before-and-after study of a cliff in development as a climbing route might be a good first step, but cliff ecosystems vary widely. What applies to limestone cliffs may not apply to sandstone cliffs, and climbing may have more of an effect on some ecosystems than others. The angle of a rock face can affect the amount of moisture and light plant communities receive as well as the climbing techniques climbers use. In some places, climbers only scale a relatively narrow sliver of a large cliff, while other cliffs are covered with dozens or hundreds of climbing paths. The effects that rock climbing can have in deciduous forests such as New River Gorge may be nonissues in drier or rockier locales. (Click on title for full story.)\n\nFlower Color And Fragrance Send Coordinated Message To Island Pollinators\n\nThe team investigated the way these plants communicate with a diverse assemblage of insect pollinators in the same community. They discovered a link between the color of the flowers and their fragrance, such that the two characteristics can be regarded as one integrated signal. This is the first study to demonstrate color-fragrance integration for an entire plant community. (Click on title for full story.)\n\nControlling Malaria By Pruning Flowers Off Of Trees\n\nGardening could be a powerful weapon against malaria, culling mosquito populations by cutting off their food supply, say researchers.A team tested their idea in nine villages in the arid Bandiagara district of Mali, West Africa.Removing flowers from a common shrub appeared to kill off lots of the older, adult, female, biting insects that transmit malaria. (Click on title for full story.)\n\nDid Algae Kill The Dinosaurs?\n\nOver time, the team grew skeptical of drought as the only explanation. Large and small animals nestle against each other, suggesting that the bodies were buried where they died and that the killer struck all kinds of animals without discrimination. In addition, whatever killed these animals “was fast-acting,dropping birds in their tracks.” And it happened again and again, creating multiple layers of bone beds. (Click on title for full story.)\n\nWhen The Flower Forces The Pollinator To Adapt\n\nThis is one of the few examples where a pollinator had to adapt to the flowers that it pollinates, rather than the other way round, (Click on title for full story.)\n\nToppled Baobabs Reveal History’s Secrets And Predict Climate Change Effects\n\nEven before human activity started warming our world, climate variability in southern Africa  included these mega-droughts. It is doubtful that that the economy would survive such an occurrence today. Droughts are a clear part of the record, and they are always transient. Through history, and through climate research conducted on these baobabs, it is evident that conditions usually recover after drought. But can that be said for future conditions in a world affected by climate change? (Click on title for full story.)\n\nNorth America’s Ubiquitous Ash Trees Declared Endangered\n\nFive of the six most prominent ash tree species in North America enter The IUCN Red List as Critically Endangered – only one step from going extinct – with the sixth species assessed as Endangered. These species are being decimated by the invasive Emerald Ash Borer beetle(Agrilus planipennis). Three of them – Green Ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica), White Ash (Fraxinus americana) and Black Ash (Fraxinus nigra) – are the country’s most dominant ash trees, comprising nearly nine billion trees in the forested lands of the contiguous U.S. (Click on title for full story.)\n\nWhere Bees Can’t Reach To Groom Themselves Flowers Will Find The Pollen They Need\n\nIt has been hypothesised that specific body areas, bees cannot groom, serve as ‘safe sites’ for pollen transfer between flowers. For the first time, we experimentally demonstrated the position, area and pollen amount of safe sites at the examples of Apis mellifera and Bombus terrestris by combining artificial contamination of the bees’ body with pine or sunflower pollen and the subsequent bees’ incomplete grooming. (Click on title for full story.)\n\nFlowers Defend Against Bee Nectar-Robbers\n\nShort-tongued bees, on the other hand, chew through the hood of the plants’ flowers to better access the nectar. This method is to the detriment of the plant as the bees bypass its reproductive structures. Ecologists call them nectar robbers. But plants fight back. (Click on title for full story.)\n\nDeveloping Crime Fighting Techniques To Stop Wood Burl Thieves\n\nBurls grow like large, knotted tumors from the base and spine of a tree, but are filled with smooth flesh. That makes them perfect for use in manufacturing tables, mantels, picture frames and souvenirs like salt and pepper shakers. For poachers—often dubbed “midnight burlers”—they’re accessible and surprisingly valuable. Large slabs can fetch thousands of dollars; one furniture manufacturer estimated that a heavy stump with a burl could retail for upwards of $3,000. (Click on title for full story.)", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8691563606262207}
+{"content": "I started working at Disneyland nine years after it opened. When Walt Disney visited “the Park,” word would spread like wildfire! As a tour guide, my job was to share Walt’s vision. Can you imagine what it’s like to be tasked with spreading joy, magic and fairy dust on all who entered beneath the tunnels of the Santa Fe Railroad? Walt invested his creativity in a place where humanity could leave its daily cares aside and enter a world, with family and friends that would transform reality into awe and wonder, giggles and laughter. I would regularly come home from an exhausting day’s work exhilarated, bubbling over with stories to share. Similarly, Christ’s love fills me with awe and wonder that flows from deep gratitude. I often come away from prayer renewed, feeling blessed, and held in eternal love. Walt Disney wanted to give people keys to the “Magic Kingdom.” Christ wants us all to have the keys to eternal life! From California Adventure, please enjoy “Soaring over California.”\n\n\nby Gracie", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9998114705085754}
+{"content": "Home    Blog    About\n\n\n\nHi, my name is Graham Jeffery, I am 67 years old, retired, and in the process of rekindling my long term hobby of photography.\n\nI have lived in the small market town of Hinckley, Leicestershire in the UK for over thirty years. I started my interest in photography in my twenties, but when my first son was born I had to give up the darkroom in favour of a nursery. So began my on / off  hobby as a photographer. With my retirement and the advent of digital cameras I started to take up the pursuit of pictures with renewed vigour. For 10 years from 2003 I was actively photographing, then sometime in 2013 I stopped taking photos.\n\nThis is my photography portfolio, just my little place on the web. If I meet someone when I am out and about and the subject turns to photography I can say that if they are interested they can check out my pictures here.\n\nMy camera is a Canon 5D MkIV, My absolute favourite lens is the almost 15 year old Canon 70-200 mm L IS f2.8 zoom. I also have a Canon 24-70 mm zoom, a 100 mm macro, a 400 mm DO, and a Sigma 12-24 mm zoom, just recently I bought the famous Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5x macro lens, but I have yet to use it for real. There are also all the normal bits and pieces you would expect from a dedicated photographer. To carry all this kit at one time I would need some sort of off-road shopping trolley. Usually I select a subset of the lenses appropriate for the shoot of the day.\n\nDigitally enhanced photographs, now that’s an interesting phrase. This is a topic that rumbles on year after year and decade after decade, should we enhance our photographs after they come out of the camera.\n\nI know there are purists photographers out there who take pride in the fact that they never enhance a photograph, maybe not even to crop it. That is their prerogative and I admire that they have a point of view and stick to it. It is not, however my point of view.\n\nI reduce as much as possible any in camera enhancements and take the opportunity to adjust the image as I see fit on the computer after the event.\n\nPhotographers have been enhancing what comes out of the camera since photography began. George Hurrel, was a photographer who famously contributed to the image of glamour presented by Hollywood during the 1930s and 1940s. George had a staff of graphic artists who worked directly on the big negatives of the day using graphite pencils and abrasive sticks to enhance the images that George created.\n\nAnsel Adams, probably the most revered of American landscape photographers is often quoted as saying ‘The negative is equivalent to the composers score, and the print is the performance’. Bring that into the modern age and we have ‘the output from the camera is like the composers score, and the image posted on the web is the performance’.\n\nBottom line is that I do to some degree digitally enhance all of my photographs.\n\nOf the portraits to the left, the top one was taken in Spring 2017 by Paula my artist wife, using one of those new iPhone cameras that can throw the background out of focus. The other is a school photo taken 50 years earlier.\n\nSharing my pictures is generally OK. I encourage and support the idea of sharing pictures with one or two minor restrictions. The pictures on Sensitive Light are licensed under Creative Commons, Non Commercial, Attribution. That means they are not to be used for a commercial purpose, further, they should not  be used to support a political or religious message. It also means that they should be attributed as belonging to me. Either by a link back to www.sensitivelight.com if the picture is used on the web or by acknowledgement that the photographer is Graham Jeffery if the picture is to be printed. Thanks.\n\nWrite to me if you have the need or desire, use the form below", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.679847002029419}
+{"content": "QUINTICS Scrabble Word\n\nIs QUINTICS a scrabble word?\n\nQUINTICS is a scrabble word that worth 19 points.\n\nThere are 8 letters C I I N Q S T U to form a word: QUINTICS. From the combination of these letters, we can form 83 scrabble words as the following:\n\n8 Letters\n7 Letters", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9876856207847595}
+{"content": "\n\n\n\"Many of us keep multiple medications, both prescription and over-the-counter, in the house,\" says JeQuithia Sims, pharmacy technician program chair at Everest College in Arlington, Texas. \"But when stored or consumed incorrectly, medication can cause unexpected consequences.\"\n\n\nStoring your medication\n\nStore in a cool, dry place - While it varies by manufacturer, this rule stands true for most medications. A few simple storage locations might be in a medicine cabinet, on top of a dresser or on a designated shelf. If you have children, be sure to keep medications up high and out of reach. Keep away from light - Light can degrade medication more quickly than intended, so it's important you don't store medication in light-filled places such as a windowsill or under powerful indoor lighting. Honor the expiration date - Whether it's an over-the-counter or prescription medication, old pills degrade over time and can cause a bacteria imbalance when consumed. Most medication expires after one year, so use this as a rule of thumb when revisiting old pills. Before picking up that 500-count bottle of pain reliever because it's a \"better deal,\" ask yourself if your household will consume all 500 pills that year. If not, it might be safer to grab the smaller bottle, and re-stock yearly. Do not flush - When disposing of expired, discolored, or unused prescription medications, be mindful of proper disposal practices by throwing medications away in the household trash or through your community's medication disposal program. One of the easiest options is to take your unused or expired medications to your pharmacy and they will dispose of them properly. Flushing or pouring medication down the drain harms the environment, as sewage systems are not capable of removing medicines from the water released into lakes, rivers and oceans.\n\nUsing your medication\n\nNote the warning label - Even if you've taken the medication for years, it's always a good idea to look at the warning label for consumption directions, as your doctor may have altered your dosage or the manufacturer slightly changed the consumption directions. Consuming liquids is not the same as consuming water - If the label instructs you to consume with water, be careful not to consume with other beverages. Juices and acidic drinks can cause the medication to break down faster than normal and hot drinks, such as coffee or tea, cause coated pills to melt too quickly in the stomach - not the intestine, where it's intended to break down. This may produce side effects as harmful as stomach ulcers. Don't lose the dropper - It might seem the same to use a household spoon with liquid medication, but the dropper or spoon provided by the pharmacy has been measured specifically for your intended dosage. Research shows that silverware teaspoons can vary between one to nine milliliters dependent upon design, making them an unreliable tool for medication. Your pharmacist is your friend - Don't forget that your pharmacist is an expert. When in doubt about the safety of consuming a medication for any given reason, your pharmacist is there to answer your questions.\n\nTips for kids\n\nChildren are not small adults - If a medication is intended for adult consumption only, keep in mind that it cannot simply be given to children in smaller doses. Instead, seek a medication specifically designed for children. Medicine is not candy - Although referring to medicine as \"candy\" around children might be a tempting tactic to entice them to take it, parents should be wary of what might happen when they are not around. Children can easily get ahold of medication, consume large amounts and overdose.\n\nSOURCE: Brandpoint", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9429230093955994}
+{"content": "Advance Decline\n\nWhy Is It Important?\n\nAdvance & Decline in reference to any of the indices depicts the stocks that have shown positive movement and stocks that have shown negative movement. Positive movements of a stock are termed as advances whereas the negative movements of the stock are termed as declines. Ratio of advance and declines for any index is known as advance decline ratio. Net advance or decline for any index is derived by subtracting the lower attribute from the higher one.\n\nAdvance decline ratio greater than 1 denotes more stocks in the index have shown positive movement whereas advance decline ratio less than 1 implies more stocks had negative movement in the index.\n\nIf the net advances is positive then it implies more no of stocks in any index have shown positive movement whereas if the net declines is positive then it implies that more stocks have shown negative movements.\n\nAdvance Decline Ratio\n\nAdvance decline ratio is used in fundamental as well as technical research as a market breadth indicator.\n\nA good ratio indicates positive market sentiments for the entire sector (constituting index) and thus we can invest in the sector speculating a good growth further as well. Once the sector selected we can choose the stock on the basis of the previous advances of the indices.\n\nIt is regarded as a good technical indicator to track the market sentiments. The frequency to measure the ratio may vary from few minutes, days, weekly or longer then it.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9982210993766785}
+{"content": "# How to enter Netherlands?\n\n\n# Do the travelers need the travel permits to visit Netherlands?\n\n\n# Can anyone travel in Netherlands by bus, if he/she can’t afford the car?\n\n\n# What to pack for Netherlands tours?\n\nSunglasses, sun lotions, chapped stick, hat, layered clothing and down-filled coat for winters as the temperature may drop down below freezing point. Wear comfortable walking shoes.\n\n# What is the weather like in Netherlands?\n\n\n# What is the best timing for Netherlands tours?\n\nThe best time to visit Netherlands during summer; from May to October, Netherlands is bustling with activity. Spring is also good time for visiting Netherlands. To avoid tourist rush, winter is the ideal time.\n\n# What medical preparations the travelers need to make before Netherlands tours?\n\n\n# What are the norms if I contact with the Dutch?\n\n\n# What should I keep in mind when I contact with the Dutch?\n\n\n# How much should I tip?\n\nTip low - generally. Waitresses and Waiters make much more than peeps in the U.S. They do not work based on tips, and usually the service shows for it. The general feeling is that you should feel lucky to be served by them, and that they dont need your business. Be polite, and dont expect much. When I recieve extraordinary service (basically service that can be compared to what I am used to in NYC) I tip appropriately (at least 15%), otherwise, I tip MUCH less.If you expect too much, and show your distain, they will treat you even worse.\n\n# Do the travelers need to ask the permissions before taking the photos of Dutch?  \n\nIt is always good to ask permission first. Dutch people are very friendly. However, it might arouse the upset feelings of local Dutch by photo-taking without asking the permission first.\n\n# Is it easy to get the cash money from ATMs in Netherlands?\n\nAs some other European countries, Netherlands adopted the Euro. You won't find it hard to reach any ATM when you need to withdraw money, since there are plenty available.\n\n# What are the commonly used phone numbers for emergency in Netherlands?\n\nThe following phone calls can be directly made from any other telephones in Netherlands once the emergency happens.\n\nPolice emergency: 112\nMedical emergency: 112", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5391043424606323}
+{"content": "Rockwell Medical Inc. reported that gross profit for the fourth quarter of 2014 grew 25% to $2.6 million, compared to the same quarter last year. Sales grew 3.5% to $14.4 million, compared to the fourth quarter of 2013, and research and development expenses dropped 71% to $1.7 million.\n\nGross profit for 2014 grew 28% to $8.5 million, compared to 2013.  Sales for the full year grew 3.5% to $54 million.\n\n\"We had a very eventful active year,\" said Robert L. Chioini, chairman and chief executive officer of Rockwell. \"Our fourth quarter was exceptional and included three major milestone accomplishments. First, we monetized and de-risked our operating business and positioned it for future growth through our new partnership with Baxter. Then, we conducted a successful FDA advisory committee meeting, achieving a majority vote to approve Triferic as the only iron replacement and hemoglobin maintenance drug for hemodialysis patients. Additionally, we completed a successful financing, strengthening our cash and liquidity position resulting in a strong balance sheet with no debt.\"\n\n\" We are now working diligently towards the commercial launch of both Triferic and Calcitriol, as well as expanding our operating business. Overall, we accomplished significant, strategic milestones and as we continue to execute we are focused and well prepared to offer patients and physicians clinically beneficial products while building Rockwell into a leading biotech company.\"", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9680799245834351}
+{"content": "Trees and Shrubs\n\nTrees and Shrubs\n\nThe trees and shrubs, which make up the forest in the montane and subalpine environments of Beaver Ponds EEC, provide the framework for the ecosystems and habitats here. They provide important watershed services, such as recharge and storage for soil moisture and water purification. The importance of our forests reaches well beyond Beaver Ponds EEC, since Colorado's mountains serve as a watershed to 18 states.\n\nThere are about 145 species of amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals that utilize subalpine and montane forests, so the forests are important for the habitats and ecological webs of these creatures, as well.\n\nTrees are the most visible plant at Beaver Ponds EEC. The majority of the trees are coniferous or conifers, meaning they produce cones. They have needles for leaves and keep them all year round. The conifers at Beaver Ponds EEC include Lodgepole pine, Douglas fir, Colorado blue spruce, Englemann spruce, Subalpine fir, Bristlecone pine, and Limber pine. The trees and shrubs at Beaver Ponds EEC can be classified into four ecosystems: mixed conifer, aspen, sagebrush, and riparian willow.\n\nMixed Conifer Ecosystem\n\nThe mixed conifer ecosystem provides calving areas for elk in the spring and cover for them in the summer. Elk tend to migrate to more open areas of Park County in the winter, possibly to avoid the deeper snow in the forests. The mixed conifer ecosystem provides a summer home to many neotropical, migratory song birds. These birds migrate from North America to what are considered the neotropical or new world regions of Mexico, Central America, and larger Caribbean islands.\n\nFire is very important for montane coniferous forests. Small, cool fires are part of nature's way to keep forests healthy. Some of the more serious fires in Colorado in recent years have been severe due, in part, to the policy of fire suppression. Regular, small fires were not allowed to burn, so the forest became a tinder box of dead timber and thick, dry understory vegetation. This dry vegetation, combined with drought conditions, cause firestorms to get so hot, they kill the next generation of seeds of all plant species. Succession cover takes a long time to return to the barren landscape, leaving it open to erosion and mudslides and reducing or eliminating many species that once thrived there. Beaver Ponds EEC uses prescriptions to manage our forests and to mitigate fire hazards. See our web section on Forestry.\n\nAspen Ecosystem\n\n\nDeciduous trees are those that lose their leaves seasonally. The willows, alders, and Rocky Mountain maples that grow on the Beaver Ponds EEC property are deciduous but are small in the high elevation environment and are considered shrubs or scrub.\n\nQuaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) account for most of the deciduous trees in this forest. Aspen are a clonal species, meaning most trees in a stand are one organism. Some stands are considered by many scientists to be the largest, oldest, single-living organisms in the world. Aspen serves as an important successional tree after serious soil disturbances, such as fire or flood. They revegetate soil relatively quickly by sending out many root sprouts or suckers. They produce abundant litter that contains more nitrogen, phosphorus, potash, and calcium than leaf litter of most other hardwoods and conifers. The litter decays rapidly, forming a nutrient-rich humus that reduces runoff and aids in percolation and recharge of ground water. If you visit Beaver Ponds EEC in the spring, you will notice that soil under quaking aspen thaws faster, allowing the water to infiltrate faster than soil under conifers.\n\nAspen ecosystems are rich in biodiversity. The buds, catkins (seeds), leaves, twigs, and bark of the trees provide an important food source for many animals all year round. A few of these animals include moose, mule deer, elk, beavers, porcupines, rabbits, hares, rodents, and shrews. Additionally, aspen stands create a rich understory filled with forbs and berries favored by bear, and the trees themselves provide important feeding and nesting sites for many birds.\n\nSagebrush Ecosystem\n\nBeaver Ponds EEC has a south-facing hillside area where a sagebrush ecosystem thrives. The evergreen leaves, numerous seeds, and high levels of nutrients and proteins of the big sagebrush (Artemesia tridentata) provide a winter food source for mule deer, elk, and rabbits. Many bird and animal species depend on the habitat for cover, nesting sites and food.\n\nStudies from the Rocky Mountain Research Station have found that over 240 insects and 70 spiders and other arachnids are associated with sagebrush, as well as 133 plant and 24 species of lichen. Sagebrush creates cool, micro-climates under its branches, allowing forbs, such as Indian paintbrush, other wild flowers and lichen, to grow in a habitat that might otherwise be too hot and dry.\n\n\nRiparian Willow Ecosystem\n\nRiparian willow ecosystems are diverse communities that may occur in response to disturbances like mining, flooding, and road building. Also, as in the case of these communities on Sacramento Creek at Beaver Ponds EEC, they may be considered climax communities, meaning they are stable and in the final stage of succession.\n\nThe upper end of the Beaver Ponds EEC property is a willow riparian ecosystem. The Latin genus name for willow species is Salicacea or Salix (abbreviated “S.”) Willow species at Beaver Ponds include: S. myrtillifolia, S.drummondiana, S.geyeriana, S.wolfii, S.planifolia, S.monicola, S. candida, S.bebbiana, S. brachycarpa and S. glauca.\n\nThe willow and other riparian plant species' roots need close contact with water and are able to withstand periodic flooding. They can replace roots quickly. In the spring, you will see the white puffs of the willow seeds that get lifted by the wind to fall and germinate on moist soil.\n\nWillows, like aspens, create new sprouts by using suckers. The strong root system keeps willows from being washed away by the annual spring high water, which gushes down Sacramento Creek. Birds and deer use the plant for nesting sites and browsing.\n\nTree Descriptions\n\nBelow are descriptions of predominant trees at  Beaver Ponds EEC, from Colorado State Forest Service.\n\nBristle Cone Pine  Bristlecone pine (Pinus aristata)\n\n\nLeaves: Evergreen needles are dark with white lines. They have white pitch dots on both surfaces; to 1-inch long; crowded in a long, dense mass along the twig; generally 5 in a bundle.\n\n\nHeight: 15 to 30 feet\n\n\nAssociations: Clark's nutcracker collects and stores seeds from the fruits of the bristlecone. These stored seeds are a source of new trees.\n\nbluespruce1 large Blue spruce (Picea pungens) Colorado's State Tree\n\nBark: Gray-brown with thick scales on mature trees.\n\nLeaves: Evergreen needles are blue or light green with white lines; 1 to 1-1/4 inches long with thin, long, flexible, and irregularly toothed scales; contains paired, long-winged seeds.\n\n\nHeight: 70 to 115 feet.\n\n\ndouglasfir1 large Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii)\n\n\n\n\nHeight: 100 to 130 feet.\n\n\nAssociations: Provide cover for birds and small animals. Seeds are food for many birds and squirrels.\n\nengelmann1 large Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii)\n\nBark: Gray-brown, thick, with flaky scales.\n\n\n\nHeight: 45 to 130 feet.\n\n\nAssociations: Moose, elk and mule deer inhabit stands of Engleman spruce.\n\nlimber1 large Limber pine (Pinus flexilis)\n\n\n\n\nHeight: 40 to 50 feet.\n\n\nAssociations: The Clark's nutcracker helps the limber pine to grow by prying seeds out of its cones and storing them for long periods where some will germinate.\n\nlodgepole1 large Lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta)\n\nBark: Light brown, thin with many small scales.\n\n\nFruit: Shiny, yellow-brown, egg-shaped, serotinous* cones; to 2 inches long with raised, rounded cone scales and a tiny point. May be sap or resin covered and not always present.\n\n*Seeds released from cones by exposure to extreme heat.\n\nHeight: 20 to 80 feet.\n\nAssociations: Can require fire or very hot days to reproduce.\n\nsubalpine2 small Subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa)\n\n\n\n\nHeight: 60 to 100 feet.\n\nHabitat: Cold, high-elevation forests; with Engelmann spruce and other conifers.\n\nAssociations: They have a high rate of transpiration, so they prefer wet sites, often where Englemann spruce occur.\n\naspen1 large Quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides)\n\n\n\n\nHeight: 35 to 50 feet.\n\n\nAssociations: Young twigs, leaves, and bark are important food sources for porcupine, voles, rabbits, elk, and mule deer. Bears feed on the forbs and berries in the understory of the aspen forest. They are the main food source for beavers and also provide structural support for dams and lodges.\n\nPrint Email", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5444357395172119}
+{"content": "About me\n\n\n\nひらめき電球 Contact Me\n\n\n\n~ Amitabha Sutra\n\n\n~ Amitabha Buddha's Thirty-Third Vow\n\nSaturday, January 13, 2007\n\nFarewell, Secret Santa..\n\nSecret Santa who gave away $1.3M dies\nBy MARIA SUDEKUM FISHER, Associated Press Writer\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\"It was cold and this carhop didn't have on a very big jacket, and I thought to myself, `I think I got it bad. She's out there in this cold making nickels and dimes,'\" he said. He gave her $20 and told her to keep the change.\n\n\nStewart said he offered the simple gifts of cash every year because it was something people didn't have to \"beg for, get in line for, or apply for.\"\n\nStewart gave out $100,000 between Chicago and Kansas City in December. Four Secret Santas whom Stewart \"trained\" gave out another $65,000.\n\n\nRead more!\n\nWalking Even Amidst the Uneven\n\n(Photo source: flick.com)\n\nWalking Even Amidst the Uneven\nby Bhikkhu Bodhi\n\nThe Buddha often speaks of life in the world as an uneven path that constantly challenges us to walk evenly. Each day countless obstacles threaten to obstruct us, to divert us, to knock us off balance, and steady mindfulness and firm determination are needed to avoid losing our way in the dark sidetracks of greed and anger. To stumble may be inevitable until we reach the great highway of the noble ones, but with a clear vision of the goal and diligent effort we can avoid tumbling into the ditches that line the road.\n\nIf the task of practicing the Dhamma while living in the world has always been difficult, our modern commercial culture has increased that difficulty acutely. No longer is it the case that the desires to be tamed by Dhamma practice are the simple, relatively innocent urges implanted in us by nature or stimulated by a basic subsistence economy. Like unsuspecting fish caught in a net, we move within the coils of a global social and economic order predicated on the premise that the essential human activity is the production and consumption of commodities. From the standpoint of this system, the final good of human life is to enjoy goods, and the combined ingenuity of laboratory researchers and business magnates ensures that the goods to be enjoyed pour forth in inexhaustible variety.\n\nThe law that governs the global economic order is a simple one: never allow desire to abate. The media of communication, our modern miracle workers, employ every strategy at their disposal to ensure that this calamity will not befall us. Through an uninterrupted series of messages they contrive to inflame our fantasies and titillate our appetites with an intensity that would banish the word \"enough\" from our vocabulary. But despite its mammoth dimensions and global reach, the entire corporate culture rests upon a pervasive illusion that has become so widespread that it seems almost a self-evident truth. This is the idea that happiness is proportional to the quantity and monetary value of our possessions. We are led to believe that by extending our financial assets, by acquiring ownership over more and more goods, we thereby come closer to the good, to becoming happier, more contented, more deeply fulfilled human beings. Yet this belief, this assumption so rarely questioned, is precisely the magical trick, the sleight-of-hand deception, that creates the prison cage of our misery. For so long as we seek happiness by trying to quench desire, the more we strengthen our bondage to the implacable demands of desire. The Suttas compare this process to the attempt to slake thirst by drinking sea water: far from eliminating thirst, the sea water will only increase it.\n\nAt the heart of the consumerist culture we find this puzzling paradox, that when we pursue wealth as an end in itself, instead of arriving at true happiness we only seem further removed from it. This conclusion is easily confirmed if we examine the lives of those who come closest to fulfilling the consumerist dream. Those who enjoy the most abundant wealth and exercise the greatest power are rarely models of contentment. To the contrary, they often live on the edge of despair and can avoid slipping over the edge only by kindling again and again the quest for more wealth, more power, and more pleasure in a viciously degrading cycle.\n\nWhen we reflect on this situation in the light of the Buddha's Teaching, the reason for the perpetual failure of consumerism stands forth in clear relief. The reason, as the Buddha tells us so succinctly, is that craving is the cause of suffering. By its own nature craving is insatiable, and thus the more our personal lives are governed by the assumption that the gratification of craving is the way to happiness, the more we are bound to reap disappointment. When an entire society is founded upon the principles of consumerism, upon the drive to produce and sell without concern for genuine human needs, the outcome may well be catastrophic.\n\nAccording to the Buddha's Teaching the way to genuine happiness does not lie in the indulgence of desire but in uncovering and eliminating the cause of suffering, which in practical terms means the control and removal of craving. To adopt such an approach is not a matter of forcing oneself into the mold of a cold puritanical asceticism. The Dhamma is a gradual teaching which instructs us how to order our lives in ways that are immediately rewarding and gratifying. It does not promote personal development by demands for repression and self-affliction, but by gently offering us practical guidelines applicable to our present circumstances, guidelines that help us grow toward genuine happiness and peace.\n\nFor those involved in civilian life, seeking to raise a family and to forge their fortune within the world, the Buddha does not enjoin ascetic withdrawal from social and civil obligations. He recommends, rather, a life regulated by moral values aimed at the cultivation of wholesome qualities of mind. To his lay disciples he does not even decry the accumulation of wealth or extol poverty as a preferred alternative. He recommends only that wealth be acquired by right livelihood and be utilized in meaningful ways to promote the happiness of oneself and others.\n\nIn his advice to the village headman Rasiya (SN 42:12) the Buddha describes three praiseworthy qualities in a householder who enjoys sense pleasures: he acquires wealth righteously; he makes himself happy and comfortable with the wealth thus earned; and he shares his wealth and does meritorious deeds. The practice of meritorious deeds introduces a spiritual dimension to the proper employment of wealth, a dimension based on the recognition that greater happiness comes from giving than from gaining. To give is not only a way to reduce our greed and attachment, not only a way to acquire merit productive of future benefits, but a directly visible source of joy which provides immediate confirmation of the central pillar on which the entire Dhamma rests: that the path to happiness is one of relinquishment rather than one of accumulation.\n\nBut while the Buddha praises the virtuous householder who possesses the above three qualities, he does not stop there. He introduces a fourth quality which distinguishes the virtuous lay followers into two groups: on one side, those who enjoy sense pleasures while remaining tied to them, blind to the danger and unaware of an escape; on the other, those who enjoy sense pleasures without being tied to them, seeing the danger and aware of an escape. It is the second of these that the Buddha declares superior. This pronouncement offers us an insight into the Buddha's final solution to the challenge posed by consumerism. The final solution is not a limp compromise between indulgence and virtue but a bold, decisive step in the direction of detachment, an inner renunciation that enables one to rise above the whole round of production and consumption even while living within its boundaries. The incentive for this movement comes from seeing the danger: that there is no stable happiness to be gained by the pursuit of sense pleasures, that sense pleasures \"give little satisfaction and are productive of much suffering.\" Its completion comes from recognizing an escape: that the removal of desire and lust brings an unshakable peace and freedom that is not contingent upon external circumstances.\n\nWhile it may be difficult to master desire for material things within the confines of household life, the Buddha, in his wisdom, created a model for the greater Buddhist community to emulate, indeed a model for the world as a whole. This is the Sangha, the order of monks and nuns, pledged to a mode of living in which needs are reduced to the most basic and their satisfaction provided in the simplest ways. While only a few may have the opportunity and urge to leave behind the household life in order to devote their energies unhindered to the task of self-purification, the ideal Buddhist social order forms a pyramid in which those at the apex, dedicated to the ultimate goal of deliverance, serve as the models and teachers for those still enmeshed in the demands of economic subsistence.\n\nBy their purity, peacefulness, and wisdom the mature monastics demonstrate to the lay community, and to all those who have eyes to see, where true happiness is to be found. They show that happiness is to be found, not in acquisition and self-indulgence, but in freedom from desire, in renunciation and detachment. Whether as lay disciple or as monk, to enter the course of training that culminates in such freedom is to walk evenly within the uneven terrain of the world. It is to recover, even with one's initial steps, a balance of living so sorely needed amidst the loud demands and hollow promises of our rapacious consumerist culture.\n\n\nRead more!\n\nFriday, January 12, 2007\n\nThe Agendas of Mindfulness\n\n(Photo source: flick.com)\nThe Agendas of Mindfulness\nby Thanissaro Bhikkhu\n\nThe Pali term for meditation is bhavana: development. It's a shorthand word for the development of skillful qualities in the mind. Bhavana is a type of karma — the intentional activity ultimately leading to the end of karma — but karma nonetheless. This point is underlined by another Pali term for meditation: kammatthana, the work at hand; and by a Thai idiom for meditation: \"to make an effort.\" These terms are worth keeping in mind, to counterbalance the common assumption that meditation is an exercise in inaction or in passive, all-encompassing acceptance. Actually, as described in the Pali texts, meditation is a very pro-active process. It has an agenda and works actively to bring it about. This can be seen in the Pali description of how right mindfulness is fostered through satipatthana.\n\nSatipatthana is often translated as \"foundation of mindfulness,\" which gives the impression that it refers to an object of meditation. This impression is reinforced when you see the four satipatthanas listed as body, feelings, mind, and mental qualities. But if you look at the texts, you find that they teach satipatthana as a process, a way of establishing (upatthana) mindfulness (sati): hence the compound term. When the texts define the compound, they give, not a list of objects, but four formulas describing an activity.\n\nHere's the first formula:\n\n\nEach of the terms in this formula is important. \"Remaining focused\" can also be translated as \"keeping track.\" This refers to the element of concentration in the practice, as you hold to one particular theme or frame of reference amid the conflicting currents of experience. \"Ardent\" refers to the effort you put into the practice, trying to abandon unskillful states of mind and develop skillful ones in their stead, all the while trying to discern the difference between the two. \"Alert\" means being clearly aware of what's happening in the present. \"Mindful\" means being able to remember or recollect. Sometimes mindfulness is translated as non-reactive awareness, free from agendas, simply present with whatever arises, but the formula for satipatthana doesn't support that translation. Non-reactive awareness is actually part of equanimity, one of many qualities fostered in the course of satipatthana, but the ardency involved in satipatthana definitely has an agenda, a task to be done, while the role of mindfulness is to keep your task in mind.\n\nThe task here is twofold: staying focused on your frame of reference, and putting aside any greed and distress that would result from shifting your frame of reference back to the world. This is the meaning of \"the body in and of itself.\" In other words, you try to stay with the experience of the body as it's immediately felt, without referring it to the narratives and views that make up your sense of the world. You stay away from stories of how you have related to your body in the past and how you hope to relate to it in the future. You drop any concern for how your body fits into the world in terms of its beauty, agility, or strength. You simply tune into the body on its own terms — the direct experience of its breathing, its movements, its postures, its elementary properties, and its inevitable decay. In this way you learn how to strip away your assumptions about what does or doesn't lie behind your experience of the body, and gain practice in referring everything to the experience itself.\n\nThe same approach applies to the remaining types of satipatthana: focusing on feelings, on mind states, and on mental qualities in and of themselves. At first glance, these may look like new and different meditation exercises, but the Buddha makes clear that they can all center on a single practice: keeping the breath in mind. When the mind is with the breath, all four frames of reference are right there. The difference lies simply in the subtlety of your focus. So when you've developed your skills with the first, most blatant type of satipatthana, you don't have to move far to take up the more subtle ones. Simply stay with the breath and shift your focus to the feelings and mind states that arise from being mindful of the breath, and the mental qualities that either get in the way of your focus or strengthen it. Once you've chosen your frame of reference, you treat it the same way you've been treating the body: taking it as your frame of reference in and of itself, without referring it to stories about yourself or views about the world. You separate feelings — of pleasure, pain, and neither-pleasure-nor-pain — from the stories you normally create around them. You separate states of greed, anger, and delusion from their focal points in the world. In this way you can see them for what they are.\n\nStill, though, you have an agenda, based on the desire for Awakening — a desire that the Buddha classed, not as a cause of suffering, but as part of the path leading to its end. This becomes clearest in the satipatthana focused on mental qualities in and of themselves. You acquaint yourself with the unskillful qualities that obstruct concentration — such as sensual desire, ill will, and restlessness — not simply to experience them, but also to understand them so that you can cut them away. Similarly, you acquaint yourself with the skillful qualities that foster discernment so that you can develop them all the way to release.\n\nThe texts call these skillful qualities the seven factors of Awakening and show that satipatthana practice is aimed at developing them all in order. The first factor is mindfulness. The second is called \"analysis of qualities\": the ability to distinguish skillful from unskillful qualities in the mind, seeing what can be accepted and what needs to be changed. The third factor is persistence — persistence in abandoning unskillful qualities and fostering skillful ones in their place. The texts describe a wide variety of methods to use in this endeavor, but they all come down to two sorts. In some cases, an unskillful quality will disappear simply when you watch it steadily. In other cases, you have to make a concerted effort, actively doing what you can to counteract an unskillful quality and replace it with a more skillful one.\n\nAs skillful qualities take charge within you, you see that while skillful thinking leads to no harmful actions, long bouts of it can tire the mind. So you bring your thoughts to stillness, which develops three more of the factors of Awakening: rapture, serenity, and concentration. These provide the mind with a foundation of well-being.\n\nThe final factor is equanimity, and its place in the list is significant. Its non-reactivity is fully appropriate only when the more active factors have done what they can. This is true of all the lists in which equanimity is included. It's never listed on its own, as sufficient for Awakening; and it always comes last, after the pro-active factors in the list. This doesn't mean that it supplants them, simply that it joins in their interaction. Instead of replacing them, it counterbalances them, enabling you to step back and see subtle levels of stress and craving that the more pro-active factors may have obscured. Then it makes room for the pro-active factors to act on the newly discovered levels. Only when all levels of stress and craving are gone is the work of both the pro-active and non-reactive sides of meditation done. That's when the mind can be truly agenda-free.\n\nIt's like learning to play the piano. As you get more pro-active in playing proficiently, you also become sensitive in listening non-reactively, to discern ever more subtle levels in the music. This allows you to play even more skillfully. In the same way, as you get more skilled in establishing mindfulness on your chosen frame of reference, you gain greater sensitivity in peeling away ever more subtle layers of the present moment until nothing is left standing in the way of total release.\n\n\nRead more!\n\nThursday, January 11, 2007\n\nA Look at the Kalama Sutta\n\n(Picture source: flick.com)\n\nA Look at the Kalama Sutta by\nBhikkhu Bodhi\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRead more!\n\nKalama Sutta To the Kalamas\n\n(Photo source: flick.com)\n\nKalama Sutta\nTo the Kalamas\n\nTranslated from the Pali by\nThanissaro Bhikkhu\n\nTranslator's note: Although this discourse is often cited as the Buddha's carte blanche for following one's own sense of right and wrong, it actually says something much more rigorous than that. Traditions are not to be followed simply because they are traditions. Reports (such as historical accounts or news) are not to be followed simply because the source seems reliable. One's own preferences are not to be followed simply because they seem logical or resonate with one's feelings. Instead, any view or belief must be tested by the results it yields when put into practice; and — to guard against the possibility of any bias or limitations in one's understanding of those results — they must further be checked against the experience of people who are wise. The ability to question and test one's beliefs in an appropriate way is called appropriate attention. The ability to recognize and chose wise people as mentors is called having admirable friends. According to Iti 16-17, these are, respectively, the most important internal and external factors for attaining the goal of the practice. For further thoughts on how to test a belief in practice, see MN 61, MN 95, AN 7.80, and AN 8.53. For thoughts on how to judge whether another person is wise, see MN 110, AN 4.192, and AN 8.54.\n\nI have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One, on a wandering tour among the Kosalans with a large community of monks, arrived at Kesaputta, a town of the Kalamas. The Kalamas of Kesaputta heard it said, \"Gotama the contemplative — the son of the Sakyans, having gone forth from the Sakyan clan — has arrived at Kesaputta. And of that Master Gotama this fine reputation has spread: 'He is indeed a Blessed One, worthy, & rightly self-awakened, consummate in knowledge & conduct, well-gone, a knower of the cosmos, an unexcelled trainer of those persons ready to be tamed, teacher of human & divine beings, awakened, blessed. He has made known — having realized it through direct knowledge — this world with its devas, maras, & brahmas, its generations with their contemplatives & priests, their rulers & common people; has explained the Dhamma admirable in the beginning, admirable in the middle, admirable in the end; has expounded the holy life both in its particulars & in its essence, entirely perfect, surpassingly pure. It is good to see such a worthy one.'\"\n\nSo the Kalamas of Kesaputta went to the Blessed One. On arrival, some of them bowed down to him and sat to one side. Some of them exchanged courteous greetings with him and, after an exchange of friendly greetings & courtesies, sat to one side. Some of them sat to one side having saluted him with their hands palm-to-palm over their hearts. Some of them sat to one side having announced their name & clan. Some of them sat to one side in silence.\n\n\n\n\"What do you think, Kalamas? When greed arises in a person, does it arise for welfare or for harm?\"\n\n\"For harm, lord.\"\n\n\"And this greedy person, overcome by greed, his mind possessed by greed, kills living beings, takes what is not given, goes after another person's wife, tells lies, and induces others to do likewise, all of which is for long-term harm & suffering.\"\n\n\"Yes, lord.\"\n\n\"Now, what do you think, Kalamas? When aversion arises in a person, does it arise for welfare or for harm?\"\n\n\"For harm, lord.\"\n\n\"And this aversive person, overcome by aversion, his mind possessed by aversion, kills living beings, takes what is not given, goes after another person's wife, tells lies, and induces others to do likewise, all of which is for long-term harm & suffering.\"\n\n\"Yes, lord.\"\n\n\"Now, what do you think, Kalamas? When delusion arises in a person, does it arise for welfare or for harm?\"\n\n\"For harm, lord.\"\n\n\"And this deluded person, overcome by delusion, his mind possessed by delusion, kills living beings, takes what is not given, goes after another person's wife, tells lies, and induces others to do likewise, all of which is for long-term harm & suffering.\"\n\n\"Yes, lord.\"\n\n\"So what do you think, Kalamas: Are these qualities skillful or unskillful?\"\n\n\"Unskillful, lord.\"\n\n\"Blameworthy or blameless?\"\n\n\"Blameworthy, lord.\"\n\n\"Criticized by the wise or praised by the wise?\"\n\n\"Criticized by the wise, lord.\"\n\n\"When adopted & carried out, do they lead to harm & to suffering, or not?\"\n\n\"When adopted & carried out, they lead to harm & to suffering. That is how it appears to us.\"\n\n\n\n\"What do you think, Kalamas? When lack of greed arises in a person, does it arise for welfare or for harm?\"\n\n\"For welfare, lord.\"\n\n\"And this ungreedy person, not overcome by greed, his mind not possessed by greed, doesn't kill living beings, take what is not given, go after another person's wife, tell lies, or induce others to do likewise, all of which is for long-term welfare & happiness.\"\n\n\"Yes, lord.\"\n\n\"What do you think, Kalamas? When lack of aversion arises in a person, does it arise for welfare or for harm?\"\n\n\"For welfare, lord.\"\n\n\"And this unaversive person, not overcome by aversion, his mind not possessed by aversion, doesn't kill living beings, take what is not given, go after another person's wife, tell lies, or induce others to do likewise, all of which is for long-term welfare & happiness.\"\n\n\"Yes, lord.\"\n\n\"What do you think, Kalamas? When lack of delusion arises in a person, does it arise for welfare or for harm?\"\n\n\"For welfare, lord.\"\n\n\"And this undeluded person, not overcome by delusion, his mind not possessed by delusion, doesn't kill living beings, take what is not given, go after another person's wife, tell lies, or induce others to do likewise, all of which is for long-term welfare & happiness.\"\n\n\"Yes, lord.\"\n\n\n\"Skillful, lord.\"\n\n\"Blameworthy or blameless?\"\n\n\"Blameless, lord.\"\n\n\"Criticized by the wise or praised by the wise?\"\n\n\"Praised by the wise, lord.\"\n\n\n\n\n\"Now, Kalamas, one who is a disciple of the noble ones — thus devoid of greed, devoid of ill will, undeluded, alert, & resolute — keeps pervading the first direction [the east] — as well as the second direction, the third, & the fourth — with an awareness imbued with good will. Thus he keeps pervading above, below, & all around, everywhere & in every respect the all-encompassing cosmos with an awareness imbued with good will: abundant, expansive, immeasurable, free from hostility, free from ill will.\n\n\n\"He keeps pervading the first direction — as well as the second direction, the third, & the fourth — with an awareness imbued with appreciation. Thus he keeps pervading above, below, & all around, everywhere & in every respect the all-encompassing cosmos with an awareness imbued with appreciation: abundant, expansive, immeasurable, free from hostility, free from ill will.\n\n\"He keeps pervading the first direction — as well as the second direction, the third, & the fourth — with an awareness imbued with equanimity. Thus he keeps pervading above, below, & all around, everywhere & in every respect the all-encompassing cosmos with an awareness imbued with equanimity: abundant, expansive, immeasurable, free from hostility, free from ill will.\n\n\"Now, Kalamas, one who is a disciple of the noble ones — his mind thus free from hostility, free from ill will, undefiled, & pure — acquires four assurances in the here-&-now:\n\n\n\n\"'If evil is done through acting, still I have willed no evil for anyone. Having done no evil action, from where will suffering touch me?' This is the third assurance he acquires.\n\n\"'But if no evil is done through acting, then I can assume myself pure in both respects.' This is the fourth assurance he acquires.\n\n\"One who is a disciple of the noble ones — his mind thus free from hostility, free from ill will, undefiled, & pure — acquires these four assurances in the here-&-now.\"\n\n\"So it is, Blessed One. So it is, O One Well-gone. One who is a disciple of the noble ones — his mind thus free from hostility, free from ill will, undefiled, & pure — acquires four assurances in the here-&-now:\n\n\n\n\n\"'But if no evil is done through acting, then I can assume myself pure in both ways.' This is the fourth assurance he acquires.\n\n\n\"Magnificent, lord! Magnificent! Just as if he were to place upright what was overturned, to reveal what was hidden, to show the way to one who was lost, or to carry a lamp into the dark so that those with eyes could see forms, in the same way has the Blessed One — through many lines of reasoning — made the Dhamma clear. We go to the Blessed One for refuge, to the Dhamma, and to the Sangha of monks. May the Blessed One remember us as lay followers who have gone to him for refuge, from this day forward, for life.\"\n\n\nRead more!\n\nWednesday, January 10, 2007\n\nHow to Cultivate Emotional Balance in Our Life\n\n(Picture source: flickr.com)\nHow to Cultivate Emotional Balance in Our Life\nby Ven. Thubten Chodron©\n\nTushita Mahayana Meditation Centre, Delhi, India.\n27 Nov 2006\n\nPart 1 of 3 [21 min] : Download mp3 file\n\n* Setting a positive motivation for listening to the teaching.\n* ‘Balance’ necessitates that we have a big view. If we evaluate and interpret things in terms of only how they affect us as if we are the centre of the universe, then our mind will be imbalanced.\n\nPart 2 of 3 [22 min] : Download mp3 file\n\nTo become emotionally balanced, the first step is to realize how imbalanced we are and that the imbalance is coming from ourselves, not from an external party; The heart connection that we feel with others, that acknowledges their humanity, their wish for happiness and freedom from suffering, is a very important factor in human relationships; Why His Holiness the Dalai Lama prescribed compassion as the antidote for low self-esteem; How a young lady who was diagnosed with a terminal illness restored balance to her mind through contemplating what she thought His Holiness would do in a similar situation.\n\nPart 3 of 3: Questions and answers [35 min] :\nDownload mp3 file\n\n* When people are rude and disrespectful to us, how do we not react in the same way?\n* What do you do when there is physical abuse or cheating?\n* What are other antidotes to low self-esteem besides developing compassion and kindness?\n* How do we stop our ‘opinion factory’ from working overtime churning out opinions endlessly?\n* Discussion about ways to react when a person we love steals something substantial from us.\n* How does Bill Gates maintain his emotional balance?\n* When we notice that our mind has gone out of balance, isn’t this the first step in changing the situation and shouldn’t we be happy that we noticed it rather than beat ourselves up for going out of balance?\n* Can you talk a little bit about worrying, because it has such a negative spiraling effect?\n* Are the antidotes for paranoia same as those for worrying?\n* A comment about the western mind that believes that one should be able to control everything.\n\n~End of Post~\n\n\nRead more!\n\nTuesday, January 09, 2007\n\nBasic Breath Meditation Instructions\n\n(Picture source: flickr.com)\n\nBasic Breath Meditation Instructions\nby Thanissaro Bhikkhu\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRead more!\n\nMonday, January 08, 2007\n\nCherish Your Friends\n\n(Picture source: flickr.com)\n\nArticle extracted from book 'Meditations 3'\nDhamma Talks by Thanissaro Bhikkhu\n\nCherish Your Friends\n\nMarch 12, 2005\n\nTry to make the mind quiet. Try to make the body quiet. There are lots of levels to that quietness. One means sitting quietly — but, of course, the body isn't the only thing making noise and chattering away. The mind is, too. And just as when you want to hear something very subtle you have to sit very quietly, if you want to hear the subtle things going on in your mind you have to make the mind quiet, too. Focus it on the breath. Try to cut down on all the chatter. If you want to talk to yourself, talk about one thing. Talk about the breath.\n\nAsk yourself: Is the breath coming in? Is it going out? When it comes in, how does it feel? Where do you notice it? When it goes out, how does it feel? Where do you notice it? Does it feel good? Does it not? If it doesn't feel good, you can recommend different ways of changing it. Try a little longer, try a little shorter, deeper, more shallow, faster, slower. Find the rhythm and texture of breathing that feels good for the body right now. If you're feeling tired, try to breathe in a way that gives you more energy. If you're feeling tense, try to breathe in a way that's more relaxing.\n\nYou can talk about these things to yourself. That kind of chatter is not out of place in the meditation. It's called directed thought and evaluation, which are two of the basic factors for Right Concentration. But otherwise, try to keep the mind as quiet as possible — because you want to notice what's going on. And, of course, what you're going to notice is that there are a lot of other ideas floating through the mind. Sometimes they don't just float. They yell at you. They taunt you. They whisper to you. But you have the power of choice. You can choose which voices to listen to and which ones to put aside. You don't have to believe everything you think. You don't have to obey everything you think. So listen carefully to those voices. You'll begin to realize how much they push your life around. Some of them are well-meaning voices; some of them aren't. You don't know where you've picked up a lot of these ideas that you carry around inside.\n\nOne of the functions of meditation is to give you a place to stand inside and listen very carefully so that you can figure out where these things came from. More importantly, you can see where they lead. If you listen to certain thoughts, where are they going to take you? All too often, when a thought comes up in the mind, it's like someone driving up in a car. You're standing on the side of the road, someone drives up and says: \"Hop in.\" And so you hop in without asking, \"Where are you going? Who are you?\" If we lived our lives that way, we'd be dead by now. Someone would have driven us to a dark place, robbed us, shot us, and dumped our body out the back door of the car. But that's the normal way things are in the mind. Thoughts come in and you just go with them. So you've got to step back. Ask yourself, \"Which thoughts really are my friends? Which ones aren't?\" In other words, which ones will to lead to your true happiness? Which ones won't?\n\nThe chant we recited on friends just now applies both to friends outside and to friends inside. There are true friends; there are false friends. You've got to figure out which is which and to encourage the true friends. Notice that the Buddha said: \"Attend to the true friends earnestly.\" In other words, when you figure out that someone really is a true friend, you want to encourage that person, cherish that person, because true friends are hard to come by.\n\nYears back when I was in Thailand, Ajaan Fuang gave me the job of teaching new monks after I had been a monk five or six years. Every year we'd get a batch of temporary monks coming in, because that's the tradition there, for young men to ordain for about three or four months. There's a textbook for them to study during their period as monks. Toward the end of the book, as they're beginning to think about disrobing, there's a section on lay life. One of the teachings covers who's a true friend and who's a false friend, because this is a big issue in life. The book goes down the list, just as we chanted just now: People who befriend you to cheat you, those who flatter and cajole, those who are your companions in ruinous fun. Those are false friends. As for true friends, the book says, those are the ones who are willing to die in your place.\n\nAnd every year the comment would come up: There are no true friends in the world. That's not really the case, of course. There are some. But you have to look really, really hard, asking, Where is friendship with this person leading me? As the Buddha said, if you find someone like that, cherish that person. We hear often that the Buddha teaches us non-attachment. Actually he teaches non-clinging, which is a different sort of thing. Clinging is when you hold onto something and create suffering. That, he said, is something you should try to understand. Look for the cause and let go. But in the meantime, you've also got the path, and that's something you try to develop. It's something you hold onto as long as you need it. You develop virtue, concentration, discernment. These are your friends inside. And the same principle applies outside. If you have helpful friends, hold onto them, cherish them. And you try to be a good friend, a true friend, to that person too.\n\nSo with regard to the question of holding on and letting go, the Buddha said you've got to be selective. There are four noble truths to life. It's not that you let go of them all. The first truth — the suffering that comes with clinging — is something you want to try to comprehend. The cause of suffering, the craving that causes you to cling, is something you want to let go. Then there's the path, which you develop. To develop it, you've got to tend to it, you've got to cherish it, you've got to hold onto it. It's like holding onto the rungs of a ladder. If you try to climb up a ladder without holding onto the rungs, you fall off. And even when you reach the roof — or as Ajaan Suwat said, even when you're finished with the path, as far as you are concerned you don't need the path anymore, but you think of the people who will come behind you, and of how easy it is for weeds to grow on the path, how easy it is for the path to get obliterated, so you still tend to it for their sake.\n\nThe same way with true friends: If they've helped you, it's not that you leave them behind. You show them gratitude because that's one of the most important lessons you can give to other people. It reminds them that there's something good in life, something that really should be valued, because it's so rare. That's friendship on the outside.\n\nAs for friendship on the inside, you want to be friends with your wise qualities inside, the thoughts that help you, that point you in the right direction. You want to learn how to encourage them. After all, meditation is not simply a matter of driving thoughts out of the mind. You first have to learn how to think skillfully. Just listen to all the conversations going on in the mind: Should I meditate? Should I not meditate? Notice all the voices that say, No, I'm too tired, I need my rest, I want to do something else. Ask yourself: Are those your true friends? Where are they going to take you? Learn how to encourage the voices that take you where you really want to go. This is one of the most basic skills in meditation. If you can't master this one, you can't do anything else basic, like sticking with the breath.\n\nFor some of us, this is easy. We've had parents who encouraged us and we've learned how to listen to those voices of encouragement. If your parents didn't encourage you, you have to learn how to train yourself to encourage yourself. This is part of what they call emotional intelligence.\n\nYears back there was an Olympic swimmer — Matt Biondi, I think was his name. He was expected to sweep all the medals in the swimming events but he blew the first event. All the commentators said, \"That's it. He's probably all shaken up. He's going to go down into a tailspin.\" But his coach said, \"Don't write him off. He's not that kind of person.\" And sure enough, he won all the remaining events — because even though he could have easily gotten discouraged after the first event, he knew how to talk to himself, to encourage himself, so that he didn't give up. He kept his spirits up and kept performing at his best.\n\nThat's what we've got to do as meditators. Learn how to talk to yourself so you can stay on the path. When things are going well, how do you talk to yourself so that you don't get careless? When things are not going well, how do you talk to yourself to give yourself encouragement, to get yourself over those dry patches? That's a basic skill in the meditation: learning who your true friends are inside your mind, and learning how to encourage them.\n\nThe Buddha once said that friendship with good people is the whole of the practice. On the external level that means staying with people who can teach you the practice — because without them, how would you know what to do? On your own, could you think up the path that the Buddha found? Would you have the stamina to stick with it? The example of other people who have trod the path is what keeps you going. On the internal level, friendship with good people means your ability to figure out who inside your head is your friend, and to cherish that friend, encourage it, listen to it. That ability, more than anything else, is what keeps you on course.\n\n\nRead more!\n\n\n(Picture source: flickr.com)\n\nArticle extracted from book 'Meditations 3'\nDhamma Talks by Thanissaro Bhikkhu\n\n\nDecember 1, 2004\n\nThere's a part of the mind that's just aware. No matter what else comes into the mind — greed, anger, delusion, despair, depression, regret, or fear — it's just part of the mind. There's also another part that's just aware of these things, but it tends to get blocked out when strong emotions come in. Still, it's always there, like the hum of the refrigerator always there in the background. Or maybe a better analogy would be the hum of the Big Bang, the deep B-flat that's still detectable from all directions all the time.\n\nOne of the tricks of the meditation is learning to get in touch with that part of the mind, not to regard it as something exotic, but to have it as the background state of mind, the basis of your conscious awareness. This requires a shift of your center of gravity, because for the most part we tend to live in our emotions, in our creations, in the little worlds we create for ourselves. But as the Buddha pointed out, there's a lot of suffering in those worlds. They all require effort to keep them going. They have to feed off of something. When the Buddha says that becoming is conditioned by clinging, the word \"clinging\" can also mean feeding or the act of taking sustenance. And the sustenance is the passion of desire — the desire that makes us create these worlds, that pulls us into these worlds, and impels us to take them as far as they can go. There's always an act of feeding going on — and it's stressful.\n\nSo you've got to learn how to get out of those little worlds you've created for yourself. Otherwise you can create huge emotional storms that can blow you away. People talk about sitting and meditating and being blown away to the point where they can't even sit anymore, but if you actually look at the wind from the outside, there's no physical wind blowing them off the seat. It's just that they let these emotional storms get blown up in the mind and they put themselves in the storms, so of course they're going to get blown around. What's important to remember is that there's always an awareness surrounding the storms. If you can place your center of gravity in that awareness, you don't get blown away.\n\nIt's not that difficult to get out of the storms if you can observe them as they arise, as they're just beginning, but they're hard to extract yourself from if they're already full-blown. So you need to learn how to change your center of gravity in advance and keep it changed. Otherwise the secondary storms — the ones that blow in on the tail of the first storm — can catch you off guard. One of the problems is the impatience that blows up as a separate storm. You get impatient: When are these storms going to go away? And then you place yourself in that second storm, the impatient storm, and that can blow you away as well. Or you can get swept up in a storm of boredom. A lot of these secondary storms are the ones that throw mediators off balance, so you have to watch out for them. Remember that there's a space around those storms as well. You have to learn how to watch those from the outside, too.\n\nA great deal of the commentary going on in the mind is just this sort of thing. You pull yourself out of the storms whirling around events from the past or future, but then you let yourself get caught up in storms of the present. When these things come up — regret or impatience or whatever — just watch them. They may seem awfully powerful and awfully real, but you can learn to question their reality. Remember that although there may be a reality to these things, it's a created reality — false, artificial. It's something you're creating right now, and you may not even be aware of what you're doing.\n\nBack when I was younger I use to like to write fiction. Basically what a fiction writer does is to inhabit a little mental world, exploring what it feels like from inside. The more real you can make that world to yourself, the better the story when you write it down. What's uncanny about these worlds is that sometimes a character you create can surprise you. The more real the character becomes in your mind, the more it can start doing unexpected things. When that happens, you start thinking: \"Maybe this character has its own reality,\" but it's actually a figment of your own imagination. The reason these characters can surprise you is the same reason that you get surprised by things coming into the mind in normal world-creating thoughts. You're so oblivious to what you're doing that it can actually surprise you. That's when these thoughts begin to seem very real, to have an independent existence. What's happened, though, is that the part of your mind creating them is behind a wall, separated from the part that's watching them. That's why they can take unexpected turns.\n\nThis is why we have to get the mind really, really quiet — both so that we can get closer and closer to the part of the mind that simply observes, and to get clearer about where these fabrications are coming from. When you can see that second part in operation, it offers no surprises. And when you get to the point where fabrications offer no surprises, you start getting disenchanted with them. You see them for all their artificiality. You can begin to pull yourself out of their worlds more and more consistently.\n\nSo whatever storms come brewing up in the mind, remember: It's just an event in your awareness, and there's an awareness surrounding it, outside of the storm. Learn how to give more weight to that awareness than to the storms. If you're going to identify with anything — and it's natural that we do identify with things all along the path — learn how to identify with that very still awareness. It may not seem very intelligent, very creative, but it's your salvation. It's what you can hold onto that'll keep you from getting blown away.\n\nHow many times have you seen people who are very clever, very imaginative, very creative, and then something takes on an independent life in their minds and they can actually end up killing themselves, simply because of their thought-creations. They find themselves pushed into all sorts of weird and self-destructive behavior simply because they can't let go of particular thought-worlds in their minds.\n\nSo for the survival of all that's good and worthwhile in your own mind, you've got to learn how to step out of these things, realizing that although that simple awareness may not seem interesting or clever, it's your real friend. And there's a wisdom in learning how to stay there and watch, watch, watch, not to be impatient to get results, not to be impatient to see how things turn out. Learn how to be more stable in that watching, because the stability is what will allow you to see very subtle things, to see the tricks the mind plays on itself, the places where it pulls the curtain down or throws up walls to maintain its illusions. Your steady gaze is what's going to enable you to see through those illusions.\n\nIn the early stages of the meditation, that basic watcher — the observer — may seem as unstable and as fragile as any of the other worlds you might create. But as you get more and more used to placing your center of gravity here, you find that it's a lot easier to stay here than to keep creating those other worlds. This awareness, too, is a kind of world, and there will come a point where you have to take it apart, but in the mean time, this is the most stable world at your disposal. Over time, your center of gravity can begin to shift more and more in this direction. Once it's here, the qualities of stability and patience and endurance come a lot easier, and you come to value them more. Although they themselves may not seem all that surprising or entertaining, they do allow you to find out some very surprising things about the mind. In particular, you learn how to see through this process of creation. Where do these worlds come from? This is how the Buddha discovered dependent co-arising, by just watching very patiently, putting himself in a position where he didn't get blown away.\n\nIt's like really good scholarship. Everyone wants to get in on the dialogue of common scholarly assumptions and show that, yes, they can engage in that dialogue as well. But the people who say, \"Well, stop. Wait a minute. These questions don't make sense. Something's wrong here\": Those are the ones who bring a real advance in knowledge. When you step back to get out of a particular dialogue, you begin to see its underlying assumptions for what they are.\n\nThe same thing goes on in the mind. There are little signals and signs that the mind sends to itself, and you feel clever in catching their meaning: \"Yes, I understand that signal, I understand that sign, I'll play along with that.\" And then you get sucked into the world of those signals and signs. But it takes real understanding not to get sucked in by the signals, to step out of the worlds that those signals create.\n\nAjaan Suwat once said that one of his greatest insights in meditation was seeing how the mind liked to play make-believe with itself. You have these little internal signals and agreements — \"Well, this is this and that's that\" — and suddenly there's a whole world of becoming, just because you thought you were clever in interpreting and catching on to the signs. So sometimes it's good to play dumb, to say, \"I don't understand this, this doesn't make sense.\" And step back.\n\nThat right there is a lot of the practice.\n\n\nRead more!\n\nThursday, January 04, 2007\n\nGiving Thanks Without Forgetting Others\n\nHere's an article that I find meaningful and applicable at any time of the year. Hope it will benefit you. It's not Thanks Giving season now, but I still would like to thank all those who loved (and hated me), and benefited (as well as harmed) me in any direct and indirect way in the three times. And that includes you who reads this:\n\nMay you find true happiness and its causes.\nMay you be liberated from all suffering and its causes.\nMay you never be separated from the happiness, which is free from sorrow.\nMay you rest in equanimity, free from attachment and aversion.\n\n\n\nGiving Thanks Without Forgetting Others:\nA Discourse on Thanksgiving Weekend\nBy Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi\n\nI dedicate this essay to the memory of my closest friend, Ven. Bhikkhu Sumedha, who expired in Sri Lanka on Dec. 21, 2006, minutes after I finished writing it for the Bulletin. I dedicate it to him as a true monk and visionary: cave-dwelling meditator, spiritual patron of the Peradeniya Teaching Hospital, genius artist, and one who always, even when on the brink of death, deeply remembered others.\n\nThanksgiving is an American holiday that brings families and friends together for the purpose of strengthening old bonds. It is a time when people forget their cares and worries, return home - sometimes over long distances - and share a sumptuous meal. After a year when we each pursue our private interests, we come together and light the lamp of loving affection over a table spread with roast turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, and other culinary delights. The early American settlers who first established this holiday originally offered their thanks to God for the bountiful harvest he provided them in their new home, so far from the European motherland. Nowadays, Thanksgiving has lost its religious overtones and has become a secular holiday celebrating prosperity and success. It symbolizes the unity of the family, the solidarity of the community, the forging of closer ties.\n\nThose of us who follow the Buddha's teaching can also use the Thanksgiving holiday as a time of reflection, as an occasion for giving thanks. Since the Dhamma is non-theistic, we don't give thanks to any God, but we can use the occasion to develop an attitude of gratitude: gratitude towards all the factors in our lives that contribute towards our fortune and success. In this short talk, I would like to mention briefly five things for which one might be thankful. I'll speak for myself and then generalize.\n\n(1) I am thankful that I am a human being. When we reflect on how few are the number of human beings in the world compared to the number of other beings, we'll appreciate the precious opportunity that human life provides. It may seem trifling, even ridiculous, to be thankful that one is a human being - for, one might ask, what else could I be if not a human being? - but if you reflect a little, you might see that it's truly amazing that our own sense of \"I,\" of being \"this living being that I am,\" should be lodged in a human constitution. Just suspend for a moment your habit of taking your human identity for granted, and you can see that your sense of being \"the 'I' that I am\" could just as well have been connected to a dog's body and mind, or a monkey's, or a bird's, or a fish's, perhaps even an ant's or a fly's! To be a human being is extremely rare, yet human life is also precious because human life has such great potential: the potential to develop our intellectual and aesthetic capacities, our ethical sensitivity, especially our spiritual faculties. Consciousness of any sort is a seed, and the human consciousness is the seed that can unfold the highest realizations of purity, love, wisdom, and inner freedom. When we reflect in this way, we realize how crucial it is not to squander this precious human life, but to devote our efforts to our spiritual development.\n\n(2) I am thankful that I enjoy a reasonable level of material security. Here in this part of New Jersey, just about everyone has sufficient food, decent housing, and enough material resources to live comfortably and enjoy periods of leisure to pursue what interests them. This is a rare blessing. Throughout this world of six billion people, perhaps four billion are constantly struggling every day just to survive. They have to work long hours at tedious jobs, often dangerous jobs, just to earn enough money to buy food, clothes, and fuel. Many can't afford adequate housing or medical care. But you have had a good education, live in a peaceful area, and enjoy at least a moderate standard of material affluence.\n\n(3) I live in a country where we enjoy fundamental social and personal freedoms. Our U.S. Constitution guarantees us freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom of worship, freedom of the press. The present Administration may be cutting back on certain freedoms that this country has long cherished and long endorsed in the community of nations - particularly freedom from unwarranted search and seizure and from cruel and unusual punishment - but we still preserve the right to change the situation through our electoral process. If I want to, I can write essays criticizing our government, even our president, without fear of being arrested. Though almost all the people in governmental are Christians, I can practice Buddhism with perfect freedom and no restrictions are placed on my expression of my beliefs. In many parts of the world, people must conform to the prevailing religion of the country, even if they are privately convinced of the truth of some other religion. If they advocate another religion, they might even be beheaded.\n\n(4) I have encountered the Buddha's teaching. As human beings, we need something more than material security, something more liberating than social and political freedom, something that leads to greater fulfillment than opportunities for personal creativity and self-expression. We need a path of ethical guidance that can help us make the right decisions in the face of tough personal dilemmas, a path of spiritual guidance that can show us how to realize our potentials for the highest wisdom, compassion, spiritual freedom, and peace. Among all the teachings known to humankind, that which stands out by its intellectual brilliance, ethical purity, and pragmatic versatility is the Dhamma, the teaching of the Buddha. The arising of a Perfectly Enlightened One is rare. The proclamation of the Dhamma is rare. Associating with good spiritual friends is rare. To have gained these three benefits is something for which one should be extremely grateful.\n\n(5) I have gained faith in the Dhamma and have found a good place to learn the teachings. Many people encounter the Buddha's teachings but do not gain faith. They meet Buddhism as just one world religion among others; they see the Buddha as just one great religious teacher among others. Sometimes they become interested in the Dhamma, but that interest flares up and then soon fades away. However, when our interest leads to keen investigation; when investigation brings conviction; when conviction kindles steadfast faith in the Dhamma, and when we have found a good monastery to study and practice and knowledgeable teachers to guide us, then we have achieved an extraordinary blessing indeed.\n\nTo these five general items worthy of thanks by any follower of the Dhamma, I add a sixth of my own: that I have gained the opportunity to become a monk in the Buddhist order and to have encountered good teachers throughout my years as a monk.\n\nNow, when we rejoice on Thanksgiving for our abundant blessings, we should also remember that there are many others in this world who don't share our fortune. Rather than neglect them, we should also welcome them into the citadel of our hearts. If Thanksgiving is truly a family holiday, we might recall the Buddha's words that it is hard to find a single person on this earth who has not, in some previous existence, been our mother or father, our brother or sister. Thus we should think of their misfortune as a matter of urgent concern to ourselves.\n\n(1) First and foremost, we should remember that our nation is at war. We are embroiled in a terrible war in Iraq, a terrifying war that was initiated under sham pretexts, that has been prolonged against widespread opposition, and that daily brings disastrous consequences. So far the war has claimed nearly 3,000 American lives and left many more young Americans disfigured and disabled for life. And so, while most American families could laugh and rejoice at their Thanksgiving tables, many sat at their tables with pain in their hearts and tears filling their eyes. But the impact of this war on the country where it is being waged is far worse than it is on America. Iraq is sorely divided, its infrastructure paralyzed, its cities in shambles. A recent report suggests that the war may have claimed as many as 600,000 Iraqi lives, most civilians including many women and children. On Thanksgiving day itself, over 200 Iraqis were killed in senseless sectarian violence. Bringing all this to mind, we should make a determination to press for an end to this war and to bear witness for the cause of peace, resisting all warfare and militarism as a solution to international and inter-communal conflicts.\n\n(2) Our planet's climate is undergoing drastic changes. Climate change is occurring at a more rapid rate than was earlier believed to be the case, and the climate change presently taking place spells major calamities in the future: floods, rising sea levels, disappearing coastal lands, prolonged droughts, desertification, and dangers we cannot as yet even foresee. These in turn bring greater poverty, migration, exploding cities, and urban violence. The main culprit is the United States. Our country is the world's largest consumer of carbon-based fuels, yet stubbornly refuses to cut down its production and consumption rates, refuses to accept limits on its right to exploit the earth, refuses to sign international agreements that might compel it to behave like a responsible adult. Yet we ourselves don't have to follow our leaders, who are themselves pushed around by profit-seeking corporations. On our own we can follow a different drummer. Under the Buddha's guidance, we can simplify our lifestyles, find contentment in the simple joys of life, and take \"delight in renunciation. \" The Buddha teaches that craving is the root of suffering, simplicity the root of happiness; thus, by simplifying our lifestyles we can find deeper meaning and peace here and now while we behave more responsibly regarding the earth itself.\n\n(3) A large proportion of the world's population goes hungry every day. While the U.S. over-consumes, billions of people around the world (including many poor people in the U.S.) have trouble finding enough food to sustain them through the day. When I lived in Sri Lanka some years ago, I had read that the average Sri Lankan family spends about three-quarters of the family income on food, and Sri Lanka was by no means near the bottom of the world's poverty scale. In Central Africa, increasing desertification and locust plagues have resulted in annual food scarcities that take horrifying death tolls, claiming adults, children, and animals without distinction. Sufficient food could be provided very easily, yet our own country prefers to spend its resources on weaponry and military campaigns. The leaders of these poor countries, too, become embroiled in struggles for power that result in reckless expenditures on weapons and in brutal ethnic killings. But we should bear the poor and hungry in mind, live moderately, and give substantial donations to philanthropic organizations like CARE, Save the Children, Direct Relief International, the Tzuchi Foundation, and Sarvodaya.\n\n(4) Many people around the world are prisoners of conscience. They live lives of utmost deprivation locked away in prisons on charges they have never had the chance to challenge in courts, often simply because they dared to live in accordance with their conscience, or because they stood up against an autocratic leader or a tyrannical regime. There in prison they are often abused, humiliated, and tortured, and no one in the outside world even knows of their existence. Sadly, our own government, once the world's leader in human rights, has recently used the so-called \"war against terror\" as a justification for enacting policies that permit almost arbitrary arrests and indefinite detentions, depriving prisoners of their basic rights to a free and fair trial. As U.S. citizens, we should stand up for the rule of law and the inviolability of the Bill of Rights enshrined in our Constitution, as applying to U.S. citizens and to those foreigners residing in our land.\n\n(5) In this world, people blindly follow the ten ways of unwholesome action. If we cast our gaze out upon the world, we see: (i) expanding waves of reckless violence, even high-ranking political groups resorting to murder as a way to eliminate foes; (ii) widespread disregard for the property of others; (iii) shameless sexual promiscuity; those in positions of responsibility showing no hesitation (iv) to lie and (v) to create divisions among others; (vi) angry denunciations spilling forth from the mouths of the powerful, (vii) senseless chatter from the mouths of entertainers; the minds of the multitude teeming with (viii) unrestrained greed, (ix) anger, and (x) wrong views. As followers of the Buddha who have been privileged to inherit his teaching, we should make some effort to sustain the light of his Dhamma in this dark world. Either by precept or personal example, we should teach the ways of wholesome action, the path of light and goodness that leads to all blessings, to happy living in this world, to higher rebirth, to the stages of samadhi, and to insight, enlightenment, and Nibbana. We should not be overly optimistic that we can kindle a spiritual revolution, for today the forces of darkness are indeed very strong. But with courage and persistence, we can hold up our candles in the night, and bring this light to those who have eyes to see, to those seeking an outlet from the tangle of suffering woven by greed, hatred, and delusion.\n\n\nRead more!", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6135952472686768}
+{"content": "\n\nBLS Jobs Report Covering October: It looks a lot like August\n\nThe Bureau of Labor Statistics jobs report covering October is mildly positive. The number of jobs created was 80,000 with the private sector adding 104,000 and government losing 24,000. The number of jobs created for August was revised upward from 57,000 to 104,000 (an increase of 47,000) and September's figure increased from 103,000 to 158,000 (an increase of 55,000). While both numbers show improvement, both cast doubt on the reliability of the Establishment survey from which they are drawn. The September numbers were off by a third and will have another revision next month. The original jobs number for August was 0 so the entirety of the 104,000 jobs for that month came from subsequent revisions (0 > 57,000 > 104,000).\n\nTurning to the Household data, in October the Civilian noninstitutional population over 16 (NIP, the potential labor force) increased by 198,000 to 240.269 million. The employment population ratio increased a tenth of a percent to 58.4%. Multiplying this ratio by the increase in the NIP gives us the number of jobs which needed to be created in October to keep up with population growth or 116,000. If the 80,000 jobs created were a number we could trust, and we can't, then we could say that the economy did not create enough jobs to keep up with population growth. As it is, the most we can say is that the economy is creating jobs at a rate that will have little effect on unemployment.\n\nIn October, the number of unemployed decreased by 95,000 to 13.897 million. The civilian labor force (the actual labor force) increased by 181,000 to 154.198 million. Dividing the one number into the other gives an unemployment rate of 9.0%, a decrease of a tenth of a percent (with rounding) from September. Additionally, those employed increased by 277,000 (the sum in the change of these two numbers) to 140.302 million.\n\nParenthetically, a full tenth of a percent (0.1%) change in the labor force, such as an increase or decrease in the unemployment rate would be a thousandth of the labor force number or 154,000. So to reduce unemployment by a full percentage point would entail the creation of 1.5 million jobs. However, these numbers are dynamic. Those 1.5 million jobs would need to be created tomorrow. If they were created over the course of a year, natural population growth would account for most of them. So something to keep in mind when hearing about proposals for jobs programs is that closer to 3 million jobs would be needed over the space of a year to decrease the unemployment rate a full percentage point, or 4.5 million to decrease it by 2%, or 6 million to decrease it by 3%.\n\nHowever, the U-3 unemployment rate, as we all know, is not the whole story. In October, the U-6 measure of under and un- employment which spiked in September to 16.5% fell back to its August level of 16.2%. On the other hand, those marginally attached to the labor force (and part of those not counted in it) edged back up from 2.511 million to 2.555 million. Similarly, those employed part time (but who would wish to work fulltime) decreased 374,000 from 9.270 million to 8.896 million close to their August levels. The unemployed, the marginally attached, and involuntary part time workers are the 3 components of the U-6. In October, most of the change in the U-6 came from the decrease in part timers. The U-6 in October represented 25.348 million Americans.\n\nLooking now at disemployment, the BLS showed an increase of 162,000 to 6.403 million in its category, Not in Labor Force Want a Job Now, which I take to be its measure of its undercount. Adding together the unemployed, forced part timers, and Not in Labor Force Want a Job Now gives 29.196 million, a decrease of 361,000 from September, for a BLS-based calculation of the disemployed, or a disemployment rate of 18.2%, down from 18.7% in September.\n\nFor my alternate calculation of the BLS undercount, I first calculate what the labor force should be if we were in a reasonably robust expansion: .67(NIP) and then subtract the current labor force from it. The difference is the undercount. My calculation for the undercount for October was 6.782 million, a decrease of 49,000 from September, and for disemployment it was 29.575 million, down 572,000, giving a disemployment rate of 18.4%, down from last month's 18.7%.\n\nIn other matters, the average work week was unchanged at 34.3 hours. Hourly wages increased 0.2% to $23.19. This continues to put it behind rises in the CPI-U measure of inflation (3.9% seasonally unadjusted) meaning that real wages continue to fall. The unemployment rate for white Americans remained at 8.0%. The unemployment rate for African Americans continued to decrease, although still high, to 15.1% from 16.0%. Teenage unemployment also discreased a half a percent to 24.1%. Long term unemployed (27 or more weeks) decreased 366,000 to 5.876 million, 42.4% of the unemployed.\n\nAll in all, the October report looks a lot like the August report with September being an outlier for all kinds of reasons. There look to be problems in both the Establishment survey with its large percentage revisions in job creation and in the Household survey with the September numbers. Was September the fluke with its spikes or October with its fall backs? Some static in the numbers is to be expected but not to this degree. It once again places in question the validity and value of the BLS numbers and models and vitiates the usefulness of making any predictions or projections based on them.\n\nNo votes yet", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9226998686790466}
+{"content": "Focus Areas\n\nMedia Development\n\nEMPOWERHOUSE engages in efforts to develop the capacity and quality of the media sector within a specific country or region, and helps the development of free and independent media in countries around the world.\n\nCommunity Radio\n\nEMPOWERHOUSE continues to engage with the development of sustainable community radio, empowering community radios and their networks to reach their full potential as a motor for transforming communities through people-centred development.\n\nStrategic Communication\n\nEMPOWERHOUSE works to strengthen the capacity of civil society organisations, community media, independent media and institutions to use communication effectively as a means to reach their constituents and achieve their objectives.\n\nCivil Society\n\nEMPOWERHOUSE, engages with Civil Society as the space and the organisations where citizens join hands to manifest and promote interests independent of the government or commercial interests, including human rights, freedom of expression and press freedom.\n\nWomens Rights and Gender\n\n\nReviews, Evaluation and Impact Assessment\n\nEMPOWERHOUSE has the tools and the experience needed to match your specific documentation needs for an evaluation or review, be it through systematic interviews, facilitation of consultative workshops, surveys, tracer studies or audience feed-back and impact assessment.\n\nResearch and Teaching, training and Conference Facilitation\n\nWhether skills-focused short term training, teaching as part of longer term educational processes or coaching as part of ongoing strengthening of capacity and quality, EMPOWERHOUSE always strives to work on the basis of existing capacity and to ensure that interventions are relevant and sustainable in view of local realities.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.988412082195282}
+{"content": "3 Living Room Organization Tips\n\n1. Map Your Plans\n\nWhenever you think about rearranging furniture, the first thing to do is measure your space. Use a tape measure to find the dimensions, and then map out the room on graph paper. Don't worry about drawing in furniture at this point, but do include windows, doors, outlets, fireplaces and other aspects of the room that will affect its layout. Make a few copies of this layout, so you can brainstorm different options.\n\nUsing the layout of the room you created, start mapping out areas that you want to be used for certain activities. It's still too early to think about furniture at this point. For instance, if you pass through this room to get from one part of the house to another, draw a straight line between the two doors. If you want a place to play board games or cards with friends, draw a circle. In this way, you can get an idea of where to leave space open and what furniture you might need.\n\nBased on these factors, start drawing in your furniture where you'd like it. Measure your furniture to get a better idea of how it will fit in the space. Go through a couple of versions, and in at least one, place something where you don't think you'll like it, just to see how that affects the way you arrange the rest of the room. You may stumble on a great idea.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9607264399528503}
+{"content": "The Renewable Heat Incentive\n\nWhat is it and how can  it help you?\n\nThis website will tell you everything you need to know about the RHI, the products that qualify and a breakdown of just how much you can save.\n\nIn April 2014, the Government launched the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) for homeowners.\nThe scheme pays fixed quarterly tax-free tariffs to homeowners for seven years after the installation of renewable heating technologies.\n\nPeople who live in homes off the gas grid have the most potential to save on fuel bills now and far into the future as well as decreasing their carbon emissions. But it is also beneficial to people who own period properties or rely on LPG or oil as their fuel source.\n\nThe RHI scheme covers single domestic dwellings and is open to homeowners and self-builders in England, Scotland and Wales.\n\nTo see if you can benefit, and to work out how much you could save, you first need to understand which renewables would work for you and whether you meet the Government criteria.\n\nThe Domestic RHI Tarrifs\n\nThe tariff rate is multiplied by the estimated annual heat load figure taken from your EPC, which is divided by four to generate a quarterly figure.\n\nHeat pumps need an extra calculation to analyse their efficiency. This is done using the heat pump’s Seasonal Performance Factor (SPF) which converts the estimated annual heat load into the estimated renewable heat load.\n\nTo be eligible, all heat pumps must have a minimum SPF of 2.5.\n\nHeat pumps must also use a compressor (a component which raises the temperature of the liquid that the heat is transferred to within the technology) driven by electricity.\n\nThe domestic RHI will pay you the following tariffs per unit of heat generated for seven years (on a quarterly basis):\n\nRHI tariffs pence/kWh from 1 April 2015\n\nheat pumps\n\n\n\nGround and water-source heat pumps\n\n\n\nSolar thermal\n\n19.51 p/kWh\n\n\n*(flat plate and evacuated tube for hot water only)", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7272728085517883}
+{"content": "The Buzz\n\nThe “Groundhog Day” School of American Strategic Thought\n\nIn 1993 comedian Bill Murray starred in a movie called “Groundhog Day” in which a man kept reliving the same bad day over and over.  It was a funny movie.  Not nearly so humorous is the very real “Groundhog Day” that afflicts American foreign policy.  Over the past decade and a half, the United States’ most senior military and Administration officials – from both parties – have routinely applied a small set of military solutions in an attempt to solve highly complex foreign policy problems in the Middle East. And virtually all have failed.\n\nUnfortunately, senior leaders continue to roll out slight variations of the same plans in the hope that somehow they’ll achieve success where the others failed. The costs have been profound. If changes aren’t made, the price could one day be greater than we can afford to pay. The situation with the Islamic State (ISIS) in Iraq and Syria might be the most egregious example.\n\nOver the past five or six years, Administration and Department of Defense (DOD) officials have based many of their military strategies on the assumption that American counterinsurgency (COIN) efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan throughout the 2010s were successful.  Key tenets of COIN hold that embedding U.S. troops with indigenous fighters, providing air support, and advising their leaders will lead friendly troops to succeed against their enemies. The problem is that COIN tactics in both Iraq and Afghanistan were not strategically successful. The rise of ISIS after seven years of COIN and training to Iraqi Security Forces (ISF), and the resurgence of the Taliban in Afghanistan after more than a decade of training Afghan troops is illustrative of COIN’s failure.\n\nBut U.S. leaders continue to behave as though Syrian rebels and the ISF in Iraq can be effectively trained, and that if American airpower can pound enemy positions, our allies in both countries can gain a military and ultimately political victory. In 2013 President Barack Obama said he would not put American boots on the ground in Syria and would “not pursue a prolonged air campaign.”  In 2014 the President told the American people he wanted them “to understand how this effort (against ISIS) will be different from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan” and that the campaign would be waged with “a steady, relentless effort to take out ISIL wherever they exist, using our air power and our support for partner forces on the ground.”  But now after previous attempts didn’t succeed, the President is considering sending U.S. Special Forces into Syria to help rebels on the ground and combat advisers into Iraq to help the ISF.\n\nAfter years of efforts, the U.S. has reportedly spent over $500 million to train less than 150 rebel troops, and not only have not made any strategic gains, they’ve actually lost tactical ground.  Meanwhile, American strategic interests in the region have worsened considerably as a result of the failed military and diplomatic efforts.\n\nIn 2013 when the President first considered using American military power against ISIS, the conflict was geographically limited to several rebel groups in Syria, the Syrian regime, ISIS, and groups within Iraq.  Now the fighting has spread considerably, as Turkey is getting more aggressive, sometimes against American interests; ISIS has reportedly expanded into Afghanistan and other nearby states are also dealing with spillover.  But perhaps worse, now Russia, Iran, Hezbollah, and other international players are actively involved in competing combat operations within the Iraq/Syria battlespace. Furthermore, the Bashar Al-Assad regime has been strengthened while ISIS remains as strong as ever throughout the region. The civilian population continues to suffer egregiously.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9327345490455627}
+{"content": "Eysenck: Fundamentals of Psychology\n\nDo you want to evaluate these resources? Login using the following credentials:\n\nusername: fop\npassword: evaluation\n\nAimed at those new to the subject, Fundamentals of Psychology is a clear and reader-friendly textbook that will help students explore and understand the essentials of psychology. This text offers a balanced and accurate representation of the discipline through a highly accessible synoptic approach, which seamlessly brings together all the various related topics. In particular, it gives sufficient emphasis to the place of cognitive psychology in the field and also includes substantial coverage of current research.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 1.0000072717666626}
+{"content": "seol_plumfall: (empty)\n\n[in a blocky, somewhat wobbly script, as if the stylus used to write it had been gripped in a clumsy, childlike fist:]\n\nMayhue,   Elise.\n\nIn Stormwind without death, injury.\n\nHurried, crowded, noisy, dangerous, and shelter for one night.   Tomorrow, the sea.\n\nKindness for the snarled and strange is rare.   I would repay with like, but have this only.\n\n\n[Enclosed, with enormous care taken to protect it from leaks or breaks, is a small vial containing a dark brown, resiny oil. If opened to take a whiff, the scent is quite powerful, reminiscent of Northeronian religious incense.]\n\nseol_plumfall: (pietro)\n- 600g to replace stock of resins, etc.\n- 300g for out-of-season scents\n- 60g for an outfit for Miss Dix\n- 30g for a hair appointment\n- 10g for next month's coffee beans\n\nDon't forget!\n\nPietro 3 ← Pietro 4 → Seol 33\nseol_plumfall: (pietro)\nThe Antipoop for the orcish wild-girl Miss Shu\norange blossom, lemongrass, galbanum, white mints, iris(!!!) frankincense\n\nMiss Dix is a most interesting and adorably stupid young lady, quite unlike the usual types one meets in Undercity. I think I can imagine why her safety is so important to the young master. I must probe further to see what else:\n\nRosemary, pepper(slight), magnolia, ...?\n\nHours of entertainment in my future, L.\n\nCosimo 1 ← Pietro 2 → Seol 30\nseol_plumfall: (pietro)\nWritten in a cipher of Common.\n\nFinished moving all of my things besides the still, we decided it would have been too much of a hassle. No big loss; already found a buyer in Undercity and a supplier in Silvermoon. I don't think I'll use up my stockpile of oils before it's set up.\n\nWe've already filled up the new apartment with things and people -- Jia, Galenos, and me, and her five cats, and a new houseguest, Cosimo Eschatos from Dalaran. He is roughly the same age as Seol and is much more like one would expect a preadolescent boy to be. It seems he has no allies here, having just defected from the Alliance, so M. Plumfall is sheltering him. Choleric temperament, very rude, must be very frightened to be cut off from his family. Should try to include him in Jia's lessons without wounding his pride, he might feel a bit better.\n\nRead more... )\nseol_plumfall: (chibi)\nRather than a proper character ramble on a deep theme, one-sentence responses to prompts/questions. It's like a meme!\n\nRead more... )", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7657759785652161}
+{"content": "2400 (1).jpeg\n\nLucie's List: FIT4MOM is \"The Sweet Spot\" for Postpartum Fitness\n\nSeptember 1, 2016\n\nLucie's List is a popular \"survival guide for new moms\" with online resources and informative newsletters. Lucie's List has been featured in The Huffington Post, Pregnancy & Newborn, & US Weekly. In a recent blogpost, they summarize and highlight postpartum fitness options with FIT4MOM programs labeled as \"The Sweet Spot\". What an honor! Thank you. Lucie's List!\n\nfree class pass.jpg", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9956927299499512}
+{"content": "SproutsCharis Youth Center is a nonprofit organization providing residential, educational, and mental health services. Charis provides a highly structured therapeutic, educational, and community-based program for emotionally disturbed adolescents and their families. The residences and school work together philosophically, therapeutically, and physically to provide a total 24-hour treatment program with continuous supervision and monitoring.\n\nCharis Youth Center provides a comprehensive mental health program which includes the Rehabilitation Enrichment Program, Medication Support, and Mental Health Services. These services provide a thorough assessment of each youth’s mental health status, the development of a complete treatment plan and interventions, and an integrated approach to alleviating symptoms related to the youth’s identified DSM IV diagnosis.\n\nAbout_GirlsAdolescents placed in Charis’ program are typically very difficult to place and have experienced numerous placement failures in less restrictive environments. For many of these youth, the mental health interventions they receive through Rehabilitation Enrichment Program, Medication Support Services, and Mental Health Services are critical to their success in a community-based program, and assist in avoiding placement in a more restrictive setting.\n\nCircleofHandsCharis Youth Center is committed to principle-based practices which enhance the lives of the children and families we serve. Our programs provide individualized services emphasizing mental health, physical health, competence, and relationships. We believe that children must have a sense of belonging and learn to create trusting relationships with significant adults and peers. Our efforts will strive to help our students achieve academically, socially, and personally. We will ensure that they have a broad range of experience in the community. Whether our students return home, move on to less restrictive settings in the system of care, or set out on their own as young adults, our work will be focused on helping them have the confidence and skills to function independently. Our work will be performed in such a way that each of our students will be able to give of themselves to contribute to their community because they know others value them. They will be able to give and receive with Grace…thereby known as Charis.\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9999452233314514}
+{"content": "Notting Hill - Shared Ownership\n\n\nDirector: Ketan Raval\n\nPromo for shared ownership initiative by Notting Hill sales that also profiles the people who have benefitted from the scheme.\n\nVisual approach: wanted a naturalistic approach to get a sense of the tenant's lifestyles beyond just the actual homes themselves.\n\nKey technical approaches:\nHandheld low profile C100 - having a stripped down camera with minimal rig ensured that the non-actors were not intimidated to stage shots. Handheld gave some life to the image.\nTiming for natural light - there wasn't budget to light locations so chose shot order according to back/side light sun positions for a more beautiful look.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8751189708709717}
+{"content": "IELTS Writing Task 2 Sample 353 - Many businesses find it very difficult to assign enough time and resources to research\n\nIELTS Writing Task 2/ IELTS Essay:\n\nYou should spend about 40 minutes on this task.\n\nMany businesses find it very difficult to assign enough time and resources to research and development. What could a government do to encourage more company spending in this area?\n\n\nYou should write at least 250 words.\n\nSample Answer 1:\nWith the increasing complexity in the field of science and technology, it has been proved that in order to survive in this global economy, businesses should spend more in the field of research. However, most of the times, companies find it difficult to allocate adequate resources to research and development. In this essay, we will discuss how the government could play an essential role to encourage companies spending in this area.\n\nFirstly, the governments could allocate a special grant/aid for the research in their field of interest, this way they can attract potential researchers in the field in doing so both business and country would benefit. As we know about government grants in European countries for research in every field of science, commerce and technology.\n\nSecondly, governments could arrange a poster presentation competition, awarding the successful candidates with the opportunity to study further as well as of publishing their work in some reputable journal. For instance, government-funded poster competitions occur in every public sector business school in Karachi each year. This has provided opportunities to the bright candidates and has yielded us with an invaluable amount of research in this sector.\n\nMoreover, legislators could arrange finances from other foreign investors in their desired field of interests. As for example, African countries received funds from US government for carrying out researches in the fields of science and commerce.\n\nOverall I believe that research is pivotal for any nation's development and there are several ways through which governments can play their essential role in solving the issue of resources.\n\n[by Sarah]\n\n\nSample Answer 2:\nCompetition has increased to a greater extent between various organisations. This has forced most of the firms to only concentrate on profits rather than innovations. However, lack of explorations has impacted the growth of the country's economy. In this essay, we will analyse how ruling party can motivate co-operations to invest in the analysis of old products and improve them.\n\nTo begin with, the political authority can declare some benefits for those industries which have modified the existing systems for their better performance. For instance, elected group can provide some concessions on the mortgage interest rate for the firms releasing modified merchandises. Evidently, Company will put full efforts on experimenting old product and creating its better version. Thus, it is apparent that this will inspire associations to venture in redeveloping existing applications.\n\nIn addition to this, the administration can provide few dedicated staff members for the purpose of creating new better systems from the existing one. A good illustration for this is the group of employees who will be employed on government's payroll but will work for the other companies. In other words, the only aim of these special employees will be improving systems by performing some tests on them. Hence, Company will be able to focus on upgrading applications without compensating their regular profits.\n\nIn conclusion, the government can play a vital role in influencing organisations to uplift older systems. What this means is government can provoke industries by offering them lower loan interest rates and committed workforce which will help to boost countries economy. It is thus hoped that ruling parties will implement some measures for instigating company to get involved in new inventions.\n\n[by Aqeela]\n\n\nSample Answer 3:\nNumerous organisations are mainly focusing on their core competence which is doing trade and generating profit for their shareholders. I personally believe that it has become essential for the government to play an active role in motivating companies to contribute in innovating.\n\nThe main reason companies do not prefer investing money and people in doing innovation because it is an added cost without any guarantee of returns in near future. Besides that in order to be competitive organisations needs to be cost effective and offer products at a highly competitive rate. Additionally, in order to innovate industries need to first invest in training manpower, inducting right talents from the market which is as well driven by cost and invest in technology. By adding these recurring expenditure companies get demoralised and avoid innovating.\n\nIn my view, organisations face obstacles which prevent them from venturing in this area. Thus government should offer tax rebates for companies who invest in innovation. And reward companies for developing solutions for the well-being of mankind. Organisations would be prompted to set up research labs and they will start competing amongst each other in innovations or patents as well. Furthermore, the government should ease regulatory and legal policy for setting up innovation labs. By doing this, companies will get confidence in the system and enable them to conduct experiments and test in research activities.  Such boosts to industries definitely encourage and motivate them, look beyond their trade targets and compete in innovation. Certainly, industries will be benefiting in long run by innovating cost-effective products and producing them for the well-being of mankind.\n\nIn conclusion, I believe that government can play a major role in pushing industries to make rational decisions in investing in innovation.  Because of innovation, organisations can benefit their overall businesses.\n\n[by Neel Singh]\n\n\nSample Answer 4:\nI strongly agree with the statement that research and progress cannot be flourished just by the individual efforts of private sector companies without enough support and cooperation of governments. Almost all the reputed companies fix some budget for research and development of their products but personal or company's interests put aside the common and noble cause of research due to short of resources. Governments need their part to play to promote the culture of research going side by side with companies for the common cause of development. There are lots of measures which government can do.  But I share with you here, some options in my mind.\n\nFor example, some government organisations can be established to create an environment of trust and security among people and companies to monitor and regulate the process of research such as Federal development authority, Ministry of health sciences etc.\n\nMoreover, funding resources should be provided to companies, researchers and even students of universities who are working on valuable research areas for the noble cause of humanity.  A committee can be made to review the projects submitted and pass them on to the selection procedure. The selected candidates should be awarded funds or scholarships for their projects to complete within the fixed period of time. I quote you here my own example, being working as research scientist in a cancer hospital. One of my projects is still in the papers due to the limited supply of funds.\n\nTo sum up my talk, I would like to say that governments, especially of undeveloped countries have to take some measures to support and promote the culture of research in private sector companies and community. Otherwise, we will lose the cream of our young minds and their life-changing abilities by spoiling their ideas and frustrating their minds.\n\n[by Humairah Farooq]\n\n\n\nAdd comment\n\nSecurity code", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8765835762023926}
+{"content": "Is There Life After Death?\n(revised March, 2012 (and subsequently, see below))\nJohn A. Gowan\nhome page (page 1)\nhome page (page 2)\n\nWe are part and parcel of the Universe and share its immortality\n\nTable of Contents:\n\nIntuitive Section\nRational Section\nQuestions Regarding \"Karma\"\nPostscript I: Easter 2009\nPostscript II: Easter 2010\nPostscript III: June 2011\nPostscript IV: March 2012\nPostscript V: Jan. 2013\n\nPostscript VI: May 2014\n\nPostscript VII: April 2015\n\nLinks and References\n\n\nOur sense of individual immortality is a consequence of the self-awareness of the Universe caught knowingly in the act of looking at itself through human eyes. I am how the Universe becomes self-aware and experiences itself. The immortality of the Universe is therefore quite naturally intuited to be my own. The Universe is a conservation domain: all parts of the Universe are immortal or otherwise conserved. Our true immortality is the eternal nature of the Universe itself - including its capacity to continuously evolve and create information, life, and self-knowledge.\n\nHuman life oscillates between a generalized (genomic) and a specific (individual) expression. The creation of a new human being is remarkably analogous to the creation of a new elementary particle: both processes require a symmetric energy state which recapitulates the original environmental conditions of its specialized domain.\n\nScience reveals the spiritual character of the universe in that it: 1) is ruled by natural law; 2) is a completely conserved system; 3) is wholly interconnected causally; 4) conserves symmetry no less than energy; 5) begins and ends as light; 6) pursues an agenda to experience and understand itself through entropy, information, evolution, and life. Religion reveals these same truths, but veiled in various intuitive and symbolic forms, usually packaged in comforting and \"user-friendly\" myth, song, and ritual. Religion provides an insulating buffer, a \"dark glass\" between human consciousness and the blinding reality of cosmic activity.\n\nIntuitive Section\n\nIs there life after death? Do we have an immortal soul? Ever since childhood I have pondered these questions. My intuitive response has not changed in over seventy years - yes, to both questions.\n\nEven as a child, my reaction to the question of \"life after death\" was to ask if there was life before birth - the symmetry of the notion still appeals to me. If one, why not the other? I still feel that it makes as much sense to worry about the one case as the other. In any event, it is present life we need to concern ourselves with, not death; we have some control over life, but none at all over death.\n\nThis past July (2009) I turned 72, so the question nags at me more urgently than in my youth, and I have occasionally looked around for reassurance or rational proof of \"life everlasting\" in one form or another (I have no orthodox religious belief, although I obviously feel a strong spiritual connection with the universe). My work in physics and General Systems has turned up some interesting affirmative suggestions and hints, although I can't say they rise to the level of proof. I will discuss these below in the \"rational section\". Here I only consider my intuitive musings (and it is to answer just such imponderable questions that we have an intuition and create religions). Some questions are beyond the power or domain of science to answer, but that doesn't mean they don't have answers.\n\nInstinctively, my basic reaction is - why worry? What will happen will happen and I can do nothing about it. The Universe will do with me what it will. But since the Universe has already shown its tendency in this regard, in that it has, without my asking, without my worry, without my foreknowledge or consent, given me this present life and experience, the odds are, it seems to me, overwhelmingly in favor of the Universe doing again what it has done before. That my life should be a single experience (a \"one-off\") seems to me about as likely as the chance that we are the only life form in the Cosmos. It has become apparent that life is something that the Universe itself brings forth as an emergent property of the information content of its atomic, dimensional, and energetic structure, and the more we learn about the Universe, the more it seems certain that it brings forth life abundantly throughout its spacetime domain.\n\nIn other words, the outrageously improbable existence of this our present life is the best evidence we have for the next and/or previous life, which by the same argument was and will be not greatly different from this one - although the factor of personal, as well as biological, social, and cosmic evolution must be taken into account. My sense of the situation is this: there is a partially-conserved \"I\" that is unique to this life experience, and will not be repeated (nevertheless, it will be conserved in historic spacetime, or \"karmic\" history). But there is another, wholly-conserved \"I\" that is not unique to this life experience, that will have many, perhaps infinitely many, more life experiences. This eternal or wholly-conserved \"I\" does not remember (in human intellectual terms) its individual manifestations; but it is this eternal \"I\" that grows with each life experience and evolves with the Universe - its \"memory\" is in genetic and evolutionary terms.\n\nThe partial \"I\" is unique to this body, and passes into history (historic conservation) when the body dies. The source of this partial \"I\", however, is the eternal \"I\", which is the life spirit of the universe itself, forever seeking to know itself, grow, and evolve through a suitable physical instrument and organized (\"quantized\") locus of energy and information (the individual body and personality). The eternal \"I\" is the universe. \"I\" and the universe are one. We share this eternal \"I\" with all life forms, everywhere in the Cosmos, but the particular physical body in which it manifests imposes a unique experience upon each seemingly separate life experience. Human life is special in that it is  (locally) the most highly evolved life form (on Earth), and because of our intellectual capacities we are able to participate in and actualize a human version of the creative dynamic of the universe, thus becoming a co-creator or fractal resonance of the Life Force of the Universe. In this sense as \"fractal co-creator\", humanity is indeed the \"image and likeness of God\", and we are the life form (on Earth) which is best able to understand the universe (as through philosophy), advance its self-knowledge (as through science), and appreciate its beauty (as through art and our capacity for aesthetic experience). But all life-forms advance the self-experience of the universe (the most intimate form of self-knowledge), and all are sacred in this respect.\n\nHumanity is unique, however, in its creative capacity; humankind is the fractal iteration of the universal Life Force, a resonant form that completes the evolutionary purpose and cycle of the biological information realm. Humanity has taken on the divine role of controlling evolution and its own cosmic destiny. Humanity is a mirror, created by the universe, so that the Universe may see itself.\n\nWe are the Universe learning about itself through our life experience, and evolving as it does so; this self-exploration will never cease, because the Cosmos' potential for growth, evolution, and self-experience will never be exhausted.\n\nAnd where and when does this next life occur? We can't know and it doesn't matter. Where and when did our previous life occur? We can't know and it doesn't matter. It may be elsewhere (and elsewhen) in this Universe, it may be elsewhere (and elsewhen) in the Multiverse. It simply happens, just as this life simply happened, because self-knowledge and growth through the information pathway of life is the evolutionary purpose of the Universe/Multiverse. While the individual, in the sense of \"information\", may enjoy considerable freedom of movement, karmic linkages (\"cause and effect\") may require our next manifest experience to be right here on earth - we may have to \"stew in our own juice\". This seems to be the view of the Eastern religions - karmic chains may only be transcended through \"enlightenment\", and do not apply to the physical body (which in that case does not reincarnate). The Western view seems to be an all-or-nothing, one-time-only \"salvation vs damnation\".\n\nWe are the eyes and ears, the emotions and intelligence of the Cosmos, the only way it has of experiencing itself, of knowing itself, of enjoying and appreciating itself, and of actually continuing to grow and evolve. Through us the Universe experiences love and beauty and new forms of creativity - through us the Universe writes symphonies, enjoys sunsets, builds rocket ships, experiences love, and creates more life. Humans are fractal iterations of the Cosmos' living, creative power. The Universe explores its creative potential through life and through us, and this is why it continues to bring forth life with ever greater powers of intelligence, creative capacity, perceptual acuity, and aesthetic refinement - the better to know itself. \"Universe know thyself!\" In this sense the Universe is a narcissist. This is the real source of the notion that \"God is Love\": the Universe loves itself. And this suggests to me that whatever part of us may survive from one life experience to the next, the part that the Universe may wish to salvage for its evolutionary journey of self-knowledge, discovery, and growth, is the part of us that loves and celebrates life and the Cosmos in some form - whether as an artist, scientist, philosopher, athlete, or lover. It is simply inconceivable that my life experience should be wasted on me alone - completely obliterated and rendered meaningless by death - without somehow serving the larger evolutionary purpose of the Cosmos that created me. And the best way to do this is by this life experience informing my (or the) next life experience - if only by enriching the self-knowledge of the universe. The purpose of life is therefore the experience of life - lived and enjoyed to its fullest potential. To think otherwise is to reduce me, all human experience, and the vast and ancient universe itself - to inconsequential trivia. It is actually a ridiculous notion. The universe exists for a reason; we - including our growth and evolution - are part of that reason.\n\nRational Section\n\nThe \"Afterlife Tetrahedron\" is the perhaps the best \"rational\" model bearing on this issue that our General Systems work has produced. In the model, we see that the \"Biophysical face\", which corresponds to the biological realm of the \"Fractal Hierarchy\" or \"Information Ladder\", does not explicitly contain the Conservation pole of the model, and indeed is the only face which does not. (See the \"Tetrahedron Faces\" model here.) It is just this lack which identifies this face as the biological face, as we associate this lacunae with death, a phenomenon peculiar to the biological realm. We note, however, that the Conservation pole of the model is explicitly connected to all three poles of the biological face. The Biological Realm is therefore completely embedded in the conservation matrix of the larger structure, but these connections are implicit rather than explicit. The model shows three conservation connections; I will examine each in turn below. (Readers should print out and refer to the \"Afterlife Tetrahedron\" diagram as a guide to what follows.)\n\n1) The Conservation connection to the Entropy pole: this connection is dimensional, including the gravitational \"The Conversion of Space to Time\". The dimensions of spacetime are conservation domains created by the entropy drives of free and bound energy - the intrinsic motions of light and time. Time's intrinsic motion creates history and historic spacetime, the conservation domain of Information and matter's \"causal matrix\" (\"Karma\"). (See: \"Spatial vs Temporal Entropy\".) All actions and events are permanently recorded in historic spacetime. Historic spacetime is what we see when we look out in space to the distant galaxies. We actually can see only a tiny fraction of historic spacetime; most of it, including all of our own history, is hidden from our view. It is nevertheless perfectly real and the continued reality of yesterday is absolutely necessary to sustain the reality of today. All earlier cultures have understood this, as is especially evident in the practice of \"ancestor worship\". We are all immortal in History. Memory is one way in which we experience the reality of this temporal connection; another is the celebrated notion of \"Karma\". Light is connected by space; matter is connected by time; all are connected by gravity. Massless light is non-local, atemporal, and acausal; massive matter is local, temporal, and causal.\n\nMatter is only tangentially linked to historic spacetime, the conservation domain of Information, \"Karma\", and matter's \"causal matrix\". We live only in the ever-moving present, not in the historic past, which continually expands \"behind\" us. By contrast, light fully occupies its conservation domain (space), and expands and cools as space expands and cools - light is inseparable from its entropy drive (intrinsic motion c) and its dimensional conservation domain (space), which that entropy drive creates. Conversely, it is matter's time dimension which moves and not matter itself. Matter is separate from its historic conservation domain, and does not expand or age with the expansion and aging of historic spacetime. \"Diamonds are forever\" - atoms simply do not grow old. (Biological aging, decay, and death is a \"systems effect\" peculiar to living forms, necessitated by Darwinian evolution and by population pressure upon finite resources, and is genetically controlled.) (See: \"The Time Train\".)\n\nThe separation of matter from its entropy drive (the intrinsic motion of time), and the conservation domain created by that drive (history), is necessary for several good reasons, among them: 1) the equilibration of the entropy drive of bound energy with the entropy drive of free energy (\"velocities\" c and T) - the intrinsic motion of time is (and must be) the metric equivalent of the intrinsic motion of light; 2) the isolation of matter's quantized symmetry debts (charges) from the attenuating effects of entropy (note in this regard that light itself bears no charges of any kind). The metric relation between light (free electromagnetic energy) and spacetime is gauged by \"c\" (the electromagnetic constant); the entropic relation between matter (bound electromagnetic energy) and spacetime is gauged by \"G\" (the gravitational constant). (See: \"Entropy, Gravity, and Thermodynamics\".)\n\nThe separation of matter from its historic conservation domain is the chief source of humanity's \"angst\" regarding our conserved status in the Cosmos. This separation, however, is actually illusory. We are very much a part of historic spacetime, but we are situated on the leading edge of its expanding domain, tangentially connected to the remainder of history by the single point contact of the \"present moment\". (See: \"A Spacetime Map of the Universe\".) The tangential \"point\" connection between matter and historic spacetime is why gravity is so weak. Gravity creates matter's time dimension (by the annihilation of space), but it only creates enough time to provide the required entropy drive for matter's tiny \"point\" connection to history - the \"present moment\". (See: \"The Half-Life of Proton Decay and the 'Heat Death' of the Cosmos\".)\n\n2) The Conservation connection to the Symmetry pole. This is the source of information in its most basic form as the charges of the fermions, the quarks and leptons which comprise matter. (See: \"The Particle Table\".) (The inertial forces of spacetime are a dimensional manifestation of the connection between the Conservation and Symmetry poles of the \"Tetrahedron Model\", but like gravity, these forces do not concern us here.) Charge conservation is information's most fundamental conservation mode. Charge conservation is a temporal form of symmetry conservation, somewhat as history is a temporal form of information conservation. However, the expansion of history dilutes the causal connections of its information content via ever-branching causal networks, but quantized charges, which exist only in the present moment, are not subject to the historical forces of entropic enervation (as noted above).\n\nThe charge of most interest for present purposes is the \"identity\" charge of the weak force, carried in explicit form by the neutrino, and in implicit form by the massive leptons (and perhaps the baryons). Identity charge is related to the elementary particles in exactly the same way as we commonly think of the relationship between the soul and the body. No elementary particle (lepton) can enter or leave the manifest Universe without its accompanying neutrino or identity charge, just as we think of the soul accompanying the body at birth and leaving it at death. The identity charge is the basic information bit that makes possible the birth of matter into the Universe. The \"Big Bang\" is essentially an explosion of energy and Identity, creating the manifest Universe. Our religious notions of God and the human soul are therefore one way in which we intuitively apprehend this fundamental physical conservation connection; another is our subjective experience of \"beauty\" - which is the Symmetry conservation principle emergently expressed in biology and the Information Realm. See: \"Identity Charge and the Weak Force\" and \"The Weak Force as a Bridge Between 2-D and 4-D Reality\".\n\n3) The Conservation connection to the Causality pole: this is the raw energy connection between light and matter, in which the free energy of light is transformed to the bound energy of matter in quantitative accordance with Einstein's famous equation E = mcc. Matter is essentially an asymmetric form of light, one-half of light's particle-antiparticle form. We can think of matter as an asymmetric, massive form of light's energy transformed to rest. The charges of matter are the symmetry debts of light. See: \"Symmetry Principles of the Unified Field Theory\". It is from these charges that information and life are created. Hence life is derived from light as a conserved form of light's three fundamental properties: energy, entropy, and symmetry.\n\nGravity, time, and matter constitute our most direct experience of the raw energy conservation connection. Gravitation directly connects us to the rest of the Cosmos in proportion to our mass or bound energy content. Gravity, like Identity charge, is also a \"hidden\" connection in that its force is so weak we are only aware of it in the vicinity of very large objects - such as the Earth. But gravity is nevertheless a powerful conservation force, not only creating matter's time dimension via the annihilation of space, but also returning bound energy to its original symmetric form of light - as in the activity of our Sun. The gravitational conversion of matter to light goes to completion in Hawking's \"Quantum Radiance\" of black holes. See: \"Gravity, Entropy, and Thermodynamics\".\n\nA conservation \"subroutine\" which is peculiar to biology is genetic reproduction and the conservation of genes (genetic information) through successive generations. Other conservation modes in the human sector of the biological realm and Information Pathway include memory, language, writing, and various technical and social mechanisms which specifically address the conservation of information across our generations: schools, books, libraries, etc. Besides gravity, our spiritual awareness (socially expressed as religion) is the \"still small voice\" which tells us of our conserved cosmic connection. \"Spiritual awareness\" also resides in our natural experience of the overwhelming beauty, majesty, immensity, mystery, and power of the Universe. It is also likely that the conservation of light's connectivity and unity are corollaries of the larger conservation principle of Symmetry (as formalized in \"Noether's Theorem\").\n\nHence the evidence for conservation is there if we choose to look for it. We see it in memory, historic spacetime, and \"Karma\"; in charge conservation, the phenomenon of beauty, and the notion of personal identity and the soul; and in gravitation and our spiritual awareness of personal connection to the Universe. Finally, we see it in the continuity of our genetic heritage through the eons of time, and in the evolutionary progress of the Universe toward self-knowledge, discovery, and the exploration of its creative potential, even as it returns inexorably to the original perfection of light from which it was born.\n\nOur Universe of light, spacetime, and matter is the conservation domain of electromagnetic energy. We are part of the Universe, part of its evolutionary adventure of self-discovery. We can not escape the universal principle of Conservation, even if we wanted to. Is there life after death? We should ask instead: is there a Universe after our death? Of course there is. And we will continue to be part of it, just as we have always been part of it. (See: \"A General Systems Approach to the Unified Field Theory\".)\n\nFor a scholarly and thorough treatment of the entire metaphysical realm, including issues discussed above, see my late father's book \"Trance, Art, Creativity\" on his memorial website.\n\nQuestions Regarding \"Karma\"\n\nOnly biological life forms which experience death do not experience a full cycle of causal (cause and effect) consequences - because death separates them from karmic consequences which are still \"in the pipeline\". Hence death can prevent \"justice\" from being fully served, whether reward or retribution, and because this seems to violate natural law, we have invented \"heaven and hell\" to complete this normal lawful cycle in the \"afterlife\" - bringing by this hypothesis the life experience into alignment with all other natural phenomena in the Universe. \"Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord\" (Romans 12:19 and many other biblical references of similar import). Because we know that in every other respect the Cosmos is a scrupulously conserved domain, it is a quite natural expectation and reasonable assumption that the karmic cycle will somehow be fulfilled, even in the case of biological life forms.\n\nOf course, the \"experience of life\" as we humans know it, is of quite a different order of reality than the \"experience\" of any inanimate object or atom, and how to factor this difference into the equation is a very difficult issue. Is the biological \"experience of life\", because of its inherently mortal (and/or insubstantial) nature, simply excused from, raised above, or otherwise not a part of the normal physical cycle of cause and effect? Can we escape \"justice\" by the biologically simple and normal act of dying? Is the human notion of \"justice\" not a legitimate part of the karmic cycle of cause and effect? Or is the karmic cycle fulfilled by all the ancillary causal connections we have set in motion before our death, and which continue after? Do we, in effect, remain a part of the local history we have set in motion?\n\n\nThe universe speaks a language of conservation - the conservation of light's spatial, symmetric form in an alternative, asymmetric dimension (history); the conservation of light's energy in an alternative massive form (atomic matter, momentum), with an alternative, asymmetric entropy drive (the intrinsic motion of time); the conservation of light's various symmetries as the conserved charges of matter (which include gravity's \"location\" charge). (See: \"A Short Course in the Unified Field Theory\".) The time dimension is necessary to accommodate the energy accounts, entropy drive, and causal relations of massive particles with relative spatial motion (rather than absolute spatial motion, like light). The historic dimension also allows charge conservation to conserve symmetry debts into an indefinite future. The conversion (and conservation) of light's symmetric spatial entropy drive (light's intrinsic spatial motion) to matter's asymmetric historical entropy drive (time's intrinsic motion) is accomplished by gravity (see: \"The Conversion of Space to Time\". The conservation of light's raw energy takes the form of the mass and momentum of particles, and the conservation of light's various symmetries takes the form of charge conservation. The charges of matter are the symmetry debts of light (\"Noether's Theorem\"). The \"non-local\" distributional symmetry of light's energy is conserved by the gravitational \"location\" charge - via the conversion of bound to free energy in stars. Gravity also and simultaneously conserves light's symmetric spatial entropy drive (light's intrinsic motion) as matter's asymmetric historical entropy drive (time's intrinsic motion) - via the conversion of space to time. See: \"The Double Conservation Role of Gravitation\".\n\nWe live in a universe of mixed spatial and temporal entropy domains (historic spacetime). The secondary asymmetric temporal domain of matter is derived from, coexists with, and interacts with the primary spatial domain of light. This intimate co-mixture of conservation domains contributes to our universal intuitive awareness of a generative spiritual domain which stands behind and is antecedent to the physical domain of matter, and likewise contributes to the universal notion of an \"afterlife\", including the experience of metaphysical phenomena of many kinds. \"Every jot and tittle of the law will be fulfilled\"; and \"Not a sparrow falls but the Father knows\". Biological death is necessary so that biological evolution may occur - but our identity transcends biology, and we have learned that even the least elementary particle (the electron) bears a strictly conserved identity charge (manifesting as the electron neutrino). If even an electron can have an immortal identity or \"soul\", so can we. We live in a compound conservation domain which will not let us go; we pass from one form to another as the universe evolves and grows - and we with it in an eternal and conserved cycle of the Information Pathway toward Cosmic Consciousness, the \"Omega Point\" of Teilhard de Chardin.\n\nPostscript I: Musings on Easter Sunday, 2009\n\nLife is the great miracle of the universe. The spirit of the \"Living God\" is the Creative Spirit of the universe that brings life in all its forms into existence: life and humanity literally raised from the atoms and dust of the earth. Life is the goal of the information pathway through which the Creative Energy of the universe intends to know and experience itself, including exploring (as through humanity) new forms and avenues of creativity and beauty. The (larger, meta-religious) meaning of the Easter resurrection is the recognition that life is greater than any one personal life experience, and the death of one individual does not terminate the information pathway of the Cosmos. Life goes on everywhere and always, and we, being part of the universal life experience, will always be part of that experience, not only historically, but in future transformations beyond our ken. The Universe wants to understand, experience, and appreciate itself, from many different perspectives, and to explore the full potential of its creative energy and capacity. We are asked to experience, appreciate, understand, and participate in the universe as only intelligent, self-conscious, and creative humans can do. To love the Universe is to secure a continuing role in its agenda of self-exploration, insofar as that is possible; as individuals, we will not pass this way again: change, evolution, and growth is the negentropic law of the Living Universe. But as day follows night, and spring follows winter, so life follows death as the great miracle of the Living Universe constantly renews itself, carrying us along in its inexorable, eternal, creative, and self-interested flow.\n\nPostscript II: Easter, 2010\n\nRegarding the analogy between biology (the creation and destruction of individual humans) and the weak force (the creation and destruction of single elementary particles): See:\n\nAt death the individual \"quantized\" personality retreats from a unique manifestation to a much more general state of information - the species-specific (\"closed\") gene pool. A human individual begins at conception with one sperm and one egg - together making a single cell and a single double helix of DNA, one strand from each parent. Many combinations and permutations of the information complex contained in human DNA are allowed (are viable), representing the biological analog of the unified-force symmetric energy state of the weak force as gauged by the Higgs and \"W\" IVBs. Hence while quarks and leptons of different flavors can emerge from the electroweak force-unity state, so also can many new gene combinations and permutations (the \"blueprints\" for new individuals of the species) emerge from the biological symmetry state of sexual union between male and female. Conservation (in the sense of continuity of life forms from one generation to the next) in this case operates at the level of the closed gene pool of the species, not at the individual level of personality. Humans make other humans, horses make other horses, etc., but an individual personality does not reproduce itself - at least not in the higher animals. Lower animals and plants, however, do often practice cloning (non-sexual reproduction). In cases of cloning, conservation may indeed be said to occur at the level of the individual \"personality\" (as in Macintosh apples, for example). Since it may soon be possible to artificially clone humans, we will have to recognize that at least the life experience of every individual is different, and must be accounted part of that individual, no less than the ephemeral cells of which a person is at any single moment composed.\n\nLife oscillates between a generalized (gene pool) and a specific (individual) manifestation. Before my birth, \"I\" existed in the human gene pool only as a potential combination and permutation of DNA genes; at birth, the specific genetic combination I now experience as \"me\" is actualized in the world. During life, the potential of this specific genetic combination, for better or worse, is realized within some environmental context. \"I\" may also engender new genetic combinations (children) with various mates during this life period. At death, the specific genetic experiment that was \"me\" ends, but my human life continues in its generalized form (as it was before conception/birth) within the closed gene pool of humanity, which will give rise to many more individual humans, all of whom will have their own \"me\" experience of personal identity. Conservation therefore exists at the level of the human gene pool (generalized), and in historic spacetime (specific for each individual). We have no memory of previous lives because each unique \"I\" is separated by the generalized existence of human life in the gene pool, in which \"memory\" is carried in the molecular form of genes, not as the abstract, higher mental function of a human brain.\n\nThe creation of a new human being requires extracting a specific DNA combination from the generalized gene pool, which is accomplished by the completion of a symmetry cycle via the sexual union of male and female, which in themselves represent asymmetric halves of a single organism. The completion of this reproductively whole organism results in an energy release (\"orgasm\"), the inevitable consequence of the completion of a symmetry cycle. Due to the loss of energy and the partial fusion of identities, a \"pair bond\" between the mating individuals results, just as in chemical, nuclear, or gravitational fusion. Note that in the biological creation of new life, the organism is reduced to a single cell and a single strand of DNA, one from each partner. Thus life begins from the \"bottom up\" each time, that is, from a single cell and molecule, just as it did in the beginning, a process which is analogous to the weak force creation of single elementary particles: the weak force must also reconstitute the original conditions of creation in the \"Big Bang\" via the massive Higgs boson and \"W\" IVBs. Only genetic \"memory\" can survive this constriction and restructuring between life experiences, each of which is a unique and delimited (\"quantized\") experience.\n\nA transcendental or \"spiritual\" interpretation of this process is readily derived as an abstraction based upon the physical, genetic model (the transformation of an individual identity or \"soul\" from a generalized immaterial source to a specific physical state and back again).\n\nPersonal \"karma\" in the afterlife is thus reduced to a generalized karma of the gene pool. If you invent electricity, your descendants and other relatives will benefit thereby, along with the rest of humanity. If you make war, your descendants and other relatives will suffer the consequences, as will the entire species. In this conception, afterlife karma is largely restricted to the closed gene pool of one's own species, which accords reasonably well with what we might expect from simple cause-and-effect physics (the major effects are closer to hand). However, as we have ruefully come to realize with regard to human affairs, we must also take into account a larger sphere of influence that includes other aspects of our environment, both biotic and abiotic. In a similar vein, if life is a single force throughout the universe - a unified matrix of information and cosmic self-knowledge - then we may be entirely unaware of the vaster extent of our karmic influence throughout this Universe or even beyond, in either spiritual or physical terms, as certain interpretations of the \"Multiverse\" would have it.\n\nGrowth, evolution, and change must be accommodated by our biological model, as well as conservation. We want to be \"saved\", but we also want to become better people in a better world! Our individual, quantized, personal identity is conserved in historical spacetime, while our potential for evolution remains in the generalized human gene pool and in life taken as a whole - on this planet and throughout the Universe. Our sense of individual immortality is a consequence of the self-awareness of the Universe caught knowingly in the act of looking at itself through human eyes. I am how the Universe becomes self-aware and looks at itself. The immortality of the Universe is therefore quite naturally intuited to be my own. If the Universe is immortal, I am immortal, because I am part of the universe. The Universe is a conservation domain: all parts of the Universe are either immortal or otherwise conserved. We are naturally unaware of our previous generalized existence in the gene pool of humanity, or of our potential existence in the information content of the Universe. Our true immortality is the eternal nature of the Universe itself - including its capacity to evolve and create information, life, and self-knowledge - extending even to the \"Multiverse\" and the Godhead beyond.\n\nPostscript III: June, 2011\n\nOur physical bodies are the summation or culmination of countless earlier lives, as recorded in the DNA of our genome. We may not remember these lives, but we certainly embody them, and we recapitulate much of our evolutionary history during our embryonic development, right from the single cell stage on up to the human. Our body and our DNA remembers, even if our minds don't. But obviously, this is a price we pay for evolution: we must change if we are to evolve, and this means the memory must be carried in the molecules rather than the mind - at least until we have evolved enough to carry memory in history books. So it's not true that we don't remember earlier lives, its just that the memory is molecular rather than mental, and this arrangement seems to be necessary to allow for evolutionary change of form and ability through time. In the same way, we doubt the butterfly remembers that it was a larva, but its DNA certainly does, and will recapitulate that stage in the next generation.\n\nSecondly, we learn from physics that the universe is a wholly conserved domain, not only with respect to energy, but also with respect to other more esoteric phenomena such as information, identity, symmetry, and activity (the latter recorded in historic spacetime and in propagating \"karmic\" or reactionary consequences). These are all basic physical \"textbook\" laws which I also emphasize in various papers on my website.\n\nFinally, from the principle of symmetry conservation (as per Noether's Theorem), we discover, with Plato, that the physical universe is simply an alternative, asymmetric form of an ideal state of energy: matter is an asymmetric, alternative form of light. Charge conservation = symmetry conservation. The charges of matter are the symmetry debts of light. Life is the information parameter of the Cosmos seeking self-awareness and self-knowledge. We are, as Carl Sagan said, \"star-stuff contemplating the stars\". We embody the information parameter of the universe, and so as we come to know the universe, we come to know ourselves. The universe values me because I am the means whereby the universe experiences itself; it has made me for that purpose. I represent a goal (or at least an evolutionary stage toward the goal) of universal self-awareness - Chardin's \"Omega Point\" in which (as my father observed) the \"All shall know and experience the All\").\n\nPostscript IV: March 2012\n\nFalling In Love\n\nI believe that in considering such esoteric matters as \"life after death\" we should take into account the opinions expressed in all the world's religions, both ancient and modern. However, in what follows I will simply embed my discussion in the principles of symmetry conservation as expounded on my website, especially in such papers as: \"Noether's Theorem\" and the \"Tetrahedron Model\".\n\nThe experience of \"falling in love\" involves a merger of identities between two individuals, which is officially recognized and sanctioned by the marriage ceremony in which they (traditionally) take the same name and share their worldly possessions. Legally they become \"one flesh\". This love/marriage state (biologically the \"pair bond\"), is analogous to a state of higher symmetry in physics involving the \"superposition\" of two particles (such as the \"nucleon\"), or better, the merger of two forces into a unified-force symmetric energy state, such as the \"electroweak\" state of the weak force transformation process. From such a state of higher energy, symmetry, and union, new elementary particles may be created, and in the biological analog, new life engendered - in both cases going right back to the elemental origins of particles and the molecular beginnings of life.\n\nNote also that it is in the state of love that the muse so often visits the artist, the scientist, and the inventor, so that it is from this state of higher energy and symmetry that human genius creates \"children\" of the mind and spirit, transforming a thought into a material object like mathematics, the Periodic Table of the Elements, or the airplane, which may someday change the world. Similarly, in Zen meditation, the goal is to achieve a state of higher mental/spiritual symmetry by erasing the division between the self and the universe, reaching the ultimate realization that we and the universe are one and the same entity - an experience, it is said, of intense joy and happiness (\"bliss\"). Finally, let us understand that death is a transformation into a state of higher symmetry with the universe, a \"falling asleep\" in the Lord, or a \"falling in love\" with God Himself, a merger or dissolving of our individual spirit with the universal spirit of the Cosmos, a state of higher symmetry in which our individuality is subsumed, overshadowed, and overwhelmed, much as a raindrop falls again into the ocean from which it came. Death is the great symmetry state in which all beings are equal, the universal \"atonement\" in the universal \"love of God\". It is not for nothing that sexual orgasm is often referred to as \"the little death\", as it presages the final ecstasy of the union between the individual and the Divine, of the return of the soul to its origin and home. \"Death and Transfiguration\": In this universal symmetry state transformations of the individual soul to new life expressions and experiences become possible - just as in the electroweak force-unity state new elementary particles and identities may be created and destroyed, subsumed and produced.\n\nPostscript V: Jan 2013\n\nWe must always remember that when the sun sets, the stars come out - a greater and more general dimension of reality is revealed. In the words of Thomas Wolfe You Can't go Home Again (last page):\n\n\n\n\"whereon the pillars of this earth are founded, toward which the conscience of the world is tending - a wind is rising, and the rivers flow.\"\n(added Jan., 2013)\n\nReligion and Spiritual Awareness\n\nIf it makes sense to worship the Sun as a symbol of God (as the ancients did), it also makes sense to worship a human as a symbol of God (as the Christians do) - especially if one accepts the Biblical notion that humanity is created in God's image. The sun is only a source of energy and heavy elements, and although both are necessary for life, certainly the sun by itself does not create life. Life is the great miracle of the universe, the characteristic or attribute that gives the universe meaning and that gives the information content of the universe - originating in its various atoms and elements - an expanded significance and dimension in terms of consciousness, self-awareness, experience, creativity, comprehension, appreciation, joy, love, beauty, etc., and of course, spiritual intuition or awareness itself. It is life we worship and life that allows us to worship. We stand in awe of the ability of the universe to bring forth life - the combination of information and energy and evolutionary purpose that is the life force of the Cosmos. It therefore makes more sense to worship a living being than an inanimate one, however glorious and powerful the latter may be.\n\nThe purpose of the life force is to provide a means (via the information content of the Cosmos) for the universe to know itself and to explore new modes of creativity - to achieve self-awareness and create new forms of beauty. Since humans are the highest expression of this cosmic drive (at least locally, on planet Earth), we can call them (all of them) sons and daughters of God, and worship them as symbolic representations of the cosmic Deity, the Life Force, God, the essential meaning, purpose, and miracle of the Universe. The \"Trinity\" in this case might be energy, information, and evolution. Entropy and symmetry are subsets of the energy term; causality is part of the energy and information term; creativity, purpose, and direction are part of the evolution term. Life is an emergent property of all terms working together toward a fractal iteration and conscious expression of the creative or life-force of the Universe. Life is the ultimate manifestation of the creative force of the Universe and the evidence of God in his manifestation, working to bring forth a fractal expression of Himself - beautiful, creative, intelligent, active, and self-aware.\n\nReligion is the social expression of our native spiritual awareness, and although it is not necessary to a personal \"enlightenment\", nevertheless, because we are highly social creatures, it is probably here to stay, despite its many and obvious institutional flaws and failings. Nevertheless, one of the successes of organized religion is to call attention to the immortal character of life itself, in its general if not its individual form. Life is a product of the creative drive inherent in the information content of the Cosmos, and as such is as immortal and various and extensive as the Universe itself. We are all individually immortal in history; and we are all generally immortal in the information content of the Cosmos. We are, and always have been, part and parcel of the Cosmos, and while it endures, so do we.\n(added Jan., 2013)\n\nTo deny the immortality of humans (in the spiritual sense) is to deny the immortality of the information content of the Cosmos, and the failure of the causal (karmic) term as it applies to humanity. Such a failure would vastly diminish the value of individual human life and hence, in turn, the significance of the universe itself: why go to all the trouble to create such a huge cosmos, which, lacking a complete karmic term, lacks full conservation, and hence can hardly have a purpose or meaning? Life is the opportunity for the universe to achieve not only self-awareness, but also significance and meaning, including creativity and achievement beyond the mere existence of the a-biotic realm. But this opportunity can be realized only in a fully conserved system. Human legal systems of \"criminal justice\" and social law are noteworthy in this regard since they represent a conscious attempt to repair, shore-up, or substitute for a perceived weakness/failure in the cosmic causal or \"karmic\" linkage in human affairs. Medical intervention in sickness is perhaps a parallel example of humans stepping into the realm of Natural Law once thought to be exclusively Divine. These may also be seen as further examples of humans evolving into the role of co-creator, a fractal iteration of God, created in his own image and likeness (at least functionally).\n(added Jan., 2017)\n\nPostscript VI (added May 2014) A great poem that says it all!\nSonnet by Joseph Blanco White (1775-1841)\n\n                                     To Night\n\n              Mysterious Night! when our first parent knew\n              Thee from report divine, and heard thy name,\n              Did he not tremble for this lovely frame,\n              This glorious canopy of light and blue?\n              Yet 'neath a curtain of translucent dew,\n              Bathed in the rays of the great setting flame,\n              Hesperus with the host of heaven came,\n              And lo! Creation widened in man's view.\n              Who could have thought such darkness lay concealed\n             Within thy beams, O Sun! or who could find,\n             Whilst fly and leaf and insect stood revealed,\n             That to such countless orbs thou mad'st us blind!\n             Why do we then shun death with anxious strife?\n             If Light can thus deceive, wherefore not Life?\n\n Dedicated to Coleridge (who thought this the finest sonnet in the English language).\n\nFirst publication date: 1828\n\nDo not worry about the afterlife: pay attention to this life and the next will take care of itself.\n(Added Oct. 2014)\n\nDoes the Universe/Nature Have a \"Purpose\"?\nJohn A. Gowan April, 2015\n\nThis is a deep philosophical question which has religious/spiritual overtones. Although I am not a religious person in the traditional sense (I think of myself instead  as \"spiritually\" inclined), I think the answer must be \"yes\".\n\nThe universe viewed from the perspective of thermodynamics, mechanics, physics, and chemistry may indeed seem without purpose or meaning, although even in this \"sterile\" case we must admit that the atoms contain the mysterious parameter of \"information\" which impels them to spontaneously fuse into the 92 natural elements of the periodic table, creating stars, galaxies, and black holes, and eventually return (via \"Hawking radiation\") to the simple and symmetric form of the light which originally created them (in the \"Big Bang\" or \"Creation Event\").\n\n In addition to the information parameter, we must acknowledge that these simple atoms are governed/regulated by certain rules, laws, and principles in their existence and interactions, such as the conservation of energy and symmetry, entropy, causality, etc. One might suggest in this simple (\"inorganic\") case that the \"purpose\" of the universe was evident in its spontaneous drive to return its material component to its original symmetric state, light (electromagnetic radiation) - illustrating conservation of the symmetry of energy as well as the quantity of energy (in terms of \"Noether's Theorem\"). We can, in fact, attribute the origin of the information content of matter to the conservation laws requiring and facilitating asymmetric matter's return to the perfect symmetry of light.\n\nBut of course we live in a vastly more complex universe which contains life - the biological parameter of information which spontaneously grows, reproduces, perceives, defends itself, feeds itself, knows and feels, and eventually, through evolutionary time and transformation, achieves self-consciousness, self awareness, and in its human form, abstract thought, society and civilization, language, art, science, religion, technology, etc.\n\nWhen we add the biological and evolutionary parameter to the physical base of the universe, it becomes almost impossible to imagine that the cosmos does not have a purpose. Clearly, the universe exists to produce life - life is the crowning glory and \"purpose\" of the universe. Life is the information pathway through which the universe experiences itself, explores and fulfills itself, enlarging its creative potential and productions, for example through the arts and sciences of humanity. The \"purpose\" of the universe is to know and grow itself, especially through creatures like humans, who have the capacity for abstract thought and technological creativity, which can materially aid the growth and self-exploration of the universe - as through our telescopes and microscopes, space programs, etc. When I look through the microscope, the universe looks with me. I am an instrument of the universe. When I create art, the universe gains a new mode of creativity and a new form of beauty; when I create science, the universe gains a new form of power and knowledge, enlarging its information parameter and its capacity for action.\n\nAnd returning to the mysterious \"information parameter\" (a notion beloved of Teilhard de  Chardin), apparently contained \"within\" the atoms and expressed through the periodic table and its manifold chemical and physical elaborations - what is its source and origin? The \"information parameter\", along with the several physical laws and principles which govern and regulate its productions, elaborations, and manifestations, are the scientific equivalent of the \"spiritual realm\" of human imagination, mythology, and abstract thought. Against every reasonable expectation, the information parameter brought forth upon our planet life and humanity. While it may take a village to raise a child, it certainly requires a universe to create one.  Does this information parameter have a purpose? Look in a mirror, look at a flower, and look through a telescope. You are the purpose of a universe that wants to know and explore and evolve itself - including its creative potential.\n\nWhat does all this say about religion and our notion of \"God\"? In my personal view, nobody has the slightest idea who or what \"God\" is; it appears we have created \"Him\" in our image and likeness. Religion is a mythological/allegorical/intuitive attempt to explain/comprehend the universe (and to gain some control over it); science must eventually replace it. In the most general \"scientific/rational\" terms as I try to frame this issue, \"God\" is the Universe (Multiverse?) entire, including the creative and regulatory principles that bring it into existence, maintain it, and motivate/control its activity (God is self-contained - there is nothing \"outside\" God). God's laws are the physical laws and principles of the universe, and they are primarily conservation laws (energy, symmetry, causality, entropy). \"God\" as a \"Trinity\" is: 1) energy in all its forms (matter, light, spacetime, etc.); 2) conservation law, physical constants, and regulatory principles; 3) information and creativity. The information parameter contains God's \"will\" or \"purpose\" for the universe - to give the universe life and self-understanding, even to evolve a co-creator (humans) capable of abstract thought, language, art, science, and technology, a self-interested \"agency\" and fractal iteration which may itself eventually create life, beauty, information, control evolution, and travel the Cosmos.\n\n\nhome page (page 1)\nhome page (page 2)\n      Pierre Teilhard de Chardin : The Phenomenon of Man. French: Editions du Seuil, Paris, 1955. English: Harper and Row, New York, 1959\n      Gowan, J. C. Sr. : \"Trance, Art, Creativity\" Privately Printed, 1975\n      Raynor C. Johnson: \"The Imprisoned Splendour\". Harper & Brothers 1953", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8653671741485596}
+{"content": "What is the Nucleolus?\n\nWhat is the Nucleolus?\nIn cell biology, one of the major structures of the eukaryotic cells is known as the nucleolus. Through this article we will try to understand what is the nucleolus, and also know its function in a cell.\nIn general biology, there are two major types of cells in living organisms: the prokaryotic cells and the eukaryotic cells. Now, here, we won't delve into the differences between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, rather we will try to know more about the nucleolus. To begin with the basics of a cell, let's consider the center of the nucleus of a eukaryotic cell, here, we notice the nucleus of the cell. A nucleus is a membrane structure that carries the hereditary information of a cell and moderates the reproduction and growth of a cell. It is the nucleus that also contains the nucleolus structure to help synthesize the ribosomes in the cell. Nucleolus is also referred to as nucleole, which means, a cellular structure found in the nucleus of a eukaryotic cell.\n\nWhat is the Nucleolus of a Cell\n\nBoth animal and plant cells contains a nucleolus. As aforementioned, the nucleolus is a cellular structure present in the nucleus of a eukaryotic cell. In cell biology, the nucleolus is defined as a sub-organelle of the nucleus of a cell (which itself is an organelle). It is a round and typically, a small granular structured body which is composed of RNA and protein substances in the cell's nucleus. In the eukaryotic cell, nucleolus happens to be the key location for the production of ribosomes and also involves the ribosomal RNA synthesis in the cell. The presence of nucleoli varies in a number, there can be one or many nucleoli present within a single cell nucleus of a plant or an animal life.\n\nSince we all know that a nucleus is described as a 'control structure' in a cell life, its basic job is to bear the vital genetic information of the cell. Nucleus is a large structure (relatively large, considering the size of a cell) which has several other structures present in them, of which one of them is the nucleolus. Nucleolus forms around the nucleolus organizer region (NOR) which is a chromosomal region in a cell. This entire chromosomal region is a specific part of the chromosomes that is consorted with the nucleolus soon after the nucleus divides in the cell.\n\nWhat is the Structure of the Nucleolus\n\nNucleolus is a central nuclear location where all the ribosomal RNAs are processed, synthesized and collected with ribosomal proteins. And thus in a cell, nucleolus is known as the factory for ribosome production. The structure of a nucleolus is made up of three main components; one: the dense fibrillar component (DFC), two: the fibrillar centers (FC) and three: granular components (GC). Right at the beginning when this process had initiated, the complex organization of the nucleolus was evolved when the phase of anamniotes were transitioned into amniotes. Meanwhile during this phase of transition, the DNA intergenic region faced a significant rise and hence, the original fibrillar component was separated which constituted into fibrillar centers (FC) and dense fibrillar components (DFC).\n\nWhat is the Function of the Nucleolus\n\nThe main purpose of nucleolus in a cell is to regulate the transactions of proteins and also vitally regulate each and every cellular functions in the cell. It is a non-membrane bound cellular structure which is present within the nucleus of the cell and contains ribosomes having ribonucleic acid (RNA) in them. So, the second main nucleolus function is to assemble and produce ribosome components within the cell. Nucleolus mainly acts as a suspension medium for cell-organelles in the nucleus of the cell. Being one of the main sources of containing chromosomes with DNA present in it, nucleolus is highly rich in RNA and is used for maintaining a sound shape and structure of the nucleus. Other nucleolus functions like transportation of molecules, ions and vital substances for an effectual functioning of cell metabolism is included in the nucleolus functions as well.\n\nThe hub for the chromatin network and the RNA in one unit cell life, it is nucleolus a cellular structure which is constituted of DNA formed to synthesize proteins in the cell to form chromosomes.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9989795088768005}
+{"content": "The Symantic Level\n\nI was trying to explain the symantic level to a classmate today over email, and as I was explaining it to her, it became much clearer to me. This is what I wrote:\n\nThe document-like vs dataset-like objects comes from the comparison between FRBR and the new FRBR redone for datasets they [the instructors] introduced last Saturday. FRBR is designed to handle “document-like” objects, such as books, CDs, etc. But the new stack levels (semantic, syntax, serialization, encoding, etc) are meant to handle “dataset-like” objects. The statement about data making assertions is how they differentiate datasets from document-like objects. Data is different from document-like objects because it asserts a fact about something. Remember them saying this –  Data involve assertions intended to be used as evidence? So if you have a data set full of temperature measurements at certain times and pressures, then each data entry would assert “The temperature at time X and pressure Y is Z.” That’s the assertion the data are making. It’s not expressed literally in the data, but you can infer it. This assertion is the symantic level of the document — it’s what fact it’s asserting\n\nIt’s nice to see these concepts becoming clearer to me. I’m beginning to see the clouds lift, much like they did when I was trying to come to terms with conceptual frameworks in my research methods class. This semester has been a pattern of clouds forming, my feeling totally lost, and then the clouds starting to lift as things become clearer to me. At least I recognize this pattern so the next time it happens I will know it’s part of the process.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8138392567634583}
+{"content": "François Escalmel\n\nFrançois is one of those incredibly talented artists. Professional illustrator for over twenty years, he is versatile and uses his expertise to produce various styles of illustrations.\n\nHe works mostly with Photoshop and the mouse is his ally to create beautiful illustrations. His accomplishments are manifold and varied: beautiful advertising projects, editorial, packaging, album covers, reference books, educational materials, medical illustrations and more.\n\nLire la suite\n\nBesides his career as an illustrator, François Escalmel is a prolific painter and recognized artist. His works, imbued with a surrealist sensibility, have been exhibited in Europe, the USA and Canada.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9984949231147766}
+{"content": "Thecreation of this series of illustrations was sparked by Native American masksand designs. I find their depictions of animals really interesting and how insome instances certain tribes believe in absorbing the “power” and spirit ofthe animal. Therefore, I set out to explore this idea of the mask and what itimplies as both a physical and spiritual object. People wear masks. Are thepeople we meet really showing who they are? Are we ourselves wearing a mask? Todevelop this concept I decided to depict the model’s actual face as a mask. Sothe mask becomes an absent yet perceivable object. An object that is beautifuland deceitful.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9999215006828308}
+{"content": "FCC is now Making Room on the Airwaves for Autonomous Vehicles\n\n\n\n\nIn addition to making it easier for tomorrow’s autonomous vehicles to communicate, the extra bandwidth also allows for better calibration of the radar systems currently in use. Theoretically, a wider wave range should also help autonomous vehicles to better distinguish between objects and be more accurate in estimating their placement on the road.\n\nThe decision also places U.S. vehicles on the same spectrum as those in Europe, allowing automakers to bring technologies to the each market more swiftly and engage in more cooperative development projects.\n\nAccording to Reuters, the National Highway Traffic Safety Association is predicting connected cars could prevent up to 80 percent of non-impaired crashes.\n\nThe U.S. Department of Transportation is so stoked on the idea that it has proposed requiring all cars be connected by 2023. Even though persistent valid concerns about the risks associated with connected cars exist, until a terrorists tries to implement a cyber attack on the scale of The Fate of the Furious’ ludicrous car-hacking scene, it should be a net gain for consumer safety. Either way, vehicle-to-vehicle communications will someday become commonplace — and already is on a few models.\n\nThankfully, auto manufacturers are continuing to roll out new, proven technologies that enable services like collision avoidance, blind spot monitoring, and lane change assistance,” said FCC Chairman Ajit Pai in a statement. “Vehicular radar systems can improve our driving experience and help our families stay safe.”\n\n“By allocating a contiguous 76–81 GHz band to these services, we expand the existing 76–77 GHz allocation for vehicular radars by four gigahertz. We are also moving other vehicular radar operations from other bands to be consolidated into these frequencies. Access to this contiguous block of spectrum will allow for new innovations and the expansion of potentially life-saving vehicular radar technologies.”", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9266831874847412}
+{"content": "How Did Martha Nussbaum Lose Weight?\n\nHow Did Martha Nussbaum Lose So Much Weight?\n\nHollywood celebrities are known for dropping weight like a bag of bricks. But how are these stars like Martha Nussbaum actually doing it? In this article we reveal everything!\n\n\nThere are numerous methods to lose a bunch of weight quickly.\nNevertheless, most of them will make you starving and also dissatisfied.\nIf you don’t have iron willpower, then cravings will certainly create you to surrender on these plans rapidly.\n\nThe 3-step plan laid out below will:\n\nMinimize your appetite dramatically.\nMake you slim down fast, without being hungry.\nBoost your metabolic wellness at the same time.\nAll of this is assisted by clinical studies.\n\nStep 1– Cut down on Sugars and also Starches\n\nThe most important part is to reduce on sugars and starches (carbs).\nThese are the types of foods that stimulate secretion of insulin one of the most. If you didn’t know already, insulin is the major fat storage space hormone in the body.\nWhen insulin goes down, fat has a less complicated time getting out of the fat stores and also the physical body starts melting fats rather than carbohydrates.\n\nOne more benefit of lowering insulin is that your kidneys lost excess sodium and also water from your body, which lowers bloat and also unnecessary water weight (1, 2).\n\nIt is not uncommon to lose approximately 10 extra pounds (sometimes much more) in the initial week of eating in this manner, both body fat as well as water weight.\n\nThis is a graph from a research comparing low-carb as well as low-fat diets in overweight/obese women (3).\n\nAction 2– Eat Healthy protein, Fat and Veggies\n\nEach one of your meals need to consist of a protein resource, a fat resource and low-carb veggies. Building your dishes this way will automatically bring your carb intake right into the recommended variety of 20-50 grams per day.\n\nStep 3– Raise Weights 3 Times Weekly\n\n\nYou don’t need to exercise to slim down on this strategy, however it is suggested.\n\n\nIf you’re brand-new to the gym, ask a trainer for some guidance.\n\nBy raising weights, you will burn a few calories and also avoid your metabolic process from reducing, which is an usual adverse effects of dropping weight (14, 15).\n\nResearch studies on low-carb diet regimens present to that you could even get a little bit of muscular tissue while shedding significant amounts of body fat (16).\n\nIf raising weights is not an option for you, then doing some less complicated cardio workouts like running, jogging, swimming or strolling will certainly be enough.\n\nSince you mature, your whole body changes exactly how this increases and seems to lose bodyweight. Both women and men expertise a new declining energy, or even the number of energy the body must perform commonly. Added to that, women have to endure menopause. “If ladies gain pounds following menopause, it’s more prone to maintain their own bellies, inches says Michael Jensen} involving medication from the Mayo Clinic’s endocrinology scale. Within menopause, generation on the human hormones estrogen as well as progesterone slows down. In the mean time, testosterone amounts furthermore learn to drop, however in a sluggish pace. That shift inside bodily hormones brings about women of all ages to support on top of bodyweight of their bellies. What’s promising: you possibly can battle this procedure.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.581339418888092}
+{"content": "Friday, December 23, 2016\n\nHow Do LED Christmas Lights Work?\n\nPre-Merry Christmas!  Christmas is practically upon us.  If you have been outside, then you have undoubtedly noticed that certain houses and buildings have 'Christmas lights' draped on their structures.  A transition is taking place in the 'lighting industry' from a traditional incandescent bulb toward a 'light-emitting diode'.  Light-emitting diode sounds futuristic.  And in some forms appears to be futuristic due to the narrow bandwidth of light -- precise wavelength.  Some people complain that the traditional 'glow' is gone with the transition from 'incandescent lighting.'  I would say to that statement: hold on -- technology is improving at light speed.\n\nTraditional Christmas Lights\n\nAs I mentioned above, the traditional \"Christmas lights\" were a glass bulb and bulky among other difficulties associated with them.  One major hassle associated with setting up Christmas lights was the inspection of each light bulb on a string of lights in order to determine the culprit (faulty light bulb) before lighting the string.  The laborious process was time consuming and resulted in great frustration.  Although, after hanging Christmas lights up, the seasonal glow that is felt upon viewing them is inexplainable and worth all of the trouble.\n\nHow is the 'Glow' generated in old Christmas lights?\n\nTraditional Christmas tree lights are incandescent light bulbs.  Incandescent light bulbs have dominated the market over the last century.  Here is a picture of an 'incandescent Christmas light bulb' shown below:\n\nAs you can see, there is a wired that is asymmetrical (wounded irregularly) in winding in the center of the glass bulb.  The operation of the bulb is described as follows:\n\n\nAs current travels through the wire, heat due to resistance is generated.  Eventually, the heat is given off as light.  There is still heat given off too.  The warm glow produced by the incandescent light bulb remains to be a large challenge for Light-Emitting Diode makers.  Although, the downside of using incandescent light bulbs is the heat loss associated with the operation.  This could be problematic with lights on a Christmas tree.  The heat from the incandescent light bulbs dries the Christmas tree out.  In the extreme case, the heating could cause a fire.\n\nThe above explanation was part of the motivation to produce a more efficient light bulb that does not over heat with continued operation over a long period of time.   Despite the move toward greater use of Light-Emitting Diode lights, the traditional incandescent light is still in wide use today.\n\nLight-Emitting Diodes?\n\nTechnology has improved greatly with the introduction of the semiconductor.  Other spin-off technologies are numerous (and I do not need to go into them).  Anyways, typically, when the technology is discussed, the usual turn-off of attention is achieved on the part of the listener.\n\nFor example, new Christmas lights are made of \"light-emitting diodes\".  The \"wikipedia\" contains the following definition of LED:\n\nRecent developments in LEDs permit them to be used in environmental and task lighting. LEDs have many advantages over incandescent light sources including lower energy consumption, longer lifetime, improved physical robustness, smaller size, and faster switching. Light-emitting diodes are now used in applications as diverse as aviation lighting, automotive headlamps, advertising, general lighting, traffic signals, camera flashes, and lighted wallpaper. As of 2016, LEDs powerful enough for room lighting remain somewhat more expensive, and require more precise current and heat management, than compact fluorescent lamp sources of comparable output. They are, however, significantly more energy efficient and, arguably, have fewer environmental concerns linked to their disposal[citation needed].\n\nAs mentioned in the excerpt above, the LED has taken over the world to replace conventional light sources.   One major reason is the large amount of energy saved by operating a LED compared to a traditional light bulb.  Additionally, the LED Christmas light has a more durable coating and therefore is more stable and longer-lasting.\n\nAfter reading the excerpt above (first paragraph), you might still have an issue with understanding the operation of the LED.  In a recent article 'Compound Interests' titled \"The Chemistry Of Lights\" a simple explanation is put forth regarding the operation and design of the LED light.  I am a big believer in \"not re-inventing the wheel.\"  Therefore, I love to share good explanations when I come across one.\n\nHere is an excerpt regarding the operation and structure of the \"light-emitting diode\":\n\nLEDs consist of two layers of semiconducting material. The layers are “doped” with impurities, which is to say that atoms of elements other than those originally in the semiconducting material are mixed in. This doping can create different types of layers: p-type layers and n-type layers. The n-type layer has a surplus of electrons, whereas the p-type layer has an insufficient number of electrons, and as such has what are referred to as electron ‘holes’: positions in atoms where an electron could be, but isn’t.\n\nWhen a current is applied to the LED, the electrons in the n-type layer and the electron ‘holes’ in the p-type layer are driven to an active layer between the two. When the electrons and electron ‘holes’ combine, energy is released, and this is seen as visible light. While this explains how light is produced, we have to look a little more closely at what’s going on to explain how different colours can be obtained.\n\n\nSimply beautiful!\n\n What does such a structure look like?\n\nThat is a trick question since the title of the blog post is Christmas lights!  Below is a diagram taken from the 'wikipedia' page for 'LED':\n\nThe image above appears to resemble the traditional Christmas lights that are seen draped on houses and buildings around town.  From the outside, this may be true.  Although, on further inspection of the image above, there is no 'filament' as we saw above in the picture of the incandescent light bulb.\n\nWhy not?\n\nAccording to the two descriptions of the Light-Emitting Diodes above, the structure is slightly different compared to an incandescent light bulb.  Remember terms 'p-n junction' etc?  A structure of an LED was taken from 'wikipedia' for clarity and is shown below:\n\nSource: S-kei\n\nAccording to the picture above, if the current (in the form of electrons) travels through the 'n-type' material toward the interface of the two types of material 'p-n junction' (in the center at the boundary of blue and yellow), the corresponding 'hole' moves toward the 'p-n junction' from the blue side.  At the boundary layer, the two are combined.  The combination of the electron and the positive 'hole' at the junction corresponds to light emitted.\n\nFurthermore, if the 'p-n junction' is changed (made larger or smaller) the frequency of light (color) is changed too.  Therefore, the light given off at the 'p-n junction' is precise.  As I mentioned above, one downfall of the LED compared to the incandescents light bulb is the lack of 'glow'.  The factor which gives the light a glow is the 'broad spectrum' of wavelengths (mixture of colors).  In an LED, the interface -- i.e., 'p-n junction' is precisely tuned to give a sharp and very well defined frequency.\n\nThe above description was off of the site 'Compound Interests' whose design to display information is in the form of a 'poster' like the one shown below:\n\nI chose to expand on the description given in this poster.  The producer of the above infographic did such a great job, that I felt the need to share this with the public at large.  This infographic went out to the science community last week.  Here are some closing thoughts...\n\n\nThe movement toward LED technology is on the rise.  There are benefits toward using either type of Christmas light.  LED lights give off a very well defined wavelength (or frequency) of light which results in a crisp sharp light.  Whereas the traditional incandescent lights give off the warm 'glow' made up of a few different color components.  Secondly, there is less heat given off with an LED light compared with the incandescent light bulb.  Which results in greater efficiency.  Finally....\n\nAs you travel the world during the holidays, hopefully, your viewing of the many different Christmas lights will be enhanced by this blog post.  Try to identify which Christmas lights use LED technology and which use incandescent light technology.  I hope that each and everyone of you have a wonderful and safe Christmas.  Cheers!\n\nUntil Next time, Have a great day!\n\n\n  1. Dear Admin,\n    I have in addition this connected web site.\n    Dogs can smell pretty bad some times. Especially, during the spring when it rains a lot, the wet dog odor becomes very noticeable.\n    Doggy Leuchte\n    Best Regards\n    Marlene Lorie\n\n\n\n    christmas projector light 2017\n\n    1. Hello,\n\n      Thank you for the wonderful comment. Additionally, thank you for sharing my content. Have a great day.\n\n\n\n  4. This comment has been removed by the author.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7139564752578735}
+{"content": "Scottish Tattoos Angola IN\n\nThis page provides relevant content and local businesses that can help with your search for information on Scottish Tattoos. You will find informative articles about Scottish Tattoos, including \"Scottish tattoos\". Below you will also find local businesses that may provide the products or services you are looking for. Please scroll down to find the local resources in Angola, IN that can help answer your questions about Scottish Tattoos.\n\n(219) 668-3922\n909 W. Maumee\nAngola, IN\nLiquid Images\n(517) 283-1849\n107 S Main St\nReading, MI\n(317) 545-2669\n8015 Pendleton Pike\nIndianapolis, IN\nAncient Ink Tattoo Studio\n(219) 662-8228\n8171 E 109th Ave\nCrown Point, IN\n(219) 668-3922\n909 W. Maumee\nAngola, IN\nScooters Tattoo & Piercing\n(517) 279-1666\n375 Rohloff Dr\nColdwater, MI\n(219) 668-3922\n909 W. Maumee\nAngola, IN\nBrian Swoveland\n(260) 351-4376\n3640 S 1150 E\nLagrange, IN\nHanks Tattoo\n(574) 268-5292\n3865 Lake City Hwy\nWarsaw, IN\nTattoo Express Inc\n(317) 774-1335\n1206 Millers Ct\nNoblesville, IN\n\nScottish tattoos\n\nCeltic cross tattoos Scottish Tattoo Designs - Scotland has a long history of tattooing and body adornment. Pride and passion may explain it. Scots came by it the hard way, suffering through endless sagas of persecution and struggle, of nationalism and of victory in the face of adversity. Little wonder that Scots have earned the reputation of being rugged fighters, poets, lovers, and loyal clansmen. Few countries possess such a potent arsenal of symbols that speak so strongly of their proud character.\n\nThe flag of Scotland, for instance, called the Saltire - also known as the Saint Andrew's Cross - is the oldest continuously used sovereign flag in the world. Another symbol, the thistle , with its prickly stem crowned with a majestic purple flower, is featured in many clan crests. It's also a common cleek mark adopted by many Scottish golf club makers. As a symbol of toughness and national pride, the thistle serves many Scottish teams as their logo.\n\nWhisky, kilts, and sporrans - unmistakably Scottish. The Celtic knot , bagpipes, tartans, Sean Connery, Robbie Burns, the 'Old Course' at St. Andrew's, and the enigmatic Standing Stones - they conjure up one country only - bonnie Scotland. And we haven't even mentioned the early heroes - William Wallace, Rob Roy, Robert the Bruce - or the Picts.\n\nThe Picts are only one branch of the Scottish family tree, but any discussion of Scottish symbols and tattoos must necessarily begin with them. Their bodies, head to toe, were covered with painted images. Okay, hard evidence is scant, but that which exists - much of from the accounts of Roman invaders - has 'depicted' the Picts as covered in 'pictures of animals and other figures'. That's right, the word 'picture' comes to us from the Latin root 'pict'.\n\nExamples of the kinds of tattoo images the Picts may have applied as body art can be seen throughout Scotland in stone carvings known as 'standing stones'. Animals (including the mythic the Loch Ness monster), plus abstract designs and Christian crosses - did these symbols indicate rank or caste? Or were they symbolic of religious devotion, an appeal for fertility, or simply for decoration? We'll never know.\n\nThe Romans encountered these painted people in the northern reaches of their conquered British territory, and found them exceedingly fierce. 'Foul hordes�like dark throngs of worms who wriggle out of narrow fissures in the rock when the sun is high and the weather grows warm,\" that's how a fifth century monk described them. The Roman emperor Hadrian followed the expedient path of building a stone wall across the country to keep the Picts from encroaching southwards. In effect, he ceded northern Britain to these ferocious tattooed tribes.\n\nA few centuries later, the Picts stood up to imperialistic Angles who attempted to press northward. The Picts stopped their campaign in Northumbria, and by this historic victory the border of Scotland was more or less permanently es...\n\nClick here to read the rest of this article from Vanishing Tattoo", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7380906939506531}
+{"content": "Turkish Embassy in New Delhi\n\nAmbassador's Biography\n\nAmbassador Şakir Özkan Torunlar\n\nŞakir Özkan Torunlar presented his credentials as the Republic of Turkey’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of India on 29 March 2017.\n\nThe Ambassador is also accredited to the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, the Republic of Maldives, and the Kingdom of Bhutan.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8525761365890503}
+{"content": "The Many Faces of Virtual Reality\n\nBy  | \n\nMany Faces of Virtual Reality\n\nIn this segment, the many faces of virtual reality concern method of treatment, invention protection, vision and invention, virtual reality technology, U.S.C.§1498 statute regarding unlawful use and Fifth Amendment ‘takings,’ character, culture and virtual reality, and U.S. entrepreneurship and virtual reality.\n\nNew virtual reality technology (VR) is announced weekly. Writers describe a broad spectrum of devices. Head displays for video and cinema are recent entries. The test of whether new technology meets established criteria for virtual reality will be considered. Immersion and head-displays reduce time in treatment and healthcare costs as determined by funded research. Applications suitable for mental health include phobias, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and other anxiety disorders. Virtual environments embed the whole person within computer generated surroundings. Engaging attention leads to interactions that accelerate focused learning in novel worlds without boundaries. This is possible when the user develops heightened awareness. A diagnosis defines a problem. User interaction with the virtual environment is encouraged for the purpose of learning corrective experiences. Virtual Reality Immersion Therapy (VRIT) is a system of psychotherapy and not simply a tool as some researchers unfamiliar with clinical practices suggest.\nThe California Board of Psychology emphasizes: “The practice of psychology is defined as rendering or offering any psychological services involving psychological principles, methods, and procedures of understanding, predicting, and influencing behavior, such as the principles pertaining to learning, perception, motivation, emotions, and interpersonal relationships; and the methods and procedures of interviewing, counseling, psychotherapy, behavior modification, and hypnosis; and of constructing, administering, and interpreting tests of mental abilities, aptitudes, interests, attitudes, personality characteristics, emotions and motivations.\n\ncontinued below\n\n\n\nMethod of Treatment\n\nVirtual Reality Immersion Therapy is a method of treatment based upon psychological principles with distinct procedures for influencing thinking, emotions, and behavior. Patients undergo a thorough assessment leading to diagnosis. Beginning with first encounter on-going evaluation continues throughout treatment. Referrals for co-occurring medical conditions and emergencies are made as appropriate. Alternative and preventive therapeutic interventions are discussed given patient presenting complaints.\n\nVRIT brings patient, provider and environment together to enhance interpersonal communication. Interactions reveal personal beliefs and self-talk. For example, an acrophobic exposed to heights will draw upon memory which may contain self-limiting beliefs such as ‘I can’t do it. It’s too dangerous to cross the bridge. I’m afraid of dying.’ These contribute to a mental process reinforcing limitations rather than encouraging expansion. The process is continuous from onset of a particular belief to the present. Beliefs are closely held within. A person may or may not be aware of their beliefs. The rehearsal of failure beliefs in memory becomes part of on-going character development. VRIT seeks to influence specific patient complaints and in doing so alter thinking, emotion, and behavior that impair effective functioning. There are no healthcare products or innovations as well researched that show the remarkable lasting efficacy as Virtual Reality Immersion Therapy. The beauty of discovery is witnessing something that becomes an invention. From nothing the discovery comes into existence. Legal people call it ‘reduction to practice.’ Just as the life of a newborn is dependent upon the parent to protect it so it is with the birth of an invention. The inventor will pursue all means to protect it. What challenges do inventors face attempting to protect by enforcement their inventions?\n\n– continued below –\n\n\n\n\nIndra, Toyra,\n\nInvention Protection\n\nBe strong, I say. The current climate for patent enforcement is dismal. Inventor and developer entrepreneurs are uncelebrated for creating ways to better society. Capable, competent and gifted people are denounced as trolls. Who are trolls? Entrepreneurs have been labeled troll when seeking to enforce their patents to advance business when patent claims are infringed. They may be viewed as a Non Practicing Entity (NPE) when attempts to launch a business are stalled because of delayed investment funding. Universities occupy another category of troll. Institutions of Higher Education have publicly declared intent to enforce patents. But the ‘university’ did not invent anything. The inventor is a person. The university is not a start-up business. It is not leveraging intellectual property that it developed because people and not universities, invent. No, the university wants to benefit from the efforts and talents of creative employees who were required to sign agreements that assign their invention to the university as condition of employment.\n\nOthers claim patented inventions stall innovation. Hunted like wild animals the creative are pushed aside by entities which appropriate by infringement intellectual property without paying just compensation. The U.S. is experiencing a thirty year decline in entrepreneurship said Brookings economist and attorney, Robert Litan. Agreements as a condition of employment whereby employees are required to assign their inventions reduce motivation. The employer may initiate litigation based upon infringement of patent claims. To justify costly litigation the invention must be highly valued. Only a few percent of inventions will satisfy this standard. Reduction in ability to enforce patents discourages innovation and business. Patent infringement, federal unlawful use statutes, and Fifth Amendment ‘taking’ are supposed to re-mediate theft of intellectual property. But documented abuse of power continues while media remains unresponsive to appeals for publication of patent theft facts. Despite inventor contributions to the Nation patent awardees are denied rights and benefits of their creations.\n\nAmerica is not the first theater of invention battles. The historical struggle between British monarchy and inventor rights resulted in the Statute of Monopolies which influenced America’s patent law.\n\nVision and Invention\n\nDespite systemic obstacles inventors, innovators, and developers energized by a vision seek to refine virtual reality head displays. Billions have been invested to engage user experience.\nA news article out of Los Angeles stated virtual reality head displays will engage users with gaming first and from the anticipated revenue will be followed by explorations in travel, real estate, healthcare, government, sports, television, movies and pornography. In support of this announcement a securities financial analyst who follows gaming companies was quoted as saying “Gaming is proof of concept.” But what does that assertion mean? Is not a head-display for gaming different than immersion in interactive virtual environments?\n\nSuccess of virtual reality applications is expected to be measured by number of daily users, revenue per user, and time spent on a particular application says a consumer products analyst. One highly regarded industry leader joined the frenzy when it announced a $65-million investment into a virtual-reality film company.\n\nThe flurry of current attention given to virtual reality overshadows perhaps its most significant contribution to date. That contribution is the Virtual Reality Immersion Therapy method of treatment for anxiety and panic of phobia. Patients arrived in streams to participate in a study. A small news request for fear-of-heights volunteers placed in a local newspaper drew calls and letters from around the world. They came on weekends crowding the lobby and hallways of our psychiatry department for random assignment to groups. Even a man having lost one eye drove from Sacramento with hope of enrolling in a VRIT. He sought relief from his fears.\n\nVirtual Reality Technology\n\nThe first portable virtual reality technology came from the United Kingdom. The England-Welch parent Company, DIVISION Inc., established satellite offices in the U.S. The portable ProVision 100 included immersive head-display fully interactive with tracking. It was the first time that Virtual Reality was used to conduct mental health research. Beginning in early 1990s, for more than 25 years Virtual Reality has been considered a fully interactive virtual environment experience. Immersion was initially achieved by use of a head display (goggles), 3D virtual environment with tracking, mouse or grip to achieve locomotion and ability to change the virtual environment by user.\n\nIn: Virtual Worlds, BBC author Benjamin Woolley (1992) asked: “What is virtual reality? It is the technology used to provide a more intimate ‘interface’ between humans and computer imagery. It is about simulating the full ensemble of sense data that make up ‘real’ experience. Ideally, the user wears a devise that substitutes the sense data coming from the natural world with that produced by a computer.” Head display, immersion, interaction, and tracking allow him or her to see and feel changes that occur while the User moving.\n\nThe term ‘virtual reality’ was introduced by Jaron Lanier, founder of VPL research. Ken Pimental & Kevin Teixeira state (1992) “Virtual reality is the place where humans and computers make contact…computers extend the capabilities of our minds. In general virtual reality refers to an immersive, interactive experience generated by a computer. VR is about creating something new. The primary defining characteristic of Virtual Reality is inclusion; being surrounded by an environment. Virtual Reality places the participant inside information….Virtual Reality immersion means the use of a head-mounted display and headphones for sound. The power of immersion is its ability to focus someone’s perceptual powers on a specific problem or experience.”\n\nThose immersed in the virtual environment designed to treat acrophobia explored a room designed like a café. They looked about just as one would in the real world. Any change in head or body location resulted in change of view within the virtual environment. Walking between a counter and booths, the immersed person visually explored walls, seating, lighting, colors, bar taps, and door at the end of the room leading outdoors. They would soon encounter one of their worst fears, standing on a patio looking over a plank stretching toward a bridge. A complete discussion of treatment can be found in ‘virtual therapy.’\n\nSince the early 1990’s Virtual Reality was determined to be beneficial in the treatment of mental health. The Department of Defense quickly adopted Virtual Reality Immersion Therapy (VRIT) to treat post-traumatic stress disorder. VRIT efficacy for mental health was proven in government funded university studies. Except for a few isolated locations VR failed to install in healthcare. Why?\n\n– continued below – \n\n\n\n\nVirtual Iraq helping soldiers overcome PTSD\n\nUnlawful Use and Fifth Amendment ‘Takings’\n\nDissemination of Virtual Reality Immersion Therapy (VRIT) stalled when government funding went to entities unfamiliar with healthcare. CEOs muddled by business acumen, clinical psychology, and treatment practices accepted commercialization money but failed to commercialize VRIT. Here’s how it happened: ‘Real life story of how FTF would cheat inventors’ unfolds in this link provided by a pro bono attorney:\nIn a federal court ruling the government defined VRIT as a medical treatment. The government then claimed it had a medical exemption to use VRIT citing statutes that don’t apply. The litigating attorney stated “The decision violates the Fifth Amendment’s taking clause. The decision authorizes the Government to take a compulsory Royalty Free license, which is directly contrary to the constitutional prohibition against the Government taking people’s property without just compensation. It also violates binding precedent.” Another Chief of IP Litigation stated “The Judge’s analysis seems very thin and perhaps outcome driven.” An Appeal would take another ten years. Implications of the ruling meant the inventor was denied ‘just compensation’ for the patented invention. VRIT has been successfully used in psychiatry for treatment of patients in the course of research. Virtual environment applications now follow the money. This trail unfolds values of the culture that creates interactive experiences focusing on guns, violence and pornography. Violence and sex sells. Whether these products sell because of strategic marketing or intrinsic user interest, the human mind focused on violence reflect values held by the person and by the culture in which they live. The mind is as much a part of the environment as a river of water. Both can be contaminated by pollutants. To what extent is the mental life of human character polluted?\nHad funding been prioritized for mental health and medical applications, would VR enthusiasts be meeting in Hollywood for application demonstrations aimed at entertainment and film? There is on-going criticism of healthcare concerning priorities and preferences. Why has a proven treatment not been adopted? What do technology and healthcare leaders need to know in order to provide the public with socially beneficial technology known as Virtual Reality Immersion Therapy? Famous philosopher Erasmus said ‘Habit replaces Habit.’\nVR technology and applications require funding to advance. There is no shortage of money flowing to VR entertainment. When VR advances into realms polluting hearts and minds the developers and distributers will deny accountability. War and violence applications are influencing users by observational learning. Veterans are still haunted by such memories. Memory is the container of experience.\nHave technology, healthcare, and funding decision makers failed to grasp the significance of immersive Virtual Reality as a non-invasive method of education, prevention and treatment? Patient suicides are occurring on healthcare campuses. Psychiatry prescribes pharmaceuticals with known significant placebo effects. Psychiatric colleagues estimate psychoactive medication placebo effects range up to 80 percent. One elderly woman recently jumped to her death from a healthcare parking garage in a pointed statement to her provider in nearby offices. Virtual Reality Immersion Therapy is a non-invasive treatment influencing thinking, emotion, and behavior. Compare VRIT to medication. Ask veterans dosed with antipsychotic medication in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder what they would prefer? Research results showed the antipsychotic medication had no effect, none whatsoever on PTSD. Millions misspent. What would a patient choose when presented with the opportunity to develop personal efficacy developed in a non-invasive form of treatment known as Virtual Reality Immersion Therapy or medication? In the first case of VRIT patients would rightly attribute mental health gains to their own efforts practiced in virtual environments. These people will depart with confidence to influence themselves. In the second case patients attribute getting better to medication.\nCharacter, Culture, and Virtual Reality\n\nWhat kind of human character is U.S. culture producing? Killings and mass shooting seem to dominate daily news. The President says ‘politics have to change. The main thing I’m gonna do is talk about it.’ Mental disturbance is easily attributed to shooters. ‘Why should America be the only country failing to protect families?’ complained an Oregon representative. But stale calls for new legislation do not address real obstacles to effective prevention of violence, gun violence, and mass slaughters in America. Legislation may help. But it doesn’t address deeper issues in American culture. “A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices” said psychologist William James. News media announced ‘Public colleges are not liable for violence on campus.’ Is this a step in the right direction? How can the ruling be justified? Consider violence is connected with continuous mental and emotional character development from birth to death. People kill. Guns facilitate.\nAre we so exposed and habituated to violence that no amount of human slaughter will draw our attention? And why are we encouraging violence with the use of powerful VR technology when it could be used for healing? Who do you know wrestling with chemical dependency or has died because of it? Where are VR applications for character development? Where are virtual environments for the treatment of depression? Assessment in VR reveals attributes of patient character and may have the possibility to influence it. Is entertainment the future? Is it the best that can be imagined? Where’s the vision and will to action? Pope Francis during U.S. visit said ‘Pray for me.’ But you better pray for yourselves because no one is going to offer a hand as the culture failing in character mental development descends further into an abyss of chaos and fragmentation. You say someone else will help? Who? Please step forward.\nLook at the desperation of humans migrating across continents? People, families, men, women and children suffering under dictatorships, military occupation, violence, and trauma seek asylum. But once they arrive then what? Arrival in a new country does not mean healing from trauma will occur. Who is stepping in to help? What is the help? VRIT projected on screens for hundreds to learn and experience skills for personal efficacy is one small example of vision. Have our hearts become so withered that reaching out to help is too much of a burden? Here we are witnessing those willfully blind to a global catastrophic environment. That same environment in which you live is polluting body, mind, and spirit.\n\nU.S. Entrepreneurship and Virtual Reality\n\nCurrent industry leadership is encouraged to embrace a vision that advances accelerated learning in immersive virtual reality. Major corporations underexposed to history of philosophical and ‘letters patent’ precedents that once promoted thinking to benefit the people now look to take from people. All is not lost. Individuals are inventors not corporations. Small entities need to assert themselves to change a culture in decline to a culture empathic of human struggle. Small entities will educate us by production of technologies and applications that encourage learning. Education is the key to advancing personal and social well-being. Virtual Reality Immersion Therapy may have been sidestepped and wrongly treated by federal courts but others will emerge. The Nation must demand that federal courts truly represent citizens as the ‘People Court’ and as ‘Keepers of the Nations Conscience.’ The courts must stop the government’s prerogative to take patented inventions in summary judgments or give those inventions to favored industries by manipulation of claims construction.\nLegal scholar Adam Mossoff tells us “In the eighteenth century, John Locke’s labor theory of property would serve to justify the belief that patents reflect a right to property that should be protected by the courts.” Federal court is acting like a monopoly producer when ‘taking’ patents and awarding them to the Government. Mossoff continues: “Lord Coke condemnation (1719) of ‘odious monopolies’ is still a dominant thought at this time. As Coke declared: Generally all monopolies are against the magna carta, because they are against the liberty and freedom of the subject and the law of the land.” The current climate for protecting patent is predates 1719.\nHere’s what President Lincoln promised. Not appropriation of inventor’s rights but\n\n\nTwo billion for a head display. Millions invested for VR entertainment. How much for VRIT in healthcare?\nWhat could be accomplished with an investment of 20 million dollars? In one year Virtual Reality Immersion Therapy would flourish. People seeking help prefer health focused treatments rather than pathology oriented entities. Offices would eventually be established across the country. Large healthcare seems to be committed to placebo pharmaceuticals in psychiatry departments emphasizing treatment of disease compared to Virtual Reality Immersion Therapy which emphasizes personal mental health through learning. True, other forms of therapy are available but often time limited and most certainly delayed. Fly through virtual environments show there are no walls or boundaries just as there are no boundaries to human awareness.\nIn ending I would like to quote journalist and reporter Edward R. Murrow. Inserts are indicated by brackets. Replace the word television with virtual reality:\n\n“It is my desire, if not my duty, to try to talk to you [corporate leaders] with some candor about what is happening to [technology]. And if what I say is responsible, I, alone, am responsible for the saying of it.\nOur mass media reflect this.\n\nBut unless we…recognize that television [and next virtual reality] in the main is being used to distract, delude, amuse, and insulate us, then [virtual reality], and those who finance it, those who look at it, and those who work at it, may see a totally different picture too late.\n\nI began by saying that our history will be what we make it. If we go on as we are, then history will take its revenge and retribution will not limp in catching up with us. Just once in a while let us exalt the importance of ideas and information. Let us dream to the extent of saying that [virtual reality can and will be used to help people]. Would the corporate image of their respective sponsors be damaged?\nWould the shareholders rise up in their wrath and complain?\n\n\nThis instrument [virtual reality immersion therapy] can teach. It can illuminate and, yes, it can even inspire. But it can do so only to the extent that humans are determined to use it towards those ends. \nOtherwise, it is merely wires and lights — in a box.”\n\nGood night and good luck. Dr.Ralph.J.Lamson\n\n\nMore from our YouTube channel\n\n\n\nDr. Ralph J. Lamson\n\nDr. Ralph J. Lamson is a visionary psychologist who launched the first clinical research of virtual reality in the treatment of acrophobia. His acquaintance with technology and applied research included seismic refraction studies profiling the crustal structure between the Red Sea and Arabian Gulf. Twenty-five years later IEEE Digital Senses Technology for Humanity opened door to learn more about his dogged pursuit. Momentum for social and technological renaissance aimed at helping people took a step forward. Dr. Lamson was awarded CyberEdge Journal Product of the Year for application of Virtual Therapy to Anxiety Disorders. He authored US Patent 6425764, acquired trademark VIRTIGO, and published VIRTUAL THERAPY while continuing efforts to install VR immersion therapy in health care.\n\nYou must be logged in to post a comment Login\n\nLeave a Reply", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9363996982574463}
+{"content": "wire_picL (802K)\nScanning Tunneling Microscopy image revealing the cross-section through a GaAs nanowire.\nNotice that the wire consists of two distinct almost equally large nanocrystallites\nwith completely different orientations of the crystal lattice.\nZoom-in shows the individual As atoms in the boundary between the two nanocrystalites of the wire.\nIndeed the power of the STM is to visualize individual atoms directly!", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7939318418502808}
+{"content": "Degradation of PCE, TCE and 1,1,1-TCA by nanosized FePd bimetallic particles under various experimental conditions.\n\nSummary of \"Degradation of PCE, TCE and 1,1,1-TCA by nanosized FePd bimetallic particles under various experimental conditions.\"\n\nThe degradation of chlorinated organic compounds, such as PCE (tetrachloroethene), TCE (trichloroethene) and 1,1,1-TCA (1,1,1-trichloroethane), was conducted using nanosized FePd bimetallic particles. In order to enhance the reactivity of ZVI (zero valent iron) nanoparticles, surface modification of ZVI nanoparticles was performed using Pd and CMC (carboxymethyl cellulose). The surface modification was found to form CMC-stabilized FePd bimetallic nanoparticles (CMC-FePd). The average TCE removal efficiency by the CMC-FePd was significantly increased by approximately 85% compared to employing conventional ZVI nanoparticles ( approximately 15%). This increase in the TCE removal efficiency was most likely due to the increased amount of atomic hydrogen produced by the formation of CMC-FePd. For PCE and 1,1,1-TCA, the removal efficiencies by CMC-FePd were approximately 80% and 56%, respectively. For all three chlorinated organic compounds, the amount of Cl(-) ions in the aqueous phase during the degradation increased with increasing reaction time. This result suggests that the main degradation mechanism of the chlorinated compounds by CMC-FePd was reductive dechlorination.\n\n\nDepartment of Environmental Engineering, Kwangwoon University, 447-1 Wolgye-Dong, Nowon-Gu, Seoul 139-701, South Korea.\n\nJournal Details\n\nThis article was published in the following journal.\n\nName: Chemosphere\nISSN: 1879-1298\n\n\nDeepDyve research library\n\nPubMed Articles [12585 Associated PubMed Articles listed on BioPortfolio]\n\nLaser Irradiation Induced Melting and Reduction Reaction for the formation of Pt-based Bimetallic Alloy Particles in Liquids.\n\nLaser melting in liquids (LML) is one of the most effective methods to prepare bimetallic alloys, the formation process of which is always research focus but still ambiguous. In this paper, we prepare...\n\nOne-pot synthesis of silanol-free nanosized MFI zeolite.\n\nThe synthesis of nanostructured zeolites enables modification of catalytically relevant properties such as effective surface area and diffusion path length. Nanostructured zeolites may be synthesized ...\n\nPreparation and characterization of Cu2O nano-particles and its photocatalytic degradation of fluroxypyr.\n\nCu2O nano-particles were prepared by liquid-phase reduction method using copper sulfate as raw material and the effect of the dispersant was studied. The microstructure, surface morphology and optical...\n\nSynthesis of positively charged photoluminescent bimetallic Au-Ag nanoclusters by double target sputtering method on a biocompatible polymer matrix.\n\nHerein we report a novel positively charged photoluminescent Au-Ag bimetallic nanocluster synthesized using 11-mercaptoundecyl-N,N,N-trimethylammonium bromide as capping ligand by means of \"green\" dou...\n\nModel-based optimization of parameters for degradation reaction of an organophosphorus pesticide, paraoxon, using CeO2 nanoparticles in water media.\n\n\nClinical Trials [1600 Associated Clinical Trials listed on BioPortfolio]\n\n\n\nThe Association of SAA With Apolipoprotein B Affects Cardiovascular Risk\n\nCardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in developed nations and a major health issue in Veterans. Despite a number of different treatments, cardiovascular disease remai...\n\nResponses to Exposure to Low Levels of Concentrated Ambient Particles in Healthy Young Adults\n\nPurpose: To determine whether exposure to levels of fine particles that are close to the current standard will cause cardiovascular changes in healthy individuals.\n\nDoes Extra-Fine Hydrofluoroalkane-Beclomethasone Dipropionate (HFA-BDP) Suppress Small Airways Inflammation in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)?\n\n\nDiesel Exhaust Particles and Leukotriene Production\n\n\nMedical and Biotech [MESH] Definitions\n\nThe interactions of particles responsible for their scattering and transformations (decays and reactions). Because of interactions, an isolated particle may decay into other particles. Two particles passing near each other may transform, perhaps into the same particles but with changed momenta (elastic scattering) or into other particles (inelastic scattering). Interactions fall into three groups: strong, electromagnetic, and weak. (From McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology, 7th ed)\n\n\n\n\n\nQuick Search\n\nDeepDyve research library\n\nSearches Linking to this Article", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8079331517219543}
+{"content": "Gauteng Opera Staff\n\n2017 Seasons\n\n\nDinner Concert\n\nVenue: La Trinita\n\nDate:  14 June\n\n\n\nGauteng Opera Interns\n\nPhenye Modiane\n\nKagiso Boroko\n\n\nFamily matters “A Tribute to Donizetti”\n\n\nThe evening will be a celebration of two operas composed by the Bel Canto composer Gaetano Donizetti. The cast is all members of the Gauteng Opera Internship and Trainee programme.\n\n\nComposer: Gaetano Donizetti\n\nVenue: Tin Town Theatre\n\nDates:  8, 9, 10 June\n\nDuration: 1hr, 40 min (with interval)\n\n\n\n\nRita (1 act opera)\n\nRita                             Litho Nqai ++\n\nPeppe                       Phenye Modiane+\n\nGaspar                      Chuma Sijeqa++\n\nBartolo                      Kanyiso Kula*\n\n\nDon Pasquale\n\nDon Pasquale         Chuma Sijeqa++\n\nDr Malatesta            Solly Motaung++\n\nErnesto                      Kagiso Boroko+\n\nNorina                       Zita Pretorius++\n\nCarlino(Notary)      Lindo Maso*\n\n\n\n\n\nMarcus Desando\n\n\nSet Designer:\n\nLungile Cindi\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDon Pasquale (Act 2 finale)\n\n\nDon Pasquale is an opera buffa, or comic opera, in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti with an Italian libretto completed largely by Giovanni Ruffini as well as the composer. It was based on a libretto by Angelo Anelli for Stefano Pavesi‘s opera Ser Marcantonio written in 1810[1] but, on the published libretto, the author appears as “M.A.”\n\n\nMalatesta fetches the supposed notary, as servants arrange a table. Taking his seat, the “notary” writes out a marriage contract as dictated by Malatesta and Pasquale (Fra da una parta – “Between, on one hand”), where the Don bequeaths all his estate to be administrated by Sofronia. The contract is quickly drawn up: Pasquale signs but, before Norina can affix her signature, Ernesto bursts in. Intending to say a final farewell, he is amazed to see Norina about to marry Pasquale. However, Malatesta persuades him not to say anything (Figliol non mi far scene – “Son, don’t make a scene”), and he is forced to act as the final witness much to Don Pasquale’s delight.\n\nAs soon as the contract is signed, Norina abandons her pretence of docility, and refuses Pasquale’s embrace. She announces her intention to teach him manners, and to have Ernesto as a gallant to accompany her on evening strolls. Pasquale is horrified at this transformation, while Malatesta and Ernesto can barely conceal their amusement (È rimasto là impietrato – “He stands there, petrified”). Summoning the household staff, Norina recites a long list of demands – more servants (young and handsome at that), carriages and horses, furniture – and instructs them to spare no expense doubling all their wages. Pasquale is stricken at his misfortune, so Malatesta urges him to go to bed.\n\n\n\n\nLa Bohème\n\n\nComposer: Giacomo Puccini\n\nlibretto: by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa,\n\nVenue: The Mandela, Joburg Theatre\n\nDates: 18. 20, 22, 23 July 2017\n\nDuration: 2hrs, 30 min (with interval)\n\n\n\nMimi                        Khayakazi Madlala *\n\nMusetta                   Litho Nqai ++\n\nRodolfo                    Phenye Modiane +\n\nMarcelo                   Solly Motaung ++\n\nShaunard                Chuma Sijeqa ++\n\nColline                     Vuyani Mlinde\n\nAlcindoro                Kagiso Boroko +\n\nBenoit                      Kagiso Boroko+\n\nParpignol                Godfrey Lepholletsa ++\n\nSargente                 Tshepo Masuku *\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMarcus Tebogo Desando\n\n\nSet Designer:\n\nLungile Cindi\n\n\nLighting Designer:\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAct 1\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAct 2\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAct 3\n\n\nAt the toll gate at the Barrière d’Enfer (late February)\n\n\n\n\n\nAct 4\n\n(some months later)\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDinner Concert\n\n\nVenue: La Trinita\n\nDate:  13 September\n\n\n\nGauteng Opera Interns\n\nPhenye Modiane\n\nKagiso Boroko\n\n\nCradle under the Shade\n\n\nComposer and Librettist: Matthew MacFarlane\n\n\nDates: TBA\n\nTimes: Weekdays at 10:00, 11:30 & 13:00 Saturdays at 10:00 & 12:00\n\nWhere: Gauteng Opera Offices, 5-7 Miriam Makeba Street, Ferreirastown – Jhb\n\nDuration: 30 Minutes – no interval\n\nTickets: R50.00 per child\n\nBookings: / 011 067 8000\n\n\n\nChuma Sijeqa ++ #\n\nZita Pretorius ++\n\nLindo Maso *\n\nKhayakazi Madlala *\n\nLitho Nqai ++ #\n\nSolly Motaung ++\n\nGodfrey lepholletsa++\n\n\n(Gauteng Opera Academy* Gauteng Opera Debut# Gauteng Opera Soloist+ Gauteng Opera interns ++)\n\n\n\nTshepo Ratona\n\n\nSet Designer:\n\nLungile Cindi\n\n\nCostume Designer:\n\nTshepo Ratona & Lungile Cindi\n\n\nLighting Designer:\n\nLungile Cindi\n\n\nCradle under the shade is a 30-minutes one-act opera from composer, Matthew Macfarlane and director Tshepo Ratona with production design by Lungile Cindi. The opera was commissioned by Gauteng Opera in 2016.\n\n\nThe Cradle Under the Shade is based on a sub-Saharan bushmen myth about how the world was created. It plays out from the perspective of a father telling his children the story around a fire one night. As the father begins to narrate, we are transported into the mythical world and get a first-hand view of how the story unfolds.\n\n\nA very long time ago, people and animals did not live in the world as we know it today. They all lived deep below the earth’s surface in peace and harmony. People and animals could communicate with each other. The world below was an idyllic place where it was always comfortably warm and light. This world was created by the great Kang, lord of all life. This was his world and these were his people.\n\n\nKang appointed an elder amongst his people. The elder was known as Mama who was a mother figure to all. He bestowed upon Mama great wisdom and knowledge. Kang was the great creator after all and was not always around in person, so he relied on Mama to be a guide, educator and mediator for the people.\n\n\nKang was very pleased with the world below, but being the creative force that he was, he was constantly coming up with new ideas. One day, he was inspired to create a world even more marvellous and spectacular than the world below. This world, he would build above the earth’s surface. Kang told Mama of his plan and created the world above. Once it was complete, he summoned all the people and animals to enter the new world above. He instructed them to climb up the roots of the trees, and to crawl through the tunnels that he made. Up and out into the new world.\n\n\nThe new world was truly awe inspiring but Kang had something very important to tell the people before he left them alone to explore. He told them that this world was beautiful but fragile and because of this, they should never make a fire as it would spell disaster to the fragile balance of things. With that explicit instruction he left, and they were free to explore and get to know their new world. At the end of the day, the sun began to set and it grew darker and colder. This was the first-time people had ever experienced such a phenomenon because in the world below it was always light and warm.\n\n\nThey started getting scared because of this, but Mama reminded them of Kang’s instructions and assured them that everything would be all right once they were used to it. Mama wanted to do a bit of exploring before the sun set completely so she told them not to wander too far away while she was gone. Once Mama was away, and it got darker, a disobedient child saw this as an opportunity to show off. He thought that if he made a fire, everyone would consider him a hero for providing light and warmth. Disregarding Kang and Mama, the naughty child made a fire. The animals were frightened by the fire and ran away. They fled to the caves, trees and mountains. Anywhere they felt the humans and the fire could not easily reach them.\n\n\nThe peace and harmony between people and animals was broken. Mama returned and found out what had happened. She knew that the world was now forever different and that she would have to use her knowledge to survive in this imperfect world. She punished the naughty boy, making him work the hardest and not allowing him the freedom to play and explore until he learnt his lesson. Kang sensed that a fire was made and was deeply hurt. He felt betrayed because to him the fire meant that the people did not trust him or respect his precious world of peace and harmony. Since then Kang did not visit his people. Instead, he watches from a distance. Waiting to see if harmony will ever be restored.\n\n\nFather finishes the story and tells his children that they should treat animals with respect because they were our dear friends a long time ago before the fire scared them away. All life on earth is precious.\n\n\nSo, bring your children to experience this fascinating story while introducing them to Opera.\n\n\nSafe parking available behind Gauteng Opera offices – corner of Anderson & Margaret Mcingana Streets.\n\n\n\n\n\nA Christmas Concert\n\nVenue: Linder Auditorium\n\nDate: TBA\n\n\n\nGauteng Opera Interns\n\nPhenye Modiane\n\nKagiso Boroko\n\nGauteng Opera Trainees", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6815458536148071}
+{"content": "Water Salinity Water Quality Guidelines Environmental Sciences Essay\n\nPhosphate will excite the growing of plankton and aquatic workss which provide nutrient for larger beings, including: zooplankton, fish, worlds, and other mammals. A Plankton stand for the base of the nutrient chain.A Initially, this increased productiveness will do an addition in the fish population and overall biological diverseness of the system.A But as the phosphate burden continues and there is a build-up of phosphate in the lake or surface H2O ecosystem, the aging procedure of lake or surface H2O ecosystem will be accelerated. A The overrun of lake or H2O organic structure can take to an instability in the food and stuff cycling process.A Eutrophication, is enhanced production of primary manufacturers ensuing in decreased stableness of the ecosystem.A Excessive food inputs, normally nitrogen and phosphate, have been shown to be the chief cause of eutrophication over the past 30 old ages. This aging procedure can ensue in big fluctuations in the lake H2O quality and trophic position and in some instances periodic blooms of blue-green algae.\n\nIn state of affairss where eutrophication occurs, the natural rhythms become overwhelmed by an surplus of one or more of the followers: foods such as nitrate, phosphate, or organic waste. The concentration of algae and the trophic province of lakes correspond good to P degrees in H2O. The system so reacts by bring forthing more phytoplankton/vegetation than can be consumed by ecosystem. This overrun can take to a assortment of jobs runing from anoxic Waterss ( through decomposition ) to toxic algal blooms and lessening in diverseness, nutrient supply and home ground devastation. Eutrophication as a H2O quality issue has had a high profile since the late eightiess, following the widespread happening of bluish green algal blooms in some fresh Waterss. Some bluish green algae can at times produce toxins, which are harmful to worlds, pets and farm animate beings.\n\nUnder aerophilic conditions ( presence of O ) , the natural rhythms may be more or less in balance until an surplus of nitrate ( N ) and/or phosphate enters the system. At this clip the H2O workss and algae Begin to turn more quickly than normal. As this happens there is besides an extra dice off of the workss and algae as sunshine is blocked at lower degrees. Bacteria attempt to break up the organic waste, devouring the O, and let go ofing more phosphate which is known as “ recycling or internal cycling ” . Some of the phosphate may be precipitated as Fe phosphate and stored in the deposit where it can so be released if anoxic conditions develop.\n\nWater PH\n\nThe pH value determines whether H2O is difficult or soft. The pH of pure H2O is 7. In general, H2O with a pH lower than 7 are considered acidic, and with a pH greater than 7, basic. The normal scope for pH in surface H2O systems is 6.5 to 8.5 and for groundwater systems 6 to 8.5. Alkalinity is a step of the capacity of the H2O to defy a alteration in pH that would be given to do the H2O more acidic. The measuring of alkalinity and pH is needed to find the corrosiveness of the H2O.\n\nIn general, H2O with a low pH ( & lt ; 6.5 ) could be acidic, soft, and caustic. Therefore, the H2O could incorporate metal ions such as Fe, manganese, Cu, lead, and Zn… or, on other words, elevated degrees of toxic metals. This can do premature harm to metal piping, and have associated aesthetic jobs such as a metallic or rancid gustatory sensation, staining of wash, and the characteristic “ bluish green ” staining of sinks and drains. More significantly, there is wellness hazards associated with these toxins. The primary manner to handle the job of low pH H2O is with the usage of a neutralizer. The neutralizer feeds a solution into the H2O to forestall the H2O from responding with the family plumbing or lending to electrolytic corrosion. A typical neutralizing chemical is soda ash. Neutralizing with sodium carbonate ash, nevertheless, increases the Na content of the H2O.\n\nWater with a pH & gt ; 8.5 could bespeak that the H2O is difficult. Difficult H2O does non present a wellness hazard, but can do aesthetic jobs. These jobs include an alkali gustatory sensation to the H2O, formation of a sedimentation on dishes, utensils, and wash basins, trouble in acquiring soaps and detergents to flog, and formation of indissoluble precipitates on vesture.\n\nWhile the ideal pH degree of imbibing H2O should be between PH 6-8.5, the human organic structure maintains pH equilibrium on a changeless footing and will non be affected by H2O ingestion. For illustration our tummies have a of course low pH degree of 2 which is good acid that helps us with nutrient digestion. A pH scope of 6.0 to 9.0 appears to supply protection for the life of freshwater fish and underside home invertebrates\n\n\nTurbidity is a chief physical feature of H2O and is an look of the optical belongings that causes visible radiation to be scattered and absorbed by atoms and molecules instead than transmitted in consecutive lines through a H2O sample. It is caused by suspended affair or drosss that interfere with the lucidity of the H2O. These drosss may include clay, silt, finely divided inorganic and organic affair, soluble coloured organic compounds, and plankton and other microscopic beings. Typical beginnings of turbidness in imbibing H2O include the undermentioned ( see Figure 7-1 ) :\n\nA· Waste discharges ;\n\nA· Runoff from water partings, particularly those that are disturbed or gnawing ;\n\nA· Algae or aquatic weeds and merchandises of their dislocation in H2O reservoirs, rivers, or lakes ;\n\nA· Humic acids and other organic compounds ensuing from decay of workss, foliages, etc. in H2O beginnings ; and\n\nA· High Fe concentrations which give Waterss a rusty-red colour ( chiefly in land H2O and land H2O under the direct influence of surface H2O ) .\n\nA· Air bubbles and atoms from the intervention procedure ( e.g. , hydrated oxides, lime Softening )\n\nSimply stated, turbidness is the step of comparative lucidity of a liquid. Clarity is of import when bring forthing imbibing H2O for human ingestion and in many fabrication utilizations. Once considered as a largely aesthetic feature of imbibing H2O, important grounds exists that commanding turbidness is a competent precaution against pathogens in imbibing H2O.\n\nTurbidity ‘s Significance to Human Health\n\nExcessive turbidness, or cloud cover, in imbibing H2O is aesthetically unsympathetic, and may besides stand for a wellness concern. Turbidity can supply nutrient and shelter for pathogens. If non removed, turbidness can advance a regrowth of pathogens in the distribution system, taking to waterborne disease eruptions, which have caused important instances of stomach flu throughout the United States and the universe. Although turbidness is non a direct index of wellness hazard, legion surveies show a strong relationship between remotion of turbidness and remotion of Protozoa.\n\nDissolved O\n\nDissolved O analysis measures the sum of gaseous O ( O2 ) dissolved in an aqueous solution. Oxygen gets into H2O by diffusion from the environing air, by aeration ( rapid motion ) , and as a waste merchandise of photosynthesis.\n\nWhen executing the dissolved O trial, merely grab samples should be used, and the analysis should be performed instantly. Therefore, this is a field trial that should be performed on site.\n\nEnvironmental Impact:\n\nEntire dissolved gas concentrations in H2O should non transcend 110 per centum. Concentrations above this degree can be harmful to aquatic life. Fish in Waterss incorporating inordinate dissolved gases may endure from “ gas bubble disease ” ; nevertheless, this is a really rare happening. The bubbles or emboli block the flow of blood through blood vass doing decease. External bubbles ( emphysema ) can besides happen and be seen on fives, on tegument and on other tissue. Aquatic invertebrates are besides affected by gas bubble disease but at degrees higher than those deadly to angle.\n\nAdequate dissolved O is necessary for good H2O quality. Oxygen is a necessary component to all signifiers of life. Natural watercourse purification processes require equal O degrees in order to supply for aerophilic life signifiers. As dissolved O degrees in H2O bead below 5.0 mg/l, aquatic life is put under emphasis. The lower the concentration of O, the greater the emphasis. Oxygen degrees that remain below 1-2 mg/l for a few hours can ensue in big fish putting to deaths.\n\nWater temperature\n\nWhy is H2O temperature of import?\n\nMost aquatic beings are inhuman, intending they are unable to internally modulate their nucleus organic structure temperature. Therefore, temperature exerts a major influence on the biological activity and growing of aquatic beings. The higher the H2O temperature, the greater the biological activity. Fish, insects, zooplankton, phytoplankton, and other aquatic species all have preferred temperature ranges. As temperatures get excessively far above or below this preferable scope, the figure of persons of the species decreases until eventually there are few, or none. For illustration, we would by and large non anticipate to happen a thriving trout piscary in pools or shoal lakes because the H2O is excessively warm throughout the ice-free season.\n\nTemperature is besides of import because of its influence on H2O chemical science. The rate of chemical reactions by and large increases at higher temperature, which in bend affects biological activity. An of import illustration of the effects of temperature on H2O chemical science is its impact on O. Warm H2O holds less O that cool H2O, so it may be saturated with O but still non incorporate adequate for endurance of aquatic life. Some compounds are besides more toxic to aquatic life at higher temperatures. Temperature is reported in grades on the Celsius temperature graduated table ( C ) .", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9863684177398682}
+{"content": "A. and C. always bring plenty of food, I added some cheese and S. brought some fruit, we had a picnic at a table in the sun before kicking off three hours of wandering around Storm King. I hadn’t expected the scale, I knew the sculpture was site specific and enormous, but it was even bigger than that, bright against the spring green hills.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9825107455253601}
+{"content": "No drone hunting licenses to be issued in Colorado\n\nParrot drone\n\nWASHINGTON, April 2, 2014 —Residents of the tiny Colorado town of Deer Trail, population 561, has voted down a proposal for the town to issue hunting licenses for unmanned aerial vehicles, commonly known as drones.\n\nThe proposed law was written by Phillip Steel, a 49 year old welding inspector as a protest toward government surveillance after hearing reports that the United States government was planning on greatly expanding its use of domestic drones for aerial surveillance.\n\nThe issue would have set a bounty of $100 for a drone marked as belonging to the United States government.\n\nThe proposal went to a vote when town officials were split on whether or not to approve the plan last year.\n\nOn Tuesday the residents decided the issue by voting against it by a margin of 73 percent opposed 24 percent in favor.\n\nJust over half of Deer Trail’s 350 registered voters turned out to vote on the proposed law.\n\nEven if the voters had passed the law, it is not clear if it could have been enacted as it would have contradicted the 1946 Supreme Court ruling on United States v. Causby where The Court stated that air space had become a “public highway,” but landowners still had domain over “at least as much space above the ground as he can occupy or use in connection with the land.”In that case, the court held that a plane flying at just 83 feet and scaring the landowners chickens literally to death did constitute an invasion of property.\n\nThe court did not define the height in which ownership ends.\n\nSteel had publically stated that the proposed law was based on “A 1964 Supreme Court decision” where “a property owner owns airspace up to 1,000 feet above the ground.” Although he did not clarify which Supreme Court case he was referring to.\n\nSteel was most likely speaking of the 1962 case, Griggs v. Alleghany County, where the Court found that the low flight of planes over the plaintiff’s property, taking off from and landing at a nearby airport’s newly constructed runway, constituted a taking that had to be compensated under the Fifth Amendment. The conservative court in 1962 set the height standards that the federal government uses today although some lower courts believe that this case set standards for take offs and landings and continue to lend credence to a fixed-height ownership theory as a reasonable interpretation of Causby.\n\nToday the federal government considers areas above 500 feet to be navigable airspace. Therefore the assumption is that property owners space ends somewhere between 83 and 500 feet unless you own some very tall buildings.\n\nThe federal government is considering lowering the navigable airspace limit to lower than 500 feet in order to accommodate drones.\n\nCurrent FAA regulations require fixed wing aircraft to fly above 1,000 feet in congested areas and 500 feet in non congested areas.\n\nThe FAA does not currently regulate the safe flying altitude for drones as it does for other aircraft.\n\nIn February 2012, President Obama signed the Federal Aviation Administration Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (FMRA) which instructs the FAA to define navigable air space for drones by the end of 2015.\n\nSome believe that the drone hunting proposal was never intended to be considered as a serious law and instead was a playful way to gain attention over the displeasure of the government’s surveillance policy.\n\nWashington state just passed a law in February limiting the use of federal government drones, becoming the tenth state to do so.\n\nForty-three states have at least introduced drone legislations.\n\nColorado is not a state that would shy away from controversial laws. In January 2014, Colorado stores started selling marijuana legally for recreational use.\n\nCurrently eleven rural Colorado counties are trying to get an initiative to secede and create a 51st state on the November ballot. This initiative came in part as a reaction to the passage of the strictest gun restrictions in the state for more than a decade in response to the deadly shooting at an Aurora, Colorado movie theatre.\n\nJust last week, Colorado’s House Health Insurance and Environment Committee has passed a bill that would make it more difficult for parents to opt out of the state’s child vaccination requirement. The bill would mandate a state-sponsored education program for parents who don’t want their child vaccinated and would force those parents to “acquire the signature of a health care professional confirming disclosure of possible health risks ‘to the student and the community.’”\n\nClick here for reuse options!\nCopyright 2014 Communities Digital News\n\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6279748678207397}
+{"content": "Talk to an Expert +91 9927057779\nDuration : 03 Night / 03 Days\n\nDestinations Covered : Pushkar - Jaisalmer\n\nDescription : Two cities, located in the heart of Thar Desert, are the destinations for heritage and pilgrims. Pushkar, also known as Choti Kashi (Little Kashi) is a holy city near Ajmer, which is globally known for being the only place in the world where the temple of Lord Brahma is located. Other one is Jaisalmer, which is the third largest district in India by its area. Both the destinations have bestowed with innumerable attractions. The Pushkar and Jaisalmer trip covers these two cities in 3 days and 3 nights.\n\nDay 1: Pushkar\n\nReach the holy city of Pushkar early in the morning, and reach directly to the Pushkar Lake. It is the same lake where the temple of Lord Brahma is located. The lake looks stunning inside-out, and is a perfect place for pilgrims.\n\nNearby the lake is a large ground where Pushkar Fair is held from 11th Kartik (October-November). The fair is also known as Pushkar Camel Fair, and is the largest camel fair in the entire world.\n\nDuring the fair, more than 50,000 camels from across the state gather in colourful attire and embellishments. Merchants sell their camels, starting from a mere amount of 14,000 to as massive as 200,000. Also, a camel race is organised in which dozens of camels run for victory, and winner are awarded with great rewards.\n\nAlong with this, there are many attractions to see in this fair. Stalls offering mouth-watering fast food, hot balloon safari and cultural programs are worth watching.\n\nAfter a vivid sightseeing, return to your hotel and rest for the night.\n\nDay 2 : Jaisalmer\n\nEarly in the morning, depart for Jaisalmer. The 447 km distance will be covered in almost six- and-a-half hours. After reaching Jaisalmer, check-in your hotel and take rest for some time. Evening, visit some nearby attractions like Jaisalmer Fort, Bada Bagh, Salim Singh Ki Haveli (Largest mansion in the world), The Thar Heritage Museum, Khaba Fort, Gadsisar Lake, Surya Gate, Vyas Chhatri and Patwon Ki Haveli. Return to your hotel and rest for the night.\n\nDay 3: Jaisalmer\n\nNext day, head towards the Thar Desert. The largest desert of India and 17th world is something more than just a ground with sand. The desert actually speaks to colours of Rajasthan, and the folklore which we are used to listen to.\n\nSome 28km from Jaisalmer is Sam Sand Dunes, the sand dunes which you see in movies. Ride on the back of a camel and start calculating their area. The village also organizes various cultural programs in evening, such as folk songs, dances and many more.\n\nAfter spending your night in a resort or hotel, check out from the hotel in morning and head towards your journey ahead.\n\nBook Now", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9287442564964294}
+{"content": "The importance of Symbolism in the decipherment of history Part 2\n\nSee part 1 here:\n\nMy wife thinks it’s silly of me to read prefaces, indexes, and footnotes. It’s mostly a waste of time, she says. Yes, this can often times be true. But I have discovered so many interesting bits of information by looking through those oft neglected sections of books that I now rarely skip them. You never know what you might come across.\n\nThe preface of one book actually moved me close to tears. It was, believe it or not, in the form of a poem. It was found in the beginning of  a series of 12 volumes. You’d think that 12 volumes is long enough to try to get through without bothering with the introduction. It would have been all too easy to skip over the first few pages and miss a very interesting point that was expressed on the first page. And the point made was that the author had dedicated his life to this work but it had been accomplished at the cost of missing out on his children growing up. The series of books I am referring to is “Ancient Egypt: the Light of the World – a Work of Reclamation and Restitution in Twelve Books” by Gerald Massey.\n\nThe time and effort Massey put into his works is truly impressive. His deductive reasoning shines through in all his work. He was brilliantly adept at stripping back all the layers of added context which pile on throughout time to traditions, local customs, spoken and unspoken language, even place names, and he was able to imagine a time before recorded history. He then theorised about what essential elements of life would have given rise to the practices which have become integral to many communities’ identities. This gave rise to aptly titled works such as “The Book of The Beginnings” and “The Natural Genesis”.\n\nNecessity gives birth not only to novel solutions but perhaps to everything.\n\nThis concept makes one realise that the world isn’t just a collection of crazy people (yes I said “just”) it is a collection of crazy people who got here using a very practical approach. Humans have the ability to deduct cause and effect. We don’t always get it right, but we have an instinctive need to work out what causes something and do our best at coming up with a reasonable explanation. From reading the works of philosophers like Plato, Plotinus, Xeno, Socrates, I can see that the human mind has been looking to understand the cause of things for the last 2 to 3 millennia and likely did so for a long time before those philosophers lived. Many pictographs indicate that this is indeed the case.\n\n\nConsidering the fact that the human mind is best at remembering things when using pictures, (see part one of this blog post) and that this has been known for thousands of years as per the writings of Cicero, we can begin to decipher the encoded pictographs which are still with us since time immemorial.\n\nIf we were to strip back all the added elements of civilisation, social interaction, art, and non essential practices that surround us in today’s world we may find that some of the greatest concerns still remain. Food security would undoubtedly top the list. It would not be beyond reason to credit humans of old with the ability to deduct that the sun was one of the more obvious essential supports to plant and animal life. As the sun would be seen every year to increase and decrease in its power fear as to whether the sun would at some point continue fading away and never return could naturally arise. The hope of the sun’s return would have been an essential part of educating the next generation. Without some assurance that things will get better when the opposite is seen to be occurring people can, and often do, lose hope.\n\nHuman (anthropomorphic) or part animal  (therianthropic) characters as representatives of abstract concepts make for easier story creation.\n\nTo be continued.\n\nThe importance of Symbolism in the decipherment of history Part 1\n\nMany years ago a friend of mine told about having seen an episode of a show called “The $64,000 question”. In the show, from what I recall, contestants had to as a series of questions in an attempt to uncover some secret about another contestant. One contestant’s secret turned out to be that he had committed the entire 66 books which make up the Christian Holy Bible to memory. My friend thought it was silly that anyone would even try to do such a thing. I however wanted to know if it would be possible for me to pull off a similar feat. I wondered if this super memory was a skill or  was it something people are born with. Was there some way this could be learned? I could remember phone numbers and birthdays but what would it take to remember something that impressive? Did the person in question have some kind secret method? If so, what was it? How had he learnt the method? I had so many questions. Yet I could not figure out how I would ever be able to find any answers. Thus began my quest to uncover the secrets of super memory. Of course this was all before the internet. Finding information at the time often seemed impossible. Even with the advent of the internet it’s not always as straight forward as one would hope. Searches can and often do turn up mediocre results. Eventually, though, my searching did pay off. I finally discovered that there are techniques which can be learnt. The fact that the techniques were accessible, and that they actually worked was a very big moment for me. The book which held the secrets was published in 1966. It is called “The Art Of Memory” by Frances Yates and remains, in my opinion, unsurpassed in its comprehensive coverage of memory techniques throughout history. The earliest system mentioned by the author references a technique that had been set down in writing by Cicero in 55 BCE. The work in question affirms that a person by the name of Simonides had invented this technique some time prior, meaning that it is even older than the time of Cicero. It would be rash to exclude the possibility that various techniques for improving memory have been in use since much much earlier than this written instance. We will see later that mnemonic techniques have a much older origin as they can be seen as central in the development of a number of written languages. Writing, as we know, has played a central role in the flourishing of civilisation.\n\nSometimes peddled as secrets or arcane mysteries only for the initiated, super memory techniques are always going to be of interest to humans. Good memories are a valued human trait. From what I have gathered so far it appears that the most effective method for remembering anything at all is to create symbolic associations. The mind, it is said, categorises and imprints not specific words but images. While one could debate whether or not certain types of personalities respond better to one set of stimuli than they do to others, on the overall, I contend, that picture association will rarely fail to do the trick. If you need to remember that your new friend’s name is Jay Walker you can conjure up any image you want that involves objects that can be described as “Jay” and “Walker”. This is the basis of the technique, and it just works. From this starting point one can continue on to delve deeper as there are additional methods for working with words which have no homophones. Then there are techniques of linking many words together. But the method I just described is the basic technique. Just that little trick is enough to make a huge difference when trying to remember an important bit of information.\n\nPart 2\n\n\nOn the Christ Myth\n\nA collections of articles regarding the Christ Myth\n\nAlexander The Great’s Historicity vs Jesus’\n\nThere are quite a number of well known characters whose existence is not one hundred percent certain. In some cases everything we know about them was compiled more than a generation after the time frame during which they are said to have lived. While it is frustrating to not be certain if these folks really did live, their stories are still a part of history. There are fascinating sayings attributed to them which inform our view of the world and humanity around their respective time periods. Many of the teachings even contain valuable timeless advice that many people choose to apply in their every day lives. Yes even some of the words attributed to the Jesus character. There is some quotable material, some kind of interesting stuff, some of the sayings may even be profound, if you know how to read them. Shakespere is another person whose historicity has been questioned. Even though this questioning was initiated by the same person who started the modern day Atlantis craze, Ignatius P Donelly, some people still find his arguments worth a look in. Moving further east we find that Buddha may never have existed. Evidence of his life from contemporary writers has not surfaced, nor has it even been alluded to, and therefore there isn’t a single shred of real useful evidence that he existed. His writings and teachings were compiled long after his death. Pillars built in his honour were constructed 300 years after the time he is said to have lived. And yet his philosophy has spread across the globe. Apollonius of Tyana’s life was written 100 years after his life. So he may never have existed. But his teachings live on in some remote fashion. His teachings are said to have influenced Bahaulla and the development of the Bahai religion many centuries later. Even Confucious doesn’t have anything written during his lifetime. But his proverbs have endured.\n\nSome people say that there is as much evidence for Alexander the Great having lived as there is for Jesus. Therefore, they conclude, we should accept that Jesus Christ was a true life flesh and blood person.\n\nNot so fast.\n\nWhile the aforementioned people have no contemporary witnesses, Jesus ranks a little differently because of what we are being asked to believe.\n\nFirst of all, without a virgin birth and without a resurrection he pretty much becomes a nobody.\n\nOk Alexander the Great was said to also have been sired by a god.  Velikovsky’s research on the topic suggests that Alexander’s mother visited Egypt, the priest of Amun, specifically for this purpose. No one seems to think that Alexander was actually sired by a supernatural god.\n\nThere is also an important difference between Alexander the Great and Jesus. No one is praying for you to turn to Alexander and listen to the Holy Spirit’s urging you to give your life to Alexander. No one says “Alexander loves you”, and “Alexander can heal you!”, and “Let Alexander carry your burdens and worries!”\n\nAll those manuscripts.\n\nSo much was written about Jesus in the second, third and fourth centuries. Surely, some aver, there must have been a real person to write about. Why else would they write so much material?\n\nFirst of all, not a single manuscript that is extant today has been dated to the supposed time of Jesus life. There are a couple of manuscripts that were written very close to the time, but the references to Jesus are insertions, so crudely done, that they made me laugh out loud when I came across them.\n\nAll the gospels were written much later than the time period allotted to Jesus. Now people say that these were stories passed down through the spoken word. If we take this point of view, how can these writings be considered anything remotely resembling eye witness accounts. The whole thing is rather baffling.\n\nIt could be compared to me saying that I am going to write a book about the life of Mr. Amazeness who lived in X-town in 1766. Of course my book includes private conversations and even a couple soliloquies! Let’s imagine that this personage becomes very popular. The book is a best seller and becomes a phenomenal success, the Mr Amazeness craziness . Eventually fan fiction appears. But just because there’s fan fiction doesn’t mean the original knew anything about what happened 150 years before putting pen to paper. This is not even the biggest hole in the plot! Imagine if the story included a chapter on he was conceived. His mother had been impregnated by an ethereal being. The kid grew up and then was killed and … it’s got all the hall marks of Zeus, and Osiris, and Set, it’s mythology pure and simple. Let’s face it, with the Jesus story, the Romans, or whoever composed it, were just trying to make their own even better version of the very cool god the Greek rulers of Egypt had 500 years earlier: Serapis!\n\nRecommended reading: The Christ(Free ebook from", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9574190378189087}
+{"content": "Learning From Math Mistakes\n\nmath anxiety, math tutoring, math help, matific , mistakes, math mistakesEveryone’s heard the proverb “you learn from your mistakes.” Until recently, I mainly applied that phrase to drunken escapades and a small collection of ex-boyfriends. However, I find that I’m repeating the mantra to myself regularly as I watch my daughter stumble her way through a playground. In fact sometimes it’s the only reason I stay there and watch as she bruises herself on every piece of equipment.\n\nI guess the phrase will stay with me for a while as my toddler learns to read and write and eventually do math. I hope she gets used to making mistakes and doesn’t take them as an immediate sign of failure but a symptom of progress.\n\nMistakes in math are particularly important for learning for the following reasons:\n\n\nWhen a child makes a mistake, you can see a hiccup in their way of thinking. You may notice they struggle with subtraction but not addition, and you can help them quickly before their errors begin to escalate.\n\nOn the other hand, you have a window into the way they think. One method of performing a calculation may be useless in a particular instance, but could be helpful in another.\n\nShow Effort\n\nTeachers will not be frustrated with a child who makes errors. They will, however, be frustrated with a child who comes into the classroom saying that their homework was too hard, and they didn’t do it.\n\nAn editor once told me, “You can edit bad words, but you can’t edit no words.” The same applies for a math. There’s no learning to be had from slamming the textbook shut and putting on the television.\n\nWork The Brain\n\nMaking mistakes teach a child how to think. You cannot enter a gym on a whim and suddenly bench press 100 pounds. Making mistakes are those light-weight workouts that help train and strengthen the brain. A mistake means that your child’s brain was challenged, and wrestling that challenge is healthy and beneficial.\n\nOwnership Of Learning\n\nMaking a mistake forces a student to pause. Instead of racing ahead, they have to examine their error and grapple with their lack of understanding. Instead of relying on the teacher to learn, mistakes help students diagnose their problems and overcome them. There is a sense of power in being responsible for your own learning.\n\nBeing OK With Failure\n\nMy pet hate at school was vocalised by a kind, bookish girl with mousy hair and braces on her teeth. Why did she bother me? She would always top the class in math and say that she didn’t study. This is the equivalent of the supermodel who claims to exist solely on burgers. Friends who have gone through IVF see it in the young couple who announce they are expecting and that their pregnancy was a surprise, despite having unprotected hanky panky.  \n\nMaking mistakes and learning from them teaches your child honesty. It teaches your child that sometimes it takes a while to get good at something, which is OK and it also shows them that practice helps everything.\n\nIndirectly, your child who says “I found subtraction quite hard at first, but taught myself to understand it” will be infinitely more approachable than the child who says they didn’t study but got 100%.    \n\nMarina Gomer is a journalist and mother of one.  She lives with her family in Sydney, Australia.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5457565784454346}
+{"content": "The significance of melody for the deaf\n\nMelody involves the way sound is arranged to form musical patterns. It may involve word arrangement to form a certain sequence. Melody indicates succession events and thus the events are arranged following a certain order.  In order to attain melody, there are several factors which should take place. There should be some change in the sequencing. The duration of interval between sequential events should change. Pitches also change during succession of linear events. Melody is mostly shown by the interaction of musical patterns. This occurs where there is change of events. The elements of melody include pitch and quality. The quality of melody is defined by loudness, sound texture and resonance. Musical phrases are concerned in forming melodies. The musical phrases which form melodies may be several or can even be one. Repetition of the musical phrases denotes the occurrence of melody. The repetition may occur in the inset of a song. The melodic motion can be used to describe melody. Other factors which describe melodies include pitch interval. Sound is the medium of music and involves arrangement of words in a sequential order. Music has various elements. Melody is governed by pitch which is a musical element. Other elements of music include texture, timbre and rhythm. Deaf people communicate to hearing people by the use of tonal expression. They get words as they come out of the lips.\n\nMelody differs from other qualities of music. The essential elements of music include harmony, dynamics, melody and rhythm. Music composition takes in to consideration various factors. There are the fundamentals in composing music. Music is really defined by considering the essential elements which include harmony, dynamics, melody and rhythm. Music soul is provided by melody. Harmony expression is blended by rhythm. Dynamics elaborates on the tempo or speed of a phrase. Song is composed by combining these essential elements. Melody involves successive events or musical tones. It also involves successive pitches. Melody is characterized by various factors such as movement, shape and range. In music, there are both the highest and lowest tones. The distance in between these tones defines the range. Range can either be high, low or medium according to singers. There are scenarios when melody concentrates on few given notes. This is said to have narrow range.\n\nConversely to this, there are occasions when notes are shifted from low to high pitches. This gives a wide range. This may take a couple of steps on the musical scale. Melody has a distinctive shape. This denotes the direction. Melody shape gives the manner in which the notes would behavior if they were arranged in a certain sequence as in the case of a geometrical line. Wavelike shape is formed in the case of narrow range. Upward shape occurs due to ascend of notes. There are two factors which define movement disjunct or conjunct. Conjunct occurs in the case where melody is arranged in a stepwise manner. Disjunct on the other hand, occurs when there is no natural connection. In this case, the pitches leap from one to another.\n\nThe parameters which give melody structure are its intensity and length. This takes the same scenario as the sentences included in language. Some examples in this case include climax and the cadence. A musical phrase has an end which has some features. This musical ending is what is referred to as cadence. Climax occurs when there is high intensity.\n\nNotes and chords can be played simultaneously. The relation portrayed by chords and notes when played simultaneously denote the harmony in the musical phrases. When chords and notes are arranged in successive manner, they form harmonic patterns. Intervals can either be harmonic or melodic. Intervals that are sequenced and are linear are known to be melodic. On the other hand, those intervals which sound at once are known to be harmonic. Harmonic patterns may be pleasing or unpleasing to the ears. This varies since some may find it pleasing while others the same harmonies unpleasing.\n\nChords are taken to have meaning. The reason behind this is because they are bound to form other chords from the original chords. Music has different styles in which progressions finds different acceptance rates. Triad is a basic to every harmony. There are various types of chords of which the common one is the triad. The scale is comprised of several notes of which some of these form the triad. The notes of the scale which form the triad are the first, third and the fifth. The sixth, fourth and the second notes are included in the case when the triad when the second note forms the triad. In this case the interval is still maintained. Sub dominant and Tonic are some of the names given to some of the chords. This includes the IV chord and the triad chord consecutively. Musical time is generally the rhythm. Timely flow gives the rhythm in music. Beat in music refers to the pulsation which takes place.\n\nDeaf people have a composition which is unique in a way. Sign language is mostly used by deaf people (Spencer Patricia E., 2000). The culture adopted by deaf people is unique defined by certain values and goals. The primary language used in United States by deaf people is the American Sign Language. American Sign Language is both manual and visual. The language involves the use of signs. These sign are formed as a result of body movement, by use of hands, posture of the body and facial expression. Emotion, information and useful ideas are conveyed through American Sign Language by the deaf people. This takes place with much versatility and complexity.\n\nThere are some deaf people who are in a position to get wording from the lips. This enables communication between deaf people and hearing people. Despite of this being of advantage, research indicate that there are few English words which can be traced from the lips. Lip reading is considered to be frustrating and unreliable. This is because of the possibility of misunderstanding because of guessing what might be portrayed in the lips (Gardner Howar, 1999). There are some deaf people who are in a position to read the lips. Conversion is normally carried out between hearing people and the deaf during public rallies through lip reading. Interpreters of sign language are vital in ensuring efficient communication.\n\nCommunication with deaf people who are highly skilled in lip reading lies on melodic universe. When composing music, the composer arranges notes to have a certain value. Musical statement is formed by mixing the essential elements of rhythm, melody and harmony. This is the same way a painter mixes colors to get a certain shape and brightness. Melodic concept is developed upon playing a melody instrument. Such instruments include piano, horn and guitar. Melodic ideas are complemented upon playing melody instrument such as piano. This calls for use of relevant harmonies and rhythmic concept. There are times when counter melodies are essential. The listener of music has singular experience to melodies. This is why certain notes are repeatedly used to compose new songs. A single note is concentrated at a time. This is what is referred to as melodic line. Emotional, tonal, sublimal and musical information is conveyed through this medium. The listening experience is formed from the harmonic and rhythmic structures. A listener is normally swayed by the melodic line. This is what is heard.\n\nHearing enables capture what is happening in the environment. Negotiation with the surrounding can be achieved through hearing. Spoken language can be accessed through hearing. Sound is what is heard. The characteristics of sound include loudness and timbre. There are various causes of deafness to sounds. Deafness is more prominent in old people. Ringing occurs within the ears of deaf people. Ringing sound is what is recognized by deaf people before realizing their hearing loss. Noise exposure is believed to be the major source of hearing loss.\n\nIn conclusion, melody has much significance to deaf people. Deaf people perceive the ringing sound. This makes them communicate with the environment through melody of sounds. There are some deaf people who are capable of communicating through lip reading of spoken language. This is not widely applicable since there are few English words can be accessed from the lips. The use of sign language is common in people with hearing impairment.\n\n\nPost a Comment", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9949852228164673}
+{"content": "About Us\n\nMy photo\nFairfield, Queensland, Australia\n\nWelcome to Fairfield Writers Group\n\n\nMonday, December 21, 2009\n\n\nSusan Sontag\n\nThursday, December 17, 2009\n\nTestimonial/Success Story - by Lorraine\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMonday, December 14, 2009\n\nBOOK REVIEW - Novelist's Essential Guide to Creating Plot by J Madison Davis\n\nWords: Lorraine\n\nI have just finished reading the above book on plotting a novel and I thought some of you might appreciate me passing on some of the key ideas discussed. I found a few points very helpful. I am a rank amateur at novel writing and very unskilled at plotting, so forgive me if I state what is obvious or common sense to those more experienced and knowledgeable than I. I will be brief, because although the book was quite detailed, there were only a few key concepts discussed.\n\n1. Begininnings – the book suggested avoiding prologues, and commencing a story at a point of moderate excitement – with an event that arouses interest. This often means starting at a point further along the chronological sequence of events and flashing back to relate what went before. Prologues should not be necessary, as any information that appears to belong in a prologue should be presented in the story via flashbacks, dialogue, etc.\n2. Causal Chain – A story must move from stability to instability and back to stability again. The book described a plot as a ‘causal chain’ – a sequence of events causing subsequent events and gradually eliminating choices as to the solution of a central problem. When there is only one choice left to solve the central problem, the story ends. The core problem must be significant. Not solving it must have disastrous consequences for the central character.\n3. Sequencing of scenes – events described in a book should first be plotted in chronological order, then rearranged in plot order, which may be entirely different. Plots often start at the end or in the middle of a chronological sequence, and may proceed in orderly fashion from the start point to the end, using a single flashback to incorporate earlier events – or can jump around all over the place making extensive use of flashbacks or flash-forwards.\n4. Intensity patterns – the book suggested rating the intensity of scenes from 1 to 10, then throwing out all scenes with an intensity level of 0 and striving for a pattern of gradually increasing intensity, rising to a peak near the end. Avoid sudden rises or drops, as they jar. Avoid a pattern of constant intensity for more than a few scenes, as this will bore the reader. Ensure there are occasional minor drops in intensity to provide relief and avoid over-stimulating the reader. The overall trend should be up – via a couple of steps up then one step back – until the end of the book which rises to a high point before dropping down to describe the restored ‘ordinary world’ and tie up loose ends.\n\nThe book provided some graphs of favourable patterns of intensity. One example was 4,1,1,3,5,3,5,6,7,4,6,7,9,3. Note the climax near the end, and the rise in the middle, with a slight lowering between high points to let the reader catch a breath.\n\nStarting at a moderate intensity creates sufficient interest to keep the reader engaged through a couple of low intensity scenes to describe the ‘ordinary world’ – the world of the protagonist before the core problem presents.\n5. Endings - All stories should come to a logical conclusion. Don't leave it to the reader to figure out how the story ends. It's your job to write the novel. The reader's task is to read it!\n\nEndings should derive logically/casually from the events that precede. The outcome should be probable, but neither obvious nor outlandish. The two marks of an amateur writer are not resolving the conflict, or not resolving it in a believable way that derives logically from the sequence of events that precedes.\n\nWhen the ending appears, it must feel like it had to happen, but before it happens the reader should not know what it will be.\n\nAvoid 'deus ex machina' endings (god out of the machine). These are endings where divine intervention or an almost impossible event resolves the problem - something that has not been hinted at or built up to through the story.\n6. Use of ‘Frame Stories’ - A ‘frame’ story is a story that is ‘topped and tailed’ or ‘framed’ by comments. For example, someone is telling a story, and the opening describes the story teller and environment – or the story is written in a letter, or told in a dream. Frame stories are commonly used by amateur writers because they are easy to write – but that doesn’t imply that they cannot be high quality and very professional. The key to a successful frame story is to understand that a frame is used to relate the effect of the events on the teller or the teller’s reaction to the events or thoughts about them, rather than to focus directly on the story. You use a ‘frame’ when the key message is how the central character – story teller, letter writer, dreamer, etc – thinks and feels about what occurred.\n7. Leitmotifs (This was the most interesting section for me!) - Leitmotifs are repeating images, phrases, themes or thoughts. (eg. character refers repeatedly to some past highlight in his life such as being a quarterback in high school; an oak tree in front of a house symbolises solidarity). The term ‘leitmotifs’ derives from music, and leitmotifs are a feature of musical compositions.\nThey also occur in art.\n\nSince reading about these, my husband and I have made a game of identifying the leitmotifs in stories and TV shows. It’s quite fascinating to find them and consider the effect they have on the reader. You find yourself anticipating a feature of a scene, or a statement by a character. We watched ‘Criminal Minds’ last night and noticed a reference to the criminal liking arches. Arches kept appearing in scenes, and you knew that when this leitmotif appeared, it indicated that the murderer had been active in this location.\n\nUsing leitmotifs conveys messages without saying something directly. For example, in a story, every time something sad occurs it is always raining. At the end of the book, the central character walks out into the rain. The author doesn’t need to say that the character is very sad. It’s implied by the rain because throughout the book the rain has been associated with sadness.\n\nThe author of the book claims that the skilled use of leitmotifs is a mark of quality in writing. The challenge for writers is to know what constitutes sufficient use and when they have overused or under-used leitmotifs.\n\nIf used skillfully, leitmotifs are not consciously noticed by the reader, but play on the subconscious. They create a feeling of familiarity, comfort, and security, but the reason for that feeling is not obvious.\n\nPublished by Writer’s Digest Books, 1st edition (August 15, 2000) ISBN-13: 978-0898799842\n\nSunday, December 13, 2009\n\n\nCatherine Drinker Bowen\n\nThursday, December 10, 2009\n\n\n100 words: an interesting little website where you commit to writing pieces of 100 words in length for each day of the month. A good way to keep the writing muscle exercised!\n\n\nEclecticism E-zine. A great Australian E-zine where you can submit your writing. Submissions can be made for artwork too.\n\n\nWriters Forum - has short story, poetry and young writers contests every month, with good money prizes. See the website for contest forms, fee information and deadlines.\n\n\n1. Write an end-of-chapter cliffhanger\n\n2. Write a short story in the past tense, then re-write it in the present tense\n\n3. Take a piece of writing and re-write it at a faster pace to increase tension.\n\n4. Write the first paragraph of a story, making it as gripping as possible.\n\n\n'EFFECT FROM WHAT CAUSE?' EXERCISE Cause and effect have teleological* dependence, summed up in these axioms: 1. Logically, cause takes place before effect. 2. Each effect has a chain of previous causes (*the first in nature) with intervening effects. 3. Each effect can cause further effects. 4. An effect may have more than one cause, so the actual cause is unknown, uncertain, subject to a chain of probabilities or has been determined mysteriously by something that has since disappeared. 5. An effect presumes or is uncertain of a cause, whereas a possible cause does not presume an effect. In non-fiction, especially technical writing, it is normal to develop an argument from cause to effect, to reveal the deterministic mechanism and for clarity of exposition. C1à E1àC2 àE2àC3àE3àC4àE4àC5àE5 Example. If you create a short circuit (C1), much current will flow through it (E1=C2), resulting in the circuit breaker popping(E2=C3), which opens the circuit(E3=C4), stopping current from flowing (E4=C5)and stopping the use of all appliances in that circuit(E5). In fiction, it can be more entertaining to proceed from effect to cause, to create tension in the narrative. If you are told the effect first, you may be enticed to predict the cause and read on to see if you are correct. You are able to realize the further effects and significance of the situation earlier and will be more interested to know the cause, creating tension. E3ßC3ßE2ßC2ßE1ßC1 Writing from left to right, this is the exact reverse of the technical sequence further up the page. For example: \"My God,\" Ellie said softly. They were all staring at the animal above the trees.(E3) \"My God.\" Her first thought was that the dinosaur was extraordinarily beautiful. Books portrayed them as oversize, dumpy creatures, but this long-necked animal had a gracefulness, almost a dignity, about its movements. And it was quick - there was nothing lumbering or dull in its behaviour. The sauropod peered alertly at them, and made a low trumpeting sound, rather like an elephant. A moment later, a second head rose above the foliage, and then a third, and a fourth. \"My God,\" Ellie said again. Gennaro was speechless. He had known all along what to expect - he had known about it for years - but he had somehow never believed it would happen, and now, he was shocked into silence. The awesome power of the new genetic technology(C3), which he had formerly considered to be just so many words in an overwrought sales pitch - the power suddenly became clear to him. These animals were so big! They were enormous! Big as a house! And so many of them! Actual damned dinosaurs! Just as real as you could want. Gennaro thought: We are going to make a fortune on this place. A fortune. He hoped to God the island was safe.\" Crichton, Michael, Jurassic Park, Arrow,1991 YOUR TASK Write (or quote) a piece with a dramatic and puzzling effect that is later attributed to an unexpected cause. This could be the start, initial action or finish to a short story, or an excerpt from a longer narrative. Two sides maximum, please.\n\n\nExercise 1\nWrite several scenes for story without using adjectives or adverbs. Take the time to focus on how the correct verb or noun can convey the mood or feeling you are striving for in the scene. You can also do this exercise with something you have already written, removing the modifiers to see if it strengthens the work\n\nExercise 2\nShow, don't tell. Use dialogue and actions to describe a scene, rather than straight narration.\n\nExercise 3\n1. Write using all five senses to describe a particular scene.\n2. Look at an earlier piece you have written and identify areas where it could benefit from more description of what things look, feel, taste, sound and smell like.\n\n\nDialogue is what brings characters to life. Dialogue can set the mood in the story, intensify the story conflict, create tension and suspense, speed up your scenes and add bits of setting and background.\n\nWrite a dialogue between three or four characters of differing ages, gender and background. Does the finished piece sound as if four different people are speaking? Does the dialogue match its speaker's age, educational level etc?\n\n\nPeople are interested in reading about other people, whether real or fictional. Without characters a murder mystery becomes just a police report, an historical romance just a history text. Hopefully, these exercises will help you create dynamic, interesting and believable characters your readers will really care about.\n\nExercise 1\nCreate a character from one aspect of your personality. Make this trait the main force of the character's feelings and thoughts. If you are shy, for example, make your character much more shy than you. In every other way - age, occupation, appearance, this character should be very different to you. Now describe that character's behaviour, in summary, in several social situations interacting (or avoiding interaction) with several relatives, strangers and workmates.\n\nExercise 2\nCharacter tags can show personality, create tension, make your character more human. Try giving one of your characters a word tag - something only they say, that makes them instantly recognisable. Think of Steve Irwin's ubiquitous 'Crikey!' Or perhaps one of your characters calls everyone 'Babe', or uses slang or has an accent. Try using action tags for some of your characters. Does your protagonist jiggle their car keys in their pocket when they are nervous? Perhaps she constantly chews gum? Repeatedly clicks pens when bored in meetings? Using the character you created in Exercise 1, write a short piece in which they display a distinctive tag.\n\nExercise 3\nWrite a page using setting to reveal your character. Choose a setting relevant to that character, such as bedroom, office, garden etc and through its description paint a picture of your character.\n\nTuesday, December 8, 2009\n\n\nAnna started writing short stories when she was a child. She didn’t take her writing seriously until the birth of her daughter in 2008. She has had a short story published this year and is currently working on a children’s book.\n\nAnna has been a member of the Fairfield Writers Group since March 2009. Some of Anna’s other interests include gardening, crafts, travelling and cooking.\n\nSaturday, December 5, 2009\n\n\nThe novel is an event in consciousness. Our aim isn't to copy actuality, but to modify and recreate our sense of it. The novelist is inviting the reader to watch a performance in his own brain.\nGeorge Buchanan\n\nThursday, December 3, 2009\n\n\nHullo readers - These two Australian publishing opportunities look excellent for writers of short stories.\n\nAffirm Press is planning six collections of short stories by single authors in 2010.\n\nThey are calling for submissions of between 40,000 and 70,000 words (short stories, flash fiction, novellas etc). At least half must be previously unpublished. Standard royalities apply. Closing Date 1 February 2010.\n\nFor more details visit: http://affirmpress.com.au/ and click on Long Stories Shorts on their home page.\n\nPick a Pocket Book publishes small books, each containing two short stories. You need to join to submit, but they pay well.\n\nFor more details visit: www.pickapocketbook.com\n\nWednesday, December 2, 2009\n\n\nHere's one the group had fun with. Write for ten minutes, non-stop, starting with the line \"My mother always told me...\"\n\nPick up a news headline from print, television or the internet, and write your own non-fiction piece in 500 words or less.\n\nWrite a 250-word article venting your depression, anger, or outrage on an issue or person you feel strongly about. If you feel like whining, do it with flair and use good imagery.\n\nA group activity - each participant submits three or four quotations, epigrams or interesting facts on slips of paper ahead of the actual outing. Go to a museum or art gallery and set aside a solid block of time to spend there eg 2-3 hours. Each person draws one or two of the slips of paper from a hat then goes off to browse. Linger where you wish, leave yourself open to what you see, keeping in mind the quote(s) you've selected. Find a corner and write something - a poem, the beginning of a story, even a journal entry. After the alloted time, the group gathers together again and each person reads out what they have produced. Once at home, do whatever shaping and framing you want and bring the result to a future group session for critical feedback.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6364875435829163}
+{"content": "Tag Archives: benefits of atheism\n\nThese six superpowers are why atheists are #winning\n\nAtheism is #winning\n\nTo be free from superstition or the belief in the supernatural is a rarity in the history of our species. It’s so rare in fact that it’s a stretch to include it in the description of what it is to be human. It is only through generations of evidence-based knowledge about the world that we have recently found ourselves in an environment hospitable to modern atheistic and skeptical world views. This niche we find ourselves in has been so out of reach to humans until so recently that the ability to experience such a detachment from gods and superstition might even be fairly described as superhuman.\n\nThere’s evidence that the origin of supernatural thinking dates as far back as 300,000 years ago when Paleolithic humans began burying their dead. If you consider that we’ve only had access to enough evidence-based ammunition to smother the absurdity of faith-based and superstitious thinking since the dawn of the scientific revolution 300 years ago, you realize that only 0.1% of our species’ existence since the Paleolithic era has been marked by the potential to be a modern atheist or skeptic.\n\nSo it can be argued that to be an atheist or skeptic in the modern world makes you superhuman. As an atheist (or future atheist) you might ask, “what’s the point of being superhuman if it doesn’t come with superpowers?” Well it does, take a look:\n\nSuperpower #1: Freedom of Thought\n\nWe have the freedom to think about anything we want without thinking someone else is listening. While our religious friends are fearful to imagine for even a second that there might not be a god because they might be damned to eternal hell-fire, we’re free to explore all ideas. The ability to entertain all ideas without the fear of a supernatural eavesdropper allows us to make sound judgments about the validity of some ideas over the absurdity of others. We’re #winning because our freedom of thought gives us the freedom to be ourselves.\n\nSuperpower #2: Wisdom\n\nWe live at a time when we have access to an unimaginable breadth of knowledge that helps us not only better understand our past, but more presciently plan for our future. Theists have to square any new knowledge they gain with the views held in their ancient doctrines. When there’s a conflict, they’ll choose the obsolete doctrine over new evidence leading them to surrender their potential wisdom to utter ignorance about the world around them. We’re #winning because our wisdom is built on the shoulders of giants.\n\nSuperpower #3: Imagination\n\nWith the unimaginable amount of knowledge we’ve garnered on the inner workings of the universe, our imaginations are given boundless range for exploration. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a theist who understands enough cosmology (see Superpower #2) to dream about, say, someday terraforming a planet, or to realistically contemplate the possibility of life elsewhere in the universe, or to make a great discovery in string theory. We’re #winning because we have a “spaceship of the imagination” that runs on logic and evidence and so is limitless in range.\n\nSuperpower #4: Honesty\n\nUnderstanding the world based on facts and evidence allows an honesty in our thinking. Theists have to hold in their minds competing ideas about how the world works as becomes apparent when they have to defend a belief. For example, watch what happens when you ask your Christian friend how, when Noah’s ark landed, the kangaroos made it back to Australia? Your friend will have to ignore the entire fossil record and invent a response. We’re #winning because we don’t have to make stuff up to make sense of the world.\n\nSuperpower #5: Stewardship\n\nOur ability to consume and synthesize facts and evidence in the absence of religious doctrine allows us to make decisions that will benefit the future of our species. As is all too common in the US, Christians are the first to ignore scientific evidence in favor of faith, submitting control of the future of our planet to their imaginary friend. An atheist understands there are no gods to solve our problems and will therefore work to solve them rather than ignore them or try to pray them away. We’re #winning because our thoughts and actions are positively correlated to the survival of our species.\n\nSuperpower #6: An Evolved Morality\n\nOur morality like everything else is subject to evidence and research and as such is able to evolve as our understanding of human nature evolves. We don’t rely on an ancient, static doctrine to mandate fixed moral codes that aren’t open to criticism as we learn more about ourselves and what it means to live in societies. A static view of morality results in a narrow understanding of what it is to be human and by extension what it is to be humane. We’re #winning because our morality is adaptable to knowledge and therefore promises to work to reduce the suffering of as many fellow human beings as possible.\n\nWe’re #winning because we possess superpowers that were out of reach for our species until very recently. If you’re a fellow atheist or future atheist, enjoy these powers, don’t squander them, and use them wisely.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5897592306137085}
+{"content": "The park is located on south eastern Kenya, 240km from Nairobi along the western side of Mombasa-Nairobi highway. The savannah ecosystem comprises of open grasslands, scrublands, and Acacia woodlands, belts of riverine vegetation and rocky ridges.\n\nMajor wildlife attractions include elephant, rhino, Hippos, lions, cheetah, leopards, Buffalos, diverse plant and bird species including the threatened corncrake and near threatened Basra Reed Warbler. \n\nMajor attractions include: recent Volcanoes, lava flows and caves with potential for geological and cave exploration and hiking. Mzima Springs & underwater hippo and fish watching,\n\nYou will find the following wildlife: Leopard, Cheetah, Wild dogs, Buffalo, Rhino, Elephant, Giraffe, Zebra, Lion,Crocodile, Mongoose, Hyrax, Dik- dik, Lesser Kudu, and Nocturnal Porcupine. Prolific birdlife features 600 species.\n\nAlso known as the \"Land of Lava, Springs and Man-eaters\"", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9834036827087402}
+{"content": "Skip to main content\n\nEnumeration of Spores\n\nThere are various ways to count the number of spores in a sample; we use two methods, depending on whether spore density is high or low.\n\nOcular field (high density)\n\n  1. Using a fine ruler, determine the diameter of the ocular field of your stereomicroscope at a magnification where spores can be easily distinguished from mineral particles and organic debris (some of which can be easily mistaken for spores by the inexperienced person). Then calculate the area of the spherical field (circle) at that magnification.\n\n    In our Nikon stereomicroscope, we choose a magnification of 4x for a comfortable field of view (diameter of 5mm). The area of the field is 19.6 mm2 (radius = 2.5 mm).\n\n  2. We always use plastic petri dishes to count spores because the base of the plate is flat. Because the dish also is hydrophobic, enough water must be added to have complete coverage of the base. Dishes vary in diameter; we use those which are 85 mm across.\n\n    The area of the base is calculated to be 5672 mm2. From this datum, and the area of the ocular field, total number of fields in the dish is: 5672/19.6 = 289.\n\n  3. Extract spores and use sieves to separate out as much root and organic detritus as possible, add the spore suspension to a petri dish and then randomly rotate the dish to spread out spores as evenly as possible. Note: This method will not work for extracted spores that have been stored more than 24 hr because aggregates invariable will form.\n\nIf there are less than 30-40 spores per field, count them in 40 fields randomly chosen over the area of the dish. Calculate average number of spores per field and multiply this number by 289 (# fields/dish).\n\nD. heterogama extract   Gi. rosea extract\nD. heterogama extract (left), Gi. rosea extract (right)\n\nIf there are more than 30-40 spores per field, then place spore extract in a test tube, dilute 1:1 with water. While vortexing, remove a specific volume (10 ml works well), transfer to petri dish, and recount. Make sure to keep track of each dilution to calculate spores in total sample.\n\n\nSpores are extracted from a 50 cm3 soil sample and suspended in 15 mL water.\n\nIn petri dish, too many spores are observed in each field to be counted. This volume then is diluted 1:1 to 30 mL. Spores are counted from a 10 ml aliquot of this dilution.\n\nAn average of 28 spores were found in 40 fields of view.\n28×289 = 8092 spores in the 10 mL sample.\n8092×3 = 24,276 spores in the total sample (30 mL and by extension, the original 50 cm3 soil from which spores were extracted).\n24276/50 = 486 spores/cm3\n\nDirect counts (low density)\n\nSpore in a watchglassWhen there are less than 3-4 spores some fields of view and no spores in others (25-50% of fields examined), then the method above cannot be used because it will overestimate total number of spores in the sample. In this case, spores often are few enough to be counted directly.\n\n  1. Transfer spore suspension to a test tube, vortex, and transfer 1 ml to a watch glass. Perform this step three more times to count spores in four replicates.\n  2. Swirl water in watchglass (clockwise or counterclockwise) to concentrate spores in the center. Expand field of view to see all spores and make a direct count. Average the counts from four watchglasses and multiply result by dilution factor (1/x total mls in test tube).\n  3. If number of spores in watchglass is too many to count comfortably, then increase the dilution and recount.\n\nRating of spore abundance\n\nWithin 30 days of harvest, a rating of sporulation abundance is assigned to each active culture in the collection. We use this is relative measure as an indicator of culture productivity (see notes section of the searcheable culture database) and it has served us well for over a decade.\n\n  1. A 50 cm3 sample is removed from a pot culture and spores extracted.\n  2. The spore extract is transferred to a petri dish and the contents shaken/swirled to distribute spores as evenly as possible.\n  3. A rating is assigned to each of five fields randomly selected across the dish. This rating varies with size of spores: (i) small (<120 µm), (ii) medium (>120 and <250 µm), and (iii) large (>250 µm).\nsmall = >300 spores/mL\nmedium = >200 spores/mL\nlarge = >100 spores/mL\nsmall = 200-300 spores/mL\nmedium =100-200 spores/mL\nlarge = 25-50 spores/mL\nsmall = <100 spores/mL\nmedium = <80 spores/mL\nlarge = <20 spores/mL\nPhotos of fields exemplifying ratings of small-spored Acaulospora morrowiae Photos of fields exemplifying ratings of medium-spored Archaeospora leptoticha. Photos of fields exemplifying ratings of large-spored Gigaspora gigantea", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7466384172439575}
+{"content": "Sunday, April 22, 2012\n\n2 Vital Factors of Reproductive Health When Trying to Get Pregnant\n\nIf you are a woman who wants to get pregnant, learning how your reproductive health works is very important. You should keep in mind that the reproductive system plays a very important role in your chances of conceiving. It could either increase or decrease your chances having a baby.\n\nIn understanding the reproductive system, there are two main areas that should be understood, Menstruation and Ovulation.\n\nMenstruation is the most visible phase of the menstrual cycle. It is a process wherein every month, the woman's body goes through normal and natural alterations which aid the ovaries to release an egg that might get fertilized during the course of the month. The day one of the woman's cycle happens at the very first day of menstruation. A total of 28 days is the average cycle, however it is still normal for a cycle to last anywhere from 24 to 34 days.\n\nThe usual menstrual cycle start off at the beginning of the period. At this point, small hormone intensities create a signal to a woman's body to enhance hormone production level. Although the egg follicles start off producing up to 20 eggs, only one egg will mature. And this egg will be delivered into the fallopian tube approximately halfway through the menstrual cycle.\n\nOvulation is the expression used to illustrate the process wherein the egg is being released by the egg follicles. At this point, the rising levels of estrogen elicit a surge of luteinising hormone (LH), which causes the egg to be discharge all the way through the ovary wall.\n\nThe process of ovulation takes place within 14 days before the beginning of menstruation. However it is still normal for the ovulation to occur anytime with in 12 to 18 days prior to menstruation. At this moment, the woman is really fertile and has potential to conceive. Due to the increase in the production of hormone, not only does the egg get developed but so does the endometrium or the inner lining of the uterus. It becomes thick due to the preparation for the implantation of a fertilized egg. In order to help build a healthy endometrium for implantation the progesterone is produced.\n\nA further alteration which happens with in the ovulation is the stage wherein the cervical mucus changed from dry and thick to thin and slick. These changes assist the sperms journey headed to the fallopian tube and released egg. At the discharged egg, there is a spasms occurrence in the sides of the fallopian tubes sequentially to help the egg as it journeys down the tube going to the uterus. However, if the egg is not fertilized, it will fall apart upon reaching the uterus.\n\nNote, once the egg is not fertilized, the thickened endometrium lining is no longer essential, thus it breaks down, causing the menstruation. During this time, the woman's body produces follicle which stimulates the hormone (FSH) to set off the follicles in both ovaries to start off as maturing eggs. Simultaneously, the follicles produce estrogen.\n\nOf course, everyone's body is different so I encourage you to check out my videos, Help Get Pregnant.\n\nDo you think you really can get pregnant? Click here to find out ->\n\nI wish you the best of luck.\n\nArticle Source:", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9122218489646912}
+{"content": "Jamiroquai – Virtual Insanity\n\nJamiroquai are a British funk and acid jazz band formed in 1992. Fronted by lead singer Jay Kay, Jamiroquai were initially the most prominent component in the early-1990s London-based acid jazz movement, alongside groups such as Incognito, the James Taylor Quartet, and the Brand New Heavies. Subsequent albums have explored other musical directions such as pop, rock, and electronica. Their best known track is „Virtual Insanity“, which won four awards at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards. Jamiroquai have sold more than 40 million albums worldwide and won a Grammy Award in 1998. [Wikipedia]\n\n„Virtual Insanity“ is the lead single from British funk/acid jazz Jamiroquai’s third studio album, Travelling Without Moving. The song reached #3 on the UK Singles Chart. The song also charted at #38 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart upon the single’s release in America in 1997. [Wikipedia]\n\nStuart Patrick Jude Zender (born 18 March 1974) is an English bassist, songwriter and record producer. He is best known for being the original bass player for Jamiroquai.\n\n[From Wikipedia]\n\nZip-File includes: Standard Notation + TAB", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9507056474685669}
+{"content": "Engaging the Disengaged, Number Five\n\nStrength Based Teaching\n\n[W]hat would happen if teachers were as vigilant about looking for signs of brilliance as they are in finding the mistakes: What if teachers went on the hunt for strengths before spotting the deficiencies? What if we switched the deficiency model that too often reigns in classrooms to the...\n\nEngaging the Disengaged, Number Four\n\nHow do we engage a diverse group of adolescents? Individualized Daily Reading (IDR), that’s how!\n\nIn 2010 I was given a class that included the four unique students described below along with eleven other struggling readers. The mission was to catch these students up in four half-hour sessions per week. While not all caught up, the average grew two years as documented by our assessments....\n\nEngaging the Disengaged, Number Three\n\nHow do we engage students who are well below grade-level in reading and help them catch up quickly?\n\nThe new Common Core State Reading Standard 10 states that students should read and comprehend complex literary and informational text independently and proficiently (within the appropriate text complexity band).\n\nAs teachers, we know we must send students on to high school, college,...", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9887439608573914}
+{"content": "Sunday, January 1, 2012\n\nLandmark Education, Still Going Strong\n\nLandmark forum alumni stated that what they sought for initially was adventure. Instead they ended up with an experience that changed their lives for good. The 3 day seminar was something worth their time. Basically, Landmark education focuses on personal development. The courses build on concepts such as setting of goals, resolution of conflict, happiness and interpersonal relationship. These are important aspects in your daily life. According to this training, once you are able to handle these areas, your life will change.\n\nLandmark education boasts of an over 700 strong course facilitator work force. Their mandate is to mould you through different activities using tried and tested skills. During such a session, you are guided on how to unearth past policies that have been guiding your life. You are then led to a reflection of barriers that prevent you from moving forward. In the end, Landmark forum equips you with skills and renewed ability to improve your life and career.\n\nThe progress you and other participants make lead to experience sharing sessions. For instance, a Landmark forum moderator may give out assignments during a session. You are then supposed to stand at the podium and narrate your experiences to others. The assignment requires you to detail the problem and the steps you have taken to deal with it. Most participants draw from experiences in their relationships with friends, colleagues and family members. The Landmark education facilitator guides the participants accordingly.\n\nLandmark education does not discriminate participants. It does not matter your religious or cultural background. Neither does culture or gender hinder you from being in the program. The sessions take place in over 20 countries across the world. Language is not a barrier as course materials are prepared in major languages recognized universally. Attendees are asked to invite colleagues, friends and members of their families. Landmark forum opponents argue that this is used to put pressure on visitors to enroll.\n\nLandmark forum courses are not therapy based. Instead the emphasis is on discovering for yourself how to deal with situations and bring them under control. As a participant, you should share the things you have learnt with members of your family. Some will oppose while others will support your decision. In the end, Landmark education is all about an individual. It is fuelled by your desire to change present circumstances or remain stagnated. Those who spread Landmark education cult rumors should be reminded that the program has also been used by companies and prominent personalities. You should also get a balanced perception on these courses as a beacon of your decision.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9823305010795593}
+{"content": "A3 Artist Statement\n\nARTIST STATEMENT of Andre N. Mamprin\n\nAndre N. Mamprin, Calgary, Canada is a multidisciplinary artist. All aspects of his creative work from his conceptual art, drawing to painting, sculpture, and experimental movies, through to writing, interventions in natural and urban environments converge on two uncommon objectives:\n\nFirst, understanding the creative process & the generation of ideas from inception through to completion in order to stimulate interest, provoke thinking or disrupt the status quo.\n\nSecond, to use deep observation combined with pattern recognition in order to better understand, hold in jest, provide social commentary or offer constructive solutions to the Human Condition, contribute to the Human Diaspora or enhance the Human Enterprise.\n\nWithin Mamprin’s creative process which shape a creation, we can witness an intricate dialog between five dimensions; Space, the context in which the expression is executed, Time the primary and non negotiable temporal element that forms the primary constraint to all life, Energy that builds from inspiration and intention, Matter used as the primary input to construct the work, and Design, used to organize the intention behind the work and serve as a conceptual blueprint for construction.\n\nThese five dimensions work separately or in unison to provoke, evoke or stir emotion moving the idea or concept from the viewers head to the heart, and is designed to leave the viewer with an existential question. Before, during and sometimes after the creative process, Mamprin uses his own style of Concept Mapping to document the creative process which intern becomes a creative byproduct of the work.\n\nMamprin’s creative work aspires to stimulate imagination that may result in an accidental revelation which is intended to generate constant change, evolution or even transformation in the way the viewer thinks, perceives or knows. The work is intended to bear witness to and act as testament to the human enterprise.\n\nMamprin submits “An image that stems from the mind’s eye (imagination) without a possible conclusion, bends perception, challenges reality and always resides in instability ultimately forms a paradox. All of life stems from paradox. Nothing is permanent, hence the role of adaption in evolution.”", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9217537045478821}
+{"content": "Friday, April 4, 2014\n\nThe Hollow World by Michael J. Sullivan (review)\n\n\nHollow World by Michael Sullivan is a fascinating futuristic tale depicting the adventures of Ellis Rogers, an unhappy man who searches for a way to escape his life. A leap of faith using calculations that will allow him to travel to the future results in a remarkable journey into an amazing environment. The question becomes, when a group of apparently identical genderless and hairless individuals hail him as a ‘Darwin’, yet his appearance coincides with the reintroduction of homicide into a previously peaceful society, can he become enlightened enough to survive in his new environment? The machinations of yet another ‘Darwin’ complicate his assimilation and force him to evaluate what his true values and standards are and what he is willing to do to remain true to them.\n\nIt is always difficult to imagine what the future holds but this author has invented a wonderfully creative concept and explored the boundaries of what is considered desirable. The collision between idealism and pragmatism is highlighted by the struggle to choose between a lifestyle with everything provided and one that depends on the results of one’s intense manual efforts. The revelations that gradually unfold are startling as they have repercussions in both Ellis’ present and past. There are thought-provoking images evoked by sentences such as “Hollow World is like one big house where everyone has a private study or office separated by a single doorway.” and, ”Humanity’s ability to adapt is proven, but our true talent is in our ability to make our environment adapt to us, and to be able to jump highest when the ground falls out from under our feet.” It was fascinating to watch the way the author was able to postulate a virtually identical group of beings who are nonetheless individuals who approach life in different ways. I thought that the tale started a bit slow and ponderous but it gained momentum and captured my attention until I was rushing to see what other quirk or twist would be revealed. This was a very enjoyable time travel tale and I hope that the author finds a way to explore more permutations of life in this intriguing version of the world.\n\n© Night Owl Reviews \n\n\nAmazon link\n\n\n  1. Great Review, Thanks for sharing :)\n\n    1. Thanks for the compliment, thanks for taking the time to visit, Crystal!", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7054522633552551}
+{"content": "Minds Matter is Closing the Achievement Gap\n\nMinds Matter aims to transform the lives of accomplished high school students from low-income families by preparing them for college. Through a comprehensive 3-year program that includes intensive mentoring and academics, they empower young people from families with very little financial means to achieve college readiness and success.\n\nThe organization was founded in New York City in 1991 by six Wall Street professionals who understood that the gap in low-income student achievement is not one of intelligence, but resources. Minds Matter has since developed a successful program incorporating tutoring, mentoring, and enrichment experiences that prepare students for bright futures.\n\nThe non-profit says that with the tough requirements and hard work required to complete the program, they are encouraging students to raise their expectations, broaden their dreams, and equip themselves with a toolkit for future success. And it is working. Minds Matter currently has a 100% college acceptance rate for students across their 13 chapters around the country. \n\nLearn more about Minds Matter and volunteer or donate to their programs here.\n\nKatherine Brown\n\nAllegory Media Foundation", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6805315017700195}
+{"content": "What is a farm cooperative?\n\nOur farm co-op is an alternative model for farming that partners consumers with their local food producers.  By being a member of the farm, you are taking a more active role in agriculture.  The basic idea is that members of the community take the risk of farming along with the farmers in their community.  So if the farmer has a great year, the members do as well.  If the farm suffers from extreme weather, the community helps keep the farm from going out of business by absorbing some of the impact on the farmers.\n\n\nI already grow my own garden. Why would I join?\n\nBecause you can spend your points however you like, you can use them on items other than what you raise at home!  In addition, our offerings go beyond vegetables to include meat, eggs, baked goods, and mushrooms.  The Savage River Farm co-op can be a nice complement to your garden!\n\n\nWhy should I join when I can just buy what you have at the market? \n\nMany reasons!  As a member, you will get produce at a lower price than we will sell to non-members.  It is worth it to us to have your commitment, and we are happy to cut you the best deals we can.  Also, due to high demand, we do not sell meat to non-members.  If you wish to obtain our pasture-raised meats, you must be a member of the farm, not just a customer at the market.  \n\n\nWhat all do you get to choose from for your shares throughout the season? \n\nWe grow an enormous array of vegetables and fruit including different varieties of beans, cabbage, carrots, beets, turnips, lettuce, arugula, spring mix, radishes, onions, garlic, potatoes, spinach, scallions, tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, sweet corn, squash, zucchini, cucumbers, pumpkins, chard, kale, kohlrabi, collards, broccoli, peas, celery, gourds, herbs, strawberries, popcorn, and melons.  In addition, we raise mushrooms, free-range laying hens, meat chickens, goats, turkeys, lambs, beef, and pigs. We sometimes also offer baked goods made with locally milled organic grains and ingredients from the farm.\n\n\nCan I really put whatever I want in my share?\n\nBecause this is a free-choice cooperative, weekly shares are given on a first-come, first-served basis.  This means there is a chance that some popular items will \"sell out\" faster than others.  Please understand this.  Further, we will at times put a limit on the number of points each member can spend on a single item so that everyone gets a fair crack at it.\n\n\nWhere is the farm located?\n\nWe are located in the Savage River watershed on the western side of Big Savage Mountain in the community known as Avilton. \n\n\nApproximate driving distances:\n\nGrantsville, MD - 9 mi.\n\nSalisbury, PA - 10 mi.\n\nFrostburg, MD - 11 mi.\n\nSprings, PA - 12 mi.\n\nMeyersdale, PA - 16 mi.\n\nAccident, MD - 21 mi.\n\nCumberland, MD - 22 mi.\n\nKeyser, WV - 22 mi.\n\nDeep Creek, MD - 24 mi.\n\nFriendsville, MD - 24 mi.\n\nOakland, MD - 32 mi.\n\nSee you at the farm!\n\nSee you at the farm!", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8837127685546875}
+{"content": "Featured post\n\nAct Two\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n1 Corinthians 10:13\n\n\n\n\nWhy Details Matter\n\nSometimes I like to just hang back, watch people to see what they do and how they act.  If you pay attention you can easily determine why some succeed and others fail at certain endeavors.\n\nIt has become easy for most of us to skip over the small details in life.  We live in a quick on the go society.  In reality every detail, no matter how small, matters. I have the luxury of hindsight because I am able to look back on my life and determine why I was successful at certain times. I can also be sure of why I failed at other incidents.  It comes down to the details.\n\nWhy are Vincent Van Gogh’s works of art so amazing and thought provoking?  After all anyone can paint a starry night.  In reality, very few can capture the mood and feel with a brush.\n\nLast week I watched a championship fight between two fighters at the top of their game.  One of them was hit by a huge hook and right away he came back with a wicked cross.  The hook seemingly had little effect on the one hit.  Two still pictures reveal the reason behind it.\n\nThe hook was “winged,” which means the hips were not used and it was only a palm strike.  He didn’t hit with his knuckles, but his opponent did use his hips and turn over his punch.  Those tiny differences made the difference between being able to walk through a punch and being thrown against the ropes.\n\nHow many times do we fail to take each step we need to accomplish our goals? Are we using our hips to throw our hooks (hypothetically), or are we just slapping with our hands? I have been and am guilty as the next person when it comes to cutting corners.  I used to never worry about the small things, I always figured I could go back and fix them. This faulty way of thinking has cost me a lot over the years.  I think about all the time and heartache I could have saved myself and I realize how ignorant I had been.\n\nWe walk through life without realizing that God has provided us with everything we need to live a prosperous life of fulfillment.  It is hard because we cannot see the big picture or the final outcome. This is where faith comes into the picture and helps us get through the rough periods.  The good news is, that even though we can’t see the future, our job is not to blindly walk in faith, he has given us clear guidelines of how we should live in the Bible.\n\nOur lives are made up of thousands of tiny actions that take place every hour of the day and night.  A chef cannot put a culinary masterpiece on the table without careful attention to each of the ingredients.\n\nI listen when someone is explaining something unfamiliar to me and I absorb the information.  If I don’t understand something, I will ask questions.\n\nI make every effort to do whatever task I set out to do right in the first place. I know I will fail at times, but I learn and I never continue to make the same mistakes again.\n\nHow could paying attention to details make your life easier?  The next question is why are you not sweating the details?  When we cease to learn, life is over.\n\nMatthew 7:7-8\n\n\nProverbs 13:4\n\n\n\nLife Happens\n\nHas this ever happened to you? You have started a great new routine, and then BANG something comes up and throws a wrench in it. In boxing when this happens we respond by “rolling with the punches.” We all make plans and rarely do they go off perfectly.\n\nSo what can we do? We can complain and get angry, or we can look ahead and make some contingency plans to deal with the unexpected arising.  Spending time in the world of anger and frustration is a waste of time. No matter what situation arises, can come up with a plan to adapt and continue your new routine.  If you give up altogether, you will be no closer to accomplishing anything.\n\nIn the case of a routine or something, we would like to make a regular part of life it is imperative that we stick as close to normal as we can. I try to make up a missed workout on the same day, and if I cannot, then I go right back to it the following day.  When traveling I often modify my routine to a different location but it will be close to the same as I do at home.  When I am training people and they have a work trip or a vacation coming up, I am always happy to provide them with body weight exercise plans they can do in their hotel room or with minimal equipment – such as a jump rope and one weight.\n\nIt takes twenty-one days to make something a habit.  Once we have formed one good habit, we must constantly be improving, meeting our current goals and setting new ones.\n\nHabits apply too much more than working out or eating right.  For me, writing is like a muscle and unless I use it every day, it will become weak.  This is why I enjoy writing blogs, it gives me regular training and it hones my craft.\n\nWhen writing my first book, I wrote a blog every week and I worked on pages for the book.  The activity helped me stay focused on the task.  I was traveling at the time and I was overseas with spotty internet.  I would write and sit outside where I knew there was a wifi spot and sometimes there was no internet.  I would download my new pages, send some old ones to my writing partner.  Yes, I missed some days because of the travel, but it was always in my mind and as soon as I could I established my routine again.\n\nThe number one rule is to let go of the frustration if we are unable to do what we had planned. There will be time, because there is always time. It is easy to tell ourselves we just don’t have the time, but deep down we know the truth.\n\nThe second rule is to set aside a specific time each day for our routine.  Once we have established our priorities, everything else can fit into other times that are not already committed.  If you commit to your time to a priority, and something else comes up – you will need to say no.  Saying no is a part of prioritizing and committing.  If we must go to sleep earlier or wake up earlier to establish dedicated time, then that is what will need to be done. The third most important piece of the puzzle is that even if you miss a day, a week or a month of your routine – make a commitment to get back to it.  If we consider it important we will begin again.  It will not be like starting from zero, because we have gone over this ground before.  \n\nMaking commitments and priorities a part of life is very important, so consider your priorities and use your time wisely!\n\nSetbacks are only temporary bumps in the road to success.  Use it as a learning experience, adapt and re-commit.\n\nJames 1:12\n\n\nJames 1:2\n\n\n\nThe Battle Within\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n1 Corinthians 10:13\n\n\nPhilippians 2:3-5\n\n\n\nStaying Consistent Daily\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGalatians 5:22-25\n\n\n\nDigging out\n\n\nI am sure many of you have experienced the art of digging yourself out of a hole. I have spent my most of my adult life coming back from many poor decisions I have made.\n\nI was on a perpetual merry-go-round of highs and lows as a criminal until 2005 when I was finally finished with the streets.  I had the next two years to work on myself and figure out how I was going to live as a normal citizen for the rest of my life.  My main objective was to keep being myself and doing things I was good at, but this time without breaking any laws.  \n\nIn the past, I didn’t have to worry about anyone but myself.  I did whatever I wanted.  In my new life, I would have to consider how my decisions would affect those around me.  The stakes were much higher.  In my past life, I had many experienced criminals mentoring me.  Now I was unsure of what steps to take or even who to speak to for advice.\n\nLife presents many opportunities to us, we must keep our eyes and our minds open.  I had to change my way of thinking and my outlook on life.  Writing this now, I can tell you it is much easier said than done.  \n\nI had to learn to trust that God had a plan for my life.  I had to have faith, which is something I never put much thought into other than believing in myself.  I stopped looking at what I could do to bring in the most money and instead starting thinking about where I felt God could use me the most.\n\nIt was hard to walk away from the life I had built in Los Angeles because it was comfortable to me.  It was even harder when life did not go my way in Illinois right away and I had very few friends.  I felt like I kept hitting dead ends, and to be honest I felt like giving up and moving back to California at times.  Instead, I kept pushing forward, putting in the days, with the belief that with hard work and prayer the right doors would open.\n\nOne of the turning points in the past year was when I threw myself completely into my work and decided that no matter what I was doing, I would do it to the best of my ability.  It was hard when I could not see immediate results, when doors always seem to close as I was looking for a space to teach or open a gym.  Even when I found space and started out, there were so few people I wasn’t sure if we would make it.  But I kept at it.  Kept showing up, putting in the work and praying for direction and God’s blessing.  \n\nLife is by no means perfect, but I know I am on the right track.  I wrote out my goals and started chipping away.  Slowly but surely I have made progress. We all can…. with hard work, determination, and prayer.\n\nPhilippians 3:13\n\n\n\nThere are many uncertain things in life, but there is one thing I have always been sure of: I am responsible for what happens to me.  In the late eighties, a friend gave me a book he found at a yard sale. It was, “A Man Thinketh,” by James Allen, written at the turn of the twentieth century.  It opened my eyes to how much our mind influences our lives.  I later bought another book by James Allen, “Man: King Of Mind, Body, and Circumstance.”\n\nI cannot even begin to guess how many times I have read and re-read these books by James Allan over the years.  \n\nOne day last week there was a brief period where there was nobody in the gym but me.\n\nI had the music up loud and I was moving around in the ring.  I was trying to shadow box, but something someone had said to me earlier kept going through my mind.\n\nThey had said I was lucky to be good at boxing and to be in shape.  \n\nSo as I was moving around the ring fighting my imaginary opponent I had that thought going through my head.  I chuckled a bit when I thought of James Allan’s books, because now that I am a Christian his books have a much deeper meaning. I used to read them and only take away what I wanted to use. He also writes a lot about being moral and honest and those were the parts I skipped over.\n\nI am today where my actions and thoughts have placed me. There was no luck or chance involved.  My mindset, thoughts and work ethic determine the outcome of my days, weeks and years.  \n\nMy current circumstance is actually the culmination of thousands of seemingly unrelated small choices over the years.  I am not saying that I am defined by my past choices, because I know that good or bad they are just temporary.  They will change with the present day and depending on the decisions I make now, they will either put me closer to where I wish to be or set me back.\n\nMy boxing skills and fitness are not by chance.  Each day is an opportunity to push myself closer to my goals.  I want to encourage you to keep pushing forward.  Dreaming and setting lofty goals is important, but so is the day-to-day grind and hard work that will get you there.  God has given you the tools you need to accomplish the plan he has laid out for you, and it’s up to you to use those tools to the best of your ability.\n\nPhilippians 4:11-12\n\n\nColossians 3:23-24\n\nWhatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.\n\n\n\nIn my lifetime I have come across many people who wake up whenever they please, go to sleep whenever they feel like it and basically do whatever they want to do. Many people choose to live their lives with no structure.\n\nI always had a bedtime and a wake-up time growing up.  My bed had to be made and I had to eat breakfast every morning.\n\nWhen I went to military boarding school we had a set schedule for every day of the week. My experience there taught me that everyone was more efficient when they had a structured life.\n\nIt was while I was at military school that I learned to love waking up early, before the rest of the world is awake.  There is something special about the magic time before dawn where I find I can accomplish so much.  I used to wake up an hour before our official school wake up call, shower, get dressed and read. I liked not being rushed, so it worked for me.\n\nI do the same today as I did then.  When I first moved to Illinois I had no place to be early, yet I still woke up before first light, walked my dog and got in a workout. I made a timetable for myself that I followed each day.  I would devote a set amount of time to writing, reading and getting other things done.  \n\nI have found that when I have a routine there is no room for wasted time. I am happier, I accomplish all the things I plan to and I still have some flex time for fun.\n\nI have planned out my years as far back as I can remember.  It is never so restricted and structured that I cannot change along the way, I just have a plan, basically a guide to where I would like to go that year and what I would like to accomplish.  \n\nI have observed people who live without structure and it causes them anxiety and other problems. It often leads to wasted time and impedes them from reaching goals.\n\nI wake up at the same time every day. If I feel tired during the day, the next day I go to sleep earlier.  I eat my meals as close to when I should during the day to keep my energy levels up.\n\nIt works and the best part of all this?  I never have to make excuses as to why I was not where I should have been.\n\nI encourage you to lay out a plan and stick to it.  Start with small short term goals and see them through.  Commit to getting enough sleep and regular healthy meals and schedule out your days.  I’m sure you will see the benefits soon after you begin.  We must have faith, knowing that God has a plan for our lives and his timing is perfect.\n\nThese small commitments will help you when your bigger goals do not involve immediate gratification but take time.  We can all live a fruitful, fulfilling life when we have structure.\n\nProverbs 13:4\n\n\nPsalm 68:6\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.606238842010498}
+{"content": "The following journal articles have been published by the RRfW programme. For details of our other publications, including posters, presentations and project publications, please visit our ResearchGate page.\n\nResource Recovery from Waste: Restoring the Balance between Resource Scarcity and Waste Overload\n\nAnne Velenturf and Phil Purnell, Sustainability 2017, 9(9), 1603; doi:10.3390/su9091603 Open Access.\n\nThis article aims to explain the rationale for initiating the RRfW programme, outlining the need for a Circular Economy that contributes to a resilient environment and human well-being. It discusses waste and resource management in relationship to ecosystem stewardship, environmental and social boundaries, and economic models. It proposes that a participation approach is needed to engage the multiple stakeholders required for transformative changes, and concludes with the participatory strategy adopted by RRfW to illustrate how academia can play a leading role in the transition towards a Circular Economy.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9993482828140259}
+{"content": "By Definition……………..\n\nBy definition, a FATHER is someone who conceived the child: but many have unfortunately experienced,…… the FATHER doesn’t always stick around…. Some bolt before the child is born…..Some bolt in the early years… some bolt in the teenage years….some bolt as soon as they have the chance….\n\nTo say the least…its a sad reality that many grow p without a father…but not every abandoned child….regardless MALE OR FEMALE grows up without a positive role model…\n\nTherefore… FATHER’S DAY should indeed be called “DAD’S DAY”…. The main difference between a father and a dad is that the father is biological: HOWEVER – a dad’s relationship is emotional and ATTACHED to the child with a genuine bond being established no matter how close or far away either party may be…\n\nDad is someone who actively and consistently PARTICIPATES in the child’s growth, development and maturity process…”DADDY”… a term of affection….endearment…familiarity…. Fathering is merely an act out of NATURE and what the bible talked about being fruitful and multiply. ( that is not the only definition of fruitful / multiple ) but we can discuss that in a later post….\n\nAdding that it is much easier to become a father and many do it even unintentionally: however, it is also much harder to COMMITT to becoming a DAD…. DAD’S a leader, provides affection, and caring with balanced strong guidance..and of course will do whatever is necessary to make sure all the natural and spiritual things are met..Then grant some of the wants and needs as well based off of behavior and their ability to obey and have discipline under their tutelage.\n\nA FATHER could have potential to be a great DAD…it all depends on many different factors…choices…but to make it plain…. – IT IS A CHOICE of the PARENT….Children do not / did not ask to be created nor birthed…\n\nI indeed honor those DAD’S who are just simply THERE…..who chose to stay through ANY type of “personal” hardships etc… Yes, I say personal because it is!! Kids don’t have nothing to do with what you go through on a daily basis..!\n\n>>No HONOR/ respect >> No PEACE via ANY relationship!\n\nI am so grateful that I had a FATHER and a DAD……My son and I both miss him tremendously….", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7824333906173706}
+{"content": "Follow by Email\n\nTuesday, September 30, 2014\n\nHeart Screenings for Athletes - Are they worth it?\n\nIn recent years I've been getting more and more reports of athletic heart screenings. The schools and sports clubs locally are offering for athletes to get a heart work up for a relatively small fee.\n\nWhy are they offering this? Because sudden cardiac death in athletes has been in the news a lot over the years, and we all want to minimize the risk that our child has an undiagnosed heart condition that may cause sudden death when exercising. We want to prevent sudden death by identifying those at risk and keeping them from the activities that increase risk. Communities and schools now are more likely to have defibrillators on hand in case of problems, but some children might benefit from an implantable defibrillator. (Side note: if you've not taken a CPR class in the past few years, a lot has changed, including teaching people how to use defibrillators. And you no longer follow \"A B C\" so it is very different. CPR is recommended for all teens and adults.)\n\nIs the cost of a heart screen worth it?\n\nA new report, Assessment of the 12-Lead ECG as a Screening Test for Detection of Cardiovascular Disease in Healthy General Populations of Young People (12–25 Years of Age): A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology, is a review of whether or not electrocardiograms (ECGs) are beneficial for all athletes prior to sport participation and is endorsed by the Pediatric and Congenital Electrophysiology Society and American College of Sports Medicine.\n\nThere has been a lot of controversy over the years whether or not routine ECG screening of athletes is a a cost-effective means to find at risk young people. Northeastern Italy has done a comprehensive screening program of competitive athletes and has lowered their sudden cardiac death rate, which is evidence for the ECG screening. Despite this shown benefit, there are many problems with the feasibility of testing a broad range of athletes to evaluate for risk of sudden death (SD). Complex issues from the Statement linked above:\n  1. the low prevalence of cardiovascular diseases responsible for SD in the young population\n  2. the low risk of SD among those with these diseases\n  3. the large sizes of the populations proposed for screening\n  4. the imperfection of the 12-lead ECG as a diagnostic test in this venue \nIt is generally agreed upon that screening to detect cardiovascular abnormalities in otherwise healthy young competitive athletes is justifiable in principle on ethical, legal, and medical grounds. Reliable exclusion of cardiovascular disease by such screening may provide reassurance to athletes and their families.\n\nIn short: To do an ECG screening on all athletes is not inheritantly unwarranted nor discouraged, but it isn't recommended either.\n\nAlthough an ECG is not recommended, it is recommended to do a 14 point questionnaire for all athletes at their pre-participation sports exam. This is available below.\n\nPositive findings on the history (questionnaire) or physical exam may require further testing, but using an ECG as the initial screen for underlying problems in the 12- to 25-year age group hasn’t been found to save lives.\n\nChanges in the heart in growing teenagers can make it difficult to tell if an ECG is abnormal or a variation for age (unless read by a pediatric cardiologist, which is often not possible for these mass screenings).\n\nFalse negative and positive results can lead to missed diagnoses (normal ECG but real underlying condition) or unneeded testing (abnormal ECG with a normal heart).\n\nMass ECG screening of athletes would be very expensive.\nIf your family can bear the cost and wants to do the screening, it should be done. But if the screen is abnormal, do not jump to the conclusion that your athlete will be banned from sports forever. A more complete exam by a pediatric cardiologist will sort that out.\n\nKnow that hearts can change over time, so one normal screen does not guarantee there will never be a cardiac event in your child.\n\nIf you do not feel that the screening is something you want to pay for or if you feel that it is not necessary for your child who has a negative 14 point screening, you should not be required to do so. The evidence does not support mass required screenings.\n\nIf however, your child has identified risks based on the questionnaire, a more thorough testing should be done.\n\nThese 14 points are listed in Table 1 of the above linked statement:\n\nThe 14-Element AHA Recommendations for Preparticipation Cardiovascular Screening of Competitive Athletes\n\nMedical history* \n  Personal history\n    1. Chest pain/discomfort/tightness/pressure related to exertion\n    2. Unexplained syncope/near-syncope†\n    3. Excessive and unexplained dyspnea/fatigue or palpitations, associated with exercise\n    4. Prior recognition of a heart murmur\n    5. Elevated systemic blood pressure\n    6. Prior restriction from participation in sports\n    7. Prior testing for the heart, ordered by a physician\n\n Family history\n    8. Premature death (sudden and unexpected, or otherwise) before 50 y\n\nof age attributable to heart disease in 1 relative\n    9. Disability from heart disease in close relative <50 y of age\n\n    10. Hypertrophic or dilated cardiomyopathy, long-QT syndrome, or other ion channelopathies, Marfan syndrome, or clinically significant arrhythmias; specific knowledge of genetic cardiac conditions in family members\n\nPhysical examination\n    11. Heart murmur‡\n    12. Femoral pulses to exclude aortic coarctation \n\n    13. Physical stigmata of Marfan syndrome\n    14. Brachial artery blood pressure (sitting position)§\n\nAHA indicates American Heart Association.\n*Parental verification is recommended for high school and middle school athletes.\n†Judged not to be of neurocardiogenic (vasovagal) origin; of particular concern when occurring during or after physical exertion.\n‡Refers to heart murmurs judged likely to be organic and unlikely to be innocent; auscultation should be performed with the patient in both the supine and standing positions (or with Valsalva maneuver), specifically to identify murmurs of dynamic left ventricular outflow tract obstruction.\n§Preferably taken in both arms.\nModified with permission from Maron et al.3 Copyright © 2007, American Heart Association, Inc.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6458666920661926}
+{"content": "New Delhi: ‘Bharat Ratna’ to Tendulkar may require tweaking of the criteria that has been laid down for the coveted award. The calls for bestowing Sachin Tendulkar with the 'Bharat Ratna' may have got louder after India's World Cup triumph but giving the country's highest civilian honour to the batting icon would require a change in the rules.\n\n\n\nAccording to the criteria at present, the award is given for exceptional contribution in the fields of art, literature, science and social service. The criteria do not have any mention of sports.\n\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7375161051750183}
+{"content": "the artist has had an interest in sound perhaps equal to his interest in the visual are some recent projects:\n\nrobert aaron wiley has been studying traditional Japanese shamisen music for many years and is working toward an advanced certificate of studies under the direction of Sensei Mary Ohno\n\nnaga-uta shamisen\n\nand with a continuing interest in sound experimentation, he is operating under the guise of moon city costumes in electronic music\n\nmoon city costumes", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9175103902816772}
+{"content": "Search for\n\nCrisis management: What to do when the worst happens\n\nCrisis management: What to do when the worst happens\n\n\nThis cool button delivers CIO stories to you on Facebook:\n\n\nDana Deasy JPMorgan Chase\n\nDana Deasy\n\n\n\n\nThe eye of the storm\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThen came one of the worst. On January 29, 1986, the Challenger—a space shuttle built and maintained by Rockwell—blew apart a little more than a minute into its tenth launch, killing all seven crew members aboard. Deasy had experienced his fair share of issues by then, but the scale of the tragedy played a significant role in his development as a leader.\n\n“It’s very different when the role that technology may or may not have played in the problem is not clear,” Deasy said. “In those situations, we have to deal with a whole different set of problems.”\n\nLater, at Tyco International, Deasy was part of the new leadership team brought in after top executives were convicted of larceny and fraud, and at a time when the company faced serious financial, operational and morale issues. Granted, this was a crisis of a different scale, but it was a crisis all the same. “At that time, it was about, how do I get people to work together on technology when they hadn’t worked together before?” Deasy said. “It was definitely a stress-filled time where you needed to help sort out the company in a hurry.”\n\nThen there was BP. In April 2010, about halfway through his six-year tenure as CIO at the global oil giant, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill occurred. Deasy declined to comment specifically on that incident, but he said that the advice he provides below was influenced by that experience.\n\nReflecting on these and other crises he has experienced, Deasy focused on a simple truth: “There was no playbook for the day the oil spill occurred,” Deasy said. “There was no playbook for the day the Challenger happened.”\n\nSpotting the warning signs\n\nWhen people ask Deasy what keeps him up at night, he points to balance. CIOs are constantly moving from issue to issue—be it focusing on innovation, managing operations, mitigating risk, making critical decisions about staff, dealing with regulatory issues, and so on.\n\nCIOs, he said, need to juggle all of those balls in the air, paying close attention to all factors to anticipate when problems might arise, and “looking around corners” to recognize new opportunities or threats. “I think any good CIO today has to have an early radar system that hopefully lets them know when one of those things is starting to become problematic, or to see signs where things are starting to break around you,” he said.\n\nDeasy also said that tabletop simulations are helpful for preparing for crises, but only to a certain extent. “I always tell people, if you get overly confident that your desktop exercises are going to see you through a unique crisis, then you will be woefully unprepared to deal with it,” Deasy said. \n\n5 steps for leading through crisis\n\nWhen crises do occur, Deasy offered the following steps for CIOs:\n\n1. Focus on the problem at hand. IT leaders must communicate with their C-suite colleagues and board members. “Absolute transparency,” Deasy recommends. “Here’s what we know, and here’s everything we don’t know.” But they must balance that with the importance of remediating the problem. Solve the problem first, then go after the root cause(s).\n\n2. Lead from the front. A mentor of Deasy’s from Rockwell once told him, “When something goes terribly wrong, it’s how you show up at the beginning that sets the tone.” If leaders are scattered and constantly changing directions, the team will respond with similar disarray. But if CIOs remain poised and calm—despite maybe churning on the inside—“it’s amazing how quickly people will get focused,” Deasy said.\n\n3. Understand your own limitations. “Be very clear to yourself and your team that you’re not the smartest person in the room,” Deasy suggests. Teams expect leaders to maintain their composure, but also to ask the right questions and bring the right people into the room. But they err when they think they have all the answers. “Sometimes people find themselves in the middle of a crisis and because they’re the senior person in the room, they feel that they need to carry all the expertise,” Deasy added.  \n\n4. Seek solutions from all players. Even if you have truly put the right people in the right roles, don’t limit them to those responsibilities when a crisis occurs. When leaders break down those silos, and respect the knowledge of their teams, they can find the right answers—sometimes from the least likely sources. “If you put constraints and people think they’re coming to a crisis and have to work their role, you have a huge miss,” Deasy said.\n\n5. Balance people and priorities. Often times when a crisis occurs, everyone wants to work on it. But IT leaders must be careful to ensure that day-to-day operations continue through the crisis. At the same time, team members can burn out when dealing with a protracted crisis situation. “You have to be cognizant that the human mind and physical stamina only go so far,” Deasy said. “How do you ensure that, as people are getting ready to take a break, that you’re actually creating continuity” in cycling in other employees?\n\nCommon Content\n\n10 tips for change management success\n\n\nCommon Content\n\nGoogle’s HTC move borrows from Apple’s playbook\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6432684659957886}
+{"content": "This section of the website draws together a wide range of evidence about the importance of social and cultural facilities and amenities, both formal and informal, and the long term consequences of what happens if these critical aspects of community are not supported.\n\nLessons Learned\n\nFive key factors have been identified:\n\nA sense of place and belonging\n\nOpportunities for residents to take part in collective activities\n\nOpportunities to build social networks, with a range of people\n\nDesign that encourages people to engage with each other\n\nBoosting ‘pro-environmental' behaviour\n\nGood relationships between residents and a range of local activities - formal and informal - are key to thriving communities. People live complex lives and relate both to communities that are defined by where they live, and ‘communities of interest', based on interest, religion, or shared identity. No one can be forced to be ‘good neighbours' or to become friends, but there is strong evidence that the strength of local social networks is related to a number of outcomes from health to crime. Social capitalGlossary: the networks and trust between people that help a community work together towards shared objectives - the quality of relationships between residents that give a community the capability to be supportive and empowered and a rich cultural life - is important to help people put down roots, feel secure and ‘at home' and develop a sense of belonging.\n\nThe identity of a place is rooted in history, in local celebrations, the stories people tell about the area, and in regular local events. These build up over time. When new large scale housing developments are built, the sense of place cannot be defined by its history. New residents will not know others and, in the early stages, there will be few social connections. Many new developments are planned as ‘mixed communities', housing people from a range of circumstances and backgrounds. Often inner city neighbourhood thrive on this sort of diversity - but it is something that has usually evolved over many years and generations. How do you create that kind of richness in a relatively short space of time?\n\nThere is an important role for agencies in providing support, especially in the early years, to work with local people to generate the social and cultural infrastructure that is essential for quality of life. If this does not happen, there is a danger that residents will feel alienated from their new homes, mental health problems increase, people do not invest for the long term and move away when they have the option to do so.\n\nElements within this ingredent:\n\n1. A sense of place and belonging\n\nThe work of different agencies and individuals can have a positive impact on how people feel about the place they live. Both by intervening in people's lives , for example through the activities of community development officers, or by creating the underlying trends that enable people to develop a sense of belonging.\n\nread more    \n\n2. Opportunities for residents to take part in collective activities\n\nA growing body of research supports the suggestion that community and neighbourhood empowerment - giving residents the opportunity to take part in collective activities that influence the areas they live in - contribute to the wellbeing of residents and communities.\n\nread more    \n\n3. Opportunities to build social networks\n\nCanadian Michael Woolcock famously remarked: ‘the well connected are more likely to be hired, housed, healthy and happy'. Strong local networks give access to many benefits, from informal childcare through to watering the plants and feeding the cat when you are on holiday. They also underpin people's attachment to an area.\n\nread more    \n\n4. Design that encourages people to engage with each other\n\nThe way the physical infrastructure is designed is an important influence on how people feel about the neighbourhoods they live in. Design can have a more powerful influence, however, on influencing how people use space and how they relate to others.\n\nread more    \n\n5. Boosting 'pro-environmental' behaviour\n\nWhilst new housing developments are setting new standards for physical design in reducing CO2 emissions, behaviour change is strongly related to collective action and peer pressure. Both of which are strongly influenced by social networks.\n\nStudents supporting communities in New Haven, Connecticut\n\nFor over 13 years the university has paired interns with community groups in very deprived areas of the city, to help them reclaim land and public spaces and turn them into gardens and city farms.\n\nread more", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8080654144287109}
+{"content": "Soaring energy costs could end up costing South Tees Hospitals an extra £2m a year of taxpayers’ money.\n\nStaff at the James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough and the Friarage Hospital in Northallerton are being urged to think green and help cut bills by turning off lights and switching off computers when they are not in use.\n\nEnergy price hikes saw the James Cook University Hospital facing a monthly bill of £218,000 for electricity in June.\n\nA further £130,666 was spent on gas in the same month while the Friarage had to pay a combined bill of £54,194.\n\nEnvironment and energy manager Peter Stannard said: “The NHS provides continuous healthcare to our communities, and as hospitals grow, so does our reliance on heating, cooling, lighting, IT equipment and the use of sophisticated medical equipment.\n\n“The full-year impact on the trust in relation to energy costs is, as yet unknown but it could amount to an additional £2m, which is a lot of money, particularly as it’s the taxpayers’”.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9569283723831177}
+{"content": "title: MindNode 3 Update tags: iOS, Review process: @post date: 2013-11-27 08:23:41 [MindNode 3 for iOS](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mindnode/id312220102?mt=8&uo=4&at=11l5Ug) is out now and it's a huge update. ![](http://www.macdrifter.com/uploads/2013/11/mindnode_200px.png) I've been working in [concept maps](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concept_map) on a daily basis for several years.[^maps] Any project or reasonably complex endeavor starts as a concept map. So I am very particular about the applications I use. MindNode 3 for iOS is one of my favorite applications for working through an idea. It has fluid action for panning and zooming, a gorgeous design and an unbeatable outline view. [^maps]: Many people refer to them as [Mind Maps](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mind_map). I'm old school and don't like it when things get a copyright symbol for no reason. Also, a Mind Map typically only has one central node. That's too limiting for my needs. ### The Design ### I want to start with the design of MindNode, because right now that is where it has no equal. Concept maps in MindNode 3 are beautiful. The application also provides many controls for customizing each node or all child nodes of a map. ![](http://www.macdrifter.com/uploads/2013/11/MindNode3%2011-27-13%208_29_28%20AM.png) When it comes down to it, a concept map is a visual device. While it is extremely functional, it should also be nice to look at. MindNode really delivers on that. MindNode 3 is a universal app that feels at home on the small screen of an iPhone or the larger screen of an iPad. My example screenshots are all done with an iPhone because I think that's the more difficult interface for connecting mapping. MindNode 3 gets that right. Here's an example from the iPad. It's also right. ![](http://www.macdrifter.com/uploads/2013/11/2013-11-27%2009_39_47_600px.png) ### Sharing ### MindNode 3 has one more leg up on the competition: Sharing. MindNode the usual options like sending to other apps and uploading to Dropbox. But my favorite feature is the ability to share maps through the [MyMindNode service](https://my.mindnode.com). ![](http://www.macdrifter.com/uploads/2013/11/MindNode3%2011-27-13%208_39_11%20AM.png) Once uploaded, you get a URL to a web version of a map that you can share with anyone. No account or login is required for viewing. The map is read-only so you don't have to worry about someone else editing your map. But the recipient can download or embed the map. Here's an example link: [https://my.mindnode.com/StDzK6mJGt8o8ac3duTtyQk3DV6gxEHjtqTB6bRT][networking] And here's an embedded map: ### How it Feels ### As a long time [iThoughts](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ithoughts-mindmapping/id294144368?mt=8&uo=4&at=11l5Ug) user, I have high standards for how a concept map should feel on iOS. iThoughts is smooth and fluid when working with a map and node creation is easy. MindNode 3 achieves the same high standard. Zooming and panning is mesmerizing in MindNode 3. There are few apps on iOS where scaling and moving objects is seamless. There's no pixelation or image redrawing artifacts. Maybe I'm just particular but I don't want to feel the application or OS at work when I'm focused on a map. Creating nodes in MindNode 3 is easy. There's the standard tap to select from a menu, but it follows the iThoughts design of 3 quick returns after text on a node creates a new sibling node.[^first] I also like the extra keyboard row for adding child and sibling nodes. ![](http://www.macdrifter.com/uploads/2013/11/MindNode3%202%2011-27-13%209_03_21%20AM.png) You can also tap or drag the plus symbol next to a node to create a new child node. That seems like a tedious way to create a node until you appreciate that you can drag and attach it somewhere else. That functionality is a time saver when I come up with a new idea that belongs somewhere else in the map. It's a small feature, but then again, great apps are really just a bunch of small features done really well. [^first]: I'm not sure if this was first introduced by iThoughts, but iThoughts was the first iOS concept mapping application that I used and it had it years ago. The major difference is that iThoughts uses it to create a new child node, which makes more sense to me. ### Outline View ### The outline view in MindNode 3 is a nice way to interact with a complex map. It displays all of the nodes in a collapsable view that is colored just like the source map. This view is read-only but it really helps for finding my place in a large map. The outline is dynamically filtered as a search term is entered. Tap on a the node and the view instantly changes to the map and selects the corresponding node. I love this feature. ![](http://www.macdrifter.com/uploads/2013/11/2013-11-27%2008_14_48_250px.png) ### Conclusion ### MindNode 3 is a dramatic improvement over the previous version. If you already own it, then you get all of the new awesome for free. If not, it's the first worthy competitor to iThoughts. iThoughts still wins in the functionality categories but MindNode 3 wins in design and sharing. In my daily use I regularly share between the two apps. Both support sending a map as OPML which makes it a breeze to work between many different applications (like OmniOutliner for example). [MindNode 3](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mindnode/id312220102?mt=8&uo=4&at=11l5Ug) | Universal | $10 [networking]: https://my.mindnode.com/StDzK6mJGt8o8ac3duTtyQk3DV6gxEHjtqTB6bRT", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9998890161514282}
+{"content": "sacuvajmo lms3\n\nsacuvajmo lms3\n\nsacuvajmo lms3\n\n\n\n\nThe History of the Letopis Matice srpske\n\nLetopis Matice srpske is a literary periodical with the longest press run in the whole world. It has been published, without major interruptions, since the year 1824. The fact that such a tradition was created by the very Serbian culture that was exposed to interruptions of its cultural development seems both unusual and amazing. Founded in Novi Sad, printed in Buda and entitled Serbska letopis (Serbian Chronicle), in accordance with the intention of its founder, Georgije Magarašević, it became the center piece for presenting the results of literary and scientific achievements. In addition, Letopis Matice srpske systematically explored discoveries that focused on language, literature, history, religion, folklore and culture of, not only the Serbian people, but of the entire Slavic world from the Adriatic Sea to the Arctic Ocean and from the Baltic to the Black Sea.\n\nOrganizational difficulties of the entire matter prompted Magarašević to consult with merchants and members of the intellectual elite in Pest, who came to the conclusion that a solution might be found in the establishment of a cultural institution that would not only manage the Letopis, but, would develop a much wider range of activities. As part of these activities, publishing was instigated immediately, due to the fact that the founders strongly believed that the core of their task was to continuously publish and distribute Serbian manuscripts from then on and forevermore. Thus, at the very beginning of the activities of Matica Srpska, the books of Milovan Vidaković, Jovan Sterija Popović, Dositej Obradović, Lukijan Mušicki, Jovan Subotić and others were published.\n\nFor its entire press run, the Letopis Matice srpske, having undergone slight changes in its title (Novij serbskij letopis, from 1837; Srbskij letopis, from 1855; Srbski letopis, from 1865; Srpski letopis, from 1867; Letopis Matice srpske, from 1987), has remained the most important, though somewhat conservative, Serbian periodical with the aim to gather true values of Serbian literature, science and culture. This mission of Matica Srpska has been realized with varied, but undoubted success. Interruptions in the activities occurred only at times of great historical events when basic conditions of cultural work were not met: during the period of strong attempts of the Hungarian administration to close the institution 1835–1836, during the revolutionary year of 1848, as well as during World War I and World War II. The Letopis Matice srpske was edited by many cultural workers.\n\nEditors of the Letopis Matice srpske since the founding:\n\nGeorgie Magarašević (1824–1830), Jovan Hadžić (1830–1831), Pavle Stamatović (1831–1832), Teodor Pavlović (1832–1841), Jovan Subotić (1842–1847), Sima Filipović (1848), Jovan Subotić (1850–1853), Јakov Ignjatović (1854–1856), Subota Mladenović (1856–1857), Jovan Đorđević (1858–1859), Antonije Hadžić (1859–1869), Jovan Bošković (1870–1875), Antonije Hadžić (1876–1895), Мilan Savić (1896–1911), Tihomir Ostojić (1912–1914), Vasa Stajić (1921), Kamenko Subotić (1922–1923), Marko Maletin (1923–1929), Stevan Ćirić (1929), Svetislav Banica (1929), Radivoje Vrhovac (1930), Todor Manojlović (1931), Žarko Vasiljević (1932), Nikola Milutinović (1933–1935), Vasa Stajić (1936), Nikola Milutinović (1936–1941), Živan Milisavac (1946–1957), Mladen Leskovac (1958–1964), Boško Petrović (1965–1969), Aleksandar Tišma (1969–1973), Dimitrije Vučenov (1974–1979), Momčilo Milankov (1979), Boško Ivkov (1980–1991), Slavko Gordić (1992–2004), Ivan Negrišorac (2005–2012)\n\nIt is the duty of contemporary editors to recognize the comprehensiveness, complexity and capital values of Serbian literature and culture.\n\nEditorial Board of the Letopis Matice srpske\n\nEditor in Chief:\nĐorđe Despić\n\nPredrag Petrović,\nTamara Krstić,\nSlobodan Vladušić\n\nSecretary of the Editorial Board: Svetlana Milašinović (e-mail: letopis@maticasrpska.org.rs)\n\nEditor: Mirjana Karanović\nProofreader: Branislav Karanović\nTechnical Editor: Vukica Tucakov\nWeb design: Milan Šiđanski\nPage layout: Vladimir Vatić\n\n\nMatica srpska\n\nLetopis Matice srpske\n\nMatice srpske 1\n21 000 Novi Sad\nTelephone: 021 6613 864, 021 420 199 extension 112 fax 021 528 901\n\ne-mail: letopis@maticasrpska.org.rs", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9919199347496033}
+{"content": "Outside the Box\n\nHoisington Management Quarterly Review and Outlook, 3Q 2016\n\nOctober 26, 2016\n\n\n\n\nI know that’s disconcerting, but the problem is, that’s the optimistic scenario. It assumes 2.5% to 3% growth and no recessions. As I have amply demonstrated in a few of my own recent letters, the on-budget deficit would balloon to $1.3 trillion in a recession, easily pushing the increase in debt to $2 trillion per year. That total of $33 trillion of US government debt could be reached in the very early 2020s.\n\nBut wait, there’s more. For the last two weeks in Thoughts from the Frontline, I have written about the rather significant increases in the cost of insurance premiums under the Affordable Care Act. The rising premiums are not figured into the CBO budget forecast. The first thought of many of you will be that that is not a budget issue because individuals have to pay the premiums. And you are correct, individuals will see a rise in their health insurance costs.\n\n\nSo what will rising government debt due to growth? That is when Lacy and Van roll out the big research guns, which I will let you absorb for yourself. (Dr. Lacy Hunt and Van Hoisington are partners in Hoisington Asset Management.)\n\nThis week has been as hectic and as full as any I have had in a long time. Lots of meetings today and tomorrow (and a speech at the George W. Bush library), then a last-minute one-day trip to Chicago on Friday, barely getting back in time for the Dallas Mavericks home opener (you really do have to have priorities).  It looks like I will be writing at least part of this week’s letter literally on the fly. I and my team have been gathering a great deal of data on earnings on US companies, which will have a large impact on forecasts for the stock market in 2017. We have found some very interesting anomalies. Not all of them good, not all of them bad. But it will make for an interesting letter this weekend, I think.\n\nYou have a great week. I see a steak dinner with good friends and partners in my future tonight. In the midst of talking about business, I think I will actually try to relax and have a little fun.\n\nYour worried about the US debt making us look like Japan and Europe analyst,\n\nJohn Mauldin, Editor\nOutside the Box\n\nGet John Mauldin's Over My Shoulder\n\n\"Must See\" Research Directly from John Mauldin to You\n\nBe the best-informed person in the room\nJoin John Mauldin's private readers’ circle, today.\n\nHoisington Management Quarterly Review and Outlook, 3Q 2016\n\nBy Dr. Lacy Hunt and Van Hoisington\n\nDeficit and Debt\n\nThe Congressional Budget Office has estimated that in the fiscal year ending September 30, 2016, the U.S. budget deficit jumped to $590 billion, compared with $438 billion in the prior fiscal year. However, over the same time period the change in total gross federal debt surged upward by $1.4 trillion, more than twice the annual budget deficit measure.\n\nThis difference between the increase in the deficit and debt is not a one-off fiscal policy event but instead part of an historical pattern. From 1956 until the mid-1980s, the change in gross federal debt was always very close to the deficit (Chart 1). However, over the past thirty years the change in debt has exceeded the deficit in 27 of those years, which served to conceal the degree to which the federal fiscal situation has actually deteriorated. The extremely large deviation between the deficit and debt in 2016 illustrates the complex nature of the government accounting.\n\nTo better understand why there is a gap between the increase in the deficit with the change in gross federal debt, we examine a recently available breakdown and analysis of data on the federal budget deficit from Louis Crandall of Wrightson ICAP, which consists of the year- over-year change ending June 30, 2016. The increase in debt for that period was over $1.2 trillion while the deficit was $524 billion, a near $700 billion difference. The discrepancy between these two can be broken down as follows (Table 1): (a) $109 billion (line 2) was due to the change in the treasury cash balance, a common and well understood variable item; (b) $270 billion (line 3) reflects various accounting gimmicks used in fiscal 2015 to limit the size of debt in order to postpone hitting the Debt Limit. Thus, debt was artificially suppressed relative to the deficit in 2015, and the $270 billion in line 3 is merely a reversal of those transactions, a one-off, non-recurring event; (c) $93 billion (line 4) was borrowed by the treasury to make student loans, and this is where it gets interesting. Student loans are considered an investment and therefore are not included in the deficit calculation. Nevertheless, money has to be borrowed to fund the loans, and total debt rises; (d) In the same vein, $70 billion (line 5) was money borrowed by the treasury to increase spending on highways and mass transit. It is not included in the deficit calculation even though the debt increases; (e) $75 billion (line 6) was borrowed because payments to Social Security, Medicare and Affordable Care Act recipients along with the government’s civilian and military retirees were greater during this time frame than the FICA and other tax collections, a demographic development destined to get worse; (f) Finally, the residual $82 billion (line 9) is made up of various unidentifiable expenditures including “funny money securities stuffed in various trust funds”.\n\nAs noted, these last four items discussed above (lines 4, 5, 6 and 9), which total $320 billion, fund activities and raise debt, but they are not in the deficit. Instead they are categorized as something else. Under the principles of economics, they are in fact cash expenditures that raise federal debt.\n\nThe future does not look any better. In January 2015, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said that the cumulative ten- year U.S. budget deficit (2015 to 2025) would total $8.1 trillion. In their August 2016 projection, the CBO places the current ten-year deficit at a much higher $9.2 trillion. If history is any indicator, the actual increase in debt is likely to be much greater than $9.2 trillion. In the past ten years, the cumulative budget deficit was “only” $7.9 trillion, but the increase in debt was $10.9 trillion, a 38% difference. Using the same math, by 2025 the debt increase will be in the neighborhood of $13 trillion, based on the $9.2 trillion deficit increase projected by the CBO. Additionally, the CBO’s economic projections rely on acceleration in economic growth from the pace thus far in this expansion, without adequate support for their forecast.\n\nA Global Trend\n\nThe deteriorating U.S. fiscal situation is duplicated in Europe, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Japan and China. Moreover, calls for more “fiscal stimulus” in the U.S., the EU and Japan have increased. In The Wall Street Journal article “Let’s Get Fiscal” published August 10, 2016, well-respected journalist and economics editor Mike Bird wrote, “After years of austerity, governments in the developed world are becoming more relaxed about loosening their purse-strings and engaging in a bit of fiscal stimulus.” And in an article entitled “Monetary Policy in a Low R-star World”, John C. Williams, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, published in the bank’s Economic Letter of August 15, 2016 wrote “... fiscal and other policies must also take on some of the burden to help sustain economic growth.”\n\nThe exceedingly ironic aspect is that such prominent figures think government spending has been constrained. According to the latest tabulations from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), government debt-to-GDP ratios are at record highs in the U.S., the EU, the UK, Japan and a large number of other countries. No austerity has occurred, and consequently, even higher debt-to- GDP ratios will continue to be the norm in the ensuing years.\n\nCounterproductive Fiscal Actions\n\n\n\nTextbooks Versus Reality\n\nTextbooks have historically hypothesized that government expenditures lift economic growth by some multiple of every dollar spent through a positive government expenditure multiplier. As such, deficit spending has long been considered to be a positive for economic expansion. If the expansion lasts long and generates faster actual and expected inflation, bond yields should rise via Irving Fisher’s equation (Theory of Interest, 1930).\n\nImpressive scholarly research has demonstrated that the government spending multiplier is in fact negative, meaning that a dollar of deficit spending slows economic output. The fundamental rationale is that the government has to withdraw funds, via taxes or borrowing, from the private sector, to spend their dollars. When that happens, the more productive private sector of the economy has fewer funds to use to make productive investments. Thus the economy slows along with productivity when government spending increases. Further, studies show that government debt-to-GDP as low as 50% can begin to have a negative impact on growth. More substantial deleterious consequences are seen when government debt-to-GDP reaches the 70%- 90% range, and the negative effects become non- linear above that level. As an economy becomes more over-indebted, additional government spending slows growth even more due to “non- interest economic costs” such as misallocation of saving, reduced productive investment, weaker productivity growth and eventually a deterioration in demographics. Slower growth will cause underutilized resources to build, bringing down inflation and subsequently interest rates. Therefore, increasing deficits have, and will continue to result in lower, not higher, interest rates.\n\nThe Government Expenditure Multiplier\n\nJust completed scholarly studies strengthen our conviction that deficit spending and elevated government debt levels are a force for weaker economic activity. Although the statistical evidence against the positivie government spending, or Keynesian, multiplier has been overwhelming for a long time, the possibility did exist that these estimates were picking up a reverse correlation or a feedback bias due to the possibility that government spending increased in a recession causing a positive correlation to the business cycle. In technical terms this is called the endogeneity bias, a point strongly rejected by this latest research. William Dupor and Rodrigo Guerrero (“Government Spending Might Not Create Jobs, Even in Recessions”, The Regional Economist, July 2016) tackled this issue very creatively. They were able to use data developed by Michael T. Owyang, Valerie Ramey and Sarah Zubairy (“Government Spending Multipliers in Good Times and in Bad: Evidence from U.S. Historical Data”, Working Paper, 2016).\n\nDupor and Guerrero, of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, examined the efficacy of government spending at increasing employment in relation to over 120 years of U.S. military spending. Defense spending has the advantage of eliminating feedback loops because it is likely to be determined primarily by international geopolitical factors rather than the nation's business cycle.\n\nTo control for potential “anticipation effects”, Owyang, Ramey and Zubairy used historical documents to construct a time series of military spending news shocks. Economics professors Ramey and Zubairy (University of California-San Diego) and Owyang (Texas A&M), were thus able to disentangle the time of military spending from when the public learned that military spending was going to change in the future. The output response to the spending shocks was minimal and the outcome did not depend on whether the economy was slack. Employing a similar methodology, Dupor and Guerrero found that military spending shocks had a small impact on civilian employment. Following a policy change that began when the unemployment rate was high, if military spending increased by one percent of GDP, then total employment increased by between zero percent and 0.15 percent. Following a policy change that began when the unemployment rate was low, the effect on employment was even smaller. As such, countercyclical government spending may not be very effective, even when the economy has substantial slack.\n\nOther rigorous new research by Alberto Alesina, Carlo Favero and Francesco Giavazzi corroborates that the tax and government expenditure multipliers are both negative, with the tax multiplier more negative. A negative tax multiplier means that a dollar decrease in the marginal tax rate will result in higher GDP growth and vice versa. These conclusions are supported by domestic as well as international data. The study entitled, “The output effect of fiscal consolidation plans”, is forthcoming in the peer reviewed Journal of International Economics, but the working paper is available on the internet. Alesina is a Professor at Harvard while Favero and Giavazzi are professors at IGIER-Bocconi.\n\nDecelerating Economic Growth\n\nFrom a fiscal and Keynesian perspective, 2016 should have been a year of accelerating economic activity. There was no crisis in passing the 2016 budget. There was a nonpartisan deal to accelerate military and civilian spending as well as a deal to hike outlays for highways. The increased expenditures and debt were going to occur after two years of slower growth in nominal GDP, which according to its advocates meant that the timing was right. Nevertheless, the economy sputtered (Table 2). This once again confirms the existence of a negative government spending multiplier.\n\nThe outward evidence indicates that this “stimulus” was, at best, extremely fleeting, if it was beneficial at all, since the economy’s real growth rate is on track to slow significantly in 2016 versus 2015. A $1.4 trillion jump in federal debt was paired with both weaker economic growth and falling treasury yields.\n\n\nVan R. Hoisington\nLacy H. Hunt, Ph.D.\n\n\nGet Varying Expert Opinions in One Publication\nwith John Mauldin’s Outside the Box\n\nDiscuss This\n\n\nWe welcome your comments. Please comply with our Community Rules.\n\n\n\nOct. 27, 2016, 3:45 p.m.\n\nSo what do we do about it?\nFred Betts\n\njack goldman\n\nOct. 26, 2016, 10:40 p.m.\n\nDebt is like water. Too little debt and there is a drought. Too much debt and there is a flood. Both the drought and flood kill people. We are now in a flood stage of debt where too much debt has no effect. It’s like giving a billionaire a $100 tip. No effect. The debt has to be wiped out and the patient dries out to get back to reality.\n\nDon Leufven\n\nOct. 26, 2016, 7:34 p.m.\n\nThis is the only news report and explanation of off-budget debt and “off-balance sheet items” by anyone anywhere that I have seen.  The Federal Reserve’s website turns up nothing with a search, though its charts note (less off-balance sheet items).  Thank you.\n\nDr. Hunt wrote in another quarterly review that inflation eventually results from huge fiscal deficits with higher M*V, a la South America. So, “increasing deficits have, and will continue to result in lower, not higher, interest rates [and inflation]” needs a Venezuela/Argentina caveat.\n\nA reason, I think, that one more dollar of federal debt has a low multiplier is that the Debt Accumulation Economy has become dependent on $3, 4 or 5 of debt for almost 30 years.  Thus, $6 of new debt has a spending multiplier on just the extra $1, not $6.  But stop accumulating some of the $5 debt (no deleveraging required), and there is recession.  That’s the world economy.\n\n\n\nEdward Blair\n\nOct. 26, 2016, 7:17 p.m.\n\nRight data, wrong conclusions.  “If new fiscal measures are enacted, debt- to-GDP ratios will be increased and will further depress growth…”  That’s a leap of economics contradicted by history, especially the recent austerity measures in Europe.  “Impressive scholarly research has demonstrated that the government spending multiplier is in fact negative, meaning that a dollar of deficit spending slows economic output. The fundamental rationale is that the government has to withdraw funds, via taxes or borrowing, from the private sector, to spend their dollars.”  That’s a sloppy muddle.  Taxes do withdraw funds from the private sector.  The alternative is not borrowing but deficit spending which adds funds to the private sector.  Read your Modern Monetary Theory for a cleaner, more accurate understanding.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8908911347389221}
+{"content": "keyword: Web Search:\n\n\n\nHY silicone\n\nYour present location:HomeSilicone TechniqueOther > Silica gel science knowledge & P (b)-HongYe silicone\n\nSilica gel science knowledge & P (b)-HongYe silicone Date:2013-04-23\n\n    The last time we simply analyzed the relationship between these two words \"silicone\" and \"Silastic\". This time we continue to analyze the silicone-related meaning of the word.\nWe already know that silicone can only refer to the condensation of silica, can also refers to organic, inorganic silicone. The following reference to \"silicone\" is equivalent to the condensation of silica. Silica gel is invented by chemistry professor Walter A. Patrick at Johns Hopkins University in the United States in 1919. World War I had been used as the absorbent in gas masks. Mentioned silicone will often hear a word called \"silicone\" and \"silicone\" is referred to as silica gel, but a lot of time \"silicone\" What is it?\nSilicone epoxy resin, also known as silicone, silicon AstraZeneca (polymerized siloxanes or polysiloxanes, commonly known as silicone) is a range of organic and inorganic polymers, the chemical formula for [R2SiO] n, R = methyl, ethyl and benzene base. These materials are inorganic silicon-oxygen skeleton key (...-Si-O-Si-O-Si-O-...), and combined by covalent bonds and silicon atoms, branched-chain organic groups. In some cases, organic branched-chain two or more inorganic silicon-oxygen bond skeleton linking. Control the length of the skeleton, the organic groups of species and cross-linking of the skeleton, can be obtained with different properties and composition of silicon-oxygen resin. Its variable consistency, from liquid to gel, rubber and hard plastic. The most common type is linear polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS, a silicone oil).\nAfter reading the explanation of silicone epoxy resin, a lot of people will find that the structure of the silicon-oxygen resin how we usually talk about \"Silastic\" So like it? It seems the silicone epoxy resin and silicone rubber there is definitely a relationship!\nOrganic silicon scientific name polysiloxane resin. The main chain composed of alternating silicon and oxygen atoms on the silicon atom with a thermosetting resin of the branched-chain organic groups. Is the first organic silicon products. Polysiloxane molecules, the organic substituents (R)\nAnd the ratio of silicon atoms (Si), is an important parameter of the decision in product form. When the\nR / Si <2, the product is a silicone resin; the R / Si ≈ 2 for the high viscosity plastic state of raw rubber, that is, Silastic; R / Si> 2, the low molecular weight oily, said silicone oil.\n\nWe sort out the relationship of the above:\nthe Chinese translation of the polymerized siloxanes polysiloxane resin, silicon that is the previously mentioned epoxy resins, polysiloxane resins referred to.\nThe status of the six words of the above-mentioned silicone, silicone epoxy resin, silicone rubber, polysiloxane resin, silicone oil, silicone resin, polysiloxane resin, five other words it contains.\nPolysiloxane resin containing a silicone rubber, and sometimes as \"Silastic\" a noun. Silicon-oxygen resin that is a major category term can also be used as a narrow single class of nouns, the R / Si <2 when called silicon-oxygen resin.\nSilicone exactly the same as silicone rubber, just called different. Silicone and silicone rubber can be called a generalized \"silica gel\", but they are not silicone.\nDraw four conclusions above, we finally see a few English words:\nsilica gel Process, silicone, referring to the narrow sense of \"silicone\", the condensation of silica;\nSilicone, silicone is a silicone rubber, silicone epoxy resin. Silicone epoxy resin (Silicone) the English name is derived from ketone (Ketone).\nSilicon, silicon refers to silicon This substance, also referred to as silicon.\nSilicon rubber, silicone rubber. Basically equivalent to the silicone.\nSilicone rubber, and Silicon rubber have the same meaning, but with less.\n\nTypeInfo: Other\n\nKeywords for the information:Silicone  Silicone rubber  silicon \n\nRelated information for reference", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7476901412010193}
+{"content": "Skip navigation\n\n\nThe late Kozuki Roshi was entertaining two American monks at tea when he casually asked, “And what do you gentlemen know about Zen?”\nOne of the monks flung his closed fan straight at the master’s face. All in the same instant the master inclined his head slightly to one side, the fan shot straight through the paper shoji behind him, and he burst into a ripple of laughter.\n\n\nWhen the Governor of Lang asked Yao-shan, “What is the Tao?” the master pointed upwards to the sky and downwards to a water jug beside him. Asked for an explanation, he replied: “A cloud in the sky and water in the jug.”\n\nReading about Zen Buddhism recently, here’s a few stories I like.\n\n\nDuring his stay under Master Hyakujo, Isan was a cooking monk. As Master Hyakujo wished to send a monk to found the new monastery called the Great Mount I, Master Hyakujo told the chief monk and all other monks that he would choose the one who would demonstrate himself as the best among them. Then Master Hyakujo brought out a drinking water jar, put it down and said, “You cannot call it a water jar. Then, what will you call it?”\n\nThe chief monk said, “One cannot call it a wooden stick.”\n\nThen, when Master Hyakujo turned to Isan, Isan kicked the jar and walked away. Master Hyakujo laughed and said, “The chief monk lost it to Isan.” He made Isan the founder of the Great I-san Monastery.\n\n\nFa-yen asked the monk Hsüan-tzu why he had never asked him any questions about Zen. The monk explained that he had already attained his understanding from another master. Pressed by Fa-yen for an explanation, the monk said that when he had asked his teacher, “What is the Buddha?” he had received the answer, “Ping ting T’ung-tzu comes for fire!”\n“A good answer!” said Fa-yen. “But I’m sure you don’t understand it.”\n“Ping-ting,” explained the monk, “is the god of fire. For him to be seeking for fire is like myself, seeking the Buddha. I’m the Buddha already, and no asking is needed.”\n“Just as I thought!” laughed Fa-yen. “You didn’t get it.”\nThe monk was so offended that he left the monastery, but later repented of himself and returned, humbly requesting instruction.\n“You ask me,” said Fa-yen.\n“What is the Buddha?” inquired the monk.\n“Ping-ting T’ung-tzu comes for fire!”\n\n\nA monk asked Ts’ui-wei, “For what reason did the First Patriarch come from the West?”\nTs’ui-wei answered, “Pass me that chin-rest.”\nAs soon as the monk passed it, Ts’ui-wei hit him with it.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nOn Saturday I went to my usual London Open Choir. Unfortunately there were only the three of us that day, and it can be difficult to do improvised songs with only three people. Our facilitator and friend Marta decided to give the two of us a vocal technique lesson. I’m wary of any vocal technique stuff from anyone because there is a tremendous amount of bullshit and misinformation, and it’s more akin to shamanism and alchemy than any sort of rigorously tested field. What also doesn’t help is that the bullshit stuff can work because the voice responds well to imagery, metaphor and sensation. You can say my cup was full.\n\nWe worked on the ribcage. The expansion of it and maintaining its buoyancy when vocalising. I must say I was humbled. Apart from the Feldenkrais-esque loosening of my shoulders every morning, I haven’t done much work on my breathing, mainly just allowing the vibration and the quality of the vibration to regulate the breath pressure. I expanded little in my regular breathing and made little conscious effort to maintain the ribcage expansion. The demonstrations by Marta, who had a long breath and non-collapsing ribcage, showed her level of training in this area and what I lacked in this area. In hindsight, after reading this David Jones article, I did inhale too much, but it was necessary and helpful in order to feel the ribcage expansion.\n\nThe reason why I wasn’t closed-minded to this was that it corresponded with what David Jones said (there’s an exercise in that article about panting without the ribcage moving) and what my old voice teacher Michael Mayer said at some point, either in his articles or in my lessons. Also it matches up well with the Feldenkrais method in that we don’t only want one way of breathing, but a choice between several ways. When a piece of vocal technique connects with these fonts of knowledge, my brain goes, “Okay, this isn’t bullshit. Relax.”\n\nAs I write this today my intercostal muscles feel the burn. There’s two sets of them, one set elevates and expands the ribcage (external), the other does the opposite (internal). Thus when maintaining buoyancy, the external set is going to feel that buuurrrrn.\n\nOther vocal technique stuff:\n\nI’ve kind of stopped working on the witch cackle unintentionally because I’m like that dog in Up and I found a squirrel. I’m now exploring maintaining the opening of the nasal passages, pre-yawn feeling and vacuuming air through the eyes, and discovered this new, pingy resonance that I’m trying on notes low and high. However, this pingy resonance does sound like the witch cackle sometimes so it feels like I’m on the right track. The good thing about this resonance, when I do it a particular way, I feel I can lean in on the head voice and add more intensity for a louder tone. It’s easier to add intensity on a higher head voice tone e.g. F4 but harder on a lower one e.g D4. But with this resonance exploration, I’ve been able to get a more intense tone on the lower notes where I previously I could only do it in a more breathy way on an “eee” vowel.\n\nSpecifically one aspect of singing.\n\nBefore we get to that I would like to update you on the songwriting process. It’s generally going shite. Positives: I’m creating stuff. Negatives: None of it is getting completed are most of it isn’t really songs. I’d defined the problem and listed possible solutions but now everything’s the same again and feels like a struggle. Ugh.\n\nAnyway, singing. As I mentioned previous post, I’d been playing around with the head voice chest voice alternation exercise. I’ve also been exploring making the notes from middle C upwards louder and then something happened with my voice that lead to my current obsession. A cascade of lightbulb moments that lead to The Witch’s Cackle.\n\nMy voice teacher from years ago (I only took like eleven lessons with him) made a video describing the difference between head voice and falsetto and it has a couple of short examples of the cackle but not described as such in the video. Then my intuition told me that there was stuff I needed to look in my old notebook as my recordings of those voice lessons were relevant. The notebook had notes on up to lesson 8 so I started there. Boom.\n\n10:00 Strengthening head voice. Pure – Witch – Reinforced\n\nMy voice teacher goes into the process of strengthening the head voice and the three stages of it with examples for each. I’ve been able to do the Pure stage for years now, and use variations of it in choir, laughing and just general improvising with the voice. I never did manage to get to the Witch cackle. The co-ordination was out of reach. I’d imitate the examples but it sounded nowhere near.\n\nNow I’m back making many many attempts at attaining the cackle. These past few days have had me trying for hours trying different ways and refining those ways. Interestingly I haven’t lost my voice at any point, it just gets tired and my normal speaking voice gets croaky. From past experience my voice is in bad shape when just air comes out when attempting head voice. During these attempts, tidbits of vocal knowledge learned long ago resurface. I remember reading a tenor blog long ago and that the high range was achieved by a balance of the TA and CT muscles. I can’t remember what TA stands for and I can’t remember how to spell the CT muscles but basically TA is responsible for chest voice and CT for head voice and you can adjust the balance between the two. I reasoned my inability to acquire the Witch Cackle was because the Pure head voice was too CT dominant and needed more TA participation so I created an exercise alternating between low chest voice, around E2/F2, and head voice, around E4/F4, so that I would attempt to incorporate the feeling I felt in the low chest in the head voice. I’ve no idea if this exercise is any good or if the reasoning is correct. It seems like it but when you don’t have a teacher and you potter around in the dark that’s what you get.\n\nThe results? I appear to be succeeding. It’s not quite cackly but there’s definitely more body in the tone and volume. It’s not quite co-ordinated so I get things like two notes at the same time and squeezing and forcing too much. I can only do it on one vowel so I’ll need to be able to do all the vowels in this co-ordination.\n\nTechnicalities aside, why do I want to learn to do this? Part of getting better at something is the increased potential of what you can do, an increased freedom. With my current voice with its large dichotomy between chest voice and head voice, freedom is lacking. It’s also something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. I can’t think of any other reasons than just that strong feeling of desire. There’s this video of James Morrison singing his song “You Make It Real” I come back to again and again as a lovely example of this mixed voice. He has a much higher voice than mine but you’ll hear in the video there isn’t much perceptible difference between the low range and high range. That’s what I want with my voice.\n\nAddendum: here’s a nice article describing TA and CT muscles.\n\nThese days I’ve been delving into the whole music thing again. Stuff I should’ve and could’ve learned ages ago but for some reason was unable to solve back then. The newfound enthusiasm, slowly waning now, came from overcoming my envy of the young fella Jacob Collier and actually listening to his music with an open mind. Stunningly virtuosic and accomplished but obviously my favourite songs from his albums are the understated, slower songs, “Hideaway” and “In the Real Early Morning.” I fell down the rabbit hole of Collier related things on Youtube and found this fascinating, rushed music theory discussion which gave me food for thought. At around the same time I watched this convuluted Rick Beato video about chromatic mediants and their use in film music which led to a video by 12Tone about Neo-Riemannian theory and 12Tone’s videos led me to David E Farrell’s music theory videos that lucidly taught me various concepts about modulation that I’ve never learned despite having a music degree.\n\nOn my commutes during the week or so exploring this I was re-listening to various talks by Kenny Werner and his “tank” metaphor or what Jacob Collier would call toolbox. The tank metaphor being you have three different tanks of stuff you can draw upon for improvising, and by extension composing, of Rhythm, Harmony and Melody. The idea being that you practise, learn and imbibe bits in each category until they spontaneously appear in your playing. In psychological terms of the Four Stages of Competence it would mean reaching the stage of Unconscious Competence for everything you learn, or Mastery. Total Mastery would be akin to the flow state, being in the zone where the task is being accomplished without any feeling of control, effort or forcing. In the cases when you notice you aren’t consciously controlling what you are doing you tend to panic and feel like you have to take control again and mess it up. It’s something that was discussed in my Feldenkrais singing book, Singing with Your Whole Self, and if memory serves, the whole journey of Zen in the Art of Archery. It’s one of the things we do in the Imprology classes, this lack of try harding or letting go, and Remy (Imprology teacher) often gives us exercises to multitask in order to distract and overwhelm the conscious mind so we get something akin to just action without the actor. There’s an interview with Remy where he tells the Zen Koan:\n\n\n\nThe teacher thought for a moment, “20 years.”\n\nAlan Watts talks about this where it’s an artefact of our language that we have nouns (things) and verbs (actions) but it’s entirely possible to have a language without nouns and have it be more accurate to reality. My cells have completely changed from ten years ago but I am still me because the pattern of me, the doing of me, remains the same much like the flame of a candle remains the same but is not the same.\n\nHaving learned new music theory bits from Youtube and Wikipedia my piano improvisations, once so boring I gave up playing for months, have gained a bit of freedom. I’m still bored at times (“not this fucking chord progression again”) but the situation has improved due to an increased repertoire in the Harmony tank.\n\nAlso from Jacob Collier he has a masterclass where he talks about reducing the disparity between head and chest voice by singing the same note alternating between the voices. He also says you should never strain, which is a very Feldenkrais thing. I’ve been playing around with alternating chest and head voice, ascending in semi-tones, sometimes quarter-tones, very conscious to use as little effort as possible especially as I ascend in pitch and sing in chest voice. Also in general reducing any strain in general and flipping into head voice for the higher notes lower than I previously would in order to undo the habits of straining, forcing and trying harder. My previous experience doing other Feldenkrais exercises informs the singing practise, as in Feldenkrais lessons you do variations of repetitions, the variations being easier, smoother, lighter, smaller range of motion and staying very much within one’s comfort zone. Improvements with the voice seem to be slow and take time, especially since I’m not taking lessons, but I believe the process of removing the strain, however little, to be a positive one. Also because I’m doing this myself, I don’t have anyone to assess if I’m straining without noticing it or if the tension I feel is the correct amount of tension. In any case it will be a long process of calibration, playing the game of hot and cold in the context of singing.\n\nAs a result of all this musical learning and exploration I’m desperate to write music again and use the various tools I have acquired to enrich the compositional experience. But I’ve come up against a wall. Very difficult to write anything. I also know that like farting, forcing it will be shit. What’s a guy to do? Once again I come up against old problems and habits that plague me before in the creation of music. But I’ve forgotten what they were so once again some amateur psychoanalysis may help. Probably some sort of perfectionism involved, needing it to be good, substantial, not corny or boring, and goodness knows what else. There’s a hefty amount of psychological traffic and things aren’t flowing in the North or South Circular as they could do. I think I have to hoodwink and overwhelm my conscious mind like in Imprology classes but in this case I have to do it myself. One of the things I have unintentionally hoodwinked myself was doing multitrack acappella and something about the process was very easy and fun, despite the recordings being noisy and out of tune. I also wrote a little something on the piano earlier on but my brain is saying it doesn’t count. I imagine one of the solutions to this problem would be to change my environment so that it is conducive to composition and songwriting. There’s also a tonne of roadworks in lyric writing village and words come very very slowly and difficultilly.\n\nThat’s it for now. I know I should edit this and excise huge portions of this for others to read but at the same time I’ve run out of energy and if I wait until I have energy to edit this will never get published, much like how the songwriting and composition is going.\n\nToo doo loo, Live Long and Prosper.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5684363842010498}
+{"content": "classical guitar repair information:\n\nClassical Guitar Repair\n\nby GuitarRepairs\n\nCommon Classical Guitar Repair – Removing Buzz\n\nThere is a common misconception that classical guitar repairs are always costly and that they are complicated. That is actually rarely the case. It is completely true that in some cases there is no solution available but going to a professional classical guitar repair shop. However, when it comes to removing buzz, there is a really strong chance that you can take care of the problem at home.\n\nThere is no denying that string buzz is frustrating and annoying. It is true for both electric and classical guitars. In most cases the buzz stops us from playing and even the really expensive guitars will sometimes sound as if they are cheap because of buzzing strings. You should never get frustrated if this happens because there are steps that can be done in order to remove that buzz.\n\nClassical Guitar Repair Tips – Eliminating String Buzz\n\nIn most cases the buzz appears because the setup is improper. One of the really easy classical guitar repairs that you can do at home is the setup and it is also one of the most important. You might have a neck that has too much relief or action might be low. After you know what is really wrong with the classical guitar, you can solve the problem. This basically means that you have to diagnose the actual problem and only then you can modify the setup.\n\nBefore attempting complicated classical guitar repairs, let us identify the problem. Does the string buzz when you play the open string and then stop when you fret it? In this case the problem is surely located at the level of the nut. The guitar nuts can wear down as time passes and such classical guitar repair is common. In some cases a nut replacement is necessary.\n\nIf you notice that the strings buzz as you play the first frets, you might be faced with a dressed fret need or you might have a neck that is not straight. Analyze the fret board side area and if it is not straight, you need to adjust truss rod in order to remove back bow or to offer some relief for the neck. It is really easy to adjust guitar truss rods and there are actually hundreds of tutorials available online. Check them out before going to a classical guitar repair shop.\n\nThe last common scenario is when the strings produce a buzz on absolutely every single fret. This usually means that the action is really low. In this case you might end up having to do a new guitar setup to fix the problem. The start should be done by straightening the guitar neck and then an adjustment of the nut and bridge can be done.\n\nWhat To Do If This Does Not Work?\n\nThere are various classical guitar repairs that can be done if buzzing is the problem. In some cases you might need to go to professional repair shops but it is a really good approach to first see what you can do. This would save some money. However, never start classical guitar repairs if you do not know everything that has to be done.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9049753546714783}
+{"content": "Method: Clean | Average | OptimisticShow List using Metric Units\n\nPeak List for Nancy Ohmer\n\nDistinct Summits Climbed\n\n\n\n\nMount Evans2008-07-2314,264USA-CO27449.78........Δ.Undefined\nMount Davis2010-07-063213USA-PA65324.99.ΔΔ.......77.44\nSpruce Knob2010-07-064861USA-WV2781175.4.ΔΔ..ΔΔΔΔ.252.38\nEbright Azimuth2010-07-07442USA-DE320.67.ΔΔ.......112.03\nReno Reservoir2010-07-07415USA-DC754.27.ΔΔ.......103.13\nMount Greylock2010-08-113487USA-MA246323.65.ΔΔ....Δ..146.48\nMount Washington2010-08-126288USA-NH6148819.56.ΔΔ..ΔΔΔΔ.824.29\nJerimoth Hill2010-08-17812USA-RI19213.34.ΔΔ.......89.41\nHigh Point2010-08-181803USA-NJ88323.74.ΔΔ....Δ..119.05\nBritton Hill2011-07-11345USA-FL655.92.ΔΔ.......174.97\nCheaha Mountain2011-07-112405USA-AL1445106.72.ΔΔ....Δ..149.15\nBrasstown Bald2011-07-124784USA-GA210815.86.ΔΔ.......50.74\nClingmans Dome2011-07-126643USA-TN/NC450370.74.ΔΔ...ΔΔ..70.64\nMount Mitchell2011-07-126684USA-NC60891188.99.ΔΔ.ΔΔΔΔ..1301.56\nSassafras Mountain2011-07-123554USA-SC/NC7549.29.ΔΔ.......53.26\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9203944206237793}
+{"content": "14 March 2008\n\nWisest of the wise\n\n[this is the first\nand hopefully the\narticulate and\nof a projected series]\n\nany semantic web first needs\na mental model of all possible semantic webs\n(and this mental model must include\na mental model of all possible\nmental models)\n\n\nmentally model each 'object'\n(including mental objects)\nas a named point\nof known or unknown duration\n(some objects\nmore important than others\nfrom the perspective of any given mind)\n\nwith lines between points\nmodeling relationships between objects\n\nrelationships changing in time\n\nrelationships mentally modeled\nby related mental objects\n\nrelations affecting\nand affected by\n(more or less strongly)\nrelated relationships with other objects\n\n(all mental models of relationships\nnecessarily related to the mental models\nof all related objects\nand of their relationships)\n\nand mental models differ in depth\nin wisdom\nsome shallow some deep\n\ndeep or shallow\nin many different ways\n\ndifferent wisdoms\ncharacteristic of the deep or shallow\npeople who hold them\n\nbut mental models of semantic webs\nand mental models of mental models\nmust be deep by every definition\n\nconstructed atop a distillation\nof all wisdoms\n(art philosophy religion\npolitics economics history\nfiction poetry humor\npsychology philology anthropology sociobiology\ncriticism design logic math)\nonly by the wisest of the wise", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.959342360496521}
+{"content": "Delores Vanderbilt \"Lola\" Loud is a main character of The Luxurious Loud House.\n\n\nLola was born on January 1, 2010, she is the third youngest child of Lynn R. Loud and Rita Loud, the middle child of Richard's younger sisters, and Alana's younger twin sister. Her most annoying habit is looking in the mirror.\n\n\nDelores, like Lola, dresses and acts like a princess, she has interests in anything girly such as fashion shows, makeup, and posing for photo shoots, and can be as narcissistic as her older brother, Richard. However, her Catholic faith makes her much more compassionate and loving to her siblings, she can get angry occasionally but has better control of it. She has a high disdain for Cute N' Mean awards, regarding it as going against God's will and a work of Satan. She enjoys her family's company and is more capable of humility and selflessness.\n\n\nLike TLH version of herself, Lola has blonde hair worn down, and also has a tuft of her hair pointed to the right, she is missing her two front teeth, and also wears her princess attire, which is different than TLH Lola, it is a long pink gown with a red sash. She has two gold earrings, pink high heels, and a tiara on her head with a cross in the middle, which represents her as a devout Catholic.\n\nAd blocker interference detected!\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7980866432189941}
+{"content": "Articles on Hygiene\n\nDisplaying 1 - 20 of 29 articles\n\n\n\nIt’s OK to put your head under but try not to drink the water.\n\nWhat lies beneath: the bugs lurking in your swimming pool\n\nSummer holidays are upon as, and many of us finally get to spend some lazy days by the pool. But how can you ensure this pleasant experience doesn't leave you with any nasty surprises?\nHyperhidrosis or excessive sweating affects around 3% of the population. Jayel Aheram\n\nExplainer: why do I sweat so much and how can I stop it?\n\nEverybody sweats, some more than others. It’s a physiological reaction to heat and the body’s mechanism to regulate core temperate. Individual sweat rates vary and are influenced by factors such as ambient…\n\nThe top ten parasites that could be lurking in your food\n\nAntibacterial products cost more and might contribute to bacterial resistance. Image from\n\nHealth Check: should I use antibacterial hand sanitisers?\n\nI should start by saying that an important part of my job is encouraging hospital staff to clean their hands. The World Health Organisation has a global patient safety campaign reminding us that Clean…\nI wouldn’t do that if I were you. Runs with Scissors\n\nDisgust stops us from doing things we shouldn’t\n\nIf you read about the record-breaking “fatberg” lurking under Kingston recently and reacted the same way as me - “Oh my God - a gob of fat in the London sewers as big as a bus - that’s disgusting!” - you’ll…\n\nTop contributors", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6982355713844299}
+{"content": "Home | Bhagavatam Mahabharatam |\n\nSrimad Bhagavatam (Bhagavata Purana) :: Conto 3b\n\nLiberation from Falsehood\n\nSrimad Bhagavatam » Conto 3b   \n\n Liberation from Falsehood\n\n(1) The Supreme Lord [as Kapila] said: 'Even though the living entity abides in a material body, he is not affected by the modes of nature when he does not claim proprietorship and thus is not subject to change, just like the sun that is not affected by being reflected in water. (2) But when this very living entity is absorbed in false ego and thus is possessed by the modes of material nature, the individual soul is bewildered and thinks: 'I am the doer'. (3) Because of the faulty actions resulting from dealing with material nature in such a way, he thus in discontent helplessly undergoes the repeated occurrence of birth and death in being born from different wombs [or species] depending the good or bad life he led or a combination of these. (4) Like having landed in a nightmare in which the things happening do not really exist, there is for the living entity who [only] contemplates what occurs to his senses no end to his materially conditioned existence [of illusion]. (5) Therefore the mind of attachment to material pleasure must consequently without attachment gradually be brought under control on the path of bhakti yoga. (6) Beginning with yama [meaning the great vow of yoga of nonviolence, truth, non-stealing, celibacy and non-possessiveness in the practice of detachment], practice the different forms of yoga and develop, endowed with faith, by listening to My stories unalloyed devotion unto Me. (7) Be therein without enmity and regard all living beings as equal, do not entertain intimate relations and be celibate, be silent and offer the results of your labor. (8) Be satisfied with whatever comes of its own, eat little and live thoughtfully in a secluded place and be peaceful, kind, compassionate and self-realized. (9) Do not follow the physical concept of life in relating to others and your own body but rather see, through spiritual knowledge, the factual truth of [both] the material and the personal aspect. (10) Transcend the stages of consciousness [of waking, dreaming and deep sleep] and stay away from other conceptions of life. Thus with a purified intellect see the true self, the soul of your realization inside, alike the sun before your eyes [outside]. (11) Arrive at the realization of the transcendental Support of the Material Cause [the Supreme Soul] that is manifest as a reflection within the untrue, as an eye for the illusory of matter that penetrated everything as one without a second. (12) It is like the sun in the sky that above water is seen as a reflection on that water or on a wall. (13) Thus the truth of the self is revealed by its reflections in the threefold of the materially identified ego consisting of body, senses and mind. (14) Someone who in this material world falsely unites with the material elements, the objects of enjoyment, the material senses, the mind, intelligence and so on, is situated in sleep, but awakened [in the devotion of yoga] he is freed from false ego. (15) Even though he is not lost, someone [who awakens] unjustly [at first] thinks that he is lost because he, just like someone upset because of losing his fortune, as the silent witness realizes the demise of his false ego. (16) Coming to understand this, knowing the situation he accepted under the false ego, such a person realizes the mercy of the original position of his true self, his original individuality [svarûpa].'\n\n(17) Devahûti said: 'Dear brahmin, isn't it so that material nature never releases the soul because the two are eternally attracted to each other o Best One? (18) As there is no separate existence of  aroma and earth or of water and taste, so it is  also with intelligence and consciousness. (19) How then can there be the soul free from material nature? For the soul as a non-doer existing with those modes, is bound to the karma associated with them. (20) The great fear one sometimes may avoid by contemplating the fundamental principles, will reappear because the cause [the gunas] continued to be.'\n\n(21) The Supreme Lord said: '[One will realize the freedom,] when one with a pure mind serious unto Me and faithfully listening to My stories in devotional service manages to perform one's duties without desiring the fruits thereof. (22) By means of spiritual knowledge someone, with the vision of the Absolute Truth in yoga strongly being connected in penance, gets detached and firmly fixed in being absorbed in the soul. (23) Bound to its material nature a living entity is day by day consumed, disappearing gradually like firewood on fire. (24) Giving up on the pleasure he tasted [in the material world] because he sees the wrong of the desire to enjoy it always and the harm that dependence gives, he stands in his own glory. (25) The way it is with someone who in his sleep has a dream that brings him many bad things, that same dream with him being awake will not in the least daunt him. (26) The same way someone who is always contented within and fixes his mind upon Me, thus knowing the Absolute Truth, has nothing to fear from material nature. (27) When someone wise thus for many years and many births is engaged in self-realization, he will develop a distaste for anything up to the highest spiritual position [of Satyaloka]. (28-29) Someone devoted to Me who under My protection for the sake of awakening his intelligence, by My unlimited mercy goes for the ultimate goal of his existence of what is called kaivalya [enlightenment, emancipation, beatitude], will in this life attain a steady self-awareness and be free from doubt. The yogi who departed for that heavenly abode will, after leaving behind the subtle as well as the gross body, never return. (30) When the attention of the perfected yogi is not drawn towards yogic powers my dear mother, he then, having no other purpose in his life, in his progress towards Me will never be frustrated, because he will not find the power of death therein.'\n\nNext: Kapila's Instructions on the Execution »   \n\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5452601909637451}
+{"content": "Codex 99\n\nAbout     Archive     Twitter     Contact\n\n\nHier Apollo 11\n\nExactly 40 years ago today Neil Armstrong, commander of Apollo 11, became the first person to step foot on the moon.1 It was, arguably, the greatest technical achievement in human history; the high water-mark of the US space program and the effective end of the space race. It was one of those defining historical events that you remember where you were when it happened.2\n\nThe moon landing inspired the German abstract expressionist Erich Fuchs (1916—1990) to paint a series of pictures detailing the mission. These were quickly turned into a book — Hier Apollo 11.3 In what turned out to be a great editorial decision the book consisted of a two-page narrative followed by 12 double-page, and wordless, paintings. As the School Library Journal stated: “Beautifully rendered, softly colored drawings without text... a sure draw for the running commentary of pre-reading space sophisticates.”\n\nOn 4 October 1957 the Soviets launched Спутник-1, the first artificial satellite to orbit the Earth. Less than four years later, on 12 April 1961, they launched Восток-1 and Юрий Гагарин became the first human to orbit the Earth. Clearly the Soviets were kicking Americas’ ass in the cold war space race. In response President Kennedy, in a May 1961 joint address to Congress, proclaimed that a manned landing on the surface of the Moon by the end of the decade would be the main goal of the US space program. This became the Apollo project.\n\nNASA started unmanned tests in 1961 and began manned missions in 1967. After five of these missions (the tragic Apollo 1, then 7, 8 ,9, and the dress-rehearsal 10) it was announced that the next mission, Apollo 11, with the crew members Neil Armstrong (Commander), Edwin (“Buzz”) Aldrin, Jr. (Lunar Module Pilot) and Michael Collins (Command Module Pilot), would be the first to attempt a moon landing.\n\nHere are excerpts from the official mission timeline,4 using Fuchs’s images and deferring completely to NASA’s breathtakingly serious acronym fetish.5\n\nHier Apollo 11, click for larger image\n\n20 May 1969 ― Rollout of AS-506 + CSM-107 (Columbia) + LM-5 (Eagle) to KSC Pad LC-39A.\n-028:00:00 ― Terminal countdown started.\n\nHier Apollo 11, click for larger image\n\n-000:00:08.9 ― S-IC engine start command.\n000:00:00 ― Range zero (13:32.00 GMT; 09:32:00 EDT, 16 Jul 1969).\n000:00:00.63 ― Liftoff (umbilical disconnected) (1.07 g).\n000:00:01.7 ― Tower clearance, Yaw maneuver started.\n000:00:13.2 ― Pitch and roll maneuver started.\n000:02:42.30 ― S-IC/S-II separation command.\n000:02:44.0 ― S-II ignition (second stage).\n000:09:09.00 ― S-II/S-IVB separation command.\n\nHier Apollo 11, click for larger image\n\n000:09:12.20 ― S-IVB 1st burn ignition (third stage).\n000:11:49.33 ― Earth orbit insertion.\n002:44:16.2 ― S-IVB 2nd burn ignition.\n002:50:13.0 ― Translunar injection (after 1.5 Earth orbits).\n\nHier Apollo 11, click for larger image\n\n003:15:23.0 ― CSM separated from S-IVB.\n003:24:03.7 ― CSM docked with LM/S-IVB.\n004:17:03.0 ― CSM/LM ejected from S-IVB.\n\nHier Apollo 11, click for larger image\n\n026:44:58.64 ― Midcourse correction ignition.\n061:39:55 ― Equigravisphere.\n\nHier Apollo 11, click for larger image\n\n075:49:50.37 ― Lunar orbit insertion ignition (1st burn).\n080:11:36.75 ― Lunar orbit circularization ignition (2nd burn).\n100:12:00.0 ― CSM/LM undocked.\n\nHier Apollo 11, click for larger image\n\n101:36:14 ― LM descent orbit insertion ignition (LM SPS).\n102:44:28 ― LM fuel low-level quantity light.\n102:45:39.9 ― LM lunar landing, Mare Tranquillitatis (0°41'15\" N, 23°26' E). “The Eagle has landed.”\n\nHier Apollo 11, click for larger image\n\n109:07:33 ― EVA started (hatch open).\n109:24:15 ― 1st step taken lunar surface (CDR, left foot). “That’s one small step for giant leap for mankind.” (02:56:15 GMT, 21 Jul; 22:56:15 EDT, 20 Jul 1969).\n109:52:19 ― Plaque unveiled (CDR). “We came in peace for all mankind...”\n110:09:43 ― United States flag deployed (CDR, LMP).\n110:35:36 ― Bulk sample completed (CDR).\n110:55:42 ― Passive seismometer deployed.\n111:39:13 ― EVA ended (hatch closed).\n\nHier Apollo 11, click for larger image\n\n124:22:00.79 ― LM lunar liftoff ignition (LM APS).\n125:19:35 ― Coelliptic sequence initiation ignition.\n127:03:51.8 ― Terminal phase initiation ignition.\n127:18:30.8 ― LM 1st midcourse correction.\n127:33:30.8 ― LM 2nd midcourse correction.\n128:03:00 ― CSM/LM docked.\n\nHier Apollo 11, click for larger image\n\n130:09:31.2 ― LM ascent stage jettisoned.\n135:23:42.28 ― Transearth injection ignition (SPS).\n150:29:57.4 ― Midcourse correction ignition.\n\nHier Apollo 11, click for larger image\n\n194:49:12.7 ― CM/SM separation.\n195:03:05.7 ― Entry.\n195:12:06.9 ― Drogue parachute deployed.\n\nHier Apollo 11, click for larger image\n\n195:18:35 ― Splashdown (went to apex-down), Pacific Ocean (13°19′ N 169°9′ W).\n195:32 ― Flotation collar inflated.\n195:57 ― Crew egress.\n196:21 ― Crew aboard recovery ship, USS Hornet (CV-12).\n\nThe crew spent 21 days in quarantine and after their release were hailed as heroes, including a ticker-tape parade in New York. After the spectacular success of Apollo 11 NASA flew six more manned lunar missions, including the ill-fated Apollo 13, before the program was cancelled in 1975. In the 40 years since no astronaut has ever left Earth’s orbit.\n\n1. Or, according to the Art Bell crowd, the first person to set foot on a soundstage where the entire mission was faked. My favorite of the conspiracy theories is the one where Stanley Kubrick secretly filmed the astronauts at Shepperton while working on 2001: A Space Odyssey. Although the conspiracists have been widely discredited (OK, completely discredited) you have to admit that if anyone could pull it off it would be Stanley. On the other hand, honestly, can you imagine the US government having the prescience to hire Kubrick in the first place? Right, I thought as much. Which is, in itself, yet another argument against the conspiracists.\n\n2. I, your humble narrator, for example, specifically remembers being at my Grandma’s farm house in Northern Indiana. Maybe I saw Armstrong set foot on the Moon, maybe not. I was too young to remember any of the specifics although I am quite sure that Walter Cronkite was somehow involved.\n\n3. Fuchs, Erich. Hier Apollo 11. München: Verlag Heinrich Ellermann, 1969, or the US version: Journey to the Moon. New York: Delacorte Press, 1969.\n\nHier Apollo 11, dust jacket\n\n4. For more about Apollo 11 see: Manned Spacecraft Center. Apollo 11 Mission Report. MSC-00171. Nov 1969. For a review of the entire Apollo program see: Johnson Space Center. Apollo Program Summary Report. JSC-09423. Apr 1975. These, as well as many other documents, are available online at the Apollo Surface Journal.\n\n5. NASA itself is an acronym. See what I mean?\n\n20 Jul 2009 ‧ Illustration", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5491771101951599}
+{"content": "Crypy Ransomware File Removal\n\n\nThis page aims to help you remove Crypy Ransomware for free. Our instructions also cover how any Crypy encrypted file can be recovered.\n\nThe main topic of the article below is the way a virus known as Crypy normally acts. To sum up the nature of this malicious program briefly, we would like to inform you that it is a Ransomware-type program, which is capable of encrypting your most precious files. The next action that you can expect from this terrible virus is the popping up of an alert message, which lets you know that your files have been hijacked and in order to have them back, you are supposed to pay ransom.\n\nSoftware + nightmare = Crypy\n\nTo be honest, rarely could you come across a virus more malicious than any version of Ransomware. These are the most intrusive and bothering programs across the web. More and more users become infected with them thanks to the more and more flexible distribution methods. Once upon a time, when Ransomware as a software branch first originated in Russia, the main distribution method was via contagious emails that contained this malware either in the letter itself or in a contaminated attachment. Nowadays, as Ransomware is on its rise, you can catch a version of it from practically anywhere on the web – the same infected letters, drive-by downloads, shareware, torrents, contagious webpages, malvertising. Please note that if Crypy has come to you from an infected letter from your email, it has most probably entered your system with the help of a Trojan horse virus. Scan your device for Trojans, as you never know how exactly this malware may have contaminated your machine.\n\nThe encryption process\n\nYou are already aware of the fact that Crypy has made some of your files inaccessible. It chooses which ones will be encrypted after it has scanned all of your disks and drives and has concluded which ones exactly you most regularly use. Then all these files get enlisted and when the process of encoding begins, the program encrypts all of them one by one. After the entire list gets encoded, Crypy generates a very frightening ransom notification that consists of payment deadlines and some more details. In some cases some affected users could perceive the coming danger, because they might experience a significant slowdown of their entire system and might be wise enough to take a look into their Task Manager for suspicious processes. If the program consuming the most resources is unknown to you and therefore seems fishy, it’s most likely a virus. In case you happen to be one of these users, the best you can do is turn off your PC immediately, close all the network and other connections, which may result in spreading this malware, and then refrain from turning on your computer again before you have managed to solve the issue. Unfortunately, in most of the recorded cases, the infections go unnoticed until all the targeted files have been encrypted and the ransom notification pops up.\n\nCould this process be reversed? Is it possible to decrypt the encrypted data?\n\nThis is a very sensitive matter because “yes” and “no” are both correct answers to the questions above. Generally, it is always possible to remove this malware infection. For that purpose we are offering you to follow the instructions in our Guide below. Usually, the Ransomware-type viruses could be removed if you follow the instructions closely. Getting back your encoded data, though, is a completely different story. No Removal Guide, no expert, no software could ever guarantee the safe recovery of your encrypted data. To be completely precise, even paying the requested sum of money may not give you the control over your files once more. All the possible turns of events depend on the intentions of the hackers, who are disturbing you and the way they have programmed Crypy to encrypt your files. Sadly, you may never be able to access your data again as most commonly, hackers do not have good intentions and are not helpful at all. They are just after your money. Neither the payment of the demanded ransom, nor the removal of the virus will guarantee the recovery of your files.\n\nWhat we advise you to do\n\nNever risk sending your hard-earned money to any criminals, including the cyber ones. These people are breaking the law and you cannot expect them to be honest and trustworthy. Try all the possible measures against such viruses before you resort to paying the ransom. Consult a specialist, give our Removal Guide below a try, just don’t make the hackers believe their actions could bring them even more money by giving them yours, because it may encourage them to harass other people and blackmail them for their money.\n\n\nName Crypy\nType Ransomware\nSymptoms  The encryption process could be noticeable (a slowdown) or subtle (no symptoms), depending on what resources your PC possesses. In most of the cases nothing tells you about the ongoing contamination before the ransom notification pops up.\nDistribution Method Fake ads known as malvertising; contagious emails; attachments in any form – documents, images, archives, .exe files.\n\nMore information about SpyHunter and steps to uninstall.\n\nCrypy Ransomware File Removal\n\n\n\n\n\nAvoid this by using SpyHunter - a professional Parasite removal tool.\n\n\n\nnotepad %windir%/system32/Drivers/etc/hosts\n\n\nhosts_opt (1)\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nType each of the following in the Windows Search Field:\n\n  1. %AppData%\n  2. %LocalAppData%\n  3. %ProgramData%\n  4. %WinDir%\n  5. %Temp%\n\n\n\nHow to Decrypt files infected with Crypy\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5475943088531494}
+{"content": "string(63) \"Failed to connect to port 1040: No route to host\" Pcsx2 Ffx Settings 0 9 8? - Okela\n\npcsx2 ffx settings 0 9 8?\n\nBest Answer\n\nSorry, we don't have an aswer for this question yet.\n\n\npcsx2 ffx settings 0 9 8? community answers", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 1.0000097751617432}
+{"content": "Wages Fall In The UK\n\nRecession prompted 'unprecedented' fall in wages\n\n\nOn top of the rising cost of living, one third of workers who stayed in the same job saw a wage cut or freeze between 2010 and 2011, said the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS).\nThis may explain why unemployment has not been higher, she added.\nEconomists have puzzled over the fact that, since the recession began in 2008, the UK has seen the longest and deepest loss of output in a century - and yet employment has dropped by much less than in previous recessions.\nThe conundrum is known as the \"productivity puzzle\".\n\"Lone parents and older workers, for example, are not withdrawing from the labour market as they have in previous recessions, which may in part be driven by changes to the welfare system,\" the report said.\n\"This means that workers may be experiencing greater competition for jobs and hence may be more willing to accept lower wages than before.\"\nOn Tuesday the TUC said that total pay in some parts of the UK has shrunk by more than 10% since the start of the downturn in 2007. It said that north-west and south-west England had seen the sharpest cuts - 10.6% and 10.1% respectively.\n\n My view:\n\nWages are very sticky, in the sense that they do not easily decline over time.\n\nOnly a severe deflationary environment can force them down.\n\nSo while central bankers try to re-inflate a bubble in assets and inflation, real wages are shrinking in many parts of the western world.\n\nAs the bias of the economy remains toward deflation despite unprecedented measures by central banks, it appears they are failing to re-inflate to support the welfare state.\n\nOnce the stock market realizes this, we should see a move again to bonds and especially precious metals.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9990928769111633}
+{"content": "Zebrafish population changes in a future, multi-stressed environment\n\nMonday, 2 March 2015\n\nThere are significant challenges ahead for the ecology of our planet. Economic development and human population growth are driving climate change. But it is particularly difficult to predict the potential effects of temperature change in combination with other environmental stressors such as habitat destruction, the effects of chemical stressors, predation, or changes in the physiology of the animals themselves.\n\nEnvironmental scientists have long recognised these future challenges and there is a growing body of scientific literature speculating on the threats and impacts that these combined stressors pose to a healthy planet. However, there is surprisingly little reliable data available to begin to address these questions in practice. In the absence of high quality data, scientists cannot begin to build models to help understand which of the environmental stressors are the most important in order to develop appropriate management options and science-based policy.\n\nTo better understand the impact of multiple stressors, together with colleagues at the University of Exeter, we have examined the potential relationship between the impacts of climate change on vulnerable fish populations in concert with chemical exposure.\n\nPharmaceuticals excreted by patients are found in the environment, and the challenge has been to understand the potential risk that these compounds and other stressors pose to wildlife1. In research terms, fish are an important model for the pharmacological and toxicological characterisation of human pharmaceuticals in drug discovery, drug safety assessment and environmental toxicology. In a recent study we helped to demonstrate that only when the internal concentration of a medicinal product within fish reaches levels similar to that which is medicinal in human patients does the pharmacology equate to that in man2. In reality outside the lab, the environmental concentrations of pharmaceuticals in rivers are usually many orders of magnitude below those needed to cause pharmacological responses.\n\nWhilst it is known that compounds that affect the hormonal axis (endocrine disrupters) can have significant effects on reproduction in fish, the concentrations in the environment for most of these compounds are much lower than the concentrations that cause adverse effects in the laboratory; hence, the risks are also low.\n\nHowever, these are not the only factors that can affect populations3. Population size itself can be a significant factor in the future survival and vigour of fish populations. Small populations are at risk of inbreeding (mating between close relatives) and over several generations this can un-mask deleterious recessive alleles and reduced genetic diversity can leave the population at increased risk from environmental stressors.\n\nOne model species used increasingly as a research tool in laboratories around the world is the zebrafish (Danio rerio). This little fish is native to India and Bangladesh, and has proven a very valuable research tool; it even has a role in assessing the safety of new candidate pharmaceuticals before they are tested in mice, and is one of the key species used to help understand the environmental risk of pharmaceuticals required by regulators. But zebrafish (like many fish species) have some unusual biology; one aspect is that their sex is not only genetically determined, but can be driven by environmental factors, including the temperature of the water in which they swim. In warmer water, the population consists of more males. Exposure to some chemicals can also result in a male dominated population. However little is known about the combined effect of increasing temperature and exposure to such chemicals, particularly in small populations where in-breeding can potentially increase sensitivity to these stressors. This is the fundamental question addressed in a collaborative study between environmental scientists at AstraZeneca and University of Exeter, and published today in PNAS.\n\nThis new work demonstrates empirically that an increase in temperature (5°C) does indeed lead to more males being produced. Furthermore, exposure to a representative endocrine disrupting compound also led to a male bias, and the physiological mechanisms appear the same. Combined, increased exposure temperature and chemical exposure led to very few females in the resulting populations. The collaborative research team spent significant time generating 40 separate families of fish with known in-bred and out-bred characteristics from the same background of fish. For the first time this enabled the researchers to establish the effects of these combined physical and chemical stressors, with the biological complexity of in-bred populations. Taking the data generated in the laboratory, it was used to develop a model that enabled the researchers to predict the impact of the combined effects.4\n\nThis research illustrates how multiple stressors can have additive effects and highlights the need to consider a holistic approach to understanding man’s interactions with the environment.  Climate change and chemicals in the environment are normally considered separately but our research shows that they may be linked and this has potential implications for our future approaches to environmental risk assessment as we anticipate a future with rising temperatures, increasing human population and potentially associated increasing environmental exposure to chemicals.\n\nIn order to market new pharmaceuticals, part of the registration process requires the formal (regulatory) assessment of environmental effects and exposure. Here at AstraZeneca, the Global Environment team has been proactive in advancing the science through its Safety, Health and Environment Research Programme. In addition, as a global company employing more than 50,000 people in over 100 countries, our commitment to helping to mitigate climate change is recognition in the A list of CDP Climate Performance Leadership Index 2014.\n\nThe new work published in PNAS seeks to understand the combined effects of temperature and a model hormonally active compound, and in particular the potential to impact vulnerable populations. Importantly, these data can be used to make predictions about future impact. Focusing on the predictions made by the model, one remarkable aspect is the apparent robust nature of these fish; even with very few individuals contributing to the next generation, the populations can survive, but it is the inbreeding that presents the increasing risk. We believe that our work demonstrates a forward thinking approach to the science. Partnering with world class academics has facilitated the first substantial evidence that climate change, and pollution can interact, and further that biological factors such as inbreeding can be tested in the laboratory.\n\nThe study was funded by the Natural Environment Research Council, the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, the University of Exeter and AstraZeneca’s Global Safety Health and Environment Research Programme.\n\n\n  1. Boxall ABA, Rudd MA, Brooks BW, Caldwell DJ, Choi K, et al. (2012) Pharmaceuticals and personal care products in the environment: what are the big questions? Environ Health Perspect. 2012;120(9):1221–9.\n  2. Brown AR, Hosken DJ, Balloux F, Bickley LK, LePage G, Owen SF et al. (2009) Genetic variation, inbreeding and chemical exposure—combined effects in wildlife and critical considerations for ecotoxicology. Phil Trans Roy Soc B 364(1534):3377-3390.\n  3. Margiotta-Casaluci L, Owen SF, Cumming RI, de Polo A, Winter MJ, et al. (2014) Quantitative Cross-Species Extrapolation between Humans and Fish: The Case of the Anti-Depressant Fluoxetine. PLoS ONE 9(10): e110467. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0110467\n  4. Brown AR, Owen SF, Peters J, Zhang Y, Soffkar M, Paull GC, et al (2015) Climate change and pollution speed declines in zebrafish populations. PNAS", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9508667588233948}
+{"content": "Learn More\nThe Cuban vaccine, first in the world with proven efficacy against group B-caused disease, is based on outer membrane proteins from B meningococci capable of inducing long-lasting and high-titered bactericidal antibodies in humans. This bactericidal activity has a wide spectrum against all pathogenic group B Neisseria meningitidis tested. A randomized,(More)\nCertain gangliosides are tumor-associated antigens that constitute potential targets for cancer immunotherapy. A major drawback in the design of ganglioside-based cancer vaccines, however, is the poor immunogenicity of these glycolipids. Here we report the immunological and physicochemical properties of very small size proteoliposomes (VSSP) obtained by(More)\nDuring the past 40 years, dengue haemorrhagic fever and dengue shock syndrome (DHF/DSS) have emerged in humans, with approximately 3 million cases reported and over 58 000 deaths. Dengue virus serotypes 1, 2 and 4 (DENV-1, -2 and -4) have been co-circulating in Venezuela for at least the past 10 years, causing minor or major outbreaks of dengue fever (DF)(More)\nCONTEXT Meningococcal disease occurs worldwide, and serogroup B disease accounts for a large proportion of cases. Although persons younger than 4 years are at greatest risk for serogroup B meningococcal disease, vaccine efficacy has not been demonstrated in this age group. OBJECTIVE To evaluate serum bactericidal activity (SBA) against homologous vaccine(More)\nIn the adult rat, chronic cadmium intoxication induces nephropathy with Fanconi-like features. This result raises the question of whether intoxication of pregnant rats has any deleterious effects on renal function in their offspring. To test this hypothesis, we measured the renal function of 2- to 60-day-old postnatal offspring from female rats administered(More)\nSerum bactericidal activity (SBA) and ELISA antibody levels elicited by two efficacious serogroup B meningococcal vaccines were measured in a controlled trial involving 408 15- to 20-year-olds. Subjects were given two doses at a 6-week interval of a serogroup B or control vaccine. Response was defined as > or = 4-fold rise in antibody level. After two doses(More)\nWe describe a new method to obtain conjugates against Neisseria meningitidis serogroups A, B, C, Vibrio cholera, and Salmonella typhi and their immunogenicity in Balb/c mice. The saccharides were activated by basic hydrolysis with the generation of amine groups in the saccharidic chain, and these groups were linked to carboxyl groups of tetanus toxoid by(More)\nTo better understand the common association of Giardia lamblia infection and allergic reactivity, total and specific IgE values were evaluated and different manifestations of symptomatic and asymptomatic infected human hosts were analyzed. The humoral, cellular, and nonspecific immune responses were evaluated in Cuban adults. Increased total serum IgE(More)\nBACKGROUND The serogroup B meningococcus is responsible for the majority of cases of meningococcal disease in temperate countries. Infants and young children <2 years of age are at greatest risk of disease. This study assessed the immunogenicity in infants of a serogroup B meningococcal outer membrane protein vaccine that has been used extensively in(More)", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6216253042221069}
+{"content": "Learn More\nDeciphering the multiple layers of epigenetic regulation that control transcription is critical to understanding how plants develop and respond to their environment. Using sequencing-by-synthesis technology we directly sequenced the cytosine methylome (methylC-seq), transcriptome (mRNA-seq), and small RNA transcriptome (smRNA-seq) to generate highly(More)\nInduced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) offer immense potential for regenerative medicine and studies of disease and development. Somatic cell reprogramming involves epigenomic reconfiguration, conferring iPSCs with characteristics similar to embryonic stem (ES) cells. However, it remains unknown how complete the reestablishment of ES-cell-like DNA(More)\nEpigenetic information, which may affect an organism's phenotype, can be stored and stably inherited in the form of cytosine DNA methylation. Changes in DNA methylation can produce meiotically stable epialleles that affect transcription and morphology, but the rates of spontaneous gain or loss of DNA methylation are unknown. We examined spontaneously(More)\nAll somatic mammalian cells carry two copies of chromosomes (diploidy), whereas organisms with a single copy of their genome, such as yeast, provide a basis for recessive genetics. Here we report the generation of haploid mouse ESC lines from parthenogenetic embryos. These cells carry 20 chromosomes, express stem cell markers, and develop into all germ(More)\nMicroRNAs (miRNAs) and small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) are abundant endogenous small RNAs (smRNAs) that control transcript expression through posttranscriptional gene silencing. Here, we show that concomitant loss of XRN4/EIN5, a 5'-3' exoribonuclease, and ABH1/CBP80, a subunit of the mRNA cap binding complex, results in Arabidopsis plants manifesting(More)\nEthylene signaling in plants is mediated by a family of receptors related to bacterial two-component histidine kinases. Of the five members of the Arabidopsis ethylene receptor family, members of subfamily I (ETR1 and ERS1) contain completely conserved histidine kinase domains, whereas members of subfamily II (ETR2, EIN4, and ERS2) lack conserved residues(More)\nWhile genome assembly projects have been successful in many haploid and inbred species, the assembly of noninbred or rearranged heterozygous genomes remains a major challenge. To address this challenge, we introduce the open-source FALCON and FALCON-Unzip algorithms (https://github.com/PacificBiosciences/FALCON/) to assemble long-read sequencing data into(More)\nParasitic strategies are widely distributed in the plant kingdom and frequently involve coupling parasite organogenesis with cues from the host. In Striga asiatica, for example, the cues that initiate the development of the host attachment organ, the haustorium, originate in the host and trigger the transition from vegetative to parasitic mode in the root(More)\nEthylene signaling in plants is mediated by a family of ethylene receptors related to bacterial two-component regulators. Expression in yeast of ethylene-binding domains from the five receptor isoforms from Arabidopsis thaliana and five-receptor isoforms from tomato confirmed that all members of the family are capable of high-affinity ethylene-binding(More)", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9873401522636414}
+{"content": "Devs - Iratvs is pretty amazing, but I haven't been able to get ahold of any of their demos yet.\n\nCelebration of the Heaven Lost is sextastic, and my favorite song so far.\nNot sure if anyone knows, but Jari from Wintersun actually composed some songs for this band, and actually did the solo on Ancestors of Magick. It's a great song, band isn't bad. Average in my opinion.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6641543507575989}
+{"content": "Header Image\n\n\n1. Switching of TGFbeta signaling outcomes in normal and disease states (Collaborators: Peter Gray - Salk Insitute, Julia Tchou - UPenn, Joan Brugge - Harvard)\n\nProgression of solid tumors to a metastatic stage accounts for over 90% of cancer mortality. Thus, it is critical to identify therapeutic strategies that target both primary and metastatic tumors. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) negatively correlates with therapy response, contributing to intratumoral heterogeneity and systemic dissemination in breast cancer. We previously reported that pseudopodium-enriched atypical kinase one (PEAK1) promotes breast cancer cell EMT and metastasis by potentiating fibronectin - transforming growth factor beta (TGFβ) signaling cross-talk. Since eukaryotic initiation factor five A (eIF5A), a unique translation factor that is activated by post-translational hypusination, is required for PEAK1 expression, we hypothesized that TGFβ may directly regulate eIF5A activity as a novel means of promoting EMT, and that targeting this pathway may inhibit or reverse metastatic progression. In this regard, we provide evidence of an active eIF5A-EMT program in undifferentiated breast cancer tissue. Notably, blockade of eIF5A hypusination (via deoxyhypusine synthase, DHPS, inhibition) reduces PEAK1 translation, cell viability and TGFβ-induced EMT. Conversely, we demonstrate that TGFβ induces post-translational hypusination of eIF5A in metastatic breast cancer cells. TGFβ is known to activate histone deacetylase six (HDAC6) and HDAC6 was independently reported to promote eIF5A deacetylation and nuclear export, supporting its translation activity. When delivered in combination, HDAC6 and DHPS inhibitors synergize to sequester eIF5A to the nucleus, suppress eIF5A-dependent translation and potently kill metastatic breast cancer cells. To identify candidate pathways downstream of the eIF5A/PEAK1 axis during EMT, we generated a Cytoscape interactome using eIF5A signaling and PEAK1-induced EMT genes as search terms. All interactome component genes were then analyzed across two breast cancer patient studies available on the Cancer Bio Portal. Interestingly, SOX2, PIK3CA and EIF4A2 were the interactome nodes that exhibited copy number amplifications among patients harboring genomic alterations in the initial interactome search genes, and SOX2 amplification significantly and independently associated with decreased patient survival (p = 0.0476). Taken together, our results establish a novel signaling pathway by which TGFβ stimulates HDAC6 and DHPS function to activate cytoplasmic eIF5A and promote EMT and survival in breast cancer cells. This work also identifies new therapeutic reagents and strategies that may improve cancer patient survival.\n\n\n\n2. Biomarker identification in pancreatic cancer (Collaborators: Michael Bouvet - UCSD, Claremont BioSolutions)\n\nPancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) has single-digit 5-year survival rates at <7%. There is a dire need to improve pre-malignant detection methods and identify new therapeutic targets for abrogating PDAC progression. To this end, we mined our previously published pseudopodium-enriched (PDE) protein/phosphoprotein datasets to identify novel PDAC-specific biomarkers and/or therapeutic targets. We discovered that integrin alpha 1 (ITGA1) is frequently upregulated in pancreatic cancers and associated precursor lesions. Expression of ITGA1-specific collagens within the pancreatic cancer microenvironment significantly correlates with indicators of poor patient prognosis, and depleting ITGA1 from PDAC cells revealed that it is required for collagen-induced tumorigenic potential. Notably, collagen/ITGA1 signaling promotes the survival of ALDH1-positive stem-like cells and cooperates with TGFβ to drive gemcitabine resistance. Finally, we report that ITGA1 is required for TGFβ/collagen-induced EMT and metastasis. Our data suggest that ITGA1 is a new diagnostic biomarker and target that can be leveraged to improve patient outcomes.\n\nPDAC screening\n\n\n\n3. Influence of the microenvironment on cancer progression and therapy resistance (Collaborators: Joan Brugge - Harvard, Julia Tchou - UPenn, Ben Spike - Huntsman Cancer Center)\n\n4. Tissue regeneration and wound healing (Collaborators: Athanasia Panopoulos - Notre Dame, Peter Gray - Salk Insititute)\n\nStem cells are necessary for proper development, tissue homeostasis and regeneration while dysregulation of their activity leads to diseases such as diabetes and cancer. We hypothesized that the stem cell marker, Cripto (or TDGF1), is a regulator of tissue regeneration. Using the zebrafish model of caudal fin wound healing, we show that expression of the zebrafish Cripto homolog, one-eyed pinhead (or oep), is increased in blastemal stem cell tissue at 96 hours post amputation. We further demonstrate that Cripto is necessary and sufficient for stem cell-mediated regeneration in this in vivo model. We identified non-muscle Myosin IIs (MYH9/10) as novel Cripto-binding proteins using proteomics and confirmed these interactions by co-IP/Western blot and immunofluorescence (IF) in mesenchymal stem cells. Notably, dual pharmacological inhibition of Cripto and Myosin IIs did not reduce caudal fin regeneration beyond that of either inhibitor alone, suggesting that these proteins function in the same pathway during this process. Our previous work demonstrated that soluble (GPI anchor-cleaved) Cripto promotes tissue-specific stem cell functions via cell-surface binding to GRP78 (glucose-regulated protein 78). Here, we report that Myosin II inhibition reduces cell surface localization and production of soluble Cripto. Since GRP78 primarily functions as an ER chaperone that responds to cellular stresses, such as nutrient or oxygen depletion, we tested whether nutrient deprivation affects Cripto expression, sub-cellular localization or binding to Myosin IIs in mesenchymal stem cells. Interestingly, we found that glutamine is necessary, but not sufficient, to sustain normal Cripto expression and its Myosin II-associated functions. Using the BioGrid database, we discovered Rab11A as a co-binder of GRP78 and Myosin IIs. Given the endosomal/exosomal trafficking functions of Rab11A, we hypothesized that Cripto may in turn help traffic GRP78 or other cell surface proteins in a Myosin II-dependent manner. Inhibition of Myosin IIs in mesenchymal stem cells transfected with wild-type, constitutively active or dominant negative GFP-tagged Rab11A revealed that Myosin IIs act upstream of and in concert with Rab11A to regulate Cripto localization to Myosin II-rich membrane protrusions. Based upon these data, we propose a new model of Cripto function whereby Myosin II/Rab11A activities promote membrane localization of Cripto to facilitate a unique endosomal/exosomal transport processes. Furthermore, reduced glutamine metabolism limits cellular Cripto expression, restricting protein sorting and autocrine/paracrine signaling during stem cell-mediated tissue regeneration.\n\n\n\nTrainees in our group will gain experience with the following techniques: Immunohistochemistry/Immunofluorescence, qPCR/RT-PCR, Site-Directed Mutagenesis, Cell Biology, Intravital Cancer Imaging, RNAi Techniques, Viral Gene Delivery, Confocal/TIRF/Epi Microscopy, Chick-CAM and Orthotopic Xenograft Tumor Models, Cell Proliferation/Migration/Cycle/Transformation Assays, Radio-Immunoassays of Ligand-Receptor Interactions, Luciferase-Response Assays, Phosphoprotein Analysis, Kinase Assays, iPSC/ESC Culturing and Characterization, Adipocyte/Neuronal Cell Differentiation, Bioinfomatics, TGF-beta Superfamily Signaling, Analysis of Stem Cell Properties in Cancer Cells, Primary Cell Isolation and Characterization from Normal and Tumor Tissue, Zebrafish Husbandry and Developmental Studies, and FACS", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8427774906158447}
+{"content": "Lapping up infertility: Your laptop heat can hinder your reproductive activities, say researchers\n\n\nIt is not a joking matter, researchers are claiming that sitting laptops on your laps are dangerous for your reproductive future  as its generated  heat activities  can affect brewing sperms in the scrotum. Take a cue and  find a new way of sitting your laptops \n\nDanger@ Sitting la[tops on the laps can kill reproductive cells.\nMen, if you’re planning on having children, it might not be such a good idea to have that laptop sitting on your legs, even if you use a laptop pad. Researchers at Stony Brook University in New York have found that sitting with a laptop computer on your legs can elevate temperatures in the scrotum, a condition known as scrotal hyperthermia.\n\nAlthough the study doesn’t explicitly state that this could cause infertility, other studies have linked increased scrotal temperatures to the inability to naturally produce children, according to Reuters. The Stony Brook researchers’ findings are published in the November volume of the monthly medical journal Fertility and Sterility.\n\nYefim Sheynkin, the study’s lead researcher, told Reuters that volunteers in the study volunteers started experiencing unsafe temperatures after sitting with a laptop for 10 to 15 minutes.\n\nThe study used thermometers to measure the scrotal temperatures of 29 male volunteers who sat with a laptop on their legs for three separate 60-minute sessions. The first 60 minutes, the men sat with a laptop directly on their lap, the second round, the men used a laptop pad, and for the final session the men used a laptop pad with their legs spread apart at about a 70-degree angle.\n\nIn every position, the scrotal temperature increased, although the heat took about 30 minutes to get going when using the laptop pad. It’s not clear what kind of laptop pads the men used, or whether different types of cooling pads and laptop desks offer better heat protection than others.\n\nThe researchers concluded that if you want to keep things cool below the waist, you’re better off leaving the laptop on the table instead of your lap. If you must balance your laptop on your legs, researchers advise keeping your legs spread apart and only sitting in that position for significantly shorter periods.\n\nThis is not the first time researchers at Stony Brook have looked at laptops and the device’s effects on male reproductive health. In 2004, Stony Brook researchers published a study in the UK journalHuman Reproduction. That study, again lead by Sheynkin, also linked sitting with laptops to scrotal hyperthermia; however, at the time Sheynkin posited that, “external protective devices [such as laptop pads] could help.”\n\nUse shields or tables\n\nIn the new study, urologist Yefim Sheynkin of Stony Brook University in New York and his colleagues enlisted 29 men ages 21 to 35 to participate in three tests in which each man operated a laptop computer on his thighs for one hour. One test entailed keeping the thighs together while using the machine.\n\nA second required the same position, but with a padded shield placed under the laptop.\n\nThe third test allowed the men to keep their legs apart at a 70-degree angle as they used a laptop with a shield supporting it that was wide enough to reach across both legs and stabilize the computer.\n\nEach of the men completed all three tests, but did only one test per day. Before each experiment, sensors recorded the scrotum temperature of each volunteer and recorded any changes during the session.\n\nAll three uses of a laptop increased the men’s scrotal temperature substantially from pretext levels, but keeping the legs splayed limited this increase to about 1.4 degrees Celsius during the hour-long test.\n\nWhen the legs were kept together the temperature rose by 2.2 degrees with a shield and 2.3 degrees without one.What’s more, it took an average of 28 minutes for scrotal temperatures to rise 1 degree Celsius when the men had their legs apart, but only 14 minutes to increase that much when they kept their legs together with a shield and 11 minutes with legs together and no shield.\n\n“Having the legs together, which is how most people use laptops, does seem to be the worst,” Sabanegh says. “This makes a lot of sense.”The laptop shields — also called laptop pads or trays — are sold online and in office-supply stores, though not typically as protective devices, says Sheynkin. He recommends that men put laptops on desks or tables, which enables them to move their legs around and avoid being trapped in a single position for extended periods.\n\nSabanegh says that many men have come to understand the risks of increasing the scrotum temperature. While such heat may not always be the underlying problem for a couple with fertility issues, it’s part of counseling. “I tell them, ‘Try to be healthy in all the ways you can.’ And that means stop putting laptops on your lap, stop using hot tubs and other things of that nature.”\n\n-PC World\n\nBy Olapeju Agunbiade", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9640049338340759}
+{"content": "Panic attack.\n\nAnxiety is familiar to many people.Often, it occurs due to a difficult life situation.Many people experience anxiety for the health, welfare, the welfare of children, relatives, friends.Some scares the instability and uncertainty of the future.In today's world many reasons for an alarm.This state indicates any unfavorable circumstances in life.Despite the fact that the emotion is not positive, it promotes the activation of stress hormones in the body.Their activity begins mobilization of domestic resources, and people are able to overcome the difficulties.\n\nTypically, anxiety is accompanied by palpitations and breathing, increased sweating, especially often on the palms.In some cases, may occur willies, someone might blanch.All of these reactions are the result of restructuring in the hormonal activity that triggers the alarm.Self described as a state of discomfort, stress, bad expectations.\n\nIn general, anxiety is an inherent sense of man.However, it must be a reason.There are, however, a patholog\n\ny, the main symptom of which becomes anxiety.This is a very adverse impact on the human condition, prevents it in everyday affairs.Diagnosis of pathological anxiety is carried out using different methods.It should be noted that the disease is very multifaceted, characterized by various manifestations of nature.The most striking in this manifestation is considered to be a panic attack.This condition is very negative impact on the quality of human life.\n\nWhat is a panic attack?\n\nUnder this condition refers to a sudden attack caused intense fear.\n\nSymptoms of a panic attack are similar to symptoms of anxiety.The attack is accompanied by rapid breathing, palpitations, sweating, paleness.As a rule, there is an attack not more than three times a week and lasts less than an hour.A panic attack is manifested in different situations.Most patients experience it in public transport, enclosed spaces, crowded places.\n\npanic attack usually occurs for no apparent reason: there is no threat to health or to human life or the people close to him.Attacks usually occur suddenly.\n\nExperts still can not answer precisely what factors cause the occurrence of panic attacks.According to many doctors, attacks are the result of long-term traumatic situations or severe stress.It should be said that not everyone who lived through a difficult period, there is a panic attack.In this regard, experts also point to a genetic predisposition to such reactions, hormones and temperament characteristics.\n\nTo distinguish normal anxiety, panic attacks, you must first pay attention to the quality of life.If a person feels his powerlessness, helplessness, inability to adapt to the environment, feels unjustified anxiety, which is characterized by high intensity, then we have regular panic attacks.\n\nIn this case, need to consult a qualified professional.It should be said that a panic attack can occur regularly as a result of serious pathologies of internal organs.It is therefore necessary, if possible, a complete examination.Based on the results of tests and examinations established the diagnosis and treatment is prescribed.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9602168202400208}
+{"content": "\n\nRE: Disarming in the Presence\n\nPoster: \"Barclay, Peter\" <BarclayP@lee-dns1.army.mil>\n\nGreetings to the Merry Rose from Master Terafan,\n\nAlfredo writes....\n\n>>>Since Ld Henry presumably has an AoA, his practice would fit in with\n>the curious (to my ears) Atlantian paradigm.\n>>>How about someone like me, who got his AoA from a foreign king,\n>but who now holds himself a loyal subject of Atlantia?\n>Am I to be trusted with a weapon near the Crown?\n>Or should I wait until I've received some honor on Atlantian soil?\n\nIf you hold yourself a \"loyal subject of Atlantia\" then only you can\nanswer your question.   Are you to be trusted with a weapon near the\nCrown?   I would think so, until you prove otherwise.   \n\nThe way I interpret the entire thing is similar to Henry's...   \n\tIs the king so lousy that he fears harm from his own subjects, such\nthat they must remove the accouterments of nobility, namely swords and\ndaggers?   Is the loyalty of an Atlantian subject held in such low\nregard that he/she is required to remove such?  While other kingdoms may\nexperience this in their populace/royalty, in Atlantia, I feel that we\ndo not.\n\nWhile I used to frequently carry various accouterments, I now often find\nthat they are cumbersome, except for small daggers.  I also think that\nif the Kings champion and/or guards are doing their jobs, they would\nnotice any act of harm towards Their Majesties and react before the\nattackers blade even cleared.  \n\n>Master Terafan Greydragon\t\tbarclayp@lee-dns1.army.mil\n>Brewer, Fighter, Brewer, Autocrat, Brewer, etc\n>Barony of Caer Mear\n            Submissions:  atlantia@atlantia.sca.org\n        Admin. requests:  majordomo@atlantia.sca.org", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8477973937988281}
+{"content": "Maybe, now and then, the Ohio General Assembly has new ideas. But Ohio’s House and Senate tend to react to ideas rather than initiate them. \n\nGood example: The revelation that House and Senate leaders of both parties are reportedly discussing with each other how Ohio draws congressional districts. (Here’s a clue: Badly.) \n\nSurely, it’s a complete coincidence the nonpartisan and broad-based Fair Districts = Fair Elections Coalition is said to be making good progress in gathering signatures for a proposed statewide ballot issue that would change (for the better) how Ohio draws congressional districts. Backers must obtain the valid signatures of at least 305,591 voters to place the Fair Districts plan on the ballot.\n\nThe Fair Districts ballot issue would take away from the General Assembly its power to draw congressional districts — and give it to the bipartisan Ohio Redistricting Commission. Voters created the commission in 2015 to draw General Assembly districts. \n\nThe legislature’s sudden attack of bipartisanship is actually an attack of political self-interest: Now, the General Assembly draws congressional districts to favor the political party that controls the General Assembly. Republicans do now. So, of Ohio’s 16 districts, 12 are held by Republicans. \n\nThe legislature’s Republicans drew those districts with help from then-U.S. House Speaker John Boehner, a Butler County Republican, who called Columbus and ordered districts like “have-it-your-way” takeout. The legislature’s Republicans delivered faster than car-hops on roller skates. \n\nYes, General Assembly Democrats, when they could, drew Democrat-friendly districts during redistricting, which occurs every 10 years, after each Census. But in Ohio’s modern redistricting era, starting in the 1960s, the legislature was split between Democrats and Republicans only in sessions that immediately followed the 1980 and 1990 Censuses; the legislature was Republican-run in sessions that immediately followed the 1970, 2000 and 2010 Censuses. \n\nTrue, bipartisan factors may figure in the General Assembly’s road-to-Damascus conversion to good government. First, there isn’t a General Assembly member alive who doesn’t daydream that she or he could move up to Congress. What better way than to draw your own district? \n\nSecond, if you’re a state legislator who wants to take a lordly member of Congress down a peg, having say-so over the boundaries of his or her district can do it. You want someone in Congress to kiss your ring? If you’re a General Assembly member, stroll around the U.S. Capitol with a map of Ohio and a Magic Marker. That’ll do it. \n\nIf General Assembly leaders of both parties really do thirst for genuine Statehouse reform, there’s plenty on the to-do list, such as: \n\n• Asking voters to convert Ohio’s two-chamber General Assembly into a one-chamber (unicameral) legislature, such as Nebraska’s. Making the General Assembly unicameral was discussed in the 1930s — and should be again. At a minimum, it would make it harder to hide who does what to kill, delay or block good legislation. Today’s two-chamber falderal helps hide that.\n\n• Demonstrating bravery by asking voters to repeal legislative term limits, which have made the executive branch more powerful than the legislative branch, and lobbyists more powerful than either. Repealing term limits would be a tough sell. But repeal could pass, perhaps by a show of sacrifice by incumbents — requiring, say, that if term limits were repealed, they’d still apply to legislators already in office at that time. \n\n• Letting voters elect the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio. Maybe, as critics argue, elected utility commissions are no more responsive to consumers. But PUCO campaigns would at least decode, from today’s rate-case gobbledygook, what’s really at stake at the Statehouse for Ohio utility consumers. Answer: A lot.\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6412079930305481}
+{"content": "Withdrawn BYU Applications\n\nAs part of the admission process, BYU withdraws applications that are incomplete after the February 1 admission deadline. An applicant whose application has been withdrawn will not be considered for admission. Applicants are welcome to complete an application for a future admission period once the new application becomes available.\n\nHow does this work? If any part of an application has not been received by the appropriate deadline, that application is considered to be incomplete and the application is withdrawn. There are a few exceptions to this process. Since BYU allows mailed transcripts to be postmarked and not received by the deadline, we hold on to some applications a little longer to allow these mailed items to arrive. This means applications that are only missing transcripts and ACT/SAT scores will be retained, and not immediately withdraw. After approximately one week, waiting for mailed items to arrive, we withdraw the remaining incomplete applications.\n\nWhat about the applicants? When an application is withdrawn, we send an email notification to the applicant letting them know the withdrawal took place. If they are still interested in applying to BYU, applicants can look for the winter application that will open approximately March 31.\n\nWhat about other CES schools? Not all CES schools withdraw their applications. It is important for the applicant to check the application status for each institution to which they have applied for additional information.\n\nAre there any options? For those who are still interested in attending BYU during Spring or Summer terms, the Visiting Student program may be an option for them. This is a non-matriculated student program and does not offer continued attendance at the university. For more information, visit https://admissions.byu.edu/visiting-student-program", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.97962886095047}
+{"content": "Toba Lake Festival\nThe caldera of Lake Toba, with a resurgent dom...Image via Wikipedia\nToba Lake_Satellite Image\nLake Toba, the largest volcanic lake in Indonesia and Southeast Asia, there is a volcanic island in the middle of the lake called Samosir Island. Take place in Lake Toba, the festival was held to promote the arts, culture and traditions of Northern Sumatra. Various events have been prepared by the festival committee, including exhibitions, sports activities, arts-cultural activities and other supporting events. \n\nOrnamental Ships Carnival at Lake Toba\npaddle boat race\nTor-Tor Dance\nTraditional Music Instrument of Northern Sumatra\n\nSentani Lake Festival\nSentani Lake_Satellite Image\nSentani Lake, the largest lake in Papua. The festival was held in Khalkote, Asei, East Sentani, Jayapura District, Papua. Sentani Lake Festival is an annual event organized by the Jayapura District Government. The purpose of this festival is to attract local and foreign tourists and also introduced the culture of Papua. This festival featuring cultural performance and traditional culinary of local people, there are also booths selling souvenirs such as Koteka, Noken, etc.\n\nsunset at Sentani Lake\n\nThe exhibition devoted to the promotion, investment and trade through booths that showcase the economic potential in Papua such as mining, forestry, fishery, plantation and tourism.\n\nBaliem Valley Festival\nBaliem Valley\nThe second biggest mountain-valley in Papua, The legendary Baliem Valley is the home of the Dani tribe. Indigenous peoples are introduced to the outside world as a peasant fighters. They lived in farming, but likes to fight. Baliem festival featuring performances tribal warfare, crafts, and traditional dances of Dani tribe. Various village re-demonstrate various cases of war between their village. Complete with throwing spears and shooting arrows. But they do not hurt each other.\nwar festival-throwing spears\nDani tribe-with arrows\n\nBromo Festival\nMount Bromo (front)\nTake place in Mount Bromo (in ancient Javanese language ; Brahma, one of the major Hindu Gods) East Java, this festival features Tengger tribes traditional arts performances, mass Kuda Lumping dance, Reog dance and the main event ; Bromo Million Fire Festival. \n\ntengger tribes, ceremony at Bromo desert\n\n\nINDONESIA is often referred as the sleeping giant of Southeast Asia, and the epithet was indeed appropriate. With more than 18 thousand islands, this archipelago has a remarkable diversity of what you can see or do while on vacation there. \n\nIndonesia offers a variety of festivals that are very distinctive feature of their cultures, reflecting the ethnic diversity and traditions from various parts of the archipelago. You'll find it in various typical Indonesian festivals, for example celebration af arts, batik, dance, ceremony, etc. If possible, you can see one of the festival during a visit in Indonesia.\n\nKrakatau Festival (Lampung, Sumatra)\n\nKrakatau Festival is an annual festival held in Lampung, was held to celebrate the volcanic island of the same name, Krakatau (Krakatoa). Mount Krakatau erupted in 1927, then the eruption was create a new small island named Anak Krakatau. \n\nDuring the festival, visitors can enjoy variety shows like Carnival Tuping (Lampung Mask Carnival), elephant and various dances from Lampung and surrounding cities. Series of events  ended with a visit to the volcanic island that still active but was sleeping soundly.\n\nBali Arts Festival (Bali)\n\nOne of the largest annual celebration of art and culture in Indonesia, Bali Arts Festival is always full packed. During the month, various arts performances, exhibitions, and other cultural activities will take place in Bali, offering dances, musics and beauty of their cultures. \n\nThe celebration featured performances such as traditional dances that have been almost forgotten, the trail from a remote area in Bali, foods, handicrafts, as well as new creations from Dance School in Denpasar and contemporary choreography of national and international artists.\n\nSolo Batik Carnival (Solo / Surakarta, Central Java)\n\nFrom the first, Batik tradition was deeply embedded in Solo~(as known as Surakarta) and even has become an icon and identity, reflect the beauty of its Royal and hospitality of its people. Solo Batik Carnival is held to strengthen that tradition, and also to promote Batik globally.\n\nThis event is a combination of ceremonies, fashion shows, and carnivals, with Batik as theme. There is also a Bazaar that offers various kinds of batik and the unique souvenir from Solo.\n\nGrebeg Maulud (Yogyakarta, Central Java)\n\nIn the Java language, Grebeg means crowd of people and Maulud is one of the month name in Javanese calendar. This celebration was also known as Sekaten, to celebrate the birth of the Prophet Muhammad. This procession lasted a full day and features performances of Gamelan which paraded toward the Masjid Agung (grand mosque).\n\nNight Bazaar is held in the north of town square, right place to taste the cuisine of Java and Yogyakarta and also hunting some souvenirs.\n\nVisit Indonesia; Know it, Love It\n\nBatik : Traditional Fabric of Indonesia\n\nJavanese traditional batik, especially from Yogyakarta and Surakarta, has special meanings rooted to the Javanese conceptualization of the universe. Traditional colours include indigo, dark brown, and white, which represent the three major Hindu Gods (Brahmā, Visnu, and Śiva). This is related to the fact that natural dyes are most commonly available in indigo and brown. Certain patterns can only be worn by nobility; traditionally, wider stripes or wavy lines of greater width indicated higher rank. Consequently, during Javanese ceremonies, one could determine the royal lineage of a person by the cloth he or she was wearing.\nUNESCO designated Indonesian batik as a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanityon October 2, 2009. As part of the acknowledgment, UNESCO insisted that Indonesia preserve their heritage.\n\nJavanese Kraton Batik (Javanese court Batik)\n\n  • Yogyakarta Batik. Traditional Yogya batik is preserved and fostered by the Yogyakarta Sultanate and the Pakualaman court. Usually Yogya Batik has white as the background color. Fine batik is produced at Kampung Taman district. Beringharjo market near Malioborostreet is well known as a retail batik trade center in Yogyakarta.\n\nBatik Designs\n\n\n\n\n\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9950045347213745}
+{"content": "Sonya Thomas lcsw\n\nDo you react or respond?\n\nWhen engaged in a difficult conversation, how you listen matters—when listening well, you should be actively paying attention to what the other person is saying, trying to understand their point of view, and acknowledging their thoughts and feelings, rather than just hearing what they say and waiting for your chance to rebut, correct, or give your point of view.   If you listen well, you are much more likely to respond rather than react to what is being said.  According to Psychology Today, a reaction is instant, emotional, based on your beliefs and biases, and is often rooted in your unconscious mind—while a response comes more slowly, and is based on information from both your conscious and unconscious mind. Reactions are often defensive and anti-relational, while responses are generally more considerate and take more than one point of view, hence are more pro-relational.  In short, a response is based in reflection and logic, while a reaction often arises from an emotionally dysregulated state.  The intention behind each, and the consequences that follow them, can be completely different.\n\nThink about  broaching a serious or difficult topic or conversation; one in which a frustration or complaint needs to be addressed, hurt feelings need to be shared, or a difference needs to be negotiated.  Would you rather the other person react immediately and emotionally, with defensiveness, victimhood, righteousness, indignation, blame, withdrawal, criticism, contempt, etc. or would you rather they take the time to try to understand where you are coming from, attempt to see things from a perspective other than just their own, and think through the impact of how they respond?  If this is your preference, then you also owe it to them and to the relationship to return the favor.\n\nGoing forward, actively challenge yourself to respond more than you react—you might find that conflicts are more easily resolved, negotiations are more successful, and your relationship improves.  Who wouldn’t want this?\n\nUntil next time, peace.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9819934368133545}
+{"content": "Kathy Addy2\n\nKathy Addy\n\nKathy Addy is a communications professional with extensive experience in Ghana and across Africa. She is passionate about communications for development and research uptake though the breadth of her expertise covers a wide range of Communications’ specializations including Strategic Communication Planning; Corporate Communication; Media Relations and Training.\n\nShe has supported several organizations, both governmental and non-governmental in Ghana and in Africa with communications strategies and interventions to enhance the impact of their work.  As a result, she has gained extensive knowledge in a wide range of sectors including governance, gender and international trade.\n\nAs a communications specialist for the Afrobarometer project, Kathy works to bring Afrobarometer research to life by transforming data and findings into outputs that are accessible to relevant audiences. She undertakes training for key audiences like policy makers, media practitioners and civil society actors to demonstrate the value of incorporating research evidence for greater impact of their work.\n\nPrior to her time at Afrobarometer, Kathy worked on projects in gender and economic development, gender based and domestic violence, economic development through international trade and many others.\n\nShe currently serves on the board of the Tropical St Anthony Foundation, a grant-making organization that caters for tuition and accommodation costs for brilliant and needy students who have been accepted into university.\n\nShe is a strong believer in research that informs interventions that transform lives.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9966077208518982}
+{"content": "Tobit // Day 4 (Pt 2) - Catch & Release\n\nTobit 6: 2-9, Luke 9:1-6\n\nMy brother loves playing video games like Final Fantasy. One element of games like Final Fantasy is that the characters often gather items like fish or clothing materials or things that would later be used to create weapons. In today’s passage from Tobit, Tobias catches a fish and Raphael tells Tobias to save the gall, heart, and liver since those parts can be used for medicine. Tobias follows Raphael’s instructions, but also saves the parts of the fish that he can eat for the road ahead.\n\nRaphael explains that the heart and the liver can be used to help someone afflicted by an evil spirit while the gall can be used to restore sight to the blind. Tobias could’ve gone back home at this point since he has the cure for his father’s blindness. However, his duty to his father came first. \n\nThere’s a similar passage in the New Testament in which Jesus instructs his disciples about what to do when they go out to heal the sick and exorcise demons. “Take nothing for the journey, neither walking stick, nor sack, nor food, nor money, and let no one take a second tunic. Whatever house you enter, stay there and leave from there. And as for those who do not welcome you, when you leave that town, shake the dust from your feet in testimony against them.” Luke 9:3-4\n\nIt’s a little different from the instructions that Raphael gave to Tobias, but the sentiment is the same. Jesus is asking his disciples to prepare themselves for the journey ahead. Since the disciples have Him, they didn’t require anything else. Tobias in a similar way, just took what he needed and left behind what wasn’t necessary.\n\nMy mom always likes to remind everyone to make sure that we brought everything we need with us whenever we travel. It’s annoying and makes her come off as a nag, but when we get to our destination and I realize I forgot my hair dryer, she gives me that “I told you so” look. Moms always know best, after all. \n\nIf you make time to pray today, ask God to be your compass on this journey we call life.\n\nSTUDY QUESTIONS: What do you need to take with you on your journey? Do you need to take more things with you or do you feel that you can get by with what you have now? Do you consider yourself to be an organized person or do you feel like being organized restricts you? Or are you too organized and inflexible? What are some ways you think you can find balance and be organized while still being flexible to the unexpected?", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9312191605567932}
+{"content": "From farm to plate make food safe\n\nWorld Health Day 2015 message by Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director, World Health Organization, South-East Asia Region\n\nThis year, World Health Day focuses on Food Safety – a theme that resonates with everyone. Safe food is needed for everybody, from growing children and adolescents to pregnant women and older adults. Food safety involves everyone, from those in government and civil society to the private sector and communities that buy and prepare food.\n\nUnsafe food and water are linked to the deaths of an estimated 2 million people annually – including many children. Unsafe food and water kills an estimated 700 000 children in WHO South-East Asia Region every year. Foodborne illnesses are usually either infectious or toxic in nature. These illnesses may occur through the consumption of food or water contaminated by bacteria, viruses, parasites or chemical substances. Foodborne pathogens such as Salmonella, Escherichia coli, or Campylobacter can cause severe illnesses or even death. Chemical contamination can lead to acute poisoning or long-term diseases such as cancer. Examples of unsafe food include uncooked foods of animal origin, and fruits and vegetables contaminated with faeces and chemicals.\n\nThe scope and concept of food safety is constantly evolving. Many years ago, food was generally grown and consumed locally in the village or town near where the food was harvested. Mass food production was limited to small local establishments and the occasional large social events such as weddings. Modern times have seen industrialization of food processing on national and global scales, adding another dimension to food safety.\n\nThere have also been changes in food production such as intensive agriculture and the growing use of antibiotics in animal husbandry. These changes have the potential to increase the risk of food becoming contaminated with elements harmful to human health.\n\nEnsuring food safety starts with production at the farm level. Misuse of agro-chemicals, including pesticides, growth hormones and veterinary drugs may have harmful effects on human health. Microbial and chemical risks could be introduced at the farm-level (by using water contaminated by industrial or poultry farm waste for irrigation of crops). Good agricultural practices need to be applied to reduce microbial and chemical hazards.\n\nFood adulteration is still a problem in countries of the South-East Asia Region where informal food production and distribution systems are deeply entrenched at the community level. Examples of adulteration include the contamination of mustard oil with argemone oil in 1998 and of imported milk and infant formula with melamine in 2008. These events raised food safety concerns among consumers and policymakers. The South-East Asia Region is prone to natural disasters. Access to safe water and quality food is a major problem during floods, earthquakes and other natural disasters such as hurricanes and tsunamis. There is a likelihood of food in the affected areas getting contaminated and causing outbreaks of foodborne disease. WHO has been advocating for food safety to be adequately incorporated in national disastermanagement programmes.\n\nWHO helps and encourages countries to prevent, detect and respond to foodborne disease outbreaks— in line with international food standards, guidelines and codes of practice covering the preparation and production of all the main foods. Recognizing that food safety is a cross-cutting issue, WHO welcomes the participation of non-public health sectors (i.e. agriculture, trade and commerce, environment, standardization) in this campaign and seeks the support of major international and regional agencies and organizations active in the fields of food, emergency aid, and education.\n\nPolitical awareness and consumer education on food safety will help to strengthen enforcement of food standards, improve hygienic practices, and prevent foodborne illnesses. The most pertinent of all the measures is creating awareness among people to ensure that their food is safe. WHO promotes the ‘five keys’ to food safety – keep hands and food preparation surfaces clean, separate raw and cooked food, cook thoroughly, keep food stored at correct temperature, and use safe water and raw materials.\n\nAs part of a regional food safety strategy, WHO is assisting countries to initiate, develop and sustain multisectoral approaches and measures for promotion of food safety among all population groups. Some countries have taken novel and notable initiatives such as mobile food courts in Bangladesh, establishment of a Food Standard and Safety Authority in India, and certification of street food vendors with a “Clean Food, Good Taste” logo in Thailand.\n\nFood safety is the shared responsibility of everyone. Food safety requires multisectoral collaboration from food production to consumption and cooperation to ensure compliance with acceptable food standards. The legal framework for food safety may exist, but its enforcement is a real challenge. Food quality and safety standards are usually strictly followed for exportable food commodities, but not always enforced for food destined for the domestic market.\n\n\nThe saying that “we are what we eat” is absolutely apt and sums up the importance of safe food in human health. WHO is promoting efforts to improve food safety, from farm to plate (and everywhere in between) on World Health Day, 7 April 2015.\n\nLet us work together to make our food safe to contribute to better health of people, since safe food promotes healthy lives.\n\nDr Poonam Khetrapal Singh\nRegional Director", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9973685145378113}
+{"content": "Top 15 Influential Ancient Greeks\n\nΑ list of the most influential ancient Greeks is published by Greeks have made huge contributions to the world in various aspects, however this is most noticeable in literature, architecture, Olympic games, science, mathematics and politics.\n\nRead below the entire list of :\n\n\n15. Hippocrates of Cos \n\n\n14. Thales of Miletus\n\n\n 13. Phidias\n\n\n12. Solon\n\n\n11. Democritus\n\n 10. Herodotus\n\nHerodotus was an ancient Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus, Caria, and lived in the 5th century BC (c. 484 BC – c. 425 BC). He has been called the “Father of History,” and was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy to a certain extent, and arrange them in a well-constructed and vivid narrative. The Histories — his masterpiece and the only work he is known to have produced — is a record of his “inquiry” (or ἱστορία historía, a word that passed into Latin and took on its modern meaning of history), being an investigation of the origins of the Greco-Persian Wars and including a wealth of geographical and ethnographical information. Although some of his stories were not completely accurate, he claimed that he was reporting only what had been told to him. Little is known of his personal history, since ancient records are scanty, contradictory and often fanciful.\n\n9. Leonidas I\n\nLeonidas I was a hero-king of Sparta, the 17th of the Agiad line, one of the sons of King Anaxandridas II of Sparta, who was believed in mythology to be a descendant of Heracles, possessing much of the latter’s strength and bravery. Leonidas I is notable for his leadership at the Battle of Thermopylae, which has long been the topic of cultural inspiration, as it is perhaps the most famous military last stand of all time. His “against all odds” story is passed to us from the writings of the Greek Herodotus. He relates the story of 300 Spartans and 700 Thespians defending the Pass of Thermopylae against almost “2 million” Persians for three days.\nAlthough modern historians have questioned the numbers presented by Herodotus, with most at around 100,000 to 250,000 invaders, the story has resonated with authors and poets for centuries over the inspiring bravery and resolution of the Spartans.\n\nThe performance of the defenders at the battle of Thermopylae is often used as an example of the advantages of training, equipment, and good use of terrain to maximize an army’s potential and has become a symbol of courage against overwhelming odds. Even more, both ancient and modern writers used the Battle of Thermopylae as an example of the superior power of a volunteer army of freemen defending native soil. The sacrifice of the Spartans and the Thespians has captured the minds of many throughout the ages and has given birth to many cultural references as a result.\n\n8. Archimedes\n\nArchimedes is generally considered to be the greatest mathematician of antiquity, and one of the greatest of all time. He used the method of exhaustion to calculate the area under the arc of a parabola with the summation of an infinite series, and gave a remarkably accurate approximation of pi. He also defined the spiral bearing his name, formulae for the volumes of surfaces of revolution and an ingenious system for expressing very large numbers.\n\nUnlike his inventions, the mathematical writings of Archimedes were little-known in antiquity. Mathematicians from Alexandria read and quoted him, but the first comprehensive compilation was not made until c. 530 AD by Isidore of Miletus, while commentaries on the works of Archimedes, written by Eutocius in the 6th century AD, opened them to wider readership for the first time. The relatively few copies of Archimedes’ written work that survived through the Middle Ages were an influential source of ideas for scientists during the Renaissance, while the discovery, in 1906, of previously unknown works by Archimedes in the Archimedes Palimpsest has provided new insights into how he obtained mathematical results.\n\nGriechenland, Delphi. Das antike Delphi. Theater und darunter der Tempel des Apollon aus dem 4. Jahrhdt. v. Chr. Im Innern befand sich der Sitz des Orakel und der Pythia. Greece, Delphi. Site of ancient Delphi. The theatre and below the temple of Apollo. Inside the temple was the centre of the Delphic oracle and seat of Pythia.\n\n\n\n7. Pythagoras\n\n\n6. Pericles\n\nPericles was a prominent and influential statesman, orator and general of Athens during the city’s Golden Age — specifically, the time between the Persian and Peloponnesian wars. Pericles had such a profound influence on Athenian society that Thucydides, his contemporary historian, acclaimed him as “the first citizen of Athens.” Pericles turned the Delian League into an Athenian empire and led his countrymen during the first two years of the Peloponnesian War. The period during which he led Athens, roughly from 461 to 429 BC, is sometimes known as the “Age of Pericles,” though the period thus denoted can include times as early as the Persian Wars, or as late as the next century.\n\nPericles’ most visible legacy can be found in the literary and artistic works of the Golden Age of Athens, most of which survive to this day. The Acropolis, though in ruins, still stands and is a symbol of modern Athens. A famous modern Greek historian wrote that these masterpieces are “sufficient to render the name of Greece immortal in our world.” Pericles also is lauded as “the ideal type of the perfect statesman in ancient Greece”, and his Funeral Oration is nowadays synonymous with the struggle for participatory democracy and civic pride.\n\n5. Plato\n\nPlato, was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the foundations of Western philosophy and science. In the famous words of A.N. Whitehead: “The safest general characterization of the European philosophical tradition is that it consists of a series of footnotes to Plato. I do not mean the systematic scheme of thought which scholars have doubtfully extracted from his writings. I allude to the wealth of general ideas scattered through them.” Plato’s dialogues have been used to teach a range of subjects, including philosophy, logic, ethics, rhetoric and mathematics.\n\n4. Aristotle\n\n\n3. Homer\n\n\nThe Iliad and the Odyssey reveal much about the values of the ancient Greeks. The heroes display honor, courage, and eloquence, as when Achilles rallies his troops. For almost 3,000 years, the epic of Homer have inspired writers and artists around the world.\n\n2. Socrates\n\n\nAs one recent commentator has put it, Plato, the idealist, offers “an idol, a master figure, for philosophy. A Saint, a prophet of the ‘Sun-God,’ a teacher condemned for his teachings as a heretic.”\n\n1. Alexander the Great\n\nAlexander III of Macedon, commonly known as Alexander the Great (Greek: Ἀλέξανδρος ὁ Μέγας), was a king of Macedon, a state in northern ancient Greece. Born in Pella, Greece in 356 BC, Alexander was tutored by Aristotle until the age of 16. By the age of thirty, he had created one of the largest empires of the ancient world, stretching from the Ionian Sea to the Himalayas. He was undefeated in battle, and is considered one of history’s most successful commanders.\nAlexander succeeded his father, Philip II of Macedon, to the throne in 336 BC after Philip was assassinated. Upon Philip’s death, Alexander inherited a strong kingdom and an experienced army. He was awarded the generalship of Greece and used this authority to launch his father’s military expansion plans. In 334 BC he invaded Persian-ruled Asia Minor and began a series of campaigns that lasted ten years. Alexander broke the power of Persia in a series of decisive battles, most notably the battles of Issus and Gaugamela. He subsequently overthrew the Persian King Darius III and conquered the entirety of the Persian Empire. At that point his empire stretched from the Adriatic Sea to the Indus River.\n\nSeeking to reach the “ends of the world and the Great Outer Sea,” he invaded India in 326 BC, but was eventually forced to turn back at the demand of his troops. Alexander died in Babylon in 323 BC, without executing a series of planned campaigns that would have begun with an invasion of Arabia. In the years following his death a series of civil wars tore his empire apart, resulting in several states ruled by the Diadochi – Alexander’s surviving generals and heirs.\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9726437926292419}
+{"content": "Chicken broccoli stir fry nutrition\n\nContains chicken broccoli stir fry nutrition found carrots\n\nYour hair can benefit from juicing. Your Labrador retriever should know that the dining room fey is strictly off chicken broccoli stir fry nutrition. You can also preserve a database and use it for every kind of reference within the close to future. For example, if you're on a chocolate binge, see if you can find some raw chocolate that is high in antioxidants, does not contain refined sugar, and tastes even better than the mutrition bar in your cupboard. Vitamin E may have a potential role in the prevention of Alzheimer's disease. Also, your body truly burns extra fats throughout the base or mild depth phase of your training. The number of small to tiny items which are slotted to hold crispy shredded beef nutritional value playing cards and designed to fit in with any wedding ceremony decor without standing out vastly is huge. Chicken broccoli stir fry nutrition the following meals out of your food plan: carbonated drinks, meals with trans fats as usually present in prepared dishes, fried foods, nutrution bread and normal pasta, and whole milk products. There are a lot of choices for kibble-kind meals and the standard vary extends from reduce-rate low high office of health infectious diseases and nutrition manufacturers with questionable elements to customized produced, high-worth ntrition with unique content equivalent to duck or venison. During the daytime PAY ATTENTION TO THE SERVING SIZE on the labels. It can help chikcen sufferers have a better control on their blood sugar. Chicken broccoli stir fry nutrition thirteen examples of weight loss plan and nutrition web sites built with Divi go to indicate that Divi can be used to create attention-grabbing designs for any kind of eating regimen and diet web site, whether it includes recipes and articles, broccol online store, or chicken broccoli stir fry nutrition web site with courses and workshops. Here is why. The toilet itself ought to be saved heat to keep away from any chill within the air. Lap band restricts solid food not liquid food. Nuyrition deep red-blue colour of many berries are outstanding of their ability to strengthen collagen constructions within the body. These fat burners sttir to burn fats and energy naturally, risk-free and fast, while retaining energy stage up excessive. She arrives on the canned soup aisle with two choices of soup. This is the equivalent of 14 cup of sugar a day. Moreover, excess of sugar and salt can be harmful. In lab checks, (utilizing a standardized, stabilized blend), after just seven days, the body goes from having nearly undetectable ranges of stem cells to having trillions in just one week. All the experienced trainers chicekn people who have attained maximum muscle mass say the same issue about bodybuilders nutrition: smaller and extra frequent meals throughout the day are far better than 3 significant meals. In cognisance of the similarities in the threat of double burden of malnutrition problems in the SEA region, nutrition facts fast-food chains promotion of productive alternate of data, ideas and dialogue among multiple stakeholders in coordinating efforts, implementing vitamin research and intervention programmes within the area is desired. The impacts of brccoli are identified to be significant and should not be missed. And then over a period of time of about five years, from the age of about 18 or 19 until I was about 23 or etir, it was just a side thing. Amongst these, Herbalife weight nitrition product is gaining recognition quickly. Even simple issues, like walking by means of a parking lot, utilizing stairs, walks chicken broccoli stir fry nutrition runs for short or family bike rides can make a difference. 20 piece chicken mcnuggets nutrition facts example, when you might have milk and 100 wheat bran cereal together, your body can absorb some, but chicken broccoli stir fry nutrition all, of the calcium from the milk. There comes a important time in any chicken broccoli stir fry nutrition small enterprise when selections must be taken about how you can secure further growth and find out how to retain efficient management. Consuming extreme amounts of some nutritional vitamins can cause toxicity and unpleasant unwanted effects. You, like most people, could not broccli what number of energy you devour in a day. Never skip your meals. In store signs are simply as vital as your organization's out of doors business indicators. Sugar (sucrose) intake will increase the chance of dry eye by lowering the tear break-up time, nutririon when the weight-reduction plan also consists of less folic acid. Vegetarian: Recipes with this tag do not contain any meat-including red meat, poultry and seafood. Utilizing a system reminiscent of GoWear Match will be tremendously effective broccoki keep verify of the whole each day energy burned in addition to helping you retain track of your day by day calorie consumption. Full protein chicken broccoli stir fry nutrition embrace meat, poultry, fish, eggs, and dairy merchandise. With their significant protein, vitamin and mineral content and relatively low saturated fat content, eggs are a valuable component in a healthy diet. The assessment of eating behavior may be achieved in various ways but generally with a simple conversation with the guidance or standardized questionnaires. Even in bodybuilding magazines all of a sudden everyone and their nutdition is recommending to keep carbs in your diets almost to a minimum. These emotions can improve the secretion of epinephrine (adrenaline) from the adrenal gland. Sure, his web site is all lara bar nutritional info Inducing Labor Yourself See you there. All state projections knowledge can chicken broccoli stir fry nutrition found at Info on this website allows projected employment progress for an occupation to be compared among states or to be in contrast stor one state. Robert B Kress RPh CCN, also boccoli as the Renegade Pharmacist has been bucking the Big Pharma trend since graduating pharmacy nutrigion in 1994 to provide people a balanced, integrative focus on health. I knew I would have the help to navigate this new world without wheat, but I used to be not sure about the right way to eradicate dairy as well. Salt causes individuals to eat more food and drink extra liquid. Heating or cooking, kind of destroy nutritional dtir and therefore it's advisable to eat uncooked vegetables and raw meals. They replenish the depleted glycogenic levels, and increase the fighter's stamina nutritional facts baked chicken breast workouts and matches. Demand from your political representatives that all GMO food be labeled as containing GMOs. If we stay in empty stomach in between the massive gaps for a very long time which will cause headaches or sudden chicken broccoli stir fry nutrition and different issues. Potatoes broccopi skins - spelt - white rice - buckwheat - white bread - nutition - soft drinks - processed honey - brown sugar - white sugar. Increasing dietary salt alters salt taste preference. While many hospitals continue to use pen and paper charting, technology can make the record keeping process less cumbersome.\n\n\n\n28.03.2013 at 23:25 Malagor:\nIt agree, rather useful phrase\n\n05.04.2013 at 06:02 Tazahn:\nI believe, that always there is a possibility.\n\n11.04.2013 at 18:06 Faujora:\n\n22.04.2013 at 04:36 Meztijas:\nWhat necessary words... super, excellent idea\n\n30.04.2013 at 18:06 Kesho:\nBravo, this magnificent phrase is necessary just by the way\n\n09.05.2013 at 09:12 Shazragore:\n\n17.05.2013 at 09:05 Gak:\n\n22.05.2013 at 16:21 Tojas:", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.890210747718811}
+{"content": "Keynote Speakers\n\nOpening Keynote: Lili Cheng, Microsoft Research\n\nLili Cheng\n\nTitle: Conversational Intelligence: Bots and Lessons Learned\n\nAbstract: How might bots and conversational intelligence change the way we work and socialize, and lead us to rethink the computing experience? Why now?\n\nInspired by online life in China and WeChat we have learned many lessons, both by building advanced bots such as Xiaoice/China, Rinna/Japan, and Tay-Zo/US, and by providing the Bot Framework and Cognitive Services to develop a conversational experience. While it’s early days for AI, what are actionable challenges and opportunities in the area of conversational intelligence, and how can bots and language understanding help improve the way we collaborate and work together?\n\nBio: Lili Cheng is a Distinguished Engineer, and General Manager in Microsoft Artificial Intelligence and Research (AI&R), focusing on conversational experiences, bots, and intelligence systems.\n\nLili’s team is responsible for the Microsoft Bot Framework, part of Cortana Intelligence, and bringing together community of bot creators, channels, tools and AI experts in events such as Botness, Microsoft Research’s Design Expo, and the Social Computing Symposium.\n\nPreviously, Lili was director of user experience for Microsoft Windows and also worked in Apple Computer’s Advanced Technology Group, on the User Interface research team, where she focused on Quicktime Conferencing and Quicktime VR.\n\nLili is a registered architect; she worked in Tokyo and Los Angeles for Nihon Sekkei and Skidmore Owings and Merrill on commercial urban design and large-scale building projects. She has taught at NYU-Interactive Telecommunications as well as Harvard University.\n\nLili was born in Tokyo, is married with three boys, and lives in Bellevue Washington.\n\nClosing Keynote: Jorge Cham, PhD Comics\n\nJorge Cham\n\nTitle: The Science Gap\n\nAbstract: Jorge Cham recounts his experiences bringing humor into the lives of millions of stressed out academics and tells stories from his travels to over 300 universities and research centers in the US and across the world. Thought-provoking yet humorous, this talk will examine the need to close the Science Gap, a disconnect in both communication and perception between researchers and the public, and how scientists and academics need to find new ways to collaborate in order the solve future challenges.\n\nBio: Jorge Cham is the creator of Piled Higher and Deeper (PHD Comics), the online comic strip about life (or the lack thereof) in Academia. He is also the co-founder of PHD TV, a video science and discovery outreach collaborative, and a founding board member of Endeavor College Prep, a non-profit school for kids from disadvantaged communities in East Los Angeles.\n\nOften called the Dilbert of academia, PHD has appeared in the Stanford, MIT, Caltech and Carnegie Mellon newspapers among others, and is published online where it is read by over 7 million visitors a year from over 1000 universities and colleges worldwide. Jorge Cham was born and raised in the Republic of Panama. He obtained his B.S. from Georgia Tech and his M.S. and Ph.D. from Stanford University, specializing in Robotics. He was subsequently an Instructor and Research Associate at Caltech from 2003-2005, where his work focused on developing “Smart” Neural Implants. He travels and presents all over the world to thousands of graduate students, faculty and administrators. Five PHD book collections have been published and two feature-length films have been produced based on his work.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9958814382553101}
+{"content": "Otros Autores\n\nFoster Bailey, Things to Come\n\nAvailable from U.S. store only\n\n\nFoster Bailey, Reflections\n\n\nFoster Bailey, The Spirit of Masonry\n\n\nMary Bailey, A Learning Experience\n\n\nNatalie Banks, The Golden Thread\n\n\nKurt Abraham, Astrology as Path to Higher Consciousness\n\nAstrology as Path to Higher Consciousness considers the Sun Signs from the esoteric angle. Each Sign of the Zodiac is a different energy that is designed to lead one on and up in a specific way. In order to unfold one's higher spiritual possibilites, it behooves one to work consciously and intelligently with these energies\n\nKurt Abraham, Introduction to the Seven Rays\n\nThis book begins with the basic qualities of each of the Seven Rays, the Rays and the Planes, and the Rays that condition the various vehicles (personality, mind, emotions, physical body).\n\nThe Self-Evaluation Quiz provides an assessment that is helpful in determining whether or not a person is a pronounced or balanced type.\n\nKurt Abraham, The Seven Rays and Nations\n\nAvailable from U.S. store only.\n\nDiscussion includes: the role of the intellectual in France and the 3rd ray.\n\nKurt Abraham, Techniques of Soul Alignment\n\nAvailable from U.S. store only.\n\nThe use of KEYWORDS is a most profound technique used by the Adepts who guide and teach through profoundly meaningful phrases and often through the use of a SINGLE WORD.\n\nThe trap of many words–a trap into which intellect and personality invariably fall–is avoided in the soul-to-soul single keyword technique. The esoteric significance of the words is often difficult to understand, yet, within a spirit of profound simplicity, they constitute a most meaningful psychology of the future.\n\nGesine Abraham, Preschool Education: Keeping the Magic Alive\n\nGesine Abraham has worked with pre-school/kindergarten children for over 40 years. Her book, Preschool Education: Keeping the Magic Alive, was written in response to the concerns of parents and teachers. Are children not being unduly pressured into being “super kids”? Are children not losing something vital and precious in the process?\n\nVera Stanley Alder, The Fifth Dimension\n\nVera Stanley Alder invites readers to test meditation by choosing a subject they don't know and learning about it by using the exercises and meditations in the book. He explores the variety of claims made about the effects of meditation what happens to the student, biologicaland physical changes, the practice of balanced living, and the phenomena that leads to ultimate fulfillment and achievement.\n\nVera Stanley Alder, The Finding of the Third Eye\n\nVera Stanley Alder here offers us a guide to attainment through the path outlined by Ancient Wisdom.  She summarizes our philosophical relationship to the past by comparing it with the discoveries of modern science, and surveys the techniques of working with breath, color, sounds, numbers, diet and exercise. Finally she discusses the functions of the third eye, astrology, meditation, and their ultimate aims.\n\nVera Stanley Alder, The Initiation of the World\n\nIn this outline of the secret wisdom of the divine plan, Vera Stanley Alder uses her rare gift for condensing and synthesizing the essentials of esoteric teachings to reveal the many aspects of Ancient Wisdom and its relationship to present-day scientific knowledge. What makes this classic work so popular is Alder's simple and unintimidating presentation of the various forms of personal initiation. \n\nVera Stanley Alder, From the Mundane to the Magnificent\n\nVera Stanley Alder takes a series of extraordinary journeys on the etheric plane accompanied by a spirit guide and teacher named Raphael. In the course of these \"out-of-body\" experiences she was vouchsafed a vision, not merely of humanity's past, but of the possibilities awaiting us as evolution proceeds on its divinely inspired course.\n\nJohn Berges, Hidden Foundations of the Great Invocation\n\nAfter the publication of Sacred Vessel of the Mysteries, John Berges attended a conference where he heard a presentation about the mysterious Master Rakoczi who, during his life as Francis Bacon, used coding techniques similar to those in The Great Invocation. John began assembling evidence suggesting that the works of Shakespeare, Psalm 46, The Great Invocation, and a mysterious poem entitled \"A Word from the Master\" all originated from the same individual -- Master Rakoczi, who once lived as Francis Bacon and Count Saint Germain.\n\nJohn Berges, Sacred Vessel of the Mysteries\n\nCoded in the beautiful words of The Great Invocation is a pattern of numeric relationships revealing a sacred message of importance for humanity.\n\nAlan Hopking, Esoteric Healing\n\nEsoteric Healing uses current research in medical energetics and sources of Ageless Wisdom to provide practical guidelines for diagnosing, prescribing, and therapeutically utilizing specific energy forms with both intelligence and intuitive understanding.\n\nTorgny Jannson, Esoteric Astrology\n\n\nWilliam Meader, Shine Forth: The Soul’s Magical Destiny\n\nAvailable from U.S. store only.\n\nShine Forth could best be described as a manual for discovering the creative power of the soul. The destiny of every human being is to become a creative agent (magician) on behalf of the Higher-Self. Yet the challenge of the human experience is to guide the ego (personality) so that it becomes a cooperative servant in support of the soul’s creative agenda. When this is done well, the outcome is astounding and humanity’s upliftment is certain.\n\nKathy Newburn, A Planetary Awakening\n\nAs we witness the events unfolding on our planet, we know the future stands in the balance. We are entering a time long foretold in the prophetic writings of the world, when great events are due to occur and enlightened teachers will again come forward.  Humanity is fast approaching the threshold of a great spiritual and cultural transformation--unprecedented in the history of life on Earth.\n\nAlan Oken, Soul Centered Astrology\n\nSoul Centered Astrology is a groundbreaking sourcebook in esoteric astrology. Influenced by Theosophical philosophy, Alice Bailey, and the Ancient Wisdom teachings, Alan Oken describes the evolutionary process of spiritual self-development with the twelve astrological signs and their soul-centered planetary rulers and the esoteric significance of the planets in the signs.\n\nEsoteric Glossary\n\nAvailable from U.S. store only.\n\nFrom the works of Blavatsky, Bailey and Roerich.\n\nDonald Scott, The Electric Sky\n\nAvailable from U.S. store only.\n\nA Challenge to the Myths of Modern Astronomy. It is clear that electric plasma research affords simpler, more elegant, and more compelling insights and explanations of most cosmological phenomena than those that are now espoused in astrophysics. This book contains astronomical science for the expert written for the public. \n\nSeifer/ Viewig, When the Soul Awakens\n\nAvailable from U.S. store only.\n\nWhen the Soul Awakens is a groundbreaking book about the evolution of consciousness and the dawn of a new era.  It holds the vision of a new world emerging from the wave of universal spirituality spreading across our planet.  Informed by the Ageless Wisdom, it traces the evolution of humanity to the present Shift of the Ages and points toward a new civilization and culture that will arise from the soul's awareness of the oneness of life.\n\nSusan Shore, Death, Our Last Illusion\n\nThis book begins with the latest science on the Near-death Experience, then explores the passage through physical death to the states of conscious being beyond. These states ~ often blissful ~ are outlined by our great religious traditions, and detailed in Tibetan Buddhism and the perennial philosophy, particularly in the Alice Bailey books.\n\nMichael Srigley, Wild Will: A Collection of Articles originally published in the Beacon\n\nMichael Srigley contributed many thoughtful and inspiring articles to the Beacon during his long association with the Lucis Trust and the Arcane School. So it is with great pleasure that we let you know that these articles are now published in book format Wild Will.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8402876853942871}
+{"content": "Avg weather in October\n11 Hrs per day\n39 mm per month\n71 % avg\n14 Mph avg\n\n\nWhat’s the weather like in Cesme in October?\n\nOctober has a great climate with lots of bright sunshine and warm temperatures lasting throughout the month. There are fewer crowds at the resort, which means you’ll have more space to yourself and get to soak in the town’s rich culture at your own steady pace.\n\nGeographical influences\n\nCesme weather in October is influenced by the resort’s location on the west of Izmir, Turkey. There’s sunshine all year round with high temperatures in October and not much chance of rain. Soak up the sun on the beach before heading to the natural thermal springs for an afternoon of pure relaxation. If you want to stay active during your time away, head to the adventurous walking trails for the best views of the resort and beyond.\n\n\nWhen you visit Cesme at the start of autumn, you’ll enjoy an average daily temperature of 24°C. Winds can reach speeds of up to 14mph near the Aegean coast, which is perfect weather for surfing the waves and enjoying popular water sports. There are 11 hours of sunshine each day with an average monthly rainfall of 39mm. It rains on six days of the month with humidity highs of 71%.\n\nView weather for\n\n\n5* Club Marvy\nfrom £659 pp\nAI 7 nts\n5* Paloma Pasha Resort\nfrom £539 pp\nAI 7 nts\n4* SunConnect Atlantique Holiday Club\nfrom £419 pp\nAI 7 nts\n4* Fantasia Hotel\nfrom £405 pp\nAI 7 nts\n4* SENTIDO Marina Suites\nfrom £329 pp\nHB 7 nts", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9020704627037048}
+{"content": "A perfectly fine guitar and AK-47 would seem to work fine on their own right?\n\nWell check out what happens when designer/artist Jimmy DiResta decides to combine the two,\n\nIf you have no patience or desire to see the step by step process of the transformation, forward to 6:36 for the finished product\n\nP.S: This guitar was made for Wyclef Jean", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.997711718082428}
+{"content": "Bombardier Aerospace Belfast\n\nBombardier Aerospace Belfast\n\n(registered as Short Brothers PLC)\n\nBombardier Aerospace, Belfast is an integral part of the world's third largest civil aircraft manufacturer which is a leader in the commercial and business aircraft markets. With a workforce of around 6,000 and more than a century of aviation experience, Bombardier Belfast is one of the largest aerospace companies in the UK.\n\nSince acquiring Short Brothers plc in 1989, Bombardier has invested more than £2.1 billion to help ensure that its UK operation is at the leading edge of aerospace technology. Bombardier Aerospace, Belfast is a centre of excellence for the design, manufacture and support of large aircraft structures, including fuselages, wings, engine nacelles and flight control surfaces in metal and advanced composites. The operation has some 40 years' experience in the composites field and has been developed as the centre of excellence for composites within Bombardier.\n\nBombardier Belfast plays a major role in all of Bombardier's families of business and commercial aircraft, including having responsibility for the design, development and manufacture of the advanced composite wings for Bombardier's new CSeries family of commercial aircraft. In addition, Bombardier Belfast produces aircraft structures and nacelles for other international manufacturers, including Airbus and Rolls-Royce. It has around 900 approved suppliers across Europe.\n\nIn association with other European companies and universities, Bombardier Aerospace, Belfast participates in a range of major UK and European research programmes. Within the NanoSynth project, Bombardier Aerospace, Belfast will be involved in detailed definition of targeted technologies and validation plan, process development and components manufacturing for industrial validation along with testing, benchmarking and data analysis.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7708574533462524}
+{"content": "Standing Yoga Poses for Strength and Flexibility\n\n\n\n\nTada Asana\n\n\nTrikona Asana\n\n\n\nVriksa Asana\n\n\nOther standing poses\n\n\nGet refreshed with Kapalbhati Pranayama\n\nWhat is Pranayama?\n\n\n\nWhat is Kapalbhati Pranayama?\n\n\nHow to do Kapalbhati?\n\n\n\nKapalbhati Benefits\n\n\nBenefits of Anusara Yoga\n\nWhat is Anusara Yoga?\n\nCreated in 1997 by John Friend, Anusara yoga is a powerful Hatha yoga (most basic style of yoga) practice mixed with Tantrik philosophy. Anusara is a Sanskrit term that means “flowing with grace”. Anusara yoga is fast becoming one of the most practiced forms of yoga in the world. It works on the principle that all beings have an intrinsic goodness present in them. The practice of Anusara yoga poses results in an increase in strength, toning of the muscles, and provides relaxation to the body and mind. There is a strong spiritual component to Anusara yoga like all other yoga styles. The Anusara style of yoga equips you with not just physical strength; it assists in making sure that you are at peace with your mind and your spiritual self as well.\n\nThe three A’s of Anusara Yoga\n\nThe practice of Anusara Yoga is arranged into three categories - attitude, alignment, and action.\n  • Attitude - Attitude is related to a Tantrik concept described as the power and energy of fullness. This concept is termed as “Iccha Shakti”. Attitude brings to surface the relationship with the heart and the force that is behind every action present in the Anusara yoga poses.\n  • Alignment - is also a Tantrik concept. It is about the power of awareness of how your various parts are integrated and interconnected.\n  • Action - concept of action in Anusara yoga is related to the Tantrik concept that explains the power of action. It is in relation with the natural flow of energy in your body providing stability and freedom.\n\nBenefits of Anusara Yoga\n\n  • Some of the many benefits of Anusara Yoga are:\n  • Anusara yoga makes you focus not just on your mental faculties but physical health too. Practicing the Anusara yoga poses helps in creating more awareness about your physical and emotional feelings.\n  • It has been proved that you are likely to feel highly energized after an Anusara yoga session. Participants have reported in general that they feel less fatigued, more relaxed and calm after performing the Anusara yoga poses.\n  • Anusara yoga poses are considered to be “heart-oriented” or “heart-opening”. This happens because while practicing Anusara yoga, you have the ability to express your inner self and your feelings, which are otherwise lying suppressed or hidden.\n  • If one is quite regular with the practice of Anusara yoga then he or she will definitively enjoy a very radiant and healthy lifestyle. People who practice the Anusara yoga poses and techniques are less likely to fall prey to various forms of illness and other disorders. The healing effect that Anusara yoga has on people is very powerful.\n  • Anusara yoga ensures great flexibility in the body at all ages. The Anusara yoga poses also stretch out the tendons, ligaments, and muscles and this ends up improving your strength and body posture.\n  • The deep and mindful breathing exercises that you learn in Anusara yoga sessions does wonders. It improves your lung capacity. This control over ones breathing is considered to be one of the best stress-busters known to man.\n\nBenefits of Iyengar yoga poses\n\nIyengar yoga, a sub-discipline of the larger discipline of yoga, is named after Shri Belur Krishnamchar Sundararaja Iyengar, a native of southern region of India. Shri Iyengar created this sub-discipline after years of extensive research on various Hindu religious books and the Vedas. Now being practiced for the last sixty years, Iyengar yoga poses are considered to be among the best stress relieving techniques. The books that this form of yoga has been derived from, discusses in detail the practices of many of the powerful Hindu gods and goddesses. Today, this form of yoga is recommended for those who suffer from various spiritual and mental tribulations.\n\nShri Iyengar has won many various awards for his contribution to this field and has also authored many books on yoga, some of which are also referred to as Yoga’s bible. The technique works on various different levels, starting from the physical to the mental and spiritual route of the body. The Iyengar yoga asanas draw heavily from the eight limbs of ashtanga yoga. These eight limbs of yoga emphasize the building of stamina and development of flexibility, concentration, strength and balance. All these are achieved through deep meditation and various Iyengar yoga postures. With the passage of time, this eight limbed approach imparts wisdom to these sutras.\n\nThe first limb, known as Yama denotes physical abstinence from violence. The abstinence when practiced for some time can help people prevent from falling into the trap of stress and negativity. Abstinence also helps the body to be strong against cravings and the allure of material things.\n\nNiyama, the second limb, is based on a feeling of self satisfaction. There is an emphasis on clearing the body and mind of any stress that may be caused due to unfulfilled desires. The practice of this gives greater psychological control over oneself.\n\nThe next limb is based on the asana, or postures, which help give the body a control over its flexibility, purpose and strengths. These postures, an integral part of Iyenger yoga, benefit the body in many ways. The Iyengar yoga benefits are especially notable because of the ability of the discipline to help those who suffer from severe physical malaise.\n\nPranayama, which is the next limb, helps give the body control over breathing or the life force which is inhaled through air. The Pratyahara and Dhyana, other two limbs which are practiced by Iyengar yoga enthusiasts, are used to quiet the mind and become one with the Supreme Being, thus achieving an unsurpassed calm and consciousness.\n\nBenefits of yoga breathing exercises\n\n\n\n\n\n\n  • Strengthen the cardio vascular system and stimulate the nervous system.\n  • Improve stamina and vitality.\n\nYoga Exercises During Pregnancy\n\nYoga, an ancient Indian discipline that allows its practitioners to achieve a spiritual balance between the mind and the body, is also beneficial for expectant mothers. Pregnancy and yoga go well together. Yoga exercises for pregnancy aim to open up a woman’s pelvis so that the birthing process becomes easier. There are a lot of poses in yoga which are specifically designed to have a beneficial effect on a woman’s health. These exercises for pregnancy not only stretch your body in a gentle fashion, but also help you to maintain your ideal weight during and after your pregnancy while keeping you healthy and active.\n\nSince exercises in pregnancy should be gentle, so that you don’t injure yourself or your baby, yoga offers an extremely gentle and useful workout. Pregnancy exercises in yoga are drawn from the various branches and disciplines of Yoga.\n\nYoga exercises are especially beneficial for reducing the swelling due to water retention, an irritant which is often experienced by pregnant women. Apart from that, cramping, which is another common symptom of pregnancy, can also be prevented by the regular practice of yoga.\n\nSometimes, when the baby is not able to position itself correctly for birth, pregnancy yoga exercises can help reposition the baby by turning it inside the womb of the mother. This can prevent complications and C-sections at the time of birth.\n\nYoga has other health benefits like strengthening of the muscles and joints. The abdomen gets massaged with the help yoga. If you practice yoga during pregnancy, you won’t even have to worry about your appetite or your bowel movements. With the help of yoga, you can increase your stamina, raise the general energy levels, and restore your metabolism to pre-pregnancy levels.\n\nSince yoga is a spiritual discipline, the exercises also help you to strike a balance between your body and mind, helping you keep calm and focused. If you are under a lot of stress regarding the impending birth of your baby, you can relieve this stress and tension, expanding the tensed birth canal. Discomfort in other areas of body, especially the lower back which is stressed due to carrying so much weight, can also be eased using yoga.\n\nKeeping in mind its many yoga benefits for women, it is not only recommended during pregnancy but also as an integral part after the delivery. Post natal yoga is a fast catching concept that helps mothers restore the size and strength of their uterus, pelvic floor and abdomen.\n\nYoga for controlling stress\n\n\n\nHow to control stress?\n\n\n\n\nYoga for spondylitis cure\n\nSpondylitis is a group of chronic disorders in which the vertebra gets inflamed and tender. Though spondylitis may end up affecting other joints of the body too, the spine is the most commonly affected one. Young adults are usually more prone to spondylitis, the incidence of which is the highest around the age of 35.\n\nEven after years of research and studies, no viable spondylitis cure has been found. It is an irreversible condition in which the joints receive irreparable damage. Though the symptoms of spondylitis can be alleviated with the help of medicines, it can never be permanently treated. It is therefore best if proper precautions are taken to avoid spondylitis.\n\nYoga, one of the oldest disciplines known to man, has had success in alleviating many of the symptoms of the disease. In fact yogic spondylitis exercises can help manage pain to such an extent that the symptoms may become non-existent for long periods of time.\n\nSome of the recommended poses in yoga for spondylitis are:\n  • Cobra pose (Bhujangasana)\n  • Supine Cobbler’s pose (Supta Baddha Konasana)\n  • Eagle pose (Garudasana)\n  • Camel pose (Ushtrasana)\n  • Locust pose (Shalabhasana)\n  • Supine Hero’s pose (Supta Virasana)\nApart from these physical poses, yogic breathing techniques can also be great for spondylitis. Techniques like Kapalabhati can help cleanse your body while strengthening the spine. Another great spondylitis exercise is Anuloma-Viloma in which breathing is carried out through alternating nostrils.\n\nAlong with practicing these various yoga exercises, you may also consider correcting your posture. It is poor posture which is usually responsible for the aggravation of spondylitis. People, who tend to slouch while sitting or walking, are more prone to developing spondylitis.\nWith the help of yoga, you may also be able to correct your posture so that further aggravation of the condition does not occur. Both structural and postural flaws can be corrected by practicing yoga. Yoga can also help strengthen the muscles around the inflamed area.\n\nHowever, even though there are many benefits of yoga, holding poses for long can make you feel extremely uncomfortable. Another important thing is to practice these poses in the presence of a trained instructor who is able to guide you properly through each of the poses. If you do not perform the poses correctly, you may end up injuring yourself or further aggravating the condition that you were trying to resolve. It is therefore of the utmost importance to practice yoga for spondylitis with care.\n\n\nRemember Matol/KM the liquid supplement? - Remember the good feeling you experienced? 13 herbs to help purify your blood, give you energy Improves the body’s ability to absorb nutrients from food.\n\nYoga Symbols for Spiritual Healing\n\nYoga is a traditional fitness program. Originating in India, it has been practiced for well over 5000 years. It incorporates postures, breathing techniques and meditative practices to create a harmonious balance between the mind, body and spirit. Regular practitioners also recognize the importance of yoga symbols that are incorporated in the routines. These spiritual symbols were designed to enhance the practice, enabling you to embrace the tradition and put you on the path for spiritual healing.\n\nYoga symbols are known to stimulate and harmonize energy within the body. This energy can then be channelized for physical, emotional, mental and spiritual growth. There are a number of yoga symbols that are used in daily yoga practice. You’ve probably walked past a yoga symbol everyday without recognizing it.\n\nYoga Om Symbols – The most commonly used yoga symbol is the Om symbol. According to ancient Hindu philosophy, Om is the eternal word. You may have seen the Sanskrit symbol of Om. It represents four phases of awareness that one has to experience to reach the higher plane. This includes deep sleep, material consciousness, dreamless sleep state, and the ultimate transcendental state. The yoga Om symbols are one of yoga’s most utilized focus enhancing tools. It is used as a chant, repeated continuously during practice. The image is also commonly used as a visual focus aid to keep the mind from distraction. It induces a state of inner peace and harmony. This makes it one of the most popular meditation symbols.\n\nYoga Chakras – Yogic philosophy states that the body has seven primary energy centers known as yoga chakras. These chakras can be traced along a linear path that runs from the lower edge of the spine to the centre of the crown. Each yoga chakra is represented by a specific color and motif. These chakras play a significant role in maintaining the body’s health as they are energy pools. Each chakra corresponds with a body functions, managing its maintenance and function. When the body’s chakras are imbalanced or blocked, the body’s physical, mental and emotional functions are also imbalanced. They manifest as illnesses and disorders. Through regular chakra yoga practice, these chakras can be accessed and unblocked. Using these techniques you can tap into the chakras and re-energize and strengthen them. This unlocks the flow of therapeutic energy across the body, resetting the body’s balance and restoring health. The seven primary chakras are: Root, Sensual, Power, Heart, Communication, Perception, and Crown.\n\nSome References: Gwen’s Healing Garden\n\nPsychic Reading from Accurate Psychics, Mediums and Clairvoyants - Australian Psychics, Mediums and Clairvoyants offer psychic reading, mediumship, tarot and clairvoyant reading by phone. Receive the insight and guidance of our accurate and genuine psychic readers.\n\nEsalen® Massage Certifications, Dance and Yoga Workshops at - MovingVentures School (MVS) offers training and retreats in the field of holistic and preventative health care, encompassing Esalen® Massage Certifications and a range of bodywork, yoga, dance, and meditation.\n\nYoga exercises for pelvic floor muscle pain\n\nPelvic Floor Muscles\n\nThe term pelvic floor muscles is used to describe the muscles that are set from the base of the spine to the pubic bone, this includes the muscles between the legs as well. The pelvic floor muscles hold the bladder and urethra in place. It also lends support in holding the intestines and womb.\n\nPelvic floor muscles are very important as they dictate and control bladder movements. The pelvic floor muscles tend to weaken with age for both men and women. They also weaken for women during and post pregnancy. They may also weaken due to excessive weight gain.\nThe most frequent cause of pelvic floor pain is pregnancy and childbirth. The weight of the unborn baby puts great pressure of the body’s pelvic floor muscles. As the baby grows, the muscles get stretch and pulled leading to pelvic floor weakness.\n\nProblems Associated with Weak Pelvic Floor Muscles\n\nPelvic floor problem lead some embarrassing conditions like urinary incontinence. This means you aren’t able to exercise any control over passing urine. It also causes stress incontinence, which causes small amount of urine to leak through in the middle of regular but sudden movements like laughing, coughing or sneezing. It results in pelvic floor muscle pain and backaches. A weak pelvic floor also causes a loss of sensitivity during intercourse for women.\n\nFortunately there is a simple way to cure a weak pelvic floor - yoga exercises. Yoga is one of the most effective and stress free routines for pelvic floor strengthening. This is especially true for pregnant women. In fact it is recommended that women trying to conceive adopt the yoga regime and continue it through the pregnancy as this helps with an easier pregnancy and quicker labor.\n\nYoga for Weak Pelvic Floor Muscles\n\nYoga provides some excellent pelvic floor muscle exercises. The yoga postures help rehabilitate and strengthen against any weakness; they soothe the pain, increase circulation in these muscles and build endurance. Postures recommended for strengthening of the pelvic floor muscles include Child Pose, Cobra Pose, Fish Pose, Downward Facing Dog, Triangle Pose, Tree Pose, and Shoulder Stand.\n\nIt is important to find a good yoga teacher when undertaking yoga for the first time. It is also crucial that you share your physical and medical condition with the trainers. This is so that they can chart a beneficial routine for you, discarding postures that won’t work for rehabilitating ones.\n\nYoga for chronic lumbar pain\n\nThe spine is one of the most important structural units in the body. It supports and protects information bearing nerves that run from the brain to the rest of the body. It also supports the torso, dictates movements and maintains posture. Given the burden it holds on a daily, it goes through a considerable wear and tear. Add to this poor posture and unhealthy lifestyles, and back pain tends to be a fairly common ailment.\n\nMost back pain is concentrated at the lower region, the lumbar region. This pain may be caused due to herniated disc, muscle strain, scoliosis, sciatica, etc. Chronic lumbar pain can have a debilitating effect on the body. In extreme cases, patients have to resort to surgery. However making some lifestyle changes and adopting a therapeutic regime like yoga can help ease the pain.\n\nYoga is an ancient healing practice. It incorporates gentle postures which strengthen the muscles through a series of effective stretching and twisting movements which strengthen the spine. Yogic breathing or pranayama, teach you how to breathe properly and to lung capacity. This allows for a fresh flow of oxygen to the body. This eases tension in the muscles, releases stress and anxiety and flushes out the toxins accumulated in the region.\n\nPractice the following lumbar pain exercise to alleviate pain:\n\nYoga poses are gentle and therapeutic. They are effective in easing lumbar disc pain. Postures like mountain pose, half spine twist, cat pose, the triangle and cobra pose all help nurse and strengthen the spine back to health.\n  • Triangle Pose – This yoga posture incorporates stretching and twisting which helps build strength in the lower back and removes tension. The posture begins in the downward dog position. Move left foot and left hand forward. Keep body weight on the front foot. Make sure the spine is straight as you twist your upper back towards the left. Raise your right arm and follow the movement with your head. Hold this posture for a few minutes. Repeat on the other side.\n  • Child’s Pose – This yoga posture also helps stretch the spine and relieves the back off stress and fatigue. Begin by kneeling down and sitting on your feet. Keeping hands by your side slowly lean forward and rest forehead on the floor. Now stretch your arms forward and place them by your side with palms facing upwards. Hold the pose and repeat.\n  • Cobra Pose – This yoga posture is very effective for backaches. Begin by lying on the stomach with your head resting on your lower arms. Slowly, using your arms, push your body up. As you rise, raise your head too. Push your body as far back as you can without moving the lower body. Hold the pose and repeat.\nIn case of lower lumbar pain, consult a trained yoga teacher before embarking on any exercise. When done correctly they help to ease back pain, but if done wrongly it can aggravate the injury to the back.\n\nYoga and meditation for living a healthy life\n\nYoga is a holistic ancient tradition. Through a series of gentle exercises, known as asanas, deep breathing techniques and meditative practices it delivers the promise of living a healthy life.\n\nYoga benefits go much beyond simply the physical strength. Yoga and meditation teach the body the physical and mental discipline it needs to experience and lead a productive and happy life. While the physical aspect of yoga is easy to learn, meditation requires a lot practice and a ton of patience to master.\n\nMeditation is one of the most significant yogic concepts for living healthy life. The mind is a chaotic and noisy place. At any given point of time is it cluttered and crowded with thoughts and noise. Over time the increasing levels of mind noise lowers the mind’s ability to focus and stay in control of a situation.\n\nMeditation teaches you how to focus the mind’s attention on a single point of reference. It teaches you how to hold your mind to that one focal point without wavering. Meditation teaches you how to block out distraction and stay true to the task at hand. Meditation instills a sense of relaxation in the mind which then seeps through to the entire body. It leaves you feeling rejuvenated and flushed with energy.\n\nOne of the health benefits of yoga and meditation is that it is very effective in combating stress and anxiety disorders. It is a highly therapy for depression. When you are faced with a stressful situation the body panics. It floods the body with stress hormones and hampers regular breathing. The result is more stress and inability to react in a cool and calm way. By learning how to meditate, you learn how to detach from the stressful situation and handle it with inner poise. On the physical side, meditation incorporated deep breathing exercises. These maintain proper oxygen flow to the brain even during a crisis enabling you to think and act rationally.\n\nRegular practice of yoga and meditation cuts down on stress and anxiety; this in turn reduces the rise of high blood pressure and heart trouble. Meditation thus addresses the root problem to an illness, not just its symptoms, allowing you to heal completely. Meditation also helps individuals suffering from chronic illnesses. For patients undergoing cancer therapy for example, yoga and meditation can provide a little bit of calm and confidence. It can take your mind off the pain and maintain positivity in the face of pain.\n\nLearning how to meditate isn’t easy. It takes dedication to master the practice. However once you do, even a small fifteen minutes of daily meditation will significantly improve quality of life.\n\n\nYoga and Massage: Facial Massage Techniques\n\nFacial Massage\n\nMassage Therapy has been pursued through the ages as a means for detoxifying, relaxing and de-stressing. It forms an integral part of most beauty and relaxation treatments. Facial massage is one of the more commonly practiced branches of massage therapy. A face massage is designed to work the muscles on your face, neck and scalp. This is an excellent and effective non-surgical method for skin rejuvenation.\n\nFacial Massage Technique\n\nFace massage is the technique of muscle and tissue manipulation on the face, neck and scalp. The massage may also include the shoulders and the upper back. The therapy involves applying pressure on the facial muscles and tissue. This pressure is applied by the hands, fists and fingers. A facial massage is given using a series of movements like rubbing, pulling, rolling, kneading, pinching, pushing, and rotating.\n\nA massage therapist may use a variety of massage creams, essential oils and packs to help enhance the benefits of the massage. Ideally a facial treatment lasts anywhere between twenty minutes for a basic massage to forty five minutes for an elaborate face massage technique (this includes a cooling of period as well).\n\nFacial treatments are an effective natural way of retaining ones youthful features. The most convenient aspect of a face massage is that it can be self administered at home on a regular basis. You can use wholesome natural ingredients like essential oils and fruits and herbs in your massage. Regular face massages make a very visible impact on your skin. Gone are the dark circles and the sagging skin. Instead the face looks fresh and energetic.\n\nBenefits of Facial Massage\n\nFace massages help in the maintenance of healthy skin. Given day to day wear and tear, the skin is exposed to a number of harmful agents. These range from harsh weather, pollution, poor nutrition and stress. These elements cause the skin to become dry and dull. The skin on the face looses its elasticity and begins to sag and wrinkle. Effective facial massage techniques exert an adequate amount of pressure on the skin. The repetitive and therapeutic massaging movements help boost circulation to the face. It also helps flush out toxins in the body and stress. It is an excellent remedy for stress headaches and migraines.\n\nThe massage doubles as a facial workout. It tones the muscles and stretches them. This makes the skin firm, filling out the wrinkles and bags that had previously formed on the face. This alone reduces the age on your face considerably.\n\nSome References: Yoga and Thai Yoga Massage in Bath - Thai Yoga Massage treatments with experienced practitioner, home visits, Ashtanga yoga classes or private yoga tuition in Bath.\n\nYoga to develop positive attitude\n\n\n\nBuilding positive attitude\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSport fitness Blog - Find the sport that fits you well\n\nYoga for aging - an anti aging solution\n\nAging is a normal phase in the life cycle. Everyone has to experience it. Every individual is plagued with aging issues, and the symptoms it sets off. While many spend thousands of dollars on anti aging solutions in the form of creams, injections and surgery, a far simpler and more effective option exists.\n\nYoga and aging\n\n\nBy regularly pursuing anti aging yoga, you can maintain your dignity and grace despite the years rolling on. While yoga cannot turn the clock back, it can help you enter this phase of your life with as much joy and strength as possible. Yoga for aging has a number of benefits that senior citizens and those looking to stay fit as they get older can enjoy.\n\nInternal & Physical Fitness - If yoga texts are studied, they state that age is not just a play of numbers but can be studied by the flexibility or rigidity of the human spine. As we grow older, the spine tends to lose its flexibility and stiffen. Regular practice of yoga and allows you to maintain spine elasticity, ensuring the flexibility of a much younger person.\n\nIn addition to flexibility, yoga helps maintain and improve body function. It builds immunity which keeps life-threatening conditions at bay. It improves posture, develops the body’s core muscles and stimulates the glands and organs in the body. Using anti aging yoga, you can avoid all the aches and pains and severe limitations that could be caused by aging. Regular practice can help you avoid or at least control joint pains and other symptoms associated with aging; it allows you to be in great shape, despite the growing years.\n\nYouthful Features – Yoga helps you control those very visible aging signs. The exercises involved in a yoga practice help keep the skin firm and well toned. This reduces the chances of sagging skin, excessive wrinkle formation, and dry skin. Deep breathing helps expel toxins and other waste material from the body, keeping it healthy and beautiful. The fresh flush of oxygen injected into the system keeps you looking young and refreshed without even trying.\n\nMental Integrity – Yoga for aging is an excellent idea. Apart from the physical aspect of yoga, its deep breathing and meditative practices help maintain mental, emotional and spiritual balance. Meditation helps infuse the individual with a positive attitude and optimism. It fights off depression, stress and anxiety. It also helps you maintain mental function, without any loss or compromise.\n\nYoga for bronchitis - an alternative treatment\n\nWhat is Bronchitis?\n\nBronchitis refers to a respiratory tract infection wherein the windpipe and the bronchi (both large and small) get inflamed due to infection or other causes. Bronchitis, in short, is the inflammation of the air passage to the lungs.\n\nWhat are the Symptoms of Bronchitis?\n\nSymptoms of bronchitis may include one or more of the following:\n  1. Bronchitis is accompanied by a hacking cough. This cough may persist for at least two weeks or longer. It could be dry or produce yellow-grey phlegm. The presence of phlegm could highlight a lower respiratory tract problem. In this case it is very important to consult your doctor as this could be the first sign of pneumonia.\n  2. Wheezing is also a common symptom of bronchitis and is caused by the inflammation of airways, making it harder to breathe freely\n  3. Other symptoms include sore throat, blocked nose, tightness in chest, sinus, headaches, slight fever, and stomach and chest soreness (caused by constant coughing).\n\nWhat are the Causes of Bronchitis?\n\nBronchitis almost always occurs during the cold and flu season, and is preceded by a cold and is the result of bacterial or viral infection. Bronchitis can also be the result of exposure to harsh chemicals, fumes and dust; this includes tobacco inhaled when smoking. It can also highlight a serious underlying respiratory tract infection like pneumonia.\n\nThere are two types of bronchitis – acute bronchitis and chronic bronchitis. The former is usually preceded by flu and if diagnosed early is fairly simple to treat and control. The latter on the other hand is a more severe condition. It lasts longer than acute bronchitis and needs immediate medical attention. It may not be very easy to treat and causes even greater discomfort.\n\nDoctors recommend a round of conventional allopathic remedies for bronchitis till the infection clears. When this course of medication is combined with bronchitis alternative treatments like yoga, it helps the body heal faster. It also helps the body regain strength and eases discomfort that is usually associated with the condition.\n\nYoga for bronchitis is a complementary therapy for treating bronchitis. Through a series of very gentle poses and more importantly deep breathing techniques, yoga can help the body beat bronchitis faster and more effectively.\n\nYoga’s deep breathing techniques help clear the nasal passages and infuses the system with a fresh flow of oxygen. Despite the inflammation, yoga helps you breathe in adequate amounts of oxygen to facilitate efficient lung function. It clears congestion and strengthens the lungs. Deep breathing and gentle postures also help ease the many aches and pains experienced across the body. It flushes the body with energy allowing you to recover faster.\n\nYoga Therapy for Muscular Dystrophy\n\nWhat is Muscular Dystrophy?\n\n\n\n\n\n\nYoga for Muscular Dystrophy\n\n\n\n\n\nBenefits of Yoga Pilates Workout\n\nWhat is the Difference between Yoga and Pilates?\n\nYoga and Pilates are essentially two different forms of exercise. However, over the years, one has been incorporated into the other, and many people are now realizing the benefits of doing yoga and Pilates exercises. While yoga is typically a spiritual practice that was developed about 3,000 years ago, Pilates was designed by Joseph Pilates during the First World War. The primary focus of yoga is to calm the body and mind by using asanas and meditation; breathing also plays an important role. On the other hand, Pilates essentially focuses on core body strengthening, with most Pilates poses targeting the spine and abdominal region.\n\nHow to do Yoga Pilates Exercises?\n\nVarious yoga poses can be modified by incorporating the principles of Pilates exercises into them. For instance, if you are performing a Seated Forward Bend, you can try sucking in your abdomen (which is a basic principle of Pilates).\n\nWhy do Yoga Pilates Workout?\n\nWell, the answer is simple. Both Pilates and yoga have several benefits, and when combined together, they strengthen the body and relax the mind. Some of the benefits of doing a yoga Pilates workout are as follows. Pilates help tone the abdominal region of the body, while yoga helps in improving overall flexibility and endurance. Moreover, the two work well in conjunction. Yoga Pilates poses help in not only improving posture, strengthening the joints, massaging the internal organs, and calming the mind but also in stabilizing the spine and improving core body strength. Remember that yoga will facilitate the movement of blood throughout the body and will exercise internal organs and physiological systems; simultaneously, Pilates will help in sculpting the body from the outside, giving your muscles and joints the much needed exercise. Thus, core yoga Pilates work on the body both internally and externally. Yoga helps to improve strength and flexibility, along with having a calming effect on the mind, and Pilates helps to increase core body strength and help you to look lean, sculpted, and toned.\n\nRecently, a new term, “Yogilates” has been used to describe the many exercises that include elements of both yoga and Pilates. Yogilates is touted to be the most comprehensive and complete workout for the body, improving overall health and the years to one’s life.\n\nA few pointers\n\nIf you’re new the this school of exercise, it is best to join a yoga pilates center that will ensure that you do not harm your body while performing modified poses and exercises. Also, it helps if the environment in which you practice yoga pilates exercises is a comfortable and conducive to exercising.\n\nSome Resource: Yoga Videos Yoga videos accessible for all levels.\n\n\nPersonal Trainer - Personal Trainer Pete Griggs is the Best Route to Fitness and Weight Loss, Personal Fitness Training in London, Croydon, Sutton, Carshalton, Wallington, Espom, Ewell, Banstead, Mordern, wimbledon, Surrey\n\n\nThe Goddess Garden Eco-Resort & SPA - Your enchanted Yoga & Meditation Center at the Caribbean Coast of Costa Rica\n\nCoral-Calcium-Supply Robert Barefoot coral calcium at discount prices. Spa Supplies", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7797999382019043}
+{"content": "Wednesday, 23 August 2017\n\n3 Essential Qualities Every Good Treasurer Must Have\n\nA volunteer treasurer needs to be organised and good with figures. They must ensure they are on top of the situation from the very first day of the job. They should be passionate and motivated. They need to be trustworthy and available when the charity or nonprofit has a query or requires a report. The list is seemingly endless!\n\nOn top of these traits, and the many others we could name off the top of our head, there are three other qualities which a treasurer must have in order to make their job easier.\n\n\nRegardless of how relaxed the organisation is, as a Volunteer Treasurer, it is your job to represent the NFP in a professional manner. Having a solid base of professionalism will make the job simpler, and you never know who may be watching. Remember your volunteer role may lead to other opportunities in the future. Conduct yourself professionally in all situations and show the NFP that you have a solid work ethic regardless of whether it is a paid or volunteer position.\n\n\nA Volunteer Treasurer needs to be tough and strong. You should always stick to your guns and follow the rules and policies set in place. If there are no rules, then create them. Establishing solid business practices from the start will hold you in good stead. Financial control policies are there for an excellent reason. They prevent bookkeeping errors and fraud. Don’t let the team walk all over you or ask you to bend their rules just because they don’t like them. Stick to the rules and your colleagues will soon understand that you mean business.\n\n\nIf your nonprofit has not embraced modern technology or made any changes in the last ten years, then you may have to put your creative hat on. Just because it has always been done that way, doesn’t mean it has to stay like that. A Volunteer Treasurer’s position involves a lot of responsibility, and often there are systems you can utilise to cut down your hours or improve your overall effectiveness. Look at software options such as Admin Bandit or endeavour to fine-tune those reports so they are more efficient. There are always alternative methods - you just need to find the ones which will assist you to streamline the procedures and save the NFP time and money. Do your research to understand what will fit the needs of the NFP and, of course, yourself.\n\nGood luck!\n\nWednesday, 26 July 2017\n\nHow to Craft an Email Newsletter that Actually Gets Read and Creates Results\n\nDrafting a newsletter can be very nerve-wracking. What if no one reads it; what if people unsubscribe as soon as they receive it? Well, chances of both of those things happening are quite high. But in between the unsubscribers and the deleters are a bunch of interested individuals who want to hear what you have to say.\n\nThere are some definite tips you can take on board to increase the percentage of those who read it and those who click on a link and visit your website, however. Despite those nerves, it is time to get drafting and provide valuable information to your readers that will have them engaging with your brand and donating to your cause.\n\nDo you have an objective in mind?\n\nIf you are purely sending your email out because it is the third Tuesday of the month, then you may find yourself struggling a bit. You need to have a specific objective in mind when drafting it, so it resonates with your readers. Think about what your objective could be this month and then set out to fulfil this aim.\n\nAre you consistent with design and frequency?\n\nIf you send out a newsletter every now and again, it may not be so well received. We are creatures of habits and you will be more likely to build trust if you send them out on a regular basis. Try to be consistent with your design, so it matches your newsletter and other marketing material. Once you have drafted it and have the layout approved, stick to it.\n\nDo you have any metrics set in place?\n\nMany nonprofits tend to shy away from metrics because they feel like they are a bit of a failure if they miss the mark. But metrics are particularly useful to see how well your newsletter was received. Focus on the positives – the likes and the clicks which demonstrate your achievements and then work out how to do better next month.\n\nHave you come up with catchy headlines?\n\nMost NFPs spend much of the time writing the text, planning the layout and tweaking the images. But remember, don't leave the headline until the last minute. It is the first thing they see in their inbox and well-placed strategic headings will carry the reader through the entire newsletter. Use them wisely.\n\nIs it as pretty as a picture?\n\nHuge blocks of text can be dull to browse. Break up the words with text or even a video but always check back to see whatever you are adding, connects strongly with the overall objective of the message. Don’t add a picture just for the sake of it.\n\nDo you have a donate button incorporated into your newsletter?\n\nIt is such a small thing to do and if you use a template each month, then it is something that you probably don’t even need to think about. Make sure that there is an easy-to-locate donate button on your page in case your readers are feeling in the mood to give.\n\nConstant communication will tick those boxes for accountability and trust, not to mention donor retention. Do your NFP a favour and send out newsletters that are worth writing and reading.\n\nWednesday, 28 June 2017\n\nAttracting Millennials To Your NFP\n\nNFPs need all sorts of employees and volunteers to function at its very best. Employing millennials (individuals born between 1980 to 2000) is a must, if it is your intention that your NFP stands the test of time. Millennials are not only generous to causes they believe in, but they can also educate you on new and improved ways to reach other millennials and increase donor support.\n\nFigures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show that 25% of 18 to 25-year-olds and 27% of 25 to 34-year-olds volunteered in 2014. This is compared to 39% of individuals aged 35-44 and 42% of 15 to 17-year-olds. The 18 to 34 age group could definitely do with some more incentive to volunteer and gain employment with NFPs. Millennials are a huge part of the population, and organisations need to understand that there may be alternative ways to engage them.\n\nIt is essential that you create a brand or marketing campaign that millennials will be happy to get behind. Millennials resonate with individuals and organisations wanting to make a positive change in the world. If they feel empowered by your brand, then they will get excited about it. As millennials are heavily connected online, having a solid website, cleverly constructed 'About Us' page and well laid out social media channels is important. Make it eye-catching, inspiring and mobile-friendly.\n\nEnsure it is easy for them to connect to you. The younger generation tends to make their decisions based on impulse. Don’t let anything stand in their way. And once you have their interest, try to keep them engaged. A millennial who follows your cause will be more willing to pass your information on to others.\n\nStorytelling campaigns are one of the best ways you can connect with millennials. Showcase stories and profiles of individuals who are making strides in your industry, so they have someone to emulate.\n\nIf you use just some of the following tips to attract the millennials, then you stand more of a chance in increasing millennials.\n  • ·         Strive for diversification in the workplace\n  • ·         Use social media to communicate your story\n  • ·         Explain career paths and opportunities\n  • ·         Offer meaningful experiences\n  • ·         Be open to new ideas\n  • ·         Create entry level positions with real room to grow\n\nMillennials appreciate companies who provide fulfilling jobs and flexible workplaces. NFPs must understand how to communicate this information authentically to draw in the younger crowd.\n\nWednesday, 24 May 2017\n\nDo You Have These Skills To Help Your NFP Succeed?\n\nEven if you have never worked for, or managed, an NFP before, you may find that you have many useful skills which can directly assist your organisation. Your individual skills, and the talents of your team members, is what gives your NFP its edge and corporate advantage over the other charities.\n\nLeadership Skills\n\nWhile you may not consider leadership skills to be important, remember, that it takes more than passion to lead an NFP to success. Leadership skills can vary but generally consist of the ability to think strategically and communicate well. Being able to motivate and inspire others is also an important asset to your company.\n\nMarketing Skills\n\nWhile traditional leaders have a team of marketers and social media managers working for them, NFPs have a leaner budget and must take on some of the efforts themselves. Social media can increase the awareness of your NFP and directly increase your fundraising efforts. As more and more people are accessing their information on mobile devices, NFPs need to stay up with the technology or avoid getting overlooked entirely.\n\nNetworking Skills\n\nBeing able to get out there and connect with other businesses and individuals will hold you in good stead. Effective communication and networking skills will enable you to reach out to potential donors and sponsors and really get across your motivations for doing what you do. Through your words alone, you can make connections that will guarantee long-term support, and ultimately the longevity of business.\n\nFinancial Skills\n\nWhile financial skills can be learnt, having the ability to be able to manage the monies which come into the organisation can overcome any foreseeable challenges. It is not just a simple case of profit and loss for a nonprofit as the money may go back into the company to further their charitable aims, or even be allocated toward future fundraising and campaigns, as well as salaries and other running costs.\n\nWednesday, 26 April 2017\n\nHow to Make Your Role as Volunteer Treasurer Easier\n\nThe volunteer treasurer is a significant position on any nonprofit board. Key responsibilities include the management and administration of the nonprofit's finances, reporting to the board, offering fundraising advice and acting as a liaison with independent auditors.\n\nTreasurers that serve on the boards of small to mid-sized nonprofits, as well as all-volunteer organisations, often have a more hands-on role than those who serve at larger NFPs.\n\nThe following are a few tips that can make this daunting job a bit easier and less of a hassle.\n\nUse Automated Software Designed Especially for Treasurers of Nonprofits\n\nTo keep up with everything, you must compile, track and report which are all very time-consuming. From recording the day-to-day transactions of your nonprofit and handling routine processes, such as bank reconcilements, to calculating GST, compiling monthly reports and so on - the role can get very busy if not managed well.\n\nAs your organisation's treasurer, one way that you can save time, and improve accuracy, is to make the switch to a fully automated bookkeeping software that is stored and accessed in the cloud, such as Admin Bandit's software for volunteer treasurers.\n\nSoftware like this one tracks all of your organisation's transactions for you. It also walks you through each step of a host of more complicated tasks including preparing budgets, creating monthly and annual reports, calculating GST and other important filings.\n\nSince the data is stored in the cloud, it reduces the risk of losing your organisation's valuable data should there be an incident of theft, fire, flood or another disaster.\n\nEstablish Sound, but Simple, Systems and Controls\n\nAs the treasurer, financial oversight is one of your most important duties. To protect the organisation's finances, you will need to limit who has access and control of the nonprofit's cash and other funds.\n\nTake the time to establish policies and procedures that will help you to both follow and monitor your nonprofit's assets. Create routines that reduce risk of loss, such as always having two people to count the funds whenever cash handling is involved.\n\nOne way to establish routines that will also generate records that can help you track activities is to build forms for your procedures. Forms help you to leave a paper trail for your organisation's activities and expenses, such as having team members submit reimbursement request forms to help you track expenses.\n\nWhile accounting software and a host of useful apps are generating less physical paper, you should still use a system of binders and other tools to help you organise whatever paper records and other important physical documents are generated.  \n\nUse a Calendar\n\nOf course, an old-fashioned paper calendar that is mounted on the wall or desk still works. However, there is an easier and more efficient way to keep up with all of the important dates that you must remember. Software and internet-based calendars make it a lot easier for you to keep track of filing requirements and deadlines. This is because you can program a virtual calendar to send you alerts and reminders, making it less likely that you will forget an important date.\n\nThis simply ensures that you are keeping up with financial requirements while also helping to ensure that your organisation avoids the expense of paying late filing fees and other penalties.\n\nPrepare for the Next Treasurer\n\nNo matter how fulfilling your find your role and its duties, at some point, your term as a volunteer treasurer with your organisation will come to an end. You can make things easier for yourself, and the next person that follows in your footsteps, by making a point to regularly file your paperwork and keeping your records organised, and up to date.  \n\nBefore your term is set to expire, it is especially helpful to schedule a meeting with the incoming treasurer. Go over your accounting system and filing system with them, as well as the controls and procedures that you have in place to help minimise the impact of this new transition. \n\nWednesday, 29 March 2017\n\nWhen To Invest In New Software For Your NFP\n\nToday, many nonprofits are dealing with increased competition for donations and other fundraising challenges, such as the decrease in the availability of grants due to government budget cuts. This makes it more difficult for treasurers to come before the board and ask for funds to upgrade software.\n\nDuring difficult financial times, many boards adopt the attitude that if something has been working so far, why pay to fix something that isn't \"broken?\" Others are reluctant to invest in upgrading the software because they think it will simply be too much of a hassle to learn something new. These beliefs can be shortsighted, however, if the new software will in effect pay for itself by increasing efficiency and security and thereby lowering overall costs.\n\nThe following are a few signs that your existing software is costing you more than the cost to upgrade, which should help you to convince board members that this is one investment that's worth the cost to make.\n\nYour Free Software is no Longer Worth the Time and Hassle to Use It\n\nJust because there aren't any upfront costs to obtain the software, doesn't mean that it's wholly free to use. Even free software must be set up and configured properly, and updated periodically to run smoothly.\n\nIf your \"free\" software isn't specific to your field or cause, it may be difficult or impossible to track data that is specific to your nonprofit. Another sign that it's time to upgrade is if your current software is if it requires a lot of manual processes and data entry to be able to track items and produce documents and reports.\n\nIf this is the case, that free software is probably costing you more in payroll dollars and staff hours to operate as time goes by than the upfront cost of upgrading your software to one that simplifies and automates most processes and that's designed specifically to meet the needs of a nonprofit.\n\nContinuing to Use Your Current Software Increases Risk of Loss\n\nUsing older, out of date software may expose your nonprofit to greater risk of loss than newer technology. Many older systems rely on older operating systems to run, which are, by nature, more vulnerable to hacking since they are no longer subject to frequent security updates designed to patch and fix flaws that thieves and hackers can exploit to enter your nonprofit's systems and steal sensitive financial and demographic information.\n\nOlder software can make it more difficult to track transactions and take more time to produce reports that might uncover irregularities that point the way to internal and external theft. Money that has been paid to the nonprofit, or, that the nonprofit has paid others, can slip through the cracks when older, out of date software is used.\n\nOld, out of date software also usually does not allow users to store information in the cloud, which puts your organisation's entire collection of records and databases at risk of loss should something happen to the hard drive, such as a fire, flood or other disaster.\n\nFinding a Solution\n\nWhen your organisation is ready to invest in new software, there are a number of brands and services on the market. Admin Bandit offers accounting software that is designed specifically with the needs of nonprofit organisations and volunteer treasurers in mind.\n\nAdmin Bandit software is reasonably priced, very easy and intuitive to use, and walks treasurers through every step of preparing budgets, reporting, statements, managing GST obligations and producing other necessary documents that every nonprofit needs. Most processes are fully automated once the nonprofit's basic account information has been entered, which takes around 2 minutes or less, increasing ease of use.\n\nThe software also connects with the cloud so that it's easy to keep the software updated, which increases the security of your nonprofit's information while also making it simple, stress-free and secure to backup databases and other files.\n\nFinally, board members and other officers of nonprofits have significant fiduciary duties and a responsibility to protect sensitive information collected by the nonprofit, wisely use donations and other assets, and to conduct themselves in an honest and impartial manner. The security flaws found in older, inefficient software makes it more difficult for boards to fulfil their fiduciary obligations.\n\nNew software such as Admin Bandit's increases transparency in the organisation while making it easier for boards to have the up-to-date information that they need to make better decisions. Upgrading your software not only reduces the potential for loss, but, makes it simpler to recruit new treasurers and board members when openings arise. \n\nWednesday, 22 February 2017\n\nNFPs in The Digital Age\n\nThe way we manage data is changing and from an NFP perspective you need to ask yourself whether your data management procedures are efficient and focussed. Are they working to your advantage or could you make some changes to fine-tune the process?\n\nYou need to consider issues like how to store and manage your data and how that information can be used to make the most impact and bring about maximum change. You also need to examine the capturing and securing of data from a governance perspective.\n\nWhy focus on your database?\n\nYour database is your key to building a relationship with your donors. Today’s NFPs need to be data-driven, and your database is one of the biggest assets your non-profit has at its disposal. It can tell you what is working and what is not working. Maintaining an inadequate database can lead to loss of dollars and donors –a disaster for any non-profit.\n\nHow can you ensure your database is working?\n\nFirstly you need to make sure that whatever system you are using, has your charity’s best interests at heart. Designate ownership and management of the system and confirm policies and procedures on how the system can be employed. Your reports need to be relevant and accurate; otherwise, they just end up being a wasteful exercise.\n\nDo you have security and disaster recovery procedures in place?\n\nEnsure that you have a backup to handle any worse case scenario that might occur. Again all processes and procedures must be confirmed and documented and followed to a “T”. And when all else fails, back up again. It is important that you protect your data to ensure your organisation’s success.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9168808460235596}
+{"content": "More Great Recipes: Pasta | Vegetable\n\nGarlic Eggplant Spaghetti Wraps\n\nUser Avatar\nMember since 2009\n\nServes 10 wraps | Prep Time 10 minutes | Cook Time 15 minutes\n\n\n- two garlic cloves\n- 1 eggplant\n- 1 sweet onion\n- 1 packet of spaghetti\n- olive oil\n- fresh basil\n- Italian Seasoning\n- salt\n- pepper\n- toothpicks\n\n1. Fry two minced garlic cloves in olive oil over medium heat.\n\n2. Cut 1 eggplant in lengthwise strips about a quarter inch thick, then add to pan and drizzle with more olive oil, and season with salt.\n\n3. Add 1 chopped onion to pan.\n\n4. Once eggplant is soft, remove pan from heat\n\n3. Break spaghetti strands in half, then boil and cook 'til al dente.\n\n4. Drain spaghetti and mix with olive oil, fresh basil, and Italian seasoning, salt and pepper, and add the cooked onion into the spaghetti mix\n\n5. Then just take the spaghetti and put it in the eggplant strips and wrap them, securing with toothpicks.\n\nPairs Well With\n\n\nThis recipe was a sprur-of-the-moment dish I whipped up for lunch when I discovered we were out of bread and couldn't make sandwiches. We hadn't done our grocery shopping for the week, so I just made use of the bits and pieces I could find in our empty kitchen.\n\nYour recipe is the featured recipe of the day on our home page! :)\n\nDisney's Tinker Bell \"Secret of the Wings Cookbook\"\nBy BakeSpace Fairies\n\n6 Recipes\n\n'CHEF' the Film Cookbook: Recipes from El Jefe\nBy CHEF the Film\n\n6 Recipes\n\nThe Official \"Burnt\" Movie Cookbook\nBy Burnt Movie Cookbook\n\n7 Recipes\n\nOreo Balls\nOreo Balls\nTorta Cubana\nTorta Cubana\nSlutty Brownies\nSlutty Brownies", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5034838914871216}
+{"content": "1. ITV Report\n\nNine of the world's most dangerous superbugs found on the tube\n\nNine of the most dangerous bacteria in the world have been found on the tube network during a new research study.\n\nPotentially deadly bugs have been found on the tube network\n\nThe research was commissioned by insurance company Staveley Head, and carried out by scientists at London Metropolitan University. They took four swabs on each of the different tube lines, and found more than 120 different types of mould and bacteria growing on the seats and handrails.\n\nOf the bacteria they found, nine were antibiotic resistant bugs that the World Health Organisation had issued a warning about, including the potentially deadly Klebsiella Pneumoniae. The bug doesn't usually cause problems among healthy people, but can be very dangerous for sick people and those with weakened immune systems.\n\nUsual health advice including washing your hands, keeping any wounds clean and avoiding touching your face or eyes with dirty hands should help to prevent any infections.\n\nOf the tube lines the researchers tested, the Victoria Line was the worst with 22 different types of bacteria, while the Metropolitan Line was the cleanest with just 11. You can explore the full study here.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8916003704071045}
+{"content": "You searched for:\n\nland surveyor jobs\n\n1 - 40 of 190 Job(s)\nLand surveyor Opening and Vacancy\n\nLand surveyors are responsible for the collection and measurement of data related to the physical features of specific areas of land. With the rise of real estate in the country, there are now many land surveyor jobs available in India. The primary tasks of a land surveyor are to use geographical information systems (GIS), GPS and other equipment to analyse land and make detailed reports for builders and construction firms. They also use computer aided design (CAD) to interpret the data and advise their clients appropriately.\n\nThe minimum educational qualification required to apply for land surveyor vacancies is a bachelor?s degree in surveying or related programs. Some other courses that can be useful are geographical information science, cartography, geology, mapping science, civil engineering etc. Some important skills land surveyors can possess are oral and written skills, 2d and 3d skills, attention to detail and extensive knowledge of geographical information systems. They can expect to work at architecture firms, construction companies, government agencies etc. Monster India connects job seekers with relevant job openings in the country. If you are looking for land surveyor opportunities, you have come to the right place. Upload your updated resume to and never miss a job matching your profile.\n\nGet jobs in your inbox", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5547338128089905}
+{"content": "\n\nSingapore AIW Fix (deleted) 1.0\n\nNew AIW file for improved offline racing at Singapore\n\n  1. Keith Windsor\n    Alternative AIW & TDF files for rF1/Game Stock Car version of : Singapore by slimjim\n\n    Important: I have NOT converted/uploaded any original files of the track for public use as I have no permission to do so.\n    These files are for use by those already have it.\n\n    The AIW that came with Singapore 2011 (and same one for 2010 version I believe) has several problems for offline racing, particularly when using it with open wheel cars:\n\n    The cars wheelspin on a number of bends, causing inconsistent lap times;\n\n    When a car is entering the pits, any car that is racing close behind, follows slowly toward the pit entrance before eventually veering away and continuing to race;\n\n    AI cars are regularly spinning or losing their rear end when driving too far onto the kerbs.\n\n    These AIW & TDF files have been created to resolve these problems, should be an improvement for most open wheel cars.\n\n\n    NOTE you can use either one or both of these files, it is not necessary to use both of them if you do not like the grip changes, but I find it helps match the AI to the Player.\n\n\n    Changes made:\n    a significant increase in overall dry grip level for the player, and a further small increase in AI dry grip level, to balance player & AI performances, and to improve cornering and overall handling.\n\n    New fast path created. It is by no means perfect, as the AI are sometimes slightly wide of the apex on some turns, but they are no longer spinning on the kerbs and are running more consistent laps as a result.\n\n    New pit path created. Again, not perfect, but the pit entry is now working fully, and they enter the pits cleanly - cars racing past them will maintain a proper racing line and speed.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9272533655166626}
+{"content": "To fertilize or not to fertilize… that is the question. Excessive fertilization is detrimental to your lawn, wastes money, causes pest problems and is bad for the environment. Knowing how and when to fertilize your yard is essential in creating a healthy lawn.\n\nwhen to fertilize -1\n\n\nwhen to fertilize -2\n\nStep 2: Know your fertilizer. Quick release fertilizer is water soluble and will release nutrients into the soil immediately. Too much of a good thing will burn the grass and contaminate the ground water. Time release fertilizers do not dissolve in water. Instead, they break down over an extended period of time, making nutrients available to grasses on an as needed basis. Unfortunately, water insoluble fertilizers are somewhat unpredictable and are ineffective in the colder temperatures of early spring and late fall.\n\nwhen to fertilize -3\n\nStep 3: Do the math. Know how much nitrogen your lawn needs and calculate the number of times you should fertilize each year. Tall fescue requires 1 – 4 pounds of nitrogen per 1000 sq. ft. each year. Zoysia and buffalo grasses require 1-2 lbs. and blue grass requires 2 – 5 lbs. Never apply more than one pound of nitrogen per 1000 sq. ft. at a time. The numbers on a bag of fertilizer represent the percentage by weight of each nutrient. A 20 pound bag of fertilizer\nlabeled 20-5-10 contains 4 pounds of nitrogen [20# x 20% = 4]. More nitrogen equals more mowing; too much nitrogen equals no mowing at all.\n\nwhen to fertilize -4\n\n\n\nHealthy lawns need nutrients, but applying fertilizer in July and August is never recommended.\n\nwhen to fertilize spreader", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9748672246932983}
+{"content": "Villa in Athnes Greece\n\nCijeli prostor\n\n6 gostiju\n\n3 spavaće sobe\n\n4 kreveta\nKoliko je odraslih.\nKoliko je djece.\nDob: 2 – 12\nKoliko je beba.\nMlađi od 2\nKreditna kartica neće se još teretiti\n\n\nOn the guest of the special vacation with quality, comfort, relaxation and privacy in combination with the panoramic and vast (understerhable) view in the nature on the north east port of the mountain of Penteli on a small hill, there where the eye can look in the vastness of the deep blue. There where the clean air is noticeable and where you wake up in the morning from the natural sounds of the wind blowing through the trees and the sounds of the birds. With a lot of spirit and passion we created the Villa suites.\n\nOn 500m2 lot and a 150m2 three level villa. Almost 12 km from the center of Athens and 7km from the airport, 4 km from the Attica Zoological park, 4 km from the largest commercial center, 8 km from the unique Cave of Paiania, 8 km from the Wine museums and 7 km from the coast of Zouberi and the Red port. The Vorres museum is one of the best houses of art in the world. If you are coming in the Athens for a relaxing vacation or to visit archeological spots and museums or a business trip or for a weekend it is worth it to visit us.\n\nIt is our obligation to have a great time.\n\nWith appreciation,\nThe Owner\n\nRaspored spavanja\nSpavaća soba 1\n1 bračni krevet (1,6x2)\nSpavaća soba 2\n2 jednostruka kreveta\nSpavaća soba 3\n1 bračni krevet (1,4x2)\n\nKupaonice: 3\nSpavaće sobe: 3\nKreveti: 4\nDolazak: Bilo kada nakon 10:00\nOdlazak: 14:00\nVrsta prostora: Cijeli prostor\n\nBesplatan parking u sklopu smještaja\n\nDodatni gosti $37 / noćenje nakon 2 gosta\nTjedni popust: 9%\nKomunicirajte samo putem Airbnba\nSaznaj više\n\nKućni red\nDolazak je nakon 10:00\n\nOtkazivanje rezervacija\n\nSigurnosna oprema\nPribor za prvu pomoć\nKartica za hitne slučajeve\nAparat za gašenje požara\n\nMinimalni boravak: 1 noćenje\n\n3 recenzije\n\nProfil korisnika Nikos\nKolovoz 2017.\nΟλα καλά.\n\nProfil korisnika Δημήτρης\nLipanj 2017.\nΠολύ ωραίο και προσεγμένο σπίτι.\n\nProfil korisnika 薇\nStudeni 2014.\n\nAtena, GrčkaČlan od Srpanj 2013\nProfil korisnika Andreas\n\n'Cause he finds it difficult to talk about himself :\n\nAndreas was born and raised in Athens. He was gratuated from the National Drama School, he also studied Marketing & Management and he works today as chief executive for a National Corporation.\n\nAs for his attitude, he's a very good and charismatic person, he's generally sensitive enough with others. He likes having fun with people and help them in their needs. That's why Andreas decided few years ago to create and establish Villa Suites.\n\nApart from that, he lives in a peaceful place in the suburbs (next to the Villa). In his interests, we include his love for the nature, the horse-riding and tennis -when actually finds the free time to do so-. We want to add also his secret passion which is his love for the crafts.\n\nAndreas is very friendly with children and for that reason he's member of the association \"The smile of the child\".\n\nHe's married with Helena and they have one kid, Telemachos.\n\nBetween us, Andreas hasn't good relationship with the time! :)\n\nThe above text is from his family & his friends with all our love.\n\nJezici: English, Ελληνικά\nStopa odgovora: 70%\nVrijeme odgovora: unutar nekoliko sati\n\n\nSlični oglasi", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7039874792098999}
+{"content": "Hugh Elliott\n\nHugh Elliott\n\n\nIn 1999, Hugh Elliott graduated with a diploma in Computer Graphics and true-to-form, went into landscaping. Two backbreaking months in, he was asked to come to Toronto and show some Flash work. Undeterred at never having heard of Flash, Hugh downloaded the Flash 3 demo, poured a pint and taught himself. He never looked back.\n\nSince then, Hugh worked for a few of the largest interactive agencies - MMi, Fjord and Organic - where he created award-winning work for General Motors, General Mills, and Bank of America, among others.\n\nBetween agencies, he co-founded the highly acclaimed and successful Nemesis Group, nominated for Canadian Agency of the Year in 2005.\n\nHugh was nominated for technical excellence in previous years at FlashForward and FiTC for his personal site, After leaving Nemesis Group, Hugh went freelance and found it to be the most fun he'd had in years. After a brief second life in the agency world, Hugh is back in the freelance game.\n\n\nThe Art of (Mis)Communication\n\n\nA project manager that neglects to disclose specific details? While these things directly impact your project you'll find, more often than not, they can be more easily dealt with when you provide and receive proper, effective communication.\n\nLet's delve into how we deal with the people we deal with. Let's look at how we speak to the people we speak to. Ins and outs of conversation.\n\n\nTaken in perspective, every project starts with a 50/50 chance of success. It's how we as a team communicate that pushes that ratio one way or the other.\n\n\nHugh also starred at:", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6008968353271484}
+{"content": "\n\nAleppo has fallen\n\n—and all we can do is watch\n\nNot 48 hours after the apparent fall of Aleppo, and Republicans in the US are running amok to score political points on how this is a reflection of the failures of US intervention. The shame, in the fall of Aleppo, lay not in those that suffered under a siege that has lasted more than two years, but in the fact that the US will now be seen in a weaker light, unable to support whatever exploit of intervention to come up next. The fall of Aleppo, for the Republicans, is a black stain on the legitimacy of the US in a global context—one that reflects on Obama’s policies of removing troops from Iraq and not pursuing a more decisive intervention in Syria.\n\nOn the other hand, democrats and progressives, currently preoccupied with their war against the normalisation of Trump, have ironically lost touch with the multitude of issues they have passively normalised over the years. From the US’s nearly 800 foreign military bases, the presence of the maximum security prison at Guantanamo bay, an illegal war in Iraq, and shoddy arms deals with totalitarian regimes.\n\nWith this, it seems that the only thing that continues to hold the US together is the implicit, bipartisan agreement that the US could tread the waters of international law with exceptionalism and moral righteousness, and the only thing worth differing on is the extent of said intervention.\n\nHubris as a foreign policy\n\nThe irony/tragedy in all of this is the hubris that the US government must poses to continue speaking of its legitimacy in the Middle East. With a record of flip-flopping between intervening against or supporting dictators, the interpretation of US foreign policy can only belong to one of two camps. Either, the US is a country that deeply misunderstands this region with unspeakable flaws in its security, intelligence, and national security apparatuses; or, the US is truly operating on an imperialist basis supporting or intervening when it best suits. Neither of these camps are as exceptional or as moral as American politicians would have you believe.\n\nThis exceptionalism is easy to pander to, as long as the focus is moved away from the US. And since, in the greatest nation on earth, criticising foreign policy and US intervention (especially in a republican sphere) is near equitable to treason—the blame can only lay outside of its borders. With this the US, continues to present Russia as its polar opposite, and Russia relishes in the spotlight, capitalizing on the holes in US foreign policy rhetoric.\n\nThis is not to say that there exists a lesser of two evils in this tango, and it is warrant enough to say that two wrongs don’t make a right. Russia’s intervention in Crimea, the Ukraine, and Syria leave much to be fearful of. Nevertheless, if we are searching for objectivity, we cannot look at Russian foreign policy while ignoring the duality in the US’s NATO push in Eastern Europe, and the continuation of a policy of containment. We cannot ignore the perceived threat this provides to Russian international demeanour, and continue demonising one sort of intervention while crowning another as moral.\n\nRaw footage\n\nAway from international relations is the continuous politicisation of the conflict within Syria itself.\n\nYesterday, a video was released of an independent journalist retorting on “western” journalism and their coverage on the war in Syria. In the video the journalist makes valid accusations on the lack of “verified” sources on the ground within Aleppo, accusations on the partisanship of the White Helmets, and finally a claim that the coverage seeks to promote the conflict as a civil war, something the speaker seemingly dismisses.\n\nIt would seem that the speaker would much rather follow the narrative propagated by the leader dropping barrel bombs on “terrorists” than entertain the notion that civilian deaths do not need to be witnessed and corroborated by “verified” sources to make the politics of a civil war behind them real.\n\nSure, we might not know where the raw footage of barrel bombs, civilian protests under fire, or children being pulled out from under the rubble is coming from within Syria, or whether or not the footage is recent or not. But the facts remain, there is one side that possess helicopters and warplanes, and irrespective of whether or not you call them rebels, terrorists, or freedom fighters, civilian casualties are still amassing in the fight against them and it is clear on whose order.\n\nThe reporter’s claim is largely based on the idea that western media has an “agenda” and that very agenda is, you guessed it, an imperialist intervention in the welfare of the Middle East—which is seen as a continuation of the interventions in Iraq and Libya against the will of the majority. To establish this message it seems that not only does the US need to be discredited, but also the impact of this war on civilians.\n\nThe war is yet to end\n\nToday, there is more news on the suffering of these civilians which will in no doubt continue to be dismissed. The UN has reported on the summary executions of at least 82 civilians in the eastern side of Aleppo. Unfortunately, as the war continues, and international relations continue to unfold on the premises of “beware the other side”, these civilians will continue to be nothing but the statistics in the months to follow the end of the war. The interrelations of their lives providing nothing more but the next subject of study in a contemporary IR course of study at a university, or the fuel for an intellectual debate on the ethics of journalism in conflict areas.\n\nIn the coming months, perhaps even days, the world will turn its eyes to more analysis on how the Syrian government will handle the Kurdish presence in the north of the country. Turkey will continue to be in the spotlight as an ally (?) in the fight against ISIS, as it continues to threaten Europe with opening the “refugee floodgates” unless the EU keeps paying them not to, even though proof of Turkey “accidentally” arming extremists has come to light. The US and the UK will continue to supply Saudi Arabia with arms for its war in Yemen, even though proof of the kingdom “accidentally” funding extremists has come to light. And Russia will continue to be presented as the counter-balance to the “Western world”, while the western world continues to be presented as having an imperialist agenda by the Russians.If we are to wish for any recourse, it is that politicians on both sides of the global aisle, and indeed voters (on one side of the global aisle), shed their exceptionalist world views, and stand for a more consistent and humanitarian approach to international relations. It is only with the rejection of this self-imposed divide, which pays no attention to human suffering — unless it is seen to further calls for intervention — can we move away from archaic foreign policies and attempt to preserve the life of civilians. Unfortunately, I cannot remember a time where spilt blood ever led to the silence and reflection of politicians and despots.\n\nSupport Reformer on Patreon\n\n\nDisagree with this article?\n\nHave your say by writing a response...\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9270309209823608}
+{"content": "The Apocalypse Is No Longer Fun …\n\nAs a writer, I love stories about dystopia and grim-dark futures. I believe part of good fiction is a critical view of our humanity, especially in our capacity of creating truly monstrous consequences. Dystopic fiction is the pinnacle of this examination, stories where mankind has created their own unique hell our of hubris or ignorance. Reading about these futures, we can hopefully see the paths to those failures and avoid them ourselves. I feel it is one of the core aspects of reading or writing fiction, no matter what genre you are in: Why did the murderer kill? What caused the mutant virus to become so viral? Why did the countries go to war? How did the Galactic Empire rise to power? My own book revolves around an alternate historical British Empire rife with corruption, slavery, racism and class disparity and explores what these mean to my characters and how they maneuver through my dark, gritty world.\n\nExperiencing these as a reader or exploring them as a writer can be both illuminating and rewarding because it teaches us something of ourselves. It helps us understand who we are as individuals and among the collective. For some, it can also be reassuring, comforting in the knowledge that our world could never be like that. We read George Orwell’s 1984 or Animal Farm or Aldus Huxley’s Brave New World or Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 or Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaiden’s Tale and we tell ourselves ‘this is terrifying but could never happen to us. We’re too smart to let this happen.’\n\nShould we be saying that?\n\n1984 deals with a society where history has been rewritten to suit the government, to reinforce its narratives and manipulate public opinion. The very nature of history and definition of words can be changed on a whim by this insidious bureaucratic autocracy. Animal Farm is widely regarded as a treatise on Communist Russia, but tells a fundamentally broader allegory: the animals rise up and take control of the farm for the greater good in a government where all are considered equal. Over time, a ruling class emerges and eventually a single charismatic leader. While the ruling members promise a better life for all animals, the rulers are frequently the exclusive beneficiaries of any type of luxury or largess. Through the use of scapegoating and gas-lighting, the animals are convinced that those who do not agree with the ruler are at fault for their hardship. The same ruler falsely claims achievements that he either was not present for or that he was not responsible for, as well as exaggerating his own accomplishments. Over time, the animals and those they usurped are indistinguishable from one another.\n\nBrave New World is the story of an America ruled by an authoritarian government, ruled by elites where media entertainment and social engineering have pacified the masses into accepting what we are told and shown as true. Fahrenheit 451 similarly detailed a world ruled by television and mass entertainment, where books are an illegal commodity and all that the individual knows is filtered through the prism of their televisions.\n\nFinally, we focus on gender dystopia with The Handmaiden’s Tale. In this tale, infertility is rampant and only the socially elite are allowed to have children. As a result, fertile women are a commodity that only the rich and elite can afford as families are torn asunder and women lose all control of their own bodies and freedoms.\n\nUnfortunately, these prescriptive tales are edging closer and closer to becoming real. A world where America is rule by an authoritarian demagogue, where history and facts that do not suit the needs of society’s elite or the government are labelled as lies and fake, where so much of our information is filtered through either imperfect or manipulative news sources and other forms of mass entertainment, where the government relies on diversions or clumsy appeals to our patriotism, where women are not viewed as worthy of controlling their own bodies and reproductive rights. This world, our world, was foretold by these apocalyptic books.\n\nSo, any enthusiasm I might feel about writing a novel featuring Britain’s decline from Victorian Decay to Victorian Dystopia is dulled somewhat by the ongoing demise of the American Dream. This country seems to be living the longest slow-motion multi-car wreck ever conceived. What’s worse is that you can see the other drivers and know that they can see the wreck coming, that they hopefully understand what choices led us to this point and what decisions must be made, what actions must be taken to mitigate the damage; yet they maintain their course. Worse, they seem to be accelerating towards their own Armageddon.\n\nAlmost as bad are the backseat passengers, unavoidably along for the ride and largely powerless to stop what is occurring but also undeniably responsible in many ways for who is at the wheel. Almost to a person, they claim to know how to drive better but always make the same mistakes once they’re behind the wheel. For some individuals, the accident is preferable for it presages change; they think things can only improve. Or they are convinced that this mad and deluded driver will swerve at the last minute, gaining insight and wisdom to reform and steward them to their preferred destination, unaware they while he might drive by familiar landmarks, he might have a totally different terminus in mind. That’s how it would work in fiction, in movies and in books. Just not in this book.\n\nLet me talk about one last novel before I end this post, if I may: Philip K Dick’s The Man in the High Castle.  This novella is currently enjoying some renewed attention due to its adaption by Amazon into a television series.  Unfortunately, the televised series misses the mark in one, significant and crucial aspect, an aspect that is quite important to this discussion.  The plot of the novel and the show is that America lost World War Two and has been divided between Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan and now plucky Americans fight back against these two oppressive and totalitarian conquerors in a thoroughly dystopian world.  However, while the shows presents an unrelenting view of a sinister and horrific world complete with unabashedly stereotypical evil antagonists, the book takes a slightly different tact.  True, the Nazis have still systematically gassed nearly all of America’s Jewish population.  Slavery has still been reinstated in the South.  Yes, Nazi Germany is also waging a brutal and relentless campaign of extermination in Africa, just like in the show.  Yet, for most of the characters, life is not that different than today.  For most, the occupation only incurs slight losses and inconveniences.  Most Americans survive and even thrive in Nazi America.  And while one would expect a Nazi regime to be fundamentally racist itself, racism is also extremely pervasive in the general public as well.  One could say almost encouraged or expected.  For most, the atrocities and inhuman acts perpetrated by the Nazis and Imperial Japan are ignored, distant and inconsequential.  They enjoy a relatively good life, so why expect a higher moral code, why care about the suffering and deprivations experienced by those unseen others?  Why rebel against a racist and genocidal government when you are part of the accepted majority?  Why indeed?\n\nWe seem to be living in a dystopian novel too pitch perfect to be believed, something any writer would crave to have written but too fanciful and unrealistic to merit publication. Yet here we are, turning the page, not with excitement and anticipation, but with fear and dread. But – hopefully – not resignation.\n\nThe party told you to reject all evidence of your eyes    \nand ears.  It was their final, most essential command.\n~ George Orwell, 1984\n\n\n\nAn Assymetry of Kaiju\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nUntil Cthulhu drives us insane and devours us, of course.\n\n\n\nDaily Prophet, May 3rd, 2017\n\nHere’s my latest post from my model railway blog; sort of a three-for-one. It’s a preliminary build-up towards the actual beginning of destruction and includes some interesting historical tidbits from the Harry Potter books. If you enjoy the series, it might be worth a look.\n\n\n\nBurnesyd Magical Muggle Railway\n\nMake sure to read our thrilling expose on the Muggle who would master the Magical Train! Is an American trying to steal a cultural icon of the Wizarding World? The Daily Prophet has come into possession of documentation that suggests an American Muggle is formulating plans to steal the Hogwarts Express. Our competitor The Quibbler and their investigative staff claim that this American is only making a ‘model train display’, but the editorial staff of The Daily Prophet feels something more nefarious is afoot and have formally requested that the MACUSA investigate this Muggle and his plans to steal the Hogwarts Express for his own means as well as determine if anyone in our own suspiciously Muggle-friendly Ministry of Magic is aiding him! CLICK HERE to investigate this conspiracy yourself.\n\nALSO! Rita Skeeter uncovers the secret origin of the Hogwarts Express! Is this yet another of Dumbledore’s secret agendas…\n\nView original post 127 more words\n\nBeen away a long time …\n\nIt’s been too long since I posted on The Write Path. I’d like to say I’ve been busy hammering out a novel and getting it published, but I can’t say that. Rather, a great many things have occurred in the last few months and I unfortunately let some things – this blog and my writing in general – fall by the wayside.\n\nCreativity Prismatic\ntitleActually, that’s not entirely true. Yes, the blog has been horribly neglected, but my writing has simply become less focused and more broad-base. I’ve put my main novel on hold for a bit, to re-evaluate some of its content and concepts as well as work on a couple of short stories. Additionally, I’m focusing some of my creative efforts on a project for my wife, The Burnesyd Magical Muggle Railway. I re-posted something from the blog a week or two ago and we may see some cross-over here and there, from time to time. It’s a Harry Potter-themed model railroad display I’m working on for the next Christmas season (hopefully), so it will be the point of some of my creative focus as well. Check it out if you are interested and get the chance. Of more focus on my writing, I’ve also recently joined a review group with my wife and the talented Kim Ventrella, who is in the midst of releasing her 1st novel, Skeleton Tree, a middle grade novel slated for fall 2017 release.\n\nIdle Tears, Idle Rage\nI must admit that much of my ‘derailment’ stems from two events. The first was theIMG_0164[1] passing of my beloved dog Boomer. I’d detailed his fight on the blog in posts from 2015 and in earlier 2016. This last fall he began to slowly diminish until he finally passed on December 20th. Even now, his loss still has a great impact on me; he was without doubt, my best buddy and I will never replace his loss from my life. I must admit that the persistence of my grief has been unusual and I’ve even had a few people suggesting that it is time to move on.  However, I know that there’s no right or wrong way to grieve and ultimately, Boomer meant a great deal to me.\n\nThe other event would be the election (and more recently, the inauguration) of Donald Trump. Mr. Trump is perhaps the most blatantly dishonest and duplicitous electee to the office of President in the history of this United States, even accounting for a villain like Nixon. In his first 100 days, he has systematically (and thankfully: largely ineptly) try to attack everything that I cherish about our nation and our democracy. If it were just him, it would have less of an impact. However, the worst of it for me is the fundamental psychological dysmorphia of the nation since his election. The inception and large scale acceptance of ‘alt truth’ and ‘alt facts’, the wholesale prostitution of the Republican party’s patriotism and civic duty for the sake of expediency and power, and (worst of all) the willful ignorance so many people are showing towards his many misdeeds, usually for the sake of a single issue, is… democratically appalling. Believe me when I say that I’ll be making further posts on this topic.\n\nTrumpocalypseGamingThankfully, I’ve become energized and enraged (and engaged) by this, even to the point of accepting a (quasi) public ‘office’, that of vice chair for my voting district. Yes, it’s silly, but it is a positive action. Additionally, if less importantly, I founded the Trumpocalypse Gaming Night, a quarterly get-together of people for fun, board games, and some good old Trump-bashing. Is it politically effective? Perhaps not. However, I think that the more people who purposefully do not accept the normalization of Trump’s insane Greater America, the better we will be. He thrives on praise and is driven insane by criticism and (oh, especially) ridicule. So, if the current occupant of the Presidency is a child who gets his feelings hurt when people disagree, I see that as a challenge to mock him more. It’s a form of activism, if not particularly active.\n\nThe Blog, Expanded\nSo, moving forward, I’m going to be a bit more broad spectrum with this blog. Clearly, I’m still going to focus on my writer’s path, but – given the type of world we’re now living in – expect a few more esoteric, political or philosophic posts as well. Especially now.\n\nIf you are still receiving my blog posts and you read something that impassions you, I encourage you to respond, either on this site or on Facebook. I welcome your interaction and am always open to a good discussion. For now, I wish you all the best and look forward to sharing more with you, either on The Write Path or the BMMR site.\n\n\n\n5 Men at a Table\n\nMy apologies for the lengthy absence from this blog.  As it is, I’ve been posting under my project blog, so I wanted to share with you my most recent post.  I hope you enjoy:\n\nThis post will be a bit different from the rest as it will not have anything to do with trains or the Burnesyd Magical Muggle Railway. However, I felt it was an interesting enough mental exercise and substantially thought-provoking and thus was suitable for inclusion on this site. Hopefully, you may enjoy it was well […]\n\nvia Five Men at a Table — Burnesyd Magical Muggle Railway", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7952200174331665}
+{"content": "Kawasaki Heavy Industries has completed the development of a large, 9 000 TEU container ship fuelled by LNG and obtained Approval in Principle from DNV. The ship is designed with a new type of LNG tank that provides more space for container cargo.\n\nThe LNG is stored in prismatic low pressure insulated tanks (Type B) and this is the first time that such tanks have been proposed for a large container ship. They are different from cylindrical pressure tanks (Type C) as they utilize the available space much better due to their prismatic, rectangular shape. KHI has also adopted a unique technology, the Kawasaki Panel System, for heat insulation in order to reduce the rate of evaporation of LNG.\n\n\n\nThe LNG fuel tank and diesel oil tanks are located under the forward superstructure minimising the loss of cargo space. The design criteria for ships using LNG as fuel are currently being studied by IMO (BLG). The location of LNG tanks under the accommodation has been a subject for discussion in the industry. DNV plays an active role in these discussions.\n\n\nThere are high expectations for LNG as an alternative, next-generation clean fuel to reduce reliance on heavy fuel oil which is currently used for large container ships. LNG was chosen as the fuel for the vessel because it reduces carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions which contribute to global warming as well as dramatically reducing nitrogen oxides (NOx) and sulphur oxides (SOx) which are major health hazards.\n\nDNV is also promoting LNG as it is proving to be an economically favourable emissions reduction solution for shipowners. Decoupled from oil prices due to sources such as shale gas, it is expected to remain competitive for the lifetime of new vessels entering the market. 25 ships in Norway are already floating evidence of LNG’s safety and technical feasibility, and DNV has had rules in place for over 10 years.\n\nThe new container ship design features:\n\n(1) A twin island design maximising cargo space available for loading containers. \n(2) A two stroke dual-fuel main engine which is electronically controlled with a high combustion efficiency coupled with a hull form optimised for safety and fuel efficiency. \n\nKHI will apply the technology and design principles used to other container ships as part of the company’s goal to be world leaders in the development and construction of innovative eco-friendly vessels. With KHI technologies acquired through the past development and construction of LNG carriers, KHI also plans to move into the field of LNG bunkering vessels to further extend the scope of their environmental offerings.\n\nDNV has demonstrated the feasibility of a range of large LNG fuelled ships through concept studies such as the container ship Quantum 9000, Triality, a VLCC size oil tanker, and two different sized bulk carriers. “DNV is proud to be working with forward-thinking companies such as KHI to help make clean shipping a reality,” says Tor Svensen.\n\nPrincipal particulars of the new 9,000 TEU LNG-fuelled container vessel:\n\nLength overall 308 m \nBreadth 48.4 m \nDraught 14.5 m \nLNG fuel tank 7,000 m3", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9187427163124084}
+{"content": "Our maids will leave three referral cards at your residence after cleaning. The greatest thank you is the gift of a personal referral. We encourage you to pass these along to your friends, family, and coworkers! \n\nFor any existing client who makes a referral that results in a cleaning job, we'll provide you with a free basic cleaning! Who wouldn't love their home cleaned for free? So get busy passing out those referral cards! Our cards state: Refer a friend to book a deep clean and receive a basic clean for free.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9767388701438904}
+{"content": "CTE found in nearly 90 percent of brains donated by football players\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAmong those questions: How common is this? How many years of football are too many? What is the genetic risk?\n\n\"Some players do not have evidence of this disease despite long playing years,\" McKee noted.\n\nIt's also uncertain if some players' lifestyle habits -- alcohol, drugs, steroids, diet -- might somehow contribute, McKee said.\n\nDr. Munro Cullum, a neuropsychologist at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, emphasized that the report is based on a selective sample of men who were not necessarily representative of all football players. He said problems other than CTE might explain some of their most common symptoms before death, such as depression, impulsivity and behavior changes. Cullum was not involved in the report.\n\n\n\n\nCTE was diagnosed in 177 former players -- nearly 90 percent of brains studied. That includes 110 of 111 brains from former NFL players; 48 of 53 college players; nine of 14 semi-professional players; seven of eight Canadian Football League players; and three of 14 high school players. The disease was not found in brains from two younger players.\n\n\n\nAfter years of denials, the NFL has acknowledged a link between head blows and brain disease and agreed in a $1 billion settlement to compensate former players who had accused the league of hiding the risks.\n\n\n\n\n\"A lot of families are really tragically affected by it -- not even mentioning what these men are going through and they're really not sure what is happening to them. It's like a storm that you can't quite get out of,\" his wife said.\n\nFrank Wycheck, another former NFL tight end, said he worries that concussions during his nine-year career -- the last seven with the Tennessee Titans -- have left him with CTE and he plans to donate his brain to research.\n\n\n\n\n\nThe Associated Press contributed to this report.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5272533893585205}
+{"content": "carbon dioxide\n\n(redirected from Carbondioxide)\nAlso found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Medical.\nRelated to Carbondioxide: Carbon dioxide poisoning\n\ncarbon dioxide,\n\nH2CO3, a weak dibasic acid (see acids and bases) formed when carbon dioxide dissolves in water; it exists only in solution. Carbonic acid forms carbonate and bicarbonate (or acid carbonate) salts (see carbonate) by reaction with bases.\n..... Click the link for more information.\n. The gas is easily liquefied by compression and cooling. If liquid carbon dioxide is quickly decompressed it rapidly expands and some of it evaporates, removing enough heat so that the rest of it cools into solid carbon dioxide \"snow.\" A standard test for the presence of carbon dioxide is its reaction with limewater (a saturated water solution of calcium hydroxidecalcium hydroxide,\n..... Click the link for more information.\n) to form a milky-white precipitate of calcium hydroxide.\n\nCarbon dioxide occurs in nature both free and in combination (e.g., in carbonatescarbonate\n, chemical compound containing the carbonate radical or ion, CO3−2. Most familiar carbonates are salts that are formed by reacting an inorganic base (e.g., a metal hydroxide) with carbonic acid.\n..... Click the link for more information.\n). It is part of the atmosphereatmosphere\n..... Click the link for more information.\n..... Click the link for more information.\n..... Click the link for more information.\n\n..... Click the link for more information.\n..... Click the link for more information.\n in green plants and is a product of animal respirationrespiration,\n..... Click the link for more information.\n\n[for Ernest Solvay], commercial process for the manufacture of sodium carbonate (washing soda). Ammonia and carbon dioxide are passed into a saturated sodium chloride solution to form soluble ammonium hydrogen carbonate, which reacts with the sodium chloride to\n..... Click the link for more information.\n\n\nCarbon dioxide\n\nA colorless, odorless, nonpoisonous gas that exists in trace quantities (less than 400 parts per million) within ambient air. Carbon dioxide is a product of fossil-fuel combustion. Although carbon dioxide does not directly impair human health, it is a greenhouse gas that traps terrestrial (i.e., infrared) radiation and contributes to the potential for global warming.\n\nCarbon Dioxide\n\n\n(also carbonic anhydride, carbonic acid gas), CO2, carbon (IV) oxide, the highest oxide of carbon. In 1756, J. Black demonstrated that a gas, which he called “fixed” air, is liberated upon decomposition of magnesium carbonate. The gas’s composition was established in 1789 by A. Lavoisier.\n\nCarbon dioxide is a colorless gas with a faintly pungent odor and acid taste; it has a density of 0.0019 g/cm3 (at 0°C and 0.1 meganewtons per sq m [MN/m2]), a melting point of -56.6°C, a boiling point of -78.5°C, a critical temperature of 31°C, and a critical pressure of 7.62 MN/m2, or 76.2 kilograms-force per sq cm (kgf/cm2). At atmospheric pressure and a temperature of -78.5°C, carbon dioxide hardens into a white, snowlike mass known as dry ice, thus bypassing the liquid state. Liquid carbon dioxide exists at room temperature only when the pressure exceeds 5.85 MN/m2 (58.5 kgf/cm2). The density of liquid CO2 is 0.771 g/cm3 at 20°C, while that of the solid form is 1.512 g/cm3. In the gaseous phase, the carbon dioxide molecule has the symmetrical form O=C=O, with a distance between the carbon and oxygen atoms of 1.162 angstroms (Å). Solid CO2 crystallizes in a face-centered cubic lattice, with a = 5.62 Å.\n\nCarbon dioxide is thermostable, dissociating into carbon monoxide and oxygen only at a temperature above 2000°C. The compound is noticeably soluble in water, forming solutions of 0.335 percent (by weight) at 0°C and 0.169 percent at 20°C; it partially reacts with water to form carbonic acid (H2CO3). Carbon dioxide dissolves in the following organic solvents: acetone, benzene, chloroform, and alcohols. It reacts vigorously with bases to yield carbonates. CO2 does not burn and does not support combustion. It is reduced only by very highly reactive metals at high temperatures, for example, by magnesium at 600°C and by calcium at 700°C. Carbon dioxide reacts with red-hot coal: CO2 + C = 2CO, a reaction having great importance in metallurgy. It also reacts with ammonia at a temperature of 160°-200°C and a pressure of 10–40 MN/m2 (100–400 kgf/cm2): CO2 + 2NH3= CO(NH2)2 + H2O. Carbon dioxide reacts with hydrogen in the presence of cupric oxide, forming methane.\n\nCarbon dioxide is a component of air, constituting 0.03 percent by volume; the total content is 2.3 × 1012 tons. In the hydrosphere, there are 1.4 × 1014 tons of carbon dioxide in equilibrium with the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is formed and introduced into the atmosphere upon the combustion of fuels, the decay of organic matter, the process of fermentation, and the respiration of humans and animals. As a result of industrial pollution, the amount of carbon dioxide in the air of industrial cities greatly exceeds permissible levels. Measures have been taken to reduce this level in a number of industrially developed countries, including the USSR. Carbon dioxide is necessary for the growth of plants, which absorb the compound from the atmosphere in the process of photosynthesis. The atmospheres of the planets Mars and Venus contain carbon dioxide as their major component.\n\nCarbon dioxide is produced industrially mainly by roasting limestone at 900°-1300°C, a process that also yields lime; the compound is purified through its absorption by solutions of soda, potash, or ethanolamine. It is stored and transported in the liquefied state under a pressure of 6 MN/m2 (60 kgf/cm2) in steel cylinders. In the laboratory, CO2 is usually obtained by the reaction of hydrochloric acid with marble.\n\nCarbon dioxide is used in the production of soda water, beer, and sugar. Dry ice is used for the preservation and transport of perishable food products. In the chemical industry, CO2 is consumed in producing soda, urea, and hydroxycarboxylic acids; in graphite-moderated reactors, it functions as a heat carrier. Carbon dioxide is also used in extinguishing fires and transporting flammable substances.\n\n\nIn agriculture, carbon dioxide is used as a fertilizer. An insufficiency of carbon dioxide in the air, which frequently occurs when the ground is shielded, as is especially the case with hydroponic cultivation, lowers the rate of photosynthesis and the crop yield. Gaseous carbon dioxide (from cylinders) or purified products (containing up to 15 percent CO2) of the catalytic combustion of natural gas and solid fuel are introduced during the daytime into hothouses and greenhouses to improve the carbon supply to plants. Solid carbon dioxide (dry ice) can be used as a source of gaseous carbon dioxide; here, pieces of the solid are distributed about an area. Organic and mineral fertilizers that liberate carbon dioxide upon decomposition may also be used as sources. The efficiency of carbon dioxide fertilizers depends on the mineral supply available to plants, the illumination, and the temperature of the soil and air.\n\nIn humans and animals, carbon dioxide, together with bicar-bonates, forms an important buffer system of the blood. An increase in the partial pressure of carbon dioxide in the blood strengthens the bond of oxygen to hemoglobin. By acting, both directly and indirectly, on the centers of the medulla oblongata, carbon dioxide figures in the regulation of respiration and blood circulation. A mixture of 95 percent oxygen and 5 percent carbon dioxide (Carbogen) is used in medicine in the case of toxic dosages of narcotics and carbon monoxide poisoning. In high concentrations, carbon dioxide is toxic, inducing hypoxia. Breathing carbon dioxide for a period of several days, even in concentrations of 1.5–3 percent, causes headache, vertigo, and nausea. At concentrations greater than 6 percent (critical level), a person becomes drowsy and unable to work, and there is a weakening of respiratory and cardiac activity, posing a threat to life. An accumulation of carbon dioxide in the air with a concomitant decrease in the oxygen content is seen in enclosed, poorly ventilated spaces, for example, areas in mines and sewers, and in places, such as breweries, where fermentation is occurring. First aid calls for removing the victim into the fresh air and applying artificial respiration. Carbon dioxide does not reach critical levels in the air in residential and public buildings. The concentration of carbon dioxide serves as an environmental indicator of air purity.\n\n\n\nRemy, H. Kurs neorganicheskoi khimii, vol. 1. Moscow, 1972. (Translated from German.)\nNekrasov, B. V. Osnovy obshchei khimii, 3rd ed., vols. 1–2. Moscow, 1973.\nAkhmetov, N. S. Neorganicheskaia khimiia, 2nd ed. Moscow, 1975.\n\ncarbon dioxide\n\n[¦kär·bən dī′äk‚sīd]\n(inorganic chemistry)\nCO2 A colorless, odorless, tasteless gas about 1.5 times as dense as air.\n\ncarbon dioxide\n\nReferences in periodicals archive ?\nSome of the projects related to carbon capture and undertaken under the NPRP include capture of carbondioxide (CO2) from natural and effluent gas streams and its conversion, theoretical and experimental study of asphaltene deposition during CO2 injection in Qatar's oil reservoirs, at Qatar University and Texas A&M, respectively.\nMore than 1 million vehicles are registered in Dubai and the carbondioxide emission from the transportation sector contributed to 47 percent of the air pollutants in the emirate in 2010.\nAn experimental investigation of transcritical carbondioxide systems for residential air-conditioning.\nDigital and eminently adaptable, smart grids are bidirectional and capable of meeting growing user demand to become proactive consumersthat manage and produce energy more efficiently, as well as reduce carbondioxide emissions.\nIncreased usage of natural gas in the energy mix will be required in order to meet growing energy demand without creating more carbondioxide emissions and other pollutants.\nUeno H, Takana M and S MachmUdah Supercritical carbondioxide extraction of valuable compounds from Citrus junos seed.\nEffects of metals on methanogenesis, sulfate--reduction, carbondioxide evolution, and microbial biomass in anoxic salt marsh sediments.\nGE Oil & Gas has again been selected to support development of Gorgon, one of the world's largest untapped natural gas fields, which also features one of the word's largest carbondioxide (C[O.\nAnd many now have functions that measure, monitor and display the actual energy and carbondioxide emissions.\n6-litre diesel engine and aerodynamic modifications that take carbondioxide output to below 120g/km.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8978651762008667}
+{"content": "Potassium Benefits\n\nPotassium is an essential macromineral in human nutrition with a wide range of biochemical and physiological roles. Among other things, it is important in the transmission of nerve impulses, the contraction of cardiac, skeletal and smooth muscle, the production of energy, the synthesis of nucleic acids, the maintenance of intracellular tonicity and the maintenance of normal blood pressure.\n\nDiets high in potassium may be protective not only against hypertension but also strokes and cardiovascular disease and possibly other degenerative diseases, as well.\n\nThe major cause of potassium deficiency is excessive losses of potassium through the alimentary tract or through the kidneys. Potassium depletion typically occurs as a consequence of prolonged use of oral diuretics, from severe diarrhea and from primary or secondary hyperaldosteronism, diabetic ketoacidosis or in those on long-term total parenteral nutrition who have received inadequate potassium. Signs and symptoms of potassium deficiency include hypokalemia, metabolic alkalosis, anorexia, weakness, fatigue, listlessness and cardiac dysrhythmias. Prominent U-waves are seen in the electrocardiograms of those with hypokalemia.\n\nEating a variety of foods that contain potassium is the best way to get an adequate amount. Healthy individuals who eat a balanced diet rarely need supplements. Foods with high sources of potassium include orange juice, potatoes, bananas, avocados, parsnips and turnips, although many other fruits, vegetables, and meats contain potassium. Research has indicated that diets high in potassium can reduce the risk of hypertension.\n\nA potassium level that is too high or too low can be dangerous. Abnormal potassium levels may cause symptoms such as muscle cramps or weakness, nausea, diarrhea, frequent urination, dehydration, low blood pressure, confusion, irritability, paralysis, and changes in heart rhythm.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 1.0000088214874268}
+{"content": "Connie ChavezEsthetician\n\n    Connie is a Colorado Native from Pagosa Springs, CO. She is a licensed Esthetician with over 8 years in skincare, waxing, threading and makeup. Her specialties include brow shaping, sleep inducing facials, everyday and special event makeup.\n\n    Through her passion for skincare and makeup she tries to give 110% to each client-to honor their individual beauty. Her understanding of skincare enables her to customize facials for each clients area of focus. Whether you need a touch up or special event, her eye for detail and color will leave you looking like your best self! Connie is excited to meet Let ‘me Have It Salon clients to provide complimentary skincare or makeup consultations.\n\n    Q: What is the last thing you watched on tv?\n    A: More like binge watched all 6 seasons of Glee!\n\n    Q: What are you passionate about?\n    A: Visiting every CO brewery! Seriously though, helping clients look and feel their best with skincare and makeup!\n\n    Q: What’s your favorite 90’s jam ?\n    A: Well anything Dave Matthews Band!\n\n    Q: What are 3 skin or beauty products you can’t live without?\n    A: Glo therapeutics Renew Serum-addresses my breakouts, sun spots and wrinkles, it’s a powerhouse product! Glo therapeutics Solar Shade in SPF 50, blends easily with no chalky halo! Jane Iredale BB cream-great coverage, longwear, great for a no makeup-makeup look!\n\n    Q: What is your spirit animal?\n    A: Definitely a shiba inu : Because they are cute, intelligent, independent, like quiet time but can still be very sociable, they love spending days lounging in the sun, and prefer cats over dogs!\n\n    • “everyone I personally dealt with are earnest and at the top of their game. at this salon it’s obvious each and every one aim to please.”\n\n      Carol M\n    • “I love going to Let Em Have It Salon. It’s a fun and artistic atmosphere, where I can go to relax, feel inspired, and get some gorgeous hair! I’ve had three stylists work on my hair and each one has done a fabulous job. I’ve never been disappointed. Frankly, I’m excited that I don’t have to salon-hop anymore to find the perfect place. Thanks guys!”\n\n      Grace Nichols D", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5125808715820312}
+{"content": "A \"Begin\" button will appear on the left when the applet is finished loading. This may take a minute or two depending on the speed of your internet connection and computer. Please be patient. If no begin button appears, it is probably because you do not have Java installed or Java is not enabled.\n\nThis applet illustrates many features of a two-factor analysis of variance. The window that appears after you press the \"Begin\" button allows you to specify the MSE, the cell means for a 2 x 3 design, and the sample size. The ANOVA summary table is displayed in the lower-left-hand portion of the window. The right side of the window shows a figure of means and a Venn diagram showing how the sum of squares total is divided among SSA, SSB, SSAxB, and SSE.\n\nYou can change the means by entering values in the table or by dragging points in the figure.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.995465099811554}
+{"content": "Saturday, 4 May 2013\n\nReview of The Kite Runner at Nottingham Playhouse\n\nThis review first appeared on The Public Reviews on 30th April 2013\n\nFrom the internationally best selling novel The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini comes the play version by American writer, Matthew Spangler. This is the much anticipated European stage première at Nottingham Playhouse and is a Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse production directed by Giles Croft and given a stunning design by Barney George.\n\nKhaled Hosseini himself calls the work an “intimate-epic” meaning that the narrative is often deeply personal and other times reflects on a sweeping adventure and ethical parable. The original story germinated from a newspaper report quoting that the Taliban had “banned the sport of kite flying in Afghanistan”. Hosseini, who enjoyed this sport himself in 1960s Kabul, was then inspired to write a short story which evolved into the novel. This story of Amir and his dual betrayals towards his childhood friend Hassan; the damaging consequences, the additional turmoil of destructive historical events in Afghanistan, takes us on a vast emotional roller-coaster journey spanning thirty years. This is also a compellingly complex story of the Afghan immigrant experience in America. Its themes are as much about a country’s struggles to live with violence and oppression as they are the freeing natures of true love and redemption. The heart breaking and painfully honest tale is told through narrative and reflective form through the main character Amir.\n\nAmir is a deeply flawed character. As a child growing up in 1970s Kabul, he is in turns deceitful, dreamy, sensitive, capable of lying and betrayal. He has a budding ambition to be a writer and yet he constantly feels anguished and desperate to be loved by his successful but distant father. Given these traits he is not aloof to his shortcomings and failings. As he grows older and flees to the USA with his father, Amir’s story becomes one of guilt and remorse and a deeply felt wish to redeem himself. From an unexpected phone call the adult Amir seeks, “.. a way to be good again.” He must return to a Afghanistan under Taliban rule and save a life under life threatening circumstances or live with the guilt of his actions forever.\n\nThe Nottingham Playhouse production is a triumph of theatrical story telling as heartbreaking and moving as the novel itself with hope at its ever-shifting core. Matthew Spangler’s well executed storytelling ensures that we are gripped from beginning to end.\n\nThe production is blessed with a cast of ten actors and the Playhouse Ensemble supernumeraries as well as Hanif Khan the musician who creates tempo and atmosphere playing Jonathan Girling’s excellent compositions. The nine year old Amir and Hassan are played by adults BenTurner and Farshid Rokey. The challenge for Turner is that he has to play Amir as a child, a teen, a man at eighteen, twenty four and also narrate the piece as a thirty eight year old. And he does it superbly in a subtle and convincing performance that totally has the audience eating out of his hand. Afghanistan born Rokey as Hassan is immensely likeable and perfectly captures the character’s loyal, sweet and trusting nature. He is very believable as the tragic orphan, Sohrab, in the latter part of the play. Hassan’s father Ali (Ezra Khan) is a wonderfully understated performance straight out of a story book. The strong authoritative characters of General Taheri (Antony Bunsee) and Baba (Emilio Doorgasingh) command the stage whenever they are present and Doorgasingh’s portrayal of Baba as a man dying with cancer is heartbreaking. Nicholas Karami as Aseef the socio-path and later Taliban leader is disturbing to the core.\n\nIn the gentler roles Nicolas Kahn as Rahim Khan exudes a quiet confidence and a sympathetic note as the family friend who encourages Amir’s writing. Lisa Zahra adds a welcome female note in a practically all male cast as Amir’s future wife Soraya and is particularly convincing in a very short scene as Mrs Nguyen the Vietnamese shop owner.\n\nThe stage set is a simple ochre coloured cobbled street curved like a shallow bowl with a backdrop of large truncated fence panels. The episodic nature of the play is enhanced and demonstrated through wonderful projections and a massive story teller’s carpet graces the stage throughout. Packing boxes are imaginatively utilised to create differing levels and particular scenes such as the Swap Meet market and a car journey. The lighting design by Charles Balfour was exemplary.\n\nAll in all, a totally wonderful theatrical experience that has the audience giving a well-deserved standing ovation.\n\nRuns Until 18th May\n\nNo comments:", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.609615683555603}
+{"content": "The United States Supreme Court is pictured. | Getty\n\nOne Supreme Court justice has been impeached in U.S. history. Which president told Congress to consider terms of impeachment against him?  A. George Washington  B. Thomas Jefferson  C. Martin Van Buren  D. Franklin Delano Roosevelt\n\nCourt to weigh cutoff for suing gov't\n\nWASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court will consider how strict deadlines should be for people to sue the federal government for negligence.\n\nThe justices agreed Monday to hear two cases where lawsuits were filed too late. In both cases, a federal appeals court ruled it was fair to let them go forward anyway. The Obama administration says Congress intended the deadlines to be firm.\n\nStory Continued Below\n\nOne case involves a Hong Kong citizen who sued the Immigration and Naturalization Service for detaining and deporting her. Her lawsuit was filed after a 6-month deadline because she was waiting for a federal court to issue an order.\n\nThe other case alleged the Federal Highway Administration improperly installed safety barriers that caused a fatal accident. The plaintiff claims he discovered new evidence after the 2-year deadline passed.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6589285731315613}
+{"content": "Kuki-Monsta is back! In this episode we discuss whether Christians should be radiant or relevant to pop culture, or maybe both. As believers we are called to be the light (Radiant) of the world right? So how can we be radiant if we are relevant (blend in) to culture? At the same time how do we reach out to the world if we are not relevant to pop culture? Further more how do we become relavant without being absorbed by “worldly culture”. That’s the dilemma we face. We also discuss the collabo between Tasha Cobbs and Nicki Minaj and the controversy around that. Is Tasha Cobbs striving to be relevant in order to be radiant? Have a listen to this interesting episode.\n\nPress play on the player below to stream or the download arrow to download and playback offline. Download file does not exceed 16MB\n\nIf you have an Iphone or Ipad you can download episodes via the following link: Click here to subscribe on iTunes", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9987941980361938}
+{"content": "Early shuttle transportation from Boulevard Beaumarchais to Paris airports\n\n\nHistory and visit the Boulevard Beaumarchais\n\nBoulevard Beaumarchais part in the 3rd arrondissement of Paris. It begins at the Place de la Bastille, it connects the Boulevard des Filles-du-Calvaire and ends at the junction of the rue du Pont-aux-Choux with Saint Sebastian. Boulevard Beaumarchais has a length of 750 meters and a width of 35 meters. The metro Bastille, Chemin Vert and Saint-Sébastien - Froissart serve the boulevard.\n\nBuilt in 1670, the boulevard was once called boulevard Saint-Antoine. Was given its current name in 1831 in honor of the playwright (1732-1799). It was in 1787 that Beaumarchais appropriated land a large bastion which was at the end of the boulevard, next to the Place de la Bastille, and built a beautiful house with a beautiful garden which survived until 1818 .\n\nThe year 1845 showed significant changes on the boulevard. Against alienating the sidewalks in the southern part, the municipal administration erected on their site a series of beautiful stone houses, loaded with ornaments and sculptures that have transformed the Boulevard Beaumarchais to a public road equally superb as regular where trade began to develop.\n\nTourists can admire the historic buildings lining the boulevard. Guimard is a shrine to No. 2. It is classified as a historical monument since 1978. Can be found at No. 4 MK2 cinema Bastille and No. 10 a theater and dance. Visitors can also admire the No. 23 Sagonne hotel or hotel Mansart with its beautiful garden, and in No. 28 the bakery Beaumarchais classified as historical monuments.\n\nTransfer to the Boulevard Beaumarchais in Paris\nBoulevard Beaumarchais is located 18.3 km from Orly airport, 27.6 km from Charles de Gaulle Airport and 89.5 km from Paris Beauvais airport\n\n\nUpdated At 05 - 12\n\nOrly Airport - Eurodisney (Park or Hotel close by)\n\n\n\nParis (Hotel or home address) - Roland Garros Stadium\n\n\n\nCDG Airport - Eurodisney (Park or Hotel close by)\n\n\nUn transfert rapide et efficace entre le Parc d'attractions Eurodisneyland et CDG\n\nParis (Hotel or home address) - CDG Airport\n\n\n\nParis airport transfers", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.998795211315155}
+{"content": "nova compute #331\n\n\nOpenStack Compute, codenamed Nova, is a cloud computing fabric controller. In\naddition to its \"native\" API (the OpenStack API), it also supports the Amazon\nThis charm provides the Nova Compute hypervisor service and should be deployed\ndirectly to physical servers.\n\n\nThis charm provides Nova Compute, the OpenStack compute service. It's target\nplatform is Ubuntu (preferably LTS) + Openstack.\n\n\nThe following interfaces are provided:\n\n  • cloud-compute - Used to relate (at least) with one or more of\n    nova-cloud-controller, glance, ceph, cinder, mysql, ceilometer-agent,\n    rabbitmq-server, neutron\n\n  • nrpe-external-master - Used to generate Nagios checks.\n\n\nNova compute only requires database access if using nova-network. If using\nNeutron, no direct database access is required and the shared-db relation need\nnot be added.\n\n\nThis charm support nova-network (legacy) and Neutron networking.\n\n\nThis charm supports a number of different storage backends depending on\nyour hypervisor type and storage relations.\n\nNFV support\n\nThis charm (in conjunction with the nova-cloud-controller and neutron-api charms)\nsupports use of nova-compute nodes configured for use in Telco NFV deployments;\nspecifically the following configuration options (yaml excerpt):\n\n  hugepages: 60%\n  vcpu-pin-set: \"^0,^2\"\n  reserved-host-memory: 1024\n  pci-passthrough-whitelist: {\"vendor_id\":\"1137\",\"product_id\":\"0071\",\"address\":\"*:0a:00.*\",\"physical_network\":\"physnet1\"}\n\nIn this example, compute nodes will be configured with 60% of available RAM for\nhugepage use (decreasing memory fragmentation in virtual machines, improving\nperformance), and Nova will be configured to reserve CPU cores 0 and 2 and\n1024M of RAM for host usage and use the supplied PCI device whitelist as\nPCI devices that as consumable by virtual machines, including any mapping to\nunderlying provider network names (used for SR-IOV VF/PF port scheduling with\nNova and Neutron's SR-IOV support).\n\nThe vcpu-pin-set configuration option is a comma-separated list of physical\nCPU numbers that virtual CPUs can be allocated to by default. Each element\nshould be either a single CPU number, a range of CPU numbers, or a caret\nfollowed by a CPU number to be excluded from a previous range. For example:\n\nvcpu-pin-set: \"4-12,^8,15\"\n\nThe pci-passthrough-whitelist configuration must be specified as follows:\n\nA JSON dictionary which describe a whitelisted PCI device. It should take\nthe following format:\n\n[\"device_id\": \"<id>\",] [\"product_id\": \"<id>\",]\n[\"address\": \"[[[[<domain>]:]<bus>]:][<slot>][.[<function>]]\" |\n\"devname\": \"PCI Device Name\",]\n{\"tag\": \"<tag_value>\",}\n\nwhere '[' indicates zero or one occurrences, '{' indicates zero or multiple\noccurrences, and '|' mutually exclusive options. Note that any missing\nfields are automatically wildcarded. Valid examples are:\n\npci-passthrough-whitelist: {\"devname\":\"eth0\", \"physical_network\":\"physnet\"}\n\npci-passthrough-whitelist: {\"address\":\"*:0a:00.*\"}\n\npci-passthrough-whitelist: {\"address\":\":0a:00.\", \"physical_network\":\"physnet1\"}\n\n\npci-passthrough-whitelist: {\"vendor_id\":\"1137\", \"product_id\":\"0071\", \"address\": \"0000:0a:00.1\", \"physical_network\":\"physnet1\"}\n\nThe following is invalid, as it specifies mutually exclusive options:\n\npci-passthrough-whitelist: {\"devname\":\"eth0\", \"physical_network\":\"physnet\", \"address\":\"*:0a:00.*\"}\n\nA JSON list of JSON dictionaries corresponding to the above format. For\n\npci-passthrough-whitelist: [{\"product_id\":\"0001\", \"vendor_id\":\"8086\"}, {\"product_id\":\"0002\", \"vendor_id\":\"8086\"}]`\n\nThe OpenStack advanced networking documentation\nprovides further details on whitelist configuration and how to create instances\nwith Neutron ports wired to SR-IOV devices.\n\n\n(string) Experimental enable apparmor profile. Valid settings: 'complain', 'enforce' or 'disable'. . AA disabled by default.\n(string) Sets vcpu_pin_set option in nova.conf which defines which pcpus that instance vcpus can or cannot use. For example '^0,^2' to reserve two cpus for the host.\n(string) Bridge interface to be configured.\n(string) Set to 'host-model' to clone the host CPU feature flags; to 'host-passthrough' to use the host CPU model exactly; to 'custom' to use a named CPU model; to 'none' to not set any CPU model. If virt_type='kvm|qemu', it will default to 'host-model', otherwise it will default to 'none'. Defaults to 'host-passthrough' for ppc64el, ppc64le if no value is set.\n(string) Only used when migration-auth-type is set to ssh. . Full path to authorized_keys file, can be useful for systems with non-default AuthorizedKeysFile location. It will be formatted using the following variables: . homedir - user's home directory username - username .\n(string) Network interface on which to build bridge.\n(string) Full path to Nova configuration file.\n(string) Virtualization flavor. Supported flavors are: kvm, xen, uml, lxc, qemu, lxd. . NOTE: Changing virtualization flavor after deployment is not supported.\n(string) Default compute node availability zone. . This option determines the availability zone to be used when it is not specified in the VM creation request. If this option is not set, the default availability zone 'nova' is used. . NOTE: Availability zones must be created manually using the 'openstack aggregate create' command. .\n(float) The CPU core multiplier to use when configuring worker processes for this services e.g. metadata-api. By default, the number of workers for each daemon is set to twice the number of CPU cores a service unit has. When deployed in a LXD container, this default value will be capped to 4 workers unless this configuration option is set.\n(string) Sets the pci_passthrough_whitelist option in nova.conf which allows PCI passthrough of specific devices to VMs. . Example applications: GPU processing, SR-IOV networking, etc. . NOTE: For PCI passthrough to work IOMMU must be enabled on the machine deployed to. This can be accomplished by setting kernel parameters on capable machines in MAAS, tagging them and using these tags as constraints in the model.\n(string) Netmask to be assigned to bridge interface.\n(boolean) Enable verbose logging.\n(string) Tell Nova which libvirt image backend to use. Supported backends are rbd, lvm and qcow2. If no backend is specified, the Nova default (qcow2) is used. Note that rbd imagebackend is only supported with >= Juno.\n(int) Defines a relative weighting of the pool as a percentage of the total amount of data in the Ceph cluster. This effectively weights the number of placement groups for the pool created to be appropriately portioned to the amount of data expected. For example, if the ephemeral volumes for the OpenStack compute instances are expected to take up 20% of the overall configuration then this value would be specified as 20. Note - it is important to choose an appropriate value for the pool weight as this directly affects the number of placement groups which will be created for the pool. The number of placement groups for a pool can only be increased, never decreased - so it is important to identify the percent of data that will likely reside in the pool.\n(string) Username used to access rabbitmq queue.\n(string) Set to 1 to enable KSM, 0 to disable KSM, and AUTO to use default settings. . Please note that the AUTO value works for qemu 2.2+ (> Kilo), older releases will be set to 1 as default.\n(string) IP to be assigned to bridge interface.\n(string) Specific cachemodes to use for different disk types e.g: file=directsync,block=none\n(boolean) Enable instance resizing. . NOTE: This also enables passwordless SSH access for user 'nova' between compute hosts.\n(boolean) Configure libvirt or lxd for live migration. . Live migration support for lxd is still considered experimental. . NOTE: This also enables passwordless SSH access for user 'root' between compute hosts.\n(boolean) This option determines whether to start guests that were running before the host rebooted.\n(string) Repository from which to install. May be one of the following: distro (default), ppa:somecustom/ppa, a deb url sources entry or a supported Ubuntu Cloud Archive (UCA) release pocket. . Supported UCA sources include: . cloud:<series>-<openstack-release> cloud:<series>-<openstack-release>/updates cloud:<series>-<openstack-release>/staging cloud:<series>-<openstack-release>/proposed . For series=Precise we support UCA for openstack-release= * icehouse . For series=Trusty we support UCA for openstack-release= * juno * kilo * ... . NOTE: updating this setting to a source that is known to provide a later version of OpenStack will trigger a software upgrade. .\n(boolean) Openstack mostly defaults to using public endpoints for internal communication between services. If set to True this option will configure services to use internal endpoints where possible.\n(string) Whether to run nova-api and nova-network on the compute nodes.\n(string) Comma-separated list of key=value config flags. These values will be placed in the nova.conf [DEFAULT] section.\n(string) TCP authentication scheme for libvirt live migration. Available options include ssh.\n(int) This value dictates the number of replicas ceph must make of any object it stores within the nova rbd pool. Of course, this only applies if using Ceph as a backend store. Note that once the nova rbd pool has been created, changing this value will not have any effect (although it can be changed in ceph by manually configuring your ceph cluster).\n(string) The IP address and netmask of the OpenStack Internal network (e.g. . This network will be used to bind vncproxy client.\n(string) Path used for storing Nova instances data - empty means default of /var/lib/nova/instances.\n(string) Nova database name.\n(string) Specifies a default OpenStack release name, or a YAML dictionary listing the git repositories to install from. . The default Openstack release name may be one of the following, where the corresponding OpenStack github branch will be used: * liberty * mitaka * newton * master . The YAML must minimally include requirements, neutron, and nova repositories, and may also include repositories for other dependencies: repositories: - {name: requirements, repository: 'git://', branch: master} - {name: neutron, repository: 'git://', branch: master} - {name: nova, repository: 'git://', branch: master release: master\n(string) Enable/disable rbd client cache. Leaving this value unset will result in default Ceph rbd client settings being used (rbd cache is enabled by default for Ceph >= Giant). Supported values here are \"enabled\" or \"disabled\".\n(string) The percentage of system memory to use for hugepages eg '10%' or the total number of 2M hugepages - eg \"1024\". For a systemd system (wily and later) the prefered approach is to enable hugepages via kernel parameters set in MAAS and systemd will mount them automatically. . NOTE: For hugepages to work it must be enabled on the machine deployed to. This can be accomplished by setting kernel parameters on capable machines in MAAS, tagging them and using these tags as constraints in the model.\n(string) RBD pool to use with Nova libvirt RBDImageBackend. Only required when you have libvirt-image-backend set to 'rbd'.\n(boolean) Optionally restrict Ceph key permissions to access pools as required.\n(string) Rabbitmq vhost.\n(int) Amount of memory in MB to reserve for the host. Defaults to 512MB.\n(string) Set to a named libvirt CPU model (see names listed in /usr/share/libvirt/cpu_map.xml). Only has effect if cpu_mode='custom' and virt_type='kvm|qemu'.\n(boolean) Enable debug logging.\n(string) Username for database access.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7150745391845703}
+{"content": "Προσλάβετε τους καλύτερους Ειδικοί Chef\n\nΟι 6 Κορυφαίοι Ειδικοί Chef Που Προσελήφθησαν Αυτόν Τον Μήνα\n\n  • Εικόνα Προφίλ του/της tranngocanh1702\n    Freelancer σε TX Thu Dau Mot, Vietnam\n    149 Αξιολογήσεις\n\n    My Expertise: - PHP: Wordpress, WooCommerce - PHP framework: Laravel, Slim, CodeIgniter - Front-end: HTML, CSS, Javascript, jQuery, Ajax - Java Spring MVC, Maven, Spring security, Tomcat - App, game Development: cross-platform (Android + iOS) - NodeJS - MySQL, Mongodb - Restful - AWS - Javascript - CSS - Photoshop\n\n    Προσλάβετέ Με\n  • Εικόνα Προφίλ του/της patilmahadev\n    Freelancer σε Pune, India\n    6 Αξιολογήσεις\n\n    Red Hat Certified Engineer & System Administrator currently working on: Amazon Web Services, Opscode Chef, Docker, Terraform, Corporate Training, Cloud Security, Agile Methodologies, Git, Jenkins, CI/CD.\n\n    Προσλάβετέ Με\n  • Εικόνα Προφίλ του/της kasungeethaka\n    Freelancer σε Kandy, Sri Lanka\n    11 Αξιολογήσεις\n\n    More than 3 year experince as a DevOps/CloudOps Enginner, Have experience working with AWS ,Openstack , RightScale ,Docker ,Kubernetes ,Chef , Puppet , Ansible , Jenkins ,Go , Python ,Linux ,Windows ,MySql , MongoDB ,Cassandra , NodeJS , ReactJS , Go\n\n    Προσλάβετέ Με\n  • Εικόνα Προφίλ του/της rishikhuranasufi\n    Freelancer σε Yamuna Nagar, India\n    3 Αξιολογήσεις\n\n    Skills and Technologies worked upon: 1: Expert level knowledge in Java, Ruby, Python, Selenium \"Web driver + Cucumber\". 2: DevOps --> In depth knowledge of : a. CI/CD of whole system. a. Chef server, chef-client. b. Jenkins setup and 'Developed own plugins'. c. Automated rack cloud machines...\n\n    Προσλάβετέ Με\n  • Εικόνα Προφίλ του/της dkokmadis\n    Freelancer σε Athens, Greece\n    218 Αξιολογήσεις\n\n    A Linux Administrator with 5+ years of expertise in RedHat based distros and OpenVZ based virtualization systems.\n\n    Προσλάβετέ Με\n  • Εικόνα Προφίλ του/της davidjpina\n    Freelancer σε Ciudad Bolívar, Venezuela\n    1 Αξιολογήσεις\n\n    +10 years of experience in Technologies and Information Systems with solid values ​​and principles, a dynamic, evolutionary and influential personality that generates confidence in clients, suppliers and collaborators. As an IT freelance consultant I am able to provide a wide knowledge in consulting and IT...\n\n    Προσλάβετέ Με\n\nΒρίσκοντας Ειδικοί Chef στο Freelancer\n\nSo, you’re on the lookout for a Chef?  Great!  But, this is not where you’re going to find a typical Chef, I'm afraid.  The kind of Chef Expert we are referring to is a little different to your knife-mincing, sieve-shaking and vegetable-dicing professional.\n\nWhile our Chef Expert does deal with recipes, they are of the computer variety and not the take-two-cups-of-sugar type. A Chef Expert, in the world of computer software configuration, is very highly skilled and deals with highly complex computer lingo and code.\n\nChef software was designed to allow the user to write a ‘recipe’ on how they want a certain application to run and the Chef software would take all the desired recipes, collate them into a usable ‘cookbook’ and ensure they all run according to how they were meant to run. Seems simple, but in fact the professional that understands how the Chef software works and can install, manage and configure the desired ‘recipes’, needs to have a certain skill set. Looking into hiring a Chef Expert? Why not hire an expert from Freelancer.com?  \n\nOne of the areas your Chef Expert needs to be compliant in:\n\n  • Installing and implementing Chef software onto your server and ensuring that the system works with your existing platform\n  • Ensuring the space available on your server is sufficient to run Chef\n  • Setting up Chef so the language of choice, either Ruby or Erlang can be easily infiltrated  (Ruby and Erlang are the types of language code that Chef uses)\n  • Taking your ‘recipe’ or ‘recipes’ and introducing them to Chef so that it is easily read and understood by the software\n  • Ensuring that Chef configures the ‘recipes’ into a readable and correctly laid out ‘cookbook’, thereby allowing the flow of the system\n  • Setting up tasks so that they run automatically in the Chef system\n  • Taking specific business policies and aligning these with your resources\n  • Scaling applications\n  • Ensuring that the setup of the Chef software allows certain recipes to run only when there isn’t a duplication or an out of date version\n\n\nIf you’re looking for a solution for your Chef needs or if you are looking to trial a freelancer to see if they provide the levels of expertise you are looking for, using a platform such as Freelancer.com is a fantastic option.\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9653230905532837}
+{"content": "“Should I Invest or Save?”\n\nShould I Invest or Save?An easy question, not.  First, I need to know your time horizon.  If it is short, save.  The bank will invest your money, and you will get a little back from it.  Second, I need to know who you are?\n\nIs it possible that you will need the money in six months?  Do you have three months of expenses saved?  If not, save, don’t take the chance on investing.\n\nInvesting is for those that can take losses.  Even if your goal is long term, I would have to ask how important it is to achieve your goals.  The higher the importance, the greater the funding need.  Fund assuming that returns in the market will be positive, but poor.  If the goal isn’t that important, contribute less, and assume a higher return on assets.\n\nThe main idea here is that you should invest more for goals that you care a lot about, because those goals will be achieved, most likely.  Goals that rely on high asset returns are not likely to be achieved.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9985036253929138}
+{"content": "LESSON XXVIII: Contract Verbs in αω in the Indicative.\n\nContract Verbs in αω in the Indicative\n\n268. Two successive vowels, or a vowel and a diphthong, within a word, may be united by CONTRACTION in a single long vowel or a diphthong.\n\n269. Verbs in αω, εω, and οω contract the final α, ε, ο of the verb stem with the following vowel or diphthong in the present and imperfect.\n\n270. Learn the conjugation of the present and imperfect indicative active, middle, and passive of τῑμάω, honor.\n\n\nPresent Active Indicative of τῑμάω\nFirst Person Singular(τῑμάω) τῑμῶ\nSecond Person Singular(τῑμάεις) τῑμᾷς\nThird Person Singular(τῑμάει) τῑμᾷ\nSecond Person Dual(τῑμάετον) τῑμᾶτον\nThird Person Dual(τῑμάετον) τῑμᾶτον\nFirst Person Plural(τῑμάομεν) τῑμῶμεν\nSecond Person Plural(τῑμάετε) τῑμᾶτε\nThird Person Plural(τῑμάουσι) τῑμῶσι\nPresent Middle and Passive Indicative of τῑμάω\nFirst Person Singular(τῑμάομαι) τῑμῶμαι\nSecond Person Singular(τῑμάει) τῑμᾷ\nThird Person Singular(τῑμάεται) τῑμᾶται\nSecond Person Dual(τῑμάεσθον) τῑμᾶσθον\nThird Person Dual(τῑμάεσθον) τῑμᾶσθον\nFirst Person Plural(τῑμαόμεθα) τῑμώμεθα\nSecond Person Plural(τῑμάεσθε) τῑμᾶσθε\nThird Person Plural(τῑμάονται) τῑμῶνται\nImperfect Active Indicative of τῑμάω\nFirst Person Singular(ἐτίμαον) ἐτίμων\nSecond Person Singular(ἐτίμαες) ἐτίμᾱς\nThird Person Singular(ἐτίμαε) ἐτίμᾱ\nSecond Person Dual(ἐτῑμάετον) ἐτῑμᾶτον\nThird Person Dual(ἐτῑμαέτην) ἐτῑμάτην\nFirst Person Plural(ἐτῑμάομεν) ἐτῑμῶμεν\nSecond Person Plural(ἐτῑμάετε) ἐτῑμᾶτε\nThird Person Plural(ἐτίμαον) ἐτίμων\nImperfect Middle and Passive Indicative of τῑμάω\nFirst Person Singular(ἐτῑμαόμην) ἐτῑμώμην\nSecond Person Singular(ἐτῑμάου) ἐτῑμῶ\nThird Person Singular(ἐτῑμάετο) ἐτῑμᾶτο\nSecond Person Dual(ἐτῑμάεσθον) ἐτῑμᾶσθον\nThird Person Dual(ἐτῑμαέσθην) ἐτῑμάσθην\nFirst Person Plural(ἐτῑμαόμεθα) ἐτῑμώμεθα\nSecond Person Plural(ἐτῑμάεσθε) ἐτῑμᾶσθε\nThird Person Plural(ἐτῑμάοντο) ἐτῑμῶντο\n\nNotes on the Formation of Contract Verbs in αω in the Indicative\n\n271. Observe that\n\n(1) α + ο, ου, or ω = ω; α + ε = ᾱ; α + ει = ᾳ.\n\n272. A contracted syllable is accented if either of the original syllables had an accent. A contracted penult or antepenult is accented regularly (21, 22). A contracted final syllable is circumflexed; but if the original word was oxytone (25), the acute is retained.\n\n273. A verb is called a vowel verb, a mute verb, or a liquid verb, according to the final letter of its stem. This may be a vowel, a mute, or a liquid (λ μ ν ρ).\n\n274. Most stems ending in a short vowel lengthen this vowel in all tenses except the present and imperfect, α or ε to η, and ο to ω; but α after ε, ι, or ρ generally becomes ᾱ.\n\nThus, τῑμάω, τῑμήσω, ἐτίμησα, τετίμηκα, τετίμημαι, ἐτῑμήθην.\n\n\n854. The genitive may denote the time within which anything takes place. Thus, ὡρμᾶτο τῆς νυκτός, he set out in the night,ταῦτα τῆς ἡμέρᾱς ἐγένετο, this happened during the day.\n\n835. An accusative in certain expressions has the force of an adverb. Thus, τὰ πάντα νῑκῶσι, they are completely victorious, τί δεῖ αὐτοὺς λύειν τὴν γέφῡραν, why need they destroy the bridge?\n\n812. An attributive adjective, or equivalent expression, which qualifies a noun with the article, commonly stands between the article and the noun. But the noun with the article may be followed by the adjective with the article repeated; here the first article is sometimes omitted. Thus, ἡ Ἑλληνικὴ φυλακή, or ἡ φυλακὴ ἡ Ἑλληνική, or φυλακὴ ἡ Ἑλληνική, the Greek garrison, ἡ εἰς τὸ πεδίον εἰσβολή, or ἡ εἰσβολή ἡ εἰς τὸ πεδίον, or εἰσβολὴ ἡ εἰς τὸ πεδίον, the pass leading into the plain.\n\n866. The dative is used to denote cause, manner, and means or instrument. Thus, φιλίᾳ καὶ εὐνοίᾳ ἐβοήθουν αὐτῷ, they helped him because of their friendship and good will, πορεύονται κύκλῳ, they advance in a circle, αὐτοὺς φοβοῦσι τῇ κραυγῇ, they frighten them by their uproar, diabaqinoysi πλοίοις, they cross in boats, βούλεται ἡμῖν χρῆσθαι, he wishes to use (i.e. serve himself by) us, γένει προσήκει βασιλεῖ, in family he is related to the king.\n\n\nβοάω, βοήσομαι, ἐβόησαshout, call out, cry out.\nεἰconj., if, whether (a proclitic).\nἐρωτάω, ἐρωτήσω etc., ask a question, inquire.\nνῑκάω, νῑκήσω, etc, (cf. νίκη)conquer, surpass, be victorious.\nΞενοφῶν, ῶντος, ὁXenophon, an Athenian, author of the Anabasis.\nὁρμάω, ὁρμήσω etc., set in motion, rush; mid., set out or forth, start.\nπολλάκιςadv., often, frequently.\nτῑμάω, τῑμήσω, etc. (cf. ἀ-τῑμάζω)value, esteem, honor.\n\n\n1. ἐνῑκᾶτε τοὺς μετὰ Κύρου φύλακας.\n2. νῑκώμεθα ὑπὸ τῶν Κιλίκων.\n3. ὁ δὲ Ξενοφῶν αὐτὸν ἡρώτᾱ, “Τί (why) βοᾷς;”\n4. Κῦρος δὲ ὡρμᾶτο ἀπὸ τῆς κώμης τῆς νυκτὸς1 μετὰ Ξενοφῶντος.\n5. οἱ ἀμφὶ Κῦρον λέγουσιν ὅτι τὰ πάντα2 νῑκῶσι.\n6. Κῦρος Κλέαρχον πολλάκις ἐτετῑμήκει· πάντας γὰρ τοὺς ἀγαθοὺς εἰς πόλεμον ἐτίμᾱ.\n7. ἐρωτᾷ εἰ καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις στρατιώταις αἱ σπονδαί εἰσιν.\n8. οὗτοι οἱ στρατιῶται ἐνίκων τοὺς Θρᾷκας.\n9. ἐν τοῖς Πέρσαις οἱ γέροντες τῑμῶνται.\n10. καὶ εὐθὺς τῷ Κλεάρχῳ ἐβόᾱ ἄγειν τὸ στράτευμα κατὰ μέσον τὸ3 τῶν πολεμίων.\n\nNOTES.—1 Genitive of the time within which (854).—2 Adverbial accusative (835), are completely victorious.3 Note the position of the article (812). —4 Use the dative (866).—5 Use the imperfect.\n\n278. The Speech of Clearchus, and its Effect.\n\n“ἄνδρες (fellow) στρατιῶται, ἐμοὶ ξένος ἐστὶν ὁ Κῦρος καὶ πολλάκις ἤδη τετίμηκε. βούλομαι οὖν συμπορεύεσθαι αὐτῷ. ἐπεὶ δὲ ὑμεῖς ἐμοὶ οὐκ ἐθέλετε πείθεσθαι, ἐγὼ σὺν ὑμῖν ἕψομαι· ὑμεῖς γὰρ ἐμοί ἐστε καὶ φίλοι καὶ σύμμαχοι.”\n\nταῦτα ἔλεξεν. οἱ δὲ στρατιῶται οἵ τε αὐτοῦ ἐκείνον καὶ οἱ ἄλλοι ἐπαινοῦσι· παρὰ δὲ τῶν ἄλλων στρατηγῶν δισχίλιοι ἔχοντες τὰ ὅπλα καὶ τὰ σκευοφόρα στρατοπεδεύονται παρὰ Κλέαρχον.\n\nNOTES.—1. ἐμοί: dative of the first personal pronoun ἐγώ, I (Latin ego). For the case, see 862.—3. ὑμεῖς: you (plural), genitive ὑμῶν, dative ὑμῖν, accusative ὑμᾶς.—4. ἕψομαι: future of ἕπομαι, follow—7. ἐπαινοῦσι: by contraction for ἐπαινέουσι, from ἐπαινέω, praise.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9603666067123413}
+{"content": "Article Text\n\n\nIncorporating data into global burden of disease method to assess national burden of road traffic injuries in Thailand\n  1. V Ditsuwan1,2,\n  2. JL Veerman2,\n  3. J Barendregt2,\n  4. M Bertram2,\n  5. T Vos2\n  1. 1Faculty of Health and Sports Science, Thaksin University, Phatthalung, Thailand; 2The University of Queensland, School of Population Health, Brisbane, Australia\n\n\n    Background Conducting a burden of road traffic injuries (RTIs) in developing countries is difficult due to the paucity and inconsistency of data.\n\n    Objectives This study aims to assess the burden of RTI in Thailand with a focus on long-term disability and examine the effect of replacing Global Burden of Disease (GBD) assumptions with data from Thailand.\n\n    Methods We used methods developed for the GBD to quantify burden of RTIs. We used two alternative sets of data on the proportions of injuries that go on to suffer long-term disability and the weights thereof: the diagnosis-specific values used in original GBD and aggregate values based on new data derived from a study in Thailand (Thai model). To evaluate changes over time, we also calculated burden of RTIs in 1999 using the method and assumptions that were used in 2004.\n\n    Results The total loss of disability-adjusted life years due to RTIs was 673 000 (95% uncertainty interval [UI]: 546 000–881 000). Mortality contributed 88% of this burden. The use of local data, in Thai model, led to a significantly higher estimate of the burden of long-term disability due to RTIs (74 000 DALYs [95% UI 55 400–88 500] vs 43 000 [42 700–43 600]) compared to using the GBD assumptions. However, this difference constitutes only a small proportion of the total burden.\n\n    Conclusions The burden of RTI in 2004 remained at the same high level as in 1999. The use of local data on the long-term consequences of RTI enabled a more valid estimate of this burden and its uncertainty.\n\n    Statistics from\n\n    Request permissions\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9998487830162048}
+{"content": "GARD Pro Not Registered\n\nI am sure if you are reading this you have been wondering what happened between Rune and I.\n\nJust two months ago, I was engaged and then out of nowhere I am in an open relationship with a new guy.\n\nThis blog will be a summary and exploration of what happened in Rune and I’s relationship and the current dynamics in my life at this time.\n\nGARD Pro Not Registered\n\nJust to give you a quick preface, this situation as an empath has been my worst nightmare. The universe is so multifaceted and mirroring that anything that is held within your consciousness will be exposed into the physical to be enacted. First there is a vibrational note: a thought, then it turns to feeling, then externalises and ripples into your environment to be experienced.\n\nWhether you hold a dream in your mind or your worst nightmare, all aspects of those currents will be moved into reality. Any untruth will be placed in front of you through what appears to be separate from you, to be unveiled and pierced to reveal the light. And if you are open then your reality will be ripped open, burned away, so that the brightest representation of God can be embodied through you in this lifetime.\n\nThe idea of breaking a heart or hurting someone’s feelings has been my biggest fear throughout my life because I can feel others’ emotions so deeply. Seeing someone else in pain I can often completely feel their full range of emotions; with them, as them. Now to even imagine being the one inflicting the pain is so unbearable. Although I cringed at the unfolding of these events this situation has turned into the most ecstatic embodiment of my dreams I could have ever imagined.\n\nWho would have ever imagine that I would find the closest representation of my soul group two weeks before I planned to get married to what I believed to be the love of my life?\n\nSoul groups or soul families may come from different backgrounds, bloodlines and cultures but hold the same life mission imprint or calling in life, similar energy imprints. On top of this mission is also the means of how they go about offering this gift or essence in the world. Although there is no difference between any of us in the highest dimension, human beings have core vibratory signatures each a stream of the one infinite. We each choose to hone in on this essence and this gives each being a specific “feel” about them. Some may feel more earthy, some cosmic, some a mixture.\n\nEntering into the dissolution of my reality all started with doing a manifestation practice. I laid down on my bed closed my eyes and created one of the biggest waves or energy imprints, the truest picture of embodiment of self I have ever placed into the field. I pictured myself and felt myself completing embodying my mission here and what that would feel like. Completely clearing my vessel to this realm in the highest way possible. After the manifestation practice, visions I had back in February of this year started flooding back in. I saw the planetary grid being ignited, vortexes pulsing, electromagnetic surges dancing across our ozone layer and grounding into Earth’s atmosphere and humanity itself. I started planning The Lion’s Gate Global Meditation and in a dream the first person who came to me about this project collaboration was Bentinho Massaro, a spiritual teacher of non-duality.\n\nI put out a status on Facebook to see if anyone knew how to get in contact with him. Bridget Nielsen, my new soul sister from Sedona, responded saying she knew of his assistant’s email and she would pass on a letter I had written about the project. I didn’t hear from Bentinho for almost two weeks around the beginning of May because of his engagement with The Sedona Experiment. Then he invited both Bridget and I to his place to hear more about the project. We arrived after a dusty red rumble down a long dirt trail amongst the labyrinth of the Sedona vortexes. “Welcome to Heaven”, he said walking down the sunlight laced terrace with his open arms inviting us in each with a hug and a warm smile.\n\nHe was different than I had imagined. I did not know much about Bentinho Massaro other than his influence and ability to proliferate any reality he wanted into physical existence. So different from many spiritual teachers who live minimalistically, his philosophy seemed liberating and expansive. I expected him to be rigid and inaccessible. He was a combination of strength and softness, wisdom and innocence.\n\nFirst seeing him I didn’t have any romantic feelings or attraction but his field was so strong it was overwhelming and intriguing to me. I immediately felt a desire to work together in some form. After he had finished swimming he listened to my presentation and then shortly after Rune and Bridget’s partner Patrick, joined the gathering along with a few more of Bentinho’s friends.\n\nI remember staring into Bentinho’s eyes at some point at the gathering and feeling this vast emptiness, a magnetic pull into the void of space and time. I remember thinking,” He must be lonely being able to feel and see so many differing densities with no one to share it with.” I couldn’t shake the feeling, like he was one of the most profoundly lonely people I had ever met and he didn’t deserve to be. Somehow this vortex of curiosity and care opened in my heart for him. I felt like I knew the place he perceived the world through.  \n\nThe four of us (Bridget, Patrick, Rune and I) stayed at Bentinho’s for a few hours and then gathered afterwards at Bridget and Patrick’s house. Afterward Rune and I drove back home to Phoenix. That night while asleep in bed with Rune, I had a dream similar to what people describe as an ayahuasca journey. All of my dream started blending into a rainbow myriad of fractals constantly enfolding into one another. I felt all of the experiences I had ever had, all of the emotions in my entire life blending into that fractalized mandala.\n\nHave you ever had a dream when you dream of falling and right before you hit the ground you wake up? This was a similar feeling. I woke up at around 1am in an instant, breathing heavy with this strange feeling as if Bentinho was in my room but also even stranger as if he was looking through my eyes. It has been the one of the most intense psychic experiences I have ever had to date. I needed to write him, spirit was letting me know.\n\nI slipped out of bed, grabbed my phone with the intention of being a friend that was not afraid of being completely honest and transparent. All my life I have felt this overflowing feeling of love toward those who feel like they don’t fit in; the wanders, the black sheep and the odd man out. I feel like I have the ability to help people who find it hard to assimilate here on Earth. I wasn’t sure if anyone in his community would tell him this or ask about it.\n\n“How could someone who teaches others how to become everything in creation feel alone?”, I thought to myself.  The curiosity consumed me, I needed to find out if what I was feeling was true. I needed to find the reason for this insatiable energetic magnetism between he and I. Why were our realities blending?\n\nMy fingers seemed to fly over all the letters on my phone keyboard as I texted in a wild fury, “ I can feel your channel to source is strong and that you can deeply sense the subtle currents of life! So beautiful to witness. I hope this isn’t too probing or penetrating, after all we did just meet but I have to say that I felt in your field some sadness or loneliness, these aren’t the right words in particular but close to it. This was very subtle but I can feel your heart is evolving in some way or that it is going through some sort of evolution.”\n\nHe replied,” Thank you. Yes, loneliness is a profound part of my experience. It’s not sad though but the sadness you picked up I do understand what you sense. It comes from a combination of subtle balances. I can tell you more about it some day in depth in person. It would require more knowledge to be shared of my journey and the states I experience.”\n\nEvery night for about four nights, I would wake up at around the same time with these same intense feelings, the same psychedelic dreams. Bentinho and I continued to feel each other in the field and the potency was starting to compound. Rune being so connected to me as well was feeling the shift, he and I started having conversations about how to go about exploring this energy dynamic between Bentinho and I. I was determined that I had found the love of my life in Rune and was confident at the time about feeling the purity of alignment in the soul mission I had with Bentinho. I completely and wholeheartedly believed we were only supposed to work to together because Bentinho and I’s soul essences were so similar but our lifestyles were so different.\n\nWhere Rune and I shared a combination connection in the cosmic or Astral realm and the Earthly realm, it was always a challenge for me to meet Rune in the density at which he chooses to operate in the physical plane. This density is what gives him the ability to see illness in others and morph the elements to heal people’s bodies, including mine. Where we met was a dense and rich Earthly-Astral terrain that allowed for his essence to heal my vessel, my womb on a deep level through sexual energy and physical touch.\n\nAlthough, there was so much emphasis on making love being the entrance way into karmic release and merging with God or the Divine, that anytime that Rune and I were not touching each other or in sexual union there was a lapse in the astral union or soul connection that would express as a subtle frustration. I could not quite meet him in my everyday reality and because of this we argued continuously for five months before I met Bentinho, mostly about how I was in the astral too much and how I needed to integrate more into physical reality. All of my energy instead of focusing on my mission was going into making the relationship work and since I am a mission-based being, I felt like I was physically dying, constantly getting sick and my body going through extreme changes but I could not figure out why.\n\nBentinho and I started talking about the nature of the mutual pull we both felt, we talked about me working with him and also having a non-sexual soul merger exploration. He explained that  the highest form of energy information exchange between two beings is through a polarity. The polarity creates a distinct magnetism that is often mistaken as sexual attraction but the magnetism arises when an exchange of any sort of healing or completion is called into the field between two beings to understand themselves as more complete or one with God, as God.\n\nRune and I had a conversation about Bentinho and I having time, just the two of us, to sync into this cocreative space that had been emerging. Rune being as courageous and intuitive as he is, hesitantly agreed and then claimed the day for himself. Rune decided while Bentinho and I would meet up, he would go to Thunder Mountain in Sedona to perform a ceremony to invoke more of his soul expansion and abundance.\n\nThe three of us had lunch together, crying in gratitude for Rune’s understanding, I hugged Rune with all my love and then got into Bentinho’s mustang and headed to his house. As we speed through the winding red rocks with the roof down, the wind whipping through my hair, I felt again the potency of Bentinho’s field. I wasn’t allowing myself to feel any sexual interest but the interest in who he was as a being was all-consuming. I was completely surrendered and enamoured by his presence. I wanted to know what lense of perception he viewed the world through to make him feel so incredibly expansive and powerfully penetrative yet completely vulnerable and open-hearted.\n\nWe arrived at his house and sat down in his living room on this lush couch with what seemed like hundreds of pillows immersed in the color of red terra cotta, the light streamed in through the windows making particles in the air dance. I sat across from him, the warmth of the sun hitting my face and as I peered into the vastness of his etheric blue eyes, there was a peace that I had only felt in a time when I transcended my body that washed over my entire system. We stared into eachother’s eyes and time seemed to completely disappear. Without a word spoken we stared for more than two hours straight. It felt like my physical body had completely dissolved and that we had entered a transcended state where we were the entire universe as one.\n\nWhen I left, there was a huge feeling of disorientation, like I had been offered two alternate realities and needed to make a choice. All I knew was that I still wanted to be with Rune because of my love for him but I had never experienced being so close with someone before in my entire life.\n\nA few days later we were invited to a birthday party for three of Bentinho’s team members at his house in Sedona again. We decided to go the night before so the three of us could talk more about the dynamic.  I will never forget this night, as the three of us soaked in Bentinho’s hot tub we looking up at one of the clearest skies I have ever seen since New Zealand. Shooting stars streamed almost endlessly across the sky as we all spoke.  \n\nIt was time to get real in our communications. Bentinho expressed his reluctance to do so because of the ripple effects he could sense his observations could and most likely would have on the existing structure of Rune and I’s lives. He said he always feels honored by, as well as resistance to the times where the Universe puts him in a position where he seems to be the only person to see what’s missing or what is redundant about a certain dynamic which carries importance for the outcomes of the lives involved. He shared that one of the strongest laws he goes by in his work is to not infringe upon another’s’ free will. Being put in a position where the clarity is asked to come through his perception, expressed through his mouth, causing effects in the lives of others is always a dubious position for him and the human part in him still occasionally has a difficult time being Shiva, the destroyer of worlds and illusions, in these situations even when he knows that the calling to be a channel for something to be seen by the people involved is pure and true.\n\nRune responded that he welcomed the honesty and that Bentinho can feel free to speak what he sees. This seemed to help Bentinho settle into what he was about to share, since Rune’s free will clearly spoke that the information was welcomed.\n\nAnd so, reluctantly and with great care and with a sort of playfulness at times, Bentinho explained to Rune and I how he could see that Rune’s essence and mind were very physically grounded compared to mine. He added that Rune had offered me a great amount of physical healing but that because of my love for Rune even if I was hurting because I was not being met in the etheric realms, I would never choose to leave Rune because of my loyalty to our union.\n\nBentinho shared that he saw that my soul’s origin and mission were somehow coming from an incredibly high place, its execution in this world being of great value and importance, and that it would take me much longer to fully express my soul mission–my True Self–and consequently support millions if I chose to stay with Rune because I was changing my belief structure on how to manifest to fit Rune’s design and not my own. He said that although it would be possible for Rune and I’s dynamic to change to the point where this soul stream of benefit would be able to come through me and my relationship to Rune, it would be highly improbable because both have such essentially distinct orientations energetically.\n\nThe effort of changing one another’s path just out of attachment to a relationship or comfort would be a waste of precious life force. He did not at this stage insinuate that him and I should be together instead, but did say that he could provide the environment both energetically and physically that could first heal and then support and empower my essence to come through into the physical very rapidly, which he seemed to believe was invaluable to the planet at this time of great transition. He said that because he sees and knows so clearly where I come from, that he could see the things and belief systems in my life currently out of alignment with that higher parallel version of myself.\n\nThis was a hard pill to swallow for both Rune and I, there was this eerie resonance with what Bentinho was saying for both of us, like we had always known at some level but unwilling to shine a light on it too much out of fear of losing the relationship and hurting each other. And although we both wouldn’t accept it fully yet after this hot tub chat, the first chip in our romantic illusion had been made.\n\nThe birthday party itself was even more intense. The trajectory of dissolvement was speeding up. After days of going back and forth between two very distinct parallel realities and versions of myself, I felt like I needed to slow down the acceleration of it all! I decided that I needed space from both Bentinho and Rune, I told them both that I was going to spend a week with Rune without any communication to Bentinho and then a week completely to myself.\n\nWithin two days into this agreement Rune and I decided to drive to Sedona. We went to our favorite place to eat Chocolatree and as we entered the magical garden in the back of the restaurant around the corner sitting in lotus position was Bentinho. My heart jumped, I immediately felt pulled between Rune and Bentinho again. Rune and I were meeting with a few friends from Sedona. After spending time with friends, Rune decided to go talk to Bentinho, they talked for two hours. Bentinho offered for us to stay the night at his house again because we didn’t complete everything Rune and I had original came to do.\n\nWe both ended up staying for two nights and within that time, I finally started purging old false beliefs that had been causing me to feel like I was physically dying. It started becoming too confronting for Rune and I. Rune decided he would go to San Francisco and give me a week to stay with Bentinho to figure out what I wanted.\n\nI felt like terrible person staying but there was a subtle form of relief from the constant pressure that gave me the ability to relax into the unfolding. I slept separate in the guest bedroom and every day and night for three days I cried endlessly exploring what my higher self and my heart were wanting me to do. Although there was the chaos of becoming my worst nightmare, it was slowly starting to become more and more apparent that I was holding onto an idea of what Rune and I’s relationship was and not the reality of the situation. The more I loosened my grip on picking the reality with Rune just to be the “good guy” the more I saw how much pain and suffering I had been experiencing for the past five months just out of love to make it work with Rune. I began to see that if I chose a decision to be with Rune purely to not hurt him, that was the most selfish thing I could do because it was not authentic to my higher self which is ultimately the connection point of all things, all of creation.\n\nAs soon as I saw this my heart broke into what felt like a thousand shards and turned into itself like a black hole vortex. Like being sucked into a black hole, my current reality was being disintegrated, torn apart and reformed. I mourned and moaned as the pain ripped through my entire system, so deeply it felt like it was seeping into the depths of my bones, the core of my being. I was breaking all ties, all agreements, concepts and ideas about my reality with Rune, all timelines were being wiped and realigned. Rune and I felt each other in the field without a word we decided on the same day to break the physical and karmic bond together. We connected the next day and talked about everything.\n\nRune two weeks after this decision to go separate ways decided to move back to Holland to be with his family and create a solid foundation for his work. Rune and I are still in communication but Rune also takes space when he needs it. We are transforming and transmuting this with love and forgiveness.\n\nWith an invitation from Bentinho, Kane and I have moved into his house in Sedona. I had quantum leaped into a new reality. I literally felt like a different person, one who had been missing for years. I had been returned back to my original innocence and was given the space to expand into that essence. How would people ever be able to understand this jump into a parallel reality?\n\nMany people would and are going to call this “spiritual bypassing” or not understand this ability to jump realities because it is a rare ability to be able to do seamlessly with no “rubber band effect” or karmic backlash. But it is my opinion and observation that our perceptions and beliefs structure our reality. Therefore if a false belief is eradicated that has been generating a specific reality, replaced instead by an empowering belief with complete clarity and intention for the highest good for all, then the old way of being or reality can be shifted in an instant rather than needing months or years of processing with karmic cycling.\n\n“If you can change your belief system instantly you jump on another grid, where you are the new person with a new belief system. And you don’t suffer from the ‘past you’.” – Bashar\n\nI will have to write another article about my current reality and trajectory that has been created. So much has happened within myself in this divine union and acceleration with Bentinho. For example, I am writing this after an incredible trip to Europe where I was in service to many along side Bentinho. I have never felt so in love and aligned in my entire life. My purpose and mission in life has been reignited. I am open, clear and ready to be of the highest service to humanity.\n\nIf you are curious about Bentinho and I’s co-creations check out our The Lion’s Gate Retreat in Sedona this August 6th to the 9th or read Bentinho’s blog “The Ultimate Marriage” about our divine union and merging!\n\nGARD Pro Not Registered", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9631205201148987}
+{"content": "University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign\n\nLesson 7: What does planarian regeneration tell us about human regeneration?\n\nThis lesson is part of the unit:\n\nLesson Description:\n\nIn this lesson, students use what they have learned throughout the unit, including their models of cell division, to explain the importance of studying planarians and how it can help scientists understand human diseases and biological processes.  Students are presented with a scenario, where a family member has read an article in the local newspaper about the discovery of several genes in the planarian that control the migration and division of stem cells.  This begins a conversation where the student explains to the family member why this discovery is important and what implications it has for human stem cell research.\n\nMaterials last updated:\n\nJan 11, 2016\n\nLesson materials:\n\nPlease create an account or log in to access our free materials.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7481883764266968}
+{"content": "New generation of computers for coming superstorm of data\n\nAs embedded intelligence is finding its way into ever more areas of our lives, fields ranging from autonomous driving to personalized medicine are generating huge amounts of data. But just as the flood of data is reaching massive proportions, the ability of computer chips to process it into useful information is stalling.\n\nNow, researchers at Stanford University and MIT have built a new chip to overcome this hurdle. The results are published today in the journal Nature, by lead author Max Shulaker, an assistant professor of electrical engineering and computer science at MIT. Shulaker began the work as a PhD student alongside H.-S. Philip Wong and his advisor Subhasish Mitra, professors of electrical engineering and computer science at Stanford. The team also included professors Roger Howe and Krishna Saraswat, also from Stanford.\n\nComputers today comprise different chips cobbled together. There is a chip for computing and a separate chip for data storage, and the connections between the two are limited. As applications analyze increasingly massive volumes of data, the limited rate at which data can be moved between different chips is creating a critical communication “bottleneck.” And with limited real estate on the chip, there is not enough room to place them side-by-side, even as they have been miniaturized (a phenomenon known as Moore’s Law).\n\nTo make matters worse, the underlying devices, transistors made from silicon, are no longer improving at the historic rate that they have for decades.\n\nThe new prototype chip is a radical change from today’s chips. It uses multiple nanotechnologies, together with a new computer architecture, to reverse both of these trends.\n\nInstead of relying on silicon-based devices, the chip uses carbon nanotubes, which are sheets of 2-D graphene formed into nanocylinders, and resistive random-access memory (RRAM) cells, a type of nonvolatile memory that operates by changing the resistance of a solid dielectric material. The researchers integrated over 1 million RRAM cells and 2 million carbon nanotube field-effect transistors, making the most complex nanoelectronic system ever made with emerging nanotechnologies.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7249433994293213}
+{"content": "Junbeum KIM, Albina Yalaltdinova, Natalia Baranovskaya,\nEcotoxicity and Human Toxicity Impact Footprint in Urban System\nIndexed by\nUp to date, carbon footprint by transportation and energy consumptions are mainly studied at urban (and national) systems level. Eventhough air pollution and other significant emissions are rather well quantified and monitored in many cities, the ecotoxicity and human toxicity impact footprint should be studied more thoroughly. In this study, we analyzed the concentrations of chemical elements and calculated the ecotoxicity and human toxicity impact footprint by indusrial activities in Ust-Kamenogorsk city, located in East Kazakhstan. It is well known that plants, especially growing in the vicinity of industrial zones, can be easily and effectively used for environmental pollution biomonitoring, particularly in urban areas. For our study, leaves of poplar (Populus nigra L.) were chosen as a monitor to provide фт information on air pollution. In the selected 101 samples, the concentrations of 28 chemical elements were determined by neutron activation analysis. As an intermediate result, the sites and areas with abnormal contents of typomorphic pollutants have been revealed. Based on the quantified concentrations of chemical elements (Ag, As, Ba, Be, Co, Cr, Sb and Zn), ecotoxicity and human toxcity impact footprint were calculated per km2 of the territory surface (CTUh/km2; CTUeco/km2), using USEtox models. Finally, we could show (by mapping techniques) toxcity impact footprints in each sector and part of the city. Maps of total toxicity impact footprint (both for ecotoxicity and for human toxicity) were also constructed, which took into account the contribution of each calculated element (without considering antagonistic and synergistic effects). And we figured that these maps matched to Zn emission map, seeing its toxicity levels are about 95% of the total ones.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8867717981338501}
+{"content": "shadeofpale: (Default)\nshadeofpale ([personal profile] shadeofpale) wrote2017-04-16 09:52 pm\nEntry tags:\n\nfeeling nostalgic\n\nIt's been a while since my LJ days, but I couldn't ignore the desire to write again in that uninhibited way that I did back in the early 2000s. \n\nCommunity. It's missing from my public art-related wordpress blog. And over there I always feel as though my posts should be grand and completed constructions, when there are times when all I want to post is a fragment of poetry, of life, un-styled and immediate.\n\nAway from (too many) prying eyes.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9952895641326904}
+{"content": "The Tucson Unified School District is looking at redrawing its attendance boundaries in an effort to improve school integration.\n\nOptions being considered, for the most part, allow students to move from lower performing schools to higher achieving campuses. However, in a few instances, the opposite could occur.\n\nSeveral of the options include voluntary busing from between schools to achieve racial balance.\n\nThe boundary review is required under the district’s decades-old desegregation order, which calls for campuses to be integrated, meaning one racial or ethnic group may not exceed 70 percent of a school’s enrollment.\n\nA TUSD-formed boundary committee developed more than two dozen options, which were eventually narrowed down to these seven:Option 1: Provide transportation for students from certain racially concentrated schools to Howell and Sewell elementary schools. Schools from which students could be bused would have to have high-poverty student populations and low letter grades. The option would allow them to attend higher-performing schools while improving racial balance. The downside would be increased transportation costs, travel distances and the disproportionate travel burden on Hispanic children. The option applies to Lynn/Urquides, Maldonado, Manzo, Miller, Mission View, Tolson and Oyama.\n\n  • Option 2: Create a dual language program at Manzo Elementary School and provide transportation to draw in students from across the city, reducing the 86 percent Hispanic racial concentration at Manzo. This could also help improve academics at the school, which currently has a letter grade of C. Drawbacks of this option are Manzo has no room for additional students and it is questionable as to whether there is interest in such a program from non-Hispanic families to help integration. Students may need to travel a long distance and there is a disproportionate travel burden for non-Hispanics.\n  • Option 3: Create a shared attendance area that would allow students from C-rated Mansfeld Middle School to attend the nearby B-rated Roskruge K-8. The change could reduce racial concentration at Roskruge, but it would impact few students. Both schools are considered to be racially concentrated with 80 percent or more Hispanic students.\n  • Option 4: Move the high-performing Dodge Traditional Magnet Middle School into the now-closed Fort Lowell-Townsend campus, allowing for growth of the already-integrated school. The two campuses are only about one mile apart, however, the Fort Lowell-Townsend campus may need retrofitting.\n  • Option 5: Offer programming at Santa Rita and Cholla high schools allowing students to earn associates degrees while in high school. The campuses would also emphasize career and technical education opportunities. Both Cholla and Santa Rita are C-rated. The new programing could attract out-of-district students. It may, however, take three to five years to develop the program, and transportation could be a challenge for those who live far away. It is also unclear what impact the change would have on integration. Cholla is also overutilized. It is not known whether there would be fees associated with the classes or who would cover the cost.\n  • Option 6: Provide transportation options to serve Cholla, Pueblo, Palo Verde and Santa Rita high schools. This would allow students at Cholla and Pueblo, which are racially concentrated, to attend schools that are integrated — Palo Verde — or neutral — Santa Rita. The voluntary express route would require a long commute and it is unclear what impact the effort would have on integration.\n  • Option 7: Eliminate a shared attendance zone between Carrillo and Drachman, assigning students who live in the area to Carrillo only, and make Drachman an application-only magnet school.\n\nAn advisory and leadership team — which includes representatives from TUSD, the city of Tucson, community members, a demographer and a third-party consultant — has also been involved in the process, along with the desegregation plaintiffs and the special master — a court-appointed desegregation expert.\n\nThe options will likely be narrowed down based on community feedback and further research, including what the options mean for transportation, whether there is financial capacity to carry them out and if there is student interest, said TUSD Superintendent H.T. Sanchez.\n\nAdopted options would not go into effect until the 2015-2016 school year to allow for training and other planning.\n\n\nEducation writer for #ThisIsTucson. Mom of one.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7879945635795593}
+{"content": "Top 10 Tips for Watering Your Garden\n\nLike if this Guide is helpful\nTop 10 Tips for Watering Your Garden\n\nFor growing both a flower garden and a vegetable garden, water is an important component for maintaining luscious and beautiful plants. Adding too much water is sometimes just as detrimental as not giving the plants enough water. Acquiring the proper knowledge and tools for gardening can help gardeners determine the appropriate amount. By following a few simple tips for watering a garden, it is possible to conserve water, minimise garden work, and help plants thrive.\n\n\n1. Water when the temperature is cool\n\nCooler temperatures lead to less water evaporation from the garden. In general, early morning, late afternoon, and evening hours when the sun is not directly overhead are the best times to give plants water. However, gardeners should avoid watering plants at night because complete lack of evaporation encourages disease and fungal growth.\n\n\n2. Monitor the rainfall\n\nGardeners should keep track of the amount of rainfall in the garden and use this measurement as part of a watering plan. This helps conserve water and helps gardeners avoid overwatering. Measuring the centimetres of rainfall also helps gardeners determine if they still need to add more water even after a recent rain.\n\n\n3. Water before adding mulch\n\nMulch is a wonderful addition to a garden because it reduces surface runoff and limits the amount of evaporation from the soil. Soaking the soil before adding the first layer of mulch prevents the water from evaporating and encourages slow penetration to the roots so plants can acclimate to their home in the garden.\n\n\n4. Identify the type of soil in the garden\n\nThe type of soil in a garden affects how efficiently the water reaches the plants as well as how quickly the water drains away from the plants. By digging into the soil, gardeners can see if they have clay-laden, sandy, or another type of soil and adjust their watering and fertilising needs accordingly.\n\n\n5. Preserve soil moisture with compost\n\nGardeners can improve the soil's moisture-holding ability by adding organic matter or compost to the soil. This is especially useful for clay-laden soils because the clay draws moisture away from plants quickly. The compost holds onto the moisture and keeps it close to the plants so it is readily available to them when they need it.\n\n\n6. Take cues from the leaves\n\nBy watching the plant leaves, gardeners can determine if their plants need more water. Although many plants have a droopy or wilted appearance during high temperatures in the middle of the day, it is not always a sign that plants are thirsty. If plants do not bounce back on their own when the temperatures cool off, then gardeners can add more water to the weekly routine.\n\n\n7. Group plants with similar needs together\n\nGardeners can prevent overwatering or under-watering by grouping plants with similar needs together. For example, herbs generally thrive in drier soil, and too much water can drastically reduce their flavour. Planting them away from tomatoes, lettuce, and other water-guzzling plants helps conserve water and ensures heartier, tastier herbs.\n\n\n8. Use the right watering tools\n\nWith the right watering tools, gardeners ensure their plants get an adequate amount of water. Soaker hoses are popular choices because they allow slow and even watering for deep penetration into the soil. Sprinklers cover large areas to reduce watering time. Similarly, spray wands cover a large area while allowing users to target certain areas with more water as needed. Watering cans are portable for small plants.\n\n\n9. Know when to stop watering\n\nPlants need water to grow and thrive, but it is important for gardeners to know when the garden has had enough water. Generally speaking, gardens do not need more than 3 centimetres of water per week, and it is necessary to subtract the weekly rainfall from this amount.\n\n\n10. Create a watering plan\n\nFor efficient watering, gardeners should create a weekly watering plan. Watering plants twice per week is sufficient unless the garden is in a hot, dry climate. By keeping an eye on the forecast, gardeners can prevent overwatering and limit the amount of work needed to maintain a healthy garden.\n\n\nHow to buy gardening supplies on eBay\n\nFind a large selection of garden tools to grow beautiful plants by shopping on eBay. Enter keywords like \"garden hose\" or \"watering can\", into the search bar located on any page to begin. Specify a brand, model, or price to narrow the results and find items that match your needs. Find sellers located close to you and arrange for local pickup to save on postage costs. By following a few simple watering tips, you can minimise the amount of work needed in the garden while maintaining luscious plants.\n\nExplore more Guides", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5370236039161682}
+{"content": "The State Journal\n\nFrom acoustic sound egg chairs to internet accessible data creation stations, the Elbin Library welcomed technologies that will enhance the overall student research experience.\n\nWPFO 88.7: Avery Schneider\n\nAcross the room someone sits in the sound-egg which, from the outside, is silent. Inside, music can be heard playing from a tablet connected nearby.\n\nForbes: Houzz\n\nIf you or your kids are into gaming on the big screen, consider adding a set of gaming chairs that are ergonomically designed just for that use.\n\nubergizmo: George Wong\n\nDon’t you just get annoyed when you’re watching a movie and suddenly other people walk into the room and talk loudly, distracting you from the best parts?\n\nMid-West Technology\n\nAcousticom Corporation is excited to participate in this year’s International CES. We hold fond memories of CES as the launch pad for our very first consumer electronics product.\n\nPage 1 of 212", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5398950576782227}
+{"content": "BMX is a sport that is subdivided into several forms among which is the flatland and BMX. Flatland is what is artistic skating for skating, its name translates flatland flat land that is to perform tricks or stunts on bike without support feet on the ground, the tricks are free choice and the most rewards in this mode is the originality and the difficulty, the more convoluted and difficult to implement are the best tricks are valued practicantens. The origins: The sport was officially started in the 60s in the area of California and was inspired by motocross, a sport that already had many adherents at the time. The bike at the beginning of flatland: Due to its parent sport, motocross, ICICI in this mode uses very heavy bike and equipped with the rotor, turn the knob that allowed an unlimited amount without causing a tangle, front and rear brake wear was also indispensable. The bike today: Like everything else in the world that we live flatland has evolved and continues evolving like the bicycle manufacturing technique. Currently, bicycles are made much more free and curves that allow the practitioner to maneuver more easily. Currently not used the brakes but and there are many practitioners who prefer not having them at all, that to make even more difficult tricks and original. Attire: As with any sport it is necessary to adequately bester security and practical reasons. In many sports is the way of dress regulations in the flatland does not, however it is necessary to account for two aspects to the choice of clothing.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6017284393310547}
+{"content": "Think you guys are great. No problems. Easy. Thanks\n\nNancy Brewster, NY\n\nMore Testimonials »\n\n\nWord of the Day!\n\nslab construction\n\n\n\n\n\nPigment which is dispersed into a liquid, called a vehicle, which includes a binder to make it adhere both to itself and to the surface to which it is applied. Types of paint include tempera, watercolor, oil paint, gouache, enamel paint, encaustic, fresco, and secco.\n\nSee Also:  ink\n\n\nWorks of art made with paint on a surface. Often the surface, also called a support, is either a tightly stretched piece of canvas or a panel. How the ground (on which paint is applied) is prepared on the support depends greatly on the type of paint to be used. Also, the act of painting, which may involve a wide range of techniques and materials, along with the artist's other concerns which effect the content of a work.\n\n\nA private residence of grand architecture in Italy.\n\nExample: Giulo Romano's Palazzo del Te, Mantua, Italy, 1525-1535\n\n\nA slab of wood, metal, marble, ceramic, plastic, glass, or paper, sometimes with a hole for the thumb, which an artist can hold while painting and on which the artist mixes paint. Anything from ice trays to disposable paper or Styrofoam plates might be used as a palette. A pane of glass with a white piece of paper attached to its underside makes a fine palette. It's especially versatile because the color of the paper back can be made to match a painting's ground, making colors easier to choose. Cleanup of dried paints on such a palette can be done easily with a razor knife. The term palette may also refer to the range of colors used in a particular painting or by a particular artist. In Egyptian art, a slate slab, often decorated with sculpture in low relief. The largest ones were commemorative objects.\n\n\nOften refers to a wood, copper or other hard surface on which to paint. Sometimes it is referred to as board. Artists of the Gothic and Renaissance periods often painted on panels, at first with tempera, and later with oils, prepared beforehand with a layer of gesso. More recent artists have painted on panels too. Today, it may be a piece of a manufactured material such as Masonite.\n\nSee Also:  supportground\n\n\nA wide, unbroken view of an entire surrounding area. A picture or series of pictures representing a continuous scene, either displayed all at once, or exhibited one at a time by being unrolled and passed before the audience. Originally, it was a building specially designed to house colossal, circular murals. (pr. pa-no-ra'meh)\n\n\nA mass of interlaced cellulose fibers in sheet or roll form, used as a combination ground and support in drawing, watercolor and pastel painting, and the various graphic art techniques. Fine-arts papers are made of pulped linen and cotton rags; while lower quality, impermanent papers, such as newsprint, construction paper, and butcher paper, are made of wood pulp or a combination of wood pulp and cotton rag.\n\n\n\npapier mâché\n\nA material, made from paper pulp or shreds of paper mixed with resin, wallpaper paste, or flour and water (2:1 by volume), which can be molded or modeled into various shapes when wet and becomes hard and suitable for painting and varnishing when dry. To slow mold in wallpaper paste or flour and water paste, add 3 T sugar per gallon. Other substitutes (less likely to mold or mildew) are white glue and water, liquid starch and water, and methyl-cellulose paste and water (one 2 oz. package per gallon of water). Papier-mâché's permanence is relative of course, but its light weight, minimal expense and the ease of its making recommend it for many uses. Celluclay is a powdered paper product for making papier-mâché. It's a French word, literally meaning chewed-paper. The equivalent Italian term is carta pesta. It is known to have been used for low reliefs in Italy in the 15th century, and was occasionally popular in Europe for ornamental furniture, etc. (pr. American: paper mah-shay', French: pah\"pee-yay' mah-shay') Also see celluclay.\n\n\nA type of collage in which paper shapes are combined into one work of art. French, literally \"stuck paper.\" (pr. pah\"pee-yay' kahl-lay')\n\nparaffin (or paraffin wax)\n\n\n\n\nparting agent (or parting compound)\n\nSee release agent.\n\n\nRefers to a certain area of a painting or other work of art; a detail. It is often used to direct discussion to a transition from one color or tone to another, or to the use of a noteworthy technique in a section of a picture, or to an area overpainted by someone who was not the original painter.\n\n\nA mat or other border used to frame or mount a picture. Sometimes an adhesive tape or a gummed paper used to accomplish this.\n\n\nSee adhesives.\n\n\nPigments mixed with gum and pressed into a stick form for use as crayons. Works of art done with such pigments are referred to as pastels. Chalk is similar to pastel, but more tightly bound. (pr. pass-tell')\n\n\nA work of art made in admitted imitation of several styles of other works. A composition of incongruous parts; a hodgepodge or pasticcio. Often a pastiche is made in order to ridicule the style of the artist it imitates. (pr. pass-teesh')\n\n\nLow relief effects produced by the brushing or controlled dripping of gesso onto a rigid surface. Traditionally, this was either painted or water gilded. Medieval, Renaissance, and later painters and craftsmen used this technique on moldings and other decorations, as well as within painted pictures. (pr. pahs-tee'lee-ah)\n\n\nThickly painted.\n\nSee Also:  impasto\n\n\nA sheen or coloration on any surface, either unintended and produced by age or intended and produced by stimulation or simulation, which signifies the object's age; also called aerugo, aes ustum, and verdigris. Typically a thin layer of greens (sometimes reds or blues), usually basic copper sulfate, that forms on copper or copper alloys, such as bronze, as a result of oxidation and corrosion. Metal objects have naturally acquired patinas when long buried in soil or immersed in water. Such naturally formed patinas have come to be greatly prized. There are many formulae for the pickles and chemical treatments of metals which may be employed to encourage the formation of patinas. (pr. pah-tee'nah)\n\nSee Also:  allegory\n\n\nAn element of Classical architecture. The pediment is gable, or triangular-shaped and rests at the top of the building betweens the slops of the roof and above the colonnade.\n\nExample: Temple of Fortuna Virilus, Rome, Italy, late second to early first century, B.C.\n\n\nA thin skin or film, such as that which forms on oil paint as it dries.\n\n\nAn implement for drawing or writing, consisting of a thin rod of graphite, colored wax, chalk, charcoal, or another such substance which can be sharpened to a fine point, either encased in wood or held in a mechanical holder. Most common today are pencils which contain \"leads\" which are actually made of graphite, because actual lead is such a poisonous substance. Until this form was manufactured in the 19th century, the term pencil referred to small, pointed brushes, and penciling referred to a painter's draftsmanship.\n\n\nA ghost image in a painting or print that the artist did not intend. In the case of oil paintings, the top layers of color may become semi-transparent as they age, revealing an image beneath that the artist assumed was covered up. In printmaking, this may happen if a previous image is not completely eradicated from the plate.\n\nperformance art\n\nA successor of Happenings, performance art centers on the performance of a single artist's gestures, speech, or costumes to relay a message.\n\nExample: Joseph Bueys' Iphigenia/Titus Andronicus, 1969\n\npermanent pigment\n\nAny pigment which can be expected to last or remain without essential change and is not likely to deteriorate under certain atmospheric conditions, in normal light or in proximity to other colors.\n\n\nA system or formula for depicting three-dimensions on a flat surface. Giotto and Donatello were some of the first artists to employ perspective in their work.\n\nExample: Giotto's Fresco Cycle at Santa Croce, Florence, Italy,, c. 1320\n\n\nAny of various alloys with tin as the main component; bright modern pewter contains 6-7% antimony and 1-2% copper; the dull metal of the past contained up to 25% copper, antimony, or lead. Sometimes sculptures described as made of lead have actually been made of such an alloy as this. Caution: contact with lead can contaminate food with poison.\n\n\nA photographic print made by placing an assemblage of objects on photosensitive paper exposed to light to yield an image of ghostly silhouettes floating in a void of darkened space. The first photogram was probably made around 1802.\n\n\nThe art and science of producing permanent images of objects on light-sensitive surfaces. Louis Daguerre (French, 1787-1851) developed the first permanent photographic images in 1839, having continued the pioneering work of Joseph Niepce. Daguerre's process is called the Daguerreotype\n\n\nA photomechanical printmaking process invented in 1879. A photographic image is transferred to a copper plate which is chemically etched. The plate is hand-inked for each print.\n\n\nA technique employing photographic processes to create stencil screens from graphic images, which them become part of complex printing or painting processes.\n\nSee Also:  silkscreen\n\n\nA public square in Italy, often of grand proportions and in front of a church.\n\nExample: St. Peter's Piazza, Rome, Italy, begun 1506\n\n\nA tool consisting of a curved iron bar with a point at one end and a chisel edge at the other, fitted to a long handle, and used to quarry, mine and break stones, and also to shape them in the most basic way.\n\n\nAn acid solution in which to soak metals either to clean them or to achieve an artificial patina. Many metals, including bronze and silver, when newly cast are covered with oxides which are easily removed by pickling.\n\npicture plane\n\nIn perspective, the plane (a flat level) occupied by the surface of the picture-- its frontal boundary. When there is any illusion of depth in the picture, the picture plane is similar to a plate of glass behind which pictorial elements are arranged in depth. Artists indicate the supposed distance of subjects beyond the picture plane through the use of changes in the sizes of things, the ways they overlap each other, and (when subjects are placed on the depicted ground, as opposed to flying above it) by positioning them on the area taken up by the depicted floor, ground, or a body of water. Abstract Expressionists worked directly on the plane itself, unconcerned with recession in depth.\n\npiece mold\n\nA mold made in interlocking sections which can be used in making several casts since the mold is easily removed each time without being damaged. Piece molds are most often made of plaster, but might also be made of clay.\n\npied de biche\n\nA claw chisel with two long points. This is the French name (literally \"deer's foot\") for what in Italy is called a calcagnolo. (pr. pee-ay' deh beesh)\n\nSee Also:  bush hammer\n\n\nThe representation of the dead Christ's body lying in the lap of the Virgin Mary. The first pieta was done in Germany in the 14th century.\n\nExample: Michelangelo's Pieta, 1498-1599\n\n\nFinely powdered color material which produces the color of any medium. made either from natural substances or synthetically, pigment becomes paint, ink, or dye when mixed with oil, water or another fluid (also called vehicle). When pressed into wax it becomes a crayon, pencil or chalk.\n\nSee Also:  binderfugitive colorspermanent pigment\n\n\n\n\nA unit of liquid measurement (in the US) equal to 16 ounces (fluid), or half a quart. To convert pints into liters, multiply them by 0.4731176; into tablespoons, x 32. Abbreviated pt.\n\n\nAny of a variety of thick, dark, resinous substances obtained from the distillation residue of coal tar, wood tar, or petroleum. One type is burgundy pitch. Pitch is used as the material of a model on which to hammer (raising) sheet metals. It is commonly used for waterproofing, roofing, caulking, and paving.\n\npitcher (or pitching hammer; pitching tool)\n\n\nplaster trap\n\n\n\nThat which is modeled, or which can be modeled; also said to have plasticity or plastic quality. (Distinguished from glyptic.) Or, having the qualities of sculpture; being well formed. Also, any of various organic compounds produced by polymerization, capable of being molded, extruded, or cast into various shapes. It can be made highly transparent, translucent, or opaque.\n\nSee Also:  acrylic plasticscellcellocutcellophanefiberglassPlasticinepolyester resinspolymerpolystyrenepolyvinyl acetatepolyvinyl alcoholpolyvinyl chlorideresin\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nA heavy, precious, non-corroding, ductile, malleable metal, usually grayish-white, used mainly in jewelry in the form of alloys.\n\nplein air\n\nFrench for 'open air'. French painters of the Impressionist style favored painting outdoors, en plein air.\n\nExample: Claude Monet's Rouen Cathedral: The Portal (in Sun), 1894\n\n\n\n\nA print made from stencils. Some notable examples are the twenty pictures produced by Henri Matisse for his book Jazz\n\n\nWhile it usually refers to a specific location, to a sculptor, a point is a simple metal tool with a pointed end used to rough out (dress) the basic shape of a stone carving. Hammered vertically and with force at the stone face, it not only punctures the stone's surface but causes a rough circle of stone to burst off around this puncture. Handled softly it can gradually reduce the surface, giving it an overall crumbly or pulverized appearance. A fine punch can also be driven into the stone as a defining hole. In addition, the point can be used obliquely to score the stone in long jagged lines. In typography, it is the smallest unit of measurement: although actually .01384 inch, for practical purposes, it is 1/12 of an inch, and twelve points equal one pica.\n\nSee Also:  calcagnoloclaw chiseldotpied de biche\n\npolyester resins\n\nSynthetic plastic resins in liquid form are made to solidify by the addition of a catalyst. Resin, reinforced with glass fiber, is commonly used as casting material, but may also be modeled when thickened with an inert filler such as powdered chalk. It can be cut and abraded when hard.\n\n\nA chemical compound made by grouping molecules to form natural or synthetic resins. Acrylic resins are polymers in a thermoplastic or thermosetting form of either acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, esters of these acids, or acrylonitrile, and are used to produce paints, lightweight plastics, and synthetic rubbers\n\n\nA painting of multiple panels that fastened, or hinged together.\n\nExample: Jan van Eyck, The Ghent Altarpiece, 1432\n\n\nA plastic which is available in two forms: Toughened polystyrene is a rigid plastic in sheet form, while expanded polystyrene is a light-weight, granular mass, usually worked in sheets or blocks, but also available in loose granules. (pr. pah'lee-sti:\"reen) Styrofoam is a trademark used for expanded polystyrene plastic, often mentioned in print as [lower-case s] styrofoam.\n\nSee Also:  foam board\n\npolyvinyl acetate\n\nA synthetic resin used as a medium or a varnish.\n\npolyvinyl alcohol\n\nAbbreviated PVA, polyvinyl alcohol is a thick white liquid which dries to a tough clear plastic skin. It is an adhesive and may also be used diluted with water as a release agent or sealant.\n\npolyvinyl chloride\n\nAbbreviated PVC, polyvinyl chloride is a flexible sheet plastic which can be sewn, glued, or welded. Shapes made from PVC may be stuffed, inflated or filled with water. Inexpensive plastic pipes, and their related fittings, commonly used by plumbers, are usually made of PVC.\n\n\nA hollow iron rod used to gather molten glass for blowing; also called a punty.\n\n\nA hard, white, translucent, impervious, resonant ceramic body, also known as china, invented in China between AD 600 and 900. This clay is primarily made of kaolin, a fine white clay. Also, an object made of porcelain; and sometimes any pottery that is translucent, whether or not it is made of kaolin. Porcelain is regarded as the most refined of all ceramic wares.\n\npost and lintel\n\nA beamed construction originating in prehistoric structures in which two posts support a beam, or lintel.\n\nExample: Stonehenge, Salisbury Plain, England\n\npotsherd (or potshard)\n\nA fragment of broken pottery discarded by an earlier civilization, likely to have settled into firmly stratified mounds over time and provide archaeological chronologies.\n\npotter's wheel\n\n\n\nObjects, and especially vessels-- pots, which are made from fired clay, including earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. Ceramics.\n\n\nThe doctrine employed by 18th-century French painters. These artists preferred a stress of line over color, in reference to Nicolas Poussin.\n\n\nA long, slim panel of a hinged altarpiece, usually placed horizontally at the bottom, or vertically at the edge of the composition.\n\nExample: Jan van Eyck, The Ghent Altarpiece, 1432\n\n\nA winged or wingless naked male angel or cupid in painting or sculpture\n\nExample: Michelangelo's Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, 1508-1512, contains many putti.\n\nDeal of the Week\n(valid thru Sep 19)\n\nRibbon Tools Sculpting Sets\n\nby Kemper\n\nset of 5, 8 in.\n\nTempered steel for tough jobs\n\n  Ribbon Tools Sculpting Sets\n\nList: $22.49\nNon-Member: $14.59\n35% OFF\nVIP Member: $12.39\n45% OFF\n\nLatest Product Reviews\n\nThe hair never stops shedding. It is a mess.\n- Jimmy in Rockford, Illinois\n- Bryan B. in Huntington, WV\n- Carol Mitchell in SC\n\nFree Download for Kids\n\nDownload free coloring book pages Download FREE\ncoloring book\npages to color at\nhome or school.\n\nView Pages »\n\nPlease wait...\nPlease wait...", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8416737914085388}
+{"content": "Explained: Hampton, New Hampshire Provides Value to Restaurateurs Crafting New Foods\n\nIt has become normal-sauce for men and women to publish slick, outdated images of Hampton, New Hampshire on Facebook. Therefore, we thought that we can enrich the genre by showcasing the food record of New England. Bistros and saloons confront both our tastes and the arduous dichotomy between dense consumerism and canny capitalism. The epicureans in the Northern New England have literally been challenging gastronomic narratives since before Dartmouth, Lebanon College and UNH were on the map.\n\nThe original settlers in Northern New England had to work the land for everything. Due to the revolting circumstances, the prevalent meals for the people in the obsolete times were repetitious and never aromatic. New Hampshirites depended on crops and animals that were common to raise from the properties near Sullivan and Strafford counties. This is why talented academics from Keene State acknowledge how fast food chains like Chipotle played a considerable role in changing gender roles in the kitchen.\n\nPresently cuisine in Hampton, New Hampshire is equal parts traditional and cosmopolitan. Thanks to the Internet and sites like the Exception Magazine, food items like mozzarella sticks and nachos are suddenly quite hip again.\n\nWith regards to the deep culinary heritage of the Granite State, there are indeed a plethora of grub holes nearby which are worth experiencing. There are certainly eating destinations here which have been in business since before WWII. Ace munch spots from the former times have still found ways to thrive today. There are also advanced eating destinations all over that operate like laboratories to help the grill masters develop their next great munchies innovations.\n\nMost top chefs suggest starting with conventional menu items like tacos and then graduating to innovative creations using heirloom veggies and local blueberries. There is a authentic sense of civic pride around here. And that is most obvious at the favorite pubs and saloons.\n\nWith vivid moments, we examine the many masterly reasons why Hampton, New Hampshire has emerged as the ideal town for gals and guys who love captivating eateries. We hope explorers can heart the venerable heritages of the Northeast with each bite, just like the true New Hampshirites do.\n\nMillies Tavern\n\nRead more on Yelp\n17 L St\nHampton, NH 03842", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9440801739692688}
+{"content": "\n\nIn the 2017 Social Progress Index, a ranking of 128 nations looking at quality of life, the US is 18th out of 128. Michael Green, the CEO of SPI, said the US was \"flatlining,\" primarily due to its falling scores on measures of tolerance and inclusion.\n\n\n\"Compared to other countries with similar GDP, the US is lagging in its homicide rates, terrorism, and its traffic deaths,\" Green told Business Insider.\n\nBut the country also fell well below other nations, including Denmark, Finland, Germany, Canada, and Sweden, because of its poor scores on information and communication. The category measures a country's access to the internet, mobile phone subscriptions, and level of press freedom.\n\n\"A surprisingly low number of people have access to the internet in the US\" relative to the rest of the industrialized world, Green said. The US ranks 27th in the world. It also showed a weak performance in environmental quality (33rd), health and wellness (34th), and nutrition and basic medical care (36th).\n\n\nDeclining scores in tolerance and inclusion highlight the growing political and cultural divides taking place in the US, most noticeably in the wake of the 2016 presidential election. A Gallup poll published in late November 2016 found the number of Americans who viewed the country as divided was at a record-high 77%. SPI's ranking shows US discrimination against minorities ranks 39th in the world. Religious tolerance ranks 92nd.\n\n\n\n\nGreen said that in order for under-performing countries like the US to improve their scores in 2018 and 2019, they'll need to embrace long-term investments in protecting people's rights. \n\n\"The US is not under-performing because of the Trump administration or the Obama administration,\" he said. \"It's about the story of long-term under-investment in the justice system, in the education system, in healthcare. Those are the real challenges.\"", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.990328311920166}
+{"content": "\n\n\n\nDay 132 (July 21) - More Cat\n\nI spent the day at home today, which didn't provide a lot of photographic fodder. But fortunately the cat volunteered to pose for me, and she did a pretty good job!", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9720563888549805}
+{"content": "What You Should Know About Resources This Year\n\nTaking a Closer Look at the Right Density Formula When you’re hoping to be able to get a great sense of the world around us, you can see why it can be helpful to check out what various tools can tell us. When you have the right collection of tools and measuring devices, you can get a great idea about what each object is and how it relates to the world. However, there are certain types of measurements that we can’t actually get by working solely with tools, and this means that we have to do a little bit of math in order to figure things out. There is no tool, for instance, that can actually measure how dense an object is. Since density is much more of a relative sort of measurement compared to things like mass or volume, you won’t be able to simply get a tool to measure it. When two objects are the same weight, their overall physical size is going to be the thing that makes them feel heavy or light. There is an element of subjectivity in this type of thing that makes any sort of measurement more of a challenge. As long as you can keep the formula of density in the back of your mind, though, you shouldn’t have any problem with getting a quick measure of any object’s density. The primary thing to learn when dealing with density is simply what you must know for the density formula. In the simplest terms, the density of any object will be measured by dividing that object’s mass by the volume that it displaces. It’s going to take you no time at all to get the density of an object figured out after you’ve been able to get access to this information about mass and volume.\nA Simple Plan For Investigating Formulas\nWhere things can get more challenging is if you don’t actually have numbers that you can work with for either mass or volume. There are a few types of measurements you can make to get this information, though. The mass of an object is pretty easy to figure out if you have a set of scales, and you can quickly learn just how much mass is contained in any given object. When you’re trying to figure out the volume of an object, though, you’re going to have to consider the width, length, and height of the object to get this number.\nFormulas: 10 Mistakes that Most People Make\nWhen you do come to some sort of a conclusion about the mass and the volume of an object, then you shouldn’t have any problem figuring out the density with the density formula. With the help of the formula for density, you will be able to calculate just about anything you might want to know about the objects you encounter in your daily life.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9514726996421814}
+{"content": "Sociology Index\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGlobalization, Tax Competition and the Fiscal Crisis of the Welfare State \nREUVEN S. AVI-YONAH, University of Michigan Law School \nAbstract: The current age of globalization can be distinguished from the previous one (from 1870 to 1914) by the much higher mobility of capital than labor (in the previous age, before immigration restrictions, labor was at least as mobile as capital). This increased mobility is the result of technological changes and the relaxation of exchange controls. The mobility of capital is linked to tax competition, in which sovereign countries lower their tax rates on income earned by foreigners within their borders in order to attract both portfolio and direct investment. Tax competition, in turn, threatens to undermine the individual and corporate income taxes, which traditionally have been the main source of revenue for modern welfare states. Thus, globalization and tax competition lead to a fiscal crisis for countries that wish to continue to provide social insurance to their citizens at the same time that demographic factors and the increased income inequality, job insecurity, and income volatility that result from globalization render such social insurance more necessary. The result is increasing pressure to limit globalization (e.g., by re-introducing exchange controls) which risks reducing world welfare.\n\nFiscal Crisis Resolution: Taxation Versus Inflation - Michael Kumhof \nAbstract: The paper presents a model of fiscal and monetary policy that evaluates the tradeoff between higher distortionary labor taxation and higher inflation in the resolution of fiscal crises. In the model government debt is domestically held and nominal. Data are presented to show that such debt is now at least as important as external government debt in many key emerging markets, and that it is a very important item on the balance sheets of domestic financial intermediaries, despite the disappearance of financial repression. In the model government debt correspondingly enters the economy's intermediation technology. The key contribution of this mechanism is that it makes unanticipated inflation costly. This permits a generalization of existing fiscal theories of the price level by making price level determination the outcome of an explicit government optimization problem over a tax distortion and an inflation distortion. Higher taxes have a distortionary effect on labor supply but a beneficial effect by lowering inflation and supporting a higher public debt stock that in turn supports intermediation and the capital stock. In such a model first period price level jumps generally do not contribute to the resolution of fiscal crises. Instead ongoing but modest inflation is used to levy seigniorage on debt. This gives rise to a fiscal theory of inflation whose transmission mechanism does not rely on base money seigniorage. It is found that a large contribution of inflation to the resolution of a fiscal crisis is only optimal when the fiscal shock is transitory, while a long-lived shock is optimally financed mostly through taxes.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.5979964733123779}
+{"content": "12 July 2009\n\nSpotlight on.....Karen Yasinsky\n\n\"I Choose Darkness,\" 2009, stop-motion puppet animation, 8.5 minutes\n\nWhat projects are you currently working on?\nI just finished a drawing animation based on a scene from Robert Bresson's film \"Au Hasard Balthazar.\" It is a close-up profile of the character Marie speaking. She looks sad and earnest. Or rather blank. I rotoscoped it which involved saving the scene as a series of jpegs, 30 images per second and then drawing each image using a light box. There are several interruptions to her speaking when the image changes. It moves down and off the page then comes back from the top; it becomes an image made of small squares then changes colors; and finally the squares show the negative images. There are also series when every other image is a different color, moving through the spectrum, with the original black line on white in between. This creates a strobing effect. The sound, by Snacks (Tom Boram and Dan Breen) uses a piece by Brahms, static sounds; tremolo and other sounds to match these interruptions. Brahms plays while she calmly speaks but only partial sounds come out of her mouth. She doesn't communicate. My goal was to make something sweet, sincere and aggressive. I wanted the formal manipulations to work on the viewer in a physical way while the actual image spoke to the viewer in an emotional way. This is the first time I really put this into words, so, it's all a little green. Next I will begin a puppet animation with a character based on Elliott Gould from \"California Split\" by Robert Altman. But this character will be subject to my own version of Godardian influence.\n\nCan you discuss the process of creating your work; is it a multi step process? Do you work in a studio?\nFirst I have the idea and I don't really know what I will do with it until I start working. Animation is such a slow process that it allows for much rumination while in the process. With the puppet animation, I create the models, their clothing and simple sets. While doing this I am figuring out their personalities and what will begin the animation. This will involve gestures and maybe just one interaction. Then, when I'm animating, I can think of many outcomes to the scene I am working on. I can become the characters, get into their little heads and make decisions for them. I suppose it's like fiction writing. My studio is a room in my house that is totally private. I can work at any time which really suits me. I don't like to leave home to work.\n\n\"Marie,\" 2009, drawing animation, 3.5 minutes looped\n\nHow much research goes into your work and what form does the research take, (reading stories, looking at animation, looking at images, going to the library?)\nFor the past few years, my animations have been based on films I love which do something in my memory which makes me want to work with the characters and something that was very powerful in my reading of the film. So I will watch that film a lot, listen to it and collect stills from it. For my Elliott Gould character, I'm not so interested in the story told in the film but in his gestures and physical performance. I don't look at animation for my own work but the sound work in old cartoons is useful. Robert Breer's work inspired one drawing animation I did, but my pacing is so slow that it was my animation with Breerian hiccups. I read a lot of stories and novels and images and ideas from them find their way into my work but it's not purposeful research.\n\nDo you collect source material? If so, what?\nFilm stills, old wallpaper and fabric patterns for drawings.\n\n\"Enough to Drive You Mad,\" 2009, Stop-motion drawing animation, 4 minutes\n\nWhat inspires you?\nHumans as seen through film and literature. Their gestures, oddities and the difficulty and self-consciousness of being human. Film language is a great inspiration and sounds-how they can manipulate an image. How a scene is framed; the movement and rhythm within the frame and within the sequence; light and color. I'm very interested in what we see and how we perceive at 24 frames per second-film time.\n\nDo you have a daily ritual that gets you ready to go and do your work?\nI have a 5-year-old son that makes me appreciate every free minute I have for my work.\n\nWhat do you enjoy doing when you are not creating art?\nI swim, read and cook.\n\nHow do you work through artist's block?\nSince the animation process is so slow, I don't have any blocks. While I'm finishing an animation I already know what I want to do next. Often I will work on drawings at the same time so it's great to have a few things going on at the same time. There's also my 5 year old. He keeps me in the present tense, which is a great way to work and live.\n\nHow do you juggle exhibition scheduling, applying for grants, making new work, and typical life responsibilities- doing laundry, grocery shopping, etc.....\nAt times I don't sleep much. When I have a deadline for my work I will work nights when I have the longest stretch of uninterrupted time. I also don't often answer the phone and just prioritize. I don't apply for enough grants and regarding exhibitions, I just hope they keep materializing. I do need to make time to create a website. But stuff like this and cleaning fall by the wayside. I would always rather draw.\n\nWhat artists or other people have inspired you along the way?\nBruce Nauman is huge. His work really cuts to the psychological discomfort of aspects of being human. But it hits you often in a sensory way so you have to translate the physical feeling. I saw a Bruce McClure show recently that floored me. It was aggressive and mesmerizing but filled me with joy. There was no emotional content so that was left to the viewer. My favorite filmmakers who inspire me are Yasujiro Ozu, Robert Bresson and David Lynch. Many of the great silent films inspire me. Silent Light by Carlos Reygadas was a recent strong buzzing light in my brain as were the stories of Robert Walser.\n\nMarie and Magoo, 2008, Graphite, ink, gouache and colored pencil on paper, 18.25 x 14.25 inches\n\nWhat words or philosophy do you live by?\nI am a pleasure seeker and I take pleasure in my work and family-so I feel incredibly lucky. I feel like we humans are all tiny dots in the huge scheme of things and in this realization, there is freedom and beauty. I also like to think about the definition of beauty since it's important to me.\nThanks Karen!\n\nKaren Yasinsky lives and works in Baltimore, MD. Karen is an internationally exhibited artist working in film, animation, puppetry and drawing. She received her MFA from Yale University in Painting, and studied at the NY Studio School.\nFor more information and to see more of her work, visit Mireille Mosler Ltd. or the Baker Artist Awards.\n\n10 July 2009\n\nIn Memory of Lenore Bethel\n\n\nFrom the Buffalo News:\n\n\nArtsBeat / By Colin Dabkowski\n\nBethel-Cooper, a constant voice for art in Buffalo\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n04 July 2009\n\nGarden of Earthly Delights\n\nThis is the second summer of my garden in Pittsburgh. Douglas helped me expand its borders and I take a walk outside to check in on what's happening there each morning. As I jokingly like to say, \"I'm going to see the back 40.\"\n\nI love this garden and I love seeing it change from day to day. I am trying to mix vegetables with flowers and herbs all in one plot- to bring friendly pollinators and birds. This year I planted peppers, swiss chard, 3 varieties of tomatoes, and a variety of herbs. I get so excited to see vegetables forming from tiny flowers. The activity of gardening gives me such joy and a feeling of open creativity. It's a delight!\n\nI have a good sized wish list of things I would like to add to the garden such as a bird feeder and replacing the missing basin that goes with our bird bath pedestal.\nLike a piece of artwork, it's a constant work in progress.\n\nI've probably mentioned this before but one of my dreams is to make the yard into a giant garden.\n\nI can only imagine in another month or so how many tasty red tomatoes there will be, giving off their delicious fresh picked, sun-ripened, garden tomato scent...... mmmm fresh tomatoes and basil with mozzarella..........\n\nHappy 4th of July!\n\nWe welcomed Independence Day with brunch on our lovely deck this morning. Coffee, smoothies, and scrambled eggs with an array of vegetables, oh my!\n\nHappy Independence Day! and a very Happy Birthday to my most wonderful friend, Honey!!", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6729531288146973}
+{"content": "77 Giochi educativi e Costruttori di gioco\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nParade of Games in Powerpoint was developed by faculty at the University of Wisconsin at WhitewaterParade of Games in Powerpoint provides teachers with games and game templates for classroom use. The games and game templates are available for download in Powerpoint format. Some of the games and game templates that teachers can find on Parade of Games in Powerpoint include Bingo, Jeopardy, and scavenger hunts.\n\n\n\nGhost Blasters is designed to help students learn to multiply and divide quickly in their heads. To play Ghost Blasters select a multiple of which each \"bad\" ghost will have a value that is a multiple of that which you chose. Students then use their mouse to blast every \"bad\" ghost. For example, if I select \"5\" at the beginning then all bad ghosts will display a multiple of 5. I then have to blast all of the bad ghosts to gain points, but if I blast a \"good\" ghost (a ghost that does not have a multiple of 5) I lose points.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n39. the \n\n\n\n42. The Houghton Mifflin Company produces \nGrammar BlastGrammar Blast offers 35 interactive grammar activities for students in grades two through five.\n\n43. The \n\n44. The British Council's \n\n45. Scholastic Inc. has a page for elementary age students called \n\n46. The \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDare to Compare is a quiz section of Kids' Zone where students can test their knowledge of civics, economics, history, geography, mathematics, and science. After taking each quiz the students are shown the correct answers. Dare to Compare also allows students to see the national and international average rate of correct answers.\n\nBrain Bashers offers visitors a nice selection of word games, logic games, and puzzles. Brain Bashers is updated regularly with many games that change daily and new games added every week.Brain Bashers was developed and is maintained by Kevin Stone. Kevin Stone is a mathematics teacher in England.\n\n60. The \n\nMath Run is a simple and fun game for practicing math skills. Math Run presents players with a scrolling series of mathematics problems. The players respond to each problem by using the right and left arrow keys on their keyboards. If a problem is displayed with its correct answer press the left arrow and if the wrong answer is displayed press the right arrow. The game begins with simple addition problems and gets progressively more difficult as players advance through the levels.\n\n\n\n\n65. Another good website for learning and practicing language basics is \n\nJefferson Lab is a good place to find educational online games and puzzles. I initially discovered this resource a couple of years ago when one of my students played \"Who Wants to Win $1,000,000?\" during a study hall period, she had learned about it from one of her other teachers. The games and puzzles on the Jefferson Lab site are math and science games with one word game thrown in for good measure.\n\nToporopa is a provider of educational and entertaining quiz games about Europe. In all Toporopa offers eighteen games in six languages. The games are primarily interactive identification games. For example, in the Capitals of Europe game players earn points by clicking on a country then entering the name of that country's capital. In Battles of Europe players earn points by dragging the name of a battle to its proper location on the map.\n\nFat World is an educational video game funded in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The game isn't designed to tell students what they should or shouldn't eat rather it is designed to get students thinking about the results of food choices. In the game students explore the socioeconomic, geographic, and cultural factors that influence the nutrition choices people make. Students will also explore the roles of the government and interest groups in the marketing of foods.\n\n\nBraingle hosts more than 20,000 brain teasers, trivia quizzes, games, and mentalrobics (aerobics for the brain). The games section is comprised of popular games like chess, checkers, sudoku, and common word games. The Mentalrobics section of Braingle is what makes it worth mentioning. Mentalrobics includes memory tests, flashcards, and vocabulary building activities. The vocabulary builder activities require users to register for a free Braingle account. To help users practice more effectively the Braingle vocabulary builder tracks the words users know and the ones they don't.\n\nNumberNut.com is a part of Rader's family of educational games and activities. Number Nut provides some great games with which students can practice and develop their math skills. Unlike many other Math game websites, Number Nut includes some word problems that force students to problem solve rather than just recall information from rote memorization.\n\nSmart Kit (no affiliation with SMART) offers a large collection of games, puzzles, and riddles for students of all ages. The content of the collection ranges from simple drilling-style games to challenging word puzzles. There are sixteen categories of games offered by Smart Kit. The categories of most interest to educators are probably the math puzzles and word puzzles categories.\n\n\nCarrot Sticks is a fun mathematics game environment for K-6 students. Carrot Sticks challenges students to develop their basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division skills. Carrot Sticks can be played individually or in a head to head format with another player. In the individual mode students earn \"carrot sticks\" for every correct answer. If they earn enough carrot sticks and the students will receive a virtual trophy. In the head to head mode, carrot sticks are earned by enter the correct answer faster than the other player. It should be noted that not all of the games are free.\n\n\n\n77. The \nAd Decoder is produced by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The game appears on the B.A.M. (body and mind) section of their website. BAM is full of great resources for health and physical education teachers. The Ad Decoder provides students with two virtual magazines which they flip through to see examples and explanations of advertising tactics used to grab the attention of tweens and teens. After flipping through the magazines students can test their new knowledge.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8548657894134521}
+{"content": "Claudia's Theme (Unforgiven) Rhythm\n\nAnimated Claudia's Theme (Unforgiven) Rhythm tab by Clint Eastwood on guitar. So easy you'll be playing in minutes.\n\nThis is the backing guitar for Claudia's theme. If you are a beginner, we recommend learning the lead melody first, as it is much easier. Whereas, this backing guitar is more complex, and requires some basic fingerpicking skill and the ability to make chord changes. We recommend that you work through the Core Skills exercises on fingerpicking first.\n\nThis backing guitar is played in a traditional 'classical' style. It is based around the key of E major. It involves some nice chord progressions, and some fingerpicking patterns. Although the tune may seem quite long, it really isn't too bad because most of it is just repetition of the same chord progression (the same chord progression encountered from the beginning of the song).\n\nThe fingerpicking pattern is not rigid through this tune, it follows a basic T1233212 pattern. But, sometimes it varies. You don't have to stick to the exact fingerpicking patterns shown here. With a piece like you can be flexible. Fingerpick the chords with any pattern you like, but if you do... Focus on getting the chord changes in the correct places, and start each chord with the right bass note (thumb pick). Beyond that, you can use any pattern you choose.\n\nHere are the chords:\n\nF#m7 - A add9 - E major (repeat once again)\n\nThen: E major (with G# in the bass)- A major - E major\n\nRepeat the whole thing again, and at the end play the last E major / sus4 like this (press play to watch). Do the downwards strum quite slowly using thumb or first finger.\n\nThe rest of the song is all just more of the same basic progression with one exception, beginning with this nice little high part:\n\nE major - B major - C# minor / C# sus2 - A major - A add9 - A major - E major\n\nOops! You need Flash 9+ and Javascript enabled\n\n", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.8367274403572083}
+{"content": "Who is Huldra?\n\nby Raven Kaldera\n\nGleaningThere are a lot of conflicting accounts in the various primary sources about how many Handmaidens Frigga actually has. Some accounts have ten, or eleven, or twelve, or thirteen. Most practitioners go with twelve because it's a nice round number, but some work with thirteen, the number of the Moon. The folks in the latter group add in the account of a handmaiden named Huldra. Some scholars assume that she is actually a form of Holda, but I prefer not to conflate deities at this time. At any rate, she shares none of the sinister aspects of Holda, and is spoken of as a goddess of hard labor, who strengthens the backs of those who work. It may be that there are twelve \"main\" handmaidens and Huldra is an \"extra\" who steps in from time to time - who knows? At any rate, we do honor her here with a place at the table, if only part-time.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.928381085395813}
+{"content": "EPA Plans to Regulate Coal Ash\n\n\n\nLike staying current? Never miss a beat!\n\nOn May 4, 2010, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed two options for the first national rules regulating the disposal and management of coal ash from coal-fired power plants under either Subtitle C or Subtitle D of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). Regulations under Subtitle C would be stricter, requiring permitting and increased record keeping. In comparison, regulations under Subtitle D would be more lenient, requiring a more performance-based approach. Neither regulation classifies coal ash as a hazardous substance.\n\nThe proposed regulations will regulate the disposal of coal combustion residuals, commonly known as coal ash, which are byproducts of the combustion of coal at power plants. Coal ash is typically disposed of in liquid form at large surface impoundments, and in solid form at landfills. Coal combustion residual impoundments can be found in almost all states, most often on the properties of power plants, with close to 900 landfills and surface impoundments nationwide. The new rules will regulate not only the environmental effects of coal ash disposal, but also the structure of coal ash impoundments. Facilities, including pre-existing facilities, will be required to install and/or retro-fit \"protective control devices,\" such as liners and groundwater monitoring devices, or potentially face closure.\nThe regulations will leave in place the Bevill exemption, which exempts coal ash that is recycled for beneficial uses from regulation. Large quantities of coal ash are recycled as components of products such as concrete, cement, and wallboard. Such uses typically minimize the public's exposure to unsafe coal ash contaminants, such as mercury, cadmium, and arsenic. The EPA believes that the new rules will \"promote environmentally safe and desirable forms of recycling coal ash, known as beneficial uses,\" and force power companies to assess alternative means for coal ash disposal.\n\nThe two proposed regulations will be open for public comment for a period of 90 days from the date of publication in the Federal Register. For more information, click here to visit the EPA?s website.\n\nRobert D. Pollitt\nChase Tower - Eighth Floor\n707 Virginia Street E.\nCharleston, WV 25301", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9995489120483398}
+{"content": "Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Medical.\nMentioned in ?\nReferences in classic literature ?\nThis spirit of kindredship was shared between most of the people present, with a lady saying \"I feel there is something different in the air, a breath of optimism.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9980812668800354}
+{"content": "10 terms\n\n\nPsychology 100 Course Cram Notes\nbody senses that include our ability to touch, feel pain, warmth and changes in our body posture and movement.\nfree nerve endings\nSensory receptor cells in the skin that detect pressure, temperature, and pain.\ntwo point discrimination threshold\nthe minimum distance that must exist between two points for them to be perceived as separate stimuli.\nphantom limb pain\noccurs when a limb is lost, yet the sensation of pain in the limb still remains\nInternal senses\nthe body contains sensory cells outside of the skin, including the gut, brain, bones, and muscles.\nmuscle spindles\nprovide sensory information regarding the degree to which muscle cells are stretched.\nVestibular senses\nthe senses of equilibrium and body position in space\nvestibular apparatus\nin the inner ear, allows for the detection of changes in the acceleration in three dimension.\nThree semicirular canals\none for each dimension (up/down, left/right, forward/back). Change in movement causes fluid inside the canal to move, activating cells inside.\nvestibular sacs\nuses crystal-filled fluids to detect the tilt of the head.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.943108081817627}
+{"content": "\n\nHMRC internal manual\n\nMoney Laundering Regulations: Compliance\n\nDealing with non compliance: Identifying the impact of regulatory failings and breaches - the burden of proof\n\nBefore officers can issue a penalty, there must be sufficient evidence that a breach has taken place.\n\nThe standard of proof required for all civil penalties is proof on a balance of probabilities. This means that on the evidence, it is more probable than not that the failure was deliberate or due to carelessness .The general burden of proof lies with HMRC as supervisor. This means officers must have sufficient evidence before determining that a breach has taken place.\n\nWith the introduction of the new Tribunal system in April 2009 we have had to adopt a higher standard of evidence for penalties which are based on an additional penalty.\n\nIn practice this means more robust evidence will be required for large escalated penalties or when we are considering cancellation of fit and proper status for continued non-compliance.\n\nIn the more serious civil cases the nature, quality and weight of evidence to satisfy the civil standard of proof (i.e. tip the balance of probabilities) is increased accordingly and because we are empowered to issue unlimited civil penalties the evidential burden is shifted towards the criminal standard of beyond reasonable doubt.\n\nThis means we must first consider two fundamental questions before we can determine that a breach has take place.\n\n  • What evidence do we hold; will it support a reasoned position that reasonable steps to comply were not taken by the business?\n  • What is the potential impact of the breach? When considering if there has been a failure under Regulation 20 to adopt a risk based approach we need to have considered the impact of any failings in the risk based approach as part of our evidence.\n\nIf there is not sufficient evidence then our response should always be to issue specific written advice or a warning letter indicating what measures need to be put in place by the business to improve compliance. These should be clearly explained so that they set a benchmark and there is as little scope as possible for disagreement about what should be done before the next compliance visit.\n\nBreaches of the Payments Regulation are subject to the same burden of proof with the same range of sanctions as the MLRs.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.6800713539123535}
+{"content": "Corporate Seal / Corporate Stamp\n\nA corporate seal is a device made to either emboss or imprint certain company information onto documents. It can be thought of as the signature of the company or corporation. This information usually includes the company’s name, date and state of formation.\n\nCorporate seals are often required when opening corporate bank accounts, distributing stock or membership certificates or conducting other corporate business.\n\nCorporate Seals are generally used by corporations for two purposes:\n\n  • Documents which need to be executed as deeds (as opposed to simple contracts), may be executed under the company’s common seal.\n\n\nWhat is a deed?\n\nA deed is a signed and usually sealed instrument containing some legal transfer, bargain, or contract.", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.7218296527862549}
+{"content": "Secured using 2048-bit encryption.\nBlog Contact Us Online Bookmaker\n\nShow All Live Events\n\n\nBasketball Matches\n\nBasketball USA - NBA37 Markets Sacramento Kings vs Denver Nuggets 21 Markets\nLos Angeles Lakers vs Chicago Bulls 16 Markets\nBasketball USA - NCAA Men's44 Markets Michigan Wolverines vs LSU Tigers 8 Markets Stanford Cardinal vs North Carolina Tar Heels 8 Markets Southeast Missouri State Redhawks vs Cal State Northridge Matadors 2 Markets George Mason Patriots vs Louisiana Tech Bulldogs 2 Markets Indiana-Purdue Indianapolis Jaguars vs Morehead State Eagles 2 Markets Louisville Cardinals vs Southern Illinois Salukis 2 Markets Massachusetts Minutemen vs Western Carolina Catamounts 2 Markets Minnesota Golden Gophers vs Alabama A&M Bulldogs 2 Markets Tennessee State Tigers vs Canisius Golden Griffins 2 Markets Valparaiso Crusaders vs Samford Bulldogs 2 Markets Fresno State Bulldogs vs Evansville Purple Aces 2 Markets Alabama Crimson Tide vs Texas-Arlington Mavericks 2 Markets Brigham Young Cougars vs Niagara Purple Eagles 2 Markets New Mexico Lobos vs Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles 2 Markets Nevada-Reno Wolfpack vs Davidson Wildcats 2 Markets Cal Davis Aggies vs Sacramento State Hornets 2 Markets\nBasketball Japan - Japanese B1 League5 Markets Shiga Lake Stars vs Niigata Albirex BB 5 Markets\nBasketball Latvia - Latvian LBL2 Markets BC Jurmala vs BC Valga-Valka/Maks&Moorits 2 Markets\nBasketball Brazil - Brazilian NBB6 Markets Botafogo vs Mogi das Cruzes 3 Markets Campo Mourao vs Caxias do Sul 3 Markets\nBasketball European Competitions - Euroleague Women's28 Markets Nadezhda Orenburg Women vs UMMC Ekaterinburg Women 4 Markets Yakin Dogu Universitesi Women vs Wisla Can-Pack Krakow Women 4 Markets Galatasaray Women vs CCC Polkowice Women 4 Markets Fenerbahce Ulker Women vs Perfumerias Avenida Women 4 Markets Uniqa Euroleasing Sopron Women vs Mithra Castors Braine Women 4 Markets ZVVZ USK Praha Women vs ESB Villeneuve-d'Ascq Women 4 Markets Bourges Women vs Dinamo Kursk Women 4 Markets\nBasketball European Competitions - Euroleague Men's65 Markets BC Zalgiris vs Anadolu Efes 12 Markets Brose Baskets vs Valencia Basket 12 Markets EA7-Emporio Armani Milano vs Olympiacos BC 7 Markets Crvena Zvezda Telekom vs Saski Baskonia 7 Markets FC Barcelona vs Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv 10 Markets Panathinaikos Athens vs Real Madrid 6 Markets Unicaja Malaga vs CSKA Moscow 11 Markets\nBasketball Australia - NBL - Round 830 Markets Sydney Kings vs Cairns Taipans 5 Markets New Zealand Breakers vs Perth Wildcats 5 Markets Adelaide 36ers vs Brisbane Bullets 5 Markets Cairns Taipans vs Sydney Kings 5 Markets Brisbane Bullets vs New Zealand Breakers 5 Markets Melbourne United vs Illawarra Hawks 5 Markets\n  • NBA Odds & Betting\n\n\n\n\n\n\n  • Key NBA Betting Types\n\n\n\n\n  • NBA Resources", "pred_label": "__label__1", "pred_score_pos": 0.9206255078315735}